We're all Ziggy

Unhip yet unbowed, Ziggy turns 35

Ziggy is sort of amusing, I found it sad however that the ziggy creator is in a nursing home. Its too bad the Ziggy royalties can't pay for some hospice nurses and allow the guy to reside in a home. Hopefully its a nice nursing home, more like assisted living apartments.

http://www.milaadesign.com/wizardy.html

You've got to check out this site (above)... I think some spirits read your mind or something ;D It is really weird. The only way I "messed the site" up is if I didn't follow directions, or if I did my math wrong.

If you crack this code... I've love to hear how it works.

Happy Fourth everyone!

To celebrate U.S. Independence Day I thought I'd post this article about how we snub the rest of the world in terms of Sports Entertainment.

World Cup a big yawn in soccer-hating US

"If America hadn't been founded by the pilgrims leaving ... to seek freedom of religion, a few hundred years later America would have been founded by the pilgrims seeking freedom from soccer," wrote Rollie Robinson of Portland, Oregon.

Actually the Cup is garnering a lot of attention here in Boston, although I'm willing to bet its just being in the proximity of the city, immigrants, and the schools and colleges. Tonight I noticed couple of stores in the mall had "Brazil" themed window displays and one wasn't even a "sporting goods" store.

Hey Jens? Did you get to any games?

Anyhow... as Bushie likes to say...

May God Bless You, and may God Bless the United States of America!
(Isn't that technically taking the lord's name in vain by definition?)

I saw some great graffiti in Cambridge today that simply said "Bombing for peace". I was wondering how many people (likely tourists from RED states for the most part....) miss the sarcasm of the message. The "o"s appear as peace signs to drive it home.

Pub Crawl...In the lab, well sort of.

At work today with in our "larger" department, every group visited each other's floor or area for a tour and vittles. It ate up pretty much the entire latter half of the day.

Our floor did a fourth of July theme which went over well. I think for the most part we had the best food of anyone. Christine rented a hot dog cooker which spun each hotdog individually and had a spot for steamed rolls. We had the option of beef, chicken and turkey dogs... (we couldn't find tofu on short notice). Additionally we had Sheldon's buffalo wings Mike's guacamole, blueberry & apple pie, cupcakes, potato salad, celery sticks, Sam's Summer ale with Lemon, regular Sam Adams, Blue Power aid, Red punch, and sprite (A red white and blue drink mix) Chris and Sheldon projected a fireworks MPEG onto the wall using the meeting projector and Sheldon's laptop. Oh... chocolate chip cookies, I'm sure I'm forgetting some other food... peanuts! There was still more. On top of eating & drinking at several other Pharm/Sci department lounges it was a fulfilling day.

The tours of the labs of other departments were nice. I'm always complaining that I feel we don't know what's going on in the rest of the company. I held off of going for a nuclear magnetic resonance demonstration because I was told it would demagnitize the credit card strips in my wallet. I'm not sure everyone was told this, we'll see if any problems develop. I'm a little bummed I missed it, everyone was ooohing and aaahhing.

ENTERTAINMENT
I couldn't sleep last night and I ended up watching this ridiculous comedy show called "Strangers with Candy". It was hilarious. It had Stephen Colbert in it, and the star was a woman named Amy Sedaris. I googled her and found this neat fan site. The following link is an assortment of weird "facts" about her and it had me laughing out loud.

About Amy

So the TV show, I find out is now being made into a movie. Here's Amy on Letterman being quirky and weird promoting the film. I though she had to be an unfortunate looking woman after seeing the show, but she has a total rubber face much like Jim Carey as is evident in the letterman clip below. Actually she's quite fetching. An amusing related sampling from the about Amy website above:

"When Paper magazine named her one of New York's most beautiful women, she showed up to the photo show looking unkempt, with unwashed hair, and had a make-up artist make her look battered and beaten."

Be warned, its long, it is for the bored and curious with time on their hands.



I think I'll have to check out the movie, I'm a stickler for weird comedy. It definitely has a very Indie sort of vibe.

Wednesday on the town... And Political stuff

Wednesday Night: Had a great night out with Kate. We ate at Mike's in Davis square. For those who don't know, it is a Davis Square landmark (In Somerville, a suburb of Boston & Cambridge) that serves a multitude of Italian dishes and sandwiches at low prices while also boasting a significant wine & beer selection, despite a very low key cafeteria style (Formica) decor. The place was really hopping! They've done a little renovation, which unfortunately, I feel removed some of the restaurant's retro charm. We walked to Harvard square after eating where we caught the T and headed back to our respective homes. The weather was quite nice, and although it appeared like rain was not far away, it held off. The clouds were moving rapidly and an odd layering effect caused the sky to look really interesting at times.

At Mike's the Sox game was on, seems that knowledge of Pedro's tricks still permeates the league. Ahhh poor Pedro.

Politics: In continuation of my "It's not rocket science" theme on Politics, here's an article on recent statements made by the highly regarded Illinois Senator, Barack Obama.

Obama to Democrats: Woo evangelicals

Stephen Colbert vs. Congressman Lynn Westmoreland: The 10 Commandments

Dems actually do something... For a change

Yeeah democrats... Your first decent move in an election year! It's about time. As I've said time and time again... it isn't rocket science. With the havoc out there, politics will succeed if they are simpler rather than overly complicated.

Democrats vow to block pay raises until minimum wage increased

This is quality politics. A minimum wage increase is overdue, and what better way to handle it than blackmailing the congress with their own pay raise.

The most recent time minimum wages were hiked, I was on the side of the naysayers, I believed it would hurt small businesses and the economy. If anything, the reality of the situation painted a different picture. After the wage hike, the economy exploded, and small business expanded under Clinton's policies coupled with a responsible Congress that promoted the Contract with America. Arguable the most effective legislative agenda in my lifetime.

The fact of the matter is, with inflation, the minimum wage is at its lowest level since 1955 based on the cost of living etc.

Give more money to people who'll spend it. This will help the economy not hurt it. Walmart and McDonald's won't even break a sweat.

Details of the Mountains

So my sleep deprivation continues, and tonight I must put a stop to it. As is, I am not helping by writing when I should be sleeping. I think I had too much caffeine Sunday night, if only I wasn't a coke fiend.


Going into a bit more detail on the NH trip.
Kate & I headed up Last Friday evening. We first checked into the "Econo Lodge" (ooooh classy!) which was clean and comfortable. Room decor was a bit outdated & the furniture arrangement was questionable, but otherwise it was fine. They had a pool and jacuzzi which we partook of on Saturday night after our hikes. Additionally there was a sauna and an outdoor pool. Neither of us were interested in the Sauna and the outdoor pool was closed for maintenance.

After checking in we headed down the Kankamangus Highway which was beautiful in the late evening. Having been there before, the extreme contrast of the mountains to landscapes I'm used to was still very impressive. Due to our relatively short time there we prioritized our "scenic stops" to just a couple rather than the couple dozen along the route.

Our objective was to spend some time in North Conway, as we felt it could be appreciated even under the impending darkness. Upon arriving a lot of the businesses had closed, but we still walked around the main strip, and wandered into the few gift shops that were open. Of course, we closed our evening with Ice Cream at a cute parlor named "Lickety Splitz".

The ride home was a little bit of a challenge as the Kankamangus Highway is pitch black and there are numerous sharp & hairpin curves. Not too mention sudden steep grades and wildlife (tidbit: the highway climbs to over 2800 ft, not bad for the East coast!).

People navigating the road at night tend to try and stay together. Unfortunately for me, I don't know if it was because I used my fog lights (perhaps this was annoying to other driver's- it is completely legal, and is not intensely bright like high beams) but the car in front of me made a point to pull over and let me lead. As a result I had some close encounters, but luckily vigilance kept me safe. First a Full sized Cow moose walked out in front of the car and I slammed the brakes leaving about a car length between us. The moose, totally naive to my existence, or just completely careless, absorbed more with the tasty leaves it was seeking out did not acknowledge us. Then about 15 minutes later an even more impressive "Bull Moose" did the same thing. This encounter probably wasn't quite as close of a call, but the enormity of the bull moose with his rack & all, left me a little shaky, although I was totally psyched to have had this experience.

We made it back to Lincoln and retired to our hotel.

The next day was initiated by heading up through Franconia Notch. We ate lunch at Fabyan's Station Restaurant & Lounge on route 302. It provided tasty vittles with memorable ambiance in an old restored train station. A lot of the decor and building appeared original. A model train ran through the various rooms along the ceiling through tunnels in the walls. It had a pub type sophistication for adults, but charm that would definitely keep kids excited.

Next we visited Bretton Woods, the Famous Mt. Washington Hotel and resort. When I had visited previously it was closed, and the public was not allowed close up on the grounds. Now that the hotel has been fully restored and is once again functional, the new owners invite the public to walk around the beautifully manicured grounds and browse the interior lobbies and ballrooms of the elaborate and historic structure.

While it was pretty nice out, unfortunately the top of Mt. Washington was up in the clouds. This, however, was not without its own special beauty.

Next with some difficulties (Guides & Park signs aren't particurally detailed or informative, unlike National Parks, National forests appear to require a bit more effort on the part of the visitor.) we found "Mt. Willard" which was listed by the travel guide as an easy to moderate hike. It was an hour up and an hour down. It brought us to a summit that was a ledge overlooking the expanses of Crawford Notch. The trip brought you gradually through a thick Forrest, and was a little buggy at time. Kate & I really coated ourselves with OFF as well as wore jeans with longer socks. (Setting defense against possible tick/insect encounters). I must say that the OFF worked great as I amazingly don't have one welt despite having to swat multiple insects away.

Next, determined to make the most of our trip we headed on a hike of equal length, 1.4 to the destination and to return. Arethusa Falls was the destination, a 200 ft waterfall set in the middle of the New England wilderness. The beauty of the waterfall was surreal and the cold mist was invigorating. Kate and I sat there on a boulder mesmerized and hypnotized by the extreme geographical feature that brought such serenity to our hearts.

Arethusa Falls

Unfortunately, it was a little cool to brave rolling up my pants and wading in some of Arethusa's pools, or attempting to douse my head in some of the fast moving water, but I was very tempted.

On the way back I managed to fall on my ass in the mud when I misjudged my foot placement. I was unscathed, although a little embarrassed at the mud I got all over myself.

Kate and I took the "Bear Mountain" pass and connected to the Kankamangus Highway to head back to Lincoln. We for the most part managed to successfully avoid back tracking whenever possible.

In Lincoln we picked up some Chinese takeout before heading back to our room and eating like starved pigs.

Sunday was taken in more stride than Saturday. We ate a delicious and decadent breakfast at Flapjack's restaurant in Lincoln NH that morning.

Following this we headed to Pinkham notch for a scenic drive with the hopes of catching the top of Mt. Washington. Unfortunately it was still covered by clouds. We took a gondola/tramway ride to the top of Wildcat Mt., across the notch from Mt. Washington. We were a bit indecisive about whether it would be "worth it" to go, I was admittedly a nay-sayer, but after some feedback from others we decided to give it a try. This was my first gondola ride. I'm generally not someone with a fear of heights or someone who's claustrophobic, so I did fine. The carts made some fun creaking noises on the way up. I'd say for the most part, the ride was more stable then expected, with the carts hardly swaying, even in a slight breeze. The bugs were out on the 4000 ft. Summit, but this aside it was beautiful. Wildcat is right on the Appalachian trail. We used the coin operated scope to check out points on the side of Mount Washington. After walking around a bit, we headed back down the mountain. The ride down seemed quicker than the ride up, and almost if we were covering less distance. I couldn't help but thinking about what would happen to the cart if the cable snapped at various points in the trip. I was sort of having fun imagining the physics of it all.

After driving through Pinkham notch we decided to take the "Scenic" way back to Boston & drove down side roads taking us through small towns of Eaton and Freedom. They were very picturesque and the weather was breathtaking. With the windows down, sunroof open, and the music gently playing we bounded by the country roads consuming as much of it as we could. Eventually our side trip brought us to Manchester where we had supper at Margarita's. It was a delicious meal, I think I'm going to have to visit the location in Waltham soon.

Back to reality: Today at work I just had a departmental conference, so I won't be immersed in my job until tomorrow. It was a good thing I suppose as I had some difficulties sleeping the prior night.

Well... Now I definitely need to head to bed!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Briefly....

Briefly,

First... Apologies for no new material on Friday. I had a busy week last week, compounded by a weekend getaway to the White Mountains which started early on Friday.

Additionally I must apologize profusely to those of you who had to remain behind near the New England coast during this weekend threshold of summer. The suffrage of a continuing deluge will hopefully abate, and be promptly replaced by bright skies and summer breezes.

I was blessed to take in the crisp mountain air under partly cloudy skies. This weekend was one for me to remember, one of those moments which will flash before my eyes when that time comes. It is something I always take with me where ever I am and where ever I go.

We have to all take pause and realize this is what we live for. There are moments that define what is beautiful, what is grand. There are moments that breath the spirit of the earth into our souls. For me, this getaway was a moment such as this.

Tomorrow, I'll take the time to detail some of our journeys and review our minutely significant Appalachian conquests :D.

Most of all I'm so lucky and grateful to have someone like Kate to spend time with and experience moments such as this.

Tonight, I watched Shopgirl. This is the latest "Steve Martin" penned book, turn movie. Don't think the Jerk or the three amigos. This more along the line his works like "L.A. story", "Novocaine", and "Roxanne". The film was initially released to mixed reviews, but for what it is, I found it to be excellent. Separating from some of Martin's other works, this film is more drama/slice of life/romance than dark or witty comedy. Jason Schwartzman adds comic relief as the awkward but sincere scruff who pines for Claire Danes's (the shopgirl) affection. An added bonus is Sun Kil Moon performances, and appearances on the soundtrack. Mark Kozelek is in the movie quite frequently.
Rotten Tomatoes Reviews of Shopgirl

A Kozelek oriented Shopgirl review

I'm a huge Martin fan so my opinion is obviously biased. Roxanne is classic. I will say I caught part of "Cheaper by the Dozen" on TV... and that was AWFUL. But I suppose they weren't catering to people like me when it was made.

Ripping off Scotty's email

Because I'm too tired to write anything:

First upon further research I want to post the official "Fluff" website link, which lists the "Fluff" address as being based out of Lynn. (and it of course does mention this in the article too) Big surprise, a MA senator is striking out at a MA based product. No they didn't choose to strike trans-fat based potato chips, or oreo cookies, rather a sandwich toping which just happens... just happens to be a Massachusetts company. I'm sure there is no other motive than to improve the health of children. I'm sure there is no political motive here.

This is hands down even more ridiculous than the time honored time burners... flag burning and prayer in school. You've got to love it when our public officials earn their keep.

The war on Fluffernutter escalates in Legislature

By LeMont Calloway, Globe Correspondent | June 21, 2006

A Fluffernutter war has begun in the Massachusetts Legislature.

Countering a state senator's attempt to limit servings of Marshmallow Fluff in schools, a state representative said yesterday she would file her own bill to make the Fluffernutter the state's official sandwich. A Fluffernutter is a peanut butter and Fluff sandwich.

State Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein said Senator Jarrett T. Barrios has taken a ridiculous tack by going after the popular gooey snack. Marshmallow Fluff was invented by a Massachusetts man and is still produced in Lynn, part of Reinstein's district.

Barrios, outraged that his son was served a Fluffernutter for lunch at his Cambridge elementary school, proposed an amendment to a junk food bill, calling for limiting the serving of Fluff to once a week in schools statewide.

``I'm protective of Fluff; I grew up on it," said Reinstein, a Democrat. ``But it's insane that we're having this conversation."

Reinstein said she already has drummed up support from 15 lawmakers for her bill and has sent a letter to lawmakers inviting them to sign on, too, to ``preserve the legacy of this local delicacy."

Although she doesn't expect action on the bill, Reinstein said she will file it again in January when it can receive full attention. In her letter, she said that Fluff contains no fat and is only one point in the Weight Watchers diet program.

Barrios, also a Democrat, has been barraged with coverage since he announced his intention to file the bill, pointing out that Fluff is 50 percent sugar. He told the Globe in an earlier interview that he was ``not sure we should be even calling it a food."

Since word of Barrios's war on Fluff spread, the story has been picked up by local and national television and radio programs. Numerous blog postings opposed the senator's proposal, with supporters of Fluff asking if there weren't more important things the lawmaker should focus on.

Barrios was blasted on talk radio Monday, with defenders of Fluffernutters suggesting that the sandwiches are an easy and economical meal that parents can fix and that children will actually eat.

He could not be reached for comment yesterday.

One Globe reader, who opposed the measure against Fluff, responded to a Boston.com survey about the controversy, saying ``Senator: Boston is known for the Red Sox, baked beans, lobsters, and Fluff."

Jonathan Palumbo, spokesman for the Boston public schools, assured parents that neither the snack -- a mix of corn syrup, sugar, dried egg white, and vanilla flavoring -- nor the Fluffernutter appears on school lunch menus.

``We haven't served Fluff for a number of years," Palumbo said.

Barrios is attempting to add the Fluff amendment to a Senate bill that would bar soft drinks, most candy bars, and potato chips from elementary school vending machines.

Boston, as well as many other school systems, already have policies attempting to cut down on junk food and soft drinks in vending machines.

Glenn Koocher, a Barrios campaign contributor who describes himself as a friend of the senator, said he opposes the senator on the matter of Fluff.

``Regulators are trying hard to take the fun out of school," said Koocher, a Cambridge resident and executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. ``If the food police think that the ban is good for society, ban it.

``But kids need to have fun," Koocher said. ``I personally love them. Fluffernutter and crunchy Skippy peanut butter is the finest sandwich option of food."

As posted via email by: Scott E. Wilkinson

Rather, the evil leprechaun, Fizz, and kitty carnage

My Rants for the day

Dan Rather Says: "I leave CBS News with tremendous memories. But I leave now most of all with the desire to once again do regular, meaningful reporting. My departure before the term of my contract represents CBS's final acknowledgement, after a protracted struggle, that they had not lived up to their obligation to allow me to do substantive work there."

Dan give me a freaking break. You are washed up, you are biased, you signed off on a story that was built upon false information, & contributed to the embarrassment of CBS (although in the link below the AP, suddenly is doing an about face and contradicting everything I've heard up until now) And how out of touch are you to think that CBS has an "obligation" to give you work? Last time I checked this was an employment at will country, not France. Just count yourself lucky they didn't fire your ass right off like they should have.

Rather leaving CBS

And CBS... don't think you get away free, you are replacing a piece of crap unprofessional reporter with the Soccer Mom Morning show entertainment? Couric has already in the face of critics saying she'll have to change her style for professional journalism, audaciously said she'll continue to interject her opinion and personality into the way she projects the news. Perhaps she needs to re-read her journalism text books. She'd be better suited to Fox News next to Geraldo or Entertainment tonight. (Please note: the above rant is in no shape or form intended to be a critique of Soccer Moms, rather just a critique of a particular type of entertainment that many of them may trend towards watching. Soccer Moms have more patience and multi-tasking ability in their left pinky fingers than I have in my entire being. Although in fairness, many of them really do scare the piss out of me when I'm driving in traffic next to their large & in charge expressions of middle class america. It can drive an otherwise secular man to prayer.)

Audience doesn't 'want a mechanical Ted Baxter,' she says

Just look at the picture in the article above and tell me with a straight face that she isn't a demented leprechaun! COME ON NOW... Straight face!

IN OTHER NEWS

This is very important information. I think you'll re-evaluate the meaning of everything after hearing about it. And I'm proud to say I dedicated a lot of time towards it while moonlighting on my other job at University of California, Berkeley.

""Then I looked at the data from all four Cluster spacecraft. These anomalies were being observed simultaneously by all the spacecraft. That's when I believed that they were real," said George Parks, University of California, Berkeley.

Earth surrounded by giant fizzy bubbles

"Tiny bubbles (fizzy bubbles)
In the wine (in the wine)
Make me happy (make me happy)
Make me feel fine (make me feel fine)

Tiny bubbles (fizzy bubbles)
Make me warm all over
With a feeling that I'm gonna
Love you till the end of time

So here's to the golden moon
And here's to the silver sea
And mostly here's a toast
To you and me

So here's to the ginger lea
I give to you today
And here's a kiss
That will not fade away
EVERYONE, ALL TOGETHER ONE MORE TIME!!!!

On a more serious note, Cat violence is getting out of hand. Have you, or has someone you've known been a victim of feline violence? Are you tired of tabby owners that just can't control their ferocious beasts? When will the insanity stop.

Terrorizing tomcat ordered under house arrest

Photo in the News: Cat Chases Bear Up Tree

Cute? I think not, fun and games until this orange tabby decides to make you the victim or its wrath of terror. Luckily the bear can climb trees, would you have been as lucky?

Debunking Conspiracy

I've heard the conpiracies about the 911 events not being commercial jet liners, however, these are usually about the twin towers. I find them a bit absurd as the eyewitnesses on the ground, as well as people having phone conversations with passengers are the topic of historical legend, and are numerous. It almost doesn't even hold any weight at all.

Moving along I received the following film on the Pentagon disaster. As I have a family member who witnessed much of that turmoil first hand, I really can't give any credit to this conspiracy theory... other than good show folks.

Additionally, the email describes this as cutting edge "for your eyes only" info, when this theory has done the rounds and permeated the web. I will admit that this is the first I've heard of it.

http://www.pentagonstrike.co.uk/flash.htm#Main

Moving along I wanted to post a couple of additional links.

This one goes over the urban legend in detail and an attempt to debunk (successfully I'd say, but I think those inclined to believe that the government blew up their own headquarters and killed their own employees will likely continue to believe that regardless of evidence shown).

Debunking the flight 77 urban legend

Next, here is a detailed run down of various 911 conspiracy theories including a ton of engineering fact and theory over the possibilities on how the towers collapsed. Basically the take home messages are there are so many people involved in multi tiered investigations regarding 911, it would be difficult to pull off an effective government coverup.

Wikipedia 911 conspiracies outline

Can we really believe that the same country that can't keep a bunch of flushed government supplied Korans, abuse allegations, not to mention intelligence failures, behind closed doors? Can we expect that these people are competent and capable enough of pulling cons of this extent off? They can't buy toilet paper without messing up so I highly doubt this the world's most elaborate mind control stunt ever pulled off... unless discontent with the government and rampart skepticism over their cohesive abilities and competency is what they are shooting for.

SUMMER WEEKEND!!

I had a really nice weekend, and I hope everyone else did.

My poster went over OK at the company meeting Friday. For those of you who don't know, I had to put together a presentation on some of my work. There were 150 or so posters or presenters, and it was held at a function at the copley Marriott. The meeting was encouraging and the food and EtOH enhanced beverages were a welcome dessert for my busy week.

I got home Friday, and passed out. I really needed the rest and so it was nice. I slept until noon or so on Saturday.

Saturday Tim Hayes, and Brandy Rogers, friends of mine from Saint Joseph's College, were in town to see Brandy's friend Jill. We met up, which was very impromptu, for lunch at "Game On" the new bar & grill which is located right inside of Fenway park across the street from the old standard "The Cask and Flagon". The prices were a little on the high end, but the portions matched the amount of dough you shelled out. You could totally go there and share one entree with another person. Brandy got a small "Nachoes" and it was pretty much enough to feed... well four of us at least. Brandy's friend Jill was pleasant. The World Cup was on in lieu of the Sox for a change. Jill's husband is Brazilian, and a huge soccer fan (or football for you purists). She made a lot of comments on the tournament. The U.S. Italy game was on. There were a decent amount of fans following, and a surprising majority were actually U.S. fans. I got to see the amusing first U.S. goal, made accidentally by an Italian, whoops.

After Lunch we walked to Downtown Crossing, and stopped at J.P. Licks enroute. I had Cookie Batter on a sugar cone, it was quite nice. Hayes drank a lot of water and complained about a distended stomach or something along those lines.

I met Kate back at my apartment at 7:00 shortly after parting ways with Jill, Brandy & Tim. After lounging for a little while in the air conditioned shelter of my living room, we decided to go for a walk. Our first stop was for ice cream. Yes I had MORE icecream (tee hee hee). I had a chocolate frappe, Kate had a cone, but I forget the flavor. Kate's ice cream tastes are considerably more diverse than her tastes for sandwiches. Next we trucked through the damp air heavy with impending summer rain, to the Foodmaster in Melrose. The plan was to get a nutritious breakfast, namely M&M cookies. Instead we became giddy with the idea of getting these whoopie pies decorated to look like Cookie Monsters. They had frosting eyes with M&M pupils, and the hair was made with blue sprinkles. The Whoopie pie halves formed the respective jaw or mouth portions. A cookie was appropriately placed in the cream filling between the halves to make it appear that the Cookie Monster was eating it. It was starting to rain when we left, but Kate and I estatically frolicked back to the apartment with our exciting purchase.

Sunday, after of course consuming the Cookie Monster pies, we went to Newburyport and walked around the historic buildings in its town center. It was hot, but beautiful out despite this. I think I got a little hot and tired though, and unfortunately I was kind of a jerk and was fussy and cranky about where we ate lunch. I apologized to Kate later for being a pain. We went to an Italian deli, and I had a small Italian sub with various types of salami (exotic huh? This simpleton could barely handle it) and Kate had a turkey sub. They were nice sandwiches, although being the ass I am, I found things to complain about. I'm such an Idiot! :D

From there we drove to Plum Island, it reminded me a bit of Wells Beach, but the beach was no where near as nice. There was actually a hazard sign behind the breakwater posted by the board of health. It is probably due to all of the effluent from our intense late spring rain. Kate and I walked past the breakwater to the "oceanside" beach. I think swimming was OK here although I only saw a couple of brave souls. There were however many people walking, sunning, having picnics, and fishing. I got my feet wet a few times, and Kate and I spent most of the afternoon lying about the sand.

It was a beautiful day. Thanks Kate! I drove Kate back to her apartment, as we exchanged our goodbyes the one mosquito in all of Brookline bit me (JERK!). Sadly this mosquito is no longer with us. I'm sure I'm probably going to die in a few days of some funky mosquito plague so its been nice knowing everyone. :D

ANYWAY....

I hope everyone has a good Monday!



I don't think this description really describes me but, I've always thought of myself as sort of a Charlie Brown... so its a coincidence.

What Cartoon/Comic Character best describes you? Charlie Brown Life just isn't fair is it? Poor you. Life keeps getting the best of you time and time again. At heart you are as kind and as nice as one could ever ask for in a friend, but you have become somewhat of a doormat. Your friends seem to keep abandoning you (that is, if you even have any left) and no one else seems to be any good. You need to lay down a little more authority and stop letting people walk all over you. And if that fails, at least you have your books.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Tom Cruise Kills Oprah

Need I say more?



Here's an amusing of an Airforce Academy cadet boogying down.



-ENJOY THE WEEKEND

Sheehan Forward

This forward was given to me by my primary source "Brian Glassner", a former coworker at Peoples Genetics/Beckman Coulter. He is quite left leaning and I'm sick of the GOP myself, so the fact that he passed it on, and that I'm forwarding it says something.

I don't vouch for the accuracy of the claims, but they would not surprise me. This woman has taken a good discussion topic and degraded it with her selfishness desire to be in the lime light. She is completely ignorant on the issues, has known to be antisemetic, and she is a public nuisance. Even the democrats, have intelligently distanced themselves from her. Jesse Jackson is a creep, a con artist, and possibly more of a threat to the progress African American than David Duke. He is a wolf in sheep's clothes. He is a selfish creep who embezzles money and also has a few kids that he could give two shits about. So they are quite a pair. Why can't a lunatic like Ann Coulter attack people like this rather than the poor women who lost their husbands on 911? Probably because Jackson & Sheehan both profit off of misery, misfortune and hatred, and Coulter can't help but feel a little warmth in her heart for them despite the opposite ends of the spectrum that they may reside on.

Ever wonder what the expression "stuck on stupid" meant?

Well here is an example:



The grinning idiot clinging to Je$$e Jack$on is Cindy Sheehan... the sob sister
protesting the war at Bush's ranch, who lost her son in the war, the same son
she gave up in her divorce when he was 7 years old.

And by the way if you wonder why she has so much free time ... she is going
through another divorce right now and guess what? She is giving up
custody of another son.

As Forest Gump once wisely proclaimed,
"Stupid is as stupid does"



What Is This Picture?




Obviously, it's a picture in a cemetery. What cemetery and whose
grave?

Sadly, it's the grave of Casey Sheehan. After two years, and a DoD
payment of $250,000 to the Peace Mom, Cindy Sheehan has not
had the time or bothered to have a headstone placed on this young hero's
grave. And, she doesn't even have to pay for one, the DoD will
provide one:

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) furnishes upon request, at
no charge to the applicant, a government headstone or marker for the
grave of any deceased eligible veteran in any cemetery around the world .
For all deaths occurring before September 11, 2001, the VA may provide a
headstone or marker only for graves that are not marked with a private
headstone.

Flat markers in granite, marble, and bronze and upright headstones in
granite and marble are available. The style chosen must be consistent
with existing monuments at the place of burial. Niche markers are also
available to mark columbaria used for internment of cremated
remains.

Apparently she can find time to protest on at least 3 continents, get
arrested various times, go on vacation in Hawaii, have photo ops with the
Marxists in Venezuela, but can't seem to find the time to properly mark her
son's grave.

pass this one along!

The Journey to Westborough (and back)

ENTERTAINMENT:

Jesus Christ Superman, who in the hell do you think you are.....

Or perhaps, "Superman's just all right with me, Superman's just all right with me, Superman's just all right....., oh yeah "

Anyway, I know a lot of people get fascinated about Superman, however I always thought the hero was sort of lame. He has a lame outfit, weird shiny hair, he just doesn't make sense. Superman has a power to do just about anything, yet he still manages to struggle against many of his dim witted villains.

Jerry Seinfeld is one of these people, there is supposed to be a Superman reference in every Seinfeld episode.

My Wednesday:

I'm pretty tired so I'm going to keep this short. I didn't sleep much last night. Got up early to go to Westborough for the course I'm taking through GE Healthcare. What should have taken 50 minutes took 1 hour and 35 minutes. Tomorrow I'll be leaving 2 hours early (joy of joys)

The course was good, although I felt bits of it were a little too rushed. Everyone was trying to cut their day short because of the awful drive.

Most importantly, we had a taco bar for lunch. Soft and hard shells were available with chicken and beef fillings along with all of the fixings. Additionally available were salad, rice, and small bite sized deserts. I can hardly wait for tomorrow's catered meal (be still my beating heart).

It took me over two hours to get home tonight and it was raining fierce. I ultimately got off 95 (The Mass pike wasn't bad except at the toll)a mile or so after I got on. I hooked up with Rt. 16 somewhere around Newton, and followed it to Medford, then made my way to Melrose. Now I'm weary and I think I'm going to bed! Have a nice Thursday all!


Darth Vader vs. The Japanese Police

Mosquitones, S&S, and the trials of a pixelated being

A measurement of your age and/or ear health. (gotta keep that volume down on the mp3 player!)

This is an amusing piece of news:

Teens Turn 'Repeller' into Adult-Proof Ringtone

The ringtone is a noise, originally omitted by a device called "mosquito" which shop keepers would buy to keep away loitering teens. The theory is many people over twenty can't hear it, and almost no one over 30 can. I can still hear it. (Yipee!)

Here's the site, there is a link to download the noise on the npr article above, that one you can actually (or I can hear better) than the actual mosquitone site.

Mosquitone site The first beep you hear isn't actually the noise, so go to the right page and try again all you (fellow) old farts out there.

I have to have the volume turned up pretty high so I suspect younger people hear it more without doing this. It is a high pitched noise, much like a mosquito in your ear. The mosquitone site has several tones of varying intensity. I can hear the first two well, and actually the second one better.

My Personal Tuesday Experience

Kate and I met up on Tuesday night this week instead of our routine Wednesday. I have a class tomorrow in Westborough, MA which would likely make it difficult for our usual rendezvous to occur. We met up on a beautiful night in Central Square Cambridge, and walked over to Inman Square for supper at the S&S Deli. This place was great, much more than a classic Jewish style deli, it had beautiful deserts, an expansive menu, and a very nice atmosphere. It is an old area dinosaur, a Cambridge landmark since 1919, but it has an elegant decor, that is almost "trendy". The prices were really reasonable, and they had a decent beer selection as well (mostly bottled, I had Bass from the tap). After a nice meal we went to Christina's for a fabulous sundae that we split and couldn't finished. I got about 1/8th of it on my shirt (let me take a bow). I would definitely recommend this little find. I think Kate read about it in the Improper Bostonian, and I've been sort of luke warm of going there after a mediocre meal some time ago at Zaftigs Delicatessen in Brookline. That place also gets rave reviews from the critics, but I thought it was over rated and a little pricey for what you got.

For more info on S&S for you locals: S&S Restaurant

My youtube find of the day PACMAN! Pretty amusing

Building a case

My data to back up my "The incumbents will hold their seats" theory. Yes... the winds of change are not upon us. People still hate the Dixie Chicks, and therefore the Republicans will still win the house and possibly the senate.

See this link:

The Winds Of Change: The Cook election preview

This is a nonpartisan group keeping tabs on the 2006 election.

Democrats should win, but they can't because they just have no leadership.

I found a laughable post on a random blog which I read the other day. The post asked, which would be the better candidate for VP (for Hillary), Nancy Pelosi or Barbara Boxer. Well if I have to choose between these slimy chicks, I would say Pelosi, merely because Boxer is a complete idiot. But both of these gals make Hillary Clinton look like Mrs. Personality. Pelosi while quite sharp, is an old fashioned obstructionist & further more has a smile that makes Gary Condit's look pleasant and believable. (See also for comparative smiles: Tom Delay & George Mitchell, two wonderful guys) Boxer doesn't know what she's saying have the time and would just serve as an embarrassment. Christ, why don't they just nominate Cindy Sheehan?!

The democrats are so misguided they can't even do well against a lot that's bigoted, crooked, and completely unapologetic for a series of mishaps.

We need a third party to come in and just conquer the dems, because they are becoming nearly irrelevant. As someone who is sickened by the GOP, (Save the McCains and Spectors....) please, please hear my call. Its a joke in a way, because the Dems are probably just as crooked as the Republicans... I'd really like to vote for them to send the GOP a message, but truthfully who is more dysfunctional? I'm not sure.

Check it out... genuine ghost footage!

Sunday.... Sleeepy Sleeeepy Sunday.

Didn't do much today. Probably should have done a lot more. Wasted time, wasted time... tsk tsk tsk.

Film Review by Mr. Parks
This evening I got around to watching "Crash", and I must say, this film definitely exceeded all of my expectations.

I've read some reviews calling it over rated, and some others saying it was a movie that was not controversial, or covering new ground.

Quite honestly, I don't really believe this movie was supposed to expose the dark prejudiced truths of the average person. I think people who thought that were totally missing the point, and simply, I'm not sure I "get" what they expected out of the film.

This movie looked at people, whose fates were interwoven in current-day Los Angeles. Each person had socially oriented obstacles in life that they struggled to overcome. For some, the circumstances in which they found themselves were more tragic than for others. Each character had options that they mull over. Their decisions were tough, and weren't always black and white choices. This movie described a world that is comprised of shades of gray.

In our lives, whether we are making political decisions, or impatiently waiting in line for coffee, it would pay for us all to understand that things aren't black and white, but are multi-textured, layered shades of gray.

The writer really made sure you connected to all of the characters, even those who at times seemed villainous.

It was a great film, because I believe one of the keys to improving our existence as people is to try to see how the people around us view the world. We have to understand why we all behave in a certain way. People have a tendency to think that everything is centered around themselves. They can't find it in themselves to give others the benefit of the doubt.

There should be more movies made like this. It was excellent, completely worthy of its Oscars.

Prejudices, stereotypes, to me I think they are perceived as two different things. Prejudices usually have more of a negative connotation, where as stereotypes are things like "Its a young black person, therefore they like hip hop".

I often think that people say you shouldn't "stereotype", and that more than ever it is held equally with prejudices. I think this is ignorant, and here's why. Stereotyping is a learned behavior that in many circumstances serves to keep us safe. We would not function properly as human beings if we did not learn by the behaviors of certain types of people. Prejudices, is when you take that stereotype, and rather than being cautious, we deem it as affirmative before giving a person a chance to show us otherwise.

An example of where stereotyping is important:

Young kids are irresponsible.

Now we know that not all young kids are irresponsible, however, you aren't going to give a strange teenager a chance to watch over something important without some supervision.

This page describes stereotyping as according to what is taught in a course

I kind of find it difficult to say that we must not stereotype. To me, its sort of impossible. Does that make us bad people? I don't think so.

I think there is a big leftist movement to eradicate this, but I think this is arrogance on their part. The mere idea that we can see something and completely distance it from what we've experienced or learned indirectly is nothing more than a lie. We are always going to be wary of things we learn by experience, even snooty college professors will be (Oooohhh, look an example of stereotyping :D ). I guarantee a college professor will have pre-determined in his or her head how certain students will act, and perform, and that it will be merely based on their appearance, and further more, that in most cases it will be accurate. They must be strong, not to treat these people differently, but in most cases professors will either call on these people more in class, hoping to embarrass them, or ignore them entirely, assuming that they have nothing to offer. Something really ironic is when one of these professors happens to be teaching about how we should eradicate stereotypes. :D

I think better than "Never judge a book by its cover", would be "Things aren't always as they appear". We need to be wary of what we've learned in life. Just don't assume that everything will be a repetition of past or learned experiences. Additionally, think about why, certain negative experiences happened in the past, and maybe we can prevent them from happening again.

If we could concentrate as people to destroy the instances of behavior that create "negative stereotypes" I believe this would serve more purpose that to pretend that they don't exist in the backs of our mind.

Ryan Phillippe's character in Crash put his stereotype aside momentarily to pick up a hitchhiker (bad mistake). When this hitchhiker, a young black male, began laughing at his music amongst other things, he jumped to conclusions that this passenger was filled with prejudice towards him (So what if he was?). Ultimately Phillippe led himself to be a victim of his own prejudices when he let his ego get in the way. If anything the world has a lot more to fear from big egos than it does from stereotypes. People who feel threatened or insecure tend to be dangerous, and in many cases are (another stereotype?). If we could care less about how "cool" we seem compared to those around us perhaps there'd be a lot less hatred in this world. Why is there so much territorial pissing out there?

Bourgeoisie and Proletariat

First, Blogger was down Thursday night and so, I could not post! Drat! Moving along...

Bourgeoisie and Proletariat: Following a discussion involving the horrors of standardized testing... )I did only average on my SATs while Kate had her near 1300 score... hot shot. :D), anyway Kate mentioned the word "proletariat" which I aptly referred to as her SAT knowledge revealing itself.

The proletariat (from Latin proles, offspring) is a term used to identify a lower social class; a member of such a class is proletarian. Originally it was identified as those people who had no wealth other than their sons; the term was initially used in a derogatory sense ("those people only good for breeding"), until Karl Marx used it as a sociological term to refer to the working class.

This brought upon the reference to the quality of our history education, thus "Bourgeoisie and Proletariat" While well informed on the meanings of these words Kate was a bit foggy on the origin (understandably so, as high school was several years ago). So I of course had to google it... Kate mentioned Russian, and I believed the origins of the words were French because of their diction. However this wasn't a dispute, because neither of us knew for certain.

It becomes understandable why Kate thought the words described Russian classes specifically. The Soviets adopted Marxism as a foundation to Communism, and as it turns out Mr. Marx relied heavily upon using these terms in his discussions.

Bourgeoisie is a French word. The early Anglicization "burgess" is derived from the old French burgeis (Cf. Also middle English: burgeis, burges, borges and old Dutch: burgher = the inhabitant of a borough or burgh). In the French feudal order, "bourgeois" was formally a legal category in society, defined by conditions such as length of residence and source of income.
The French term in turn seems to have derived from the Italian borghesia (from borgo = village), which in turn derives from the Greek pyrgos. A borghese was a freeman dwelling in a burgh or township. The word evolved to mean merchants and traders, and until the 19th century was mostly synonymous with the middle class (persons in the broad socioeconomic spectrum between nobility and serfs or proletarians). Then, as the power and wealth of the nobility faded in the second half of the 19th century, the bourgeoisie emerged as the new ruling class.

Points for me on my recognition of something derivative of French. In retrospect I should have thought a bit harder. I read George Orwell's "Down and Out in Paris and London" last year which deals a lot with the social and monetary barriers in the Western World. Orwell was a known champion of the Proletariat class. The book is quasi fiction, while the character is separated from Orwell, it has been said to be a memoir of Orwell's "starved artist" period, where he made a point of living amongst the destitute, not simply because he was unable to compete in a bourgeoisie controlled world, but rather that he desired material to feed his creative juices. It was a good book. While it was a bit removed from 1984 and Animal Farm, it can be said that social consciousness was definitely Orwell's primary field of interest.

Anyway, Kate and I had a great Friday and Saturday. Friday night I cooked steak tips, corn on the cob, salad, and had Italian bread, which was very nice. Saturday was rainy, and we lounged around till afternoon, before getting up to walk aimlessly at the Burlington Mall. We had lunch at UNO's and desert at HÃagen-Dazs. It was a fiesta for my taste buds and gave me my sugar high for the weekend.

IN POLITICS: The Dixie Chicks... That's right DIXIE CHICKS

I believe these gals are nothing more than a huge indicator for which way the wind is blowing in the coming election. Let me tell you what... It ain't lookin promising if you are a fan of the underdogs.

My "vote everyone out who is in office" idea likely won't fly, but alas, I never thought it would :(

Anyway, as described in the article: Dixie Chicks tour struggling, the Dixie Chicks appear to have a tour, that get this, its struggling.

Now it appears that if those 29% approval rating polls held much weight, the prophecy that has maligned the Dixie Chicks (Bush sucks ASS), would have ultimately redeemed them because, its true, and according to the polls, the country supposedly agrees.

But are the polls trulyaccuratee outside of major metropolitan areas? I'm guessing not. Here's why, you have three gorgeous women, who were once beloved by country fans, but now they are hated, why? Because Maines, the spunky cute lead of the Dixie Chicks said she was ashamed that Bush was from Texas while touring in Europe. At the time Bush was still doing around 50% in approval ratings. Red blooded Christians and loyalists got wind, and soon country music stations every where would not play the Chick's tunes.

Now here me out, the Dixie Chicks may be country, but they still draw upon an audience that is primarily young people. 2nd premise, young people tend to lean more to the left then the generations that reared them. 3rd premise, Red states continue to reject the Chicks (See article). 4th premise: This equates to the most liberal citizens of the red states (the younglings) basically are still bitter over comments about our president, who, if he isn't a crook, surrounds himself, and is controlled by crooks. Conclusion: Republicans will continue to control at least the House, if not the Senate at well. If people can't listen to meaningless country music because of a little W dissing, do you really expect them to vote against the GOP in elections this November? I know, I'm stretching, and it still is 3 months away.

Horizontal Precipitation and the Man in the Tan Sweater

Tonight after a great evening at the 99 for some comfort food, and with the company of lovely Kate... I plodded my way back to my world through a driving rain that showed no mercy.

My fragile umbrella held strong somehow, and luckily for me, the forceful wind held fast in one direction. I held my flimsy canvas and wire shield outward and it cried out with a rhythmic drone as it was forced to shield me from a horizontal wall of water. The rain bubbled, splattered and glistened as it pounded the earth into a glazed glimmering display, reflecting the orange hue of the street lamps and the yellow of the headlights of brave automobiles.

It was totally worth the strife, as it always is.

Don't have much original stuff to say, so I'll write about sleeping?

Last night I had a strange dream. Aliens took me aboard their space ship, and Scott Bayo gave me pink eye.

In all seriousness, I did dream, and it was one of those dreams that seem to blur the lines between being awake and asleep. I rolled over in bed, and saw what appeared to be a man looking into my dresser mirror. He was dressed fairly contemporary, in a tan sweater. My response wasn't so much of fright but of sort of disbelief, and my odd reaction was to reach over and try to grab this person, who disappeared. At this point I sat up and looked around the room, and I was awake, but wasn't sure whether I had just woken up. The odd portion is I play a soft easy/listening mix off of my PC to sleep at night, and I'm fairly certain I could hear it throughout this experience. I probably just woke up during the dream state as they say occasionally happens at times. I didn't have trouble going to sleep after this. I can't say it was frightening, just weird. Psychologists claim that this phenomenon is quite common, and that it likely explains claims of alien abduction (implants & Mr. Bayo aside :D).

I've had other "paralysis" semi-conscious dreams before that were more frightening in the past, but only one other recently. This dream was the feeling that there was a warm body, a woman, on top of me as I was trying to sleep. I rolled off my side to try and push it off, (which seemed easy) and a whitish mist could be seen dissipating above my bed. Once again, I wasn't really scared by this, because I didn't feel like I was in danger for some reason, (maybe I felt just a little nuts & insecure about it... So here I am sharing it. heh...), so I reached over and turned the lamp on. I was a little shaken, and read a chapter in a book on this occasion, before going back to sleep.

The soft music generally has kept me from having these dreams in the past but didn't seem to help me last night. In college, I had the suffocating with the pillow, or people stealing my stuff while I lay frozen dreams. Then a couple of years ago, I would dream that I was paralyzed and my body was numb and vibrating and floating 2-3 inches off of the bed. I would slowly float/glide to the right until I fell off the bed. In this dream I was also blinded and would feel my way around the bed and climb back on. I had this dream several times, once I remember I tried to talk, and my voice came out like a big croak. Since I've had a history of mild epilepsy, my first thoughts were that this could be the culprit. So, I began placing piles of boxes intentionally on the right side of the bed. If the dream was some sort of seizure that just distorted my perceptions, when I fell off the bed, I would bump into and knock over this pile. Low and behold, the dream happened again, and everything remained intact. Even though it felt incredibly real, it was all contrived in my noggin. I began listening to music again around this time, and perhaps coupled by reassurances that I had not become physically ill (mentally is debatable, am I right? ;D ) I didn't have these semi-conscious dreams again until these past two, which were really mild. If I had to choose between these and the bat I got in my room last summer (I have NO idea how it got in :$) (oddly the bat gave me that same feeling that "I'm not alone" even though it was just a silly annoying bat) I'll take the people looking in the mirror minding their own business. I do suppose with the bat I eventually muster the courage to let it out the window... not something you can do with dreams or phantoms.

A Bad Omen...

I think it is a bad Omen that a certain Scotty Wilkinson did not show up along with a certain Caprio to watch the reprisal of "The Omen". I think Scotty's failure to commit to a night of evening leisure, laughing at fake evil, I think this signifies, the general deconstruction of the social order as we know it. It is a sign of times to come. Signs where servitude to the lowly beasts of our elders hold precedence over us. And it is all because Scotty gave in. Heed this Omen....

All this aside, while entertaining (I laughed a few times, especially when Mia Farrow got kicked in the head) this was a piece of crap. It was terribly predictable, the acting was horrible, with perhaps the exception of the little kid who only has about two or three lines the entire film. It had over the top imagery which would have been fine if it was a comic book movie, but for a movie that tries to scare you, especially a religious themed one such as this, I feel they need to be more dreary, unpolished, rely less on drowning intensifying music (which just warns you of things to come), and more on the mystery and the complacency of the world's natural noises, traffic, wind in trees. This movie was about the devil, how about throwing some whispering, some chanting in etc. The kid is evil, yet still oddly sort of cute.

On the plus side Julia Stiles bites it, and Damien is a son of a bitch. The kid has a great smiley face drawing on his wall that actually has horns, I laughed pretty much every time they filmed in his room and there was a shot of it. It was cheesy horror, and it relied heavily on loud noises to make you jump, which weren't that effective. (I jumped once.) Their marketing ploy for the movie was genius however. Hey, I went!

As I said I'd mention them in a previous blog entry, I did see "A mighty wind" and "Lost Horizon". "A mighty wind" really didn't wow me. It was amusing, but not devastatingly so, and I'm not sure I'm chomping at the bit to see "Best in Show" because of it. Eugene Levy's character was great. Totally brain dead from a life of drugs. I suppose it was funny in an awkward sort of way.

"Lost Horizon" was surprisingly a lot like the book, however, I think the book goes further to suggest that everlasting life is not a good thing, especially if you are trapped, isolated from the world. Directed by Capra, I found certain characters had the essence of some of his later leading stars. "George" who was a young man who hated the Shangri-La utopia (The only one who seemed to) very much gave a preview of the passion that Jimmy Stewart would later display in Capra's films. It was a philosophical movie, about a philosophical book. Really ahead of its time as were "Its A Wonderful Life", and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington". Like other directors, it is evident that Capra like certain actors and actresses. While there was no Jimmy Stewart, "Clarence" the Angel was there, as was one of the female leads from Its a Wonderful Life (Not Donna Reed). At times I made fun of the effects in Lost Horizon, but really this movie must of had a huge budget, because it had an amazing set. Apparently a couple of the portions of this movie have been lost or damaged (about 3, 3-5 minute spans of dialogue) however the sound was preserved. The restorers cleverly pieced together some slides to try and indicate the conversations and what was happening. Its a shame that such a brilliant piece of Americana was allowed to decay like such.

Soldier's Story & Constitutional Amendment?

I want to start of with a little bit on the latest book I'm reading. I finished Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck this weekend. It was excellent, not quite as good as Cannery Row, but in the same vein.

This portion should please some of my more right wing friends :D, Although this well esteemed Senator was truly one of the first great Moderates.

I'm reading Bob Dole's Memoir "One Soldier's Story" and I'm only a couple chapters into it at this point. The story is absolutely riveting, and, I swear there are times when I'm reading it where I feel like tearing up. I've just gotten to the point where Dole had his paralyzing accident that left his arm virtually unusable. He really captures the horror of war, and the sacrifices made by people in those tormented times.

By comparison I feel that today's world is still very placid by comparison, however I do feel that there is a storm brewing. I honestly don't think the problem will likely arise from Iran, as many do, unless our stellar American Diplomacy backs the ugly dog into a corner, which sadly would not surprise me.

I'm more concerned about a huge military build up by China, & the Taiwan dispute. I think it is only a matter of time before something happens. The economic pressures of oil are going to catch up with countries. For China to continue growing at their current rapid rate, some unconventional Old World tactics could ultimately come into play. They may be expanding and becoming more democratic and capitalistic, however they still have leadership that trends towards the traditions of the People's Republic.

They are building the largest military arsenal for a reason.

Not since WWII has the U.S. had to contend with a foe of equal or even greater strength. (I exclude the USSR, aside from the Cuban Missle Crisis no "major" shots were fired in that battle) I don't know if we, or the rest of the Western World for that matter, would put up much of a fight.

The vivid imagery in Dole's accounts brought this to mind, how different the battles were from the Iraq/Afghanistan conflicts and even Vietnam. And if we can't be successful or plan properly in those encounters how could we ever expect to stand up to a giant.

Hopefully China's leaders will realize that they are just as likely to surpass us with peaceful economic tact, than with violence & threats. Hopefully they'll realize that they'll be more prosperous when we are purchasing their exports.

Now, onto my more controversial portion, although it shouldn't be.

Yeah I know this part of the post will bring scowls to the faces of some of my friends, but I'm sorry. This is what I believe is right. This is a new civil rights issue, and I hope that one day we'll all look back on it as such.

Looks like Bush and & Friends are at it again. I find it amusing that Laura Bush
just did the talk show circuits saying that she didn't think there should be a ban. I also find it amusing that both of Bush's daughter's have voiced their opinion that there should not be a ban. I find it amusing that the Vice President, does not think there should be a ban. Even Samuel Alito, Bush's latest Supreme Court nominee reportedly supports gay rights. And yet the zealot has to continue to pursue this ludicrous amendment, in the face of support that thankfully will fall short.


I think it is nothing more than an awful, but effective political move on the part of W.

The sad thing is politically speaking, in an increasingly fundamentalist country, this could be an ingenious move. Use the politics of yesterday, the politics of bigotry and hate to align otherwise democratic voters to go for the republican ticket, just so they can prevent a couple of people who love each other from getting
cheaper healthcare. They'll go for it in droves, its the new abortion ticket, although sadly I bet this issue will invoke even more passion, and even though I'm pro choice, I'm going to come right out and say, Gay Rights is cut and dry. There is no reason to penalize people on the basis of their sexual orientation. Homosexuals do not harm people. Most "older" folks who are against this will use the "Its just wrong.. they are sick" defense. They'll even start spouting off ridiculous lies if you prod them enough such as Gay people created AIDS etc., etc. And younger people, unless you are somehow far removed from the mainstream world, I don't understand how someone could passionately get behind a ban in gay marriage. It goes against what our country was founded for, a place where the persecuted, the immigrants, the tired, the hungry, could live with the promise of a greater tomorrow.


It is irritating that our government is once again wasting time on frivolous crap rather than dealing with problems at hand. If they want to bring this up they should have an amendment to ratify same sex marriage rather than ban it, but that sadly is at least 20 years away I would guess.

I'm going to reiterate, that contrary to popular belief, the Republicans will retain control, definitely over the House, and possibly even the Senate.

We are upon the cusp of a dangerous time in our country, where corruption and debt are spilling over. Many ignorant people are looking for someone to blame. I'm afraid for us, and afraid for who our next scapegoat will be.

A couple of prominent articles from the past couple days:

Same-sex marriage issue is close to home for Tennessee couple

Bush urges gay marriage ban enshrined in Constitution

Will gay marriage and flag burning rally the GOP base one more time?

Driver's Test

Monday is always a good day to bitch on. Having to go back to work, the drudgery, etc. Soooo.... I thought I'd bring up driving tests since the Northeast was ranked with the worst drivers.

See article: Test scores are in: Northeast still has dumbest drivers

On the state by state ranking Rhode Island is the worst, and Massachusetts is second. They are basing this on performance by taking the test:

Drivers test

While no one would question that the drivers in Massachusetts are "Bad", I would question this test. It is horribly out of date, and several of the questions are vague and circumstantial. I would argue that RI fared worse than most because there is no rural living, and several questions "answers" could not be realistically applied to city driving. I think insurance providers and the government need to sit down and seriously reconsider the test. If anything, I think following some of the "correct" answers would cause more accidents than they prevent.

The first question:

Where should you park when you need help after your tire suddenly deflates while driving on a highway? (Select one)

a. In the right hand lane

b. Off the pavement

c. Where your car will be visible for 200 feet from the front

This does not even make sense to me, the answer is "Off the pavement" but in the city, this would mean driving over a curb, parking on someone's lawn, driving beyond the breakdown land, (which is illegal). There are definitely circumstances where "In the right hand lane" is your only option, or where "Off the Pavement" might put you in a ditch, or put your life in danger. Option c. makes even less sense, as you would want people from behind to see you, not the front, but your first two answers are so circumstantial that it might even cause someone to select c in desperation.

Next: I got the road is most slippery when, question wrong, merely because I didn't know. The answer "When it just starts to rain after a dry spell" is probably one of those things I knew 13 years ago when I studied and took this drivers ed test, but have since forgotten. I grant them that question.

Moving on,

9. On a sharp curve, you should use your brakes to slow your vehicle: (Select one)


a. During the entire time you drive through a curve

b. Before you enter the curve

c. Just after you enter the curve

The answer is not a, although one would expect that it should technically be a combination of a & b. So you hit the breaks before the curb, but then proceed through without your foot on the breaks? Sorry, that one's lost on me. I'm a little slow what can I say.

11. If your vehicle starts to hydroplane, you should: (Select one)

a. Drive at a constant speed to gain better traction

b. Apply the brakes firmly to prevent your vehicle from sliding

c. Slow down gradually by easing the gas, and not applying the brakes

The answer is c. In drivers ed, they'll contradict this question out right and say pump your breaks, or press firmly if you have power brakes (which most cars have now). So we have a question worked for some one ton steel 70s cutlass supreme and not for today's honda civic, or even a toyota tacoma for that matter. I can just here the conversation now... "why did you slide off the road?" "Gee officer, I don't know, I didn't apply my breaks, just like the drivers ed test said and I went right off the highway, I just don't get it!"

And I'm saving the best for last. Try following this one as worded if you live in civilization.

7. When waiting to make a left turn, you should give the right-of-way to vehicles coming from the opposite direction: (Select one)

a. Until at least two vehicles have passed

b. Until dangerously close cars have passed

c. Until all of the cars have passed

Answer is NOT b. The answer is c. That's right, ignore those honking horns and NEVER go if you can see a car coming. It's nice that the guy in the left hand lane is stopped to let you go, but I'm afraid you just can't do that. According to drivers ed, and the insurance companies, all traffic must have passed, so you better sit there until 3 AM, or until some driver got out of a car behind you, rips you out of your seat and bashes your head in with a crow bar. Hey, Safety first!

Mr. Bean's expensive parking garage solution:

Super heroes, atrocity, presentation, & psychedelic delusions

Batwoman is a lesbian...? Batwoman is a lesbian! Enough said...
New Batwoman is a lesbian
I actually didn't know there was a "Batwoman" I just knew about "Batgirl". Oh and batboy of course.
Apparently there is a "Batboy" musical as well. It's a mad mad mad world :D. The most amusing thing about the article, the "tongue and cheek" response of some critics: "Wouldn't ugly people as heroes be more groundbreaking?" asked one poster. "You know, 200-pound woman, man with horseshoe hair loss pattern, people with cold sores, etc.?" Well, I'm sorry D.C. comics, even kinky ravishing lesbian superheroes probably aren't going to get me reading comic books. Perhaps if they made a movie with a cameo by Catwoman, where Batwoman and Catwoman have an exchange of the highest intellectual nature of course, then, I might go to the matinee. Then again I wasn't interested in that "Catwoman" movie in the slightest.

Check this out!
Man severs penis to prove faithfulness

Brings to mind the King Missile song: Detachable Penis

I woke up this morning with a bad hangover and my penis was missing again. This happens all the time; it's detachable. This comes in handy a lot of the time; I can leave it home when it think it s gonna get me in trouble, or I can rent it out when I don't need it. But now and then I go to a party, get drunk, and the next morning, I can't, for the life of me, remember what I did with it. First I looked around my apartment, and I couldn't find it, so I called up the place where the party was, they hadn t seen it either. I asked them to check the medicine cabinet, cause for some reason, I leave it there sometimes, but not this time. So I told them if it pops up to let me know. I called a few people who were at the party, but they were no help either.

I was starting to get desperate I really don't like being without my penis for too long, It makes me feel like less of a man, and I really hate having to sit down every time I take a leak.

After a few hours of searching the house, and calling everyone I could think of, I was starting to get very depressed, so I went to the Kiev and ate breakfast. Then as I walked down Second Avenue, toward s St. Mark s Place, where all those people sell used books and other junk on the street, I saw my penis lying on a blanket next to a broken toaster oven-some guy was selling it! I had to buy it off him. He wanted 22 bucks, but I talked him down to 17. I took it home, washed it off, and put it back on. I was happy again: complete. People sometimes tell me I should get it permanently attached, but I don't know. Even though sometimes it's a pain in the ass, I like having a detachable penis.

-King Missile 1992

I had to present today at the data club meeting. I had the markers labeled wrong on one of my SDS PAGE gel photos.. woops, and of course on my reduced gel I mistakenly verbally referred to bands outside of the product as "aggregates" rather than "non-covalent impurities", and an associate made sure to make a point of this booboo, even though the probability is near 100% that the "non-covalent impurities" are merely detergent reduced derivatives of the aggregates themselves, which was admitted by this associate in some real-time asynchronous communication :D (a supposedly legitimate consultant/business term that seems to contradict itself... its jargon talk for unplanned conversations, Jason Duplissis taught me that one)after they "undermined" my presentation to some extent during the actual meeting. Arrrghh irritation. I'm totally glad when my mistakes are pointed out, they need to be. However this particular person makes a sport of it, and the delivery is deliberately antagonistic, and I think this person does it to everyone. I hope it was seen that way by others, the big cheese did say "good job" when I finished, so that's always reassuring. If anything it may go over well in academia, but I'm not certain its the way to win friends when you are all supposed to be team players... but hey perhaps I'm smoking crack.

Study finds rapid pre-Katrina sinking in New Orleans But lets rebuild it? Seems like a flawed plan to me... but hey perhaps I'm smoking crack.

This quiz result made me snicker, according to this, I'm not smoking crack.

Your Personality Is Like Acid

A bit wacky, you're very difficult to predict. One moment you're in your own little happy universe... And the next, you're on a bad trip to your own personal hell!

What Drug Is Your Personality Like?