Two weeks in to "the fall"
Sep 14, 2008 23:45 Filed in: Life
September hit and it got cold. Dismal and cloudy,
lots of moody rain (not much thunder) and everyone
was in disbelief since it was so hot or at least
sunny just before. Guess even though the calendar
says fall starts next week, it came with the football
season instead. (and it was easy to get down with the
gloomy weather)
Football! So after Nebraska’s horrible last season, they’re no longer automatically on local TV, which means there’s a lot less to watch these football weekends. But NFL in HD on the big screen... it truly does rock! (even if my Chiefs truly do suck)
Dennis, one of my best friends in Omaha and the source of almost everyone else I’ve ever met here, has moved to Albuquerque, NM (the life of the military). Lizzy & I threw him a goodbye party last weekend where we played laser tag (and we all got to figure out how out of shape we are, though I did get the highest score in one match out of 10 of us!), and then grilled steaks and played Dennis’ favorite games throughout the night. It was a fun time and he will be sorely missed. (a nice group picture was added)
Tried swing dancing again this week - didn’t fall down or step on too many toes and had a good time, though it’s clear I have a lot to (re)learn. Hosted another game night that was more intimate and a lot of fun, cleaned the house up and down (the cats continue to shed like crazy), and continue to keep very busy with work.
The links show where my web-surfing mind has been (mostly on LHC and politics), but Neal Stephenson’s Anathem arrived the other day, so I’m off to finish up The Diamond Age so I can give it a try.
Oh, in even more uninteresting news, my car says one of my tire’s air pressure is low. I checked all 4 and their all the same (at 36 PSI), tried adding more (with no luck) and now am wondering if this is normal for that first cold day of Sept? Any car talk experts out there?
Go Chefs!
Football! So after Nebraska’s horrible last season, they’re no longer automatically on local TV, which means there’s a lot less to watch these football weekends. But NFL in HD on the big screen... it truly does rock! (even if my Chiefs truly do suck)
Dennis, one of my best friends in Omaha and the source of almost everyone else I’ve ever met here, has moved to Albuquerque, NM (the life of the military). Lizzy & I threw him a goodbye party last weekend where we played laser tag (and we all got to figure out how out of shape we are, though I did get the highest score in one match out of 10 of us!), and then grilled steaks and played Dennis’ favorite games throughout the night. It was a fun time and he will be sorely missed. (a nice group picture was added)
Tried swing dancing again this week - didn’t fall down or step on too many toes and had a good time, though it’s clear I have a lot to (re)learn. Hosted another game night that was more intimate and a lot of fun, cleaned the house up and down (the cats continue to shed like crazy), and continue to keep very busy with work.
The links show where my web-surfing mind has been (mostly on LHC and politics), but Neal Stephenson’s Anathem arrived the other day, so I’m off to finish up The Diamond Age so I can give it a try.
Oh, in even more uninteresting news, my car says one of my tire’s air pressure is low. I checked all 4 and their all the same (at 36 PSI), tried adding more (with no luck) and now am wondering if this is normal for that first cold day of Sept? Any car talk experts out there?
Go Chefs!
|
A lot to read and watch...
Wow, maybe I have more time on my hands (no) or just
that a lot of interesting things have been happening
lately around the world. But after 10 days, here’s a
long list for you!
Business/Ecomonics/Politics
Can Diesel Ever Become Fashionable In The U.S.? - BusinessWeek. My family has owned a diesel van of some kind since I was a little kid. You can always hear it coming, but it got relatively good mileage. Here’s a good article about the hurdles of getting the good diesel cars more popular and available in the US. (plus, check out the great Honda diesel commercial narrated by Garrison Keillor!)
Lots of commentary regarding the Freddy/Fannie bailout this week. I’ve heard the pros and cons and believe we needed a bailout but with more serious consequences for the shareholders and decision-makers of the companies. I’m not a fan of having more welfare for the rich, once again. (or is that just a poor perception, Jay? You being 1 of 2 economists who read this blog.
)
A $75 trillion fright fest: 8 megahorror debts chilling the U.S. - MarketWatch
US Is "More Communist than China": Jim Rogers - Financials * News * Story - CNBC.com
I was surprised there wasn’t greater coverage of all of the arrests at the RNC last week. Here are a couple interesting videos - one showing how this was reported in Russia (how the rest of the world was hearing about martial law in US, while here it didn’t make much of a splash at ABC).
YouTube - Martial Law at the Republican National Convention (Russian Times)
Political Radar: Police Clash with Demonstrators, Make Arrests at RNC (ABC)
Minnesota Independent: News. » Best of the RNC, outside the ‘green zone’ edition
Op-Ed Columnist - The Resentment Strategy - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com
Angry Amateurs - Swampland - TIME
Well written articles, but I still can’t get over the “Drill! Drill! Drill!” from the RNC. Can’t imagine a sweeter chant to hear by all of the countries that we’re at odds with (Ven, Rus, Iran, etc).
Sarah Palin Gender Card | The Daily Show | Comedy Central - and on the lighter side. A must-see video.
Science/Physics/Tech/Health
The most “important” event this week - CERN’s LHC is up and running! (as of today) Lots of press on it, but here’s a few you may have missed.
Hawking bets CERN mega-machine won't find 'God's Particle' (Update)
AP: This ain’t no jive, particle physics rap is a hit
YouTube - The Large Hadron Rap
xkcd - A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language - By Randall Munroe (it’s good to dream of a place where such a line could work - I’ll try it tonight before it’s too late.
)
Top 10 Amazing Physics Videos | Wired Science from Wired.com- good to have on reserve.
Ok, this may be more appropriate in the politics section, but three related articles on science policy by the 2 main parties.
Cocktail Party Physics: physics politico
Physics Today Campaign 2008 - Where do they stand on science?
Sciencedebate 2008
Looking for Love In All the Right Alleles | Wired Science from Wired.com - waiting for the time when online dating sites will ask for blood to find your best match.
Single Men Want a Child, but the Relationship Can Wait - NYTimes.com - on the same theme - I’ve often wondered since my quest to find a life-partner has not had success, if I would ever choose something like this... probably not.
When sex becomes an addiction - CNN.com - due to Mr. X-files recent newsmaking.
Autism and Vaccines: Why Bad Logic Trumps Science | LiveScience - title explains all. Can’t tell you how many times I was told vaccines caused all of my health problems.
Important work can be done while daydreaming - The Boston Globe - yeah, I knew I was getting important work done!
You may have heard about Google’s new browser. I can’t use it, yet (not for Mac), but two good links among many:
Google Chrome - A nice comic from Google illustrating why they created a new browser
Why Did Google Abandon Firefox? - GigaOM
Why Disasters Are Getting Worse - TIME - another article discussing geography more than climatology.
Invertebrate Astronauts Make Space History | Wired Science - Impressive creature!
Entertainment/Sports/Misc
10 Movies Needing a Muppet Remake | Geekdad from Wired.com - Keeping the muppets theme alive and well.
Bid to ban extremist U.S. cartoon | U.S. | Reuters - We tried banning South Park in the US years ago, interesting to see if Russia does the same (and they’ve only aired through season 3, there are 12 of them so far!)
The curse word 'Battlestar Galactica' created - CNN.com - FRAK! (What about Farscape’s “Frell” and their many words for other private words? Though I still like the made for TV editing of Breakfast Club, “FLIP YOU!” - as we all shouted it out loud at the recent 80s party. )
Topless Robot - The World Is Now Higher Pitched - great little video of the best voice in movie trailers. Farewell Mr. Don LaFontaine.
YouTube - How Lord of The Rings Should Have Ended - one of many hilarious little Youtube videos showing how so many popular movies should have ended.
Believe! — Bernard Pollard Fan Club - Red tee - It’s still a little raw and my NY Giants fan-friend (living in Boston) is walking a fine-line as she mocks the Pats fans, but still, this shirt is funny in it’s bad-taste. Besides, it’s on a Steeler’s fan site. Go Chefs! :-P
A Lingerie League of their Own - SPIKE - Lastly, seems so wrong in so many ways (though of course I’ll have to check it out on TV next year). I alway thought there should be a co-ed or female football leagues, but this wasn’t what I had in mind (clearly I lack imagination/daydreaming). Enjoy the pics!
Business/Ecomonics/Politics
Can Diesel Ever Become Fashionable In The U.S.? - BusinessWeek. My family has owned a diesel van of some kind since I was a little kid. You can always hear it coming, but it got relatively good mileage. Here’s a good article about the hurdles of getting the good diesel cars more popular and available in the US. (plus, check out the great Honda diesel commercial narrated by Garrison Keillor!)
Lots of commentary regarding the Freddy/Fannie bailout this week. I’ve heard the pros and cons and believe we needed a bailout but with more serious consequences for the shareholders and decision-makers of the companies. I’m not a fan of having more welfare for the rich, once again. (or is that just a poor perception, Jay? You being 1 of 2 economists who read this blog.
)
A $75 trillion fright fest: 8 megahorror debts chilling the U.S. - MarketWatch
US Is "More Communist than China": Jim Rogers - Financials * News * Story - CNBC.com
I was surprised there wasn’t greater coverage of all of the arrests at the RNC last week. Here are a couple interesting videos - one showing how this was reported in Russia (how the rest of the world was hearing about martial law in US, while here it didn’t make much of a splash at ABC).
YouTube - Martial Law at the Republican National Convention (Russian Times)
Political Radar: Police Clash with Demonstrators, Make Arrests at RNC (ABC)
Minnesota Independent: News. » Best of the RNC, outside the ‘green zone’ edition
Op-Ed Columnist - The Resentment Strategy - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com
Angry Amateurs - Swampland - TIME
Well written articles, but I still can’t get over the “Drill! Drill! Drill!” from the RNC. Can’t imagine a sweeter chant to hear by all of the countries that we’re at odds with (Ven, Rus, Iran, etc).
Sarah Palin Gender Card | The Daily Show | Comedy Central - and on the lighter side.
A must-see video.
Science/Physics/Tech/Health
The most “important” event this week - CERN’s LHC is up and running! (as of today) Lots of press on it, but here’s a few you may have missed.
Hawking bets CERN mega-machine won't find 'God's Particle' (Update)
AP: This ain’t no jive, particle physics rap is a hit
YouTube - The Large Hadron Rap
xkcd - A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language - By Randall Munroe (it’s good to dream of a place where such a line could work - I’ll try it tonight before it’s too late.
)
Top 10 Amazing Physics Videos | Wired Science from Wired.com- good to have on reserve.
Ok, this may be more appropriate in the politics section, but three related articles on science policy by the 2 main parties.
Cocktail Party Physics: physics politico
Physics Today Campaign 2008 - Where do they stand on science?
Sciencedebate 2008
Looking for Love In All the Right Alleles | Wired Science from Wired.com - waiting for the time when online dating sites will ask for blood to find your best match.
Single Men Want a Child, but the Relationship Can Wait - NYTimes.com - on the same theme - I’ve often wondered since my quest to find a life-partner has not had success, if I would ever choose something like this... probably not.
When sex becomes an addiction - CNN.com - due to Mr. X-files recent newsmaking.
Autism and Vaccines: Why Bad Logic Trumps Science | LiveScience - title explains all. Can’t tell you how many times I was told vaccines caused all of my health problems.
Important work can be done while daydreaming - The Boston Globe - yeah, I knew I was getting important work done!
You may have heard about Google’s new browser. I can’t use it, yet (not for Mac), but two good links among many:
Google Chrome - A nice comic from Google illustrating why they created a new browser
Why Did Google Abandon Firefox? - GigaOM
Why Disasters Are Getting Worse - TIME - another article discussing geography more than climatology.
Invertebrate Astronauts Make Space History | Wired Science - Impressive creature!
Entertainment/Sports/Misc
10 Movies Needing a Muppet Remake | Geekdad from Wired.com - Keeping the muppets theme alive and well.
Bid to ban extremist U.S. cartoon | U.S. | Reuters - We tried banning South Park in the US years ago, interesting to see if Russia does the same (and they’ve only aired through season 3, there are 12 of them so far!)
The curse word 'Battlestar Galactica' created - CNN.com - FRAK! (What about Farscape’s “Frell” and their many words for other private words? Though I still like the made for TV editing of Breakfast Club, “FLIP YOU!” - as we all shouted it out loud at the recent 80s party. )
Topless Robot - The World Is Now Higher Pitched - great little video of the best voice in movie trailers. Farewell Mr. Don LaFontaine.
YouTube - How Lord of The Rings Should Have Ended - one of many hilarious little Youtube videos showing how so many popular movies should have ended.
Believe! — Bernard Pollard Fan Club - Red tee - It’s still a little raw and my NY Giants fan-friend (living in Boston) is walking a fine-line as she mocks the Pats fans, but still, this shirt is funny in it’s bad-taste. Besides, it’s on a Steeler’s fan site. Go Chefs! :-P
A Lingerie League of their Own - SPIKE - Lastly, seems so wrong in so many ways (though of course I’ll have to check it out on TV next year). I alway thought there should be a co-ed or female football leagues, but this wasn’t what I had in mind (clearly I lack imagination/daydreaming). Enjoy the pics!