Perhaps not safe to click on from work... Merely for language, but nothing worse than what's in the post two below this...
Why are this page and this page in my referrer logs?
I've always liked Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit, but now I guess we see where his loyalties lie.
Down with the machines!
I almost forgot. Since I was away last week, I wasn't able to comment on all the important events of the past week. Let me catch up really quick...
Thank you... Back to work now...
Once again I have violated blog etiquette by leaving for multiple days without posting about the trip. Last tuesday, I got an email from my dad saying that my grandfather Ole had had a stroke. I got updates from him throughout the day, and shortly after 5:00 on tuesday he passed away. I got packed up and ready to head up to Wisconsin Tuesday night and left Wednesday morning.
We had services for him which were well attended. Ole was very active in Alcoholics Anonymous, and there were many people there who credited him with saving their lives. My dad delivered the eulogy, and I've never heard the Packers figure so prominently in one. Ole was a big Packer fan, and every time I saw him, I could always count on hearing him bitch about the team when they weren't doing well, or rave about them when they were.
He was one of those guys who could be introduced to someone once, and remember them forever. As we were cleaning out his apartment on Saturday his neighbors all had stories to tell us about him.
Well, I'm not particularily good at this sort of thing, so I'll just say that he was a great guy and he will be missed.
Now I'm back in town after missing almost three full days of work, it's the end of the quarter today, and I must now get back to it.
The University of Houston Student Video Network where my friends and I produced Young Pups was affected by the floods in Houston following Tropical Storm Allison last year. Nearly all the equipment was destroyed, and the station has been off the air since.
Well, Cheers to Tim Eggert for his hard work getting the studio back in working order, this time with modern equipment. Now do we need to get new copies of the Young Pups shows down to the studio? I mean, what would SVN be without six year old copies of Young Pups to run?
Congratulations again, Tim. Here's hoping a good group takes over and the station is back up and running again soon...
Steve Kimock is going to be playing a show in Fayetteville, AR on Halloween. Costumes are encouraged. I'm definitely going. What should I dress up as this year?
There haven't been any comments here for a while, so I'm proposing a couple of surveys:
Survey the first:
What is the largest calories per serving you've ever seen on a food item?
Somebody stole my coffee mug off my desk last night. What a bunch of crap...
Since I cut my hair off before moving to Kansas City, I never really found a short haircut that I liked. I like what my current hairdresser does, but I still have a tendency to go far too long between cuts. I've noticed that I tend to get in a funk when I really need a haircut, then my mood improves noticably after I get it cut.
Well, it's been almost six weeks since my last haircut, and I got home from work today in a poor mood. I mowed and watered the lawn, but continued to be upset for no particular reason. My ankle still isn't quite ready for racquetball, but I decided to go at least lift some weights, because I should and also hopefully to work through the bad mood I was in.
I normally do my weights after I play racquetball, usually starting at around 9:30 PM. It turns out that there is an excellent reason for that... The gym is rather busy at 5:30. Not really to the point where it's very difficult to get in on the equipment, but you do have to wait occasionally. That's a bit frustrating. Even more frustrating was realizing exactly how far I've slipped since I was lifting regularly. I went through my normal workout (Chest and Tri, dude!), failing to complete my sets at embarasingly light weights. This did little to relieve my frustration. I did plow through the workout, though. By the end, I just felt like hitting something.
Luckily for me, the gym has a boxing room. I decided I'd spend some time just laying into the heavy bag. Unfortunately, the boxing room was rather busy as well, and I didn't really feel like being around people. So I went home.
My neighbors were outside having some beers in the driveway. I've been hanging out with them a bit lately. My next door neighbor is a pretty cool guy, and is almost always hanging out in front of his house. We chat, have some beers, etc.
His wife was out with him today, and when I wandered over, she was telling me about the ghost in her house. That's just great... I thought I was the only psycho on the block, but apparently it's not just me. Is this subdivision built on an old cemetary or some crap? Bleh...
But hanging out with the neighbors did cheer me up a bit. The guy next door is a cool guy. The own a boat that they dock near their son in Florida, and they take it out in the Carribean often. My neighbor was telling me about going down there for a bluegrass festival a couple of years ago. They seem like cool folks.
But now I'm sitting about listening to some Drums & Tuba... I think I'm going to skip the Lawrence show this Thursday and catch them when they're in Kansas City Proper next week. There's an excellent four days of music coming up at the end of October. I may need to take some time off to catch two nights of Steve Kimock October 30 and 31, then two nights of Big Smith on November 1 and 2. I wonder if the folks who own Chester's will just let me sleep up in the balcony for the week...
I still haven't purchased a copy of Chuck Palahniuk's new book Lullaby, but I was planning on reviewing it for Blogcritics. Unfortunately, it looks like Heather Havrilesky has beaten me to it.
She didn't like it. I'm still going to buy a copy one of these days...
I need to keep emergency smokes in my filing cabinet here at work. I hate not having any left for a last smoke break near the end of the day...
My cigarettes from Yesmoke should be here today. Or soon, at least...
Thanks to a co-worker for bringing this to my attention.
My only concern is that the trash company is the sponsor of this barbecue contest. I'm just not sure what to think about that.
CNN/Money has some investment advice for Carmela Soprano.
Google unveiled their new news service today.
Hey, and we made the front page!
Well, I caught a bit of football on Sunday. For the first time this season, I didn't head out to Mulvaney's to catch the Packers. They were playing the Lions, so I didn't figure there would be much of a game to watch. How wrong I was. The Pack's offense is clicking all over the place, even with Ahman Green out with his injured hamstring. (Hell, Favre passed for 357 yards and three touchdowns). On the other hand, I worry about a defensive squad that can't even stop the Lions.
This season, my dad has been fond of saying that the Packers have a defense like a sieve. I'm not sure that I like that term... I thought that the defining characteristic of a sieve is that it allows something to pass through while actually preventing at least something else from passing. I didn't get the game on TV, but listened to a stream of a Milwaukee radio station. It was an exciting game, but the commentators definitely agreed that something needs to be done about the defense. I'm just not sure what you can really do mid-season.
Nevertheless, a win is a win. We get the surprisingly now 3-0 Carolina Panthers next week, and at Lambeau no less. Let's whip that defense into shape by then, guys.
Fantasy-wise, this week was a mixed bag. In my out-of-state-friends league, I did very well. Favre passed for 357 yards and three TD's, and Priest Holmes rushed for 180 yards and two TD's, with a spare passing TD thrown in for good measure. I already have the high score in the league, and still have Gramatica and Torry Holt in tonight's game. My closest challenger is a full 20 points behind me, though she does have players in the game. Our current league leader also has Marshall Faulk, but he would have to have a stellar game for him to catch me. (Definition)
My work league was another story, though... I knew going into this week that I was going to lose, but it was even worse than I had imagined it would be. My opponent in that league had Ricky Williams (151 rushing yds and a TD), Priest Holmes (astronomical, as usual), and Peyton Manning (271 passing yards and 2 TDs). At this point, I'm losing 114-61, and he still has a St. Louis defensive player in tonight's game.
Ugh... Once again I've filled up all my trash cans with drywall. I'm down to the smallest wall, the ceiling, and the bottom of the old shower. I'm just taking a quick break, then I plan on getting the shower bottom out. The other wall and ceiling will have to wait until after next Thursday, but I should be able to get the tub next Saturday.
I have nothing more to say about this.
Wil Wheaton making an excellent Dead Milkmen reference on his blog...
Rock... I end up listening to The Dead Milkmen's Beelzebubba more often than I normally would these days... When I leave my mp3 playlist on random, if it hits just about any song on David Gray's White Ladder I'll usually take it off random and listen to that whole album. Dead Milkmen comes after David Gray in my playlist, and when it rolls over to that, I usually can't turn it off either.
Two damn fine albums...
I thought that that was Dr. Dre in that Coors commercial I saw this Sunday, and I guess I was right. Apparently that's old news, but I hadn't seen it until this week.
My attitude is the same as for the rest of the commercials that Coors has been running during football: Great commercials, terrible beer.
Via memepool: You must go here immediately and watch video of the amazing sport of cup stacking.
I don't know that I've ever linked to a Fark photoshop contest before, but this is one of the best I've seen in a while.
Um, this one, that is...
Early reports are that The Sopranos kicked the crap out of everything else on TV last Sunday, including the major networks' shows.
I live across the street from the "Shawnee Safety Center", a combination fire/police station. If I'm smoking a cigarette on the back porch and talking on the phone, invariably a fire truck will come screaming out of the station, forcing me to run inside to be able to hear the person I'm talking to. The fire trucks are pretty good about not using their sirens after 9:00 or so, and I can only remember being woken up by sirens once or twice, and then only if I'm in bed very early or sleeping very late.
It's also nice to know that I'm close. If I should ever need police or fire services, I'm sure my response time will be rather quick. One thing has been worrying me a bit lately. In the last two weeks, I've seen a police car parked on the same part of my street three times. The first time, it was empty, but the last two times, there's been an officer sitting in the drivers seat.
Maybe an officer just bought a house in the neighborhood. I'm glad for the extra attention, but is something going on on my street that warrants the extra attention?
bushcheney2004.com: registered
bushpowell2004.com: unregistered
bushrice2004.com: registered
mccain2004.com: registered
rice2004.com: unregistered
ricepowell2004.com: unregistered
gore2004.com: registered
The official site for Kaante.
Locate a theater near you here.
Wallpaper here.
Interview with director Sanjay Gupta here in which he denies that the film is a remake of Reservoir Dogs.
First, I didn't choose Reservoir Dogs. Kaante is not inspired by Reservoir Dogs. I haven't been candid about that at all. (Laughs)In fact the media has been going crazy saying Kaante is a remake of Reservoir Dogs. It is not.
My film is in the genre of films like Reservoir Dogs, The Asphalt Jungle, The Killing, City On Fire. These are the kind of films where you have five or six guys getting together to pull off a heist and how things go wrong.
It is a crime film, not a remake of any one film. Reservoir Dogs itself is a remake of a Hong Kong-based film called City On Fire.
Music reviews here.
The official site claims a release date of October 11, 2002. The music review claims July 2, 2002. Now Running claims August 2, 2002. Is this going to run in the US?
Hey, an interview with Trent Reznor in Salon. Cool.
Sounds like he's working on a new album...
I always did kind of like Tom Green. I didn't see Freddy Got Fingered, though I meant to. I didn't particularly think it looked very good.
I have kind of wanted to see Stealing Harvard, and now that I've noticed that Bruce McColloch directed it, I guess I have to go.
At Beliefnet you'll find all kinds of religious resources, including RealMedia streaming guided Buddhist meditation and the Dalai Lama Quote Of The Day, which I think will be earning a permanent link here soon...
Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been 26 days 4 hours 22 minutes 42 seconds since my last confession.
I'm amazed at the density of silliness in this short article.
Hindu Activists: "Fight cultural imperialism with venomous snakes!"
Animal Rights Activists: "But think of the poor snakes!"
Ryan Olson: "There's a Bollywood version of Reservoir Dogs? When can I get a copy?"
Maybe it's not quite stated correctly, but they've taken a movie like Reservoir Dogs and the biggest thing they've chosen to complain about is some product placement? I'm just very confused...
Well, once again it appears that we don't have enough folks for a proper Kansas City blog meetup. Once again, I won't let that stop me from going out on a Wednesday night to get a beer. I'll be out with Jessy, perhaps her anonymous comment guy, maybe Adam.
Plus, it's a damn good bar with the most attentive bartender I've ever met in my life. Details follow:
Location: Harry's Bar and Tables
Date: Wednesday, Sep. 18 7:00 PM
Why?: Beer is good. Martinis are good.
Didn't even finish reading the article, but they're bitching about Mapquest over at Wired.
I normally do get good maps from Mapquest, but when I lived in Fayetteville, AR a guy I worked with tried to get a map from Fayetteville, AR to Beebe, AR. The route went something like this:
I-540 S, exit rural route 12.
Continue on Rural route 12 for 1532 miles.
At this point, he's somewhere up in Canada. The rest of the route had him take a ferry across something, then drive down from Canada to Beebe, AR.
I think he decided to overrule the Mapquest directions and plan his own route.
The new Chuck Palahniuk book Lullaby hits stores tomorrow.
I thought Choke was all right, but definitely not as good as Survivor or Fight Club. I'm rather looking forward to this one, though. So I guess I'll be paying full hardcover price so I can have my copy tomorrow.
Of course, if you haven't watched it, you may not want to read this...
We finally got a new episode of The Sopranos, after well over a year. I guess it's been so long since the end of the last season, I've forgotten what was going on in areas... Was Christopher on smack last season? I thought he had cleaned up...
The episode didn't seem to do much other than set the stage for the coming season, which looks to be very, very ugly. I assume that Tony and Junior are going to arrange to have Junior's nurse killed, and that she isn't going to turn out to be the FBI's agent. They just had to show that scene with the undercover FBI agent's baby... The second they showed that baby, I was convinced that she's going to be found out. What was she doing at Tony's house with Adriana anyway? It seemed kind of soon, but then again, they were a bit fuzzy on how much time has passed since the end of the last season.
Damn, and does anybody like Tony any more?
What kind of pansy-ass football team posts a Recipe for Rolled Salmon with Shabu-Shabu on their website?
(Actually, I hate to admit it, but looking over the recipe, that does look pretty good...)
According to my neighbors, the person who lived in this house before me didn't take particularly good care of it. It'd not falling down or anything, but a lot of the stuff in here is original from when the house was built in 1978, and I'm trying to get it somewhat updated. That's why I'm working on my bathroom right now, and assuming that I finish that sometime this decade, i'll do the downstairs bathroom shortly after I finish upstairs.
But the inside isn't the only part of the house that needs work... The lawn in front is in pretty bad shape. There are a lot of bare patches in it, and I've tried seeding once before with no luck. Last time I tried seeding, we got a rough thunderstorm about three hours after I laid down the seed, and it all just washed away. That was back in the early spring.
I don't know much about lawns, but for some reason, I was thinking that spring was the only time you could seed a lawn and hope for it to take and survive. But when the neighborhood association tor the bushes out of the island in my cul-de-sac and planted grass seed, I figured that if they can do it, I might as well give it another shot.
So I planted some grass seed last weekend, bought a sprinkler and tried to keep the soil moist all last week. I saw the first shoots coming up yesterday, threw down some more seed, and gave it some more water. It's definitely coming up now. That picture was very difficult to take, particularly because I'm kind of tired and was having a hard time holding the camera steady. But that is a picture of the very first of the baby grass. I'll have to make sure that I keep it wet, but it looks like I may just have a full lawn by next summer.
More struggling with the bathroom upstairs. I was hoping to have completed the dismantling by this weekend, but I didn't quite get there. I got under the sink yesterday to shut off the water going to the faucet, and was surprised to find that there weren't any shutoff valves under there, just joints connecting the copper coming out of the wall to the faucet. I had to get the sink out of there, so I ran to Home Depot to get shutoff valves.
I'm tired from doing it, tired of thinking about it, and don't particularly feel like getting tired from writing about it, so long story short: Three trips to Home Depot, and one trip to the local hardware store and I was able to lop off the old joints with a hacksaw and get real shutoff valves attached. I was starting to worry for a bit... I had removed the old joints, and was fairly certain that I wasn't going to be able to reattach them. I had the water to the house shut off during this process, and was starting to worry that I wasn't going to be able to get the valves attached so I could turn the water back on. That would have been bad.
However, I did get the valves on, and then was able to turn the water back on, remove the sink, then very satisfyingly smash the vanity to pieces and get it out of the bathroom. All that's left is the ceiling and the walls, but I'm not in the mood tonight. Simpsons start in a couple of minutes, and The Sopranos finally premieres tonight. I'm going to get a beer and sit for a while. Damn... When did I get this domesticated?
After literally hours of fucking with those pictures in that post a couple posts down, I finally have it so you can see the images in Internet Explorer 6. Turns out, it's a fucked up bug with CSS in IE6.
Hooray for getting things to work how they're god-damned supposed to. I'm going to have a beer and probably go to bed shortly after I finish it.
Ingredients:
1 cup rice
1 tbsp. Margarine
1 tbsp. Margarine
1/3 cup Tomato Sauce
1 can Beef Broth
1 can Diced Green Chiles
1/4 package frozen mixed vegetables
1/4 tsp. Onion Powder
1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
dash Cayenne Pepper
Melt first tablespoon of margarine in sauce pan. Walk away and mess around on the computer trying to find the 10/31/1996 Phish show (You know, the one where they played the Talking Head's Remain in Light album? That one was cool...) until you hear and smell margarine burning on stove. Wash sauce pan. Melt second tablespoon of rice in sauce pan. Add rice and stir until rice browns. Add tomato sauce and stir until it reduces a bit. Add rest of ingredients and stir while bringing to a boil. Cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed.
Serve with... Umm... How about refried beans and stale taco shells. That sound good? OK.
Well, some of the grass seed I put down last weekend is starting to come up. Not much, but it's in the biggest bare patch that really needed work. I just put more seed down, and we're getting the perfect amount of rain. Just light enough to moisten the soil, but not hard enough to wash the seed away. We'll see if I can actually have a nice lawn before winter kills it.
I got the toilet up and the medicine cabinet off in the bathroom. I'm going to do a bit of work on the sink, but I really need to get cleaned up and ready to head out for lunch. I think I may actually get the house cleaned up today. That would rock. It's been quite a long time since I've had the place presentable for company.
Well, back to it...
Looking for the Olsen Twins Nude? Why don't you go to this site... And stop coming here.
Be sure to take cover, Jessy!
Myself, I'll be out on the deck watching the show...
There's a song by Atom and his Package called I'm Downright Amazed At What I Can Destroy With Just A Hammer.
Well, I'm not quite that cool just yet. I still need a Reciprocating Saw and a good pry bar. Nevertheless, I'm very close to having my bathroom gutted. Destroying it is so fun, I'm not stopping with just the shower. I'm about to take the toilet out. Then I think I'll take down the medicine cabinet and start thinking about how to take out the vanity and sink. Before this is all done, I think I'm going to actually end up taking all the walls and the ceiling out of the bathroom.
I'm fairly certain that I'm going to have to replace the ceiling. I cut out a chunk of wall behind the shower. Now that it's gone, I can get a full size tub in there. But since that little cutout is gone, there's a patch of ceiling that needs to be at least patched, but the ceiling is discolored and cracked, so I figure that while I'm going to all this trouble, I may as well just replace the whole thing. That 70's looking clamshell sink needs to go too...
Originally I said I was going to gut the place and re-do it. I was half-joking at the time... I thought I'd just replace the shower. As I get further into it, I think I actually will do the whole thing... New lighting, new vanity, new medicine cabinet, new fixtures, new floor, walls and ceiling.
As a kid, I always liked to take things apart. I was just never too good at putting them back together. Perhaps this should have warned me against a career in engineering. Fortunately, I'm in the somewhat mushy field of software engineering, where you can take things apart and keep a pristene copy around in case you can't get it put back together.
Unfortunately, that doesn't apply with bathrooms. This is going to be quite a trial by fire, but as always, I'm learning quite a bit by taking it apart. The more I dismantle the bathroom, the easier I think it's going to be to put it back together. We'll see when I get there, though. Hopefully that'll be as soon as next weekend. Hell, maybe I'll even be there by this Sunday.
I'll keep you posted...
(By the way, did I mention I'm not too good at this whole computer thing? I really need to figure out what I'm doing wrong with inline images on the site. I messed with it a bit just now, and I wouldn't be surprised if I've broken the site in every browser other than the one I'm looking at it in right now. I'm going to try to fix things up right proper like this weekend.)
Hey, cool... The guys at mnfitu.cc have uncovered some new "Get Your War On" strips from The 80's. Rock on.
Well, it looks like we didn't get one. I was fooled by bad early reports that a bomb had been found and detonated...
The Buzz Aldrin assault was a fake.
I'm fairly certain I've linked this before, but since so many of you have been stumbling into this website looking for it, I'll link it once again.
Just in time for Halloween. At least, it seems that way from going to the grocery store across the street from my house...
While trying to go to the official HBO Sopranos site last night, I stumbled across an unofficial fan site. It had some news posted to it that I wish I hadn't read. I suppose it's possible that the news leaks were fakes, but I wish I hadn't read them at all. (I won't be repeating any of them about the show here, or linking to the site...)
One of the news stories said that the first three episodes of the new season were floating around the internet. I tried to locate them, but had no luck. I guess I'll just have to wait for the premiere this Sunday. Shortly after I gave up looking, I went to sleep.
Those bastards invaded my dreams.
I guess it's about time to clean up the backyard.
I'm getting tired of seeing the Alec Baldwin/Kim Bassinger/Ron Howard episode of The Simpsons in syndication every three weeks or so.
Well, it's racquetball night, but I'm still on the bench. You're lucky my camera's battery is dead or you'd be seeing a picture of my horribly bruised and discolored ankle in this space. It's very nice. From the outline of the bruising, I have an idea of exactly where I tore the tendon in the ankle. The human body: It sure is something, isn't it?
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the trash guys took all that tile and drywall I put out in the trash today. It was quite heavy, and I really didn't think they'd take it. I guess I should do some more tearing-up in the bathroom, but as usual, I'm feeling a bit lazy. I'll be heading out to buy the tub and some of that fancy bathroom drywall this Saturday or Sunday.
Sunday night, Wilco is going to be in town. I'm not sure if I'll go or not. I ought to... It's been a while since I've been to a show of any kind. Drums & Tuba is going to be in town in a couple of weeks, so maybe I'll just wait for that.
Lastly: Big Smith tie-dyes coming soon!
Voting trouble in Florida: Candidates may demand a recount.
Now I know it's called secession when a state decides to leave the union. What do you call it when the rest of us kick one out?
I posted a couple of days ago about one of my Fantasy Football site's "peak usage" program. They changed their agreement so you need to pay $3.95/month to access the site and update your team during morning or evening hours.
Well, I now have found the dumbest September 11th tribute on the internet:
Tomorrow, on the anniversary of 9/11/2001, there will be no Peak Usage restrictions on the site.....Sep 10 2002 6:51PM
Jeb Bush's daughter Noelle Bush found with drugs.
Hey, at least it's not crack...
Oh wait... It is crack.
Moron: "Hey Buzz! Buzz Aldrin! Did you really land on the moon?"
Buzz Aldrin: "Let me answer your question like this."
The ankle's much better now. I think I'll be ready to play on Monday. So feel free to start me in your Fantasy Racquetball leagues, if you need to.
I'm not going to read what I wrote last night. I've written that exact thing at least three times over the last year, and each time I've discarded it exactly because it is so damn incoherent. Even now, I guess I'm still very confused by the whole thing.
As close to a conclusion as I've come on the whole thing is this: Yes, I can admit that our government had a hand in creating those monsters. That still doesn't change the fact that they are monsters, and as Hitchens is fond of saying, only redoubles our obligation to overthrow the governments run by the ideology that allowed the attacks to happen.
Ok, so where are my individual post links on memepool? Yes, the Star Wars vs. Star Trek debate deserves taunting. Nevertheless... The Stormtrooper vs. Red Shirt Ensign battle is one with profound philosophical implications.
Can God create a Rock so large that He Himself cannot move it?
Talk amongst yourselves...
Thank God for The Sopranos starting up again this Sunday. About damn time.
What follows is a long rant that I started writing much earlier this evening, that I have not re-read at all. Beer lubricated the writing of said post, and I therefore make no claims as to the coherency of said post.
Enjoy?
One year ago tomorrow, I was on my way in to work. I listen to NPR's Morning Edition on my way in to work, and as I was on I-435 about to exit, they cut to news. Apparently a plane had hit the World Trade Center. Details were still sketchy but from the report it sounded to me like a single engine plane had hit. I pictured in my mind a Cessna tooling around Manhattan, making a mistake and running into the building. It sounded tragic, but these things happen I guess.
I guess they didn't really realize the gravity of the situation because they went back to normal programming for my drive down Metcalf to the Sprint Campus. I made it in to the garage and parked. There are TVs in my building next to the elevators on each floor. On my way in to the building, there was a small crowd of people gathered around the ground floor TV. I had heard about the Cessna that hit the WTC, so when I saw the smoking building, my only thought was that this was sad, but these things happen. I was somewhat upset with all the gawkers gathered around the TV. Morbid bastards.
So I got in the elevator and went to my desk. I checked my fantasy football scores and saw that I had won. I sent an email to all the folks in my league bragging about my win, and taunting Brian about his loss. One of the guys in my group asked me if I had heard what happenned. Yeah. It's really sad. But these things happen.
I think I was one of the last to know that something terrible had happenned. Finally I heard that a second plane had hit and started surfing the news sites like everybody else. By the time the first tower collapsed, I'm pretty sure that I knew that it was intentional. Still, I absolutely did not believe that the tower had collapsed. I was pissed off that CNN could be so sloppy as to report that the World Trade Center had collapsed when of course that was impossible. Those buildings are built better than that, right?
I don't think that I actually believed that the towers had collapsed until I went to the bathroom later in the morning. You have to walk past a TV on the way, and they were showing the collapses over and over.
Later that evening, I called everybody I know. My dad was in California, and wasn't able to get home for a couple of days. He and some friends of his rented a van and carpooled home. I think they dropped somebody off in Salt Lake City, my dad was dropped off in Chicago, and another co-worker continued on to Cleveland.
I wanted to enlist in the Marines. I expected a big war, and I expected a draft. I had no problem fighting and wanted to contribute however I could. That faded eventually. At this point, I wish I had enlisted.
Later, it got to be time to put things in perspective. I always liked Suck.com, and it was in early October that former Suck writer Heather Havrilesky started up her blog. I always loved her stuff, so I read her blog often. I noticed her links, so I followed through to Matt Welch's and Ken Layne's blogs. They were angry, pro-war, political blogs. Through them I found Instapundit. It became a daily read.
Back up a bit... Trying to find my mindset again shortly after the attacks. Of course, this was worse than the last WTC bombing and the embassy bombings in Africa. After those, Clinton lobbed off a couple of cruise missiles and called it a day. On some level, I still hold him somewhat responsible for the September 11 attacks for not dealing with Osama bin Laden earlier.
On the other hand, I was very, very scared. George W. certainly isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and I expected a war to begin within a week, and was expecting it was going to be haphazard and was going to be very, very bad. I was very surprised when the case was made for the war in Afghanistan, and pleasantly surprised at how methodical it was.
I remembered the Taliban from the Buddah statues. They blew up the centuries old statues of Buddah because they were false idols. I remember being pissed about that when that happenned. And those were the bastards that harbored the terrorists that had now hit us. OK, we need to take them out.
Back up a bit more. I used to read Chomsky. I don't think I've liked anything he's written since September 11, but he is absolutely correct in pointing out that American foriegn policy has been atrocious. Our country is based on freedom and democracy, but during the Cold War we supported horrible oppressive governments as long as they would oppose the Soviet Union. We supported Saddam Hussein, for God's sake. As much as people want to pooh-pooh the "root causes" argument, it is correct. Hopefully I'll get back to that.
Back to the War for a bit. I was happy that W's war seemed to be well planned, if only because it was so delayed. I was able to project exactly what I thought should happen on to what was going on. I was hoping that we would overthrow those religious extremists in Afghanistan, then sweep in with a Marshall Plan of sorts. Rebuild that country and show them how much better life can be under our system than under Islamic Fundamentalism. Because our system is better.
We knocked the Taliban down pretty quickly. Maybe the Marshall Plan is there and I don't see it, but I get the feeling that Bush is living up to his "no nation building" pledge. I think that's a big mistake. I think that we should have passed a multi-billion dollar aid package for Afghanistan and planted the seeds of our system there. At this point, I'm starting to think that that isn't in the cards.
Hamid Karzai was elected president of Afghanistan. I'm not sure I really believe that it was a fair election. I have no evidence whatsoever to back this up, but I have the feeling that we installed him. Better than the Taliban, yes. Unfotunately, probably likely to be seen as a tool of the US. If we're not helping to rebuild over there, he's not going to be accepted, and I do fear that we're going to end up in the quagmire that was predicted from the beginning.
Hell, we're still supporting Pakistani President Musharraf even though he's pushed elections back at least once (maybe more than that... I haven't been paying enough attention). I get the feeling that we're toppling unfriendly governments and installing governments that are going to be unpopular. The big thing is that we're not doing anything to help those governments become popular.
Of all the stuff I've read in the last year, I think my fears are best summed up in this article. The article is entitled "The Rise of Illiberal Democracy". It is not a post-September 11th article, but rather one from November of 1997. It poses this problem:
THE AMERICAN diplomat Richard Holbrooke pondered a problem on the eve of the September 1996 elections in Bosnia, which were meant to restore civic life to that ravaged country. "Suppose the election was declared free and fair," he said, and those elected are "racists, fascists, separatists, who are publicly opposed to [peace and reintegration]. That is the dilemma."
Decades of abhorrent American foriegn policy have earned us enemies around the world. When we espouse democracy and install puppet dictators, the people of the affected nations decide that democracy is the problem. When the puppet dictators inevitably fall, something has to take their place. Unfortunately, some of our worst support of puppet dictators has been in the Middle East. Islamic Fundamentalism has taken the place of our puppet dictators.
Now that I've gone off on a Chomsky-esque tangent here, let me turn it around a bit. OK. I feel like I understand what happenned that led to the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism. That does not change the fact that it is wrong.
I'm an atheist. In the absence of a moral code dictated by God, I've spent some time trying to figure out what the right thing to do is. I'm not sure that I've found it. I guess about all that I've come up with is that people should be free to do what makes them happy, so long as that doesn't infringe on anybody else's right to do what makes them happy. Boy, you can argue around that definition all day long. Does my right to smoke cigarettes infringe on your right to go see a band and be able to breathe clean air? I don't know. These are apparently the arguments we have in America. I'm glad that these are the arguments we have.
I'm glad, because we aren't still arguing over whether women should be able to go outdoors without their heads covered. We aren't even arguing over whether women should be able to have jobs. We have moved beyond that. And we are right to have done so.
Ummm.... What? Yeah... Overthrow the Islamic Fundamentalists.
So after all that crap, I close with the statement that Islamic Fundamentalism is Bad. Don't you ever let anybody tell you that Gimpysoft.com is afraid to stand up for a bold position. I go to sleep now.
Ted Rall, please stop drawing cartoons.
Looks like Perfect Dark 2 is going to be an XBox only game now. Sorry Game Cube folks...
Three years ago, the bastards at Dark Tick stole my soul with the most addictive game I've ever played, Reflex.
Well, now there's Reflex 2. Enjoy.
I had actually managed to get to sleep at a decent hour, then I woke up and needed to use the restroom. One step out of bed and I was reminded that I hurt my ankle earlier this evening. I was not able to get back to sleep. Add a fresh ice pack (which is now just about completely melted) and I'm numb again. Time to try to sleep again.
Two weeks back on racquetball after my partner's ankle recovered. What does that mean? Why, it means that it's time for me to hurt my ankle. I twisted it, but not as bad as the last time I did, and I at least had the sense to stop playing pretty quickly. I'm now at home with some ice on it, and hoping that I'll be good to go by Thursday. I'm not banking on it, though. It's pretty damn tender right now.
I guess it's time to read the blogs and watch a bit of football before getting to sleep. Hopefully I'll be able to walk tomorrow.
Mt. Fuji gives in to an uncharacteristic bout of braggadocio.
The worst part is, he isn't lying...
Good stuff from Christopher Hitchens on the war.
Stupid stuff from Common Dreams.
September 19th is International Talk Like A Pirate Day.
Back from the bar. They were serving "Packer Coladas", which I wasn't too interested in until I noticed that you get to keep the Packers pint glass. So I ordered one and endured the mediocre Pina Colada. I managed to hang on to the glass the whole time I was there, then I walked away without it. Maybe I can talk them into letting me have one next week.
Dang, that Green Bay game was was a squeaker. But they did pull it out. Now just about all that's left is the Texas Bowl.
So far today:
The Packers Won
The Vikings Lost
Now if Houston can beat the Cowboys, today will have been a perfect day.
The knot in my stomach, building since January, will be released in ninety minutes.
The Sterling Sharpe jersey I stole from my parents has come out of retirement in the back of my closet. (#84 is now rookie wide receiver Javon Walker.)
At this moment, my parents should be in the K-Mart parking lot across the street from Lambeau Field grilling Bratwurst and drinking Miller Genuine Draft.
I'll see you at Mulvaney's.
Let the games begin...
Listening to all these wacky jam bands has me spoiled. Now it pisses me off when I get into a band that won't tour. Come on Tortoise, get it in gear...
There's nothing like attempting to debug code in a language you don't know. Now where did I put that PHP book I bought a couple of years ago?
I feel like I should head out tonight, particularly since I didn't last night. I think I'm just feeling a bit too lazy tonight though... I guess I'm just not in the mood.
Tomorrow I'll be out at Mulvaney's to watch the Packers kick the crap out of the Falcons. That counts as going out, doesn't it?
Well, the bathroom is on its way to being gutted. I had to stop because I filled up all my trash cans with tile and drywall. It definitely needed it. By the time I got to the tile on the bottom, it was coming off with whole chunks of moldy rotten drywall. So gutting the place was the way to go. I should be able to finish tearing out the shower area next weekend (assuming that the trash guys will take my heavy trash cans full of tile.)
Once it's clear, I'll run to Home Depot and grab a tub, then I'll see if I'm going to have to replace the floor in there. I have a feeling I will need to do that. The shower was a little deeper than a tub is going to be. While at the Depot today, I saw a shower door that looks perfect, but it costs more than I was planning on spending. We'll see when I get that far along.
What scares me is my own laziness. I went ahead and pulled the tile because the longer I put off starting this project, the longer I knew it would take to finish up. So far, I don't really see anything coming up that I can't handle, but I'm a bit worried that I'll let it sit there in the state that it is currently in longer than I should.
I hear that bathrooms and kitchens almost always return what you invest in upgrades, and this bathroom certainly needed it. I'll try to get some pictures of the torn up bathroom up here later, but I think I need a beer right now.
OK, it's only 10:30 right now, and it's damn, damn, damn hot outside.
It's off to Home Depot to spend more money I don't have so I can get started on tile removal in my bathroom.
Well, now that my roommate is gone, it's time to get to some home repair. I think I'm going to get started tearing the tile out on my shower now that I can use the guest bathroom.
I'm just not sure whether I want to do that right now or go out and do something outside. It's supposed to be rather hot out today, and I kind of feel like I'm in the mood for some disc golf. Hmm... Well let me take a shower and think about it.
And just like that, I no longer have a roommate. Things are going to be pretty boring around here for a while. Too bad he didn't get much notice of the move and I wasn't able to throw a going away party.
Anybody need a room to rent in Kansas City?
I know many, many people who really don't like John Madden. I have nothing against the guy, and certainly prefer him to any of the on-air talent at CBS. I would have preferred if Dennis Miller had stayed on for Monday Night Football. But Madden isn't bad, and I'm not going to complain...
But they certainly shouldn't let him write a column for ESPN.com.
I don't think that the word "heckuva" should appear on the internet at all. Even Google tries to correct you if you use it...
Let's hear it for the beginning of the football season, and for intelligent sports commentary.
Do you make coffee in the office, or are you a scum-sucking freeloader who will leave a bunch of empty coffee pots if you take the last cup?
I'm too lazy to make a poll. Leave comments.
Ach! Ze goggles do nossing!
High cigarette taxes got you down? Check out Swiss company Yesmoke.com. The international cigarette distributor claims that they are set up as a duty-free store, and that customs doesn't collect duty on packages containing 200 cigarettes or less. If they do charge duty when you collect the package, you can refuse the package and Yesmoke will give you a refund. This results in carton prices of $13.95 for Camel Lights.
Sweet! They appear to have supply problems as they're sold out of just about everything. They do claim they're getting more today, though...
Or if you have a newly cleared back yard like me, you can order tobacco seeds and grow your own.
I feel somewhat petty bitching about this, but I've certainly never been above being petty on here before, so why start now.
I'm currently in two fantasy football leagues. I'm in a league at Yahoo with some friends from out of state and one at Sandbox with folks from work. Both fantasy football leagues were advertised as free. We registered, ran our draft, and have been anxiously awaiting the start of the season in both leagues.
Today, one day before the start of the season, Sandbox announced their new "Peak Hours" program. In order to access their site during "Peak Hours" (9AM-1PM, 6PM-9PM) you need to pay Sandbox $3.95 per month. Technically it's still a free service, but you can no longer make tweaks to your team before the games start. I don't think this will affect me too much since I'm used to having my roster set the night before games from the league I participated in last year.
But it does kind of suck. They advertised it as being free, and didn't mention their fees until the day before the season started. This is after we've coordinated a draft with ten people (not an easy task), yet at the same time not giving us enough time to relocate our league to another system.
Again, it kind of feels like complaining about not getting enough free ice cream, but it's almost more like signing a contract to only acquire ice cream from one free ice cream provider then having them say they only offer it free from November through January, you have to pay if you want ice cream any other time...
I will now end this post, secure in the knowledge that at least for the rest of this week, I will not post anything more petty or with a more incoherent simile.
I read the whole thing this weekend, so I never really got to show my hipster cred by listing it on my "Now Reading" bar, but I read Sarah Vowell's new book The Partly Cloudy Patriot this weekend. I like Sarah Vowell, so I liked this book. I liked it more than Take the Cannoli, mostly because I had heard almost none of the stories from Partly Cloudy Patriot before I read the book. That wasn't the case with Cannoli.
Too tired to write a review of any length right now, though. Enjoy your evening, folks...
These things fluctuate, so I'd better link to it while I can. According to Google, I am now the most popular Ryan Olson in the world.
Now it's time for me to take the title for just "Ryan".
I noticed the currently-in-development Burnt Ends weblog in my referrer logs a while ago, and I figured I'd give him a link before he's ready. Ha!
Welcome to the fold, sir or madam...
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