9 hours ago
Thursday, September 04, 2008
You Don't Know Shit About Shit, And Pull Up Your Pants!
I think we all think droopy pants are kinda gross, but...30 days in jail? Is that really necessary?
How About Doing Some Actual Research?
Wow. Here's further evidence that important folks in the U.S. legal system don't understand the series of tubes that is the internet. The department of Homeland Security and the Board of Immigration Appeals used Wikipedia, a site edited by anyone with a computer, to decide that someone's request for asylum should be denied. Finally, thank god, the U.S. court of appeals said no no no! Wikipedia isn't good enough!
Don't get me wrong, Wikipedia can be a handy thing. But everybody knows it's less than reliable. They try to have enough citations, etc. but there are still glaring errors all over the thing. It should never, ever, ever, be used to make serious decisions.
What's wrong with these government bodies that they can't look stuff up in their own libraries? Were they just too lazy and thought a wiki would be good enough? Good god.
Don't get me wrong, Wikipedia can be a handy thing. But everybody knows it's less than reliable. They try to have enough citations, etc. but there are still glaring errors all over the thing. It should never, ever, ever, be used to make serious decisions.
What's wrong with these government bodies that they can't look stuff up in their own libraries? Were they just too lazy and thought a wiki would be good enough? Good god.
Paper Planes
Morning, Campers!
Has anybody heard that song Paper Planes by M.I.A.? It's kinda trippy. I may get flamed for saying I like it but it's kind of catchy. Sure it's poppy but at least it sounds different than anything else getting churned out right now... and I'll give them points for that.
The NFL kicks off tonight... I likely won't watch. I don't know what it is but I just don't care about the NFL on my own. I think it's more of a party thing for me. I love the Argos, Leafs and Jays and if I have to sit and watch their game alone I will - but I don't have a huge vested interested in any team so I don't sit and watch it by myself. I have a couple teams I like and I'll check the scores... and I don't miss playoff games... but I just don't care right now.
I'm going to be in Ottawa this weekend and it sounds like I'm going to a "Games Night" on Friday. I'm not normally in to board/card games at all but it should be good as there will be much beer and we find ways of altering games to incorperate these beers. That said, anyone have any good games they'd like to suggest?
The main reason for being there is to pick up from the insurance company what's left of my posessions after the fire. That should be an entirely depressing afternoon. But hey - at least I'll get my iPod back! I miss my portable music more than I miss my house! Kinda sad, isn't it?
How about that retarded Senator who at the Republican Convention last night fucked up the VP candidates name? Some 239 year old hag got up and gave a speech about how long it took to get a woman on the ticket and then proceeded to call her "Sarah Palinte". I guess she was trying to give her a more French or Spanish sound to try and sway some votes. EMBARASSING!
Well I suppose that's all for now but keep scrolling as Carin's got a good read posted down there. For the record I hate T9 when texting... I think it's because I use a lot of uncommon words when texting (or talking) so I'm constantly correcting it to the point where I might as well just use the old system.
Later
Has anybody heard that song Paper Planes by M.I.A.? It's kinda trippy. I may get flamed for saying I like it but it's kind of catchy. Sure it's poppy but at least it sounds different than anything else getting churned out right now... and I'll give them points for that.
The NFL kicks off tonight... I likely won't watch. I don't know what it is but I just don't care about the NFL on my own. I think it's more of a party thing for me. I love the Argos, Leafs and Jays and if I have to sit and watch their game alone I will - but I don't have a huge vested interested in any team so I don't sit and watch it by myself. I have a couple teams I like and I'll check the scores... and I don't miss playoff games... but I just don't care right now.
I'm going to be in Ottawa this weekend and it sounds like I'm going to a "Games Night" on Friday. I'm not normally in to board/card games at all but it should be good as there will be much beer and we find ways of altering games to incorperate these beers. That said, anyone have any good games they'd like to suggest?
The main reason for being there is to pick up from the insurance company what's left of my posessions after the fire. That should be an entirely depressing afternoon. But hey - at least I'll get my iPod back! I miss my portable music more than I miss my house! Kinda sad, isn't it?
How about that retarded Senator who at the Republican Convention last night fucked up the VP candidates name? Some 239 year old hag got up and gave a speech about how long it took to get a woman on the ticket and then proceeded to call her "Sarah Palinte". I guess she was trying to give her a more French or Spanish sound to try and sway some votes. EMBARASSING!
Well I suppose that's all for now but keep scrolling as Carin's got a good read posted down there. For the record I hate T9 when texting... I think it's because I use a lot of uncommon words when texting (or talking) so I'm constantly correcting it to the point where I might as well just use the old system.
Later
More People Than Tim McLean Have Lost Their Heads
The other day, I was talking about how lawyers are scum. Here's another example of their scumminess.
Now, the family of Tim McLean is suing Vince Weiguang Li, Greyhound, the government and the RCMP for what happened on that bus back in July. They feel that there should have been more security measures in place and The RCMP should have gone in and got him out sooner before he had such a chance to mutilate the body.
Ok, let's break it down. I understand their wanting to sue Vince Weiguang Li, even though the idea of suing someone for killing someone always seemed alittle odd to me. But I guess, when you get down to it, what's the difference between putting a dollar figure on someone's life and deciding how many years in jail that life is worth? It's still quantifying a life in some way. I don't know how much luck they'll have getting any money out of him, though.
I also understand them questioning why the RCMP didn't get Li out of the bus sooner. But shouldn't that be dealt with in an inquiry or something? Wouldn't that be more effective?
But here's where I get mad. They want to sue Greyhound and the government because they feel more safety measures need to be in place on greyhound buses. I understand people's natural reaction when a tragedy happens. They want to look at it as something that could be prevented in the future. They don't want to think that this was something utterly random, unexpected, and unforeseeable by a reasonable human being. If it's preventable, it can be dealt with and someone can be blamed.
I ask two questions. How would you prevent something like this from happening again? Are you going to make everybody go through a security-screening similar to boarding a plane? How does that work when people get on the bus at non-station stops? Second, how often have their been murders, or even serious assaults, on greyhound? I cannot think of another incident. So, why would there be a need to make sweeping policy changes? If people were getting killed left and right on buses, that would be another thing. But they're not.
I would never say that what happened wasn't horrible. It was. It was horrible and unexplainable and scary and a terrible waste of a life. But does every horrible event need to have a corresponding lawsuit? Did a lawyer persuade them they should sue? Did s/he see an opportunity and decide to take it? If the family were the ones who decided they wanted to sue, independent of persuasion from a lawyer, why couldn't the lawyer have been sensible enough to say this didn't look like a good idea? Oh yeah, they never do, unless it looks like the client doesn't have the money to pay them.
I hope that the McLean family gets the answers they want, as much as is possible. But I really don't think those answers can come from a lawsuit. I also hope the lawsuit doesn't succeed in changing Greyhound's policies. One of the reasons I like the bus is because it's so flexible and there aren't so many restrictions as there are with flying. That, and it's cheap. Making changes to increase security may ruin all of that.
Horrible stuff can happen to us anywhere, and it can happen despite our best efforts to be safe. All we can do is be reasonable, something this lawsuit is not.
Now, the family of Tim McLean is suing Vince Weiguang Li, Greyhound, the government and the RCMP for what happened on that bus back in July. They feel that there should have been more security measures in place and The RCMP should have gone in and got him out sooner before he had such a chance to mutilate the body.
Ok, let's break it down. I understand their wanting to sue Vince Weiguang Li, even though the idea of suing someone for killing someone always seemed alittle odd to me. But I guess, when you get down to it, what's the difference between putting a dollar figure on someone's life and deciding how many years in jail that life is worth? It's still quantifying a life in some way. I don't know how much luck they'll have getting any money out of him, though.
I also understand them questioning why the RCMP didn't get Li out of the bus sooner. But shouldn't that be dealt with in an inquiry or something? Wouldn't that be more effective?
But here's where I get mad. They want to sue Greyhound and the government because they feel more safety measures need to be in place on greyhound buses. I understand people's natural reaction when a tragedy happens. They want to look at it as something that could be prevented in the future. They don't want to think that this was something utterly random, unexpected, and unforeseeable by a reasonable human being. If it's preventable, it can be dealt with and someone can be blamed.
I ask two questions. How would you prevent something like this from happening again? Are you going to make everybody go through a security-screening similar to boarding a plane? How does that work when people get on the bus at non-station stops? Second, how often have their been murders, or even serious assaults, on greyhound? I cannot think of another incident. So, why would there be a need to make sweeping policy changes? If people were getting killed left and right on buses, that would be another thing. But they're not.
I would never say that what happened wasn't horrible. It was. It was horrible and unexplainable and scary and a terrible waste of a life. But does every horrible event need to have a corresponding lawsuit? Did a lawyer persuade them they should sue? Did s/he see an opportunity and decide to take it? If the family were the ones who decided they wanted to sue, independent of persuasion from a lawyer, why couldn't the lawyer have been sensible enough to say this didn't look like a good idea? Oh yeah, they never do, unless it looks like the client doesn't have the money to pay them.
I hope that the McLean family gets the answers they want, as much as is possible. But I really don't think those answers can come from a lawsuit. I also hope the lawsuit doesn't succeed in changing Greyhound's policies. One of the reasons I like the bus is because it's so flexible and there aren't so many restrictions as there are with flying. That, and it's cheap. Making changes to increase security may ruin all of that.
Horrible stuff can happen to us anywhere, and it can happen despite our best efforts to be safe. All we can do is be reasonable, something this lawsuit is not.
Trixter Updates
Wow. I was out of it when I finished my last post, because I forgot all the dog stuff that I wanted to talk about. So here's a post all about Trix and the past few days. It'll be small because it would have fit nicely in the bigger post, but oh well.
I love how she just settles in at mom and dad's. If she's tired, she just goes to one of the beds we have set out for her. Mom and dad just think she's so cool.
I was a bit worried about whether she'd behave at the service because when I met my sister in Toronto so we could go the rest of the way together, she was acting like a little bum! I think she was bad because she really had to get to the doggy john, and that was keeping her from thinking straight. But that didn't stop me from having nightmares. I dreamed that when we stopped to put roses on grandma's grave, Trixie took a wiz. I dreamed she sniffed too many people. I dreamed she wouldn't follow. I dreamed every possible bad scenario, including one where Jill and Paxol were there, and Paxol was behaving far better than Trixie, and everybody, including Jill, wondered why I had such a poorly-behaved guide dog. I don't understand why, in that dream, Paxol was pulling Jill in a wheelchair. But there it is.
Anyway, all that dreaming wasn't necessary. Trixie behaved absolutely beautifully. She followed mom perfectly, which was great, since services don't leave a lot of room for talking to confirm that I was following the right person. She was super careful of all the people, She was super awesome. She stood and did not even think of sniffing all the roses that people were setting down. Everybody thought she looked absolutely beautiful.
there was one pet peeve, har har, I had that virtually everyone did. Everyone seemed to offer their sympathies to the dog as well, petting her head. Arg! In most circumstances, I don't think twice about telling them to stop, but this is a funeral! But I also didn't want them to turn her into an attention-seeking nut at the funeral. So, I think I reached a good compromise. When they started petting her, I would take their hand and squeeze it and say something like "thanks for coming." That would a. stop the petting, and b. not make me look like a jerk. But god a lot of people tried to pet Trixie, and seldom was there a person who restrained themselves. There were a few, and I thanked them profusely.
Trixie got to do something that I never get to do with her. She got to free run around mom and dad's huge yard! It isn't fensed, but it's huge, and we were all out there. God she had fun. She ran and ran and ran and sniffed. I don't know what it is about mom's grass and flowers, but Trixie thinks they're extra special.
I think that's about it. I said it was going to be short. It sure was.
I love how she just settles in at mom and dad's. If she's tired, she just goes to one of the beds we have set out for her. Mom and dad just think she's so cool.
I was a bit worried about whether she'd behave at the service because when I met my sister in Toronto so we could go the rest of the way together, she was acting like a little bum! I think she was bad because she really had to get to the doggy john, and that was keeping her from thinking straight. But that didn't stop me from having nightmares. I dreamed that when we stopped to put roses on grandma's grave, Trixie took a wiz. I dreamed she sniffed too many people. I dreamed she wouldn't follow. I dreamed every possible bad scenario, including one where Jill and Paxol were there, and Paxol was behaving far better than Trixie, and everybody, including Jill, wondered why I had such a poorly-behaved guide dog. I don't understand why, in that dream, Paxol was pulling Jill in a wheelchair. But there it is.
Anyway, all that dreaming wasn't necessary. Trixie behaved absolutely beautifully. She followed mom perfectly, which was great, since services don't leave a lot of room for talking to confirm that I was following the right person. She was super careful of all the people, She was super awesome. She stood and did not even think of sniffing all the roses that people were setting down. Everybody thought she looked absolutely beautiful.
there was one pet peeve, har har, I had that virtually everyone did. Everyone seemed to offer their sympathies to the dog as well, petting her head. Arg! In most circumstances, I don't think twice about telling them to stop, but this is a funeral! But I also didn't want them to turn her into an attention-seeking nut at the funeral. So, I think I reached a good compromise. When they started petting her, I would take their hand and squeeze it and say something like "thanks for coming." That would a. stop the petting, and b. not make me look like a jerk. But god a lot of people tried to pet Trixie, and seldom was there a person who restrained themselves. There were a few, and I thanked them profusely.
Trixie got to do something that I never get to do with her. She got to free run around mom and dad's huge yard! It isn't fensed, but it's huge, and we were all out there. God she had fun. She ran and ran and ran and sniffed. I don't know what it is about mom's grass and flowers, but Trixie thinks they're extra special.
I think that's about it. I said it was going to be short. It sure was.
Updates About Stuff And Stuff
Well, it's time for a post full of ramblings about the mundane details of my life. Anyone who wants a nap could probably get one now.
Grandma's service last weekend was really amazing. The service itself was pretty ordinary, but it was all the feeling around it that made it so incredible. We showed up a half-hour early so that we could be there to shake hands and talk to people as they came in. But when we arrived, there were already 15 people there to greet us! Like woe. The church was full by the time the service started. Yup, Grandma was known and loved in the community. The minister was really cute, and included his own personal stories about Grandma. You could tell they actually knew each other. My cousin and my mom got up and made little speeches about Grandma, talking about all the cool stuff she did and the way she was. I think they conveyed a nice picture of her. It's funny. Mom made an effort not to talk to my cousin or the minister about the eulogy she was writing because she didn't want them all to start talking about theirs and then have them all sort of bleed together. Even so, there were still a lot of common themes. there was Grandma's love of gardening, cooking, and people in general and her need to keep busy. That came through loud and clear in all the eulogies.
It's weird to see neighbours you haven't seen in a long time. I know that time marches on, but in my mind I always have people frozen at the same age they were when I last saw them. Then I remember that they're the same age as me, so it makes sense that they're now married and have a couple of kids. but for a second, I thought it was absolutely unfathomable that they're all grown up and gone.
While I'm home, I end up texting more than I do here. I don't use the dialup at home much to check email, and if I just want to send a message to Steve, it makes more sense to text. This weekend, I thought I'd try the whole t9 predictive text thing, and am I ever glad I did!
Before, when I wanted to text, I'd have to spell every word out. This could mean a lot of presses of the same key just to get one letter. It would take me forever just to send a simple message. Now, I only press each key once for each letter I want, and as I go, it takes guesses at what word you want to say. For example, in the old mode, the word message would have been 6, 33, 7777, 7777, 2, 4, 33. Now it's 6 3 7 7 2 4 3 and it changes its mind about what word I'm going for as more digits get added. It's surprisingly accurate! If it doesn't have the word I'm looking for, I can just add it.
Sometimes it's a bit of a brain-screw when you have to add a word and you have to go back to the old mode. Even though you know you're spelling a word the old way, you still try and write it the quick way and wait for the guesses. How quickly it's getting me to adjust.
My new computer is here! My new computer is here! And it's a dream! I got so used to waiting for the old, stupid computer to come to its senses every time I asked it to do anything new. This one actually responds instantly, and it's awesome! It's been so long since I've had a decent computer that it feels extra good.
I did have an annoying experience with the Freedom Scientific ILM activation scheme. Remember how I bitched about how you couldn't remove JAWS authorization keys yourself? Well, I officially got burned by that, although not too badly. Apparently, they're being more generous nowadays than I thought, they're just being annoying. The way it works is when you install JAWS on a computer, it sort of looks over the computer to see if hardware has changed significantly from where it was last installed. If it has, it assumes it's a new system, and asks for another key. When this computer first arrived, something happened when everything was being installed to make the CD drive get jostled and it wasn't installed properly. Steve got JAWS in anyway, and finally got it authorized. Last night, I got the CD Rom drive fixed, and apparently, putting a CD drive in is considered a significant hardware change, and I didn't have enough keys. So I had to email Freedom Scientific and ask for my number of keys to be reset. By early this morning, they did, without asking for any money, and all is good, but it was a tad bit frustrating.
I think that's about it for now. Hopefully people weren't too bored.
Grandma's service last weekend was really amazing. The service itself was pretty ordinary, but it was all the feeling around it that made it so incredible. We showed up a half-hour early so that we could be there to shake hands and talk to people as they came in. But when we arrived, there were already 15 people there to greet us! Like woe. The church was full by the time the service started. Yup, Grandma was known and loved in the community. The minister was really cute, and included his own personal stories about Grandma. You could tell they actually knew each other. My cousin and my mom got up and made little speeches about Grandma, talking about all the cool stuff she did and the way she was. I think they conveyed a nice picture of her. It's funny. Mom made an effort not to talk to my cousin or the minister about the eulogy she was writing because she didn't want them all to start talking about theirs and then have them all sort of bleed together. Even so, there were still a lot of common themes. there was Grandma's love of gardening, cooking, and people in general and her need to keep busy. That came through loud and clear in all the eulogies.
It's weird to see neighbours you haven't seen in a long time. I know that time marches on, but in my mind I always have people frozen at the same age they were when I last saw them. Then I remember that they're the same age as me, so it makes sense that they're now married and have a couple of kids. but for a second, I thought it was absolutely unfathomable that they're all grown up and gone.
While I'm home, I end up texting more than I do here. I don't use the dialup at home much to check email, and if I just want to send a message to Steve, it makes more sense to text. This weekend, I thought I'd try the whole t9 predictive text thing, and am I ever glad I did!
Before, when I wanted to text, I'd have to spell every word out. This could mean a lot of presses of the same key just to get one letter. It would take me forever just to send a simple message. Now, I only press each key once for each letter I want, and as I go, it takes guesses at what word you want to say. For example, in the old mode, the word message would have been 6, 33, 7777, 7777, 2, 4, 33. Now it's 6 3 7 7 2 4 3 and it changes its mind about what word I'm going for as more digits get added. It's surprisingly accurate! If it doesn't have the word I'm looking for, I can just add it.
Sometimes it's a bit of a brain-screw when you have to add a word and you have to go back to the old mode. Even though you know you're spelling a word the old way, you still try and write it the quick way and wait for the guesses. How quickly it's getting me to adjust.
My new computer is here! My new computer is here! And it's a dream! I got so used to waiting for the old, stupid computer to come to its senses every time I asked it to do anything new. This one actually responds instantly, and it's awesome! It's been so long since I've had a decent computer that it feels extra good.
I did have an annoying experience with the Freedom Scientific ILM activation scheme. Remember how I bitched about how you couldn't remove JAWS authorization keys yourself? Well, I officially got burned by that, although not too badly. Apparently, they're being more generous nowadays than I thought, they're just being annoying. The way it works is when you install JAWS on a computer, it sort of looks over the computer to see if hardware has changed significantly from where it was last installed. If it has, it assumes it's a new system, and asks for another key. When this computer first arrived, something happened when everything was being installed to make the CD drive get jostled and it wasn't installed properly. Steve got JAWS in anyway, and finally got it authorized. Last night, I got the CD Rom drive fixed, and apparently, putting a CD drive in is considered a significant hardware change, and I didn't have enough keys. So I had to email Freedom Scientific and ask for my number of keys to be reset. By early this morning, they did, without asking for any money, and all is good, but it was a tad bit frustrating.
I think that's about it for now. Hopefully people weren't too bored.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Anybody Know Anything About Sebaceous Cysts?
I went to the vet today to get Trixie's health certificate so we could fly and not be harassed too much by customs when we go to the reunion, and while I was there, I decided to have the vet look at a bump that I saw on Trixie. I first saw it after we were in a heavy blackfly area, so I thought she jjust got bit. I had watched it and it wasn't going away, so of course I had it looked at. Anyone who knows me understands why I'm a little, shall we say, lumpy jumpy.
At first they couldn't even find it. That's how small it is. After they found the eency teency thing, they did a fine-needle biopsy and said it was a sebaceous cyst. They said it was nothing to worry about. They said if I went on the net, I would find all kinds of mass hysteria about diet changes causing them, etc. but as long as it's not changing or hurting her, it's likely ok and it'll probably go away on its own.
Is that the consensus from folks who have woofs? I just figured I'd put it up since people have a tendency to find this place while searching for stuff about dogs.
At first they couldn't even find it. That's how small it is. After they found the eency teency thing, they did a fine-needle biopsy and said it was a sebaceous cyst. They said it was nothing to worry about. They said if I went on the net, I would find all kinds of mass hysteria about diet changes causing them, etc. but as long as it's not changing or hurting her, it's likely ok and it'll probably go away on its own.
Is that the consensus from folks who have woofs? I just figured I'd put it up since people have a tendency to find this place while searching for stuff about dogs.
9 0 2 1 Oh My God I'm Gonna Get Roasted!
So. Last night I found myself sitting on the couch with my sister at around 8pm and noticed I did not have control of the remote.... and I knew exactly what she was going to flip on since she used to love the old school version and because it had been pimped for months now. And I was right.
Steve was kind enough to point out for me that I had no excuse that would hold up in court for watching this show - so I sit here wide open for a bombing of insults. The only card I'll play is my "it was research for the blog" card and hope someone will have mercy upon me.
I did not watch the entire "2 Hour Extravaganza" but I did see a good portion of it. I placed a bet with my sister that I won. I was sure it would be the same basic theme song but jazzed up all modern complete with new rock guitar and such. She said they would use the exact same song, complete with sax but just with the new characters. I was right - same tune - swank new rock sound.
The show itself? Oh god! Not only is it awful - but it's also horribly lazy! A brother and sister are forced to relocate to Beverly Hills and go to big, intimidating West Beverly. Sound farmiliar? It probably should. Brenda and Brandon ring any bells to anyone?
There's lots else to hate, too. There are carry-over characters like Kelly and Brenda both being around in some capacity. Kelly is now a guidance counsellor at the school and Brenda appeard towards the end, seemingly out of nowhere. My guess is that she's been kicked out of her trailer by Dylan who beat the shit out of her while on a heroin trip and went off looking to bang Steve. But I guess we have to tuen in next week to find out.
Oh ya, Nat is still around working at the ultra hip, newly upgarded Peach Pit. I had no idea back in the old show why all the "cool" kids in West Beverly hung out in a burger shack. Very realistic, right? Well it's even less believable now. Nat must be peddling weed to these little shits.
Oh did I mention that the brother/sister team in this case is half black and half white? Some adoption thing or something. Too bad I won't be around to find out if that makes life super dramatic at school. But I think we all know the answer.
The whole show now tries too hard to be modern. There are more mentions of texts in this show than there are to actual conversations.
It's a pile of poo. Avoid it all costs.
Steve was kind enough to point out for me that I had no excuse that would hold up in court for watching this show - so I sit here wide open for a bombing of insults. The only card I'll play is my "it was research for the blog" card and hope someone will have mercy upon me.
I did not watch the entire "2 Hour Extravaganza" but I did see a good portion of it. I placed a bet with my sister that I won. I was sure it would be the same basic theme song but jazzed up all modern complete with new rock guitar and such. She said they would use the exact same song, complete with sax but just with the new characters. I was right - same tune - swank new rock sound.
The show itself? Oh god! Not only is it awful - but it's also horribly lazy! A brother and sister are forced to relocate to Beverly Hills and go to big, intimidating West Beverly. Sound farmiliar? It probably should. Brenda and Brandon ring any bells to anyone?
There's lots else to hate, too. There are carry-over characters like Kelly and Brenda both being around in some capacity. Kelly is now a guidance counsellor at the school and Brenda appeard towards the end, seemingly out of nowhere. My guess is that she's been kicked out of her trailer by Dylan who beat the shit out of her while on a heroin trip and went off looking to bang Steve. But I guess we have to tuen in next week to find out.
Oh ya, Nat is still around working at the ultra hip, newly upgarded Peach Pit. I had no idea back in the old show why all the "cool" kids in West Beverly hung out in a burger shack. Very realistic, right? Well it's even less believable now. Nat must be peddling weed to these little shits.
Oh did I mention that the brother/sister team in this case is half black and half white? Some adoption thing or something. Too bad I won't be around to find out if that makes life super dramatic at school. But I think we all know the answer.
The whole show now tries too hard to be modern. There are more mentions of texts in this show than there are to actual conversations.
It's a pile of poo. Avoid it all costs.
You've Got Questions, We'll Get Hatemail
Greg Twilly, a man who is far and away everybody's favourite commenter, just asked me some questions.
"How come the mascot for the Paralympics isn't missing a limb or something? And what the hell is that thing supposed to be? It sort of looks like a gay cow."
Tasteless yes, but the man's got a point. So...anybody know how such an oversight could be possible? And for that matter, anybody know what the homo steak is supposed to represent?
"How come the mascot for the Paralympics isn't missing a limb or something? And what the hell is that thing supposed to be? It sort of looks like a gay cow."
Tasteless yes, but the man's got a point. So...anybody know how such an oversight could be possible? And for that matter, anybody know what the homo steak is supposed to represent?
It's Over! Let It Go!
Look. I love the Jays - but it's over. I'm so tired of hearing how far back they are. It doesn't matter anymore.
Everytime I watch Sportscentre or listen to a radio on the update where they recap the Jays score, they always end with "with the loss/win the Jays are now 9 games back of the Wild Card." Oh really? is that it? Only 9 games eh? And we still have 25 to play. No problem.
The "Games Behind" stat should be reserved for teams with a chance in hell of making it. It's interesting when you're 2 games back. At this point - if you're more than 5 back your season is over.
Let me lay out for you, basically, what would need to happen to make Toronto's 9 games back matter. Toronto would basically need to win every single game from now until the end of the month. They could maybe, MAYBE get away with losing 1. I hear ya - that's not "impossible". Sure it's extremely unlikely... but it's not impossible. But many teams have had two 12 game winning streaks with just a loss or two in the middle. but I'm not finished.
Toronto would also need Tampa Bay, Boston, Cleveland, Mineesota and Chicago to all lose all of the rest of their games for the rest of the month. Riiight. That's a bit more difficult, especially when you consider the fact that some combination of these teams will play each other pretty much every night for the rest of the season.
It's over! Stop telling me how far back we are because it doesn't matter.
Everytime I watch Sportscentre or listen to a radio on the update where they recap the Jays score, they always end with "with the loss/win the Jays are now 9 games back of the Wild Card." Oh really? is that it? Only 9 games eh? And we still have 25 to play. No problem.
The "Games Behind" stat should be reserved for teams with a chance in hell of making it. It's interesting when you're 2 games back. At this point - if you're more than 5 back your season is over.
Let me lay out for you, basically, what would need to happen to make Toronto's 9 games back matter. Toronto would basically need to win every single game from now until the end of the month. They could maybe, MAYBE get away with losing 1. I hear ya - that's not "impossible". Sure it's extremely unlikely... but it's not impossible. But many teams have had two 12 game winning streaks with just a loss or two in the middle. but I'm not finished.
Toronto would also need Tampa Bay, Boston, Cleveland, Mineesota and Chicago to all lose all of the rest of their games for the rest of the month. Riiight. That's a bit more difficult, especially when you consider the fact that some combination of these teams will play each other pretty much every night for the rest of the season.
It's over! Stop telling me how far back we are because it doesn't matter.
It's Those Little Things Like That That Piss Me Off
To the dude in this story: I know it would suck if I went into the gas station john, probably because I really had to go, and they didn't have any toilet paper. But dude, did you truly have to start slugging the piss out of the owner and knocking over displays? You must have had an incident similar to this one.
AHole In 1
Please, somebody help me figure this one out, because I'm just not getting it.
What is it about playing golf for a living that makes the ability to speak English so important that there needs to be a policy saying thatanybody on the LPGA tour who can't will be suspended until they can pass a test?Admittedly I'm not the biggest golf fan, so I'm probably missing something huge here. Surely an organization searching for mainstream press and sponsor money wouldn't do something like this without some very solid reasoning. Yes, I'm positive that there is a perfectly acceptable explanation for all of this. Perhaps in exchange for being allowed to play, everybody has to also do some telemarketing to promote the tournaments. No? Hmmm. Maybe they have to run a pro shop somewhere in middle America then. They don't? Gee, this is becoming quite the head scratcher. Are they required to teach ESL classes? I'm running out of ideas here. Why does hitting a little ball with a strangely shaped stick need to be translated? What's that you say? Everybody needs to speak English so that they can do media appearances? Surely you gest. You don't? Well then, be sure to give my best to the folks down at the KKK when you see them at the next meeting.
This is honestly one of the dumbest, most poorly thought out decisions I think I've ever seen in any sport. Well, giving the Olympics to China is up there, but this is bad. Since when does somebody need to speak English to be able to do an interview? I bet that not a day goes bye that somebody doesn't use a translator during a media appearance. Check out the news sometime guys, it's pretty enlightening. And if you need a sports example, watch some MMA. A lot of the top fighters in the world know barely any English even though a good deal of the really high profile fights take place in America. Without fail there are media appearances to be done, for example, once you win a fight. What you'll see is the interviewer, the foreign dude that just finished beating ass and some other guy. That some other guy is there to interpret. It really isn't rocket science. Somebody can't speak English, he gets it translated for him. The translator can also perform the helpful function of translating the foreign language to the English-speaking audience. This sort of thing has worked for literally hundreds, make that thousands of years, but I guess word hasn't reached Dark Ages USA or wherever the LPGA is headquartered.
What is it about playing golf for a living that makes the ability to speak English so important that there needs to be a policy saying thatanybody on the LPGA tour who can't will be suspended until they can pass a test?Admittedly I'm not the biggest golf fan, so I'm probably missing something huge here. Surely an organization searching for mainstream press and sponsor money wouldn't do something like this without some very solid reasoning. Yes, I'm positive that there is a perfectly acceptable explanation for all of this. Perhaps in exchange for being allowed to play, everybody has to also do some telemarketing to promote the tournaments. No? Hmmm. Maybe they have to run a pro shop somewhere in middle America then. They don't? Gee, this is becoming quite the head scratcher. Are they required to teach ESL classes? I'm running out of ideas here. Why does hitting a little ball with a strangely shaped stick need to be translated? What's that you say? Everybody needs to speak English so that they can do media appearances? Surely you gest. You don't? Well then, be sure to give my best to the folks down at the KKK when you see them at the next meeting.
This is honestly one of the dumbest, most poorly thought out decisions I think I've ever seen in any sport. Well, giving the Olympics to China is up there, but this is bad. Since when does somebody need to speak English to be able to do an interview? I bet that not a day goes bye that somebody doesn't use a translator during a media appearance. Check out the news sometime guys, it's pretty enlightening. And if you need a sports example, watch some MMA. A lot of the top fighters in the world know barely any English even though a good deal of the really high profile fights take place in America. Without fail there are media appearances to be done, for example, once you win a fight. What you'll see is the interviewer, the foreign dude that just finished beating ass and some other guy. That some other guy is there to interpret. It really isn't rocket science. Somebody can't speak English, he gets it translated for him. The translator can also perform the helpful function of translating the foreign language to the English-speaking audience. This sort of thing has worked for literally hundreds, make that thousands of years, but I guess word hasn't reached Dark Ages USA or wherever the LPGA is headquartered.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Politics, Anyone?
Hello, kiddies.
I trust everyone had just a super long weekend. I know I did. I was ready to write this post this morning but it took a few extra hours to get the last remaining bits of alcohol drained out of my liver.
It's been a busy few days on both sides of the border in the world of politics - and... it's pretty much fucked in both countries. Let's start with here in Canada because, well let's face it, everyone always starts with America. :)
It looks like PM Harper is ready to send Canadians back to the voting boothes. It's seriously annoying. Currently we have a minority government which is actually working quite well... for us, y'know, citizens. It, however, does not work for any of the political parties.
Right now, since no one has a majority the parties are forced to work together and compromise. The end result, generally, is a compromise that tends to land somewhere in the middle of a left and right wing idea which keeps, at least most people, reasonably happy. it's not overly efficient in terms of the time it takes to get things done - but I find it does produce better results.
That, however, holds no appeal for Harper and the Conservatives who are, supposed to be, in power. And really - why would it? You don't really have power if you have to go to your opponent constantly and get them to agree. What any ruling party wants is a majority which allows them to push through whatever legislature they want, unopposed by any other party.
Idealy, this is how a government is supposed to run but in a country as divided as this one (and America0 currently is - it basically ensures that about 40 per cent of your population is very happy, 40 per cent is quite pissed off and 20 per cent are indifferent. That makes for a very unpleasant country and in all likelihood you're going to head back to the polls early again in anyway.
All that said - I don't know what the alternative is. With the minority the parties are unhappy and force you back to vote early - and if you have a majority then half the country is unhappy and you'll be voting early as well. What we need is a good leader. And I don't think we have that in this country right now. Someone who can unite a country and make people want to do what's best for the nation instead of for their own agenda. I don't think we've truly had that type of leader since Trudeau in Canada. Someone who makes you want to vote for him and forget the fact that, generally, you already know what party you're going to vote for when you walk in the door. Most people are set in their ways and don't pay attention to the issues or the personalities - they just know what side they fall in. That can be very dangerous and we need someone who can make people forget that.
Here's hoping.
There's no shortage of Political drama with our neighbours to the south either. I generally have no shortage of venom for the Republican Party in the good ol' U S of A but you have to give credit where it's due. It was the right thing to do to scale back their convention that was to be held in Minnesota thsi week out of respect for Mother Nature's wrath in the deep south. I would have rather seen it out and out postponed a week or two but I don't pretend to know enough about the logistics of that to criticize them for not going ahead with that part. It may very well have been impossible to move back - so at least they scaled it down.
John McCain has made his pick for his VP running mate and it's Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, a mother of 5. There are a few things I'd like to say about this. And before anyone jumps to any conclusions, it has nothing to do with the fact that her daughter is now pregnant out-of-wedlock. To be totally honest, that actually makes her seem a little more human as that is a problem that families just have sometimes.
First of all - no one should fool themselves about what this is. This is John McCain trying to snag up some extra votes. There is an army out there of women who were, pardon the expression, balls to the wall for Clinton to get the nomination and many of them are now furious. And they're not just the male-hating, butch as hell, golf playing dykes that I'm talking about that would follow any woman in to war if they thought it would put a dent in a "male controlled world". (note - the above does not apply to all lesbians - just the psycho ones). But there is a huge number of typical American women who were firmly behind Hilary and they range from the career oriented business woman to the stay-at-home mom and they will have their say on election day and it may not be for the Democrats. The Republicans would love to snag up even a quarter of those disgruntled Deomcrats who want to see a woman in the office more than they want to see their party in.
Let's be real, here. We are talking about the American Republican Party. They're not exactly known for their open-mindedness. This is the party of people who has forever been accused of wanting to see man over woman, black over white, war over peace and a million other negative stereotypes. I have a hard time believing that now, it's merely a co-incidence that they embrace a woman as vice president just months of slandering Clinton for being too emotional. It's not a co-incidence - it's politics! It's a desire to win votes.
That's fine. That's what we'd all expect. But I tend to wonder if this was the best woman to choose. As I said, I don't fault anyone for the fact that her unmarried teenage daughter is now pregnant just days after her selection. It would have been nice if the Party had known that first... but they didn't and you move on. My problem is with Governor Palin herself. My sources tell me (my sources being the CBC of course) that Palin may not exactly have a closet free of skeletons.
Apparently, not too long ago Palin's sister was dating a police officer in a city in Alaska and their relationship ended rather unceremoniously. Governor Palin at this point decided the right thing to do would be to contact that city's police Chief and tell him to fire the officer. Having no reason to fire him based on his performance, the Chief refused. Good for him. He did the right thing and that should have been the end of it. Unfortunately it was not and the Governor then had the Police Chief fired and had someone installed who would go ahead and fire this particular officer. Classy.
A little research would have gone a long long way for the Republican Party when it comes to things like this. Average, every day people don't take kindly to being abused by the government and they are not likely to vote for someone who has done things like this once it becomes common knowledge.
There never ceases to be something to talk about in politics - no matter which country you live in.
I trust everyone had just a super long weekend. I know I did. I was ready to write this post this morning but it took a few extra hours to get the last remaining bits of alcohol drained out of my liver.
It's been a busy few days on both sides of the border in the world of politics - and... it's pretty much fucked in both countries. Let's start with here in Canada because, well let's face it, everyone always starts with America. :)
It looks like PM Harper is ready to send Canadians back to the voting boothes. It's seriously annoying. Currently we have a minority government which is actually working quite well... for us, y'know, citizens. It, however, does not work for any of the political parties.
Right now, since no one has a majority the parties are forced to work together and compromise. The end result, generally, is a compromise that tends to land somewhere in the middle of a left and right wing idea which keeps, at least most people, reasonably happy. it's not overly efficient in terms of the time it takes to get things done - but I find it does produce better results.
That, however, holds no appeal for Harper and the Conservatives who are, supposed to be, in power. And really - why would it? You don't really have power if you have to go to your opponent constantly and get them to agree. What any ruling party wants is a majority which allows them to push through whatever legislature they want, unopposed by any other party.
Idealy, this is how a government is supposed to run but in a country as divided as this one (and America0 currently is - it basically ensures that about 40 per cent of your population is very happy, 40 per cent is quite pissed off and 20 per cent are indifferent. That makes for a very unpleasant country and in all likelihood you're going to head back to the polls early again in anyway.
All that said - I don't know what the alternative is. With the minority the parties are unhappy and force you back to vote early - and if you have a majority then half the country is unhappy and you'll be voting early as well. What we need is a good leader. And I don't think we have that in this country right now. Someone who can unite a country and make people want to do what's best for the nation instead of for their own agenda. I don't think we've truly had that type of leader since Trudeau in Canada. Someone who makes you want to vote for him and forget the fact that, generally, you already know what party you're going to vote for when you walk in the door. Most people are set in their ways and don't pay attention to the issues or the personalities - they just know what side they fall in. That can be very dangerous and we need someone who can make people forget that.
Here's hoping.
There's no shortage of Political drama with our neighbours to the south either. I generally have no shortage of venom for the Republican Party in the good ol' U S of A but you have to give credit where it's due. It was the right thing to do to scale back their convention that was to be held in Minnesota thsi week out of respect for Mother Nature's wrath in the deep south. I would have rather seen it out and out postponed a week or two but I don't pretend to know enough about the logistics of that to criticize them for not going ahead with that part. It may very well have been impossible to move back - so at least they scaled it down.
John McCain has made his pick for his VP running mate and it's Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, a mother of 5. There are a few things I'd like to say about this. And before anyone jumps to any conclusions, it has nothing to do with the fact that her daughter is now pregnant out-of-wedlock. To be totally honest, that actually makes her seem a little more human as that is a problem that families just have sometimes.
First of all - no one should fool themselves about what this is. This is John McCain trying to snag up some extra votes. There is an army out there of women who were, pardon the expression, balls to the wall for Clinton to get the nomination and many of them are now furious. And they're not just the male-hating, butch as hell, golf playing dykes that I'm talking about that would follow any woman in to war if they thought it would put a dent in a "male controlled world". (note - the above does not apply to all lesbians - just the psycho ones). But there is a huge number of typical American women who were firmly behind Hilary and they range from the career oriented business woman to the stay-at-home mom and they will have their say on election day and it may not be for the Democrats. The Republicans would love to snag up even a quarter of those disgruntled Deomcrats who want to see a woman in the office more than they want to see their party in.
Let's be real, here. We are talking about the American Republican Party. They're not exactly known for their open-mindedness. This is the party of people who has forever been accused of wanting to see man over woman, black over white, war over peace and a million other negative stereotypes. I have a hard time believing that now, it's merely a co-incidence that they embrace a woman as vice president just months of slandering Clinton for being too emotional. It's not a co-incidence - it's politics! It's a desire to win votes.
That's fine. That's what we'd all expect. But I tend to wonder if this was the best woman to choose. As I said, I don't fault anyone for the fact that her unmarried teenage daughter is now pregnant just days after her selection. It would have been nice if the Party had known that first... but they didn't and you move on. My problem is with Governor Palin herself. My sources tell me (my sources being the CBC of course) that Palin may not exactly have a closet free of skeletons.
Apparently, not too long ago Palin's sister was dating a police officer in a city in Alaska and their relationship ended rather unceremoniously. Governor Palin at this point decided the right thing to do would be to contact that city's police Chief and tell him to fire the officer. Having no reason to fire him based on his performance, the Chief refused. Good for him. He did the right thing and that should have been the end of it. Unfortunately it was not and the Governor then had the Police Chief fired and had someone installed who would go ahead and fire this particular officer. Classy.
A little research would have gone a long long way for the Republican Party when it comes to things like this. Average, every day people don't take kindly to being abused by the government and they are not likely to vote for someone who has done things like this once it becomes common knowledge.
There never ceases to be something to talk about in politics - no matter which country you live in.
I Asked for The Bag, Not The Old Bag!
Has this woman never flown before? Hopefully she'll fly again, and read the instructions more carefully. Apparently, she thought the instructions told her to lie down on the conveyer belt, ya know, the ones designed for luggage. She did, and found herself in the baggage-handling centre, miraculously unharmed, and she even made her flight.
I'm trying to imagine the folks in the luggage department and their reaction when the next package they received was a 78-year-old woman. Yikes!
I'm trying to imagine the folks in the luggage department and their reaction when the next package they received was a 78-year-old woman. Yikes!
I'll Take Your Stuff, You Should Take My Advice
I guess a burglare in Christchurch, New Zealand, found the act of stealing from a home way too easy. After stealing some stuff, he left a note with, um, helpful advice. "Put your cat out and turn your alarm on, dumb arse," it read.
Two things. How often does a burglar leave behind security advice? And why should the home-owner have put his cat out? That confuses me more than the actual leaving of the note.
Two things. How often does a burglar leave behind security advice? And why should the home-owner have put his cat out? That confuses me more than the actual leaving of the note.
Claim: Lawyers Are Scum. Status: Multiple -- See Below.
I have said time and time again that I love Snopes for their ability to thoroughly debunk hoaxes. But I read something from their site that completely disappointed me. I have to wonder which one of them is a lawyer, or if they have lawyers in their family. How else canyou explain this? They make a lot of good points about lawyers being cold and dispassionate and costing a lot of dough, but they miss a big point, something that the folks at Snopes are not known to do. We think of lawyers as scum because...well...there are a lot of scummy lawyers to think of.
Sure, there are good lawyers out there, and we need folks in the legal profession, but the good ones get buried by the less than scrupulous ones. What else do you call the lawyer who blamed the passengers of a doomed flight for their own fate just because they got on the plane? That isn't looking at things in the best possible light. that isn't using the law with skill. that is having no principles and doing whatever is required to keep his client's money rolling in. That is a scummy lawyer.
Need more? what do you call MinChen's defense lawyer for trying to sey he needs leniency because he didn't mean to smother Cecilia Zhang to death while kidnapping her? I don't know about you, but I call him scum.
Want something more recent? How about the class action suit filed against Mapleleaf Foods before the investigation is complete? And have you ever noticed that in a lot of cases, when class action suits are filed, the clients, ya know, the ones who need the money, get hardly anything, and the lawyers collect millions? Yeah, that isn't scummy at all.
If that isn't enough, here's some personal experience. Years ago, when I was a little more naive, I was having some difficulties with some government stuff. I knew others felt the same, so I posted something on a website about it. All I wanted were others to write letters, perhaps join me, maybe we could pool ideas on how best to deal with this.
Before long, I got a very convincing email from someone saying he knew a lot about this stuff and could help me. I was excited! After talking to me for a while, he told me he was a lawyer. This made me choke. I didn't want a lawyer. I couldn't afford a lawyer. This was not what I wanted at all.
He managed to calm me down, and said that because he felt that this case was important, he would offer his services for free. I thought ok, well maybe this was ok. But as soon as things got remotely complicated, rates appeared, and contact went way down. The next time I heard from him was when his office sent me a christmas card complete with retainer rates. We never spoke again. Now, if that isn't scummy, I don't know what is.
So, what love affair do the Snopes folks have with lawyers? Someone please explain this one to me.
Sure, there are good lawyers out there, and we need folks in the legal profession, but the good ones get buried by the less than scrupulous ones. What else do you call the lawyer who blamed the passengers of a doomed flight for their own fate just because they got on the plane? That isn't looking at things in the best possible light. that isn't using the law with skill. that is having no principles and doing whatever is required to keep his client's money rolling in. That is a scummy lawyer.
Need more? what do you call MinChen's defense lawyer for trying to sey he needs leniency because he didn't mean to smother Cecilia Zhang to death while kidnapping her? I don't know about you, but I call him scum.
Want something more recent? How about the class action suit filed against Mapleleaf Foods before the investigation is complete? And have you ever noticed that in a lot of cases, when class action suits are filed, the clients, ya know, the ones who need the money, get hardly anything, and the lawyers collect millions? Yeah, that isn't scummy at all.
If that isn't enough, here's some personal experience. Years ago, when I was a little more naive, I was having some difficulties with some government stuff. I knew others felt the same, so I posted something on a website about it. All I wanted were others to write letters, perhaps join me, maybe we could pool ideas on how best to deal with this.
Before long, I got a very convincing email from someone saying he knew a lot about this stuff and could help me. I was excited! After talking to me for a while, he told me he was a lawyer. This made me choke. I didn't want a lawyer. I couldn't afford a lawyer. This was not what I wanted at all.
He managed to calm me down, and said that because he felt that this case was important, he would offer his services for free. I thought ok, well maybe this was ok. But as soon as things got remotely complicated, rates appeared, and contact went way down. The next time I heard from him was when his office sent me a christmas card complete with retainer rates. We never spoke again. Now, if that isn't scummy, I don't know what is.
So, what love affair do the Snopes folks have with lawyers? Someone please explain this one to me.
J O K E!
I can't sleep, and then I see this. I'm angry, not because someone was horribly hurt, or someone was a tool, or some politician is passing a law to fuck us all over. No, I'm angry because this is once again proof that we are all getting inexorably dumber. I need to make an effort to keep my brain alive. I need to start reading voraciously or doing puzzles or something else to make sure I do not allow my intelligence level to descend to that of a slug. Ok, breathe, breathe, breathe. Tell the story. Then get mad.
This is part of the it's a joke, you idiot series. We have a series now. Remember when Steve posted this video about how "the front fell off" an oil tanker? Did anyone truly think this was a real, honest to god interview? did you? Please tell me how you could possibly think this was legit. I'm curious. I'm trying to understand this, because apparently, a whole ton of people did, and asked Snopes about it. Poor, poor Snopes. You can tell they just want to go, "it's a goddamn joke! How stupid are you?" But they grit their teeth and patiently explain to the droves of morons how they can tell the difference between serious and joke so that maybe, next time, they'll learn and not bother them with such things. I wish I had half their patience.
This is part of the it's a joke, you idiot series. We have a series now. Remember when Steve posted this video about how "the front fell off" an oil tanker? Did anyone truly think this was a real, honest to god interview? did you? Please tell me how you could possibly think this was legit. I'm curious. I'm trying to understand this, because apparently, a whole ton of people did, and asked Snopes about it. Poor, poor Snopes. You can tell they just want to go, "it's a goddamn joke! How stupid are you?" But they grit their teeth and patiently explain to the droves of morons how they can tell the difference between serious and joke so that maybe, next time, they'll learn and not bother them with such things. I wish I had half their patience.
Chai Story Update
Yea! woo! Yea! Woo! Remember the story of the pimple ball? Well, according to Snopes, the toy has been recalled! I would still be very careful about buying any toys from these folks, just because they put up such a fight. I'm glad the guy did what he set out to do. That's awesome.
A Recipe For Disaster
Wow. What's with people screwing up recipes in magazines and poisoning people this year? First there was the henbane incident, and now, a recipe for an apple cake called for 20 nutmeg nuts instead of two pinches of nutmeg. In case you didn't know, that much nutmeg can make you feel pretty icky.
My thoughts go in two directions. First, who would go and make a cake that called for that much nutmeg without wondering if something was wrong with this picture? Who would manage to eat said cake? But, on the other hand, how do you make that mistake? That's one hell of a typo.
Any way you look at it, that's pretty weird. I wonder what the next secret ingredient will be.
My thoughts go in two directions. First, who would go and make a cake that called for that much nutmeg without wondering if something was wrong with this picture? Who would manage to eat said cake? But, on the other hand, how do you make that mistake? That's one hell of a typo.
Any way you look at it, that's pretty weird. I wonder what the next secret ingredient will be.
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