out of the blue

My phone is not making or receiving calls. I can access everything else. I just saved all my numbers in an openoffice document. If you want to get a hold of me, e-mail and IM are your best bets.

John Scalzi links to a Slate article comparing McCain's lying and Obama's lying:

The stats for McCain's political claims:

• 11 misleading statements
• 8 categorically false
• 3 pants-on-fire lies

The stats for Obama's political claims:

• 8 misleading statements
• 4 categorically false
• 0 pants-on-fire lies

I had always assumed that when I saw liberal bloggers writing about McCain's falsehoods, that they probably had counterparts on the other side complaining about Obama's distortions. But McCain's lies are more numerous and more flagrant. The most astonishing of these is McCain's "Education" ad:

Some of McCain's recent claims, though, are the William Hungs of political lies: so heroically deceptive that anyone not blinded by partisanship feels the urge to cover his ears. Take McCain's ad claiming that Obama's "one accomplishment" on education policy was to push "legislation to teach 'comprehensive sex education' to kindergartners." It's difficult to find a single true word in the whole spot. The Illinois Senate bill the ad refers to was not Obama's legislation. (He voted for it but didn't write or sponsor it.) It was not an "accomplishment" — the bill didn't pass. Nor did it advocate teaching kids about sex before they learned to read, as McCain claims; it envisioned "age-appropriate" language instructing children on "preventing sexual assault," among other dangers, and it allowed parents to hold their kids out of these classes.

Apparently I was being too generous. John Scalzi provides some good commentary on the article and the overall trend:

"I'm not suggesting that distortion and lying are new to this presidential election cycle … I am suggesting the McCain campaign is the first campaign, certainly in modern political history, that has decided that truth is entirely optional, and isn't afraid to come right out and say it. And it's working — and might well work all the way to the steps of the White House.

"If it does, that will be an interesting political lesson for the GOP. It will be confirmation of the actual "Bush Doctrine" of "do and say whatever the hell you want, because no one has the will to stop you." When there is no real-world penalty for lying, distorting and demonizing, then the only thing to stop you is your own moral compunctions. However, if McCain actually had any moral compunctions on this point, he wouldn't be running the campaign he's running now. And I would suggest that a man who shows no moral compunction in pursuit of power is not a man who will suddenly find those compunctions once he has power. An election is a job interview, people. If someone lies to you during a job interview, and says to you "yes, I'm lying, what of it?" when you catch them in the lie, and you hire them anyway, well. You shouldn't be surprised at what comes next….

"The fact of the matter is that at this point in the election, it's not just about what positions the candidates hold on various political subjects. It's also about how the candidates, and the parties behind, choose to see the people they intend to lead. The GOP and the McCain campaign, irrespective of its political positions, sees the American voter as deserving lies, lots of lies, repeated as often as necessary to win. And maybe they're right about it. We'll know soon enough."

Sarah claims that I'm more of a velociraptor than a robot-alien. Thoughts?

Why can't candidates promise to cut taxes after reducing spending? I'm sorry, but your average middle class family in America does not need a tax break. But your average lower or middle class child does need music and arts instruction, properly funded after-school programs, and more attention from teachers.

I'm all for reducing governmental overhead and congressional earmarks. I would love to see us avoid getting embroiled into trillion-dollar wars. I would love to see money not thrown away to protect the interests of certain money-grubbing lobbies. But the reductions come first; the tax breaks come last.

Promised tax breaks are a great way to get elected. They're a shitty way to run a country.

After weeks of waiting, Josh and I finally have internet at our apartment. This means no more connections that drop every few minutes, no going to Hopkins solely for internet, and no more waiting hours for YouTube to load videos.

I've done some tests, and it looks like we'll be getting about 1264 kb/s actual download, and 560 kb/s actual upload. When I tested on speedtest.net, it gave me a projected download speed of 1326 kb/s and an upload speed of 560 kb/s, so their numbers jive pretty well with the actual speeds. (Remember that kb/s is kilobits per second, and how network speeds are usually measured; KB/s is kilobytes per second, and how file sizes are usually measured; one KB is eight times larger than one kb.) So I may continue to use speedtest.net for a few months, and then ask Sarah to perform some statistical analysis of the results (you can download them in csv format). Dating a scientist who enjoys mathematical analysis has its definite advantages.

Josh suggested we call the wireless network "Zephyr". I think it's a very good name.

This is the beginning of life: void and without form, pliant and mutable. Yielding to will.

Then the first firmness, a point. Not pointy: a speck. A grain, a salt seed, a kernel of tungsten. One appears, then another, then closer and closer and one-upon-another. They coalesce into constellations, drops of star-water, puddles of light and energy. They sizzle and boil, sputter fire. Fill the atmosphere of the universe.

This is the beginning of life. Or, rather, the roots of what will become life, the rules and whims that govern life and give it shape. Stone wheels circle majestic suns, the timing of invisible gears — the clicking and whirring, celestial and inexorable. On, on, turn again, around and purposeless eon-work. But there is a way of growing in the cracks.

This is the beginning of life, in the cracks abounding.

My internet was completely dead today. It made me sad. But I will return one of these days in a blaze of fiery light. And goodness. Look for me.

I'm in the apartment, surrounded by three different directions of sound. From my open bedroom window come the sounds of thunder from the storm that is passing to the North. From the kitchen, the sound of a kettle softly warbling as it turns to a full boil. From the window by the couch, the sounds of rain and of cars splashing down the street. Josh is on the couch reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I'm in the brown chair reading War for the Oaks, by Emma Bull, and the mood fits.

Josh and I are ensconced in our new apartment. I was going to post this from campus, but Josh was ready to go back before I had the chance. Then, when I reached the apartment, I realized that the internet had not come disconnected. The Gonzaga wireless network still had a couple bars. I realize this is cheating, but I'm not going to complain.

I took some pictures of the apartment today, but I am not going to put them in this post. Later. Be patient.

Those of you in Spokane: talk to me; make plans to impose your presence upon me.

Here are some recent and forthcoming books that the Spokane Public Library has either on its shelves or on order, and which I will reserve at my earliest opportunity:

Here Comes Everybody, Clay Shirky

A much-talked-about book on group dynamics with the power of the internet, and the ability of groups to transcend traditional organizational structures.

Jhegaala, Steven Brust

The new Vlad book. Fantasy assassin with biting humor. Not set at the end of the timeline so far, but bound to fill some of the holes in the Vlad narrative. And be hugely entertaining, of course.

Saturn's Children, Charles Stross

A new book in the Accelerando universe, Young Adult space opera. I have read no synopses or reviews, so I'm not sure what to expect. Except Strossy goodness.

Zoe's Tale, John Scalzi

John Scalzi's contribution to Young Adult, in the style of a Heinlein Juvenile, taking place in his Old Man's War Universe. To be released July 19.

The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman

A riff on The Jungle Book, except darker and spookier. Neil Gaiman says it's the book that he wanted to write for a long time, but never felt good enough. Then he decided that he'd never feel good enough, so he might as well write it. He sounds quite proud of it. Due for release September 30.

A few other books that I plan to reserve, but aren't notably new:

Stand On Zanzibar, John Brunner

I just read The Sheep Look Up, his classic book about the ecological apocalypse, and loved it. This means that I will be looking up his other well-known books and making my way through them. This is the most notable of those. (Except the Spokane library doesn't have it… Must find elsewhere.)

In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan

Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma was pretty good. This focuses more on processed food and the American diet. Amazon quotes what may be a seven-word synopsis of the entire book: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

War for the Oaks, Emma Bull

Emma Bull's debut urban fantasy novel. Rock music and faerie. So far I'm only familiar with Bull for collaborating with Steven Brust. Reading this should remedy that situation.