Or the James Gate Brewery in Dublin; I forget which.

Thanks to Bill Quick for the link.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 08:23 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Ever run out of things to say to someone who has royally pissed you off? Sure, you could drop a few dozen F-bombs, but that gets boring, even to a potty mouth such as me. Use this handy dandy Shakespeare Insult Kit and you'll be certain to confuseupset people everywhere. Some examples that I created:

Thou clouted clay-brained coxcomb.

Thou infectious fool-born gudgeon.

I think that I just made myself cry.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 04:31 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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At Lifehacker is this article: Top 10 Obscure Google Search Tips. Excerpt:

10. Get the local time anywhere

What time is it in Bangkok right now? Ask Google. Enter simply what time is it to get the local time in big cities around the world, or add the locale at the end of your query, like what time is it hong kong to get the local time there.

9. Track flight status

Enter the airline and flight number into the Google search box and get back the arrival and departure times right inside Google's search results.

There's more, of course. Check it out.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 04:22 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The title of this post is the followup to the title of Kate's post. I might have misremembered the lyrics a bit.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:21 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Tim Blair has cancer. Stop by and wish him well for his surgery and subsequent full recovery.

Update: Tim provide the following extremely positive update:

*WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE* Results of MondayÂ’s CAT scan are in. There is no spread of the malignancy; zip, zero, zilch. ItÂ’s entirely localised. Medical science may disagree, but I think credit should go to readers and fellow bloggers. Your thoughts and prayers have eerie powers.

That is absolutely fabulous news.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 03:43 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I'm on vacation in sunny St. Augustine, Florida, right now but I saw this comment over at Ace's place and couldn't resist posting it:

"Arguments from design don't even get off the ground. There have been many versions over the centuries, from St. Augustine to William Lane Craig, but they are self-refuting, and can be demolished with one simple but devastating question: who or what created this "intelligent designer"?"

You're kidding, right? I'm agnostic, and I think that's an idiotic response. Atheists aren't one iota less obligated to come up with one hell of an improbable First Cause than theists are.

Now back to the sun and beer, but probably just more beer.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 02:01 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Bill Whittle has a new post up. No excerpts because I want you to read it all.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:04 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Do you like first person shooter games? If not, what's wrong with you? In any event, this article over at Linux Games has a pretty good rundown on the pros and cons of what's available at no charge to you, the consumer. Excerpt:

There have been many free software first-person shooters (FPS) projects over the years, from modded Doom and Quake engines to enhance the existing games (ezQuake, EGL, ZDoom), to free art packs such as OpenQuartz or OpenArena. In 2002, along came Cube, a single and multiplayer FPS based on its own engine, including artwork, maps, models and an ingame map editor. In the freeware (and Linux compatible!) world a little-known game called Legends, a Tribes-inspired game, appeared yet remained closed-source. Filling the FPS gap in the open-source world has usually been left up to commercial companies who release their games with Linux support (i.e. Doom3, Unreal Tournament 2004, Loki Software's work) or freeware games produced by commercial studios(i.e. America's Army, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory) or simply running Windows games run via wine. In the last few years a few built-from-scratch community-based FPS projects, most built on the GPLed Quake engines, have popped up, among them are Tremulous, Alien Arena, Nexuiz, and War§ow. Some have kept their art assets under a closed license (War§ow), while others have also released their art under an OSS license (Nexuiz), I consider both categories free software since well, software refers to programs, code and procedures, not artwork. For this comparison, we'll take a look at active, robust and community-developed free software shooters. Most released free software shooters are designed for multiplayer, a logical step for a game developed in an online community, however most also feature a bot-based single-player mode. While others have compared such games before, this feature seeks to be a little more thorough and go a step further, ranking the following seven games: Alien Arena, Nexuiz, OpenArena, Sauerbraten, Tremulous, War§ow, and World of Padman. In ranking these games, gameplay, design, innovation and presentation (in that order) will be held as primary criteria.

I left out the embedded links because, frankly, I'm a lazy campaigner. Or something like that, anyway.

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I don't normally link to the brain fart that Batshit Crazy< Balloon Juice has become, but every now and then I want to see what the asylum inmates are writing. Today I saw this:

If the Peter Principle were true, George Bush and Bill Kristol would be the street-cleaner and dogcatcher in Crawford, Texas.

Now I have no real use for Bill Kristol and I don't think Bush has been a good president at all, but this level of idiotic, hyperbolic bit of asshattery masquerading as "analysis" provided me with an opportunity to help another blogger say what he really meant to say:

If the Peter Principle were true, I [John Cole] would be licking clean all of the toilets at Grand Central Station.

Now it's fixed. No need to thank me. But the next time you dive head first into a cesspool, it's best not to open your mouth to scream for help.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 02:59 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Microsoft Bob was getting lonely

What was once my favorite browser is now no more. It is an ex-browser. No future improvements to the Netscape browser will be supported.

Mosaic begat Netscape which begat the Mozilla Foundation which begat Firefox. Lots of bastard stepchildren browser begatting. And then eating of the parents. Such is the technological way of like.

Thanks to Dean for the link.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:30 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Sorry that I've been away, but family gatherings and reaquainting myself with the sin of Gluttony have taken up most of my time recently. In any, event, I stumbled onto a new blog that's worth reading called Back Talk. Thoughful analyses make for an interesting read. Here's an excerpt from an earlier post called What Does Torture Mean?:

What about waterboarding? Arguing about whether or not that interrogation method constitutes torture is like arguing about whether or not a flat rock is a table. The problem is that there are good arguments as to why this technique should not be lumped in with the methods described in al Qaeda's interrogation manual and some good arguments (I guess) as to why it should be. But just as a flat rock does not magically become a table if we force others to suppress their opposition to using the word in that fashion, waterboarding does not magically become torture if we shame everyone into remaining silent about their objections to using the word "torture" for that method of interrogation.
...
In cases like this, and there are many, there is no right answer. Even so, as a legal matter, the line needs to be drawn. Drawing the legal line is the job of our elected representatives. That's why I consider George Bush to be a serious participant in this debate and consider Democrats to be nonserious hysterics. From the beginning, George Bush has been clear that he supports the use of harsh interrogation techniques like this, that he understands how others could disagree, and that he wants congress to clearly draw the line so that CIA interrogators would know what techniques they could use without placing themselves in legal jeopardy. Until now, however, Democrats were much more interested in pointing the accusing finger at Bush and portraying him as supporting "torture." They wanted to apply the word "torture" to waterboarding so they could then accuse Bush of being "no better than the terrorists." That political game works (i.e., in a time of war, the Democrats have succeeded in their deliberate effort to tarnish their own president in the eyes of the nation and the world), but it is not a serious approach to the problem. This is why I must now applaud the Democrats for finally taking steps to draw the legal line. I disagree with them, but, as I said, drawing the line is one of the reasons why we have elected representatives:

House Passes Bill to Ban CIA's Use of Harsh Interrogation Tactics

The House approved legislation yesterday that would bar the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics, drawing an immediate veto threat from the White House and setting up another political showdown over what constitutes torture.

The measure, approved by a largely party-line vote of 222 to 199, would require U.S. intelligence agencies to follow Army rules adopted last year that explicitly forbid waterboarding. It also would require interrogators to adhere to a strict interpretation of the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war. The rules, required by Congress for all Defense Department personnel, also ban sexual humiliation, "mock" executions and the use of attack dogs, and prohibit the withholding of food and medical care.

This is what the Democrats should be doing. They should also do one more thing that they will never, ever do: define the harshest interrogation techniques that the CIA is permitted to use because they fall short of torture. If they would do that, the Democrats would be completely serious in addressing important issues of national security. But they never will take that step because, the moment they do, they will be accused of condoning torture by the far left elements of their own party. And accusing others -- Republicans in particular -- of condoning torture is an essential part of the liberal experience (which, as a said before, requires a villain).

Bang, zoom. Into the blogroll with ye.

Update: I'm a moron and I'm sure to catch crap from Harvey, but somehow I've managed to NOT add Iowahawk to my blogroll before today. I visit there so often that typing "I" in my browser's address bar automatically fills in the rest. Imagine my surprise when I went over to my blogroll and didn't see a link. Ugh. Anyway, consider that oversight corrected. Not because I'm trying to garner a cabinet position, either. So far as you know, anyway.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:42 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Over at Vox's site, I left a comment about what I see are the obvious flaws of the current crop of presidential hopefuls. My final thought was somewhat snarky in nature, but then I thought it through:

• I was born in this country
  
• I'm 35+ years in age.
  
• I've never been convicted of any crime, let alone a felony
  

And I've watched the West Wing and 24 on television, which means that I've absorbed presidential gravitas by osmosis. I'm hereby announcing my candidacy for president. It'll have to be as a write-in candidate, because I don't want to spend any actual money. I realize that Iowahawk's campaign got an earlier start, but frankly, I think that I'd be better for the job. Besides, that Burge dude ignored my request for a cabinet position. Not that I'm bitter, of course. In any event, my stupid, futile and pointless quest for Oval Office is now officially launched. PHYSICS GEEK 2008. Motto: brew and drink your own beer, earn and spend your own money, and kick DC in the gonads.

I eagerly await the returns on election night. Just think how great it will be to see all of the talking heads go WTF?! on every freaking channel.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 01:41 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Something that I did not know until today: John W. Campbell (if you don't know this name, please move along) authored the novella which was the basis for both versions of the movie The Thing. What's more, the entire story is available online for your reading pleasure.

Oh, Campbell link from Cracked.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:16 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I laughed out loud at this article over at Cracked. Excerpt:

According to legend, the Wise Men asked La Befana to accompany them to see the infant Jesus. She refused, saying she was too busy. Now there's a lady who doesn't want anyone to get the wrong impression about her.

WISEMAN No. 1
We're going to see the Baby Jesus be born this very eve.

BELFANA
I have a boyfriend.

WISEMAN No. 2
That's just fantastic. Would you like to come see the birth of Jesus?

BELFANA
He's as big as 10 wagons.

WISEMAN No. 3
That sounds nice. Would you like to watch the birth of God?

BELFANA sprays pepper spray in the Wisemen's faces, slams door.

After missing the wondrous sight of his birth, Belfana goes from house to house each year, leaving gifts and looking for the Christ child. Someone should tip her off that J.C. was last spotted in Brazil, being fought over like a fumbled football on top of a speeding train.

Update: There's even an article that Steve would like: Christopher Walken's Twelve Days of Christmas.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 11:27 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Criminal lies about address and moves in with family. This move is enforced by a judge.

I lied. I do have a comment to make:

Wrap your mind around the sublime idiocy of what's inside that article. Someone asked a criminal where he lived and he spouted off an address. No one bothered to check if the criminal was lying. Now he's living in the house of a family with a teenage daughter. This lodging is being enforced by the courts. Were I in this situation, I'd lock the asshole outside and tell the judge to go provide himself with some special self loving.

Actually, I think it's a great idea. There are some wealthy people living in the Richmond area. If I end up in court, I'll give one of their addresses as my own. I need to be smart about it though and make certain that the family I move in with has a butler. I obviously can't be expected to fend for myself.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:42 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Helen typed another good Christmastime post, one which I can full understand. Go over and read it.

Merry Christmas, Helen. And I still believe, too.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 04:52 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I've always enjoyed Gregg Easterbrook's football insights in TMQ, but I think that he really excels when he does his non-NFL schtick. Excerpt:

William Jennings Bryan Secretly Behind the Wicked Witch of the West?
Actual correction from last week's New York Times: "A television review in Weekend on Nov. 30 about 'Tin Man,' a mini-series on the Sci Fi Channel based on 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' by L. Frank Baum, referred imprecisely to an interpretation of Baum's having Dorothy wear silver shoes on the yellow-brick road. While the juxtaposition of the colors has been seen by some as indicating Mr. Baum's support for the monetary system of bimetallism, he is not known to have advocated that system."

Here are corrections expected to appear soon in the Times:

• "A television review about 'Tin Man,' a mini-series on the Sci Fi Channel based on 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' by L. Frank Baum, referred imprecisely to an interpretation of Baum's having the Cowardly Lion wear both whiskers and eye makeup. While the juxtaposition has been seen by some as indicating Mr. Baum's support for bisexuality, his views of gender issues are not known."
  
• "A television review about 'Tin Man,' a mini-series on the Sci Fi Channel based on 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' by L. Frank Baum, referred imprecisely to an interpretation of Baum's depicting an animal that is a cross between a bird and a monkey. While the juxtaposition has been seen by some as indicating Mr. Baum's advocacy of stem cell research, he is not known to have taken a position on DNA splicing."
  
• "A television review about 'Tin Man,' a mini-series on the Sci Fi Channel based on 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' by L. Frank Baum, referred imprecisely to an interpretation of Baum's having the Emerald City guards wear green and black. While the juxtaposition has been seen by some as indicating Mr. Baum's advocacy of anarcho-primitivism, whose flag is green and black, he is not known to have advocated that system."
  

Posted by: Physics Geek at 08:22 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I got nuthin'. Sue me.
===============================================

My Christmas Story

Late last week, I was rushing around trying to get some last minute shopping
done. I was stressed out and not thinking very fondly of the Christmas
season right then. It was dark, cold, and wet in the parking lot as I was
loading my car up with gifts that I felt obligated to buy. I noticed that I
was missing a receipt that I might need later. So mumbling under my breath,
I retraced my steps to the mall entrance.

As I was searching the wet pavement for the lost receipt, I heard a quiet
sobbing. The crying was coming from a poorly dressed boy of about 12 years
old. He was short and thin. He had no coat. He was just wearing a ragged
flannel shirt to protect him from the cold night's chill. Oddly enough, he
was holding a hundred dollar bill in his hand. Thinking that he had gotten
lost from his parents, I asked him what was wrong.

He told me his sad story. He said that he came from a large family. He had
three brothers and two sisters. His father had died when he was nine years
old. His mother was poorly educated and worked two full time jobs. She made
very little to support her large family. Nevertheless, she had managed to
save two hundred dollars to buy her children Christmas presents. The young
boy had been dropped off on the way to her second job. He was to use the
money to buy presents for all his siblings and save just enough to take
the bus home.

He had not even entered the mall, when an older boy grabbed one of the
hundred dollar bills and disappeared into the night.

"Why didn't you scream for help?" I asked. The boy said, "I did." "And
nobody came to help you?" I wondered. The boy stared at the sidewalk and
sadly shook his head. "How loud did you scream?" I inquired. The soft-spoken
boy looked up and meekly whispered, "Help me!"

I realized that absolutely no one could have heard that poor boy cry
forhelp.

So, I grabbed his other hundred and ran to my car.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 02:29 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Don't think of it as leftovers. Instead, think of it as a rerun of a dearly beloved holiday classic.

===========================================

57 ELM STREET BETHLEHEM, PA. 11:51 P.M., DECEMBER 24TH

Mulder: We're too late. It's already been here.

Scully: Mulder, I hope you know what you are doing.

Mulder: Look, Scully, just like the other homes: Douglas fir, truncated, mounted, transformed into some sort of shrine; halls decked with boughs of holly; stockings hung by the chimney, with care.

Scully: You really think someone's been here?

Mulder: Someone or some THING.

Scully: Mulder, over here -- it's fruitcake.

Mulder: Don't touch it! Those things can be lethal.

Scully: It's O.K. There's a note attached: "Gonna find out who's naughty and nice."

Mulder: It's judging them, Scully. It's making a list.

Scully: Who? What are you talking about?

Mulder: Ancient mythology tells of an obese humanoid entity who could travel at great speed in a craft powered by antlered servants. Once each year, near the winter solstice, this creature is said to descend from the heavens to reward its followers and punish its disbelievers with jagged chunks of anthracite.

Scully: But that's legend, Mulder -- a story told by parents to frighten children. Surely, you don't believe it?

Mulder: Something was here tonite, Scully. Check out the bite marks on this gingerbread man. Whatever tore through this plate of cookies was massive -- and in a hurry.

Scully: It left crumbs everywhere. And look, Mulder, this milk glass has been completely drained.

Mulder: It gorged itself, Scully. It fed without remorse.

Scully: But why would they leave it milk and cookies?

Mulder: Appeasement. Tonight is the Eve, and nothing can stop its wilding.

Scully: But if this thing does exist, how did it get in? The doors and windows were locked. There's no sign of forced entry.

Mulder: Unless I miss my guess, it came through the fireplace.

Scully: Wait a minute, Mulder. If you are saying some huge creature landed on the roof and came down the chimney, you're crazy. The flue is barely six inches wide. Nothing could get through there.

Mulder: But what if it could alter its shape, move in all directions.

Scully: You mean, like a bowl full of jelly?

Mulder: Exactly. Scully, I've never told anyone this, but when I was a child my home was visited. I saw the creature. It had long white strips of fur surrounding its ruddy, misshapen head. Its bloated torso was red and white. I'll never forget the horror. I turned away, and when I looked back it had somehow taken on the facial features of my father.

Scully: Impossible.

Mulder: I know what I saw. And that night it read my mind. It brought me a Mr. Potato Head, Scully. IT KNEW I WANTED A MR. POTATO HEAD.

Scully: I'm sorry, Mulder, but you're asking me to disregard the laws of physics. You want me to believe in some supernatural being who soars across the skies and brings gifts to good little girls and boys. Listen to what you are saying. Do you understand the repercussions? If this gets out, they'll close the X-files.

Mulder: Scully, listen to me: It knows when you are sleeping. It knows when you're awake.

Scully: But we have no proof.

Mulder: Last year, on this exact date, S.E.T.I. radio telescopes detected bogeys in the airspace over twenty-seven states. The White House ordered a Condition Red.

Scully: But that was a meteor shower.

Mulder: Officially. Two days ago, eight prized Scandinavian reindeer vanished from the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Nobody - not even the zookeeper - was told about it. The government doesn't want people to know about Project Kringle. They fear that if this thing is proved to exist, then the public would stop spending half its annual income in a holiday shopping frenzy. Retail markets will collapse. Scully,they cannot let the world believe this creature lives. There's too much at stake. They'll do whatever it takes to insure another silent night.

Scully: Mulder, I --

Mulder: Sh-h-h! Do you hear what I hear?

Scully: On the roof. It sounds like . . . a clatter.

Mulder: The truth is up there. Let's see what's the matter.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 02:27 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Lather, rinse, repost.

And here's one that you won't want to see.

more...

Posted by: Physics Geek at 02:25 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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