Monthly Archives: October 2005
Curious About Newspapers
Posted on October 31, 2005 134 Comments
This is a participatory entry, to satisfy my own curiosity, since it’s a subject near and dear to my heart. If you would answer the following three questions in the comment thread, I would be obliged: 1. Do you subscribe to a newspaper? Note the question is "subscribe," not "read." If you pay for an […]
My Big Fat Camera Experience
Posted on October 31, 2005 13 Comments
A couple of folks who are in the market for a camera have asked me about my experience with the new camera (a Nikon D70s) and whether it’s helped me to take better photos. The answer to that is so far my experience with the camera has been mostly positive. As to whether it’s made […]
Useless Atheism
Posted on October 30, 2005 101 Comments
Marshall Brain, the guy behind the HowStuffWorks.com site and its attended media ancillaries, has decided to prove to everyone once and for all that God does not exist, therefore helping the lot of us to get rid of that nasty, distracting God and allowing us to focus on the really important stuff, like, I don’t […]
Look and Feel Update
Posted on October 30, 2005 27 Comments
Okay, I’ve made a couple of tweaks to the layout of the Whatever from the last time I noted the tweaking. The new tweaks include: * Making the photo strip repeat vertically so it doesn’t end abruptly; * Making the sidebar blue so the black background is not so contrasty (the black background has also […]
Swing Swing Swing
Posted on October 30, 2005 1 Comment
There are probably things in the world more fun than a tire swing on an autumn weekend. Not many, though.
Mars!
Posted on October 29, 2005 4 Comments
It’s not the best picture of Mars you’ll ever see, true enough. But it’s the first picture of Mars you’ll ever see taken by me. As you may or may not know, tonight Mars is as close to Earth as it will be in more than a decade, a mere 41 million miles away, close […]
Fiddle Fiddle
Posted on October 29, 2005 23 Comments
Yes, I’m playing with the look of the Whatever again. Feel free to comment. Update: 4:24pm: All right, the fiddling is largely completed. Differences you may note will include the picture bar running down the left side of the Whatever and new banner image. Text layout remains the same. To make the picture bar work, […]
The Scandal Standard
Posted on October 28, 2005 59 Comments
I note that various right-wingers are already trying to minimize the fact that Scooter Libby just got indicted on five charges related to the Valerie Plame case, but fortunately for everyone involved I have a solid acid test to let you know just how serious a political scandal is. It’s a very simple standard: For […]
Various Notes and Links 10/27
Posted on October 27, 2005 4 Comments
Things I know, things I wonder, things I’d like to say: * Notable science fiction author Norman Spinrad has had difficulty placing his novel He Walks Among Us with publishers in the US and UK, so he’s released it as a shareware novel, with a suggested price of $5 (although he notes in the text […]
The Rock Family!
Posted on October 27, 2005 19 Comments
We’re the Rock Family! Because we rock! Hard and out loud! My hair is a loving tribute to Steve Perry in the Escape era! Don’t stop believin’… in the ROCK! Rock on, brah!
Chicago’s First Team
Posted on October 27, 2005 37 Comments
Call me petty, but I can’t tell you how happy I am that when it came time for a Chicago baseball team to win it all, it was the White Sox and not the Cubs. I can’t chalk up this emotion to any south side Chicago identification — although the University of Chicago is on […]
The Document No One Knows About
Posted on October 26, 2005 45 Comments
This is the document no one knows about. If anyone knew about it, it would be the document someone knows about. But no one does. Hence its name. You may think you are reading it, and that you are someone, but please refer back to the title: The Document No One Knows About. No one. […]
The Mac’s Back
Posted on October 26, 2005 16 Comments
The Mac is back, after a certain amount of time of inactivity, much of it brought on by my own sloth in getting it off to the repair shop. There are three places to get your Mac repaired in the Dayton area, and all three of them are on the other side of Dayton from […]
A Note on the Day of the Passing of Rosa Parks
Posted on October 25, 2005 35 Comments
Not too long ago Athena and I touched on the subject of segregation. We were looking at a calendar and I was pointing out holidays, and there was Martin Luther King Day, so I explained that he was someone who had fought for civil rights in the US. Athena, being six, didn’t know what that […]
Uxoriousness, Flickr Style
Posted on October 24, 2005 15 Comments
I have nothing useful to say today, so instead, please feel free to look at these pictures of Krissy.
More Proof Astrology Is Irrevocably Wrong
Posted on October 24, 2005 21 Comments
I have the same birthday as Rick Santorum. Man, now I need a shower.
Guess The Theme
Posted on October 23, 2005 5 Comments
Here’s the mix of six songs (~16MB). What’s the theme? Also, if you can get the names of all the artists and the songs, I’ll be impressed.
This Almost Makes Me Want to Go To Church
Posted on October 23, 2005 32 Comments
Marissa Lingen, on taking communion: Sometimes when I take communion, I gloat about the people who have to be Body of Christ with me against their will. James Dobson is a big one that way. This is because I am Not A Good Christian. "We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the […]
Reminder — Get Those Subterranean Submissions In!
Posted on October 22, 2005 10 Comments
We’re down to single digits in terms of the days left to turn in your submissions for the Subterranean Magazine Spring 2006 "Big Honkin’ Sci-Fi Cliche" issue, so if you’re still hoping to get a submission in, type type type, my friends. Once again, here’s all the information you need to submit. As a reminder, […]
Ho Ho Ho, I Say — Another Uncle John Book For Ye.
Posted on October 22, 2005
Oh looky — another Uncle John’s book to which I have contributed. This one is the Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Christmas Collection, which as you may surmise from the title has a bunch of articles related to that wintry festival of toys and Jesus (although hopefully not in that order). I came in on this […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying