“Giant” Frosted Flakes

I hit the jackpot today with these giant Frosted Flakes (penny, not eaten, for comparison).

Snowdrops signal Spring is coming

Snowdrops signal Spring is coming

Novels written in a future State of Delmarva

 These novels are written in a future State of DelMarva.  "Fired" and "Halloween House" by Ed Okonowicz are mostly interesting in the creation of the new state of Delawarva, even though that is a bit contrived.  The murder mysteries are forgettable, as I do not recall them now.  I might just have to read these again.

Nightflyer on SYFY isn't very good

Who wouldn't want a chance to create a series based on short stories by George R.R. Martin given the overwhelming success of Game of Thrones on HBO?  However so many things have to go right to duplicate success and these things did not happen with Nightflyers.

This horror and sci-fi mash-up is jammed with every sci-fi trope you can think of. 

Dying earth
Colony ship
Mysterious enigmatic aloof aliens
Messed up lead scientist
Messed up team of scientists
Evil (?) telepath.
Secret telepath.
Outlawed telepathy.
Crazy computer/haunted ship
Lost ship with crazy people
Not one but two cults
Jacking in to the computer
Holograms
Genetically engineered humans

It is a predictable at times and then chaotic.  As I watched I felt little sympathy for the characters because they didn;' seem to do things in any sort of a logical manner letting their pathologies and obsessions drive them to do ridiculous things.  The pacing is slow, perhaps to give it gravitas, but I long for a 1.5X button like in my podcasts to just speed it along a little.  Spending this much time to hate watch it implies I do like it, but I just want to find out what happens.  Will it have any type of acceptable finale?

I am only to episode six and I have counted three separate virtual reality simulation technologies. 

The first is the memory room with lasers shooting holograms into the eyes of its users.  Users only seem to want to relive the worst memories of their lives.  In the future people will only watch the pictures of their deceased relatives in the saddest situations over and over again, just like every other dystopia.

The second is more virtual: the computer interface that Lommie the computer technician uses when she jacks in to the computer.  There she finds the mansion and grounds created by the dead mother who inhabits the computer system.  Later she makes her own virtual reality.

Finally, the telepath can project scenarios into peoples minds that feel as real as reality.  He gets a whole team basically addicted to these lives, which inevitably turn dark as people need a more and more powerful fix.

I should add as an honorable mention that the holographic projection system all over the ship can show lifelike images.  At first we, and even the characters, who surely should have read the orientation documents, don't know whether these images are hallucinations or ghosts.  When they are revealed to be merely holograms we wonder why the crew doesn't seem to realize that.

Given all of this why should we believe anything we see on screen, why would the characters who know about all of this technology?  Is there such a thing as unwilling suspension of disbelief?

Doesn't this Beatle Beat all?

BEATALL license plate on a VW beatle. Appropriate.

Also, Virginia is the land of personalized license plates

The Fairy Really Ring

I did not step into the fairy ring nor eat the fairy food offered lest i become trapped.

A close up of the fairy ring mushrooms.

Fiery Tulip!

Cherry Tree Blossoms

Daffodils

"Doors" on pickup truck made from doors

Spotted this truck on I-95 this weekend driving north.  Innovative use of doors to be the doors on the back of his improvised trash hauler.  

Windflowers

These windlflowers (anemone blanda, I think) were along the quarry trail in Beaver Valley in the Woodlawn Estates in the First State National Monument in Delaware.  

Tall Tree Down in Rockwood Park

This tree has fallen very recently in Rockwood Park.  I assume due to the ice storm and wind on Tuesday.

Crews obviously went through and cut it up to get it off the path from the Greenway Trail at mile marker 4.5 down into Rockwood Park.  This picture is maybe 50 feet from the base.

The wood still smelled fresh from the cuts.

Fawns on the lawn

Seen on a walk today through the site.  These deer have a good life with no predators or fear of us.

Sunday Favorites

Hear this, you who trample upon the needy
and destroy the poor of the land!
“When will the new moon be over,” you ask,
“that we may sell our grain,
and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat?
We will diminish the ephah,
add to the shekel,
and fix our scales for cheating!
We will buy the lowly for silver,
and the poor for a pair of sandals;
even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!”
The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Never will I forget a thing they have done!

Amos 8:4-7

Sunday Favorites inspired by Slacktavist

What instrument do you play?

What instrument do you think they play?  Take a guess...

When the murder victims oppose the death penalty

Two wonderful people, two nuns who served the community selflessly, were murdered near Jackson, Mississippi last week.  Follow the link to see how they served the rural poor as nurses at a clinic and in their neighborhood.

The prosecutor is debating whether to suggest the death penalty for Rodney Sanders, who has been charged with the crime.  But it says in the article ...

"Relatives and colleagues of Sisters Margaret Held and Paula Merrill have publicly expressed their opposition to execution."

It is also likely that the sisters opposed the death penalty themselves.  So I think that the answer is simple, no death penalty.  Don't read the comments in online newspapers  (why do I do that?) because it is a long list of people who don't get it saying that he should be executed.  If I am ever murdered I am going on record right now to say I do not want the prosecutor to seek the death penalty.

At the end of the article is the list of incarcerations for Rodney Earl Sanders, the murderer.

This guy has been in and out of prison since 1986.  I myself am always conflicted between punishment and rehabilitation.  If you think the person is going to leave prison some day how do you make it so they don't return?  By helping them with the problem that cause them to go to prison or by making prison so horrible so they never want to go back there again?

In his case repeated incarceration didn't stop the subsequent crimes.  Here is the list in chronological order since it is a bit jumbled in the article.

• 1986 in Mississippi, served 6 years for armed robbery (1986 to 1993?)
• 1996 in Iowa, April to October for 3rd offense drunk driving
• 1999-2002 in Iowa, theft
• 2004-2011 in Iowa, 2nd degree robbery
• 2015 currently on probation after prison term for felony drunk driving conviction (doesn't say how long in prison)

and now

• 2016 the current 2 counts for capital murder.

What is wrong with this person?  Why didn't he or we fix the alcoholism, fix the stealing, fix the violence before he murders two people.  Fix the circumstances that produced him.

I know we want to hold people accountable for their actions, but at some point you have to ask "Given this pattern of behavior, what can we do to protect the public and help this person who has demonstrated they do not have control of themselves to live in society?"

Honest Hypocrite as Stranger Things

I hear good things about Stranger Things, but would need a Netflix subscription to confirm.

Who has voted so far and who the candidates have to woo to win.

Howard liked this infographic from the Times, but wished it was all together.  Some simple MSPaint work produced this:

From the article

• 103 million of them are children, noncitizens or ineligible felons, and they do not have the right to vote.
• 88 million eligible adults do not vote at all, even in general elections.
• An additional 73 million did not vote in the primaries this year, but will most likely vote in the general election.
• The remaining 60 million people voted in the primaries: about 30 million each for Republicans and Democrats.

The candidates have to woo those who voted, even from other candidates, those who didn't but might, and maybe energize those that have never voted.

(Note:  How can you not vote!?)

Pokemon GO Panic in Rocky Mount, NC

Rocky Mount, NC officials want all of the regions Pokemon Go stops and Gyms removed from the app.  Seems a little overkill and killjoy to me.  Don't you want people walking around your town? Did you ask the Pokemon player who you represent?  By their own admission there seems to be no incidents provoking this step

"We have not had any accidents regarding Pokemon Go, but we wanted to take steps to make sure not[sic] accident do take place," said Tameka Kena-Norman, City of Rocky Mount public affairs manager. 

I think overreaction is the next reaction.

Pokemon GO useful links

I need not explain the allure and power of the new Pokemon GO game to you all, if you aren't already playing, just google the new stories surrounding it.

My family and I are enjoying playing it.  It gets people out and walking to play the game and it is face to face social, since those wanderers you encounter are playing as well and you can help each other play by pointing out the Pokestops and Gyms and telling where you found your pokemon and finding out where they found theirs.

I am compiling some useful links in this post for my reference and yours.

Firstly, are the servers working:

Down Detector for Pokemon Go in the US.

Is Pokemon Go up or not, for the different regions.

More to come here later.