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Looking For Quacks In The Pavement

  • Hard to do that in mid-Atlantic, actually.

    As a follow-up to yesterday’s mini-rant, a clever reader sent me to this Grand Avenue comic. The really amusing parts here are that the comic was published the day before my rant, and that not only did they get the “to prove the world isn’t flat” part wrong, but also Columbus’ intended destination. (He was aiming for Japan, actually. They knew that Japan was east of China, so that’d be what they bumped into first, if they were correct about which ocean Japan was on.)

    None of this should stop you from finding the comic strip amusing, mind you. I got a laugh out of it, after all.

  • I used to think the world was flat.

    From a 3Com advertisement in the latest InformationWeek magazine:

    People told Columbus the world was flat.

    No. No, they didn’t. That was never the problem with getting funding for his little expedition. Sheesh. From the great Wikipedia, I quote:

    The widespread notion that Columbus encountered opposition based on the idea that the Earth was flat is a literary myth created by Washington Irving. Educated people in Columbus’s time agreed that the earth was round; anyone familiar with seafaring certainly knew it, since the roundness of the Earth forms the basis of celestial navigation. The main debate was over whether a ship could circumnavigate the planet without running out of food or getting stuck in windless regions.

    Argh. Maybe I shouldn’t get so worked up about this sort of thing, or perhaps I’ve watched too much of James Burke’s “The Day The Universe Changed” lately. (His presentation of the Columbus story is among the best you’ll find anywhere. Truly.) Still, shouldn’t we work to stamp out misinformation when and where we find it?

    Of course, in a society where “Intelligent Design” can be taken seriously, there’s a whole lot of stamping to be done…

    Wikipedia Christopher Columbus

  • And he’s off! (His rocker.)

    If you’ve been wondering when (if?) it would ever be a good time to add the anime site to your feed reader, I’m here to answer the question with a single word: Now.

    I’m going to be writing up recaps for the new series, Mai Otome, as it airs (and is fansubbed, of course). I will probably also pick one other show from the new season so I have some variety and a bit more of a challenge.

    Check it out, eh?

    Mai Otome #1

  • No, but I did something good anyway.

    I cleaned, today. Laundry, vacuuming, garbage, tidying. That’s why I didn’t get any work done on the anime site.

    That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Rumors that computer gaming and anime viewing had anything to do with my lack of website work are wholly unsubstantiated, I assure you.

    Ahem.

  • The Day The Second Disc Burned

    Today I burned the second of five DVDs in a series of VHS-to-DVD transfers made possible thanks to a wonderful person who found the tapes and loaned them to me. I need to play-test the disc on my entertainment center, but I’m generally hopeful since I now know how best to process these things.

    I also played Heroes of Might and Magic IV with my son for a few hours. There’s a soft spot in my heart for the Heroes line of games, as well as a smaller soft spot for some of the regular M&M series. We had a pretty good run, and hope to finish the game off in the next visit or so.

    No, really, I think that’s all I got accomplished today. Tomorrow? Prep work on the anime site. (Astute readers will remember I promised something along those lines a little while ago…)

  • I didn’t expect it, just as they say.

    This sort of thing may not be why I love my job, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

    I did something nice, and promptly, for the folks in the KGON studio. A few minutes later, this appeared on my desk!

    Okay, so sure, I already had the first season on DVD. Er, and let’s not dwell on the fact that I also got that for free from the, er, radio station, albeit a few years ago. One also shouldn’t dwell on the fact that it was only available to plunk down on my desk because they ended up not giving it away to a listener. But dammit, I’ve been drooling over DVDs of the entire series for years, and that’s no small chunk of change, so I’m hardly one to quibble over insignificant details.

    So, it’s true. Nobody, and I mean nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. I sure as hell didn’t!

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