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September 30, 2001
As the family was piling
As the family was piling back into the car this morning after church, Matthew (age 10) commented that most of his friends don't seem to get his jokes. Colin (age 8) piped in, saying, "Yeah, I told a joke in class the other day and nobody laughed." So Julie asked, with some trepidation, "What joke did you tell?" Colin replied, "A skeleton walks into a bar and says 'Gimme a beer and a mop.'"
While Julie and I were doubled over in the front seat from laughter at the thought of a classroom full of 3rd graders puzzling over this joke, Colin delivered the coup de grace, "Well, my teacher laughed." Julie asked, "She got the joke?" And Colin said, "Yeah, pretty quick, too."
Posted by John at 01:22 PM | Comments (0)
September 28, 2001
Update to yesterday's post on
Update to yesterday's post on banned books: You know, on second thought, there are some instances in which censorship is an appropriate tool. I still think it needs to be administered at the individual, family, and classroom levels, not by da gubmint. In this shocking example, British men's magazine FHM (think British Maxim or a slightly racier GQ) inadvertantly kills a girl. As noted above, opinions expressed here may not necessarily still be my opinions.
Posted by John at 03:35 PM | Comments (0)
As predicted back on 9/20,
As predicted back on 9/20, Osama-shoot-'em-up games have proliferated like rabbits. Newgrounds.com has collected a bunch of them. Try your luck! If you don't play, you can't win!
Posted by John at 02:41 PM | Comments (0)
Two sentences within the same
Two sentences within the same article provide a jarring contrast:
(1) At home, Bush has tried to bolster the faltering U.S. airlines
sector, urging Americans to take to the skies again.
(2) Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld confirmed Thursday that
the president had given two regional Air Force
commanders new powers to order commercial
airlines be shot down without presidential
authorization if lines of communication break down.
I think Bush has a tough job right now.
Posted by John at 01:48 PM | Comments (0)
September 27, 2001
The Onion is back with
The Onion is back with a vengance. While comedians and scriptwriters have been decrying the death of irony in America after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the folks at The Onion have been busy trying to prove them wrong. This is their best issue ever. My favorites are the sidebar picture of Jerry Falwell, and the articles "Not Knowing What Else To Do, Woman Bakes American-Flag Cake" and "God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule." Warning: strong language.
Posted by John at 10:55 PM | Comments (0)
Are you smarter than Miss
Are you smarter than Miss America? [via MeFi] One approaches little quizzes like these with a smile, and also, perhaps, a little bit of trepidation. What does it say about me if Miss America kicks my ass on an IQ test? ... hang on a second ... Whew, I went 8 for 8. FYI, Miss Washington DC got 4 right. Miss Tennessee, Miss Massachusetts, and Miss New York got 5 right each. Miss Oregon got 6 right and went on to become Miss America.
Posted by John at 09:59 PM | Comments (0)
Maybe with war on the
Maybe with war on the horizon and the increased potential for civil unrest, it's time to start thinking about home security. Hehe. I told Julie if she'd let me buy it, I'd mount it on my Corvette. Mad Max!
Posted by John at 12:13 PM | Comments (0)
Happy Banned Books Week! This
Happy Banned Books Week! This year, the list includes the satanic "Harry Potter" series, the offensive "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck, and the lacivious "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", by the subversive Maya Angelou. Despite persistent efforts in years past to purge the bookshelves of our nation's schools of trashy, provocative and biased literature such as "Catcher in the Rye", "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "To Kill a Mockingbird", those books are still available to corrupt the minds of our youth, and they keep showing up on the list. Here's the complete list for this year. And here's the top 100 for the past 10 years.
Despite the inherent contradiction in such protests,
"These books are awful!"
"How do you know?"
"I read them.""
"And did they corrupt your mind?"
"Absolutely."
"Then why should I trust your judgment?"
I'm somewhat pleased to discover that the actual numbers of such protests is vanishingly small as a percentage of our population. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received a total of 646 challenges in 2000, up from 472 in 1999. I would guess we have more people in this country than that wearing aluminum foil hats to keep the aliens from reading their brainwaves. It also raises the question of how you identify subversive literature if you've never been exposed to it. Still, I guess, kudos to the American Library Association for their vigilent watch on these threats to our freedom. This year's theme is: Develop Yourself: Expose Your Mind to a Banned Book.
If you plan to do that, expose yourself that is, my recommendation is don't use Amazon. Their pricing is too high, and the shipping charges are ridiculous. Try Barnes & Noble -- free shipping for two or more books. 1BookStreet gives free US shipping. Powell's offers free shipping for orders over $50. And finally, if you want to use a shopping engine, try AddALL or BestBookBuys.
Posted by John at 10:33 AM | Comments (0)
September 26, 2001
Two thoughts that border on
Two thoughts that border on the painfully obvious, but which I'm not hearing discussed:
1. Computer "hackers" are supposed to be uniting in the fight against terrorism, and they are allegedly planning their own attacks on middle eastern ISPs. But ... since the Taliban already bans the Internet in Afghanistan, wouldn't that just be helping out their efforts?
2. Now that the President has called us all prayer, Congress has called us all to prayer, the media have called us all to prayer, we've observed our moments of silence, attended our prayer vigils, and church parking lots are overflowing, if it please the Honorable Justices of the Supreme Court, would it too much trouble to let prayer back into the public schools? Our kids are the ones who need it most.
Posted by John at 11:20 PM | Comments (0)
Re the link below on
Re the link below on demographics by zip code, I also checked on where my mom grew up:
36401 - Grain Belt, Rustic Elders, Back Country Folks, Scrub Pine Flats, Hard Scrabble
And where my dad grew up:
39401 - River City USA, Rural Industria, Mines & Mills, Back Country Folks, Scrub Pine Flats
Wow. The things I have accomplished are nothing compared to their breaking out of that cycle. I am so lucky; they gave me a running start. Thanks, Mom.
Posted by John at 12:05 AM | Comments (0)
September 25, 2001
UC Berkeley students in a
UC Berkeley students in a rally, supporting the war on terrorism. On a related note, hell froze over last night...
Posted by John at 11:31 PM | Comments (0)
Those staunch guardians of conservatism
Those staunch guardians of conservatism at the National Review have set up Kumbaya Watch, a page on which they link all the foolish commentary from the far left. This is a useful community service, at least for me. Based on my theory that reactions in times of crisis are the truest measure of a person's character, all the authors linked on this page go into my <ignore> filter. So much of our perception of current events and issues is shaped by the media reporting it, that it really helps to understand the bias. Jonah Goldberg has the best commentary [via neoflux] I've seen on the subject:
"...the Taliban hates what the Left likes about America —
our openness, our equality, our secular institutions. To assume
immediately that America is to blame in this instance isn't a sign
that you're thoughtful, clever, or sophisticated. Just the
opposite. It's either a sign that you suffer from a political form
of battered-wife syndrome, in which your mulched synapses leap
to the conclusion that, once again, we must have done
something wrong — or it means you're as absolutist and
irrational as Osama bin Laden in your hatred of America, but just
don't have what it takes to blow anything up yourself."
Go, Jonah! As much as I don't like this kind of diatribe, simply because it furthers the divisiveness rather than acting to unite Americans, I am also just plain tired of the big bad wolf characterizations of the U.S. by the far-left extremists whose influence dominates our media.
Posted by John at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)
You Are Where You Live.
You Are Where You Live. [via /usr/bin/girl] All we need is your zip code and we already know all about you. This site uses two marketing databases, both built off of 1990 census data and millions of consumer-purchase records. PRIZM contains 62 clusters across 15 social groups, and MicroVision contains 48 segments across 9 social groups. Interestingly, we don't appear to be old enough to live where we live, as all the PRIZM group demographics for our zip code were 45+, and the only two segments with age ranges falling under 45 in the MicroVision database were for young rich singles and young rich married couples with no kids. All the groups I was tagged for had names like Winner's Circle, Executive Suites, Pools & Patios and Second City Elite. But note that Julie and I worked our way up; we haven't always been able to live in the best part of town. I put in some of our past zipcodes and the further back in time I went, the uglier the names got. We started out in places with demographic segments like Blue-Chip Blues, Mobility Blues, Gray Collars and Southside City. It's the American dream, baby.
Posted by John at 09:18 PM | Comments (0)
I keep seeing a lot
I keep seeing a lot of commentary about how the Koran prohibits murder, how it is a peaceful religion, these terrorists are extremists, etc. So I went to the UVa English version of the Koran (linked below) to do some keyword searches. This is the first thing I found, talking about "unbelievers":
2.191: And kill them wherever you find them, and drive them
out from whence they drove you out, and persecution is
severer than slaughter, and do not fight with them at the
Sacred Mosque until they fight with you in it, but if they
do fight you, then slay them; such is the recompense of
the unbelievers.
Just thought you might want to know.
Posted by John at 02:32 AM | Comments (0)
When I want a more
When I want a more complete reference than the dictionary, and Google gives me 100,000 hits that aren't the in-depth research I'm looking for, I'm increasingly going to Wikipedia. A collaborative project to create an open-source encyclopedia from scratch, relying solely on user submissions, it has grown exponentially to over 10,000 articles. And the information is, in general, more timely than you would find in a commercial encyclopedia. Written a good research paper lately? This might be a good place to post it. Think it's not yet ready for prime time? Post it to the chalkboard.
Posted by John at 02:19 AM | Comments (0)
The Lidar maps (think radar
The Lidar maps (think radar with lasers) of the WTC site, which are helping rescue workers navigate the site, are also demonstrative of the power of technology that will soon be brought to bear against Osama Bin Laden. Glad I'm not in his shoes. This would scare me. These photos were taken from 5,000 miles up.
Posted by John at 01:37 AM | Comments (0)
If you meet the Buddha
If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him. So says the Zen koan, which of course results in a website, www.killingthebuddha.com. Excellent writing on the tragedy and the pending war, in which an important point is made: "Religo, the Latin root of 'religion,' means 'to bind,' and in this sense the coming conflict will indeed be a religious war. It will be a war that reveals what we are most closely bound to. Whether this proves to be vengeance or justice or hope, the desired ends of our actions will say more about the faith of the nation than that of its enemies, whoever they are."
Posted by John at 01:24 AM | Comments (0)
The staunch, conservative market researchers
The staunch, conservative market researchers at Gartner Group are climbing on the anti-Micro$oft bandwagon. Gartner recommends that enterprises hit by both Code Red and Nimda immediately investigate alternatives to IIS, including moving Web applications to Web server software from other vendors, such as iPlanet and Apache. [via SlashDot] Apparently, they're finally realizing that "total cost of ownership" is insanely high when you have hours of downtime, and M$ recommends installing patch after patch after patch to prevent the worm du jour from exploiting Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS), Internet Explorer (IE) browser, and operating systems such as Windows 2000 and Windows XP, which have IIS and IE embedded in their code.
Posted by John at 01:11 AM | Comments (0)
Whoa. Afghan humor. If you
Whoa. Afghan humor. If you want to make a quick buck out of the pending attack on Afghanistan, invest in razor blades. After the Taliban are gone, all the men will be shaving their beards. Ba da boom.
Posted by John at 12:48 AM | Comments (0)
September 24, 2001
The Saturday after the bombing,
The Saturday after the bombing, the pilot of United flight #564 out of Denver gave a little speech to the passengers before departure. This was inspired and inspiring, and it sure beats the old "tampering with the smoke detectors in the lavatories is a federal offense."
Posted by John at 11:20 AM | Comments (0)
File under "too much time
File under "too much time on their hands": Monty Python and the Holy Grail in Legos. Laugh-out-loud funny.
Posted by John at 01:50 AM | Comments (0)
If you had to actually
If you had to actually sample some of each and every one of these hot sauces, I think you would die. My favorite labels are: Psycho Bitch on Fire, Jump Up and Kiss Me, Pain is Good, and Scorned Woman. They even have 357 Mad Dog, which is the hottest hot sauce I have ever encountered. And lived. I rarely say this, but that stuff is too hot even for me.
Posted by John at 01:45 AM | Comments (0)
Great articles [via MeFi] recently
Great articles [via MeFi] recently on the 10-year-long war on terror that highlights some of the difficulties our intelligence agencies face, and two pieces that examine how our own policies impact our international perception - one, from Bryan Appleyard, a trifle histrionic, and one from John Humphreys that is pretty thoughtful. I think Humphreys does a particularly good job of defining a difficult line. I am in full support of intelligent questioning of motives, allegiances and alliances, and the dissection of past American foreign policy for purposes of understanding what drives fanatics to do things like commit suicide/mass murder. At the same time, I despise anyone who suggests that we somehow deserved these attacks, that we brought them on ourselves, or that we as a nation had anything other than the best of intentions in carrying out our policies on the international stage. Most authors urging restraint in our dealings with Bin Laden and Afghanistan have missed this distinction, or given it only cursory examination, and their articles and arguments are ignored by most Americans as a result.
Posted by John at 12:55 AM | Comments (0)
September 23, 2001
Fashion mavens can go to
Fashion mavens can go to the Dorkus Collection to study the trends from the 50's, 60's and (gag) 70's. Relive, for a moment, the collective agony, and ask the unanswerable question: Why? Warning for those offended by occasional strong language: contains occasional strong language. Explore the origins of the descriptive phrase, "Wow, whatta Dorkus!"
Posted by John at 05:52 PM | Comments (0)
September 22, 2001
Reference Desk: The Koran, in
Reference Desk: The Koran, in English, from UVa.
Posted by John at 09:38 PM | Comments (0)
More signs that the end
More signs that the end of the world may be closer than you think. Over 1,000 pelicans killed in a freak hailstorm. In Denver, Colorado. Bizarre.
Posted by John at 09:34 PM | Comments (0)
And by the way, I
And by the way, I am adding Spaced Penguin to the list of Best Web Games. Cute and addictive.
Posted by John at 09:31 PM | Comments (0)
I've listed cool cars, hot
I've listed cool cars, hot cars, fast cars, even my own car here repeatedly, and I realize that these pictures just excite emotions of lust and greed and frustration that you.don't.own.one. So, herewith, a link to make you feel better. The worst cars of the 20th century. Walk tall, folks, at least you're not driving one of these. The AMC Gremlin is fourth. Fourth...
Posted by John at 09:24 PM | Comments (0)
September 21, 2001
One window in which we
One window in which we can see what's on the mind of John Q. Public is the current list of Amazon Bestselling Books. The current list, 9/21/01, is scary.
Posted by John at 05:05 PM | Comments (0)
The Anthrax Scenario, from the
The Anthrax Scenario, from the CDC. [We're still drinking bottled water around here. Brushing our teeth with it, too. No kidding.]
Posted by John at 12:52 AM | Comments (0)
Law and order breaking down
Law and order breaking down in Kabul yesterday as Taliban soldiers carried out armed daylight robberies and looted houses left empty by fleeing people. [via MeFi] I feel sorry for the general populace of Afghanistan, to be put through so much with the war with Russia, only then to have the Taliban take control and thoroughly repress them. I am glad to see the Taliban having these problems domestically, glad to see that they - and the people in the cities - are so worried about what the USA is going to do that the rules are all breaking down. I hope the people of Afghanistan remember this, if there are any left when the war is over.
Posted by John at 12:37 AM | Comments (0)
September 20, 2001
I just saw the President
I just saw the President of the United States, George W. Bush, deliver the finest speech I have ever seen. This was more presidential than the Gettysburg address, more stirring than FDR's Pearl Harbor call to action. I mentioned back on September 11th that the President needed to display some leadership, and he has done that tonight.
I concluded that post of 9/11 with the following line, "If Dubya has the courage to mete out justice when the perpetrators are unmasked, I will be well and truly impressed." That is exactly what he promised tonight, clearly and unambiguously, and I am duly impressed.
In that quote from 9/11 I also said, "If he can follow the wise words of another President, Teddy Roosevelt: "Speak softly and carry a big stick," maybe I'll even call him 'President Bush'". Following are some excerpts from the speech tonight, delivered by my President, President George W. Bush:
Tonight we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger, and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice, or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.The hair on the back of my neck literally stood up as I watched this speech, as I realized with dawning understanding and a surge of hope that this President actually understands what is called for. He is really going to do it - go after the terrorists and root them out wherever they may hide. He actually understands that we cannot debate or sanction or penalize or embargo Islamic extremists into respecting life. He understands that they will not be deterred by anything short of death, and they welcome death....tonight, the United States of America makes the following demands on the Taliban: Deliver to United States authorities all the leaders of al Qaeda who hide in your land. These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. The Taliban must act, and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate.
Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.
With every atrocity, they hope that America grows fearful, retreating from the world and forsaking our friends. They stand against us, because we stand in their way.
We are not deceived by their pretenses to piety. We have seen their kind before. They are the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century. By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions -- by abandoning every value except the will to power -- they follow in the path of fascism, and Nazism, and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way, to where it ends: in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies.
Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. (Applause.) From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.
It is my hope that in the months and years ahead, life will return almost to normal. We'll go back to our lives and routines, and that is good. Even grief recedes with time and grace. But our resolve must not pass. Each of us will remember what happened that day, and to whom it happened. We'll remember the moment the news came -- where we were and what we were doing. Some will remember an image of a fire, or a story of rescue. Some will carry memories of a face and a voice gone forever.
And I will carry this: It is the police shield of a man named George Howard, who died at the World Trade Center trying to save others. It was given to me by his mom, Arlene, as a proud memorial to her son. This is my reminder of lives that ended, and a task that does not end.
He understands that they can, however, be stopped. We, as individuals and collectively as a society that embraces and espouses values like freedom and equality, fairness and reason, MUST support him in this effort in every way we can. We are only going to get one shot at this, and we better get it right, or our country will never again be a safe place, and our children and our children's children will pay the price for our cowardice.
Posted by John at 11:55 PM | Comments (0)
I am getting sick of
I am getting sick of companies who are attempting to capitalize on the 9/11 tragedy. See, we're good people too! We feel bad... so buy our stuff now! Here's an email I just received, and I am not making this up, this is cut and paste:
We at www.fastreader.net are saddened by the tragic events
of September 11. Our thoughts are with the families
and friends of the victims.
As a contribution to the ongoing relief efforts,
we provide our leading speed reading software with
10 % discount. Cick here to enjoy www.fastreader.net
As a contribution to the relief efforts??? Yeah, I'd like to "cick" them somewhere...
Posted by John at 06:25 PM | Comments (0)
Operation code name "Infinite Justice"
Operation code name "Infinite Justice" may not stand, as it deemed to possibly offend Muslims who believe that only God can mete out infinite justice. Oh, for cryin' out loud. First of all, who cares? Second of all, it isn't only Muslims that believe that. It's an operation code word, not a policy statement. What we really need is a higher degree of sensitivity right now. Wouldn't want to offend anybody with our .. you know ... bombs and all. If you're going to write a book called, "How to Lose a War Even Though You're the Most Powerful Nation on Earth", this article can be the first chapter.
Posted by John at 06:19 PM | Comments (0)
Actor James Woods was on
Actor James Woods was on a flight a month ago that was apparently a dry run for the bombings. Boston to L.A. flying first calss with four Arabs, and their behavior was suspicious enough that he reported it both to the flight attendants and to authorities on the ground when the flight landed. But... nothing was done.
Posted by John at 03:19 PM | Comments (0)
Taliban to Bin Laden: "...and
Taliban to Bin Laden: "...and don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out."
White House to Taliban: "Not good enough."
Posted by John at 09:37 AM | Comments (0)
Here's the first of what
Here's the first of what I'm sure will be many Osama shoot-em-up games. [via Dean] It's a zip file, download and extract to play. Pretty good.
Posted by John at 01:09 AM | Comments (0)
I have other things to
I have other things to worry about than the Earth turning inside out and all life being destoyed at the speed of light.
Posted by John at 12:44 AM | Comments (0)
OK, Patriots! Flag test. [via
OK, Patriots! Flag test. [via MeFi] 10 questions, I missed two.
Posted by John at 12:15 AM | Comments (0)
September 19, 2001
Oh, crap! FBI warns of
Oh, crap! FBI warns of possible additional attacks this Saturday. "Yes, we have heard something about September 22 but nothing specific,” an investigative source told America’s Knight Ridder news service. Five associates of the suicide bombers had booked tickets from Texas to California for this Saturday. My hair is standing up.
Posted by John at 11:52 PM | Comments (0)
If you've ever wondered
| If you've ever wondered what one of those global email viruses can do to your Internet browser response times, check out this graph from InternetTrafficReport, of the average response times in milliseconds over the past seven days. |
The PE_NIMDA.A virus is number one on the list at this moment with over 23,000 infected computers, followed by Sircam with 6,000 and Loveletter with 2,500. The Nimda virus hit yesterday and showed a strong resurgence today. ZDNet.com got taken out today, and many other sites were down or not loading images. Here's the skinny on the virus and the cure. | |
Posted by John at 11:07 PM | Comments (0)
The polls show that most
The polls show that most Americans freaked out about Arab-Americans on a large scale. A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll showed that "...58 percent of Americans backed more intensive security checks for Arab plane passengers and 49 percent supported special IDs, but also that 35 percent said they trusted Arabs living here less and 32 percent think Arabs living here should be put under special surveillance as were Japanese-Americans following Pearl Harbor." The important thing to remember is that this poll was "...conducted a few days after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon...", according to a different writeup of the same poll results. In the heat of the moment, sentiments like these are understandable, predictable... and they pass. We've all come back to our senses now, right? Move along, folks, nothing to see here.
Posted by John at 10:49 PM | Comments (0)
Bring on the Canadian supercars!!
Bring on the Canadian supercars!! I love this Canadian's tongue-in-cheek commentary on his own country's lack of car manufacturers, as well as a good cultural identity. Best line: "When you think Canadian, you think unarmed American with healthcare." Hoser.
Posted by John at 08:30 PM | Comments (0)
From the pithy quotes file:
From the pithy quotes file: "We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give." - Winston Churchill
Posted by John at 05:04 PM | Comments (0)
Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson
Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson are such clowns. Friday, they were publicly blaming the WTC attack on gays, lesbians, the ACLU, feminists, pro-choicers, and all the other other godless heathen around us. (Just to refresh your memory if you somehow missed it, "God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve," said Falwell. "Jerry, that's my feeling," Robertson responded. This was far enough over the line, startling enough in its casual brutality, to cause even president Bush to call Falwell's remarks "inappropriate." Falwell publicly apologized, nobody believed him.)
Today, Robertson is interviewing a former Muslim, Reza Safa, about his conversion to Christianity. While I'm pleased for Reza and his new-found faith, one would think that after being rebuked by the President, Falwell, Robertson and the 700 Club could give it a rest. This is no time for Americans to be publicly running down the Muslim faith. The hateful, exclusionary, judgmental tone of extreme fundmentalism is even more grating in a time of national mourning.
Contrast the attitude with that of Billy Graham, speaking from the National Cathedral in Washington that very same Friday. "Today, we come together to confess our need of God. … Those perpetrators who took us on to tear us apart, it has worked the other way. It has backfired; it has brought us together," Graham said.
Posted by John at 04:42 PM | Comments (0)
September 18, 2001
Cool. Paint that makes your
Cool. Paint that makes your walls magnetic. At $59.95 for 1/2 gallon I'm not about to paint the house with it, but doesn't this get your creative juices going? How about just painting a 24"H X 48"W rectangle on the wall, and nailing up some moulding around it to make a frame? You can put up your inspiring quote of the day with magnetic letters, and rearrange them at will. Leave notes for the kids. Write haiku.
Posted by John at 02:14 AM | Comments (0)
OK, so we're going to
OK, so we're going to go to war. War on terrorism, a war we can't "win". I'm not worried about that. Innocent civilians in the Middle East are likely to die as unintended victims of our own national jihad. I'm not worried about that, either. Soldiers, young men and women who voluntarily risk life and limb to defned our country and our way of life, may die in the effort. And even that, I'm not worried about. It isn't that I don't care, quite the contrary. It's that those are risks we understand, or at least to some extent can evaluate, measure, predict. They are variables in the gigantic equation that has, on the right hand side of the equals sign, the answer as to what we do next, to whom, how and when. You want to know what I am worried about? Try this.
Posted by John at 01:55 AM | Comments (0)
September 17, 2001
Slate has organized the political
Slate has organized the political cartoons about the terrorist attack into an easy directory. It's weird, because I associate these kinds of editorial comics with humor and this series is kind of sobering. Plus the degree of group-think is frightening; so many cartoonists, so few ideas...
Posted by John at 11:24 PM | Comments (0)
Country-by-country, a short summary of
Country-by-country, a short summary of international responses to U.S. anti-terrorist initiatives. Note the list is organized by region, not purely alphabetically. It's very interesting to see the range of reactions.
Posted by John at 03:31 PM | Comments (0)
Apparently they were able to
Apparently they were able to get Cheney's pacemaker started again. He's back. Turns out he was in charge all along. Yeah right.
Posted by John at 01:54 PM | Comments (0)
The Admiral Yamamoto Pearl Harbor
The Admiral Yamamoto Pearl Harbor quote is a phony. I got sucked into that one, too (see below on 9/14). It's from the movie "Tora! Tora! Tora!". [via MeFi]
Posted by John at 01:53 PM | Comments (0)
Excellent Bush quote: "'When I
Excellent Bush quote: "'When I take action I'm not going to fire a $2 million missile at a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It's going to be decisive." Bush finally getting some good press.
Posted by John at 01:51 PM | Comments (0)
The good news for anyone
The good news for anyone who advocates caution, delay and debate at this critical time is that you now officially have France in your corner. Wait... that's not good news... didn't we already have airspace overflight issues with them in the last round of attacks against terrorists?
Posted by John at 02:12 AM | Comments (0)
If you missed the Krulwich
If you missed the Krulwich piece that was running periodically on ABCNEWS, "Towers Disappear Into Clouds of Dust", you can see it here. Amazing statistics ... 200,000 tons of structural steel, 600,000 square feet of glass, 6 acres of marble, much of it vaporized in the force of the buildings' collapse. Vaporizing steel beams?!
Posted by John at 01:27 AM | Comments (0)
September 16, 2001
DEBKAfile is worth checking on
DEBKAfile is worth checking on periodically as we move toward military action. It's updated 4 times a day. Caveat emptor! This site appears to have liberal doses of Israeli propaganda mixed in with current hard data. Still, it's got way more detail on the mechanics of war, troop movements, intelligence data, political analysis, border conditions, and the like than I've ever seen on CNN.
Posted by John at 09:17 PM | Comments (0)
An Afghan-American writing for Salon
An Afghan-American writing for Salon has some interesting perspectives. Bomb Afghanistan back to the Stone Age? They're already there. Make the Afghans suffer? They're already suffering. Level their houses? Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done. Eradicate their hospitals? Done. Destroy their infrastructure? Cut them off from medicine and healthcare? Too late. Someone already did all that. New bombs would only stir the rubble of earlier bombs. He thinks that starting a war between Arabs and the U.S. is exactly what Bin Laden wants. Which is, I guess, a legitimate concern. But if Bin Laden's desire for war is based on his experience with the Soviet campaign in Afghanistan, he's got a huge surprise coming. "Be careful what you wish for."
Posted by John at 03:05 AM | Comments (0)
A young man in Ohio
A young man in Ohio was in school when he remembered that he forgot to take a pellet gun out of his backpack. Knowing how sensitive schools are - and rightfully so - about weapons, he did the prudent thing and headed straight for the office, explained the situation and turned over the gun. For his honesty, school officials gave him an automatic 10-day suspension with a recommendation for expulsion for one year. This kind of stupidity makes me want to scream. How are we supposed to teach our kids to behave responsibly if idiots in positions of authority insist on behaving like, well, idiots?
Posted by John at 02:58 AM | Comments (0)
A beautiful collection of photos
A beautiful collection of photos [via /usr/bin/girl] from around the world, in sympathy with the USA. This may take awhile to load - there are a lot of pictures - but it's worth it. This is so powerful I am speechless.
Posted by John at 02:48 AM | Comments (0)
September 15, 2001
War time, like other times
War time, like other times of crisis, brings out the best (1, 2, 3, 4) and the worst (1, 2, 3, 4) in people. As the Roman Seneca said, "Ignis aurum probat, miseria fortes homines." Fire proves gold, difficult times prove men.
Posted by John at 03:45 PM | Comments (0)
September 14, 2001
If you have a short
If you have a short message of hope and support for the people in New York, you can have it scrolled across the Times Square ticker.
Posted by John at 12:34 PM | Comments (0)
"I fear we have awakened
| "I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant, and given him a terrible resolve."
-Admiral Yamamoto, shortly after Pearl Harbor. |
Posted by John at 01:22 AM | Comments (0)
September 13, 2001
Awhile ago (6/19) I linked
Awhile ago (6/19) I linked AskJeeves' response to the question "Are you gay?", as it was mildly humorous. SatireWire has done the full-blown interview with Jeeves. Discover how the Internet is like a non-arthritic bee. Or something.
Posted by John at 07:04 PM | Comments (0)
Neale at wrongwaygoback is putting
Neale at wrongwaygoback is putting together a timeline, the chronology of events around the bombings. He's used the CNN timeline as the "master" and added additional detail and events from other sources as they are discovered or unfold. This is an important historical Internet document, and it's well done, to boot.
Posted by John at 06:47 PM | Comments (0)
Marin Rowing Association has an
Marin Rowing Association has an excellent video up on their junior novice team web site. How many people wanna kick some ass? Click on Photos/Video and launch the video. Sort of a recruiting tool. I see Travis in there at least five times, rowing, getting medals, etc; in fact, he's the very first rower you see, sitting in the stroke position facing the coxswain.
Posted by John at 06:33 PM | Comments (0)
Pretty comprehensive explanation of what
Pretty comprehensive explanation of what "black boxes" are and how they work. They've found the data box from the PA flight, and have the signal for one of the recorders from the Pentagon flight.
Posted by John at 05:04 PM | Comments (0)
It's alive! I have bandwidth
It's alive! I have bandwidth again!
Posted by John at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)
A fireman plunged from the
A fireman plunged from the 83rd floor - over 1000 feet - when the floor gave way beneath him. And lived.
Posted by John at 09:57 AM | Comments (0)
Almost every episode of Space
Almost every episode of Space Ghost, available for download.
Posted by John at 01:39 AM | Comments (0)
Crayola Crayons, ranked by popularity.
Crayola Crayons, ranked by popularity. Who knew blue was such an overwhelming favorite?
Posted by John at 01:37 AM | Comments (0)
OK, off the bombings for
OK, off the bombings for a while, hopefully... a Stanford professor buys a Las Vegas strip club to fund his medical research. At least, notes one of the city councilmen, "the club's previous owners had run the establishment with an 'air of class'."
Posted by John at 01:32 AM | Comments (0)
Here's the unclassified CIA Fact
Here's the unclassified CIA Fact Sheet on Osama bin Laden, if you're interested.
Posted by John at 01:12 AM | Comments (0)
TIME magazine photoessay, "Shattered" has
TIME magazine photoessay, "Shattered" has the best photos documenting this tragedy that I've seen so far [via MeFi]. Dial-up sucks! Hopefully... a new cable modem tomorrow!
Posted by John at 12:45 AM | Comments (0)
September 12, 2001
Bin Laden is now under
Bin Laden is now under house arrest by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Not that that means anything yet. We've played this game before, with terms and conditions of the trial being set and reset and reset yet again. If there is solid evidence forthcoming this should come to a conclusion, one way or the other, fairly quickly. I hope.
update 09-14-01: "Earlier, an Arabic online newspaper reported that the Taliban had put bin Laden under house arrest, but Taliban sources told the Afghan Islamic Press news agency that the report was 'false and fabricated'." Google cache of story, sorry I missed it on the first go 'round.
Posted by John at 09:15 PM | Comments (0)
And the answer to my
And the answer to my question seems to be that the passengers of the flight that crashed near Pittsburgh voted to attack the hijackers. How very... American. Democracy in action, in the middle of a terrorist attack. They are true heros one and all.
Posted by John at 09:11 PM | Comments (0)
DON'T DRINK THE TAP WATER.
DON'T DRINK THE TAP WATER. A MeFi user reports (no link provided, unfortunately - sorry, but this is important) on a biological warfare warning from the CDC, and New York radio stations are mentioning that biological warfare has been suspected although there is no evidence. The only disease they have specifically named is anthrax. On an eerie note, Travis brought home the story from school -- all four kids were immersed in the news at school yesterday -- that an analyst at Morgan Stanley had predicted a major terrorist attack on a economic center in the U.S., as we head toward global recession. He also predicted that, three weeks later, San Francisco would suffer an outbreak of ... <drumroll>... anthrax! </drumroll> OK, that's just too weird; I'm on bottled water for the foreseeable future.
Posted by John at 12:17 AM | Comments (0)
September 11, 2001
Things fall apart; the center
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
-- William Butler Yeats, excerpt from The Second Coming
Posted by John at 11:50 PM | Comments (0)
To make it easy to
To make it easy to remember the date, today was 9-1-1. It was also very close to the anniversary of the Sadat/Begin Camp David Peace Accords, which were signed at the culmination of a conference that ran from 9/5 - 9/17/78. Today, Sept. 11, exactly 60 years ago, ground was broken on construction of the Pentagon.
Posted by John at 11:50 PM | Comments (0)
I really, really would like
I really, really would like to know what the story is with that plane that went down in Pennsylvania, in a remote area next to a field. Reports from people on the ground say it looked like the plane was deliverately diving. This would indicate - maybe, probably(?) - that the pilot, co-pilot and/or crew fought back on this plane, jammed the stick forward and put the plane in an unrecoverable dive to prevent it from being used in these suicide bombings. In which case, we oughta build statues to those folks, who probably saved thousands of lives. I can't wait until they recover the flight recorders ("black boxes") from that flight. But that could take weeks (the boxes don't transmit).
The news -- relaying what passenger and CNN commentator Babara Olson said when she used her cell phone to call her solicitor-general husband and tell him the plane was being hijacked -- is that the hijackers used knives and box-cutters to take the planes. It is also likely, however, that they threatened passengers and crew by telling them there was a bomb on board and they would detonate it if everyone did not cooperate. Taking initiative to deliberately down the plane under those circumstances -- if that is indeed what happened -- would be one of the bravest things I've ever heard of.
Posted by John at 11:50 PM | Comments (0)
Amazon has a Red Cross
Amazon has a Red Cross Donation page up. They are accepting donations from $1 to $50 on the site. They are foregoing their normal transaction fee, so 100% of the cash goes to the Red Cross. The numbers are jumping by huge increments every time I refresh. It would be a very cool thing if you would pitch in a couple of bucks. Right now.
Posted by John at 11:49 PM | Comments (0)
Everyone I talked to today
Everyone I talked to today said the same thing, we should wipe Afghanistan off the face of the earth. I think that's premature. We need to know who's responsible beyond a shadow of a doubt. Remember Oklahoma City? That was initially widely reported to be the work of Islamic extremists. However, it turned out to be a domestic terrorist -- Timothy McVeigh. We need to know if any nation-state was involved in this directly or indirectly. Then, perhaps, turn Afghanistan into a parking lot. The urge to strike out is strong. Check out today's Village Voice cover page.
On the other hand, there are those voices raised in alarm who, with some justification, fear curtailment of our civil liberties in a militaristic environment, and who fear the escalation that international military action could initiate. We should, they say, take this opportunity to examine our actions on the international stage, the things that we have done that could stir such hatred by other countries, religions, and factions. The compassionate intellectual approach, if you will. This is reasonable, and appealing, because we know that the urge to strike out is strong and can lead to serious mistakes. There have already been reports of violence against Arab nationals in New York, and that's unacceptable. And civil liberties, once surrendered, can be hard to win back.
But there's a middle ground that is, I think, the right road. Julie pointed out to me that when the first World Trade Center bombing took place, then-President Clinton promised that the perpetrators would be brought to justice. Bin Laden and his followers were identified, but never brought to justice. That, in retrospect, was a mistake. Serious resources should have been devoted to tracking him down. Now, we have a new problem. We have some clues already. Bin Laden went public 3 weeks ago with his promises of a major terrorist action against the U.S. We have confirmation from passengers' phone calls from the hijacked planes that the hijackers were middle eastern. The hijackers were making phone calls from the planes; the NSA is tracking those down. We will find out -- absolutely, positively -- who is behind this, and then we should demand of the country who is hosting them that they be turned over to us immediately. If that doesn't happen, we should attempt to go in and get them. If we are opposed in those efforts, we should drop bombs.
The end result may be the same -- lots of parking in Afghanistan -- but the method is important. It is important for international perception of the United States as a strong and fair player on the international stage, not as another overbearing superpower who believes that might makes right. It is important for Dubya; this is a leadership crisis for him, and he desperately needs to show he has a backbone, but he also needs to be perceived as logical, reasonable and non-partison in the execution of his plans. But most of all, it is important for the American people. Our much-maligned role as international policeman is under attack at home as well as abroad. But that's a job that has to be done, and no one else is capable of doing it. To get America behind the plan, Dubya has to lay out the plan and its logical conclusion. Unilateral military action is only going to widen the split that is already dividing the country. Times of war can and should unite us behind our leader. He has only to lead to make it so. If he can follow the wise words of another President, Teddy Roosevelt: "Speak softly and carry a big stick," maybe I'll even call him "President Bush"!
When Dubya came on the TV at 8:30pm (pretty good speech, BTW), I fully expected him to follow in the steps of his predecessors and say, "As I am speaking, American bombers are targeting carefully selected sites in Afghanistan..." After all, it's been done before. But it didn't happen, and we should be pleased by that. We all want justice, preferably swift and merciless. But we want it applied in the right place, to the right people. Similarly, I expected martial law in New York and DC tonight, but that wasn't forthcoming either, and once again, we should be pleased. Our lives are going to change, and we are going to be subjected to more restrictions and more scrutiny, particularly on public transportation and at public facilitites, but these are impositions I think we can live with. The government seems to be treading lightly now until they establish the facts, and I applaud that. If Dubya has the courage to mete out justice when the perpetrators are unmasked, I will be well and truly impressed.
Posted by John at 10:52 PM | Comments (0)
I'm a little concerned by
I'm a little concerned by one of my son's observations that a couple of his classmates who have brothers in the Marines said those brothers got called in -- on alert -- last night. The administration has been consistently saying that, aside from bin Laden's generalized threats three weeks ago, they had no inkling this was in the works. I hope that's true.
Posted by John at 10:11 PM | Comments (0)
I'm amazed by the emergency
I'm amazed by the emergency response people and systems and procedures. Securing our nation's leaders, putting all our foreign embassies on alert, scrambling the fighter jets to patrol metropolitan airspaces, grounding the commercial airplanes and locking down the airports, closing the borders, calling up the National Guard... all these things happened within the first hour of the attack. Foresight and planning for events you hope never happen -- disaster scenarios, worst-case scenarios -- paid off.
Posted by John at 10:04 PM | Comments (0)
Twelve hours later, and the
Twelve hours later, and the bombings are still the only topic on the news. People leaving the buildings saw other people trapped in a stairwell, and tried to help them, but the trapped people didn't want anybody to touch them because all their skin was burned in the fire. How do you help somebody you can't touch? Police and firefighters are getting cell phone calls from people trapped in the rubble, but they still can't go in because the fires and falling debris are too dangerous. They estimate 200 firefighters and 75 police officers have been killed in rescue attempts so far. Our church, like thousands of others is holding a prayer vigil tonight for the victims and their families. The suffering that is going on right now is too much to comprehend.
Posted by John at 10:04 PM | Comments (0)
I heard that after the
I heard that after the Pentagon was hit by the hijacked plane, C-Span trained their cameras on the Capitol, waiting for the next airplane.
Posted by John at 12:24 PM | Comments (0)
Ah, the car bomb outside
Ah, the car bomb outside the State Dept. was apparently a false rumor. Thank God.
Posted by John at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)
Both World Trade Towers collapsed
Both World Trade Towers collapsed after being hit by two hijacked planes, the Pentagon hit by a third hijacked plane, a fourth plane down in Pennsylvania, a bomb exploding outside the State Department.... today is the day everything changed.
Who is responsible? Talk seems to be centering on Osama bin Laden and his followers, who have been responsible for the most well-coordinated terrorist attacks against the U.S. so far. Bush is talking about serious retaliation. I actually heard the words "World War III" on CNN. It's going to be a long, long time before things return to normal, if they ever do. You can safety forecast draconian measures from our government for the sake of public safety, and this terrorism will lend credence to the calls for extreme measures. There were tens of thousands of people in those two buildings alone... One network reporter was standing on the street below the towers, and people were jumping out of the towers from 80 stories up and landing at her feet. My skin is crawling and my stomach is churning...
You knew it was going to happen sooner or later, I'm just sorry it has.
Many news web sites are overloaded, but some special-purpose mirror sites are still functional: http://robots.cnn.com is up and running. As is http://partners.nytimes.com/.
Servers at C-Span are still carrying live feeds.
Palestinians in the West Bank celebrating.
NYPD live police radio broadcasts.
Official international reactions: www.nato.int/.
Photos compiled.
New Yorkers can check in here.
If you can, you should donate blood today.
I am already numb from the horror.
Posted by John at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)
September 10, 2001
And while we're on the
And while we're on the topic of seismic activity, today's San Francisco Chronicle reports on pioneering research by Steven N. Ward, a research geophysicist at the University of California at Santa Cruz, on the creation of tsunamis -- tidal waves -- by underwater landslides. His computer models show some fascinating and frightening effects, as in "a Hawaiian volcano that erupted some 2.7 million years ago and sent its side crashing into the sea, setting off enormous tsunamis whose waves Ward has modelled in a computer study. 'After 18 minutes, the slide, barely half complete, set the ocean in full turmoil,' Ward said. He estimates that waves nearly 200 feet high from trough to peak must have slammed the coasts of Oahu and Molokai within minutes."
Posted by John at 12:21 PM | Comments (0)
September 09, 2001
In the world's largest science
In the world's largest science experiment on Friday, at least 1 million British kids jumped up and down at the same time, creating measurable readings on every seismometer in the country. You know, if you live out here in earthquake country, you can always check on these things in real time. Here's the local (Northern California) graph from Friday. The kids were jumping at around 3:00am my time, which is the 13th line on the graph (the one ending in 3:15 on the right). As you can see, their activities didn't register at all here on the left coast of the U.S., but the rest of the day was certainly noisy. Wonder if they stirred something up?
Posted by John at 12:15 AM | Comments (0)
September 08, 2001
Since my AT&T/@Home cable modem
Since my AT&T/@Home cable modem died yesterday morning, I'm back to dial-up with a 56Kb modem that, thanks to my lousy noisy PacBell phone line, I can only get to connect at about 19.2Kbps. I have to say, there's a qualitative difference in the Internet experience between dialup and broadband. I didn't really appreciate it until I had to go back. So don't expect a lot of new commentary over the next few days. @Home can't get a tech out here until Thursday. :( On the plus side, it's given me some time to work on few outdated things offline. Like our new ParkerFamily.net home page.
Posted by John at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)
September 07, 2001
"The administration has begun to
"The administration has begun to destroy in less than eight months what it took our nation, on a bipartisan basis, eight years to achieve. If this were a movie, it would be called 'Honey, I Shrunk The Surplus.'" Go, Hillary!
Posted by John at 08:30 AM | Comments (0)
I noted back on 8/23
I noted back on 8/23 that it is really hard to find good jokes. Thank you for all your emails attempting to prove me wrong! Anyway, academia is responding as well, as a scientist in Glasgow has set himself the task of finding the world's funniest joke. He's taking submissions, and will start posting funniest jokes in January of 2002 based on his research. Mark your calendars! The site, www.laughlab.co.uk, is up, but all the links didn't work for me. Hopefully this will improve. :)
Posted by John at 07:32 AM | Comments (0)
In the interests of fair
In the interests of fair and balanced reporting, I like this Mother Teresa article better. Although her personal letters at times convey feelings of loss, hopelessness and abandonment, she perservered. Strong stuff.
Posted by John at 07:20 AM | Comments (0)
September 06, 2001
I always knew it would
I always knew it would happen in my lifetime. Vacation in space. I bet that costs a fortune in Aeroflot frequent flyer miles. (As an aside, I love the popup page when you click on "English", which has a notice of shareholder meeting posted with the opening, "Esteemed shareholders".)
Posted by John at 01:14 AM | Comments (0)
Four cups a day is
Four cups a day is NOT too many. Not any more. Coffee is a rich source of antioxidents, which can assist in preventing or postponing the onset of degenerative diseases. Coffee beats green tea, cocoa and herbal teas. So there.
Posted by John at 01:06 AM | Comments (0)
The secret of beauty, apparently,
The secret of beauty, apparently, is 0.618.
Posted by John at 01:02 AM | Comments (0)
DVD Review (www.dvdreview.com) has all
DVD Review (www.dvdreview.com) has all the upcoming release dates, and a special section that documents all the hidden extras on your DVDs.
Posted by John at 12:51 AM | Comments (0)
And Shakespeare smoked pot? What
And Shakespeare smoked pot? What is today, National Trash Our Heroes day? The guy died in 1616! Can't we just let him rest in peace? "...pipes dug up from the garden of Shakespeare's home in Stratford upon Avon contain traces of cannabis."
Posted by John at 12:17 AM | Comments (0)
September 05, 2001
Wry and witty commentary simply
Wry and witty commentary simply escapes me on this one: Mother Teresa underwent exorcism. The post on MetaFilter that called my attention to the CNN article also linked this article about Mother Teresa, really more of an interview with Christopher Hitchens. He's firmly up on his secular humanist pulpit in the article, but he brings forward some pithy facts that may change your perception of Mother Teresa. (Secular Humanism is an ethical philosophy that emphasizes a world view based upon naturalism: the belief that the physical world or nature is all that exists or is real. As such, it emphasizes scientific inquiry and rejects revealed knowledge as well as theistic morality. From my own theistic perspective, secular humanism therefore offers (1) fewer answers to life's little riddles than you can find in most organized religions, and (2) no prospect of an eternal soul, salvation or divine comfort. However, despite the fact that he's a borderline nutball, facts are facts and Hitchens raises some interesting ones.) At the very least, I'm taking MT off my list of People I Would Most Like To Meet (or To Have Met) until I dig a little deeper. Sigh... I hate it when my icons get smashed.
Posted by John at 11:30 PM | Comments (0)
Shields UP! is a nifty
Shields UP! is a nifty little internet tool from Steve Gibson at Gibson Research Corporation that lets you test your own system security. If you're on a cable modem or DSL, you definitely need to do this. If you just had AT&T@Home come out and plug in your cable modem, or your local baby Bell hook you up with DSL, you're going to be shocked at how open and accessible your files are. Test my shields! Probe my ports!
Posted by John at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)
Oldversion.com offers older versions of
Oldversion.com offers older versions of selected programs, and as you're probably aware, older somtimes is better - smaller, faster, less memory intensive or just less buggy. [via Dean] So far they have 12 programs listed, but the site is growing. If you've got an older version of software that you don't want to upgrade for any particular reason, you might consider sending them a copy. Here's what's on the roster right now: Adobe Acrobat - AOL Instant Messenger - CuteMX - ICQ - mIRC - Napster - PowerArchiver - Scour Exchange - StayAlive - Winamp - WinZip - ZoneAlarm.
Posted by John at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)
Workers in the United States
Workers in the United States are putting in more hours than anyone else in the industrialized world. "Says who?", you ask? "Says the United Nations' International Labor Organization", says I. And CNN. That sucks. Where's all the extra leisure time that our productivity gains from the massive adoption of new technologies was supposed to give us? And who decided on two weeks vacation as the corporate standard anyway?
Posted by John at 06:42 AM | Comments (0)
The White House web site
The White House web site has undergone a makeover. Check out the First Lady's diary, the new "White House for Kids" section, and the Department of Faith section sponsored by Landover Baptist Church. [via Memepool] (Some Baptists do, unfortunately, make it easy to poke fun at the Baptists in general. I am a Baptist, but I have to laugh at this stuff.)
Posted by John at 06:28 AM | Comments (0)
September 04, 2001
I think these are about
I think these are about the coolest salt and pepper shakers I've ever seen.
Posted by John at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)
September 02, 2001
Hate bureaucracy? Ever been jacked
Hate bureaucracy? Ever been jacked around by overly-officious 20-something clerks who probably couldn't make the cut at McDonald's? How's the DMV treating you these days? How's banking for you? Well, welcome to the age of the Internet. Don't get mad, make a Flash movie out of them! Power to the people, baby! [via Zannah]
Posted by John at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
Now this is just bizarre.
Now this is just bizarre. "Geeks without billable projects" is what it sounds like to me. The next iteration of XML is to be Human Markup Language, a set of specifications for conveying human characteristics in XML. "The most obvious application is as a higher level markup language for virtual reality," Thunga said. "The simplest way to think of it would be XML tags for gestures, including <smile>, <frown>, <wave>, <kneel> tags." I think emotional expression in writing is already possible if people feel the need. :)
Posted by John at 10:19 PM | Comments (0)
In this story on Ananova,
In this story on Ananova, Stephen Hawking says genetic engineering could be used to prevent human intelligence being overtaken by that of computers. He suggests that "targeted genetic changes could increase the complexity of DNA and improve humans." The professor concedes it would be a long process, but important to ensure biological systems remain superior to electronic ones. "In contrast with our intellect, computers double their performance every 18 months," he tells Focus magazine. "So the danger is real that they could develop intelligence and take over the world." He adds: "We must develop as quickly as possible technologies that make possible a direct connection between brain and computer, so that artificial brains contribute to human intelligence rather than opposing it." Hawking is not only one of the most brilliant scientific minds, but he's also in a unique position to really understand man/machine interface. I frankly considered that "Terminator" stuff to be pretty much pure science fiction, but if he's worried, I'm worried.
Did you see 60 Minutes last week? They did a special on the NSA, and they actually showed film footage of the arrays of Cray supercomputers they have networked together, monitoring worldwide communications. That baby "wakes up", and we're toast. Or slaves. Or biobatteries. I think we've already demonstrated -- through nuclear weapons, bioweapons, genetic engineering and other cutting edge science -- that when it comes to progress we, as a species, don't have the good sense to self-regulate.
Posted by John at 10:07 PM | Comments (0)
September 01, 2001
High-Speed photography from high schoolers
High-Speed photography from high schoolers at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM). I wish my high school had offered classes like that. Heck, I wish my college had offered them! Also, interesting photos made by the "Rapatronic", a high speed camera from the 1950's designed to film atomic explosions at 1/1,000,000 of a second. [via Mefi]
Posted by John at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
All the slides from our
All the slides from our Africa trip are back, and the scanner is tuned up. Let's see, it takes about 2 minutes to focus, preview, scan and save a slide, and I have about 600 slides... oh boy. This make take awhile. I'll try and post them up in batches as I get them done, and will provide notice here. Here's a few to get you started; click for larger versions.
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When I get them in a real web photo album, I'll add captions. By way of limited explanation, those elephants were in Botswana while we were staying at the Chitabe game camp, that's Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, and those dancers are from a tribe in Malawi.
Posted by John at 01:08 AM | Comments (0)
