Lemma 2) Every action will have some effect you were not expecting.
Warning: political post
The Lieberman debacle, which in my mind was a pretty transparent attempt by Lieberman to put himself ahead of his party and keep his perqs, seems to have had an unintended consequence: Other candidate are beginning to say, "to hell with a party affiliation, I don't need one to run"
Today's example come from Mr. Tom DeLay's Houston district.
At least three GOPers have thrown their hats in the ring, and the local Republican leadership is scheduled to meet Thursday to make the call. One, perceived frontrunner David Wallace -- also mayor of DeLay's (former?) hometown of Sugar Land -- says he's running no matter what party says.
This is, in my mind, an untrammeled Good Thing. The two parties have tried everything imaginable short of a constitutional amendment to entrench themselves as the only way to power. And they have had tremendous success. This has led to more than a century of kleptocratic bad government. I'd really like to see more candidates eschew party and run as independents. Who know? It might lead to better policy and a saner nation.
Naaahhhhh.....
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Monday, August 14, 2006
Saturday, August 12, 2006
The David Stone
Here's an interesting idea for keeping the Earth as an "Asteroid Impact-Free Zone" , keep a sizable stone in orbit and then swing it around to hit an incoming object.
Such an asteroid could then be moved as needed to absorb the impact of any collision that would otherwise hit the Earth. The work of Didier Massonnet and Benoît Meyssignac (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, France), the paper argues that an asteroid between 20 and 40 meters in diameter, which the two nickname ‘David’s stone,’ could destroy a much larger incoming object under proper targeting conditions. The problem becomes finding the right asteroid.
...
Another benefit is that with the installation of proper equipment, a nearby asteroid could be exploited to produce propellants for manned exploratory missions. Producing fuel like liquid oxygen in such a location would dramatically alter the lifting requirements for long-range flights and could be practical even factoring in travel requirements to retrieve the fuel.
Very cool. I leave it to the communists and libertarians to tell us how to set up utopian governments on such objects.
Such an asteroid could then be moved as needed to absorb the impact of any collision that would otherwise hit the Earth. The work of Didier Massonnet and Benoît Meyssignac (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, France), the paper argues that an asteroid between 20 and 40 meters in diameter, which the two nickname ‘David’s stone,’ could destroy a much larger incoming object under proper targeting conditions. The problem becomes finding the right asteroid.
...
Another benefit is that with the installation of proper equipment, a nearby asteroid could be exploited to produce propellants for manned exploratory missions. Producing fuel like liquid oxygen in such a location would dramatically alter the lifting requirements for long-range flights and could be practical even factoring in travel requirements to retrieve the fuel.
Very cool. I leave it to the communists and libertarians to tell us how to set up utopian governments on such objects.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Second to Last
Yes, the United States is second to last in public acceptance of the theory of evolution. OTOH the graph doesn't show african nations, so I am sure we are not seond to last in the whole wide world. PZ Myers has the full story.The total effect of fundamentalist religious beliefs on attitude toward evolution (using a standardized metric) was nearly twice as much in the United States as in the nine European countries (path coefficients of -0.42 and -0.24, respectively), which indicates that individuals who hold a strong belief in a personal God and who pray frequently were significantly less likely to view evolution as probably or definitely true than adults with less conservative religious views.
...
Second, the evolution issue has been politicized and incorporated into the current partisan division in the United States in a manner never seen in Europe or Japan. In the second half of the 20th century, the conservative wing of the Republican Party has adopted creationism as a part of a platform designed to consolidate their support in southern and Midwestern states—the "red" states. In the 1990s, the state Republican platforms in seven states included explicit demands for the teaching of "creation science". There is no major political party in Europe or Japan that uses opposition to evolution as a part of its political platform.
Are Americans really this dumb? Do they really just beleive whatever they are told at church?? I have had more confidence in my fellow americans until now, but this kind of data is pretty depresing.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Son, Can You Honestly Deny This?
Son,
I imagine you read the headline and said some form of "Good God! What's he done now!". In fact, I'd be willing to bet good money that you didn't want to read this post at all, much less this far into it. Congratulations on your courage and fortitude. I know it could not have been easy. It would have been simpler to ignore this whole post and get on with your life...
Well, simpler perhaps, but not easier. You would have been curious as to what I had done. Dreading perhaps the humiliation that could spring upon you unawares as you became a reluctant internet celebrity, or worse, having to explain to the Mormons on a bright Tuesday morning that while yes they are very nice, no you are not interested in finding out more about the Lord (as promised to them in that nice latter your father sent), and yes, he really does have some kind of brain problem about to be solved by you, your friend Remington Model 600 Magnum and the second amendment. Or perhaps it was simple curiosity to see just what the old man thinks normal adult behavior looks like these days. Certainly that discussion he had with the judge was illuminating if not, ultimately, productive.
Well, enough about that, you know how I go on. Now to the heart, as they say, of the matter.
Son, can you, in all honesty say to me that you've never done this???
Can you?
I thought not.
Ignore Me!
I imagine you read the headline and said some form of "Good God! What's he done now!". In fact, I'd be willing to bet good money that you didn't want to read this post at all, much less this far into it. Congratulations on your courage and fortitude. I know it could not have been easy. It would have been simpler to ignore this whole post and get on with your life...
Well, simpler perhaps, but not easier. You would have been curious as to what I had done. Dreading perhaps the humiliation that could spring upon you unawares as you became a reluctant internet celebrity, or worse, having to explain to the Mormons on a bright Tuesday morning that while yes they are very nice, no you are not interested in finding out more about the Lord (as promised to them in that nice latter your father sent), and yes, he really does have some kind of brain problem about to be solved by you, your friend Remington Model 600 Magnum and the second amendment. Or perhaps it was simple curiosity to see just what the old man thinks normal adult behavior looks like these days. Certainly that discussion he had with the judge was illuminating if not, ultimately, productive.
Well, enough about that, you know how I go on. Now to the heart, as they say, of the matter.
Son, can you, in all honesty say to me that you've never done this???
Can you?
I thought not.
Ignore Me!
Blogging the Bible
When I was a Freshman in college, I decided to read the Bible for myself. As a newly minted atheist, I was partly convinced that it was actually quite tolerable and it was the priesthood that screwed everything up by trying to monopolize power. In other words, I was willing to give agnosticism another go if there was some hint that god might really, objectively exist and it was religion's fault the worked was so messed.
The experiment ended a few months later with me firmly and irrevocably in the atheist camp, Having read the Bible, it seem completely unarguable that it was written by humans trying to justify their rule over other humans by playing on their fears and prejudices. Yeah, Jesus had some good ideas waaaaay ahead of his time, but he was really the first Homo Sapiens among the Cro-Magnon.
This is an interesting passage in Slate’s Blogging the Bible series that illustrates the point perfectly.
This may be the first recorded example of what has become the fundamental conflict in all religions: religious elite vs. the people. (See, for example, the pope vs. Martin Luther.) Korah asks an essential question: Why should the few priests and prophets monopolize God? What's so great about them that they control access to the divine? In the 3,500 years since, many religions have come down on Korah's side of this question, deciding that God belongs to the masses, not an anointed elite. But the Bible doesn't. It rules emphatically—smitingly—for Moses and Aaron, for the few rather than the many.
Moses challenges the rebels to a divine duel. Korah and his 250 followers are to show up (at dawn, of course) with their firepans. Then, Moses says, the Lord will choose who is holy. The next morning, they all gather outside the Tabernacle—not just the 250 rebels, but also the entire Israelite community, which now supports them. This is a very bad mistake on the Israelites' part. Again, the Chosen People face the prospect of being seriously Un-Chosen. The Lord cautions Moses and Aaron, "Stand back from the community that I may annihilate them in an instant." But Moses once more steps in to save them, rebuking God exactly as Abraham did about Sodom: "When one man sins, will You be wrathful to the whole community?" God agrees not to kill everyone but orders the Israelites to stand back from the tents of Korah and two other rebel leaders.
No question about it. Humans writing for other humans. Nothing divinely inspired here. It reminds me of a version of the crypto adage, “Never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by simple stupidity”, in this case, “Never ascribe to the Divine what can be explained by the Corrupt”
The experiment ended a few months later with me firmly and irrevocably in the atheist camp, Having read the Bible, it seem completely unarguable that it was written by humans trying to justify their rule over other humans by playing on their fears and prejudices. Yeah, Jesus had some good ideas waaaaay ahead of his time, but he was really the first Homo Sapiens among the Cro-Magnon.
This is an interesting passage in Slate’s Blogging the Bible series that illustrates the point perfectly.
This may be the first recorded example of what has become the fundamental conflict in all religions: religious elite vs. the people. (See, for example, the pope vs. Martin Luther.) Korah asks an essential question: Why should the few priests and prophets monopolize God? What's so great about them that they control access to the divine? In the 3,500 years since, many religions have come down on Korah's side of this question, deciding that God belongs to the masses, not an anointed elite. But the Bible doesn't. It rules emphatically—smitingly—for Moses and Aaron, for the few rather than the many.
Moses challenges the rebels to a divine duel. Korah and his 250 followers are to show up (at dawn, of course) with their firepans. Then, Moses says, the Lord will choose who is holy. The next morning, they all gather outside the Tabernacle—not just the 250 rebels, but also the entire Israelite community, which now supports them. This is a very bad mistake on the Israelites' part. Again, the Chosen People face the prospect of being seriously Un-Chosen. The Lord cautions Moses and Aaron, "Stand back from the community that I may annihilate them in an instant." But Moses once more steps in to save them, rebuking God exactly as Abraham did about Sodom: "When one man sins, will You be wrathful to the whole community?" God agrees not to kill everyone but orders the Israelites to stand back from the tents of Korah and two other rebel leaders.
No question about it. Humans writing for other humans. Nothing divinely inspired here. It reminds me of a version of the crypto adage, “Never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by simple stupidity”, in this case, “Never ascribe to the Divine what can be explained by the Corrupt”
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Pushing the Reset Button
This is a very cool animation of what would happen if the Earth were struck by a large asteroid. If anything, I think it underestimates the damage, although just about the time I thought, "hey! there won't be any liquid water left!", the seas dried up. I'm also not sure the post-collision shape of the planet is correct. The relaxation time for the collision should be a few thousand years I think.
Anyway, enjoy!
Anyway, enjoy!
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Bleaaaauuurrrrrrgh!
Here's what you should do:
1) Click the link below
2) Look at the picture
3) Study the picture to figure out why it's so familiar and notice the lacy bra on the statue
4) Realize who this is and what it means (perferably while reading the text)
5) Bleaaaauuurrrrrrgh!
6) Laugh
Ready?
Go!
You're still here. You dont trust me, do you?
Wise.
Also, if you get the Dr. Manhatten reference without clicking the link to wiki, take 2 points from my "hold them in higher esteem" jar.
1) Click the link below
2) Look at the picture
3) Study the picture to figure out why it's so familiar and notice the lacy bra on the statue
4) Realize who this is and what it means (perferably while reading the text)
5) Bleaaaauuurrrrrrgh!
6) Laugh
Ready?
Go!
You're still here. You dont trust me, do you?
Wise.
Also, if you get the Dr. Manhatten reference without clicking the link to wiki, take 2 points from my "hold them in higher esteem" jar.
Lesbian Ann Coulter
and this time I dont' mean my son's roommate*. Remember folks, you heard it here first almost 2 years ago!
Tammy Bruce — conservative writer, former president of NOW in Los Angeles, former KFI-AM radio talk show host — is said to be a lover of Ann Coulter. Bruce has always disclosed on her radio show that she is a full-on lesbian. It’s said that Coulter and Bruce were seen at a women’s bar on “little Santa Monica Blvd” called Palms just west of La Cienega in West Hollywood. For her to trash Bill Clinton about him being gay seems strange, unless you recall Newt Gingrich pushing “family values” when he has had three wives and was dating his third wife while married to his first wife.
I guess the fact that I'm quoting Wonkette isn't really a plus here, is it?
*as part of a long standing joke, I refer to my son's straight, male roommate as "Lesbian Ann Coulter". The roommate is, as far as I know, completely unaware of this name and really has nothing to do with the joke. Further proof that's it's harder than it looks to be my child.
Tammy Bruce — conservative writer, former president of NOW in Los Angeles, former KFI-AM radio talk show host — is said to be a lover of Ann Coulter. Bruce has always disclosed on her radio show that she is a full-on lesbian. It’s said that Coulter and Bruce were seen at a women’s bar on “little Santa Monica Blvd” called Palms just west of La Cienega in West Hollywood. For her to trash Bill Clinton about him being gay seems strange, unless you recall Newt Gingrich pushing “family values” when he has had three wives and was dating his third wife while married to his first wife.
I guess the fact that I'm quoting Wonkette isn't really a plus here, is it?
*as part of a long standing joke, I refer to my son's straight, male roommate as "Lesbian Ann Coulter". The roommate is, as far as I know, completely unaware of this name and really has nothing to do with the joke. Further proof that's it's harder than it looks to be my child.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Artifical Life: Breve
This simulator is very cool. I got a walker up and running on my 2proc, 2.8Ghz, Win2K3 machine in about 10 minutes. I'm waiting for it to start running.
A Joke
From a six-year-old named Clint, passed to me by his Uncle Bill
(FTR, I have not edited this in anyway)
The Joke:What did one seagull say to the other seagull???
The Answer: In the comments
(FTR, I have not edited this in anyway)
The Joke:What did one seagull say to the other seagull???
The Answer: In the comments
Monday, July 24, 2006
City of Heroes Scrapbook
My current time-wasting hobby, City of Heroes, allows me to take instant, in-game photos. I've been doing it for a few months now and finally got around to making a scrapbook.
It's unsorted, except by date. I may go in at some point and add text to a number of photos. My main 'toon, BluShield, hit the top of the game on 3/4/06. Captain Physics hit 50 on 7/5/06.
It's unsorted, except by date. I may go in at some point and add text to a number of photos. My main 'toon, BluShield, hit the top of the game on 3/4/06. Captain Physics hit 50 on 7/5/06.
My Extremely Generous Contributions at Work
As you know if you read this blog, I give a lot of money to the ACLU. There are two benefits to this; 1) the protect my freedom and 2) it annoys the boy to know the money that would otherwise go to X-box stuff is going to a "liberal" group.
You also know, if you read this, I'm no fan of Fred Phelps.
And now, my hard earned sheckles are going to defend him. Ugh.
ACLU Backs Funeral Picketers:
The ACLU has filed suit on behalf of a religious group that pickets military funerals with anti-gay messages. The suit challenges the state of Missouri's law barring picketing near military funerals. An equivalent federal measure was signed into law earlier this year.
I dont agree, but I really am fighting (at least by proxy) for his right to be a jerk.
You also know, if you read this, I'm no fan of Fred Phelps.
And now, my hard earned sheckles are going to defend him. Ugh.
ACLU Backs Funeral Picketers:
The ACLU has filed suit on behalf of a religious group that pickets military funerals with anti-gay messages. The suit challenges the state of Missouri's law barring picketing near military funerals. An equivalent federal measure was signed into law earlier this year.
I dont agree, but I really am fighting (at least by proxy) for his right to be a jerk.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Going to Pucking Fluto!
errr... sorry. I just got a little overwrought.
While deep in the internal politics of Microsoft and the external politics of Paragon City, I completely missed the fact that we've launched a probe to Pluto.
Pluto!
You can track its progress here.
Holy Sharking Fit!
While deep in the internal politics of Microsoft and the external politics of Paragon City, I completely missed the fact that we've launched a probe to Pluto.
Pluto!
You can track its progress here.
Holy Sharking Fit!
The Art of the Insult
New Street Taunts
F R O M T H E A R C H I V E S
MY NEW STREETTAUNTS, VOL. I:THE THINGS WHICH IWILL DO TO YOU,IF YOU CROSS ME.
BY AMIE BARRODALE
- - - -
I will sedate you with a drug used for sedation, then I will remove your eyes, and insert two small sparrows into the house that is your skull. Then I will replace your eyeballs, careful to see that each eye is returned into its proper respective hole. You will awake thinking nothing has happened. You will feel right as rain.
Speaking of rain, friend, spring approaches, and the songbird sets about her singing, to attract mates. The male bird finds the female bird, and then the two birds make love, many times. The female lays her eggs and sits on them, to keep them warm. When the chicks hatch, it will get weird for you.
F R O M T H E A R C H I V E S
MY NEW STREETTAUNTS, VOL. I:THE THINGS WHICH IWILL DO TO YOU,IF YOU CROSS ME.
BY AMIE BARRODALE
- - - -
I will sedate you with a drug used for sedation, then I will remove your eyes, and insert two small sparrows into the house that is your skull. Then I will replace your eyeballs, careful to see that each eye is returned into its proper respective hole. You will awake thinking nothing has happened. You will feel right as rain.
Speaking of rain, friend, spring approaches, and the songbird sets about her singing, to attract mates. The male bird finds the female bird, and then the two birds make love, many times. The female lays her eggs and sits on them, to keep them warm. When the chicks hatch, it will get weird for you.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
The Thinglonger
I'm not saying I beleive this, it seems a little hokey, and I haven't read the actual paper this is based on.
However, I did notice a few years ago that my index and ring fingers are almost exactly the same length (my index finger is just a hair longer than my ring finger), and that this is unusual.
Now, there may be an explaination.
I will also point out that both of my siblings are a little dyslexic. Actually, my brother quite a bit more than my sister.
The study drew on work in the last few years which established that the levels of estrogen and testosterone a person has can be seen in the relative length of their index (second) and ring (fourth) fingers. The ratio of the lengths is set before birth and remains the same throughout life.
The length of fingers is genetically linked to the sex hormones, and a person with an index finger shorter than the ring finger will have had more testosterone while in the womb, and a person with an index finger longer than the ring finger will have had more estrogen. The difference in the lengths can be small – as little as two or three per cent – but important.
A survey of the finger lengths of over 100 male and female academics at the University by senior Psychology lecturer Dr Mark Brosnan has found that those men teaching hard science like mathematics and physics tend to have index fingers as long as their ring fingers, a marker for unusually high estrogen levels for males.
...
(via)
However, I did notice a few years ago that my index and ring fingers are almost exactly the same length (my index finger is just a hair longer than my ring finger), and that this is unusual.
Now, there may be an explaination.
I will also point out that both of my siblings are a little dyslexic. Actually, my brother quite a bit more than my sister.
The study drew on work in the last few years which established that the levels of estrogen and testosterone a person has can be seen in the relative length of their index (second) and ring (fourth) fingers. The ratio of the lengths is set before birth and remains the same throughout life.
The length of fingers is genetically linked to the sex hormones, and a person with an index finger shorter than the ring finger will have had more testosterone while in the womb, and a person with an index finger longer than the ring finger will have had more estrogen. The difference in the lengths can be small – as little as two or three per cent – but important.
A survey of the finger lengths of over 100 male and female academics at the University by senior Psychology lecturer Dr Mark Brosnan has found that those men teaching hard science like mathematics and physics tend to have index fingers as long as their ring fingers, a marker for unusually high estrogen levels for males.
...
(via)
Billys Ballon
Interesting, funny and ...well... a little disturbing. Try not to think about this the next time you go to the circus...
Friday, July 14, 2006
Origami
Not many people would think to make a statue of Cthulhu out of a sheet of paper, and yet .... there it is!
The FSM makes an appearence as well.
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