GroupThinkTank
Revolutionizing the world, one "I agree" at a time
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Mike Russo, 8:42 PM:
A Day That Will Live in Infamy
So it's raining like a bastard in DC today. Has been for a couple days now, thunderstorms interspersed with elliptical oases of dry. Which I would enjoy, except for the fact that driving in the rain is apparently really hard, because there was so much traffic at metro center it was taking, literally, about 20 minutes per city block, so I said fuck it and decided to walk for a while and see if I could catch another bus past the traffic-scab. 45 minutes later I am walking into my Georgetown apartment, soaked, having passed two other busses on the way, all marooned in their occluded lanes.
At which point I turn on the computer and learn that Sleater-Kinney's broken up.
If I were in a better mood, I'd eulogize, but as is, "motherfuck" is all that jumps to mind. I've seen them what, two, three times now, and it was always great, and the last time they played NYC was between loan checks and I looked at tickets and was like, "eh, they're kinda expensive, I'll catch them next time," and now they're playing like five more shows ever and all the reasonable ones are sold out. This is no goddamn rock and roll fun.
Here's hoping tomorrow looks up, although given that Hamdan could well be coming down, I'm more than a little apprehensive...
Mark Dixon, 9:44 AM:
The risks inherent
As I read the article about NASA's risk assessment process, I clicked on the accompanying photo and looked at the seven eager, smiling astronauts in their traffic-cone-orange jumpsuits with helmets in hand, posed in front of the space shuttle Discovery that may or may not bring them back safely from their next mission. And I was reminded that what these astronauts do has never been safe, we've just been extraordinarily lucky. There's a reason why the three little islands in Long Beach harbor are named Grissom, Chaffey and White: they're named for three eager, smiling astronauts whose spacecraft never even made it off the launching pad.
I pondered NASA's premise that the changes already made to the wing foam since the Challenger disaster need to be road tested before more extensive changes are made, and the logic makes sense to me, but I curse the reality that the only way to really road test the damn thing is to take seven more astronauts out of the public relations photo and put them in harm's way. I bristle at the idea that we are compelled to move forward because there are 16 more missions to be flown before 2010 if we're to meet the goal of finishing the space station. I bristle at it because that deadline, like all such deadlines, is arbitrary, and part of me balks at risking lives before everything is nailed down. I'd rather wait until everything is safe. Then my eye is drawn to the headline of the article - Shuttle crew aware of spaceflight risks - and I realize NASA operates in a world where everything will never be completely safe, and the seven smiling people in that public relations photo know it. They lift off Saturday.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
stephen, 1:46 PM:
Surely innocent...
If you're a Windows user, open Notepad and type in this phrase, without the quote marks and with no carriage return: "Bush hid the facts". Now save it and open it again. (not actually a conspiracy)
Monday, June 12, 2006
Mark Dixon, 1:22 PM:
They don't call it a state religion, but...
The Missouri state legislature (full disclosure: my Dad's from Missouri) has introduced House Concurrent Resolution 13 which recognizes "a Christian God" as "our Creator", protects "the majority's right" to express their religious beliefs, recognizes that "a Greater Power exists above and beyond the institutions of mankind", and declares that prayer in the public schools and religious displays on public property are specifically not a violation of the separation of church and state. What I find disturbing is their use of the phrase "we the majority".
http://www.house.mo.gov/bills061/biltxt/intro/HCR0013I.htm
Of course, these are the same folks who are about to induct "legendary Missouri political figure John Ashcroft" into their state's hall of fame. *cough*
Sunday, June 11, 2006
stephen, 5:54 PM:
RFK in RS
for discussion
i'm not always sure the argument is fully enough supported -- it seems like the most numerous category is the ballot purge which perhaps mostly valid -- but it sure made me see red. anyway curious what y'all think. and more importantly, what we can do differently this next election.
