Christopher Walken turns 61
Happy Birthday. I salute you sir. And those little blue fuckers too.
Wednesday, March 31
Grammarians unite.
You are a MASTER of the English language!
While your English is not exactly perfect,
you are still more grammatically correct than
just about every American. Still, there is
always room for improvement...
How grammatically sound are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
The O'Franken Factor Debuts Today!
Tune into Air America Radio
at Noon today if you're able. A left leaning radio talk show... now that i'd like to hear.
at Noon today if you're able. A left leaning radio talk show... now that i'd like to hear.
RoboDance
We're a lot closer to Blade Runner than I had imagined. Robot Video Check out the Sony QRIO. Beautiful and cool! And cute enough to avoid the Uncanny Valley that would doom the popularity of a more human-looking robot.
Tuesday, March 30
Ahhhh... while reinstalling Windows XP and every decent piece of software one uses on a fresh hard drive is not for everyone the rewards are great. For all-around system speedup and bug crushing, nothing beats it. I'm on day one now and still finding things to install. But oh what a difference. As in many things, preparation is the key. Unless you don't want all those emails you've been saving for 7 years, you need to be very careful about backing up anything remotely important. I added a hard drive and installed XP on it (D:) so i still have C: bootable in case I forgot anything. The only snag I've hit so far is that MS Outlook picked up some weird stuff from the previous (c:) install. All my inbox rules were predefined and moved the mail to the c: mail store, not the new install. Ah well, live and learn.
-bill
-bill
Thursday, March 25
Godless Commie Goes To Washington.
It seems there is finally a well-spoken intelligent atheist fighting for separation and they may be able to dismiss him on a technicality: he's not married to the child's mother. Rights of biological father set to surrender.
Atheist Presents Case for Taking God From Pledge: By LINDA GREENHOUSE
from NY Times
Published: March 25, 2004
WASHINGTON, March 24
Michael A. Newdow stood before the justices of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, pointed to one of the courtroom's two American flags and declared: 'I am an atheist. I don't believe in God.'
With passion and precision, he then proceeded to argue his own case for why the daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in his daughter's public school classroom violates the Constitution as long as the pledge contains the words 'under God.'
Dr. Newdow, a nonpracticing lawyer who makes his living as an emergency room doctor, may not win his case. In fact, justices across the ideological spectrum appeared to be searching for reasons he should lose, either on jurisdictional grounds or on the merits. But no one who managed to get a seat in the courtroom is likely ever to forget his spell-binding performance.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist asked him what the vote in Congress had been 50 years ago when the phrase was inserted.
The vote was unanimous, Dr. Newdow said.
"Well, that doesn't sound divisive," the chief justice observed.
Dr. Newdow shot back, "That's only because no atheist can get elected to public office."
The courtroom audience broke into applause, an exceedingly rare event that left the chief justice temporarily nonplussed. He appeared to collect himself for a moment, and then sternly warned the audience that the courtroom would be cleared "if there's any more clapping."
Atheist Presents Case for Taking God From Pledge: By LINDA GREENHOUSE
from NY Times
Published: March 25, 2004
WASHINGTON, March 24
Michael A. Newdow stood before the justices of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, pointed to one of the courtroom's two American flags and declared: 'I am an atheist. I don't believe in God.'
With passion and precision, he then proceeded to argue his own case for why the daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in his daughter's public school classroom violates the Constitution as long as the pledge contains the words 'under God.'
Dr. Newdow, a nonpracticing lawyer who makes his living as an emergency room doctor, may not win his case. In fact, justices across the ideological spectrum appeared to be searching for reasons he should lose, either on jurisdictional grounds or on the merits. But no one who managed to get a seat in the courtroom is likely ever to forget his spell-binding performance.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist asked him what the vote in Congress had been 50 years ago when the phrase was inserted.
The vote was unanimous, Dr. Newdow said.
"Well, that doesn't sound divisive," the chief justice observed.
Dr. Newdow shot back, "That's only because no atheist can get elected to public office."
The courtroom audience broke into applause, an exceedingly rare event that left the chief justice temporarily nonplussed. He appeared to collect himself for a moment, and then sternly warned the audience that the courtroom would be cleared "if there's any more clapping."
Wednesday, March 24
Bob Edwards "removed" from Morning Edition.
NPR : A Letter from Bob Edwards
March 24, 2004
Dear Listener,
Over the course of the last 24 hours I have been overwhelmed by the support and good wishes from all of you. As I have repeatedly said, Morning Edition and public radio have the most remarkable audience. Your thoughts about the program and me are a testament to that.
I want to take this opportunity to assure you all that I will be here at NPR for the long haul. And while this transition will be difficult for me -- I am leaving a post that I have loved and have given my heart to -- I look forward to continuing to be a significant part of NPR and the amazing program lineup.
After April 30, I will become a senior correspondent for NPR, and while it is true that we are still working out the details of that position, I have no doubt that all my needs will be met and that I will continue to do journalism for this fine institution.
The past 25 years at the helm of Morning Edition have been the best of my life. But I am not saying goodbye. I hope you continue to listen and support your public radio station."
March 24, 2004
Dear Listener,
Over the course of the last 24 hours I have been overwhelmed by the support and good wishes from all of you. As I have repeatedly said, Morning Edition and public radio have the most remarkable audience. Your thoughts about the program and me are a testament to that.
I want to take this opportunity to assure you all that I will be here at NPR for the long haul. And while this transition will be difficult for me -- I am leaving a post that I have loved and have given my heart to -- I look forward to continuing to be a significant part of NPR and the amazing program lineup.
After April 30, I will become a senior correspondent for NPR, and while it is true that we are still working out the details of that position, I have no doubt that all my needs will be met and that I will continue to do journalism for this fine institution.
The past 25 years at the helm of Morning Edition have been the best of my life. But I am not saying goodbye. I hope you continue to listen and support your public radio station."
Monday, March 22
Yeah, concubines.
Proposed Bible-based marriage laws
Lawmakers who use the Bible to justify their opposition to gay marriage ought to be consistent. Here are some other Biblical rules to add to the Bill of Rights :
Marriage shall not impede a man's right to take concubines in addition to his wife or wives. (II Sam 5:13; I Kings 11:3; II Chron 11:21)A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed. (Deut 22:13-21)
In lieu of marriage, if there are no acceptable men in your
town, it is required that you get your dad drunk and have sex with
him (even if he had previously offered you up as a sex toy to men
young and old), tag-teaming with any sisters you may have. Of
course, this rule applies only if you are female. (Gen 19:31-36)
Wish we knew this in February!
New Studies Question Value of Opening Arteries
An emerging understanding of how heart attacks occur indicates that increasingly popular aggressive treatments may be doing little or nothing.
"Some doctors still adhere to the old model. Others say that they know it no longer holds but that they sometimes end up opening blocked arteries anyway, even when patients have no symptoms."
New York Times
By GINA KOLATA
Published: March 21, 2004
An emerging understanding of how heart attacks occur indicates that increasingly popular aggressive treatments may be doing little or nothing.
"Some doctors still adhere to the old model. Others say that they know it no longer holds but that they sometimes end up opening blocked arteries anyway, even when patients have no symptoms."
New York Times
By GINA KOLATA
Published: March 21, 2004
Friday, March 5
U.S. Requests Exemptions to Ozone Pact So As To Benefit... wait for it... Industry!
"The United States is seeking to make more American farmers and industries exempt from an international ban on methyl bromide, a popular pesticide that damages Earth's protective ozone layer, Bush administration officials said yesterday.
Last year, the administration sought to exclude a variety of farmers and food producers from the ban, which takes effect next year under a treaty outlawing substances that harm the ozone layer. The exempt businesses would be allowed 21.9 million pounds of methyl bromide next year and 20.8 million pounds in 2006 in uses like fumigating stored grain and treating golf-course sod and strawberry fields."
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