COWS TEND TO FACE NORTH
2008.08.25 - Not much more to be said about this study except I'm glad our tax dollars didn't pay for it...
OBAMA TEXT MESSAGE
2008.08.23 - It was a cool idea, though in looking back also reveals how foolish we can be. Obama's campaign thought it would be neat to notify supporters of the VP decision the moment it was made - you could go to the campaign website and enter your cell phone information and a text message would be sent to you as soon as the announcement was made. Technology is so fun...
So here's why I think this is just plain silly.
Cell phone companies charge customers for this kind of text messaging service. My Verizon account is 15 cents for each message received and 25 cents for each one sent... not much - over the span of a month it amounts to less than $5.
But multiply that times the number of people who signed up at the Obama web site. Reports are that when the news was announced servers were overloaded and some didn't receive the message until the next day. Others are still waiting
How much money was spent to send out a news item that could be had for FREE only moments after it was announced? Just plain silly.
If I ran a cell phone company I'd be looking for more silly (profitable) opportunities like that... oh, and Obama picked Joe Biden as his running mate - and I won't even charge you for that bit of news.
UPDATE: Found this from The Corner of National Review Online.
INTERESTING IDEA
2008.08.18 - Okay, Russia CLAIMS it is backing out of Georgia even though they "sent troops in the opposite direction". Maybe they could use one of those GPS units that are just about standard on every US cell phone.
But there's a interesting suggestion that a pullout may be happening because Europe threatened to cancel contracts for Russian oil.
Why can't WE do that?
WOW!!
008.08.08 - To say opening ceremonies at Beijing Stadium were spectacular would be an Olympic understatement - I can only imagine how awesome it would have been to attend. The sheer number of performers choreographed with special effects, the stunning technology, symbolic imagery, and utterly brilliant imagination... it was without a doubt simply breathtaking.
But other thoughts, a bit less complimentary, were crossing my mind as well. [ more ]
LEAKING AT THE SEAMS
2008.08.06 - Wasn't going to post anymore about John Edwards because it just had a dead horse feel to it... but apparently this showed up in one of Jay Leno's monologues:
"The National Enquirer reports that John Edwards' mistress is receiving $15,000 a month in hush money. No word on how much the mainstream media is getting."
Another ouch...
TOO RICH
2008.08.06 - So Mr. Obama is coming back to earth regarding political popularity... polls show he has slipped from a double digit lead earlier this year to just about even with Mr. McCain.
Maybe it's because of things like this - yesterday Obama was throwing rocks at the the Bush administration's energy policy, making pains to associate it with Vice President Cheney and big oil companies - and Republican John McCain of course.
This same energy policy was voted on by Congress back in 2005. Trouble is, Sen. Obama voted FOR it - and Sen. McCain voted against it.
Ouch...
BEACH BOARDWALK
2008.08.05 - Did the Sandy Shoes thing and went to the beach yesterday. Was actually very nice - kids got day passes to all the rides while we crashed under an umbrella in the sand. Weather was nice, nobody got burned and a good time was had by all.
Might do it one more time before school starts up.
DEFENSE OF MY FAITH
2008.08.03 - I found this while surfing the web - a Top Ten List of arguments that pick apart Christianity. Thought I'd try to answer each item point by point... [ more ]
UPDATE 2008.08.04: The owner of the website (www.heathenz.com) actually read my answer and replied - very surprising. I sent a response but haven't heard anything yet.
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
2008.07.31 - Needed a photo to spruce up the h
ome
page and came up with this one from the year 2000. It's Willie lying
on the living room floor... 8 years old - I just love him.
More progress on fixing the website. Without getting into a lengthy dissertation regarding software woes, I (fingers crossed) think everything is back to normal. Unlike last night when at 11:30 I discovered more problems... [big sigh]
Life if Beautiful (La Vita e bella) is the name of a very good movie, but only if you're in the mood for a Nazi prison camp flick that doesn't turn out as well as you wanted... still a good movie - done with Italian sub-titles. At the end you want to say everything in Italian... "Buon giorno, Principessa!" Works better with dramatic hand gestures...
Emily recommends it.
PS: Tomorrow begins my birthday month... woo hoo!
MIXED NUTS
2008.07.30 - Saw this in the news a few days ago... LA is considering a ban on fast-food restaurants. Apparently residents in the low income neighborhood of South LA are getting a little hefty and cannot be trusted to make healthy food choices. And so the good members of the city council are gonna help out by making it more difficult to load up on a Value Meal.
Oh my gosh... the Nanny State continues to hunt down and eliminate personal responsibility. Wonder if they're considering the impact to global warming from people driving that much farther for a Big Mac.
** ** ** ** ** **
More silly solutions - Congresswoman Anna Eshoo tackles the really tough issues and has aimed the full and mighty force of the federal government at TV commercials that are too loud.
The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act was introduced as a bill before the House of Reps... seriously.
Yep - can't drive much because of high gas prices (unless you're in south LA looking for a burger) and home loans are twice what the house is worth - but count on Anna to make sure those TV commercials don't annoy you.
** ** ** ** ** **
This last item comes from a really great place that deserves much better. In St. Paul Minnesota a 1200 pound section of concrete broke off of a bridge and damaged a couple of cars passing underneath.
No injuries, thank goodness, but on the heals of the bridge collapse last year the people of The Land of 10,000 Lakes have to be wondering every time they go over or under a bridge.
Anonymous sources at the Minnesota DMV will not comment on reports that safety helmets may be required for cars as well as motorcycles.
UPDATE: This one's for Dad - the state engineer who declared the offending bridge still "structurally safe" is named - Dan Dorgan. Too funny!
DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY
2008.07.29 - Finally from the NY Times - what NOT to worry about...
FANNIE AND FREDDIE
2008.07.29 - Heard there was more mucky stuff going on w/Fannie and Freddie but didn't quite understand the specifics until reading an article in the Wall Street Journal. Just think of these two mortgage institutions as the helping hand of congress removing money from your wallet. [ more ]
MORE COVERUP
2008.07.29 - Wikipedia is the world's largest online encyclopedia created from users around the world. Due to a significant amount of expert contributions this site is a noteworthy resource on a variety of topics. [ more ]
BUSY
2008.07.28 - It's just a word, but happens to be one that is a little challenging to someone for whom English is a second language. So once in a while she would pronounce it "beezy" and I thought it was cute and would teasingly mispronounce it also.
Except now she wants to say it correct ALL the time - which means any conversation that happens to include the word "busy" is interrupted by a short practice session where she says "BIZZY" over and over and over until the proper enunciation is achieved.
Bizzy... BI-zzy... bi-ZZ-y... BIZZY!
What's going to happen when she speaks perfect English and there are no more clever words to play with? That's when I'll drive her nuts by attempting to learn Vietnamese.
GARDEN UPDATE
2008.07.27 - It's growing... photo below shows bell peppers, basil, a little bit of dill, string beans, and tomatoes. The Puzzle Master (who enjoys beer, but not nearly as much as she hates her picture taken) had some basil left over from a meal and simply stuck it in the planter... darned if it hasn't turned out to be one of the fastest growing plants!
Cheap Thrill of the Day - galaxies to electrons... take a ride from the astronomic world down to the molecular world.