Mystery Dits

Tracking down a mystery signal reminds me of a book I read.

"According to the FCC, an amateur in Northern California had unintentionally left his keyboard too close to his keyer paddle, and the paddle somehow got pushed against the keyboard, making it send continuous dits."

Atlas Shrugged IRL

A modern day Ellis Wyatt?

An Alabama business man says he could add 125 jobs to the local economy, but that he's fed up with the anti-business groups and is calling it quits instead.

Via Slim.

Missing in Action

If I am missing in action over the next week, it is because I am in Westeros dancing with dragons.*

* Or maybe I am running. Or watching Harry Potter. Or at work.

A Dance with Dragons

It is almost here... another couple of weeks and I will be reading A Dance with Dragons. I've been to one of George R.R. Martin's book signings before, but I don't think I will make it to the one at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington.



On a sad note, he will not be doing personalizations:

"There's one huge change from all my past signings and book tours: I will no longer be able to do personalizations. The crowds have simply gotten too big. At my huge signing last week in Ljubljana, Slovenia, I started out personally inscribing the books, as I have always done in the past, but had to cut that off about four hours into the event. If I hadn't, I might still be there, signing. The same thing happened at my last big US signing, at Vroman's in Pasadena, and for the same reasons. It takes time to write, "to Charlene, Winter is Coming" or "To Fred, All Good Wishes," and when you are writing it hundreds of times, well... it makes the lines move considerably slower. And it's not fair to personalize the books for the front of the line, and not for the poor sods waiting for hours in the back."

(My copy is signed "Winter is coming.")

I guess that is the price of popularity - and without it we might not have gotten the HBO series.

Cultural Center of the World

Not only is Knoxville the center of the gun blogging universe (Uncle, Tam, Linoge, Les Jones, etc.), but we also like to read books. Heck, we might even get a new brewery just outside of town. Scruffy little town in deed.

Attention to Detail

Now this is attention to detail..

"Eckert was dedicated to testing every part. According to Scott McCartney, in order to choose his wiring, 'Eckert acquired some mice in cages and starved them for a few days. Then he put different kinds of wire in their cages to see which kind they enjoyed eating. The least appetizing brand was used in ENIAC.'"

Summer Reading 2011

Here are the books I've just picked up for my summer reading. Reviews to follow.




Here is why I am reading Ethics. I hope the rest will be fun reads.

Game of Thrones: George RR Martin Interviews

A Deal You Can't Refuse

M.J. Mollenhour, whom I had the pleasure to meet, is celebrating the imminent release of his new book by dropping the price of his first thriller to $0.99!

I don't have a Kindle, but I've got an iPad on the way and I have the Kindle client on my Android phone. I've downloaded some of the free books, but this was my first Kindle purchase. Perfect timing as I head to the beach in the near future.

Get it here:

Currently Reading

The Man Who Invented the Computer: The Biography of John Atanasoff, Digital Pioneer

A Contrast

This was a big week-end for me. I got to go see Atlas Shrugged, Part 1 and I ordered HBO just so I could watch the new Game of Thrones series. You might have seen me post about these things once or twice before.

Stop reading now if you want to avoid any potential spoilers.

Below are my comments from each of the two shows.

Atlas Shrugged
I felt like they used the "Who is John Galt?" question as a catchphrase. Eat my shorts! To me it was as if the actors were looking at the audience and winking as they asked the question. My wife, who has not read the book, didn't feel that way. In the book, the question is an expression of hopelessness and frustration. As the world is crumbling, no one even thinks to find this John Galt person - if he even exists at all. It is just something everyone says.

Matthew Marsden plays James Taggart. I pictured Jim Taggart to be much older. I think we got a little too much "hollywood" in casting this character. However, the worse offense was making Jim too active in the political games. While he was a political creature in the book, you felt like he was being swept along with the other socialists. In the movie, he takes much more initiative and blurs the lines between producers and looters.

Hank Rearden is very socially awkward in the book. My wife described the movie version as smooth and suave. Fail.

People have criticized the physics of the train running on the new Rearden Metal track. That didn't bother me nearly as bad as the attempt to explain the magical motor.

I don't think the movie did a good job of showing the root cause of the problems. Maybe this is because Rand spent a bazillion pages pounding the message into my skull and the movie was trying to compress those philosophies. Likewise, Rands views on the role of sex and relationships between men and women are completely left out. There other plot points that are missing - like the relationship that was formed between Dagny and Francisco as children. The lack of detail on Francisco's background and prior achievements is a huge gap.

And is everyone sharing the same limo?

Now that I'm done beating it up, I will say I am glad I went and I'm sure I will see Part 2. (Also, a mini-plug for Regal Cinemas. My wife and I dug out a hundred year old gift certificate that was for $5. They couldn't find it in the system, so they just gave us a free ticket. Customer service isn't dead!)

Reviews
Rotten Tomatoes
The View from North Central Idaho - Joe Huffman
ExurbanLeague - sounds like he had people clapping at the end of the movie, too.
Walls of the City

Game of Thrones
I've been more excited about this than Atlas Shrugged. As I mentioned, I even added HBO specifically for this show - that's almost $18 per month, so I better like it.

In short (and in contrast to ASP1 above), the first episode was exactly as I pictured it in the book. It was fantastic!

I was worried about some of the actors as I did not think they would fit their characters, but everyone was fantastic. I really liked Lena Headey (from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) as Cersei Lannister. I did not see her as a good match, but she was great. I predicted I would like Peter Dinklage (from The Station Agent) as Tyrion and he lived up to the expectation.

The opening scene was very well done - from the CGI, to the pacing, and tension it created. The first few minutes would compare well to any classic horror movie.

I also thought the opening credits were very smart. You get a bird's eye view of Westeros, but you don't see each of the Seven Kingdoms. It only shows the ones that are currently relevant. My guess is that they will change the opening as the action moves between kingdoms.

Definitely, money well spent. It makes me even more excited that the next book is coming out. When A Feast of Crows came out, the bookstore provided everyone with a cheat sheet to remind us of what was happening with all the characters at the end of the book. The series will be a nice refresher without having to re-read some of the books.

I can't wait for next Sunday!

Thumbs up

Thumbs up for Tam on her thumbs down on Ebert's review of the Atlas Shrugged movie. As I posted in a comment at her blog, I'm going to see the movie tomorrow. I hope that it is good, but even if it isn't, I feel like I am voting for the ideals in the movie.

I believe in voting at the polls, but I also believe in voting with my dollars, time, etc. That's one of the reasons I got my carry permit. It is why I like the idea that April 15th is "buy a gun" day.

Who is John Galt?

Glock Announces New Pistol

John G.* has forwarded an exciting announcement from GLOCK. Apparently, they've been working in secret on a new model in a facility in Colorado. You heard it here first!

15 April 2011, 11:00 CET

GLOCK Announces New RM Line of Pistols

****** DRAFT PRESS RELEASE ****
****** NOT FOR RELEASE *******
****** NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION ***

GLOCK Ges.m.b.H.
P.O. Box 9
A-2232 Deutsch Wagram
AUSTRIA

Today, Glock announces the next pistol in the evolution of its GLOCK “Safe Action” Pistols – the GLOCK RM. The top product among the small arms of the world is without doubt the GLOCK "Safe Action" pistol. It employs innovative safety features which makes the pistol easy to operate. No other pistol offers a better price-performance ratio. Its minimum weight and legendary GLOCK reliability are unsurpassed. With the new GLOCK RM, the weight is significantly reduced as is recoil through the use of a revolutionary alloy – Rearden Metal. These pistols are specifically designed to defend against looters and Project X.

It is exactly these characteristics that make the Glock RM perfect for individuals to take responsibility for their own security. Extremely tough tests by the top scientific minds prove time and time again that GLOCK "Safe Action" pistols function without compromise, even under the most extreme conditions.

ACTION
Safe and ingeniously simple: Contrary to conventional, the trigger is the only operating element. All three pistol safeties are deactivated when the trigger is pulled -and automatically activated when it is released.

TENIFER
Unique GLOCK hi-tech surface refinement for barrel and slide. Apart from optimum corrosion protection and anti-reflective finish, a degree of hardness of 64 HRC - close to that of a diamond - is achieved.

REARDEN METAL
Corrosion resistant, tougher than polymer and still 53% lighter. GLOCK pistols were the first industrially manufactured handguns with high-tech polymer frames and now GLOCK makes the next leap forward with Rearden Metal. These pistols will be hand crafted in our new Colorado facility.

The first pistol released will be the GLOCK 19 (9x19mm) with model #: 10-289.

Your GLOCK Pistol Set will include:
1 x GLOCK "Safe Action" RM Pistol
1 x Speed loader
3 x Magazine
1 x Cleaning set
1 x Instruction's manual (1000+ Pages authored by A. Rand)
0 x Cable Lock (US only)

Pricing will be announced shortly, but please note that payment must be made in gold.

* Who is John G? I would tell you, but it would take 70 pages or a three hour speech.

Atlas Shrugged

I was disappointed to learn that Knoxville wasn't on the list of theaters to get Atlas Shrugged. Even though I wasn't going to drive to Nashville to see it, I have been hustling to finish the book before the movie comes out on April 15th. (Nothing like having a goal to actually motive me.) I've got about 100 pages left as of this moment. Good thing that I continued to push as they've announced that they will be showing it in Knoxville!

It will be playing at the Regal Downtown West Cinema 8.

Game of Thrones

I'm sure that the HBO series coming out didn't add any pressure for him to publish the next book, but, despite my frustration with his non-existent sense of urgency, I may have to order HBO. I hear they have some show about mobster vampires or something like that, too.

House Stark Feature

You can also follow Game of Thrones on Twitter.

A Dance with Dragons

I actually went to the book signing in Lexington when A Feast for Crows came out. I think that was when I was in high school - okay, maybe not quite that long ago.

"Big news. The end is in sight, at long long last, and we're close enough so that my editors and publishers at Bantam Spectra have set an actual publication date. A DANCE WITH DRAGONS will be in your favorite bookstore on TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2011."

He references A Storm of Swords for an estimated length, so probably about 1000 pages. Every year I hope it will come out before I go to the beach, but no luck. I've been reading the Wikipedia summaries as a refresher. If I had the time, I might re-read the books. Unfortunately, I still have 800 pages or so left in Atlas Shrugged before I start anything.

Previously:
George R. R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire
Game of Thrones coming to HBO

Harry Potter in Space

Well, not exactly, but rumors of a screenplay of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game are circulating. I loved the book and it is one that I could read again. (It is an easy read.) After reviewing the article, I must surmise that I am a little fuzzy on the details since I don't recall Ender being extremely violent. At the time, I must have thought his actions were justified. I'll have to dig out my copy and take it to the beach for a re-read.

Of course, I think Harry Potter could be cast in a similar violent light. It is hard for me to find fault with a character that is persecuted and fights back. As an aside, it also reminds me of Gord from the Greyhawk Adventures by the Gary Gygax, co-create of Dungeons and Dragons. Gord was a small, homeless orphan who had to fight for survival. As with Harry and Ender, Gord becomes very powerful and must deal with the responsibility that comes with that power.

Time to Hunt and The 47th Samurai

Well, I ended up reading, not one, but both of the other Stephen Hunter books about Bob Lee Swagger.

First up is a Time to Hunt which is really several stories in one. It tells the story of Donny, Bob Lee's partner, and how he ended up as part of the sniper team. It also describes the events surrounding Bob Lee and Donny's heroics in Vietnam. For me, the intertwined stories worked a lot better than in the previous novel. Conspiracy theory lovers will enjoy this one. It is my favorite book in the series so far.

The 47th Samurai moves Bob's Excellent Adventure to Japan as he stumbles into trouble (surprise!) as he is pulled into his father's past. A samurai sword that Earl brought home turns out to be much more important to than he ever suspected. (And I have no idea why Bob's wife puts up with him.) To be honest, it was more of the same with some Asian seasoning. I liked it and it was an easy read, but I might let other books jump ahead of it in the queue. My lack of excitement may be partially due to some Bob Lee overload. I typically enjoy reading a series of books, so that I can follow a character in depth, but it might be too much of a good thing in this instance.

Atlas Shrugged

I bought the book a while back, but I've not started the 1,000+ page journey... looks like I need to get going.



Via Instapundit

Uncrate Prep

Uncrate normally posts when the latest Ferrari or Porsche is available.

Some recent posts have been a little more practical. TNJeffofAllTrades has the book and I keep thinking $12 is not much to pay for a nice reference for so many things I know nothing about. And who couldn't use another knife?

Book: Country Wisdom Know How


Knife: KA-BAR USMC Fighting Knife