Samizdata

Antoine Clarke: “Who is Glenn Reynolds?”

To which the reaction of the assembled Samizdatistas was…

How very odd that Perry should decide to add a category called ‘How Very Odd’ on exactly the same day when I uncover something that I can only describe as very odd.

Or, to be precise, it was uncovered by a colleague at work when seeking the website of the The Law Society. The Law Society is the professional governing body for solicitors in England and Wales and, as one would expect, it does have a very comprehensive website which is located at www.lawsoc.org.

However, acting largely on instinct, he initially typed www.lawsociety.org into his browser and found something altogether different not to mention wholly unrelated.

Just a coincidence that they chose a similar name for their website? Well, possibly I suppose. On the other hand, is it a deliberate marketing ploy? In either event, one must conclude that it is a very effective, if not altogether transparent, way of getting their messages across to a lot of British lawyers.

This morning, January 16^th at my home in London, I received a Christmas card from Greensboro, North Carolina. The post mark was dated December 10^th 2001.

Now it has often been my observation that the US postal service is not unlike the Bermuda Triangle: a fabled place where the spacetime continuum does not quite work the way it does in the rest of the universe. However what made the letter more interesting, in fact the only thing that made it interesting, was the odd indigo stamp on the envelope:

MISSENT TO
JAKARTA SOEKARNO-HATTA

They sent the letter to Indonesia?

Now I will grant that the address was handwritten rather than printed, but the writing was extraordinarily clear and precise, so I can only speculate that some US postman was just not concentrating, perhaps he was pondering the chore of impending Christmas shopping or contemplating homicide against his colleagues in a shooting spree or some such matter to which US postal workers seem prone, and thus mis-read ‘London SW3, England’ as ‘Jakarta, Indonesia’.

But whoever you are, you little misshapen cog in the vast shuddering machine of the US postal service, I thank you.

One of my absolute pet hates is the ‘Round Robin’ pro forma ‘family up-date’ letter sent by people I met only once many years ago. As they always do, it starts ‘Dear Friends’, followed by an interminable wodge of fascinating details about children I have never met, places I have never visited and have no desire to and strange revelations that

Yes, we have joined the ACC mania for the second year in a row. Surprisingly enough, I can even quote a few stats… that’s scary

Scary? It is bloody terrifying. What the hell is the ACC? And why am I supposed to find that interesting? And why should I care where your children, whom I was only vaguely aware even existed, are going to school? At least I am told Jamie is doing well: good for him…ah, no… later in this interminable missal I discover that Jamie is a she, not a he.

So once again, Mister Distracted Postal Worker, I thank you. There was at least something interesting about this letter… on the envelope.

Sky and Telescope is not where one would normally expect an editorial on government waste. Mostly it covers more important issues like “what is the fastest way to cool down my Newtonian’s primary mirror?” or “are Type II supernovae assymetric?” But if there is one topic that unites astronomers of all persuasions from the most casual amateur to the greyest Chaired professional, it is science literacy. So it should not be surprising when The Boston Globe announced “Heavens smile on astrology school: It’s accredited”(1) your average astronomer was mildly upset, as in “I was mildly upset the wife emptied the house and took my dog and pickup truck and the good Dobsonian when she walked out on me”.

I first heard of this yesterday morning when I read Dr. Rick Feinberg’s scathing January 2002 editorial on the subject. He did a bit of research into the story. It all just gets better. Not only did the The Astrological Institute of Scottsdale, Arizona become accredited by the US Department of Education in August 2001; the Kepler College of Astrological Arts and Sciences in Seattle, Washington, was granted the right to award Batchelor’s and Master’s degrees in June 2001. Now I have nothing against people who want to throw their own money away on supernatural claptrap; but as Dr Feinberg points out federal grants and loans can be awarded to students to help pay tuition. That’s right. All of you in America are now paying taxes to ensure your local gypsy fortune teller has a Diploma hung on her wall.

I strongly agree with Dr. Feinberg’s suggestion that Americans call the Office of the Inspector General’s hotline for fraud, waste, and abuse involving federal student aid funds. The number is: 1-800-MIS-USED (1-800-647-8733) or email at oig.hotline@ed.gov

(1)The article is no longer available on line at the Boston Globe, but a copy may be found posted here if you search well down the page.

In answer to many e-mails asking about it… yes, this ad is absolutely real. I scanned it in this evening myself. It is the front page of a one fold high quality A4 size colour brochure that fell out of one of the UK aviation magazines on my floor. Unfortunately I cannot with any certainty say which one because I just this evening noticed it in the pile. I’m sure that if other UK aviation enthusiasts (those not in Greek prisons) check their stacks they will find their own copies. They may be worth holding on to.

It seems that ‘People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) feel that to be a good Christian, one must refrain from eating meat. There is even a Christian Vegetarian website.

Now as a libertarian, I regard vegetarianism as a totally acceptable life style choice for other people and I am not knocking it…however it is not something I choose to follow myself. I shall stick to my omnivorous ways.

I just have one question… if vegetarianism matters one jot to Christianity, then why did Christ perform the miracle of turning five loaves and two fishes into many in order to feed the multitude (Matthew 14)? Why not five loaves and two tofu cubes?