and the guy in the turban & football jersey is not in a costume. we are very multi-cultural here.
halloween at the software factory
Sweet Barry
A kid sent him Flat Stanley and not only did Barry carry him around all day, he wrote a three page letter about the experience. (Oh, and McCranky didn’t reply to a different kid from the same school who wrote to him.) Look how cute this is!
From the Courant in Connecticut:
Obama's three-page letter to Aron described Flat Stanley's visit with him and his staff in Washington, D.C. It chronicled their busy day together, which included coffee with constituents, a Senate committee meeting and a trip to the gym. It also had historical facts about the U.S. Capitol, details of Obama's job and a confession from Obama.
"Sometimes I get a little nervous before talking in front of a crowd, but Flat Stanley helped me practice the speech," Obama wrote. "He made me recite it in front of him and then even gave me some advice so the speech would go smoothly. Flat Stanley is really a great coach."
The coolest 6th & 7th graders in the US
Just get out and vote next Tuesday.
(Especially if you agree with me.)
Set your TiVos!
Barry’s going to be on the Daily Show Wednesday night. That’s tomorrow, kids! From the Comedy Central website:
We just got word that the studio is in full lock down mode. After all, Jon barely escaped his previous interview with this tax-and-spend terrorist of the center-left alive. One last chance to wring the truth out of this madman, folks. What should Jon ask him?
Click on the link above to see Barry’s last visit to the Daily Show.
Smart eh? He’s doing very well in the polls, but they are hugely dependent on younger voters actually showing up and voting. So, what better place to go and rally the troops? And look like a good guy while doing it?
Highly entertaining ads
Three Ikea ads – not sure any of them have aired here, but the last one will definitely never see the light of the telly here in the US. (Sent to me from my dad. Who has an awesome sense of humor. Like me.)
What a beagle!
Boy, I thought Gus the dog was smart until I saw this beagle's escape. He (she?) should be one of Hogan's Heroes.
Beautiful picture
Ganked from Violet Blue’s site (which is NSFW, so check it out from home later!). Looks like it’s from the 60’s but could just have been composed that way.
Liking Chunk It
Chunk It is an add-in for your browser that allows you to preview results from your search engine - or search a webpage (& its links) and see a preview of the results. It's a little hard to describe, so just watch this video. I just heard about it and installed it yesterday & even though I really hate having additional toolbars on my browser, so far I'm finding it pretty handy.
Beautiful
Snagged this in its entirety from Kevin Shofield’s blog cause it made me teary:
Even at sad times, people (and birds) can rise above and celebrate the wonderfulness of life.
This is a video of Big Bird singing "It's not easy being green" at the memorial service for Jim Henson.
Which seems weird at first, because that's Kermit's trademark song. Until you stop to recall that Jim did Kermit's voice, and while his son Brian does Kermit now, Jim died suddenly and there was no way that anyone else could possibly have voiced Kermit.
And... Big Bird nails it. You can hear him choking up at times as emotions get the better of him. The part that got me was at the end when he looks up at the sky and says "Thank you Kermit." And you know he was really saying "Thank you Jim." That must have been the most difficult performance of the actor's entire life.
It's all so sad and tragic that Jim Henson left us so suddenly and so young. And yet, the hope, the joy, the happiness and the love in the legacy that he left behind is just overwhelming.
Ron Reagan
Here’s your tip
When you dine & dash, do not leave your purse behind. With a bag of pot. And then go back to get it.
Yep…that’s what Miss Teen Louisiana USA, Lindsey Evans did recently. From the NY Post (a fine, reputable tabloid):
…As cops finished taking a report from restaurant managers, Evans - who attends Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La. - and her pals pulled into the parking lot to recover the purse.
I hope this doesn’t interfere with her plans to become a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.
Her personal motto is "If you want the rainbow, you have to tolerate the rain"
Apparently, she’s been stripped of her crown.
Give little, give seldom and above all give grudgingly
For some reason, the Sun (UK) ran an article about a sex tips for wives book from 1894 and a recent sex tips for wives book. Cause I guess there’s not enough news going on right now to fill their pages or something.
Anyhoo, I of course was amused by the info in the 1894 book. Here are some fun excerpts. The bold is from me on parts that especially made me giggle.
THE wise bride will permit a maximum of two brief sexual experiences weekly — and as time goes by she should make every effort to reduce this frequency.
Feigned illness, sleepiness and headaches are among her best friends in this matter.
MOST men are by nature rather perverted, and if given half a chance, would engage in quite a variety of the most revolting practices, including performing the normal act in abnormal positions, mouthing the female body and offering their own vile bodies to be mouthed in turn.
A SELFISH and sensual husband can easily take advantage of his wife. One cardinal rule of marriage should never be forgotten: Give little, give seldom and above all give grudgingly. Otherwise what could have been a proper marriage could become an orgy of sexual lust.
…
MANY men obtain a major portion of their sexual satisfaction from the peaceful exhaustion immediately after the act is over. Thus the wife must ensure that there is no peace in this period for him to enjoy. Otherwise he might be encouraged to soon try for more.
…
SHE will be absolutely silent while he is huffing and puffing away — she will lie perfectly still and never under any circumstances grunt or groan while the act is in progress.
AS soon as the husband has completed the act, the wise wife will start nagging him about various minor tasks she wishes him to perform on the morrow.
Arguments, nagging, scolding and bickering prove very effective if used in the late evening about an hour before the husband would normally commence his seduction.
Actually, the current stuff isn’t nearly as entertaining. Follow the link if you want more…
Barry’s ahead because of the witchcraft, ya know
Email that’s going around…(from www.injesus.com – I’m not making this one up, folks! Here’s the direct link.) I’m not sure which part amuses me more – the part about Condoleeza Rice helping Barack help his Kenyan cousin (cause they’re both black, so that totally makes sense) or the part about Dick Morris being sent to help. Why do people believe everything they are sent via email? It really upsets me that folks are this stupid.
(Also, notice the reverence to B. Hussein Obama. That seriously irks me.
Sincerely, Amy Hussein Geek)
Dear friends:
THIS IS EXTREMELY SERIOUS.
Minutes ago I spoke with friend Dr. Norman G. Marvin, M.D. and he is so concerned at what he has learned about Barack Obama's family in Kenya that he is calling a special prayer meeting in his home to pray against the witchcraft curses attempted by them against John McCain and Sarah Palin.
Dr. Marvin sent me the below e-mail from Flo Ellers. Flo is credentialed with the International Fellowship of Ministries which is based in Washington State. She is also a member of EndTime Handmaidens and Servants of Jasper, Arkansas.
IF YOU KNOW HOW TO DO SPIRITUAL WARFARE, PLEASE PRAY TODAY AND CONTINUALLY THAT ALL SUCH CURSES BE BROKEN AND SATAN'S PLAN FOR AMERICA BE DEFEATED, IN JESUS' NAME. PRAY AND COVER MCCAIN AND PALIN WITH THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DO SPIRITUAL WARFARE, IT IS TIME YOU LEARN!!!
Jim
______________________________________
From Flo Ellers. Excerpt. (Emphasis supplied in bold and underlines.)
Two days ago, I listened to a 9-6-08 message by Bree Keyton, a young woman evangelist who had just traveled to Kenya and visited Obama's home village and what she found out about his relations with his tribal people was chilling. And his "cousin" Odinga was dreadful. She said the witches, warlocks and those involved in satanism and the occult get up daily at 3 a.m. to release curses against McCain and Palin so B. Hussein Obama is elected.
Bree Keyton told the tribal "Christians" you are NOT Christian if you practice "tribalism" where they do voodoo to conjure up a goddess spirit or a "genie" and then come to church on Sunday to worship Jesus! What she discovered there is apparent in most churches around the world; namely, mixture in the church. Some renounced their devilish practices of blood covenant by killing sheep, goats, humans to be inducted into the tribe or to get a wife or to get revenge.
She said the current president of Kenya is a Christian. However, Obama's cousin Odinga ran aganist him and said he rigged the election and stirred up the masses to rape woman and boys, kill and burn and torture Christians, etc. until Obama contacted Condeleeza Rice and she granted Obama the right to contact Odinga and other ruling elders and he "convinced" them to stop terrorizing the Christians. Bree Keyton said the current Christian President was forced by our government (!) to "create" an office for Odinga (to make "peace") so he was made the Prime Minister (!) to make peace between the Christians and Odinga's Muslim religion!
Bree Keyton went and visited Obama's tribal people and she found out Obama is 75% Arab and his family are Muslims. Odinga is strill trying to become the President of Kenya. If he does, he will make a law forbidding all public preaching and institute Sharia Law. Bree K. said Odinga has made a pact with satan.
Bree K. also said when Obama visited his tribe in '06 and as late as Jan. '08 he went to every elder's home which has a "shrine" inside to worship the genie and asked for their blessing. She was told Obama and Odinga were both "destined" before they were born to be president/leader of their nation. They say "he is the chosen one". She said Obama's grandmother sacrificed a black and a white chicken to the "goddess of the river" so both whites and blacks will vote for Obama. All Islam loves and worships Obama. The world is mesmerized by him. Oprah's 200 million followers are out to elect Obama. Also, Dick Morris of Fox News was sent to Kenya to help Odinga run his campaign! I find that unbelievable.
The occultists are "weaving lazy 8's around McCain's mind to make him look confused and like an idiot". Bree K. said we need to break these curses off of him that are being sent from Kenya.
I read a portion of "Obama Nation" book and looked at several websites and found most of this information to be true, all except the curses part, of course....
Why you need (up to date) antivirus & antispyware
In a windowless room on Microsoft’s campus here, T. J. Campana, a cybercrime investigator, connects an unprotected computer running an early version of Windows XP to the Internet. In about 30 seconds the computer is “owned.”
An automated program lurking on the Internet has remotely taken over the PC and turned it into a “zombie.” That computer and other zombie machines are then assembled into systems called “botnets” — home and business PCs that are hooked together into a vast chain of cyber-robots that do the bidding of automated programs to send the majority of e-mail spam, to illegally seek financial information and to install malicious software on still more PCs.
[…]
Botnet attacks now come with their own antivirus software, permitting the programs to take over a computer and then effectively remove other malware competitors. Mr. Campana said the Microsoft investigators were amazed recently to find a botnet that turned on the Microsoft Windows Update feature after taking over a computer, to defend its host from an invasion of competing infections.
(yanked from Peter O’Kelly who yanked it from the NY Times)
McCain supporters chase off racist
Nice to see some McCain supporters standing up to some racists at a McCain rally. I have no problem disagreeing on issues with people – I have several friends who are supporting and will be voting for McCain and we’ve had some interesting discussions. I do have a problem with the lies (he’s a Muslim, he’s a Socialist, blah blah blah) and innuendo – and so do these fine people.
Click here for video. (Can’t embed because it launches automatically, which is super-annoying.)
Showers?
Working from home today, where I have a window by my desk (my office at work is in the middle of the building and has no access to daylight). Anyways, it’s raining so hard right now it looks like a giant shower. If I stood out there, I could wash, rinse and condition my hair no problem. And thunder and lightening too. And a little hail. Fall!?!?!
Here are some pix I took outside the house trying to capture the excitement of the moment. I think you can get a feel for how hard it’s raining in this picture –>
Okay, you can’t really see the rain in this picture, but isn’t my windchime pretty? (thanks to Patty & Jim!)
Pix
Was in some totally new (to me) area of Seattle on Saturday doing some volunteer work (how come I keep volunteering for things that require digging in the dirt? Don’t libraries need volunteers?). Anyways, it’s an older, un-gentrified area and they had some great signs lying around. Here are a few I shot there:
Fun, right?
There are a few more, plus some pix of some new tables ‘n things I bought for the house on my Smugmug page. You can see the most recent pix I’ve added by clicking on the SUBMIT button on the Photo Timeline (right near the top of the page).
Spring Awakening
I’ve been hearing about this show for a while now and finally got to see the road show last night in Seattle. I highly recommend it – the road show is just starting, so if/when it comes to your city, definitely check it out.
It’s a musical about teenagers starting to learn and have to deal with adult issues – primarily around sexuality. It’s “explicit” in the same way that Rent was explicit. There is (sorta kinda) simulated sex between a boy and a girl, a boy simulating masturbation and two boys kiss. Oh, and the standard suicide, abortion, blah blah blah stuff of all interesting musicals.
What’s especially interesting about the show is that it is based on a German play that was written in the late 1800’s. It’s totally relevant today – apparently it was censored then and I am sure that the road show is skipping certain parts of the US where it would get the locals all in a tizzy.
The show won a whole bunch of Tonys and the cast is very young and extremely earnest (almost too earnest sometimes). They obviously really connect with the material.
The one thing that kinda irked me (and I’m not sure if this was direction or actor’s choice) was that when the boy & girl were shown in their first kiss, it was very sweet. When two boys shared their first kiss, it was played for laughs.
This show has been embraced by teens and should be enthusiastically supported by cool adults (like us). I definitely plan on going to see it on Broadway – since I enjoyed the road crew so much, I anticipate that the Broadway cast will really knock it out. (although several of the kids in the road show are from the Broadway show, which is always nice.)
For more info & tour schedule, go to the Spring Awakening website. They’ll be in LA starting around October 27 or so.
A snippet (this is the Broadway cast):
Christian Nymphos
ChristianNymphos is a website for nymphomaniac Christian women who have abnormal sexual desires…for their husbands. In their own words:
We are women with excessive sexual desire for our husbands! There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, God wants us to be madly in love with our husbands. He wants us to keep that fire burning in our marriage beds! We have the Song of Solomon as a perfect example of a Christ honored union where the two people are obviously intoxicated with each other.
You go Christ girls! I wholeheartedly support you and your mission.
It’s here!
Arrived today. In Washington State, 
you can sign up to always vote absentee (by mail), which is what I do. I’m very excited (ridiculously so).
Wanna guess what I’m going to do?
Uhoh
Joe the plumber is in all kinds of trouble now! (directly snagged from slog).
Poor Joe the Plumber. Not only is Obama out to wreck his hypothetical small business, but he also lacks a plumber's license, has a questionable voter registration, and is facing a tax lien against his home.
Updated at 12:20 pm cause it gets better (from the NY Times):
Turns out that “Joe the Plumber,” as he became nationally known when Senator John McCain made him a theme at Wednesday night’s third and final presidential debate, may run a plumbing business but he is not a licensed plumber. His full name is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher. And he owes a bit in back taxes.
...
“All contractors are licensed, and he does not have a license, either as a contractor or a plumber,” the union official said, citing a search of government records. “I can’t find that he’s ever even applied for any kind of apprenticeship, and he has never belonged to local 189 in Columbus, which is what he claims on his Facebook page.”
According to public records, Mr. Wurzelbacher has been subject to two liens, each over $1,000, one of which — a personal tax lien — is still outstanding.
And his question to Mr. Obama about paying taxes? According to some tax analysts, if Mr. Wurzelbacher’s gross receipts from his business is $250,000 — and not his taxable income — then he would not have to pay higher taxes under Mr. Obama’s plan, and probably would be eligible for a tax cut.
Looks like McCain didn’t vet him. But who would expect him to – he didn’t even bother to vet his running mate.
And as Andrew Sullivan points out Joe the Plumber has now had more press conferences than Sarah Palin.
Fun
Go to this site & move your mouse around to point at various items in the Oval Office. When your mouse pointer changes to a hand (not sure what it becomes on a Mac – sorry!), click and see what happens. Be sure to open the door several times and click. Apparently, it’s going to change every day through November 4.
Your Obama tax cut
Want to know what it will be? Want to know what it will be under McCain?
Click here.
What am I going to blog about in 3 weeks?
Richer than you think
This website purports to let you know how your annual salary compares with the annual salaries of most of the world. And let me tell you – if you’re in the US, for the vast majority of us (certainly for those of you reading this blog), you’re doing way better than most of the rest of the folks on the planet. We are darned spoiled. (Well, I am definitely darned spoiled. And a bit of a princess.)
I’m a little more than the 20 millionth richest person in the world. Heh.
And here’s some more info they provide:
RICHER THAN YOU THINK?
How do you feel about that? A bit richer we hope. Richer and ready to give some of your newly found wealth to those who need it most. It not hard - just slip your hand in your pocket and pull out something special. Something that can help redress the balance - and also make you feel uncommonly good. Many peoples lives could be happier if you donated just one hour's salary (approx $zzzzz- UK estimate).
All you have to do is make a choice.
$8 could buy you 15 organic apples OR 25 fruit trees for farmers in Honduras to grow and sell fruit at their local market.
$30 could buy you an ER DVD Boxset OR a First Aid kit for a village in Haiti.
$73 could buy you a new mobile phone OR a new mobile health clinic to care for AIDS orphans in Uganda.
$2400 could buy you a second generation High Definition TV OR schooling for an entire generation of school children in an Angolan village.
Most of my donations in the last few months have been to fight Proposition 8 in California, Doctors without Borders and to Barry’s campaign. But I really appreciate the perspective.
No on 8
If you live in California, please vote No on Proposition 8 and protect gays folks right to continue to marry. Here’s a familiar looking ad:
I heart fall
it’s really my favorite season. By far.
This tree is outside my building at work and it made me happy this morning.
What’s the first thing you would do after winning the Nobel prize?
Martin Chalfie, department chair of biological sciences, was named one of the three awardees of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry today for his work with green fluorescent protein, GFP, a chemical that allows scientists to track biological development.
…
At the press conference, Chalfie said that the first thing he did after winning the Prize was call up a friend who had previously won a Nobel Prize, to see how he too could get his name on a list of Nobel Prize laureates who support Barack Obama.
Just another intellectual elitist.
You just have to love dolphins
Cause they play.
From my friend Matthew:
The attached video is of dolphins playing with rings which they have the ability to make under water to play with. It isn't known how they learn this, or if it's an inbred ability.
As if by magic the dolphin does a quick flip of its head and a silver ring appears in front of its pointed beak. The ring is a solid, donut shaped bubble about 2-ft across, yet it doesn't rise to the surface of the water!
The dolphin then pulls a small silver donut from the larger one. Looking at the twisting ring for one last time a bite is taken from it, causing the small ring to collapse into a thousands of tiny bubbles which head upward towards the water's surface. After a few moments the dolphin creates another ring to play with. There also seems to be a separate mechanism for producing small rings, which a dolphin can accomplish by quick flip of its head.
Yanked from Andrew Sullivan
this scares me...
The Dangerous Panic On The Far Right
To some, a president Obama is simply unimaginable. From a McCain supporter in Wisconsin yesterday:
"We're all wondering why Obama is where he's at. How he got here. Everybody in this room is stunned we're in this position."
There was always going to be a point of revolt and panic for a core group of Americans who believe that Obama simply cannot be president - because he's black or liberal or young or relatively new. This is that point. As the polls suggest a strong victory, the Hannity-Limbaugh-Steyn-O'Reilly base are going into shock and extreme rage. McCain and Palin have decided to stoke this rage, to foment it, to encourage paranoid notions that somehow Obama is a "secret" terrorist or Islamist or foreigner. These are base emotions in both sense of the word.
But they are also very very dangerous. This is a moment of maximal physical danger for the young Democratic nominee. And McCain is playing with fire. If he really wants to put country first, he will attack Obama on his policies - not on these inflammatory, personal, creepy grounds. This is getting close to the atmosphere stoked by the Israeli far right before the assassination of Rabin.
For God's sake, McCain, stop it. For once in this campaign, put your country first.
My Dogs greeting me after returning from 14 months in Iraq
I hope that everyone coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan gets a welcome home like this.
Why is intelligence a bad thing?
The Republican party has this thing they started doing (probably around when W was running for the first time – cause they had to) where they mock and put down the concepts of “elite” & intellectualism".
Look – I want my leaders to understand and be aware of the issues that most Americans face. And if they are one of us regular folks, that’s fabulous – it’s happened. Not all of our Presidents have been trust fund babies (see Clinton, Bill).
However, I want a President (and VP!) that is intellectually curious. I want them to be aware of the rest of the world, current events, past events, concerns and issues that are affecting us – even indirectly.
Must they have attended an Ivy League college? No – that’s not a requirement as far as I am concerned. But they have to have demonstrated that they have a broad understanding and interest in world and national affairs.
The few Republicans who have been speaking out about SarahP being unfit to be President are being mocked by the talking head Repubs as the Republican party “intellectuals” who aren’t connected with real Americans.
Do “real Americans” want someone who is unaware of world issues, our relationships with different countries, and current events? I don’t care whether SarahP has a new baby or not – that’s for her to figure out how to juggle. But I really care that she displays ignorance about world and even national affairs, cannot name the magazines and newspapers she regularly reads (can you imagine what Barry would have said?), isn’t aware of a Supreme Court decision other than Roe v. Wade? (slightly off-topic: a favorite author of mine, Sarah Vowell was on the Letterman show last night & when referring to this, indicated that she would have answered that she disagreed with the Supreme Court decision that made W the President. Heh.)
The fact that she (back to SarahP here – stay with me) went to six colleges before she graduated does concern me (and I’m a college dropout. Okay, flunkout. But I was busy in rehab. I’m fine now. Thanks for asking.). Again, it displays a lack of intellectual curiousity to me (or maybe she was in rehab?). But what’s she done since then? I have a pretty strong resume and a lot of people in big (medium and small) corporations who will tell you about my intellectual skills post-rehab. I’ve been making up for lost time post-rehab (it’s been almost 24 years, for those of you keeping score at home. You can congratulate me on my 24th sober anniversary on November 28th.)
Of course, people learn and develop all kinds of skills through their life experiences that are useful in decision making and prioritizing – BUT THAT’S NOT ENOUGH TO BE PRESIDENT! You can’t just have skills. You have to have knowledge.
I really want a President that I think is smarter than me. I’m awfully confident that I’m smarter than the current oval office resident. I think I may be better read than him too (I’m taking him at his word that he doesn’t read any newspapers). I don’t really care who he’s screwing – or how he’s doing it – or where he’s doing it (but he should not lie about it under oath cause that is breaking the law. Of course, he should not have to answer questions about that under oath, but that’s a whole another rant.).
I want a President that looks at different sides of an issue – listens to diverse opinions, is willing to ask the tough questions – and is willing to hear the tough questions. Does that make them an intellectual? I sure hope so. I want someone super smart, super well read, super interested in what’s happened in the past and the result who surrounds themself with other super smart people. Does this make them elitist? Who cares!?! Give me the smarty pants!
/rant
Please vote
From heeb magazine:
Yes, it’s not real (churchsigngenerator.com). But it’s still funny! And isn’t that more important than being real?
Reality from Wasilla Main Street
Jason Jones of the Daily Show goes to a restaurant in Wasilla to interview SarahP supporters about the VP debate. They heart her.
Kooky website
This has got to be a joke, right? (I really don't think it is...). Here's some excerpts:
Are you saving yourself for your wedding night? The Devil wants you to fail, that’s why he puts stumbling blocks in your way. But God wants you to succeed, and that’s why he has given us an alternative to intercourse before marriage: anal sex. Through anal sex, you can satisfy your body’s needs, while you avoid the risk of unwanted pregnancy and still keep yourself pure for marriage. You may be shocked at first by this idea. Isn’t anal sex (sodomy) forbidden by the Bible? Isn’t anal sex dirty? What’s the difference between having anal sex before marriage and having regular intercourse? Let’s address these issues by debunking some myths about anal sex and God's will.
I am gobsmacked. Other topics of interest:
Oral Sex and God's Will
Viagra and God's Will
Threesomes Within a Christian Marriage
Reader Questions and Answers
Masturbation - God's Great Gift to Us
A Proposal for a Christian Pornography
Bondage in Christ - BDSM in a Christian Marriage
Fisting and God's Will
Bare before God - Shaving and the Bible
Oddly enough, there's no details about who created/owns/maintains this site. Hmmmm....
Are you saving yourself for your wedding night? The Devil wants you to fail, that’s why he puts stumbling blocks in your way. But God wants you to succeed, and that’s why he has given us an alternative to intercourse before marriage: anal sex. Through anal sex, you can satisfy your body’s needs, while you avoid the risk of unwanted pregnancy and still keep yourself pure for marriage. You may be shocked at first by this idea. Isn’t anal sex (sodomy) forbidden by the Bible? Isn’t anal sex dirty? What’s the difference between having anal sex before marriage and having regular intercourse? Let’s address these issues by debunking some myths about anal sex and God's will.
I am gobsmacked. Other topics of interest:
Oral Sex and God's Will
Viagra and God's Will
Threesomes Within a Christian Marriage
Reader Questions and Answers
Masturbation - God's Great Gift to Us
A Proposal for a Christian Pornography
Bondage in Christ - BDSM in a Christian Marriage
Fisting and God's Will
Bare before God - Shaving and the Bible
Oddly enough, there's no details about who created/owns/maintains this site. Hmmmm....
Orphaned Orangutans
I have posted any cute animal pictures in a while, so here’s a pic of a bunc
h of baby orangutans in a wheelbarrow. But it turns out that there’s a sad story behind the pic.
They’ve been found as orphaned babies and they are brought to the forest each day in an effort for them to learn how to be orangutans. They’ve been orphaned due to rainforest clearing, poaching and the illegal pet trade (I’m looking at you King of Pop).
From the Daily Mail (UK, which explains the funny spelling) website:
At the age of about eight, groups of 25 to 30 are taken to neighbouring islands to learn how to fend for themselves. After 18 months, they are flown to a protected rainforest and monitored by scientists.
…
'Most of them are found as orphaned babies and they have to be totally rehabilitated with 24-hour care.
Last day to register to vote
in Washington State is Monday. It's this week for many other states.
Register online --> http://maps.google.com/vote
Register online --> http://maps.google.com/vote
Factchecking the VP debate
As I’ve mentioned here before, I’m a big fan of factcheck.org, a non-partisan website that you can go to for info about what’s true and not true about what the politicians say. Here’s their summary for last night’s VP debate:
Biden and Palin debated, and both mangled some facts.
- Palin mistakenly claimed that troop levels in Iraq had returned to “pre-surge” levels. Levels are gradually coming down but current plans would have levels higher than pre-surge numbers through early next year, at least.
- Biden incorrectly said “John McCain voted the exact same way” as Obama on a controversial troop funding bill. The two were actually on opposite sides.
- Palin repeated a false claim that Obama once voted in favor of higher taxes on “families” making as little as $42,000 a year. He did not. The budget bill in question called for an increase only on singles making that amount, but a family of four would not have been affected unless they made at least $90,000 a year.
- Biden wrongly claimed that McCain “voted the exact same way” as Obama on the budget bill that contained an increase on singles making as little as $42,000 a year. McCain voted against it. Biden was referring to an amendment that didn't address taxes at that income level.
- Palin claimed McCain’s health care plan would be “budget neutral,” costing the government nothing. Independent budget experts estimate McCain's plan would cost tens of billions each year, though details are too fuzzy to allow for exact estimates.
- Biden wrongly claimed that McCain had said "he wouldn't even sit down" with the government of Spain. Actually, McCain didn't reject a meeting, but simply refused to commit himself one way or the other during an interview.
- Palin wrongly claimed that “millions of small businesses” would see tax increases under Obama’s tax proposals. At most, several hundred thousand business owners would see increases.
For full details on these misstatements, and on additional factual disputes and dubious claims, please read on to the Analysis section.
See – they point out both of their mistakes. But the one about McCain’s health care plan really sticks out to me because there’s a HUGE difference between “budget neutral” and tens of billions of dollars each year. At least to me. I know the government deals in trillions, but in my little world a few billion matters.
Where I work
I’m a big fan of my fancy schmancy (spellcheck doesn’t like “schmancy”?) Canon 40D camera, but it’s not something I can/will drag around with me all the time. So, I like to have a little camera in my bag with me to take pix on the go.
I got a new little camera (although it’s slightly larger than my old little camera) that arrived yesterday. It’s a Canon (yes, I’m a fan) PowerShot SD890. Of course, it’s new, it’s shiny and it’s a gadget, so I had to play with it right away, so I chased Gus the dog around the house last night and took his picture. He literally treats me like I’m the paparazzi – he gets bored with me and turns his head away and then he gets mad and pushes me and the camera away (okay, I may have exaggerated a little bit there…)
So, I ran around at work today taking some pix of some of my co-geeks and the building where I work. If you’re interested, you can see the pix here. They’re fascinating ?!?! and include things like this pic showing the complimentary soft drinks…of which I drink none. (I’m a water & tea girl. Dull, eh?)
Just some more insight into my life. Enjoy!
SarahP Free Zone
As I scroll through my last few weeks’ worth of postings, I see I’ve become a bit obsessed with SarahP, so I’m committing to you, my loyal readers that I am going to make every effort to minimize my SarahP blogging. (But she’s so darned amusing! But I digress.)
(I realize this is probably a big ole lie with the debate tomorrow, but I’m going to really try to go SarahP free.)
Pray for me.
Amy Update
So, other than being all worked up about the election and avoiding looking at how much money my retirement fund has been losing lately, what have I been up to?
- Trying to adapt back to my home time zone - last night I fell asleep around 4am, which is the earliest time I've been able to fall asleep since I returned on Saturday. Mostly, I've been up until 6 or 7am, which makes for a very sleepy (and uncommunicative) Amy.
- Walking away from a situation that makes me sad way more than it makes me happy. Which makes me sad. In the short term. But it's the right thing to do, so I'm taking it a day at a time. (Sounds familiar...)
- Enjoying fall. It became fall while I was in Korea - trees are turning colors here and there's a definite crispy feature to the air. I like it, but dread what it means is coming down the road...
- Trying to get amusing again on Twitter. So far, I've not been very successful lately. Pray for my humor to return (in 140 characters or less).
Edited at 5:22 to add:
Oh, the good news is that pretty drunk girl (aka: pdg) texted me about possibly coming to visit. That would be a lovely distraction. Fingers crossed.
Sweet Prop 8 Ad
If you live in California, please make sure you vote NO on Proposition 8. If you don't, just enjoy the ad.
Ahhhh….Craigslist
NEED SARAH PALIN LOOKALIKE ASAP FOR ADULT FILM (LA)
Reply to: @craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2008-09-10, 8:20PM PDT
Looking for a Sarah Palin lookalike for an adult film to be shot in next 10 days.
Major adult studio.
Please send pix, stats etc. ASAP
Pay: $2000-3000
No anal required
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)