The Writing on the Wall (Sep 24 to Sep 25)

These are some posts I found interesting over the last few days.

( Sep 24 through Sep 25 )

• Let -
• Lunchtime Quickie -

  Will someone please give this motherf*cker one of those little gold-and-lucite statuettes that says Employee of the Month?

  ^{Hat tip to Uncle Vinny!}

  

• Daddy’s Roommate Is Moving Into Wasilla -

  Gay-lesbian titles donated to Wasilla Library.

  Responding to news reports about then-Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin asking a librarian how she would feel about banning books, a San Francisco man has donated two children’s books dealing with homosexuality to the Wasilla Library.

  Mike Petrelis, a 49-year-old who files Freedom of Information requests for a living, said he was aghast to read reports of Palin’s 1996 inquiry about banning certain books at Wasilla’s library.

  The news — old news in the Mat-Su Valley, but new in the Lower 48 — prompted Petrelis to send to Wasilla “Heather Has Two Mommies” and “Daddy’s Roommate,” both children’s books that explain gay lifestyle.

  “I said, ‘I’m going to send copies of both books just to make sure they’re on the shelves,’” Petrelis said.

  I think we all should fall in love with Mike Petrelis a little bit right now.

  (Thanks to Slog tipper Davida.)

  

• Obama Responds -
• Which One Looks More Presidential? -

  I am so glad there's video of the two candidates dealing with Suspension-gate 2008. Maybe even more than the basic comparison of standing the two men next to each other at a debate, this really highlights the matter of who gives off the feeling of a confident, competent commander-in-chief during a time of crisis.

  Who looks more presidential?

  or:

  

• Katie Couric Questions Sarah Palin -

  When the un-teleprompted Palin talks, I can't help but think of that dig from E. M. Forster's Howards End–the character Helen talking (page 22 of the Penguin edition): "I felt for a moment that the whole Wilcox family was a fraud, just a wall of newspapers and motor-cars and golf-clubs, and that if it fell I should find nothing behind it but panic and emptiness."

  

• National Punctuation Day Reignites Interrobang Passion -
• How to Stay Awake at Work [Sleep] -

  Funny how insomnia works—when it's time to go to bed, you're wide awake, but at work the next day, you can barely keep your eyes open. If you're in sleep debt but need to keep alert at the office, wikiHow offers a few clever ways to help stay awake at work, like using bright light, stimulating smells, acupressure, a power nap, and high-energy music. See also our top 10 ways to sleep smarter and better.

  
  
  
  

  

  

  

• Japan planning its own damn space ladder -

  Filed under: Transportation

  

  If the third time is the charm, yet you botch that attempt just like the earlier two, then what? That's the problem facing NASA and its Space Elevator Challenge, which has for three successive years failed to live up to the vision of Arthur C. Clarke. Japan isn't waiting for a fourth, announcing plans to spend $7.3 billion on its own lift to whisk passengers (and cargo) 22,000 miles aloft on composite cables. It's the cables that are the problem, as they need to be 180 times stronger than steel and obviously much, much lighter. The Japanese are focusing on carbon nanotubes, and while they will need to be engineered four times stronger than current stock before they're up to the task, their highly conductive nature means they can not only support the lift vehicle but also power it. Useful, that, because the ride up could take a couple of days or even weeks, and astronauts will need some way to recharge their PMPs.<h6 style="clear:both;padding:8px 0 0 0;height:2px;font-size:1px;border:0;margin:0;padding:0"></h6>Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  

  

  

• Campbell Brown On The Palin Farce -