St. Frank's Infirmary

The Right-Wing god schtick

2011-08-29T16:05:00.000-07:00

It must be election season, because the teabaggin' herpa-derps are thanking god for killing people with natural disasters...Hey, don't blame ME, I am still trying to reconcile a "natural" disaster with a supernatural being.
So, yeah, here's America's answer to a female Grand Wizard thanking god for killing us.

I wonder how the right-leaning denizens of all those trailer parks feel about this. Are tornadoes the work of Satan? Or maybe just Socialists.

Indian Ice Cream and The Inherent Evil of Cable TV

2011-07-17T23:10:00.000-07:00

Is cable TV evil? Yes. Yes it is, and not just because they charge you a pile of money just to sit through a bunch of commercials, but many of the programs ARE commercials and the others are just crap. CRAP! My kids however think cable TV is a godsend. See, we don't have cable TV at home...yeah, we're those people. So when we take a vacation the first thing they'll do if we stay at a Hotel is flip on the damn TV and assume the position of a good opium smoker in a Hop joint.(Slack jawed and vacant stare in case you're wondering). I mostly think this is one of the worst things you can let a kid do, but, my daughter who likes to watch every kind of cooking show on TV, actually came away with something useful. And that thing is: Bombay Ice Cream!! Luckily for you and me, you don't have to go to Bombay to enjoy it.(Unlucky for you if you are already in Bombay, but I'd wager you have such Ice Cream stores there).
Anyway, there was some cooking show about desserts I guess and she kept pestering me to take her to San Francisco to try the Saffron Ice Cream. We finally made it over the bridge and found the place. (Even with Google Street View, you'd think it was no longer in business, but you have to go around the corner of the building). It's located directly under the Central Freeway at 245 South Van Ness Avenue. It's worth trying to find it. Sadly, they had no Saffron flavored ice cream when we visited, but they did have Cardamom. I know. Cardamom? They lady at the counter was very nice and allowed me to sample it first and after one taste, I couldn't get enough of the stuff. I can't explain why it was so good or what it tasted like, except that it was great and tasted like cardamom. My daughter got the Rose flavor and it was tasty, but I preferred mine
They also have an impressive array of herbs and spices, most of which i recognized and one of which I knew what the heck to do with. I love Indian food...I mean, I love it, but which spices to use and in what amounts and, well, everything about how it's prepared is a mystery to me. Which is fine, I prefer to have someone who know what they are doing make it rather than have me try and fail.
I'm getting side-tracked. Do yourself a favor and go to Bombay Ice Cream located in the Bombay Bazaar, you will not be sorry.

Speaking of being sorry, I would like to ask everyone to go an buy ice cream(and other stuff) from this store. No, I don't have a financial interest in it, but I do want them to succeed and stay in business. My wife and I used to eat at a place in Berkeley called the India Cafe. It was above a store that sold spices, saris and other stuff and was the best Indian food I have ever tasted. The woman who ran it cooked all the food herself with help from relatives and it was amazing. The atmosphere was relaxing and you felt like you were thousands of miles away from home whenever you entered. Sadly, running two businesses became to much for her and she closed the restaurant. I would hate to lose another awesome source of supreme deliciousness, so please do yourself a favor and get some ice cream!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

2011-06-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

Found this great site the other day. It's a constantly-updated blog showcasing bands covering original songs.
You can check out the most awesome cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody" performed entirely in a VW Polo!
What, Queen is not your bag? Well, How about "The Queen is Dead"?
Not weird enough for you? OK, how about Girl Crisis covering Black Sabbath?

You can search or browse by artist, so if you want to see who is covering Public Enemy or Elvis Presley, well, knock yourself out.

The anti-Union train keeps rolling( sans Union Engineers,Porters,etc.)

2011-06-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

Found this ant-union video today. Looks like Target, in its move to take over the Grocery business(and head-hunt grocery store employees?), wants to make sure those pesky Unions stay the hell away from their stores.

Have a look at the Video. It gets good at around the 1:00 minute mark.

Look, I dont think every workplace is right for unionization, just like some things aren't going to run better when privatized(I'm looking at you Slate of Potential GOP candidates), but good lord! This video is a little over the top. A lot over the top.
"Refuse to sign!" Jesus, hey, thanks Unions for getting all those great labor laws in place, but we don't need you now. We can "cross-train" our employees, see? That way, they think they are bettering themselves, when in reality, we can get more work out of them for the same damn pay. Hurray Capitalism!
OK, see, there I go. Really, maybe Target isn't the place for Unions, but this is such overkill, especially in light of all the ant-union hysteria in Wisconsin a while back.
Why is it that when people try to stand up and protect themselves from powerful forces they are labeled greedy and lazy? Gee, all those top management guys at the big corporations, you know, the ones who drive the company into the ground, causing thousands to lose their livelihoods...yeah, those guys,with the obscene salaries and perks, why are they not the object of such mouth-foaming, teabagger hatred?
Ask Ronald Reagan.

Ich lebe noch...

2011-06-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone...here's a little tip...when trying to keep a blog up to date, try not to get sickness in your family in January...then get a PUPPY(!), then get more sickness...then get the great idea you will do some home remodeling...then, I think, more sickness....oh, and Puppy.

So, I'll be back at it now, and trying better those hits coming.

BTW, here's Meg's Glamour Shot:
(click for super adorable big pic)

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T09:00:00.000-08:00

I think it's a toss up on which is the more un-Christmasy song, but since I like them both, here they are.
Holly Jolly.

Christmas in Paradise

Fairytale of New York

Julian ASSange

2010-12-17T12:13:00.000-08:00

Come on, someone had to write that. No matter how feel about the Wikileaks big man and his penchant for publishing secret documents, you will have to agree he is a complete ass after reading these emails from him to a woman who wanted nothing to do with him.

Still waiting for more dirt on him, but this is a good start...

Tea Time

2010-10-29T12:02:00.000-07:00

You know, these Tea Baggers, er, Tea Party-ers, have been getting a hell of a lot of press lately,and it made me wonder: WHY?

Honest to god, the people are just plain annoying. Actually, they are worse than annoying, but I'm in a good mood today.

And now the Teabagger that stomps on women who are being held down wants the victi m to apologize. I hope this is the death knell for these dopes.

*click me*

Hidden Treasure

2010-10-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

So my battery died(again) in my ancient Camry. Hey, the thing is pushing 235k miles, what do you expect? That car will last forever, and yes I know, I am not helping the economic recovery by holding onto a 17 year old car.
Anyway, the damn battery dies and I was away from home so I called AAA to jump the thing. I know, or have heard..or maybe saw it on the internet, that you are supposed to drive around for about 20 minutes after jumping the battery to "recharge" it. I decided I'd head out to Pt. Molate since I'd always seen the sign for that place and had never been out there. Well, the damn park is closed...no money (surprise) so I kept driving back around that area to see what I would see.
If you are not familiar with the area, it runs long the Bay on the other side of the Standard oil refinery. There is a strange mixture of government owned land/buildings and Refinery owned land, both with their own variety of signs admonishing you to stay the hell away from everything and don't drive down this dirt road and keep off that building, etc. Just the place where you want to wander around and explore old buildings and weird-looking industrial things.
Only, I saw a nice, paved road with a sign saying "Rifle and Pistol Range"...Hurray thought I, maybe I can stop by here some time and blast a few targets. I drive up the road and there's a guard shack with an old guy in it. He looks at me dubiously and when I tell him that I'd never been out this way, he says half-joking, 'So you're lost". I try to tell him about the battery and the recharging, but it starts to sound like the bad alibi of a suspected thief, so I switch gears and ask if the range is open to the public. He tells me it's not and allows me to pull a U turn in the lot by his shack.

After I got home, I had this nagging feeling...I really wanted to know how or why there was a shooting range in what looked like the Refinery. What to do? Oh, well of course, Google! They know everything...everything. They're like benevolent Gestapo. Sure they pry into every part of your life and know all about you, but look how smart and hip and young and cool they are! What's that? The cell on the right is mine? OK, no need to shove.

Where was I? Oh yeah, what lay over that hill past the Guard Shack I needed to know. Off I went to Google Earth and lo and behold, not only was there a shooting range, there was a pool, tennis courts, barbecues and a playground! Check out the shot below...I love this stuff. This hidden treasure..a little oasis in the shadow of the hulking, stinking refinery. Of course, it's off limits to you and me(unless you work for Chevron), but thanks to the magic of Google Earth, you can see it all. Almost. We need to get a Street View Car down there...

You can see the magical oasis here: (Click to enbiggen it!)

Aaaand...Action!

2010-09-27T11:26:00.001-07:00

So I've been meaning to post some really great, hard-hitting stuff on the Tea Baggers(party)...but alas, I'm too lazy and easily distracted.
I saw this Mompetitors video on Consumerist and of course was drawn to the xtranormal site where you can make your own movie!
It's "text-to-movie", which is why the characters sound so robotic, although maybe the author of Mompetitors prefers that to make her point(?).
Anyway, watch this space for hilarious "text-to-movie" videos!

Goodnight Irene

2010-08-26T18:44:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd talked about Grooveshark before, but I must have dreamed it. Grooveshark is a streaming music site, sort of like Mixturtle and the former lala, before it was assimilated by the Evil Steve Jobs.
What I like about Grooeshark though, is that you can not only search by title or artist, but it lists the album name as well. The fun things you find are, well, fun. I searched for "Goodnight Irene"...I'd only heard a version by Tom Waits (There is only one Tom Waits and his name is Tom Waits) and I found quite a surprise: Michelle Shocked's version was nice as was Johnny Cash's. The Pogues' version was a shambling mess as you'd expect, but the jewel may have been the version by the Chieftains with Willie Nelson, from the Another Country album.

I also found some interesting versions of "The Black Velvet Band". One was by a band called "Celtc Pride II", but I think that was a mistake. It featured a female singer with an accent I cannot place and it's driving me nuts...so, any help...
You might be able to listen to it here. I had to create an account to share it, you might have to do the same to listen to it.
It's fun to listen to several versions or covers of the same song...until your wife and kids go nuts hearing the fifth rendition of "Green Fields of France" and begin to throw whatever is handy at you.

Take your chances I say.

Amsterdamned

2010-08-18T06:07:00.000-07:00

So those of us in California face a proposition on the ballot this fall(Proposition 19) which will essentially legalize the use of marijuana. Currenlty, "medical marijuana" is legal here and it seems that was the first step in a move to completely decriminalize it.
I always the thought the "medical" idea was kind of funny, not that there aren't benefits to its use for some people, but the fact that there is no real control...no control as to the levels of THC in the "medicine", no control on how much to take(prescription?), and the fact that so many "patients" take their dose right at the "pharmacy". I don't know, I just thought it was a "Emperor's New Clothes" thing, where I thought "Am I the only one who sees this for what it is?"

If Proposition 19 passes it wont matter anymore, but other things might. Here is an interesting article from the New York Times on how a Dutch city is dealing with the issue.

Surfin' USA

2010-07-21T15:02:00.001-07:00

Really, they couldn't add a Beach Boy's soundtrack?

Irony

2010-06-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

This is not ironic...or is it?

On A Lighter Note

2010-05-19T12:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone for your kind words and thoughts after Asher's death. We're still trying to get used to life without him around the house...Now we actually have to clean up whatever we drop on the floor in the kitchen, no more Asher standing by to grab whatever hits the deck.

I saw a link today to an "impossible soccer game"...a game in which Joseba Etxeberria, Athletic Bilbao's forward, promised to play against 200 local kids. It struck me becasue the team for which I am assistant coach had the same idea: Kids vs. grown ups. We only have 12 seven-year-olds, but still...

So, here's the video on the EITB sports site. It struck me as a great idea: Awesome for the kids and just a nice way to say thanks to the fans. But there was a comment on Digg that really made my day.
Someone 'Benny-Hillified' the video!Benny Hillifier Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like: Take a video and it will Benny-Hillify it by adding the Yakety Sax soundtrack!

And you can too! Just insert the URL of your favorite video and Voila! Instant idiocy!

I made This One

R.I.P Asher 1995-2010

2010-05-12T07:02:00.000-07:00

My dog Asher passed away yesterday. He was 14 years old. I remember when I first saw him at the shelter...I wasn't even looking for a dog. I just used to go to the shelter to visit the poor dogs there and when I saw him, I had to take him home.
I almost didn't get to take him. Another person had seen him first and I didn't know there was a a "waiting list", only that I had to call on Monday to see if he was still available. Fortunately for me, he was.

Thus began a 14 year odyssey with sweetest(unless he didn't know you) and craziest dog you'd ever know. He had had such a 'sheltered' life in his first six months that he didn't know that he couldn't walk across water, and so his first introduction to swimming consisted of him trying to walk on the Bay, with predictable results. He was never a big fan of water after that.

His aloofnes and distrust of strangers earned him the moniker asher.mental when I worked at Red Herring, but after he got to know you, he was your friend for life.

When we brought him home, he met our cat, Spock, with whom he immediately wanted to play, much to Spck's dismay. After a while, they became the best animal friends ever and when Spock passed away a few years ago, Asher took the loss very badly. He never got over losing his best friend, and now I know how he felt.
I miss you Asher, you were a good dog.

Why does everyone hate us?

2010-04-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking, Jersey Shore, right? Well, yeah, maybe, but that is a relatively new phenomenon, there must be something else that leads the world to hate Americans...something enduring, something that's been happening continually over the past few decades.
There is. It's our absolute helplessness in our lives. It's the incredible obstacles we have to overcome in our daily lives, just to remain happy. Tings like not spilling milk all over the table, getting our shoes on without having to bend over, organizing our ever-growing pile of useless CRAP!

Yes, we Americans have it so tough. Apparently we really have a problem with cooking and eating...Meanwhile, a large portion of the world's population is just trying to get enough to eat. In Haiti, they eat dirt cakes.
Also, our uncoordinated and weak pets need a lot of assistance.
I watch this video an cringe. I love the looks of utter despair on their faces!
"Oh what's the use of living, this is not a soft-boiled egg!"
"I just can't keep my storage containers organized! What ever will I DO??"
Man, if this is all you had to go on to get an idea what Americans were like, you'd think we were a nation of spoiled, lazy and stupid losers who can't handle the slightest obstacle in life. Luckily this isn't all the world has to go on....There's also Fox News.

Web$ites

2010-03-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

Back in the early Nineties, when the TV show Cops was in full swing, I remember thinking that Reality TV was the future! Unfortunately, I did not know how to capitalize on that.
Now it appears the money-related websites are the new wave of the future. I base this on two, two!, observations:
One was the Cars For A Grand Site(which is still awesome by the way), and the latest is Fiverr(via The Consumerist). This site is devoted to people offering to do things for five dollars. That's right, five bucks! What can you get for five bucks these days? Well, apparently, having your likeness made into a Cartoon or anAnime Characteris pretty popular.
But I like the guy who will hold a poster with your name on it, stand in front of the Sydney Opera House and have a picture taken the best. Because, really, what the hell is that?

P.S. I have no idea how to capitalize on this trend either, but I'm thinking of a quick way to make five bucks!

Happy St. Pat's!

2010-03-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

A little cheer from Jonathan Swift:
"All folks who pretend to religion and grace,
Allow there's a HELL, but dispute of the place:
But, if HELL may by logical rules be defined
The place of the damned -I'll tell you my mind.
Wherever the damned do chiefly abound,
Most certainly there is HELL to be found:
Damned poets, damned critics, damned blockheads, damned knaves,
Damned senators bribed, damned prostitute slaves;
Damned lawyers and judges, damned lords and damned squires;
Damned spies and informers, damned friends and damned liars;
Damned villains, corrupted in every station;
Damned time-serving priests all over the nation;
And into the bargain I'll readily give you
Damned ignorant prelates, and counsellors privy.
Then let us no longer by parsons be flammed,
For we know by these marks the place of the damned:
And HELL to be sure is at Paris or Rome.
How happy for us that it is not at home!"
-Jonathan Swift

I have no idea...

2010-03-05T11:52:00.000-08:00

It sure is fun to watch though. Oh, and in Soviet Russia, song sings YOU!

Here is a supposed explanation of what you just saw.

Even more and better info HERE with graphs!!

What's The Frequency Kenneth?

2010-03-01T20:06:00.001-08:00

I was reading an article in Computer Power User magazine(more about that name later)that floored me. It wasn't really an article, more of a side bar. The gist of it was that RCA has developed a device that you can plug into your mobile phone that will suck the energy from WiFi signals to charge your battery. It's called the Airnergy.

I know...that's what I said. But Gizmodo has a write up on it too.(On the internet, must be true, etc.,etc.) So this thing converts Wifi energy...great, so why aren't we converting radio waves? Are they too weak? Will it distort the signals so Lady GaGa or the Black Eyed Peas will sound lamer than they already do??
I'm not an Electrical Engineer...I can install a ceiling fan, so, yeah, that's the exetent of my knowledge. But, I immediately envisioned people modding these things and hacking their Priuses(Prii?)to take advantage. Imagine a herd of them parked outside a Starbuck's feeding off the wireless teat of the global caffeine giant.

Ew.Anyway, more Priuses that currently congregate outside a Starbuck's.

As far as the name of that magazine goes: Pure Genius. No, I'm not talking about the clever abbreviation of CPU. I'm talking about having the "Power User" in the title of the magazine you're reading.
"Yeah, I'm a Power User baby...overclockin'!" Well, maybe not.But I'm sure someone thought that would be a good idea. Kinda like how I always have a copy of the Scientific American in my back pocket.

Recession-Proof Cars

2010-02-10T20:14:00.000-08:00

What a time to buy a car....Toyotas and Hondas have lost their appeal as the flawless vehicles we once thought they were. In the meantime, the truly flawed cars like Chevys and Chryslers are, well, still flawed. I guess you could get a Ford, but now they'll have you over a barrel since they're nearly the only game in town. Oh, there are Nissans, Mazdas, Volvos and BMW's, but let's be honest here, who has any money?

Not me. Hell, I drive a car my sister who, in better times, gave to me when it hit 180,000 miles. It was pretty rough and had a missing passenger-side mirror(still does), so I guess she figured it wouldn't be around much longer. I recently rolled over the 230,000 mark. So when I see cars for sale, I actually look at old cars and the better the deal, the better it looks.

So Cars For A Grand really caught my eye the other day when I saw it featured on Jalopnik. I mean, a car for a thousand bucks? Are you kidding me? Well, for some, yeah, they are.

The guys who started the site have an application that scours the interwebs for cars listed for $1000 or less. Now, a lot are on eBay, and have a low starting bid and will probably wind up above a grand, but who knows?
You can find sub-grand cars, like this one. Wow, what a pedigree though: It overheats, battery is dead and the Bondo is cracking. Good times. Of course, if you,re at all handy with cars, or enjoy bashed and bleeding knuckles, you're all set!

I haven't seen a Trabant on there yet, but I swear I saw Jim Anchower's Ford Festiva on it the other day!

More Ranting on Banks...Now with alternatives!

2010-01-05T16:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks to The Consumerist!. Remember my rant below about banks, capitalism and entrepreneurs? Yeah, I kinda hope you don't either.
Anyway, I was checking out The Consumerist when I saw this most awesome post on punishing the Big Banks. Bonus points that it links to the MoveYourMoney site, which has on its homepage a video that begins with clips from "It's A Wonderful Life"...Most awesome.
Better yet, there's a place on moveyourmoney to find local banks near you based on your zip code. My wife and I have been talking about this for the last couple of years, and by god now is the time!

Being Resolute

2010-01-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

Some people make New Year's resolutions....not me. I just write a ranting, incoherent blog post about the state of the economy. That and take the family to the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco.And why not? The weather is great(sorry rest of the country) and I had time off of work.

One of the most famous sites in the Tea Garden is the Drum Bridge (Taiko Bashi). As a kid I remember the one time my parents took me there and I immediately had to climb over the bridge when I saw it. I had no real appreciation for the work that went into it, nor the beauty of the arc reaching over the tiny stream below.

At that time, I'm sure there was no plaque in place explaining the origins of the bridge, but today there is. I made it a point to read it, as so often I pass by these things or just give them acursory glance. I was truly amazed at what I read(and very disappointed afterward that I could find so little on the subject online).

The story goes like this: Shinshichi Nakatani was
commissioned by the government of Japan to create a Drum Bridge for the 1894 San Francisco Midwinter Fair. He came to San Francisco in the early 1890's and found that he did not have the materials he needed, so had to travel back to Japan, where he built the bridge. It was blessed and disassembled, then shipped to San Francisco. The project ran out of money however, so Nakatani-san went back again to Japan to sell his family's rice fields to raise the needed funds.

OK, stop there. Travelling between Japan and the U.S. in the 1890's isn't like a Jet Blue trip to Miami. It's grueling days at sea, with no guarantee you'll even arrive. On top of that, he sold his family farm to complete this job he was entrusted with.

He then asked his son to remain in the U.S. for nearly fifty years in order to work and save enough money to buy back the family farm.

Why had I never heard of this?? I was was honestly dumbfounded after reading that. I ran to catch up with my wife and kids and led tham back to the plaque and read the story to them. I felt like this man and his son needed a lot more recognition for their contributions than just this sign next to tthe bridge. I could not find the words to explain to my daughters the level of responsibility, honor and perseverance this man had. I will never look at that the bridge the same
...I will always think of Shinshichi Nakatani travelling half way around the globe, twice, to ensure the bridge found its rightful place as promised.

Please visit the Nakatani Family web site for more detailed and better researched information.

In searching online for information, I ran across these San Francisco Recreation and Parks Commission Minutes. See page 2 for some of the controversy surrounding the placement of the plaque.

Holly Jolly

2009-12-23T17:06:00.000-08:00

I know I shouldn't do this, what with Christmas and all, but I've kept my trap shut for a,long time about this. "This" is the situation we all find ourselves in today: An economy in the tank, a worthless Congress that can't pass a real piece of game-changing legislation, and a public that is increasingly being led to believe our country is on the verge of becoming the next Cuba.

What brought me to this lowly state? It was...soap poisoning! Oh wait, wrong movie. I have had a few reminders of the political/economic state we're in. First, was the eerie deja vu feeling I got while watching "It's a Wonderful Life"...as Mr. Potter gobbled up all the businesses in town and went on a tirade against the "discontented, lazy rabble" who want home loans. Potter wasn't a miser, not at all, he used is money to monopolize(read: Destroy competition) all the businesses in town. This in conjunction with the news that good ol' Wells Fargo was paying back their government money. Gee, didn't they do well by grabbing up some struggling banks? Thanks for the loan Uncle Sam! What's that? Someone needs to modify their mortgage so they don't lose their house? SCREW ' EM! Oh, and Merry Christmas.

The next was an article my friend sent me. He sends me a lot of things like this, it keeps me balanced I suppose. But this one in particular really drove me nuts. The guy starts out with a biblical quote, I guess we are to believe the Bible is now an expert source on Economics, but ultimately, it's a moral issue. He goes on to say that Entrepreneurs (he tends to mix capitalism and entrpreneurism freely) are actually driven by an altruistic desire to help, not money. You silly Lefties, see? It's all about taking care of peoples' need. OK, great, I might buy that on a limited scale, but the article ends with the author bemoaning the cap on pay and bonuses for bankers! What? A. Are investment bankers really entrepreneurs? And B. What about their altruistic drive to help others? Oh yeah, that was just a load of crap to make greed more palatable.
Don't get me wrong, I know that competition and risk are necessary for innovation and ultimately we all get rewarded in one way or another, but these articles that stop just short of praising greed and selfishness? Too soon? Yeah, maybe. The mere hint of a Public Option for medical care sets off alarm bells around the country! "They'll raise taxes!" they say. Yeah, about that...see, one of the mainstays of Conservatism(or Libertarianism, which seems to be invoked more often in light of the previous administrations destruction of our country's economy and liberties) is the idea of responsibility. Like, being able to pay for what you buy. So, yeah, they want to raise taxes to PAY for Health Care, unlike running two wars simultaneously and not raising taxes...you know, so the next guy will have to.
Anyway, this drive to convince you that your government, any government, is essentially the enemy, is really getting out of control. Do these Republican Senators not see the irony that they decry a "socialist" health plan, when they themselves take advantage of one? And how about the constant comparisons to the Post Office? You know, the veiled threat that your health care will be run like the U.S. Postal Service. Really? OK, you might be able to argue that that wouldn't be so bad. The few PO's I've used in my neighborhood aren't that bad, certainly I have patronized private businesses that were definitely run worse, but OK, fine let's let them keep that one. My question is this, why is it that the Post Office is always used as an example? Why not NASA? They do some pretty cool things...would you like your health care run like that? Or, how about the U.S. Military? Sure, Senators are always using the "troops" for political points or photo ops or any other "use"...except their health care. Why? Because then you'd be denigrating the troops and that is a political no-no, but let's face it folks, they are government workers, are they not? Of course they are, and they all get the dreaded government health care(as did I until I was a teenager, and it wasn't the end of the world).

So to sum up: Wall Street Investment Bankers are just altruistic entrepreneurs, who only care about the People's needs(But let's not regulate their bonuses, eh?).
The government is useless and possibly even your enemy, except the guy telling you this, who seems to always have an "R" after his name.

Here's a great Frontline episode on comparative health care systems around the world.

And some light reading...how the whole "The Government is your enemy" thing all started: The Man Who Sold the World

Happy New Year.

RIP Liam Clancy

2009-12-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

Liam Clancy passed away today. My sister-in-law,whose mom had the pleasure of meeting the Clancys, alerted me and this is the first song that came to mind.
RIP Liam

Ohne Mauern leben

2009-11-12T09:26:00.000-08:00

It's been twenty years since that momentous day when the unthinkable happened: The Berlin Wall came down. I remember the first time I visited Berlin and was in awe of this monolith, this insane testament to man's warped sense of reason. The citizen's of East Berlin were told the wall was thee to protect them from the evil West.
I was obsessed with the Wall. I spent days just walking along it, looking over the into the eastern side at the tanks traps and razor wire...the soldiers staring down at me through binoculars, until i raised my camera to take their picture, which sent them scurrying away from the window of their tower.

In light of the anniversary of the Wall's demise, I'm recommending a few movies that capture some of the essence of that time;

First is Das Leben der Anderen(Lives of others). This captures the oppressive control the Stasi had over the people of East Berlin and the ultimate futility of the whole system.

Second, a comedy: Goodbye Lenin. An hilarious comedy of errors, where a son tries to convince his good Socialist mother that everything is as it always was, despite the wall coming down.

Last is only remotely related to East Berlin/The Wall, but is worth a watch: Hedwig and the Angry Inch. It's a loves story...boy/girl meets boy, boy/girl loses boy, boy/girls goes on a quest to find boy.

Here's a link from good ol' Paracelsus that shows some pics of the wall. Be sure to click on numbers 13,14 and 15 to see a Before and After...stunning.

And Sid Vicious' observations...

It's Not Like It's Written In Stone

2009-11-09T21:34:00.000-08:00

Are you thinking of getting a tattoo? Maybe you've been out with your friends and have had a drink or two...or seven or eight..and think to yourself, "Hey, let's go get a tattoo!(hic)".
Or maybe you're really hip, or the silent, brooding, mysterious type. Maybe you just want one because everyone else has one. All good reasons of course, I mean who the hell am I to say what you should do to your body? It's not like it's written in stone.
Wait. No, really, wait. Go look at some of the Ugliest Tattoos on the face of this Earth...or face even.

Some are dopey typos that just make you wonder "How?"

Others make you wonder about the "skill level" of the "artist". Yeah...or if maybe the artist drank as much as the customer.

Some just make you cringe

Some are NSFW...that is Not Safe For Work OR the World!

Almost forgot: The obligatory Chinese Characters

Still want that ink?

Heroes

2009-10-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

"Hero: n., 1.a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. 2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal".

When you think of heroes, what typically comes to mind are soldiers who throw themselves on grenades to save their comrades or New York Firemen who, without concern for their own safety, entered the World Trade Center buldings to save the lives of those trapped inside. These are indeed heroic acts, but there are other heroes in this world...A lot of them, like Brooksley Born, are of the unsung variety.
Until now that is...Check out this Frontline Special on the history of the economic meltdwn we are experiencing now.

Even after saying "I told you so" in the late '90's, she was still ignored...then villified and eventually run out of town. But she never gave up...and she was right the whole time.

There's also an Interviewwith her on the Frontline site.

Tom Hanks, your staircase is ready

2009-10-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

Or, how to battle obesity.
Would you take the stairs rather than an escalator if it were more "fun"?
Well, some people in Stockholm wanted to find out, so they created the The Piano Staircase. Not too surprisingly, more people chose the stairs over the escalator.
Honestly though, if you were to put one of these in Grand Central Station, the resulting sound would be one, big irritating mess of notes.So it's back to the escalator and a big bag of chips to munch as you slowly ascend.

This just in: A local resident in Stockholm, Sweden was severely injured when he tried pounding out Chopin's "Polonaise" on the stairs in the Odenplan.

People Who Died

2009-09-16T16:41:00.000-07:00

Jim Carroll is dead
He died Last Friday and was only 60 years old. Although maybe "only" isn't the right word. He managed to survive most of his childhood acquaintances by several years and considering his early years, it's a wonder he made as far as he did.
I remember having a cassette tape of Catholic Boy and wore the damn thing out in a nihilistic frenzy of non-stop play. Unfortunately, its raw, brutal style was its attraction for me at a young age and I think a lot of people were drawn to that seedy tableau Jim painted with music and words.(He also wrote the autobiographical "The Basketball Diaries"). Wasn't until later in life I realized that it's easy to romanticize the junky/misfit life when you're not living it.
If you haven't read The Basketball Diaries yet, you really should. I think it's a must for everyone....it definitely takes away the glamour of drug use and now that poor Jim is dead, it's that much more powerful.
RIP Jim.
Here's a video of "People Who Died". I chose this one despite the clips of Leonardo DiCaprio in it from the movie of "The Basketball Diaries", mainly becuase this was the version of the song I knew and loved.

Write much?

2009-08-31T09:35:00.000-07:00

Well, apparently not.....that extended vaction thing really took its toll on me. I lost all motivation to do anything except swim, ride my bike and lay around in the sun.

But, now that I'm back to the real world, I've fallen into my old routines: Still not writing and watching too much TV at night. Which brings me to this little gem. Out on the West Coast we have an ice cream chain called Baskin Robbins(Some people call it 31 Flavors, I guess it's kind of like how some people call Kentucky Fried Chicken "The Colonel's"....what is that all about?).
So they have this really annoying or catchy(depending on your tolerance level)commercial on TV that everyone just calls "Ice Cream and Cake":

Now, the first time I saw this, I thought it must have been something created by the Writers of Saturday Night Live. In fact, I defy anyone to tell me that isn't Justin Timberlake singing...
Turns out it's the Buckwheat Boyz who, evidently, excel at really annoying riffs like this and the Internet meme Peanut Butter Jelly Time. Wow...yeah...I kinda like my original idea that it was SNL writers who came up with it, because now we have to face the fact that someone out there is writing this and taking it seriously!

Man, I've listened to it far too many times...I think I need a vacation.

Auf Ferien

2009-07-24T22:02:00.000-07:00

Out of commission for the last few weeks(and a few more to come)...I'm on an extended vacation.

Honda Hypocrites!

2009-06-11T21:28:00.001-07:00

I found it! Finally, thank you Internets for keeping all of our embarrassing past acts preserved forever.
Maybe you remeber me Railing against the new Hond Insight...Now I have proof of their..their..what is this, duplicity? I don't know, but here's Honda making fun of the "cheese-wedge" shaped Prius...and, oh what's that, your new Insight looks just like a Prius!!!. Gah, it makes me so mad that they'd think we'd forget.

W.W.E.W?

2009-06-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

Huh? Yeah, it's a stretch, but "What Would Einstein Write?"
Before I go any further, apologies for being AWOL for the last who-knows-how-many-weeks...We're tasting the fruits of the economic downturn at home and it is NOT good. So rather than blog about lay-offs, our precarious housing situation, general malaise and depression, I did the sensible thing and shut the hell up.

So, what's all this about Einstein? I'll tell you what, he was a smart guy, but don't you think you could do better? Sure you could, come on, the guy worked in a Patent Office! If you feel up to it, you can go HERE and change history! No more of that boring ol' E=mc2 crapola, no way, we're talking "That's what she said!", huh? Am I right?
Here's my bit...lifted from the wall of a bathroom in Goettingen Germany...truer words were never spoken(written)!

OK, here's another, cuz it's just that much fun...

The Hybrid has no clothes

2009-05-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I get so angry over this commercial for the new Honda Insight. Maybe it's because the last eight years of Bush's smirk-filled lies that I'm overly sensitive to bullshit.

I can't find the commercial from about a year ago, but Honda was advertising their Civic Hybrid, and the gist of it was that the Prius was a "cheese wedge shaped" car...and who wants to be seen in that? Well, now look at them...I mean ,when I first saw this ad, I thought it was for a Prius. Could they be any more blatant?
I suppose Toyota can feel good though, you know, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that stuff. Still, it really chaps my hide that they think they can get away with this.
What exactly they are getting away with, I don't know....

Elvis Lives

2009-04-08T10:19:00.000-07:00

Of course, not that Elvis. I'm talking about Elvis Perkins, son of Anthony Perkins of "Psycho" fame. I heard him interviewed on NPR(you can check it out here) and was immediately taken with his music.

They made a point of focusing on the tragedy he has faced in his life and after hearing his music, you understand how it had to have an influence. I really don't know how you would classify this music, or if you should classify it, but check it out...I bet you like it.

I like "Doomsday", but wish I could here the more dirge-like version he later changed to the current one on the album.

UPDATE: Just read all that up there..man, how sloppy and disjointed. Well, I'm just trying to download his music and enjoy it, so I kind of threw all that together really fast. Sue me.

OK, I'll stop now, but I found this great video of "Doomsday"

Vegan cats

2009-03-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

"I can't haz cheezburger??"
Almost too funny to be true...

Poblacht na hÉireann

2009-03-16T16:07:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Pat's

R.I.P. Lux Interior

2009-02-05T16:25:00.000-08:00

I saw that scrawled on the wall of a bike tunnel at UC Santa Barbara way back in 1986. To my shame, I didn't know who Lux was, but found out soon after and whoa, was I happy I did. I suppose that was a running joke at the time, fake death reports, etc., who knows, but today the inevitable happened, Lux Interior died

Here are a couple of videos, the first a slick, MTV product, the second is a live video, and you can see how Lux put everything into his songs.
Enjoy, go buy some Cramps music, you'll be glad you did and STAY SICK!

Coolest...Bridge...Ever

2009-01-20T13:08:00.000-08:00

Just so you don't think I'm totally out of touch, I did watch the Innaguration today. Awesome. All I can say. Oh, and thank GAWD Bush is gone.

In other news, I found this via Jalopnik, The coolest bridge in the world!

I used to room with a Physics Grad Student and he and his freinds laways would rant about the horrible Engineering students who had to take classes like "Physics for Engineers". Whatever, after seeing this, you gotta love Engineers.Because a regular drawbridge just isn't good enough!

Dodging Bullets

2009-01-19T20:34:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know it's been a while. I can blame part of it on the Holidays...But that only goes so far.
Lately I've been getting over what too many people in this country have been going through: Layoffs. Thankfully, I was spared. I still have my job, but a colleague of mine was not so lucky.
The most disturbing thing was, the other morning as I was going to get coffee,(I already knew what was slated to happen that day)and I walked past the printer/copier room. Stacked on the floor, in a tidy pile, were hundreds of neatly folded moving boxes. The kind you use to clean out your personal belongings. I was truly astounded...I think the only thing that would have floored me worse than that, would be if they had stacked a bunch of coffins in there.
In any case, it's nealry the same thing. Good luck to all of you who were not so lucky and may we see better times.

The Messiah!

2008-12-24T10:28:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas.

Dear Marketing Genius, ...

2008-12-22T23:20:00.000-08:00

I went to the Motorcycle Show this weekend. It's an annual pilgrimage for me this time of year...sort of the adult equivalent of Ralphie's quest for the Red Ryder BB Gun in A Christmas Story.I, like Ralphie, must have the object of my desire in order to make my life complete. But unlike our hero, I, alas, never find my motorcycle carefully hidden behind a piece of furniture on Christmas morning.

What DO I get? I have to deal with the ever-changing whims of the guys who make up the various Marketing groups who name the motorcycles every year. Normally, I'm not a fan of names per se, I prefer an alpha-numeric designation. Unfortunately, names can be evocative and thus, more powerful. Who can forget the Vincent 'Black Shadow', the Norton 'Commando' or the Kawasaki 'Ninja'? The problem is, every Marketing hack thinks his idea will be the next 'Ninja' or 'Super Duke, but we wind up with something like the Aprilia 'Shiver'.Shiver? Are you kidding me? Shiver...really...What is that supposed to evoke? Fear? Draftiness? I mean, Aprilia shares the same cachet as its fraternal company Ducati, which has the awesome 'Monster' in its lineup. The Shiver is an excellent bike, but what self-respecting biker could hang around Zeitgeist talking about his SHIVER?? The 'Shiv' maybe....

Suzuki also gets a thumbs down on their new model that essentially replaces the SV650. As soon as I laid eyes on this it, I was on it faster than an auto exec on a Gulfstream 250! I reached over the bar and grabbed the tag and nearly fell off: The Gladius.What in the name of...GLADIUS? Jesus, it's like the lead in to a raunchy joke. How did they come up with that name. What does it mean?? Its like a Latin test.."Damn, how do you conjugate the verb gladius?" Or was Gladius a famous emperor? It's too bad, because it's a great bike, a possible Monster-killer even, but with a name lime Gladius...Good luck.

That being said, if any of you high-level Suzuki corporate types are reading this and want to prove me wrong, just drop an email and I'll send you a delivery address.

I Love The Internet By Cracky!

2008-12-13T11:11:00.001-08:00

You know, you really have to wonder how we got along before the Interwebs came along. I caught myself the other day telling my daughters how, when I was their age, we didn't have the Internet. God, I sounded like my Mom when she'd talk about growing up before they had televisions in every house.

Beside the obvious advantages of the Internet, like online shopping, music downloads, and as Paracelsus points out, learning to play the paino, there are people out there who will share the most specific information. Let's go back about two weeks, when I was driving and inserted my favoriteMary Gauthier CD in the ol' Camry's CD player. Nothing. I pushed Play, FFWD, you name it. In despair, I hit the Eject button. No disc magically slid out. I was depressed and not a little mad that yet another vintage Japanese car had eaten a favorite musician's work(I had an old Infiniti G20 whose tape player gobbled up a Who tape, but at least let me play it).
I finally had some time on my hands today and went online to see if some other hapless soul had experienced the same thing. What I found was a godsend...Removing the radio from your Camry. Hurray! Not only did I get the radio out, I found my CD and 2 others!(The car used to be my sister's). The weird thing, none o fthe CD's were in the player, but resting on top. Oh well, one day I'll have a car with an iPod jack and never have another problem!

Trabivergnuegen

2008-12-08T08:46:00.000-08:00

Paracelsus sent me this amusing, yet amazingly real, link for the Trabi Safari.
Now on the face of it, I thought, "Hell no!!!" You see, years ago when I was in Germany, we visited then-East Germany with some friends. We actually rode in a Trabant Taxi, and let me tell you, I think I would change that old saying about foxholes and Atheists, because there were a lot of prayers being whispered in that car. Most were coming from the driver! The supposed Godless Eastern Bloc...Yeah, well, when your Taxi has a huge fire extinguisher strapped to the floor, it stalls at every red light and there are more holes in the floorboards than O.J.'s alibi, you know you're in for the ride of your life.

I'm sure at ~$50 for a 2 person joyride, these Trabis are in top condition. I'm pretty sure there are mountains of spare parts all over Germany. Still, I think half the fun of this Safari is the inherent danger of driving what an Americanm car is slowly becoming!(Just kidding Big Three junket boys...Keep begging for money!).
But seriously, remember This Guy I wrote about before? See, that's the "Safari" part of this trip: The whole panic-inducing, omnipresent anxiety of "Will this break down and leave me stranded?" Man, what have we bceome as a species that we have to pay for what was, for our ancient forerunners, every day life? I mean without the stinky smoke -belching 2 stroke motor and fine German beer of course.

Anyway, I say kudos to you, you crafty, enterprising Germans. Why, think of the possibilities of this kind of thing here, with a Pontiac Aztek!.
Doesnt work so much here, but I wonder if these same Germans are thinking of a full blown East German Land amusment park(?)...

Imagine, travelling back in time to the Cold War era. Your stay will be at a luxurious 1 star, Warsaw Pact Hotel, with cold running water, straw filled matresses and a continental breakfast consisting of gray, unidentifiable meat, stale toast and lukewarm, greasy coffee. Hop in your Trabi for a trip across town. Be sure to purchase fuel from a man under the overpass for the best deal. You are then free to wander the shopping districts of East Berlin, marvel at the complete lack of consumer products available to you. Wonder at the loathsome treatment you receive from the shop owners, public works employees and just about anyone else you meet on the street who notice your nice clothes and holeless shoes.
Up for some adventure? Try the "Berliner Mauer" obstacle course(NOTE: Those in 'B' class hotels, this is listed as "In-House Gym". 'A' Class hotel residents are not eligible). Try to make your way through concertina wire, mock mine fileds and crack border guards. Make it to Checkpoint Charlie unscathed and recive 10% off your visit!

Yeah, very funny. Check out Das Leben der Anderen for a stark portayal of the time.

Change You Can't believe...in

2008-11-20T21:37:00.000-08:00

Things look a little weird around here. I gave up and chose the "new" template from Blogger. And by "new", they mean kiss all your old links goodbye. Gah!
Well, it's off to the Wayback Machine to see if I can recover them.

UPDATE:I was able to get my links back from a saved source of my old template...I had to use the Blogger.com half-assed "tool" to do so...I still can't get my Feedjit tool back on the page and sent a nasty note to blogger about their idiotic new tamplates....May be time to find a new host.

Oh, and PS, the "Tom Waits Library" site is hosed...trying to find out what's up.

Why GM is Failing

2008-11-19T17:03:00.000-08:00

Oh, and it really doesn't help when you fly to D.C. in your Private Jet to beg for money...

The Oi-Phone

2008-11-19T13:38:00.000-08:00

Apparently, in the future, we'll all have to speak like some 1950's family sit-com character in order to get our robotic appliances to understand. They never mention this kind of problem in Science Fiction!

Seems a new Google App for the iPhone gets confused by various accents in the UK...and does what Google does best and defaults to 'sex' as a return for almost any query.

"British iPhone owners had less luck when speaking the word "iPhone" into the application -- a Scottish user was offered a porn website after it mistook his search for "sex," the Telegraph reported."

"A Welsh accent gave the suggestions 'gorillas' and 'kitchen sink.'"

It's evidently OK with Yorkshire and Irish accents...go figure. Especially since Yorkshiremen seem to have it rough already!

They don't mention Australia, but I imagine queries for "iPhone" would result in "beer", "beer", "vegemite" and "wombat".

Of course, you can see where this would be a problem in Sci Fi classics...

Dave Bowman: "Open the pod bay doors,HAL"
HAL: "I'm afraid I can't grope the body course, Dave"
Dave: "Wha'? Grope...? What the hell is wrong with you, HAL?"
HAL: "I think you know what a hen weighs Dave."

Proposition H8

2008-11-17T17:12:00.000-08:00

I live in California, more specifically, the Bay Area. I consider myself pretty Liberal in my political views, which is why, when Barack Obama was elected to be our next President, I was happier than a Hippie at a Dead show.
What I wasn't happy about was the outcome of Proposition 8. I'm not gay, but I am married, so I figure, hey, I can't put my 2 cents in here. Since November 4th, a lot of people have been putting their 2 cents in, and thye're really not too happy to have to do it.

I just found a very intersting tool that will show you who donated how much to either side of that proposition. The Interwebs make for a very strange world...I mean, you think you can just go out and donate to a particular campaign or proposition and the next thing you know, someone builds a searchable database.
This has trouble written all over it. And by trouble, I mean boycotts. Well, mostly boycotts.
Go Nuts

A Mug's Game

2008-11-11T10:40:00.000-08:00

"Oh God it's another day..."
When you think of the band Soft Cell, the song "Tainted Love" probably comes to mind. Fair enough, but a little known track(a B side if I'm not mistaken) that totally kicks ass is A Mug's Game(no video, just audio). Be warned that it's not something you want to crank up at work, but you have to listen to it loud to enjoy the lyrics.
Amazingly, I can remember this getting airplay(maybe once) waaay back in the Eighties. I haven't heard it since and have had no luck finding an MP3(didn't look that hard).
Despite it's Britishisms(Waiting to buy "do-do's" at the "Chemists"), it hits a lot of the angst-ridden notes of youngsters everywhere. Indeed, at a young age, Life can be a Mug's Game.

Horsing Around

2008-11-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

OK, I am going out on a limb here and saying this is going viral.

It has everything: Drunken hilarity, more drunken hilarity and unfortunately some property damage. But I think the drunken hilarity trumps the inert horsey.

Hi Yo Silver, Away!!!

And here's the News Story about the whole sordid affair.

If I were these guys' attorney, I'd be working on an "Overcome-by-the-emotion-of-an-Obama-victory" defense.

Double Yay!!

2008-11-05T16:42:00.001-08:00

Found this via BoingBoing...Some really great images...
I wonder if the Right Wing talking heads would consider this a "Terrorist Fist Bump"? Man, looking back, you just gotta wonder, how could there have been so many paid, moronic Republican shills? I guess they'll be gearing up for the next four years, ready to pounce on anything Barack Obama does in office...

I especially like this one...I just love how his kids are so into him. They seem like such a great family. Take that Traditional Values Coalition!!

Yay!!

2008-11-04T22:09:00.001-08:00

Meet Me In The Middle

2008-10-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

A former co-worker of mine is a total Evite queen and is always planning Happy Hour get togethers with current and former employees. Problem is, I don't work in Silicon Valley anymore and another former co-worker and I are always getting pissed off that the gatherings are invariably in Mountain View or Sunnyvale. Neither of us are thrilled at the prospect of driving about an hour to the gig. What's a guy to do? Well, fortunately, there's MeetWays, which will provide you a halfway point to use as a meeting place! Awesome, so let's see...I enter their work address and mine...*searching*...and there ya go...we'll meet in the middle of the Bay, just west of San leandro.
Hmm, OK, maybe I should add a "Halfway Location", like "Pub" or "Beer". Ah, there...wait, Embassy Suites in Burlingame?

Despite this particular case, I really like this tool, at the very least, becasue it will finally end those squabbles over who drove farther to meet someone.
So have fun.

O'Bama

2008-10-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

OK, looks like we've wrapped up the Catholic vote. Yeah, no, I mean...didn't you know Barack was Irish? Don't give me that look...You haven't heard of Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys?

The link above includes their lyrics and here's their Video. Pretty dang funny...

But, it gets better. Shay Black got permission to add a few lines, and there are some great ones in there.
"Fenian to Kenyan it's the American Way..."
or
"With Cheney and Bush, they are ALL IGNORAMA...
There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama"

And I believe this is performed at the Starry Plough in Berkeley.

So check it out and enjoy.

Election Shenanigans

2008-10-07T13:06:00.001-07:00

Like everybody else, I thought I was the only one to notice that elections are bercoming slimier and nastier as the years go by. Apparently, this is only partially accurate. Seems elections have always been raging cesspools of idiocy. It's nice to know our Founding Fathers weren't above calling their opponent's wife a whore. Gee, in light of that, we've come a long way.

On the other hand, I don't remember a VP canidiate who was a Secessionist!. Boy, Sarah, Jefferson Davis would be proud, you betcha!

For Sale...Cheap!

2008-09-28T21:48:00.000-07:00

We had a garage sale a week ago. No, I don't own stock in Lehman Brothers...

I hate them, I mean, hosting them. I do like to go to garage sales and see what I can find, you know, that whole "I-might-find-something-I-can-bring-to-Antiques Roadshow-and-make-a-bundle-of-money" thing. But having one? Feh! Look, I only like the part where people pay me to take away my junk. And despite the state of the economy,people are not all that desperate to take everything.

I mentioned it to my friend who hates garage sales worse than I do.He will never have one and will regale you for minutes, minutes I tell you, on how lame they are. It got me to thinking about them and I remembered our Irish friend who was mortified when she saw one. She was embarrassed for the people and could not believe someone would haul out their personal belongings and throw them on a blanket in their driveway...I figured showing her a Flea Market would just about kill her.

Then I remembered that scene in "Borat"..I'm pretty sure Sacha Cohen thinks Garage Sales are freakish too.

Borat - The Gypsy Yard Sale | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

But the most bizarre take on Garage Sales is that they are GREEN. Yes, you read that right: Garage Sales are part of the whole re-use and recycle part of a Green lifestyle. So much so, that our town and a neighbouring town are working together to sponsor a dual citywide Garage Sale.
OK, I can see that...I admit, I was able to avoid a run to the dump after our sale. What didn't sell, wound up on the curb or I took to the Goodwill. But it just seems funny that the humble Garage Sale, the event you use to rid yourself of the consumerist detritus that has accumulated n your life, is now a radical, environmental statement.

Maybe those schmucks at Lehman Brothers should have one...you know, save us all $700 billion.

Aux Barricades!

2008-09-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

Like many of you reeling from the financial news of the last few days, I too am surprised at the dearth of pitchfork and torch-wielding citizenry at the gates of the Investment banks and even the White House itself. Having barely endured Economics in college, I do not propose to explain what the hell is going on, however I did find an article that seems to summarize it pretty well.

The weird thing is, the names McCain and Gramm seem to show up a lot in it.

"Auntie" Up

2008-09-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

So I had a pretty "traditional" Labor Day", what with the barbecue and the sitting outside in the sun with friends and family. There was, however, a slighlty less-than-traditional element involved this time, and it consisted of a card game. But let me back up a little first.

Back in the mid-nineties, I attended my friend Jean's wedding. He had a lot of family visiting, one of whom was his Aunt. At the time, she was about75 years old, but she was no wet blanket. Au contraire, she was going to teach us how to play Mus! Mus is a Basque card game that requires quite a bit of concentration, so being three or four sheets to the wind that my friend Alan and I were at the time did not help at all. Oh, and you have to communicate in Basque...you know, that whacky language that doesn't seem to have any distinct origin.
Anyway, Jean's aunt was busy trying to explain the game to us, but between her limited English and our limited brain capacity, it began to feel a lot like a game of Fizzbin!

So fast-forward to last weekend..we were at it again, however this time, I wasn't drinking and we had the Internet(Huray Internet!). We googled "mus" and fuond the rules. If you can call them rules. Talk about screwy...Here's a breakdown(and yes, I will provide a link later to the source):

The person drawing the lowest card deals.

Deal goes counterclockwise

8's,9's and 10's are pulled from the deck, King is the highest card, Ace is the lowest.

Then there is the play, where you actually have four ways to play and bet and a fifth "if necessary". I kid you not.

Since we had a print out of the rules and the words you have to use to keep the game going, it was a lot easier to play and sometimes even win. Also, we did not look like a couple of rubes who just fell off the last sheep wagon rolling into town.
Alan and I got pretty good at bandying about the Basque words and phrases, although we did start to modify them into "Basqulish" which just confused the other people at the table who could actually speak the language.

All in all, it is an awesome game. "Cheating" is encouraged! Yes, you're expected to make little facial ticks to your partner, but be careful you don't get caught, otherwise the opposing team will be on to you.

Hopefully we'll get another chance to play and if you want in, then go to this site for more information.
Here's a site that will allow you to hear how the words are pronounced. I got pretty good at "Jokua ez".

Let Them Eat Cake

2008-09-02T11:41:00.000-07:00

Can't stop laughing long enough to eat my cake...
Check out some of these Cake Disasters

I really like the Punctuation problems here and here

Watch Your Step

2008-08-27T07:45:00.000-07:00

Found this on a list of "These are NOT Photoshopped Pictures. It's the world's largest diamond mine and is located in Mirny, Russia.

Where to begin...? So many joke possibilities: "Hey, looks like the asshole of the world isn't Newark, New Jersey!"Just look at that thing! Imagine walking home from the bar one night,you take a wrong turn and...Let's hope they have a nice big fence around it.

Check out the truck they use to haul out dirt, then check the picture where the truck is in the mine. I think there must be a Howard Johnson's about half way down, you know, for pit stops and whatnot.

Sure it's just a big hole, but as far as man-made oddities, I think it ranks high, especially since it's so close to a city. Sure, it might look a little weird out in the middle of nowhere, but check out the planes at the end of the airstrip...Oh, and note in the article that the airspace above is off limits to helicopters. *shudder*

This
is a Google Map satellite view. I put this last, because I think the pictures where you can't see the bottom are a lot more eerie. Yeah, Hades called, he says "Close the damn door, were you born in a barn?"

Planet Saved from Destruction. Huzzah!

2008-08-27T07:14:00.000-07:00

Remeber my post about the asteroid a while back? You know, it's on a collison course with Earth, we're all doomed, check my countdown timer from time to time? Yeah, that one.
Well, you can all breathe a huge sigh of relief, because a really bright Sheila has come up with a way to deflect that nasty rock so we can go on with our lives, however meaningless and hollow they may be.
Her plan is to wrap the thing in Mylar making it a bright, shiny object whose reflective qualities will cause it to be "pushed" away from the sun. Yeah, sounds like a load of shite to me too, but just in case, please send all of your old bithday and party baloons to the University of Queensland's School of Engineering, care of the Sheila who has a few kangaroos loose in the top paddock.

USA! USA! USA!

2008-08-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

Wow everybody, the U.S. Men's Basketball team took the Gold! Imagine, a professional basketball team played...together....as a team...and won the Gold Medal. I, for one, am shocked.

Thank god the Olympics are over so we don't have to be subjected to anymore blathering about how truly amazing it is that these guys went on to beat all comers.

Revelation

2008-08-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

Signs that the end is near:

1. Camel makes menthol cigarettes. It's the one on the right

2. Motorcycles come with a reverse gear. Scroll to "Drivetrain". I even linked it to the model that has an airbag!

3. BMX Racing in the Olympics.So, is the age cut off like 12?

Ugh, looks like we're hosed...

What a Gas

2008-08-07T21:54:00.001-07:00

Here's a sign that the oil crisis is real: On a recent family vacation, my brother-in-law's boat, which can never run for more than about 20 minutes, crapped out again in the middle of the lake. After getting towed to shore, he asked if I wanted some of the gas he just filled up the #$%*! boat with. Really, how bad is that? I declined, but not after seriously considering the offer.

Remember way back when, back in 2006 when I was ranting that we should have the Smart Car here in the U.S.?(Yeah, I know, I way ahead of the curve, thank you very much).Well, I've been inspired again to rave about cool little cars. Now THESE cars are cool and High Mileage! This is exactly what we need now, while gas prices are still high. Believe me, as soon as gas falls back to the ultra low price of $3.00 per gallon, people will be right back at the car dealerships putting a down payment on an SUV.

It's not enough to get these cars in America. We need a paradigm shift(sorry, but I couldn't think of another term). We need to get those Madison Avenue marketing geniuses to get to work convincing us how awesomely cool it is to drive cars that feel like little race cars and still get killer MPG. I'm already convinced...so, hand over one of those Alfa Romeo MiTo's already!

Super Basque

2008-07-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

My friend Jean died last month. It took me a while to get around to writing about it and it's still a bit unreal even after all this time.

I met Jean when I was a student at UCSB. The only reason I did was because my roommate at the time, Alan, was a Graduate Student in Physics and they all tended to hang out together. I hung out with them because they were older and wiser...and could easily buy beer.(NOTE: Alan and Jean were witness to the famed Naked Felix. Chris Felix also tragically died at a young age).
Jean was a French Basque who had his own apartment in Isla Vista, the chic slum-like beach side community for students at UCSB. Since he was the only one with his own place, we all naturally gravitated to it in the evenings, sometimes to his consternation. You see, Jean liked his privacy and we were all usually too clueless or loaded to get the subtle clues that we really needed to get the hell out...for god's sake it was two AM! But Jean was not mean or rude...he has been described by some as bitter or angst-ridden, but I never knew him to say a bad thing about another person. The fact that he put up with me, an Undergrad majoring in Poli-Sci, and never talked down to me and even accepted me in the confederacy of physics geeks that hung out at his studio apartment, proved what a big hearted guy he was.

Not only was Jean a mensch, he could COOK! Of course, he never let us in on this secret talent until after he had moved away. He once cooked a rack of lamb at a New Year's party we had and it was phenomenal. Up until that time I thought he was a pretty awesome nacho chef....

Oh, and he was smart as hell...really. I knew he was a smart guy, but I didn't know how smart. See, Jean could talk to you an just about any subject, intelligently, and was never arrogant about it. Since he knew I was in the dark about High Energy Physics, he stuck to discussing things that I would bring up. Check this out. If your brain doesn't explode after 5 seconds like mine did, well you're a better man than I.

Jean was also instrumental in getting my wife and I married. He was working at CERN at the time and we decided to get married in Geneva. He took care of all the details and planning from his end, despite being neck deep in research...I don't think I ever thanked him enough for all the work he did for us. To think, I might have been married in the county courthouse in Oakland had it not been for Jean!

Finally, don't just take my word for it. Google Jean Duboscq and see for yourself. Or have a look at this blog entry from an old friend of his. Jean really left an impression on everyone he met. Here are others whose lives he touched.

Jean, I will really miss you. Rest easy.

Whew!

2008-07-07T13:35:00.001-07:00

OK, I was on vacation for a week. A whole week...god, when's the last time I did that? Anyway, I have a lot to blather on about, but will wait a bit until I've recovered.

More Flag Stuff

2008-06-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

Found this via the Games For The Brain site. What a great way to test if you really checked out the Flagged Post I did!

Danger Will Robinson!

2008-06-11T10:09:00.000-07:00

My daughter asked me to replace the battery on her Tamagotchi and as I was disassembling it, I noticed a little warning next to the battery compartment that said:
"CAUTION: Battery harmful if swallowed".
Really? I mean, you don't say....Have we come to the point in our overly litigious,Nanny State that we have to warn people that it's probably not a good idea to let your kids eat batteries?
This is the part where I go on my old man rant about how when WE were kids, we didn't have bicycle helmets, baby gates, or even poison labels! Hell, if little Jimmy keeled over after drinking that stuff on a dare, well, you'd just remember not to drink that stuff!Dagnabit, when I was a kid, we had it tough!

Anyway, there are enough other people out there who feel the same way that they've collected a few of these gems.
One of my favorites:
"Caution: Remove infant before folding for storage." -- On a portable stroller.
*sigh*
See to believe:
Shouldn't it be obvious?
Don't put crap into your mouth
Remove the sun shade before driving your car...

Flagged!

2008-06-08T08:34:00.000-07:00

So, as you all probably know already, June 14 is Flag Day in the United States. (What?You didn't know?) While none of us but one lucky state gets the day off as a Holiday(I'm looking at you Pennsylvania...assuming it's still a state holiday...if not, well, sorry), we should still honor the day by flying our beloved Stars and Stripes. Which got me to thinking. Remember when you were a kid in school and you invariably were tasked with drawing the U.S. flag? Remember what a pain it was? all those straight lines for the stripes and the stars! Gah! Fifty stars, and who could make a decent looking star anyway? Except for that one girl up front who did everything well...dang teacher's pet!

Anyway, I remembered thinking that those Japanese kids had it easy, what with a big white flag with a Red circle in the middle...I mean, come on, how tough is that?(Actually, probably pretty tough...you have that whole perfect circle thing, then the centering.) So I found a couple of sites with World Flags to see how bad some kids have it.

I'm pretty sure the kids in Libya have it made. Let's see, one big green rectangle? Check. Done. What's next?

The Kazakh kids on the other hand...I'm guessing the guys who designed it never had to actually draw a flag when they were kids. The filigree is nice, but there's no way a 3rd grader is going to nail that...and that hawk? Forget it.

Pity the poor Nepalese kids...they have to get creative with the shape!

Belarus....eh, that looks like old dot-matrix graphics on the left side there...

The Brazilian kids not only have to do stars like the U.S. kids, but they have to get them right or risk creating new, unheard of constellations!

For those little tykes on the Isle of Mann, well, I just hope they have good therapists, because that is freaky!

I know that if I had been a kid in Mozambique, I would have been totally psyched. You get to draw an AK-47 That's a pretty bad-ass flag.

This site has fewer flags listed than the ones linked above, but the bonus is, it has an explanation behind the colors, designs, etc. Good times.

Sticks and Stones

2008-05-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

I've stayed out of this whole Anonymous vs. Scientology war, but recently ran across an article that makes my blood boil.

Seems a 15 year old protestor in London has been Arrested for holding a sign that used the word "cult" to describe the church of scientology. Apparently, the group of protestors at the May 10th event were "banned by police from describing Scientology as a cult by police because it was 'abusive and insulting'." Wait...What?

This is not the first time the phalanx of scientologist lawyers have used the law(or misused I'd say) to prevent people from excercising basic rights.In fact, the rise of the Anonymous protest against scientology was initiated by scientology's attempts to remove links to videos that were deemed insulting to them. Here is a site with some information and tactics...note the quote at the top by the founder of scientology.
To be sure, I am a little concerned about even noting things like this, as the scientologists are well known for the ability to harras and intimidate...but then, that's the reason I am writing this. How can people stand by when someone gets arrested for holding up a sign with the word "cult " on it?

What are they afraid of?(WARNING: Sites listed below contain images that may be disturbing.) Sites like this or this one claim to provide evidence of more nefarious deeds by the church.

All this has got me to thinking and has led me to delve deeper into what the protest against scientology is all about. There is a lot of information out there, so if you too are curious, there's nothing stopping you from getting at it...at least, not yet.

The next protest is planned for June 14th.

UPDATE: Looks like sanity prevailed

April 13, 2029

2008-05-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

After reading Paracelsus' grim report on How much time we have left on Earth (reminds me, I should really clean the garage), I was already a bit apprehensive about the fate of our planet. Then, I caught a bit of City Arts and Lectures with Neil deGrasse Tyson talking about Asteroid 2004 MN4 (or Apophis) which is slated to come within 18,600 miles of Earth's surface".
Or as NASA's site puts it, "On April 13, 2029, asteroid 2004 MN4 will fly past Earth only 18,600 miles (30,000 km) above the ground. For comparison, geosynchronous satellites orbit at 22,300 miles (36,000 km)." NASA also has a cool animated model so you can see an Alpha Centaurian's-eye view of the (near) collision!

The big test apparently is in 2035 when some(notably Dr. Tyson) think the asteroid will actually smack into Earth....So, maybe I can live with these gas prices, but I will start saving money to get a place further away from the coast.

One more thing, I found another cool gadget on makeuseof that let's you create your own Countdown Timer.
So here's my Doomsday Clock

Southern Belles

2008-04-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

I don't know, maybe it's because I'm getting old(er) or I think popular music today can't hold a candle to awesomeness that was the early Eighties....For whatever reason, I seem to be drawn to morose, Southern singer/songwriters of the female persuasion.

It started a while back, after watching O Brother Where Art Thou?, I bought the soundtrack and fell in love with Alison Krauss' voice. Then, on a drive home from work, when I used to nearly die driving almost two hours one way, I heard "I Wanna Die" by Jolie Holland on KALX. It was so raw and haunting, I bought the CD the next day. Beautiful stuff and my favorite track turned out to be "Wandering Angus", which is a poem by W.B. Yeats that Jolie put to music.
My new Southern girl is Mary Gauthier. Same deal...driving in the car, switched channels (KFOG this time) and heard the last minute of Between The Daylight And The Dark". I just sat in the driveway until the last note faded and was dumbstruck...Of course, I bought the CD the next day. You can listen to samples on hersite, but I'd reccomend getting her latest album. I'm listening to some of her older stuff and will probably wind up with a few of those CD's as well, but this one is stunning. If you don't cry during "Thanksgiving", there's something wrong with you.

Oh well, don't know who I'll end up enamored with next, but if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

There will be blood

2008-04-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

I paid $3.99 a gallon the other day....Four bucks a gallon, to drive on pitted and pot-holed roads. Everyone is ranting about the sky-high price of gas, especially those enormous SUV drivers(THe SUV's, not the drivers...are enormous...oh nevermind).
Anyway, it reminds me of when I was kid traveling the western U.S. with my dad in his motorhome....It was just after the Iranian Hostage crises and we were flabbergasted at the idea of .80 a gallon gas....Where would it end we thought!

A better question is "Why?" Why in the name of Buddah are we paying more than twice what we paid less than five years ago while Exxon is posting record-breaking profits?
I always hear the same sob stories from the Oil companies, they usually go like this:
"There hasn't been a new refinery built in the U.S. in 30 years...California has stringent environmental laws requiring us to reformulate gas...The Summer Driving Season(!)...Refineries are being repaired...Hurricane Katrina/Rita...If only we could drill in the ANWR/Grand Canyon/Yosemite...blah,blah,blah..count the money,count the money.."

I found a couple of intersting articles via Digg...you be the judge:

Articel 1

Article2

Good luck...I'm buying a Tesla

PS As luck would have it, NOVA had on a special last night entitled Car of the future. Provided a good overview on the challenges we face...and best of all, it was hosted by Tom and Ray Magliozzi,the Car Talk guys!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

2008-04-16T16:41:00.001-07:00

I just watched Shoot 'Em Up last night and had to say something about it. (Trailer here)
First, I don't think I would have been thrilled to spend nine bucks at a theater to see it...that's why there's Netflix.
Second, if you like shootouts, I mean really like shootouts, then this is the movie for you. In fact, the whole movie is just one continuous shootout. The hero finds himself in ever more ridiculous situations where he is required to shoot his way out. I won't sopil any of the scenes for you, but trust me, this guy shoots his way out of every position imaginable.

This is no Oscar winner...hell, it's not even a contender, with the ultra violence, gratuitous nudity, gallons of blood and inane one liners..but there's something about the over-the-top ridiculousness of it all that is appealing. The plot(plot?) is pretty lame, the little idosyncrasies of the protagonist are borderline annoyoing, yet I watched it to the end.
Why?
Normally I hate to suspend this much disbelief...really. I could not stand Independence Day...God! Jeff Goldblum hacking the Mothership with a Mac...Kill me now! Somehow with Shoot 'Em Up, you manage to let it slide that the guy just fired 23 shots from a pistol that would hold 14...Or that he actually HIT someone while sliding on his back through a bunch of motor oil. I guess it's like a Kung Movie, don't let the plot or need for good dialog/acting spoil the action. Or as one commenter on IMDB put it: Gun Porn At It's Best.

Flighty

2008-04-08T10:06:00.000-07:00

Ah, here's another good time-waster...It was sent in one of those emails that's been forwarded a million times, so I naturally was going to ignore it. Since it had to do with Geography, I had to open. (Thanks Mom).

You might think it's a pretty lame web-game...some sleazy corporate attempt to get you hooked into buying their product or service. Allow me to present you the truly, Worst Web Game Ever*

*According to Digg voters.

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

2008-03-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

So I found this site while checking out makeuseof.com today. It claims to track down those annoying copycats out there who are stealing all of your blog contetnt.

Now for me, it's not such a big deal, you know, because if I ever came up with some original content, the world just might end. For example, I did a search on my URL and found John MCManamon's site that had the same, *gasp*, joke as mine! Eh, well, he posted his 473 days ago...and he referenced William Wallace, not Bonnie Prince Charlie. So he might want to have a word with me.

On the other hand, this would be useful for guys like The Photoshop Disasters dude I wrote about below, who obvioulsy has someone leeching his stuff. Looks like now he's aware of it and is watermarking all his work.

So, how do you measure up? Check and see how much of your Intellectual Property is being mined for god knows what reason.

Plastic Surgery Photoshop Disasters

2008-03-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

OK..UPDATE:
This guy's blog appears to be the original ...the one below I guess is glomming off of it...not sure.

UPDATE: I am removing the original. DIGG'd link and keeping the Photoshopdisasters page above.

It's great to see someone calling an "Emperor has no clothes" (or "The Emperor's butt was badly photoshopped")on all the retouched and refinished images we are subjected to every day.
Honestly, I wonder how many celebrities I've passed on the street, totally unaware of their presence, because they look like every other schlub walking around.

I'm not sure which fakes I like better: The obvious 'airbrushing' of stars to make then look flawless or the bonehead mistakes of the artists who apparently need to take an anatomy class

Happy St. Pat's

2008-03-17T11:05:00.001-07:00

Amused to Death

2008-03-13T14:10:00.000-07:00

OK, what a week.....And yes, I'm an awful person for not updating in weeks. WEEKS!

What are you gonna do?

Las Vegas. A week in this town can be rough, especially on someone who has never been. Yes, it's true...I'm a Vegas virgin.

The thing is, it's the money and what it buys you...A whole city built on entertainment...whatever makes you happy.

Want to gamble? Knock yourself out? Drink anywhere and everywhere? Sure. Get a prostitute sent to your room in less than 20 minutes? You got it pal. Well, I did one of those, but I wasn't that much happier. You can probably guess which.
Among other things, it got me to Thinking...capital "T" thinking, about what happiness is, and since Vegas ain't a place you're going to find the Dalai Lama, I did the next best thing and went online.(OK, I was working a conference there and had some downtime too...)

I managed to run across a guy who was selling his Isolation Tank. Yeah, so it's Joe Rogan...but the idea is that this guy, and plenty of others, used this device in an attempt to attain a higher level of happiness. I know it would have been a better article had it been written by Timothy Leary, but Joe does make a few good points about clearing your mind to find inner peace and happiness. And no, I didn't bother with the video...let me know if it sucked.

On the other hand, I found a guy writing about a trip he took on his Ural motorcycle. Not just any trip, but a trip from Halifax to Seattle...on a Ural. Those of you who are unfamiliar with Urals just think of them as a motorcycle version of an East German Trabant...but not as smoky and prone to failure. OK, they do fail...just read Lutz' story.But still, not as smoky.

I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance a zillion years ago and at the time i really missed the point. I don't know, I always liked motorcycles and maybe I was thinking there'd be some cool racing or something going on in the book. Lutz' story took me back to that book, it brought the point home. I mean, this guy was daring and brave(and a little nuts) to take this trip, but it's so beautiful. He couldn't have been happier, even though at some point he was riding with only ONE cylinder firing...it didn't matter. This kind of odyssey...is it Quixotic?....Who knows...What I do know is, after reading it I wanted to do it. I wanted to pile my stuff in a Ural and see where the road took me;to greet the occasional mechanical failure as an opportunity to learn, to meet new people, to take in stride the crap life throws you on your journey. I mean, admit it folks, some of our lives are more Ural-like than BMW-like if you know what I mean, and rather than fight it, you should accept the fact that your spark plug wires sometimes get fried and you have to figure out a work-around. It just sounded like such a great trip and when you think about it, a motorcycle is a kind of Isolation Tank.

I think of the two paths to happiness I read about, Lutz' struck me as the more enjoyable. I'd much rather take my chances on the road than float in a salt bath in pitch darkness...I don't know, call me crazy.

As for Vegas, meh, it's not for me. Maybe if I were younger and/or single-er, I'd have enjoyed it, but as it was, I chose to dream of rattling down a backroad on a Cossack bike, hoping the axle wouldn't fail before I got to the next town.

Here's the Ural "accessories" page. Notice the repair manual is the first item listed. I'm just saying.

Here are more stories of people and their Urals

Writer's Bloc

2008-02-12T20:21:00.000-08:00

So this bitter strike by the WGA may at this very moment be over. Whew! What a relief...I mean, how long can we be expected to go without? Without...without what?
It's not like a garbage strike in the middle of summer....or a transit strike that leaves you stranded at a bus stop or train station...What are we actually giving up because of this strike? We're giving up crappy TV.

Now I know these people have a job to do and we should respect Labor. Believe me, I do: I won't cross a picket line. But how do you NOT cross a picket line here? Most people have not turned off their TV's, they're simply fed slightly crappier fare than usual...All these half-baked shows that I guess the networks keep in reserve in just such a situation. Scab TV! OK, so what is it? It's "Reality TV"...we've had that for a while, but this stuff is the junk that would never normally see the light of day. Not like, you know, "CSI"...or "Two and a Half Men"..or, gack, "According to Jim". There..the emperor has no damn clothes.
Come on...There's probably somone on that picket who is responsible for "Moesha"!
Yeah, there are your random "Lost" or "Simpsons" writers, but let's face it, most of these guys are looking for yet another specialty version of "Law and Order" or "CSI".

I hope they get what they need to make a living, but is too much to ask to get some good product?

Stand in the place where you live

2008-02-01T19:47:00.000-08:00

Just saw this Improv Everywhere mission today and thought it was just incredible. I've seen another of this type of thing in a Best Buy or Circuit City (think it was aFlash Mob event), and though it was amusing , it somehow wasn't as powerful as this one.
I think it's the sheer size...bigger is better! And the sheer number of participants. The reactions are classic and the Agents' ability to remain stock still is awesome. To pull this off in New York is no mean feat...although you could argue there is a large percentage of non -New Yorkers in this case. But the main thing that struck me was how much fun this must be. The good news is, they're not just in New York...They're global.

Another great Mission was the Abercrombie & Fitch shirtless-in. "What? But you hired a shirtless guy to stand in your store...why can't I shop shirtless?". Um....two words: Man boobs.

More missions here

Apple Air

2008-01-17T14:19:00.000-08:00

Steve Jobs called...Here's the new Laptop Bag for your Apple Air

After all, after spending $3200 for a laptop, you'll have nothing left to buy a real bag...

*UPDATE: OK, I didn't know they wre actually using these things in their commercials...Come on, this is a joke! Honestly, I can't wait to see someone bring their busted up Air into the "Genius Bar" and ask for a warranty repair because the laptop case/envelope didn't keep the LCD from cracking.

A Scotsman(boy) has enough

2008-01-11T10:54:00.000-08:00

Got this from my friend Freakshow...He's not Scottish, but can appreciate a good joke when he sees one.

Teacher: "Good morning children, each Thursday we're
going to have a general knowledge quiz. The pupil who
gets the answer right can have Friday and Monday off
and not come back to school until Tuesday." Wee Jock
thinks, "Ya bassa. Ah'm
pure brilliant at ma general knowledge stuff. This is
gonnae be a dawdle, come ahead ya radge, a lang
weekend fir me.'

Teacher: "Right class , who can tell me who said
'Don't ask what your country can do for you, but what
you can do for your country?' Wee Jock shoots up his
hand, waving furiously in the air. Teacher looking
round picks Jeremy at the front. Teacher: Yes,
Jeremy." Jeremy (in a very English accent): "Yes miss,
the answer is J F Kennedy - inauguration speech 1960."
Teacher: "Very good Jeremy. You may stay off Friday
and Monday and we will see you back in class on
Tuesday."

The next Thursday comes around, and Wee Jock is even
more determined. Teacher: "Who said. 'We will fight
them on the beaches, we will fight them in the air, we
will fight them at sea. But we will never surrender?'"
Wee Jock's hand shoots up, arm stiff as a board,
shouting "I know. I know. Me Miss, me Miss." Teacher
looking round and picks Timothy, sitting at the front:
"Yes Timothy."

Timothy (In a very, very posh, English accent): "Yes
miss, the answer is Winston Churchill, 1941 Battle of
Britain speech."
Teacher: " Very good Timothy, you may stay off Friday
and Monday and come back to class on Tuesday." The
following Thursday comes around and Wee Jock is hyper,
he's been studying encyclopedias all week and he's
ready for anything that comes.

He's coiled in his wee chair, slavers dripping in
anticipation. Teacher: "Who said 'One small step for
man, one giant leap for mankind'?" Wee Jock's arm
shoots straight in the air, he's standing on his seat,
jumping up and down screaming "Miss, me miss, meeeeee!
" Teacher looking round the class picks Rupert,
sitting at the front: "Yes Rupert." Rupert (In a
frightfully, frightfully, ever so plummy English
accent: "Yes miss, that was Neil Armstrong. 1969, The
first moon landing." Teacher: Very good Rupert. You
may stay off Friday and Monday and come back into
class on Tuesday."

Wee Jock loses the plot altogether, tips his desk and
throws his wee chair at the wall. He starts screaming:
"Where the f**K did all these English b*st*rds come
from?" Teacher looking round the class: "Who the hell
said that?" Wee Jock, grabs his coat and bag and heads
for the door, "Bonnie Prince Charlie, Culloden, 1746.
See you on Tuesday."

Who was Bonnie Prince Charlie?

North vs. South

2007-12-24T12:18:00.000-08:00

It's that most wonderful time of year again folks..yes, the time of year I have to keep explaining to my kids that Penguins live in the South Pole, not the North Pole and as such, cannot cavort with Polar bears! It doesn't help that a major soft drink company perpetuates this myth with their Holiday Commercial.
You can buy any number of Penguin themed decorations for your yard:
This, This(Gah! Are there igloos in the South Pole?? No!) or This!.
Setting aside the undeniable tackiness of these things and the argument that Chirstamas is becoming too secular, I would be happy if there was at least a little accuracy when it come to habitat! Sure, maybe Snowmen live in the South pole with Penguins, fine...But not polar bears or Eskimos damnit.

That being said, have a Holly Jolly Christmas.
/Scrooge-like rant.

Spock, you green-blooded son of a....

2007-12-12T09:33:00.000-08:00

I'm not a huge Trekkie(Yes, they're Trekkies, Trekkers are people who actually get outside and do things, like hike!), but I found these Inspirational Posters just awesome. But not, you know, inspirational.

I am at a loss though to explain This One.
Anybody?

What will happen when the gas runs out?

2007-11-20T16:31:00.000-08:00

Years ago, before we were really talking about oil dependency and shrinking reserves(well, after we talked about it in the '70's), I remember reading about how one day oil reserves would dry up and we'd be left with no more petroleum. At the time I rode a motorcycle as my primary mode of transportation and the first thought I had was: "Good God! Will there be no more motorcycles?"

Well, it looks like others had he same fear, and much like the awesome Tesla that people are lining up to pay big bucks for, there appears to be a fair number of "alternative" motorcycles out there.

This Drag Bike is amazing, however a bit impractical around town.

Then there's the Enertia...Looks pretty dorky...and that price! But, hey, it's a step in the right direction.

Lastly there's the Fuel Cell motorcycle which sounds reeeealy cool until you see the top speed is 50 MPH. Damn!

Anyway...Which candidate out there running for President is committed to ensuring there will be fast, cool looking motorcycles when the gas runs out? 'Cause they got MY vote!

My New Favorite Site

2007-10-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

There must be a million sites out there dedicated to posting offbeat and funny pics and videos, but somehow Oomsa has become my favorite.
It's not snarky or meanspirited and is mostly SFW, although you might make an argument with This. *Shudder*

For the most part, there are some really cool images, so I'll leave you with a few:

The Scandals of GW Bush and Friends

2007-10-23T11:39:00.001-07:00

I was lamenting the other day, yes, actually lamenting, how I could never keep track of all the scandals the Bush Administrattion had been involved in. Unlike Clinton, (what were there...Lewinsky and White Water?), The current administrattion has been up to its neck in scandal.This from a guy who campigned about bringing honor back to the Presidency. Feh!

At any rate, Hugh's List is a great collection of the scandals, missteps and misdeeds all done in the name of America or fighting terror or whatever the excuse du jour happens to be

Pretty pathetic.

PS I don't think This One made the list yet

What's the frequency Kenneth?

2007-10-11T12:34:00.000-07:00

The frequency of blog posts that is.
See, all this time you thought I was being lazy...or stupid..or lazy. While in fact, I have been on the cutting edge, nay, the BLEEDING EDGE.
(Did I just use "nay" and "bleeding edge" in the same sentence?? Wow, how naying-edge am I?)

Any way, once again I have been justified without my even knowing it.
According to Eric Kintz, it's bad form to post every day..so Web 1.0. *sigh*

#6 is great..yeah, you can tell the quality of my posts are awesome because of my infrequent posting.

#7...Uh, taking yourself a little too seriously much?

#8 and #9...I just think they are reaching......

And #10? Please..who are you trying to score points with??

Anyway, check it out..and if you blog, take it easy...don't post too often. See, you'll be helping to maintain the "Credibility of the Blogosphere".

All Hail Techno Viking

2007-09-29T22:48:00.000-07:00

Righter of wrongs, Defender of the meek...and a bad-ass dancer!

Plus he has his own waterboy!

Today's Lesson in Democracy

2007-09-28T08:57:00.001-07:00

Brought to you by The Texas Legislature

Awwww

2007-09-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

That's all you can really say, although I might add "Holy crap! A POLAR BEAR!!" would work too.
Unless of course you're a goofy dog who just wants to play in the snow...with a 1200 pound polar bear.

This is the kind of thing that restores your faith in humani...er,...in animal kind.

More Help Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy

2007-08-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

Yeah...makes me want to get Cable.

UPDATE: The video was yanked from YouTube...found it again on Metacafe.

Daily Show - America To The Rescue

Forbidden Lego. Forsigtighed!

2007-08-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

Wow...Who wouldn't love this? Another great reason Engineers rule!
With Forbidden Lego you can design and build all the dangerous things the Lego folks could never offer for fear of lawsuits and bad press.

Be sure to check out the Video Sample of the Lego gun and the Step by Step plans for a paper airplane launcher.

Fornøjelse!

The You Tube Threat

2007-08-13T08:20:00.000-07:00

An interesting television show was on the other night on ABC. I found it interesting because it was a great example of TV trying to survive in the face of streaming video...I guess they see things like YouTube and Metacafe as competition.
The show is called icaught and it basically rehashes everything you'cve already seen online.Maybe it's just another cheap attempt to grab ratings...it's easy to run a teaser of guys crashing bikes or animals going nuts to draw in viewers.
But they have an added advantage: A big budget.

For example, they took a now-famous video, which coincidentally is referenced on my friend Ned's blog and gathered together those involved for interviews. I was torn. I mean, the video itself is what YouTube is all about..the raw, real world thrown out there in ever increasing numbers of videos. However, the folks at ABC got the guy who took the video(turns out he barely knows how to work his camera) and another guy who DIDN'T film it,but posted a copy he received on YouTube for a friend to see. They can pay to get all those involved together and "explain" it all to you.

I'm still not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, i-caught is just shameless copycatting by a powerful network, masquerading as, yes, NEWS.

On the other hand, it is interesting to get some back-story on the stuff you see.

Ultimately, I have to give it a thumbs down. The cheesy voice-overs and unnecessary editing(gotta save time for commercials) and the whole bandwagon mentality turns me off of it.
They should stick with what they're good at when it comes to videos: People getting hit in the crotch.

PS I might watch if they get Gary Brolsma on.

Foreign Policy Primer

2007-08-10T08:33:00.000-07:00

A little too close for comfort...
How to Explain Foreign Policy to your kids

Winnebago Warrior

2007-08-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

Imagine that! A pro-war Republican with sons who are NOT enlisting.
No, really, driving around helping Dad get elected is really tough work...

Tiocfaidh Ár Lá

2007-07-31T12:09:00.000-07:00

One step closer!

Let's hope this heralds the beginning of a new era!