The rogue demon hunter warns city council of possible zombie attacks
 Actual news from an actual newspaper, ladies and gentlemen...I assume this was an April Fool's Day prank, but if it was, the best part is that the reporter had no idea how to write about it.It started as insightful and articulate, especially compared to most public-comment hokum.
Georgia transplant Wesley Wyndham-Price calmly stood before the City Council, cautioning members about downtown's derelict emergency-preparedness plan. City elders are "insouciantly" unaware of risks to City Creek Center, he warned.
Wyndham-Price even paused to joke that Georgia's saltwater taffy is better than Utah's. "I hope that is not an ad hominem," he shrugged.
Then he got specific and all reason helicoptered into the ether.
City Creek needs an emergency-preparedness plan, he demanded, against zombies.
"Zombies are fierce," he said as a crammed council chamber laughed nervously. "They are going to catch us in there."
Wyndham-Price admitted he never has seen a zombie attack but is sure one is coming. And shoppers could be sitting ducks in a sky bridge. Read the full articleLabels: Buffy, humor, Joss Whedon, news
Explain this to me
Which of the following is the real threat to traditional marriage?
Is it this?
Or might it be this?
 Labels: news
This water might kill you
Think the water in D.C. is just fine? Think again.
 A recent Associated Press investigation found that D.C. tap water is contaminated with six pharmaceuticals (or, if you prefer, drugs) that include ibuprofen and something called monensin, which apparently is an antibiotic typically given to cattle. Also, just for good measure, there's a dash of caffeine in our drinking water, too.
So yeah. I know bottled water is bad for the environment, but if it comes down to the environment versus my health, I'm sorry, but the environment loses.Labels: news
And now, a special announcement
Ladies and gentlemen...boys and girls...put your hands together for Annie Lynsen as she makes a special announcement.
"Ahem. Thank you all for being here today. I shan't impose on your time for long. I just wanted to let you all know...
I've got a new job!
My last day working for the ELCA will be Jan. 18. I'll be taking a week off and then, starting on Jan. 28, I will be the brand-new manager of online content and communities for KaBOOM!
What is KaBOOM!? I'll let their web site speak to that:Celebrating eleven years of success in 2007, KaBOOM! is a national nonprofit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. KaBOOM! was founded in 1996 by Darell Hammond and Dawn Hutchison in Washington, D.C. KaBOOM! has used our innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct nearly 1,000 new playgrounds, skateparks, sports fields and ice rinks across North America. KaBOOM! also offers a variety of resources, including a website and online community, regional and national trainings, grants and publications for communities that wish to plan a new playspace on their own. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago, Atlanta and San Mateo. Needless to say, I'm excited for the opportunity to work for such a unique and cool organization (one that has a freaking TIRE SWING in their front office!), and I'm excited for the chance to do new types of writing and more web work. There are, of course, many things I will miss about working for the ELCA, the organization I've served for over six years. And it's always a bit scary to embark on a major life change, but I just keep in mind the words on a little plaque I keep on my desk at work: 'With courage greater than your fear, leap into the unknown and you will fly!'
Here's hoping my wings are up to it!"Labels: ELCA, KaBOOM, news
Alas, poor trans fats, we hardly knew ye...
 Montgomery County, Md. (i.e. where we live) has just become the first county in the nation to ban trans fats, following in the examples set by New York and Philadelphia. And apparently this ban is really going to suck for churches who do annual suppers.The county's new health regulation will take effect in January for restaurants and other establishments serving food and in January 2009 for establishments offering baked goods, other than packaged goods made outside the county.
Sara Lee cakes, for example, will be exempt. Dunkin' Donuts, which bakes doughnuts in its stores daily, will have to comply. The annual church supper, which fits the county's definition of a food service establishment, would have to stop using trans fatty oils unless organizers get a waiver from the county health department. Foods with 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving are allowed. Labels: culture, news
I feel an apocalypse coming on
Washington has yet to see a single flake of snow this winter, and I think we're all beginning to feel an apocalypse coming on. Today, for example, it's 62 degrees - last Saturday, it hit 72.
In further apocalyptic news, Josh and I both upgraded our cell phones to the ever-popular Motorola RAZR. And just to prove we're super cool (and have the same exact taste), we each got the T-Mobile exclusive Dragon Tattoo design, which hopefully won't lead to too much confusion when we're grabbing our phones in the morning.
Also new and cool in our lives:
Battlestar Galactica continues in its quest to be the awesomest sci-fi show ever - we just got seasons 2.0 and 2.5, and will be finishing watching them before the season 3.0 marathon on Sci-Fi tomorrow. However, as awesome as it is, our big quibble with the show is the exorbitant price for its - ahem - HALF-season sets. Even on sale, they're priced well above most full season sets, and you only get 10 to 13 episodes per set. I'm sorry, but an SRP of $50 on a half season is way too much to ask in today's market.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, given to Josh for Christmas, continues to captivate us when we have the time to sit down and dedicate ourselves to it. The first dungeon was particularly awesome - you have to rescue monkeys so they ultimately can work together to swing you to the boss battle area.
Guitar Hero II was Josh's Christmas gift to me, and it's been really fun. Since it's been out awhile, I'll give you a quick spoiler - among the unlockable songs are Spinal Tapp's "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight," and "Trogdor." Aww yeah. I'm almost done with the medium difficulty section of career mode, but I'm already pretty sure I'll never be able to get through song 1 of difficult mode.
Since Amazon is having a post-Christmas DVD sale of epic proportions, I used some of my Christmas money to purchase the complete series of Angel in slim sets for $20 a season (though Josh had to get season 1 from Best Buy to get the slim set for $20 - Amazon only has the older packaging for $20, go figure). (Hear that, Universal? $20 for a FULL SEASON.)
And for a very reasonable $15, you can pick up the complete, short-lived series Police Squad! on DVD, which is every bit as hilarious as I remembered from renting it on VHS tapes in days of yore. Best line:
Mob Boss: "Who are you? How did you get in here?"
Lt. Drebin: "I'm a locksmith. And I'm a locksmith."
Finally, we found another awesome restaurant in downtown Silver Spring, where I had the best burger of my life - McGinty's Public House. Josh had the fish and chips, which were light, not greasy, and served with both tartar sauce and lemon aioli. Delightful!Labels: DVD, news, restaurants, silver spring, technology, TV, video games
"Gentlemen, welcome to my moon base"
NASA wants to build a moon base.
Yes, you read that correctly. A moon base. Like the kind Dr. Evil used in "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me." Personally, I'm hoping it's a two-section base, and that NASA uses the same naming convention Dr. Evil used: Moon Unit Alpha and Moon Unit Zappa.
(If you don't get the joke, check Wiki.)
In all seriousness, though, I'm torn on this idea. The 6-year-old boy in me is jumping up and down, applauding wildly at NASA finally dreaming big again. But the pragmatic 29-year-old man I am wonders if there are better uses for this money...Labels: astronomy, humor, news
Farewell, Pluto
It's official. Pluto is no longer a planet.
The International Astronomical Union voted Thursday to demote what had been our solar system's furthest flung planet. (So what is it now? I don't know. Details were sketchy as the Associated Press scrambled to release a preliminary, two-paragraph article. And the IAU site is down as I write this.) The vote concludes decades of astronomical debate over Pluto's planetary worthiness.
If you read my previous entry on this topic, you'll not be surprised that I'm saddened and somewhat angered by this vote. I know that our scientific views must change as our understanding of the universe changes, but I believe demoting Pluto contracts rather than broadens our interstellar intelligence.
Had we kept Pluto among our planetary lineup, and followed an IAU recommendation to promote its main moon, Charon, to planetary status, we would have seen our system's first dual planet. This was a fascinating proposal, and one I fully supported.
But astronomers thought otherwise. From what little I can gather, our solar system now officially sits at eight planets, ending with Neptune.
For me, though, Pluto will always be a planet. Revised textbooks may say otherwise, but the heck with them. I'll stick with the one I bought last night for posterity.Labels: astronomy, news
"Because I guess Dictionary.com was down or something..."
Pondering Planets
Josh says:
One of the clearest memories I have of elementary school is standing in the library, reading a book about the planets.
It was a simple book, of course, but I remember it referenced the debate over Pluto. Most astronomers said the object's nature and orbit was enough to qualify it for planetary status. Others argued the object was probably a stray Neptunian moon, and had no business being called a planet.
I resolved then that Pluto was indeed a planet, and people should stop picking on it. So the kid in me rejoiced this week at the news that Pluto should retain its planetary status. Hopefully, now people will leave Pluto alone.
But the solution proposed by the International Astronomical Union is problematic. The new definition of planet -- an object (1) that was formed into a sphere by gravity, and (2) orbits the sun rather than a planet -- retains Pluto but adds three more planets to our solar system.
Pluto's largest moon, Charon, gets promoted because the two bodies actually circle each other as they orbit the sun. The recently discovered object beyond Pluto, nicknamed Xena, also becomes a planet. The final planetary promotion goes to Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
I'm all for inclusion, but calling Ceres a planet is like calling six blades of grass a lawn. Its diameter is 580 miles. That's less than the width of Texas. Ceres isn't worth planetary status. It isn't even worth footnote status. And this is coming from the guy who thinks Pluto is on par with Jupiter.
There has got to be a better way to resolve this debate. The IAU only strengthens the how-low-can-you-go argument with its new, more liberal definition of planet. I fear the proposed promotion of Ceres could create a backlash among astronomers, and that poor Pluto could get caught in the crossfire.
I really hope that doesn't happen. Because that book I read in elementary school 20 years ago should be expanded, not condensed.Labels: astronomy, news
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