Ender’s Game
You know where GorT will be on November 1st: “If you try and lose then it isn’t your fault. But if you don’t try and we lose, then it’s all your fault.” GorTGorT is an eight-foot-tall robot from the 51ˢᵗ … Continue reading →
GorT
GorT is an eight-foot-tall robot from the 51ˢᵗ Century who routinely time-travels to steal expensive technology from the future and return it to the past for retroinvention. The profits from this pay all the Gormogons’ bills, including subsidizing this website. Some of the products he has introduced from the future include oven mitts, the Guinness widget, Oxy-Clean, and Dr. Pepper. Due to his immense cybernetic brain, GorT is able to produce a post in 0.023 seconds and research it in even less time. Only ’Puter spends less time on research. GorT speaks entirely in zeros and ones, but occasionally throws in a ڭ to annoy the Volgi. He is a massive proponent of science, technology, and energy development, and enjoys nothing more than taking the Czar’s more interesting scientific theories, going into the past, publishing them as his own, and then returning to take credit for them. He is the only Gormogon who is capable of doing math. Possessed of incredible strength, he understands the awesome responsibility that follows and only uses it to hurt people.
Mailbag: Correction Edition and More
Professor Mondo writes the shiny robot for the first time in order to correct GorT’s knowledge of children’s literary references: I realize that a busy time-traveling robot such as yourself has little opportunity to reflect on children’s literature, but … Continue reading →
Stop Thinking like Brinker* and Start Being a Phoenix
GorT has many years of experience in working in and around the federal government and if there’s one thing that I’ve learned, it’s that when the government faces a problem it generally puts the same people in change of fixing … Continue reading →
A Telling Tale
GorT has been busy time-traveling and gathering information…well, ok, really, I’ve been swamped with work and family stuff. So, I thought I’d take a few minutes on a quiet, misty Sunday morning to reflect on the current issues facing the … Continue reading →
How’s Your Hindsight? 20/20?
So the Obama Administration campaigned on and self-proclaimed the following (still posted on WhiteHouse.gov): My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system … Continue reading →
Hunter vs. Odierno
The following video clip is making the rounds in a few circles, particularly the federal IT contracting world which overlaps heavily with the inside-the-beltway world. GorT is very familiar with both. Let’s put aside the issue that the General and … Continue reading →
Call Me a Doubter
So there is a news story going around celebrating today as the 20th anniversary of the first public website: http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html I’m sure the link is getting slammed (slashdotted for those in the know), but I wouldn’t waste my time. It’s … Continue reading →
Tech Tips
I’m a frequent TED Talks watcher so I thought I’d pass along one that is near and dear to me. I can’t tell you how many times I sit with someone and they don’t know some of these tips or … Continue reading →
Email (The next taxable item in Maryland)
Reader SMR wrote in last week in response to this post: To the Magnificent GorTechie: Those who strive to obtain the good graces of a robot are accustomed to come before him with such things as they hold most precious, … Continue reading →
Where Are We?
By the title of this post you might think this entry is to document where GorT has been as his post count is lagging a bit. Briefly, GorT has been crazy-busy at work logging 10% overtime on average for the … Continue reading →
The “Free State”, My Ass
Several of the Gormogons are Maryland natives (technically GorT was a transplant after a year…at least in this time reality) and GorT maintains his primary residence in the People’s Republic of Maryland. However, the recent course of events in Maryland … Continue reading →
Social Media
GorT got thinking about the beginning of the trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell (see The Czar’s post below) after seeing a segment on Fox News’ The Five. We’ve been through a number of social media trending posts/images with various colored … Continue reading →
History Teaches Us Nothing
Remember all the blame that was placed on Wall Street and the nefarious banks who preyed on people with low credit scores for the economic collapse that we have been struggling to overcome? Maybe some of you even remember the … Continue reading →
Seriously?!?!
And people wonder why the right really question what Planned Parenthood does, does with federal funds, and what they support. GorTGorT is an eight-foot-tall robot from the 51ˢᵗ Century who routinely time-travels to steal expensive technology from the future and … Continue reading →
Happy Easter
The Lord Is Risen, Alleluia! Of course, your Gormogons would strongly recommend using Bing to search the internet. Maybe for a while to show Google what you think of their celebration of Easter. GorTGorT is an eight-foot-tall robot from the … Continue reading →
Every Once In A While
GorT generally despises “reality TV” – it’s akin to texting in that it is a cheap way for networks to earn money by airing low budget content (and therefore low-value content) and rake in the advertising money (texting for those … Continue reading →
R-E-S-P-E-C-T In The Workplace
GorT has had the pleasure today of sitting through an all-day demonstration briefing that is conducted in person as well as over web conferencing and conference call. My specific portion of the demo went very well and has largely been … Continue reading →
Re: Climate
GorT Sr sent along a reference to this chart – it’s worth a look given Czar’s post below. More here. GorTGorT is an eight-foot-tall robot from the 51ˢᵗ Century who routinely time-travels to steal expensive technology from the future and … Continue reading →
Apples and Oranges
Subtitle: Papal Elections and Secular Elections Our parochial vicar (read: assistant pastor) gave a homily over the weekend that was largely a repeat of one he gave last week albeit at a different Mass. Apparently, the pastor really liked the … Continue reading →
Collaboration
From time to time, a number of the Gormogons get together for various efforts. Here is what happens when you combine the Volgi’s penchant for yeti, Mandy’s orbiting satellite control systems, and GorT’s robots: I guess we need to find … Continue reading →
Lollygaggers
I become more and more convinced each day that the Obama Administration is combination of people who are in way over their heads and people who have tremendous disrespect for large segments of the population based on politics, lifestyle, and … Continue reading →
eMailbag
GorT has a few emails that he received over the last week or so that merit replies (the rest were about ‘Puter and Czar’s latest adventures at the Leaping Peacock, Mandy’s satellites interfering with The Hopper on DirectTV, Volgi’s latest … Continue reading →
‘Puter is Sequestering Something
GorT read ‘Puter’s post earlier today regarding sequestration. Let me first state that I’m in agreement with his conclusion: To win this debate once and for all, Republicans have to call the Democrats out and expose them for what they … Continue reading →
Catholicism in the Current Era
At least we don’t have the liberal, hippie religion of being Herbert. “I am not One!” GorT has been contemplating Catholicism in the modern world due to a few things: (1) a recent conversation with his parents regarding a pretty … Continue reading →
Sequestration
GorT made his predictions back in September and while not 100% accurate, I still believe that sequestration is a real possibility. There is growing sentiment that it might not be such a bad thing. The Federal government grew, sequestration just … Continue reading →
Two thoughts
Here are two thoughts GorT had last night between talking with his kids about the Pope, watching parts of the State of the Union and watching all of Senator Rubio’s (R-FL) response. 1. Liberals, in general, see and are voicing … Continue reading →
Liberal Fear
One of the above is an exceptional American, the other is an exceptional loser Generally when liberals hear something that sounds conservative and reasonable and comes from someone who they would typically classify as being from a demographic that they … Continue reading →
Shocker
In a shocking move, Pope Benedict XVI announced that, effective February 28th, he will resign due to the frailty caused by his age. This news surprised the cardinals and started the frenzied speculations about his successor. The last time a pope … Continue reading →
Speaking Truth (con’t)
Dr. J beat GorT to the punch. The video of Dr. Carson’s speech at the National Prayer Breakfast is quickly making the rounds on the social media sites. It is very, very impressive and you should sit down with your … Continue reading →
More Evidence on Liberal Shortsightedness
GorT has previously written about his belief that liberals, largely, seek the short-term, knee-jerk solution without considering the longer term ramifications. Well, courtesy of the Twitter Machine and one of my fellow Gormos retweeting it, I noticed this juicy tidbit: … Continue reading →
Friend of the Gormos: JVL
GorT is a big believer in correlated data and there are certain demographic trends that aren’t looking promising for the United States. The one I usually cite is the population numbers by age versus investment behavior by age. I believe … Continue reading →
Masters of the Social Media?
The Democrats have been lauded as being on top of their social media usage when compared to the Republicans. However, I will say that they generally have ended up opening doors for online mocking (one of our specialties) by poor … Continue reading →
Life Imitates Art
…or something like that. Maybe a more apropos title for this post would be, “Life Imitates Popular Soap-SitDramaComs”. Where is GorT going with this, you ask? Two days ago, I was watching The Five on FoxNews and Greg Gutfeld made … Continue reading →
What Does Our Future Hold?
GorT’s second offspring celebrated her birthday over the weekend. As part of it, we had a number of young teenage girls over at the house for cake and ice cream (that got ‘Puter’s attention). As they got ready to sing … Continue reading →
All Is Not Lost
It’s easy in these trying times to become despondent or callously cynical about the direction that the country is heading. And it is at those times that I find items like the following buoy me and reinvigorate me. GorT attended … Continue reading →
Looking At the Recovery
We’ve seen a number of charts and graphs that describe the recovery – how slow it is growing, its impacts, etc. I’m a big fan of interesting visualizations of data (insert gratuitous plug for Edward Tufte’s books and seminars here … Continue reading →
Plans
President Obama took to the airwaves and laid much of the blame or potential blame for the upcoming budget battle at the feet of the Republicans in the House. He said the debt ceiling must be raised to pay for … Continue reading →
Being America Is Hard
The title is a pretty simple statement and one could take it in a variety of ways. But given the recent national “conversation” on guns and the ramifications of various proposed solutions (which many haven’t thought out, in my opinion), … Continue reading →
The Fiscal Cliff and Constitutionality
GorT received some email traffic from some relatives asking about the origin of the Taxpayer Relief Act (the bill saving us, insert laughing here, from the “fiscal cliff”) and referenced the same section of the Constitution that the Burgher of … Continue reading →
What Did The Fiscal Cliff Negotiations Really Get Us?
In a simple answer: higher spending and an increased deficit. No, wait, you say, the Democrats fought and fought for higher revenue from the wealthy so we should be seeing a reduction in the deficit. They’re paying their fair share! … Continue reading →
How Did We Get Here?
GorT, Sr. passed on an email that I’m going to dissect into a post here. Recently, Facebook posts, media “news” stories, and commentary pieces are largely trying to blame the Republicans for the mess we’re in today. Either by ways … Continue reading →
Good Black Box, Bad Black Box
The Czar raises an interesting problem but missed dropping a few nuggets of information. Keep in mind, that GorT isn’t a government conspiracy theorist who believes that the government is out to collect all this information about us and manipulate … Continue reading →
RIP Gerry Anderson
Some of you may be saying, “Gerry Anderson? Who is that?” Gerry Anderson was a staple in GorT’s youth as the Saturday night lineup was the Muppet Show followed by Space: 1999. Mr. Anderson died at the age of 83. … Continue reading →
Is It Nice, My Precious? Is It Juicy?
GorT and family saw The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey last night and it lived up to the other Jackson adaptations of Tolkien’s works. We ended up seeing it in 3D which I actually feel benefited the movie in some of … Continue reading →
Mailbag
Regarding my earlier post regarding ACA (aka ObamaCare), GorT received this note: Yes, indeed. Taxes on the rich. I just wonder where all these rich folks are going? Is there some fabulous island nation where they’re going? Operative ScottO then … Continue reading →
Culpability
As I was driving into work this morning, the local sports talk station aired a segment about a recent ESPN First Take show in which Rob Parker dropped this: I’ve talked to some people in Washington, D.C. Some people in … Continue reading →
Who Is Going to Pay for This Now?
Again, more evidence that the Democrats have pursued and championed legislation that they fail to examine the longer term ramifications of its provisions. Case in point, the Affordable Care Act. Remember the whole “we have to pass the bill to … Continue reading →
Random Items
It’s a Three-fer Tuesday here at the Castle for GorT: Item Numero Uno: Launch of the second flight of the X-37B “mini space shuttle” The Air Force launched the X-37B back into space on its second mission today. This vehicle … Continue reading →
As If We Needed Another Reason
There is a Facebook picture making the “like” rounds on the social network that is credited to the Occupy Wall Street movement. A number of liberal groups on Facebook have shared and liked it and liberals following those groups have … Continue reading →
Semantics, Common Terms and Fairness
I was watching The Five on Fox News last night and one of the segments was a discussion about the “fiscal cliff” and the latest GOP plan that the White House and democrats have shot down as being not balanced. … Continue reading →
Something to Ponder
Back in 1977, Voyager 1 and 2 were launched – 16 days apart – on mission through the solar system. Voyager 1 is now in a newly ascribed region nicknamed the “magnetic highway” where particles from inside and outside the … Continue reading →
Tweet War!
Apparently, the President is keeping in campaign mode and taking to social media this afternoon at 2pm ET to answer questions about “extending the middle class tax cuts”. The White House will be using the #My2K hashtag which the Atlantic … Continue reading →
Time Machine!
It’s been a while since I’ve fired up the time machine and taken a trip, so I dusted it off and jumped back to early May 2012. Not so far back in our history that people should forget but with … Continue reading →
Someone Let ‘Puter Out Again?
Our apologies folks, apparently Dat Ho or Sleestak let ‘Puter roam free past the Leapin’ Peacock and he ended up on a four day bender. Apparently somewhere around the 47th hour, he was on Mars trying to get the rover … Continue reading →
What’s the Plan? Part Deux
In this earlier post, I raised some of the issues regarding this “fiscal cliff” that the country is facing and that leads most major new outlet’s coverage these days. In this post, let me outline a few answers and issues … Continue reading →
What’s the Plan?
Sigh. How to begin? Does the general public not see what is going on with the “fiscal cliff” and the various posturing going on? The GOP has acknowledged that they are open for negotiations that would include additional tax-based revenue*. … Continue reading →
Obama 2016
GorT had a wonderful Thanksgiving (minus I-freaking-95 from Richmond to DC on Saturday evening) and with a little downtime and unwinding on Friday evening, I watched Obama 2016, the movie, with my in-laws. It has an interesting premise … Continue reading →
Forboding Future
While I know it isn’t pretty, people should take a long, hard look at California and begin wondering what our future holds. Let me summarize a few data points: The Proposition 30 tax hike (to the tune of $6B) passed … Continue reading →
The Hostess with the Mostest
Hostess announced plans to shut down this week. They are facing a workers strike which their CEO has determined they can’t weather over a prolonged period. The plans include laying off most of their 18,500 strong workforce after a Thursday … Continue reading →
Sequestering My Thoughts
I was finishing up lunch with some former co-workers today and as I walked out I found myself behind a group of young professionals who were likely in the late 20s or early 30s. The snippets of their discussion were … Continue reading →
Get A Helmet, Shoes Are Dropping
Dr. J mentions, in reference to companies moving employees to part-time statuses to ease their insurance costs, as something foreseen and he, nor any other Gormogon, was surprised to see it happen. It is disheartening, which is one of the … Continue reading →
Mystic Rhythms
So many things I think aboutWhen I look far awayThings I know, things I wonderThings I’d like to sayThe more we think we know aboutThe greater the unknownWe suspend our disbeliefAnd we are not alone… Apologies to Rush for the … Continue reading →
A Fifth Thought
No, this isn’t a reference to GorT polishing off a fifth of Angostura 1824 rum last night. Given that four of the Gormogons have weighed in on the election night, I figured I’d chime in with my thoughts. I find … Continue reading →
Quick Thoughts
Numero Uno: I wonder if the democrats in Maryland have put the following 2+2 together. The democrats have been pushing against Question 7 (essentially allowing a casino with table games in Maryland) with statements like “the legislature raided the education … Continue reading →
Lest One Think Otherwise
The Czar usually camps out at the Castle Maildrop grabbing all the post that the mailman delivers but Sleestak distracted him with leftover Halloween candy. So he missed the following mail from our Castle Archivist: Spot on, sir, with the … Continue reading →
All Saint’s Day
GorT works 20-25 miles away from home and as today is a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics, I surfed around on MassTimes.org and found a couple local parishes that had mid-day Masses. I chose one and arrived 5 minutes … Continue reading →
Spend a little time with…me…me…me!
Operative ScottyO (currently researching evil sharks with laser beams) writes in regarding my previous post: Your Gleaming Techiness, One thing to add to your statement about the largest federal budget and debt: and, there is no budget! There is simply … Continue reading →
Hey Big Spender
A friend on Facebook posted a link and comment on how people shouldn’t forget that Obama is the “smallest government spender” when it comes to the federal government. After debunking it with a few facts, the post was removed. Interesting. … Continue reading →
Mailbag
The Island Dweller writes in with the following theory about Benghazi: Your gleaming magnificence: I am curious about something else that has been reported in the media, and no one seems to have explored it in depth. Ambassador Stevens and … Continue reading →
Unraveling By The Day
Apparently there are still some investigative journalists out there. The Benghazi attack will not go away – and nor should it. The basic question that people should be asking is – given the mounting evidence that the Obama Administration completely … Continue reading →
It’s Been A While
It has been a while since GorT took a shot at the whole Stimulus funding and Joe Biden’s favorite “number” on the internet: recovery.gov. The ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) requires the Chairperson of the Council of … Continue reading →
Mailbag
Island Dweller must be bored in the desert…or really likes our site, writes into GorT with the following: Dear brushed-stainless steel repository of technical sophistication: As a recently-retired Federal law enforcement professional who worked GWOT issues during my tenure I … Continue reading →
Missed Opportunities
GorT was only able to watch a bit of the debate last night – soccer practices and homework help dominated the evening. However, I did see the portion of the debate when Kerry Ladka asked the question about who in … Continue reading →
What Would I Ask?
GorT read the Czar’s post below and almost immediately disagreed with it. After re-reading it and then reading Ace of Spades’ thoughts on it (with which GorT agrees strongly), I’m not sure I 100% disagree but I do believe the … Continue reading →
The Blame Game
We’re all familiar with how the Obama Administration blames everyone else and hasn’t really stepped up and taken responsibility. This is the differentiation that should be made and it’s a hard one in the political realm to do because it … Continue reading →
Weighing In
GorT figures that he’ll round out the Gormogon take on the VP debate last night. We watched the debate largely as a family until Replicant #3 hit his bedtime and Replicant #2 gave up by saying, “Biden is creepy and … Continue reading →
Obama Flopping?
GorT is a big fan of soccer and one of the issues with the sport is “flopping”. That is, to intentionally fake an injury in order to attempt to draw a card or penalty against the other team. When you … Continue reading →
Growing Debate Meme?
I was thinking about including this point in my earlier post regarding the debate but hesitated…now that the Czar made a reference to it and given that I’ve heard more than one democrat-supporter use it on TV today, I figure … Continue reading →
Watching the Debate
The Czar summarized the debate in a most excellent fashion so I’ll leave that for you to read. However, I wanted to comment on watching the debate. GorT was finishing soccer practice, so he walked in 5 minutes into the … Continue reading →
Space War!
GorT has a number of favorite genres for fiction which include mysteries (particularly British characters such as P.D. James’ Adam Dalgliesh series, Sarah Caudwell’s Hilary Tamar series and Deborah Crombie’s Kincaid/James series, but also some other sub-genres), British naval historical … Continue reading →
Connect the Dots
Our readers are smart and probably don’t need the following lesson in connecting the dots but for those stumbling upon our site or just curious as to what is really happening out there versus what the media is spoon feeding … Continue reading →
How Desperate is Obama
Sure, we hear all the polling numbers that Obama’s got this election in the bag – particularly in the swing states. And we can point at the various debunking of those polls – whether it be biased, inaccurate political affiliation … Continue reading →
What Hath The Boomers Wrought
GorT is miffed. Peeved. Ticked off. GorT and family live in a great community that is centered around our Catholic parish. Over 70% of the kids in our parochial school walk to school each day. Sure, there are the enabling … Continue reading →
Math Fun, Gormo-style!
GorT, Sr. enjoyed this earlier post and GorT has been busy so I’ve been lax in posting these. First, let’s show how 2 equals 3: and now, -1 equals 1: Witness the mighty power of the Gormogons!!! GorTGorT is an … Continue reading →
Debunking the “Trickle Down” Attacks
Thomas Sowell is a favorite of a number of the Gormogons and GorT came across this online interview with the columnist and author. He discusses his essay, “‘Trickle Down Theory’ and ‘Tax Cuts for the Rich’”. While I’d love to … Continue reading →
Referees
I thought I’d spend a few minutes today on a total side-topic from our regular federal budget woes, Obama’s complete amateurism in foreign policy* (and claiming that Romney & Ryan have less experience), sequestration, and all that other nonsense to … Continue reading →
Prognostication
Everyone is entitled to their opinion and wise people will listen and consider other opinions before making decisions (at least within reason). GorT has been super-busy at work recently leading up to our company’s annual offsite (nothing big, just a … Continue reading →
Living on a Lighted Stage Approaches the Unreal
GorT had the opportunity to go to the Rush concert* last night just outside Washington, DC (formerly Nissan Pavilion now Jiffy Lube Live – the venue itself is great but the parking is a nightmare). It was a great show … Continue reading →
It’s A Paradox Wrapped in a Mystery
President Obama delivered a rousing speech last night, pointing out how the GOP ticket doesn’t have any plans or the plans are rehashes of what he says caused the issues. However, he failed to really outline any plan of his … Continue reading →
DNC Thoughts
GorT and Mrs. GorT watched a bit of the DNC coverage. We tuned into Fox News who carried the three speeches (O’Malley, Julian Castro, and Michelle Obama) and movie in totality. Clearly O’Malley and Castro are trying to punch their … Continue reading →
DNC Speakers
GorT took a look at some of the speakers set for the DNC: Sandra Fluke – so a 30-something law student who believes that free birth control for all should be a major platform issue for the Presidency is speaking. … Continue reading →
RNC Thoughts
Many are going to focus on the Paul Ryan speech last night and don’t get me wrong, Mrs. GorT and GorT watched the live coverage from Mike Huckabee’s speech through Paul Ryan’s speech. Each speech was excellent but I’d like … Continue reading →
Winning!
Amy Payne over at the Heritage Foundation penned a post today that breaks down how well the President’s “plan” has worked. According to the latest Obama campaign ad featuring former President Bill Clinton, President Obama’s plan is working and needs … Continue reading →
President “It’s All About Me” Obama
Does anyone else hear “me, me, me, all me, when Obama talks? @SooperMexican noted his recent blog post over on Twitter and I clicked through to see the details. It’s worth reiterating here as it is a theme of the … Continue reading →
RIP Neil Armstrong
The first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, has passed away. He defines himself not as a hero or an icon, but rather a nerd: The notoriously publicity shy Armstrong was a reluctant hero. In an era of celebrity adulation, … Continue reading →
Cold War Mission Declassified
The CIA recently declassified (note to the Obama Administration – this is when you can actually talk and discuss sensitive national security secrets, not while they are still classified. See 18 USC § 798 – Disclosure of Classified Information) information … Continue reading →
Stupid or Ignorant: You Choose
The Obama Administration is either stupid or ignorant and I’ll leave it up to our esteemed readers to make that choice for themselves. Case in point: Jennifer Rubin pens this piece over in the Washington Post Blog section today. Quote: … Continue reading →
Earhart’s Crash Site
Researchers tracking the potential crash site for Amelia Earhart’s plane. The popular theory is that she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, ran out of fuel over the Pacific Ocean as they were heading towards Howland Island. A contrary theory is … Continue reading →
Hoping and Changing for Attack and Blame
GorT has a roughly 25 mile commute each way to work and many of his Metro DC radio stations start fading towards the end of the trip. Luckily, he has Sirius XM radio in the car – he still plays … Continue reading →