Remodeling update...

Remodeling update...  Yesterday the cabinet makers delivered the cattery cabinet.  This is a utilitarian piece, with a stainless steel top, formica sides, and (we hope!) cat-proof drawer and door closures.  The objective here was a good place to keep all the cat paraphernalia (food, drugs, toys, brushes, combs, etc.) in a single, easy-to-clean place.  Next steps here are to install the sink and faucet.  The rough plumbing is in, but the final hookup remains to be done.

Last week we took delivery of our new bed and dining room table, and I neglected to post a photo of either.  At left is the bed, which my neighbor Tim D. helped me move into place.  That was hard!

Barn: the skinning begins!

Barn: the skinning begins!  Yesterday the builders started covering the outside of the barn's walls with wafer board.  The siding (which will be Hardiboard) will be hung from this.  Next up: the steel columns and gluelam beams that will hold up the second floor...

The stench of a liberal...

The stench of a liberal...  Really?  I'm skeptical, but this study claims to show that humans can detect the odor associated with one's political beliefs.  I'm skeptical on several levels.  The idea that political beliefs cause us to excrete different chemicals seems rather far-fetched on the face of it – I'd want to see the chemical compounds identified before I accepted that.  Further, personal experience suggests (rather strongly) that most people's political beliefs are ill-formed in the first place – that is, most people don't actually think very much (or very hard) about politics at all.  If there was some association between stench and politics, you'd expect most people wouldn't smell at all...

KaTex ...

KaTex ... LaTex for the web.  I haven't actually tried this, but the examples on their home page look great...

Floating point...

Floating point...  I've written several times about my surprise upon discovering how little most of my fellow programmers know about floating point numbers.  Here's one fellow's attempt to address this widespread ignorance...

Picture of the day...

Picture of the day...  This gorgeous black-and-white study of a bedewed rose, by Marta Varela...

Wrong on so many levels...

Wrong on so many levels...  If you were this kid, what sort of message would you take away from all this?  This sad story is a terrible conjunction of nanny statism, failed drug policies, and utterly inappropriate punishment – and it's hard to imagine any way this is actually helping this child.

It's interesting to reflect upon how these things have changed during this country's history.  If you harken back to the time of the American Revolution, you'd find that being expelled from school was nearly unheard of (and certainly was never the result of so trivial an offense), there was no prohibition on (or stigma associated with) the use of marijuana, and by societal convention diaries were treated as  private documents.  I can't imagine our Founding Fathers being happy about what has become of their creation...

Blue Angels, from the cockpit...

Blue Angels, from the cockpit...  You'll most definitely want to full-screen this one!

Ice goes up, ice goes down...

Ice goes up, ice goes down...  Either way, it's proof of climate change!  If you're a warmy whacko, that is...

“It’s disturbing...”

“It’s disturbing...”  Indeed it is. 

I first started reading about this a couple years ago.  It seems to be some sort of a natural law: government bureaucracies are targeted for subversion by special interest groups – and they succeed more than they fail.  Just in our federal government, one can see this in the Department of Education, Homeland Security, Department of Energy, Labor Department, Department of Agriculture, and many more.  So I guess we shouldn't be too surprised to see it happening to the Environmental Protection Agency, too.

This problem won't get fixed with a ballot box revolution that replaces the Democrats with Republicans, as both parties are complicit in this.  Fixing this would require a more profound change, and I don't expect that to happen in my lifetime...

The odd couple...

The odd couple... Via my CCPOAA mom...

They know no shame...

They know no shame...  This time, Hillary Clinton.  Our permanent political class operates by their own rules, different than the ones they impose on us.  Time for a revolution, folks...