I’ve been dragging ass most of the week because I’ve been sick, but here are some links you may care about:
The FAA has apparently upped the ante in its fight against Santa Monica. They’re threatening to withhold DOT funds to the city unless the city council stops restricting airport access unreasonably. In case it slipped by you, that was a threat to withhold all DOT funding to the city, not airport funding. Stay tuned.
When Warren Ellis isn’t spouting paranoid, perhaps drug-induced, fantasies of cyborg-monkey rape gangs, he’s actually remarkably clear-eyed. His comments on the religious overtones of the Singularity are spot on. And I agree with him on Mars. But what do you expect of an atheist with a moon base?
Bruce Schneier spends some time talking about the fairly obvious dangers of the You’ve Been Left Behind web site. I assume these guys are crooks who are promising to “send documents by the email” to those left behind by the Rapture, but really are planning to pocket the subscription fees (or raid the assets of) the gullible.
“The gullible” sounds like I’m picking on people for believing in the Rapture, but I’m not particularly. I’m picking on them for poor asset management.
Think it through. Even if you believe the Rapture is immanent, isn’t it kind of presumptuous to decide you’re going and someone else is staying? That’s going to be a fun moment when Mom gets that “sorry you didn’t make the cut, but here’s my savings account” e-mail. It’ll be especially interesting if you didn’t make the cut either, and you have to race her to it.
If you think the Rapture is upon us and you have word from on high that your reservation is confirmed, hand deliver your assets.
Whenever I start feeling too optimistic about the future, Warren Ellis is always there to talk me down.
For those of you who, like me, could use a little churchin’ up, our pal Andrea has a gospel/soul/blues show on KZSU radio out of Stanford. For a gospel show, it’s on at an ungodly hour. You can find out more from her show blog. Those of you who read this from different time zones may find the show more accessible. It’s streamable.
Res ipsa loquitor. (Click through a couple if you don’t immediately see it.)
Warren Ellis pointed out this thing which takes some position on tea. I think. At any rate, a fine thing.
I’ve waxed romantic about The Gong Show before, and it saddens me somewhat to see that someone thinks that magic can be recaptured. I suppose anything’s possible – Battlestar Galactica’s a critical success these days. But I doubt that Gong Show lightining strikes twice.
Apparently the BBC doesn’t employ any 13-year-old boy copy editors.