May 20, 2011
Distractions
I overslept by quite a bit. I'm running hither and yon and can't get past the feeling I'm just some rat in a maze. Now I'm am having difficulties with a prism right now and I've made a Faustian bargain with a potato who I'm convinced is plotting against me.
Of course there have been other distractions in my life but the above has taken up the lions share of my time this week and the rest are sufficiently banal...
...to go below the fold.
more...
more...
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May 15, 2011
Science is AWESOME!
One of the Brickmuppet's crack team of science babes reminds us that despite earthquakes, tsunamis and associated brown outs, the Japanese are still inventing, manufacturing and distributing practical, life improving technologies.
Behold...nekomimi...CONTROLLED BY BRAINWAVE TRANSMISSIONS!
So yes boys and girls, there are now cat ears that react to the wearers mood.
This comes via Scot Lowther, who inexplicably refers to this development as "dubious".
Note that this is related to an even more awesome technology....exoskeletons for the handicapped.
Behold...nekomimi...CONTROLLED BY BRAINWAVE TRANSMISSIONS!
So yes boys and girls, there are now cat ears that react to the wearers mood.
This comes via Scot Lowther, who inexplicably refers to this development as "dubious".
Note that this is related to an even more awesome technology....exoskeletons for the handicapped.
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May 12, 2011
China Bans Time Travel
China Hush reports that the Chinese Government has banned time travel.
It looks like Skynet is now online and passing laws in the Politburo.
Actually they have banned media that involve time travel.
None of this then...
Or that...
It looks like Skynet is now online and passing laws in the Politburo.
Actually they have banned media that involve time travel.
None of this then...
Or that...
The reason given is that such shows are disrespectful to history as it ads elements ( the time travelers) that were not there. But as anyone who saw U-571 or Pear Harbor...or Pocahontas knows temporal displacement is not necessary for total historical asshattery.
The decree was made on April 1st which caused it to be pretty much ignored, but it is quite serious. Note that they have also decreed that there can be no new versions or re-imaginings of the 4 great classical novels (Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Outlaws of the Marsh, Journey to the West, Dream of the Red Chamber).
More to the point I suspect, there will be no shows about what would happen if Mr.Peabody jumped in thewayback machine and blew up that bridge while the long marchers were crossing it. Why there'd be enough girls there, 80 million people wouldn't have died, China might have started liberalizing its economy in the '50s...yeah, I can see where that might be an awkward storyline.
But I'm not discounting skynet.
UPDATE: It occurs to me that I got through that whole post without making a single snarky comment about Tom Friedman. Brickmuppet Blog apologizes for this oversight.
The decree was made on April 1st which caused it to be pretty much ignored, but it is quite serious. Note that they have also decreed that there can be no new versions or re-imaginings of the 4 great classical novels (Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Outlaws of the Marsh, Journey to the West, Dream of the Red Chamber).
More to the point I suspect, there will be no shows about what would happen if Mr.Peabody jumped in thewayback machine and blew up that bridge while the long marchers were crossing it. Why there'd be enough girls there, 80 million people wouldn't have died, China might have started liberalizing its economy in the '50s...yeah, I can see where that might be an awkward storyline.
But I'm not discounting skynet.
UPDATE: It occurs to me that I got through that whole post without making a single snarky comment about Tom Friedman. Brickmuppet Blog apologizes for this oversight.
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May 09, 2011
Star Wars Day
My midichlorean levels are embarrassingly low.
I had been completely unaware of Star Wars Day, until I saw a link to this post over at Ace of Spades. It is a good read actually, discussing the macroeconomic, political and diplomatic ramifications of blowing up Aderaan. No. Really. Read the whole thing.
Also... propaganda posters.
I had been completely unaware of Star Wars Day, until I saw a link to this post over at Ace of Spades. It is a good read actually, discussing the macroeconomic, political and diplomatic ramifications of blowing up Aderaan. No. Really. Read the whole thing.
Also... propaganda posters.
Heightists.
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May 08, 2011
K-ON! DVD Volume 1
I had planned to watch Angelic Layer this evening, but this afternoon I happened into DVD#1 of K-ON!, bought it, went to a friends house and we watched it.
This is the show that dominated its time-slot in Japan and was such a phenomenon that the 13 episode series was brought back as a 26 episode show and a series of OVAs. This show is legendary. It is considered one of the crowning moments of awesome in anime...
All that plugging however, means that this quiet little show is so oversold that it cannot help but disappoint if one has been following the buzz.
After all the hype, I was expecting, I dunno, Lucky Star + The Simpsons + Bacon.
4 episodes in there there is no bacon.
There is however, cake in abundance.
Once you get past the hype, K-ON! is a cute, rather dry, sitcom that revolves around three of the 4 members of a music club at a girls preparatory school who try to save their club and their dreams from the clubs weakest link. The characters thus far are mostly pretty engaging....mostly.
Ritsu Tainaka is driven, ambitious, undisciplined and a little mad. She wants badly be a drummer and ends up president of the Light Music Club by default (when she joins, she is its only member).
Mio Akiyama has been best friends with Ritsu for many years. Despite this she seems more or less sane and well adjusted. A competent bass guitarist, she nevertheless joins the club under protest. However, she quickly becomes quite determined to make the club a success.
Tsumugi Kotobuki is rich beyond the dreams of avarice and has had a quite sheltered life thus far. This prep school is in many ways her first real interaction with normal people. Having mastered the keyboard as a child she was initially intending to join the glee club. She changed her mind when she saw Mio and Ritsu arguing. She decided that these are the sorts of dysfunctional people that get into wacky situations like on TV. She is a superb cook, has impeccable manners and a kind personality, but it is unclear if she thinks of her friends as people...or pets.
Yui Hirasawa seems to be the result of a science experiment that successfully combined the traits of fingernails, a chalkboard and ADD. An utterly unfocused spaz, she joins the club despite the fact that she can only play the castanets. She is a valued asset to the club because a minimum of 4 members are required to maintain the club charter. To that end the other members provide her with much cake. They also persuade her to try and learn the guitar.
I'd seen episode 1 in Japanese some years ago, and had thought it had potential. My biggest problem thus far is Yui who is initially such a cringeworthy exercise in fail that I find her painful to watch at times. Note that it is obvious by episode 3 that she has a genuine problem and is trying to deal with it.
However, 4 episodes in, I'm already seeing that there is actual character development going on, particularly in Mio and Yui (who seems to be becoming a slightly less central character).
It is a cute show and I did laugh. The interplay between the characters various flavors of awkwardness is developing a comedic synergy as it progresses.
All in all, I liked it. I'm going to pick up at least the second disc. After all, it's hard to go wrong with cute girls and cake.
I should also point out that the dub on the US DVD is quite good. Stephanie Sheh in particular does a fine job with Yui, which must have been a fiendishly hard character to pull off.
This is the show that dominated its time-slot in Japan and was such a phenomenon that the 13 episode series was brought back as a 26 episode show and a series of OVAs. This show is legendary. It is considered one of the crowning moments of awesome in anime...
All that plugging however, means that this quiet little show is so oversold that it cannot help but disappoint if one has been following the buzz.
After all the hype, I was expecting, I dunno, Lucky Star + The Simpsons + Bacon.
4 episodes in there there is no bacon.
There is however, cake in abundance.
Once you get past the hype, K-ON! is a cute, rather dry, sitcom that revolves around three of the 4 members of a music club at a girls preparatory school who try to save their club and their dreams from the clubs weakest link. The characters thus far are mostly pretty engaging....mostly.
Ritsu Tainaka is driven, ambitious, undisciplined and a little mad. She wants badly be a drummer and ends up president of the Light Music Club by default (when she joins, she is its only member).
Mio Akiyama has been best friends with Ritsu for many years. Despite this she seems more or less sane and well adjusted. A competent bass guitarist, she nevertheless joins the club under protest. However, she quickly becomes quite determined to make the club a success.
Tsumugi Kotobuki is rich beyond the dreams of avarice and has had a quite sheltered life thus far. This prep school is in many ways her first real interaction with normal people. Having mastered the keyboard as a child she was initially intending to join the glee club. She changed her mind when she saw Mio and Ritsu arguing. She decided that these are the sorts of dysfunctional people that get into wacky situations like on TV. She is a superb cook, has impeccable manners and a kind personality, but it is unclear if she thinks of her friends as people...or pets.
Yui Hirasawa seems to be the result of a science experiment that successfully combined the traits of fingernails, a chalkboard and ADD. An utterly unfocused spaz, she joins the club despite the fact that she can only play the castanets. She is a valued asset to the club because a minimum of 4 members are required to maintain the club charter. To that end the other members provide her with much cake. They also persuade her to try and learn the guitar.
I'd seen episode 1 in Japanese some years ago, and had thought it had potential. My biggest problem thus far is Yui who is initially such a cringeworthy exercise in fail that I find her painful to watch at times. Note that it is obvious by episode 3 that she has a genuine problem and is trying to deal with it.
However, 4 episodes in, I'm already seeing that there is actual character development going on, particularly in Mio and Yui (who seems to be becoming a slightly less central character).
It is a cute show and I did laugh. The interplay between the characters various flavors of awkwardness is developing a comedic synergy as it progresses.
All in all, I liked it. I'm going to pick up at least the second disc. After all, it's hard to go wrong with cute girls and cake.
I should also point out that the dub on the US DVD is quite good. Stephanie Sheh in particular does a fine job with Yui, which must have been a fiendishly hard character to pull off.
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Test
UPDATE: Now that I know it works image has been updated to make it sufficiently prurient to avoid disappointment to my male readers....
UPDATE 2: and since it is working in Firefox, Opera, Safari and IE in Snow Leopard and Win7, I'll post this for any female readers I might have.
There have been issues with the NSFW tags.
UPDATE 2: and since it is working in Firefox, Opera, Safari and IE in Snow Leopard and Win7, I'll post this for any female readers I might have.
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May 06, 2011
Angelic Layer
Some time ago I picked up the box set of Angelic Layer and I recently watched the first disc. My curiosity was piqued by the fact that Chobits was sort of a sequel to this show, and while Chobits was not entirely my cup of tea, it WAS quite interesting.
Unlike Chobits, this seems very much to be a kids show, but at the end of the first disc it seems to be quite an engaging and thoughtful one.
The place Tokyo:
The time, 20 minutes into the future (of 1999):
Misaki Suzuhara arrives at Tokyo station having come from her grandparents farm in utter sticksville prefecture.
While negotiating the multilevel maze that is the station her attention is drawn to what seems to be a female wrestling match with exquisite choreography. She is then set upon by a really creepy guy in a lab coat who explains that this is the newest sport in Japan:Angelic Layer.
It seems that a few years prior, someone carried the Tamagotchi concept to its next level. Instead of a virtual pet in an egg-shaped locket, the angels are little humanoid robots sold unformed in "Angel Eggs" and customized by their owners both physically and mentally. They can be maneuvered via a thought control interface on an appropriately equipped table and naturally the first thing that occurred to girls all over the nation was to have cock-fights with their little humanoid robot pets. This is now a HUGE phenomenon throughout Japan, with national tournaments, prizes, and so forth. Cyber-cafes are giving large amounts of space to Angelic Layer training arenas.
Misaki rather impulsively spends most of her money on an angel starter kit and promptly suffers a scissors mishap while styling her dolls hair. This results in it not having the flowing locks most Angels do. Still, she adores it, names it Hikaru and decides to learn how to operate it. In short order our heroine unwittingly finds herself in an official match, which she wins, and through the machinations of 'creepy lab coat guy' she is enrolled a tournament; thus begins the Angelic Layer career of Misaki and Hikaru.
This is over a decade old but it holds up well. There's a lot of depth here, both in the world and the characters. Misaki Suzuhara actually has a fairly dark back story. It is unclear if her grandfather died or is simply unable to care for her. What is clear is that her mother abandoned her to her grandparents some time ago, in any event she is now staying with her aunt. Her mother does not want to meet her daughter even though she now lives quite close to Misaki. There is also a side plot about something genuinely weird and not a little dark going on. For all that, it is a upbeat, even inspiring show. The production values are pretty good and the world is exceedingly well imagined.
The details of the fights and their choreography are well thought out, and, this being CLAMP, there are a lot of nice touches like the fact that there is a high value placed on presentation (one is required to have a really spiffy opening monologue) The "sport" attracts a lot of young people, who, regardless of stature or physical ability, can be sports stars...vicariously...through their dolls. A lot of thought went into this.
There is a lot to like about this series 5 episodes in and while I'm not entirely sure where it is going I am very interested to find out where it ends up. I'm liking it.
Unlike Chobits, this seems very much to be a kids show, but at the end of the first disc it seems to be quite an engaging and thoughtful one.
The place Tokyo:
The time, 20 minutes into the future (of 1999):
Misaki Suzuhara arrives at Tokyo station having come from her grandparents farm in utter sticksville prefecture.
While negotiating the multilevel maze that is the station her attention is drawn to what seems to be a female wrestling match with exquisite choreography. She is then set upon by a really creepy guy in a lab coat who explains that this is the newest sport in Japan:Angelic Layer.
It seems that a few years prior, someone carried the Tamagotchi concept to its next level. Instead of a virtual pet in an egg-shaped locket, the angels are little humanoid robots sold unformed in "Angel Eggs" and customized by their owners both physically and mentally. They can be maneuvered via a thought control interface on an appropriately equipped table and naturally the first thing that occurred to girls all over the nation was to have cock-fights with their little humanoid robot pets. This is now a HUGE phenomenon throughout Japan, with national tournaments, prizes, and so forth. Cyber-cafes are giving large amounts of space to Angelic Layer training arenas.
Misaki rather impulsively spends most of her money on an angel starter kit and promptly suffers a scissors mishap while styling her dolls hair. This results in it not having the flowing locks most Angels do. Still, she adores it, names it Hikaru and decides to learn how to operate it. In short order our heroine unwittingly finds herself in an official match, which she wins, and through the machinations of 'creepy lab coat guy' she is enrolled a tournament; thus begins the Angelic Layer career of Misaki and Hikaru.
This is over a decade old but it holds up well. There's a lot of depth here, both in the world and the characters. Misaki Suzuhara actually has a fairly dark back story. It is unclear if her grandfather died or is simply unable to care for her. What is clear is that her mother abandoned her to her grandparents some time ago, in any event she is now staying with her aunt. Her mother does not want to meet her daughter even though she now lives quite close to Misaki. There is also a side plot about something genuinely weird and not a little dark going on. For all that, it is a upbeat, even inspiring show. The production values are pretty good and the world is exceedingly well imagined.
The details of the fights and their choreography are well thought out, and, this being CLAMP, there are a lot of nice touches like the fact that there is a high value placed on presentation (one is required to have a really spiffy opening monologue) The "sport" attracts a lot of young people, who, regardless of stature or physical ability, can be sports stars...vicariously...through their dolls. A lot of thought went into this.
There is a lot to like about this series 5 episodes in and while I'm not entirely sure where it is going I am very interested to find out where it ends up. I'm liking it.
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Oh MY!
Though there have been exceptions of late, it is still the policy of Brickmuppet Blog to have political posts discretely below the fold.
more...
For those not so inclined, a dancing chibi Hatsune Miku is arguably as
apolitical as one can get.
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May 05, 2011
Status
Exams are over. Bin Laden's still dead. I got a B average for the semester. I'm taking no classes this summer. I will put in my graduation application (for next year) in November. I've lost 15 pounds over the winter. I've hired a Japanese tutor. I'm filling in for vacations at work this summer.
Yep. Pretty much all is well.
..well...except for one thing. I'm really enjoying this show about grade school girls cockfighting with little robot Tamagotchis, and that worries me a bit.
Yep. Pretty much all is well.
..well...except for one thing. I'm really enjoying this show about grade school girls cockfighting with little robot Tamagotchis, and that worries me a bit.
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Mystery Chopper
The Brickmuppets Crack Team of Science Babes resident helicopter expert has been 
following up on the weekends news with considerable interest. It seems that during the mission that ultimately resulted in a certain mass murdering buttweasel becoming chum, there was one notable mishap.
The United States lost a helicopter over Bin Laden's compound. The troops destroyed it before they left, but the tailboom was outside the compound and inaccessible.
Now that has been photographed and has generated a LOT of interest. It seems that this was a bigger mishap than initially let on as the tail boom has all sorts of stealth features and the photos are all over the net...so completely out of the bag is the ninja chopper that I feel no guilt in linking to it.
There is commentary about this here, here, here and here. As I type this, there is also a thread on this topic at the generally superb Secret Projects Forum, but the first thread on the topic had to be shut down due to an outbreak of crazy-ass deathers.
following up on the weekends news with considerable interest. It seems that during the mission that ultimately resulted in a certain mass murdering buttweasel becoming chum, there was one notable mishap. The United States lost a helicopter over Bin Laden's compound. The troops destroyed it before they left, but the tailboom was outside the compound and inaccessible.
Now that has been photographed and has generated a LOT of interest. It seems that this was a bigger mishap than initially let on as the tail boom has all sorts of stealth features and the photos are all over the net...so completely out of the bag is the ninja chopper that I feel no guilt in linking to it.
There is commentary about this here, here, here and here. As I type this, there is also a thread on this topic at the generally superb Secret Projects Forum, but the first thread on the topic had to be shut down due to an outbreak of crazy-ass deathers.
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It's OK! My Fire is GREEN!
Electric cars are good for urban niche applications. However, there are certain problems with them. Range and charging time can be easily dealt with if one lives in an urban environment with a set schedule and is a homebody. The battery life issue is trickier as it carries with it the dual problems of considerable expense for the consumer and the environmental hazards of disposing of huge toxic batteries. Within certain niches, these are not insurmountable issues.
Now, one of the Brickmuppet's crack team of science babes brings us another complication...discovered after long hours of research.Fire!
It's nice to find people who enjoy their work.
Now, one of the Brickmuppet's crack team of science babes brings us another complication...discovered after long hours of research.Fire!
It's nice to find people who enjoy their work.
...The couple's garage, where they parked their new Chevrolet Volt hybrid, was on fire. Firefighters were able to put out the blaze. A firewall built between the home and the garage saved their home.Investigators with the state fire marshal's office and the couple's insurance company, at the time, suspected the hybrid car have had something to do with the blaze.On Monday morning, firefighters were called back to the home when the car caught fire again...
Well, it is a Chevy Volt. Of course it could be a wiring defect in the house. This story would just be an oddity if not for the combusting Chinese taxicab.
This is really odd. EVs are not terribly practical but we've been operating the damned things since the 1890s and I can't recall this being a widespread problem, yet now we have 2 such incidents in a matter of weeks.
There have been a lot of changes in electrics of late so this might bear watching.
Wait! This is a mystery. It involves cars, electric cars. Why, this looks looks like a job for Jeremy Clarkson!
Of course alternative fuels are of considerable interest to those of us at Brickmuppet Blog so we leave you with this non-disastrous bit of ecotech that is four different kinds of cool.
1: It's Finnish!
2: It is a wood burning car with a range of 800 miles.
3: It is an frickking ElCamino...which means that...
4: No Bo-Bo would be caught dead in this.
A Zotye Langyue/Multipla EV serving as a taxicab burst into flame Monday afternoon in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, prompting the city to halt all electric taxis on safety concerns.
Firefighters rushed to the scene in minutes but couldn’t do much as the car quickly turned into a big fireball, and then ashes and an empty, back shell. No one was injured; the driver and two passengers in the vehicle got out in time...
This is really odd. EVs are not terribly practical but we've been operating the damned things since the 1890s and I can't recall this being a widespread problem, yet now we have 2 such incidents in a matter of weeks.
There have been a lot of changes in electrics of late so this might bear watching.
Wait! This is a mystery. It involves cars, electric cars. Why, this looks looks like a job for Jeremy Clarkson!
Of course alternative fuels are of considerable interest to those of us at Brickmuppet Blog so we leave you with this non-disastrous bit of ecotech that is four different kinds of cool.
1: It's Finnish!
2: It is a wood burning car with a range of 800 miles.
3: It is an frickking ElCamino...which means that...
4: No Bo-Bo would be caught dead in this.
Given the range, I think this must be a dual fuel engine. Several European cars can run on natural gas and petrol so that would be both plausible and make the thing almost practical. It is definitely awesome.
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Pekoponia Shall Not Fall!
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May 01, 2011
Got Him! (updated)
According to the BBC.
Osama Bin Laden is dead.
AND WE HAVE THE BODY!
President Obama is to give a speech shortly.
Wo0t!
Time for a victory dance!
more...
Osama Bin Laden is dead.
AND WE HAVE THE BODY!
President Obama is to give a speech shortly.
Wo0t!
Time for a victory dance!
UPDATE:
Shot in the head?!
Via Hot Air's Bin Laden is Dead!1! page
Good Speech Mr. President!
Amazing. They conducted a ground raid on him and lost no Americans.
More Updates:
Hot Air has this tidbit:
Stratfor comments.
Bush reacts. Looks like Obama called him, which was a very classy move.
Scott Lowther has a sublime commentary here.
Ace has thoughts here and here.
Indeed!
This is awesome... I think we can all come together and agree tha......oh dammit!.
Oh Noes!Dearthers!
Shot in the head?!
Via Hot Air's Bin Laden is Dead!1! page
Good Speech Mr. President!
Amazing. They conducted a ground raid on him and lost no Americans.
More Updates:
Hot Air has this tidbit:
Update (AP): Amazing. This Pakistani IT consultant lives in Abbottabad and ended up tweeting about strange goings-on this morning without knowing the significance, of course. A few choice tweets:
Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).
A huge window shaking bang here in Abbottabad Cantt. I hope its not the start of something nasty :-S
the few people online at this time of the night are saying one of the copters was not Pakistani…
Stratfor comments.
Bush reacts. Looks like Obama called him, which was a very classy move.
Scott Lowther has a sublime commentary here.
Ace has thoughts here and here.
I'm not questioning the timing. I'm not worried if it gives Obama a bump in the polls. I'm fucking going to pop some champagne and drink a toast to the military and the memories of those who died on 9/11 and in the War on Terror that followed. I'll add in George W. Bush and yes, the President of the United States of America.
Indeed!
This is awesome... I think we can all come together and agree tha......oh dammit!.
“When do we get to see the long form death certificate?â€
Oh Noes!Dearthers!
Additional Updates Below The Fold.
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Althouse Notes the Other Trump
Now, those of us on the right have been pointing out that the little fascist is start-raving-cuckoo-for-cocca-puffs for years now and been ignored.
Well, his latest dumb idea is a doozy...and only Althouse seems to have noticed the CRaZy.
Well, his latest dumb idea is a doozy...and only Althouse seems to have noticed the CRaZy.
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A Reminder
If any of you missed my earlier post on the subject, you may find it advisable, for art appreciation reasons, to bookmark this link and occasionally refresh the page.
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The Latest Offerings From Vault Tech...and Better Options
Cleaning out my tabs I blundered into this story from the Daily Mail concerning Vivos, a company whose stated* business plan is remarkably similar to that of the fictional Vault Tech.
But do they have the spiffy suits?
The plan has a few problems...like the need for sufficient warning and working transportation to get to Nebraska in the event of a catastrophe. (This is, of course, not as big an issue for Nebraskans). Checking tickets at the door would be...a tense affair to say the least.
This sort of shelter would seem more useful in an urban or a suburban setting, but buying space and getting it in a crisis would seem problematic both practically and ethically unless it were a feature of a subdivision or condo complex. If I were in the market for a survival shelter, I'd go one of the many home shelters I've seen on the market, like these.
Now the sort of large shelter Vivos is talking about, though with far fewer posh amenities, would make actually sense as part of a rational civil defense plan (which we don't have).
Indeed there were plans to dovetail the construction of the interstate highway system with a vast associated system of austere publicly accessible shelters to provide some protection from tornadoes or a N.B.C. attack, the sorts of things that one might not have time to evacuate for. There is a good overview of one of the few (short-lived) fruits of that program here.
Civil Defense was originally a federally funded and directed, but locally run enterprise that, despite its inefficiencies, made maximal use of local expertise. Retired millitary and volunteer personel who lived in and knew their assigned areas were to provide some degree of holistic redundancy to a system that would always be far from perfect but had the potential to save many lives in the event of a calamity.
Of course it was not to be. In keeping with their overall policy of being well intentioned, wrong headed and self destructive, the progressives, in the interest of mutually assured destruction, peace in our time and a quick merciful death hamstrung the CivDef program in the US, until it was given to the newly formed FEMA by Jimmy Carter. FEMA removed a lot (nearly all) of the local input and, in any event seems to have been designed for maximum inefficiency. Building codes, fallout shelters in cities, and any serious planning for what to do in the event of even a minor nuclear attack or accident were pretty much pushed to the wayside. Instead we got a lot of jobs for beauraucrats and an infrastructure that was completely top down and ill suited to its job.
Meanwhile the USSR gleefully mocked our lack of preparedness and continued to build shelters. They had fallout shelters for more than 11% of their population when the Berlin Wall fell.
The hipster left loves to make fun of the corny Duck and Cover videos from the '50s. However, it is now clear that those were correct both scientifically and ethically. They were developed based on close work with the Japanese government assessing the injuries at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which had actually been much higher than anticipated, and the lessons of nuclear tests in close proximity to US troops where the dangers of radiation were finally appreciated. It was discovered that "duck and cover " would have saved many lives as would sheltering in place for a few hours.
Jerry Pournelle has thoughts here from a 2005 series of observations on the Katrina debacle.
An excerpt:
Emphasis mine.
Shelters can get expensive and in any event are often completely impractical here in the swampy coastal Southeast, however a reinforced safe room is a good investment against tornadoes. In the event of a radiological incident, sheltering in place, which was so soundly mocked when Tom Ridge pointed out its efficacy is actually quite effective according to the current administration.
Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit fame wrote this article in The Atlantic on how the Obama Administration is ( to it's credit) grappling with a reality the left does not want to look square in the face. It inspired a lot of responses on Reynolds normally comment free blog in an uncharacteristically long post on this topic some time ago. Do read it all.
On a more mundane level it bears remembering that catastrophes are usually not atomic and as we are constantly reminded by events are not in any way rare. Having food and water for 2 weeks or more is not difficult (the water is an issue but if one keeps jugs handy 1 gallon jugs can be filled when trouble is anticipated~70 for a family of 5 for 2 weeks) and in any event is likely a better investment than a bolt hole in Nebraska.
* Lets hope that they don't have an unstated plan like Vault Tech did...and that they have enough water chips.
The 137,000sq ft bunker - designed to house 950 people for a year and withstand a 50 megaton blast - is currently being built under the grasslands of Nebraska.
But do they have the spiffy suits?
This sort of shelter would seem more useful in an urban or a suburban setting, but buying space and getting it in a crisis would seem problematic both practically and ethically unless it were a feature of a subdivision or condo complex. If I were in the market for a survival shelter, I'd go one of the many home shelters I've seen on the market, like these.
Now the sort of large shelter Vivos is talking about, though with far fewer posh amenities, would make actually sense as part of a rational civil defense plan (which we don't have).
Indeed there were plans to dovetail the construction of the interstate highway system with a vast associated system of austere publicly accessible shelters to provide some protection from tornadoes or a N.B.C. attack, the sorts of things that one might not have time to evacuate for. There is a good overview of one of the few (short-lived) fruits of that program here.
Of course it was not to be. In keeping with their overall policy of being well intentioned, wrong headed and self destructive, the progressives, in the interest of mutually assured destruction, peace in our time and a quick merciful death hamstrung the CivDef program in the US, until it was given to the newly formed FEMA by Jimmy Carter. FEMA removed a lot (nearly all) of the local input and, in any event seems to have been designed for maximum inefficiency. Building codes, fallout shelters in cities, and any serious planning for what to do in the event of even a minor nuclear attack or accident were pretty much pushed to the wayside. Instead we got a lot of jobs for beauraucrats and an infrastructure that was completely top down and ill suited to its job.
Meanwhile the USSR gleefully mocked our lack of preparedness and continued to build shelters. They had fallout shelters for more than 11% of their population when the Berlin Wall fell.
The hipster left loves to make fun of the corny Duck and Cover videos from the '50s. However, it is now clear that those were correct both scientifically and ethically. They were developed based on close work with the Japanese government assessing the injuries at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which had actually been much higher than anticipated, and the lessons of nuclear tests in close proximity to US troops where the dangers of radiation were finally appreciated. It was discovered that "duck and cover " would have saved many lives as would sheltering in place for a few hours.
Jerry Pournelle has thoughts here from a 2005 series of observations on the Katrina debacle.
An excerpt:
...My own view is that restoring the old Office of Civil Defense, with local organizations of both volunteers and professionals, with emergency militia powers and responsibilities at the discretion of the governor, makes a very great deal more sense; but it will take a long time to build a proper organization. We have the technology. We can do it.
What we must end is the attitude that you can only trust professionals hired and paid for. Bureaucracy is the answer to many problems, like dog catching and enforcement of needful regulations. Bureaucracy is almost NEVER the proper response to emergencies and unforeseen situations...
Emphasis mine.
Shelters can get expensive and in any event are often completely impractical here in the swampy coastal Southeast, however a reinforced safe room is a good investment against tornadoes. In the event of a radiological incident, sheltering in place, which was so soundly mocked when Tom Ridge pointed out its efficacy is actually quite effective according to the current administration.
Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit fame wrote this article in The Atlantic on how the Obama Administration is ( to it's credit) grappling with a reality the left does not want to look square in the face. It inspired a lot of responses on Reynolds normally comment free blog in an uncharacteristically long post on this topic some time ago. Do read it all.
On a more mundane level it bears remembering that catastrophes are usually not atomic and as we are constantly reminded by events are not in any way rare. Having food and water for 2 weeks or more is not difficult (the water is an issue but if one keeps jugs handy 1 gallon jugs can be filled when trouble is anticipated~70 for a family of 5 for 2 weeks) and in any event is likely a better investment than a bolt hole in Nebraska.
* Lets hope that they don't have an unstated plan like Vault Tech did...and that they have enough water chips.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
05:02 AM
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April 30, 2011
Creep
In the aftermath of the recent disasters and the perfectly reasonable urge to try to find some way to help, it bears remembering that one should always check out any charity one donates to.
Bruce Bower has a long and informative post up on Greg Mortenson, author of 3 Cups of Tea. It turns out that Mortenson's charity is mainly a slush fund financing his jet set lifestyle. This in and of itself is not surprising, however the sheer over the top crazy of some of his lies ( that he was captured by the Taliban, who he convinced to give him money to build GIRLS SCHOOLS...allowed to be alone with Mother Teresa's Body...) was accepted so uncritically is. And still there is this.
Oh, and it gets worse.
Fraudsters are everywhere.
If you want to help those recently affected by the Tornadoes, I suggest any of the following.
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief
The Red Cross
Samaritans Purse
All are established in the Southeast and have impressive infrastructures and good records of dealing with weather related catastrophes (The Southeast USA is particularly prone to storms).
Bruce Bower has a long and informative post up on Greg Mortenson, author of 3 Cups of Tea. It turns out that Mortenson's charity is mainly a slush fund financing his jet set lifestyle. This in and of itself is not surprising, however the sheer over the top crazy of some of his lies ( that he was captured by the Taliban, who he convinced to give him money to build GIRLS SCHOOLS...allowed to be alone with Mother Teresa's Body...) was accepted so uncritically is. And still there is this.
Oh, and it gets worse.
Fraudsters are everywhere.
If you want to help those recently affected by the Tornadoes, I suggest any of the following.
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief
The Red Cross
Samaritans Purse
All are established in the Southeast and have impressive infrastructures and good records of dealing with weather related catastrophes (The Southeast USA is particularly prone to storms).
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
03:21 PM
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So, I Heard There Was A Wedding Somewhere Yesterday
I cut on the news this afternoon to find that that the only news is the re-run of the wedding.
I'm an American. The notion of people born to the purple is rather alien and not something I want to see here. The grand experiment that is this nation is a rejection of such ideas, and I rather like that.
Still, I don't begrudge the UK their Monarchy, indeed, having read Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn's disquisitions on the subject I think that a good case can be made that such institutions can help strengthen a country and be a force for some good.
Professor Jacobson, in an uncharacteristically fluffy post, says that the wedding gives him hope that there will always be an England.
I tend to disagree. Albion is dead if she allows this sort of rot to go too long unopposed.
I'm an American. The notion of people born to the purple is rather alien and not something I want to see here. The grand experiment that is this nation is a rejection of such ideas, and I rather like that.
Still, I don't begrudge the UK their Monarchy, indeed, having read Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn's disquisitions on the subject I think that a good case can be made that such institutions can help strengthen a country and be a force for some good.
Professor Jacobson, in an uncharacteristically fluffy post, says that the wedding gives him hope that there will always be an England.
I tend to disagree. Albion is dead if she allows this sort of rot to go too long unopposed.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
02:40 PM
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Ghouls
more...
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01:09 PM
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April 28, 2011
Suffolk sky looks like special effect from The Ten Comandments
UPDATE: The post title was sent via my Blackberry when I was out at the drugstore picking up prescriptions for my grandmother. I'm at their house now and the sky looks far less spectacular...more like an old Dr Who episode.(Oh noes! Ice Warriors!)
Tornado watch is in effect.
I'm looking at the news. The reports coming in from elsewhere in the country are grim indeed.
Tornado watch is in effect.
I'm looking at the news. The reports coming in from elsewhere in the country are grim indeed.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
11:25 AM
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