Friday The Thirteenth Fell on a Friday This Month
Well, today I got written up at work, pulled over by a cop, and to top it all off the Village Inn ran out of lemon pies.
Let's see what else happened recently that might induce riggatriskaidekaphobia in our readers.
1
Um, had to pay for $2800 in car repairs, and I was the only one on my crew at work today. While working in the 48 section, my paint spilled, ran unnoticed through a hole in the corner of the containment tray and for about 10' down the center of the fuselage.I had to scramble to clean it up before it began to set, and fish it out from all the nooks and crannies in the brackets.
BTW, said paint contains Hexavalent Chromium. Just looking at the MSDS for it will cause cancer and liver failure.
Posted by: Mauser at Sat Sep 14 06:28:00 2013 (TJ7ih)
I narrowly missed this bit of fun. Came along as the police were taping off the crime scene.
As for Richard Dawkins - no, he's not evil, he's talking about his personal reaction to something that happened to him as a child. The Salon headline is a lie, and under UK law they'd be dead meat in a libel suit. (Which is the first time I've ever said anything positive about UK libel laws.)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Sun Sep 15 04:11:18 2013 (PiXy!)
I look back a few decades to my childhood and see things like caning,
like mild pedophilia, and can’t find it in me to condemn it by the same
standards as I or anyone would today,â€
He did not actually say
that one of his former school masters "pulled me on his knee and put
his hand inside my shorts,†and that to condemn this "mild touching upâ€
as sexual abuse today would somehow be unfair.
Because if that's the case then US libel laws will offer Salon no protection. That is pure defamation of character they put those words in quotes so there isn't even the Maureen Dowd defense.
On the other hand, if he said them and there is no actionable contextual omission, then he his trying to move the goal posts, Overton Window, ( or what have you) on child molestation. Sticking ones hands down a child's pants to do anything other than change a diaper or remove an erant blue ringed octopus is wrong was wrong and has been wrong for a very long time. It's also as close to objectively wrong as wrong can get.
Now while I'm not exactly a fan of many of Mr. Dawkins's conclusions, ( he's a leftist for one thing ) I am perfectly willing to believe that, given his role in 'coffee gate' and his recent statements regards Islam, (both of which are 'new class' taboos of the first degree) that someone has decided to throw him under the bus. That was the first thing that came to the mind of my friend Bob! and I would have no trouble believing it.
Has he denied these quotes or declared they are horrifically out of context? I would be happy to post an emphatic retraction.
Those quotes, (if they are accurate quotes) are hard to square with not being evil.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sun Sep 15 09:48:25 2013 (F7DdT)
7
Well, the first of those is a quote. The second is not, it's a gross misrepresentation of what he is saying.
We have to be clear here: He is talking about his reaction to something that happened to him - this all regards a specific incident recounted in his memoir - and about the context in which it happened. He doesn't defend it, nor does he make light of anyone else's experience. He just says that he found it creepy and unpleasant rather than emotionally scarring; he notes that the perpetrator's later suicide affected him much more strongly.
The reason he said "I don’t think he did any of us lasting harm." - a quote the Salon piece borrows from three times, but only once accurately - is not because he doesn't think it's harmful, it's that he discussed it with the other victims in that particular case, both at the time and years later after the suicide.
As for whether Salon has it out for Richard Dawkins, I'd hazard a guess that the answer is yes. Whether that's because he doesn't toe the leftist party line (he treats all religions equally, which is just not done), or it's just a dying site just trolling for page hits like Slate, I can't say.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Sun Sep 15 21:14:49 2013 (PiXy!)
8
Hmph. I was wondering why no-one actually quotes the original Dawkins interview in The Times, but rather refers to second-hand summaries - it's because it's behind a paywall, and no-one's willing to pay the 25 squid. And even if you did, no-one would be able to check that you quoted it accurately, because they're not interested enough to cough up the 25 squid either.
Which turns it into a game of Chinese Whispers where the truth is right there but no-one can be bothered to check.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Sun Sep 15 21:25:42 2013 (PiXy!)
9
Found the full interview here. (Salon, obviously, didn't bother to look.)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Sun Sep 15 22:38:53 2013 (PiXy!)
Traffic is Back To Normal
Yesterday, Hampton Roads commemorated 9-11 by having bomb threats directed at the regions tunnels and bridges. I live 7 miles by road from the university. It took me over an hour and a half to get home. Despite the official line that everything was ended by 3pm, I was almost late to work this morning because of a snarl around 03:30. The bridge-tunnel was down to one lane and inspectors seemed to be searching under the bridge.
As far as I know no bombs were found and everything was back to normal this morning.
"… only 77% of sequences identified could be matched to a known
sequence, species or type strain, suggesting that a vast amount of novel
biodiversity is present.â€
I suppose "novel" is a good description of shoggoths.
Young lady standing in for Mr. Lion is Mao from GJ Club.
The Message
The Message behind Stella Women's Acadamy High School Division...I'm sorry...where was I?
Oh yes. I think I've figured out the theme behind this show.
We at Gainax hate you.
Our childhoods were miserable because
we were a bunch of
geeky, socially inept otaku who grew to hate our hobby (which we blame
for all our lost opportunities). Nothing makes us sicker than seeing
those who watch and enjoy anime for they remind us of our selves and our
many personal failures. We hereby dedicate our lives to making you hate
the medium as much as us, for we are transgressive and enlightened
hipsters who understand the nihilistic futility of
everything...Well...everything except
the cruel pleasure we derive from getting you gullible fools to first
enjoy something we create and then watch helplessly and despair as we
dismember it without anesthesia before you. That is the greatest joy in
all creation.That we are paid to do this is icing on the cake. It's an
ephemeral joy though. Your innocence thus defiled, you can bring us
little amusement from this point on, but there are always others that
follow the likes of you. Now get
thee along, Aokigahara beckons you.
I could be a bit off there, but there's a better than even case to be made for that theory at this point.
Bad personality matchups, maybe? Yeah, yeah, Yura never had friends and thus never had the opportunity to learn consideration for other people, she got a few hits of approval and she got hooked on the feeling, that's her lookout and bad on her behalf.
But it also represents a pretty massive leadership failing on both Sonora's and Haruna's behalf. Sonora screwed up initially when she bawled out Yura for not following etiquette that she hadn't bothered to tell her about... and clearly she's never sat down with Yura to tell her "hey, you don't have to be Rambo to play with us." She definitely noticed the problem (i.e. that Yura conflated winning with having any kind of self-worth), and she made a few offhand comments about it... but that's all. To the extent that Yura's relationship with the team deteriorated, it was clearly a problem that Sonora could have and should have nipped in the bud early on.
Haruna, same song, second verse. Haruna clearly recognized the same problem, and in her own way tried to get Yura to come to that realization... but because she didn't tell Yura "you know, I want you to value the team" rather than just trying to force her into the role without explaining, the lesson didn't take.
So yes, is Yura a jerk? Yeah, but she's not someone who's a jerk because she likes being a jerk - it's just that she's running scared that nobody will like her, and nobody's sat her down and said "hey, we like you already!" (Doesn't help that she's awkward enough not to pick up on the clues from context.)
But both Sonora and Haruna were confronted with an unbelievable rookie talent, who picked up on the mechanics like a duck taking to water... and they both dropped the ball. Both of them recognized that Yura had an attitude problem, but neither of them realized what they needed to do to straighten her out.
This falls on Sonora more than Haruna, who is frankly at least a little bit of a cold fish; I don't know that Haruna herself was equipped to give Yura a heart-to-heart talk. But Sonora? She's an oddball in a group of outgoing, active oddballs, she's used to dealing with some in-group personality conflicts, and as Yura's sempai and roommate, she had the opportunity to know her better than anyone. She ought to have managed this better than she did. For that matter, it stretches believability that she didn't, and at that point this is the major problem with the show. I don't buy it, that's all it is; they needed to have the problem develop to make the plot work and didn't think about what that meant for Sonora as a character, and it's just bad writing.
On top of that, the supernatural bit now feels totally out of place. I wanted to watch -that- show, not this one...
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at Wed Sep 11 18:43:14 2013 (pWQz4)
3
All good points.
I didn't go into detail about Yura's transcendental asininity in part because I kind of feel for her even as I would blame no one for hating her. She's a very awkward person at an awkward age who has (as you point out) been terribly socialized.
I think your point about Haruna is spot on. She's not equipped to deal with this as she's not terribly sociable herself. She does seem to be decent, particularly with regard to her team.
Regards Sonora, yelling at her about the surrender was tin eared, but perfectly reasonable given the embarrassment the team suffered. She did then walk back and start mentoring Yura......she then ended up in the hospital, which set a lot of this off. Remember even Sonora is only 17 or 18.
As to "that other show", yeah, I agree wholeheartedly that I'd rather be watching that one.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Wed Sep 11 19:03:48 2013 (F7DdT)
12 Years Ago
Via Cdr Salamander: This is the best overview I have ever seen of what it was like that day as the realization gradually set in that something was very wrong...then the awful certainty.
UPDATE:Subur Banbanshee has further thoughts on the various events that occurred on this date in history. Remember that 2001 and 2012 were exceptions to what has generally been an auspicious date for civilization.
I Should Put This Below the Fold
...but I won't because it's not really politics, it's parody.
(That should be perfectly clear from the very, very, very slight exaggeration)
1
Are you kidding? A Pollyanna-style solution to a completely intractable problem where all outcomes are bad and everything we can do would only make the situation worse? Handing off the ultimate responsibility of success to an ambivalent international organization?
It's practically MADE for Obama.
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at Tue Sep 10 16:23:18 2013 (pWQz4)
Bakunyumorion
..is one of those songs where it's important to know know what the lyrics actually mean, because having this just pop up on ones playlist in earshot of a native Japanese speaker could be awkward...
Admittedly it's less awkward than a bad kanji tatoo in that the embarrassment does not stay with one for life and one wont be banned from bathouses in Japan.
The realization that the song is about gigantic boobs is similar to the creeping cognizance of the fact that the text in the title of the video is not Cryillic, but rather some asinine font...
..which means...
...those sprites are....
UPDATE 2: Time actually named this one of the 50 best inventions of 2010. Inexplicably, 3 years on, there seems to be no implementation of this amazing idea.
I should also belatedly mention that I got this via Brian Wang,.
PANCAKE GIRL!
She has abilities other than stalking!
...and she really likes her job.
Episode 8 displays some of the best and the worst of RWBY.
The usually good voice work seemed a bit off this time around. However, that, a moment of somewhat forced character development and a patch of exceedingly cheesy dialog is rather compensated for by 13 minutes of absolutely kick-ass action...which is further enhanced by the completely unexpected awesomeness of Pancake Girl (Nora Valkyrie).
Even with the rough start, this was easily the best episode since the pilot and the first where everyone (even Jaune) got to shine.
This show is not just a collection of random anime tropes. This episode actually has much more in common with early '90s Hong Kong martial arts flicks...
...also Chuck Jones, (but the less said about that the better).
I laughed. I winced. I cheered. I groaned. This is an odd and uneven show but it is amusing me thoroughly.
1
If you've watched Oum's "Dead Fantasy" series, you know that it's in fantastical battle scenes like this where he's in his element.
They're worth finding (Oddly, they're not on HIS YouTube channel).
Posted by: Mauser at Fri Sep 6 03:42:00 2013 (TJ7ih)
2
I think Pancake Girl needs to cut down on the caffeine a bit.
Posted by: Siergen at Fri Sep 6 21:57:01 2013 (Ao4Kw)
3
Not necessarily.
It could just be a sugar rush.
That pile of pancakes was bigger than her head. That's a LOT of syrup, so ingested the equivalent of a whole BOX of Apple Jacks.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Fri Sep 6 22:54:22 2013 (F7DdT)
What's Wrong With This Forecast?
So..In the mad dash between work and class I encountered a report on the Weather Channel.
It seems that Tropical Storm Gabrielle is bringing horrendous flooding to Hispaniola and particularly Puerto Rico...but is unlikely to affect the United States in any way.
RFS Moskva
Apropos of nothing...nothing at all, I feel the sudden urge to leave this here.
RFS Moskva is the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. This class was intended as a mass produced compliment to the much larger and more expensive Kirov class ships. In the end the production run was cut short due to the fall of the U.S.S.R.
Moskva is one of only three ships of her type in Russian service. Next to RFS Peter the Great, these 3 ships are the most powerful surface combatants in the Russian navy, sporting 16 supersonic antiship cruise missiles with thousand pound warheads. This means that this very visible, expensive and powerful unit is a politically significant asset. Sending her to command the Eastern Mediterranean squadron in Tartus is not done lightly and is a signal of considerable national resolve.
Russia has two interests in Syria. The naval base in Tartus is one of their last overseas bases and is exceedingly important to them strategically. Furthermore the Al-Qaeda affiliated rebels are closely allied with the extremists who have been killing Russian civilians throughout the Caucuses in great numbers. If Syria's nerve gas and other weapons fall into rebel hands those materials can be expected to be killing Russian citizens in short order.
So the Russians have some quite compelling reasons to be there.
So...a bunch of US and Russian Navy ships in close proxmity and at cross puropses, with the Americas firing missiles over the Russians; Former Senator Fred Thompson has thoughts on that scenario....
UPDATE: Pete Zatciev points out in the comments that Russia has abandoned the Tartus Base. In my defense the Wikipedia page says the Russians are denying this....(and they may well be) but it does look like the base was largely abandoned back in June and the Russian Federation navy is just patrolling outside it.
1
So, what do you think about the concept of a "missile cruiser"? Seems like nowhere near as capable or versatile as a carrier. Is it even good for anything?
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Wed Sep 4 13:35:21 2013 (RqRa5)
2
If you're talking about this particular ship, she is a bit old and doesnt have the ABM and AAA capabilities of our destroyers. However, it is in some ways more powerful. The 16 humongous SSMs are designed to take a carrier out. The 130mm gun is one of the most powerful naval rifles in service today with good shore bombardment and even anti missile capability. The ship has a respectable antiaircraft capability. A carrier is more versatile to be sure and has vastly more firepower, but this is still a a potentially useful ship and it can be risked where the Russian carrier can't.
I understand Moskva has been fitted with extensive flagship facilities. A flagship may not seem important in an age of satellite communications
but they have proved their utility to the USN which is why we still have
a few old slow amphibious command ships as flagships.
Finally, because this is a big prestige unit, sending her to Syria sends powerful political signals.
If your asking about big non carrier ships in general, then I think there is a place for them, something needs to escort the carriers and a bigger ship can carry more missiles. Since the 1970s the USN has periodically tried to get big surface combatants to carry big radars and lots of missiles. Ships can be detached from a carrier task force for independent duty and a surface action group can carry surface to surface missiles into areas a carrier might not be available for. Nowadays there is also ABM patrol, with a ship on station to defend against ballistic missiles.
So yeah I think the idea of a cruiser or at least a large surface combatant is still viable. A navy needs several types complementing each other.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Wed Sep 4 15:29:44 2013 (F7DdT)
Yes, carriers are very capable. They're also extremely expensive. USS George HW Bush (CVN-77) cost $6.2 billion just to build, not counting the cost of her air wing (which is probably at least another billion).
You'd think we could build missile cruisers for less than that, but the planned "Zumwalt" class is supposed to come in at $7 billion each. Amazing, isn't it? These days it seems like the Navy has joined the Air Force in building everything out of platinum.
Part of the problem is class inflation. The Ticonderogas were (IIRC) the last ship class that the US Navy called "Cruisers" and they came in at 9800 tons.
The last group of Arleigh Burke "destroyers" were 10,800 tons. A modern American "frigate" comes in at a size which, in WWII, would be considered a "light cruiser". (The Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates are 4200 tons.)
I don't think the US Navy has anything any more which would meet the WWII definition of a "destroyer", let alone the smaller "destroyer escort". Pretty much, the only armed ships the US owns like that belong to the Coasties.
6
Part of the reason, I think, is the AEGIS system. The amount of equipment required, and in particular the size of the antennas, imposes a minimum size on the ship. And an escort ship for a carrier that doesn't have AEGIS (or something like it) is pretty useless. What I don't understand is why those ships get called "destroyers" instead of "cruisers".
7
Man, that thing's a Navy Cross just waitin' to happen.
Scary thought: a WWII Destroyer outguns any ship in the current US fleet.
Posted by: Wonderduck at Wed Sep 4 22:01:15 2013 (ifb6Y)
8
It's a nice thought, but it isn't true. A WWII destroyer usually had 8-12 guns depending on model, but they only fired once every 10-15 seconds. A modern 3-inch gun mount can fire 80 rounds a minute.
9
I was thinking that a ship like that is going to be vulnerable to guided torpedoes, while her offensive weaponry is going to have trouble penetrating ABM defences. BTW, AFAIK Moskva isn't going to visit Tartus, which was wholly abandoned recently (in a surprise move Russians relocated all the base personnel to Cyprus, where they berth and service the so-called "BDK" ships, which shuttle to supply Assad). So Tartus now is a former base, like Kamran. And I don't see anyone expecting Russia go to war with Laos or Cambodia over Kamran.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Thu Sep 5 12:39:30 2013 (RqRa5)
10
The P-1000 is a supersonic low altitude missile so it gives a very brief window in which to intercept it. Given that it's supposed to be fired in salvos its quite possible one or more might get through. Wikepedia says Russian tactics involve firing about 8 per carrier targeted.
I had not heard anything about Tartus being abandoned. I hadn't heard that and keep hearing about it...but you're right.
Thanks for pointing that out Pete. I shall dine upon the flesh of the Crow bird this evening.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Thu Sep 5 13:19:07 2013 (F7DdT)
11
Make no mistake, they still support Assad, and not just in UN. Someone high up merely decided not to receive Tomahawks while at the base, and thought it were much less likely for U.S. to bomb Cyprus. They roll one BDK at a time into a Syrian port, roll containers and pallets off it quickly, bolt back out to sea.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Thu Sep 5 13:42:52 2013 (RqRa5)
12
Oh I agree. They wouldn't be patrolling off the Syrian coast or sending the Black Sea flagship if they didn't.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Thu Sep 5 17:11:14 2013 (F7DdT)
13
Steven sez: "A WWII destroyer usually had 8-12 guns depending on model, but they only
fired once every 10-15 seconds. A modern 3-inch gun mount can fire 80
rounds a minute."
The 5"/38 on the US Navy's Sumner-class DDs could fire at 15 rounds/minute. There were six of them per ship. And, by the way, they were larger rounds to boot.
I'll stand by my claim, thanks.
Posted by: Wonderduck at Thu Sep 5 22:43:07 2013 (ifb6Y)
1
At this point, he's gotten away with everything, pretty much. He's probably seeing just how far he can go. I'm not sure what it would take to get the press to report on something negative about him. The Onion was prescient when they wrote that story about the media trying to figure out how to report on him brutally murdering two people.
Posted by: RickC at Wed Sep 4 18:57:57 2013 (swpgw)
2
The radio this morning had audio of Obama doing the verbal equivalent of that hang-dog drawing in the dirt with the toe of your shoe thing that urchins used to pull while trying to weasel their way out of an obligation or chore or what have you. Basically conceding that he wasn't expecting to win congressional approval for his meaningless burst of clarifying ultraviolence. Since the rest of the coverage emphasized the uncertainty of the vote, I can only conclude that he *wants* to be told "no".
Posted by: Mitch H. at Fri Sep 6 12:11:32 2013 (jwKxK)
Here's the thing.
I had like 14 tabs open and was looking for info on cycler times between Earth and the main belt so I have NO idea what site this pop-up spam scam was lurking on...but I gather that they're preying on space geeks.
1
Reading Buzz Aldrin's original PhD thesis on cyclers was on my bucket list for a long time. To think that Buzz was not just the 2nd on the Moon, but also a real scientist... I mean all astronauts and cosmonauts presented PhDs, but Buzz's was a real deal that may one day save the humanity, not just a rubberstamp PhD. Ironically, it competes, in a way, against a fellow astronaut Lopez-Alegria's PhD thesis that aims to alleviate the need for cycler by using exceedingly tricky plasma phisics. My Russian colleagues are evenly split on the feasibility of VASIMR, in particular if the magnetic field is going to be straightened or not and if electrons are going to separate. Unfortunately, my highly prestigious phisics diploma does not help much after decades of disuse, but it does look like Buzz may just win in the end. His physics definitely works, while Lopez-Alegria's maybe, maybe not.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Sun Sep 1 14:19:35 2013 (RqRa5)
2
Wasn't there a malicious site that actually WOULD hold your computer hostage with some downloaded malware?
BTW, RWBY is up to episode 7.
Posted by: Mauser at Sun Sep 1 21:40:51 2013 (TJ7ih)
Hobby Space News of the commercial space industry A Babe In The Universe Rather Eclectic Cosmology Encyclopedia Astronautica Superb spacecraft resource The Unwanted Blog Scott Lowther blogs about forgotten aerospace projects and sells amazingly informative articles on the same. Also, there are cats. Transterrestrial Musings Commentary on Infinity...and beyond! Colony WorldsSpace colonization news! The Alternate Energy Blog It's a blog about alternate energy (DUH!) Next Big Future Brian Wang: Tracking our progress to the FUTURE. Nuclear Green Charles Barton, who seems to be either a cool curmudgeon, or a rational hippy, talks about energy policy and the terrible environmental consequences of not going nuclear Energy From Thorium Focuses on the merits of thorium cycle nuclear reactors WizBang Current events commentary...with a wiz and a bang The Gates of Vienna Tenaciously studying a very old war The Anchoress insightful blogging, presumably from the catacombs Murdoc Online"Howling Mad Murdoc" has a millblog...golly! EaglespeakMaritime security matters Commander Salamander Fullbore blackshoe blogging! Belmont Club Richard Fernandez blogs on current events BaldilocksUnderstated and interesting blog on current events The Dissident Frogman French bi-lingual current events blog The "Moderate" VoiceI don't think that word means what they think it does....but this lefty blog is a worthy read nonetheless. Meryl Yourish News, Jews and Meryls' Views Classical Values Eric Scheie blogs about the culture war and its incompatibility with our republic. Jerry Pournell: Chaos ManorOne of Science fictions greats blogs on futurism, current events, technology and wisdom A Distant Soil The website of Colleen Dorans' superb fantasy comic, includes a blog focused on the comic industry, creator issues and human rights. John C. Wright The Sci-Fi/ Fantasy writer muses on a wide range of topics. Now Read This! The founder of the UK Comics Creators Guild blogs on comics past and present. The Rambling Rebuilder Charity, relief work, roleplaying games Rats NestThe Art and rantings of Vince Riley Gorilla Daze Allan Harvey, UK based cartoonist and comics historian has a comicophillic blog! Pulpjunkie Tim Driscoll reviews old movies, silents and talkies, classics and clunkers. Suburban Banshee Just like a suburban Leprechaun....but taller, more dangerous and a certified genius. Satharn's Musings Through TimeThe Crazy Catlady of The Barony of Tir Ysgithr アニ・ノート(Ani-Nouto) Thoughtful, curmudgeonly, otakuism that pulls no punches and suffers no fools. Chizumatic Stephen Den Beste analyzes anime...with a microscope, a slide rule and a tricorder. Wonderduck Anime, Formula One Racing, Sad Girls in Snow...Duck Triumphalism Beta Waffle What will likely be the most thoroughly tested waffle evah! Zoopraxiscope Too In this thrilling sequel to Zoopraxiscope, Don, Middle American Man of Mystery, keeps tabs on anime, orchids, and absurdities. Mahou Meido MeganekkoUbu blogs on Anime, computer games and other non-vital interests Twentysided More geekery than you can shake a stick at Shoplifting in the Marketplace of Ideas Sounds like Plaigarism...but isn't Ambient IronyAll Meenuvians Praise the lathe of the maker! Hail Pixy!!
