Sailor punished for accidental sleepover (via Queer Landia)

March 5, 2011

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The military is making progress, but there are still plenty of bigots and homophobes in the ranks. We can only hope that some higher-up will put a stop to this eventually. It certainly does not reflect well on the Navy.

Sailor punished for accidental sleepover Petty Officer Stephen Jones is being discharged from the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in South Carolina for "unprofessional conduct". What was this claimed "unprofessional conduct"? Jones and  Petty Officer Bryan McGee accidentally fell asleep on the same bed while watching CW's Vampire Diaries. Jones wakes up when his roommate walks in, then right out again. Then Jones wakes up McGee and they part ways. The very next day Jones's roommate … Read More

via Queer Landia

Phasers not included

March 3, 2011

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What happened to X-37A? Photo credit: USAF/Vandenberg Air Force Base

The Air Force is getting ready to launch the X-37B sooper-secret space plane Friday, March 4, 2011, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.  (Actually, it’s launching from the next-door Cape Canaveral Air Force Station)  It’s a big secret, though, so don’t expect launch-to-landing coverage on NASA TV for this puppy.  Unmanned, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound….  oops, sorry, I mean able to remain in orbit for up to 270 days, the new ship is a test platform for something.  What that something is, or what those somethings are, remain a secret.  So while the X-37B is a secret space plane, it’s not a secret, but what it does IS a secret.  Or something like that.  Read all about it at Space.com.  Well, not ALL about it.  Just something about it.  If we told you the rest, they’d have to kill you. And maybe us.  So let’s not go there.

That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

March 3, 2011

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I’m not sure when I first became aware of them.  That has to do with how I wake up most mornings. At some point I realize I’m awake, but I’m never quite sure just how long that’s been so.  Once I noticed them, it seemed they had been there forever.  But the thing is, they weren’t there yesterday.  Not even last night.  Now they were just there, and I wasn’t sure what to do about that.  Early on, I wasn’t convinced they were really there at all.
On some mornings the ceiling fan above my bed is the propeller of a huge plane, about to land on top of me.  Other mornings it’s an avenging angel ready to smite me for my heathenish ways.  Most mornings it’s just the fan, hanging above the bed.
So… when I first became aware of them, just sort of “there”, staring at me, I simply rolled over and thought to myself “no more Taco Bell that late!”.  The trouble was, when I rolled back over a few minutes later, they hadn’t vanished into the dream world.  This was a bit confusing, since it usually only takes a moment for the real world to assert itself, and banish the imagined back into the fog of sleep.
I did the eye blink thing.
Still there.
I did the eye rub thing.
Still there.
We stared at each other for a few beats, then…

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NASA Geek – NASA TV

March 2, 2011

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Watching the astronauts suit up for a spacewalk.  You can see it on your cable/satellite system, or online at NASA TV.

There is a HD feed at http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ustream.html that is actually ahead of my satellite tv system feed!  That’s a bit strange to me…  the HD internet feed is a split second ahead of the satellite feed, and well ahead of the standard internet feed.  If you’ve got a broadband connection, the HD is the way to watch online!  Spacewalks are a lot of work, but you get a break beforehand…  you just float there while your astro-buddies do all the work getting your suit ready to go!  Once you step outside, though, it’s about 6 hours of steady work, and no coffee breaks.  Bathroom breaks are a bit different, too.

Huckabee fuels ‘Kenya’ lies

March 1, 2011

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Mike Huckabee

“Thou Shalt Not Lie”

Exodus 20:16 “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” KJV

Former Arkansas Governor,  Southern Baptist minister, and potential 2012 Presidential candidate  Mike Huckabee recently fueled the “birther” lies that President Obama was not born in the United States, and is ineligible to be President.  In an interview with New York radio station WOR, Huckabee said  “One thing that I do know is his having grown up in Kenya, his view of the Brits, for example, (is) very different than the average American,” pointing to Obama’s decision in 2009 to return a bust of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill.  He failed to note that the bust was only on loan to the United States, sent to former President Bush by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair after the 9/11 attacks, and was replaced by President Obama with one of Abraham Lincoln.

Barack Obama did not visit Kenya until he was 26 years old, and only visited his sister there for one month.

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Mother Nature Attempts Revenge for Dandelion Massacre

February 28, 2011

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Scene of the attempted homocide.

Visalia, CA – Mother Nature, in a blatant act of revenge, attempted to commit homocide* this afternoon.   Using one of the most pervasive tools at her disposal, gravity, the suspect, generally considered a loving, benign caretaker of all things natural, tried to revenge herself for the recent actions of a local resident, Jim Reeves, 53.

On March 19, 2010, this website published an expose, written by Reeves, about Mother Nature, revealing a heretofore secret about the favoritism shown by her towards one particular member of her menagerie.

Yes, the dandelion.  That expose, and recent attempts by the victim to remove them from his front yard, resulted in today’s attempt at  homocide*.  While the intended victim was on a ladder cleaning debris from rain gutters, Mother Nature increased friction between the ladder steps and his boots, and caused a sudden surge in the gravity field just beneath him.  While the attempt caught the intended victim off guard, a quick and graceful (well, not graceful, but let’s not argue with success) cat-like mid-air twist resulted in a safe landing feet first on the sidewalk.   The attack was thwarted by the quick reactions and general he-man-ness of the modest Visalia resident.  “She may try again,” said Reeves, “but she’ll have to do better than that.  I may be getting older, but I’m not an old man just yet! I suspect she’ll lay low for a while, but if I know her, she’ll try again. ”

*yes, we know that’s not the correct spelling of homicide.  Reeves’ insisted on this spelling.  He’s also aware what speaking in the third person means.

More Space Geek – Space Station/Discovery photographed by amateur – from the ground!

February 28, 2011

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Photo Credit: Rob Bullen

Another incredible Space Geek photo from Bad Astronomer Phil Plait.  This photo taken in the United Kingdom, from the ground!  The telescope is an 8.5 inch model, which is not all that big as far as telescopes go.  This image captured Saturday February 26, 2011.

Space Geek – Moons, Rings of Saturn

February 28, 2011

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From the space probe Cassini, in orbit around Saturn:

Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait says:

The moon at the top is Rhea, which is about 1500 km (950 miles) across. We’re looking past its south pole here. The moon farther away is Dione, which is 1100 km (700 miles) in size. And since Cassini was very nearly in the plane of Saturn’s equator, the rings are nearly edge-on. Note that Dione is on the other side of the rings as seen by Cassini, so the bottom of the moon is obscured by the rings. We can’t see Saturn itself, but it’s off to the left in this shot.

Rhea is only a little bigger than Dione, but is a lot closer in this shot: 61,000 km versus 924,000 for Dione! That’s why Dione looks so much smaller. As seen by Cassini in this shot, it’s actually more than twice as far as our Moon is from the Earth. Both moons are composed of mostly water ice, with some rock. Both have been heavily battered by impacts, as you can see.

Republicans Are Insane

February 27, 2011

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The place:  Georgia (the State, not the European country)

The evidence:  HB 1

The author:  Rep Bobby Franklin (R)

What he’s done:  has introduced a 10-page bill that would criminalize miscarriages and make abortion in Georgia completely illegal. Both miscarriages and abortions would be potentially punishable by death: any “prenatal murder” in the words of the bill, including “human involvement” in a miscarriage, would be a felony and carry a penalty of life in prison or death.

The result:   Under Rep. Franklin’s bill, HB 1, women who miscarry could become felons if they cannot prove that there was “no human involvement whatsoever in the causation” of their miscarriage.

See the Mother Jones article, here.

First it was redefining rape.  Then changing the designation of domestic-abuse victims to “accusers”.  Now if you can’t prove your miscarriage was natural, they want to charge you with murder.

Insane.  Completely, totally, over-the-edge, insane.  Anyone who can in good conscious be a Republican must simply not understand what their party stands for these days.  The elephant has lost it’s mind.

Rainbow Delegation Distributes Free Wristbands (via Queer Landia)

February 26, 2011

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Rainbow Delegation Distributes Free Wristbands Everyone deserves to be loved and accepted 27 year old Fresno native Matt Mazzei founded Rainbow Delegation in August of 2010.  Since that time, he's sent free wristbands to every continent except South America and Antarctica.  You read that correctly, the wristbands are free for the asking.  A symbol of supporting and safe individual, the wristband signals the wearer's approachability to anyone in the LGBTQ community who might need an ally, or e … Read More

via Queer Landia

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