Monthly Archives: October 2007

The GOP Is Getting Predictable

Posted on October 31, 2007 by arensb

EDGE Boston gives us the setup: [Richard] Curtis, elected to the [Washington] state House three years ago, voted in the spring against a measure to provide domestic partnerships to gays and lesbians. In 2006, Curtis came out against an anti-discrimination … Continue reading →

Posted in FFS, News, Politics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Tenth Anniversary

Posted on October 25, 2007 by arensb

I didn’t notice it at the time, but last week was ooblick.com’s tenth anniversary. Woot! If you have time to waste, you can browse the Wayback Machine’s archive of crap I used to have.

Posted in Site News | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Knowing Like A Crossword Puzzle

Posted on October 24, 2007 by arensb

If you enjoy solving crossword puzzles, you may have found yourself in the same position as I did the other day: “Thug” is “GOON”, obviously: the O’s fit “OIL” and “NOTONYOURLIFE”. As for the G, well, I know nothing about … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous, Science | Leave a comment

A Step Closer to Good Electronic Books

Posted on October 18, 2007 by arensb

I got to play with a Sony PRS-505 digital reader at a bookstore today. Basically, it’s an electronic device about the size of a slim paperback, with a big screen on which to read electronic books. According to the signs, … Continue reading →

Posted in Geek, Miscellaneous | Leave a comment

Ben Stein vs. Daniel Dennett

Posted on October 16, 2007 by arensb

There are people out there who want to keep science in a little box where it can’t possibly touch God.[…] Scientists are not allowed to even think thoughts that involve an intelligent creator. — Ben Stein in the teaser trailer … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion, Science | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Proof that We Are Beloved of God

Posted on October 16, 2007 by arensb

(Update, Dec. 12: Welcome, ShoutWire-ites! I’m glad y’all liked this entry, but please don’t leave a comment if you’re retarded or can’t recognize sarcasm without a blinking 72-point smiley.) The Astronomical Observatory of Padova gives us this picture of the … Continue reading →

Posted in :-), Religion, Science | 14 Comments

Embryology and Programming Languages

Posted on October 11, 2007 by arensb

If you’ve never thought that the way molars develop in mammalian fetuses is way cool, you should read this article by PZ Mhieares at Pharyngula. It’s all about one substance in the environment of the developing jaw saying “you are … Continue reading →

Posted in Hacking, Science | Leave a comment

Practice Safe Sex!

Posted on October 10, 2007 by arensb

By now you may have heard about the late Rev. Gary Aldridge, friend of Jerry Falwell, who was dead in his home, with… well, why don’t you just read the autopsy:

Posted in :-), News, Religion, WTF? | Leave a comment

Should the Word “Atheist” Even Be Used?

Posted on October 7, 2007 by arensb

In his talk at the Atheist Alliance convention this past weekend, Sam Harris decided to go all contrarian, and argue that we shouldn’t even use the word “atheist”. While he makes some good points, I feel that on the whole, … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism | 2 Comments

Pattern Substitution as Funky Iterator

Posted on October 3, 2007 by arensb

I have a project in which I have a row of cells, and a number of segments of given lengths, and I need to try out all of the ways in which the segments can fit into the row. If … Continue reading →

Posted in Perl, Things I've Learned | Leave a comment