FLATEOTM October Edition
Quote:
One cannot but ponder the question: What if the Arabs had been Christians? To me it seems certain that the fatalistic teachings of Mohammed and the utter degradation of women is the outstanding cause for the arrested development of the Arab. He is exactly as he was around the year 700, while we have kept on developing. Here, I think, is a text for some eloquent sermon on the virtues of Christianity.
Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. War as I Knew It, Casablanca, June 9, 1943
Thank God, I’m not a metrosexual
ESPN has a metrosexual quiz up. I scored 1 point out of 12 (I’m a lost cause) because apparently it is “metro” to re-read old books.
This is apparently a newsworthy item because of Howard Dean’s latest goober-like fubar, claiming he’s a metrosexual when he is, to quote directly, “square”.
FYI, a metrosexual is “a dandyish narcissist in love with not only himself, but also his urban lifestyle”, according to WordSpy.
Best of the best and worst of the worst
The official fiddle player of mm.net has a new album out, Bach Concertos. It is up to her typically high technical standards, and she excels once again with bow and strings.
Read more…
Democratic hopes for 2004: dimmer than the far side of Pluto
Well, the economic news is in for the 3rd quarter: GDP up 7.2%. Imagine, if you will, the Democratic platform for 2004, a deck supported by various pillars: Bush hates abortion, Bush lied, Iraqi Quagmire, Dead Economy, etc. etc. It seems that every week another support beam gets knocked out from underneath. How long until the platform (and the hopes for a 2004 democrat president) come tumbling down? All Bush needs now is to capture Bin Laden and Hussein a week before the November 2004 election.
In related news, Paul Krugman ordered the Crow Sandwich for lunch.
I’m Irrational
| What Irrational Number Are You? |
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You are π
Of all the irrational numbers, you are the most famous. You have many friends and fans. Like many people, non-Euclidean geometry makes you feel uncomfortable. You are involved in so many things that it seems like it would take two of you to make ends meet.
You are particularly close to the rational number 22/7. However, you and e have been called “remarkable.”
Your lucky number is approximately 3.14159265 |
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But according to this…
Which Animaniacs Character are You?
You have megalomaniacal impulses regularly. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, however, as you have the cranial capacity of a small planet. Trying to take over the world is hard work, though, and you’re not above exploiting your lessers. Even now, you have a plan that’s being enacted which will pitch the world’s economy into turmoil, leaving the floodgates of trade exposed for the sole owner of stock in the Pets.com ? company! You are en route to taking over the world!
Oh, and you ARE pondering what I’m pondering.
Click here to see my Livejournal.
So does that mean I’m an irrational megalo-animaniac?
WATB? Setting Speed Records at Edwards
Edwards had an air show over the weekend. One of the exhibitions was the B-1B, aka the Bone, and the crew thereof took the opportunity to set some speed records and make a good showing of themselves. The aircraft was tail number 85-0068, and according to the FAS, doesn’t have a name. Too bad, I’d like to see the badge on the side of the a/c up close.
1448 01Nov2004: Courtesy of Eric as commented below, here is an up close and personal of the nose art of Dragon’s Fury:
Burning California
Southern California is on fire right now, and the situation is pretty dire as Citizen Smash tells us. It reminds me of the Aspen fire we had on Mt. Lemmon over the summer. The entire community of Summerhaven was burned to the ground, but they’re planning to rebuild. Apparently the situation in SoCal is the same, but bigger. As of this writing, there are 13 dead and 1100 homes burned, like the ones in this photo:
Notice anything unusual? The homes are gone, but the landscape remains. Nothing remains but the Sherman Sentinels (chimneys, term comes from Sherman’s March to the Sea) and the pools in the backyards.
Something unusual is going on in SoCal. Something only a little different than what happened on Mt. Lemmon.
Is nothing sacred?
The Indiana Jones boxed set arrived today, and those bastards at Lucasfilm and Paramount have renamed the first movie. It’s no longer “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, it’s now “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Yeah, that’s the a.k.a. title according to IMDB, but quit clouding the issue.
Bastards. Is nothing sacred to these people?
Editor wanted at the NY Times
From the New York Times, Oct. 27, 2003:
“Some 7,000 people have registered to attend Microsoft’s professional developers conference, which begins today in Los Angeles. The turnout is a record, Microsoft says. The computer professionals will be shown glimpses of Microsoft’s next version of Windows, named Longhorn, which will be built using Web services standards. Microsoft has not said when Longhorn will be ready, but it is not expected to be shipped until late 1995 or 1996.”
Later in the day they published a correction:
“Some 7,000 people have registered to attend Microsoft’s professional developers conference, which begins today in Los Angeles. The turnout is a record, Microsoft says. The computer professionals will be shown glimpses of Microsoft’s next version of Windows, named Longhorn, which will be built using Web services standards. Microsoft has not said when Longhorn will be ready, but it is not expected to be shipped until late 2006 or 2006.”
Sheesh. Does anyone know why we have editors anymore, if they don’t do their jobs?
