Links for Tuesday, 2/14/2012 <3 February 14, 2012
God Hates Checkered Whiptail Lizards:
Thanks to Alyse for the link!
I think the simplest way to explain social anxiety to the uninitiated is to just treat it like any other fear. Say your friend is deathly afraid of spiders. Explain to him/her that the thought of ordering that damn ice cream makes you feel the way your friend would if a spider crawled across his/her leg. This comparison may not seem particularly appropriate to you (actually, to me it really helped me put my own anxiety into perspective), but to get your friends to understand you may have to go sweet and simple. You may also face some resistance from your friends to this sort of explanation, because for many people socializing is so natural that it seems incomprehensible to be frightened by it. After all, people aren’t generally expected to constantly expose themselves to spiders, with severe disruptions to their life if they fail to do so. But if you can get your friends to buy this line of reasoning, it can also help you explain to them how isolating and frustrating social anxiety can be, i.e.: ‘IMAGINE if you had to walk into class everyday and sit down in a room full of spiders.’ Although you may have to reassure your friends that you do not think they resemble spiders in any way.
Comment: OH MY GOD A SKLAGOOLION TIMES THIS.
Pizza Hut's $10,000 Engagement Party Package Includes a Ring, Fireworks, and Pizza:
“Would you like a proposal with your order?” Starting today, consumers visiting PizzaHut.com can answer “yes” to that question and purchase the $10 Dinner Box Proposal Package, an epic collection of proposal goodies inspired by the new $10 Dinner Box on the Pizza Hut menu. Pizza Hut is offering only 10 of the exclusive packages just in time for Valentine’s Day at a cost of $10,010 each. The $10 Dinner Box Proposal Package includes a ruby engagement ring, limo service, flowers, fireworks show, photographer, videographer and of course, most importantly, the mouth-watering new $10 Dinner Box.
Comment: I really think the title of this article should be “Pizza Hut wants to help you prove to your partner that he or she can really do better than you”
Valentine's Day gestures of love around the world, in pictures:
Thai-Swedish couple William Timhede, 23, left and Napatsawan Timhede, 39, are chased by an actor in pirate costume as part of an adventure-themed wedding ceremony in Prachinburi province, Thailand
Bonus – look at the “Customers Who Viewed” section:
How to avoid being tagged as a terrorist - Don't pay cash for coffee:
The most recent update asks coffee shop owners, baristas and other customer-service specialists to be on the lookout for the enemy who walks among us (who evidently has been reanimated from the graves of the 1950s Red Scare era of blacklisting and Communist-baiting or the KGB's constant witch hunt for capitalist sympathizers or people who resent being witch-hunted for their political beliefs). No one objects to the FBI or any other law enforcement agency keeping an eye out for terrorists. Trying to get everyone involved in such a silly, time-wasting way to manufacture suspicion and false accusations is not the way to do it. Not only does it waste time by identifying everyone as a potential suspect, it erodes what alertness or willingness to cooperate members of the public may have by crying wolf over and over until, the next time a real wolf does show up, it's more likely to get a cup of coffee and pat on the back than a suspicious look-over by a hard-eyed barista.
Canada wants warrantless Internet spying, says critics back child pornographers:
Challenged by an opposition member about the proposal, public safety minister Vic Toews cited child pornography as a justification for the bill. Opponents of the legislation "can either stand with us or with the child pornographers," he said.
Valentine’s Day for Carnivores:
British butcher Antony Bowness of Quality Standard Beef and Lamb located in Tewkesbury, a town in Gloucestershire, England, came up with the idea for his 'Steak Bouquet' by way of introspection. Imagine a dozen roses carved from strips of sirloin which are cradled on top of a vase. Says Bowness, “I get asked every year what I’d like for Valentine’s Day and I never know what to suggest. Soppy cards aren’t really my thing and it got me thinking about what I could make for other men out there like me. I had a ‘Eureka’ moment one day when a customer came in with a bunch of flowers. I started playing around with the idea and realized it was actually quite easy to do! I mean if you can make a dress from meat, then why not a bunch of roses?”
Nortel Networks hackers had “access to everything” for years:
Nortel Networks suffered a security breach that for almost a decade gave attackers with Chinese IP addresses access to executive network accounts, technical papers, employee emails and other sensitive documents at the once-thriving telecommunications firm, The Wall Street Journal reported. The publication, citing a former 19-year Nortel employee who oversaw the investigation into the hack, said Nortel did nothing to keep out the hackers except to change seven compromised passwords that belonged to the CEO and other executives. The company "made no effort to determine if its products were also compromised by hackers," the WSJ said. Nortel, which sold off parts of its business as part of a 2009 bankruptcy filing, spent about six months investigating the breach and didn't disclose it to prospective buyers.
Jamie Oliver finds Joy Division and New Order master tapes in restaurant basement:
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has apparently found rare Joy Division and New Order master tapes when digging up the basement of a new restaurant in Manchester. The new restaurant, which is being built in a former branch of Midland bank, was being excavated when the tapes were found, alongside guns, gold and jewellery. The total value of the haul is £1.1 million, reports Holy Moly. Oliver has since given everything found in the basement to the treasury.