I mean really…

As a former member of the NZ military it is a pretty appropriate person to write it.

Google has released SketchUp, a free 3D modelling application. In comparison to other software of the type, it’s very easy to use. It’d be ideal for sketching out additions to your house (or a whole new one) or landscaping or designing or . . . well, whatever else comes to mind.

You can upload your images to the 3D Warehouse (from where I got the design at left) or import them into Google Earth.

It’s only available for Windows now, but a Mac version is promised soon. Minimum requirements:

* Microsoft Windows 2000, XP Home or Professional Editions * 600 MHz Pentium III processor * 128 MB RAM * 80 MB of available hard-disk space * Video card that is 100% OpenGL compliant * Windows compatible pointing device * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher * Windows Media Player or QuickTime 5.0 and web browser for multimedia tutorial.

You can download it here.

the blog québécois

More info here.

Via: LGF which is still up althought parts of it are acting less than stable.

They are getting a raw deal in the history books. But even better RAB has explained the birth of PR.

“Well ok! we called it Iceland cos that’s what it looks like” Waddia mean youve discovered somewheres further west? It’s huge, and it’s frozen solid and it looks like Iceland. For Odins sake call it Greenland this time, we’ve just invented PR.

I needed a good laugh today and this quote did it for me. There has got to be something to make the buggers sail across the North Atlantic in an open boat! And they didn’t stop at “Green”land they kept going to Atlantic Canada and even Maine.

But he must surely hold the record for being the stupidest man ever to have held high office in the United Kingdom since the Norman Conquest.

Tom Utley roasts John Prescott.

Awwww. Warning: Embedded audio.

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big breasted women1013.6 %
orbox b codes 903.2 %
orbox b solution 792.8 %
andrew ian dodge 481.7 %
hermaphrodites 481.7 %
orbox b guide 411.5 %
dave the cameleon401.4 %
mlb.tv 311.1 %
the da vinci load 240.8 %
pagan easter 230.8 %

Ok some make sense but what the hell is orbox b? It is nice to see I am getting hits via the porn take-off of the Da Vinci Code.

This time Venom, Dio, Carmine Appice Project and Artic Monkeys get the treatment.

Tourdates has posted a podcast of the music featured at their launch in March which is reviewed here.

And its against a Maine blogger, Lance Dutson.

That is why I am a member. Got to let the buggers know we aren’t alone.

I am the sucker host of the next Carnival of the Vanities. So get yer entries in early and enjoy the linking fun.

Last night saw a blogger and dead tree media event happen at the ASI. Rivalries, tiffs and hatreds were buried, mostly, for the night as the group of about 40 bloggers and various media types, including a representative of Fox News, quaffed real ale & champers. We were treated to a brief speech by Danny Finklestein which contained one amusing anecdote about the need to edit your podcasts. Guido was busy scheming and sharing the latest gossip from the world of politics. Many snide remarks were made at the expense of one John “Two Shags” Prescott.

It was great to meet Tim Worstall at long last; the man has a dress sense right out of Starsky & Hutch (no not Huggie Bear). I met several other bloggers; both commenters to this good site and purveyors of their own. Clive Davis attended as well as a Blithering Bunny. It was truly amazing how many in the room were actually spawned by Samizdata.

Alas, my beloved Kim was unable to make it as she was feeling rather poorly; it was a shame as the room could have used a touch of glamour. Lets face it 40 bloggers together is a pretty scary scene.

Update: Here are some more observations on the evening from Marcin, Rob Davies, Timmy, My Free Market and the frankly vicious (but typical) Jackie.

Its called Traffic. You can just hear the nasal-tones of civil servants as you look at the screenshots. “Oh you can’t do that…it won’t maximise the flow of traffic from the centre…”

Er sorry;... young Republican men’s favourite pin-up Michelle Malkin is doing video-blogging (and looks damn uncomfortable doing it). However she has Allahpundit writing for her so it looks to be an interesting propositon. Found at Cold Fury.

I do rather think they should get a sponsor that makes tissues to go with the t-shirt sponsor.

Have you checked them out recently? Laurence has put me under instruction to stick to creepy stuff and lay off anything normal…

He wants to give his blog a new look and is looking for a shit-hot blog designer to do the deed.

Hey, that’s the name, and I’m sticking to it.

It’s a point-and-click murder mystery

Warning: Music and dialogue on the load and intro screens.

the blog québécois

John “Two Jags & as many mistresses” Prescott’s wife looks like a certain type of Southern woman…she is in fact a Northern (England) lass.

Anyone watching the news or reading the newspaper had the distinct displeasure about hearing about Prescott’s sordid love life. Most people don’t want to hear about the man at all much less having to contemplate him shagging. Of course, it was worse for his mistress’ boyfriend. She cheated on him with John Prescott? Ouch, talk about a knob schrivelling bit of news.

BLOGinSPACE Certicate Begin->

BLOGinSPACE Certificate End->

Going to the world cup

Oh my. Deprive our solicitous media of the opportunity to tap dance on the coffins of slain soldiers, will you? Judging by the pissing and moaning I’ve been hearing all day about it (The CBC couldn’t find anyone besides the Minister of Defence who agreed with the government’s decision. Huh! Fancy that!), that’s exactly what they had intended to do.

Ottawa Citizen:

Liberal defence critic Ujjal Dosanjh blamed Mr. Harper for the decision to bar the media from CFB Trenton, calling it “absolutely un-Canadian.”

Mr. Dosanjh accused the Conservatives of adopting the same tactics as the Bush administration—keeping images of the death of Canadians in Afghanistan out of the public consciousness so they won’t undermine public support for the mission, the way U.S. support for the Iraq mission has waned.

Well, whaddya know? Dosanjh got it half-right, for a change. Right policy, wrong Bush.

Seattle Times:

The Pentagon has banned the media from taking pictures of military caskets returning from war since 1991, citing concern for the privacy of grieving families and friends of the dead soldiers. The Bush administration issued a stern reminder of that policy in March 2003, shortly before the war in Iraq began.

In 1996, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., upheld the ban after media outlets and some other organizations sued to have it lifted. Citing the need to reduce the hardship and protect the privacy of grieving families, the court held that
the ban did not violate First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and of the press.

The National Military Family Association, one of the largest military-advocacy groups, supports the policy. “The families that we’ve heard from are more interested in their privacy and would hope that people would be sensitive to them in their time of loss,”
said Kathy Moakler, deputy director of government relations for the organization.

Censorship of these types of images is nothing new; showing their war dead was proscribed by all Allied governments in World Wars I and II. Soldiers’ remains were mainly in those times buried overseas, so the issue of photographing returning caskets didn’t come up. Had it, I doubt that newsmen of the day would have been terribly upset over prohibiting the practice—unlike some of the opportunistic hyenas of today, at least they realized that they were on the same side:

A war of the half-truth, fought against a total lie.*

(* Apologies to Arthur Koestler, whom I paraphrase, being unable to find the exact quote.)

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SNN is available for your listening pleasure as is the innugural 100 Word Weekly Challenge. And this week’s Carnival of the Vanities is available for your reading pleasure.

And we Britbloggers have our carnival up too.

At Gary’s has the BOMS and the writers have got the Storyblogging Carnival to showcase their work.

Guido has another one of his podcasts up this time with John Bercow around the pub table.

And, of course, there is a new COTV at IMAO.

Is that what this is suggesting about UKIP?

Found via Guido; not that you are surprised to hear that. It was good to see him Monday night at the ASI book launch.

From Spy:

“During his ride on the sled, one of the husky dogs had to do its business,” reveals my source.

“One of the other dogs trotted over, and kicked it up into the air, splattering it all over Cameron. He implored the cameraman not to film until he had scrubbed it all off.

We can think of at least one Lib-Dem MP who would enjoy this sort of thing. Cameron is really trying to attract the Lib-Dem vote isn’t he?

I do apologise for the dearth of posts on here from me. I am, like Tim Worstall, writing pieces for other outlets. I just sent off another piece to TCS and am finishing up a music piece for a London based think-tank.

Today I will not be writing much as I am off to my band-mate Rob’s father’s funeral; who was a good friend to me and my family as well as being a great father to Rob.

This blog would like to go on record that putting human hair control products on a bird is not a good idea. The feathers of birds are complex structures that will not benefit from a dollop of Li’l Harlot’s Stylin’ Gel and a spritz of Iron Woman Head Fixative.

And all of this in a pathetic bid for Internet traffic. (You want pathetic traffic, I got you covered.)

Maybe I’m misreading the picture. It could be that they just stuck some pieces of an old wig on it with some Krazy Glue.™ That would be okay, I guess.

And not just the normal suspects…its at the Adam Smith Institute:

Chris Martin from Coldplay or Dick Chaney? Hrm not much of a choice really.

What the hell am I talking about? Read Steyn and find out.

As Gnotalex is awol on the game front. Nothing better than driving a car round with your name on it at illegal speeds. Might as well play a driving game that features Dodges.

Can you find any on these pages? I think myself and my good lady are going one of the two days at the end of the month. Must be only the American witches that are scary looking and stuff because I have to tell you I have never seen an “ugly” witch here in the UK.