Thursday, December 04, 2003

California Bans GloFish. California officials have banned the first transgenic pets--glow in the dark zebrafish. Why? Because they're dangerous? No. Because the fish have been harmed? No. Because they might harm the environment? Nope. The officials have banned them because the fish offend their "values." Evidently the bureaucrats just think they are "yucky." I wonder where that clause is in California Fish and Game regulations? [Hit & Run] California officials are offensive to my values as an American, but I doubt anyone will be banning officials! 1:49:10 PM    comment () YOUR GOVERNMENT: EITHER SUBMIT -- OR SUBMIT. In a post from mid-June, I discussed my opposition to government regulation of media and communications. At the conclusion of that post, I quoted a very odd and disturbing statement from a William Safire column, and followed that with a few observations: [T]oward the end of Safire's column is this paragraph: "Mebbeso, but never underestimate the political sagacity of an old Senate bull like Stevens, who doesn't get his bills passed for show. There may be some... [The Light of Reason] This is something that bears watching. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Congress starts sneaking things into huge unreadable bills aimed at seizing control of communication infrastructure and censoring news. For all I know, they may already be doing so. 1:32:01 PM    comment () Felgercarb. I’m so looking forward to Battlestar Galactica. I was about 10 years old when the original series premiered. I had already seen Star Wars of course and I was a big Star Trek fan (there was only the original series in those days; I’m not sure if even the first movie had come out yet). I loved Battlestar Galactica. Space! Space battles! Lasers! Really fast and noisy space fighters equipped with lasers! I was sad when it was cancelled. (Another space show I loved was a sitcom: Quark, starring Richard Benjamin and John Candy. Nobody remembers it these days.) I’ve read a bit about how purists are upset that the new version of BG changes a bunch of stuff. Me, I’m cool with it. It’s just TV. It seems a bit more grown-up-ified. More babes and more philosophy. But I find myself looking forward to it much the same way I did when I was 10 years old. Space! Space battles! Lasers! I’m easy to please. One thing has stuck around with me since the original series: sometimes when I get mad, instead of cursing I say felgercarb. Felgercarb was a made-up curse word from the future. This makes me a hopeless geek, I know. (My guess is that felgercarb refers to carbonized felger, the waste product of robots.) (I’m joking.) [inessential.com] I remember Quark too! Although I don't remember anything about it except that it was about a garbage scow in space and it was funny. 1:15:32 PM    comment () Who is to Blame for 9-11?. One can be assured that should airline hijackers once again engage in a 9/11-type attack, the only entities that will receive official blame will be those private firms that were following the law. Yes, in hindsight, by following U.S. Government policies from beginning to end, United and American airlines inadvertently aided those individuals who snuffed out nearly 3,000 lives through their vicious actions. Yet, in hindsight, we also know that to have thwarted those attacks would have turned some employees of United and American into felons. Perhaps Mary Schiavo should be suing herself for her own role in creating this mess when she worked for the Department of Transportation, but instead she stands to become a wealthier person because of the twisted state of U.S. law. [Ludwig von Mises Institute] 10:07:20 AM    comment () Alien Sex! Bombs! Robots! Pathos!. The Sci Fi Channel's new Battlestar Galactica miniseries blasts the cheese from the classic '70s TV show. Remember those chrome-domed Cylons? They've been reborn as hot babes bent on wiping out humanity. Xeni Jardin reports from Los Angeles. [Wired News] The original Battlestar Galactica was my favorite show when I was in the third grade, but when I watch it now as an adult it doesn't hold up very well. It will be interesting to see if this "miniseries" (really more like a four hour movie, it seems) turns out better than the original. 9:37:44 AM    comment ()

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