The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Will "scifantasy" Frank:

Show all comments by Will "scifantasy" Frank.

Posted on entry Panels and parlor games ::: August 15, 2009, 01:15 AM:
Breaking Physics for Fun and Profit

Our panelists discuss where physics goes off the rails and out the window. Attend at your own risk.

Kimball Kinnison
Simon of Jeeha
Harry Dresden
Geordi La Forge
Han Solo*

Han opened the panel by declaring "sound in space" off limits. Good call. He tried to defend his "twelve parsecs" line, with some handwaving about curved space near black holes, but someone made an obscene gesture and he moved on.

Geordi got a lot of ribbing he probably didn't deserve. I mean, he's working with what he has. And he defended himself admirably, pointing out how often he did something that physics would completely vindicate afterward. Han cut him off before he started demanding that everybody go read Lawrence Krauss.

Harry was the Doesn't Know Why He's There. Which, given that he was arguing that his was an issue of a complementary system to physics...it's probably fairer to say that he did know why he was there and objected to the characterization. He was kind of sulky, really.

Kim was of non-engaging. He simply said that as he understood physics, he was consistent. Geordi spent some time letting Kim know about all the physics he didn't understand. This left him further confused and muttering about going back to yell at Mentor...

But everybody stood in awe of Simon. He shrugged and said that physics, like everything else, was a barrier to break through.

Interesting stories, but they didn't really gel. And the questions just confused people further. John Sheridan, from the audience, got into a shouting match with Geordi, but Han threatened to kick them both out. And Hachi Hoshino was just confused. He'd come along to try to understand, and once he heard about Simon's war stories he ended up practically a gibbering ball in the corner.
Posted on entry Remember To Wear Your Brown Shirt ::: August 04, 2009, 01:48 PM:
Bipartisanship is all well and good, but really, it's time to say "We tried bipartisanship, and guess what? The Republicans aren't interested. They don't want reasonable debate. They want to scare the American people with stories about killing seniors. So, the hell with them. Oh, and conservative Democrats? Get in line, or be prepared to lose in the primaries in your next election. We're putting together health care reform, and we're going to use the steamroller. You can't lead, you won't follow, so get out of the way."

Josh Lyman comes to mind, as he usually does:

"LBJ never would've taken this kind of crap from Democrats in Congress. He'd have said, 'You're voting my way, in exchange for which, it is possible that I might remember your name, pal.' We need to win. And I mean win. We need to take a curtain call and a victory lap. And that's how we get momentum. We get it by being tough. We give away nothing."

"See, you [conservative Democrat about to oppose the White House's position] won with 52 percent, but the President took your district with 59. And I think it's high time we come back and say thanks. Do you have any idea how much noise Air Force One makes when it lands in Eau Claire, Wisconsin? We're gonna have a party, Congressman. You should come; it's gonna be great. And when the watermelon's done, right in town square, right in the band gazebo. You guys got a band gazebo? Doesn't matter; we'll build one. Right in the band gazebo, that's where the President is going to drape his arm around the shoulder of some assistant D.A. we like. And you should have your camera with you, you should get a picture of that, 'cause that's gonna be the moment you're finished in Democratic politics. President Bartlet's a good man, he's got a good heart, he doesn't hold a grudge. That's what he pays me for."

--The West Wing 1x04, "Five Votes Down"
Posted on entry Elf Help, a Parlor Bookstore Game ::: June 30, 2009, 04:35 PM:
The paranoid tinfoil-hat-wearing set get Cryptonomicon. Paid for in cash, of course.
Posted on entry Open thread 120 ::: March 03, 2009, 12:54 PM:
Law school eats your life. OK, OK, I knew the job was dangerous when I took it (buck-buck-buckaw!), but still.

(When I started considering whether Watchmen's Keene Act was a violation of the Constitution because it was a case of Congress reaching into the police powers of the State, I knew I was lost.)

However, now that we're well into the second semester, I'm getting the hang of this. And after all, most of my classmates are on Gchat or Defamer or Perez Hilton during class.
Posted on entry Open thread 120 ::: March 03, 2009, 12:37 PM:
I'm working at the EFF this summer! Woo. I just need to survive Con Law, Admin, and Crim Law first.
Posted on entry Google is slightly evil ::: November 09, 2008, 04:59 PM:
Interestingly, this appeared in my aggregator at the same time that this did...
Posted on entry Good News / Bad News ::: November 03, 2008, 05:22 PM:
b@19: B hnst. Y jst md tht pst s y cld sy "MWHHHHH," ddn't y?
Posted on entry Good News / Bad News ::: November 03, 2008, 05:16 PM:
b@13: Thn y'r wll n yr wy, n?
Posted on entry Good News / Bad News ::: November 03, 2008, 04:54 PM:
'm jst gld tht Jm's rgnl pst wsn't tslf dsmvwld. Tht wld hv bn mpssbl t rd.

r, t lst, rlly, rlly, nnyng.
Posted on entry Making things, as well as light ::: September 16, 2008, 06:44 PM:
Law.

(Scared yet?)
Posted on entry Either a heart attack, or a Greek of the same name ::: September 14, 2008, 09:55 AM:
Holy hell...glad to hear Teresa's doing better.
Posted on entry Tropical Storm Hanna ::: September 06, 2008, 09:14 PM:
And just my damn luck (now that I'm back in the city for NYU Law), I went to the subway to go uptown to see the family for dinner right at the height of one of the rain bands.
Posted on entry The Ball of Kirriemuir ::: August 13, 2008, 09:58 PM:
Jimmy Kirk, oh he was there,
Hanging 'round wi' Spock,
Provin' they were the originals
And provin' they liked--(REDACTED)


An’ it’s who’ll slash ye this time
Who’ll slash ye noo?
The lass who slashed ye last, lad,
She no will slash ye noo.
Posted on entry CNN Spam? ::: August 10, 2008, 11:30 PM:
Huh, and possibly dammit.

I started getting those CNN Top Ten emails the other day. I thought I'd just been resubscribed to a list, so I hit the unsubscribe link. It took a few times but then the emails stopped.

Then again, I run Gentoo Linux, so I doubt the flash player .exe would have done much, even if I saw it (which I didn't). I guess I should just keep an eye, and watch my spamcatcher in case a lot more starts coming...
Posted on entry Obama 666 ::: August 09, 2008, 11:09 AM:
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Obama R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn?
Posted on entry The Associated Press: worse than merely foolish ::: June 17, 2008, 12:38 PM:
And people ask me why I'm going from a programming career to law school.
Posted on entry This can't be good for one's soul ::: February 21, 2008, 08:24 AM:
Paul A: Yep. Nice!
Posted on entry This can't be good for one's soul ::: February 20, 2008, 02:50 PM:
I'm going somewhere a little different. I'm honestly curious whether someone will recognize it.

The young son of a genius scientist is Earth's only hope for survival! Summoned after years of being apart from his father for safety, he has to use the weaponry his father has created and defend the planet against horrible aliens bent on destroying the world. But are all of his allies really on his side? And can he find love with one of the beautiful women who surround him?
Posted on entry This can't be good for one's soul ::: February 20, 2008, 02:14 PM:
Lucy S @ 570: Oh, I believe you. I'm just a bit boggled at myself.

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