ich fühle luft von anderen planeten

In this week’s Friday Five, Dan asked: You’ve been sent out to scout for potential colony worlds. It turns out that Earth-like bodies (whether full planets or moons) are surprisingly common, or at least easy to access given the Super-Ion Warpification Doodad. Plus, terraforming has become remarkably easy given the real success of our own Project Genesis. (See this Wikipedia entry for Star Trek reference.) So, most or all of the practical issues of selecting a world (e.g. nitrogen oxygen atmosphere, water, etc.) have been rendered moot. All that’s left is aesthetics. What five things are you looking for in …

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After-Pool Thoughts on the Psychology of (My) Cycling in Korea

Well, then. The day at the pool passed nicely, meaning nobody got seriously hurt and nothing big got broken. For 120 kids, that’s not a half-bad achievement. Another big achievement: somehow, last night, we pulled off haunted house with almost no injuries, and no serious ones. I did damage a door in a disused part of the building, but it’s likely to be renovated sometime so I’m not overly worried about it. So now it’s time for a shower and dinner, and while we’re stuck on campus, so after report cards I think I’ll join some teachers to play a …

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They’re not my own words, but…

… instead those of another poet, far better than me: A good man was ther of Religioun, And was a poure persoun of a toun; But riche he was of hooly thoght and werk, He was also a lerned man, a clerk, That cristes gospel trewely wolde preche; Hise parisshens deuoutly wolde he teche. Benygne he was, and wonder diligent, And in Aduersitee ful pacient, And swich he was preued ofte sithes, fful looth were hym to cursen for his tithes, But rather wolde he yeuen, out of doute, Vn to his poure parisshens aboute Of his offryng and eek …

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Whew

Camp is getting easier. Tomorrow’s cooking day, and our class is making nachoes. Thursday is Korea Day, meaning a game show in the afternoon and a Haunted House in the evening. But Friday is a field trip, though, and we actually have the weekend off this week. Whew. Blogging is at a standstill, anyway…

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Five Imaginary Operations

This week, Dan asked: It has become the norm these days to name American wars, not as wars, but as operations. We’ve had everything from Operation Desert Storm to Operation Just Cause and most recently Operation Iraqi Freedom. Methinks someone is paying a bit too much attention to the suits from marketing… either that, or not enough — I mean, really… “Operation Iraqi Freedom”… who thought up that name? As such, you, Mr/Ms Marketroid have been given the authority to launch five small(ish) wars, but only if you can convince the execs that the market will buy it. So, what …

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