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mousey musings
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Shining -- Scenes from the creepy Kubrick classic recut as a trailer for an uplifting family film.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
JFK Reloaded is a morbid but surprisingle interesting "game" that challenges you to recreate the exact sequence of events in Dallas. You have a plethora of after-action analysis available, including CSI-style bullet-cams and the events as viewed from Zapruder's location or the grassy knoll. This is really more of a simulation than a game, and its chief social value is its detailed physics engine. The realistic physics and body movements allows one to easily see how one man acting alone could have inflicted so much damage with only three bullets. If you've read any of the JFK consipracy stuff, the value of this "game" quickly becomes obvious.
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity This is an economic analysis. What at first appear to be humorous illustrations actually turn out to be useful graphs. I like the idea of defining the stupid as those that produce negative utility for themselves as well as others, although the author occasionally seems to confuse the subjective utility of rational choice theory with the objective utility of utilitarianism.
First Live Giant Squid Photographed -- Courtesy of National Geographic. For those fascinated by all things squidly.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Groceries, anyone?
Dozens of people are queuing up to shop at the local HEB grocery store. Note that this is just the line to get into the store. Checking out is a whole other nightmare.
Post-Rita grub
A huge crowd gathers at one of the first restaraunts to re-open. Skeeters may be offering lukewarm beer and a limited menu sans its signature fajitas, but for one night it's the only game in town. We've been here for 90 minutes and have yet to see our food, but we're all in high spirits.
All is well
Emily came prepared for the hurricane. Most of it passed through last night uneventfully, since we were only on its fringes. All is well -- we didn't even lose power yet.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Winds are picking up a bit, but it's still sunny outside. I took Emily for a walk but we quit after ten minutes or so because it's just too warm today.
Evacuee bus explodes as Rita closes in -- Yup, turning around and heading home was the right decision. I'll be posting throughout the day, unless the cell network goes down.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
HoustonChronicle.com - Havoc from hurricane comes early to Houston's freeways. We gave up. 10 hours of driving brought us about 40 miles total, and not all of those were in the direction we needed to go. Coming soon: Hurricane Rita pics, until the cell phone towers give out.
Emily being entertained by her Daddy. We've now gone another 15 miles - but not in the same direction.
We're now about 20 miles from our starting point. It's been 5 hours.
Rita evacuation in progress
Well, after 90 minutes we've managed to travel 10 miles. About 8 of those miles were covered in the first 10 minutes. Sigh. We're in for a long day.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Tongue-eating bug found in fish -- This is just disturbing. With pics of the critter.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Do the Right Thing is a fascinating article on the cultural bases underlying moral judgements. It's also a great read.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
From the always-reliable Onion - America's Finest News Source: "Refugees Moved From Sewage-Contaminated Superdome To Hellhole Of Houston"
HOUSTON—Evacuees from the overheated, filth-encrusted wreckage of the New Orleans Superdome were bussed to the humid, 110-degree August heat and polluted air of Houston last week, in a move that many are resisting. 'Please, God, not Houston. Anyplace but Houston,' said one woman, taking shelter under an overpass. 'The food there is awful, and the weather is miserable. And the traffic—it's like some engineer was making a sick joke.' Authorities apologized for transporting survivors to a city 'barely better in any respect,' but said the blistering-hot, oil-soaked Texas city was in fact slightly better, and that casualties due to gunfire would be no worse."
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
FEMA: Agency of the Damned is a quick and dirty list of the help that FEMA has turned away from the disaster area.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Noted political hack William Rehnquist is dead. Score another one for my dead pool. Unlike Scalia, this guy was never about law and always about protecting the Right. Whoever Bush picks to replace Rehnquist is bound to have more integrity than the ex-Chief, even though the replacement will likely be even more conservative.
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