Archive for June 2005
- adhocracy – government in an unstructured fashion; an unstructured organization
- anarchy – order without government
- andrarchy/androcracy – government by men
- anemocracy – government by the wind
- aristocracy – government by the nobility
- autarchy – government by an absolute ruler
- autocracy – government by one individual
- bureaucracy – government by civil servants
- confederacy – a union of sovereign states
- demarchy – government by the people by lot
- democracy – government by the people
- ethnocracy – government by a particular ethnic group
- gerontocracy – government by the aged
- gynarchy – government by women
- gynocracy – government by women; gynarchy
- heptarchy – government by seven people
- hierarchy – government by a ranked body; government by priests
- hierocracy – government by priests or religious ministers
- kakistocracy – government by the worst
- kleptocracy – government by thieves
- matriarchy – government by women or mothers
- meritocracy – government by those with merit
- monarchy – government by one individual
- ochlocracy – government by mobs
- oligarchy – government by the few
- panarchy – universal rule or dominion
- particracy – government by political parties
- patriarchy – government by men or fathers
- plantocracy – government by plantation owners
- plutocracy – government by the wealthy
- polyarchy – government by many people
- pornocracy – government by harlots
- synarchy – joint sovereignty
- technocracy – government by technical experts
- tetrarchy – government by four people
- thalassocracy – sovereignty of the seas
- theocracy – government by priests or by religious law
- timocracy – government by the propertied class
- xerocracy – government by photocopying
I thought I’d post a few news articles I ran across this week:
Beware of Cats… they can alter your personality
In Britain, half the population is infected with mind-altering parasite that is carried by cats. "Infected men, suggests one new study, tend to become more aggressive, scruffy, antisocial and are less attractive. Women, on the other hand, appear to exhibit the “sex kitten” effect, becoming less trustworthy, more desirable, fun- loving and possibly more promiscuous."
Source: Times Online
Spray-On Mud
SUV owners without the time or balls to go mudding can now buy spray-on mud to show just how baddass they really are.
Source: Wired
Local Transplant Centers Offering Imperfect Organs
Is that waiting list for your new organ too long? Is that new organ too expensive? Well, now you can get a slightly damaged organ for half the price and in a fraction of the wait time.
Source: The Boston Channel
The Scream
Finally we may get to see "The Scream" in action. It is a gun that emits a sound at it’s enemies, causing them to blow chunks. I think this is something every parent needs.
Source: AP
The best part of waking up is being shot in the nut
Poor guy gets shot in the groin by stray bullet while he sleeps.
Source: KVOA Tuscon
Ads in Space
The FAA wants to keep an unnamed large US company from sending it’s moon-size ad into space for all to see.
Source: AZCentral
| Animal | Group Name |
| Albatross | Rookery |
| Alligators | Congregation |
| Apes | Shrewdness |
| Antelope | Herd |
| Ants | Colony, Army, Swarm |
| Asses | Pace |
| Auks | Colony, Flock, Raft |
| Baboons | Troop, Flange |
| Bacteria | Culture |
| Badgers | Cete, Colony, Set, Company |
| Barracudas | Battery |
| Bats | Colony, Cloud |
| Bass | Shoal |
| Bears (General) | Sloth, Sleuth |
| Bears (Cubs) | Litter |
| Beavers | Colony |
| Bees | Grist, Hive, Swarm |
| Birds (Chicks) | Brood, Clutch |
| Birds (Flight) | Flight |
| Birds (Game) | Volary, Brace, Plump, Knob |
| Birds (Ground) | Flock, Dissimulation |
| Birds (Sea) | Wreck |
| Bitterns | Sedge, Seige |
| Bloodhounds | Sute |
| Bobolinks | Chain |
| Bullfinches | Bellowing |
| Bullocks | Drove |
| Butterflies | Flight, Flutter, (Many more) |
| Buzzards | Wake |
| Camels | Caravan, Train |
| Caribou | Herd |
| Caterpillars | Army |
| Cats (General) | Clowder, Clutter, Pounce, Dout, Nuisance, Glorying |
| Cats (Kittens) | Kindle, Litter, Intrigue |
| Cats (Wild) | Destruction |
| Cattle | Drove, Herd, Team |
| Chickens (General) | Brood, Peep |
| Chickens (Chicks) | Clutch, Chattering |
| Chinchilla | Colony |
| Clams | Bed |
| Cobras | Quiver |
| Cockroaches | Intrusion |
| Cod | Lap |
| Coots | Cover |
| Cormorants | Gulp |
| Cows | Kine |
| Coyotes | Band |
| Crabs | Cast |
| Cranes | Sedge, Seige |
| Crocodiles | Bask, Float |
| Crows | Murder, Horde, Parcel |
| Curlews | Herd |
| Deer (General) | Herd, Leash, Gang |
| Deer (Buck) | Brace, Clash |
| Deer (Roe) | Bevy |
| Dogs (General) | Kennel |
| Dogs (Curs) | Cowardice |
| Dogs (Hounds) | Cry, Mute, Pack |
| Dogs (Puppies) | Litter |
| Dogs (Wild) | Pack |
| Dolphins | Pod |
| Donkeys | Drove, Pace |
| Dotterel | Trip |
| Doves (General) | Dule, Bevy, Cote, Dole, Paddling |
| Doves (Turtle) | Pitying, Piteousness |
| Ducks (Flight) | Flock |
| Ducks (Ground) | Brace, badling |
| Ducks (Water) | Raft, Team, Paddling |
| Eagles | Convocation |
| Eels | Swarm, Bed, Fry |
| Elephants | Herd, Memory |
| Elk | Gang |
| Emus | Mob |
| Ferrets | Business, Cast, Fesnying |
| Finches | Charm |
| Fish (General) | Draft, Nest, Shoal, School ("school" is possibly a corruption of shoal) |
| Fish (Caught) | Catch, Drought, Haul |
| Flamingos | Stand |
| Flies | Business, Swarm |
| Frogs | Army, Colony |
| Fox | Leash, Skulk, Earth, Lead |
| Geese (General) | Flock |
| Geese (Flight) | Skein |
| Geese (Ground) | Gaggle |
| Giraffes | Tower |
| Gnats | Cloud, Horde, Swarm |
| Gnus | Implausibility |
| Goats | Tribe, Trip, Drove |
| Goldfish | Glint, Troubling |
| Gorillas | Band |
| Grasshoppers | Cloud |
| Greyhounds | Leash |
| Grouse | Pack |
| Gulls | Colony |
| Hawks (General) | Cast |
| Hawks (Flight) | Kettle |
| Hawks (Spiraling) | Boil |
| Hedgehogs | Array |
| Herons | Sedge, Siege, Hedge |
| Herring | Army |
| Hippopotamuses | Bloat |
| Hornets | Nest, Bike |
| Horses (General) | Team, Harras, Stable, Troop, Stud (a group belonging to one owner) |
| Horses (Colts) | Rag, Rake |
| Horses (Ponies) | String |
| Horses (Wild) | Herd |
| Hyenas | Cackle |
| Impalas | Herd |
| Insects | Horde, Nest, Swarm, Rabble, Plague |
| Jays | Party, Scold |
| Jellyfish | Smack |
| Kangaroos | Troop, Mob |
| Lapwings | Deceit |
| Larks | Exaltation, Ascension |
| Leopards | Leap |
| Lice | Flock |
| Lions | Pride, Sault, Troop |
| Lizards | Lounge |
| Locusts | Plague |
| Magpies | Tiding, Gulp, Murder, Charm |
| Mallards (General) | Brace |
| Mallards (Flight) | Sord |
| Martens | Richness |
| Midges | Bite |
| Minnows | Shoal, Steam, Swarm |
| Moles | Labor, Company, Movement |
| Monkeys | Troop, Barrel, Carload, Tribe |
| Moose | Herd |
| Mosquitoes | Scourge |
| Mules | Pack, Span, Barren, Rake |
| Nightingales | Watch |
| Otters | Romp, Bevy, Family |
| Owls | Parliament, Stare |
| Oxen | Team, Yoke, Drove |
| Oysters | Bed |
| Parrots | Company |
| Partridge | Covey, Pandemonium |
| Peacocks | Muster, Ostentation |
| Pekingese | Pomp |
| Pelicans | Pod |
| Penguins | Colony, Rookery |
| Pheasants (General) | Nest, Nye |
| Pheasants (Brood) | Nide |
| Pheasants (Take-Off) | Bouquet |
| Pigeons | Flight, Flock, Kit |
| Pigs (General) | Drift, Drove |
| Pigs (Boars) | Singular, Sounder |
| Pigs (Hogs) | Team, Passel, Drift, Parcel |
| Pigs (Piglets) | Litter, Farrow |
| Pigs (Swine) | Sounder |
| Pilchards | Shoal |
| Plovers (General) | Congregation |
| Plovers (Flight) | Wing |
| Polecats | Chine |
| Porcupines | Prickle |
| Porpoises | Herd, Pod |
| Prairie Dogs | Coterie |
| Ptarmigans | Covey |
| Quail | Bevy, Covey |
| Rabbits (General) | Colony, Warren, Bury, Trace, Trip |
| Rabbits (Domestic) | Herd |
| Rabbits (Hares) | Down, Husk |
| Rabbits (Young) | Litter, Nest |
| Raccoons | Gaze |
| Rats | Colony, Pack, Plague, Swarm |
| Rattlesnakes | Rhumba |
| Ravens | Unkindness |
| Reindeer | Herd |
| Rhinoceroses | Crash, Stubbornness |
| Roebucks | Bevy |
| Rooks | Building, Clamor |
| Salmon | Run |
| Sardines | Family |
| Scorpions | Bed, Nest |
| Seals | Pod, Bob, Harem |
| Sharks | Shiver |
| Sheep | Drove, Flock, Down, Hurtle, Fold |
| Squirrels | Dray, Scurry |
| Snails | Escargatoire, Rout, Walk |
| Snakes | Den, Nest, Pit |
| Snipe | Walk, Wisp |
| Sparrows | Host |
| Spiders | Cluster, Clutter |
| Springbok | Herd |
| Squirrels | Dray, Scurry |
| Starlings | Murmuration |
| Stoats | Pack, Trip |
| Storks | Mustering |
| Swallows | Flight, Gulp |
| Swans (General) | Bevy |
| Swans (Flight) | Wedge |
| Swifts | Flock |
| Teal | Spring |
| Termites | Colony, Nest, Swarm, Brood |
| Thrush | Mutation |
| Tigers | Streak, Ambush |
| Toads | Knot, Knab |
| Trout | Hover |
| Turkeys | Rafter, Gang, Posse |
| Turtles | Bale, Nest, Turn, Dole |
| Vipers | Generation, Nest |
| Walruses | Herd, Pod |
| Wasps | Nest, Swarm |
| Whales | Pod, Gam |
| Widgeons | Company |
| Wolves (General) | Pack |
| Wolves (Moving) | Route, Rout |
| Wombats | Wisdom |
| Woodcocks | Fall |
| Woodpeckers | Descent |
| Worms | Bed, Clew, Bunch, Clat |
| Wrens | Herd |
| Zebras | Crossing, Zeal, Cohorts |
Those small blue candies we’ve all come to love – no, not M&M’s, Viagra – may not be the cat’s meow. The FDA is investigating the connection between Viagra and blindness. Pfizer isn’t worried because they know the choice between impotence or blindness is obvious. Just list blindness as one more side-effect. Read more here.
CNNMoney reports 3.9 million Citigroup customers had their personal information stolen… er lost the other day. Citigroup blames UPS for losing the tapes that were supposed to be delivered to it’s CitiFinancial subisidiary. Information contained on the tapes "included Social Security numbers, names, account history and loan information about retail customers, and former customers, in the United States." Unlike most other companies Citigroup will change it’s ways and begin sending this data electionrically in encrypted form starting July.