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| Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013 |
gafennec
|
3:18p |
Update.
Still not fully normal after Mother's Day illness and I still think it was severe indigestion/GI related, but my secret fear is that it was a heart attack. If I had any signs indication that said 'Yeah, heart attack' than I'd go to the ER/Doctor. But as I ate a metric crapload (2.2 times more than an Imperial crapload) of nuts the day before GI distress is the most probable cause. Mike got a new (used) laptop Friday and it died Monday. It's like it is in sleep mode, but won't wake up. I don't know what I am going to have to do with that boy. *HUGS*/Prayers/Good Thoughts/Good Vibes to those who need them. You know who you are. I exit with one of the funniest commercials I've seen in a long, long time. Well also a great parody song. (Slightly NSFW) Current Mood:  okay |
james_nicoll
|
2:40p |
Venus Probe Success/Fail
Just for my own curiosity Is this right?
Total Fail Success Success Rate
1960s 19 14 5 26%
1970s 11 3* 8 73%
1980s 8 .33 7.67 96%
1990s -- -- -- --
2000s 3 3 100%
2010s 1 1** 0%
* Counting partial failures as 1/2 ** Second try coming up in 2016. Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are  comment(s); comment here or there. |
xyzzysqrl
|
2:32p |
The Tale of the Dental Trip
So I have HAD MY TOOTH OUT. It was a harrowing proceedure full of fire and storm that took almost twenty whole minutes. I was kind of underwhelmed but impressed just the same by modern medical science. Here's the lowdown, since the BF is curious and I have a completely numb mouth full of gauze. Feel free to skip. ( Cut for DENTAL.Collapse )AND THAT IS MY EPIC TALE. My face is still numb. Thank you. This entry was originally posted at http://xyzzysqrl.dreamwidth.org/343825.html. Please comment there using OpenID. |
diannaamarich
|
2:21p |
"Mommy, what's a phonograph?"
My daughter asked me that question this morning during the videos she was watching. I've never seen one, actually I told her it was a giant record. "Oh! It's like a giant CD! The first one!" Current Mood:  amused |
james_nicoll
|
2:21p |
Noble V: Greylancer Giveaway Contest
 Giveaway Contest at the other end of the link (click on the picture). Four copies to the people who can answer "What’s so great about Vampire Hunter D?" in the most interesting way. Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are  comment(s); comment here or there. |
james_nicoll
|
2:09p |
Hurricane season for Titan's northern hemisphere?
Saturn's moon Titan might be in for some wild weather as it heads into its spring and summer, if two new models are correct. Scientists think that as the seasons change in Titan's northern hemisphere, waves could ripple across the moon's hydrocarbon seas, and hurricanes could begin to swirl over these areas, too. The model predicting waves tries to explain data from the moon obtained so far by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Both models help mission team members plan when and where to look for unusual atmospheric disturbances as Titan summer approaches.
Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are  comment(s); comment here or there.
|
james_nicoll
|
12:57p |
India Mars Probe articles
As reported at the Planetary Society Blog:
A couple of articles on India's Mars Orbiter Mission were published on the news website The Week yesterday, and they're much more in-depth and insightful than the norm.
Mars is an oddly difficult target, with about two-thirds of Mars probes failing before planned mission end, some before observations began. Break a leg, India. Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are  comment(s); comment here or there. |
james_nicoll
|
12:30p |
What Harper knew and when he knew it curious left ambigious
Re Duffypocalpse and the Cheque of Doom
In the House of Commons yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, temporarily reverting to his former role as partisan fire extinguisher, said no, Harper knew nothing about the deal until, like other appalled Conservatives, he saw it on the evening news.
Strangely, Harper himself did not say that in his speech to his caucus, at least the portion of it that was public. Nor did Nigel Wright on Sunday, in his resignation letter. Nor did the PMO last week. In his remarks Harper ignored the payment entirely. In the other two cases the language was ever so carefully crafted to allow for some knowledge on his part, though not of “the means” or “the details.”
Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are  comment(s); comment here or there.
|
james_nicoll
|
12:23p |
Gosh
Amazon announced Kindle Worlds today, describing it as “the first commercial publishing platform that will enable any writer to create fan fiction based on a range of original stories and characters and earn royalties for doing so.”
Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are  comment(s); comment here or there.
|
james_nicoll
|
11:13a |
Experience trumps youth
last night Fig learned that if he tosses the catnip sacket into air in a fit of exuberance, Groucho can snag it out of the air as he gallops past. Cut to sad looking kitten watching a growling cat hunched over the sachet, sitting back to Fig. Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are  comment(s); comment here or there. |
james_nicoll
|
10:24a |
Yet another thing I didn't know about when I woke up
The National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973,[1] also referred to as the 1973 National Archives fire was a fire that occurred at the United States National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in Overland, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, on July 12, 1973, striking a severe blow to the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States.[...] NPRC, the custodian of military service records, lost approximately 16-18 million official military personnel records as a result of the fire.[...]
[...]
The losses to Federal military records collection included:
80% loss to records of U.S. Army personnel discharged November 1, 1912, to January 1, 1960[2]
75% loss to records of U.S. Air Force personnel discharged September 25, 1947, to January 1, 1964, with names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.[...]
Some U.S. Army Reserve personnel who performed their initial active duty for training in the late 1950s but who received final discharge as late as 1964.
None of the records that were destroyed in the fire had duplicate copies made, nor had they been copied to microfilm. No index of these records was made prior to the fire, and millions of records were on loan to the Veterans Administration at the time of the fire. This made it difficult to precisely determine which records were lost.
Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are  comment(s); comment here or there.
|
james_nicoll
|
10:23a |
|
james_nicoll
|
9:42a |
At the one minute fifty second mark
I spotted the first evidence I noticed that this particular future still includes non-caucasians. [showing I should have looked closer: in LJ comments it is pointed out that "There's an Asian woman at 0:39, a black man at 1:08 and, judging by the accent, a Latino at 1:21.] Brought to my attention by The Dragon's Tales This sure looks like a white-washed version of this 1970s era novel.  Does Ben Bova know? Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are  comment(s); comment here or there. |
seawasp
|
9:40a |
And...
... looks like my car's CD player is giving up the ghost slowly. |
james_nicoll
|
9:13a |
In retrospect
I'm kind of surprised I only ever saw one SF novel where Segways were the Awesome Vehicle of the [reverb]Future-uture-uture [/reverb]. Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are  comment(s); comment here or there. |
sythyry
|
8:42a |
OOC: poll about ... um ... something
Poll #1914820
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 19
Which is the best way to think about it?
View Answers
| Bard cracked a tooth, is having it removed, and is getting an implant |
   3 (16.7%) |
| Bard is turning into a cyborg with a partially-titanium skeleton |
| 15 (83.3%) |
For a good time, call ...
View Answers
| 555-1212 [actual number redacted] |
| 1 (5.3%) |
| Sexually Available Personages Я Us |
| 2 (10.5%) |
| PartyTime |
| 1 (5.3%) |
| System.nanosecondClock() |
| 15 (78.9%) |
Which of these is the greatest pleasure of those listed here?
View Answers
| Watching major motion pictures |
| 0 (0.0%) |
| Feeling the bones of your enemies crunch beneath your feet |
| 1 (5.3%) |
| Experiencing amateur artistic works by unknown artists |
| 5 (26.3%) |
| Sleeping in climate-controlled conditions |
| 4 (21.1%) |
| Devouring delicacies from all around the world |
| 9 (47.4%) |
Which of these is the greatest sorrow (of those listed here, not of all
possible sorrows)?
View Answers
| Breaking up with that person you date/boink once in a while |
| 8 (42.1%) |
| Toothache leading to extraction and low-grade cyborging |
| 1 (5.3%) |
| Missing the winning lottery ticket by one number |
| 2 (10.5%) |
| Watching tornadoes destroy a city half a continent away |
| 5 (26.3%) |
| Boy bands |
| 3 (15.8%) |
Which of these is the most tempting sleazy 17th-century inn? (All taken from
a real table in a real RPG which Bard did not write)
View Answers
| The Choked Yolk |
| 2 (10.5%) |
| The Spent Buns |
| 5 (26.3%) |
| The Gushing Bottom |
| 1 (5.3%) |
| The Angry Pedant |
| 4 (21.1%) |
| The Odious Trousers |
| 2 (10.5%) |
| The Engorged Beetle |
| 5 (26.3%) |
| The Sickening Belch |
| 0 (0.0%) |
Which of these is not a real town?
View Answers
| The Dud of Flamister |
| 0 (0.0%) |
| The Candle of the Sneuk |
| 1 (5.6%) |
| The Wee Tuffer of Snough |
| 2 (11.1%) |
| The Head of Work |
| 0 (0.0%) |
| The Tongue of Gangsta |
| 10 (55.6%) |
| Gentleman's Ha |
| 1 (5.6%) |
| Flossy Groups |
| 2 (11.1%) |
| Da Scrodhurdins |
| 0 (0.0%) |
| Da Niggards |
| 0 (0.0%) |
| The Point of the Sluther |
| 1 (5.6%) |
| Flae-Ass |
| 1 (5.6%) |
Which of these should be a real place?
View Answers
| A despair-removal stand run by a cute anime angel |
| 1 (5.3%) |
| A find-your-true-love detective agency run by a cute anime catgirl |
| 5 (26.3%) |
| A negative-calorie cookie shop run by a cute anime fox-girl |
| 5 (26.3%) |
| A free electronic device shop run by a cute anime lightning alien girl |
| 1 (5.3%) |
| A cure-any-disease clinic run by a hideous anime tentacle monster |
| 7 (36.8%) |
Where are you on this scale?
1 = Secure in the knowledge that your hair color conveys spiritual supremacy.
10 = Able to emit devastating energy blasts from your ears.
How scientific is a religion with "Science" in its name, such as
Scientology or Christian Science?
1 = not at all; 10 = totally.
How scientific is an academic discipline with "Science" in its name, such
as Computer Science, Food Science, or Social Science?
Which of these would make a better superhero?
View Answers
| The Bicuspid |
| 0 (0.0%) |
| The Orange Ocelot |
| 2 (10.5%) |
| Honey Badger |
| 6 (31.6%) |
| The Stitcher in Time |
| 2 (10.5%) |
| The Snap-Dragon |
| 6 (31.6%) |
| The Living Torpedo |
| 2 (10.5%) |
| Peacey Pea |
| 1 (5.3%) |
And which would be that superhero's nemesis?
View Answers
| The Tooth Pastor |
| 0 (0.0%) |
| The Mauve Manatee |
| 4 (21.1%) |
| The Fastest Food |
| 2 (10.5%) |
| Wormgetter Bird |
| 1 (5.3%) |
| The Dandy Lion |
| 8 (42.1%) |
| The Eggbreaker (and sidekick Omelette) |
| 4 (21.1%) |
If you were, speaking entirely hypothetically, going to secretly administer
anti-flatulence drugs to a coworker without their consent or knowledge, you
would
View Answers
| Put them in coffee |
| 10 (52.6%) |
| "Accidentally" stumble against the coworker while holding them in a
charged hypodermic needle |
| 0 (0.0%) |
| "Accidentally" administer nitrous oxide to the coworker and implant a
six-month time delay drug capsule |
| 2 (10.5%) |
| "Accidentally" seduce coworker with offers of anal sex, but instead of
a normal phallus or analog, use a syringe of specially engineered odorless bacteria |
| 1 (5.3%) |
| "Accidentally" hypnotize company president, have him order coworker to
take the damn anti-gas pills already. |
| 6 (31.6%) |
|
dglenn
|
5:27a |
|
beamjockey
|
12:00a |
Thursday at 6:30 in Woodridge: See STAR TREK Movie Not-Exactly-Free
Want to see a movie with us? My wife K was fortunate enough, in the month of her birthday, to receive a number of free passes from the Hollywood Blvd (that's how they spell it, "Blvd") restaurant-theater over in Woodridge, Illinois, on 75th Street just east of Interstate 355. We're allowed to bring up to six friends. We're planning to see Star Trek: Into Darkness, in two glorious dimensions,* arriving on Thursday, 23 May at 6:30 for a showing that starts fifteen minutes later. The "free" passes are not exactly free. They're free admissions to see a film-- but each theatergoer is required to order at least one drink or food item. Here's the menu. We are also required to have everyone assembled at the time we purchase the tickets-- so we will not wait long for latecomers. If you are: 1. Available for a 6:30 Thursday rendezvous at the theater, and 2. Willing to purchase food or drink, please contact me at higgins a t fnal d o t gov. If we haven't run out of passes yet, we'll count you in. And together we'll head (I can't resist saying this) literally Into Darkness to see the movie. The address: Hollywood Blvd 1001 W. 75th St. Woodridge, IL Link to Google MapHollywood Blvd's site* The same number of dimensions in which the original Star Trek: Nothing After The Colon was broadcast. |
james_nicoll
|
12:19a |
|
james_nicoll
|
12:11a |
CBS Radio Workshop: Speaking of Cinderella-If the Shoe Fits
Speaking of Cinderella-If the Shoe Fits Lurene Tuttle and Vincent Price tell each other with what they feel is the best version of Cinderella. Tuttle presents the romantic version, more or less the one most of us know, while Price presents what he feels is a realistic one, in which Cinderella is a crooked lady wrestler who uses "borrowed" jewels, a stolen car, her looks and a striking knack for advertising to win her man. A lot of the discussion felt oddly familiar. Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are  comment(s); comment here or there. |
james_nicoll
|
12:09a |
|
| Monday, May 20th, 2013 |
rapidtrabbit
|
8:08p |
|
| Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 |
seawasp
|
11:47p |
Bugger.
Bugger, bugger, bugger, and other bad words. My PS3 just died, and my short research on the net indicates that it's basically a brick. There's a fix... that involves taking it apart and reflowing solder on one particular set of chips. Out of my league, and in many cases apparently the "fix" lasts only a few weeks. This really sucks because it's one of the 60GB early models, the first ones which actually were backwards compatible in hardware. I actually DO play some PS2 and even PS1 games, so this matters to me. So now I either have to get a new PS3, or sell back all the games I have (at ruinous discounts) since they'll be useless without the console. |
james_nicoll
|
11:34p |
|
james_nicoll
|
11:22p |
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austin_dern