Recently in news Category

CNN reports....

"There was no profanity, no hate. Just the words, "I love my friends Abby and Faith. Lex was here 2/1/10 :)" scrawled on the classroom desk with a green marker.
Alexa Gonzalez, an outgoing 12-year-old who likes to dance and draw, expected a lecture or maybe detention for her doodles earlier this month. Instead, the principal of the Junior High School in Forest Hills, New York, called police, and the seventh-grader was taken across the street to the police precinct.

Glad to see that they're addressing the REALLY big issue of desk graffiti....

When did we become a society that can't just sit down with a kid and find out why they did something, explain why it's wrong and just move on with our lives??

With the rise of the bank failures, micro-lending, community banks and much much more, I have to wonder: Brother, can you spare a dime? Or, more specifically, $2.50? I invite you to participate in an experiment....

Thanks for your time!

0100011101100101011011110111001001100111011001010010000001010111001011
10001000000100001001110101011100110110100000100000011010010111001100100
00001101111011011100010000001101000011010010111001100100000011101110110
00010111100100100000011011110111010101110100001000010010000001010111011
0000101101000011011110110111100100001

(If you need to translate it, I suggest that you use the almighty Google)

Five-figure bonuses stun Chicago plant workers
CHICAGO - Dave Tiderman wondered if the decimal point was in the wrong place when he opened his $35,000 company bonus. Jose Rojas saw his $10,000 check and thought, "That can't be right."

Wow, a company doing right by the people that got it where it is today. Go figure....

Legendary actor Paul Newman dies at age 83.

Wow. I didn't know the man personally, but growing up in Westport - his home for many years - he was certainly well known around the town. And he and his wife, Joanne Woodward, would pop into various establishments around town, so I did get to see him. He seemed like a nice enough guy, especially with regards to the whole "Hole in the Wall Gang" charities.

Commentary: Sexist treatment of Palin must end

Oh PLEASE. They're not being sexist - they're just afraid of what she'll say when she opens her mouth. Why else have they been so controlling about her public appearances?

I think that at this point in the campaign - especially with McCain now "suspending" his campaign to worry about the economy - we're all past Caribou Barbie and pitbulls wearing lipstick. She gives bad interviews. Deal with it. Let's move on to our failing economy, shall we?

Like many people, I have multiple email addresses. I've been having a small problem with one address - it's apparently tied to some demographic profile of my wife and I, so I occasionally get crap sent to it. It's one thing when it's a local car dealership - at least it's quasi-local, and makes some sense.

But how is it that I am getting emails from the John McCain campaign, asking me for money? Technically, I'm an Independent voter - perhaps that's why?

I've commented before about the junkmail before, but this is the first time it's invaded my Inbox. And I have to say that opening an email titled "57 Days Until Election Day" that allegedly comes from John McCain, and then finding his lying face in the message - that was a bit of a shock.

Click here to donate to Barack Obama.....

I was stopped at a stop light - 2nd in line. The car in front of me put their car into reverse - I didn't do anything. A second later, they were still in reverse - so I got ready to honk the horn in case they started to move backwards. Then they did start to reverse - so I laid into the horn. The woman driving started to look around - left, right - but still kept coming. The results are above.

She got out and apologized, explaining that she's lost and trying to get to the hospital to get her mother or something. Not really my concern, but whatever. I told her to turn the corner and pull over, since we were blocking the lane we were in. I got her info, and she was very emphatic about going to get her mother and dealing with this later. I told her we would talk later, and as she drove off, I called the police. A few minutes later, they were there, listened to my tale of woe, and took my and her info.

Since we had exchanged phone numbers, she called me twice - once to make sure she hadn't erased it, and the second time to find out why I had "lied" to her - by calling the police, I apparently broke some sort of promise between us. I don't remember that - I remember telling her that we would talk later. She was very upset and doing lots of yelling, so I didn't really understand what she was saying - except that she was apparently coming back to the scene.

When she did arrive, she came from down the road, and I didn't recall seeing her pull up. She glared at me as she walked by, and then went to the police officers. After a minute or two, the responding officer brought my paperwork and notes back, gave me my case number, and told me that she hadn't wanted to hang around because she was..... driving with a suspended license. At this point, I drove off - cranky, but able to move still, so happy for that - the last accident I had resulted in a car that I didn't really feel safe driving in.

Fast forward to today - four days later. After making a few calls, getting the insurance company's estimate, getting my own estimate, and making more calls, I got a voicemail this afternoon from my insurance agent. Their auto-accident person was calling me back - I had asked for help figuring out which of the many companies with the same name she was actually using for her insurance. It turns out she doesn't have insurance. Of course.

Now, look, I'm not saying that she didn't have to go get her mother or whatever. But if you're license is suspended, and you don't have insurance, DON'T DRIVE YOUR CAR. Simple, straightforward, and easy. With my last incident, I'm waiting for the insurance company to "subrogate" the claim - meaning that if they ever manage to get money from him, and we all know it will take more than a couple of weeks - then I'll eventually get my deductible back. Maybe.

AWESOME.

io9.com reports...
Arthur C. Clarke, Futurist and Scifi Legend, Dies
Arthur C. Clarke, author of scifi classics Rendezvous with Rama and 2001: A Space Odyssey, died today at the age of 90 in Sri Lanka. Not only did Clarke create a legend with 2001 (he worked on the film with Stanley Kubrick too), but he also predicted many of the scientific inventions of the twentieth century such as telecom satellites. He was even knighted in recognition of his many mind-bending contributions to the worlds of literature and science speculation. [LATimes]

What's most disturbing to me is that I was browsing some Wikipedia articles about his novels: 2001: A Space Odyssey, 2010: Odyssey Two, 2061: Odyssey Three, 3001: The Final Odyssey) at about the time that io9 posted the story. Weird.

And did you know that he was among the first to posit the idea of a geostationary communications satellite?

LATimes.com brings the following obit:

Dick Wilson, a character actor who turned "Please don't squeeze the Charmin" into a national catchphrase as exasperated shopkeeper Mr. Whipple in the TV commercial campaign that ran for more than two decades, has died. He was 91.

Remember:
Please, don't squeeze the Charmin!

the show by ze frank sums up quite nicely what's going on in the world today. Well, almost three weeks ago.

I had meant to post this back then, but then I got sidetracked by the details of what you can and can't do to travel. You know, that whole "remove all liquids" before you get on the plane thing? I can't help but wonder if the TSA is trying to help the airlines out a little bit here:
a) if you have to buy a drink on the plane, then that's a little extra money that they get to keep
b) if you don't bring beverages on board, then maybe the plane will have just a couple gallons more fuel when it lands - again, giving them a little change in their pockets.

I'm not saying that it's the case - although it could be - it just seems a little severe to say "Hey, you can't bring that bottle of (insert liquid refreshment product here) on the plane because of 'The Terrorists'". Whatever.

All I'm saying is that it would be much easier if they sedated you when you got on the plane and woke you back up when you got there. They could pack more people on the planes and quite honestly, I think it would be a bit more fun if I knew I'd be getting decent sleep out of the deal. But that's just me.

So, it's obscenely early and I'm getting ready to head home (I was in San Francisco for work, for the 99.9% of you that didn't know) and I'm watching the news while I wait for the shower and limo service back in CT to open so I can confirm things.

They're doing a snippet on the new travel restrictions on CNN, and it's basically lots of people taking their banned items - mostly women and their makeup - and throwing it out.

WTF? If I know that something is banned from travel in the cabin - like, say, makeup - and I know I'm going to be traveling, then..... Why not just put the banned item into my checked bag?

Sure, not everyone ends up taking a checked bag, but if you have one, then why not USE IT?

Additionally, why do you actively take something you know you can't bring past the security checkpoint? These women are complaining about having to throw out hundreds of dollars of makeup when they're the ones who decided to throw them out!

I myself plan on finishing my bottle of water in the terminal before security, then buying more on the other side (where I'll have to finish it before I get on the plane, of course).

I'm also a little unclear: we've got info on a plot to blow up a plane from the UK traveling to the US - so why are we making all the people traveling inside the US dump their precious liquids? And how funny is it to say that they're dumping their liquids?

More updates on the other side. Maybe.

CNN.com - Agent infiltrated terror cell, U.S. says - Aug 11, 2006

Among those arrested were a Muslim charity worker and a Heathrow Airport employee with an all-area access pass, according to Britain's Channel 4.

This furthers one of my arguments about the whole terror plot concept: if they can get people with access to all areas to the airport involved, then it's just another step - and completely possible - for them to get someone ON the plane involved. It could be a simple matter of getting the right member of the crew, or even one of the ground crew to put something in a certain place (which, it should be noted, has been done repeatedly in the movies).

These terrorists are smarter than they are given credit for. Sadly, it won't stop until we're all getting on the plane naked and just standing around like cattle.

scrubs "rowdy the dog" is my new number one search - at least that I know of.

I got this info from Wonkette, but it's apparently not yet been reported - or confirmed - elsewhere. While I would like to have confirmation of something like this before sharing it, the information seems credible, so I figure it wouldn't hurt to put the links and some of the info out there and see what happens.

Our Boys Need Gossip! - Wonkette

We're Bringing the War Back Home

Wonkette Blocked No More! - Wonkette

We Aren't Free Speech Martyrs, but We Can Be Just as Self-Righteous

A partial list of blocked sites:
Wonkette - "Forbidden, this page (http://www.wonkette.com/) is categorized as: Forum/Bulletin Boards, Politics/Opinion."

Bill O'Reilly (www.billoreilly.com) - OK

Air America (www.airamericaradio.com) - "Forbidden, this page (http://www.airamericaradio.com/) is categorized as: Internet Radio/TV, Politics/Opinion."

Rush Limbaugh (www.rushlimbaugh.com) - OK

ABC News "The Note" - OK

Website of the Al Franken Show (www.alfrankenshow.com) – "Forbidden, this page (http://www.airamericaradio.com/) is categorized as: Internet Radio/TV, Politics/Opinion."

G. Gordon Liddy Show (www.liddyshow.us) - OK

Don & Mike Show (www.donandmikewebsite.com) - "Forbidden, this page (http://www.donandmikewebsite.com/) is categorized as: Profanity, Entertainment/Recreation/Hobbies."

What's so very interesting is that Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly are "ok", but Air America and Al Franken are both blocked because they're "Political/Opinion" sites - which, if I recall, is what Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly are. Or am I crazy?

DCOC: District of Columbia Olympic Committee

Yes, it's humorous, but if you stop and think, it's a good thing. For far too long, our brothers and sisters down in the nations capital have been oppressed by the government - relegated to "protectorate" status when it comes to the House of Representatives - they have one non-voting delegate. They get taxed like Joe American, but they have no way to affect the government around them, except by casting a vote. What's that all about?

To quote a friend:
well, DC is essentially a colony or territory, just like Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. they all have Olympic teams, so why can't we?

And he - and the DCOC team - have a great point. Get out to their website and let the IOC and your local representative know about their plight - and lets see if we can get the DC team out to the winter Olympics in 2010 and 2012!!!

long tongue - Google Search

Click on the seach and get the google results - but I'm number eight as of right now. I'd like to thank that young lady with the long tounge - without her, I wouldn't even be on the list!

So, yeah, it's Christmas time once again. Many things were bought for the kids, and let's just say that the mess in the living room rivaled years past. But it's all good. I've got some photos that I'm going to be posting online at some point, but I wanted to mention how much fun certain things were - like, for example, how much more complicated Transformer toys are these days.

When I was a kid, it was in the box as a robot, then you turned it into a vehicle, and then it was back to a robot again. Simple. Occasionally there was a "super" robot that took a couple robots and turned them into a big robot. That was it.

:noah: got some kind of super-omni-mega robot - it came with two trucks (a firetruck and a car carrier), which individually turn from robot to vehicle and back. But then you can also take some of their "extra" bits and make them mega-robots. Or.... Take the two, and their extras, and make a super-omni-mega robot. Or something. Two tabloid sized pages (that's two 8.5" x 11" pages side by side) with instructions on both sides - approximately 500 total steps for all the things you can do. With just one set. Awesome. Just awesome.

Next up was the MegaBlocks G.I. Joe armored vehicle thing. It came with a part that was semi-melted (it still worked, but....) and several of the pieces don't stay in place - one of my sticking points with MegaBlocks. Lego or nothing, I say.

We got the kids two DVD's for Christmas: The Polar Express about a week before for a Christmas party with some friends and then Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on the big day. We saw Polar Express in the theaters and loved it, but Charlie was something that the kids but not parents had seen. I got a chance to watch it today, and was quite pleased with the movie.

Like many people, I've seen the original movie (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) more than a few times, so I had some pre-conceived notions about how the movie should play out. I'm pleased to say that for the most part, it was just as I expected. I particularly liked some of the casting choices - Johnny Depp once again proved his acting abilities, and the kids did quite a good job acting like their previous incarnations. Overall, a very good re-make.

:abby: got a "My Little Pony" Butterfly Island set, and it was quite a sight to behold - all colorful, with sound effects and music for the full audio/visual overload experience.

:ethan: got some new toys and a new "Baby Mozart" DVD, which we hope will keep him entertained a bit - he seems to like the others so far, so this will only add to his enjoyment - and lead to another kid addicted to tv, no doubt.

:emma:, who's supposed to be reading at a level 30 by the end of this school year, is currently at level 32 now. When pressed for book suggestions (Grisham, Clancy, King?), her teacher suggested the "Lemony Snicket" series - always a good choice, I gather. We also got her a nice set of jammies.

Google has satellite photos of a section of New Orleans available on their maps.google.com server.

Very interesting photos, and it's just jaw dropping to actually get an idea of how many homes are ruined. It's one thing to hear it over and over on the news every night, a whole other thing to see it with your own eyes, even if it is in an abstract way.

First, some useful links, in case you don't already have them:
Katrina.org
Katrina.com
Red Cross

Ok, while I have misgivings about what happened - poor planning on many peoples parts - it's not time to gripe about things just now. I watch tv or listen to news on the radio and am just amazed. Not just at the level of destruction, but at people's reactions. On the one hand, you have all the humanitarian relief efforts getting started in other parts of the country and the world - all positive things, just as you'd expect.

On the other hand, you have the looting, pillaging, beatings, and rapes occuring inside the affected area. Look, I realize things are bad in there, but WHY MAKE THEM WORSE? I realize none of the affected people can get online to read this, and why do they even care about my opinion, but I don't recall reading about anything like this in Asia after the tsunami hit last December. New York city didn't have the same kind of reaction after 9/11. It's just wrong.

I realize that there are many many factors contributing to the behaviors we're seeing, and I don't want to get into it now - matters of class, race and government are best not speculated on right now - but it bears looking at in the future.

Speaking of the future, I don't know if anyone else saw it, but FX had a fictional documentary called "Oil Storm" a few months back. It traced fictional events similar to what just happened in New Orleans - and what they predicted could happen just might.

I'm predicting martial law in and around the affected areas, I'm prediciting civil unrest, and I'm predicting gas at $5+ a gallon. Things are going to get much worse before they get better.

More to come - have to get to work...

Britney's Bun in the Oven - Apr 12, 2005 - E! Online News:
It's official: Britney Spears has a baby on board. This is indeed a disturbing universe.

Em's Bully Beat Down by Court - Apr 15, 2005 - E! Online News
It seems that Eminem's old school hood nemesis didn't like the way he was rapped about in one of Em's songs - so he did what any bully would, and sued. I like the part where the judge goes freestyle in her decision and kicks it a bit.

Word.

TV Squad: The Mr. and Mrs. Britney Spears Show

Former pop-virgin Britney Spears and her skeezy trophy groom Kevin Federline have signed on to star in a six-episode "reality" show for UPN. The as-yet-untitled program will document the couple's "courtship, engagement and wedding" and will largely consist of footage shot by the gruesome twosome themselves on home video. UPN is hiring an outside producer to rush the project into post, and is hoping to premiere by the end of this season. The whole business is apparently - and this is a quote from Miss Toxic herself - an attempt by Mrs. Federline to turn over a new leaf: "I am now going to be expressing my personal life through art."

Wow. Britney on my tv, for six whole weeks. It's too bad that she went ahead and married that.... thing. The worst part, of course, are the persistent rumors that she's in a family way - thus ruining any hope I had that she was only married to him for the sake of the tabloids.

Why, Britney, have you forsaken me?

Lee Fleming brings the world.... compressed, not smushed:
“So it’s smushed!” Judge Raymond Clevenger III declared, referencing the way Smuckers makes its crustless PBJ sandwiches.

The Wall Street Journal outlines the earth-shattering case in “Patent Case Turns Sticky for Smucker,” proving once again that justices are too often sense-impaired when deciding what cases to hear.

It’s too much. I wonder how much this case will cost taxpayers?

I have to say that they are VERY tasty - and the kids love them. They're also making a grilled cheese version. But trying to patent the idea? Hell, my folks and I used to make grilled cheese and other pocket sandwiches when I was a kid on a commercial pocket sandwich maker - it used heat and weight to make "compressed" seals on the sandwiches - does that count as prior art?

This piece over on kuro5hin (Terri's tube, morals, lies, and justice || kuro5hin.org: Terri's tube, morals, lies, and justice (Op-Ed)) says some of the same things I did a few days ago, but does a slightly better job of explaining it - not that it matters at this point. Two interesting links from the article:
News outlets ignored questions about doctor who ... [Media Matters for America]: News outlets ignored questions about doctor who claimed Schiavo can be helped

The New York Times> Search> Abstract: THE SCHIAVO CASE: THE BIOETHICIST; A Diagnosis With a Dose Of Religion

In other news, it turns out that even after death, the bickering doesn't end: Terri's parents were planning on having her buried in their plot in Florida, but her husband has final say, and now she's been cremated and interred in his family plot in Pennsylvania: National Post: Family feud over Terri Schiavo goes on.

I liked the part where Michael Schiavo had a ceremony for the family - including hers - then had the interment at an undisclosed location so that her family couldn't create a media circus - something that they did a good job of at the hospice when Terry was still alive.

Micro Persuasion: Sign Bloggers to Endorsement Deals
Micro Persuasion: Product Placement Advertising Invades Blogs
Marc's Voice: Marqui product placement ads

As I said in a comment on the first link.... I don't have a problem with it, as long as the endorsement is on the record (aka on their about page or something there's a note saying that XYZ Corp is giving me bling/ducats/schwag for shamelessly plugging their product) and as long as the blogger is shilling stuff that they actually use and recommend. Of course, I guess that's how epinions got started.....

I mention brands and whatnot here all the time - the stuff I hate and the stuff I can't live without. I don't see the harm in getting a little bit of money - or, preferably, some free product - for doing that.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Blogger grounded by her airline

A US airline attendant is fighting for her job after she was suspended over postings on her blog, or online diary

Looks like she got "dooced". Well, suspended at least.

I learned this lesson without getting fired - but when I learned it, I stopped naming names and whatnot. It's a scary feeling realizing that someone you work for might be keeping up to date on what you do. Of course, if I didn't post, they wouldn't be able to read it. And if it didn't have my name all over it, they might not be able to find it.....

---------------------------------------------------
I-95 south shut down
---------------------------------------------------
Dear adam

(Bridgeport-AP, Oct. 4, 2004 7:35 AM) _ A tractor-trailer fire in
Bridgeport has shut down Interstate 95 southbound.

The truck fire is at Exit 27-a southbound. Fire apparatus is at the scene
and the situation is affecting one lane of northbound travel.

Yeah, I know that this happened 3 days ago, but I can't be the only one who finds it odd that I-95 in Bridgeport is sucking so much of late. The construction is proceeding quite nicely - I drive through there about once a month - but it's the lane change-overs and the fact that no-one slows down through all of this that is quite likely causing all these accidents. At least that's my thinking.

WTNH.com:
"Facing a possible impeachment, Gov. John Rowland will resign tonight at 6:00 PM, News Channel 8 has learned. Lt. Gov. Jodi Rell will take over leadership of the state."
All the stories on this topic on WTNH.

I must say that I'm pleased with this, but not as pleased as I would have been if he'd been a man and just stepped down when this current sh*t storm started. He's now wasted a bunch of taxpayer money, a lot of peoples time, and who knows how many column inches and rolls of video tape on this whole fiasco.

So long John, and good riddance!

TheStar.com - U.S. eyes proposal to draft women:
WASHINGTON—The chief of the U.S. Selective Service System has proposed registering women for the military draft and requiring that young Americans regularly inform the government about whether they have training in niche specialties needed in the armed services.

The proposal, which the agency's acting director Lewis Brodsky presented to senior Pentagon officials just before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, also seeks to extend the age of draft registration to 34, up from 25"

Uh, what? So, now that I've been out of the pool of eligible people for Selective Service for seven years, I'm suddenly going to be eligible again? I don't like the sound of this. While I'm all for them trying to "expand the pool" of available possibilities, I can't say that I like them changing the rules like this. Granted I don't expect that I will be called upon anytime before I turn 34, just the thought of them changing things makes me nervous - what's next, a full-blown draft?

USA Today reports that the Statue of Liberty may never re-open due to "security concerns." More details in the article, as well as a link to a Flash intro about Liberty as well.