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Office of Naval Contemplation

Nov. 24th, 2009

11:44 pm - Caption Contest Winners



The winner of Caption Contest CXVII is [info]stride:

Now I am the Geek King!
First runner up is [info]myshanter:
LOrd, let hom notice my shirt is not red.
Second runner up is [info]dragonluk:
Must... control... screwdriver of death....!
Third runner up is [info]scaper84:
All bets were off once the RSC started using live steel.

Nov. 22nd, 2009

05:51 pm - First line meme answers

There are two unclaimed lines amongst the ten I put up last month. They are:

8. The Bachelor Home Companion: A Practical Guide to Keeping House Like a Pig, by P.J. O'Rourke

9. The Road to Serfdom, by F. A. Hayek

Nov. 19th, 2009

Nov. 12th, 2009

11:25 am - Fun fact of the day

Under common law, rotating a donut in place by 90 degrees may be considered larceny (theft), but rotating a pie the same way cannot.

The difference being that the common law definition of larceny requires that the thief gain physical control of the object and move the entire object. The entirety of the rotated donut has moved, but the exact center of the rotated pie has not.

Of course, in either case, the thief must intend to steal the confection in question. If you're just rotating donuts for the lulz, there is no theft. Case law around the distinction in question generally occurs when a thief is interrupted in the process of stealing, and it's an important question whether the Rubicon was crossed before the would-be thief is interrupted. For example, a guy trying to steal a wheelbarrow has only committed larceny once the wheel has moved across the ground, not just when he lifts the handle.

Nov. 11th, 2009

Nov. 5th, 2009

12:08 pm - I see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot

Today is the 404th anniversary of the foiling of a coup plot whose goal was to replace the British government with a Catholic theocracy. For some reason, the trigger man for the key element of the plot has in recent years come to be regarded as a hero for freedom and liberty.

Possible culprit #1 -- A hyperfocus on what the Gunpowder Plot was seeking to replace, while what they wanted to replace it with has largely been forgotten.

Possible culprit #2 -- Mel Gibson, who in Braveheart and Braveheart II taught us to equate fighting for liberty with slaughtering the English.

Possible culprit #3 -- V for Vendetta, which is awesome as a work of fiction, but which reinforces the confusion about the historical situation by showing us a highly charismatic Anarchist who wraps himself in Guy Fawkes symbolism.

02:48 am - Caption Contest CXVII



[Yes, that's David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. No, it isn't photoshopped.]

Nov. 1st, 2009

Oct. 27th, 2009

02:35 pm - Caption Contest Winners



The winner of Caption Context CXV is [info]evilben:

Everyone always thought of Pandas as cute and lovable. This is why their child pornography ring came as a shock to the world.
Honorable mention to [info]rustycoon:
"Oh shut your whiny trap and smile, punk. I'm a baby panda - you don't know the FIRST THING about embarrassing photos."

Oct. 22nd, 2009

06:02 pm - In the mail

Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815 (Oxford History of the United States) [Hardcover]
By: Gordon S. Wood

Peter the Great [Mass Market Paperback]
By: Robert K. Massie

The Night Watch (Watch, Book 1) [Paperback]
By: Sergei Lukyanenko

Rosemary and Rue: An October Daye Novel [Paperback]
By: Seanan McGuire

Oct. 21st, 2009

06:07 pm - First lines meme (from [info]kamili)

Post the first line (or few lines) from ten of your favorite books, then let people guess (in the comments) what books they're from.

1. The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory. He's got esprit up to here. Right now, he is preparing to carry out his third mission of the night. Snow Crash, guessed by [info]dragonmagelet

2. "I've watched through his eyes, I've listend through his ears, and I tell you he's the one. Or at least as close as we're going to get." Ender's Game, guessed by [info]kamili

3. When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton. Lord of the Rings, guessed by [info]kamili

4. Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral Arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, guessed by [info]dragonmagelet

5. I always get the shakes before a drop. I've had the injections, of course, and hypnotic preparation, and it stands to reason that I can't really be afraid. Starship Troopers, guessed by [info]scaper84

6. I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. I visited my wife's grave. Then I joined the army. Old Man's War, guessed by [info]scaper84

7. A dark, stormy night. A coach, horses gone, plunging through the rickety, useless fence and dropping, tumbling into the gorge below. It doesn't even strike an outcrop of rock before it hits the dried riverbed far below, and erupts into fragments. Soul Music, guessed by [info]gnatdbug

8. This book is addressed to the true bachelor, an adult male and a gentleman, who has never married and never intends to. We are a select group, without personal obligation, social encumbrance, or any socks that match.

9. When the course of civilisation takes an unexpected turn, when instead of the continuous progress which we have come to expect, we find ourselves threatened by evils associated by us with past ages of barbarism, we blame naturally anything but ourselves.

10. There was never any thing by the wit of man so well devised, or so sure established, which in continuance of time hath not been corrupted The Book of Common Prayer, guessed by [info]rsmith23

Oct. 20th, 2009

07:52 pm - Reading list

I have an Amazon.com Visa card, which gives me amazon gift certificates as a kickback for 1% of everything I charge on it. Since I recently bought and renovated a fixer-upper house and charged most of the renovation expenses to my visa card, I now have a huge pile of gift certificates to use, and I need to figure out what to buy with them.

So far, my list is:
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire

I need more books on this list. Any ideas?

Oct. 19th, 2009

10:13 am - Caption Contest Winners



The winner of Caption Contest CXIV is [info]evilben:

Years before Robin, Batman tried taking other sidekicks home from the circus.
First runner up is [info]baronlaw:
The Batmobile just wasn't good in the African jungles, this did not stop Batman.
Second runner up is [info]daedalus4096:
Holy pint-sized pachyderms, Batman!

Oct. 12th, 2009

11:43 am - Caption Contest Winner



The winner of Caption Context CXIII is [info]random_girl:

And that's when the hitter realized the catcher was a zombie bent on the destruction of the entire team, nay, the entire crowd.


The image is Yankees Center Fielder Melky Cabrera (batting) and Oakland Catcher Kurt Suzuki. A wild pitch had just almost hit Melky, who jumped out of the way and lost his balance. Meanwhile, Suzuki was diving to retrive the ball, and the two collided.

Oct. 6th, 2009

Aug. 20th, 2009

Aug. 18th, 2009

10:56 pm - Caption Contest Winners



The winner of Caption Contest CXII is [info]makellan:

This one time, at Burning Man...
Honorable mention to [info]evilben:
And with this baby, King Leonidas realized he didn't need 300. Three would do.

Aug. 17th, 2009

Aug. 11th, 2009

Aug. 3rd, 2009

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