:: Event Horizon ::

:: Thursday, July 24, 2003 ::

Ballooning Blogosphere
The blogosphere will change dramatically late this summer when AOL gives blogging tools to its 34 million members. The size of the blogosphere now is amazing, millions of blogs on every topic imaginable, now add to that mix all those AOL members and what do you get? I'm not sure, but we are certain to find out. One thing is certain, the blogging tools will add to the bloat of the new version, so I probably won't get it. I'm running an older version of AOL because it runs faster on my older computer. It appears that they assume that everyone has a new computer to take advantage of all the useless bells and whistles they add to their new versions. And finally, a rant about the name change, blogs are not journals. Some journals are blogs, but not all blogs are journals, I think people understand this. AOL apparently has a dim view of the intelligence of the average AOL user if they feel we can't grasp the concept of a blog. Some of us, ahem, have been blogging for years.

:: Joel 4:22 PM [+] ::
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HHS: Congress Should Rewrite Ephedra Law
More "nanny state" meddling in consumer affairs, trying to tell people what they can and can't buy. Millions of people have been taking ephedra as an herbal supplement for decades, if not much longer, and according to this article, there have been only 100 deaths. That's really not a lot, more people die every year from falling down. Almost any food or drug is bad for you if you take enough of it, or use it improperly, or have a history of medical problems, but is that a reason to start banning products? If people want to ingest something that may be harmful to a few while being of benefit to others, well why not? As long as there are warning labels so consumers can make an informed decision. I just can't stand the hypocrisy of a health community that tries to make an issue of ephedra while smoking is ok. I was in the habit of taking an over-the-counter allergy medication that contained ephedrine, and then they changed the ingredients, replaced the ephedra with something called pseudoephedrine, which presumably means fake or sort of like ephedrine, anyway, it barely works now. I've been looking for a better allergy medication ever since. Sorry, end or rant.

:: Joel 4:26 PM [+] ::
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Saddam's Two Sons Killed in U.S. Raid
This is good news. I hope this means that the nascent Iraqi resistance to the occupation will now diminish. And I found this amusing summary of the news of the day:

odai and qusai
no longer loosai.
yousai, "whosai?"
isai "wesai!".
tuesdai newssai:
c.i.a.sai,
"odai, qusai,
shot in caboosai.
u.s.a.sai,
"we cook goosai."

:: Joel 3:16 PM [+] ::
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