787 First Flight Takeoff Video

2009-12-15T14:25:50-08:00

2009-12-15T12:58:12-08:00

787 in the air #787FF

2009-12-15T12:56:50-08:00

787 thundering down the runway - just before rotation #787FF

2009-12-15T12:55:29-08:00

Start of takeoff roll - chase plane overhead to keep an eye on things

2009-12-15T12:54:38-08:00

Say hello to Mike Carriker, 787 Chief Test Pilot, moments before the 787 took off

2009-12-15T12:47:19-08:00

787 Taxiing down to the end of the runway this morning

Hubble Space Telescope Advent Calendar

2009-12-09T21:59:05-08:00

A new picture revealed every day through Advent, right here.

Archbishop of Canterbury Fumbles Again...

2009-12-07T11:29:33-08:00

By all accounts, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams is a smart man. But he's also indecisive. Or maybe it's just that he unrealistically wants everything to work out perfectly in an imperfect world. Regardless, there are different kinds of smart, and perhaps the academic kind isn't really the best kind that's suited to the realities of the ambiguous world.

There are three major issues in the news the last few weeks that have dominated the Anglican scene.

the long-running saga of gay American bishops and Canadian same-sex liturgies.
the wooing of conservative Anglo-Catholic Anglicans by the Roman Catholic church.
the "let's kill all the homosexuals" Ugandan legislation.

The first is well documented through the last six years, with endless energy expended on finger-wagging at the Episcopal Church (less so the Anglican Church in Canada). Now that a second openly gay bishop has been elected (not yet confirmed or consecrated, but 99% sure that it will go through), and a woman at that, the finger-wagging and pronouncements of dire consequences have been elevated yet again. (Don't even get me started on the blind eye that is turned to the gay CofE bishops and the "don't ask, don't tell" hypocrisy that exists right under his nose.)

For the second matter, it seems that despite the Archbishop's bending over backwards to accommodate Rome over the years, they feel under no such obligation to reciprocate - catching him entirely by surprise with their offer to take a bunch of priests and parishioners off his hands. Diplomacy and accommodation is nice, but not so great when you get taken advantage of. He's lucky they didn't steal his lunch money too. In his own words to the church:

"I am sorry that there has been no opportunity to alert you earlier to this; I was informed of the planned announcement at a very late stage, and we await the text of the Apostolic Constitution itself and its code of practice in the coming weeks."

Thanks, Pope! You're a pal! Thank you sir, may I have another?

The final matter is the most serious, for the largest number of people, and being the most heinous violation of any kind of universal human rights. And yet this is the one issue where Williams refuses to take a public stand. Oh, he will say that he is negotiating in private, because:

"...speaking out publicly to this effect could indeed, as he says, have the opposite effect to that intended. It would almost certainly be seen as white-led colonialism of the worst possible kind, as a misguided attempt to impose western liberal values upon traditional African culture." Ruth Gledhill, in her new "suck up to the ABC" mode.

Hmm, as if Africans hadn't killed enough Africans the last few decades. At some point they can't keep blaming it on the after-effects of colonialism.

Let's see his latest pronouncement:

The(event) raises very serious questions not just for the (some) Church and its place in the Anglican Communion, but for the Communion as a whole.

Guess which event this is about?

Yes, you are indeed correct (sorry, no prizes - it's too easy) - it's the first one - the most minor in the grand scheme of things, but the only one he seems to feel requires an immediate and censorious response.

Thanks for playing, Archbish, but maybe it's time to go back to Hogwarts. I hear the Defense of the Dark Arts position is open again...

Strange Juxtaposition

2009-12-05T14:00:59-08:00

Just down the road from where I live is a little strip mall (well, there are lots of them, but this one is the only one with this particular weird phenomenon). First, there's a florist (which used to be owned by a friend), then a "build your own teddy bear store", then a gun shop.

I have no idea which came first, but it seems odd that you can take your kid to the teddy bear store "Once Upon a Bear" (awww...), then when you're done take him or her next door to buy the bear a gun at "Bear Arms(.com)" (hmmm...)

Just life in 'merka today, I guess.

Just remember, hunting is only fair if the bears are allowed to have guns too.

Slow Fade...

2009-12-04T11:02:26-08:00

This is what happens when a company loses its way, gets overtaken, forgets what made it great in the first place...

Church of England take note - without a share price it's not so obvious what's happening. If irrelevance can creep up on big name company like Kodak, even with an obvious scorecard in front of them, how much easier is it when there are precious few objective measurements?

Disaster Area

787 First Flight Takeoff Video

Hubble Space Telescope Advent Calendar

Archbishop of Canterbury Fumbles Again...

Strange Juxtaposition

Slow Fade...