BunkBlog

Frostburg State University now has an honors-level course in the science of Harry Potter.

My favorite quote:

Can antigravity research produce a flying broomstick? Can Fluffy, the three-headed dog, be explained by genetic engineering?

If you are currently linking to any of the Thoughts on my site, you should look for the new URL. I’ve finished rearranging them all in a lot less time than I expected. Hooray for cut and paste!

If you read this blog via LJ syndication, you may notice a lot of excess posts in the coming days. These are due to my site rebuild. I’m moving the Random Meandering Thoughts archive into the main body of the weblog. There are two benefits to this. First, I no longer have to manually maintain the archive, as it will be merged into the SQL database with the rest of the entries. Second, visitors to the site will be able to find things in the Thoughts archive via the convenient little search tool on the main page (also due to it being in the SQL database).

Of course, there are many links to the Thoughts pages I have posted, so I’ll have to keep them up for a while and then start putting in server redirects to the most popular entries. Fun with geek stuff.

Continuing Gynocide’s Banned Book Meme
Bolded lines are books I’ve read.

The Top Most Frequently Challenged/Banned Books from 1990-2000.
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Competing for the title of lowest-ranking Democratic candidate, Carol Moseley Braun formally launches 2004 presidential bid. People across the country responded by saying, “huh?”

Seriously, she’s only like one percentage point above Al Sharpton in the Democratic polls. If she’s pulling 3 percent of the Dem vote, that means she’s got about zero name recognition outside the party. Why would you go through the hassle of running for an office that you know there’s nearly no chance of your winning?

Since Khalid Sheik Mohammed is talking now, we have discovered a shocking fact:

Mohammed said he communicated with al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar while they were in the United States by using Internet chat software, the reports say.

Oh, great. Now they’re going to try to ban Yahoo Messenger as a tool of terrorism. I can see it now:

Geeks Jailed Under USA PATRIOT Act

For a change of pace, let me agree with the President. For Senator Kennedy to accuse the President of bribing foreign governments is, in Bush’s words, “uncivil.”

Of course, you do wonder about the 8.5 billion dollar loan to Turkey, but it’s no excuse for being rude.

According to some people, Wesley Clark’s opinions while employed by CNN are tantamount to treason. I decided to do some research and find these traitorous statements myself. Here’s what I found:

h3. Apr 5, 2003

bq. “U.S. troops met them face-to-face and slugged it out. The U.S. troops were within range of their weapons, and the Americans were *just better.* They are actually moving forward. They’re finding the enemy. They’re bringing fire against them.”

h3. March 25, 2003

bq. The scenario of a quick coalition victory in Iraq is “not going to happen,” according to retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark, a CNN analyst and former NATO supreme allied commander. “The simple fact is that the liberation didn’t quite occur. They didn’t uprise,” Clark said.

h3. January 2003

bq. “Those predictions are incredibly overoptimistic,” he said. “What we have to be prepared for is an indefinite stay in Iraq, at least 100,000 people there for the first year or two, *several billion dollars a month in costs*, continuing frictions and problems politically as a result of this, some casualties on a monthly basis coming out as Arab sentiment rises, and a deepening resentment of Americans from this war. ”

Now, I may be exceptionally dense, but I didn’t find anything in those statements that offered aid or comfort to the enemy. He made it clear that the war and followup would take time and money. He also made it clear that the American military can and will be victorious against any foe, no matter how devoted or fanatical they may be.

I particularly noticed that his statement in January, 2 months before the war began, sound especially prescient.

Talking to coworkers who are Southwest Asian experts, I find much the same sentiment. The war was begun with insufficient preparation to win the peace. For other traitors, see General(R) Shinseki, former Secretary of the Army White…

According to a Newsweek Poll, Clark has become the frontrunner among Democratic candidates after only a few days in the race. Interestingly, 52 percent of those polled didn’t care that General Clark has never been elected to any office. I was sure that would hurt him more. Among all voters, Clark is seen to be just a few points shy of the President.
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According to a BBC article, folks in Britain are using the techniques of flashmob organizers to set up orgies in parks. I’m speechless.

It amazes me that the writer of this article, which lambasts Wes Clark for (as far as I can tell) having an ill-fitting suit, actually served in the United States Congress. It’s astounding to me that someone actually elected this guy. Maybe he only became completely unhinged and part of the lunatic fringe after he lost reelection…
Full text of article follows.
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“In an effort to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ice cream cone, Dairy Queen® operators throughout the United States will celebrate by offering customers a free 5 oz. vanilla ice cream cone (one per customer) on Monday, Sept. 22, 2003. As part of the celebration, Dairy Queen® employees will be collecting donations for Children’s Miracle Network, the DQ® system’s charity of choice. This one-day grassroots event will kick-off a year-long celebration of the ice cream cone that will run through September 2004.”

From an article lampooning idiots who fear Harry Potter:

[T]here is a section of the Bible that very clearly tells readers not to shape-change. … So if while your child is reading Harry Potter they are suddenly replaced by a werewolf dressed in your child’s clothes, you’re right to be upset.

There’s plenty more hilarity in the article, including the fact that since Hitler liked lightning bolts, lightning is evil. Like the fru-its of the devil.

I don’t understand things like DragonCon – how do geeks that like comic books, RPGs and dressing up like Orcs get non-hideous women to get nekkid for them? I don’t understand. There is powerful magic there.

I love living in a town where I get to wait three extra days to watch the new Enterprise. I really do. Love it.

They look like they’re moving, but they’re not. Amuse your friends! Frighten your cat!

Couple Accused of Keeping Twins, 5, Caged
These children, five years old, could not speak nor use a toilet. Child Welfare workers had visited the house in the past and determined there were no problems in the house. They were very diligent, I’m sure.

Entelein a bizarre post about encountering a convertible auto with a webcam above the mirror. Ya gotta wonder what this guy needs a webcam in his car for.

THIS IS TRULY A CLASIC MONG ONLIEN MACHIEN TRANSLATION SYSTAMS!!!!1! OMG WTF THIS AOL TRANSLA2R IS 3VAN MORE FUN THAN DA JIEV TRANSLA2R OR DA VALEY GIRL TRANSLA2R FROM PREVIOUS YAARS!111 OMG U JUST HAEV 2 LOV3 THIS KIND OF STUF DONT U???!??! WTF LOL DONT U?!??!!??? OMG LOL

The above passage is what The AOLer Translator made out of this:
This is truly a classic among online machine translation systems. This AOL Translator is even more fun than the jive translator or the Valley Girl translator from previous years. You just have to love this kind of stuff, don’t you? Don’t you?

Star Wars tattoos are really cool. Some of the backpieces on this page look like they took many years to finish and lots of pain…