August 26, 2012

Neil Armstrong

I cannot even begin to relate the influence that he, and the project of which he was an icon, had in my life. So, I won't try.

The guy that flew this:



Had everything in the world to brag about, and never did.

http://www.sierrafoot.org/x-15/adventures/flight_051/flight_51.html

...This point was roughly over Pasadena, La Canada, and the Rose  Bowl, 45 miles south of Edwards Air Force Base!  This is the northern edge of the Los Angeles Basin, on the south side of the San Gabriel Mountains.

If not for that 3 g turn Armstrong's next radio contact might have needed to sound something like this:  "Los Angeles Approach, X-15 66672 needs immediate clearance for straight-in approach to runway 25 Right at LAX."

August 25, 2012

GOP Rules Committee Meets In Special Session

August 25, 2012

Disruptor Tip #838 - pronouns

Trolling is not just about "acting like" a troll. But as with acting, to excel one should be a "method troll". Be the troll, and not someone who is trolling.

To be the troll is to avoid the inadvertent use of third person pronouns in reference to Democrats, progressives, liberals, and all of us fabulous furry folk who collective make DU, and are proud, bickering DUers.

For example, the method troll will not refer to DU as "their website," "them," or some other third person plural which is so pointedly exclusive of oneself.

That is all.

August 25, 2012

OMG - tonight's prison show on MSNBC is dreadful

Left the TV on after Rachel, and they are doing a profile of a real psychopath.

August 24, 2012

Why the tax returns matter in a very concrete way

Am I the only one who remembers that a sitting Vice President was removed from office for tax evasion?

August 22, 2012

By the way, voter ID has a slight anti-female bias

Pennsylvania has instituted a no-cost "voter ID" (for those who have time to take off work and wait at the understaffed DMV).

However, even if a state DMV does that, it still does not make the cost of obtaining the necessary documents for free.

If you were born in another state, for example, PA can't make that state cough up a birth certificate for free.

The overwhelming majority of men have their name on their birth certificate.

A large number of women do not. Many women change their name upon marriage, and hence they require an additional state record aside from just their birth certificate. Additional marriages can further complicate that, depending on whether they chose to continue using their most recent name, change it back, or change it again.

Certified state document fees add up. I learned this the hard way when I was getting a passport for one of my then-minor children, and needed a certified statement from my re-married ex-wife. Just to back up the certification required a birth certificate and two marriage certificates.

They are cheap here in DE at around ten bucks a pop (at that time), but in states where these are $20 and up, it could cost $40 and up just to vote.

August 21, 2012

Question about posting in Greatest Threads

How come when I hit "post" and then go to select a forum, "Greatest Threads" disappears from the menu?

Everyone else seems to be able to post there except me.

August 19, 2012

The Martians Had It Coming To Them

Bombing the moon was unprovoked aggression.

But this? This is payback for what they did to us in the 1930's.



The musical version? Who knew?

August 19, 2012

70% Chance of Tropical Cyclone Formation....

The one with the red circle around it. Edit: (I see I linked to a live graphic)

Eight days to Tampa.

August 17, 2012

My theory on why Mitt won't disclose

Buried in the reportage of Mitt's 13% answer was the SPECIFIC QUESTION he deflected - It was along the lines of:

In 2008 and 2009 many wealthy Americans had large capital losses, bringing their taxes close to zero, what did you pay in 2008 and 2009?

Romney's answer suggests that when everyone else had huge write-offs from deductible losses, he didn't.

Hey Mitt, how'd you win when everyone else lost?