From Seanan, re the Rocky Horror Picture Show:
If you've never been a Rocky fan, it was sort of like being a Browncoat, only sluttier and with more sing-alongs.
Yeah, that says it all.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Pegaus Winners 2010
Copied from the announcement by the Pegasus committee -
I'm reasonably happy with the selection. I voted for Seanan and Paul, and Fire in the Sky was my second choice in that category. For the record, I have absolutely no clue who S.J. Tucker is nor Juliane Honisch and Kerstin Droege-Macdonald.
The Pegasus committee is very pleased to announce this year's Pegasus
Award winners:
Best Filk Song
A Thousand Ships - Juliane Honisch and Kerstin Droege-Macdonald
Best Classic Filk Song
Fire in the Sky - Jordin Kare
Best Writer/Composer
Heather Dale
Best Performer
S.J. Tucker
Best Magic Song
Where the Magic is Real - Paul Kwinn
Best Mad Science Song
What a Woman's For - Seanan McGuire
I'm reasonably happy with the selection. I voted for Seanan and Paul, and Fire in the Sky was my second choice in that category. For the record, I have absolutely no clue who S.J. Tucker is nor Juliane Honisch and Kerstin Droege-Macdonald.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Party like it's 1773
So...
Apparently the other day Sarah Palin told some Tea Party folks that they needed to buckle down and work hard until the election is over and that it was not yet time to "Party like it was 1773".
Predictably the far left media went nuts and immediately started making fun of her (again) because after all nothing important happened in 1773.
Um... Yeah.
How shall I put this? I expect the far left media to look like complete idiots every once in a while, but when you guys make yourselves look stupid compared to Sarah Palin, well I really don't know what to say.
Oh, for those who slept through or were busy smoking pot during history class (and apparently also can't figure out how Google works), Palin was addressing a TEA PARTY group. Want to hazzard a guess what year the Boston Tea Party was. Yeah, didn't think so. Put down the roach clip and pay attention. 1773.
As for the rest of us, We can see November from our house.
Apparently the other day Sarah Palin told some Tea Party folks that they needed to buckle down and work hard until the election is over and that it was not yet time to "Party like it was 1773".
Predictably the far left media went nuts and immediately started making fun of her (again) because after all nothing important happened in 1773.
Um... Yeah.
How shall I put this? I expect the far left media to look like complete idiots every once in a while, but when you guys make yourselves look stupid compared to Sarah Palin, well I really don't know what to say.
Oh, for those who slept through or were busy smoking pot during history class (and apparently also can't figure out how Google works), Palin was addressing a TEA PARTY group. Want to hazzard a guess what year the Boston Tea Party was. Yeah, didn't think so. Put down the roach clip and pay attention. 1773.
As for the rest of us, We can see November from our house.
On the ethics of voting
Jen up at A Call to Wings has a huge rant about the government education system and the ethical implications of living in a republic. A small taste:
... Because I live in a republic, and I hold the franchise thereof. That means what my country does, so long as I vote, the moral weight of those decisions, their enactment, and their outcomes is on my head to. When the time comes to answer to account, I don't get to tell the Good Lord don't look at me - the King did that.
No, I have to say "yes.... I voted for that decision, because I thought it was least bad of a host of a bunch of bad options. I know that people were killed because of that choice, but I still put my name to it. ...
I don't think I get to say "well... a hundred million other Americans voted for X, so if X wasn't right, it's only one hundred millionth my fault." Because my ethical decision was my ethical decision.
LINK
I have been thinking about doing so for a while, but as of now A Call to Wings has been added to the blogroll over on the right.
... Because I live in a republic, and I hold the franchise thereof. That means what my country does, so long as I vote, the moral weight of those decisions, their enactment, and their outcomes is on my head to. When the time comes to answer to account, I don't get to tell the Good Lord don't look at me - the King did that.
No, I have to say "yes.... I voted for that decision, because I thought it was least bad of a host of a bunch of bad options. I know that people were killed because of that choice, but I still put my name to it. ...
I don't think I get to say "well... a hundred million other Americans voted for X, so if X wasn't right, it's only one hundred millionth my fault." Because my ethical decision was my ethical decision.
LINK
I have been thinking about doing so for a while, but as of now A Call to Wings has been added to the blogroll over on the right.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Mark's Guide to the Arizona propositions
Generally speaking, "If in doubt vote No, it maintains the status quo". However, this year I am actually voting yes on most of these.
My thoughts:
106 - YES ...Heath care - Individual choice over .gov bureaucrats every day. Gives you a constitutional right to opt out of govenment mandates and a right to pay for your own medical procedures if you want.
107 - YES ...Civil Rights - Makes affirmative action unconstitutional. Affirmative action is wrong, people should be judged by their competence, not race or gender.
109 - YES .-Constitutional right to Hunt and Fish. In truth it actually does not make any real changes, but it pisses off the bunny hugers, so yes.
110 - YES .- Alows municipalites to buy state land to protect military bases (and thus jobs).. I don't think I see any downsides here. Certainly willing to be convinced otherwise.
111 - NO - Claims to rename the Secretary of State the Lt. Governor, but in reality it does a lor more than that. It makes elections worse, since it would force the parties to run a ticket rather than pick the best person for Sec. State.
112 - NO - Initiative deadline. The legislature supports it, so I'm against it. Earlier deadline for initiatives tips the balance away from grass roots to paid petition gatherers. I think that's a bad shift.
113 - YES - Card Check/Secret Ballot. I've worked in a Union Shop before. I HATE unions. Union bosses should not be allowed to know how you voted on unionizing.
203 - YES - Medical Marijuana. I'd rather see us end the war on (some) drugs entirely, but medical MJ will piss of the feds, so yes. The opponents claim it is a slippery slope to full legalization. Um, ok, not winning your argument here. I don't like drugs, I think they are stupid and bad for you. On the other hand Government bans on recreational substances are even more stupid, and worse for you.
301 - YES - Redirects Growing Smarter funds to the general fund. I opposed "Growing Smarter" back in 1998. State trust land is supposed to be used to fund education, not buy playgrounds for rich hikers/yuppies.
302 - YES - Redirects Cigarette taxes to the general fund. Cigarette taxes should go into the general fund, not pay for some leftist wish list.
Re 301 and 302. I'm pretty much always opposed to voter mandated funds for stuff. It's always left wing "feet firmly in the clouds" type stuff, and that money is used at the expense of things that the state is constitutionally obligated to do like, oh you know, actually balancing the budget.
My thoughts:
106 - YES ...Heath care - Individual choice over .gov bureaucrats every day. Gives you a constitutional right to opt out of govenment mandates and a right to pay for your own medical procedures if you want.
107 - YES ...Civil Rights - Makes affirmative action unconstitutional. Affirmative action is wrong, people should be judged by their competence, not race or gender.
109 - YES .-Constitutional right to Hunt and Fish. In truth it actually does not make any real changes, but it pisses off the bunny hugers, so yes.
110 - YES .- Alows municipalites to buy state land to protect military bases (and thus jobs).. I don't think I see any downsides here. Certainly willing to be convinced otherwise.
111 - NO - Claims to rename the Secretary of State the Lt. Governor, but in reality it does a lor more than that. It makes elections worse, since it would force the parties to run a ticket rather than pick the best person for Sec. State.
112 - NO - Initiative deadline. The legislature supports it, so I'm against it. Earlier deadline for initiatives tips the balance away from grass roots to paid petition gatherers. I think that's a bad shift.
113 - YES - Card Check/Secret Ballot. I've worked in a Union Shop before. I HATE unions. Union bosses should not be allowed to know how you voted on unionizing.
203 - YES - Medical Marijuana. I'd rather see us end the war on (some) drugs entirely, but medical MJ will piss of the feds, so yes. The opponents claim it is a slippery slope to full legalization. Um, ok, not winning your argument here. I don't like drugs, I think they are stupid and bad for you. On the other hand Government bans on recreational substances are even more stupid, and worse for you.
301 - YES - Redirects Growing Smarter funds to the general fund. I opposed "Growing Smarter" back in 1998. State trust land is supposed to be used to fund education, not buy playgrounds for rich hikers/yuppies.
302 - YES - Redirects Cigarette taxes to the general fund. Cigarette taxes should go into the general fund, not pay for some leftist wish list.
Re 301 and 302. I'm pretty much always opposed to voter mandated funds for stuff. It's always left wing "feet firmly in the clouds" type stuff, and that money is used at the expense of things that the state is constitutionally obligated to do like, oh you know, actually balancing the budget.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
And Shuffle off this Mortal Coil
Mood = indescribable
A friend of mine was shot dead last night. He was shot dead by his own son, who then turned the gun on himself.
News Article Here
Jeff was one of the first people I met at the Air Force Laboratory when I started there. He and another fellow had a telescope set up in the back parking lot and were watching mercury transit the sun. Jeff loved astronomy, and wrote all of the ephemeris software for the NVTS program.
He worked for a satellite company for a while before coming back to the lab and he was one of the folks who came to my going-away lunch. He shall be missed, and it still does not feel real.
A friend of mine was shot dead last night. He was shot dead by his own son, who then turned the gun on himself.
News Article Here
Jeff was one of the first people I met at the Air Force Laboratory when I started there. He and another fellow had a telescope set up in the back parking lot and were watching mercury transit the sun. Jeff loved astronomy, and wrote all of the ephemeris software for the NVTS program.
He worked for a satellite company for a while before coming back to the lab and he was one of the folks who came to my going-away lunch. He shall be missed, and it still does not feel real.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Commuting
The drive could have been worse. Could have been better too. Getting out of work was actually a bigger hassle than getting there. Time to study the satellite maps.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Last day at AFRL
Today was my last day working for the US Air Force Research Lab. Monday I start with L-3 Electro-Optics in Tempe.
I am NOT looking forward to the drive. On the other hand, the lab is moving to Ohio, and driving to Tempe is a lot shorter than driving to Dayton.
Since it was my last day, I decided to do it right and bought beer for anyone who showed up at the conference center. My team bought me lunch at Joe's Farm Grill and gave me a nice plaque to put up at the new place.
I am NOT looking forward to the drive. On the other hand, the lab is moving to Ohio, and driving to Tempe is a lot shorter than driving to Dayton.
Since it was my last day, I decided to do it right and bought beer for anyone who showed up at the conference center. My team bought me lunch at Joe's Farm Grill and gave me a nice plaque to put up at the new place.
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