CharmingGeek.net Funness

Summer’s around the corner, and I’m excited. Summer is my favorite season in DC. Summer is probably my favorite season anywhere. I still don’t think it gets hot enough here for long enough in the summer, but I’m burning fossil fuels as fast as I can to get that global temperature up.
I need faster internets.
And finally, via The Manolo, I present you Verka Serduchka

Whenever I decide to brave the stoplights on my way to work, I pass a business sign that says “Wisdom Tax”
My initial reaction is always the same. “Man! They will find a way to tax anything!”

Too much caffeine. Can’t get to sleep.

I just finished cleaning my apartment, which is kind of a big deal because I’ve been seriously putting it off for over a week, and just half-heartedly putting it off for a while before that. It’s also not such a big deal, as the whole place is only 460 square feet. It took me about two hours to give the whole place a thorough scrubbing. Makes me like having a small home.

Okay, we’re not Perdue University, but I am glad to see that my Alma Mater made both the MPAA (#14) and the RIAA (#9) lists of top pirating universities.

Our hearts ever hold you N C STATE in the folds of our love and pride.

In related news, the world’s third largest record company, EMI, has agreed to sell their music DRM-free on iTunes. The music will also be offered at twice the sound quality of that already offered on iTunes and similar music download services. Welcome to the digital age.

Here’s a breakdown of some of provisions in the emergency war supplemental

#3: Goat Gouda

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been experimenting a little with cheeses. Back in small-town NC, there was American, Cheddar, Swiss, and Parmesan (which came in a can). I find a few more choices at my neighborhood Giant and Safeway. Then Whole Foods has the most indulgent selection of cheeses I’ve ever seen. So, from time to time I’ll pick up a block of something that looks interesting and smells aromatic. I really enjoy the dry, salty cheeses like Pecorino Sardo. I’ll occasionally pick up a blue cheese, like most recently a potent gorgonzola. My consistent favorite is a smoky goat gouda, though. It’s a relatively dry cheese with a pleasing aroma, and a smooth, sweet flavor. It has a bit of a bite, which makes it exciting, but not as much as the blues. It also melts nicely over a warm burger, a feat that is not easily accomplished with the incredibly dry pecorinos. Actually, the last three meals I’ve cooked at home were juicy hamburgers, heavily seasoned, mixed with a little spinach and topped with a couple of slices of Gouda. Also recommended with crackers, potatoes, or Fillet Mignon.

Over the past three decades or over the past hundred years, it’s well accepted that the Earth has gotten warmer – at least by measurable amounts. It’s also well accepted, but not often acknowledged that over the course of the Earth’s history, it has been a lot hotter and a lot colder. Well, this article about polar bear populations in Canada suggest that the warming isn’t as bad as many have claimed. Last year’s tropical storm season also attests to this.
Now, I’m something of an environmentalist myself and an avid reader of The Treehugger. I highly recommend Treehugger as a resource for radical and reasonable environmentalists. And yes, it is possible to be both.
And now I get to the point of this post. Global warming has been called THE defining issue of our generation worldwide. Now natural climate change is well, natural, so it’s really Man Made Global Warming that is of concern, and these days, it’s our release of CO₂ or carbon dioxide that catches all the blame. (I wonder if the politicos and environmental pundits keep saying CO₂ for fear that people will figure out that carbon dioxide is the same stuff that we and every other animal creates each time we breathe.) I believe a reasonable view of this can go anywhere from man’s effect on global temperature is negligible to man’s effect on global temperature could cause “catastrophic” change over the next two centuries. I’ll briefly note that Gore’s claims of near-instant catastrophic climate change does not fall within that range of reasonable. Personally, I’m in the negligible to insignificant category. This excellent global warming video says normal solar patterns are the cause of global temperature change and this article on planetary warming supports the video’s claims.
Now that we’ve dispelled any unfounded, sensationalist theories about carbon dioxide, can we focus on some real issues like that scum floating on top of the Potomac?

I was harassed by St. Louis police officers for driving too cautiously.

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Later I remember that when I was pulled over (by one officer in a golf cart, and one in a squad car) I was wearing sunglasses and a sleep mask.