I checked my Sitemeter referral logs and discovered that someone had stumbled onto my site with the following search terms:

rudolph the horny gay reindeer

Words fail me. Also, I'm reminded that it's time to start reposting holiday jokes and images from previous years.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 08:56 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 ROTFLMAO! That one hurt when I laughed... glad it was you.

Posted by: vw bug at November 06, 2008 04:17 PM (FPOeI)

2 Thanks Val. I expect to get all sorts of referrals, but that one surprised me. Unpleasantly.

Posted by: physics geek at November 06, 2008 04:41 PM (MT22W)

3 But this is how I FIND your blog.

Posted by: x at November 10, 2008 06:45 PM (xBtbh)

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A spider captures and eats a bird. Urk. I just had a William Shatner flashback.

Image below the fold:

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Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:45 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I noticed the awful news about Dean Barnett's death just minutes after Bill Kristol posted it over at the Weekly Standard. While it might sound strange to say, since I never had the opportunity to meet him, I will miss Dean. A lot. He was funny, insightful and full of life, notwithstanding- or maybe because of- the lifelong illness which finally claimed his life.

Go here to read some tributes to Dean from his friends and colleagues. Go here to purchase and read a funny and inspiring book: "The Plucky Smart Kid with the Fatal Disease: A Life with Cystic Fibrosis". And go here to give money to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, if you're so inclined.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:27 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Yeah, it's a repost. Sue me.
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When your give-a-shit factor is in the picofuckit range and dropping like a stone, here is the solution:

Posted by: Physics Geek at 08:32 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Sure, most people get 15 minutes, but this is me we're talking about. Anyway, it's time to break out the following quote based on this post from Dave In Texas:

Physics Geek: The new pool ranking's here! The new pool ranking's here!

Dave In Texas: Boy, I wish I could get that excited about nothing.

Physics Geek: Nothing? Are you kidding? First Place - Geek, Physics! I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this blog every day! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name on Ace of Spaces HQ - that makes people. I'm on Ace of Spaces HQ! Things are going to start happening to me now.

Of course, Dave did throw a little cold water on my soon to be short-lived fame by mentioning the aliens who are sure to take me first. On the other hand, anal probe and all, so WIN!!!!

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:14 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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My main email server is struggling right now. I cannot retrieve emails past September 19. Apparently, something is bogging the server down in the worst way. I will clean it off tonight, but in so doing, I'm likely to erase any emails that anyone has sent to me during the last month. In other words, don't take it personally. I really would like to respond to you, but I'm simply not able right now.

Yes, I have another email address that I could post here, but I'm not gonna do it. Wouldn't be prudent. Too many spambots, don't ya know.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 08:15 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Maybe he wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but I always found Bane to be interesting and entertaining. I was horribly shocked to see that he has died.

Go in peace, Bane. Y'all should stop by and offer your condolences to the family he left behind.

Update: From Vox, who first introduced me to Bane, comes this poem in memoriam.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 09:58 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It's been 7 years since the Towers came tumbling down, and I still want to believe that it's a dream that I just cannot wake up from. Anyway, Ace reposted his 2007 memorial. It's worth reading in its entirety, but I'll excerpt a few bits below to whet your appetite:

For a time, for a week after, we were all united. There is no tragedy that does work some small amount of good by bringing people together, if only for a time, if only because the pain of enduring is too much for any one to bear alone. It was a false unity, of course. We would later learn that we had not come together closer -- at least, not more than superficially, and not more than temporarily -- and had in fact moved further apart than ever before. The problem was, of course, that 9/11 had profound implications for Americans' divergent worldviews. For conservatives like us, it confirmed -- like nothing, nothing had done before, at least not since World War II -- that there were monstrous evils in the world for whom the only acceptable solution was purposeful and relentless violence.

For another group, the liberals, 9/11 was a blip, a short-term disruption of their worldview. For a while we believed we were united, but we were not. Liberals held that greater than any enemy was warfare itself. The necessary implications of this were that all possible courses of action were preferable to the United States engaging in acts of warfare, and further, that it must be true that the United States had within it the power to avoid all war simply by modifying its own behavior. One must believe that if one is truly pacifist: If one believes war can and must be avoided at all costs, one must by implication believe one can and must avoid war at all costs by changing the behavior of one's own country, for changing the behavior of other countries can only be accomplished via war and lesser, but still warlike, means.

Update: No 9/11 remembrance would be complete without a link to Michele's Voices Project, a great collection of stories and essays. Be sure to check out her PJM article as well.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:00 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Rather than discuss -again- the ugly nature of politics, I'll mention something that's a great deal more important to me: my wife and I are expecting child #3. It's an exciting time, to be sure, but I'm already preparing for the inevitable comments at his/her high school graduation:

"Oh, isn't that sweet. Your grandfather came to your graduation."

For the record, I consider that a feature, not a bug.

Update: All of you are making be blush. Thanks for your well wishes. Like I did with #2, I'll post a newborn picture as soon after birth as I'm able to take a breath. Considering that I'll be caring for 2 other children, that might be sometime around 2020.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 03:31 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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1 Congrats! Are children Primo and Secundo looking forward to having a new podling to torment?

Posted by: Kat at September 10, 2008 04:26 PM (I8MKL)

2 Congrats! You're a braver man than I (so far, and possibly in perpetuity).

Posted by: Steve G. at September 10, 2008 07:02 PM (OZ45l)

3 Congratulations on providing the species with another chance to overcome sheer stupidity! I'm very happy for all of you!

Posted by: caltechgirl at September 10, 2008 11:45 PM (IfXtw)

4 Congratulations!

Posted by: Gaz at September 10, 2008 11:58 PM (w6fnH)

5 Congrats!

Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at September 11, 2008 09:42 AM (PvqFn)

6 Way to go. You realize now you have to switch to zone defense. Like my wife said. "3 is optimal, we'll have a pair and a spare. There is always one screw up that will either get themselves killed or at least can't take care of themselves, and usually there is one that will go to art school and be 35 before they 'find themselves'. With three I can be sure that at least ONE of them will be able to take care of me in my old age... you aren't going to make it to old age so I don't have to worry about you." Luckily we now have three good kids, but they are still small enough that could change. Good luck

Posted by: Ryan at September 11, 2008 02:25 PM (RNENT)

7 You're messing up the pattern unless there is something Tiff hasn't told us yet

Posted by: Andrea at September 11, 2008 09:14 PM (j4Z3+)

8 Andrea, When did you start drifting around these parts?

Posted by: physics geek at September 11, 2008 09:55 PM (KcJan)

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Interestingly, some douchebag self-important dickbag judge in NZ has ruled that the names of of accused murderers Nathan Tuiti Reo Mutunga Williams and Daniel Bobby Tumata cannot be published on the web. I think that that is going to prove quite problematic to this judge. I anxiously await his next ruling in which he will declare "the sun shall not rise in the east".

Thanks to Bill Quick for the link.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:59 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I wasn't even sure how to categorize this article:

In a press release, Crystal Mangum's manager has announced plans to release a tell-all memoir entitled "The Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story.
...
Were it not for the Duke Lacrosse Case, she likely would be described as a bright, young woman from Durham, North Carolina, who has had a difficult life."

I'm sure that this basket case will get lionized on all the liberal talk shows. The fact that the lacrosse players were exonerated will mean nothing to the hosts, much as it does now. In any event, I hope that the players sue her for the proceeds.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 11:02 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It was legal for 18 year olds to drink (beer, anyway) back when I was 18. I've long advocated lowering the drinking age or, barring that, repealing the amendment which gives 18 year olds the right to vote, trying 18-20 year olds as juveniles and increasing the age of registration for selective service to 21. If you can't treat someone like an adult in one little facet of his life, then fuck it: treat him or her like a child. Completely.

Anyway, the Instamonster links to an article which states:

"College presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth, and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age to 18 from 21, saying current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus."

Can I get a No Shit from everybody?

Update: Mike and Jeff weigh in on the subject. I'll leave you with some of Jeff's words:

After the Orioles won the World Series in 1983, Storm Davis, a then-20-year-old starting pitcher for the Birds, who played an integral role in BaltimoreÂ’s success, could not partake in the post series champagne and beer celebration.

Mother Against Drunk Driving would likely counter such a seemingly arbitrary and incongruous segregation among teammates by noting that the ritual of celebrating with alcohol “glorifies” drinking, and so should itself be eliminated.

– And at that point, it should become clear that MADD is no longer worried about drunk driving per se, but is rather become a neoprohibitionist organization trafficking in emotional arguments to convince cowardly politicians to force change upon the culture — “change” that has the effect of taking away individual freedom and responsibility, along with the role of parents in teaching young adults how to handle certain freedoms, in exchange for a government run mandate, complete with police powers of the state or municipality, that presumes to usurp those responsibilities by a kind of 3/5 rule on adulthood.

Exchanging white hoods for big buttons and a lot of emotional appeals merely suggests a change in rhetorical strategy from those who seek to build society to match their own personal hobby horses.

Update: Holy fucking shit! Excerpt:

Unfortunately, there is considerable precedent for such pre-emptive measures. In 2005 a Pennsylvania court rejected an appeal from a man whose driver's license was revoked by the state after he told doctors he knocked back more than a six-pack of beer a day. State law requires doctors to report any of a patient's physical or mental impairments if the doctors think it could compromise his ability to drive safely. Keith Emerich hadn't gotten in any legal trouble, related to drinking, driving, or anything else, and his job attendance was as exemplary. Yet a three-judge Commonwealth Court panel said the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation was justified in taking away Emerich's license-not because he had driven while intoxicated but because he might.

Hell, I haven't been arrested for being a leather-faced, chainsaw-wielding maniac, but that doesn't mean I couldn't become one. I guess that I should get the chair, pronto. Who knows how many scantily clad Jessica Biels might be in danger.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 03:09 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Turns out that I learned a few words along the way, too:

Your Vocabulary Score: A-

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

Thanks to Ken for the link.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:34 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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And it wasn't my heel, but I did cut the crap out of my foot on a *$^$(*&% shell. Not cruisin' back home for a few more days, though. In the meantime, check out this passable re-cut trailer for Crocodile Dundee:

more...

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:22 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I'm currently on vacation at Atlantic Beach, NC. Posting will be sporadic, but not completely absent. I may post pictures of all the fun I'm having, just to piss some of you off.

Hey, what can I say? I'm a giver.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 04:34 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Via Mike comes this heart-rending column from Mike Gallagher. Excerpt:

Tony Snow's death packed a particularly hard punch to my gut this week. Because during the past year, Tony had been warmly and graciously corresponding with my precious wife Denise, who had also been battling cancer. When Tony found out about her diagnosis, he asked for her email address so they could exchange words of inspiration and advice.

They did. And she relished every word. Here was my wife, a frustratingly liberal-leaning woman and wife of a conservative radio host, sharing a bond with a fellow cancer fighter, one of the giants of conservatism. It was proof that a life-threatening disease is the great equalizer, a reminder that there are more important things than Democrats and Republicans. Denise loved Tony. She admired his faith, his optimism, and his "live-for-the-moment" approach to life.

I imagine right about now, they are arguing politics face-to-face. Because my beloved died almost two weeks ago.
...
Like most married couples, Denise and I had a bunch of little rituals. One of mine was to say the exact same thing every single night that we turned out the lights to go to bed. I literally didn't sleep very well if I didn't say it to her.

"Good night, my princess. Sleep safe."

I saw Mike on the O'Reilley show one night. He appeared with his wife and they chatted a bit about their political differences. Throughout the entire discussion, the smile never left his face because he was so obviously devoted to his wife. And now she's gone. I hope to God that I never, ever get to know such pain.

Mike at Cold Fury is all too well acquainted with such horror. Whether or not he posts about it again, I'm certain that he'd appreciate any well wishes that you'd like to send his way.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 08:47 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I've seen links to this survey reviewed on several blogs. James Joyner offered his normal measured thoughts:

Further, as IÂ’ve discussed perhaps ad nasuem in posts over the past five plus years, most blogs are frankly unreadable by those not sympathetic to the point of view of the author. This holds true even when one excludes the 90-plus percent of political blogs that are unreadable, period. Few people have an appetite for being rudely insulted on a regular basis, having their intelligence, decency and patriotism questioned.

Of course, the lefty blogs are, once again, having a orgasm over more proof as to their inherent superiority and open-mindedness. Such irrationality used to irritate me, but now it simply bores me. The fact that the sun will rise in the east is less predictable. Anyway, I'll let Ace have the final word:

As I've said before, the rightwing blogosphere is the leftwing blogosphere's MSM. They can't really critique the media, because they know it's very leftwing and they don't wish to undermine it all that much. They count on the MSM to deliver their messaging for them. So instead they attack the MSM's harriers, the rightwing blogs, the rightwing blog commenters.

But, of course, the left is once again very, very impressed with itself for... well, pretty much anything at all. These people don't take a wet shit without gazing wistfully at their highly nuanced discharge.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 08:05 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Ah, to have such a wardrobe as this.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:39 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Ever since his Dumbasscus road conversion, John Cole has become increasingly hard to read. I thought it was merely that our opinions on certain subjects had diverged, but after wading today into the morass of inanity, insanity and moronity that Batshit CrazyBalloon Juice has become, I've come to the conclusion that the DU has simply moved its website. Not the regular DU, though, but rather one reserved for those whose idea of a coherent comment is to sputter "ChimpyMcSmirkyHitlerburton", all while giving the special DU/Indymedia high sign. I've got a high sign for them myself ::pantomimes jacking self off::

Yeah, I could remove him from my blogroll, but I don't like being mean to the mentally incompetent. And there is something to be said for having an automatic point-and-laugh website handy.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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From the fertile mind of Jerry Pournelle comes this essay. Or rather, I should say "comes again", since he first wrote it back in 1988. Anyway, excerpt:

"I wouldn't know anything about politics," my friend said the other day. "I'm only an engineer."

He happens to be a very good engineer, but he named his profession as if he were ashamed of it. I see this a lot. The social scientists are automatically assumed to know more about society and politics than the hard scientists--even when the subject matter is something like nuclear power.

I wouldn't be so sure.
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You can prove anything if you make up your data. You can prove nearly anything if you are allowed to select your evidence and forget embarrassing facts.

The social sciences have made an art of forgetting embarrassing facts. If a fact doesn't fit the theory, leave the fact for another discipline. Sociology has nothing to learn from anthropology, which has nothing to learn from social psychology. None of these has anything to learn from the mathematics, physics, or chemistry departments.

The solution to C. P. Snow's dilemma seems clear. Scientists must learn something of the humanities. That, I think, is done rather more often than not. Scientists do read books. I have met the maniac scientist bent on discovery no matter the harm far more often in literature than in the laboratory.

Secondly, the humanists must learn something of science. This is less common, but it does happen. It isn't necessary that the humanist become a scientist, or even learn how to do science; it is necessary that he learn the principles of scientific reasoning.

I would be far more willing to believe that the two cultures could coexist, however, were it not for the contamination of the "social sciences," which pose as sciences to the humanists, and humanities to the scientists, but which are not in fact much good as either. The poet who believes he knows something of science having taken "Sosh 103" and "Ed Stat" is far more dangerous than ever he would have been if he had remained ignorant.

Meanwhile, novelists have as much right to be called "experts" on human behavior as any social scientist, which is to say we can learn as much about our fellow humans from a good novel as from a sociological treatise; and I know which I would rather read. Similarly, the poet may find beauty in the theory of probability, and will learn something of the difference between data and evidence while studying it; "Stat for Social Scientists" teaches nothing, and is dull in the bargain.

When the social scientists are challenged as unscientific, their usual plea is that their subject matter is very complex and thus the methodology of physical science won't work. This is an interesting argument, but it would carry more weight if students of social science knew something of physical science's methodologies. Granted that the "social sciences" have an intrinsically more difficult job; is this any reason to abandon the tools of science?

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:34 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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