Monosyllabic Pedantry

A man's best friend

2010-11-19T06:10:00.000-08:00

Gentlemen of the jury: The best friend a man has in this world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it the most. A man’s reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog.

Gentlemen of the jury: A man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.

If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies, and when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death.

George Graham Vest 1869

2010-07-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

I’m really tired of having politicians who are complete fucking nerds. American politicians used to be so cool. Andrew Jackson killed at least 13 people in duels and when an attempted assassin walked up to him with a gun in each hand, Jackson nearly beat him to death with a stick. George Washington was a fucking giant, and Indians called him the “Devourer of Villages.” Theodore Roosevelt carried a gun at all times, boxed and practiced jiu jitsu, and by that I mean while he was President, inside the White House. Why jiu jitsu? Well because it’s “meant for practice in killing or disabling our adversary” of course, or at least that’s what the dangerous lunatic wrote in this letter.

Flash forward to today and Al Gore can’t even attempt to get a handjob without fucking it up beyond all comprehension. What are the odds he can even throw a football without looking like a complete queer. God this is so humiliating.

h/t Here

Comcast sucks

2010-06-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

Our internet and tv has been out SINCE LAST TUESDAY. We have called and/or live-chatted with Comcast every day about it. Every day, they said it would be 24 hrs. This morning, I called them and after telling them that we've been out that long, I was told that the outage was cleared last thursday. Then I was left on hold for 22 minutes. When a different girl finally picked up, I asked for a supervisor. That girl set up a tech to come out one WEDNESDAY while we waited for the supervisor. AFter ten more minutes, I finally had to give up because I had to get back to work.

That was Wierd

2010-06-12T06:31:00.000-07:00

I went for a bike ride this morning. An asian man flagged me down. He couldn't speak any English. After a long back and forth, I finally figured that he was asking me if I was Bosnian. He then told me that there are a lot of Bosnians in Suwanee and he was looking for a Bosnian restaurant. When I told him I didn't know of one, he pointed to my black t-shirt and said, "What Do?" Back and forth, and I figured out that he saw a dog hair on my shirt. "What dog?". I told him Beagle, and he asked if they are big or small, then he asked me how many pounds. As soon as I told him, he said Thank You and turned his back and walked away.

If he had gotten closer to me, I would have checked my pockets.

Fried Chicken Giveaway Leads to Atlanta Riot

2010-06-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

From the AJC

One movie-goer said free chicken sandwiches may had contributed to the brawl.

"It was an absolute mob scene, from the Chick-fil-A girls getting mobbed trying to hand out free sandwiches to the complete lack of respect for the people watching the movie," said Marc Freund.

The jokes write themselves.

Thanks, dumbass government

2010-05-31T05:01:00.000-07:00

Our brilliant county government has decided that having multiple, private garbage collection companies for residents to choose from, was inequitable, so it decided to take over trash collection, starting July 1st.
The cost of trash collection will be added to our property taxes, with the first 18 months of collection to be paid up front.

First, there are many people who do not need weekly trash collection. We just barely need it because there is a free trash drop off site on my way to work. I could easily bring my trash there, if I wasn't so lazy. There are many people; the elderly, single people, who just don't generate that much trash. My brother in law saves money by having a deal with his neighbor, where he brings his one bag of trash to their bin.

The second consequence is this: Mrs S forgot to bring our bin to the curb in time for pickup this week. So she called our current service to ask them to pick it up later in the week when they are in the area. We have had to do this in the past and they have been accommodating.
Not so much now. They know they have received the last payment from us they are ever going to get, so they basically told her to go pound sand.

Lessons Learned

2010-05-21T05:46:00.000-07:00

1) Never go out on a Thursday, when you have to work on Friday.

2) When the insanely hot teenage waitress proceeds to take your empty plate away, and your wife asks, "Do you want to lick it?", just say, "No".

$55 !?

2010-05-08T05:32:00.000-07:00

I loaded the canoe onto my pickup and hauled it to the closest landfill. I was shocked to discover that they charge a minimum of $55 to drop anything off.
I thought people dropped off washers and dryers and hot water heaters and it cost something like $10 or $15.
So I brought the canoe home. I'm going to have to cut it up (fortunately it's plastic, not aluminum) and drop it in the dumpster at work.

Yardwork Continues

2010-05-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

I planted four more of the Ligustrum Lucidum bushes in the backyard, bringing the total to six. That's one of them above. They are currently about 1 meter tall. According to Wikipedia, they grow up to 25 meters tall.

What we have here...

2010-04-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

...is a failure to communicate.

UPDATED:
Mark Stein has a great article:
As I write, I have my papers on me — and not just because I’m in Arizona. I’m an immigrant, and it is a condition of my admission to this great land that I carry documentary proof of my residency status with me at all times and be prepared to produce it to law-enforcement officials,...

And:

Opinion polls show broad support for tough Arizona immigration law

• A Zogby Interactive poll of 2,108 adults conducted from April 16-19 found broad support for major immigration reform and immigration regulations that are more restrictive. “79 percent do not agree that illegal aliens are entitled to the same rights and basic freedoms as US citizens,” said the poll.

• An online Angus Global Monitor poll found 71 percent of respondents in favor of requiring state and local police to determine a person's residency status if there is "reasonable suspicion" that the person is an illegal immigrant, as well as arresting people who are unable to provide documentation to prove they are in the US legally. Also, 53 percent of respondents would make it a crime to hire day laborers off the street.

**********************************************************

The various commie groups are raising heck with their protests. The liberal media is blowing up the protests as bigger than they are, while ignoring the violent instances. This has gotten the pussy politicians scrambling to be the next one in the barrel for La Raza.
And yet, in every news story I've read, the comments section has nothing but people saying, "Yeah, it's about time. Good for Arizona for having the balls to stand up to the problem. If only our politicians would do the same."

70% of the people of Arizona support SB1070.

Boycott San Fransisco!

2010-04-28T03:30:00.000-07:00

City workers banned from official travel to Arizona

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced today a moratorium on official city travel to Arizona after the state enacted a controversial new immigration law that directs local police to arrest those suspected of being in the country illegally.

Vacation in Arizona!

2010-04-27T06:51:00.000-07:00

In case anyone would like to see the Grand Canyon, Lake Havasu, or any of the other natural wonders that Arizona has to offer, you can get a free guide here:

http://arizonaguide.com/

If you would like to sign a petition, showing your support for SB1070 and Governor Jan Brewer, you can do so HERE.

Tolldja

2010-04-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

According to those right-wingers at CNNMoney,

Economists: The stimulus didn't help

In latest quarterly survey by the National Association for Business Economics, the index that measures employment showed job growth for the first time in two years -- but a majority of respondents felt the fiscal stimulus had no impact.

NABE conducted the study by polling 68 of its members who work in economic roles at private-sector firms. About 73% of those surveyed said employment at their company is neither higher nor lower as a result of the $787 billion Recovery Act,

That sentiment is shared for the recently passed $17.7 billion jobs bill that calls for tax breaks for businesses that hire and additional infrastructure spending. More than two-thirds of those polled believe the measure won't affect payrolls,

Slash and Burn

2010-04-26T07:56:00.001-07:00

One of the good things about the big fire of 2010, is that it burned up all the undergrowth that was clogging up the backyard.
So, we spent the weekend trying to spruce it up. We cleared out, as best we could, some of the evil, thorny, crawling vine-weed that is woven everywhere.
I bought and planted two ligustrum lucidum bushes. I hope to plant a whole bunch more of them, but I'm trying to do it a couple of plants at a time. I'm trying to make a natural barrier between our yard and that ugly burned down shed behind us. Uh! Why don't they clean that up?

They tell me they are going to look like this:

I Hate MLB

2010-04-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

If you know me, you know that I hate pretty much all professional sports, or more specifically, the spectating of professional sports.
Now that the pussies who run our local AM stations have decided to be the bitches of MLB, there's nothing decent to listen to on AM.
In addition to that, NPR is in their seasonal beg-drive, so there's pretty much nothing worth listening to on the radio.

Labrador Body Skiing

2010-04-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

Coincidence?

2010-04-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

About 47 percent will pay no federal income taxes at all for 2009.

About 45 percent feel that their federal income taxes for 2009 are about right.

The Most F'd up Tax System

2010-04-13T10:00:00.001-07:00

...in the history of civilization.

If you worked for the railroad, and you're blind, and you purchased a new electric vehicle, you qualify for this credit.

I fucking hate the government.

Sick Again

2010-04-13T06:05:00.000-07:00

For someone who "never gets sick", I sure have been getting sick a lot lately. (Probably my endocrine system).
I'm still in the finger-pointing stage. I haven't been able to pin the blame on my wife or our recent house guests.
I left work early yesterday after filling my wastebasket with tissues.
I didn't sleep much, what with the razors in my throat.
So I called in sick. Mrs S is just as sick as I am. We're quite a pair.

Why Biblethumpers shouldn't be given power

2010-04-09T06:03:00.000-07:00

Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth last month sent a letter to area school districts warning that health teachers who tell students how to put on a condom or take birth-control pills could face criminal charges.

Southworth, a Republican and a Christian evangelical, took issue with a law Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle signed in February requiring schools that teach sexual education to adopt a comprehensive approach.

Southworth warned that teaching a student how to properly use contraceptives would be contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor punishable by up to nine months behind bars and a $10,000 fine. He said it would be promoting sex among minors who are not legally allowed to have sex in Wisconsin.

Janine Geske, a Marquette University law professor and former state Supreme Court justice, said she didn't understand Southworth's legal logic. She said that if he tried to prosecute a teacher for adhering to guidelines approved by the Legislature and governor, the case would likely be dismissed.

"To be frank, I can't follow exactly what he's trying to get at," Geske said. "If a teacher is educating a student pursuant to state law ... I don't see how under any examination (that) could be criminal."
***************************************************

Allow me to help you out, Janine. He's a primitive dolt who lives in fear of his imaginary daddy-figure. That clear it up for you?

Don't worry your pretty little heads

2010-04-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

Here’s Madam Speaker at an event in San Francisco speaking about the new health care “reform” bill:

”It’s like the back of the refrigerator. You see all these wires and the rest,” said Pelosi. “All you need to know is, you open the door. The light goes on.”

FIRE!

2010-04-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

The neighbor's shed took the brunt of the fire, and went up like a meth lab. Hey, wait a minute....

Sadly, my canoe was also a casualty

Weighing In

2010-04-06T09:31:00.001-07:00

I read all the hubbub that sprang up over Tennessee's new Obesity Task Force, so it caught my eye when the USDA came out with their study of our eating habits over the last century. You can find the whole thing HERE.

What I like about it is the way they present the data; as pounds per person.

Well, it looks like our potato intake remained roughly constant, but there's a drop in other grains:

The big winner was chicken!

Thanks to those damn feminists(!) there was less time for cooking, so we all ate more processed foods:

And a hell of a lot more cheese!

Yay for pizza!

One thing the study didn't include was average calories burned per person per day.

Choked to Death

2010-04-05T07:12:00.000-07:00

From the NYP:
America's jobs growth engine is being choked to death.

A record 25 percent increase in the taxes against US small businesses -- from costs associated with new health care law, to an increased Medicare tax, increased capital gains taxes and higher state and city taxes -- is repealing any ability of these entrepreneurs to add jobs to their payroll.

"The impact of these higher taxes and reduced hiring will be a recovery cycle that will be much longer, be slower to take hold and be without much job growth,"

The 26 million small businesses in the US — like Eneslow Shoes, headed by CEO Robert Schwartz— are getting buried under an avalanche of new taxes, which include:

* An increase of 4.6% in federal taxes from 35% to 39.6% (expiration of Bush tax cuts)

* An increase in capital gains taxes from 15% to 20% (expiration of Bush tax cuts)

* A new tax of 3.85% on investment income, dividends, rents, royalties mandated in the new health care bill

* An increase in the Medicare payroll tax to 2.35% as mandated in the new health care bill

* In states like New Jersey and others, state and municipal taxes have been raised by the average of almost 2%

Clash of the Titans

2010-04-04T14:49:00.000-07:00

We went to see the 3-D version today. It was ok. It turns out that 3-D costs $12.50/ticket. That seemed a little steep, but I figured the new version is geared for 3-D.
It didn't help that I already knew the storyline. It also didn't help that I felt like I was watching Pirates of the Caribbean.
You know how I hate to stereotype? Well, the black family seated in front of us did everything except yell at the screen. Fortunately, they were talking away from us, so it wasn't too loud, but several other people repeatedly shushed them, to no avail. The last phone call they received was during the credits, but one of them did start texting about 3/4 of the way through the movie. As usual, I am amazed at the parents who will take very young children to a violent movie, including infants. I saw a guy walking out of the theatre with a sleeping baby that couldn't have been more than 2 MONTHS old. Seriously. Here's a tipoff to the parents: there are people ripped in half, hacked up, and at least one beheading.

Wait for the DVD

Makes Georgia Proud

2010-04-01T05:16:00.001-07:00

90% of GDP

2010-03-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

Sure, THAT's fiscally sound.

President Obama's fiscal 2011 budget will generate nearly $10 trillion in cumulative budget deficits over the next 10 years, $1.2 trillion more than the administration projected, and raise the federal debt to 90 percent of the nation's economic output by 2020, the Congressional Budget Office reported Thursday.

Hey Liberals, whining about the cost of Iraq! Suck it!

For Thee, Not Me

2010-03-23T10:23:00.001-07:00

I listened to Obama during my lunch, talking about the glories of his Commiecare.
All I could think of, during all the high-minded talk, was, "Then why aren't you, or any member of congress, going to be on the same plan? Why are you keeping your 'special, just for us leaders' health coverage?"

I've heard the right-wingers talking all day about rescinding the bill as soon as they can, but I'd say the fastest way to get rid of it is to pass a law that puts congress on the plan.

We're All Fascists Now

2010-03-22T09:37:00.000-07:00

I'm reprinting this post from zombietime because it perfectly illustrates why universal healthcare is such a bad idea...

Because there’s a much deeper philosophical objection to “socialized medicine” that is so un-PC that it is rarely if ever voiced in public. And for that reason, the opponents of socialized medicine never even mention the real flaw in the concept that nags the unconscious of most Americans:

Not all ailments are equal.

• Blame: the final taboo

A built-in false assumption with the health-care debate is that sickness is always no-fault sickness. It’s never socially acceptable to assign blame for people’s medical problems — especially blame on the patient.

But I’m not afraid to confess that I’m a judgmental person. And I’m pretty confident that most Americans who oppose socialized medicine share this same judgment: that some people are partly or entirely to blame for their unwellness.

I’m perfectly willing to provide subsidized health care to people who are suffering due to no fault of their own. But in those cases — which, unfortunately, constitute perhaps a majority of all cases — where the unwellness is a consequence of the patient’s own misdeeds, bad habits, or stupid choices, I feel a deep-seated resentment that the rest of us should pick up the tab to fix medical problems that never should have happened in the first place.

I’m speaking specifically of medical problems caused by:

• Obesity
• Cigarette smoking
• Alcohol abuse
• Reckless behavior
• Criminal activity
• Unprotected promiscuous sex
• Use of illicit drugs
• Cultural traditions
• Bad diets

Now, I really don’t care if you overeat, smoke like a chimney, hump like a bunny or forget to lock the safety mechanism on your pistol as you jam it in your waistband. Fine by me. And as a laissez-faire social-libertarian live-and-let-live kind of person, I would never under normal circumstances condemn anyone for any of the behaviors listed above. That is: Until the bill for your stupidity shows up in my mailbox. Then suddenly, I’m forced to care about what you do, because I’m being forced to pay for the consequences.

• Reluctant busybodies

What I don’t like about the very concept of universal health care is that it compels me to become my brother’s keeper and insert myself into the moral decisions of his life. I’d rather grant each person maximum freedom. I’d prefer to let people make whatever choices they want, however stupid or dangerous I may deem those choices to be. Just so long as you take responsibility for your actions, and you reap the consequences and pay for them yourself — hey, be as foolish or hedonistic or selfish or thoughtless as you like. Not my business.

But if the bill for your foolishness shows up in the form of higher taxes on me, then I unwillingly start to care what you do. And, trust me on this, you don’t want me turning my heartless judgmental eye on your foolish lifestyle. Because I’d have no qualms criticizing half the stuff you do.

Do you want that? No. Do I want that? No. And that’s the point. Instituting a single-payer universal health-care system, or even a watered-down version as the government is now proposing, compels me to become a meddlesome busybody in your personal choices. And it will compel you to become a meddlesome busybody in everyone else’s personal choices. It forever douses the beautiful flame of individualism — freedom to act without interference, just so long as you are ready to accept the consequences, whatever they may be.

• The sickening truth

My list of unhealthy activities above requires a bit of explanation. Let’s briefly look at each “health sin” in turn:

Obesity
Yes, I know that in some cases obesity can have a genetic component — that some people simply have a tendency to get fat. But the majority of obese people are overweight merely because they eat too much and exercise too little. Simple as that. And as a result, they are mostly or entirely to blame to for their own obesity. Now, there are all sorts of excuses offered up in defense of the overweight: They never learned proper nutritional guidelines; their eating is a symptom of underlying psychological problems; they were raised by parents who fed them unhealthy foods; and so on. To which I reply: I don’t care! Grow up already. Get over your immature problems and cut back on the potato chips. Is that so hard? It actually costs less to eat more healthily. And since being overweight is the #1 medical problem in this country, with countless ailments caused or exacerbated by obesity, making people become personally responsible for their physical conditions is the quickest route to solving the issue. If we made all medical treatment completely free, then people would continue to ruin their bodies with food and just let the free doctors deal with the resulting mess. Hey doc — fix me!

Cigarette smoking
Smoking kills you. Slowly. Expensively. Everybody knows that by now. Want to pay for your own medical bills as you lie in the hospital dying of emphysema or lung cancer? Fine. If you’re willing to pony up the cash, then smoke all you want. But if you want me to shell out millions of dollars to pay for the treatments and care you’ll require, then I’m going to come over there and yank that cig out of your mouth right now.

Alcohol abuse
Destroyed livers, car accidents, pancreatic failure, brain problems — the medical effects of alcohol abuse are well-known. The question is: Can we assign “blame” on the long-term alcoholic for his or her behavior? Contemporary psychology tends to give alcoholics and other addicts a free pass on responsibility, but I am less charitable. Every time you pick up that bottle, it is a conscious decision. And once again, under normal circumstances I just wouldn’t care, but if I’m compelled to pay for the expensive reconstructive surgery of a drunk who smashes his car into a tree, then yes, I care, and I blame the drunk.

Reckless behavior
Stupid people do risky things. Teens who imitate pro wrestling or the Jackass movies in backyard stunts. “Extreme sports” fanatics who jump off cliffs wearing flimsy parachutes. Leaning over the rail and taunting the tigers at the zoo. Eating mysterious mushrooms you found while out hiking. Playing “chicken” in drag races. Car surfing. Auto-erotic asphyxiation. Playing Russian Roulette. Using a hairdryer while in the bathtub. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Me? I don’t do stupid things. I spend my whole life trying to minimize risk. But those who consciously take risks often end up with injuries. Hospital emergency rooms are constantly filled with such people. Now, why should people like me who rarely if ever experience preventable “accidents” have to fund the foolishness of those who throw caution to the wind?

Criminal activity
Crime is dangerous. Not just for the victim, but for the criminal too. Gang members are constantly fighting with each other. Criminals often get injured during the commission of a crime, either while fleeing the scene or during apprehension by the police. Every minute of every day somewhere in this country, drug dealers are shooting at each other and stabbing each other in turf wars or deals gone bad. Doctors and hospitals in poor urban areas spend much of their resources treating gunshot wounds on victims who refuse to reveal how they got injured. And once again, the taxpayer is expected to pick up the tab. When was the last time you heard of a drug dealer diligently paying off the $100,000 hospital bill for the reconstructive surgery he received after being injured in a gun battle?

Unprotected promiscuous sex
AIDS. Chlamydia. Syphilis. Gonorrhea. Human papillomavirus. Herpes. Preventable. Preventable. Preventable. Preventable. Preventable. Preventable. Cover your peckers, people! The problem with discussing STDs is that the discussion always gets muddied with moral issues. But let’s try to set that aside for the moment. On a purely cost-analysis level, STDs are a significant unnecessary society-wide medical expense. Luckily, most STDs are now treatable or at least don’t require costly long-term care. With one noteworthy exception: AIDS. I realize full well that it’s totally un-PC to say this, but why should those of us who go to great lengths to ensure that we never get AIDS have to subsidize the astronomically expensive long-term care of those who through their own cavalier voluntary actions contracted AIDS? Once again, the responsible are expected to pay for the costs incurred by the irresponsible. If I stuck my hand in a blender, should I present my hospital bill to a guy with AIDS and expect him to pay it? And this gets to down to the core of why I oppose the notion of socialized medicine: If left to my own devices, I really don’t care about people’s private sexual practices, risky or not; but if compelled to pay for the treatment of people’s STDs, then suddenly I must become a nanny-state moralist, monitoring and criticizing any activities which might lead to an HIV infection. I don’t want to be in that role.

Use of illicit drugs
The social and medical costs of drug abuse are ruinous. Meth, heroin, crack and other drugs cause a plethora of serious medical problems, both short-term (overdoses, risky behavior) and long-term (rotting teeth, heart failure, malnutrition, immune system collapse, etc.). Drug-users fill our emergency rooms and treatment centers, incurring incalculable expenses. Because even under the current system some of these costs are already borne by the taxpayer, I already feel resentful of having to subsidize drug abusers. But under universal health care, my (and most other taxpayers’) resentment would go through the roof. Because I choose to not abuse my body and brain, I incur no costs for others to bear. But addicts give absolutely no thought to the social effects of their actions, and their thoughtlessness has become one of the main reasons to oppose socialized medicine.

Cultural traditions
All sorts of American subcultures have standard behaviors which increase the risk of medical complications. And I’m not talking about primitive tribespeople walking on hot coals. Instead, I’m talking about upper-class socialites who lie on tanning beds and give themselves skin cancer; street kids who engage in late-night “sideshows” of cars spinning and flipping in crowds of drunken teenagers; immigrants who fish in polluted harbors and feed their kids mercury-laden flounder; congregationalists who try to cure a disease by means of an exorcism; and all sorts of unwise activities specific to different cultural enclaves. Normally, including right now, I tend to think of such things as merely part of the rich tapestry of American society; but if compelled by the realities of socialized medicine to consider the long-term medical ramifications of such traditions, suddenly I become judgmental, condemning these practices and their practitioners solely because I have become partly responsible for paying the bill after the party’s over.

Bad diets
Who among us hasn’t looked on in horror at the grotesque dietary intake of the average American? Donuts, white bread, lard, Coca-Cola, pork rinds, preservatives, sugar, grease and artificial coloring. Little toddlers drinking sweet sodas instead of milk. Teenagers eating junk food instead of brain-building food. Nary a fresh vegetable in sight. Health nuts like me spend our lives trying to treat our bodies like temples, and provide good examples for everyone else; but it’s hard to compete with intense cultural pressure to eat the worst imaginable foods. As above, under normal circumstances I would sigh in mystification and let other people go their merry way, killing themselves with bad food. Yet once I start to ponder the overwhelming society-wide medical costs of keeping millions of unhealthy people alive for decades and decades, my anger grows. I want to ban advertisements for unhealthy foods on TV. I want to outlaw donuts. I want to tax McDonald’s to cover the full environmental cost of their products. I want to do all sorts of quasi-fascistic things that normally I would never advocate.

Because that’s what socialized medicine does: it turns each of us into a little fascist. A nagging nanny who tells other people what to do and how to live.

Do we want that kind of society? I don’t. If you look at other countries with socialized medicine, Great Britain being the most glaring example, these invasive and oppressive government dictates have already started to circumscribe people’s freedom, with every kind of potentially dangerous activity or unhealthy comestible being declared forbidden — for the good of society as a whole.

We call it “socialized medicine,” but in the end it pushes us toward fascism.

• Freedom vs. empathy: the final dilemma

Which brings us back to Dr. Sunderhaus. On one hand, we’re headed toward a totalitarian nanny state whereby your freedoms are constrained for the good of others. But at the exact same time we’ve entered the Era of Hurt Feelings where it’s taboo to tell anyone they’re doing something wrong. The solution proferred by the universal health-care advocates is to expand the circle of responsibility to include all of us. So, rather than insult an individual by telling him or her to get healthy, we all have to pretend we’re all equally in need of self-improvement, and we all endure the restrictions and hardships and costs which by all rights should be reserved exclusively for those who earned them.

The attitude of people like Dr. Sunderhaus perhaps offers a way out of this dilemma. Drop the pretense of decorum. If someone has grown obese eating chocolate, the do-gooders would respond by banning chocolate entirely for all of us — to avoid offending the sensibilities of the individual who abused it. Dr. Sunderhaus would just tell the abuser, “Lady, put down that Hershey bar — you’re too fat!” Horrors, horrors!

But if we had a nation of Dr. Sunderhauses, we wouldn’t need socialized medicine. Because each person, at last, would assume complete individual responsibility. And I’d rather that the doctors do the bullying in private to the people who deserve bullying than me being forced to intervene in other people’s private business myself.

Since it’s nearly impossible to sort out who is personally responsible for which ailments, the only logical solution is to let each person pay for their own care, because that way there’s nothing left to argue about. But if we share costs, we share blame, and that’s the origin of resentment and anger that the average American feels about socialized medicine.

Instead of bankrupting the country to pay for foolish people’s foolish decisions, I want to take a giant Sunderhaus finger and poke each American in the thigh and shout: “Shape up!”

Lazy, but Inventive

2010-03-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

I discovered that the hot water heater has a very slow leak in the pipe. Repairing it involves disconnecting the plastic compression parts, borrowing the torch from my boss, and resoldering the connection. Orrrrrr.....

Help Bring Spike Home

2010-03-19T09:32:00.000-07:00

"Spike" is a vivacious and fun loving young Anatolian Shepherd puppy rescued by SSGT Neil Kulik and the infantry platoon with which he is serving in Marjah Afghanistan.
SSGT Kulik, an EOD tech attached to an infantry company, found tiny Spike alone and frightened after the building she was living in was blown up. SSGT Kulik and his team went to clear the building after an explosion, when he came upon her in a corner, she was shaking and let out a fearful growl as he comforted her. SSGT Kulik promised Spike he would return to her and gave her some water to tide her over until the next time he could see her. He returned as soon as he was able to, honoring his promise to the young little puppy. It was a day later and he brought her food and more water. Spike recognized him and wagged her tail, what was left of it at least. The Afghans had cruelly cut her tail off as well as her ears with no anesthesia or pain killers. She grew fond of this human and his many friends who brought her food and water and even played with her, she had not known “play” before these Marines. She soon became one of them, going with them when she could and bringing as much joy to the Marines as they brought to her. Spike who suffered hearing loss in the explosion she survived has taken no notice to her injury, she is just happy to be alive. She has become so fond of SSGT Kulik and his fellow Marines that she protects them, growling at people who are out of place and keeping all of the Marines safe. Her favorite human, SSGT Kulik, is to leave Marjah and return to the United States soon and he has told her he wants her to come with. All of the Marines who have had the joy of playing with her during such a daunting time for them want to help to get Spike home as well. The financial cost of getting Spike into the United States is a huge burden and the Marines are hoping that enough kind people will step forward to make this possible for Spike. SSGT Kulik fears that if left behind she will die with her hearing loss making her vulnerable to predators, other dogs, and military and civilian vehicles. Many dogs in Afghanistan are shot at and murdered. Dog fighting is prominent and Spike wants to be honored for her service to our countries Marines and the men have told her they don't leave anyone behind. Spike certainly hopes that they will honor their promise when it comes to her as well, that she will come home as one of them, as she deserves to, as a hero.

The Marines only need $800 more to bring her home. DONATE HERE

Crazy Pills

2010-03-19T09:01:00.001-07:00

From NPR
As lawsuits against Toyota mount, attorneys are lining up for a leading role in the class-action lawsuits against the automaker.
Many plaintiffs claim that Toyota's problems in its recall of several models have driven down the resale value of Toyotas they own.

SIEGEL: And first, how many lawsuits, or how many class action lawsuits around the country are there against Toyota nowadays?

Ms. SEARCEY: Well, I think there are roughly about 80 seeking class action status, and most of those have to do with some accusing the company of making the value of owners' cars go down because of the recalls.

************************************

So now a days, you sell a product, and if anything happens that might reduce the value of that product after the sale, it is cause for you to sue to get your money for the difference.

How utterly absurd.

The floodgates that this opens up are beyond measure. What could this do to the stock market? 401k's ?

Mooching Breeders

2010-03-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

First of all, let me point out that I don't fault people for taking advantage of tax breaks. My beef is with the government.
Secondly, if you want to have a kid, go for it, with my blessing. But what gives you the right to make me or anyone else pay for your kid?

From investors.com,

A record number of the 142 million tax returns filed in 2008 resulted in no taxes owed, according to the Tax Foundation's analysis of the latest IRS data. About 51.6 million returns, or 36.3%, were filed by those whose deductions, exemptions and tax credits wiped out any federal income-tax obligation.

These aren't people who have overpaid their taxes or had so much withheld from their paychecks that they'll get refunds. Those people owe taxes and merely provided the government with a zero interest loan until accounts are settled. These are people who pay no taxes at all.

There's been a 59% increase in the number of nonpayers since 2000, growing from 32.6 million in 2000 to 51.6 million in 2008. In the same period, the total tax filers grew by only 10%.

Not only are fewer people paying any taxes, but also the income levels for these nonpayers have steadily risen. A family of four earning more than $50,000 can have no income tax liability after taking the standard deduction and the child tax credit.

According to the Tax Foundation, "The major elements of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 boosted the maximum income for nonpayers to more than $56,700" — the highest ever.

The government has continually expanded the value of benefits such as the earned income tax credit to the point where you get a check from Uncle Sam even if you paid no taxes during the year. That's what made it so laughable when the administration claimed it was cutting taxes for most Americans when nearly 40% pay no taxes to start with. These are in essence welfare checks.

Happy Saint Pat's

2010-03-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Fair Warning

2010-03-04T05:26:00.001-08:00

I expect that NONE of the crybaby liberals, who have complained about stereotypes, or wearing blackface, are going to be "celebrating" St Patrick's Day.

HAA Ha! This is why we moved

2010-02-24T10:09:00.000-08:00

See the part that says, PARALYZING BLIZZARD? We used to live in the middle of that!

Update! Ha! Ha!

Harry Reid proves he's an idiot, part 200,000

2010-02-23T09:16:00.001-08:00

"Men, when they're out of work, tend to become abusive," the majority leader added.

"Women don't have jobs either, but women aren’t abusive, most of the time," he said.

*Updated to include picture goodness.

Your Move

2010-02-21T12:28:00.000-08:00

Who knew Robert Downey Jr could sing?

The Purge may become permanent

2010-02-19T07:09:00.000-08:00

I've been pretty happy with the way I've been feeling since I quit drinking. Frank Sinatra once said that he feels sorry for non-drinkers because when they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. There's a lot of truth to that.
So last night, I met up with a friend that I hadn't seen in a while; a drinking buddy. So I decided to hop off the wagon for a night and have a couple of pitchers of light beer with him. Normally, this is something that I wouldn't think twice about.

I got hammered. And today, I feel like crap. On Bud Light.

So,...that pretty much drove the point home that my life is a lot better without the drinking.

For Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T08:25:00.001-08:00

FoodStamps = Welfare

2010-02-12T09:02:00.001-08:00

Best Idea I've heard in a while: There should be a seperate line for people using food stamps.

Why should the ones paying the bills have to wait in line behind the takers?

The worst idea ever? Replacing the paper stamps with a debit card.

The NY Times has an article about how the attitude has changed.

1 in 8 Americans are on food stamps.
1 in 4 children are on food stamps.

There's also an interactive map of the country HERE.

Walmart

2010-02-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

Is there any place in the world more inspiring to make you want to kill your fellow human being?

I submit there is not.

Gun Show

2010-02-07T04:29:00.000-08:00

I'm in the market for a new shotgun for the house. Since I'd expect Mrs Schwartz to handle it as well, I'm leaning towards either a 16 or 20 gauge. Since it will remain loaded for extended periods of time, I'm thinking a pump is best. I'd prefer to not have a shell chambered all the time with a retracted firing pin. I grew up with an Ithaca Model 37. It's a great gun.
So we went to a gun show yesterday. It seems that the Taurus Judge is the new Belle of the ball; everybody was selling it. This revolver fires either a .410 shotgun round or a .45 caliber pistol round. I was explaining this to the Missus when some hick overheard me and felt the need to chime in with, "Ya better load the 45 round, cause that 410 round'll jus piss um off." I've heard morons say this line more times than I can count. Look, I've never shot anyone, so I'm guessing here, but I think getting shot with five 00 buck balls would suck.
I used to carry a Walther PPK, which has a .380 load. A hick at my work said the same thing, "That'll jus pissumoff." I said, "Fine, how about we go out into the parking lot and I'll shoot you three or four times and see if it pisses you off." He shut up.
Extensive testing on stopping power, done by the military during WW2, showed that it was far more important WHERE you shot someone, than with what. A .22 into the brain stopped just as well as blowing out half the skull. Basically, you had to hit the central nervous system (brain and spine) or the long bones of the legs. (I think the heart, too, but I couldn't find my book)
If you want to be sure to reach the organs, to kill, you need a minimum 9mm, but that doesn't help stopping power; it just means the "shootee" dies in a few minutes.
So we're looking at some Mossberg shotguns; military-style with the black finish.
Mrs Schwartz: "That's ugly. If someone broke into the house, I couldn't shoot them with that."
Exador: "You'd rather die than be caught holding that gun?"
Mrs S: "Yes"

She didn't like the Model 37s because of the pump grip; it's not fancy enough.
Mrs S:"Can we get it with a nicer handle?"

Overall, it was an exercise in futility because I don't have $400 for what is essentially a luxury item. Our current guns are sufficient for home defense. I just wanted the shotgun for a little extra bang.

On the upside, she got a key chain in the shape of a pistol. When you cock the hammer, a little blade switches out. $2.

Caprica

2010-02-05T10:41:00.000-08:00

Anybody been catching Caprica, on SyFy? I saw the pilot and some of the 2nd episode. So far, it's a pretty cool concept, especially the way they have explained the creation of the Ceylons.

Basically, young people go into a cyber world, where they interact with other people online. Like World of Warcraft, except there it's much more realistic-looking and they log in with a little 3-D headset, that looks like it directly beams into your brain.
One teenage girl gets the idea of basically "Googling" herself and accumulating all the information on herself that's been collected over the years; everything from school records to ATM cameras. In this SyFy world there are far more "Big Brother" devices than here on earth. She creates an avatar of herself from this and dumps it into the "World of Warcraft"-type online cyber game.
Then she gets killed, but her avatar lives on in cyberspace. Her father finds out about it and, missing his dead daughter, logs on and interacts with her. After a while, he decides he wants her in the real world and downloads her avatar into the first Ceylon.

The Right Armpit of Atlanta

2010-02-05T05:21:00.000-08:00

Dekalb County encompasses the East Side of Atlanta and the surrounding area. It's a dump, a hole. Err...economically disenfranchised.
Not surprisingly, we have this story. Try not to fill in any stereotypes, cause stereotyping is wrong, M'cay.

DeKalb Euthanizing 34 Pit Bulls Weekly

“They are being bred the most, being neglected the most and being abandoned the most,” said Derrick.

And as Channel 2 Action News reporter Linda Stouffer uncovered, pit bulls are also being euthanized the most.

“A lot of young people think that having a pit bull makes them have status, makes them look important,” said Hawthorne.

An Anxious Mind

2010-02-04T08:37:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I've come to realize since I quit drinking is this:

Drinking, even when not drinking a lot, numbs the brain enough to where watching tv and laying around isn't boring.

Now that I'm not drinking, I can't stand to watch tv, unless I'm surfing the web at the same time. And watching something that I've already seen? Forget about it. I can't take it. I've got to be DOING something.

The greatest (cost) generation

2010-02-03T09:31:00.000-08:00

According to the CBO:

In 2007, a little less than one-half of the federal government’s spending went toward programs and purposes other than Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security and net interest on the public debt.

Logical Bats

2010-02-01T09:49:00.001-08:00

NPR did a story this morning on the benefits of aerobic exercise.
Most of it was pretty standard, except for the part where they found, once again, that even very moderate exercise reaps huge benefits:

A new study of 13,535 women finds that women who regularly walked for exercise in their 50s were much healthier in their 70s and beyond.

What they found might be surprising, given the level of exercise involved. The brisk walkers — who moved at a clip of about 3 mph — were 90 percent more likely to be free of all these conditions (diabetes, kidney disease, Parkinson's disease and pulmonary disease, cognitive function) when compared with women who weren't in the habit of walking beyond a leisurely pace.

What I found most interesting was the part about aerobic exercise's effects on the brain:

One school started measuring target heart rate zones as part of an in-school exercise program. And they found it helped more than just the students' physical health.

At Woodland Elementary School in Kansas, Mo.,...The big surprise for administrators at Woodland Elementary: They've noted a significant decrease in aggressive behavior. In-school suspensions have gone down about 60 percent since the program began.

Changes in the brain during exercise could help explain the students' improved behavior. There's increased blood flow to the prefrontal cortex during and just after exercise.

"They're activating this prefrontal area," says John Ratey, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "One of the jobs [of this part of the brain] is to inhibit the impulsivity coming up from the emotional part of the brain."

This means kids may be more likely to think before they act.

Which brings be back to the logical bats. I've found that inversion therapy (hanging upside down) has been shown to increase blood flow to the brain.

Need Some Polka?

2010-01-30T06:14:00.000-08:00

The Missus is half Polish and half Czech, so polka's in her blood. She grew up going to Happy Louie's Polka Review.
So I found a website that allows us to have polka any time "we" want.

The Polka Jammer Network!

Queen Nancy

2010-01-29T09:47:00.000-08:00

Having a tough time finding work? Don't worry. Queen Nancy feels your pain. Fortunately, she's able to quench that pain with Greygoose vodka, at $26.65 per drink.

Over the past two years, her cost for JUST IN-FLIGHT EXPENSES is $101,429. That's just booze and food while on a flight!!!

Here's one bill:

Her travel costs JUST FROM THE MILITARY are $2,100,744. TWO MILLION DOLLARS?!

Catcher in the Rye Sucked

2010-01-29T09:28:00.000-08:00

If I wanted to listen to a teenager bitch and moan, I'd hang out at the mall.

RIP anyway, Salinger

We're so Screwed

2010-01-26T09:36:00.001-08:00

Pelosi, Reid and Obama just refuse to see reality. Even as their policies extend this recession, they can't break doctrine.

From Queen Nancy:
“And three central pillars to that, to create jobs, are investment in education to produce innovation for the 21st Century, investments in health care to lower its cost, and it’s a competitiveness issue as well as a health issue, and that’s important to business, and then to have a new green energy policy to create new good jobs.”

Great. That won't do shit, except further hamstring the economy. Investing in education (if that meant more than just kissing the ass of the teachers' union) is great and all, but it doesn't reap benefits for a decade. The other two pillars are job killers.

Funny thing about Haiti

2010-01-22T07:17:00.000-08:00

Shamelessy plagiarized from someone funnier than me:

I hope Haiti gets back on their feet, but what’s the deal here. Are they trying to fix it like it was before, or does Haiti need a whole new country? Because even before the quake the buildings and roads look like Earth on that ‘Life After People’ show, except Haiti has people. What have they been doing for 300 years? How do we know what buildings to fix? How do we know which ones were broken by the earthquake and what ones were already fucked up? I’m not so sure you should get a new building just because you broke the other one. Are we just taking their word on this? How does that work? If you were an insurance agent, and someone wrecked their 95 Accord, you wouldn’t give them a Maybach would you? This is exactly like that, except in this case the person didn’t have any insurance, and instead of a 95 Accord they had a rusty bike with no seat.

Too soon?

Beagle Gazelle

2010-01-22T03:38:00.000-08:00

Cool Technology

2010-01-13T18:04:00.000-08:00

Which Horseman is Pestilence?

2010-01-10T04:07:00.000-08:00

A guy at aikido was going on about feeling a little sick on Monday. He called in sick to Wednesday's class. I started feeling crappy by about Friday. I felt like hell all day Saturday. Razor blades in my throat, cough, congestion. Ugh.
This morning, Mrs Schwartz woke up in misery too. She's been cursing me all day.

Ming the Mercilous

2010-01-09T09:51:00.000-08:00

Now, you shall die, Flash Gordon

Yelling at the TV

2010-01-09T05:08:00.000-08:00

There are some people who yell at the TV during football games. Around this house, my wife yells at the Eukenuba Championships.

"What kind of stupid dog is that!?"

"Why would anybody get a dog like that!?"

"That's just silly!"

"Ohhhhhh. Look at that!"

"What a beautiful dog"

Annual Purge

2010-01-07T09:10:00.000-08:00

In the past, I have done the annual purge from St Patrick's Day to Cynco deMayo. This made sense at the time because there was so much over-embibing on St Pat's that a respite was a welcome change.
The biggest problem with that plan is that the weather gets REALLY REALLY nice over that time period, and by mid-April, I really want to go someplace nice for a cool drink.
So this year, I've decided to make the purge from New Year's until St Pats, or at least until March.
The other reason is that I embibed quite a bit over the holidays, and really need to get things going on reversing the impending diabetes and heart disease.

So Wish me Luck!

Damn! That's my Problem!

2010-01-03T06:17:00.001-08:00

Falling Bullets

2010-01-02T05:25:00.000-08:00

We have a story here in Atlanta:

Marquel was seated next to his mother, Nathalee, while those in the church waited for a 12:30 a.m. concert to begin. Then, those in the sanctuary heard a loud pop. It was almost like the sound of a balloon.

Instantly, Marquel was on the floor, and he was bleeding.

An X-ray at the hospital confirmed that it was a bullet that struck Marquel, his uncle said. Doctors at the hospital had hoped to do surgery on the child, but it was too late.

Investigators returned to the church later Friday, where they discovered the point of entry for the bullet: in the roof of the church. Phipps said police believe someone fired a celebratory shot into the air, and it went through the roof on its way down.

**********************************************

Ok, there's something that doesn't add up for me. I understand that a falling bullet could hurt you, even maybe kill you. I don't see how a free-falling bullet could penetrate a roof (shingles+plywood+insulation+drywall) and then have enough energy left to penetrate a skull, even a 4-year old's skull.

My suspicion is supported by a study done during WW2:

1. Hatcher's Notebook on Falling Bullets
typed by Norm Johnson (njohnson@nosc.mil)

From Hatcher's Notebook:

"Among the many experiments carried out at Miami and Daytona, was this same one of vertical firing. It was desired to find out how fast a bullet returned to earth and how dangerous such a bullet would be if it struck a soldier after dropping from a great height. Many interesting things were learned from this test, and they are given in detail in the "Official Report of Vertical Time Flight for Small Arms Ammunition," in the files of the Ordnance Department. Much of the information given below is from that source.

"At Miami the firing was done from a platform built in the shallow water of a protected inlet, where water was often calm. A frame was built to hold a machine gun tripod so that the barrel pointed vertically. Instruments were provided to check the angle of the barrel, and the tripod controls permitted any necessary changes in the barrel inclination to be made with ease and precision.

"Out of more than 500 shots fired after adjusting the gun--only four shots hit the platform. One of the shots was a service 30.06, 150 grain flat based bullet, which came down base first...it left a mark about 1/16 inch deep in the soft pine board.

"Two more bullets struck in a pail of water and left only a perceptible dent in the bottom of the pail. One struck the edge of the thwart (seat across a boat, used by an oarsman) in the boat, and left a shallow indent...The last two bullets were 175 grain boat-tailed.

"It was concluded from these tests that the return velocity was about 300 feet per second. With the 150 grain bullet, this corresponds to an energy of 30 foot pounds. Previously, the army had decided that on the average, an energy of 60 foot pounds is required to produce a disabling wound. Thus, service bullets returning from extreme heights cannot be considered lethal by this standard.

"Most .30 caliber bullets seem to attain this final velocity, and it doesn't make any difference how far they fall. Even if a bullet was fired downward from a very high plane, it would still reach the ground at the same velocity. That is because the resistance increases very rapidly with increases in air speed. If the air resists the motion of the bullet a certain amount at 300 feet per second, it will resist three times as much at 600 feet per second and nearly nine times as much at 1000 feet per second.

"A 150 grain bullet weights .021 pounds, and when, in falling, it reaches a velocity where the air resistance balances the weight, the velocity of the fall will no longer increase.

"For a .30 caliber bullet of standard experimental shape, having a pointed nose of two caliber radius, the air resistance on the nose at 2700 fps. would be about 2.3 pounds; at 2000 fps. 1.5 pounds; at 1500 fps. .89 pounds; at 1000 fps. .17 pounds; at 500 fps. .04 pounds; at 350 fps. .025 pounds; at 320 fps. .021 pounds, balancing the weight of the bullet and stopping any further increase in velocity in the case of a falling bullet."

*********************************************
Something about the local story just doesn't add up. Could it be that the shot was fired from a height (such as a tall building) down into the church?

For that matter, those in the sanctuary reported hearing a loud pop. This was not a bullet that was fired up in the air and free-fell into the church. Somebody inside that church fired that gun, or somebody on the roof.

UPDATE:
Ballistics came back:
“I would suspect this was a rifle. An AK-47. That’s the most prolific [weapon found] downtown,” said Kelly Fite, who was the top ballistics expert with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s state Crime Lab for almost four decades.
...But most likely, the shooter was about a half mile away and the gun was tilted at about 30 or 40 degrees, not straight up, he said.

Jesus, Microsoft. You do Suck

2009-12-28T08:46:00.000-08:00

After taking a few days off for the holidays, I returned to discover that Windows needs to install 60 updates to my work computer. I unfortunately clicked ok.

My pc has been bogged down all day, bringing productivity to a crawl.

I've had to reboot TWICE so far, causing Norton's to activate a new scan each time, further killing productivity.

Windows also wants to install "Windows Advantage", aka "We want to approve everything you do".

I now have IE 8, whoop de fucking do. Now, none of the shit I had embedded in anything is visible anymore.

FUCK YOU Microsoft. I'm installing Firefox at work as soon as I get a chance.

Best Christmas Commercial Ever

2009-12-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

Extortion does not equal charity

2009-12-24T09:41:00.000-08:00

In this Christmas season, allow me to point out to the communists out there this simple fact:

Forcing someone at gunpoint to give you money is not the same thing as that person giving to charity.

Anymore than a mugger who's robbing to feed his family. Forced stealing is NOT the same as charity. One involves force. The other involves giving.

GIVING doesn't equal Stealing.

Taxes are enforced at the point of a gun.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas, China

2009-12-24T09:27:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve, the senate votes to approve the Health care bill and extend the National Debt Ceiling to $12.4 TRILLION. Anyone reading this at least has the intelligence to see that those two are connected.

Doesn't it send up a red flag to you liberals that they insisted on getting this vote done on Christmas Eve? While dumb enough to be communists, some of you should have enough remaining synapses firing to tell you that they are hiding this. If they are hiding it, maybe there's a reason.

Jesus, people wake up.

Wonderful Pendants

2009-12-22T18:42:00.000-08:00

While shopping today, we were exposed to the extensive pendant collection available from JCPenney. I invite anyone to explore their selection here.

My favorite?

Peace On Earth

2009-12-22T12:54:00.000-08:00

This will be the first year in quite a while where Mrs Schwartz and I do not go to Binghamton for Christmas.
Last year was a debockle.

1) The Beagles and Ma Schwartz' cats just aren't a good mix.
2) The weather sucks.
3) It costs a bunch of money and time.

Since I haven't been getting much in the way of quarterly bonuses, and Mrs Schwartz can't buy a job, we figured it made better financial sense to stay at home and just enjoy each other's company.

I have the week off of work, so today we went to the Mall of Georgia for some shopping. Malls in general provide a fantastic opportunity to show that stupidy accumulates not linearly, but exponentially. Combine a few hundred people together, and the stupidity factor goes through the roof.

A Christmas Carol

2009-12-21T18:47:00.000-08:00

AMC is playing a 1984 version of A Christmas Carol, starring George C Scott. It's excellent. I think I've missed it in the past because every time it comes on, I think, "Oh God. Another telling of this."
If you see one telling of this story, make it this version. It's that good.

Red Environmentalists

2009-12-18T09:21:00.000-08:00

Somebody got Fired

2009-12-17T09:27:00.001-08:00

This is not photo-shopped. This is the real January cover of Golf Digest.

Xmas Comes Early

2009-12-13T06:15:00.001-08:00

I can't believe I've become one of those people.

Mrs Schwartz insists that Susan is always shivering cold when she comes in from the backyard. Amidst her relentless nagging, we went to Petsmart yesterday and bought Susan a sweater.

Xmas in Gainesville

2009-12-09T19:39:00.000-08:00

Support the Seals

2009-12-05T10:38:00.000-08:00

Go HERE to sign the petition, donate money, get contact information.

We're in Bizarro World

2009-11-25T09:18:00.000-08:00

Navy SEALs Face Assault Charges for Capturing Most-Wanted Terrorist
Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges.
Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

A BLOODY FUCKING LIP? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?

Salt

2009-11-25T03:24:00.000-08:00

How do the salt people make money? We buy a paper can(?) of salt about every ten years. It's 26oz and it cost 33 cents. 33 cents!? I don't mean to ruin a good thing or anything, but I'd pay much more than that. A dollar? Two dollars? Hell, probably more.

Our Neighbors must hate us

2009-11-22T12:51:00.000-08:00

Purple Club w/that Union Label

2009-11-21T05:18:00.000-08:00

Let's resurrect that Card Check / Intimidation bill so we can all get union thugs at our doors!

Good Lord, People

2009-11-17T06:14:00.000-08:00

Stats from today's news:

The CDC's latest study on STDs found:

* 1.2 million cases of chlamydia were reported in 2008, up from 1.1 million in 2007.

* Nearly 337,000 cases of gonorrhea were reported.

* Adolescent girls 15 to 19 years had the most chlamydia and gonorrhea cases of any age group at 409,531.

* Blacks, who represent 12 percent of the U.S. population, accounted for about 71 percent of reported gonorrhea cases and almost half of all chlamydia and syphilis cases in 2008.

* Black women 15 to 19 had the highest rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea.

* 13,500 syphilis cases were reported in 2008, an almost 18 percent increase from 2007.

* 63 percent of syphilis cases were among men who have sex with men.

* Syphilis rates among women increased 36 percent from 2007 to 2008.

QOTD

2009-11-12T05:34:00.000-08:00

"Today of course is Veterans Day in the US, where we honor the awesome killing power of the American military and the god like race of supermen who defend us. Our military is so advanced and our soldiers so superior that if our government wasn’t filled with such panicky little girls they could go to war with any country on Earth and it would be the equivalent of Zeus throwing lightning down on the trembling peasants below."

OK, that's just wierd

2009-11-05T06:35:00.000-08:00

A Bald Bear

Halloween in the Biblebelt

2009-11-01T06:43:00.002-08:00

We took the neighbor's kids Trick or Treating (don't ask). The local participation was spotty, at best. There was one cool house that went all out.
One interesting part of the evening was a house where I heard the guy at the door say, "I don't have any treats, but I have something better."

That's right! He was handing out Jesus Tapes!

They All Say They're Innocent

2009-10-17T08:59:00.001-07:00

FG Friday

2009-10-16T03:50:00.001-07:00

Another Inigo Montoya Moment

2009-10-08T10:34:00.001-07:00

I do not think that word means what you think it means.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced Tuesday that she is pursuing plans to remove some captured illegal aliens from “prison-like or jail-like circumstances” and put them in converted hotels and nursing homes.

Napolitano explained her department’s thinking at a press conference at Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“Our detention system has some who have committed crimes, others whose crimes under federal law is a misdemeanor, others who have as I said before not committed a crime at all,” Napolitano said.

Sick Pup

2009-10-05T07:42:00.000-07:00

Poor Susan is very sick. She's been sick all weekend. She was throwing up all day friday. Thankfully, that stopped, but she's had a high fever all weekend. She wouldn't eat anything yesterday. She didn't want to move, so we brought water to her and she's been drinking a little.
Mrs Schwartz took her to the vet this morning. Her stool is good. Her bloodwork came back good. They are X-ray-ing her to make sure none of her organs are damaged. After that, it will be antibiotics.

UPDATE 11:30AM : The X-rays came back ok. The Vet thinks it could be a blood clot or pancreatitis. They are going to keep her for the day on an IV to flush her system. If she's still ok at 6:30, we will take her home and keep an eye on her.

UPDATE 9:00PM : Mrs Schwartz is upstairs with Susan. The vet couldn't find any root cause. He gave her a shot of antibiotics and a painkiller. We took her home and have been keeping her comfortable.
Basically, she has a fever; she doesn't want to get up or move around. She just lays there, looking pathetic. We are supposed to drop her off tomorrow for more IV fluids and antibiotics. She did take a long drink from her water bowl, which is a good sign.

UPDATE 9:00AM Wednesday : Susan's fever appears to have broken. She is more alert. She mostly slept through the night. She ate some food and drank some water this morning before I left for work. She is going back to the vet today to get the IV taken out of her leg, get checked out by our vet and maybe get an antibiotic shot.

Always knock on wood

2009-10-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

Well, Karma has decided that I was a bit too cocky, when I said that life is good because our house isn't underwater.
I went into my kitchen this morning and found water dripping through the drywall ceiling. Yes, the same ceiling that I got redone last December.

I had noticed a few weeks ago that the toilet, which had a leaky flange before repair, had rotated about ten degrees. I only noticed it because it's against the wall, so I could see the difference in the gap.

Then I noticed that it moved ever so slightly when I sat down and stood up.

So LAST NIGHT, I decided that I'd be all proactive. I squirted some GREAT STUFF in a line between the tank and the wall, effectively stabilizing the tank and giving a new dimension of strength.

I noticed that the toilet is bolted to the floor with plastic bolts. That seems dumb. Every other toilet I see has steel bolts.

Even if the plumber gives me a break on the re-repair, the drywall guys are going to charge me full price.

@#$%&*!!!!!

Tour of the Fox

2009-09-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Mrs Schwartz and I took a guided tour of the Fox Theatre. Very Cool. Click to embiggen.

I remember the M stands for Masons. Note that they made the Sphinx into George Washington.

The Egyptian Ballroom:

I think this was the "Spanish Room", which was actually Moorish. The Islamic art does not show any depictions of Man or Beast:

The rooftop patio:

The Ladies' Lounge:

The Gentlemens' Lounge:

The Main Theatre:

The Famous Moller Organ:

It's all Relative

2009-09-25T08:55:00.001-07:00

I've been kind of grumpy lately over some of life's usual problems, work, money, etc. Then I saw the pictures from the flood and thought, "Life's pretty good. At least my house isn't under water"

Six Flags Under Water

2009-09-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

Unless you've been under a rock all week, you probably know that Atlanta has flooded. We got a year's worth of rain in a couple of days.
In addition to Six Flags (which is right next to I-20) I-20, I-85, I-575, and I-285 all got flooded. Most of the schools were shut down; a few still are.
The sewers all got flooded, so, yuck, boil your water if you live in the city or downstream from it.

4th Amendment? What 4th Amendment?

2009-09-22T05:56:00.000-07:00

Just a couple more bricks in the wall.

Officers’ New Tool Against D.W.I.: Syringe
“I was looking at people’s arms and hands, thinking, ‘I could draw from that,’ ” Officer Dowell said.
Once they are back on patrol in Nampa, in southwestern Idaho, they will draw blood from any suspected drunken driver who refuses a breath test. They will use force if necessary, including getting help from another officer to pin down a suspect, Ms. Watson said.

SJC OK’s secret use of GPS devices
The Supreme Judicial Court ruled yesterday that the state constitution allows police to break into a suspect’s car to secretly install tracking devices using a global positioning system, provided that authorities have a warrant before they do so.
The court said that using GPS devices as an investigative tool, which can require police to secretly break into a vehicle to install the device, does not violate the ban on unreasonable search and seizure in the state’s Declaration of Rights.

The SJC said the devices can be installed for up to 15 days before police must show why the devices need to remain in place.

Government Healthcare Preview

2009-09-22T05:14:00.000-07:00

We've had a wierd, kind of moldy smell to our tap water ever since shortly moving into our house. It has come and gone over the years. In the past, when it has lasted long enough, we will call the water department and Shani'qua will assure us that they will take care of it, baby. Nothing will happen. Over time it has eventually gone away.
Lately, it's gotten more frequent, but we've recognized the futility of complaining to the government, so we've started adding extra fabric softener. We only drink from filtered water.
Where do we go from here? I can't get tap water from another source; government has a monopoly.

ACORN's Criminal History

2009-09-21T06:13:00.000-07:00

The NY Post has a nice history of ACORN's consistently criminal shenanigans.

I Love the South

2009-09-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

I grew up in New York. Not "the city" (thank God). Upstate New York. In the country, really. Still, we were subject to the stupidity spewing from "the city".
New York state is one of the most liberal, and therefore, most Nanny-restricted, states in the union.
It got me thinking of the differences between there and GA.
My mother lives in a house that would almost fit in my living room. She pays FOUR TIMES what I pay in property taxes, and there's a huge hole in her kitchen ceiling. Oh, and her yard is 1/4 the size of mine. Four fucking times as much.
Or she would pay that if there was any way that she could. But you see, the way big government works is that they take all of your money, then if you can beg and plead to the right departments, they'll let you have enough of your money back to survive; much the way tapeworms don't kill their hosts.

She's a senior citizen: Here's some money back.
She makes below the poverty line: Here's some money back.
She's the widow of a veteran: here's some money back.

It goes to that fundamental mindset of government. Sure, Georgia's not perfect, but it has less of a Nanny state mentality than the northeast. It's weird. You can own a shotgun without a hassle, but if you want to own a handgun, you have to ask permission from the state, and you need a good reason. You can't just say, "To protect my family". You need something like, "I make cash deposits at night for my work". I've known people who made up that claim. You can be turned down for no reason. Unless you are a celebrity or otherwise well connected; then it's fine. You're one of the privileged class.
Oh, and even if you get permission from the Nanny to get that first handgun, you have to go through the whole process for EVERY handgun you want to own.
Georgia is a "right to carry" state, meaning that you don't need a permit to own a handgun, and if you want to carry concealed, the burden is on the state to provide a reason why they deny it.
A few other things have recently come to light.
Switchblades are legal in GA, not in NY. Really, why not?
I just read that Mass makes you license your dog every year and they are upping the fee to $20/year in some areas. How about fuck off and leave me alone? It's not NY, but it's the Northeast.
There are a million other little licenses, permissions, and fees that you find in the NE, that are ridiculous.

Oh yeah, it's also overcast or raining 300 days/year. And there's acid rain. And it snows in October and April.

If only the South would get over its problem with alcohol.

Growing Boobs Barbie

2009-09-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

You have to twist her arm to see her boobs! HA! Get it!?

The Worst Dog in Georgia

2009-09-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

At least that's how it felt at the time.

Last weekend, we attempted to go to Stone Mountain. We haven't gotten out much, since Mrs Schwartz hurt her foot. We felt that with a cane, she'd be able to hobble around well enough.

What I had not factored in is the fact that this was the time that Janet takes her nap. Like any two year old, if she doesn't get her nap, she get cranky and starts to act up.

As soon as we arrived at the park, she started pulling on the leash, desperate to get into something. It soon became apparent that the Missus couldn't walk as well as I'd hoped and I didn't want her to risk injury.

I left her with the girls and her prized Twilight book at a picnic table, while I went inside a little museum to inquire when the transport bus would be stopping by. While inside I went through the little exhibit that illustrated how Stone Mountain was created, etc.

I came back out to find her still at the table, but when I approached and asked how she's doing, she responded, "Well, let me tell you".

She explained that as soon as I went inside, Janet started pulling this way and that on her leash. Mrs Schwartz got out the quart of red wine that I had packed for our picnic. Before she could drink any of it, Janet dragged her leash over the table and spilled the whole quart onto Mrs Schwartz' chest. The Missus stood up and yelled, causing Janet to take off running, yanking the leash free when she hit the end of it. Janet was running out into the heavy traffic at full speed. Mrs Schwartz was futilely hobbling after her with her cane. Fortunately, two people saw this and took pity on her. They squared off to block Janet and the woman sweet-talked her into coming close enough to catch her leash.

Thankfully, I was absent for the whole thing; however, that brought a quick end to our day. I took the dogs and walked back to the car, then brought it back to pick her up and go home.

Duke U 2

2009-09-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

Nassau DA: Hofstra Student Made Up Gang Rape Story
Charges Dropped Against 4 Men Under Arrest; Search For 5th Called Off; DA, Hempstead School Release Statements

NEW YORK (CBS) ― The student who alleged she was gang raped by five men inside a Hofstra University dormitory bathroom on Sunday has admitted to making the entire story up, the Nassau County District Attorney's office confirmed on Wednesday night.

*Remember, many feminists are aghast that anyone would doubt, or God forbid, want evidence, when a woman makes a rape accusation.

09/09/09

2009-09-09T03:39:00.000-07:00

And because it's my BIRTHDAY!!!

That's right. I turn the big four-oh today. Send presents.

TIME, what a news agency!

2009-09-03T06:06:00.000-07:00

Why DOES the world hate us?

Afghans

2009-09-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

Reading through some of Michael Yon's excellent accounts of being embedded with the troops in Afghanistan, you get a real feeling for what a bunch of unevolved animals they are.

On this day, an Afghan man showed one of these medics a rash on his arms, but the medic carried no such medicines out into the fighting. When medic Evans said she had no medicine, a young man picked up a big stone and was preparing to hit her. Rhian instantly pointed the rifle at the man who put down the rock.

Bless their hearts.

An Old Scam Made New

2009-08-26T06:05:00.001-07:00

There's a scam that's been around for a while that basically follows this pattern:

I'll send you a cashier's check for more money than our transaction requires. You cash the check and send me back the balance.

Then a few days later, your bank informs you that the cashier's check is a fake and they take back the full amount.

A friend of mine is looking for work. He was contacted via email for a job. A guy from Canada said that he and his wife are moving to the area. He needs a driver to drive his wife around for two weeks while she scouts out a house, etc. The job paid $500/week for two weeks. The Canadian sent, via UPS, two $1000 checks to my friend, with instructions to cash them and forward the second $1000 to a travel agent or real estate agent. I'm not sure because I had already interrupted my friend to tell him it's a scam.