Every so often I find myself wanting to drop my Johnny Huh pseudonym and blog with my real name. My reasoning is often nebulous and obscure but I am wondering what the small cadre of readers who read this blog.
There are some decent reasons for not disclosing my real identity but there are also some compelling reasons for dropping the charade.
What do you readers think?
Tags: blogging, pseudonym, identity, disclosure
Showing newest 63 of 71 posts from 11.2006. Show older posts
Showing newest 63 of 71 posts from 11.2006. Show older posts
Nov 30, 2006
Nov 29, 2006
What's Next? He Isn't Allowed to Use the Playground Swing?
U.S. bans sale of iPods to North Korea to show Kim Jong Il (you know, the Korean Michael Jackson impersonator) feel bad or something.
Gawd, my government embarrasses the hell out of me. Make it stop, make it stop!
Gawd, my government embarrasses the hell out of me. Make it stop, make it stop!
A New Meaning to Good Vibrations
The iPod Vibrator was bound to happen. Its integrated audio circuitry converts the beat and rhythm of their favorite tunes into vibrations, creating a stimulating, nonrepetitive vibration while they listen.
Kind of a cool idea, really.
There are links to the manufacturer's site and, of course, the blog and even an online forum to help enhance the experience for noobs.
Kind of a cool idea, really.
There are links to the manufacturer's site and, of course, the blog and even an online forum to help enhance the experience for noobs.
Govt. to Under-30 Crowd: Quit Bumping Uglies!
This morning's Morford is a corker (and he'd probably add that its nestled in his bum while he sips Raspberry wine and feeds his lover grapes).
Abstinence message goes beyond teens and all the way up to 29 year olds. Which makes me wonder just what kind of juiced up crack these fools are smoking? I mean, is it crack laced with mothballs and a sprinkling of foot powder or something?
The Bush administration is spending $50 million to spread the word that abstinence is a good thing and should be undertaken by everyone until they are 30.
The shocking thing in the link? That only 90% of 20-29 year olds have had sex. That means there are alot more 30 year old virgins than I'd have ever thought.
The rationale behind this incredibly stupid waste of money? Children born out of wedlock. Because we all know that children born to single moms grow up to be scumbags. Come on, Bushie, this is beyond ridiculous and lapses over into whacked out nutjob insanity.
Abstinence message goes beyond teens and all the way up to 29 year olds. Which makes me wonder just what kind of juiced up crack these fools are smoking? I mean, is it crack laced with mothballs and a sprinkling of foot powder or something?
The Bush administration is spending $50 million to spread the word that abstinence is a good thing and should be undertaken by everyone until they are 30.
The shocking thing in the link? That only 90% of 20-29 year olds have had sex. That means there are alot more 30 year old virgins than I'd have ever thought.
The rationale behind this incredibly stupid waste of money? Children born out of wedlock. Because we all know that children born to single moms grow up to be scumbags. Come on, Bushie, this is beyond ridiculous and lapses over into whacked out nutjob insanity.
Send Warm Thoughts
Sure, California winter makes you northerners sneer and laugh, with good reason, but I could use your warm thoughts because today is the coldest day of the year in the Bay Area. The layer of frost on the cars outside is thick and foreboding. And I am riding my motorcycle into work because I'm sick of sitting in traffic for forty-five minutes each way.
Yes, a motorcycle in late, late November.
I hope my hands don't freeze off because that would make it hard to type or eat or do much of anything.
Tags: motorcycle, commute, coldest day, frost
Yes, a motorcycle in late, late November.
I hope my hands don't freeze off because that would make it hard to type or eat or do much of anything.
Tags: motorcycle, commute, coldest day, frost
Nov 28, 2006
The Tryptophan Report
What's the most dangerous time to be out on the highway? The evening of Thanksgiving because of all that tryptophan coursing through everyone's bloodstream and making heavy heads and eyelids all over the place.
I had to drive the family home after a really nice Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws. A low key dinner but that was perfect for us. I only wish there had been a couple of kids around for Grady to play with. And, oh yeah, that my wife had chosen not to eat the poison stuffing. It was only mildly poisoned but still, puking is no fun. The worst part? She brought some home, ate it the next day and got sick the next night again. Which made it really easy to figure out what was causing the trouble.
But the drive home was rough. Two sleeping children in the backseat, a sleepy wife (though she had no turkey and was just tired) and a sleepy driver. The first part of the drive took every trick in the book to not close my eyes and drift off into the median for a nappy.
I did my best to not partake in Black Friday sales madness. But I had made myself a deal. If I was woken up by either child on Friday morning before the sales started then I would head up to Staples to see about getting my hands on a great, great deal for a new monitor. Sure enough, Sully woke up at about 5:30, I gave him a bottle and put him back down and then went up to Staples to see what I could see.
There had been a line before the doors opened and people were going a little nuts inside. But I did get a monitor for a steal of a deal. I should have also picked up a 1 gig USB drive for $7 after rebates but I just wanted to go back home and lay back down.
Oh yeah, I also picked up four magnetic baskets for pens that go on white boards because they were marked down more than 90%. All four for $2 when they should have cost $25. Bam!
I had to drive the family home after a really nice Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws. A low key dinner but that was perfect for us. I only wish there had been a couple of kids around for Grady to play with. And, oh yeah, that my wife had chosen not to eat the poison stuffing. It was only mildly poisoned but still, puking is no fun. The worst part? She brought some home, ate it the next day and got sick the next night again. Which made it really easy to figure out what was causing the trouble.
But the drive home was rough. Two sleeping children in the backseat, a sleepy wife (though she had no turkey and was just tired) and a sleepy driver. The first part of the drive took every trick in the book to not close my eyes and drift off into the median for a nappy.
I did my best to not partake in Black Friday sales madness. But I had made myself a deal. If I was woken up by either child on Friday morning before the sales started then I would head up to Staples to see about getting my hands on a great, great deal for a new monitor. Sure enough, Sully woke up at about 5:30, I gave him a bottle and put him back down and then went up to Staples to see what I could see.
There had been a line before the doors opened and people were going a little nuts inside. But I did get a monitor for a steal of a deal. I should have also picked up a 1 gig USB drive for $7 after rebates but I just wanted to go back home and lay back down.
Oh yeah, I also picked up four magnetic baskets for pens that go on white boards because they were marked down more than 90%. All four for $2 when they should have cost $25. Bam!
NWoTD - Jesuffocation
Jesuffocation - suffocating on Jesus or the Jesusification of the nation during the yule.
New words are available at both the Fictionarium and The IP Fictionarium while I effect the complete migration to Wordpress.
Tags: jesuffocation, fictionarium, new words, inventing language, NWotD
New words are available at both the Fictionarium and The IP Fictionarium while I effect the complete migration to Wordpress.
Tags: jesuffocation, fictionarium, new words, inventing language, NWotD
Nov 27, 2006
Online Mail-In Rebates Kick Ass!
Okay, I did my best to avoid the massive Black Friday drive to spend, spend, spend and then borrow some to spend some more. And I was mostly successful.
But I had made a deal with myself the night before. If either of my two boys woke me up before the 6 am start of the crush, I would roll out to Staples to see if I could score me a nice deal on a new LCD monitor (which is no longer listed on their site or I'd link to it).
Sure enough, Sully, woke up hungry at about 5:30 and, after a bottle, a burp and a tuck back into bed, I got dressed and drove up the street to Staples. The place wasn't a complete madhouse but it was close. There had been a line to get in and the deals they were dealing were scary good. I could have easily dropped a whole crapload of money before 7 am. But I was resolute and firm and hunted down the one item I knew I wanted and needed.
After wandering the monitor aisle for a little while (hey, nice rhyme!), I waited in line to ask someone where the hell the sweet monitor deals were. No, I'm not lying, there was a line to ask someone a question. It was a short line but it was a line all the same.
I got the proper info and made my way over to wait in another line, this time with only one buyer in front of me. They'd given out vouchers for the monitors to the people waiting before the doors opened and I wasn't so sure I was going to end up getting the monitor. But the guy checked and they had plenty enough to sell me one without the voucher.
So I walked out with a slick new monitor that is gorgeous and totally kicks ass. Its a 19" widescreen LCD made my Samsung and it is bright, beautiful and gives me alot more screen real estate to play with. I'm very pleased with the purchase and feel just a little guilty for not abstaining from the shopping altogether.
Also, did you know that Samsung is really easy to misspell as Sams Gun? Freaky!
And tonight, I got my receipt out to get it ready to mail in for my rebate and read through it. The best part? An URL for Staples Easy Rebates which let me punch in some info from the receipt, add my mailing info and bam, done! Which really puts the kick ass in KICK ASS! Easy rebates make me happy.
Unlike having to get my ass up and into work an hour earlier tomorrow morning which means I've gotta get to bed.
Tags: Staples, Black Friday, LCD monitor, Easy Rebates
But I had made a deal with myself the night before. If either of my two boys woke me up before the 6 am start of the crush, I would roll out to Staples to see if I could score me a nice deal on a new LCD monitor (which is no longer listed on their site or I'd link to it).
Sure enough, Sully, woke up hungry at about 5:30 and, after a bottle, a burp and a tuck back into bed, I got dressed and drove up the street to Staples. The place wasn't a complete madhouse but it was close. There had been a line to get in and the deals they were dealing were scary good. I could have easily dropped a whole crapload of money before 7 am. But I was resolute and firm and hunted down the one item I knew I wanted and needed.
After wandering the monitor aisle for a little while (hey, nice rhyme!), I waited in line to ask someone where the hell the sweet monitor deals were. No, I'm not lying, there was a line to ask someone a question. It was a short line but it was a line all the same.
I got the proper info and made my way over to wait in another line, this time with only one buyer in front of me. They'd given out vouchers for the monitors to the people waiting before the doors opened and I wasn't so sure I was going to end up getting the monitor. But the guy checked and they had plenty enough to sell me one without the voucher.
So I walked out with a slick new monitor that is gorgeous and totally kicks ass. Its a 19" widescreen LCD made my Samsung and it is bright, beautiful and gives me alot more screen real estate to play with. I'm very pleased with the purchase and feel just a little guilty for not abstaining from the shopping altogether.
Also, did you know that Samsung is really easy to misspell as Sams Gun? Freaky!
And tonight, I got my receipt out to get it ready to mail in for my rebate and read through it. The best part? An URL for Staples Easy Rebates which let me punch in some info from the receipt, add my mailing info and bam, done! Which really puts the kick ass in KICK ASS! Easy rebates make me happy.
Unlike having to get my ass up and into work an hour earlier tomorrow morning which means I've gotta get to bed.
Tags: Staples, Black Friday, LCD monitor, Easy Rebates
They Needed the Money for an Extra Large Set of Brass Balls
Couple is unrepentant about sale of Katrina home given them by a church on the basis of the belief that they had lost everything during the hurricane. The couple never moved in and turned around and sold the house for cash.
Some thoughts, the couple involved are scumbags capitalizing on good will but the church people got taken because they didn't use a contract. Even a simple contract would have prevented the people from taking possession without any intent to occupy the building. But the church gave it away free and clear and, though Delores Thompson is a scumbag for doing it, there wasn't anything illegal about it, apparently. Legal proceedings are expensive, maybe they should just drain her of the $88K she took from them though that means dropping a whole bunch more money. But then, I'm not a church group giving away houses to the needy, they may have a different perspective.
But who knows, people like her should be caught and punished for being such utterly contemptible humans.
Tags: scam, Katrina, big brass balls
Some thoughts, the couple involved are scumbags capitalizing on good will but the church people got taken because they didn't use a contract. Even a simple contract would have prevented the people from taking possession without any intent to occupy the building. But the church gave it away free and clear and, though Delores Thompson is a scumbag for doing it, there wasn't anything illegal about it, apparently. Legal proceedings are expensive, maybe they should just drain her of the $88K she took from them though that means dropping a whole bunch more money. But then, I'm not a church group giving away houses to the needy, they may have a different perspective.
But who knows, people like her should be caught and punished for being such utterly contemptible humans.
Tags: scam, Katrina, big brass balls
NWoTD - Minace
Today's new word is...
Minace - a minimal menace. Maybe more like an annoyance.
New words are available at both the Fictionarium and The IP Fictionarium while I effect the complete migration to Wordpress.
Tags: minace, fictionarium, new words, inventing language, NWotD
Minace - a minimal menace. Maybe more like an annoyance.
New words are available at both the Fictionarium and The IP Fictionarium while I effect the complete migration to Wordpress.
Tags: minace, fictionarium, new words, inventing language, NWotD
Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot Gets Controversial
Mark McGwire Goes on Hall of Fame Ballot along with Cal Ripken Jr. (no brainer), Tony Gwynn (another no brainer) and Jose Canseco (no brain).
Call this ballot, the Saviour and the 'Roided Up Bash Brothers. Cal is a no doubt about it shoe-in for the Hall. McGwire shot himself in the foot with his non-answer answers during the congressional hearings and Jose Conseco has about as much of a chance at the hall as I do.
But what do you think? Should McGwire get in? I don't think so given his admission of using Andro, the allegations by Canseco and his refusal to answers during the hearings. But I'm interested in alternative viewpoints so let's hear'em.
Call this ballot, the Saviour and the 'Roided Up Bash Brothers. Cal is a no doubt about it shoe-in for the Hall. McGwire shot himself in the foot with his non-answer answers during the congressional hearings and Jose Conseco has about as much of a chance at the hall as I do.
But what do you think? Should McGwire get in? I don't think so given his admission of using Andro, the allegations by Canseco and his refusal to answers during the hearings. But I'm interested in alternative viewpoints so let's hear'em.
Nov 26, 2006
Best Buy Skips Merry Christmas for Happy Holidays
Best Buy has launched a salvo in the continuing War on Christmas (queue the dramatic music and Bill O'Reilly's smarmy mug).
And that's fine by me. I don't really take offense at greeters who say Merry Christmas unless they're also trying to hand me some literature and pull me aside to discuss my personal relationship with god. But those folks are usually pretty easy to dodge.
Nah, the Jesusification of the holiday is less irritating to me than the crass mercantile aspect. The everything-is-a-gift mentality that just goes beyond good taste or even rational thought, do people really give mops as presents? Do people really want spray on oven cleaner when they unwrap something under the tree?
I don't think so, at least I hope not. That would be kind of sad, I think. I like my Christmas to be kind of cool combined with kind of useful.
Tags: Christmas, War on Christmas, jesusification
And that's fine by me. I don't really take offense at greeters who say Merry Christmas unless they're also trying to hand me some literature and pull me aside to discuss my personal relationship with god. But those folks are usually pretty easy to dodge.
Nah, the Jesusification of the holiday is less irritating to me than the crass mercantile aspect. The everything-is-a-gift mentality that just goes beyond good taste or even rational thought, do people really give mops as presents? Do people really want spray on oven cleaner when they unwrap something under the tree?
I don't think so, at least I hope not. That would be kind of sad, I think. I like my Christmas to be kind of cool combined with kind of useful.
Tags: Christmas, War on Christmas, jesusification
Nov 25, 2006
I Like Watching Microsoft Fail, Does That Make Me a Bad Person?
I just read Andy Inhatko's "review" of Microsoft's shit brown music player, the Zune. The summary, the Zune is bad enough to evoke a sort of pity because it sucks so royally.
But it does remind that my own iPods are getting a little long in the tooth and might be looking at an upgrade before too long. I'd like one of them fancy color screen video player models. But mostly so I can load up and play Doom on it.
Microsoft could have hit this out of the park, they could have come in with the real iPod killer mp3 player/recorder/camera/etc.
What features does the iPod killer media player have anyway?
Here's my list: An open OS, open media formats, immersive video out, bluetooth, wifi and not only FM but AM, shortwave, police and CB radios, the ability to record any and all transmissions. What did I miss? Cell-phone networking so callers hear the music you're listening to instead of a ring. Holographic projection for 3d video conferencing. A light saber. Definitely a phaser, usually set to stun but occasionally cranked up to kill just to let people know you're serious. Um, that would about do it. But hey, why not a PS3 built-in too.
Of course, doing all that would make the sucker worth about ten thousand bucks so it would have to have self defense capabilities to repel muggings and pick pockets. Maybe just a force field that numbs body parts "caught" inside the perimeter when its turned on. And, since we're pretty well beyond any reasonable conjecture anyway, how about a jet pack too? Put it into a special boot holster and fly away. Okay, now I'm done.
Unless it can also shoot a beam that turns people into the animal their personality most closely resembles.
Tags: iPod, Zune, failure, features
But it does remind that my own iPods are getting a little long in the tooth and might be looking at an upgrade before too long. I'd like one of them fancy color screen video player models. But mostly so I can load up and play Doom on it.
Microsoft could have hit this out of the park, they could have come in with the real iPod killer mp3 player/recorder/camera/etc.
What features does the iPod killer media player have anyway?
Here's my list: An open OS, open media formats, immersive video out, bluetooth, wifi and not only FM but AM, shortwave, police and CB radios, the ability to record any and all transmissions. What did I miss? Cell-phone networking so callers hear the music you're listening to instead of a ring. Holographic projection for 3d video conferencing. A light saber. Definitely a phaser, usually set to stun but occasionally cranked up to kill just to let people know you're serious. Um, that would about do it. But hey, why not a PS3 built-in too.
Of course, doing all that would make the sucker worth about ten thousand bucks so it would have to have self defense capabilities to repel muggings and pick pockets. Maybe just a force field that numbs body parts "caught" inside the perimeter when its turned on. And, since we're pretty well beyond any reasonable conjecture anyway, how about a jet pack too? Put it into a special boot holster and fly away. Okay, now I'm done.
Unless it can also shoot a beam that turns people into the animal their personality most closely resembles.
Tags: iPod, Zune, failure, features
Welcome to America, Now Convert or Burn!
Polish Exchange Student in US: My Half-Year of Hell With Christian Fundamentalists.
This would totally suck. I can't believe there aren't religious preferences listed on the application forms for both sides. This isn't a low-budget version of Wife Swap, this is some kid's first and, very likely, only exposure to the US and he gets sent to Bible-humping hell.
I've said it before and I will say it again. People with deeply held religious beliefs that they do not examine and firmly believe that believing other than their religion means you burn in hell are fucking idiots. Unexamined beliefs that are that central to your person and personality and worldview are deeply, deeply, flawed prisms with which to view the world.
That applies to fundies, agnostics, buddhists and everyone else. Examine your belief system now and again. Think of it like going to a spiritual optometrist, if you are using bad lens then your world view will be skewed. It can be fixed. But it does take an open mind, sorry about that.
Tags: religion, exchange student, christian fundamentalists, hell
This would totally suck. I can't believe there aren't religious preferences listed on the application forms for both sides. This isn't a low-budget version of Wife Swap, this is some kid's first and, very likely, only exposure to the US and he gets sent to Bible-humping hell.
I've said it before and I will say it again. People with deeply held religious beliefs that they do not examine and firmly believe that believing other than their religion means you burn in hell are fucking idiots. Unexamined beliefs that are that central to your person and personality and worldview are deeply, deeply, flawed prisms with which to view the world.
That applies to fundies, agnostics, buddhists and everyone else. Examine your belief system now and again. Think of it like going to a spiritual optometrist, if you are using bad lens then your world view will be skewed. It can be fixed. But it does take an open mind, sorry about that.
Tags: religion, exchange student, christian fundamentalists, hell
Nov 24, 2006
An Interesting Gift Finder
Imagini™ Gift finder is unlike many others in that it uses pictures to find out what the person you looking for might be interested in. The downside is that its in the UK and the links to the stores are in the UK. But some of the stuff they come up with is interesting and cool.
And, after I'd run through the quiz phase for my wife, showed her a couple of the items it came up with and all three were hits. Anecdotal? Sure, but its good anecdotal.
Tags: gift finder, imagini, image based,
And, after I'd run through the quiz phase for my wife, showed her a couple of the items it came up with and all three were hits. Anecdotal? Sure, but its good anecdotal.
Tags: gift finder, imagini, image based,
Completing GTA: San Andreas
Well, I can finally say that I have completed Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Or, well, I killed the last guy and then the credits ran. There were still quite a few things left undone, like the collection of the clams or spraypainting all of the gang signs.
But I have done it. It remains to be seen whether or not I go back and play the game very much anymore now that I have defeated it. I've got a couple of others I wouldn't mind completing as well.
No, no new PS3 in my near future. Eventually, sure. But right now I've got a bunch of other things to take care of. And my PS2 is pretty cool for what I need.
Tags: PS2, GTA:SA, Grand Theft Auto, San Andreas, completion, video game
But I have done it. It remains to be seen whether or not I go back and play the game very much anymore now that I have defeated it. I've got a couple of others I wouldn't mind completing as well.
No, no new PS3 in my near future. Eventually, sure. But right now I've got a bunch of other things to take care of. And my PS2 is pretty cool for what I need.
Tags: PS2, GTA:SA, Grand Theft Auto, San Andreas, completion, video game
Nov 22, 2006
Missing the Organized Familial Chaos That is a New England Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is tomorrow and we are not going to be able to make the trek back to my New England roots this year to spend it with my rather enormous and crazy and wonderful family and extended family.
It bums me out to think that we will be missing the festivities this year but there's really no way I could justify the expense for the shortness of the trip. Not with three plane tickets needing to be purchased (since Grady is over 2 and needs his own seat), a car rental, either renting there or bringing along not one but two car seats, kenneling Nande for the four or five days and then just the overall insanity of packing and leaving. Its really too much work and expense for a short trip in time but a very long trip in distance.
I will miss the pies though, oh the glorious table covered in pies, all kinds of pies too. Grasshopper, apple, pumpkin, strawberry, strawberry-rhubarb and many, many more. The pie table is a thing of beauty, like the bonfire and lasagna night. I will miss the traditions that my family engages in for this funky and fun holiday.
I am, however, looking forward to a nice long weekend without the hecticness of travel and movement and everything. We're going up to my in-laws for dinner tomorrow and I am reserving the right to sleep in on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
But maybe I'll make a pie to enjoy with my family out here.
Tags: Thanksgiving, family, pie, holiday
It bums me out to think that we will be missing the festivities this year but there's really no way I could justify the expense for the shortness of the trip. Not with three plane tickets needing to be purchased (since Grady is over 2 and needs his own seat), a car rental, either renting there or bringing along not one but two car seats, kenneling Nande for the four or five days and then just the overall insanity of packing and leaving. Its really too much work and expense for a short trip in time but a very long trip in distance.
I will miss the pies though, oh the glorious table covered in pies, all kinds of pies too. Grasshopper, apple, pumpkin, strawberry, strawberry-rhubarb and many, many more. The pie table is a thing of beauty, like the bonfire and lasagna night. I will miss the traditions that my family engages in for this funky and fun holiday.
I am, however, looking forward to a nice long weekend without the hecticness of travel and movement and everything. We're going up to my in-laws for dinner tomorrow and I am reserving the right to sleep in on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
But maybe I'll make a pie to enjoy with my family out here.
Tags: Thanksgiving, family, pie, holiday
Nov 21, 2006
Finally, Some Good News
Join me in welcoming Tiffany and Scott's first born, Roland. A pretty good looking kid!
Congratulations!
Tags: blown fuse, baby, birth, congratulations
Congratulations!
Tags: blown fuse, baby, birth, congratulations
Comedy and Racism are a Bad Combination
Unless ya'all are in Texas. I keeed, I keeed.
Michael Richards may be all contrite after his on-stage racist rant recently. And maybe he really does feel genuinely bad about being such an asshole in response to a heckler.
I can't imagine its the first time he's been heckled. Nor the first time he displayed some pretty ugly racist thoughts.
He was marginally funny on Seinfeld and has done nothing beyond that show really (oops, I was mistaken on that front). And now he gets to go sit on the hater side of the bus with Mel Gibson.
Michael Richards may be all contrite after his on-stage racist rant recently. And maybe he really does feel genuinely bad about being such an asshole in response to a heckler.
I can't imagine its the first time he's been heckled. Nor the first time he displayed some pretty ugly racist thoughts.
He was marginally funny on Seinfeld and has done nothing beyond that show really (oops, I was mistaken on that front). And now he gets to go sit on the hater side of the bus with Mel Gibson.
Buy Nothing Day
Intellectual Properties reminded me that Friday is Buy Nothing Day. It is traditionally, the biggest shopping day of the year in the final run up to Christmas, that holiest of celebrations marked by the giving of gifts purchased with debt. Oh holy night.
We will avoid the nightmare rush and will only buy something if its an emergency, i.e. diapers, formula or bananas.
Lots more info to be found at AdBusters: BND 2006.
We will avoid the nightmare rush and will only buy something if its an emergency, i.e. diapers, formula or bananas.
Lots more info to be found at AdBusters: BND 2006.
Pixar Makes Video Crack
Last week, my wife borrowed a DVD from some friends for Graydon to watch. It was the movie, Cars, by Pixar and Disney. Since borrowing the disc, we've watched the movie at least once a day, one day we watched it two and a half times.
Graydon has also chewed through the box cover which forced us to buy a replacement copy so now he/we have our very own copy of video crack, I mean, Cars. My son goes to sleep asking to watch the movie, he wakes up asking to watch the movie.
Don't get me wrong, its a pretty good movie. A little telegraphed with the ending wrapping up so neatly but its a touching and incredibly well animated and dazzling effects movie. The writing is good, the storyline is decent and it sounds wicked in surround sound, especially the racing scenes. Some of the jokes are excellent, some of the scenes are inspired.
But I am becoming sick of it and I only get to see about half the movie each time.
So, thanks Pixar, thanks for making a product that my child begs to watch again, even if we're watching the credits from just watching it. Cars is kiddie crack. You have been forewarned.
And I'm sure this is just the tip of the video crack iceberg.
Tags: Cars, Pixar, Disney, kiddie crack
Graydon has also chewed through the box cover which forced us to buy a replacement copy so now he/we have our very own copy of video crack, I mean, Cars. My son goes to sleep asking to watch the movie, he wakes up asking to watch the movie.
Don't get me wrong, its a pretty good movie. A little telegraphed with the ending wrapping up so neatly but its a touching and incredibly well animated and dazzling effects movie. The writing is good, the storyline is decent and it sounds wicked in surround sound, especially the racing scenes. Some of the jokes are excellent, some of the scenes are inspired.
But I am becoming sick of it and I only get to see about half the movie each time.
So, thanks Pixar, thanks for making a product that my child begs to watch again, even if we're watching the credits from just watching it. Cars is kiddie crack. You have been forewarned.
And I'm sure this is just the tip of the video crack iceberg.
Tags: Cars, Pixar, Disney, kiddie crack
Nov 20, 2006
Sad That We've Come to This
gizmag Article: Harnessing computer games to bring exercise to children and makes them maintain a certain workout level or the controller stops working and the game pauses.
Its a good idea and I hope that it will start to reverse the tide towards obesity that is an epidemic in this country.
I wouldn't mind a system like this for my own use though. I like the idea of "paying" for my play with sweat.
Its a good idea and I hope that it will start to reverse the tide towards obesity that is an epidemic in this country.
I wouldn't mind a system like this for my own use though. I like the idea of "paying" for my play with sweat.
The Country is Rejecting OJ and Rupert Murdoch
OJ 'confession': now US turns on Murdoch. You cannot fault the people for speaking out in massive numbers and demanding the OJ "If I Did It" interview to air. The short term result is that many local program managers are just opting out of airing it. Good. Nobody should see it, nobody should buy his sham of a book.
Universal and public rejection of him and his false confessions are the only reasonable response to OJ now. The unreasonable response ends badly for the Juice. But I am heartened by the outcry against this interview.
[Update: And the book deal and 2 hour interview deal arrrrrrrrreeeee.........dead. Good, nice to know that the people still have some power and can flex it from time to time. This was a bad idea from the get go and now the executives at Fox are well aware of that fact.]
Universal and public rejection of him and his false confessions are the only reasonable response to OJ now. The unreasonable response ends badly for the Juice. But I am heartened by the outcry against this interview.
[Update: And the book deal and 2 hour interview deal arrrrrrrrreeeee.........dead. Good, nice to know that the people still have some power and can flex it from time to time. This was a bad idea from the get go and now the executives at Fox are well aware of that fact.]
Nov 19, 2006
UFC Fight Night Wrap
Just got in from watching the UFC fights tonight. It was a good night fighting with a bunch of a good fights and the finale of Matt Hughes getting ripped apart by George St. Pierre. It was quality action all the way around, Hughes never really stood a chance. The end came quickly and Hughes said it best after the fight, "I thought it was a punch that got me and I didn't see it was a kick until I saw the replay," which is to say, he got rocked, hard.
After nearly finishing Hughes in the first round and the bell being the only thing that saved him, the second round started and GSP laid it on. His longer reach, quicker punches and just overall superior fighting ability saw him through to that shin to the side of the head, which dropped Hughes. Then he stepped in and started lay haymakers on him while he was on the ground. When GSP went to dropping elbows and Hughes didn't have his hands up to protect himself, the ref, Big John McCarthy, stepped in to stop it and to stop Matt Hughes domination.
It was an excellent, albiet brief, fight.
The other title fight was Tim Sylvia versus Jeff Monson. Heavyweights but very different guys. They battled for 25 minutes, well, they battled for 20 minutes and Tim coasted through the 5th round. Monson is five foot nine and weighs 235 pounds, he was built very, very powerfully. And he's a submission expert. The only thing is that Tim Sylvia is six foot eight and weighs 262 pounds. He was too large for Monson to submit when he did have the opportunity. And when Monson was on top of him, Sylvia could arch his back and Monson couldn't even reach Sylvia.
The moment in the fight where I knew Sylvia had him was when Monson was trying to throw bombs from above and Sylvia arched his back and the punch ran out of distance about four inches from his face. And Sylvia could still punch him. It was an amazing fight. The fifth round was a letdown and I don't think it was fair of the commentators saying Monson had emotionally tapped out, I think he was gassed and realized that beating a truly huge man is a different kind of battle.
There were other good fights too and it really made for a good fight night all the way around. We ended up sort of pissing off some friends who were having a party and trying to play some cards. But that's alright. We wanted to watch the fights, without distraction, without cards, without problems. And that's what we did.
Damn, it was a good night of fighting and I am very happy for George St. Pierre. I'd no idea Matt Hughes had been 42-4 going into the fight, that is an absolutely amazing professional record. More impressive than Rich Franklin's 22-1 before Anderson Silva demolished him. But Matt's career is, for the most part, on the wane. The new crop of fighters are purpose built for MMA (that's mixed martial arts) and they bring alot more skill and power than in the past).
The next big fight coming up is Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell giving Tito Ortiz another try. Chuck is my favorite fighter in the UFC, I like his style, I admire his ethic and I am awed by his power. And watching him finish an opponent is akin to seeing a wolverine tear apart some prey, he is hyper-aggressive and has devastating power in those fists.
Fight Night kicked ass!
Tags: UFC, GSP, George St. Pierre, Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia
After nearly finishing Hughes in the first round and the bell being the only thing that saved him, the second round started and GSP laid it on. His longer reach, quicker punches and just overall superior fighting ability saw him through to that shin to the side of the head, which dropped Hughes. Then he stepped in and started lay haymakers on him while he was on the ground. When GSP went to dropping elbows and Hughes didn't have his hands up to protect himself, the ref, Big John McCarthy, stepped in to stop it and to stop Matt Hughes domination.
It was an excellent, albiet brief, fight.
The other title fight was Tim Sylvia versus Jeff Monson. Heavyweights but very different guys. They battled for 25 minutes, well, they battled for 20 minutes and Tim coasted through the 5th round. Monson is five foot nine and weighs 235 pounds, he was built very, very powerfully. And he's a submission expert. The only thing is that Tim Sylvia is six foot eight and weighs 262 pounds. He was too large for Monson to submit when he did have the opportunity. And when Monson was on top of him, Sylvia could arch his back and Monson couldn't even reach Sylvia.
The moment in the fight where I knew Sylvia had him was when Monson was trying to throw bombs from above and Sylvia arched his back and the punch ran out of distance about four inches from his face. And Sylvia could still punch him. It was an amazing fight. The fifth round was a letdown and I don't think it was fair of the commentators saying Monson had emotionally tapped out, I think he was gassed and realized that beating a truly huge man is a different kind of battle.
There were other good fights too and it really made for a good fight night all the way around. We ended up sort of pissing off some friends who were having a party and trying to play some cards. But that's alright. We wanted to watch the fights, without distraction, without cards, without problems. And that's what we did.
Damn, it was a good night of fighting and I am very happy for George St. Pierre. I'd no idea Matt Hughes had been 42-4 going into the fight, that is an absolutely amazing professional record. More impressive than Rich Franklin's 22-1 before Anderson Silva demolished him. But Matt's career is, for the most part, on the wane. The new crop of fighters are purpose built for MMA (that's mixed martial arts) and they bring alot more skill and power than in the past).
The next big fight coming up is Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell giving Tito Ortiz another try. Chuck is my favorite fighter in the UFC, I like his style, I admire his ethic and I am awed by his power. And watching him finish an opponent is akin to seeing a wolverine tear apart some prey, he is hyper-aggressive and has devastating power in those fists.
Fight Night kicked ass!
Tags: UFC, GSP, George St. Pierre, Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia
Nov 17, 2006
The Day Five Winner is Postponed
I'm too damned tired to go blogsploring tonight. I know, I know, the sadness is like a scratchy blanket that isn't quite long enough to cover your feet and let you keep it up tight to your head. I hate blankets like that.
It was a long week, I'll hit Day Five AND Day Six tomorrow.
And, oh yeah, tomorrow night is UFC Fight Night. I am very much looking forward to the Hughes/St.Pierre fight. I expect one helluva battle but I expect GSP will prevail in the end. Matt Hughes is a seriously impressive fighter but GSP's wants it alot more and has the size, power and skill to take the title from him.
G'Night!
Tags: blogsploration postponed, UFC, fight night, tag
It was a long week, I'll hit Day Five AND Day Six tomorrow.
And, oh yeah, tomorrow night is UFC Fight Night. I am very much looking forward to the Hughes/St.Pierre fight. I expect one helluva battle but I expect GSP will prevail in the end. Matt Hughes is a seriously impressive fighter but GSP's wants it alot more and has the size, power and skill to take the title from him.
G'Night!
Tags: blogsploration postponed, UFC, fight night, tag
Will Commit Violent Assault for PS3
PS3 Launch Marred by Violence. I saw one story where a store set up a contest of 60 people for ten consoles, one ended up getting his jaw broken, oops, that's what we call bad marketing.
You'd think the PS3 launch, sorry, that's Sony Playstation 3, was the second coming of Christ or something. And maybe, for some people, it is. For others, its a way to waste a few days and maybe make an insane amount of profit from people that have too much time, money and not enough brain cells.
Don't get me wrong, I want a PS3 just like every other gamer out there. But I'm not going to go camp out for two days, I'm not going to pay $9000 for one on Ebay and I'm not going to rob someone for one. I'm happy to wait a few months, maybe even a year if I have to, until I can go into Circuit City or Best Buy or get one online for regular retail, maybe even knocked down for the 2007 Christmas season.
People are out of the their freaking minds.
You'd think the PS3 launch, sorry, that's Sony Playstation 3, was the second coming of Christ or something. And maybe, for some people, it is. For others, its a way to waste a few days and maybe make an insane amount of profit from people that have too much time, money and not enough brain cells.
Don't get me wrong, I want a PS3 just like every other gamer out there. But I'm not going to go camp out for two days, I'm not going to pay $9000 for one on Ebay and I'm not going to rob someone for one. I'm happy to wait a few months, maybe even a year if I have to, until I can go into Circuit City or Best Buy or get one online for regular retail, maybe even knocked down for the 2007 Christmas season.
People are out of the their freaking minds.
Bathroom Etiquette
I have a question.
If you fart while urinating in a public or office building bathroom, should you excuse yourself or pretend like nothing happened?
Do the rules change if there's someone at the urinal next to yours and you know your farts smell like death rolled in swamp gas?
If you fart while urinating in a public or office building bathroom, should you excuse yourself or pretend like nothing happened?
Do the rules change if there's someone at the urinal next to yours and you know your farts smell like death rolled in swamp gas?
Nobody's Fault But My Own (and my Full Pouty Lips, Dammit!)
You know what sucks? Accidentally biting your lip while you are chewing on something.
You what sucks ten times as much? Accidentally re-biting the same spot five or six times in under an hour.
My lip would rebel and leave me, if it could. The inside of my lip is torn all to hell and hurts like shit. And I've got phone calls to make and meetings to set.
Damn you, full pouty lips, damn you straight to hell!
Tags: bite, biting, lip
You what sucks ten times as much? Accidentally re-biting the same spot five or six times in under an hour.
My lip would rebel and leave me, if it could. The inside of my lip is torn all to hell and hurts like shit. And I've got phone calls to make and meetings to set.
Damn you, full pouty lips, damn you straight to hell!
Tags: bite, biting, lip
Survivor Fanboy
Survivor: Cook Islands has now had back to back killer episodes! Last night's was better than last week's in some respects.
The tribe that lost two members to the mutiny is dominating in the challenges, having won four in a row since the mutiny. After the reward challenges they get to select someone to go the friendly confines of Exile Island and they've chosen the one who started the mutiny, Candice, twice. And she cried about it on Exile Island, not because she was miserable there but because she was upset because people she liked (but not well enough to stick with) don't like her. Boo-fucking-hoo, you turned your back on them and they're pissed, rightfully.
Four challenges, four wins by the tribe of four. And the last reward challenge they won was awesome, they were honored guests and a local feast with regalia, homebrew wine and dancing and fun. It was cool and funny to watch them have such a great time.
After the next challenge, that the smaller tribe won again. The losing tribe was given a sealed bottle and told not to open it until after the vote later that night.
They thought it would be a merge but it was actually an instant second purge. They had just lost one more member to a vote and now they had to vote again to kick someone out. Ouch. And now the mighty 8 person tribe is now a humbled 5 person tribe. And the four person tribe is stronger than ever because they work incredibly well together and have been kicking ass and getting the big, yummy food rewards which get more and more important the further into the game you go.
If you haven't been watching this season, you are missing something good.
Tags: Survivor, mutiny, purge, double elimination
The tribe that lost two members to the mutiny is dominating in the challenges, having won four in a row since the mutiny. After the reward challenges they get to select someone to go the friendly confines of Exile Island and they've chosen the one who started the mutiny, Candice, twice. And she cried about it on Exile Island, not because she was miserable there but because she was upset because people she liked (but not well enough to stick with) don't like her. Boo-fucking-hoo, you turned your back on them and they're pissed, rightfully.
Four challenges, four wins by the tribe of four. And the last reward challenge they won was awesome, they were honored guests and a local feast with regalia, homebrew wine and dancing and fun. It was cool and funny to watch them have such a great time.
After the next challenge, that the smaller tribe won again. The losing tribe was given a sealed bottle and told not to open it until after the vote later that night.
They thought it would be a merge but it was actually an instant second purge. They had just lost one more member to a vote and now they had to vote again to kick someone out. Ouch. And now the mighty 8 person tribe is now a humbled 5 person tribe. And the four person tribe is stronger than ever because they work incredibly well together and have been kicking ass and getting the big, yummy food rewards which get more and more important the further into the game you go.
If you haven't been watching this season, you are missing something good.
Tags: Survivor, mutiny, purge, double elimination
Nov 16, 2006
The Day Four Winner
I have no idea how I get along with the good gents over at the Mint 400, we disagree strongly on matters of politics, to the point where I thought that today would be the most difficult day of all during my week long blogsploration.
It was, however, the easiest of the bunch. Between the dead blogs and the right wing nuttery, it was simple to get down to the one link that I could and have read for a long time. I am, of course, talking about The Best Page in the Universe. Maddox kicks ass, knows it and doesn't mind telling you how much he kicks ass.
Good shit like his takes time to happen and sometimes many months will go in between posts. But that's alright, waiting is good for people.
The Day Four winner is Maddox and his Best Page in the Universe. And yes, I am fully aware that Maddox would thoroughly hate the word, blogsploration.
Tags: blogsploration, exploration, blog, The Best Page in the Universe, Maddox
It was, however, the easiest of the bunch. Between the dead blogs and the right wing nuttery, it was simple to get down to the one link that I could and have read for a long time. I am, of course, talking about The Best Page in the Universe. Maddox kicks ass, knows it and doesn't mind telling you how much he kicks ass.
Good shit like his takes time to happen and sometimes many months will go in between posts. But that's alright, waiting is good for people.
The Day Four winner is Maddox and his Best Page in the Universe. And yes, I am fully aware that Maddox would thoroughly hate the word, blogsploration.
Tags: blogsploration, exploration, blog, The Best Page in the Universe, Maddox
The Migration Has Begun
The first blogs of the IP Universe have begun the slow movement from Blogger, Land of Outages and no-damned built in tags or categories to Wordpress, land of slickness and coolness.
The first blog to make the leap across the chasm between old and new is The IP Fictionarium. Check it out and let me know what you think. My favorite thing so far is the ability to tag my posts into categories so that, now, all of my invented words that start with A's can be found by clicking the A category.
Why has Blogger lagged so very, very far behind in enhancing its product? Isn't Google supposed to be all about making things better? I'm using the Blogger Beta and its still nowhere near as nice as Wordpress.
Tags: Wordpress, migration, old to new, Blogger
The first blog to make the leap across the chasm between old and new is The IP Fictionarium. Check it out and let me know what you think. My favorite thing so far is the ability to tag my posts into categories so that, now, all of my invented words that start with A's can be found by clicking the A category.
Why has Blogger lagged so very, very far behind in enhancing its product? Isn't Google supposed to be all about making things better? I'm using the Blogger Beta and its still nowhere near as nice as Wordpress.
Tags: Wordpress, migration, old to new, Blogger
Emmit Wins Dance Contest but Its NOT THE DAMNED SUPER BOWL!
Emmit Smith Wins ABC's Dancing Title and one of the local news stations compared it to winning the Super Bowl. Sure, you can compare it. But its not even fucking close to winning the damned Super Bowl.
Why?
Well, let's see, he was competing against Mario Lopez of Saved by the Bell fame, not the Buffalo Bills.
Its a dance contest and not the biggest game of the season in the National Football League where he gained his fame and stature as a stud running back.
Its a dance contest with sequins, frilly lace and choreography, not organized mayhem with 300 pound linemen, wideouts and Troy Aikman. By the way, Emmitt Smith was the MVP of Super Bowl XXVIII (that's 28 to the Roman numerically challenged) and I can't imagine winning Dancing with the Stars even comes close to that.
Comparing the two is stupid. I'm glad he won but I think he'd trade that trophy in a heartbeat for another chance to play football at the level he used to. No question. But one thing I do know is that he's got too much class to admit as much.
Tags: Emmitt Smith, dancing is not football, Super Bowl, MVP
Why?
Well, let's see, he was competing against Mario Lopez of Saved by the Bell fame, not the Buffalo Bills.
Its a dance contest and not the biggest game of the season in the National Football League where he gained his fame and stature as a stud running back.
Its a dance contest with sequins, frilly lace and choreography, not organized mayhem with 300 pound linemen, wideouts and Troy Aikman. By the way, Emmitt Smith was the MVP of Super Bowl XXVIII (that's 28 to the Roman numerically challenged) and I can't imagine winning Dancing with the Stars even comes close to that.
Comparing the two is stupid. I'm glad he won but I think he'd trade that trophy in a heartbeat for another chance to play football at the level he used to. No question. But one thing I do know is that he's got too much class to admit as much.
Tags: Emmitt Smith, dancing is not football, Super Bowl, MVP
Nov 15, 2006
All This Madness, All This Rage...
My mom sent this to me over the weekend and it strikes rather close to home, dontcha think?
The philosopher Bertrand Russell said, "All this madness, all this rage, all this flaming death of our civilization and our hopes, has been brought about because a set of official gentlemen, living luxurious lives, mostly stupid, and all without imagination or heart, have chosen that it should occur rather than that any one of them should suffer some infinitesimal rebuff to his country's pride."
Tags: Bertrand Russell, quote, pride
The philosopher Bertrand Russell said, "All this madness, all this rage, all this flaming death of our civilization and our hopes, has been brought about because a set of official gentlemen, living luxurious lives, mostly stupid, and all without imagination or heart, have chosen that it should occur rather than that any one of them should suffer some infinitesimal rebuff to his country's pride."
Tags: Bertrand Russell, quote, pride
The Day Three Winner
I was a little pressed for time on day three of my blogsploration, which was a bad idea to begin with and it quickly got much, much worse as I started to work through Rambling Rhodes and his blogroll that coders forgot. He's got more dead blogs and more, sorry dude, crap, than I had much stomach or time for. Seriously his Mu.Nu list is insane, unkempt and filled with much to much insanity (of course, if it had been filled with blogs that subscribed to my political point of view then it would be alot less annoying, maybe no less insane but alot less annoying).
It took some work and alot of poking through blogs that I don't really ever plan on looking at again (you can really only read so much political stupidity about the sky falling now that the Democrats have some control, one went so far as to consider that all politicians are crooked fucks and basically admitted that the Republicans have been doing a thoroughly shitty job).
Anyway, I have found an addition to my bloglines blogroll because it wasn't obviously a GOP-suck-up blog. And its pretty decently funny. The winner of Day Three is The Flying Space Monkey Chronicles.
Welcome to the club, TFSMC.
Tags: blogsploration, exploration, blog, TFSMC, The Flying Space Monkey Chronicles
It took some work and alot of poking through blogs that I don't really ever plan on looking at again (you can really only read so much political stupidity about the sky falling now that the Democrats have some control, one went so far as to consider that all politicians are crooked fucks and basically admitted that the Republicans have been doing a thoroughly shitty job).
Anyway, I have found an addition to my bloglines blogroll because it wasn't obviously a GOP-suck-up blog. And its pretty decently funny. The winner of Day Three is The Flying Space Monkey Chronicles.
Welcome to the club, TFSMC.
Tags: blogsploration, exploration, blog, TFSMC, The Flying Space Monkey Chronicles
OJ All But Admits the Murders
What in the name of fucking decency is Fox thinking about airing:"O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened," in which OJ "WifeSlasher" Simpson discloses how he would have killed Nicole and Ron Goldman IF he had done it.
Is he serious? What the fuck is wrong with this picture?
My guess is that he's running out of money and needs to get some scratch so he's going after the one thing left that anyone cares about in regards to him.
Just below K-Fed in the pantheon of asshats, there is Orenthal James Simpson. A shitheel who stands to make a few million off of telling the story of how he murdered his wife viciously and in cold blood.
And yes, this is part of the marketing campaign to sell copies of his tell-all book IF he had committed the murders.
Add another one to the list of people who need to have God's heel scrub them in a puddle of blood and bones. Damn but this is filthy and disgusting and there's absolutely no chance I will watch this awful profiteering of the murders he got away with. I would highly recommend everyone else do the same. Or, better yet, let's start a letter writing campaign to block the airing of this grotesque affront to the murder of two people.
Or, when his book, If I Did It comes out, let's go to every bookstore across the country and black out the "If". He's guilty, we all know it, he knows we know it and still this disgusting excuse for a human being is going to stand to make millions from his murders.
Tags: OJ Simpson, murderer, scumbag, profit
Is he serious? What the fuck is wrong with this picture?
My guess is that he's running out of money and needs to get some scratch so he's going after the one thing left that anyone cares about in regards to him.
Just below K-Fed in the pantheon of asshats, there is Orenthal James Simpson. A shitheel who stands to make a few million off of telling the story of how he murdered his wife viciously and in cold blood.
And yes, this is part of the marketing campaign to sell copies of his tell-all book IF he had committed the murders.
Add another one to the list of people who need to have God's heel scrub them in a puddle of blood and bones. Damn but this is filthy and disgusting and there's absolutely no chance I will watch this awful profiteering of the murders he got away with. I would highly recommend everyone else do the same. Or, better yet, let's start a letter writing campaign to block the airing of this grotesque affront to the murder of two people.
Or, when his book, If I Did It comes out, let's go to every bookstore across the country and black out the "If". He's guilty, we all know it, he knows we know it and still this disgusting excuse for a human being is going to stand to make millions from his murders.
Tags: OJ Simpson, murderer, scumbag, profit
A Hit for Humanity
What is the definition of an asshole?
Kevin Federline is the epitome of an asshole.
His latest antics include suing for custody of his children (and big fat palimony checks) and, wait it gets far scummier, now he's threatening to release a four hour sex tape he made with The Brit unless she gives him full custody of their kids AND $30 million or he will sell it to the highest bidder, as reported by The Superficial. Hmm, sounds like blackmail to me.
That, my friends, is the very epitome of, no, the form of an asshole.
And its proof that God doesn't exist, because if God did exist then there would be a moment when a big boot from the sky would come down and squish him into a puddle of blood, bones and bile.
One request to whoever does leak this nastiness onto the internet, do us a favor and edit out any and all scenes that include Federline, or replace him with Peter North or the guy who did the original Goatse (look it up, if you dare).
And no, its not like I'm some huge Britney Spears fan or anything. I have zero interest in watching her have sex with her husband at the time. I have no interest in either of them aside from wanting to watch K-Fed fall into an industrial meat grinder.
Kevin Federline is an infected hemorrhoid on the ass of humanity
Tags: Kevin Federline Must Die, blackmail, Kevin Federline, K-Fed, sex tape, asshole
Kevin Federline is the epitome of an asshole.
His latest antics include suing for custody of his children (and big fat palimony checks) and, wait it gets far scummier, now he's threatening to release a four hour sex tape he made with The Brit unless she gives him full custody of their kids AND $30 million or he will sell it to the highest bidder, as reported by The Superficial. Hmm, sounds like blackmail to me.
That, my friends, is the very epitome of, no, the form of an asshole.
And its proof that God doesn't exist, because if God did exist then there would be a moment when a big boot from the sky would come down and squish him into a puddle of blood, bones and bile.
One request to whoever does leak this nastiness onto the internet, do us a favor and edit out any and all scenes that include Federline, or replace him with Peter North or the guy who did the original Goatse (look it up, if you dare).
And no, its not like I'm some huge Britney Spears fan or anything. I have zero interest in watching her have sex with her husband at the time. I have no interest in either of them aside from wanting to watch K-Fed fall into an industrial meat grinder.
Kevin Federline is an infected hemorrhoid on the ass of humanity
Tags: Kevin Federline Must Die, blackmail, Kevin Federline, K-Fed, sex tape, asshole
Over-Exposed and Over-Annoying
I'm sure most people love him but he really just annoys the hell out of me.
I'm talking about someone who's lost his own sense of self decades ago and now can't be interviewed without going into a "routine" of some sort. I'm talking, of course, about Robin Williams.
He may be funny as hell to some people but he annoys the holy hell out of me with his constant mugging and inability to be, well, normal, for even a couple of minutes. He's nowhere near the annoyance level that an asshat like Tom Cruise is (how dare he snub Oprah for a wedding invite!) or Mel Gibson (the drinkee makes me hate the Jews, when I'm sober I don't, honest!) or Arnold Schwarzenegger (the Governor of Asshatolia) but Robin Williams has definitely crossed over from the list of actors I would see in a movie to one that will make me change the channel instantly and there's zero chance I'd shell out money to go see one of his movies.
Tags: asshat, Wobin Williams, Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson
I'm talking about someone who's lost his own sense of self decades ago and now can't be interviewed without going into a "routine" of some sort. I'm talking, of course, about Robin Williams.
He may be funny as hell to some people but he annoys the holy hell out of me with his constant mugging and inability to be, well, normal, for even a couple of minutes. He's nowhere near the annoyance level that an asshat like Tom Cruise is (how dare he snub Oprah for a wedding invite!) or Mel Gibson (the drinkee makes me hate the Jews, when I'm sober I don't, honest!) or Arnold Schwarzenegger (the Governor of Asshatolia) but Robin Williams has definitely crossed over from the list of actors I would see in a movie to one that will make me change the channel instantly and there's zero chance I'd shell out money to go see one of his movies.
Tags: asshat, Wobin Williams, Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson
Nov 14, 2006
The Day Two Winner
Day two of my week long blogsploration through my blogroll to find some new blogs to add to my own reading found me poking through Flower in the Breeze's blogroll. As Lujza wrote me, she has a general tendency towards mommyblogs and many of them are not especially enthralling to me. However, when I clicked on Rebekka, I didn't think it would be Rebekka of Flickr fame. She, of some of my all-time favorite photographs. And the photo that greeted me is one of her best among a galaxy of photos that make my own paltry showing look all the more paltry.
The woman has mad skillz with a camera and is drop dead gorgeous to boot. This photo became one of my early favorites and remains a favorite still. And this photo did absolutely nothing to dissuade me.
And Rebekka is the big winner on day two. Welcome to the blogroll.
The other thing today's blogsploration reminded me to do is to take a look at my Flickr favorites more often, there are some truly spectacular photos in there and they both awe and inspire me.
Next up will be Rambling Rhodes, which will be a chore since his blogroll is lengthy and he has not the first clue about removing dead blogs.
Tags: exploration, blogsploration, Flower in the Breeze, Rebekka
The woman has mad skillz with a camera and is drop dead gorgeous to boot. This photo became one of my early favorites and remains a favorite still. And this photo did absolutely nothing to dissuade me.
And Rebekka is the big winner on day two. Welcome to the blogroll.
The other thing today's blogsploration reminded me to do is to take a look at my Flickr favorites more often, there are some truly spectacular photos in there and they both awe and inspire me.
Next up will be Rambling Rhodes, which will be a chore since his blogroll is lengthy and he has not the first clue about removing dead blogs.
Tags: exploration, blogsploration, Flower in the Breeze, Rebekka
NWoTD - Spattern
One of the other new words I came up with yesterday. With a nod to the original dirty mushroom, this one's a bit on the gross side.
Spattern - the unique pattern of spray your diarrhea makes in the bowl.
As always, all my newly minted words can be found over in my Fictionarium.
Tags: spattern, fictionarium, new words, inventing language, NWotD
Spattern - the unique pattern of spray your diarrhea makes in the bowl.
As always, all my newly minted words can be found over in my Fictionarium.
Tags: spattern, fictionarium, new words, inventing language, NWotD
My Dreams are Creeping Me Out
The last three nights I've had very vivid and pretty disturbingly weird dreams.
Saturday's dream was a mashup of Paris Hilton "high" society and an Ewok village with really nice mountain bikes.
Sunday's dream was about me moving into a broken down hotel to live with trolls and freaks. The hotel had been torn up and part of it had been sheared off so you could look right into the rooms. That one culminated in a more than foot long stink bug that one of them caught, bbq'ed and ate. Yeah, that was lovely.
Last night's dream started in a mall and we were late for a flight. We took a shortcut that consisted of an overhead chain system like in a drycleaners. Only thing is that it dropped my wife on the linoleum and she got cut up. We got to the flight deck on the roof eventually, all of a sudden Nande was with us. Some guy was being a real jerk and I eventually kicked his ass. We sat up near the cockpit with some college students who later turned out to be professors and were sharing joints during the flight. The plane refused to get more than a hundred feet off the ground and the pilot was weaving in and out of buildings. After an hour or so of flying we landed back at the mall where we'd taken off from. And my parents were house sitting at the house of a guy I went to high school with. Very weird.
Any amateurs or pro psychologists want to take a stab at an interpretation?
Tags: dreams, weird, Ewok, analyze this, interpretation
Saturday's dream was a mashup of Paris Hilton "high" society and an Ewok village with really nice mountain bikes.
Sunday's dream was about me moving into a broken down hotel to live with trolls and freaks. The hotel had been torn up and part of it had been sheared off so you could look right into the rooms. That one culminated in a more than foot long stink bug that one of them caught, bbq'ed and ate. Yeah, that was lovely.
Last night's dream started in a mall and we were late for a flight. We took a shortcut that consisted of an overhead chain system like in a drycleaners. Only thing is that it dropped my wife on the linoleum and she got cut up. We got to the flight deck on the roof eventually, all of a sudden Nande was with us. Some guy was being a real jerk and I eventually kicked his ass. We sat up near the cockpit with some college students who later turned out to be professors and were sharing joints during the flight. The plane refused to get more than a hundred feet off the ground and the pilot was weaving in and out of buildings. After an hour or so of flying we landed back at the mall where we'd taken off from. And my parents were house sitting at the house of a guy I went to high school with. Very weird.
Any amateurs or pro psychologists want to take a stab at an interpretation?
Tags: dreams, weird, Ewok, analyze this, interpretation
NWoTD - Toolio
I came up with this one with a specific person in mind but decorum prevents me from going any further than that this is a perfect description for him.
Toolio - someone who thinks they are supercool but they're really a supertool.
Which, of course, naturally gives rise to another word along these lines...
Foolio - someone who thinks they are supercool but they're really a superfool.
As always, all my new words are in the Fictionarium.
Tags: toolio, fictionarium, new words, inventing language, NWotD
Toolio - someone who thinks they are supercool but they're really a supertool.
Which, of course, naturally gives rise to another word along these lines...
Foolio - someone who thinks they are supercool but they're really a superfool.
As always, all my new words are in the Fictionarium.
Tags: toolio, fictionarium, new words, inventing language, NWotD
Nov 13, 2006
The Day One Winner
The first winner of my new blog exploration (or blogsploration), as outlined the other day in this post, is Out of Character found via Intellectual Properties, the first blog in my little blogroll over there.
What sealed the win? This post about asking bad (read that, really funny) questions in Canada and this one, specifically #3 in the list that reads "It was just brought to my attention that the remote control I've been using to adjust the television volume for the last hour doesn't have any batteries in it. Next I'll probably find out my vodka tonic is really just tonic-tonic and how am I going to explain why I'm crying jaggedly on the couch with my shirt off then?"
Erin, you got me laughing and, for that, I thank you and am adding you to my Bloglines feeds (ooooh, the exclusivity! ooh, the prestige). No really, thanks for making Day One a success.
PS. Today was a banner day for new word generation. I came up with four new words during the course of the day. One that is really gross and one that's kind of "meh" but I like 'em all.
Tags: blog, blogsploration, exploration, finding friends
What sealed the win? This post about asking bad (read that, really funny) questions in Canada and this one, specifically #3 in the list that reads "It was just brought to my attention that the remote control I've been using to adjust the television volume for the last hour doesn't have any batteries in it. Next I'll probably find out my vodka tonic is really just tonic-tonic and how am I going to explain why I'm crying jaggedly on the couch with my shirt off then?"
Erin, you got me laughing and, for that, I thank you and am adding you to my Bloglines feeds (ooooh, the exclusivity! ooh, the prestige). No really, thanks for making Day One a success.
PS. Today was a banner day for new word generation. I came up with four new words during the course of the day. One that is really gross and one that's kind of "meh" but I like 'em all.
Tags: blog, blogsploration, exploration, finding friends
Meta Commentary on Blogging and Blogs
Its all the rage these days, talking about blogs. So why not chime in with a few thoughts of my own? I'm a blogger, I've been doing it since most of these whipper snappers were in diapers.
A couple of thoughts.
A blog without comments isn't a blog, its non-interactive and interactivity is a key element of the blogging experience. A blog without comments is actually just a soapbox. It is also indicative of someone unwilling to be engaged in their arguments. Just like the bloggers who go into attack mode if you question any tiny aspect of their blog or opinion and go straight for personal threats and unrelated arguments rather than engaging someone on the topic being opined about. If you have a blog and you can't discuss your perspectives with a random or regular reader then disable comments altogether and quit calling it a blog, call it your web diary.
I dislike blogs that force me to register in order to comment. I understand the desire to cut down on comment spam, I hate the damned stuff as much as the next person. But its annoying to have to register at every rinky dink blog in order to say, "Sorry, you're 'facts' are wrong and here's why....." I am far more likely to move on and not bother. The captcha system works well for blocking comment spammers and doesn't require me to register.
Next issue or point, readability counts. I surfed around on Blog Explosion last night and the number of damned blogs with grey text just pissed me off to the point I closed the tab and did something else. There's something to be said for design and then there's alot more to be said about being able to actually read what is written on the blog. Maybe its an IE/FireFox rendering issue, maybe its just badly thought out design elements. And yes, I realize that I've got grey text in my sidebar. But its pretty easily readable against a white background. Try reading blue text on black backgrounds, or red on green. If you have a blog with really bad color schemes then don't wonder why no one reads your blog, try and making it easier to look at and read.
And the final point, content. The best blogs depend on content to draw readers in. Good content can trump damned near any of the above. If you are an expert at something or have great insights into something, write about it. Content was and remains king. This blog is not my main source of traffic, I get far more traffic on my WIPE blog because people are always looking for information about Wal-Mart. And that blog is focused, this one is as scattered and tangental as I am. I prefer it that way but that's how I am.
Tags: blog, blogging, web+diary, comments, readability, design, content, expertise
A couple of thoughts.
A blog without comments isn't a blog, its non-interactive and interactivity is a key element of the blogging experience. A blog without comments is actually just a soapbox. It is also indicative of someone unwilling to be engaged in their arguments. Just like the bloggers who go into attack mode if you question any tiny aspect of their blog or opinion and go straight for personal threats and unrelated arguments rather than engaging someone on the topic being opined about. If you have a blog and you can't discuss your perspectives with a random or regular reader then disable comments altogether and quit calling it a blog, call it your web diary.
I dislike blogs that force me to register in order to comment. I understand the desire to cut down on comment spam, I hate the damned stuff as much as the next person. But its annoying to have to register at every rinky dink blog in order to say, "Sorry, you're 'facts' are wrong and here's why....." I am far more likely to move on and not bother. The captcha system works well for blocking comment spammers and doesn't require me to register.
Next issue or point, readability counts. I surfed around on Blog Explosion last night and the number of damned blogs with grey text just pissed me off to the point I closed the tab and did something else. There's something to be said for design and then there's alot more to be said about being able to actually read what is written on the blog. Maybe its an IE/FireFox rendering issue, maybe its just badly thought out design elements. And yes, I realize that I've got grey text in my sidebar. But its pretty easily readable against a white background. Try reading blue text on black backgrounds, or red on green. If you have a blog with really bad color schemes then don't wonder why no one reads your blog, try and making it easier to look at and read.
And the final point, content. The best blogs depend on content to draw readers in. Good content can trump damned near any of the above. If you are an expert at something or have great insights into something, write about it. Content was and remains king. This blog is not my main source of traffic, I get far more traffic on my WIPE blog because people are always looking for information about Wal-Mart. And that blog is focused, this one is as scattered and tangental as I am. I prefer it that way but that's how I am.
Tags: blog, blogging, web+diary, comments, readability, design, content, expertise
Nov 12, 2006
Workout and Exercise Tips
In a different life, I was a personal trainer by profession and spent nearly all of my free time in the gym, either working, working out or hanging out. That was a while ago but I'm fairly confident that the human body hasn't evolved too far in the interim. I commented in a thread on MeCha to a member who had begun to work out again and I offered some tips.
Rather than just send them to him, I thought I'd make them into a post for wider use.
So here are a few things I learned in my years a the gym. Nothing earth-shattering but a few ways to make better use of your time pushing iron around.
I'll list them out first and then expand on them below.
1. Watch your form.
2. Use your muscles, not momentum.
3. Use a spotter.
4. Keep your thumb with your fingers when doing cable tricep pressdowns.
5. Use pyramid counts for a psychological boost.
6. Watch your lockouts.
7. Warm up properly.
8. Mix it up.
9. Hydrate.
10. Concentrate.
1. Watch your form, good form is more effective and less dangerous to your joints. I've watched people throwing their bodies all out of whack to curl weights and then letting the bar flop back down putting incredible strain on their shoulders, elbows and wrists. Form is important. If you find yourself using momentum to get the weight up, drop the amount of weight you are using down.
2. Don't use momentum to move the weight and don't gravity yank the weights back down. The negative part of the exercise is almost as important as the positive, the negative refers to when you have the weight lifted up or curled up and are lowering it back down for the next rep. Negatives are also a great way to work through sticking points. Use a spotter or two and have them pull the weight up so you can lower it back down as slowly as possible.
3. Use a spotter when you start to get close to your limits or you are getting tired. One really bad bench press can tear your pectoral muscles or even kill you (highly unlikely but it sucks to have to weasel out from under a bench press bar when you gas out).
4. When doing cable tricep pressdowns, put your thumbs on the other side of the bar with all your fingers. It concentrates the effort more fully into your triceps and the movement is that much more effective.
5. If you find yourself dogging and need a psychological boost, do pyramid counts. That is, count to halfway in your set and then count backwards through the second half of the set. It seems simple but it can give you an extra burst of power and energy to get through the workout. I had one member tell me this was the single most useful bit of exercise advice he'd ever gotten.
6. Watch your lockouts. Adjust the machines so that you are not fully extending your arms or legs and then resettling weight in on them with your joints "exposed" is a great way to really mess them up. I used to see this most often on the leg press where guys would press all the way out to lockout and then the sled would drop down an inch or two and compress the guy's knees. Bad, bad, bad. Be careful of your joints, they don't heal like your muscles do.
7. Warm up properly. Cold muscles can snap if you put too much strain on them too quickly. I don't necessarily think that's a ten minute bike ride or even a five minute. My feeling is that some low impact cardio for even a few minutes is far better than none at all. I don't really subscribe to long cool downs but I do like doing cardio after lifting because it saves more energy for the heavy part.
8. Mix it up. Your body gets used to things quickly. Invert your workout from time to time, add in some alternate exercises, break things up by doing an especially hard kind of set called a 21, that's 7 reps of the first half of the exercise movement, 7 of the second half of the movement and then 7 more of the entire movement. If you are not fired up by the end of this then you aren't using enough weight but do start with maybe 70 percent of your normal workout weight since these are so tough.
9. Hydrate. Make sure you drink water before, during and after your workout, especially if you are working out for more than an hour at a time. Without enough water, your body can't properly lube itself for maximum function.
10. Concentrate. Yes, the cute girl on the stairmaster is mesmerizing with her butt going up and down and around and around. But is it worth the ogling to tear your bicep? I didn't think so. Also, don't try to pick up people at the gym, its really, really skeevy and uncool. Unless you ARE the cute girl on the treadmill and then its totally cool.
There are plenty more things to consider when you workout. I listen to music on headphones because it keeps me focused and doesn't encourage others to interupt me. I am at the gym to workout not, not talk with other people. Well, when I did go to the gym, I was there to workout. And the music they play on gym sound systems is either incredibly bad or not strong enough to keep me in my zone.
Oh yeah, one last thing, don't neglect body parts you don't like working out. Nothing looks dumber than a guy with a ripping big upper body and bird legs even if you have to laugh to yourself because he could pound the snot out of you. Also, make use of the gym's staff if you're unsure of how to use a machine. And, last tip, I promise, use a towel to wipe up your sweat when you're done on a machine, cold, other people's sweat is absolutely disgusting to sit in or lay on.
If any of this raises questions, you can either email me or leave a comment. Asking questions is also a lot better than mangling your knees or ripping your bicep.
Tags: exercise, exercise tips, workout, workout tips, tips, effective, hydrate, concentrate
Rather than just send them to him, I thought I'd make them into a post for wider use.
So here are a few things I learned in my years a the gym. Nothing earth-shattering but a few ways to make better use of your time pushing iron around.
I'll list them out first and then expand on them below.
1. Watch your form.
2. Use your muscles, not momentum.
3. Use a spotter.
4. Keep your thumb with your fingers when doing cable tricep pressdowns.
5. Use pyramid counts for a psychological boost.
6. Watch your lockouts.
7. Warm up properly.
8. Mix it up.
9. Hydrate.
10. Concentrate.
1. Watch your form, good form is more effective and less dangerous to your joints. I've watched people throwing their bodies all out of whack to curl weights and then letting the bar flop back down putting incredible strain on their shoulders, elbows and wrists. Form is important. If you find yourself using momentum to get the weight up, drop the amount of weight you are using down.
2. Don't use momentum to move the weight and don't gravity yank the weights back down. The negative part of the exercise is almost as important as the positive, the negative refers to when you have the weight lifted up or curled up and are lowering it back down for the next rep. Negatives are also a great way to work through sticking points. Use a spotter or two and have them pull the weight up so you can lower it back down as slowly as possible.
3. Use a spotter when you start to get close to your limits or you are getting tired. One really bad bench press can tear your pectoral muscles or even kill you (highly unlikely but it sucks to have to weasel out from under a bench press bar when you gas out).
4. When doing cable tricep pressdowns, put your thumbs on the other side of the bar with all your fingers. It concentrates the effort more fully into your triceps and the movement is that much more effective.
5. If you find yourself dogging and need a psychological boost, do pyramid counts. That is, count to halfway in your set and then count backwards through the second half of the set. It seems simple but it can give you an extra burst of power and energy to get through the workout. I had one member tell me this was the single most useful bit of exercise advice he'd ever gotten.
6. Watch your lockouts. Adjust the machines so that you are not fully extending your arms or legs and then resettling weight in on them with your joints "exposed" is a great way to really mess them up. I used to see this most often on the leg press where guys would press all the way out to lockout and then the sled would drop down an inch or two and compress the guy's knees. Bad, bad, bad. Be careful of your joints, they don't heal like your muscles do.
7. Warm up properly. Cold muscles can snap if you put too much strain on them too quickly. I don't necessarily think that's a ten minute bike ride or even a five minute. My feeling is that some low impact cardio for even a few minutes is far better than none at all. I don't really subscribe to long cool downs but I do like doing cardio after lifting because it saves more energy for the heavy part.
8. Mix it up. Your body gets used to things quickly. Invert your workout from time to time, add in some alternate exercises, break things up by doing an especially hard kind of set called a 21, that's 7 reps of the first half of the exercise movement, 7 of the second half of the movement and then 7 more of the entire movement. If you are not fired up by the end of this then you aren't using enough weight but do start with maybe 70 percent of your normal workout weight since these are so tough.
9. Hydrate. Make sure you drink water before, during and after your workout, especially if you are working out for more than an hour at a time. Without enough water, your body can't properly lube itself for maximum function.
10. Concentrate. Yes, the cute girl on the stairmaster is mesmerizing with her butt going up and down and around and around. But is it worth the ogling to tear your bicep? I didn't think so. Also, don't try to pick up people at the gym, its really, really skeevy and uncool. Unless you ARE the cute girl on the treadmill and then its totally cool.
There are plenty more things to consider when you workout. I listen to music on headphones because it keeps me focused and doesn't encourage others to interupt me. I am at the gym to workout not, not talk with other people. Well, when I did go to the gym, I was there to workout. And the music they play on gym sound systems is either incredibly bad or not strong enough to keep me in my zone.
Oh yeah, one last thing, don't neglect body parts you don't like working out. Nothing looks dumber than a guy with a ripping big upper body and bird legs even if you have to laugh to yourself because he could pound the snot out of you. Also, make use of the gym's staff if you're unsure of how to use a machine. And, last tip, I promise, use a towel to wipe up your sweat when you're done on a machine, cold, other people's sweat is absolutely disgusting to sit in or lay on.
If any of this raises questions, you can either email me or leave a comment. Asking questions is also a lot better than mangling your knees or ripping your bicep.
Tags: exercise, exercise tips, workout, workout tips, tips, effective, hydrate, concentrate
Auto Launching Multimedia Online
Dear Webdesigners,
Don't ever make your video or audio auto launch. It is annoying as hell and becomes far more annoying when you've got a dozen tabs open and you can't find which damned tab has the sound streaming from it.
Its rude and annoying and it makes me close your stupid site down and I will never return to it. So quit with the damned auto launched crap.
The sooner you stop doing this, the sooner I'll stop wanting to kick you in the nuts.
Sincerely,
Johnny Huh
Tags: auto launch, multimedia, bad design, annoying
Don't ever make your video or audio auto launch. It is annoying as hell and becomes far more annoying when you've got a dozen tabs open and you can't find which damned tab has the sound streaming from it.
Its rude and annoying and it makes me close your stupid site down and I will never return to it. So quit with the damned auto launched crap.
The sooner you stop doing this, the sooner I'll stop wanting to kick you in the nuts.
Sincerely,
Johnny Huh
Tags: auto launch, multimedia, bad design, annoying
Bush Impeachment Poll
Live Vote at MSNBC. And the results are overwhelmingly in favor of impeachment. With a supposed response rate of nearly 400,000 votes as of 12:30 am PT.
That's some serious displeasure from the American people.
Guess where my vote went? Yeah, that was easy.
I don't think it will happen though. Why? Because then we'd be stuck with President Dick and the guy's a colossal shitheel, asshole with a heart of coal and a mean streak as wide as freakin' Wyoming.
Now, if we could sweep the entire Bush White House of office then we might be talking. But that can wait until the next election in 2008. I hope the Dems can put up someone with a mote of charisma though, John Kerry might be a good guy but he's not anywhere near the right candidate. Maybe as a VP candidate but not as the frontrunner. We'll see. I'm not sure Obama is ready and I don't think the country is ready to get behind Teh Hilary. Yet.
Anyway, take notice, Bush White House. The country thinks you are a crook and deserving of impeachment. Maybe you should lay off the asshole juice for a little while. Not that it matters all that much anymore since your House and Senate have been taken away by your crappy leadership and the fiasco called Iraq.
Tags: Bush, impeachment, poll, overwhelming
Nov 11, 2006
How Easy is Your Writing to Read?
Curious about the readability of your writing?
Paste it into the Readability Checker and get some idea of where your writing comes in. I've found out that I generally write to a 12th grade or higher level. The site advises writing to a 6th or 7th grade level for wider accessibility.
Which kind of depresses me to think that I need to dumb my writing down to appeal to a wider audience. Don't worry, its not going to happen but it does kind of depress me.
Tags: readability, score, writing
Paste it into the Readability Checker and get some idea of where your writing comes in. I've found out that I generally write to a 12th grade or higher level. The site advises writing to a 6th or 7th grade level for wider accessibility.
Which kind of depresses me to think that I need to dumb my writing down to appeal to a wider audience. Don't worry, its not going to happen but it does kind of depress me.
Tags: readability, score, writing
A Week of Discovery
So, I was sitting here trying to figure out something to write about this morning while my two boys are down for naps.
And it occurs to me that my personal blog exploration has kind of stalled recently. So, I am going to try to rectify this situation by exploring a new blog each day for the next week. I will start with my blogroll on the right there and check out the blogs they link to until I find a new blog that I want to read.
First up will be Intellectual Properties, one of the blogs I've been reading the longest. I respect Amy's passion for her causes and I am very rarely disappointed when I stop by her blog for a read.
I've tried StumbleOn and BlogExplosion but am pretty unsatisfied with the results. So I figure exploring the blogs that are important to the blogs I already read will be a reasonably good way of adding some new content to my reading. If you have a particularly good blog that you've been reading and you think I should know about it then please leave a comment and point me at 'em. I like informative or funny blogs but have had my fill of the politics until the next election cycle. Oh yeah, I'm also really not interested in blogs that don't have comments, those aren't blogs in my opinion, blogs are interactive, comment-free blogs are soapboxes without the desire for feedback or interaction.
Note, on the professional side, I've been adding some incredibly interesting and good blogs lately. Most notably, Mike Rothman's Security Incite and Rich Mogull's Securosis.
Tags: exploration, blogs, blogroll, growth
And it occurs to me that my personal blog exploration has kind of stalled recently. So, I am going to try to rectify this situation by exploring a new blog each day for the next week. I will start with my blogroll on the right there and check out the blogs they link to until I find a new blog that I want to read.
First up will be Intellectual Properties, one of the blogs I've been reading the longest. I respect Amy's passion for her causes and I am very rarely disappointed when I stop by her blog for a read.
I've tried StumbleOn and BlogExplosion but am pretty unsatisfied with the results. So I figure exploring the blogs that are important to the blogs I already read will be a reasonably good way of adding some new content to my reading. If you have a particularly good blog that you've been reading and you think I should know about it then please leave a comment and point me at 'em. I like informative or funny blogs but have had my fill of the politics until the next election cycle. Oh yeah, I'm also really not interested in blogs that don't have comments, those aren't blogs in my opinion, blogs are interactive, comment-free blogs are soapboxes without the desire for feedback or interaction.
Note, on the professional side, I've been adding some incredibly interesting and good blogs lately. Most notably, Mike Rothman's Security Incite and Rich Mogull's Securosis.
Tags: exploration, blogs, blogroll, growth
Nov 10, 2006
Best Survivor of the Season!
Last night's episode of Survivor: Cook Islands was the best of the entire season. Which is good because the lame ass recap episode the week before annoyed the hell out of me.
Why was it so good, you ask?
Well I'm glad you did ask. They introduced a new twist into the game. They called it Mutiny. Where Probst, the host, offered each player a chance to switch teams, effectively to turn their backs on their current team and go join the other one. I didn't think anyone was going to do it until Candice stepped forward, followed quickly by Jonathan.
Candice had a good reason for doing so, she had/has a schwing thing for the big muscleboy/frat boy Adam and was good friends with Parvati. Jonathan made a huge tactical error in following her because he thought they were tight but her allegiances are with the big, goofy Adam and Parvati and she doesn't trust or even like Jonathan. Oops.
The other thing about the mutiny is that it took two tribes of six and turned the game on its ear making one tribe of 8 against one tribe of 4, who were shocked that both Candice and Jonathan jumped ship. Shocked and thoroughly pissed off. Ozzy, who had been on the chopping block became a strong, strong fourth on their clan. And they pounded the snot out of the other tribe in the reward challenge. It was not even close.
And the now four person tribe got to go feast on danishes, coffee and other edible goodies. And they got letters and photos from home. Three weeks into the game, that's huge, the nutrition of both body and soul can reinvigorate a team. The other thing is they got to send someone to Exile Island, a lonely place without much shelter or food. They, of course, chose Candice for deserting them.
The immunity challenge was similarly interesting. Because of the eight to four size disparity, the big tribe had no choice in who sat out. And this was a work-together challenge. They had to paddle a boat with a glass bottom out into the water and drop cannonballs into underwater cages to release buoys. Once they had six of them, they head back in, untie the sacks and spell out the secret word which was Bounty. As in, the most famous mutiny in history, Bounty.
The small tribe worked really well together, the other tribe didn't. The small tribe crushed them again and the big tribe was headed to tribal council to cull a member. It should have been a no-brainer to ditch the mutineers but Adam realized that Jonathan was stuck with them, he couldn't go back to his old tribe even if he wanted to. And it made more sense to get rid of Brad who had been saying stupid stuff in camp and demonstrating that he was only a part of the team until the merge. Oops.
He got voted out. It was a great episode. If you think you've seen everything Survivor can toss at you, you are wrong.
Tags: Survivor, twists, mutiny, immunity, Exile Island
Why was it so good, you ask?
Well I'm glad you did ask. They introduced a new twist into the game. They called it Mutiny. Where Probst, the host, offered each player a chance to switch teams, effectively to turn their backs on their current team and go join the other one. I didn't think anyone was going to do it until Candice stepped forward, followed quickly by Jonathan.
Candice had a good reason for doing so, she had/has a schwing thing for the big muscleboy/frat boy Adam and was good friends with Parvati. Jonathan made a huge tactical error in following her because he thought they were tight but her allegiances are with the big, goofy Adam and Parvati and she doesn't trust or even like Jonathan. Oops.
The other thing about the mutiny is that it took two tribes of six and turned the game on its ear making one tribe of 8 against one tribe of 4, who were shocked that both Candice and Jonathan jumped ship. Shocked and thoroughly pissed off. Ozzy, who had been on the chopping block became a strong, strong fourth on their clan. And they pounded the snot out of the other tribe in the reward challenge. It was not even close.
And the now four person tribe got to go feast on danishes, coffee and other edible goodies. And they got letters and photos from home. Three weeks into the game, that's huge, the nutrition of both body and soul can reinvigorate a team. The other thing is they got to send someone to Exile Island, a lonely place without much shelter or food. They, of course, chose Candice for deserting them.
The immunity challenge was similarly interesting. Because of the eight to four size disparity, the big tribe had no choice in who sat out. And this was a work-together challenge. They had to paddle a boat with a glass bottom out into the water and drop cannonballs into underwater cages to release buoys. Once they had six of them, they head back in, untie the sacks and spell out the secret word which was Bounty. As in, the most famous mutiny in history, Bounty.
The small tribe worked really well together, the other tribe didn't. The small tribe crushed them again and the big tribe was headed to tribal council to cull a member. It should have been a no-brainer to ditch the mutineers but Adam realized that Jonathan was stuck with them, he couldn't go back to his old tribe even if he wanted to. And it made more sense to get rid of Brad who had been saying stupid stuff in camp and demonstrating that he was only a part of the team until the merge. Oops.
He got voted out. It was a great episode. If you think you've seen everything Survivor can toss at you, you are wrong.
Tags: Survivor, twists, mutiny, immunity, Exile Island
NWoTD - Emaul
Today's word is a pretty simple one, a switch of a letter and, bam, the original word's definition extends in a whole new space.
Emaul - assault by email. Using email to attack and hurt someone else. I'm still working on the IM and SMS version of this because of the recent story about the guy who terrorized some young teen girls via IM.
As always, all new words go up on the IP Fictionarium for posterity. And I am working on an alphabetizing system for all of the posts over there to make it substantially more usable.
Tags: emaul, fictionarium, new words, inventing language, NWotD
Emaul - assault by email. Using email to attack and hurt someone else. I'm still working on the IM and SMS version of this because of the recent story about the guy who terrorized some young teen girls via IM.
As always, all new words go up on the IP Fictionarium for posterity. And I am working on an alphabetizing system for all of the posts over there to make it substantially more usable.
Tags: emaul, fictionarium, new words, inventing language, NWotD
Nov 9, 2006
Birth of a Nation, Well, An Island
Check out Fredrik and Crew on Maiken: Stone sea and volcano and see a new island forming off the coast of Tonga. The motorboaters came upon a sea of stones that was pumice on the surface and, well, just check it out.
It is simply too cool. And I'm terribly envious of them.
More info at Matangi: Tonga Online.
Tags: volcano, Tonga, island birth
It is simply too cool. And I'm terribly envious of them.
More info at Matangi: Tonga Online.
Tags: volcano, Tonga, island birth
Wisdom from Jesus
Jesus was not a violent man, he was not a bigot, a racist, a classist dickwad, a redneck, an intolerant hater at all. Jesus taught to accept and respect all people. And yet we have militant radical Evangelicals, we have Jesus Camps training Christian soldiers (brainwashed children) and we have a highly polarized nation and world with Xtians on the one side and Muslims on the other. The radical elements are warring it out.
True men of God would not be leading the persecution of gays, blacks, Jews or whatever group they personally have a problem with and use Jesus' teachings to convert others to their hateful position. This is part of the reason why I deeply loathe religious groups. I have no problem with a religious group helping its members "find their way" by guiding them spiritually but I have a major issue with them telling their flock lies and deceptions to polarize and inject hatred into the world. The world is already full of hate, why add to it?
And, oh yeah, that whole molestation insanity, that bothers the hell out of me (yes, pun intended) and, hopefully, drives the hell right into those scumbags who use their position of power to molest kids. If there is a hell, they need to burn for a damned long time.
The image above comes from The People's Republic of Seabrook, my never-ending source of inspiration and outrage.
Tags: Jesus, teachings, tolerance not hate, racism, hypocrisy, religion
Mission Accomplished on Prop 87, Time To Jack Gas Prices Back Up Again
or, Get Your Gas Today, Not As Cheap As Yesterday But Its A Helluva Lot Cheaper Than It Will Be Tomorrow.
Proposition 87, the Alternative Energy Tax, failed on Tuesday here in California. It would have created a huge pool of money to explore and fund alternative energy.
It was vehemently opposed by the gas companies and, in the run up to the election, gas prices out here dropped to their lowest point in probably two years.
Well, since the election gas prices have already begun to climb back up. Gas went up eight cents over night and they are now set to keep rising. My prediction is that they will try to push gas over $4 to make back their lost profits during the election cycle. And we have no choice but to pay it.
So, nice job, California. You bought the bullshit, they sold the crap and now we have no pool of money to work on alternative energy sources and the gas companies are going to make their sick profits again.
Prop 87 was the most expensive in California history. What's a bunch of millions when the gas companies were looking at a $4 Billion bite into their profits? And California bought it, hook, line and sinker. Well done.
What? You didn't think the $2.40/gallon gas was a coincidence, did you? You're not that stupid. This is price fixing of the filthiest order.
Tags: election fallout, gas prices, price fixing, bullshit
Proposition 87, the Alternative Energy Tax, failed on Tuesday here in California. It would have created a huge pool of money to explore and fund alternative energy.
It was vehemently opposed by the gas companies and, in the run up to the election, gas prices out here dropped to their lowest point in probably two years.
Well, since the election gas prices have already begun to climb back up. Gas went up eight cents over night and they are now set to keep rising. My prediction is that they will try to push gas over $4 to make back their lost profits during the election cycle. And we have no choice but to pay it.
So, nice job, California. You bought the bullshit, they sold the crap and now we have no pool of money to work on alternative energy sources and the gas companies are going to make their sick profits again.
Prop 87 was the most expensive in California history. What's a bunch of millions when the gas companies were looking at a $4 Billion bite into their profits? And California bought it, hook, line and sinker. Well done.
What? You didn't think the $2.40/gallon gas was a coincidence, did you? You're not that stupid. This is price fixing of the filthiest order.
Tags: election fallout, gas prices, price fixing, bullshit
Nov 8, 2006
Because Comments Become Posts Sometimes
I enjoy a reasonable political debate as much as the next guy and seed, one of the folks at the Mint 400, threw down some rather uncredible arguments in response to a comment on his post about Nancy Pelosi and the lead up to the Iraq War.
His response became this post and my response on the post became this post. It is a damned long response that will take a while to work through.
I do hope that, with the elections done, politics will become less of a topic around here. I also hope that the restoration of the balance of power in Washington will result in the beginning of the restoration of America as a force for real good in the world and not trumped up religio-bashing.
Tags: politics, Pelosi, Bush, Iraq
His response became this post and my response on the post became this post. It is a damned long response that will take a while to work through.
I do hope that, with the elections done, politics will become less of a topic around here. I also hope that the restoration of the balance of power in Washington will result in the beginning of the restoration of America as a force for real good in the world and not trumped up religio-bashing.
Tags: politics, Pelosi, Bush, Iraq
Dawn of a New Day
Last night wasn't the slam dunk, ass-whooping I was hoping for but it was more than enough of a victory of common sense over craven assholery.
Congrats to Nancy Pelosi and all of the other Democrats who unseated their Republicans to take back control of the House. And I expect that, once the votes are recounted, that George "Macaca" Allen will be defeated by Jim Webb in Virginia and that Claire McCaskill will beat out Jim Talent. Which should give the Democrats a slim margin of power in the Senate as well.
Good. The restoration of the balance of power is far too long in coming and I look forward to the leash being put on Mad Dog Bush and his religio-torturing ways.
I do wish Arnold had lost because I firmly believe that he's the wrong man for California but he thrashed Angelides. And Prop 87 failed as well which I think is a shame since it was so strongly opposed by Chevron and other oil companies for a reason.
And I can almost certainly promise more on the subject later.
Tags: election, Democrat, balance of power, down boy
Congrats to Nancy Pelosi and all of the other Democrats who unseated their Republicans to take back control of the House. And I expect that, once the votes are recounted, that George "Macaca" Allen will be defeated by Jim Webb in Virginia and that Claire McCaskill will beat out Jim Talent. Which should give the Democrats a slim margin of power in the Senate as well.
Good. The restoration of the balance of power is far too long in coming and I look forward to the leash being put on Mad Dog Bush and his religio-torturing ways.
I do wish Arnold had lost because I firmly believe that he's the wrong man for California but he thrashed Angelides. And Prop 87 failed as well which I think is a shame since it was so strongly opposed by Chevron and other oil companies for a reason.
And I can almost certainly promise more on the subject later.
Tags: election, Democrat, balance of power, down boy
Nov 7, 2006
Am I the Only One?
I can't be the only one that's really tired of Steve Young's commercials for Toyota, can I? The one with him singing in the car is, far and away, the worst of the bunch. But they ceased to be at all entertaining long, long ago.
The commercials irritate the hell out of me. Not that it matters since I've never really considered buying a Toyota.
What commercial or recurring character drives you nuts?
On the other side, the Sonic commercials with two guys in the cars are flippin' hilarious. The husband and wife in the car ones aren't so funny though. And there's no Sonic within forty miles of here so I don't know why they play the commercials here.
Tags: commercial, go away Steve Young, Toyota, Sonic
The commercials irritate the hell out of me. Not that it matters since I've never really considered buying a Toyota.
What commercial or recurring character drives you nuts?
On the other side, the Sonic commercials with two guys in the cars are flippin' hilarious. The husband and wife in the car ones aren't so funny though. And there's no Sonic within forty miles of here so I don't know why they play the commercials here.
Tags: commercial, go away Steve Young, Toyota, Sonic
Round Up from the Police Blotter
Rather than roll them out one at a time, I thought it would be more prudent to drop them in one big, nasty splash. Here are some stories that'll leave you wondering what future mankind could have.
How NOT to do a Prostate Exam
Doctor is sought in sex case for allegedly raping one male patient while he was unconscious and having hundreds of photos of unconscious patients in various states of semi-nudity.
Doc, you don't do a prostate check with your cock. And I hope the police find you before the guy you raped guy does. But only sort of.
What Do You Want for Christmas? I Bet Its Not to be Stabbed in the Face with Scissors by your Sister-in-Law
Jail for woman who enslaved her sister-in-law and forced her to work naked, beat her with a rolling pin and, for Christmas in 2004, stabbed her in the face with a pair of scissors.
Where was the woman's husband and brother to the enslaved? Right there, he got 2 years for aiding and abetting but my guess is he was trying to keep his own ass out of trouble with that mean, mean bitch he married.
That's One Way to Avoid Trial
Texas DA Kills Self As Police Arrive
"A prosecutor killed himself as police tried to serve him with an arrest warrant alleging he solicited sex with a minor, authorities said.
Louis "Bill" Conradt Jr., 56, chief felony assistant district attorney for nearby Rockwall County and former district attorney in Kaufman County, died Sunday.
Police in the town of Murphy, in nearby Collin County, said Conradt solicited sex from a decoy posing online as a 13-year-old, said Murphy Police Sgt. Snow Robertson."
He is, I think, the first suicide as a result of Dateline's series on online pedophiles. No loss to a scumbag who wanted to screw a 13 year old. And he saved a lot of taxpayer money by avoiding a trial which he would have lost. This way he's disgraced himself and his family and he took the coward's way out.
And I'm not even going to post the news about the boy who bludgeoned his own mother to death. Or the father who left his 1 year old baby in the "care" of his four pit bulls who tore the baby to shreds and now he faces murder charges. Or the father who performed a clitorectomy on his baby daughter with a freakin' pair of scissors! The news is full of disgusting stories, enough to make you wonder just what in the hell is wrong with people and that humanity has passed into the next life.
Tags: shocking, crime, depraved, pedophile, slavery, exploitation, sex crime, rape
How NOT to do a Prostate Exam
Doctor is sought in sex case for allegedly raping one male patient while he was unconscious and having hundreds of photos of unconscious patients in various states of semi-nudity.
Doc, you don't do a prostate check with your cock. And I hope the police find you before the guy you raped guy does. But only sort of.
What Do You Want for Christmas? I Bet Its Not to be Stabbed in the Face with Scissors by your Sister-in-Law
Jail for woman who enslaved her sister-in-law and forced her to work naked, beat her with a rolling pin and, for Christmas in 2004, stabbed her in the face with a pair of scissors.
Where was the woman's husband and brother to the enslaved? Right there, he got 2 years for aiding and abetting but my guess is he was trying to keep his own ass out of trouble with that mean, mean bitch he married.
That's One Way to Avoid Trial
Texas DA Kills Self As Police Arrive
"A prosecutor killed himself as police tried to serve him with an arrest warrant alleging he solicited sex with a minor, authorities said.
Louis "Bill" Conradt Jr., 56, chief felony assistant district attorney for nearby Rockwall County and former district attorney in Kaufman County, died Sunday.
Police in the town of Murphy, in nearby Collin County, said Conradt solicited sex from a decoy posing online as a 13-year-old, said Murphy Police Sgt. Snow Robertson."
He is, I think, the first suicide as a result of Dateline's series on online pedophiles. No loss to a scumbag who wanted to screw a 13 year old. And he saved a lot of taxpayer money by avoiding a trial which he would have lost. This way he's disgraced himself and his family and he took the coward's way out.
And I'm not even going to post the news about the boy who bludgeoned his own mother to death. Or the father who left his 1 year old baby in the "care" of his four pit bulls who tore the baby to shreds and now he faces murder charges. Or the father who performed a clitorectomy on his baby daughter with a freakin' pair of scissors! The news is full of disgusting stories, enough to make you wonder just what in the hell is wrong with people and that humanity has passed into the next life.
Tags: shocking, crime, depraved, pedophile, slavery, exploitation, sex crime, rape
NWoTD - Scumarketing
Inspired by my most disliked retail giant, Wal-Mart and their scummy marketing tactic of getting kids to spam their parents with expensive crap from Wal-Mart for Christmas.
Scumarketing - scummy marketing, underhanded marketing techniques that leave you feeling like there is a dirty film over you. Unethical and unnecessary marketing that should be met with nothing but scorn and boycotts.
I guess this can also apply to the vast majority of political ads, they aren't about the good a candidate will do, they're about slandering and slinging mud at the other guy (or gal). And it makes any chance of a reasonable debate null and void. Which is lame.
As always, all the new words of the day can be found at the IP Fictionarium which is due for a makeover to make it more usable. I'll get right on that.
Tags: scumarketing, fictionarium, new words, inventing language, NWotD
Scumarketing - scummy marketing, underhanded marketing techniques that leave you feeling like there is a dirty film over you. Unethical and unnecessary marketing that should be met with nothing but scorn and boycotts.
I guess this can also apply to the vast majority of political ads, they aren't about the good a candidate will do, they're about slandering and slinging mud at the other guy (or gal). And it makes any chance of a reasonable debate null and void. Which is lame.
As always, all the new words of the day can be found at the IP Fictionarium which is due for a makeover to make it more usable. I'll get right on that.
Tags: scumarketing, fictionarium, new words, inventing language, NWotD
Nov 6, 2006
What Is The Deal with Election Calls?
Thank fucking goodness that tomorrow is election day. And woe unto the live caller who calls me trying to make sure I'm voting for their candidate. Because I've fucking had it with goddamned phone calls and recordings from asshats telling me what to do, what propositions to vote for and who to support.
I've registered my phone number with the Do Not Call list, why in the hell does that not come into account with these garbage calls?
I have zero interest in whatever the Reserve Officer's want me to vote for. I don't give a fuck about Prop 84 or any of that shit. I am, however, sick of the damned calls. I even called one back tonight and got the same recording.
I'd like to let my party know that they are pushing me to vote against them and their candidates with the onslaught. Is that what they want? Do they really want me to get so fed up with this ridiculous shit to vote against them?
Damn, I am really glad that tomorrow signals the end of this voting season. It gets incredibly annoying and right now, I just want to kick some phonebanker right in the balls and tell them to take my damned number off their fucking lists.
Tags: election, phonecalls, annoying, counterproductive
I've registered my phone number with the Do Not Call list, why in the hell does that not come into account with these garbage calls?
I have zero interest in whatever the Reserve Officer's want me to vote for. I don't give a fuck about Prop 84 or any of that shit. I am, however, sick of the damned calls. I even called one back tonight and got the same recording.
I'd like to let my party know that they are pushing me to vote against them and their candidates with the onslaught. Is that what they want? Do they really want me to get so fed up with this ridiculous shit to vote against them?
Damn, I am really glad that tomorrow signals the end of this voting season. It gets incredibly annoying and right now, I just want to kick some phonebanker right in the balls and tell them to take my damned number off their fucking lists.
Tags: election, phonecalls, annoying, counterproductive
Please Vote Unless You Are Voting for Arnold
Just kidding, mostly, on the Arnold bit of the title.
Tomorrow is election day and it is one of the few times of the year that you and I, generally grouped as "average citizens" can exercise our voice in the universe of the politic.
And I urge all people to vote, regardless of your affiliation, regardless of your reasoning (though an informed voter is preferable). Low voter turnouts indicate a lack of give-a-damn in the populance and give politicians that much more carte blanche to do as they please and continue wiping their ass's with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Tomorrow is our chance to voice our complaints and demand change in Washington and locally. Voting in massive numbers sends a message that the people are paying attention and that they are PISSED OFF. Angry about the corruption, angry about the sex scandals, angry about the war in Iraq, angry about domestic policy, angry about the dismantling of habeas corpus.
It doesn't take long and it means alot, yes, even your one vote sends a message. One vote along with millions of others lets the bastards know that we, the people, want a better government, that we, the people, want our government to represent our interests and not their own.
Make your voice heard, get out and vote.
And the best part about tomorrow being election day? No more phone calls, no more mailers and no more attack ads on the idiot box. No wonder Thanksgiving is in November.
PS. The election is NOT about John Kerry and his lame ass sense of humor, the election should be about the lies, deception and outright meanness displayed by the Republican party while they've been in power.
[Update: Brian says that Angelides is a criminal in his comment and I've tried to find some evidence of this. Can anyone help? His Wiki page mentions nothing shady at all. Whereas, Arnold's Wiki page has ample evidence of his misogyny, sexual misconduct, personal misconduct, admiration of the Nazis and support for Kurt Waldheim. And no, Brian, I'm not singling you out. But I'd like to see some evidence of misconduct on Angelides part to support your vote for Arnold, who's definitely an asshole whereas Angelides maybe an asshole. Also, the recall election was a farce and should have never been allowed to happen.]
Tags: election, vote, voice, Democracy, corruption, sex scandal, clean house
Tomorrow is election day and it is one of the few times of the year that you and I, generally grouped as "average citizens" can exercise our voice in the universe of the politic.
And I urge all people to vote, regardless of your affiliation, regardless of your reasoning (though an informed voter is preferable). Low voter turnouts indicate a lack of give-a-damn in the populance and give politicians that much more carte blanche to do as they please and continue wiping their ass's with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Tomorrow is our chance to voice our complaints and demand change in Washington and locally. Voting in massive numbers sends a message that the people are paying attention and that they are PISSED OFF. Angry about the corruption, angry about the sex scandals, angry about the war in Iraq, angry about domestic policy, angry about the dismantling of habeas corpus.
It doesn't take long and it means alot, yes, even your one vote sends a message. One vote along with millions of others lets the bastards know that we, the people, want a better government, that we, the people, want our government to represent our interests and not their own.
Make your voice heard, get out and vote.
And the best part about tomorrow being election day? No more phone calls, no more mailers and no more attack ads on the idiot box. No wonder Thanksgiving is in November.
PS. The election is NOT about John Kerry and his lame ass sense of humor, the election should be about the lies, deception and outright meanness displayed by the Republican party while they've been in power.
[Update: Brian says that Angelides is a criminal in his comment and I've tried to find some evidence of this. Can anyone help? His Wiki page mentions nothing shady at all. Whereas, Arnold's Wiki page has ample evidence of his misogyny, sexual misconduct, personal misconduct, admiration of the Nazis and support for Kurt Waldheim. And no, Brian, I'm not singling you out. But I'd like to see some evidence of misconduct on Angelides part to support your vote for Arnold, who's definitely an asshole whereas Angelides maybe an asshole. Also, the recall election was a farce and should have never been allowed to happen.]
Tags: election, vote, voice, Democracy, corruption, sex scandal, clean house
True Story from SBC Customer Service
My neighbor's internet connection died, so she called SBC customer service to see what the deal was.
The "explanation" provided by the jackass on the other end? Do you live near the sea? Yes, then the ocean came in and took your drivers out to sea and that's where they are now.
No shit.
My wife came up with the only plausible explanation of the tech being in the last couple of days of his employment and no longer giving a damn about the "help" he provided so he thought he'd have some fun with people who were already frustrated by a broken internet connection. Which makes him kind of an asshole. The other explanation is that he's a complete and utter moron. I'm not sure which is preferable.
Do you have a customer service from hell story? Please share!
Tags: customer service, SBC, insane, wrong
The "explanation" provided by the jackass on the other end? Do you live near the sea? Yes, then the ocean came in and took your drivers out to sea and that's where they are now.
No shit.
My wife came up with the only plausible explanation of the tech being in the last couple of days of his employment and no longer giving a damn about the "help" he provided so he thought he'd have some fun with people who were already frustrated by a broken internet connection. Which makes him kind of an asshole. The other explanation is that he's a complete and utter moron. I'm not sure which is preferable.
Do you have a customer service from hell story? Please share!
Tags: customer service, SBC, insane, wrong
Nov 4, 2006
Ask.com is Usurping Teh Google
Ask.com becoming the search engine that could.
Ask.com is slowly becoming my search engine of choice for a couple of reasons.
1. They don't give a damn if you say you're going to "Ask" something on the internet, unlike Google who continues to insist that people don't Google stuff which makes them look like stuffy 'tards.
2. Ask.com isn't Yahoo or Google and that means there's no easy way for my searches to linked to my email and therefore its harder to build a marketing profile on me. Something I know that Google and Yahoo both engage in. Something to consider when you do a search for vibrating butt plugs, eh?
3. Ask.com has a slick and useful Preview feature that lets you get a peek at what the site you might be clicking through to looks like. Its a good way of skipping the crap sites that merely want to get your eyeballs on their ads.
4. Ask also has an excellent Blog search function and sortability.
But Ask.com does have some drawbacks. Their News search is nowhere near as good as Google's and Google News search has been getting worse and worse of late anyway. So, when I need News results, I'll go elsewhere, usually Topix.net.
Disclaimer: Nope, no one paid me to review Ask.com. I don't do it for money but, if I did, I'd certainly disclose that fact. Non-disclosure of compensated reviews is dirty and underhanded. I don't play that way.
Tags: search, Ask.com, Google, Yahoo
Ask.com is slowly becoming my search engine of choice for a couple of reasons.
1. They don't give a damn if you say you're going to "Ask" something on the internet, unlike Google who continues to insist that people don't Google stuff which makes them look like stuffy 'tards.
2. Ask.com isn't Yahoo or Google and that means there's no easy way for my searches to linked to my email and therefore its harder to build a marketing profile on me. Something I know that Google and Yahoo both engage in. Something to consider when you do a search for vibrating butt plugs, eh?
3. Ask.com has a slick and useful Preview feature that lets you get a peek at what the site you might be clicking through to looks like. Its a good way of skipping the crap sites that merely want to get your eyeballs on their ads.
4. Ask also has an excellent Blog search function and sortability.
But Ask.com does have some drawbacks. Their News search is nowhere near as good as Google's and Google News search has been getting worse and worse of late anyway. So, when I need News results, I'll go elsewhere, usually Topix.net.
Disclaimer: Nope, no one paid me to review Ask.com. I don't do it for money but, if I did, I'd certainly disclose that fact. Non-disclosure of compensated reviews is dirty and underhanded. I don't play that way.
Tags: search, Ask.com, Google, Yahoo
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