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Cziltang wanders the trackless wastes in search of truth, beauty and personal enlightenment. He had tried to be self-sufficient, growing his own ideas, but they withered and died in the great intellectual drought that gripped the land in his youth. One day, as he gazed at the parched landscape around him, he realized that somewhere there must be ideas growing. Somewhere, rational discourse must still survive. Since that day, he has searched for a mythical land of fields and forests of living ideas. Now and again he finds a thought or two in the rubble of an occasional deserted outpost of civilization. Its a hard way to live and its not much of a life, but that's just how it is, out here in the Ratlands |
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Hiatus
link Due to a death in the family I will be out of town for at least the next week and so will be absent from the blogosphere. I'm reasonably sure my absence will not cause the internet to crash or anything. by CziltangPosted: Friday, May 28 2004 02:48:55 PM
Gas Prices
link Frank J over at IMAO considers the pros and cons of various methods of dealing with high gas prices. Among them:
Drive an Electric Car Go read the whole thing. by CziltangPosted: Wednesday, May 26 2004 10:25:33 PM
Remind me to never drive in California
link From the "mind your own business and quit minding mine" file. (I got wind of these two items from Jim Doney at Are You High? Unfortunately one of the links didn't work and the other required registration, so I ended up googling for the stories.) First, this and thank the powers that be that the Kansas legislature is finished for the year so that maybe they won't remember this when the next session opens: A bill passed by the California state Senate would subject drivers who talk on the phone, put on makeup, drink, eat, smoke, interact with pets or kids, read, write, tune the radio or program hand-held devices like Blackberries to fines of $35 for the first offense and $150 for the second. I don't care about the talking on the phone thing. It annoys me, but I have a better solution. Let anyone who owns a legally registered handgun have a license to shoot anyone talking on the phone while driving. Some of us get to vent some of our frustration and the rest of you would think twice before deciding to yap while driving. But seriously, under this law can you read a map? I have to pull over to the side of the road to get rid of a lame song on the radio? If you think you've got problems with road rage now, wait till you get a whole state full of nicotine junkies jonesing for a puff during rush hour... None of that nonsense comes close to the bit about "interacting with ... kids". I defy any of these pea-brained idiots to drive anywhere in a car with a child without "interacting" with them, let alone if you've got more than one. Face it, this is tantamount to prohibiting single parents from taking their kids anywhere in a car. And what? You can argue with your spouse but you can't interact with the kid? And has anyone considered the number of accidents that will occur every morning because sleepy drivers can't drink coffee on the road? Or better yet, what about the number of accidents caused by drivers falling asleep from sheer boredom? Second, also from California: A state famous for tanned bodies and year-round sunshine would be the nation's first to ban teenagers from artificial tanning booths if a bill passed Thursday by the state Assembly becomes law. The state Assembly, citing a rise in skin cancer cases in California and across the nation, voted 42-26 Thursday to add artificial tanning to teenage no-no's that already include smoking, drinking and buying lottery tickets. You can hang out at the beach all day, but you can't set foot in a tanning salon? The bill, which goes now to the Senate for consideration, requires teenagers to have a doctor or surgeon's prescription before being allowed to tan indoors. In a year or so we can expect to hear about the new black market developing in forged dermatologist prescriptions... I think these are two that maybe the "Governator" should just say no to. by CziltangPosted: Monday, May 24 2004 08:15:42 PM
Can a Stand-up tour be far behind?
link Via Samizdata, I found this article at e-week. The short version: Linux wasn't written by Linus Torvalds, according to the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based foundation. This opinion is not terribly surprising, coming from a think tank that has been a past recipient of funding from MicroSoft. But that isn't what caught my eye. Later in the article, there was a quote from Linus Torvalds, the "father" of Linux: "OK, I admit it. I was just a front man for the real fathers of Linux: the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. They (for obvious reasons) couldn't step forward to admit that they had gotten bitten by the computer bug and had been developing a series of operating systems on their own during the off-season. "But when they started with Linux (which they originally called Freax—they do feel like outsiders, you know, and that's a whole sad story in itself), they felt that they could no longer just let it languish in obscurity. "They started to look for a front man, and since Santa Claus is from Finland, and thus has connections to Helsinki University, and the Easter Bunny claimed, 'He's got good ears, if a bit small,' I got selected. "Since then, I've lived a life of subterfuge, always afraid that somebody would find out the truth. I'm actually relieved that it's over, and that the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution has finally uncovered the lie. I can now go back to my chosen profession, the exploration of the fascinating mating dance of the aquatic African frog." When was the last time you heard anything remotely humorous out of Redmond? by CziltangPosted: Sunday, May 23 2004 06:47:30 PM
Better Men than me
link I started this blog over a year ago as an attempt to make some sense out of my own rather confused thoughts about the world I live in. I realized that what I thought I thought about the world and what I believed to be true about the world based on my actual real-world experience just didn't match up. Over the last couple of years I have significantly altered my thinking on a number of issues, but there is still a lot of fog and fuzzyness in my thinking. Every time I try to write seriously about important issues, I find myself wallowing in uncertainty. I know what I feel and believe to be true, but I seem to be unable to communicate it coherently or effectively. I am quite self-absorbed, but I am also capable of detecting good writing. While I am perfectly willing to post crap about trivial issues, I am not willing to do so about things I take deadly seriously. Consequently, I haven't made too many comments about events in Iraq. I just don't have the words. Fortunately, there are people out there who do have the words: The primary reason for us to be in Iraq is not to liberate her people so that they can be free. It is, quite bluntly, to liberate her people so that we can be free. Freedom, prosperity and progress are antithetical to the Death Cult rising in that region and spreading its hatred and violence throughout the world. Iraq presents an opportunity, a chance, for a different way. A free and stable and prospering Iraq demonstrates to everyone on this Earth that Arab society can be free of both secular and theological totalitarianism alike. A functioning, modern Iraq, where people can live their lives free of fear and oppression, where they can worship as they themselves see fit without imposing their beliefs on a neighbor or having them imposed on oneself, where they can perform the simple miracles of going to work each day, earning a living and coming home to a night of television with the family without knowing terror every second of every day: that is what will set them free. Syria, Iran, Al Qaeda and all the rest fear this very greatly. If we succeed in Iraq – we and the Iraqis, together – they know that their own downtrodden and oppressed people will start asking pointed questions about their own corrupt and joyless societies. And when it is possible to be a Muslim, and have a sense of quiet pride that does not come from death and revenge but from hard work and a safe and prospering family…well, I believe – we, many of us believe – that they will follow Frankie’s advice. They will Choose Life. They are human, like we are. They will choose life over death. I believe this with all my heart. My friends and my countrymen, this is one of those rare things worth fighting for. It is worth dying for. It is even worth killing for. This is from a massive two-part essay by Bill Whittle at Eject!Eject!Eject! The essay is entitled Strength. This is not simply a recommendation, I implore you to read it. I do not do this lightly, because I am asking for a serious investment of time from you. This is not one of those articles you skim quickly looking for the money quotes. It will take a significant amount of time, but in my opinion, is simply the best thing you can do for yourself today. by CziltangPosted: Sunday, May 23 2004 03:57:30 PM |
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