Rusted Sky

Development of Iranian multiple-warhead missile worries, U.S.A., Israel

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's military said Friday it successfully test-fired a missile not detectable by radar that can use multiple warheads to hit several targets simultaneously, a development that raised concern in the United States and Israel.

The Fajr-3, which means "victory" in Farsi, can reach Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East, Iranian news media indicated.

"I think it demonstrates that Iran has a very active and aggressive military program under way," U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said in Washington.

And let it not be said that the Democrats don't take security seriously.

CNN.com - McKinney: Race sparked tiff with police - Mar 31, 2006

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Georgia, faces possible criminal charges for a Wednesday altercation with a Capitol Police officer, one of her lawyers said Friday that the real issues were "sex, race and Ms. McKinney's progressiveness."

In a news conference featuring actor Danny Glover and singer Harry Belafonte, McKinney said she would be exonerated and that "this whole incident was instigated by the inappropriate touching and stopping of me, a female, black congresswoman."

I hope like hell her 'progressive' attitude toward security isn't shared by the rest of the Democratic party. Frankly, her worst enemy stares out of her mirror in the morning.

And as long as we're speaking of the Democrats - after a panel of ex-FISA judges say that no laws were broken...

Bloomberg.com: U.S.

March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Patrick Leahy, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he is ``inclined to believe'' it's appropriate to censure President George W. Bush over his eavesdropping authorization.

Leahy made his comments at a hearing today in Washington to consider a resolution by Senator Russell Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, chastising the president for ordering government monitoring without warrants of calls and e-mails between people in the U.S. and terrorism suspects

Okay, I know I'm being picky here - but is it really expecting too much for the Dems to stop slavering over the possibility of getting Bush in trouble and for them to pay attention to what's going on regarding illegal aliens demonstrating, Iran getting froggy, and their own people acting in ways that (if they had an R for their party affiliation) would normally have them screaming bloody murder? It was one thing when it was just Iraq and the WoT - but Iran's hot pursuit of nukes and their ability to (apparently) field an operational stealthed MIRV, AND the real possibility of severe problems with illegal aliens should be getting their attention. If the Democratic party gets its way, they're going to be in power without a plan and without a clue - and trying to wing AFTER they get into power is going to be a complete and total disaster. I'm thinking Civil War style disaster here at home, with the occasional nuke somewhere in the ME or Europe for punctuation.

And I'm REALLY supposed to take them seriously when they say they can handle the job. Man, they're asking an awful lot. I'd feel better if I thought they actually had a clue about what the job entailed. Because from what I've seen, they don't. And they won't have time to get up to speed - they'll have to hit the ground running. If they get into power again, that is - and I consider it more likely that the party's going to implode first. Which won't do the country one bit of good.

Man, I hate living in interesting times.

J.

He's an occasional commenter here, and has his own blog "Oxbeef.net". He was in town today, coaching for a volleyball tournament. It was a good day, and a good excuse to break off from painting and getting ready for a garage sale next weekend. (Lord, we've got a lot of stuff to get rid of.)

We went downtown via MARTA, which the Little Guy enjoys greatly. The weather was good, and we eventually made our way to the World Congress Center, site of COMDEXes past. We ended up following the wrong signs, and even though he told us he was going to be in the B building, we ended up in C. Well, we wandered back and eventually found him - and watched as his team won.

I enjoyed having lunch with him while She Who Approves Field Trips and the Little Guy watched the various teams compete. We talked about a lot of things, from his coding to jobs to computers to housing - and I've got to amdit I'm feeling a bit envious. He's 22 - and a hell of a lot more together than I was at his age. The little guy said that my friend seemed real nice, and he likes him a lot.

And I agree with that. He's a good guy. We watched as his team won a second time (putting them pretty far up, believe) and then we had to leave out. Good luck to you, Rawb, and I hope to see you again sometime!

J.

The Pinwheel Galaxy

... that it makes the squabbles and arguments here on Earth seem very small and insignificant indeed...

J.

YouTube - Bush Was Right

From "The Right Brothers". Ha!

J.

Plane crashes near Dover Air Force base - U.S. Life - MSNBC.com

There's an advantage to large aircraft (and I mean LARGE) - more crush space means better survivability for the passengers.

Tail's gone completely, the passengers in the rear passenger compartment (that swollen area behind the wings) likely were okay. You can just see the escape chute for the crew section forward of the wings.

Wow, that must have been one hell of an experience...

J.

Or, perhaps, your enemy - depending on which way you want the trend to go.

Strategypage - Iraq

April 2, 2006: What you see in the Iraq news, is not what you get. The news business demands startling headlines, to attract eyeballs. It's business, as the eyeballs are rented to advertisers to pay for it all. But the reality of the news is less startling, and consists of trends. These are the current trends in Iraq.

Sunnis realize they can't win.

Sunnis realize that Americans are standing between them and a severe ass-kicking for past behavior by Kurds and Shia.

Sunnis realize Al Quadea weren't their friends. Now AlQ ain't welcome, as in "Come near us and we'll kill you" not welcome.

Americans don't scare, like Osama said. (We do have politicians who are flaming cowards, though.) They're REAL good at killing people, and the 'insurgent' losses from attacking Americans were unsustainable.

Terrorists blwo things up and wreck the economy. The Coalition's trying to rebuild. The "If we can't have it, no one can" attitude didn't work for the Sunnis.

Iraq's building a civil society - one that can run itself.

--------

We went to see Ice Age II tonight. It was a pretty good movie, in a good theater, with a good crowd... which means 'near empty' because it was a Monday night. However, it's also spring break in the local school system, and it was a fairly early movie - 6:45.

I expected more people. As it was, the parking lot was almost deserted. Apparently even with the vacation time people are finding other ways to entertain themselves rather than go to the movies.

Now I wonder why that might be? Let's look at some factors.

For two adults and one child the ticket cost was $21.75. We didn't buy anything at the concession stand. For $2 more, you can get unlimited movies from Netflix, 4 at a time for a month. We paid almost that for one movie, in a theater. (Add in gas, and you've got it.)

Let's see what else was on and coming up...

The Benchwarmers - "Synopsis: A millionaire with a baseball fetish wants to form a team and compete against the meanest Little League teams he can find. As a former school outcast, he is determined to seek revenge for all those who were picked on. To do this, he enlists the help of three men, one of whom has a secret that could break up their little sports trio." Oh, yeah, that's a must-see... right after I poke out my eyes with an icepick. There's a lot fo folks that like seeing people act stupidly - but I'm not one of them. Good comedy, even of the slapstick variety, is HARD to get right.

ScaryMovie 4 - "Synopsis: The fourth installment in the Scary Movie series finds its creators taking aim at both the horror and superhero genres." Icepick material again. Hey, it's okay for them that likes it - but I don't.

RV - "Synopsis: A regular American family sets out on an adventure-filled two week journey together in an R.V." Pobin Williams must be scraping the bottom of the comedy barrel. Saw the preview for this - I wouldn't watch the whole thing with YOUR eyes. Remember how I said good comedy is hard? It isn't just people acting like idiots. Robin Williams has really lost his touch.

The Wild - "Synopsis: In this wild and outrageous computer-animated comedy-adventure, an odd assortment of animals from the New York Zoo – including a lion, a giraffe, an anaconda, a koala, and a squirrel – discover what a jungle the city can be when one of their own is mistakenly shipped to the wild and they embark on a dangerous mission to rescue him. The film boasts an impressive vocal ensemble – Keifer Sutherland, Greg Cipes, Jim Belushi, Janeane Garofalo, Richard Kind, William Shatner, and Eddie Izzard – along with cutting edge animation, and a story filled with hilarious situations." Madagascar redone. Substitute koala for penguins. Sigh.

The Sentinel - "Synopsis: Secret Service agent Pete Garrison investigates a colleague's murder and subsequently becomes a suspect due to the machinations of a blackmailer who knows about his affair with the first lady. Disgraced, dismissed and now a fugitive, Garrison must both clear his name and save the president's life." Sigh. An 'erotic thriller'. I predict it'll do about as well as 'Basic Instinct II' isn't. Secret Service agent servicing the First Lady. Hard to imagine, with some of the recent ones.

Silent Hill - "Synopsis: Rose cannot accept that her daughter, Sharon, has a fatal disease. Against her husband's will, she flees with her child, with the intention of taking her to a faith healer. Along the way, she drives through a portal in reality, which lands her in the deserted town of Silent Hill. Rose loses Sharon there, and she follows what she believes to be the silhouette of her daughter all over town." Horror. And not even particularly good, from the sound of it and the lack of advertising. This one will sink without a splash.

Slither - "Synopsis: A small town discovers it is under siege by a mysterious evil, following a series of increasingly gruesome events." A 'comedy horror'. That'll describe it well - though it's doing better than "Basic Instinct II".

Let's see - what else was at the cineplex tonight? Oh, yeah.

Game 6 - "Synopsis: A playwright (Michael Keaton) who's also a huge major league baseball fan has to decide what to do when his play is scheduled to open the same night as a critical game 6 in the world series." That one apparently stinks. How apparently? It was released on March 10th. It's done about $54k business nationwide since then. It's not even on the BoxofficeMojo charts.

Seems to me like the movie industry's trying to figure out what the viewer wants. Theaters are arguably cleaner than 20, 30 years back. The picture's better, with xenon bulbs instead of the old carbon arc projectors. There's more movies to choose from. Popcorn's more expensive, so are the drinks, and you can now get overpriced hot dogs and nachos. And the bathrooms are even cleaner... kind of.

But... why go? For the big screen experience? There's some movies that benefit by being on the big screen. Serenty for one, Zathura and Aeon Flux for another - there's a need for a wide screen to encompass all the detail. But with the advance of wide-screen TVs that advantage is going away. I can watch a movie on Big Blue, with headphones, and get excellent sound and video, and the chair and snacks are a lot cheaper.

The movie industry survives by putting out movies that people want to see. It seems like in the last five, ten years they've concentrated on a few big blockbuster movies, and a whole bunch of b- and sub-b-list films. And they're not really making money like they used to.

They might want to wonder why. A remake of a copy of a sequel of a knock-off isn't going to grab the customers. Original movies, like good comedy, are damned hard to do well. And they're not willing to put in the work, or so it seems.

J.

... of the rash of NAZI superweapons that were supposed to turn the tide in favor of Germany in WW2? First, a radar-stealthed MIRV warhead, then a (possibly) supercavitating torpedo, and now a SECOND missile system?

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- A top Iranian military official said Tuesday the country can now defend itself against any invasion originating from outside the region - a clear reference to the United States - as it tested a second new radar-avoiding missile.

The new surface-to-sea missile is equipped with remote-control and searching systems, state-run television reported. It said the new missile, called Kowsar after the name of a river in paradise, was a medium-range weapon that Iran had the capability to mass-produce.

J.

But that doesn't mean he's got a right to be immune to the results of what he says.

OLIVER STONE - MEDIA SLANDERS POLITICALLY-MINDED STARS

Movie-maker OLIVER STONE has blasted media groups who "slander" celebrities for their political comments - because intelligent stars have every right to question their leaders. The Vietnam veteran, who is a fierce opponent of the US leadership, is appalled every time a celebrity is rudely mocked for making his or her thoughts about PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH and the war in Iraq public, and he urges journalists to be more supportive. The NATURAL BORN KILLERS director says, "We're Hollywood wackos and all that stuff, left-wing... (It's) an easy and facile dismissal. "I'm still a citizen, I've served my country as a veteran, I've had many jobs before the film business. I know something of life, having lived to this age. "We have a right to speak and every time we speak: 'You're an actor, a showbusiness director,' we're making it up! "This is not a way of dealing with people. This is slander."

You're not taken seriously? Get a blog, man.

J.

Nothing like making news that fits, is there?

Off Wing Opinion: NBC To Sting Its Broadcast Partner

Via Michelle Malkin, we get news that NBC is soliciting Muslim volunteers to participate in a hidden camera sting operation. The idea here is that the camera team would follow two Muslim men to a NASCAR event to see if they trigger any "discriminatory comments or actions while being filmed". The operation would take place 2-3 times this Summer, with a story to be aired later this year.

I'll leave the media bias charges to somebody else, but here's another angle that folks in the sports biz ought to think about: What in the world are the folks who run NASCAR going to think about this when they find out?

Last time I looked NBC was still one of the circuit's broadcast partners, and now NBC News is attempting to provoke a racial confrontation at a NASCAR race, one that is sure to not only paint certain individuals as racists, but paint the entire NASCAR culture as racist too.

If I were at NASCAR HQ, I'd be blowing a gasket about now, and getting on the phone to NBC Sports in New York. After all, this is ocurring against a backdrop of NASCAR's increased efforts to bring minority drivers and owners into the series, and expand its appeal outside of the traditional Southern fan base.

But you've got to wonder - what are they thinking aside from 'We've got to fake up a good story'? That they've got to run a sting operation 5 YEARS after 9/11 would seem to indicate that they can't find any real examples of prejudice to document.

Are they going to argue that this is 'fake but accurate'?

J.

Heard a radio interview (thanks to Sirius satellite radio) and was massively unimpressed. She seems to think that all the Capital guards should be able to tell who is supposed to be there by sight and not ask for ID. And that they stopped HER after changing her hair style so it looked like she used a cattle prod to style her hair (It's a new technique for the busy woman on the go - "Zapits! One jolt and your hair's done for the day! Fire extinguisher optional.") and asked HER to show ID means that they're racist.

I think it just means she's stupid and arrogant.

I work behind a fair amount of security. The guard checks my ID every morning. If I didn't have my company issued pass, I'd have to get what's called a 'drunk badge' - a temporary ID, so called because in the old days guys would go out after work, get drunk, and forget their badges somewhere. Next day, hung over, they'd have to get a 'drunk badge' to get into the plant and after work they'd go back to where they got drunk to find their badge again.

But despite the fact I know pretty much all the guards, having both worked on PCs in the guard shacks and being in the habit of bringing them donuts every so often (Hey, I'm stopping at Krispy Kreme to drag in a dozen for the office - if they've got a 2fer1 special, I figure the guards deserve a little present. They're out in all kinds of weather, it's a thankless job, and they're first in line to get hurt or killed if some nutter tries to do something messy.) they wouldn't let me on the plant if I didn't have my pass. It's the rule out here. If you don't have an ID badge and a drive-on pass, you don't get on - no matter who you are. (With the possible exception of the company president.)

But McKinney's saying all the guards should know all the representatives, congressmen and senators on sight and pass them through without question - and that SHE was stopped because SHE had changed her appearance and breezed on through Security without showing ID PROVES that it was racist.

The DNC leadership is backing away from her at supersonic speed. It's kind of hard to convince people your group is serious about security when one of your own members goes to great length explaining why it shouldn't apply to HER.

'Cause she's 'special'.

That woman's worst enemy stares at her out of her mirror each morning. She really needs to change that.

J.

Then you might be interested in the post over at Gates of Vienna: The Reavers’ Jihad.

The Baron's guest blogger, Apollon Zamp, details out the similarities between the Reavers in the Firefly universe and the more, um, extreme aspects of Islam. And I can't say he's much wrong on his take.

One thing that's notable is the inability of the culture of Islam to create and innovate. Even the means of destruction they use seem to have all been bought from outside the Islamic culture.

Over the centuries, some beautiful architechture's been created and beautiful art has come out of Islam, as well as good literature. But In recent centuries advances in the arts, sciences and humanities have been sorely lacking in Islamic culture. It's not impossible for Islam to turn itself around... but it's unlikely.

The only way a Reaver reformed was by dying. The lust for death and pain was just so strong that no redemption was possible. Of course, real life is far more complex than fiction. Any reform, though, will have to be preceeded by a recognition that there's a problem.

And I'm just not seeing that within Islam.

Update: JohnC mentions that there's SOME clerics which are saying essentially "Uh, guys? Wanna put the swords and burqas away for a while so we've got a chance to get caught up with the 20th century?" (Hey, you've got to start somewhere...) They have no traction, however - and I would think that they've been told they'd better shut up and tow the "It's all Israel's fault, dammit" line if they didn't want a sudden mechanically assisted separation of their cervical vertabrae...

J.

And a very good point about the Aztlan movement that wants to take back the SW and return it to Mexico.

Bad Example - IF YOU RECONQUERED THE U.S., YOU'D JUST SCREW IT UP LIKE THE REST OF MEXICO

Lots of money quotes, so I'll just pick one at random:

Right now, I have one question for the Reconquista morons: Why do you you want to turn the Southwest USA into a larger Mexico?

You've already proven that you are unable or unwilling to establish a modern and prosperous nation. That's why we have an illegal immigration problem in the first place. If Mexico wasn't a corruption riddled cesspool of economic despair, so many hispanics wouldn't be risking their lives crossing the desert to get here.

So perhaps the Aztlan movement's figuring it'd be easier to move north and take over an already functioning setup. Hey, it's easier than fixing what's broke... right?

Man. There's ALWAYS something to worry about.

J.

Or maybe not.

French unions: Repeal by April 15 - Europe - MSNBC.com

PARIS - Sensing victory amid mass protests and the sliding poll ratings of President Jacques Chirac’s government, French trade unions on Wednesday set an April 15 deadline to repeal a disputed youth jobs law.

J.

There are times I wish I could look at a history text from 2106. After looking over the history of the 20th Century, you'd think we'd be able to forecast problems and understand a bit better that a lot of the things we think are important aren't - and some that we deem unimportant will come back to bite us on the ass.

But there's no such book available. All we have, really, are folks who look at what's going on and what's past, and extrapolate what might be.

Dan Simmons the novelist has done that, with his Message From The Future. And I can't say it's good news.

One thing that I've found when troubleshooting hardware and software problems is that there's no way around coming up with a definition of a problem. The real difficulty is making sure that definition is accurate. When fixing a computer, diagnosing a hard drive problem as a power supply problem or system board problem is usually just an 'oops, damnit, let me get the right part" sort of event. Figuring out what the problems are from a geopolitical standpoint can be something else entirely.

Apparently in philosophy this is called a 'category error' or 'category mistake'. And Dan Simmon's article brings up the question - what if we've made a category error regarding the WoT, by defining Islam as a 'Religion of Peace'? Or defining terrorism as the problem, when it's just a symptom?

I can't say I like his thoughts.

Go, read the whole thing. And Rawb, with your minor in sociology and international relations (yep, I read your blog...) I'd love to have your analysis of this. You too, Jason, JohnC and JohnB and Ben and James. Please, no snark or quick dismissals of it being SF - but treat it as a potential road map. How would we miss the on-ramp to this future?

Because, if his premise holds true, we have indeeded screwed ourselves severely.

J.

It's looking like the trend isn't the way it's expected... This is a VERY interesting post.

Myelectionanalysis.com - Blog Archive - Numbers

81, 76, 50, 49, 43, 25

What are these numbers? This week’s Powerball winners? A safe deposit combo? New numbers to torment those poor b*stards stranded on the island in Lost?

No, they’re the number of troops that have died in hostile actions in Iraq for each of the past six months. That last number represents the lowest level of troop deaths in a year, and second-lowest in two years.

But it must be that the insurgency is turning their assault on Iraqi military and police, who are increasingly taking up the slack, right?

215, 176, 193, 189, 158, 193 (and the three months before that were 304, 282, 233)

Okay, okay, so insurgents aren’t engaging us; they’re turning increasingly to car bombs then, right?

70, 70, 70, 68, 30, 30

Civilians then. They’re just garroting poor civilians.

527, 826, 532, 732, 950, 446 (upper bound, two months before that were 2489 and 1129).

My point here is not that everything is peachy in Iraq. It isn’t. My point isn’t that the insurgency is in its last throes. It isn’t. My point here isn’t even to argue that we’re winning. I’m at best cautiously-pessimistic-to-neutral about how things are going there.

My only point is that, at the very least, people who complain that good news coming out of Iraq gets shuttered by the press aren’t crazy.

My only point is that, at the very least, people who complain that good news coming out of Iraq gets shuttered by the press aren’t crazy. I’m a regular denizen of the right-leaning blogosphere (though I spend about half my daily routine with left-leaning sites), and I was unequivicolly shocked when I saw this. Completely the opposite of what I’d expected. My non-scientific sample of three friends, all of whom are considerably more bullish about the prospects in Iraq than I am, revealed three people similarly surprised by these numbers. I’m guessing if I polled people on this site regarding the direction those numbers were going, and people didn’t answer strategically (eg figure I was up to something from the question words), no one would predict any of those numbers were on a downward trend, or were even flat.

Again, my point isn’t that we’re winning. My only point is that if the data you’ve received left you completely surprised by these numbers, what does that really say about the completeness of the data you’ve received?

We get stuffed with junk news and starved for substance. Anyone know who got kicked off American Idol last night?

J.

Protest Photo 1

Is it time to withdraw?

J.

MIT Institute For Soldier Nanotechnologies - News and Events - Tours

Team 1: Energy Absorbing Materials
Team 2: Mechanically Active Materials and Devices
Team 3: Sensing and Counteraction
Team 4: Biomaterials and Nanodevices for Soldier Medical Technology
Team 5: Processing and Characterization - The Nanofoundries
Team 6: Modeling and Simulation of Materials and Processes
Team 7: Systems Design, Hardening, and Integration

Can't make it this year, but I might have to keep this on my to-do eventually list.

J.

I'm pretty much a believer in evolution - all you've got to do is look at the differences between a wolf, a St. Bernard, a Great Dane and a Pekenese to be able to see how selective breeding works. But I'm also somewhat of a believer in a God who created the universe. (Maybe a FSM, maybe not.)

Sometimes I think the Old Geezer sneezed (the Big Bang) and has been laughing ever since. I DO think God has a sense of humor, and this kind of confirms that.

Fossil shows how fish crept onto land - Science - MSNBC.com

NEW YORK - Scientists have caught a fossil fish in the act of adapting toward a life on land, a discovery that sheds new light on one of the greatest transformations in the history of animals.

Researchers have long known that fish evolved into the first creatures on land with four legs and backbones more than 365 million years ago, but they’ve had precious little fossil evidence to document how it happened.

The new find of several specimens looks more like a land-dweller than the few other fossil fish known from the transitional period, and researchers speculate that it may have taken brief excursions out of the water.

Enjoy!

J.

BREITBART.COM - McKinney Apologizes for Incident With Cop

Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., expressed "sincere regret" Thursday for her altercation with a Capitol police officer, and offered an apology to the House.

"There should not have been any physical contact in this incident," McKinney said in brief remarks on the House floor. "I am sorry that this misunderstanding happened at all and I regret its escalation and I apologize."

McKinney's comments came after the case had been referred to a federal grand jury for possible prosecution.

You were insisting you did nothing wrong, Cynthia. You were ADAMANT that the police officer was a RACIST, BIGOTED boor who 'touched you inappropriately'! And what were you saying just YESTERDAY?

On Wednesday, McKinney had charged anew that racism is behind what she said is a pattern of difficulty in clearing Hill security checkpoints, arguing that officers assigned to protect Congress members should recognize her, even without her congressional pin.

And it's a funny thing - you show someone respect, and they'll usually respect you in return, if they're worthy of being respected. If you think you can DEMAND respect simply because of your position - you prove you're not worthy of it.

And now they're showing they're serious, a grand jury's in the works with witnesses against you, and you're getting no support from your own side. Time to apologize, eh? Back and fill, try to smooth things over before the hammer comes down on you?

you could have saved us all this, Cynthia. If you'd apologized right away, it'd likely be forgotten now. But you just couldn't resist the face time with the cameras, could you? Get some media folk in to support you in your charge of racism - hey, you'll get prime-time news coverage!

Lady, do yourself and your constiuents a favor. Resign. Have the Governeor appoint a replacement from your district, and get yourself home. Your actions have made you a severe liability to your party - and the honorable thing to do would be to bow out peacefully.

But then - I don't think you'd know honor if it came up and whacked you with a cell phone.

J.

What a concept!

Roth & Company, P.C. - Tax Updates

If this excuse has been tried in Tax Court before, I've missed it:

Petitioner contends that the section 6651 and 6654 additions to tax are not applicable because her parents raised her to believe that the Internal Revenue Service was an illegal organization and taught her not to file tax returns or pay taxes. As a result, petitioner believes that if she ever filed a return or paid taxes she would be “disowned” by her parents.

The Tax Court today ruled that you can't skip your taxes just because your Mom and Dad say you can.

J.

Jules Underwater Hotel

Neat!

J.

Thought it was the power supply - now it's looking more like the system board. Feh. The blasted thing was less than three years old, too. How annoying.

Update: But it's better now...

Seems like the system board had a problem with the cpu cooler being on too tight. I may have cracked a trace or cracked the system board by overtightening the thumbscrews holding the heat sink on. Got it going again - but I'm not too happy with the state of the system board. Temperatures are running a bit high - think I might need some new thermal grease.

Update: Nope - it hung, then screamed during the POST. Time to swap the poor thing out, I think.

And here it was only about three or four years old, too. Ah, the good die way too young...

J.

Three things.

One addictive game. The music's catchy, unfortunately.

Norway goes open-source - I'd suggest Knoppix, personally.

The Economy doesn't suck. US economy generates 211,000 new jobs

Monster Rabbit Invades - Wallace And Grommit needed...

Yeah, I know it's 4 items. Look on the last as a bonus...

J.

And Big Blue is running again - though some work still remains. Still need to get the AGP video card in, the power supply back in place, the wireless card in, and all the lights and fans going, the case buttoned up and back down on the floor.

The Zalman Heat Sink is VERY quiet - and seems to keep CPU temps down very well indeed.

The MSI PM8M-V Socket 478 mATX Motherboard has darn near everything I could want integrated onto it. It's funny - I've been around the PC world so long that I remember if you wanted even something as simple as a video output or parallel port you had to buy an add-on card for it.

Now you can buy a new system board with everything installed - video, printer port, IDE and SATA connectors, USB, network, and 16 bit stereo sound for about a quarter of what a serial/parallel card cost 20 years ago.

That's good progress.

I should be able to finish it all up tomorrow night, if we're not too fried. I'll let you know what happens!

J.

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Wizard Of Oz Collectible Mythical Fantasy Figurines: Warriors...

Return to the Land of Oz with these exclusive, first-of-a-kind Wizard of Oz collectible figurines from Hamilton Authenticated! As mythical fantasy figurines, the heroes of Oz emerge from the past to meet the future. Their powers have grown and now, their Heart, Strength, Courage and Intellect are unmatched, captained by the Warrior Maiden Dorothy and united by the power of the Emerald Staff she wields!

I just noticed --- Toto's on a chain leash. He looks like a cross between a dragonet and a bulldog... with wings and a pointy tail.

Pardon me - but I'm going to go use some mental floss and go to bed. That just...

Urgh.

J.

Ben Affleck: Bush 'Can Be Hung' for 'Probably' Leaking Plame's Name | NewsBusters.org

Reminiscent of Al Franken on the Late Show last October, on Friday's Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, actor Ben Affleck charged that President Bush “probably also leaked” Valerie Plame's name and so “if he did, you can be hung for that! That's treason!” In full rant, an apoplectic Affleck asserted: “You could be killed. That's not a joking around Tom DeLay 'I'll do a year, I bribed the state officials with corporate money.' That's like they shoot you in the battlefield for doing that.”

Hollywood is based on the illusion of reality, of making sure that a plot is well and tightly written and the proper actors are selected in order to charm the viewer into believing that indeed the people on the screen are exceedingly intelligent, amazingly good looking and terribly competent in any chosen field of endeavor that they might tackle. When you bring fiction to life, you can do that. Actors are GODS, man! They know EVERYTHING!

We ordinary people, however, spend years getting good at our jobs and gathering sufficient information to try and figure out the whole mess. This guy - because of his legendary state of actorhood - knows the whole story, the intricacies of handling classified information, and the US code regarding such better than the lawyers who are saying that there was no 'there" there in the first place. We are in the presence of supreme wisdom when he is around, and should be in awe of his encyclopedic knowledge.

AND he gets national coverage, to boot! How much easier it would be to be an actor - to know everything and walk around with an entourage of yes-men willing to smooth out life's every little bump and irregularity for you, simply for the priveledge of working for a creature of god-like knowledge and competence...

J.

Milblog: YGBSM. had an interesting take on Oz figures. Unfortunately, following some links over on Metafilter (where I got the link for YGBSM) I found a different take on the childhood heros.

SPAWN.COM >> TOYS >> HORROR/FANTASY/SCI-FI >> McFARLANE’S MONSTERS SERIES 2: TWISTED LAND OF OZ

Maybe NSFW, maybe not safe for anyone who actually has fond memories of the Oz books.

It makes me a bit sad sometimes that folks can't seem to leave childhood icons alone. What's next, slash fanfic between Pooh and Tigger? (And if you know of some, I don't think I want to know about it.)

J.

At GE? Hmmm.

Enjoy!

J.

FOXNews.com - Did Pedophilia Hysteria Cause Child's Death?

So a man who wanted to do the right thing didn't for fear of repercussions - and the child died.

Congratulations. We've created a litigational climate where adults are subtly (if unintentionally) encouraged to NOT protect children who are not theirs if such protection involves interacting with them in any way.

Truely we are living in crazy times.

J.

Update: Here's something ELSE that would be of interest. spiked-risk | Article | Don't touch those kids!

Can you imagine the result of raising a generation to be touch-phobic? I hope this is something that will pass quickly...

J.

And STILL there's a Hat tip to Linda.

Telegraph | Opinion | There IS a problem with global warming... it stopped in 1998

Whoops.

J.

I don't really like the field. I'm a nuts and bolts kind of guy - I look at a process and try to figure out one of three things.

First - is it something I need to concern myself with? If the answer is no (with reasons ranging from 'it's not my responsibility' to 'It's working well enough') then I'm inclined to leave it alone and pay little to no more attention to it.

Second - if it's something I need to concern mysefl with, then I'm faced with the following choices - do I have the authority/ability to make or require changes in the process, and do I know enough about it to change things?

Third - with the authority/ability to make changes, is it possible to FUBAR the system through carelessness and how is such an event to be avoided?

Yet I find myself facing situations where the answers to the above are ambiguious at best. And I see a number of potentially serious events facing the country - and politicians doing pretty much nothing to make any real changes that could head them off.

I think what the problem is could be that the structure of civil political debate has changed markedly in the last 30, 40 years or so. It's no longer acceptable to simply disagree with your opponent, instead you have to do whatever you can to discredit their case, and preferably destroy their credibility to even say ANYTHING about the subject, and preferably drive them out of politics altogether. So you see elections where the issues are ignored and the opponents digging into the past to try to find something to damage or destroy credibility. (Witness the stupidity in the elections in 2004. 'Fake but accurate' memos, people opining about Bush's attendance without knowing the system, people ignoring Kerry's attendance - but that's merely an example.) My major point with this is the team that 'plays fair' (or at least somewhat so) is going to be at a severe disadvange compared to the team who doesn't care about anything but winning.

Any mistake comes back to haunt you, decades later. So it's better to do nothing - because even nothing is preferable to making mistakes.

It's stupid, it's depressing, and it's damn counterproductive and dangerous. It gives a brief thrill of self-righteousness to the ones that do it - but that and a buck will get you a cup of coffee at your local BP station. But that's the way politics are played these days - we can either accept it or change it. (And like the development of the problem, the solution will take decades.)

Now, Jason was under the impression that the Dems really wanted immigration reform and were willing to work with the President on it. Something has to be done - the influx of illegal aliens is a problem, and the 'demonstrations' were (IMHO) counterproductive as hell. Legal immigration? Yes. Illegal? No. Go back, start the immigration process, don't jump the line, be glad to see ya when you come out.

But to the Democrats - that's a voting bloc that they lust for. Sure, they're illegal now - but when they become legal citzens they'll remember who helped them, right? And if the Dems get them legal...

Well, 11 million's a hell of a lot of votes when you're not doing all that well with anything other than your hard core belivers.

So one of the things that worries me is that the Dems are going to block any substantive reform in an effort to pander to the illegal alien block, and thus stall off any minor corrections now that would head off major trouble down the line. (Like the Aztlan movement.) And when that trouble comes down, they're going to be screaming about Bush not doing enough to head off the problem back in 2006.... which would be ironic if it weren't so pathetic.

Now, let's do a little thought experiment here. Think of pretty much any major problem in the world today as a large chunk of rock heading in to hit the earth. (Say a 1-mile wide asteroid. Severe problem, likely almost completely fatal to the ecosphere. Something that needs to be acted on, and very attention-getting.) When first discovered, several hundred million miles out, all it would need would be a tiny nudge to keep it from hitting the Earth. But political infighting keeps the technological fix from being funded, keeping anything from being done at this time, and it drops to back-burner status.

As time goes on, every so often the astronomers go "Uh, guys? It's still going to hit..." and a great round of screaming and fingerpointing occurs... and after a while people lose interest again and the politicians take up the cause du jour and figure they'll still have time to take care of it... later. Yes, it'll be more expensive and harder to do later - but they won't have to make the hard choices during THEIR tenure in office and THEY won't have to spend the money on something substantive instead of feel-good pork. And who knows what might turn up? Could be they won't have to do anything at all, and that wouldn't be good for their chance of re-election if they spend trillions of dollars without good cause.

Of course, the closer it gets the more force will be needed to shift the trajectory so it won't hit the earth. There comes a time when it's impossible to avert the catastrophe no matter the resources thrown at the problem. Of course, those who tried to get the problem solved at an earlier point and were ignored can die with a self-satisfied 'I told you so' feeling... but that's cold comfort.

For example - France is facing two major problems right now. One is their employment system. It's in trouble - big trouble. To stay competitive, a country needs to have people working. If France wants to be more than a rural agrarian society, they need to figure out a way to make jobs, increase production, and get folks to work. 22% unemployment in the 18-25 range? And they DON'T want to change the system? Dang. Let's work on creating a real disaster here, folks.

The other is immigration. Their allowing and encouraging a stratified society is blowing up slowly in their faces. The two of them may both be society world-wreckers, and could have been headed off with hard choices a couple, three decades back - but the easy choices were made and now are no longer available. The asteroid is going to hit - and that can't be evaded.

Here in the US I get the unfortunate feeling we're looking at a couple of real big problems - one of which is approaching the limit beyond which nothing can affect it short of houndreds, perhaps hundreds of thousands dead, and the other is forming up into a nuclear showdown - which could have been averted back under Carter's watch with a solid show of force backed by the UN. (Or it could have solidified animosity to all things non-IRanian - who knows at this point?)

It's always easiest to do nothing.

But a small nudge can have a big effect at the right time. The time for small nudges is long past, sadly. Now we're in the time of expensive solutions and nobody gets everything they want - including a guarantee of survival. And I'm afraid it's going to get a hell of a lot more interesting before it gets better.

J.

EXOTIC COACH | LIMOJET

Well. THAT would be interesting to park!

J.

The Park Slope Hat Spat: Read All the Emails - Gawker

You wouldn't think trying to do something nice would lead to such a flamewar.

Then again...

J.

If you perchance have a two-monitor setup and a high-speed connection, try this.

Get Google Earth running in the second monitor. Find a point anywhere on the globe. (The US East Coast is good for this...) Zoom in to an eye altitude of about two miles. Turn so that 'West' is at the top of the screen.

Tilt the screen down until your eye altitude is about 600-1000 feet. Grab a bit of the landscape and pull towards you. This should start you scrolling Westward.

Now - Hit F11.

Enjoy!

J.

Blog @ Unqualified Offerings

333 comments.

Add yours.

J.

But not here. Closing comments due to spam.

INDUSTORIOUS CLOCK ||| MONO*CRAFTS3.0

Enjoy!

J.

Oh, this is going to be troublesome.

BREITBART.COM - Iran Hits Milestone in Nuclear Technology

Iran has successfully enriched uranium for the first time, a landmark in its quest to develop nuclear fuel, hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday. He insisted, however, that his country does not aim to develop nuclear weapons.

When India and Pakistan both got nuclear weapons within a short time, I figured that one or the other was going to start tossing them, and all hell would break loose. It didn't - and I think it was because the leaders of both realized they had FAR more to lose than gain from their use. You get a nuke, and all of a sudden your national perspective changes. Border skirmishes are one thing - blowing up your neighbor's capital is another.

Anyone with a semblance of sanity would realize that. Some folks seem to think that the leadership of Iran realizes that although they may get them, they'll be destroyed if they use them - so they won't dare use them.

This assumes a certain amount of rationality on the part of the Iranian leadership. I wouldn't be willing to bet that part of the world on a shakey premise like that. Unfortunately, waiting for Ahmadinejad to die of old age doesn't seem to be worth hoping for. I don't think he's going to step down at the end of his term, and he's already announced that he wants to see Israel destroyed. And a nuke or two would certainly further that end..

I don't like the idea of Iran with nuclear weapons at all.

Well, I won't be sleeping easily tonight. Not that it'll have any effect on the way the world goes...

UpdatE: Captain's Quarters has more.

Wizbang has more.

MSNBC.com has more.

MetaFilter has more.

Russia's telling Iran it's a bad idea.

So now we see what the IAEA reaction's going to be. I don't look for oil prices to be dropping anytime soon.

J.

Who's to Blame for High Oil and Gas Prices?

Expect higher.

J.

In all honesty a lot of the stuff from the '90s and later leaves me cold. Rap - well, they left off the 'C'. I like some trance and techno - but leave the vocals out of it. Everything else is insipid - seems like the 'artists' run more to pretty faces, good dance moves and a marked lack of vocal talent. 80's rock is okay, '70's okay - but it's more of a 'Oh, I remember where I was when I first heard that...' sort of thing.

So it was kind of a surprise for Sue when I got sat radio a few years back - and in short order SHE was hooked. Every so often Sirius shuffles their channels around, adding new ones and dropping ones in which there's little interest. (I was kind of bummed when their Zydeco channel was dropped.) (Yes, Zydeco. Sirius believes in the niche market.)

There's something for everyone - including an Elvis channel - and a new favorite of mine - "Radio Margaritaville." I believe I'm becoming a Parrothead - even to the point of doing something I haven't done in about 5-6 years... I bought a CD. (Um. Blue Man Group doesn't count, really...)

Well, it WAS off EBay so it's not like I paid full price for it or anything... (looks around guiltily...)

The music on Radio Margaritaville is infectious, good-time party music, and the lyrics used are frequently hilarious. He's having a hell of a lot of fun with his singing, and you can tell.

Just go into JIMMY BUFFETT LYRICS and browse around a bit. Take a look at "Oysters and Pearls", or one of his signature songs "Cheeseburger Is Paradise". (And I was thinking it was 'Cheeseburger IN Paradise' all these years.)

Tried to amend my carnivorous habits.
Made it nearly seventy days,
Losin' weight without speed, eatin' sunflower seeds,
Drinkin' lots of carrot juice and soakin' up rays.

But at night I'd have these wonderful dreams
Some kind of sensuous treat.
Not zucchini, fettucini, or bulgar wheat,
But a big warm bun and a huge hunk of meat.

Cheeseburger is paradise.
Heaven on earth with an onion slice.
Not too particular, not too precise.
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise.

I like mine with lettuce and tomato,
Heinz Fifty-seven and French fried potatoes.
Big kosher pickle and a cold fresh beer.
Well, good God Almighty, which way do I steer
For my cheeseburger in paradise.

And then, of course, there's Fruitcakes.

Yep, I'm turning into a Parrothead.

Better late than never, right?

J.

What Hitler failed to do, the legal system may.

The American Spectator

Three Strikes and You're ... in Like Flint
By Hal G.P. Colebatch
Published 4/10/2006 12:06:30 AM
American and British criminologists have long been puzzled and angered by the fact that Britain seems to have learnt nothing from the experience of New York in successfully reducing crime.

The big drop in virtually all types of crime in New York has generally been attributed to the zero-tolerance policy associated with Mayor Guiliani. Now Britain, far from adopting zero-tolerance, looks like it's adopting a policy of not prosecuting many serious crimes at all. This is the subject of an official Home Office directive to all British police forces. British police have now been told that instead of arresting a range of serious criminals, they can be let off with a caution.

The Home Office says offenses that may now be dealt with by a caution include burglary of a shop or office, threatening to kill, actual bodily harm, and possession of Class A drugs such as heroin or cocaine if police decide a caution would be the best approach.

Other crimes including common assault, threatening behavior, sex with an underage girl or boy, and car theft should normally be dealt with by a caution, if the offenders admit their guilt but have no criminal record.

New York and London have populations of 8 million and 7 million respectively and comparable police budgets, though New York has about 40 percent more police actually on the beat. British papers retail many incidents of British police, rather than preventing crime, being kept busy "celebrating diversity" and prosecuting politically incorrect remarks and behavior (large amounts of money and court time have been spent by the Crown Prosecution Service on cases of children who have made politically incorrect remarks in school playground fights, for instance).

In Norfolk, where the Tony Martin affair and other matters revealed a state of professional criminal gangs systematically robbing and terrorizing isolated rural dwellers, police recently alerted all officers to the fact a man was still at large after having stolen four soft porn magazines. This desperado's picture was sent to stations throughout the county, and the police released closed circuit television footage of the crime and appealed to members of the public to ring a Crimestopper number if they knew his identity and could help bring him to justice.

There have also been numerous and well-publicized cases of people being prosecuted and jailed for defending themselves from criminal attacks. A storekeeper was knifed in the back as he tackled a gang of youths stealing wine from his Norwich store. He was arrested on two charges of assault.

Shirley Best, owner of the Rolander Fashion Boutique, was ironing some garments when two youths broke in. They pressed the hot iron into her side and stole her watch, leaving her badly burnt. "I was frightened to defend myself," said Miss Best, "I thought if I did anything I would be arrested." In July 2002, a shopkeeper, Richard Barnes, hit a teenage thief whom he had confronted with a single blow. The thief had previously thrown a punch at him. Mr. Barnes was arrested, tried before a jury, and eventually acquitted after a three-day trial in the Hull Crown Court.

There was a time when British police and the UK legal system were hailed as the world example. Not any more, apparently.

J.

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Op-Ed > Ruben Navarrette Jr. -- Blame the Democrats for immigration reform failure

Who killed immigration reform? The autopsy shows it was Senate Democrats.

It's tempting to put a pox on both parties. But it wouldn't be fair. Republicans were tireless in search of comprehensive, and bipartisan, reform. Sen. John McCain of Arizona joined with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., to draft the guest-worker legislation, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter made that legislation central to what his committee sent to the full Senate. Sens. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina and Sam Brownback of Kansas were vocal in their support. Sens. Mel Martinez of Florida and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska offered a helpful compromise. And Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist showed leadership by reaching out to the other side.

Too bad you can't say the same for Democratic leader Harry Reid, who was the villain in this drama.

Hector Flores, president of the League of United Latin-American Citizens, told me that he tried to impress upon Reid's office that it was important to get immigration reform done.

“Apparently, it fell on deaf ears,” Flores said.

Reid claims it was GOP hard-liners who killed reform by running roughshod over Frist.

Baloney. The hard-liners had – by all accounts – no more than 30 votes, including those of conservative Democrats. On the other side, you had – according to McCain – as many as 70 votes.

A deal was at hand that would have offered legal status to some illegal immigrants. It would have made the GOP seem more Latino-friendly, but it would also have infuriated organized labor, which opposes something that was in the mix: guest workers.

After the Senate Judiciary Committee put out a guest-worker bill, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney issued a statement saying: “Guest-workers programs are a bad idea and harm all workers.”

That did it. Senate Democrats sided with labor and sold out Latinos. The deal came undone because Reid refused to allow the legislation to go through the amendment process. Republicans had come up with as many as 400 amendments but whittled the list to 20. Reid agreed to proceed with debate on just three.

It was a masterstroke by Democrats. Labor is happy. And while Latinos are angry, there's always the chance that Democrats can fool them into channeling that anger toward Republicans.

Remarkably, it's working. At a protest in Washington Monday, one Latina held up a sign that read: “The GOP is losing my Latino vote.” At another protest in Dallas, someone handed out registration leaflets urging demonstrators to vote Democratic.

Some Latino leaders don't think it'll be that easy. Cecilia Munoz, vice president of the National Council of La Raza, told me: “I don't believe that it's wise for Democrats to come to our community and ask for votes by saying: 'Hey, we kept an immigration bill from going forward.' ... People understand when they're being used.”

Even so, it looks like Reid and the Democrats orchestrated the perfect deception. Trouble is, they left fingerprints.

The Washington Post said in an editorial: “Democrats – whether their motive was partisan advantage or legitimate fear of a bad bill emerging from conference with the House – are the ones who refused, in the end, to proceed with debate on amendments, which is, after all, how legislation gets made.”

They will talk a very good game - and then find some reason not to take action when it's necessary. Every single damn time - and then they'll blame someone else. From a teen-ager it'd be marginally acceptable - from a small child it would be understandable, though we don't let the little guy get out of things he's responsible for like that. He's almost 8, and has a (slightly) better sense of responsibility than Congressional Democrats.

Damn, but I wish they'd grow up.

J.

Over at Dr. Sanity, you find this little gem.

Dr. Sanity: STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH DENIAL - Part I: The Many Faces of Denial

....

The many examples of this kind of rhetoric go on and on and we have all heard them thrown at us--usually at the end of an argument that someone has lost.

One of more humorous aspects of the widespread psychological denial since 9/11 is that those who are wallowing in the deepest sort of denial have taken to referring to themselves as "the reality-based community". They like to think of themselves as objective and scientific; devoted to truth and completely and totally in touch with reality. Sadly for them, however, it takes more than being anti-Christian to be "scientific"; more than devotion to their own secular ideology to be able to appreciate the "truth;" and more than shouting at each other in a reverberating echo chamber to be "in touch with reality".

Another thing I've noticed is as the years pass I become much less certain about some of the things I used to be rock-solid sure about. There's certain things that have been reinforced over the years, and things that I go "Well, looks like I was mistaken about that."

For instance, I was pretty sure in my early 20s that the country's infrastructure was going to collapse within the next decade. Things I read lead me to think this - and I was wrong. (Shrug.) Other things, about personal relationships and politics - well, either we learn better as we go along or we harden our opinions into something resembling the shell of a clam, and keep them tightly closed lest anything get in that'll erode your determination.

And often you find that the quest for 'perfection' is the enemy of 'good enough'. As an example, my wife has a friend who desperately wants to get married. All she's looking for is a guy who drives a particular kind of car, makes at or above a certain level, is movie-star good-looking and a certain height or above, and is willing to devote himself to her completely from the first date.

Yeah. That's pretty darn likely, isn't it? She's been searching for 25 years, and hasn't found him yet. But she's not going to drop her standards - not even for a congressman. (She sat next to Max Cleland on a plane once, and he was quite interested in talking to her. Pity he had only one arm and no legs. Didn't meet the height requirement.)

We all figure out ways to function, to cope with reality. Some are better than others.

J.

... might well get my vote in elections.

normblog: The Euston Manifesto

So I don't see the Democrats adopting this. Lot of stuff that's just not going to fly, first of all the necessity to act in accordance with the concepts...

J.

pya! Melee

All you've got to do is be fast on your mouse button. And I mean FAST.

J.