Leon Atkinson's Blog, page 9

Ostrich Pillow

Looks like a gift from a Mark Mothersbaugh in an alternate reality. De-evoloution is real and alive in the multiverse. Here is a tool to pull the wool over your own eyes while counting the proverbial sheep. As an added bonus, while wearing this device, you are guaranteed to be free of all government mind-reading.

Studio Banana Things Ostrich Pillow

OSTRICHPILLOW® offers a micro environment in which to take a warm and comfortable power nap at ease. It is neither a pillow, nor cushion, bed or garment, but a bit of each all at the same time. It’s soothing cave-like interior shelters and isolates both your head and hands, perfect for a power nap.

Self control the key to success

What one thing can determine whether or not you’re successful in life?

Self control predicts success even better than IQ.

Simplify Commerce

Super easy credit card payment processing provided by MasterCard.  They have lots of SDKs, including one for PHP. You can get into a sandbox in five minutes.

Simplify Commerce – Developer-Friendly Payments

It’s that simple.

Eat your veggies!

So, let me get this straight–you just treat your kids like ordinary human beings who require logical justification for the rules of behavior that would otherwise just seem arbitrary? And they decide for themselves to accept the logic, which leads to healthy eating? Revolutionary!

Getting Kids to Eat Their Veggies: A New Approach to an Age-Old Problem – Association for Psychological Science

Every parent has a different strategy for trying to get his or her kid to eat more vegetables, from growing vegetables together as a family to banning treats until the dinner plate is clean. New research suggests that teaching young children an overarching, conceptual framework for nutrition may do the trick.

Martinez needs someone to run the Campbell Theater

I don’t know about how economically feasible it is, but it would be quite convenient to have shows running there all the time.

Martinez unable to find promoter for shuttered Campbell Theatre – ContraCostaTimes.com

But Martinez received only two promoters’ proposals by the Aug. 19 deadline, neither of which met the city’s criteria, according to Schroder. Many of the groups that earlier had expressed interest in the Campbell said the city’s requirements were too stringent, he said.

Now, the city is offering more flexible terms, including the possibility of setting payments based on the promoter’s profit.

xkcd: Prometheus

Philosophy FTW!

xkcd: Prometheus

Prometheus has stolen fire from the gods! Well, sort of. I mean, when you use a fire to make another fire, the first fire doesn’t go away. So really, it’s more like sharing.

Social Distortion lullaby album

My kids probably want to keep falling asleep to Eleventy Seven, but I’ll fall asleep to Lullaby Versions of Social Distortion.

Social Distortion lullaby album due this month

Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star have announced the next collection of covers will be released on June 25th, featuring lullaby renditions of Social Distortion.

Country Funk

I guess, like a many people, I found Country Funk in the $1 stacks at Rasputin’s maybe 20 years ago. I spent a lot of time doing a vinyl rip back when CD-R’s were kind of expensive. The files available from CDBaby are better quality, of course, and well worth $10.

There was a Web site at countryfunk-do-net a few weeks ago, but it looks like they band let the domain expire.

Country Funk on CDBaby

Country Funk opened for many famous act’s in the 1960′s and 70′s. We got a lot of recognition from the boston scene, and the whole east coast for that matter.

We opened for Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, Allman Bros, Van Morrisson, Neil Young, CSNY, Sly and the Family Stone, Ten Years After, Velvet Underground, and many, many others. Somehow we did not get the recognition we deserved. We made 2 albums together, one which was released and one that is just now being released after many years in the dust bin of musical history. It has been digitized and remastered onto a cd format and still sounds as good as ever. Our surviving members are thrilled to make this”new” music finally available to the public.

If you’d like to read about us and our history, please go to www.fantasticexpedition.com where you will find an article detailing those wide open times. We also have a wonderful web site. Please visit us at www.countryfunk.net and enjoy. We took great pleasure in reviving ourselves and remembering what an exciting time it was for us and for all of us. Rock N Roll will never die!

In addition, 2 of us….Hal Paris and Joe Pfeifer have released solo cd’s that are available thru cd baby and through our web site. Have a listen…….let us know, please.

The Era of Obesity

I’m a sucker for any story about the religious approach to knowledge being crushed by science.

David Berreby – The obesity era

Today’s priests of obesity prevention proclaim with confidence and authority that they have the answer. So did Bruno Bettelheim in the 1950s, when he blamed autism on mothers with cold personalities. So, for that matter, did the clerics of 18th-century Lisbon, who blamed earthquakes on people’s sinful ways. History is not kind to authorities whose mistaken dogmas cause unnecessary suffering and pointless effort, while ignoring the real causes of trouble. And the history of the obesity era has yet to be written.

Mueller admits FBI spies on us with drones

How long until we get a headline like “FBI’s Drone Spying Database Leaked”?

LA Times – FBI uses drones inside U.S. for spying, director says

Outgoing FBI Director Robert Mueller tells lawmakers that the agency uses drones domestically ‘in a very, very minimal way.’ He also says the NSA spy program helps track terrorist plots.