Journal Entries
Tinfoil Hat Update: Warning, This Scientist Is Cheesed off
Posted Nov 15, 2012
All right, put on your tinfoil hats, so that you can understand all this properly.
Professor Brian Cox has this to say to Nigel - and all of us:
'If anyone else asks me about "Nibiru" the imaginary bulls**t planet I will slap them around their irrational heads.'
He said 'bulls**t. On Twitter.
Yes, it is true that scientists have discovered a rogue planet.
But they are absolutely sure it's not Nibiru. Also, they say, if your Mayan calendar runs out on 21 December, you should just buy another one. They probably have them half-price at Amazon.
To get here on time for the solstice, says Cox, and to end the Earth on schedule, this planet would have to travel 17 trillion light years, or soemthing like that. We don't even know what warp factor that would be.
Okay, okay. I suspect the Borg could do it, if they used a transwarp conduit. But hey, if they did, Captain Janeway would bust their cube.
So stop worrying.
The only person we know who lives on a rogue planet is John Banner: A87774727.
If you haven't seen 'Crash of the Moons' yet, here's the link for reference:
http://archive.org/details/CrashoftheMoons
Personally, we think Cleolanthe is scarier than the Mayan Apocalypse.
And stop bothering JPL.
Discuss this Journal entry [2]
Latest reply: Nov 15, 2012
The US Election: Who Won, Why (Maybe)
Posted Nov 7, 2012
As you know by now, I'm guessing, the incumbent US President won another term in office.
The system seems a little complicated to outsiders, so just to sum up:
Mr Obama won 59688943 popular votes, or 50%
Mr Romney won 57065895 popular votes, or 48%
Mr Obama won 303 electoral votes, so he wins big.
Mr Romney won 206 electoral votes.
Across the board, how did people vote?
Well, the Democrats won 191 seats in the House, and the Republicans won 232. That leaves the Republicans in charge over there, but by less than before.
The Democrats kept control of the Senate, 51-45.
Interesting developments: People all over the country were voting FOR 'progressive issues', such as: gay marriage, legalisation the planting of marijuana (or, back to the 18th Century, when everybody was growing hemp in the South Forty), and for reproductive rights, etc.
Wisconsin got a new Senator. She defeated a former Governor for the seat. She will now be the first 'openly gay' Senator in US history. Tammy Baldwin was a Representative before this, so she's got a lot of experience in government:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/wis-s-baldwin-1st-openly-gay-senator-article-1.1197949
I put 'openly gay' in quotes because people only say that to mean, 'Sure, there were gay people in government before, but since nobody talked about it, this one's a milestone.' Someday there will be a 'gay First Lady', and Eleanor Roosevelt will chuckle up in Heaven...
Some people had tech problems with their voting machines, and the storm last week caused a lot of problems for people getting to the polls, as well. Also, when the election is so important, more people show up, so the lines get really long (except out in the boondocks, where I am).
Political memories being so short, I'm not sure if most people realise what this all means. I would conclude that:
- People in the US are NOT, overall, trying to turn back the clock on social issues.
- Most people (including me) would very much like to go back to the time before the two major parties got so polarised. In other words, yesterday was the first time in my life I've voted a straight-party ticket, and I want it to be the last. That's not good democracy, people, but we had to send a message.
A commentator has summed this up so well that I'd like to share his column with you:
http://www.mlive.com/opinion/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/11/david_kolb_time_for_the_gop_to.html
Yeah, like that. Get rid of the lunatic fringe, and let's have some real dialogue again.
And no more rude campaigns that insult the intelligence.
Discuss this Journal entry [14]
Latest reply: Nov 7, 2012
Election Day USA 2012 - How to Be Civic-Minded
Posted Nov 6, 2012
It's Election Day, which means the bars will be closed. Not that I'd notice.
That's an old custom, which dates from the beginning of universal ('white') male suffrage, back in the 1820s. You see, ladies, when y'all got the vote, it just meant you voted. But when all the unwashed, non-landowning men got the vote, it meant free drinks. That had to stop - they had enough trouble filling out those ballots.
Voter fraud is not a new idea here. Ballot boxes ending up in the river, dead people voting...don't get us started.
Anyhow, we went over to the polling place, which is the local Catholic church fellowship hall. Nice volunteers. They tell you what to do, and smile, wish you a nice day, thank you for voting, give you a sticker that says 'I Voted - [flag]'.
We have paper ballots here, so it's like taking a multiple-choice test. And you have to read the directions: fill in the little ovals with the pen, you can vote straight party, but you have to vote for President/Vice President separately, and for the 'nonpartisan' judges, too.
The 'nonpartisan' judges are a bete noir of mine. In the first place, people in some US states elect their judges. This makes me mad, because it shows that they don't understand that truth is not up to popular vote.
Then there's the 'nonpartisan' part. I read the statements for each judge, and I could tell what party they supported. Reading the 'code words' allowed me to make an informed choice between 'liberal' and 'conservative' judges. I grumbled.
Voting in North Carolina can be fun. We got to vote for a fella named Thigpen - not because he had a name I liked, but because he was the best candidate. This Thigpen happens to be African American. Awful names fall on the just and the unjust. I also got to vote for a lady named 'Clementine', though to do so, I had to pass on the one whose last name was 'Smoke'. 
Hopefully, wise choices are being made today - and thanks to the thoughtful addition of a Purell dispenser in the lobby, nobody caught the 'flu from doing their Civic Duty.
This election update was brought to you courtesy of the League of Extraterrestrial Voters.
Discuss this Journal entry [7]
Latest reply: Nov 6, 2012
Dmitri's NaJoPoMo Journal: Freebie Film Tips for November 2012
Posted Nov 1, 2012
Here it is, as promised:
November is NaJoPoMo around here. I can't remember exactly what the acronym stands for, but it's something about posting a journal entry every day. You can read all about it at A87773412, Create's NaJoPoMo Project.
This month-long journal is called 'Freebie Film Tips'. Each day, there will be one or more film or video offerings from free sources on the internet.
In other words, something you might want to watch in your copious free time, and won't have to pay anything for, since you've already got an internet connection, or you wouldn't be reading this.
If you want to access the archive, go to A87775924.
For today's entry, click on A87776013 - Punk Bouzouki and Belly Dancing. If you want to talk about punk Greek music, bouzoukis, and/or belly dancing, start a thread at the bottom of that page. Stay offa this journal. 
If this is a boring idea, just unsubscribe. Otherwise, you'll get a daily update.
Thanks for helping Create with the November project!
Discuss this Journal entry [86]
Latest reply: Nov 1, 2012
Getting Ready for NaJoPoMo - What to Do, Whom to See
Posted Oct 31, 2012
Tomorrow is All Saints' Day. It's also the beginning of NaJoPoMo. If you aren't up on what Create is sponsoring, check here: A87773412. Solnushka's got threads for sign-up, and some suggestions for how to organise your journal.
I'll be doing it, as well - writing a journal called 'Freebie Film Tips' for the month of November, films and videos available for free on the Net. Don't worry if you're subscribed to this journal: I won't be spamming your convo list. Instead, I'll be using one journal thread to list the day's A-numbers. If you want to check out the film tips, you can always bookmark the archive page at A87775924.
Otherwise, just unsubscribe to tomorrow's thread, move along, nothing to see.
Of course, if you want to discuss the films, just comment at the bottom of each A-space.
If you're interested in joining in on the journal-writing, check the Create link and sign up. 
The journals are going to be fun - and, of course, provide lots of material for 
.
Discuss this Journal entry [11]
Latest reply: Oct 31, 2012
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