That would be me, with my score of 101 points sans Google or outside assistance.
Your turn, and thanks Michele! And, no, that's not a picture of my sexy legwear there.
And not just because of what they're willing to do in the backseat.
A man described by authorities as a known sexual predator was chased through the streets of South Philadelphia by an angry crowd of Catholic high school girls, who kicked and punched him after he was tackled by neighbors, police said Friday.Heh. Ouch.
Update: No, I didn't copy Instapundit's closing remark. Just great minds and all that, I guess.
Yes, 'tis true, a mere 32 years ago today I entered the world. Anyone making a "Were you a trick or a treat? Hyuk!" joke will be shot on sight. No big plans - a typical day at work, then home, then handing out candy to the kids. I'll save my celebrating for tomorrow evening.
Although with National Novel Writing Month underway, I might not have the time. Heck, there's always time for beer.
Just one more day standing between me and the attempt to write at least 50,000 words of a novel. I've got a general story idea laid out, but that might change once it gets going, if it gets going - correction: when it gets going, as it surely will.
Had a good time last night meeting some of the other local budding novelists, drinking beer and playing pool and talking about sundry subject matter, some of which shall not be repeated here as this is a family-friendly blog. OK, who the hell am I kidding? Actually, a lot of the conversation is kinda blurry, but I did meet some cool people who I hope to see again during the endeavor.
If you've not stopped by Blovel lately, you should - the ranks are growing, and there's plenty of NaNoWriMo reading to be had over there. If the mood strikes, I might add progress meters and such to up the ante of the competition. Naturally, I will only do those if my stats don't shame me.
Anyway, I'm soon off to do a bit of rush hour driving in this lovely weather we're having in Denver today. Yesterday it was sunny and 80 degrees. Today it hasn't gotten above 30, and it's rainy.
Crazy weather, thy name is Colorado.
The question is rhetorical: the answer is Drew Barrymore, along with several other partners in blasphemy. The above is a quote from one of my favorite scenes from my favorite novel, CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES, which she has trampled on with her little cloven drug ridden Tom Green divorcing she-devil hooves. May Hroswitha and Boethius unite to plead for mercy for her undeserving soul (and may it not be given).
What has she done, you ask? Well I'll tell you...
Gimme gimme more more more »
I'm a daddy again!
No, I don't know why the child looks nothing like me, or why she would claim this "Ryan Phillippe" character is the father. Reese, baby, did I really break your heart that much?
New York has updated the count of innocent people slaughtered for the crime of going about their lives:
More than two years after the World Trade Center fell in terrorist attacks, New York has reduced its official death toll from September 11, 2001, by 40 people.For those of you keeping score at home, this reduces the previous calculation of 279.2 murders per WTC hijacker to 275.2 per head.The change from 2,792 to 2,752 is the result of an ongoing review process -- in particular of those initially reported as missing for whom no human remains have been identified.
There, see, those boys and their boxcutters weren't so bad after all.
Well, this comes to mind:
Phelps, citing a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, says the city must allow him to erect his monument in City Park as long as the Ten Commandments stay there. Phelps' monument would claim that slain University of Wyoming Student Matthew Shepard is in hell due to his homosexuality and would quote a scriptural passage calling homosexuality an abomination.
Gimme gimme more more more »
You know, if Naomi Wolf had testicles, she might not say something like this:
Here is what young women tell me on college campuses when the subject comes up: They can’t compete, and they know it. For how can a real woman—with pores and her own breasts and even sexual needs of her own (let alone with speech that goes beyond “More, more, you big stud!”)—possibly compete with a cybervision of perfection, downloadable and extinguishable at will, who comes, so to speak, utterly submissive and tailored to the consumer’s least specification?Hey, Naomi, here's how "ordinary women" can compete: They are real, flesh and blood, brains and breasts and buttocks and vaginas, all in a skin-wrapped package that beats hands down (or hand job) some erotic electrons emblazoned across a monitor. You can talk to them, touch them, tease them, and have it all reciprocated. You can have a true and intimate bond with them, whereas banging your wood into the television screen would probably end up with a true and intimate knowledge of Bondo.
For two decades, I have watched young women experience the continual “mission creep” of how pornography—and now Internet pornography—has lowered their sense of their own sexual value and their actual sexual value.Wait, I thought it was men not wanting real women, but now it's the porn that is lowering the sense of their own worth. Tell me, Naomi, is it the fault of the men or the porn? Or, perhaps more accurately, the women for feeling invalidated by a picture?
It's the fault of media that women feel unattractive, that they binge and purge, that they have unrealistic expectations of body image, right? Now it's porn's fault that they don't feel sexually desireable or important? I call bullshit. Ron Jeremy aside, the guys in porn look a lot better than I do - guys on television sure as hell look better than I do - but I don't starve myself, feel inadequate, or end up in counseling because of my poor body image. The blame lies with the individual, not with the external.
Well, I am 40, and mine is the last female generation to experience that sense of sexual confidence and security in what we had to offer.Um, my partners have been under the age of 40 and, I can promise you, they have no reason to lack confidence in their sexuality or security in their abilities. Perhaps Naomi is just feeling a bit rusty and projecting.
The young women who talk to me on campuses about the effect of pornography on their intimate lives speak of feeling that they can never measure up, that they can never ask for what they want; and that if they do not offer what porn offers, they cannot expect to hold a guy.And again, Naomi, you've indicated that the problem is not with the porn, not with the men, but with the women who self-victimize. A confident woman is still sexy, while an unconfident woman is not (just like you'd find a man lacking confidence to be a turn off as well).
The young men talk about what it is like to grow up learning about sex from porn, and how it is not helpful to them in trying to figure out how to be with a real woman.Wait, you just said that porn is turning men off of real women, but now the men are needing help to figure out how to be with a real woman - well, that sounds to me like real women should be in demand, a means for these boys to learn what they want, whereas Sylvia Saint just wants their credit card number.
Sorry, Naomi, but your whole premise has collapsed. You come across as more anti-sex and anti-threats-to-your-personal-sense-of-self-worth than anything else. Sorry, but get used to it - the world owes you nothing, not even validation of your obviously flagging sexuality.
Note: I realize that there are men who have a problem with addiction to pornography, who use it to supplant actual desire for the women they love. However, for Naomi to claim that it is the norm, the common denominator that spans America's beds, is foolishness.
I fully accept that some video games might inspire some kids to kill; that television violence might twist some minds; that porn might lead the Ted Bundy's of the world to commit horrible crimes - but the fact remains that most people are not affected by such things in any meaningful way. To throw the blame around as carelessly as Ms. Wolf is an insult to all of us.
More specifically, the operative word in self-esteem is "self." You have responsibility for your own. I realize that the mainstream media paints short, red-headed guys who are losing their hair and who have a beer pudge as the epitome of male sexuality, and that I should therefore be completely secure and confident in my ability to bed women left and right, but I hope you'll read the above with an open mind.
For the non-boy view, you can go here or here, courtesy of Instapundit.
David Horowitz has officially gone off the deep end (I know, many of you thought he had well before today). I say this because this afternoon I received a very personal form e-mail from David, as a result of my having written Ann Coulter a nastygram for her idiocy via Frontpage Magazine (odd, Ann never replied, but Dave added me to his mailing list assuming I'd give a crap what he had to tell me - bzzzt, do try again, Dave). Anyway, the e-mail opener was this:
Imagine for a moment that you are a radical leftist with a singular agenda: destroy the fabric of American society. If you could pick a group that has been instilling civic values and virtues in young males for nearly a hundred years target, one champion of the ideals, morals and principles this nation embodies, who would you pick?I imagine, as a treasonous leftist himself, Horowitz has magical mind-reading powers that have told him that the Boy Scouts embody the ideals, morals and principles of America that must be attacked at all cost. Why, surely, you remember that article of the Constitution (our founding document, you see) that outlines how we must kick gays and atheists out of our country AND get the fire-building badge to be really cool.If you said the Boy Scouts of America you would be dead on the mark.
I'm all for the rights of the Boy Scouts to engage in free association, so long as they don't receive public monies, but Dave's gone right off the loony diving board and sunk to the bottom of the pool on this one. Up his medication, doc.
John Hawkins over at Right Wing News asked bloggers to participate in his "books that have impacted your thinking" posting event. He solicited each blogger to provide 1-20 books, and I responded with several that had influenced my thinking politically, socially, and otherwise.
Needless to say, I did not vote for #1, although I probably should have as the barbarism inherent in many of the stories helped to assure me that atheism was a good thing.
Is Russia heading back to the days of authoritarianism?:
Russian liberal commentators said on Tuesday they feared of a new wave of authoritarianism after President Vladimir Putin slapped down big business leaders over the arrest of Russia's richest entrepreneur.For all we've been told about how Russia is now our friend, how they are becoming more like us, this is not good news. However, the interesting bit comes at the end:The commentators, reflecting the thinking of liberal politicians who were reluctant to speak publicly, said Putin's truculent justification of the arrest of oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky showed the KGB spy-turned-president had come down on the side of Kremlin hawks.
The oil magnate backs two liberal parties competing against Putin's allies in a parliamentary election in six weeks time. Putin himself is heavily favoured to win re-election in a separate poll next year.Ah, political freedom, alive and well in Russia. Get your cold war on. Again.But many analysts believe Khodorkovsky's ambitions may go far beyond that -- even to seeking the presidency in 2008.
The World Wide Rant is now mentioned over at The Denver Post website. Today, Denver - tomorrow, Aurora or maybe even Highlands Ranch!
Thanks to Tiffany for getting us (and several of our local blogging comrades) listed.
Matt Welch is extremely well-groomed on the O'Reilly Factor tonight.
Don't get me wrong, I love Reason magazine, but I'm not sure the insurance salesman look is going to sell many folks on the libertarian-style agenda. Term life, maybe - free minds and free markets, doubtful.
Short on ideas tonight, and I'm on diaper duty with Fiona, so let's take a webcam tour of my life, sort of. I've spent a good 5-10 minutes to find webcams from the places I've called home (or, failing that, a webcam very near to where I called home, as is the case with Eglin AFB, Florida).
Here we go:
I hope that was as exciting for you as it was for me. Now I have to run the WWRunt up to bed, then perhaps I can spend some quality time with beer, the news, and you.
Oh, yes, International ANSWER, let's pull out of Iraq and leave the people there subject to those who would do this:
At least 10 people -- nine Iraqis and a suicide bomber -- were killed and more than 20 wounded in an attack on the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross in central Baghdad, according to officials.And yet the far lefty kooks have the nerve to say that the allied forces are the barbarians, the murderers, the evil ones. Moral bankruptcy, anyone?
This won't mean a thing to any of you who aren't familiar with Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but after nearly 50 years, an era is ending.
The legendary Chukker is closing its doors forever. The greatest bar in the state of Alabama, having hosted Jimi Hendrix, the Replacements, REM, the Allman Brothers, the Descendants, the Misfits, Sublime, Sun Ra, Dick Dale, and Ronnie Dawson, to name just a few, will capitulate to the forces of mediocrity and dumbassed city ordinances on Halloween night.
In a city full of frat rats, college kids, and rednecks, the Chukker was the only place where every type of person in the city could go and feel welcome. There were derelicts, lawyers, drag queens, punk rockers, bikers, rednecks, black, white, young and old. We all hung out there in the spirit of awesome music and great atmosphere. I can't tell you the number of sunrises I've seen from the Chukker's back yard, after having exhausted myself watching band after band play from 8PM the previous night until the crack of dawn.
I'll be there the final night, when the rumor is that they're going to burn the place down. I don't support random vandalism, but after the Chukker's legendary history, it might be the only appropriate end.
Goodbye, Chukker. Eat cornbread, raise hell.
The blogosphere has been all over this, but here we go:
Demanding an end to the U.S.-led occupation and the quick return of American troops, the demonstrators gathered on a sunny fall day at the Washington Monument to listen to speeches and songs of peace.I can think of another sunny fall day when our allowing tyranny and terror to co-exist alongside civilization resulted in two very tall buildings collapsing. I'm not saying that Saddam was involved with 9/11, but I doubt he shed any tears for those that perished.
One man's small cardboard sign gave his summing-up of the day: "This administration does not represent me," it said in black capital letters typewritten on white paper.That's nice to know. It's also pretty much a given, unless you're party line voter who doesn't care about the issues. Otherwise, you're bound to disagree with the administration on one point or another (for instance, stupid steel tariffs). Either way, your sign isn't news.
"We feel it's very important to keep our voices heard because we want our troops home," said Bill Nelson, a Burbank, California, bookstore owner. "We want the money here for health care and jobs, not a military industrial complex."Not to quote those with whom I disagree, but this is too easy - I guess a chance at a good life is something those little brown babies in Iraq don't deserve. You know, they could be protesting Bush's tax cuts which I personally think were kind of silly in a time of war with an economy in the crapper (being one of those who thinks governmental tinkering with the economic machine is a generally bad idea). But somehow I imagine "Impeach Bush!" brings more cameras than "Tax Us More!"
Organizers estimated that 100,000 people turned out for the demonstration, but police at the scene put the number much lower, from 10,000 to 20,000.Apparently the lefty kooks of ANSWER used the same strict and structured analysis for head counting as they did when they decided that the Iraqi people would magically be better off if we pulled out immediately. I am tempted to insert a joke about how we'd be better off if some far lefty's dad had pulled out immediately, but that would be tasteless.
So, all in all, nothing new from these yahoos; they're making the same loud monkey noises they made before the war, during the war, and now in the aftermath. Yelling insults and slogans rather than solutions. At least they're mildly amusing.
Now THAT was a game, a nail-biter to the very end. You know, when the end finally came after 5 overtimes. Amazing. That game is what football should be, except that I don't think I want a life full of ulcers and stress headaches like I am suffering right now.
Final score: Tennessee 51 - Alabama 43.
Not a win, but one hell of a game.
Just a post to confirm for Zuly that I finished reading "Atonement", by Ian McEwan. I suppose, as the book deals with the power of the act of writing, I can also place this post over on Blovel. The book, much like Yann Martel's "Life of Pi," hinges upon an unexpected view of the story as you near the end, unfortunately - and perhaps because of reading the other - I deduced the "surprise" before it came, perhaps lessening the impact of the tale.
Although, even had I not known, I'm not sure that Briony's act of atonement for her crime makes everything all better. Perhaps it's all she could do. Sometimes that's not good enough.
Still, a recommended read as the story is involving and the prose well-crafted.
Now, I shall return to seeing if Alabama can beat Tennesse.
Michele wants people to bitch slap Ted Rall, preferably by mucking up his smug photo, but I'll take on his text instead:
"I mean, I'm an absolute Marxist when it comes to economics," he says from New York.Yes, history has shown that Marxism is quite possibly the most beneficial form of economics around; why, everyone lives in splendor and wealth and happiness and joy - oh wait, they're all equally miserable. Same difference.
"I don't believe a CEO does any more work than a janitor. All labor is worth the same."You, sir, are truly an idiot and really should learn some market economics. The janitorial skillset isn't exactly rare, and thus the market value is lower - the CEO skillset is much rarer, and thus the pay is considerably higher. Granted, not all CEOs do incredible jobs, but neither do all janitors - but even if you say they aren't very smart, I see no one begging for Ted Rall to be a CEO. So they must be at least a bit more savvy, if nothing else, than you, idiot.
Yes, another afternoon in downtown Denver enjoying the free wireless cloud that hangs over some blocks and bars. Quite nice to be sitting here, a cold beer, a day that is growing colder (brrrr, winter finally), and a connection that is 1Mb up/down. As the days grow shorter and the nights, uh, longer, and the temps begin to drop, I suppose I'll have to start seeing how strong the signal is from inside various places.
In other news, we've switched the house from DSL to cable. So, I'll be trekking out tonight to buy a wireless router. Geekdom has infilitrated our household.
Update: Holy Mary, Mother of Lil'Jeebus, I do love me some cable internet and wireless routing. The router lives in the basement, but even two floors above in our bedroom my connection speed maxed out at 2.6 Megabits per second on an "Excellent" connection. I feel like I just lost my virginity, but without the potential guilt or mess.
The government, always looking for a way to increase its own girth, wants to help you reduce yours.
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that labeling menus is among several proposals it is considering to help people watch what they eat.Here, let me simplify things for the Feds so that our tax dollars can be spent on something useful: a salad is generally good for you. A double bacon cheeseburger probably isn't (shut up, Atkins people - just losing weight doesn't mean "good for you" and only caloric restriction with proper nutrition has been shown to actually increase lifespan and reduce age-related afllictions).Food companies already are required to put nutrition information on the backs of food packages, and nutrition advocates have been pressuring the government and the industry to impose similar requirements on the restaurant industry.
This has been a World Wide Rant Public Service Annoucement.
Well, it looks like Pieter got caught up in quite a shit-storm (that's a "poopie-storm" to you unmarried ladies with tender constitutions and pure hearts) for his blanket condemnation of homosexuality. Although, I will grant him this, he does have every right to ask that people respond to the points he posted, rather than simply poking fun (although poking fun is enjoyable too). So, let's look at the main points and address them, shall we?
First, what are these other sources? Second, assuming that the statement is true, I've no interest in legislating the number of sexual partners someone is able to have. Third, what's with the focus on male homosexuals? I have a feeling it's because none of Pieter's so-called "logic" will hold up when it comes to lesbians, but he'll try to make it a broad assessment of all gay people (that is what we call being dishonest, but fundamentalists of all stripes seem to have a knack for it).
For a fuller treatment on studies involving homosexuality and pedophilia, look here. In summary:
One individual has claimed to have data that prove homosexuals to be child molesters at a higher rate than heterosexuals. That person is Paul Cameron. As detailed elsewhere on this site, Cameron's survey data are subject to so many methodological flaws as to be virtually meaningless. Even so, his assertions are often quoted by antigay organizations in their attempts to link homosexuality with child sexual abuse.And, unlike Pieter or the person about whom he is writing, the good folks at UC Davis then provide explicit reasons why Cameron's methodology is flawed. Ah, the scientific method, once again bashing ignorance upon his thick head.
Of course, he'll say that we pass them as a result of our having multiple partners - but notice, when it comes to homosexuals, the problem is their being gay, but when it comes to straight people, it's a lack of monogamy. Of course, if homosexuals were monogamous, that wouldn't satisfy Pieter's need to hate.
As for golden showers, the author once again says that most gay people engage in them while heterosexuals do not, yet - suprise of surprises - fails to provide any supporting evidence for the claim. Maybe they do - maybe they don't - but I'm certainly not going to take the word of an anti-gay crusader as the Gospel truth (heh, get it - Gospel truth?).
OK, this grows tiring, and for one simple reason that I alluded to above: none of this deals with lesbianism. None. It's an argumentative sleight-of-hand filled with half-truths and unsupported assertions that Pieter and his ilk can use to justify to themselves their hatred of homosexuals, period.
If honesty is a virtue, then I suspect I'll be seeing such homophobes in Hell. Good lord, no matter where I go I won't able to get away from such idiocy.
But I digress - I wonder if Pieter thinks lesbian relationships are acceptable. I know I do. At least the ones in the glossy magazines.
Post a pointless quiz result. Hooray!
Update: OK, fine, meet the extended family.
Over at Vodkapundit's, I was accused of - more or less - being obnoxious for encouraging people who despise homophobia and hateful people to link to Pieter Friedrich's blog. I don't see it as obnoxious - I see it as exposing noxious thoughts and ideas to the light. These hateful people do walk among us. I don't mean your run of the mill "ooh, butt sex is icky" kind of person - I mean those who think homosexuality should be illegal, a capital crime. They are truly no better than the Islamic fundies we're fighting.
That said, if you think my original post was obnoxious, then what would you call this?
Update: This one would have been even better. But, as I said in the comments, this wasn't about Pieter, but about showing someone what it means to be obnoxious.
Well, not really, but John Tabin does and it's amusing to watch the idiots come out of the woodwork network to let him know their feelings.
And just so some of those same idiots will eventually Google their way here, allow me to repeat - for the sake of Page Rank - I hate Radiohead. I hate Radiohead. I hate Radiohead.
(but not really.)
Hosting Matters, the webhosting company for this blog and many, many others, quite simply, rocks.
We will not be receiving any SLA-related compensation ourselves, but thought some sort of credit was in order for our clients base, all of whom were affected by this and as frustrated by it as we were. A credit based on the actual percentage of inaccessibility (2%) or even rounding up to a full day (3.33%) were possibilities of assigning this credit, but we rejected both. Instead, we will be assigning a 6% credit (2% total impact time times 3 days) to each client against the monthly calculated fee for their account....Sure, it's only going to save me sixty-six cents, but it's a nice gesture and probably adds up to a lot more for those who run significant businesses through Hosting Matters' services.
Kudos, folks, and thanks.
Can some please explain to me why Google News considers this to be news?
Yet this isn't happening only in America. Two nations, America and Israel, are being quietly torn apart before our eyes. In both cases, it's time to pause and make some strategic decisions, because their problems, though different, bear many striking similarities.This isn't news; this is Anti-Indymedia - if this website and Indymedia ever end up linked next to each other, they will obliterate themselves and all of us with them.Both nations have been subjected to the manipulations of New World Order leaders. Almost without exception, political leaders in both countries are corrupt beyond words, and hold office simply to fulfill the world government desires of their masters. I've moved beyond trying to convince people of this after almost a decade of writing this column. If you don't believe me, please check for yourself.
I recommend more careful screening to our pals at Google.
So, in our continuing effort to support the fine efforts of NetFlix, we watched a couple o'flix tonight.
First up, The Matrix: Reloaded. All in all, not bad entertainment, but the special effects feel dated and don't dazzle nearly as much as the original.
Best moment: Any scene involving Monica Bellucci. If only they had forsaken "bullet time" for "boobie time." Yes, I'm mature, I know. And that photo there is for Bellucci-boobie-fan, Steve Green. Please file any complaints with his people.
Questions: So, is Zion real or just another Matrix program set out to find the weaknesses in humanity? I'm aiming for it being fabricated based on Keanu's Wonder Twin Powers when the spidery-robotic things attacked. Also, why was the power grid out for 3 minutes and 14 seconds? I considered maybe something like John 3:14 or perhaps a rough estimation of the value of Pi, but then I realized maybe they just did crap like that to make people like me wonder. Ooh, deep, fellas.
Second movie of the night, Star Trek: Nemesis. Copious notes on this one, bear with me.
The foreshadowing in the dyslexic titling was too obvious. Marina Sirtis is, um, well-endowed, and, no, I don't know why she is nude and riding an elephant on her website. In the future, white people still can't dance. Best line was "You have the bridge..., Mr. Troi." I'm curious now about the origins of the word "viceroy" - I assumed it meant vice-king. I was more or less right. Picard's clone looks more like a tall version of Mini-Me than a perfect copy of a young Picard, even if "a lifetime of violence will do that" to a face. Romulans seem to be stuck in the 70s/80s, what with their disco mosaic clothing. Maybe word just takes a while to get around the galaxy. Shinzon (spelling my own, forgive me, Dorks of the World) looks like he borrowed his coat from Neo in the movie above (not to be confused with Nemo). Overly obvious moralizing is about as painful as a 2x4 to the head and the crotch. With a rusty nail sticking out of the board. The special effects were, honestly, better than those of the movie above. Sorry, Matrix people. Data died - that was fitting. Too bad they had to goo it all up with his replacement so we wouldn't feel sad - sometimes a story should end tragically for it to have value. At leat he died in a better way than Tasha Yar did, she being killed by the jam-covered Glad Bag monster.
Alrighty, guess that about sums it up. This has been WWR@TheDVDS.
Fred Berry dropping dead is what's happening.
ReRun at 52. John Ritter at 54. That's it, I'm swearing off the beer, eating healthy, and exercising on a daily basis from now on!
Starting next week.
Maybe.
At least that seems to be what Pieter wants to do, as he doesn't want gay blogs to link to him:
Michael: I just didn't understand why an openly homosexual blogger would be linking to and recommending a blog that spends a fair amount of time bashing homosexuality and the homosexual agenda. Since it was pointed out to me that Aakash linked to you in a recent entry, that does explain things.I'm sure he'd be equally pleased if this atheist blog (with Jon, our token homosexual) were to add him to the blogroll, but I do have a small fear that someone might think I agree with him, like him, or want to see his so-called thinking encouraged.I think I would prefer that you remove me from your blogroll. It's my preference that this blog not be associated with yours.
At least within the context of a post, I can point out that I'm mocking our dear friend, whether or not he can hear me laughing as I stand outside of his closet.
However, it would be mildly amusing if all the Blog'Mo's out there would link to him and send him some traffic...Jody, your mission if you choose to accept it (since it was your idea, you see).
The Lawrence, Massachusetts Schools Superintendent, just made his momma proud:
LAWRENCE, Mass. -- Schools Superintendent Wilfredo T. Laboy has passed the state-mandated literacy test on his fourth try.When asked how he did it, Mr. Laboy replied: "I done studied myself real good."
Vicky has the rest of the story.
I'm sure now someone will try to sue evolution for their weight problems.
Calorie-packed fast food encourages over-eating and weight gain because it is out of step with human evolution, scientists have said.Sorry, but when someone orders two Big Macs, or super-sizes their value meal, or economizes by eating half the dollar menu, that's not an accident. If you don't know that the majority of fast food is fat-laden, heart-clogging, calorie-dense McSustenance, then you are an idiot.They pointed out that humans are designed for conditions in which food is relatively scarce and low in energy.
But fast food from take-aways and convenience stores is typically energy dense. You do not need to eat much of it to consume a lot of calories.
The result is people accidentally over-eat without feeling particularly full.
Maybe evolution is responsible for that. Please don't breed, and let's hope your thick head is weeded out of the gene pool.
Hey, hey, we're back on the air, for now anyway. Sorry for the downtime, but apparently some anti-West militant Muslims are to blame. Not that they were targeting us specifically (give us some credit for not overestimating our importance, although they would target us if they knew we existed, surely - or not), but they did continue their Denial of Service attacks against our hosting company. Anyway, here's hoping she holds.
Once upon a time, there was a field of employment called "quality control." It focused on solving problems after the fact, and resulted in significant re-work, loss of productive time, and - given sheer volumes - the chance that a "bad piece" would slip through and move right out into the world. This is the outmoded approach that the TSA is following:
Hatfield said layers of airline security have been added since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Even if a passenger got a forbidden item past a checkpoint, he said in another interview, there are other safeguards built in, such as strengthened cockpit doors and the presence in many instances of onboard air marshals.Unfortunately, their efforts should be spent on just that - passenger screening. This is what we can call "quality assurance," monitoring the product as it moves down the line to make sure it meets our standards, rather than waiting until the end to deal with issues. And they can stand atop the tallest plane and yell how much they've improved things, but the fact remains: a college kid beat them all, repeatedly."We have a security system built on layers and the layer we call passenger screening, while it's vastly improved over the pre-9-11 era, it still has its limitations," Hatfield said.
Cockpit doors, which have been found to be capable of being knocked clean off their hinges (so I've read), and armed air marshals are nothing but quality control - an admission that the process before is inherently flawed and producing poor quality. They are a virtual shrug of the governmental shoulders, saying "What do you want us to do?" The end result is that, even with those wonderful additions, if the screening process fails miserably, you still have armed terrorists onboard a plane full of innocent civilians.
The cost of poor quality is death and destruction.
Do I expect that we will stop each and every possible terrorist attack? Of course not - people are people, they make mistakes, and processes drift away from high performance unless strictly monitored - and the terrorists will constantly be looking for new ways to bypass our security. However, as with any other business process, the government, the airlines, the consultants whom the pay large sums, should work to anticipate these actions and refine the process as necessary. A process that does not change to meet requirements is a process that is destined to fail.
Yes, it's expensive - yes, it requires dedicated resources - yes, it demands innovative thinking and risk-taking - but, it's a lot cheaper than the purchase price of the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
Update: Ooh, ahh, the American Society for Quality seems to agree, or at least finds fault with the TSA's approach to quality.
Meaning both this site and myself. You might have noticed that it was rather difficult to get to your favorite HostingMatters blogs today; blame the friendly folks at AT&T for that one. No Denial of Service, just a blip of crap service.
Anyway, as I am off to bed to read before blissful dreams involving you, my adoring fans, some brief thoughts:
OK, good enough for tonight. Talk amongst yourselves.
This really doesn't need any commentary. The nice thing is that at least these 10 Commandments don't require a crane to move them. The bad thing is the carnage that will undoubtedly ensue when in the Final Days the armies of the Tinkertoyite Christians and the practitioners of the Heresies of the Lincoln Log go up against the righteous of the Legos Logos.
Unfortunately you can't link to any page but the homepage, but please check out "Camp Defecation", "Bestiality", and "Homosexuality" for some images you won't soon forget.
I'm just busy.
But, I promise - with Thor as my witness - that I'll get around to posting some inflammatory opinions sometime today. I suspect I should tackle the Terri Schiavo issue, the "gay gene" issue, and why I shake my head in disbelief when Catholics advocate "prayer and fasting" as a solution to anything other than the Trivial Pursuit question of "What's a good way to talk to the air while feeling hungry?"
Soon, lil'chirrens, soon...
Getting ready for NaNoWriMo.
I previously mentioned that I was reading "On The Beach" and "Alas, Babylon," as part of my no-real-point-to-it literary focus on the end of the world. So, to score points for Zuly's Reading Room, allow me to briefly summarize them for you here:
"On The Beach" doesn't have a happy ending. "Alas, Babylon" ends on a note of some distant hope. Leading up to those respective endings are the similar tales of the survivors of a war gone terribly wrong. I'd give "Alas, Babylon" the higher rating based upon better character development and the annoying way in which Nevil Shute, in "On The Beach," continually refers to one couple's infant daughter as "it."
Nevil - a table is an "it." A car is an "it." An infant girl is a "she." I realize this won't be of much use to you as you've been dead for 43 years, but there you go.
I'm presently reading "Atonement," by Ian McEwan. Only 140 pages in, so no summary yet, but I will say that I think the writing is exceptional, and the slow build to the "crime" of the novel (which I've just reached around page 140) is more like embers burning and catching alight than a yawn-fest of "when will it end?"
I have high hopes to finish the book by tomorrow night as I'd like to read "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and perhaps "The Time Traveler's Wife," before NaNoWriMo is upon me and my limited free time is dedicated to writing the masterwork that will make me rich and enable me to conquer the planet through economic power alone.
Or at least enable me to size up from a Biggie Fry to a Great Biggie Fry at Wendy's.
The latest news from the Rational Belief Home Office isn't very promising.
Fully 92 percent of Americans say they believe in God, 85 percent in heaven and 82 percent in miracles, according to the latest FOX News poll. Though belief in God has remained at about the same level, belief in the devil has increased slightly over the last few years — from 63 percent in 1997 to 71 percent today.Why believe in just one myth when you can tack on a second one for the low, low price of nothing? Accept Jesus now, and Beelzebub is yours free (shipping and handling extra, all returns will incur a 10% re-stocking fee, and - oh yeah - caveat emptor and be careful what you wish for - amen).
Of course, some Christians see this as good news. However, the article continues:
The national poll, conducted by Opinion Dynamics Corporation, shows that about a third of Americans believe in ghosts (34 percent) and an equal number in UFOs (34 percent), and about a quarter accept things like astrology (29 percent), reincarnation (25 percent) and witches (24 percent).Maybe in 100 years we'll have evangelical zealots proclaiming the good news of Binky the Magic Space clown, an alien being who, guided by his Scorpio sun-sign, gives people continuing chances at life after they die, while He battles the evil witches who seek to destroy the Faithful. It could happen. Reason isn't our strength if these numbers are to be believed.
* There, that should piss some of you right off.
When you're lax on blogging, engage the meme - today's is The Friday Five.
Beer, orange juice, bacon, fat-free mayo, and spinach, among other things.
Ground beef, Jimmy Hoffa, ice cream, vodka, and frozen waffles.
Brillo pads, dishwashing liquid, pet stain remover, a dustpan, and 409.
A bottle opener, a coaster, a kitschy ceramic cat, books, and the installation disc for GTA III.
We don't have one. We do, however, have a medicine drawer. It contains the usual assortment of medicinal miracles, so think of five and you're probably spot on.
You're right - this was pretty lame. But you love me anyway.