Fuck the MPAA

More nerd rap. The Futuristic Sex Robots say they are the only Gangster Nerd Rap band. I don’t know if that’s true, but their song (and video on YouTube) is entertaining and mirrors the way I feel about the RIAA, the MPAA, the BSA and the DMCA.

Watch it.

I’m downloading the rest of their free album now. It should be entertaining.

Top Ten Reasons Religion is Like Pornography

From over at PZ Myer’s place:

Top Ten Reasons Religion is Like Pornography

10. It has been practiced for all of human history, in all cultures
9. It exploits perfectly natural, even commendable, impulses
8. Its virtues are debatable, its proponents fanatical
7. People love it, but can’t give a rational reason for it
6. Objectifies and degrades women even when it worships them
5. You want to wash up after shaking hands with any of its leaders
4. The costumes are outrageous, the performances silly, the plots unbelievable
3. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying it, but it’s nothing to be proud of, either
2. It is not a sound basis for public policy, government, or international relations
1. Its stars are totally fake

Go read the rest of the post.

Coop has some awesome photos up today

Wow.

Coop over at Positive Ape Index has some awesome photos posted.

Starting out, a series of photos of an actual Gemini Space Suit that a friend of his managed to buy at an antique mall in Kansas! Astounding.

Then there is a series of photos from a car show in Monrovia. I love well done hot rods, and there are some amazing cars here.

There is one with a plexiglass floor, so that you can see the road and the transmission. Freaky!

Then there is the one with the military theme, with shell casings and what looks like airplane controls.

There are also many other beautiful cars.

I think I need to start going to the hot rod shows here in Minneapolis.

Nerd, Geek or Dork?

Take the Nerd, Geek or Dork? test!

My disappointing score:

Joe Normal
43% Nerd, 34% Geek, 21% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.

You scored less than half in all three, earning you the title of: Joe Normal.

This is not to say that you don’t have some Nerd, Geek or Dork inside of you–we all do, and you can see the percentages you have right above. This is just to say that none of those qualities stand out so much as to define you. Sure, you enjoy an episode of Star Trek now and again, and yeah, you kinda enjoyed a few classes back in the day. And, once in a while, you stumble while walking down the street even though there was nothing there to cause you to trip. But, for the most part, you look and act fairly typically, and aren’t much of an outcast.

Atheist Activism: Sign the AU Petition

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has launched a First Freedom First Campaign to stake a stand on church-state separation. If you haven’t already signed it, please consider signing now.

We, the undersigned, call upon elected and appointed officials to join us in reaffirming America’s religious freedom by demonstrating a commitment to the following:

  • Every American should have the right to make personal decisions — about family life, reproductive health, end of life care and other matters of personal conscience.
  • American tax dollars should not go to charities that discriminate in hiring based on religious belief or that promote a particular religious faith as a requirement for receiving services.
  • Political candidates should not be endorsed or opposed by houses of worship.
  • Public schools should teach with academic integrity and without the promotion of religious preference or belief.
  • Decisions about scientific and health policies should be based on the best available scientific data, not on religious doctrine.

Reading to Stephanie

I happened to see a copy of Robert A. Heinlein’s Podkayne of Mars at the library the other day, so I picked it up for Stephanie to read.

Podkayne of Mars
is the last book that Heinlein wrote in his collection of books for juvenile readers, so I figured that Stephanie would like it.

She wanted me to read it to her, so we’ve both been enjoying it quite a bit. It’s fun to read it to her and then have her ask questions about it. There are lots of science concepts introduced in his books that she is unfamiliar with and so far I have been able to explain all of them.

We are getting near the end, so I just requested Rocket Ship Galileo from the library.

I’m going to see if we can make it though all 13 of the books and then we will start on his more adult harder stuff (which I own a lot of.) Maybe we will mix in some Larry Niven and some Jerry Pournelle (man, what an ugly web site – and I can’t seem to find a bibliography on it) and maybe some Stephen Brust and Fritz Lieber (I know, that’s not Science Fiction, but I like Fantasy too). Actually, what would be really fun would be to read Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books to her.

It’s fun to see Stephanie getting into Science Fiction.