This is the hottest thing since … no, ever. It’s the hottest thing
ever.
(I might be convinced to change my mind.)
The other thing I’ve been drooling over today was an article about
eyeglass lenses fit to a guy’s bridge
piercing. By itself, it’s just fucking cool. Add in a heads-up
display, and I might need a towel.
“We believe that building infrastructure of the
anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech (Republic) will
significantly boost the defences of a united Europe,” Fried said. “I
want to stress that the anti-missile system is not aimed at Russia.”
The United States is investing billions of dollars a year in a Missile
Defense Initiative (MDI) system, which would combine long-range radars
and ballistic rockets to detect and shoot down missiles carrying
nuclear, bacteriogical or chemical warheads.” – (Anti-missile
shield not aimed at Russia, says U.S.)
Mmmm, what’s that
I smell? Oh yes! Money.
Those of you waiting eagerly for the ConFusion report will have to wait a little longer – must run to work! I’m bringing the photos with me though, so if I have time at lunch, I’ll make a gallery and chat a bit about it. :)
Everyone is awesome. I really end up missing the casual friendly intimacy of my lansing crew when I’m away from them for too long. We found the roving pirate ship party, and I belted out Drunken Sailor for a nifty skull-and-crossbones ribbon.
Also, we made the dance, and jadesfire55 totally won the hall costume contest with her cancan outfit.
We had lots of rum.
And some piesporter.
And I actually, for the first time in my life, ate at a delicious chinese buffet. Delicious being the operative word.
Tomorrow’s the end. Wait – it IS tomorrow, at nearly 5 am. I just thought I’d check in on you folk, make sure no one had died in my absence.
Much love
I’ll be heading to Vegas for work, to arrive the evening of Thursday the
1st of Febraury. While I’m out there, I’ll be hopefully meeting a
friend of many friends of mine, Steve. I should also be spending some
time with Jeska, and (in a shocking bit of coincidence), K.T.!
I’m so geeked. I fly directly from Vegas on Tuesday to Chciago,
wherein I’m hoping to meet up with Krystyn and any other Chicago peoples
(apply today!) before I leave Friday afternoon for D-town.
Meanwhile, I also have a corporate credit card. SCARY! It’s like a
real credit card, except they pay appropriate expenses, and technically
I’m responsible for all bills. Oh and they’ll kick my ass if I use it
inappropriately. *grin*
It’s a crazy life.
I saw this in a random journal I was reading, and I’m listening to appropriately conceptual-y music, so I thought I’d put this here, both for others to read and for me to come back to:
To consider the meaning of life, it is necessary to examine what someone leaves behind in the wake of her absence. What impressions has she made upon the psyches of those who’ve known her? What impact has she made upon the lives of people touched by her words and deeds, her lessons and example?
When I think of what life means, I think of a garden. Every plant that starts from seed grows in rich soil that was made all the richer by the decay and reintegration of its forebears, sort of like how we all benefit from the lessons learned from the generations before ours in the form of family stories or history lessons, legends and fables. Every seed emerges from the soil seeking light, and as children, we only want to be loved and nurtured as well. With proper tending, watering, feeding, and training, we flourish; without these things we often languish. When we see a plant or a person that thrives despite harsh conditions, like a daisy growing out of a crack in the pavement, we are in awe of the singularity and beauty of its very existence.
I’m going to skip all that stuff about biological imperatives to reproduce, because that’s not where I’m going with this metaphor. Life is fragile, and our appearances on its stage but brief and ephemeral occurrences. We do not choose to be born rose or dandelion, nor do we choose whether we are sown in freshly turned soil or rocky crevice. We must make of it what we can and live to our fullest potential, to see another day of sunshine, to breathe, to drink from the earth, and to grow. We just have to do our best not do harm to our neighbors, nor to have harm done to us, and to just be. In due time, we will wane and make way for our successors, and hope that our lessons and stories will fertilize their imaginations and help them as much as our predecessors’ had for us.
Mostly for my lansing homies, who will totally appreciate this.
link | The 7,500 lbf engine is the first of its kind, as methane-oxygen (a fuel-oxidizer combination superior to those currently in use today) has long been ignored by large aerospace companies and NASA as having too much “technology risk.”
… methane-oxygen will be the method of choice for future Mars explorers, as they will be able to utilize indigenous resources (the atmosphere) to create a great deal of methane from a small hydrogen feedstock. Robert Zubrin, founder of The Mars Society, has proven this feasible (study pdf).
Wiis in Abundance at Best Buy This Sunday? ( http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-entertainment/wiis-in-abundance-at-best-buy-this-sunday-229314.php )
Hey, you find your treasures at the show, and I’ll find mine.
:D
(all of these were shot off-the-cuff with my digital, while lugging tripod and videocam)
