Isaac Schrödinger

Recognizing the poison

It is exceedingly rare to find a Muslim who doesn't reflexively support the Muslim world (the ummah) over the "evil" West. Hassan Nisar is that guy. Watch the video. The audio is in the Urdu language. The subtitles are mostly correct; there are a few minor errors but none of them alter the essence of what he said.

Related: My dad worked in Saudi Arabia for three decades. Upon his retirement, the Arabs told him to go back to his country. He wasn't allowed to buy a small property in Saudi Arabia and live there in his old age. The Saudis thought it a smart idea to give a large sum of retirement cash to a law abiding fellow and then kick him out of the country.

I had been in Canada for less than 10 years when complete strangers donated money to me so that I could hire a lawyer who would fight on my behalf. After a bit over 10 years here, I became a Canadian citizen.

The contrast between the pious Muslims and the wicked infidels is very stark.

Have a nice day!

Crazy Russian always entertains.

The balloon slayer

How long till the lightsaber?

Fading lithium-ion

That's right:

According to battery-testing firm Cadex Electronics, a fully charged lithium-ion battery will lose about 20 percent of its capacity after a year of typical storage. Increase the temperature to just above 100 degrees Fahrenheit—as in a hot attic, for example—and that number is 35 percent.

I bought a laptop for work two years ago. At the time I got a nice 5 hours of battery life. Last year, the time dropped to 4 hours. This month, the battery is running out of juice in about 3 hours. A software included in the laptop states that the battery has basically degraded to around 60% of its original capacity.

It sucks but that's just the nature of lithium-ion.

Link via Instapundit.

An unattractive scrap of paper

Alpha Game:

the possession of education credentials is increasingly likely to come hand-in-hand with debt, older marriage, and a reduced likelihood of having children. Since men primarily value youth, beauty, and fertility in a mate, and because people seldom advertise the extent to which they are in debt, it shouldn't be too hard to understand why a woman waving around her degree(s) is not merely a turn-off, but a material strike against her.

Just as there are many men who don't understand what attracts women, there are also many women who simply don't understand men.

I finished my university degree at the age of 22. I have no desire for further "higher" education. However, I know multiple women who're still studying till their late 20s and beyond. The whole situation has two odd features; a) the women think they're gaining prestige and becoming more attractive to men and b) the women also think highly of themselves and do not want a male partner who is not as well "educated" as them.

Such women lead miserable lives. If only universitites offered courses on the SMV ...

Look at that bokeh

Some rich and warm colors at the Venice Carnival.

No lassi for you!

Vox Day on Obama:

It confirms what many of his detractors, and increasing numbers of his former supporters, have long suspected about the man. While he is a United States citizen, he simply isn’t an American in the cultural or nationalist sense. He does not share the traditions, customs and fundamental perspectives of most of the people over whom he presides, which is why his administration has been one of the most bumbling, tone-deaf and obtuse in American history. He remains, at heart, a foreigner, a stranger in what to him will always be a strange land.

Very true. The hints have been like anvils. For example, the 57 US states, Marine corpses, and of course, spreading the wealth around.

Camel piss with lime

Vlad Tepes:

They really do believe everything written about Mohamed, and anyone with head full of sense who declares otherwise, is either intimidated or murdered into silence, with all four schools of Islamic jurisprudence nodding in agreement.

Compared to keeping women as slaves, murdering the Jews, rampant inbreeding, etc., I don't think drinking camel piss is a big deal.

Green is okay?

Some people are complaining about the green hue of the even generation Nikon cameras but Nikon states that the new greenish screen is more accurate. My question: Can't people make that judgement by themselves?

Nikon may well be correct but those who have an issue can surely check and see if Nikon's statement is in the right by simply comparing multiple images on the screen with reality. Perhaps, some like the blueish cool look compared to the greenish warm look.

Crazy women

Alpha Game:

I've written before about how women tend to treat those to whom they are close much worse than they treat complete strangers. This, of course, is one reason why female friendships seldom tend to last as long as male friendships do. I've never quite understood myself why women will make the effort to get all dolled up for the office or a girl's night out, only to swap it all for a bare face and the usual sweatpants when they get home in order to ensconce themselves in front of the television more comfortably.

I've also noticed this behaviour. It's thoroughly reprehensible.

The lassi confusion

Oh, this is gold:

One time Barack Obama went to an Indian restaurant and ordered the lassi. Was he ever disappointed when the waiter brought him a yogurt drink!

Click here for your lassi lesson.

First link via Instapundit.

Bad Economics

Vox Popoli:

In a free and well-governed society, exile is a punishment. In an unfree and misgoverned one, exile is impermissible. There is no stronger indication that America is no longer free than the fact that its leadership is seriously contemplating the idea of attempting to imprison its citizens within its borders.

That's one reason why increasing numbers of Americans are renouncing their citizenship. It's difficult to appreciate freedom when you feel like a slave.

Nikon D800E is here

It has started to show up with customers in the US and Europe. In fact, one guy sold his Nikon D800 (for a $2,000 profit!) and got a Nikon D800E.

PC trouble

My PC has been behaving most erratically since Saturday.

The pattern is simple. It crashes 60-90 minutes after boot up. I don't think I've seen so many blue screens of death (BSODs) before in my life.

I have not installed any software this month; so that's likely not the issue. I have tested the CPU and RAM and they seem to be fine. What's frustrating is that after wasting almost the entire weekend I still don't know the cause of the problem. Motherboard? Power Supply? A miserable SATA cable dying a slow, annoying death? Who knows!

I've got more work coming up at my workplace in the next three weeks and now I have to deal with this headache. So, blogging will be lighter that usual.

A smart frog

All that he (it?) is missing is the glasses.

Useful infidels

Daily Mail via Vlad Tepes:

A university is considering ending the sale of alcohol on campus due to concerns from Muslim students. London Metropolitan University could take action because a ‘high percentage’ of its students thought drinking was ‘immoral’, according to its vice chancellor.

I had to read the following twice to fully appreciate the utter absurdity of the "logic":

Professor Gillies said he would work with the student body to move towards having areas on campus where ‘one serves alcohol and others don't’, but could foresee a time when the university was an alcohol-free zone. He added: 'That's what education's actually about, modeling diverse behaviours so we create liberal students in a liberal intellectual environment.'

The fellow is quite, er, liberal with his language.

Rejecting the pink

I didn't wear any pink this Wednesday last. Quite a few people at my workplace wore pink to support anti-bullying.

I, of course, support bullies.

More on that from Mark Steyn:

In Thomas Arnold’s day, the object was to punish bullies, and teach their victims to stand up to them. Now a defensive and enfeebled educational establishment lets the bullies get on with it, and Dalton McGuinty’s ministry has decided everyone else should be taught how to be victims — or, at any rate, members of approved victimological identity groups. Gays? Sure. Muslims? You betcha. Gay Muslims? We’ll cross that Rainbow Bridge when we get to it. For the moment, let’s stay focused: Bullying is merely the sharp end of “heterosexism,” as the Ontario “Human Rights” Commission calls it. Chief Commissar Hall defines heterosexism as “the assumption that heterosexuality is superior and preferable,” which will come as news to anyone who’s had sex with me.

That's FUBAR. Somehow holding the belief that procreation is superior to ending one's line is now bigoted!

Siri on acid

Do not mess with her.

Hercule Poirot lives!

Bon ami, with his principles, he is most rich:

“I have left my dear homeland, my friends and relatives,” he said. “I am prepared to sacrifice all that but will not compromise my moustache.”

What a truly asinine religion. Muslims have been beating women, spewing venom on the kufr, lying about their true beliefs to the West -- all of which is perfectly Islamic. But growing a istylish moustache! NO! That is not consistent with Islam! Death to the moustache!

Ugly truth II

Mark Steyn via Vox Popoli:

The net result of Derb’s summary execution by NR will be further to shrivel the parameters, and confine debate in this area to ever more unreal fatuities. He knew that mentioning the Great Unmentionables would sooner or later do him in, and, in an age when shrieking “That’s totally racist!” is totally gay, he at least has the rare satisfaction of having earned his colors.

Understanding sharia

The Independent via Jihad Watch:

Despite countless emails, letters and telephone calls to the Sharia council as well as joint mediation and reconciliation meetings, the Sharia council refuse to provide Nasrin with an Islamic divorce. Why? Because of Nasrin’s sex. An Imam at the Sharia council told Nasrin that her gender prevents her from unilaterally divorcing her husband, instead the Imam told her to return to her husband, perform her wifely duties and maintain the abusive marriage that she was forced into.

I'm shocked! I thought Islam respected women.

Having observed Sharia law bodies ruling on legal disputes it is all too apparent that they operate within a misogynist and patriarchal framework which is incompatible with UK legislation. For instance, the cost of an Islamic divorce is £400 for a woman compared to £200 for a man at the Islamic Sharia Council in East London; this is an example of blatant gender discrimination which is incompatible with the Equality Act 2010.

The cusp of frustration

One cannot derive it.

No more mini IMAX

I found a google maps guide to IMAX theatres in Canada. It's about three years old. So, the listed theatres are the real IMAX ones.

Ugly truth

John Derbyshire is let go from National Review over this piece:

There is a talk that nonblack Americans have with their kids, too. My own kids, now 19 and 16, have had it in bits and pieces as subtopics have arisen. If I were to assemble it into a single talk, it would look something like the following.

Thank heavens, Derbyshire didn't talk about Muslims and their pedophile prophet. That would have really caused a media meltdown.

Mini IMAX?

It was disappointing to watch an action movie on a newly constructed "IMAX" screen last Christmas. Why? Not because the movie wasn't entertaining. It's because the screen wasn't even close to the usual IMAX size. Click the image below to get a better view.

I'm not sure of the exact size of that screen but it certainly did not feel like IMAX. Apparently, this has been going on for many years. Cinemas are putting in "IMAX" screens within approximately the same space as regular screens and then charging $5 or more for the, er, experience.

Aziz Ansari was not amused. Here one can find a google maps guide to real IMAX and the new fake IMAX locations in the US. I wonder if someone has made a similar guide for Canada ...

Update
Found a guide for Canadian IMAX theatres. 

Those crazy women

A couple of years ago, I needed to get a work-related answer from a co-worker. So, I walked over to her desk. Her intense concentration was being directed at her computer. The website which she was checking out had numerous photos of ... wedding dresses.

I stood and watched for a few seconds and then asked her, "Why are you working so hard?"

"Oh." She grinned and clumsily minimized the browser. She was shopping around for her daughter's wedding.

Now, guys aren't angels. Usually, most of us check sports. But I've found women shopping for clothes, nail polish, shoes (what is up with women and shoes, seriously!), planning which restaurants they want to go to, checking out which vacation spots are reasonably priced, etc.

A dream

I walk into a computer store called Canada Computers. They are selling some uber high-end systems with a price tag of $6,000. I sit down with a customer service rep. I ask if they can build me a system with components chosen by myself. They say sure; it'll just cost an extra $50. I'm considering if I should go for it or just get extra RAM for my current system.

Then, I wake up.

I don't think I've ever dreamed of buying a computer before. I bought my last system in 2009. Perhaps, it's true. I'm afflicted with ... tech lust!

Nothing but the truth

A video from Pat Condell: Tell the truth about Islam.

Fair and balanced

Nikon Rumors: Nikon D800 vs. Canon 5D MkIII shootout.

I have a feeling that the reviewer prefers Nikon.

Update
Here's a review of just the Nikon D800. Nice photos by Nasim Mansurov.

It's Complicated

If Facebook were invented ... in the 90s.

Budgeting Ignored

Ed Driscoll:

A couple of interesting financial stats popped up today, and we’ll see if we can tie them together in our usual tendentious fashion in just a moment. But first, found via blogger/financial author Christopher Fountain, Henry Blodget of Business Insider.com notes that “Households Earning Less Than $13,000 A Year Spend 9% Of Their Income On Lottery Tickets.” Having worked for a time during school vacations selling them, that stat doesn’t surprise me at all.

On the other end of the spectrum, we find athletes who were once rich. One would think that earning millions, sometimes hundreds of millions, of dollars would provide a person with superb financial security. Unfortunately, their self-control is non-existant; their spending outstrips their earnings.

Really, how difficult is it to spend less than one makes?

OMG!

I can kiss so many Asian girls.

Not shocking

One can find the same information about Jihad and world domination on numerous websites. In fact, this is the core of Islam. How did Islam spread from a few towns in Arabia to most of the world? Through violent holy war.

It's funny that such information is news.

Deceptive editing

Instapundit provides the latest example from the media. Their credibility is in the toilet and yet they keep on pulling such stunts. Truth bends to ideology.

Post magic

Lovely use of photoshop. Make sure to hover the cursor over the "show the original" text at the bottom right of the image.

I like pornography

I like it a lot:

Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Minister, Suryadharma Ali, has described skirts that cut off above the knee as “pornographic,” and has said that he will ban women from wearing them.

Of course. One of the major problems with Islamic nations today is the overabundance of miniskirts. Thumbs up for the Indonesian government which has shown tremendous grit in tackling this major issue.

Some women are more equal than others

Right Wing News:

One of the latest liberal talking points is that conservatives are waging a “war on women” because they won’t agree that the Pope should be forced to buy everyone’s birth control. In other words, it’s completely imaginary.

You want to see what a real “war on women” looks like? Start watching the way vile, misogynistic liberals talk to conservative women.

The best example of this was about four years ago when Sarah Palin made the national stage. The rabid attacks on her and her family showed just how women-friendly the liberals really are.

Digital dream 2

The detail from a Nikon D800 is most impressive.

For example, take a look at the American flag here.

Consequences of sluthood

Susan Walsh:

Fifteen years later, we all know that few found “newer, truer, less sexist and more ecstatic ways of being sexual.” They found ways of being sexual that were risky, superficial, awkward and unsatisfying. The sexual double standard is as prominent as ever, being biologically determined and therefore immutable. If anything, men have become hypersensitive to female promiscuity, warily inquiring about a woman’s number before investing one ounce of emotional energy.

Obviously, men are intimidated by a STRONG, independent woman who has embraced her inner slut sexuality.

Proper Islamic beating

Toronto Sun via Instapundit:

A local bookstore has “sold out” of a controversial marriage guide that advises Muslim men on how to beat their wives.

The 160-page book, published by Idara Impex in New Delhi, India, is written by Hazrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, who’s described in the book’s foreword as a “prolific writer on almost every topic of Islamic learning.”

Saudi Arabia had two TV channels. They were creatively called channel 1 and channel 2. The first one had Arabic programming while the second had English. I used to watch channel 2 which had a TV show about Islamic advice -- a "learned" Arab would answer questions sent in by viewers of the show.

Of course, one day, a question about the proper beating of a wife popped up. The response by the Arab guy was fascinating -- methodical, scientific, emotionless. He said that hitting the wife on the face was not a good idea; others will be able to see it and that'll be extra shameful for the wife. He said that one has to be careful to not break bones; we're trying to train her to be a good wife, not maim her. He described what kind of objects are suitable for beating. Don't remember exactly what he recommended but probably a plastic hanger is okay; a cast iron pan is going over the top, etc.

So, this book and its content is not a surprise. If anything, the author, a Maulana!, deserves points for honesty. He can collect the prize in hell.

Digital dream

Nigel Danson shares photos which were taken with his new camera:

• D800 Diary - Day 1: Look at that bull's nose!
• D800 Diary - Day 2: The cropping ability is fantastic.

Another teaser!?

The Dark Knight Rises.

Feminists allergic to reality

Vox Popoli:

Now, I don't have any problem with negative portrayals of men per se. Men do commit most of the violent crimes. Men are responsible for starting most of the wars in history. Men do beat up women and rape them. I have no problem with men being portrayed in roles that are consistent with their actual behavior.

Where I have a huge problem with the media is when their portrayals of men are totally antithetical to observable reality. Due to hypergamy, most women marry men who are smarter than they are. So, how can it be possible that in Commercial World, men are inevitably drooling idiots who must be corrected and lectured by their smart, but ever-so-patient wives? And what is the point of this obvious social programming anyhow?

I'm waiting for a sitcom in which all the wives are taller than their husbands. Those who don't like the show will be branded as heightists!

Digital emperor

The Nikon D800 is now the top-ranked DSLR according to DxOmark. It's going to be even more difficult to find; the Amazon page for the camera states: Usually ships within 1 to 3 months.

Links via Nikon Rumors.

ODI no. 3267

What a stunning match between Bangladesh and Pakistan.

When their gut-wrenching disappointment dies down, Bangladesh will remember that they were just one stroke away from the Asia Cup title. And see it as clinching evidence of their progress. When their sense of relief passes, Pakistan will remember that they were tested to the hilt, but came through somehow. And see it as confirmation of their renowned ability to win the big moments.

Bangladesh were two runs short of their greatest triumph. Only once has a team defeated India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in a single tournament. That was in the World Cup 2003 when the all-conquering Aussies crushed everyone. Bangladesh could have become the second team to perform the same feat. Instead, they fell so agonizingly short.

The Pakistanis had to squeeze every ounce of discipline from their bowling to win this one. Afridi, Hafeez and Ajmal provided the best bowling figures. Gul got hit for a few fours in the end which ruined his figures a bit. Their batting was disappointing considering that they scored an extra 100 runs against India less than a week ago. Hafeez was too lethargic. Afridi and especially Ahmed made the important contributions with the bat.

Other stats from the historic match.

Islamic terror

Daily Mail via Vlad Tepes:

Mohammed told news channel France 24's editor Ebba Kalondo two hours before the raid he had 'filmed everything' with a small video camera and 'intended to put the videos online'. He has been described as 'armed and dangerous' with a cache including an Uzi machine gun and Kalashnikov assault rifle, with police saying he is likely to kill again.

It has also emerged he was being tracked by French security services 'for years' and had broken out of a jail in Kandahar, Afghanistan, as part of a mass Taliban escape in 2008.

He started his killing spree on March 11. So, it took the French police and security apparatus ten days to catch him. This is what happens when Islamic mayhem meets state incompetence.

ODI no. 3265

The minnows spoiled the final which is to be played in two days.

It ended a mixed season for a travel-weary Sri Lanka, following the highs of Australia. Not too long ago, India were in their hotel rooms in Brisbane, hoping for a Sri Lankan defeat to push them into the CB Series finals. This time, in a hotel not far from the ground, they were ironically hoping for a Sri Lankan win. There were no back-door entries for a team which has suffered its worst away season in recent history.

India has some very talented batsmen. However, they haven't clicked at the right moments after their World Cup victory.

Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka and made it to the final of the Asia Cup. Had they lost, India would have progressed to the final to face ... Pakistan! Instead, it'll be Bangladesh vs. Pakistan. Pakistan is, no question, the stronger team. If, however, Bangladesh wins, then this will turn out to be their most impressive tournament ever. It would mean that they vanquished the three Asian giants: India, Sril Lanka and Pakistan.

Though, I don't predict that will come to pass. Pakistan, on the strength of their bowling, will win to become the Asia Cup champions of 2012.

Patriarchy with a vengeance

In Mala Fide:

In Chess there is only one woman in the top 100. Judit Polgar, ranked #32, by far the strongest woman player with a score of 2710, never became woman’s world champion because she chose to only compete in men’s tournaments. The second-rated woman, with a score of 2605 is way below the #100 ranked man with 2652 points.

My blood boils at this terrible injustice. Women have been shackled by the Patriarchy and told that they are not good at chess (and math). No wonder, we don't see many women who are super-awesome chess players. We all know, deep in our bones, that once women are free, they'll be kicking ass at chess.

(But I thought they don't want to put in the extra hours practicing the game in solitude and improving their ranking in the world. Women simply don't find chess that attractive. They're interested in, er, other things. -- Ed.)

Shut up, you sexist jerk!

Difference between sexist and non-sexist desires

A reader at The Thinking Housewife writes in:

If a man desires that his wife cooks him food, irons his clothes, does the dishes, cleans the house, etc., one need not look far for those who decry him as pathetic, sexist, disrespecting of women, in need for a replacement mom, doomed to be forever single, etc.

However, if a woman desires that her husband does the work with the hammer, the wrench, the saw, etc., lifts the heavy stuff, fixes the car, etc., why is there not a similar decrying of her as pathetic, sexist, disrespecting of men, in need for a replacement dad, doomed to be forever single, etc.?

Hogwash! Women can't be sexist.

ODI no. 3263

India vs. Pakistan.

Pakistani batted first. Both openers made centuries. The poor Indian captain used 8 bowlers to decrease the flow of runs. Pakistan ended at 329/6. An excellent score for their bowlers to defend.

However, the Pakistanis couldn't stop Kohli who, at present, is in supreme form. He smashed an epic 183. At one point, he could've gone on to score a double century. It's likely that we'll have a re-match of this game in the Asia Cup final on March 22. The Pakistani bowlers have got to bamboozle Kohli to win or alternatively score close to 400 runs or perhaps both.