Just a thread to freshen up the blog.

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Welcome again to the Spaced-Out Challenge! Whether you have a question about equipment, a new astronomical discovery you want to expand on, or just want to kick back and enjoy the cosmos above, come one come all on our weekly astronomical journey.

This week, we return to our Winter Sky Guide, and explore the constellations of Orion's faithful companions, Canis Major and Minor. Be it monsters or glistening jewels, these constellations contain sights to thrill, so let's dive in, shall we? more...

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Amateur cooks are probably as fanatical about the tools of their hobby as gear heads and shooters, but with far less reason. It is eminently possible to cook magnificent food in a bare-bones kitchen, and certainly the clean up is easier without a few dozen dirty pots, pans, knives, food processors and assorted gadgets piled high in the sink and on every flat surface.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 11:10 AM | Comments (214)
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And the lustful thoughts of the Morons who saw that photo of T.J. Oshie's girlfriend...and the lustful thoughts of the Moronettes who saw T.J. Oshie!

Posted by: Open Blogger at 11:09 AM | Comments (132)
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This thread sponsored by “Be like Mark Spitz: drink your milk!”

In honor of the Olympics, I thought it might be fun to have the travel thread that covered some interesting sports-related travel destinations? For the purposes of this thread, letÂ’s use a loose definition of sports. In other words, golf IS a sport, you haterz! As are curling, cheerleading, gymnastics, cycling, etcÂ…

LetÂ’s leave off hiking, climbing, fishing, hunting, and camping for another day because IÂ’d really like to do a outdoorsy travel thread sometime. I think it deserves itÂ’s own thread (or two or three).

So with those “ground rules” in mind, here are some of my favorite sports-related travel destinations as well as some that are on my bucket list:
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Posted by: Open Blogger at 04:55 PM | Comments (188)
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The Washington Times had a nice piece last week on the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) that guards the Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery 24/7/365 in conditions both fair and foul.

I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a family member in war and not have the closure that comes with saying that final goodbye at a funeral. Yet there in Arlington are fathers, sons, brothers, husbands who are, as the inscription says, known but to God.

It is comforting and well that the nation accords these men, representative of all unknown soldiers, the solemn, respectful honor of a permanent vigil that will go on until the last of them is identified.

Their families deserve no less.

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Posted by: andy at 03:50 AM | Comments (219)
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Today's thread for non-book related discussion is brought to you by a couple of old guys playing their guitars: more...

Posted by: Open Blogger at 06:08 AM | Comments (96)
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^{Boekhandel Selexyz Dominicanen Bookstore, Maastricht, Holland}

Good morning morons and moronettes and welcome to AoSHQ's prestigious Sunday Morning Book Thread.

Great Bookstores

A book thread reader tipped me to this Business Insider article ,18 Bookstores Every Book Lover Must Visit At Least Once. Some of these look absolutely gorgeous. I was chiefly interested to see if one notably awesome bookstore made the list, and I was not disappointed.

Coming in at #18 is Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon. Started by Walter Powell in 1971, it has expanded into several locations, even when other bookstores were closing due to competitive pressure from the large chain bookstores and internet sales.

It is one of this country's most remarkable bookstores:

The "City of Books," as the four-story flagship store on West Burnside is known, occupies an entire city block, and carries more than one million books. The sixty-eight-thousand-square-foot space is divided into nine color-coded rooms, which together house more than 3,500 sections. From the moment you walk in, it feels as if you could find anything there. (And if you can't, try one of the seven branch stores in five other locations throughout Portland, specializing in everything from technical books to home and garden.)

If you're ever in Portland, you really need to visit Powell's. It's an amazing bookstore.

We have a bookstore down here in Eugene which I like to think of as sort of a Powell's mini-me: Smith Family Bookstore has survived for 35 years by selling (primarily) used books, particularly used college textbooks. There is no facility on the Smith Family web page for browsing their inventory, since none of it is online. You actually have to go there yourself. I kind of like that.

So I'm wondering if any of you morons have favorite local, independent bookstores nearby that have managed to survive the brutal competition of the last two decades.

Here are some more bookstores worthy of note.

Thanks to Chris for the tip.

You've Seen The TV Show, Now Read The Book

I don't know how many of you are watching the 'House of Cards' series on Netflix starring Kevin Spacey. I myself am a fan of the original BBC series with Ian Richardson as the conniving, power-obsessed politician that came out in 1990. Spacey is a good actor, but he doesn't match the robust malevolent glee of Richardson's Francis Urquhart.

That mini-series, however, was based on the novel 'House of Cards' by former Thatcher adviser Michael Dobbs, and originally published in 1989. For a modern book, it has been unusually hard to get a hold of. Until now. The Kindle edition of HoC is now available for purchase at the pleasantly surprising price of $6.15. Dobb's two sequels, "House of Cards: To Play the King" and "The Final Cut," will be made available later this year.

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Posted by: Open Blogger at 06:10 AM | Comments (288)
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Footage has been discovered of the aftermath of the failed UAW attempt to unionize the Volkswagon plant in Chattanooga, TN. Ordinarily, I loathe gloating. It's just bad form. I prefer that winners act like, well, winners.

In this case, however, I'll make an exception.

Behold the joyous celebration. more...

Posted by: Open Blogger at 02:13 PM | Comments (322)
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CDR M is off this evening pursuing his dream of becoming an Olympic ice dancer. He claims he was inspired, not by the strength and grace of Olympics-quality competition, but by Johnny Weir's flair for fashion. Who can blame him? Johnny is f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s!

He did however, drop by to remind us that Curling is too a sport, and provided a video of some of the most tension-filled moments of icy shuffleboard Curling ever witnessed.

Behold the magic:

Speaking of fashion, Rodarte's Fall 2014 ready-to-wear collection just kills it. It draws from the designer's own individual creativity and is designed for only the most discriminating of tastes.

I say this with my tongue planted firmly in cheek.

These ready-to-wear dresses, intended to be accessible to a larger-than-couture consumer market, defy logic. The kind of woman who might wear such a dress, hoping to make a statement, will certainly feel less an individual when several other such rebels show up in the same, or similar, dress. A gimmick such as this only works once: Perhaps on a red carpet or at a movie premier.

But. Wait. They aren't for sale? You mean they showed dresses at a RTW fashion show that won't even be available for purchase? So, the one measure of success of this gimmick is exactly what they anticipated: A massive amount of press coverage. It seems the press never tires of being manipulated. Slow clapping here, Rodarte. Slow clapping, indeed.

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Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:57 PM | Comments (621)
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