Michael Flynn's Blog, page 92
October 16, 2009
A Portentious Concatenation
JJ Brannon sends an email with a Q&A with Dawkins on philosophers:
Q: I've heard it said that you're just trying to put your case across, and trying to be charming with people you don't necessarily agree with. I suppose it's difficult, especially when you're trying to keep the science on one track and keep the philosophy on a different track. Or do you see those tracks as very much related?
[Dawkins:]: I think they're pretty much related. Questions about the...
October 13, 2009
Sheep on the Run
Sometimes, you just gotta be silly.
What makes these dudes so sensible?
What makes these two dudes so sensible?
“The free man owns himself. He can damage himself with either eating or drinking; he can ruin himself with gambling. If he does he is certainly a damn fool, and he might possibly be a damned soul; but if he may not, he is not a free man any more than a dog.”
– G.K. Chesterton, Broadcast talk 6-11-35
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons...
October 12, 2009
The Rough RIders
It isn't usual to see this sort of thing; but the strangest thing to the post-modern eye is that such scenes did happen.
The TV movie this came from had a number of egregious and inexplicable errors. The Spaniards did not have German advisors running their artillery, for example. And neither Shafter, Wheeler, nor even Hearst were quite as portrayed. And the writers could not help but slip in the sly post-modern cynicism as a subtext. Some of the writing and editing w...
October 11, 2009
Calling Dr. Santayana
People who make history know nothing about history; you can see that in the sort of history they make.-- G.K.Chesterton
October 10, 2009
The Future is Now
(1910)
But don't forget to take off your rubbers.
www.paleofuture.com/blog/2007/5/29/your-own-wireless-telephone-1910.html
A Miscellany of Tech
1. Laying the Legal Groundwork for Organlegging
www.firstthings.com/blogs/secondhandsmoke/2009/10/03/they-really-really-want-to-kill-for-organs/
This is neither the first, not will it be the last, advocacy of replacing "dead" with "mostly dead" as a criterion for harvesting those valuable organs. Follow the money, always, no matter what high-falutin' sounds are made about "compassion and choices," (which is the new, user-friendly sobriquet for the more honestly named He...
Ragging on Joplin
Played at Bucconeer several years ago. Found these photos on the Web recently.
clockwise from far left: Jerry Oltion (theramin), M. Flynn (bass clarinet), Julia Ecklar (trombone), Stan Schmidt (trumpet), Kathy Oltion (clarinet), and Catherine Asaro (piano). All players wore lab coats, to be sure, since this is ANALOG. And the first number was Joplin's "Magnetic Rag" in keeping with the scientific theme. We played "The Easy Winners" in honor of the Hugo nominees ...
October 9, 2009
It's the Economy, Stupid
[image error]
October 8, 2009
On the Isles of Scilly
The Wall Street Journal weblog, Best of the Web reports:
A Scilly Experiment
"A world-first experiment to try and reduce energy use for the day on the Isles of Scilly was foiled after a turn in the weather caused participants to use more electricity," London's Daily Telegraph reports.
In the day-long experiment, Scilly people were asked to follow "a series of guidelines including switching off unnecessary lights and TVs when not in use and only filling k...
Michael Flynn's Blog
- Michael Flynn's profile
- 237 followers
