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This is the best information we can get from reporters on anything that's scientific. 140-year-old supernova. The supernova is 140 years old and "near the galactic center"? Did I miss a memo again? I thought it was 50,000 light-years to the center of the galaxy. Does this mean that the star actually exploded 50,140 years ago?
Or does it simply mean that if you look at the center of the galaxy (somewhere in Saggitarius) you will be close to looking at the supernova in question? Do they mean that the spherical coordinates are close to the spherical coordinates of the galactic center?
How far is the supernova remnant from Earth? They don't say. Is it 140 light-years away? Nearer? Farther? Did the thing actually explode 140 years ago, or did the light from the event first reach us 140 years ago?
The article is unclear and worthless. On reading it the third time I think I understand what they're trying to say, but you shouldn't have to read a news article even twice to understand what it's saying.
I think they're saying that the supernova remnant is very far from Earth but that the first light of its explosion should have reached us in 1868. (Not that the star exploded in 1868.)
Sean Penn talks politics. And thus "removes all doubt" when he accuses Barak Hussein Obama of having a "phenomenally inhuman and unconstitutional" voting record. WTFF? He's treating Barak Hussein Obama as if he were a Reagan Republican! Then again, considering the fact that his daddy was a card-carrying Communist, and the fact that the apple has apparently not fallen far from the tree, I suppose Barak Hussein Obama appears to be a Reagan Republican to Sean Penn. (Mainly because Sean Penn is batshit insane.)
He goes on to say, of Barak Hussein Obama, "I hope that he will understand, if he is the nominee, the degree of disillusionment that will happen if he doesn't become a greater man than he will ever be."
Could someone translate that into coherent speech for me? How can one become greater than he'll ever be? I mean, that's like saying, "This gallon jug had better be able to contain six quarts."
However, I notice that Natalie Portman has betrayed Hillary Clinton (R):
...by saying she is endorsing neither Barak Hussein Obama nor Hillary Clinton.
This is why you should live in fear of DCFS. The Department of Children and Family Services can ruin your life, and they can do it with the impunity of the SS in Nazi Germany. This couple did nothing wrong; yet at the end of the imbroglio, their savings have been wiped out and they were unable to adopt the children they wanted to adopt.
Someone I know was accused of molesting a teenaged girl. The girl was the daughter of a friend of his; he was a childhood friend and the daughter was on really good terms with him. Then she went to his place for a week-long visit. When she got back, she accused him of molesting her.
The girl in question had been hospitalized for attempting suicide; she was bipolar, anorexic, and a cutter. She'd worked her way out of the hospital to a "halfway house" and was allowed out for things (such as this visit).
She was shocked at the furor her casual accusation inspired. I never heard about what happened to the guy, other than the fact that he was investigated by just about goddamned everyone. I suspect she made the accusation in order to garner some sympathy or attention from her therapist, but all she actually ended up doing is ruining one of her father's friendships and possibly that guy's life, too.
Meanwhile, supporters of "the religion of peace" use an 8-year-old girl as a self-guided bomb.
Ed waits patiently for Muslims to decry such an atrocity. He contemplates the fact that it's mid-May, which is too early for crickets. He realizes that if it were later in the year, at least there would be something to break the silence.
Sorry, Islam. Can't take you seriously until you start denouncing this kind of shit.
Ann, Ann, Ann! When naming him, you must say "Barak Hussein Obama" or "B. Hussein Obama"! But why be surprised? Everyone knows that it's racist to be critical of Barak Hussein Obama!
This is how you deal with union bullshit. Short form: guy gets zapped by an open power supply. Safety board tells him he violated union regulations regarding the "operation of power equipment" and so the "safety violation" will go on his permanent record.
If you think about it, his response is perfectly justifiable. If a power switch on a computer is "power equipment" which only union electricians are authorized to operate, then you must put in work orders to have union personnel operate your power switches.
No one can accuse the guy of being a dick about it. The safety board ruled that he was not authorized, under union rules, to operate "power equipment", and that the power switch on a computer was "power equipment". People get fired for violating union rules! So this guy was merely protecting himself, right?
Well, hell--if they're going to be dickheads about it, what else can he do? Go on "breaking the rules" by operating "power equipment"?
Heh.
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I was a bit mean in my reply in this thread on PFF. I understand that many people are confused about how to convert metric to standard and vice-versa, but the guy doesn't ask how to convert; he asks what parts he needs.
Trust me, he'll be a lot better off if he knows how to do the freaking math. Unfortunately too many people just want the answers handed to them, because they can't be bothered to remember a few simple equivalences and formulae. That's hard, you see, and takes effort. *sigh*
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Recall, if you will, the fact that I worked in a nursing home for seven months, and would probably still be working there if I hadn't broken my finger in 2003.
I dealt with a lot of shit--literally--while I was there, even to having contaminated water from an ileostomy bag sprayed in my face. (Just water. It was a "final flush" after I'd rinsed the bag out twice. Still, I scrubbed my face with soap and hot water, thanking God that I wear glasses and not contact lenses. And that my mouth had been closed.)
If I were a person who nauseates easily, I wouldn't have lasted a week in the nursing home. I wouldn't have lasted past my first day, when I saw a human being emit a bolus 4 inches in diameter and 7 inches long. I would have quit if I had a weak stomach. Still, this morning I (finally) emitted bodily waste which I then proceeded to take samples of, for the lab, and it was the most disgusting thing I'd put up with in a long time. It was seriously nauseating.
But it's done, at least, and I have to get the samples to the lab soon.
The ciprofloxacin continues to kick butt. Although I still have cramping and other symptoms, they're not as bad--I woke up "without half my colon" again this morning--and things are improving.
I stayed home from work last night, though.
I watched some anime, and I saw the funniest episode of Oh! My Goddess! that I've seen in a long time. Ep 18 of "Sorezore no Tsubasa", ie the second season. It was damn funny.
It starts with Mara ("Marller") working at a convenience store--and as the episode wore on it kept getting more and more hilarious, to the point that I was in pain from laughing. (Damn gut.)
Why doesn't it surprise me that Tamiya and Ootaki would hug and kiss an engine? And just when I thought it couldn't get any crazier, it went and surprised me.
I'm mystified that Steven Den Beste didn't like this series, particularly since he did like the first one.
I am getting a bit sick of the "Neko-nyan Dance" stuff in Chocotto Sister. The "KEEP OUT" censor-tape appears to have come from fansubbers because the eps which were done by Morally Bankrupt Translations do not feature it. I would like to get uncensored versions of the earlier episodes. *sigh*
Otherwise it's still a real hoot to watch.
Having forced myself to double-time Clannad, I've now caught it up to everything else on my playlist--now cry--so now I just watch ep 18 of everything--and they'll all end approximately at the same time, except for Hayate no Gotoku, which is 52 eps long. (And that's a good thing.)
(Sorry. It's become reflexive. Mention Clannad, use the "now cry" joke. Now--)
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The sour gummy worms I bought at Walgreen's on Tuesday are not very sour.
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If you are running Vista, try hitting your shift key 5 times in a row.
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It's now legal to have pate de foie gras in Chicago again. Everyone booze up and riot.