A son, a daughter, a wife,
my country, my freedom, my life.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Nacho Double Down
Friday, September 3, 2010
Over- thinking it (UPDATED!)
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Balloon Animals
Thursday, July 8, 2010
I fixed it
Drudge is highlighting the Cyber Command logo today.
But there is nothing "cyber" or "internety" about it.
Here's a thought:
Much better.
But there is nothing "cyber" or "internety" about it.
Here's a thought:
Much better.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Heinlein's List
Okay Garry, shall we set to work on Heinlein's List? I'll put off the "die gallantly" for awhile (hopefully a very very long while), but what about the others? We've both changed diapers. What shall we plan to invade? And then we've got to butcher a hog? This would make for an interesting book . . .
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Chicago
I was in Chicago for work on Wednesday; this shot was taken by a friend after dinner after the Blackhawks won their first Stanley Cup in almost 50 years. Building at lower left says "HAWKS," building in the middle has Stanley, building at lower right says "LET'S GO HAWKS." It was a fun night to be in town.
I also had a great time at one of the funnest museums in the country--Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. Got up close to a U-boat, a Mercury and an Apollo capsule, and some big ole locomotives, etc.
I also had a great time at one of the funnest museums in the country--Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. Got up close to a U-boat, a Mercury and an Apollo capsule, and some big ole locomotives, etc.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
More cars
These cars are all from “The Art of the Automobile” at the Atlanta High Museum (on loan from MOMA I believe). These were taken on my iPhone so please forgive the quality.
Porsche Speedster
Pierce Arrow
Duesenberg
Mercedes (this was my wife’s favorite)
Alfa Romeo
Remainder of a Porsche prototype
Bugatti with original ostrich skin seats
Aston Martin
Jaguar
Ferrari
Porsche
The first Corvette Stingray
There were a few more, but these were the highlights.
Porsche Speedster
Pierce Arrow
Duesenberg
Mercedes (this was my wife’s favorite)
Alfa Romeo
Remainder of a Porsche prototype
Bugatti with original ostrich skin seats
Aston Martin
Jaguar
Ferrari
Porsche
The first Corvette Stingray
There were a few more, but these were the highlights.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Saw a few cars yesterday
Went to the High Museum to see the Art of The Automobile exhibit.
An early Alfa Romeo; one of my favorites on display (Please forgive the iphone quality pic. It's all I had on me). Something about the word Superleggera makes me want to drop everything and race cars.
More to follow when I get some time to post.
An early Alfa Romeo; one of my favorites on display (Please forgive the iphone quality pic. It's all I had on me). Something about the word Superleggera makes me want to drop everything and race cars.
More to follow when I get some time to post.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Go see it
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Quoted for truth
“Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.”
Thomas Jefferson, who accomplished a few things. If only I had one-one hundredth of his drive.
I wonder what's on tv right now...
Thomas Jefferson, who accomplished a few things. If only I had one-one hundredth of his drive.
I wonder what's on tv right now...
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
this is really cool
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Greater Good (1)
With a little bit of work this will hopefully become a recurring series - hence the (1).
A state assemblyman in New York wants to force all New Yorkers to become organ donors. Force, as in at the barrel of a gun (all laws are such).
Here's a better idea: incentivize organ donation! Offer tax credits, cash payments, whatever, to those that choose to be donors.
You can't tell me that wouldn't increase the availability of viable organs. And piss off fewer people.
-- Posted From My iPad
A state assemblyman in New York wants to force all New Yorkers to become organ donors. Force, as in at the barrel of a gun (all laws are such).
Here's a better idea: incentivize organ donation! Offer tax credits, cash payments, whatever, to those that choose to be donors.
You can't tell me that wouldn't increase the availability of viable organs. And piss off fewer people.
-- Posted From My iPad
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Calvin on Ritalin
Friday, April 23, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
iPad
I'm loving my new iPad. It has been a while since a gadget has grabbed my attention so fully (the iPhone notwithstanding...I've only had it four months). I really haven't been into computers and gadgets over the years but this thing makes me want to learn to program.
The best thing about the iPad is the inspiration it provides. You feel like you're working with a computer from the future. Using your fingers instead of a mouse is just...cool (and surprisingly not a hassle). The onscreen keyboard takes some getting used to but it doesn't take long to get the hang of it. I'm writing this post on it now.
My only complaint so far is the obstacles Apple puts in your way. The primary way to get files on and off the iPad is through itunes, which can be a pain. It makes the iPad less of a computer and more of a peripheral. Some apps such as Airshare and various online storage sites are useful for working around this but why not make it more direct (use that camera connection kit to connect a usb flashdrive)? Importing and exporting via email works also but is not always convenient. In short, the file management and storage will keep it from being your primary computer. It really can be inconvenient.
Also, the software is still lacking. The iWork suite helps but better compatibility with MS Office would be great. Im sure this will be fixed in short order. The app store created a gold rush for mobile phone software development, and iPad specific apps are just getting started. I imagine in a year this thing will be a serious threat to laptops.
There are more drawbacks to be sure, but there are with any device. For the first gen, there is a lot to love.
PS...I gave my three year old my iPhone the other night, and we played Battleship over Bluetooth (I used the iPad). We are living in The Future.
The best thing about the iPad is the inspiration it provides. You feel like you're working with a computer from the future. Using your fingers instead of a mouse is just...cool (and surprisingly not a hassle). The onscreen keyboard takes some getting used to but it doesn't take long to get the hang of it. I'm writing this post on it now.
My only complaint so far is the obstacles Apple puts in your way. The primary way to get files on and off the iPad is through itunes, which can be a pain. It makes the iPad less of a computer and more of a peripheral. Some apps such as Airshare and various online storage sites are useful for working around this but why not make it more direct (use that camera connection kit to connect a usb flashdrive)? Importing and exporting via email works also but is not always convenient. In short, the file management and storage will keep it from being your primary computer. It really can be inconvenient.
Also, the software is still lacking. The iWork suite helps but better compatibility with MS Office would be great. Im sure this will be fixed in short order. The app store created a gold rush for mobile phone software development, and iPad specific apps are just getting started. I imagine in a year this thing will be a serious threat to laptops.
There are more drawbacks to be sure, but there are with any device. For the first gen, there is a lot to love.
PS...I gave my three year old my iPhone the other night, and we played Battleship over Bluetooth (I used the iPad). We are living in The Future.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
The joy of sausage
Bacon gets plenty of praise, but let us not forget the joys of sausage. We had a delicious "breakfast for dinner" tonight with creamy scrambled eggs, from-scratch pancakes, savory sausage and plenty of syrup. Ahh, sausage.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Stupid humans
This post is not intended to disparage Mr. Lovelock, but damn...he sure seems to be disparaging me:
Think we've accomplished anything meaningful in 90 years?
Won't affect him. He won't be around much longer. (Plus Friedman's got his back!)
Does he mean actual evidence? Even so, it wouldn't be proof of anthropomorphic global warming.
Ending on a good note, I'll give him credit for this bit:
Their actions might be called stupid. Perhaps the scientific method is too complex for mere humans?
(alternate close: this interview left me feeling utterly disgusted)
"I don't think we're yet evolved to the point where we're clever enough to handle a complex a [sic] situation as climate change," said Lovelock in his first in-depth interview since the theft of the UEA emails last November. "The inertia of humans is so huge that you can't really do anything meaningful."
Think we've accomplished anything meaningful in 90 years?
One of the main obstructions to meaningful action is "modern democracy", he added. "Even the best democracies agree that when a major war approaches, democracy must be put on hold for the time being. I have a feeling that climate change may be an issue as severe as a war. It may be necessary to put democracy on hold for a while."
Won't affect him. He won't be around much longer. (Plus Friedman's got his back!)
He thinks only a catastrophic event would now persuade humanity to take the threat of climate change seriously enough, such as the collapse of a giant glacier in Antarctica, such as the Pine Island glacier, which would immediately push up sea level.
"That would be the sort of event that would change public opinion," he said.
Does he mean actual evidence? Even so, it wouldn't be proof of anthropomorphic global warming.
Ending on a good note, I'll give him credit for this bit:
Lovelock. . .added that he has little sympathy for the climate scientists caught up in the UEA email scandal. He said he had not read the original emails – "I felt reluctant to pry" – but that their reported content had left him feeling "utterly disgusted".
"Fudging the data in any way whatsoever is quite literally a sin against the holy ghost of science," he said. "I'm not religious, but I put it that way because I feel so strongly. It's the one thing you do not ever do. You've got to have standards."
Their actions might be called stupid. Perhaps the scientific method is too complex for mere humans?
(alternate close: this interview left me feeling utterly disgusted)
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Tech Austerity
I want to buy a new camera before the baby's born, and a new computer to load all the pics and video to. (the new tv, sound, game, and video system is still on the list, too) But the stuff I've got now is working just fine, so it's hard to justify the expense when I feel uncertain about the medium and long-term health of the economy (short term seems fine, by which I mean the next couple of months), and I have a lot of other demands on the family purse. Plus, with consumer tech, waiting rewards you with lower prices and/or better stuff, but at the expense of all the time you could've been using the new gear but weren't. For now, I think I'll wait, but I can hardly complain--the stuff I've already got is more than I'm really putting to use anyways. I think I'll just pass the interim with a tech wish list (not to be confused with my "I hope Tech loses every game" list), and get back to spending money on the family and the house-
Statist racism
Okay, so all the hullabaloo and histrionics of the last week regarding violent response to the passage of Obamacare has been tiresome, if not trite, and hypocritical. The cries of violence and racism from the Left seem to be more about projection than anything else, which leads to this week's Ayn Rand quote:
"The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights, cannot claim to be defenders of minorities." -Ayn Rand.
(h/t Chase)
Upgrade
I'm upgrading my old HP laptop to Ubuntu 9.10 right now.
Ubuntu has breathed new life into my PC. XP was getting unusable, and my hardware is too old for Vista or 7.
Of course my iPad will be here in 7 days, so this laptop will likely be forgotten...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Ubuntu has breathed new life into my PC. XP was getting unusable, and my hardware is too old for Vista or 7.
Of course my iPad will be here in 7 days, so this laptop will likely be forgotten...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, March 27, 2010
BRICK
BRICK BRICK BRICK BRICK BRICK BRICK BRICK BRICK BRICK BRICK
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Friday, March 26, 2010
BRICK
Here's some more fake violence: Everytime I type "brick" in ALL CAPS, I'm imagining throwing a brick at the large plate glass window of some dusty district office of healthcare/energy/education/taxation/trans fats and sodium control. BRICK. BRICK!! It's like that game Paperboy; I'm on the bicycle, chucking bricks at the bureaucrats. BRICK!
Okay, maybe I need a better hobby.
Okay, maybe I need a better hobby.
Health care reform, finally.
It's been another salient week for Animal Farm/1984. All animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others (what is increased government control but a way for a decreased number of people making decisions for the rest of us?). And words like "health care" and "reform" are growing more Orwellian by the hour. Condoning violence against GWBush gets pushed down the memory hole, and indictments of fake hate and racism on the part of the Tea Party get bandied about with abandon. The Obama plan seems to be part "two minutes hate" and part hoping that we'll all embrace Big Brother and get on with it. Imagine a boot stamping on a human face, forever. Imagine you liking it.
Here's where I'm at with it. Let's all think what we will and say what we want. Live and let live. You're free to think it's a good idea to spend someone else's money constraining someone else's choices (when did liberals fall in love with the government they were always so mad at? Oh, just mad that they weren't the ones in control? Makes sense now). You may think about control, and talk about it, too. But don't try to control me. I am free. Don't tread on me.
Here's where I'm at with it. Let's all think what we will and say what we want. Live and let live. You're free to think it's a good idea to spend someone else's money constraining someone else's choices (when did liberals fall in love with the government they were always so mad at? Oh, just mad that they weren't the ones in control? Makes sense now). You may think about control, and talk about it, too. But don't try to control me. I am free. Don't tread on me.
I'm not sure if I only admire Bill Whittle,
or if I want to be him:
Not just limiting government. Reducing it. At every level.
Sounds familiar:
A final thought on this darkish day: much is said about the “inevitability” of these kinds of legislation, that once enacted they are impossible to repeal or roll back.
This kind of thinking is self-fulfilling defeatism and has to stop. ANY law enacted can be repealed. We repealed a constitutional amendment, for God’s sake. From now on we must change our message from one of limiting government growth and spending and regulation to one of reducing it.
Not just limiting government. Reducing it. At every level.
Sounds familiar:
That government is best which governs least - Thomas Paine
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
I'm waiting for the prop bets
Big hedge fund manager believes America is on the decline thanks to the passage of our "healthcare" bill:
The man has a point. While most people do not like the healthcare bill, there are many that do, and many of those that don't believe it doesn't go far enough.
We have gotten comfortable.
Perhaps we need a new challenge. What about South America? The moon? Mars?
I'm not quite ready to bet we're going down just yet - what up and coming scrapper is going to overtake us?
Murrin is betting on China. I'm not so sure (how do you say bubble in Mandarin?). But they are as good a bet as anybody.
The passage of the health care law shows that the US empire is declining because it illustrates the fact that people expect the state to take care of them, David Murrin, the co-founder of Emergent Asset Management hedge fund manager, told CNBC.
On Tuesday, US President Barack Obama signed into law health care legislation that expands health coverage for the poor, imposes new taxes on the rich and forbids insurance practices such as refusing coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.
In their expansionary phase, empires force people to go out, seek risks and fend for themselves, Murrin said, reminding of the dismantling of the British empire after the war, when the National Health Service, which ensures universal health coverage in Britain, was created.
"This (empire decline) is actually a dead-set course that societies get into and it will happen very quickly I'm afraid," he told "Squawk Box Europe."
"As you start to build a system it becomes cohesive because of its success… the fractures in the American system I think are more apparent than ever," Murrin added.
The man has a point. While most people do not like the healthcare bill, there are many that do, and many of those that don't believe it doesn't go far enough.
We have gotten comfortable.
Perhaps we need a new challenge. What about South America? The moon? Mars?
I'm not quite ready to bet we're going down just yet - what up and coming scrapper is going to overtake us?
Murrin is betting on China. I'm not so sure (how do you say bubble in Mandarin?). But they are as good a bet as anybody.
Monday, March 22, 2010
I hate this picture
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Contact Congressman, check!
I did a first today. Found out who my congressional representative is, and then contacted him. Mr. Hank Johnson looks like a sure "yes" vote, but I sent him a short email anyways regarding my objections to the bill.
Friday, March 12, 2010
reparations
Pass nationalized healthcare. Require everyone to purchase health insurance. Force them to pay, which forces them to work. Which is slavery. And the chain is complete.
steal my idea
I want someone to start a website called throwarockatthegovernment.com. For a small fee, you can purchase rock throwing credits, and, you know, throw a rock at the government or something.
finding out what ails me
I'm reading the news too much, and finding it (almost) all to be too frustrating. This is why I want a more limited government: I want there to be fewer things that so few people (congresspeople, etc) can do to make me so aggravated. I might still find politics interesting, but I sure wish they weren't so important. I want to be left to my own life and my own decisions, and not be under the shadow, or thumb, of people who call their greed generosity and their lust for power benevolence.
I want to go throw a rock at something.
(thought crime)
I want to go throw a rock at something.
(thought crime)
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Local politics
I watched part of a DeKalb County budget meeting. You should have no trouble guessing how exciting it was. But apparently nobody likes taxes.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
My letter to NBC
I just sent my two cents to NBC:
Dear NBC,
Your coverage of Nodar Kumaritashvili's death was shameful. I agree that the story of his tragic accident was newsworthy, and I appreciated the tributes that were paid to him throughout the Opening Ceremonies. However, there was absolutely no need to show the actual impact, or his bloodied face. Your coverage was cheap and grotesque. Please do not rebroadcast the footage of Mr. Kumaritashvili's tragic death. Let the Olympics be a celebration of human spirit, even if that celebration is sometimes somber.
Dear NBC,
Your coverage of Nodar Kumaritashvili's death was shameful. I agree that the story of his tragic accident was newsworthy, and I appreciated the tributes that were paid to him throughout the Opening Ceremonies. However, there was absolutely no need to show the actual impact, or his bloodied face. Your coverage was cheap and grotesque. Please do not rebroadcast the footage of Mr. Kumaritashvili's tragic death. Let the Olympics be a celebration of human spirit, even if that celebration is sometimes somber.
Snow!
Friday, February 12, 2010
The Bleat PSA
James Lileks puts thoughts into prose perfectly:
I confess I can't really decipher the source of his troubles the last few days, but this passage has stuck with me. Your family deserves your best.
Pounded flat as a tin sheet tonight, and short with my daughter, which always gives me pangs of instant regret. Never, ever take out your mood on your family. It’s the easiest thing to do and the least forgivable; they’re the ones to whom you owe your best self. The fact that they’re closest obligates you to be extra careful.
I confess I can't really decipher the source of his troubles the last few days, but this passage has stuck with me. Your family deserves your best.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
WTC
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Healthcare reform: SOLVED
Monday, February 8, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Tumblr
Paul, take a look at Tumblr. I'm thinking of moving the blog over there for those once a month posts. Looks a little cooler than blogger.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, January 11, 2010
Incredible
Vodkapundit reports on the emergence of a Tea Party Candidate.
http://pajamasmedia.com/vodkapundit/2010/01/11/dont-start-the-revolution-without-me/
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http://pajamasmedia.com/vodkapundit/2010/01/11/dont-start-the-revolution-without-me/
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year!
My New Year's resolution? Post more often!
I think I'll start tomorrow!
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I think I'll start tomorrow!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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