November 2008
21 posts
The Call of Cthubuntu →
Possibly of interest only to those for whom the Venn diagrams of interest in fan fiction, pulp cosmic horror, and linux administration overlap, the image of ceiling cat and basement cat facing off in an apocalyptic dual should have universal appeal.
October 2008
30 posts
Visual Timeline of Almost Every Lego Minifig →
Hot, Hard, Mulled Cider
This stuff was delicious. It also made the whole house smell like autumn. Easy and a great excuse to pull out the punch bowl at your Halloween party.
Ingredients
1/2 Gallon apple cider
1 Quart (1/2 liter) spiced rum (you can leave this out for a kid-safe punch)
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp whole cloves
2 tsp whole allspice
1 tsp ground nutmeg
3 sticks (~3” long) cinnamon
Juice from 1...
Endorsements
Esquire’s November issue repeats a feature they debuted back in 2006. They have endorsed a candidate in every race for the Senate, the House, and governor.
They also have endorsed Barack Obama for president.
While all of the endorsements are thoughtful and apparently well-researched (see the endorsement of John Hoeven and Earl Pomeroy, for example), the endorsement of Mr. Obama really...
Mmmm...
Had a trial run at hot, mulled cider last night. It was tasty, so tonight I’m brewing up a big batch of the punch for the D&D crew. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow!
This One's for You, Ty →
“You know, once he’s got a couple of drinks in... →
I’m voting for Obama not because I’d prefer to drink beer with him, but because I’d prefer to do bong hits with him. He seems like he’d be a lot of fun at a house party.
McCain just seems like an angry drunk, even when he’s sober.
R.I.P. Tony Dean →
Lots of Unanswered Questions about the Health of... →
All in all, the gaps and paucity of information leave the electorate with insufficient information to fully judge the health of the nominees. The information that has been released is a retreat from the approach that most campaigns took over the last 10 elections.
Sooo Close
The new MacBooks don’t come with a firewire port (a.k.a. IEEE 1394, a.k.a i.link).
This has been a source of consternation, frustration, disappointment, etc. and has resulted in quite a bit of heated words being typed on forums all over the Internet. Some question whether the anger/venting is warranted; who uses firewire anyway?
Yes, this is worth an outpouring of anger. For about a...
Federal Reserve Initiatives in Response to the... →
Biden →
Interesting behind-the-scenes look at why Obama chose Biden, and what kind of VP he’ll be. This has made me come around to him a bit, but I am still not very impressed.
Honorable, but Dumb?
I’m pretty pissed off that the government is making me feel like an an idiot for paying my mortgage instead of not paying it, blowing all my savings on high definition toys, and waiting for my bailout.
Love It
Bought Erika a new MacBook back in April/May to replace her ancient iBook.
Then five months later Apple goes and makes that white plastic MacBook look like a relic from a simpler, more naive time.
My 12” PowerBook is going on five years old, though…
Update: I should say that Erika’s MacBook is the best computer I’ve ever used. And I’ve had my hands on lots of...
Pet Peeve
People who refer to themselves as a raconteur.
Technical Analysis of how the Federal Reserve Is... →
Heavy reading for a rainy Sunday afternoon. (via Across the Curve)
Presidential Material →
Biographies of John McCain and Barack Obama in comic book form, from IDW Publishing. Definitely worth your $6.
In Fargo, Comic Junction still had both issues as of late Thursday, but Paradox was sold out of the Barack Obama ish.
Good Beer
AB’s new Budweiser American Ale is good beer.
The color is beautiful. The dark caramel sparkles and promises something very different than the traditional Bud and Bud Light.
I don’t usually give much note to the head on a beer. But it must be noted that this beer does have a very nice head after pour.
The nose strongly offers roasted grain, with a hint of hops.
Both the head...
More Bailout Insanity from Senator McCain
I’ll admit it: Erika and I fell asleep watching the debate last night.
So I missed Senator McCain suggesting the federal government buy up every mortgage that’s underwater. That is a terrible, terrible idea.
Turns out Michelle Malkin shares my thoughts:
I can’t underscore enough what a rotten idea John McCain’s ACORN-like government mortgage buy-up is.
He spent the entire...
Stop Blaming Poor Minorities for the Economic...
From this Slate article about the true causes of the mortgage meltdown:
Investment banks and insurance companies run by centimillionaires blow up, and it’s the fault of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and poor minorities?
These arguments are generally made by people who read the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal and ignore the rest of the paper—economic know-nothings whose opinions are...
“Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be...”
– Conan, in Robert E. Howard’s “The Tower of the Elephant”
It Works! Bwahahaha!
TV and Internet are functioning normally at home again.
I got to use my foot-and-a-half long masonry bit on my hammer drill to put a couple holes in our house. That is why being a homeowner is awesome. Not because it makes financial sense, but because you have a legitimate need to own awesome power tools. You should see my snowblower!
Twelve Virtues of Rationality →
(via Kottke)
I don’t often link things I’ve seen on Kottke since I figure everyone else reads him too. But this is so good I’m putting it up here as a personal bookmark.
Attention:
Internet access at home will be flakey over the next couple days as I rejigger our home network to accomodate OTA digital TV on the same cable plant as our cable Internet access.
We’ll still eventually receive all email sent to us.
Wuss. →