Funny T-Shirts

Check out the funny t-shirts at ebaynham.com. (Link via Pepper Of The Earth)

Reaction to Gore’s speech

The Daily Howler has a good roundup of some conservative pundits reaction to a recent speech by Al Gore. None of the pundits cited actually debates the substance of Gore’s speech, but they do criticize his delivery, or imply that he is off his medication, or just attack him because he is easy to make fun of.

Do You Have A Right to Privacy If You Send A False E-mail In Someone Else’s Name?

Can someone send an offensive e-mail in your name, then avoid prosecution by claiming his or her rights to privacy? The Portland (Maine) Press Herald reports on such a case here.

The case raises questions about the limits of privacy for people who use electronic communications, and the rights of others to protect their identities. Thus, the court case right now is about forcing the ISP to reveal the e-mailer’s identity. It’s an are where the law is largely silent, and soon the Main Supreme Judicial Court will have to decide.

In a lower court ruling, Superior Court Justice Thomas Warren wrote:

There is absolutely no indication that Congress was seeking to prevent disclosure of persons who are alleged to have committed a form of identity theft by sending e-mails under false names.

Lawyer George Marcus, representing the defendant, says:

We have a great tradition in this country of the anonymous publication of works, going back to Benjamin Franklin and Poor Richard’s Almanack. Congress has said that we're going to protect privacy. As long as someone is not committing a crime, they deserve to keep their anonymity.

I’m not a lawyer, but I come down in favor of the plaintiff. Let’s not allow people to send e-mails in other people’s name. I control the rights to use my name, not you.

By the way, the flaw in the defense attorney’s argument is that Franklin didn’t want to use his own name; he was not appropriating someone else’s name; and I think (again, I’m no lawyer) that identity theft is a crime.

Italy sets strict pizza guidelines

The world is now safe from phony pizzas. And so, the world is now a much better place!

Italy has set strict new guidelines on what is and is not a pizza. It can be no more than 35 centimeters in diameter, it must be round, and no thicker than 0.3 centimeters in the middle, with a crust of about 2 centimeters.

For All The Wrong Reasons

This story really steams me. The town of Upper St. Clair, Pa. has chosen to fire a successful high school girls soccer coach, for all the wrong reasons.

Coach Wayne Capra had a record of 112-24-10 in six years at Upper St. Clair. Now there are some valid reasons to fire successful coaches: committing a crime, sexual misconduct, verbal or physical abuse of his players, being too friendly with the girls on the team, etc. So what was Capra’s crime? According to the article, he was too friendly with some parents.

There were some unhappy players, because they felt Capra wasn’t giving them enough playing time. Which is something that I think happens on every team. But the perception was that Capra was chosing who played based upon his friendliness with the parents. Now, if that was true, and Capra was making decisions based upon friendliness with parents, you would not expect such a stellar won-loss record. Furthermore, virtually everyone agreed that Capra produced winning teams and practiced sportsmanship all the while. He also took an interest in the players lives off the field. “He dedicates his life to not only improving the soccer team, but also to enriching the individual lives of his players,” said former player Taryn Bird.

I have no doubt that no matter who is chosen to be the replacement, there will be continued unhappiness about playing time. It happens on almost every team. And Upper St. Clair has shown that it does not know how to see the big picture and reward good people. It has shown that it does know how to let the little things ruin something that was working well.

We Have Lawyers To Thank

ABC News’ John Stossel has a report on warning labels that seem unnecessary. For example, a fishing lure package that says “Harmful if swallowed”. I’m not sure that too many people have been swallowing fishing lures lately, but just in case, so the lawyers can’t sue the manufacturer or the seller of the lure, companies put warnings like this on product labels. Apparently, previous lawsuits of a similar nature have prompted these warnings. Another example is the the power drill which warns users “Not intended for use as a dental drill.” While this may cause a few snickers, it also means that companies have to re-label their packages, and pass along the cost to customers.

The Rise of White Supremacist Groups

Dave Neiwert at Orcinus discusses the effect of the growing power of White Supremacist groups, particularly in their recruitment of teenagers. He discusses the racially motivated fights and riots that ensue in several high schools, many of which were precipitated by a growing number of insults of minorities by “skinheads” with White Supermacist beliefs.

In the 10 days since a campus melee and fights erupted at Temescal Canyon High School, the racial and ethnic divides separating many students have grown even wider, more than a dozen students said last week.

Several parents say that the racial tensions and the fights have them very concerned that even greater violence may lie ahead.

Temescal Canyon High is not the only place this is occuring.

It’s important to observe that a number of racially charged incidents elsewhere — from Ithaca, Orangetown and Saranac, all in New York, to Newark, Ohio, to Arlington, Washington and Sacramento, Calif. — have all involved increasing racial tensions in the nation’s high schools.

And in the vast majority of these incidents, the tensions have been spurred by the fresh appearance of white-supremacist ideology among the young people involved.

I despise this type of hate. What can we do about this? Niewert points to an editorial in The Oregonian which says “Confront hate in the community; don’t ignore it”.

Bravo, Mr. Gore

We are ready to excuse Al Gore’s claim that he invented the Internet (if indeed he really did say that, and there are doubters). His speech the other day, attacking the record of President Bush, needed to be said. In fact, with polls showing record low numbers of Americans thinking Bush is doing a good job, I'm sure that Gore’s words ring true for a large number of Americans.

George W. Bush promised us a foreign policy with humility. Instead, he has brought us humiliation in the eyes of the world.

He promised to “restore honor and integrity to the White House.” Instead, he has brought deep dishonor to our country and built a durable reputation as the most dishonest President since Richard Nixon.

Gore goes on to call for the resignations of many under Bush.

The conservative pundits had a great time with this. According to Kevin at LeanLeft, he could not find a single instance of the conservatives rebutting any of Gore’s points. All the conservative pundits did was smear Gore’s character and intelligence. I guess that’s what passes for debate these days. Note: Nowhere does Gore smear Bush’s intelligence or his character -- he only addresses the President’s actions and their consequences.

If anyone would like to debate the points Gore made, let’s do it. If you want to call Gore unhinged or a nut, save your breath, I’m not interested.

On-Line Speed Dating

I got an e-mail from Match.com advertising their totally free new service, on-line speed dating, where you get to talk to other singles in your area for four minutes. If you like any one of them, and they like you, Match.com exchanges your e-mail addresses and the rest is up to you.

So how did it go? Well, I live in Rochester, NY, and I got matched up with a few singles in Buffalo, NY. Not exactly what I was hoping for. Although I did not pay a cent to Match.com, I did have to make a long-distance phone call to participate. While that really isn’t expensive at 8pm, it was still a total waste of my time (and I tried three different times) and a total waste of a small amount of money. It might work a little better in larger metropolitan areas, but even so, many times there was no one for me to talk to because of the imbalance of genders available for the event.

I think I’ll pass on future events.

Feeling Like Tonto, Riding A Pinto, Trying To Chase The Lone Ranger Down

CD Review
CD: A Horse Of A Different Color
Artist: Big & Rich

The aptly named title, A Horse Of A Different Color, warns listeners that this is not your ordinary country music CD. Big & Rich, a new duo (Big Kenny and John Rich) have created a unique sound, and incorporated country music, rock, rap (yes, rap), pop and jazz and along the way pay homage to a host of country music stars, cowboy traditions and modern life. Their CD contains 13 tracks, and each and every one of those 13 makes you sit up and take notice.

I can remember the first time I heard their debut single “Wild West Show” on the radio. It definitely didn’t sound like anything else on country radio, and the lyrics were also striking, talking about Tonto, the Lone Ranger, teepees and peace pipes. “Don’t want to see us go the way of the buffalo; don’t want to have another wild west show.” I didn’t know who was singing or what the song was, but I sure wanted to hear it again. It became a huge hit.

Their next single, the humorous “Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy” also has a sound and lyrics that will grab your attention. “... I saddle up my horse and I ride into the city. I make a lot of noise because the girls they are so pretty. Riding up and down Broadway on my old stud Leroy and the girls say ‘Save a horse, ride a cowboy’”.

From the first seconds of the first track, you know this is an unusual CD. With a background sound like a southern revival and an accent like a southern preacher, you hear “Brother and sisters, we are here for one reason and one reason only — to share our love of music. I present to you country music, without prejudice”. Other tracks remind you of the B-52s singing their hit “Love Shack”, the Honeydrippers with Robert Plant, a night-club jazzy piano player, and maybe even Freddie Mercury and Queen. And throughout the references to old cowboys and Indians continue: Wild Bill Hickock, Calamity Jane, six-guns smoking and the aforementioned Tonto and The Lone Ranger; and along the way they throw in many references to modern life: reality shows, CNN, the Rolling Stones, George Strait, Michael Jordan, bling bling (bling bling in a country song?)

Even if you don’t necessarily like country music, there’s a lot here for everyone. And for country music fans, well, you’re gonna love it. After hearing Big & Rich sing “Deadwood Mountain”, you’ll want to be buried on Deadwood Mountain. I’ll give Big & Rich’s new CD A Horse Of A Different Color five tumbleweeds out of five.

Update (5/27/04): My son says the rap part of the CD reminds him of Insane Clown Posse.

That’s My Niece!

The text at 1Tail Products says:

Meet 1Tail Super Model Victoria Star LIVE in person at the AMA Superbike Race at Laguna Seca Saturday, July 10th and Sunday, July 11th, 2004. Stop by the 1Tail pit and get a FREE personally autographed poster of Victoria!

Finally! A Luxury Hotel in the Gobi Desert

For all of you who have been hankering to travel through Mongolia, but were put off by the need to live from a tent in the Gobi Desert, now your troubles are over. Introducing Three Camel Lodge, the first luxury accomodations in the Gobi Desert.

Not Too Bright

Some high school students and recent graduates showed up at Six Flags Darien Lakes amusement park’s “alcohol and drug free night” with alcohol and marijuana.

The amusement park had warned people in advance that sheriff’s deputies would be there. The Genesee County Sheriff’s Department arrested 74 people ranging in age from 17 to 21.

Maybe they never paid attention in the reading comprehension part of high school.

Supermarkets

We have two major supermarket chains in Rochester, Tops and Wegmans. I generally go to Tops only if I'm in a hurry, because it is closer, and only if I need a few items. Tonight offers a good illustration of why I often leave Tops thinking to myself that I am never going to Tops again.

I couldn’t find one of the most important items on my shopping list tonight at Tops. So I asked a store employee, and he went and looked in the back to see if they had any. Nope, all out. This little search-and-wait cost me about ten minutes, and meant a trip to Wegmans (well, I used to be in a hurry, but now I was stuck spending the extra time...) Nevertheless, I headed to the checkout at Tops with my other shopping list items, and the cashier was distinctly not trying to be pleasant or friendly. Now, she wasn’t surly or unpleasant either, but her disinterest and clear lack of a smile does not make a good impression.

Then I drove over to Wegmans, found the rest of my shopping list, all of which were in stock and plentiful, spoke to a much more friendly cashier, and finally I was done shopping and drove home.

This is typical of my experiences. Tops often is out of stock of a particular item, and their cashiers are much more likely to be disinterested. At Wegmans, I think maybe once a year are they out of stock on something, and the cashiers almost always say hello and smile. On top of that, the produce at Wegmans is almost always better. There is a persistent myth that the prices are lower at Tops, but I am not aware of a definitive study on the subject.

It’s no wonder that I Wegmans has the lion’s share of the Market. I simply don’t enjoy going to Tops. I usually find shopping at Wegmans much more pleasant, and if the prices are slightly higher (and if I have to spend slightly more of my gasoline to get there), I feel its worth the price.

Bananas from Iceland

Did you know: Iceland is probably the biggest banana growing country in Europe (they are grown in greenhouses)?

I didn't know that! I also didn't know Iceland was in Europe, but why quibble over details?

Gay Marriage

Some people have been claiming that gay marriage in Massachusetts has debased their own marriage, and the institution of marriage. Ed Brayton at Dispatches from the Culture Wars has a good reply to this. Talking about someone who claims that now his traditional marriage is meaningless because of gay marriage, Ed Brayton says:

Not only has his marriage, or those of his friends and loved ones, now become meaningless, but it lacks “luster” now that gays can do it too. You see, marriage had meaning and luster last week, when Liz Taylor could collect husbands like they were new shoes, when Britney Spears could get married on a lark in the middle of a drunken stupor and then say “My Bad” and have it annulled the next day. Back in the good old days, before THOSE people could get married, there was luster. Now we need some marital turtle wax to get that sheen back.

Furthermore, to those folks who think that gay marriage will bring dire consequences, note that gay marriage did not result in dire consequences in Denmark, Norway, Sweden or three Canadian provinces that allow it?

Man becomes ill after gorging on cicadas

Apparently, eating cicadas can cause allergic reactions.

Congrats to Robin

Robin at :hopeless: has just graduated from college with a degree in meteorology. This is a great accomplishment! Go tell her congratulations.

Sinless? (Or Urban Rumor?)

PZ Myers at Pharyngula tells the story of a German couple who went to a fertility clinic after not having any children. Doctors examined the couple and found they were fertile, and so the doctors asked the couple how often they have sex.

They looked blank, and said: "What do you mean?".

"We are not talking retarded people here, but a couple who were brought up in a religious environment who were simply unaware, after eight years of marriage, of the physical requirements necessary to procreate."

This story was originally written about here.

IOC Clears Transsexuals for Competition

Does this mean that there will be a new event in tennis, Mixed Singles?

Gargoyle!

This gargoyle stares out at Westiminster Road in Rochester, NY. He roosts near the top of the church spire at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

According to the Columbia Encyclopedia: Gargoyles were a “waterspout used in medieval Europe to draw rainwater from church and cathedral roofs. Gargoyles were fashioned imaginatively in the form of human grotesques, beasts, and demonic spirits. This form of sculpture reached its peak in the Gothic period and declined with the introduction of lead drainpipes in the 16th cent.”

Outsource CEOs, Not Workers

We agree, getting rid of a highly-paid CEO in exchange for someone getting less money could save dozens of workers jobs. But more importantly, it would appear from this analysis that CEOs don’t deserve the high pay they get. (Link via The Leiter Reports)

Overpaying CEOs is bad business. Compensation experts Joseph Blasi and Douglas Kruse analyzed executive pay at more than 1,500 top U.S. companies from 1992 to 2002. Corporations with significantly higher than average shares of employee stock options going to the CEO and the next four top executives had lower average total shareholder returns for the decade.

T Rex for Sale

The bones of a tyrannasourus rex known as Barnum, dug up in South Dakota, go on the auction block soon and are expected to bring in $900,000.

Update (5/17): Apparently, Barnum only brought in about $90,000, which is one-tenth of what was expected.

As Number of Policemen Drop, Crime Rises

This is a chilling story in Washington Monthly. It shows how (no surprise) as the number of policemen in a city drop, the crime rate rises. But it also discusses the reasons why, crime rates in many cities are rising after years of declining crime rates. (Link via Daily Kos)

How can cities be so foolish as to cut their police forces and spark an inevitable rise in crime? Part of the problem is the state and local fiscal crisis that has hit communities across the nation. But faced with the need to trim budgets, most cities have first cut health, education, and transportation spending, and tried to preserve their police forces. The real cause of the police shortage is not in City Hall but in the White House. The Bush administration’s first budget eliminated all direct funding for street cops. The war in Iraq, fought largely without allies, has required the call-up of huge numbers of reserves, many of whom are cops. And instead of using the men in blue as eyes and ears on the domestic war on terrorism, the administration has, in effect, used them as glorified security guards. The federal government’s repeated directives to local police to beef up patrols at potential terrorist targets have taken officers away from their regular duties. And because the feds have not paid for many of these extra patrols, homeland security has stretched local budgets even further.

The International Brotherhood of Police Officers, a union group which backed Bush in 2000, has endorsed Kerry, saying “After three and a half years of disappointing leadership under George Bush, we need to change course in November and elect a president with a real record of supporting police officers and a lifetime of standing with law enforcement”.

Baby Eyas Born!

An eyas is a baby peregrine falcon. And the first egg has hatched for Mariah and Kaver, the two peregrine falcons nesting atop Kodak Office in Rochester, NY. You can see a picture of the nestbox here, although the baby may or may not be visible depending on where the adult falcon sits. Usually you will be able to see the broken egg to the right of the adult. Other views of the Kodak Office falcon nestbox are here.

Across the country, in downtown San Francisco, two falcons have given birth to at least two baby eyases, atop the P&G building. This article credits such corporate generosity to falcons as being responsible for the species being moved off of the endangered species list.

Update (5/14): Three babies have hatched now.

The Largest Insect Emergence on Earth Has Now Begun!

I didn’t remember much about the 17-year cicadas, although I remember living through their emergence 34 years ago. This article by Reuters tells you all the fascinating details about the life of these insects, which began emerging today. Maybe trillions of these insects will appear, live their two week life, make lots of noise, mate, lay eggs and die.

Baseball Before Cooperstown

A document found at Pittsfield, MA, shows that baseball was being played there in 1791, and it was rampant enough to warrant a law against playing near a building. This pushes back the first known reference to baseball from the 1820s to 1791. It is now widely accepted by baseball historians that Abner Doubleday did not invent baseball in Cooperstown in 1839.

The Newest Low Carb Snack

According to National Geographic, billions of high protein, low fat, zero carb cicadas — yes, locust-like insects — are about to emerge from their 17-year sleep. This article claims they make a great snack, they are quite nutritious, and taste like asparagus. Let me know if you try some.

But What About John Montgomery Ward?

Today, the name John Montgomery Ward popped into my head. Why? Because a few days earlier, I had heard on ESPN (and later blogged here) that Cy Young had pitched the first perfect game in Major League Baseball history. But didn’t John Ward pitch a perfect game in the 1880s?

So I finally looked it up, and yes indeed, Cy Young did not pitch the first perfect game in baseball history. John Montgomery Ward pitched a perfect game for Providence against Buffalo on June 17, 1880. And believe it or not, that was the second perfect game pitched that week. Five days earlier, Lee Richmond pitched the first perfect game in baseball history for Worcester against Cleveland.

Ward would go on to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He won 46 games for Providence in 1879, and a decade later, was a star shortstop leading the New York Giants to back-to-back league championships. Richmond would become a medical doctor with a degree from Brown University, and a plaque locating where the pitcher’s mound was for Richmond’s perfect game is located at Becker College in Worcester.

The Blue Caboose

Picture taken on Saturday, May 8, 2004 at 5:20pm on the CSX Westshore Branch at Henrietta, NY, just east of Winton Road.

Seems Like Nothin’ Ever Comes To No Good Up On Choctaw Ridge

It is truly amazing to me how I can still sing the words of songs that I haven’t heard in years, and not miss a word. I’m sure I haven’t heard Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe” in at least five years, and probably more, but last night when that song came on the radio, I was able to sing the entire song without missing a word. I’m sure there is some cosmic explanation, you know, how I am connected to the universe, or that my brain has merged with great muse in the sky. But it sure is a great feeling when it happens. It was almost euphoric to enjoy that song that intensely again after all these years. I hope all of you have had similar experiences.

100 Years Ago Today

The first perfect game in baseball history was pitched on May 5, 1904 at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston. Future Hall-Of-Famer Cy Young retired all 27 Philadelphia Athletics that he faced that day. Not a single ball was hit hard by the Athletics and their manager Connie Mack commented that this was the most impressive game ever pitched. Young would go on to win a record 511 games.

Update (5/9/04): It turns out that there were two previous perfect games before Cy Young’s, and so the information I heard on ESPN Sportcenter was incorrect. Read more here.

How To Stop A Runaway Camel

You’re about to park your camel (your car’s in the shop) by a meter on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. But, before you can dismount and feed your pocketful of quarters for 10 minutes parking, your camel is startled by a bus and bolts. What should you do? (Link via The Presurfer)

Also, how to foil an alien abudction! (Link via J-Walk)

Don’t get caught unprepared!

CNet’s Series on “Offshoring” Totally Misses The Big Picture

Today, CNet begins a four-part series looking at the problem of “offshoring”, the moving of jobs from the United States to a foreign country. And despite thousands of words in the first article of the series, CNet totally misses the big picture.

The solution to the problem, according to CNet, is that the education system in the United States is horrible, and it needs a major upgrade. While we agree that major improvements to the United States education system would be a good thing in and of itself, we disagree that it would have any effect on offshoring. As we have pointed out before, the decision to move jobs overseas is a financial one — it has nothing to do with the quality of the workers. My department will downsize 30% in June. Many of those jobs are going to be done in China, while other jobs simply are being eliminated to reduce costs. If I could snap my fingers and double the education of everyone in my department, come June 30% of them would still be out of work.

CNet goes on to argue that if education in the US improves, this will cause research and development in the US top improve, resulting in more jobs in the US. Well, there might be more R&D jobs if this happens, but manufacturing and IT jobs will continue to move overseas because of financial (not educational) considerations.

More on Psychic Carla Baron

Weeks ago, I predicted that psychic Carla Baron would be unsuccessful in providing evidence on a missing student, Maura Murray. Today, Tgirsch at Lean Left reprints an entire article (with permission) that appeared in the e-Skeptic online magazine (subscribe here), produced by Skeptic.com. In this article, Baron’s earlier attempts at solving crimes psychically are debunked. Furthermore, the article takes to task ABC Primetime Thursday for promoting Baron’s alleged successes, without doing very simple internet research that would have shown that these were not successes at all.

My Thoughts on Iraq

Originally, I suppored President Bush’s decision to attack Iraq. I reasoned that he must have pretty good evidence to commit soldier’s lives and American dollars to this dangerous and difficult task. And now, a year after his “Mission Accomplished” speech, I have been trying to think of how to write my feelings about how badly things have gone wrong, and how I am now opposed to the war in Iraq.

However, Senator Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) has done a very good job of describing how I feel and what I am thinking. And Senator Byrd says it better than I could. Read what he has to say.

One point that Byrd does not make is that Bush claims his decision was based upon intelligence by the CIA and others, which now appears to have been incorrect. Yet we do not see any outrage from President Bush. I would have expected heads would roll, but apparently not. The other explanation is that the intelligence was correct, and the bad decision was made by the White House. Either way, it is not a pretty sight.

Be Aware of Online Fraud

Charter One Bank provides this information about keeping yourself safe from on-line fraud. This fraud usually takes place when someone sends you an e-mail asking for your password, credit (or debit) card number, your social security number, etc. Charter One, and most legitimate companies, will never ask you for this information. The link provided by Charter One provides specific instructions about what to look for if you suspect the e-mail you have just received is a fraud. Although the information and examples of fraudulent e-mail are specific to Charter One, I am quite sure that they apply to virtually every legitimate company.

Please go to the link and read it. And never give out information because someone sends you an e-mail asking for it.

I Am Ashamed of Some Americans

After reading about the torture and mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison at the hands of Americans ... I can only say that I am ashamed of these Americans. They deserve the full punishment of the law. We need to see clear actions by President Bush and the Armed Forces against these people, as well as a policy whereby this cannot happen again in the future. And somehow we need to stop antagonizing the Arab World.

Update: Kevin Hayden at The American Street offers his own thoughts, as well as links from around the blogosphere, including liberals and conservatives.

California Toughens E-Voting Standards

California set tough new standards for electronic voting on Friday, barring a third of existing machines from November's ballot and ordering new security measures before thousands of others can be used.

California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley also called for a criminal investigation into the state's largest e-voting machine supplier, Diebold, a firm he called "reprehensible."

CNet Series On “Offshoring” Misses The Big Picture

“Offshoring” is when a company moves jobs from here in the United States to another country. Today, CNet begins a four part series looking at this issue. And despite the fact that today’s CNet article is thousands of words, they spectacularly miss the big picture.

According to the CNet article, the way to fix this problem is to fix the American education system. And while I believe that we do indeed need to fix and improve the American education system, it will have absolutely no effect on “offshoring”. As I have explained before, the decision to move jobs elsewhere is an economic one. It has nothing to do with the ability of our workers. And while improving American’s education is definitely a good thing, if there are fewer jobs here, we will simply have more educated people out of work.

In my company, some of the work is moving to China, for economic reasons. Other work simply is going away and won’t ever come back. In June, my department will downsize by 30%, and if I could snap my fingers and give everyone twice the education they have now, there would still be 30% of them out of work in June.

CNet goes on to imply that if the United States can regain its lead in research and development, then the jobs will stay here. But that’s wrong again — perhaps the R&D jobs will remain here, but manufacturing jobs will go where the cost is cheapest, and IT jobs will go where the cost is cheapest as well.