My wife and I watched the HBO special about the birth of Air America. Kind of funny, and yet somehow pathetic. I started wondering how the hole "BusHitlerHalliburtonWMDLIESLIESLIES!" thing was going. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to wonder too long. Dirty Harry over at Jackson's Junction has the goods. Excerpt:

Liberals want the facts confronted and then to be told why it was the United Nations that made Iraq free or why it was Clinton policies that caused the rise of freedom in the Middle East. They want an intellectual, logical, and compassionate explanation of why the Bush successes are luck and how liberalism birthed them. Instead they get diversions and non-sequiters about Hitler and Halliburton.

I heard Dennis Miller confront Harry Shearer about the success in the Middle East and ask about giving Bush a little credit for it. Shearer refused to even pretend he was asked the question and went on and on about how we would invade Iran and how Bolton was this or that. It was pathetic. Miller asked again. Same response.

Conservatives turn to talk radio to hear, among many things, why we're right. In the face of it all, please tell us why we're still right. Air America can't do that. All they can do is ignore the question. That's mighty cold comfort and no way create to a revolution.

Update: I'm always behind the times. Of course Michelle Malkin was onto this story before me. Of course she was.

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Steve Zahn will burn in Hell for this. Burn! I tell you. Excerpt:

He told the Calgary Sun: "Right after I finished Sahara, I flew off to a desert in Mexico to film Bandidas with Penelope and Salma Hayek.

"It's set in 1888 in Mexico. Penelope and Salma are a pair of Robin Hood-style bank robbers. I'm the American detective who's sent down to Mexico to capture them.

"They capture me and blackmail me by taking some risque photos of the three of us. I end up tied up naked on a bed with Salma and Penelope. I spent three days naked with the girls."

I think if you look up the word "prick" in the dictionary, you'll find Zahn's picture next to it. Think I'm wrong? Check out the extended entry. more...

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Patterico makes an analysis of the legal arguments surrounding the Schiavo case and concludes that the courts should have granted the temporary injunction to reinsert the feedin tube. As always, a worthy read.

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Okay, maybe not, but Megan McCardle is (rightly) kvetching about the compensatory taxes she's forced to pay. Excerpt:

It is at times like this that I start to believe the supply siders, even though the empirical evidence for their propositions is pretty shaky. Book reviews look a lot less attractive when I net 47 cents on the dollar--why not have my evenings and weekends to myself, instead? Why not move to New Jersey, where I can get rid of my city tax, lower my state tax, and pay less sales tax to boot? Or if my parents hadn't weighted me down with all these middle American ideas about obeying the law and playing it straight and narrow--and I didn't have a morbid fear of going to jail--I could take the "poor man's tax shelter" and ask my employers to move my income off the books. This is what economists call deadweight loss, and as Zimran Ahmed points out, estimates are that the United States government burns about 25 cents this way for every dollar it raises in taxes.

I've no doubt that the liberals who read this will think "Waaa! waaa! Poor educated white professional girl has to pay her taxes." But I was against marginal rates this high before I had to pay them. There is some level at which taxation becomes confiscation, and I'd argue that when you are working more hours for the government than you are for yourself, we have crossed that bright line. By what moral right does the government tell anyone, from Warren Buffet on down, that it has a right to more than half their life?

I believe that the question isn't one of moral authority, but rather the fact that government has lots and lots of big effing guns. Morality doesn't enter into it.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 08:18 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Check out this article. Excerpt:

For more than a century, it has caused excitement and frustration in equal measure - a collection of Greek and Roman writings so vast it could redraw the map of classical civilisation. If only it was legible.

Now, in a breakthrough described as the classical equivalent of finding the holy grail, Oxford University scientists have employed infra-red technology to open up the hoard, known as the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, and with it the prospect that hundreds of lost Greek comedies, tragedies and epic poems will soon be revealed.

In the past four days alone, Oxford's classicists have used it to make a series of astonishing discoveries, including writing by Sophocles, Euripides, Hesiod and other literary giants of the ancient world, lost for millennia. They even believe they are likely to find lost Christian gospels, the originals of which were written around the time of the earliest books of the New Testament.

The original papyrus documents, discovered in an ancient rubbish dump in central Egypt, are often meaningless to the naked eye - decayed, worm-eaten and blackened by the passage of time. But scientists using the new photographic technique, developed from satellite imaging, are bringing the original writing back into view. Academics have hailed it as a development which could lead to a 20 per cent increase in the number of great Greek and Roman works in existence. Some are even predicting a "second Renaissance".

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So the mayor of San Francisco believes that gay marriage is the hot button issue that will lead the Democrats back to the promised land of majority rule. Huh. Apparently the 2004 election results were an aberration. Sure they were.

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I guess by this idiotic standard, men shouldn't be allowed to be bald unless they're Greek actors portraying private detectives on television. The lollypop sucking isn't mandatory, though.

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I'm a bit tardy here, but this week's installment of the Carnival of the Recipes is simmering over at The Countertop Chronicles.

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I've mentioned several times how much I enjoyed the Firefly series on television. Looks like releasing the series on DVd has created some new fans.

Let's hope that Serenity box office receipts are large enough so that asswad(s) at Fox responsible for screwing Firefly over get, well, fired. Okay, that's a bit harsh. Just reorganize their positions so that their job responsibilities include cleaning all of the network toilets with their tongues. Just a thought.

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RUmsfeld finally comes out and admits that he has no exit strategy and the NY Times prints it right away. Uh huh. Looks like the Times' headline is of the abridged sort. Check out LGF.for the whole story.

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Plenty of people have weighed into on Yglesias' diatribe about the abolishing the estate tax, so I don't have anything of value to add. However, the following comment almost left me speechless:

The purpose of citizens is to pay taxes. Government has no reason to tolerate citizens otherwise. Dead or alive, what difference does it make? They should pay.

How do you respond to such horseshit? Short answer: you don't. Anyone who actually believes that my life has no meaning outside of servitude to the government probably deserves my pity. Unfortunately, I'm not in a charitable mood; all he gets is my contempt.

Wait a minute, I've figured out how to converse on his level after all. Here goes:

Baaaa. Baaa-baaa-baaaaaa.

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Maybe someone should remind Senate Republicans about the first rule of holes...

I didn't bother to comment on McCain's moronic "now the NY Times will love me" statement on Softball with Chris Matthews that he would oppose the "nuclear" option with regards to ending judicial filibusters. And yes, the Reuters' scare quotes are intentional around the word "nuclear". The idea that a filibuster is some sacrosanct, immutable law of the Senate is complete and utter bullshit. Check your history books(not the version found in California where George Bush roasts small children for shits and giggles) and you will notice that it used to require 67 votes to end cloture. The number now stands at 60. That change occurred in 1975, when Senator Byrd was Majority Whip, and it came about by simple majority-vote rule change. Anyone else notice the irony?

I hear that Senate Majority Leader Frist is backpedaling from the whole judicial filibuster thing and plans to focus on legistlative issues instead. Um, Senator Frist? You don't have a fucking clue. Try and beat the filibuster; you might actually win. And if enough wayward Republicans defeat the effort, that's fine, too: some of them are up for re-election next year. I'm already looking forward to those campaign speeches. But dicking around like, well, the French is only pissing of your base, including someone like me who nominally supports the (former)Republican economic issues. Not worried about losing my vote? Well, yuo ought to be worried about losing Hugh Hewitt's vote. Excerpt:

My message is simple: I will support on air and with cash those Democrats who oppose the Senate Republican incumbents who defect on this vote --so basic is the right of a nominee who reaches the floor to have an up or down vote, and so crucial are the coming battles for the Supreme Court.

Hugh is as big a GOP cheerleader you will ever find. If you lose him over this issue, you are, uh what's that word? Oh yeah: FUCKED.

Final word: I've argued many times with my (far more conservative) sister over voting for Republicans who are actually donkey's wearing a Velcro elephant costume. My point to her was this: "Why should I vote for Democrat-lite when the real thing exists?" Of course, she believes that voting for someone you think might be an asshole(my word, not her's) is better than voting a an honest-to-God shit-stain. In other words, the lesser of two evils is always better. Well, she's just plain wrong. I've voted GOP many times because I believed that the opposing Democrat would be a disaster for this country. So I sucked it up and decided to slowly apply the breaks to this country's descent into FUBAR-ville. Now? I'm so over it. I want to grease the rails to this handbasket to Hell and ignite a fucking JATO on the back. If we're heading down, I want to hit bottom as quickly as possible so that one of two things will happen:

1) Mass revolt of the population in general, who will throw off the tyrannic yoke of their government or

2) This grand experiment of ours will finally reached its historical cul de sac

Either way, I get to see what happens sooner rather than later.

Your choice, Senator: force a vote to the floor, or look forward to your position as Senate Minority leader.

Update: Just saw the following image at IMAO. Instant classic:

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A married woman is having an affair. Whenever her lover comes
over, she puts her nine year old son in the closet. One day the
woman hears a car in the driveway and puts her lover in the closet,
as well.

Inside the closet, the little boy says, "It's dark in here, isn't
it?"

"Yes it is," the man replies.

You wanna buy a baseball?" the little boy asks.

"No thanks," the man replies.

"I think you do want to buy a baseball," the little extortionist
continues.

"Twenty-five dollars," the little boy replies.

"TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS?!" the man repeats incredulously,
but complies to protect his hidden position.

The following week, the lover is visiting the woman again when she
hears a car in the driveway and, again, places her lover in the
closet with her little boy.

"It's dark in here, isn't it?" the boy starts off.

"Yes, it is," replies the man.

"Wanna buy a baseball glove?" the little boy asks.

"OK. How much?" the hiding lover responds, acknowledging his
disadvantage.

"Fifty dollars," the boy replies, and the transaction is completed.

The next weekend, the little boy's father says "Hey, son. Go get
your ball and glove and we'll play some catch."

"I can't, Dad. I sold them," replies the little boy.

"How much did you get for them?" asks the father, expecting to
hear the profit in terms of lizards and candy.

"Seventy-five dollars," the little boy says.

"SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS?! That's thievery! I'm taking you
to the church right now. You must confess your sin and ask for
forgiveness", the father explains as he hauls the child away.

At the church, the little boy goes into the confessional, draws the
curtain, sits down, and says "It's dark in here, isn't it?"

"Don't you start that crap in here now," the priest says.

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One day at a busy airport, the passengers on a commercial
airliner are seated, waiting for the cockpit crew to show up so
they can get under way.The pilot and copilot finally appear in the
rear of the plane, and begin walking up to the cockpit through the
center aisle.Both appear to be blind.The pilot is using a white
cane, bumping into passengers right and left as he stumbles
down the aisle, and the copilot is using a guide dog. Both have
their eyes covered with huge sunglasses.

At first the passengers do not react; thinking that it must be
some sort of practical joke.However, after a few minutes the
engines start revving and the airplane starts moving down the
runway. The passengers look at each other with some
uneasiness, whispering among themselves and looking
desperately to the stewardesses for reassurance.

Then the airplane starts accelerating rapidly and people begin
panicking.Some passengers are praying, and as the plane gets
closer and closer to the end of the runway, the voices are
becoming more and more hysterical. Finally, when the airplane
has less than 20 feet of runway left, there is a sudden change in
the pitch of the shouts as everyone screams at once, and at the
very last moment the airplane lifts off and is airborne.

Up in the cockpit, the copilot breathes a sigh of relief and turns to
the pilot: "You know, one of these days the passengers aren't
going to scream in time and we're gonna get killed!"

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I found this in my old email logs. It's old, and it was only marginally funny a decade ago. But what the heck. It IS my blog, after all:

THE TOP TEN REASONS TO BUY A PENTIUM MACHINE
==================================================

10. YOUR CURRENT COMPUTER IS TOO ACCURATE

9. YOU WANT TO GET INTO THE GUINNESS BOOK AS
"OWNER OF MOST EXPENSIVE PAPERWEIGHT"

8. MATH ERRORS ADD ZEST TO LIFE

7. YOU NEED AN ALIBI FOR THE I.R.S.

6. YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT ALL THE FUSS IS ABOUT

5. YOU'VE ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT IT WOULD BE
LIKE TO BE A PLAINTIFF

4. THE "INTEL INSIDE" LOGO MATCHES YOUR DECOR PERFECTLY

3. YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CPU OVERHEATING

2. YOU GOT A GREAT DEAL FROM JPL

And the #1 reason to buy a Pentium machine:

1. IT'LL PROBABLY WORK

Q&A: THE PENTIUM FDIV BUG
============================

Q: How many Pentium designers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: 1.99904274017, but that's close enough for non-technical people.

Q: What do you get when you cross a Pentium PC with a research grant?
A: A mad scientist.

Q: What's another name for the "Intel Inside" sticker they put on
Pentiums?
A: The warning label.

Q: What do you call a series of FDIV instructions on a Pentium?
A: Successive approximations.

Q: Complete the following word analogy: Add is to Subtract as Multiply
is to:
1) Divide
2) ROUND
3) RANDOM
4) On a Pentium, all of the above
A: Number 4.

Q: What algorithm did Intel use in the Pentium's floating point divider?
A: "Life is like a box of chocolates." (Source: F. Gump of Intel)

Q: Why didn't Intel call the Pentium the 586?
A: Because they added 486 and 100 on the first Pentium and got
585.999983605.

Q: According to Intel, the Pentium conforms to the IEEE standards 754
and 854 for floating point arithmetic. If you fly in aircraft
designed using a Pentium, what is the correct pronunciation of "IEEE"?
A: Aaaaaaaiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeee!

TOP TEN NEW INTEL SLOGANS FOR THE PENTIUM
===============================================

9.9999973251 It's a FLAW, Dammit, not a Bug
8.9999163362 It's Close Enough, We Say So
7.9999414610 Nearly 300 Correct Opcodes
6.9999831538 You Don't Need to Know What's Inside
5.9999835137 Redefining the PC -- and Mathematics As Well
4.9999999021 We Fixed It, Really
3.9998245917 Division Considered Harmful
2.9991523619 Why Do You Think They Call It *Floating* Point?
1.9999103517 We're Looking for a Few Good Flaws
0.9999999998 The Errata Inside

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18. By the end of the party, he's got every damn kid doing the "pull my
finger" trick.

17. Clown car must be started with breathalizer device.

16. Keeps screaming, "My name's not BO-zo, it's bo-ZO!"

15. References to Kierkegaard and Nietzsche are lost on most 5 year olds.

14. Props for his "disappearing" trick: a moving van and your wide-screen
TV.

13. Scares the holy hell outta the kids during the "Severed Limb" trick.

12. Tells the kids he killed Barney in a blood match in Newark

11. Didn't bring balloons but managed to twist your dachshund into other
animal shapes.

10. Prefaces each trick with, "Here's a little number I learned in the
joint."

9. NOt exactly the Peewee Herman impression you were expecting.

8. Wears a t-shirt that says, "Drug-free since March!"

7. More interested in squirting seltzer into his Scotch than in his pants.

6. Those huge ears look too darn life-like, and the entire act consists of
showing charts and
complaining about the deficit.

5. A sad clown is one thing - a clown who spends the entire party with a
gun to his temple is another
thing entirely.

4. Only balloon animals he can make are a snake and a "snake on acid."

3. Business cards include the phrase, "From the mind of Stephen King."

2. Price list includes "lap dance" and "around the world."
and the number 1 sign you've hired the wrong clown for your child's party
. .
1. All the balloon animals are ribbed and lubricated.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 04:38 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Received via email:

Shortly after the Korean War had ended, an Army Sergeant wandered into the Airport Bar and bought himself a drink. The waitress, having no other customers, started a conversation with him.

He described his time in battle, how scared he was, and how he had been away so long from home, he barely remembered how to have fun.

Touched by the tale, she asked "How long has it been since you were with a woman?" "1945 was the last time" he replied.

Amazed, she asked if he would like to accompany her back to her place.

"Maam, I would be most honored", and they left together.

Later, as she rolled over, she exclaimed "Wow, I cannot believe that after that, you would remember so much!"

"What do you mean?"

"Well,... you mentioned you hadn't had sex since 1945"

"What do you mean?" he said looking at his watch. "It's only 2245 now!"

Posted by: Physics Geek at 06:13 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Rachel Lucas(I don't know her married name- piss off) is in fine rant more today. The source of her irritation? Why, the IRS, of course. Excerpt:

There is some comfort in knowing that, though it is true that I am being financially reamed by my government so that it can spend lots of money on shit I wholly and viscerally disapprove of, it also spends lots of money on the military and related technology which we can use to kick the ass of mass murderers like Saddam. I like that, very much indeed. And I like my good ol' American infrastructure. But still. I just did a report for work on a 39-year-old woman who has been on disability for seven years because - hold your breath for the shock - she's so fucking fat that she "can't" work. I'm not even leaving out any explanatory details. She is simply so obese that she can't breathe well, can't walk well, can't sit at a desk, can't do anything except lay around on her enormous ass, stuff her enormous face, and collect checks from the government, which got the money from people like me.

And from the April 25 post in Nealz Nuze. The article no longer exist on his website. However, armed as I am with Google, I was able to retrieve it elsewhere. Here it is in its entirety, with some passages in particular highlighted:

Message:
APRIL 15th TAX DAY

http://www.boortz.com/nealznuz.htm
From Neal Boortz

"Taxes are not levied for the benefit of the taxed."

– Robert Heinlein

"There are two methods, or means, and only two, whereby man's needs and desires can be satisfied. One is the production and exchange of wealth; this is the economic means. The other is the uncompensated appropriation of wealth produced by others; this is the political means."
– Albert Jay Nock

The income tax is “a vicious, inequitable, unpopular, impolitic and socialistic act … The crusade for an income tax is the most unreasoning and un-American movement in the politics of the last quarter-century.”
Editorial – New York Times. 1894.

TAX DAY Â… FOR ABOUT ONE-HALF OF US

ItÂ’s April 15th. That day is important for just about one-half of Americans; the one-half that actually carries the load for all of us. For the remaining one-half of income earners itÂ’s either just another day, or itÂ’s a day they revel in their ability to not only avoid paying taxes themselves, but in their ability to loot the pockets of those who do through such gimmicks as the rancid Earned Income Tax Credit.

April 15 is depressing ... and not just because your taxes are due.

OK Â… I know youÂ’ve heard this before, but it doesnÂ’t do any harm for you to review the facts just once a year.

This is the day when a simple question can lead to the discovery that most people have no idea how much income tax they pay, though this is becoming less and less true as we go along. There is one group that does know how much federal income tax they pay every year, and this group is growing ever larger. It's that segment of wage earners who pay nothing. So, we'll revise this statement to read: "Most people who actually do pay federal income taxes have no idea how much they pay."

For proof, try this little test: Approach a friend or co-worker whom you actually suspect may pay federal income taxes and ask them what their tax tab was. You will get one of two responses. For the majority of taxpayers who actually get refunds, the response will be "I didn't have to pay anything! I'm getting some back!" Taxpayers who actually have to write a check on April 15 will quote the amount of that check as their tax bill.

This is all by design. Politicians know that if those who pay federal income taxes knew what they were really paying there would be an instantaneous and ugly tax revolt. To hide the ugly truth, these politicians have kept alive our wonderful system of withholding. With the magic of withholding, the money is gone before the wage earner even gets the slightest whiff of it. It's almost as if it was never really there in the first place ... so, what's to miss?

Not only do most people not know how much tax they pay, they don't even know what they make!

You've already asked your co-worker how much tax they had to pay in 2001, and they didn't know. Now, ask them how much they make! Most will tell you it's none of your business. Some will respond, though, and their response will begin with the words, "I take home ..."

If you wanted to be particularly obnoxious at this point – or if you fancy yourself to be a radio talk-show host – you could say: "I didn't ask you how much you took home. I asked you how much you made." Then, standby for the inevitable blank stare.

See how well this system of withholding taxes has worked! The majority of wage earners can't even tell you what they earned! Just what they "took home." It's as if they viewed their "take home" pay as their total earnings! No wonder they don't think they paid any taxes when they get that refund check from the IRS!

But --- if you happen to work for youself then it’s a good bet that you DO know how much tax you paid. The owners of small businesses – the businesses that employ about 80 percent of the workers in this country ... you know. You are the people who have to sit down four times a year and write a check to the IRS for your quarterly tax payments.

WHY WEÂ’LL NEVER HAVE A TAX REVOLT.

One word. Withholding.


Withholding was sold to the American wage earner as a purely temporary measure to speed up cash flow to the government during World War II. As soon as the war was over, things were supposed to return to normal and the wage earners would get their entire checks, just as before the war.

In case you haven't checked, the war has been over for about 58 years or so, but withholding is still with us. It's still with us because the proliferation of the "I take home ..." workers and the "I didn't have to pay anything, I'm getting some back" taxpayers are such a boon to our politicians. As long as the majority remains ignorant of the extent to which their paychecks are plundered, politicians will be safe.

Now ... get those tax returns completed and then completely forget what they say so that you can join the ranks of the unknowing.

PROTECTING POLITICIANS

I canÂ’t let this April 15th go by without reminding you of what a wonderful job politicians, especially Democrats, have done insuring that there will never be enough angry taxpayers to cost them their jobs.

Politicians pay attention to polls. Polls are indications of the presence or lack of job security. When politicians read a poll which says that the majority of Americans (a) don’t think they’re paying too much in taxes, and (b) don’t see any need for a tax cut … they sit back and smile. Politicians – and especially Democrats – have been working for generations to shift the burden for the payment of federal income taxes to a small minority of high-income earners. They have succeeded marvelously. Today the top 10 percent of income earners pay over one-half of all federal income taxes. The bottom 60 percent of income earners – a majority, as you can see – pay less than 10 percent of all income taxes. Even someone educated in a government school can tell you that this leaves politicians free to increase taxes on the upper-income minority and then spend that money on the middle and lower-income majority in return for votes.

AND NOW --- TIME FOR SOME TAX AND SPENDING OUTRAGES.

We begin with a statistic that should jolt you right out of your seat. Have you ever stopped to consider just how many cumulative hours are spent across this entire country every year just handling the paperwork associated with the federal income tax? American businesses will spend about 3.4 billion man-hours doing tax paperwork this year. Individuals will spend another 1.7 billion man-hours. These figures represent 3 million people working full time all year just to do tax preparation work. Now --- get this. It takes more man-hours in this country to pay federal income taxes than it does to build every car, van and truck produced in this country during the same year. (Money Magazine)

Where does your tax money go? Try this:
Between 1986 and 1998 the IRS spent $5 billion of your money on a computer system that they were never able to get to work. Five Billion … that’s with a “B”.

Taxes now comprise 31% of the cost of a loaf of bread, 30% of the cost of a hotel room and 43% of the cost of a bottle of beer. (Money Magazine)
The two major tax writing committees of congress are the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. Money Magazine reports that seven out of ten members of these committees cannot figure out their own taxes. They have to hire professionals.

Your government recently gave $170 million to a group called PSI. PSI was founded by Philip Harvey. Philip Harvey runs a mail-order porno business called Adam and Eve. PSI wants to hand out condoms around the world. They now have $170 million of your money to fund their project.

At a series of employee retreats workers played children’s games and sang “We are family.” They wrote Christmas carols, went on treasure hunts, dressed in cat costumes and talked to imaginary wizards and magicians. It was a “team-building” exercise for the U.S. Postal Service. Cost? $3,600,000.00.

There are 1.2 million paid tax preparers in the United States. ThatÂ’s six times more than the number of troops in Iraq. These 1.2 million people add absolutely nothing to our quality of life or standard of living.

Do you know what IRS form 8845 is? It’s the form you fill out to get your “Indian Employment Credit.”

In 1969 the congress discovered that there were 155 taxpayers who paid no taxes because their deductions eliminated their tax liability. ThatÂ’s when congress passed the Alternative Minimum Tax Â… just to catch those 155 taxpayers. Today the AMT nails 3 million taxpayers. Within 7 years that figure will soar to 36 million.

The IRS still insists that the income tax is “voluntary.” If you believe that then you believed Bill Clinton when he said that oral sex isn’t sex.

THE SOLUTION

The solution is twofold.


First --- reform the tax system by getting rid of the income tax, repealing the income tax amendment and moving to a national retail sales tax. I've been promoting such a system for over 15 years. You can find out everything you want to know by studying the website for Americans for Fair Taxation at http://www.fairtax.org.

Second -- Government must be reduced to its constitutionally appropriate size. Neither Republicans nor Democrats are up to the task. That's why I'm a Libertarian.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 05:18 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I just took the Nerd Test and received the following feedback:

Here's the text that came with the image:

Your Score Summary

Overall, you scored as follows:

3% scored higher (more nerdy), and
97% scored lower (less nerdy).

What does this mean? Your nerdiness is:

All hail the monstrous nerd. You are by far the SUPREME NERD GOD!!!

All hail the monstrous nerd. I like the sound of that.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 04:11 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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I was a small child when we first landed on the moon. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that us poor Earthlings would give up on space and remain ground-bound for 30 years. Now that President Bush has expressed interest in going back to the moon, and then on to Mars, others are starting to investigate the possibility of a permanent lunar station. Following is an excerpt from a Nature column:

The perpetually sunlit spots proposed by Bussey's team could make perfect sites for building a manned lunar base. For one thing, they would benefit from bountiful solar energy.

What's more, climate calculations suggest that they would hover at a relatively balmy -50 ºC. This is far more hospitable for man and machine than the Moon's equatorial regions, in which temperatures swing wildly from -180 ºC to 100 ºC. "It's quite mild in space terms," Spudis says.

More can be found here.

Growing up, I dreamed that I or my children would get to visit, and spend time, at a permanent lunar base. Let's make that dream a reality, shall we?

Posted by: Physics Geek at 03:27 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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