One fact just transformed me from strong GMO proponent to strong opponent.

Seed companies use intellectual property laws to censor research on their products.

I've always suspected GMO opponents were motivated partially by irrational fear of science. But it turns out that the seed companies are afraid of science, afraid enough to use legal means ( Read more... )

It works! I meant to just try it out on a bush or two when I went out to feed the horses. Three hours later...

I'll never see the inside of a gym again.

If you have a lot of non-native bushes to uproot, I highly recommend it!

My Heavy Weed Wrench has arrived. Tonight, late in the night, I assemble it and quietly test the mechanism. It's the heaviest hand tool I've ever owned, heavier than a sledgehammer or a Collins axe or a chainsaw. I carry it with both hands. It feels like power. It feels like vengeance.

I want the sun to rise.

I know a lot of people who want to stop fighting in Afghanistan immediately. I'm actually very hazy about what they're suggesting. I assume it's not simply "withdraw everybody and let the dice fall where they may" - or is it? I can't tell. I haven't heard what the alternate suggestions are ( Read more... )

I think my Japanese studies are going OK, for a self-teaching project done in little spare scraps of time. I've even got a good start on the kanji.

However, I've suddenly realized that there is no sane reason for me to learn this. I'll probably have one or two short visits to Japan in my life, to a family that speaks English. My Japanese will ( Read more... )

The brain is the paper; the soul is the story.

Let's play a little game. Find the text I have inserted into this well-known parable.
And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life ( Read more... )

Morse code is the only one-dimensional written language. Even though spoken language propagates just fine through one spatial dimension - or, converted to an electrical signal, through a one-dimensional wire. Hmm.

You can buy $1 coins in bulk from the mint!

That's so full of awesome! Er - I mean - Zounds! A box brimful o' treasure awaits in me mailbox!

I guess I'll be working on my church's website after all. I should have known I wouldn't be able to stay away ( Read more... )