Moving Sale! Everything Must Go!

I've decided to transfer this blog over to wordpress. Check me out at my new home.

Electoral ponderings

For the past few days I've been checking Electoral-vote.com to keep up on the latest polls in the presidential race. The site offers downloadable polling data of ALL the polls to date for each state, or just the most recent data (basically, the average of the most recent poll plus any other polls in the previous 7 days). I was looking around at this data, and noticed something interesting: If Obama takes all of the states currently rated as "Strong Dem" and "Weak Dem," he wins the election with 282 electoral votes. This does not include the states the are considered up for grabs as of today - basically, those where there is a statistical tie (where one candidate leads the other by less than twice the margin of error). These include Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Ohio.

Now, the North Dakota thing has got to be a fluke. The last previous poll was dated September 17th - nearly a month ago - so it's plausible that the balance has shifted. But for McCain to go from a 13-point lead to trailing by 2 points in a state that has gone Republican for every presidential election in recent history, and where Bush had near-30-point margins in 2000 and 2004? Either that poll is seriously flawed, or McCain is in more trouble than it seems.

But aside from that, even assuming McCain takes North Dakota, Obama doesn't need to win in Florida, Missouri, or Ohio - states that have been considered vital in previous elections. Unless, of course, something significant happens in the next three weeks.

It's okay to say "dick" except when you mean "penis"

The other night on The Daily Show, John Stewart was talking about exchanging recipes for spotted dick with the British (or something - I wasn't completely paying attention). ANYway, he goes on to say "My recipe for spotted dick involves a Sharpie ... [pause] ... and my *beep*." To me, the funniest part about the whole thing wasn't the pun, but the fact that he'd said the word "dick" two or three times prior to that last one, and that was fine, but when he used it to mean "penis," the censors had to step in to protect us.

I wonder if a similar rule would apply to discussions about titmice? For instance, if one suggested that a titmouse is a mouse sitting on a *beep*. Huh. I guess it does.

xILF meme breaks the glass something

Sarah Palin goes from HMILF to GILF, then shoots for VPILF status.

"Seriously funny"

The Daily Show turns out to be a pretty decent news source. A study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism 'concludes that The Daily Show is a satire in the tradition of Art Buchwald and H.L. Mencken, and argues that it “performs a function that is close to journalistic in nature—getting people to think critically about the public square.”'

Politics roundupdate!

The comparisons between the Republican presidential ticket and Battlestar Galactica are only just warming up.

• John McCain is a Cylon (and here's one from March ... and two from January)
• Vote Tigh/Roslin!

An awesome reason to not have a credit card

Credit card companies will fuck you.

Politics roundup

It's that time of year - the Republican convention over in St. Paul is winding down soon, and the Democrats took care of their nomination process in Denver last week. Of course my reader is wondering, "What does Lady With a Hat have to say about all this?"

One of my favorite nonsenses of the season has to do with those disaffected Hillary supporters who are threatening to vote for McCain. A handful showed up on the Daily Show last week to protest the selection of a black(ish) man over their beloved feminist icon as the Democrats' candidate of choice this year. A number of them indicated their disgust with being accused of racism for supporting a white woman over a man of color in the contest. Almost immediately afterward, they bicthed about the blatant sexism that pervaded the media coverage of the race for the Democratic nomination and ultimately prevented Hillary from getting the support she needed to secure the nomination. Is that irony? I don't know, but it looks like a textbook example of morony to me.

And then there's McCain's pick for running mate - and all the attendant "does he really have good enough judgment to be trusted in the Oval Office" talk (scattered throughout the 'b).

Sarah Palin is the 2nd female in history to make it to November as part of a presidential ticket (assuming she makes it that far). I don't know much about her, but what I've heard so far reminds me of Michelle Bachmann, who represents Minnesota's 6th District in the House of Reps. Bachman is a religious whackjob, and if Sarah Palin is anything like Michelle Bachmann, I'm a bit nervous about the prospect of her being so close to commander-in-chiefdom.

Speaking of Michelles, a piece in Slate carries the subtitle "Michelle Obama and Sarah Palin have more in common than you might think." My first thought was, "They both hate whitey?"

There's also the problem of Palin's 17-year-old pregnant, unwed daughter. Obama says the subject is off-limits (I can't find a source for this right now, but it's out there), but it's already in the open, and the father of the fetus is even joining the family at the Convention. And given the typical hypocrisy and "do as I say not as I do" attitude characteristics of religious wingnuts, one has to wonder What if Bristol Palin Were Black?

But I think my favorite piece on the whole Sarah Palin subject is this piece, which compares her to the character of Laura Roslin from Battlestar Galactica. Pointless, flimsy fluff? Definitely. But it's shiny and distracting, like a Cylon. Wait, if Palin=Roslin, does that mean that Cindy McCain is the mysterious 12th Cylon?

From the "I'm not surprised" department

"Male enhancement"? Maybe he meant "Enhance the size of my certain part of the male body - the wallet."

Is that meat on your head, or are you just happy to see me?

Meat Hats

Energy News

Biofuels bad:

• Biofuel use 'increasing poverty'
• Bioenergy: Fuelling the food crisis?
  
• Clearing Land for Biofuels Makes Global Warming Worse
• Biofuels Deemed a Greenhouse Threat
• Bush administration biofuel confusion
  

Renewables gooder?

• Solar powered solar power
• The U.S.'s First Offshore Wind Farm...FINALLY
• Heavyweight physics prof weighs into climate/energy scrap
• The economics of solar power

Oil is crazy

• How much oil is out there?
• Slick John McCain and the offshore oil ruse
• McCain links wars in Iraq & Afghanistan to oil prices
  

UK Science

An article at Slate examines the fact that Brits are generally more up on science and technology than Americans. An interesting point is made in this paragraph:

Did I mention odd sex practices? The Brits can't get enough of them, yet they're wonderfully rational about it. The latest uproar is over first-cousin marriages in some immigrant communities (never mind that Charles Darwin did it, too). In contrast to the pious calls for prohibitive legislation that we'd surely have heard from Congress under similar circumstances, the British press actually looked at the genetics of cousin marriage. And the answer seems to be that education and genetic screening are a better way to go.

So basically,while Americans get their jeebus-themed undies in a moralistic bunch, the British explore the facts of the issue. Interesting concept, that: rational thought applied to a controversial issue.

"Every child is a blessing (except the gay ones)"

I've seen a lot of pro-life billboards that claim "Every child is a blessing" and then show a kid with Downs syndrome. Based on comments from religious talking heads, apparently it's a gift from zombie jeebus if you have a retarded baby, but if you have a gay one, well, that's not so special. (I'm not going to privilege the actual religious whackjobs' websites with extra traffic, so you'll have to hunt them out on your own.)

301

I just noticed that (1) it's been a little over a month since my last post and (2) that post was number 300. I figure I ought to have at least one entry each month, just to keep your attention, right?

I saw part of this "Alter Eco" program on one of the Discovery channels the other day, but couldn't stand the host. Then, yesterday, I ran across this piece in Slate about the latest Discovery channel spin-off, Planet Green. When I first saw ads for the network, I thought, "That seems potentially interesting, but also really pretentious." I think the best line in the Slate article is "I for one want to go out and kill a dolphin." If the author is looking to put together a crew to do so, this is my official request to join. I'll bring the harpoons!

I have so far avoided looking at any of the comments on the article. Mary & I have talked about the fact that everything on the internet apparently needs to be discussed by the unwashed masses, and I've decided it's in my best interest to ignore that discourse whenever possible. If I look, I might be tempted to contribute - and then who's the ass?

Neat trick

This video was created by overlaying 1000 plays of a racing video game, to show the range of possible play sequences all at once.

Six word stories? Not so much.

A while back, Wired asked a number of writers to follow in Hemingway's footsteps. (No, not with the suicide thing - besides, Abercrombie & Fitch doesn't sell guns anymore.) The backstory is included in the article, but I'll recap: Hemingway once wrote a six-word story ("For sale: baby shoes, never worn."), and according to legend claimed it was his best work. So Wired decided to see what other authors could do in six words, and asked for submissions from a variety of writers in the fields of sci-fi, horror, & fantasy.

I remember seeing this piece in Wired when it was originally published. It's interesting that very few of those submitted to Wired have the same power that Hemingway's piece does. Hemingway's example uses specific details to force the reader to imagine the story behind those six words, and creates characters for whom we can have some empathy. Thinking about the tragedy of a child's death and its impact on the prospective parents made me realize that as much as I don't really enjoy much of Hemingway's work, he clearly had talent. So many of the pieces submitted to Wired lacked that. Meretzky's "I win lottery. Sun goes nova." and Lee's "Automobile warranty expires. So does engine." generate a momentary chuckle, and Moore's "Machine. Unexpectedly, I'd invented a time" is clever, but so few of these offer that deeper meaning that Hemingway provided. Even the writers I love (Joss Whedon, Neil Gaiman, David Brin, Margaret Atwood) didn't quite get there, although I did enjoy "Gown removed carelessly. Head, less so."

What's the poop?

No, really.

Use our landfills, or we'll sue!

More enviro news out of California. I heard the tail-end of this on "As It Happens" last night, so was intrigued to learn more. Eddie House of San Carlos, CA, has cancelled his trash collections service because he found that he could recycle or safely dispose of everything himself. Now the city is suing him, seeking a court order to make him not only reinstate weekly pick-ups, but also to reimburse the city for attorney and court fees. It doesn't get much dumber than this. Mr. House went so far as to propose bi-weekly collection as a compromise, but no, that wasn't good enough for the fat cats down in city hall.

I've been wondering myself for quite a while why we don't recycle more. At my house we have a huge trash can that, each week, goes to the curb accompanied by a much smaller bin for recyclables. Shouldn't it be the other way around? So much of the stuff we consider "trash" can be recycled - why not change "trash collection" into "recycling service." Shift the paradigm, people, and use the clutch! Even better, remove the onus of sorting from the customer - many a time I find myself wondering, can this go in the recycling? And as often as not, if I don't know, it goes to the trash. People are lazy, and there's empirical evidence that, when confronted with a decision and a shortage of information, people take the path of least resistance. Make it easier, and more people will do it.

Huckabee loses all remaining credibility

First some backstory:

Mike Huckabee is seeking the Republican nomination for the 2008 Presidential election. As Ben commented, the man does have charisma. Sadly, he lacks any concept of reality: he doesn't accept the scientific validity of evolution, but rather accepts as fact the mythology that an the Christian god created the world blah blah blah. That alone is enough for him to fall off my radar.

But he's also been entertaining, particularly in his ongoing partnership with Stephen Colbert. On numerous occasions, he has confirmed his intent to name Mr. Colbert as his running mate if he receives the Republican nomination. Now, if you've seen the Colbert Report at all, you have some sense of what Mr. Huckabee got himself into. But last night, watching the rebroadcast of the Jan 9th, 2008 edition of the Colbert Report, you can actually see the moment the Huckabee goes from legitimate presidential candidate to farcical impersonation of a presidential candidate. Check out the video labeled "Stephen reunites with his running mate, Mike Huckabee." (I have to admit, I love the visual image of a pneumatic tube shooting illegal immigrants into Mexico.)

Despite the fact that I have significant readership, and that I have no history as a political prognosticator, I'm going to forecast that Huckabee has pretty much eliminated himself from the running (not that I'm complaining - we don't need another Jesus freak in the White House.)

Ack!

I searched Google for the phrase "lady with a hat" and although the first hit was fun, I noticed something more interesting near the bottom of that first page...

[edit]
FWIW: I had to get to page three of the search results before finding ladywithahat.com.
[/edit]