tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:51:47 +0000Opinions, thoughts, & recommendations.http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/index.htmnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)Blogger138125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-8454454566849770763Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:51:00 +00002010-03-14T19:51:47.102-05:00 This blog is now located at http://blog.cratchit.org/. You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here. For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to http://blog.cratchit.org/feeds/posts/default. http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2010/03/this-blog-has-moved_14.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-1944142513732751821Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:51:00 +00002010-03-14T19:51:44.981-05:00 This blog is now located at http://blog.cratchit.org/. You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here. For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to http://blog.cratchit.org/feeds/posts/default. http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2010/03/this-blog-has-moved.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-7888265503969623987Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:07:00 +00002010-02-22T19:16:56.798-05:00OK, I'm a geek, aaaaaand a Trekkie. So much so that I sat down last June and GIMPed myself a picture of -- well -- me, in Starfleet gear (TOS, natch!). This was deliberately done in Filmation style.(For those that are wondering, Filmation produced the animated Star Trek series in the 1970s.)This being my pic, done by me, I took the liberty of un-greying my beard. And yes, it's science officer http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2010/02/geeky-pleasures.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-8467673693701427298Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:20:00 +00002010-01-28T10:38:07.695-05:00Although it's yet another "intellectual thriller" -- this time involving NASA and US Presidential politics -- it's not stamped out of the same mold as every other Dan Brown book to date. That is perhaps the second-most incredible thing about it. The most incredible thing about this book is that I actually enjoyed it, against my better judgement.But let's get the unpleasantries out of the way http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2010/01/review-deception-point.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-6796846346467373579Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:23:00 +00002010-01-16T20:00:24.185-05:00"...tired of hearing about Haiti. Why can't [we] hear about someplace cooler like Kenya?"This was posted to Facebook by one of my children. I responded, "Because, my cold and calculating son, natural disasters are not slaves of fashion. We will discuss."What follows is the gist of that discussion. PLEASE read this through to the end, as I think it's well worth it.Once there was a small boy who http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2010/01/charity.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-6514393123284639746Sat, 16 Jan 2010 15:33:00 +00002010-01-16T12:10:11.403-05:00I "adopted" Union after having left the USAF. Here are some reasons:Now, obviously, this film is a piece of propaganda. I mean that in a good sense... "propaganda" is a word that literally means "promotion" (not "lies" as is sometimes thought). Now, watch the film and notice the number of times the word "go" is used. You go to Spartanburg, go to Greenville, go to Columbia, go to the mountains, gohttp://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2010/01/my-home.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-7191544717931852411Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:30:00 +00002009-12-29T17:29:31.977-05:00One of the things I've noticed about social networking sites is that they really cut down on the blogging, and a bunch of other things I should be doing as well, both on- and off-line. Once in a blue moon I make resolutions, and as it so happens, the New Year coincides with a "blue moon" (the second full moon December). The only resolution I have for this coming year is to try to meter myself andhttp://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/12/critical-thinking-for-new-year.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-3753864325905674507Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:36:00 +00002009-12-11T12:18:49.132-05:00I'm really geeking out about something right now.For a while I've had an idea for a sci-fi concept which I call a "vacuum propeller". The concept is that a ship can be propelled by exploiting the quantum fluctuations in empty space. Ever since Stephen Hawking wrote about the phenomenon I thought it was pretty cool, and that this would be a cool application for it if it could be exploited. The http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/12/quantum-propulsion-and-other-random.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-5167951273656961298Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:36:00 +00002009-11-29T17:37:49.831-05:00It's http://www.youtube.com/leighdfNews at 11.http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/11/ive-got-youtube-channel.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-3601366523921907700Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:25:00 +00002009-11-01T10:38:23.015-05:00In the Washington Post of 30 October 2009, Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols call for government subsidies for print news media. In this desperate bid to save their own outdated jobs, they use a sort of twisted logic that only a carnival sideshow contortionist could truly appreciate.They argue... well, read it for yourself:What's notable about Obama's response to the question, posed during an http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/11/failing-newspapers-let-them-go.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-6145313568204379112Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:20:00 +00002009-10-30T00:35:39.687-05:00The results are in. Edmunds.com is reporting that, according to their analysis, the government's "Cash for Clunkers" program cost the taxpayers a whopping $24,000.00 per vehicle sold. Twenty four thousand dollars per car is a pretty hefty price tag.(Taking their cue from Prince, the government refers to the "Cash for Clunkers" program as "The program formerly referred to as the 'Cash for Clunkershttp://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/10/cash-for-clunkers-behind-24k-per.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-6728481568999807955Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:05:00 +00002009-10-21T11:13:23.344-05:00Good gravy... I'm beginning to feel a bit like Job.First it was my stove: only two of the eyes were working, then the thing started sparking whenever I turned on the left-front eye. So I replaced it. The toaster oven went bye-bye, too... I found that out when while the stove was out of commission. New toaster oven.Then my kitchen faucet sprang a leak. New faucet, new sprayer, too, since the old http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/10/appliance-trouble.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-5460783062069556480Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +00002009-10-21T11:17:12.467-05:00It's out. Here's the full text of the Baucus bill... not a summary. http://finance.senate.gov/press/Bpress/2009press/prb101909.pdfThanks to AudacityWatch.com for the link. Obviously, I haven't had time to read all 1502 pages... I've skimmed through some of it.Section 1301 describes how you will be taxed if you do not maintain health insurance (whether you need it or not) to the tune of $750 per "http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/10/update-on-baucus-healthcare-bill.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-2131221412811121536Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:30:00 +00002009-10-19T12:02:21.465-05:00From the occasional reviews you read here you might get the idea that I often wait until long after a movie is out of the theatres and onto DVD before I watch it. You'd be right. You might also get the idea that I'm more likely to write a bad review than a good one. Right again. It's very rare for a movie to be good enough to move me to write a review. The reasons are two-fold.1. Movies that http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/10/outlander.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-6259689328860332100Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:15:00 +00002009-10-20T18:59:58.796-05:00Have you read the various healthcare plans put forth by the Democrats? If you're like most of the Democrats voting on these things, you haven't.In the House, there's H.R. 3200 "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009" (text) (pdf)In the Senate, there's the Baucus Health Reform Plan (link) Now, this one is interesting, in that Senator Baucus claims that it's too difficult to post the full http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/10/what-obamas-healthcare-plan-doesnt.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-1067080504766829313Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:21:00 +00002009-10-07T18:49:57.685-05:00...Politics. Yeah, we've got trouble right here in Union. And I hate talking politics.As widely reported (link), Former Union county sheriff Howard Wells and four others have been indicted for various alleged crimes. (These are on top of two high-profile convictions last year: our former mayor, Bruce Morgan, and former City of Union Building and Zoning director Jeffrey Lawson for extortion and http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/10/with-capital-t-and-that-rhymes-with-p.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-4404786977085915964Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:13:00 +00002009-09-28T00:31:21.143-05:00After having watched that turkey the other day, I am so incredibly jazzed to have seen The Hunt for Gollum, a 40-minute fan film from Independent Online Cinema.Here's the trailer.Director Chris Bouchard and his crew at Independent Online Cinema have nailed everything. The cinematography, the costumes, the music, the acting, the locations, the CGI... 100% spot-on. And most amazingly, they did it http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/09/best-fan-film-ever.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-2798132874548073911Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:52:00 +00002009-09-27T12:14:11.728-05:00I wish I were moved to write more positive reviews. Star Trek was refreshing. Sadly, Battle for Terra isn't. It could have been. It should have been. Here's the trailer:I'm going to start this with saying something positive. The animation is competently done, and the video has a really cool 3D cover. There. I've said it.Now, you can't view the trailer without noticing this is a "message movie". http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/09/battle-for-terra-yawn.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-8674776866425584194Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:05:00 +00002009-07-11T17:53:36.727-05:00An extremely interesting debate between Michael Shermer and Dinesh D’Souza.Part 1: MonologuesPart 2: DialogFor what it's worth, and for my own part, I think D'Souza "wins" the debate hands-down. D'Souza is the better speaker, more natural, and comes across as more reasonable. He's also more focused on the core aspect of the debate. He looks at the bigger picture of values that are central to all http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/07/is-christianity-good-for-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-6621524269196273095Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:37:00 +00002009-07-11T14:43:05.270-05:00Michael Shermer has posted a rather interesting take on Liberals, Conservatives, & Libertarians on his blog, called Left, Right & Center. I've weighed in several places in the comments, as "DangerMouse".http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/07/left-right-center.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-3410637599627885855Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:20:00 +00002009-07-04T11:23:52.171-05:00Happy Independence Day, especially to those people who have fought and sacrificed for our freedoms (including my friends Bob Pierotti and Diane Arstein, who posed for this picture so many years ago).http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/07/happy-independence-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-2412284726582568529Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:58:00 +00002009-06-19T01:05:28.379-05:00I've updated my music pages, replacing the static ones with Blogger pages. This allows me to update more frequently and easily, and it also provides up-to-date RSS and Atom feeds without me having to hand-code them as before.With the update we have some new music:Doves is a funereal tribute to a neighbor.Numbers on a Clock is an ode to Time.I've got more new and old songs to post in the future. http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/06/new-music-2-new-songs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-6995876143865353569Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:56:00 +00002009-06-17T08:58:49.522-05:00I'm more than slightly sick of hearing that Journalism is dying. Mostly this is coming from print journalists who have finally noticed that the newspapers for which they work are going the way of the dodo. They whine and moan about the Web, and blogging, and how all of this is diluting the information stream and degrading the quality of reporting.It's bullshit, every single cotton-pickin' word ofhttp://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/06/journalism-is-dying-whatever-shall-we.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-6780734624354968884Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:32:00 +00002009-06-06T07:47:20.685-05:00Well, last night was opening night of Can't Live With 'Em, this summer's Boogaloo play, in which I play Benny, a blind roofer.The opening went more smoothly than we could have imagined, although another actor, who shall remain nameless to protect his dignity, forgot to say his most crucial line, which was critical to establish the storyline for all the scenes that followed. Despite repeated hintshttp://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/06/cant-live-with-em.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15424766.post-2842213794147300351Sun, 24 May 2009 18:00:00 +00002009-05-24T13:31:47.622-05:00I know I said I'd post this tomorrow, but the last one was kind of sad, and I feel obligated to make up for it. I've written about my mother before, in eulogy. This is more of a straight remembrance of who she was.What I can say about my mother is that she was simply the best person I have ever known, in the most literal sense.First, I'll get the unpleasantness out of the way. She left my father http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh/2009/05/memorial-day-part-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dave Leigh)0