SMBC on steampunk vs real life — I've seen several reviews lately commenting unfavorably on the unrealistic technology in steampunk fiction. Which seems to me to be rather missing the point. Steampunk isn't real life, it isn't even SF.
The Death of Print/Publishing, Part MCCLWTFXVIII —
jimhines on everyone's favorite topic.Cats and Mice — Armor for one of the oldest wars. (Thanks to
e_bourne.)New Desert Crater Found Using Google Maps and Free Software — For the second time in a few weeks...
English Gets the Last Word in Japan — More ELF? (Via Language Log.)
America Goes Dark — Everything we know about economic growth says that a well-educated population and high-quality infrastructure are crucial. Emerging nations are making huge efforts to upgrade their roads, their ports and their schools. Yet in America we're going backward. [...] How did we get to this point? It's the logical consequence of three decades of antigovernment rhetoric, rhetoric that has convinced many voters that a dollar collected in taxes is always a dollar wasted, that the public sector can't do anything right. Thank you, Republicans, for sabotaging America's future.
If You're All White in America — Many prominent conservatives are making the argument that Judge Walker is gay and, therefore, his decision regarding Prop 8 might have been unduly influenced by his sexual orientation. [...] It's not that I would suggest that his sexual orientation (if he is gay) has no influence on his jurisprudence, but here's the thing, if homosexuality influences analysis of legal issues involving civil rights for homosexuals, doesn't heterosexuality also influence decisions regarding these same matters? After all, heterosexuality is no guarantor of objectivity, it just provides a different set of subjectivities, which are not per se superior to other vantage points. Bigotry is normative. This is the moral equivalent of the typical conservative view that "the government aid I receive is a necessary stimulus, your is a lousy welfare handout." (Hint, farm support payments and the home mortgage interest deduction.)
?otD: Have you been to Erehwon?
8/10/2010
Writing time yesterday: 0.0 hours (travel for Day Jobbe)
Body movement: 35 minute urban walk
Hours slept: 6.25 (interrupted)
This morning's weigh-in: n/a
Yesterday's chemo stress index: 3/10 (fatigue, peripheral neuropathy)
Currently (re)reading: Inheritor by C.J. Cherryh