Lately my spam has been in German. In fact, the German-language offers for illegal software have totally replaced any wishes for a good new year (that usually were either stock scams or pill scams). Today the spam box had fifty (50) variations of illegal software...in German.

Go figure. I guess, though, it is better than the previous foreign-language batch with was in something that would not translate into a readable character set, other than looking like something along the lines of something vaguely Native American!

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 09:11 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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"Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so."

(Douglas Adams, The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:57 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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A friend assures me these are all true quotes.

Q: Now, doctor...is it not true that when a person dies in his sleep he does not know until the next day?

more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 03:52 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I believe I forgot to post this hilarious bit from XKCD.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 01:10 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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And the internet provides me with yet another site to spend endless "idle" hours searching...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:44 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The Top Ten Reasons My FTL Car Rules

10) Stephen Hawking always wants to carpool.

9) Breaking the laws of physics is only a misdemeanor in most states.

Traffic enforcement is pretty much limited to cops with Ph.D.'s in Quantum Physics.

7) Bugs—they never see you comin'.

6) I can get to the good hookers before Charlie Sheen.

5) I made a fortune selling pizza with the slogan "It's there before you order or it's free!"

4) I sleep until noon and still get to work by 8:00am!

3) I'm never in the car long enough to hear an entire Madonna song.

2) My cigar butts don't land in the back seat, they land in last week!

... and the number one cool thing about my faster-than-light car is ...

1) I get a license plate that reads "ME = MC^2

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 05:16 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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In which the magic of Photoshop is applied to Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World to yield a Christmas special...

In the same spirit, Steampunk Girl brings us a holiday card from Captain Aubrey and his crew.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 01:01 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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So, according to this, my obsession with collecting books and games is actually good for the environment.

Like I needed an excuse...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 09:12 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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More flowcharts than you can shake a stick at. What would Richard Feynman do? Dog eating. The end times (expand to read the tiny bits). Bacon! Science fiction double feature.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 09:27 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Twas the Night before Chitlasha and all through the clan
Not a person was stirring, neither Pe Choi nor Man.
The slaves were all locked in their stables with care
For I didn't wish any more trouble down there.

The children were nestled all snug on their mats,
With nightmares of Ssuganar tormenting the brats.
And I hung the meshqu "Don't disturb, I relax",
While my wives settled down for a night on their backs.

When out in the courtyard there arose such a clatter
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.
Leaping over Third Wife, cross the room did I dash
Threw open the shutters and saw a great flash. more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 08:34 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I don't watch many food-related shows on television (I don't watch much television, period, but that's the subject of another posting). I think Top Chef is pretty silly (there is so little difference between this and Project Runway that I keep waiting for the crossover show): it appears that the contestants are chosen for egos rather than the reality of the kitchen. And what is so dang hard about pastry courses, anyway?

Most of my culinary viewing is Alton Brown, either through his show Good Eats or the occasional seasonal mini-series, Feasting on Asphalt. Most cooking shows have the host mumbling at you and going through the motions of food preparation. Brown tells you the science behind the cooking, and does it with a lot of humor as well. Good stuff! Asphalt's two seasons were road trips, featuring road food. In the first, he traveled across the US via Route 66. In the second, he traveled along the Mississippi, from south to north. Lots of great looking food in both seasons!

One show that has caught my attention is Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, seen (by me) on BBC America. Each episode, Gordon Ramsay tries to turn a failing restaurant around. I am utterly amazed at the trainwrecks that have managed to stay in business long enough to these saving throws.

I'll have to be careful. I may end up getting a digital video recorder just to make sure I don't miss any episodes!

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 11:09 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Vaguely inspired by some of the posters I've seen for The Golden Compass, and vaguely inspired by this posting...I feel compelled to point towards this: squirrel-armor, anybody?

Why stop there? This site has a whole bunch of...stuff.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 11:20 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Thanks to the extensive comments in the John Scalzi posting about the "fading" of Robert A. Heinlein, I've discovered two giggle-laden previous postings on his site about Ayn Rand and Christmas. Step away from your keyboard if you are ingesting liquids while reading.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 05:50 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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An article implies that Robert A. Heinlein's influence is declining. The evidence? That the literati don't take him seriously anymore. Is being compared to Heinlein a help or hindrance to a new science fiction writer? One such writer speaks up (and to be honest, the main reason I picked up John Scalzi's books was because of the comparison to Heinlein!)

Looks like it is time to trot out this 1980 essay by Spider Robinson again! more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 04:01 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Virgil Finlay's Strange Science; Virgil Finlay (Underwood-Miller, 1992, ISBN 0-88733-154-8, cover by Virgil Finlay).

The review can now be found here.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 09:44 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Here's an interesting variant for Legos: facing them with wood and engraving them!

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 12:09 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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My friend Pete Young's pictures in various categories at Flickr. Various subjects, including SF author's with pending Big Works A'Coming.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 01:02 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Just like to point out that Baen Books is offering a whole pile of fine works of science fiction, fantasy and more in their Free Library. Just in case you think Amazon has invented the world of electronic books. (And while you're at it, surf past the media hype and also look at Project Gutenberg, Memoware, Manybooks and other folks who have been on the frontier far longer than the Amazon effort. Heck, I recall downloading Project Gutenberg works for my Apple Newton!)

(There's no reason, by the way, to spend several hundred dollars on a poorly designed, hard to hold comfortably, overpriced, DRM-crippled reader. Some smart shopping in second-hand outlets can get you a perfectly capable laptop, eBook reader or PDA for far less.) more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 11:27 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Slightly...off color. So the jokes are below the fold for sensitive types. more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:20 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Fighting hamsters from the sky
Some will live and some will die
Hamsters have nothing to fear
The fighting hamsters of Calontir

Silver tape upon their backs
A broadsword is all they lack
Fifty hamsters fight a war
They won't win without fifty more

Trained by jumping off a roof
Trained in combat tooth to tooth
Hamsters fight both far and near
The fighting hamsters of Calontir

Riding high upon our helms
Their war cry it overwhelms
All opponents become weak
At their fearsome squeaky squeak

Back at home Paval waits
His fighting hamster has met its fate
He has died while drinking beer
The fighting hamsters of calontir

Once again its off to war
This time we number a dozen more
We will fight for those in need
so this year it's with Caid

Fighting hamsters jump from planes
Fighting hamsters fall like rain
Some will live but most will die
Stupid creatures cannot fly

Words by : Chrystofer Kensor & Andrixios Seljukroctonis
Tune of : Ballad of the Green Berets

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:29 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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