It's not rocket science
Admittedly that stretches the analogy too far, but it makes for a good headline at least. Hey, you’re here reading this, right?
If you’ve not read Boyd Morrison’s work (and I highly recommend The Ark), he was the first Kindle author to hit the big time with a legacy publishing deal. Therefore he’s been a major influence and inspiration – not to mention he writes really fun books where engineers save the day. Continue reading “The Prodigal Son Returns”
Because you never know when you might be walking down the street and run into a FREAKING BEAR.
Also a good reason to not text while walking…
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the Justice Department has followed the EU’s lead and let the other shoe drop in the Apple / Big Publishing “agency pricing” scheme. There had been talk that some of them were trying to settle before things went this far, but it looks like DOJ is in the mood to set some examples.
Even if they win, ask Microsoft how fighting Capitol Hill worked out for them back in the 90’s. Forbes has a bit of a different take on this, but in my opinion they’re blinded by anti-administration bias. Understandable, since if the Big Six were selling semi-automatic weapons to Mexican drug cartels or organizing vigilante posses in Florida, this DOJ would probably give them a pass.
But I digress…
Yeah, I’m late posting but it’s been a long day. Long weekend, too. I just cooked my first Easter dinner all by my lonesome, as the wife was busy whittling down our tax bill. She was amazingly successful, so perhaps I should cook more often.
Spent the first part of the weekend at my brother-in-law’s, and watched some of Passion of the Christ before it was time to hit the road for home. Mel Gibson caught a lot of flak for that movie (wrongfully) and for his personal behavior later on (rightfully). In the meantime, an awful lot of churches got themselves worked up into a lather when it first came to theaters and were awfully quick to hitch themselves to the Mel bandwagon. A few drunken tirades later, and we all learned that what Hollywood giveth, TMZ taketh away.
An unfortunate object lesson in placing too much faith in one person. And of all people, we Christians should know better. There is only one who we can put our faith in who will not disappoint or leave us high and dry, and today we celebrate His resurrection.
Another thing that movie reminded me of: however unpleasant it was to watch, it’s an accurate portrayal of Jesus’ scourge and crucifixion. What was already an unpleasant way to die was made it all the worse for Him. Our kids saw it for the first time, and it made them think.
Not much more to say but that. If you believe, wonderful. If you don’t, please consider that which God did for you that we honor today.
The Atlantic recently posted a couple of really nice photo essays on the space program. The piece on decommissioning the space shuttles isn’t too surprising; that’s a big and fairly recent deal. The Gemini story is more surprising, as it happened nearly 50 years ago and is generally only thought about by space geeks like me.
Gemini was the gateway drug that hooked me on the space program, maybe because they were the first missions I was conscious of. I remember being fascinated by the big silver rocket with the little two-man tin can on top. And spacemen were cool. How could I not be drawn to something that looked just like my favorite G.I. Joe? Continue reading “Once and Future Past”
A quick note for you text-addicts who don’t recognize aviation-speak: “ATB” means “air turn-back” and “AOG” is “airplane on ground”, otherwise known as “we broke it”.
So, a couple of the super-jumbo A380s had some problems recently. Yawn.
No one will ever mistake me for an Airbus apologist – if it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t going – but in all fairness to the Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys™, these incidents are not the big deals they’re being made out to be. And both are contingencies that we prepare and train pilots for (the wing cracks are another story entirely). Continue reading “ATB! OMG! AOG! WTF? LOL…”
P.J. O’Rourke once wrote that “Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.” Keeping that in mind, ever notice how all of the really scary news remains out of sight until it just can’t be concealed anymore? Then it all pops up at once like crabgrass in your back yard…
Like the huge new Big Brother-ish NSA data collection center. If it’s transmitted, they’ll not only read it; they’ll store it for future reference. Combined with the CIA’s excitement about spying on people through their TV sets (I mean, really…did they just flat lift the idea from 1984?). It makes you wonder if anything is truly private anymore. Continue reading “Nothing to See Here, Move Along…”
A couple of good stories appeared today in anticipation of some major milestones expected in the commercial spaceflight business this year. This has perpetually been “two years away” for a long time, but it looks like big things are finally about to start happening.
Some thought-provoking…thoughts, on our current state of affairs from National Review. Think you’re a free citizen of a government that exists for the will of the people?
Think again, silly person. Come see the violence inherent in the system! Help, help! I’m being repressed!
UPDATE: Think I’m exaggerating? Here’s a story about a private dinner in Nevada that was broken up by party-crashers from the health department. Yes, it was a very big party. So what? It was a private “farm-to-fork” dinner…i.e., organic. Makes you wonder how many partygoers may be reconsidering their ballot choices.
Hat tip: Samizdata.net
…when they pry it from my cold, dead hands!
Reason TV reports on last summer’s raid by jackbooted thugs Federal agents on the Gibson guitar factory, in which armed law enforcement shut down the plant, confiscated about a half-million bucks worth of product, and as of yet refuses to charge the company or return the property.
The best part? It’s for supposed violations of Indian law (as in the actual country, and not native Americans). Anyone who thinks this isn’t political is fooling themselves.
Wonder what Les Paul himself would think? Looks like we may already have the answer:
The Chiles Files 