I can’t believe I missed Oklahoma. I’m embarrassed, but I guess forty-nine out of fifty isn’t too bad.

[Via Paul Hsieh (who I beat by one)]

As a world-class procrastinator, I found this essay on the subject very interesting. At least, once I actually took the time to read it.

It has a lot of insights that seem obvious once you read them, but are brilliant nonetheless. Kind of like James Welles’ thesis on stupidity.

I dunno. To me, they all suck.

Could be.

Certainly, it’s very long in the tooth, and it lasted quite a bit longer than the age of battleships (the transition between the true was, arguably, abrupt, occurring on a quiet Sunday morning in Hawaii in early December 1941).

It will be interesting to see how new space capabilities start to trump conventional air power in the next few decades.

I just heard a Fox News half-hour announcer say “John C. Stennis has just left his home port…”

No. John C. Stennis “left his home port,” permanently, a dozen years ago. This news story was about a ship. It should have been read, “The John C. Stennis has just left her home port.” Yes, I know it sounds strange (particularly given how little gender-driven English is, compared to, say Romance languages or German), but that’s how it’s done.

The California citrus crop may be wiped out from the cold. I blame George Bush.

I’m not a Christian, or an adherent to any other major religion, but I want to wish a very merry Christmas to all who welcome it. Probably no posting tomorrow. Enjoy your gifts.

If this happened tonight, it would make things seem a lot more like Christmas around here (currently in the eighties and muggy, with a forecast low in the seventies tonight). The current weather forecast for south Florida for New Years Eve is temperatures below freezing. We’ll see if that forecast holds up over the week.

[Christmas Eve update]

D’oh!

I’d forgotten that I’d switched my weather forecaster temporarily to Atlanta. Forecast for Boca is low of fifty degrees on New Years Eve…

…with a coarse-toothed comb?

Just wondering.

Today’s Woot offering is pretty funny:

If the scientist is going to use a home entertainment projector for the head, which one would we prefer him to use?

Woot feels the answer might be the InFocus IN72 Home Entertainment Projector. First of all, just look at it. This thing has awesome robot head written all over it. Not since HAL has there been such a perfect anthropomorphic design, allowing you to choose between:

a) breaking the ranks of soldiers by causing them to flee before your electronic snarl as you march on your state capitol or the state capitol of others.
b) breaking the ranks of soldiers by inviting them to stop and enjoy high quality movies or television in your new living room theater.

Also, the thing has sold out already, and it’s not even 10 AM on the east coast.