Sixty Three years ago today, the first atomic bomb test, known as the Trinity Test, was conducted in New Mexico:

The first atomic bomb is tested successfully at the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range in a remote section of desert near Los Alamos, New Mexico. The instant the bomb detonated at 5:30 a.m. that Monday, the atomic age was born, and the world changed forever.

The Trinity test, as it was known, was the culmination of the American effort to win the race against Germany (and, ultimately, the Soviet Union) in building an atomic bomb. A mere three weeks after the test, the United States used atomic bombs to destroy the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

J. Robert Oppenheimer, scientific director of the Manhattan Project, was under no illusions about what he and his fellow physicists had wrought. The effects of the blast, the equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT, moved the intellectual Oppenheimer to quote from the Bhagavad Gita: “If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one. Now I am become Death, destroyer of worlds.”

Coincidentally, or not, in a speech today in Indiana, Presidential candidate Barack Obama promised to “make the goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons a central element in our nuclear policy,” if he were to be elected president. One step forward, one step back, and yet onwards we spin through eternity.

Danny Bonaduce will be fighting in the ring. His life is such a trainwreck already. Hopefully he’ll be drunk or on drugs or both! At least it would up the entertainment value.

Bonaduce was BITCH SLAPPED (see below) a few months ago by Reverend Bob Levy, a Howard Stern regular. He now wants to settle the dispute once and for all. Levy accepted Bonaduce’s request for a challenging fight in the ring. The event will take place on September 13th in Atlantic City. This better be all over YouTube!

So remember yesterday, when everyone was freaking out like always about IRAN’S GONNA BLOW UP ISRAEL WITH ALL THEIR NUCLEAR MISSILES OMGGG?

Well apparently no one really bothered to look at the shitty photoshop job on their front page photos. And it’s not like its the first time either.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been tripping down some pre-birth nostalgia. Man, the ’60s sucked. I mean, flower power, youth movements, activism, race and gender equality and all that seemed like a step in the right direction. But what came of it? A whole bunch of slain leaders and a generation of folks who, for the greater part, either dropped out or sold out. Going into the ’60s, conservatism was ready to take the fall. Then most leaders who stood for a societal shift got taken down by assassins.

So with great trepidation I forward you the announcement that the politician I have the most hope for, Barack Obama, is accepting his party’s nomination at Invesco Football Field. No matter how tight security will be, I have great fears that one lone nut - or one nut with the blessings and backing of a covert group - could take him out of the race. It’s terrible to think, but it is a tragic possibility. His security better be made of comic book-quality ninjas or else we all might be fucked.

From The Associated Press:

Obama to accept nomination at football stadium
By BETH FOUHY
NEW YORK (AP) — In a break with tradition, Barack Obama will accept the Democratic presidential nomination at Invesco Field at Mile High, a 76,000-seat stadium, rather than at the site of the party’s national convention across town.

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean acknowledged the decision to move Obama’s speech on the final night of the Aug. 25-28 convention to the giant open-air football field of the Denver Broncos would raise security challenges, but said he and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper had agreed such concerns won’t deter the change in venue.

Dean, in a conference call with reporters, also batted away questions about logistical challenges and added costs the change would produce, saying those things would be worked out in the coming weeks.

Obama, speaking to reporters in St. Louis, said he was excited about the move.

“Sometimes our conventions don’t feel like they are open to everybody,” Obama said. “For us to be able to do it in Invesco Field is an opportunity for 80,000 people who might otherwise not have been able to participate to get involved.”

It won’t be the first time a presidential candidate has accepted the nomination in a stadium. On July 15, 1960, John F. Kennedy gave his acceptance speech before tens of thousands at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

(more…)

From Craigslist:

Nemesis required. 6-month project with possibilty to extend
Date: 2008-05-07, 2:49PM PDT
I’ve been trying to think of ways to spice up my life. I’m 35 years old, happily married with two kids and I have a good job in insurance. But somethings missing. I feel like I’m old before my time. I need to inject some excitement into my daily routine through my arm before its too late. I need a challenge, something to get the adrenaline pumping again. An addiction would be nice, but, in short, I need a nemesis. I’m willing to pay $350 up front for you services as an arch enemy over the next six months. Nothing crazy. Steal my parking space, knock my coffee over, trip me when Im running to catch the BART and occasionaly whisper in my ear, “Ahha, we meet again”. That kind of thing. Just keep me on my toes. Complacency will be the death of me. You need to have an evil streak and be blessed with innate guile and cunning. You should also be adept at inconsicuous pursuit. Evil laugh preferred. Send me a photo and a brief explanation why you would be a good nemesis.
British accent preferred.
* it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
* Compensation: $350 up front
PostingID: 672031640

Shit, man! I want a nemesis now, too! Oh wait, I have a boss, boyfriend, and two roommates. Nevermind, forget it.

And I remember when I got a phone that could take pictures I was pumped.

Since 2004, a team of professors and students from the University of California, Berkeley has searched for ways to let a single human supervise a team of robot planes. Now, this Center for Collaborative Control of Unmanned Vehicles has a new device for ordering around its drones: an iPhone.

In a video taken from this month’s Teaching & Technology conference, the Berkeley crew uses an iPhone to pick tasks for its drone squadron, input a set of coordinates for a local reconnaissance mission, and send the planes new orders while the aircraft are in the sky.

But don’t tell Steve Jobs how the Berkeley folks are using his gadget. According to the terms of the Apple Software Developer Kit agreement, “applications may not be designed or marketed for real-time route guidance; automatic or autonomous control of vehicles, aircraft, or other mechanical devices; dispatch or fleet management; or emergency or life-saving purposes.”