Random
catdynamics | January 25, 2008Frosty friday, but no snow! We can has snow?
Oh, mighty iPod, we approach thee - is the key insight retrograde asymmetry on long time scales?
Woosh goes the randomizer.
Woosh.
The Covering: Don't Look Back in Anger (live) - Oasis
The Crossing: Land of Confusion - Genesis
The Crown: American Music - Violent Femmes
The Root: Energí Og Trú - Stuðmenn
The Past: Blindfullur - Stuðmenn
The Future: The Only Flame in Town - Elvis Costello
The Questioner: Isolation - Joy Division
The House: Brimful of Asha - Cornershop
The Inside: Parachutes - Pearl Jam
The Outcome: Clock - Elementz of Noise
Wow,…
catdynamics | January 24, 2008Jason Jones' quest for a Modern Valkyrie ends
Comedy Show's great two part visit to Iceland reaches its dramatic conclusions
For your viewing pleasure.
The similarty to a committee meeting I just attended is eerie... somethings are just universal.
It is funny. when Jason went to her apartment, he of course showed everyone where she lives - just down from one of my aunts, and about 3 block across from one uncle and a couple of cousins. And about a block from the apartment we stayed in the other summer (though Herdís must have been either in Brussels or Baghdad at the time). Hm, I wonder if…
catdynamics | January 23, 2008Finally, the Comedy Show starts airing the sequence shot in Iceland last autumn.
and who says scandihoovians have no sense of humour
It is worth seeing, if you missed the show - guess this is one benefit of the writer's strike.
Part II tonight, worth staying up for.
Hey, just remember You heard it here first... - Dynamics of Cats is months ahead of everyone else when it comes to cutting edge comedy and world geopolitics!
catdynamics | January 18, 2008I need photos of cats.
Cute, quirky or feline. Whichever.
As long as they are cat only or cat dominated, they are your pictures (you took them and own copyright) and you're willing to let me use them online lightly photoshopped for text and trimming. I'll provide link, acknowledgement or anonymity as desired, but I need a couple of dozen or more photos.
So send them in. Please..
UPDATE: thanks everyone. Between commenters and private e-mail I have a rather nice selection. Keep an eye out for your favourite wee beastie appearing in a subtly photoshopped kosmological concept.
I'm still…
catdynamics | January 18, 2008Snowy sunny friday, and the big chill is moving in, finally.
So, we ask the tres cool iPod - whence the Frontier?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: Floreat Inertia - Half Man Half Biscuit
The Crossing: Við Gróttu - Stríð Og Friður
The Crown:Accident Waiting to Happen - Billy Bragg
The Root: I Only Have Eyes For You - Billie Holliday
The Past: Science Fiction/Double Feature - Richard O'Brien
The Future: Now And Then - Arlo Guthrie
The Questioner: Bought Me A Cat
The House: Í Háttin Kl. 8 - Stuðmenn
The Inside: Time Flies By (When You're A Driver of a Train) - Half…
catdynamics | January 17, 2008Love and Sex with Robots
Colbert just had David Levy, author of "Love and Sex with Robots" on
Quite amusing, quite good and quite likely predictive, although reality will no doubt surprise us.
And, most of it was covered at some point by 70s science fiction writers.
But, a significant fraction of these robots are likely to have core OS which are linear descendants of Microsoft Windows... "Blue Screen of Death" anyone?
Puts an entirely new perspective on La petite mort...
I'll leave other obvious puns to the reader.
catdynamics | January 15, 2008Iain M. Banks "Matter" - a Culture Novel: Feb 2008 Orbit Books.
h/t Brad
catdynamics | January 14, 2008ScienceDebate 2008 is a an idea whose time has come.
But, it may not happen.
So, maybe we can make our own debate.
via NASAwatch
There is a pair of primary debates coming up - Jan 30/31 for the republicans and democrats respectively.
It is sponsored by CNN, politico.com and the LA Times.
Politico is soliciting on-line for questions to the candidates.
Keith over at NASAwatch suggested his reader swamp it with NASA policy questions to try to get one into the actual debate. Scienceblog readers could do the samesomething similar - send in a lot of good, coherent, concise question on general or…
catdynamics | January 11, 2008Cold rainy friday, as winter returns.
So, we ask the iPod - what is in store for us this spring semester?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: Are We The Waiting - Green Day
The Crossing: Old Dan Tucker - Bruce Springsteen
The Crown: Ch'Ella Mi Creda - Pavarotti
The Root: Peter & the Wolf: The Processionto the Zoo - Prokoviev
The Past: No More Heroes - Stranglers
The Future: The Muffin Man
The Questioner: Song Of Encouragement For The Orme Ascent - Half Man Half Biscuit
The House: Ihr eingeweihten Diener der grossen Gotter - Mozart
The Inside: Stalin Malone - Elvis…
catdynamics | January 8, 2008Argh, Yule tide came and went and I never noticed!
Billy Bragg Podcast #9
Holy crap! Billy and Natalie Merchant did a cover of "Birthday" by the Sugarcubes... and they didn't put it on the podcast. Argh! Billy does Einar!
AND Billy Bragg Podcast #10
and he has a new album out. "Mr Love and Justice" indeed.
Oh, and may I say, "Old Clash Fan Fight Song" off the Johnny Clash EP is absolutely brilliant. Can be heard on Billy's MySpace - wait, they let geezers onto MySpace?
catdynamics | January 4, 2008A thrilly, chilly friday across the mid-section; but a warm breeze is from the south and west is scooped up from a high straddling the south-east, to bring warmth to the northeast...
So, we ask the Mighty iPod: the Iowa caucus results - are they random vagaries or the start of the mighty movement?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: Carnival of the Animals: Royal March of the Lion
The Crossing: Ég á lítinn Skrýtinn Skugga
The Crown:John Peel Tribute - podcast
The Root: Bewahret euch vor Weibertücken - Mozart
The Past: Orgasm Addict - Buzzcocks
The Future: State Troopers (…
catdynamics | January 2, 2008Now that I have joined the call for ScienceDebate 2008, what do I think...
NB: these are my personal opinions and representative of nothing more profound than the WVU vs OU game being rather uninteresting... ;-P
US politics are bistable - the two-party system is a design feature that is hard to break and is disturbingly entrenched in the infrastructure. Ok, it beats the one-party system by a large margin, but I still have an affinity for more general n-party problems...
Party annihilation/creation operations are rare, roughly once-per-century tunneling events. Typically political…
catdynamics | January 2, 2008The US Presidential candidates ought to have a debate with a topic focus of Science and Technology
For me, the US Presidential primaries and elections are a spectator sport.
I live here, I am politically moderately aware and interested.
I pay taxes, lots and lots of taxes; for which I receive less than I like, and I do understand it is a trade-off, I would accept more services for higher taxes, if delivered with some efficiency and honesty. I don't get to vote (hey, that's not fair... ).
I am also a recipient of federal science funding (well, mostly as a conduit to well deserving graduate…
catdynamics | January 2, 2008"Go Michigan!"
I don't know which bothers me more, that my children sat there yelling "Go Michigan" at the television yesterday, or that I actually, for a moment, cared.
And all because I made some disparaging comment about Florida.
Ah well, at least we should have slightly fewer comments about the innate superiority of the SEC. Wisconsin made a good show, but Could Have Done Better.
Now I suppose I have to hope Ohio State also wins.
Going Native.
This is very worrying.
Then, after checking that Penn State had really won its game the other night, but that it had not been The Championship,…
catdynamics | January 2, 2008Hrmph.
My Terribly Useful Collection of Assorted and Divers Rubber Bands Of Various Sizes and Colours has completely disintegrated.
This is what happens when one tries to implement vague new year's resolution type thingies.
In all those years, I don't think I used a single one of those rubber bands. Who knew.
On the other hand, it turned out I had a backup stash of Assorted and Divers Paper Clips.
Handy that.
catdynamics | December 28, 2007Final friday of lucky ol' seven.
So, we approach the Mighty iPod and ask with intrepidation: what is in store for '08?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: Long Time Gone - Dixie Chicks
The Crossing: The Miller's Dance - Julian Bream
The Crown: Love WIll Tear Us Apart - Albert Kuvezin & Yat-Kha
The Root: I Am A Lonesome Fugitive - Roy Buchanan
The Past: A Pilot Flies Her Plane Plane Plane
The Future: Nýir Siðir í Hálsaskógi - Thorbjorn Egner
The Questioner: Brain Stew - Green Day
The House: Pretty Girls Make Graves - Smiths
The Inside: Snowman - Spilverk Þjóðanna
The…
catdynamics | December 24, 2007Kertasníkir - it is down to the wire, the last elf is in town, he'll try to swipe the candles from the kids hands (which might leave them vulnerable to the Christmas Cat!).
As he comes, his oldest brother, Stekkjastaur, gets ready to leave as the brothers celebrate the 12 days of christmas in town.
tlambert | December 23, 2007I didn't write this. It is a guest post from Mrs Lambert, so be nice.
Everyone knows the Christmas story. Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem, the Inn is full so Mary has to give birth in a stable. The story sounds sweet, emphasizing the humble circumstances of Jesus' birth.
But that's not the message people got from the story two thousand years ago. Here's the way they would have seen it:
Mary is pregnant, but Joseph, the man she is engaged to, is not the father and everyone knows it. Mary would have been labeled a whore.
Joseph didn't reject her despite the huge social pressure on him to do…