Archive for the ‘In the news’ Category

I remember 9/11

Saturday, September 11th, 2021

I remember going to work that morning.

I remember being told of the plane hitting the first tower.

I remember returning home, and bringing a small television to set up in the break room.

I remember the shock, the disbelief, on the part of the news anchors.

I remember saying to my coworkers, when the second plane hit, that “This is not a tragic accident; this is war.”

I remember the horror when the people were jumping to their deaths.

I remember when the towers came down.

I remember they originally projected that the death toll could be over 10,000.

I remember the scenes the media has refused to show since then, showing the celebrations in Palestine and other middle-eastern nations, with people dancing in the streets, singing, ululating, passing out candy and treats to children, and proclaiming that their god was great.

I remember how clear the skies became when all the planes were grounded.

I remember that it took four days before I could find out that my father had not been in the Pentagon when the plane hit it.

I remember how few days it took before the Left started saying, “This is our fault; we must have wronged them terribly to force them to retaliate like this.”

I remember the warnings about “backlash against Muslims.”

I remember the stories of heroes such as Rick Rescorla. Heroes such as the members of the NYPD and the NYFD. Heroes such as those who went to New York from other locations, driving in cars and pickups to provide whatever help they could.

I remember.

Now we have a Potemkin President and other political figures who have a history of blaming America first and always, who warn us that each Muslim who attacks in the name of jihad while praising Allah is a “lone wolf,” but any attack or defense by a white man is an indictment of every white man for racism and/or conservatism, and who seem more than comfortable with using the Constitution as a snotrag.

Political figures who feel no unity or commonality with average Americans, who either exempt themselves from the laws they pass, or just ignore them, knowing that they can get away with it.

Political figures who crack down on and suppress American citizens, while refusing to apply the same laws and regulations to the illegal aliens they have invited into our country.

I see this, and I will remember.

It’s Memorial Day

Monday, May 28th, 2018

There are other bloggers who have moving posts, and I’ve done some in the past. Today, I’ll just link to this story in the Daily Mail, and note that patriotism, despite the efforts of some, is not dead.

I find myself reminded of the J. B. S. Haldane quote

Wednesday, April 4th, 2018

“Now, my own suspicion is that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, it is queerer than we can suppose.”

It turns out that some people are their own twins.

Then again, I guess I knew of the possibility, I just hadn’t considered how widely applicable it might be.

Sir Roger Moore, RIP

Tuesday, May 23rd, 2017

He just died at the age of 89. I realize that most people remember him as James Bond, but to me, he’ll always be Simon Templar. I used to watch The Saint as a child when my dad was stationed in England. We actually owned a car (a white 1962 Mercury Comet) that can be seen in an episode of The Saint – apparently, it contained a scene that was set in the US, and it was one of the American vehicles used to set the scene.

I also liked him in The Wild Geese and ffolkes.

I’m surprised she’s from Kentucky

Wednesday, May 17th, 2017

With that level of munchies, I’d have expected her to be from a state with legal marijuana.

A new toy and a couple of horror stories

Tuesday, April 18th, 2017

I recently was given an old Windows XP laptop. As XP is no longer maintained or secure, I’ve decided to play with a Linux-based OS, specifically, Elementary. It ought to be educational.

I’ve also run across a couple of horror-related items.

In the first, Warner Brothers is being sued for big money over the “Conjuring” movies, by an author who claims he has a prior, exclusive, contract with the people who provided the source information. The fun part is, apparently the only way WB can win is by proving the existence of ghosts and witches.

The other involves a family who got together to play a horror-themed desktop game, and ended up with more excitement than they expected. I have a friend who says he has a similar story about watching The Exorcist the first time while attending a conference at Walter Reed.

Well, that wasn’t good news

Saturday, February 11th, 2017

A friend just emailed me the news that Ed Bryant was found dead yesterday. Ed was a local science fiction/horror author I knew slightly – I’d see him at local conventions from time to time, and he was a neighbor to one of my former co-workers. Nice guy, and not much older than me. Sad to think I’ll never see him again.

RIP Boy Scouts

Monday, January 30th, 2017

They’re going to allow girls who identify as boys to join. That’s going to go over really well when they have to share a tent on a camp-out. Then again, do the Boy Scouts still do that? Or is it too retro and manly?

Will the Girl Scouts allow boys who identify as girls to join? If not, why not?

Marble Madness

Tuesday, January 24th, 2017

I heard on the radio news that a truck driver lost 38000 pounds of marbles on the highway near Indianapolis the other day.

I called in and requested this song. The DJ said he’d try to find it, but I wasn’t able to listen long enough to see if he actually did. It’s not quite identical with the news story, but … enjoy.

There were giants in those days …

Tuesday, October 25th, 2016

… and Steven Den Beste was one of the greatest. Sadly, he’s now gone. His site, USS Clueless, was one of the first websites that became a daily stop – I set up a bookmark for it, but I went there so often that it actually became faster for me to type the URL. His server, which was in his home, apparently died around the same time he did, but there is an authorized mirror available.

Bill Whittle described USS Clueless as the internet’s Krell Mind Machine, and that was an apt description. His long-form writing was well-researched, well-thought-out, and left you better informed, even if you weren’t actually smarter, for having read it. He was an engineer, and his posts on engineering topics, particularly things like alternative energy, were and are worthwhile references. His posts on politics earned him a position in “the Four Horsemen of the ABlogalypse.”

He retired USS Clueless in 2004, because he suffered from a genetically-caused degenerative disease, and the medications he took to allow him to do the in-depth posts became too much for him to want to handle, not to mention that his emails were filled with attacks and nitpicking, which became discouraging.

He continued blogging, but limited himself to anime, personal topics, and the occasional topical post. Chizumatic was never a regular stop for me, but it was a pleasant diversion on those occasions that I went there.

There are many tributes to him that have been posted already, and I’m sure more will be posted in the next days. There is a roundup post here that covers all the ones I’d found myself, and then some.

Farewell, Steven. I’m sorry you’re gone, and I hope you’re feeling better.

UPDATE: Steven talked about whether he’d made an impact here. Given the responses to his death, I feel confident in saying that he did, even apart from his engineering work.