Sudden Acceleration Incidents...Eighteen Years Ago

Caught a news report discussing Toyota's recalls of various cars for "sudden acceleration" incidents. It reminded me of a PJ O'Rourke piece on the Audi 5000, which had similar complaints. As it turned out there, there were no defective parts on the Audi 5000--just a brake and acclerator pedal close together and a price low enough to be imported regularly during a time when imported cars were much in fashion. There was much hulabaloo over it, multiple government studies...an expensive mess. Wonder if something similar is going on now.

Thermodynamics Joke

A, outgoing: Jeez, B, you're a cold fellow, aren't you?
B, taciturn: Not cold, A. Adiabatic.
(i.e. does not exchange heat with the environment. If B is hot blooded, he keeps it well under wraps.)

Whether the Weather!?

Thunderstorms? In Southern California? FOR A WEEK STRAIGHT?!

It's more likely than you think!

Pseudo-philosophy?

Have you ever had a day where you don't feel completely human? I don't mean in the sense that you're a god or some transcendent cosmic being like some motivational speakers suggest. I mean in the sense that you're some robot, or monster, or A.I., or alien; something pretending to be human and doing fairly poorly at it. Is this normal? Faulty, any help here?

To Berkeleyites:

That military power and "imperialist nature" you're always talking about? That's what allows us to get a U.S. Navy CVN with its attendent amenties to Haiti in 24 hours, lets us land choppers loaded with humanitarian aid rations in the same time (or just not even land--winch systems are always fun) and get the USNS Comfort out of harbor and into action in five days instead of five weeks.

Random Thoughts #12

How would blackjack be different if you played with a tarot deck, major arcana at all? Major arcana = face cards = 10, or major arcana = value of card (so Magician is 1, Heirophant is 5, World is 21...woe to the Fool (infinity, or zero)!). And don't forget that each minor suit has a "Knight" along with "King, Queen, Jack", so by the first set of rules you have 16 + 22 = 38 ten cards out of 56 + 22 = 78 deck. Almost half the deck is ten cards! Would you play?

Thoughts on Avatar

The Last Airbender no, James Cameron's film.

The Universe of Mine (Get an apple pie ready)

School's out for winter (not Winter), Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, blah blah blah.

That universe I keep making oblique references to in other posts? Let's put it down here.

Random Thoughts #11

What if they gave a war and nobody came?
--Popular Vietnam-War era sentiment.

What if they gave a war and only one side came?
--Valkri's (and a hundred other people in my made up fictional universe) rebuttal.

Random Thoughts #10

I haven't gotten karyotyped or anything, but Klinefelter's syndrome would explain A LOT.