The Windkey and the Lamplighter

I could not stop laughing when I saw this on Wordsplosion!, so here it is for you:

Is it really a choice?

Before:

Gilchrist, Texas before Hurricane Ike, from Google Maps via WunderBlog

Gilchrist, Texas after Hurricane Ike, National Geodetic Survey via WunderBlog.

Google Map of Gilchrist, Texas

This is Gilchrist, Texas. (hat tip to Wunder Blog for the pictures) Or, at least, it was. Now, it’s completely gone. No structures, no wreckage, no anything. Swept into the sea.

Putting aside the completely wrecked bridge, look at the places that used to be beachfront walkways. Where those houses were is *underwater*. I guess this is the risk you take when you build on a sandbar, but I can’t imagine losing my home in that way. I hope most of those people evacuated, and that they were summer homes with relatively little property left in them, but I bet some of them didn’t and some of them weren’t. I like the Jeff Masters’ idea of buying that land (where there is land, anyway) from the homeowners and making it a park (a la the Fire Island National Seashore). I think that’s a much safer way to help these people who’ve lost their property—without setting up the bad incentives which will cause it to be repeated in the next hurricane.

I wonder how much it would cost to buy all of NOLA and turn it into a park…

“The thing I’ve noticed about being a Solar is that you’re always either loved or reviled. Generally, both at once. And you always seem to have the choice between the bad thing and the worst thing. Generally, people seem to prefer the worst thing — so that’s what I’m going to do.” - Koyenne

The Nexus economy had a precursor.

There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail:
There gloom the dark broad seas. My Yoshis,
Souls that have toil’d, and wrought, and thought with me —
Continue Reading »

We just got given a piano. (By the way, Death Wish Piano Movers is awesome.)

It says it’s made by the Colonial Piano Company, of Boston, MA. This company is no longer in business, but they are listed in a 1911 directory of Boston Directors:

The Directory of Directors in the City of Boston and Vicinity

Their president, Mr. Bonney, is listed in the 1904 edition of Clark’s Boston Blue Book:

Clark’s Boston Blue Book

But I can’t seem to find a comprehensive history of the company. Either way, it suggests that our piano was made around the beginning of the 20th century. Neat! Now all we have to do is get it in tune.

AT&T operates a casino. You bet on how many minutes you’ll use. If you use less, they keep the extra money. They win. If you use more, those cost 50 cents per minute. The house always wins. It’s a great business model if you can keep it up.

Last month, I went way over on minutes. AT&T’s staff switched *last month* to a different billing plan. The house gave up its edge. Yes, this is also evidence that they win enough either way.

You can check here whether the LHC has destroyed the world. I won’t spoil the surprise by contaminating your fun with pesky facts—Phil Plait and Brian Cox (yes, that one) did a great job explaining why that answer isn’t surprising.

This is where I’d fall. Very wet. (Click on the image to find out where you’d go.)

Thanks to BadAstronomy for the pointer!

Geraldine Ferraro approves of Sarah Palin because she has two X chromosomes, and she thinks some of Hillary Clinton’s supporters will flock to the McCain-Palin ticket because McCain picked a female VP:

(If you don’t want to watch the video, which has bad sound, Fox has posted an article by Ms. Ferraro here.)

I suppose I should give Ms. Ferraro credit for being un-apologetically devoted to her cause—getting women in positions of power, regardless of the qualifications or political beliefs of the woman in question. I’m nonetheless disgusted that, in 2008, she still believes that gender is more important than policy. In the same way that affirmative action policies undermine racial equality, nonsense like this is undermining the very movement Ms. Ferraro claims to have supported all these years.

(Thanks to FoundingBloggers, where I found the video. If I ever remember who pointed me there, I’ll thank them too.)