May 23, 2005
Offroading Class
Took an offroading class (the espritdefour's Safety Clinic) this weekend, and it was a freakin' blast. The LR3 performed beyond our expectations, and that of our instructors.
At the beginning of the class, the staff seemed a bit nervous about our car, stopping the see if we needed help traversing the various obstacles. Their concerned was evidently replaced by a degree of respect, as the LR3 easily met the (admittedly tame) challenges.
The LR3's offroad automation really made us look like pros. When others were having trouble with throttle control, the LR3's Terrain Response system came through, giving us a feather response. Traction was awesome, we never came close to losing control.
Clearance was also excellent - only once did we hit bottom, and it was a place where even the Jeep Wranglers where hitting. Of course, the LR3 then did what the Wrangler's couldn't - it lifted itself off the dirt, by extending the air suspension another little bit.
At the end of the day, we did another thing half the cars on that trail couldn't do... where many of the trucks needed to be trailered, we simply lowered ourselves to cruising speed suspension, and sped down the highway in limo-like comfort.
The LR3 did one more thing - it inspired confidence in it's abilities, in both Jessica and I. In fact, Jessica did most of the driving, through some of the gnarliest obstacles, and came through smiling and happy. When I left this morning, she was leafing through a catalog of Warn winches... she may be hooked :)
Star Wars is finally over.
Visuals: A+
Writing: D-
Pacing: D-
Acting: B
Directing: F
Between the painful "I love you... no, I love you more!" hallmarkish dialogue and the bonehead Jedi stupidity, I didn't really enjoy myself. My kids were lukewarm too.
I mean, when the best acting is done by a CG character (Yoda), what does that say about the director?
And while some scenes were powerful, most were vapid. I want vapid, I watch CNN, for free...
May 19, 2005
Project Over
Finally, the project I'd been working on is finally, officially done. Well, OK, not completely done. In fact, there is still quite a bit more work to do, but mostly done, and we do get a longish break before the next barrage.
I should feel happy, but I'm too exhausted. Maybe after a good night's rest. Or three.
May 16, 2005
Shameful. Disgraceful. Normal.
Newsweek Retracts Story on Quran Abuse - Yahoo! News
"People lost their lives. People are dead," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said. "People need to be very careful about what they say, just as they need to be careful about what they do."
Is Rummy talking about the WMD lies he and his cronies/masters spread before and during the Iraq War? Cuz is sure sounds that way.
"We regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the U.S. soldiers caught in its midst."
Unfortunately, that's not Bush apologizing for his complete cockup, leading to tens or even hundreds of thousands of dead innocents, not to mention 1600 U.S. soldiers. It's the editor of Newsweek doing the apologizing, for reporting information provided to him by military 'leakers'.
That sound you hear is the roar of the crumbling of what used to be the Fourth Estate.
May 05, 2005
Freedom of (judeochristian) Religion
Hypocrasy laid bare:
Pandagon: You have the freedom to be Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, or Jewish (for now)
The only reason that invocations [...] are legal in the first place is because the ministers come from a variety of churches, so the government can't say that they are establishing an official religion. If you can narrow it down to "Judeo-Christian" religions, then why not narrow it down to "Southern Baptist"? Fuck the Constitution--it's in the way of our grand theocracy!
Hear hear...
Thump that Bible!
Darwin on trial: Evolution hearings open in Kansas - Yahoo! News
The hearings -- organized by a committee of the Kansas Board of Education -- were taking place 80 years after the so-called "Monkey Trial" of John Scopes, a Tennessee biology teacher who was found guilty of illegally teaching evolution.
Deja vu.
The science being taught in gradeschool is superficial, elementary crap anyway. The only thing my 4th grader knows about evolution is what I've taught her. This in California, where there is no debate about what to teach.
The pendulum is swinging back towards the stone ages. The US is abandoning it's commitment to science and math education, which was never strong to start with, counting on those educated elsewhere to figure out the 'hard stuff'.
What does Kansas have against science? How do they think the world works? Maybe they believe their cellphones are populated by little Angels which magically transmit their conversations across the globe?
May 03, 2005
New Toy!
Yay! And I got it dirty, too!
We've had our brand spankin' new Land Rover LR3 HSE7 for about 3 weeks now, and we loving (almost) every minute of it. Sure, the CD changer died the first week, and a few other glitches have surfaced. OK, so I feel like shite every time I glance at the MPG meter, and promise to donate a little more to the Sierra Club next time around. WhatEver. The car/truck/behemoth rocks.
Inside, cathedral like silence. Poise. Outside, rockclimbing, river fording glory. Inside, cultured brit chick navigator voice politely guides you to your destination. Outside, ROCKclimbing, gravelscrambling, snowbedamned glory.
I can feel the republican sufacing in me... I... I... I crave a Budweiser! Arrrrggghhhh! Oh wait, no, make that a nice british