Links - 16th November 2012

Ban on sale of marijuana to tourists in Holland sparks crime wave - "Not only has it pushed the marijuana trade underground, it has created a new source of income for fraudsters manufacturing fake weed passes... Plans to effectively ban tourists from Amsterdam's marijuana cafes have been ditched by the incoming Dutch government... Amsterdam opposes a ban, which would hurt tourism"

Why 'unsexy’ Ikea bedrooms are killing our love lives, by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen - "Grown-up sex should be opera, it should be drama, it should be black velvet and silk, and it should be indulgent and opulent, regardless of how much it costs"

First date: Man or Woman pays? - ""I'm an independent woman and I'm comfortable paying for myself, but if he wants a relationship, that's not the way to start," she adds. They never saw each other again... Mr Jackiey Kwek, 37, owner of dating agency CliqueWise, says men should look at it as an "investment for the future relationship"... Guys take note: Women mostly agree that offering to pay on a first date is almost like a test. Product marketing executive Sarah Tang, 23, who is single, says: "If I offer and he accepts, that's it. It's likely there will be no second date, unless I like the guy." Other women interviewed say accepting the woman's offer to pay signals that the man does not value her company or that he is not interested, unromantic or not generous.
As usual, AWARE was deafeningly silent

Genital injuries send thousands to emergency care each year: Study - "To put this in perspective, the yearly incidence of these (injuries) is almost twice as much as dental injuries, and about the same as electrical and chemical burns"

Fallen soldiers: Is it right to take images of bodies? - "What I don't anticipate is the arrival of Belgian police who announce that if either my colleague or I photograph or film the body, we will be arrested, our camera equipment impounded and - possibly - the archaeological dig closed down... It now appears that, in Belgium, it's acceptable to film the dead from Waterloo but not from WWI. So is there now some arbitrary cut-off point, the Crimean War (1853-6) perhaps? The Zulu War (1879), or the Boer War (1899-1902), after which time it becomes unacceptable to film human remains? Or should we simply never film or show the dead from any conflict?... A funeral for the fallen soldier "would be somewhat compromised if films and pictures of the remains of their relative had been publicly broadcast", he adds. And yet all over the media, whether TV, magazines, books and in museums, images of the fallen from both World Wars are routinely shown."

Gold Mine Of Black Heads On Nose - YouTube - "Here is a Gold mine of black heads, rare and very big black heads on nose, known as solar comedones, being extracted out of nose by me with the help of comedone extractor... We can say that this is going to be one of the best black head video ever"

The 10 happiest jobs in Singapore - "Workers in Singapore are happier now than they have been in the past four years... When classified by salary group, JobStreet reported that those who earned between $9,000 and $$9,999 were the least satisfied. On the other hand, those who earned slightly lower at wages of $8,000 to $8,999 monthly had the highest scores of happiness. Among the factors which workers say were important to them, salary was ranked the highest. This is followed by work-life balance and advancement opportunities, both ranked second most important... employees were least affected by the value of their work to society and the safety of their working conditions. While participants indicated that they were most satisfied with safety conditions at work, many respondents also indicated that they were satisfied with interpersonal relations they had with colleagues at the workplace... men tend to be happier at work, with an overall score of 61 points. Female workers, however, rated their happiness at only 58.7 points"

The Importance of Having Friends Who Disagree - " Every time you have a new idea, you need people you can bounce it off. To get any real benefit out of this process you need people with a complex combination of characteristics.
They should
1. have firm (but not rigid) opinions on their own
2. have logical reasons for those beliefs and be able to articulate them clearly
3. are driven by ideas and not ideology
4. not attach their egos to their opinions.
5. be willing to concede a valid argument even if it forces them to possibly re-examine their beliefs
6. know how to listen
Given all that, it is extremely difficult to find such "friends who disagree"... Many people make the mistake of sorrounding themselves with people who think exactly like them and reinforce every idea or prejudice they have. This is a bad mistake and will often end up distorting the reality you see"

Real and perceived attitude agreement in social networks - "Although considerable attitude similarity exists among friends, the results show that friends disagree more than they think they do. In particular, friends are typically unaware of their disagreements, even when they say they discuss the topic, suggesting that discussion is not the primary means by which friends infer each other's views on particular issues. Rather, it appears that respondents infer opinions in part by relying on stereotypes of their friends and in part by projecting their own views"

Do Intelligent People Drink More Alcohol? - "More intelligent children in both studies grew up to drink alcohol more frequently and in greater quantities than less intelligent children"

The Measurement That Would Reveal The Universe As A Computer Simulation

More than half of S'poreans would migrate if given a choice: Survey - "For the first time in the history of Singapore, a whole generation of wage earners face the chilling possibility that their lives are going to be worse than their parents'... In June, there were 200,000 Singaporeans living abroad for at least six cumulative months in the previous 12 months, a 27 per cent increase from nine years ago, says the National Population and Talent Division. The World Bank has higher figures, with almost 300,000 Singaporeans considered migrants in 2010"

Neil Armstrong (Conversion to Islam) - WikiIslam - "Neil Armstrong is said to have converted to Islam upon hearing the Adhan (call to prayer) on the moon"

Asia's endangered species: The expat - "three out of four senior executives hired in Asia by multinationals were Asian natives already living in the region, according to a Spencer Stuart analysis of 1,500 placements made from 2005 to 2010. Just 6% were noncitizens from outside of Asia... "It takes them six months to figure out how to take a ferry, they're there for 12 months, and then they spend the next six months figuring out how to get home""

Dunns River Cock Flavoured Seasoning 100 g (Pack of 12): Amazon.co.uk: Grocery

Why McDonald's Fries Taste So Good - ""A natural flavor," says Terry Acree, a professor of food science at Cornell University, "is a flavor that's been derived with an out-of-date technology." Natural flavors and artificial flavors sometimes contain exactly the same chemicals, produced through different methods. Amyl acetate, for example, provides the dominant note of banana flavor. When it is distilled from bananas with a solvent, amyl acetate is a natural flavor. When it is produced by mixing vinegar with amyl alcohol and adding sulfuric acid as a catalyst, amyl acetate is an artificial flavor. Either way it smells and tastes the same... A natural flavor is not necessarily more healthful or purer than an artificial one. When almond flavor -- benzaldehyde -- is derived from natural sources, such as peach and apricot pits, it contains traces of hydrogen cyanide, a deadly poison. Benzaldehyde derived by mixing oil of clove and amyl acetate does not contain any cyanide. Nevertheless, it is legally considered an artificial flavor and sells at a much lower price. Natural and artificial flavors are now manufactured at the same chemical plants, places that few people would associate with Mother Nature."

Electricity 101 - "Can we harness lightning as an energy source?
Can we have wireless transmission of electricity?"

Christian Conservatives Failed to Sway Voters - NYTimes.com - "the bishops spoke out on many issues, including immigration and poverty, but got news media attention only when they talked about abortion, same-sex marriage and religious liberty"

Reasons given for having abortions in the United States - "advocates of unrestrained abortion often cite the "hard cases"--cases of rape, incest, life or health of the mother or baby--in defending access to abortion. It is widely acknowledged that such cases are rare; however, available data suggest that some commonly cited figures are exaggerated. Further, the prevailing preferences of the American electorate are often cited in regard to U.S. abortion legislation. Some will claim, for example, that most Americans support legal abortion. While majority vote is an unconstitutional means of limiting human rights (regardless of what position on abortion one thinks is the one consistent with human rights), the claim itself is a half-truth. Most Americans would oppose banning abortions for hard cases, but at the same time most Americans would support limits on elective abortions, e.g. abortions for convenience or for sex selection... Another AGI study, conducted in 2000-2001, examined contraceptive use but provides some information relating to reasons for abortion. Some data from this survey of 10,683 women obtaining abortions is given below:
not using contraception 46.40% of abortions
[of which] forced to have relations 0.6% of abortions"

Single, but not for want of trying - "Ladies: Don't walk around with a long "checklist". You might have traits you're looking for, but best keep it to three must-haves and three no-nos.
Guys: Please see beyond the biological attraction. The majority of guys in our dating services are looking for girls who are young, physically attractive, slim. Forty years from now, most of us will be old and wrinkly. Focus on the important things: Compatibility. Similar values. Similar wavelength."
How come ladies can have three must-haves, but guys cannot nominate their 3 must-haves as "young, physically attractive and slim"

Pakistan's transgender tribe of tax collectors - "Miss your tax deadline in the United States this weekend, and you might get a nasty letter at your door. In Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, you might get Riffee and the gang. They are "transgender" tax collectors -- whose weapons include flamboyancy, surprise -- and a little lipstick... A Pakistani court ruling two years ago gave eunuchs -- men who have been castrated -- the right to be referred to as a "third gender." Riffee believes the same right should extend to her and her friends, although they have not been castrated... the team threaten to come back 24 hours later, half a dozen strong -- and dance in the shop. That just may be enough to get a tax bill settled."

Alright we've discovered what all Men of Reddit do, now Women of Reddit what are some things you are sure all women do or have done? Possibly Nsfw : AskReddit - "sometimes when i wear jeans i purposely give myself cameltoe before i get in the car, so i can wiggle around feel the seam rub on my clit. it's glorious"

How to Be a Girl: Magic Cat Eyes with Scotch Tape! - YouTube
I am amused by the series title

Why Buying An iPad Mini Is An Incredibly Dumb Idea - "For the marginal effort of "sitting up in bed" you could stick a laptop on your lap and play FLASH GAMES on WEBSITES for FREE instead of playing the same games as APPS that you PAY FOR and are WORSE. Also, all this hoopla about the iPad being more portable? Rubbish. An iPad is about as portable as a MacBook Air, but with a MacBook Air you get an actual keyboard and the ability to, you know, have different windows open at the same time so you can engage in the revolutionary activity of, say, taking notes while watching a video. So there you have it. The secret is out: Laptops are like iPads, only better... As far as I can tell, the base-model iPad mini (for $329) really is just an iPod Touch... everything I could do with an iPad -- miniature or no -- I can do with a smartphone. Except that I can put my smartphone in my pocket"
"I've seen a good number of parents getting their kids tablets to get them out of their hair. At supermarkets, kids are playing with tablets instead of destroying what I came to buy."

Grandma in Russia kills wolf with bare hands and axe

Calvin and Hobbes' Life Lessons for Boys (and Girls) - "It's sad whenever a clear genius like Watterson leaves his masterpiece behind, but in the era in which your favorite long-broken up band is reuniting for a 35-city reunion tour, I think Watterson ending C&H left a beautiful, finite result"

An Examination of Gender in Bill Watterson's Calvin & Hobbes - "The fact that Rosalyn's character is viewed in such a negative way creates humor in much the same way as Miss Wormwood's character. Both of them are women that dominate and interfere with Calvin's ability to scheme plans for world domination. However, the fact that Miss Wormwood and Rosalyn are both portrayed in such one-dimensional ways is problematic... it is childhood written from a male's point of view, and in the end there is nothing wrong with that"

Restaurant Review - Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar in Times Square - NYTimes.com - "Hey, did you try that blue drink, the one that glows like nuclear waste? The watermelon margarita? Any idea why it tastes like some combination of radiator fluid and formaldehyde?... Somewhere within the yawning, three-level interior of Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar, is there a long refrigerated tunnel that servers have to pass through to make sure that the French fries, already limp and oil-sogged, are also served cold?"