Baumblog EST 1968 - A blog for the Baumbachs who originated in Syracuse, NY

In other words, everything in moderation
posted by GJ on April 26, 2011 @ 2:13PM

Duh.

3 comments | Tags: news

Chevrolet Volt burns down garage
posted by Steve on April 21, 2011 @ 6:26PM

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/18/general-motors-statement-chevrolet-volt-fire/

4 comments | Tags: cars

British Animal Voiceovers
posted by Marc on April 21, 2011 @ 12:43PM

3 comments | Tags: video, funny, animals

Tim Minchin's Storm Poem, Animated
posted by GJ on April 18, 2011 @ 3:56PM

NSFW or those who are offended by four letter words or science-based screeds, I present Tim Minchin's most excellent beat poem Storm, now animated:

7 comments | Tags: video

Marc said 1 day later

One could argue that science has made life so easy in many respects that it makes it easier for close-minded people to continue to exist. Evolution has a much harder time picking out the weak when it gets easier and easier to care for them and thus let them procreate and continue, if not expand, that population. :)

Besides the seemingly common "mightier than thou" approach this video takes, it was quite entertaining. I'm not sure I agree with that approach, but I do think it's important people learn to question things. I think the approach tends to lead to more conflict than resolution, but I can understand the frustration with close-minded people.
GJ said 1 day later

If you didn't notice, the character Storm was playing the mightier than thou card as well. It's not just atheists who do this. But of course, this is told from the atheist's perspective, so Storm isn't going to win the day. By the same token, Storm doesn't change her views one iota, which the main characters knows will be the case.

However, the point isn't to change the target's views. It's to put on display for the others the pure insanity of the argument from the Storm-type person, so that others do not go down this path of utter stupidity. All too often, however, we get painted the villain...mostly because we like to argue, and are pretty good at it. :)

The key takeaway here is the definition of science vs dogma. If you understand that, you see why science and alternative/natural/magical/holy stuff can never be bedfellows. So, word to parents: want your kids to stay religious? Keep them away from math and science, for therein lies the path to ruin. ;)

Marc said 1 day later

I wouldn't paint you guys as the villain. Consider extreme sciency people more like Batman -- which is practically a full-on compliment if you stick to Christopher Nolan's renditions of the character -- out trying to right the wrongs of the world through seemingly honorable actions, at the expense of occasionally acting like vigilantes. Sounds more horrific than it really is, but I wanted to use a Batman analogy. :)

As with anything, there's a spectrum, and in the same sense of the political one I often find myself somewhere in the middle trying to benefit from the thoughts of both sides. I'd like to believe people are smarter than to believe a lot of the crap out there, but at the same time I can see the other end being similarly close-minded. Unfortunately extremes and corruption are on both ends of the spectrum and you need to be equally careful how much you digest from either side.
GJ said 1 day later

It's a dangerous illusion to assume that both sides are equally wrong. You may find elite science types like Dawkins and Hitchens extreme, but they are not batsh*t insane like religious extremes (keeping with your Batman theme here).

It's not akin to the left and right of the political spectrum. The left wing fruitcakes are just as bad as the right wing nutbars, I would totally agree.

That's not to say you can't find a lunatic atheist or scientist. However--the belief side has a great many in that category, mostly because one has to get, umm, creative, when their core beliefs are challenged by those pesky things we science types like to call "facts."
Marc said 1 day later

I didn't say equally wrong, I said equally careful. :) I wholeheartedly agree that from everything I've seen and witnessed, the extreme science group tends to be less crazy and less wrong in both frequency and extremity.

My only hope (this is my less-scientific side coming out) is that this simply helps balance people to be more reasonable on both sides.
Geoff said 2 days later

I am Batman. I like that. I would be considered one of those crazy types. You see, a little bit of crazy is necessary to tolerate the mundane moments of life. We all need to get a little crazy sometimes just for fun, we just can't take it too seriously. That's about as insightful as I'm going to get right now. Pathetic right? wooooooooooooooooooooooooosshhhhhh!

I'm Batman.
GJ said 2 days later

My bad Marc, sorry! Don't hold your breath for reasonable, though. When you challenge core beliefs, people naturally get testy. In today's day and age, however, both sides have access to free publication over the web, and the battles are there for all to see. However, 95% of the population sticks with ignoring that and instead arguing over political things on the web, or checking out the latest gossip on TMZ...oh, wait, no, 95% are playing Farmville on Facebook. My mistake.

Geoff, you need to stop making Charlie Sheen your role model. ;)

The Chinese Property Bubble
posted by GJ on April 18, 2011 @ 3:21PM

3 comments | Tags: video, news

Civilian trials not a good idea for terrorists?
posted by GJ on April 15, 2011 @ 9:46AM

Read this NYT article about the switch to holding military tribunals instead of civilian trials for the 9/11 plotters. Get this excerpt:

In practice, it was never clear that the security would be as expensive and cumbersome as city officials warned; another high-profile Guantánamo detainee, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, was tried without incident in a New York courtroom last year for plotting Al Qaeda’s 1998 embassy attacks in Africa.

Still, Mr. Ghailani case ended up stiffening resistance to civilian trials because a jury acquitted him on more than 280 charges. Although he was still convicted on one count and sentenced to life in prison, critics pointed to the result as a sign that civilian trials were too uncertain.

Are you kidding me? If that's the reason we want these guys tried by a military tribunal, why have a trial at all? We have protections in our Constitution that prohibit pre-ordained results for trials. Are we saying that purported enemies of the state should not be afforded such a luxury?

Would it change your mind if YOU were inappropriately charged and classified as an enemy of the state? Don't give me the BS that you'd never do something that would get accused in such a way. If certainly parties got their way, burning a Bible could get you here. Who knows what else? The rule of law is a core part of this country's heritage, and throwing it out the window just to satisfy our vengeance says a lot about the character of this country, none of it good.

1 comment | Tags: politics

Where else has the Dodge Durango been?
posted by GJ on April 11, 2011 @ 11:55AM

You've probably seen the commercials. Dodge's Durango has been studying up the last two years, and it's back for 2011 stronger, smarter, more efficient, yada yada yada. It's a cute commerical, but apparently they left out one habit it took up in the past two years: smoking.

12 comments | Tags: video, cars

Marc said 10 minutes later

People are walking awfully close to a vehicle with flames in the engine.

Also: Wouldn't it be smarter to close the hood and not feed oxygen to the fire until the fire department arrives?
GJ said about 2 hours later

If you're not putting a fire out, it's generally a bad idea to be near any uncontrolled fire. Yes on the hood close--my guess is they thought the engine overheated, in which case you would pop the hood. Once the fire revealed itself, then close it and call 911.

Don't think I'd even try a fire extinguisher on it. That's what car insurance is for. Or, in my case, time to buy a new used car.
GJ said about 22 hours later

http://jalopnik.com/#!5790986/dodge-challenger-burns-to-a-crisp-on-assembly-line
Marc said about 23 hours later

Good to see American car companies back on a hot streak! :)

I apologize for the terrible pun, I had to.
GJ said about 24 hours later

Love it!

No worries, Steve, I'll pick on any other car company that I can, this one just was too easy.
Geoff said 1 day later

I was waiting for the explosion. No fun! :)
GJ said 1 day later

Cars don't generally explode, except in the movies. Watch some more MythBusters instead of Transformers IX: Help, I've Fallen and Can't Get Up.
Geoff said 2 days later

I don't think they generally catch fire either, except in Dodge's case who seem to have it down to a science!
GJ said 2 days later

Fires are way more common than explosions. Gas burns pretty well. Fumes are the only explosive part of gasoline, and the gas tank is designed to minimize that. So, explosions generally only happen if you're doing something like transporting gas (propane, oxygen, hydrogen) cylinders.
Geoff said 3 days later

Still, I'm surprised more folks didn't back away with the thought that it could explode.
GJ said 3 days later

Curiosity killed the cat.
Steve said 9 days later

What, no picking on the Volt that not only burned down a garage, but relit itself on fire a couple days later?

In both cases, the circumstances behind the fires are not yet known. The Durango was towing a float. What kind of electrical crap did they hook up to the car for trailer brakes or to power the float? Don't know that yet.

Did the Volt cause the fire, or did something else? Don't know.

This posting is just as bad as fox news - claiming cars catch on fire without knowing the whole story.

The Challenger that burned up in the plant - that could have been a lot of things, not necessarily the car.

All that said, I'd rather have a car slowly burn down than unintentionally accelerate like our favorite Toyotas....

Yo, Egypt Military!
posted by GJ on April 11, 2011 @ 11:35AM

This isn't the kind of thing those kids that spawned the upheaval are looking for, you idiots.

No comments | Tags: news

Possible Huge Science Discovery
posted by GJ on April 7, 2011 @ 3:06PM

Unlike most of the science you read about in the news, this report is absolutely huge news. It's also why those expensive accelerators like the one they killed off in Texas are pretty important investments.

Now, you're saying--oooh, a new particle, big fat hairy deal. New particles of this type can bring into play forces that may help explain quite a bit of what we do not understand about the subatomic world. You want ever faster communications, more efficient transportation, expansion of our reach into outer space? This is where it all starts.

If validated, this could be the biggest find during our lifetimes. Strangely enough (pun intended), this particle did NOT turn out to be the God Particle (Higgs boson). Even stranger, it could well end up being a bigger discovery. This is way, way cool to we physics geeks.

6 comments | Tags: news, science

How Tara Parker Pope analyzes scientific findings
posted by GJ on April 6, 2011 @ 8:01AM

No comments | Tags: funny


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