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February 21st, 2005 Reckless Science - Let's see if you can spot the ridiculous statement in this article. Back already? Well, that wasn't so hard.
He has no proof that magnetar explosions can alter the Earth's magnetic field to the point where animals start dying off, yet he feels confident that the statement can be made in public, without any qualifiers. This is reckless science, and Mr. Gaensler should be criticized and mocked in his scientific community. A much better statement would be "Although no magnetar exists within X light-years of Earth, had such an explosion occurred within that distance it would have noticeable and unpredictable effects." Statements like Mr. Gaensler's are bad for science and bad for the public. They instill fear in the public and encourage a lack of understanding. I ain't whistlin' Dixie - But Dell is. Today is President's Day, so Dell decides to follow in that hallowed American tradition - offer a sale to a public looking for any excuse to spend money. They put together an ad that ran this morning on Fox News. All glitzy and glam, with lots of red white and blue, stars and stripes, etc. etc. Oh, and one more thing. Dixie was the background tune. Now, I'm not an apologist for the South, but I find Dixie to be a nice little tune. Funny thing, though, it was written by the son of a northern abolitionist. I'm sure the Dell ad executive doesn't know this, and I wonder if they even recognized the tune. Perhaps they picked it just because it sounded patriotic, which says a lot about American culture and how it has changed in 140 years. I swear, I'm not making this up. Too bad I don't have a TiVo recording. More On An Ex-President - I saw GWB on Fox this morning giving his first speech of the European tour. He said there was respect for the Magna Carta, but with his accent it came out "Magna Carter", which is probably what the former president thinks of himself when it comes to peacemaking deals. Funny how kings have a history of ignoring the Magna "Carter" when it suits their purposes. Weird Dreams - I had two more weird dreams over the weekend. One involved the apartment tower in Ghostbusters, Rainbow Six, and every grown man in my church. The other involved Bill Clinton, a methane lake on Mars, and a stranded retirement community. I'm starting a Biblical word study on dream so I can find out what is going on in my mind. This is too weird. Best. Pistol. Ever. - There are few pistols that are as successful as Sam Browning's M1911. It was the pistol of the US Military from 1911 until 1985, when it was replaced with the M9 Beretta.
It was originally designed in a .38 caliber, but after submitting it the Army thought it was too small a cartridge and requested an increased bore, .45 inch in diameter. We had just had our excursion in the Philippines, where our troops were assaulted by enemy troops loaded on the local drug of choice. They would take two or three .38 Specials to the chest and keep coming - not a fun way to learn your gun is too small. Sam resubmitted the gun, up-bored to .45 ACP, and it was adopted as the M1911. After a few minor improvements were implemented, following suggestions from the field, it became the M1911A1 and remained that way until the 1980s. This sidearm has inspired knock-offs and copies around the world, as well as modifications too numerous to count over the years. It even can count as one of its children the Browning Hi-Power, considered by many to be Sam Browning's best pistol ever. I for one disagree, but its a minor point. It is even the gun preferred by the International Defensive Pistol Association in their shooting matches. The 1911 pistol is also a classic of cinema, being seen in countless flicks, though it was snubbed in others. Rick Blaine uses one (apparently the .38 caliber version) to kill Major Strasser in Casablanca, the greatest movie ever. Lieutenant Dan uses one in Forrest Gump, and most every movie about Vietnam, Korea, and both World Wars has the pistol in it somewhere. Unfortunately for the makers of Sergeant York the pistols they were supplied couldn't use blanks for some reasons, so they filled the hands of Gary Cooper with a Luger, considered by some to be the finest European pistol ever made. But the real Sergeant used his trusty 1911. I own a Colt 1991A1, a slightly modified 1911A1. It has an extra safety, built into the slide, that is released just as the trigger is finished being pulled. Aside from that the 1991 is the same as the 1911. I love it, its fun to shoot and easy to maintain. |
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This site is copyright 2001-2005 by Matthew Maynard. All rights reserved. All your trademarks, copyrights, insignia, and other distinguishing characteristics are belong to you. Sharks in suits make for good joke material. Don't leave a mess on your way out. Links to external websites are valid at the time of article authoring and may decay as time goes by. But we'll always have Paris. The opinions on this site are those of their author and do not represent anyone else's views. That is, unless and until you agree with them, at which point they become yours as well. Opinions expressed in the comments belong to the comment poster and may be edited for content. Play nice with others, since you want them to play nice with you. |
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