Archive for December, 2011

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Space Harpoon


21 Dec

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Posted in Science, Technology | Comments Off

NASA is developing a harpoon. They aren’t looking for blubber (Star Trek IV taught us not to kill the whales), but for other natural resources, in comets.

This isn’t an offensive weapon. It’s a research tool. The goal is for astronauts to be able to harpoon a comet and bring samples back so that they can study what comets are made of and how they are formed. But, knowing how comets are made could help us learn how to deflect them away from the earth.

And, we’ll leave the tip of the harpoon in the comet. What a nice souvenir.

Movie Review: Bangkok Dangerous


20 Dec

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Nicolas Cage is now rich, famous, and eccentric enough that he pretty much only does movies he wants to do now. But he apparently has bad taste in movies, because I don’t know that I can name the last Nic Cage movie I actually liked.

Bangkok Dangerous wasn’t exactly a bad movie, but it wasn’t a good movie either. The romantic plot made very little sense, the action plot was formulaic, with a natural set up for a sequel I hope they never make.

Once upon a time, seeing Nic Cage’s name on a movie wasn’t an instant turn off.

Movie Review: Where the Wild Things Are


19 Dec

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I very much remember Maurice Sendak’s art from when I was a kid, but I cannot honestly say I remember the story, other than Max gets sent to bed without dinner, goes to Where the Wild Things Are and then comes home. That allowed me to enjoy the story of the movie without comparing it to the book.

It was a quiet movie, in many senses, and I very much appreciated the way relationships were shown. However, I do not get why he got to eat chocolate cake after running away, since there was never an apology to his mother.

Blog Feature: That Mutt


18 Dec

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Posted in blogging, Dogs, Pets, Writing | Comments Off

Sick yesterday so forgot to post this

 

I read mostly personal finance and pet blogs. Since I started this feature with a personal finance blog, this week, we’re looking at a pet blog. Lindsay at ThatMutt is one of my favorite pet bloggers. She has a practical world view and is more about getting pets into good homes than into a “perfect” home. As Voltiare said, “the perfect is the enemy of the good”.

Today, I am highlighting her post about running with dogs, since that’s her business and I am uber impressed by her ability to run a marathon, let alone roughly 15 miles, every day.

RIP Christopher Hitchens


16 Dec

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Posted in Authors & Books, Religion | Comments Off

Christopher Hitchens has passed away. He found out not that long ago that he had late stage, aggressive cancer. He kept writing up until the end.

As a devout atheist, Hitch never asked for prayers or a miracle beyond what modern medicine could give him. He was often more extreme in his anti-religion vehemence than I am, but he was a clear voice, a strong one, for those of us who do not believe.

And he’s proof you don’t need an immortal soul to live past your death. His writing will keep him with us for a very long time.

Tebow vs Brady


15 Dec

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Posted in Football | 1 Comment »

I’ve long been able to ignore football games between two teams I dislike. Back in January 1990, I threw an anti-Superbowl party. I shunned one of the greatest QB matchups ever- Montana vs Elway –because I did not like the teams.

This weekend, the Broncos play the Patriots- Tebow vs Brady. As a Raiders fan, I dislike both teams, but I am finding myself hoping the Pats win. (And yes, it’s killing me.) But my dislike of the Broncos is older, and I’m really tired of hearing about Tebow. He’s obviously a good leader, but he’s not a great QB.

Public Swimming Pool, White Only


14 Dec

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Posted in Discrimination, Politics, Racism | Comments Off

Okay, how stupid do you have to be? Honestly, who thinks that in the US today, they can get away with a “White Only” sign restricting access to a supposedly public place? And the whole purpose was to discriminate against one girl, because the landlord for the pool claimed she used hair chemicals that would make the pool cloudy.

How do you know she uses any chemicals in her hair, let alone what chemicals? Find another way to deal, like requesting the people wear swimming caps. But don’t expect to be able to blatantly discriminate and be given a pass.

He’ll Love It


13 Dec

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While it is the car commercials that get most of my vitriol this time of year, jewelry commercials are not much better. This idea that all women want diamonds, or that we want a mass produced special collection bugs me. I’m not saying that some women don’t want these things, just not all.

However, I have to admit I appreciate theBenBridgecommercials I’m seeing right now. Why? Because for once, the man isn’t giving the little lady a piece of jewelry, but because in these, the woman is giving the man jewelry (yes, a Rolex counts as jewelry).

Avoiding Bed Bugs


12 Dec

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No one likes bugs in their bedding. Not even people living 77,000 years ago wanted bugs in their beds.

So that’s probably not the most important scientific takeaway that will come from the stack of bedding found in a South African cave. The oldest of the mats are 50,000 years older than the previously known oldest plant bedding. And the use of these particular plants reveals that the inhabitants had a strong understanding of the world around them.

All of this is fascinating, but my favorite parts it that they used a plant whose crushed leaves are naturally insect repellant.

Carpool Lane Rant


11 Dec

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Posted in Travel | Comments Off

I do not care that there are two people in your car. If you decide to move yourself over in to the carpool lane, you need to be going faster (or at least the same speed) as traffic on the rest of the freeway. Moving over into the carpool lane and then proceeding to drive 10mph SLOWER than everyone else is NOT kosher. It’s especially not kosher when you have oversized boards sticking out the back of your truck. Yes, you should in fact be going slow, but there is NO need for you to be in the carpool lane.

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