When I thought I’d be taking the train north last week I decided I wanted to know where I was. Since I no longer have Windows on my laptop, my Microsoft Streets and Trips software wasn’t an option. That’s when I remembered a sweet Linux mapping application called Roadmap.
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Check It Out
Links to cool places or things.
There are 1,524 posts filed in Check It Out (this is page 149 of 153).
Scrapping Nuke Submarines
My friend Kurt recently attended his submarine’s deactivation ceremony. The USS Minneapolis-St. Paul (SSN-708) was deactivated last month after two decades of service to the country. Seems like a short life for such a capable vessel. It made me wonder why we would scrap her.
Today I found an article describing USS Minneapolis-St. Paul’s likely fate: the scrapping process for nuclear submarines and ships. After decomissioning in September, she’ll be cut into sections, with most metal being recycled. The reactor’s final resting place will be the Hanford nuclear site in Washington state.
With the Navy scrapping perfectly good Spruance-class destroyers and nuclear subs, what does that leave? Are the remaining ships really all that?
I <3 Fake Steve Jobs
A while ago Jeff turned me on to Fake Steve Jobs, the satirical blogger pretending to be Steve Jobs. If you’re not reading him yet, you’re really missing out.
And FSJ isn’t just about humor. One of his posts today totally summed up the threat iTunes presents to the music industry in a very concise way. I hadn’t seen this described so simply before.
Fake Steve Jobs might not be the real Steve Jobs but he’s brilliant, whomever he is.
Florida Fires Find Formidable Foe In Family
My cousin Dave Turner loves his job with the Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission. His usual duties involve chasing down wandering gators and bears, believe it or not. Dave’s droll sense of humor usually earns him lots of airtime after the critter emergency is over.
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SiCKO
I recently got a sneak peek at SiCKO [warning: self-playing Flash], Michael Moore’s new profile of the healthcare industry being released this weekend. Wow. If this doesn’t shame Americans into fixing our broken healthcare system, nothing will. It is very convincing, without pulling any punches. He lets people tell their stories.
Michael Moore may be the Upton Sinclair of our times: controversial mainly because he shines a light on problems we’d otherwise rather not think about. Love him or hate him, he makes you think. We could use a little more of that at a time when a bimbo like Paris Hilton is considered news.
MT.Net says check it out.
The Real Power In China
Boingboing linked to a story of a New York Times reporter being held hostage in a Chinese toy factory. It illustrates the dysfunctional nature of Chinese authority. Basically, the almighty dollar trumps government authority.
It also reaffirms the story I’ve heard about Chinese police always doing their best to do absolutely nothing. Seems pretty consistent with my own observations of China.
Romantica
Kelly’s cousin’s husband is on the road in an up-and-coming band from Minneapolis, Romantica. Jim Orvis (on the left in the photo) plays percussion for the band. Jim is a great drummer and an equally great guy.
Romantica has been generating some buzz, selling out their Minneapolis CD-debut show. They’ll be playing at Starr Hill in Charlottesville next weekend, no doubt to a large crowd.
Give their songs a listen at Purevolume.com, visit their website or their MySpace page for tour dates and other information. MT.Net says check ’em out!
Aussies Repelled Iranian Navy Seizure Attempt
The Beeb reports that prior to the March capture of 15 British Royal Navy sailors by the Iranian Navy, an Australian Navy boarding party repelled a similar attack:
The Australians, though, to quote one military source, “were having none of it”.
The BBC has been told the Australians re-boarded the vessel they had just searched, aimed their machine guns at the approaching Iranians and warned them to back off, using what was said to be “highly colourful language”.
Good to know that the Aussies don’t put up with that. Good on ya, mates!
Potato Wave
Damn you, Blizzog! Do you know how many times I felt compelled to watch this today?
Kinsey
Kelly and I just watched Kinsey, a 2004 film starring Liam Neeson about the amazing work of Dr. Alfred Kinsey, the famed researcher of human sexuality. Dr. Kinsey’s groundbreaking work, known as the Kinsey Reports, gave science and society its first unblinking study of sexual behavior.
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