May 2009 Archives

I'm Pro-Life. Always have been, always will be. The casual murder of the unborn is an evil beyond compare, and needs to be fought. This, though, is not the way..

Looks like they caught the shooter, by the way. I've seen people wishing that the killer was a disgruntled husband, or a relative of one of Tiller's patients; I don't think so. Gateway Pundit quotes one of his commenters:

Despite peoples' wishes, I think we're going to find out that Tiller's murderer was indeed associated, albeit on the fringes, with some sort of pro-life organization.

That association will indeed be used to tar the entirety of the pro-life movement, in precisely the same way that the entirety of Islam wasn't after 9/11, or the Left in general wasn't after a Weather Underground bombing.

Don't kid yourselves. The odds of Tiller having been murdered for any reason other than his "medical" practice are vanishingly small.

Actually, yeah, that's me he's quoting.

There will be a backlash against the Pro-Life movement. It's coming. Never mind that the murder has been universally condemned — the forces of the Left, with the willing assistance of the most abortion-friendly (and gun-hating) administration in our history, will use this crime as a pretext to do their utmost to silence their opponents and, as a bonus, will likely try to leverage this incident to disarm Americans.

Now, I have a very hard time shedding a tear over the fate of a man who committed what I consider to be infanticide for a living, and I know I'm not alone. But let me be perfectly clear: murder, every murder, is wrong.

I am always dismayed when someone takes into his own hands the powers that are reserved to the State and to God: administration of justice, and judging a man's soul. The latter is particularly to be regretted; there is always a chance for anyone to reform their ways, to repent of their evil past. Though the odds may have been slim, the murderer robbed Tiller of that opportunity to change.

The irony, of course, is that the murderer will get the justice he deserves... but in the right way, through the legal system. Meanwhile, he has done incalculable damage to the cause he purports to support.

Aside: Tiller was killed at church. I'm guessing that particular church isn't really strong on the whole "repentance" thing. I mean, seriously, what kind of allegedly Christian church welcomes an abortionist, particularly one who unapologetically performs late-term abortions, without insisting on repentance and reform?

Would your church welcome, say, an unrepentant serial rapist into the fold?

Ed calls it domestic terrorism. Yeah, I think that's about right.

I am part of a management team, 50+ people, which oversees 30,000+ routers and switches. These are not little routers like that Linksys or D-link you might have on your desk at home. The smallest router I deal with has ten times the capability of those... and the most powerful ones are nearly the size of a refrigerator.

We have quite a few customers; some can be repeatedly and stupidly problematic. Like, for instance, not keeping their virus definitions up to date.

John(14:45:10): it's amazing how often what they do to themselves suddenly becomes our problem
Russ(14:46:15): yes, if only we could do without those pesky customers
Russ(14:46:27): the network would run a lot smoother
Russ(14:46:34): and be waaaaay smaller

Customer-caused problems = job security. I hope.

^{[Once again I note for the record that I haven't and won't say who I work for.]}

I certainly enjoyed former VP Dick Cheney's speech yesterday. I didn't bother listening to Obama's.

It continues to irk me that Obama would release details about interrogation methods used against captured terrorists, but won't, per Cheney's request, release any information about what results were yielded, what specific terrorist plots were thwarted. Heaven forfend that anyone begin to suspect that our intelligence methods might be effective.

This turns the entire notion of "classification" on its head. One of the very first things they teach everyone in the intelligence business is that things are classified based on sources and methods, not on the results achieved.

The way he's operating, I suspect that if Obama had been president in 1942, he'd have released the details about Magic, but not told the American people about the US victory at Midway.

I'm not entirely convinced that Obama has our best interests in mind.

Since my birthday is Sunday, I thought I would mention that if anyone is thinking about getting me anything but doesn't know what, well, I'd like one of these.

I have two nieces and a nephew, and reason to be proud of all three of them. They are exceptional kids, and will soon be fine, upstanding adults.

Here's one reason I'm proud of my nephew: he composed the piece performed here.

[That is the Santa Barbara High School Madrigal Choir at their annual Spring concert.]

He's a talented young man, and I could not be prouder.

As a new differently abled disabled handicapped cripple, I'm perhaps a bit more sensitive now to the issue when it comes up in public discourse.

I have not a lot of comment about this at Jules Crittenden's place, other than (1) complete agreement, and (2) to note that in a smackdown, I'll take Krauthammer with his physical disability over Klein with his clearly deficient thought processes.

Plus: I've always wanted an excuse to link this (language, violence, and hilarity alert): South Park: Cripple fight!!

It's approaching three years since the start of the Recent Neurological Unpleasantness.

Even after all this time, I find myself really annoyed at how long it takes to do even mundane tasks with my new-ish disability slowing me down.

For example, I need to change a ceiling fixture light bulb here in my office. I'll need a ladder to do so. The ladder is, fortunately, still upstairs from when I had to change the smoke detector battery. Moving the ladder into position under the light fixture will take about an hour, as it involves moving a table out of the way. But then I have to get a fresh light bulb from the garage. To get to it, I'll probably have to move my truck out of the garage. I'll have to schlep back upstairs, and then climb the ladder — not a minor undertaking. Once up there, I'll have to focus on not falling off the ladder while simultaneously changing the bulb.

I might get it done today. Maybe not. Perhaps not even this week.

I miss normalcy. Even with periodic severe back problems, I never ever thought I would be permanently affected. I'd better get used to it, but I don't have to like it.

There's one aspect of the the whole Nancy Pelosi "CIA lied to me" story that hasn't been, but needs to be, made clear.

It's the CIA's job to lie to America's enemies.

Just sayin'.

Nancy Pelosi's lies are so transparent birds are slamming into them.

Red Eye's Andy Levy

Star Trek
^{Directed by J. J. Abrams, starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, and Simon Pegg}

Quick review: Don't blink, or you'll miss the part where Kirk graduates from the academy, is commissioned an Ensign, is promoted up through the ranks while demonstrating his leadership skills and character, until through great talent and merit he finally achieves the exalted rank of Captain and earns command of the newest, finest ship in Star Fleet.

I blinked.

4 stars

Actually, if you ignore the unusual path Kirk took to the command chair, it wasn't horrible.

A long-standing complaint I have with modern CGI effects is true in this film: they try to put way too much into each frame of film, moving way too fast, such that it can be difficult to tell just what is happening in the effects shots.

The casting, by the way, was superb. I didn't like every little bit the director/writers had them do or say, but on the whole the cast performed admirably.

Update: Lileks reviews it well.

I've been participating in an experiment. No, not participating. "Conducting" is the word I want.

Two weeks ago, I acquired a large bag of apples, and began consuming them at the rate of one per day. And so far, not a single doctor has approached me. Not a one.

I think we can say with confidence that an apple a day really does keep the doctor away.

Hurrah for Science.

I'm out of apples. I'd better get some before the day is out.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I do have the best Mom in the world.

The Jesusita fire in Santa Barbara is making the news. For my family, it's more than just news; it's a threat. My brother, sister and mom are pretty close by.

^{(Click for larger.)}

My brother's home is in the blue-circled area; my sister and mom live in the region I've circled in red. A lot of other folks I know back home are affected, as well.

Fingers crossed.

Google Map here — click the links on the left.

It's not that I haven't had anything to say this week... it's just that I'm being paid to write something for corporate consumption, and I have a deadline.

In the meantime, go watch Bill Whittle give the best smackdown ever to the historically illiterate Jon Stewart: 16 minutes 46 seconds of pure awesome.