Jedis For Jesus

Because you haven’t had enough stories about nerd-on-nerd violence today.

I'm The Only Gay Eskimo

I haven't heard this song in forever, but it was one of those brilliant discoveries enabled by the network sharing my freshman year of college.
Hah, like the proclaimers would sing it!

China's Weather Army

So yeah. I am more than a little worried about this. I mean, how messed up is this:

                               

“37,000 part-time workers--mostly peasant farmers--who are on call to blast away at clouds with 7,113 anti-aircraft guns and 4,991 rocket launchers.”

 

I mean seriously.  Isn’t the world at large a little worried about this? Are we going to shift from the “missile gap” to the “cloud cover gap”? This is pretty fucked up right here…

Girls Gone Wild Under Attack? Say It Ain't So

Haha yeah, let me shed a tear for poor little Joe Francis. Boo-hoo. He probably has the dream-job of every post-pubescent, infantile frat-boy on earth, has made millions of dollars, and had to serve a short jail stint in the process. My empathic gauge is reading near-zero.

That said, i would be curious to know a little bit more about the issue. While my first inclination is simply to dismiss him and his complaining, there is some possible legitimacy in his claims. Sometimes those that live on the fringe (the moral, physical, or ideological edge) are the ones that are also the first to call shenanigans in the established systems of governance. Who knows, maybe he's right? What a sad comment on our society that would be, though; it takes a pornographer fighting for his right to show naked girls to fight corruption in the justice system?
Sometimes I weep for the indifference of good people.

I'm All Wet...But My Martini Is Still Dry

Well it's about time... this will make commuting to my underwater lair *so* much easier...
It's actually a pretty legit piece of hardware, check it out.

Celebrity Jeopardy [archive]

ahhh, an oldie but a goodie.

Philly Fringe Live Arts Festival

For those of you who didn't get a chance to make it out to it last year, you missed some really cool stuff. Even if you're not all that artsy, or into the intensity of wonder or the pain of existence, still some fun theater and interesting dance to keep you interested. And if you're into riffing on the more out-there stuff...well there's plenty of that, too.

Check it out.

The Missing Nuclear Link

For a long time, the only real hurdle for nuclear power has been that of waste disposal. The de-facto public opinion moratorium on nuclear development has basically destroyed the nuclear research apparatus in the United States over the past thirty years. So it’s kind of miraculous that a company outside of the U.S. has come through and really provided a miraculous solution to cover the technology gap involving the processing of nuclear waste. With my standard level of skepticism, I am reserving judgment until a little more information is available, but at first blush this is a fascinating and very exciting development. Even if it only succeeds in some lower efficiency, it is still a great step forward and will likely spur further development in every aspect of nuclear research as more people recognize the viability and benefits of nuclear power.

 

I think this should really go a long way towards our long-lead mitigation of the growing gap in energy production and energy usage; a portfolio of nuclear, upgraded transmission, hydroelectric, solar, and the niche renewables. This is really the only way to shuffle off the yoke of carbon-based generation, and I hope that a true portfolio approach is adopted/accepted by the general populace and the decision-makers within industry and government.

The Next Generation of Airline Warnings

You know, considering the fact that nobody even pays attention to the safety procedures onboard aircraft, i would think it would make much more sense to have them mix it up a little bit by showing some of these...i mean, at least you'd be paying attention, even if you got a little riled up during the pre-flight. And honestly, I would laugh my ass off the whole time.

A Glimpse Into My Future...

Yup. I can pretty much see myself doing this sort of thing already, like when my little cousins ask me questions at family get-togethers and their eyes glaze over in the first 15 seconds of my explanation. Until I throw a ping-pong ball at them and stick my tongue out. It's a pretty rapid digression from that point.

And What Do We Burn, Apart From Witches?

Room-Temp Superconductor

The thing about this goal is that it's a lot like cold fusion. lots of hype all over the place, but rarely has there been much realistic promise. If this is different, then that will be incredible, and very good. I'm just not getting my hopes up quite yet.
Of course once economical super-conductors become available, we will be able to solve all kinds of problems involving electrical losses. Grid transmission of electricity could very easily gain a 50% boost in efficiency, electromagnets would enable much more reasonable cost mag-lev technology, all manner of electronics would be affected... the list goes on. So I'm optimistic in the long run, but call me jaded for the short-term

A Moment Of Silence, Please

Arthur C. Clarke has passed, and with him a body of knowledge and incredible talent. I don’t even need to go into the brilliance resident in his many works, among them some of my favorite books of all time: Childhood’s End, 2001, Rendezvous With Rama…the list goes on.

Between Clarke, Asimov, and Heinlein, science fiction became as much a discipline and a medium of philosophy and social critique as it was simple entertainment.

I can only hope that future generations recognize him for his vision and clarity of prediction; he will be missed.

1: Cut A Hole In The Box

I know I know, it's old and everyone's already seen it. But it still makes me laugh out loud, so here it is anyway...

The New Breed of Whale-Cows. Because Manatees Just Don't Cut It...

you have *got* to be kidding me.

What's the Plural for Alien Fetus?

Ummmm...I'll take two, please. Deep fried.

Pretty funny page about creating your own pet alien fetus.

Pavlov's Cats

Hah!

Day Five: Cat rang bell...I ate food.