Big Stick Physics

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Sparky likes the couch.

May 16, 2024 / / 0 Comments

 

Alum Creek State Park is 15 minutes away from IKEA in Columbus.  My travel trailer is a toyhauler, so has a loading ramp.  I took advantage of that happy coincidence to buy a new couch.  I bought my last couch at the Pittsburgh IKEA when I moved into Dover Farms apartments.  That was after my first year teaching at Normandy, so 27 years ago.  Time flies.

When I sold my Cleveland Heights house, I sold all my furniture.  That house was built in 1930, and had many vintage accoutrements.  The modern oak furniture would have been too bulky and massive for a contemporary apartment.  Dover Farms was a nice, modern apartment complex, so I wanted my furniture to be compatible.  IKEA was a revelation. 

I brought most of my furniture to this house, and supplemented with more from IKEA.  Buying furniture is a tedious chore, but going to IKEA is fun.  I know that no part of my house will ever look like those display rooms at IKEA, but I can’t help trying.

Because Sparky has a bohemian disregard for modesty, the image was censored for propriety.  Sparky doesn’t agree.  That’s just how he likes to watch TV, and people should accept him for who he is.

Oblivion is great Sci-Fi, 8.5/10

May 15, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Somehow I missed Oblivion when it came out in 2013.  This is the kind of science fiction I like.  Nothing to do with time travel, not a futuristic soap opera, humans aren’t the bad guys and it’s not all CGI action scenes.  Just a great story with cool technology and aliens. 

It’s a very nice looking movie.  Everything looks almost artistic.  A couple of scenes look to have been designed to make Tom Cruise look cool.  And he does.

Continue reading

Well this is nice.

May 13, 2024 / / 1 Comment

What do people have against Monday mornings?  The sun is shining, my coffee is hot and Sparky has Mr. Moose right where he wants him.

Sparky is distracted by some promising news.  Chipmunks have been spotted operating near the house.

WSJ: Taylor Swift says, “suck it up and get to work”.

May 12, 2024 / / 0 Comments

WSJ: Taylor Swift says to suck it up.

WSJ: Taylor Swift says to suck it up.

A clear sign hustle culture is coming back is how quickly America’s office set has glommed onto Swift’s upbeat dance hit, “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart,” released in April as part of her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”

I don’t know or care about Taylor Swift, but if she is telling people to get to work, rather than wallow in sadness, I am all for it.  Her message of resilience is much more appealing than the teachers taking a mental health day because they just can’t.

They can’t even finish the sentence to explain what is so untenable.

WSJ: Medical effects of marijuana

May 12, 2024 / / 0 Comments

WSJ: Pot and health

WSJ: Pot and health

Being naturally lethargic, marijuana isn’t for me.  Being naturally libertarian, I don’t care what other people do so long as it doesn’t ruin things for everyone else. 

The “marijuana is good for everything and has no downsides” angle that shows up most in media sounds too much like propaganda.  The Reefer Madness  side isn’t convincing either.

A 2022 survey sponsored by the National Institutes of Health found that 28.8% of Americans age 19 to 30 had used marijuana in the preceding 30 days—more than three times as many as smoked cigarettes. Among those 35 to 50, 17.3% had used weed in the previous month, versus 12.2% for cigarettes.

Marijuana is everywhere.  People should be a little more concerned.

For starters, she says, the “addiction potential of marijuana is as high or higher than some other drug,” especially for young people. About 30% of those who use cannabis have some degree of a use disorder. By comparison, only 13.5% of drinkers are estimated to be dependent on alcohol. Sure, alcohol can also cause harm if consumed in excess. But Ms. Madras sees several other distinctions.

Professor Madras sounds scientific, impartial and alarmed.  I don’t know if she is correct, but more actual scientific research and informed policy would be prudent.

Instead of bankrolling ballot initiatives to legalize pot, she says, George Soros and other wealthy donors who “catalyzed this whole movement” should be funding rigorous research:

George Soros seems evil and only funds chaos in order to undermine civilization, so this is troubling.  Maybe I’m wrong.

Guardian: Michigan woman living in a sign.

May 11, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Guardian: Woman living in sign

Contractors curious about an extension cord on the roof of a Michigan grocery store made a startling discovery: a 34-year-old woman was living inside the business sign, with enough space for a computer, printer and coffee maker, police said.

I think about living in cubbyholes like this all the time.

The woman, whose name was not released, told police she had a job elsewhere but had been living inside the Family Fare sign for roughly a year, Warren said.

Living in a sign, a person could bank pretty good money.  Get a Planet Fitness membership for $10 per month to shower, and it isn’t so bad.

WOSU: Pan not recommended

May 11, 2024 / / 0 Comments

WOSU: Recommended speakers

Former First Lady Michelle Obama, NBA icon Lebron James and Olympic gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps were some of the blockbuster names recommended by students, staff and faculty for the Spring 2024 Ohio State commencement.

Those three guys have the national prominence and stature appropriate for a commencement speaker at the third largest university in the country.   For the pedantic, I mean by student enrollment at a single campus.

The last Spring commencement speaker to be recommended by the advisory committee and be chosen in the same year was Apple CEO Tim Cook, who delivered the speech virtually in 2020.

The last university president was incompetent and had an agenda, so chose speakers who weren’t suggested by the advisory committee.  All the speakers recommended by the advisory committee aren’t winners, but it’s a plausible list.  I don’t know what Morgan Freeman would have to say, but it would sound terrific.

Worst commencement speech ever.

May 10, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Outlook: OSU Commencement

A friend’s daughter graduated from OSU last weekend, so we made it a camping trip to Alum Creek State Park.  I didn’t attend commencement, but the graduate came out to the campground afterward.

I graduated from OSU a long time ago, and know it’s a big and tedious affair.  It usually isn’t so bizarre.  While the graduates were processing in, someone fell from the stadium and died.  Some of the graduates saw it happen. That doesn’t usually happen.

Ohio State is a big and well-regarded university.  Commencement speakers are occasionally important people, but they are always competent and boring.  Not this year.  When the graduate told me there were two sing-alongs, that clinched it. 

The commencement speaker for Ohio State University’s graduation this past weekend admitted to being high on psychedelic drugs, including ayahuasca. It’s why his speech went quickly off the rails.

I asked the graduate if OSU’s president was a diversity hire.  Clearly the speaker was a bad choice and the speech hadn’t been vetted.  The graduate said, “No, the last president was, but this one is pretty good.”

Yesterday, OSU President Carter said that he had nothing to do with selecting Pan as the speaker and that the process was “underway before he became President.”

“I did not review his speech. I did not know what he really was going to speak about, and again, it wouldn’t matter because once he gets the microphone, he’s got the microphone. It was certainly an interesting speech. I would say very nontraditional. There were some that liked it and a lot that didn’t,” Carter added.

I like how OSU’s president doesn’t try to defend the speech and wants to be clear that he had nothing to do with it.  He sounds competent.

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