# Friday 2 December 2005

Wait Wait!

Anne and I attended the taping last night of Wait Wait — Don't Tell Me!, the NPR News Quiz. It airs Saturday.

If you don't listen to the show, tune in, and find out how to get Aerosmith and Kenny G to play the same gig, among other things.

Note: You may have seen this post earlier. In a continuation (recurrence?) of earlier problems, Das Blog ate the post about an hour after it went up. Grr.

David Braverman, Friday 2 December 2005 20:56:48 UTC
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Post-season extra innings

From the National Hurricane Center just a few minutes ago:

...EPSILON BECOMES YET ANOTHER HURRICANE IN THE RECORD BREAKING 2005 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON...

Epsilon, the 26th named storm in the Atlantic this year, is now its 14th hurricane.

See the complete public advisory.

Hurricane season ended Wednesday. Apparently Mother Nature didn't get the memo.

Update, 20:53 UTC: Forecaster Stewart at the NHC added this comment to the latest Hurricane Epsilon discussion:

GOING BACK TO 1851... HISTORICAL RECORDS INDICATE EPSILON IS ONLY THE FIFTH HURRICANE TO FORM DURING THE MONTH OF DECEMBER. OTHER DECEMBER HURRICANES ARE... UNNAMED 1887... UNNAMED 1925... ALICE #2 IN 1954... AND LILI 1984. EPSILON IS ALSO ONLY THE SIXTH HURRICANE TO EVER OCCUR DURING DECEMBER... INCLUDING UNNAMED 1887... UNNAMED 1925... ALICE #2 IN 1954... LILI 1984... AND NICOLE 1998.
David Braverman, Friday 2 December 2005 15:30:45 UTC
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North Carolina breaks the tape

In the race to kill convicted criminals, the U.S. leads its allies 1000 to 0.
David Braverman, Friday 2 December 2005 13:39:18 UTC
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# Thursday 1 December 2005

Source-control etiquette

Don't break the build. It upsets the other developers.
David Braverman, Thursday 1 December 2005 22:48:12 UTC
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It was 50 years ago today

...that Rosa Parks was jailed for not giving up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Ala.

Thanks to eagle-eyed attorney Angela Riccetti for a correction to this item.

David Braverman, Thursday 1 December 2005 17:53:36 UTC
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Predicted effect of global warming cools Europe

The journal Nature reported findings today that the North Atlantic has cooled off. This is a very, very bad thing.
David Braverman, Thursday 1 December 2005 03:41:59 UTC
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# Tuesday 29 November 2005

Now, how did they get *my* name?

I just got a voice message from the National Republican Campaign Committee, asking for survey input.

As a matter of fact, I do have some ideas for the 2006 campaign...

Heh.

David Braverman, Tuesday 29 November 2005 17:20:52 UTC
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Tropical storm Epsilon

Not even the twenty-sixth named tropical storm of the year can blow any sense into our airhead administration.
David Braverman, Tuesday 29 November 2005 16:24:50 UTC
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Anne cancelled our J. Crew card

Anne writes:

I told the credit card woman that it was because I was boycotting J. Crew because they sell fur. She actually had the nerve to say, "I can assure you that the fur that we sell comes from reputable breeders and not from animal destruction."
I think that was off-script, huh? I just said, "I think by definition it comes from animal destruction."
I encourage everyone who is getting J. Crew's catalogs to call (800) 562-0258 and ask to be taken off their lists--and be sure to tell them why.

I didn't even know we had a J. Crew card...

David Braverman, Tuesday 29 November 2005 00:06:06 UTC
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# Monday 28 November 2005

Also on my reading stack

I just finished Garbage Land, leaving only about a dozen books on my reading stack right now. Highlights:

Why is this in the Software category? Because better wetware means better software.

It's important to read widely in order to write better, whether your language is English or C#. Read as much as you can, about anything that interests you. Limit your professional reading to 50% of your total no matter what (but shoot for 25%). The more you know about things outside your profession, the more you can bring to the profession, whether it's software or anything else.

David Braverman, Monday 28 November 2005 22:13:58 UTC
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# Sunday 27 November 2005

California Coastal Commission

The owners of this property in Carmel, Calif., wanted to build a starter castle. But new building isn't allowed, so they're remodeling.
David Braverman, Sunday 27 November 2005 21:51:09 UTC
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Where does your garbage go?

What I'm reading right now (and what Anne can't wait to borrow):

David Braverman, Sunday 27 November 2005 18:41:31 UTC
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Incipient Independent Iraq Inquiry

It appears we're finally going to have an impartial, thorough investigation into the run-up to the Iraq war, conducted by an governmental organization with the power and motivation to do it right: the U.K. House of Commons.

That's what happens when you have a 36% approval rating.

David Braverman, Sunday 27 November 2005 15:07:07 UTC
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# Friday 25 November 2005

Eric Zorn says to move Thanksgiving

The coldest Thanksgiving in recent memory prompts Tribune columnist Eric Zorn to suggest a change.
David Braverman, Friday 25 November 2005 14:29:44 UTC
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# Thursday 24 November 2005

Excellent sense of timing

We're in California for Thanksgiving weekend, and the weather here seems nicer than the weather back home.
David Braverman, Thursday 24 November 2005 17:13:46 UTC
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