soapbox

Yeah, that one was pretty much no-friggin’ joke. More to follow later, but most everybody I know is pretty much intact and happy to be that way. One friend of a friend got a tree through the house, but he and his family were away, so that’s some kind of blessing. Still lots of issues with power, water, and fuel in general, but I’m staying with folks who have the first two and who live far enough on the edge of town that the third one will be more readily available when the need really arises later in the week.

Until I can find time to post again with more details (including an interesting thought or three about hurricane physics), y’all should really check out this Doonesbury from Sunday. Great punchline.

The 16th is Sarah’s 1/4 year birthday. One more unit of time like that and she’ll be eating solid foods, three more and she’ll be walking.

It’s really kind of crazy how fast things go.

Turns out some physicists nerds in Norway did some work to figure out just how fast Usain Bolt would have run if he hadn’t showboated his way through the last 20 meters (very smart, and very modest).

Read about it on ESPN.

http://www.hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/

I trust that everyone who reads this blog already knows the answer.

I watched the MTV Video Music Awards last night and either the world is rapidly dumbening or I’m just completely out of touch with youth culture.

A few thoughts:
1. A host who makes fun of celebrity without it just being an act? Wow, I didn’t think anyone at MTV has any balls left.
2. What’s with the rappers wearing pants around their knees? I thought that went out years ago. Hasn’t a fashion statement jumped the shark when Sears sells jeans with the tops of boxers pre-sewn onto them to get the exact same look?
3. Also, bandanas in the rear pocket? Do they not know what “flagging” is? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handkerchief_code I think that Lil’ Wayne might have been signaling that he’s an anal catcher. (whoops, I actually looked at the code… he’s looking to be fisted.)
4. Why are the women tall and the men short? There were several moments where I had to say “I thought she was a petite little girl, how tall is she?” (Rihanna is apparently around 5′ 7″ and the aforementioned Lil’ Wayne either won’t stand up straight, has rickets, or didn’t get good nutrition as a child.)

The lead singer for Tokio Hotel had me guessing if he was a girl or a guy, so that’s worth some points. Not sure if they’re good points or not though given that I’d never heard of the band before.