A repost from way way back... My brain was working full gear on the commute in this morning... Particle Physics for Motorcyclists, Pt I Here is a list of the described sub-atomic particles found in the motorcycle world: posetron -- An interchange particle that acts in conjunction with receptors in the human brain; this response is known as "pose value". Harley Davidsons, Ducatis, and Bimotas have strong generators of posetrons, which increases the desirability of these bikes in the eyes of certain humans. Posetron receptors vary in humans -- some only respond to the subgenre of sport posetrons, others to cruiser posetrons, and still others are more specialized as receptors of brand-specific posetrons, such as Harley posetrons or Ducati posetrons. Note that some humans are equipped with the rare MotoGuzzi receptor. These people can be identified by their unusual haircuts and an insistence that linked brakes are superior. Note that certains motorcycles, such as the the Honda CB750, have no posetron emissions, and in fact may actually suck posetrons from other motorcycles. Note also that older bikes tend to generate a greater number of posetrons than newer bikes, so that a 1960 Bonneville will have greater pose-value than a brand new Yamaha. electron -- These are the particles that make the electrical and electronic systems on motorcycles work. Usually found in batteries, copper wires, and in later model machines, contained in a special black box. Note that this is the only particle visible to the human eye, as can be witnessed during a failure of one of the above mentioned parts, when the electrons are released in what as commonly known as "smoke". neutron -- This is a special particle that assists the operator of the machine in finding neutral. Certain motorcycles, such as Ducatis and some BMWs, produce no neutrons when standing still. Others, such as many Kawasakis, are fitted with a neutron generator to assist the user in finding neutral at a stand still. gluon -- This particle is prevelent in motorycle tires, particularly high quality sporting tires, giving them the ability to "stick like glue". The gluon content of the tire determines the available traction, and recent developments, particularly the radial tire, have given manufacturers the special ability to increase the number of gluons in a tire without any ancillary effects. The greatest negative effect of gluons is that gluons do degrade upon exposure to the atmosphere, hence the tendency for sporting tires to last a signifigantly shorter period of time than less gluon laden touring tires. gravitron -- The gravitron is an external particle that responds to motorcycle by dragging the bike to the ground. Individual gravitrons are weak, but gravitrons tend to accumulate in pockets, particularly in the wild, and wait for an unsuspecting motorcycle to wander by. The number of gravitrons increases with the presence of liquid precipitation, and goes through the roof with more solid forms of precipitation such as snow or ice. Certain bikes have gravitron repellers, although the efficacy of these is questionable. Note that gravitrons can also counteract the effects of gluons, if only for a moment, so an errant pocket could cause tires to fail to work in the expected manner.

Which Founding Father Are You?

Who are you? Found thanks to Joanne Jacobs...

Thinking about the elections... I was wondering if the trendline for the nation is heading away from the Democrats. Consider this -- the Dems were effectively in total power in the 1970s -- even Republican presidents were little more than whitewashed Democrats. Nixon and Ford followed in LBJ's footsteps pretty thorough;y. If it weren't for the Vietnam War, there probably would have been all Democrat presidents until Reagan. Then came the Conservative groundswell in the eighties. Conservatism made major gains with the capture of the Presidency and the results of Reagan's policies. Bush ran as a continuation of Reagan's policies, and won. Bush slid away from conservative principles, and was defeated by Clinton, who basically ran as a conservative. Clinton bull rushed to the left after being elected, and lost the House and Sentae in 1994. He rolled back to the right and maintained his presidency by taking conservative positions on many issues, including welfare reform, a Republican keystone policy. Al Gore lost to Bush -- I think the only reason he did as well as he did was because a lot of Dems and Indys perceived Gore as a continuation of the Conservative side of Clinton's rule. The Senate and House remained Republican, although by a small margin. Jeffords defects, turning the Senate over to the Democrats. The nation chooses to return the Senate to the Republicans at the next opportunity. There were various tactical reasons within the races to cause some of the close races one way or the other, but in general, the Republicans have been slowly gaining ground at the grassroots. It looks bad for the Dems as far as the long term trends go...