Dorks In Space Miscellanea:

Oh NO! EspionaGGGGGGGZZZZZHHHHHHHE!

Holy cats. I hope those guys get something up on their website. The New Times article linked above is TEN YEARS OLD. Did I even know what rockabilly WAS ten years ago?

Some tigers in Kenya... I'm sure you could get away with a free snorkel from these people.

False advertising? Do you suppose you really get a free snorkel when you visit?

But... but.... there are no tigers in Kenya! Tigers are Asian animals! That's false advertising!

Perhaps the real reason that a physical relationship with a Muppet wouldn't work is because of those stick thingies hanging off of their limbs. That's a real safety hazard. Not to mention that Muppets usually lack legs.

Kenya! Kenya!

KENYA! Kenya!!!

It seems that most of what I do on this web site is just add links to random bits of web detritus. This post being no exception, I'd like to announce that I'm going to Kenya for my free snorkel.

FRAMES SUCK.

Say it with me now, darlings, "FRAMES SUCK."

Do not make your site with frames.
Do not make me mouse over
Your little embedded scroll bars
In futile attempts to access your content.
DO NOT USE FRAMES
And scrolly JavaScript.

It might be worth it if
You had any sustenance,
Food for the eyes and ears.
But you have nothing but a blank page where it says
"music",
And a hundred scroll bars
Embedded recursively
Rendering the "page down" key
Useless.
The bottom of the page is not the bottom of the page,
It is the middle.

Ok, so fine, here. I hope you're happy, now!

I often wonder if the things I repeat over and over from stories other people tell me are really true. In high school, I claimed that Tommy James and the Shondells were the first rock act to use a synthesizer in a recording, on their single "Crimson and Clover". I was taking this on my Dad's word, and though I am pretty darn sure he knows close to everything, I still occasionally wonder if it was really true.

Now, this is the age of the internet, and I today I decided to find out. I'm tickled to see that my dad got a bunch of it right. According to the liner notes from the Rhino Records release of a combo album of Crimson and Clover & Cellophane Symphony, the Moog synth first showed up on the second of the two albums, Cellophane Symphony. The weird vocal effect for Crimson and Clover was apparently the tremolo switch on a guitar amp.

So, cool, my Dad knew that Tommy James and Shondells were there with the synths first (I shouldn't really doubt the man who can name any tune from about 1955 to about 1979 after hearing only two notes). The track name is wrong, but though I said it in a public speech, I am certain that nobody remembers it, and if they did that they would really know themselves, either.

In looking through the Moog website, I'm amused to learn that Bob Moog spent ten years making theramins, and has a PhD degree in engineering physics. SCIENCE RULES!

What ever happened to "Comedy Central" in the National League? We used to get pushed around by the East and the West. As of right now, the National League Central, as a whole, is 120-101, a .543 winning percentage. The Central is 60-41 outside the division (.594!). 29-22 versus the NL West, and 31-19 versus the pathetic NL East.

Props to our resident php queen, Black Susan!

Speaking of Jacks and Jills of all trades, I am loving our new website look. Go Dorks!

Along that line, here's some science:



I'm supposed to be growing some of these instead of working on the Dorks in Space webpage. This is a TappingMode AFM image of germanium quantum dots grown on silicon. See how pretty they are?

Cara's favorite band, the Clumsy Lovers, sure are a lot of fun. While Stash is off being a Bad Boy in Las Vegas, we got to see their bluegrass/celtic/rock collision. They're good. It makes me wish I was that good. Perhaps I need fewer hobbies, and then I'd actually be good at some of them. Nah. Jill of all trades, master of none. That's me.

Ha! There's more video here! Well, at least a little more video of the Robinetts at the 15:30 mark. Sweet! And thanks for passing along the meaning of the shirt (don't forget to watch until the very end of the weather segment in the first clip).

Woo! TV exposure! Check it out, thanks to the great goodness of friendly connections, the Dorks In Space name was seen on the local news. If you want to check it out, click here, and go to the 21 minute mark. It's a direct link to the Real Player file. It looks like Channel 15 keeps a rolling archive of their past shows, so I wouldn't expect this clip to last more than a week. By the way, being part of the weather watchers network looks freakin' cool! I want an anemometer!! Quite an appropriate context for the first Dorks In Space tv coverage, I think. Thanks!!

Get burned by the fire of desire in the night.
And count me as APPALLED that a down-to-earth, God-fearing, all-American Light Lager brewery like Coors would have a hand in marketing snootypants yuppie hefferwyzens and such.

I am shocked--SHOCKED!--to find that my tasty Blue Moon is made by Coors.

Well, sheeeeeeeyit, just call me Smoky Mountain skullbusted.

Seriously, I visited the Great Smoky Mtns. when I was a but a wee tike. They were nice, but our friends at www.smokymountainskullbusters.com rocked way harder at Ziggy's 2-nite.