Monthly Archives: September 2003

Go Cubs!

Well, the baseball postseason has started, which means I now spend a lot of time glued to the television. Thus far, the Yankees have dropped one; which is a nice start to things. But we’ve got the Twins, and probably the Red Sox if necessary, to take care of that unpleasantness. Right now, its time to focus on the Cubs taking a long shot at winning the National League. Yeah, I’m probably dreaming but its fun to watch.

UPDATE: Cubs Win! And I tell you, if all their games are that tense, I’m gonna need a cardiologist. Geez.

If you want access to course material from a prestigious university, MIT has made them all available online at their CourseWare site.

Apparently I’ve been labelled a pacifist amongst other things

The Galva News has an article about the local National Guard unit being shipped out soon. In it, my brother Tom is interviewed about the situation (by the by, if someone could send that to me I’d appreciate it). Anyways, we’ve known about it for a few months but did not know what we could say or not. I’ve had a lot of time to think about it since then and you should probably all be able to infer that while I don’t think our country got into Iraq on the best of international terms, I also do not think that leaving that place in total chaos is the answer either. So, should any of you choose to make some impassioned plea with me to get into line and shut up about questioning our government, kindly take a moment to realize that a) I have thought about it, b) I do have a history degree and am fully capable of taking the long view of recent events, and c) my brother is getting sent over to get shot at. Yes, I actually had a conversation tonight whereupon my patriotism and objectivity were questioned. I don’t appreciate either suggestion and will stop venting about it now.

More signs that we have a long way to go with race relations in Texas. Hey, this time they were acting on orders from some national outfit. Well-intentioned perhaps, but way out of line.

In sports, if you have been following baseball at all, you might realize that I am so completely torn right now. I have some kind of genetic affinity for being a Cubs fan (thanks Dad), though I managed to learn to follow the Astros from when I was a kid living in Pasadena. Both are vying for a post-season spot and only one of them is likely to go to the playoffs. I figure if the Cubs go, I can then hope for the impossible: a seven-game Cubs-Red Sox series which would likely be an event so improbable the planet would tilt on its axis and it would stop being 100 degrees every day here in Vegas.

And yes, Japan now has Hello Kitty taxis. I’ve been meaning to link this for a few days now, but I think it speaks volumes about how different that country is from the US. Having been there, I can imagine how cute and yet sickening those things must be to look at. Face it, our taxis are no fun here.

Last, but not least, this link takes you to the MC Hawking site. Yeah, basically some software developer decided that the concept of uber-genius Stephen Hawking singing a pack of science-ish rap covers could make him money. I don’t know whether to laugh hysterically or just shake my head in shame for our species.

What the heck are they thinking?

Yes, its another episode of really stupid people and ideas.

Here’s the one toy NO kid wants for Christmas; doesn’t mean their parents won’t try to get it for them. I’m going to just gloss over the fact that the only reason this guy knows how to fly a plane was because he was avoiding active military duty during Vietnam. Let’s just focus on the ridiculous notion that piloting a plane in the air over a totally clear sky does NOT make you a hero or worthy of an action figure. How about we go the REALLY morose route of making action figures for each of the guys dying for the war he gleefully pursued? Would that be enough to fill someone’s incessant need to make a profit off of this? The worst part? Its on back order. Idiots.

Another potentially racist moron in Texas. No, I’m not picking on them; the news just reports it.

Oh yeah, you can call them French fries again.

Now, interesting stuff:

Popular Science put out an article about the worst jobs in science. Via Slashdot, I learned of a story concerning the history of Murphy’s Law. Its pretty interesting. Also, I will link you to Unwise Microwave Oven Experiments if you promise to just read the article and not actually try any of the mentioned items.

Weekend wrapup

Well, if you haven’t all heard, Johnny Cash died the other day. Time has a pretty good article on his life that you may wish to check out. Its not often that you get a bona fide artist that can transcend genres so I suppose its a universal loss for a lot of us.

In the world of sports, you won’t hear me praise the University of Michigan often, but kicking Notre Dame’s teeth in certainly qualifies. Go Big Blue!

And now on to imbeciles. Texans got around to dealing with a certain faction of their citizens who forgot what the Civil Rights Act was all about. Too bad they had to waste time on whether or not it was “permissible” to change things.

And, if you were expecting residents of Florida to actually be smarter than they were three years ago; think again. Florida legislators are trying to give some students free passes to graduate without completing their senior year in high school. Remember earlier this year when a whole mess of students couldn’t pass a test that would qualify them as having a good education? Yeah, same kids. And just in time for next year’s presidential election.

And in Washington D.C., the move to potentially abuse our civil rights continues with a whole slew of new laws that make the Patriot Act look like a “Girls Keep Out” sign on a treehouse. You can read more on this at the New York Times (log in using “wallenfeldt” as the MemberID and “guest” as the password). I mean, let’s be honest, how does checking out what I’m reading at the library have to do with capturing Osama bin Laden? We ARE still planning on finding him, right?

You know what tomorrow is

Well, the media is warming itself up for who knows what tomorrow. Funny thing is, there are a lot of well-intentioned people who will probably say and do a lot tomorrow for all the wrong reasons. And isn’t that probably the saddest part about this whole situation: that we really haven’t learned as much as we should have? Then again, maybe I’ll be proven wrong and the day will be without a ton of flag-waving and forgetting the fact that we are remembering regular people who got shoved into the front lines of a conflict between psychopaths and the rest of the world. For some more perspective on this, I read this article earlier today which somewhat delineates thoughts I hope have crossed your minds.

Also on the subject, some clearing of the air about things you may think about 9/11. On a broader scope, this article from the New York Times points out the international perspective; which, while you may or may not want to care about it, still exists.

I had some social commentaries about ridiculous news articles I’ve read recently, but it can wait for a couple days.

Opus returns!

Berkeley Breathed is coming back on November 23 with a comic strip appropriately called Opus. Hopefully it will get syndicated so we can all read it.

In other news, the RIAA has decided to feed on poor kids living in public housing. Of course, they aren’t picking on individual people because they are money-grubbing fascist punks; its because they care.

Anyone tired enough of recent events to want to go to Mars? NASA may be looking for you soon.

Your humorous moment of the day. And now, for your humorous insight of the day (ok, its a few days old):

Gotta love an underdog

You see, sometimes reading the bad press about you gets you mad. This lets you do stuff you normally couldn’t. Today’s object lesson is the Houston Texans, who beat out Miami in what should not have been a close game. At least, that’s what the talking heads kept telling Miami. And for a first, no sacks on David Carr. Go figure.

If you can’t tell I managed to catch a baseball game, parts of three football games, and a really exciting finish to an IRL race today whilst puttering about writing cover letters and making dinner (beef Stroganoff FYI).

We enjoy living here and all, but I sure wish these job prospects would liven up. That’s alright though; I have another three weeks of contract work to look forward to so all is not lost. It just isn’t all it should be. That, and Leslie’s job keeps her busy seven days a week. Not the challenging and rewarding kind of busy she was looking forward to either. More of the “lots of paperwork and people who don’t want to do their jobs” kind. Those are my words, not her’s. I just make the observations and feed them to you.

To finish on a lighter(?) note, an editorial cartoon from Joe Heller at The Green Bay Press-Gazette about our lovely gas prices.

Maybe he should stick to reading other people’s lines….

Johnny Depp, making the most of the fact that we collectively have made him millions of dollars, decided to slam his home country today. You know, you don’t have to like our leadership or the way a lot of this country works. But do not enjoy the benefits of being an American citizen while ripping it to make your current home gush with joy at having you live there. Granted, I’m no blind-to-reality super-patriot type myself, but sometimes its better to keep your uninformed opinions to your damn self. I should have waited to rent Pirates of the Caribbean.

Other stuff….

Great idea…incredibly stupid idea.

News that will age you in under a minute.

And for comic relief, a game courtesy of Matt Darland. You’ll find it either disgustingly addicting or horrifically annoying. I made it into March last night.