I think this one will be hard to top simple because of the copious amounts of awesome.
I hope everyone had a Happy Gobble Gobble Burp Thud Zzzz Day!
via WWdN: In Exile
November 28, 2008
Best. RickRoll. Ever. (And Happy Thanksgiving!)
November 24, 2008
How Old Are Your Tires?
This tire was made in the 41st week of 1994.
Here’s an interesting news report on the age of tires.
In a nutshell, ABC News is positing that your car tires have an expiration date that should be heeded, and that the “brand new” tires you just purchased at a tire store might have been sitting on the shelves for years.
There’s a cryptic numbering system at the end of the “DOT” text (pictured above). The first two digits indicate the week of the year. The next digit(s) indicate the year. In the above example, “414″ tells us this tire was made in the 41st week of 1994. “2101″ would tell us that the tire was made in the 21st week of 2001. Also, sometimes this number is printed only on the inside wall of the tire (facing the inside of the car), so you might have to crawl under your car to see it.
Interesting stuff.
November 19, 2008
Car Bites Dog
That's one lucky dog.
From Cellar - Image of the Day:
The motorist, Marco Menozzi, didn’t even stop when he mowed down the one-year-old pooch while doing 70mph on a side road in Cozze, southern Italy.
But he hit the dog so hard he was embedded in the grill under the bonnet of the Peugeot 207 and managed to cling on until the car eventually stopped.
Vets have treated the stray for a broken leg and bruising and he’s now in a police pound looking for new owner.
“He’s a very lucky boy. He was saved because he was hit so hard. Any softer and he would have bounced off the car and been crushed under the wheels,” said a police spokesman.
November 18, 2008
When is a Gun Not a Gun?
This is not a gun, apparently.
According to federal a federal code, the “gun” pictured above is not a gun, and as such was deemed as inadmissible for evidence in a recent court case.
From US Code: Title 18,921. Definitions:
(16) The term “antique firearm” means—
(A) any firearm (including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system) manufactured in or before 1898; or
Thanks for the link, Tim!
October 17, 2008
Barack Obama; Stand-up Comedian
Barack Obama definitely has a fall-back career as a late-night TV show host. 
He’s absolutely brilliant in this speech he gave at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner; deftly roasting McCain and addressing issues with humor. I’d love to see more of this side of him.
“Contrary to the rumors you’ve heard, I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton, sent here by my father, Jor-El to save the planet Earth.”
Nice find, Angelo!
October 9, 2008
This Week in Angry Mobs
Okay all, this is getting ridiculous. And not in a good way.
I’m loathe make a politically oriented post, but I couldn’t ignore all of this, as much as I’d like to. Individually, each of these articles was somewhat unsettling, but taken together they paint a somewhat disturbing picture.
Disturbing Item the First: Angry Mobs
This past Monday, there was a McCain/Palin rally in Clearwater, FL. Reported by the Washington Post:
“Now it turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers,” Palin said.”Boooo!” said the crowd.
“And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, ‘launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,’” she continued.
“Boooo!” the crowd repeated.
“Kill him!” proposed one man in the audience.
At that, Palin didn’t stop or condemn the comment, just sort of snickered and continued, which to me says a lot about her character, and the tone of their campaign in general. How is that in any way an acceptable thing to 1) say, 2) condone?
Even worse, someone who went to that very rally in Clearwater heard a good number of people in the crowd using the “n” word in reference to Obama, and saying things like “It’s a shame they don’t allow lynchings anymore.” That’s chilling, that this is happening today, and being incited by people aspiring this nation’s highest office.
Some other examples of the McCain/Palin campaign really driving home this “fear/outsider/otherness” meme from the Huffington Post. I feel like I’ve traveled back in time, like I’ve somehow ended up in 1950’s America.
Disturbing Item the Second: McCain Really Hates the Gooks, Apparently
From an article on SFGate published on Feb. 18, 2000, McCain is on record as saying:
“I hate the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live.”
For anyone who is lucky enough to not recognize the epithet “gook,” the article offers an explanation of the term:
The word “gook” was first used in 1899 by American soldiers fighting Filipino insurgents. During the Korean War, the term was aimed at Koreans and Chinese. It was directed at the Vietnamese when Americans were fighting in Vietnam. It is now used as a slur toward any Asian or Pacific Islander.
Now, in his defense, he later clarified that he was referring specifically to his captors in Vietnam. But all the same, I’m sure you’ll all agree that it’s understandable that I’d find this disturbing, whether or not his later clarification was sincere.
- Even if it was sincere, well, I’m not sure that entirely justifies the use of the word, and even if it does, it displays that to this day his incarceration in Vietnam affects him deeply. Not to say that it shouldn’t; certainly that would be an incredibly horrifying experience for anyone who should survive it, and I don’t mean to take anything away from that. My point is that, going through an experience has to affect you on a fundamental level; I’m not convinced a person can be 100% “okay” after something like that. Do we want someone like that in charge of us?
- If it was not sincere, well, then, that’s an obvious one. If he genuinely hates “the gooks” and will do so for as long as he lives, well, if he’s elected President all I could hope for is that he wouldn’t reinstate interment camps for Asians.
Disturbing Item the Third: Does McCain Think He’s Still InVietnam?
At a campaign stop in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, McCain said the following to the crowd:
“You and I together will confront the $10 trillion debt the federal government has run up and balance the federal budget by the end of my term in office. Across this country, this is the agenda I have set before my fellow prisoners and the same standards of clarity and candor must now be applied to my opponent.”
Whoa, wait, what now? The crowd was clearly baffled too, as right after that sentence ended, McCain paused for the usual applause but instead received only awkward silence.
Methinks the stress of the campaign trail is getting to him. At best, he’s been recounting his POW experience so often over the course of the campaign that it’s become muscle memory, and it just “slips out.” But on the other hand, it could be a sign that he’s beginning to come unhinged – which is exactly the wrong person to be the next Commander in Chief.
In Case of Emergency, Australia or Bust
I’ve been having an ongoing discussion regarding emigration (semi-jokingly) with some friends of mine, but this latest “angry mob” BS has really got me wondering if America is headed for some Mad Max-esque future. So, should the worst come to pass – either McCain/Palin winning the election, or Bush and/or Cheny suspending the election, dissolving the Galactic Senate, declaring himself Emperor, raising a clone army, and systematically killing off the Jedi – I’ve got a new place under consideration: Perth, Australia.
A friend of mine works with a guy who lives there, and he has nothing but good things to say about it. It’s one of the most isolated metropolitan places on earth, and it’s got great Internet infrastructure as it sits on the pipe to Europe. It’s got a good deal of diversity in terms of both ethnicity and religion, with the largest demographic being British. To top it all off, it’s got a booming economy, something we haven’t heard around here in ages.
I just wish it were November already. The suspense is killing me. I’d just like to know whether to keep planning on taking the California bar, or to start looking into this Australian Migration Occupations in Demand List.
September 26, 2008
Please Do Not Let This Person Become Vice President
I’ve tried to stay out of political commentary simply because that isn’t the nature of this blog, but I can’t stand by and let this person potentially become the second most powerful official in this country.
When interviewed by Katie Couric of CBS News regarding our economy, here’s a snippet of what Palin had to say:
Couric: You’ve said, quote, “John McCain will reform the way Wall Street does business.” Other than supporting stricter regulations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago, can you give us any more example of his leading the charge for more oversight?
Palin: I think that the example that you just cited, with his warnings two years ago about Fannie and Freddie - that, that’s paramount. That’s more than a heck of a lot of other senators and representatives did for us.
Couric: But he’s been in Congress for 26 years. He’s been chairman of the powerful Commerce Committee. And he has almost always sided with less regulation, not more.
Palin: He’s also known as the maverick though, taking shots from his own party, and certainly taking shots from the other party. Trying to get people to understand what he’s been talking about - the need to reform government.
Couric: But can you give me any other concrete examples? Because I know you’ve said Barack Obama is a lot of talk and no action. Can you give me any other examples in his 26 years of John McCain truly taking a stand on this?
Palin: I can give you examples of things that John McCain has done, that has shown his foresight, his pragmatism, and his leadership abilities. And that is what America needs today.
Couric: I’m just going to ask you one more time - not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation.
Palin: I’ll try to find you some and I’ll bring them to you.
When interviewed by Katie Couric of CBS News regarding foreign policy, here’s a snippet of what Palin had to say:
Katie Couric: You’ve cited Alaska’s proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?
Sarah Palin: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and, on our other side, the land-boundry that we have with Canada. It’s funny that a comment like that was kinda made to … I don’t know, you know … reporters.
Couric: Mocked?
Palin: Yeah, mocked, I guess that’s the word, yeah.
Couric: Well, explain to me why that enhances your foreign-policy credentials.
Palin: Well, it certainly does, because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of. And there…
Couric: Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?
Palin: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It’s very important when you consider even national-security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right next to, they are right next to our state.
When directly asked by a reporter what she learned from her meeting with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvilli and Ukranian President Viktor Yushchenko, she was quickly shutdown. Is McCain embarassed?
What about her crackdown on gift-giving to state officials? Hmm.
When you really think about it, Matt Damon was right:
It’s like a really bad Disney movie. The hockey mom from Alaska… is the president. She’s facing down Vladmir Putin using the folksy stuff she learned at the hockey rink. It’s absurd.
Regardless of party affiliation, consider this: Do you want this person to be the 2nd most powerful in this country (and possibly the world)?
I wonder if we’ll survive the legacy of the past 8 years.
Thanks to Angelo for the links.
via CBS News (1, 2)
via Politico.com
via Washingtonpost.com
via College Humor
via The Daily Show
September 24, 2008
The Subprime Mortgage Primer
Anybody looking for a layman’s explanation of what’s going on with our economy? Check out this stick-figure cartoon. Stick figure cartoons always help.
via BoingBoing via Businesspundit.com
September 14, 2008
Don’t Look at Your Investments on Monday
Our (and by that I mean, the U.S.) financial system is not doing so well. 
The American financial system was shaken to its core on Sunday. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. faced the prospect of liquidation, and Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed to be sold to Bank of America Corp. The U.S. government, which bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a week ago and orchestrated the sale of Bear Stearns Cos. to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in March, played much tougher with Lehman. It refused to provide a financial backstop to potential buyers. Without such support, Barclays PLC and Bank of America, the two most interested buyers, walked away. Late Sunday night, Lehman said it intends to file for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
via BoingBoing
September 8, 2008
Twitter and Ambient Awareness
Being a Twitter user myself (mikesol007), I’ve often wondered what purpose it truly serves in the context of my life. This New York Times article sums it up pretty succinctly. In a nutshell, each individual twitter by itself is meaningless, but in true gestalt fashion, as a whole, Twitter feeds give you an “ambient awareness” of what’s going on in your friends’ lives, a sort of “distant telepathy.”
One step closer to a singularity-spawned hive mind, eh?
via BoingBoing via NYT
