The latest Macarthur Genius Grants have been announced.

I found this podcast interview with Ryan Sager depressing, but it rings true. The G.O.P. camp is pretty much a clusterfuck right now. The only good news is that the left is also bent on self destruction.

Liberal chicks are also hot (and not just fictional ones like Jan), but damn! Adorable or not, I think she's probably on the wrong side on this one.

Arbitrarily chosen cool web page.

Also been reading this blog lately. A different take on current events and other things as well.

Latest book for me: Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. Highly recommended for the most part. It's how human history and the great gulf between haves and have nots has come about. This is not that dissimilar to Robert Wright's Non-Zero in its take on human history, although with much more depth on the key innovations of the last 11,000 years, and the key role of infectious disease. Also, I did not really appreciate the degree to which the indigenous population of the Americas had been largely wiped out by disease after the first European explorers arrived.

I'm digging a new CD by guys who are all still alive: Eight Armed Monkey by KTU. Side Two by Adrian Belew is quite good, and I've also been listening to Zappa's Burnt Weenie Sandwich.

At least be an articulate demagogue. Not like this.

OK, are you folks ready to vote Libertarian, finally?

Was I wrong? Maybe. Perhaps my terrible debacle in last March's NCAA brackets was a sign - I have cracked my crystal ball, if not completely shattered it.

Then again - Nashville?

More here.

Go over to UMSF and register your opinion on the Beacon - is it on the near or far side of Victoria Crater? It will be fun to speculate on until we actually see it up close in a couple of months.

Anyone can be a Tech Pundit. Hey, they guy's as rational as Dvorak and better looking!

The Bad Astronomer looks at evidence that Tony Snow is a creationist.

Boeing's cool new passenger jet design. Should Airbus be worried? I think so. There hasn't been anything really exciting in this field since the 747.

Do you tie your shoes properly?

The cognoscenti among you know what music I've been listening too lately from the subject line. Specifically, Broadway the Hard Way. Also, the recently issued One Up, One Down live Coltrane set, Miles' Seven Steps to Heaven and Sun Ra's Live at the Gibus, Paris. Let's face it - if you ain't dead, you ain't shit.

This gave me a deep chuckle...They should see if this guy can do Dvorak as well.

The Bad Astronomy Blog provides some evidence on this point. At the very least, if shows that Mr. Snow should STFU on all science topics, since he knows less than nothing.

Some cool new wings. BA was up 2% today - don't know if it's related.

I have been tying my shoes wrong for uh.. a long time. I blamed the slippage on bad shoelaces, but Ian shows me what I was doing wrong.

Don't mind me. I'm an idiot who can't tie his own shoelaces..

I refer to an earlier JE. Following yesterday's pro-pork votes, I think it's safe to say that my hopes for reform will be unfullfilled. Very likely, the red piggies will lose control of Congress this Fall, in spite of a fairly robust economy. The good news is that they deserve to. The bad news is that means the blue piggies will take over...

On a related topic, the CATO Institute gives Bush bad marks on upholding the Constitution.

Mountain lions? In there? [Update: Search called off.]

Coolness: The Bootes Void.

I'm not keen on Bill O'Reilly either. I don't know whose views he represents, but no one I'd want to have a beer with.

Exactly where are gasoline prices? Pretty high, but if you expect that inflation has something to do with it, you are right. I predict that we will never again see gasoline below $2/gallon, and I feel fine. I don't think civilization will crash, as some predict.

I've got some new insights into NASA, and I'm afraid it's not pretty. Today, some senators proposed we abolish FEMA. How's about we abolish the CIA and NASA at the same time? This would do no damage to our intelligence efforts and would visibly help the space program. Seriously: give the science money to NSF to dole out to deserving mission PIs, ground the shuttle, deed the ISS to the Russian Space Agency (if they want it), and use large X-prize type bounties for such things as lunar bases and footprints on Mars. Save countless billions.

Of course, I'd be largely out of a job, but I'd be just fine in the long run.

Music this week: more 60s jazz (No apologies - the 60s were a golden age). Roscoe Mitchell's innovative and challenging Sound and McCoy Tyner's melodic Real McCoy. Among other things.

Yes I am.

My take so far is that they have done a good job of sticking to the "framework" idea. They don't tell you how to model or how to design an architecture, but they give you good guidance about what to model. It also appears to be highly tailorable. Not all systems have to have all views. Hmm.. how best to wade in there?

Takin' our jobs, again!

And: you have to work hard for a good practical joke, these days.

Great gift idea...

Coming May 4th. Clearly, prayer isn't working...