KRAD's Inaccurate Guide to Life

Grade 2 / Earth Science

True or False? Stratus clouds are typically at a higher altitude than cirrus clouds.


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There are still two sets of lyrics in the meme I did in this post that haven't been guessed yet.

A hint: both are male solo artists whose names show up a lot in the "music" field of my LJ posts.

Charles Packer of Sci-Fi Online has reviewed Star Trek: Klingon Empire: A Burning House, and given it a 9 out of 10.

Money quote:

There is little to criticise about DeCandido’s writing. It is unlikely he would have been as successful as he undoubtedly is without a great deal of talent, so you know you’re in safe hands. Characterisation and character development remains good. The plot is both intricate, believable, engaging and a little sad in it conclusion; I particularly enjoyed B’Oraq, the ships doctor, and her attempts to force an evolution in Klingon medicine. No easy task for a people who view any change as revolution.

I won't give too much of the plot away - though name dropping Rodek should give any Klingon fan a big hint about one of the plot strands - to do so would be to ruin a very enjoyable novel.

This is the sort of e-mail you love to see. From my editor on Supernatural: Bone Key:

Eric Kripke has already signed off on the book as is and loves it. I too think it’s great and must thank you for such an enjoyable read and a job very well done!

*does happy dance*

I'm guessing that Mr. Kripke had time on his hands, since I turned this in while the writers strike was still going on, and after all the written episodes had been filmed, edited, etc. But hey, I'll take it. *grin* Approval from the guy who created the show is always a good thing....

The new "Library Computer" column at TrekMovie.com has done a feature on Star Trek fiction that is both an overview of 2007 and a preview of 2008. The overview is not complete -- some stuff was left off, including the Corps of Engineers series (in either eBook or print form) -- but it's good to see TrekMovie looking at the bigger Trek universe beyond next May's movie.

Here's the part I liked best, of course....

"Q&A" managed to be the shining star for TNG this year. ... "Q&A" was true to the spirit and feel of The Next Generation, while actively developing a new dynamic aboard the Enterprise-E.

a) List seven habits/quirks/facts about yourself
b) Tag seven people to do the same
c) Do not tag the person who tagged you or say that you tag "whoever wants to do it"

1. I try to get to karate class 20-25 minutes before class starts in order to stretch out.

2. I almost always have music playing if I'm not watching TV or doing something else that actively precludes having music on. Me and silence don't get along.

3. I tend to get on musical "kicks," where I'll listen to the same stuff over and over and over again. Right now, it's Arlo Guthrie.

4. I bit my fingernails for 20 years. I stopped when I infected three fingers in the course of two weeks, which is kind of a problem when you touch-type for a living. (The kicker was when I infected my right thumb....)

5. I have a patch of hair at the small of my back. My father has a similar patch in the same spot....

6. Ever since they installed an elevator at the nearest subway station, I almost always use it to go up to the platform.

7. I cannot read on a bus or in a car unless I'm sitting sideways. I can read on trains and planes no problem.


I will tag the first seven people who come up on my f-list:

popfiend
yendi
ginmar
shadesong
neadods
muskrat_john
jendaby

(If Kovalic does the meme, I'll be damned impressed...............)

Edited to add: Tagging jendaby also because I can't actually count to seven, apparently. *sigh*

A friend on a mailing list mentioned a past piece of legislation that Barack Obama passed during his days in the Illinois state legislature. I was curious to know more about it, and deyaniera unwittingly came to my rescue to posting a link.

And I now share it with you: A Charles Peters column from the Washington Post on Senator Obama's getting passed a bill that requires that all police interrogations be videotapes.

This impressed me -- both that he wanted the bill passed, when it didn't really do him any good politically (and could easily have garnered him an enemy or twelve), and that he did get it passed despite the huge difficulty. And he made his community better, which is something politicians are theoretically supposed to do and in practice almost never do.

According to this article on Anime News Network ("the Internet's most trusted anime news source," a distinction for which I doubt the competition is fierce), Warner Brothers and Appian Way, the latter being Leonardo DiCaprio's production company, are adapting Akira, originally a manga by Katsuhiro Otomo, who later directed an animated film adaptation.

I can see the casting call sheets now...

TETSUO
Must be able to shout "Kineda!" at the top of his lungs repeatedly.

KINEDA
Must be able to shout "Tetsuo!" at the top of his lungs repeatedly.

Okay, maybe not, but it's pretty damned funny.....

Joe Posnaski is a particularly brilliant sportswriter for the Kansas City Star (and those of you who know my feelings about most sports "journalists" know that I'm pretty hard on them as a breed, so if I'm praising this guy, it ain't hay), and he has a blog like, y'know, everyone, and this particular blog entry is just a work of genius.

Very little of it is actually about sports. It's funny as hell with lines like: "I get on the plane — I’ve paid 100 bucks to upgrade for a three hour flight, mind you — and it’s the smallest first class I’ve ever seen. Eight seats. What’s the point there? That’s not first class, that’s like getting to sit shotgun in a Buick."

But this is my favorite part:

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Great stuff. Go read it.