Disqus - Friends of riprowan

Re: Typepad Installation Issues

David Gaw — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:26:14 -0000

That is EXACTLY what I was doing! Problem solved, and I am up and running.
Thanks for the tip!

Re: Who's the toughest?

David Gaw — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:41:47 -0000

It shouldn't really surprise me, but it turns out there's a lot of information on the Internet about ants in microwaves, the most prevalent explanation being that ants are able to avoid areas within the oven where standing waves would otherwise flambe them, staying to areas with a lower microwave radiation density.

As for the roaches, the indispensable Mythbusters did an experiment where they blasted cockroaches and a variety of other insects with high intensity radiation, to see what would live. As I recall, they determined that roaches are indeed radiation resistant, but flour beetles survived even better, suggesting there may be some biodiversity present even in the wake of World War III.

Re: Obama-Nation 2: Judgment

David Gaw — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 16:52:51 -0000

Here's a quote from the above that should alarm people no matter where they land on the ideological spectrum:

"I know] that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history."

This appears to demonstrate a terrible grasp of history, to say nothing of current events. A good many "petty dictators" live to a ripe old age, then pass the reins to a new dictator. Few if any have been removed through the non-military actions of the "international community." This should hardly surprise us, since something like half of the leaders comprising that community are themselves dictators.

But perhaps I'm being uncharitable. Let us consider which dictators he believes ended up in the dustbin. Fidel Castro? There's a cat who's been taking his time fading away. He ruled Cuba for 50 years, then passed the job to his brother, who seems to be cut from the same cloth. Robert Mugabe? The regime in Iran? They've been around since 1980. The people running Egypt? How about Libya? Last time I checked, Gaddafi's still running that place 22 years after we bombed him. Mao's party still rules China. Kim Il-sung ran North Korea for 50 years in North Korea, then passed it along to his son, who's still in charge. Even Hussein himself, about whom Obama was speaking, had been in power for more than twenty years, fully half of it under those UN sanctions. I've seen pictures of the palaces he was living in when we kicked his ass, and they didn't look all that threadbare to me.

In referring to the "dustbin of history", Obama was, I think, quoting Reagan, who used the phrase in reference to the Soviets--so perhaps Obama was thinking of them? It's ironic, then, that that the phrase "dustbin of history" was actually coined by Leon Trotsky the day before the Soviet Union was born. Those "petty dictators" were in power for 50 years, and killed 50 millions people before the dustbin caught up with them. And 20 years later, they are effectively in power in Russia once more, in the guise of the Putin and Medvedev regimes.

In fact, I think you'll find that nearly all of the tyrants who lose power permanently do so only through the deliberate application of military force to remove them.

Re: Wheat/Chaff

David Gaw — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 21:05:42 -0000

It's not just at SeaTac, either; it's a TSA initiative called the "Black Diamond" program, deployed at 20 airports as of mid-July. I like the basic idea, but I suspect the fact that passengers self-sort is a weakness. Given the opportunity, people seem to prefer the shortest lane regardless of which they are best suited to use. In Cincinnati, which has the program, I would sometimes see a TSA staffer assessing people after their IDs were checked, and pointing them toward an appropriate lane. That seemed to work okay.

Re: Multiple Author Blogs need different email notification lists

David Gaw — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:36:35 -0000

On a related note, I notice the existing notifications are acting a bit differently from what I expected.

I have a group blog for which I've set up additional moderators. The additional moderators are getting notified when someone replies to a comment they personally wrote, and are also notified when a new blog post is posted. What they aren't getting is a notification when a new (non-reply) comment is posted. That notification is going only to the original moderator, the one who's account was used to set up the blog in Disqus.

I'm not sure if this is a glitch or a design choice, but I would find it very helpful for additional moderators to have the option of receiving all the same notifications as the moderator who created the blog.

Re: M-m-m-m-m, Toasty.

David Gaw — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:45:05 -0000

But was it a dry heat?

Re: Deleting or moving a blog?

David Gaw — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:37:54 -0000

Thanks for the tip; I'll do that.

Re: David's Del.icio.us Links for 2008-07-29

David Gaw — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:34:10 -0000

Hey now, don't you be dissing the official theme restaurant of my Irish forebears. For a while there, they were the only restaurant smart enough to offer Sticky Toffee Pudding on the menu. Of course, they got rid of it, which made me angry. On second thought, never mind--to hell with Bennigan's.

Re: Wheat/Chaff

David Gaw — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:43:21 -0000

Well, kids are easier to spot. Harder is the distinction between the "intermediate traveler" and the black diamond qualified semi-pro. Not that it really matters in the grander scheme of things, of course... but as often as I travel, I have my routine down, so I do tend to be a bit of a snob about it.

Re: Pretentious? Moi?

David Gaw — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:20:42 -0000

Ironically--if I may offer feedback--your aforementioned pretensions are as hegemonic as linear octopi.

Re: Is Obama Rapidly Aging?

David Gaw — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 17:09:14 -0000

Meanwhile, the prospect of his election is turning *my* hair gray...

Re: Read the originals

David Gaw — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:41:47 -0000

This is very cool. While I haven't had a lot of time to look around yet, I found their copy of Mercator's first atlas of Europe to be especially intriguing, not only because of its obvious historical significance, but also because of the information they provide about the book's history. Apparently, it was lost for something like 150 years, only to be found by a collector in 1967 in a used book store in Brussels. How excited do you suppose that guy was? Just imagine searching through the shelves at your local Half Price Books, and finding a priceless 400-year-old relic.

Re: http://www.cuzwesaidso.com/2008/08/thought-for-the.html

David Gaw — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:31:07 -0000

No, but perhaps he was kidding himself.

Re: Cuz We Said So: Bounce This

David Gaw — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:56:04 -0000

You betcha! :)

Re: Russell’s New Book Is Out

David Gaw — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:45:23 -0000

Mine will hopefully be waiting for me when I get home tonight...

Re: Simple Competence

David Gaw — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:34:08 -0000

Well, I'll certainly give Barack Obama that much: it's his ideas that sound dumb, not his pronunciation.

Also, I can understand why you might think Joe Biden is competent based on what he says. For example, you might not get out much, and might be tied to a chair, unable to type "Biden gaffe" into a search engine.

Of course, if you did, you'd get just under 2,000,000 hits, and discover that Biden is recognized by liberals almost as much as conservatives for the seemingly inexhaustible torrent of stupidity, offensiveness, errors, and "made-up facts" that comes out of his mouth.

Here, for example, is Jonathan Chait--who said in the same article he liked the idea of Biden as president--writing in the LA Times: "In addition to his uncontrollable verbosity, Biden is a gaffe machine. ...Biden looks as if he’s the product of a laboratory experiment designed to create the world’s worst presidential candidate."

Re: Simple Competence

David Gaw — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:50:20 -0000

Actually, no. He said he had _visited_ 57 states--and had one left to go.
So he referred to there being 58 states. To Russell's point, isn't it a
long-standing rule that as long as you only reveal once that you have no
idea how many states there are in the country you wish to govern, it's
totally okay?

Re: Simple Competence

David Gaw — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:28:26 -0000

I'm pretty sure Governor Palin's intent is that she meant "nuclear." Maybe
she was weary, too. God knows I'd be weary if I had to debate with Joe
Biden.

Re: links for 2008-10-16

David Gaw — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:29:38 -0000

Well, I'm certainly prepared--and will be very happy to be--totally wrong in
my first impression. Hopefully what we'll see is more akin to Alias Season
1 than Alias Season 5...

Re: Ratings Slater's Own Worst Enemy?

David Gaw — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 01:01:09 -0000

Or something. At least you won't have to wait long.

Re: New Endorsement for McCain

David Gaw — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:44:31 -0000

Yes, because anonymous commenters on Al Qaeda web sites are known for their incisive grasp of foreign policy, and their views should be considered seriously when you vote.

On the other hand, Ahmed Yousef, chief political adviser to the Prime Minister of Hamas said in April that he hoped Obama will win, and Obama colleague/terrorist Bill Ayers helped Obama launch his political career, so if you think these things do matter...

Re: Ratings Slater's Own Worst Enemy?

David Gaw — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:47:16 -0000

No, no, the wife is too obvious. it's the daughter that's in on it.

Re: New Endorsement for McCain

David Gaw — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:43:56 -0000

By the way, James Taranto at the WSJ had this question about this story: "Why did al Qaeda give Nick Kristof the password to its Web site?"

Re: Playing with the Big Boys

David Gaw — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:41:24 -0000

Sadly, neither is likely...

Re: Cuz We Said So: Transporter 3

David Gaw — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:00:24 -0000

Worth a Netflix slot, or too horrible for even that? I couldn't bring myself to watch in the theaters after the letdown of number 2.