Assorted bullshit about video games, language, music, and some other unabashedly personal shit. And maybe some stuff that's kind of funny? I don't know. I just don't fucking know, alright? Would you give me a fucking break? Jesus, Mom.

You can also find me:

I also write Britishisms, a blog about moving to the US, and Tuneage, a music blog I co-founded. I curate Give Me Something to Read. I started Word Journal, and I occasionally contribute to The Small Picture.

nostrich at quisby dot net

21st October 2009

Link

Why "Balloon Boy" Could Never Have Been →

The case of “Balloon Boy” Falcon Heene cost emergency services a signfcant amount of money and resulted in considerable distress to cable news viewers. This paper sets out the physics behind a helium lifting balloon and explains why it should have been obvious to both emergency services and news organisations that Falcon Heene was never aboard.

Debunking sensationalist media stunts with science! I approve. (Careful, that’s a PDF.)

Money shot:

A knowledge of basic physics on the part of the emergency services and news organisations would have avoided a great deal of wasted time, effort and money and prevented a great deal of distress.