The Damned Engineers

This video highlights the key moments in the Mars Science Laboratory mission (Curiosity). It is an elegant engineering solution to a number of unique challenges.

The title of this post, "The Damned Engineers," refers the reaction of a German tank brigade commander in WWII as American army engineers blew one bridge after another in his face.

Boson's Mate

It would appear the Higgs boson has been found. This is a good day for modern physics as it demonstrates in epic fashion that the Standard Model is here to stay. I'll let Phil Plait take it from here:

Now technically, that’s all the physicists can say: the particle is definitely there. But is it the Higgs? Well, to be fair, they can’t actually say that. But if it walks like a Higgs, looks like a Higgs, and quacks like a Higgs… yeah. So there you have it. A new fundamental particle has been found, and if it’s the Higgs – which it really really really looks like it is – is the first step to our truly understanding such basic concepts as mass and gravity in the Universe. It’s technical, and it’s complicated, and it’s the result of a vast amount of time, money, and effort by thousands upon thousands of people… but it’s real. And it’s only the first step. There’s much work to be done. But oh, what a step. The Universe has once again done something wonderful — let us peek behind the curtain and get a glimpse of its inner workings. Never forget this either: we humans did this. The discovery of this new particle, and the vast potential it has, was all because we’re curious. This huge machine, the LHC, was built solely because we wanted to find things out, and some people had the vision to fund it and build it. When we wish to explore, when we wish to see what’s over the next hill, wonders unfold before us.

All we have to do is want it enough.

Image credit: CERN

Winning

I'm not a huge sports fan. Okay, I admit I follow my alma mater's (U. of Utah) football team, and I do have a soft spot for the San Antonio Spurs. But beyond that, I really don't care about what is essentially a distraction.
But look at the picture on the left. That's in Lexington, KY. That's how U. of Kentucky basketball fans celebrated the Wildcats winning their division. Not the national championship mind you, just the division.

"Lex Fire department says 39 total fires, most of them of couches or trash, one was car fire, and 12 First Aid runs," tweeted the Herald-Leader.

"Lexington E 11 responds to another fully involved couch on State St as the celebration continues…." Collier added.

Keep in mind these are college students, the future of the country. I sure would hate to be around if they lost.

A New Perspective

I'm one of those people who have always marked "Organ Donor" on my driver's license. I can think of no nobler legacy than enabling a fellow human to continue to live, or have a better life,. It costs nothing (we're all going to die sometime) and is perhaps the grandest of gestures.
For the first time, tho, I feel ambivalent about this due to one compelling reason: my donated organ could end up in someone like Dick Cheney. If I thought my death enabled the Dark Lord to continue his avaricious ways, I'd have my body cremated and my ashes mixed with salt.

Scopes II, Part II (with added climate change denial at no additional charge)

They did it.

Having narrowly escaped falling off the edge of the earth, Tennessee's creationism-happy Senate has approved the so-called monkey bill, allowing teachers to discuss the "strengths" and "weaknesses" of "controversial" topics like "evolution," as well as "global warming," in order to help their students "improve their thinking skills" and realize once and for all that the miraculous earth was shaped with a magical touch of a godly finger, even though a gazillion scientific and legal experts say the bill is "unnecessary, anti-scientific, and very likely unconstitutional." Also dumb. State legislators are also busy enacting other useful bills, such as allowing the Ten Commandments to be displayed on public buildings, banning the word and concept "gay" and telling girl 
athletes what they can and can't wear, for which acts 
we and the Lord thank them. Sort of.

Female Capos

During the Holocaust, in the camps the Nazis would select certain prisoners to act as overseers of their own kind. Of course these "capos" as they were known received enticements in exchange for their limited privileges. One can only assume that such is the case with the vile Liz Trotta of Faux Noise. Here's a taste:

During a segment about new rules regarding women in the military, Fox News contributor Liz Trotta attacked the Department of Defense for increasing spending on support programs for victims of sexual assault. Trotta also reacted to a Pentagon report showing a 64% increase in violent sexual assaults since 2006 by stating: "Well, what did they expect? These people are in close contact."

Go read the whole post. If you can stomach it: http://gocl.me/xr60yF

Xtian Love

Now that Christopher Hitchens is gone, the xtian crazies are coming out of the woodwork. Bryon Fisher of Focus on the Family stated that "God sent Christopher Hitchens to hell" (because he loves him, dontcha know). Apparently he has a hot line to god.
I realize of course that Hitch could be very acerbic; once, on "Countdown" with Bill Maher, the audience tittered at one of his statements and shot them the bird.
I didn't always agree with the man. I found his support of Bush II and the Iraq war to be very misguided. But there is no doubt he was a true intellectual giant: I certainly wouldn't want to debate him. Nonetheless, I found his atheism quite inspirational and his logic on this topic unassailable. It was quite a kick to watch him shred the xtians who dared to argue with him, and I will miss that. He generally knew more about the bible than his opponents.
But these so-called "Christians" are quite vile in their condemnation of the man. And to wait until he's gone, as Fisher did, to critizice him is cowardice of the highest (or rather, lowest) order. Take, for instance, the asshat Albert Mohler, ninth president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, and board member of Focus on the Family: "The point about Christopher Hitchens is not that he died of unbelief, but that his unbelief is all that matters now. Unspeakably sad." How can one die of "unbelief?" Is that in the DSM-IV?
And if anyone wants to post on this thread saying, 'Oh, but these people aren't true Christians and they've misunderstood what Christianity's all about' - please don't bother. It's them you need to tell, not me.