Taming the Tiger...
As I get deeper into the whole Tiger experience, I find dashboard to be a step back to the earlier days of the Mac when you could customize your whole computing experience, which of course is a good thing. Check it out for yourself:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/dashboard/
May 31, 2005
“It’s me! It's me!”
I don’t begrudge the police anything (I have several friends and neighbors who are officers) but, it’s stories like this that prove we need to keep from blindly surrendering our rights for the illusion of safety...
An undercover narcotics cop was cuffed, beaten and punched by his own back-up team during a buy-and-bust operation in Queens last year, according to a $15 million lawsuit filed last week.
Officer Carlton Foster, who is black, claims in his suit that several white cops who had worked with him before hadn't been trained properly and, as a result, beat him up before recognizing him.
I don’t begrudge the police anything (I have several friends and neighbors who are officers) but, it’s stories like this that prove we need to keep from blindly surrendering our rights for the illusion of safety...
An undercover narcotics cop was cuffed, beaten and punched by his own back-up team during a buy-and-bust operation in Queens last year, according to a $15 million lawsuit filed last week.
Officer Carlton Foster, who is black, claims in his suit that several white cops who had worked with him before hadn't been trained properly and, as a result, beat him up before recognizing him.
More from Bizarro world...
You know the old saw about opinions (and a**holes). I’m reading the story below and I’m thinking... great. A company tries treating people well and wind up getting boycotted for their trouble.
This is the whole bugaboo I’ve got with the ‘religion thing.’ Isn’t this the same thinking used to justify flying planes into the sides of buildings?
Whatever happened to live and let live?
A conservative Christian group launched a boycott against Ford Motor Co. Tuesday, saying the second-largest U.S. automaker has given thousands of dollars to gay rights groups, offers benefits to same-sex couples and actively recruits gay employees.
“From redefining family to include homosexual marriage, to giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to support homosexual groups and their agenda, to forcing managers to attend diversity training on how to promote the acceptance of homosexuality... Ford leads the way,” American Family Association chairman Donald Wildmon said in a statement.
Ford responded that it respects its customers and employees.
Every time I wind up in a discussion about THE LORD (there should be an accompanying thunderclap there, folks) with a person genuinely concerned about my salvation and saving my immortal soul, I find myself in a bit of a disconnect...
I’ve never had the audacity to possibly think I could speak for a supreme being (if there is one). Further, I find it hard believing even the most well-meaning and devout among us can say with 100% certainty they’re correct in the tenets of their belief system. There’s no theorem I know of which can be presented concretely proving a position in these things - one of the reasons it’s called faith no doubt.
faith
1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. See Synonyms at belief. See Synonyms at trust.
3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters.
4. often Faith Christianity. The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will.
5. The body of dogma of a religion: the Muslim faith.
6. A set of principles or beliefs.
So, when I hear someone say (for example), “God is my biggest fan” or something like ”God wants us to (fill in the blank),” I have a tendency to switch out the word ‘God’ for the pronoun ‘I’ in these instances because I find it the height of self-aggrandizing behavior.
It’s because I’ve been around people a lot of my life who seem to equate going to worship as justification for some really bad behavior or as a way of managing to take an attitude of superiority towards others. When you look a bulk of history, you come to realize a lot of really nasty stuff has been done in God’s name, the kind of thing makes me a even more wary.
As for these people with the ‘Direct Connect,’ if it works for them, if it brings them comfort... hey I’m all for it. Just show me the same respect for my beliefs and we’ll get along fine. What’s that phrase, oh yeah... we’re all God‘s children.
Actually made me have some respect for Ford of all things.
You know the old saw about opinions (and a**holes). I’m reading the story below and I’m thinking... great. A company tries treating people well and wind up getting boycotted for their trouble.
This is the whole bugaboo I’ve got with the ‘religion thing.’ Isn’t this the same thinking used to justify flying planes into the sides of buildings?
Whatever happened to live and let live?
A conservative Christian group launched a boycott against Ford Motor Co. Tuesday, saying the second-largest U.S. automaker has given thousands of dollars to gay rights groups, offers benefits to same-sex couples and actively recruits gay employees.
“From redefining family to include homosexual marriage, to giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to support homosexual groups and their agenda, to forcing managers to attend diversity training on how to promote the acceptance of homosexuality... Ford leads the way,” American Family Association chairman Donald Wildmon said in a statement.
Ford responded that it respects its customers and employees.
Every time I wind up in a discussion about THE LORD (there should be an accompanying thunderclap there, folks) with a person genuinely concerned about my salvation and saving my immortal soul, I find myself in a bit of a disconnect...
I’ve never had the audacity to possibly think I could speak for a supreme being (if there is one). Further, I find it hard believing even the most well-meaning and devout among us can say with 100% certainty they’re correct in the tenets of their belief system. There’s no theorem I know of which can be presented concretely proving a position in these things - one of the reasons it’s called faith no doubt.
faith
1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. See Synonyms at belief. See Synonyms at trust.
3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters.
4. often Faith Christianity. The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will.
5. The body of dogma of a religion: the Muslim faith.
6. A set of principles or beliefs.
So, when I hear someone say (for example), “God is my biggest fan” or something like ”God wants us to (fill in the blank),” I have a tendency to switch out the word ‘God’ for the pronoun ‘I’ in these instances because I find it the height of self-aggrandizing behavior.
It’s because I’ve been around people a lot of my life who seem to equate going to worship as justification for some really bad behavior or as a way of managing to take an attitude of superiority towards others. When you look a bulk of history, you come to realize a lot of really nasty stuff has been done in God’s name, the kind of thing makes me a even more wary.
As for these people with the ‘Direct Connect,’ if it works for them, if it brings them comfort... hey I’m all for it. Just show me the same respect for my beliefs and we’ll get along fine. What’s that phrase, oh yeah... we’re all God‘s children.
Actually made me have some respect for Ford of all things.
May 30, 2005
TV and me...
So, I’m flipping channels today - 40 something channels and nothing on, you know the deal. Anyway, I come across an old time staple: I Dream of Jeannie. As I sit there for a second or two looking at the show, it occurs to me just how much things have changed.
First off, there was apparently a big to-do at the time about showing Barbara Eden’s belly button (if you can imagine). Of course, today we are in a time when showing her belly button certainly wouldn’t be much of a problem - we’d probably see butt crack if anything.
Still, as uptight as that may sound (the belly button thing) can you imagine the uproar over the show’s premise today? I can easily see groups out in protest and up in arms about the very concept of “Jeannie.” I imagine the protests would be along the lines of it being demeaning to women or disrespectful of Arab culture. Think about it, is it really that hard not to see that happening? To get Jeannie on the air today, you’d probably have to do one of two things: One, Major Nelson would have to be a women and Jeannie (Genie) would have to be a man or two, Major Nelson would be a man and Jeannie would be a man as well but he’d be gay.
Now, if somehow this should come to pass, I’m going out to find a lawyer and you saw it here first.
How about Hogan’s Heroes? Maybe we could update that for the Vietnam War? Naw, they probably wouldn’t buy that.
And of course, if you’re reading this and I’ve offended your delicate sensibilities - I apologize.
So, I’m flipping channels today - 40 something channels and nothing on, you know the deal. Anyway, I come across an old time staple: I Dream of Jeannie. As I sit there for a second or two looking at the show, it occurs to me just how much things have changed.
First off, there was apparently a big to-do at the time about showing Barbara Eden’s belly button (if you can imagine). Of course, today we are in a time when showing her belly button certainly wouldn’t be much of a problem - we’d probably see butt crack if anything.
Still, as uptight as that may sound (the belly button thing) can you imagine the uproar over the show’s premise today? I can easily see groups out in protest and up in arms about the very concept of “Jeannie.” I imagine the protests would be along the lines of it being demeaning to women or disrespectful of Arab culture. Think about it, is it really that hard not to see that happening? To get Jeannie on the air today, you’d probably have to do one of two things: One, Major Nelson would have to be a women and Jeannie (Genie) would have to be a man or two, Major Nelson would be a man and Jeannie would be a man as well but he’d be gay.
Now, if somehow this should come to pass, I’m going out to find a lawyer and you saw it here first.
How about Hogan’s Heroes? Maybe we could update that for the Vietnam War? Naw, they probably wouldn’t buy that.
And of course, if you’re reading this and I’ve offended your delicate sensibilities - I apologize.
It takes one to know one?
This jewel was passed along by Brian, does it mean you have to be an a**hole to be interested in a**holes?
“These are the actual certifying general surgery board questions with correct answers, guaranteed to improve your test score,” the auctioneer wrote in August 2004. “A friend of mine failed this written exam, paid the $100 sitting fee and flew to Philadelphia to review his test. ... Why take the chance at failing, getting a year behind your peers...? Get an advantage now!”
Craig Edward Amshel, a rectal specialist from St. Augustine, Fla., failed the 2002 exam. But, as was the practice at the time, he was later allowed to review his test, alone, at the board’s offices in downtown Philadelphia for several hours.
Makes one wonder about the qualifications of people who are poking around down there, doesn’t it?
This jewel was passed along by Brian, does it mean you have to be an a**hole to be interested in a**holes?
“These are the actual certifying general surgery board questions with correct answers, guaranteed to improve your test score,” the auctioneer wrote in August 2004. “A friend of mine failed this written exam, paid the $100 sitting fee and flew to Philadelphia to review his test. ... Why take the chance at failing, getting a year behind your peers...? Get an advantage now!”
Craig Edward Amshel, a rectal specialist from St. Augustine, Fla., failed the 2002 exam. But, as was the practice at the time, he was later allowed to review his test, alone, at the board’s offices in downtown Philadelphia for several hours.
Makes one wonder about the qualifications of people who are poking around down there, doesn’t it?
The more things change...
You notice, you never hear about women being addicted to internet porn. I just point it out because we are in denial in this country about attitudes towards sex and the sexes. If you don’t think that is the case, next time you hear a story about the teacher (female) who married her student - just swap out the genders and think about how the same story comes across (I also happen to like how the writer uses the gender neutral descriptor, “one partner” below when in fact there are no incidents of females cited).
There are many reasons couples break up, but a new, and increasingly common, one is that one partner becomes obsessed with Internet pornography. Now that porn is so easy to watch at home or at work, many men are spending enough time and energy on it that they drive their female partners to end the relationship. In fact, Internet porn has so changed American relationships that in a 2003 survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, more than half said the Internet played a “significant role” in divorces in the past year, and that online porn contributed to half of these cases. Once upon a time, a woman’s greatest fear was a good-looking, buxom blonde. These days, her greatest fear is thousands of them.
You notice, you never hear about women being addicted to internet porn. I just point it out because we are in denial in this country about attitudes towards sex and the sexes. If you don’t think that is the case, next time you hear a story about the teacher (female) who married her student - just swap out the genders and think about how the same story comes across (I also happen to like how the writer uses the gender neutral descriptor, “one partner” below when in fact there are no incidents of females cited).
There are many reasons couples break up, but a new, and increasingly common, one is that one partner becomes obsessed with Internet pornography. Now that porn is so easy to watch at home or at work, many men are spending enough time and energy on it that they drive their female partners to end the relationship. In fact, Internet porn has so changed American relationships that in a 2003 survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, more than half said the Internet played a “significant role” in divorces in the past year, and that online porn contributed to half of these cases. Once upon a time, a woman’s greatest fear was a good-looking, buxom blonde. These days, her greatest fear is thousands of them.
May 28, 2005
The incredible warranty...
The last week or so I’ve been doing the upgrade thing to the equipment I have around here. This is something I’ve put off for as long as I could but now I am left with no choice. It’s part of the process of getting all the ducks in a row - setting up the equipment the way I want it and upgrading everything too.
Well, I installed Tiger on my G4 dual which was very straightforward... and then the problems began.
Everytime Apple plugs their latest and greatest, they usually haven’t worked out all the kinks (as evidenced by all those ‘little’ 40 and 50mb maintenance releases). So, I installed Tiger and then all of a sudden I had a Tiger by the tail!
The machine would start up and a screen would come up telling me I had to restart.
Gggggrrrrreeeaaaaatttttttt.
Either I got the screen telling me very nicely I had to restart or I simply got a prompt up on screen. In the back of my mind, I hear the voice telling me that this was the inevitable outcome of upgrading and I wince.
I look around the piles of detritus which have clustered near my desk and among them I find a forgotten treasure. Suddenly, I am very thankful of my inclination to hoard. The book Mac OSX The Missing Manual is a godsend as I find the resources to begin troubleshooting my problem. In short order after thumbing through the index I am launching directly into terminal and entering the commands to run a disk check. All my results come back okay so, it’s more reading to see if I can discover the cause of my problem.
A bit later I am pulling cards out of the machine in a logical sequence trying to isolate the offending piece of hardware. At last, I discover the two memory chips I purchased way back when don’t play nice with the new big cat on the block. So, I pull them and now the tower is running with a less than awesome 128mb of RAM but, it’s booting up.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I’m remembering something about a lifetime warranty that comes with the memory. I dive into the mountains of paper I’ve saved and come across the packing slip/receipt from my memory purchase surprised it is dated ’01 (have four years really passed?!). I go online and find the vendor’s site, nose around for awhile, generally upset at the prospect of having to shell out money I don’t currently have for replacement chips.
On the odd chance there really is something like a lifetime warranty, I call the vendor and have a long discussion with one of their salesmen.
And... there is a lifetime warranty!
And... I’m not the only person who has been having these problems with Tiger (much to the consternation of chip vendors) as the memory checks it runs at startup cause a heap freeze and it’s a fairly common occurrence.
So the surprise of the day is the chips I purchased four years ago can be returned and the vendor will send out replacement parts within 48 hours! Simply amazing!
More on this after everything is done but I will plug the people Coast to Coast Memory at 18004memory.com
The last week or so I’ve been doing the upgrade thing to the equipment I have around here. This is something I’ve put off for as long as I could but now I am left with no choice. It’s part of the process of getting all the ducks in a row - setting up the equipment the way I want it and upgrading everything too.
Well, I installed Tiger on my G4 dual which was very straightforward... and then the problems began.
Everytime Apple plugs their latest and greatest, they usually haven’t worked out all the kinks (as evidenced by all those ‘little’ 40 and 50mb maintenance releases). So, I installed Tiger and then all of a sudden I had a Tiger by the tail!
The machine would start up and a screen would come up telling me I had to restart.
Gggggrrrrreeeaaaaatttttttt.
Either I got the screen telling me very nicely I had to restart or I simply got a prompt up on screen. In the back of my mind, I hear the voice telling me that this was the inevitable outcome of upgrading and I wince.
I look around the piles of detritus which have clustered near my desk and among them I find a forgotten treasure. Suddenly, I am very thankful of my inclination to hoard. The book Mac OSX The Missing Manual is a godsend as I find the resources to begin troubleshooting my problem. In short order after thumbing through the index I am launching directly into terminal and entering the commands to run a disk check. All my results come back okay so, it’s more reading to see if I can discover the cause of my problem.
A bit later I am pulling cards out of the machine in a logical sequence trying to isolate the offending piece of hardware. At last, I discover the two memory chips I purchased way back when don’t play nice with the new big cat on the block. So, I pull them and now the tower is running with a less than awesome 128mb of RAM but, it’s booting up.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I’m remembering something about a lifetime warranty that comes with the memory. I dive into the mountains of paper I’ve saved and come across the packing slip/receipt from my memory purchase surprised it is dated ’01 (have four years really passed?!). I go online and find the vendor’s site, nose around for awhile, generally upset at the prospect of having to shell out money I don’t currently have for replacement chips.
On the odd chance there really is something like a lifetime warranty, I call the vendor and have a long discussion with one of their salesmen.
And... there is a lifetime warranty!
And... I’m not the only person who has been having these problems with Tiger (much to the consternation of chip vendors) as the memory checks it runs at startup cause a heap freeze and it’s a fairly common occurrence.
So the surprise of the day is the chips I purchased four years ago can be returned and the vendor will send out replacement parts within 48 hours! Simply amazing!
More on this after everything is done but I will plug the people Coast to Coast Memory at 18004memory.com
May 25, 2005
Hot wheels...
Tomorrow I get my car back.
It’s been two weeks almost, time sure flies. Some people wrap their identity around their job for me, I imagine it’s partially my car.
The car I have now was the first new car I ever purchased and owned. If I remember right, it took me almost a year to decide what car I was going to buy – lots of test driving different models, lots of research but, I’ve been very happy with the decision I made. There comes a point after a while where your car becomes something more than a mere means of transportation, I don’t know if you can elevate it to the level of a pet but, it becomes something special. Again, at least that’s the way it’s always been for me.
When I was younger, I practically lived out of my car. As a teenager, the car was all about independence and escape – and when I say I lived out of my car, I do mean I literally lived out of it as I remember leaving home for several weeks at one point and using the car as a bedroom with wheels (not an easy thing in the middle of winter).
So, tomorrow my old friend will be back with me once again.
Some moron hit me a few weeks back. I don’t know whether it was a man or a women. Just another one of those cowboy a**holes behind the wheel of their SUV. I really hate those damn things. Ever since they’ve gotten popular it seems like driving has become this contact sport or better still a way for people to take out the frustrations in other areas of their lives. All too often nowadays I see people tailgating or just driving stupid. I keep meaning to write a short book about driving but I haven’t managed to get around to it yet (one of the reasons I took up the whole blog thing - to keep the writing muscles active).
SUVs are a good example of bully behavior when it comes to the roads. The people who justify an SUV and live in the city could manage to use a station wagon for the very same reasons they justify getting and driving their SUV but then, I guess there wouldn’t be that whole image thing going on. You can’t look rugged driving in a station wagon the way you can in an SUV now can you?
I watch and keep smiling while gas prices go up and up and up because I know it’s the world’s way of exacting a form of revenge on what could pass for the automotive equivalent of gluttony.
So, this idiot sideswiped me and then sped off.
Nice.
Since the person had been sitting on my bumper and I imagine I was going to slow to suit their tastes as I got on the highway, they sped past me on the right, misjudged cutting it way too close and really making nice work of the right side of the car.
I was surprised, thankfully I wasn’t hurt or anything. I was a little shaken up by it but, more surprised by it than anything else and when I noticed that instead of stopping the guy stepped really hard on the gas to get scarce as quickly as possible, it took a second or two to register what was happening.
I looked over and noticed the mirror was gone on the passenger side and then looked ahead to see the Jeep Cherokee accelerating very quickly away up the long straightaway, receding in the process. A moment or two passed before I realized what was happening. The “guy” had passed me on the shoulder of the road (a no-no), hit me and then decided not to stop - with good reason no doubt since there was no question about who’s fault the damn thing was.
Like I said, it took a second or two to register. Then, “hit and run” flashed across the front of my mind and it became about being pissed. So, in short order I got behind the guy got the plate info and then pulled off to take a trip to the nearest police station. Thankfully, even after all this time the car still has decent pickup and is pretty fast when it needs to be. There was this funny thing that happened as the Jeep sped away first ever increasing in speed (90?, 95?) until it was fairly obvious that there was no escape and then the vehicle slowed.
So, I went to the local PD station and wound up waiting for a State Trooper. Three days later I got a call from the clown’s insurance company about the ‘event’ I had reported, I guess someone got tracked down after all.
Tough luck schmuck.
Tomorrow I get my car back.
It’s been two weeks almost, time sure flies. Some people wrap their identity around their job for me, I imagine it’s partially my car.
The car I have now was the first new car I ever purchased and owned. If I remember right, it took me almost a year to decide what car I was going to buy – lots of test driving different models, lots of research but, I’ve been very happy with the decision I made. There comes a point after a while where your car becomes something more than a mere means of transportation, I don’t know if you can elevate it to the level of a pet but, it becomes something special. Again, at least that’s the way it’s always been for me.
When I was younger, I practically lived out of my car. As a teenager, the car was all about independence and escape – and when I say I lived out of my car, I do mean I literally lived out of it as I remember leaving home for several weeks at one point and using the car as a bedroom with wheels (not an easy thing in the middle of winter).
So, tomorrow my old friend will be back with me once again.
Some moron hit me a few weeks back. I don’t know whether it was a man or a women. Just another one of those cowboy a**holes behind the wheel of their SUV. I really hate those damn things. Ever since they’ve gotten popular it seems like driving has become this contact sport or better still a way for people to take out the frustrations in other areas of their lives. All too often nowadays I see people tailgating or just driving stupid. I keep meaning to write a short book about driving but I haven’t managed to get around to it yet (one of the reasons I took up the whole blog thing - to keep the writing muscles active).
SUVs are a good example of bully behavior when it comes to the roads. The people who justify an SUV and live in the city could manage to use a station wagon for the very same reasons they justify getting and driving their SUV but then, I guess there wouldn’t be that whole image thing going on. You can’t look rugged driving in a station wagon the way you can in an SUV now can you?
I watch and keep smiling while gas prices go up and up and up because I know it’s the world’s way of exacting a form of revenge on what could pass for the automotive equivalent of gluttony.
So, this idiot sideswiped me and then sped off.
Nice.
Since the person had been sitting on my bumper and I imagine I was going to slow to suit their tastes as I got on the highway, they sped past me on the right, misjudged cutting it way too close and really making nice work of the right side of the car.
I was surprised, thankfully I wasn’t hurt or anything. I was a little shaken up by it but, more surprised by it than anything else and when I noticed that instead of stopping the guy stepped really hard on the gas to get scarce as quickly as possible, it took a second or two to register what was happening.
I looked over and noticed the mirror was gone on the passenger side and then looked ahead to see the Jeep Cherokee accelerating very quickly away up the long straightaway, receding in the process. A moment or two passed before I realized what was happening. The “guy” had passed me on the shoulder of the road (a no-no), hit me and then decided not to stop - with good reason no doubt since there was no question about who’s fault the damn thing was.
Like I said, it took a second or two to register. Then, “hit and run” flashed across the front of my mind and it became about being pissed. So, in short order I got behind the guy got the plate info and then pulled off to take a trip to the nearest police station. Thankfully, even after all this time the car still has decent pickup and is pretty fast when it needs to be. There was this funny thing that happened as the Jeep sped away first ever increasing in speed (90?, 95?) until it was fairly obvious that there was no escape and then the vehicle slowed.
So, I went to the local PD station and wound up waiting for a State Trooper. Three days later I got a call from the clown’s insurance company about the ‘event’ I had reported, I guess someone got tracked down after all.
Tough luck schmuck.
May 23, 2005
Why men are lucky there are women...
The other day I referenced the story about the nut who took the time and energy to place a minicam underneath a grate so, he could get decent panty shots and perhaps the elusive bare b**ver. I thought it was an illustration of the way men are hardwired, a way which women fail to completely grasp at times.
Yes, I thoroughly believe if men were wired somewhat differently and weren’t so preoccupied with sex we’d have a car that runs on water, a cure for cancer and a human colony on a few of the other satellites in our solar system. Yes ladies, there’s a reason a missiles have that phallic shape - and it’s all about having more missiles or the most powerful missiles (I’m sure you get the drift).
Anyway, what bought that to mind was a couple of conversations I’ve had over the last few days which further illustrate the differences between the genders:
— — —
One lady I know recently went for surgery and had a pair of shunts residing in her nasal passages for well over a week. When it came time to remove them it was a brief affair which caused her doctor to observe, “women rock!” Seems she had to perform the same procedure on a guy earlier in the day and it took 45 minutes of hand wringing and hand holding to work the patient through it - in the lady in question’s case it was a matter of five minutes and out.
— — —
Another illustration was a discussion I was having with ‘my dental student’ (since graduated but still beholden to my mouth - treatment plan that is), as she commented on my being a good patient.
— — —
Good has nothing to do with it really as I truly hate going to the dentist - I just can’t ever say I’ve looked forward to hearing the high-pitched whine of the drill. However, through the years, I’ve somehow mastered the art of being able to fall asleep in odd places. While this never seems to carry over to the bed at night, one of those odd places I have managed success in falling asleep at is the dental chair. If it’s just the kind of overcast day and I can manage to get cozy warm, I sleep right through the worst of it - no gas, no nothing. Even on days when it’s not especially overcast, I can mange to start to doze off if I put my mind to it.
— — —
Anyway back to that point I was trying to make, during today’s four hour sojourn in the chair (think of my mouth as a public works project, a highway or some such) and witnessing a truly brutal escapade involving another patient, Jan and I were discussing the whole pros and cons of patients, men versus women and such.
It was then she commented on the ‘good patient’ to which I responded that like most painful experiences, you just try to soldier through as best you can and not to let it affect you any more than it has to.
She had just gone through childbirth and I observed that even though it’s a painful experience, you try to make it through and afterward put it from your mind — if ladies didn’t I would think it would have to be ‘one and done’ for all women. The funny thing she observed though was during the night of her delivery (Thanksgiving night), she really went to the hospital because of the terrific pain she was experiencing due to labor. So, she’s there because of all this pain and they take care of it and at the end someone handed her a baby. Like it was her prize for going through all that pain.
Well, I had never quite heard it described like that and she noted that I was a good sport even though nobody would be handing me a baby after we were all done (my what a scary thought). I thought it was something I would pass along.
— — —
I’ve had discussions about the whole childbirth thing with various women through the years. One memorable dialogue occurred between me and an old flame the day after she had her first. I was a much younger man and I asked her what it was like. Plainly she stated it was difficult to describe in terms a man could understand - I opined the only comparable feeling I could possible liken it to was passing a bowling ball (gi tract - never done but 8 lbs is 8 lbs) and she figured that was a fairly accurate assessment.
— — —
Consequently, what’s the upshot of all this? Well, let’s just put it this way, you won’t see any men out there volunteering for the bowling ball experience - as much blather about machismo and such as there may be, if it were up to my brothers and I we would soon be a very extinct species. No, the only thing we’re probably good for is chasing after you women and doing some really dirty job around the house.
The other day I referenced the story about the nut who took the time and energy to place a minicam underneath a grate so, he could get decent panty shots and perhaps the elusive bare b**ver. I thought it was an illustration of the way men are hardwired, a way which women fail to completely grasp at times.
Yes, I thoroughly believe if men were wired somewhat differently and weren’t so preoccupied with sex we’d have a car that runs on water, a cure for cancer and a human colony on a few of the other satellites in our solar system. Yes ladies, there’s a reason a missiles have that phallic shape - and it’s all about having more missiles or the most powerful missiles (I’m sure you get the drift).
Anyway, what bought that to mind was a couple of conversations I’ve had over the last few days which further illustrate the differences between the genders:
One lady I know recently went for surgery and had a pair of shunts residing in her nasal passages for well over a week. When it came time to remove them it was a brief affair which caused her doctor to observe, “women rock!” Seems she had to perform the same procedure on a guy earlier in the day and it took 45 minutes of hand wringing and hand holding to work the patient through it - in the lady in question’s case it was a matter of five minutes and out.
Another illustration was a discussion I was having with ‘my dental student’ (since graduated but still beholden to my mouth - treatment plan that is), as she commented on my being a good patient.
Good has nothing to do with it really as I truly hate going to the dentist - I just can’t ever say I’ve looked forward to hearing the high-pitched whine of the drill. However, through the years, I’ve somehow mastered the art of being able to fall asleep in odd places. While this never seems to carry over to the bed at night, one of those odd places I have managed success in falling asleep at is the dental chair. If it’s just the kind of overcast day and I can manage to get cozy warm, I sleep right through the worst of it - no gas, no nothing. Even on days when it’s not especially overcast, I can mange to start to doze off if I put my mind to it.
Anyway back to that point I was trying to make, during today’s four hour sojourn in the chair (think of my mouth as a public works project, a highway or some such) and witnessing a truly brutal escapade involving another patient, Jan and I were discussing the whole pros and cons of patients, men versus women and such.
It was then she commented on the ‘good patient’ to which I responded that like most painful experiences, you just try to soldier through as best you can and not to let it affect you any more than it has to.
She had just gone through childbirth and I observed that even though it’s a painful experience, you try to make it through and afterward put it from your mind — if ladies didn’t I would think it would have to be ‘one and done’ for all women. The funny thing she observed though was during the night of her delivery (Thanksgiving night), she really went to the hospital because of the terrific pain she was experiencing due to labor. So, she’s there because of all this pain and they take care of it and at the end someone handed her a baby. Like it was her prize for going through all that pain.
Well, I had never quite heard it described like that and she noted that I was a good sport even though nobody would be handing me a baby after we were all done (my what a scary thought). I thought it was something I would pass along.
I’ve had discussions about the whole childbirth thing with various women through the years. One memorable dialogue occurred between me and an old flame the day after she had her first. I was a much younger man and I asked her what it was like. Plainly she stated it was difficult to describe in terms a man could understand - I opined the only comparable feeling I could possible liken it to was passing a bowling ball (gi tract - never done but 8 lbs is 8 lbs) and she figured that was a fairly accurate assessment.
Consequently, what’s the upshot of all this? Well, let’s just put it this way, you won’t see any men out there volunteering for the bowling ball experience - as much blather about machismo and such as there may be, if it were up to my brothers and I we would soon be a very extinct species. No, the only thing we’re probably good for is chasing after you women and doing some really dirty job around the house.
May 20, 2005
40 acres and a mule? No, 42 midgets and a lion
An interesting story which I heard reported on the radio today:
The fight was slated when an angry fan contested Yang Sihamoni, President of the CMFL, claiming that one lion could defeat his entire league of 42 fighters.
Sihamoni takes great pride in the league he helped create, as was conveyed in his recent advertising campaign for the CMFL that stated his midgets will “... take on anything; man, beast, or machine.”
Unfortunately, the person doing the reporting didn’t do their research.
Why the article was created:
- The debate:
It was created to ‘settle’ a dispute between a friend of mine in which he claimed that 40 weaponless midgets could defeat 1 lion in a hypothetical fight.
An interesting story which I heard reported on the radio today:
The fight was slated when an angry fan contested Yang Sihamoni, President of the CMFL, claiming that one lion could defeat his entire league of 42 fighters.
Sihamoni takes great pride in the league he helped create, as was conveyed in his recent advertising campaign for the CMFL that stated his midgets will “... take on anything; man, beast, or machine.”
Unfortunately, the person doing the reporting didn’t do their research.
Why the article was created:
- The debate:
It was created to ‘settle’ a dispute between a friend of mine in which he claimed that 40 weaponless midgets could defeat 1 lion in a hypothetical fight.
Gentlemen, start your engines...
More from A Galaxy, Far, Far Away:
“Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith” has been leaked onto a major file-sharing network just hours after opening in theaters, at a time when Hollywood is increasingly concerned about online piracy.
At least two copies of the film, which was first shown in theaters in the early hours of Thursday, have been posted to the BitTorrent file-sharing network—a new and increasingly popular technology that allows users to download large video files much more quickly than in the past.
More from A Galaxy, Far, Far Away:
“Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith” has been leaked onto a major file-sharing network just hours after opening in theaters, at a time when Hollywood is increasingly concerned about online piracy.
At least two copies of the film, which was first shown in theaters in the early hours of Thursday, have been posted to the BitTorrent file-sharing network—a new and increasingly popular technology that allows users to download large video files much more quickly than in the past.
May 19, 2005
A long time ago...
So, I got to thinking about all those people who line up in front of the Ziegfeld wearing costumes and thinking whatever will they do now that the last movie of the Star Wars series has come out? I mean, all this time they’ve devoted to the Star Wars universe and there won’t be any more Star Wars, what to do, what to do, what to do?
Here they’ve got these costumes...
...and they don’t have any place to wear them to since there won’t be any more of those movie lines.
Then, I came across this article:
US Army recruiters have failed to hit their targets for the third consecutive month, with the war in Iraq apparently making Americans reluctant to enlist.
Provisional figures show an April shortfall, a Pentagon spokesman says, after the army managed only 68% of its target in March and 73% in February.
So, I got to thinking, maybe here was a situation where we could “kill” (pardon the pun) two birds with one stone. Why not just set up recruiter stations at the exits of all movie theaters showing Revenge of the Sith? The enlistees don’t even need to change out of their costumes! We can just send them over to Iraq dressed the way they are! They got a place to wear their outfits and the military gets more warm bodies for tours in the Middle East!
Admit it! It’s a match made in heaven! You keep popping out Stormtroopers and we’ll keep sending them overseas!
Certainly beats just sitting around all dressed up with no place to go!
So, I got to thinking about all those people who line up in front of the Ziegfeld wearing costumes and thinking whatever will they do now that the last movie of the Star Wars series has come out? I mean, all this time they’ve devoted to the Star Wars universe and there won’t be any more Star Wars, what to do, what to do, what to do?
Here they’ve got these costumes...
...and they don’t have any place to wear them to since there won’t be any more of those movie lines.
Then, I came across this article:
US Army recruiters have failed to hit their targets for the third consecutive month, with the war in Iraq apparently making Americans reluctant to enlist.
Provisional figures show an April shortfall, a Pentagon spokesman says, after the army managed only 68% of its target in March and 73% in February.
So, I got to thinking, maybe here was a situation where we could “kill” (pardon the pun) two birds with one stone. Why not just set up recruiter stations at the exits of all movie theaters showing Revenge of the Sith? The enlistees don’t even need to change out of their costumes! We can just send them over to Iraq dressed the way they are! They got a place to wear their outfits and the military gets more warm bodies for tours in the Middle East!
Admit it! It’s a match made in heaven! You keep popping out Stormtroopers and we’ll keep sending them overseas!
Certainly beats just sitting around all dressed up with no place to go!
Massive suck potential?
While it’s an ingenous bit of casting and seems dead on, it just made me think about Schwarzenegger’s turn as Mister Freeze in the Batman series.
Twentieth Century Fox and Marvel Entertainment have bolstered the mutant roster for “X-Men 3” with Kelsey GrammerKelsey Grammer, who is set to play Beast, the oversized blue-furred creature who has not yet appeared in an “X-Men”“X-Men” film.
While it’s an ingenous bit of casting and seems dead on, it just made me think about Schwarzenegger’s turn as Mister Freeze in the Batman series.
Twentieth Century Fox and Marvel Entertainment have bolstered the mutant roster for “X-Men 3” with Kelsey GrammerKelsey Grammer, who is set to play Beast, the oversized blue-furred creature who has not yet appeared in an “X-Men”“X-Men” film.
May 18, 2005
Holy Bloomers Batman!
Well, not quite. I heard this on the news today, just another illustration at the lengths men will go to look at women. Ladies it’s hard to explain and probably unfathomable but, just imagine the time and effort spent in doing this and it tells you something about how men are wired.
There has been a disturbing discovery on the Upper East Side. Police have found a camera hidden under a grate positioned to take indecent pictures of unsuspecting women.
It was around 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon when people on the street outside a church at 88th and Lexington, wondered if police had located a bomb.
Well, not quite. I heard this on the news today, just another illustration at the lengths men will go to look at women. Ladies it’s hard to explain and probably unfathomable but, just imagine the time and effort spent in doing this and it tells you something about how men are wired.
There has been a disturbing discovery on the Upper East Side. Police have found a camera hidden under a grate positioned to take indecent pictures of unsuspecting women.
It was around 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon when people on the street outside a church at 88th and Lexington, wondered if police had located a bomb.
May 11, 2005
Your politicians hard at work
We certainly know that the Yankees will. One of the main purposes of a new stadium from the Yankees' point of view is the addition of luxury suites—50 to 60—all of which, presumably, will be purchased by corporations, and— surprise!—the average fan is going to get stuck with significantly higher ticket costs. Proposals for the new stadium have indicated that the seating will be reduced from its current 57,000+ to between 47,000 and 50,000. Why fewer seats? Because the law of more demand for fewer seats dictates that the price of tickets will rise significantly.
Yeah, finding funding for schools, roads and mass transit is difficult but, we can always find the money to build new stadiums.
We certainly know that the Yankees will. One of the main purposes of a new stadium from the Yankees' point of view is the addition of luxury suites—50 to 60—all of which, presumably, will be purchased by corporations, and— surprise!—the average fan is going to get stuck with significantly higher ticket costs. Proposals for the new stadium have indicated that the seating will be reduced from its current 57,000+ to between 47,000 and 50,000. Why fewer seats? Because the law of more demand for fewer seats dictates that the price of tickets will rise significantly.
Yeah, finding funding for schools, roads and mass transit is difficult but, we can always find the money to build new stadiums.
All protein shakes are not alike?
A story so bizarre, it’s laughable you’d think it wasn’t true but...
the Food and Drug Administration is about to implement new rules recommending that any man who has engaged in homosexual sex in the previous five years be barred from serving as an anonymous sperm donor.
A story so bizarre, it’s laughable you’d think it wasn’t true but...
the Food and Drug Administration is about to implement new rules recommending that any man who has engaged in homosexual sex in the previous five years be barred from serving as an anonymous sperm donor.
insipid
adj 1: lacking taste or flavor or tang; "a bland diet"; "insipid hospital food"; "flavorless supermarket tomatoes"; "vapid beer"; "vapid tea" [syn: bland, flat, flavorless, flavourless, savorless, savourless, vapid] 2: lacking significance or impact; "an insipid novel" 3: lacking interest or significance; "an insipid personality"; "jejune novel" [syn: jejune] 4: not pleasing to the sense of taste [syn: tasteless]
The other day I was thinking how I could bet if I looked up the word insipid in the dictionary, I would almost be insured to find Paris Hilton’s picture there.
What is the fascination with this woman?
There is something of a vacant quality in her eyes making one get the sense she could be the poster child of the mentally challenged. I mean outside of being spawned by a well-to-do family what is her claim to fame? She is the embodiment of Beavis in the form of a skinny blonde girl. Is she anything more than this generation’s Princess Stephanie or Gloria Vanderbilt?
adj 1: lacking taste or flavor or tang; "a bland diet"; "insipid hospital food"; "flavorless supermarket tomatoes"; "vapid beer"; "vapid tea" [syn: bland, flat, flavorless, flavourless, savorless, savourless, vapid] 2: lacking significance or impact; "an insipid novel" 3: lacking interest or significance; "an insipid personality"; "jejune novel" [syn: jejune] 4: not pleasing to the sense of taste [syn: tasteless]
The other day I was thinking how I could bet if I looked up the word insipid in the dictionary, I would almost be insured to find Paris Hilton’s picture there.
What is the fascination with this woman?
There is something of a vacant quality in her eyes making one get the sense she could be the poster child of the mentally challenged. I mean outside of being spawned by a well-to-do family what is her claim to fame? She is the embodiment of Beavis in the form of a skinny blonde girl. Is she anything more than this generation’s Princess Stephanie or Gloria Vanderbilt?
May 6, 2005
I sit at my computer and literally there is a cat at my shoulder. She jumps up onto my lap, when she becomes bored with that, she climbs up my arm to take residence on the back of the chair and then when her perch becomes too precarious, settles in with her front paws resting upon my left shoulder as her back legs are braced against the chairs’ back - I’d take a picture if I knew that I could do it somehow without disturbing her.
May 5, 2005
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