« March 2006 | Main | May 2006 »
Blogging will be light today because I'm pondering a very important question.
"If you ate out the Morton Salt Girl, would she taste salty?"
I'm sure there are people who could answer that question, but their either behind bars or not people I'd like to associate with.
Regular blogging will resume tomorrow.
(If you do one of these, feel free to use the Technorati tag of 10blogs to track others chasing the rabbit.)
Sometimes, I ask myself questions. Occasionally, I'll answer them.
As I've asked before, I ask it today once again. Today's question is "If I could only read ten blogs, which blogs would they be?"
This is not easy, since I've got a bloglines list of over two hundred feeds. However, many of them are just click-and-scan. Not really in-depth reading unless it's got a unique perspective on something, excellent cat photos, or a springboard for further discussion.
So I looked through my Bloglines subscriptions and started whittling them down as best as I could. The voices in my head asked me: "Which do I click through to read the entire article instead of just reading the headline and moving on?"
For a little perspective, here's the history of Ten and Only Ten:
10/7/2004 - First Round
1/21/2005 - Second Round
4/30/2005 - Third Round
7/31/2005 - Fourth Round
10/28/2005 - First Podcast Round
12/10/2005 - Fifth Round
You'll notice that IMAO drops off, despite it being a great site. that's because I never add any site that I'm an author on. This means that Meryl Yourish's site leaves the list as well.
Two slots open. Let's fill them, okay?
Once I get to 10, I'll be knocking sites off of the list. Every site on means one comes off. Feel free to campaign for a particular site or remind me that I've forgotten one of my favorites, and I'll have to ask myself "What other site would I stop reading to read this site?"
Here's the clincher: If I decline a site, I'll tell you why with no holds barred. No bullshit, no pulled punches, years of friendship or alliances laid to the bone and beyond to tell it like it is, right here and now. And if I think a site sucks, I'll give it both barrels and beat it with the shotgun's stock even after the coroner's bagged and tagged it.
Also, feel free to accuse me of kissing ass here, but if you get between me and my King Size supply of Chapstick, you're dead meat.
This is not an easy thing to do. You should try it yourself. You're more than welcome to do this meme on your own, but I demand that you properly credit the person who inspired you to do it...
All of the Happy Tree Friends episodes are up on their web site.
Pop some popcorn and get out some fresh barf bags.
Shire Network News is out for the week, and I didn't manage to get a Full Of Crap Report out in time...
Or did I?
This summary of connecting the various rail projects in Houston overlooked the train along the Crawford side of Minutemaid Stadium.
Maybe they consider the thing a cargo train, since it ships oranges a hundred feet back and forth only after home runs.
Good News: The United States has cut off ties with the Hamas-run government of the Palestinians and instructed its staff not to have contact with ministries controlled by Hamas members.
Bad News: They're going to do their damndest to cirumvent this meaningful step in the War On Terrorism by maintaining contacts with Mahmoud Abbas, the PLO, UNRWA, and every other proxy that has been set up to funnel goods and services to the enemies of civilization, religious tolerance, and freedom.
They have learned nothing from dealing with meaningless figurehead criminals like Ahmed Chalabi.
I still think that every time Bush wants to give the Palestinians money, he should be forced to hand it to them in cash. Personally.
I made some cheddar and garlic biscuits today, and they're just not complete without chopped chives and chive-butter.
So, I harvested some chives from the garden:
It's pretty darn cool being able to walk outside and chop up fresh herbs when I want to.
I think I'll be Miracle Gro watering all of the plants today. Once a week, rain or shine.
In the evenings, I listen to classical music on KUHF here in Houston. Normally I'll turn it on the radio, but I've gotten annoyed with the static from the terrestrial broadcast.
So I listen to the livestream of it instead. No static.
I also listen to jazz as well. Boston Pete Jazz is far better than the local commercial-filled jazz stations.
What streamed stations do you listen to?
This is the helicopter pad at KRIV 26, the Fox affiliate in Houston.
Helicopters aren't allowed to land there, though. Move up North by one screen and you'll see why.
They never got a variance for their choppers to land so close to the freeway.
Also, their tower wasn't originally built with a light. They painted it bright white, but that wasn't good enough. So they added a light at the last minute.
Every time I go by there, I chuckle at these two things.
Oh, and the bridge over the railroad tracks there on Westpark was the host of the soap box racers today. They block off Westpark between Newcastle and Weslayan to run them, and it's always fun to watch kids using gravity for peaceful purposes.
I posted a snarky comment on Mandela and Abbas on Meryl's site, mocking the caption of a photo of the two embracing. But there's more in common between these two than you'd think.
Desperate for a father-figure to suck up to since his best friend and terror-partner is buried six feet under in a parking lot in Ramallah, Mahmoud Abbas sucks up another fossil with sweet nothings:
"I am very honored to meet with our close friend, our spiritual leader, Nelson Mandela," he said beside the 87-year-old leader of the fight to bring down white minority rule in South Africa."We consider him as the father of all the liberation organisation movements in the world because he is the symbolic fighter for freedom for his people and for the people around the world."
The first person that comes to mind when I think "father of liberation movements around the world" would be Mahatma Gandhi, leading nonviolent resistance against British colonial rule in India, leading up to independence in 1947 and partition from Pakistan.
I'd also consider his to be inherently more spiritual in nature than Mandela, especially with seeking nonviolent resistance for both moral and religious reasons as opposed to jihadist armed struggle against government and civilian enemies.
Of course, Gandhi is dead, Abbas doesn't believe in nonviolent passive resistance himself, and he's looking for money anywhere he can get it.
Looking back on Nelson Mandela's true history instead of the whitewash turning him into a palatable icon and hero, he abandoned unarmed struggle against the apartheid regime for violent terrorist tactics in the late 50's and early 60's, raising money abroad for guns and training.
When he was caught, he spent 27 years in jail for the blood on his hands. Up to 1985, he was offered a release if he renounced violence and terrorism.
He didn't, and spent five more years in prison. Even when he was released, he still advocated armed struggle against apatheid.
So when you hear Abbas publicly renounce terrorism and deplore violence on both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, look to his heroes and inspiration for the real story.
Taylor Buchholz kicked some serious ass yesterday against the Royals.
And he managed to survive pathetically weak middle relief in the form of Fernando Nieve:
Nieve allowed four hits, three earned runs and two walks in 1 2-3 innings.
Garner put his on the 25-man roster, but I guarantee you that will change when Nieve pulls a few more stunts like that.
Okay, so Backe and Wandy are shaky. That'll change.
Morgan Ensberg lucked out with a freak homer. Does he have his stance and swing back, or is his hand still screwing him up?
Good to see that the Astros finally have a backup catcher that can hit. Some folks are weeping at Chavez's departure, but Chavez and Quintero both couldn't hit over .200 reliably.
After all the controvery over the stupid 1836 name, did you know that the MLS team in Houston plays today?
Like I'm going to head down to Robertson Stadium on a weekend. Might as well just pull up to the pump, dowse myself with gasoline, and light a match.
I think it's going to be on the Fox Sports Southwest feed. Not sure.
I went to the grocery store yesterday. I'd have walked both ways, there and back, but there was a soap box derby run on the Westpark overpass and I decided that using the 9 would work if I timed it right.
I timed it right. Not much of a delay, easily filled with a few phone calls and text messages.
Anyway, I picked up stuff for grilling tonight, but I didn't pick up eggs for potato pancakes this morning.
The mix needs two eggs. There were two eggs in the fridge. Seems simple, right?
Well, one of the eggs had a huge crack in it this morning. Can't use it, not about to try after my last experience with an unusual egg (shitting blood for two days).
Normally, I'd have to go all the way back to the grocery store, but the corner store here has eggs and other things.
Sure, Kwikeemart eggs might be of dubious origin and quality, but they're eggs
It's a rather quiet day here. Just sitting and relaxing in the sun as Nardo jumps up to the fence and then into the wild for the lizards.
I've got one of the wireless cams up on the fence and the other pointed out at the gate. I need to remember to put out catnip tomorrow morning to attract the neighborhood cats, even though it's a rainy forecast for Monday.
Here's Frisky in his favorite spot with his favorite toys.
Every now and then, Nardo wanders by to chew on a rainbow. Frisky growls at him, although I think it's just because Nardo's a mean bully and not because he's angry that his rainbows are being messed with.
Labor is pushing President Katsav to ask Amir Peretz to form the government, not Olmert of Kadima.
The big question is how quickly will Shimon Peres jump ship and return to Labor if offered a Deputy Prime Minister figurehead role or the Foreign Ministry portfolio.
Sure, I run my own photo gallery software, but I really ought to consider joining the "online photo community" out there.
Nardo comes in for a landing:
So, what Flickr groups are good for feline photographers?
I thought about going to see Ice Age 2 this weekend. I really liked the first Ice Age, and I've heard good things about the second one.
Then I thought it through. I'd really rather drink lemon iced tea while watching the movie, or perhaps a glass of dry red wine. No diet Coke for me. (And I prefer Diet Dr. Pepper to Diet Coke, all things considered)
As for popcorn, I'd like it topped with shredded gouda or havarti or cheddar or parmesan reggiano. It's annoying smuggling in parmesan each time. And olive-oil popped instead of movie theater butter popped tastes better.
My couch is much more comfy than a movie theater seat. Sure, the sound's not as good, nor is the screen resolution, but my eyes and ears aren't under warranty anymore, either.
Then there's the walk to the theater and back. And all the kids and familes in the theater making noise in that theater.
What? I'm missing out on points at the theater? Best Buy has loyalty bonuses that are about as worthwhile.
I think I'll wait for it to come out on DVD.
I've got halibut, asparagus, stuffed jalapenos (almonds and cheddar, cave-aged edam, and dill havarti), and an assortment of skewers with whatever marinades were handy on the shelf.
I think the halibut was in sesame ginger glaze, the veggies were in the sesame ginger and a sweet brown sugar bbq sauce and the usual balsamic blend. The asparagus gets olive oil and salt and blackened seasoning, which means I can't remember where I put the mustard-based glaze recipe for those things. Gotta stick that in the recipes blog, darnit.
I think zuchinni and yellow squash will now be a regular part of the assortment of veggies I grill. I also chopped up various types of onions... red, yellow and white. Tired of just having red around.
Oh, and there's shrimp. Wait... the shrimp was in the sesame-ginger stuff. Maybe the halibut was in the mesquite stuff along with some veggies?
As you can see, organization and lebeling is not my strong point. Nor does it worry me much. It all tastes good.
By the way, something to think about with the 22-inch kettle is that the flap-ends of the grate make it a little less easy to clean than the normal grate. Unless you're in the habit of needing to add coals or other stuff while cooking, that feature is a bit of a pain.
Yeah, there's more skewers here than I can possibly imagine cooking all at once. I guess I know what's for dinner tomorrow night. And the night after that...
Cooking so much outside, it's a wonder how the kitchen gets messy at all.
Reading through this post by Mobius at Jewschool on the view of the Minutemen:
Right-wing blogger, columnist and Fox News analyst Michelle Malkin has recently been going to bat for the Minuteman Project, a self-described “citizens’ Neighborhood Watch on our border,†which has conferred itself with the authority to secure the US’s southern border from infiltration by illegal immigrants. Well-known to be overrun by White separatists, Klansmen and Neo-Nazis — as is thoroughly documented in photographs and testimony — one of the organization’s members, James Chase, founder of California Border Watch, broke ranks with The Minutemen earlier this year citing its domination by racist extremists.
I've long contended that the KKK is an unapologetic hate-group, but they could learn a thing or two from Hamas and Fateh by hoodwinking the media into believing they had moderated their militant extremist views by participating in the unarmed surveilance and spotting mission of Minutemen to protect the southern border of this country.
Perhaps if I were a vapid Pollyana apologist idiot like Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter, I'd say that their participating in this effort to assist law enforcement will have a moderating influence on their own policies when they pick up their hoods and crosses.
Strange. Neither Bill Clinton nor Jimmy Carter think such a thing would happen within the Minutemen, let alone support the Minutemen's right to lawfully aid and assist law enforcement patrol and manage the border. And they're certainly not doing it in a closed, furtive way.
I wonder why Biubba and Jimmah keep thinking "moderating influences" will happen with the international community and Israel treating Hamas as some kind of sterile political entity in charge of the Palestinian Authority without factoring in their long-term genocidal Islamist rejectionist goals.
Israel is planning on gathering up all the gas masks that they distributed before Gulf War #2 because Saddam had threatened repeatedly to shower Israel with chemical weapons in Scud warheads.
Do you remember where your gas mask is? Israelis who do not remember where they put their government issued gas masks will have to start looking for them soon, with the Defense Ministry set to issue a tender Monday for collecting the masks from residents' homes. The tender will be issued following endless delays and discussions, as the Defense Ministry prepares to finally collect the masks, three years after the opening of the war in Iraq.
If you're worried about not having a gas mask around, Israelis, perhaps you can settle for one provided by Logitech:
Of course, this will only protect you from Logitech-supplied chermical weapons.
It's time once again for the Carnival of the Cats, and Life - Florida - Whatever rounds things up for the 106th episode.
I'll go through all the posts and see who wants to be added to the banner in a bit.
As for who's currently in the banner, I'd better tally up the clicks and see who made it as Catmodel of the Week this time around...
Three cheers for Yankee of Josh's weblog!
I was playing with the Skype indicator and a few other things today when I got a call from Zionaussie Dave and Mrs. Zionaussie Dave and Brand New Zionaussie Baby (aka "Agent Zach").
We tinkered a bit with the cameras, and I got to see them and their wonderful baby while they suffered through closeup shots of Piper and Nardo being most cat-like.
I've put an indicator in the sidebar of the main page to let folks know when I'm online with Skype, although it makes more sense for me to set up indicators for AOL, MSN, and Yahoo because those are the ones that I can connected to from both home and work.
Are there web indicators for all those things and GTalk too? It would be neat to do something with that on my Laurence IFOC page.
Oh, and during the conversation, I hear "I want a cat...." and I know my mission has been accomplished.
Heh.
Well, the good news is that the mini-cam that was once pointed at the rocking chair has been replaced by the Logitech Orbit camera, so now I can steer both the camera and the missiles remotely.
Got some classics from yesterday in the archives:
The bad news is that I aimed the toycam wrong last night, the HP camera is out of focus, and the screen door is in the way of the Sony wireless.
Problems easily rectified for tomorrow.
Maybe in a year, I'll build some kind of Mindstorms robot and have it putter around fixing things like that.
Yet another congested mess on 59 this morning as the already-late 9 turned on to the freeway to get Downtown.
It was faster when it used Richmond. It should still use Richmond while the contractor finishes up the walls and then opens up the rightmost lane.
I still don't understand why it backs up like it does. Once you get past the spur ramp, the traffic is completely absent on both the spur and the freeway leading up to the Pierce.
Who cares what I think about Houston Dynamo winning their opening match? It's time for a new feature of TBIFOC called Ask The Cats!
What do you think about Houston Dynamo winning their opening match?
 Piper: What? They haven't gone bankrupt and left town yet? |  Nardo: They don't sell catnip at Robertson Stadium, so I watch it at home. Mmmmmm... catnip... |
 Frisky: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ |  Rafe: What's soccer? |
 KT: They should have me play. See, I'm a real dynamo! | does your cat think? |
Thank you, kittycats.
Does your cat have an opinion on the subject? Then send the following to askthecats (at) isfullofcrap.com:
And you'll see them up here with the rest of the kittycats!
When the 18-inch Weber goes away, the 22-inch Weber should recess further into the jasmine vines nicely.
I managed to give the plants a good watering today before heading to the bus stop. The forecast was calling for heavy showers at some point, but you know how it is around here. One day, you're facing a Category 5 hurricane, the next day comes and you're living in a very dry and slightly windy ghost town.
Tomer Israeli has finally built The Basic Israeli Website. Hooray!
Okay, so it's not much to look at yet, but I'm sure Tomer will have it humming with all sorts of features and such soon. And working links. And... um...
Not to change the subject, but I've been pondering a rework of my own 100 word stories podcast, although would there be any point to adding comments and such there when nobody's really reviewing it on Podcast Pickle and Podcast Alley and other boards?
I've also got a large spindle of blank CDs that wouldn't mind getting burnt with the collected 100 word stories recorded so far. There's over 500 of them from me, Tomer, Andrew Ian Dodge, his main squeeze Kim, Jim S. the Folderman, and a few other hidden guests. Would anybody be interested in buying them? Or should I just offer them for free with SASE's?
Customer asks for additional IP addresses.
We give them to him.
He then replies via email that he only got 2, wants 8 more.
I check the original request. He only asked for 2. So he got 2. If he wants more, he needs to request more.
So, I tell him that he'll have to go back into the member's area website to request the additional 8, be aware that there will be fees involved, etc.
He then relies asking where that member's area site is. Needs the URL.
Excuse me? (Tex Avery wildtake) You were just there when you requested the first 2 IP addresses?
Have you been struck with a tire iron or a large block of wood since then, blanking your memory? Is your name freaking Leonard Shelby?
Here I was, thinking I'd be flooded by a flood of geniuses whining that their sites vanishes when the nameservers got unplugged Friday night, but instead I'm dealing with a different strain of the Genius virus.
(Via Drudge)
I've been thinking about Richard Huff's perspective on Katie Couric as a well-dressed, highly-paid teleprompter reader at CBS, and after much thought and dipping back into my limited experience with anchor-chatshow-correspondent-interviewer transformations...
I still won't watch. Even if I get home in time, I've got better things to do that sit for half-an-hour listening to an evening newscast summary (I don't watch, since I'm puttering around cleaning litterboxes, watering the plants, baking bread, and doing other things).
If you watch an evening newscast with a stopwatch and a clipboard, there's more non-news content than news content. Commercials, teasers, graphics, intros, promos for other programs, and outtros are a lot of cereal filler in that hot dog, and there's more non-news content being added every day.
Does a news piece with a SWOOSH sound and a fancy transition with a globe showing you where Johnny X is help explain things? Or does it just scare the fish?
And I think we can agree that we as a viewing public have seen what passes for an inspection/oversight process when it comes to CBS News, never mind the fact that there are now choicer and leaner cuts of meat out there in the marketplace.
Will Katie take on Dan Rather's old role as Managing Editor? Can she do it based on Today Show experience assembling chatshows and interviews? Are the issues the same with a morning chatshow and an evening newscast format? Or will CBS need Bob Schieffer to handle that role as an actual veteran journalist who has managed newscasts for decades?
Then there's the producers, crew, and managers behind the scenes, not to mention all the correspondents and editors. Swapping out a figurehead doesn't plug the hole in the hull, and switching the person at the wheel doesn't fix a broken rudder. Putting Bob Schieffer's face or Katie Couric's face on the package isn't going to change what's inside of it all that much no matter how much mustard, ketchup, relish, or wasabi gets slathered on it when you finally cook it.
It's been a slow day here slogging through a backlog of messages, so amuse yourselves elsewhere for a moment:
Prostate cancer in rats due to barbecue? Finaly, someone in the comments notices ABC's mistake.
Saudi women get equal rights by mutilating themselves through drastic surgery. Joan Rivers has no comment.
Catcall ponders Opening Day for cats.
By the time you get back, I'll still be monkeying with the catcam. Camera Assistant is acting weird. Although I did get to watch Frisky in the doorway wondering why Nardo was being a goodball.
Well, it looks like Roger Clemens will be playing coy with retirement talk in Arlington.
That's right. He's at Texas Rangers' Opening Day instead of the Houston Astros' Opening Day.
Clemens plans to be in Houston on Tuesday night when the Astros honor the last year's NL championship team.
Gee, thanks, Roger. So glad you can fit the fans into your busy almost-retirement.
I guess this means that my Who Screwed Roger Clemens Bingo fgeature from last year is toast.
So instead, we'll play Who Gets Sent To Round Rock First?
Brad Ausmus
Brandon Backe
Lance Berkman
Craig Biggio
Eric Bruntlett
Taylor Buchholz
Chris Burke
Morgan Ensberg
Adam Everett
Mike Gallo
Mike Lamb
Jason Lane
Brad Lidge
Trever Miller
Eric Munson
Fernando Nieve
Roy Oswalt
Orlando Palmeiro
Andy Pettitte
Chad Qualls
Wandy RodrÃguez
Russ Springer
Willy Taveras
Dan Wheeler
Preston Wilson
Which player gets sent down to the minors first? Put your predictions in the comments.
After shrieking that the Israelis didn't clean up after leaving Gaza, hundreds of Palestinian "mourners" fire their guns in the air and spread shell casings all over the countryside...
Or maybe they think they work like seeds, growing into Bullet Trees come harvest time?
Two teenagers tried to cut holes in the security fence near Northern Jerusalem.
Try to guess what happened next.
Don't let the stats fool you. The Astros did not win this one 1 to 0.
Roy O and Craig Biggio won this one 1 to 0 with the help of crappy relief pitching on the part of Florida.
Ensberg was the ultimate limp-dick with LOB's as well as watching an easy snag and toss.
Lidge was Load Em Up Lidge with a walk and relying on a double play to save his sorry ass. And the double-play was courtesy of a lucky snag by Adam tossed to... Biggio! Who threw it to Berkman for the pick, which Bagwell would have never gotten in his crippled state.
Watch for Ausmus to ride the bench this week in place of a hot Munson.
Preston Wilson had better heat up fast, or Burke will become the starter and Wilson will be an expensive strikeout factory mistake.
And hearing the news, so am I.
Sayonara, you crooked bug-killing fuck.
Carlos Beltran went 0 for 4 and stranded 4.
All things considered, I'd rather have Willy.
Leading off, sure, but eventually Garner will wise up.
Right?
At least Ray Nagin has the decency to shave his head.
I left my wallet on the table, so I had to head back and grab it.
I went back out at 6:46, knowing I could just make it if the bus were on time at 6:50...
I saw the 9 barreling down Westpark hell bent for leather, early as usual.
Fuck.
When I take a later 9, I miss the connecting 102 and have to wait 30 minutes for the next one. And that driver wastes another 10 minutes getting coffee at a gas station during his route, probably to calm his nerves after two or three swerves on 45 on the way North.
Late to work.
Whatever. got some reading done, a few adjustments to this filter I'm working on.
All six cameras appear to be working fine this morning. Thanks to the screwover by METRO, I had plenty of time to shave myself as well as get things set up right.
I even remembered to aim the Orbit, aim the toycam, focus the HP camera, and close the screen door so the Sony has a clear view.
How can I forgot to aim the toycam when classics like this are for the viewing:
I'm still not happy with how I've got the Hawking set. up Color's just completely washed-out:
I'll play with the settings a bit tonight when it's close to dinnertime.
If Drayton's thinking about retiring Roger Clemens' number for two seasons of play, then he should immediately retire JR Richard's #50 as well.
Last night was the second time in a row we went to Kennealy's and they didn't have Guinness on tap.
I settled for Harp and Bass, but there's just something about corned beef pizza so thin I can cut my wrists with it and Irish nachos with Guinness.
Maybe next time.
I need to remember to stop by Houston Garden Center on the way home and pick up a few jalapeno plants.
We went with seedlings this year, just to see if they'd come up any better than partially-grown plants.
Well, two have thrived, and four havent. In fact, one went completely limp after the last watering and I've got plenty of drainage in the pot.
No problems with the habaneros. They're doing gangbusters, growing their broad leaves quickly.
Chili peppers and serranos doing fine. Both bell pepper varieties are growing nicely. Even the poblano's growing up, even though at some point it will fail to produce any peppers.
Even the Cilantro Survivor Pot is doing great. We've got a few spare pots available if I want to spread things out a bit, even though there's not much room for them.
Bob suggested some sturdy shelving units that could raise things up a bit, but even though we never open that particular window they'd cover, that's taking things a bit too far.
I'm still tempted to pick up some more solar-powered lanterns. We have plenty. Must resist.
There is a new online Museum of Houston being built up by various institutions in town...
This online museum is a cooperative effort among Houston's leading educational institutions, cultural organizations and public archives to create a digital storehouse of diverse materials relating to Houston's rich and colorful past. As the museum develops, collections that major research institutions have taken decades to assemble will be available at the click of a mouse.Houston's public and private archives contain a treasure trove of information, but concerns about safety and security often mean these materials are not available for wide use. Thanks to recent technological innovations, the Internet offers real promise for making historic resources accessible to the largest possible audience, while preserving and protecting irreplaceable documents and artifacts. By providing broad public access to digitized materials, the Museum of Houston will allow you to conduct individualized searches at your convenience without requiring extensive visits to several different locations.
It's good that Houston is finally getting serious about archiving its historical resources instead of knocking them down to widen freeways or throw up more strip-malls and stadiums, but here's an even more important question: Why is the domain museumofhouston.org instead of houston.museum?
Why the flying hell are you still here? Did you hear the alarms?
"Only Nixon could go to China" may need an update.
Nardo gave me one hell of a scare yesterday evening.
Cynthia McKinney shows Isaac Hayes a good time for free while giving taxpayers the Shaft.
I've crossposted the Houston.Museum rant to Houston Metroblogging so I can pretend to be a part of the metroblogging community there. The past week was a mailbox flurry of "should we political" whines and if they want to open that door, well, I've got an ass-load of political and snark just waiting to explode with all the IFOC madness and slant with half of the accuracy.
When you get back, be sure to check in. Don't want to lose anyone in the process of evacuation.
KTRH is promoting a contest where Allen Samuels Dodge gives away a Dodge Viper for Astros triple plays.
Is that triple plays they turn against their opponents, or triple plays they hit into?
Enter the KTRH "Triple Play Viper Giveaway," and you could win these hot wheels from Allen Samuels Dodge!We'll draw an fan's name prior to the start of every Astros game this season. If it's you, and the Astros turn a triple play during that game, you win the sexy black Dodge Viper convertable instantly!!
If there's no triple play, all qualifying entries will be eligible to win the Viper in a drawing at the end of the season!
Okay, it's the ones they turn against the opponents.
At least when Ensberg and Lane hit into triple plays, they wouldn't leave any goddamned batters stranded.
Fateh may have handed Hamas a pig in a poke:
The Hamas-led Palestinian government is running into financial problems one week after taking office and could face crippling shortfalls as early as next month, Western diplomats and Palestinian officials said.A top official in the Hamas government said it had yet to secure promised funds from some donors needed to pay March salaries on time to 140,000 Palestinian Authority workers.
Western diplomats and Israeli officials said the Palestinian Authority also did not appear to have any foreign reserves to pay April salaries next month in the face of a campaign by Washington to isolate the Islamic militant group.
Officials said one of the few options left open to Hamas would be to try to tap a key investment fund that was initially set up to combat corruption within the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestine Investment Fund, which PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's office took control of after Hamas's election victory, had an estimated value of $1.3 billion at the end of 2005.
But Palestinian officials said it may now be worth closer to $1 billion and only a fraction of that - between $200 million and $400 million - could be used to help pay salaries, enough for one-and-a-half to three months.
"For all intents and purposes, this is the bottom of the barrel," a senior Palestinian official said.
Just as when life hands you lemons you make lemonade, there's an old Palestinian proverb: "When you're at the bottom of the barrel, fill it with explosives and roll it at Jews."
There have been lots of pledges from the usual suspects In the Islamic and Appeasement Worlds, but no cold hard cash, it seems.
So, who will be the first to blink and whip out their checkbook? Bush? Condi? Chirac? Iran? Saudi Arabia? Ted Turner?
Every now and then, I check the search logs...
8 minutes ago 67.10.129.16 Search: query for 'kim jackson'
10 minutes ago 67.10.129.16 Search: query for 'jackson'
11 minutes ago 67.10.129.16 Search: query for 'jackson'
11 minutes ago 67.10.129.16 Search: query for 'nordt'
13 minutes ago 67.10.129.16 Search: query for 'duncan'
15 minutes ago 67.10.129.16 Search: query for 'nelson'
19 minutes ago 67.10.129.16 Search: query for 'ktrk'
19 minutes ago 67.10.129.16 Search: query for 'minerva'
So was this Minerva, Don, Debra, Kim, or some other mystery person sniffing around?
If you really want a post about Minerva, here ya go:
That's SarahK's cat Minerva.
Isn't she a pretty kitty?
I've been pondering the whole French youth jobs riots thing, and I've come to the following conclusion: Houston Police Department Chief Harold Hurtt should go to Paris and recruit a bunch of these young whippersnappers.
The only downside I can see is that they're a bunch of reckless lawbreaking hooligan thugs. But given HPD's reputation over the years, both on the streets and in the Crime Lab, this might actually be an improvement.
Good idea?
After saying he's been invited to China, now Mahmoud Zahar's passing to notes to Kofi Annan telling him all the buzzwords he wants to hear about two-state solution, neighbors, peace, resolutions... well... sort of...
I'm looking for a copy of the entire letter. Anyone have it?
Until then, it's easy to see where the AFP stumbles over itself to see things that really aren't there. For instance:
"We are looking for freedom and independence side by side with our neighbours and we are ready for serious discussions with the quartet," said a copy of the letter to UN chief Kofi Annan.
Neighbors = Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria.
Zahar/Hamas doesn't recognize Israel's right to exist, so they aren't considered neighbors. They are considered occupiers to be removed.
"We look forward to living in peace and security, as all countries in the world, and that our people enjoy freedom and independence side-by-side with all our neighbours in this holy place," the text added.
Once again, "all the countries in the world" does not include Israel according to Zahar/Hamas. And the "place" is only holy to Muslims, according to Hamas. There is no recognition of Christian or Jewish claims to their own holy places.
"Israeli procedures in the occupied territories will put an end to all hopes to reach a final settlement based on the two-state solution," it said.
No mention of the fact that Hamas doesn't actually support the so-called two-state solution. Just saying that all hopes for it are ended. France, Bush, the UN, and others may hope for it, but not Hamas. When it comes to "final settlement" that's a one-state solution of Palestine, although Hamas/Zahar really just want Israel destroyed and the Jews driven out. They don't quite know what they want after than, even if they dangle the concept of "Palestine" in front of their followers and future suicide bombers and fighters.
"Our government is ready for serious discussions and to work with the United Nations and with the entire international community to strengthen security, sovereignty, peace and independence in our region based on just resolutions."
"Just" resolutions is the qualifier here. Hamas/Zahar doesn't recognize any that call for the establishment of Israel... just the ones that condemn Israel for any action it takes to defend itself.
And security, sovereignty, peace, and independence don't apply to Israel in Hamas/Zahar's view. Just to the Palestinians, even though they're not sure what comes after the destruction of Israel or how to manage the entity that comes next.
Once again, where's the original letter? I'd like to see what contortions and deceptive edition AFP has put it through to come up with this smokescreen-for-terrorists garbage.
Thanks to the miracle of technology, I can see who's in my chair:
To this day, I have yet to find Frisky in my chair. He's been in the rocking chair, but not my chair.
Via Washington Post:
Television analyst Andrew Tyndall said the anchor job has two parts: reading the teleprompter and "sitting behind the desk when there's a crisis." Couric, he said, "is very good at doing live television" and "competent" as a news reader, although not as good as Schieffer.
This completely ignores the job of Managing Editor, which Dan Rather used to steer the newscast to reflect his political views and agenda. (Brokaw, Jennings, and Rather were all Managing Editor and Anchor of their respective network evening newscasts.)
Looking at this credits list, I don't see any mention of a Managing Editor.
Any well-groomed monkey in a suit can read a teleprompter. Offer Lancelot Link sixteen megabucks in bananas, and you're got yourself one hell of an anchor.
Tell me who's got final call on what goes into it.
Yeah, I couldn't resist:
Israeli soldiers clean the barrel of a mobile artillery unit after firing shells towards the Gaza Strip from its position near Kibbutz Nahal Oz April 4, 2006. Israeli missiles hit a Palestinian security compound in Gaza on Tuesday, the first such air strike in two years, and Israeli shells killed a Palestinian in the north of the strip after rocket attacks on the Jewish state. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Forget blowtorches. Real men use bris-knives.
Who cares what I think about Katie Couric going to CBS to anchor the evening news and join 60 Minutes? It's time for a new feature of TBIFOC called Ask The Cats!
What do you think about Katie Couric going to CBS to anchor the evening news and join 60 Minutes?
 Frisky: They should have hired me. I don't |