The BBC has article on the efforts of ordinary citizens to help the cyclone victims: Burmese dodge junta to supply aid

Driving through a watery wasteland handing out food to desolate storm survivors is something Win will never forget.

Local Burmese people were the first on the scene after Cyclone Nargis brought destruction to the fertile landscape of the Irrawaddy Delta.

Win was one of those who filled up a car with food and blankets and made the journey down south.

“People in that area need everything. They have no shelter. They stand by the road like beggars asking for food,” Win told the BBC News website. “I’ll go down there again,” he said. “But there are many difficulties.”

It was not just the lashing rain but a fear of the ruling junta that impeded his progress.

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PZ Myers has a notice up for Australian blog readers.

Essentially, an Australian graduate student is looking for people who read blogs, but don’t have blogs of their own, for a research project. She needs adult Australian blog readers.

Check Pharyngula for the details and contact information.

Jams O’Donnell writes about a new law being proposed in Ireland: Detonation of nuclear weapon to carry 12 month sentence (or a fine).

A €5,000 fine is not a traffic ticket, but I would think eliminating a city might call for a little more. Actually this is in line with a Class A misdemeanor in New York, not even a felony. After the completion of the sentence you could still vote in every state, own a gun, and have a professional license.

I was busy today and my last task was taking the Honda in for an oil change and first year servicing. With just over 2K on it, I’ve washed it a few times and filled it with gas every 6-8 weeks, but no messing around under the hood.

The car has had a mysterious film on it since it was new that makes it look water spotted, even the glass. I asked the service rep what it was and how do you get rid of it. The next thing I knew, there was a service department SWAT team of three managers claiming that they would never have allowed the car to leave the dealership like that, essentially saying I was lying about the situation, and the problem was tree sap or irrigation water. I told them it was kept in a car port, it wasn’t struck by sprinklers, and it had been like that since it was bought.

Given that the vehicle had one of their fake license plates on the front, and their decal on the back, I was more than slightly annoyed when they tried to claim I didn’t buy the car there.

The good news is that I didn’t kill anyone, and I didn’t blow up the building.

I’m getting better about such things.