Spectre’s Sayings

An article about the commercial space race.

Above, Pope Benedict XVI poses with Cistercian monks of Heiligenkreuz Monastery. The monks had won a lucrative recording contract for an album of Gregorian chant. Photo courtesy of Agence France-Presse.

European space freighter in dress rehearsal for ISS hookup

I want to see an orbiting tugboat fleet.

My hosting provider is going to be doing a scheduled reboot of the server that my site is hosted on tomorrow afternoon. They’re telling me to expect to be offline for about 10 minutes.

I don’t know. Is this a good idea?

The BBC is reporting that evidence had been found of the Crusaders’ genetic legacy.

Video news report here, courtesy CNN.
 

Since these pills wouldn’t be abortifacients, they wouldn’t be as morally objectionable as birth control pills for women. However, as I understand the morality teaching of the Catholic Church, this contraceptive method is still an intrinsic evil, in that a conjugal act done using it would not be open to God’s life-giving gifts.

I don’t know if it’s actually the most entertaining trial ever, but it’s certainly the most entertaining one I’ve ever read about. And that’s saying something, because I seem to remember a certain trial scene in a book by Douglas Adams…

Your Thinking is Abstract and Sequential

You like to do research and collect lots of information. The more facts you have, the easier it is for you to learn. You need to figure things out for yourself and consider all possibilities. You tend to become an expert in the subjects that you study. It’s difficult for you to work with people who know less than you do. You aren’t a very patient teacher, and you don’t like convincing people that you’re right.

This oversight is good for a giggle: Apple forbids Windows users from installing Safari for Windows - via The Register.

This is interesting: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will allow reconsideration of the Act of Settlement, which bars Catholics from the throne. From Catholic World News.

Survey says: Americans have positive opinion of Pope Benedict.

I’m somewhat concerned about this bit, however:

Seventeen percent of the respondents claim to have never heard of the Pope.

And this paragraph has a disturbing final sentence:

The majority of Americans (63%) also think the Catholic Church contributes “a great deal” or “a good amount” to people and communities in the United States. Twenty-four percent believe the Church contributes “not very much” or “nothing at all.”

You Should Drive a DeLorean

You don’t take yourself too seriously, and you prefer a fun, unusual car… like this Back to the Future gem!

I wonder what combination of answers I’d need to make it a Porsche….

Colorado Catholics forgive Mormon missionaries during Holy Week.

Why does Psalm 74 come to mind?

Goose Island’s Kilgubbin Red Ale is a mild, red-colored beer with a thick, creamy head. The taste is pretty smooth for the most part, but rather difficult for me to characterize. There’s a bit of a bite at the finish, but it’s not the bitterness of hops. Rather, it’s some sort of unusual spice. Cinnamon? Pepper? I’m not sure. But all in all, it makes a good session beer. I enjoyed two of them last night.

Update: A quick visit to the website informs me that the spicy finish is due to malted rye.