[discussion of the one-downsmanship of justifying violence against Barrayar to make up for crimes during the Komarr Revolt]
"That was longer ago," said Foscol a little desperately.
"Ah. I see. So the difference between a criminal and a hero is the order in which their vile crimes are committed," said the Professora, in a voice dripping false cordiality. "And justice comes with a sel-by date. In that case, you'd better hurry. You wouldn't want your heroism to spoil."
For those arguing either side(s) in this war, are you sure that your expectations are generally applicable to all wars? That the principles of what is and isn't acceptible will also apply to Eritrea and Ethiopia, Turkey and the Kurds, Cuba and the US, Iraq and Iran and any other set of countries where grievances have a history?
Marilee-
As said, I haven't bought from them. But when searching for flavoring oils their name pops up quite a bit, and people in low-carb discussions appear to like them.
Very few savory flavors can be bought. I went on a true search some weeks ago, because I needed to cook zero-fat all-clear low-spice (broth, jello, juice) for a week. Cooking up multiple broths wasn't really feasible, because the preparation made the whole house smell too much like real- opaque caloric and complex- foods. Had I been able to cheat on the flavorings, I would have.
Sadly, there is a missing market in flavors for the home cook. It's the 21st century, and I cannot emulate the cooks in Asimov's "Good Taste." See also Ch 5 of "Fast Food Nation" (the flavor wizards of New Jersey).
An example of flavoring oils for making flavored waters. I keep on contemplating it- even at $80 the savings vs. cases of Propel at Costco could take just a few weeks. (note- I haven't purchased from this company, but the 22 flavors is the largest variety pack I've seen for sale. Has anyone seen more?)
But then again one could go so much further: imagine doughnut water. Deep fried water. Caramel water. Heath bar water.
Unfortunately no one seems to sell savory flavor packs to the public.
Raisin cinnamon water. Butter Pecan water. Tiramisu water.
Because I think it'd be fun to try some El Bulli style experiments with flavor extracts.
Roasted bell pepper water. Caramelized onion water. Potato chip water. Teriyaki water.
"It's useful to know that our whims supersede not just civility, but the laws of the land." - PZ Myers
One has Law, Ethics, and Morality.
Morality- "do unto others"
One excuse I've heard for treating a variant of Christianity as the established religion was "Well, if I wasn't saved I'd certainly want people telling me how to be saved until I was saved." Fairly sure that particular person was lying for the sake of argument.
Or how about "what you do to the least of these you've done it to me"? Would they be happy yelling "jewboy" to Jesus?
Ethics- categorical imperative-
Are these people thinking they'll never live outside of their community? Perhaps yes.
Do they care about what example they're setting for other communities? For situations where only one Christian family lives in a town, say? Are they thinking about how well 'majority rules' is going to work in a world where 80% of people aren't Christians? Perhaps not. They're willing to set up rules as a majority they'd never be willing to accept as a minority.
Law-
looks like they're not so into the 1st Amendment ("Not just the law, also a good idea").
Xopher and all-
There's the USDA nutrient database with the search by nutrient list.
Came in handy when I needed to cook zero (0.00) fat for a week.
Doesn't let you do a joined search, although perhaps someone on the net has made this application. [Starts to poke net with search stick. Net doesn't respond.] Would make a nice mashup with Epicurious. [Too lazy to lazyweb this.]
So, for potassium:
Tomato products, canned, paste (2650 mg/ measure)
OJ
Beet greens
Beans, white
Dates, deglet noor,
Milk, canned, condensed, sweetened,
Raisins
Potato
Grapefruit
Snacks, trail mix, tropical (993 mg)
...
Dessert topping, semi solid, frozen (1 mg)
Salt, table (0 mg
Tim Walters-
Enough people will be there. Various parades start from the cafe to the Man before the burn.
How "immediately before" is it? For your first burn it's worth moving in early for a better (*) spot for good views of the firedancers, firespinners, firemen, fireworks, fire-tornados, etc. Plan time to get back to your camp, *lock* your equipment away (2), get to the Man (1) and find your spot.
Same for the temple of dreams burn Sunday, especially if the temple becomes meaningful to you (it can sneak up).
(*)in front; upwind; not behind people with helmets, strobes, or amplification. If you know anyone with a bus or boat, on top those is great too- bribe them now.
(1) If you bike, make it easily refindable = visible (elwire, flags and blinkies, wings, etc); locked to itself at least 50 meters behind the art cars; by bright art. The Man will not be usable in triangulation- many forget this.
(2) As the burn is the one time camps can be empty (3), thieves may wander camps, usually (I've heard) professional bike thieves tossing bikes into a truck.
(3) although now camps will have watchers (4). Haven't heard of major thefts the past burns.
(4) and watchers can have flamethrowers. Low odds, sure, but non-zero.
Claire's comment reminded me of the useful cooling neck wrap / bandana. The bandana is filled with a polymer which, once soaked, keeps your neck cooled by evaporation. Works well in the desert.
The one I have was handmade- here's instructions on how to make them [2 lbs of polymer for $18 including shipping, makes 100 bandanas at 2 tsp per. Note, this is merely the first search hit and not an endorsement]:
http://www.watersorb.com/polymer_cool_neck_bands.htm
and I'm seeing them for sale as the 'Cobber neck wrap,' or the 'Thermo-cool,' etc. I'll assume many sporting goods stores carry them.
one thing I've learned from camping at Burning Man is that good hydration is a habit, not a feeling. Hydration requires calculation, not thirst.
Because when it's pleasantly warm, but with bone-dry humidity, it doesn't feel like you're sweating.
One alternative-press newspaper there is 'Piss Clear,' named after the common advice in the desert survival guide. If one isn't drinking enough, there are signs. Yet even with the guide and the signs I've seen people have to go in for IV fluids because they didn't *feel* thirsty.
Don't forget pets. Friends of the family lost their dog to the recent heatwave in California.
The dog wasn't doing anything unusual that day, but the 110's instead of 80's-90's was too much.
It went from seeming normal to acting lethargic to starting to bleed- a sign of coagulation failure- in just 2 hours or so.
This year, it is possible to have both the theoretical science fiction of WorldCon and the applied-SF of Burning Man. Next year there's a conflict, as happens for any labor day weekend Worldcon.
For those thinking they might like to go to Burningman... yes, go. I'm happy to write up why from a fan's perspective- for one, you get to experience what post-scarcity life feels like- via email.
[can also give my take on the Survival Guide (http://www.burningman.com/preparation/) and what basic preparation takes in time and money. Main thing is that preparation means deciding to go now: it is not at all a last-minute event. Hence this comment.]
The village I'm camping in is going to have giant mechanical spider vehicles, and g-m-s-v battles. (We're also going to have a stage w/ acoustic music, a drivable mammoth skeleton, and other shiny items.)
Basics:
Monday the 28th to Mon. Sep. 4th. But Burning Man is holographic, so a shorter visit still gives you the whole event, just fuzzier. Tickets are currently $250 through mid-August. Black Rock City: 35,000 people (by the 30th), 2 hours drive north of Reno, Nevada. Flights to Reno are 1 hour from the Bay Area, 1.5 from Los Angeles.
Less than 150 hours to the Hugo deadline: is there an intarweb thread discussing it? Haven't seen much recently on the r.a.sf.*s.
I am concerned that a certain non-stand-alone novel could win. Concern based on one random comment in a 'Please Vote' thread on a nominee's blog. It wasn't appropriate to discuss such things on that blog, and I haven't seen the subject around elsewhere.
The commenter claimed that 1. The n-s-a novel has an active fandom and 2. The Science Fiction vote will get split 4-ways among the strong field. (If a science fiction novel ever got nominated for the World Fantasy Award, would it do the same there?)
As I wrote in ot67, the Hugos imply "this is the best we have in SF." So, for the 21st century, the best we have in novels is fantasy?
Gah. [waves stick to get kids off lawn]
"walk without rythym and you won't attract the worm" Dune, but it's a book+media example.
Although I suppose I should look at sf-radar triggers for items in books where the book became a movie, but the item didn't carry through. Mercerism and Kipple in Do Androids Dream, say.
Having hoovered the felines, I was rereading ot67 and saw that I'd not come back to my question:
What short phrases could be used to set off a science fiction reader's SF-radar? i.e. dog-whistle (zogg-whistle?) words for SF-reader fandom: phrases which make sense to an entire audience, but also show that the speaker reads SF.[and anything in Fa11en 4ngels doesn't count, with prejudice]
Seems as if the answer is no, there aren't too many immediately obvious phrases like this, not for books only. Many of the best examples mentioned upthread are books+media (HG2G, Princess Bride [and TPB isn't science fiction], laws of robotics), or media, or fandom.
One could always go with variations on famous titles and all that. (random musing: if sensawonda can't be encapsulated in a single phrase, this is a good thing.)
On sensawonda, I'm finishing up my Hugo awards reading. I'm thinking about the Hugo Science Fiction Achievement Award for the novel. I'm thinking...
1. It should go to a science fiction novel-- if it does, the track record this millenium goes from 40% to 50%. 2005 was a fine year in novels and nominations. I'm trying to do my rankings and keep on getting a>b, b>c, c>d, d>a, depending on my criteria. Guess I'll have to go back and rereread.
2. If it isn't going to a science fiction novel, it *should* go to a book complete in iteself.
To me, an award winning book implies that I should be able to lend it to a friend with a "This is an example of the best we have." It should be complete in itself: ready to read, however slow the reading might be. If you have to read all the other books in the series first, then the 'award winner' isn't ready-to-read.
3. nevermind the enthymeme- it should go to a science fiction novel.
(asked on the other thread, but meant for here)
If you've traveled with "exceptional supplies" (medical, fragile, photographic),
And security asked to search it,
And you got security to follow the rules for searches,
How did you do it? What worked? What phrasing did you use to request that the TSA follow their own rules without the TSA agent getting snippy and angry?
For example, you can request they wear fresh gloves before searching your medical equipment. I bet many people want to ask for this, but are afraid of what could happen. How would you / did you phrase this reasonable request?
If you've traveled with "exceptional supplies" (medical, fragile, photographic),
And security asked to search it,
And you got security to follow the rules,
how did you do it? What phrasing did you use to request that the TSA follow their own rules without the TSA agent getting snippy and angry?
For example, you can ask for the agent to put on fresh gloves before searching your medical equipment. I bet many people want to ask for this, but are afraid of what could happen. How would you / did you phrase this reasonable request?
Margaret-
See my post on the other Rush thread. From the link I found, you definitely have the right to be present when they inspect your equipment. They are required to change gloves- put on fresh gloves- when touching your equipment if you request it.
I have also seen, but can't find a link, the possibility of a rule that says you have to be the one first opening up your equipment, not them.
Of course, the 20 minute question is how do you ask security to follow the rules without them getting snippy. (There's always the ones who want you to not only be polite, but to be subservient in the face of the TSA.) I'm going to ask that on the other thread.
Marilee-
Understood for longer trips- but even then, you likely want to keep both your travel essentials and your key medical supplies with you.
(You also get to check an extra bag with no fee, if it is for medical equipment.)
No one should ever feel as if they must pack valuables into their checked in luggage, just to make room for medical supplies. No one has to, because the law protects against this.
If one is carrying on an extra bag, it might be good to have a copy of the rules. There's always some chance of running up against a guard who is entirely wrong yet stubborn.
I also recall seeing, but can't find, rules that say that medical equipment being searched must be done in the presence of the owner. Security must also change gloves upon request.
Also, if during seating the airline's staff request that people gate-check one bag, then a person with a medical supplies bag doesn't have to count it towards the onboard bag limit.
Marilee-
It is still the case that a medical equipment bag doesn't count towards your carry on limits for US domestic flights / flights from (and to?) the US.
See CFR Part 382... "the carrier recommends to all of its passengers who require such medication or other items for medical necessity to bring a carry-on bag containing the medication or other item on board. Such medication carry-on bags would not be counted toward the passenger’s carry-on baggage allotment."
(found in this summary of disability and travel laws)
Glinda,
I don't think you should worry. Each country will have a website that explains how they categorize medicines. Have copies of prescriptions for ordinary medicines, and a doctor's note if the country recommends it. Get the doctor to write out the generic / chemical name of the medicine whenever possible.
What I did do if I needed multiple bottles was to peel the labels off big bottles and move them to the smallest workable size.
And then read up online what people say about the country.
For example, I found out that one country I was about to visit had two customs lines, and the "medicines to declare" line was usually much shorter. Because I did have a medicine to declare, I went to this special line... no wait at all. They didn't actually read my doctor's notes- but they did notice that I had them ready. Probably helped.
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