December 2007
52 posts
Another Sprint Around the Sun
Oh-seven was a big year of changes for me. For the first time, I spent an entire calendar year in Ohio — and learned to love it again. My majors went from Physics, to Physics Education, to Business, to Motion Picture Studies, and finally to English. I signed a contract for my best friend that I can’t change majors again after all that. I’m graduating whether I like it or not,...
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Shuttle launch date up in the air as repairs are... →
NASA managers today cleared engineers to remove the external components of a suspect feed-through connector built into the wall of the shuttle Atlantis’ external tank in a bid to fix intermittent electrical problems with low-level engine cutoff - ECO - sensors that derailed launch attempts Dec. 6 and 9. The external fittings will be replaced with soldered pins and sockets like those...
Man Mistakenly Declared Dead; Family Sues →
Larry Green was walking across a highway in 2005 when he was hit by a car. He was put into a body bag and sent to the morgue, and the medical examiner did not notice Green was still alive until roughly 2½ hours after the accident. Green, who now lives in a nursing home, was hospitalized for two months with a severe head injury, broken leg and other injuries. He began some limited speaking five...
Bluetooth headset helps foil Wendy's robbery →
An armed robbery at a Columbus, Ohio Wendy’s restaurant on Wednesday morning was thwarted mid-progress, partly due to an employee’s Bluetooth headset automatically answering a call because of the robber screaming at her to do just the opposite. Haha. Bluetooth.
iPhone Rage
Christmas Eve, Greg and I were sitting on the couch surfing on our iPhones while Lori sat on the floor and wrapped Christmas presents. We were doing this for about five or ten minutes before Lori just absolutely snapped. Lori: “Do you guys realize how fucking nerdy you look sitting there on your stupid phones?! It’s really annoying!!” For reference, readers, Lori almost never...
toole: I was funny two years ago →
So I went home for Thanksgiving. As I was leaving the Cleve, it was raining. It stopped raining about ten minutes away. The weather was perfect for the entire weekend. During the drive back, it started sleeting pretty much as soon as we saw the Welcome to Ohio sign. Not only that, but the sign slapped me in the face with its dick! Which begs the question, why give a sign a penis? And one so large?...
Boy, 9, banned from school Christmas party -... →
Teacher labeled officious prick - ‘because that’s not what Jesus would do, IDIOT’.
Recently Discovered Asteroid Could Hit Mars in... →
An asteroid about 160 feet across that made a close flyby of the Earth last month now has about a 1 in 75 chance of striking the Red Planet on January 30. How awesome would that be!!
The truth, it is out there… →
A visit to the infamous Richard Hoagland’s recent “press conference.” Apparently before every space mission NASA officials hold some secret Free Mason/Nazi meeting where they drink the blood of The Last Remaining Unicorn, toast Henry Kissinger and the Trilateral Commission, sing the theme song to Spongebob Squarepants, and then plan the mission so that the launch time...
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Naval Carrier Rescues Sick Teen on Cruise Ship →
Montero was aboard the Dawn Princess cruise ship off the coast of Baja, Mexico, Saturday when her appendix burst. “It was a matter of life and death so it wasn’t very good at all,” said Montero’s mother, Trudy LaField. The crew of the Dawn Princess put out an SOS, and the U.S. Navy heeded the call. The USS Ronald Reagan was on a training mission in the Pacific Ocean 550...
U.S. urged to keep space shuttle flying past 2010 →
U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, a Republican whose Florida district includes the Kennedy Space Center, proposed extending the shuttles’ lifetime to close the gap until their replacement ships, called Orion, are ready for their first manned flights in 2015. His proposal, which would cost about $10 billion, would have the shuttles make six or seven additional flights between 2010 and 2013 and speed up...
Colorado Decertifies E-voting Machines →
On December 17, Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman decertified election equipment used by 64 Colorado counties, including machines made by Premier Election Solutions, formerly known as Diebold Election Systems. A report issued by the Secretary of State’s office details a myriad of problems such as lack of password protection on the systems, controls that could give voters unauthorized...
10 Things Christians and Atheists Can (And Must)... →
In the middle of a religious debate, you may say that religion and superstition are the prime evil in human society. But you look behind it, and you’ll find that other monster is bigger. Humans doing the opposite, acting like animals. Treating other humans as nothing but engines for their own pleasure. Religion - whether it was handed down by God or just invented by a bunch of guys- serves...
Dad sells son's 90-dollar video game online for... →
After catching his 15-year-old smoking pot, a father sold the hard-to-get “Guitar Hero III” video game he bought his son for 90 dollars for Christmas at an online auction, fetching 9,000 dollars.
Back on the treadmill
A long run is one of the greatest highs. No drug can replicate its effects. I’m hooked.
Review: Windows XP →
Microsoft have really outdone themselves in delivering a brand new operating system that really excels in all the areas where Vista was sub-optimal. From my testing, discussions with friends and colleagues, and a review of the material out there on the web there seems to be no doubt whatsoever that that upgrade to XP is well worth the money. Microsoft can really pat themselves on the back for a...
dooce: Because I couldn't say it on the phone →
I think many people are afraid that if they take medication or even agree to see a therapist that they are in some way admitting failure or defeat. Or they have been told by their boyfriend or their mother or their best friend that they should buck up and get over it, and that asking for help is a sign of weakness. Well then, let me be weak. Let me be a failure. Because being over here on this...
Military Soft On Don't Ask, Don't Tell? →
After leaving Iraq, he started receiving anonymous emails warning him about his openness that suggested he was being watched, so he went to his commander to head off an investigation he felt was coming. “I didn’t know how else to do it,” he tells Stahl, acknowledging that he initiated an investigation of himself by violating the policy. “I felt more comfortable being the one to...
Real Life - "Wait.. it's seriously named the 'Very... →
duelity →
Two entertaining explanations for creation. Watch each one, then watch “duelity”, the side-by-side version.
15 Unfortunately Placed Ads →
Thx Tracy.
Geminid Meteor Shower →
It peaks before dawn Friday morning. Experts predict “dozens per hour” but we’ll just have to see, won’t we?
Former 'No Nukes' Protester: Stop Worrying and... →
Her conclusion? Every day spent burning coal for power translates into damaged lungs and ecosystem destruction. If the world wants to keep plugging in big-screen TVs and iPods, it needs a steady source of power. Wind and solar can’t produce the “base-load” (or everyday) steady supply needed, and the only realistic — and safe — alternative is nuclear.
xkcd: "It's Complicated" →
Ambiguity Promotes Liking →
Is it true that familiarity breeds contempt? A psychology study published this year concludes that the answer is yes. It seems we are inclined to interpret ambiguous information about someone optimistically, assuming we will get along. We are usually let down, however, when we learn more.
Remember to teen-proof your home this winter →
Teens across the area are constantly getting themselves into trouble. They are mischievous by nature, and fall down chimneys, get stuck in woodstoves and squeeze their way into places they shouldn’t be. We have removed teens from just about every part of the house at one point in time.
Huckabee called homosexuality 'sinful' →
“I feel homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk,” Huckabee wrote in the questionnaire for The Associated Press, which reported the answer on Saturday. … “If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers...
One Last Ride to Hubble →
Next August, after 20 years of hype, disappointment, blunders, triumphs and peerless glittering vistas of space and time, and four years after NASAdecided to leave the Hubble Space Telescope to die in orbit, setting off public and Congressional outrage, a group of astronauts will ride to the telescope aboard the space shuttle Atlantis with wrenches in hand. That, at least, is the plan.
Scientific American: The Secret to Raising Smart... →
How do we transmit a growth mind-set to our children? One way is by telling stories about achievements that result from hard work. For instance, talking about math geniuses who were more or less born that way puts students in a fixed mind-set, but descriptions of great mathematicians who fell in love with math and developed amazing skills engenders a growth mind-set, our studies have shown. People...
