March 31, 2004
Yo Ho Huh?
I have no idea why there is this connection, and from the dates involved it doesn't seem to be an April Fool thing, but apparently evidence of saltwater on Mars fulfilled conditions for a pledge by Long John Silver's to give away giant shrimp in May.
So wheeee! Free space saltwater Mars shrimp!
(thanks to Glen of course)
March 27, 2004
"Hello, World!" one year later
I forgot to post this on Friday, March 26th, 2004 but remember this?
Is this thing on?
There has to be some kind of default for first blog entries. If this was a computer program, I'd use "Hello, World!".
Heck, why not?
Hello, World!
Posted by Chris at 01:48 PM | Comments (0)
Want the original? Go here!
March 26, 2004
Just like visiting England
The choice of category here was questionable...
For all you fry-up fans, here it is--the Jackie Annual 1979 stylish fried breakfast hat and handbag. You too can Knit Your Own Fry Up!
Just so you know, Jackie includes a Portion of Peas, not technically a fried item but that's what it says in Jackie so we won't argue.
...because Joyce is enough.
I'm thinking of giving Craig his own author password on the site, because he keeps coming up with great sites like the 10 worst album covers of all time.
Rescue Dragon
No, it's not a new cartoon show. It's a... well... you should see for yourself because the description just doesn't do it justice.
Thanks to Craig for the heads up.
All on the same side now
When Bush said he'd be a uniter, he probably didn't mean uniting Democrats against him.
Hope for the Hubble?
I know I'm obsessed with this, but I guess I'm not the only one. We've got some U.S. Senators (bipartisan!) introducing a resolution to keep the blessed thing going. Yay!
March 25, 2004
Our Robot Masters
I'm finding all kinds of stuff today:
So, er, what's your cyborg name?
Speaking of a fight...
From Geov Parrish in the WorkingForChange newsletter:
This year's presidential race is going to be the most important the United States, and the world, has seen in decades. At least. And it is going to be very, very nasty. Liberals had better stop being nice, stop being complacent or cynical or despairing or disengaged, and take your gloves off. Now.
If you were defending yourself, your spouse, your loved ones, your kids from a life-threatening menace, you wouldn't engage in polite debate with the menace. You'd do what was necessary to make sure it could do no harm. That's Election 2004. Your job prospects are on the line. Your retirement. Your future health care. Your civil liberties. Your constitutional rights. Your kids' educations. Their kids' portion of the insane debts now being paid off to the hyperwealthy, assuming there's a natural world left to be poor in by the time these parasites finish any second term. And, beyond it all, it's your city or town increasingly likely to be targeted by some fanatic from some far side of the world who hates what your government did to murder his family.
Fight the good fight
Our midwife, Barbara Herrera, is on the news and in the papers these days because her partner Sarah is fighting to get marriage benefits now that they're legally married.
A few things I love about this case:
- it underscores the real difference between marriage and a civil union (they have both now, but marriage gives better benefits);
- the county originally granted marriage benefits, but then revoked them citing an "administrative error";
- as the U-T article points out, "There are 1,138 federal provisions and several hundred state provisions where marriage is a factor in determining benefits, rights and responsibilities," again deflating the "separate but equal" argument.
Gooooo, team!
March 24, 2004
Totally Random
This is probably only of interest to me, but I'm posting it as a reminder to myself. A Swiss company called ID Quantique is offering a chip-sized source of true randomness based on an optical quantum process. They've partnered with the University of Geneva to create a random number generator Web site anyone can use.
Why do I care about true randomness? A while back, after reading the His Dark Materials trilogy, I decided that it would be neat to build a working alethiometer. It would consist of some simple electronics moving a needle around in a standard pocketwatch case. The needle would move around "randomly", using a series of true random numbers to determine which symbols to point to.
True randomness from a quantum source would be key, because anything less would mean that the character sequence would be influenced by deterministic effects. Hm. That doesn't sound quite right, so ask me to explain if you're curious.
March 23, 2004
My Girlfriend Can Totally Beat Up Your Girlfriend
Not sure why I'm posting a link to the Glarkware site, only that it seems really fun and alternative and snarky and they have tee-shirts that say things like the above and "Seventies Sci-Fi Was All About Hexagons" and stuff.
Plus we haven't had a "shopping" entry in a while, have we?
BTW, I found it from Television Without Pity which is all about making fun of the current crop of popular shows and is therefore my new addiction.
March 22, 2004
Where low tech = revolutionary
Mohammed Bah Abba, an engineer and consultant for the UN, has developed a very interesting refrigerator for people without electricity. His invention, the pot-in-pot, is simple to the point of being revolutionary. I'd love to put one of these together just to see what kind of temperature gradient it can produce in hot weather. It wouldn't work so well in San Diego (not hot enough and too humid), but I bet Las Vegas or another Mojave city would be a good testing ground...
March 21, 2004
Red roses on a red planet?
All that iron-rich soil has to be good for something. At least the Mars Botanic Garden people seem to think so....
You might like the souvenirs.
March 19, 2004
It's good to have allies
Since many folks seem surprised when I tell them about the Bush adminstration's latest problems with Medicare, jobs, WMD, mercury, and a host of other issues, I figured a link to the House Committee on Government Reform Minority Office was in order.
That's a mouthful, but basically it's an inside-the-beltway watchdog group investigating, among other things, the Administration's duplicitous statements about public policy. (i.e. the aforementioned Lies and Lying Liars.)
Bush Evades Own Trade Ban
From today's Daily Mislead:
According to a new report, President Bush's official campaign is selling clothing made in Burma - a country whose goods Bush banned for sale in the U.S. because of their awful human rights, narcotics and sex trafficking record. According to Newsday, "the merchandise sold on www.georgewbushstore.com includes a $49.95 fleece pullover, embroidered with the Bush-Cheney '04 logo and bearing a label stating it was made in Burma, now Myanmar.
Read the rest and be sure to sign up for the e-mail newsletter. It's good stuff.
Hubble, Hubble, toil and trouble
Sorry, couldn't think of anything else. Apparently American astronauts have joined in the protests against the destruction of the Hubble Telescope. There really has to be some way of making a reprieve, and I admire the astronauts who are willing to continue risking their lives in the name of science.
I'm especially annoyed because I heard yesterday that fundies on Bush's staff are pushing to get rid of the Hubble because it provides too much evidence about the actual age of the universe.... Grrrrr....
March 18, 2004
The Bad Space News
It may sound odd, but I'm not too keen on the Bush administration's new space initiative. On the surface it may seem like everything I've asked for from NASA (a coherent direction, emphasis on permanent Moon/Mars colonies). Unfortunately, at its core it suffers from the Bush syndrome: too much pork and not nearly enough direction or funding.
This Space Daily article sums it up much better than I could. I can only hope that once Kerry gets into office he'll take the rhetoric and make it into a real space program.
The Good Space News
If you haven't heard of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, take a few moments to peruse their newly-updated Web site. SDSS has been painstakingly mapping a big chunk of the known universe - every star, every galaxy, everything we can see with telescopes.
Best of all, they're releasing all their data to the public - about 6 terabytes so far (or as Steve Jobs would put it, "two million songs".) That translates to lots and lots and lots of really neat eye-candy, plus a bunch of fun science projects made possible by this much data.
[Feb 2006 UPDATE: Fixed the links to point to the main Sloan site; deep linking seems to break whenever a new version is launched.]
Aargh - More Fun in Rhea County
Remember Inherit the Wind and the Scopes "monkey trial"? The same county, Rhea County, Tennessee, had a commissioners' meeting on Tuesday, March 16, and voted unanimously to make homosexuality within the county illegal.
Obviously didn't pay attention to the Supreme Court decision from last year....
March 17, 2004
Quite a thing to see
Neil Young's newest film/music project, Greendale, looks interesting. I'm not sure which is most intriguing: the music, the story, or the biodiesel tour buses...
March 13, 2004
Have Book, Will Travel
From the Really Keen Concepts department, there's this: Bookcrossing is a site that encourages "losing" books for others to find. The fun part? You mark your book with an ID number from the site and track its travels. You can also go find books others have left somewhere, and leave reviews on the site. It's a scavenger hunt and lending library and reading group in one!
March 12, 2004
Go, Speed Racer?
Ah, those quirky robotics fans are at it again.
Does the thought of a giant, driverless Machine of War losing its bearings by driving under a pedestrian bridge scare anyone else? I'm not sure whether to laugh myself silly, hide, or try to build my own...
March 06, 2004
Gay Culture Study
The American Association of Anthropologists recently came out with a statement on gay marriage.
KK, you should be proud of your people!
March 02, 2004
The Red Wet Planet
Woo hoo! The results are in, and it looks like Mars once had liquid water on its surface, according to tests conducted by Spirit and Opportunity.