My geek credentials, that is. Trust me when I tell you that I was to women in high school/college as sunlight is to vampires. Then again, some vampires actively seek death, so they had a leg up on me. Anyway, this picture kind of sums it all up.

On the other hand, I still have some way cool Ral Partha figurines, so I've got that going for me.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:42 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 74 words, total size 1 kb.

So, IMAO is 5 years old today. Very cool. And apparently Frank J. and the lovely and talented Sarah K. will be moving to Texas soon which means, of course, that you should send them money.

Or monkeys. Whatever you've got the most of.

Anyway, here's hoping for 5 more.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 03:55 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 62 words, total size 1 kb.

A belated 4th of July post includes a relatively large excerpt from an article about Isaac Asimov and The Star Spangled Banner.

Were you aware that there are 4 verses to our national anthem? And do know the words? If not, read this article and become aquainted with both the background to the song- which you probably do know- and all of the words. If you already know the entire anthem, sing it aloud. Piss off a moonbat.

So now let me tell you how it came to be written.

In 1812, the United States went to war with Great Britain, primarily over freedom of the seas. We were in the right. For two years, we held off the British, even though we were still a rather weak country. Great Britain was in a life and death struggle with Napoleon. In fact, just as the United States declared war, Napoleon marched off to invade Russia. If he won, as everyone expected, he would control Europe, and Great Britain would be isolated. It was no time for her to be involved in an American war.

At first, our seamen proved better than the British. After we won a battle on Lake Erie in 1813, the American commander, Oliver Hazard Perry, sent the message "We have met the enemy and they are ours." However, the weight of the British navy beat down our ships eventually. New England, hard-hit by a tightening blockade, threatened secession.
...
The British reached the American coast, and on August 24, 1814, took Washington, D. C. Then they moved up the Chesapeake Bay toward Baltimore. On September 12, they arrived and found 1000 men in Fort McHenry, whose guns controlled the harbor. If the British wished to take Baltimore, they would have to take the fort.

On one of the British ships was an aged physician, William Beanes, who had been arrested in Maryland and brought along as a prisoner. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and friend of the physician, had come to the ship to negotiate his release. The British captain was willing, but the two Americans would have to wait. It was now the night of September 13, and the bombardment of Fort McHenry was about to start.

As twilight deepened, Key and Beanes saw the American flag flying over Fort McHenry. Through the night, they heard bombs bursting and saw the red glare of rockets. They knew the fort was resisting and the American flag was still flying. But toward morning the bombardment ceased, and a dread silence fell. Either Fort McHenry had surrendered and the British flag flew above it, or the bombardment had failed and the American flag still flew.

As dawn began to brighten the eastern sky, Key and Beanes stared out at the fort, trying to see which flag flew over it. He and the physician must have asked each other over and over, "Can you see the flag?"

After it was all finished, Key wrote a four stanza poem telling the events of the night. Called "The Defence of Fort M'Henry," it was published in newspapers and swept the nation. Someone noted that the words fit an old English tune called "To Anacreon in Heaven" --a difficult melody with an uncomfortably large vocal range. For obvious reasons, Key's work became known as "The Star Spangled Banner," and in 1931 Congress declared it the official anthem of the United States.

Now that you know the story, here are the words. Presumably, the old doctor is speaking. This is what he asks Key

Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
W hat so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

"Ramparts," in case you don't know, are the protective walls or other elevations that surround a fort. The first stanza asks a question. The second gives an answer

On the shore, dimly seen thro' the mist of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep.
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream
'Tis the star-spangled banner. Oh! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

"The towering steep" is again, the ramparts. The bombardment has failed, and the British can do nothing more but sail away, their mission a failure.

In the third stanza, I feel Key allows himself to gloat over the American triumph. In the aftermath of the bombardment, Key probably was in no mood to act otherwise.

During World War II, when the British were our staunchest allies, this third stanza was not sung. However, I know it, so here it is

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

The fourth stanza, a pious hope for the future, should be sung more slowly than the other three and with even deeper feeling.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation,
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n - rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, for our cause is just,
And this be our motto--"In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I hope you will look at the national anthem with new eyes. Listen to it, the next time you have a chance, with new ears.

And don't let them ever take it away.

--Isaac Asimov, March 1991

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:48 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 1077 words, total size 6 kb.

Stop-action movies may not be that great, but making your own would be pretty cool, right. Well now you can.

I might buy one for me my son this Christmas. He's a good sharer.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 01:32 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 44 words, total size 1 kb.

I know that she and I would disagree on most issues. However, I really enjoy reading and/or listening to Kirsten Powers. She's honest and fair about most things including, but not limited to, the (Un)Fairness Doctrine. Excerpt:

Conservatives long ago adapted to life in a world where watching the network news or picking up one of the major news dailies is a virtual guarantee of having their views mocked, demeaned or misrepresented. If you're a social conservative, multiply the odds by 100.

But some liberals, unused to feeling such stings, view government intervention as a salve.
...
Liberals claim they just want "fairness" - but if that were so, they wouldn't limit their concern just to talk radio, the one area where they've been shut out (by their own incompetence, mind you - Air America, the liberal talk-radio network, was a complete fiasco). They aren't concerned that Americans "get both sides of the story" on abortion or embryonic-stem-cell research or abstinence training. They weren't concerned about "fairness" when Katie Couric blamed evangelicals for the death of Matthew Shepherd.

They protest that the airwaves belong to the American people. They're right - which is all the more reason to keep grubby government mitts off of them. And if we're going to start dictating media content for the good of the proletariat, then there's no reason to stop with radio. (As Fox's Sean Hannity joked last week, "OK, then we want the 'no sex before marriage' channel to balance out MTV.")

In calling for the restoration of the Fairness Doctrine, Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada called conservative talk radio the "generators of simplicity." Presumably this differs from the high-minded debate that occurred over at Air America, where Randi Rhodes liked to say that "Satan is Bush's campaign manager" and routinely claim (why was unclear) that the Bush administration was full of repressed homosexuals.

Look for Kirsten to be savaged once again by the Nutroots for not toeing the party line.

Update: I was waiting for Allah to post something about Kirsten's latest op-ed piece. The wait is over. Excerpt:

Exit question: Who are they going to get to be MichelleÂ’s Democratic opponent on OÂ’Reilly now?

Posted by: Physics Geek at 08:38 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 382 words, total size 3 kb.

The 100th anniversary of Robert Heinlein's birth will occur on July 7, 2007. In honor of that upcoming event, I present to you this article. Within is contained this choice quotation:

[From Starship Troopers] "My mother says that violence never settles anything," comments one character. A teacher who doubles as Heinlein's mouthpiece then pounces: "Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and freedoms."

The Heinlein centenary will happen less than a month after the recent terrorist attacks in Britain? I question the timing.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 09:47 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 121 words, total size 1 kb.

No real functionality added, but if you have a dual boot system, the cosmetic changes added to your Windows system will make switching between Ubuntu and Windows more painless.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:36 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 39 words, total size 1 kb.

Via Val came this link to ThinkGeek via Contagion. Call it Six Degrees of MuNu. Anyway, I decided to search for more items and stumbled upon this really cool mug:

Now I can really show my school colors. Unfortunately, I work with too many people who would probably get it immediately, and I have no desire to get fired this week. So we'll see.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 09:46 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 78 words, total size 1 kb.

A lot of truth exists within the boundaries of the cartoon posted below:

more...

Posted by: Physics Geek at 01:45 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 17 words, total size 1 kb.

I had planned to use the word "shamnesty" to drive John Cole into an apoplectic stupor, but decided against it. Why? Because it is a pretty fucking stupid word.

Could have been worse, I suppose. It could have been "Bennifer" again. ::shudder::

Anyway, here's Lileks' take on the recent attempt by the Senate to legalize their current gardeners and nannies:

The failure of the immigration bill was a remarkable event, I think – but not the first notch in the belt for the new media as some suggest. It’s interesting how many of the big victories seem to have been large bites out of the President’s hide – Dubai, Harriet Miers, now this. It shows the power of a swarm concentrated on a particular thing – a person, a bill, a specific policy initiative.
...
I had fun with the subject on the Hewitt show tonight – Dean Barnett was chowdah-tawkin’ in Hugh’s place, and I found myself describing the Senate as a place where the fizzy effervescent passions of the day are poured into a saucer, where they can go flat and get warm and sticky and attract flies. Good a definition of the Senate as any, I guess. It’s like a bowling alley with no pins, circular lanes, and nerf balls.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:59 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 227 words, total size 1 kb.

Okay, technically it's cracking Windows passwords. However, if you've somehow forgotten your's, this method should work just fine.

Note: I believe that this method only recovers passwords up to 14 characters in length. Also, it works up through Windows XP. Vista users need not apply.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:29 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 51 words, total size 1 kb.

The N.Y. Post comes up with some of the best fauxtography on the planet:

Posted by: Physics Geek at 01:07 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 24 words, total size 1 kb.

TICK WARNING

It makes me a nuts when people forward bogus warnings, and I've even done it myself a couple times, but this one is important. So please send this warning to everyone on your e-mail list.

If someone from the National Center for Tick Control comes to your front door saying they are checking for ticks due to the warming weather and asks you to take your clothes off and dance around with your arms up...

DO NOT DO IT!! IT IS A SCAM!!

They only want to see you naked...

.
.
.
more...

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:40 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 119 words, total size 1 kb.

Dean Barnett posts a picture that is worth more than a thousand words. Unless, of course, you're a tone deaf elected official sipping lattes up in DC.

Actually, I hope that Dean doesn't mind, but I'm swiping that picture. It's too good not to share.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:57 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 49 words, total size 1 kb.

Ever lock your keys in the car? You fight with the whole coathanger thing to try and jimmy the lock open and sometimes you have to bite the bullet and call AAA.

Okay, no guy would actually call AAA. You know it and I know it. Anyway.

It turns out that some clever woman has come up with a novel use for the tennis ball on the end of your car's antenna. Check out this video:

Blondie Unlocks Car - video powered by Metacafe

For the record, my mother used to lock her keys inside her car about twice a year. I bugged her to get one of those Hide-A-Key things and she promptly locked that inside the car with her keyring. This technique would have proven quite useful to her, except I'm convinced that she would have locked the tennis ball inside the car, too.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:56 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 150 words, total size 1 kb.

Via Ace comes this story which, all reason and logic to the contrary, is true: the Spice Girls are reuniting.

Girls, let me clue you in on something: you were a group whose success depended almost entirely on the short skirts and tight tops you wore. Sure, you could sing a little bit, but let's face it: your legs and tits were what made you popular. Now that your a bit more mature, shall we say, those parts of your anatomy have probably loosened up a bit.

Quick aside: Ms. Halliwell's parts looked great uncovered. In fact, I almost bought a Spice Girls album in appreciation. Almost.

In any event, it's time to bring this old joke back out of retirement: The Spice Girls Application Form.

The Spice Girls Application Form

Name:

Age:

Real Age:

- How would you best describe yourself?
( ) An energetic self-starter
( ) A team player
( ) A tasty, albeit untalented, bit of crumpet

- Do you have any detectable vestige of talent, besides your tits?

- Would it bother you to be the target of unrelenting hatred?

- "I am willing to trade sexual favours for a career in the music industry."
( ) Yes ( ) No

- How many times have you been kicked out of a karaoke bar?

- Does nudity bother you? If so, give three excuses for your portfolio.

- Explain the difficulties in identifying the source of individual free will in light of the deterministic theories of neurochemical medicine and modern behavioralist psychology... Just kidding!! Seriously, do you like leather mini-skirts?
( ) Yes ( ) No

- Are you deceptively attractive in coloured or stroboscopic light?
( ) Yes ( ) No

- Choose an appropriate nickname:
Sexy, Nasty, Sweetie, Syphilis, Lardy, Sickly, Sporty, Slappy.

- Choose an appropriate image:
( ) Cute, blonde, appeals to pedophiles
( ) Tub of lard
( ) Bloke. In a tracksuit.
( ) Vacant stare, no discernible brain activity
( ) Terrifying to small children and old men
( ) All of the above

- Do you promise to make one album and then go away forever?
( ) Yes ( ) No

- If two trains leave Liverpool an hour apart at 90 kilometers, and 75 kilometers an hour, respectively, how would you look in a bikini?

- If required as part of your contract, would you be willing to help alleviate Prince Charles's loneliness?
( ) Yes ( ) No

- In space provided, tell us why you want, why you really, really, want this job.

I've got an idea for a Spice Girls pay per view event that's sure to bring in lots of money: strip them all naked and have them wrestle in a vat of Jello, while simultaneously forcing them to do lots of tequila body shots off of the more interesting portions of their exposed anatomy. Now that would be spicy.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:44 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 501 words, total size 3 kb.

Technically, I haven't been tagged, but I decided to jump in anyway. Here are the rules:

SCATTERGORIES

Rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following. They MUST be real places, names, things...NOTHING made up! If you can't think of anything, skip it.

Try to use different answers if the person before you had the same 1st initial.

You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question... Now Go!

And here's my entry:

Your Name: M_____

1. Famous singer/band: Mamas and the Papas
2. 4 letter word: mutt
3. Street name: Mulberry
4. Color: Maroon
5. Gifts/presents: Money
6. Vehicle: Mazda
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Magnet (commemorative)
8. Boy Name: Mark
9. Girl Name: Mathilda
10. Movie Title: "M". No, really.
11. Drink: Margarita
12. Occupation: Magician.
13. Flower: Marigolds
14. Celebrity: Mike Myers
15. Magazine: Mademoiselle
16. U.S. City: Macon
17. Pro Sports Teams: Minnesota Twins
18. Fruit: Mandarin orange
19. Reason for Being Late for Work: Misplaced my car keys
20. Something You Throw Away: Muffins, stale
21. Things You Shout: Motherf*cker!
22. Cartoon Character: Mickey Mouse

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:48 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 191 words, total size 1 kb.

Popular Science posted an article on building what it calls a lunchbox PC. It is a full featured computer, sans hard drive and CD drive, although you can add them if need be. It also uses, not surprisingly, a version of Linux as the OS of choice. Excerpt:

With antiquated components flooding the surplus-parts market and free operating systems only a click away, building a fully functional computer has never been such a bargain. No, the $72 PC wonÂ’t replace your new dual-core, Vista-shredding laptop. But with its compact size and solid-state components (no hard drive or CD drive), itÂ’s perfect for building into custom enclosures and for specific tasks like Web surfing or playing games. The computer boots from a USB flash drive running an operating system called Damn Small Linux that can handle just about any job.

Too cool.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:27 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 153 words, total size 1 kb.

I see via Jeff that Michele has cast a reincarnate spell on her former blog, instead of a resurrect spell. The results? The blog A Big Victory. I love Faster Than the World, but I'm glad to see Michele back with her very own place.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 09:10 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 51 words, total size 1 kb.

Are you getting bored with all of the current illegal immigration talk? Do your eyes glaze over whenever you see Trent Lott on television?

Okay, that last question was entirely rhetorical.

Anyway, you probably need a change of pace, something to clean out your mind. Here you go:

more...

Posted by: Physics Geek at 04:02 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 69 words, total size 1 kb.