Off By One

On this day, twenty years ago, seven of the best and brightest vanished from the world in a flash of light.

Although there had been deaths before, and there have been deaths since, Challenger was the first one I remember, and so holds a special place in my space-lovin’ heart.

How to steal an election by hacking the vote, from Ars Technica.

The next two weeks, I’ll be posting unadorned links of interest. Enjoy!

I only learned of this incident maybe three months ago, but it really struck me: Ignoring the orders of the Soviet, Stanislav Petrov elected not to push the button when faced with what appeared to be the start of a nuclear war.

He did this twenty-three years ago, today.

Sixteen years. Edmonton last saw the playoff finals in 1990. They won, then, in five games. Buffalo, as it happens.

In (hopefully) six days, they get to face off against the best in the east.

Oh, wow.

And I might be able to get to a game. Oh, I can dream…

Jesus, this can be a loud town. Every time I think that the noise level is going to die down, my stereo in the house is drowned out by the revelry without.

I can’t really fault them, though. Although many of the enthusiasts out there probably weren’t even literate the last time that the Oilers made it to the conference finals — apparently on a goal scored by their now-coach, for some perspective — that hasn’t stopped them, and shouldn’t stop them, from taking some enjoyment from the event. I’ll admit, I don’t get the whole “pride in the team” thing — we have little to do with them winning, except in the sense that we provide the pay that keeps the team here, and the live crowd is like a creature of its own, goading through sheer force of adrenaline. The average man on the street, however, contributes nothing directly. So, the pride thing… Well, whatever works.

Me, I think back to the Dynasty and note that this is the way an underdog team makes a run at the Cup.

So, I spent the greater part of yesterday evening ploughing through, or more accurately, slogging through John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism.

Yeek, that’s a workout. It might be the circuitous sentence structures, it might be the content. But either way, it’s hard going.

So, of course, I grabbed some Lagavulin 16-year scotch to sip as I educated.

Life is pretty good.

Oh, and in other news, my local hockey team beat their local hockey team. And what a game, it was. Wow.

In yet other news, did anyone notice the geographically-relevant link list down and to the right? I’ve added “Sites near me” to the sidebar. It’s possible that there’s even a useful community of bloggers in Edmonton. Although, odds are slim.

So, no tickets for me.

Mere seconds (about two) after the seat reservation system came online, I clicked through and got… denied.

I’d use a hockey metaphor, here, but none seem to be coming to mind. And they’re all goofy anyway.

So, I’ll have to wait to see another playoff game, I guess. Bummer.

I have had a few people ask me for ideas, so I figured I’d just put them out here as a suggestion or three.

Yes, it’s a swaglist. Sue me, it’s my website.

(On a related note, by the way, Char and Simon will be getting posting setup at Morruz when they take off. So you’ll all have to read it for their travels, too. I hope that Simon will post there, with a link over from his usual haunts, so that the travel docs can be kept together.)

Anyhoo.

So, there’s a few techie things that I’ll get out of the way ASAP. I’m looking for a Microsoft Bluetooth (wireless) mouse. I’m also looking for some kind of USB2 external hard drive in the medium-large range. Nothing insane. Last, but not least, I’m interested in a couple of computer games. For Windows (sad, but I installed Windows on the laptop just this weekend. I’m a sucker for techie playthings, what can I say). The games are HalfLife 2, and The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.

Heh.

Books are cool, too, of course. I’m low on literature, despite Amy’s best efforts to swamp me

Anyway, that’s about it for the technolust. I don’t know why people keep saying I’m hard to buy for, since I usually make it pretty clear what I want.

Happy anniversary, Char.

It’s been five years, now, arguably the best five of my life.  We’ve had our ups and downs, to be sure, but the ups so far outnumber and outscale the downs that it’s difficult to pinpoint anything in particular in the latter  set.

I wish you could be here, but even more, I wish I could be there.

Anyway, to whom it may concern, this woman is my woman, with whom I am deeply and passionately in love.  Five years is only a start.