Cdr Salamander provides this helpful map of the maritime borders of the various nations in that part of the world.

^Yikes!

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 06:14 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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more...

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 06:03 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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In a few minutes I'm going to go stand in line to vote for an old fashioned and inarticulate, but basically principled dork.

^{"Ewww...this sounds so much like politics...that it's actually politics."}

Indeed...and it is our habit to place the actual political portion of the politics post  below the fold.

But not on election day.

I'll be voting against a guy who wrote the book on selling access to the White House, who has been a serial liar....

...and has never held any office.

Now...entirely too late.... it comes out that the Libertarian candidate who will be the deciding factor in this election was financed by the Democrats.



Even  Ron Paul, a former Libertarian Part Presidential Candidate who has been no friend of Cucinelli in the past on a lot of issues campainged for the 'Cooch' and against the libertarian in this election.

So all those of you who are filing a protest vote are actually voting this guy.

Oh well, I'm off to tilt at windmills again.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 01:06 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Via NBF, it seems that Garrison, a Canadian high end menswear boutique has produced a bullet resistant business suit. Searching in vain for an imbed-able version of their video I noted that there is at least one other company  that makes these. American Armor Attire of Fredricksburg Virginia also makes a similar product.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 06:11 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Wow , Austin got clobbered.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 05:44 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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...unfortunately.

On October 21st, in an otherwise glowing review, I made a tentative prediction about Outbreak Company.

Confidence is still not high...I expect this show to devolve into a moe-ocalyptic mess,

This was an utter mess of an episode, basically a series of sketches...

The queen calls our hero to her court to berate him, insult him and insist that she didn't summon him there in the first place and doesnt like him anyway....she then gets enraged when he doesn't realize she's doing a tsundere routine...which she mispronounces at Tsundora...which I had to look up.....so the episode wasn't a total loss...I learned another useless fanboy word...in this case for cold, aloof girl. I can now insult women with lives and they'll never know  it .

yay.

This silly classroom bit last episode was kind of cute....once. This time they do more of the same...but add an entirely too long sequence where we watch our hero play a visual novel....and squee over it.

There is every indication that this Otaku lesson will be a continuing item.

There are some...loli jokes.

There's a sniffing the underwear gag.

The ditzy werewolf chick he saved from execution last episode (and it turns out is keeping as...well...essentially a slave...to do art) goes into heat and ruts all over our hero...schlep, whose terrified screams bring the maid and bodyguard running....

This prompts the female JSDF bodyguard  to rib him about his 'harem' and suggest to the maid that she up her game since she's in competition with the princess and the busty animal girl.


The maid is unamused.
I am unamused.

In fact the only gags that were the least bit funny were the yaoi jokes...they were also the most tasteful.


 

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 03:48 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Yesterday, China interupted America's hand-wringing over the Obamacare debacle with a bit of a nonsequiter.

It seems that they just, out of the blue, felt the need to remind us that their small fleet of ballistic missile submarines can wreak all sorts of nuclear devastation on US cities.

This is not news...so why bring it up?

China state media also included this fallout map which doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

^{Also: Why are they wasting a nuke on Rutland Vermont?}

The Blaze suggests that this might be welcome news, indicating a loosening on secrecy and censorship, but this flies in the face of recent trends which have been even farther in the other direction.

We mentioned back in August that FAS had gotten wind of China doing  a lot of nuclear attack simulations and had been putting together their own.

Hot on the heels of this helpful reminder...Today we had China announce that they intend to "silence" the Dali Lama. This is part of a larger internal crackdown fully in keeping with the disturbingly Maoist tendencies of Xi Jinpang.

Nuking the people who owe you money and buy your stuff is a poor business model (as wise people have pointed out) but if it looks like said people (the US) is never going to pay you back and are going completely broke it becomes less so...especially if the perceived deadbeat is the only thing standing in the way of regional hegemony.

Furthermore, if one thinks Mao was a swell guy and his attitude towards human life is laudable, then the huge population of China and the individual low yields of most of the warheads in the US arsenal might make it appear that China could "take the hit" of a US retaliatory strike.

In the long run...which is how China looks at things... they might even be right.

This still seems unlikely. No one "wins" a nuclear exchange.

However, stupider decisions have been made. The decisions that led to World War One all seemed like good ideas at the time. It's also important to remember that other societies and values systems can produce decisionary calculus with regard to acceptable trade offs is likely far different from ours.

On an equally upbeat and somewhat related note: There is an interesting report here on dealing with a low yield nuclear blast (about 1/2 a Fat Man) in a nuclear terrorist attack.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 04:11 PM | Comments (18) | Add Comment
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Ace has thoughts on the alpha intellects who struggle mightily with the Sisyphean task of dragging us ungrateful fools kicking and screaming into the future of blissful yet responsible nirvana that they have so benevolently chosen to bestow upon those of us, who, due to our profound ignorance, are unaware that we are part of the unworthy, ungrateful and barely sentient hoi polloi, and who, without our better's magnanimous guidance would have long since perished by aspirating our own foetid benightedness.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 09:18 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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...in the latest episode of RWBY.  For one thing, we now know that at least one of the promo trailers is canon.
'...and then the bastards robbed our train!'
Of course the big reveal regards Blake (yes...she is a catgirl)  came as no great surprise... they'd hinted at it in episode 8.

..though the way it was revealed (via an accidental WHAM line) was rather unexpected.

The episode also revealed that she'd been a member of the terrorist organization White Fang, and that was what was going on in the 'Black' trailer.

Of course the episode poses more questions than it answers...like what the HELL is going on with "Penny"?

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 07:19 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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1: Don't screw with the band.



2: Kill la Kill continues to surprise.

The show has been consistently fun. What's surprising is not just the twists of the story. It's that despite being over the top, vulgar and silly, Kill La Kill is turning out to be somewhat thoughtful.

  On top of that the transcendentally bad-ass band provides the show with an awesome score.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 03:51 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Via Instapundit comes the terrifying news that a bunch of California NIMBYs are conspiring to get the Huy Fong Foods factory shut down.
They make Sriracha.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 09:27 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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After looking up the head gasket sealant for the head gasket post.
This is what the Amazon window on Drudge looks like...

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 01:21 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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 The Anchoress explores an outburst of both theological and logical fallacy.

Of course hatred rarely follows logic so this message is lost on the haters, but it's these asshats who get all the press. Given the depths of their hate they don't know much about their professed theology either.

She also has kind words for classy behavior.

The server has responded to the incident, saying "The offers to help pay me back are much appreciated, but not at all needed. I’d prefer to let my work ethic and my service do the talking, nothing else.”

That’s a classy response to a rank hatred.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 12:47 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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USS Zumwalt, the first of a new class of experimental destroyers has been launched.



This didn't get a lot of coverage here but the Chinese are sure interested.
As per giggle translate of the Mandarin:

  October 28, 2013, the U.S. Navy official website Rui Zhu Mu Woer publicly latest super launching missile destroyer USS DDG1000 whole process photos. Compare Unfortunately, the ship into the water did not organize any ceremony because of the impact of fiscal tightening subject.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 06:12 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Some months ago I was informed that I was to recieve veterans disability benefits. This caused me some concern as I'm not disabled. Although it was hard to get hold of the proper people to resolve that, once I did it was resolved quickly and hopefully that money is now helping a disabled vet. 

Well, a bit over a week ago I received a check from the VA for a tad less than 900 dollars.

This was...unexpected. I was surprised to find that I was still eligible for any VA benefits. What's more I'm a part time student this semester so that seemed like an excessive amount.

Anyway, I called the VA and after some PEBKAC errors with the phone tree and a 27 minute wait I got an operator. After answering some questions I learned that I was indeed eligible for some educational benefits. I explained that I was a part-time student this semester. The operator confirmed this, told me what courses I was taking and that I should be receiving a check so everything was fine.  I pointed out that the amount she quoted was substantially less than the amount the check was written for. The operator said that this was probably back pay and not to worry about it.

Ummm...NO!

So...I ended up speaking to her supervisor. After some digging It was revealed that the check was not, in fact, vaguely rationalized "back pay" but rather educational benefits for the full course load I took during the summer semester.

This sounded much more in line with the amount the check was written out for and would have resolved the matter if I had, in fact, taken any classes during the summer.

I explained the discrepancy.
I was told that since they had received confirmation of of my enrollment that the check was indeed for the proper amount. I pointed out that it was improper due to the fact that I had not taken the classes. She then asked if I had in fact enrolled in the classes.

I said yes.

She then said that as I had just confirmed what was on the screen the matter was closed. I pointed out that had withdrawn from the classes whereupon I was asked 'WHY I would do that'? I explained that My father had a hernia operation and my mother had back to back gall bladder and foot surgeries at the beginning of the summer and that given my domestic responsibilities it seemed unwise to take the classes.

I ended up talking to her supervisor.

The supervisor implied that if I tore up the check another one would be reissued after a year*. She further explained that the only way to make the check be not officially mine was to go to the VA office at the school, and have them send confirmation of my withdrawal to the VA. At that point I would be mailed a letter containing a kit for the proper disposal of the letter (presumably a SASE).

So I hightailed it through rush hour traffic on a Friday, went to the info desk and talked to the VA rep. He was sympathetic but couldn't do anything right then. You see, in order to process this claim he needed an E-mail from me..which he would forward with the proper information. So I walked down the hall and found a workstation, logged onto my University E-mail account, sent him an E-mail explaining my worrisome windfall and why I'd withdrawn. I walked back down the hall and he verbally confirmed that he'd gotten it and Monday I received E-mail notification from the school that the mater had been resolved.

The matter is still not resolved.

I just received a terse letter from the VA (sans 'kit") informing me that I owed them nearly 900 dollars. There is no return address beyond the PO Box on the letter and I'm antsy about just sending the check out.

I hope to get this matter finally resolved this week.

_{*I'm uncertain on this particular point.}

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 09:18 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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The head gasket on the Cressida blew.
Now, changing a head gasket has the potential to be upwards of 1500 dollars and on a car as old as mine it can sometimes be impossible. To express my thoughts on the matter would be non-conducive to both stoicism and Arete..so I'll let this imaginary girl do it.

Fortunately, thanks to SCIENCE there now exists Head Gasket Sealant. It doesn't always work...but this time it did.
Yay!
Of course the oil and coolant had to be flushed, the injectors and spark plugs had to be cleaned and an unrelated bulb needed to be changed but it still was under 300 dollars.

That sucks...but it's not a catastrophic suckasge.

In other news: I work for UPS...not one of the Obamacare contractors...so I'm considering myself pretty lucky at the moment.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 05:54 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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These helpful phrases come via this weeks episode of the educational series Outbreak Company which also discussed such useful everyday terms as Pitching, Catching, Furry, Oppai, BL and how to properly set flags.

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Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 05:50 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Last night, just after midnight...the downstairs toilet ceased to function properly. Worse it continued to function...but improperly.
Spectacularly so.
Well, as I type this, it is not QUITE right yet but its not functioning backwards.
In any event I just got out of the shower.

I'm tired and can't really think of a good analogy to convey the essence of the day...so here are some bad ones.

^Via

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 06:28 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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...that a show with as much of an over the top fanboy affirmation premise as Outbreak Company could be the least bit interesting.

The premise:

It seems that a hyperspace portal to the Holy Eldant Empire (a middle earth style fantasy kingdom) was recently discovered within a crevasse deep inside the Aokigahara forest. The Japanese government has decided that instead of water filtration, tractors or composting toilets, Japan's killer app in trading with this wealthy but feudal nation will be Otaku culture and its trappings. They decide to secure permission from the empress to proselytize and proceed get a real flaming Otaku to act as an evangelist for the..."faith".

Our protagonist is Shinich, the recovering Hikikomori and flaming Otaku who answers their want ad. He ends up as Japan's ambassador to a fantasy kingdom, where (woe upon woes) he is gifted a gorgeous maid and must frequently entertain the 16 year old empress.

Yeah...confidence is not high, but as a couple of people have said it has potential I decided to give it a try.

The fact that this actually happens in the show would normally be a warning sign...



...and yet..

more...

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 10:55 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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