This article in the WaPo on the world's first highwire competition:
They came from all over the world, poles in hand, and feet ready to inch more than half a mile across a high wire strung over the Han River in a spine-tingling battle of balance, speed and high anxiety.
As part of its annual city festival, the South Korean capital staged Thursday what was billed as the world's first high-wire championship, drawing 18 contestants from nine countries for three days of supreme feats of concentration.
Each acrobat must navigate the 1.2-inch-thick wire that spans the river, with the top prize of $15,000 going to the person crossing it fastest.
the title?
Skywalkers in Korea Cross Han Solo
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Friday, March 07, 2008
Trapping Lightning in a Box
This is pretty cool. If I had an unused electron accelerator around, I'd... wait a minute.... I do....
Threshold
Hillary Clinton says:
“I think that since we now know Sen. (John) McCain will be the nominee for the Republican Party, national security will be front and center in this election. We all know that. And I think it’s imperative that each of us be able to demonstrate we can cross the commander-in-chief threshold,” the New York senator told reporters crowded into an infant’s bedroom-sized hotel conference room in Washington.
odd. I think her only qualification for having crossed that threshold is having once fucked the commander-in-chief. If that's the threshold, shouldn't we elect Jennifer Flowers?
“I think that since we now know Sen. (John) McCain will be the nominee for the Republican Party, national security will be front and center in this election. We all know that. And I think it’s imperative that each of us be able to demonstrate we can cross the commander-in-chief threshold,” the New York senator told reporters crowded into an infant’s bedroom-sized hotel conference room in Washington.
odd. I think her only qualification for having crossed that threshold is having once fucked the commander-in-chief. If that's the threshold, shouldn't we elect Jennifer Flowers?
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Best Comment (so far) on Mini-Super Tuesday
OHIO POLLS CLOSED — OBAMA AND CLINTON ARE TIGHTER THAN THE LUG NUTS ON A ‘55 FORD
http://thepage.time.com/
Begging the question, how tight are your nuts?
http://thepage.time.com/
Begging the question, how tight are your nuts?
Gary Gygax Fails His Saving Throw
Looks like Death rolled a perfect 20.
If not for his contributions, video games and geek culture would probably look much different than it does today. Beyond jokes about "d20s" and "saving throws," D&D's systems and mythos have spawned many excellent games, including Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment.
Naturally, the Penny Arcade Boys are funnier than I am.
If not for his contributions, video games and geek culture would probably look much different than it does today. Beyond jokes about "d20s" and "saving throws," D&D's systems and mythos have spawned many excellent games, including Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment.
Naturally, the Penny Arcade Boys are funnier than I am.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Flame On!!
Charlotte Allen writes, in the Washington Post no less, a screed which any decent forum moderator in 1996 would instantly recognize as a troll and would shut down without remorse.
So I don't understand why more women don't relax, enjoy the innate abilities most of us possess (as well as the ones fewer of us possess) and revel in the things most important to life at which nearly all of us excel: tenderness toward children and men and the weak and the ability to make a house a home. (Even I, who inherited my interior-decorating skills from my Bronx Irish paternal grandmother, whose idea of upgrading the living-room sofa was to throw a blanket over it, can make a house a home.) Then we could shriek and swoon and gossip and read chick lit to our hearts' content and not mind the fact that way down deep, we are . . . kind of dim.
It's times like this I miss Susan so much it hurts.
I'll give it a few days, then check with Travis' blog. He must, eventually, link to this approvingly, which should be entertaining.
So I don't understand why more women don't relax, enjoy the innate abilities most of us possess (as well as the ones fewer of us possess) and revel in the things most important to life at which nearly all of us excel: tenderness toward children and men and the weak and the ability to make a house a home. (Even I, who inherited my interior-decorating skills from my Bronx Irish paternal grandmother, whose idea of upgrading the living-room sofa was to throw a blanket over it, can make a house a home.) Then we could shriek and swoon and gossip and read chick lit to our hearts' content and not mind the fact that way down deep, we are . . . kind of dim.
It's times like this I miss Susan so much it hurts.
I'll give it a few days, then check with Travis' blog. He must, eventually, link to this approvingly, which should be entertaining.
Weather Isn't Climate
Climate Change Skeptics are jumping on the snowy winter in exactly the same way they criticize Climate Change Advocates for doing suring a hot summer. NYT tries to set folks right.
“When I get called by CNN to comment on a big summer storm or a drought or something, I give the same answer I give a guy who asks about a blizzard,” Dr. Schmidt said. “It’s all in the long-term trends. Weather isn’t going to go away because of climate change. There is this desire to explain everything that we see in terms of something you think you understand, whether that’s the next ice age coming or global warming.”
I admit I have a some sympathy for the skeptics side, but they demolish their credibility when they do this. The question isn't, "is the climate changing?". They answer is yes, and it's always changing. The question is "why? and should we do anything about it? and if so, what could we possibly do that would have the effect we're looking for?"
The answer to that last question is decades if not centuries away.
“When I get called by CNN to comment on a big summer storm or a drought or something, I give the same answer I give a guy who asks about a blizzard,” Dr. Schmidt said. “It’s all in the long-term trends. Weather isn’t going to go away because of climate change. There is this desire to explain everything that we see in terms of something you think you understand, whether that’s the next ice age coming or global warming.”
I admit I have a some sympathy for the skeptics side, but they demolish their credibility when they do this. The question isn't, "is the climate changing?". They answer is yes, and it's always changing. The question is "why? and should we do anything about it? and if so, what could we possibly do that would have the effect we're looking for?"
The answer to that last question is decades if not centuries away.
A Face of Autism
I submit this this to those of you who, while introverted, have self-diagnosed as autistic.
Grow up, I say.
Grow up, I say.
UFO House For Sale
Balmoral - Chattanooga, Tennessee - UFO "Space" House Auction
The flying saucer-shaped "Space House" on Chattanooga's Signal Mountain will be sold in an auction on March 15, 2008. It's not a Futuro saucer house, but a more custom dwelling, white with windows girdling the center and a balcony facing the woods. The Space House is suspended on six concrete pillars with 2,000 square feet of living space that includes three bedrooms and two bathroom.
Owned for a long time by a mysterious-but-friendly (our favorite combination) couple, the house was first reported on sale in Spring 2007.
Call the auction team at 423-473-9545 for more information. [Thanks to Robot Greg for the tip] [RoadsideAmerica.com Team, 03/02/2008]
Full Article here
The flying saucer-shaped "Space House" on Chattanooga's Signal Mountain will be sold in an auction on March 15, 2008. It's not a Futuro saucer house, but a more custom dwelling, white with windows girdling the center and a balcony facing the woods. The Space House is suspended on six concrete pillars with 2,000 square feet of living space that includes three bedrooms and two bathroom.
Owned for a long time by a mysterious-but-friendly (our favorite combination) couple, the house was first reported on sale in Spring 2007.
Call the auction team at 423-473-9545 for more information. [Thanks to Robot Greg for the tip] [RoadsideAmerica.com Team, 03/02/2008]
Full Article here
"Quote of the Century"
“We are holding Jesus ransom until you clean up the poopie from your wieners….”
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=86444&GID=quUABRwKFiMFpx5+VMt5h5e8lLCcqd3lS+1q9w04Mc0%3D
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=86444&GID=quUABRwKFiMFpx5+VMt5h5e8lLCcqd3lS+1q9w04Mc0%3D
Friday, February 29, 2008
The Worldwide Telescope
This is a pretty awesome piece of technology from Microsoft Research.
Giving credit where credit is due, Microsoft said the WorldWide Telescope builds on work that started with computer scientist Jim Gray's work on SkyServer and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The new program has been dedicated to Gray's memory. Here's a short article by Gray and Alexander Szalay that lays out the philosophy behind the project. Curtis Wong of Microsoft Research's Next Media group plays a lead role in the WorldWide Telescope project and conducted today's demonstration at TED.
Giving credit where credit is due, Microsoft said the WorldWide Telescope builds on work that started with computer scientist Jim Gray's work on SkyServer and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The new program has been dedicated to Gray's memory. Here's a short article by Gray and Alexander Szalay that lays out the philosophy behind the project. Curtis Wong of Microsoft Research's Next Media group plays a lead role in the WorldWide Telescope project and conducted today's demonstration at TED.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
With Friends Like These...
I have thought now and again that I could vote for McCain. While I don't agree with him on a lot of things, I didn't think he was batshit crazy or someone else's puppet.
Things like this though, really drive me away:
Mr. McCain, who has been on a steady search for support among conservative and evangelical leaders who have long distrusted him, said he was “very honored'’ by Mr. Hagee’s endorsement. Asked about Mr. Hagee’s extensive writings on Armageddon and about what one questioner said was Mr. Hagee’s belief that the anti-Christ will be the head of the European Union, Mr. McCain responded that “all I can tell you is that I am very proud to have Pastor John Hagee’s support.'’
I simply wont vote for someone who thinks *this* generation is the protagonist in a 2000 year old end-of-the-world prophecy and is seeking to fulfill it by declairing non-stop war, I dont care how he tries to triangulate it.
Things like this though, really drive me away:
Mr. McCain, who has been on a steady search for support among conservative and evangelical leaders who have long distrusted him, said he was “very honored'’ by Mr. Hagee’s endorsement. Asked about Mr. Hagee’s extensive writings on Armageddon and about what one questioner said was Mr. Hagee’s belief that the anti-Christ will be the head of the European Union, Mr. McCain responded that “all I can tell you is that I am very proud to have Pastor John Hagee’s support.'’
I simply wont vote for someone who thinks *this* generation is the protagonist in a 2000 year old end-of-the-world prophecy and is seeking to fulfill it by declairing non-stop war, I dont care how he tries to triangulate it.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
At Last!!
They said I could never get a date, but now I can Show Them!! I can SHOW THEM ALL!!!!!!!!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
WARNING: New Compact Fluorescent Bulbs Contain Radioactive Ebola Virus
From the Boston Globe:
The [study issued by the state of Maine and the Vermont-based Mercury Policy Project], which shattered 65 [compact fluorescent] bulbs to test air quality and clean-up methods made these recommendations: If a bulb breaks, get children and pets out of the room. Ventilate the room. Never use a vacuum -- even on a rug -- to clean up a compact fluorescent light. Instead, while wearing rubber gloves, use stiff paper such as index cards and tape to pick up pieces, then wipe the area with a wet wipe or damp paper towel. If there are young children or pregnant woman in the house, consider cutting out the piece of carpet where the bulb broke. Use a glass jar with a screw top to contain the shards and clean-up debris.
But, hey, at least the unbroken ones are green, right?
(via)
The [study issued by the state of Maine and the Vermont-based Mercury Policy Project], which shattered 65 [compact fluorescent] bulbs to test air quality and clean-up methods made these recommendations: If a bulb breaks, get children and pets out of the room. Ventilate the room. Never use a vacuum -- even on a rug -- to clean up a compact fluorescent light. Instead, while wearing rubber gloves, use stiff paper such as index cards and tape to pick up pieces, then wipe the area with a wet wipe or damp paper towel. If there are young children or pregnant woman in the house, consider cutting out the piece of carpet where the bulb broke. Use a glass jar with a screw top to contain the shards and clean-up debris.
But, hey, at least the unbroken ones are green, right?
(via)
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