The vile commie leftards running Google, not only ignore the D-Day invasion in their logo they've essentially disrespect it by showing instead some logo celebrating the birthday of Diego Velazquez.

I don't mean to diss Velazquez here, he was a notable and very influential artist in his time. But, compared to the magnitude of human endeavor involved on June 6'th 1944, Velazquez needs to come in 2nd place in that horse race.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 12:34 PM | Comments (27)
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By which the unhinged troll* Mark Moford means he's an "enlightened being" in what he calls "New Age speak," which is a New Age way to call him what used to be known as Prophet, Messiah, Angel, or (gasp) Son of God.

They're really gone now, out where the buses don't run, three blocks north of Queer Street. (That's a link to LGF, by the way.)

Of course, some realize he's not a "Lightworker" at all, but a radical-though-inept politician, and so are setting the bar of success very low for him already. The soft bigotry of low expectations and all that.

* I call him a troll because he's like a comment troll. He gets attention by saying deliberately over-the-moon or stupid shit to get linked by conservative bloggers, which still counts as traffic, even though we can't hardly read a word.

Well, I'll link LGF. My hands are clean.

Posted by: Ace at 12:31 PM | Comments (34)
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She's left Townhall to become (IIRC) online editor for the Washington Examiner.

She leaves on a high note -- Your Savior, Obama, the Little Jiminy Cricket of Hope and Change.

Posted by: Ace at 12:18 PM | Comments (6)
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A very interesting attitude towards science, offered up by a climate "researcher" asked for his data:

We have 25 or so years invested in the work. Why should I make the data available to you, when your aim is to try and find something wrong with it. There is IPR to consider.

Ah, yes, that's how science is supposed to work. Refuse to share your data with potential skeptics and critics. That's the way to make sure your research is as accurate unchallenged as possible.

The refusal in question seems to regard the "adjustments" climate "scientists" frequently perform on the raw data, adjustments which almost always work in favor of reducing past temperatures and elevating fresher readings. (Whereas random chance would suggest that adjustments should go up or down about half the time for either group of readings.)

For some reason, those pushing global warming are very reluctant to share their "adjustments" -- how much they're adjusting, how frequently, and why.

We also know that the raw data of satellite temperature readings show no warming the past decade, and very little warming over the past 30 years.

But raw data must be "adjusted," of course. And when it's so "adjusted," gee, suddenly the earth is getting warmer.

Posted by: Ace at 11:29 AM | Comments (48)
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This one taking out incoming missiles in the "terminal phase," the hardest phase to shoot a missile down, and of course the last opportunity to do so.

"Fireball, Fireball, Fireball!:" Two SM-2 explosive-kill missiles
streak into the sky in response to an incoming SCUD
(jargon-termed a "fireball")

Video of the shoot-down at Cuffy's link, available in all three popular formats: Regular visual, infra-red, and Predator Vision.

Contrasted with Barack Obama proudly announcing he'll stop funding research on ABM technology that "doesn't work."

Who you gonna believe, the Lamb of Chicago or your own lyin' eyes?

Judgment.

Posted by: Ace at 10:51 AM | Comments (32)
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An Asian Sorceress calls upon the Spirits of the East Wind
to charge a Throwing Disc with inscrutable magical power.

I have only one question: Can they make a bunch of those things in Extra Large Size and stick them in the undercarriage of a car?

[A] University of St Andrews team has created an 'incredible levitation effectsÂ’ by engineering the force of nature which normally causes objects to stick together.

Professor Ulf Leonhardt and Dr Thomas Philbin, from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, have worked out a way of reversing this pheneomenon, known as the Casimir force, so that it repels instead of attracts.

Their discovery could ultimately lead to frictionless micro-machines with moving parts that levitate But they say that, in principle at least, the same effect could be used to levitate bigger objects too, even a person.

The Casimir force is a consequence of quantum mechanics, the theory that describes the world of atoms and subatomic particles that is not only the most successful theory of physics but also the most baffling.

The force is due to neither electrical charge or gravity, for example, but the fluctuations in all-pervasive energy fields in the intervening empty space between the objects and is one reason atoms stick together, also explaining a “dry glue” effect that enables a gecko to walk across a ceiling.

Now, using a special lens of a kind that has already been built, Prof Ulf Leonhardt and Dr Thomas Philbin report in the New Journal of Physics they can engineer the Casimir force to repel, rather than attact.

Because the Casimir force causes problems for nanotechnologists, who are trying to build electrical circuits and tiny mechanical devices on silicon chips, among other things, the team believes the feat could initially be used to stop tiny objects from sticking to each other.

Prof Leonhardt explained, “The Casimir force is the ultimate cause of friction in the nano-world, in particular in some microelectromechanical systems.

Such systems already play an important role - for example tiny mechanical devices which triggers a car airbag to inflate or those which power tiny 'lab on chipÂ’ devices used for drugs testing or chemical analysis.

He said cars! He said cars!

The article details important but boring uses for the tech, mostly having to do with keeping nano-machines and structures from clinging together.

Oh -- they're also working on invisibility, just to show off.

Question:

Would you rather have a levitation belt or a flyin' car?

I still have to go with the car.

Also swiped from Excitable Boy, who's doing some science blogging in between his regularly scheduled conniption-fits/ecstatic prophecies. He introduces the article by referencing Barack Obama -- "Levitation: Yes we can!" -- which just goes to show he really does think Obama is Jesus.

Now, you may say "No, that's self-parody," but we all know Andrew Sullivan does not have a sense of humor, especially as regards himself.

Posted by: Ace at 10:26 AM | Comments (55)
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Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids (in fact it's cold as hell).

Swiped from Mr. Excitable.

Posted by: Ace at 10:18 AM | Comments (19)
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I sort of like this. Let's let people know before we destroy our economy precisely the sort of draconian restrictions the Global Warming Alarmists have in mind.

But Seattle Parks and Recreation might do what even this week's chilly weather couldn't -- douse the long tradition of beach bonfires at Alki and at Golden Gardens.

Park department staff is recommending reducing bonfires at the two beaches this summer and possibly banning them altogether next year.

The park board will hear the recommendation Thursday, and the city plans to run public-service announcements and hand out brochures later this month about the effects of bonfires on global warming.

According to a memo to the park board from the staff released Thursday, "The overall policy question for the Board is whether it is good policy for Seattle Parks to continue public beach fires when the carbon ... emissions produced by thousands of beach fires per year contributes to global warming."

Under the proposal, the department in July would reduce the number of fire rings at Alki from six currently to three and at Golden Gardens from 12 to seven.

Then later this year, the department would consider banning bonfires or requiring fees and permits to reduce the number of bonfires next year.

Outlaw jogging, too. You have any idea how much CO2 is pumped out by a human wastefully increasing his metabolism for no good reason?

Better stop sex, too. That's where non-joggers do most of their elevated CO2 production.

Thanks to RobG.

Posted by: Ace at 10:00 AM | Comments (42)
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One cannot stress it enough; the Japanese are deeply weird.

Scientists in Japan have developed a dash-mounted teddy bear navigational system.

The bear has got moving arms and neck so it can also point confused drivers in the right direction.

And it has been programmed to offer up information about local landmarks when its head is rubbed.

But the bear, which stands one foot tall, also has serious safety responsibilities.

It has been programmed to say "You haven't been drinking, have you?" if it detects alcohol on a driver's breath, while any sudden acceleration or braking results in the warning: "Watch out!"

It would be cool if they programmed it with a lot of different funny screams and facial expressions. People would be swerving and slamming on the brakes all the time just for the joy of making the little guy wig out.

Well, some people would.

This being the Japanese, I can only wonder what other phrases it was taught in the lab when nobody was looking.

Posted by: LauraW at 09:24 AM | Comments (33)
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Not good. But...

The U.S. unemployment rate jumped by the most in 22 years in May, reaching its highest level in more than 3-1/2 years and underscoring the recessionary risk the economy still faces.

The jobless rate rose to 5.5 percent last month from 5 percent, its highest level since October 2004, the Labor Department said on Friday. Some 49,000 jobs were cut from payrolls in May, the fifth straight month of job losses.

Wall Street economists surveyed by Reuters forecast that 58,000 jobs would be lost in May, but had foreseen the unemployment rate rising only to 5.1 percent. So far in 2008, job losses have totaled 324,000, the department said.

...

The unemployment rate and the number of jobs added or lost each month are based on separate surveys, so it is possible for the rate to rise disproportionately to the amount of jobs lost.

...

The jump in the jobless rate reflected, in part, a surge of workers entering the work force.

The number of people in the work force climbed by 577,000 in May, up sharply from an increase of 173,000 in April. Department officials noted that in the period from April through July, there typically is an increase in the number of young people seeking temporary work when school is out.

Analysts said the higher unemployment rate was likely to further sap consumer optimism.

5.5% still isn't a high unemployment number, but certainly the trend is worrisome. But, the question is whether most of the bad news is already baked in the cake or if there's more to come. Given that most indicators are up -- or just a bit down -- it's likely this is the worst of the Recession That Wasn't.

I won't quibble about the strange numbers, I guess. Beyond my ken. It does seem strange that such an outsized number of people joined the work force in one month.

Posted by: Ace at 09:04 AM | Comments (31)
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