Tag: miscellaneous

Damn the Economy! Full Speed Ahead!

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Or:  A 3/4-Life Crisis Ought to be Good for Something.

I now have a car payment again.  Having lusted after one since they hit the market, I am now the proud owner of a 2011 GT Mustang.  It looks very much like this one:


(click to embiggen)

Kona Blue metallic, it has the 5.0 liter 412Hp engine, six-speed manual transmission, 3.55:1 rear-end ratio, Brembo brake package with front shock tower brace, and it’ll flatten your eyeballs when you mash the GO pedal.

I averaged 22.9 mpg on the way home from Scottsdale.

I bought it used, with 1850 miles on the odometer.

I am really looking forward to the drive up to Reno this year.

The Toolmaker Koan, or Furby’s Paradox

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Long ago I read a novel based on an intriguing idea, entitled “Toolmaker Koan.”  A kōan is, according to Wikipedia:

a fundamental part of the history and lore of Zen Buddhism. It consists of a story, dialogue, question, or statement, the meaning of which cannot be understood by rational thinking but may be accessible through intuition.

The kōan, or question of the novel was “Why don’t we see evidence of advanced civilizations throughout the galaxy?” The site Ad Astra explains:

Typically technological development begins slowly, but at some point (perhaps hundreds of thousands or even millions of years) after the beginning of a culture it explodes, leading rapidly to high technology. Unfortunately behaviour patterns associated with non-technological cultures persist, leading to a rapidly increasing population and ever higher competition for resources. This leads to massive environmental damage caused by industrialisation and usually to self-inflicted destruction by fusion fire, nanotech plague, asteroidal bombardment, or more general environmental collapse. This then is the Toolmaker Koan: travelling to the stars requires a highly developed industrial infrastructure, but development of technology leads to nuclear war and extinction.

However, I think Vexxarr may be on to a simpler explanation:

Four Year-Old Kills Newborn Sibling

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Will the parents be prosecuted for negligence?

Tragedy hit a Texas family over the weekend when a young boy accidentally ran over and killed his newborn brother with a minivan.

A 4-year-old boy climbed into his family’s parked van Friday and with his 5-year-old brother sitting in the passenger seat, managed to put the keys in the ignition and start the vehicle, Dallas’ Star-Telegram reported.

The boy’s mother, who was holding her 3-week-old son in her arms, heard the van ignition and when she spotted her two young sons behind the wheel, ran to stop the rolling vehicle.

The van crashed into an RV power station, then knocked her down and ran over both mother and infant, killing the baby, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office.

This happened last October, but I found the negligent parenting parallel compelling.

Ammo Recall Alert

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I’m sure you’ve seen this elsewhere, but if not:

FEDERAL and AMERICAN EAGLE
45 AUTO PRODUCT SAFETY WARNING
Immediate Action Required

Certain lots of recently manufactured 45 Auto ammunition may contain an incorrect propellant charge. Use of product from these lots may result in firearm damage and possible serious injury.

DO NOT USE PRODUCT FROM THE FOLLOWING LOTS:

If you have in your possession any 45 Auto with the following brand names and part numbers, check to see if your ammunition package contains the above lots:

  • American Eagle®(AE45A, AE45N1, or AE45A250)
  • Champion™ (WM5233), GoldMedal®(GM45B)
  • Hi-Shok ®(45C, 45D)
  • Federal® Personal Defense ®(C45C, C45D)

Example below:


THIS WARNING APPLIES ONLY TO THE LOTS LISTED ABOVE.

If you possess ammunition from any of these lots, or have questions concerning this warning, please contact us at 1-800-831-0850 or 1-800-322-2342 and ask for Product Service. Federal will provide replacement product and will cover the cost of returning the affected product.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

I Got Nothin’

KevinLeave a comment

Not precisely true.  There are several things I should be posting about, but I can’t work up the enthusiasm to actually do it.  Sorry, but the free ice cream machine’s busted.  Try again tomorrow.