The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Jimcat Kasprzak:

There's a Big Rock in Troy, NY. But it's not as impressive because it's partly buried in the ground instead of free-standing. Still, it's pretty impressive to see it standing there taking up the space of a couple of city blocks.

Jon H @34, or anyone who knows what he's talking about: what are "throwies"?

KeithS @18: that put a huge grin on my face. Maybe not quite what I was looking for but awesomely cool nonetheless.

Rob T @6: I missed your reference to LaMonte Young. That might be just what I was looking for in my post above.

Also, you mentioned for definitions of "human" that include fallibility. Truly, what definition of human doesn't?

George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" was famously inspired by the sounds of a train rolling down the tracks. I'm hoping for a modern composer to produce an equally stirring melody inspired by computer sounds.

Or has this already been done?

Zander @21:
I also remember that before the election I was terrified that with the power these people had (and still have in large measure, let's not forget that) they would upturn the entire country rather than allow Obama to take office.

I also remember that before the election of 2000, some far-right Republicans were saying that they feared that Bill Clinton would do exactly the same thing if Gore didn't win the election.

I think that it was a wingnut idea coming from the right, and it's a wingnut idea coming from the left.

This rings a bell with something I read just this morning in Slate's offshoot The Big Money, on The Media's Lost Generation. The article quoted a respected veteran journalist:

"When I went to school, it was about, 'Afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted,' " says Michael Caruso, a former editor at the Village Voice, Vanity Fair, Details, and many other magazines. "You wanted to keep the government honest. Today the goals are different. It's mostly about self-expression."

If the journalist's goal is to report the truth and point out the mistakes of the powerful, then they are going to believe that there is an objective, factual side to the story and won't stop until they have discovered it. But if they're in the business for "self-expression", then they're more likely to see their mission as looking at all the different points of view, and then reporting on the synthesis between those different views as they see it.

Of course the good journalist should look at all the diverse opinions on an issue. Said journalist should also be able to distinguish which of those opinions are garbage, and not afraid to say so in print. That's what the public needs to know.

There's a place for self-expression, and that's your personal website or Facebook page. The news media should be where the public goes for facts, not for intellectually lazy attempts to interpret them.

Thanks for posting notice of the show a few days in advance. I remember with fondness the times when I could read about some event taking place in a few hours and decide, "yeah, I'll go do that tonight". But that phase of my life is long behind me.

Also a bit of subtlety:

The "Straight Dope" article mentions that one of the enormous billboards that Heinz erected to promote its "57 varieties" slogan was at 23rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York. This would have been either on, or just across the street from, the location of the Flatiron Building.

Insert your conspiracy theory here.

Randomness:

Reagrding large felines: It's well known among pedants that "there are no tigers in Africa". But when I first met a native African (born in Ghana), he was quite insistent that there were tigers in the jungles of the East African interior.

The solution comes from the linguistic interpretation of "tiger". In 18th/early 19th century English, "tiger" was used to refer to any large cat, including the leopards and cheetahs of Africa. The English-speaking former colonial nations of Africa have retained this usage. So if an African tells you he's seen tigers in his native land, he's probably not just blowing smoke.

From the Smothers Brothers:

"There were vicious pumas in the crevasses."

"There are no pumas in the United States, Tom. No pumas in North America."

"Well, there were these vicious beasts in the crevasses. And they sure looked like pumas."

On divers and sundry Rings:

This Ring, and no Other, was made by the Elves,
Who'd pawn their own Mother to get it themselves.
Sought after by Mortal, Creeper, and Scallop,
This Ring is a Sleeper that packs quite a Wallop.
The Power Almighty is stored in this Lone Ring:
The Power, alrighty, for doing your Own Thing.
If busted or broken, it cannot be remade;
If found, send to Sorhed (the postage is prepaid).

Ajay:

Isn't the protagonist of "The Forever War" black? Or am I just confused by a) his being called Mandella and b) the protagonist of "Forever Peace" being black? It's a long time since I read it.

There's a passage at the end of The Forever War in which Mandella explains the origin of his name. His parents were hippie-types who decided to both change their names to something new when they got married. They wanted to use the word "mandala" (the Buddhist symbolic chart representing the Universe), but neither the parents nor the judge performing the marriage were sure how to spell the word. So they took their best guess and came up with "Mandella".

It's a pretty obvious parallel to / satire of Starship Troopers, in which you find out at the end that the protagonist's ethnicity was not what you might think it would be based on his surname.

Bruce's recounting of the marble trick in the WTC brings back memories of my days at Cantor Fitzgerald. I worked on the 104th floor, so we got the maximum effects from wind swaying.

The first thing that we'd notice was the ominous creaking sound. This was from the normal "play" of the structural steel, but even though we knew it presented no threat, we'd still keep expecting pieces of the walls to start cracking off.

A little more wind, and the effects would become apparent in the elevator shafts, particularly the express elevator from the ground floor to the skylobby on 78. The elevator car would occasionally scrape against the side of the shaft, and the car speeds were slowed significantly during high winds.

When things got really bad, you'd notice it in the bathrooms, because the water in the toilet bowls would be sloshing from side to side as though you were on a ship in choppy waters. I saw this happen on a day when the tower was reportedly swaying up to three feet from the vertical at the top. If the sway had gotten to four feet, the building would have been evacuated because it would be unsafe to run the elevators.

The worst day of wind effects that I remember was also the first time that I noticed them. It was a Friday morning, and I'd been out for a significant number of beers the night before. When I sat down at my desk and felt as though the room were swaying, I first dismissed it as aftereffects of the drinking. Then I looked at the cup of water on my desk, and noticed that it was displaying ripples like the ones in "Jurassic Park" when the dinosaurs are approaching.

Several people from the company went home that day because the swaying was making them, er, "building-sick", but personally, I forgot all about any vertigo or hangover effects in the rush of "this is the coolest workplace ever" thrill. But nobody from my office ever thought of the marble trick.

New Jersey has its general elections next week, including the gubernatorial race. Up until now, I've been opposed on principle to voting a straight party ticket -- and since I moved to New Jersey, I haven't voted for a Democratic candidate for governor (I actually liked Whitman, and couldn't stand McGreevey or Schundler four years ago).

But anything that will stick it to the Republicans is a good thing this year (and every year until they're out of the majority). And it doesn't hurt that Corzine is actually a likeable, competent candidate. My biggest worry is that his leaving the Senate opens up a seat, but New Jersey tends to pretty solidly back Democrats for the Senate.

Although it's not a Congressional election year, it will be worth keeping an eye on how the votes swing in those states that have major elections this month.

If the best we can say is, "Well, at least they haven't yet used nukes," we're in deep trouble.

You're preachin' to the choir.

Having just checked out the link "We're The United States of America, and We're Helpless", I find that it speaks quite well for me. I'll leave all further comment to that.

I believe the "The US hasn't used its nukes" comments are being made in relation to Gulf War II, but won't put words in anyone's mouth.

That was, indeed, my implication.

Graydon was describing Rumsfeld as "likely to use the nukes" and I was pointing out that he hasn't done so. My intent was to try to salvage at least a shred of credit for decency and right action by my country. Which, I know, is an uphill battle these days.

I keep trying to drive home the point that they're nuts, violent, and likley to use the nukes if they build them.

That accurately describes Rumsfeld, by the best available information, and he's got nukes. Lots and lots of nukes.

Much as it pains me to be forced to defend Rumsfeld, I must point out that the US has not used its nukes yet.

Oh, and Impossible Mission! That was such a great game.

Another visitor!

Welcome! Stay a while.

Stay... forever!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Erik Olson writes:

The first step is to admit that you have a problem with Civilization

The problem is not that Civilization takes time away from other things in my life. The problem is that other things in my life take away time when I could be playing Civilization.

Besides, this is 2005. It'll be a bugridden piece of crap like every other game rushed out the door. Don't install until there's at least three patchsets released.

There's truth in that, but part of the fun (for me) is experiencing the improvements and new possibilities that come with ech patch.

Civ-junkies don't know what long term addiction can do to you.

With more than a dozen years of Civ playing under my belt, I think I have a pretty good idea.

First person shooters bore me.

I want a game that simulates nation building, energy resource exploration and development, and international diplomacy.

(And yes, I know that Civilization IV has just been released.)

Taking advantage of the open thread to post apropos of nothing in particular:

A news report released today says that this past September showed the largest monthly gain in consumer prices in over 25 years.

The article also reports the following:

“The president has confidence in the Federal Reserve when it comes to monetary policy and their ability to address any inflation concerns,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

Given Bush's track record on things like Iraq and disaster preparedness, I get very nervous when I hear that the president has confidence in anything.

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