Shannon Larratt is Zentastic

I don't care that the interior is in tatters.
I don't care that there are some trim pieces missing.
I don't care that the wipers and heaters are broken.
I don't care that it makes me smell like gas.
I don't care that it gets 4 mpg.
I don't care that it lifts off the road at 90 mph.
I don't care that the stereo sucks.
I don't care that one mirror is broken.
I don't care that its brakes and steering suck.
I don't care that it has a white trash stigma.
I don't care that it only cost $2000.

It's got sidepipes.
It's got 500 HP.
It's got a long curvy hood.
It's got a pearl paint job.
It's got license plates that say L33T.
It's got t-tops.

This isn't a sports car.
This is fucking translated into automotive technology.

OK, first three news stories:

• UK reveals bomb plans – I don't know why everyone is so upset about this. At this point (in part thanks to an uncle of mine who got ousted from the scientific community for publishing a no-bullshit how-to article a number of years back — he was part of the team that designed GPS, and was a respected scientist, but now he's a professor of theology of U of T. Big points to anyone who can guess who specifically) that knowledge is public domain. Publishing plans to a fifty year old bomb design isn't going to increase our risk. Building the bomb is the easy part — the hard part is getting the raw materials!
• Was “Ginger” a diversion? – I thought the Segway Scooter was really neat, but not really that impressive or revolutionary… This new patent set of Kamen's though is much more exciting… If he's really managed to design a cheap and efficient Stirling engine, that will change the world. (If you don't know what a Stirling engine is or how it works, here is a “basic” explanation)
• A letter of protest and condemnation to the US ambassador – OK, to be perfectly honest normally I'm not usually much of a Yellowtimes reader. Anyway, the article is worth reading for an excellent insight into the outrage that “the other side” is feeling… And when you read that, it starts becoming clear that both “the terrorists” and “us free people” have a few very obvious common enemies.

  While you're there, don't forget to move your eyes to the left and look at the “letter of the week”. I really liked the two questions that were asked:

  1. Why is a suicide bomber a terrorist for killing civilians, but a soldier who kills civilians is not a terrorist?
  2. Why do we not compensate those who lost their life savings due to corporate terrorists at Enron while we compensate those who lost their lives to international terrorists at the World Trade Center?

  Both very valid questions, in my opinion. I certainly can't see the difference… “Right and wrong” and “good and evil” are universal truths. There are actions that are wrong or evil, no matter what politics or religion or skin colour are put behind it… At our core, we all understand this, but with the “education” of society, we are able to overlook these truths and commit horrible attrocities if they suit the needs of our masters.

Aaaaanyways… I have a few programming tasks, and I'll do at least a small image update today (nothing too big though, sorry, it's going to have to wait until tomorrow). I washed the poor Vette, and tomorrow it goes in to be re-geared (that was supposed to be done last fall, but we didn't have time). Some time I have to redo the interior as well (I hate the 1974 interior, I should never have sold the '77). And now, six pix: