A $5 Million wedding?

The sum which two married people owe to one another defies calculation. It is an infinite debt, which can only be discharged through all eternity.

- Goethe

I hear that Chelsea Clinton is getting married, and wish her all happiness.

Long time readers are waiting for the "but", the part where I snark. I won't for a second snark on Miss Clinton's hopes or chances for happiness. If anyone in the public eye deserves someone who will cherish her, she's the one, and it's fervently to be hoped for.

But.

If I were to be the father of the bride, and were to spend $5 Million on a wedding ceremony, I'd want sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their frickin' heads.

Well, I would.



No word if Miss Clinton's wedding dinner features sea bass ...

Hot Green-on-Green action!

One of the problems with travel - at least, roadtrip travel like we just did - is that it's hard to keep up with what's going on in the Blogosphere. Because of this, I'm late to the game about a delicious story that combines two of my favorite things: Internet Security and Junk Science.

One of the areas of Black Hat hacking that is thankfully much less prevalent today is "hacktivism" - hacking motivated by political activism. Most of this involves taking over a political enemy's web server and posting what amounts to political graffiti. While this is a step up from the usual LOL w3 pwn3d j00 graffiti, it's not much of a step up. But I'll make an exception for this one:

click to enlarge

The Independent Media Centre of Australia is reporting that the sister website of the flatlining Chicago Climate Exchange, the European Climate Exchange (ECX), had it’s main page hacked and replaced with the image above. I’ve confirmed this with Google cache of the ECX website available here, Screencap of the cached page here. [Update: Wikipedia now has a larger screencap online here]

Comment #1: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Comment #2: C'mon lefties - it's a climate crisis! Don't you love Mother Gaia? We're all being told that we have to give up 2% of global GDP to atone for our evil ways, can't you sacrifice your hatred of Wall Street for The Cause? No? OK, then!

Comment #3: Man, I picked the wrong day to drive 700 miles. In future, I shall endeavor to do better for all y'all.

Comment #4: Hey lefties, google "regulatory capture". Now extrapolate the opportunity for Regulatory Capture with 2% of the world GDP at stake. Pop an artery when you realize what it means.

Comment #5: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

From the Department of Do-As-I-Say-Not-As-I-Do

People notice, and remember.



My only comment is that even assuming that everything that Al and Tipper Gore said about music lyrics was true (and it's almost certainly not), nothing that Rock music has done could be remotely as damaging to the lives of the middle class as Al's environmental policy proposals. Mote, beam.

Quote of the Day: Make You Think edition

Aretae posts an off-the-cuff comment that made me go "hmmmm":

Sometime near the 1970s, growth pushed us out of the 10000 year old agrarian tradition of productive men get women to the older >10000 year hunter-tradition of status gets women, but with much better psych-tech. This is scary and unpredictable, given that the nuclear family has been the stable social unit for 10,000 years.

I'm not entirely sure I agree, but I'll be mulling this - and his larger post, which has a larger point - for a while.

I'd certainly add the brass cartridge case to his two world-transforming inventions, but maybe that's just me.

Home

#1 Son and I are now safely back inside the Chez Borepatch secure perimeter.

13 hours from North Carolina was a long haul. We managed to time it to miss the New York City rush hour, but landed bang in the middle of the Stamford, CT rush hour.

But it's always a good trip when you're going home.

#1 Son drives the Garden State Parkway

All growed up and handling the big city traffic. Doing pretty nicely, too.

We're making good time because we can trade off driving. Looks like we'll be just past New York before rush hour, and home for dinner. Yay, #1 Son!

Posted from my iPhone, which is a pretty crummy blogging platform. Anyone out there blog from Droid?

Let's be careful out there

A lot of folks do all their web surfing in Condition White. Zercool shows how not to be one of those people. Highly recommended security reading.

Thursday Gun Pr0n

ARs and 1911s and Auto-5s, oh my!

ASM826 and Dan in NC took us to the range yesterday evening to make some noise, which is (unsurprisingly) an excellent way to get rid of the stress from a long day in the car. I'd shot the AR and the 1911 (#2 Son's favorite), and they're indeed very nice. What was new was the one at the bottom of the picture, the Browning Auto-5, designed by The Man himself, John Moses Browning (PBUH).

Man, what a sweet, sweet shotgun. Light recoil, fast cycling action. Fast cycling. The fact that I couldn't break many of the clays is no statement on the gun (although it was pretty cool when I hit a clay dead center, and it disappeared in a cloud of dust).

This one is on the top of my "Guns I will get when I move to the United States of America" list.

There was also AR fun. #1 Son was pretty psyched when he saw that he was significantly better than me with the Auto-5; the AR gave me a chance to impress him. I left the target in the car (too tired to get it now; I wrote this post last night and scheduled it for this morning), but the top reason to get an AR is because you want 2" groups ...

I'll put up a proper Range Report for the Auto-5 when I'm back home. ASM826 has more pictures up, so check them out.

Bang!

Boy, that was fun. A huge, huge thank you to ASM826 and sometimes commenter Dan in NC for hosting us at an undisclosed, secure range somewhere north of Atlanta and south of Boston. Pictures tomorrow, but let me just say that there are few ways I can think of to unwind after a long day's driving than making loud noises while you punch holes in targets.

Or break sporting clays. #1 Son seems to have a knack for breaking them, at least with a sweet, sweet Auto-5 shotgun. In my case, there were precious few that actually, you know, broke. Oh, bother.

My journey to the Dark Side is complete

You are 0% hippie.

Ok, you conservative soul. Do you even believe in global warming? Loosen that necktie a little, and try some organic food. It actually does taste better. And go to a farmer's market--they're fun.

Are you a hippie?
Take More Quizzes

Although I'm not a conservative. The 0% hippie is about right, though. And I'm a bit skeptical about that Global Warming thing.

Hat tip: Alan.

Remember, Port-A-Potties are concealment, not cover

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Today's must-read

Is brought to you courtesy of the Czar of Muscovy, who visits a school in one of Chicago's poor neighborhoods:

Lest you be uncertain: the Czar believes entirely in Dr. King’s awesome goal. The Czar believes that blacks are real people, like anyone else. No better, no worse. No greater, no weaker. That it is up to the individual to recognize his or her own strengths, and use them to his or her own advantage. But this school immerses students in a dismal mixed message that they are victims, and that despite all their faults, they might just become incredibly wealthy. And that is a crime, right out of the leftist make-them-dependent-on-you playbook.

But hold on. There is hope.

That's the part you expect. The part that you don't expect - and which is amazing in its mixing of hope, inspiration, and despair - you'll have to go read it all for that. It's worth the journey.

Oh, and I think I can answer the question on the blackboard, but I'm not sure.

Forced March

We're hitting the road as this post goes up, rolling out from Atlanta headed for a rifle range in North Carolina. It'll be a long day, but ASM826 is hosting us for some shooty goodness at the end of the day.

It's been quite fun to have this much time with #1 Son. If he drives as much as expect he will today, I'll try some highwayblogging to go with some scheduled posts.

Reflections on Massachusetts' racist gun control laws

The nice folks at the Roswell Guns and Gear store pointed me to Georgia Carry, who have an outstanding FAQ about Georgia firearms laws. As a current inmate resident of the People's Republic of Massachusetts, this part hurt the most:

Q: What is required to purchase a firearm in the state of Georgia?
A: You will need a valid state-issued ID.

Show your (Georgia) driver's license, pass the background check, leave with your gun. Sigh.

But this one got me thinking:

Q: What is a public gathering?
A: The Public Gathering Law was repealed when SB308 was signed into law on June 4, 2010. The Public Gathering was law in Georgia for 140 years and was one of the last Jim Crow laws to be repealed in Georgia.

For 140 years, the "Public Gathering" law was used to disarm black Americans in Georgia. It was only repealed last month. Yowzer.

Note that I'm not hatin' on Georgia, here. Reading through Georgia Carry's outstanding history Disarm the Negros: The Racist Roots of Gun Control made me think that Jim Crow is alive and well, and firmly ensconced on Massachusetts' Beacon Hill. You see, the gun violence in Dorchester, Roxbury, and other poor neighborhoods (read: majority black neighborhoods) is used to justify restricting firearms ownership in Massachusetts. Just like events like the Camilla Massacre was used to justify restricting (black) firearms ownership in 1868 Georgia. Hysterical stories sensationalized by a biased press try to whip up support for disarming Massachusetts citizens, just like in the 1906 Atlanta Race Riots.

And the Massachusetts law is applied selectively. If you live in Lincoln (a very white suburb of Boston, one with very low crime rates - IOW, one where you have less need for a gun to protect yourself), you'll have little trouble getting a permit. If you live in Dorchester (a majority black suburb of Boston, one with a very high crime rate - IOW, one where you have a lot more need for a gun), forget about it. Just like in 1908 Georgia. The analogy is not general, it's precise.

I mean, can't have a bunch of guns available to dangerous, excitable black folks, can you? [/sarcasm]

Massachusetts lefties, j'accuse. You are objectively racist, in a way that would have made the 1880 Georgia KKK proud. You should think long and hard about updating your laws - just like Georgia has. It is firmly to be hoped for that some day Massachusetts will grapple with its racist philosophy, and follow in Georgia's footsteps.

Canadian government incompetent or "not nice"? You decide.

Canadians pride themselves on being nicer than us grouchy Americans. Whatever.* So how do you classify this:

LAVAL, Que. – A mother and a daycare teacher tried desperately to free a 15-month-old baby boy from a locked car in the scorching heat Monday after emergency services refused to send help.

The mom accidentally locked her keys and her kid in the car, on what was one of the hottest days of the year. Understandably concerned for the child's safety, she called 911:

“The operator told me that for them, this wasn’t an emergency, that they don’t send the police for this,” the teacher explained.

Ooooh kaaaay. The question, then, is from whence comes this inexplicable behavior on the part of CA.Gov officials? Is it incompetence that puts toddlers at risk of death? Or are they miserable human beings, despite their lofty opinion of their "niceness"?

(via)

*I'd tell you what I really think of this attitude, but I'm too nice.

Atention Massachusetts voters

We interrupt your blogging for a (non-paid) political announcement ...

Via Too Old To Work, Too Young To Retire, we find that Jim McKenna is running fot Attorney General in the People's Republic. As a Republican, he likely faces a long shot, but his web site is worth a visit:

Like you, I am tired of public corruption, government mismanagement and the erosion of rights for average Americans. It seems our current leaders are more interested in protecting everyone but us hard working Americans. This needs to stop.

I believe that the current Attorney General is out of step with Massachusetts voters on illegal immigration, reform and prosecuting political corruption. She has been more focused on prosecuting Garden Clubs than with the lawmakers stuffing bribes down their shirts. It has been federal authorities that were responsible for uncovering and prosecuting the most significant corruption charges, including those against former Boston state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson.

Amen. If you need more, TOTWTYTR says he's pro Second Amendment. Still want more? He's running against Democrat Martha Coakley. Long time readers will remember how we scientifically proved that she's dumb as a rock. If you're in Massachusetts, go check him out. If you're not, but have had it with arrogant incumbents possessed of a sense of entitlement, go check him out. Good luck, Jim.

We now return you to your regular blogging schedule.

Models, Scientists, and the End of History

The strongest evidence for the theory of Anthropogenic Global Warming comes from climate model predictions. Not everyone is impressed with the software, though. Some of the strongest criticisms come from some pretty high powered scientists:

Here I am opposing the holy brotherhood of climate model experts and the crowd of deluded citizens who believe the numbers predicted by the computer models. Of course, they say, I have no degree in meteorology and I am therefore not qualified to speak. But I have studied the climate models and I know what they can do. The models solve the equations of fluid dynamics, and they do a very good job of describing the fluid motions of the atmosphere and the oceans. They do a very poor job of describing the clouds, the dust, the chemistry and the biology of fields and farms and forests. They do not begin to describe the real world that we live in. The real world is muddy and messy and full of things that we do not yet understand. It is much easier for a scientist to sit in an air-conditioned building and run computer models, than to put on winter clothes and measure what is really happening outside in the swamps and the clouds. That is why the climate model experts end up believing their own models. – Freeman Dyson

Computer models are interesting, but the proof of the pudding for skeptical scientists is in whether the model predictions match the observed record. So how do the models hold up to observation? It depends on which observations. For example, NASA's GISStemp data set says that the model predictions of sudden late 20th century warming to unprecedented levels doesn't match the observed record of peak temps in the 1930s, followed by a decline through the 1970s, with a minor El Nino spike in the 1990s:
This is a problem for scientists who have to respond to skeptical eminences like Dyson, or Nobel laureate physicist Ivar Giaever:

I’m a skeptic. …Global Warming it’s become a new religion. You’re not supposed to be against Global Warming. You have basically no choice. And I tell you how many scientists support that. But the number of scientists is not important. The only thing that’s important is if the scientists are correct; that’s the important part.

So what do the "warmist" scientists do? Remember, Gavin Schmidt - one of the most important advocates of Global Warming - runs the NASA group that maintains the GISS data set. Some time between 1999 (data from 1999 used for the graph above) and 2000, something happened to GISStemp. Now if you look at the data, you see something very different:

Older temperatures (1880 to 1920) were reduced. Recent temperatures (1990s) were increased. Instant Hockey Stick - just add data "adjustments". So which one is wrong, the old GISS or the new GISS? Is there some other data that we could check that could help decide the question? Other climate data? Like snowfall records?

No hockey stick in sight. And you'd think that a colder 1880-1920 would give more snow, and a warm 1980-2000 would give less. Clearly, these records are in desperate need of "adjusting".

I wrote about how easy it would be to manufacture a consensus that the globe is warming:

What is clear about the HadCRUt (as well as GISStemp) is that they are opaque - the data sets are terribly hard to understand, poorly documented, and adjusted in a manner that is not well explained (if, indeed, it is explained at all). In the case of CRU, the original (unmodified) data is no longer available, but seems to have been destroyed.

Yet ever single climate scientist uses these data sets for their analysis of global temperature.

So, if the guardians of these data sets were to want to ensure a scientific consensus that the globe is warming, that this is a recent phenomenon, and that mankind is behind it, all they need to do is modify the data sets. All researchers pick up the modified data sets, have no (easy) way to validate the soundness of the data, and unsurprisingly produce similar results. Hey, the data show conclusively that the planet is warming. Oh noes! Thermageddon!

There was a joke, back in the bad old days in the Soviet Union: In Soviet Russia, future is always known. Is past that always changes.

The scientific establishment acts like they think that they've reached the End of History, and that controlling the past allows them to set the future. The problem is that the world is no longer one of central, top-down information distribution. Now it's the Internet, where you can't disable comments. That same Internet that considers censorship to be damage, and routes around it.

But does it come in a Jackalope bottle?

Long time readers will remember Tactical Nuclear Penguin, the world's strongest beer. The brewers were criticized for brewing such a strong beer, what with so many UK residents drinking too much already. After such a vigorous chastening, what do you do?

First, you amp up the alcohol to 55%, to give all the neo-prohibitionists an aneurysm. Second, you put the bottle inside roadkill, freshly back from the taxidermist, for the PETA crowd:

The End of History: The name derives from the famous work of philosopher Francis Fukuyama, this is to beer what democracy is to history. Fukuyama defined history as the evolution of the political system and traced this through the ages until we got the Western Democratic paradigm. For Fukuyama this was the end point of man’s political evolution and consequently the end of history. The beer is the last high abv beer we are going to brew, the end point of our research into how far the can push the boundaries of extreme brewing, the end of beer.

Of course, the bottle has all the Usual Suspects acting, well, usual:

However the decision was described by Ross Minett, campaigns director for the U.K. charity Advocates for Animals, as "terribly out of date" and "degrading" for the animals.

"The modern approach is to celebrate the wonders of animals and respect them as individual sentient creatures," he said, according to the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph newspaper. "I'm sure this would have much greater appeal with the animal-loving public."

Fish, barrel. But still the twitch in his eye is mighty dang funny.

Sadly, not only is the beer retailed at $700/bottle (no, I'm not making this up), the entire production run is sold out.

On Friendship

The friendship that can cease has never been real.

- St. Jerome

#1 Son's best friend used to live next door, back when we lived in Atlanta. Since we're visiting, he was adamant that he look Kevin up.

While I didn't say anything, I was nervous about the reunion. We've been gone 8 years, and that's a lot when you were only 10 when you moved away. In the back of my mind was the fear that they would have grown on very different paths, and that the drive back home would be a thousand miles of disappointment.

It sure was nice to see them drop back into the friendship, seemingly as if it were only a long summer vacation that had kept them apart.

As a parent, you want to protect your children. Sometimes this means that you have to watch them get hurt, because that' s how they grow. Sometimes - if you're lucky - that feared life lesson passes them by, and they get a different lesson.

The language of friendship is not words, but meanings.

- Henry David Thoreau

Sunday morning humor, and thinking

The forceps of our minds are clumsy things and crush the truth a little in the course of taking hold of it.

- H.G. Wells

Sometimes we get too serious, and drain all the fun from something in the course of cracking our hard, intellectual nutshells. All Thought and no Play makes us a grumpy old geezer, or something.

So here's something pretty danged funny to start your intellectual day off. Three Minute Philosophy is a series of (what else?) 3 minute overviews of famous philosophers. It's mildly NSFW, and very, very funny. Especially the one on Immanuel Kant (both the NSFW and the very funny parts apply in spades here).



Many more over at Youtube - watch one, collect 'em all!

(via)

But all fun and no thought makes us rather dull. While still chuckling about John Locke, wander over to Rhymes With Gars And Girls and ponder Sonic Charmer's thoughts about Democracy, Locke's great passion:

But the concept of market failure is intellectually sound, namely, the possibility of market patterns in which everyone pursuing their self-interest rationally leads to an overall outcome which is worse than some other possible outcome (to be precise, not Pareto-optimal). The classic example is a factory that pollutes, the pollution being an externality borne by society at large that won’t be priced into the factory’s product (absent some sort of Pigovian tax). It can be debated whether this or that cited example of a ‘market failure’ really is one, or whether its definition begs the question, but the concept is worth thinking about.

I think nowadays we need a twin concept: democracy failure. Presumably, democracy, like markets, is supposed to optimize outcomes for people in some way or another. (Otherwise, why do we have it?) So then, just as with market failure, democracy failure could be defined along the lines of, a (self-sustaining or sustained) pattern that can emerge in democratic governance in which the outcome is undesirable in some appropriately-measured way.

There's a lot of smart there, and a lot that will make you think. His post is a little depressing in its implications, but then I think on the Second Amendment and watering the Tree of Liberty with tyrant's blood, and I'm happy again. It's Sunday, after all. Don't want to crush the truth while taking hold of it ...