Uncratin' in the rain, O-C tarantulas, & the Cost of Freedom

With Jeanne all poised and ready to slap the DC area with heavy rain--I know, we got nothin' on Florida, but the current rain image really looks like a wave of rain about to crash over the area--I'm scheduled to head into DC and help uncrate several large, expensive pieces of computer equipment, at a building with no loading dock. Figures.

(And my current mood would more accurately be expressed as "oppressed" or "humid," as it's 70ºF with 100% humidity, and while the heat pump behind the house is working, it would appear that the fan to push the cool, dry air throughout the house isn't. I should verify that to see if Nathan needs to call someone to fix it (if I can't.)

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Hehe! Via tarantulalovers via metaquotes:

"Today I read an article about tarantulas. There was a bit where it talked about a pet tarantula which was kept in an aquarium with multicoloured gravel in the bottom, and the spider, apparently not having anything better to do, spent a few weeks meticulously sorting the gravel into piles by colour. In other words, not only are tarantulas big, hairy, ugly, and have colour vision, they are smart enough to get bored. This worries me deeply."

Now I want to read this article!

Interesting post via kitiara on the Cost of Security.

Fatality rates are normally calculated with 10-year averages. How many American civilians does terrorism kill in ten years? Well, in 2001 it killed 2,978 people, including both the World Trade Center attacks and the Anthrax in D.C. which everyone seems to have forgotten by now. But that was an anomaly. Terrorism in the United States killed no Americans in 1997, three in 1998, one in 1999, none in 2000, and none since 2001. The 10-year average fatality rate from terrorism is approximately 300.

Three hundred!? We spent $33.8 billion on the Department of Homeland Security, with the intent to mitigate a threat that kills approximately three hundred people a year? By way of comparison, heart disease kills an average of 700,142 people per year. Thus, logically, if our priorities are straight and we want to save as many lives as possible, we should be spending $78.8 trillion per year on heart disease research.

The logic may be a little skewed, but it's an interesting read.

Rain, free stuff, and fun links

Man, that's a lot of rain (that I was just out in, particularly as I added a lot of air to my rear two tires--I seem to have some sort of slow leak.)

Metroed into DC this morning, unpacking stuff for an office right across from L'Enfant Plaza. Of course, the parking garage was utterly packed and I ended up parking at the far end of the 6th floor of the garage extension, and then the first two trains to arrive at the station after I got there were out of service--one of which, the conductors were trying to uncouple two of the cars, with no success by the time I actually left. Thus, I was half an hour later leaving than planned, but I still beat JR (who drove through heavy traffic) to the site.

While onsite, I picked up four ratcheting cargo straps and a 1-ton scissors jack, free! (Each i2000 comes with a jack (for use in removing the unit from the pallet) and two straps (holding the unit to the pallet), which otherwise go in the trash. I now have several extra motorcycle tie-downs, and a better truck jack than the little hydraulic bottle I usually use. :D)

From DC, back to the office in JR's car, where I got to check out all the new tools Rob picked up for me, before he gave me a ride back to the Springfield Metro station on his way home.

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Haha! Via visgoth, An Honest Debate Between Bush and Kerry [Which Would Never Air]

Via megachrisgt: Who loves the chocolate? Everyone love the chocolate!

Awesome! Smart Helmet for Motorcyclists

Oh yeah, photos!

I finally got around to uploading and captioning a few sets of photos, so for your viewing enjoyment..

Old Rag XXXVIII - Hike over Old Rag Mountain with Cornell Club of Washington folks. Includes butterflies and a large millipede. :)

In MiscVA, photos of Misty and Sadie and their postcard-perfect house, plus a sunset-lit flag and some gorgeous post-storm clouds.

More to come! (Mark's party, and Denver. Haven't captioned 'em yet. :)