perfidy

Work/life interfere. Blogging curtailed.

Oldsmoblogger:

I'd rather live in a country where torture is never justified, but where there are enough of us who would throw ourselves on a grenade for our fellow human beings.

Well said.

By the way, thinking of Oldsmo things, my wife and I just bought a used Oldsmobile to replace the faltering but stalwart Great Black Beast of the North. Great car (the new car's pretty good too.) On Friday I found myself in New York rush hour traffic on the way to a wedding in Jersey, in an Oldsmobile (my Oldsmobile), listening to Norah Jones and still wearing the tie I wore to work. It occurred to me: no way am I a kid any more.

Found this over at Phil's. It's well worth a read. The studied indifference of the beautiful people to the very real suffering of any Cuban who dares speak against Uncle Fidel is an abomination. Where is their support for those who speak truth to power, and subvert the dominant paradigm, when that power is a communist? People who fall over themselves saying America should be a pariah among nations for our pragmatic alliances with unsavory types during the cold war gush at the thought of meeting Castro. Sick. But read this piece, to get another angle on the sickness.

How do I know this? Because Dr. Jack Hyles tells me so.

Make a Snowflake.

And no, that's not a porn title. These guys here have sent a rocket into actual outer space with a ham radio payload. Well, Low Earth Orbit anyway. I had hoped to scoop Rocket Jones, but he got this up a minute ago. Damn. (Although since our clocks are not synchronized, it looks like I beay him by three minutes. Would I lie to you?) Nevertheless, the groundswell of private space enterprise continues to, well, swell. Next thing you know, me and Mrs. Buckethead will be booking a vacation on the moon. Do you have any idea how cool an amusement park you could create in one-sixth g?

Just thought I'd let you all know that at this moment, ten hours and 30 minutes after gay marriage became legal in Massachusetts, the following has occurred:

• Rain of fire seen over Scituate.
• Boston harbor has turned to blood.
• The dread Pazuzeu has perched atop the Boston statehouse and is belching fire and gall at passersby. Mayor Menino has been hospitalized.
• The Provincetown ferry has been dragged 'neath the waves by a many-tentacled horror from the deep.
• Northampton is sliding into a smoking crevice; crevice wasn't there yesterday.
• The population of the North Shore, from Lynn to Newburyport, have transformed into swine and are running amok.
• Bands of harpies have descended upon Harvard Square and are scalping all and sundry. Students, faculty, and homeless have taken refuge in tunnels.
• The legions of the dead walk the earth again.
• The armies of the Vast Homosexual Conspiracy, festooned in rainbow flags, march on Lexington intent on buggery, buggery, buggery.
• Civilization as we know it is gasping its dying breath.

In addition

• The sun is shining.
• The flowers are pretty.
• All of the above has thus far failed to happen.

[wik] John Scalzi has some words of advice for newlyweds, gay and otherwise, and says something I'd like to echo:

"I cannot speak for all married people, but I can speak for myself. Marriage has been so good to me that I cannot imagine not sharing it with anyone who wants it. I celebrate your weddings, and I offer the greatest gift I have: That you receive in your married life the joy I have had in mine, and that you share that joy, every day, with an open and loving heart. You're about to be married. There is nothing better.

To those about to be married: Welcome, friends. It's good to have you here.

Loyal reader MapGirl alerts us to a disturbing situation, reported over at The Cheese Stands Alone. At first, I could not but believe that this was some sort of allegory, or satirical comment on the failings of modern culture. If true, and I am certainly willing to extend my faith to encompass this, I am frankly stunned.

Go read it. Back?

My father never uttered the phrase, "I'll give you something to cry about." However, a similar thought crossed my mind while reading that post. I don't think I'd be able to avoid intimidating this... person... ever after. I have never lost a game of Trivial Pursuit. (Well, except once. But I was blind stinking drunk and playing seven people on the other team. And even then it was close.) I would make references to things you've never heard of. I'd couch every comment, every request, every passing remark in a thicket of classical, historical, and early 80s pop culture allusions. I would go to absurd lengths to make my every communication absolutely unintelligible to someone who doesn't read as much as I do. Then I'd start making things up. Then mix them together. And if she made a move to file a complaint again, I'd kick the crap out of her. Then I'd say, "Take the hit. That's what intimidation is." On the inside.

My wife doesn't let me be mean anymore.

Popular Science has a fascinating bit up describing some of the technological goodies the DoD is preparing in its secret labs, so that we might smite our enemies with ever greater lethality, accuracy and "Damn, wtf was that?"

Among said goodies are rods from the gods, rocket propelled torpedos, lasers, and million rpm machine guns. Sweet. In the comments to a recent post, GeekLethal made the observation that, "I think it's great that as mankind reaches for the heavens, he is never so bold as to entirely disregard looking cool." The same applies to guns.

By way of Rocket Jones, this nugget of brevity from Mr. Green:

Abu Ghraib represents a betrayal of our principles, while this murder [Nicholas Berg - RJ] represents an expression of theirs.

That's about the best summation of the relationship between the two events as I've seen.

An egghead larva at CWRU has potentially made many sports fans very, very happy indeed.

Adam Hunnell, a first-year student in Case's Physics Entrepreneurship Program has conceived the Keg Wrap, a portable method for keeping beer kegs cold indefinitely.

He has received a $20,000 grant from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) to build a prototype.

Hunnell's idea is to design a wrap, made of nylon or a similar material, using thermoelectrics. The wrap will be cold enough to keep a keg at between 32 and 35 degrees Fahrenheit. It can be powered by a conventional electrical outlet or an automobile's cigarette lighter.

Now that's money well spent.