Friday, February 11, 2005

So let me get this straight… So let me get this straight…: More than two years after the rules for press access to the White House were tightened in the aftermath of 9/11, a guy with no journalistic credentials who writes under an assumed name and is tied to a dubious political advocacy organization gets to enter through a revolving door of one-day passes and lob softballs cribbed from Rush Limbaugh and the White House’s own talking points? Until he’s revealed to be working under an alias and associated with gay prostitution? AND he was privy to the classified documents that broke the cover of CIA agent Valerie Plame, apparently in retaliation for her husband’s putting the lie to the administration’s ‘Niger/uranium/Iraq’ rumormongering in the warm-up to the invasion? Am I on Candid Camera? (Via Jarrett House North.) 6:15:20 PM    comment []

The New Eason Jordan? The New Eason Jordan?: "Ann Coulter says that soldiers should shoot journalists. And we've actually got the video of her saying it, unlike some other folks." (Via Oliver Willis - Like Kryptonite To Stupid.) 3:08:14 PM    comment []

The Dead Know Nothing Is there a hell? For atheists, there's no problem: since there's no god to judge us, there's no hell for him to send us to. For Christians, despite what they say, it seems more difficult to say. As John Ray points out, Ecclesiastes seems pretty definitely saying there's not: For the living know that they will die but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward; but the memory of them is lost. Their love and their hatred and their envy have already perished, and they have no more forever any share in all that is done under the sun.... Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going." That's Chapter 9, verses 5-10. (Ray quotes the RSV.) Strange. Ecclesistes is a pretty good book overall, probably, as the Skeptics Annotated Bible says, the best book in that book of books. Alas, it's nearly always contradicted by other books, and there's a lot of stuff that Christians don't seem to pay much attention to. 3:03:30 PM    comment []

Beer Machine? It's not as if making beer is really all that difficult, that you need a special machine to help you out. Of course, I haven't tried this thing, so it might be a bit unfair to badmouth it, but I'd bet you could spend your $100 much better by buying a startup setup from a reputable dealer and going from there, which is what I did. The beer machine approach has a lot of shortcomings. The main thing is that you're going to have to buy future ingredient kits from the same manufacturer, since their setup is kind of odd (2.6 gallons instead of the customary 5). With basic parts, if you can make a good lasagne or stew, and are careful about sanitation, you can make damned good beer without fancy, expensive kits. 2:25:03 PM    comment []

APOD: 2005 February 11 - Blue Saturn APOD: 2005 February 11 - Blue Saturn Simply amazing. Beautiful. Puts you right there. 12:24:58 PM    comment []

Drinking and Dialog Don't Drink and Dial! (Via Unfogged.) 10:10:12 AM    comment []

2004 Was Fourth-Warmest Year Ever Recorded 2004 Was Fourth-Warmest Year Ever Recorded: "Last year was the fourth warmest since systematic temperature measurements began around the world in the 19th century, NASA scientists said." (Via The New York Times > Science.) 9:40:54 AM    comment []

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