Things that should get more attention

A silicon valley startup is trying to scale up bio-engineered bacteria that turn bio-waste (grass clippings, food waste, etc.) directly into oil.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4133668.ece

This is interesting because if it works and is scaleable the numbers actually work for getting us off foreign oil; unlike ethanol which just doesn't measure up.

2nd Ammemdment Lives!

Just a headline so far, but the Supreme Court has (narrowly) upheld the US Constitution and struck down Washington D.C.'s illegal handgun ban.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,372041,00.html

Still waiting on details - I'm hoping for a sweeping condemnation of firearm restrictions, but I doubt we'll get quite that lucky. Just having the ban struck down is a big step in the right direction, and I'm extremely happy right now.

The United States Constitution is still alive and kicking.

Edit: Text of the decision. Nicely written, and actually quite amusing. http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/07-290.pdf

Food Poisoning

So something I ate Friday... well, it didn't just disagree with me. It declared a crusade against my GI tract and was apparently conducting WMD research. Two hours after the initial offensive I realized it wasn't going to be over any time soon and dehydration was a serious risk, so I called for fire support.

In a very closely related note, I rode in the back of an ambulance as a patient for the first time.

It really gives one perspective; OK, the crew was a BLS crew, but I couldn't help mentally going "OK, you're going to ask me this, think this, decide this..." I wasn't terribly impressed by the medics.

The ER ran two liters of IV fluid into me (saline for both, I'm pretty sure - I was fairly out of it), and hit me with phenergan (antiemetic) and something else I didn't catch. When I was able to walk under my own power they turned me loose with a scrip for phenergan and advised me to go easy on my stomach for a few days.

Well, I'm still faintly nauseous, but it is getting better. Eating, however, it still something of a delicate process.

More and more I'm wishing someone would sell OTC IV fluid and nutrient sets for civilian use.

There is also evil and/or stupid life in DC

Big Brother is still watching you, and you can't sue him for it.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,369492,00.html

While I have more respect for President Bush than a lot of people in this country (and the media in particular) seem to, I'm no fan of a lot of his policies, and particularly his (IMO) blatantly Unconstitutional violations of individual and state rights.

Is terrorism a threat to the US? Yes, I believe it is.

Does electronic surveilance help prevent terrorist attacks? Yes, I believe it does.

Would allowing citizens to carry sidearms with low-velocity ammunition at will on domestic transportation virtually eliminate any possibility of highjackings? Yes, I believe it would.

Am I going to have a better chance of taking over a plane with a 20oz bottle of water than a 2oz bottle of water? No, not so much.

Does the US government have the authority to search or seize individual property (including email) without a court order? HELL NO! Fourth Ammendment, people: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. " You can't search my Gmail inbox without a court order to search that particular inbox any more than you can search my physical mailbox without a court order for same.

Note that I have no objection to the NSA reading the email of people in Saudi Arabia, or Mexico, or Micronesia if they feel like it. The US Constitution only applies to the US and its citizens, not anyone else's. For that matter, I have no legal objection to MI-5 or the Mossad hacking into my email. I'd rather they didn't, but they are not obliged to protect my Constitutional rights. MY government, MY Constitution, MY rights. What is so freaking hard about this, for Zarth's sake?!

OK, it can be hard to tell who's inbox it is. Fine, I get that. So if Congress wants to pass a law that says the NSA can eavesdrop on any server outside US territory until a citizen identifies the contents as their property, that's fine. If they pass a law that the NSA can eavesdrop on conversations known to be between non-US persons in US territory, well, I personally don't approve, but I'd accept it as legal.

OK, the Constitution didn't anticipate telecommunications. Right, got that too. Item the first: Ammendments. We've done 27 of them so far. If you really need to do something, make it Consitutional, and do it. I may not like it, but it would be legal. Item the second: The 10th of those 27: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." A.K.A. "Yeah, really, the Federal Government can ONLY do the things we say it can do here. We mean it. Sure, we just clarified a few things they CAN'T do, but that means the states can't do them either. Things that we don't allow the Feds to do, nor prohobit the states from doing, are still things the Feds are prohibited from doing. IMO, this is THE key to the US Constitution.

I'll close with one of the best summations of legal authority I've ever heard (props to The West Wing, Ms. Donna Moss): "In a free country you don't need a reason to make something legal. You need a reason to make it illegal."

There may still be intelligent life in Washington DC

At least, I assume that's where the GAO is headquartered.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/government/boeing-wins-tanker-contract-protest/

We're still a long way away from actually putting the contract award where it belongs, but the GAO ruling is a big step in the right direction. Now if the Air Scouts at the Pentagon will just listen to the various wing and squadron commanders...

I found it amusing that the article said Boeing's stock was "soaring" when the ticker in the article showed it as being up less than $0.50/share. :-)

Odd Things

When your body does odd things, things its never done before, what do you do?

Say you get pains in odd places, or something. Do you go to a doctor? Look it up on the web? Talk to a friend?

What's enough to make you go to the doctor? Are you ever right when you self-diagnose? If you did look it up on the 'net before going in, do you tell your doctor what you think you have?

Partially from being an engineer, and partially from my time in EMS, I tend to place less than perfect trust in doctors. There's just so much variability in human reactions and experiences, such a breadth of possible causes for the same problems, and such a limited set of tools that actually FIX medical problems (as opposed to treating the symptoms or trying to boost the body's own responses), that I often have a hard time convincing myself that going to a doctor will really help.

Oddly, I take the reverse approach when counseling others, especially long-distance. "You should go to your doctor and get it checked." How many times have I said that?

Do I think that my own exam and diagnosis is equal or superior to that of doctors, do I place a lower value on my life and health than that of others, or is it the conditioned reflex from years of EMS to avoid liability? Frankly, I'm not sure.

Weekend Review

I didn't make it to Boar's Hunt, not even for the rapier scenario I wrote.

I didn't go shooting.

I didn't finish taming ("mowing" doesn't give the right image) the lawn.

I did get sunburned.

I did drink alone.

I did cut, rake up, and bag about 2 cubic feet of grass (packed).

I did get a dozen minor cuts and scrapes.

Well, I lived through it. I guess sometimes that's all you can do.

Charlie on the MTA

I used to live in Boston, and you can't live in Boston without riding the MBTA (subways, light rail, and buses) at some point. Growing up I had many of the lines memorized, and dropped tokens and changed lines with perfect confidence.

I also had one other thing memorized: a song called "Charlie on the MTA", about a guy who gets trapped on a subway when he can't pay a new "exit fee."

In an odd burst of bureaucratic humor, the MBTA recently went from their metal tokens to plastic cards you can swipe and refill. They are called: Charlie Cards. :-)

While I was at CMU, I filked Charlie in the MTA, inspired by the "Underground Tour" of steam tunnels and such done annually by the KGB. Scansion is more or less hit-and-miss (I wrote it at the last minute for a talent show), but I think it is worth preserving.

Now let me tell you the story,
Of a CMU tour group
Said "We'll take a tour today!"
They put maps into their pockets
Went to Warner Hall
And they never were seen again!

Chorus:
Now did they ever return?
No, they never returned,
And their fate is still unlearned!
They may walk forever,
'Neath the paths of campus
They're the group that never returned!

Now the tour guide came over
And said "Follow me"
And they went to Doherty
They went into a sub-basement
Through a strange old door
And they never were seen again!

Chorus
So did they ever return...

For the tourguide was a freshman
And all he knew had come from the KGB
He knew the entrance to the tunnels
And the exits too
But not what's in between!

Chorus
And did they ever return...

Now ye students of Carnegie
As you walk cross campus
Over paths, or underground
If you find the missing tour group
Be their guide!
And get the tour group back to Warner Hall!

Chorus
For did they ever return?...

I Fought the Lawn

And this time, the lawn won.

The back lawn at my house was put in a while back, and up until now I'd been making sure the roots had time to set in, and thus not mowing it.

Boy, was that a mistake.

The grass is taller than the wheels on my lawnmower, and as such is extremely difficult to cut. I managed to make some progress, but I doubt that I got more than 10% of the back lawn cut down to size. I'm planning on going to a hardware store this evening to get a trimmer and try hacking down the grass a bit at a time.

Lesson learned: don't let the lawn go very long without mowing.

Shaun of the Dead

This movie came highly recommended by several people, so I gave it a try.

Warning: spoilers.

The first three-quarters of the movie a comedy with some mild horror elements. It probably earns its R rating in this section, but as much for "strong language" as blood and gore. I found this portion well scripted, acted, and generally a very clever parody of zombie movies in general. I was especially fond of the various improvised weapons, and meeting up with the mirror-image survivor team.

At about the point where we find out the mother has been bitten, however, the movie suddenly shifts gears from a comedy movie with mild horror elements to a horror movie with mild comedy elements. It was rather jarring, and I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out why they'd done it that way. About the time I got reconciled to it the army showed up with gratuitous automatic weapons fire, and it looked for a moment as if we were going to transition back to comedy. Then mirror-team leader comes in with the "I'm glad... someone... survived." To me this strongly implies that most of her team did not, further elevating the body count and twisting us back to horror. Then we get the aftermath, which looked like it was trying to be comedy again, but there were just too many false notes for me.

If I were seeking a comparison for Shaun, I'd compare it to The Mummy (1999 version with Brendan Fraser). That's a comedy with some moderate horror elements, parodying the monster movie genre. It, too, switches from comedy to horror, but it does so with enough regularity that you get adjusted to the changes easily.

Overall Shaun goes on my list of movies that was worth seeing once, but probably not twice.

Mythical Beasts

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,365629,00.html

A "Unicorn" (a deer with a single antler in the center of its head) has been found in Italy.

I want a Phoenix next!

In all seriousness, this must have happened before at some point in history.

What other mythical beast could have been a mutation of a real animal? I have a hard time thinking of any.

"Its either a unicorn or a horse with a gruesome head wound. I'm choosing to be optimistic."

Sometimes there IS Justice

I had a sheriff's deputy behind me for about half of my drive home yesterday. He finally pulled up alongside me at a light. The light turns green, and someone coming the other way dashes in front of the cop and I making an illegal left turn. The deputy hits hit lights and siren and turns after the guy, pulling him over.

Sometimes, there is justice in the world.

Death by Dieroll

I'm not going to do a fancy write up, but I did want to note that last night we had a death in the party. A PC, not a player, I should point out.

Keiros failed his Use Rope to attach himself to the safety line, failed his Balance check on the rope bridge, and failed his Reflex save to grab the rope. He thus fell into a 200 foot deep chasm and was never seen by the party again.

Technically and theoretically he could have survived the fall, and followed the river to its exit - I calculate the odds as about 1 in a trillion. Yes, I did the math.

Shortly thereafter we rescued a dwarf barbarian who seems trustworthy to join us in our noble quest. I'm sure that was a coincidence.

The DM attempted to kill our mule, but failed. He did, however, steal the mule, and we're very unlikely to get it back. The mule is a sore point between the DM and myself. Round 1 to him, on points.

Farewell Keiros, and enjoy that great kegger in the sky. If you were smart you drank your booze on the way down.

Delays and Ends

I've been sick all week; actually took three days off from work!

Well, the enemy will not be running for president... at least not directly. I'm not going to feel completely safe until Obama names his running mate (assuming it isn't the enemy). Still, it is a step in the right direction.

I also note that two senior Air Scouts are out the door - all in all, its been a good week in that respect.

I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. I really want the thing to drop, even if it lands on my head.

PDQ Bach

Sunday I attended a concert. The first half was a group that a friend of mine sings in doing their normal sort of music; the second half they did PDQ Bach's "The Seasonings," with a certain special guest from the University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople. :-)

I've listened to many of PDQ Bach's works on tape, CD, or radio, and seen one televised performance, but I'd never seen one live before. As with just about everything in the performing arts IME, a live performance is much better than anything else.

The Seasonings is not my favorite PDQ piece (that would be the 1712 Overture), but it is an excellent one, and the group did a very good job with it. The Slide Whistles, Tromboone, and Shower Hose in D were played as well as they can be, and the Fugue was truly unique.

To curry favor, favor curry!

From somewhere near the Frontlines: June Fair

This was my first time attempting June Fair, and between the whole "new event" thing and the general exhaustion thing I decided to start by sticking my toe in. So I didn't camp, didn't fight rapier, didn't compete in any way in fact. I just shopped (got a second SCA shirt and a new belt pouch, earmarked to become a first aid kit), and enjoyed the atmosphere. I got some more practice carrying a sword around, enjoyed some bardic entertainment, and sampled new types of power bars.

The highlight was a play that I caught half of. Created and performed by SCAdians, it included a 50-100 word introductory speech by one character where he worked in the titles of at least 14 Shakespeare plays.

All in all, a good event, and one I plan to attend next year.