SkinWalker

http://www.reuters.com/video/2012/09/11/reuters-tv-marines-take-big-dog-for-walkies-in-the?videoId=237657751&videoChannel=118065 "...and if it frightens the enemy into submission, that's a plus." A robotic "pack mule" for ground troops is about to be field-tested by embedding with Marines on deployment. The video is interesting but the thing is just too noisy...

Cool. Wish LA would take a cue from Valve and make a move to Linux though.

What are the pros and cons to the bill?

I hear you.. even with one class my writing is likely to be many pages. Fun stuff though! My wife actually seems to prefer Ubuntu over Windows ... I have both loaded and she's restarted to get to her Ubuntu desktop several times after I've left it in Vista!

Yeah, I've got a graduate class starting Tuesday. I'm only taking one this semester, but I'm told its the hardest, most-involved, so that's probably a good thing. I'm not sure if I'll get on tonight, but I'll try to find some time one evening this week. I'm actually working both Saturday and Sunday this week -new software testing/validation at work. I'm still surprised at the ease with which I was able to play in Linux. The Frame Rate was probably not as good as it would on a decent XP machine, but I've been on servers with a good machine where it was far choppier. I need to upgrade my graphics card for Vista/XP use. I have an older nVidia and as soon as I enter a game like BF or JA, it freezes with the screen looking like a kaleidescope and I have to reboot. At first I thought it was my power supply, so I replaced it. Then I thought it was a poor install of XP, so I upgraded to Vista. I even formated the Win drive and installed there. Then I thought it could be a problem associated with not having the SATA driver loaded (Linux doesn't need all that garbage). The only thing left is a bad mobo or bad video card. I'm telling you, you know Ubuntu Linux has come a long way when it's easier to install and manage than Windows.

I just played a few rounds tonight... believe it or not I have the darn thing running in Linux but it keeps crashing in Vista! You have a lot of bots! I was creamed.. it was as if all the bots had it in for me and the game was "smear the human." Still a bit of fun, though.

Wow.... Blue milk and australopithecines! You gotta love birthdays! It's funny because some random t-shirt company just stumbled on my blog and offered to send me a free shirt. It has "I Love Lucy" on the front with a headshot of Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy). Thanks guys!

I think Family Guy said it best with regard to 72 virgins:

It isn't a matter of belief. It's a matter of logic. Superstition is a necessary and sufficient quality of being a Conservative Christian who believes that there is not only a god we should trust but his/her particular notion of a god which is exclusive of the other hundreds of thousands of gods humanity has embraced in perhaps the last 100,000 - 160,000 years. This is a form of ad hominem argument called poisoning the well. I don't usually encounter it unless the person with an opposing point of view is lacking in substantive or reasoned argument. Is this the case? I don't care about politics. I find politics revolting. In fact, I find liberals and moderates to be problematic as well -too much tolerance for Islamic cults for example. I mention religious conservatives not so much in the political sense as in the degree of religiosity sense. They fund the legal costs they're responsible for.

Of course they're capable. They're human. It's just not as likely or prevalent. :-) That is one of the primary concerns, as well as the re-writing of American history. Modern religious conservatives seek to dominate government and, ultimately, insert their superstitions into law and policy. This isn't just a rant or an opinion on my behalf, but an admission and a statement of fact by these religious conservatives themselves. Its necessary to counter this from a rational and realistic perspective in order to preserve American ideals and history not to mention protect the religious freedoms of future generations. Very true. And the funds Lungren wants to spend are general taxpayer money. The funds the FFRF is spending is donated to their cause specifically for just such legal action. Many of FFRF's donors also donate to worthy causes and all of their American donors pay taxes. We (FFRF supporters, of which I'm proud to say I am) are fully prepared to feed and help the needy and we do.

"In God We Trust" clearly has no place on government buildings or coin. That it is the national motto, replacing the more relevant and unifying e pluribus unum, is itself a violation of Church-State separation and gives favor to a single, monotheistic superstition. There are other superstitions held by American citizens that are marginalized which is unfair. Americans have the right to pursue religious beliefs without government favor, regardless of what their superstitions are (or aren't). What if someone believes in multiple gods? Or a god that isn't to be named? Or a blue elephant? These propositions are equally valid and just as likely as that of any Judeo-Christian cult. Moreover, the Republican from California pushing for this should be ashamed and embarrassed given the cost. $100,000 could do a lot of charity. Feed a lot of kids. Pay for a lot of immunizations and health care in community. But he'd rather purchase four words. The suit filled by the FFRF is patriotic and righteous. Let's hope the case is once again review by the Supreme Court and the motto itself found unconstitutional.

Don't fret the haters. I'm very much the skeptic and rely on an evidence-based, rational world-view, but I didn't always. Some of us overlook the fact that its very easy to find significance and wonder in mystery to the point of choosing to imagine a "truth" behind the magical, the supernatural, and the paranormal. When I was in my teens and early twenties, I fancied myself an investigator of UFOs. Those who've seen me debate UFO nutters in the last few years would probably be surprised to hear that and those with whom I've debated UFOs, ESP, ghosts, and religion with in those same years would be forgiven to disbelieve me when I say I once held belief in each or at least held a position that there was significant truth in them. It was through books like the one that I recommended (along with a few others) that I was able to arrive at my own worldviews, however. I read books by proponents of pseudoscience and the paranormal as well as those by skeptics and rationalists beginning in my twenties and finally arrived at a point where I can truly say I've made up my own mind regarding pseudoscience, the paranormal, religion, etc. I recommend strongly that you don't take your pastor's word (assuming you have one), your parents' word, your friends' word, or the word of any one author or television show (certainly not a show on channel that includes the word "fiction" in it such as the "SciFi" -science fiction channel) for it all. And I certainly do not recommend that you take my word for it -or anyone else. Read Carl Sagan's book above. Read books by believers in the paranormal. Read books by people like Neil deGrasse Tyson (Death by Black hole). Learn how to think for yourself and arrive at your own decisions regarding the supernatural and the paranormal. I'm confident that, with an education, you'll come down on my side of the issue. But if you don't, at least you'll be far smarter about it all then you ever thought you would.

I'll try to go on tonight just before and after Midnight CST if anyone wants to play. I haven't played in ages, so I'm easy to be schooled!