Thursday, February 21, 2008

Guinea Pig Care and Health Information

Guinea Pig Care and Health Information-- lots of good information, tips and even sound recordings of their squeaks.  Neat stuff.

(Alec just got a Guinea about a month ago, and we're still trying to figure out how it works. )

Missile Silo links

Back in the cold war, Kansas had lots of nuclear missile silos. They've all since been filled and plowed under, but some still have some concrete blocks on the top as reminders of what once stood there. You may have even driven by them at some point. Some of the oldest Atlas missile sites have been converted into homes or even a highschool.



The following sites have a ton of information about the old silos - 'jimkirk' has a huge reference site, including links to Atlas, Titan I and Titan II silo sites.  The Kansas sites were Atlas sites associated with Forbes AFB out of Topeka and Titan II sites associated with McConnell AFB out of Wichita.  Siloworld has a list of basically all the silo sites, with links to Yahoo! sat. maps.

A few local ones:
Near 160 and Cowley 1

US400 just East of Beaumont

US54/77 just North of the 54/400 curve

US77 just North of the turnpike

Side note:  Yahoo has better, more up to date imagery than Google does for these rural locations.  Nice interface, too...

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Our reputation for flakiness is at stake - 02/17/2008 - MiamiHerald.com

Our reputation for flakiness is at stake - 02/17/2008 - MiamiHerald.com: "In a move that could endanger Florida's flaky backwater reputation, the state Board of Education is poised to endorse the teaching of evolution as a science.

This is a dangerous idea -- not the presentation of Darwinism in schools, but the presentation of Florida as a place of progressive scientific thought.

Over the years the Legislature has worked tirelessly to keep our kids academically stuck in the mid-1950s. This has been achieved by overcrowding their classrooms, underpaying their teachers and letting their school buildings fall apart."

You could pretty well substitute Kansas for Florida and have the same article...

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Obama on the 'Gun Crisis' in the US

From his Senate Page: "'There is no crisis,' Obama said. 'Guns are plentiful. We have multiple guns for every man, woman and child in this country.'"

Heh, heh. I like him. :-)

Friday, February 01, 2008

Southwest plans high-speed Internet trials

Southwest plans high-speed Internet trials | Geek Gestalt - A blog by Daniel Terdiman - CNET News.com: "Southwest Airlines announced Wednesday that it plans to begin trials of satellite-to-airplane broadband Internet service sometime this summer."

That's all well and good but for two things -- you can barely use a Palm Treo in the cramped seats on Southwest, and they provide no power outlets for your computer onboard.  I cannot imagine trying to weasel your 15" MacPro out from under the seat in front of you and unfold it on the 9" x 7" 'tray table'.  

Maybe this is going to drive adoption of the micro- miniature EEE PC ($300) or OQO ($2500) hand-top computers?

Illegal to watch the Superbowl?

According to US Copyright law, it is an infringement on broadcast copyrights to use an AV device with a screen greater than 55", or in the case of an audio only broadcast, to use more than 6 speakers.   

Sorry, folks - those home theaters you have spent so much money on for your Superbowl party?  They are illegal.  Have a nice day.  Best government money can buy.

Think I'm full of it?

The NFL has sent cease-and-desist letters to several private groups that used to have Superbowl parties - churches, mainly:

Continuing the long tradition of Christian civil disobedience, the Indianapolis Second Baptist Church will risk the wrath of Federal Law and NFL Lawyers by illegally re-broadcasting the superbowl for their youth group this weeekend, using a weapon of mass communication, a projector and screen bigger than 55". Will Homeland Security conduct a copyright raid searching for these weapons of mass communication?