Fun With Engineering

From Wondermark:
Sometimes success IS measured in decibels.

Go there to see this in a larger, and definitely more readable format.

When Fun Is Outlawed...

...only the outlaws will have fun.

In Oregon, the state legislature has decided, in a fit of mommy-knows-best-ism, that while it may be OK to brew your own beer at home, it shall be illegal to transport it outside your home for any reason. This has caused the cancellation of the statewide home brewers festival, and as we all know,

NO BEER OR T.V. MAKES HOMER CRAZY!

This looks a lot like a sop to the local beer distributors who find that Schlitz and Oly have a hard time competing with Sasquatch Stout.

Durn burn politicians, you gotta watch 'em every minute, and tar and feather one every once in a while to keep them honest.

Taking Care Of Business

As any politician will tell you, the secret to keeping your job is taking care of your constituents. And whether it's Muslim Extremists, Illegal aliens, Black Panthers, or just run-of-the-mill felons, this administration knows who its friends are and how to take care of them.

It's almost as though we had elected a stereotypical crooked politician from Chicago or something.

When I am Dictator

Things will be different. I'm working on a cabinet even as I sit here, and thinking Rush Limbaugh would make a great press secretary. Part-time, of course, and since I can't possibly match his pay scale, the side benefit is that he gets to treat the press any way he likes.

It's the sort of thing that might make the once-a-week pressers fun to watch.

Secretary of State. This is a job for someone representing our countries interests to people who frequently don't share them, to say the least. In the past I thought this would be a good position for a slimy double-dealing crooked used-car dealer. Dick Nixon came to mind. Since then the bar has been re-positioned, and Tricky Dick is now St. Richard, the Morally Upright. Plan B involves someone of good moral character who is able to convey our countries position to foreigners using that nuance stuff by the bucket full, but without accidentally conveying the wrong message. Enter General James Mattis, who on at least one occasion said:

I come in peace. I didn't bring artillery. But I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you f*ck with me, I'll kill you all.

What could be more statesmanlike?

Fun With Science

Popsci has an article up describing what the Earth might look like without it's spin.

It appears that the centripetal force due to the planets spin causes the waters of the oceans to be drawn down to the equator, and actually results in a slight bulge on the oceans surface. Stop the rotation, gently, I presume, and the water runs back up to the poles, leaving an equatorial continent.

Down in the comments are lot's of geekey nitpicking as to what else would happen, but let's look at one outcome at a time.

Back To School

I blame the summer heat. I makes me slow and lazy. It also lets me get outdoors and do things rather than sitting in front of a screen. Heck, I do that at work.

Anyway, a judge in Iowa has ordered a sheriff there to take a course in Constitutional content, resulting in his decision to refuse a carry permit to someone he disagreed with politically.

Iowa is the latest state to go over to "shall issue" status, although I'm not certain the new law has taken effect yet. In any case, the fact that this came out of federal court suggests that it's been cooking through the system for some time.

Scorched Earth

After wrecking the car, I suppose some car thieves think to destroy the evidence by burning the vehicle. This appears to be a Democratic strategy, scheduled for later this year, between the massacre and the actual end of terms in January.

In the House, where the blood is expected to be particularly deep, this shouldn't be much of a problem. In the Senate, one vote shy of enough, and with only 1/3 of the seats up for grabs, the motivation will be greatly reduced. Some of the Senatorial Dems who aren't up for re-election until 2012 are probably thinking that if a Republican majority in the House can keep the Bozo-in-Chief in check for 2 years, they may not be relegated to the same fate ad their brethren this year.

Ever notice how oil-soaked pelicans remind one of tar and feathers?

Everybody Needs A Gun

Unfortunately, not everybody can afford one, but help is on the way.

Go here for an extensive listing of gun and equipment giveaways, raffles, and other marketing ploys. I haven't visited them all, but it won't hurt to take a look.

H/T to Uncle for the tip.

Better Parties

Political parties, that is. In this country we have two major political parties, the Evil party, which is currently in control, and the Stupid party. I tend to align myself with the Stupid party because they're less evil.

There have been many suggestions as to how the parties might be improved, with the obvious ones like not giving high party positions to the most Evil or Stupid persons in the party being roundly ignored. After all who's going to vote themselves out of a position of power.

Roger, the Real King of France, has a suggestion for the Repubs:

The solution to this long-standing problem of GOP incompetence is easy. My preference would be to turn the party over to Sarah Palin to remake entirely, with fresh people with fresh (read "tea party") ideas. Absent that, and likely more palatable to weak sisters, is to turn the party over to Karl Rove, with the caveat that nobody who served in the Bush Administration (either one), or was a Speaker of the House, is allowed in the building. Victory follows.

Sarah Palin is a nice person. Possibly too nice. My preference for party leader is Mr. Rove. To my mind he's the first of a long line of Sith Lords, which is exactly what the party needs at this point. RINOs to the aft airlock, and "We Brake For Nobody" on our bumper sticker.

I'm not holding my breath on this one.

Economic Modeling

As you all know, I have 4 fruit trees in my back yard. Last year they produced prolifically, and the local squirrel population thrived. I got 1 peach. Somehow this seemed less than fair.

This year I started a program of squirrel control early, using the squirrel trap I wrote about here earlier. Here it is, halfway through the growing season, and I have 4 trees heavily laden with fruit. It looks like I'm going to do well this year.

I've also noted that trying to control squirrels is like trying to dig a fox hole in a pond, but I'll report now that if you shovel fast enough, even that begins to look possible. This year I've gotten about 20 squirrels for my efforts, and the influx has notably abated. I'm beginning to think of this as an example of how well an economy can do when it doesn't have to support a large population of welfare recipients. Not that I'm advocating drowning welfare recipients, government employees, and other non-productive parasites mind you, just noting that the productive population is noticeably more productive when they don't have to support a large non-productive population.

Independence Day

For some time now I have not gone to any of the public fireworks displays around here. They have ceased to have any significance for me, and seem more like a municipal celebration of the municipal government. Especially in view of the municipal disapproval of any individual celebrations of this type.

Driving to work through Denver, the overhead traffic signs, plus all the spares they usually use to warn you the the road ahead is effectively closed due to construction, were placed along side the major arteries, notifying the public that all fireworks of any kind are forbidden in Denver, and that the police would be strictly enforcing the ordinance. The city gets to celebrate, not you.

On a happier note, the BBQ I went to was attended by several folks who retain the knowledge of how fireworks are made, and are not so concerned with the inherent hazards of the things. If you know they're dangerous, you know not to hold them in your hand after lighting the fuse. That or else you will quickly learn. Darwinism in action. When the builder says to light the fuse, then get away, he's probably not kidding, and it is advisable to ask him how far. It doesn't hurt to add 10-20% to that number either.
Individual fireworks are a defiant statement of individual liberty, and I completely support them. Of course with individual liberty comes individual responsibility. You are expected to put out any fires you start, render first aid to any of your mates who fail to heed the warnings, and bury anything that might need burying in the aftermath.

Have a nice Independence Day.

Shooting Bowling Pins

Went out to the club match to shoot the Wiley wild bowling pins, and incidentally defend my title, which I somehow won last time.

This time I found myself cast as the organizer and scorekeeper as well, which means standing in the sun (low to mid 90s) recording results, and calling up the next shooters This also means I don't get to sit down in the rather sparse shade for about 4 hours.

To my credit, the whole thing ran fairly smoothly and quickly, and we got through 10 rounds of 10 matches in 4 hours with nobody getting bored and going home early. On the other side, the quality of my shooting began deteriorating somewhere about round 6 or 7, and the glorious trophy is now adorning someone else's mantel.

We use an abbreviated form of the Round Robin, which is more of a "Semicircular Robin" or maybe "Slice of a Robin Pie", instead of trying to get everyone to shoot against everyone else, which would entail some 400 match-ups for the 20 people we had today. Requires only 100 match-ups at just under 2-1/2 minutes each. I highly recommend finding a non-participant to act as scorekeeper, or maybe handicapping the previous match winner with the job while I sit in the shade with a couple gallons of lemonade.

Come to think of it, that's exactly what we did this time.

Gun Law

What do you call 5 gun laws in the bottom of the shredder bin?

Wisconsin Army National Guard JAG officer, and Jackson County District Attorney, Gerald R. Fox has something to say about the US Supreme Court's decision in McDonald v. Chicago released earlier this week and holding that the Second Amendment's protections apply against state regulation. In a press release Fox declared 5 Wisconsin state statutes unconstitutional:

"I hereby declare that this office will no longer accept law enforcement referrals for violations of the following statutes:

Section 167.31, prohibiting uncased or loaded firearms in vehicles;

Section 941.23, prohibiting the carrying of concealed weapons, including firearms;

Section 941.235, prohibiting the possession of firearms in public buildings;

Section 941.237, prohibiting the possession of firearms in establishments where alcohol may be sold or served; and,

Section 941.24, prohibiting the possession of knives that open with a button, or by gravity, or thrust, or movement."

A good start.

Although I have to question the reach of a county district attorney in declaring state law unconstitutional. I'm guessing his interpretation may be valid in his county only. I'm also guessing that the state attorney general probably has some interesting things to say about this too. Still, you've got to admire his approach.

Unemployment

Here's a part of the stimulus package you probably didn't think much about. It's based on the theory that if you pay people not to work, everyone will soon be back to work.


What could go wrong?

Got Gas?

If not, then consider filling up soon. It seems that the administration has prodded the EPA to over rule Texas, and shut down every oil refinery in Texas. That would be about 1/3 of all the refineries in the U.S.

That should make him popular.