This is amusing.

Type in “go to hell” in Google (be sure to use the quotes), and see what site comes up numero uno.

Here’s a very interesting read in Chicago Magazine. It’s an interview with David Schippers, and the reporter has obviously gone from a skeptic to, well, something else, on the subject of the Middle East connections to Oklahoma City.

This story is slowly sprouting legs.

[Thanks to Lloyd Albano]

[warning: amusing to unix geeks only]

$ su –
Password: *********
# rm -rf /bin/laden

[Thanks to Malcolm Street from sci.space.policy]

I’ve gotten a couple emails indicating that Blogspot Watch is showing that blogspot is up when it’s clearly down for maintenance, according to their web site.

I could in theory refine it to account for this, but it would both involve more sophisticated programming, and increase the bandwidth load from the checking, because right now it only looks at headers, rather than the full page. The latter is probably not a real concern, given the millions of hits that they get daily, but it was one of the considerations when I refined the original design, per the suggestion of one of their programmers.

Its basic purpose was only to determine whether or not the server was available, not whether or not all was going well on it. So when there’s a maintenance problem such as today’s (or whatever it is), it’s going to give a false positive. I’d like to do better, but as one emailer suggested, I don’t have time right now to increase the quantity of free ice cream.

December 12, 1941

WASHINGTON DC (Routers) Despite yesterday’s declaration of war against the US by the German government, some in Congress are concerned about becoming embroiled in a war in Europe, when we are apparently so ill prepared to defeat the duplicitous Japanese, who only five days ago attacked and decimated our Pacific fleet in Hawaii without warning.

Many fear that the US, still mired in the deep economic depression of the past decade, lacks the resources to take on separate foes on three separate continents and two oceans, particularly when it seems so unnecessary, and a diversion from our true enemy.

A former State Department analyst put it in perspective. “It was Japan that attacked Pearl Harbor on Sunday, not Germany. We don’t have positive knowledge that the Germans deliberately attacked the Greer last September, and if they did, is that sufficient to risk our Pacific war effort with our more immediate enemy, the Japanese? After all, they didn’t sink her. And if it’s cause for war now, why not on September 4th?”

Many independent military analysts agree that America is ill prepared to fight a war against Japan, let alone one on multiple fronts. The nation’s aircraft are outdated by those of the enemy, our navy was inadequate to the task even before the loss of so many ships and brave sailors in the Pacific fleet on Sunday, and the armed forces are severely understaffed. Just to gear up to wage war on Japan will require massive rearmament and recruiting of personnel.

Roosevelt Administration officials, however, scoffed at the notion.

A high-ranking undersecretary at the Department of War said that, “America is quite capable of fighting all of our enemies as needed. The factories are already gearing up, and the American people have our full support. Enlistment has never been higher.”

“It’s ludicrous to think that we could ignore a government that has declared us our enemy, and simply wait until he’s become even more powerful to take him on, as we’ll have to do inevitably. This talk of ‘containment’ of Hitler by the Russians is whistling past the graveyard. We must engage him now, and force him into a multiple-front war. We can afford it–he cannot.”

But one high-ranking Senator who oversees the War Department, who wished to remain nameless, pointed out that “…yes, they’re allies of Japan, but Germany is no real threat to us. They have their hands full with the Soviet army right now, and this declaration is simply bluster on their part. Indeed, the President’s precipitate action in declaring open fire on all German and Italian vessels yesterday has unnecessarily widened this war, perhaps far beyond our present capabilities to wage it.”

Off the record, a former War Department analyst put it best:

“Until we’ve got Tojo’s head on a platter, this war won’t be over. Anything that distracts us from that is a victory for the attackers of December 7th.”

(Copyright 2002 by Rand Simberg)

Robert Forward has died.

He was a brilliant man, a titan in science, technology and science fiction. Probably no single man came up with and fleshed out more concepts that may ultimately result in our visiting other solar systems.

He was the king of anti-matter propulsion, but he also developed concepts for star travel via light sail. In addition, in more mundane matters (relating only to travel in our own solar system), he was a leading light on the care and use of tethers.

I have many (literally) vivid memories of him, particularly of his sartorial oddness. He was a man quite comfortable in a rainbow hued vest amidst a group of gray suits and ties. His ideas stood out in much the same way. I deeply regret that he didn’t have the opportunity to see many of his ideas come to fruition.

Richard Poe says that the big-government-loving media ignored one of the biggest stories of September 11–the spontaneous, non-governmental evacuation of lower Manhattan, in which up to a million people were removed from danger under fire, in just a few hours.

Boy, I take a little one-week vacation, and Instantman takes over my space column at Fox News.

I just noticed that my page is screwed up. I’m hoping that adding this post will fix it.

We had a good flight into Maui, and are renting a cottage in the upcountry, on the lower slopes of Haleakala. We drove up to see the crater this morning, and took lots of pictures, but don’t expect to see any before I get back (if then) because the bandwidth sucks here–I’m on a bad phone connection. We’ll probably go back up tomorrow morning, but this time early enough to see the sunrise. We could see the big island, but no signs of the most recent eruption at Kilauwea.

I had a great time up in Hollywood last night. I met Martin Devon, Moxie, Brian Linse, and Ann Salisbury, and talked to Emmanuelle Richard, Eugene Volokh, Mickey Kaus, Ken Layne, Laura Crane, and (too briefly) Matt Welch sans the now-immortal-in-more-ways-than-one cowboy hat (as always). And thanks to Matt for the mention of my site in his devastating critique of the latest lame LA Times attempt to be relevant. Brian Doherty and Sara Rimensnyder of Reason were there, too. As usual anyone who didn’t have a good time, probably didn’t deserve to.

Patricia is trying on her new wet suit and fins, and getting everything packed. We’ve rented a house on Maui for the next nine days, and will be leaving in the morning. There were too many odds and ends today to post much, but look for my column on Fox this weekend (it’s a repeat of the Buzz assault hoax) and I might check in from Hawaii, but don’t bet on it. Back a week from Monday.

[Update at 6:30 PM PDT]

The Fox column is up now.