Monthly Archives: May 2004

Coming soon: The meese of Coeur d’Alene. Join me as I track down and photograph some of the ugliest moose sculptures you will ever see. And some that aren’t so bad.

I ask you: The Longest Day, greatest war movie ever, or just the greatest in the last 100 years?

Egypt is pressuring Arafat? And siding with the US and Sharon? Something is going on behind the scenes here.

Read this first.

Cheat Commando’s O’s

NASA is looking at developing shields for their spacecraft.

via Slashdot

This caption made me laugh out loud. You all probably think less of me now. Meh.

I knew I read about the whole Chabli and Iran thing a long time ago, but I couldn’t remember where. Now I know.

I heard that!

Dear Alton,

I would buy your book if I could afford it. As it is, I borrow a friend’s copy. And even if I could afford it, I wouldn’t buy Dr. Phil’s. That’s almost like having another sale. Right?

Sincerely,
Kristin Hoppe

Hoffa’s resting place.

The admitted killer, who said he shot Hoffa in the back of the head, led to a Fox News investigation of a home in northwest Detroit, which may have traces of Hoffa’s blood in the foyer of the home.

If you’ve bought makeup at a department store in the last 10 years some lawyers would like your mailing address so they can send you a check.

Making rare old books available to the rest of us. Nifty!

VDH on doing the right thing, even if no one cares.

Instead, stay true to our values — but also realize that we are judged by those who think reptilian and will thus join us for the pragmatically wrong, rather than the morally right, reasons. Or as the sometimes vulgar and crass Al Davis put it far better, “Just win baby.”

No review of the Enterprise finale yet, but Lileks does have some scathing examples of why countries in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

Big Brother.

When your address is linked to databases like those used by Yahoo! People Search, your phone number may be readily accessible. Your county government’s Web site probably displays your home’s floor plan and assessed value, letting nosy neighbors chuckle over Alice’s quaint split-level or Bob’s lack of elbow room when the in-laws visit. Pay-as-you-go databases like Lexis-Nexis’ P-TRAK, P-FIND, and P-SEEK tie together mortgage records, vehicle registrations, court judgments, bankruptcy histories, and any other public information they can gather. Google and Yahoo! can record every search you’ve ever made and link it to whatever computer you used at the time. Credit card companies know what you buy, frequent shopper programs know what you eat, and your insurance company knows what medical procedures you’ve undergone.

A peace agreement in Sudan. I hope it sticks.

The map of Springfield. Someone has way too much time on their hands to watch the Simpsons this much.

Yeah, yeah, use games to teach history (reg. req). Brilliant. Oregon Trail taught me tons of stuff. Like don’t shoot at the first rabbit you see and a deer will probably come along. And people die of cholera at the most inopertune time. And always take the rapids.

via Slashdot

How to make it into the big time from your blog. I’m here for my own entertainment, and hopefully yours. Please, stop throwing your money at me.

And quite frankly, I’m surprised that we have degree mills in Idaho. Lumber mills, sure, I drive past them every day; rumor mills, of course, I work at a church, I see them all the time. Maybe the degree mills are down south.

On why to live in Coeur d’Alene, unless you are a Democrat.

County Clerk Dan English pored over results Wednesday to find a common theme. English, the only elected Democrat in Kootenai County government, could only point out that there were more Republican candidates competing with each other for fewer votes than in previous elections.

Oh, here’s another quote from an editorial:

Granted, a Democrat would face a daunting task to be elected to the commission in November. In the most Republican county in this Republican state, we can understand why nobody would relish that likely political beating.

Bush is actually going to cut spending. Possibly. It’s a miracle! And by cut spending they mean not spend any more than they already do.

“Assume accounts are funded at the 2006 level specified in the 2005 Budget database,” the memo informs federal program associate directors and their deputies. “If you propose to increase funding above that level for any account, it must be offset within your agency by proposing to decrease funding below that level in other accounts.”

by Frank J.

* His programming was specifically for him to be a politician. Now that he no longer is one, he’s gone rogue.

* Some say that Al Gore is an emotionless, killer cyborg, while other say he is more of an android.

* If you turn on a microwave while Al Gore is near, he’ll suddenly start singing showtunes.

What the heck was up with the finale of Enterprise. Nazi pig-dogs? Sort of a Mirror, Mirror City on the Edge of Forever kind of thing. I blame that Andorian. Crewman Daniels is going to be soooo upset over this wrinkle in the timeline.

I can’t wait to hear Lilek’s take on it.

I’m going to go with “does not understand”.

From VDH Q&A:

Is there any one event that, had the outcome been different, would have ensured a vigorous Roman Empire for additional centuries?

Hanson: I don’t think a single defeat like an Adrianople was responsible or a dramatic new idea like Christianity made the difference. Instead there was a gradual sense of Balkanization as regional culture, regional languages, and regional politics trumped the central government that no longer was able to unify a diverse empire and convince an affluent and leisured citizenry that Rome was far better than the alternative—a lesson that we ought to keep in mind.

Watch out for wedgies!

Cilantro kills samonella. Too bad it tastes so nasty it’s inedible.

Kerry says he could wage the War on Terror better than Bush. Unfortunately, the article doesn’t include what his plan was.

The average US worker works 34 hours per week. Hmm.

WiFi for everyone. It’s only a matter of time till one of them starts a blog.

I didn’t know, but it’s Towel Day. Luckily I carry a towel with me every day.

People are odd.

It’s just like the Vorlons and the Shadows. The humans aren’t particularly important, except as pawns.

This is so horribly wrong, I can’t express its wrongness in words.

The ebola-like outbreak in Sudan may be a new, less deadly variant. Which is smart of the virus, because killing off almost all your hosts doesn’t help you spread.

Medical experts say the Berg beheading was staged. There’s been rumblings of this all around the internet since the video got loose.

How come we didn’t hear about Kerry’s tumble earlier this month?

The moral of the story is, you don’t want to end up on death row if you are an intravenous drug user.

Always say you aren’t doing much, or won’t be doing much blogging. Not blogging much my eye. 13 posts and 26 links. It’s like a written guarantee that much high quality stuff will be posted.

A Loyal Citizen fisks Ken Burn’s speech at Yale. And does a fine job of it too.

also via Inoperable Terran

The latest tactic in the “We Hate Bush” war. I know I was looking at the election from a more geopolitical frame of mind, this changes everything.

via Inoperable Terran

It’s funny and sad at the same time.

Ebola-like virus outbreak in southern Sudan.

What? In Spokane? Tornados scare me. I’m moving.

It’s all his fault.

LaShawn Barber’s take on Cosby’s speech.

The Robots are revolting.

Blog reader demographics.

Warblogger Magazine, vol. 1

I’m setting up stage lights today. So that’s why there hasn’t been a multitude of amusing and witty posts for you today.

Sure, a tshirt with a monitor built in is cool, but who would want to walk around like that.

via Slashdot

Matches recalled because they light on fire.

Linus says it wasn’t him.

OK, I admit it. I was just a front man for the real fathers of Linux: the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. They (for obvious reasons) couldn’t step forward to admit that they had gotten bitten by the computer bug and had been developing a series of operating systems on their own during the off-season.

And it gets better.

A butt-kicking machine. Yes, straight from Nampa, Idaho. (They’re down south, it’s like a whole nother state down there.)

My friend Josh!

Oddly enough, he talks like he types.

Cosby in da house, yo. (scroll down a little, yo)

Fidel is doing great.

Test your Schoolhouse Rock history knowledge.

12/13

But I like cheap thrills.

This dude is in Bonners Ferry, just 3 hours (going the speed limit) north of me. Somehow, I’m not really surprised.

Here’s the local paper’s take on it. (scroll down)

via Fark

This just in: diets only work if you stay on them.

Rats, why did it have to be rats? (reg. req.)

Enterprise is renewed for a fourth season. My life, such as it is, can continue. But Friday won’t work for me, they’ll have to leave it on Wednesday.

The reserves are for emergencies. Like when Saudia Arabia gets mad at us because we want to stop Al Queda and says they won’t ship us any more oil. Then you release the reserves. Oh, and it was 2.14/gallon yesterday to fill up, not the 2.10 I previously reported.

Stratfor makes some good points.

Intelligence organizations should not give policy suggestions. First, the craft of intelligence and state-craft are very different things. Second, and far more important, intelligence professionals should always resist the temptation to become policy advocates because, being mostly human, intelligence analysts want to be right — and when they are advocates of a strategy, they will be tempted to find evidence that proves that policy to be correct and ignore evidence that might prove the policy in error. Advocating policies impairs the critical faculties.

But just this once they bend. And they make good points.

The key to al Qaeda is in Riyadh and in Islamabad. The invasion
of Iraq was a stepping-stone toward policy change in Riyadh, and
it worked. The pressure must be maintained and now extended to
Islamabad. However, the war was never about Baghdad, and
certainly never about Al Fallujah and An Najaf.

Here is the proof. I’d argue with it, but you can’t argue with mathmatical proofs.

Well, you can, but you lose every time.

This article on subway ettiquette has this little gem in it.

This is the paradox of daily life in the capital of the free world, where every second counts. The people who live and work here take themselves seriously, striding purposefully with their written testimony, task force recommendations and briefing books.

And may I say, too seriously. Plus, if you’re cutting it so close that walking up or down the escalators matters, try padding your schedule a little. Or move to Idaho, no subway, no buses, no public transportation at all.

I thought everybody knew this already, but I guess not. It still doesn’t keep me from complaining that I’m about to go pay $2.10/gallon to fill up.

Oh, there they are. It’s a shame we have to find them the hard way.

Syria and North Korea.

The technicians were from the Syrian technical research center called Centre d’Etudes et de Recherche Scientific (CERS). Although CERS was established to promote science and technology development, it has been viewed as a major player in Syria’s weapons of mass destruction development program.

Did the French rule Syria at some point? (Yes, I am a graduate of California public schools. It probably isn’t even French.)

I picked up a used compilation CD, Just Say Mao, from 1989. I love how they explain how great CDs are at the back of the booklet.

The Compact Disc Digital Audio System offers the best possible sound reproduction—on a small, convenient disc. Its remarkable performance is the result of a unique combination of digital storage and laser optics.

Ah, 1989, good times. I remember how happy I was the first time I heard a CD, somewhere right around 1989. No tape hiss! Modern technology rocks! And here I am today ripping the music off the CD in order to put it on my MP3 player. Cause postmodern technology rocks too.

I also wonder why Ice-T, Depeche Mode, Lou Reed, and k.d. lang were on the same label.

VDH

Have we any memory of a man in a suit and tie, nearly three years ago wading through the din and panic amid the morning rubble, assuring millions of stunned Americans that the national headquarters of their armed forces was still intact and capable of defending us after the mass murder of 3,000? And have we no shame in recognizing that should some congressional critics and Washington harpies get their way, Americans will accomplish what bin Laden’s suicide bombers could not on September 11: remove America’s finest Secretary of Defense in a half century?

Send this guy and the rest of the illegals on death row back to Mexico. Warn them if they are found in the US they will immediately receive their death sentence. And tell Fox to shut up and fix his own legal system before complaining about ours.

How come every city or place we attack is a holy city or holy ground or the third most revered mosque?

Contrary to what your mother said, you can get a job from playing video games. Since I’m better at the real time strategy games than first person shooters, I think that means I get to be an officer.

Private rocket on the edge of space.

A great quote from his The Wars for the West:

For those who embrace these values, our miracle of security, affluence, and freedom is entirely logical, and of course allows people a level of decency and civility not found elsewhere in the world—whether in the commonplace that means water that doesn’t make you sick, toilet paper in public restrooms, cars that halt at stop signs, and lines that queue up rather than mobs that rush, or in the exalted sense a Bill of Rights, media that are free, and officials who are accountable.

This classically liberal vision is always under assault on the left by utopian totalitarians, devils who demand coercive government powers to force us to be angels, and on the right by autocratic romantics who believe in the superiority of a pure religion, race, or nationality.

I heard about this on the radio driving in to work this morning. Vedy interesting.

I’m all for politicians blogging, but I doubt they’ll do much actual blogging. More like press releases. A live blog of a session would be great though. It would probably work better at the local or state level, since they tend to have stronger opinions and be willing to stick with them.

Mypetfat, the next dieting craze.

Instapundit on the media.

The national news does basketball.

It seems they like earning their rewards.

Those wacky Swedes have built a stealth ship and it runs NT. I hope they are careful downloading stuff. You wouldn’t want to install spyware.

via Slashdot

Don’t Panic. The website is up.

He should have done something while he was in office, but better late than never.

Germany’s outgoing president used his farewell speech yesterday to urge the nation to “buck up” and “stop whingeing”, saying that a widespread malaise was dragging it to its knees.

The USS Jimmy Carter is almost ready for sea. Jimmy Carter? Doesn’t exactly inspire awe, unless you’re attacking the Peace Corp.

The was some smoking fertilizer of some sort that fell off a truck at the stateline scale in Washington. Apparently it wasn’t nitrate fertilizer. It ought to be on the news soon. They had a train stopped across Maguire for a long time, I’d guess about an hour or so, to keep it away in case it went boom.

You know all that healthy eating you’re doing to avoid heart disease? Waste of time.

Which is not to say that healthy eating is a bad idea.

Sonny Landham is running for office.

via Fark

Hybrid cars are not getting the gas milage they are supposed to. Just buy a Geo.

via Slashdot

Would a repeal lead to a smaller federal government? Then do it.

And we should all see Day After Tomorrow, go out and buy hybrid cars. Yeah, that’ll stop global warming. Never mind China, Russia, and the developing countries that are doing nothing about pollution, if I drive a hybrid THE WORLD WILL BE SAVED. Huzzah.

And what, does Gore drive? And to avoid giving him weasel room, what does his wife drive?

Heh, check this out: CNN.

It could happen. And the world would be a better place for it.

Hey, Lileks has something to say about it too.

The Mexican Air Force, apparently they have one, has caught some UFOs on tape. El tiempo del sombrero de la hojuela del estaño.

“What comes after 75?”

“76.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Er, post number 1776 just went by.

And for those playing the home game, Roger’s Ice Cream is open. w00t! I just had a lovely hamburger and onion rings for dinner. You may now look on with envy.

Wow, a stunningly minimal day of posting. More to come later? It’s not inconceivable.

The East Coast is being overrun by bugs.

According to Kritsky, the best time to eat a cicada is just after they break open their youthful skin. “When you eat them when they’re soft and mushy, when they come out of their skin, they taste like cold, canned asparagus,” he said.

Ewww.

This Iraqi official has an interesting spin on the prison abuse.

“I don’t know what those soldiers have been through as individuals, but they need to be examined, psychologically examined,” Amin said.

I think this pretty much sums up the gay marriage situation in America today.

The world’s environmental scientists are slowly getting dumber. Or the sun is going out.

Call before you dig.

BT is looking to recoup more than £25,000 [$45,670] from a Cambridgeshire man after he severed a fibre optic cable while putting up a new fence in his garden.

Doctors reattach this kids head to his spine. Unbelievable.

Having been driven out of England by the Industrial Revolution, faires have settled in Nambia. It’s a dry heat.

“At this stage I suppose we could say that fairies are as good an explanation as any,” Gretel van Rooyen, professor of botany at Pretoria, told The Telegraph.

Reynold’s rules! (not for the bandwidthly challenged)

Rock, Rock On!

The LA Times has been making noises lately like it’s positioning itself to be a leader in actually reporting news instead of the more common reporting of opinion. And they’re doing it again.

Now if they’d just get rid of the freaking registration on their website.

Hurl the truck as far as you can. I’m not good at it.

Oh, wait, I got the hang of it. 309.03 Yeah!

In an effort to get more people to buy music legally online the RIAA wants to hike its prices. It seems the /.ers are upset over this

Somewhere between 67 and 600 have died in a recent outbreak of Christian vs. Muslim fighting in Nigeria.

What a beautiful analogy.

Recently we were within hours of smashing the resistance in Fallujah once we accepted war anew. But when the mujahedeen, Gollum-like, decided to slither out in the open, then in terror scampered to safety, then remerged on all fours defiant and barking when we stopped firing, our forbearance and fear of global-televised condemnation handed them a victory they did not earn. In short, we should have listened to Sam and strangled the creep on the spot.

This sounds freaking awesome. Naturally, they have to put a stop to it.

Chief Chris Wallace said the department “pretty much has a zero-tolerance policy” for Dart Wars. Boone said his officers have been told since the beginning that they have discretion to file charges against Dart Wars players if they think the incident warrants it. They also are cautioned never to let their guard down on any run. So, they are justified in pulling their pistols.

I would think that the bright neon nerf guns and ammo would be a giveaway, but maybe not.

It was all a big publicity stunt and Michael Moore is a liar.

Realizing they made a poor decision, Major League Baseball has decided to nix the Spiderman ads.

Geez, it was an accident. True, it wreaked havoc, but fine the guy or something, don’t throw him in jail. Or maybe ten days would be better than having to pay for the mess he caused. Hmm, I think I’d still rather have the fine.

Rumsfeld is the one politician that I can stand to watch on TV. Yeah, CSPAN is a waste of time for me. But a Rumsfeld press conference is solid entertainment. So, I hope this whole Rumsfeld must resign thing goes away quickly.

Why Pakistan would not be a good place to vacation. Think of trying to get through the security at the airport.

I’m not sure how helpful this (reg. req.) will be. Unless you just can’t find a running shoe that works for you, which I find hard to believe. I found the right running shoe 6 or so years ago and just stick with that shoe. Why pay 2.5 times the price for the shoe to adjust to the same thing.

via Slashdot

Star Trek TOS is available in a boxed set.

Elephant herd main suspect in antelope escape.