Siri and autistic kids

There was a great op-ed in the NYT yesterday. It's by Judith Newman and it's about how much Siri has helped her autistic son. Seriously, Siri is this kid's best friend and Newman writes about their relationship (the kid and Siri) in a touching and very funny way. You must read "To Siri with Love". Ah haz spoken.

I don't want to excerpt sections that reveal the child's interaction with Siri. If you want to check that out, you'll have to click on the link above to read Newman's words. But here's a bit from another part of the op-ed:

But the companionability of Siri is not limited to those who have trouble communicating. We’ve all found ourselves like the writer Emily Listfield, having little conversations with her/him at one time or another. “I was in the middle of a breakup, and I was feeling a little sorry for myself,” Ms. Listfield said. “It was midnight and I was noodling around on my iPhone, and I asked Siri, ‘Should I call Richard?’ Like this app is a Magic 8 Ball. Guess what: not a Magic 8 Ball. The next thing I hear is, ‘Calling Richard!’ and dialing.” Ms. Listfield has forgiven Siri, and has recently considered changing her into a male voice. “But I’m worried he won’t answer when I ask a question,” she said. “He’ll just pretend he doesn’t hear.”

See? Newman is a smart, funny writer. G'wan, go read it!

Misplaced modifier of the day

The fun thing about this is that it's on-topic. Here's a terrible sentence AP used as the lede for a story today:

ROME — The gay marriage debate arrived within walking distance of the Vatican on Saturday as Rome's mayor registered 16 gay marriages celebrated abroad in open defiance of Italy's government.

So...the marriages were celebrated abroad in open defiance of Italy's government? No. It's just a badly constructed sentence. You've got to watch your modifying clauses, people. I keep tellin' ya that. Here's how it should have been written:

The gay marriage debate arrived within walking distance of the Vatican on Saturday as Rome's mayor, in open defiance of Italy's government, registered 16 gay marriages celebrated abroad.

Note that I simply moved "in open defiance of Italy's government" closer to the word that it modifies (mayor). Yes, it requires you to set it off with commas, and I know this trick may be difficult for those of you who are punctuationally challenged. But it's really not that hard. (Of course, the whole sentence should simply be rewritten. It still stinks. But what can you do? It's AP.)

Luckily for us, the story is on-topic. Here's a bit more about this terrific Italian mayor.

Marino said Saturday was an important day in the fight for equal rights for all and that "the most important right is to say to your companion 'I love you' and to have that be recognized.

Sounds like a smart guy with a good heart. And of course, the biggest bonus is that this happened within shouting distance of the Vatican. Yay!

English-speaking bishops muck up translation of Vatican synod document

It's time for the latest chapter of "Backtracking for Jesus". Earlier in the week, we were all shocked when conciliatory language about gay inclusion was used in a Vatican synod report. Well, it seems the inclusive language persists in the original Italian document, but the English-speaking bishops have been having a field day editing the document to appease their vicious inner selves.

But the Vatican reversed course at a press conference on Thursday, when officials announced the release of an edited English version of the report that alters passages that affirm gay people. For example, the new version changes the translation of the Italian phrase “Accogliere le persone omosessuali,” which was initially rendered in the English version as “to welcome homosexual persons,” a literal interpretation of the text. Although the original Italian document remains unchanged, Thursday’s revision edited the English version to read, “providing for homosexual persons,” a shift that Thomas Reese of the National Catholic Reporter said was “clearly … not an accurate translation.”

The new document includes other subtle alterations as well, although virtually all of the edits deal with the Catholic church’s position on homosexuality. Thursday’s version of the report, for instance, changed a phrase that previously referred to same-sex unions as “precious support in the life of the partners” to “valuable support in the life of these persons.”

The revisions appear to be an attempt by the Vatican — or at least English-speaking bishops — to control the media narrative surrounding the release of the original document.

So the English-speaking bishops still hate gay people. What else is new? Will the Vatican ever put these homophobes in their proper place? (The trash, in other words.) Stay tuned. But the fight will be intense. Here's a last bit from the Think Progress article:

English bishops are now calling for even broader changes to the document, insisting that the Synod offer a “fuller presentation of the church’s theology of marriage, more encouragement for those who are faithful to church teaching, and the elimination of … confusing passages in the report.”

Confusing indeed. But they're the ones who are confused. We're gay, we're here and we're never going away. These bishops had better wake up. They're living in the distant, ugly past and they really, really don't want to let go. It's quite sad.

Vatican kindness to gays was typo

Ah, well. It was fun to think that the Roman Catholic church might welcome gays. But we all knew in our hearts that it was too good to be true. Turns out, the whole thing was just a typo.

The original text contained an entire section "Welcoming homosexuals," that asked the church to provide gays a "fraternal space" and said their unions constitute a "precious support" for the partners. The new English version is entitled "Providing for homosexual persons," speaks only of "fellowship" and "valuable support."

I was toying with an alternate headline for this post: "Church tightens sphincter, expels gays". But I figured I'd stay classy. Either way, it's the same news. The Catholic church hates gay people, again.

Uh...no, she didn't

I was aghast while watching Dr. Nancy Snyderman's notpology on the NBC evening news last night. I used to admire this woman. Let's be clear about what happened. Dr. Snyderman was the one who violated the Ebola quarantine rules. But you'd never know this from her notpology.

The website Planet Princeton reported that Snyderman went to a restaurant to pick up a takeout order. Shortly after, the New Jersey Department of Health mandated the crew remain quarantined.

So Dr. Nancy Snyderman was the actual culprit who endangered the public. But when NBC offered her "apology", it never mentioned the fact that she was the one who violated the quarantine rules. Here's the written "apology" delivered last night:

"While under voluntary quarantine guidelines, which called for our team to avoid public contact for 21 days, members of our group violated those guidelines and understand that our quarantine is now mandatory until 21 days have passed. We remain healthy and our temperatures are normal.

"As a health professional I know that we have no symptoms and pose no risk to the public, but I am deeply sorry for the concerns this episode caused."

Not a peep about the fact that, if the report from Planet Princeton is true -- and since NBC didn't hammer this report into the ground, I assume it was -- she was the perp. I guess it was more important to NBC to bolster dear Dr. Nancy's credibility than to reveal the truth. After all, how could they continue to use her to illustrate the Ebola story after everyone found out she's a craven loser who doesn't care about anyone but herself?

The whole thing is disgusting. Welcome to the U.S. media, where citizens are told only what the media and its corporate overlords want them to know.

Funny physics story

You don't have to be a drooling fan of physics (like me) to enjoy this story. I promise it's funny. Go read it.

FBI less than thrilled by Apple's encryption

I posted recently about the fact that Apple's latest iOS uses a data encryption scheme that it will not share with US surveillance agencies. Thank you, Apple!

However, FBI director James Comey is less than thrilled by this move. Gee, I wonder why.

Comey's stance is that by making iOS and Android as secure as possible, Apple and Google are actually allowing criminals a safe haven. He even goes so far as to compare unbreakable data encryption to "an apartment that could never be entered, even by law enforcement."

Now that sounds great: an apartment that law enforcement can't enter. I want one of those, don't you? That kind of place would surely have helped the people who were killed or disfigured by SWAT raids in recent weeks. (Special bonus: even when these police goons disfigure a toddler, they don't face charges. Seriously, I want one of those apartments and you should, too.

Oh, and Comey, good example. You'll really get people on your side with that line.