Something New

I was just talking to my parents on the phone, and my dad told me something that I'd never heard before, but that makes a lot of sense:

Killer whales are actually dolphins.

Now, I haven't fact-checked this or anything, but Shamu does look an awful lot more like Flipper with his dorsal-fin and bottle-nose than he does that big humpback in Finding Nemo.

"If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the inquisition might have let him alone."
-Thomas Hardy

Darn you King Ranch!

As I've mentioned before, one of my big legislative priorities is renewable energy, especially wind energy on the open plains. That's why I wasn't particularly enthused when I saw this article about King Ranch opposing wind turbines on adjacent land. I'm not unhappy or mad about it, I'm just not quite sure how I feel about the issues brought up by the ranch owners.

That is, I love wind energy, but I also love property rights, protecting the environment, and unspoiled views of beautiful Texas. I don't want Texas to turn into the industrial wasteland of the Northeast (no offense, it's just not the same open country), but I'm not really sure that windmills are going to do that. I'm also not a big fan of lots of government regulations and bureaucracy (contrary to my Austin upbringing), so having an extra step to building something that I think will end up being good for the environment is annoying. I realize this doesn't completely make sense, and I still have to work it all out in my head about how I approach this issue, but I feel in my gut that wind energy is a good path for us to follow, even if it does mean windmills on the plain.

"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."
-Mark Twain

Speaker's apartment

I'm glad that this has finally happened. I've long wondered just what is behind the House Chamber in the Capitol, and now that we can see at least some of it, I think it's really cool. I don't have any aspirations to being Speaker, but I think the whole concept of parliamentary control and privilege is an interesting control on the legislature.

I've started using Google Homepage on Internet Explorer (I usually use Firefox, though), and one of the tabs I have on mine is full of quotes. It's almost overwhelming to a quote-collector like myself.

"Sometimes the appropriate response to reality is to go insane."
-Philip K. Dick

O Captain, My Captain

I just read this article from the AAS.

I'm absolutely shocked by this development. I'm not really a huge comic book reader--really, all I read are a bunch of old comics that my dad gave me--but I am a big comic book fan. I think that they are a very valid form of literature that reflect very real issues in society. Captain America dealt with these issues in a way that not many other heroes did because he, more than any other hero, represented the United States of America. It was he who led the comic book world during World War II, and it was he who led the heroes of both the DC and Marvel worlds in bouncing back and rebuilding the world after September 11th. It is a sad day--and I think an indication of our times--when a national symbol, when our Captain America is shot dead by a sniper after seeking justice.

I need to go to bed before 0100 sometime

I have other things to talk about; but just like my e-mail and letter writing, I'm going to get behind on this blog, and I think this wonderful quote I found on my Google homepage excellently summarizes why:


"In physics, you don't have to go around making trouble for yourself--nature does it for you."
-Frank Wilczek

I'm just going to go to bed.

Beat American!

I have yet to see a winning Navy basketball game. I know they exist, I've just never seen one.
I fully believe that my presence at Navy basketball games contributes to the loss. Today's game was particularly pathetic; both the game itself, and the surrounding circumstances (Patriot League officials especially).

Oh well, I need a nap before tonight's show. I know, I'm not as hard as I should be.