31 March 2008

Ancient History is Awesome!

Hey folks! Happy Monday. I hope everyone had a great weekend; I ended up spending Saturday evening with Butt Rubber, Olive Oil, Disc Golf Hero, and Disc Golf Wife at a Japanese steak house. The chef misheard someone's statement that it was my "first time" as it was my "birthday", so I had Happy Birthday sung to me, I got "leid" by a pretty Asian girl in a kimono, and there were some other fun things. Great success!

Okay, here are a few things. In the news, here's a story that shocked and impressed me: the Emirates and Jordan have troops in Afghanistan. They're tasked with assistance, but apparently some of them have exchanged fire with the Taliban on several occasions. This is a big deal. I'm going to say that again: this is a big deal. This is proof of coalition-building and multi-lateral operations on the part of the United States and her allies.

My video theme this week is fake or "banned" commercials... But I only have four of them, so I'm going to start off with something else. It's extremely inappropriate. Having been forewarned, enjoy!



I love CSI, so this really, really made me laugh when I saw it. I hope you folks enjoyed it.

As many of you know, I've studied classics now for a number of years. A number of people have asked me why I do it, and world-renowned historian Victor Davis Hanson has a blog post up explaining why he focuses on classics. Worth reading, very much worth reading.

Speaking of classics, it was five years ago today that I was in Rome with Friar Dave. One of the best places we visited that day was the Roman Forum, the most ancient area of the city, and that's your satellite image for today.

Okay, folks, time for me to make like REO Speedwagon and keep on rolling. Check back in tomorrow for more.

Stuff Fly Wants: March 2008

Field Gear
  • British special forces style rucksack (available at Silverman's in London, item number 35116) - £89.99
  • British SAS smock (available at Silverman's in London, item number 22001) - £90.00
  • British Desert DPM trousers and shirt
  • MARPAT Desert Utilities - $67.90
  • Six Color Desert Utilities - $39.90
  • Tiger Stripe Utilities - $39.90
  • Khaki Tru-Spec Tactical Response Uniform trousers (2) - $89.80
  • Sand Crye Precision R6 Field Pants - $105.00
  • UDT/SEAL Team Swimmer Trunks (2) - $71.90
  • Multicam Hunting Shirt - $27.95
  • U.S. Army ACU tan sweat-wicking uniform T-shirts (3)
  • Under Armour Cold Gear
  • Carhartt Double Front Logger Dungarees (2) - $93.00
  • 5.11 Tactical Polos (3) - $119.97
  • Grundig Mini World 100PE shortwave radio - $40.00 (Amazon price $30.00)
  • FN FAL
  • AR-15 Carbine

    Miscellaneous Clothing
  • Royal Marines T-Shirt - £10.96
  • More Cowbell T-Shirt - $17.99
  • Position Wanted: Pope T-Shirt - $20.00
  • Clan Cleland tartan kilt and kilt pin - $400.00-$700.00

    Household Items
  • Xbox DVD Movie Playback Kit - $29.99
  • Union Jack
  • Amazing Pasta Maker - $39.95 [click me]
  • Fouled Anchor lapel pin - $3.00
  • Walther PPK
  • Orkney satellite map
  • Britain and Ireland Map - $10.99
  • Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East Map - $10.99
  • Roman Mainz Gladius
  • The Maxim Coffin Coffee Table - $4135.00
  • Stikfas Assault Team - $22.99 (Amazon price $20.99)
  • Bentwood Chair - $69.99
  • Outfitter XL Cot - $99.99
  • Pawleys Island Tri-Beam Hammock Stand - $140.00
  • Pawleys Island Beach Quilted Hammock - $222.00 (Amazon price $184.36)
  • papasan chair and ottoman
  • filing cabinet
  • book case

    Books
  • Travels of ibn Battutah - $18.00
  • Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNab - $7.99
  • Contact Zero by David Wolstencroft - $7.99
  • Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg - $27.95 (Amazon price $16.77)

    Entertainment
  • Best of Chris Isaak (CD & DVD) - $24.98 (Amazon price $22.99)
  • James Bond Ultimate Collection - Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 4 - $359.92 (Amazon price $234.52)
  • 24 - Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4 - $269.92 (Amazon price $154.53)
  • Space Above and Beyond - Complete Series - $41.99 (Amazon price $36.98)
  • Reno 911! - Season 2 - $39.98 (Amazon price $31.99)
  • Firefly - Complete Series - $49.98 (Amazon price $24.97)
  • Kids in the Hall - Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4 - $179.90 (Amazon price $155.98)
  • Gladiator Extended Edition - $39.98 (Amazon price $29.99)
  • Apocalypse Now Redux
  • Gattaca - $14.94 (Amazon price $10.99)
  • Mars Attacks! - $9.98
  • Quigley Down Under - $14.98 (Amazon price $10.99)
  • The Proclaimers - Life With You - $17.98 (Amazon price $12.97)
  • Switchfoot - Nothing is Sound - $18.99 (Amazon price $13.99)
  • Switchfoot - The Legend of Chin - $11.98
  • Remy Zero - The Golden Hum - $18.98 (Amazon price $14.99)
  • Stephanie Schneiderman - Live at Kung Fu Bakery - $15.98
  • Go-Go's - Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's - $31.98
  • Lifehouse - Who We Are - $13.98 (Amazon price $9.99)
  • Mystical Chants of Carmel by the Carmelite Monks - $18.95
  • Fly Report: 31st March 2008

    Good morning. Go, George Clooney! Go, George Clooney, go-o!

    It's 9° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 29° Fahrenheit with snow.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $104.83 - WTF? The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,216.40. The exchange rate is $1.99 for £1, or £0.50 for $1.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is very cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

    Today's scripture reading is 2 Kings 22. The Fly is reading Hizbu'llah: Politics & Religion by Amal Saad-Ghorayeb.

    I went with nothing but the thought you'd be there, too.

    28 March 2008

    Arbeit Macht Freitag

    Hey kids! It's Friday! Freitag! Arbeit Macht Freitag! Here are a few things to keep you entertained today.

    It's coming up on the fifth anniversary of my first trip to Europe. Since the weekend's coming, I'll get a jump on it here by posting the satellite image of HMS Belfast. (Link)

    Very few respectable diseases require anything more than clean water, rubbing alcohol, petroleum jelly, or a hacksaw to treat.

    I have no clue what "Rick Roll'd" means, but today's video is of a college basketball game getting "Rick Roll'd" by some dude in a trenchcoat. Hilarious!



    In today's news story, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is seeking to hold an interfaith conference between Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders on Saudi soil. (AP, Times) This is sure to enrage Jihadis the world over, but I think it's a positive step. For all the accusations that the Saudi government endures regarding terrorism in general and 9/11 in particular, the Saudi government has a lot to lose at the hands of Islamist terrorism (moreso than the United States, in fact), and they've made a big effort in the last couple of years to stem the waves of violent Wahhabi Jihadism. This conference, if it materializes, would be a good step; or maybe it's just a clever ploy by King Abdullah to gauge the reaction of his people? We'll see.

    Be safe this weekend, folks. Keep your powder dry. Oh! I need to post Stuff Fly Wants! That'll go up tomorrow; and I will, in theory, have the second installment of my Chechnya series up on Monday or Tuesday same Fly style, same Fly channel.

    Fly Report: 28th March 2008

    Good morning. Gosh darn that Fast Eddie McClintock!

    It's 06° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 48° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $106.31 - WTF? The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,302.46. The exchange rate is $2.01 for £1, or £0.50 for $1.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

    Today's scripture reading is 2 Kings 21. The Fly is reading Hizbu'llah: Politics & Religion by Amal Saad-Ghorayeb.

    I passed by a thousand signs, looking for my own name.

    27 March 2008

    A Jihad on Common Sense

    It's Thursday. Brilliant. Tomorrow's Friday. Even more brilliant. And sometimes my ex-girlfriends make this whole "blogging" thing easy. Observe:

    The Fly: So, how 'bout your girl and her whole "Bosnian snipers" slip?
    LSG: *shrug* beats the race card
    The Fly: I'll give you that.
    The Fly: Kind of fascinating how American politics works.
    LSG: retardedly you mean?
    The Fly: I just think the whole thing's really interesting.
    The Fly: Senator Obama is the golden boy on account of his portrayal of himself as a candidate who's somehow beyond race or party, even though his entire identity is as an ultra-liberal black politician from Chicago.
    The Fly: Then it comes out that, oops, either he's been lying about one thing, or else he's been lying about another thing, and suddenly his response is to turn into the race candidate. And then his poll numbers collapse.
    The Fly: Meanwhile, Senator Clinton claims that she was in danger in Bosnia, trying to brag up her supposed experience from being the first lady. Too bad it alienates the military/Secret Service by implying that they were too inept to safely transport her into the area. Oh, and by the way, there's CBS video that shows that it's all bullshit.
    LSG: and then mccain sits back, collecting money so he can beat the shit out of whoever wins anyway
    The Fly: Pretty much.
    The Fly: Like the Democrats or hate 'em, we can all agree that they're in a pickle. The longer this thing gets drawn out, the worse both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama look. A race that should have been the Democrats' to win is turning into a near-certain collapse for their entire platform. It's a shame, really, because it would have been nice to have finally had an election that was somewhat civilized, simple, and above-board.
    LSG: I actually called the Obama thing a few months back, in front of a colleague
    The Fly: How so?
    LSG: I was like "you watch, his church will undo him"
    LSG: just visit their site
    LSG: he came up to me earlier this week & was like
    LSG: so yea, you predicted that one
    LSG: ha
    The Fly: Hahaha
    LSG: well duh
    LSG: his wife's thesis is on lockdown for crying out loud... clearly something is wrong!
    The Fly: I think they released that, actually.
    The Fly: Finally.
    LSG: bout time
    The Fly: Indeed.
    LSG: just so much of this is a waste of money
    LSG: if those millions were being pumped into the economy, we might be a little better off
    The Fly: Well, I mean, they are.
    LSG: oh yes, the radio & tv stations need all the profits from running the ads!
    LSG: hehe
    The Fly: Well it's not like they just sit on it when they get it. They invest that money into new equipment, and they pay people's salaries, who then spend it on consumer goods or homes or vehicles or porn.
    The Fly: The longer Clinton and Obama beat the shit out of each other, the better off all of those young single mothers who are driven to either porn or stripping are going to be.
    LSG: ...
    The Fly: Please, think of the children.
    LSG: you're an ass
    The Fly: May I post this?
    An ass, indeed! Today's satellite image is of Diego Garcia, the British territory in the Indian Ocean where the Brits are gracious enough to let us Yanks operate from. Today's video is "Major Tom" by Peter Schilling, set to scenes from 2001: A Space Odyssey (which I'm watching on DVD as I write this). I was introduced to this song recently by part of the inner circle here in Old Dominion, and it's my current musical addiction. There's also a version in the original German ("Völlig Losgelöst") available here.



    In looking around for a schematic of the spaceship Discovery One from the film, I came across a site documenting the restoration of a space suit from the film, among other artifacts from the production.

    There's actually some good news today, and it comes from an unlikely location: France. Confirming earlier speculation, President Sarkozy has confirmed that France will send additional troops to Afghanistan. This continues to be a big issue; as I believe I've mentioned previously, some of the Marines who are no longer needed in Iraq will be sent to Afghanistan. The Canadians have threatened to pull out by the end of 2009 if additional NATO troops weren't committed by the other member nations. Currently, combat forces are provided by only a handful of nations, while other nations with troops in theater have refused to deploy them into combat zones, due primarily to political and logistical concerns. President Sarkozy's willingness to make this commitment (along with his willingness to confront China about Tibet) speaks well of him, I think. Both of these decisions signal a major turning point in French foreign policy, and I think that's a great thing.

    For now, though, my idea of a great thing is finishing this up. Have a great Thursday, folks!

    Fly Report: 27th March 2008

    Good morning. He's straight-up jihadi!

    It's 04° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 36° Fahrenheit with afternoon rain, snow, and wind.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $105.33 - WTF? The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,422.86. The exchange rate is $2.00 for £1, or £0.50 for $1.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

    Today's scripture reading is 2 Kings 20. The Fly hasn't decided what he's reading yet.

    You say when he hits you, you don't mind; because when he hurts you, you feel alive.

    26 March 2008

    I [Heart] MST3K

    Hey folks! Happy Wednesday!

    Are stuck in Savannah, Georgia? Are you bored out of your mind? Do you love being devoured by overzealous mosquitoes? Do yourself a favor: skip the Pirates' House, with its overpriced food and cheesy ghost stories, and visit Old Fort Jackson! I'd better stop right here, or else risk alienating anyone from the South who actually reads this blog. Suffice to say, though, that I got stuck in Savannah, and I wasn't impressed. In Savannah's defense, the first two establishments within Savannah aren't strip clubs - more than I can say for the part of South Carolina that's right across the river!

    Today's video clip is an homage to Mystery Science Theater 3000, one of the most original and hilarious concepts ever to grace celluloid. (But not cellulite, which is much different and less pleasant.)



    Remember when I used to do news updates? And I'd post, like, eight or ten stories at once? Well, as part of my daily posts, I think I'm going to start incorporating a couple of serious news links. In the past, I've posted a link about the History of "Palestine" - it makes no attempt at being objective, but from what I understand it's factually accurate. Today, I found an excellent story comparing the Arabs in "Palestine" to the Tibetans. It's worth reading. I may also start incorporating an "Arabic Word of the Day" or something - nothing fancy, mainly to help me practice.

    For now, though, I have things to do. Have a great day, folks!

    Fly Report: 26th March 2008

    Good morning. And then they have this deacon...

    It's 01° Centigrade (WTF?) and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 40° Fahrenheit with afternoon rain, snow, and wind.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $101.35 - unacceptable. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,532.60. The exchange rate is $2.00 for £1, or £0.50 for $1.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.

    Today's scripture reading is 2 Kings 20. The Fly hasn't decided what he's reading yet.

    I can't be holding on to what you've got when all you've got is hurt.

    25 March 2008

    A Short History of Chechnya

    Note: This is the first piece in a series on Chechnya that I'm writing for my parallel writing endeavour. A remote and poorly understood component of the Russian Federation, Chechen history is dominated by secessionism and influenced in part by Islamism. In order to understand the global connections of international terrorism, one must understand Chechnya.

    As the conflict between the West and militant Islam continues, international focus has fallen primarily on Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran. While Afghanistan and Iraq remain the primary fronts in this conflict, and Iran remains the primary state sponsor of terrorism, terrorism remains a globally linked phenomenon. Terrorism and Islamist militancy have played a pivotal role in the recent history of the Russian Federation. Both phenomena have played an important role in Russian domestic and foreign policies, and terrorism within Russia is believed to have influenced terrorism globally. The region of Russia most closely tied to Islamist militancy, separatism, and terrorism is one that many of heard of, but few are truly familiar with: Chechnya.

    The area now known as Chechnya has found itself at odds with foreign powers for much of its history. Inhabiting the mountainous Caucasus region with a number of related ethnic groups, the Chechens resisted annexation by the Ottoman Empire in the fifteenth century. The Ottoman Turks eventually took control, and the Chechens eventually converted to Islam. This tension led to conflicts between the Chechens and their Christian neighbors, the Georgians and Cossacks. Chechnya came under Russian influence in the late eighteenth century, and Chechen resistance was almost immediate, due in part to the Russian decision to settle Cossacks within Chechen territory. Less than a century later, rebels under the leadership of Imam Mansur Ushurma attempted to establish an independent Chechnya governed by sharia law. This attempt was unsuccessful, as were later attempts by Imam Shamil in the mid-eighteenth century.

    During the twentieth century, the Chechens attempted to fight their way to independence whenever an opportunity presented itself, such as during the Russian Revolutions of 1905 and 1917, World War II, and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. This rebellion was successful during the 1917 October Revolution, but Chechnya was brought back under the thumb of the newly-communist Soviet Union in 1922. Following the Chechen resistance during World War II (which diverted resources from the defense of Stalingrad), Joseph Stalin charged the Chechens with undermining the defense of the Caucasus and collaborating with Nazi Germany; this resulted in the deportation of the entire Chechen population to Kazakhstan and Siberia until 1956.

    Following the collapse of Soviet Russia in the early 1990's, Chechnya once again gained a de facto independence under Dzhokar Dudayev, a former Soviet air force officer. As the Chechens grew more defiant, Russian President Boris Yeltsin responded by sending several hundred personnel from the Foreign Ministry to Chechnya. These personnel were met at the airport by Chechen rebels and deported by bus back to Russia proper. Chechnya started to become a household name in 1994, when Russia launched what was billed as a full-scale invasion of Chechnya, focused on the Chechen capital of Grozny.

    The Chechens had prepared for a siege in Grozny for some time, and the Russians had seen Chechnya slipping from their control since the collapse of communism. As the Chechens prepared, the Russians covertly financed several opposition factions. Unfortunately for Russia, each group had a separate agenda, preventing them from uniting in opposition to Dudayev. As a result, Dudayev was able to use the Russian support for these groups to stir the Chechen people to anger over Russian meddling in Chechen affairs. Because of this, the Chechens were prepared when the Russians finally arrived. What the Russian Defense Ministry expected was a quick victory and consolidation (the Hero of Russia medal was offered to the first infantry squad to reach the presidential palace in Grozny); and an entire reset of the Chechen economy, political system, and society was expected to take roughly three years. Instead, the Chechens pulled Russia into a long, bloody urban war for control of Grozny and the rest of Chechnya.

    Given the collapse of the Soviet Union only a few years prior, and the loss of multiple Soviet republics, why did Russia invest so much force and so many resources into the recapture of Chechnya? One major factor was political: whereas now-independent nations such as Ukraine, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan were considered to be "allied" nations, Chechnya has been considered a component of Russia itself since the 1700's. The precedent of independent nations leaving the now-defunct Soviet Union had been one matter; the potential precedent of a piece of Russia itself seceding was completely different. For the sake of illustrations, the collapse of the European Union would receive a much different response at Versailles than would a declaration of independence by Normandy. Were Chechnya able to successfully secede, this precedent would also contribute to nationalist sentiments in neighboring Ingushetia and Dagestan. Russian leaders had no desire to see a separatist domino effect in the Caucasus region.

    Another factor, possibly more important than the issue of political cohesion, was and is Chechnya's natural resources in general, and oil in particular. Just as the Russian Federation continues to exert its influence over the energy resources of the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union, Russia was and is unwilling to sacrifice the Chechen component of its energy infrastructure. These oil fields, among others, combine with Chechen and Central Asian gas reserves to become a piece of Russia's last credible trump card in its relationship with the outside world. Russia's disputes during the last several years with Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania over energy supplies demonstrate how crucial Chechen oil is to an otherwise unstable Russian economy.

    The next piece in this series will detail the two Chechen Wars and the history of Chechen terrorism.

    Fly Report: 25th March 2008

    Good morning. Saith the Artista: "Why do you own this CD!? Why!? What's wrong with you!"

    It's 34° Fahrenheit and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 40° Fahrenheit with afternoon rain and snow.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $100.75 - closer to acceptable. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,548.64. The exchange rate is $1.99 for £1, or £0.50 for $1.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is lame. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.

    Today's scripture reading is 2 Kings 20. The Fly hasn't decided what he's reading yet.

    You need some protection, the thinner the skin.

    24 March 2008

    Carlsberg Drinks Like Water

    Hey folks! I hope everyone had an outstanding weekend, and that you were all able to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Something that's worth reading at least once is Dr. C. Truman Davis' A Physician Testifies to the Crucifixion, in which a medical professional provides analysis of what Christ endured preceding and during the crucifixion.

    On Saturday, I downed a Carlsberg here at the house about as fast as I'd down a Capri Sun. Now, those of you who know me in person know that I don't drink to excess, ever; as a result, I don't think I'll probably buy Carlsberg again. That was just pathetic. Not of me, of the beer.

    Have you ever wished that you could erase your existence from the web? Just try Googling yourself (that sounds dirty, doesn't it?) and see how many times your name comes up! In another rare moment, I found something worth reading on MSN: How to be "Web Dead".

    Some of you may remember Mohammed Said al Sahaf, the former Iraqi Information Minister during the twilight of the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. He was better known as "Baghdad Bob", and you can find more information at Wikipedia, though I disagree with the last little bit of the article. In addition to the link I just provided, here's a video of some of his highlights during the early days of the Iraq War.



    Your satellite image for today is the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, where the world's most notorious terrorists are held. I don't know about you, but I'd rather they be there than on American soil.

    I'll post the first article in a three part series on Chechnya tomorrow. Until then, stay out of trouble - that means you, Mighty Mo. You, too, Father Time.

    Fly Report: 24th March 2008

    Good morning. Are you really more faithful than the changing of the seasons and the morning sun?

    It's 32° Fahrenheit and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 51° Fahrenheit with rain and wind.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $101.11 - not acceptable yet. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,361.32. The exchange rate is $1.98 for £1, or £0.50 for $1.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.

    Today's scripture reading is 2 Kings 19. The Fly hasn't decided what he's reading yet.

    See China, right in front of you.

    21 March 2008

    Week's Over - Finally

    Hey folks. It's Friday. It's been a long week. This is going to be a short post. Really.

    The big story this week has been the collapse of the pseudo-messianic nature of the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama. I thought about writing an article about the topic, and I haven't; and given this week's extensive coverage, I probably won't. What I will do is post a funny parody from the "Swift Kids for Truth", a play on the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth from the 2004 election.



    Today's satellite image is Naha, Okinawa, Japan. It's here. Why? I once dated a girl from Naha, and it sounds like a pretty neat place.

    See? Short! Have a great weekend, folks. My article about Chechnya will be up on Monday.

    Fly Report: 21st March 2008

    Good morning. Arbeit macht friggin' Freitag. Finally.

    It's 41° Fahrenheit and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 44° Fahrenheit with afternoon rain and snow.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $101.82 - not acceptable yet. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,361.32. The exchange rate is $1.98 for £1, or £0.50 for $1.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is lame. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.

    Today's scripture reading is 2 Kings 19. The Fly is reading Good News, Bad News by David Wolstencroft.

    Who's gonna take the place of me?

    20 March 2008

    Goodbye, Arthur C. Clarke

    Today's post is dedicated to the memory of Arthur C. Clarke. I certainly didn't agree with Clarke on everything; in particular, I remember social concepts from both The Hammer of God and 3001 that I found to be ridiculous. Even so, I devoured Clarke's writings as a kid and then as a young man.

    My adoration of science fiction started when I was about ten years old. I kept hearing about the legendary movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, when I was twelve years old and confined to my house with the chicken pox. I had no clue what was going on, and I fell asleep partway through it. As I've grown to understand it (which involved discussions with friends, and reading the book), it's become one of my favorite films of all time.

    Appreciation of the movie and the novel led me to read 2061, and 3001. (I will admit to never having read 2010, although I loved the movie - much different than 2001, but charming in its own right.) In high school, I read The Sentinel, the inspiration for 2001. I also loved The Hammer of God, which I was able to pick up at a discount book store during a family trip to Idaho (along with The Positronic Man by Isaac Asimov).

    Clarke's ideas, and most of his writings (3001 was rubbish, really), were fascinating; and beyond being an inspiration for writers, science fiction enthusiasts, and NASA staffers, Clarke also made an indelible contribution to mankind with such inventions as the communication satellite. Clarke made truly excellent contributions to mankind, and his influence and ideas will be missed.

    The BBC, normally a bunch of naive, self-righteous wankers, have rather good coverage of Clarke and an interview with one of my other favorite authors, Robert J. Sawyer, in one of their twice-daily global news podcasts. Check it out.

    I've posted this once, and I've posted it recently, but I feel compelled to do it again: 2001, the "short version".



    Irreverent? Yes, but sometimes chicanery and parody are a sincere form of flattery. Here's a satellite view of Shepperton Studios in England, where the movie was filmed back in the late 1960's.

    Goodbye, Dr. Clarke. Thank you for your tireless work.

    Fly Report: 20th March 2008

    Good morning. I want to see miracles, to see the world change.

    It's 48° Fahrenheit with clouds and wind in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 44° Fahrenheit with rain, snow, and wind.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $102.36 - not acceptable yet. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,099.66. The exchange rate is $2.00 for £1, or £0.50 for $1.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.

    Today's scripture reading is 2 Kings 19. The Fly is reading Good News, Bad News by David Wolstencroft.

    Is it getting better?

    19 March 2008

    Monkey Island Wednesday

    Hey folks! Just a couple of quick things to entertain you - I just don't think a full post is in me for today.

    I've probably mentioned in the past that one of my favorite video games of all time, if not my actual favorite (which is possible), is The Secret of Monkey Island. SMI was one of a number of now-classic games by Lucasfilm Games, now LucasArts (the computer games division of George Lucas' movie empire), using the original game engine developed for Maniac Mansion (another great game). When I was a kid, I played a number of LucasArts games, notably Star Wars: X-Wing; Monkey Island was, in my opinion, the best of the bunch. What made it great wasn't the graphics or effects (particularly since I didn't get a hold of it until games like Wolfenstein 3D and Doom had already been released), but the comedy aspect - the jokes are still hilarious to this day, and they drive the game. I also loved the games that used the Maniac Mansion engine because, with few exceptions, you couldn't actually die, and there were multiple solutions to a lot of the puzzles. Where am I going with this?



    Booyah! The entire game, played and recorded by some nerd on the Internet and presented like it's a full length feature film, almost. There are a couple of great, and only semi-defunct, websites dedicated to the game: The Legend of Monkey Island, World of Monkey Island, the Monkey Island Wiki, and the SCUMM Bar. Having recently gotten a bit interested again in refreshing some of my nerd skills from middle school and high school, it was inevitable that Monkey Island would come up. I hope that anyone of you who actually takes the time to watch the video enjoys it.

    Also, a handful of you may actually remember Tactical Decision Game #1, which used the map of Monkey Island from the game to simulate the island of Saint Michelle. I swear, one of these days I'm going to finish up a campaign-level TDG series and go through it with you folks.

    Here's a satellite image of the the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station outside Chernobyl, Ukraine. While the Chernobyl disaster was terrible, it's worth noting that fewer people died or were affected than is normally believed, and the Chernobyl area has become a thriving ecosystem once again. Most of those who believe that the United States shouldn't go nuclear cite Chernobyl as an example without much understanding of the actual situation and history there. American reactors employ more sophisticated controls, and are operated by more qualified technicians, than the old Soviet-era reactors ever were. (Even so, the various spots on the Chernobyl satellite map are still pretty fascinating to look at!)

    Right then, folks, time for me to keep moving. Have a great Wednesday!

    UPDATE: I considered pulling this post a few minutes ago when I learned of the death of one of my all-time favorite authors, Arthur C. Clarke. (BBC, CNN, Times Online, Guardian Unlimited) I don't have the time at the moment to do a tribute article, so I'll plan to save that for tomorrow. Suffice to say, though, I'd read a number of his books, and absolutely adored them. More on that tomorrow morning.

    TSTF

    Fly Report: 19th March 2008

    Good morning. You're raising the dead in me.

    It's 41° Fahrenheit and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 50° Fahrenheit with morning snow.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $107.99 - ridiculous. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,392.66. The exchange rate is $2.02 for £1, or £0.49 for $1.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

    Today's scripture reading is 2 Kings 19. The Fly is reading Good News, Bad News by David Wolstencroft.

    It's just a moment, this time will pass.

    18 March 2008

    No Coherent Theme

    It's Tuesday. I went for a yomp yesterday, and started work on my article that's due this week for my parallel writing endeavour (this article will be on Chechnya). The next few nights will be busy, but I should have just enough material to keep you all entertained - especially you, Mighty Mo!

    During my fourth year of college, there was an instant Internet sensation on eBay resulting from an ex-husband's attempt to sell his ex-wife's wedding dress... By modeling it himself. The guy turned out to be pretty funny, and started his own website. I'm not sure how current he's kept it, but the original eBay listing is still up there (since it was the guy's claim to his fifteen minutes of fame), and whether you've ever read it or not it's still worth checking out. It looks like the guy wrote a book, too - I wonder if it's anything like The Alphabet of Manliness by Maddox?

    Military.com has an interesting slideshow on being a military sniper, which is worth checking out if you have any interest in military topics. If you're looking for an excellent book on snipers, I highly recommend Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills by Charles Henderson, the biography of legendary US Marine Corps sniper Carlos Hathcock.

    Do you remember the Transformers cartoon from way back in the '80's? Whether you do or not, today's video should have you in stitches. Warning: profanity!



    When looking at satellite imagery of Afghanistan, I noticed that the southeastern border with Pakistan features a little niche/enclave, in which Afghan territory extends into what one would otherwise expect to be Pakistan based on the course of the rest of the border. I have no idea why this is the case, and the only other place I can remember seeing it is on the northern border of Minnesota.

    Well, it's time for me to fix breakfast and make myself a cup of شاي to drink at the office. You kids be safe now, you hear?

    Fly Report: 18th March 2008

    Good morning. Being away from you is slowly driving me insane.

    It's 36° Fahrenheit and rainy/snowy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 50° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $105.11 - unacceptable. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 11,972.25. The exchange rate is $2.00 for £1, or £0.50 for $1.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

    Today's scripture reading is 2 Kings 19. The Fly is reading Good News, Bad News by David Wolstencroft.

    You change your name, but that's okay, it's necessary; and what you leave behind you don't miss anyway.

    17 March 2008

    World's Greatest Religious Holiday

    Note: This is an modified version of my Saint Patrick's Day post of 2006.

    Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Today is pretty much the only church holiday that I don't find to be a complete and total farce. Saint Patrick was a bona fide man of God, and today's the day we celebrate . Here are a few links pertaining to Saint Patrick and Ireland.

  • Wikipedia: St. Patrick
  • The Confession of St. Patrick
  • The Shield of St. Patrick
  • How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill
  • Guinness Official Website

    A couple of things. First, Guinness has nothing to do with Saint Patrick, but it has everything to do with being Irish, so you'd better believe that tonight I'll be celebrating the life of Saint Patrick and the glory of being Irish with twelve fluid ounces of Ireland's finest export. Second, How the Irish Saved Civilization has a couple of great chapters on Saint Patrick and the revolutionary monastic movement he founded. The business of driving the snakes out of Ireland may have been bullshit, but Saint Patrick was pretty much responsible for the lot of you not becoming heathen savages. (Unfortunately, not even Saint Patrick himself could have saved Mighty Mo.) Seriously, it's a quick read, give it a try.

    Also, Michael Medved has an op-ed piece about why we love the Irish so much - very much worth reading. Also, here's an orbital view of Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin.

    Saint Patrick: a great man who played a pivotal role in the development of the world. I raise my glass to him. Have a great day, folks, and check in tomorrow for more!
  • Fly Report: 17th March 2008

    Good morning. There's always something in the way; there's always something getting through. It's not me. It's you.

    It's 39° Fahrenheit and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 49° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $110.00 - bollocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 11,951.09. The exchange rate is $2.03 for £1, or £0.49 for $1.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

    Today's scripture reading is 2 Kings 18. The Fly is reading Good News, Bad News by David Wolstencroft.

    I haven't seen you in quite a while; I was down the road, just killing time.

    15 March 2008

    Yeah? Yeah? No!

    For those of you reading this, happy Saturday. I was going to save this for next week, but hey, why not post it today? As I was writing my post this morning, I came across a video that I'd seen, but apparently forgotten. Unfortunately for me, and probably a lot of other folks, I hate hip hop/R&B music but sometimes get sucked in by a good hook. One of those songs that's actually not horrible is "Yeah" by Usher. Unfortunately, a thirty second search on YouTube fails to reveal a real video for the song. However, there are two videos that ride the line between hilarious and tragic. Here's the first.



    Okay, so the video's actually pretty well made, at least as far as the cinematography and effects go. It was done by a bunch of students at the University of Vermont - not exactly South Central, but they do a pretty good job of it for a college production. They even managed to attract some good looking women. The problem? Well, if you watch carefully, there are several scenes in which unattractive women figure very prominently. With several extremely good looking women, why feature a couple of land monsters, like the girl in black who looks as if she's the source of so much gravity that light is unable to escape her vicinity? She can't even dance! It's not like, "Hey, this girl's really unattractive, but she's the best dancer in the bunch." No! And the random nerdy kid with the violin at 3:48? And I'm sure you'll all be right there with me when I say: what's with the big fat bearded white guy, the bottom of whose belly you can actually see under his polo shirt at 3:59!? It boggles the mind!

    Overall, though, the first video is pretty entertaining; and I've been a high school kid in a video-making class, so I know that sometimes random crap just sort of happens, and it's actually kind of fun... Especially the white kid dressed up as Lil Jon. OKAY!

    The second video, however, is... Well, okay, this one doesn't ride the line, it's just plain tragic. This video was obviously made with no budget... Or talent, for that matter. I didn't know that Usher was a white kid, a flashlight, his momma's camcorder, and a San Antonio Spurs jersey. Behold!



    Wow. I hope these guys were trying to do a parody, otherwise the video is a complete and total failure. I know I've already mentioned it, but the flashlight special effects absolutely kill me.

    Honestly? That's all I've got. Have a great weekend, folks, I'm off to watch some ----in' rugby.

    14 March 2008

    Green Glowing Leprechauns

    This weekend precedes Saint Patrick's Day, which is one of my two favorite religious holidays. Folk like me use it as a chance to celebrate the impact of the Irish, and particularly Saint Patrick, on Christianity in particular and Western civilization in general. Other folks use it as an excuse to destroy their livers. I'll have more about Saint Patrick on Monday, but in the meantime, it's my pleasure to rebroadcast two videos that Mighty Mo posted last spring: the Mobile Alabama Leprechaun, and the remix. As Saint Patrick's Day approaches, these videos should entertain and enlighten you. Remember, folks: assuming none of the people in the video are felons, they're all eligible voters. If that doesn't make Saint Patrick's Day seem more like All Hallow's Eve, I don't know what will.





    I've gotten a number of things done this week, which is a great feeling. I've been meaning to synchronize my clocks/watches for at least a month (I like to do it every three weeks or so), and Daylight Saving Time (one of many big shams foisted on us by Congress) proved to be the right motivation. I also re-secured my wireless router, and I think there was some more. I need to make some Arabic flash cards - a ton of them, actually, because in addition to this list, and this list, I found this database; and those don't even include all of the vocabulary words from my actual Arabic course that need to be incorporated. This could take a while.

    When I was a kid, we went on a lot of road trips, and I remember driving through Washington and seeing federal reservations out the window. I also remember reading news articles about the decommissioning and demolition of the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant in Oregon. Here's the satellite map of TNPP, complete with... Disc golf course? I didn't see that one coming. At any rate, When TNPP (not to be confused with the SNPP, also in Oregon) was decommissioned, the reactor was wrapped in this purple plastic stuff and shipped by boat to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation for disposal. You can see satellite imagery of it here.

    I've posted about my love of black tea with milk and sugar on a number of occasions. Well, as it turns out, English Breakfast Tea acts to counteract anthrax, but only if it's black tea. This leaves me, your friendly neighborhood Super Fly, less likely to die of a mail- or terrorism-related biological attack. Suck it, green tea!

    Right then, time to go save the world - and as you'll see from the third line of the Fly Report, it needs saving. Between that and the asinine Daylight Saving Time extension, Congress has really been screwing up lately - I'll give Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi credit for having taken less than a year and a half to damage America's economy. Anyway, ladies and gentlemen, as you go forth today, I implore you: go for the gold, but remember that this is a figurative statement, so it shouldn't be necessary to rent a backhoe or uproot any trees in the process.

    Fly Report: 14th March 2008

    Good morning. Sometimes you just stand there, hip deep in pie.

    It's 43° Fahrenheit and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 39° Fahrenheit with snow.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $109.26 - mayday, mayday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,145.74. The exchange rate is $2.03 for £1, or £0.49 for $1.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is very cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

    Today's scripture reading is 2 Kings 17. The Fly is reading Good News, Bad News by David Wolstencroft.

    I'm ready for the gridlock.

    13 March 2008

    Education from Eastern Europe - Jawöhl!

    Hey folks! It's Thursday, and you know what that means: uh... Okay, neither do I, but here's a post!

    First off today, I want to throw out some mad props. There are a lot of morons on YouTube, so it's nice to come across people whose videos are actually pretty entertaining and intelligent. One of those people is a young lady named Marina who goes by the pseudonym HotforWords. (She also has a website here.) Why am I so impressed by her? Well, it's not because of her amazing body, although that doesn't hurt. What impresses me is the fact that she's actually educating people. Marina is a philologist. Now, I know that most of you have no clue what that means... But I do, and I tend to consider myself an amateur philologist. I know what you're saying: "Fly, will you just come out and say what a philologist is?" Philology is the study of languages. Two of history's noteworthy philologists have been Michael Ventris and the great J.R.R. Tolkien. Anyway, here's Marina's latest video.



    Don't you feel educated? Having studied French in high school, German at university, Arabic after university, and a touch of Latin (along with a smattering of other languages related to those four), I've been fascinated with philology for quite some time.

    Something else I've been fascinated with for even longer is geography, and as promised, here's a second blurb about geography, terrorism, and military history. Yesterday, I made note of the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, in another area of the world that was more successfully annexed by the Soviet Union (up until 1991), the Pankisi Gorge
    runs through the Caucasus nation of Georgia. Here's a map link. The Pankisi Gorge is inhabited by the Kists, who are ethnically related to the Chechens but culturally similar to rural Georgians. (My next article is going to be about those crazy Chechen rascals!) According to Wikipedia, the undisputed, objective, comprehensive, and infallible authority on everything, the Pankisi Gorge is a suspected logistics route for Islamist Chechen separatists - if you zoom that map link out a bit, you can see that Georgia borders the infamous Chechen Republic. And you thought the Wild West was crazy... And that West Virginian genetic tables were convoluted? I don't know, I've got nothin'.

    If you'll notice, one of these projects I've been meaning to work on is the "Listening In" links on the sidebar. I went from not even having an mp3 player in July of last year, to being a podcast-listenin' fool as of about September. (Maybe August?) I vary my podcasts a bit from day to day, but the sidebar should give you folks some idea of what I listen to, and if you get bored at work you can go check a couple of them out. I also added a couple of new web comics to the "Laugh Out Loud" section: User Friendly, and CTRL-ALT-DEL. Enjoy.

    Stay out of trouble, have a great Thursday, and be safe. If you're not inclined to be safe... Well, just try distracting yourself with a جريدة.

    Fly Report: 13th March 2008

    Good morning. Life takes on a whole new dimension of frustration when your dad refuses to comprehend the difference between "backstage" and "downstage".

    It's 45° Fahrenheit and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 48° Fahrenheit with afternoon rain and snow.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $108.70 - whiskey, tango, foxtrot. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,110.24. The exchange rate is [UNAVAILABLE].

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

    Today's scripture reading is 2 Kings 16. The Fly is reading Good News, Bad News by David Wolstencroft.

    We're one, but we're not the same.

    12 March 2008

    Lobster Dreams and Afghan Valleys

    Okay, so even though I wrote this post up last night, I have to interject something. What do you do if one of your best friends, who you've wanted to spend the rest of your life with for years, starts shacking up with a sixty-year-old man? Well, if you're me... You marry her! At the drop of a hat! Or at least, that's what happened in a dream I had last night. Some of you long-timers, like Mighty Mo, will remember a young lady who I referred to as "The Lobster" in reference to the Friends episode...



    In Fall of 2005, I decided that it was time to give up on the Lobster; after all, I had to really commit myself to F3, right? Well, five or six months later, I found out that The Lobster had moved in with a sixty-year-old man - gross! Aside from one brief phone call of hers that I returned for the sole purpose of being a tad obnoxious so that she'd finally stop calling and leaving sporadic messages, we haven't spoken since about September of '05. Well anyway, last night I dreamed that we got married at the drop of a hat, were exceptionally happy about it... And then we went to my grandfather's funeral, even though he died in January of '05. And I wore one of my kilts, [SARCASM]which must have made my dad exceptionally thrilled[/SARCASM]. Bizarre. Now, I wouldn't necessarily say that she needs to, say, get hit by a bus; but there should certainly be some sort of remediation process.

    Also, it should be noted that Mighty Mo didn't have a stroke, just some dental work. I'll post more relating to her tomorrow.

    Also, in reference to this post from Monday, one of my co-workers pointed me to a Snopes page, which gives the actual context for the "redneck mansion/condominiums". I still say that if they were shipping container houses, I'd be the first in line to live there.

    It was brought to my attention that I needed to make clear, based on Monday's post, that Big Orange is neither big nor orange. Neither of those adjectives describe Big Orange. Really, Big Orange is like the Matrix: no one can be told what Big Orange is; they must experience Big Orange for themselves. Bottom line, though, is that it's a nickname she earned while wearing a big, poofy orange jacket. Also, in direct opposition to an episode of Sports Night in which Isaac and Jeremy correctly stated that you can't give yourself a nickname...

    Jeremy: You can't give yourself a nickname.
    Isaac: Don't I know it.
    Dana: All right, moving on.
    Isaac: You don't think I'd like to be called "The Hammer?"
    Dana: Isaac.
    Isaac: I would, Dana, I'd like to be called "The Hammer." You know why I'm not?
    Dana: You can't give yourself a nickname.
    Isaac: You can't give yourself a nickname.
    Dana: Okay.
    Isaac: Also, that one's taken.
    - Sports Night, The Cut Man Cometh
    ... Big Orange gave herself the nickname, and for her, it works.

    I love geography, and I'm also passionate about history. Two of the areas of history I've specialized in, among others, are military history and the history of the Islamic world. One of the most fascinating and tragic examples of these three topics coming together is the history of Afghanistan, in which geography in particular has played a pivotal role. One of the areas of particular interest, since it ended up becoming one of the strongholds of the Northern Alliance, is the Panjshir Valley (Wiki). Populated largely by ethnic Tajiks (who opposed the Pashtun Taliban government partly on ethnic grounds), the Panjshir Valley was the home of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the "Lion of Panshir". A Western ally, and an ardent enemy of the Taliban, Massoud was murdered by al Qaeda mere hours before 9/11. Rallying behind the name of their revered leader, the Northern Alliance went on to ally with coalition special forces units to topple the Taliban's control of Afghanistan in a matter of weeks - and the geography of the Panjshir Valley, both physical and cultural, played a decisive part.

    Ladies and gentlemen, maintain your authenticity on this Wednesday. That's right: keep it real.

    Fly Report: 12th March 2008

    Good morning. Saith Mighty Mo: "Don't make me cuss you out with my stroke face!"

    It's 45° Fahrenheit and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 52° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $107.84 - you're kidding, right? The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,156.81. The exchange rate is $2.00 for £1, or £0.50 for $1.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is boring. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

    Today's scripture reading is 2 Kings 15. The Fly is reading Good News, Bad News by David Wolstencroft.

    I'm starting a landslide in my ego.

    11 March 2008

    I Did It One Post at a Time

    Hey folks! Happy Tuesday! Very, very little time (I promised myself last night that I wasn't going to do a blog post for lack of time this morning, but sod it, I'll do one anyway), so I'll do these items rapid-fire.

    First off, I got a yomp out of my way yesterday. That leaves a lot to try and fit in over the next couple of days, but I'm going to be ambitious about it, and tonight I should be able to do several of those things. Also, for some reason I keep having extremely vivid dreams - last night's involved an amputee who was fleeing gang violence in a Venice-like city, followed by a road trip back home in which there were massive amounts of water - not to the point of flooding, but very, very close.

    As I've mentioned before, there are certain YouTube personalities who I find to be absolutely awesome - to the point of not really missing owning a television that much - and one of them is a guy named Chris Leavins who does a show called Cute With Chris. Here's his latest installment.



    Awesome. Also, I've already posted James McCabe's essay about the spotted owl, but I apparently haven't done it since 2005, so you folks are welcome to enjoy it once again. And for those of you who are interested in military topics and simultaneously think that America is awesome, here's something for you! The AN-VLQ-9, better known as the Warlock. The Warlock was a device developed for prevention the explosion of some types of artillery and mortar rounds in the Persian Gulf War, but when the Jihadis started using remote-detonated IEDs in Iraq the system was retasked and given a new lease on life as an anti-IED jammer. They've saved many Coalition and Iraqi lives, and they're the result of American ingenuity. Excellent!

    And for those of you who love both Geography and my frequent discussion of my trips to Europe, here's a Wikimapia link that shows you the roof of a building that I was on top of on the evening of 17th September 2004. It's from that roof that I took this picture, and also this one. I didn't know this at the time, but there's a law in Paris stating that no building (save for the historic ones) can be any taller than six stories. Because of this, if you can hoist yourself up onto the roof of any given building, you can see all of the beautiful landmarks in Paris... Including Les Invalides, my favorite Paris landmark (and the final resting place of Napoleon), to name but one.

    Okay, I'm WAY late. Have a great day, folks!

    Fly Report: 11 March 2008

    Good morning. In today's Fly Report, I assign credit and/or blame for every item.

    It's 43° Fahrenheit and mostly cloudy in Kirkwall, and for that I credit God. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 57° Fahrenheit with wind and clouds, and I credit God for that as well.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $106.75, and for that I blame Congress, China, and the Mullahs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 11,740.15, and for that I blame Congress alone. The exchange rate is $2.02 for £1, or £0.50 for $1, and for that I blame Congress and FDR, mainly.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool, and for that I credit NASA. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new, but I still credit Sigurd Towrie with its excellence.

    Today's scripture reading is 2 Kings 14, and for that I blame myself. The Fly is reading Good News, Bad News by David Wolstencroft, credited to Wolstencroft himself.

    I credit U2 with writing: I need some release.

    10 March 2008

    Distinction

    Why am I distinguished this afternoon? Because I'm posting this image before Father Time could get to it.


    Speaking of which, I wonder when everyone's favorite hexogenarian is going to update us on the continuing debacle with those pesky deer.

    Right then, time to E-Mail that picture to my dad and the Timber Ghost and then go for another yomp!

    Super Fly Monday

    Hey folks! Let me lead this post off by saying quite clearly: Daylight Saving Time is a joke. Aside from losing an hour with which to write yesterday's article (which I'm really not happy with, I'd really like to rewrite it and make it Fly-worthy), my life was not severely traumatized; I'm just sick of this silly shell game that supposedly benefits us, when really it doesn't. Asinine.

    Today's video is the first from DianiDevine, which I found to be extremely entertaining; and I think I've dated a couple of girls like this during my long, storied, and tragic years of... Uh... Of dating?



    Yesterday, after church, a group of us went out for lunch. As you can probably imagine, chicanery ensued. Just for clarity, The Artista, who was in attendance, used to date What Was, and is now dating What Is. Surfer Dude and Big Orange are happily (and entertainingly) married to one another, and Guacamolly is Big Orange's little sister.

    Guacamolly: Artista, did you think that What Was and [Girl] were ever flirting with each other?
    The Artista: No, not really.
    What Is: [Girl] had better taste. *looks at Artista and leans in*
    Guacamolly: Oh! He said that, and then he tries to get a kiss? That's why guys are idiots!
    Surfer Dude: Oh! Burn!
    Big Orange: Surfer Dude, you're a guy!
    Surfer Dude: I don't care, at least somebody got burned!

    And luckily, I was there to witness it all, and document it on a 3"x5" index card. Sometimes, I can't believe how much I rule.

    So, as mentioned previously, this is the week when things need to start a-movin' and a-shakin'. If I can get six or seven things rolling, including some new Arabic flash cards, my taxes, synching up my clocks, resetting my wireless router, organizing my clothes, go on three yomps, and something else that probably involves voodoo, I think I'll be in pretty good shape. If I can't... Well, that'll just set the bar that much higher so that I can once again demonstrate my superhuman abilities.

    Fly Report: 10th March 2008

    Good morning. Tonight we dine in Hell.

    It's 43° Fahrenheit and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 57° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $104.64 - bollocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 11,893.69. The exchange rate is $2.01 for £1, or £0.50 for $1.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

    Today's scripture reading is 2 Kings 14. The Fly is reading Good News, Bad News by David Wolstencroft.

    She's a refugee, I see your face, I see it staring back at me.

    08 March 2008

    Not Quite Finest Hour

    I can hardly contain myself, because I can't wait until next weekend. I know what you're saying to yourself: "Next weekend? But Fly, it's as Sabat/Samstag/Samedi Saturday! Shouldn't you be excited for this weekend?" Indeed, I should be, and I am; but I'm really excited about next weekend, because by then I ought to be caught up on a number of things. I have a handful of administrative tasks that I need to get taken care of on Monday and Tuesday, I need to make a massive amount of Arabic flash cards (and catalogue them, along with all of the ones I have already), and I think there's some more. Why can't I do a lot of that this weekend? Because I have an article due tomorrow at noon. I think it's going to be about the connection between good environmental stewardship and its relation to national security. Read: nuclear power, baby!

    For some reason, I was compelled this morning to look up the music video for a song that came out when I was in middle school. That led me to look up a couple of other songs - all of these being real one hit wonder songs that were never played once they'd dropped off the charts. And what kind of songs were they? R&B songs - that's right, early 1990's urban boy bands. When I was eleven or twelve years old, I didn't really understand or care about what the guys were singing about. Thirteen years later, looking at those videos for the songs I used to hear on the radio, it's really striking how dirty they were. I'm not talking about Boyz II Men or Brian McKnight, mind you; I'm talking about one hit wonders like Silk, Blackstreet, and H-Town. At any rate, the whole thing reminded me of a certain segment of a Chris Rock show that's extremely crass - reader/viewer discretion is advised.



    And for those of you who don't know what "skeet" means... Do yourself a favor, don't look it up. It's just nasty.

    The other big news is that I finally, finally, finally went on a good yomp yesterday evening. I found a park (pictured) that has a nice trail around a lake. It took me about thirty-five minutes to circumnavigate the lake, and I'd worked up a good sweat by the end of it. I have an initial workout plan drawn up, and assuming I continue the trend through the next week (easier now that I've actually established a location in which to yomp, yomps being the pivotal aspect of the initial phase of my physical training schedule), I'll put them into a table and post them here on the blog. And it's worth noting that my old ALICE Pack, which I've since replaced for operational use with an Arc'teryx Echo Pack, is a good pack for training yomps. Ultimately, I'd like to lose weight (I've put on between thirty or forty pounds since I graduated college) and get in shape for my next sojourn to Europe, whenever that may be. (2009? Please!?)

    Right then, time to get ready and go get breakfast with The Artista. Have a great Saturday, folks!