Blog of Obscurity

Holy Loaded Die!

2005-07-28T19:58:00.000-05:00

The new Munchkin game, Super Munchkin, has shipped from the printers. UPS says it should be here tomorrow - just in time for a weekend game.

One to beam up.

2005-07-20T13:07:00.000-05:00

Seems like a good day to watch both "From the Earth to the Moon" and Trek reruns. A toast to the men in space, real and fictional.

al-Qa'eda being fought by Iraqi insurgents

2005-07-04T10:02:00.000-05:00

From Ranting Profs we get this rather interesting link: the Iraqi insurgents have had enough of Zarqawi and are starting to fight back:

Fighting, which could be clearly heard at night over the weekend, first broke out in May when as many as 50 mortar rounds were fired across the city. But, to the surprise of the American garrison, this time it was not the target.
...
The trigger was the assassination of a tribal sheikh, from the Sulaiman tribe, ordered by Zarqawi for inviting senior US marines for lunch. American troops gained an insight into the measures the jihadists had imposed during recent house-to-house searches in nearby towns and villages.
...
Following al-Qa'eda's seizure of the main buildings a number of residents fled. Arkan Salim, 56, who left with his wife and four children, said: "We thought they were patriotic. Now we discovered that they are sick and crazy.

"They interfered in everything, even how we raise our children. They turned the city into hell, and we cannot live in it anymore."

Template Issues

2005-06-30T07:26:00.000-05:00

Well, apparently Blogger has broken the Bluebird template we're based on. Supposedly they are working on a fix, which means scrolling in the meantime (or using RSS).

Update: Well, until this is fixed, I'll make this a bit more readable for a while.

Hope for Property Owners

2005-06-29T05:15:00.000-05:00

Well, maybe some good is coming out of the ludicrous Kelo decision. From the Dallas Morning News:

Republican lawmakers in the Texas House and Senate introduced companion versions of a constitutional amendment that would prohibit eminent domain seizures purely for economic development.
...
Larry Morandi, a land use expert at the National Conference of State Legislatures, said he has received queries from legislative staffers in four states other than Texas looking to restrict use of eminent domain: Idaho, Oklahoma, New Jersey and Virginia. On Monday, Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt announced the creation of a special task force to study eminent domain laws.

The press release about the legislation is here.

I've seen several references across the blogosphere (here for example) to the proposed "Lost Liberty Hotel" - complete with the "Just Desserts Cafe" - on Justice Souter's property. I can't think of a more appropriate response. Hopefully, they'll vote to kick him out before New Hampshire does anything about it.

Paul Winchell: TTFN

2005-06-26T22:13:00.000-05:00

Paul Wincell, the voice of Tigger, died Friday morning. He voiced several characters that children of all ages will likely remember:

But he was perhaps best known for his work as the voice of the lovable tiger in animated versions of A.A. Milne's "Winnie the Pooh" - with his trademark "T-I-double grrrr-R."
...
Winchell voiced memorable characters in numerous animated features over the years for Disney and Hanna Barbera. He was Gargamel in "The Smurfs," and Boomer in "The Fox and the Hound."

Rest in Peace Mr. Wincell, and ta-ta for now.

Which Superhero Am I?

2005-06-25T11:36:00.000-05:00

I never really thought I was the type to spread fear in the hearts of evil. I was expecting a boy scout type like Captain America or Superman. However:

Batman
Congratulations! You scored a super 70%!

Cool, calm and powerful. Whilst your actual super abilities may not be anything too dazzling, you have earnt the respect of both friends and enemies in response to your amazing fighting skills, strategic combat and experience.

Luckily you have access to the greens which can fund all your majorly cool gadgets, vehicles and weapons! Also, you're reluctant but still accepting to the idea of having a teammate/side-kick, which just makes everything a whole lotta fun, doesn't it now!

On the down side, you've probably suffered some sort of trauma at a young age (that's why we don't talk to the old man near the swings, kids).
Similar to the Wolverine, your past is a base for your current motivation, undertaking some kind of personal vow in search of justice.

All in all though, you're one tough nut. There's not a lot of people who have the minerals to go up against you, and you're experienced enough not to get cocky and let the little things like never finding happiness get you down!

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 74% on Heropoints

Link: The Which SUPER HERO are you Test written by crayzee69 on Ok Cupid

Amazing

2005-06-23T14:27:00.000-05:00

FOXNews.com - U.S. & World - High Court Expands Reach of Eminent Domain

I never thought I'd see this. The liberal wing of the Supreme Court is saying that states and cities should be the ones to pass restrictions on eminent domain, so they won't change the existing decisions. Since when did they care about state's rights? Now more homes will be taken over for shopping malls.

There's a lot more I could say, but right now I'm too disgusted.

Not the endorsement Frito-Lay is after

2005-06-21T04:30:00.000-05:00

Deposed dictator Saddam Hussein still thinks he is in charge of Iraq and has developed a fondness for a kind of crisp, his former guards have claimed.

The tyrant can "eat a family size bag of Doritos in 10 minutes", and rates ex-US president Bill Clinton above successor George Bush, said a report.

I can just see the TV ads now.

"Doritos: The chip of choice for military dictators around the world."

Fall TV Preview

2005-06-19T10:43:00.000-05:00

Well, with all my shows on summer hiatus (or cancelled), I started looking at the fall lineups over at TV Picks. I don't watch sitcoms much, but a few dramas are on the list. Here's the ones I looked at:

Commander-in-Chief: ABC puts Geena Davis as the first female President - coming to the job from the VP position. It also has Donald Sutherland as the Speaker of the House. I'm not a big Davis fan, and this show seems like another West Wing, however, Donald Sutherland is a big draw for me. Doubtful I'll watch it much, though.

Invasion: Conspiracy TV. The natural disasters like the Florida hurricanes are really a cover for aliens to do their work. Looks like X-Files is coming back. Not sure about the premise (I never was an X-Files fan).

E-Ring: West Wing for the Pentagon. It has Benjamin Bratt from Law & Order and Dennis Hopper, so it has potential from a star standpoint.

Night Stalker: Oh I remember the original show scaring me a lot on late Friday nights. I wonder how well this will hold up.

Reunion: This follows 6 people from their high school graduation 20 years ago to the current day where one of them (not revealed) is dead - so this is sold as half-mystery, half-drama. I like serial shows, and this one hits my age group almost dead on (considering my 20 year reunion is about six weeks away). However, the format just about insures that it's a single season show.

In Justice: Law & Order in reverse. Kyle MacLachlan plays a lawyer who proves convicted prisoners innocent. It's already set for mid-season, which makes me think they are already skeptical about it. Might be interesting for a few shows, but would almost certainly (like L&O) get old after a while.

The E-Ring and Reunion are probably the ones I'm the most interested in. It's been a few years that I've started watching a new show regularly (24 is the last "new show" I put on my watch list). Given that Reunion is likely to only last the year, E-Ring will probably be the one I keep an eye on for the next few months. I still doubt many of these will hold up well against 24, though :)

Economic Income Reference (i.e. What's the Middle Class?)

2005-06-19T08:45:00.000-05:00

Just to follow-up on an offline discussion I was having yesterday with Shrieking Geek, here's a couple of income tables showing the national/state breakouts, median income, and quintiles through 2003:

Median Incomes

Quintile Breakdown

What we were discussing was how people move from one class to the other. Being part of the IT bubble, we went from lower-middle class, to upper class to upper-middle class in the last 10-15 years. That brought up the question of what's "upper class". From a perception standpoint, people don't generally consider themselves upper class until they are independently wealthy. The Kennedys, Waltons, etc. who have such a vast fortune they don't have to work, they just choose to. That's why a lot of people who have a 6000+ square foot home and two luxury car payments still call themselves "middle class".

Here's a Wikipedia post with some economic data:

The middle class of the United States

While 95 percent of Americans identify themselves as middle-class, using the measures of sociology the reality seems different: Some of these individuals are (in those terms) lower or upper class. The expansion of the phrase in the United States appears to have been predicated in the 1970s by the decline of labor unions, the entrance of formerly domestic women into the public adult work force, and the naming and blaming of the underclass in the slums.
Around 1980, when asked what level of personal income would qualify as middle-class, George H. W. Bush replied: $50,000. In fact, only 5 percent of the U.S. population was making that level of income at the time.
Though net worth usually determines social class, incomes between $20,000 and $75,000 are generally considered middle class. Most economists define "middle class" citizens as those with net worths of between $25,000 (low-middle class) to $250,000. Those with net worths between $250,000 and $500,000 typically are categorized as upper-middle-class.

Bad Week at Work

2005-06-19T08:04:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the light blogging lately. It's been pretty stressful at the office. I'm in IT support and lately we've been losing staff and not replacing them quickly enough. As a result everyone is overworked and on edge. Recently one of my team members made a pretty basic error with a customer and I've spent a lot of the week in damage control mode. Unfortunately for him, that sort of behavior has come to be expected by others - making it that much more difficult on him.

I really need a break.

I wonder what CAIR will say now?

2005-06-09T11:45:00.000-05:00

Remember the stink from CAIR over the Fox show "24"? Fox decided to air a PSA to "reinforce" that there are good Muslims. Apparently, Americans can't tell the difference between TV and reality:

The Council on American-Islamic Relations - CAIR: Article Contents:

CAIR called for Wednesday's meeting to address the depiction of a 'Muslim' family that is at the heart of a terror plot in the popular program. The Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group is concerned that the portrayal of the family as a terrorist 'sleeper cell' may cast a shadow of suspicion over ordinary American Muslims and could increase Islamophobic stereotyping and bias.

Well, now we have two father-son pairs under arrest:

Hamid allegedly received terrorist training and funding from the father, an ice cream truck driver, so he could carry out attacks on hospitals and large food stores in the United States. But FBI officials on Wednesday backed away from specific information regarding any type of planned attacks.

Hamid, 22, and his father, 47, are charged with lying to authorities about the son's alleged training at an Al Qaeda camp in 2003 and 2004 and money sent for training. Both are American citizens; the younger man was born in California.

Somehow I doubt we'll see a PSA from Fox/CAIR about this

EMP Vulnerability in America

2005-06-07T18:11:00.000-05:00

Winds of Change has an excellent piece on the vulnerability of the United States to an electromagnetic pulse attack. A single pulse at a sufficient altitude could potentially cripple the electronics (TV, computers/networks, cars, phone switches, etc.) in 95% of the continental US. It would take a ballistic missle to do it - so we don't want Russia selling any off.

This picture shows the scope:

Apple to switch to Intel

2005-06-04T10:19:00.000-05:00

If true, this will mark the end of an era. Part of Apple's appeal for many users has been that they are the "Anti-Microsoft". I'm not sure Apple can do it effectively either. The iPod will not by itself launch a new computer revolution for them. Steve Jobs has pulled a few rabbits out of his hat, before, though, but I just have my doubts.

Dean's Foot Grows Larger than his Head

2005-06-03T17:51:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure he can get it in his mouth any more.

What would you do to be able to vote? Are you willing to stand in long lines?

I am, even though I have four kids I might have to bring with me. And I would, even if I made an "honest living."

Fun Conversations at Home

2005-05-30T03:40:00.000-05:00

It's really nice when the kids are able to keep up with the grown-ups when it comes to humor:

TheOtherKiddo: What's for dessert?
Me (grinning): Kids!
BroadSword (pinching TheOtherKiddo's arm): I don't know - you're a little scrawny. You need fattening up.
TheOtherKiddo: Then get me some dessert!

Everyone lost it at that point.

Comcast Stuff

2005-05-29T08:20:00.001-05:00

After getting more and more overwhelmed by spam at my off-site hosting company, I started trying Comcast's email service. I figured it couldn't hurt - it's free with the cable service after all. After using it for about a couple of weeks, I'm pretty impressed. The spam filters are working better than anything the hosting company or my email programs were coming up with. I've also got access via both web and home client so I can get to them remotely - something I could do before but it wasn't pretty. Most recently, I discovered that Comcast supports pop3s so that at least my passwords and email aren't sent cleartext over the shared wire - that's something I've wanted for a while.

I used to think a cable/phone provider couldn't possibly keep up with a private hosting service. I'm quickly learning that's not necessarily true. Comcast doesn't allow the same flexibility on server access I get from a Unix account, but right now I'm finding the email features far outweigh the loss of web abilities.

I think my hosting service will be out of a job soon.

RotS II: The Chosen One

2005-05-22T07:57:00.000-05:00

I think RotS finally clears up the whole "Chosen One" theme. We've been discussing "the Prophecy" in our house the last few weeks and came up with a few ideas:

1) Anakin/Vader is the Chosen One. After he destroys the Jedi, it leaves two on each side of the Force, bringing balance
2) Luke is really the Chosen One. He is the one who turns his father back from the Dark Side and brings about the fall of the Empire.

Well, it gets a little clearer in the movie. By putting in the line in RotS: "You were supposed to destroy the Sith, not join them!" we are pointed directly to the point that it is indeed Anakin who is Chosen. It's Vader that chooses to destroy the Sith by killing the Emperor.

It just took him a long time to get around to it.

On a related note, regarding the whole "Bush==Vader" theme that's running around right now, I think it's pretty laughable. However, let's take this to the logical conclusion:

Bush==Vader
Vader==The Chosen One
The Chosen One==Detroys the Sith
The Sith==Evil

Therefore, Bush is chosen to destroy evil. Boy, that will drive the anti-Religious Right folks nuts, won't it :)

Revenge of the Sith

2005-05-21T15:15:00.000-05:00

Well, I can (almost) forgive Lucas for Episodes I and II now. RotS was just about everything I could have hoped for. Even knowing the ending, the movie still managed to pull at me. Palpatine plays the master-puppeteer - turning Anakin's confusion against everyone and everything he loves. The Republic, the Jedi and his marriage are gone.

I can nitpick at it a bit: Lucas still has a problem with pacing, and I don't totally understand why Yoda would retreat just because he lost his lightsaber. He went there to confront Palpatine and wasn't exactly losing.

On the whole, though, this movie accomplished exactly what it needed to and it brings the saga to a very satisfying end.

(10:15pm: Edited/Corrected)

Don't Blame the Media

2005-05-16T10:49:00.000-05:00

John Simpson at the BBC doesn't think we should fault the media for shoddy reporting in the Newsweek scandal:

BBC NEWS | Americas | Reporting the truth:

It is hard to avoid the inference that the people who are really to blame are the men and women who have abused their prisoners, not those who have reported allegations about the ill treatment.

What happened in prisons like Guantanamo, Bagram and Abu Ghraib after 2001 has done serious damage to the United States and its allies: not just the dwindling number who still have troops in Iraq, but the new governments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Do not blame the news media for this. Instead, all the effort needs to go into convincing the world that the abuse has stopped, and will never be allowed to start again.

So, when do you blame the media for sloppy reporting then? Newsweek published a provocative, single-source story. Rather than holding their feet to the fire for sensationalism, we're supposed to blame the Bush administration.

Huh?

That Was.... Disappointing

2005-05-13T20:57:00.000-05:00

Well, I tuned in to watch the Enterprise finale tonight. The producers meant it as a some kind of "love letter" to Trek fans and that it was meant to capture the series. Well, if that's a love letter, then they need to study up on romance again. The Riker-Troi plot of (somehow tucked back into the excellent TNG episode "The Pegasus) was more pointless than illuminating. So, here we have Riker struggling to decide whether he should violate orders about the mutiny on board the Pegasus. While struggling, he pulls up records of Enterprise's final mission to study it for lessons. Ooo, the drama and suspense of it all. They would have been better off with a stand-alone episode, rather than this contrived character story. The previous two-parter involving the xenophobic humans was much better as a finale than this.

Paramount, please retire Rick Berman and his staff to some dark corner of the lot where they can no longer touch Star Trek. Wait a few years, then bring someone with vision beyond the technobabble and rehashed time travel stories. JMS gets my vote, if you're interested in this fans opinion.

NY Times Jumps on "Values"

2005-05-09T08:29:00.000-05:00

A New York Times committee has recommended several steps to help increase readers’ confidence in the newspaper, including making reporters and editors more accessible through e-mail, reducing errors and increasing coverage of middle America and religion.

I have to wonder what kind of coverage will it offer. The NY media has never gone out of its way to understand middle America or religion. In fact, they seem to prefer insulting it. Everything from Connie Chung asking OKC firefighters how they could possibly deal with the problems associated with the bombing in 1995, to the most recent coverage of the death of Pope John Paul II shows this.

Now, I suppose I should give the NY Times credit for recognizing their limitations, but this is still a committee recommendation, not an action plan. I have my doubts that they will really follow through on it, except to give it some lip service.

Goblet of Fire

2005-05-07T19:18:00.000-05:00

The Teaser Trailer for Goblet of Fire is out. A lot about the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but only one brief comment that alludes to the real story of the movie.

ABC News: Student Organizes Time Traveler Conference

2005-05-06T11:39:00.000-05:00

I gotta admit, this is a neat idea. Bizarre! but neat.

ABC News: Student Organizes Time Traveler Conference:

"Attention, time travelers: Amal Dorai hopes you enjoyed the party he's throwing this weekend.
Dorai, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is hosting a Time Traveler Convention on campus this Saturday. Make plans now, because it's the last such party.
'You only need one,' he said. 'The chance that anybody shows up is small, but if it happens it will be one of the biggest events in human history.'"

Weapon of Choice

2005-05-04T14:08:00.000-05:00

Desert Eagle
You preferred a weapon with 43% power over speed and 65% range over melee.

You use a Desert Eagle.

One of the most powerful handguns in production, the Desert Eagle is a heavy punch in a small package. Its reliability and speed are remarkable for a gun with such high caliber. Your enemies won't stand a chance as you fell them bullet by bullet.

Link: The What's Your Signature Weapon Test written by inurashii on Ok Cupid

New Diversion

2005-05-03T21:42:00.000-05:00

I found a new diversion a few nights ago: CocoaFIBS. It's a freeware program that connects you to the First Internet Backgammon Server. It's OS X native, simple, but elegant and reasonably stable - though occasionally prone to disconnects during what seems to be high server loads. Interestingly enough, I found myself playing against someone last night that's just a few minutes from here - plus a few international players too.

All in all, a neat way to spend a bit of time.

LA Times: Link between Trek, Pedophilia

2005-04-29T19:40:00.000-05:00

Wizbang reports a LA Times article that says, in part:

On one wall is a "Star Trek" poster with investigators' faces substituted for the Starship Enterprise crew. But even that alludes to a dark fact of their work: All but one of the offenders they have arrested in the last four years was a hard-core Trekkie.

Well, I guess they need to send in the FBI to our place, then. We're sitting here watching a TOS episode as a lead-in to tonight's Enterprise.

Fortunately, it's Mirror, Mirror and not And the Children Shall Lead.

So a man can stand up

2005-04-24T21:38:00.000-05:00

I recently read Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes. I can't imagine how I've missed this book all my life, and I can't recommend it highly enough. It should be required reading for every American child; and that would be no hardship because it's a delightful story with well-formed characters that are easy to like, and feel for.

It takes place at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, and I want to share the passage that impressed me the most deeply. The scene is a secret meeting of the Boston Sons of Liberty, with Sam Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, John Adams, Joseph Warren and James Otis in attendance (as well as the fictional characters Johnny Tremain and his friend, Rab). Otis has barged in to the meeting late, and has just overheard Sam Adams making the statement that the men would fight.

"For what will we fight?"

"To free Boston from these infernal redcoats and ..."

"No," said Otis. "... That's not enough reason for going into a war. Did any occupied city ever have better treatment than we've had from the British? Has one rebellious newspaper been stopped - one treasonable speech? Where are the firing squads, the jails jammed with political prisoners? What about the gallows for you, Sam Adams, and you, John Hancock? It has never been set up. I hate those infernal British troops spread all over my town as much as you do. Can't move these days without stepping on a soldier. But we are not going off into a civil war merely to get them out of Boston. Why are we going to fight? Why, why?"

There was an embarrassed silence. Sam Adams was the acknowledged ringleader. It was for him to speak now.

"We will fight for the rights of Americans. England cannot take our money away by taxes."

"No, no. For something more important than the pocketbooks of our American citizens."

Rab said, "For the rights of Englishmen - everywhere."

"Why stop with Englishmen?" Otis was warming up. ... "... For men and women and children all over the world," he said. "You were right, you tall, dark boy, for even as we shoot down the British soldiers we are fighting for rights such as they will be enjoying a hundred years from now.

"...There shall be no more tyranny. A handful of men cannot seize power over thousands. A man shall choose who it is shall rule over him.

"...The peasants of France, the serfs of Russia. Hardly more than animals now. But because we fight, they shall see freedom like a new sun rising in the west. Those natural rights God has given to every man, no matter how humble ..."

"...The battle we win over the worst in England shall benefit the best in England. How well are they over there represented when it comes to taxes? Not very well. It will be better for them when we have won this war.

"Will French peasants go on forever pulling off their caps and saying 'Oui, Monsieur,' when the gold coaches run down their children? They will not. Italy. And all those German states. Are they nothing but soldiers? Will no one show them the rights of good citizens? So we hold up our torch - and do not forget it was lighted upon the fires of England - and we will set it as a new sun to lighten a world ..."

"It is all so much simpler than you think," he said. He lifted his hands and pushed against the rafters.

"We will give all we have, lives, property, safety, skills ... we fight, we die, for a simple thing. Only that a man can stand up."

My Personal Opinion

2005-04-24T09:43:00.000-05:00

I've finally calmed down enough to write about my fears concerning Pope Benedict XVI. When the Cardinal announced the new pope was Joseph, I just yelled, NOOOOOO! I knew it was Ratzinger. We are so headed down the wrong path. My question is who in their right frame of mind would elect Ratzinger?

I knew it would be him about 3 years ago. The Pope got really ill and the Italian press started asking Ratzinger if he was going to be our next pope. He strongly dismissed any questions, stating that he would never want to be pope. The statement of "I will not be in line for Pope" made me so happy. It has been, in my opinion, Ratzinger and not JPII who was running things over the last few years. All of the announcements and letters concerning more stringent holds on the Church to stop women/girls from participating, only latin is said at Mass, especially during the Consecration, priests should face the crucifix and not the assembly.... I was devastated when I was in Nawlins last July, to find out from my aunt that she was perplexed at the change she was seeing in her Church. The Mass had reverted totally to Vatican I standards, girls were not altar servers or lectors or Eucharistic Ministers. Latin was the language of the whole Mass and the priest had his back to the assembly. Here is the kicker; the seminary Notre Dame on Clairborne Ave teaches only Vatican I to their seminarians, they are graduating, with the blessing of the Bishop with the urge to go forward and hold Masses and stress from the Roman Missal of Vatican I all the old ways of worship. Be so scared. All of the progress we have made since Vatican II: I bet Paul VI and John XXIII were pleased with what little leaps we had made - and now it's about to go away and the Middle Ages of worship are back. Lastly, and just as saddly, Loyola has hired a teacher who subscribes to this. Horrific! This is not the Jesuit way I thinking I wanted.

I guess he proved the old adage, "The one who screams the loudest, screams a lie." Now I'm hearing about how close of a friend he was to JPII and how people I've read about can't wait for Ratzinger to lead us backwards into Vatican I. My final reaction was to announce to the house my intention to say a novena, 1 rosary daily, for the positive, forward path to be taken by Ratzinger. Please pray for this about face in his thinking. Any way I've probably said to much.

I still shake my head and can't look at his picture as Pope! God be with us!

Oooo, A calling out!

2005-04-20T11:33:00.000-05:00

Not being Catholic, my opinion of the new Pope is mostly "how will my wife deal with it?". I've already heard a soapbox or two :) Having said that, I do have a few "interested bystander" opinions.

Pope Benedict XVI has been a highly conservative, highly traditional member of the clergy. He speaks out against moral relativism as putting your own views as the highest moral authority - a point I certainly appreciate. Right now, I think moral relativism is a much more problematic aspect of our society than moral certitude.

He's been criticized for his views on gay rights and birth control - especially in AIDS-stricken countries. I don't think it's wrong for the Church to hold up the value of human reproduction, though. For example, my understanding is that the only reason the US is growing in population is because of immigrants. Our existing population has a birth rate below the sustainability rate.

The other issues that get criticism are involving priests: marriage and women priests. The US Catholic Church is growing, but the preists are getting fewer. My hunch is that the Church will likely allow married priests before it allows female priests. Personally, I don't see that either is a crucial moral stance, so I would like to think they would examine it.

I'm really curious to see how Benedict will deal with actually being in charge. It's one thing to advise, but not have the responsibility. Now, he has that, too. From a truly practical standpoint, they can't let the dollars in the US leave. Well, I suppose they could, but most churches aren't willing to tick off the big money. So, the US church may cause a few changes to be made.

It will be interesting to watch.

How 'bout that Pope?

2005-04-20T10:40:00.000-05:00

I'm hoping Cute Shoulder Dragon will post to tell us what she thinks about the new Pope. OtherBlogger? How about you?

Babylon 5 Auction

2005-04-18T20:15:00.000-05:00

Joe Straczynski is having a "garage sale" of some rare Babylon 5 Props.

Personally, I think the Londo and G'Kar props would be fun, but not $2000 worth of fun :)

You never know what you'll find at the dump.

2005-04-18T20:04:00.000-05:00

Amazing! Scientists have found the key to reading a vast collection of ancient Greek and Roman writings. The writings themselves were found in an ancient dump in Egypt. It is estimated that this could lead to a 20 percent increase in the amount of Greek and Roman works in existence.

That sound you hear is the collective drooling of classicists everywhere. And me.

The Hidden Side of the OKC Bombing

2005-04-17T22:10:00.000-05:00

The Chicago Tribune has an interesting article on the seldom seen side of the Oklahoma City Bombing - and the differences in how the government dealt with the two sets of victims:

Theirs are not the stories most likely to be heard this week as the nation momentarily returns its attention to this heartland city in solemn commemoration of the bombing. Instead, the ceremonies at the Oklahoma City National Memorial, titled a National Week of Hope, will focus on "stories of life moving forward."

...

"I completely agree with the victims in Oklahoma City, or the USS Cole, or the Kenya bombing: `Why not us?'" Feinberg said. "If you're looking at the victims, I don't know why not you. If you're looking at the impact of the tragedy on the American psyche, I think 9/11 stands in a very unique category with Pearl Harbor, the American Civil War and the assassination of President Kennedy."

I've been to the memorial in Oklahoma City twice. The museum - which was closed the first time I went - is an amazing walk-through. There is everything from the day's new coverage, to stories of the victims themselves. We spent about 1-2 hours going through it, and I don't think I really got to absorb more than 25% of it.

I wish there was an easy answer on the whole compensation thing. When you look at percentage of population in both metro areas at the time, the OKC bombing was almost as devastating as the September 11th attacks. From a global economic standpoint, though, 9/11 was much larger.

I sometimes have wondered, though, if the Oklahoma City bombing had been done by Islamic terrorists as was initially thought, would the US government have done more? Or did we try to sweep it under the carpet because we had no Afghanistan to invade and no terrorist organization to fight?

Media Telegraphs Strike

2005-04-17T08:11:00.000-05:00

Jason Van Steenwyk points out an article from (you guessed it) Reuters that telegraphs a military strike in advance of the actual event.

I know its seen as petty to pull press credentials and try to remove reporters from combat zones, but when American lives are at stake I really don't care. Reuters needs to be kicked out of Iraq.

Bob Dole: One Soldier's Story

2005-04-12T10:48:00.000-05:00

I heard Senator Dole recount this story Sunday on Meet the Press. It's about a soldier who returned injured from Iraq:

Craig had been badly wounded while on patrol in Iraq a week or so before Christmas. He suffered severe damage to his C-1 vertebra and was paralyzed from his neck down. Now lying in an intensive care unit at Walter Reed, he couldn't move a muscle. He was hooked up to all sorts of medical machines, with various tubes running to his body, an electrocardiogram monitoring his heart, a respirator helping him to breathe, and a tracheotomy in his throat.

Nevertheless, the young man's eyes brightened as I stepped up to his bedside. His mother introduced us: "Craig, this is Bob Dole." Craig's sister joined us around the bed. Craig couldn't speak, but he could hear me and seemed to respond with his eyes.

Looking at Craig, I felt a wave of emotion sweep over me, nearly overwhelming me. It was like seeing a mirror image of myself sixty years earlier. He was tall and muscular, about six feet, one and a half inches, and about 185 pounds, almost identical to my World War II height and weight. For a moment I was back there, in a similar hospital bed, encased in plaster, unable to move, paralyzed from the neck down.

I just stood there at Craig's bedside. I could feel my heart thumping loudly in my chest, my emotions rushing to the surface. I knew the tough road Craig had before him — and his condition was far worse than mine had been.

I reached out my hand — my left hand — touched the soldier's arm, and said, "Good luck, Craig. You're in a great hospital. They'll take good care of you." We stayed only about five minutes.

I looked the young man in the eyes one more time, then turned to his mother, put my arm around her shoulder, and said, "We'll pray for Craig's recovery. Please let me know if I can help."

Unfortunately, a few days later Craig Nelson, another American hero, passed away. I grieved for that family and became more determined that this book would do something to help others understand their pain — and the trauma that so many others have endured because of war.

Google Satellite Maps

2005-04-05T21:07:00.000-05:00

Earlier tonight I was talking to an old friend from high school on the phone and I found this article on MSNBC that Google is now adding satellite maps to its mapping site. So, while I was chatting, I pulled up his address and started describing his neighborhood to him.

"Hey you've got a nice lake out in front of your house!"

It's fun to keep people on their toes :)

Flag Protocol for the Pope

2005-04-04T22:30:00.000-05:00

Mark has a post answering the question: Why are US flags flying at half-staff for the Pope?

In the event of the death of other officials or foreign dignitaries, the flag is to be displayed at half-staff according to Presidential instructions or orders, or in accordance with recognized customs or practices not inconsistent with law. In the event of the death of a present or former official of the government of any State, territory, or possession of the United States, the Governor of that State, territory, or possession may proclaim that the National flag shall be flown at half-staff.

As much respect as I have for the Pope, I was still wondering.

Super Munchkin

2005-04-04T21:25:00.000-05:00

I realized we haven't done any Munchkin blogging since we started this blog. Well, followers of the game have already heard about the next game of the series: Super Munchkin.

After the recent release of The Incredibles, I can come up with a few potential cards:

Monologue: Escape from the super-villain (with his gadgets) by getting him to talk about his evil plans.

Cape of Flight: Roll a die: On a 1-5, get a +3 flight bonus. On a 6, you trip over the cape and get a -3.

Lawsuit: Your combat results in a civilian being injured. You turn in all your gadgets in compensation.

Any other good ones?

Criticism of the Pope

2005-04-04T16:45:00.000-05:00

The Other Blogger mentioned some of the criticism of the Pope that he had heard. I suppose the oddest criticism that I have been hearing was about the Pope's opposition to "liberation theology".

For those who don't remember, "liberation theology" was a kind of messianic Marxism, using Catholic language to make Marxism seem like it would bring "social justice". Given that this was being used to sell the idea in Central America during the 1980's, a time when Marxist revolutionaries were taking over - or trying to - throughout the region, the use of Catholic language was certainly a good marketing idea. But the Pope stepped in, noting that Marxism leads to effective slavery, brutality, and the lack of any kind of justice; the Pope also banned priests from taking holding political office, at least in part to make sure that the misguided Central American priests did not tear apart the countries of Central America by making their wars religious in nature.

The reason that criticizing the Pope for his opposition to this thinly-masked Marxism is odd is that the Pope was right: Marxism has not, in any place or time it has been tried, resulted in social justice. It has frequently resulted in a fairly even spread of wealth and position in society - except, of course, for high Party members - but that has been an equality of poverty and brutality, not wealth and comfort. Besides, this was one of the three people most key to ending Communism as a large-scale movement (along with Reagan and Thatcher), so it's not like anyone should have expected the Pope to embrace Marxism in the form of "liberation theology".

Another thing that interests me about the criticisms of the Pope is that all of them that I have heard boil down to one thing: the Pope defended Catholic doctrine in relation to matter X, where that doctrine was at odds with the doctrine of the Left. This is true not only of the Pope's opposition to Marxism, but also to his stands on birth control (frequently recast to involve AIDS in Africa) and the ordination of women. Where the Pope went along with the Left's doctrine - opposition to right-wing dictators, opposition to the Iraq war, or the promotion of democratic reform in S. Africa - there don't seem to be any critics.

He Was Great, But.....

2005-04-04T09:30:00.000-05:00

Watching/reading the coverage of Pope John Paul II's death this weekend has been interesting. One thing that definitely stood out, though, is the "He was great, but..." spin that's out there. Captain's Quarters found an incomplete version of a NY Times piece here with the phrase "need some quote from supporter" amidst the already written criticisms.

This morning the ABC hourly news talked about how much he expanded the Catholic Church, but followed it up immediately with the counter about how he was very conservative on women's issues, condoms, etc.

Now, on MSNBC you have the headline: "How John Paul’s Bold Stances Divided America".

This has been going on for a while. Reagan's death saw much the same thing. It seems we can no longer celebrate someone's accomplishments in life - we have to bring up the sticky points, too.

I guess whoever does my eulogy will say something like: "He was a great husband and father, but he spent too much time indoors with gadgets."

Real Death, No Politics

2005-04-01T13:15:00.000-06:00

I do not like Eleanor Clift's politics, but this tribute she wrote about her just-departed husband is worth reading. With the world focused on Terri Schiavo and now the Pope and all of the political implications in the US and the Vatican, this is a bittersweet reminder about what most families really have to deal with:

One morning when I was lining up the array of controlled substances to give him for pain, I remarked to the hospice caregiver that I figured I should just give him everything that’s available. “Yes, please,” he said loud and clear. On a Sunday morning in March as his condition worsened and the morphine dose was doubled, he asked me clearly, “What do you want to do this summer?” I said, “Take a trip with you,” and then I went into the kitchen to fix his cream of rice cereal, and fight back tears.

Chewbacca Defense

2005-04-01T08:19:00.000-06:00

Hah. I've never watched much Southpark, so I never knew about the Chewbacca Defense.

That sounds about right.

Medal of Honor Posthumously Awarded to SFC Paul Smith

2005-03-31T13:35:00.000-06:00

The Congressional Medal of Honor has been posthumously awarded to Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith, USA. (UseBugMeNot for a login without the Times' cumbersome and intrusive registration.) The Times article is short on details of the action for which Sgt. Smith was cited, and gives only a little attention to what Sgt. Smith accomplished by his actions. For that, I recommend his citation.

Selling a Strategy

2005-03-29T21:11:00.000-06:00

There is right now one and only one serious candidate for US grand strategy to replace the Cold War's containment strategy: Thomas Barnett's Pentagon's New Map. The Bush administration may have a grand strategy, but if so they have not shared it. (The President has shared his goal, the advance of liberal democracy through the world, but not how he aims to achieve it. Actually, now that I think about it, the goal is basically the same as Barnett's, if you take "the advance of liberal democracy through the world" to be the same as "the future worth achieving".)

The Pentagon's New Map posits that there exists a "Gap" of undeveloped countries, incorporating most of what used to be called the Third World, and that these countries are undeveloped for essentially economic reasons: being disconnected from the globalizing nations (the Core) and each other, the Gap nations can advance neither economically nor politically. Major wars between Core nations are impossible, because any such war would invite a (literally) nuclear response, destroying the aggressor. Within the Core, the Cold War rules basically apply, the UN is an effective instrument of international relations, and economic interdependency compels a gradual advance towards true and universal liberal democracy; the Core is Kantian in nature. Within the Gap, the rules that apply are Hobbesian: law of the jungle.

In Speaker for the Dead terms, the Core nations are "utlanning", the "new Core" nations like China are "framling", and the Gap nations are essentially "ramen" - culturally incompatible.

Given this view of the world, Barnett proposes a grand strategy somewhat along these lines: build up relationships between Core nations, using the UN and other transnational institutions as the major vehicle; "shrink the Gap" with a combination of aid, political engagement, and military force; change the rulesets in the Gap to set them on the path to being a part of the Core, using whatever means are possible, necessary and expedient.

Dave Schuler of the Glittering Eye has a great post on what it will take to sell this - or any - strategy to all of the different major American foreign policy strains. Schuler's analysis is very good, because it notes the fact that different foreign policy viewpoints are incompatible; thus, the key is determining which group can be marginalized in order to gain broader acceptance.

Insane Patents

2005-03-29T15:00:00.000-06:00

In case you needed any more proof that our patent system has gone insane, here's a good one. Someone patented diagnosing B-12 deficiencies through homocysteine levels and is apparently filing suits against doctors who discuss it:

Pubpat Argues Against Patenting of Medical Facts: Urges Solicitor General to Do Same in Appeal Pending at Supreme Court:

The issue stems from a case that involves a patent granted by the U.S. Patent Office on diagnosing B12 or folic acid deficiency, which can cause serious human illnesses such as cancer and vascular disease, simply by knowing if a patient has an elevated homocysteine level. It is a matter of natural biology that whether someone has a B12 or folic acid insufficiency is related to whether they have a high level of homocysteine, because homocysteine is an amino acid metabolized by B12 and folic acid. Lower courts ruled that doctors who use or discuss the relationship between B12 or folic acid and homocysteine committed illegal patent infringement and the Supreme Court is now deciding whether to hear an appeal of the case.

Better get your life boat ready....

2005-03-29T12:35:00.000-06:00

This gives me about two years to get a life boat, or move to Denver.....

Jihad Watch: Koran scholar: US will cease to exist in 2007:

'The study, which has caught the attention of millions of Muslims worldwide, is based on in-depth interpretations of various verses in the Koran. It predicts that the US will be hit by a tsunami larger than that which recently struck southeast Asia.

The tsunami waves are a minor rehearsal in comparison with what awaits the US in 2007,' the researcher concluded in his study. 'The Holy Koran warns against the Omnipotent Allah's force. A great sin will cause a huge flood in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.'

Another Fun Site: Squashed Philosophers

2005-03-27T19:55:00.000-06:00

Here's a site that will give you the quick and dirty summary of many philosophers. It offers versions that are "condensed and abridged to keep the substance, the style and the quotes, but ditching all that irritating verbiage".

Want to study Thomas Paine? They give you a 7200 word breakdown (est. 30 minutes).

Aristotelean Ethics? Well, you can read the 10,000 word summary, or get even more brief with the "Very Squashed Version":

ONE: Every art or enquiry aims at achieving some good, but what 'good' is we cannot know with precision. Happiness is an activity of the soul according to virtue.
TWO: For every virtue there is a vice, so we can say that virtue is a state of character, gained by rational choice, lying in a middle way relative to the man. Confidence is the mean between rashness and cowardice. Liberality lies between prodigality and meanness, honour between vanity and undue humility.
THREE: Only voluntary actions are praised or blamed, involuntary actions receive pardon or pity. Decision making relates to the ends, choice to the means.
FOUR: Proper pride is praiseworthy, but he who claims greatness, being unworthy, is vain. Good temper is the mean with respect to anger. The man who is angry at the right things, is praiseworthy.
FIVE: Justice is largely concerned with goods. Justice is either proportionate, or rectificatory, where something is taken from the greater to give to the less.
SIX: Prudence, or practical wisdom, is a virtue of the calculative, reasoning part of the soul. Science depends on first principles, which are found from intuition. Wisdom is knowledge of what is by nature most precious.
SEVEN: Vice, incontinence and brutishness should be avoided. Anger is a natural appetite all creatures share. The man who pursues excessive pleasures is licentious. Amusement is excessive indulgence in relaxation. Simply knowing what is right does not make a man prudent, he must be inclined to actually do it.
EIGHT: Friendship is a form of virtue, and is of three kinds. Some love from utility, to obtain what they wish, others from pleasure. True friendship is rare, as good men are rare.
NINE: In friendships, there is equitable exchange. But if friends want different things, all fails. Concord is more a political feeling, where citizens put their common resolves into effect. It is not possible to find many worthy friends, so we must be content with a few.
TEN: If true happiness is an activity in accordance with virtue, it must be in accordance with the highest virtue, which is philosophical contemplation.

The "Very Squashed" is almost like a book jacket - it lets you know if you want to even bother with the author. However, I'm still not totally sold on the concept. The "annoying verbage" gives an awful lot of flavor. However, considering I'll almost certainly never read (and adequately comprehend) all of the original works, this is an interesting alternative.

In Datacenters, No One Urinates on Your Server

2005-03-27T12:23:00.000-06:00

Since I host at home, I guess the title fills in the rest of the story.

Which Incredible?

2005-03-27T11:57:00.000-06:00

Hmm, I would have figured Mr. Incredible (the old guy who likes to reminisce).

Which Incredibles Character Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Surname Distribution

2005-03-27T06:33:00.000-06:00

Via Laudator Temporis Acti, here's an interesting link. It shows the distribution of a last name over the decades. If you do the "All Years" it presents an animated gif file. Try some common names and uncommon ones to see the difference. My mother's maiden name didn't even have a graphic until 1990.

Happy Bunny Day!

2005-03-27T06:18:00.000-06:00

It's amazing how fast kids get out of bed when they hear that phrase.....

Where do we Get Such Men Soldiers

2005-03-27T00:10:00.000-06:00

Winds of Change has an inspiring story of the behavior of an MP unit under fire in Iraq. Anyone who doubts the abilities, courage, intrinsic ability, leadership or training of the young men and women defending our country today is simply ignorant. And note that the MP squad detailed here is a non-combat National Guard unit - either one of which is considered to render the unit less ready for a combat environment. Given that, is it any wonder that we are winning decisively in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Hi There

2005-03-25T23:43:00.000-06:00

Here I am, here I am.

OtherBlogger, I just wanted to agreee with you, and not with Peggy Noonan.

Among those who homebirth there is a saying: Birth is as safe as life gets.

When we tell people we are going to have a baby at home, we hear, over and over, how dangerous it is. We hear about all the things that could go wrong. We hear about all the ways the baby could die.

The thing is, things go wrong in hospitals, too. Babies die in hospitals, too. Our society sees that as okay, because if you are in a hospital, obviously you were doing all you could and being as safe as possible. Never mind that doctors are human, and both they and technology can fail.

If you have a baby at home and that baby dies, for whatever reason, society lays the blame on you. If you had gone to a hospital like a normal person, your baby would have lived. Your stupid, horrible, ignorant choice killed your baby.

Maybe. But not necessarily.

Birth is as safe as life gets. Sometimes things go wrong. Sometimes babies die. Sometimes big people die. Sometimes it's better to die, or let others die, than to prolong a life that isn't a life. Isn't it?

I've never figured out why we will humanely kill pets, and criminals, but we will let a loved one suffer for ages long after their body has given up, and then let them slowly starve or parch to death. Lovely. Seems backwards to me. (I'm not advocating the starving of pets, mind you.) Then again, I've never figured out why abortion is okay but using the death penalty on a murder is wrong.

I'm sorry for Terry Schiavo, but I want her husband's decision up held for the simple reason that he is the one legally empowered to make the decision. If he's making it for the wrong reasons, it's on his soul. I am married and I want my husband to make those kinds of decisions for me. I do not want the government stepping in because his decision is unpopular or politically incorrect.

Dinosaur Soft Tissues

2005-03-25T15:48:00.000-06:00

I was going to post about the discovery of T-Rex soft tissues - blood vessels and some other cells - in a T. Rex in Montana, but Austin Bay beat me to it. He's got some interesting links. What is most interesting about this particular specimen is that the tissues apparently retain some elasticity, unlike the mummified Leonardo.

There have been several examples of dinosaur soft tissues recovered in recent years. Some really new understanding is coming into the field from these discoveries.

The Value of a Home Server

2005-03-25T15:18:00.000-06:00

I run a server in my house, which handles my and my family's (and some friends) email, web services and a few other things. It's a moderately fast system, but it's on a fast always-on connection and it has a lot of disk space, so it's a frequent target for people looking for a way in. It's not particularly valuable in any monetary sense, but if someone's getting it's use for free, it acquires value simply because the value of the use of the resource exceeds the effort required to get it.

Since I do computer security for a living, and since I had locked down the box, no one had gotten into it in a couple of years (since I locked it down, in fact). Ah, complacency...

Last Monday someone guessed a bad password on one of the user accounts, and rootkitted my server. I discovered the intrusion in about 90 minutes, and they didn't manage to actually get anything of value. However, they did manage to have control of my box, and had installed a sniffer and lots of other stuff, so I had to rebuild my system to be sure it was clean.

Lessons learned:

1) Don't get complacent. Pay attention to who's trying to get into the box. You never know when they might succeed.
2) Take action. In my case, I now have a script looking for bad login attempts and some other things. If I can't explain the attempt, I put the IP into /etc/sysconfig/iptables and restart the iptables service immediately. Within a day at most of attempting to use a system to get to mine in an unauthorized manner, that address is burned for attacking my system, because packets are simply dropped.
3) Even if you've secured the outside of the box, secure the inside, too. Rootkits can get you if you have a vulnerability in your kernel or in your system generally, as long as someone can get onto the box. The key is to defend in depth.
4) When you back off files you want to save, don't forget part of the database. (No, really, how dumb can I get?)

In other words, I didn't learn anything, but I am now remembering to apply the same things at home that I do for my clients.

The Value of Life

2005-03-25T13:01:00.000-06:00

OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan:

Our children have been reared in the age of abortion, and are coming of age in a time when seemingly respectable people are enthusiastic for euthanasia. It cannot be good for our children, and the world they will make, that they are given this new lesson that human life is not precious, not touched by the divine, not of infinite value.

Once you 'know' that--that human life is not so special after all--then everything is possible, and none of it is good. When a society comes to believe that human life is not inherently worth living, it is a slippery slope to the gas chamber.

I don't know anyone who is "enthusiastic" about the death of Terry Schiavo. In fact, one thing all seem to agree on is that this is a tragic situation.

I believe that every human life does have value and that it has been touched by the Divine. However, that Divine touch does not make life so precious and so sacred that we must exhaust all our resources to keep it in place when it no living is remotely possible. Last week in Houston, a baby's breathing tube was removed because their lungs would never develop to be self-sustaining. The baby only lived moments after the breathing tube was removed. A hundred years ago, the child would never have survived long past birth. With today's technology, it would have spent years in the hospital - but not much else.

Yes, it's a slippery slope. Our technology has reached the point where we can be sustained almost indefinitely. However, that puts the burden back on us to make choices about that technology and how it is used. The Divine touch we have received is what gives us those choices.

Every day I make choices that affect how I live and how I will die. Every hamburger I eat clogs my arteries just a little - making the moment I have a heart problem just a small bit closer. If I were to automatically put "infinite value" on my life, then I would exercise more and eat less meat. Those are my choices, though, and society can't make them for me.

One can acknowledge the uniqueness and worth of human life above other things, but still realize that nothing can be of "infinite value" in a finite world.

The real tragedy of this case is that Terry and her husband did not prepare for something like this. That is the lesson we must all learn. We must decide what we want for ourselves if this situation were to ever happen to us and make those choices known.

Spring Break

2005-03-25T08:40:00.000-06:00

It's Spring Break this week, so we have gotten to have extra fun around the house. TheOtherKiddo decided she wanted to learn to play Chess after we were given a set by a friend recently.

Chess! I haven't gotten to play in years, and here was my daughter wanting to learn.

TheOtherKiddo is 10, so the outcome was never really in doubt to either of us. She knew that as the one learning she was likely to be trounced. I'll admit I'm not much of a player anymore - I haven't played more than a handful of games since high school. Still, it was fun to teach her and watch her examine the board. I was demolishing her ranks and she had taken a few of my sacrificed pawns, but that was about it. Then, I got careless. I took my hand off of my Queen just in time to notice that she could whack it. I told her to look around the board carefully, and she finally saw it. Oh well. However, she was happy - she got to get revenge for her horsies - er - knights.

The good news is that she learned her lessons well: she got to teach and beat up on Mom a while later. She even remembered the "if you remove your hand, your move is over" rule - even though it cost her in one game with Mom.

Beyond that, TheOtherKiddo is climbing rocks this week at a local climbing gym. Four hours per day all week long of climbing walls. It's certainly better than doing it at home :) She's ready to take naps most days when she's done, but it's been good for her. She's spent a couple of nights at friends too, leaving us some quality time in the evenings.

This weekend, she'll be singing in the Children's Choir for Easter services. Then, it's back to school next week. It's been a fun week for her.

I wish grown-ups got Spring Break....

Group Blogging v. Individual Blogging

2005-03-24T21:09:00.000-06:00

I blogged on my own site, under my own name, for about two years. While it was satisfying - sometimes very satisfying - there were problems. The largest one is the same as TheOtherBlogger noted: sometimes you don't have anything to say, or you don't have any time to say it in an intelligent way. After two years, when I was going through what promised to be an extended period of non-posting, I ended up guest-blogging for a few months on another blogger's site (also under my own name, hence no link).

I don't mind blogging under my own name, and haven't gotten into any trouble or had any issues because of it, but it's also the case that there are some things I won't say, or will say differently, simply because I don't want to invite any later issues when someone finds it under my name.

So, here I am, both group blogging and anonymously blogging.

Welcome all to the blog.

An Introduction

2005-03-24T15:24:00.000-06:00

I've been blogging for several months now on my own site. Like most bloggers, I've gone through spurts where there was really nothing to say. The idea of blogging several times daily just wasn't appealing or practical. That's not the kind of blog I really wanted anyway.

Also, since it was on my own site, there have been times where I really wanted to say something about home and/or work and couldn't. Some things just didn't belong out for the entire world to see.

The blog name "Blog of Obscurity" comes from a Steve Jackson game called "Munchkin". It's a card game parody of the "Dungeons & Dragons" role-playing game. It has lots of silly items such as the "Cloak of Obscurity" and "The Other Ring". It's a fun way of killing a few hours with friends.

So, I've started this blog and have invited some others to join with me. That will relieve the pressure of the individual blog, and with a pseudonym, I can post what I will. I don't know if it will work any better or not, but we'll see.