Happy new year, everybody.

Battle at Kruger

song lyrics of the day

I am thinking it's a sign that the freckles
In our eyes are mirror images and when
We kiss they're perfectly aligned
And I have to speculate that God himself
Did make us into corresponding shapes like
Puzzle pieces from the clay
True, it may seem like a stretch, but
Its thoughts like this that catch my troubled
Head when you're away when I am missing you to death
When you are out there on the road for
Several weeks of shows and when you scan
The radio, I hope this song will guide you home

They will see us waving from such great
Heights, 'come down now,' they'll say
But everything looks perfect from far away,
'come down now,' but we'll stay...

I tried my best to leave this all on your
Machine but the persistent beat it sounded
Thin upon listening
That frankly will not fly. you will hear
The shrillest highs and lowest lows with
The windows down when this is guiding you home

Such Great Heights, by Iron & Wine

the eyes have it

See them here.

quote of the day

"Every little increase in human freedom has been fought over ferociously between those who want us to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to obey and be humble and submit."

-- Philip Pullman

looks good

You can watch the new trailer for the new Batman movie here.

silent night

Around this time every year I hear about an event that happened on the battlefield in Flanders during World War I on Christmas day, 1914. The story goes that the English and German soldiers, who assumed the war would be over shortly, spent the day singing carols and playing soccer together in mutual friendship. Once Christmas was over, they returned to hostilities. I love this story, but have always doubted that it really happened. It turns out I was wrong.

poem of the day

Tuesday 9:00 AM

A man standing at the bus stop
reading the newspaper is on fire
Flames are peeking out
from beneath his collar and cuffs
His shoes have begun to melt

The woman next to him
wants to mention it to him
that he is burning
but she is drowning
Water is everywhere
in her mouth and ears
in her eyes
A stream of water runs
steadily from her blouse

Another woman stands at the bus stop
freezing to death
She tries to stand near the man
who is on fire
to try to melt the icicles
that have formed on her eyelashes
and on her nostrils
to stop her teeth long enough
from chattering to say something
to the woman who is drowning
but the woman who is freezing to death
has trouble moving
with blocks of ice on her feet

It takes the three some time
to board the bus
what with the flames
and water and ice
But when they finally climb the stairs
and take their seats
the driver doesn't even notice
that none of them has paid
because he is tortured
by visions and is wondering
if the man who got off at the last stop
was really being mauled to death
by wild dogs.

- Denver Butson

Kwout: a new way to cite sites

kwout | A brilliant way to quote via kwout

rest in peace, indeed

It was with sadness in my heart that I learned this morning that Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. I've been loosely following her story since she returned to Pakistan after a recent exile, and I was really hoping she'd get elected. She was a brave, visionary woman. I was coming home from work two weeks ago and heard an interview on NPR in which she addressed the almost certainty that another attempt on her life would take place. When Terri Gross asked her how she felt about it, her response struck me as beautiful: "There is always the possibility that someone will try to silence me, but what I stand for cannot be silenced." She stood for a new Pakistan, without sectarian violence or religious strife, and her attempts to counteract Musharraf brought a much-needed democratic voice to the table. Her death will undoubtedly complicate the already tragic political situation the country faces.

A bright candle has been snuffed out.

best extreme t-shirt

merry merry

Once again the Crook family has decided to head out for whereabouts unknown for Christmas. Except that this time, the whereabouts happen to be Jamaica. We will be in Montego Bay and the surrounding locale until the 25th, so if we miss you (or your cool party, Zack!) we will see you hopefully before the new year. If we don’t see you before the new year, hopefully we will see you on the new year’s eve at Crossroads Cafe in Huntsville, AL where Donna the Buffalo will be rocking the house. If we don’t see you there, I can’t make any promises when we’ll see you. But we will. Soon. Because we love you.

guess who this is

fit to print

The Newseum now offers a service that allows you to click on a map and read the front page of the local paper. Interesting way to see how news differs from region to region.

poem of the day

I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic
and she said yes
I asked her if it was okay to be short
and she said it sure is
I asked her if I could wear nail polish
or not wear nail polish
and she said honey
she calls me that sometimes
she said you can do just exactly
what you want to
Thanks God I said
And is it even okay if I don't paragraph
my letters
Sweetcakes God said
who knows where she picked that up
what I'm telling you is
Yes Yes Yes

- Kaylin Haught

one day my neighborhood will look like this

smackdown of the day

an excerpt from a recent debate between Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama:

"Senator Obama, you have Bill Clinton's former national security adviser, state department policy director and Navy secretary -- among others -- advising you. With relatively little foreign policy experience of your own, how will you rely on so many Clinton advisers and still deliver the kind of break from the past that you're promising voters?"

"I want to hear that," Hillary Clinton said, laughing.

"Well, Hillary, I'm looking forward to you advising me, as well," Barack Obama said.

watch the video here.

perhaps

The disappearing car door looks like the next big innovation.

the boys

Shorpy has a great collection of Civil War-era photographs.

best fortune ever

necessity, mother of invention

Another interesting alternative energy idea: underwater power-generating ocean turbines. These turbines would collect energy from ocean currents, much like windmills collect energy from moving air.

it's a small world, indeed

here we go again

It appears that our creationist and intelligent design friends have found a new forum: Texas. Ars Technica reports that last week the Texas Education Agency's Director of Science was forced out of her job for allegedly not "remaining neutral" over the teaching of evolution in schools. Christine Comer, a former science teacher, had her nine-year stint as Director of Science ended as a result of an e-mail she sent to colleagues, notifying them of an upcoming talk being given by Barbara Forrest. Forrest is the author of Inside Creationism's Trojan Horse, a book that details the movement to have intelligent design taught as science in America's schools.

This bothers me because it is of course absurb to permit the teaching of creationism in our schools, but it also bothers me because the creationists just won't shut up and go away. And Alabama is probably next. Alabama schools already allow disclaimers in biology textbooks that describe evolution as "a controversial theory" and recently the state became the first in the union to approve a textbook for a course about the Bible in its public schools. What's next, another monument in the Supreme Court?

water, water everywhere

Speaking of water (see post below), it turns out that scientists scanning the deep interior of Earth have found evidence of a vast water reservoir beneath eastern Asia that is at least the volume of the Arctic Ocean.

rain, man

For all the rain we've been getting in Alabama lately, it turns out that we're still in a drought of historical proportions. The state purports to have a plan for sharing the scant water resources with Georgia, but it looks like Atlanta will be getting most of the water. You can see pictures of how low Lake Martin is here. Apparently the only solution is the tried-and-true rain dance.

options

When 21 gears aren't enough, it's time to get yourself an infinitely geared bicycle.

bold, brilliant

Setting a shining example for all to follow, Britain is set to launch a massive expansion of offshore wind-power, with plans for thousands of turbines in the North Sea, Irish Sea and around the coast of Scotland. The turbines, which can reach heights of 850 feet, could end up meeting 50% of the country's electrical needs. That's a lot of power.

thanks, Amazon

"I often use pencils to write notes on paper, but have been thinking about changing to a pen. Is this pen a good starting point for a novice?"

the Feud

Well the Johnstons gave it their best shot this past weekend on the Family Feud, but Brice summed it up best: "You know, we're just not very good at this game." Sadly, no. We got beat in the first round--didn't even make it to Fast Money.

Although it is just a silly game show, it is very competitive and intense once you get on stage. The level of intensity is a lot higher that I realized. You're trying to pay close attention while clapping and cheering at everything that moves, all the while thinking about your answer and the other answers that someone already said and all of a sudden you just can't think of a word that rhymes with "butter." Aaagh! Wait, I had a better answer! But the game is already into the next round. It goes by so quickly. But no excuses--we bombed and had a great time doing it.

The upshot of the weekend was getting to see Hollywood and the Sunset Strip and hanging out with my goofy cousins. Despite (or because of) the stress level at the studio, we laughed all day long. It was a surreal, silly day and I'm glad I got to do it. The Price is Right, anyone?

fyi: the episode won't air until May of 2008. (Maybe everyone will have forgotten about it by then and won't watch my amazingly terrible answer to the first question.)

The pics:

quote of the day

"I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals Himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings."

—Albert Einstein

Many more of Einstein's thoughts on science and religion can be found here.

Here comes the sun

Nanosolar Powersheet is very cool stuff. Or very hot. It won Innovation of the Year of 2007 from Popular Science magazine, and is destined to change the world.

It's a paper-thin solar energy collector. The PowerSheet solar cells are created on printing-press-style machines that set down a layer of solar-absorbing nano-ink onto metal sheets as thin as aluminum foil, so the panels can be made for about a tenth of what current panels cost and at a rate of several hundred feet per minute. It's inexpensive mainly because no silicon is used. Which means that it could be used to cover entire roofs or building exteriors, producing significant amounts of efficient energy.

Be sure and watch the slideshow and animation. This stuff is the real deal, folks.

this explains a lot

In a tragically beautiful twist of irony, a recent study found out what many already know: that a sense of moral superiority can actually encourage one to commit unethical acts such as cheating.

"The principle we uncovered is that when faced with a moral decision, those with a strong moral identity choose their fate (for good or for bad) and then the moral identity drives them to pursue that fate to the extreme," said researcher Scott Reynolds of the University of Washington Business School in Seattle. "So it makes sense that this principle would help explain what makes the greatest of saints and the foulest of hypocrites."

the clarifier

Introducing the Moringa oleifera, otherwise known as the miracle tree.

but it is

I have no idea why it is so interesting to look at abandoned cars and houses.

spellcheck

Definr is a superfast online dictionary.

of course

Best picture ever from the recently-opened Creation Museum in Kentucky.

And in other news, Intelligent Design tries rebranding.

metajokes of the day

How many members of a certain demographic group does it take to perform a specified task?
-- A finite number: one to perform the task and an additional number to act in a manner stereotypical of the group in question.

- - - - -

So, a person belonging to an ethnic group whose members are commonly considered to have certain stereotypical mannerisms met another person belonging to a different ethnic group with a different set of imputed stereotypical mannerisms. The first person acted in a manner consistent with the stereotypes associated with his ethnic group, and proceeded to make a remark which might be considered to establish conclusively his membership in that group, whereupon his companion proceeded to make a remark with a double meaning, the first meaning of which could be interpreted to indicate his agreement with his companion, but the other meaning of which serves to corroborate his membership in his particular ethnic group. The first person took offense at his remark, and reacted in a stereotypical way!

quote of the day

"I will probably never get to go by this particular spot again for the rest of my life. I will, therefore, observe all I can, and commit all I can to memory, about this spot and this unique experience. I will cherish the discomfort, fatigue, depression and monotony as well as the views, elation, and opportunities I have for harmony with myself and the environment. Keeping on will teach me something that I cannot anticipate at the moment, but which will be worthwhile nonetheless, as I look back on it from the future."

– Phil Heffington

mesmerizing

oh mah lawd

Well folks, I seem to be in a pickle. Or a maybe it’s a dilemma. Hell, who knows—what I’m sure of is that I will be in Hollywood filming an episode of Family Feud with my cousins on Saturday.

Yes, you read that correctly. Hollywood. The Feud. Survey says.

More about that in a second—what SUCKS is that because I’ve been called to defend my family’s sacred honor among the glitterati this weekend, I will be forced to miss my father-in-law’s acoustic gig in Birmingham, for which he will have traveled a great distance. You read the announcement here a week or two ago—Riely O’Connor, a great talent on the singer-songwriter circuit, will be performing at Java & Jams on Friday, November 30, at 8:00. That’s this weekend. And chances are neither I nor his daughter will be there (MP’s back is still healing), which is about as cool as the friggin’ sinking of the Titanic.

How did I come to be faced with such a conflict, you ask? To make a long story short, I’ll put it in handy, easy-to-read bullet points in third-person, chronological order:

• Last spring cousin Ray emerged from a very, very serious bout of leukemia. The family was elated. A badass, Ray spent a lot of his recuperation time angling for a spot on the Family Feud. He got it.
• The Johnston Contingency, consisting of Ray, Mason, Brice, Jim and Uncle Wat, flew out to Hollywood.
• They proceeded to get trounced by a Mormon family. However, they rocked on the show and were told they might get invited back for the annual “Lovable Losers” episode. Upon their return to Alabama, doubts prevailed as to their return to the stage. Entire family watched the show on Tivo at family gathering, to much guffawing.
• Around this time, Riely plans a gig in Birmingham, a first. MP and McD are elated. Serious plans ensue, involving friends and cohorts.
• Last week, the Johnston Contingency learns they’ve been invited back on the show as Lovable Losers. Shit hits the fan.
• Uncle Wat drops out, others in the family wisely recuse themselves, and McDowell is left as last-minute option. Apparently he’s not hip. Desperate, the Contingency asks if he will join, provided he doesn’t screw everything up. Much deliberation occurs behind closed doors.
• McDowell is torn. A chance to make an ass of himself on national television . . . or a sweet gig in Birmingham with friends and family? He asks Riely what he should do, who graciously tells him in no uncertain terms to hitch his wagon to the star, statim.
• McDowell accepts the somewhat reluctant invitation offered to him, does phone audition. He justifies the reluctance.
• When on the spot he is asked to name types of food that come in slices, he answers “Pineapple. Bread. Papaya. Tomatoes...” . . . and several other types of fruit. He starts listing every fruit he knows. There is some silence on the other end of the line. The producer-person asks him “What about pizza?” McDowell agrees that would have been a pretty good answer.
• Miraculously, he is accepted onto the show.

That, in a rather spacious nutshell, is how I ended up in this crazy situation. So here’s the deal. If you live in Birmingham or thereabouts, do yourself a favor on Friday and get down to Java & Jams and catch Riely walking his tones and tunes out among the good people. Mary Pat and I will be eternally grateful, and your ear contribution will help ensure that Riley will be back even sooner than he’d planned.

I’ll keep you posted as to when the show will air. The silly cometh.

phrase of the day

Immanentize the eschaton

Happy Thanksgiving

die, back pain, die

Things might slow down here a bit as Mary Pat has to have back surgery tomorrow. She's having a spinal fusion procedure done in her neck that will hopefully alleviate the pain she has been wading through for over a year. We'll be in Birmingham at Carraway Hospital until Tuesday. Please keep your fingers crossed for her.

UPDATE: Success! According to the neurosurgeon, the operation went "really, really well." After a necessarily rough night in the hospital, MP is back home in Montgomery chilling on the couch, sipping tea and letting her back breathe a long-waited sigh of relief. She'll be out of commission for around two weeks. Thanks to everyone for your kind comments and phone calls!

wow

even more wow: The US military is experiencing a "suicide epidemic" with veterans killing themselves at the rate of 120 a week, according to an investigation by US television network CBS.

Ode to Clothes, by Pablo Neruda

Every morning you wait,
clothes, over a chair,
to fill yourself with
my vanity, my love,
my hope, my body.

Barely
risen from sleep,
I relinquish the water,
enter your sleeves,
my legs look for
the hollows of your legs,
and so embraced
by your indefatigable faithfulness
I rise, to tread the grass,
enter poetry,
consider through the windows,
the things,
the men, the women,
the deeds and the fights
go on forming me,
go on making me face things
working my hands,
opening my eyes,
using my mouth,
and so,
clothes,
I too go forming you,
extending your elbows,
snapping your threads,
and so your life expands
in the image of my life.

In the wind
you billow and snap
as if you were my soul,
at bad times
you cling
to my bones,
vacant, for the night,
darkness, sleep
populate with their phantoms
your wings and mine.

I wonder
if one day
a bullet
from the enemy
will leave you stained with my blood
and then
you will die with me
or one day
not quite
so dramatic
but simple,
you will fall ill,
clothes,
with me,
grow old
with me, with my body
and joined
we will enter
the earth.

Because of this
each day
I greet you
with reverence and then
you embrace me and I forget you,
because we are one
and we will go on
facing the wind, in the night,
the streets or the fight,
a single body,
one day, one day, some day, still.

so true

I apparently missed this when it came out in 2001, because when I read it this morning I laughed out loud: Coca-Cola Introduces Coke Mandatory.

Though possible repercussions for failing to meet daily Coke Mandatory consumption requirements have not been formally announced, Hasworth stressed that one 12-ounce can of Coke Mandatory per day is "essentialicious," and that those who fail to comply with minimum daily allotments "will wish they'd done as they were told."

This is Kelly Webb. Bow to the cuteness.

(this image was not found on www.kellywebbgonewild.com)

indeed

Beautiful libraries.

ouch

All this waterboarding talk got me to wondering about some other types of torture used throughout history.

detail

How many of these people can you identify?

an iceberg collapses

(watch until 2:26 or so)

breakfast fix

This is how junkies make pancakes.

strange times

Dave Barry gives a funny (as usual) history of the millennium (so far).

tanks a lot

This is a rather amusing collection of very strange tanks. You can read the second part here. Then after you've begun wondering what they do with all those defunct (hopefully) tanks, you can see for yourself.

image

Great story about the "Marlboro Marine" and the photojournalist who transformed his life.

Hiphop explained in convenient statistical graphs

These are brilliant.

*ahem*

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!!!

OH!

Say it now!

I'm back!

I'm back!

I'm back!

I'm back!

Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you, sing it now!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and shake it, say it now!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!
Get up off!
Ha!
Good God!
So good!

Ha!
Everybody ready?!

Follow me!

Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and shake it, sing it now!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!
Get up offa that thing, (Ha!)
and twist 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you, sing it now!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!

Huh!
Get funky!

So good, Uh!
I'm first to stop, ha!
I've told them now, ha!

Uh!
Ha!
Go higher player!
Can you hit it one time, from the top?!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance to try, you better!
Get up offa that thing,
and... Help me!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you feel better!
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!

Huh!

I need it!

That's the wise old brother at the side start good!
C'mon Clive do it!

Do it!

Uh!
Ha!
Good God!
God Good!
Huh!
Feels good!
Feels good!
Do it to me!
Huh!
Good God!
I want you all in the jam!
Gonna get you all in the jam!
Play that bad funk!
Show 'em how funky you are!
Play it JB's!
Play it now!
Hey!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you feel better!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you, help me out!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you feel better!
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better!
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release, say it now!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!
Get up and... call it!
I feel good!

big bang

Fascinating factoid of the day: the Tunguska event was a massive explosion that occurred in central Russia on June 30, 1908. It is surmised, though not proven, that the blast was caused by a huge meteoroid that slammed into the earth's atmosphere and burst, creating a release of energy 1,000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The explosion felled an estimated 80 million trees over 2,150 square kilometers (830 sq mi). Wow.

roamhome

What I'd like to do is rent a Unicat and travel around North America for an entire year. Who's with me? Mary Pat?

'_'

schadenfreude

This is a rather amusing list of words in foreign languages that have no equivalent in English. Not only linguistically but conceptually--at least I don't think I've ever experienced Oka Shete before. I could be wrong.

Dona - Yamana, Chile: to take lice from a person's head and squash between one's teeth.

Oka/SHETE - Ndonga, Nigeria: urination difficulties caused by eating frogs before the rain has duly fallen.

Pisan Zapra - Malay: the time needed to eat a banana.

Physiggoomai - Ancient Greek: excited by eating garlic.

Baffona - Italian: an attractive moustachioed woman.

Layogenic - Tagalog, Philippines: a person who is only goodlooking from a distance.

Rhwe - South Africa: to sleep on the floor without a mat while drunk and naked.

Shvitzer - Yiddish: someone who sweats a lot, especially a nervous seducer.

Gattara - Italian: a woman, often old and lonely, who devotes herself to stray cats.

Creerse La Ultima Coca-COLA EN EL DESIERTO - Central American Spanish: to have a very high opinion of oneself, literally to "think one is the last Coca-Cola in the desert".

Vrane Su Mu Popile Mozak - Croatian: crazy, literally "cows have drunk his brain".

numba crunchin

I love statistics. I love looking at how numbers match up in various parts of the country and reflect our crazy patchwork culture. When I was a reporter for the Birmingham Post-Herald I used to scour the 2000 U.S. Census report for interesting trends and could almost always find something newsworthy. Did you know that Alabama's population increased by 3.4% over the last six years? Or that 26.4% of the businesses in Alabama are owned by women? This stuff is endlessly fascinating. Anyway, I recently found another site that ranks 101 U.S. cities in a similar manner as the census, with hundreds of categories. I'm not sure how relevant it is to know the top 101 cities with the highest average wind speeds, but you never know. You could end up on the Family Feud..

wretched excess

Sometimes I am filled with the overwhelming desire to punch someone. In the face.

oh haha

National Funk Congress Deadlocked On Get Up/Get Down Issue

"Until our country's funky leaders can resolve this deadlock, U.S. funk leadership, and the booties of all Americans, will remain immobilized," said Gregory Tate, domestic motorbooty-affairs reporter for The Washington Funkenquarterly. "Unless a compromise can be reached soon, the entire nation's thang could be in serious jeopardy."

Some artists of note

Jacob Magraw
James Roper
James Jean
Jerico Santander
All the artists at Desktopography

stop

Speaking of photography (below), these high-speed photographs are amazing.

face to face

Apparently 46% percent of Americans think we should attack Iran in relation to their nuclear program. That's a lot of people. And a lot of war. I wonder if these people feel the same way after looking at these striking photos of the country.

full steam ahead

This guy has built a rather interesting 'steampunk' laptop. It's twice as convincing as his desktop.

now hiring raindancers

For those of you who have heard about the drought in Alabama but haven't really given it much thought, take a look at these pictures of Lake Martin, just north of Montgomery.

it's the shoes, stupid

After spending the past few months attempting to get back in shape, mainly through running, I have now come to a conclusion. Shoes matter. Yes, they do. Granted, I was out of shape and hadn't run in many moons when I started circling my neighborhood early in the summer, but for some reason I got shinsplits right away. Bad ones. I was running in a pair of Nikes, which I admit I bought in order to get in on the new idea. But after three months or so of recurring shinsplints and a knee problem thrown in, Pat (MP's wonderful mom) bought me a pair of Asics. And for the past two mornings I have run two and three miles respectively with virtually no pain at all. I haven't even felt the shins acting up one bit. Call me a convert.

Of course, this change could be because I "ran through" the splints and strengthened my legs rather than just getting new shoes. Perhaps it's a little of both. But after doing a bit of research, I think it's possible that I was running in shoes that were bad for me.

deep

Zena Holloway takes sublime underwater photos.

(If you like those, you'll appreciate these too.

stunning

Houses with a view.

craziest prank evar

This poor guy had no idea what sort of taxi he was getting in.

Items in Lincoln's pockets when he was shot

Items in Lincoln's pockets when he was shot
Originally uploaded by mcdowell.

loot

Since 9/11, TSA has collected tons of items at security checkpoints; in 2006 alone, screeners took in more than 13 million items. What happens to all that stuff? The TSA turns it over to state surplus property agencies, which tend to sell it online or at retail stores. Find a store near you.

zoom in

These are in fact 11 phenomenal satellite images of Earth

best/most contemporary halloween costume

dreams

"It is far better to have a firm grasp of the surreal than be drifting across the seas of certainty." - unknown

Tim Jackson, drums. Drums, Tim Jackson

Amazing Drum Tenor Solo.

(of course, one must also watch this.)

praise the lord

In a moment of absolutely divine retribution, a federal jury today ordered the Westboro Baptist Church to pay nearly $11 million in compensatory and punitive damages to the family of a fallen U.S. soldier whose funeral members of the church desecrated in March of 2006. The church regularly protests funerals of soldiers, expressing their profoundly stupid but hitherto legal belief that the war on Iraq and other such disasters are God's punishment for society's tolerance of homosexuals. Yes, these are the idiots you've seen in the media holding signs that say "God Hates Fags" and other intentionally rage-inciting slogans.

Obviously (if you've read this blog for long) I'm a big proponent of free speech, but it is my sincere conviction that any law that prevents delusional imbeciles like these from spreading their views is a good law.

Passion entre ciel et terre

Since I live on a coastal plain far, far away from any mountains I rarely get to see any in person, at least the tall ones. I'm reduced to gazing at their sublime heights from the mundane safety of my computer screen. One of my favorite sites to visit is skyandsummit.com, where I can follow the adventures of a guy in France about my age who climbs mountains with his buddies on the weekends. They go dizzying places like this all the time. Can you imagine spending the night in this place? Anyway, this guy (whatever his/their name is/are) recently posted this really cool video of his/their summit of Dent Blanche, a prominent peak in Switzerland. Does anyone know the artist of the song on the video?

ha hah

hegemony

Wow. In Saudi Arabia women are just now petitioning the king for permission to drive. The traditional ban on women drivers comes from a strict interpretations of the Koran, and as a result Saudi and foreign women cannot travel, marry, or rent lodging without permission from a male guardian. I guess Shirley Muldowney doesn't visit the country often.

open, scroll down slowly

irony defined

State Report: Texas Has Too Many State Reports

easy glider

I want one. No, really.

lilliputian

Little people are all around us.

period

This headline was so self-explanatorily convincing that the story itself need only consist of a period. Now that's some concise reporting, folks.

go Tim go

Our good friend Tim Collier is in Iraq right now, kicking ass and taking names. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. And if you happen to be an insurgent deserving of his wrath, please get in his way.

hey, look at me!

My mountain bike is boring. I need some new wheels.

(lifted from Eartha's site.)

pre-Spiff

If you like Calvin and Hobbes (who doesn't?) then you'll be interested in checking out some of Bill Watterson's early cartoon sketches from the '80s.

art's sake

I could browse the Artchive all day.

future imperfect

I am Legend looks good.

up

I probably don't go to the dentist as much as I should because I hate staring up at the boring ceiling tiles for so long. I'd much rather go here.

dantean

If you've been reading about the wildfires in California but have had trouble imagining what it must be like to have them surround you, check out this photo. Also see this satellite photo for a true sense of scale.

the value of art

I really want to see the documentary Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock? The subject of the film is a painting found by Teri Horton at a yard sale which she has spent the last 14 years trying to verify is an authentic Jackson Pollock. If it is, she owns a potential fortune. According to at least one art expert, it's the real deal. But if it's not, well then who's to say what it's worth?

I wonder if this same sort of controversy could have ever arisen around another artist's work. I mean, stone cold convincing forgeries have been around for years, but Pollock's splatter paintings are so . . . um . . easy. (ducks to avoid torrent of rage being hurled from art critics and scholars) I'm no expert, but it is possible that many could do the same thing on canvas. At least some have felt that way. The film reportedly address these issues, so it looks promising. Here's Ms. Horton with the "art." (<--quotations will be removed upon the painting's authentication.)

byline

I wrote an editorial concerning religion in the Montgomery Advertiser which ran today. I hope it prompts a response I can understand.

I am now utterly convinced that evolution is wrong

we have fermentation

Well last night I managed to brew my first batch of what will hopefully be beer. I only overboiled the wort once and it wasn't major, but the house now has a sickly-sweet odor permeating everything. Maybe in two weeks the wonderful beer will help me forget the fact that my house smells like a brewery.

Actually, it was a rather easy process, despite my constant fear of contamination. Next time I'm going to clean everything first and make sure it completely dries before starting the boil. I was worried that the fermentor bucket was still damp with cleaning solution when I poured the wort in, which is bad because the soap will kill the yeast. I didn't see any initial fermentation when I went to bed and was sure I had screwed it all up.

It turns out that the beer doesn't start fermenting for 8-24 hours after the yeast is added. Therefore, it was a joyous sight this morning when I looked at my little "bubbler" and saw gas escaping, which means that my little yeasties are working. Steady on, fellas. Should this process interest any of you, I've started a little brewblog at http://www.mcdowellcrook.com/brewjournal/ so I can keep a journal of my brews. If nothing else, you'll be able to learn when the beer is ready so you can drop by unexpectedly.

UPDATE: Speaking of alcohol, I just read that the Guinness Book of World's Records had to remove all entries related to drinking, for obvious reasons. But you can read some of them here.

Casimir effect

This tiny ball provides evidence that the universe will expand forever.

quote of the day

"A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider God-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, wrongly believing that he has the Gods on his side."

– Aristotle, Politica book 5 (ca. 340 BCE)

wow

Impact.

fo realz

All I got to say is that Georgia better back off with a quickness.

watch out for those crazy jedi initiate parties

music becomes us

As for Radiohead's new album In Rainbows, I love it. "House of Cards" is a particularly haunting and ethereal song that has transported me frequently over the past few days. And I must admit that I am fascinated by the band's decision to sell the album online for whatever you feel like paying. It's a wonderful experiment. Who knows whether it will make money for the band, much less become a model for other bands to follow. It definitely won't work for most bands, who don't even get money to make an album until they've agreed to follow the traditional music cd format, etc. But if it works, it could be huge. And Radiohead is positioned to make something crazy like this work, not only because they have an alternative fanbase and the album is actually incredible, but because they acknowledge where the music industry is headed. Jonny Greenwood, the lead guitarist, recently made the following interesting statements in an interview:

What’s motivating the band to distribute the album this way?
Just getting it out quickly. It was kind of an experiment as well; we were just doing it for ourselves and that was all. People are making a big thing about it being against the industry or trying to change things for people but it’s really not what motivated us to do it. It’s more about feeling like it was right for us and feeling bored of what we were doing before.

Why give people the option to pay whatever they want?
It’s just interesting to make people pause for even a few seconds and think about what music is worth now. I thought it was an interesting thing to ask people to do and compare it to whatever else in their lives they value or don’t value.

Have you gotten any figures of how much people are choosing to pay?
No we get the numbers tomorrow supposedly. Yeah, I don’t know. The more exciting thing for me is just hearing it on the radio today and knowing it’s landed on everybody’s desk at the same time. That’s what’s exciting. But yeah, I’m sure our manager will have some idea soon.

By the way, I'll have you know that I did pay for the album, and I laid down a cool six pounds for it.

live to ride, ride to...something

enhanced bigotry

Unfortunately, James Watson, of the Watson & Crick duo who won the Nobel Prize for their discovery of DNA secrets, has recently made public his theory that certain races are in fact more intelligent than others. His theory is all the more distressing as it is rooted, correctly or not, in genetic distinctions. All the more reason why everyone on this planet needs to read Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel.

bound to happen

Scientists have discovered a warm and rocky "second Earth" circling a star, a find they believe dramatically boosts the prospects that we are not alone.

i can has cheezburger

The LOLCAT meme continues to grow like kudzu across the internets (and elsewhere), even going so far as to warrant translating the entire Bible into LOLCAT-ese. For example:

1 Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat waz invisible, An he maded the skiez An da Urf, but he no eated it.

2 The Urfs wus witout shapez An wus dark An scary An stufs, An he rode invisible bike over teh waterz.

3 An Ceiling Cat sayz, i can haz lite? An lite wuz.

4 An Ceiling Cat sawed teh lite, to seez stufs, An splitted teh lite from dark but taht wuz ok cuz cats can seez in teh dark An not tripz ovr nethin. an Ceiling Cat sayz u mus hav da moneyz 2 git da milkz.

5 An Ceiling Cat sayed light Day An dark no Day. Teh evning An morning was teh first day.

6 An Ceiling Cat sayed, i can has teh ceilingz of waterz, with waterz up An waterz down. An he maded hole in teh Ceiling.7 An Ceiling Cat doed the skiez with waterz down An waterz up, An stuff.8 An Ceiling Cat sayed, i can has teh firmmint wich iz funny bibel naim 4 ceiling, so evning An morning was teh twoth day.

9 An Ceiling Cat gotted all no waterz into ur base, so no waterz wus not wetted An Ceiling Cat hadz teh dry placez cuz cats dusnt lieks to get wet,

10 An Ceiling Cat called no waterz urths and waters oshunz, so tehre.

11 An Ceiling Cat sayed, wants grass An stuff! so tehr wuz seedz An stufs, An fruitzors An vegbatels.

12 An Ceiling Cat sawed that weedz ish teh good stuff, so, letz tehre be weed. (and catnipz 2, so wen i makes kittehs they can getz hai.)

13 An so teh evning An the morning of the threeth day.

14 An Ceiling Cat sayed, i can has lightz in the firmmint for dividing day from no day.

15 So tehre, lights everwaer, like chrissmass, wai.

16 An Ceiling Cat doeth two greate lightz, teh most big for day, teh other for no day.

17 An Ceiling Cat screweth tehm on firmmint, with big nails An stuff.

18 An Ceiling Cat sawed it wus the goodz, so wai.

of course

Bob Dylan on how he chose his career:

Carelessness. I lost my one true love. I started drinking. The first thing I know, I'm in a card game. Then I'm in a crap game. I wake up in a pool hall. Then this big Mexican lady drags me off the table, takes me to Philadelphia. She leaves me alone in her house, and it burns down. I wind up in Phoenix. I get a job as a Chinaman. I start working in a dime store, and move in with a 13-year-old girl. Then this big Mexican lady from Philadelphia comes in and burns the house down. I go down to Dallas. I get a job as a "before" in a Charles Atlas "before and after" ad. I move in with a delivery boy who can cook fantastic chili and hot dogs. Then this 13-year-old girl from Phoenix comes and burns the house down. The delivery boy — he ain't so mild: He gives her the knife, and the next thing I know I'm in Omaha. It's so cold there, by this time I'm robbing my own bicycles and frying my own fish. I stumble onto some luck and get a job as a carburetor out at the hot-rod races every Thursday night. I move in with a high school teacher who also does a little plumbing on the side, who ain't much to look at, but who's built a special kind of refrigerator that can turn newspaper into lettuce. Everything's going good until that delivery boy shows up and tries to knife me. Needless to say, he burned the house down, and I hit the road. The first guy that picked me up asked me if I wanted to be a star. What could I say?

Playboy, February 1966.

sink or swim

As this upcoming weekend is one of few where MP and I have nothing planned, I've decided to bite the (silver) bullet and brew a batch of beer. I've been collecting implements and wisdom for a few months now, and its time to do it. If anyone would like to assist, we will be testing a few examples of the sort of brew I'd like to end up with. We will be hearty and of good cheer!

Beer, happy Produce of our Isle
Can sinewy Strength impart,
And wearied with Fatigue and Toil
Can cheer each manly Heart.
Labour and Art upheld by Thee
Successfully advance,
We quaff Thy balmy Juice with Glee
And Water leave to France.
Genius of Health, thy grateful Taste
Rivals the Cup of Jove,
And warms each English generous Breast
With Liberty and Love!

kinfolk

In an extremely unlikely turn of events, it turns out that Dick Cheney and Barak Obama might be related.

Beautifully useless

Introducing the Buddha Machine.

ha ha

HAZELWOOD, MO—Twenty-six years after Ronald Reagan first set his controversial fiscal policies into motion, the deceased president's massive tax cuts for the ultrarich at last trickled all the way down to deliver their bounty, in the form of a $10 bonus, to Hazelwood, MO car-wash attendant Frank Kellener.

fyi

Anatomy of a black hole.

fly like an eagle

This is one of the most insane skydiving videos I have ever seen.

overhead

If you've ever wonderd exactly how Google Maps actually works, here's your chance to find out.

must have

Thanks to two British artists, you can have your Lamborghini and pedal it too.

cryovolcanism, yo

I never thought I'd live to see a picture of ice geysers erupting on another planet.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

Mp and I went to Florida this weekend. We had just enough seafood, just enough sun, and more than enough fun.

quote of the day

"If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error."

-- John Kenneth Galbraith

bumper activism

I'm sorry, but if you're going to invoke a symbol repeatedly, it's inevitable that people will make fun of it.

me casa es mi casa

This is a list of 25 incredible homes. Or at least abodes. Either way, they make my house seem rather mundane.

for luxury camping/billing time

Must get my mitts on a Becker JetVan.

silly

These crazy European climbers actually climbed to the top of Mount Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps, and set up a jaccuzi. Why can't I do things like this on the weekends?

target

Sam Harris and Salman Rushdie have published an op-ed in the LA Times asking for support for Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a former Dutch legislator who has been attacked and vilified for her criticism of Muslim traditions that demean women.

I'm afraid I can't do that

An Alabama minister who died in June of "accidental mechanical asphyxia" was found hog-tied and wearing two complete wet suits, including a face mask, diving gloves and slippers, rubberized underwear, and a head mask, according to an autopsy report.
Immediately following his death, church officials issued a press release asking community members to "please refrain from speculation" about what led to Aldridge's demise.

spectra

Last night MP and I watched 3:10 to Yuma and loved it. Christian Bale and Russell Crowe knock 'em out of the park, as do the rest. We got to talking about method acting and the wonders of intense acting. And then I found a webpage illustrating exactly what we'd been talking about.

mad photoshop skills

found here.

technicolor realism

Kim Keever takes photographs. Not that you'd realize that's what they are.

holy condescension

Batman was such a preachy snob.

this blog endorses the following message

detail

This is how wasps build their nests.

force field

d30 is an incredible new polymer that resembles elastic foam padding, but when it experiences shock it locks together into a dense structure. Ideal for downhill skiers and other people who are exposed to blunt trauma on a regular basis. You can see a video of the stuff in action here.

hi

here we go again

It amuses me, sometimes, to observe the means our religious leaders use to encourage the union of faith and government. In a country where such blending of church and state is explicitly disallowed, those who wish for more authority over their flock must often seek creative ways to co-opt the power of government for their own purposes. Take, for example, the recent statement by Roman Catholic Archbishop Raymond Burke, who has stated that he would refuse Holy Communion to Rudy Giuliani because of his “liberal” stance on abortion. This is classic. In an attempt to exert his political will over the Catholic candidates (he did it to John Kerry as well), Burke has thrown down the gauntlet. If Giuliani doesn’t accept the church’s stance, it is implied, he will be cut off from God. Thrown out and treated like the rest of the Protestant rabble. Of course, Burke balks at doing the same thing for candidates who advocate the death penalty or pre-emptive war, but on the issue of abortion he is resolute. In some ways, it’s a brilliant move by the church and one that has been used throughout history. But in reality it is a form of power play that should be discredited and ignored.

As I write this I can’t help but think how far removed from any spiritual ideal we have moved. Although I’m sure Burke feels like he’s standing up for what he believes, he is actually drawing attention to the problem itself. And the problem is that Christianity was never meant to supplant government. Even if I were devoutly religious, I would have major problems with a religious government. I won’t even get into the problems inherent in a governing ideology that in recent years has experienced numerous schisms and denominational fractures. The American Episcopal Church is literally splitting apart at the seams—how can we expect a consistent political approach from an institution that is constantly exploding into disagreements with itself?

No, we’ve got to get back to something more basic. The answer to anything complicated, it usually turns out, lies in simplicity. And the first thing we should do in this situation, it seems to me, is to consult the source. If Burke and others are determined to rule this country with the iron fist of Jesus, we should take very seriously what the man himself might have felt about it.

I realize that the Bible can be turned and twisted to fit just about any ideology out there. For every thing Jesus said, there’s another quote that seems to say the opposite. But if you read the Bible (which I have) you realize that on certain issues he’s pretty consistent, or at least clear. And one of the more remarkable ideas Jesus is responsible for articulating clearly is the notion of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven, referenced by Jesus repeatedly, is the ideal state, the end goal of humanity, the Ultimate Plan of God. Bringing about the Kingdom of Heaven is the actual point and purpose of the religion itself. So what is it, what is this Kingdom? Does it really include Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh as its champions?

According to Jesus, no. But neither does it require John Stewart or Hillary Clinton to forge its presence here on Earth. It’s actually much simpler and cooler than anything in the political realm, or the social realm for that matter. According to Jesus, the Kingdom of God is . . .

. . . a state of mind. And nothing else.

We turn to Luke 17:21 (KJV):

11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

12And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

22 And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.

23 And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.

24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.

Surely we have been overlooking this. I’m no scriptural scholar, but it is plain Jesus is saying that although people will look for the Kingdom of God as one would look for a political or social revolution, they will never find it. That’s not what the Kingdom of God is. Rather, it is within you. It cometh not with observation. It is purely a mental state of being.

Like others I tend to doubt the historical accuracy of the supernatural biblical Jesus story, but I like to think of him as nonetheless a very important moral philosopher, on par with Buddha and Lao Tzu and other folks who have come along and crystallized into words the best ideas for how to live our lives. And I have found nothing more positive or truly praise-worthy than the goal of a utopia of the mind based upon personal enlightenment, where the ideal state emerges from a collective awakening to moral principles. I think that this is what Jesus envisioned. I think this what he meant when he said that the Kingdom of God is within you.

With this religious principle in mind, it strikes me as depressingly absurd when I see the church (or any religion) struggle for political power. I realize that many religious people feel that without the church’s influence on society it would quickly disintegrate into chaos and pandemonium, but again, those people misunderstand the point—individual change/growth/enlightenment/morality should come from within and not from the external power of a religious political institution in the form of laws. At least, that’s what Jesus said.

So let us discredit and ignore Archbishop Burke, and all like him who use religion to further their own political motives. Not only is it a bad idea, but it doesn’t appear to be what Jesus himself really wanted at all.

i could live here

quite easily.

Of Muppets and Men

These videos give depth to the laughing brilliance that was Jim Henson.

color harmony

Chuck Anderson is good. Very good.

the good ol days

In 1860, on the eve of his election to the presidency, Abraham Lincoln received a sweet letter from an 11-year-old girl in Westfield, New York. He responded four days later, and changed the face of history.

bike roundup

12 Hours of Dauset.
Abandoned bikes of New York.
Bicycle lawnmowing.

world record: 130.7 mph on a mountain bike

cheese

In case you or someone you know was impressed by Rudy Giuliani's apparent display of loving fidelity when he answered a phone call from his wife during a speech to the NRA, it will behoove you to know that it was anything but a "candid and spontaneous" act, as his spin team would have you believe. In fact, he's done the same thing over forty times during the campaign so far.

woman v. retail

Edith Macefield is my new hero.

Cheers, yo

I have no idea what I was saying in this photo, but whatever it was it must have been really funny. Or really cheesy. Considering that I'm double-fisting in a tie, it is likely that I'm spouting some boisterous nonsense, neither funny nor relevant. Forgive me, Joe.

Well this weekend was a blast. MP and I headed up to Indiana for her cousin Ann's wedding, which went down in the Basilica on Notre Dame's campus. A beautiful place, though I noticed it seemed rather religious. The church, that is. We had a great time seeing the O'Connors and the Vargas and Hastings and everyone else, and we managed to get quite silly. See picture above.

Ann and Mike are a great couple and will shine brightly. It was a treat to watch them dive in just like MP and I did a year ago. Although I raised many a glass this weekend, I raise another to Ann and Mike and wish them the best in the years to come. Chicago is blessed to have them around, as are we.

who will watch the watchers

If the increasing reports of police brutality in America bother you, you may be interested in Copwatchers, a collection of YouTube videos of "police abusing their powers for all to see."

rust in peace

Haunting pictures of places where vehicles go to die. You can see one such place in great detail.

it's a small world

A recent mathematical discovery by scientists is being hailed as "one of the most important developments in the history of science." The conclusion? Parallel universes just may exist. An illustration of what this means:

In Everett's "many worlds" universe, every time a new physical possibility is explored, the universe splits. Given a number of possible alternative outcomes, each one is played out - in its own universe.

A motorist who has a near miss, for instance, might feel relieved at his lucky escape. But in a parallel universe, another version of the same driver will have been killed. Yet another universe will see the motorist recover after treatment in hospital. The number of alternative scenarios is endless.

It is a bizarre idea which has been dismissed as fanciful by many experts. But the new research from Oxford shows that it offers a mathematical answer to quantum conundrums that cannot be dismissed lightly - and suggests that Dr Everett, who was a Phd student at Princeton University when he came up with the theory, was on the right track.

oh great

The latest innovation in crowd dispersal: the pain gun.

free

Play with the sky.

quote of the day

(Seen at a rally where Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was speaking yesterday.)

quote fact of the day

The only really workable answer to the question of why the universe was created:

In answer to the question of why it happened, I offer the modest proposal that our Universe is simply one of those things which happen from time to time.
-- Edward P. Tryon

sublime

rational ink

Science tattoos. My favorites are either this one or this one.

luck defined

If this guy were a cat, he'd have only one life left.

gooooooooo tolerance, go!

brave new world

This is so cool I have to post the whole thing:

Photon Propulsion Breakthrough Could Cut Mars Transit From Six Months to a Week

TUSTIN, Calif., Sept. 6 [PRNewswire] -- The aerospace industry has taken notice of a California researcher who, using off-the-shelf components, built and successfully demonstrated the world's first successful amplified photon thruster. Dr. Young Bae of the Bae Institute first demonstrated his Photonic Laser Thruster (PLT) with an amplification factor of 3,000 in December, 2006.

Major aerospace agencies and primary contractors have since invited Bae to present his work, including NASA JPL, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), and AFRL (Air Force Research Laboratory). Senior Aerospace Engineer at AFRL, Dr. Franklin Mead, "Dr. Bae's PLT demonstration and measurement of photon thrust (is) pretty incredible. I don't think anyone has done this before. It has generated a lot of interest."

Recently, the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, a peer-reviewed AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics) (http://www.aiaa.org) Journal, accepted Dr. Bae's PLT demonstration paper, "Photonic Laser Propulsion: Proof-of-Concept Demonstration" for publication this year. In his paper Bae documents in explicit detail how he overcame the inherent inefficiencies of traditional photon thrusters in generating thrust by amplification with the use of an innovative optical cavity concept. For decades rocket scientists have tried to overcome the inefficiency of photon thrusters by amplification based on optical cavities separated from laser sources, but failed. In contrast, Bae's patent-pending PLT breakthrough places the laser medium within a resonant optical cavity between two platforms to produce a very stable and reliable thrust that is unaffected by mirror movement and vibration -- ideal for spacecraft control or propulsion.

Dr. Bae will be presenting his PLT concepts, demonstration, and applications at the AIAA Space 2007 Conference 18-19 September 2007 in Long Beach, CA, in four sessions: Space Transportation Systems, Promising Space Concepts from the NASA Institute of Advanced Concepts (NIAC), Space Systems for the Next 50 Years, and Advanced Vehicle Systems.

The PLT research was partially funded by NIAC (NASA Institute of Advanced Concepts) as part of a spacecraft formation flight concept grant.

Bae's PLT demonstration produced a photon thrust of 35 uN, which is sufficient for several space missions currently envisioned, and is scalable to achieve much greater photon thrust for future space missions. Applications for PLT include: highly precise satellite formation flying configurations for building large synthetic apertures in space for earth or space observation, precision contaminant-free spacecraft docking operations, and propelling spacecraft to unprecedented speeds greater than 100 km/sec.

Bae, looking forward with anticipation, observes, "This is the tip of the iceberg. PLT has immense potential for the aerospace industry. For example, PLT powered spacecraft could transit the 100 million km to Mars in less than a week." Several aerospace players have expressed intent to collaborate with the Bae Institute to further develop and integrate PLT into civilian, military, and commercial space systems.

quote of the day

Eppur si muove

razzle dazzle

If you're an amazon associate, you'll find Amazon's shiny new widgets interesting.

bic meets kawasaki

This is the most ridiculous pen I've ever seen.

all the news that fits

The New York Times has decided to open up its online archives to the public. The Times will make available its archives from 1987 to the present without charge, as well as those from 1851 to 1922, which are in the public domain. There will be charges for some material from the period 1923 to 1986 (who knows why) and some will be free.

give it away

"There are no pockets in a shroud."

-- Chuck Feeney

and speaking of money

The haves often live right next to the have nots.

debit or credit?

Good question. Here are some facts you might want to know about the difference.

last ditch

If you ever find yourself losing a criminal defense trial, you might consider popping the question to the jury.

juxtapose

Josh Keyes is weird but wonderful.