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You say Hellmann's, I say Best Foods...
Aside from actually having seasons and having the sun set on the wrong side of the water, the East Coast requires a whole new food product vocabulary. It seems that some companies decide to sell the...
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Nuclear despots separated at birth
Someone made the observation today that Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, "the Father of the Nuclear Navy," looks like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons: What do you think? They are both old white guys with large...
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Rodeos and Burgers
Today I went to my first rodeo. ...the bulls thrash around, and the bullrider tries to stay on for eight seconds; after this minimum time, they try to get off without getting trampled, gored, or...
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Not Just Reading The Scarlet Letter
I stumbled across a newspaper article about the high school which is literally across the street from our apartment, Wando High School ("Home of the Warriors!"). It seems that if students violate the...
View ArticleBack again!
Why no posts, Luke?Yes, I've been terrible about posting...and this was exacerbated by my web server going down. If you're interested in web hosting services, $12 a year really is too good to be true....
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The Joys of Croquet
LTJG Erik "Big E" Olson sizes up his next shotThanks to heavy lobbying from one of our number, the 0402 officers spent some time playing croquet. Yes, croquet. You wouldn't think that a bunch of manly...
View ArticleOpen TSP to All Americans
I recently emailed Senator Feinstein--always a fun part of democracy, even though her website pretty much admits that at one's opinion is merely "tallied"--about Social Security. Here's the substance...
View ArticleAnother Reason Why Old Star Wars Better Than New Is
Geoff Pullum analyzes Yoda's syntax in a fun Language Log post, noting how Yoda tends to do two separate things: First, pull various phrases to the front of their clauses (in "XSV ordering"), as in...
View ArticleSubmarine FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about SubmarinesHaving returned from a ride on the ALABAMA, I thought I'd post answers to questions folks have been asking me:Do you have any windows?Nope. NR-1, the Navy's...
View ArticleSubmarine Movies
So, what's the best submarine movie? Clearly Das Boot is the classic choice, although The Hunt for Red October, with its Cold War drama and classic Sean Connery lines ("One ping only!") is a close...
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OHIO in the News
OHIO Media DayWe recently had our Return to Service ceremony (basically the same thing as a Commissioning ceremony except that OHIO was never de-commissioned), so OHIO is now all over the web! Here are...
View ArticleCrash Into Stereotypes
I just finished watching Crash, an ensemble film likely to win a number of awards (including, perhaps, the Oscar for Best Picture?) this year. WARNING: Spoilers below if you haven't seen the...
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Is Jesus Red or Blue? The Politics of Bible Translations
Just as it is supposedly possible to tell someone's political party from their consumer preferences, you can separate the Blue and Red Christians based on which translation of the Bible they use.While...
View ArticleThe World's Healthiest Food for Thought
My friend Bryan is fanatically devoted to a book called The World's Healthiest Foods. You can preview author George Mateljan's list of healthy foods on his website. Of course, I'm more concerned about...
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Know-Nothing Veep: How the VPILF Broke My Heart
...the trouble is that...the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. - Bertrand Russell, "The Triumph of Stupidity"I'll admit it: John McCain had already broken my heart--wooing...
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La Dolce Via: How to Drive in Italy
Three major tips for understanding Italian driving. For even more excitement, follow my example and learn to drive stick at the same time!1) CARS ARE BIG SCOOTERS - Italians can’t drive cars until age...
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Born Again in Siena
I was born in 1979. That waning year of the Jimmy Carter administration and stagflation was also the last time that Civetta (the "Little Owl") won the Palio, Siena's twice-yearly medieval horse race....
View Article(Minor) Error in Congressional Report...and Obama Tax Calculator
In researching the debate over whether or not to let the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA, otherwise known as the "Bush tax cuts") expire for the top two tax brackets,...
View ArticleCongress's Secret (Research) Service
I did some more research into the debate over tax policy and small businesses, and found a number of sources (including BusinessWeek) citing a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report by Dr. Jane G....
View ArticleThe Missing Giants Victory Speech
Throughout the overly-long, poorly-amplified, oddly language-segregated, yet still thrilling Giants World Series victory rally at Civic Center Plaza today, no speaker really hit the right note. Here's...
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Equally Attractive Non-Alcoholic Beverages
At a social function, plenty of people can't or don't drink, due to age, religion, health, addiction, pregnancy, or being the designated driver. Nevertheless, they should still have something tasty...
View ArticleCanadian Provinces and US State Equivalents
I had always heard that Alberta was “Canada’s Texas”, but what about the other provinces? Here’s my go at it:Alberta is Canada’s Texas (big hats, oil, conservative cowboys)Ontario is Canada’s New York...
View ArticleHow many people speak Hawaiian?
Geoff Pullum made the assertion at the Symbolic Systems Forum that "Hawaiian is almost a dead language," which prompted a (presumably Hawaiian) audience member to object that the are a number of...
View ArticleWhat are you?
I recently attended a photo shoot for the Hapa Project, which is designed to "promote awareness and recognition" of multiracial people with some Asian descent. The idea is, they show all these pictures...
View ArticleArticle 22
How to Cross the Street Like a New YorkerI'm currently on leave from Nuclear Power School...or, techically, the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command (NNPTC)...or, even more technically, I'm on leave...
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