I had three favorite cars: my 1968 Volkswagen Beetle, 1986 4WD Toyota Corolla and my 1997 Geo Metro.
Sad to say I totaled all three of them.
Not to say they're the only cars I totaled. Just the ones I liked.
The Little Green Guy bought the farm on this rainy Friday. Came up to the stoplight for Cambridge Street in Brighton. The BMW in front of me went. I went. The BMW put on his brakes. I put on my brakes. He stopped. I didn't. Bang.
I drove him (using the term loosely) to the mechanic. He was put on the lift and the mechanic and I saw that the steel support portion of the body that served as the support for the wheel was eroded. I suppose it's better to for the front wheel to snap like that in a piddling 5 mph collision than grooving down the pike at 80.
Still, I'll miss the Little Green Guy. True. His back window wiper and air condition didn't work anymore. The windshield was beginning to look like it had been sandpapered. But I'll miss the way he was able to snuggle in between Saabs and SUVs with out even touching them. The way you never had to worry about scratching him-- who would notice? The 40 mpg.
Life goes on.
But with $7/gallon gas on the horizon, it'll have to go on 40+ mpg.
---------------------------------------------
Links of Interest
Perversion: It's not just for humans anymore
Orangutans using spears
Intestinal yarn
Expelled again
Babbage redux
Jupiter in a soap bubble
Arsenic in fish oil
Vitamin D Deficiency makes you dumb
women dying young
brain damage from cancer chemotherapy
world's most amazing shrimp
world science festival
Sexpelled
robot jellyfish
has the world become a better place?
science meets art
oscar the naked dancing cockatoo
tiger splash park
fascinating world trade fair
curious expeditions
world in a bottle
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Buy Geo Metros!
I love my wee car.
I drive a 1997 Geo Metro LSI. It is a tiny, green hatchback. It has a dent on the left side near the gas tank where I leaned once while filling the tank. That's right. I leaned on it too hard and dented it.
It fits nicely in those little spaces between SUVs in a parking lot. You know the ones. Where two big musclebound dinosaurs are rubbing [shoulders] using up four spaces instead of two. My little Geo slips in between them. No doubt pissing them off. When their tires rub against my fenders getting out from the space, they leave a mark I consider a badge of honor.
When I park in a lot my car is usually the smallest. It gets 40 mpg winter, summer, in the city, on the highway and with the air conditioner on. When I fill up at a station I can hear SUV owners on the other side openly weeping.
They should. Especially those big gas guzzling behemoths with the made-in-China Support Our Troops magnets on the back. Support our troops-- I'm supporting the troops. I buy Citgo gas and not much of it. Citgo comes from Venezuela. Cavez country. Where the leader is socialist, thinks our president is Satan and whose oil does not come from the Saudi family. As far as I'm concerned, every car that gets less than 30 mpg is actively acting against the troops and no pissant Chinese decal is going to say anything different.
You want gas to drop in price? Then quit buying it! Invest in more efficient cars and trucks. Dump that Hummer. Get rid of that Ford Expedition.
Bin Laden loves them.
-------------------------------------------
Links of Interest
science festival in NYC
I drive a 1997 Geo Metro LSI. It is a tiny, green hatchback. It has a dent on the left side near the gas tank where I leaned once while filling the tank. That's right. I leaned on it too hard and dented it.
It fits nicely in those little spaces between SUVs in a parking lot. You know the ones. Where two big musclebound dinosaurs are rubbing [shoulders] using up four spaces instead of two. My little Geo slips in between them. No doubt pissing them off. When their tires rub against my fenders getting out from the space, they leave a mark I consider a badge of honor.
When I park in a lot my car is usually the smallest. It gets 40 mpg winter, summer, in the city, on the highway and with the air conditioner on. When I fill up at a station I can hear SUV owners on the other side openly weeping.
They should. Especially those big gas guzzling behemoths with the made-in-China Support Our Troops magnets on the back. Support our troops-- I'm supporting the troops. I buy Citgo gas and not much of it. Citgo comes from Venezuela. Cavez country. Where the leader is socialist, thinks our president is Satan and whose oil does not come from the Saudi family. As far as I'm concerned, every car that gets less than 30 mpg is actively acting against the troops and no pissant Chinese decal is going to say anything different.
You want gas to drop in price? Then quit buying it! Invest in more efficient cars and trucks. Dump that Hummer. Get rid of that Ford Expedition.
Bin Laden loves them.
-------------------------------------------
Links of Interest
science festival in NYC
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Links of Interest
Again, no opinion from me. I'm tired.
-------------------------------------------
The Flim Flam Man
Death of Homo economicus
Hearing that which was never intended to be heard
2008 Wellcome Image Awards
Organic crops compete with standard agriculture
Rocket Plane
Everything at once or one thing at a time?
Dino Bugs
Expelled Exposed
-------------------------------------------
The Flim Flam Man
Death of Homo economicus
Hearing that which was never intended to be heard
2008 Wellcome Image Awards
Organic crops compete with standard agriculture
Rocket Plane
Everything at once or one thing at a time?
Dino Bugs
Expelled Exposed
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Scientific (and not so scientific) Art
Again, not so much opinion. But here are some artistic links so my two readers know that I'm not completely devoid of esthetic sense.
beautiful sculptures of found wood
Extinct Birds Previously Consumed by Humans
The Art of SeaTac
Intelligent Dinosaurs
Nemo Ramjet
Darren Naish
Dinosaur Cave Art
PaleoBlog
Snaiad
An Unstable Contest of Minds
Elephant Film Makers
MST3K Redux
beautiful sculptures of found wood
Extinct Birds Previously Consumed by Humans
The Art of SeaTac
Intelligent Dinosaurs
Nemo Ramjet
Darren Naish
Dinosaur Cave Art
PaleoBlog
Snaiad
An Unstable Contest of Minds
Elephant Film Makers
MST3K Redux
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Links of Interest
Nothing much from the last few days. Here are some interesting links.
Arthur C Clark dead at 90
wobbling neutron stars
genetic link to PTSD
chemistry of uranium
UAVs in Antarctica
All Your T-Cells Belong To Us
Arthur C Clark dead at 90
wobbling neutron stars
genetic link to PTSD
chemistry of uranium
UAVs in Antarctica
All Your T-Cells Belong To Us
Wrighting Wrongs
It's odd that an atheist such as myself keeps coming back to theology and religion. I do think religion attempts to answer important questions. But, like all symbolic organizations, the problem is confusing symbol with substance. Much like politics. Much like the media. Which brings us to the Reverend Jeremiah Wright.
I listened to Wright's "hate" sermon that's been making the media rounds-- notably on Fox News. Since Sean Hannity dislikes him and thinks he's unamerican my first inclination is to think Wright must be on to something. After all, somebody disliked by Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh can't be all bad. I heard him compare the 9/11 deaths at the hands of terrorists to the nuclear bombings in Japan. The comparison between these two acts and the implications that both are acts of terror was obvious: "The stuff we have done overseas is brought right back into our homes."
And the controversy is... where?
There's a long standing controversy over the Japanese bombings. After all, when thousands of people disappear in and instant with nothing left but a sooty shadow on a wall it leaves a psychological mark. I'll not debate the necessity of the bombing-- that's been debated many different places. But it was an act of terror and planned that way. Truman said it. Eisenhower said it. The intent to use the bombs was to scare the Japanese government into surrender. They had to think we were ready to obliterate them. That it was bluff (we had only two bombs) was immaterial. So, yes: it was an act of terror. Like all acts of terror, it was a dramatic act. An act of theater. The Japanese government was the audience. The theatrical act was effective.
It's also no secret that we created Osama bin Laden in a similar manner to Saddam Hussein. Hussein was seen as a bulwark of anti-communism and as such supported for years. Little things like the fact he was a murdering dictator wasn't considered germane. Bin Laden's education as a terrorist came with our blessing in when he was a mujahideen in Afghanistan against the Russians. Since he was fighting our enemy (the enemy of our enemy is our friend sort of thing), he was our guy.
Again, where's the problem with Wright? Sure he's a fiery preacher and states things strongly. He's not saying anything that hasn't been said before.
Wright's problem-- or rather, the public's problem with Wright-- is that he's speaking truth to power. Not to politicians, necessarily, though they are in the audience of his church. But to the bland symbolic representation of ourselves we like to believe.
We like to think of ourselves as a democracy or a republic-- and our political system reflects dominance by a popular majority. However, the framers understood that in addition to tyranny by individuals there is also tyranny of the majority. Majority rule, minority rights, as the saying goes. They understood that humans are herd animals and do not like to be poked where they are most smug. We want to believe ourselves to be the best, brightest, most free and smiled upon by God.
Americans are particularly prone to being smug about themselves. We have it made. We live in the biggest economy in the world, the freest society and the most sophisticated culture in the world. That the economy is built on borrowing from other countries, not everyone is as free as some and many of the world's cultures are appalled at our ignorance isn't something we want to hear. We especially dislike being called hypocrites. We hate that.
It's a minister's job to poke his parishioners right in the eye. A minister is supposed to bear your problems to the sight of the congregation and God so they can be corrected. This is a founding tenet of liberation theology, the idea that it's not enough to set store in heaven. You have to take care of people here as well. Martin Luther King knew that. So did Ghandi. So did Jesus: "Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven." (Luke 18:22)
The job of the minister in this country, like many things, has become blandified. Hell and brimstone preachers are perfectly happy with those that are saved at the communion rail on Sunday regardless of how rich or powerful they are the rest of the week. Ministers to more affluent churches make homilies that give minimal insight but great comfort to people with more stuff than anybody else on earth. Priests are scandalized by social injustices that are happening thousands of miles away or are of minimal cultural importance. Wright speaks from a culture of those who were bought and sold a hundred and fifty years ago. Who had lost their names and country. Who had lost their original religion. Who are even now the most jailed group in the country. What a surprise he might poke at the prevailing white wisdom.
Is it safe to say such things? Not particularly. Is it politic to have them referred to in a presidential campaign? Not at all. Is everything going to be cut but the twenty or so seconds that most demonizes this impolitic minister so that any rational judgment of the man is impossible without any data but we'll do it anyway because we don't like what he has to say?
Absolutely.
---------------------------------
Links of Interest
I listened to Wright's "hate" sermon that's been making the media rounds-- notably on Fox News. Since Sean Hannity dislikes him and thinks he's unamerican my first inclination is to think Wright must be on to something. After all, somebody disliked by Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh can't be all bad. I heard him compare the 9/11 deaths at the hands of terrorists to the nuclear bombings in Japan. The comparison between these two acts and the implications that both are acts of terror was obvious: "The stuff we have done overseas is brought right back into our homes."
And the controversy is... where?
There's a long standing controversy over the Japanese bombings. After all, when thousands of people disappear in and instant with nothing left but a sooty shadow on a wall it leaves a psychological mark. I'll not debate the necessity of the bombing-- that's been debated many different places. But it was an act of terror and planned that way. Truman said it. Eisenhower said it. The intent to use the bombs was to scare the Japanese government into surrender. They had to think we were ready to obliterate them. That it was bluff (we had only two bombs) was immaterial. So, yes: it was an act of terror. Like all acts of terror, it was a dramatic act. An act of theater. The Japanese government was the audience. The theatrical act was effective.
It's also no secret that we created Osama bin Laden in a similar manner to Saddam Hussein. Hussein was seen as a bulwark of anti-communism and as such supported for years. Little things like the fact he was a murdering dictator wasn't considered germane. Bin Laden's education as a terrorist came with our blessing in when he was a mujahideen in Afghanistan against the Russians. Since he was fighting our enemy (the enemy of our enemy is our friend sort of thing), he was our guy.
Again, where's the problem with Wright? Sure he's a fiery preacher and states things strongly. He's not saying anything that hasn't been said before.
Wright's problem-- or rather, the public's problem with Wright-- is that he's speaking truth to power. Not to politicians, necessarily, though they are in the audience of his church. But to the bland symbolic representation of ourselves we like to believe.
We like to think of ourselves as a democracy or a republic-- and our political system reflects dominance by a popular majority. However, the framers understood that in addition to tyranny by individuals there is also tyranny of the majority. Majority rule, minority rights, as the saying goes. They understood that humans are herd animals and do not like to be poked where they are most smug. We want to believe ourselves to be the best, brightest, most free and smiled upon by God.
Americans are particularly prone to being smug about themselves. We have it made. We live in the biggest economy in the world, the freest society and the most sophisticated culture in the world. That the economy is built on borrowing from other countries, not everyone is as free as some and many of the world's cultures are appalled at our ignorance isn't something we want to hear. We especially dislike being called hypocrites. We hate that.
It's a minister's job to poke his parishioners right in the eye. A minister is supposed to bear your problems to the sight of the congregation and God so they can be corrected. This is a founding tenet of liberation theology, the idea that it's not enough to set store in heaven. You have to take care of people here as well. Martin Luther King knew that. So did Ghandi. So did Jesus: "Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven." (Luke 18:22)
The job of the minister in this country, like many things, has become blandified. Hell and brimstone preachers are perfectly happy with those that are saved at the communion rail on Sunday regardless of how rich or powerful they are the rest of the week. Ministers to more affluent churches make homilies that give minimal insight but great comfort to people with more stuff than anybody else on earth. Priests are scandalized by social injustices that are happening thousands of miles away or are of minimal cultural importance. Wright speaks from a culture of those who were bought and sold a hundred and fifty years ago. Who had lost their names and country. Who had lost their original religion. Who are even now the most jailed group in the country. What a surprise he might poke at the prevailing white wisdom.
Is it safe to say such things? Not particularly. Is it politic to have them referred to in a presidential campaign? Not at all. Is everything going to be cut but the twenty or so seconds that most demonizes this impolitic minister so that any rational judgment of the man is impossible without any data but we'll do it anyway because we don't like what he has to say?
Absolutely.
---------------------------------
Links of Interest
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Links of Interest
No opinion pieces today. Laurie Garret wrote The Coming Plagues. Her view of humans as an exploitable resource for bacteria is disturbing. The Tsunami piece shows that what happened in 365 AD might happen again. New small island humans open up the Hobbits again. Bird eggs show contamination from a bunch of pollutants.
There you go.
--------------------------------------
Links of Interest
Laurie Garret on Global Health
Tsunami, AD 365
More small island humans
Music and Math
Dextre: The ISS Robot
Foreign Chemicals in Bird Eggs
Chemical Control of Nanobots
Craig Venter at TED
Myth of the Hydrogen Economy
Rational Athiesm
Darwin's Duomo
How the T-Cell got its spots
How academia was broken
Bioethanol from Waste
There you go.
--------------------------------------
Links of Interest
Laurie Garret on Global Health
Tsunami, AD 365
More small island humans
Music and Math
Dextre: The ISS Robot
Foreign Chemicals in Bird Eggs
Chemical Control of Nanobots
Craig Venter at TED
Myth of the Hydrogen Economy
Rational Athiesm
Darwin's Duomo
How the T-Cell got its spots
How academia was broken
Bioethanol from Waste
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