Bagg's Bag O Maggots

Because this is a classy joint...

2007-04-24T14:28:25Z

I'm going to post the gentlemen's version of a classic song that we used to sing as kids.

People in newspaper ads...

2007-04-23T17:41:37Z

...But I'm working toward 60/40!

2007-04-16T17:30:24Z

Meme Time.

Everyone loves these memes because they can talk about themselves. I know I do! Check my answers in the comments section.

1. Can you cook?

2. What was your dream growing up?

3. What talent do you wish you had?

4. Favorite place?

5. Favorite vegetable?

6. What was the last book you read?

7. What zodiac sign are you?

8. Any tattoos and/or piercings?

9. Worst habit?

10. Do we know each other outside of lj?

11. What is your favorite sport?

12. Negative or optimistic attitude?

13. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?

14. Worst thing to ever happen to you?

15. Tell me one weird fact about you:

16. Do you have any pets?

17. Do you know how to do the macerana?

18. What time is it where you are now?

19. Do you think clowns are cute or scary?

20. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?

21. Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?

22. What color eyes do you have?

23. Ever been arrested?

24. If you won $10,000 dollars today, what would you do with it?

25. What kind of bubble gum do you prefer to chew?

26. What's your favorite bar to hang at?

27. Do you believe in ghosts?

28. Favorite thing to do in your spare time?

29. Do you swear a lot?

30. Biggest pet peeve?

31. In one word, how would you describe yourself?

32. Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

Courtesy of the irrepressible sir_alf.

Comin' Straight Outta Belgrade

2007-04-04T21:42:22Z

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... a Serbian Rap Video.

Pretty catchy, actually.

Link courtesy of Beyond the Beyond.

Future Watch: Fusion and Nanofacs

2007-01-05T15:45:41Z

Big Ideas: They're not just for the Fifties anymore.

Robert Bussard is seriously old-school. Former assistant secretary of the Atomic Energy Commission and inventor of the Bussard Ramjet, which is the dish on the front of Kirk's Enterprise, this guy is one serious physicist. He's been spending the last 17 years working out the physics of a form of nuclear fusion that makes the Tokamak reactor look like a tinkertoy. Read all about it.

And this nanofactory video charts the course of our future in easy-to-understand televisionism. This is not "10 years from now" technology (hopefully I'm wrong about that), but it's the second Big Idea that humans need to pursue.

There is some depressing stuff out there these days, and it's too easy to focus on the negative. Have hope for the future, and remember that not every new century gets off the ground immediately--if previous centuries are any guide, things should really get interesting around 2015.

Transduction

2006-11-29T19:22:05Z

This is fascinating.

And if that's not Hollywood enough for you, here's some kinky bacteria porn:

They call me F+++ (for obvious reasons).

bagg @ 2006-10-16T14:58:00

2006-10-16T15:00:20Z

Ladies and Gentlemen, put your hands together for...

Crying While Eating!

Got it from William Gibson's blog. He's just finished his new book, Spook Country. He posted this link to celebrate:

They prefer 'little people', you insensitive ass!

meme

2006-08-18T21:50:58Z

meme
infected by a_littleunwell

1. Reply with your name and I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. I'll pick a flavor of jello to wrestle with you in.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me. (may not apply to all).
5. I'll tell you my first memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on your journal. You MUST.

Here is what a_littleunwell had to say about me.

Public service

2006-08-08T15:36:41Z

If you haven't already found it on Boing Boing, read this PDF. Everyone in America should read this PDF. It answers the vital question of "How concerned should I be about terrorism?"

This is even more important to read than Snow Crash.

Reding are gud

2006-08-07T15:27:47Z

Book Meme - Got this from eleventoes. He just entered the first thing that came to mind, and so will I. Because I suffer from the delusion that people care what I think, I've included a little commentary:

1. One book that changed your life:
Collapse by Jared Diamond. People don't like books about the real world that scare you, because someone's always trying to scare us into coming round to their point of view. This book just laid out facts. I supplied the fear.

2. One book that you've read more than once:
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Brilliant.

3. One book you'd want on a desert island:
A blank one. A very large, blank book. I could work out a writing stylus with squid ink and a fish bone.

4. One book that made you laugh:
Lamb: The gospel according to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. This book is seriously funny, and although it's an irreverent take on Christianity, and frequently vulgar, it deals quite well with the subject matter.

5. One book that made you cry:
Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card. That bit at the end gets me every time.

6. One book that you wish had been written:
Anything by William Gibson. As far as I'm concerned, he can't write enough books.

7. One book that you wish had never been written:
Any of the Battletech books written by Michael Stackpole. They aspire to such heights, and fail so utterly. And they're part commercial for a board game that virtually no one plays. And everyone's a ninja. Total crap.

8. One book you're currently reading:
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. This guy's quite good. I think he should get an award or something.

9. One book you've been meaning to read:
Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce. I hear it will seriously damage my psyche. I can't wait!

10. One book that you bought but haven't read:
Visual Basic .Net Step By Step (Microsoft press) Like too many computer books, it's more of a sales pitch than a how-to. A complete waste of too much money. Go to Hell, Microsoft Press. Go to Hell and suck the Devil's dick.

Shigeki Hayashi

2006-06-14T14:57:27Z

Shigeki Hayashi has somehow merged gundam and batman and ceramics into something that is unmistakably art and unmistakably modern, but none of that Andy Kaufmann crap that modern art used to be known as. I can't wait until my personal matter compiler can churn these out. I'm going to stick them to my ceiling. Whenever someone touches the doorbell they'll scream in unearthly harmony.

Do check out his site. There is lots more wonderful stuff there.

Puttin' People on the Moon

2006-06-05T21:17:13Z

I'm not sure, but I think I'm now a fan of The Drive-By Truckers. Check out their video.

Thanks to William Gibson for the link.

In other news, I woke up this morning to a two-year-old repetitively kicking me in the ass. It is a testament to my powers of concentration that, even as he continued, I was able to go back to sleep.

Who'd have thought?

2006-04-05T21:27:29Z

The internet is a popularity contest!

bagg's LiveJournal popularity rating is 2.03/10.
bagg is more popular than 71.0% of all LiveJournal users.
bagg is more popular than 37.5% of their mutual friends.

How popular are you?
LJ Popularity created by thehumangame.

And I'm losing!

This is actually a good thing.

I don't know about the E, but NTP seems about right.

2006-04-05T15:16:56Z

ENTP - The Inventor
You scored 54% I to E, 15% N to S, 57% F to T, and 68% J to P!

The single word that describes your type is "inventor", and you belong to the larger group called rationals. You love to tinker with things and come up with new ideas. You are outgoing and curious with an insatiable appetite for knowledge. You have no real desire to lead, only doing so if there is no other way. 2% of the population share your personality type.

You are a flirtateous and energetic romantic partner, fun and engaging, always looking for something unusual to try. In your enthusiam, you may make promises you can't keep. Your competitive nature and need to be perceived as an expert can be daunting to a romantic partner at times. You so enjoy the tug of a good debate that sometimes you act as if you don't take anything seriously. You are usually very supportive and helpful to your mate, but somewhat scattered and unable to devote your full attention there. You feel most appreciated for your great ideas, unusual perceptiveness, and ability to understand and communicate with people. You feel most appreciated when your partner understands your need for lots of social contact and your need to live life as spontaneously as possible.

Your group summary: rationals (NT)

Your type summary: ENTP

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 64% on I to E
You scored higher than 8% on N to S
You scored higher than 60% on F to T
You scored higher than 77% on J to P

Link: The LONG Scientific Personality Test written by unpretentious2 on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

I got this from eleventoes by way of godfish. Last time I took this test I was XNTP, and the time before that I was INTP. Am I slowly being dragged, kicking and screaming, out of my shell?

Public Service

2006-02-14T19:06:15Z

As a public service, I present this Wired article: The Secret Cause of Flame Wars.

Researchers have discovered that there is only a 50/50 chance of determining the tone of an email or post. No matter how many smileys you use, no matter how well you craft your sentences, if more than one person reads it, you will be misunderstood. The article goes on to say that these ubiquitous conversational fuckups are the root of many an online sissy-slap-fight.

I have nothing to add to this information at this time. Knowing this fact, however, is waaaay better than not knowing, and it is my sincere hope that it will lead to more enlightened online communication for you and yours.

Now we can play "Guess the tone of my blog post" in the comments section.

Won't that be fun?

bagg @ 2006-01-04T10:19:00

2006-01-04T15:30:24Z

Gallup Poll: Half of Americans Think Most Congressmen are Corrupt

And the other half are self-deluded morons.

But wait! That's not the whole story. The article goes on to say that the poll group consisted of 1003 adults.

This is pathetic and misleading. I'm not saying that it has skewed the numbers, but it's LOUSY POLLING PRACTICE. Honey this is the INFORMATION AGE. I could poll 1003 random Americans in a few hours for about $49 in long distance fees. They can do better than this. They owe it to us to do better than this. That they've done so poorly suggests that they are deliberately skewing the numbers.

And yes, Virginia, they're all corrupt.

Encouraged by Dr_Avalanche

2005-12-12T16:40:30Z

Post ten weird and random facts about yourself; then, at the end of the list, encourage other people to do this.

1. When I was a child, I got a twig stuck in my eye. It apparently did no damage, as I am looking at this post in 1600x1200 resolution.
2. I had a job as the sole mechanic at a garage in a small town. The day I went to tell my boss I quit, he told me he had cancer.
3. In high school, my girlfriend actually broke into my house and woke me up on a Saturday morning to dump me.
4. I once saved a kid from a nasty knock on the head. He was in front of me on a spiral staircase when he fell between the bars of the railing. I caught him by the ankle.
5. When riding a motorcycle, I was run off the road by an eighteen-wheeler. Fortunately, I kept the bike on two wheels and got it back on the road. I have also had close-encounters of the two-wheeled kind with a flock of wild turkeys (100mph) and an escaped emu (70mph in heavy fog).
6. You couldn't ask for anyone honkier than me, but I used to play bass in a band called "Chocolate Funk". When it came time to kick my white ass out of the band, the bandleader didn't have the guts to tell me himself, so he told my wife instead. Over the phone.
7. I broke my arm as a teen, but I couldn't tell you exactly what did it. I'd gone over the handlebars of my bicycle racing a station wagon and hurt my arm so bad I was nauseous, but the following morning I felt better and tried to jump a ramp on the same bike. The ramp broke and I went over the handlebars again, landing on the same arm.
8. When people used to ask me "How are you?" I would habitually respond with "I am well". That got me fired from a temp job when I had called in sick. When they called to check on me, I told them I was well without realizing what I was saying.
9. There was a kid who rode the school bus with me who used to call me names every day. When he drew an insulting picture of me, I ripped it out of his hands, threw it out the window, and slapped him twice across the face. He apologized and we were good friends after that.
10. I have been the best man at approximately six weddings. Three of them were my brother's.

Idiots!

2005-12-01T15:34:18Z

Some real estate developers in New York have purchased 'air rights' to the space between their proposed building and Central Park, presumably so some other asshole real estate developer won't put up a building in their 'airspace' and block their tenants' views.

Fine.

But here's what I have a problem with: they're buying it by the SQUARE FOOT.

Only raging idiots measure the volume of air in square feet.

Great news!

2005-11-18T15:05:52Z

Bush's approval rating is down!
Cheney's approval rating is down!
Republican approval ratings are down!
Democrat approval ratings are down!

This is, without a doubt, a great day for democracy!

Check for yourself: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB113216347138199155-5Z1Ri_om8ITUbV_jD2bx6maguMY_20061116.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top.

Waltzing my ~

2005-11-17T19:44:17Z

quotation marks
You scored 61% Sociability and 64% Sophistication!

There is a lot more to you than meets the eye. You certainly get plenty
of "action," but you'd be happier if those who lusted after you were
more selective. You hate being used as a general intensifier; haven't
these people ever heard of underlining? Italics? And yes, you remember
the cruel words Mr. Joyce directed at you.
But you let none of this get you down; those who abuse you are destined
for a "special" reward, sooner or later. You feel particularly warm
toward periods, commas, exclamation points, and question marks, and
usually wish to have them next to you. Parenthesis can sometimes
trouble you.

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 77% on Sociability
You scored higher than 61% on Sophistication

Link: The Which Punctuation Mark Are You Test written by Gazda on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Ouch!

2005-11-08T16:42:12Z

Hand-Raiser

You are 57% Rational, 71% Extroverted, 28% Brutal, and 28% Arrogant.

You are the Hand-Raiser, that annoying kid in class who always had an
answer for everything. No doubt, as a child you probably sat in the
front of the class, anxiously waving your hand back and forth in the
air while your teacher desperately tried to avoid calling on you
because you were the ONLY fucking kid that answered her questions.
Clearly, the key traits of your personality are your rationality and
your extroversion. You are like a little talkative calculator, in other
words. You also tend to be rather gentle and less arrogant than most
people. So what is your defect, then? Well, you're boring, and when
you're not boring, you are just plain annoying with your ultra-logical
responses and constant need to talk to others. So keep waving that hand
in the air, son. I'm still not calling on you. You are too logical, you
talk too much, and your humility and gentleness only makes me hate you
more, because they make me feel like I almost SHOULDN'T hate you. But I
do. Big time.

To put it less negatively:

1. You are more RATIONAL than intuitive.

2. You are more EXTROVERTED than introverted.

3. You are more GENTLE than brutal.

4. You are more HUMBLE than arrogant.

Compatibility:

Your exact opposite is the Brute.

Other personalities you would probably get along with are the Braggart, the Haughty Intellectual, and the Robot.

If you scored near fifty percent for a certain trait (42%-58%), you
could very well go either way. For example, someone with 42%
Extroversion is slightly leaning towards being an introvert, but is
close enough to being an extrovert to be classified that way as well.
Below is a list of the other personality types so that you can
determine which other possible categories you may fill if you scored
near fifty percent for certain traits.

The other personality types:

The Emo Kid: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Starving Artist: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Bitch-Slap: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Brute: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Hippie: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Televangelist: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Schoolyard Bully: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Class Clown: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Robot: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Haughty Intellectual: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Spiteful Loner: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Sociopath: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Hand-Raiser: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Braggart: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Capitalist Pig: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Smartass: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 35% on Rationality
You scored higher than 74% on Extroversion
You scored higher than 26% on Brutality
You scored higher than 21% on Arrogance

Link: The Personality Defect Test written by saint_gasoline on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Found via eleventoes.

Yeah, I've been guilty of being the 'hand-raiser'. When I was NINE YEARS OLD!!! Since then I sat in the back of the class and read sci-fi.

I look great in this dress!

2005-10-25T19:02:00Z

You scored as River Tam. The Fugitive. You are clever and dangerous, which is a nasty combination. The fact you are crazy too just adds to your charm. They did bad things to you, but you know their secrets. They will regret how they made you.

</td>

River Tam

81%

Hoban 'Wash' Washburne

69%

The Operative

69%

Capt. Mal Reynolds

69%

Kaylee Frye

69%

Jayne Cobb

63%

Simon Tam

63%

Shepherd Derrial Book

56%

Zoe Alleyne Washburne

50%

Inara Serra

38%

Which Serenity character are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

It was never about the money

2005-10-25T13:02:09Z

My blog is worth $0.00.
How much is your blog worth?

Big Pimpin'!

2005-10-24T20:50:59Z

Your Pimp Name Is...

His Majesty Big Spenda

What's Your Pimp Name?

From quarks.

Random Babblings of a Cynical Futurist

2005-10-24T17:25:04Z

http://thephillyoildrum.blogspot.com/2005/10/peak-corn-as-wal-mart-shifts-from.html

Wal-Mart is a demon seed. No one worth his medulla would go if he didn't have to. Therefore, according to the Law of Contrariness, they're going to come up with something that will make us all have to go there.

Today, they're replacing their petroleum-based impossible-to-open-unless-you're-a-shoplifter packaging with corn-based impossible-but-that's-okay-it's-not-worth-it packaging. Not as great as it sounds, because corn takes a lot of fertilizer which all comes from ... petroleum and natural gas.

However, Wal-Mart has its own fuel transport infrastructure. It has occured to me that they may put the chill on our Day of Hippy Triumph Over Petroleum by becoming the main supplier of bio-diesel.

The mitigated victory will be bolstered somewhat by a decline in vegetarianism. Who can be a vegetarian in a world where every roadway smells like fried chicken? Or maybe it would be the other way. Who would want fried chicken if every roadway smelled like it? As an experiment, I suggest we lock a few vegetarians in a Bojangle's for a few weeks.