Fine, okay, it's a blog already!

Actually I did go to work, but it is snowing here, which is somewhat of an irregular experience.

For now though, a couple things that made me laugh:

Zits online comic strip for February 6

A mock-up movie poster from our friends at Mad Magazine.

For those who care, I am redesigning Otherland and may have that back up in all its glory next month. Stay tuned.

Also archived any news older than the first of the year (which I understand doesn't leave a whole lot).

Sometimes I really can't help myself but some things crack me up. This is one of them.

Visited a little page called Idleworm again today. I remember surfing that way awhile back. Amongst other new things is a little thing he has called Gulf War 2. Whether or not you agree with what he has to say, you've got to admit he's spent some time working on this.

Thought this was a slightly ironic take on the whole thing. I am going to try to talk about some lighter subjects from now on.

Alright, I messed around with the color scheme of the page (at least the main page for now). I also worked on a new style sheet so hopefully the text doesn't go wacky on pages. If you hate the new look, let me know. If you hate the logo, let me know. If you hate that I haven't got all the pages up and/or converted; well, I already know that so you don't have to let me know. Also, went back to a DHTML type menu. The other one was causing all kinds of oddball errors depending on your browser and version.

A couple of treats for you.

This is a test called What Country of the World are You? Take it if you are really bored.

And THIS particular nugget is a highly irritating and addictive game that was linked to me a few days ago. I loathe ever seeing the page and figured I'd share it with all of you. Enjoy it and don't blame me if it drives you crazy too.

Andras Simonyi, the Hungarian ambassador to the US, credits rock music as one the leading cultural elements that helped bring down Communism in his country. Kinda freaks you out when you think about what rap music may be doing to our society, huh?

In news of a passing age, Disney's latest movie, Brother Bear, may be among its last animated movies as they are getting rid of the animation department.

From KFC comes news that fried chicken is good for you. Slate dissects that notion for you here.

Popular Science breaks down the best inventions of 2003. Yes, it is already time to evaluate our year...two months before it ends. Let the Top 10 lists begin!

There have been a couple of ridiculous political subjects I've been completely unable to find the words to properly express myself about. So, I'll let the pros do it.

Mike Thompson from the Detroit Free Press tackles the CBS pulling of their movie about Reagan:

Boondocks takes one more crack at Rush Limbaugh:

Surprising at it may seem, Howard Dean actually said something I agree with. In dealing with was basically a heckler in Iowa who accused him of "mean mouthing" Bush, Dean pretty much told him to shut up and sit down. Here's the part I agree with: if, as Republicans would have you believe, disagreeing with the president is unpatriotic, then when does it become illegal to have any dissent at all? Sorry people, I'm not about to goosestep down to the voting booth and vote "Ja!" on the second term. I've got a right to think for myself and I'll support anyone who does so, even Howard Dean if it comes to it.

This is kind of becoming old news and hopefully the story will flesh itself out as more than a figment of one man's spiteful imagination, but apparently our administration was always planning to pick a fight with Iraq. Personally, I hope the story is false as it just means Bush has absolutely zero respect for our military; thinking it to be a toy to mop up what he perceives as his father's mistake. Pathetic.

Checking in on my note for Windows 98 users. Support has been extended for that product until mid-2006. So no need to panic.

Our fascist pals at the RIAA had resorted to hiring ex-cops and having them parade around as "music police", busting anyone selling bootleg CDs and the like. Excuse me, but am I the only one who sees people pretending to be police officers a highly illegal and unethical means of doing business?

This story just cracks me up. I can't imagine how the kid did it.

Anyone remember the old qbasic game where you threw exploding bananas at one another? Here is a Windows-based version of it.

Being a Astros fan as well as a Cubs one is like having boils and chicken pox at the same time most years, but this news brings some tentative hope for next season.

Incidentally, the topic today borrows its name from Aaron MacGruder's treasury of Boondocks comics, which I keep meaning to put in a permanent link on the WebComics section. I've posted the occasional strip up here and will likely do so from time to time. Its usually topical and almost always irreverant.

Case in point:

(And yes Craig, I've been properly chastised and promise to eat beef again.)

So, I got this short-term project doing laptop support for SAP. Three free meals a day (all excellent btw), drinks and snacks as well. The trade-off? I put in almost 70 hours in 5 days. So, I'm tired and sore and just want to go home once the contract is done. But wait! All of us remaining contractors get invited to the after-conference party where there is free beer. And, oh yeah, James Brown was performing. The only downer is that there wasn't time to notify Leslie so she could share in the fun. But I sure had a good time.

As if Watergate hadn't taught them, news on the GOP hacking into Democratic Senate files. Kids, just because the car is sitting there idling with no one watching it, it doesn't mean you can take it for a joy ride. Thanks to EvilNed for the link.

Speaking of insidious, power-hungry entities, Microsoft is suing a kid (name: Mike Rowe) who is setting up a tongue-in-cheek site called...you guessed it....MikeRoweSoft. Best of luck to this guy.

Good news. If you are reading this, you are part of the 69% of American adults using the internet. Though too many of them are still using AOL. Ugh.

A study from MIT has found that most of us hate cell phones. I tend to agree.

Okay, I've been leaving this one alone, but officials in Australia have decided not to charge the Crocodile Hunter with child endangerment. Which is the right call. Look people, the guy is a trained professional who genuinely loves his crocs more than he does humans. Its a love he tries to share with his family. Comparing him to that freak Michael Jackson is ludicrous. And saying that what he did was wrong is equally silly. This is something the guy does for a living, and as a passion. He took his baby to work to show him to the co-workers, so to speak.

What IS dangerous however is using magazine directions for your next hike however. The story on that is here.

Next time you have a problem you can't solve, sleep on it. So suggests this study.

I want THIS contract. Once again, thanks to Ned for the heads-up.

Just for some seasonal fun, a game involving a Yeti belting penguins with a club for distance. You heard me. If you find that one too hard and want the satisfaction of the long distance shot, there is an amped-up version here.

Reference courtesy of The Little Rascals. Various state rulings are making it a legally protected right for women-hating pharmacists to deny filling prescriptions for birth control pills. Major cases in Wisconsin (more) and Texas (more) - where else? - are already ongoing. The argument here is that a care giver's morals are more important than the health of their patient. Which has got to be the biggest load of crap ever attempted sold when you are talking about a person's health and well-being. If you can't perform the damn job, don't do it.

And the restrictions don't stop there. POE takes a look into the future, where care giver's willy-nilly approach to providing services may cost lives. They present it humorously, but it's probably not a joke should this trend continue. Apparently the backlash to the "if-it-feels-good-it-is-good" '60s is the 21st century's "if-it-offends-me-i'll-take-your-rights-away" courtesy of the local GOP. Unless of course, said action degrades women, belittle minorities, disenfranchises non-fundamentalist Christians, etc....then they'll let it happen whether or not they agree with it.

News from the resistance. Alberto Gonzales, the scum picked to replace Ashcroft, raises flags even in this cream puff editorial from Indiana. Then again, people who advocate torture should probably be given a second look. Ashcroft, heading for the door, is calling judges who say parts of the PATRIOT Act are unconstitutional are basically siding with terrorists. Speaking of people who like to label anyone who questions their judge terrorists, Rod Paige is talking about stepping down as Education Secretary. The nation's teachers take a moment to raise a finger and get back to work. The AARP is against Bush's plan to bankrupt - erm, "privative" - Social Security. Just not getting a grasp on my NewSpeak yet. Canada reminds us that they are not our drugstore.

News from our returning vets. Some vets return to find health care non-existant. Female vets have other issues beyond that.

How's that economic recovery working for ya? Tennessee is cutting it's Medicare program and Kansas is seeing a rise in food bank lines. Bet you're glad you voted for Bush now, right?

Who are these damn neoconservatives who took over our country anyway? And, God forbid, are you one? I apparently rate as a "realist," which may come as a surprise to many of you.

In humor, 75 reasons to actually be glad Bush won. The Onion tells it like it is.

First off, a couple of cuddly animal rescues of a cat and a dog to warm your heart.

Plus, humor. Bush's New Year's resolutions, plus Steve Martin's impression of Bill O'Reilly getting - what else? - pissed off about nothing. In this case, the leap second.

The BBC has some year end stories, covering things such as Bush's very bad year and assorted oddball stories. Plus a holiday safety quiz.

This is also the year that neo-cons made Arriana Huffington not only relevant again, but even kind of admired with her Huffington Post becoming a daily reading stop for me. Here are her lists of things she wants to forget from 2005.

We're going to avoid politics for the most part, but focus on a couple things this year. Bush is on vacation - again - at his "ranch" in Texas. A milestone has been reached in this recent visit. He's only been president for coming on five years now; this marks his 365th day on vacation at his ranch. It's mind-numbing when you think about it. More than 20% of the time this guy is on vacation from what is arguably the most important job in the world. I couldn't even take that kind of time off without getting fired, and I doubt any of you could too. In any case, he's busy clearing brush, whatever the hell that means.

Since our leader is out to lunch, why don't you guys step away from the keyboard and go have a good time. Happy New Year folks.

"How unqualified do you have to be that the President is too scared to put your nomination before a legislative body that his very own party controls?"
- Wonkette, on Bush's latest crony appoinments

As if you didn't have to worry about what you said to your overseas friends, now you have to worry about what you write them. Apparently, DHS is opening your mail.

Reports now question whether Bush can actually defend his spy games legally, as we find out more about the NSA's rabid determination to expand spying on American citizens.

This should be intuitive but apparently the government is just getting around to realizing that providing armor to Marines would have saved more of their lives.

Some good news. Tom DeLay has given up trying to be a felonious majority leader. However, he still remains a punk fascist.

Another story on the business of the CEO President's cronyism.

Just for fun, I'm passing on a viral meme for you: Future Conan and Future Conan demands loyalty. Look, sometimes I just pass this stuff along to you. I don't pretend to understand it.

If image doesn't fit in pane, click to see full sized version at Working for Change.

Since This Modern World doesn't load properly in this template (but I like the template and am planning to keep it for now), I'll just link to this week's comic.

Enjoy.

Click to view the whole comic.

Cheeseheads at war: two Wisconsin residents fighting, with unusual weapons.

From the Three-Eyed Fish Department: Also from Wisconsin, "tasty" mutant deer.

I've got a random collection of really odd stuff to pass along. If you're sick minded, you'll follow the links.

* 9 Things A Man Should Never Tell A Woman

* 9 Reasons To Get Drunk

* Things Every Man Should Do Before He Dies

Leslie made my night on Friday. We had stayed in to relax as I'd just flown in from Oklahoma and she was flipping channels and found an old, cancelled favorite of mine.

Aside from Enterprise, it was the only reason I watched UPN. Yes, I admit it, I used to intake two hours of that network a week.

In any event, this quirky little show was on just long enough for me to get into it before it got cancelled. But now it lives on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Be a dear and at least turn your TV on to Special Unit 2 so I can watch it a few more times. And if you are all as quirky as I imagine you are, you might even stop to watch and enjoy it too.

So, Marcos here at work recently gave me my new favoritest guilty pleasure. It's called The Dugout and is an irreverant look at baseball.

Basically everything is setup as a AIM chat. Hell, just go there and pick something. Something with Kyle Farnsworth preferably.

And, no, I don't know why this is funny, it just is:

And if you like you humor hitting the low road, there's this type of humor:

Personally, Jeter hating is a minor hobby of mine. Alright, quit reading this and go to the site.

Alright, you're curious, I can tell. So here's the test to see if you are more a nerd, geek, or dork. Full disclosure. I ranked 69% Nerd, 78% Geek, 26% Dork. Yeah, kinda scary. Then again, I help run a Star Wars gaming group. So that was kind of a clue.

The good news? Geeks apparently make better lovers.

On a totally non-geek subject, Snoop Dogg lets out his feelings about Bill O'Reilly in a Dutch TV interview. Um, since it's Snoop, you should realize it ain't PG-13.

For some conservative jackasses, the concept of peace scares them and brings on the hate.

And so it goes.

I needed this.

I pick up a copy of The Economist ever so often just to catch up with the world. This week's issue however, had a wry little piece on how our modern life does not serve many of our old cliches well. Check it out.

Well, the boys at The Dugout have sold out to the AOL corporate goons. You can catch their special brand of baseball observations here. It just doesn't feel the same yet but maybe I'm a stick in the mud.

Just not sure about the move yet.

In any event, for those new to the scene, check out the archives.

Marcos at work sent this out. I'm speechless. Enjoy.

I know, this is going to come up first on the page. Deal with it. Also, I swear I'm balancing catching up on posts and clearing out links with the reality that, hey, you don't want to wade through all these tabs. So, um, stay tuned?

Anyway, long time friend Stacy is an LDS member and into literature so this link passed on by her is totally relevant to her and a fun observation to the rest of us. With all this whining by fundamentalists about Mitt Romney being a Mormon and how we'll all be cast into a lake of fire, or at least molten Velveeta, if we vote for him, it's important to realize that there may actually be a real reason to wonder how Mormons get anything done at all.

And no, fear not, I'm not endorsing Romney. There was no kool-aid offered me. I'm just saying people should bust him or praise him according to his politics, not whether he speaks to the same Angry God on bended knee like Southern Baptists do...or is on bended knee for other reasons. Yeah Larry Craig, we're still talking about you.

Alright, this is me crossing the lines of cultural insensitivity. Consider yourself warned.

First off, I'm in Northern California, and yeah, the weather actually IS as bad as you heard. Three hour delay in Vegas because of the 60+ mph wind gusts in Sacramento. Rain so hard it took me three hours to make a two hour drive, going around some busted up trees and lots of water on the road.

Anyway, on the way up, I was listening to NPR and heard that the annual Dakar Rally has been cancelled due to concerns over terrorist attacks. Now, I'm not really sure how much we're supposed to stop civilization to these assclown fundamentalists but auto racing? Seriously?

I mean, I'm sure there was some form of credible threat but these guys are going to bring down society by shooting up cars? Hell, L.A. would have fallen decades ago if that were the case.

Anyway, and here's where I truly plumb the depths of my sick mind, but the first thing I thought off when I heard of backward, 8th-century al-Qaeda wannabes shooting up race cars was this bit from The Phantom Menace. Fast forward to about 1:50 and you'll quickly figure out what I'm talking about.

Some of you are voting today. Kudos.

That said, we probably all need something to laugh at given the gravity of the day. Here goes:

Ever wondered what it would be like to mix a Rammstein song with Winnie the Pooh? Yeah, me neither, but it apparently works out quite well.

Also, not that I'm recommending you go do this or anything, but enjoy it for a laugh at least.

After the frustrations of the county convention, I wanted to pass the following along.

Not sure how well this will encode, but here goes:

Link to the image here.

At HuffPo, in a story about McCain's possible dalliance with a lobbyist, who basically looks like his pill-popping wife, the following comment by a poster called eddieinc97:

RECENTLY UNCOVERED MEMO BETWEEN NEWT GINGRICH TO HIS FELLOW CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS DURING THE CLINTON IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS

MEMO TO: HOLIER THAN THOU CONGRESSIONAL HYPOCRITS.

From: THE OFFICE OF THE HONORABLE NEWT GINGRICH
(PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM INVOKING THE "DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO" RULE IN THIS MATTER)

Fellow Republican Brethren,

If you vote to impeach Bill Clinton. Please make sure you have not had, or are not having an affair. If you vote to impeach, you will no longer be able to call the DC Madam. Or get any future side action that would appear to be a direct contradiction to the moral high road you have so gloriously chosen.

However, if you are caught in a "Dead Hooker", or a "Tussle in the Sheets", type situation. President Clinton's deny and lie approach will do well for you. Pretend to be outraged and dissappointed, make sure your wife is standing by your side, and leave no DNA.

Note: Records show McCain never got the memo. The page responsible for delivering the memo to McCain's office lost it while on a camp out with Congressman Mark Foley.

Come on America, McCain never got the memo.

Fantastic!

Wow. I mean, I know it's a parody, but this is EXACTLY what Shrillary sounds like these days.

So wrong, but so good...

This guy keeps coming back from the dead. And I can't tell whether he's being honest, in the pocket of Hillary Clinton, or just wants some more Republican money like he got in 2004.

What I *do* know is that I have no interest in listening to what he has to say. Not that he's incorrect on most of his assessments; but really, what possible good does he expect to achieve this time around?

So, Hillary Clinton has been pandering to the remaining racist whites who haven't become outright Republicans and out-of-work former union folks who should know better. She's Annie Oakley. She's Rocky Balboa. She's Rosie the Riveter.

Whatever.

She's so out of touch she can't even run a gas station coffee machine. And yeah, she wasn't getting a cup of joe, she was trying to pour out a cappuccino.

Hey, I *like* a cappuccino myself, but then again I'm not insulting supporters of another candidate as "latte sipping wimps" as her and her attack dogs are doing.

Click to go to site if image doesn't completely show up.

I've been avoiding this story since it is pretty damn sick, but someone already wrote all the punchlines for me.

Did Hillary Kill Eight Belles?

A teacher in Idaho threw away a student's Mexican flag he brought to school to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Said teacher's explanation is pretty damn flimsy.

This is the kind of crap that will also stop me from voting for a Rethug or a Clinton (anyway, Bill *did* fool me twice).

So, if Hammond, Indiana's Tom McDermott is yesterday's Asshole of the Day, Twin Falls teacher Clint Straatman has earned today's privilege. Or Monday's since he did it then. Oh heck, let's make him Asshole of the Week.

Moving away from this crap, some sharp-barbed humor.

A joke from 23/6 about the end of the primary season: Will Puerto Ricans save a white woman from a black assailant?

From the same site, a couple of McCain jabs concerning his so-called "Maverick" status:

as well as a list of proposed slogans.