I think I promised that I would write up this rant roughly five years ago. Recent announcements of the coming changes to our printed currency has finally triggered me to share one of my favorite old man grumbles with you, a grumble I’ve had since I was 12 years old. The TL;DR version: I HATE …
Category Archives: Reference Rants
Carbon Dating Primer
This was originally written on June 16th, 2012 after my family’s Father’s Day viewing of “Prometheus”. It was then published in the final issue of Coilhouse. The editor of Coilhouse, Meredith Yayanos, immesuarably improved my words by adding excellent illustrations, such as the one to the right. Hollywood, we need to talk about your dating habits. …
Another Rant: Art Safety
This is a rant I’ve been thinking about for a while. Let me open by saying this is hasn’t been brought on by any particular event, but enough things from all over have piled up that I want to try to put my thoughts together in hopes that it helps someone. The rise of the maker, …
PLEASE Don’t Open That – A Rant on Generally Licensed Materials
Let’s start this out right by terrifying people. If your home hasn’t had any major renovation since 2001, I can almost guarantee you have radioactive materials in it. I’m not talking natural occurring radioactive materials like the uranium & thorium in your granite countertops, the potassium-40 of your concrete, or the radon in your basement …
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Alcoholism in Antarctica
This is a post over two months in the making as it’s pulled together some hard times from Pole. I hope it helps someone. While I stand by what I’ve done and my justifications, I can’t say they give me great comfort. Today is Midwinter in Antarctica. It is one of the most important dates …
Horrible People Dragging The World Forward
This rant had it’s genesis chatting outside the Burger King, around 2pm on a Sunday, in Terminal C of Las Vegas’ McCarran “Sad Bro” International Airport. Let me tell you, early afternoon on Sunday in McCarran is a sea of desolate, hungover, broke, exhausted, and, above all, chica-less bros. It earned my new name for …
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Can I Possibly Be More Of A Nerd?
This is Brian Clevinger’s fault. I thought I’d take moment at the outset to blame him. In addition to having a physics degree, having been nominated Eternal DM For Life amongst my gaming circle all the way back to elementary school, and a truly compendious amount of knowledge about Frank Herbert’s Dune, I am a …
Hard Life Lessons from the Land of Q Clearances
In an ongoing effort to share helpful things in life about topics other than delicious coffee & beer, I want to take a moment to discuss something that effects all of us, every day. First, let us review the two fundamental pieces of wisdom that can so easily be forgotten in a moment of blinding …
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Another Rant: The Funranium Labs Customer Service Ethos
I do my best to compose these posts with the appropriate level of insobriety fueling me. I like to think that it allows me to summon the correct creativity needed to share More Awesome. In this case, it is the vitriol directed at organizations Doin’ It Wrong. This morning I just shipped a replacement Stein …
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A Bit Of A Rant
Yes, there are fresh batches of Death Wish, Retiro, Colombia, and Mundo Nuvo up to tell you about and the Ambassador of Greater Los Angeles is resupplied, but I want to have a bit of a rant and it starts six years ago with a chocolate bar in England. Let’s see how many people I can …
Post-Tsunami Japanese Reactor Problems
While I like to keep my discussions here coffee, beer, and historical science related some things just can’t be ignored especially when people keep poking me for answers. So, I have some thoughts that are quite lacking in insobriety. First, I am not a nuclear engineer, contrary to how more than a few people have …