Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Kwanzaa Mistake

We all know that Kwanzaa is just a stupid, racist, made up holiday. In fact, Ann Coulter did a great write up of it today.

There is one thing we have to be thankful for when it comes to Kwanzaa. I know that's hard to believe, but read on.

Kwanzaa is 'celebrated' from December 26th to January 1st. Fortunately, the schools are closed precisely during that period or the dumb thing might actually get some traction. Sure, it might get a little air time in the schools before Christmas err holiday err winter break and perhaps a little after but we can truly be thankful that educrats don't have the actual period of Kwanzaa to force the unsuspecting children to celebrate this sham of a holiday.

Read up on the founder of Kwanzaa and what a nice guy he is.

Monday, December 26, 2005

2006

Since blogging is going to be light this week, I thought I'd take an introspective approach and ask you all what you plan on doing differently in 2006 and/or how you think 2006 is going to be different rather you plan it or not.

Forget the typical new year's resolutions, I'm thinking more along the lines of how you conduct your daily life, what changes you know are coming and what you would like to see happen.

  • Personally, I plan to work harder.
  • I also need to spend more time in the Word and prayer. My efforts in that area have been lacking as of late.
  • Unless my wife changes her mind, I will end up divorced in 2006. Even though we've already been apart for a year it will still be different somehow.
  • Little Dif is already an excellent reader at almost 5 years old but she's a lot like me in that she doesn't have any gifts when it comes to math. I need to get her up to speed on that.
  • I want to take a motorhome trip this summer. Little Dif has been asking me to take her on one for the last few months. Finances permitting, I would like to spend about a month driving around the country. I think there are a few of you I'd like to stop and visit along the way. I'll probably start off in Florida, head north to Virginia, come back south to Atlanta, east to Dallas, north to Minnesota west to Washington and then back down the coast to Orange County. Has anyone ever done a trip like that? Perhaps a month is a little too quick. We'll see.
  • And of course I'll keep blogging.

A Horrible Merry Christmas

Confused? Don't be.

Little Dif and I were both sick on Christmas day. Fevers, coughing, restlessness etc. I had planned on taking her to Lego Land but that obviously didn't happen.

Anyway, Little Dif and I just sat on the couch all day and snuggled close to keep each other warm which was really nice since neither she nor I can usually sit still very long. We watched a movie, we watched all of Greenbay/Chicago game and most of the Minnesota/Baltimore game. I was highly disappointed in the results of both. Oh well.

I'm feeling a little better today, I just took some Dayquil and an energy drink. I have to drive for an hour and a half for an appointment and my head is still swimming a bit from my double dose of TheraFlu last night. My fever appears to be mostly gone.

Blogging will probably be pretty light for the rest of the week year. Don't expect too much deep political discourse, I just don't think I have it in me right now.

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I hope you all are having a great Christmas! Just don't forget who put the CHRIST in Christmas.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Cthulhu For President

There is a political movement afoot at Vox's blog to make the legendary Cthulhu president in the next election.

Presumably, Cthulhu would make a far better and more benevolent dictator than Hillary or whatever sacrificial lamb the Elephants are going to push forward in the next cycle.

I for one welcome our tentacled overlord.

In his honor, I have composed a poem:

Oh Sweet Cthulhu
Rule us with your grace
We, in sweet surrender
Will look upon your face

Oh Sweet Cthulhu
We question not your motives
Even when we disagree
To you we will light votives

Oh Sweet Cthulhu
May you never be in error
We sacrifice our liberty
Just fight this war on terror

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Look For The Union Label

New York City transit workers have seen fit to essentially shut down the city by going on strike this morning.

They are striking because the pay raise that was offered just wasn't big enough. Freaking whiners, I have no sympathy for them.

As it is, they're not competing in the marketplace for jobs to begin with. Employers have no choice but to accept unionization when workers want to organize. Unions are exempt from most RICO laws.

Unions are nothing but Socialist political machines. They serve NO USEFUL PURPOSE. Employment is an agreement between an employer and an employee. The employment contract should be subject to cancellation by either party at any time for any reason. Try to get someone in a union fired. Horror stories abound.

Unions cost America untold billions of dollars in artificially high wages. Who pays for those higher wages? It is you, my non-union friends. Employers, forced to pay artificially higher wages pass those costs on to the consumers of their products and services. The other alternative is to hire less workers which artificially increases unemployment. The same argument can be applied to the minimum wage.

I know that Mayor Bloomberg doesn't have the guts to do it, but I'd like to see him pull a Reagan and fire all of the transit workers in New York for this illegal strike.

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Digital Cowboy Is Sadly Mistaken

Alright folks, this could get ugly so sit back and enjoy the ride.

During the previews to another movie I saw the other day, a trailer started out with a police helicopter emblazoned with Miami-Dade on the side. I got a knot in my stomach, a sense of dread. Jamie Foxx appears briefly on the screen, fades away and when the picture fades back in, he's standing with Colin Farrell on the roof of a building. Just then, I knew what I was looking at. My worst fears were confirmed.

MIAMI VICE - THE MOVIE

I instantly thought of Digital Cowboy because he informed me in a previous conversation that he practically idolized Sonny Crockett during his obviously misspent youth.

Today I asked him if he had heard the horrible truth. He had. With his keen sense of the obvious, he sensed that I was not as pleased about this waste of celluloid as he was. "What's wrong with Miami Vice?!" he screeched. It was really more of a statement than a question.

"Miami Vice is Gay," I replied in disgust. "It was a stupid, gay TV show and it's going to be a stupider and gayer movie!"

Apparently Digital Cowboy, who appears not to have made the cut for The Village People, called in to question my sexual predilections and my ability to metabolize alcohol at a rapid rate. Being only a digital cowboy, I personally think he's probably just got pixel envy.

In his post, he goes on to extol the virtues of the fine weaponry and automotive machines put on display during the run of the original MIAMI VICE television show. In his post, DC said:

...the directing on that show made sure that we often got a chance to look directly down the very large barrel of his Smith & Wesson.

So there you have it folks, Digital Cowboy enjoys the view of Don Johnson's barrel. So who's gay?

Update:

God's judgement is upon the city of Miami because of this movie being made. This article gives details of a plane crash in which 19 died. The end of the article states that the small airline to which the crashed aircraft belonged frequently had planes on MIAMI VICE.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Happy Birthday Matildah

Happy Birthday Matildah!

Hey everyone, go buy Matildah some crack for her birthday. I think she's running low.

Monday, December 12, 2005

The Best of Your Blog

I asked you all to submit some of the best material on your blog. Sure, I've got a blog roll on the right side, but I wanted to give up some of my posting space to you folks.

I have presented them in the order they were sent to me. Please try to visit each of these blogs this week if you don't already.

If I have made any agregious errors in this post, please leave corrections in the comments.

Without further ado:

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MikeT over at Blind Mind's Eye mostly writes about technology, but he also covers politics and religion. He wrote a piece of fiction that you should check out:

The archangel Samael stood above the gathering on the windswept cliff overlooking the preaching of a peculiar young rabbi. Most of the listeners were utterly oblivious to this rabbi's identity, though Samael knew exactly who he was. He was the Lord of the Imperial Armies, Yeshua, and he had manifested in a purely human form. Read the rest

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Eaglewood, who preens his feathers at Eaglewood's Nest focuses almost exclusively on Biblical issues.

Just like Elijah I have been charged with a great task, the task of bringing His true message to the church. A message of hard choices and ultimate love. The church is facing one of its hardest tests in the near future and he wants his bride prepared. Not only is the church going to face an enemy from without but is now facing and enemy from within and the very elect are being deceived. Read the rest

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Eaglewood's wife Birdie hasn't written much yet, but apparently it's my fault that she and her husband started blogging so pay her a visit at Wings And Prayers and expect some great stuff out of her soon. No pressure Birdie ;)

So, what happened to finally get me interested? As it turns out, Difster's decision to sponsor the best that his reader's blogs have to offer has convinced me that I am probably one of the last people above the age of five with internet access not to have ever had a blog! Read the rest

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Salt is the salt of the Earth. He is a tenacious debater and writes with articulation and aplomb.

There, you have it. When a judge rules contrary to law, or upholds law inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution, and in light of the oath taken whereby such decision can be seen in no other terms than 'knowingly', what would you call it? Does 'enemies foreign and DOMESTIC' seem appropriate? Sure does to me. Read the rest

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Erik over at Emunda (what the heck does that means?) writes on a variety of subjects and does it well. Erik, why didn't you let me know that you weren't on my blog roll?

This isnt going to be a discussion on what type of weapon to carry, a knife wielded with confidence can be as detering to a thug as a gun. Rather I want to talk about state of mind. Fortunately the military has already come up with an acronym, if you can believe that. OODA Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. This was specifically made for their fighter pilots where being the one acting, not reacting, is the difference between coming home alive and, well, not coming home alive. OODA applies perfectly to everyone. Read the rest

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Circa Bellum doesn't think his writing is very good but I have to disagree. He mostly writes about life with a Southron flavor.

Advice for first time visitors to Arkansas:

1. That farm boy standing next to the feed bin did more work before breakfast than you do all week at the gym.

2. It's called a 'gravel road,' No matter how slow you drive, you're going to get dust on your Navigator. I have a four wheel drive because I need it... not just to keep up with the neighbors. Read the rest

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Lisa (who first came to fame by getting her hide nailed to the wall at Vox's) lets us Inside MoMeesa's Head and tells us about how she came to fear the government. By her own admission, she frequently writes about nothing.

Back to the story: The onus is not on the person who put the information in my record to prove it is true. The onus is on me to prove it is not true. First I would have to go to court to get a court order to release the record to me. Then I would have to go back to court and begin the process of proving it is not true. Who the hell has time for that? Not me. Ok. I’ll play their games. I’ll take their stupid fucking questionnaire to my doctor, have him complete it and take it back to the zit faced angry DMV worker to have some floating head behind a curtain evaluate what my medically trained doctor said about me. We’ll go from there. Read the rest

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ajw tries his hand at fiction deep in PsyClops Lair. He writes on a wide variety of subjects and is always thoroughly entertaining.

Like blood from a fatal wound, shivers ran down Morgan's spine. It was not the dark chill of the night, but the word the old man spoke. "Lycanthrope" he said while casually gesturing towards the shuffling form in the distance. Read the rest

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Elmo Q. Shangnaster has learned that the Object In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear. Like some others, he gives us his thoughts on lots of different subjects without revolving around a central theme.

The complexities of motor vehicles and modern living have something in common. People seem to think there are no clear cut, moral answers anymore. Time was, it seems, when everything moral, like TV's, was black and white. Shades of the gray complexities of life have crept into the pattern. Decades ago, if a car broke down it was a relatively simple matter to diagnose the problem and repair it. Seeing the problem for what it is, knowing what's wrong, wasn't so difficult. Knowing what's wrong with people these days isn't such an easy troubleshoot. I've heard it said that a car reflects the owner. If that's true then I must be in worse shape than I thought. Or maybe I just need an oil change. Read the rest

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Nathan has returned from a long blogging hiatus and brings us Pointless Musings. I found Nathan because he bought some shares in my blog on Blogshares.com.

In the news today, it appears San Francisco has banned firearms outright. Following the shining examples of such cities as Chicago and Washington, D.C., it is now "illegal for residents to keep handguns in their homes or businesses." The manufacture and sale of all guns and ammunition is also now illegal there as well. Read the rest

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Arielle put up The Antenna (Arielle = arial - bad pun) to broadcast her thoughts on life, God and politics to the blogosphere. As I already told her, Arielle has a style that is logical, reasonable and unquestionably feminine.

When a government begins infringing on the rights of its citizens, it starts with society’s scum – people that no one wants to stand up for. Eventually people are conditioned to believe that the government only directs certain methods against bad people. In time, when the government steps over the threshold of Joe Average’s home, his neighbors automatically believe him to be a bad person; they simply stand by gossiping as the government tears his life to shreds.
I would extrapolate, based on the subject matter you chose to present, that you are worried that a conservative, right-wing government is taking steps that will eventually lead to the censoring or destruction of sexually provocative and explicit materials. Have no fear. When a government reaches a certain level of corruption (which I believe will happen all too soon in America), it is not men reading racy magazines that they will direct their resources towards. Read the rest

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Triton has Unleashed has elected to take up a little of the space left behind by BillyD and take over Conspiracy Wednesday. Triton gives us well thought out posts including this one on critical thinking in nuclear power.

But here's the kicker: Chernobyl, unlike American commercial power plants, used a graphite moderator. This graphite is normally not exposed to oxygen, so you can heat it up above its combustion point without fear. When the top blew off, though, air rushed in. The already-hot graphite ignited. This radioactive fire was disastrous, and led to the deaths of a number of Soviet firemen. Read the rest here, here and here

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Kiwi the Geek has a Cute Little Blog. She writes personal stories and social commentary on her purple pages.

Lately I've been having an email conversation with a non-believer, reiterating some of my basic beliefs. I've devoted my whole life to the purpose of following the risen Christ. My non-believing friend is puzzled; Jesus is a historical figure, a wise teacher, but there are other books on the shelf. Why waste all my life on this one person? Ever since true love washed over me, I can't waste my life on anything else. His glory is all that matters, and I hope my mind and heart are as focused as Will Turner's. Read the rest here

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Terri Goon at I Think Therefore I Err provides us with critical linking skills. She mostly just links to other stories around the Internet and she's a good source for stories that don't see any mainstream attention. She does provide a little commentary and has promised to provide more.

Also - we have to know that if the govt does too much too soon and people lose jobs etc, then that govt will no longer be in power. There are priorities to consider and while it would be wonderful if we chose the environmental health of the world as the top priority, that really isn't practical. So, - continue on. Keep an eye on what's going on, do what can be done (remember the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the diesal reduction laws?) , and watch for results. (I can see Pikes Peak from here often! That barely ever happened in the 70s and 80s.) Read the rest

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Retired Geezer is trying to Blog Idaho. Geezer has been making me laugh for months by linking to hillarious articles and posts by other bloggers. He has a started a weekly series called Significant Song Sunday.

Today's song is what I call a "Stealth Christian" song.
It was pretty popular during the 80's on regular top-forty radio.
If you listen carefully to the lyrics, it seems to me that it is being sung in the first-person.
By Who? Read the rest here

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Heidi has decided to be a Pebble Chaser. I don't know what she's going to do with those pebbles when she catches them but I'm sure she has a plan. Heidi writes some very touching personal stories that can even make a Serial Killer like me shed a tear or two. Here is an excerpt from one.

We saw Jesus that night. We were His hands and His love to her. I was humbled to realize as I knelt before her in all her dirtiness and odor that this is precisely what He does for me. He cleans me. He binds up my wounds. He prepares me to take the steps on the road before me. And He gathers me close and whispers, "Call on Me anytime. I'm here for you." Read the rest here


Best Of Your Blog

Sorry folks, my weekend got away from me. I'll try to compile the entries and post them Monday evening.

Saturday, December 10, 2005

5 Weird Habits

Kate tagged me with a meme.

Here are my 5 weird habits (that I'm willing to admit to).

  1. I shower in the dark - I don't like lights in the morning so I shower in the dark. The bath/shower is my place of solitude. It cuts out the outside world.
  2. I sleep with a tshirt over my head - A few years back I was living in a place where a light glared in to my room no matter what I did with the blinds so I started sleeping with a shirt over my eyes (never my nose or mouth though). After I moved from that place I found that I slept better if I continued that habit. Even if I'm staying in a hotel with blackout curtains, I still put the shirt on my head. I even pack an tshirt specifically for that purpose.
  3. I curl my toes - When I'm sitting in a chair and I'm barefoot, my toes are curled up under my feet. See picture below. I can also jump up and down on my curled up toes. It freaks people out. Little Dif has the same genetic umm.. defect. I have highly talented feet. I can pinch harder with my toes than anyone else I've ever known. I can pick up things with my feet that most people can't. I can even turn doorknobs with my feet provided I'm barefoot.
  4. Keys in my pocket - This is only a little weird, but if I'm wearing a jacket, my keys automatically go in my right jacket pocket. It's a habit I developed in my motorcycle riding days. I've actually misplaced my keys because I forgot that I had been wearing a jacket the day before because that habit is so automatic.
  5. Reading the comics - When I read the Sunday comics, I read the front page first then flip it over and read from the back to the 2nd page. I started doing that as a kid and I have no idea why.

click for larger version

Friday, December 09, 2005

The Invisible Hand of Corn

With natural gas prices through the roof, consumers are finding cheaper alternatives.

Apparently, corn is much cheaper than natural gas and dealers that are selling corn burners are out of stock and are already taking orders for next year.

This will reduce the demand for natural gas and prices will stabilize. The price of corn could even go up slightly if the demand is high enough from those people using it as a heat source to put a dent in the market.

This is being done WITHOUT government intervention. There aren't corn burner subsidy programs, no corn lines or price controls.

The market does work and it works faster than the government can possibly compensate.

This works for every segment of every industry. In this case, it would work even better if it were not for farm subsidies.

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Naked For Jesus

Jonathan Palmiter is opening up a nudist camp for Christians next summer.

No, you didn't read that wrong, a nudist camp for Christians.

From the article:

Christian nudism might sound like an oxymoron, but for thousands of devout followers, living and worshipping naked is at the core of their faith.

I'm no theology nut, but, I think these people may be a little confused. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that God was at the center of our faith.

If you're not a woman with a decent figure, I don't want to see you naked. If you are a woman with a decent figure, I shouldn't be seeing you naked; especially at church.

I don't know about the rest of you but I don't think I could sit through a Bible study with a bunch of naked people. I can just imagine the prayers: "Father in Heaven, we rebuke Earl's chubby in the name of Jesus!"

And I'm getting creeped out thinking about the whole, "laying on of hands" thing. EWWWWWWW!

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Best Of Your Blog

Let's face it. Sometimes your blog really sucks. You know who you are. Yes, you! And you too! And you over there, your blog sucks once in a while.

But let's not dwell on that because sometimes your blog is awesome.

Go through your blog archives and send me a link to what you consider one or two of your best blog posts. You'll find my email address over on the right. Please put Best Of Blog in the subject line.

On Friday, I will do a post that gives an excerpt from your best post (or series), a link to the original, and a link to your blog.

This is an open request but I do reserve the right to not include a post that contains anything more than mild profanity. I will probably limit this to the first 20 entries I receive but don't let that stop you from submitting since I may go beyond that.

This isn't a contest of any kind, it's just a way to promote the best of what you folks are writing.

Monday, December 05, 2005

Homeschooled Kid Wins Science Award

16 year old Michael Viscardi from San Diego, CA won the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology.

Michael has been taught at home since he was in 5th grade and currently takes some classes at UCSD.

Does this prove that homeschooling is better than public schools? No. Does it appear that there is a significant number of prizes going to homeschooled students in recent years? Yes.

Congratulations Michael, I hope your success inspires other parents to pull their children out of the cesspool of collectivist education.

Another Prayer Request

I just spoke to my cousin whom I haven't talked to in almost 20 years. Her life is a mess. I can't go in to detail but she needs a lot of prayer. She says she's a believer but I'm not sure if she understands what that really means yet. She's trying; that much is clear.

Pray for Gail as often as you remember.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

PETA Morons

Pamalana alerted me to this story on Fox.

PETA is trying to terrorize kids by scaring them in to thinking their fathers are vicious killers. They are giving a handout to children titled "Your Daddy Kills Animals" that shows a lunatic gutting fish.

If these people were true to their cause, they would simply lie down in an area free of life and die. According to their 'ethics', it's wrong to kill animals. Since bugs are technically animals, they are guilty of murder every time they swat a bug or step on an ant. By their own standards it would seem that they couldn't even participate in society. How can they ethically buy from a grocery store that sells meat or live in a house made of trees that were logged from bunny filled forests. They shouldn't drive cars because animals are killed or displaced while drilling for oil or mining steel. I could fill volumes with examples.

Next time you run across one of these folks, get a sincere look on your face and ask, "If we're not supposed to eat animals, why are they made out of meat?"

**side note** Pam, I tried to reply to your email but it bounced back and said the address wasn't valid.