Stop and Ponder

Facebook users:

If there was no Facebook, what would you be doing with your time?

What is it that Facebook gives you that real life is not?

Are your connections to Facebook friends more real than your physically present friends?

Where do all the things you put on Facebook end up?

Do you wonder how many servers it takes to house all the stuff on Facebook?

Do you consider how much electricity it takes to run those server arrays and storage devices?

Do you think the cost of that energy expense should be added to your personal carbon footprint?

What did you do with your time and your life before Facebook, Twitter, Blogspot and the trend of over sharing on the Internet?

sign me,

Not judging, Just wondering and guilty of having blogs too

Scott Brown and what Obama should do

So I did not win the Mass Senatorial election. More's the pity. But looking at who did win, Martha Coa...wait a minute. Scott Brown won the race?! What in the hell is going on, Massachusetts? Isn't this a red state through and through? No. It's not. The constituents of the commonwealth can transcend party lines when the needs arise. And what was the need in this case? Well, it was the need to shoot down a candidate who took this election for granted.

Here in Massachusetts, we hate being talked down to. We get annoyed very easily when we are told how we should act, think, behave and vote. Then we raise our middle finger and do the opposite. Boston Tea Party started it all, and we continue that attitude to this very day. When Coakley figured she had the election wrapped up from day one, she got our heckles up. As she was vying for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat with Obama in office, this was like shooting whales in a barrel. Not so much. Camelot II has ended for the president, and his efforts to push through a National Healthcare Bill is bringing down his stock considerably. Brown getting elected put a halt to that healthcare train. This is a good thing. Universal Healthcare is a fine concept, but it should be done properly, with bipartisan participation.

If Mr. Obama might listen to me for a moment, I have a method for getting his approval ratings up:
1) Put healthcare on the backburner for the moment. Clinton realized that it's a huge uphill battle when he tried to push it through. Take a lesson from Mr. Clinton and relax on UHC.
2) Remove our troops from Iraq. It was a mistake to be there in the first place. The war was a bad move. Time to end our occupation.
3) Take one-third of those troops to aid in the war we should be fighting: hunting down Bin Laden and his organization. Get him. If he's really still alive, that is.

The amount of money that we would save by not being in Iraq could be pumped into the economy or used to pay off the National Debt (or a fraction, anyway).

Today's topic: United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, 2010.

When Senator Ted Kennedy died, the weight of the influence the democrats had in the Senate dropped significantly. Whether you agreed with him or not, Kennedy was a remarkable senator and definitely had the voice of the people of his constituency heard on a national level. So who could possibly fill his shoes? No-one, really. A junior senator holds a vote but not much influence. But there is considerable nationwide interest in this campaign. The GOP are hoping to upset many applecarts with the election of Republican Scott Brown. The Obama administration really needs a democrat, so Martha Coakley is getting a lot of attention. And there's liberatarian party candidate Joe Kennedy (no relation to Ted) who could be a force for good in the Senate, but is most likely going to be a vote sucker for the other two. Let's look at the candidates in a very, very brief summation.

Martha Coakley (D): a liberal candidate, she basically fulfills the very definition of an Obama Democrat. Coakley supports the healthcare reform, ending the war in Afghanistan, supports gay marriage rights and strengthening hate crime laws.

Scott Brown (R): very much a staunch republican, he supports what you would expect from a republican candidate. Brown positions himself as a fiscally conservative candidate, supporting lower taxes and is against wasteful spending. He is against late-term abortions, same-sex marriage and is in favor of gun rights.

Joseph L. Kennedy (I): born Joseph Lewis Rodriguez and placed in the foster care system early in life, he is a true outsider to the political realm. He is against healthcare reform, the wars in Irag and Afghanistan, further taxation, supports gay marriage, wants to abolish Federal Dept. of Education and in favor or Ron Paul's "Free Competition in Currency Act".

and finally:

Mulderjoe (I): a cynical candidate, is pretty much going to call a horse a horse and will not B.S. you. I will take Washington by storm and will be very vocal in voicing the opinions of the citizens of the commonwealth. I will do my best to bring our troops back home as soon as possible and put all of the money spent on these ridiculous wars into getting our country back to a fiscally viable superpower. Once the country is financially stable, I will commission a military task force to hunt down the architects of 9/11 and will not rest until Osama Bin Laden is captured...which is what we should have been doing since the Twin Towers fell. I support gay marriage, mostly because this whole political unrest about it is absurd. If two people want to marry and be legally responsible for their partner, that's fine. Why anyone would want to marry is beyond me, but that's okay. I am completely against wasteful spending, and there's a lot of it. I will call out idiocy wherever I see it in the government and I will hold myself accountable for the will of the people under my constituency.

Thank you and vote on Tuesday the 19th of 2010.

2009: A year in review. Big whoopdeedoo.

I know I haven't written in a while. Sue me. Been too busy doing utterly mundane activities. I'm writing now, so get over it. Or don't...either way is fine.

As 2009 comes to a close, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back and show that hindsight is 20/20. Or something.

President Obama Takes Office
Ding Dong, Bush is gone. I cannot tell you how happy that made me. Mr. Obama's first full year in office has been tumultous, but overall not too bad. I mean, the economy's recovered, we're no longer occupying any countries in the Middle East and Osama Bin Loser is safely behind bars. Cough.

Michael Jackson Passes On
The world mourned the passing of an undeniably talented friggin weirdo.

Windows 7
Microsoft released it's apology for Vista. Mac owners could care less. XP users are still giggling.

National Health Care Reform
Another way to not reduce the National Deficit. I found it extremely interesting that Mr. Obama decided that this was the number one priority for the country instead of repairing the economy or getting the troops back home. I'm thrilled that millions without health care will have access. After all, it's a right not a priviledge. Right?

War
Somehow, we're still at war with several countries. Does anyone remember that? No. We're more concerned about the winner of "American Idol"'s album sales. Why on Earth are we still in Iraq? Someone explain that to me. And at the same time, why haven't I heard anything about hunting down the Taliban? Priorities, people. We could reduce the National Debt tremendously if we were not waging some moron's war in Iraq.

H1N1: a flu of swine
Does anyone else think that the rampant use of hand sanitizers is going to make the population inevitably sicker? We'll find out sooner than later, I expect.

Twitter me this
Social networking sites Twitter and Facebook are so massive that they are not only infringing on popular culture, but also business; companies are trying hard to capitalize on their employees' time wasting. (yes, I will be posting a link to this post on Twitter and FB. If for only the irony).

Miracle on the Hudson
Not really a miracle. Captain Sully is just one of those rare people who prepares for all eventualities. Keeping cool under pressure, though, that should be applauded. As well as his non-fame-seeking attitude. That's the miracle: a humble hero.

Madoff
This dude made off with billions and ended up destroying many people's lives. He and Dick Cheney should have lunch.

Obama Family Dog
This was an amazing news story. Amazing that it was considered news. My doggie died last Christmas...call Oprah.

A-Rod uses steroids?!
Who gives a crap.

Tiger Woods
Mr. Woods is perhaps the greatest golfer of all time. AND he can have the seemingly boundless energy for all of these affairs?! Damn. I expect to see him running for President in 2016.

That's all for now. I wish you and yours a Happy New Year. 2010 should be interesting. Maybe even interesting enough to "blog" about.

Toodle pip.

Nike Resumes Relationship with Vick

You know where I'm going with this so read on or don't. Don't care. But, for what's it's worth....as a newish parent who is trying to teach the relationship between actions and consequences and ethics and values....this kind of thing makes me burn like the pilot light on an oil rig. I might release a bit less CO2 but I'm still full of anger.

I'll keep it short...we'll no longer be buying or supporting Nike in our house. You want to use a serial killer of animals for your product spokesperson. Fine. Go ahead.

Seacrest out.

More sports hijinks

I guess I'm not as apathetic as I thought. I've decided, after viewing the 60 Minutes Michael Vick interview, to no longer support 60 Minutes. Formerly a strong voice in the world of television journalism, they are dead to me. What could've been an interesting, compelling, and revealing interview turned out to be nothing more than a puff piece.

CBS's efforts to protect its' football interests clearly trumped 60 Minutes' desire to educate and illuminate. I have contacted them and told them this. More importantly, I'll no longer support the NFL, in any way, shape or form. Bad news for my football fan husband but I can't in good conscience support an industry that would hire, enable and reward this man.

Mr. Vick might have gone to prison and "paid his dues", however

the sickness that drove him to torture animals is still present and yet 60 Minutes glazed right over his inhumane behavior and questionnable choices. "A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do, Nothing else." Mr. Vick remains a danger to animals and to humans just as any other serial predator be it a molester, killer or otherwise. Shame on 60 Minutes for participating in this TMZ/Entertainment Tonight type of journalism. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Mr. Hewitt really died of shame.

Shame on the NFL for continuing to support, enable and reward not only Mr. Vick but an embarassingly long list of other killers, rapists, wife-beaters, and convicts.

If you really love football, go outside and play the game. If you really love football, stand up and let the NFL know that what they are doing and what they have done is wrong. Let them know that their actions and their choices matter and that you won't let them lionize and reward people that you wouldn't let into your home if they knocked on your front door.

A brief excerpt from the NFL Crimes blog:
August 13, 2009
If you can suspend players for violating the substance abuse policy when taking a legal asthma medicine, it is about time you suspend players for KILLING SOMEONE while driving drunk Goodell: Stallworth suspended for season, placed 'stain' on NFL, players

August 5, 2009
Eagles' starting DE Parker arrested Wednesday

July 24, 2009
Texans FB Vonta Leach is arrested for misdemeanor assault.

July 23, 2009
Seattle Seahawks fullback Owen Schmitt has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless driving Wednesday, his attorney said, according to The Seattle Times.

July 22, 2009
A Philadelphia man who says he was shot by NFL receiver Marvin Harrison last year remains in critical condition

July 15, 2009
A federal judge Wednesday sentenced former NFL player Travis Henry to three years in prison for financing a drug ring that moved cocaine between Colorado and Montana.

July 9, 2009
Former Bills/Redskins star Bruce Smith was convicted of drunken driving Thursday by a judge who rejected his claim that old football injuries, not alcohol, were responsible for his poor performance on field sobriety tests.


http://nflcrimes.blogspot.com/

Steroid hunt - ignorance is bliss?

I don't know if I'm disappointed in the news that David Ortiz tested positive for PEDs in 2003 or if I'm po'd at the source of the leak- the New York Times. Let me have my ignorance - I don't want to know anymore about this. I was OK with the way the Sox were/n't playing these days, and I don't want to feel less love for Ortiz. Why did the media do this to me? Why did I let them do this to me?

ON THE OTHER HAND...if the New York Times and the Associated Press are going to expose players in the way they have, busting Rodriguez, Bonds, Manny, and Sosa one at a time, they had better not stop there. They had better give me the names of the others on that 100 name list of theirs. I want them all! Let's exploit them all!! Let's put them on Dr Phil so they can talk it out and get to the raw nerves - really dig to the heart of the steroid scandal. Maybe then we could focus on the game again.

you say tomato, i say potahto

So, I'm starting to think that it's not that I'm cynical but that I'm apathetic. Are the two mutally exclusive or mutally inclusive? You decide because I don't care.

Why all the fuss about Pres. Obama and his poorly thought out involvement in the recent Gates-gate? I would've said "RacistCopvsAngryBlack-gate" but "Gates-gate" has a funny ring to it. So, I decided to sit on the sidelines for this one. Why you ask? Or don't ask. I don't care. Well, in roughly 3.5 years we'll have a new chucklehead in the Oval office and Gates-gate will have blown over. The party of the first part will insist he was right and the party on the right will insist he/they were right and... yawwwwwwwwwwn. I'll just go and take a nap. You tell me what I missed, ok? You tell me how this is different then Bush coming to the defense of his oil friends. Wake me when it's over.

Today's Headline

NASA: We lost original moon footage

Doesn't the studio have backup footage?

Nothing's shocking...

French tourists seen as world's worst: survey

Thu Jul 9, 6:06 am ET
PARIS (Reuters Life!) – French tourists are the worst in the world, coming across as bad at foreign languages, tight-fisted and arrogant, according to a survey of 4,500 hotel owners across the world.
They finish in last place in the survey carried out for internet travel agency Expedia by polling company TNS Infratest, which said French holidaymakers don't speak local languages and are seen as impolite.
"It's mainly the fact that they speak little or no English when they're abroad, and they don't speak much of the local language," Expedia Marketing Director Timothee de Roux told radio station France Info.
"The French don't go abroad very much. We're lucky enough to have a country which is magnificent in terms of its landscape and culture," he said, adding that 90 per cent of French people did their traveling at home.
"So when they're on holiday they can be a bit stressed, they're not used to things, and this can lead them to be demanding in a way which could be seen as a certain arrogance."
French tourists are also accused of generally spending less than other nationalities when abroad.
De Roux said the French, not accustomed to leaving large tips at home where a service charge is automatically levied on restaurant bills, can seem "tight-fisted" compared with other nationalities.
The Japanese ranked top of the Best Tourist survey, with the British and the Germans judged the best of the Europeans.
But French tourists received some consolation for their poor performance, finishing third after the Italians and British for dress sense while on holiday.
(Reporting by Joseph Tandy; editing by James Mackenzie)

Say no more.