August, 2013 archive
Cooch Has Nothing To Say 0
Normally, he just gases on and on.
It peaked with Cuccinelli sidestepping reporters’ questions about the state inquiry just moments after he unrolled his campaign’s educational platform during a lengthy event at a Richmond school.
A reporter barely had time to utter the title inspector general before the attorney general cut him off, a video by Richmond news station NBC 12 shows.
This election season is getting more and more interesting.
The Fee Hand of the Market 0
Cick for a larger image.
Random Acts of Connectivity 0
Oh, my.
A case of infantile Facebook.
Oh, wait.
That’s redundant.
Break Time 0
Off to drink liberally.
Rachel Disproves a Rumor 0
The rumor that there’s only one fruitcake . . . .
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Via The Daily Banter.
Script Kiddies 2
One of my favorite reads, the San Jose Mercury-News,* has recently redesigned their website to make it more streamlined, modern, and usable (at least, I expect that’s what the consultant told them).
One of their enhancements was a script that spikes my CPU like mad. NotScripts tells me that it is a native SJM script, not a third-party script. In this screengrab of Conky, you can see what happens when I close the Mercury-News tab.
There is no sign that the script is in any way malicious. Running top shows no unexpected processes or activity.
In another oddity, I have to enable scripts from denverpost.com in order for mercurynews.com to work properly, but denverpost.com does not spike my CPU.
As the director said, “Rewrite!”
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*I particularly enjoy the Roadshow column because the columnist is just a damned fine writer.
The Galt and the Lamers 0
Driftglass sums up the epistomological underpinnings of Ayn Rand’s “Objectivism”:
Sequestrian Dressage 0
The new Republican trickle down:
The dip marks the resumption of a downward trend in local traffic over the past several years as the airline industry has consolidated, reduced flights and raised prices. Passenger movement at the airport had increased in 2012 for the first time since 2007, rising about 3 percent.
Wayne Shank, the airport’s executive director, attributed the recent drop to fewer government-related flights because of the automatic federal spending cuts known as sequestration that began March 1.
Stray Question 0
Is humanity the culmination of evolution or just the means to its end?
“Don’t Tape Me, Bro” 2
Apple patents a new piece of iJunk, designed to further wall the garden.
(snip)
But they may not need to fear scrutiny much longer – Apple has patented a piece of technology which would allow government and police to block transmission of information, including video and photographs, whenever they like.
All the coppers have to do is decide that a public gathering or venue is deemed “sensitive”, and needs to be “protected from externalities” and Apple will switch off all its gear.
Apple, walling off the internet, one electron at a time.
Via Thoreau.
The Austerians 0
Like the venus flytrap, they lure their victim, then suck out its vital juices.
“The banking casino, it seems, trumps even the state constitution. The banks win and the workers lose once again.”
Some insurance: when you need it, they revoke the policy and raid your pantry. In this casino, the game is fixed.
More at the link, if you can stomach it.
A Regency Drama 0
Is it going to be a Regency courtroom drama?
“Apparently, the U.S. government has given Star Scientific a free pass for unspecified misdeeds in return for the testimony of Jonnie Williams,” Rich Galen, McDonnell’s recently-hired private spokesperson, wrote in a statement to The Virginian-Pilot on Saturday. “Governor Bob McDonnell has had an 37-year unblemished record of military and civilian government service. Jonnie Williams has been in trouble with government entities since the earliest days of his business career.”
Last week, The Richmonder wondered whether Jonnie Williams, he of the magickal nicotine pills, had rolled on The Regent.
Looks like he may have been onto something there.
It’s sort of like Wall Street: It’s only insider trading if you get caught.
Arresting Development 0
If you compare the persons you see at a gym with those you see at a bowling alley, this is no surprise (emphasis added):
Researchers found the employees of indoor tennis facilities, ice arenas and bowling alleys in and around Seattle were more likely to have to respond to someone in cardiac arrest, compared to those at health clubs and fitness centers.
For a couple of years, I bowled in a league. We weren’t very good, but we had fun. I still have my own ball and shoes.
Nothing I have ever seen at a bowling alley has ever led me to think of bowling as a form of exercise (or bowlers as athletes), alternative or otherwise.
Wo-Wo-Wo-Wo Those Wildwood Days 0
“I don’t think people should have inappropriate things hanging out, because there are children around,” said Freiberg, a 24-year-old dentistry student at Manor College in Jenkintown. “But in general, people should be able to do what they want.”
Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. has said the town passed the law in response to complaints from visitors and residents.
This is the same town where, the last time I visited it, the hottest items in the boardwalk shops seemed to be Big Johnson Tee Shirts.