Pluto and Friends
There’s some interesting news news from the International Astronomical Union this morning. They may be about to settle on the definition of a planet…and there are more of them than you think. (For those of you who don’t remember this stuff, you’re supposed to think there are nine of them.) The sticking point has been… Read more
Nikon D80
This is probably a great idea: That’s Nikon’s just-announced D80 digital SLR. From what I can tell, it’s the 10 megapixel imaging technology from my D200 repackaged into a D70-style body for consumer pricing. It’s probably slower, lighter, and less rugged, but it’s definitely cheaper, with an MSRP of $999.95 for the body. Here’s a… Read more
DEA at MSI
I took a few hours yesterday to drive down to one of my long-time favorite places in Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry. Chicago Museum of Science and Industry I haven’t been there in years, and I wasn’t exactly looking forward to this. That’s because I wasn’t there to see the Leonardo da Vinci… Read more
This Ain’t World War III
A bunch of people out there, mostly from the right wing, have started referring to the collection of Middle East conflicts as “World War III.” That’s nonsense. Not because this couldn’t be the start of another world war—who can tell?—but because we’ve already had World War III. We called it the Cold War. Sure, it… Read more
“It’d be better if I had cancer”
“It’d be better if I had cancer, then you wouldn’t tell me what I’m going through is just a phase…You wouldn’t see my condition as a lack of willpower, but the disease that it truly is.” So begins one of the new public service announcements from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America—the geniuses who brought… Read more
Classical liberalism, criminal laws, the war on drugs, economics, free speech, technology, photography, sex work, cats, and whatever else comes to mind.