Darkness and Light
Conflicting emotions fight for possession of my journal this morning.
This is, of course, the one-year anniversary of a fool at Virginia Tech deciding that since his life wasn’t working out right, random strangers should be made to suffer. NASA Langley will “share a time of reflection with the Virginia Tech community” today, according to our website. The friends, families, and fellow students involved will certainly be in my thoughts today.
On the other hand, last night the Discovery Channel ran the most hopeful, joyful television commercial I may ever have seen, reminding me that the world is grand, and complex, and beautiful, and that for every nihilistic Greyface out there, there’s someone trying to make our time here better and happier. I can’t believe I’m feeling the urge to thank a media conglomerate for their advertising.
Boom-dee-ah-da.
Some things are fixed, some things are in flux
The latest Who made me happy for the second time in a row, hitting all the right notes. Not only was the script intelligent, irreverent, and snappy, I didn’t have to sit through any groaningly silly pseudoscience. Plus, we got a quick shout-out to a First Doctor story – now there’s research!
And Donna’s honestly winning me over: anyone who can give her captors a tongue-lashing while tied to a sacrificial altar is worthy company for the Doctor. And she once again shows him, in the climactic scenes, exactly why he’s taken her aboard. I wanted to cheer for both of them.
Next week we get the return of the evil (misunderstood?) Ood from Series 2. I can’t honestly say I’m thrilled… but then, I couldn’t say I was eager to see the Ferengi on their second appearance, so I’ll give the writers a chance. Perhaps I’ll get three for three.
Smartocracy
It’s complicated, but much against my will, I didn’t get any sleep on Saturday night. I spent much of Sunday watching myself do things, and even today. my head (while clear) is certainly in a lower gear than usual. With luck I’ll be at my usual level of coherence by tomorrow.
This weekend Starr and I watched some television programs on high-technology of the ancient world, most of it lost forever because some dictator or another felt it didn’t fit in his grand scheme. We mused that those in power over the centuries have rarely been fond of the intelligentsia, sometimes going so far as active bloody purges.
We wondered, is the animosity due to perceived threat – worry that the next revolution will come from that sector – or an insecure need to prove that the dictator’s might is greater than the thinker’s knowledge? Or might other factors be involved?
The only nation Starr and I could think of in which an enduring government has been established by (part-time, at least) scholars and philosophers is the United States; even those folks didn’t get everything right, and some would debate how well those high-minded ideals have survived the centuries. What other societies of that stripe did we miss?
Sanity Clause?
H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society SaniTest – How Insane Are You?
Your SaniTest(TM) Results – Your score is: 103
INSANITY INDEX 5.24 Thank you for taking the SaniTest(TM). Your score suggests that you are phrenetic. Easily startled and prone to overreaction, it may be due to excessive exposure to unnatural stress and morbid imagery. Other people probably refer to you as ‘twitchy’ behind your back. Other notable people who scored at this level include PLO chairman Yasser Arafat and inventor/educator George Washington Carver.
Brief updates
- 16:17 A Sherlock Holmes story by the staff writers at “Lost”: tinyurl.com/2nq86b – heh. #
Sent subspace radio by LoudTwitter
Parthenogenesis is an Athenian Prog Rock band
Back on the fandom front, I finished watching the Series 4 premiere of Doctor Who last night. I have to say I was enormously pleased. I have learned to stop worrying about the comic-book science of the new show, and was able to focus on the acting and writing, which satisfied me fine.
David Tennant’s mentioned that his favorite Doctor was the Fifth, and his version shares a certain tendency to be swept along helplessly by events. It’s no coincidence that his catch phrase is “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.” as he observes another loss he could not prevent. The Tenth Doctor rose above that in this story, and I hope he’ll continue to do so in this year’s plots.
The Doctor’s at his best when he’s facing down a villain and stating, sociably, “I’d advise you not to be fooled by your first impressions of me. You’re hurting innocent sentients here, and I’m going to ask you nicely, once, to stop.” Tennant nailed that note this episode. spoilers approaching
We Still Choose To Go
Taking a short break from reporting on weather and virtual worlds:
Tomorrow is Yuri’s Night, the anniversary of the first human spaceflight, and of the first space flight of the Shuttle. Forty-seven years ago, a Soviet cosmonaut took mankind’s first step toward the final frontier. Twenty-seven years ago, the American space program began our first experiment with reusable spacecraft. On April 12th we celebrate a milestone which will stand as long as we reach for the stars.
There are Yuri’s Night parties in Richmond, DC, and the Raleigh area, and more all over the world – even in Second Life! The Yuri’s Night website has plenty of information about the celebrations, including a chance to win a ride on G-Force One, a plane that performs weightless simulation flights.
Our space exploration efforts have faltered in recent years, but mankind hasn’t given up; whether it be aboard an Orion capsule, a Soyuz spacecraft, or a Rutan spaceplane, a steadily-increasing number of us will have the chance to see the world from above, and dip their toes in the vast sea of stars that awaits the human race.
EDIT: jameshroberts correctly points out that our robotic exploration efforts are remarkably successful; it’s just the manned side which has faltered somewhat.
All is foggy to me
This morning brought a bank of that 30-meter visibility fog, and the “bridge from nowhere to nowhere” effect on the Monitor-Merrimac. Already, though, it’s turned clear, mild, and sunny with a cool breeze: I suddenly want to skip work tomorrow and go to Busch Gardens. Won’t, of course, but still.
Yes, “I can’t support your virtualization software at this time” means I can’t troubleshoot the apps you’re running in it, either.
I finally have the free Pirates of the Carribean MMO running correctly on my laptop. I’m likely to play it about as often as I launch Second Life – which is to say, almost never – but it’s amusing nevertheless to get “FedEx” quests* from Johnny Depp. None yet from Orlando or Kiera, but then, those are probably saved for people who actually play.
Starr went to her mom’s on Tuesday to plant the irises I retrieved. Turns out there were about two dozen, so with the other plants she’d brought, she spent most of an afternoon digging. Add that to her hospital shifts for Wednesday and today, and I’ve got a still-tired lady on my hands!
Happy WoW stuff: thanks to shrewlet, I got all the materials to finish building Mirandala’s epic quality Destruction Holo-Gogs. Among other materials necessary were 206 chunks of difficult-to-mine ore… I can only assume that a LOT of refining is done to turn that into a single pair of goggles.
Also, my polymorph quest issue was resolved while I was offline, so Mir can now turn people into pigs. Thank you, GMs! Too bad that the spell’s unavailable to my warlock, since I named her Circy.
And thank you ranchonmars for the postcard! I have too aged since the Pathfinder days, but it’s dang nice of you to say otherwise 🙂
*Game character A gives you item to take to character B, who will reward you with money, loot, XP, or often as not another FedEx quest. Perversely amusing when characters A and B are less than 20 gameworld yards from one another.
There’s a Bun in the Toaster
Just so no one accuses me of never having anything good to say about the new Galactica, this 8-minute “What the Frak Is Up With BSG?” video from the SciFi Channel is awesome. I hope it’s the brainchild of the production team, and not the SciFi Channel marketing department.
And the BSG cast doing a Letterman Top 10 List:
Thank goodness for a franchise with a sense of humor!
