Notice Me! (but only as I want you to)

Denis Mangan: Hipsters Ask for Criticism, Want Only Praise -- "For the record, this woman does indeed look disgusting. "

I'm honored

Nick,
I'm honored, or at least flattered, that you've asked me to be a contributor to your blog. But, I'm going to have to decline, at least for now.

'Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer'

I recently realized that the whole point of 'Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer' *isn't* that "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose", nor is it that "and if you ever saw it, you would even say if glows".

No, no, no, Gentle Reader: the whole point of 'Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer' is that the other reindeer had brown noses.

I had long been sure

I had long been sure that 'Vox' Day' isn't really a Christian, no matter what he calls himself, and now he admits it (while claiming to actually be a fundamentalist Christian). Yet, somehow, while I'd noticed that his "little godism" of "Open Theology" accords neither with Christianity nor with reason, and that it accounts for many of his other failures of understanding, I hadn't known that he explicitly denies the Biblical doctrine -- and the very basis of Christianity -- that Jesus the Christ, a human man, is Lord, is God, [edit: and that Jesus, 'the Son of God', is distinct from 'the Father', both of whom are distinct from 'the Holy Spirit'.]

On 'Energy Efficient' Light-Bulbs

Or ... About those "Mercury Vapor Bombs"

Michael A. Walsh in the New York Post: Gray Dawn: Green Bulbs, Black Hole --

On New Year’s Day, in addition to a hangover, America will wake up in the pale winter light to one grim consequence of the Bush administration’s never-requited desire to be loved by the left: the traditional 100-watt light bulb will be banned for sale in the United States.

At the height of the panic over “man-caused global warming” (one of history’s greatest frauds), lawmakers felt compelled to be seen to do something, and Edison’s bright bulb made a handy fall guy.

...

Even with all the evidence to prove that the 2007 stampede was a mistake, those “radical” House Republicans couldn’t muster a majority for their July attempt to reverse the ban. So the standard incandescent 100-watt bulb - like booze during Prohibition - will disappear from store shelves come the first of the year, to be followed in turn by lower wattages until the lowly 40-watt bulb goes the way of the dodo in 2014.

The mercury-filled CFL bulbs will still be available, and advanced halogen-incandescent bulbs that meet the new standards are already available. An executive at Philips, which is making the new bulbs, claims that the ban has “created more choice for consumers.”

More revenue for the manufacturers is more like it - the new incandescent bulbs will cost about a buck apiece more than the old ones.

As far as “choice” goes, Energy Secretary Steven Chu was more frank: “We are taking away a choice that continues to let people waste their own money.” This, from the guy who green-lighted the $535 million taxpayer loan guarantee to Solyndra, the now-bankrupt solar-panel manufacturer, among other “green jobs” black holes.

For these luminaries, the only good choice is one that wastes other people’s money.

Beware when government officials are keen to be seen to do something -- the result will all but inevitably make things worse for Everyman ... while funneling funds from his pocket into the pockets of select constituents of those government officials. -- "For these luminaries, the only good choice is one that wastes other people’s money."

edit:
Also, isn't it odd -- we're supposed to freak out about *any* mercury used in industrial processes, which can be monitored and potentially improved, lest even a smidgen of mercury "escape" into "the environment"; yet the mercury-based CFL bulbs are to be used by the billions, in conditions in which their "safe" disposal cannot be ensured, nor even monitored. I wonder, is the next step a monthly "inspection" of all homes, so as to ensure compliance with "proper" (i.e. expensive, both in terms of money and of time-and-effort) disposal of CFL bulbs?

edit2:
House votes to block enforcement of light bulb rules -- but, until Congress overturns the particular law, that 'ban' hasn't gone actually away.

Women's Hair

This is a link to an *old* post at Drew's blog: Women's Hair. I link to it so as to draw Gentle Reader's attention to the comments left by some women in response, most of which are irrational-bordering-on-insane.

Don't be fooled again

By way of Vox Day -- ESR: Seven Eight Warning Signs of Junk Science