http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/04/16/iran.sept11.ap/index.html

"Four or five years ago, a suspicious event occurred in New York. A building collapsed and they said that 3,000 people had been killed but never published their names," Ahmadinejad told Iranians in the holy city of Qom.

Yes, they have. They were all read aloud on the last anniversary. He'll deny the Holocaust, and now will deny 9/11? This is the guy Obama wants to sit down and chat with.

Link...

http://www.northcountrygazette.org/news/2008/03/13/truancy_arrest/

This is sort of an interesting one. A 16 year old girl skips school around 100 times, so they mother get arrested. BUT, New York only makes you go to school until you're 16. So, the mother of a girl who doesn't legally need to be going to school gets arrested for that kid not going to school.

I like the truancy program, since I do think parents need to be responsible for having their kids in school. However, I don't every remember skipping school before school. Whenever I skipped school (wasn't often), I was at school, then left. How are the parents to hold the schools responsible? The article even says:

Her mother said that she had taken her to school on numerous occasions only to have the girl leave.

If that's the case, the skipping of school happened once the kid is already there, it's no longer the responsibility of the parent, as the kid is in the control of the school.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/03/12/woman.stuck.on.toilet.ap/index.html

Can't make this stuff up!

Rich people resign so easily. I don't care if I made a racist statement while screwing a hooker on the steps of city hall, I wouldn't quit!

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/earth-liberation-front-47030308

ELF is sort of dumb, if you ask me. They wait until these homes are built (the land is cleared, the roads are in, etc...) then burn them down. So, now it just means more machinery and supplies to rebuild. And yes, you know they will rebuild. Surely, insurance will cover the loss, and the developer wouldn't lose out. Kind of counter-productive, if you ask me.

Sprawl can be bad, sprawl can be good. I think it all depends on the planning, and what the local governments do. For example, where I live I call a sub-rural area. It's part sub-urban, and part rural. The local government makes sure there is a certain amount of "green space", to ensure the town doesn't end up like somewhere like South Florida (where you can sometimes hear your neighbor fart). Also, the planning of roads would be very important. If you end up with a lot of traffic congestion, the planning probably wasn't done so well. If your roads can't handle the people, then it's simply time to stop building.

I'm not exactly sure what ELF wants, and don't really care to read up on it. Maybe, they want everyone to live in tents. Or, they prefer building up instead of out. Possibly, they are against progress, jobs, local economies and people who "have" or are working towards "having". Possibly, they want everyone to ride a bike or Prius, and live in a house made of hay and compost.

There is surely a better way for them to accomplish some goals without doing what they are doing. I'm not even sure what they do actually has accomplished anything. When they have done these "attacks" in the past, have they ever stopped what they wanted them to?

Please people, when you take your kids bowling make sure you teach them the, basically only, etiquette rule; wait for people next to you.

I took Kyla bowling yesterday, and after a few minutes a woman with 5 kids (seemed in ages 10-12 or so) came next to us. No common sense, no etiquette, and simply no care that we were there at all. You could be in the middle of a throw, and BAM they come running up. Kyla and I aren't pro bowlers, but it's very distracting when all of a sudden you have a blob 3 feet from you as your about to release the ball. We have the "right of way", and I've been teaching Kyla to respect the people in the two lanes around us and their "right of way".

Now, if the kids were 4, it's not as big a deal. The parents should still pay attention, but things happen. These kids, however, were about 10 or 12. They didn't look retarded (and even retarded people can learn this basic rule of the lanes), and didn't appear to be either blind nor deaf. They just didn't care, and the parental unit there didn't either.

The mix was there... bad manners and inconsiderate people + me - Suzy to tell me to bite my tongue. I tell her "Do you mind asking the kids to wait their turns?" I simple request, certainly not out of bounds to ask. At first, she says "I've tried, but some kids are just slower than others." Well, that got me since she not once tried while she was there, and the kids didn't look retarded. So, I said "I've worked with mentally challenged people who know to do this." This is true, I have, and they did.

On my next frame, I'm getting ready to roll. Well, not just ready, I'm actually in motion. And what do I see? A blog going past my left eye again. I stop, and shake my head. Next thing I know, trailer-mom is in my ear "You shouldn't talk like that about other people's kids." I turn and say "Don't lecture me about kids, my 9 year old understands how to be considerate. You've obviously failed to understand or teach manners."

Well, some words went back and forth, yet her wit was not sharp enough and she was battling the wrong man. I think what finally shut her up was "When you go back to the trailer, you can think about how a bowling alley and NASCAR are different sports and have different etiquette." Not a peep from her after that.

I did speak to the guy at the front desk. The first guy didn't seem to care. However, I think he thought I was talking about the little little kids two lanes over. But, another guy knew who I was talking about, and gave us a free game.

Don't get me wrong, we still have a great time. I didn't let it ruin our time. But, having a little courtesy isn't too much to ask. So please, parents, when you take your kids to the bowling alley, have some respect for those next to you. They are there to bowl and have fun, and you have no right to mess with their games. Bowling aint free.

TMZ.com - Miss Nevada Photos

The link is to the photos which got Miss Nevada de-throned. Honestly, I don't understand why girls these days are so loose with themselves. Don't get me wrong, the "I'm a guy" side of my says "that's pretty hot", but the dad and logical part of me just doesn't get it.

Why do so many girls seems to want to lick each others boobs, crotches and kiss? Then, on top of it, let it be photographed?? You have to know it'll end up on the internet. And, you have to know that at some point, having a picture of you on the internet licking the breasts of another girl will one day, most likely, not help you out or at the very least come back to embarrass you.

Any why do it anyways? What's with the bi-sexual exhibitions? If you're really bi-sexual, great. But, I'll bet 98% of the girls you see doing this, are just doing it. They aren't dating women, just doing sexual acts with them. In public. On film. And not even getting paid to do it. I don't get it.

So, all you girls who want to *be* something, think twice before you start making out with that chick at the party. You'll end up on someones MySpace page.

FOXNews.com - Muslims Protest Wikipedia Images of Muhammad

Nearly 100,000 people worldwide have signed a Web-based petition asking Wikipedia to remove all depictions of the Prophet from its English-language entry

I'm telling you, the news of Muslims being offended is becoming about as common as "The sun will rise tomorrow" news. That is, it's now expected, not-news, and should be ignored (aside to point out how sensitive these people can be). I will say, at least it's starting as a petition. I'm just waiting for it to escalate to a riot. Which, again, would be expected.

I'll note that some of those "signatures" are really comments from people against taking it down. Also, the images are very old, and should be celebrated by Muslims that we get to see them.

Last year I started journaling how fraud psychic Sylvia Browne does on her predictions for the coming year. Since I've seen her on another year of Montel giving the same answers over and over ("Yes, they are happy", "Yes, they are around you"), I thought I'd do it again. So, here's how she did:

1. On TomKat: "I see them staying together two more years. Two more years. They'll have a boy, and that's the end of it."

Well, we don't know yet.

Hits: 0 Misses: 0 Unknown: 1

2. On Brangelina: "They're not gonna last, either."

Still together.

Hits: 0 Misses: 1 Unknown: 1

3. On J. Lo: "I think she wants to have one [baby], but there's something wrong there."

Nothing wrong, J. Lo announced she's prego in Nov.

Hits: 0 Misses: 2 Unknown: 1

4. On Mel Gibson: "I don't think we're gonna hear much from him. I think after this episode and this movie, I think he's gonna back up, and we're not gonna hear from him for a couple years."

From what I've heard, he's pretty much been around, and done various public appearances. He just hasn't gone on an anti-semetic rampage or done anything tabloid worthy. Well, he told a Mayan expert to "fuck off", I think that was in '07.

Hits: 0 Misses: 3 Unknown: 1

5. On beanpole Nicole Richie: "Is gonna end up in the hospital.
... It is, it's sad, but she's just really abused herself terribly. I mean, this is serious. We’re not talking about some little, "let's go and check you out."

Nope. She went to jail for a few hours, but that's not the hospital. I'm not "open" enough to generalize those to "any institution" as she may want.

Hits: 0 Misses: 4 Unknown: 1

6. On Liz Taylor: "You know, I'm really worried about her. How do I put this? Her life force is flickering... The thing that bothers me about her is -- see, you always have to -- and I know some of you have seen this. You always have to worry when somebody starts giving up, do you know what I'm saying, or they don't are anymore. I've seen people overcome cancer, heart trouble, diabetes, everything. If they fight. You get someone at any age that doesn't fight anymore, they don't care. They feel their life's over. You can be rest assured it will be."

Liz is alive, kicking, and out in public.

Hits: 0 Misses: 5 Unknown: 1

7. She said an "amino acid" will be found to put AIDS into remision.

Bzzzzzzt

Hits: 0 Misses: 6 Unknown: 1

8. She said depression would be linked to diet.

Keep eating your McDonalds.

Hits: 0 Misses: 7 Unknown: 1

9. On some weather: "We're going to have glaciers melting off at a rapid speed that we've never seen before. We're gonna have tornadoes hit"

Tornadoes hit, as always. And, not in anywhere unusual. The glaciers melting is pretty common knowlege, and if Global Warming wasn't in the news constantly around this time last year, maybe I've give her a 1/5 point. But, saying the glaciers are melting at a fast pace is a pretty easy prediction.

Hits: 0 Misses: 8 Unknown: 1

10. "Yeah, volcanoes erupting everywhere."

No they didn't. No major eruptions in '07, and not "everywhere".

Hits: 0 Misses: 9 Unknown: 1

11. "The East Coast is going to have one of the mildest winters that you've ever seen."

Well, it was pretty mild last Winter. But, the National Weather Service "predicted" this before Sylvia did. And, she made this "prediction" during winter, so what the NWS said was already coming true (they predicted it before winter). This winter, which part of is in 2007, isn't mild. We've had over 2' of snow since mid-December. I need to give this one a miss, since prediction what the NWS already said isn't really predicting anything.

Hits: 0 Misses: 10 Unknown: 1

12. She said there would be great flooding in the South.

Bzzzzzt.. they are having a drought. Sort of an anti-prediction.

Hits: 0 Misses: 11 Unknown: 1

13. Montel: Major catastrophe here in North America? Do you seen one coming?
Sylvia: Yeah, see, I've always been worried. Now, I told you this, I think, last year. I've always been worried about a tsunami hitting New York.
Montel: Hitting New York?
Sylvia: Hitting New York.
Montel: New York?
Sylvia: New York, New York.

Nope. No tsunami in NYC or any of NY. And, no major catastrophe.

Hits: 0 Misses: 12 Unknown: 1

14. "And I'm not worried about terrorists attacks, some of these things coming in through the docks and things. But nothing horrible like 9/11 or something like that. It makes me so crazy because they elevate, and then everybody gets frantic. I don't see any planes or anything like that, no. The only thing that I do see is, I'm worried about trucks, and I'm worried about trains."

Luckily, a miss.

Hits: 0 Misses: 13 Unknown: 1

15. Polio and Whooping Cough are making big comebacks because of people who think vaccines are not good for you

Nope.

Hits: 0 Misses: 14 Unknown: 1

16. Bush will bring the troops home

Nope again.

Hits: 0 Misses: 15 Unknown: 1

17. More states will approve gay marriage, not just civil unions.

Still no.

Hits: 0 Misses: 16 Unknown: 1

18. 8 years and we will have a black president.

We'll see in 7 more years. It certainly won't be this next election.

Hits: 0 Misses: 16 Unknown: 2

19. FEMA will be investigated, people will go to jail for stealing money.

Hmmm.. wasn't FEMA being scrutinized during this "prediction"? Actually, haven't they been being scrutinized and investigated since Katrina? This would be the same as saying "MBL will be investigated" as a prediction for '08. So, I'll take the "prediction" as "people will go to jail for stealing money." I'm not aware of this happening, so it's a miss.

Hits: 0 Misses: 17 Unknown: 2

20. Property is the best investment now, buy now, because its going down but will go back up next year.

When property prices are down, of course it's a good investment. But, this is unknown since we don't know when prices will go back up. I'm not sure if she meant "next year" as '07, or '08. If it was '07, she's wrong. But, with a 0% hit rate so far, I'll assume she meant '08.

Hits: 0 Misses: 17 Unknown: 3

21. More spirituality next year, bad press for Evangelicals, they are misusing money, buying lots of things for themselves.

Not aware of this. I'm sure it's true, but no onslaught of bad press. "More spirituality" is pretty hard to measure.

Hits: 0 Misses: 18 Unknown: 3

22. Cure for insulin dependent diabetes end of next year, major breakthroughs happening.

Not that I'm aware of.

Hits: 0 Misses: 19 Unknown: 3

23. Gas prices will go down in February.

I looked around, and saw nothing about this happening. I didn't recall it happening, and couldn't find anything saying it did.

Hits: 0 Misses: 20 Unknown: 3

So, those are the things I had noted from last year. I'm sure I missed some, but it's a good sampling. Out of these 23, 3 were 'unknown' since they weren't really 2007 things. Out of the other 20, 0 were correct. That's a 0% success rate. With a margin of error of +2/-2, you could give her %2, which is still pretty crappy for a "psychic" with about 50 books out, and sad followers.

Sylvia generally gives vague predictions. Weather ones, by time she gives them, the NWS has already said. The only specific-ish ones are usually about celebs. But, some of those could be done by just knowing that world, and how people are (for example, J. Lo wanting a baby. She's not getting younger, of course she may want a baby). Here are some specific things which Sylvia missed, which could have actually done some "good" if she predicted them:

- The drought in the South. (See #12)
- The VTech shooting
- The collapse of the bridge into the Mississippi. Maybe if she told less fat people on Montel to check their thyroids and said "XYZ bridge should be looked at" it'd be nice.
- The mortgage "crisis". Or, at least told people 2 years ago "Don't get ARMs or unconventional loans."
- Pakistan being a place of crisis. I'd have given her a point if she was somewhat vague about Pakistan.
- Lead paint in toys coming from China.
- Pats being undefeated. Or, even saying ANY team AFC would be undefeated.
- The return of the Russian Bear bombers.

Is this playing armchair psychic? Not really. There were plenty of specific, major, events in '07. She did have a share of blunders, like telling the parents of Shawn Hornbeck he was dead on Montel. As we all know, that was wrong.

Another year of Sylvia is to come. I wish Montel would stop giving her a platform (to sell her books), and wake up to the fact that of the predictions we can know about, she has a pretty low rate of accuracy for a "psychic".

YouTube - Republican Debate

I was physched to see my friend kick off the CNN/YouTube Republican debate with his "GOP Debate Song". The candidates seemed to enjoy it, and it was surreal seeing him on my TV. Way to go man!

But, the cherry on top was that he told me Chuck Norris was sitting in front of him at the debate, and Chuck spoke to him! What an experience that must have been. Next thing we'll know is he'll be touring with Tenacious D ;-)

Put Dumbledore Back in the Closet - TIME

When J.K. Rowling announced at Carnegie Hall that Albus Dumbdledore—her Aslan, her Gandalf, her Yoda—was gay, the crowd apparently sat in silence for a few seconds and then burst into wild applause.

So, I'm not a Potter fan. But, if suddenly Tolkien came out (when alive) and said Gandalf was gay, I'd be kinda pissed. Not because he was Gay, who cares? But, if he was.. write it in the damn book. Otherwise, it's like saying "Oh yeah, he really loved kittens" except, that would have less "shock" factor, wouldn't it?! That's what I think this must be about. Some shock factor to sell some more books, get some more PR and maybe reach a few more people in a different segment. Am I wrong? Anyone who has read the series now going "Ohhhhhhhhh! So, that's why he did.. blah blah blah"?

Doubt it.

Good move buddy :-)

Sometimes, I email people regarding something business related. As in, I email them about their business because I'm interested in what they have or the service they provide. Now, I know a lot of people aren't 'net savvy, but email is pretty simple. You type what you would say, because what you type is what you say. And, how you type it is how you say it.

First, I emailed a stable about buying shares in a race horse. This is something I've been wanting to do, and was interested in their partnership. I emailed them with probably about 6 questions, only one of them being if there are still shares left in a particular horse. Here's what I got back:

Hi,

There are .still two shares left in stable 18. We have claimed the horse. His name is Tuff Tiger and he is in Wednesday evening.

You must purchase the shares thru paypal by Wednesday 5p.m.

There are no other expenses.

Any questions please email me.

Ok, so not too bad. I don't like "thru", or the choppy sentences. But, what I really didn't like was the non-answers to all my other questions. I asked about taxes, being payed out and other things any reasonable person wants to know before handing them money. He may not have the time to fully answer my email, but I don't have the time to email 10 times. He says if I have any questions, to email him. Well, I did.. with a bunch of questions, so what would emailing again do? So, bzzzzzzzzt... no business. Another stable took the time to answer my questions, professionally.

Just the other day, on Craigslist, I saw someone had some Berber carpet, and would install it. We are working on finishing the basement, and flooring needs to be done. I'm leery about someone from CL, but doesn't hurt to find out the details and keep that avenue open. So, I send an email asking what color the carpet is, and how much to install per sq. yard. Response:

hello kevin the berber is a brown lt in color nice it would be about 12.99 installe call me if you want

See, now.. if I were some guy looking to install some carpet, I'd take the extra 12 seconds to make that single (should be two) sentences read a little more professionally. Wouldn't you? So far, he seems like an idiot... although 12.99/yard isn't bad. So, I ask him what color "brown" it is, since there is no "brown" when it comes to home product colors. It's always something like "Mocha Choca Sunrise Mud Wrap", which is brown. Here is my email, which I obviously took the time to try to formulate:

Hi XXXXXX,

So, around $1400 for about 1k sq. feet? Is it Shaw, Mohawk, or some other maker? I know the manufacturers use 20 different ways to describe "brown", so I'm wondering if you know their name for "brown". That's what my wife will ask me when I say it's "brown" :-)

Also, are you licensed, insured, bonded, etc...?

And the response:

hello kevin its mohawk mills caliope fawn and yes i have ins,

It's like emailing with a child with ADD. This guy may be a great carpet installer, and have a good price, but it annoys the crap out of me when people can't spend the extra few seconds to type like an adult, and have your email be as professional as you want me to believe you are.

So, I a tip to all small business people out there. When someone emails you about your services, respond professionally. Use proper grammar, complete sentences, and answer all of what's asked. No matter what you do, you're not the only game in town, and it could be the difference between getting a customer, or not.

The Associated Press: MIT Student Arrested With Fake Bomb

BOSTON (AP) — An MIT student wearing what turned out to be a fake bomb was arrested at gunpoint Friday at Logan International Airport and later claimed it was artwork, officials said.

Star Simpson, 19, had a computer circuit board and wiring in plain view over a black hooded sweatshirt she was wearing, said State Police Maj. Scott Pare, the commanding officer at the airport.

Just because you're smart and can get into MIT, doesn't mean you have any shred of common sense. She's lucky she's not dead.

It was time to get rid of my sled. I didn't ride much last winter, and want to free up some space in my garage so maybe I can actually park in my garage bay.

So, I put it on Craigslist. I have bought and sold a fair amount of things on CL. Sometimes, selling is a real PITA. Mainly, because sometimes people don't show up. But, since I work from home anyways, it's just an annoyance. One thing I do hate is the billion questions some people do. It's like "Hey, I'm selling a widget for $10.. you either want a widget, or you don't. Don't ask 20 questions about the widget since it's $10 and the time it takes for me to answer you is worth more than $10." If the item was "big ticket", I'd understand. I also hate the "Is XYZ still available?" emails. You email right back "Yes, it is" and never hear anything again. Well, 30 seconds ago you wanted to know if it was still available.. what happened? Are you taking a poll?

But, in all.. it works out well. So, to the sled. I posted a "make offer" ad for it, and gave the NADA book value for it (low end was $1,500). I got about 10 offers for $300. Uhh.. no thanks. But, aside from offers for trading a power washer and push mower, to a stereo system.. some people are just sort of dumb. Let's take Rick for example:

I have a nice 4 wheeler.It's A 1985 Honda TRX 125,Elec start,reverse new rear tires,was stored for 12 years so it has real low hours.Let me know if possibly intrested.Thanks Rick

To which I replied:

Hi Rick,

Sorry, I can't trade for anything with wheels.

Pretty specific, right? Well, maybe not. Rick then writes back:

How about a 1995 Pontiac Sunfire?

To his credit, maybe the Sunfire was on blocks and didn't have wheels. But, being me, I had to respond:

I think a Sunfire has wheels.

Rick didn't like that:

wow does it really,shuv it

Yes, Rick.. really, cars have wheels.

Fun stuff. But, after about 20 offers, inquiries, being "polled" if it's still available, and a few serious people, it's finally gone tonight. And, I still have some things listed on CL which I'll keep answering questions about until someone comes and gets the item, or I just throw it away.

Britney 'fat'? Oops ... weight-watchers did it again

Terms such as "fat," "bulging," "pudgy" and "flabby" peppered most of the post-show analysis about Spears, with many naysayers faulting her for donning an outfit they thought she wasn't fit to wear.

Geez.. "haters" as the kids would say. I didn't watch the show, but saw the clip. She sure didn't look 'fat' to me. She may not look like she did pre-children, but for a mother of 2 who doesn't seem to have been taking the best care for herself the past few years, is a bit kooky, and has a train wreck of a life... she looked pretty damn good. You know who's fat? Probably most of the people calling her fat.

I watched a similar story on Sunday's "Hannity's America", but found this video to share. On Sunday, it was alongside a new video of Gore getting off a private jet he took from Tennessee to Cali.

You know, I really hate these rich people preaching to us about "being green" then being nothing but not green. Don't get me wrong, some are. I saw that Larry Hagman (which I don't recall being preachy, thought) has solar arrays large enough that he actually powers his neighbors. That great! He also said it cost him $750k to set up. He has the luxury of being "green". But, Al Gore is the one wanting "write the book" on global warming, but he flies around in his ungreen jets, driving around in SUVs, and preaching to everyone else to ride bikes and live in houses made of hay. His home was found to use something like 20 times more energy than the average home, and THEN he started making it "green", after it was exposed and this was only something like 6 months ago (long after his preaching started). Hypocrite.

So, a few times I've watched Living with Ed (which is where I learned about what Larry Hagman did) because I've always thought he's interesting, and figure maybe I could get a tip on using less electricity, fuel, save money, etc... Let me tell you, being "green" doesn't seem to come cheap. One week he was installing Solatubes, which are pretty cool. So, I looked them up. They cost roughly $300-$500 a tube, plus installation. Ok.. well.. let's see. Let's say it's $400, since that's the average, and you install them yourself. Let's see if I can get the math right here. Say I pay $.06/kilowatt hour and save 100 watts over an 8 hour day.

100 w x 8 hrs / 1000 = .8 kilowatt hours
.8kwh x $.06/kwh x 365 days = $17.52 cost for electricity over a year
$400/17.52 = 22.8 years.

So, in just under 23 years, a Solatube, installed for free, with no attachments or "upgrades", will pay for itself. I'm all for "going green", but the economics aren't there. My top-of-my-head math is probably a little off, but even if I were doubled, 12 years isn't much better.

It seems to me that "being green" can be a rich mans job. At least, they can individually do more by having $750k solar arrays, not flying on fuel inefficient private jets, private wind mill things, solatubes, etc... We, as non-rich people who need to keep track of our money, we can do the smaller things which add up. Like, turning off lights/computers/TVs, carpooling, etc...

I know what I'll do... if I need to travel from Tennessee to California, I'll do it in a car and make it round-trip 15 times. That would still leave a smaller footprint than the single private jet trip which Mr. Global Warming Al Gore did in his one-way trip.

Real people, real mortgage nightmares - CNN.com

I have been hearing more and more about foreclosures these days. I have said for about 2 years now "In a few years, there will be a lot of foreclosures", and I was correct. Now people are scurrying, and I hear politicians politicking about helping people save their homes. Screw 'em. Why should the gov't bail them out?

The CNN link has a story of the Pents. I completely don't understand why it's newsworthy at all. The refinanced a $207k loan with a two-year adjustable rate mortgage. Then "life" happened:

With their new payments, a sequence of events left them unable to keep up. First Connie's mother moved out and stopped helping out with mortgage payments. Then her husband Timothy lost his job at a mobile home factory because of the housing industry slump.

That's newsworthy? They depended on someone not obligated to pay towards the mortgage, and the guy lost his job. If I lost my job and couldn't pay my mortgage, would I get an article written about me as an example of the rise of foreclosures? Dumb.

Then, the Rasmussens. A sad story about people wanting out of the trailer park and into a home. The lender they chose (which did 100% financing) folded before they closed. Boo hoo.. save your money for a down payment. Do people not know to do this?

The Marshalls, with their 7 (SEVEN) children were taking out a $365,000 loan.

Jeanna Marshall, 36 and disabled, receives $1,500 in Social Security payments a month, while her husband Vernon, 41, is a driver for UPS netting about $3,000 a month.

You know, I make more than both of them combined, and I wouldn't be so stupid to a) have 7 kids, and b) take out a $365k mortgage. Not only did they not read what they signed and ended up with a two-year interest-only adjusted rate mortgage, but they were obviously borrowing much more than they could afford. Boo hoo. On $4500/month, any "what can I afford" calculator will tell you it's not a $365k mortgage loan. Maybe they should have purchased the Rasmussens' trailer.

Sharon Reuss of the Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit organization that works to eliminate abusive practices in home mortgages, says loans that give borrowers a fixed payment for the first two or three years before the monthly obligations adjust sharply upward -- dubbed "exploding ARMs" -- have been particularly troublesome.

What's troublesome is that people bought into these loans. If the loan says anything about "ARM", "Balloon", or "adjustable"... find another loan. Don't have good credit? You should still be able to find a no-doc fixed-rate loan (I did when I moved to NY originally). You can shop for these things. If something falls through, find another lender. If you trap yourself into an ARM, I'm not sure that isn't your own fault.

I have no sympathy for people who signed onto "creative" loans without fully understanding the ramifications. I don't feel sympathy for people who trust their lender and don't get advice from their agent and especially an attorney. I do feel sympathy for people who can afford what they have, and maybe lose their job or get ill and fall behind. I do think banks should be flexible in times of need like that. But, if you signed on to a subprime loan and now your payment is skyrocketing... you should have known that when you signed on the dotted line. I knew it would be happening, which is why I knew this would be the season of foreclosures.

We've all seen it, but it's funny as hell. I like the fact that "people in our nation don't have maps." I didn't know about the map-shortage epidemic.

FOX Sports on MSN - NFL - Vick deserves shot at redemption

I agree with the president of Atlanta's NAACP. The NFL should welcome Michael Vick back to its league once he has finished serving jail time for his involvement in dog fighting.

"As a society, we should aid in (Vick's) rehabilitation and welcome a new Michael Vick back into the community without a permanent loss of his career in football," R.L. White said on Wednesday. "We further ask the NFL, Falcons and the sponsors not to permanently ban Mr. Vick from his ability to bring hours of enjoyment to fans all over this country."

You know, this is so stupid. The guy would fight dogs. They guy would kill dogs in pretty vicious ways. But, yeah sure.. let's have him play some more football for the fans! At what point do athletes have to pay the price for the part of their job they agree to, but don't get paid for? That's being a role model to kids. "I didn't ask to be a role model", is surely what they'd say. Yes you did. When I was growing up I played baseball, and I also played chess. I didn't ever want to grow up to be a pro chess player, or collect chess trading cards, or wear a Kasparov endorsed piece of clothing. Why? Because I would look up to the ball players. They are your heroes as a young kid (if they still are in your 30s, you're a freakin loser). They aren't non-existent superheroes, they are real people. When I was a kid and used to go to Yankee Spring training, I was in awe when I met Yogi Berra and Ron Guidry. I wanted to eat what they ate (Wheaties), drink what they drank (Gatorade), drive what they drove (a sports car) and be like them (Be Like Mike, remember that?).

So, when you are an athlete, you are asking to be a role model. You *want* to be a role model. You want more kids wearing your jersey than someone else. You want your poster on their wall, then cheering for you, buying your shoes, and buying whatever product you are endorsing. Then, you go and kill some dogs, but that essentially doesn't even get you fired. Drugs, rape, assault... what exactly can you do to get kicked out of a league aside maybe point shaving?

At some point the leagues should do something. If they did, then maybe some of these stupid players wouldn't walk around like the gods they aren't, but are treated as.

mercedsunstar.com :: Steve Cameron: Becks keen to work his magic in America

David Beckham does know we don't care about soccer over here, right? No matter what they tell you in La La Land, Americans care less about soccer than Curling. Soccer is great for kids, but then we mainly grow out of it by time we're 11 and girls are less "icky". Speaking of "icky", what happened to Victoria Beckham? Did she hit the wall early in life or what?

Ex-'Grey's' star: Racism a factor in axing - CNN.com

"Well, it didn't help me on the set that I was a black man who wasn't a mush-mouth Negro walking around with his head in his hands all the time. I didn't speak like I'd just left the plantation and that can be a problem for people sometime," he said.

Sometimes, I wish I were not white so when/if I were fired for saying anti-gay/Jewish/anything remarks I could say it's somehow because I'm not white.

This racism card is getting pretty damn old. Sometimes things happen because you're an ass.

DC judge loses $54 mln lawsuit against cleaners - US

He may have lost his lawsuit, but he'll surely win a few "asshole of the year" awards.

FOXNews.com - Angelina Jolie's Freedom of Press, on Her Terms - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment

The adoptive mother of 347 non-American children was at the premier of her new movie "A Mighty Heart". The movie is about freedom of the press, and the premier was a benefit for the organization Reporters Without Borders.

Jolie banned Fox News from being there at all, and made all other sign contracts restricting them (the press, a.k.a. "reporters") from asking anything not dealing with the film.

Sent back to the slammer. Don't cry Paris, you'll still be a rich waste of carbon when you get out.

Outrage: Sharpton Bashes Paris Transfer - Paris Hilton : People.com

"This early release gives all the appearances of economic and racial favoritism that is constantly cited by poor people and people of color," the civil-rights leader and president of National Action Network said Thursday

That's exactly why OJ didn't go to prison at all for a double homicide. Paris and OJ.. just law breaking, rich, white folk.

Most know him as Akon, but I know him as Acorn (or Akorn, when I'm in t he ghetto). He's the talented artist who goes "Wheeehooo... Yeeehooo" over and over (and over) in that Gwen Stefani song. Now, that's talent!

Anyways, not long ago he dry humped a 15 year old on stage in Trinidad:

And, now he's thrown a 15 year old boy off of the stage:

Nothing says "I'm a bad ass gangsta rapper who demands respect" more than picking up and throwing kids off of a stage. But, we have a lesson here. Acorn likes to dry hump you if you're a 15 year old girl, and likes to throw you if you're a 15 year old boy. Sounds like some repressed homosexual tendencies to me from when he himself was 15.

a·corn (ā'kôrn', ā'kərn) - Noun.
A thick-walled nut. Or, someone with a hard exterior who is really a nut on the inside.

I'm only commenting on this since it seems everyone else in the world has. And, since we shouldn't care about what they say, we shouldn't care about what I say.

She's in jail for 21 days. Big deal. She broke the law, and that's what happens. The sun is still rising, war rages on, and there is no cure for cancer.

Move along people.

Hilton appeals for sentence to be terminated | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

I really dislike Paris Hilton. Always have. I don't think she's all that attractive, she dumb, and really has no value to society. And, this is another reason to dislike her.

The heiress, socialite and professional magazine fixture yesterday appealed to fans to sign an online petition urging the California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to commute her 45-day sentence for driving while disqualified.

Why can't she just pretend to be like anyone else, and take the punishment. Maybe a little jail time would do her well.

She had told the judge she was not aware this meant she was unable to drive, since she never read her own mail, particularly legal documents and traffic citations.

"I have people who do that for me," she said. "I just sign what people tell me to sign."

I wish that would work. "Sorry, I don't need to pay my bills since I don't open my mail", or "I don't need to pay my taxes, because I pay people to do that for me."

She's such a waste of carbon. Maybe someone will do society and pop-culture a favor and shank her.

I like how the Rutgers chicks shut up pretty quickly when the VT shooting happened. I hope it made them realize how stupid and petty their whining was. Didn't one say she was "scarred for life"? Yeah.. right.

Baldwin makes TV apology and consults with Dr. Phil | Entertainment | Reuters

Baldwin's recording is played all over the news, he goes on "The View" to apologize, then calls Dr. Phil for advice. Next, he'll go see Dr. McDreamy for a physical, call Wolfgang Puck to cook him and America's Next Top Model dinner, then start dating that unfunny chick he's on "30 Rock" with (whoever she is, who is from the latest unfunny seasons of SNL).

Senate Set to Pass Iraq War Bill Requiring Pullout - New York Times

Ever spend time making a house of cards, outside, when you know a large wind will be coming to knock it down? No? Me neither. But, the Senate (on your tax dollar) has no problem doing so. I mean, I think sometimes it's ok to piss into the wind, but this isn't one of those times.

Rutgers coach says Imus' apology accepted - CNN.com

THANK GOD! Whew.. now we can get back to more important news like Anna Nicole's kid.

I've never been an Imus fan. Listening to him was like listening to someone turning the key in their car too far and the engine sort of grinds. But, I think this whole hooplah over his comment is pretty stupid, and him being fired was going a bit too far. Plus, these Rutgers chicks are just hamming it up for the cameras. They didn't know who Imus was (most under 80 don't), will have no ill effects of his comment, can still drink from the same water fountain as him, and I'd wager we'd find a few CDs in their collections calling women much worse than "hos" and referring to black people with much worse words. (I don't buy into the "blacks can use words whites can't" bull).

Oh, and I think it's funny how Imus ran to apologize to Al Sharpton who has said such gems like:

Whites are Irish, they're Italian, they're Jewish. It's not just black and white like in the South.

and

We will not stand by and allow them to move this brother so that some white interloper can expand his business

If you know about Sharpton, you know he's a bigot. He's not exactly the kind of person I'd want representing my race, that's for sure.

Anyways.. the whole situation is pretty stupid. Imus made a bad, insensitive remark in a non-hateful, unmalicious manner. He's probably done more for the Rutgers womens basketball team, as far as publicity, then they could ever do themselves. And that's all this is, people getting camera time for something that's pretty insignificant.

Plus, them overblowing this now helped the Governor of NJ get himself on a ventilator after a car crash on his way to the Governors Mansion to be a part of the oh-so-important summit between Imus and the basketball team.

C'mon people.. thicken up your skin. People are waaaay too easily offended, or too easily want their 15 minutes of fame in front of news cameras.

FOXNews.com - Iraqi Police Confirm Children Used as Decoys in Bombing - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

These monsters got through a checkpoint by having kids in the car to appear "safe". Then the adults ran out of the car leaving the kids in it as they detonated the vehicle.

What Koran says that is something good? What God says that using children like this is what gets you to the promised land? Where's the outcry from the Islamic community over this? Nowhere, that's where. They only have outcry when you draw a lampoon of Mohammad.. not when Muslims blow kids up like this. Sickos.

The only time I have envied Tyra.

FOX Sports - NBA - Tim Hardaway: I wouldn't play with a gay man

"You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known," Hardaway said Wednesday, according to a transcript on the Miami Herald Web site. "I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States."

Later, probably after his PR person yelled at him...

"Yes, I regret it. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said I hate gay people or anything like that," he said. "That was my mistake."

I don't watch basketball, but the times I have I have seen these grown, sweaty men in shorts patting eachother on the ass. I'm not saying that's gay, but.. it's sort of gay. I've never been at work at said "Hey, awesome job coding!" then patted the guy on the ass.

But, maybe he's right. There's no room for gays in sports at all. It's all man stuff. Manly man stuff for manly men, who don't look at men in manly ways.

Ok, maybe sometimes things happen in baseball...

But, he's only touching another mans ass in celebration, and because his shoulder is simply way too high up to pat.

In football, at least they use heavy protection to ward off anything gay...

But, basketball? Never could anything gay, homoerotic or unmanly happen...

I guess it's good Hardaway is retired, since all this gayness in sports would have scared him.

Urban The Singer Sues Urban The Artist - Music News - Playfuls.com - Fun & Entertainment

I must say, Keith Urban (the singer) sure appears like he is a douchebag. He's suing a guy, who has the same name, for using his name (which is also the other guys name) for his domain name.

While the man doesn't claim to be the Grammy Award winner, the singer accused the painter of federal trademark infringement, dilution of a federally registered trademark, federal unfair competition, violation of the Anti-Cyber Squatting Consumer Protection Act and violations of the Tennessee Consumer Protection and Personal Rights Protection Acts, according to the lawsuit.

The singer also wants keithurban.com transferred to him, asks for unspecified damages and a permanent injunction forbidding the New Jersey Urban from using keithurban.com or any Web site that would suggest a connection with the singer, the complaint said.

there's nothing to see here! - Randal L. Schwartz

Randal IM'd me today to fill me in. Glad he can again be a free man!

"Grey's Anatomy" star in counseling after gay slur

I mean, c'mon.. counseling? Isn't this going a little too far? Sure, it was insensitive, but move on people. Sticks and stones, remember? Oh, and funny thing about "sticks", a faggot is a bundle of sticks bound together. Maybe that's what he was originally referring to.

Rosie Apologizes for Asian Joke on The View | The View, Rosie O'Donnell : People.com

If you haven't seen it:

Now, Rosie says:

"So apparently 'ching-chong,' unbeknownst to me, is a very offensive way to make fun, quote-unquote, or mock, Asian accents. Some people have told me it's as bad as the n-word. I was like, really? I didn't know that."

Sure, boiling down a language spoken by an entire nation of billions and countless immigrants to "ching-chong" is surely hard to see as being offensive in a lapse of common sense. At least she didn't pull her eyes up to make them slanted.

It's funny that her ignorance with this is the exact same kind of ignorace she vilifies when people do/say anything bad about homosexuals. Funny that.

eBay: Kevin Federline NSF Check From Eviction! (item 300045937435 end time Nov-15-06 11:43:34 PST)

Funny stuff. This guy went from nothing, to being nothing but married to Britney, to being nothing but getting divorced from Britney. Soon, he'll just be "Oh, who was that guy? You know, they one who married Britney Spears?"

Chris Rock's mom: Cracker Barrel discriminated - CNN.com

Rose Rock, the mother of comedian Chris Rock, claims she was racially discriminated against when she was seated but ignored for a half hour at a Cracker Barrel restaurant along the South Carolina coast.

Sometimes I wish I was black. Or, rather, I wish I could go back in time and be black every time I was ignored by wait staff or had bad service. Then, instead of just figuring the service sucks, complain and never go back I could file a lawsuit saying that I was discriminated against. In fact, we were at a Chinese restaurant the other night and we asked for water. After 20 minutes of it not coming, I had to go ask again for it. DISCRIMINATION!!! Oh wait, that can't be discrimination because I'm not a minority. But, if I had Rose Rock with me, we could sue!

She said when she asked the manager about the delay she was told they could have a free meal.

"He never called over the waitresses and asked, 'Why did these people sit here for a half hour without service?' " she said. "The only thing he said was we could have a free meal and neither of us wanted to eat."

I've complained about slow service or bad service before to managers. And, I have never once had a manager call a waitress over and belittle her by asking why the service was bad in front of me. Did she expect the manager to do that? Make a person who probably makes $4.10 an hour embarassed and belittle her in front of customers?

Is anyone else tired of people suing because of 'discrimination' for crap like this? Just because you're a minority, doesn't mean you're being discriminated against because of it. Sometimes, service at a restaurant just sucks.

Brinkley's husband: 'I'm sorry, I'm stupid' - Yahoo! News

Christie Brinkley's husband had an affair with an 18 year old, and now realizes how stupid he is. Why do I even bring this up at all? Christie Brinkley is the cats meow. To me (and this is no secret to Suzy) Christie Brinkley is the idea of perfection to me. The woman is 52 and looks better than women 1/3 of her age.

Anyways, her husband is a moron, and I'm glad he figured that out. Billy Joel is also an idiot.

CNN.com - Was FBI raid on lawmaker's office 'reckless justice?' - May 30, 2006

I like how these people get all in a huff when one of their own gets raided. But, when it comes to the Average Joe, they are all about making sure we can be wiretapped, eavesdropped and watched. And, of course, the Average Joe doesn't have the media platform to get on their soapbox about injustice and constitutionality. Next time your home or office gets raided, I guess we can whine that we didn't get advanced notice. After all, that would give you plenty of time to start labeling things the FBI would want to look at to make their job easier. "Hmmm... faked records to cover up bribe.. should put that Post It on that so they can fine it easier. Oh, and may as well unplug my computer so they can take it."

CNN.com - Judge: Sex offender too short for prison - May 26, 2006

A judge (Honorable Fuckwit Kristine Cecava) sentenced a child sex offender (50) who had sex with a 12 year old to 10 years probation instead of instead of 10 years in prison because he's short (5'1").

It seems more and more these days judges really don't care about letting these scum of the Earth back on the streets. They don't care about our children. This judge thinks he's too short for prison, but doesn't realize he's tall enough to rape a young girl. He should be in prison, made into someones bitch.. he's the right height for it.

17 days ago I sent an email to my agents about my new house. I had a question.. and a valid one. There is a closet which backs up to a closet on the other side of itself. We wanted to swap the size of these closets (basically, moving some wood over about 6-9"). We went over this during the blueprint stage, and have it written down (by the person at the builder) on a sheet of paper that it was to be done.

But, 17 days ago we saw that it wasn't done. The framing was not how we asked it to be. So, I email the agents to find out what's up. One of them (the one who is supposed to be the liason with the builder) that she would ask about it.

Sunday when I went, it was still how it was when I last saw it. And, I haven't heard anything back about it. 17 days ago. 17. Over two weeks. Pretty unacceptable to hear NOTHING. At least tell me you haven't heard anything.. or they decided it would somehow make the house cave in. Something.

I just sent a pretty stern email to the agents about this. Not the first time they are overly slow on this stuff, but will be the last.

I send emails since then it's documented. There is usually a followup call by me or one of them.. but at least I document these issues. Then, complain here about them :-)

We had a really good showing this Sunday. Some people were up here from 'down' state, drove past our house Saturday and stayed an extra night to see it on Sunday. They came, stayed 15 or so minutes, then came back about an hour and a half later to look again. That's always a good thing.

I figured maybe we'd get an off yesterday. But, nope. So, I spoke with my agent today to see what was what. As it turns out, they had the offer all ready to go, but wanted to speak with the bank yesterday first. After that, again, they were apparantly ready to go, until the topic of a deposit came up. For whatever reason, they appeared to not know they have to put a deposit down on a house when you make an offer.

I'm not exactly sure who thinks you don't have to put down a deposit when you want to buy a home. After all, there is really nothing to keep people from walking away from the deal. That's what the deposit if for.. to protect the seller. If the buyer walks away, the seller keeps the cash for the hassle.

So, I'm not sure what will happen with these people. Probably nothing. If you don't have the cash to make the deposit, then you won't get the house. I don't expect less than $10k for a deposit. $10k is hard for most to walk away from. Hell, I have $30k as a deposit in my new house. Think I'm going to walk away from that?

I haven't gone to poker in about 4 or 5 weeks now. There was an "incident", and I just decided to stop. Here's what happened...

I'm dealing. I have Ted on my right, and Mike on my left. Ted folded and placed his cards in front of him (which is kind of close to me). We play on a pool table, and I'm at the "head" of the table. So, this corner can make it kind of crampt when I'm dealing. Anyways, Ted folds, I throw in my blind. Mike is taking his time.. I think he was talking to someone. While waiting for him to call or fold, I notice Teds cards and decide to put them under the discard deck to get them out of the way.

I pick up his cards, and look over to Mike to see if he's made his bet yet. He hasn't. Then, for whatever reason, I think the cards in my hand are mine. This was like a split second thing. I start looking at them, again, thinking they are mine, and see the bottom card only. I notice that wasn't mine. It was a red suit, and I know I had to black cards. Before I could even finish registering the mistake in my head, Ted gets all "What the fuck are you looking at my cards for?"

I try to explain how it was a mistake.. I go through exactly what happened. I even take my money back from the pot and fold. But, he keeps going on, so I keep going back at him. How many times can I hear "Why are you looking at my cards?" (which were folded, not like I was looking over his shoulder) and saying "It was a fucking mistake, I thought they were mine, and I folded." Then, he starts in with the "Don't get me angry" shit. Like, I'm afraid and that's not an invitation to push his buttons. I was like "Ohhh.. tough guy. Give me a break." "Yeah, tough guy is right." I started getting agitated at this point. Not only was he accusing me of cheating, but now getting threatening. At this point, I just wanted to walk out into the garage, grab a hammer, and crack his skull. But, that's "old Kevin" and how he would have dealt with this stuff, not "new and improved Kevin". Kevin 2.0, if you will.

Then Gary, which I never liked.. he's the lousy neighbor two houses away.. pipes in with "Well, it does give you an advatage." Let me explain something to you here. 8 out of 10 hands has someone saying what they are folding or SHOWING what they are folding to someone still in the hand or discussing what they threw away with someone else who folded (a queen comes up on the flop and they say "that would have given me a pair of queens" Well, we all know there are at max 3 queens in play). And, Gary is someone who does is probably most. So, it's not like on 80% of the hands someone isn't getting an advantage. But, nobody ever says anything about that.. I make a simple mistake, see a single card and suddenly I'm going to whip out a Royal Flush from my ass.

So, I kept dealing. Fighting my "cave his skull" impulse. But, every time I was going to turn a card I'd announce "I haven't yet seen this card, and since I've folded, I have no advantage." At this point, I wanted Ted to swing on me. I'd welcome it. But, he didn't. Finally, I just kept my poker face through the whole game, said nothing, and went out in the final 3.

The game went on. Ted seemed to try to be more relaxed with me, but I was fucking pissed. You don't accuse me of cheating, since I don't. It was a mistake, I said it was a mistake, and pulled myself out of the hand. This is a "friendly" game, and shit happens all the time. But, when it's me it's somehow an issue. Maybe because I won the last 3 times I played, and currently was chip leader... big deal.

I guess when Kevin does well, it's cheating and Kevin is suspect of underhanded things. It's not that he watches poker on TV to gain insight, or reads about playing better, or plays online. Nah. Instead I sit here and practice the art of looking at cards, dealing from the bottom and controlled shuffles. Yeah, that's my plan.. I spend all day trying to learn how to cheat to not lose a whopping $10. I can't help it when Gary deals me pocket Kings 4 times in a row. Or, Jerry deals me a good flush. I can't help it that I changed how I bet, which is smarter. I can't help that after months of playing I learned how they play, and have gotten better in general. Not to mentioned that I'm in the final 3 about 85% of the time, and the final 4 95% of the time.

So, I haven't gone since that week. I'm not going to play with anyone who give me the "Don't get me angry" bullshit. That's exactly the sort of "drama" I have made a point to avoid for years. There was a time where I wouldn't have handled that so well.. so I just started avoiding those things. Back in the wild west, I would have shot him right there. Man, it would be cool if it were still allowed to shoot someone during a game of cards!

I don't plan on going back, which is a shame. I really don't like some of the people much anyways, and didn't really "enjoy" being there. It was fun to get out of the house and play cards. Sometimes I'd enjoy myself, but wouldn't say I had "fun". I certainly don't need the drama or bullshit, or to play with anyone who may think I'm cheating. I actually think a few of the others may cheat, or at least "help" eachother a little. I never say anything, since it's, well $10. I don't say anything when Gary tells Jerry what he's folding. Or, when he's folded and looks at other peoples cards. It's supposed to be a fun, friendly game. But, as of a few weeks ago, it no longer was.

CNN.com - Britney defends driving with son on lap - Feb 7, 2006

If you haven't seen the photos, they are of her driving with her baby on her lap, with some security guy in the passenger seat. Her defense:

I was terrified that this time the physically aggressive paparazzi would put both me and my baby in danger..

The paparazzi say they weren't being physically aggressive. I'm not sure when I last heard reports of the paprazzi grabbing and eating the children of celebs. I mean, maybe they do.. or they just decided to start with Britneys baby. I guess they figure since the kids parents are white trash, that the baby must taste like BBQ.

I think the real excuse is that the baby was actually covering up the open Schlitz she was drinking. Sort of like a beer coozy, but, a baby.. in traffic.

WorldNetDaily: Is new AOL IM slogan marketing blasphemy?

Some people really have too much time on their hands. One of these people is Ian Millar. He is complaining that the new AOL slogan "I AM.." is blashpemy. Why? Because I AM is the English translation of YaHWeH, the name reportedly of the mysterious God person. Of course, God and Moses were unavailable for comment on this issue.

All these years, I didn't know I was sinning when saying/writing things like "I am sick" or "I am in the mood for a ham sandwich." Let alone all the times I've read 'Green Eggs and Ham' with 'Sam, I am'.

I AM thinking Mr. Millar needs a hobby.
I AM mocking him.
I AM going to eat some lunch now.

CNN.com - Pregnant mom of 14 arrested; 3 kids found in abandoned house - Jan 27, 2006

This woman is 35, is prego and already the mother of 14. That's right 14.. FOURTEEN.. FOUR-TEEN kids.

The six oldest children had previously been removed from her custody by child welfare officials, and the remaining children were removed Thursday, authorities said.

6 kids were removed already.. leaving an amazing 8 in her care. How in the world can someone have 14 kids? People really have no business having that many kids. 5 at most, maybe.. but certainly not 14. If the gov't knows that someone has 14 kids (natural, or adopted) they should really be making regular visits to make sure the kids are well cared for. Not many people can afford to properly raise 2 or 3 kids, let alone 14.

TMZ.com: News - Legal Papers Prove She's No Einstein

I really dislike Paris Hilton. Not because she's a poster child for being a waste of carbon, but because she just doesn't care. She's one of these people who has no talent, and can live a good life because she shares the name of a relative who actually accomplished something. No respect, no cares, no tact, no class and no breasts.

But, I do love it when these people say stupid things. Especially, when they do it under oath at a deposition. Even many of the ghetto/trailer trash I see on Judge Judy at least attempt to look upstanding.

The link has a few from the deposition, and links to the deposition. It's a pretty funny read.

FOXNews.com - FOX Fan Speakout - Speakout - Belafonte Blasts Bush

The American singer and activist Harry Belafonte called President Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world" on Sunday and said millions of Americans support the socialist revolution of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.

This is why we need to send aging celebs who are mainly remembered for singing about bananas 40 years ago to an internment camp in Montana to be heavily sedated and kept from saying stupid things in stupid situations. No matter what you think about Bush, you don't call him a terrorist and say millions of us support Chavez. I'd bet, given a map, nobody reading t his would know where Venezuela is on the first guess. Or, who Chavez is, or be able to define solialism. Let alone millions of us supporting anything by him down there.

And, I'm not saying people reading this are stupid, we just don't care.

CNN.com - Iran leader: Move Israel to Europe - Dec 8, 2005

This guy is... no other way to put it... fucking insane.

I have never done it before... left a bad tip for a waitress. Here's how I usually do tipping:

I start at 20% (25% for breakfast), then work down (or up if the server is fantastic). From that 20% I work my way down based on some basic factors;

* Attitude. You don't have to be overly (fake) nice, but at least be pleasant. Don't rush me, don't look like I'm putting you out. Just smile and be nice.

* Drink refills. This is especially important for breakfasts and my coffee. The longer my cup is empty, the lower the tip can get. I even make it easy and put empty cups near the edge of the table to make it as obvious as I can.

* The "is everything OK?" check. Don't ask me how everything is 30 seconds after you put it down. And, don't ask when I'm done with the meal. After giving food, about 5 minutes later is the right time to ask, since a drink refill may be needed.

That's really about it. Those are some pretty basic wait staff things, and not hard to get a good tip. Usually, I end up leaving between 15 and 20%, which I think is fair-to-good tipping. But, not on Saturday.

We went to a Mexican place we'd been to once before. One thing that lacks up here is a good Mexican joint.. or at least we haven't found one yet. But, this place isn't bad. Things started fine, and the waitress was starting off ok. Then, we ran out of chips. No waitress. Suzy put the basket in a more obvious place... no new chips came. Finally, the hostess saw and brought us more. You need those chips while waiting, after all. Then, the food came. I let it slide that I got Tobasco when I asked for hot sauce. Everyone does this, and I have yet to be to a Mexican place which actually has hot sauce and not just pepper sauce that's not hot. Anyways... Suzy asked that they put mole (sp?) sauce on her meal. When she got it, it was spicy. So spicy to her that she couldn't even eat it. She took the sauce off, but was too spicy. The waitress never said that their mole sauce was spicy and Suzy has had plenty of mole, and none has been spicy.

5 minutes.. 6 minutes.. 7 minutes.. 10 minutes... finally, the waitress comes by. Suzy said the dish was too spicy and the waitress said "I can take it back and..." you'd think here she'd say she would talk to the cook, or replace it.. "clean it off for you." That's right.. she would somehow clean it off better than Suzy did. Maybe run it under water? Lick it dry? Suzy said 'no', and she offered to bring some cheese sauce to help drown out the heat that Suzy couldn't handle. bzzzzzt.. wrong answer toots. If someone doesn't like the food, you take it back. Especially, if it has come at a spice level not expected, noted or explained. Of course, I was almost done with my meal since it had been 10 minutes already. She asks Suzy if she'd like a drink refill, she says 'yes' and the lady walks away. I glance at my ice-filled soda cup wondering why I wasn't asked. But, she'd be a good waitress and bring me a refill anyways, right? Being preemptive of my thirst, right? bzzzzzzt. No refill for me (and there would be no other chance that night).

She gave Suzy the cheese, and went away. She really didn't seem to care, not even fake care, about the fact that Suzy couldn't eat her meal. The cheese didn't help, and Suzy pushed the plate away. About 10 more minutes after we were both finished eating, a different waitress (who was stationed at a table next to us) came and cleared our table. Our waitress was nowhere to be found. Not even a follow-up visit asking if the cheese helped.. or if I was thirsty. She finally came back a few minutes later asking if we wanted dessert. We did, but they were out of what we wanted, so we didn't. She then left the check.. with the full price of the uneatable meal on it.

Bill: $38.78... cash left on table: $41. That's the absolute worse tip I have ever left and it was completely deserved. It may not come across, but it was. She was terrible, vanishing, uncaring and unattentive.

"The best way to deal with a pandemic is to isolate it"

Someone should remind him what a "pandemic" is.

CNN.com - Reaction to Katrina split on racial lines - Sep 13, 2005

The poll found that six in 10 blacks interviewed said the federal government was slow in rescuing those stranded in New Orleans after Katrina because many of the people in the Louisiana city were black. But only about one in eight white respondents shared that view.

It couldn't have anything to do with violent looters, or resuers being shot at, could it? Of course not!! The gov't did react poorly initially, but then when people are being shot at or otherwise aggressed towards, that has nothing to do with the gov't and race. It would be interesting to see a map of where looting/violence was occuring and race and how quickly those areas were helped compared to others. As well as a map of neighborhood type and the area of rescue. Like any urban area, I'd expect the outer areas were more suburban (white) and the urban center was more black and rescues started from the outside-in instead of inside-out.

Nah, just throw around race as the issue. That's easy to do, and so very productive.

I can't tell you how many times this man made me laugh in my childhood and adulthood (watching Gilligan reruns). R.I.P. Little Buddy.

Secretaries sacked after cyber brawl | NSW/ACT | Breaking News 24/7 - NEWS.com.au (08-09-2005)

Two women got all catty over (company) email.. which landed them in the unemployment line.

I just want to thank all the foreign countries which I've heard have sent aid to the US for the devistation in LA from Katarina. I'll list the top 3 givers:

1.
2.
3.

I am very happy they have given to us, it really means a lot. I'm sure you'll be back begging on our doorstep when you have a natural disaster. Or, you won't need to beg since we'll just come to your aid for the shit and giggle factor of it.

CNN.com - Relief workers confront 'urban warfare' - Sep 1, 2005

People really can suck. Stupid blood suckers trying to exploit the situation by turning a horrible situation into something even more horrible. They should round these morons up, and ship them over to Iraq. See how tough they are then. Do they still make/allow people to enlist in the military instead of go to jail? If not, they should.

I took Kyla to some water slides today up at Lake George. Of course, a fair amount of kids there, and most want to race their friends down the slide. A kid in line at one of the slides was talking (more like shouting, since they were a whole 7 feet away from eachother) to his friend in my line. He kept saying "The brown kid in front of you will be going when I go". The kid in my line seemed to not know what he was saying, since he repeated it about 10 times. I felt bad for the 'brown kid' and said "He isn't a brown kid, he's just a kid."

It's funny, since I was talking to Alan last night about how there isn't much diversity in my area. You have to get closer to Albany for that (which I'm fine with). I'm not sure where that kid was from, but he certainly must not be too used to black folks. If his school was diverse and he called someone a "brown kid", he'd likely end up with a brown foot up his lily white ass.

CNN.com - Woman sues video game manufacturer - Jul 27, 2005

Woman buys Grand Theft Auto, which is (was) rated M for grandson, 14.. now sues Rockstar Games because of the hidden sexually explicit scenes. HELLOOOOOOO.. rated 'M' is for 17+ and the last time I checked, 14 was younger than 17. I hope Rockstar counter sues for her stupidity. Now, the game is rated AO (adult only) because those 17 year olds are still up to 12 months too immature for the game. Guess they have to stick to their 'rainbow parties'.

CNN.com - High court OKs personal property seizures - Jun 23, 2005

This sort of thing enrages me.

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses -- even against their will -- for private economic development.

If you read the article, it came from a class-action by some people in CT who said their homes were to be razed to build a hotel and gym. This is such bullshit, and basically extends the 5th Amendment to "If a rich developer wants to build something on your property, the gov't can take it from you." Total bull, if you ask me. This is a win for developers and fat cats, and a loss for homeowners and property rights.

In the NY Daily News, Billy Bob Thornton is quotes as saying:

"Sex doesn't have to be with a model to be good," Thornton says in July's Esquire. "Sometimes with the model, the actress or the 'sexiest person in the world,' it may literally be like f-ing the couch."

(Jolie was Esquire's "Sexiest Person in the World" last year.)

I could surely count on one hand the number of couches I've had sex with. But, none of them looked like Angelina Jolie, even after taping her picture to a pillow.

I wonder when was the last time Billy Bob looked in the mirror. Let's face it, if he wasn't rich and famous, he'd still be having sex with furnature.

I really dislike people being late. Or, at least, being late without a call. Yesterday I had a landscaper come out. We reconfirmed the time (noon) last week. Well, noon rolled on.. and at 12:45 I called to see where he was at. His Palm got hosed and all his appointments were messed up. He had me at 3:30. Then, at 3:30 I got a call that he was running 15 minutes late. He finally came about 4 hours after the original time. At least he was very apologetic.

Now today, I'm sitting here at 10:39 waiting for another landscaper to show for his 10am appt. I just called, and they don't know where he is. "I just saw him a minute ago".. "I hope you saw him leaving for my house." Yesterday I could wait around, but today I have to do some grocery shopping and can't wait all day.

It's just rude to be late. If you know you're running late, call and say so.

Phone just rang and it was the landscaper. He forgot to "check his book" this morning, as there is an "electrical problem" with a greenhouse and he'll be here at 6pm. I think that's crap. Business 101 will tell you not to keep people who want to give you money waiting.

Story here

I have not kept up on this aside from some thing on the news. She ran away, people thought she was kidnapped/killed, searched for her, she called the police saying she was abducted, it was a lie. Now people are pissed at her, and she has yet to actually speak to anyone.

Personally, I think this woman is nuts. She says she had 'issues', yet in the 600 people invited to the wedding, 14 bridesmaids, 14 groomsmen, her pastor and all the people "supporting her" now.. her problems we sooooo grand that she hopped a bus out of town and lied about being abducted. Coo-ku Coo-ku.

Just look at her pictures.. she has crazy eyes. Whenever you can see the white around the entire eye.. them's some crazy eyes!

I believe I have mentioned my land-grabbing neighbors before. If not, I'll recap.

Behind our houses we have "forever wild" land. This is land which is to be just that, wild.. forever. No building on it and no modifications of it. It was one of the good things about my property, being backed up to land which will not be touched. Right behind us is the pond, then a hill which blocks the main road which is about 1/4 mile away. To the South it is wooded. Last year neighbors a few houses away knocked down a bunch of birch clumps there, put down soild and hydroseeded it. I wasn't happy about it, but at least they were going to grow grass on it. I don't mind it looking nice, sans a few tree clumps. Then, they put their kids playground on it. I wasn't too keen on this, especially when he surrounded it with small rocks. They also let their two dogs run loose, and throw their dogs crap into the woods instead of the garbage like they are supposed to.

Basically, they keep using land which isn't theirs as if it were. This pisses me off. If you don't have enough land, move. Or, if you feel like using land which all your neighbors expected to stay forever wild, ask them if they care.. since what you do there effects us.

The other night I saw a truck back there, and saw a new pile of stone. Today, it has string around it. Looks like he plans to put a shed there... on land which isn't his. Not only that, but the shed will block some of the trees from my view. I like the trees, and he has no right to obstruct them from my view (other neighbors will be blocked even more).

I emailed the town to see what I can do, and what they would do, to complain about this. I know I'd be Mr. Bad Guy for turning in someone for something they shouldn't be doing. But, screw them. You can't just go doing crap like that because you want to. It's not your land, jerkoff.

I once mentioned that I was trying to recall someones phone number, then I lamented that me and this person had abruptly stopped having much contact, and I wasn't (and still am not) sure why.

Well, over the last week or so I have actually seen him logged into AIM. Here was my chance! If he happened to not get my email, surely he could see an IM. I emailed my normal calling... "dude!". Nothing in response. A few days later.. "dude!".. nothing. I think there was a third time as well.

Then again today, "dude!". Nothing. A while later, "dude.. are you going to respond to my dude call?". 4 hours later, a response! "perhaps". Nothing else, just "perhaps". 18 years of friendship, best man at eachothers weddings... "perhaps". That's what it has somehow boiled down to.. a single non-commital word, lacking any sort of punctuation. After all, at least a ! would show some possible excitement. About 20 minutes later, he disconnected. After so many years of being best dudes, I would have expected a "Hey! What's up dude?" or something. A stupid smiley :-) Or even a "Can't chat now, busy, talk to you later." Nah, 'perhaps'.

I guess this is one of those times where you just write someone off. I emailed, I IM'd, I would have called if I had a number. Not much else I can do. I won't grovel or make more effort, since I can only value a friendship as much as the other person. So, what's left to do than write them off? Off to the abyss of memories.

Maybe he'll IM, email or call later on and be happy to talk to me. Maybe not. I'll expect the 'not', and leave it at that. Kinda shitty if you ask me.

I guess I have a vacancy for the "18 years best buddies with a shitload of memories together, and total trust" spot in my life. Hard spot to fill, as the interview process is quite lengthy.

First, the Sun reported that Jessica Alba like one night stands and experimenting with sex, now Angelina Jolie says how she likes "sleeping with women, multiple partners, and sex with friends."

Let the fantasies begin!

A few weeks ago I mentioned I was trying to recall someones phone number. It happens to be one of my best friends numbers. We've known eachother since we were 14 or so. Best man at eachothers weddings, etc... I used to know his cell from memory, but it's been a while and I can't get past the area code. So, after trying to remember and doing some number searches, I decided to email him. So, I did. I have heard nothing back yet. It's been about 2 weeks or more now.

So, I have to think it's because one of two reasons. One, he doesn't read that email anymore. Very possible, and would certainly be the reason I'd prefer. The second is that he read it, but just doesn't care to call. That would be kinda sucky. I know if he emailed me, I'd be calling in