September 2005 Archives

Sonny Perdue closes schools in GA in anticipation of possible gas shortages

In Washington, President Bush praised Perdue for his decision, saying the Republican governor "showed some leadership" in "anticipating a problem."

(Source: http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/09/27/rita.georgia.schools.ap/index.html)

Because anticipating a problem like a hurricane signals leadership, as opposed to sitting around at your ranch when one hits a major North American city.

I went into Philadelphia on Saturday and played two rounds of cricket with a bunch of the Indian guys from work. It was an awesome time. I suck at throwing the ball, but I did a pretty good job batting.

Then we tried playing some American football, but that was a little hard with only 6 people.

I woke up sore as hell this morning at 3am to do the paper route, but it was totally worth it. I think I'm going to buy a cricket bat and go play some more.

Extra bonus was the awesome Indian lunch after the matches.

I was watching the Pats - Steelers game on CBS, and the ads coming up were trucks, tools, food, more sports, yadda yadda yadda. The minute the game was over the 60 Minutes stop-watch showed up and they introduced the topics for the evening. When that was done, the next three commercials were: fiber, a drug, and joint replacement.

Methinks CBS views the viewer demographics of 60 Minutes as...older...

Obviously they would, the transition was just so stark. One minute it's Howie Long in a Chevy truck extolling skid plates and then the next is about getting a new knee. It was kind of jarring.

It's not going to seem like much, but I did 0.3 of a mile today running. Yeah yeah, I'm fat and out of shape. That's why I'm happy I did that much. I'm hoping that in the next 6 months I can be doing more than a mile a day in the morning.

A couple of notes:

• New Honda Civic SI ad in the red with the car jumping buildsing features "Galang" from M.I.A. I enjoy the song and the ad for that matter. Good stuff.
• I finally had to buy "Eat Steak" from the Rev. Horton Heat because I couldn't get the song out of my head since the Boston Market ads keep showing up during NFL commercial breaks. Not that this is a hardship, I really enjoy the good Rev.
• Burger King's doing more interesting things in ads with chickens. They did the whole chicken whopper thing with the "Subservient Chicken" thing. Now they've created a rock band called "Coq Roq". The band members come replete with chicken costumes and various chicken masks. Watch the videos. They're quite amusing.
• What's the damn song in the VW Passat commercial for the climate-controlled glove box? The two guys drive out into the middle of the desert for the sushi and they Japanese guy is there obviously a master of his craft...anyway, I'm rambling, but I want the song. I can't seem to find out who it's by. Anybody know?

I am amused by the thought of a vegan website running ads for steak.

I'm torn, do I click to give them money by supporting something that they don't stand for or not click because I think that most vegans are little nuts?

I'm pissed. I'm on my second pair of iPod headphones and now these are broken too. I love the iPod itself, but to have the headphones keep breaking is ridiculous.

Why can't they build a strong pair?

I've tried both the standard and the in-ear kind, so now I'm going to trek back to the Apple Store and raise hell.

I'm going to push back my first Koran article to this weekend. It's been a wild and wooly week at work and I got a little behind. Not that many of your care, but maybe one of you does and was waiting, and I didn't want you to think I forgot.

In less than 30 minutes is the season premiere of Lost. I feel like a damned kid in a candy store on Christmas day.

I'm so hot to see what's in the hatch.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Put them here.

His new essay on economic inequality is fabulous. The wonderful thing for me is that he works hard to try and establish a logical proof on how wealth redistribution schemes do not work to raise the level of everyone's wealth, but eventually wreck economies.

His ideas are obviously nothing new; many people have said the same thing throughout history.

But it's fun to see how he came to the conclusion himself.

His essay will of course upset a lot of people in the computer industry who believe that economies can and should be planned.

The Redskins pulled it out of their asses to win. w00t! Good job guys. Santana Moss is just about incredible. What a catch on that 70 yard bomb from Brunell.

Wow.

Listening to the Redskins Radio right now via NFL.com's FieldPass and I was excited, sounded like the Skins were about to do something big and Brunell threw an interception...

One day, yes one day, I will have an offense I can be proud of. Probably by that point, the defense we have now will just be a memory.

Thank God the Red Sox are doing something I can watch.

So I've been thinking about what makes me really happy and other things I can do with my life. I love computers and programming, but there are also times where I think about doing other things, and there's no reasons why I shouldn't look into them.

So one of the things that I was thinking about was going to get a job as an "Open Source Officer", which, despite its name, has nothing to do with open source software.

Instead, it's a job where I would consume foreign media and create analysis of it for the CIA. The thing that I would enjoy is that it's basically what I do for my blog, but in an official position. God help us all...

But it would give me a chance to use my language skills and do something that I find interesting. I don't feel that it conflicts with my libertarian ideals either because the Founding Fathers never precluded the use of external espionage by government, and were in fact using spies themselves. Knowing what the rest of the world is important, and can be valuable intelligence.

I think that I have something of a knack for foreign languages (despite what my mother would say about my grades in German in high school) and my dad was also a whiz at languages, so I guess it runs in the family.

It's just something that I've been thinking about.

Commemorating the Holocaust will drive young Muslim men to commit suicide bombings, or so say advisors to Tony Blair. The Times of London is reporting that a panel of advisors sent a recommendation that they replace Holocaust Memorial Day with Genocide Day, so that the killings of all people killed in a genocide will be remembered.

I have no problem with a Genocide Day. In fact, I think it would be fabulous to have a day where we do remember those that governments and other organized bodies kill en masse (since it's almost always a government or tribed that perpetrates a genocide). I don't even necessarily have an issue with replacing Holocaust Day with Genocide Day because it would highlight everyone's need to be aware that genocide continues and will probably continue for a long time.

But to claim that having Holocaust day will give extremists something to exploit and could result in more suicide bombings is NUTS. It's another example of political correctness gone haywire. As if our most important goal in life is to dance around each other's feelings and make sure that no one gets offended. We have more important things to do people.

I saw one of the Google Ads pointing to a "Spyware Removal Review", a site which promised to point to the best spyware available. It points you immediately to XoftSpy, which I can't find anything legitimate about, or anything remotely savory about, so I'm going to say that people should stay away from it.

It's really really sad that people will use someone's frustration with spyware to try and install MORE spyware under the guise of helping them. I know this is nothing new, but it makes me think of a gang of cockroaches showing up at your house and offering to come in an take care of your bug problems for you. It's not going to go well from there.

Stick with the big names, the Microsoft Anti-Spyware, or Spy Sweeper, by Webroot, or AdAware by LavaSoft, things that are reputable and work (though I haven't always had good results with AdAware on that front).

Bottom-line, if the site looks unsavory, the software probably is too, and you shouldn't trust it. If you're really stuck and need help ask someone.

Claria has been saying for months now that they are no longer going to peddle in adware or spyware but instead are moving to something called "behavioral marketing" and "personalization", which is a process whereby someone can personalize their ad viewing experience online based on the sites they visit, the news they read, etc.

It's a similar idea to the Google AdWords, but without the wholesome promise Google makes to not destroy your computer in the process.

In fact, Claria has made changes in it's management recently to reflect their new purpose.

I somehow still don't buy it. I applaud them for ending their "partnership" with Kazaa, but it only made sense, as Claria being partnered with Kazaa made both of them seem more unseemly, like a snake and a rat working together to spread fear and pestilence. One's bad enough, but when you see the rat riding on top of the snake, you feel a whole different kind of fear.

Anyway, only time will tell.

Of course, the bad thing about Claria leaving the adware business (sounds strange to say that, doesn't it?) is that it opens the door for even more unsavory shitheads to take their place.

There's so much commentary about the Koran these days, about what it says and what it doesn't and what it means and what it doesn't that I decided to buy the Koran. I was able to pick up the Bantam Classics Edition.

I'm going to start reading and trying to offer my commentary...so I guess I'm going to be adding to the noise, but it's something that I think is important.

I do recognize that the translation is an important aspect, so I'll probably end up reading more than one edition and comparing translations as well.

I'll start the commentary next week.

I admire the subliminal one-two punch of this book at Amazon. (link courtesy of boing-boing).

Word is that this book is just one of a series. Next month will come "Taking It In The Ass For Jesus" and the month after will be "Avoiding the Cock of Satan".

I've been asked to put my cat Hex up for adoption. He's a sweet sweet all black cat that's only 3 years old. I adore him, but my wife has ordered him out. He's not getting along with the other cats in the house and he wants attention.

I really don't want to give him up, but the order has come down.

If you're in the Quakertown, PA area, and you're looking to adopt a cat, email me at hexadoption@mauricereeves.com.

Thanks

Last year while I was at work, bored out of my skull, I swung by Kuro5hin.org and was dismayed with what I saw. I posted my thoughts then here.

Last night I started getting several comments of questionable quality, all coming from here. My criticism was directed towards those people that get on sites like Kuro5hin and cook up some half-cock theory about some issue and then espouse it with high doses of vitriol. It's the same reason I hardly read the comments on Slashdot. The signal to noise ratio is very very low. And I know that even on my website, a lot of the stuff I write is crap. But I admit it, and I try to stay away from writing publically when I think it's going to be total shit.

But these dipshits coming to my site screaming about me being a faggot, or being fat, or sucking at computers, or eating my daughter's panties (what the fuck?) just go to prove my point. The site is populated by more trolls than good people, and it's not worth my time to go peruse the site if I have to keep wondering what I'm going to step in next.

So we finally have gotten rid of Michael Brown, former head of FEMA. David Paulison is the new FEMA chief. Aside from the fact that he's the guy who advocated we protect our house from terrorist attack with duct tape, he seems pretty good. But none of this matters because the real person in charge of the FEMA efforts is still Michael Chertoff. When the world's coming to an end, he's the man that has to pick up the phone. He's supposed to be the man with the plans who will pick up the pieces of a world gone horribly wrong and make things right.

So who is this wunderkind? Who is this real-life Superman? Head of NYC's Fire Departments? Former Commander of the Coast Guard? NO. He's a goddamn lawyer. He served as a DA and as a special counsel to the Senate.

He doesn't deserve to lead my car around the block.

Yesterday's game was the same old Redskins. I mean, there are some glimmers of hope on the team, and there were some great moments in the game, but I came down to the kicking and defense.

*sigh*

What in the HELL?????????

Fucking Patrick Ramsey throwing an interception in their first set of downs????????

It's going to be another long season.

Redskins play their regular season opener at FedEx field today against the Chicago Bears! Go SKINS!

Of course, having been burned for many seasons now, I am fearful that they will screw up and lose what should be a fairly straightforward game for them to win.

The problem is that Dan Snyder doesn't know when to leave well enough alone. Boomer Esiason said on NFL.com a few weeks ago in an article about who the big losers will be this year: "They could buy every available free agent, but that won't fix internal organizational problems."
(Source: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/8792831)

He's right. When it comes to his sports teams, Dan Snyder can't find his ass with both hands, and he continually meddles in the affairs of his coaching staff. I cannot stand when people from the top try to micro-manage in the affairs of their staff. CEO's should not be focused on trying to do the job of their talent.

I believe that if Jesus Christ himself descended from heaven and offered to coach the Skins, Dan Snyder would spend the entire season hovering over his shoulder "Do you think that's the right decision Lord? Maybe we should do something else. Do you really know what you're doing Jesus? Maybe I need a different coach."

So, dear Redskins, please don't embarass us, the fans.

This is a really bizarre story, to say the least.

I had a dream last night that I was working on a documentary about breasts, the purpose of breasts, why men are so attracted to them, all of the features of boobs. I was trying very hard to make it scholarly work but no one believed me that that was what I was doing.

Somehow though, I was able to convince many celebrities to come speak on film, and Kim Deal, from the Pixies took her shirt off for the movie.

I found the following update on the fire at the grave of Noah Webster:

"The New England Society for Paranormal and Phenomenology Studies was working in the area of the grave of Noah Webster and picked up disturbing vibrations and noises the day before the fire started. We've been in contact with the police with our findings and will work with them in this matter". (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nespps/)

I don't know what it means, but I'm intrigued.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist has died.

I'd like to say that I feel some sadness, or that he did great things for this country, but frankly I do believe that the court he presided over was one of the worst in US history, though Oliver Wendell Holmes' court was really awful too. I feel sadness for his family for their loss and the common sadness of another life snuffed out, but I don't feel the sadness of a great and important life taken from us. I wanted to qualify that.

I give it 6 - 12 hours before the conspiracy blogs start spinning his death, and it's timing as planned by the Bush Administration to occur while the country is distracted by Hurricane Katrina so he Bush can railroad some nominee through Congress.

Wait for it. You'll probably see it on www.infowars.com soon. Rantings on AM and shortwave to follow shortly.

Halliburton has been hired to do Katrina clean-up.

The Dept. of Homeland Security has ordered the Red Cross to NOT enter New Orleans, because it would apparently convince people to stay. WTF??????????

A larget group of private citizens show up with their own personal boats to rescue people trapped in New Orleans but are turned around by the LA Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries and FEMA. They were told they were not needed. All I can think about it in that circumstance is how on 9/11 a vast number of people in New York and New Jersey voluntarily picked up people and took them across the river to safety without having to be asked. That's always pointed to as one of those moments of great spontaneous human charity. Again, apparently the government decided that wasn't needed this time. WTF?

President Bush said, "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees." He added, "Now we're having to deal with it, and will."

A fictional Category 3 Hurricane Pam, with "winds of 120 mph, up to 20 inches of rain... and a storm surge that topped the levees," was the picture presented to officials from 50 federal, local and volunteer organizations, according to a Federal Emergency Management Agency dispatch from July 23, 2004. (Emphasis added)

Fascinating.

So no one anticipated the levees failing?

Didn't they say the same thing about 9/11 "no one could have anticipated terrorists flying a plane into a building" even though several federal training scenarios involved that same incident?

I just keep picturing the president being like Vizzini in the Princess Bride. "The levees were breached?!?!?!? Inconceivable!"

I've heard this same question from several people that I've talked to: "What should Bush have done instead of playing guitar and laughing with senior citizens? It's not like he could stop the flood himself!"

WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP

There comes a point, when being the leader of a country that you must appear, what's the word...presidential...

If Bush had a car in his front yard on blocks before he was the president, that's fine. But the minute he becomes the president, what he does and how he presents himself matters. It matters in that it sets the tone for the nation. It matters in that it gives people hope. It matters in that he is the leader of this nation.

So what should he have done? He should have cut his vacation short. He should have immediately flown over the area and surveyed the damage from the air on his way to the Red Cross command center in Mississippi, or to Baton Rouge to meet immediately with the governor of LA.

Even though these actions would be largely symbolic, they would still have gone miles toward making people feel like something was being done.

Instead, everyone from the media to the state and local governments of the affected areas feels like they've been abandoned by the Federal government.

Bush should have appeared like the leader of a country facing the third worst natual disaster in its history and an increasingly terrible human nightmare...not playing guitar for senior citizens and posing for photographs with Senator McCain.