Month: February 2003

As you
can see, I have once again posted a picture of a can of Campbell’s
Cream of Mushroom soup. As you know, Bob, this is the traditional
Internet symbol indicating that the proprietor of the weblog is too
busy with pressing deadlines to update his site, according to Mark Evanier.
Whenever you see it, you know that though he’s swamped, he’ll be back
in a day or three — or sooner, if events warrant — and that he’ll
resume posting, just as soon as he gets his work schedule under
control.
And when I get a chance to post again… ooo, you’ll have some neat
things to look at.

From an editorial in the London Sun:

The truth is that all the world – including France – recognises that
Saddam Hussein must be dealt with. But only the French President seems
determined to frustrate the will of the international community.
Oh really? Just out of curiosity, how many UN Security Council Vetos
have been cast in the last dozen years by the United States? Answer here. Seems we do a lot more to “frustrate the will of the international community” than those lousy French folks, oui?

Wired News notes:

Fifty-year-old Michael Lekara Wayid, Nigeria’s consul in the Czech
Republic, was shot dead by an unidentified 72-year-old Czech at the
Nigerian Embassy in Prague on Wednesday. According to police reports,
the suspect was a victim of the 419 scam, a thriving industry that
employs thousands of people around the world. The scammers successfully
manage to extort money from thousands of victims by promising them
compensation for assistance in moving funds from foreign countries to
banks in the United States.

The criminals typically make their money by extracting
ever-escalating sums of money for bribes, bank fees and the like from
their “business partners,” that is, the folks they scam. But according
to early reports in Nigerian and Czech newspapers, the gunman’s bank
account was drained after he gave the account number and other personal
details to someone posing as a senior Nigerian official.

Peter David’s been telling for weeks to watch this week’s Twilight Zone because of the sequel to “It’s A Good Life”. While there’s some heavy discussion over there
(including a cameo blog appearance by Bill Mumy) I’m actually more
interested by the second half of the episode, a remake of “The Monsters
Are Due On Maple Street.”
Only now it’s “The Monsters Are On Maple Street”.
Same basic plot, one “minor” change– the focus is on “terrorists”.

And it’s scary as hell to watch because it’s all too plausible.

If you can catch the west coast feed, do so. If not, they’ll be rerunning it on Tuesday, March 18th.

…we’ll go through the mines of Moria. Are you happy now?

Oh look, a statistic that can be used as a bludgeon by both the vast left-wing and right-wing conspiracies…

More statistics show that people working in the media are more
likely to lie than any other profession – with an output of between two
and five lies a day for nine out of every 10 of them.

Of course, I read this on a newspaper’s web site, so can I really believe it?

More: The
total of 46% of men who admitted to at least one fib a day is dwarfed
by the 79% of women owning up – and what’s more the men were prepared
to concede that this was one skill that women were better at, with many
reporting that their female partner lied to them on a regular basis.
You still have to wonder if all this simply boils down to women being
more truthful about lying.

My god, how can Dave Atell do this and look so damn cool?

Oh, that’s right. Prodigious editing.

In only the space of two short years this reckless and arrogant
Administration has initiated policies which may reap disastrous
consequences for years.

Robert Byrd speaks
on the Senate floor, and it’s a joy to behold. Shame the topic is so
depressing…

Dave Barry:
JUST A THOUGHT: What if, for the past year or so, terrorists, working
in U.S. factories, have been putting lethal biochemical agents on… duct tape?

Still not posting as regularly as I might like, only because there are
too many things to do and to discuss some of the things I want to
require more time to spell out than I might like.
Therefore, I end up posting odd things like this in the odd hours when
even odds should have me odding off. Or nodding off, even.
Of course, occasionally, the sleep deprivation does lead to insights.
Like this one:
Why does my iron have a setting for permanent press?When
I re-read this post in the morning, perhaps I’ll have an answer. If
not, I will have added to my collection of great mysteries of life.