General, Popular Culture

The Division Series Is Underway

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It wasn’t planned that way, but the schedule of Detroit and Minnesota worked out such that the last meeting of the season for both teams is a shoot out for the title. Going into it, Minnesota had to win three out of four to win, while Detroit only needs to win half the games. You’d think that would be good news for the Tigers (and a win would be a morale boost for the benighted Michigan residents, with the highest unemployment rate in the nation, albeit of their own making, due to poor political choices over the decades). But the momentum is with the Twins, who are on a hot streak, while Detroit has been slumping, particularly at bat. Their pitching staff has been great, but they haven’t gotten the runs they need to win, which is why they were separated by only two games going into the series this weekend, dropped from a seven-game lead early in September.

They were rain postponed last night, so today was a double header, and their unfortunate trend continues. They lost the first game this afternoon, 3-2 (again, can’t really blame the pitching staff). If the Twins sweep, they only need one more win, tomorrow or Thursday, to win the division. The Tigers would still be the wild card, but if they can’t win this series, there’s not much chance they can do the job when they have to win the league title, and then the championship. As a Tigers fan, I sure hope they can at least split today. As I type this, they’re up one to nothing.

Business, Space, Space History

Five Years Later

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It’s hard to believe that it’s been half a decade since the first X-Prize flight. I remember it well because I had moved to Florida only a month before, was still recovering from being hit by two hurricanes within two weeks (Frances and Jeanne), and watching on television, frustrated that I could no longer just get in the car and drive up to Mojave to see it.

Now I’m back in California, and hope I’ll have more opportunities to go up and see the other exciting activities that it spawned. Things haven’t moved along as fast as people hoped, either for Virgin Galactic (due to some poor technical and contracting decisions on their part, in my opinion), or the field in general, but things are starting to pick up. As Arthur Clarke noted, we are often overoptimistic about schedules in the short run, but overpessimistic in the long run. It’s starting to be a longer run from 2004.

Humor, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Satire

More Advice For “Liberals”

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From Frank J. How to deal with angry conservatives:

Call them racists: If we shout “Racist!” every time they say something, maybe they’ll finally reflect on the racism that motivates them against a black president and give up whatever silly cause they think they’re pushing. If they dispute the racism accusation, point out how sensitive they are about the charge and how that further proves it’s true (people who really aren’t racist shouldn’t have any problem with being called racist). If further evidence is needed, point out to them that the president is black and they are white and that it’s obvious to everyone that a white person saying bad things about an underprivileged black person is quite racist. If the conservative isn’t white, though, this can be confusing. Make sure to give that person a pamphlet describing the political views he is supposed to have based on his race. If the person doesn’t read the pamphlet, you might have to try using a racial slur. It’s okay, if the person deserves it.

Point out how much smarter Obama is than they are: Obama is obviously very smart (obviously!), but somehow conservatives are overlooking that simple fact. Maybe they’ll be less angry if we keep emphasizing how Obama and his staff are much, much smarter than they are, and in fact they are very stupid compared to Obama and other liberals. Then conservatives will realize that Obama, being smarter than them, probably knows what he’s doing, so there is nothing to fear and be angry about unless you’re a really stupid person.

It’s great advice. Let’s hope they keep taking it.

Political Commentary

Legislative Malpractice

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Beldar has a draconian solution to the problem of convoluted bills, with which I heartily agree:

I would genuinely support a Constitutional amendment which required every Congressman and Senator, upon casting every vote, to swear under penalty of perjury — with existing perjury criminal penalties, PLUS instant disqualification from office — that he or she had read every word of everything he or she voted upon. Not just a summary (although they could read summaries too, if they chose) or a recommendation (again, fine as a supplement, but not as a replacement). Enforcement to be by a mechanism where 10% of either chamber’s members could indict and prosecute any member of either chamber for an alleged violation, trial to be held within 30 days on national TV, finder of fact to be a jury of 51 randomly selected voters (one from each state plus the District of Columbia), conviction and expulsion (without appeal) to be based on a simple majority vote.

…This is, and should be, a completely non-partisan “good government” issue. But I’m relatively sure which party’s politicians would bitch and moan the loudest and fight the hardest.

So am I.

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!