April 30, 2016

Egzamz Awlmowst Ovur

Fortunately none were or are spelling exams.


I have to wonder how these gatekeepers of knowledge did on their geography exams.



I have to give a presentation Tuesday and that's it for the semester.

The rest were all over by Monday. I should mention that I got a 100 on my Japanese exam, which, given my considerable trepidation regarding it was a most welcome surprise. 

I'm only three classes from graduation, and to my unbridled joy have been given permission to take two of them during the summer as independent study courses. (They are normally at 8 AM, which means I would not ordinarily be able to take them due to work.)

I find that as tuition increases, I've been experiencing what has at times seemed like the half-life of college. As I  have gone from full-time to part time to half time the rate of decay of the Kafkaesque annoyance known as University slowed and it really seemed at times like it would never end. Now, though, I'm almost there. 

I've got a few weeks before summer school starts. I should, perhaps, take a weekend and go on a trip...


Or...not. 



more...

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April 28, 2016

One of These Words Seems Out of Place

Optically. Transparent. Wood.


But wait...there's more.

This actually isn't the first time we've seen wood turned into a transparent material, as nanofibrillated cellulose has been used to create items such as the substrate for wood-based computer chips. According to KTH, however, the new process should be particularly well-suited to large-scale applications and mass production.


...scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have started producing "wooden" semiconductor chips that could almost entirely biodegrade once left in a landfill. As an added bonus, the chips are also flexible, making them prime candidates for use in flexible electronics

"Also enforces obsolescence when they rot."

See? When words are used incorrectly, there is mischief affoot.

"PIXY!! My computer has termites!"

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Yackety Sax: Renders Even The Most Murderous Buffoons Hard Pressed To Be Intimidating

Via Ace's sidebar

It looks like ISIS soldiers have body cams and this was recovered by the Peshmerga after what appears to have been a battle between technicals. 


"Back-Blast! Back-Blast! Back-Blast!"

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Commas and Such

This is an important programing note to the subset of our moviegoing readers that are weeks behind on their new release viewing. 

At 04:09 this morning, we posted a Batman VS Superman review that, upon reflection, needed some further editing.

To wit.

...does a character study of Batman in the midst of an ethical dilemma that has driven him to distraction and an appreciation of Alfred, the butler...who is portrayed so very right.

...was probably meant to be...
 
...does a character study of Batman in the midst of an ethical dilemma that has driven him to distraction,  and  provides an appreciation of Alfred, the butler...who is portrayed so very right.

Note that while a single comma and the word "provides" were technically all that was required to salvage the post from the slash bin, I ultimately decided to do a slightly more comprehensive tweak of the paragraph. 

Apologies to those who were initially offended or who rushed off to see the film based on false pretenses. 

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All the World is A Lie




The Batman Versus Superman film has gotten execrable reviews, and, in any event, exams, term papers and various other adult responsibilities have precluded anything that took time or misallocated my already limited creativity reserves until this week. 

My friend BOB!1! claimed to have enjoyed the film, but he had really liked Wing Commander too and so is an unreliable gauge of such matters. Nevertheless, with some trepidation, I accompanied him when he went to see it again this week.

A southern gentleman is expected to comport himself with a degree of stoicism and gentility that makes adequate description of what I sat through difficult to express.

Fortunately, this blog employs some imaginary cartoon debutantes who are not so constrained. 
more...

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April 27, 2016

Monotonous Meta Monologue

Hello gentle readers.

We're trying to check out the blogs compatibility with Vivaldi, and double-checking a few things in our 5 other browsers. One annoying peculiarity is apparent right away

Additionally, some combination of keystrokes associated with the "BACK" key reverts the page to the previous page in the tab...thereby dumping the post.

Naturally, this is a break from format and therefore of limited appeal to our readers. Thus, sacred honor dictates that we post this picture...



Because few things over the last several weeks have been quite as refreshing as Blizzard's response to those who feel that the greatest problem in the world is Tracer's epic bodankey.

As to the upcoming game itself, I thin....



Ahem.

While I detect the foeted aroma of sarcasm in that outburst, in fairness, it should be noted that we do count amongst our loyal readers those who are not explicitly catered to by the first image.

To that end...

All nekoboys are 18 years of age or older. proof of age was on file in annex C of section 42 of the basement of the Ministry of Education Truancy Division Sector 8, Orion Arm Local Office Copies Division, Located orbiting Alpha Centauri B Planet 3 Moon 2 Quadrant 1, Sector 81, Spoo County, at the corner of 8th Street and Dogwood Avenue and was retained there until the nekoboys alluded to reached the age of majority at which point such records were burned pursuant  to the child welfare act. That is our story, and we are sticking to it.

However, this can digress to an alarming degree since our diverse audience boasts a number with...unconventional interests.




...which would just not be keeping with our format and so that is why we generally subcontract such matters to 4-Chan.

Let's try a quotation now

 
...might not be so bad, with all the lazy bums we got panhandling relief nowadays, and living on my income tax and yours—not so worse to have a real Strong Man, like Hitler or Mussolini—like Napoleon or Bismarck in the good old days—and have ‘em really run the country and make it efficient and prosperous again. ‘Nother words, have a doctor who won’t take any back-chat, but really boss the patient and make him get well whether he likes it or not!” 
― Michael R. Meyer, It Can't Happen Here





Ok...that covers most formatting tools and our ongoing nightmares..
Perhaps that's enough for now.

UPDATE: Does anyone note any oddness?

The banner images are working now. I suspect I have a broken banner in the rotation. I still cant figure out quite what selection of keys causes the page to jump back though. 


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April 25, 2016

In Telling Contrast to the Previous Post...

I will NEVER escape the pernicious shadow of that online quiz...



 I cannot be an example to any of you. However, I can be a dreadful warning. So take heed.

When you are using the school version of Microsoft Word for Mac, and it asks you, when you save your paper, if you wish to MERGE your changes into the original document, the correct answer is... 

"NO!!"

You see, if you say yes, it will, every time you fastidiously save your paper,  quietly disappear all of your paper except for what is on your screen and whatever you first saved....which in my case was the title. 


Anyway...

There was some anxiety around these parts recently. 

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Douglas Holmes Talton: November 19, 1924 - April 14 2016

Uncle Doug spent many his formative years in the crushing poverty that characterized Smithfield North Carolina during the depression era. in 1943 he enlisted in the Navy and received his baptism of fire as a landing craft coxwain at an obscure location known as Omaha Beach where, after the constructive total loss of his first command,  he had an unlikely meeting with his brother John before chaos intervened and he found himself running ammunition to the troops with the landing parties from the battleship Texas. He subsequently served in the Pacific and was one of the first Americans to land in Japan after the surrender. He later was present at tests Able and Baker, where he suffered radiation poisoning. In the following years he served in China during the tumultuous retreat of the Nationalists to Formosa, saw combat in Korea, and as a cryptographer, served in stations as diverse as Japan, England, Italy, and the South Pacific test range where he was present at several Pacific nuclear tests. 

   Retiring in 1964, he served as an analyst for NATO and later in the Merchant Marine. Later still, he captained numerous passenger vessels and private yachts. 
   He was in remarkable health despite his years, but a bit over a week ago he went into the hospital for a simple gall bladder removal and never woke up from the operation. He is survived by his wife, three daughters, five grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
   He definitely did his bit.
    
   The things he, his brothers, and many of his day saw and did were nothing short of epic. The loss of their experience is a tragedy beyond words and their shoes are unlikely to be soon filled. 

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April 24, 2016

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April 20, 2016

Umm...What?

Seriously. What?


This was announced on April first,which allowed us to blissfully ignore the warning, However, it keeps getting talked about by Rooster Teeth and reportedly has a release date of sometime in May. There is supposed to be a clip released on April 27th, so we'll know in a week if this is just a ponderous leg-pull...or perhaps something even more cruel. 





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April 19, 2016

Because, Of Course....

...once that story started making the rounds, this just needed to happen.


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April 18, 2016

Ubuville is Under Water

We've been dealing with some annoying occorances of late, including but not limited to illness, exams, term papers, a sinkhole, severed cable line, and a spider. However, these do not compare to 20 inches of rain in 24 hours.


In the sincere hopes that Ubu Roi drags his bedragled self inside unharmed we're going put out some Ubu bait. 



All courtesy of Ueyama Michirou's bait shop
more...

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April 17, 2016

Phantom World Ends

Myriad Colors Phantom World wrapped up with episode 13. Despite having to cram about half a dozen episodes worth of material into 23 minutes, this whirlwind episode manages to have quiet, even touching moments of introspection and character development interspersed with all sorts of delightfully escalating violence. The writers do resort to expediting the plot with a somewhat unlikely hacking montage...



"Somewhat!?"

...and don't quite clear up every single plot thread, but this episode is brilliantly paced and serves as a thoroughly satisfying climax. I never would have guessed that they were going pull this off so well. 

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April 14, 2016

Some Truly Good News

This is a couple of days old, but it is still awesome news.


The National Space Society takes great pleasure in announcing that its 2016 Robert A. Heinlein Memorial Award has been won by acclaimed science fiction author Dr. Jerry Pournelle. This prestigious award selected by an international vote of NSS members will be presented to Dr. Jerry Pournelle at the 2016 International Space Development Conference (ISDC). The public is welcome to attend the conference and see the award presentation at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel and Casino in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The ISDC will run from May 18-22, 2016.


Pournelle is one of the best of the hard SF writers and he has worked tirelessly since the late '60s to defend this nation and make us a space faring society. He worked on space policy for two presidents, and was instrumental in getting the DC-X off the ground. In addition to his visionary and entertaining novels and short stories, Dr. Pournelle has been a tireless advocate for making humanity a multi-planet species. 



This is truly well deserved and it is uplifting to see it has come to pass.

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Consolation Flowers

Gentle readers, I've been sick, busy, and generally distracted of late. In appreciation of your support, atonement for the disgraceful lack of posting here. and to commemorate spring we've decided to link to this rendition of a dandelion by Jin Happiobi.



Also, just to be safe, here is a sunflower by Sorahate.


  

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April 08, 2016

In Space, No One Can Hear The Primaries

Here is some news that doesn't involve the primaries. 

Space-X successfully launched an inflatable habitat module to the Space Station. Then they successfully landed the first stage on a robotic barge at sea.This means that they now have a reusable medium lift rocket.


Welcome to tomorrow.

Here is video of the entire launch sequence.


...And an assessment by our crack team of science babes:


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April 07, 2016

Somewhere In the Great Smokey Mountains, Lies the Valley of the Win


"We should really pay more attention to J.Greely's sidebar!"

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April 06, 2016

I Am Alive

Unlike SOME people, who are.....mechanical.



"And can presumably be put back together if they get...disassembled!"

Well, I've been in the hospital. It seems that I am not just allergic to Pseudoephedrine, I'm deathly allergic to ALL antihistamines, even those that are supposedly safe for people who can't take Pseudoephedrine.

When I entered the hospital both my blood-pressure numbers were three digits and one of them began with the letter two.


  I turned out to have a recurrence of the vile sinus/inner ear infection I had about six months ago, just with much more pain added to the dizziness and blurred vision. A ridiculous battery of tests resulted in the conclusion that I don't actually have hypertension except as a result of the aforementioned allergies. This whole event turned out to be fortuitous since I probably would not have been aware of the insane blood pressure issue had it not been for the symptoms of the infection scaring me to dearth and sending me to the ER.  Of course, given that this unlikely condition has recurred, I'll need to see an E.N.T in the near future.



Er...the other kind. 

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April 03, 2016

Well SOMEBODY is Fighting Back

Cover Shores reports that two ISIS patrol boats/blockade runners were just sunk last week by limpet mine attack. 




In other news: ISIS has a navy.

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April 02, 2016

A Reliable Substitute for Thoughtful Content

...is pandering to the audience, so here is a rendering of Hephaestus by Shima Shima.



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