Happy New Year

Changing to a new year can cause problems, especially when you have to write a check, or otherwise write the date down, many people will continue to use 2003 for some time. I am reminded of the change from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar, promoted by Pope Gregory XIII back in 1582. That year, by order of the Pope, people went to bed on the night of October 4 and when they woke up the next morning, it was October 15. The reason was that the previous calendar, the Julian calendar, was not aligned with the earth’s orbit around the sun, and so the holiday Easter kept happening later and later each year. The new Gregorian Calendar, in addition to jumping ahead 10 days, introduced leap years and other adjustments and was much more in sync with the earth’s actual orbit. The British Empire, however, delayed the change for almost 200 years. When the change was made in 1752, eleven days had to be deleted. Greece did not make the change until 1924.

So next time you write down the wrong year on a check, think of the consternation that those poor folks went through in changing from the old Julian Calendar to the new Gregorian Calendar. And Happy New Years to everyone!

Ref Gets Honorary Degree

Italy’s Pierluigi Collina, voted five times as the best football referee in the world, will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Hull. Known for his discipline and also for his easily recognizable bald head, Collina works many of the top internation football games every year, including the recent World Cup final when Brazil beat Germany.

This Just In To Paige’s Page...

Hilary Duff is going to host the MTV New Year’s Eve Special. So just in case you think Hilary hasn’t made it big with her target audience, this confirms it. Side note to those of you over 40: it’s okay to watch MTV. Really, it is. You probably won’t enjoy it much, but it’s okay to watch.

Ephedra Banned

After years of debate and many deaths and other health problems, the United States today will ban the sales of the dietary supplement ephedra. This move is a welcome one, but long overdue. Many other countries, and even individual states, as well as many sports leagues and the International Olympic Committee long ago banned the use of ephedra, citing health concerns. However, the Unites States government moved very slowly, thanks to the ephedra lobby and their obfuscation of scientific research on the subject; and also because of our laws which do not require dietary supplements to be proven safe before they can be marketed (unlike drugs, which have to be proven safe according to US law, and unlike Australia and other countries, which require proof of safety and efficacy for both drugs and dietary supplements/natural remedies). It’s time for the United States to put a little more effort into assuring the safety of products listed as dietary supplements or natural remedies.

Psychics, Explained

How do television psychics appear to be so successful? This article explains how it is done, complete with annotated transcripts of actual psychic readings, so you can see the techniques used by the psychics. And those techniques boil down to something called “cold reading”, which anyone can do, no psychic ability required. As you will see by reading the article, psychics rarely if ever come up with new information on their own, they simply use the information you give them, and they are very good at covering up their misses, which are frequent. (Link via Off On A Tangent)

E-Moo

No, E-Moo is not electronic messaging for cows. It’s a new beverage developed at Cornell University, made from milk, with the fizziness and flavor of soda. Kids love it of course, and they may not realize that they are drinking milk. E-moo is fat free, contains extra calcium compared to regular milk, and has fewer calories than regular milk.

Mustang — A Lost Tibetan Kingdom

Mustang remains a cultural anomaly: an ethnically Tibetan kingdom, untouched by the ravages of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, possessing unrivalled artistic expression and a moon-like topography, nestled within the Hindu kingdom of Nepal.

Take a travelogue to Lo Monthang in Nepal, often called Mustang in English. View huge Himalayan mountains, with quaint picturesque village nestled in the foothills. View gorgeous valleys and plains; see a real King and Hindu shrines and villages that pre-date the recorded history of the area. With the Tibetan plateau in your sights and the wind in you hair, it is the trek of a lifetime.

This Is A Little Weird

I’m not a big Clay Aiken fan. I complained about his singing voice here. Now, I need to complain about his lyrics. From his hit song Invisible:

If I was invisible
Then I could just watch you in your room

Yes, I realize that there are even more offensive lyrics out there on pop radio these days, but those lyrics are downright creepy, particularly since Clay Aiken’s biggest fan base is girls aged 10–14. They almost imply the singer or writer is a pedophile or pervert. Now I’m sure Clay is neither a pedophile nor a pervert, and yet I can’t help but be disturbed that someone could write that or sing those lyrics.

A Disturbing E-Mail

I received a disturbing e-mail from a work colleage the other day. This particular e-mail was a cheap shot at President Bush. Now, I’m not particularly pleased with President Bush, I doubt I will vote for him, yet I feel that there’s no reason to indulge in cheap shots. And that goes not just for President Bush — I don’t like cheap shots at anyone.

If you’re going to make an argument, get your facts right, make sure your argument is logically sound, and don’t use derogatory remarks. This particular e-mail, as far as I know, had correct facts. Yet it was not logical and ended with a derogatory remark.

The essence of this e-mail was a list of what presidents prior to Bush had done for Jews and Judaism. And so, for example, it told us that Millard Fillmore (sorry, I have to make up this details as I erased the actual e-mail, so my facts are incorrect) was the first president to attend a service at a synagogue, Warren Harding (I am making up this detail too, the actual e-mail had the correct facts) was the first president to appoint a Jew to his cabinet, and so on. But I am not making up the following summary of the rest of the e-mail. We are informed that the last several presidents all appointed Jews to their cabinet, with President Clinton appointing the most of any president. Then, the e-mail continues that President Dubya Bush (this is the deragotory part, that’s not his name and if you call every other president by their correct name, please give the current president the same respect) has not appointed any Jews to his cabinet and therefore he is a loathsome SOB who should be sent straight to purgatory, or some such words. Illogic. Non-sequitur. You can find among any president’s actions, if you look hard enough, a fact that appears to be anti-Jewish. Yet Bush has invited Jewish leaders to the White House and to his ranch in Texas, and has been an ally of Israel. If Bush had a policy of denying cabinet posts to Jews, that would be different, but President Bush has no such policy.

This e-mail wanted to make me dislike President Bush even more. It insulted my intelligence; and fortunately, I feel smart enough to see through it’s attempt at persuasion.

World’s Best Chicken Wings

Today, I visited the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, the place where the Chicken Wings (also called Buffalo Wings) were invented. Naturally, I had to order the chicken wings, which were wonderful. How often do you get to try an original food made in the restaurant where it was invented? Anyone want to join me on my next visit?

Farewell, Van — Thanks For The Memories

Van Miller, radio voice of the Buffalo Bills for 37 years, called his last game today. He called the very first game the Buffalo Bills ever played, back in the old AFL, in 1960. He was well known for the excitement he brought to the broadcasts, and yet paradoxically, his very calm and measured broadcast of Scott Norwood's missed field goal in Super Bowl XXV is one of the all-time greatest calls in NFL broadcast history. “High drama at the Super Bowl”, said Van, anticipating Norwood’s kick. Those words still sends chills up my spine when I hear them.

As his last game as broadcaster ended, Van made a few heartfelt comments. But it was his sense of humor that shined through even at this emotional moment. “I think I’m going to open an alpaca ranch in Dunkirk”, he said at the end of his broadcast. “I’m unfastening my seatbelt and turning it over to John Murphy.” And then, for the last time, slowly, “This is the Buffalo Bills (pause) radio network.” The headset Van wore today will go to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and I wouldn’t be surprised if sometime in the near future, there is a bust of Van Miller in the Hall of Fame.

Finally, I offer a somewhat politically incorrect joke, which has nothing to do with football, that Van Miller told once.

Dyslexics Should Not Read This

The web site Cook My Sock proves that some people have too much time on their hands.

From The “Not Too Bright” Department...

Reuters reports: “A man in Sicily asked a friend to shoot him in the groin in the hope of making his ex-girlfriend feel sorry for him, police said on Friday.” The shooting victim is expected to recover. We highly commend the ex-girlfriend, who reportedly left the man because of his violent tendencies. (Link via People’s Republic of Seabrook)

Promote Capn’n Crunch To Admiral!

Now here’s an issue I can sink my teeth into.

We are aware of a grave injustice which has occurred within the Quaker Oats Company. Cap’n Crunch has worked for Quaker Oats for the past 35 years. That is over one third of the average human’s life. He has dedicated his life to defeating the Soggies which he has done without fail. He has also protected the crunchberries for the past 33 years. We believe that at the very least, the Quaker Oats Company should promote the Cap’n to an Admiral.

When Good Duffs Go Bad

Lizzie McGuire star Hilary Duff is now engaged in a nasty feud with Lindsay Lohan, star of the movie Freaky Friday. Seems that Lohan was upset that her beau Aaron Carter showed up at the Freaky Friday premier with Duff. Uh-oh. Then, Lohan showed up at the premiere of Duff’s new movie, Cheaper By The Dozen, and the catfight began. Duff’s bodyguard tried to get Lohan to leave, but Lohan refused. Finally, Duff and her mother wound up leaving in a huff. Yikes!

Limbaugh’s hypocritical stance on privacy

An editorial in the Boca Raton News takes Rush Limbaugh to task:

Rush Limbaugh took to the airwaves this week to rail against the Palm Beach County prosecutor’s office for “violating” his rights by seizing his medical records in its investigation of whether he violated state prescription laws. Yes, that’s the same radio host who has staunchly defended the Bush Administration’s Patriot Act, which allows for secretive surveillance of individuals and warrant-less searches of personal records-whether it be an investigation into terrorism or not.

... Does Limbaugh really think liberals control the State Attorney’s Office? That's as delusional as him saying that quarterback Donovan McNabb (now leading an 11-4 team) was overrated because he is black.

(Link via The Proletarian Network)

Merry Christmas

Too all my Christian friends, may this be a wonderful holiday for all of you. And happy New Year too!

Tracking Santa via Radar

Now this totally pisses me off. What a waste of taxpayer dollars! NORAD tracks Santa via radar. Can you believe it? This isn’t some national security issue. And worse yet, Santa was just tracked leaving the Azores, having just visited Europe, on his way across the Atlantic. Those conniving Europeans have obviously figured out some diabolical way to celebrate Christmas a few hours before us North Americans do. But here’s the worst part — there’s a picture of Santa and Aaron Carter meeting at NORAD headquarters. Gross, yuk, Aaron freakin Carter, gag me with a spoon. What is this world coming to? I need some more eggnog.

It’s Not Easy Being Queen

Yes, I know the world has other problems. But how can we focus on al Qaeda, or debate global warming, after this tragedy? Queen Elizabeth II was said by British media reports to be “absolutely devastated” over the death of one of her beloved corgi dogs, killed by an English bull terrier owned by her daughter Princess Anne.

I would like to thank the world’s news media for reporting this terribly tragic and earthshaking event.

Mean Streets of (Rochester) NY

The New York Times today reports on a very disturbing rise in the homocide rate in my home town of Rochester, NY. In fact, the homicide rate here is over 3 times higher than the homicide rate in New York City, and about 5 times greater than the national homicide rate. People have been desensitized to homocide, where it becomes a part of their everyday life, instead of something that generates a public outcry. According to the Times, the recent murder of a radio DJ generated several days of news coverage, but the previous homocide generated “barely a mention”. Of course, local police officials and government agencies are trying to combat this rise in the homocide rate, but so far they have been ineffective.

Bobby Knight, redux

Bobby Knight, while he was basketball coach at Indiana University, was reprimanded, put on probation and eventually fired for his behavior. Some of his alleged behavioral transgressions were an incident where he allegedly choked a student, abusive behavior and language toward students and throwing chairs during games. Now, as basketball coach at Texas Tech, the Knight-watch begins. The question is, how long will it be before Texas Tech has to take similar measures to reign in Knight’s behavior. An incident this week begins the official Knight-watch. As reported on ESPN.com:

“Let me answer that. That is an absolute crock of [expletive],” said Knight, who used a variety of profanities while riffing on the subject. “All you media people can go [expletive] yourself when it comes to something like that.”

The athletic director at Texas Tech has said that Knight has apologized and the incident is closed. The Senior Vice Chancellor of Texas Tech said “we don’t appreciate that kind of language”. The chancellor of Texas Tech has not commented.

Around The Blogosphere

Read the best posts from the previous week in the Carnival of The Vanities, hosted at Winds Of Change.Net.

Read the self-nominated worst posts from the past week in the Bonfire of The Vanities, hosted at Wizbang.

Christmas Non-Shopping

One advantage of celebrating Hanuka is that you normally must do your shopping before the malls get too crowded for Christmas. So I enjoy avoiding the mall these days. Furthermore, my two daughters are at the age where they don’t want old dad picking out clothing (and other presents) for them, so my entire shopping for them consists of getting them gift cards at the local bank. These are Master Card debit cards in reality, good anywhere that accepts Master Card until the amount of money I specify is used up. How easy is that? Take that, mall shoppers.

Lord Of The Rings

This will be my only post on Lord Of The Rings. I haven’t seen any of the movies, nor do I intend to. I do not enjoy this type of fantasy adventure, and I’ll try to explain why. I’ll also try to explain why I enjoy a lot of science fiction, and why I feel the two genres are dramatically different.

I remember reading Lord Of The Rings in high school. My friends loved it. I read it and found it slow, there were too many characters for me to really get into, I didn’t see a lot of character development, and I couldn’t understand what my friends loved about it. However, the thing that I disliked the most about Lord Of The Rings was the introduction of new characters with new powers that dramatically changed the plot. I can’t recall specific examples now, as it has been 30 years, yet I still recall thinking that the plot was starting to get interesting and suddenly a being with new powers appears and the difficult task suddenly changes and morphs into something else. I found that very jarring and lowered my level of interest in the story.

I read and watch science fiction, and in general the above criticisms do not apply. The number of characters is normally a manageable number, and the rules of the science fiction story — the laws of nature, usually — are well established and don’t dramatically change during the story (although there are exceptions). I find plots that have these characteristics, especially ones with character development, to be much more enjoyable.

I don’t really remember talking with my friends in high school about why they found Lord Of The Rings so fascinating. I would love to hear comments about why you enjoy Lord Of The Rings. Try to put some thought into it, I don’t want to hear “Because it’s cool, dude!” Thanks in advance.

Ain’t No Way

A story has been circulating that Saddam Hussein was first captured by the Kurds, who drugged him, and left him for the Americans to find. Mark me down as disbelieving. There are too many problems with this story. It could not have happened. First, the Kurds would have killed him or handed him over to the United States, probably the former. They certainly would not have left him with a firearm and stuck him in a spiderhole for the Americans to find. And if they did, they could have given the US a much better set of directions to the aforementioned spiderhole. But ...

I am reminded of some very bad movie and TV plots. For example, when Batman was captured by his enemies, or when Dr. Evil captured Austin Powers. The next step for the bad guys was to design some extremely complicated mechanism to kill Batman/Austin, and then leave the prisoner entirely unattended so that he may find a means of escape. If the Kurds captured Saddam and then left him for the Americans to find, then I accuse the Kurds of watching too many Batman reruns.

Donner and Blitzen Take Early Retirement

Claus Enterprises Announces Downsizing. Controversy involving Rudolph and Rush Limbaugh. Read all of the gory details at Wizbang.

Speaking of Holidays...

The James Randi Educational Foundation puts forth the following commentary:

Happy Newton’s Birthday! Just 361 years ago this next Thursday, Sir Isaac Newton was born, a man we know existed, someone who contributed hugely to his and to our world, and a chap we can and should commemorate by means of observance of his birthday. Instead, most of the world chooses to believe that another guy was born on this day, a notion for which there’s no proof at all.

Libya Eager to Dismantle Weapons of Mass Destruction

This is undoubtedly good news, and Libya’s recent efforts to behave in a more civilized fashion also deserve applause. And yet my mind cannot keep from wondering if this is some sort of trick on the part of Mr. Gadhafi. I suppose time will tell, and for now the best thing to do is to behave as if he really means what he says. Inspections by international inspectors will confirm (or not) whether Libya indeed eliminates these weapons.

Those Subway Commercials

What would Jared do? While it’s not obvious why anyone cares what Jared would do, I wonder if the theme of this commercial series is a takeoff on the more popular phrase “What would Jesus do?” Well, I hope I’m reading more into this than really is there.

Fat Bastard Wines

What’s this? Well, as far as I can tell, it has nothing to do with the obnoxious character from the Austin Powers movies. It’s really the web site of Fat Bastard Wines, a web site about Living Large. Somehow, I think they could have chosen a more appealing name. (link via Adrants)

Happy Hanukah

It’s the Festival of Lights! It’s those eight crazy nights! Have a wonderful holiday, and enjoy those potato latkes.

Oh, and did I mention that I have a little dreidel, I made it out of clay?

$106K for a Baseball

Chicago Cubs fans are insane. First, they villify a fan who touched a fly ball in the stands at a crucial point in the playoffs, preventing a Cubs outfielder from reaching into the stands and making a catch. Actually “villify� is too mild a word. The unlucky fan has had to stay out of sight, possibly for his own safety. This is ridiculous behavior, as I explained back in October.

Now, the actual baseball has been sold for $106K to new owners who plan to burn and destroy this ball. The fervor (or is it anger? or is it insanity?) of Cubs fans is unfathomable to me. You could have donated that $106K to charity, perhaps making this world a slightly better place. But no, go ahead and burn the ball. I see where your priorities are.

RIAA Loses a Big One

As reported in The Register, (and I love their writing style in this article)

A U.S. federal appeals court has dealt the RIAA a long awaited kick to the groin in its pursuit of file swappers, saying the music label lobby group can no longer force Internet providers to turn over their customers names.

The Friday ruling from a three-judge panel hearing the case for the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia is likely to slow down the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) hunt for file swappers. The judges have blocked the pigopolist mob from being able to subpoena users' names from ISPs. This decision overturns a district court ruling earlier this year that ordered Verizon to give up the goods on its customers.

What does all this mean if you upload and download songs from a peer-to-peer service such as Kazaa or Gnutella (LimeWire, BearShare)? It means that uploading or downloading a song is still probably illegal, but it will be much harder for the RIAA to sue you. Should you go ahead and resume uploading and downloading without a care in the world? Probably not. For one thing, the ruling may be overturned by another court, and furthermore, the RIAA may still choose to sue you using whatever the new procedure is following this ruling. Please understand, the RIAA can determine the IP address of people who allow uploads. That means, the address of your computer. What they choose to do with this information following this ruling is not known.

Read the decision by the U. S. Court of Appeals here.

Serial fork swallower spared jail this time

A Norwegian man who became a serial fork swallower while in jail has escaped a prison sentence after being caught with drugs. Repeat offender Arild Andersen has swallowed and had operations to remove, over 30 forks in his many terms in jail.

As Usual, I Don’t Understand You, Mr. Chirac

French President Jacques Chirac wants to ban the wearing of religious headgear in French schools next year. And I can’t for the life of me understand why. I understand that there has been a rise in Islamic militancy in France recently. I understand that the French would like to reverse that trend. But what I don’t understand is what this has to do with headgear. Religious headgear is nothing more than a symbol, a convention. The real issue is that some (not all) Muslims have beliefs and take actions that are violent and dangerous, and those beliefs and actions don’t belong in a civilized society. Removing symbols of school children will not change the beliefs and actions of these militant Muslims. Removing headgear does nothing towards changing these beliefs and actions to make France a more peaceful society.

Saddam’s last blog entry

Saddamblog 8pm: modest hiding chamber, outside Tikrit.

Dear true believers
This may be my last post to the Saddamblog. The infidels are at the gate, I can smell their bacon and ham products coming nearer. An American is yelling in the distance “2 all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese...”

Read the rest at The Blog Herald. You’ll get a few more chuckles.

Note to Cincinnati wide receiver Chad Johnson

After scoring a touchdown Sunday, Chad Johnson held up a sign that he had made that said “Dear NFL: Please don’t fine me again”. Johnson, it seems, has already been fined $50,000 this year. Well, Chad, guess what? If you don’t behave in a way that leads to a fine, you won’t get fined. It’s really up to you, Chad.

And as long as I'm on the subject, I want to comment on Joe Horn’s cell phone caper. Joe Horn scored a touchdown Sunday, and pulled out a cell phone from under the padding that surrounds the goalposts, then pretended to make a telephone call. He received a 15-yard taunting penalty and has been fined $30K by the league. There are some people who are upset at this behavior, and you can count me as one of them. This is disrepectful to your opponents, and it also indicates that you think you are so important that you need to call attention to yourself (note: as opposed to a spontaneous celebration which we see a lot of, this was planned), the very opposite of what team sports is all about.

I listen to a local radio DJ who over the years feels that no behavior from millionaire athletes is too outrageous to be criticized. Whether it’s Charles Barkley fighting in a bar, Allen Iverson allegedly pointing a gun at someone, or Terrell Owens’ Sharpie maneuver, or Joe Horn this weekend, all of this is good because it shows some personality according to this DJ, and that’s what people want to see. Maybe that’s what you want to see, but its not what I want to see. To this radio DJ, sports isn’t sufficiently interesting unless you have placed a wager on the game and the players act up. I disagree, sports are intensely interesting without outrageously bad behavior, and without wagering.

Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer

Is anyone else truly irritated and annoyed by this song? The first 12 times I heard it, I could see it had some entertainment value ... but the next 1200 times, I got tired of the joke.

2003 Weblog Awards — Winners

Based on over 63,000 votes cast during the ten days polls were open (12/5/2003 -12/14/2003), check out the 22 winners of 2003 Weblog Awards. Hosted by Wizbang.

Meeting Saddam Hussein

Ahmad Chalabi, head of the Iraqi National Congress, after meeting Saddam Hussein, said:

"The most important fact: Had the roles been reversed, he would have torn us apart and cut us into small pieces after torture. This contrast was paramount in my mind, how we treated him and how he would have treated us."

Reality — How Fake

The latest reality show, Fox’s The Simple Life, starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, seems to be totally faked. It’s all play acting, and not reality at all. Actually, that makes me feel better, I had a hard time believing Paris and Nicole could be so cold-hearted that they would pour water into milk bottles to fill up the bottles. And I really didn’t enjoy that scene when I thought the girls were being plain old stuck up bitches. But it wasn't real and this show is really a sitcom, and you know what, that makes me feel a whole lot better and maybe I’ll enjoy watching it now. (link via Off On A Tangent)

Lotsa Snow

A Great Moment

Saddam Hussein has been captured! Congratulations to all who were involved in this mission. Your work is very much appreciated.

A Tragic Loss

Roger McCall, known as Unkle Rog to listeners of WCMF radio for the last thirty years, was shot and killed last night. Rog had a gentle style and a gentle sense of humor, yet his knowledge of music and his passion for music always shined through. It was always a pleasure to listen to Unkle Rog. Rog was collecting rent payments with a family member, when he was shot.

Farewell, Rog, we will miss you.

Read more tributes to Rog here.

The Anti-Hilary Duff

Okay, I talk a lot about Hilary Duff. But I’d like to introduce you to the anti-Hilary Duff. It’s Ashlie Brillault, who plays Hilary’s nemesis, the evil Kate Sanders, on the Lizzie McGuire show. Ashlie is a gifted young actress, who makes being evil look glamorous, and when the tables are turned and Kate gets her comeuppance, Ashlie plays that part very well too.

While we have learned a lot about Hilary, who has gotten a lot of publicity lately, there is almost no information about Ashlie. In fact, it seems as if she is shying away from publicity. Ashlie’s official web site says that due to a lack of contribution from Ashlie and her people, the web site is being shut down. Searching the web yields very few pictures of Ashlie. The only real information about her I could find comes from StartedByAMouse.com, which says:

Born in Southern California, ASHLIE BRILLAULT (Kate) began acting at age four, when she starred in her first Christmas pageant. After playing the lead role in several high school productions and modeling for four years, Brillault auditioned for "Lizzie McGuire” and landed the role of Kate.

In the gifted program at school, Brillault is also a straight-A student. Aside from her charity work for Assisteens and Kids with a Cause, she enjoys a close family life with her two sisters and likes to hang out with her many friends, including Clayton Snyder.

Well, good for you Ashlie, I am very impressed. Keep those straight A’s coming.

Update (1/14/03): Ashlie Brillault’s official web site is now located here and it appears that this new web site will be updated regularly. Check it out, it has baby pictures of Ashlie, as well as some post-Lizzie McGuire pictures.

Magnetic Insoles? Don’t Waste Your Money

Magnetic insoles are often sold for relief of heel pain. However, a recent double-blind study, reported in the Journal of American Medical Association, showed that magnetic insoles had no greater effect at reducing pain than insoles with fake magnets in them.

Virginia files felony spam charges

A North Carolina resident has been charged with using fraudulent means to transmit unsolicited bulk e-mail. He has been arrested and will be extradited to Virginia to face trial. Let’s hope that more of these spammers get arrested. They certainly deserve our wrath, and given certain state laws, they also deserve jail time. Plus, how stupid can you be, Mr. Spammer, after your entire audience has received 30 dozen unwanted “penis enlargement” e-mails, do you really think that anyone is going to positively respond to further spams on that topic?

A Great Day for Iraq

From Healing Iraq:

The rallies today proved to be a major success. I didn’t expect anything even close to this. It was probably the largest demonstration in Baghdad for months. It wasn’t just against terrorism. It was against Arab media, against the interference of neighbouring countries, against dictatorships, against Wahhabism, against oppression, and of course against the Ba’ath and Saddam.

Check out the photos of these rallies too.

Such Great Dancing Partners!

Last night, my regular Tuesday night dancing friends were just wonderful. They all knew that my department was going to downsize on Monday, and when I arrived, virtually all of my friends asked me if I still had a job, or not. I really appreciated that. I bought them a lot of drinks.

Congrats to The Jury

The jury that convicted Rep William Janklow (R-SD) used some very commendable logic in coming to their decision, and didn’t buy the counter-arguments of the defense. According to jury foreman Jim Mitchell:

Mr. Janklow's negligence in not taking care of himself, of not knowing the consequences of his diabetes...carried enough weight that it became reckless on his part

What Up, Hilary Duff?

According to Hilary Duff’s own website, Hilary’s upcoming concert at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on January 24th went on sale today at noon and was sold out in 3 minutes. Due to the big demand a second show got added on the same day.

Sold out in three minutes? Now wait a minute, are there only three seats in the whole theatre? When I’m waiting in line for concert tickets, it seems like everyone in front of me takes five minutes each! Well, have no fear, your investigative blogger will get to the bottom of this, or maybe not.

Janklow Convicted of Manslaughter

Rep. William Janklow (R-SD) was convicted of manslaughter today. He is guilty of driving his car through a stop sign and killing a motorcyclist. The jury rejected Janklow’s claim that he was disoriented by a diabetic reaction. Prosecutors made the argument that it was reckless for Janklow to drive knowing he had diabetes and knowing he hadn’t eaten for most of the day, which could make diabetic disorientation more likely. Prosecutors also pointed out that Janklow was an admitted chronic speeder. Janklow has resigned from the House of Representatives.

The Hubble Heritage Project

The Hubble Heritage Project is devoted to preserving and portraying images from the Hubble Space Telescope. It contains a gallery of incredibly gorgeous images of our universe, and is designed to stimulate as well as educate. Shown below is one of the universe’s most stately and photogenic galaxies, the Sombrero Galaxy (M104). The galaxy’s hallmark is a brilliant white, bulbous core encircled by the thick dust lanes comprising the spiral structure of the galaxy. As seen from Earth, the galaxy is tilted nearly edge-on. We view it from just six degrees north of its equatorial plane. This brilliant galaxy was named the Sombrero because of its resemblance to the broad rim and high-topped Mexican hat.

Whew!

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post about Corporate Downsizing, the infinite wisdom of my managers has yielded the result: I still have a job. At least, until next time. But I don’t mind telling you my heart was pounding when my boss was about to give me the verdict, I really thought there was a chance the news would be bad. So I am extremely relieved right now. Three people in my department who did receive bad news took it very well, two of them looked at it as an opportunity to move or get a better job, and one just laughed about it. But I still felt bad for them, two of these people had spent over 20 years with Kodak.

Did I mention I am extremely relieved?