My kids have mixed feelings about being getting the kind of press that comes from being featured at DrunkenBlog: Get your Cow on (not what you think).
I only wish that some of my better (in my opinion) post were more recent. I've been pretty busy and lazy the last little bit.
Allow me to point out a few of my favorites:
"So Newsweek prints an uncorroborated allegation about American interrogators flushing Qurans down the toilet in order to get fanatical Muslim prisoners to talk, and there's rioting and death all over the Muslim world.
There are several lessons to be learned from this incident, some trivial, some quite important. "
"We have some very important work to do in the next two weeks, and that'sThe fact is that parents can put a stop to bad behavior in a number of ways. But you'll have to spend time with your child and attend a rehearsal or two
not one of them," Republican state Sen. Florence Shapiro, who chairs the education committee, said Friday.
Being a parent that cares is not easy. I've got four daughters, ages 18, 16, five, and two. And there are lots of days when it would be so much easier to give in and let bad behavior go.
I want my children to be better people than me. So I make hard choices hoping they will learn from them.
" . . .relates to promoting and furthering self-respect in middle and high school students by prohibiting sexually suggestive performances by dance, drill, cheerleading or any other performance group at school sponsored events. "
Picture released by the U.S. Army Tuesday, May 3, 2005 shows a U.S. Army soldier comforting a child fatally wounded in a car bomb blast in Mosul, 360 km (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, May 2, 2005. 15 Iraqis were wounded in the combined suicide bomb attack.I have no words . . .
(AP Photo/U.S. Army)
These loans are evil. There is no other word for them. If you are in Texas, let your representation know that you think this is a bad idea; an evil idea.Texas legislators are about to consider HB 846, a bill being pushed by payday lenders. The bill would legalize interest rates of more than 700 percent in Texas by authorizing payday loans under Texas law.
Payday loans are short-term, high-interest loans that are supposed to tide you over between paydays. But the interest rates on these loans exceed 700 percent, and often trap borrowers in a cycle of debt. On average, payday loan borrowers make between 8 and 13 of these
loans each year. Frequently borrowers can only afford to make the interest payment and make no progress paying off the original debt.
Waukesha - A usually unseen side of the Girl Scouts' annual cookie sale surfaced
Thursday when the Great Blue Heron Council of the organization filed small-claims lawsuits accusing two couples and three women of not ponying up for goodies they ordered.
"Please note that non-payment for Girl Scout cookies represents fraud," the council noted in form letters that preceded the legal action, according to the lawsuits. "We are willing to work with you to set up a repayment plan; however, you must call within the next two weeks to make these arrangements. Link
Last month I was involved in an email chain amongst some friends and I was led to respond. Alice has been having extra-ordinary bad luck; out of work, chronic pain, car troubles, kid troubles, lots of pain in her past. Bob thought his troubles were worse and was wondering how to be happy. Email is probably not the best way to answer you Bob, but I'm going to take a shot anyway. Alice has more faith in God than anyone I have ever known. I look up to her as a model for the kind I faith I want. But I would be hard pressed to say she is doing well. She has had a hard past and a tough present and none of us can imagine her future. But her life is filled with joy, and hope, and love. You're in a tough spot too. You seem to be so unhappy. And I wish I could help but I have learned that happiness really does come from within. When I was stuck in jobs I hated; I looked how I could do my job better and learn something and serve others. And at the same time I looked for other jobs. When I was working three jobs and still losing money; buying rotten potatoes so I could eat the good parts and filling my pockets with ketchup from McDonalds to make soup later; I moved across the country and started over. I remember thinking that I needed an education to get ahead. I thought about prison as a step up from where I was; food every day, TV, a degree. When I became unhappy with my social life; my friends, the things I was doing; I made a choice to do other things. And I lost friends and was lonely. When my sister died and my parents divorced and made poor choices; I had to stretch to find the blessings in my life. I find them every day now. Today is a good day Bob. Today can be a great day if you look for the little things and find joy in them. I want you to be happy Bob. I want to help. I wish I was more empathetic or sympathetic. But it's not about me and my choices. It's about you and yours. Good luck on the journey you are on Bob. You have options; walk alone, walk with us, walk with God. But sometime you have to just get off your ass and walk. :-) And smile while you do it. {Even if you are faking it, someone will smile back, then you really smile . . .and everyone has a better day} . God bless you Bob,
A few things that might help (I have done or am doing them all):
I used to have a poem on my wall. It went something like this:Look well to THIS day.
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision.
But TODAY well lived
Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, THIS day.
God bless you Alice,
God bless us everyone. We all need it.
April 26, 2005, 6:37AM
Texas closer to selling lottery tickets
online
Associated Press
AUSTIN — Texas would become the first state to sell lottery tickets online under legislation has received approval by a state legislative panel.
Under the bill approved by the state House Appropriations Committee on Monday, players also would be able to pay for lottery tickets with a debit card and establish a Texas Lottery Commission account that would draw down as they bought tickets.
The proposal was inserted in a larger bill, which would allow motorists to display one license plate on the rear of a vehicle.Rep. Jim Pitts, the committee chairman and bill author, said Internet sales of lottery
tickets would earn an additional $100 million a year. The lottery raised $1 billion last year for schools.Rep. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, a supporter of the bill, described its chances in the full House as 50-50.
Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton, objected to the proposal, saying it could give children access to buying tickets and easier access could fuel gambling addictions.
Is all this weasel office politics? Damn straight. On the other hand, it's weasel office politics meant to shield your development team from unnecessary weasel office politics. As much as we hate weasel office politics, sometimes it's necessary.
The breakdown is that in Gen Y (18-25 year olds) 27% are Godly, 27% God-less, and 46% are undecided."This study is informed by three goals:
- To ascertain how young people are coming to understand
their religious identity;- To describe what their religious practices look like in
this era of customization and change; and- To explore the ways religious identity informs the civic
participation of today's youth. Throughout, we were careful to note that
religious life does not operate in a vacuum and we embed the role religion in
the context of their other concerns, such as finding a job or getting good
grades in school."
 | You scored as agnosticism. You are an agnostic. Though it is generally taken that agnostics neither believe nor disbelieve in God, it is possible to be a theist or atheist in addition to an agnostic. Agnostics don't believe it is possible to prove the existence of God (nor lack thereof). |
Update: UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute released another survey Wednesday. Their report expresses a view that young people are looking for spirituality but not religion. [Executive Summary]
"Below is an article in last weeks Wall Street Journal. I thought it was an idea that was likely to start getting some air time in Washington and appears to be a reasonable compromise on solving social security issues.
Like you, I'd like to have them pay what was promised. We all know that is mathematically impossible. This seems to be a workable solution. You should know about it.
Here's the deal, you are getting this email because you are likely to be asked one more time to solve a problem. Why? Because you are or will be successful. Hence, you are most likely to receive less from social security while others receive their promised benefits. The article below uses the term "progressive indexing". A fancy term for means testing. However, it takes from you in a way that is likely more palatable than raising taxes, currently or in the future, doesn't require the income limit to be raised beyond how Congress already changes the base, provides a workable solution to solvency, allows individual specific accounts and has much less effect on current deficits.
Enjoy.
Hope all of you are well. "
"When the late Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan was asked why he favored personal Social Security accounts, he liked to answer in two words: "wealth inequality." That insight is also driving a useful idea now being tossed into the reform debate -- "progressive indexing." More
I like the idea of choices. It makes the concept of paying for people that didn't think of the future more palatable.
"How's it going?"For years I heard people answer that question with those answers or not even pay attention to the question and respond with an "OK" in passing. I actually found myself doing the same thing more often than not.
"It's Monday."
Or "Thank God it's Friday."
Or "At least it's payday"
"What SPC Frances said as he sheepishly stood before my desk staring at the floor was “Sir, you’re like, ummmm, you know, really smart. And you’re doing this when you could ummmm, you know, so many other things. Don’t you wish you were, ummm doing something better?”.
The question is one I’ve heard from several well meaning individuals, but never, ever from a soldier. If it were possible I would have torn the implicit assumption that question housed and crushed it beneath my muddy heels. Because wrapped in that question like two fat maggots in an otherwise perfect roast sits two false postulates that have poisoned many clear thinking individuals. The first deadly lie is that soldiers are stupid. The second is that the Army is a dumping ground for people with no other options.
I paused for a long moment after SPC Frances asked his question, unsure of how to answer the question and simultaneously leach its poisonous implications. . . [More]
He's why I support the troops; why I vote for the people I vote for; why I talk to people about why they should do the same.
There is evil in the world. People like him are the reason people like you and I don't have to deal with it. People like him are heroes.
--Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum in pace
----Luke 2:29
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word
I'm better than most but I know I have a problem. But how can you resist when M&Ms are having promotions like the following link? I want DARK chocolate. I want to believe that Episode III will rock. |
We may never learn if androids truly dream of electric sheep, but this cartoon short advocates the possibility of penguins dreaming of flight. Billed as, "A story of a penguin hoping for intergalactic voyages," this animated short demonstrates a boy's willingness to sacrifice to help his aquatic avian friend achieve his dream. Originally appearing on the CBC's Zed Open Source Television, which I assume is Canada's answer to public
access the imagery and backing soundtrack are both quite talented from the second offering by director Wojtek Wawszczyk. His other work, Mouse, also available through Zed is worth checking out too. Link
"Infringing teenager's awesome They Might Be Giants video"
"Dave Logan is a high school senior who just finished his latest animation, which is a music video for They Might Be Giants' excellent song ' Bloodmobile.' This is a really excellent video, and I hope we can all appreciate a good science song. I think this is pretty in-fringe-ified, but I imagine it's just a matter of time before it's available on the Giants' site. What's the status of student work and fair use anyway?"
It's a hard application to describe. Mostly because people think they know what it is and go from there. But they usually miss it.
Multiplicity connect two seperate computers to one mouse and keyboard over a network.
Thnk of it as like a switch that gives focus to whatever PC you are using via the mouse.
What multiplicity is not:
Multiplicity is for people who have two or more PCs next to each other and want to use both. But they don't wnat to have to switch back and forth between mice and keyboards. Seemlessly.
I have a TabletPC that travels with me too and from the office. It's a good PC but it's a tablet, there are limitations. It feels slower. The keyboard is cramped. The touchpad is not a mouse.
So I do my heavy lifting with the desktop. But I want my portable (travel) work to be on the Tablet.
In steps MP. I can be working on the desktop and as I slide my cursor over to the side of the monitor closest to the tablet . . . the cursor jumps to the tablet and there I am.
I type on the keyboard plugged into the desktop and the keystrokes appear on the tablet.
I can copy and paste clipboard content; images, text. I use it to copy URLs a lot. and if I run a quesry on the desktop but want to send the email from the client on the tablet; copy and paste.
The Pro version (the one I use) also allows me to copy files among the PCs I have connected. I save something on PC1, drag my cursor across PC2 and continue an to PC3 where I right click and paste. There's my file. Nice.
Customer support from the vendor rocks. They are available via web forum, email, and IRC. ALL THE TIME.
If you have multiple PCs on your desk now I reccommend this product. (They are planning to support Mac an Linux in the near future for those of you who swing that way.)
Of course, you ask them how it's different from shoplifting and who knows what argument they may come up with, because, that's WRONG! Whatever.
My kids think I am harsh because I don't let them burn music at my house. I think I am giving because I don't make them remove all pirated material from the house.
I think that it's stealing. If someone produced some material and expects recompense and doesn't get it; it's stealing. Software, music, movies; all the same thing. Stealing.
I'm on the line about TV. I think I'm OK with watching a show I missed as long as the commercials are intact.
Granted, if I were watching live, I would be flipping to other channels or getting a snack or chasing a kid and probably miss the ad. But the option is there.
You want to burn music you own? Convert all those cassettes to CD (but download the hirher quality version from the web)? Knock yourself out. Have fun. Make that Eighty's mix tape of your favorite monster ballads. You did your part. Thanks.
In any case, I saw a tongue-in-cheek chart at inreview.co.uk that will help those who want to steal justify that theft. And those others . . . enjoy.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, orToday the Supremes will hear two arguments about religion (specifically the Ten Commandments) in public places.
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for redress of grievances.” U.S. Const.,
Amend. I."
