January 06, 2005
Book Meme
A cool book meme (from
Lintefiniel Musing aka Jen Speaks, via the
Llamabutchers). Remove the names of the authors you don't have currently on your bookshelves and bold the ones you've added.
1. Michael Crichton
2. Neal Stephenson
3. Tom Clancy
4. Robert Heinlein
5. CS Lewis
6. JRR Tolkien
7. Ayn Rand
8. Larry Niven
9. Yann Martel
10. David James Duncan
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I'm right with you up to #9 & #10. Must be cause we're both Texans. And it was a Great Rosebowl!!
Posted by: anselm at January 07, 2005 12:18 AM (qN7XT)
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Yann Martel wrote "The Life of Pi," which is on a lot of book club lists these days. My wife really enjoyed it, but I haven't had the chance to read it yet.
David James Duncan wrote "The Brothers K" and "The River Why." The former is highly recommended (especially if you like baseball, but even if you don't). The latter was a bit more challenging but ultimately rewarding. The author is an academic lefty moonbat, but I wouldn't hold that against him, at least with The Brothers K.
Posted by: JohnL at January 07, 2005 08:08 AM (YVul2)
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A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Ray and Roast
I'm no fan of country music. And that is a significant understatement.
Yesterday's Achewood rang (twanged?) true with me.
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January 05, 2005
Space Links
I've been pruning and revising the blogroll. Since these aren't really blogs, I'm moving them to here, so they'll be readily accessible from my archives.
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January 04, 2005
New to Blogroll
I don't always announce changes to my blogroll, but I've [re]-discovered a great and relatively new blogger, whom I first noticed as a commenter at the currently-but-hopefully-only-temporarily-dormant
Vodkapundit.
His name is Frank Martin (blog name: Varifrank) and just scanning through his website I immediately found a couple of great posts:
In this one, a bully gets his comeuppance.
In this one, some Euroweenies get their comeuppance. (Note: my kids know of Gail Halvorsen thanks to Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot).
Go check him out.
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Thanks for the Varifrank recommendation. I spent hours reading his site last night. I blogrolled him too.
And PS - What was up with that wierd P-51 Lightning variant (The P/F-82)? I kept looking at it and saying to myself "This is so wrong." And then to learn that on actually shot down some planes in Korea! I was stunned. You really had to dig for that one.
Posted by: The Maximum Leader at January 06, 2005 08:49 AM (jmfvP)
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I had to dig for pictures, but I've known about it for a long time, at least since early 1984, as my parents had given me an incredible illustrated encyclopedia of military aircraft for Christmas in 1983 (
this seems to be the current edition of the encyclopedia -- highly recommended).
Posted by: JohnL at January 06, 2005 08:57 AM (YVul2)
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Meat Puppetry
For those of you who don't follow
Neal Stephenson or SF,
The Baroque Cycle is an ambitious trilogy of 900-plus page novels, all set during the height of the
Enlightenment in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. I have just finished reading
Quicksilver, the first volume, which Stephenson painstakingly wrote in longhand on cotton parchment with a fountain pen (to get into the historical mindframe).
There are no significant spoilers here, but if you haven't read any of it yet and are sensitive to learning any details ahead of time, don't read any further. The rest of this is below the fold:
more...
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After reading Cryptonomicon, I couldn't wait to hit Quicksilver. I was disappointed. The storyline about Daniel Waterhouse I found very interesting, but I couldn't get into the Jack Shaftoe parts. I started it over again, but just can't seem to finish it.
Posted by: Howard at January 07, 2005 02:13 PM (8IlGJ)
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I finished the Baroque Cycle a few months ago and I loved it. While it took me forever and a day to get through Quicksilver, I sped (in relative terms, of course) through The Confusion and The System of the World. Great books and a very satisfying read...when you finally make it to the end. I'm currently reading Cryptonomicon and I'm loving it. Fascinating stuff. I completely agree that Stephenson was making an allusion to Gibson, and he's too smart that I cannot believe it was unintended. He seems the sort who would throw that in there, wondering who would pick up on it. Good for you that you got it. It completely slipped past my husband, who is a Gibson nutjob.
Howard: stick with it. Jack is so confusing in Quicksilver, but he's also ill. I found that once I accepted I was delving into the mind of one who was insane, and let reality drop, it was much more enjoyable. *SPOILER* Plus, he does disappear for the final two-thirds of the book, if that helps you to make your decision.
Posted by: Kathy at January 07, 2005 05:59 PM (E0v6D)
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SF Babes Poll (Firefly)
I've never seen a single episode of
Firefly, but the synopsis at Amazon of this short-lived SF series is impressive. Old West and SF: a killer combination. Star Trek was originally pitched as "Wagon Train" in space. Battlestar Galactica featured Starbuck in an episode versus a gunslinging Cylon.
I think I'll be checking Firefly out soon. In the meantime, reviewing the many websites devoted to this show, it's apparent that Firefly provides some outstanding competitors in this week's poll:
First up is Gina Torres portraying Zoe Warren, a soldier:
Next is Jewel Staite portraying Kaylee Frye, engineer:
Texan Summer Glau, portrays River Tam, a psychic:
Finally, the beautiful Brazilian Morena Baccarin portrays Inara Serra, a professional "companion" (wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more...):
Update: The SF Babe poll is on my main page and updated weekly. Click "Main" above and vote, or go here. You can click the SFBabe category link in the left column on the main page to see previous polls, and check out the Gallery of previous winners.
Results (Posted 11 January 2005):
Zoe -- 11 of 57 votes for 19%
Kaylee -- 23 of 57 votes for 40% (WINNER)
River -- 1 of 57 votes for 2%
Inara -- 22 of 57 votes for 39%
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I'm confused on how to vote - is there a clickable poll, or just comments? If the latter, Inara Serra.
Posted by: Bill from INDC at January 05, 2005 08:26 AM (yZMsp)
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And in the category of "Yes, I am a geek, why do you ask?" I feel compelled to point out that Gina Torres' picture is from Cleopatra 2525, not Firefly.
Which show would also be a reasonable poll.
The clickable poll is on the top left. Vote early, vote often.
Posted by: owlish at January 05, 2005 08:37 AM (KP3t9)
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Bill, go to my Main page to vote in the clickable poll. I'm updating this post to make it clear to people coming to this post's archive link where to go. Thanks for your input!
Posted by: JohnL at January 05, 2005 08:38 AM (YVul2)
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Owlish, that just shows that I've seen neither one. I do remember Gina Torres as Sydney's friend Frankie in Alias (new season tonight! Woohoo!).
Posted by: JohnL at January 05, 2005 08:40 AM (YVul2)
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Sir,
1. Farscape has a nice collection of babes....
2. Thanks for the link!
Posted by: Ranten.N.Raven at January 06, 2005 07:37 AM (CgkPo)
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I haven't watched any Alias. Any good? Or is it more eyecandy?
Posted by: owlish at January 06, 2005 03:29 PM (QiOeU)
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Firefly is out on dvd, Big screen Movie titled "Serenity" out fall of 2005. I loved this show but never heard about it til it was already canceled
Posted by: thomas at January 09, 2005 08:11 AM (pouVD)
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January 03, 2005
Martha's Prison Diaries
In case you haven't been following them,
Jeff Goldstein has been posting a
hilarious series of
fictitious diary entries of Martha Stewart in prison.
Think Caged Heat meets Martha Stewart Living.
Jeff is also suffering a motivation crisis (see the comments to this post). I know how he feels sometimes. If you don't read him regularly, you should. His is the type of clever humor for which the Internet is ideally suited. Check out his site, and show him some appreciation.
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Religion Article Delayed
I have to apologize that my
earlier-promised essay on religion has stalled. I thank everyone who replied to the poll, but I'm encountering one of the great frustrations with blogging: I keep finding that others are already writing on the same subject matter and stimulating some great commentary. At this point, I don't know what I can add.
I'll provide my answers to my poll, along with some general commentary soon. In the meantime, check out Naked Villainy, Bill, Rand Simberg, John Scalzi, and Timothy Sandefur (and guests) for some thought-provoking material.
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First Steps Out of the Cradle
The early space visionary and scientist
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky famously stated: "The earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot remain in the cradle forever."
James Muncy describes two important political baby-steps out of the cradle: the Congressional funding of the President's Vision for Space Exploration and the passage of the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act.
I would argue that the latter, together with the successful flights of SpaceShipOne to win the X-prize, represents a much larger step than pouring yet more money into NASA, new "vision" or not.
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Most of my friends in the aerospace industry think NASA is just worthless at this point. Commercial space launches are nice, but too few and too close to Earth to get us going this generation.
Posted by: owlish at January 03, 2005 11:47 PM (KP3t9)
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I'm a bit more optimistic. I think tourism might be enough of an impetus to drive the technology and economies of scale that NASA hasn't provided so far.
Posted by: JohnL at January 04, 2005 11:15 PM (gplif)
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Asteroid Threat Downgraded
Though I've updated my
earlier entry, it's worth noting here that, upon additional analysis, Asteroid 2004 MN4
does not present as great a risk as initially thought. The riskiest orbit now appears due in the year 2051, again on my birthday, but that orbit only ranks a zero on the Torino impact risk scale and a minus 1.93 on the Palermo.
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January 02, 2005
Sunday Aircraft Cheesecake (P/F-82 Twin Mustang)
This week's entry is the
F-82 Twin Mustang, essentially two P-51 bodies sharing a single wing:
Images found here and here.
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January 01, 2005
Hook 'Em, Horns!
Now
THAT was a football game!
Awesome Rose Bowl. Texas beats Michigan, 38-37 on a last-second field goal.
I wonder how many of the other BCS games will come close to being as entertaining as this one was.
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That was about perfect, Texas behind by 10 at about 12 minutes left to go, some back and forth, last minute win. Can't get any better unless I went to UT.
Posted by: owlish at January 02, 2005 11:42 AM (KP3t9)
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What a fantastic game! I'm not a big fan of either school (and have been dubious of Mack Brown since his UNC days)---but what a great example of college football. I don't know how USC-OK will be able to compare...
Posted by: bubbster at January 02, 2005 12:57 PM (RSO0m)
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Woo-Hoo! Hook 'em, Horns! And what better companion to a last-minute, come-from-behind win by Texas than to see the Aggies get crushed in the Cotton Bowl? For a fan of Lone Star State football with the right sensibilities, life is sweet.
Posted by: Robert the Llama Butcher at January 02, 2005 02:00 PM (+7VNs)
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While I bleed burnt orange, I was sad to see the Ags lose to Tennessee, which has the temerity to call itself the "real" UT. It would have been nice to see a Texas sweep of the bowls (I'm not a Tech fan, but I was really happy to see them put it to the overrated California Golden Bears).
Now I'm conflicted -- while an OU win in the Orange Bowl would be good for the Big 12, I simply loathe the Sooners.
Posted by: JohnL at January 02, 2005 02:17 PM (gplif)
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It cost me working Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Year's Eve in order to be off to watch it... but was it ever worth it.
Since I went to Tech and The University, it's been a great bowl season- though I was sad for the Ags; I always pull for the Big 12. Yeah, that means I'll be for the (gag) Sooners, if only 'cause it makes UT look better.
Posted by: Jack Grey at January 03, 2005 03:33 AM (Jq8H8)
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Thank God I'm a Buckeye.
Posted by: Bob Hawkins at January 03, 2005 09:04 PM (AxwvL)
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sooners ya you guys suck go SOONERS boomer......sooners
Posted by: yo daddy at January 20, 2005 07:18 PM (/9Bpc)
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HOOK'EM HORNS IS MEANS HOOK EM IS ALL BIG 12
MASCOTS NOT A JAYHAWK
JAYHAWK GO WITH LONGHORN TOGETHER
Posted by: Eric Dyer at April 15, 2005 09:17 PM (QlCtO)
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Tsunami Assistance
One of the first challenges facing us in this new year is to help those suffering in the wake of the Indian Ocean tsunami.
Head over to the Command Post to find out what you can do to help.
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Happy New Year!
I hope that the year 2005 is as blessed and prosperous for you as 2004 has been for my family.
Happy New Year.
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