Back in 2006, astronomers working on the Supernova Cosmology Project found something in the Boötes cluster that they had never seen before. It exhibited a brightening to magnitude 21 and dimming down to magnitude 26 over a 200 day period which might suggest a supernova, but the strange object did not behave like any other known supernova. It had a spectra which was unlike any other cataloged in the vast Sloan Digital Sky Database, and it wasn’t even in any known galaxy. Sky & Telescope had the best synopsis and provides a link to the research paper. Gotta love mystery objects…

I have to admit that I didn’t watch the entire interview (I had a previous engagement), but I did see the short section where she was asked if she agreed with the Bush Doctrine. She clearly had no idea what the Bush Doctrine was, and to think that we could elect someone to the 2nd most important job in the world who is completely ignorant of the political philosophy that has brought us 5 years of war is very scary. Also, when Charlie Gibson can trap you in a softball interview, you’re certainly not ready to be the president of the Senate. Think of the contrast here. Sarah Palin can’t survive a single interview with Charlie Gibson, while Obama looks presidential in FOUR blistering interviews with the Nazi of right wing propaganda himself, Bill O’Reilly and gets invited back (in the last episode)! I can’t find all of them, but part three is here.

Commentary on CBS
Obama on O’Reilly

[edit: I'm afraid I might have been a little harsh having just done a survey of folks at work, and only a few knew the currently understood meaning of the term. I get from this that many of the folks at work are more qualified to run for VP than I thought]

I was tipped off to a disturbing piece of slander which I felt compelled to address. I can’t find the original (if you know the origin let me know), but there are posts around the internet stating that in Irish Gaelic McCain means “Son of Cain” attempting to tie McCain to that brother-murderer in the bible (1 John 3:12) through some kind of naming-destiny argument too ridiculous to believe. Although I personally dislike McCain for his dirty deals, infidelity, and constant flip-flopping on the issues, I can’t let this one stand.
Read the rest of this entry »

Things have changed a great deal since 1982. These days, having a computer is almost synonymous with having access to the internet. In truth, a computer that cannot access the internet today is almost quaint. Sure the average Linux distribution comes with enough software to run an entire office out of the box, but if you can’t communicate with your customers via email, fill in forms at online websites, or look up information on the web you’re SOL.
Read the rest of this entry »

NonProphet posted recently about Gorbachev’s Op-Ed in the New York Times about Georgia. It’s hard to criticize a nobel peace prize winner (oh, unless you’re a Republican and you’re talking about Jimmy Carter), but look at it this way: South Ossetia was artificially severed from North Ossetia by Stalin. It used to be one nation. In fact, most of the borders in that region are the result of Stalin’s desire to *create* ethnic tensions.
Read the rest of this entry »

Personally I’m not interested in owning an iPhone (I have so far successfully avoided getting a cell phone at all) even though it is the slickest thing I’ve seen anywhere, but a $200 iPod touch might lure me in (there’s talk that Sept will bring about such a thing). The capacity is still too low though. I want it to be able to hold my entire music collection which only the biggest one does right now which is currently $500! No removable battery is a big downside for me having had similar problems in the past with Palm. And no flash support? I’m not a big fan of flash, but it is everywhere on the web! Thats a serious limitation. I do like the iPod/iPhone interface a lot, it’s too much like an appliance for me (kinda like Palm pilots were), although the new ability for third party apps should bring about a much more interesting mix of abilities.
Read the rest of this entry »

You’ve seen the skit a million times, but not like this. This nifty little mashup takes the Monty Python Camelot scene from the Holy Grail movie to a whole new dimension.