INDC was on Fox News tonight. Something he said at the end of his blog reminded me of a thought I had during tonight's debate.
When Jim Lehrer asked if after the war in Iraq we were less likely or more likely to make another pre-emptive strike, Bush's answer reminded me of a Happy Days episode. (This was a long time ago, and details are hazy, so I'm paraphrising like crazy). Essentially, Richie had a problem (as always) with someone who wanted to beat him up. He wondered why no one ever messed with the Fonz. And the Fonz taught him about the power of intimidation. Richie tried to intimidate his bully, and the bully challenged him to a fight. When he asked the Fonz why it didn't work, Fonzie told him that he had to have actually hit someone for anyone to believe that he would do it again.
Afghanistan was not necessarily a pre-emptive strike. It was armed response to an attack, and as such was somewhat expected, IMHO. But the pre-emptive strike in Iraq makes it much less likely that we'll make another similar strike, because we've shown that safeguarding ourselves against future terrorist attacks is something we're serious about. Dead serious. Libya saw the light, and voluntarily dismantled their weapons program. We've got to stay the course, finish what we started in Iraq, and cement that reputation.
Thursday
Sweet and Sour Chicken w/ Pineapple
You'll need:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup pineapple juice (the juice from a 20 oz. can of pineapple chunks is what I use)
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. water
Mix the sugar, pineapple juice, soy sauce, vinegar, and ketchup together in a saucepan, and bring it to a boil. Mix the cornstarch with the water and mix. Gradually stir in the cornstarch/water mix, and keep stirring until it changes color and thickens up.
Add to the sauce the meat from two chicken breasts which have been cut into bite-size pieces and sauteed until cooked through. (3 breasts will work)
Add
1 can pineapple chunks (20 oz. - the juice is already in the sauce)
1 green pepper, cut into 1-in. squares.
Mix together until thoroughly heated, and serve with rice.
For a long time, I couldn't find this recipe, and made it wth equal parts sugar, catsup, and vinegar, which also worked out fine, so you've definitely got some leeway on this recipe.
Of course, IRLR, so what do I know?
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup pineapple juice (the juice from a 20 oz. can of pineapple chunks is what I use)
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. water
Mix the sugar, pineapple juice, soy sauce, vinegar, and ketchup together in a saucepan, and bring it to a boil. Mix the cornstarch with the water and mix. Gradually stir in the cornstarch/water mix, and keep stirring until it changes color and thickens up.
Add to the sauce the meat from two chicken breasts which have been cut into bite-size pieces and sauteed until cooked through. (3 breasts will work)
Add
1 can pineapple chunks (20 oz. - the juice is already in the sauce)
1 green pepper, cut into 1-in. squares.
Mix together until thoroughly heated, and serve with rice.
For a long time, I couldn't find this recipe, and made it wth equal parts sugar, catsup, and vinegar, which also worked out fine, so you've definitely got some leeway on this recipe.
Of course, IRLR, so what do I know?
Everyone says it better than me... wah!
With so many smart people with really good ideas around, it's interesting to see people coming to the same place I do. Drop the spin, drop the hate, and just say what happened. Reasonable discourse, reasonable dissent. Maybe there's more hope for the media than I had previously thought.
If you're the "evil" twin, what do you call the other guy?
Go read Lileks.
As always, I'm impressed with the man's writing. I have the sense that he sees a similar problem with what I was talking about last night. Blogs v MSM. Wouldn't it be nice if we could play off each others' strengths, instead of mocking each other's weaknesses?
I've made the reference to blogging as warfare before. It's inherent in the bomb throwing. And bomb throwing will continue. But as most Bomberman afficionados will tell you, there's more than one kind of bomb. Anyone who's read Saberhagen's fantasy novels will probably tell you that there's more than one kind of sword to swing.
It just seems to me that while fighting for what's right is important, it's counterproductive to insult, snipe, and belittle the very people we want to persuade or include. Fight. But don't be hatin'.
As always, I'm impressed with the man's writing. I have the sense that he sees a similar problem with what I was talking about last night. Blogs v MSM. Wouldn't it be nice if we could play off each others' strengths, instead of mocking each other's weaknesses?
I've made the reference to blogging as warfare before. It's inherent in the bomb throwing. And bomb throwing will continue. But as most Bomberman afficionados will tell you, there's more than one kind of bomb. Anyone who's read Saberhagen's fantasy novels will probably tell you that there's more than one kind of sword to swing.
It just seems to me that while fighting for what's right is important, it's counterproductive to insult, snipe, and belittle the very people we want to persuade or include. Fight. But don't be hatin'.
Wednesday
And out come the knives...
This isn't helpful.
Neither is this.
How polarized are we becoming? And is it for real, or is it just what I'm seeing and reading on the 'Net and on TV? Maybe. Maybe it's the fact that I'm attending a law school that's been allegedly ranked as one of the three most liberal in the country.
Time after time this year, seeing the attacks, hearing of death, and beheadings, and captives, I've been reminded of the battle of Helm's Deep in the LotR:TTT, when Theoden despairs, saying "So much death... what can men do against such reckless hate?" But more and more, it seems like the hatred is directed inward. Right against left, liberal against conservative. We seem to have lost a sense of amicable disagreement. To win, one side must lose. The zero sum game rears its head again.
What scares me is the potential aftermath of either side winning. Will Kerry be able to effectively lead this country if he's elected, or will right-wing bloggers continue to snipe at him? Will the Swift-Boat Veterans call it a day? Or will they agree to support the President? Honestly I don't know. Especially with the Swift Boat veterans, there's an awful lot of bitterness there.
Likewise, we've had four years of people screaming "Bush Lied, People Died." Is it too much to hope that come Nov. 3rd, one way or another, they'll agree to support the President? To be honest, I'd be very surprised if they did stop, comforting themselves with the thought that after four more years, Bush would be gone, one way or another. Of course, I personally have never understood that group. To me, it seems to be more of a fashion statement than an actual position. "I'm young, and I'm mad, and I'm going to go protest!"
It's like a domestic dispute. Husband and wife, tearing and clawing at each other. I've heard it said that a domestic dispute is the kind of call cops hate most. You don't want to step into the middle of one of those, because chances are they'll both turn and come after you, before going after each other again.
In this case, I'm offering a small, personal olive branch. While I don't think my criticism of Mr. Kerry has been overwhelming, I will support the President, whoever he is, for the next four years. As a former President said, "A house divided upon itself cannot stand." Let's hope that we can shore up the walls and ceilings of our own house come November third. It's a good house. The foundation is good. And if the foundation is good, everything else can be fixed. (Or so Hollywood claims in "The Money Pit").
Neither is this.
How polarized are we becoming? And is it for real, or is it just what I'm seeing and reading on the 'Net and on TV? Maybe. Maybe it's the fact that I'm attending a law school that's been allegedly ranked as one of the three most liberal in the country.
Time after time this year, seeing the attacks, hearing of death, and beheadings, and captives, I've been reminded of the battle of Helm's Deep in the LotR:TTT, when Theoden despairs, saying "So much death... what can men do against such reckless hate?" But more and more, it seems like the hatred is directed inward. Right against left, liberal against conservative. We seem to have lost a sense of amicable disagreement. To win, one side must lose. The zero sum game rears its head again.
What scares me is the potential aftermath of either side winning. Will Kerry be able to effectively lead this country if he's elected, or will right-wing bloggers continue to snipe at him? Will the Swift-Boat Veterans call it a day? Or will they agree to support the President? Honestly I don't know. Especially with the Swift Boat veterans, there's an awful lot of bitterness there.
Likewise, we've had four years of people screaming "Bush Lied, People Died." Is it too much to hope that come Nov. 3rd, one way or another, they'll agree to support the President? To be honest, I'd be very surprised if they did stop, comforting themselves with the thought that after four more years, Bush would be gone, one way or another. Of course, I personally have never understood that group. To me, it seems to be more of a fashion statement than an actual position. "I'm young, and I'm mad, and I'm going to go protest!"
It's like a domestic dispute. Husband and wife, tearing and clawing at each other. I've heard it said that a domestic dispute is the kind of call cops hate most. You don't want to step into the middle of one of those, because chances are they'll both turn and come after you, before going after each other again.
In this case, I'm offering a small, personal olive branch. While I don't think my criticism of Mr. Kerry has been overwhelming, I will support the President, whoever he is, for the next four years. As a former President said, "A house divided upon itself cannot stand." Let's hope that we can shore up the walls and ceilings of our own house come November third. It's a good house. The foundation is good. And if the foundation is good, everything else can be fixed. (Or so Hollywood claims in "The Money Pit").
Tuesday
Now to break the news to Reeta...
Reeta's never really understood my obsession with video games. She kind of gets the anime, and she watches Naruto, but she just doesn't get video games. So, somehow between now and January 2005, I have to get a new computer. And not just a new computer. I've got to get my hands on a computer with a monster video card. And really good sound.
Because I just saw some of the latest trailers for Advent Rising.
And the opening thirty seconds of the "Behind the Scenes" trailer has one of the absolute coolest sequences I've ever seen. Anywhere. Game or movie. Period.
And the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is performing on the soundtrack, with the L.A. Orchestra.
And Orson Scott Card is helping with the storyline, and (rumor has it) novels.
And it's (according to rumor) the first of three games.
The production values going into this seem incredibly high. Here's hoping that it rocks the house early next year.
Because I just saw some of the latest trailers for Advent Rising.
And the opening thirty seconds of the "Behind the Scenes" trailer has one of the absolute coolest sequences I've ever seen. Anywhere. Game or movie. Period.
And the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is performing on the soundtrack, with the L.A. Orchestra.
And Orson Scott Card is helping with the storyline, and (rumor has it) novels.
And it's (according to rumor) the first of three games.
The production values going into this seem incredibly high. Here's hoping that it rocks the house early next year.
Monday
President in the No-Spin Zone
Missed the actual broadcast on Fox, so I watched the stream on Fox's website. And I think he did pretty well. I'd say almost remarkably well. He shows optimism, he's encouraging. He tried and tried to keep from getting nailed down on Iran, but when O'Reilley finally put the screws to him, he didn't back down.
Bush's ideas on border control and illegal immigrants may not be popular, and O'Reilly (bless his cold, cold heart) pointed that out. And he defended his answer as truthful. It's a real 'this is what we will do, and this is what we will not do' kind of a response.
I almost hesitate to write this, because I know there are going to be a lot of people out there who will think that this is incredibly naive.
I think that George W. Bush is less about politics, and more about leadership.
There you go. Hack away. Oh, sure. Politics happens. He's got people who do politics. Or he's insanely good at it, such that you can't tell when he's doing it to you. But I think I'd stand by that. A leader has principles, not positions. A leader takes charge, and takes responsibility. A leader stays upbeat - optimistic. Bush came straight out and said that they have no idea what happened to WMD in Iraq. He didn't lay blame. He didn't point fingers. He just said flat out "No. I don't [know what happened to Saddam's chemical arsenal]". Maybe this is more naivete, but I can't imagine the Democratic candidate saying anything even remotely similar. At least not without caveats, finger-pointing and nuance by the triple heaping.
O’REILLY: Is it conceivable that you would allow them to develop a nuclear weapon?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Uh, no, we’ve made it clear, our position is that they won’t [sic] have a nuclear weapon.
O’REILLY: Period.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yeah.
Bush's ideas on border control and illegal immigrants may not be popular, and O'Reilly (bless his cold, cold heart) pointed that out. And he defended his answer as truthful. It's a real 'this is what we will do, and this is what we will not do' kind of a response.
I almost hesitate to write this, because I know there are going to be a lot of people out there who will think that this is incredibly naive.
I think that George W. Bush is less about politics, and more about leadership.
There you go. Hack away. Oh, sure. Politics happens. He's got people who do politics. Or he's insanely good at it, such that you can't tell when he's doing it to you. But I think I'd stand by that. A leader has principles, not positions. A leader takes charge, and takes responsibility. A leader stays upbeat - optimistic. Bush came straight out and said that they have no idea what happened to WMD in Iraq. He didn't lay blame. He didn't point fingers. He just said flat out "No. I don't [know what happened to Saddam's chemical arsenal]". Maybe this is more naivete, but I can't imagine the Democratic candidate saying anything even remotely similar. At least not without caveats, finger-pointing and nuance by the triple heaping.
Muchas Gracias!
To my friend Mike, whose highlighting of his Entertainment Law casebook has stood me in good stead when I found myself called on today in Entertainment Law - on Wachs v. Curry, 13 Cal.App.4th 616. (The Arsenio Hall case).
Thanks, Mike!
Thanks, Mike!
Victim of the Ooze
In a bout of vain curiosity today, I decided to check my TTLB evolutionary status. Because this blog appears on two addresses, http://zricks.home.comcast.net, and http://home.comcast.net/~zricks, I have two TTLB rankings. One of those (the ~zricks one) is a Crawly Amphibian. After participating in the Carnival of the Recipies this week, the other address (which used to be lower than amphibian) has jumped up to the lofty status of "Adorable Little Rodent". Quite the jump in evolutionary terms.
However, I'm pretty sure it's a temporary effect. Kind of like a mutant monster in a comic book, once time has gone by, the temporary evolutionary effects will wear off, and I'll go back to lowly insect/crunchy crustacean status.
Oh, fleeting glory! I hardly knew ye!
So, the question comes up - do I submit another recipie to the Carnival this week, and perhaps get another day of 160+ hits, (something which easily dwarfs my earler hits) knowing that the main reason I'm doing it is to gain hits (insert prostitution reference here), or slide gracefully back into the comfortable relative anonymity?
I don't know. As much as my ego loves the hits, I've got to admit that by and large, I'm all about the comfort, baby.
However, I'm pretty sure it's a temporary effect. Kind of like a mutant monster in a comic book, once time has gone by, the temporary evolutionary effects will wear off, and I'll go back to lowly insect/crunchy crustacean status.
Oh, fleeting glory! I hardly knew ye!
So, the question comes up - do I submit another recipie to the Carnival this week, and perhaps get another day of 160+ hits, (something which easily dwarfs my earler hits) knowing that the main reason I'm doing it is to gain hits (insert prostitution reference here), or slide gracefully back into the comfortable relative anonymity?
I don't know. As much as my ego loves the hits, I've got to admit that by and large, I'm all about the comfort, baby.
Sunday
The PWGTKYQ (Provisional Weekly Get to Know You Question)
Again with the Conversation Piece Book.
If everyone were required to wear a hat at all times, what kind of hat would you wear?
I'm always wearing a hat, so that's an easy one. Mostly baseball caps, but I have a jester's cap someone made for me, so maybe that one for special occasions.
If everyone were required to wear a hat at all times, what kind of hat would you wear?
I'm always wearing a hat, so that's an easy one. Mostly baseball caps, but I have a jester's cap someone made for me, so maybe that one for special occasions.
Saturday
Funimation Strikes Again!
Well, it looks like yet another cool new Anime series has been licensed. Lunar and ANBU have both pulled their Samurai 7 torrents, claiming that it's been licensed here in the States for distribution by Funimation. Let's hope we get some new voice actors in there. I'm personally a little tired of being able to pick out Spike Spiegel's voice actor in EVERY FREAKIN' THING I SEE.
And I can't watch GitS:SAC in English - it's just not the characters I'm used to. And some of the dialogue is really cheesy in English.
And I can't watch GitS:SAC in English - it's just not the characters I'm used to. And some of the dialogue is really cheesy in English.
It's not meant to be innuendo, I swear!
 I am a Thrust-ship.I am small and tricky - where you think I am, I probably am not. I can work very fast, but I tend to go about things in a round about way, which often leaves me effectively standing still. I hate rocks. Bloody rocks. What Video Game Character Are You? |
Next Steps
I've been trying to find a pithy way of putting this together, but words are failing me. So I'm just going to come out with several short-fusers.
#1. How on God's green earth is Kerry going to get more allies to come to the board when he keeps insulting and discouraging the ones we have now? Implying that he knows better than Allawi what's going on in Iraq when Allawi lives there seems... a little arrogant, I guess? And his sister is in Australia, trying to convince the electorate there that their involvement with America in Iraq has made them a target, and they should stop? How does this fit in with "finishing the job", or bringing more allies to Iraq to help? I'm not an expert on international politics by any stretch of the imagination, but I've spent time in sales, and two years preaching in the Philippines, so I know a little about convincing people that your course of action is correct, and the recent actions of the Kerry campaign strike me as being just plain wrong.
#2. Iran. Who out there really belives that they're enriching uranium for the sake of bringing electricity to their cities? They're working to generate power, all right, but it's political/strategic, not domestic/electrical. And going to the U.N. is still the right thing to do... for now. Remember, we went to the U.N. for a long time before we went into Iraq. Fat lot of good it did us in the long run, with Kofi Annan now saying that it was an illegal war. (Screw you, Mr. Secretary-General). But we still went. And we're going again. Certain appearances have to be maintained, even if we believe they will do no pratcical good. I'm personally surprised that we're getting the semi-favorable response we've had so far, after claims of WMD stockpiles in Iraq turned to be false (or we were just late to the party - another possible downside to working through the U.N.). Maybe without a big fat cookie jar to stick their hands in (Oil-for-Food, anyone), and Iran's recent announcement and distribution of a new strategic missile, France and Germany will treat us as the traditional allies we've been to them for the last fifty years.
Still reading? Thanks!
#3. The assault weapon ban. No one buys an Uzi for hunting. People buy an Uzi for fun. People buy an Uzi for defense. People buy an Uzi for their own peace of mind. Sometimes, someone probably buys an Uzi for crime, and I realize that. While I do not personally own a gun, denying someone the right to own the gun they want seems wrong to me. I'm a big advocate of personal responsibility. And if someone feels that they're responsible enough to own an Uzi, great. And if they're wrong about that, and they use the gun irresponsibly, either in crime or by leaving it out and causing an accident, then they've proven themselves wrong and we need to throw the book at them.
UPDATE: Well, I obviously have no idea what was covered under the assault weapons ban. And I'm a little embarassed. Now that I've done a little research on it, the ban itself makes even less sense. Maybe a grenade launcher is over the top. Okay, maybe the rotating cylinder shotgun is a bit much, but everything else on here I can see a sportsman using. I mean, banning a folding stock or pistol grip? More than 5 rounds in a shotgun? Got to admit, I don't understand why you'd ban those kinds of guns.
Phew. That feels better now that I've gotten that off my chest. Five days to the first debate!
#1. How on God's green earth is Kerry going to get more allies to come to the board when he keeps insulting and discouraging the ones we have now? Implying that he knows better than Allawi what's going on in Iraq when Allawi lives there seems... a little arrogant, I guess? And his sister is in Australia, trying to convince the electorate there that their involvement with America in Iraq has made them a target, and they should stop? How does this fit in with "finishing the job", or bringing more allies to Iraq to help? I'm not an expert on international politics by any stretch of the imagination, but I've spent time in sales, and two years preaching in the Philippines, so I know a little about convincing people that your course of action is correct, and the recent actions of the Kerry campaign strike me as being just plain wrong.
#2. Iran. Who out there really belives that they're enriching uranium for the sake of bringing electricity to their cities? They're working to generate power, all right, but it's political/strategic, not domestic/electrical. And going to the U.N. is still the right thing to do... for now. Remember, we went to the U.N. for a long time before we went into Iraq. Fat lot of good it did us in the long run, with Kofi Annan now saying that it was an illegal war. (Screw you, Mr. Secretary-General). But we still went. And we're going again. Certain appearances have to be maintained, even if we believe they will do no pratcical good. I'm personally surprised that we're getting the semi-favorable response we've had so far, after claims of WMD stockpiles in Iraq turned to be false (or we were just late to the party - another possible downside to working through the U.N.). Maybe without a big fat cookie jar to stick their hands in (Oil-for-Food, anyone), and Iran's recent announcement and distribution of a new strategic missile, France and Germany will treat us as the traditional allies we've been to them for the last fifty years.
Still reading? Thanks!
#3. The assault weapon ban. No one buys an Uzi for hunting. People buy an Uzi for fun. People buy an Uzi for defense. People buy an Uzi for their own peace of mind. Sometimes, someone probably buys an Uzi for crime, and I realize that. While I do not personally own a gun, denying someone the right to own the gun they want seems wrong to me. I'm a big advocate of personal responsibility. And if someone feels that they're responsible enough to own an Uzi, great. And if they're wrong about that, and they use the gun irresponsibly, either in crime or by leaving it out and causing an accident, then they've proven themselves wrong and we need to throw the book at them.
UPDATE: Well, I obviously have no idea what was covered under the assault weapons ban. And I'm a little embarassed. Now that I've done a little research on it, the ban itself makes even less sense. Maybe a grenade launcher is over the top. Okay, maybe the rotating cylinder shotgun is a bit much, but everything else on here I can see a sportsman using. I mean, banning a folding stock or pistol grip? More than 5 rounds in a shotgun? Got to admit, I don't understand why you'd ban those kinds of guns.
Phew. That feels better now that I've gotten that off my chest. Five days to the first debate!
Friday
Seperated At Birth?
I have missed a full week of Lilek's bleat. I need to repent, and confession is the first (second?) part of repentance. And I needed to make it right. Oh my heck, I missed a week of the BLEAT?!? What's WRONG WITH ME?!?
If you don't read the bleat, Stop Reading Me. Find the Link in the Blogroll - it's in the top 5. Read It.
This week, I missed Lilek's review of Equilibrium, which I liked. And he links to a site that purports to teach GunKata!
And I missed a discussion of Star Trek Soundtrack cues. I'm becoming more convinced that I'm Lilek's evil twin, or his evil clone. Or something like that. We both like trivia, geeky scifi, soundtracks, writing, we both have daughters about the same age. It's creepy, I tell ya!
If you don't read the bleat, Stop Reading Me. Find the Link in the Blogroll - it's in the top 5. Read It.
This week, I missed Lilek's review of Equilibrium, which I liked. And he links to a site that purports to teach GunKata!
And I missed a discussion of Star Trek Soundtrack cues. I'm becoming more convinced that I'm Lilek's evil twin, or his evil clone. Or something like that. We both like trivia, geeky scifi, soundtracks, writing, we both have daughters about the same age. It's creepy, I tell ya!
Eomer is hard at work...
So, tonight I was telling Reeta that I'd seen Karl Urban (Eomer in the LotR movies), in a couple of things recently - that he was in the Bourne Supremacy, for example. But I couldn't remember what else I'd seen him in, so I imdb'd his name. Turns out I'd forgotten that he was in Chronicles of Riddick (quite underrated).
And I saw his next project. Wanna hint? Remember that box cover I linked to in the Governator post?
Oh yeah. Karl Urban is gun-totin' space marine John Grimm in an upcoming feature film adaptation of DOOM. What can I say but... YEE-HAW! Let's hope they go for full-on, hard-core, gib-flying gore. I'm talking Chainsaws, baby! Alien demons! Directed by the same guy who did "Romeo Must Die", and Cradle 2 the Grave. Also, Exit Wounds. So, I'm excited, and a little scared at the same time. But, I mean, it's DOOM. How could anyone possibly screw this up?
And I saw his next project. Wanna hint? Remember that box cover I linked to in the Governator post?
Oh yeah. Karl Urban is gun-totin' space marine John Grimm in an upcoming feature film adaptation of DOOM. What can I say but... YEE-HAW! Let's hope they go for full-on, hard-core, gib-flying gore. I'm talking Chainsaws, baby! Alien demons! Directed by the same guy who did "Romeo Must Die", and Cradle 2 the Grave. Also, Exit Wounds. So, I'm excited, and a little scared at the same time. But, I mean, it's DOOM. How could anyone possibly screw this up?
Thursday
Sahog!
One of the three great desserts I enjoyed in the Philippines, Sahog is the one I got least often. (The other two were halo halo, which you can get just about any place, and buko salad, which I got a lot of in the Philippines, but have never had again since returning).
This is really easy. Take about a cup of sweet dessert rice (called malagkit in the Philippines), and cook it according to directions. While that's going on, in a seperate saucepan, take a 14 oz. can of coconut milk, and warm it over a medium heat. Add brown sugar... lots of brown sugar. And vanilla - not too much (I usually do a teaspoon or so). Stir. And Stir. And Stir some more. You want that to thicken up until it coats your spoon, the thicker the better. It'll take about 1/2 hour. Be careful, you don't want it to burn. Once the rice is cooked, and the coconut milk has now formed a nice syrup, combine the rice and the syrup. Serve warm.
This doesn't look like much. The first time I served it here in the States was to a couple of missionaries we had over for dinner. (The poor missionaries - constant guinea pigs for my cooking experiments - I had to make sure it worked before doing it in the PILP auction). I served it up, and the missionaries kind of stared at it for a minute. I was crushed. I'd obviously done it wrong. I turned back to the pot to dish some up for Reeta when I heard a soft "Oh my gosh!" behind me. It was a huge hit.
This is really easy. Take about a cup of sweet dessert rice (called malagkit in the Philippines), and cook it according to directions. While that's going on, in a seperate saucepan, take a 14 oz. can of coconut milk, and warm it over a medium heat. Add brown sugar... lots of brown sugar. And vanilla - not too much (I usually do a teaspoon or so). Stir. And Stir. And Stir some more. You want that to thicken up until it coats your spoon, the thicker the better. It'll take about 1/2 hour. Be careful, you don't want it to burn. Once the rice is cooked, and the coconut milk has now formed a nice syrup, combine the rice and the syrup. Serve warm.
This doesn't look like much. The first time I served it here in the States was to a couple of missionaries we had over for dinner. (The poor missionaries - constant guinea pigs for my cooking experiments - I had to make sure it worked before doing it in the PILP auction). I served it up, and the missionaries kind of stared at it for a minute. I was crushed. I'd obviously done it wrong. I turned back to the pot to dish some up for Reeta when I heard a soft "Oh my gosh!" behind me. It was a huge hit.
Pancit Canton!
Pancit Canton is a tasty chicken and noodle dish, traditionally served on birthdays. The long noodles are supposed to be representative of a long life (or so they tell me). It has lots of veggies, and can be served over rice, or alone. It's best served with a big group of people as a party. You can also add all kinds of different meats and even some seafood. One of the best Pancit Cantons I ever tasted had shrimp and crab meat in it along with the chicken. And I usually throw in a package of imtation crab right at the end, diced up. It just needs to warm up and the noodles will do that. This is one of the dishes I do every year for the PILP Auction.
Ingredients
3/4 package of Pancit Canton. You should be able to find this in a good Oriental grocery, or in the Chinese food section of your grocery.
1/2 chicken, diced
1-2 carrots. A lot of these ingredients, particularly the veggies, are going to be to taste. If you like carrots, put 'em in. After all, this isn't rocket science, right?
1/4 cabbage - chopped
green (baguio) beans - about a handful.
2 fresh cloves of garlic
One medium onion - yellow or purple, depending on taste. I prefer yellow for this dish.
2 tbsp soy sauce
Saute the onions and garlic, then add the chicken. Cook 'til tender. Add the beans, carrots, cabbage, soy sauce, ground pepper, and just enough water to cover the ingredients. Simmer until the vegetables are almost cooked, then add the Pancit noodles. Simmer until the Pancit is tender, and drain. (Add crab now for that REALLY good Pancit) Serve Hot.
Ingredients
3/4 package of Pancit Canton. You should be able to find this in a good Oriental grocery, or in the Chinese food section of your grocery.
1/2 chicken, diced
1-2 carrots. A lot of these ingredients, particularly the veggies, are going to be to taste. If you like carrots, put 'em in. After all, this isn't rocket science, right?
1/4 cabbage - chopped
green (baguio) beans - about a handful.
2 fresh cloves of garlic
One medium onion - yellow or purple, depending on taste. I prefer yellow for this dish.
2 tbsp soy sauce
Saute the onions and garlic, then add the chicken. Cook 'til tender. Add the beans, carrots, cabbage, soy sauce, ground pepper, and just enough water to cover the ingredients. Simmer until the vegetables are almost cooked, then add the Pancit noodles. Simmer until the Pancit is tender, and drain. (Add crab now for that REALLY good Pancit) Serve Hot.
Warning: Governator at work!
Seems that Schwarzenegger is hard at work. A couple of high points. First, he's signed a law that requires filesharers to disclose their e-mail addresses. While that's a worthy effort, (nice try, folks!) it's a only a misdemeanor. Moreover, it doesn't sound like it discriminates between people who are sharing copyrighted material, and things which are either in the public domain, or are otherwise free for public dissemination. Privacy is still a desirable thing. Moreover, it's too easy to enter a false e-mail address. Mailinator, for example, allows you to create essentially a disposable, one-time use e-mail account, so you can confirm that it's valid, and then you never go back to it.
Also, he signed a bill requiring store to post signs explaining the ESRB video game rating system. Why this was necessary (other than the simple fact that videogames are a real whipping boy in our society for a number of reasons) I don't know. A lot of stores already have that rating system up all over the place - in their flyers and advertisements, on signs on the stands, etc., etc., etc. The rating is prominently displayed on the box. For example, here's a shot of the Doom3 box. The rating is on the front in the lower right hand corner. But ratings for movies are in small print on the back, and I always have to look hard to find it. How about some equal treatment? It's my understanding that the ESRB rating system has gotten praise from the FTC as "the most comprehensive of the three industry systems", and "there is much in tha game industry's rating disclosure requirements that merits duplication by others". Sigh. Games are the Rodney Dangerfield of the entertainment/legal world - no respect, no respect at all.
UPDATE: Lest anyone else doubt, ESRB ratings are on the front of PC Games, Xbox games, PS2, Cube and Gameboy games. Any video game sold in the U.S. should have that rating prominently displayed, and that means on the front of the box.
Also, he signed a bill requiring store to post signs explaining the ESRB video game rating system. Why this was necessary (other than the simple fact that videogames are a real whipping boy in our society for a number of reasons) I don't know. A lot of stores already have that rating system up all over the place - in their flyers and advertisements, on signs on the stands, etc., etc., etc. The rating is prominently displayed on the box. For example, here's a shot of the Doom3 box. The rating is on the front in the lower right hand corner. But ratings for movies are in small print on the back, and I always have to look hard to find it. How about some equal treatment? It's my understanding that the ESRB rating system has gotten praise from the FTC as "the most comprehensive of the three industry systems", and "there is much in tha game industry's rating disclosure requirements that merits duplication by others". Sigh. Games are the Rodney Dangerfield of the entertainment/legal world - no respect, no respect at all.
UPDATE: Lest anyone else doubt, ESRB ratings are on the front of PC Games, Xbox games, PS2, Cube and Gameboy games. Any video game sold in the U.S. should have that rating prominently displayed, and that means on the front of the box.
Smackin' the 'Station
Jury slaps Sony with $82 million verdict.
Immersion makes force feedback devices. I have a mouse that vibrates, and is made using Immersion's technology. It really adds to the fun playing Jedi Outcast or Academy when your mouse vibrates when your lightsaber is on. I guess a jury has decided that the same technology is used in controllers for the Sony Playstation. And Immersion is trying to get an injunction that will prevent Sony from infringing in the future. Permanently.
ouch! Microsoft has apparently settled with Immersion already, so the Xbox should be okay. But Sony has a lot of money they can throw at litigation, and they'll be making a lot of post-trial motions, and the judge hasn't handed down a final judgment yet, so we'll see what happens.
(Hat tip to EP, who turned me on to BNA news).
Immersion makes force feedback devices. I have a mouse that vibrates, and is made using Immersion's technology. It really adds to the fun playing Jedi Outcast or Academy when your mouse vibrates when your lightsaber is on. I guess a jury has decided that the same technology is used in controllers for the Sony Playstation. And Immersion is trying to get an injunction that will prevent Sony from infringing in the future. Permanently.
ouch! Microsoft has apparently settled with Immersion already, so the Xbox should be okay. But Sony has a lot of money they can throw at litigation, and they'll be making a lot of post-trial motions, and the judge hasn't handed down a final judgment yet, so we'll see what happens.
(Hat tip to EP, who turned me on to BNA news).
Wednesday
Swinging the Sword
...makes the arm tired. Truth be told, I'm having a hard time keeping up with everything. In the mean time, it's been a beautiful day outside today, and life is (for now at least) good. So I'm not going to rant about annoying Canadian Columnists, or Dan Rather's slow sink into a quagmire of irrelevance. At least not right now. ;)
We had dinner last night at the Bishop's place. Baked spaghetti. Salad. Warm bread with lots of butter. Steamed broccoli and cauliflower. And... Tillamook ice cream with brownies and banana cake. (Well, for some people I suppose that's brownies OR banana cake).
It was sort of a farewell dinner for one of the missionaries, who is headed home after his two years of faithful service. I remember my last day in the mission field. The day I was offered (and ate!) kinilaw. (Key-knee-lao) Usually, kinilaw is made with very fresh tuna steak. You marinate it in vinegar in the fridge overnight with spices (onion, green tomatoes, garlic, pepper), and the next day you drain the vinegar and replace it with coconut milk. Then serve over rice. One of my absolute favorite Filipino dishes (and something I'd never try here). But unfortunately, these people were too poor to afford tuna steak, so they had gone out to the shore, and picked and pickled... just for me... because they knew kinilaw was my favorite... sea worms. Quite a difference in taste and texture from tuna steak, believe me. It was still pretty good, though. Kind of like doing that with octopus.
In the meantime, it's been confirmed that Lucas screwed around with the ending of Return of the Jedi, replacing Sebastian Shaw's ghostly blue image with that of Hayden Christiansen. Yeah. And he didn't fix the "Greedo shot first" problem. Greedo didn't shoot first. That moment really defined Solo for me, and Lucas screwed it up. I mean, Greedo was THREE FEET AWAY, with eyes the size of SAUCERS, and MISSED?!? Sorry, I just couldn't accept that. Still can't. And that "Yes, I'll bet you have..." just loses all meaning when Greedo shoots first. Ugh.
We had dinner last night at the Bishop's place. Baked spaghetti. Salad. Warm bread with lots of butter. Steamed broccoli and cauliflower. And... Tillamook ice cream with brownies and banana cake. (Well, for some people I suppose that's brownies OR banana cake).
It was sort of a farewell dinner for one of the missionaries, who is headed home after his two years of faithful service. I remember my last day in the mission field. The day I was offered (and ate!) kinilaw. (Key-knee-lao) Usually, kinilaw is made with very fresh tuna steak. You marinate it in vinegar in the fridge overnight with spices (onion, green tomatoes, garlic, pepper), and the next day you drain the vinegar and replace it with coconut milk. Then serve over rice. One of my absolute favorite Filipino dishes (and something I'd never try here). But unfortunately, these people were too poor to afford tuna steak, so they had gone out to the shore, and picked and pickled... just for me... because they knew kinilaw was my favorite... sea worms. Quite a difference in taste and texture from tuna steak, believe me. It was still pretty good, though. Kind of like doing that with octopus.
In the meantime, it's been confirmed that Lucas screwed around with the ending of Return of the Jedi, replacing Sebastian Shaw's ghostly blue image with that of Hayden Christiansen. Yeah. And he didn't fix the "Greedo shot first" problem. Greedo didn't shoot first. That moment really defined Solo for me, and Lucas screwed it up. I mean, Greedo was THREE FEET AWAY, with eyes the size of SAUCERS, and MISSED?!? Sorry, I just couldn't accept that. Still can't. And that "Yes, I'll bet you have..." just loses all meaning when Greedo shoots first. Ugh.
Tuesday
Neighbors to the North (Bomb!)
Normally I don't pay any attention to what our neighbors to the North have to say about us, particularly politically speaking. But this editorial from the Toronto Star just really irked me. Ms. Zerbisias is entitled to her opinion. But when she starts throwing around the word "Fact" in all caps, then chances are that it's time for a good fiskin!
In that same interview that Ms. Zerbisias refers to, Mr. Conway claimed that the civilian and military casualties were terribly overstated. Six Marines are all we lost. And while any death is regrettable, in combat it's hardly a disaster for the coalition. That's coming from the L.A. Times, babe. Not only that, but the insinuation that the orders came from the White House is just that, an unfounded insinuation. The article stated that the order to attack came from the commander on the ground - Sanchez. No claim was made as to where the order to withdraw came from.
Now, transcripts don't do much for tone, which I'm sure played a factor here. First, Lauer had asked if the war could be won in four more years. And Bush responded by saying that he had never claimed it could or would be. Who knows where the emphasis in the "I don't think we can win it" statement came from? Could it have meant that his administration wouldn't be able to win it in the four years of another term? Could it have meant that this wasn't the kind of war that has an end, with a big ticker-tape parade, so we all know that's the end? The fact of the matter is that there are people out there who are using terror to achieve their own political ends. Who knows how many of them there actually are? And how will we know if we've caught or killed all of them? "Winning it" is different in this war than any other we've ever had.
Plus, as soon as Bush said what he did, it seems like every paper on the planet immediately jumped on a supposed flip-flop. Clarification at that point seems like a rational response.
Bet that's awfully hard to square with more recent statements he's made that he would have still voted for the war even if he knew then what he knows now about WMD. Of course, now he says he wouldn't have done it, and that it's the wrong war,etc... and... what's his position on Iraq again?
And this is what really set me off. Personally, I worship at the altar of no man, and to call bloggers like the Instapundit, the gentlement at PowerLine, and LGF acolytes to conservative pundits when all of them have at one time or another posted messages that criticized the current administration is nothing more than a lazy hack job. Beyond that, what Rather has done is more than just destroy his own credibility. He's been caught demonstrating a contempt for his viewers, first by running the story without vetting the documents thorougly, then by claiming that the memos were valid, and we should just take him at his word. How can we trust someone who has shown such utter disregard for the intelligence of his audience? He apparently thinks we're idiots, and that we'd buy it. And then when we didn't, he was surprised. He stonewalled. And then he finally made an apology, and admitted that the documents hadn't been checked thoroughly.
Moreover, guess what? A lot of bloggers are partisan. (Shock!) I'm pretty sure at this point who I'm voting for, and it has nothing to do with what typeface you can get in a circa 1972 IBM Selectra typewriter, or whether or not Dan Rather gave a convincing enough apology. I write for no editor. I write for no pay. I don't advertise. I'm not actively seeking to make this a means of livelihood or to create a cult of personality (although that'd be cool, I've got to admit). The only thing I get out of this is time spent that I could be studying, and the opportunity to get my thoughts out there where someone might see them and nod a little. And there's always the occasional satisfaction of tearing a stupid, inane, lazy, fact-twisting argument into little itsy-bitsy pieces, and most days that's enough. Am I biased? Maybe so. Am I an acolyte? No way. And we can be partisan. It's not our job to report the news. That's the MSM's job. It's not our job to be impartial. That's the MSM's job. It's not even our job to watchdog the MSM. That's just fun. And maybe that's the real reason we blog in the first place. (That and the inherent "cool" factor).
Oh, BTW, aside from insulting bloggers by claiming that we're intellectually subservient to "conservative pundits" (we're used to that), insinuating that the American public will vote for Bush simply because CBS tried an unsuccessful hack job that distracted the U.S. from "real issues" is an insult to our collective intelligence. On behalf of all of us,
FACT: U.S. Marine Lt.-Gen. James T. Conway, the outgoing commander in western Iraq, told reporters on Sept. 12 that he protested what seemed to be a political decision to attack Fallujah last spring. But he followed orders, sending the troops in. Three disastrous days later, with hundreds dead, another decision, apparently originating in the White House, was made to pull out. Conroy opposed that too but to no avail.
In that same interview that Ms. Zerbisias refers to, Mr. Conway claimed that the civilian and military casualties were terribly overstated. Six Marines are all we lost. And while any death is regrettable, in combat it's hardly a disaster for the coalition. That's coming from the L.A. Times, babe. Not only that, but the insinuation that the orders came from the White House is just that, an unfounded insinuation. The article stated that the order to attack came from the commander on the ground - Sanchez. No claim was made as to where the order to withdraw came from.
FACT: Last month, Bush told NBC that the war on terror could not be won. Then he clarified himself, by saying this was an unconventional, different war. And then his spokesperson Scott McClellan clarified the clarification, explaining that, while the U.S. couldn't "win," it could "prevail" against terror.
Now, transcripts don't do much for tone, which I'm sure played a factor here. First, Lauer had asked if the war could be won in four more years. And Bush responded by saying that he had never claimed it could or would be. Who knows where the emphasis in the "I don't think we can win it" statement came from? Could it have meant that his administration wouldn't be able to win it in the four years of another term? Could it have meant that this wasn't the kind of war that has an end, with a big ticker-tape parade, so we all know that's the end? The fact of the matter is that there are people out there who are using terror to achieve their own political ends. Who knows how many of them there actually are? And how will we know if we've caught or killed all of them? "Winning it" is different in this war than any other we've ever had.
Plus, as soon as Bush said what he did, it seems like every paper on the planet immediately jumped on a supposed flip-flop. Clarification at that point seems like a rational response.
FACT: In 2002, Kerry voted to authorize the use of force against Saddam but only, as he said then, "To disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, if we cannot accomplish that objective through new, tough weapons inspections in joint concert with our allies."
Bet that's awfully hard to square with more recent statements he's made that he would have still voted for the war even if he knew then what he knows now about WMD. Of course, now he says he wouldn't have done it, and that it's the wrong war,etc... and... what's his position on Iraq again?
Now, of course, conservative pundits and their acolytes in the cybersphere are calling for Rather's head, because he has destroyed his credibility.
And this is what really set me off. Personally, I worship at the altar of no man, and to call bloggers like the Instapundit, the gentlement at PowerLine, and LGF acolytes to conservative pundits when all of them have at one time or another posted messages that criticized the current administration is nothing more than a lazy hack job. Beyond that, what Rather has done is more than just destroy his own credibility. He's been caught demonstrating a contempt for his viewers, first by running the story without vetting the documents thorougly, then by claiming that the memos were valid, and we should just take him at his word. How can we trust someone who has shown such utter disregard for the intelligence of his audience? He apparently thinks we're idiots, and that we'd buy it. And then when we didn't, he was surprised. He stonewalled. And then he finally made an apology, and admitted that the documents hadn't been checked thoroughly.
Moreover, guess what? A lot of bloggers are partisan. (Shock!) I'm pretty sure at this point who I'm voting for, and it has nothing to do with what typeface you can get in a circa 1972 IBM Selectra typewriter, or whether or not Dan Rather gave a convincing enough apology. I write for no editor. I write for no pay. I don't advertise. I'm not actively seeking to make this a means of livelihood or to create a cult of personality (although that'd be cool, I've got to admit). The only thing I get out of this is time spent that I could be studying, and the opportunity to get my thoughts out there where someone might see them and nod a little. And there's always the occasional satisfaction of tearing a stupid, inane, lazy, fact-twisting argument into little itsy-bitsy pieces, and most days that's enough. Am I biased? Maybe so. Am I an acolyte? No way. And we can be partisan. It's not our job to report the news. That's the MSM's job. It's not our job to be impartial. That's the MSM's job. It's not even our job to watchdog the MSM. That's just fun. And maybe that's the real reason we blog in the first place. (That and the inherent "cool" factor).
Oh, BTW, aside from insulting bloggers by claiming that we're intellectually subservient to "conservative pundits" (we're used to that), insinuating that the American public will vote for Bush simply because CBS tried an unsuccessful hack job that distracted the U.S. from "real issues" is an insult to our collective intelligence. On behalf of all of us,
Monday
A Small Request
I've been asked by a friend here at the law school if I'd be interested in doing an anime/kung fu movie festival. Of course, I jumped at the chance. Now I'm trying to figure out what to show. I know what I like, but what can I show that isn't TOO trippy, and maybe would appeal to an older audience without slipping into ecchi? The first two episodes of GitS:SAC? Once Upon a Time in China? Last Exile? Laughing Hyena? Do I need to start at the beginning of a series? Could I show some of the fansubbed stuff I'm getting from the 'Net? The suggestion box is open. I think the idea is to show something on one of the big screens in the multimedia classrooms. Hmmmm...
In more general questions, should this be a regular thing at the law school? Do I really need to be putting still MORE STUFF on my plate?
P.S. Also, we want to show all three extended cut LotR films, which will definitely have to wait for RotK's release - maybe late November for that? When is that coming out?
In more general questions, should this be a regular thing at the law school? Do I really need to be putting still MORE STUFF on my plate?
P.S. Also, we want to show all three extended cut LotR films, which will definitely have to wait for RotK's release - maybe late November for that? When is that coming out?
Political Jiu-Jitsu
So, Rathergate? Was it all a brilliant Karl Rove conspiracy? A failed attempt to discredit the President from a disgruntled partisan hack?
Personally, it looks like they're using it as an opportunity for the greatest rope-a-dope in history, allowing Bush's campaign to now put the pressure on CBS to turn the journalistic lights back on the DNC in order to regain any semblance of journalistic impartiality. And with the latest GOP statement, look for pressure to start. Bush can now talk about a truly biased media, and justify the fact that he doesn't do a lot of press conferences. Kerry, who has said previously that he will do press conferences monthly (suck-up!) has now been apparently incommunicado with the press for weeks - except for an appearance on the Imus show.
This campaign is starting to remind me of a Kung Fu movie - one in which our hero gets beat up in the beginning, and then just beats the living tar out of his opponent. Or the end of Lynch's Dune, when Muad'Dib bends like a reed in the wind, and WHAM, end of fight. It's entertaining as hell.
But what do I know? After all, IRLR. (I Really Liked "Returner")
Personally, it looks like they're using it as an opportunity for the greatest rope-a-dope in history, allowing Bush's campaign to now put the pressure on CBS to turn the journalistic lights back on the DNC in order to regain any semblance of journalistic impartiality. And with the latest GOP statement, look for pressure to start. Bush can now talk about a truly biased media, and justify the fact that he doesn't do a lot of press conferences. Kerry, who has said previously that he will do press conferences monthly (suck-up!) has now been apparently incommunicado with the press for weeks - except for an appearance on the Imus show.
This campaign is starting to remind me of a Kung Fu movie - one in which our hero gets beat up in the beginning, and then just beats the living tar out of his opponent. Or the end of Lynch's Dune, when Muad'Dib bends like a reed in the wind, and WHAM, end of fight. It's entertaining as hell.
But what do I know? After all, IRLR. (I Really Liked "Returner")
Didn't see this one coming, did we?
Take the What High School
Stereotype Are You? quiz.
I think it was my response to the "Saving Throw" question that really did me in.
Hat tip to Whomping Willow.
Sunday
Turnabout?
Cheney says that a vote for Kerrey makes the U.S. more vulnerable to future attack. The MSM jump all over him.
Kerry's sister goes to Australia, and says that their alliance with Bush has made them a target. Prepare for the inevitable MSM furor! Not.
My prediction is that this won't make much news here in the States at all, despite the fact that it seems that Mr. Kerry's campaign seems to be actively seeking to undermine the coalition and alliances we've made to fight terrorism. You know, the ones involved in our 'unilateral' military action? Nor do I believe it will make too much of a difference in the Australian elections coming up in October. After all, most of the U.S. doesn't give a flying flip what other countries think of our politics. Why should the Aussies be any different?
Hat tip to the Good Captain Ed.
Kerry's sister goes to Australia, and says that their alliance with Bush has made them a target. Prepare for the inevitable MSM furor! Not.
My prediction is that this won't make much news here in the States at all, despite the fact that it seems that Mr. Kerry's campaign seems to be actively seeking to undermine the coalition and alliances we've made to fight terrorism. You know, the ones involved in our 'unilateral' military action? Nor do I believe it will make too much of a difference in the Australian elections coming up in October. After all, most of the U.S. doesn't give a flying flip what other countries think of our politics. Why should the Aussies be any different?
Hat tip to the Good Captain Ed.
Avast, ye lubbers. 'Tis the end of the contest. Yarr!
Let me say that we had several great entries! I was impressed with the variety of fairly clean limericks we got. No one went over the line, a good time was had by my wife and I picking the limericks. And as I made up this contest, I'm throwing a bunch of awards out there.
First, the "most conspicuous attempt to appeal to the judge's vanity and obtain fudge" award goes to MT with...
There now is a blogger named Zach
When it comes to the fudge he's no hack
Preparing it by the batch
He makes it all from scratch
Come now, Chocolate Pirates, Attack!
Fudge? Keep a weather eye out the first week of October, when fudge may be as plentiful as grog in a Tortuga tavern. Well, maybe not quite THAT plentiful, but there'll be fudge eventually.
The "Law Student/Pirate homogenization" award goes to Energy Spatula with...
There once was a law student named Sue
Who loved life on the sea and rum too
So she gave up the law
And bought a macaw
And now she’s no longer sad and blue
Arr, Pirate Lawyers! Prepare for a hostile takeover of all your assets! Fire a deposition over the port bow!
The "Questionable Content" Award goes to mellow-drama with...
There was a young pirate named Porter,
Who suffered intestine disorder
Since he always felt ill
It gave him a thrill
To grant all his enemies no quarter.
Hmmmmm... trying to find the innuendo in this one... still trying... perhaps a map with an "X" on it... Yarrrr....
The "Best Limerick Not Appearing in this Contest" Award goes to Prof. Bogdanski for his excised limerick which shall not be posted (but which made Reeta laugh really hard, so it couldn't have been THAT questionable).
And the absolute winner, the one to whom we should all heft a brimfull of grog to is Amber, who wins the contest this year with...
There was a young pirate from Krum
Who drank gallons and gallons of rum
He met a young lass
Had fun in the grass
And got a bad rash on his bum
Arrr, My britches are itchy. Have a great talk like a Pirate day!
First, the "most conspicuous attempt to appeal to the judge's vanity and obtain fudge" award goes to MT with...
There now is a blogger named Zach
When it comes to the fudge he's no hack
Preparing it by the batch
He makes it all from scratch
Come now, Chocolate Pirates, Attack!
Fudge? Keep a weather eye out the first week of October, when fudge may be as plentiful as grog in a Tortuga tavern. Well, maybe not quite THAT plentiful, but there'll be fudge eventually.
The "Law Student/Pirate homogenization" award goes to Energy Spatula with...
There once was a law student named Sue
Who loved life on the sea and rum too
So she gave up the law
And bought a macaw
And now she’s no longer sad and blue
Arr, Pirate Lawyers! Prepare for a hostile takeover of all your assets! Fire a deposition over the port bow!
The "Questionable Content" Award goes to mellow-drama with...
There was a young pirate named Porter,
Who suffered intestine disorder
Since he always felt ill
It gave him a thrill
To grant all his enemies no quarter.
Hmmmmm... trying to find the innuendo in this one... still trying... perhaps a map with an "X" on it... Yarrrr....
The "Best Limerick Not Appearing in this Contest" Award goes to Prof. Bogdanski for his excised limerick which shall not be posted (but which made Reeta laugh really hard, so it couldn't have been THAT questionable).
And the absolute winner, the one to whom we should all heft a brimfull of grog to is Amber, who wins the contest this year with...
There was a young pirate from Krum
Who drank gallons and gallons of rum
He met a young lass
Had fun in the grass
And got a bad rash on his bum
Arrr, My britches are itchy. Have a great talk like a Pirate day!
Saturday
Another freaky revelation?
Apparently, the London Telegraph is reporting that the person responsible for feeding British and U.S. intelligence bad information about Saddam's plans to get yellowcake uranium was under the pay of France.
Hat tip to Captain's Quarters.
And these are the allies that John Kerry says would have legitimized the war in Iraq? First, we find suggestions that they've been implicit in Saddam's Oil for Food scam, and now they're purposely spreading disinformation to the U.S.? Most French people are great. Most people in general are great. But if true, this is a little surprising from a purported ally.
Sounds more like something an enemy would do, doesn't it?
BTW: less than 24 hours left in the Limerick Contest! Tomorrow is still National Talk Like a Pirate Day!
Hat tip to Captain's Quarters.
And these are the allies that John Kerry says would have legitimized the war in Iraq? First, we find suggestions that they've been implicit in Saddam's Oil for Food scam, and now they're purposely spreading disinformation to the U.S.? Most French people are great. Most people in general are great. But if true, this is a little surprising from a purported ally.
Sounds more like something an enemy would do, doesn't it?
BTW: less than 24 hours left in the Limerick Contest! Tomorrow is still National Talk Like a Pirate Day!
Friday
Clarifications and Detonations
First, a refreshingly optimistic report from the ground in Iraq at Captain's Quarters.
Second, a few quick thoughts on Rathergate. First, it looks like ABC has found Ret. Col. Walter Staudt, who says he never pulled strings or pressured anyone in regards to Bush. So, now we've got Matlin who says he never verified documents, just one signature, and in his own writing has said that you can't verify authenticity from copies - just originals. We've got other CBS experts who told them there were problems with the documents, and not to run with the story. We've got one disgruntled partisan secretary who says that the memos reflect the thoughts of the CO, but she never typed the memos and he didn't type. We've got the CO's family, who say that he didn't keep personal files. And we've got a person mentioned in the memos who retired months before he allegedly pressured people, and now says he never did. And last but not least, it looks like the memos were faxed from a Kinko's about 21 miles from the house of a known partisan hack. Have I missed anything?
I can't help but think that the enemy isn't CBS, though. A healthy dose of skepticism is what's been lacking. For example, yesterday, when stories of three year olds losing their Bush/Cheney signs to mobs of rampaging Democrats broke, the first thing that went through my head was that it was some kind of scam. When Rathergate broke, my first gut reaction was "This sounds like real black helicopter, tinfoil hat stuff". Skepticism. The 60 Minutes story, it turns out had legs. The three year old and her sign, it turns out, may not (Hat tip to Captain's Quarters).
While it's comforting and easy to sit back at the end of the day and listen to Dan Rather or Peter Jennings, or Chris Matthews or Bill O'Reilly and let them tell you what happened today and why it's important, it gives others control over the information that you get. And that's one reason why I'm ecstatic about blogs. Like the boys over at Powerline have said, blogs link to things so people can click and look and think for themselves. Think for yourself. Decide for yourself. Get some information, look at the facts as best as you can, and don't take my word for it, or Powerline's or Kos' or anybody else's.
Arise from the dust, and be men. Or, in modern parlance, get off the couch, and act like grown-ups.
Second, a few quick thoughts on Rathergate. First, it looks like ABC has found Ret. Col. Walter Staudt, who says he never pulled strings or pressured anyone in regards to Bush. So, now we've got Matlin who says he never verified documents, just one signature, and in his own writing has said that you can't verify authenticity from copies - just originals. We've got other CBS experts who told them there were problems with the documents, and not to run with the story. We've got one disgruntled partisan secretary who says that the memos reflect the thoughts of the CO, but she never typed the memos and he didn't type. We've got the CO's family, who say that he didn't keep personal files. And we've got a person mentioned in the memos who retired months before he allegedly pressured people, and now says he never did. And last but not least, it looks like the memos were faxed from a Kinko's about 21 miles from the house of a known partisan hack. Have I missed anything?
I can't help but think that the enemy isn't CBS, though. A healthy dose of skepticism is what's been lacking. For example, yesterday, when stories of three year olds losing their Bush/Cheney signs to mobs of rampaging Democrats broke, the first thing that went through my head was that it was some kind of scam. When Rathergate broke, my first gut reaction was "This sounds like real black helicopter, tinfoil hat stuff". Skepticism. The 60 Minutes story, it turns out had legs. The three year old and her sign, it turns out, may not (Hat tip to Captain's Quarters).
While it's comforting and easy to sit back at the end of the day and listen to Dan Rather or Peter Jennings, or Chris Matthews or Bill O'Reilly and let them tell you what happened today and why it's important, it gives others control over the information that you get. And that's one reason why I'm ecstatic about blogs. Like the boys over at Powerline have said, blogs link to things so people can click and look and think for themselves. Think for yourself. Decide for yourself. Get some information, look at the facts as best as you can, and don't take my word for it, or Powerline's or Kos' or anybody else's.
Arise from the dust, and be men. Or, in modern parlance, get off the couch, and act like grown-ups.
Thursday
Anime Wisdom
Having already done tomorrow's reading, I wound up watching a lot of anime tonight. Two episodes of Naruto, and two episodes of Samurai 7. And there were good things to be learned. First, from Naruto, Episode 100, the power of "my rules", believing in your own power, and being a genius of hard work. Then from Samurai 7, episode 12, "Those who think only of themselves will destroy themselves".
Granted, these are amateur translations of Japanese, but viewed in the context of the story, they make perfect sense.
And I still have three episodes of "Aishiteruze, Baby!" to watch.
Granted, these are amateur translations of Japanese, but viewed in the context of the story, they make perfect sense.
And I still have three episodes of "Aishiteruze, Baby!" to watch.
Next!!!
Well, at this point I am just totally convinced that the CBS memos are fake. "Forged, but accurate" just doesn't cut it for me. "Six documents, and we ruled out two as fakes?" Come on! What's left to figure out?
Where the documents came from. (Hat tip to INDC, and the Washington Post). INDC has apparently contacted the Kinko's there, to make sure that their security tapes for that day aren't erased.
Now, I can't pretend to have been paying a lot of attention to the last few Presidential campaigns, but this race strikes me as being particularly freaky. Are there no places where Bush can be legitimately criticized? Is this election really coming down to stuff that happened over thirty years ago? This is crazy. While the Mainstream Media is burning itself in effigy with fake memos, the Kerry campaign is continuing to focus on differences in two men from thirty years ago, as though they were both trees that continued to inexorably grow in their respectively skewed paths. What about the last four years? Are there no legitimate issues there? Has Bush really done such an incredible job?
If forged memos and the recollections of partisan secretaries are such an important story, maybe he has. Goodness knows, we haven't had much in the way of scandal over the last four years. No Iran-Contra, or Lewinsky style breakdowns that we know of. No Whitewater. Maybe he was derilict in his duty thirty years ago. At this point, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that IF he was that irresponsible back then, he may have changed. I'm willing to give that same benefit of the doubt to Kerry. But, in the immortal words of Wayne Campbell, "Move into now!"
Where the documents came from. (Hat tip to INDC, and the Washington Post). INDC has apparently contacted the Kinko's there, to make sure that their security tapes for that day aren't erased.
Now, I can't pretend to have been paying a lot of attention to the last few Presidential campaigns, but this race strikes me as being particularly freaky. Are there no places where Bush can be legitimately criticized? Is this election really coming down to stuff that happened over thirty years ago? This is crazy. While the Mainstream Media is burning itself in effigy with fake memos, the Kerry campaign is continuing to focus on differences in two men from thirty years ago, as though they were both trees that continued to inexorably grow in their respectively skewed paths. What about the last four years? Are there no legitimate issues there? Has Bush really done such an incredible job?
If forged memos and the recollections of partisan secretaries are such an important story, maybe he has. Goodness knows, we haven't had much in the way of scandal over the last four years. No Iran-Contra, or Lewinsky style breakdowns that we know of. No Whitewater. Maybe he was derilict in his duty thirty years ago. At this point, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that IF he was that irresponsible back then, he may have changed. I'm willing to give that same benefit of the doubt to Kerry. But, in the immortal words of Wayne Campbell, "Move into now!"
in the "I never thought I'd see this happen" category...
Road Trip!
Actually, it makes me a little nervous to see Mr. Moore going to Provo, UT, to speak at UVSC. With BYU down the way, I can only imagine the comments he's going to make. But I could be wrong, it's happened before.
Anyway, it'll be an early bedtime tonight. Gotta get up early tomorrow to chat with the VRWC and see which minority we'll be oppressing. ^.^
Actually, it makes me a little nervous to see Mr. Moore going to Provo, UT, to speak at UVSC. With BYU down the way, I can only imagine the comments he's going to make. But I could be wrong, it's happened before.
Anyway, it'll be an early bedtime tonight. Gotta get up early tomorrow to chat with the VRWC and see which minority we'll be oppressing. ^.^
Wednesday
A regrettable lack of fudge
So, I've decided that for this particular contest, I will not be awarding fudge to the winner. As I've indicated in comments, I don't want to discourage anyone from entering. And while fudge would probably encourage more entries, my inability to ship to various parts of the globe would create a discriminatory effect that might compromise my impartiality as a judge.
Short answer, I'm too cheap to ship fudge.
Now, if someone were to, say, slip me a payment into my Paypal account, and give me an address, then I might be tempted to make a special batch and ship that. Rates on request. ^.^
Disclaimer: I am not a professional chef, and make no warranties of merchantability, fitness for use, or any and all other warranties. I further disclaim any and all bad effects that may come from the use of fudge in conjunction with figures, wardrobes, general health, or heavy machinery.
Short answer, I'm too cheap to ship fudge.
Now, if someone were to, say, slip me a payment into my Paypal account, and give me an address, then I might be tempted to make a special batch and ship that. Rates on request. ^.^
Disclaimer: I am not a professional chef, and make no warranties of merchantability, fitness for use, or any and all other warranties. I further disclaim any and all bad effects that may come from the use of fudge in conjunction with figures, wardrobes, general health, or heavy machinery.
More limerick throwdown!
Yar! No pirates in this one...
A shower can be quite relaxing
On a day that has been rather taxing
Hot water will pour
On muscles quite sour
And contentment quite soon will be maxing.
But wait, I hear you already saying. Aren't limericks supposed to be slightly naughty? Well, this may be news to you but...
typically... people shower NAKED!
W00t! Check my mad limerick skillz! Is there none to oppose me in claiming the title "Lord of Limericks"? Bwah, ha, ha, haa...
A shower can be quite relaxing
On a day that has been rather taxing
Hot water will pour
On muscles quite sour
And contentment quite soon will be maxing.
But wait, I hear you already saying. Aren't limericks supposed to be slightly naughty? Well, this may be news to you but...
typically... people shower NAKED!
W00t! Check my mad limerick skillz! Is there none to oppose me in claiming the title "Lord of Limericks"? Bwah, ha, ha, haa...
Charge the Stupid! (Warning: Bomb!)
Just a quick toss to online sellers of music (iTunes excepted).
Using a free trial for Napster's online music service, I've been listening to a lot of great music that I would never have found in the past. And for whatever reason, I kind of like Iron Maiden. Who woulda thought?
For example, their "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" album is great. So great that I'm considering buying it. Let's see... 8 tracks, (seven might have been more appropriate, but whatever...) $.99 a track, that's $7.92. Not too shabby. Let's just click on the buy album button... which says the album costs $13.95...
(Goofy voice)
Hmmmm, somethin' wrong here...
(/Goofy voice)
So I checked Windows Media... Somewhere in Time, by Iron Maiden... 8 tracks, $.99 each, buy album... $12.87? And the same deal for Seventh Son?
So I checked iTunes, where rationality reared its head. 8 tracks, $.99 each. Buy album? $7.92. Now if only I could play their tracks on a portable besides the iPod... Maybe I'll try eBay. ;-)
Using a free trial for Napster's online music service, I've been listening to a lot of great music that I would never have found in the past. And for whatever reason, I kind of like Iron Maiden. Who woulda thought?
For example, their "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" album is great. So great that I'm considering buying it. Let's see... 8 tracks, (seven might have been more appropriate, but whatever...) $.99 a track, that's $7.92. Not too shabby. Let's just click on the buy album button... which says the album costs $13.95...
(Goofy voice)
Hmmmm, somethin' wrong here...
(/Goofy voice)
So I checked Windows Media... Somewhere in Time, by Iron Maiden... 8 tracks, $.99 each, buy album... $12.87? And the same deal for Seventh Son?
So I checked iTunes, where rationality reared its head. 8 tracks, $.99 each. Buy album? $7.92. Now if only I could play their tracks on a portable besides the iPod... Maybe I'll try eBay. ;-)
Limerick Contest! I be throwin' down the gauntlet, Arrrr!
A rascally sort was young Harry
When his doxie's mood turned quite contrary
She asked was he sure
His intentions were pure
He leered and admitted, "not very."
Think you can do better? (You're probably right, but...) Prove it! Comment here or on the earlier post with your limerick, or e-mail them to me before 3:00 PM Pacific Time this Sunday, National Talk Like a Pirate Day! Enter often (with a new limerick each time, if you please). Remember, extra points if you can work in pirates (implied in the limerick above, as a doxy is defined as "a loose wench")
When his doxie's mood turned quite contrary
She asked was he sure
His intentions were pure
He leered and admitted, "not very."
Think you can do better? (You're probably right, but...) Prove it! Comment here or on the earlier post with your limerick, or e-mail them to me before 3:00 PM Pacific Time this Sunday, National Talk Like a Pirate Day! Enter often (with a new limerick each time, if you please). Remember, extra points if you can work in pirates (implied in the limerick above, as a doxy is defined as "a loose wench")
Tuesday
File this as a surprise...
Seems that any grace period that might have been given CBS on the documents by other mainstream outlets has expired.
Washington Post I can kind of understand, but the L.A. Times? Whew!
Click on the link for the full size screenshot from Google News.
Washington Post I can kind of understand, but the L.A. Times? Whew!
Click on the link for the full size screenshot from Google News.
Avast, 'tis the Jolly Roger!
Ugh. I'm not going to be very coherent today - was up 'til about 4:00 AM this morning - stomach cramps, something I ate maybe. I've got to quit living this rock and roll lifestyle. Incoherence being the essence of madness however, it may yet lead to poetry. Perhaps a limerick contest is in order.
Therefore, continuing the gluttony for punishment, I am announcing the first ever Mad Poet Limerick Contest. Submit your limericks in the comments. Bear in mind that this is a family-friendly blog, so the normal dirty limerick (Even Issac Asimov's) is not appropriate. Double entendres, innuendoes, etc., carefully concealed enough are fine. It should take a second to make me blush (notoriously easy). With National Talk Like A Pirate day coming up on Sunday, the inclusion of pirates gets extra points. Comments will close on Sunday, at 3:00 PM Pacific Time, and if anyone has actually submitted a limerick (a dicey proposition indeed), a winner will be picked, announced, and (virtually) showered with rose petals.
Therefore, continuing the gluttony for punishment, I am announcing the first ever Mad Poet Limerick Contest. Submit your limericks in the comments. Bear in mind that this is a family-friendly blog, so the normal dirty limerick (Even Issac Asimov's) is not appropriate. Double entendres, innuendoes, etc., carefully concealed enough are fine. It should take a second to make me blush (notoriously easy). With National Talk Like A Pirate day coming up on Sunday, the inclusion of pirates gets extra points. Comments will close on Sunday, at 3:00 PM Pacific Time, and if anyone has actually submitted a limerick (a dicey proposition indeed), a winner will be picked, announced, and (virtually) showered with rose petals.
Gluttony for Punishment
Well, looks like Michael Matley is now saying he never authenticated the documents, just a signature. (Registration required at the Washington Post). After all, they're copies. (See page three, top of the left hand column).
So, with Matley backing off, and Hodges saying that CBS misled him, what the heck is going on?
And why the heck are we talking about this again? Last night, I was watching a debate between a couple of talking heads about the memos, and the person defending CBS asked why we weren't talking about what was in the memos, rather than whether or not the memos were authentic. I suppose, being a law student, my gut response at this point is ... first we establish the authenticity of the evidence, then we can talk about what the evidence leads us to. If you can't establish the authenticity of the evidence, it doesn't come in. We don't talk about it, we don't mention it before a jury. It doesn't count. And the implication that a trusted source of information could be duped like this, and that millions of people who watch their programs could be influenced by bad information is in and of itself an important issue. And for now that's all I have to say about that.
So, with Matley backing off, and Hodges saying that CBS misled him, what the heck is going on?
And why the heck are we talking about this again? Last night, I was watching a debate between a couple of talking heads about the memos, and the person defending CBS asked why we weren't talking about what was in the memos, rather than whether or not the memos were authentic. I suppose, being a law student, my gut response at this point is ... first we establish the authenticity of the evidence, then we can talk about what the evidence leads us to. If you can't establish the authenticity of the evidence, it doesn't come in. We don't talk about it, we don't mention it before a jury. It doesn't count. And the implication that a trusted source of information could be duped like this, and that millions of people who watch their programs could be influenced by bad information is in and of itself an important issue. And for now that's all I have to say about that.
Monday
DaySide
Fox News just had a long time Democratic strategist and pollster on. Pat Caddell is, in a word, pissed. In a nutshell, he thinks that the Democratic party has become morally bankrupt (and I need to find out what Global Crossing is, apparently), and that the media has become a threat to our liberty. By deciding what people should know, and deciding what the truth should be, they have become a threat to the process. Wow. I'll keep my eyes peeled for a transcript, but when self-proclaimed staunch Democrats are saying that they shouldn't be talking about National Guard, because it just leads to the Swift Boats, why aren't they paying attention?
No Bush on the Utah Ballot?
SLC Lawyer trying to keep Bush off the ballot in Utah?
Well, the Dems have often accused the Reps of being anti-Democratic, and hijacking the process, I guess turn-about is fair play in some eyes. I've got to wonder who this guys clients are, though.
Hat tip to Jordan, and Reeta, who clued me in to Jordan's post.
Well, the Dems have often accused the Reps of being anti-Democratic, and hijacking the process, I guess turn-about is fair play in some eyes. I've got to wonder who this guys clients are, though.
Hat tip to Jordan, and Reeta, who clued me in to Jordan's post.
Sunday
The Provisionally Weekly Get-To-Know-You Question
On a tour of the Alaskan Wilderness, what would you want to see more than anything else?
Bears. Polar, and Kodiak. I saw a model of a Kodiak bear in the airport in Anchorage, and I've always wanted to see one for real.
(The weekly Get-To-Know-You Question is from the Conversation Piece Collection. Please feel free to respond yourself in the comments.)
Bears. Polar, and Kodiak. I saw a model of a Kodiak bear in the airport in Anchorage, and I've always wanted to see one for real.
(The weekly Get-To-Know-You Question is from the Conversation Piece Collection. Please feel free to respond yourself in the comments.)
Our New Members of the Family
Today, we got a brand new kitty. What a sweetheart.
We've decided on the name Lily, because she's white, and very, very shy. (lily-white, and lily-livered).
We also inherited a hamster from a resident who hasn't been here for a while. His name is Cosmo. From a no-pet household to two pets in less than a week.
But no regular catblogging. (Maybe occasional catblogging).
We've decided on the name Lily, because she's white, and very, very shy. (lily-white, and lily-livered).
We also inherited a hamster from a resident who hasn't been here for a while. His name is Cosmo. From a no-pet household to two pets in less than a week.
But no regular catblogging. (Maybe occasional catblogging).
And for the non-privacy obsessed... Entertainment!
Two new shows on TV have caught my eye. First, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. It's sublimely funny in a way that's difficult to explain in conversation. Just trust me on this - Friday nights, 7:00 and 10:30. (I watch the 7:00 show, because Stargate Atlantis is on at 10:00).
Then, tonight on Adult Swim, I caught an episode of "The Venture Bros." For someone who l-o-v-e-d Jonny Quest as a kid growing up, seeing this cracked me up. Patrick Warburton does the bodyguard's voice, and it is hilarious. Better than the Freakazoid send-up of Jonny Quest, Toby Danger. And with more than one episode! Late Saturday nights.
Enjoy!
Then, tonight on Adult Swim, I caught an episode of "The Venture Bros." For someone who l-o-v-e-d Jonny Quest as a kid growing up, seeing this cracked me up. Patrick Warburton does the bodyguard's voice, and it is hilarious. Better than the Freakazoid send-up of Jonny Quest, Toby Danger. And with more than one episode! Late Saturday nights.
Enjoy!
Gmail, Privacy, and Adventure!
So, when I first heard about gmail, I was a little concerned about the privacy issue. Your e-mail is never deleted. Your e-mail is scanned for keywords, and then unobtrusive text ads are inserted on the side. To be honest, they've never bothered me. You learn very quickly to ignore them, and then it's as though they were never there. But because your e-mail is never deleted and it's scanned, privacy could be a worry for a lot of people.
Until I got a new toy. WinPT is a front-end for GPG, which is a freeware version of the incredible encryption tool, PGP. I had a couple of PGP keys that I created using the freeware version of PGP, but I was always annoyed at how un-user-friendly it seemed as a freeware app, and I didn't want to cough up money to upgrade something that struck me as un-user-friendly in a demo. WinPT is easy to use, and compatible with PGP. And it allows me to encrypt, send, and decrypt messages in gmail. Yee-haw! And because gmail is where the "Mail Me" link goes to, and because some people may not want their e-mails to me to be available to prying eyes (no matter how much of a long shot that is), I added my public PGP key to the column to the right. It's just below the XML button in the sidebar. So, you conspiracy theorists out there can now e-mail me and be sure that no one reads it but me - a single PGP message, with 260 million computers working on it simultaneously would take an estimated 12 times the age of the universe to crack, according to Simon Singh's "The Code Book".
WinPT also allows you to encrypt files on your disk using your PGP key, it will wipe files from your disk (erasing them more thoroughly), but it doesn't do dishes. Yet.
Until I got a new toy. WinPT is a front-end for GPG, which is a freeware version of the incredible encryption tool, PGP. I had a couple of PGP keys that I created using the freeware version of PGP, but I was always annoyed at how un-user-friendly it seemed as a freeware app, and I didn't want to cough up money to upgrade something that struck me as un-user-friendly in a demo. WinPT is easy to use, and compatible with PGP. And it allows me to encrypt, send, and decrypt messages in gmail. Yee-haw! And because gmail is where the "Mail Me" link goes to, and because some people may not want their e-mails to me to be available to prying eyes (no matter how much of a long shot that is), I added my public PGP key to the column to the right. It's just below the XML button in the sidebar. So, you conspiracy theorists out there can now e-mail me and be sure that no one reads it but me - a single PGP message, with 260 million computers working on it simultaneously would take an estimated 12 times the age of the universe to crack, according to Simon Singh's "The Code Book".
WinPT also allows you to encrypt files on your disk using your PGP key, it will wipe files from your disk (erasing them more thoroughly), but it doesn't do dishes. Yet.
Saturday
Forgery Update
An anonymous reader passed on some screen shots that he took after writing the Memos on his Mac. I'm posting those here for comparison as well.
macaugust.jpg
macmay.jpg
Captain's Quarters is suggesting that the signatures on the memos are forged as well. Analysis is limited, because there's no access to the originals (I wonder why that could be). Also, one of the people CBS allegedly interviewed is now saying that he was tricked and misquoted by CBS when they claimed that he verified their authenticity.
Powerline has a lot of great commentary, analysis, and news from experts, and INDC Journal has an update from the man who literally wrote the book on typeface analysis, Dr. Philip Bouffard, who is stating that the Boston Globe misrepresented him in their article. Looks like some MSM outlets are circling the wagons in an attempt to protect CBS and hurt Bush, but if these do turn out to be forgeries (and it's looking more like that all the time), then their own credibility will suffer.
macaugust.jpg
macmay.jpg
Captain's Quarters is suggesting that the signatures on the memos are forged as well. Analysis is limited, because there's no access to the originals (I wonder why that could be). Also, one of the people CBS allegedly interviewed is now saying that he was tricked and misquoted by CBS when they claimed that he verified their authenticity.
Powerline has a lot of great commentary, analysis, and news from experts, and INDC Journal has an update from the man who literally wrote the book on typeface analysis, Dr. Philip Bouffard, who is stating that the Boston Globe misrepresented him in their article. Looks like some MSM outlets are circling the wagons in an attempt to protect CBS and hurt Bush, but if these do turn out to be forgeries (and it's looking more like that all the time), then their own credibility will suffer.
Thursday
School Daze
Yeah, okay, so it's time to post happy Claire Pics.
These may be a little big, but...
Here she is getting on the bus for the first time.
Here's a picture of her and "that boy" who called the other day - her classmate.
Here she is coming home - honestly, I think this is the best pic of her we've ever taken.
Don't know what to do about that boy, though... grrr...
These may be a little big, but...
Here she is getting on the bus for the first time.
Here's a picture of her and "that boy" who called the other day - her classmate.
Here she is coming home - honestly, I think this is the best pic of her we've ever taken.
Don't know what to do about that boy, though... grrr...
Holy wild accusations!
So, the other night, 60 minutes ran a piece purporting to show new allegations in Bush's National Guard service.
Point one: Who Cares?!? This was over 30 years ago. I don't care. Bush hasn't made it an issue. I don't particularly care about Kerry's medals either. What he did when he got home is a lot more interesting to me, as well as his history in the Senate.
Point two: There's currently a ton of discussion going on at various places (Captain's Quarters, Powerline, & LGF) that claims the memos are forgeries. The LGF entry is particularly interesting. So much so that I'm going to try his experiment myself.
First, the August Memo.
August.jpg
Taking a look at that one, it seems like what LGF is claiming - a spot on match. I had to make the ordinal using superscript (as a law student, ordinals are turned off on my Word so it doesn't mess up case citation), but it looks like a letter for letter, space for space match.
Second, the May Memo.
May.jpg
This one, starts out looking like a spot on match until you reach the last line. It's close - very very close (the difference of one space on the last line someplace, or a slightly smaller margin), but not quite a match on my system.
Draw your own conclusions. If the accusations are in fact true, and these are forgeries, then criminal charges should be brought. Throw the book at that guy. If they're NOT forgeries, then the blogosphere needs to back the heck off or be considered conspiracy theorists - black choppers, tinfoil hats, the whole nine yards. It's a big claim the bloggers are making - and this could be the MSM's version of rope-a-dope. I guess we'll see.
UPDATE: Upon review, it looks like I pushed the date on the August Memo over one tab stop too far - I'll fix that later and repost the image. And that's done.
More Update: INDC Journal is running more analysis from forensic experts - watch that space for updates.
Point one: Who Cares?!? This was over 30 years ago. I don't care. Bush hasn't made it an issue. I don't particularly care about Kerry's medals either. What he did when he got home is a lot more interesting to me, as well as his history in the Senate.
Point two: There's currently a ton of discussion going on at various places (Captain's Quarters, Powerline, & LGF) that claims the memos are forgeries. The LGF entry is particularly interesting. So much so that I'm going to try his experiment myself.
First, the August Memo.
August.jpg
Taking a look at that one, it seems like what LGF is claiming - a spot on match. I had to make the ordinal using superscript (as a law student, ordinals are turned off on my Word so it doesn't mess up case citation), but it looks like a letter for letter, space for space match.
Second, the May Memo.
May.jpg
This one, starts out looking like a spot on match until you reach the last line. It's close - very very close (the difference of one space on the last line someplace, or a slightly smaller margin), but not quite a match on my system.
Draw your own conclusions. If the accusations are in fact true, and these are forgeries, then criminal charges should be brought. Throw the book at that guy. If they're NOT forgeries, then the blogosphere needs to back the heck off or be considered conspiracy theorists - black choppers, tinfoil hats, the whole nine yards. It's a big claim the bloggers are making - and this could be the MSM's version of rope-a-dope. I guess we'll see.
UPDATE: Upon review, it looks like I pushed the date on the August Memo over one tab stop too far - I'll fix that later and repost the image. And that's done.
More Update: INDC Journal is running more analysis from forensic experts - watch that space for updates.
Wednesday
Kingmen vs. Freemen - Round 8,462
Warning - bomb throwing, religiosity, and political incorrectness ensue! Also, I'm using the term "men" a lot. That's on purpose, but it's not meant to exclude the women. Think of it as a shorthand for "adult persons of either gender".
Sitting in Church this last week, I was reminded of something that LDS leaders have said on several occasions - that the Book of Mormon was written specifically for our times. For example...
Warm disputation. That's one way of putting it. Even the kids are getting involved. It's deeper than just the question of who will be our government. It's a war of ideas, a clash of viewpoints. One side says that we, America, are no better than those whom we have deposed. That we're conquerors, imperialists, seeking to overthrow peaceful governments in other countries to spread our own philosophy, to homogenize the world in our stinking consumer culture. In fact, that makes us worse than those we foolishly seek to supplant.
The other side says that it's a good thing to go out and remove dictators. That it's important, perhaps even vital for us to stick our nose in where we very much are not wanted, because we are better than other countries. One side believes that there are no moral absolutes. The other believes in actual, factual good and evil.
Kingmen and freemen. One believing that men are ultimately incapable of good and evil, because there is no good or evil, or at least it's impossible for men to do something good. One believing that not only is there good and evil, but that men are capable of doing good, and most men will do good.
No mystery where I stand, of course.
And I think that moral absolutists have the advantage because everyone recognizes evil. Killing children for political purposes is evil. Flying planes into buildings in order to kill as many people as possible is evil. And I humbly submit that anyone who believes that the perpetrators were justified in performing those acts is wrong to a degree that I would call willful ignorance.
If there is evil, then there must also be good. In the aggregate, I believe that the good outweighs the bad. That all the little acts of kindness you see between a mother and a child, the service that we render to each other in our neighborhoods and communities, outweighs the evil. These kinds of good are fragile. They thrive and flourish in cultures where people are free of fear - free of terror. In order to ensure that these good things can continue to thrive, we have to make sure that our homes are free of fear. And if we can help others to be free of fear as well, so much the better. In fact, it's necessary. If it were possible for us to completely wall ourselves off from the rest of the world, to perfectly protect everyone inside the protective bubble, and leave the rest of the world to go screw itself over, that would be wrong. All men deserve to live in a free country. All men want to be free. And I humbly submit that those who do not want to be free, who do not want to be able to govern themselves, aren't men. They're unwilling to take responsibility for their actions, which is classic child behavior. It's about on a par with my five-year-old daughter, who is constantly looking for someone else to blame. At least she's learning.
Sitting in Church this last week, I was reminded of something that LDS leaders have said on several occasions - that the Book of Mormon was written specifically for our times. For example...
1 AND now it came to pass in the *commencement of the twenty and fifth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, they having established peace between the people of Lehi and the people of Morianton concerning their lands, and having commenced the twenty and fifth year in peace;
2 Nevertheless, they did not long maintain an entire peace in the land, for there began to be a contention among the people concerning the chief judge Pahoran; for behold, there were a part of the people who desired that a few particular points of the law should be altered.
3 But behold, Pahoran would not alter nor suffer the law to be altered; therefore, he did not hearken to those who had sent in their voices with their petitions concerning the altering of the law.
4 Therefore, those who were desirous that the law should be altered were angry with him, and desired that he should no longer be chief judge over the land; therefore there arose a warm dispute concerning the matter, but not unto bloodshed.
5 And it came to pass that those who were desirous that Pahoran should be dethroned from the judgment–seat were called king–men, for they were desirous that the law should be altered in a manner to overthrow the free government and to establish a king over the land.
(Book of Mormon | Alma 51:1 - 5)
Warm disputation. That's one way of putting it. Even the kids are getting involved. It's deeper than just the question of who will be our government. It's a war of ideas, a clash of viewpoints. One side says that we, America, are no better than those whom we have deposed. That we're conquerors, imperialists, seeking to overthrow peaceful governments in other countries to spread our own philosophy, to homogenize the world in our stinking consumer culture. In fact, that makes us worse than those we foolishly seek to supplant.
The other side says that it's a good thing to go out and remove dictators. That it's important, perhaps even vital for us to stick our nose in where we very much are not wanted, because we are better than other countries. One side believes that there are no moral absolutes. The other believes in actual, factual good and evil.
Kingmen and freemen. One believing that men are ultimately incapable of good and evil, because there is no good or evil, or at least it's impossible for men to do something good. One believing that not only is there good and evil, but that men are capable of doing good, and most men will do good.
No mystery where I stand, of course.
And I think that moral absolutists have the advantage because everyone recognizes evil. Killing children for political purposes is evil. Flying planes into buildings in order to kill as many people as possible is evil. And I humbly submit that anyone who believes that the perpetrators were justified in performing those acts is wrong to a degree that I would call willful ignorance.
If there is evil, then there must also be good. In the aggregate, I believe that the good outweighs the bad. That all the little acts of kindness you see between a mother and a child, the service that we render to each other in our neighborhoods and communities, outweighs the evil. These kinds of good are fragile. They thrive and flourish in cultures where people are free of fear - free of terror. In order to ensure that these good things can continue to thrive, we have to make sure that our homes are free of fear. And if we can help others to be free of fear as well, so much the better. In fact, it's necessary. If it were possible for us to completely wall ourselves off from the rest of the world, to perfectly protect everyone inside the protective bubble, and leave the rest of the world to go screw itself over, that would be wrong. All men deserve to live in a free country. All men want to be free. And I humbly submit that those who do not want to be free, who do not want to be able to govern themselves, aren't men. They're unwilling to take responsibility for their actions, which is classic child behavior. It's about on a par with my five-year-old daughter, who is constantly looking for someone else to blame. At least she's learning.
Firsts
Claire rode the bus with one of her friends from next door to Kindergarten today. Reeta put her on the bus (snapping pictures furiously) and then rushed off to school to pick me up, so I could meet the bus at the school. More picture snapping ensued when the bus arrived. Claire's teacher seemed nice. The kids were fun. One of them drew a Totoro for her parents (who were also there).
Claire's going to fit right in. Pictures will follow.
Claire's going to fit right in. Pictures will follow.
Tuesday
Touching Bases...
Busy weekend - not enough hours, so much sleep to catch up on. Claire starts school tomorrow. I've been working on a semi-longish post on personal responsibility (a recurring theme here, I guess). I want to fine-tune this a little more. No idea when this will actually get posted, but eventually it'll happen.
Saturday
Admire your spunk, kid, but...
I just wound up discussing the presidential election with an eleven-year old kid who asked me if I was a Bush or a Kerry person. He then told me that Bush lied through his whole presidency, and that he wouldn't live in an America where Bush was President. (Which brought up the question of why he was living here now, seeing as how he currently IS President, though I didn't mention that.)
As a joke, I did tell him to pack his bags, though I stopped short of pointing out the general direction of Canada.
As a joke, I did tell him to pack his bags, though I stopped short of pointing out the general direction of Canada.
Setting the Way Back Machine
As I read and blog, I always have music playing. Usually on the laptop, but today on my old WinME machine (I need a new desktop 'puter). And as the Winamp rolled along, a particular track started up, and immediately I was transported. The only game I've ever bought two copies of, (three if you count the copy that I gave to that bus driver in SLC, and then had to buy another copy to replace that one), Cavedog's Total Annihilation. Although it's available for less than ten bucks if you just get the original, the Commander Pack includes the original game, and both expansion packs, and a manual. Old-school RTS sweetness, with one of the best soundtracks I've heard in any game, bar none. (Full orchestra, tracks in redbook audio, so they're rippable). As the music kicked off, immediately I saw in my mind's eye the sweep of a fleet of Brawler VTOL gunships heading toward an enemy manufactury. The pounding of a naval off-shore shelling. The screams of "Move it, you stupid FARK!" New units are still being coded and made available for download for this game, now over seven years old. Take THAT, Starcraft. I haven't seen or heard of a good RTS (other than Homeworld 1 & 2) in a while now. Any suggestions?
An anxious time
Now that the DNC and RNC are both over, some commentators are saying that the fight is about to get very ugly. I suppose it's a little too late to expect a good clean fight. Personally, I'm looking forward (with something approaching a remotely horrified fascination) to the debates. It will be interesting to see how those play out, and may be a deciding factor in some people's minds. The horrified fascination rests in the possibility that a media that has openly admitted its bias to one of the candidates may continue to report falsehoods like the one that has been reported in the blogosphere and in other places that when Bush announced at a recent rally (yesterday) that Clinton was in the hospital, and said he's in our thoughts and prayers, that thousands booed, and Bush did nothing to stop them. While the AP revised and then removed the parts about booing, other news providers have run with it. (annoying advertisement needed to read Salon's full three paragraph story). Some people were there, and have posted audio of the comments and following applause. (Hat tip to powerline).
Thank goodness for alternative sources of information.
Thank goodness for alternative sources of information.
Friday
A day of firsts
Claire just lost her first tooth! Hooray!
On a slightly more disturbing note, she also had her first call from a boy today.
Anyone know where I can buy a shotgun?
On a slightly more disturbing note, she also had her first call from a boy today.
Anyone know where I can buy a shotgun?
MSNBC - Large blasts, gunfire at besieged Russian school
MSNBC - Large blasts, gunfire at besieged Russian school
Heaven help them. By the time I get up and head for school tomorrow, it may all be over. Here's a prayer that it's handled without bloodshed, especially innocent bloodshed. And here's another that people will wake up and realize that hostage taking is no way to get what you want.
UPDATE: Looks like it's over at the school - apparently commandos stormed the building in response to something the terrorists did. Over a hundred bodies piled in the gym, according to one report.
Capturing and threatening children is a despicable act. But to carry out the threat is evil in its purest form.
Heaven help them. By the time I get up and head for school tomorrow, it may all be over. Here's a prayer that it's handled without bloodshed, especially innocent bloodshed. And here's another that people will wake up and realize that hostage taking is no way to get what you want.
UPDATE: Looks like it's over at the school - apparently commandos stormed the building in response to something the terrorists did. Over a hundred bodies piled in the gym, according to one report.
Capturing and threatening children is a despicable act. But to carry out the threat is evil in its purest form.
Thursday
Flag-waving sons of the south!
While I caught the last bit of Cheney's speech last night on the talk radio, I understand the money shot came from Zell Miller, retiring democrat Senator from Georgia. Apparently, he was about 1/millionth of an inch from coming THROUGH THE CAMERA, and getting in Chris Matthews' face on Hardball afterwards. Reading the transcript (I was studying last night - prepare ye, for the end of the world is surely nigh!), I think my favorite part was this...
So, while Miller's Southern Honor was impugned by this Yankee rascal (where is Chris Matthews from, anyway?), the Yankee takes a page from another Southerner who pondered on the definition of "is". Later he made a reference to another Chris Matthews interview when he said...
Seems to me that only a great fool would provoke a Marine unless he was standing way over there in Herald Square.
And I should point out that I can't be a flag-waving son of the South, because I'm an Idaho farm boy. Though in my heart, I do feel a soft spot for Texas...
MATTHEWS: OK. Do you believe now—do you believe, Senator, truthfully, that John Kerry wants to defend the country with spitballs? Do you believe that?
MILLER: That was a metaphor, wasn‘t it? Do you know what a metaphor is?
MATTHEWS: Well, what do you mean by a metaphor?
So, while Miller's Southern Honor was impugned by this Yankee rascal (where is Chris Matthews from, anyway?), the Yankee takes a page from another Southerner who pondered on the definition of "is". Later he made a reference to another Chris Matthews interview when he said...
MATTHEWS: Can you can come over? I need you, Senator. Please come over.
MILLER: Wait a minute. Don‘t pull that kind of stuff on me, like you did that young lady when you had her there, browbeating her to death. I am not her. I am not her.
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: Let me tell you, she was suggesting that John Kerry purposely shot himself to win a medal. And I was trying to correct the record.
MILLER: You get in my face, I am going to get back in your face.
(CROSSTALK)
MILLER: The only reason you are doing it is because you are standing way over there in Herald Square.
Seems to me that only a great fool would provoke a Marine unless he was standing way over there in Herald Square.
And I should point out that I can't be a flag-waving son of the South, because I'm an Idaho farm boy. Though in my heart, I do feel a soft spot for Texas...
Wednesday
In other news...
My little brother just got out of basic training, and was sent to Texas for medic training. He had just graduated from BYU-Idaho, and decided to go.
Now I get word that he's being accepted into O.C.S.
I'm so proud.
UPDATE: O.C.S. means (IIRC), Officer Candidate School.
Now I get word that he's being accepted into O.C.S.
I'm so proud.
UPDATE: O.C.S. means (IIRC), Officer Candidate School.
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