http://www.kuro5hin.org/ technology and culture, from the trenches en-us Copyright 1999-2006 - Kuro5hin.org 2007-08-20T20:20:01Z Kuro5hin.org The readers of Kuro5hin.org http://www.kuro5hin.org/images/kuro5hin.png http://www.kuro5hin.org/ http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2007/8/18/45518/7775 From Narnia to a Space Odyssey is a collection of the infrequent correspondence between noted authors Arthur C. Clarke and C.S. Lewis. I didn't even know they had corresponded, so I picked the book up from a bargain shelf for $4, and it turned out to be a fairly interesting if not particularly substantial bit of history, focusing mainly on their disagreements over space travel, and mainly initiated and driven by Clarke's attempts to engage Lewis in debate on the matter. http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2007/8/17/215720/779 The year was 1971, I think. You may remember Philo but I don't think you really knew his roommate Steve. He was a pilot and I was, let's see, a young entrepreneur. http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2007/8/11/123121/909 Lurleen Wallace was the only woman ever elected governor of Alabama, and the only reason she ran in the first place was because her husband, George Wallace (yes, that George Wallace), could not serve two consecutive terms. Lurleen, who was dying of cancer at the time, was used a his proxy to circumvent the election rules; on every issue, her position was her husband's position. Sound familiar? http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2007/8/6/1237/54684 Well this weekend we dropped the engine out of the red MR2, tore it down to the shortblock, changed out the headgasket, and put it back together. I had a restful sleep and the next day we took the 5SFE engine out of the white one and bolted the 3SGTE into it. I started it up, pressed the gas, and drove to the moon on the 10 billion horsepower I had. Then my penis got really big from working on cars and I had a lot of sex while drinking and smoking. If you haven't been following the Diary Section, the tag for the back story is Kuro5hin Chopper. http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2007/8/1/211935/3231 One will rise and one must fall. The phone rings. It's Mom. She wants to know if I'm still alive. This happens more often than you'd think. A bridge has collapsed. I wasn't on it (sorry, guys), but I may well have been. Hanging up with Mom, I do what every self-respecting blogger with delusions of legitimate journalistic credentials would do: put on my headphones, grab the camera, hop on the bike and go scoop the MSM. http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2007/7/30/174653/584 I'm not the kind of guy to toot my own horn, but I believe most of you understand, sympathize and approve of tooting my country's horn. While us Finns have plenty of things to be proud of - Nokia, sauna, and I'm sure there's other stuff - our music is a wide-open door into the dark well of the Finnish psyche, a nation with one of the highest suicide rates in the world and 24 hours of darkness in the winter. With that marketing speech out of the way, behold how hard we rock, how fast and loud we are below the fold. http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2007/7/27/9289/40217 Although there are a lot of different ways to go about the pursuit of happiness, the assumption underlying the policies of all western governments is that More, Bigger, Faster, Shinier- in the form of maximisation of economic growth is the way forward. This isn't an accident. The western powers are democracies of one form or other and when it comes to consumerism the light is on and burning brightly for the masses. There are however a few reasons why consumerism in its current form isn't a particularly good way to go about the pursuit of happiness, either at the level of individuals or societies. http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2007/7/23/204244/127 It's four thirty a.m. and the house is asleep. I. . . am not asleep. I am crouched in the bathtub in a frog-like stance, small puddles of urine and liquid shit at my feet. I'm leaning forward, gripping the side of the tub and biting my knee, overwhelmed by a mixture of pain and pleasure as I piston a dildo in and out of my ass. You see, I really love anal masturbation. Ever try it? No? You should. http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2007/7/22/144522/036 Telemarketing: To sell, via the phone. That's a simple definition, isn't it? And no telemarketer is ever a total failure. After all, just to put on the headset you've already sold something: Your dignity. That first high pressure sale is a two-fer: One magazine pack and your morals. Keep at it long enough and you can even sell your soul. http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2007/7/16/162353/730 The story is about a boy who lives in a cupboard (i.e. "in the closet"). His Aunt and Uncle are ashamed of him because his parents were quite eccentric (i.e. "flaming") and they are deeply concerned and afraid that he will turn out just like them. On his 11th birthday (i.e. roughly at the onset of puberty), the boy discovers that he is actually a "wizard", different in both style and substance from normal people, or "muggles" (i.e. "breeders"). The boy is groomed into his new existence by a large, hairy bear of a man who shows Harry a hidden underground community of "wizards" living right under the noses of the general population (i.e. the gay subculture). Harry's first trip to this subculture involves traveling through "Diagon Alley", a play on the word diagonally (i.e. not straight). string http://www.kuro5hin.org/search/