By Brendan Loy (Twitter/FriendFeed)

Testing iPhoto2Twitter again http://twitpic.com/bvxjn

By Brendan Loy (Twitter/FriendFeed)

Testing iPhoto2Twitter http://mobypicture.com/?ixbmrm

By Brendan Loy

Rickey Henderson’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame got me thinking — as any mention of Rickey Henderson always does — of May 1, 1991, when Henderson’s record-breaking 939th stolen base was completely and utterly overshadowed a few hours later by Nolan Ryan’s incredible seventh career no-hitter.

I distinctly remember feeling, I suppose somewhat uncharitably, that Henderson deserved to have his big moment stolen in such a fashion, as karmic retribution for his blatant lack of humility in declaring that “today, I am the greatest of all time” after surpassing Lou Brock. Heh.

Anyway, here’s a video of Nolan’s no-no, including a complete replay of the entire 9th inning. The commentators make no mention of Rickey’s record earlier that day, but for me, the two events will always be inextricably linked. May 1, 1991 was definitely one of the most memorable baseball-watching days of my youth, right up there with the last day of the 1990 season, when Tom Brunansky’s diving catch clinched the AL East for the Red Sox, and the day of Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS, when we all learned the name Francisco Cabrera. (Link NSFPF — Not Safe For Pirates Fans.)

P.S. I freakin’ love Sean McDonough. “Hooking toward the corner, BRUNANSKY!!!” … “SAAAAFE!!! SAFE AT THE PLATE!!!” … Also, from the 1991 World Series, Game 3, Mark Lemke’s 12th-inning winner: “Here comes Justice… SAAFE!!! AND ATLANTA WINS IT!” … And of course, from 1993, the one everybody remembers: “Way back and… GONE!!!!!!“

By Brendan Loy

So long, Governor Palin. Your supporters will miss you — as will your detractors. For instance, I’ll miss having the opportunity to randomly post this graphic:

But alas! I understand: you don’t want the “title” of governor to interfere with the important work of using dishonest, propagandistic nonsense to inflame the ignorant masses. That would be “politics as usual”! After all, politicians usually view their positions as “offices,” not mere “titles,” and feel obligated to fulfill the tasks they were elected to do. Silly politicians! You’re so beyond that. The elite liberal media just doesn’t understand. Of course they don’t: they’re hell bent on tearing down our nation, don’t ya know!

But I get it. You’re a maverick!! And a maverick’s gotta do what a maverick’s gotta do. So now we must say farewell. Parting is such sweet sorrow. Have fun doing whatever it is that you’re planning on doing — passing the ball for victory, and whatnot, and also too, you betcha, and so forth. Thanks for the memories, Sarah. And please, keep an eye on Putin’s head for us!

By Brendan Loy (Twitter/FriendFeed)

Finally saw Harry Potter 6. Liked it a lot. Alan Rickman is so awesome. Can’t wait till movies 7a and 7b!

By Brendan Loy

Butter and Sasha look like the kitty Argonath in this photo — a pair of feline sentinels, standing guard over the door:

By Brendan Loy (Twitter/FriendFeed)

Watched the Commerce City fireworks show (rescheduled from July 4 – http://is.gd/1MZpo) from bed, looking out our bedroom window. Awesome.

By Brendan Loy

President Obama will be excited about this one: White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle pitched a perfect game this afternoon, with a major assist from this amazing catch by outfielder Dewayne Wise in the ninth inning. Here’s the final out:

By Brendan Loy

Jon Stewart eviscerates the suddenly-prominent birther movement:

Has Colbert done a segment on these clowns yet? It seems right up his alley.

Meanwhile, as I was writing this post’s title, and contemplating whether “birthers” should be capitalized or not, I was reminded of the term “Birchers” — as in, the John Birch Society — which, of course, reminded me of the Chad Mitchell Trio song of the same name:

That got me thinking that an update might be in order:

Oh we’re meeting at the courthouse at eight o’clock tonight
You just come in the door and take the first turn to the right
But if you’d like to join us, you must first quell our doubt
Bring your long-form birth certificate or else we’ll kick you out

‘Cause we’re the Prove Birth Society, the Prove Birth Society
Here to save our country from a Kenyan Muslim plot!
We’re the Prove Birth Society, and we’ll expose The One
If he can’t prove a negative, he’s not a native son

That short-form Live Birth record is really just a crutch
We think that Linda Lingle doth protest a bit too much
Barack Hussein Obama’s not even his real name
They called him Barry Soetoro before he rose to fame

Oh we’re the Prove Birth Society, the Prove Birth Society
Xenophobia is the phobia loveliest of all
Join the Prove Birth Society, help us save the day
Have you heard they’re reading the Koran down at the DOJ?

Well you’ve heard about the lawsuits that we’ve already filed
They’re filled with phony evidence we’ve carefully compiled
The courts refuse to hear them, but that just proves we’re right
Our judiciary’s fallen to the Kenyan Muslim blight!

Yes, we’re the Prove Birth Society, the Prove Birth Society
Barry what’s-his-name may think he’s kidding us along
But the Prove Birth Society knows he spilled the beans
In Cairo he preached brotherhood, but we know what he means

We’ll teach you how to tell a real native from a fraud
‘Cause you just never know which liberal fools were born abroad
We know Jen Granholm’s foreign, we think Chris Dodd might be
And the day we get Pelosi, won’t that be a victory

Oh we’re the Prove Birth Society, the Prove Birth Society
Here to save our country from a Kenyan Muslim plot!
In the Prove Birth Society, just one small hitch remains
If we disqualify Barack, then Biden takes the reigns

(O beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain)
Do you want Osama Bin Laden to be your Secretary of State?
(For purple mountain majesties, above the fruited plain)
Do you want Hugo Chavez to be America’s best mate?
(America, America…)
You cannot trust Obama, he’ll stab us in the back
He’s a traitor to our country — and, oh by the way, he’s black

Oh we’re the Prove Birth Society, the Prove Birth Society
Don’t bother us with “facts” — we know we’re right, and that is that
We’re the Prove Birth Society, and we’re on the move
Spouting unsupported nonsense that Obama can’t disprove
He can’t disprove!
We’re the Prove Birth Society!

By Brendan Loy

When Becky and I lived in Knoxville, we resided in the heavily Republican 18th legislative district of Tennessee, a.k.a. “the fightin’ 18th,” which is represented by the ultraconservative — and endlessly controversial — Stacey Campfield (who is a man).

Campfield is many things: a blogger (albeit a somewhat notoriously sloppy one, in terms of spelling and grammar); a classic car enthusiast; a tall redhead; and a lightning rod for attention, criticism and controversy.

He has made a name for himself, for better or worse, by proposing a variety of headline-grabbing initiatives, usually related to hot-button social issues, usually with no chance of passing, but always with an excellent chance of getting Campfield some press. For instance, he once proposed a bill requiring death certificates for aborted fetuses, and he’s recently been in the news for introducing the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would essentially ban discussion of homosexuality in public schools.

Campfield was also photographed on Election Day 2008 with Loyette. And yes, I do think that’s the proper way to characterize it: not that my seven-month-old was photographed with a local politician, but rather that Rep. Campfield was graced with the opportunity to be photographed with my adorable daughter. :)

Anyway, to all these other adjectives describing Campfield — blogger, provocateur, baby-charmer — we can add another: birther.

This is actually not news; the above-linked article (about Campfield’s role as a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits challenging President Obama’s eligibility to be president) is from February, but I somehow stumbled on it for the first time yesterday. I found it amid all the renewed MSM attention to the “birther” movement, notably this MSNBC segment:

Anyway, yeah, it turns out my former state representative is one of those GOP wingnuts, like the lady in the video and the dozens applauding her, who think it’s productive to spend their time worrying about whether Barack Obama — or “Barry Soetoro,” as the crazies, including Campfield, like to call him — was really born in this country. Which, by the way, his birth certificate makes clear he was.

Ah, I’m so proud to be an ex-constituent of Rep. Campfield. Emphasis on “ex.”

P.S. Interestingly, the two most prominent policitians Loyette has met are perhaps the right-wingiest representative in the Tennessee House (Campfield) and perhaps the right-wingiest senator in the United States Senate (James Inhofe). Heh. Is that girl destined to be a conservative, or what?

By Brendan Loy (Twitter/FriendFeed)

Congrats to my mother-in-law for getting a hole-in-one today! ‘Twas a 161-yard par 3 on a golf course here in Colorado. Way to go, Ginny!

By Brendan Loy (Twitter/FriendFeed)

Obama will sing show tune to open tonight’s press conference, to keep focus on him instead of Susan Boyle. (RT @BOTeleprompter)

By Brendan Loy

Via Flickr, here’s a shot of Wednesday’s total solar eclipse as seen from Bayohara, India:

More photos can be found at SpaceWeather.com. And here’s a video of the Moon’s shadow sweeping across Asia, as seen via satellite.

UPDATE: Still more photos via the Boston Globe’s always excellent The Big Picture photoblog.

By Brendan Loy

Last week, Fox News published a story (now scrubbed from their site, but available here) titled “Upcoming Military Robot Could Feed on Dead Bodies.” CNET News asked whether we’ve reached the “dawn of the corpse-eating robots,” while Fast Company mocked Fox for its “gleeful conjecture.”

Now, the manufacturer of the EVIL FLESH-EATING ROBOTS OF DEATH has responded with a press release (PDF) that is, well, pure liquid awesome:

In response to rumors circulating the internet on sites such as FoxNews.com, FastCompany.com and CNET News about a “flesh eating” robot project, Cyclone Power Technologies Inc. (Pink Sheets: CYPW) and Robotic Technology Inc. (RTI) would like to set the record straight: This robot is strictly vegetarian.

On July 7, Cyclone announced that it had completed the first stage of development for a beta biomass engine system used to power RTI’s Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR™), a Phase II SBIR project sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Defense Sciences Office. RTI’s EATR is an autonomous robotic platform able to perform longrange, long-endurance missions without the need for manual or conventional re-fueling.

RTI’s patent pending robotic system will be able to find, ingest and extract energy from biomass in the environment. Despite the far-reaching reports that this includes “human bodies,” the public can be assured that the engine Cyclone has developed to power the EATR runs on fuel no scarier than twigs, grass clippings and wood chips – small, plant-based items for which RTI’s robotic technology is designed to forage. Desecration of the dead is a war crime under Article 15 of the Geneva Conventions, and is certainly not something sanctioned by DARPA, Cyclone or RTI.

“We completely understand the public’s concern about futuristic robots feeding on the human population, but that is not our mission,” stated Harry Schoell, Cyclone’s CEO. “We are focused on demonstrating that our engines can create usable, green power from plentiful, renewable plant matter. The commercial applications alone for this earth-friendly energy solution are enormous.”

Ah, but that’s how it always begins. To paraphrase Magneto: “No one ever talks about letting their flesh-eating robots feed on the human population. They just do it! And you go on with your lives, ignoring the signs all around you. And then one day, when the air is still and the night has fallen, the robots come for you.”

Or, to put it another way: First they came for twigs, and I said nothing, because I was not a twig. Then they came for the grass clippings, and I said nothing, because I was not a grass clipping. They they came for the wood chips…

P.S. Besides, even if this “Harry Schoell” character (who, let’s be honest, is probably a robot himself) is telling the truth, note carefully what he didn’t deny. He says his robots won’t “feed on the human population” … but will they feed on old people’s medicine?!? I think you and I both know the answer!!

(Hat tip: Wired, via Andrew Sullivan.)