Carburetors, you say?

I'm either in too cranky a mood, or they're really not that funny this year, so I can't excerpt one or two in particular that really made me laugh...

Still, it would seem simply wrong not to mention this: the results for the 2005 Bulwer-Lytton fiction contest—this being a contest celebrating intentionally bad fiction writing—are out. If you've never heard of this thing, just to give you an idea what you'll find if you click that link, the winning entry has a besotted swain comparing his lover's breasts to... yes, I'm afraid so... dual carburetors.

That really should be funny, seems to me. Must just be my mood.

About this blog's title

... or, 'adventures in entrenched errors'.

Okay, folk keep asking me about this. Seeing as it's been a year since I set this thing up, and I'm still doing it, I guess it's time I explained.

C₈H₁₀N₄HO₂O₂ is an entrenched error. I'd meant to register the molecular formula for caffeine, did a search on 'caffeine formula' at Google, and this page, from Ellingwood's The American Materia Medica (1919) was the first one up. Which, as you can see, gives C₈H₁₀N₄HO₂O₂ for that molecule.

I registered the blog, got writing. Didn't look too closely at the formula. It looked right, on casual inspection (I do have a few years of organic chemistry; my degree's in biology), and really, the blog was just a whim at the time. I'm a pretty serious web guy, among other things, been running sites since about 1995 (and currently run four, in total, including the blog, one of my own outside the blog, one I get paid to do, and one I do on a volunteer basis), just kinda figured it'd be interesting to see what the 'push-button publishing' stuff I'd been hearing about was like. Never really expected to keep at it too long.

Thing is, as you might just know, the usual formula given for caffeine is C₈H₁₀N₄O₂. I noticed that when I got 'round to building the ray-traced model currently in the background of the top of the page. But by then, I had a fair bit of material up, and migrating's a bit of a pain. I keep telling myself I will eventually move to a Movable Type system, move the content over, but I never seem to get 'round to it; it's still on the to do list. So that formula's still up there. I suppose it's also possible there's some sense in which it's actually right; still wondering why the Ellingwood book reports it this way. Some complex the molecule forms in aqueous solution? Maybe? Should probably ask a real chemist someday.

As to why that title: yes, I'm pretty heavily into caffeine. My delivery system of choice is coffee—usually espresso, sometimes in various latte/capuccino type things, sometimes all on its own—and strong, light roasts in a French press are also fun. There are, in my home, as of this posting, two pump-driven espresso machines (with steam wands for capuccinos et al), a stove top/campfire top portable espresso pot, two drip coffee machines, a french press, and three (count 'em, three) grinders. I keep them pretty busy.

Excerpt

Okay. I know I promised some of you a certain manuscript would be in shape for reading about now. Or even some time ago now, for that matter.

Thing is, I'm really supposed to be doing about three or four other things right this moment. And yeah, it's stuff that matters. Staying employed kinda stuff. You know... stuff I gotta get done if my kids are gonna eat? That kinda thing?

But I've been far from dry lately. So here's an excerpt (PDF) from the new material in the edits. The whole thing should be along in just a little longer, honest. Just as soon as I can carve a bit more time free to finish off the last of it.

Got quoted in the Times

Yes, as in The New York Times. Neat. Thanks Ms. Napoli.

You don't s'pose this means I'm going to have to sketch a more properly coherent, detailed position on the relative merits of the shuttle program versus more nervy, innovative stuff, do you? Suppose, maybe, Homer Hickam would be willing to help me out?

Yikes.

Ya done good, guys

The US today launched its first manned space flight since the February 2003 Columbia disaster.

At 10.39am local time (3.39 BST), the countdown began and space shuttle Discovery, faulty fuel gauge fixed, launched from Cape Canaveral, in Florida.

Piggy-backed on its giant, rust-coloured fuel tank, Discovery and its seven crew rocketed into a partially cloudy sky in the fleet's 114th launch since Columbia left Earth on April 12 1981.

— Discovery blasts off into space, in The Guardian

Yeah, okay, there's still lots of room for muttering that these heavy, creaky shuttlebuses to low orbit are eating up a lot of money, attention and time from the program that's sent men to the moon and robots into the Kuiper belt... but said griping aside, it's still great to see them back on the horse that threw them. Go, Discovery!

Brains... braaaaains...

It was the Bad Brains' glorious I Against I last night. Highly recommended.

Yeah, I'm a white kid from rural Ontario. But people, these are the Brains. Trust me.

Possibly related: a beautiful thing happened to some of the edits to le manuscrit immortel yestereve... finally. That is, they became obviously worth the trouble. Or so I say, anyway. Excerpt probably coming soon. Dunno if H.R. and Dr. Know should get any credit or not, but I'm in a charitable mood this morning, so I'm gonna say so anyway.

Words to live by

The point is, you see, that there is no point in driving yourself mad trying to stop yourself going mad. You might just as well give in and save your sanity for later.

— Ford Prefect, in Douglas Adams' Life, the Universe, and Everything