A homebuilt 3-D printer that creates objects out of sugar.
The Infection Is Spreading
Anbar isn’t the only place where Al Qaeda will be on the run.
In fact, what’s finally happening reminds me of a post I wrote a couple years ago on how one establishes a beachhead of cooperation, and then expands it.
Carnival Of Space Numero Dos
Can be found here.
Too Sensible
Mickey channels one of my pet peeves:
Wouldn’t we save a lot of gasoline quickly and cheaply if we replaced most of our “STOP” signs with “YIELD” signs? I’m sure there is a safety argument against this, but I’d like to hear it, along with up-to-date comparisons with countries that rely on “yield” more than “stop.”
There is no valid safety argument against it. Requiring a full stop adds zero safety, though it is useful for revenue production. The notion that a full stop is somehow safer is…what’s the word…oh, yeah. Idiotic.
I too got a ticket for this in Manhattan Beach many years ago, and was supremely irritated by it. It’s particularly stupid at four-way stops. We could in fact waste less time and less fuel if such signs were yields rather than stops.
The other idiocy that I see (in southern California–south Florida is actually much better) is the notion that if there is a left green arrow, that once you lose it, you can no longer turn left on the green, even if there isn’t another car within a mile. The purpose of green arrows should be to make it easier to make a left, not harder. Yeah, I know, it’s partly to protect pedestrians, but either way, people should be allowed to exercise some judgment. There are few things more infuriating to me than sitting at an intersection with a green light to make a left turn in the middle of the night, and knowing that it will be illegal if I don’t wait for the arrow.
And I should note that I just realized that there is a fourth thing that I prefer south Florida for, compared to southern California. In general, the traffic regulations are more sane (even if the drivers are much worse). You can turn left any time the traffic is clear, even at intersections with left-turn arrows, and you can do a U-turn almost anywhere. It’s the default, whereas in California, you can only do one if given explicit permission from the signage.
[Late morning update]
A recurring theme in comments with which I heartily concur: we need to teach people to drive, not merely operate an automobile. It’s far too easy to get a driver’s license in this country.
Comments Section Hygiene
I’m not in the general habit of banning commenters, but having already established the precedent with Anonymous Moron, I guess I need to do a better job of policing. I am going to henceforth ban anyone who uses the acronym “LOL” in response to something that they themselves wrote.
Why? Because it is juvenile, and stupid. Anyone who does it apparently never learned the old wisdom that one doesn’t laugh at one’s own jokes. It looks particularly stupid when they’re not funny. In fact, it looks stupid to the max when they are never funny. But then, folks who do it are generally not the type of people who are able to realize how stupid they look.
In addition, most people (at least in this comments section, but I’ve noticed it in other fora as well) who do so also tend to add zero signal, and a lot of noise.
For that matter, I also want to add some tips for people who want to quote other people, to avoid confusion and ugly comments. There is a simple HTML tag, that looks like this: <em>quoted text</em>. Please use it. Also, please put your name in the “Name” field, unless you’re determined to remain anonymous. I have no interest in seeing a name in a comment.
Not The Book She Wanted To See
Susan Katz-Keating would like a tell-all from George Tenet that really tells all:
We had insufficient intelligence. True, we had electronic surveillance; but we lacked the all-important human intelligence-gathering
It Couldn’t Wait
It’s not quite tropical, but we already have the first named storm of the hurricane season, three weeks before the season is supposed to officially begin.
I hope that this isn’t a portent.
[Update in the afternoon]
OK, why are they naming this storm? Do they name nor’easters? No, they don’t, even though they can have much higher winds.
How long have they been naming subtropical storms? If we’re seeing more named storms now than we used to, I wonder if it isn’t because (a) we literally are seeing more than we used to, because many of the ones in the past decades we never even knew about if no ship encountered them, or they encountered no land, and (b) we are changing the naming rules, and comparing apples to oranges.
I think that we ought to stick to the tradition, and only name storms if they’re tropical. If “Andrea” becomes tropical, then fine, but for now, I don’t think it deserves a name.
It Couldn’t Wait
It’s not quite tropical, but we already have the first named storm of the hurricane season, three weeks before the season is supposed to officially begin.
I hope that this isn’t a portent.
[Update in the afternoon]
OK, why are they naming this storm? Do they name nor’easters? No, they don’t, even though they can have much higher winds.
How long have they been naming subtropical storms? If we’re seeing more named storms now than we used to, I wonder if it isn’t because (a) we literally are seeing more than we used to, because many of the ones in the past decades we never even knew about if no ship encountered them, or they encountered no land, and (b) we are changing the naming rules, and comparing apples to oranges.
I think that we ought to stick to the tradition, and only name storms if they’re tropical. If “Andrea” becomes tropical, then fine, but for now, I don’t think it deserves a name.
It Couldn’t Wait
It’s not quite tropical, but we already have the first named storm of the hurricane season, three weeks before the season is supposed to officially begin.
I hope that this isn’t a portent.
[Update in the afternoon]
OK, why are they naming this storm? Do they name nor’easters? No, they don’t, even though they can have much higher winds.
How long have they been naming subtropical storms? If we’re seeing more named storms now than we used to, I wonder if it isn’t because (a) we literally are seeing more than we used to, because many of the ones in the past decades we never even knew about if no ship encountered them, or they encountered no land, and (b) we are changing the naming rules, and comparing apples to oranges.
I think that we ought to stick to the tradition, and only name storms if they’re tropical. If “Andrea” becomes tropical, then fine, but for now, I don’t think it deserves a name.
The Situation In Baghdad
A very long, but interesting (and encouraging) video interview by Bob Wright with Eli Lake, embedded reporter for the New York Sun, and a major in Iraq.
“The people who think that the insurgents are fighting for a nationalist cause should go to Haifa Street right now.”
“In terms of the Vietnam analogy, these are people trying to seek My Lais every day, and our guys are trying to prevent it.”