Really, when you get right down to it, what's the difference between a freelance intelligence operative and a vigilante? http://is.gd/4knzmM http://is.gd/VnBRKn http://is.gd/8JHshf http://is.gd/Mp9C5F http://is.gd/ux6SRg

"[...] You'd better get on with your exercises."

"If 1,498 Bruce Waynes were begging you to stop - would you?"

"Guess not." - Chief Karlin, Fletch (1985)

How about 8 billion Jor-Els?

2012 Summer Olympics in London

OK, my first actual post about international soccer (I think)!

I really don't pay that much attention to the news, and had been ho-hum to realize the 2012 Summer Olympics were currently going on yesterday as I enjoyed a meal out at a sports bar - and then I realized: that means there will be international soccer on TV for a few weeks! (Sure, nobody takes the Olympics seriously - nowhere nearly as seriously as people take the World Cup or the Euro Cup - or CONCACAF, for us here in the US - for instance; but it's like have ~20 international friendlies in rapid succession on TV over the next few weeks - yay!)

So, I go to see when the USMNT (the "United States Men's National [Soccer] Team", an abbreviation I use almost every sentence when discussing international soccer, so, in the words of my Calc III TA, "Get used to it") is playing in this year's Olympics, and I discover, to my horror, we evidently failed - to - qualify!

So, I look into the matter a little more deeply, and it turns out 1) we sent our U-23 team to represent us (I'm still not sure if all countries do this; that would take even more of the fun out of watching the Olympics, knowing it is not the actual MNT's playing) and 2) we failed to qualify in March (2012). (I didn't exactly realize we had a U-23 team; when I was a kid, the numbering went by the even numbers - U-6, U-8, U-10, ..., U-18, and then the one outlier, U-21 - so I didn't know international soccer went up to U-23: I thought once you hit 21, you either played with the big boys or hung up the cleats, so that was an interesting learning experience).

Well, at least, there should be some international soccer on TV for the next few weeks (U-23 soccer though it may be). Match play evidently begin this Thursday (07/26/2012) and the Group Phase evidently ends next week Wednesday (08/01/2012). I'll try to post my comments on the occasional interesting match as time and interest permit; enjoy!

20120617 - TATWTC ("Today at the World Trade Centers")

Today at the World Trade Centers, Gordon Aamoth, one of the weekend janitorial crew members, began experimenting with adding mushroom to the Mr. Clean solution he uses to mop the floors on his floor. He had heard about the technique in a Usenet newsposting on the janitorial newsgroups by one of the custodial staff at the Jet Propulsion Labratory, who was said to be an "idiot-savant" at these things. After seeing "night and day" difference the mushrooms added to the Mr. Clean's efficacy, Gordon remarked, "Well, whaddayaknow: it works just fine!"

"Beware the Ides of March!"

I know last week I promised to talk on the element manganese, but this week's STEM talk will be devoted instead to the element cobalt.

Per the Wikipedia article, Swedish chemist Georg Brandt is credited with discovering cobalt circa 1735. "The atomic number of [cobalt] is [27]." Co-59 is the only known stable isotope of cobalt. When found in pure form, it is a metallic grey in color; however, it is one of the few metals that is naturally found only in chemically combined form. It is naturally a solid at room temperature (mercury is the only metal that is not solid at room temperature) and has a melting point of 2,723 F.

Cobalt can be a poison. The LD-50 value for soluble cobalt salts has been estimated to be between 150 and 500 mg/kg.

"[...] You type in the code first, then slide the card."

"I'm Watching For Speeders."

http://bit.ly/z5jg9N

 "Oh, good, they work; because, I just bought them yesterday."

 (On a completely unrelated note, does anyone know if it's possible to teach a dog to play foursquare [the ball game, not the smartphone app]? Would the nationality of the dog be an important regressive variable? http://imdb.to/2ulT4f)

And here is the history of the Canadian Men's National Soccer Team (yes, I know, it's the first actual post actually relating to soccer I've made on this blog; sue me!): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_men%27s_national_soccer_team#History

"Who'd Win?"

The title is (or, at least, was) a common subject header for postings in the rec.arts.comics.* Usenet hierarchies. The articles went on to solicit opinions on which of two super-heroes would win on a fair, one-on-one combat. Here is my small contribution to that literature:

Who'd win if Dug (of Up fame) went head-to-head with Rhino (of Bolt fame)?

Of course, if Dug ever got Rhino out of the hamster ball, my money would be on Dug; failing that, I think Dug might be in mortal peril of having his neck snapped (talking dog collar and all).

Next week, we'll take on the greatest fanboy conflict of all time: