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FirBlog: Stop Fairy De-pression! Keep 'em crushed in-between the pages!
Friday, August 11, 2000
2:07 PM - <da Link>
Combat Assault Shopping. Competitive Price Matching. Deadly Ninja Throwing Coupons. Well, maybe not the last one, but there are several weird things going on when Grocers Admits Dirty Tricks.
1:32 PM - <da Link>
A really cool idea! It could only be made better if you could point it to other servers, ftp sites, or whatever, but I see the reason they'd want to keep you on their site. Still, pretty neat! I just wonder if they will play ads at you if you forget to pay your site bill. Ceiva Digital Picture Frame.
10:56 AM - <da Link>
I agree with Garrick and Zannah that we should make this Clothes Dryer Sound the most downloaded sound at Microsoft's Download Site. Do it! Do it now!
10:40 AM - <da Link>
YEAH TEAM! I don't care who was doing it, but someone wanted to set off an explosive in Derry (Londonderry, for those that prefer the English form), and were thwarted. No loss of life, no loss of property, no moral victory for the bad guys. WOO! City Bomb Outrage Thwarted By Police I love good news.
10:14 AM - <da Link>
Note to self: when going to theme park, don't leave the gun in a bag. Wear it in a shoulder-holster, so that it doesn't get left behind. Bikers Lose Gun, Then Freedom at Theme Park Of course, my gun is registered, I have a license to carry, and I don't normally want to be packing at the local water park (cleaning the weapon later is very time-consuming!), so this may not matter, but it is still good advice.
10:02 AM - <da Link>
Yes, it's old, but I was reading old Torrez postings and came across it, and had to share. I had no idea of what was going on inside the record industry. Now I have to wonder if I am really pro-copyright, or anti-RIAA? Hard choice. Read how Courtney Love does the math at Salon.com.
9:29 AM - <da Link>
I was just reading SwallowingTacks (8/12/2000 entry) where she asks the question:
6) What hair color do they put on the drivers licenses of bald men?
So I asked one. His response was simple, so Elise, this answer is for you!
Chrome
Hope that helped.
9:13 AM - <da Link>
I do believe that this falls outside the "Freedom of Choice" argument. Great parenting skills, can't you tell? Florida teen says mom forced her into abortion clinic.
8:49 AM - <da Link>
And when I finally get so cynical about people that I think there is no hope for humanity, someone comes along with a well-justified court action to show that stupid people have to pay for their mistakes, too. Mother seeks $50k from daycare for boy's blistered sunburn. If we could just get all the stupid people to pay up, we could kick this national debt thing in about five years.
8:34 AM - <da Link>
I love my cats a whole lot. I really do. They get pampered more than they should, say my friends with dogs. *grin*
But, I don't love anyone else's cat as much as the Follower of the first cat, who is so enamoured of Socks that she has a shrine in her home. And, she's never met the cat. Um. Yeah.
8:29 AM - <da Link>
Don't start a business, unless you're willing to deal with the Bureaucracy of Government. Soemtimes, though, they realize how stupid it all looks to a kid. Eustis officials back down from order to make girl, 9, close lemonade stand
8:07 AM - <da Link>
Take a picture of your principal's car at a female teachers house, and get punished by the school. But, if you win your court case, you can pay for your college! Principal quits after settling lawsuit.
7:47 AM - <da Link>
NO MORE KEGGERS! Well, not in Ohio, unless you don't mind a five-day waiting period. I guess kegs now fall in the "assault weapon" category. I mean, I know that DUI/DWI is a bad problem, but are we moving just a little bit away from sanity by requiring registration of parties? I wonder how the OSU football season is going to take this.
7:33 AM - <da Link>
A cartoon granny compares grandkids to gas, and her strip gets pulled for "exceeding the bounds of good taste." It would seem your audience doesn't agree with you, Mr. Editor. Clearing the air in the 'Lola' crisis.
7:29 AM - <da Link>
But officer, my coffee is too cold to be used as a deadly assault weapon. Well, the Jury agreed, at least. I hope they still got him for assault with a caffeinated beverage, though.
6:47 AM - <da Link>
Officer, there seems to be a problem with that hot air balloon. Are you sure it is supposed to look like that?
6:38 AM - <da Link>
Today's Searches:google: nude girl pic for "palm pilot"
Okay, people, you're starting to worry me. I want to know who is looking to see nude orientals getting breastfed? And, what is this with pics for the palm pilot? Do we really want to go back to the days of horrible resolution? Someone dig out their ten-year-old porn disks (you know, the 5.25" ones) and convert those so the palm pilot crowd can be satisfied.
google: brutal.com
google: oriental nude breastfeeding
6:27 AM - <da Link>-=-=-=-=-
Goooooooood Morning!
We had quite the light show last night, even as far away from the center as we were hiding here in East Cobb County. I understand that several homes were set afire by the lightning strikes, and the rain, where heavy, was dangerously so. Golf-ball sized hail fell, but not around us, so my car is still fine. The FirFey slept through it, but Munchkin got up and complained about the noise and was sent back to bed. At least she was clean.
This was the last day I'll have an easy drive to work for a while -- I pass seven schools on my commute, and my drive is during the drop-off hours for every one of them. As a result I expect to be getting up about half an hour earlier for the rest of the year just to get to work at my normal time. Blah. I'm curious, though -- usually school starts later, and lots of parents don't bring their kids in for their first day until after Labor Day (September 4th this year). What will happen when these kids are not just a few days behind, but three weeks? Will they even be admitted at first? I guess we'll hear the news about it.
There is a possibility we will be in Athens this weekend. We're not sure yet, because we have lots of housework to do, but if we end up that direction we will run into the new Freshman Class at UGA, as their first day is next week as well. Dorms are opening today and tomorrow, so there will be lots of families headed that way to see the campus and offload as many microwaves and refrigerators as they can without obviously flaunting the no-cooking-in-the-dorm rule. Elfgirl said she'd feel old seeing them, since she could have babysat almost any of them when she was a freshman. I was going to laugh until I realized that it has been 15 years since I was a freshman, and I remember my move-in experience too well. *sigh*
Maybe I'll finish my degree in the next decade -- I should have been done in the 80s, and surely by the 90s, but now I'll have paper with a 20XX on it, if I can get it done this next time around.
That's what makes *ME* feel old. Going back to classes with these same freshmen, watching them look at the professor with confusion when assigned a 7 page paper, knowing in their hearts that they can never write that much about any topic, while at the same time I'm wondering how I can get all my points organized in under 20 pages. Maybe I should just dye my hair grey, wear my tweed jacket, and see how many of the new kids confuse me with an instructor. Nah, too much work, and besides, my hair is going to turn loose before it turns grey.
Thursday, August 10, 2000
6:05 PM - <da Link>
As I'm sitting here, sans cable (weather is getting REALLY UGLY), I'm happy to have blogged that Atlanta Doppler site back in July (FYI, here). The storms tonight are a little west of us, but stretch from the west of Atlanta all the way to Birmingham, about 120 miles total, and all bright red. I hope that the people travelling along I-20 are alright, and got a chance to get off the road to shelter as it passed. The next wave should hit us about two hours from now, but it will be relatively mild as the world cools off.
FirFey had a good bath, and the Munchkin informed us she hadn't bathed since getting back from the ship, so she took a bath tonight too (a week is long enough without washing!). I've walked a bit on our treadmill, and Herself is currently putting the FirFey down to sleep. Lucky girl, both of them. I can't do that job because I can't nurse the baby, so I miss out on the last bit of the night routine. At least I get to be first on the MORNING list, when they come to get me up!
Well, I'm signing off tonight, before the storm fries a good modem.
12:36 PM - <da Link>
Sometimes I start to think that mankind is finally pulling forward. Sometimes I start to shirk my cynical nature. Being a priest, and a cynic, will be interesting. But, just as I start to accept that people aren't too stupid, that they only do dumb things because of lack of proper education and parental involvement, I find stories like the woman who tried to breastfeed and drive at the same time. I'm not kidding. She went to jail, the kids ended up in medical care, because she had an accident. Read for yourself the story of yet another proof of mankind's slide into stupidity. Don't Nurse And Drive!
12:21 PM - <da Link>
Wanna buy lots of freeze-dried food? Worried about the hurricane season? If you think there's a big storm coming, you can put in a bid for this Y2K food stash. Might help, and you'll have lots of powdered butter to mix with the water fallilng out of the air. Of course, you'll be stuck after the storm when there is no potable water anywhere, but that's okay, too. You can always make a boat out of all the boxes.
11:27 AM - <da Link>
Why did the chicken cross the road? To see six mexicans lay bricks, then get put in jail for working late. Yes, for working late. Apparently Smyrna, GA, doesn't like the sound of construction, so they decided that it should all stop at 6pm. When these workers, making very little noise, mind you, didn't comply, they were arrested. Read the full story in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
11:04 AM - <da Link>
Todays weird searches:google: manna recipies
Okay. I admit the idea of a picture of a bunch of warriors in 1066 in full conflict while naked might be interesting, the sumo one is just too strange for me. Why aren't people searching for nude christians, I wonder? Maybe that's what the manna recipes are for.
google: toy box chest making ideas
google: nude sumo photos
pyra: dyke
pyra: christian
google: nude norman conquest
10:55 AM - <da Link>
Wonder what is in your secret file? Try the FBI Records Search and see if you were caught stealing that box of kleenex from the toilet tank at the quickmart.
10:08 AM - <da Link>
Check out the new words in the Oxford Dictionary at 'Frankenfoods' And 'Chuddies' Make the Cut. I'd never heard the term for kids addicted to the TV/computer before, but Screenagers works just fine. The rest are just as good.
10:01 AM - <da Link>
After the great debate on salted or unsalted watermelon, we find that some people just want it any way they can get it. Melon Thieves Hunted
9:14 AM - <da Link>
Apparently Sen. Lieberman looks like Senator Palpatine, from Star Wars Episode I. Well, looks like the democrats just lost the geek vote! Senator-Senator
7:37 AM - <da Link>
Id on't know when this story will be updated, but it starts simply enough: Make-A-Wish Foundation chapters can't grant hunting wishes. Okay, seems annoying, if the last thing a little kid wants to do before he dies is blow away bambi, but that's life. At least they'll point you to other groups that will help. No, my weirdness is this paragraph:The change reverses a policy that thrust the foundation into a national controversy in 1066 after it granted the wish of Erik Ness, a White Bear Township teenager with brain cancer, who wanted to hunt a bear in Alaska. He died in 1999.
DAMN! That is one long lived kid, to live at least 933 years. And, while I know the year 1066 is important to history (Norman Conquest, people....look it up!), it doesn't take that much to proofread a story. Though, maybe the Make-a-wish people have been around that long. Maybe one of their first wishes was for a little saxon boy who just wanted to see the Norman Pigs thrown out of his township for a few days. Or, maybe he wanted to go to EuroDisney.
I'm amused, and being snotty again. Someone shoot me. But not if you wish to.
7:21 AM - <da Link>
Psychic (clairvoyant) Angel Destiny (wow! she had smart parents to name her such a cool name, in light of the career she has!) was a bit surprised when her home in Cardiff collapsed. Apparently she didn't see it coming. Maybe she should consider a change in profession.
6:59 AM - <da Link>
When shooting someone in the head, be sure to point the gun AWAY from yourself. Gunman accidentally kills himself
6:24 AM - <da Link>-=-=-=-=-
Gooooood Morning!
Well, morning, at least. I can't breathe well, as my chest is in severe pain every inhalation I take. Feels like something was sitting on me all night, but the Elfgirl was up with the FirFey most of it, so I know it wasn't her.
Thinking of Elfgirl, I discovered the legitimate way to beat her if she keeps feeding me non-bovine meals (well, we compromised; I'm eating more bird things and she's not just grazing through the pasta fields). All I have to do is become Muslim, it seems. Have a look at the Muslim's Handbook article if you can find it. This story tells about how the book explains the proper way to beat your wife, and when you can get a second one.
I can't afford the one I have now, so I don't see that happening.
Anyway, it's causing quite the stir in Turkey, so I would be interested in how it runs in Afghanistan and Iraq, if it gets translated and reprinted. I wonder what the costs of that would be; I've very little experience with the publishing industry, especially in regards to translation (effective translation, that is). Anyone got an idea? Click that EMAIL button on the left.
Wednesday, August 09, 2000
5:47 PM - <da Link>
Hm. I have to take exception to a comment by Zannah, who says us Occidentals tend to misuse "Oriental", and that some people from the Asian continent get a little upset at our inability to know that the word Oriental means Southeast Asia, but not China or Japan.
I have heard this from various people of Asian ancestry, but I have checked a few dictionaries, and this is what I foundCambridge International: The Area east and southeast of Asia
In fact, after reading too damn many encyclopaedias and dictionaries, both online and off, I have discovered that this French word means "anything east of the west, which is where we are, seeing as how going further west puts us in the ocean." That's what you get when you steal a word from chain-smoking lovers, I guess.
Websters 1828: Situated in the East
ARTFL/Webster 1913: Of or pertaining to the east (especially in use regarding eastern christians of the greek rite and asiatic peoples)
WordNet 1.6: Southern Asia and the Malay Archipelago as far as the Philippines and Borneo and Java
Wordsmyth: of or pertaining to the Far East
This word has been around since the 14th century, and has been used to describe Turkey/Byzantia all the way across through China and Japan into the waters of the Pacific. It was later revised to mean those peoples found more easterly than the inhabitants of the Indus River Valley, who had earlier interactions with the peoples of the west. Such "Orientals" are characterized by the mongoloid features (named after meeting Mr Mongol himself, the Khan), and a tendency to value education over getting wasted on cheap italian wine and spinning off into a Dark Age. In other words, annoyingly civilized people. *grin*
It is only recently that it has been taken as insult, but that's not surprising in this age of hypersensivity. I don't like being called a geek, because it was used hurtfully in my past. Others strive for that term. I don't like being called "four-eyes" (I can't wear contacts easily, when at all) because that term was used hurtfully. I've not met anyone striving to be called by that term, oddly enough, so I have to assume that there are good ways to use geek, but no good ways to use "four-eyes." I'm sure the Asian response to "Oriental" is much the same, based on their personal experiences.
I'm careful to use the term Asian when referring to the peoples (which includes Slavic, Arabic, and Indian peoples, by the way) because it is a sensitive issue. But, I do not avoid the term because it is wrong. It is, in fact, MORE ACCURATE than "Asian".
Time for this four-eyed geek to sign off and let Elfgirl have her computer back.
4:25 PM - <da Link>
Elfgirl and I had discussed the move by Al Gore to add Sen. Lieberman to the national ticket, and her comments were interesting. She said that with the strong presence in the black community of the Nation of Islam, and other Muslim groups, the inclusion of a person of jewish faith would split the black vote and destroy the position of the Democrats in key areas. I thought this was interesting, but I hadn't seen any political fallout. Yet.
Dallas NAACP Head Resigns over suspension by the national NAACP over anti-semitic comments. Well, it was only a matter of time. Will some of the fundamentalist churches in the black community follow, and find a new candidate? And will it be Harry Browne, or the Green Candidate, or will they actually consider W.?
2:27 PM - <da Link>
Can Girls Sing? This is a rather significant question among the choirsters of England. Read about the cathedral choirs' battle of the sexes.
12:31 PM - <da Link>
How about something less boring than scathing political commentary?
Well, you're gonna get it anyway, so stop complaining.
I am getting ready to get back into college in ernest. I have taken my first class in a few years, and gotten my A (posted today!), so I think I'm getting back in the swing of things. I really get worried about how much time I can dedicate to CS coursework, or to extensive mathematics homework, but I understand the problems of being a father, and provider, and at the same time a student, so as long as I keep my focus I should be fine.
The worst consideration is that I will have to begin the process for seminary after my degree is conferred, and with the latest round of stupidity happening in the Episcopal Church (U.S.) I wonder if my parish will still be affiliated when that point is reached. It worries me, because I recognize the strengths of the rural conservatives, even if the urban liberals don't, and I know the unity so desired among brother christians is about to be threatened with schism yet again, but nobody seems willing to do anything about it because their precious cause is more important than doing the will of God.
Not that I'm bitter.
So few people open their minds and hearts at the same time, and it shows. I look forward to being an Orthodox Quaker Priest of an Episcopal Parish in some small place where I can keep sheep on the farm between sermons, writing them while walking with the dog up the hills to run the flock to the next field.
But I fully expect to be the chief caretaker and priest to the data center in some cathedral. I even have dreams about being sequestered with the machines because I can make them work, rather than being ith the people who need pastoral care. There is just something impersonal about an email to someone in the hospital, when a visit, communion, and unction is much nicer.
Digital Dave. Blah. Father Dave? Dunno. Brother Dave. Nicer, but I'm not a monk. Father Fir? Hm. Not horrible, but weird. I'll keep thinking on these things, and hoping for miracles and thuribles.
11:21 AM - <da Link>
Cure for Cancer? Not yet, but it's not far away now. U.S. Scientists Unveil Cancer-Stopping Clue
10:27 AM - <da Link>
Friends, Russians, Countrymen, lend me your ears, and you'll never cross passport control....
10:18 AM - <da Link>
Sorry, Tennessee.
Undoubtably, if you've been around a while, you've heard those commercials. Or, at least, some like them, touting financial savings over state income taxes, except in Tennessee. Well, what they didn't explain was the reason they couldn't save you on your state income tax in Tennessee is there is no such beast. Nope. No income tax at all there.
The Tennessee legislature tried to change that recently. They decided to hold private meetings to pass new laws to tax the 'evil rich' and get more money. The local talk radio stations got wind of things, publicized it, and in moments the whole idea had to be scrapped. Newspapers (independents, not the big guys who were too scared to take a stand) filed a lawsuit to gain access to the records of the meetings, as the state of Tennessee has an Open Meetings Act in force. The response from the legislature? "We can decided if the law applies to us or not. Go away."
The judge didn't agree: No secret legislating. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. Keep that in mind, people, and pay attention to what is happening around you in those small meeting places. Don't expect the media to keep you informed; the big newspapers didn't want to be involved in this one, and only the libertarian minded talk radio and small news outlets cared about the people, and they'll be squashed for their efforts (an attempt has already been made to tax talk radio in Tennessee in retaliation).
YOU need to get out there and listen, and read, and give your local, regional, and national governments your full attention. That'll scare the hell out of them.
9:08 AM - <da Link>
Lieberman is being touted as a centrist, or moderate democrat. Interesting. The Americans for Democratic Action, a liberal group, rated him a 95 (a moderate would be about a 50) in 1999, says a report from the Media Research Center. The same group gives him a lifetime liberalness rating of 77 percent. Not very moderate at all. He's rated as one of the eight most liberal senators in washington. This makes him moderate? Check out the report: Inclusiveness?
I think my major problem with this whole thing is the "Look! We like a Jew! Aren't we nice now?" attitude. This use of a jewish person to make things better for the democrats is akin to using jewish people to build public buildings and machinery, but with the twist that this time it would be done with their acceptance, rather than by forcing them into camps first. I would be much happier if Gore would have downplayed the religion angle, and in fact pushed to keep it out of the spotlight, saying "I don't care a man's religion, but only what he can do and has done in service to his country." Now it looks like political pandering, which really annoys me.
8:19 AM - <da Link>
Scientists have found the smart gene. Fortunately they all had it, or they might still be looking. Now, how soon after this story breaks do you think that colleges and universities will begin requiring genetic sampling before admission? "Sorry, we can't admit you, because you'll just get frustrated, as you aren't a genius.". Or, will it help in screening out the athletes that spend too much time on their studies? *grin*
7:46 AM - <da Link>
Well, I found the guy who can drink that much: Hague: I drank 14 pints of beer a day. Yes, it was at a summer job, and yes, this is William Hague, Tory Party Leader, but damn, man! That's 5110 pints a year! Glad it was only a summer job, aren't you! You'd be out of money trying to pay for that kind of imbibing.
7:39 AM - <da Link>
Who drinks 264 pints of beer a year? I'd be lucky to hit 100 this year, even with the parties and the Guinness in the fridge. But, some people get all the luck when they retire. A Thirst-Quenching Pension Package
7:31 AM - <da Link>
I hadn't read this -- VP hopeful Lieberman co-sponsored the V-Chip bill, wanting to censor broadcast television and give government greater control. I wonder how this fits in with other agendas he has. Check out the story at the NY Daily News: TV's Other Big Brother
7:24 AM - <da Link>
And now cavemen are making star maps. At least this is reported in the BBC News, instead of some hack rag, but still, it is an odd story. I guess our ice-age brothers would have wanted to know times and seasons, and the stars tell you that information quite handily, but I'd never have thought that we would find a record of such an early use of astronomical data. Here's the link: Ice Age star map discovered. Does it change your opinions of the age of science and discovery?
7:10 AM - <da Link>
Interesting. News Reporters are faking test results to get ratings. What a surprise! But, the reporter probably won't be fired? Are ratings more important than integrity in news these days? Wait, don't answer that. I think I already know the answer. But, at least ABC will Apologize for "20/20" Report, even if they won't do the right thing otherwise.
6:48 AM - <da Link>
Watch for reports: Mexico Rocked by Quake Measuring 7.1 just off the coast in the middle of Michoacan State. This hit Mexico City somewhat (power outages) but no word on how the shantytowns fared. This was a pretty strong tremblor.
6:40 AM - <da Link>
Only one odd search, and I know why:google:dyke stabler
This is a magician I found while doing a search on my name. I thought his name was quite unfortunate, but that's because of the nature of the word dyke in american culture. I hope he wasn't offended.
6:20 AM - <da Link>-=-=-=-=-
Gooooooooood Morning!
It's Trash Day! Woo! That means we can finally get rid of all the little boxes, ties, papers, and packing material from all the presents for the FirFey this past weekend. It was nice to see them all hit the trash, save the ones that came in last night (Elfgirl wants the packing material for shipping stuff she's selling on Ebay. Wanna buy some clothes for kids? Check out her stuff, listed under the id of 'denwen').
Now I just have to mow the lawn, and my chores for the day will be complete. I hope. Don't give Elfgirl any ideas, either! The last time that happened I ended up in the basement running new cable lines.
Tuesday, August 08, 2000
2:18 PM - <da Link>
*duh*
This is where I put in some inane comments about wanting to eat something, and then link to a graphic of the powerbloggers list, except that I'm not that high on it right now. I'm not being particularly prolific, nor am I correcting tons of spelling errors (I noticed recently that every edit ticks once up, as well, so I have seen myself reported with 25 updates on days I had 10 things to say). So, I'm not on top of the list. However, I can show you who is....just check The Top and see for yourself.
Thanks to dan.el.ope for noticing how silly self-journaling can be. Even when we write the occasional political analysis. *grin*
1:23 PM - <da Link>
Yes, I have met this system. And, it is why I work with a shell and a dialup connect. UF: Registration is Futile.
12:07 PM - <da Link>
Someone finally noticed that CDs cost a lot more to buy than they do to produce, including distribution channels. Is it any wonder that the Attorneys General of several states are Suing Music Labels for Price Fixing? Why should it cost more to buy a CD than an audio tape, when it clearly costs more to produce the tape? Because people will pay it, that's why. I have no problem with that -- you charge what you can, so you can make money. It's the arrogance of the states that bothers me. Why are they getting in the middle of the deal? They don't get after luxury car manufacturers, nor hotel operators, nor many other businesses that charge what they can to make money.
Now, if there is collusion, maybe it's time to throw RICO at them. Let's find out, shall we?
10:44 AM - <da Link>
I have never tried this, but apparently there are those that put pepper on the strangest things: Roasted Strawberries with Black Pepper. Maybe I'll try it soon, and let you know. Sounds weird, but possibly good. Of course, that would involve me cooking, something I am not generally allowed to do as a result of the great broiling-pan fiasco, but I'm getting past that now.
10:06 AM - <da Link>
You are NOT gonna believe this. After 900 years of preaching that witchcraft is bad, and that magic (outside that of the consecratorial rites) is something you should never dabble with, it would appear that the Gloucester Cathedral is singing a new tune as it signs up for use in the Harry Potter Film as, GET THIS, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
What are they going to teach? Proper burning procedure? At least they'll have a really cool backdrop, and I'm sure the cathedral can use the money, but.... Oh, my. What some places will do for cash these days.
9:09 AM - <da Link>
Are the Democrats disintegrating? A Democratic Congressman from Ohio brands Reno a traitor. Are we going to see more of this kind of distancing as the elections roll around?
8:56 AM - <da Link>
More commentary on Sen. Joseph Lieberman by Paul Sperry at WorldNetDaily (which is an interesting e-rag to read. I haven't decided if they're just jaded or really conservative. I'm leaning towards jaded so far). Al hires a conscience, or so it would seem. I have to agree that there are some interesting inconsistencies in his voting, but that's more and more normal these days.
8:52 AM - <da Link>
Proof that Al's choice for second-in-command wont' fit into the Hillary mold of the perfect Democrat:"I would say that our current medical malpractice system is a stealth contributor to the high cost of health care. ... There is a well regarded consulting firm called Lewin-VHI. They have stated that hospital charges for defensive medicine were as high as $25 billion in 1991. That is an enormous figure. Basically what they are saying is that as much as $25 billion of the costs -- this is not paid by strangers out there, this is paid by each of us in our health insurance premiums -- is the result not of medical necessity but because of defensive practice occasioned by the existing medical malpractice legal system." (Lieberman floor statement, April 27, 1995, reprinted by Health Care Liability Alliance).
Maybe it would be interesting to see Lieberman and H.Clinton in a debate about health care. Such a debate would kill her New York bid, but is that such a bad thing?
stolen unabashedly from overlawyered.com
8:35 AM - <da Link>
Perhaps I'm a bit callous, but why would anyone name their pet pig Bacon? And, this story is just bubbling with possible puns about bacon and fire, but I'll leave it alone for now.
8:31 AM - <da Link>
In order to make a statement, a Haddonfield teen makes a year-long silent bet. Yup. To prove a point about committment and as an act of self-expression, this kid is taking a vow of silence. I'm not too sure how this will help, but it is a good act of discipline, so we'll see where it takes him. I like the break-dancing picture, though.
8:23 AM - <da Link>
Well, let's see where this leads. Chile's Top Court Strips Pinochet's Immunity, making it possible to start the cases about the alleged human rights abuses. it's only going to get messy from here. I wonder if the uncertainty will affect the export of Chilean products, like their massive fruit trade to the states.
8:08 AM - <da Link>
Such a rush was made to put new Democrats on the voting lists that shortcuts were made in the immigration process. And, can you guess who might have been pushing for these new, mismanaged votes? InsightMag.com quotes a Justice Department report showing that Al Gore's "reinvention" of government was directly responsible for as many as six thousand convicts to be added in time for the 1996 elections.
Way to go, Mr. Vice President. Now we know what the "vice" stands for.
7:45 AM - <da Link>
Deep holes in a field can cause a cow or sheep to wrench its leg enough to require destruction of the animal. So I understand the need to kill off the offending rodents that dig the holes. However, making a 'fishing-tournament' event out of it was a surprise to me. The Second Annual Woodchuck Dispatch went off without the protests of the last year, but with the stuffed gopher that sing's Kenny Loggins music. Oh boy!
7:22 AM - <da Link>
Rather than get the priests to stop molesting children, the San Francisco Archdiocese just banned any teenagers from working in any church rectory. This was a dumb move, as they quickly learned. Now the S.F. Archdiocese Rescinds Ban on Jobs for Teenagers. So, what have we learned? It's cheaper to pay the lawsuit than to offend the parents of teenagers in California. I think.
7:05 AM - <da Link>
Will someone at the Lancome counter please sign for this vial of tuberculosis? I can see it now. "You're more a winter, so you'll like this color eyeshadow, and this massive cough that could kill you."
7:00 AM - <da Link>
More on the beheading below: It would seem that the guy doing the chopping expected to "ressurect his uncle's spirit by consuming his brain." You know, there are eccentrics in the world, and there are those that have watched too many old zombie movies. Anyway, here's the followup story. I hope you find it interesting. Ohio man beheads uncle's corpse.
6:48 AM - <da Link>
Todays weird searches:altavista: buy epi pen
So, I guess Elfgirl needs to be an anime star, now. We'll have to visit Apollo Smile and see what we can do to get her an outfit and cute hair.
google: anime gypsies
google: starsky and hutch quotes
altavista: anime elfgirls
6:18 AM - <da Link>-=-=-=-=-
Gooooooood Morning!
Well, we didn't get much sleep last night. I think the baby was restless, as Elfgirl seems to be a bit tired, and complained of having to get up a lot. I sleep heavily, so I didn't wake up completely each time but I didn't get the right sleep, either. In fact, I got weird sleep, which usually means weird dreams.
Like Elfgirl getting upset that a babysitter had taken the FirFey to a no-kill adoption agency (like there are adoption agencies that, after a baby just won't get adopted for a week, euthanizes them, I guess). We went to get her back, but they made us run through an obstacle cours to get to the re-adoption building, to prove that we loved her and could climb walls. When we got there, she was pulling the feathers out of a chicken and gluing them to some kind of macrame thing (maybe a plant hanger, I don't know). She was happy to see us, but had feathers and glue on her arms, so she thought she was able to fly and waved her arms the entire time running to see us. Didn't fly, though. Maybe there is some sanity left in my dream world afterall.
My darling mother sent me this link, in a rather round-about way, this morning. Apparently someone is putting rats in the microwave to see what happens to people on cellphones. Using a Cell Phone May Cause Memory Loss. Her comment: At least the microwaved rats tried to get out of the tank.
Monday, August 07, 2000
2:31 PM - <da Link>
accidental, honey, we don't have that problem either. The problem I had was that I didn't have a valid e-mail address entered into the system in time to get my notification electronically, and they didn't mail me a notification because when they checked later I had updated my records with my eddress. So, I got skipped on the notices, which meant I had to ask someone, only to find out that I had missed both dates. From here on out, though, I should be fine. And, I'm only taking one or two classes a semester, so I'm not going to get too lost if I have to skip once.
2:16 PM - <da Link>
Oog. Forgot to eat, so am going to get Chick-fil-A on the way home. Baby meal, though, so I don't spoil dinner.
1:50 PM - <da Link>
Um. Yeah. Barnyard Shenanigans!: DC I really can't describe this enough to warn you away from it. So. Here it is. Don't look.
1:05 PM - <da Link>
Phooey on you, accidental. I missed Phase I and Phase II, so I have no idea what my fall semester will be like until the 16th of August. First day of class. Ugh. At least I will have a short list to pick through, since fall is the most heavily booked time on campus. Oh, joy. I may be taking discrete mathematics. My sister, when I told her this, leaned over to me and whispered "two plus two is four." I don't think that's what they mean.
12:49 PM - <da Link>
I'm so looking forward to mowing the lawn tonight. In drought times you only have to do it every other week or less, but I'm still not terribly enamoured of getting the fool mower out, setting up the extension cords, and trundling back and forth across mostly dead grass in order to keep the living grass from going to seed all over the yard, though I'm sure it would make the yard better, not worse. And, I have to go shopping on the way home because FirFey Annwynn decided to go to sleep while mommy Elfgirl was out, making it hard to continue her errands on the day.
It's gonna be a long day. First Barbarella, now manual labor. Does the horror never end?
11:39 AM - <da Link>
Speaking of Jihad -- look for an interesting holy war to start as there are discussions to build a new synagogue at the Temple Mount. Current News: Israeli Rabbis Sidestep Temple Mount Issue, but don't expect this to get much further without some kind of major blowup. Or several. Hell, there is enough explosive in that area of the world to reduce the holy city to sand.
11:00 AM - <da Link>
Dearie, it's that Quote of the Week section. There you are, using Allah's name in vain, without any regard to the jeans angle of the story. I'm gonna have to call a jihad on your head, girlie, for such atrocities! Probably won't work, since I'm Episcopalian (with a tendency to be an Orthodox Quaker, as you may recall), but you'd better be watching out for us now! If I was Amish, I'd give you a drive-by shunning! So there!
10:56 AM - <da Link>
If you are tired of being a monkey, try being a real person! Computer-Generated Sketches It's got an annoying exit, but that's pretty normal these days.
10:38 AM - <da Link>
Wanna be a monkey? Check out DVD.COM and the Ape-licator. Uh, yeah. I'm cute. Uh huh.
10:25 AM - <da Link>
Today's strange web searches:google: princess mononoke sheet music
Well, not as cute as the Nude William Shatner one, but we can't always have interesting days.
pyra: hong kong
google: coca-cola outdoor carpet
pyra: Republicrat
9:00 AM - <da Link>
If you work for the Feds, you shouldn't be listening to MP3s at work, so says an article in the Washington Post. Kinda makes sense, but what about MP3s you bring in yourself? Or can you bring them in? I've worked with companies that disabled CD-Rom drives to prevent unauthorized software, like games and virii, from entering their network. Maybe Email and websites are the only ways to get to your legitimate music? Or, should we all go back to walkmen at our desks? I don't know, but it is an interesting story.
8:46 AM - <da Link>
Fish fell from the sky in the UK. I wonder when the Thames will run with blood, or when the locusts will decend upon Birmingham. There's Something Fishy About the Weather. Good thing Moses is still on holiday.
8:10 AM - <da Link>
Stupid kid. Won't talk to police after being caught, dripping blood, with the stolen goods, but when his girlfriend confronts him after she finds him in handcuffs in her kitchen, he spills the story RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE COPS. Not a particularly smart criminal, no.
7:55 AM - <da Link>
I'm not a republican sympathizer, but I can sound like one in the face of liberal media, friend. As you note, we have the Demopublicans and the Republicrats, both of whom want big government while protecting the people that elected them (either liberal entertainers or conservative business leaders). Neither one represents the working people of this country, which is no surprise.
The Democrats, however, are not more openminded than the Republicans; they just have their openness in different areas, and their closedmindedness in still others. Imagine, if you will, a picket line of Democrats demanding diversity and acceptance of everyone no matter what their personal creed or viewpoint. Sounds all smarmy and good, until you realize that they are intollerant of the creed that diversity is wrong. So, they're just as intolerant, in a different way. Yeah, it takes some looking to see it, but when you are on the wrong side of the "correct" picture you can't miss their attacks.
As an example -- a family that has a combined income of $80,000 is categorized by the Democrats as "the rich", distinguished from "the working people." So, anyone that makes a decent income is no longer working, but somehow is rich. How nice. They also decided that an expanded lower-tax bracket and the evening of the deduction for people regardless of marital status (being married costs in the US for a two income household, which is the WORKING people in my book) was a tax break for the rich. And, the liberal media reported it, as Elfgirl noted, not as a benefit to the people but a reduction in federal revenue, as if the government was entitled to tax money, instead of having to justify the demand for it. Phhht.
As to Clinton lying under oath: if he didn't want to answer the questions, he could have declined to do so. This isn't kosher with a grand jury, either, but it raises different issues. Lying, however, is never right, and has cost him his legacy. Not a surprise. And, before you decide that the republicans are the ones who dig up the dirt on their enemies, remember that somehow several hundred (thousand?) FBI files on political enemies just showed up at the White House under Clinton's reign. Nobody can figure out how that happened (but I bet they've figured out how to keep anyone from finding OUT that it happens now).
But, that's not to say the Republicans are without blame -- it is just that both sides are playing politics, which is what they do. Maybe it is time to toss anyone with a law degree out of Washington DC and see if we can make the country work with common language, again.
Not a chance.
7:38 AM - <da Link>
After having just read a few blogs about weird stuff about bear gall bladders, and now the spate of nature shows about the issue, it is interesting to see some action taken, even if in the Granola state. Store Owner Fined $2,800 for Trying to Sell Bear Part
7:24 AM - <da Link>
There is no way we here in Georgia could just ignore, as eccentric, someone who chopped the head off a dead relative before the funeral, but brought it back at the last minute so the service could go as planned. Why is it, in Toledo, that a corpse beheading is not a shock to all?
7:11 AM - <da Link>
An interesting side effect of Cable Access, when an intern runs the tape for 26 minutes instead of 23. Accidentally aired video alarms Cape cat lovers. Now we know why the tapes are usually overdubbed with music....
6:50 AM - <da Link>
Oops. Someone forgot to tighten that extra quarter-turn, it would seem. Australian Defense Probes Dummy Missile Drop on Car. Can you imagine coming out and seeing a missile sticking out of what is left of your car? And, not knowing if it were a dummy or live by looking at it? I can, but I also am seeing things as my brain slowly wakes up.
6:37 AM - <da Link>-=-=-=-=-
Gooooooood Morning!
I'm not awake yet, but that is pretty normal. Elfgirl and I were up late last night because she (YES! IT WAS HER IDEA!) bought Barbarella on DVD for us to watch. I liken it to taking out your brain and beating it against a black-light poster for about an hour and a half, then leaving it on the counter to dry slightly before morning, when you can only get it back in with a shoe horn and a pot of coffee. Anyway, afterwards we started talking about other things in our life. Maybe to prove that we HAD a a life after watching that silly flick, but I don't know for sure. We were up until after 1am, and for us, doing that for several days straight, getting me out in time for work was a bit of a pain.
But, at work I discovered that IBM Developed a Prototype of a Wrist Watch Running Linux, so maybe there is some hope for my day afterall. *stretch*
Sunday, August 06, 2000
12:28 PM - <da Link>-=-=-=-=-
Goooood Aftermass!
Well, you *DID* go to church today, didn't you? I did, and almost fell asleep. And, that would have been bad, since I was holding a torch at the time, and could have set fire to the kneelers. Of course, those kneelers could use a good burning, but don't tell anyone I said that.
The FirFey had a good party yesterday. I'm sure pics will be up shortly. In fact, here's a sampling (yeah, I know I'm forcing you to download them, but they're cute and you needed to see them anyway. Besides, they're small.)
The big cake
CONQUEST! I DESTROYED IT!
Neat stuff, in the bottom of the bag
Watching a video we got as a present
The most strenuous part was not the cleaning ahead of time, nor the reorganization of the living room, nor the construction to fix a section of panelling. No, the hardest part was signing the firfey's birthday card. It was the first time I had ever written "Daddy" and meant me. I'm still messed up a bit over it, since it is a word that means lots of responsibility I still wonder if I have. I know I'm supposed to do the best for her, but every time she runs up and wraps her arms around me, I just want to give her the whole world.....
so, I'm recruiting an army. I think we'll start by marching on Atlanta. Hey, if a yankee could do it, I am sure I'll be able to take it without too much trouble. From there we'll have an international airport to stage our assault on the rest of the planet. I just want to have this done by her 16th birthday, as I think world conquest makes for a great sweet-sixteen gift. Problem is, she'll probably just want a car.