Well, didn’t get around to those page updates. Most of it was picture work and I just figured out that I have scanned about 10 times more photos than I have space for. Guess that sorting will have to wait until the new year.

Just in time for the holidays, a story on how current game designers could learn from old games. Wrapping up the year, some other political-type articles on gender politics and how fundamental Protestants refuse to believe we share a deity with Muslims. Figures they don’t know how to share; just look at the tax code.

Being as job hunting is still on my mind, an article on professional gamers. Give me a nice place to live, and yeah, I’d play games all day for money.

In any case, we’re essentially offline for the rest of the year. Have a Merry Christmas folks and we’ll catch in 2004.

I realized that a lot of yesterday’s post was depressing. Today I start off with the other extreme of a holiday bonus. Also a story about a soldier that surprised his mom with his release from military service.

Some more fallout from yesterday’s Saddam capture. One story, as told by the troops involved. The other, about the stupid operation name, which I was griping about myself when I heard it.

The Economist came out with an interesting article on the future of slight. Personally, I like the Fifth Element reference that sets it off nicely.

And then there’s this one, which poses the theory that PowerPoint makes us dumb; which, I think we’d all agree with.

Before I go into my usual thing, I wanted to bring up a site for ya if you have some spare cash. The gamers over at Penny Arcade have put up a site called Child’s Play. Their goal is to get a bunch of toys and books purchased for the Seattle Children’s Hospital and to let people know that gamers aren’t a bunch of anti-social thugs. Head to the site, check it all out and get a toy for a child if you wish.

Can’t say I’ve necessarily been busy this past week or so, but time just flies by somehow. Anyway, it hasn’t been for lack of stuff to point and laugh at. Let’s begin:

You pretty much can figure out what I think our own current presidential administration. So it will be no surprise to you when Evil Ned sent us some instructions about Google and I laughed and laughed. Go to Google, type in the phrase “Miserable Failure” and click the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button. Basically that button leads to the most referenced and linked site related to your search term. In this case, its due to a Richard Gephardt quote and website. Not that I’ve woken up and become a Gephardt fan, but hey, it sure is a sign that we’ve got a presidential election coming, right?

Speaking of negative advertising, the GOP has already gone and starting calling anyone who questioned whether or not we should have gone into Iraq a “traitor”. Yes, that’s right, its now apparently treasonous behavior to even question your government’s motives. This from the same pack of imbeciles who want to replace FDR on the dime with Reagan. Last I checked, the whole country hadn’t become the Republican party.

Speaking of a bad combination of liberal political correctness and conservative “family values” nonsense, we have the following about a boy suspended from school for talking about his gay mom.

And now, idiots on parade. A Kansas couple gets too into the heat of the moment. Mind your tongue. Bubba lives in Illinois. A teacher ruins it for the kids.

Payback time. A backlash on the whole LA county “master/slave” thing from the tech-focused cartoon User Friendly. An in-yer-face response to the Britney Spears Hollywood star thing – give one to Alice Cooper as well. And just because I love the idea of public humiliation for low-lifes, Maine is putting up a website for all its registered child molestors so everyone can recognize those two-legged scumbags wherever they go.

Some leftovers for ya, being that time of year and all. How to spend $25,000 (AU) researching toast. A piece of technology the president can’t even operate is being tested for the battlefield. Plus, the return of Space Invaders.

I have been working intermittently on a contract with HP to set up huge network printers for Bechtel. Thursday, this landed me up at Yucca Mountain, which is either: a) the solution to our nation’s nuclear waste disposal problem, or b) the thing that will make Las Vegas an uninhabitable wasteland. And you thought you had problems with where to put landfills….

Moving on to other scientific type things, it has now been found that dark beer is good for you. So hey, toast a stein to those research scientists. Also in science, a story on flying cars and other pipe dreams that never happened.

And now, back to the decline of Western civilization for a buck. Some morons have decided that trading in terrorist futures is not only profitable, but totally ethical. Look, I only got a semester of Catholic school in kindergarten and even I can tell you that betting money on whether or not people die is not, and never can be, ethical.

What else? Oh, in the same week we commemorate the Jonestown massacre, Britney Spears get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Coincidence? No, but both events make me sick to my stomach. At least with Super Tart we get an explanation. Jim Jones is still an inexplicable cancer.

In thoughts on current affairs, Slate tackles the whole concept of marriage and comes up with some suggestions for the debate. A Maryland high school student politicizes PDA, making you question why good arguments are fronted by silly people. This guy is another example, except his beef is with email spammers.

With a lot of tech jobs moving overseas, one individual has found employment with the help of his family, La Costa Nostra that is.

And just to show you that I do like to be entertained by humor and touching stories, here’s one about a father able to make it back to his daughter’s wedding, and one from The Onion about media bias. Here’s an off-color article on what to do when your internet goes down. While you still have internet access, check out the Zombie Infection game.

Andras Simonyi, the Hungarian ambassador to the US, credits rock music as one the leading cultural elements that helped bring down Communism in his country. Kinda freaks you out when you think about what rap music may be doing to our society, huh?

In news of a passing age, Disney’s latest movie, Brother Bear, may be among its last animated movies as they are getting rid of the animation department.

From KFC comes news that fried chicken is good for you. Slate dissects that notion for you here.

Popular Science breaks down the best inventions of 2003. Yes, it is already time to evaluate our year…two months before it ends. Let the Top 10 lists begin!

There have been a couple of ridiculous political subjects I’ve been completely unable to find the words to properly express myself about. So, I’ll let the pros do it.

Mike Thompson from the Detroit Free Press tackles the CBS pulling of their movie about Reagan:

Boondocks takes one more crack at Rush Limbaugh:

The gang from Battery F 1/202 are about ready to ship out down to Texas in preparation to go to Iraq early next spring. In case you all don’t know, that includes my brother Tom and a few of his high school buds as well as a lot of fathers and such from my old hometown in Galva. Keep them all in your thoughts and send a prayer out, even if you don’t believe in that. I’d appreciate it.

In case you are in need of a quick Halloween mask, Forbes has provided for your needs with Billionaire masks.

Fox News almost sued its television component, namely The Simpsons, for satire. They officially have no humor or irony over at the news desk.

Tired of those Nigerian email scam artists? Australia is providing a service to mankind by nabbing one of those punks.

My hard drive crashed the other day and that leaves me in a little bind as far as updates and the like. I have some copies of the webpage but it is old, so I’m probably going to be losing some data. Also, I am aware the menu isn’t working and I’m going to try to get that up in the next few days.

Okay, I’ve held my tongue for awhile but seriously, what is up with California? They give a standing ovation to a child molestor (Roman Polanski earlier this year at the Oscars), elect some serial woman molestor (Schwarzenegger of course), and then stand up and applaud a suspected rapist (Kobe Bryant) like he’s a victim or something. Now to be quite fair, maybe he isn’t a rapist, but he still cheated on his wife and that shouldn’t be applauded.

In happier news, bubble gum is now 75 years old. The alternate World Series ended on a strange note. The results of the World Rock, Paper, Scissors Championships are in (yes, there is such a thing and they have a website).

On the strange end of things: why are we trying to sell money through TV ads?

On the “yeah, I want one, but only if no one else does” category, a story about a gadget you can get that changes streetlights.

Most of you already know my feelings about AOL, so it comes as no surprise to me that the low-lifes are now hacking their customer’s computers.

Apparently now its illegal to share certain tools or sell them to other people.

Speaking of monopolistic jerks, the Motion Picture Association of America is trying to bribe schools to let them come in and indoctrinate and scare the hell out of kids. Nice guys, huh?

An article about poor historical references and our White House. I was thinking the same thing when I first read parts of that speech.

Interesting articles about getting rid of our oil dependence and on Microsoft’s inability to face up to its problems. Interesting, that is, if you actually care about that stuff.

Maybe you’d like to see GM screw up again or British kids popping Viagra?