Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Economic Woes Lead to Cancellation of 2009

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The United Nations Commission on Annualization (UNCOA) has announced that, due to the worldwide economic crisis, 2009 will be canceled. UNCOA spokesman Mohamed Abbas announced today that, if economic conditions permit, years will resume with 2010 after an empty space in the space-time continuum equivalent to the previously proposed 365-day length of the canceled year.

Critics claim that the cancellation of 2009 will exacerbate the economic crisis, as all existence will cease during the time that would have been the new year. The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, and most other major international stock indexes are expected to disappear during the temporary cessation of time and, thus, there will likely be no economic recovery until time resumes in 2010 or later.

Revelers can expect a cataclysmic disintegration of all time and space as they ring in the New Year. Scientists had previously scheduled a ‘leap second’ to correct for the slowing of the Earth’s rotation, and because the leap second is technically part of 2008 the temporary end of time will actually occur one second after midnight. All citizens of Earth are urged to remain calm as their existence comes to a temporary end. UNCOA officials reiterate the absolute necessity of calling off 2009 until more economic stability can be assured.

Regular posting will resume after UNCOA restarts time.

Website 20.2 Revision

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Today I have launched a minor revision to the web site, bringing the version to 20.2. As has been my tradition for many years, these minor revisions are where I start trying out new ideas that, if well-received, become part of the next major redesign.

The biggest change is a darker blue theme, which is what probably stands out out immediately. I’ve also added a little bit of fancy, new-age, ‘AJAX-y’ code that displays some tasteful Off on a Tangent branding at the top left of the browser once you’ve scrolled down below the header. I’ve made a number of other minor tweaks and adjustments throughout. Let me know what you think!

Note that the little floating branding thing won’t work in Internet Explorer 6 (it screwed things up in IE6, so I basically made IE6 ignore all that code). If you’re still using IE6 you need to upgrade to IE7 or, better yet, to Firefox, Safari, Chrome, or Opera now. Website 20.2 will be the absolute last version of this website tested for compatibility with IE6, as support for this ancient and badly-coded Microsoft browser is no longer worth the hours of extra time and effort.

A Military Pattern of ‘Christian Bias’?

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An atheist U.S. Army soldier, joined by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, has brought a lawsuit against the Army accusing them of a pattern of ‘Christian bias’. The examples of this ‘bias’ include quotes from a chaplain and another soldier about their desire to convert Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, a suicide prevention manual that encourages ‘connection to the divine’, and a few other laughably inconsequential things.

First, it is worth noting that Spc. Dustin Chalker is completely entitled to his own religious views (and, yes, I define atheism—a belief that there is no God—as a religion). But it is also worth noting that Spc. Chalker has been unable to present any evidence whatsoever of any criminal discrimination against atheists or other non-Christians. Statements made by other members of the military do not equate to official military policy, and a single sentence in a single suicide prevention manual is hardly evidence of any endemic ‘bias’ in the Army.

As a matter of principle, I agree completely with the Constitutional protection of free religion. This is a civil liberty. I also generally agree with the revisionist doctrine of a separation of church and state, though that’s not what the Constitution says. But neither equates to a freedom from religion. My right to practice my Christian faith does not mean I have a right to go through life exposed only to Christian practice. An atheist’s right to practice his religion does not mean he has a right to go through life without running into others practicing their religions either.

The original meaning of the First Amendment would have allowed government support of religion—even a single, particular religion—provided it was not ‘established’ by the government and the government didn’t limit anybody else’s religious practice. We’ve moved to a much more expansive read of the text, and that’s probably okay in this case, but members of the military still have a fundamental civil right to practice their religion. Spc. Chalker doesn’t have to like it, and I’m sure he doesn’t since the majority of our brave soldiers are Christians, but his suit is entirely without merit.

New Toys: Bike Trainer and Airsoft Gun

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CycleOps Fluid2 TrainerMelissa and I have just returned home from a wonderful long-weekend celebrating Christmas with our family in Southern Virginia. We received wonderful gifts from my parents, Melissa’s parents, and other members of our family. I want to thank everybody for all the gifts, and I sincerely hope that you all enjoy our gifts to you as well.

I spent part of this evening getting our new CycleOps Fluid2 trainer set up, which was a gift from my parents. This is, basically, a device that connects to a bicycle so you can use any bike as an indoor stationary bike. I apologize for the poor picture, but I set it up in a place where there wasn’t a whole lot of room ;-). I’m not sure exactly how these things work, but the simplistic version is that the bike is held in place by the frame of the trainer, and the wheel rests against a spinny doojob.

The spinny doojob has a flywheel (to provide some inertia) and another gizmo that provides resistance (for friction). All-in-all, it basically feels like you’re riding on a road—at least as far as raw friction. The inertia is a bit light (so the bike wheel stops spinning a bit faster than it does on a real ride), but overall it’s quite realistic. You adjust resistance simply by shifting gears, which is pretty slick and easy. I did a half-hour ride this evening after setting it up, and I was sweating just as much as I do on a real ride (which is how I judge effectiveness ;-)).

Read more . . .

Israel Targets Hamas Leadership in Air Raid

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Israel launched an air raid on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip today. At least 225 have been killed, including many high-ranking Hamas leaders. The Israeli raid was carried out in direct response to ongoing Hamas rocket attacks on Israel over the preceding months and years. Hamas is recognized by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization, and they act as the de-facto leadership body in the Gaza Strip having seized control of the territory from the Democratically-elected Palestinian National Authority.

Hamas has threatened retaliation against Israel, though it was Hamas aggression and rocket attacks the precipitated this increase in hostilities. In fact, recent Hamas rocket attacks followed Israel’s humanitarian 10-day border opening allowing medical supplies and food into Gaza from Israel.

As is often the case, the mainstream media has portrayed this as a unilateral Israeli attack and there has been widespread condemnation from governments in the middle-east and elsewhere. Media reports have generally failed to provide any context regarding Hamas rocket attacks that set off these hostilities, the humanitarian border opening, or the general context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Before judging the ‘right and wrong’ of the conflict or of this recent flare-up, it i imperative that you learn the context. This requires effort on your part, since the version presented by the media is generally one-sided and inaccurate.

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.