Captain McCain’s Night Job

WuzzaDem’s silly post today got me thinking. I’ve seen that shifty mug before… now where was it? Hmm… then it struck me!

“Let’s turn this boat around!” -said the Captain when Isaac noted they were short on dry vermouth.

Dojo Info 5/27/05

1. ‘Madagascar’ pushes tech limits
   “Alex the Lion … had 1.7 million hairs on his head and each one represented a series of 1s and 0s.” Processing power has certainly increased, otherwise this wouldn’t be remotely possible.
2. How We Got Here
   When the Democrats blocked Bork, it was the first time a nominees views were the reason. Before, it had always been for reasons of ability.
3. Newsweek: “America is Dead”
   People who think that the media isn’t largely anti-America are living in a cave, at the bottom of the ocean… on a distant planet!
4. Particle Painter
   Particle Painter is a Mind Trip. Who spiked my brownies?
5. The Patterico Pledge
   “The next time John McCain runs for any elective office, I pledge to support his opponent. I will use my blog to encourage others to vote for his opponent.” Now there’s an idea.
6. WuzzaDem’s [fake] Star Wars III: Review
   “Fear leads to Anger. Anger leads to Hate. Hate leads to suffering.” WazzaDem is heading to the Dark Side.

Annual Beach Vacation

We’re about to embark on our annual family vacation to the beach. Man, I’m ready. Flying back from Dallas today, we’ll wake up in the wee dark hours to make the 12-hour drive down to South Carolina in order to arrive by check-in time.

Once there we’ll enter a vegetative state so complete, walking to the fridge will be a major undertaking. After 25+ years of practice, no one has perfected the lazy man’s vacation like the Pryors.

I will take along this computer with the hopes that someone has some Internet access and I can post some pictures. That is, if I’m not comatose by pool.

I See You

Just on the small chance that you haven’t heard about TerraServer, you need to go see it. It’s Oh-So cool. (Or, oSo in l33tsp34k)

Now that I think about it, it’s probably the best thing Microsoft has ever done.

NBA Needs to ‘Pass’ on the High Schoolers

It shouldn’t be a tough choice between Marvin Williams who played at UNC for one season and Gerald Green who’s never played college ball.

I’ve blogged lately on the myriad of benefits for the NBA to increase the minimum age limit for entry. The other side claims I’m being unfair to the player. And that may be true. But for the greater good, it should happen. The game of basketball on both the pro and college level will benefit and most importantly, so will the fans.

Although the collective bargaining talks stalled, Stern says they will resume “soon.” He’s been consistent in his desire for increasing the age limit but it’s tough to nail down just where the player’s union stands on the issue. It could be a bargaining chip.

ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb has come up with a number of reasons why it’s not a good gamble for the NBA team that spends a high draft pick on an unproven High School player.

The facts show you should almost never draft a high schooler. First, the failure rate is significantly higher than that of bona fide college stars. Second, and probably as important, many of the high schoolers who ultimately become stars, do so after a significant adjustment period.

Senators Wimp Out

There must be something in DC’s water system. Once someone gets elected and they move to Washington, they forget about the people that elected them. Here are the faces of those that joined the opposition against the very conservative judicial nominees that they likely voiced support for during their campaign.

They should be ashamed.

Media Slander is Born

Blackfive and others have formed Media Slander. From their Purpose page:

The goal of Media Slander is to hold journalists and bloggers to high ethical standards regarding coverage of the War on Terror and other military-related issues. We plan to achieve this by highlighting bias, rumor and falsehoods that have been creeping into military coverage under the guise of objective news.

Heck, why stop there? I know it’s a big job but wouldn’t it be great if we could hit a site, search by Media Source and Topic and find out how many times the Washington Post has purposefully bashed Topic X?

To be more readily digested it needs to nail all Media Sources, not just the liberal ones. Even still, it’s a just cause. Good job.

Star Wars Is Eating a Hole in My Brain

It’s been about 24 hours since I’ve seen the film and a few things keep coming to mind, mostly complaints but since most folks are fawning all of the film, I need to add some balance.

• All this could have been averted if any one of the hundred (thousand?) Jedi’s could have sensed Palpatine’s evil-ness. Geeze. That should be Jedi 101, right?
• Has their been a worse manager of talent in throughout all of recorded history than the Jedi Counsel? Here they are with a supremely gifted student and they basically seclude him with Obi-Wan. Where’s the team meetings? Guidance sessions? Feedback and next-steps? Is this the force for good in the galaxy or Enron?
• The Sith needed more dirty tricks. If I were Palpatine I’d have more than my share of trapdoors, hidden traps and Jedi-specific weapons. Why go straight to the lightsabre? That should be your last resort, you have no honor.
• Once Anakin offered his allegiance, why didn’t he demand some of that promised Sith power? But instead of the training he needed to save his beloved Padme, he willingly runs off on errands of obvious evil. I’m sorry, that just doesn’t make much sense.
• Way too much CGI. The little people inside Jawa costumes felt 100% more real than all the animated animals and such. It’s simply not the way to go, unless the scene is screaming past at Mach 5.
• After Palpatine was scarred by the force lightning, why did his voice get so deep and scratchy? I mean, the face is one thing but listen to the guy. He’s addressed the Senate with latest rebranding of the Republic to the Galactic Empire and no one is worried that he sounds like evil incarnate?
• Mace Windu wants to break the code by killing Palpatine. But Obi Wan is in essence doing the same thing by leaving the charcoal briquette that is Anakin to die on the edge of the molten lava river, right? If Obi Wan really love Anakin he would have put him out of his misery with a quick lightsabre to the head but noOOOooo.
• Update: R2 did kick some serious robot tail.

I’m sure there are more I’m missing. You might like to read some other viewpoints.

Star Wars: Episode III

It was unfortunate that I was unable to watch Star Wars: Episode III on opening day with my family. So instead I watched it alone, in a foreign city away from all things familiar. But the moment the first trumpet blared and the signature introductory text started fading into the background, I was once again home.

The quick take? It was long, exciting and answered many questions, but it wasn’t great. I don’t know how it possibly could have been given the insurmountable obstacles. What obstacles you say? I just don’t know how compelling any of the scenes could have been given that most of the audience knew that certain people could not die.

Knowing what we know from Episodes 4-6, this film was really just a matter of filling in the missing puzzle pieces.

The Good…
Don’t get me wrong, it was fun. But being fun is very different being great. It was fun to watch the hyper-CGI scenes throttle past faster than an A-wing fighter. It was fun to Obi Wan drop down alone into the middle 30+ enemy driods and Darth Vicious. It was fun to Yoda kick some serious tale.

The Bad…
What wasn’t fun was Lucas’ direction, some thick-headed casting and a over-worked screenplay.

You don’t have to be Ron Howard to see the many unimportant distractions and overplayed action sequences to understand that Lucas, while a man with an amazing imagination, is not a very good director.

And who’s grand idea was it to cast Samuel Jackson and Jimmy Smits? No Star Wars movie will ever be in need of a big name to bring in the crowds. They’re not even good actors. Jackson was so bland I thought he might be confused by all the blue screens. In the words of Yoda, “Very disappointing, they were.”

Lastly, the film was just too long… and I’m an interested fan. The producers knew they had a lot of question to answer and they didn’t want to disappoint. So the result was (especially near the end) too many scenes squished together with little continuity.

And the Ugly
Reading this review might leave you thinking I disliked the movie. In truth, I didn’t. I’m too big a fan. I blame my expectations, they were just too great. One of my greatest character flaws is always trying to improve things. I just can’t leave “well enough” alone. I left the theater thinking, “Why in the world did Lucas think producing Episodes 4-6 before 1-3 was a good idea?” He basically scripted himself into a corner.

All in all, it’s a fun experience. There’s no question that the die-hard fans will (or probably already have) see the film. Parents might want to keep kids younger than 13 away due to some of the more gory and hate-filled portions.

The best part? It was miles better than the last two movies.

7.5 out of 10

What D&D Class Are You?

Caltechgirl sent me off to identify myself and once again, I’m the same character as she is?!? I guess I need to quit making fun of her now. You know the old “I’m rubber, you’re glue…” thing. ;^)

Maybe all bloggers read lots and think more highly of ourselves than we ought?

The greatest insult is that Shernal left off the most important character class! What a D&D newbie. Everyone knows that Paladin was part of the First Edition as a sub-class to the fighter. Sheesh.

You scored as Wizard. You are a wizard. Through reading books and leanring the histoy of the mistakes in the world, you figure out a way to revamp them and figure out the answer on your own. You search for the unknown and thus is why you know how to use sparkly magic thingies!

Wizard		92%
Cleric		71%
Ranger		63%
Bard		58%
Fighter		58%
Monk		42%
Barbarian		13%
Rogue		0%

What D&D class are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

While out-and-about I came across another quiz—What D&D Character Are You?—which was far more fun. Here are my results:

Neutral Good Half-Elf Ranger Fighter
Follower Of Mielikki

I Am A: Neutral Good Half-Elf Ranger Fighter

Alignment:
Neutral Good characters believe in the power of good above all else. They will work to make the world a better place, and will do whatever is necessary to bring that about, whether it goes for or against whatever is considered ‘normal’.

Race:
Half-Elves are a cross between a human and an elf. They are smaller, like their elven ancestors, but have a much shorter lifespan. They are sometimes looked down upon as half-breeds, but this is rare. They have both the curious drive of humans and the patience of elves.

Primary Class:
Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy.

Secondary Class:
Fighters are the warriors. They use weapons to accomplish their goals. This isn’t to say that they aren’t intelligent, but that they do, in fact, believe that violence is frequently the answer.

Deity:
Mielikki is the Neutral Good goddess of the forest and autumn. She is also known as the Lady of the Forest, and is the Patron of Rangers. Her followers are devoted to nature, and believe in the positive and outreaching elements of it. They use light armor, and a variety of weapons suitable for hunting, which they are quite skilled at. Mielikki’s symbol is a unicorn head.

Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy of (e-mail)

Again with no Paladin? Criminy!

APA to Support Same-Sex Marriage

American Psychological Association has some nerve. By putting their professional expertise on the shelf in favor of politics, they’ve basically ignored all the facts that say a man and women together is better for the children than a same-sex union. You have to wonder if they value marriage at all? Any combination of two people can’t say “I Do” and be equally qualified and capable. The person who believes that is either perfectly naive or intellectually dishonest.

So why is the APA promoting this new viewpoint? You might want to ask Margery Sved who’s on the committee. We shouldn’t be surprised to learn that Ms. Sved and her partner are foster care and adoptive parents.

I wonder how many members of the assocation agree with the position of their committee?

Not Too Distant Future?

Dojo Info 5/23/05

1. Uchronia: The Alternate History List
   “Annotated bibliography of over 2600 novels, stories, essays and other printed material involving the ‘what ifs’ of history.” Chaos theorists rejoice!
2. What Color Eyes Would Your Children Have?
   Pretty cool and easy to use. I wonder how accurate?
3. The Jedi are not to be trusted
   “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” -Lord Acton
4. DaVinci Decoded
   It’s consistently amazing to watch society (myself included) take works of fiction and believe them to be true.
5. Pulse of Freedom
   Here’s a site that’s covering the Lebanon desire for freedom, something many here in America take for granted.

Several via Presurfer.

50 Worst Hair Styles of All Time

I wish I had thought of this. Simply hilarious! I mean, The Captain? The Sideshow Bob? The Clown Skullet?!? Oh my. High comedy for sure!

What Is Your World View?

These quizzes can ranges from horrible to slightly better than horrible, in terms of how well they actually describe an individual. But they’re fun, people like them so they’ll continue to make more.

Today’s quiz from the prolific QuizFarm.com is What Is Your World View? More than some of their other popular quizzes :

• What’s Your High School Stereotype?
• What Type of Lesbian Are You?
• Which Disney Character is your Alter Ego?
• What Political Party Do Your Beliefs Put You In?

This one targets are more important issue. After all, we’re all going to die at some point, well, maybe not the immortal Dick Clark (188,000 Google results), but the rest of us. So in a very real way, we’re betting our after-life on one of these world views. Let’s see my results.

You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creative’s are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational.

Existentialist		75%
Cultural Creative		75%
Romanticist		50%
Idealist		50%
Postmodernist		44%
Fundamentalist		38%
Modernist		6%
Materialist		6%

What is Your World View? (corrected…again)
created with QuizFarm.com

I think the gentleman (or gentle woman) who created this quiz meant well, but perhaps they don’t understand the world view classifications? An existentialist is largely a person who believes that human existence as unexplainable. That’s certainly not me, even though I do have questions. Who knows what a “Cultural Creative” believes? Perhaps it’s an amalgamation of various view points.

From the list given I’d rate myself closest to the much maligned Fundamentalist. Here’s the the definition of fundamentalism:

A usually religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles

Quirky Quiz Questions
I think the biggest problem with this quiz is it’s difficult to understand what several of the questions were about. Take this one, for instance.

26 Religious dogma and scientific empiricism are both steps in the wrong direction.

This requires the quiz taker to understand two somewhat tricky concepts. How many of us can give an accurate definition of dogma? Does the author truly understand it? What is Scientific Empiricism? I’m not exactly sure. Sounds like a leading question to me.

17 If given free range, humans will find their own place in the universe.

What exactly is “their own place”? Do we have one now or don’t we? Since we haven’t setup colonies on Mars are we failing? Does free range mean no supernatural interaction or govermental interaction or what? Pretty vague.

19 Everything is rational if given the right amount of effort.

And I have absolutely no idea what question #19 is looking for. Sounds like my college Philosophy 101 professor. Eek. [via Presurfer]