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Saturday, March 29, 2003
In other news, it's supposedly going to snow here, and it's definitely going to freeze. I knew this would happen. We just put in grapevines, strawberry plants, and some kind of flower, and now it's going to freeze, and the snow is even supposed to stick. As if we can just afford to throw money away on plants. I'm going to write my Congressman.
.: posted by andy 3/29/2003
I wasn't going to post this article until I read that, "Human sacrifice is illegal in India." They have such progressive laws there.
.: posted by andy 3/29/2003
"I really do believe we'll be greeted as liberators," said Vice President Cheney. His views were apparently based on interviews with Iraqi exiles, because exiles have proven so reliable, well-informed, and unbiased in the past. His views were also based on the myth of the popular uprising, just like the Bay of Pigs and the Tet Offensive. Oh yeah, and also the last Gulf War, wherein the "Popular Uprising" consisted of Iraqi minority groups like the Shiites and the Kurds.
If I were an Iraqi general faced with American military might, I'd have officers on every level "negotiating" with the Americans for a mass surrender. That would be one of the cornerstones of my disinformation initiative. Deception is one of the only weapons the Iraqis can really rely on. I posted this article a long time ago, but it's worth re-reading.
.: posted by andy 3/29/2003
Friday, March 28, 2003
No signs of intelligent life on earth here
.: posted by George 3/28/2003
Thursday, March 27, 2003
This sounds like Usual Suspects. I want to see it.
.: posted by Grand Inquisitor Fnord Moco 3/27/2003
Keep any eye out for the "Patriot II" legislation. It's bad stuff.
.: posted by andy 3/27/2003
Funny story--the United States isn't allowing the Red Cross to visit its Iraqi prisoners of war. A secret detention camp is under construction in Iraq, near the Kuwaiti border.
I guess the Red Cross representative makes it sound like they'll be allowed to visit the Iraqi POWs soon, though. I dunno. I've seen many images in the news of Iraqi prisoners laying on the ground with their hands flex-tied, including one in which they were apparently sleeping on the ground in the middle of the sand storms, with their hands flex-tied. If we're counting on the Iraqis to surrender instead of fighting, shouldn't we make surrender look appealing?
And also, something about a double standard....?
.: posted by andy 3/27/2003
I also saw Knockaround Guys a few days ago. Definitely worth renting.
On Tuesday my boss said that I'm like the French, always arguing. I think he likes being american.
.: posted by Jeremy 3/27/2003
Wednesday, March 26, 2003
I just watched Mulholland Drive. David Lynch and I have finally found some common ground.
.: posted by Jeremy 3/26/2003
I have some problems with the practicality of this whole idea.
1) there are over 1200 different types of salmonella, each with a different antigen, which is what an antibody reacts with. The cocktail would need 1200 antibodies to work effectively.
2) E. coli is a normal resident of the intestines. Removing it completely causes serious digestive problems. The pathogen E coli 0157:H7 is the usual culprit in foodborne illnesses, and there are variations on that. Remove that one, another form takes its place.
3) worst of all, an antibody is a protein, and one of the functions of the stomach is to digest proteins. So the cocktail is automatically inactivated. The only way I can see to get around this is to introduce food rectally (high colonic meals). The food would have to be processed quickly, because a high colonic is an enema. All meals would have to be consumed while sitting on a commode, making between-meals snacks inconvenient
.: posted by George 3/26/2003
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
CNN.com has finally stopped using their WWII style giant headline on their front page. I have to admit that it was pretty novel for the first few days. Call me a sucker, I don't care.
.: posted by Jeremy 3/25/2003
Let me educate you about the wonders of the turbocharged engine, Mr. 280Z.
Turbochargers have a turbine in the exhaust that gets spun-up by an increase in exhaust pressure. The turbine is connected by a shaft to a compressor that blows air into the intake side of the engine. This pressurized charge of air allows extra fuel to be burned inside the combustion chamber, giving gobs and gobs of extra power. This pressurized intake also greatly increases the chance of ping/detonation/knock, something that can, in short order, destroy an engine. The "octane" rating of gas is a representation of the likelihood of detonation. The higher the octane rating, the less likely the fuel will detonate under pressure(like a deisel engine, which is BAD in a non-deisel engine). So, in order to prevent detonation, you use 93 octane. The manual for my car says I have to use 91 octane, but in texas our gas is available in 87, 89 and 93 octane levels, so it's premium or nothing. So the major downfalls of a turbocharged engine are that a small engine will consume much more fuel to produce that power, and the fuel must be high octane.
I get ~19mpg in the city. My dad's truck gets a little less than that. He claims about 17mpg in the city.
2002 WRX:
1.85($/gal of premium) / 19(mi/gal) = 9.74 cents/mi
1991 Chevy Truck:
1.65($/gal of regular) / 17(mi/gal) = 9.71 cents/mi
Even if it's just 15mpg instead of 17mpg, then I'll be paying 11cent/gal. So if I half the number of miles I put on my car, extending the bumper to bumper warranty by a year and drivetrain warranty by an extra year on top of that(potentially saving me unknown hundreds of dollars), for 15mpg I'll be paying an extra 117/year on gas. 40*12 = $480 yearly savings on insurance. I don't really see a downside here...
.: posted by Jeremy 3/25/2003
So, instead of paying $40 a month for insurance, you can pay an extra $80 for fuel.
.: posted by Grand Inquisitor Fnord Moco 3/25/2003
My dad got a new truck. His old truck is a 91 chevy extended cab, short bed. It needs a little engine work, but is in overall good shape. I've put 18,600 miles on my WRX in the year I've had it. My dad is going to give me his truck. This makes me happy, coz the fact that I put 18,600 miles on my WRX in a year did not make me happy. I just called progressive and found out that by adding the truck to my policy, I get a discount. I add a vehicle to my policy, my policy's cost goes down by about 40 bucks per month. I don't know what kind of sense that makes, but I'm happy.
.: posted by Jeremy 3/25/2003
The objective and fact-based Al Jazeera now has a limited english language web site that is currently completely dedicated to the Iraq war. Oh boy.
From what I'm seeing now, it's lookin' like they maybe shoulda waited a week or four to start the war. What with 40 supply ships sittin' in the Med at the beginning of this mess with their fingers crossed that the Ottomans might change their minds. So now all we have to protect our supply lines with is a blindingly powerful array of attack helicopters and jets. I like the A-10. If I ruled the world, I'd set up wars just so I could fly around and tear stuff up with the cannon sticking out of the front of an A-10.
I've got an urge for barbeque. Why can't they build a Rudy's in Houston??
.: posted by Jeremy 3/25/2003
Sunday, March 23, 2003
The al Jazeera video of the American prisoners. These are some very scared-looking individuals. I hope they'll come out of this alright. A day or two ago, Saddam promised that all prisoners would be treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention, but I guess we'll see how that goes.
mirror
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.: posted by andy 3/23/2003
I just got my first piece of junk mail attempting to exploit the war. "Support the troops by buying this T-shirt!"
.: posted by andy 3/23/2003
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