I know, I know - everyone's planning to be curled up in from of a roaring fire with their new copies of "Going Rogue." But, if you can put off being "all maverick-ey" for a night, I'm thinking of having people over to watch the new Star Trek movie.

Rough outline: over here about to start about 2000 (8PM) followed by either any interesting extra features or something off the thin on the ground DVD collection ("nothing left but the bones...). Alternately, if I can figure out how to rig it, we could watch one of the fan produced versions of the original series (http://www.startreknewvoyages.com/ or http://www.starshipfarragut.com/), which are pretty good.

Finally, if there's someplace I should be instead of watching the tube that night, you can suggest that here as well.

But they require too much brain.

Speaking of which, my Google-Fu seems to be slipping, (everything slipping away...So...)

I am looking for the cap badge in this picture. Found the cap after a lot of searching and it should be on its way to me soon, I hope, but the badge eludes me:




Any help would be appreciated.

I want out to the Target to buy some crayons. Buying crayons is a lot like buying a Bible: you are baffled by the number of choices. I settled on a box that said "120 Crayons."

Today I opened it and found out that it did, indeed, contain 120 crayons: two identical packs of 48 and a 24 crayon package. Since I am almost certain (I won't open to check because it's going back) the 48 packs are dupes of each other and the 24 is in turn duplicated in each of the 48's, the box of 120 contains at most, 48 colors - 24 x 2 and 24 x 3. There is nothing on the box that indicates this sad state of affairs and illustrations that would lead one to think that there were 120 separate crayons.

Choice, it's not just for health insurance anymore...

"It is something great and greatening to cherish an ideal; to act in the light of truth that is far-away and far above; to set aside the near advantage, the momentary pleasure; the snatching of seeming good to self; and to act for remoter ends, for higher good, and for interests other than our own." 
              - Joshua L. Chamberlain

To all those who have waded in the River Suck, to those who are wading or are getting ready to wade, no matter how deep you're called upon to go, my thanks.

Well, I guess the big thing is to never say die.  Today I had my annual PT test and went to it almost totally sure I was going to bomb it but determined to get as close as I could get to passing.

I had times myself in a run a week and a half before and clocked my 1.5 miles at 15:57, which is not too good, even at my advanced age.  Moreover, my waist measurement (the test is four parts: waist, run, crunches and push ups) was not particularly good, so I went into the active part of the test in the hole.  Also, I had gotten my Hep B shot which I think jacked up my sleep - I alternate sides during the night and when one side had a sore arm this is a problem.  I kept waking up during the night, though I can't confirm it was because of the sore arm.

Well, to make a long story short, I passed.  Compared to last year, I brought my run up a lot (I came in at 13:14 - I think the pack kept me moving faster) got wider, did fewer push ups but more crunches.  The weight is a tricky bit - the trends are positive, but short term fluctuations in depression can still play merry heck with the plans.

I also figured out that with Twinings English Breakfast, Land O Lakes Mini Moos and a microwaveable travel mug, you can make a passable cup of tea.  I still can't figure out what causes the layer to form when you put a teabag in microwaved water instead of boiled.  Not all persistent questions can be solved in one weekend.

I can't see lj from work, but just in case people have gone all nutjob
over the Ft Hood shooting, here are some hard facts to remember:

http://www.frumforum.com/the-shootings-at-fort-hood

Well, I should be working, but I decided to treat myself to some writing.  This is a vignette that has been knocking around my head for a bit.

( It even sounds like an episode, when you think about it... )

Is the fact that most adult costumes for women seem to be "pick your flavor of trollop" is part of the objectification of women, the empowerment of women, an aspect of the anon. sexuality of Carnivale, or a mixture of all three?  Or is the relentless march of my daughters towards puberty just pushing me towards some sort of Unitarian Taliban?

Not a vital need, but if someone has a heavy lab apron - one of the sort of shiny ones - that I could use for my costume for a Halloween dance, please let me know.  I have enough other props to get by but it would make the outfit.

Thanks

Well, the weekend, which was originally back-to-back maize mazes, is
now officially made of FAIL. Both sites have been getting rain for
three days with no end before Monday. I've slogged through the ankle
deep water and muck of a sodden corn maze once and don't need to do it
again.

The Sunday maze has been pushed back a week - we'll see how that goes.

I do need to figure out something for the girls to do Saturday,
preferably indoors.

Suggestions are welcome.

I'm starting the last of the BBC's reenactment of the Lincoln Douglas Debates.  I'll have a real review (for this and a bunch of other things) sometime soon, but I just have to say - OMG, it's like 14 CD's of 19th Century C-SPAN!  What was I thinking?

Lifted from stori_lundi :

http://twitter.com/LCROSS_NASA

Well, I made my annual trip to Revel Grove.  It was OK, I guess.

Going alone has its advantages - no need to negotiate where or when to be someplace.  I listened to the madrigals when and where I crossed their paths, caught a couple of shows saw a few (very few, really) people.

It is, however, lonely in big crowds.

I'm still trying to puzzle out the draw.  I guess in the end it's a need for myth - picking a past that's just a little more interesting and a little less bleak than what we had.  Something like what Tony Horwitz posits in A Voyage Long and Strange (review coming one of these days), where he explores the history from Columbus Day to Thanksgiving.  For good or for ill, we pick and choose our mythology and call it history.

Funny that this slice of Pre-Jamestown England is the one place that I'll have to deal with more tobacco smoke than anywhere else in my travels.

Still on the fence about going the last day with the girls.  They definitely get a kick out of it, though they have fun most anywhere.  Cost/benefit analysis must ensue.

You remember the Bible?  That literary "Mr Toad's Wild Ride" that has gone through a dozen translations and a lot of editing on behalf of one sect or another but should be considered Holy Writ (as it were)?

Well, some conservatives are changing it.

The Conservative Bible Project, from the people that brought you the Conservapedia, aims to clear up all that nasty liberal trash.  Obviously King James with that poncy beard and tights just can't be trusted.

I don't have time to properly lay fires on this, so I'll pass along a few links:

First, the horse's mouth: http://conservapedia.com/Conservative_Bible_Project

Next, Alas, a blog has some choice thoughts: http://www.amptoons.com/blog/archives/2009/10/07/that-glorious-day-when-jesus-founded-america/

Finally, the picture detailed in that post (the one with Jesus, or possibly King Elessar - The Tree of Gondor on his robe is throwing me off - holding the Constitution) needs attention.  Here's the direct link: http://www.mcnaughtonart.com/artwork/view_zoom/?artpiece_id=353

Also, a version with slightly different annotations: http://www.shortpacked.com/McNaughton%20Fine%20Art.htm

All right, as may have noticed before, I'm organizing a Victorian
Steampunk Ball to raise funds to fight MS (23 Jan 2010 in Baltimore,
in case you missed the previous post).

Obviously, I can't do this alone. That's where you, our viewers, come in.

The ball will be organized along prom lines (why make up something new
when when you can pirate existing documents and bend them to your
will?), so I'll be looking for people to whom I can delegate broad
tasks such as decorations, refreshments, whatever additional
fundraising we do at the event (silent auction, raffle, etc) and
entertainment above and beyond the dancing (we have an instructor, but
will need dj and sound system - I figure a band is out of the finance
picture).

Which brings me to the subject of donations. In order to maximize our
fundraising, I'll be shaking down looking to our merchant class
to provide items for free or cheap. I will work towards getting those
that wish a record of donation so they can write it off. I'd also
like suggestions on the best method of exchanging ball-goers' lucre
for chances at stuff.

Consider this your opportunity to come in with questions, suggestions
and offers before I come looking for you. Feel free to contact me
through:

steampunk at teamgreykell dot org

Also, feel free to spread that address around as the Ball's point of
contact until we get the flyer and website finished.

Thanks! With your help, our plan cannot possibly fail! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

(A lot of guys ignore the laugh - and that's about standards)

In an effort to post a little more often, I'm going to exercise the
"post by e-mail" option.

House - still shoveling out a ship's coal bunker with a spoon, but
there is progress. The current step is to gather up the files and
receipts and place them in clearly marked boxes so I can retrieve them
later. Anyone with spare storage space for free/cheap should let me
know, as I need to cache things away during the "make the house look
like it's not occupied" phase. Anyone who is looking or knows someone
looking for a 3 br/2 bath with finished basement in the N PG Co area
should let me know. I've not signed with the agent, so selling direct
would save a little money and hassle all around.

Work - going OK. Just back from more training in OK City. Still
haven't found the job field with training in Copenhagen, Singapore and
Doha - saw an ad for MI6 in the latest Economist, but I suspect I
wouldn't pass screening. Also, annual review time - oh, the joy!

Walk - finished the MS Challenge Walk with only a couple of short hops
in the van, mainly for time (they clear you off the course if you take
too long). Generally feel pretty good, though I have pain in the
calves just below the knee and my back has been a little wonky. It
was a really good weekend. Part of it is the fact that for the
weekend you aren't worried about anything other than you, your
teammates, and the walk. Since this is my second year, I was able to
avoid a lot of pitfalls - I had better walking kit, better sleeping
gear and a year of walking to be better conditioned. Hope to do it
next year, barring schedule problems. Thanks to all who helped along
the route or with donations.

Finally, a reminder. My postings here are my opinions, except for
those times I'm feeling bloody minded and argumentative, then they
might not even be mine. They are certainly not the opinion of any
organization to which I belong, nor any employer. To ensure they not
be interpreted as such, I neither use my given name, nor the names of
my employers and associations, in my posts. Like Publius, I want the
opinions and arguments to be considered on their own merits or lack
thereof, rather than being colored by the reader's opinion of the
speaker. I therefore ask that my readers: treat my opinions as mine
alone, not anyone else's, and refrain from using my given name in this
blog. Thanks!

More later, though hopefully not much later.

A Clockwork Werewulf: Being a Victorian Ball in the Steampunk Style


Saturday, January 23, 2010
7:00pm - 11:00pm

Location:
2640, a collectively run events venue in Baltimore

2640 St Paul Street
Baltimore, MD


This is a Steampunk Ball to raise money for the MS Society. (More details as they become available)

This is the url to the site's, uh, site: http://www.redemmas.org/2640/

Just a "heads up" that I will be taking the girls to the Faire this
Saturday, if anyone's interested in meeting up. Since I'm going to
try to get out to the Adventurer's Club that evening (looking for
babysitter!) we'll be there in the 1100-1500(ish) range. Since I'll
be attending upon the girls, I have no set schedule of events - I'll
be a leaf on the wind.

Missed 9/11 entirely - here's a little bit of something we call evidence to refute the tinfoil hat crowd with the whole "it couldn't have been an airplane at the Pentagon because there's no parts.  Here is a youtube of an F-4 Phantom hitting a concrete wall - watch the aircraft disappear!

Aircraft are made of really light things, like most weapons, really.  The payload was 60,000 pounds of JET A sholshing around in the tanks.

Anyway, here's a letter to former President Bush (never get to put those 3 words together often enough, though I'd settle for Hague defendant Bush as well) about trying to man up and own the torture system he put into place.  I disagree with a few points, but it might be the best way out of the corner he painted us into.  Personally, I expect we'll get more low and mid level scapegoats thrown into jail while he clears brush out West.

Finally, least I appear one sided, here's a message to President Obama urging him to find a real solution to GTMO instead of shipping the whole lot out to Bagram AB.  The trick is to pare down the list to those we want to keep and keep them, either as POW's or criminals.  Playing games with indef detention, only someplace else, is still not getting us back to the rule of law - you know, that whole "...preserve, protect and defend the Constitution..." thing that really isn't an optional part of the oath.

Because of scheduling problems (mine and others) we're kicking the MS fundraising steampunk ball (A Clockwork Werewulf) down the road to 23 Jan 2010.  

At this point the date is fixed but the location is still a work in progress.  I hope to get my first choice but if not I may be releasing the hounds to finding another.

More on this story as it develops...