Pat Buchanan takes a look at what has happened to American conservatism post-Reagan and without the USSR as a uniting cause:
Reagan defined conservatism for his time. And the issues upon which we agreed were anti-communism, a national defense second to none, lower tax rates to unleash the engines of economic progress, fiscal responsibility, a strict-constructionist [...]

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There’s a rythm to working in any city. Each city is different, but the general movements are similar. My mornings and evenings seem to fall into place, each step that was once unfamiliar now passing unconsciously as I devour whatever I happen to be reading in an attempt to better utilize the time. After leaving [...]

Filed under: Life in the Big City | 1 Comment »

I caught this interesting piece in the New York Times this afternoon on the growth of craft brewers (once micro brewers) in the United States:
In the 19th century, there were more than 4,000 breweries in the United States, brewing almost every sort of beer made in Europe and a few indigenous American varieties besides. By [...]

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I’ve just finished reading Robert Spencer’s excellent book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (And the Crusades).
 It’s my first real foray into the topic of Islam, which I previously only really understood through shadowy memories from history classes that touched on the topic. From those memories, I had always had the distinct impression that Islam [...]

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Robots are, in my Transformers-loving opinion, one of the best things ever invented because they are simultaneously heart-stoppingly scary and unfathomably cool.
What escapes the notice of most of us regular schleps is just how prevalent they’re becoming. I’ve even encountered an advanced robotics project in some of my client work.
Let’s be clear what I mean [...]

Filed under: "We're All Gonna Die!", Brave New World, Fun with Science | 5 Comments »

I’ve believed this for a long time. Maybe not since the first time I read Brave New World, but probably at least by the second time. The first time, I don’t think I was old enough to really get it.
Today, a story straight out of the book has emerged in Norway, written by my old blog-pal [...]

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Didn’t think you’d ever see those phrases in the same sentence, did you? Well, Wal-Mart and Target are selling talking Jesus action figures, and that’s apparently a description from the box.
The product test is going on in certain stores, but if you don’t want to wait, you can buy Action Jesus (or Mary) from Target.com [...]

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As many of you know, this past summer was a tragic one for our family. My wife’s mother was discovered to be missing in mid-June, and as we began to get involved and press for an investigation, details emerged that led us to believe she would not be found alive.
Only a couple of days after [...]

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If you’re like me, you have a sufficient appreciation for wine that the $3 a bottle variety doesn’t really cut it on taste, but you are unwilling, even for special occasions, to spend more than $15.
I’m finding that most wines that I really enjoy therefore fall in the $6 to $12 a bottle category. I’m [...]

Filed under: Wine | 3 Comments »