Teaching Moment

Last night when I went to pick up my wife at the UofA when boy #2 asks me, "Dad why do they have so many of those blue light emergency things all over the place"
So I say "Those are to call the cops if a bad guy try's to rob you."
"Well what if he has a gun?"
"Then you have to give him your money and call the cops on one of those phones"
"But dad, what if he shoots you?
"Then you die."
"Why can't you just shoot him instead?"
Just then I was turning onto University Blvd and right there is one of the "Gun Free Zone" signs. So I point to it and say,
"Well your aren't allowed to have a gun here on campus."
To which he replies, "Well that's stupid"

I love teaching kids with reality.

Morning

As I got out of my car this morning, for the first time this year, Sol was peaking over the mountains. It is nice to see it again but that means that I will be using the AC on my ride to work in a few weeks.

ITAR and Obama

I was just reading this article about Obama's visit to see Musk and the Falcon 9.

"The president spent 15 minutes walking around the pad and rocket asking me questions about it," Musk said. "For a non-engineer, he displayed an impressive understanding."
Musk told Spaceflight Now that Obama specifically asked what modifications are required for the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule to be ready for human occupants.

Not to sound all crazy or nothing, but did Musk just violate ITAR?
;-)

Actually, I have to give props to the pres on this one. (even a broken clock...) This should work a lot better then any manned flight NASA has done since Skylab.

How to train you dragon

Saturday we took the kids to see a movie.
I ripped my pants going under the rope to get to the end of the line quicker.
Not just a little rip either. From the belt line to the crotch just to the aft side of my back pocket. Nice. When I got to the front of the line (flashing the poor guy behind me) they told me it was full so I had to get tickets to the next show. Now what do we do for 45 minutes until then... So we walk around the mall flashing my whitey tighties at anyone that wanted to see.

Aside from the cold right cheek, I did like the movie. Good dialog, Good Story-line (simple but well written), Good development.
But I had a few problems.
1. Voice acting:
- The boy's voice just didn't seem to fit. I can't put my finger on why, but it just seemed "off" (The wife agrees and thinks it was too "mature")
- Since when do Vikings have Scottish accents? I know a Scottish accent is easy to do, and just about nobody will notice the difference, but Scandinavians aren't THAT hard to find.

2. CGI Animation: 10 years ago this would have knocked my socks off. Now it was little better then some of the animation on TV. (Hair had improved but is still a problem). Maybe that doesn't count as much for animation, as long as the writing is good and the "realism" (or lack there of) is kept constant.

3. Pixar would have made it better: Maybe I'm spoiled, but little things that Pixar would have picked up seemed to glare at me. Boy fly's through a fireball, resulting in his hair pushed back and some black smudges on his cheeks. but Pixar would have burnt off some of his eyebrows and given him a "sunburn". (and kept it on him for the next few story days)

All in all I'd give it a solid B and will probably pick it up on DVD.

Morning in the desert

In the western sky, the moon is a waning full so I don't need my flashlight to find my car. In the east, Venus is starting to lose her brightness and the outline of the mountains becomes clear, as the sky starts to lighten ever so slightly. A mile down the road I see a pair of Coyote dashing across the road. They look young but well fed. El Nino has been good to us this year.
A few miles later the mountains look clearer, contrasting black against the brighter blue. Venus is almost lost, unless you know she is there. The high thin clouds are backlit, looking like smudges of dirt. I keep glancing out the window, directly above the mountains the sky has turned almost yellow and a perfectly smooth gradient to dark blue on my left. It reminds me of a super high resolution photo but I realize that no matter how many 'megapixels,' digital photos still can't duplicate this. "Give it time and more bit depth," I say to myself. No, this is something nothing can capture, the unperceivable changes, adding up every second, slowly changing, never duplicated. Seen then lost.
I pull into the parking lot. The high clouds to the east are starting to take on a yellow outlines of rose. Sol is still a half hour away. To the west just above the roof line of the factory the Hunter's Moon still looks down at me.
Meh, Yesterday's was better

Advice for Our President

1. "Only buy stuff if you have enough money."
2. "You get more of what you reward and less of what you punish."
-"Don't reward poor people."
-"Don't punish people who create businesses and expand the economy."
Pretty radical stuff.

Aww isn't that cute....

The commies have just woken up to the fact that The One isn't anything but a politician. Who cares nothing about the people or ideals that gave him power.