The Gantry Launchpad

Why I'm not happy with the new Red Tails trailer.

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 22:34:16 -0500

This began as a comment at Lex's place, but ... grew... So I moved it here. :) I downloaded the hi-def version of the trailer, and it's 864x368. I can't say how much that affected the look of the CGI, but Lucas loves him some digital, so I expect the full version to be pretty good. It might even persuade me to buy a Blue-Ray player. :) The Fortresses seemed to blow up pretty easily... The Wiki article on the film includes this:

1944. World War II rages and the fate of the free world hangs in the balance. [snip] As the war in Europe continues to take its dire toll on Allied forces, Pentagon brass has no recourse but to reconsider these under-utilized pilots for combat duty. Just as the young Tuskegee men are on the brink of being shut down and shipped back home, Col. A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard) awards them the ultimate chance to prove their mettle high above. Undaunted by the prospect of providing safe escort to bombers in broad daylight -- a mission so dangerous that the RAF has refused it and the white fighter groups have sustained substantial losses -- Easy's pilots at last join the fiery aerial fray

(my emphasis) If you watch the trailer carefully, you will catch comments to the effect that the white escort pilots were too busy hunting scalps to defend the bombers. I know Lucas is historically ignorant (he considers the battle on Endor his metaphor for the Vietnam War) but that's just pathetic.

Mozbackup is da bomb!

Wed, 25 May 2011 03:29:37 -0500

For those using Firefox, I would like to point out a truly premier utility: MozBackup. MozBackup will back up all your vital statistics for both Firefox and Thunderbird, and I can now attest to the utility of this ... er, utility. :) Just last week, the S.M.A.R.T. routine in my computers' CMOS indicated that my data drive was bad, so I bought an external USB 2.0 drive, and backed everything up. Just for laughs, I also used MozBackup to backup my browser & email settings to the external drive as well. ...Come Monday night, all Hades breaks loose across the Midwest. I'm lucky in that that the power outage in my part of town was during my time at work. Alas, when I got home, I turned on my computer only to get the message NTLDR not found. Urk. Double-urk. Not good at all. I was fortunate in that I had a spare 80Gb drive, and re-installed Windows XP. The challenges of installing Firefox & Thunderbird on the new drive, then restoring my old settings were daunting, but MozBackup restored Every.Single.Stinking.Thing; passwords and all. Amazing. Really. Thunderbird was very nearly as painless, except for most recent email traffic, but that may be because my Roadrunner account hasn't seen much traffic. All local folders (I make a point of dumping everything over six months old to local folders) restored just fine. My gantry.net account seemed to restore just fine, showing everything back to January. Bottom line: this sucker is officially Da Bomb for backing up your Firefox settings. Bookmarks, passwords, preferences, themes, plugins; everything. Really. I installed Firefox, ran the restore, and BAMB!, I was back. This was one of the most painless restores I've ever seen, and I go back to CP/M days. If you use Firefox, this utility is a MUST USE. It's just that simple.

Atlas shrugged, and pulled a tendon.

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 20:52:43 -0500

The Vodkapundit watches Poliwood's take on the new movie Atlas Shrugged, and decides "Maybe I'll wait for the DVD." There was one very telling comment about 8:30 in;

Righteous indignation & loud declamation belongs on talk shows. It doesn't belong on film.

If liberal Hollywood film-makers remembered that, we wouldn't have seen such terrible dogs like Lions for Lambs, Rendition, and Redacted.

Andrea Mitchell, mistress of the eraser

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:18:10 -0500

Ace has a post up about Andrea Mitchell's attempt to rewrite history by way of recasting Ronald Reagan as a moderate. While exposing this claim as self-evident hogwash, he has this to say:

It's one thing for a political party to attempt this gambit. What the hell is a supposed journalist doing regurgitating such bullshit? Or is Andrea Mitchell this stupid that the Obama Mind Trick worked so well?

Um, is that a trick question?

A bit of an early Christmas

Sat, 04 Dec 2010 17:49:30 -0500

This weekend has unrolled like a badly-written made for TV movie. Not only have people literally from around the world responded to my request for help (thanks again, everyone!), I just got a job. I do not believe this. No, really, I expect Jimmy Stewart to knock on the door any minute now. It was the strangest thing. Like many people, I have a Facebook account, and keep track of folks I don't see in person very often. Just the other day I saw a friend had wryly posted on her wall that she hadn't been able to enjoy her Thanksgiving meal, as she couldn't keep anything down; bit of a virus. So I dropped her a line; a bit of "hope you get better soon" note, and as an afterthought asked her if knew anyone who was hiring. I turns out she's a manager at a local restaurant, and told me to call her the next morning. It was a challenge keeping my hopes down, as I had been disappointed before. I made the call, wherein she asked me to drop by and talk to her kitchen manager. Long story short, I got hired today! Yeah, me. :) So this weekend has been chock full of minor miracles for me. I'm afraid now that the 25th will seem an anti-climax after all this. I did learn two lessons: -There are some wonderful people out there, and they're willing to help; try not to lose hope. -God has a sense of humor, and he really likes messing with my head.

Now, I'm thankful.

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 21:52:40 -0500

Anyone who read my last post would understand why I didn't feel very thankful for anything about a week ago. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I have been astonished by the kindness and generosity directed at me the last 24 hours. I even received a contribution from Australia, and one from Canada. You have all been more than generous, and have both my thanks and my gratitude, as I said in my individual replies. This has been, to me, a bit of a (slightly) early Christmas miracle. Thanks to you wonderful people, I can turn on the water, keep the electric on, and even pay off a month's back rent. I'm still in a hole, but it's much more shallow now. :) The warmth and sympathy I've encountered last night, and today, well; I don't have the words. Considering the challenge -normally- is to shut me up, that's something. So thank you, so very, very much, to everyone who was willing to chip in to help out a stranger in need. Please feel free to stop sending contributions now, as I can stagger on, on my own now. Even if nothing else happens this month, you've already given me a wonderful Christmas. Thank you, again, and God bless every one of you.

A bit of a bleg

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 13:01:22 -0500

UPDATE: I published a new post to the effect that some very generous people have made a great difference, and that I'm no longer in dire straits. I'm in debt & behind on things, but now I can stagger on. Apparently visitors are coming directly to this post, so they don't see the later one. I want to reiterate that I am deeply grateful to those who responded, but for anyone newly visiting this post, you don't need to send anything. I don't doubt there's someone else around who could also benefit from your great hearts. Thank you all, and Merry Christmas. ----- ORIGINAL: It's never pleasant to admit you're in the hole with no way out. For that matter, it's even less so being there. That said, my situation is this: out of work, can't find work, water utilities are cut off, and electricity issue on the horizon. Don't even want to talk about rent. I'm looking at nearly $200 just to get the water back on, what with penalties and reconnection fees, and nearly the same to keep the electric service on. If anyone has even a few dollars to drop into the "tip jar" (PayPal button) on my main page (to the left, under the links to Rick Rescorla, and Day by Day), it would be a tremendous help, until I can get back to work. Better yet, if you can point me to work in the northern Cincinnati/southern Hamilton area, drop me a line. Thanks, in advance, to those who respond; most especially to John Donovan over at Castle Argghhh!, for the help he has given.

Tear that flag down, Mr. Principal!

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 23:23:26 -0500

Cody Alicea is a middle-school student in California who was recently told he wasn't allowed to bear the American flag on his bike. Apparently "some students had been complaining about the flag." It turns out that there weren't just complaints, but some indications that certain other students would become violent; the school referred to possible "uprisings." Let me make that clear: some middle school students threatened violence because a boy had an American flag on his bicycle. The multi-culti crowd inmates have taken over the asylum.

John Murtha, RIP

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:43:06 -0500

John Murtha served his time in the Marines. When I read the report of his death, I checked his Wiki entry. Murtha joined the Marines in 1952, and later became a Drill Instructor. He was later selected for OCS. Murtha was discharged in 1955, remaining in the Marine Reserves. He later volunteered for duty in Vietnam, "receiving the Bronze Star with Valor device, two Purple Hearts and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry." (Wiki) In other words: no matter what we think of his politics, he was no chickenhawk or Limousine Liberal. The man without a doubt got his hands dirty, and his blood spent. That said, in this writer's opinion he sacrificed his moral authority when he slandered the Haditha Marines before the official inquiry was finished. In short: while we should honor John Murtha's service, we should also recognize his abdication of loyalty. Hence we should accord former Congressman John Murtha the title of EX-Marine.

Christmas 2008

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:40:06 -0500

A year ago, I posted the words. Now... Back when I was a wee lad (born 1959) I just couldn't wait for Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer on the TV. Me'n'Rudy; we were outcasts together! As I grew a (tad), my compass tended a touch more "Peanuts-ward," when I finally began to absorb the message repeated by Linus, in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Last year I reproduced the words, now I'll add the video. :) --- And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. --- My best wishes and prayers to all, on this most wonderful of days.

Veteran's Day, 2008

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:33:34 -0500

This is the day I thank veterans I've known, met, heard about, or read their work. So thank you to Baldilocks, John Donovan, Blackfive, CDR Salamander, Neptunus Lex, Greyhawk, and the rest. This includes sidekicks like Uncle Jimbo, Deebo, and company at B5, Dusty'n'Bill over at Castle Argghhh!!, and Mrs. G. at Mudville. To all of you, to the men and women who have served before, or are serving now; thank you, and God bless you. You are the sheepdogs who keep the wolves from the door, In salute give you 3 Doors Down, and their magnificent Citizen Soldier. How many rock bands can quote the Soldier's Creed?

A not-so-bold Electoral Map prediction

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:27:05 -0500

The Vodkapundit got me started on the EC-wargaming thing. Back on October 13 I did a little twiddling of my own, with the results here.

Great fake bands from movies and TV

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:46:27 -0500

Ace links to a list: "20 Real-Cool Fake Bands from TV and Movies." The sad thing is that they included some really lame bands, and forgot several excellent ones. First, as Ace points out, Eddie and the Cruisers didn't even make the list. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!? Other great movie groups they missed: -Wyld Styllyns (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure) -the Blues Brothers -the Monkees (ok, they're TV) -The Wonders (That Thing You Do) -The Lone Rangers (Airheads) -Suburban Funk (The New Guy) -James "Thunder" Early and the Dreamettes (Dreamgirls) ... and my all-time personal favorite: The Commitments, from the movie of the same name.

A little note of gratitude for my friends on the Left...

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:14:27 -0500

Patterico recently had something to say about the Horrible Reporting that the L.A. Times Did on the US Attorneys purge last year. It's good stuff. What caught my eye was his mention of an earlier argument (March '07) that then-Attorney General Gonzales should resign, something I would have heartily agreed with had I seen it. Patterico then mentioned that he had opposed nominating Gonzales for the Supreme Court back in September of '05, which brings me to this post. To my friends on the Left, who opposed the Gonzales nomination for the Supreme Court:

THANK YOU

Back when "progressive" was a good thing

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:00:35 -0500

Neptunus Lex had something to say about the differing reactions that McCain and Obama recently faced, when commenting on a proposal to lift the ROTC ban at Columbia University. The thread quickly became a discussion about "keeping (or encouraging) liberals out of the military," with the majority opinion developing that political diversity is very important for our military. It's a good thread, you should Read The Whole Thing, as they say. What caught my eye towards the end was a secondary thread started by russiannavyblog (comment #15) wherein he mentioned more than a few liberal military members of excellent standing. Others took issue as to whether certain politicians (Teddy Roosevelt) were "really" liberal or not, and in what context. Mention was made of Teddy's trust-busting work, in contrast to McKinley. That's where I jumped in: Back in the day, more than a few of those trusts were (economically) objectionable. The problem is that both the economic & political context have changed, as well as our terms. Back then, "progressive" or "reformist" meant something. Truly large corporations (including especially the railroad companies) held an enormous power over local politics. Unions were still scrabbling for a toehold, up to the point where the Supreme Court struck down one collective bargaining agreement on the basis that said agreement violated the individual's right to freely contract their own labor. Even most conservatives today would, I think, be appalled at that logic.