Exploration and civilisation
“Exploration is not a luxury. It defines us as a civilisation. It directly or indirectly benefits every member of society. It yields an inspirational dividend whose impact on our self-image, confidence, and economic and geopolitical stature is immeasurable. ..What are waiting for? Let’s go.”
James Cameron, film director.
How nice…
Those who know nothing of Islam pretend that Islam counsels against war. Those [who say this] are witless…
Is this quote from some “Islamophobic” blogger or columnist? Actually its a direct quote from Ayatollah Khomeini. More on this from Winds of Change’s Hatewatch.
Comments are off for this postGood Grief - This is just too much !!
We all know that our Guido has his sources, but JFM has hers, too! She has been reliably informed that The Gray Monk is doing a short series of posts on the trials and travails of Santa dealing with the barrels of bumph and general nonsense generated in those back offices of Whitehall and Brussels. So far there are 3 of these little gems found here, here, and here. We all know, alas, that the dubious talents of the bean-counters guarantee that this saga is not over yet, so you might be well advised to keep checking back for the next few days to see what other idiocies the Monk has found.
Comments are off for this postLong Train Runnin’
down around the corner
a half a mile from here
you see them old trains runnin’
and you watch them disappear
—doobie brothers
I’ve never really understood the British hobby of trainspotting. It’s one of those enthusiasms like kidney pie that don’t travel all that well. (Yes, there are trainspotters in North America and I presume elsewhere, but the heart of the hobby is in the UK.)
For the uninitiated, trainspotters like to photograph and compile statistics on trains—locomotive numbers, ID numbers on the rolling stock, times, etc.
So these guys obviously love trains. So do I. Just not that much.
You could have worse hobbies. Like this Russian:
. . . a man who has collected all his nail clippings for the last 35 years.
I came across a page, though, that I think sums up trainspotting’s appeal quite nicely.
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