A McCain ad? On my blog?

I support Barack Obama for President!

So, go click on the ad for McBush2, and have his campaign send me some money. Thanks!

5:54:52 PM     leave/read comments []

Soldier Sues Army, Saying His Atheism Led to Threats

There's nothing more unAmerican than a Christian these days.

FORT RILEY, Kan. - When Specialist Jeremy Hall held a meeting last July for atheists and freethinkers at Camp Speicher in Iraq, he was excited, he said, to see an officer attending.

But minutes into the talk, the officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, began to berate Specialist Hall and another soldier about atheism, Specialist Hall wrote in a sworn statement. "People like you are not holding up the Constitution and are going against what the founding fathers, who were Christians, wanted for America!" Major Welborn said, according to the statement.

Major Welborn told the soldiers he might bar them from re-enlistment and bring charges against them, according to the statement. [NYT>Homepage]

What a douchebag, this Major Welborn. Not only does he have his facts wrong, he's violated his oath to uphold the Constitution of the United State of America, and as such, should be dishonorably discharged immediately.

11:50:40 AM     leave/read comments []

Ohhhhhhhh yeah. WRX.

I will not go triple-digit speeds in town.

I will not go triple-digit speeds in town.

I will not go triple-digit speeds in town.

I will not go triple-digit speeds in town.

I will not go triple-digit speeds in town.

1:11:54 AM     leave/read comments []

You can bet the skid marks on the tarmac weren't the only ones.

Brake Problems Led to United Jet Skids. Two United Airlines A320 jetliners skidded off runways in recent months because of crossed wires in their antilock brakes, the airline said. [NYT > Business]

12:55:19 AM    

From my archives, a piece of angst, typed out on a G3 iBook, circa 2000:

You know, I had this really clever little monologue in my head, all sorts of really deft turns of phrase and those sort of wittily incisive comments that brighten a room right up (whilst simultaneously expressing and masking the speaker's Inner Pain.....you know, that really, really clever, oh sort of, "The Thin Man meets Oscar Wilde in Gertrude Stein's kitchen during the birthday party she's throwing for Woody, whom she adores, even though she thinks the whole Woo Li or Li Ping business is rather dodgy" sort of clever remarks.) with their sparkle, all while showing a deeply felt intelligence and stout heart but when I sat down to write it all down, that absolutely brilliant bit of drawing room rhetoric just sort of fizzled away into the "heh-rooow's?" of Bob the Cat demanding that I join him at his dinner bowl to watch him gustily grind up those flaky brown pellets he calls his evening snack. Oh bugger.

I mean, it was really great- all sorts of stuff about me being rather dodgy myself and how one should never watch Notting Hill alone on a Friday night whilst eating a delivery pizza because it'll fill your heart with despair and jealousy over happy couples and sparkling dialogue (no monologues for that Curtis lad, oh no! It's all robust, healthful, "good Charlie's here to tend to you, Miss. Don't be worried" sort of stuff) and floppy hair and enormous teeth and smiling and laughing and hugging and (sigh....) kissing and good cheer and fellowship and sport and a really nice pair of briefs, all while you're sitting on the dilapidated sofa that your ex-boyfriend didn't want (sort of like your heart- the two can commiserate with each other.....call it "The Lonely Hearts and Cushions Club".) drinking a San Pellegrino that's slightly flat (sort of like your less than awe inspiring chest) and thinking that (to more blatantly steal some witty bits from the picture) you're a girl in front of a coffee table wanting to be loved and all you've got is digital cable, a big grey cat and yet another greasy pizza box. Dammit.

Well, I was going to write that monologue but I can't remember a bloody word of the damn thing and I'm stone cold sober, what with only slightly flat San Pellegrino in the house and all and that I'm tired and lonely as hell and I think it's time to just crawl into bed, cry myself to sleep and hope that Bob will decide that it's OK to curl up next to me.

'Night, all.

1:50:01 AM    

Check out this incredible Quicktime VR 360° panorama of Sydney's New Year's fireworks display!

The New Year fireworks last night ... panorama.  The computer technology controlling such displays is becoming capable of amazing synchronized sequences now -- on a vast scale in this setting -- and last night had some really novel effects. Fireworks fanatics might like to read this City of Sydney fact sheet about the display.

[Peter Murphy's Panoramic VR Weblog]

The panorama link will delightfully resize your browser, so you can get the full effect, but it is definitely worth it.

9:44:21 PM     leave/read comments []

Does. Not. Like. Wind.

11:11:16 PM     leave/read comments []

Oh boy, the Bush Police State gets to mess with more people.

Amtrak implements new anti-terror screening procedures. I'm a few days late in pointing to this on the blog, but earlier this week, the AP ran a story about new security measures planned for Amtrak, including random screening of selected passengers' bags. The short version: brown people on trains should probably brace themselves for [more] impromptu frisking: Amtrak passengers will have to submit to random screening of carry-on bags in a major new security push that will include officers with automatic weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling platforms and trains, the railroad planned to announce Tuesday. The initiative is a significant shift for Amtrak. Unlike the airlines, it has had relatively little visible increase in security since the 2001 terrorist attacks, a distinction that has enabled it to attract passengers eager to avoid airport hassles. Link (via Ned Sublette)... [Boing Boing]

11:02:29 PM     leave/read comments []