Monday, December 31, 2007
Happy New Year!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Rest in Peace, Netscape Browser
Netscape Navigator, the world's first commercial Web browser and the launch pad of the Internet boom, will be pulled off life support Feb. 1 after a 13-year run.
Its current caretakers, Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, decided to kill further development and technical support to focus on growing the company as an advertising business. Netscape's usage dwindled with Microsoft Corp.'s entry into the browser business, and Netscape all but faded away following the birth of its open-source cousin, Firefox.
I loved the Netscape browser, and I used to scrap with anyone over the topic. Once they released 8.0, though, the writing was on the wall. The browser used either Firefox or IE to render the page, which made it pointless to use it instead of one of the other two. I still have 7.x on my laptop. I think I'll fire it up for old time's sake.
"It does not serve our interests"
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Large Mammal?
On Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto Assassinated
Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a suicide attack at a campaign rally that also killed at least 20 others, aides said.
Bhutto's supporters erupted in anger and grief after her death, attacking police and burning tires and election campaign posters in several cities. At the hospital where she died, some smashed glass and wailed, chanting slogans against President Pervez Musharraf.
The death of the charismatic 54-year-old former prime minister threw the campaign for the Jan. 8 parliamentary elections into chaos and created fears of mass protests and violence across the nuclear-armed nation, an important U.S. ally in the war on terrorism.
Pakistan was already a tinderbox. In the short to medium term, this is only going to make it worse.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Peace on Earth
Leave sledders alone!
Those figures, coupled with a new study that reports sleds reach average speeds of 19 miles per hour, have some health officials wondering how far to push the helmet issue.
"The challenge that we face is that it's not the norm - nor is it likely to ever be the norm - for kids to wear helmets while sledding," said Bridget Clementi, injury and prevention manager at Children's Hospital and Health System. Clementi said the Injury Free Coalition for Kids recently compared the average speed of a sled at 19 mph with the average speed of a kid on a bike, which is 10 to 15 mph.
Many parents have made it a habit to make kids wear helmets on their bikes, Clementi said.
"We don't want to kill the fun, but we are starting to look at reaching out to parents on sledding safety," Clementi said.
Clementi said parents should be aware of where their children are sledding and be around to supervise if necessary. She said children should slide feet first and parents who ride with small children probably should practice bailing out so the child knows what to do in case of an emergency.
As a voluntary measure, I'm fine with it. It may even be a good idea in an overly protective sort of way. But anytime helmets start getting brought up for anything, it isn't long before do gooders try to mandate them. It does concern me, though. As we form this bigger and bigger bubbles around kids, we may protect the few from severe injury or even death, but for a larger number we are preventing them from learning a good, if painful, lesson about not doing stupid things and how to be careful when doing risky things.
Plus, I have to add in an old fart's "back in my day." Back in my day we played a game that was kind of like football. We drew a line in the snow. One of us would sled down the hill and another would stand in front of the line. If the sledder went over the line, he won. If the defender prevented it, he won. And if the defender knocked the sledder off his disk, there was bragging rights. Talk about a good way for a boy to toughen his hide while experiencing his first half dozen concussions...
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Will a strengthening La Nina break global warming trends?
3) Suppose it gets close or breaks it be a little bit (the record for strongest La Nina). It is still a sign that the oceanic responses to the warming cycle is working! This is what happens in nature, so it's a major thorn in the side of people blaming people. There is not rout and the fight is one to take the earth back to where it was 25-30 years ago when the talk was of ice age (and it will be again). It is simple; look at history and one can see it. But suppose it is right, or close, the implication of this COLD event cannot be underestimated as far as what it means to global temps. This has to be factored into the entire system, and the development of questionable land-based data with suspect thermometers and heat islands has been given unearned credit in the global temps. But it's interesting to note how there is not a lot of attention being given to this La Nina as far as what the LONGER TERM CLIMATIC IMPLICATIONS ARE. It simply gets blamed for everything that goes wrong with the weather, and then somehow it's caused by global warming, which it is, but not human-induced, simply part of the natural cycle.
Is he right? Well, we won't know until we see how his forecast of a very strong La Nina plays out. It'll sink a lot of global warming ships if he is proven out, however.
Don't squeeze the Charmin
Here comes the bride, all dressed in white ... two-ply, extra soft toilet paper. Lovebirds Jennifer Cannon and Doy Nichols of Lexington, Ky., plan to get hitched Wednesday in a public restroom. She'll be wearing a gown fashioned from glue, tape and Charmin Ultra Soft and Ultra Strong toilet tissue.The intricately detailed dress was designed by Hanah Kim, winner of the 2007 Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest, sponsored by Cheap-Chic-Weddings.com.
That's one bride you really, really hope is wearing a white dress.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
I'm jealous of today's camera readied society
When I was a prep athlete, way back in the early 1990's, that just wasn't the case. Only a fairly small number of people had video cameras, and their footage rarely, if ever, made it to the news. Well, I was good high school baseball player. I wasn't great, otherwise I'd have had a college baseball career, but I was good. One year we were playing our rivals and we had our ace pitcher on the mound. I was playing left and we had a one run lead in the bottom of the seventh, but our rivals had two on and two out. The batter hit a line drive into the gap in left center and I knew I had to get on my horse to make the play or they were going to win. I sprinted towards the left center gap at an angle that was almost parallel to the infield. As the ball and I got closer, it was clear to me that the only chance I had was if I made a play on the ball at the last instant. I waited until the ball seemed like it was going past me and I dove to my left at almost a 90 degree angle to the plane I was running on. I can still feel my toes on my right foot pushing off the ground as I dove. I never saw the ball hit my glove and, more importantly, I never felt it hit the glove. I hit the ground hard and blacked out for a moment or two, knowing I had missed the ball. Next thing I knew, the centerfielder was yelling, "Show the ump the ball! Show him the ball!" I opened my eyes and there, snow coned in the tip of my glove, was the ball. It was in there so precariously that I was afraid to get up, and by this time I was laying on the ground with my feet facing the infield, so I just held my arms up as high as I could in that position until I heard the out called.
I was on cloud nine as I ran into the dugout. When we got done with our little post game ritual, two parents of a guy on the other team came up to me. They had been video taping their kid's game and they had the catch on tape, and they wanted to know if I wanted to see it. I politely declined because I was kind of modest. In retrospect, I really, really want to see that tape. Today, it would have been emailed into to some TV station and it probably would have been played or placed on their website. Back then, it just went into somebody's video library, destined to be forgotten or recorded over with an episode of Oprah.
I should have tried to buy it off of them. As it is, I have no video of my playing days to torture my kids and grandkids with. That would have been a good one.
Woman Writes Her Ticket to the Naughty List
Santa Claus says that a woman who sat on his lap was naughty, not nice. A Santa at the Danbury Fair mall said the woman groped him. "The security officer at the mall said Santa Claus has been sexually assaulted," police Detective Lt. Thomas Michael said of the weekend complaint.Sandrama Lamy, 33, of Danbury, was charged with sexual assault and breach of peace. She was released on a promise to appear in court on Jan. 3.
Police quickly found and identified Lamy because the woman was described as being on crutches, said Capt. Bob Myles.
She should fight this on the grounds that she was just putting on a public performance of the Nutcracker. And while I feel for the Santa (despite the jokes), at least that was one patron we didn't have to worry about peeing or puking while on his lap.
California's Crazy
SACRAMENTO — California moved significantly closer to enacting a broad expansion of health insurance coverage on Monday when the Democratic-controlled Assembly passed legislation that has the backing of the Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
While the plan wouldn't begin until 2010, it will cost an estimated $14 billion, and if history is any indicator, it will probably cost a lot more than that. Sooner or later, that throbbing money sponge in Sacramento is going to be slapped with the reality that, even in California, money doesn't grow on trees.
My favorite part of the plan is that it assesses a levy on-get this-hospital revenues. It'll make the very health care it is providing more expensive to pay for.
I'm also quite fond of this:
Mr. Schwarzenegger has countered by saying there should be no linkage between the revenue measures needed to balance the budget and those needed to pay for the health insurance plan. He also argues that the health plan is intended to bring down costs by encouraging healthy habits, better management of chronic diseases, and electronic record-keeping. That, he says, should ultimately reduce the state’s health care expenses and help California fix its structural budget problems.
Yep. No linkage. No linkage between a huge budget deficit and adding a ton of new spending that will very likely exceed estimates. And 'free' health care doesn't bring down health care costs. Think about it-if your employer paid every dime of your health care, you'd probably go to the doctor for every nick, scratch, and cold, wouldn't you? Ya know, just to be safe and prevent bigger problems, right? And would you ever once question the price? Probably not.
Here's what will happen if California goes along with this plan. First, there will be a health care crisis. There will be more demand for health care than supply. We'll hear about how packed the doctor's offices and the emergency rooms are, and most of it will be with health issues that do not require attention, all in the name of preventative care. Health care providers will be justified in increasing their prices, and then they'll tack on a little extra, because hell, nobody is pressuring them about prices, anyway. Plus the hospitals will tack on some more to recoup the levy placed on them by the state. Then we'll here about how much more expensive the plan was than anyone thought, and more onerous taxes and fees will be set in place, plus likely restrictions on the prices providers can charge if they want to be paid by the state. That in turn will send the best doctors who can earn the best money with their work out of state because it won't be worth it to practice in California anymore. Then we'll hear about how poor the health care is in California, how much malpractice there is, and how doctors are unable to afford their malpractice insurance. And the downward spiral in health care will continue in the state.
Great plan, Guvernator. May other states learn from your mistakes.
What were you doing when...
I was laying in my bed suffering from mono, the kissing disease I somehow acquired without kissing. And you?
Sunday, December 16, 2007
A quick thought on the Democratic primaries
Saturday, December 15, 2007
National Champs!
Could Reagan even live up to the Reagan Standard?
I wonder if our old friend Ronald Reagan could rise in this party, this environment. Not a regular churchgoer, said he experienced God riding his horse at the ranch, divorced, relaxed about the faiths of his friends and aides, or about its absence. He was a believing Christian, but he spent his adulthood in relativist Hollywood, and had a father who belonged to what some saw, and even see, as the Catholic cult. I'm just not sure he'd be pure enough to make it in this party. I'm not sure he'd be considered good enough.
Most bloggers are linking to this as a reaction against Huckabee and the 'Evangelicals' in the party. I would like to take a moment to remind everyone that Ronald Reagan is the standard by which all conservatives are judged, however. I don't disagree with Noonan's assesment-Reagan probably would have difficulty in this current environment. However, if Reagan the 1980 candidate couldn't live up to Reagan the 2008 standard, perhaps we on the right have done a disservice to conservatism with our beatification of Reagan. That's not to say Reagan wasn't a great conservative, but he wasn't the perfect conservative that he is often portrayed as today. Hell, in his own day he had to deal with unhappy conservatives. Take this entry from The Reagan Diaries, dated Monday, July 28, 1982:
The "Conservative Digest" came out--an entire issue devoted to cutting me up and down and crosswire. John Lofton and his compatriots seem to be determined to paint me as a turncoat conservative. The tone is one of devoted but now disillusioned followers. H--l, in 1980 they held a secret meeting trying to persuade Al Haig to run against me.
Reagan's pragmatism has been glossed over in many conservative circles, and that is a huge disservice to present day conservative candidates and the conservative movement in general. The fact is even Reagan, the conservative standard, took criticism from his right during his presidency. Too many conservatives today expect candidates today to be the perfect conservative that they perceive Reagan was. The fact is that a perfectly ideological conservative would never get anything done during his or her term because that individual would be unable and unwilling to make the trade offs that get things done in our political system, let alone appeal to enough voters to win an election. The mythical Reagan standard-a standard that Peggy Noonan and others don't even think Reagan himself would meet today-is only going to hold the conservative movement back in an iron clad gridlock. It won't be until conservatives accept the real Reagan standard that this movement will be able to move forward again.
Don't overlook the little gifts
Rest in Peace, Triticale
Friday, December 14, 2007
My Greatest Post Ever
Almost every time you hear a story of a UFO sighting, there is some reference to the blinding speed at which the craft traveled. That begs one question: If UFOs move so fast, why do they never create a sonic boom? Physics, people, physics.
I've still never been given a satisfactory answer.
Update
I must say, I was in rare form on December 17, 2005. Earlier that day I also offered what might have been my best piece of advice: If a cat is trying to bite you, shove your finger in its mouth. The cat's contrarian nature will take over and it will spit out your hand, rejecting the urge to bite you.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
So does this mean men with big beer bellies are tippy?
Pregnant women do not tip over, and the reason has a lot to do with an evolutionary curve, researchers say.
Anthropologists studying the human spine have found that women’s lower vertebrae evolved in ways that reduce back pressure during pregnancy, when the mass of the abdomen grows by nearly a third and the center of mass shifts forward considerably.
Even without the benefit of advanced study in biomechanics, women tend to deal with the shift — and avoid tumbling over like a bowling pin — by leaning back. But the solution to one problem creates another, since leaning puts even more pressure on the spine and muscles.
And that, report researchers from Harvard and the University of Texas in the current issue of the journal Nature, is where evolution enters the story.
Anthropologists have long known that the lower spine in humans developed a unique forward curve to help compensate for the strains that arose when the primate ancestors began walking upright. Researchers looked for a mechanism that compensated for pregnancy’s additional burden as well.
What they found, said Katherine K. Whitcome, a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard and the lead author of the paper, was evidence that evolution had produced a stronger and more flexible lower spine for women.
So by this logic, when I head out to the malls to finish my Christmas shopping, I should be seeing massively beer bellied men spontaneously tipping over left and right like those scare goats that pass out when startled. After all, men don't have the evolutionary advantage that women have in this regard. Right? If so, maybe it is time to ban Santa due to the tipping hazard he presents around small children.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
The Ron Paul blimp is a go
Thanks to everyone for your support in reaching our first goal of $200,000 the blimp will fly for the Tea Party! As a next step, we need to receive $400,000 in total sponsorships by December 21st to keep the blimp in the air through the New Hampshire primaries. Please sponsor the full Ron Paul Blimp Tour now!
Next up for Paul supporters will be the Ron Paul foam finger and the Ron Paul beer helmet. And it will all be paid for with with Ron Paul gold doubloons.
RIAA: No ripping your CDs
The RIAA's brief makes the novel contention, contradicting its lawyers' arguments at the Supreme Court in MGM v. Grokster, that making personal copies of songs from one's CD onto one's computer is an infringement.
I'm telling you, it is only a matter of time before they sue some toddler for singing along to Barney.
Recording artists make the bulk of their money from touring and licensing. Sooner or later they are going to realize that the music is a promotional vehicle for making money, and they are going to cut the recording industry out of the loop completely. Until then, watch who you sing in front of.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
10 compliments to wow an older man
Back? Good. Their crummy list inspired me to come up with my own list for the guy over 30. Enjoy.
1. You've distributed that extra weight nicely. Hey, we all get older, and most of us pick up some extra weight. Telling us we look like a Greek Adonis when we aren't is only going to make us laugh.
2. Wow, honey. The kids don't hate you. A good parent is going to have a certain amount of conflict with their kids over the years. If the kids think you are a buddy, you are guaranteed trouble. If they truly hate you, you are guaranteed trouble. But if they merely don't hate you, you just might be on the right track to good fatherdom.
3. Snort, snort, snort, I'm gonna pee! Older guys are still dumb, but we are a little bit wiser than the young guys. Telling us we're funny doesn't cut it, nor does the fake laugh. But snotting and peeing yourself does.
4. Thanks for remembering the bread. Look ladies, we're guys. Our heads get filled up in our youths with things like Paul Molitor's on base percentage in 1987 (it was .438, if you were wondering). If Barbies came with statistic filled trading cards, you'd understand. Sometimes there ain't enough room in the brain to remember the bread, especially if we accidentally killed off some of the good brain cells in our drinking days. To you, it may be appreciating the mundane. To us, it is an accomplishment.
5. Your back looks sore. Can I get you a beer? Many of us guys may grumble about shoveling and mowing, but we really don't mind doing it, even if it makes our aging back feel like a creaky old bridge. We don't need to be thanked because we realize that you may do more chores to our fewer, more difficult ones. But we sure do appreciate you appreciating us by getting our weary old bones that beer.
6. Let's go to XYZ restaurant. This one is for the married couples out there. When a guy says he doesn't care where you go for dinner or what you want to do on Saturday night, he's saying he just wants to do something you'll enjoy, even if he might want to retain a veto. Your decisiveness says, "thanks for putting me first." Or he could just mean that he doesn't care. Either way, decisiveness, ladies!
7. Nothing. There are times when no compliment is the best compliment. For example, once those nose/ear/back hairs get trimmed, guys don't want to think about 'em until it is time to trim again. As nice as, "wow, your back is smooth without all that hair" is meant to be, silence will truly wow him. This is especially true in social settings.
8. I checked my oil today. A guy wants you ladies to do simple preventative maintenance on your car for one reason-it is easier and cheaper for him to get your oil changed than it is to replace your engine, and face it, you will probably task him with getting the repairs done. When you don't, you're just taking him for granted. When you do, he can take that extra time for your tune up.
9. You still run faster than the other guys your age. We know we're slowing down, ladies. We are envious of the 22 year olds out on the diamond or court that have stolen away our mantle of beer league jock studs with their hideous youth. Telling us that it looks like we've got an anchor tied around our neck is just telling us what we already know. But we still want to be better than the other old dudes, if only to impress you.
10. The house looks great! If he cleaned the house, you can offer him tips on how to do certain things. If you criticize the job he did, he'll never do it again. If you compliment him and maybe reward him, he just might do it again-and better. Don't forget, we may be old dogs, but we're still puppies inside. Swat us with the newspaper and we're going to stop doing what we did. Say good job, give us a treat, and scratch our bellies and we will look to please you with that trick again and again.
11th compliment to wow your man
This complement won't do much for the under 30 year olds or the fitness freaks amongst us. It probably ain't going to do much for the ladies, either. But for those of us over thirty for whom 6 pack only means beer, it ain't too shabby. The lovely Mrs. Jib dropped that one on my fat ass a couple of weeks back. I was wowed.
A request to some of my fellow southern Wisconsinites
I'm sorry for being so blunt, but circumstances require it. If you are a stupid human being, please, just stay in your home today. Seriously. With all of this snow and ice, it is tough enough for everyone else who has to try get around safely. By going out, you are just endangering yourselves and everyone else as well. Again, my apologies for being so blunt, but I just saw way too many of you out there today. Some of you were in your cars, driving around in this mess with only about one square foot of your windshield cleared of snow. Others of you were driving without your headlights. Some of you were driving way too fast for conditions, while others of you were creating hazards by actually driving too slow for the conditions. Some of you weren't even driving. There was the Einstein who, on a hilly, unplowed street, backed out of his driveway and then decided to park his truck in the middle of the street to clear the snow off. I apologize for driving so close to you and your truck, but I couldn't stop or I'd still be there next to your truck. Then, further up the hill on the same street, there was the guy who was standing in the middle of the street for no reason. Well, I guess watching your wife shovel 6 inches of heavy snow is a reason, but it isn't a good one. I apologize for having to honk at you, but you sir are a dumb ass. Think of it this way-I saved you from having to help me dig my car out and push me up the hill. Frankly, I didn't really appreciate the dirty look you gave me for honking, nor did I appreciate your deliberately slow walk to your sidewalk. But hey, you didn't get hit by my car and I didn't end up with a dent, so I guess we both win, right?
I know there are others of you who are thinking about going out there. Don't do it. And if you are already out there and have to get home somehow, please, for the sake of everyone else out there, used that under utilized noggin' of yours, just for a little while. I and the rest of us in Southern Wisconsin thank you. You may even thank yourself when you don't have to call that tow truck to pull your dumb ass out of the ditch you went into because you went into that curve at 50 mph.
Sincerely,
Jib
The weather sucks, wish you were here
12 years to the moon, Alice
Despite funding uncertainty, NASA is on track to return humans to the moon by 2020 and set up a lunar outpost to serve as a springboard to explore Mars, officials said Monday."Our job is to build towns on the moon and eventually put tire prints on Mars," NASA's Rick Gilbrech told reporters here, one year after the US space agency unveiled an ambitious plan to site a solar-powered, manned outpost on the south pole of the moon.
Ambitious? We got to the moon less than 10 years after making it our goal with, relatively speaking, primitive 1960's technology. Now it is going to take 12 years with much advanced technology. I'll put my money on the line by saying that we won't even be back to the moon by 2020 unless someone else beats us there and embarrasses us by doing so.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Squirrels are dumb
Squirrels are being blamed for lighting problems in Milwaukee’s Red Arrow Park.The city said they thought they would save money by using energy-efficient LED lights on its Christmas tree. But instead, they have to keep replacing the lights, making things more costly.Employees of the Department of Public Works said that squirrels are chewing the strings of the lights, causing them to short out.
[...]
The city has tried several things to stop the squirrels, but said they have had no luck.“The deer repellent didn’t work on squirrels,” said worker Dave McKeithan. “But I don’t think they make squirrel repellent. They’re too smart.”
No, they're dumb, and that's why they are confusing the pine cone-like plastic LED light housings for food. We bought our first strands of LEDs last year, and in the first two days they were up the squirrels went to town on them. This year we left them on for three straight days after first putting them up. It seems to have done the job (knock on wood).
Sing Us a Song, You're the Piano Man
Friday, December 07, 2007
If nothing else, admire their child like enthusiasm
Imagine.. the mainstream media is mesmerized as the image of the Ron Paul blimp is shown to tens of millions of Americans throughout the day (and throughout the month).
As GPS coordinates stream to the website a map shows the Ron Paul blimp's location in real time. The local television stations broadcast its every move. The curious flock together and make a trip to see history in the making. Emails with pictures are sent, then forwarded, then forwarded again. Youtube videos go viral and reach tens of millions of views. Ron Paul becomes the first presidential candidate in history to have his very own blimp. The PR stunt generates millions upon millions of dollars worth in free publicity, and captures the imagination of America.
This does nothing to make me think they are any less nutty. In fact, it makes me laugh. But hey, at least they are enthusiastic.
On regurgitation
What about the blogs?We had to set up a whole new apparatus to deal with the challenges they pose. Are they real journalists? The Washington Post, for example, has journalists who are now bloggers. Do you treat them as bloggers? Do they get credentials?
Let’s think of it as a practical matter. If one of those journalists-turned-bloggers, Chris Cillizza, e-mails you to say he needs an interview, and at the same time one of the Post’s print reporters—say, Dan Balz—e-mails you and says he needs an interview, and you can do only one . . .
Balz.
Because the print edition of the Post has more of an impact?
Because Balz is on multiple platforms. He’s booked more easily on television. He’s read by more people. He influences people a bit more. Now, the question might not be as much Chris versus Dan as maybe, “Is it Dan Balz or one of the guys at [the conservative blog] Power Line?”
Yeah, or what if [conservative blogger] Hugh Hewitt called?
That’s when you start going, “Hmm . . .” Because they do reach people who are influential.
Well, they reach the president’s base.
That’s what I mean by influential. I mean, talk about a direct IV into the vein of your support. It’s a very efficient way to communicate. They regurgitate exactly and put up on their blogs what you said to them. It is something that we’ve cultivated and have really tried to put quite a bit of focus on.
Actually, what Bartlett says has a hint of truth to it. I enjoy Hugh Hewitt's work, but he will 'regurgitate' for his favored politicians. Hewitt's tendency to carry water for his favorites has angered me at times and reduced how prominent a position he has in my rotation. Hewitt isn't alone, though. Most bloggers are essentially opinion columnists and will carry water for those they favor. Having said that, though, Bartlett's comments, italicized above, are horribly naive and arrogant. Bartlett is implying that bloggers are controllable. Some may be, but most are not. They will turn on an official that they see as having gone wrong. And Bartlett just put those that are controllable on warning that they are being used. He couldn't have done a better job of undercutting the ability of politicians to 'manage' blogger relations if he tried.
Role Reversal
Mr Sarkozy said he agreed with his German counterpart that Iran still posed a danger, and that he supported the push for more sanctions.
"Notwithstanding the latest elements, everyone is fully conscious of the fact that there is a will of the Iranian leaders to obtain nuclear weapons.
"What made Iran move up to now, it was sanctions and firmness," he said.
The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) released on Monday reversed earlier statements on Iran by the Bush administration.
It is almost impossible to match the NIE with the bellicosity of Iran in regards to their nuclear program and Israel. Fortunately, some key European allies are willing to continue to pressure Iran.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
"The Headquarters of the Revolution"
Daniel Webster called America’s colonial taverns “The headquarters of the Revolution.” Patrons of this tavern knew it as “The listening post of the Revolution”; they knew that Washington made his headquarters at that building of like vintage just across the creek. Actually, this tavern’s colonial patrons called it simply Mabie’s, for its tavernkeeper.
If I could start this joint all over again, I'd name it The Headquarters of the Revolution. I love that. Nobody ever understood that Jiblog was just my nickname ('Jib') and 'blog' smushed together, anyway.
RIAA suit takes new approach to copyright enforcement
In the papers filed with the court, the RIAA asserts that by singing in a venue (the 2003 Ford Windstar owned by her mother Sarah) in front of two or more people (her mother, her brother, and her father), Grabowski was compelled to pay royalties on the music used in her performances.
John Allen, a representative for the RIAA, says that his organization is not trying to bully music consumers.
"Not in the least. We don't care if you sing a copyright protected song when you are by yourself. And we certainly don't care if you sing a song in your head, even though there is some legality issues there with multiple personality sufferers. We just want to make sure that everyone gets a payday. Except that thieving little snot."
When asked for comment, Sarah Grabowksi said that if she could sue her daughter for pain suffering, she do it herself.
Conservative coalition straining at the seams
Part of this is just typical nomination politics. The candidates find their base amongst conservatives within the Republican party, and then they go out and try to win the most of the rest. That naturally highlights the seams in the party. This might be different this year, though. The mainstream conservative candidates-Giuliani, Romney, Thompson, and, if you can call him a conservative, McCain-are all flawed conservatives. They've generated a minimum of enthusiastic support. Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul have developed very passionate support amongst large portions of the social conservatives and libertarians (and a few economic conservatives). Neither has a snowball's chance in hell of winning the nomination, though, and therein lies the rub. Their passionate supporters are almost certain to be disaffected when their candidate ultimately has to throw in the towel. That is going to leave the eventual nominee running down a cylinder or two, giving the Democratic nominee an important head start.
But that's not the worst of it. If either of those two candidates can maintain some momentum well into the primaries, they will begin to feel a groundswell from their supporters to run as a third party candidate. At this point, I doubt Huckabee could or would, but I have no doubt that Ron Paul would jump at the chance. Just one of these two would cleave off enough conservative voters to toss the election to whatever democrat wins their nomination. As it is, Republicans might have a tough time getting libertarians and social conservatives to the voting booth in 2008. A hard split in the party could make either Mike Huckabee or Ron Paul the democratic nominee's best ally.
National Intelligence Estimates: Nearly Worthless
There is no way to fix State and CIA other than to completely tear them down and build all new, smaller and more efficient institutions. I'd love to see a presidential candidate latch onto the larger bureaucracy issue because it is a subject the American people seem to understand well and detest. In that way, a president would have the popular strength to fix some things within the State Department and the CIA. Unfortunately, even that would only be a temporary band aid for the ills of both.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Something to keep an eye on Sunday
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Important Jiblog Disclosure
I now return you to your regularly scheduled Iowa Caucus campaign.
Tragedy at the North Pole! Christmas Cancelled!
The confusion began when the Navies for both nations detected a terribly powerful blast deep in the Arctic Circle. Canada and Denmark have been butting heads over claims to the Arctic ever since man made global warming began melting the ice, killing polar bears, and opening up potentially lucrative shipping lanes. After detecting the blast, both navies feared it was an opening salvo from the other and unleashed their full military fury on the site of the blast.
The tragedy of the situation did not become apparent until the smoke cleared. Scout teams were dispatched and discovered that the headquarters for Claus had been heavily damaged. Hundreds of dead and dying elves were scattered across the tundra. One dying elf who had witnessed the day's events reported a pop gun had accidentally discharged in the toy workshop. Experts believe that this pop gun, which approximates the strength of the strongest guns in both the Canadian and Danish navies, may have set off the terrible barrage.
Casualties are uncertain at this early hour. At least 300 hundred elves are estimated to be dead. No reindeer have yet been recovered but several fully charbroiled venison steaks have been sustaining first responders to the scene. Also, the two human residents, Mr. and Mrs. Claus, have not yet been accounted for. A spokeself for Claus, visibly shaken by the discovery of a red mitten still holding a cookie, announced that Christmas will be canceled this year, and asked that everyone pray for Claus.
Former American Vice President Al Gore immediately flew on his private jet to the scene. He is expected to make a speech later in the day to blame this on the evil man made global warming, Claus for his use of heavily polluting reindeer technology for travel, and George W. Bush.
(This is satire. For any of you kids out there that might stumble upon this, that means that none of the above is true. It is just a made up story used to amuse adults and to make a point. Christmas is on and Santa and his entire team are just fine).
Get in Your Bubbles-Ebola's Back!
Just thought I'd let you know. There hasn't been much bird flu talk of late, so it is only right that Ebola rear it's ugly head. Whatever happened to the killer cold, anyway?
Monday, December 03, 2007
NIE: Iran shelved nuke arms program in 2003
- Even this report admits that Iran is "keeping its options open," to use the New York Times' words.
- The 16 agencies behind the NIE "do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons." That's disturbing and to a certain extent negates the significance of their assessment that Iran shelved the program in 2003.
- Something else happened in the region in 2003 that just happened to lead to the dismantling of Libya's WMD programs. Hmmm.
- The report states that Iran could still produce a nuclear weapon as early as 2009-a not too distant date.
- If early in, say, an Obama or Clinton presidency, Iran were to announce that they have a nuclear weapon, the first inclination of the political left will be to blame Bush. If that were to occur, this report needs to be brought back into the light because it handcuffs the administration unless something else happens.
- I'll be curious to see if this report will be trumpeted by all of those who have brutalized U.S. intelligence agencies for much of the past 6 years. If so, what makes this intelligence so much more believable, other than it confirms their own beliefs?
- I hope it is just the cynic in me that wonders if this is a CYA job by the agencies behind the NIE. This isn't really a good time for them to be wrong as this report all but ensures that Iran will have the upper hand in diplomacy at least until a new president is sworn in because it effectively removes the use of force as a legitimate threat.
The Weekly Standard asks 5 very relevant questions.
The sheltered writers can stay on strike
Just deserts
Calling it a "drunken, stupid thing," a DeForest man admitted to breaking into a town of Burke sex shop last month and stealing several blow-up sex dolls, among them a $270 model that talks.
Jose A. Sandoval, 26, led detectives to spots where he had stashed the dolls and other items he allegedly took from Naughty Novelties, 6011 Highway 51, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in Dane County Circuit Court.
Sandoval was charged with burglary for allegedly taking such things as sex dolls, thong underwear and lotion in the Nov. 10 break-in, according to the complaint.
Thong underwear? Does the doll really need it? Or did he want to look sexy for it?
Fresh coat of paint
Chavez referendum fails in Venezuela
Venezuelan voters delivered a stinging defeat to President Hugo Chavez on Sunday, blocking proposed constitutional changes that would have given him political supremacy and accelerated the transformation of this oil-rich country into a socialist state.Hours after the final ballots were cast, the National Electoral Council announced at 1:15 a.m. local time Monday that voters, by a margin of 51 to 49 percent, had rejected 69 reforms to the 1999 constitution. The modifications would have permitted the president to stand for reelection indefinitely, appoint governors to provinces he would create and control Venezuela's sizable foreign reserves.
Opponents of the referendum are justifiably pleased.
"People who have been with Chavez do not support the reform," said Elixio Fusil, who lives in a pro-Chavez district in western Caracas and voted against the reforms. "He wants a blank check, and that's impossible. We're not stupid like he thinks. It's that simple. There are conscious, thinking people here, too."
Fusil should probably enjoy the moment because it won't last. Based on the narrow margin of victory, there may be conscious, thinking people in Venezuela, but they don't out number the unconscious and unthinking by very much. The genius of Chavez holding this referendum now is that he has 4 plus years left in his current term. That is plenty of time to lull some more of those "conscious, thinking people" to sleep so he can still have his way. Chavez my have lost this battle, but his war to be communist president for life is far from over.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Weather forecasters get one right
A Quick Bird Question
Friday, November 30, 2007
Standoff at Clinton NH Campaign Office
A man is holding at least two people hostage at the presidential campaign office for Sen. Hillary Clinton in Rochester, New Hampshire. WBZ has learned he walked into the office with some sort of device strapped to him, claiming it was a bomb.
State Police said the man released a mother and a child from the office, but is holding others.
A young woman carrying an infant ran into a nearby store in tears, saying she had been in the campaign office when a man walked in, opened his coat and showed them a what looked like a bomb strapped to his chest with duct tape. She said the man let her and her child go.
There are reports from the scene that the hostage taker is demanding to speak with Senator Clinton.
Hopefully this is resolved without anyone getting hurt.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
A good sentence
The white hunter convicted of killing a Hmong man while both stalked squirrels stood, turned to the man's widow and apologized. She put her face in her hands and wept.James Nichols paused, then added, "It has all been emotional for us, and I am greatly sorry for that."
The Peshtigo man's apology had less effect on Marinette County Circuit Judge David Miron, who sentenced him Wednesday to the maximum 69 years in prison, in essence a life sentence for the 29-year-old.
"Frankly, I think it is too little too late," Miron said of the apology.
May he serve every single year.
A note to the NFL Network
You will need to replace Bryant Gumbel with someone coherent before I will ever call my cable company and demand they place your network on basic cable.
Sincerely,
Jib
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Rest in Peace, Sean Taylor
Police have not said much about this case as of yet. The common media narrative to this point has been that this was a burglary gone bad. That is based almost purely on conjecture. Based on what is known about this case so far, as outlined in the link above, it does not seem like a simple case of a home burglary gone wrong. In a previous break in the weekend prior, the intruder had left a kitchen knife on a bed, and in this break made an aggressive move into Taylor's bedroom prior to shooting him. It will be interesting to see what the Miami-Dade police investigation turns up.
Monday, November 26, 2007
On Amazon's Kindle
Beauty Queens Fight Dirty
Beauty pageant organizers were investigating Sunday who doused a contestant's evening gowns with pepper spray and spiked her makeup, causing her to break out in hives.Beauty queen Ingrid Marie Rivera beat 29 rivals to become the island's 2008 Miss Universe contestant, despite applying makeup and wearing evening gowns that had been coated with pepper spray, pageant spokesman Harold Rosario said.
Rivera was composed while appearing before cameras and judges throughout the competition. But once backstage, she had to strip off her clothes and apply ice bags to her face and body, which swelled and broke out in hives twice.
You can call her the Brett Favre of pageants.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving
Coexist...except with Tom McMahon
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Ya gotta love throw away paragraphs
The Census Bureau’s analysis found that some surnames were especially associated with race and ethnicity.
More than 96 percent of Yoders, Kruegers, Muellers, Kochs, Schwartzes, Schmitts and Novaks were white. Nearly 90 percent of the Washingtons were black, as were 75 percent of the Jeffersons, 66 percent of the Bookers, 54 percent of the Banks and 53 percent of the Mosleys.
Surprisingly, only 3% of all Wojciechowskis are white. It's true, look it up.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
A 12 year anniversary
A good secret that is not longer a secret
Over the past six years, the Bush administration has spent almost $100 million on a highly classified program to help Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s president, secure his country’s nuclear weapons, according to current and former senior administration officials.But with the future of that country’s leadership in doubt, debate is intensifying about whether Washington has done enough to help protect the warheads and laboratories, and whether Pakistan’s reluctance to reveal critical details about its arsenal has undercut the effectiveness of the continuing security effort.
The aid, buried in secret portions of the federal budget, paid for the training of Pakistani personnel in the United States and the construction of a nuclear security training center in Pakistan, a facility that American officials say is nowhere near completion, even though it was supposed to be in operation this year.
Thank you, Schulzberger et al, for blowing an important national secret in a very, very volatile part of the world. You just may get a Jiblog "Loose Lips Shink Ships" award for this one.
Further proof Hugo Chavez is an idiot
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez opened an OPEC summit on Saturday with a chilling warning about 200-dollar oil if the United States attacks Iran in a speech that also urged the cartel to be more political.
But internal divisions about the role of the oil exporters' group were highlighted when King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, OPEC kingpin and key US regional ally, sounded a moderate note, saying oil "must not become an instrument for conflict."
Chavez, a fiery leftist and fiercely anti-US leader, warned that crude prices could double from their current already-record level of near 100 dollars a barrel if Washington attacked Iran or launched action against Venezuela.
"If the United States was mad enough to attack Iran or aggress Venezuela again the price of a barrel of oil won't just reach 100 dollars, but even 200 dollars," he said.
Couldn't happen. Period. The global economy would crash in horrific fashion if oil even began to approached $200 a barrel, thus severely retarding demand, thus severely crashing the oil market. I get the feeling that Chavez is hoping for $200 a barrel, but he really shouldn't. $200 a barrel would signal an economic collapse that would remove his lever of power in Venezuela-oil wealth.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Move over bird flu, here comes the uncommon cold
A mutated version of an adenovirus, a common family of viruses that normally causes simple colds, has caused severe respiratory illness in patients of all ages, including healthy young adults, U.S. health officials announced Thursday.
The new and virulent strain of adenovirus serotype 14 (Ad14) killed 10 people in parts of the United States earlier this year and put dozens into hospitals, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
It also caused at least 140 illnesses in New York, Oregon, Washington and Texas. More than 50 of those patients were hospitalized, including 24 who were admitted to intensive care units.
Two of the 10 people who died from the new strain were infants. One was a 19-year-old female recruit at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, where more than 100 other cases were found.
"The cases described in this report are unusual because they suggest the emergence of a new and virulent Ad14 variant that has spread within the United States,"
If human touch weren't such a powerful thing, I think we would all end up living in our own private bubbles by 2020.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Don't Pull His Russert!
This whole Tim Russert-Hillary Clinton thing is yet another example of how absurd our politics and our journalism have gotten. God forbid someone not let a politician get away with a duplicitous answer to a question. But that's become the expectation, especially on the left.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Solidarity for writers
This blog has been dark on plenty of days this year, but I'm going to make a point of writing a little more today. As I've said before, writing is a commodity and the Writer's Guild doesn't really understand how easily their members could be replaced.
Monday, November 12, 2007
On Britney Spears
"Movies that Make Men Cry"
Emergency Communications PSA for the Media
Some emergency communications centers have several people that work the phones and the radio. Big cities and counties that dispatch for towns and small cities are examples. Most small cities and towns are operating with a single dispatcher much of the time, though. In either situation, however, the law enforcement department in question is trying to get the most out of as few people as possible for the work load available. When there is an emergency, these dispatchers DO NOT NEED TO HEAR FROM THE MEDIA. There's an old saying that goes a little something like this: If you are not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. When you folks in the media call a dispatch center during an emergency, you are part of the problem. That emergency communications center is trying to stay on top of the emergency at hand while still handling other problems that may be occurring in the community. When five, ten, fifteen media outlets or more are calling them for information, sometimes rudely, that they are not authorized to give out anyway, they are prevented from doing their jobs, and that can make a difference between life and death. And if you superstars in the media are able to jostle some information from them, chances are you are putting their jobs at risk for your own minimal personal gain. For that, you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Here's a tip for you in the media tasked with getting information when an emergency is taking place: Develop sources in as many communities as possible. Even better, get your ass out of your desk or out of bed and get on the scene. But for our communities' sakes, leave the emergency communication centers alone. Your need for a story isn't an emergency, no matter how self centered a reporter you are.
Time to join the late 1990's, guys
Re-thinking monuments to our heroes
What these modern war memorials have in common with each other is nothing. They portray nothingness. They have no people in them, never mind men carrying guns or swords, statues of Winged Victory, or even doves of peace. Just death and names -- grief without glory.
Oddly enough, for structures that are purposely barren, the promotional literature about all of them says their purpose involves "healing." By "healing," I infer they must mean "sitting in the corner, licking your wounds and whining pitifully." It may not be surprising that both 9-11 memorials have failed to attract more than a fraction of the private contributions they need in order to be built.
The column made me think back on many of the memorials that have been built or proposed in my lifetime. Few are more powerful to me than the statue of the three iron workers outside of Miller Park in Milwaukee. That statue makes me think of those men and the terrible tragedy that cost them their lives while they did their jobs to provide for their families. To me, that memorial carries power. Then I think on many of the war memorials like the Wall in Washington or proposed 9-11 memorials. Those memorials are built on emotion. They are built on symbolism to carry tremendous amount grief, love and remembering for those who have lost their heroes. What they do not do is transmit much feeling to those untouched by war, by those who do not have a lost hero. Monuments are a tribute to the dead and a connection for their living loved ones, but they are also supposed to transmit a deep message to those untouched, and to those in future generations who will not have their own memories of the event. In that, our modern memorials all to often fail, and those we remember deserve better.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
A general observation
Friday, November 09, 2007
Super Volcano! Super Volcano! The Sky Will Be Falling!
Yellowstone National Park, once the site of a giant volcano, has begun swelling up, possibly because molten rock is accumulating beneath the surface, scientists report.But, "there is no evidence of an imminent volcanic eruption," said Robert B. Smith, a professor of geophysics at the University of Utah.
Many giant volcanic craters around the world go up and down over decades without erupting, he said.
Smith and colleagues report in Friday's issue of the journal Science that the flow of the ancient Yellowstone crater has been moving upward almost 3 inches per year for the past three years.
That is more than three times faster than ever observed since such measurements began in 1923, the researchers said.
Start emitting your CO2 now, people! We'll need that extra warmth when the Yellowstone super volcano blots out the sun and causes mass starvation and a new ice age! And remember: Somehow, some way, Al Gore will survive and he'll blame it all on you out there in Peoria, Eagle River, and Sioux City.
(This was a test of the Jiblog Emergency Hand Wringing System. If this was an actual Emergency Hand Wringing Event, this message would have been followed by instructions from from Gaia's earthly representative, our lord and savior, Al Gore. This was only a test.)
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Duh
Aside from Al Gore, the biggest presidential endorsement prize that is still up for grabs from the Clinton administration is Robert E. Rubin, the former Treasury Secretary and deficit hawk who remains one of the most admired economic stewards in Democratic politics.
Mr. Rubin is now ready to go public: Despite some early misgivings about Hillary Rodham Clinton’s candidacy, he is scheduled to headline a major fundraiser for her on Dec. 13 in New York City, according to a memo describing the event. Democrats close to the Clinton campaign said today that he may appear at additional events, with her or former President Bill Clinton, before the primaries begin in January.
Mr. Rubin knows where his bread is buttered, and it ain't with Dennis Kucinich.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Time to hold your nose and stick by Pakistan
Interestingly, Slate brings up another reason that it is in our best interests to stand by Musharraf:
And there's an even bigger problem: What does it say to U.S. allies in the war on terror—especially those Arab and Muslim states, like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, that are sometimes committed to fighting Islamists and sometimes not—that Washington doesn't support its friends in a battle it enlisted them to fight? There are some Egyptian analysts who hold the Carter administration responsible for the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat because Washington failed to stand by the shah against the Islamist maelstrom. Who knows—perhaps the shah's time had come no matter what the haplessly naive Carter administration did. But today, what leader in the Muslim world would dare tackle extremism if he knows he will get dressed down by the secretary of state at crunch time?
On one hand, I do feel for the Pakistani people. On the other hand, a good portion of the Pakistani people would have no problems with seeing Americans burn. Thus, for the time being, Pakistan is no place for us to waste our idealism. Cold, hard realism has to be the name of the game. There is just too much riding on it for it to be any other way.
Then they waterboarded him with milk
Two students at Southern Illinois University in this St. Louis suburb kidnapped, paddled and burned a young man with freshly baked cookies after a drug deal went bad, prosecutors said.
I'd hate to see what they'd do armed with Pop Rocks.
First Snow
As long as I'm talking about the first snow of the year, I might as well take this opportunity to pass along a personal story. I met the lovely Mrs. Jib in 1995 while she was a freshman in college and I was a sophomore. One night during our pre-courtship phase, I was hanging out down in her dorm room with her and some others. The Ouija board was out and I was participating despite the dire warnings of my pastor during confirmation classes. One of the popular questions that night was the name of the person we'd marry. When we asked, the board started spelling out our names. We both held the marker to keep it from spelling our names all the way out. I ended up asking when the first snow fall of the year would be and the Ouija board said October 20. On October 20th, we ended up going to see To Die For starring Nicole Kidman-just as friends, mind you. On the drive back home, it started to snow, the first snow of the year. We started dating a month later and the rest was history.
If you ask her, she'll deny this accounting of things but I think that's just because she's creeped out by it. That's the way the Ouija board rumbled that night in the fall of 2005.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Victim=Victory for Hillary?
4. Hillary only wins - when she is a victim. Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of the entire Hillary fall-out issue is that such an incident plays directly into her strategy. Hillary can never be a champion of strength for anything as long as she is a "front runner." Her most historically significant positives always came in the aftermath of a moment in time in which she was able to castigate herself as a victim of circumstance, or of the abuse of men. When her husband was diddling interns in the Oval Office, her approvals were low. When he was discovered and exposed for it - her positives shot through the roof. It gave her a "cross to bear" moment to do the "right thing" even though she and the former President are more like business partners than any marriage I'd ever want to participate in. Fast forward to her run for the U.S. Senate after Mayor Giuliani had dropped out of the race due to his personal marriage issues and prostate cancer. Enter Congressman Rick Lazio and the now infamous moment of crossing the stage and slapping the pledge form on her podium and demanding that she "sign it." The Congressman confessed to me just a year ago that had he understood how that act would be spun by Hillary and her team of support in the mainstream media that he would have never considered it. Team Hillary was out in force following the debate, even through alternative media pages like Drudge, they were able to work the headline spin that Hillary had been ganged-up on. She was given a rousing "homecoming" at Wellesley College where she worked a jab into the speech. Emotional conference calls held by the campaign the days following called down more criticism upon the man asking the questions at the debate - not the candidates. And just to sweeten the pie team Hillary's number one attack dog - the former President - was sent to shake his finger before television cameras and call Russert's aggressive questioning "breathtakingly misleading." Rush has said it for years - but the only way Hillary wins is as a "victim," and now the "front-runner" is "just that."
By and large, the only times that the public has found Hillary Clinton a likable or sympathetic person has been been when she has appeared the victim. When not the victim, Clinton is an easily unlikable person. If she gets the nomination and heads into the general campaign with a sizable lead in the polls over the Republican nominee, Republicans are going to have to unload on her, but they are going to have to do so carefully. They will be well served to highlight her many negatives and to put her in positions where her unpleasantness shines. If they beat up on her like they beat up on John Kerry in '04 (deservedly so), though, she just may be able to spin herself back into the sympathetic victim in time to win in November.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
I'm going to have a lawyer tell someone to de-link me
Oh, and did I mention the Sheboygan Police Department (click on the link, too, just to let their servers know that you're out there).
Now Wiggy, get my link off your %*$&#^@ blog!
Friday, November 02, 2007
Writers to go on strike
Postscript
This is not to say that a writer's strike with the backing of the Teamsters does not pose problems to Hollywood. It is just to say, using my dad's analogy, removing the union writers from Hollywood would be like taking your hand out of a bucket of water-the space your hand occupied is easily and quickly filled.
Just wait until next year...
HT: LIB
Thursday, November 01, 2007
How about Eunice?
I knew of no equivalent names for female genitals---no affectionate, fun names made up by us women for ourselves. I wondered if it meant that men enjoyed sex more than women.
And hey, with "vajayjay" the zeitgeist lurched three steps forward.
It didn't occur to me to try to make up names for my own sexual parts.
Naming is a kind of claiming--I see that now.
Let's not stop.
Maybe we women can make up more names. Maybe some of us already have done so.
Playful, silly, proud and self-loving pet names.
Please ladies. Write them on this blog site if you are so inclined.
I post at the testosterone flooded Wisconsin Sports Bar. At no time have we had a junk nicknaming contest. I guess that does make the HuffPo more progressive than we neanderthals at a sports blog.
Additional
Post headline edited twice. First after being told the name was the nickname of someone close to me (oops), the second time because the lovely Mrs. Jib came up with a funnier nickname.
Beer, it does a body good
A beer after playing a game of football, a long run, or a strenuous round of golf can be good for the body, scientists say.
In a rare piece of good news for those who like a pint, Spanish researchers say beer can help someone who is dehydrated retain liquid better than water.
Prof Manuel Garzon, of Granada University, also claimed the bubbles in beer help to quench the thirst and that its carbohydrate content can help to replace lost calories.
Beer League Softball, it isn't just for the unhealthy anymore.
Got Milk?
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- A woman who doesn't want her breast milk to go to waste has taken out a newspaper ad in hopes of selling it. Martha Heller, 22, of Tiffin, took out the ad in The Gazette, offering 100 ounces of her breast milk for $200 or the best offer.
Heller said her freezer is overflowing with breast milk that she has pumped since August. Her 4-month-old daughter won't drink from a bottle and the supply is piling up.
I really, really hope there wasn't a milk mustache in her ad.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Syria Scrubs Attack Site
New commercial satellite photos show that a Syrian site believed to have been attacked by Israel last month no longer bears any obvious traces of what some analysts said appeared to have been a partly built nuclear reactor.
Two photos, taken Wednesday from space by rival companies, show the site near the Euphrates River to have been wiped clean since August, when imagery showed a tall square building there measuring about 150 feet on a side.
I loved this line from deep in the article:
Later in the interview, he said, “ We understand that if Syria even contemplated nuclear technology, then the gates of hell would open on us.”
Did they understand that before or after Israel's attack? I'm guessing it was after a window of hell opened on their nuclear site.
Bobby Caina Calvin, Media Idiot of the Week
Calvin's post at his blog is spreading around the web like wild fire, but if you haven't seen or heard it yet, here's the quick and short of it. Calvin wrote on his blog (reproduced here) about difficulties he had getting into the green zone in Baghdad because two forms or ID were required at the checkpoint and not just the one that he had, identifying him as media with Knight-Ridder. The American soldiers at the check point did not know what Knight-Ridder was. No big surprise there; I'd wager that a majority of Americans do not know what Knight-Ridder is. It was a classic "don't you know who I am?" piece from someone that really had no justification for expecting people to know who he was or who he was with.
Calvin was short-sighted because he wanted to breeze in and out of the green zone as if it were a Parisian cafe. Fortunately for Calvin and other media members of his ilk, the green zone is safe because it is not a place that can be entered and exited breezily. Scrutiny of identification is what has kept out the type of people who would love nothing more than to kill someone like Calvin because he doesn't worship in the exact same religion. Calvin doesn't have to like the scrutiny, but if he appreciates the existence of a 'green zone', then he damn well better accept it.
Calvin was self-absorbed because he had absolutely no justifiable reason to expect a soldier at a check point would know or even care what Knight-Ridder, a company that publishes(ed) no newspapers in its own name, is. And even if they did, they would still be absolutely justified in expecting a second form of ID as stolen or faked identification is hardly a rare thing in this world. In his post, Calvin essentially throws a hissy fit about the failure to be recognized by a young man who is basically on the front line in his position as a check point guard to an area that enemies would love to breach. Given that, Calvin's post epitomized selfishness.
Typically, I'd have skipped this story because opinion on it is already a dime a dozen. But Calvin's selfish irresponsibility should be recorded, and now that his original post seems to have disappeared, I'm more than happy to join in with the others who makes sure it stays recorded.