"We don't allow faster than light neutrinos in here," said the bartender. A neutrino walks into a bar.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Beer Bread Recipie
This is easy and quick.
3 Cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 Tbs white sugar
1 12 oz can beer
Mix dry. Add beer. Bake @ 350 for 50-60 min.
Also a great way to dispose of excess beer that you might have. Say, if someone saw a great deal on lemonade beer that combined the worst aspects of both.
3 Cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 Tbs white sugar
1 12 oz can beer
Mix dry. Add beer. Bake @ 350 for 50-60 min.
Also a great way to dispose of excess beer that you might have. Say, if someone saw a great deal on lemonade beer that combined the worst aspects of both.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Minneapolis - St. Paul
Ten hour round trip for a two and one-half hour field trip. The math doesn't work out logically, but the Kid loved the science museum. He also loved the roller coasters at the former Camp Snoopy at Mall of America. I remain convinced that roller coasters are best after-the-fact and not during.
Best part - watching the Kid manipulate the wave pool controls to adjust the bottom, frequency and size and watch the waves change shape, when they broke on the 'beach' and so on. He went at this for a real long time.
And there is news on the dinosaur front! Sauropods, when I was a child, lived in swamps because their enormous bulk would collapse on land. This seemed an unlikely survival strategy but whatever.
Sometime between 'when I was a child' and 'now' Learned Scientists changed their minds. Sauropods are now nimble critters, bounding across the landscape like gazelle. I'd like to see Martin Perkins capture one in a net - boy that would make a keen Wild Kingdom episode, hunh?
Diplodocus could even use his tail like a bull-whip and slap the carnivores around like Billy Sunday whacking drunks in a saloon.
Best part - watching the Kid manipulate the wave pool controls to adjust the bottom, frequency and size and watch the waves change shape, when they broke on the 'beach' and so on. He went at this for a real long time.
And there is news on the dinosaur front! Sauropods, when I was a child, lived in swamps because their enormous bulk would collapse on land. This seemed an unlikely survival strategy but whatever.
Sometime between 'when I was a child' and 'now' Learned Scientists changed their minds. Sauropods are now nimble critters, bounding across the landscape like gazelle. I'd like to see Martin Perkins capture one in a net - boy that would make a keen Wild Kingdom episode, hunh?
Diplodocus could even use his tail like a bull-whip and slap the carnivores around like Billy Sunday whacking drunks in a saloon.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Why I Like Living in the 21st Century Part N
Modern Dentistry.
Any era before now I'd be looking at years of grumpy misery as my gums recede in the face of plaque and bacteria and my teeth fall out, one by one. In the end I'm drinking warm water and most of my calories come from oatmeal.
Now? I get a dose of Novocaine, the nice lady works away for ninety minutes with an ultrasound, some minty red goop, and some mintier goop and with good luck in a few months the situation [1] stabilizes.
And you get teevee while you're tipped back, mouth open. Can't beat that with a stick.
[1] It's my own dumb fault, of course: genetics and parents who took me to the dentist on a regular schedule gave me a good set of teeth. Then, after the Navy stopped ordering me to the dentist annually, I just stopped going. Don't do that.
Any era before now I'd be looking at years of grumpy misery as my gums recede in the face of plaque and bacteria and my teeth fall out, one by one. In the end I'm drinking warm water and most of my calories come from oatmeal.
Now? I get a dose of Novocaine, the nice lady works away for ninety minutes with an ultrasound, some minty red goop, and some mintier goop and with good luck in a few months the situation [1] stabilizes.
And you get teevee while you're tipped back, mouth open. Can't beat that with a stick.
[1] It's my own dumb fault, of course: genetics and parents who took me to the dentist on a regular schedule gave me a good set of teeth. Then, after the Navy stopped ordering me to the dentist annually, I just stopped going. Don't do that.
Make the Call
Act like everyone else. Are your papers in ordnung, serf? When it comes to making our public spaces safe .. we're all in this together.
Make the Call - Civilian (YouTube).
Where one can find this in the original German?
Make the Call - Civilian (YouTube).
Where one can find this in the original German?
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Reasons why I like my job.
Error messages!
That one is just cute as a basket of puppies.
JSON IS UNSAFE TO EXECUTE! BAILING OUT!
death not achieved conventionally at /Users/bdunbar/bin/ttytter.pl line 4678.
That one is just cute as a basket of puppies.
There is only fairness
President Obama is open about it now. There are no property rights. There is only “fairness”; the Constitution means nothing, liberty is not important; we must be ‘fair’ and that means that those who now pay most of the taxes already now get to pay even more because the government must continue to grow at 7% exponential. Forever.
J.E. Pournelle September 20, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
How much for that doggie in the window?
The F-35 - one expensive machine.
$111 million will buy
That better one gawd-damned good airplane. I mean it better poop gold bricks, whistle 'Dixie' and blow up bad guys for that much cash.
Via.
The air force insists that it is $65 million each, while the Department
of Defense says when all costs are included; it will be more like $111
million each.
$111 million will buy
- 222 MRAPs.
- 37 Stykers.
- 1.2 million cases of MREs.
- A deployed company of grunts for a year.
That better one gawd-damned good airplane. I mean it better poop gold bricks, whistle 'Dixie' and blow up bad guys for that much cash.
Via.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
A gremlin minute?
Got a cookbook at the used book store, printed in 1966: "Uncle John's Original Bread Book" [1]
For St. Patrick's Day Oatmeal Bread we have ...
What in the Wide World of Sports is a gremlin minute?
[1] By John Rahn Braue, copyright 1961.
For St. Patrick's Day Oatmeal Bread we have ...
Spoon mixture into large greased bread pan and bake in 350° F. oven for 70 gremlin minutes;
What in the Wide World of Sports is a gremlin minute?
[1] By John Rahn Braue, copyright 1961.
An elephant is faithful—one hundred per cent
The text of 'Horton Hatches The Egg'.
So the next time I need to read my grandson to sleep, and don't have the book handy, I won't have to rely on memory.
So the next time I need to read my grandson to sleep, and don't have the book handy, I won't have to rely on memory.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
RIP
I've been to funerals. Some in funeral homes with the charm of a school cafeteria. Even the nice ones are just places where you can say a few words, a prayer or two and you're done. The best you can say about them is that they're better than nothing.
Dad's memorial was at the lake, at the yacht club where he'd spent so much time. Where I spent a lot of my childhood, come to that.
I can't think of a better place for a memorial than a place the deceased loved to be at, where his presence is so close
The priest said
When Bill died he left his boat tied to the rigging dock. It took six of us an hour and a truck to haul his boat out of the water. Bill could do it in five minutes, alone, with a Mercedes.
And
Every one of us here has had a moment when Bill would wander over to what we were doing, offer some advice. And his way was always right, and easy.
And
In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God our brother Bill, and we commit his body to the deep.
And we did. And it was good.
Later I'm driving home. In deep night of the Iowa countryside, behind the wheel of a truck just a little bit younger than I am. V8 motor throwing noise into the night and heat into the cab. My youngest is in the middle of the bench seat, his head leaning gently against my arm, sleeping.
With my youngest dozing at my side, I felt him one more time. Then he slipped away.
Rest in Peace, Dad.
Dad's memorial was at the lake, at the yacht club where he'd spent so much time. Where I spent a lot of my childhood, come to that.
I can't think of a better place for a memorial than a place the deceased loved to be at, where his presence is so close
The priest said
When Bill died he left his boat tied to the rigging dock. It took six of us an hour and a truck to haul his boat out of the water. Bill could do it in five minutes, alone, with a Mercedes.
And
Every one of us here has had a moment when Bill would wander over to what we were doing, offer some advice. And his way was always right, and easy.
And
In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God our brother Bill, and we commit his body to the deep.
And we did. And it was good.
Later I'm driving home. In deep night of the Iowa countryside, behind the wheel of a truck just a little bit younger than I am. V8 motor throwing noise into the night and heat into the cab. My youngest is in the middle of the bench seat, his head leaning gently against my arm, sleeping.
With my youngest dozing at my side, I felt him one more time. Then he slipped away.
Rest in Peace, Dad.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Got a good motor and she does scoot right along
This is sitting in my driveway, now.
A 1975 Chevrolet K10 Silverado.
Real 1970s technology inside: Bench seat. Wing windows. Prominent ashtray. No cup holders.
Drive this for very long I'll be taking up manly 1970s habits like smoking, disco, and terrible country music.
A 1975 Chevrolet K10 Silverado.
Real 1970s technology inside: Bench seat. Wing windows. Prominent ashtray. No cup holders.
Drive this for very long I'll be taking up manly 1970s habits like smoking, disco, and terrible country music.
Sunday, September 04, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
In which I am turning into an old man.
Sears is advertising 'free tire pressure checks'. For this to be worth the money that Sears is putting into the ads all over the damn radio ... there must exist a whole lot of Americans who cannot use a tire gauge.
This is ... millions of people a day climbing into cars, hurtling all over the city in it and having no idea what makes it go. Air .. tires? Man, that's for specialists.
I can imagine there are people like this. But I have a hard time understanding why someone would deliberately turn Eloi.
Morlocks are ugly. But they get stuff done.
This is ... millions of people a day climbing into cars, hurtling all over the city in it and having no idea what makes it go. Air .. tires? Man, that's for specialists.
I can imagine there are people like this. But I have a hard time understanding why someone would deliberately turn Eloi.
Morlocks are ugly. But they get stuff done.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Thrift
Looking for cheap reading material for an upcoming trip, dropped by my local Bethesda Thrift.
Found a suit. A nice suit. It looks like the guy had it on once, maybe twice. Fits like a glove.
For $6.75. Being thrifty rocks.
That's all. Go about your business, citizens.
Found a suit. A nice suit. It looks like the guy had it on once, maybe twice. Fits like a glove.
For $6.75. Being thrifty rocks.
That's all. Go about your business, citizens.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Clearing Tabs
Citing a 17% income tax rate, Warren Buffet wants rich folks to pay more taxes. Warren Buffet is acting coy with the truth about his taxes. And what 'rich' is.
Just in time for the back to school season, David Rosenberg's 12 Bullet Points Confirming The Double Dip Is Here. Ruh-roh.
The president bought a new bus. Made in Canada. He said he wanted more jobs in America - Canada is close enough for government work.
Say it with me: One Term President. It could happen.
55 cents of every dollar spent on 'Made in China' products stays here. Didn't everyone know this?
Max Wolf Valerio: Trans Men need to man up. Which is, yes, kind of funny in it's way but also: heck yeah. If you're going to be male, be a man, not a woman with the wrong equipment.
Just in time for the back to school season, David Rosenberg's 12 Bullet Points Confirming The Double Dip Is Here. Ruh-roh.
The president bought a new bus. Made in Canada. He said he wanted more jobs in America - Canada is close enough for government work.
Say it with me: One Term President. It could happen.
55 cents of every dollar spent on 'Made in China' products stays here. Didn't everyone know this?
Max Wolf Valerio: Trans Men need to man up. Which is, yes, kind of funny in it's way but also: heck yeah. If you're going to be male, be a man, not a woman with the wrong equipment.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Customer Service and etc
Awesome
The Front Range at dawn. And sunset. And high noon. I'd forgotten what it's like, having actual terrain all around. The Flatirons ... holy cow that is a lot of rock, just poking up into the air.
Boulder. Great city. It's .. Madison. But more liberal, which I did not think you could do. Without the state capitol. And with more bike trails. A more interesting downtown [1]. And it's pedestrian friendly. Possibly to excess: you really should not take for granted that cars will just stop. Eventually some tourist is going to come along, wondering what that blinky yellow light means.
I've never seen illegal drugs offered for sale so openly. If they only had firearms so readily available it would be a little slice o' Libertarian Heaven.
BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse in Boulder. Great service. Awesome food. Try the deep-dish pizza.
IBM Business Continuity and Resiliency Service. You don't want to use their services. But if a meteor is going to hit your data center, you will be hard-pressed to find a better place to hang out and get things up and running again.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car, DIA. Offering a drink of water to customers is a nice touch. The altitude and dry air catches up to a guy just about the time you've reached the rental car building. The staff is very good. If they were any bouncier they'd be flying through the air.
Delta. You guys rock.
Meh
The restaurant that will not be named at DIA. 30 minutes for eggs? Funny how, when asked, they were ready just-like-that. Also: no refill on the water. I get that you're busy, but the waitress, while busy hustling back and forth, could have trotted around with a carafe? Maybe .. left one on the table?
TSA. Long lines while complete strangers trample one's civil rights and ... Can we talk?
The thing where you have a team of agents - like four of them - hang out in the boarding lounge and you quarter the area, with two dudes at 12 and two at 3? What are you waiting for? We've been pre-screened and scanned and wanded and shoved around like feedlot cattle. You're there because ... why? I get the 'don't want to catch the good-guys in the crossfire' thing when you're at 12 and 3: but you're not armed with anything more lethal than a badge and a radio.
It's weird to be an American, in an inoffensive place like the airport, watched like you're a potential thug, let me tell you.
[1] Imagine what Madison would be like if the best real estate wasn't occupied by a big ol' marble mausoleum and pest magnet.
The Front Range at dawn. And sunset. And high noon. I'd forgotten what it's like, having actual terrain all around. The Flatirons ... holy cow that is a lot of rock, just poking up into the air.
Boulder. Great city. It's .. Madison. But more liberal, which I did not think you could do. Without the state capitol. And with more bike trails. A more interesting downtown [1]. And it's pedestrian friendly. Possibly to excess: you really should not take for granted that cars will just stop. Eventually some tourist is going to come along, wondering what that blinky yellow light means.
I've never seen illegal drugs offered for sale so openly. If they only had firearms so readily available it would be a little slice o' Libertarian Heaven.
BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse in Boulder. Great service. Awesome food. Try the deep-dish pizza.
IBM Business Continuity and Resiliency Service. You don't want to use their services. But if a meteor is going to hit your data center, you will be hard-pressed to find a better place to hang out and get things up and running again.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car, DIA. Offering a drink of water to customers is a nice touch. The altitude and dry air catches up to a guy just about the time you've reached the rental car building. The staff is very good. If they were any bouncier they'd be flying through the air.
Delta. You guys rock.
Meh
The restaurant that will not be named at DIA. 30 minutes for eggs? Funny how, when asked, they were ready just-like-that. Also: no refill on the water. I get that you're busy, but the waitress, while busy hustling back and forth, could have trotted around with a carafe? Maybe .. left one on the table?
TSA. Long lines while complete strangers trample one's civil rights and ... Can we talk?
The thing where you have a team of agents - like four of them - hang out in the boarding lounge and you quarter the area, with two dudes at 12 and two at 3? What are you waiting for? We've been pre-screened and scanned and wanded and shoved around like feedlot cattle. You're there because ... why? I get the 'don't want to catch the good-guys in the crossfire' thing when you're at 12 and 3: but you're not armed with anything more lethal than a badge and a radio.
It's weird to be an American, in an inoffensive place like the airport, watched like you're a potential thug, let me tell you.
[1] Imagine what Madison would be like if the best real estate wasn't occupied by a big ol' marble mausoleum and pest magnet.
Sunday, August 07, 2011
To My Little Sister Whom I Love
This is how you change a flat tire.
Love,
Your Brother.
- Activate the emergency brake.
- Activate the flashers.
- Open the trunk.
- Lift up the plywood floor.
- Read the directions printed on the underside.
Love,
Your Brother.
Fifty Years After The End of the World
The Pioneer kept coming. It was caught by an inshore current that carried it briefly to the side. Then the keel hit the bottom, and the ship drove hard onto the flooded beach, carried by its weight, slowing under full forward power until the rudder no longer functioned and the hull veered out of control and slid to a halt not a hundred yards from where we stood. Anchors the size of cars rattled down the sides and splashed into the shallows. The engine stopped, the lights switched off in succession from bow to stern, and abruptly the Pioneer lay dark and still.The Shipbreakers - William Langewiesche
Pictures, here.
What those pictures put me in mind is fifty years after the end of the world: the last of the old world's machines are stripped to make crossbows, bolts, armor.
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