Before I forget, I should plug A Fire upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge. I’ve heard of Vinge before (as the author of The Coming Technological Singularity), but this is the first time I’ve read his fiction.
AFutD is good. Not much spiritual depth, but some moral dilemmas for our protagonists that I’d rather not deal with in Real Life™. Some very though-provoking ideas about technology pushed to the nth degree. And really alien aliens, not just humans with funny makeup. I enjoyed meeting the wolfpack Tines and the naturally sessile (before cybernetic enhancement) Skroderiders. I’m also highly impressed at Vinge’s ability to set up a galaxy-menacing threat whose ultimate outcome could still depend on the actions of our human and alien protagonists.
Victor Lams reads Justin Raimondo. And he’s been commenting insightfully in St. Blogs, and I heard him call in to Kresta. And, he’s sort of local, too. Hi Victor!
Got together with a whole bunch of ex-coworkers (from an ex-company) this weekend. Had a really good time. Was more than slightly amused to note that homeschooled kids formed a majority at the party.
Of course, a standard conversation beginner was this:
“So, how many kids do you have now?”
“Four.”
Responses at this point varied from an enthusiastic “Cool!” to “Are you crazy?”. (Answer: “Probably.”) I’m taking this as further proof that we’ve entered The Large Family Zone™. Or, (taking my cue from MCJ), I Can’t Believe They’re Not Roman Catholic!™
This is wrong on so many levels …
Anne Wilson points to this NY Times op-ed on the place of King Corn in American life.
So. We are overproducing corn. We are using it to create soft drinks, junk food, and heart-destroying fatty beef. Oh, and helping to breed superbugs too. All while tying our agriculture to Middle Eastern oil. Could we be any more stupid?
Nancy’s reaction (after the initial horror) was to want to know “who did this to us”? This is a very good thought (not that I’m enough of a journalist to dig out the answers myself), but it seems important to remember that this situation is not an accident.
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