Nick Bostrom talks about life on Mars and why it would be a bad thing.

But I hope that our Mars probes discover nothing. It would be good news if we find Mars to be sterile. Dead rocks and lifeless sands would lift my spirit.

Conversely, if we discovered traces of some simple, extinct life-form–some bacteria, some algae–it would be bad news. If we found fossils of something more advanced, perhaps something that looked like the remnants of a trilobite or even the skeleton of a small mammal, it would be very bad news. The more complex the life-form we found, the more depressing the news would be. I would find it interesting, certainly–but a bad omen for the future of the human race.

Essentially he looks for what he calls the Great Filter:  some evolutionary event so unlikely that it was all but impossible that it happened here and we’re alive to know about it.  This Great Filter is what keeps us from seeing thousands upon thousands of ETs out there.  He posits that it may be something that will happen not just in our past but in our future.  Of course he has to go on with the oh so typical “we’re going to nuke ourselves into oblivion” that just makes your eyes glaze over, but the rest of the article was pretty interesting to think about.

Still, the most insightful thing was a comment left about the article.

In a great society: Old men plant trees that they will never sit under.  If we want our descendants to prosper, we must move out amongst the stars.

Today’s the Mrs’s birthday so we went to the zoo.

 
The most popular meerkat in the cage.
Also known as “Excuse me while I whip this out.”

(more…)

Or your girlfriend…

I was interested to see how far Linux had come since then in terms of being used easily by the mainstream. So, I tricked my grudging girlfriend Erin into sitting down at a brand new Ubuntu 8.04 installation and performing some basic tasks. It’s surprising how many seemingly simple things become complicated and even out of reach for someone without a knowledge of Linux. There are a lot of little things that could be done to make the experience a lot more friendly for non-computer-literate people – some of them easy to implement, others not at all.

The results come down to… not quite there.

What is truly sad is that I look at all the issues I’ve seen with Linux and is listed in the article.  And it would be solved if there was one company, one group of people, that designed Linux.  As it is every group out there with every single package available has their own way of doing things.  Sad to say but Linux would work for people if it was overhauled by Microsoft. 

Linux simply needs a consistent look and feel throughout everything.  Once single software install format.  One single file system layout.  When I install software I shouldn’t need to know where every stupid prerequisite library is.  Or have to recompile random applications when I upgrade from MySQL 4.x to 5.x.

There won’t be riots at our convention. We don’t riot. We don’t burn our cars. We don’t burn down houses. We don’t kill our children. We don’t do half the the things the American left does.

-Rush Limbaugh

Yeah, why is that?  I tend to think its a child/adult type thing.  Children fuss and whine and break things when they don’t get their way.  Adults look at the world as it is and make the hard decisions and live with it.

I’m still pissed George Lucas screwed up Star Wars by all the fiddling around he did.  Seriously, he took a movie in which billions of people died (the combined populations of Alderaan, the civilian contractors on the Death Star, and then all the others) and decided it wasn’t cute enough for 4 year olds so added bumbling CGI aliens all over the place.  I’m still surprised he didn’t stick walkie-talkies in the hands of all the stormtroopers instead of blaster rifles.

Speaking of that, Harrison Ford has just had has Man Membership Card revoked for getting his chest waxed in support of climate change awareness or something.  Thankfully Charleton Heston is no longer with us to see what has happened. 

Iraq War Veteran and Family Assaulted

Edinboro, PA, Apr. 22

For the second time in as many weeks, an Iraq War Veteran and his family held a Support the Troops rally across the street from the weekly “peace” protest in this college town. This week the true nature of the ‘peace’ activists was revealed for all to see. When the veteran’s 14 year old son crossed the street to videotape the protesters and their signs, the protesters became agitated and began harassing the boy. The right to record video in any public venue is long established in law and any attempt to interfere with that right is a violation of civil rights.

Seeing the escalating tension across the street, the veteran and his wife crossed over, leaving their three youngest children on the other side for safety while they went to retrieve their eldest son. Two of the female ‘peace’ protesters then attacked the veteran’s wife. When the veteran pulled one of those attackers off his wife he was jumped by four or five of the ‘peace’ people and knocked to the ground where they held him while beating him and smashing his eyeglasses.

The son pulled the remaining attacker off his mother, but the attacker managed to get in one last kick to his mother’s head with her boot. She then punched the son in his face while his mother called the police.

What is the most pathetic about the situation is the clearly corrupt “police officer” that showed up on the scene.  That guy deserves to be fired.

Found this over at Blackfive.

The of course you get this jackass

A man heckling First Lady Laura Bush and daughter Jenna outside the 92nd Street Y was arrested after he punched a wheelchair-bound girl whose parents had told him to shut up, authorities said yesterday. German Talis, 22, was shouting obscenities at the Bushes, who were leaving the building Tuesday, when he crossed paths with Wendy and John Lovetro and their daughter Maureen, 18, who has cerebral palsy.”

…

The next thing he knew, Talis was allegedly punching Maureen - a fan of the first lady since meeting her in 2004.

via the NYPost.

Apparently we’re the #1 google hit for jackass breeding.

I’m not sure if I should be proud of this or not.  Of course someone else was searching for that and got here because of it.

This Associated Press article doesn’t name the party of the state governor involved in a mini-scandal.

AP News

That mean’s that Joe Manchin of West Virginia is….  A DEMOCRAT!   Whoo hoo let’s hear it for all the people smart enough to know the AP style guide says:  If the person in trouble is a Republican, that fact goes in the first paragraph.  If the person in trouble is a Democrat, then do not mention the party affiliation.

A man walks into a drug store with his 12-year old son. They happen to walk by the condom display, and the boy asks, “What are these,Dad?” To which the man matter-of-factly replies, “Those are called condoms, son…. Men use them to have safe sex.”
“Oh I see.” replied the boys pensively. “Yes, I’ve heard of that in health class at school.” He looks over the display and picks up a package of 3 and asks, “Why are there 3 in this package?”
The dad replies, “Those are for high school boys. One for Friday, one for Saturday, and one for Sunday.”
“Cool!” says the boy. He notices a 6 pack and asks “Then who are these for?”
“Those are for college men.” the dad answers, “TWO for Friday, TWO for Saturday, and TWO for Sunday.”
“WOW!” exclaimed the boy; “Then who uses THESE?” he asks, picking up a 12 pack.
With a sigh, the dad replied, “Those are for married men. One for January, one for February, one for March……..”

From FOXNews.com

Of course this should have you worried.

• You’ve never referred to Philadelphia as anything but “Philly” and New Jersey has always been “Jersey”.
• You refer to Pennsylvania as “PA” (pronounced Pee-ay). How many other states do that?
• “You guys” is a perfectly acceptable reference to a group of men and women.
• You know how to respond to the question “Djeetyet?” (Didyoueatyet?)
• You learned to pronounce Bryn Mawr, Wilkes-Barre , Schuylkill , the Pocono’s, Tamaqua, Tunkannock, Bala Cynwyd, Duquesne and Monongahela.
• And we know Lancaster is pronounced Lank aster, not Lan kaster.
• You know what a “Mummer” is, and are disappointed if you can’t catch at least highlights of the parade.
• You know what ” Punxsutawney Phil” is, and what it means if he sees his shadow.
• The first day of buck and the first day of doe season are school holidays.
• You know how to get ‘rid’ of things and how to read up.
• You can use the phrase “fire hall wedding reception” and not even bat an eye.
• You can’t go to a wedding without hearing the “Chicken Dance,” at least one polka and either an Italian song (sung in Italian,) or “Hava Nagila.”
• At least five people on your block have electric “candles” in all or most their windows all year long.
• You know what a “Hex sign” is.
• You know what a “State Store” is, and your out-of-state friends find it incredulous that you can’t purchase liquor at the mini-mart.
• You own only 4 condiments: salt, pepper, mustard and ketchup.
• Words like “hoagie,” “crick,” “chipped ham,” “dippy eggs”, “sticky buns,” “shoo-fly pie,” “lemon sponge pie”, “pierogies” and “pocketbook” actually mean something to you.
• You can eat cold pizza (even for breakfast) and know others who do the same.
• You not only have heard of Birch Beer, but you know it comes in several colors: Red, White, Brown, Gold.
• You know several places to purchase or that serve Scrapple, Summer Sausage and Hot Bacon Dressing.
• You can eat a cold soft pretzel from a street vendor without fear and enjoy it. It almost always comes with mustard.
• You know the difference between a cheese steak and a pizza steak sandwich, and know that you can’t get a
  really good one outside PA, except Atlantic City on the boardwalk.
• You live for summer, when street and county fairs signal the beginning of funnel cake season. Customers ask the waitress for “dippy eggs” for breakfast.
• You know that Blue Ball, Intercourse, Paradise, Climax, Bird-in-Hand, Beaver, Moon, Virginville, Mars, and Slippery Rock are PA towns. (and the first three were consecutive stops on the Reading RR)
• You know what a township, borough, and commonwealth is.
• You can identify drivers from New York , New Jersey , Maryland or other neighboring states by their unique and irritating driving habits.
• A traffic jam is 10 cars waiting to pass a horse-drawn carriage on the highway in Lancaster County .
• You know several people who have hit deer more than once.
• You carry jumper cables in your car and your female passengers know how to use them. You still keep kitty litter, starting fluid, de-icer, or a snowbrush in your trunk, even if you now live in the south.
• Driving is always better in winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
• As a kid you built snow forts and leaf piles that were taller than you were.
• Your graduating class consisted of mostly Polish, German, and Italian names.
• You know beer doesn’t grow in a garden but you know where to find a beer garden.
• You also know someone who lives “down the lane”.

This one’s for you Jeremy…

I can’t say it enough. I hate Earth Day. I am sick to death of Earth Day.

My oldest daughter has been brainwashed by school to believe that Earth Day ranks right up there with Christmas and Halloween. The school, which can’t celebrate Christmas, Easter, Halloween, or “normal” holidays, has spent two weeks preparing the kids for the joys of Earth Day.

My two youngest, Kindergarteners, come home with homework instructing my little angels to convince Mom and Dad to use cloth bags at the grocery instead of the evil plastic (OK, evil is my work, but you get the drift). You’d think that I was chainsmoking in a closet with my children or something, using plastic is so bad…

So it’s been two weeks of Earth Day warm up. And the other Co-leader of my Girl Scout troop seems to think that buying Global warming Fun Patches is a great idea to tie in. And yes, the fun patches have a cute picture of a Polar Bear clutching a Stop Global Warming sign…

Do I have to say that I politely told her that the fun patch wasn’t necessary?

Now don’t start accusing me of hating the Earth. Which I’m sure is in some zealot’s head right now. I enjoy nature. I conserve. My house is colder in winter than any other house that I know. We don’t waste water. I don’t even water the grass, in order to conserve. I don’t drive the car every day. Hey, I even reuse the plastic grocery bags that my girls are taught are so bad.

I just hate Earth Day. And I really hate the fact that the mind control police have grabbed onto my sweet innocent children, brainwashed them, and that the school is pointing out the err of their parents’ ways. My kids are supposed to learn right and wrong from my husband and myself. Not the other way around.

Guns N’ Roses is “in negotiations” for the release of its decade-in-the-making album “Chinese Democracy,” according to a post on the band’s Web site.  “We’re in negotiations for the release of ‘Chinese Democracy’ and things are going well,” the statement says.

14 years… started recording in 1994.  One of the best rock bands ever, it’s a shame to have gone so wrong.

via FOXNews.com

When millions of people are going hungry, it’s a crime against humanity that food should be diverted to biofuels. - An anonymous Indian government official.

My thought exactly.  98% of the whole biofuel industry is a government funded (meaning your tax dollars) boondoggle.  Someone is making making money off this crap but almost everyone else loses.

A few special interest groups are probably getting exactly what they wanted, even though the result isn’t what their press releases say they’re for.

A woman went to the hospital to meet her newly female co-worker who had just completed a long and very detailed sex change operation.
She greeted him/her at her bedside and the patient was all bandaged up, swollen, and medicated pre-op.
The woman co-worker was very concerned seeing IV’s, beeping machines, tubes, pain pills and medications lined up at the bedside.
So she asked…
“How painful were the breast implants….I hear they are pretty painful”. The newly female patient groaned in response.
She asked, “How much does it hurt where they cut off your manhood? I bet that area really hurts”….
The patient sighed and moaned
The woman asked for the final time…”well, now that you’ve finally turned from a man into a woman…what is the part of the procedure that hurts the most?”….
The newly minted woman turned and said, “it is going to hurt most when I return to work and get my salary cut”

While I fully support the protests against actual fascists like communist China, it still would be nice if the protesters knew what the hell they were talking about.

Found at Blue Star Chronicles.

Hey, the CDC finally noticed the flu season was terribly bad and that the vaccine was almost completely worthless. 

Starting to make Hillary look like George Washington.

Where are the shows for men?  I mean, real unafraid man shows?

The 70’s had Kung Fu, Six-Million Dollar Man, and Black Sheep Squadron.  The Six-Million Dollar Man was so manly they had to spin off the chick part into her own show.

In the 80’s you had The A-Team (possibly manliest show ever) and Airwolf.  MST3K was in the 80s.

The 90’s… nothing we could find.  Apparently 1990 marked the castration of shows for men.  Something changed around that time, and suddenly it became wrong to have TV shows with explosions… it became necessary to have shows where the men were either stupid or emotional.  Every father on tv became a caricature.  You had Home Improvement, trying to see how much of a clown you could make the father.

Since 2000 the only show that even comes close was Deadwood on HBO.  It had cowboys and dirt and guns and cussin’ and killin’ and hookers.

You say Football?  Are you kidding me?  For a long time now they’ve been working to make that a co-ed spectator sport.

Am I missing anything in the past twenty years that would truly be called a show for men?

A man show should meet the following qualifications, made by Dirk Benedict about the A-Team:

It was a guy’s show. It was male driven. It was written by guys. It was directed by guys. It was acted by guys. It’s about what guys do. We talked the way guys talked. We were the boss. We were the God. We smoked when we wanted. We shot guns when we wanted. We kissed the girls and made them cry… when we wanted. It was the last truly masculine show.