June 18, 2009

If Obama had a Facebook page

Top shelf stuff right here.

Posted by Physics Geek at 01:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

June 17, 2009

Cool, but not new

Using visible light for early detection of breast cancer is cool and all, but it isn't new. I and two friends did graduate work on this very subject back in the early 1990s. We weren't the first, of course. You can figure that out by searching for "dianography" and seeing how many hits you get. Still pretty cool, though. One of us worked on the research documents, another on the electronics and the last (me) got to do the programming. I never finished and my work was picked up and improved upon by my friend, which turned out to be his master's thesis work. Also, it had to be changed from breast cancer to cavity detection. What can I say? The dental school had more money to give us.

There was one category that we honed in on: some breast cancers are undetectable by X-rays, but can be found via the visible light method. I'm fairly certain that this is where the impetus for this research lies. In any event, I'm hopeful that this cancer, among others, will eventually be eradicated. And that date cannot come quickly enough.

Posted by Physics Geek at 12:52 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

Brewing your first beer, post I: the equipment

Since this will be your first beer, we're going to keep things as simple as possible. Terms that you likely won't hear in this series:

1) sparging
2) protein rest
3) saccharification
4) isohumulone

Things that you are likely to hear:

1) boiling
2) carbonation
3) bottling
4) drinking

Anyway, there a variety of items that you could use for homebrewing, but I don't want to stress you out. In the motto of the American Homebrewers Association: Relax. Don't worry. Have a homebrew.

Okay, first things first. You will need a kettle to boil your beer in. Technically, the beer will be called wort at this stage. And now you've added a new word to your vocabulary, although I haven't found a way to use it in conversations NOT about brewing.

Back to the boiling pot. It should be at least 3 gallons, although 5 gallons is probably better and 10 gallons would be better still. But if you want to save money, stick with the smaller pot. Some people get a little too serious about the type of kettle: ceramic coated stainless, pure stainless steel, pots that come with your own personal Emeril to screech "BAM!" every time you add something to it. Me? I went the inexpensive route and bought an aluminum pot. But hey, it's your setup. Whatever makes you happy.

Next on the list as a must have item is a fermentation vessel. You have a couple of realistic choices here as a homebrewer: glass or plastic. 5 gallon glass carboys are easy to find and they're not too expensive. Since you'll typically brew 5 gallon batches, though, you will need to use a blowoff tube for the first couple of days and then add on a fermentation lock. If that sounds like too much effort, a 6-1/2 gallon carboy is probably a better choice because you can stick the lock on top from the get go. And having said all that, I suggest that you go with a plastic fermentation vessel for your first batch. They're usually 6-1/2 to 7 gallons in capacity and have airtight lids with a single opening for your fermentation lock. Also, they're pretty much unbreakable, which isn't the case for glass fermentation vessels. Again, it's your call.

On second thought, you'll probably want to go ahead and order a 5 gallon glass carboy, or at least put it on lay-away. Glass is absolutely required for secondary fermentation. Granted, we won't bother with that for our first beer, but we will for future brews.

How will you get the beer into your fermentation vessel? You're going to need a pretty large plastic funnel. Maybe not for your first beer, but definitely for the next one.

If you want some idea of the potential alcohol in your brew, you'll need a hydrometer, a device used to measure the specific gravity of liquids. The more sugar that's dissolved in the beer, the greater potential alcohol content. And a floating thermometer is useful as well. It's bad form to add yeast to your brew while it''s too hot. Also, you'll need to know the temperature of your wort when taking the specific gravity if you want to correctly determine the specific gravity of your beer.

Since I mentioned fermentation locks in the preceding paragraph, I might as well discuss those next. There are several types available. A picture of the two most common ones can be found here. They both accomplish the same task: let carbon dioxide from the fermentation escape while preventing anything from getting back into the beer.

Once fermentation has completed, you'll need a bottling bucket. I suggest that you buy one with a spigot already attached. You will rack(siphon) the beer from the fementation vessel into the bottling bucket using a racking cane. This prevents having a lot of yeasty sludge from ending up in your bottles. Also, you'll probably want to buy a spring-loaded bottle filler, which makes filling up the bottles a much simpler task. It also leaves about the perfect amount of headspace in each bottle. In my opinion, this small piece of equipment will make your bottling experience less painless.

You'll need bottles, too, about 50-60 12-ounce bottles, or 25 24-ounce bottles. How do you aquire them? Well, you could buy brand spanking new bottles from the store, but I tend to get them from my other friends that drink beer, asking them to save all of their empties. My pals are usually very helpful in this regard, especially after I've promised to give them some samples of my homebrew. By the way, ask your friends to rinse the bottles after they're empty. Cleaning mold out of bottles isn't an enjoyable task.

Okay, you've filled your bottles with your beer. Now you need to cap them. This means, of course, that you will need 50-60 unused bottle caps, as well as a bottle capper to put them onto the bottles. Again, go the inexpensive route and purchase a lever-armed bottle capper. Bench cappers are nice, but more expensive, and they require more effort on your part if the bottles aren't all the same size, which is likely to be the case if you're using castoff empties.

I almost forgot: you'll need a couple of pieces of plastic tubing, too. One piece will attach to the racking cane and another to the bottle filler.

I think that our brewing list is pretty much complete. Let's recap what you'll need:

1 3-5 gallon brewing kettle
1 5 or 6 gallon glass carboy
1 6.5 to 7.5 gallon "food grade" plastic fermenter with airtight locking lid
1 6 foot length of 3/8-inch inside diameter clear plastic tubing
1 racking cane
1 fermentation lock
1 rubber stopper to fit the fermentation lock(It's bad form to not notice until you're pitching the yeast that they don't fit. Not that I know from experience or anything. I'm just saying.)

1 2-3 foot length of 3/8-inch outside diameter tubing which should fit the next item
1 spring-loaded bottling wand
1 large plastic funnel
1 floating thermometer
1 hydrometer
1 bottle capper, for which you'll need lots of new bottle caps.
50-60 beer bottles, preferably the non-screwtop type. Brown glass is the best, but pretty much anything will work.

I forgot to mention how important proper sanitation is. Let's go the cheap route yet again and use unscented household bleach. You don't want your beer to taste lemony fresh. Ugh.

That's enough to get started. We'll go over the limited ingredient list in the next post in this series.

What's that you say? You don't have a brewshop in your town? Have no fear, there are shops all over the country that will gladly ship the stuff right to your door. Check here and here. If you don't find what you're looking for there, then check out these links. Oh, and lots of places sell beginner kits containing most or all of the equipment listed above. Your mileage may vary.

See you next post.

Posted by Physics Geek at 08:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

Time for an update

A while back, I started a series on "Brewing Your First Beer." My plan was to finish that series and then move onto intermediate and advanced brewing techniques. How did it turn out? Let's just that epic fail is pretty close to the truth. In any event, I'm going to restart the endeavor to

1) Drum up interest in homebrewing
2) Jump start my own brewing

I hope that some of you will join me in this hobby. If anyone wants to brew along, we can discuss how the process went, what went wrong/right and how the beer ultimately turned out. Along the way, we should make some pretty good beer.

Check back later today, or maybe tomorrow for the first post. And happy brewing.

Posted by Physics Geek at 07:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

June 15, 2009

I finished it last week

Why do you ask?

Don't know what to say about this little doohickey, but I kind of think I might get fired if I tried this sort of thing. Then again, YMMV.

Posted by Physics Geek at 12:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

Break out the tar and feathers

I find ideas like this one to be so inherently bereft of logic and common sense that only someone in DC could think it's a great idea. Excerpt:

With federal spending in 2009 at 28% of the economy and deficits heading north, Democrats are eyeing tax increases on everything from soft drinks to electricity to health benefits to charitable contributions. But the palm for creativity goes to the Internal Revenue Service, which is contemplating a new tax on the use of business cellphones.

The IRS believes that some percentage of the costs incurred by employees using company-provided wireless devices should count as a "fringe benefit" and thus be subject to taxation. Since workers inevitably end up taking personal calls or emails, the thinking goes, it's only fair that they pay for the privilege. What's next? Maybe a per-cup tax on office coffee, or targeting furtive visits to ESPN or Hulu on the office PC? As one wag put it on the Journal's Web site, "It's like charging for the use of the company washroom."

Hey now, let's not give them any ideas. All that I can say is that if this idea gets more than floated, i.e. a new H.R. gets introduced, numbers at Tea Parties will explode more than they already have.

There a couple of ideas that are so simple that everyone should grok them. Apparently, though, some people have to have it spelled out for them. Ergo:

1) The elected officials in DC and elsewhere? They are the servants of the voting public, not the other way around.

2) Citizens do not exist solely for the purpose of providing a revenue stream to said elected officials.

If you keep those two points firmly embedded in your brain, you'll be fine. To believe otherwise is stupid and misguided. Sadly, there are large number of people who fall into one or both of those categories.

Anyway, hat tip to the Corner.

Posted by Physics Geek at 10:27 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

June 11, 2009

New National Symbol

Received via email:


The government today announced that is is changing the national symbol to a condom because it more accurately reflects the government's political stance. A condom allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives you a sense of security while you're actually being screwed.

It just doesn't get more accurate than that.

Posted by Physics Geek at 12:29 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

June 09, 2009

Personal preference given thumbs up by medical science

Part of the reason that I run on a regular basis is that I can ingest a few more calories than I would otherwise be able to. Many times, I've refreshed myself with a chilly beverage consisting of unfermented malt sugars and yeast pee and carbonated via yeast farts. As it happens, my rehydration technique is a healthy one. Excerpt:

Researchers at Granada University in Spain have come across a discovery that will undoubtedly please athletes and sports enthusiasts - a pint of beer post-workout or match is better at rehydrating the human body than water.

Professor Manuel Garzon, a member of Granada's medical faculty, made the finding after tests on 25 students over several months. Researchers believe that it is the sugars, salts, and bubbles in a beer that may help people absorb fluids more quickly.

The subjects in the study were asked to run on a treadmill at temperatures of 104F (40C) until they were close to exhaustion. Once they had reached the point of giving up, researchers measured their hydration levels, motor skills, and concentration ability.

Half of the subjects were given two half pints of Spanish lager to drink, and the other half were given just water.

Garzon said that the rehydration effection in those who were given beer was "slightly better" than those who were given only water. He also believes that the carbon dioxide in beer helps quench thirst more quickly, and that beer's carbohydrates replace calories lost during physical exertion.

Salt, Fat, Sugar, Beer and Caffeine: The Five Basic Food Groups. Coming soon to a PBS documentary near you.

Posted by Physics Geek at 01:16 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

I'm always behind the curve

Well, I've decided to keep suckling at corporate America's teat. Turns out that all my paying bills and feeding my family is merely a lifestyle choice. Instead, I could have been funemployed.

Iowahawk explains:

What most people would call unemployment, Smalley embraced as "funemployment." What other people would dismiss as starvation, he whimsically terms a "starve-cation."

"Economic Depression" once conjured images of tent cities and desperate job-seeking drifters, but for hordes of jobless Gen Xers, there is a silver lining in the new upbeat economic meltdown. These giddily carefree hipsters tend to be single and in their 20s and 30s, happily unencumbered by the obligations of parenthood or teeth.

Buoyed by severance, savings, unemployment checks and free Salvation Army blankets, the nation's new wave of hip funemployed do not spend their days poring over job listings. With no timeclock to punch, they travel on the cheap for weeks, bartering mix CDs or sterno or sexual favors for a fun cross-country boxcar trip. They study yoga and newspaper journalism, or grab a quick al fresco lunch at the neighborhood soup kitchen bistro. They participate in fun dance marathons and pole-sitting contests. And at least till the bank account dries up and the tuberculosis takes hold, they're content living for today.

I had no idea just how wrong I'd been.

Posted by Physics Geek at 06:40 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

June 08, 2009

This is parody?

Rob Long usually writes some funny stuff, but this is way too close to reality to be considered funny.

Posted by Physics Geek at 01:39 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

June 01, 2009

Have your car unlock itself

Pretty cool DIY gadget found here. I might have to do this as a little science project this summer. When my wife asks me why I think it's necessary, I'll reply in the immortal words of Rip Torn in Dodgeball:

Necessary? Is it necessary that I drink my own urine. No, but it's sterile and I like the taste.


Posted by Physics Geek at 08:09 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

May 26, 2009

Rule 5 Wednesday

Because I've got nuthin' else on my mind.

Hey, I'm a guy. It's not like you should be surprised or anything. Anyhoo, click on the images below to enlarge to full size.

Continue reading "Rule 5 Wednesday"
Posted by Physics Geek at 04:37 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

May 24, 2009

What he said

Bill Quick offers the perfect analysis of Colin Powell's latest utterings:

I agree. I think the GOP needs to reach out to and welcome many more small-government conservatives, hard-core libertarians, white folks who are tired of the explicit racism of the entitled, affirmative action society, legal immigrants who are opposed to having their own hard work and honesty degraded by a flood of illegals who share their ethnic backgrounds, and middle-class blacks who hate the false assumptions under which they must explain that their success came from their own labors and intellects, not some free affirmative action handout of one kind or another.

What? This isn’t what he means?

In the immortal words of that puppy blending fool: Heh.

Posted by Physics Geek at 08:45 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

May 19, 2009

I didn't know that someone had recorded my keystrokes...

Really old, but worth repeating.
-------------------------------------
Online computer users often engage in what is affectionately known
as "cybersex". Often the fantasies typed into keyboards and shared
through Internet phone lines get pretty raunchy. However, as you'll see
below, one of the two cyber-surfers in the following transcript of an online
chat doesn't seem to quite get the point of cyber sex. Then again, maybe
he does...



Wellhung: Hello, Sweetheart. What do you look like?

Sweetheart: I am wearing a red silk blouse, a miniskirt and high heels. I work out every day, I'm toned and perfect. My measurements are 36-24-36. What do you look like?

Wellhung: I'm 6'3" and about 250 pounds.I wear glasses and I have on
a pair of blue sweat pants I just bought from Walmart.I'm also wearing a
T-shirt with a few spots of barbecue sauce on it from dinner...it smells
funny.

Sweetheart: I want you.Would you like to screw me?

Wellhung: OK

Sweetheart: We're in my bedroom.There's soft music playing on the stereo and candles on my dresser and night table. I'm looking up into your eyes, smiling. My hand works its way down to your crotch and begins to fondle your huge, swelling bulge.

Wellhung: I'm gulping, I'm beginning to sweat.

Sweetheart: I'm pulling up your shirt and kissing your chest.

Wellhung: Now I'm unbuttoning your blouse.My hands are trembling.

Sweetheart: I'm moaning softly.

Wellhung: I'm taking hold of your blouse and sliding it off slowly.

Sweetheart: I'm throwing my head back in pleasure.The cool silk slides off my warm skin.I'm rubbing your bulge faster, pulling and rubbing.

Wellhung: My hand suddenly jerks spastically and accidentally rips a
hole in your blouse.I'm sorry.

Sweetheart: That's OK, it wasn't really too expensive.

Wellhung: I'll pay for it.

Sweetheart: Don't worry about it.I'm wearing a lacy black bra.My soft breasts are rising and falling, as I breath harder and harder.

Wellhung: I'm fumbling with the clasp on your bra.I think it's stuck. Do you have any scissors?

Sweetheart: I take your hand and kiss it softly.I'm reaching back undoing the clasp. The bra slides off my body. The air caresses my breasts. My nipples are erect for you.

Wellhung: How did you do that? I'm picking up the bra and inspecting the clasp.

Sweetheart: I'm arching my back. Oh baby. I just want to feel your tongue
all over me.

Wellhung: I'm dropping the bra. Now I'm licking your, you know, breasts. They're neat!

Sweetheart: I'm running my fingers through your hair. Now I'm nibbling your ear.

Wellhung: I suddenly sneeze. Your breasts are covered with spit and phlegm.

Sweetheart: What?

Wellhung: I'm so sorry. Really.

Sweetheart: I'm wiping your phlegm off my breasts with the remains of my blouse.

Wellhung: I'm taking the sopping wet blouse from you. I drop it with a plop.

Sweetheart: OK. I'm pulling your sweat pants down and rubbing your
hard tool.

Wellhung: I'm screaming like a woman. Your hands are cold! Yeeee!

Sweetheart: I'm pulling up my miniskirt. Take off my panties.

Wellhung: I'm pulling off your panties. My tongue is going all over, in and out nibbling on you...umm... wait a minute.

Sweetheart: What's the matter?

Wellhung: I've got a pubic hair caught in my throat. I'm choking.

Sweetheart: Are you OK?

Wellhung: I'm having a coughing fit. I'm turning all red.

Sweetheart: Can I help?

Wellhung: I'm running to the kitchen, choking wildly. I'm fumbling through the cabinets, looking for a cup. Where do you keep your cups?

Sweetheart: In the cabinet to the right of the sink.

Wellhung: I'm drinking a cup of water. There, that's better.

Sweetheart: Come back to me, lover.

Wellhung: I'm washing the cup now.

Sweetheart: I'm on the bed arching for you.

Wellhung: I'm drying the cup. Now I'm putting it back in the cabinet. And now I'm walking back to the bedroom. Wait, it's dark, I'm lost. Where's the bedroom?

Sweetheart: Last door on the left at the end of the hall.

Wellhung: I found it.

Sweetheart: I'm tuggin' off your pants. I'm moaning. I want you so badly.

Wellhung: Me too.

Sweetheart: Your pants are off. I kiss you passionately-our naked bodies pressing each other.

Wellhung: Your face is pushing my glasses into my face. It hurts.

Sweetheart: Why don't you take off your glasses?

Wellhung: OK, but I can't see very well without them. I place the glasses on the night table.

Sweetheart: I'm bending over the bed. Give it to me, baby!

Wellhung: I have to pee. I'm fumbling my way blindly across the room and toward the bathroom.

Sweetheart: Hurry back, lover.

Wellhung: I find the bathroom and it's dark. I'm feeling around for the toilet. I lift the lid.

Sweetheart: I'm waiting eagerly for your return.

Wellhung: I'm done going. I'm feeling around for the flush handle, but I can't find it. Uh-oh!

Sweetheart: What's the matter now?

Wellhung: I've realized that I've peed into your laundry hamper. Sorry again. I'm walking back to the bedroom now, blindly feeling my way.

Sweetheart: Mmm, yes. Come on.

Wellhung: OK, now I'm going to put my...you know ...thing...in your...you know...woman's thing.

Sweetheart: Yes! Do it, baby! Do it!

Wellhung: I'm touching your smooth butt. It feels so nice. I kiss your neck. Umm, I'm having a little trouble here.

Sweetheart: I'm moving my ass back and forth, moaning. I can't stand
it another second! Slide in! Screw me now!

Wellhung: I'm flaccid.

Sweetheart: What?

Wellhung: I'm limp. I can't sustain an erection.

Sweetheart: I'm standing up and turning around; an incredulous look on my face.

Wellhung: I'm shrugging with a sad look on my face, my weiner all floppy. I'm going to get my glasses and see what's wrong.

Sweetheart: No, never mind. I'm getting dressed. I'm putting on my underwear. Now I'm putting on my wet nasty blouse.

Wellhung: No wait! Now I'm squinting, trying to find the night table. I'm feeling along the dresser, knocking over cans of hair spray, picture frames and your candles.

Sweetheart: I'm buttoning my blouse. Now I'm putting on my shoes.

Wellhung: I've found my glasses. I'm putting them on. My God! One of our candles fell on the curtain. The curtain is on fire! I'm pointing at it, a shocked look on my face.

Sweetheart: Go to hell. I'm logging off, you loser!

Wellhung: Now the carpet is on fire! Oh noooo!

Sweetheart: ::logged of::

::The End::

Posted by Physics Geek at 11:14 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

May 18, 2009

New word processor

For the those with melanin challenged follicles:

Continue reading "New word processor"
Posted by Physics Geek at 12:55 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

May 12, 2009

Wishful thinking on display

Another article which states categorically that Linux will supplant Windows as the OS of choice. Certainly the author makes some valid points, many of which I agree with, but the reality is that if Vista didn't provide incentive to switch, nothing short of Armageddon will. There are, however, some things that could make the switch more likely:

1) Get some PC distributors to sell them with Linux installed. Pick 3-4 total distros and give the buyer a choice of, say, Ubuntu, MEPIS, Mint or Xandros. Have versions of them on display so that prospective buyers can see what they'd be getting. Oh, and make certain that these distros get installed on the top-end machines. Sure you can run Linux on a lesser machine than what Vista requires, but you're the comparison is between a Ferrari and a Model T. Install Linux on a quad core machine with 4-8 Gb of RAM and let people see just how fast the system is.

2) Install Wine or Virtual Box to try and make it painless for users to install their beloved Windows only applications, such as Quicken. Better yet, install the software via Virtual Box or Wine for the user so that they hit the ground running. People like me love to fiddle with settings and such. Most people? Not so much. They want it to work out of the box.

3) Install lots of robust open source applications, such as Open Office, Evolution, Thunderbird, GIMP/GIMPshop, etc.

4) Hammer the cost savings. Windows Vista, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop? They all cost big bucks if you pay full price. Compare that with the zero dollars you'll spend on the Linux machine.

There are ways to make inroads into Microsoft's market dominance, but none of them should include wishful thinking. Unfortunately, the author of the article falls prey to that. Pity.

Posted by Physics Geek at 09:29 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

What he said

You should read the whole thing, but I especially like this excerpt:

The Obama administration has emphasized repeatedly that health-care reform is the key to their deficit reductions goals. But as the Washington Post points out the White House “is backing a plan to expand coverage that would cost taxpayers between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion over 10 years, while it has proposed health-care savings of only $309 billion.” And no one even believes those $309 billion in savings will ever materialize. So where will Obama find the money to pay for his lavish health care dreams? He doesn’t know either.

Hat tip to that Puppy Blending Monster.

Posted by Physics Geek at 08:51 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

May 11, 2009

Junk science

Check out this little image:

dipuccio-2.jpg

Now wrap your little globally warmed brain around it and tell me just how you theory is in any way supported by actual evidence.

Go ahead and take your time. The sun isn't scheduled to go nova for another five billion years or so.

Posted by Physics Geek at 01:22 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

Surprise, surprise, surprise

To one person, anyway:

If you know me on this issue, you know that I am very, very upset.

I don't know what Megan thought was going to happen when Obama won. The fact that this action was entirely predictable is beside the point. Or not. Really, really not.

Posted by Physics Geek at 12:51 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

May 05, 2009

Joke of the day

This is an oldie, but it still makes me laugh:

Many years ago I was acting as the system administrator for a test system in a large publicly held company. Periodically I would receive a call from someone who had not accessed the system recently, forgot their password and locked themselves out trying to logon. I would look up their password and unlock the system for them and they would go on their merry way.

One day I received a call from a young lady who was in just such a predicament. I looked up her password and informed her that it was 'DOME' and, just to be playful, told her the price for me being gracious enough to unlock her sign-on was an explanation of the meaning of her password. She became very embarrassed over the phone and pleaded that she could never reveal her secret. I of course replied that I would not give her system access until she did. After negotiating for several minutes she finally acquiesced but made me promise to never reveal her password meaning to any of her colleagues to which I gladly agreed.

"Well, what does it mean?", I asked.

She hesitated and then replied, "It's two words."

There was pregnant pause. I unlocked her system and simply said, "Have a nice day".

Posted by Physics Geek at 02:35 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

All your stupid are belong to us

Every now and then, I stop by Batshit Crazy Balloon Juice to see if Cole has posted anything based on facts or reason. There was a time not long ago when, even when I disagreed with him, I could expect something based on reality. Not anymore, though. It's like someone mixed together the stupidest elements of KOS, the DU and Indymedia to create some raving psychotic lunatic and then Cole sprang fully formed from the brow of said nutjob. Some of his recent ravings deal with economic policy. Let's just say that his ideas are... inadequate. But hey, the possibility exists that entire jungles of monkeys might crawl out of my ass and he could be proven right. That day isn't today, however, and tomorrow doesn't look good either.

Posted by Physics Geek at 11:48 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

May 04, 2009

A week that I can get behind

Robert Stacy McCain has created a new national week of celebration. Personally, I think that it should be extended to an entire month if it manages to upset the strident misandric harpies at places such as Pandagon.

Heh. Dan Collins does his level best to send the Pandagonettes into a frothing rage.

As for me, I'll simply add create Rule #5 entries every single day of this week.

Posted by Physics Geek at 10:17 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

May 01, 2009

Website welcomes the age of Obama

Yesterday, ESPN's website was invaded by unicorns, rainbows and sparkling ponies. This was the day after Obama's press conference. Coincidence?

espn_unicorns_01.jpg

Posted by Physics Geek at 07:32 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

April 30, 2009

Today's funny

Real life Twitter below the fold.

Continue reading "Today's funny"
Posted by Physics Geek at 11:27 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

Required reading

A friend sent me a link to this post in the Investor Village ConocoPhillips message board. If, like me, you find the Goreacle and his disciples more than a little irritating and if, like me, you aren't willing to starve your family and live in the dark, you probably want to read it. Lots of good information, none of which those of us who live in the real world will find surprising. But it's well worth reading. Excerpt:

Bound to Burn
Humanity will keep spewing carbon into the atmosphere, but good policy can help sink it back into the earth.

By Peter W. Huber

Like medieval priests, today's carbon brokers will sell you an indulgence that forgives your carbon sins. It will run you about $500 for 5 tons of forgiveness -- about how much the typical American needs every year. Or about $2,000 a year for a typical four-person household. Your broker will spend the money on such things as reducing methane emissions from hog farms in Brazil.

But if you really want to make a difference, you must send a check large enough to forgive the carbon emitted by four poor Brazilian households, too -- because they're not going to do it themselves. To cover all five households, then, send $4,000. And you probably forgot to send in a check last year, and you might forget again in the future, so you'd best make it an even $40,000, to take care of a decade right now. If you decline to write your own check while insisting that to save the world we must ditch the carbon, you are just burdening your already sooty soul with another ton of self-righteous hypocrisy. And you can't possibly afford what it will cost to forgive that.

If making carbon this personal seems rude, then think globally instead. During the presidential race, Barack Obama was heard to remark that he would bankrupt the coal industry. No one can doubt Washington's power to bankrupt almost anything -- in the United States. But China is adding 100 gigawatts of coal-fired electrical capacity a year. That's another whole United States' worth of coal consumption added every three years, with no stopping point in sight.

Much of the rest of the developing world is on a similar path.

Cut to the chase. We rich people can't stop the world's 5 billion poor people from burning the couple of trillion tons of cheap carbon that they have within easy reach. We can't even make any durable dent in global emissions -- because emissions from the developing world are growing too fast, because the other 80 percent of humanity desperately needs cheap energy, and because we and they are now part of the same global economy. What we can do, if we're foolish enough, is let carbon worries send our jobs and industries to their shores, making them grow even faster, and their carbon emissions faster still.

We don't control the global supply of carbon.

Posted by Physics Geek at 10:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!