September links roundup: baxil

Interesting things I've found across Livejournal or around the Web over the course of the month:

The quotable Bax: "Magic is easy. Interfacing it with reality, now that's tough." -- Cited at notdoneliving.net. "I am beginning to really hate bosses who confuse timeliness with responsibility." -- Cited by ounceofreason.
And the quotes meme: Remember that "go to a page of quotes and pick 5 you like" meme that spread through LJ a little while back? Blogger Kevin Drum had an intriguing spin on it: Pick 5 you disagree with. I never did meme either one, but I like the ideas.
It's A Small World, PCT Edition: Turns out that the thru-hiker known as Chai Guy, who I met several times along the trail, is a friend of kshandra's. (Not only that, but my parents, who spend their summers in Maine, are friends-of-friends of the hiker known as T-bird and her family.) The thru-hiking community leads to some of the strangest connections.
Sucky math: hafoc examines The Mathematics of Suck, a tongue-in-cheek attempt to quantify the vileness of most modern American music. One of the funniest things I've read lately.
Mathy suck: Speaking of math, kistaro made an offhand comment about Manhattan distances a week or two ago. Speaking of suck, the post sucked me into a sprawling discussion with him. The geekery gets deep quickly.
Webcomic clichés: kinkyturtle posted some introspection on the Nine Cheesy Web Comic Plot Lines, which caused me to realize that my webcomic is fully 25% cliché.
Wait, you have a webcomic?: Yep! I've very occasionally changed up the format of my journal entries. The illustrated (and/or photographed) entries have run at Tlands under the name "My Afternoon: A Dramatization."
Calling 'em like they are: The first of these webcomics was about the brutally sucky completist ending of the game "Jak and Daxter". I now note with some satisfaction that I'm not the only one who has made that observation.
Coulda, woulda, shoulda wrote it: The webcomic xckd continues to steal words from my mouth. This time, it's a PCT thru-hike in six panels. Pitch-perfect.
I would so do this: Spawn! There may be some marathon running in my future.
Resistance is futile: LJ continues its slow assimilation of the rest of the world. Some years ago, on a lark I posted a link to a random Google search I performed. Since then, theferrett's musing on superhero powers has jumped out of nowhere to the #2 result for i can spell patchouli and my life sucks. The coveted #1 is only a Googlebomb away ...
What he said: I pretty much agree with everything Kos writes in "The Case for the Libertarian Democrat." My break with the Libertarians was wholly an issue of economic principle. Leftists and Libertarians share a strong common bond of support for civil liberty, and it's one of the things I think both groups are most correct to pull for. It's where Libertarianism veers into knee-jerk anti-governmentarianism that it goes furthest astray, and Kos is right to point out that there are places where government intervention increases personal economic liberties. It would be interesting to see leftists/libertarians making common cause to keep personal freedoms paramount -- when government gets in the way of that, be willing to roll it back, and when the profit motive gets in the way of that, be willing to roll government forward.
What'd he say?!: Of course, not everyone responded well to Kos' essay. Reaction among libertarians was especially varied (and generally critical). The comment that made my eyes bug out the furthest: "I can't side with Kos simply because he believes that government has the power to do good. The end." ... ... Um, yeah, guy. Sorry to hear that police and fire departments, the interstate freeway system, and the Bill of Rights haven't been working out for you.
More thought-provoking LJ: nicked_metal's advice on writing novels: Don't end everything at the end. bradhicks wonders whether some humans have simply had civilization bred out of them. heron61 argues against trying to prove magic. phierma describes an eye-opening class activity on class warfare. packbat reminds us of the underlying idea behind respecting people's beliefs. eclective's post title says it all: "The Power of 'I Am'."

September links roundup

Announcement: P&P launch 10/31!

Oh yeah! I have a Livejournal!

The weather's even improving my dreams

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