GlenBlank

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• Commented on Matt Logue's "Empty Los Angeles" photography book
  mesrop is right. I've always been a night owl, and, weeknights at 3 am, LA is astonishingly quiet (except in the residential neighborhoods with trash pickup the next morning - those have a constant parade of scavengers taking the deposit...
• Commented on Two curious antique Oddfellows items
  The goggles are amusing. They're a pretty standard set of goggles (possibly welders' or motorcyclists' goggles), with the caps from a dual-reservoir inkwell set as "blinders."...
• Commented on DRM-free, free-as-in-beer Dutch Little Brother ebook
  Having the book licensed under a CC-SA license (ShareAlike), doesn't that make the use of DRM actually an infringement since it prevent to Share-Alike? Only if the CC-SA license is the license under which the DRM-using publisher is publishing. The...
• Commented on Holy water dispensers to combat swine flu
  I thought Catholics were supposed to forgo technological protection against microscopic life forms and let God's divine will decide whether they get pregnant or infected or whatever....
• Commented on Bicycle defense kit fits in Altoids tin
  As a cyclist, I find that many (though not all) automobile drivers are self-righteous aggressive jerks. As an automobile driver, I find many (though not all) cyclists are self-righteous aggressive jerks. This kit is a product made by a self-righteous...
• Commented on Put This On: web video series for dudes on "dressing like a grownup"
  The idea, when you're wearing raw denim, is that you want it to be a reflection of your lifestyle... A "reflection of my lifestyle"? Oooookay. ...and that means the kind of high-contrast fades that you see on really beautiful vintage...
• Commented on Urban archeology: Lost Underworld of Los Angeles
  Make no mistake, though: I'm not claiming that LA's mass transit system is comprehensive, convenient, fast, or easy to use. It's better than it used to be, and it's a great deal better than the PE Red Car system ever...
• Commented on Urban archeology: Lost Underworld of Los Angeles
  Hell, you can't even take light rail all the way from Union Station to the freakin' airport. And why would you want to, when you can take the LAX Flyaway Bus? Using rail service means schlepping your own luggage on...
• Commented on Urban archeology: Lost Underworld of Los Angeles
  The account of the Pacific Electric Red Cars' demise in "Roger Rabbit" is utter ahistorical nonsense, and National City Lines had nothing whatsoever to do with it. Those are frequently-repeated urban legends. The Pacific Electric routes were mostly built by...
• Commented on US military data-mines America's kids for war recruiting
  A recruiting sergeant came our way To an Inn nearby at the close of day He said, "Young Johnny, you're a fine young man Would you like to march along behind a military band, With a scarlet coat A big...
• Commented on Man finds "missile launcher" in his back-40
  OMG THIS WAS A SERIOUS THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY!!! At any moment, some clueless civilian could have stumbled across it and died of a heart attack resulting from unreasoning fear of the unfamiliar!...
• Commented on They Shoot Porn Stars, Don't They? Susannah Breslin on recession and adult biz
  ..."porn valley," the epicenter of the adult entertainment biz. The San Fernando Valley is home to the densest concentration of film and video production - the industry colloquially known as "Hollywood" (though most of it left Hollywood back in the...
• Commented on Teetering planters
  The back of my gardener-brain worries that having the pots sitting at an angle will leave a "dead space" below the drain hole that doesn't drain, leading to root rot and other foul, soggy nastiness. But, given that other people...
• Commented on Proof that President Obama is a Borg
  Someone who is constantly in the public eye and poses for photos on a near-daily basis has a well-rehearsed "smile for the camera"? No! Next thing you know, you'll be telling me someone writes his speeches. Gosh, the amazing things...
• Commented on Public fountains are disappearing because the concept of public is disappearing
  @Arkizzle: Yeah, I'm aware that not all bottled water is safe, either. The brands I buy are ones that have repeatedly demonstrated excellent quality control in independent testing. This is something I've been paying attention to for decades. One of...
• Commented on Public fountains are disappearing because the concept of public is disappearing
  ...in Colorado I see lots of people (myself included) carrying reusable metal or lexan water bottles. Oooh, Lexan - the plastic that leaches Bisphenol A, a known carcinogen and endocrine disruptor, into your water! Yeah, gimme some o' that! Aside...
• Commented on Public fountains are disappearing because the concept of public is disappearing
  I've been a water drinker for a very long time. Long before you could get clear, cold, pure water from any convenience store or vending machine. Water fountains were always a crapshoot. No matter how good the municipal supply might...
• Commented on Navigation system uses crowdsourcing for route guidance
  "Crowdsourcing"? Perfect for LA rush hour. Get everyone else to follow the crowd, so they won't be in my way. What an excellent idea. :-)...
• Commented on 9/11 hoax fools all of Germany
  Name: Bluewater Feature ID: 1867001 Class: Populated Place County: San Bernardino Latitude: 341028N Longitude: 1141617W State: CA USGS Topo Map Quad: Parker Elevation: 112m 367ft Entry Date: 15-MAY-2000 --USGS Geographic Names Information System Feature Detail Report: Bluewater CA See also:...
• Commented on If lotto tickets told the truth
  Ugly Canuck @43: How's about a third proposition: "odds so close to zero as to make no practical difference"? Approaching the limit, so to speak... It's not black & white, it's a question of the odds. No, that's still wrong....
• Commented on If lotto tickets told the truth
  Oh, and an aside to the occasional big-jackpot players: In most Lotto systems, substantial but still medium-sized jackpots produce better payouts than the really, really big jackpots. The odds of winning remain the same, but the bigger jackpot attracts more...
• Commented on If lotto tickets told the truth
  Lemme see here - one side says: "An extremely slim chance of becoming an overnight millionaire is better than no chance at all, and that's worth a buck to me; and if I lose, part of that money goes to...
• Commented on Daredevil LA tagger "Buket" of YouTube fame gets nearly 4 years in jail.
  It's not art, it's advertising. (And ugly advertising, at that.) He's a repeat offender, already on probation for the same crime. And if you think "sentenced to four years" means "will serve four years", you're not paying attention to what's...
• Commented on Big-ass flying boats full of water save LA from fiery doom!
  @23 Madlibrarian: 'Hawaii' is just the name of that particular aircraft. Except for the prototype, each of the individual Martin Mars flying boats was given the name of an island or island chain: Hawaii, Philippine, Marianas, Marshall, Caroline, and Hawaii...
• Commented on Big-ass flying boats full of water save LA from fiery doom!
  @10: Most of the locally-available fixed-wing tankers are already at work on this fire or one of the other, smaller, fires. Only seven Martin Mars flying boats were ever built, and the two based in Canada are the only two...
• Commented on Music downloading penalties are harsher than arson, theft, or starting a dogfighting ring
  If you really want to do this right, you'd figure out what the median amount of money is that someone would pay to stay out of jail for a year.Or, perhaps more precisely, the number of years in prison someone...
• Commented on Fresh Greens: Bull Semen Hair Conditioner
  ...and I love the article's attempt to seem in-the-know by saying "word on Hollywood Boulevard has it...". Anyone really in the know would know that most of working 'Hollywood' left Hollywood itself back in the '20s and '30s, and the...
• Commented on Supermodels without makeup
  Gosh, without any makeup, they're all gray! Who knew? Thanks, Bazaar, for 'keeping it real'!...
• Commented on What is the meaning of this unusual tombstone?
  The rocket on the back side labeled "X-Caliber" bears some resemblance to the "X-Calibur" model rocket from the "VHA series" sold by Public Missiles Limited. It's not identical; but then, neither is the spelling....
• Commented on Wacky gilded pyramid house in Illinois
  <aside type="scriptural exegesis"> The term "onanism" for masturbation always puzzled me, since, in the Biblical story, Onan's sin seems to be disobedience, in the form of coitus interruptus motivated by arrogance and selfishness. He may have "spilled his seed on...