I'm an Australian, based in the Washington, DC, area of the United States. I spend a lot of time there with Jasmine, Australia's best-known speedsolver of the Rubik's Cube. Prior to the US, Jasmine and I were based in London, UK. We have also lived previously in the United States and Australia.
I have worked for an Australian business rules and compliance company since 1999 in Australia, the US and the UK. I have also lectured in IT and Law related topics at King's College, London, and at The Australian National University.
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- February 2007
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These are a few of my favourite links:
- Jasmine's site
- Jasmine's blog
- Mikal
- Daveydweeb
- Beth
- Lyn
- Doug
- Marissa
- Lisaloha
- David (Greenomics)
- Paul's Ramblings (music)
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Sat, 15 Jan 2005 [Australian eastern time]
Unmarried couples now less likely to be criminals in Virginia
The Washington Post of Saturday, January 15, has an article (free Washington Post subscription required) about a Virginia Supreme Court decision that means unmarried sex is no longer prohibited in the State. The full text of the decision Martin v Ziherl is available on the Virginia Supreme Court website.
I lived in Virginia until about four weeks ago and I had never been aware of this particular law, Virginia Code § 18.2-344. The case stands as a great illustration of the way that old laws can sometimes be forgotten and then be cast back into the public eye for unexpected reasons. It is also a significant civil rights case... but no doubt it will be widely reported and discussed simply because it involved sex.
Code § 18.2-344 had not been enforced against consenting adults since 1847; and Muguet Martin and Kristopher Ziherl had not been interrupted late at night by a police force wanting to check that they were behaving themselves. In Martin v Ziherl the parties had ended up before the Court as a result of a herpes infection, allegedly passed from Kristopher Ziherl to Muguet Martin. Ziherl had allegedly known he was infected at the time of having unprotected sex. Martin sued Ziherl. The trial judge hearing the case accepted Ziherl's argument that there could be no tort recovery because the alleged injury had been suffered while participating in an illegal activity.
This decision was reversed by the Supreme Court:
Because Code § 18.2-334 ... is an attempt by the state to control the liberty interest which is exercised in making these personal decisions, it violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Virginia Justices referred closely to the highly publicised case of Lawrence v Texas from 2003, in which a Texas law prohibiting what the law described as "[d]eviate sexual intercourse" was also struck down under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
I have modified this page so it now only displays the 10 most recent entries, instead of the large number it was displaying before. All my old entries are still available under the archive heading on the left of the screen.
Land of liberty and static electricity
There was something strange about living in the Washington, DC, area. I remember noticing it when I got there for the first time in 2003, and I have noticed that it doesn't apply in London.
Throughout winter in Washington, there was the most amazing amount of static electricity. I remember that wherever I went, things would spark or stick to me. There was a spark between me and the computer at my desk whenever I sat down. Even putting on a t-shirt would make my hair stand on end. There was probably some Washington lobbyist for the makers of anti-static sprays rubbing his hands with glee every time I walked past shooting little blue lightning bolts into the evening air.
I don't notice static electricity in London, just like I never did when I lived in Canberra. Maybe there is something about the way the air conditioning worked in the buildings I was in in America -- perhaps something about the way it dried the air out or something.