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.
Two Questions Have Been Answered
...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"?
Strange new character is...strange.
There are the usual technical issues with this episode and the voice work seems off (OK,Weiss seems off), but the story is actually pretty interesting and has grown beyond the super hero team/school show it looked to be at first.
The episode itself was not the action fest everyone was expecting. A quiet walk through town brings team RWBY in contact with a couple of wacky characters who engender a discussion that later turns heated. and threatens to break up the team. Along the way our heroes encounter some allusions to previous episodes....the larger plot is coming together. We also get a bit of insight into Weiss's background and why she's such a shrew.
An episode with no physical action, this was, nevertheless, fairly dramatic and interesting.
It looks like next weeks episode...the season climax..will be a quiet conversation over tea.
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.
STOCK UP!
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.
Looks like I'll have to keep a ready bag of the stuff in the trunk for when I to to pho' shops.
The only good thing about this odious development is that stocking up on these has no downside...I'll have a chilli stockpile which I can use even if the situation improves. This is is stark contrast to what happened when I got burned after that Hostess fiasco and found myself holding a freezerfull of Twinkies I had not unloaded before the underground Twinkie market collapsed when the company reorganized.
Of course commodities speculation is always fraught with peril.
They KNOW!
After looking up the head gasket sealant for the head gasket post.
This is what the Amazon window on Drudge looks like...
Now keep in mind that I did not purchase the sealant, I merely looked it up to get the link for the post. This means that everything I click on...even inadvertently... is going in my "permanent record".
THEY KNOW!
A lengthy search eventually revealed that the cute n' astute naga is by Karbo...who you probably don't want on your permanent record (yikes!)
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.â€
That’s a classy response to a rank hatred.
A work ethic and professionalism....we need more of that in this country.
I can't get my head around this kind of thing. This is the exact opposite of proselytizing, witnessing or attempting to persuade. It's just stupid, it's evil and they're missing the point.
1
Meh, given how many Leftist "moments" have turned out to be complete lies, I'm going to assume that a Leftist did this to make the Religious look bad, much like all the "Racist" moments at Universities have been done by Leftists, to "Raise Awareness (Once they are caught.)".
Posted by: Robert Mitchell Jr. at Wed Oct 30 20:57:37 2013 (MNAY3)
2
My first thought these days when encountering a story like this is that it a Mobey (and they frequently are). However this one seems to check out and as the Anchoress points out the restaurant is right down the street from THEM...so I'ts even more believable.
In any event, even if the waiter got stiffed by a Mobey it doesn't hurt to let people know that this sort of asshattery is not something we condone.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Thu Oct 31 09:38:16 2013 (DnAJl)
She Floats!
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 websiteRuiZhuMu Woerpubliclylatestsuperlaunchingmissile destroyerUSSDDG1000whole processphotos.CompareUnfortunately, theshipinto the waterdid not organizeanyceremonybecause ofthe impact offiscal tighteningsubject.
In other words, this milestone slipped under the radar due to the vessels inherent stealthiness and the fact that there was no launch ceremony for a first in class warship....but mostly the latter.
Dude...they had launch ceremonies for sub chasers in WW2. This was just a gesture of contempt.
As to the ship itself there are a lot of criticisms floating around about the design, ranging from its
tumblehome hull form (which doesn't have as much reserve buoyancy as the
flared hulls of the navies current destroyers). There is also concern about the superstructure, which despite being an advanced carbon and epoxy reinforced assembly is still...balsa wood.
Although classified as a destroyer the vessel is as big as a Baltimore class heavy cruiser, and seems optimized for shore bombardment. This makes it more of a monitor than anything, meaning it's really a replacement for the battleships. While the vessel doesn't have an armor belt per se its shell plating is 20mm thick and it is reportedly quite strongly built. The propulsion system is an advanced gas turbo-electric system that produces much more available electrical power for the electronics system. This will also make the ship quite quiet. The strange, 19th century looking hullform is designed for maximum stealth.
The ship carries 80 missile tubes as opposed to the 96 of the current destroyers, but these are the Mk 57 launchers which are much larger and can handle bigger future missiles. The ship also has two 155mm (6.1 inch) guns which fire shells weighing 200-225 pounds depending on type. This is as heavy as most 8 inch shells. It can lob guided rounds 100 nautical miles and the 200 pound unguided shells 24 nautical miles. DDG 100 has extensive helicopter facilities aft and a large flex-deck with aft launching for small boats.
The criticisms notwithstanding, this ship and her two sisters are experimental vessels testing out a great many new ideas and weapons systems...the stealthy hull form and composite superstructure need to be tested in real world conditions and if they work out will represent major advances. Additionally this particular program represents one of the vanishingly few DOD programs that is on time and under budget. Given that everything about this ship is experimental except the anchor chains, blankets and urinals, that is no small accomplishment.
1
I remember reading somewhere that the armor on WWII battleships is so thick that the typical anti-ship missile can't penetrate it. i.e in Exocet vs Iowa, Iowa wins.
In other defense news, a bit of kludging together hardware has produced something very interesting. The army had a whole bunch of rocket motors from some kind of weapons system they can't use any more (I think it was some kind of cluster munition) but it would have been a waste to get rid of them. So Boeing won the contract to figure out a way to stick the rocket to the back of a Small Diameter Bomb, AND also hook the SDB to a winged JDAM system. The result, a field-launchable bomb, no fighter-jet required.
Posted by: Mauser at Thu Oct 31 06:42:54 2013 (TJ7ih)
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Thu Oct 31 14:07:16 2013 (DnAJl)
4
I saw Russians joking about it already. This one's initial is "A.". Therefore, next will be James B. Kirk, etc. until James T. Kirk commands NC-1701A.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Thu Oct 31 17:40:47 2013 (RqRa5)
Where the Money Goes
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.
1
That is one of the more frustrating, though well documented, problems with the big bureaucracies; if they make a mistake in your favor, even though the right thing is to point it out, they will make it as hard as possible to do so, and you might end up being worse off in the end.
Posted by: David at Wed Oct 30 01:31:23 2013 (da+4f)
Thank God for SCIENCE!1!
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.
1
Unlike the Obamacare contractors, you're actually expected to deliver...
Posted by: Siergen at Mon Oct 28 18:27:28 2013 (c2+vA)
2
The light bulb in my fridge blew... After 23 years.
Guess that doesn't really compare...
As for the Obamacare site contractors, after considering the boatload of crap they were handed in terms of requirements, and the doubtless politicised awarding of the work to 55 separate contractors, I'm impressed that they managed to deliver anything at all. And right now, by no fault of their own, the guys in the trenches are likely going through hell.
I've seen plenty of contractors screw the pooch on large projects, but this pooch came pre-screwed at the highest level.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Mon Oct 28 20:06:57 2013 (PiXy!)
3
I had a head gasket leak on Neon, which was basically guaranteed on the 1G with 2.0L (both SOHC and DOHC) and about 46k miles. The dealership only took $866 to replace it. I heard that since it was so common on Neons back then, they learned how to pop the head off without diconnecting much of anything, just having the timing belt off the cam. Then, remove the gasket, and slide in the replacement, bolt the head back on and push the timing belt's loop into position, done! Took them some 3 hours or so. The replacement gasket stayed in place for another 120k miles before I sold the car for $850.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Mon Oct 28 23:44:20 2013 (RqRa5)
4
@PIXY
My friend BOB! was talking about this.Trying to get a website that will act as a phishing operation for 11 different departments each with their own systems that date back to the 70s and are written in at least 11 personalized different obsolete languages like Fortran or sometsuch and are designed to NOT share data is a tall order...getting them to do it so that there's a back and forth of data between all 11 outfits and the victim in real time is nigh impossible. Doing it in the amount of time specified removes the nigh.
These people were set up to fail and are now the scapegoats for the arrogance of others. I pity them.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Tue Oct 29 09:08:34 2013 (DnAJl)
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.
We also learn that 10 year old dwarf boys have beards.
Given that our heroes have come from another dimension to corrupt the youth of an undeveloped country, it is possible that Kill la Kill is not the most depraved show this season after all.
Despite the downer in the teaser
The goldfish died. this was a much more lighthearted episode than last weeks. However, like the first three, this had some pretty serious plot points touched on amongst all the wackiness.
Calamity Most Foul
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.
It's Astounding
...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...
Time is Fleeting
Many however, don't want to believe this.
For them we provide a comforting lie: "That asshsat that Buzz Aldrin punched didn't know the HALF of it!"
Madness Takes it's Toll
Steven Den Beste may appear to finally have succumbed to his crippling affliction....engineers disease.
If giraffe's could speak, it would be something of a challenge, don't you think? *
Note though that he has not allowed his handicap to hold him back. Instead, he has leveraged it into a way to further motivate himself to pursue his dream....which I was quite surprised to learn is to become a LUMBERJACK! )
In these trying times it is truly inspiring to see someone who continues to pursue their ambition.
1
I recognized at once that this was not the originally-aired rendition. Instead, they restaged the skit outside the studio. I don't know if my Monty Python recognition skill is something to be proud of...
Posted by: Siergen at Tue Oct 22 17:02:16 2013 (c2+vA)
2
That's from the movie "And now for something completely different", which is entirely made up of restagements of classic sketches from the TV series.
The Root Cause of Our ProblemThe Anchoresshas found something deeply worrisome. It is all the more
so because, as someone who spends a fair amount of time on a college
campus, I find bonecrushing historical ignorance unnervingly unsurprising....and yet...
... even by the abysmal standards set by today's low expectations, a couple of the answers here are genuinely mortifying.
Questioner: What was the Holocaust?
American College Student: Um…I’m on the spot.
Questioner: Which country was Adolf Hitler the leader of?
American College Student: I think it’s Amsterdam?
Questioner: What was Auschwitz?
American College Student: I don’t know.
Questioner: What were the Nuremburg Trials?
American College Student: I don’t know.
Questioner: How many Jews were killed?
American College Student: Hundreds of thousands.
Q: What other groups were targeted besides Jewish people?
ACS: The African Americans? Here in the United States they used to discriminate because of skin color…
Q: Where is Normandy?
ACS: It’s over near like England and Germany and all that jazz. It’s not a peninsula, but…
Q: Where is Normandy?
ACS: It’s over by Germany. At least compared to the United States, it’s over by Germany.
Q: Who was Winston Churchill?
ACS: "He was a general, right?â€
Q: What is genocide?
ACS: I don’t know.
Q: Is genocide taking place anywhere, today?
ACS: Not that I’m aware.
...For instance, while it would normally be somewhat heartening to hear a College Freshman know the name Franz Ferdinand, the context in which the name was invoked is rather dismaying.
I didn't watch it; I just read your transcript. I'm guessing they knew there was a famous dude because of the band named after him?
Posted by: Mikeski at Sun Oct 20 00:56:12 2013 (Zlc1W)
2
Some twenty years ago I was having a conversation with a friend of mine and the topic of WWII came up. At one point, in all bright-eyed innocence, his 19-year-old boarder asked us, "Who's Auschwitz?"
Posted by: Mauser at Sun Oct 20 03:15:45 2013 (TJ7ih)
3
Students today don't learn about WWII because America was the good guys in that war. They are only taught about events that make America look bad.
4
My high school had a pretty good review of WW2 in my American history class...
...because I taught it. ;p
It's not entirely because teachers are all thralls of a liberal conspiracy. A lot of it is because the way history curricula in the US are usually structured.
Usually US history is taught as a pair of courses, split up more or less at the Civil War. This means that the start of the second course is generally going to cover Reconstruction, and then industrialization and the rise of pretty much all of the civil rights and labor movements. The curriculum is packed full of stuff here (and a lot of it has a pretty heavy lean to the left, to be sure - labor good, companies bad; women's suffrage; evil capitalism causing world depression; New Deal saves the nation...)
By the time teachers are coming up to WW2, they've burned up too much time, it's already April, and they're looking for things to cut. Can't cut the civil rights movement. Can't cut Vietnam (in the sense that you want to talk about the draft...) So a lot of them shave WW2 down to the bare essentials. No projects, no papers, just "here's the box score" and talking a little about the home front.
I get that WW2 is an awkward fit between the distinction between US history and world history (and most world history courses don't make it anywhere near WW2). Realistically, what needs to happen is a re-evaluation of the history curriculum - either it needs to be split into three lobes, colonial-Civil War-modern, or we need to spend a lot less time talking about early-century social movements and more time talking about any event since 1970. (And the former is more unlikely to happen, unless someone in Texas decides to do it, because all the schoolbooks are written with a two-section split in mind...)
Of course, having the time to address it doesn't mean they'll actually get a good education. Had a history professor in college assert that the US nuked Hiroshima purely to intimidate the Russians and that we knew from crypto intercepts that the Japanese wanted peace... (sigh)
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at Sun Oct 20 14:17:49 2013 (GJQTS)
5
I've been trying for years to get one of the Duck U history professors to let me lecture on the Battle of Midway. He's expressed interest, but doesn't have time during the traditional school year (too much to cover), and his summer "World War II" class spends most of the six week session on Europe.
This makes me sad.
Posted by: Wonderduck at Sun Oct 20 21:22:42 2013 (GE6XS)
1
I only got around to watching it last year, after having the DVD box set sitting on my shelf for about a decade. The special effects have certainly aged, but it's a great series.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Sat Oct 19 07:32:32 2013 (PiXy!)
An Important Message From the Creators of Kill la Kill
In the preview for next weeks episode the voice over is something along the lines of..
' If you're up this late watching anime you're going to have issues getting up in the morning, so don't stick around for the previews, go to bed! '
I gather then, that this is a late night show.
Who'd've thunk it?
I found it difficult to choose a screencap that adequately conveys the exuberant depravity of Kill la Kill...that I don't feel ashamed to post...so I'll just pander to a key demographic.
There's context...but it doesn't help.
Similarly, after watching this weeks episode, I find myself at a loss for words. Don is not so handicapped.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Fri Oct 18 12:20:55 2013 (PiXy!)
3
You won't find many bunyip warning signs, by the way. The bunyips eat them. In fact, a key indicator of bunyip presence is the absence of warning signs.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Fri Oct 18 12:26:11 2013 (PiXy!)
"You can Control POLES?!"
...and yet Poland has not been enslaved because Pyrrha is a good person...
...or perhaps Ruby has erred.
Pretty decent 5 minutes. We find out a couple of things...
Jaune got his untenable position somewhat mitigated...due to a fortuitous bear attack. It was further
established that he has a great deal of potential...which he doesn't quite grok. However he again demonstrated considerable bravery and integrity.
Additionally, both Pyrrha and Ruby
were explicitly stated to have superpowers. Rub'ys flash-step is apparently not a skill as such but a power akin to Weiss's runes. Pyrrha reveals hers to be "polarity".
I
liked how Pyrrha used her magnetism ability with great deft and subtly
giving Jaune that 18 inch shift that kept him from being decapitated
before he got in his death-blow.
I thought that was handled pretty nicely, Jaune does not lack
strength or guts but his defense is an established weakness, OTOH, he
really demonstrated that despite his problems he's both principled and
brave. The bit at the end was cute with the expression on Pyrrha's face
being sublime.
It really does seem to be a blending of American and Japanese tropes.
Explicitly stating that Ruby's speed is a power of some sort makes this
something of a superhero show (with strong anime and sentai overtones) A
very good case could also be made for the Chinese super-kung-fu category too.
Also: There was an ad for the RWBY DVD at the end. We're only 2 episodes away from the end of this season which gives the writers about 20 minutes to turn everything to worms.
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