Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Mmm, Tastes Like Science
Oh to be a 21st century ichthyologist! Gone are the long, lonely nights at sea and the perils of the deep. Now all you have to have is a passion for shopping in dank, smelly spaces.
ps. I suggest that all future studies on global climate change be conducted at the beach.
pps. I got to use the word ichthyologist in a sentence. That's 5 bonus points.
ps. I suggest that all future studies on global climate change be conducted at the beach.
pps. I got to use the word ichthyologist in a sentence. That's 5 bonus points.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Wheeeee!
Apparently the Nintendo Wii is a porn portal. I wasn't planning to buy one, but now it seems irresistible.
If At First You Don't Succeed
Today's Fresh Air has a captivating (and terrifying) interview with Seymour Hirsch on the administration's Iran policy. My take-away so far is that politics in the middle east are so convoluted that there is absolutely no action that we can take that doesn't somehow contradict our national interests. Of course all politics is compromise, but these situations are serious enough that they would seem to argue for us to step back and disengage on many fronts.
Among the interesting things that I learned while listening: when they invaded Iraq, the administration allied with the Shia, which makes sense because Saddam's Baath regime was predominantly Sunni. Some intelligence analysts warned that because Iran is a predominantly Shia state, there was a risk of Iraq falling under Iranian influence. The administration, on the other hand, believed that the memory of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s (in which we openly supported Saddam and the Iraqi Sunni) would keep the Iraqi Shia closer to the new Iraqi government and away from Tehran. As we all know, the administration has now changed course and is telling anybody who will listen that Iran is fomenting terrorism among the Iraqi Shia. This seems to me another case of the administration creating a theory and making plans under the assumption that it was true, rather than using any sort of real-world evidence. Remember being "greeted as liberators"?
Another interesting tidbit: members of the Joint Staff have threatened to resign if the administration does not remove the "nuclear option" from its contingency plans to bomb Iran. In fact, the Times Online has reported that there are a number of top military leaders who have threatened resignation if we even attack Iran. Good for them, I wish I had some leverage to get my voice heard. Hey, Phil: if CoreStreet attacks Iran, I'm going to quit.
Among the interesting things that I learned while listening: when they invaded Iraq, the administration allied with the Shia, which makes sense because Saddam's Baath regime was predominantly Sunni. Some intelligence analysts warned that because Iran is a predominantly Shia state, there was a risk of Iraq falling under Iranian influence. The administration, on the other hand, believed that the memory of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s (in which we openly supported Saddam and the Iraqi Sunni) would keep the Iraqi Shia closer to the new Iraqi government and away from Tehran. As we all know, the administration has now changed course and is telling anybody who will listen that Iran is fomenting terrorism among the Iraqi Shia. This seems to me another case of the administration creating a theory and making plans under the assumption that it was true, rather than using any sort of real-world evidence. Remember being "greeted as liberators"?
Another interesting tidbit: members of the Joint Staff have threatened to resign if the administration does not remove the "nuclear option" from its contingency plans to bomb Iran. In fact, the Times Online has reported that there are a number of top military leaders who have threatened resignation if we even attack Iran. Good for them, I wish I had some leverage to get my voice heard. Hey, Phil: if CoreStreet attacks Iran, I'm going to quit.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Watch My Life!
Friday, February 23, 2007
FREE Super Saver Shipping
or, You Always Get What You Pay For
In late January I ordered a new Canon SD700 IS camera to replace my venerable SD400, which died an unpleasant death over Christmas break. As usual, I ordered from Amazon, and not being in any particular rush, I chose their free Super Saver Shipping option. I've had good luck with Super Saver Shipping; some packages arrive within a couple of days. This one, however, did not.
A couple of weeks after ordering, I checked the shipment tracker at Amazon and was amused to find that my camera had been shipped promptly from an Amazon warehouse in California (the state that I live in), and that the next tracking record had the package arriving in Minnesota (nowhere near where I live). The package went out on a truck in Minnesota on 2/13 and after that, silence.
A few days ago, tired of waiting, I notified Amazon that something was fishy. They decided that the package was lost and shipped me a new one, this time via UPS and not USPS. The replacement camera arrived yesterday and seems great. More on that later.
Today, the original shipment finally arrived, looking slightly the worse for wear:
Here's the final shipping route from USPS.com:
In late January I ordered a new Canon SD700 IS camera to replace my venerable SD400, which died an unpleasant death over Christmas break. As usual, I ordered from Amazon, and not being in any particular rush, I chose their free Super Saver Shipping option. I've had good luck with Super Saver Shipping; some packages arrive within a couple of days. This one, however, did not.
A couple of weeks after ordering, I checked the shipment tracker at Amazon and was amused to find that my camera had been shipped promptly from an Amazon warehouse in California (the state that I live in), and that the next tracking record had the package arriving in Minnesota (nowhere near where I live). The package went out on a truck in Minnesota on 2/13 and after that, silence.
A few days ago, tired of waiting, I notified Amazon that something was fishy. They decided that the package was lost and shipped me a new one, this time via UPS and not USPS. The replacement camera arrived yesterday and seems great. More on that later.
Today, the original shipment finally arrived, looking slightly the worse for wear:
Here's the final shipping route from USPS.com:
I'm glad that the replacement arrived first; I wouldn't have been too happy to see my expensive new camera in that state. One can only imagine what happened during shipment (theories are welcome).
- Delivered, February 23, 2007, 12:49 pm, PALO ALTO, CA
- Enroute, February 23, 2007, 12:31 am, RICHMOND, CA
- Enroute, February 13, 2007, 1:32 pm, SAINT PAUL, MN
- Enroute, February 08, 2007, 12:55 pm, RICHMOND, CA
- Electronic Shipping Info Received, February 05, 2007
NPRcasting
Yesterday, Sean blogged about his increasing reliance on podcasts to pass the vast amounts of free time that he has now that Flurry is on cruise control. Short on listening material, he asked for suggestions, and I felt compelled to come to the rescue.
- This American Life is far and away my favorite NPR program. It can't really be described (try explaining Blue Man Group to your mother), but it's well worth your time to check it out if you're not already a regular listener.
- Wait Wait Don't Tell Me is a great way to entertain yourself and to test how well you've been paying attention to the week's news. My favorite section is always the limericks.
- Car Talk, sadly, isn't free. Yet.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)