(more…)

Democracy and Classical Greece – J. K. Davies

What Do You Call A Sociopath In A Cubicle? Answer: A Coworker – Scott Adams

The Flying Circus of Physics – Jearl Walker

Trail of Blood: A Novel of Suspense – Lisa Black

• Biography
• Drums and Percussion
• Fiction
• Food
• Graphic Novels
• History
• Humor
• Nonfiction
• Philosophy
• Religion
• Science
• Skeptic
• Saint Louis
• Computing
• Maritime Simulation

• Isaac Asimov
• Margaret Atwood
• Stephen Baxter
• Elizabeth Becka / Lisa Black
• Italo Calvino
• Philip K. Dick
• Al Franken
• Neil Gaiman
• Martin Gardner
• Jeff Kinney — Diary of a Wimpy Kid
• Ursula K. LeGuin
• Patrick O’Brian — Aubrey Maturin Series
• Terry Pratchett — Discworld Novels
• Kim Stanley Robinson
• David Sedaris
• Robert Silverberg
• Dan Simmons
• J. R. R. Tolkien

Here’s a parody of a commercial (audio NSWF):

Boob Apron

See also: Suggies

Denny’s Fried Cheese Melt

“.. Restaurant chain Denny’s updated its value menu with the Fried Cheese Melt, a sandwich made with ‘four fried mozzarella sticks and melted American cheese grilled between two slices of sourdough bread. Priced at a reasonable $4, it’s served with french fries and a side of marinara sauce.”

Denny’s should up the ante and offer a burger with Fried Cheese Melts as buns…

The BBC is adapting Douglas Adams’ detective science fiction/fantasy novel Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency for the small screen. While Adams is wildly famous for his comic SF series, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, he also wrote two detective novels, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, and started a third novel in the same series, The Salmon of Doubt. While incomplete, The Salmon of Doubt was published after his death along with a collection of other rare material. If you’re a fan of detective fiction, science fiction, fantasy or comedy (or all four!) the first two novels are a must read. While not as hysterically funny as some of the earlier Hitchhiker books, their complicated, witty and intelligent plots (and sub plots), along with the quirks of the central character Dirk Gently, are addictive and warrant a second (or third) reading.

Dirk Gently believes in the “fundamental interconnectedness of all things”, his operating principle when presented with detective puzzles, and he’s not afraid to go off on tangents and rack up massive expense accounts to get to the bottom of any case. First published in 1987, the original novel features time travel, Chaos Theory, an electronic monk from another planet, and the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Some of the time travel plot was borrowed from the Doctor Who story City of Death (part of Doctor Who‘s golden age when Tom Baker was in the lead role). Adams wrote City of Death while working as Doctor Who‘s script editor. On its cover, the first book is described as a “thumping good detective-ghost-horror-who dunnit-time travel-romantic-musical-comedy-epic”.

The BBC is producing a 60 minute pilot first, with plans to do more if the pilot proves popular. The only plot summary offered so far is that Dirk tries to solve the “disappearance of a cat from an old lady’s house.” The script is being written by Howard Overman, creator of Misfits and Vexed, and will be broadcast on BBC4 at the end of this year. The BBC previously broadcast a radio adaptation of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency starring Harry Enfield in 2007, and there was a stage production starring Scot Burklin in 2006.

The Hellcats gets the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment:

“‘Cause, see, I love science fiction, but I’m an aficionado, not a contributor, and I say this, you know, with no stupid, dumb, dumb humility at all. I’m am purely a Johnny-come-lately. I am perhaps the least scientifically knowledgeable man in the whole writing group, and I bow with great deference and respect to the real masters, you know, Asimov and Bob Heinlein and Sturgeon and all the rest of them. And these, of course, and yourself included, because you write pure science fiction. I can adapt science fiction I think quite adequately, but I can’t create it on an original level.”

Part 1:

Part 2:

…inventors and doctors and engineers don’t typically even bother learning relativity. Should I repeat that? Complain to engineering departments and medical schools if you think that should change. Nothing useful has even been designed or built using relativity. If you want to look and look and look for a counterexample then you’ll be wasting your time. I’m not going to waste mine. This is my final reply on this topic for now. Do something logical, such as editing the Bible, and after benefiting from that experience we can revisit this issue in a month or so

Andy Schlafly, Conservapedia

If you want to look and look and look for a counterexample then you’ll be wasting your time – Here’s a counterexample for Mr. Schlafly: The Global Positioning System needs to correct for errors introduced by relativistic effects.

Also, let us not forget that whole E = mc² thing…

Nordic Tugs announced that it will temporarily close its Burlington, Wash., manufacturing plant on Tuesday.

Most employees will be furloughed, according to a company statement, but a skeleton staff will remain to field customer inquiries and maintain the plant to keep it prepared to resume production when business improves.

The action “has been forced by the ongoing effects of the Great Recession and the reluctance of customers to order new boats,” according to the manufacturer.

Nordic Tugs was founded in 1979 and builds tug-style yachts ranging from 26 to 54 feet that are sold through dealers in Europe and Asia, and across the United States.