Today's "Did You Know?"

Did you know that...
If you hold your ear up against a strangers leg, you can hear



them saying "what the fuck are you doing?"

It's true.

History and Technology

That is a photo of the card catalog of the Library of Congress around 1918. Now, many of us carry all that information and more around in our pocket. Less than a century later.

Which is why I'm always skeptical when I hear someone projecting what the future will be like in more than a fairly short period. Especially economists.

If someone in 1918 said "in less than a century, we'll fit all this onto something the size of a small book" they'd most likely land in an asylum.

(Prompted by a conversation today with a person who was quite adamantly telling me about the future of technology. I'm not saying that he was wrong; just that I'm skeptical that his predictions will be the actual reality.)

(Also, I thought Sweaterman would like the pic.)

Latest Sign of the Apocalypse

OK, not really. But it is a break with one of those traditions that had been true throughout my life:

Hoping to boost sagging revenue, the U.S. Postal Service on Monday abandoned its longstanding rule that stamps cannot feature people who are still alive and is asking the public for suggestions.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_STAMPS_ALIVE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

It was a concrete rule that the only way to get on a postage stamp was to die. And it was a sacred truth that anybody on a U.S. stamp was dead.

And now that I think about it, a Lady Gaga postage stamp could really be a sign that civilization is doomed.

Dormant; Not Dead, But Changing

This old blog has been suffering from an abundance of inactivity lately, I know. There's a reasonably good reason for this, at least in my mind: I've been making major life changes. While I rarely post much 'personal blogging', I'll share this update.

For a variety of reasons, I've moved from my beloved Flagstaff, AZ, to Minnesota. It was a difficult decision, as I have many dear friends in Flag. Not to mention Minnesota winters, which I'm not really looking forward to. But after 17 years in Flag (city motto: poverty with a view), my life had become quite stagnant. Here in Minnesota I've got good job prospects and a good woman to share my life with. And I really needed to get out of the rut my life was in.

I have no idea whether this change will lead to more blogging or even less, but at least the politics will be better. Heck, in the senate alone I just traded John McCain and Jon Kyl for Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken. Which is a damn good trade when you think about it.

Obligatory 9/11 Post

There is no 'win' in a war against a verb.

Presidents and Chess

Read a very interesting article on which US Presidents played chess. I happen to enjoy a good game of chess, myself. I'm not saying that playing chess means that you are smarter-I know plenty of smart people who don't play-but it is a game where intelligence matters.

(sorry, I tried to post the table, but the formatting is royally screwed up. Just go to the link to see.)

http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=7474

Now, what first struck me is the party breakdown among those who have been President during my lifetime. Every Democratic since LBJ has been a chess player, while Dwight Eisenhower was the only Republican who played (and the last decent Republican President in my opinion) during my lifetime.

Doesn't prove anything, but it is an interesting (at least to me) division.

Hurricane Advice

With hurricane Irene bearing down on the east coast, blog friend Jack of What Would Jack Do has posted A few tips on hurricane preparation for the uninitiated, and it's a great read. My favorite tip:

4. Alcohol (and limes). I can’t stress this enough. No self-respecting human being should EVER have to face an approaching tropical storm of ANY strength without a sizable supply of alcohol and associated accoutrements.

Seriously though, this looks like a very real threat and I urge all my east coast readers to take all appropriate precautions.
Added: Here's FEMA's Hurricane preparedness page.

Could Be Worse

Haven't felt like posting anything about the stupid bullshit debt ceiling debate as the whole process has been disgusting and depressing. A crisis ginned up by thugs to force a choice between cutting federal spending during a recession (a very bad idea) or defaulting and blowing up the whole global economy (a really, really, really very bad idea) ain't much of a choice.

So now we've got a "compromise" that's only 'very bad' as opposed to a total disaster. The rethugs get to expand their policy of "death to the poor", the dims continue to be weak and useless, and the recession will grind on even longer. No new jobs for anyone, even though that is what the economy actually needs.

The only good thing in the whole process was Rep. Gabrielle Giffords makes first return to House since Jan. 8th shooting to cast vote in favor of debt deal. Everything else was dismal.

Added: Passed the senate 74-26. Now we get another "bi-partisan commission", and we all know that those always work wonders.

Pics that made me happy

My beloved San Francisco Giants being honored at the White House.

I wonder if 'The Beard' could help with the debt ceiling negotiations?

Congrats, New York

Gay people are getting married in New York, and that's a great thing. My view on gay marriage is really quite simple: 'equal rights' means equal rights for all.

I'm reminded of Branch Rickey's statement on the integration of baseball, "I truly believe that future generations will look back and wonder what all the fuss was about."

Current Budget Priorities

(click for big)
The above graphic comparing the cost of going to The moon vs. Afghanistan(the moon landing was cheaper, even after adjusting for inflation) got me thinking about how much America's priorities have changed in my lifetime. While the comparison between the space program and our current wars is more "apples to hubcaps" than "apples to oranges", it still is a clear example of changes in government expenditures. The end of America's manned space program and the shuttle program is a fact; the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are future hypotheticals at best.
As congress and the administration engage in kabuki theater around the budget and deficit, parsing away on how much they should kill the 'American dream' by (one side wants it completely extinct, while the other side would leave a small sliver on life support), I despair at the choices being made. We've gone from "anything is possible" to "everything is impossible" in a few short decades. The future is most certainly not what it used to be.
Which is why I rarely feel like blogging anymore...
Added: here's a good read: Social Security's Been Successful For Eighty Years. Reaganisn's Been A Failure For Thirty.

Charming Fellow

(Cloud over Flagstaff. Photo by George Breed)

My local Congressman, Paul Gosar, is a pretty typical wingnut repub. But he's usually just clueless and not particularly notable. However, one of his staffers has resigned after a series of violent tweets that sound very disturbing for anyone here locally:

A staffer in the Flagstaff office of Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) who used his Twitter account to trumpet the downfall of former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) resigned Friday after Roll Call discovered violent messages he tweeted.

Roll Call learned on Friday that Blake Schritter, a caseworker and office manager in one of Gosar’s district offices, had posted messages about drunken exploits and his desire to gun down professors and postal workers.

http://www.rollcall.com/news/rep_gosar_staffer_quits_after_violent_twitter_posts-207127-1.html?pos=htmbtxt

For example, he wants to shoot NAU professors:

"I can’t believe how unprofessional liberal professors can be. I’m sitting here, cleaning my gun, thinking...this is a classroom!!!” Schritter, a graduate student in Northern Arizona University’s criminology program who also graduated from the school's criminal justice program, posted on June 23.

And the local postal workers (many of whom are friends of mine):

On June 2 he tweeted: “The line at the post office is moving at a glacial pace. I’m ready to open fire with a handgun to get some damn service!”

Come election time, it might be a good idea to remember the kind of charming people Rep. Gosar chooses to employ to staff his local office.

Also, this being Arizona, this guy is free to carry his guns all around town, concealed if he so desires.

Truth

This one is for Fearguth at Bildungblog, who makes me jealous.

One Last Time

Atlantis had a successful liftoff this morning, the last space shuttle flight. The end of thirty years of service.

What makes this such a melancholy moment is that this is the effective death of America's manned space program. As someone who grew up with the glory of the race to the moon, space was always exciting. We believed that we could do anything; that science, technology, and invention were our future.

But America is now a dying empire, and this is our last big show of our prowess. We can't build anymore manned spacecraft programs. The simple fact that a thirty year old vehicle is the best we have (and are retiring) makes me sad. Thirty years without advancing any further, nor any plan to advance ahead.

Another dream from our childhood now dying, and it's all downhill from here.

How Exciting

For the most part, I've been ignoring the republican presidential primary contenders. A circus only made up of clowns has very little entertainment value. But now that Thaddeus McCotter is filing his presidential paperwork today and plans to formally announce tomorrow, I just might have to take interest. He's such an exciting candidate, after all. Right?

< /satire >

Beer History

File this under "jobs I wish I had":

The Beer Archaeologist

Really interesting for us beer fans.

The 40 Year War

On June 17th, 1971, Richard Nixon declared a "war" on drugs. It really should have been called a "war on some people who use some drugs", as pharmaceuticals have obviously been given a pass. Fourty years later we have the worlds highest rate of incarceration, drug gangs, and millions of lives ruined, but plenty of 'illegal' drugs available. Could we declare 'peace' now? Because this war will never be won.

Long time blog friend badtux the snarky penguin has a great piece, An anniversary on the topic. Well worth reading.

(Also, I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I just really haven't felt much like blogging about stuff recently.)

Hullabaloo

Spending the day at Flagstaff Hullabaloo (www.flagstaffhullabaloo.com), a "celebration of all things Flagstaff", which includes the reunion of iconic local band Onus B. Johnson. This should be fun.

Ancient History

File under "things that make me feel old": Today would be John F. Kennedy's 94th birthday, were he still alive. Because of that day in Dallas, I'll always remember him as a 'young' man, and wonder how our history might have been so different had he lived a long, full life.

Buster Broken

This is a very sad day for all of us Giants fans. Buster Posey suffered a broken ankle in a collision at the plate in last night's game. Posey was an essential key part in the Giants quest to repeat as world champions, not only because he's a great hitter but because of the way he handles the Giants pitchers. It's hard to see the Giants succeeding without him.

Damn!

Added: a link Posey likely out for season with ankle injury