"He is by all odds the most brilliant young physicist here, and everyone knows this."

J. Robert Oppenheimer on Feynman's status among the physicists at Los Alamos.


I miss Richard Feynman. Do young people today know who he is?

Rubes rips off Far Side

Looks like stealing to me. 5/29/07 Rubes vs. one from the original Far Side book.

Favorite Athletes of the Moment

• Alex Ovechkin
• Bob Sanders
• Valentino Rossi
• Cael Sanderson

Israel is Clearly Wrong

I can't believe Israel has responded to the kidnapping of its soldiers with overwhelming, indiscriminate force that has killed 300 civilians so far. And the idiots that run this country have just easily passed resolutions (410-8 in the House) to support Israel's wanton killing. I understand we're a strong Israeli ally, but, come on, if your sibling goes out & kills 300 people you shouldn't be shouting out, "Right on, brother!"

Youtube Rules

A couple of recent gems:

Last 4 laps at Mugello's Italian Grand Prix

Sweet Guitar
This is a cover of JerryC's original, but I think it's slightly better--more crisp.

Alexander the Great

I am enthralled with Capitals' rookie sensation Alexander Ovechkin. He has sublime stick skills, is a phenomenal skater, and just obliterates people with his checks. He's the most exciting rookie to hit pro sports since Vince Carter started throwing down phenomenal dunks over everyone in the NBA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eorWhtV9Aqk&search=ovechkin

More at www.ovechkinfans.com.

Condoleezza Rice is Worse than Worthless

There are many, many reasons I have no respect for Condoleezza Rice, but I'm only going to write one here. She told the 9/11 Commission:

And I said, "No one could have imagined them taking a plane, slamming it into the Pentagon' about the use of airplanes as weapons actually was never briefed to us.

This is either a flat-out lie or incredible incompetence. One item all over the news in July 2001 was that this was an explicit security concern at the G8 summit in Genoa, Italy:

* July 20, 2001: The G8 summit in Genoa, Italy begins. Security is extremely tight because of large protests and intelligence indicating that terrorists associated with Osama bin Laden were planning to attack the summit to kill George W. Bush and other attendees. The reported attack plan involved crashing a plane packed with explosives into the buildings where the delegates were meeting or staying during the summit.
o Numerous precautions against this attack were taken, including: George W. Bush staying at a separate location from the other delegates, fighter jets patrolling the sky over the city, a large no-fly zone for commercial aircraft, and surface-to-air missile batteries emplaced around the city.

This is not from top-secret briefing to the president; this was part of the daily news. How can we tolerate this sort of incompetence?