Peekaboo Crime Prevention

The city of Los Angeles is installing a bunch of cameras to cut down on trafficking of pirated DVD's on the mean streets of the L.A. garment district.

One of the most disturbing things about this is that the RIAA has contributed $186,000 for the system. I dunno, maybe I'm just being persnickety but it seems to me that when a private corporation finances the tools for enforcing crime to which the contributor has a vested interest there is a hint of conflict of interest. Say it with me kids - Corporate Statism. Don't know what it means? Go look it up. That's your homework. I expect a full report in the comments section.

The other disturbing thing about our march toward a surveillance society is our old friend Mr. Slippery Slope.

Where does it end? When are they going to mandate that cars driving on public roads must be equipped with cameras for 'public safety' reasons? Even if they're pointed outward that's a problem. I don't want to be giving any pubic, ...sorry, public official any ideas but if you coupled a GPS unit with an on board camera that automatically turned on when driving on a public road you would greatly increase safety because everyone would drive as if a cop was trailing them. The insurance companies would back this as well because it would be easier to determine who was responsible for an accident. It should go without saying that the lawyers would love it.

Cat Like Reflexes

I'm getting a little older but my reflexes don't seem to have suffered much.

I was on the freeway late this morning and Nissan pickup changed lanes abruptly. Unfortuntely he wanted to occupy the space on the freeway that I was currently using. I don't know how it is that he didn't see me since I was half a car length ahead of him.

I was on the phone (without my hands free set) and I had cruise control set on 70. I saw him out of my peripheral vision before he saw me and I knew that there was no one on my left so I punched the gas, grabbed the steering wheel both hands (still holding cell phone) and swerved out of the way. I was all the way in the other lane before the other guy swerved back to the right in his own lane.

After I was back under control and out of danger I said, "Mom, could you repeat that last part? I missed it because I almost died in a fiery car wreck."

It's amazing how time just slows down in a situation like that. The first time I saw a trailer for The Matrix and their slow motion thing I finally saw on screen about what it feels like when I get an adrenaline rush. It's a lot of fun sometimes.

Tell me your stories.

In Related News...

BBC News is reporting that a team of doctors wants to ban guns. No wait, they did that already.

BBC News is reporting that a team of doctors wants to ban long kitchen knives.

Yes folks, kitchen knives, the weapon of choice among British yutes. Apperently violent crime is on the rise and kitchen knives are used in as many as half of all stabbings.

This is yet another exposure to the blatent stupidity of liberal/socialist/communist policies. They assumed the problem with violence had to with the availability of guns. Well, guess what stupid? Many people have violent tendancies and will carry them out with whatever is at hand.

Carrying my theory a step further, I would wager that a violent criminal is less likely to use a gun in an assult than a knife. Shooting someone carries a weight to it that stabbing does not and calls for a greater consideration for the consequences. Stabbing someone may or may not be fatal. The act of stabbing seems less likely to trigger a pang of concience beforehand.

Bane? Any thoughts on this?

Gun Safety In School

This is refreshing news. Arizona public schools are offering a gun safety course.

Naturally, the liberals are predicting murder and mayhem.

I've been telling people for years that we ought to send gang bangers to publicly financed gun safety and marksmanship classes. This way, they can concentrate on shooting each other and not innocent bystanders.

The most interesting part of the story comes from Dr. Mary Rimsza, director of the Student Health Center at Arizona State University:

“I'm afraid these programs are really geared more toward increasing peoples interest in guns rather than safety”

Why is it that the dumb liberals don't apply this same mentality to sex-ed? Their excuse for that is, "They're going to do it anyway, we might as well teach them to be safe about it."

Make up your minds idiots! Wouldn't it be great if this became a nationwide curriculum? If we have to have public schools, we might as well teach them right.

Bush Welcomes Another Terrorist

President Bush welcomed another terrorist in to the White House today.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas joined Bush in the White House to discuss peace.

This is what makes me angry about Bush. He HAS to know that the Palestinians (most of them) don't want peace. They want only the wholesale destruction of Israel. The Palestinian Charter still declares that Israel has no right to the land they are on.

According to the article Bush is funneling millions of dollars (your tax money) to the PA in order to bolster the .... oh just go read the freaking article yourself; I can't discuss it anymore.

Oh The Tragedy Of It All!

Apparently Saddam Hussein's daughter is "outraged" over picures of her father in his underwear in a British Tabloid.

An aide for Husseins daughter Raghad Hussein (No, I'm not making up that name) said, "She described the pictures as inhumane, and wondered why her father is not being treated as a human being and the father of three daughters."

Raghad Hussein doesn't seem too outraged at the atrocities her father has allegedly committed. If she is, there has been no report of it.

Let's compare shall we?

• Hussein - Tortured, murdered, mutilated, and humiliated millions of people. Scammed billions from the Oil for Food program. Starved his people and probably did terrible things to small animals as well.
• London tabloid - Publishes picture of a tyrant in his tighty whiteys.

Which is worse? I'll let you decide.

Homeschooled Boy Wins Geography Bee

From the Washington Post.

WASHINGTON - A home-schooled seventh-grader from Minnesota has won the 17th annual National Geography Bee.

Thirteen-year-old Nathan Cornelius of Cottonwood was making his third straight trip to the national event.

He defeated nine other finalists during the final round, moderated by Alex Trebek, host of TV's "Jeopardy."

Nathan outlasted 14-year-old Karan Takhar of Rhode Island in an eleven-question championship round. The deciding question was the name of the dammed river that forms artificial Lake Gatun (gah-TOON') in the Panama Canal system.

The answer -- the Chagres (CHAH'-gres) River.

Nathan wins a 25,000-dollar college scholarship and lifetime membership in National Geographic Society.

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Should anyone be surprised by this? The encouraging this is that the short article doesn't editorialize on the unfair advantage homeschoolers are supposed to have by excluding other subjects in favor of studying geography.

And he's from Minnesota too; he must be a cool kid (pardon the pun).

Runaway Bride Indicted

It's about time she was indicted. She gets one felony and one misdemeanor charge.

Let's see if her boyfriend still marries her if she's in jail.

She's not likely to end up in jail. I'd actually be surprised if she got convicted.

Little House On The Prairie

This weekend I bought Little House in The Big Woods for my four year old daughter. It's the first in the Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingals Wilder. I picked this book because it's just complex enough to be a challenge and she'll really like the story. Besides that, it's wholesome without being politically correct or liberal.

The whole object of getting this book for her is to make her read it to me to improve her already stupendous reading skills.

She can only get through about 2 pages in a sitting so far, but I expect that to increase as she gets more comfortable with it.

She's also asking a lot of questions about things in the book. She wanted to know what a few animals looked like from the book so I used Google. One of these animals was a beaver. I had the foresight to set strict filtering before I submitted the search. That could have been disasterous.

I recommend picking up this book for your little ones. Even if they can't read it yet, it's a story that will capture their imaginations and they'll love to read it on their own when they are able.

Back To Global Cooling?

From nature.com comes this article that details how the the East Antarctic ice sheet has GROWN since 1992.

Of course the global-warmers continue to dissemble:

Although the results of the satellite survey are in line with the predictions of global-warming models, the thickening of the ice sheet could still be explained by natural weather variability, warns Curt Davis of the University of Missouri, Columbia, a member of the research team.

This will mean nothing to those who preach the message of gloom and doom for the earth but we really didn't expect it to now did we?

Legalism

I was stationed in Southern California while in the Marines in the late 80's. When I got out, I went back to Minneapolis where I grew up.

I started attending a small evangelical church a few blocks from where I was living. I ended up having a problem with the Associate Pastor though which has amused my friends and I for years.

I picked up a habit out here in SoCal. In the late 80's it was fashionable to wear deck shoes (aka, boat shoes or top siders). As per the fashion of the day, I didn't wear socks with those shoes. Apparently no one in Minnesota would ever have contemplated such a thing, especially during the winter. But I liked my deck shoes and I even wore them in the winter if I wasn't going to be out in the snow too much.

The Associate Pastor of this church came up to me one day and told me I had to start wearing socks with my shoes to church. Whatever. I ignored him.

A week or two later, he approached me again and told me that I had to wear socks to church. I immediately commenced to ignoring him again. He seemed to me to be one of those people similar to those I encountered in the Marines who, never having had a shred of authority, much less respect in their lives, abuse their rank the first chance they get because they don't know what to do with it. To compound the problem, this guy was short, skinny and not much older than me. He was well on his way to a Napoleonic Complex.

Another week or two goes by and yes, he approaches me again, the anger flashing in his eyes as he keeps glancing down at my feet. So he pulled me aside and scolded me once more. "This is the third time I've had to talk to you about this. If you don't start wearing socks with your shoes to church, we're going to have to have a meeting with Pastor John."

I could ignore him no longer. I looked him in the eye and asked, "What possible reason could you have for requiring me to wear socks with my shoes to church? It makes no sense at all. Is there a verse in the Bible I missed where this is required? Please educate me."

"It might be a stumbling block to someone," He told me with a straight face and a serious tone.

gasp...chuckle...chuckle

"Look," I replied and I hiked up my pant leg a bit, "If anyone gets turned on by my ankles, that's their problem. I can't be held accountable for that."

Needless to say, he was not pleased about having his 'authority' questioned nor my response to him. I was only at that church for a few more months but I only ever wore socks (or other shoes) when the temperature fell below zero.

Good News From The 9th Circus

The 9th Circus Court of Appeals has upheld a District Court ruling that the city of Redondo Beach, CA cannot conduct undercover stings and arrest day laborers seeking work.

It seems that undercover police were using a solicitation ordinance to arrest illegal aliens at a popular day-laborer gathering spot. The illegal aliens were arrested after hopping in to the cars of undercover officers believing they were going to get work.

Why is this good news? It's simple - The 9th Circus Court of Appeals is the most overturned court in the nation. It's a fairly safe bet that nearly anything the 9th rules on is wrong.

If this goes to the SCROTUM ...err ...SCOTUS there is a good chance that they will rule that a city can apply it's solicitation laws as it sees fit.

For the sake of clarity on my position here, let me state that I don't believe that cities should have wide latitude on solicitation laws. It's really a private property issue. If Home Depot wants to allow people to gather on its premises to solicit work, they should be allowed to do that provided that those gathering are in the United States legally to begin with. If they knowingly promote the activities of illegal aliens, they should be held accountable.

I know that Phoenix, AZ actually paid about a quarter of a million dollars to put the Macehualli Day Labor Union in the city and pays three non-profits to run it. Here we have a legal jurisdiction in the United States, sponsoring illegal activity. I know this doesn't surprise anyone but it's got to stop. I'm certain that there is more of this going on. Anyone that cares to look up some links and post them in the comments section is encouraged to do so.

I'd also like to add that I wouldn't even have a problem with illegal aliens if they had NO access to public funds of any kind. No welfare, no free medical care, no public school for their children, no nuthin'. If they want to come here illegally, they can take their chances. You libs will think I'm just being hateful but I'm not. These people are taking money out of the pockets of hard working Americans through the powers of taxation. It has to stop.

Narnia Trailer

My Disney ban has been in effect for about 6 or 7 years now but I think I'm going to lift it.

First of all, Michael Eisner, that militant anti-Christian is leaving. Also, Disney's very pro-homosexual agenda has really put me off. They are supposed to be the pre-eminent family entertainment company yet they aggressively promote the homosexual agenda.

But, Disney is putting out The Chronicles of Narnia, a Christian allegory written by C.S. Lewis.

I'm willing to give Disney the benefit of the doubt on this one.

I've got to tell you though, if they butcher it, the ban will go on. By butcher it, I mean that they remove the core message of the books which is that Jesus is our redeemer as portrayed by Aslan the lion. We'll see.

You can find the trailer here. It looks like an awesome production.

Are We In North America?

This is not a joke.

I work with a 20 year old girl who was maleducated in the public system. She's very smart really, just ill informed. This afternoon she was on a website for a company that had divisions all over the world. On this particular website, she had to select which continent she was on.

She turned around and asked, "Are we in North America?"

I couldn't help but laugh my butt off. If she was just a dumb person, I would have given her a straight answer but I expected better of her so I didn't attempt to conceal either my astonishment or amusement.

I spent the next hour quizzing her on geography. Oh, it was pathetic. She couldn't name all of the continents. She didn't know which continent Russia was in. She had a hard time naming a country in Europe. Finally she managed to figure out that France was in Euorope.

A good time was had by all.

Moth Balls

Do you know what moth balls smell like?

Yes? How did you get your nose between his little legs?
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Ok, that's a stupid joke but there is a story behind it that's far more funny than the joke.

Back in high school, my favorite past time was telling jokes. My joke repertoire was huge. My mother on the other hand has a great sense of humor but she has a hard time remembering, much less telling a joke. If she heard a joke and could still remember it when she got home, she would tell it to me.

So I'm in the kitchen doing dishes and my mom calls my name from the living room and says, "Do you know what moth balls smell like?"

Figuring she heard the aforementioned joke at work and was trying to give me a taste of my own medicine, I decided to spoil her fun.

"No mom, I've never been able to get my nose between their little legs."

...deafening silence ensues...

"WHAT did you say?"

See, my mom wasn't really in to crass jokes. Silly me, I thought she was making an exception. It turns out, she wasn't telling a joke at all. She was really asking if I knew what moth balls smelled like.

I replied sheepishly, "I've never been able to..get my nose........between........their.....little legs."

More silence.

Then, from nowhere, HOWLING laughter. And more laughter. After that, there was more laughter.

I guess it just struck her so funny that she lost it. She was actually on the floor, holding her gut and nearly hyperventilating. She laughed like that for nearly 20 minutes. I went to bed shortly after that but for the next hour, she'd bust out laughing again about every 10 minutes.

On The Wagon

Well, I finally stopped drinking. After almost 25 years straight...

....oh, you thought I meant booze. Sorry, I meant Mountain Dew.

After almost 25 years straight of drinking Mountain Dew, I gave it up almost 2 weeks ago. I've quit before. I have forced myself to stay off of it for up to a month.

This time is different. I'm not forcing myself. Nearly two weeks ago, I cracked open a 2 liter bottle of anti-freeze, drank less than 1/4 of the bottle and felt a little sick to my stomach.

I dumped the rest of it down the sink and threw the bottle away. I just lost my taste for it. I'm not craving it, desiring it, thirsting for it, pining after it, or mourning the loss of it in my life.

In fact, when I went in to the liqour store across the street to get something to drink, I look at the Dew and I exclaimed out loud, "Yuck!" It doesn't even sound good anymore. Now, I'd much rather have an energy drink (Kronik is the best if you can find it). I have had other soda but I didn't go out of my way for it nor do I have any desire to replace the Dew with something else that I'll consume just as much of.

Over the next couple of months, I'll see how much better I feel and whether or not I lose any additional weight (I've lost about 30 pounds since December).

Good riddance Dew of the Mountain, I wish I never knew ye.

Huffington Puffington

I can only hope this is true. It seems that Arianna Huffington's attempt at an A-List blog has fallen far short of it's goal.

Nikki Finke reports that Huffington has made a complete fool of herself to the Hollyweird crowd that she so adores. It seems there was lies and deceit on her part from day one.

I must admit that she was entertaining during the debates for the California special election for governor a couple of years ago. Even so, I hope this is the end of her public life and she'll just go away and live quietly in some remote corner of the universe; Manhattan perhaps.

Quantum Luck

***THEORY WARNING***

I don't believe that anything is truly random. Neither the fragments from an explosion or the way smoke curls are random. The patterns are very difficult to find but they are there.

I'm no expert when it comes to quantum physics but I believe that luck has more to do with quantum interactions than randomness.

Have you ever noticed that some people just seem to always be lucky while others are nearly always unlucky? Could there be a scientific reason for that? I think there might be.

It's possible that luck and related phenomenon have to do with quantum distortion. Everything is made up of matter and energy. That means, in part, that we're also composed of quantum particles.

Is it possible that the combination of quantum particles that make up a unit (whether that's a person or an object of some kind) have a quantum signature that can interfere with the larger quantum balance of the universe?

The idea of a rabbit's foot being good luck seems ludicrous but let's examine the possiblity using that as an example.

Let's say that the quantum signature of a rabbit's foot interacts with my quantum signature in such a way that it causes me to accrue a bit more of the positive quantum balance than someone else.

Before you think I've gone completely off my rocker, ask yourself why quantum particles could not interact in much the same way that chemicals do.

I don't really have anything to back this up other than it just being a crazy idea. What if I'm right though? What would this mean in terms of religion? I personally don't see a conflict. It's not a stretch to think that God could answer prayers here in our physical realm by manipulating the quantum field.

Anyway, let me know what you think about this. I'm open to suggestion including a complete debunking of my theory. But you'd better be able to make a good case for why it's not possible.

Oh The Irony!

Bill Gates is a funny guy I tell ya. He got together with Ford and now they want to put software in cars that will...

...ok you're going to have to make sure you're not near any sharp objects that you might fall on. Also be sure that you are not drinking anything you don't want to come back out your nose.

Ready? Good.

Bill Gates wants to put software in your car that will keep it from crashing. Yes folks, that's right! Microsoft can't keep their own stupid operating systems from crashing and they want you to put your life in their hands.

I can just see tech support call:

Caller: I'm using Windows Car Edition and I just crashed.

Tech Support: Sir, did you try turning off the car and rebooting it?

Caller: No, you don't understand, my car crashed.

Tech Support: Ok sir, on your dashboard display, please touch Start then Settings then Control Panel.

Caller: My dashboard display was destroyed in the crash.

Tech Support: I'm sorry to hear that sir but we only support the operating system, not the hardware, you are going to have to call your dealer for assistance.

Caller: But you are the only ones I can reach. My cell phone is not compatible with Microsoft Car Edition and it won't work while I'm in the car. Could you please call 911 for me and send them to my location?

Tech Support: Sir, perhaps you could just step out of the car and make your call.

Caller: I'm afraid I can't do that, you see, I'm pinned behind the steering wheel and I can't move. Could you please just call 911 for me?

Tech Support: No sir, I'm not authorized to do that. If you'd like, I'll take your credit card number and turn you over to paid support. Perhaps they can help you.

Caller: No, thank you anyway, I think I would just rather die.

The Fat Virus

Clinton is saying stupid things again. Apparently he thinks that childhood obesity is an epidemic.

Whether childhood obesity is the problem it's made out to be or not, there is no such thing as an epidemic of fat.

Dictionary.com offers these definitions of epidemic:

1. Spreading rapidly and extensively by infection and affecting many individuals in an area or a population at the same time: an epidemic outbreak of influenza.
2. Widely prevalent: epidemic discontent.

One could argue that Clinton (and the rest of the nanny state) is referring to definition #2 but I know they're not. They are speaking of a medical epidemic which clearly fits definition #1. Since fat isn't contagious, they are completely misusing the word when referring to the problem of obesity.

What they don't seem to realize is that they are primarly responsible for creating the conditions that have lead to the two income family, the single parent family, inner city poverty and lack of real education in the collectivist education camps (public schools).

They just want to throw more of your money out the window by treating the symptoms rather than actually fixing the problem.

Pat Robertson for Prez

Pat Robertson has angered Muslims by saying that they should not be allowed to serve in the President's cabinet or as judges.

Robertson is clearly insane. He should have said that Muslims should not be allowed to hold any position in government, elected or otherwise.

The Koran clearly teaches that they should wage jihad against the infidel (that's us) and that it's ok to lie to the infidel in the furtherance of Allah's will. Since the Koran teaches that they are supposed to kill us, shouldn't that automatically disqualify them from any position of trust in our government?

I'm not just picking on Muslims either, I think any professed Communist or Marxist should be restricted also.

There are lots of things that Robertson has said that I don't agree with but I'll stand by him on this one.

Book Reivew - Monster by Frank Peretti

This is the third book I've read in the past few weeks but I'm not going to review the other two which were:

Baudolino by Umberto Eco (English translation) - It's very good.
Blink by Ted Dekker - It was a fun read.

On to the review:

The book takes place deep in the Idaho wilderness where Reed and Beck Shelton were to set out on a survival weekend. Their first night, there is screaming and wailing coming from just beyond the campsite. They run but Beck trips and is hurled down a precipice. The howling and screaming noises continue and something big is catching up with them. Reed sees his wife Beck picked up by something ape like. There is nothing he can do. The rest of the book centers around the hunt for Reeds wife.

Peretti has a reputation for being a master story teller but this book lacks substance. The story is intended to expose the fallacy of evolution. While it offers some thought provoking analysis on the subject there was no depth to it.

The story was entertaining enough and I would recommend it on that basis alone. It was much better than The Oath but not nearly as good as Prophet or The Visitation.

Honestly, this is one book that would be better as a movie but it's sitll a good read.

Rosie the Retard

Rosie O' Donnell will be playing a 'mentally handicapped' woman in an upcoming film.

This doesn't really require a big stretch of the imagination does it?

My Very Own Detractor

My blog must be getting successful; I have a detractor. It's a sure sign I'm doing something right.

If you read through the comments of my last several posts, you'll see what AZprep posted. He is a typical poop-stain type of individual who can only make snide comments and insults because he has nothing substantive to say. He even made fun of my spelling on one comment; it doesn't get more petty than that. If I had chronically poor spelling, I would accept the criticism but he doesn't have the gray matter to comprehend such things.

So AZprep, you're more than welcome to comment here on my blog; it provides great entertainment value.