Standards of Decency

Euphemisms

2006-12-17T22:46:00.000-05:00

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: December 17, 2006 - December 23, 2006 Archives

Does that make us exsurgents?

Slashdot | The Turf Wars Between Phone And Cable

2006-11-26T14:15:00.000-05:00

Slashdot | The Turf Wars Between Phone And Cable

NY Times has a story about the business practices of the ever-consolidating telecommunications industry.

Two-buck Chuck arrives at Trader Joe's via ajc.com

2006-11-21T10:36:00.000-05:00

Two-buck Chuck arrives at Trader Joe's | ajc.com

Woo Hoo!

What the article doesn't really say is how they navigated around the liquor laws.

BSA Shills for MPAA

2006-10-20T16:40:00.000-05:00

Slashdot | Boy Scouts Introduce Merit Badge for Not Pirating

Their other problems aside, this just cheapens the Boy Scouts. If someone got a merit badge for canoeing or cinematography or wilderness survival, how do you think they feel about someone getting rewarded for sitting through propaganda for a bunch of corporations?

Chuckless Joe's

2006-10-19T07:12:00.000-05:00

Trader Joe's here without 'Three-buck Chuck' | ajc.com

Well, that's just great.

I've been looking forward to checking out the use of Three-buck Chuck as cooking wine since the rumor was going around that Trader Joe's was going in down here.

Now, because you have to buy wines from Georgia distributors, they can't sell their wine products. Well, the main reason is that Georgia distributors can't sell private labels. Although I suspect this law translates to something written by a lawmaker's friend who just happened to represent a consortium of wine "distributors" who like a little "taste" of the "action".

Things I've Always Wanted To Try

2006-10-18T10:37:00.000-05:00

I've got a great idea.

Seems much more dangerous than a potato gun, but I feel like I am much more likely to do this.

Ummmmmmm....

2006-10-17T09:13:00.000-05:00

SI.com - More Sports - Tyson wants to fight women on 'World Tour' - Monday October 16, 2006 8:21PM

I only have one thing to say about this:

I believe him.

RedState Gets Farked

2006-10-11T09:34:00.000-05:00

RedState Puts on Show to Save Family Farm - Wonkette

Just check out the link.

Blog Find Follow-up: Jon Gets Minimized

2006-10-11T08:24:00.000-05:00

Jon Gets Minimized

I don't know if any of you have checked this out or been following the story, but Shaun Attwood has been in prison for a while after a conviction on drug-related charges. He started his blog because of the conditions at Arpaio's (the notorious warden that you've heard about) tent prison. Since then, he's been moved. He's blogged about conditions in prison and dealing with his incarceration.

It's been weird reading the blog about events that happened a month prior (the blog is handled through letters), and wanting to know what is happening/has happened. There was a hostage standoff that interfered with his one chance to see his family. There have been medical issues. There have been therapy sessions. There have been some extended storylines with his friends on the inside.

Today...really August 18th, Shaun found out that he's going to Minimum. I can't wait to find out what happens next.

Fun with Words

2006-10-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - Bush: N. Korea nuke test claim threatens peace - Oct 9, 2006

Because if they actually tested a nuke, that would also threaten his ability to refer to his policies as being "successful".

But they are just claiming that they tested a nuke, so it is okay. Just normal terraism.

Irony

2006-10-06T17:13:00.000-05:00

Facing South: Company Behind N.C. Chemical Disaster Had Previous Violations

I'm sorry. I just would never trust a chemical company named The Environmental Quality Company. It's like trusting We Never Cheat accountants and We Would Never Embezzle securities.

...or a blog named Standards of Decency.

The ever unbiased AJC looks at farm subsidies.

2006-09-30T16:54:00.000-05:00

Cotton bailout: How tax dollars prop up big growers | ajc.com

The AJC is doing a series of articles on farm subsideies. If you filter through the "big government bad" crap, this will probably wind up being a good look at government sponsership of big farms.

Do I think farm subsidies are bad? Right now I do. If you managed to keep the money out of the hand of big corporate farms and put them into the hands of small, family-owned farms, then I would think better of them. I don't think you should get rid of them completely. It's just one of those things that the government does to seem altruistic, but it winds up getting lobbied into corporate dole-outs...like a lot of supposed government entitlements.

So my favorite story about this...I was talking to a guy in Texas whose brother owns a cotton farm. He was explaining that an acre of cotton produces about a bushel (which is about the size of a really large fridge if I remember correctly). A bushel is worth like...under a dollar...even the government buy out. The prices I remember him quoting me seemed like 50 cents to buy out and thirty cents from an actual buyer. In fact, maybe it was 50 cents not to plant.

I told him, and he actually thought this was a good idea, that him and his non-"corporate" (I would imagine in this day and age that even small farms incorporate, but we are talking about the big business, non-family types) cotton-growing friends should get together and start a co-op. Instead of selling cotton together, they should buy a few machines (or get someone else to do this) and produce blue jeans from their own cotton and call them "Free Range, Texas Made" jeans or something like that. You can sell them for too much money to overindulged wanna-be do-gooder college students.

I think that was the instant he stopped seeing me as "chump kid" and started seeing me as "evil genius".

What?!!!

2006-09-29T09:47:00.000-05:00

Slashdot | Apple in Talks with Wal-Mart over Movies

What kind of backwards world do we live in? This is clearly a racket. Wal-mart is evil and Apple is dead to me.

I know this is an overreaction, but I never thought I'd see the day when an on-line retailer would kowtow to the bricks and mortar world. The only way this would actually come about is if Wal-Mart is a monopoly and the entertainment industry operated under a trust.

...

Actually...

ProFootballTalk.com -- The Best Pro Football Scoop on the Internet

2006-09-27T19:32:00.000-05:00

ProFootballTalk.com -- The Best Pro Football Scoop on the Internet: "POSTED 1:12 p.m. EDT, September 27, 2006

Doesn't really have that much to do with politics, but:

a) It is pretty funny religious/sports commentary

and

b) There isn't a shot in hell I'd start him this week.

DIVINE INTERVENTION FOR ALEXANDER?

Maybe God really does care about sports. Or maybe He simply has Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander on His fantasy team.

Either way, it looks like the Big Referee in the Sky could be hooking up Alexander for Sunday night's game in Chicago, even though Alexander has a broken bone in his foot.

According to Mike Sando of the Tacoma News Tribune, the Almighty might be hitting the pause button on efforts to arrange life-saving miracles so that He can go Ernest Angley on Alexander's hoof.

Per the report, the appendage stopped hurting on Tuesday, and Alexander thinks that he has been healed through prayer.

Look, we mean no disrespect at all to the Entity Who Created Us All. Surely, He exists. Surely, He cares about us.

But we find it hard to fathom that God would pull an abra-cadabra on a broken bone in the foot of a pro athlete in a case where nothing of any real significance depends on it.

Alexander already has had his share of miracles. He's wealthy. He's famous. He's in a position to buy the YMCA building in his hometown and let it go to pot before being forced to clean it up under the threat of fines.

So we tend to think that, if God is going to be giving out any miracles this week, they'll go to folks who might not have already been as fortunate in this life as Alexander."

This really sucks.

2006-09-26T10:08:00.000-05:00

'Boondocks' comic strip to end in November | AccessAtlanta

This has been my favorite strip for a while. Hopefully this won't be the last we see of Aaron McGruder on the old fish wrapper.

Follow-up to the Banking Fraud

2006-09-23T15:29:00.000-05:00

Sweatshop workers who satisfy gamers' lust for virtual power - World - Times Online

Now there are sweatshops that farm games for stuff to sell to westerners for real world money.

This comes to light thanks to a documentary that someone is making based on the economy of internet gaming.

I have only a passing interest in this, but the thought of inflation in a world that creates its own money/bad guys that drop money when they are killed still piques my curiosity.

I really, really hope Wal-Mart tries to take on Disney.

2006-09-23T10:57:00.000-05:00

Slashdot | Wal-Mart Threatens Studios Over iTunes Sales

I'm sorry, but I really believe that this can only backfire. I can't think of anything better.

While we are on them, I also want to say that after every other story I've heard about Wal-Mart and the cheap crap they offer at low, low prices I would never trust them to provide me generic drugs for four dollars. I just know they went to the manufacturer and told them, "Hey, we are going to make drugs cheaper...and by 'we', I mean you."

Pro Football Pick'em - Week 3

2006-09-22T22:57:00.000-05:00

Doing them quick this week. Just ran out of time.

This is against the spread:
Chicago (-3), Cincy (+1.5), Buffalo (-5.5), Carolina (-3), Green Bay (+7), Washington (-4), Indy (-7), Miami (-11), Baltimore (-6.5), Arizona (-4.5), Philly (-6), NYG (+3.5), NE (-7), Atlanta (-3.5)

Who gives a crap?

2006-09-22T10:35:00.000-05:00

Daily Kos: Idiot press

Kos with a little story and a brief rant afterwards, really hitting the nail on the head. I wish people would a) realize and b) vocalize this more often. I get Hugo Chavez and all that, but I really don't give a crap. There are more important things going on.

Actually, I should say there are actual important things going on.

Well that clears it up.

2006-09-21T01:21:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - Bush would send troops inside Pakistan to catch bin Laden - Sep 20, 2006

Bush will go after Osama bin Laden once he receives intelligence.

Let me know when to start holding my breath.

Cingular's One-Way Contract - Consumerist

2006-09-21T00:17:00.000-05:00

Cingular's One-Way Contract - Consumerist

Not a whole lot of commentary here. Just the result of the consolidation of media and telecom.

I fear...for everything that is good and holy...

2006-09-20T16:48:00.000-05:00

Click here.

Fox is starting a video unit that is to tap into the christian market called FoxFaith. And then the seventh seal will open and the wrath of the lord will be shed upon the land. The four horseman of the apocalypse will ride across the land. The sky will burn and the seas will boil and life as we know it will end.

NFL Pick 'Em 2007: Week 2 - Follow/Wrap-Up

2006-09-19T08:17:00.000-05:00

12 out of 16.

WOOOO!!!

I was a little disappointed to see that I hadn't noticed that Big Ben was back, however this didn't affect me. For those of you who didn't see the Monday Night Football game last night, it was the lowest scoring game in MNF history. It was one of those games that people call a defensive struggle, but I also think that it was also partially an offensive suckfest. I don't think the surgery had so much to do with Big Ben's performance, but his ramp-up to the season was disrupted and it is affecting his game. He needed another week off to practice. Especially given Charlie Batch's performance.

I'd also like to point out that Brett Favre needs to be benched too. His career isn't quite over, but he needs to sit out a game or five. If that doesn't completely destroy his ego, then he is the football hero everyone thinks he is. If, on the other had, sitting for a few games is unacceptable to him even given his current level of play, he's clearly just out there for his own legacy and doesn't give a crap about the Packers.

And from the comments: The 3 point rule is now the 3 point or less home team favorite rule. Home field advantage is worth 3 points. If the spread is less than three points in favor of the home team, then the "underdog" deserves some serious thought. However, it is not a hard and fast rule.

Also, I switching from the NFL point spread that I have been using to the yahoo pick 'em to make my life easier.

Delicious Irony

2006-09-18T16:16:00.000-05:00

Slashdot | Hotel Minibar Key Opens Diebold Voting Machines

Doesn't Diebold also make lockboxes? For banks?

You think the minibar keys also work on the bank boxes?

The Duh School of International Relations

2006-09-16T22:25:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - Analysts: Bush's cowboy image waning; world still wary - Sep 16, 2006

Who comes up with this crap?

This week the leaders of 118 nations met in Cuba as part of the League of Non Allied Nations or whatever there actual name is. I'd look them up, but I don't want the FBI tapping my phones as well as my google searches.

The BBC coverage put it that they were alligned against Bush and the big debate is how they feel about America (I'm glad someone on the world stage can at least tell that difference).

Now, I'm not saying we should allow 118 other countries to tell us who to elect, but maybe when we talk about how the world feels about us we don't soften it up to "image waning". Let's use language that is a little more frank...like "image is still in the crapper".

A Lot Of Inconvenient Truths

2006-09-15T16:13:00.000-05:00

Slashdot | FCC Orders Anti-Monopoly Report Destroyed

Not a real surprise under the current administration, but we are rewriting the present...still.

Local ownership of television and radio...newspaper, billboards, anything...leads to better quality of life for the people of America. The denial of what would benfit the American people is in direct opposition to the supposed purpose of organizations like Public Utility Commissions, Taxi and Limosine Commisions, and the FCC.

That is all.

NFL Pick 'Em 2007: Week 2

2006-09-15T09:33:00.000-05:00

NFL point spreads

7 games out of 16...could have been worse last week.

At Baltimore -11.5 over Oakland: Aaron Brooks is just going to fold. This isn't there week.

At Indy -13.5 over Houston: Win by a comfy two tds.

At Cincy -10.5 over Cleveland: Chad Johnson starts showing up in real games...and in my fantasy team.

Buffalo over At Miami -6.5: If you can't beat Charlie Batch...

At Chicago -9 over Detroit: No real explination here. I just think Chicago is going to be pretty good this year.

Carolina -1 over At Minnesota: Minnesota had a pretty good week. Carolina didn't. One will learn their lesson. One will bite off more than they can chew... Plus, what's the deal with the -1 point spread. It's pretty hard to break even, so there is basically a three point swing between winning and loosing.

NYG over At Philly -3: This is pretty close. I'm looking to the 3-point rule for some help.

At Atlanta -5.5 over Tampa: This is a pretty close one too, but Atlanta is apparently more real than I thought and Tampa got shut out last week.

New Orleans -2.5 over At Green Bay: Why does God make NFL games like this?

St. Louis -3 over At SF: Yup.

At Seattle -7 over Arizona: Yeah.

New England -6 over At NY Jets: I have to appologize to the Jets for last week, but still.

At San Diego -11.5 over TN: Because the Jets beat them.

At Denver -10.5 over KC: With KC still reeling (read: whining) over Trent Green's hit.

Washington over At Dallas -6: I'm still giddy over last year.

At Jax over Pitts -1.5: Eh.

Everybody Panic!

2006-09-13T15:48:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - El Nino forms in Pacific Ocean - Sep 13, 2006

You're scared of the boy.

NFL Pick 'Em 2007: Week 1 - Follow/Wrap-up

2006-09-11T16:30:00.000-05:00

6 for 16 so far with 2 left to play.

YAY!!!

Not an auspicious start. Obviously, there are lessons to be learned, although deep down in my heart I know it to be true that the Cards and Jets suck.

NFL Pick 'Em 2007: Week 1

2006-09-06T12:18:00.000-05:00

Well, I got picks off during the play-offs (okay, the championship games and the Superbowl) and went 3 for 3. I don't have a whole lot to say right now between being slammed for work and personal stuff going on, so I'll just say that I didn't watch enough football last year, and I'll have enough time this year to watch less.

That being said, I'm excited about the Sunday Night Football and the Monday Night TBDs. I'm excited about the Redskins after getting to the play-offs last year. I'm actually getting to a Falcon's regular season game this year (I've only been to preseason games in my life).

Anyway, Picks:

Miami over At Pitts -1:
Charlie Batch is that bad.

Denver -3.5 over At StL:
St. Louis has potential, but no one really knows what is going on there.

At Tenn -2.5 over NYJ:
No real explination here. It's going to be a while before I take the Jets seriously.

At NE -9 over Buffalo:
This is a toss up. NE never blows anyone out. They just play it close all the time, so 9 always seems reasonable for games they should win. I might as well just take them.

At Tampa -3 over Baltimore:
I just think Tampa has more potential all around this year and they are playing at home.

Cincy over At KC -2.5:
They win this outright first of all. Secondly, and let's go ahead and make a rule: Anytime there is less than a three point spread favoring the home team, go ahead and think about things a bit. Home field advantage is worth 3 points across the board.

Seattle -6 over At Det:
I don't see them going to the Superbowl this year, but they still have something to prove and they still have all their key players from last year.

At Carolina -6 over Atl:
Carolina proved last year that their defense can contain the Falcons, and I'm just not a believer in Mora Jr. Sorry.

Philly -4 over At Houston:
I was really proud of Houston not taking Reggie Bush. They have more problems than their running game. In 3-4 years, I'm sure all their hard work will pay off.

New Orleans over At Cleveland -3:
Eh, I can't really choose and I just like the changes the Saints made. Also, this is not because of Reggie Bush, but he sure helps.

Dallas over At Jax -2.5:
Another three point rule...plus Dallas is just annoying enough to win this one. Also, TO hasn't had his mid-season falling apart yet. I'm predicting that to occur in the middle of the season.

Chicago -3.5 over At GB:
The tundra isn't frozen enough to scare anyone yet. I think Favre is aiming to have a good season to end on, but Chicago has the D to make it hard for him in week one. It'll be close, but I'll still take Chi-town.

San Fran over At Arizona -7.5:
I had to read that four times to make sure I read it right. Just no.

Indy -3.5 over At NYG:
Just cause.

At Washington -4.5 over Minnesota:
This is a fan pick and I don't care what anyone says about it. Okay, that's hopefully not going to happen every year, but the Skins are probably the hardest team to play at home...especially at the beginning of the year.

San Diego -3 over at Oakland:
Not really the three point rule, but Aaron Brooks.

Rolling Rock migrates to Jersey

2006-09-05T17:17:00.000-05:00

From NYTimes.com

August 8, 2006

Latrobe’s Fizzle Is Newark’s Fizz

By JOHN HOLL

NEWARK, Aug. 7 — One small town in western Pennsylvania has long provided trivia buffs with two obscure questions that share an answer: Where was the golf legend Arnold Palmer born and raised? And where did those seven-ounce pony bottles of Rolling Rock beer — actually extra-pale lager — come from?

The answer, until last week, was Latrobe, Pa., a town of about 9,000 snuggled in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

But the glass-lined tanks of Latrobe have given way to the red-brick Anheuser-Busch factory on Routes 1 and 9 in the shadow of Newark Liberty International Airport.

Anheuser-Busch — the maker of Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob and other beers — bought the Rolling Rock brand, the recipe for its mountain-brewed extra-pale lager and the entire Latrobe Brewing Company from the Belgium-based InBev SA company in May for $82 million. After weighing several options, said David A. Peacock, vice president for business and finance for Anheuser-Busch, the company decided to move operations to Newark.

“It made sense because Newark is close by, it’s a very good brewery and we can produce the same great packaging and beer there,” Mr. Peacock said.

But in Latrobe, the decision is not going down smoothly.

“No offense to New Jersey, but I didn’t think it had any mountain springs,” Clint Shaffer, 39, a resident of Latrobe, said in a telephone interview. “Rolling Rock is a source of pride around here, and moving it someplace else is like hearing that Chevys will now be made in Japan.”

The move has become such a visceral issue that Mr. Palmer, Latrobe’s favorite son, will not discuss it.

“There are a lot of people with a lot of strong feelings,” said Mr. Palmer’s longtime assistant, Doc Giffin. “He doesn’t want to weigh in right now.”

But others are only too happy to fill the vacuum. Beer drinkers like Richard Lott of Grenada, Miss., plan to stock up on as much of the Latrobe-made brew as possible, and when it is all consumed, it will be time to find a new brand.

“I’ll try the new batch once, but I don’t think I’m going to like it,” said Mr. Lott, 33, who works in an auto parts factory and, like many others, lamented the loss of Rolling Rock from Latrobe on an Internet message board devoted to beer (mylifeisbeer.com). “There is something about the mystique of the beer that will be missed.”

Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association, a national nonprofit organization devoted to professional brewers, says the truth is that beer drinkers will not be able to tell the difference.

“The brewer can take water from anywhere and add or subtract minerals to make it mimic water from other places,” Mr. Gatza said in a telephone interview from association headquarters in Colorado. “They can make it to exact specifications. That’s why a Budweiser brewed in Newark tastes exactly like the ones made in St. Louis.”

Taste aside, Mr. Gatza conceded that loyalty does account for something. “I’m sure there will be a dip in sales in the immediate Latrobe area and around Pittsburgh, where it is extremely popular,” he said.

Over time, however, Mr. Gatza said the merger would probably improve the bottom line for Rolling Rock, which will benefit from Anheuser-Busch’s vast distribution system.

“In terms of customer appeal,” he said, “well, there is an emotional concept that a lot of people will have with it and they will make the decision to keep buying it or not.”

Latrobe Brewing began making Rolling Rock in 1939, and although it is most popular in the eastern United States, it has enjoyed a loyal following in the brewing world, its seven-ounce pony bottles a staple at summer cookouts and picnics.

“This has been a lot of fun, a challenge for us to brew,” said Douglas J. Muhleman, group vice president for brewing at Anheuser-Busch. “We set out on a mission to make Rolling Rock exactly the same way. That proved to be an interesting endeavor.”

The flight of Rolling Rock and Rock Green Light, a lighter version, does not mean the end for the Latrobe brewery. City Brewing, a Wisconsin company, recently signed a letter of intent that would use the Rolling Rock plant, along with many of its 200 employees.

But the mystery of Rolling Rock — in the Kelly green bottle with horses and a mysterious “33” on the label — will live on in Newark. Some say the “33” was a misprint, others say it was for the year prohibition was repealed and still others say it is for the number of words in the beer’s famous pledge. Rolling Rock executives have never said.

As for Anheuser-Busch, it says it will keep the pledge on the bottle “to honor the tradition of this great brand.”

It reads: “Rolling Rock. From the glass-lined tanks of old Latrobe, we tender this premium beer for your enjoyment, as a tribute to your good taste. It comes from the mountain springs to you.”

It will not include this caveat, however: The water now comes from the Wanaque Reservoir in Passaic County.

The Funniest Thing I've Heard Today

2006-08-28T16:50:00.000-05:00

Online Banker Steals 790 Billion...

...in a game!!!

This guy in an online game started a bank (how lame are video games now-a-days), got fed up, and stole 790 Billion pretend dollars. There is a statistic in the Ars Technica article which I'm assuming is based on Ebay conversion of auctioning off game money for real money, so this is apparently "worth" about $170k.

There is also a video the guy sent out describing (i.e. babbled) how he got away with it (i.e. stalled people to keep them from figuring out that they were giving their money to a scammer). He's apparently given out (so far) a phone number, a video of what he looks like, and his main character on the game (I think...pretty thick accent over my laptop speakers).

Sorry to all of those who got "scammed", but you gave an internet person money in a world with a very low chance for repercussions.

Pretty funny.

Discretion

2006-08-27T09:47:00.000-05:00

Science vs. Everyone

So in a discussion about improving fish migration someone decided that getting rid of the big obstructions that block fish migration (dams). They wound up being investigated as a possible terrorist. Brilliant. I, of course, want the bridge right where it is, because I do not want to be investigated as being a terrorist.

Sometimes I think the one thing that people don't realize is that federal funding is and should be finite. The amount of time and money we have to investigate terrorists are also finite. If we are serious about trying to stop possible terrorists (which I don't disagree with), then maybe we should use a little common sense about how we spend our resources. Maybe the guy who talked about removing a dam during a public hearing in front of the Army Corp of Engineers...maybe he's not the guy you should worry about.

I know they are probably trying to use some discretion as to how to spend their time, but when you hear stories like this you wonder how good their discretion is.

YouTube's virtues

2006-08-14T18:01:00.000-05:00

I'm guessing that most everyone who reads this blog is aware of YouTube, the website that offers videos for viewing but not downloading (at least not without some sneaky maneuvers). I had seen some random kinda funny clips from that site, and acknowledged that the site seemed useful, but had some problems with searching through their archives (and still do). But recently I started searching through YouTube for some specific clips, and was amazed at what I found. Listed below are some highlights I've discovered that are slightly off the beaten path (e.g. no clips of morons shooting potato guns into a friend's back nor putting Mentos into Pepsi).

I am a huuuuuge Dave Letterman fan. Searching on his name alone will supply you with dozens of hits. Impressively, fans have added some clips from his Late Night days on NBC. Some of the must-see clips include:

neighbor Rupert Jee dons a baseball cap, thick-rimmed glasses, and a earpiece so he can be told what to say by Dave Letterman - Rupert Jee Bothers People Part 1 and Part 2
Letterman puts on a suit of Alka-Seltzer and is lowered into a pool of water
Letterman works at a Taco Bell drive-thru
two infamous moments from the 1980s: Crispin Glover and Andy Kaufman
and plenty of footage of Chris Elliott, various cams, and viewer mail skits

The other true gem is music videos that did not get much mainstream attention when they were broadcast on MTV. This includes some live performances from MTV's 120 Minutes (which I still miss dearly).

Hum, live on 120 Minutes, performing "I'd Like Your Hair Long"
Sunny Day Real Estate, also on 120 Minutes, performing "Seven"
R.E.M. performs "Nightswimming" live in studio
R.E.M.'s extended "Nightswimming" video - a wonderful ode to Southern summers
and more recent, fully produced videos, like Cat Power's "Lived in Bars"

Got any highlights to share? Post 'em in the comments!

Movie Club Round-up

2006-08-14T08:21:00.000-05:00

I'm SSPPOOIILLEERRIIZZIINNGG the text in case you haven't seen the movies. Highlight to read.

And for the record, I decided to do this before I saw the Sports Guy's last column.

Just out: Little Miss Sunshine

To start, this movie has my favorite device used in any road literature: The broken clutch. First off, most road trips inevitably has some car problems due to the tendency in people not to take the better working car (although in the movie it was a Miata and too small). But mainly, most road trips I've ever been on include arrivals and departures that tend to be rather abrupt. Showing up in people's lives. Sometimes people you don't know, sometimes they aren't expecting you. Then you stay until you need to get on the road to get the next stop or you spot a bad situation and you need to leave quicker. Seeing the cast of the movie pushing the van and then each running and leaping in for the first time, it was something that I immediately identified with having been on a few road trips myself.

Steve Carell really surpised me here, but not too much. I'll steal this from Joss Whedon: you can teach a comedic actor to do drama, but you can't teach a dramatic actor comedy. Definately a challenging role, even though the character was using humor as a defense mechanism when the story started. Toni Collette and Greg Kinnear both did well in their role and had good chemistry with each other. Paul Dano (the guy from Girl Next Door who wasn't the main character or the movie director) did a great job with the teenage angst. And the little girl playing Olive really had to step up to play the role the movie required, and she did a good job with it.

Random Thoughts: The obvious themes deal with life (as a journey...OOOH, Symbols!!!) and having to live in between failure and success. I like the color imigary they used. Stephen Carell was covered in white the whole movie having recently tried to commit suicide...then grandpa wrapped in the sheet. Not a huge cry from the earth tones that were prevelant with everyone else (and the van...and the scenery)...except Olive who hung out mainly in reds. Although later Toni and Greg wind up in some warmer colors...I think.

Overall, if this movie doesn't get a few Oscars it will officially wind up in my Sideways category (I didn't know why it got a Best Picture nomination). If a movie isn't in that Oscar category, it should be a solid movie like this movie or Sideways. I think it gets so much credit because they made it look easy. I'm not going to rate it or anything, but if you don't make it to the theater, put this in your netflix queue.

On Cable: Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Not too much to say here, not even worth SSPPOOIILLEERRIIZZIINNGG. Fun. Not great. If you have nothing else going on and you don't have to make an effort to see it, then why not. It is on my HBO On Demand, so it should be in yours.

On Disc: Green Street Hooligans.

A quick review, this movie was just as good as I thought it was, and I could have easily just been suckered in with the Stone Roses playing in the trailer ("I don't have to sell my soul, he's already in me"). Especially got me psyched up for the upcoming premier season, although I may have to rethink my team pick...unlike the Sports Guy, I kind of like the idea of my team having a good firm.

I don't know how especially true it is to the Hooliganizing culture or even if someone saw Fight Club and said "Hey we could do this with soccer." But they clearly got their message across.

Premise: An unsure journalism (Elijah Wood) student gets wrongly kicked out of Harvard, takes a bribe to keep quiet and goes to England to see his sister. His sister's husband gets his brother to take Frodo to a football match. His brother is involved in a firm, a gang of hooligans that support the West Ham United. Frodo gets in a few fights and gets himself confidence.

The main point of the movie however, is the portrayal of a group of "football" fans who meet in "pubs" before the "match", get "pissed", and then go to the "matches". Oh yes, and they fight fans of the opposing "clubs". They are "firms" which have to "represent" often times "razzing" the other "firms" and get into "rows".

Some of the plot comes out of distrust for outsiders (espcially "Yanks" and "Journos"...Americans and Journalists). I still haven't gotten to "Hell's Angels", but watching this movie just bumped it up on my reading list. Having an outsider like Frodo who could earn his way into the club obviously is probably a bit of a stretch, but it does give you a sense of exploration of this world.

Anyway, I'd watch it again, and if I were a real "football" fan, I'd probably own this movie (Actually, real fans probably hate this movie). Definately worth watching.

Your Tax Dollars At Funny Work

2006-08-10T09:24:00.000-05:00

Flickr: The Best. Titles. Ever. Pool

via wonkette

A set of different government documents with funny titles: Know Your 8-inch Howitzer, Kill or Get Killed, Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Shipping High-Level Nuclear Wastes. Good stuff.

More fun tonight than I had though.

2006-08-08T22:16:00.000-05:00

courant.com: ELECTION NEWS ...

Lamont/Lieberman results.

U.S. Senate - - Dem Primary
714 of 748 Precincts Reporting - 95.45%
Name Party Votes Pct
Lamont, Ned Dem 139,496 51.90
Lieberman, Joe (i) Dem 129,271 48.10

Only 4.55% left to go!!!

EDIT: Just got called for Lamont. Lieberman's split from the party. Daily Kos has a good post about what needs to be done next.

EDIT, again: Somehow I didn't notice the double post. Deleted

Junk Mail, the good kind

2006-08-08T18:47:00.000-05:00

Once every month or three I get an e-mail from some guy named Bob Webster who has brief newsletter, with a wry sense of humor, on personal privacy, travel, space, and shares lots of really neat pictures (including from his plane and boat trips). It is something to save for an unseasonally hot day in Cleveland when you have no air conditioning and need to go sit in a Panera Bread and enjoy the cool air and a panini and stare at your computer and learn something and grin (for example).

The latest issue:

http://xpda.com/junkmail/junk182/junk182.htm

Be sure to read the second headline, Human Computer Security.

Sign up to get these things at the bottom of that page

MNF: I mean how hard would it be to get someone who has played Fantasy Football for three seasons.

2006-08-08T10:58:00.000-05:00

'Monday Night Football': My Good Snooze Spoiled

If I tried, I think I could name 8-10 tight ends. You apparently have two choices at the third position in the booth during a Monday night game. You can either be the jackass who thinks he knows everything but actually doesn't know football, so you make light-hearted comments comparing football to some 14th century French court figure who made some political move that was for some reason just like a play-action play. Or you can be the guy who doesn't know anything including football, and will be making comments tangential to the actual game. He'll be making comments like "He just had the rest of the guys beat." and "He just didn't see that guy coming." and my personal favorite "T.O. is a really big hero/jerk (really just depending on what he heard his buddies say around the office that day...or even two years ago)."

Would it kill them to get two guys who know what are going on and can talk about football besides the play-by-play guy (basically to keep the play-by-play guy from saying anything other that the actual play calling?).

Yup, relevant.

RIP Lenny - 40 Years Of Having To Talk Dirty And Influence People On Our Own

2006-08-07T10:42:00.000-05:00

iWon News

I find it a little befitting that we watched the Aristocrats this past weekend given the legacy that was lost 40 years prior (almost to the date). I can't say that I know too much about him. I've watched a documentary and listened to a few performances. But I have to say it really was inspirational (like what someone said in the film about hearing the Aristocrats for the first time was like listening to a Lenny Bruce clip for the first time).

Over the last century, governments and media have used their influence to peddle their own views. In the process, they've either intentionally or implicitly censored the views of the people in order to ensure their visions of the world could be shared. In a world like this, people who can push the boundaries, if even through vulgarity, are true heroes. It's become a little passe today because our shock thresholds have been violated so many times...and often at inappropriate times, so the appropriate times don't seem so dangerous. At the time though, it was completely revolutionary...and necessary...for someone to make a place to be vulgar...push the boundries and really question are theses the boundries that make sense. Profanity for profanity's sake is excessive, but in a country of excess censoring one excess over others...isn't American. Especially in the land of the free.

Lenny Bruce was...is a hero.

Geography of Road Trips, pt. 2

2006-08-01T11:22:00.000-05:00

If you didn't read Ornitholoco's post, then do that now.

I was lucky enough to get to travel some with my parents while growing up. It's hard in an age of commercialism to make summer vacations educational, but my parents managed to just that with trips to the Pacific Northwest and Pennsylvania Dutch Country. We also managed to take trips to beaches that weren't covered in tourists.

College started a whole new batch of adventures. I was lucky enough to help start a tradition of a beach trips to a quiet South Carolina beach that was kept up for years. I also started taking my own solo road-trips starting with Middle Tennessee, from home to college and back many times, South Georgia, and trips to see friends at various neighboring colleges.

My roommate from sophomore year started talking about needing to get his car smog-checked in California. Of course, this was less of an issue and more of an excuse. The two of us made the trip over two weeks between quarters. I met exciting people and saw more of the country than I ever had before (this one and the next few probably deserve a separate post, but I'll give a short summary). Atlanta through Dallas to El Paso (20 to the 10), 10 to the desert around Palm Springs, Down to San Diego and up to LA, then back to the desert to pack up, and up the 101 to Santa Cruz, then out through Sacramento, Reno, the Salt Flats of Utah, SLC, and over the Rockies, through Denver then over to Louisville (a pit stop on the way) and down back to Atlanta.

After the first trip, the head of his engine block cracked. Not a lot, but enough that he needed to switch cars. Again, not so much an issue as an excuse. Spring Break, again between quarters. This time, we drafted a few extras to share the fuel costs. Same trip out, then back through Vegas and to the Grand Canyon, then 40 straight to Atlanta.

I want to make another trip with no interstates so as to see more of the country.

After college, I started traveling for work. I've seen and lived in a variety of areas of the country...Florida, New Jersey, Virginia, Kansas, Texas, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio...with a short stop in the Bahamas just because.

The last big road trip that I've made was in New England. I was basically in New Jersey for a weekend with nowhere to stay, but I did have a car. I decided I needed to get away for a few days, and I got to see some of the most beautiful scenes of the Northeast. It was if I was skipping over the mountains. I stayed with a friend in NYC for the night (This was August, 2001 drinking mojitos on his roof. A beautiful last look at the World Trade Center.). I didn't even start out with a map (I did eventually need to get one) determined to get to a personal landmark in Vermont. It actually took a little backtracking to actually find it, but I did. After that I did pick up a map and picked randomly Great Falls, New Brunswick as a fun place to be. I happened on a crossroads town in Vermont that I don't recall the name of which seemed pretty cool. Then I cut across US-2 to get to Maine, then up I-95 to US-1. I did take a detour to see the University in Bangor. They suggested that I go an a casino cruise/ferry out of Bar Harbor (I do want to go back and see Bar Harbor, I missed it this time). Up US-1 to 1A...I think...eventually looping around to Great Falls. The falls were unimpressive to look at, and it wasn't until later that I remembered why the name seemed familiar (the falls have 90% of the gallons per minute as Niagara during the spring thaw), but still a beautiful sight...and town. I snuck through Caribou to see what it would be like and drove south. Then down through Maine to see L.L. Bean, the coast of New Hampshire (not Maine...a little too bumpy to drive along), Boston, Providence, then the last stop...ESPN. My entry into New Jersey was watermarked by the tail end of the first Twilight Singers album playing while I went through the Turnpike at dusk. I tried to get a picture of the toll booth, but disposable cameras don't handle dim light too well.

Hosted on Zooomr

Make your own map here

Anyway, those were the great road trips of my life. I've also been out of the country a few times, but these are the trips that describe this map. I've had a road trip or two floating around in my mind for the next big vacation. I want to sweep through the states I haven't seen yet. I want to go back to Cali. I want to drive to Alaska and across Canada, then down through New England again. There area million trips left. I'm a little old know to be crashing at random fraternity houses (an option back in the day), but still have a few friends I keep in touch with along the way that would be great to see again.

Why would he laugh at this?

2006-07-31T18:49:00.000-05:00

Eschaton

Atrios has a picture of the 2004 Radio and Television Correspondents' Dinner with the wacky slide show where Bush is making light of the "where are those wmds"...

Joe Lieberman is laughing.

Why would the opposition be laughing at this during an election year...if he really did oppose anything?

Geography of Road Trips

2006-07-31T18:33:00.000-05:00

I have been infected with the travel bug for most of my life, thanks in part to what seems to be a genetic predisposition to travel on my dad's side of the family. My dad and his two brothers all love to load up in the car and undertake road trips on lazy Sundays. When I was a kid we lived seven or so hours from my uncles and extended family, so we not infrequently made this trip to see family. As soon as I turned 16 I began my own travels, partly in search of birds, partly to see new places, and partly to visit distant friends. In some cases, visiting distant friends was merely the excuse to get on the road and not think about my dissertation.

There is a website up which allows you to check off which of the 50 states you have visited, and it then plots them on a map. Here's my travel geography:

Hosted on Zooomr

Make your own map here

Home for the last few decades has included Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Minnesota, so you can see why I am biased away from the desert southwest. And let me tell you, it is killing me that I've never seen Arizona nor California. The longest road trip is not captured here - I once traveled by car from Cincinnati, OH to St. John's Newfoundlan, then back to Cincinnati, and finally on to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

On a related note, this has been the summer of the weddings. By the end of the summer, I will have attended five weddings, all of which were six or more hours away, plus a bachelor's party back in Tennessee. I will try to make a post summarizing these travels in the near future, complete with pictures.

Slashdot | Worst Ever Security Flaw in Diebold Voting Machine

2006-07-31T14:26:00.000-05:00

Slashdot | Worst Ever Security Flaw in Diebold Voting Machine

Kinda scary with a title like that, but check out what the security flaw is.

By the way, the "unverified external flash" (anything like a usb jump drive) would just be needed for booting, then they'd pull the drive and there would be nothing to indicate that they are actually stealing your votes.

Why the XFL failed...

2006-07-27T09:51:00.000-05:00

AP Wire | 07/27/2006 | New football league seeks college spirit

First, this article is about a new Pro Football league, the All American Football League started by Cedric Dempsey.

Secondly, this article has an inconsistancy. The XFL had stated that they intended not to compete with the NFL (in fact both being spring leagues, they are both competing with Arena Leagues.

The XFL, for those of you who chose to forget, was a more "Extreme" football league. The XFL was started by then WWF's front-man Vince McMahon. Although the league did claim not to want to compete with the XFL, it went just short of calling the league that you might remember from such career-ending injuries as "Joe Theisman" and "Bo Jackson" a bunch of pansies.

Unfortunately, most of the rule changes were antics that didn't really change or elevate the level of play. The no fair catch rule basically meant you got the ball whereever the opposing team could punt the ball minus about three yards. And the grandstanding involved with most of the other changes just detracted from the actual game (I stopped watching after about half a game, but I do distinctly remember mics on the sidelines that the opposing teams were using to taunt WWF-style. And, I do hate things that are extreme by virtue of people telling you how "EXTREME!!!" they are).

The league did have an upside or two. With all of the publicity, they did manage to attract a fair amount of talent. I'm not saying Tommy Maddox is a good quarterback, but definately worth his back-up spot. There was also Rod Smart a.k.a. He Hate Me (the jerseys were funny too) who's been playing in the NFL since the exterme league's folding.

Anyway, this is a junk post about an unimportant topic, but there is a nugget that I wanted to eek out. If they are going to put together another football league, I'd like to suggest two things. One is more serious, the other is less so.

First off, if people wanted to watch a more "extreme" league, they'd watch Arena. So they don't (That was harsh. It isn't that bad, and people do show up for the Force games). Just another regular league on the same night every week. I don't think you'll get away with another Sunday league, but think about Thursdays and Fridays. Two solid, hang out in a Sports Bar kind of night.

Secondly, after reading the Sports Guy's column on soccer and playing a little bit more FIFA, I've discovered something. The Premier League isn't the only Soccer in England. And apparently teams can get promoted and demoted. Now this is a little silly, but seriously... Think about this:

What if every year, the team that wins the championship in a second tier football league gets to leap-frog into the NFL. And every year, the last place team in the NFL, they get bumped down to the second tier. I mean, why should the last place team get the first pick. The loser of a "Bush-bowl" shouldn't have gotten Reggie Bush (really the first pick). The loser should get bumped, and the winner should get to stay. They work on their team, and they can fight their way into the NFL even the next year....as long as they are worthy.

There are some kinks. Players couldn't really play for both leagues. The bottom league would be fighting for the same players that could be in the top league. And the draft would have to be dealt with somehow. The Eli Mannings of the world wouldn't stand for being stuck in San Diego, much less a bottom league, but those spots could have forced trade downs. Not really sure how that would work.

Anyway, that thought crossed my mind last week, and the birth of another league seemed like a good idea to expound on it.

Handler Killed by Elephant in Tennessee

2006-07-22T12:10:00.000-05:00

Handler Killed by Elephant in Tennessee

I was going to post about this earlier, but I didn't read the article enough to see that it happened in Tennessee.

If you don't know why this would be appropriate...

...okay I can't find the article in the Times News, but Kingsport lynched an elephant once.

Thanks to Lady Mac-T for pointing out the "Tennesseeness" of this story to me.

What's a hotspur?

2006-07-20T10:19:00.000-05:00

ESPN.com: Page 2 : Choosing my EPL team

I'm posting this column over here in deference to my friends the "Trousers", one of whom likes the Sports Guy and one of whom likes Tottenham Hotspur.

Looks like I'm going to have to rethink my hastey Man U patronage (I picked them because I was tired of playing as Arsenal on Fifa 2001/2). I haven't picked up a new edition until 2006, and they won't let me pick Man U to run as a franchise until I unlock a few things (I wish they'd do that on Madden). So that with the whole "Yankees of EPL", maybe I should rethink.

Or maybe I should just get the sports package so I can pick up Fox Soccer and catch a few games.

My 10 Most Wanted Birds

2006-07-17T18:51:00.000-05:00

I am a regular reader of the fine blog Bootstrap Analysis, who recently made a post about the top ten species of birds in the world that she would like to see (part of a more widespread meme). I couldn't resist adding my own list. Names are links to photos of these birds.

10. Iceland Gull - as a taxonomist, I have some doubts about the veracity of this species - it may indeed be part of a larger, really confusing species that includes Thayer's Gull and other confusing birds. Regardless, I'd like a chance to see this bird and study it in the field. "Gulling" during my time in Minnesota turned up lots of species but I missed this one on several occasions.

9. any albatross - albatrosses are kings of the air - with surprisingly little effort they can do cool things like circumnavigate the coast of Antarctica. Their wing structure is part of what attracts me (such a stretched out wing is just too cool) but their unusual faces are the thing that captures so many birders' attention.

8. Northern Pygmy Owl - owls are cryptic, noctural, and large, seemingly expressive eyes. The fact that they are difficult to see makes them the object of much frustration for birders trying to build up their life lists. I've spent only a little time in the mountains of western USA, but so far have not connected with this bird. The fact that they are cute, tiny, and difficult to find makes them perfect for this top ten list.

7. Island Thrush - in the same genus as the familiar American Robin, this bird has the same body shape but is a resident of islands from southeast Asia east through Fiji and several other remote Pacific islands. They look shockingly different from island to island, and converge on similar plumages in disparate parts of the range. For example, some birds are all black or dark brown with yellow skin (eye ring, bill, legs, and toes) whereas others are brown, red, and white, and others have white heads (see first image). I'm fascinated by this bird, and would love the chance to study them in the field. And did I mention that to see them you need to go to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Christmas Island, or other similarly wonderful places?

6. Eurasian Widgeon - add this duck to the "nemesis" category - I missed this bird in Russia as well as missing accidentals which have occurred in Minnesota and other parts of the USA.

5. Giant Hummingbird - a miss during a long morning walking around Papallacta Pass, above the treeline, in Ecuador in August 2005. This bird is at the upper limit of size for a hummingbird - the unusual flight style of these birds will not work if the birds are any larger. Check out this neat in-flight shot. I have another shot at this bird when I head back to South America later this summer....

4. Andean Condor - also missed on the same Ecuador trip. This scavenger is enormous, and is restricted to the highlands of the Andes. The habitat is beautiful and eery, and worth seeing even if you miss the bird. But I'm greedy...

3. Fairy Tern - they are snow white, restricted to Pacific Islands, they build no nest and simply deposit a single egg on a precarious spot - how can you not like this bird!?!? And how is this for a fantastic shot?

2. Lilac-breasted Roller - an African bird with tail streamers and gorgeous colors which are found on very few bird species.

1. Hudsonian Godwit - this is absolutely, absolutely, my nemesis bird! I have missed this bird by mere hours on several occasions. I lived in Minnesota for six years, so I had six spring migrations to catch this bird. Never happened. Now I must hope for a fall migrant here in Ohio I suppose.

Earlier this year I picked up a pair of lifers that would have easily made it onto this list. I spent a few days birding in south-central Kansas this spring, and visited several fields with active Lesser Prairie-Chicken leks (years-old traditional arenas where males display for visiting females) and a side trip to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge turned up a quick but adequate sighting of a Black Rail.

Side note: Bootstrap Analysis was recently rated in the top 50 science blogs by Nature.com. Congrats!

Internet Freedoms Round Up

2006-07-17T14:57:00.000-05:00

Slashdot | India Joins China in Censoring Websites

India is blocking web sites.

Daily Kos: Net Neutrality Round-Up Fun!

Coverage of the Net Neutrality joy over at the Daily Kos.

That is all.

Edit: To fix the title typo.

Winning the war against kids messing with Kangaroos.

2006-07-14T08:14:00.000-05:00

Terrorists eyeing Georgia's outback? | ajc.com

I was debating blogging about this, but I've seen so many stories about it that at this point I just feel like it is imperative.

Do you know why the kangaroo farm/popcorn factory/etc is on the terrorist list? Because the people you elect to congress are more interested in pork than actual national security. So when the terrorists go for a real target like an airport or a huge mall or I don't know, I'll be glad to know that the damn kangaroos didn't get Anthraxed.

Schrenko gets 8 years, ordered to repay $414,000 | ajc.com

2006-07-12T12:41:00.000-05:00

Schrenko gets 8 years, ordered to repay $414,000 | ajc.com

Can anyone tell me what word is missing from this article?

Good For Business

2006-07-12T12:07:00.000-05:00

Facing South: Win for labor in the South

Ending a Labor Dispute: Good for business.
Ensuring a Happy Work Force: Good for business.
In the face of...Revenue and Profits Increases: Good for business.

What the investor world needs to realize is that their perception of what a share of a business is worth has gotten to be misalligned from things that are good for business.

I think a few strikes here and there...serious ones...will wind up ensuring that the people who own pieces of paper with the company name on it understand that what drives most business in this country is people.

Shine On...

2006-07-11T13:02:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - Pink Floyd legend Syd Barrett dies - Jul 11, 2006

Holy crap. I just saw this on CNN.com.

I wish I could say it was a loss, but he faded out of our lives a long time ago. I have felt that I could be happy knowing he had found his own peace. However, it was our loss when he had to leave the band that he had started, Pink Floyd. If you've never listened to early Pink Floyd (early Piper and the Gates of Dawn, not early Dark Side) he put together an experience that was just brilliant. Some of it lived on in later Pink Floyd albums, but they did have to find their own paths to go down once Barrett was gone.

He went on to live a quiet life in Cambridge keeping to himself.

Running over the same old ground.
What have we found? The same old fears.
Wish you were here.

Cat Blogging

2006-07-11T11:37:00.000-05:00

One of the things that I've meant to do is post pictures of my cat. Here is one of the earlier pictures. We got him when he was about 2-3 months and have watched him quadruple in size.

Now that I have a zoomr account, I can do this and much other stuff. Thanks for the idea ornitholoco.

EDIT: Well, I didn't post his name. Might as well give him a Blogger identity. Let's call him "Basil".

Alton Brown Speaks...

2006-07-10T23:57:00.000-05:00

'Bad eaters' to blame for obesity, not 'bad foods', says TV host

...and I listen.

Acutally, I think Ornitholoco spoke to me about a book he read that said pretty much the same thing.

It's not bad food. It is the ton of it on your plate.

Actually, I would think that he wasn't only saying this as one of his examples was a bag of cookies that were keeping someone from eating cookies made from butter. I always eat better when I cook for myself, because I know what is going into the batch of cookies that I just made with butter.

Anyway. I just noticed that Ornitholoco just posted, so I'm going to go read about it. vvvv

a spring foray

2006-07-10T12:32:00.000-05:00

This May I made a visit to South Carolina to watch one of my closest friends get hitched, and to check out a collaborator's field setup. He studies Swainson's Warblers on some well-protected property in northeastern South Carolina, not terribly far from the hell that is Myrtle Beach (does ANYONE really buy airbrushed clothing intentionally!!??!). The highlight of this trip for me was getting to see a Swainson's Warbler in the hand. I have heard them before in the Appalachians of northeast Tennessee as well as in the Ozarks of Missouri, but this bird is definitely a skulker and I have had only fleeting glimpses of this bird.

I took this picture of one of several birds that we caught; this one was released wearing a unique combination of plastic, colored bands on its legs so that the bird can be recognized in the field and identified individually (to get information on territory size, etc.).

Thanks to Zoomr, the up and coming, slick and easy, image service for hosting this image!

I was wrong...

2006-07-07T11:29:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - 'Breast ironing' to stunt girls' growth widespread - Jul 7, 2006

This is the scariest thing that I have heard of today.

This is the scariest thing I've heard of today.

2006-07-07T11:15:00.000-05:00

TPMmuckraker July 7, 2006 07:40 AM

Winning the hearts and minds...

Neat

2006-07-06T06:32:00.000-05:00

betapundit: Amazing Iraq sandstorm

Sandstorm

A Series of Gerbils

2006-07-05T11:42:00.000-05:00

Daily Kos: Cheers and Jeers: Wednesday

This is why I read C&J on DailyKos.

The Magic Word

2006-07-05T10:57:00.000-05:00

Slashdot | Google Fires Off Warning to US Telcos

"Anti-trust"

That's what you get when you repeal all the restrictions on the RBOCs from the Telecom Act of 1996 without repealing any of the benefits.

Tales from the DarkSyde

2006-07-04T15:50:00.000-05:00

Daily Kos: A Birthday Present for America

Here's an idea. Let's send the Minutemen to take care of OBL.

Bullshit Moose Party

2006-07-04T14:19:00.000-05:00

Eschaton

Atrios has picked his favorite name for Joe Lieberman's new independant "plan b" effort to win back his seat.

heh heh

So let me get this straight...

2006-07-03T14:28:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - Christian film's PG rating troubles Congress - Jul 3, 2006

Christians find it shocking that parents should provide guidance to their kids about religion?

A Series of Tubes

2006-07-03T12:18:00.000-05:00

Daily Kos: Ted Stevens on the internets

Mr. Stevens, the reason you didn't get your "internet" on time was probably a pebcak* especially since your "internet" probably went over an internal office network.

snicker

2006-06-27T12:32:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - Viagra threatens Limbaugh plea deal - Jun 27, 2006

Conspiracy Watch: Bird flu may have been mistaken for SARS

2006-06-22T10:10:00.000-05:00

ABC News: Bird flu may have been mistaken for SARS

We are obviously hosed. Everybody commence panic.

The New Gong Show

2006-06-21T21:44:00.000-05:00

Or America's Got Talent.

Let me tell you the genius.

See, from what I can remember, the Gong was a veto. If one person didn't like you, that's it.

Now we have a unanimous vote to get people off, and the holdout is mostly going to be David Hasselhoff. And for some reason, he hates jugglers.

"Ohhh, how I hate the jugglers."

Anyway, the jerk-hole British can't throw anyone off stage, and he's actually had to retract a few gongs.

I don't know. Maybe I just miss the Gong Show. Anyway, there's a singing comedian balloon guy on.

...up. Not any more.

Just...wow...

2006-06-20T22:08:00.000-05:00

Well, I've seen plenty of South Park, but live action is a little different.

I don't believe I've ever been distrubed by a short amount of TV like I was from the end of this week's Rescue Me.

I won't spoil right now, but I think I'm going to try to get a list together of things that I've been shocked by on TV.

I may include movies...and I have seen Irreversible.

When the Southern Baptist Convention Meets, Is It Called The Southern Baptist Convention Convention?

2006-06-16T07:07:00.000-05:00

Facing South: What happened at the Southern Baptist Convention?

This is some good comments on the SBC. Especially the 75-80% comment, although I usually think of evangelicals like to talk about their cause like it is in trouble. You know, to seem edgy.

Blog Find: Vince Staten

2006-06-15T15:37:00.000-05:00

Vince Staten

I forgot about Vince's Blog. If you look down a ways, there is a story about a homerun from the Times News that I had heard in middle school and just took as rumor.

This blog is great.

Facing South: I-3 insanity

2006-06-13T12:31:00.000-05:00

Facing South: I-3 insanity

They want to build a longer way to get from Savannah to Knoxville and knock out

Sounds like the only thing that does make sense about it would be the hidden nuclear agenda.

Looks like I'll be visiting StopI-3.org.

Oh yeah and...

Sweet.

Housework Competition

2006-06-13T10:29:00.000-05:00

I live in condos and we are getting outside repairs done right now. It is just our building's year in the rotation for maintenance.

I'm trying to get a little work here myself.

I didn't really realize how those two things would be in competition.

U... S... A...

2006-06-12T11:03:00.000-05:00

2006 FIFA World Cup Match Detail

USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

Cats Committing Suicide

2006-06-11T15:49:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - Admiral: Gitmo suicides an act of 'warfare' - Jun 11, 2006

I may be misquoting here but from "Red, White, And Screwed".

You don't show people a video of a Land Rover running over a cat and say the cat was committing suicide.

Only the Bush administration would look at someone imprisoned by the US and so desparate/troubled/whatever that they committed suicide and then turn around and say: This is how this affects me.

Oh yeah, and a cat treed a bear recently.

Quick Thoughts

2006-06-11T11:28:00.000-05:00

- Why is the US complaining about Iran being in the World Cup (I actually know why, but...) and why is it being reported on as "controversy"? I'm not really trying to be pro-Iran here, but as far as I understand Soccer is a sport and World Cup is part of that sport, and like all sports there are rules and as far as I know the rules say something like "To be in the World Cup, you just have to qualify." and not something like "To be in the World Cup, you need to be a nice country that people like." Sadly enough, I know this because I don't think the U.S. would get to be there if the fans actually got to vote.

Again, I understand why a McCain would step up to say crap like this, and I'm not particularly a pro-Iran guy...I'm not pulling for them or anything.

BTW, Goal Mexico. 1-0

- SUV Drivers should have to get a separate license certification. You should have to get that license through an SUV driving class. I don't even mind the Truck drivers, because most of them understand that they are driving a Truck. I especially think you should parallel park in an SUV. You should have plenty of room and all, but you need to force people to understand the sheer size of that piece of crap that they are cutting people off with and using to force other people off the road.

- Homeless People with Dogs and Cats. My girlfriend was telling me of a...

Iran Equalizer 1-1

...and I don't even know if it was a Homeless guy, but it fits in with what I've heard from famous homeless people from around the nation. There is a man in Atlanta that walks around with like 10 dogs and cats following him around.

- I want to build these. It was based of an older design...just the speakers from the older design are no longer available.

Halftime

- I had another little thought bouncing around in my head...and I think I lost it. Oh well.

Food Blogging: The Molecular Secrets of Cream Cheese

2006-06-03T09:07:00.000-05:00

Slashdot | The Molecular Secrets of Cream Cheese

Good to see Cream Cheese getting the respect it deserves.

Collusion

2006-06-02T15:45:00.000-05:00

Slashdot | Government May Help Bells Defend Against Wiretap Suits

This is the point in the evening where people would start noticing the "luck" that one player was having. Then they'd beat up Matt Damon and Edward Norton.

Guess who's back?

2006-05-30T22:24:00.000-05:00

newsobserver.com | Contest for 13th already strident

Fark Headline: Congressional candidate runs ad featuring mariachi music and announcer warning that if opponent wins, "America would be nothing but one big fiesta for illegal aliens and homosexuals"

If you don't already know who this is, then you aren't paying enough attention.

If you want a hint, he's from North Carolina.

I'm not saying he is by any means important. I'm just saying that it is hard not to have heard of him.

PMITA Prison

2006-05-26T15:57:00.000-05:00

Forbes: The 12 best places to go to prison - MSN Money

via fark.

I was at my friendly neighborhood drinking club discussing, among other things, the good guys who brought you the Enron debacle. My friends (one of whom was the one who showed Jon's Jail Journal to me) were making the point that he was a) going to prison and b) they should take every last penny the guy managed to eek away and dole it out to everyone who lost their shirt in the wake of the Enron debacle.

We got back to the prison issue and they Ken Lay and the other guy were basically going to Club Fed. A friend of mine started telling me that he read an interview in a business magazine regarding a guy who was a consultant for white-collar criminals going to prison. They asked him and he confirmed that he himself had been in prison. He then pointed out that he was the president or whatever of the prison glee club and that he learned to play the guitar.

His wife* then made the point that in spite of the fact that there really shouldn't been different prisons for people of different classes just so that rich folks don't get raped in prison...that really no one should get raped in prison.

I then tried to make the point that if we did put the rich folk in normal prison that they would probably find a way to solve that rape problem.

* I'm starting to remember that I was pretty drunk and may be getting who said what wrong. Oh well.

Music Blogging: Gymnopedies No. 1 by Satie

2006-05-25T12:11:00.000-05:00

Available Here For Free:
Marjorie Fierstadt - Free Music Downloads - MP3 Downloads - Download.com Music

I was at a wedding this previous weekend where this music was played for the seating of the Grandmothers.

I don't know what struck me about the piece, but it made me think of a lone man walking around a museum by himself.

Gymnopedies I've found several definitions for including naked, naked while being born, having naked things being born from you, barefoot, dancing barefoot, dancing naked, walking barefoot, and of course naked while dance-walking while birthing something naked.

Actually, I guess the birthing comes from Gymnopaedic which was dictionary.com's suggestion for me...obviously not using that ped root that the other word is using.

I guess walking through a museum by yourself would make you a little more vulnerable to the works as there is no one there to inhibit responses from you. Or maybe your own persons emotions independant of whatever work you are looking at.

Anyway, it's my new song that I came across at a wedding this weekend.

Proof That Republicans Can't Learn

2006-05-25T11:25:00.000-05:00

Home - Defend DeLay

At least the stupid ones.

Seriously, did the Delay folks not watch the White House Correspondents Dinner?

Edit: via Think Progress

They want to censure who? | Political Insider | ajc.com

2006-05-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

They want to censure who? | Political Insider | ajc.com

I'm so glad that we have slowed down, analyzed our problems, and gone after the real problem.

Blog Find: The Grit

2006-05-23T15:22:00.000-05:00

The Grit

Well, I stumbled on a posting to this from Atrios today. Peter Daou started the Daou Report tracking media and the internet on both sides of the political spectrum. Now he has his own blog (or he's always had it and I just hadn't seen it and the archives only go back a month's worth).

...

Up, now I get it. The stories at the top of the report go to his blog. Anyway, just thought I'd put that up. I used to check Daou Report pretty frequently. Then it was absorbed by Salon and required registration.

Now it doesn't (I guess, I didn't log in or get a day pass today), so I guess I'll be checking it more from now on.

Modesty

2006-05-22T16:56:00.000-05:00

WTF-TV - Bonds: "I won't stop until I beat Oh"

You know what I would do if my career was surrounded by controversy, be even more of a huge tool. That's what I'd do.

Wired Steps Up

2006-05-22T10:13:00.000-05:00

Slashdot | Wired Releases Full Text of AT&T NSA Document

You can't stop the signal, Mal.

Food Blogging Quick Hit: Holy Crap!

2006-05-17T11:31:00.000-05:00

My pizza stone just broke.

I don't know what happened. Either warming up or cooling off, the temperature change was took much.

Well, it finally happened to me. Hope the pizza I just threw on it doesn't cause it to crack any more.

Oh well, I broke my first pizza stone.

I agree with this article...

2006-05-16T00:17:00.000-05:00

New guide aims to erase 'ugly American' image - Yahoo! News

...except for the word "New".

This is something I had to learn in college, and I always see it floating around now that I am in business.

Yup. Old news.

How To Talk To The PREZ: The Best Offense Is A Good Defense

2006-05-15T13:01:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm just going to try lifting the HTML. I don't know how to link to articles on PFT's Rumor Mill (Which I highly recommend.) and I'm not going to figure it out right now.

I have however put it in quotes.

Joey P's going to have a talk with George W.

PORTER PLANNING TO GIVE THE PREZ A PIECE OF HIS MIND

Steelers linebacker Joey Porter is looking forward to the team's visit to the White House on June 2 in celebration of their Super Bowl victory.

But not for the reasons that most folks anticipate a visit to the place when the President lives and works.

"Yeah, I got something to say to [George] Bush, I'm going to have a swagger when I walk in there, too," Porter said. "I'm looking forward to it. I have something to tell him, too. I don't like the way things are running right now. I feel like he has to give me some of my money back, so I got something to tell Bush."

Even if Porter is mildly exaggerating or completely kidding, it's not the kind of attempt humor that the men and women of the Secret Service ordinarily regard as funny. Our guess is that, at a minimum, Porter will get a stern talking to from someone in authority regarding his stated plans and, depending on what Porter says in response, he might not receive the requisite clearance to attend.

Or maybe he'll say all the right things in advance and then try to make a scene when he gets there. But the thing that Porter, who already has been shot once in his life, needs to keep in mind is that the folks in the Secret Service will be aiming a little higher than his ass if he crosses the line in the presence of the President.

Better still, perhaps Porter can display the area of his prior wound to Bush, a la Forrest Gump and LBJ.

I feel safe.

2006-05-15T12:44:00.000-05:00

The Blotter

Seriously, the database won't be used to mine for specific data or interfere in our lives.

I wonder why they would announce this on a Saturday.

2006-05-13T17:33:00.000-05:00

Slashdot | U.S. Government Intervenes in EFF vs. AT&T

Just hope people are paying attention.

Here's an idea? Why don't we just pay one price for phones?

2006-05-13T09:19:00.000-05:00

BostonHerald.com - Local / Regional News: Phone tax could ring colleges’ bell: FCC idea may do number on students

Let's forget about everything we know about telecommunications companies and public (or formerly public utilities).

Pretty soon, phone service will be $9.99 a month, but our actual bill will be 50 bucks because of the fees and such. Now I understand that their are some taxes that apply, but why would you charge me separately for "government mandated" functionality. I mean, when I order a pizza, I don't pay an extra 2 bucks for changes the guy made to his kitchen to get up to code. Why don't you just roll the prices up into the cost of service. It's part of what the service costs me.

Okay, well that doesn't really have to do with the article. I guess since people are getting free long distance and such through their cell phone, the government isn't making as much as they want. I think it is stupid. They could just up the percentage for LD taxes. Why are they doing this? I'm guessing that large companies want to stop paying through the nose for the long distance costs of keeping their call centers all the way overseas.

Guy Blogs About His Calls Getting Recorded

2006-05-12T10:43:00.000-05:00

An example of passionate service from AT&T Wisconsin | The Daily Page

Pretty good post, althought I do have to disagree with one thing. The old telecomms used to have to collect call records from all switchs, so even though your company might be generating it's own records from it's switch, if you are using a CLEC that uses the ILECs infrastructure, all you usually have is one big switch that is hooked into the local network through...another switch. The ILEC can probably just as easily pull records from their side...in fact they probably do in order to charge the CLEC per call for using their network.

The Perimeter

2006-05-11T15:30:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Campus MovieFest

This film is a little old, but definately worth sharing around. I wish they had left the raw footage of them driving towards the bridge. Maybe at the end. Just to get an idea of exactly how slow the speed limit can be.

Basically, some college students decided that they would show people how slow traffic could get by obeying the actual speed limit on I-285 (I'm assuming one of them was angry about a recent ticket.). They got enough cars to block every lane and formed up travelling...I'm guessing north up the east side of the city. Of course people were mad and they had people pulling around them on the shoulder.

Anyway, if you have a sec check it out. There are good parts all the way through even though there is a lot of talking and all that.

Qwest, the NSA, and FISA

2006-05-11T14:25:00.000-05:00

Eschaton

So wait, "They told (Qwest) they didn't want to do that because FISA might not agree with them."

...

So is that the new precident? The NSA doesn't have to go to FISA in those cases where we think that FISA may not agree with the NSA.

By the way, you should call you Phone or Internet provider and ask them if they are complying with the NSA (which they apparently already are) and tell them how that makes you feel.

Phone companies already have the things in places that deal with phone taps and that stuff. This is clearly outside of the parameters of those laws or they would be able to use them for their secret databases.

Is this why movie tickets cost 10 bucks?

2006-05-11T10:16:00.000-05:00

Slashdot | MPAA training Dogs to Sniff Out DVDs

Really...

So for this one that supposedly works, how many hundreds of crazy, wacky, hair-brained schemes have this bunch or morons funded. Of course, these all get paid for by the dues of the corporate members of the MPAA, and the cost eventually winds it's way down to me at the movie line.

I would complain about the cost of DVDs, but honestly I'm at the point now where I just wait and see if my picks find their way to the 6.99 bin. If they don't then I can just pick up another copy of Brewster's Millions to watch.

Seriously though, I can think of two or three movies I saw in the past year that were worth the admission. The rest can wait til they show up on HBO or Encore.

Maybe instead of funding some hair-brained pirate detection schemes, they could fun some hair-brained directors or writers and produce a few more movies that, while they are risky, are a little less risky than trying to build the next robot that can smell the difference between pirated dvd and a regular, over-priced yet legally-purchased dvd.

That General Hayden?

2006-05-08T14:25:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - Bush nominates Hayden as CIA chief - May 8, 2006

So this is the guy who doesn't know where probable cause came from?

Why do I get the feeling that this is the over the top candidate that will soon be replaced by the real nominee for Head of the CIA?

FCC Update: OH SNAP!!!

2006-05-06T18:50:00.000-05:00

Court skeptical of FCC on broadband wiretap access | Reuters.com

Read the quotes.

via fark

My Favorite Volcano

2006-05-05T15:21:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - Giant rock growing in Mount St. Helens' crater - May 5, 2006

I still want lava spewing all over the place, but this is pretty cool. In case you don't pay attention, there has been significant activity going on with Mount St. Helens over the past couple of years including a lava dome and a vent of ... steam?...

Scientists think the fin will help air flow around the mountain while keeping a lower profile against the track to lower the effects of drag from air going under the mountain. Look forward to the mountains next appearance in 3 Fast 3 Furious.

No. 5?

2006-05-05T10:35:00.000-05:00

Ben Maller : Archives - May 05, 2006

I know this is a non-issue. I mean, I know this.

But why don't they put him in as like 5th string quarterback behind whoever else? Isn't that how Meshawn got to be 19 for so long?