Sunday, May 18, 2008

Bad news for Al Gore

Looks like Al Gore will need to invent a new crisis to profit from. From the Chron,
Study: Global warming not to blame for rise in hurricanes

A new scientific paper authored by prominent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists, published this weekend, reinforces the changing landscape.

The paper, which simulated Atlantic hurricane activity during warming 21st century conditions, found 27 percent fewer tropical storms, and 18 percent fewer hurricanes. The strongest hurricanes, the researchers found, had slightly higher wind speeds.

"This does not support the idea that we've already seen a large positive trend in hurricane activity emerging from greenhouse gases," said lead author Tom Knutson, a Princeton, N.J.-based research meteorologist for NOAA. "In fact, it points in the other direction."
Al Gore was a mediocre student. (Five F's in divinity school?) The only reason people treat him seriously when it comes to scientific matters is he spends hours orating in front of a mirror.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

America doesn't deserve Obama.

That's what an Italian newspaper columnist says. Try not to hurl.

If Suketu Mehta believes Europeans should have a say in the US elections, they are welcome to wait in line with a couple million other people and then apply for citizenship and pay taxes.

It's odd that while Europeans are coming under increasing control of powerful government agencies that are run by unelected bureaucrats who set laws, they are obsessing over an actual democracy. Maybe obsesso Europeans worried about democracy should start by looking at themselves.

Ted Kennedy Hospitalized

That was quite a scare! Fortunately the news isn't as bad as doctors had feared.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was airlifted to a hospital Saturday after suffering a seizure at his home, and did not appear to have had a stroke as initially suspected, his spokeswoman said.

"Senator Kennedy is resting comfortably, and it is unlikely we will know anything more for the next 48 hours," she said. Kennedy's wife, Victoria, was with him at the hospital, Cutter said.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Toyota Yaris vs Chrysler K Car

I saw an old Chrysler K car the other day. I was reminded of how small many sedans were during the 1980s. What's interesting to me about modern fuel-efficient automobiles is how inefficient they are compared with what Detroit was building 25 years ago. Ditto for what was coming out of Japan.

For example, a 2008 Toyota Yaris, by most accounts a tiny econobox, has an EPA rating of 29/36. A mid-1980s K car had an EPA rating of 26/41.

Another example: A 2008 Dumb Smart car has an EPA rating of 33/41. My 1988 Honda CRX, the first new car I ever owned, routinely got over 50 miles per gallon. I remember driving to Wichita Falls and back for the Hotter 'n Hell 100 and spending about $15 on gas. The same round trip in my Rav4 would cost about $80. (My CRX looked exactly like the one below. And it was a piece of crap to boot, unfortunately.)
This Dodge 600 looks tiny now, but I remember back then it seemed perfectly reasonable. Its EPA rating was 27/41.

I know that modern safety requirements add weight to automobiles. But not that much.

This seems to be a popular topic.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Homo's are the greatest threat to America

Homosexuals can marry one another in California now.
Randy Thomasson, president of the Campaign for Children and Families, reacted with dismay, insisting "marriage is naturally for a man and a woman."

"If the institution of marriage is redefined and therefore destroyed in the law, the wellbeing of children is threatened, both emotionally, socially, even physically," Thomasson added.
I don't see the big deal. We all read every day about kids being threatened, both emotionally, socially, even physically, by their heterosexual parents. Parents who are assholes is the problem, not their sexual orientation.

So why should the government, particularly the Federal government, be in the position to decide who is allowed to get married? Why is government involved in marriage at all, other than from a legal contract basis? Someone clue me in here.

(Hey Republicans, read this post from Iowahawk. Do you understand why you're losing yet?)

A Rep's Tale

I talk about real estate with one of our widget reps. He's a good guy. Michigan born and bred, now lives in Florida during the winter. He sold our widgets for about 15 years until the tech bust, then in 2001 he decided to get his real estate license to keep food on the table. He left our fold for a while and came back full time last year.

I was shootin' the sh** with him for a few minutes this morning and he told me he was going to hang up his RE license last year anyway because of the collapse in business, but before he could do that the owner of the RE firm gave him the boot.
A young couple with a baby on the way were planning to close on a house, and I told them that they couldn't afford it.
Word got back to the boss and she told him to pack it in.

I'd like to think that most people in the real estate food chain have the same conscience.

Barack Obama on appeasing terrorists

Barack Obama now:
"George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the president's extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel."
Barack Obama then:

I only speak for myself, but to me a guy who says he will have a sit-down with an insane psychopath who promises to murder 7.1 million people sounds like appeasement. Moreover, if Barry isn't an appeaser, why did he assume that Bush was referring to him?

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Beijing Invees: China Scam Part 2

The shysters at "Beijing Onvis Network Information Technology" have made some slight changes now that admins are on to their scam. Here's a message from "Tina Wang."
Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 22:25:47 +0800
From: "tina.wang"
Subject: [redacted] domain name and Internet keyword

Dear [redacted], INC

We are Beijing Invees Network Science and Technology Co.,Ltd which is the domain name register center in China. We received a formal application from a company who is applying to register [redacted] as their domain name and Internet keyword on May 13 2008. Because this involved your company name or trade marks so we inform you in no time. If you considered these domain names and internet keywords are important to you and there was necessary to protect them by registering them first, contact us soon.

Kind Regards,

Tina Wang

Tel:+86-10-82476192 ext614
Fax:+86-10-62477798
Email: tina.wang@ invees.com

Beijing Invees Network Science and Technology Co.,Ltd
website:www. invees.com
If you get one of these scam e-mails, don't even bother replying. Also see:

Beijing Erimat Network Information Technology Co., Ltd
Beijing Anwins Network Service Co.,Ltd
Beijing Erimut
Beijing Inveis

November 11, 2008

Obama/Richardson: 46%
McCain/Romney: 41%
Barr/Paul: 9%
Nader/Kucinich/other: 4%

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Rivethead by Ben Hamper

Lou's Book Club: I highly recommend Rivethead by Ben Hamper. (No referral fees for me, unlike famous bloggers who pimp books and cooking pans on Amazon and don't tell you that they are getting cash for it.)

I bought Rivethead in college and re-read it periodically. It's a blast and has some good insights into Michael Moore before he became self-important. But it's mostly about working on an assembly line and trying to remain sane.
Car, windshield. Drudgery piled atop drudgery. Cigarette to cigarette. Decades rolling through the rafters, bones turning to dust, stubborn clocks gagging down flesh, another windshield, another cigarette, wars blinking on and off, thunderstorms muttering the alphabet, crows on power lines asleep or dead, that mechanical octopus squirming against nothing, nothing, NOTHINGNESS. I wanted to shout at my father, "Do something else!" Do something else or come home with us or flee to the nearest watering hole. DO SOMETHING ELSE! Car, windshield. Car, windshield. Christ, no.
It confirms every single negative stereotype you may have about US autoworkers, but also explains why they act this way.

I brought it down to the courthouse yesterday to keep myself occupied. I think this is about the fifth or sixth time I've re-read it. The dude can write. He should do more of it.

Hamper's still around, and he's still having problems.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Earl Curley

Earl Gordon Curley would have been 61 years old today. His webdesign.ca domain is up for bid. $390,000 Canadian. That would buy a lot of toasters and a lot of meals at Barney Googles in Mississauga.

Hard to believe it's been 10 years.

US dollar as a weapon

From India's Economic Times,
Iran, the world’s fourth largest oil producer, has reportedly shifted from the US dollar to euro and yen as currencies in which it will trade its crude produce. This is seen as a major blow to the US dollar as a reserve currency.
Melonhead agrees.
During the weekend oil summit, Iran and Venezuela proposed that OPEC begins pricing its oil in a basket of currencies, rather than just the dollar, and wanted the summit to specifically express concern over the dollar's slide in its final statement.
Everyone agrees that Bush and his cabinet members are merely paying lip service to the idea of a stronger dollar. There are ways they could strengthen the dollar outside of the Fed. Since they don't, it leads me to wonder if the White House is using the dollar as a weapon against Melonhead and Squinty the Dwarf.

Let me explain: The falling dollar and ensuing inflation has not been pleasant for us, but inflation has been devastating to average citizens in Iran and Venezuela (1) (2). I wonder if the quiet White House plan is to get Melonhead and Squinty to flee the dollar, then strengthen the dollar once they've bailed to another currency that then weakens against the dollar's advance.

So far the other Gulf countries are sticking with the dollar. Perhaps they know something that Melonhead and Squinty don't.

Hugh Hefner isn't environmentally correct

Hef was never eco-friendly.


He was the Austin Powers of 1969. In-flight movie: Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.