UPS physical today.

Blood pressure was 175 over 100.

UPS has therefore laid me off until I can get it under control.

Suck.

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I've been under the weather a bit lately so I pretty much crashed this evening. A while ago I got up turned on the news to see what was happening in teh real world, only to discover that /b/tards are causing trouble in /po/.

WTF? 4chan has entered the election.

Now I can't sleep because of the nagging nauseating  fear that /d/ might be under the bed.

Interestingly, while a lot of people are looking for an elite group of crackerjack anarchist hackers who call themselves anonymous. Michelle Malkin of all people has posted a rundown from a reader which explains what is much more likely to /b/ the truth.

That some adolescent pulled this off is not all that surprising, but the fact that Gawker and others posted screencaps of the accounts as well as contact info for the Governors whole E-Mail list is pretty damned obnoxious.


Profanity is tastefully below the fold.

more...

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Ubu Roi has power and internet again. He has a post up on the aftermath. It looks like the surge WAS as bad as expected but was to the northwest...

Across the bay to the north, the Bolivar Peninsula, Crystal Beach, and High Island…. everythings gone. Not damaged, gone. There were once dozens of beach houses on stilts there, and the area had several canals dug so that even houses 3 and 4 rows back from the beach could have docks for their boats. The occasional lonely piling is still sticking up, plus one very incongruous house that somehow survived. Other than that, water and the occasional bit of greenery. It appears that a historic “iron lighthouse” is gone; the media chopper couldn’t find it.

...there were a bunch of reports of a few thousands using their fireplaces when their power went out... AND THEN ABANDONING THEIR HOMES WITH THE FIRES STILL GOING. Loads of houses have burnt down. Good job, guys. *shakes head* I am so ashamed. It's called flashlights. It ain't like you people are going to freeze to death here in Texas...
So then, much to everyone's chagrin (they can't claim to be surprised) the storm moved up into Houston and took out a lot of the downtown area. Unbelievable flooding and blown glass and debris. There was a snippet rolling by on the ticker that said 'Houston's Tallest Building Loses Nearly All Windows' or some sensational bullshit like that. It's true- all the glass is on the street ....It's intense.
Also, there were notices of Boil Alerts in Houston in order to keep contamination down. That, and there was another alert that popped up later (so as not to appear related, methinks) that there had been a chlorine leak. GOODY.

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The long awaited paycheck arrived...the first one in 5 weeks...and after the filling up the pickup of peril....with what must have been vintage wine or something... and getting the last book for school I walked out of a local store with Gurren Lagaan Volume 2. Today was spent studying, composing E-mails in Japanese and fretting about Ike, but at 6pm I hung it up and popped in the much anticipated DVD.
Like volume, one volume 2 is a very reasonably priced 2 disc set containing 9 episodes. Unlike volume one however, the marketing department very sensibly put teh Yoko on the cover of volume 2.

I had been quite taken by the first volume and was looking forward to 9 episodes of teh Yoko, giant fighting robots, adventure and teh Yoko...

What I got was 8 episodes of satisfying giant robot battles, a goofy albino Moe Maiden, adventure, heroism, a basically satisfying wrap-up of most plot threads and not quite enough of teh Yoko.
Oh, and one episode of patented Gainax Gut Punchery....

My biggest problem with the show is the crass stupidity and pig headedness of a lot of the cast, which frequently leads to seemingly unnecessary plot complications this is not as annoying as it could be due in part to the fact that said problems are usually resolved by thoroughly amusing giant robot battles. I should mention that the bombastic character Kamina comes off much better in this volume than he did in the first disc when he was...you know...alive

This show is indeed very goofy on its face but there is a surprisingly poignant side to it too.Nia Teppelin the Erie pale outsider with the jigsaw eyes introduced at the end of volume 1  is an effective foil for and observer of the rest of the cast, alien in her outlook, her decency and forthrightness are not only admirable but, at the end of volume1, had saved everyone's behind, however she is so socially inept and awkward that she frequently comes off to the cast as callous or thoughtless. 

_{image via Concrete Badger}

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Ubu's last post was shortly before 01:00 local.
Weather Nerd# says the surge was less than expected which is hopeful but reports from the area# are grim. I hope the tide gauges didnd give false readings due to the storm.


Via Colleen Doran comes a list of vetted charities active in the area.

The worst is over at least.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 09:25 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Ubu Roi is unable to leave Houston due to family obligations. He is live blogging the calamity (with occasional pictures) as long as his connection lasts from his primary blog, Houblog.



UPDATE:  Horrible news...Ubu reports that  40% of Galveston has refused to evacuate...
...dear God.
Galveston was utterly destroyed in the 1900 storm. That island is going to be under water and buffeted by Hurricane force winds for hours. Thousandd may be dead in a matter of hours.

Weather Nerd is right, this storm was seriously under-hyped.


UPDATE 2:
Reports are that the storm surge will reach 31 feet at high tide...Galveston's seawall is 20 feet high. There are reports of fires throughout the county as transformers explode...
Ubu reports that the Galveston seawall is over topping at 11:40 local
Very nearly everyone on the island could be dead by morning.

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The worst natural disaster to ever hit the US was a hurricane on a track very similar to this. This is worse. As I type this,  it looks like the eye will pass near or over both Galveston and Houston. The thing is HUGE and could hit some areas with hurricane force winds for 12 hours or more. This has the potential to be an unimaginable calamity. Worse, the area has been hit by numerous hurricanes that are on paper more dangerous. However, the size of this storm will result in a storm surge of historic levels and the area will be subject to winds far longer than it has in history. Many people, perhaps thousands, who have weathered previous bad storms with no problem are likely in for a terrible, terrible surprise if they have not evacuated. This storm is a monster and it may be the most damaging hurricane of all time.
It should be noted that the Houston ship channel is one of the most vital pieces of national infrastructure.

"Unfortunately there were 80-knot winds on scene, well beyond the operating conditions for the air crews to safely rescue the crew of the Antalina. The safety of the rescue crews and the crew of the Antalina are of the utmost importance to us. The Coast Guard will continue to maintain contact with the crew of the Antalina and monitor their situation very closely," said Rear Adm. Joel R. Whitehead, commander, Eighth Coast Guard District. 

USS Nassau w/1000 medical bed facility. The NASSAU arrived in Norfolk, Virginia at 1000 EDT September 12 and on-loaded a Disaster Relief Team (DRT), Beach Party Team (BPT), Fleet Surgical Team (FST) and 4 x Utility Landing Craft (LCU)

(20) title 10 aircraft and helicopters to include HH-60s, SH-60s, HC-130s;

(14) USCG platforms to include HH-65s and HU-25s;

(9) Air National Guard platforms to include HH-60s, MC-130s;

(61) Army National Guard helicopters.

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Via

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There has been an error in categorization that may cause some viewers distress.
For reasons unknown a post on Governor Palin and a post on....umm...Chun Li are appearing in the "Actually it IS Rocket Science!" category.

Yes, these two willful and saucy posts are stubbornly refusing to go where they belong.

I apologize for any stress incurred to those expecting only SpaceBlogging at that link. I am fully aware that Chun Li and Sarah Palin are not, strictly speaking, space related ...though Chun Li and Sarah Palin in Space might have potential as a series concept.

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Ike is a true catastrophe. The hurricane has killed over 60 people in the Caribbean and devastated the Turks and Caicos Islands, reportedly destroying 80% of the buildings in the British territory. The thing has been hammering Cuba from both sides and despite crossing that islands high mountains seems has only weakened a bit. soon, after another gut punch to the Crocodile island, it is going to saunter into the Gulf of Mexico, most likely regain strength and bring despair to the USA or USM. If you are in that cone start reading your calamity kit.
(Hang on Ubu)


Excellent weatherblogging and first hand reporting at Stormcarib.
Charities that are active in the area.
( I have no info on these though I assume the BRC is legit)
British Red Cross
Oxfam America
The Order of Malta (Which handles AmeriCares Caribbean Charities)

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A few days ago I watched Lucky Star (Volume 3)at my friend Allan's house.

I am not buying much as the first paycheck in 5 weeks doesn't come until Friday. However, yesterday evening we swung by Best Buy in part because I wanted to confirm something crazy...crazy I say.... that Allan said had about the deluxe edition.

Yes...Volume 3 deluxe comes with a schoolgirl uniform (winter version from the show).

Other deluxe editions come with a (female) gym uniform.

...

So....I'm guessing I'm not actually the target audience here.

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The Brickmuppet's crack team of science babes (flaming chariot division) are all dressed up, with nowhere to go..and this pisses them off!
 
They point out that while we have had the math worked out on reaching space for a century and we've been doing it for about half as long, it is still too great a hurdle for cheap access and large scale development.

This is a side effect of expendable launchers, which make sense from an engineering standpoint (they have maximum  fuel efficiency and the highest payloads) but in an economic sense...they make no sense.

The problem here is that with the most current launch vehicles we are doing the equivalent of flying to Japan in a 747 and then blowing up the plane......every time. If that were the process for a transpacific flight..I could not have afforded to go to Japan last month.....just about no one could have.

So how do we fix the problem?  Well obviously we make the damned thing reusable so you can fly it more than once!

While it may seem at first blush to be a dispatch from the department of "Duh!", that task is not as easy as it sounds...nor as impossible as some suggest.


more...

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More Sarah Palin fallout no doubt.....

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I HAVE ARRIVED!!!!

Wo0t!

I'm important!

I have a parasite page trolling for my readers typos!  It's not even pr0n.

brickmuppet.me.nu

It won't make them much money though...I think I have 6 readers and 4 spammers.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 01:09 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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What, gentle readers, is this?

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1 {sagematt} zaitcev, it's a crossover between Touhou and FFVII
{sagematt} Advent Cirno
{zaitcev} I cannot recognize Touhou elements, sadly.
{Aroduc} Look for: hat, skirt, lack of breasts.
{Aroduc} If all three are present, probably Touhou.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Thu Sep 4 19:33:38 2008 (/ppBw)

2 Cirno (snow fairy, weak joke character) is taking the place of Chrono. China's (Mei Ling, door guard, abused joke character) in the background. I think the one on the left is Udonge Reisen (lunar rabbit, and nightmarish in any group of characters that wasn't from Touhou...)

Touhou is a series of arcade-style shooters for the PC... think games like the old 1942, but much more refined and with a difficulty pegged to max (and then far, far, far beyond). You might wanna try one out; think you can download most of them at http://www.doujinstyle.com/, along with a metric ton of fan material.

Keep in mind that the games are really thin on story and character development (it's a series of curtain-fire games, not RPGs!) However, the fan community has really taken off with the characters and done some fun stuff. You can spend a whole day or two just reading funny translated doujins about Alice, Reimu, and Marisa.

Posted by: Avatar_exADV at Fri Sep 5 03:34:42 2008 (pfysU)

3 Thanks guys! 

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Fri Sep 5 13:10:37 2008 (V5zw/)

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It WAS a good speech. Even if she DID use a teleprompter. (and a "gasp!"speechwriter)

 
Criticism that it was short on policy specifics ( generally not the Veep candidates job ) or that it attacked the opposition leader ( generally the Veep candidates job) are just sour grapes.



Governor Palin's big requirement was to deliver a good speech and she did that. She will probably do well in the VP Debate, though Biden is an excellent debater (that is basically all he's done over the last 20 years...other than be wrong)  Palin rather more social conservative than I like but her record in Alaska seems pretty impressive for such a short time.

She is quite impressive in many ways, not the least because of the tornado of bile from the Media and the Nutroots that she endured with considerable grace over the weekend. However, it would be good for those of us on the right to not to get too full of ourselves. Due to a combination of bad performance in Congress, bad luck, bad faith reporting by the media and arrogance, the Republican brand is a hard sell this year. To the extent we forget the first and last points, this dilemma is deserved.  We have a chance in part because our two candidates seem to be trying to correct both problems.

It is also important to remember that while Obama's resume is rather thinner than either of the Republican candidates, as a senator he has not been the empty suit * he was for most of his previous career. He is also engaging, eloquent and likable to many. Additionally, his urbane sense of entitlement, as off-putting as it is to us, gives many people who have historically been despicably excluded, a much deserved sense of pride and hope.

He also has a solid following of genuinely scary goofballs who seem to see him as a messiah fulfilling the prophecies of Marx and Mao. He is not to be underestimated, and I genuinely fear that to the extent he is not playing his "progressive" backers for fools that the stakes are quite high...so, as the A listers say... don't get cocky*....

Still, we have in this Bull Moose ticket a remarkably strong hand.  For the first time in this election I am optimistic.  

More optimism here.

_{*HT: Instapundit}

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I which I am witness to and participant in a wheelchair mishap. more...

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Pixie publishes play-by-play of Palin pandemonium.

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