Recently in news Category

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!