Welsh

So I spent the last two work days at the Monona Terrace for the American Family Insurance Field Management Conference. It was an interesting experience. We had a booth set up in a high-traffic area, near the event's registration desk, in case any of the participants had any questions for us.

Due to our location, though, we were also in the path of the tours that are offered at the Terrace. See, the Terrace was originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and bears striking similarities to the Guggenheim in New York, which was actually designed later. Part of the tour included some photos in the hall near our booth of Wright's work, including his home in Spring Green, WI, Taliesin, and his home in Arizona, Taliesin West.

Unfortunately, though, all the guides were saying "Tally Essen" which is incorrect. Since Taliesin is a Welsh name, it should be "Tal Yessen."

Plausible

It looks like MythBusters may have gotten one wrong.

Inverse relation

There may be something to those who say there is a correlation between the Badgers' performance on Saturday and the Packers' performance on Sunday. The Badgers defense broke down on Saturday, resulting in a loss to Northwestern in Evanston. Strangely enough, the game wasn't even televised in their local market.

Today, the Packers demolished the Saints in a game that became so lopsided that it became boring. I'm surprised they didn't put Aaron Rodgers in sooner along with some of the other backups. But today's game could be the boost the team needs to regain their confidence and get back on track.

Home

I was able to pick up Daisy from the vet's office yesterday. She was a little skittish when I first got her home. She started exploring the house before kind of settling down. I decided to watch some T.V., and a little after four o'click she decided to join me, and more or less sat in my lap for the next two hours.

She's slowly returning to her normal self. She's yet to become as active and playful as she normally is, but it's obvious that she's got some soreness. If Maryanne or I try to pick her up, she cries a little bit. She's been eating though, and it wasn't too difficult to get her to swallow her medication this morning. She's clearly on the road to recovery.

Misery

We found out late yesterday afternoon that Daisy has to stay at the vet's a little longer because she was running a fever. Of course, the voicemail message that informed Maryanne of this wasn't received until after she had left work to go pick up Daisy, about five minutes before she arrived at the vet's office. Maryanne was very upset. She wasted two hours of vacation time for almost nothing. After chewing out the staff for not calling her work number, she demanded to see Daisy, and they wisely showed her the way.

Daisy has apparently been eating and drinking, but Maryanne was quite concerned because "she looked miserable." I told Maryanne that she'd probably look miserable too if she had just had surgery for a blockage in her intestines and was running a fever. This didn't help much.

Maryanne has been very pessimistic about the situation. We're both hoping that today's diagnosis is much better, and that Daisy will be allowed to go home and recuperate.

Question of Faith

Last night Maryanne and I met with Pastor Lehman from First Lutheran Church in Stoughton. I for one need to find a new church in Stoughton, because Bay View in Sturgeon Bay is just too far away. Maryanne is at a bit of a crossroads with her faith right now, and she needs to find a place where she feels comfortable, as well.

The meeting went well. Pastor Lehman was able to answer a lot of our questions, and even some we hadn't thought to ask. It'll be a nice fit for me, and I hope a nice fit for Maryanne, as well.

Backed up

The Packers dropped to a bleak 0-4 last night. As Maryanne noted, we didn't know which was worse: another loss putting them at 0-4, or the fact they came so close to mounting a winning drive.

I was looking forward to using today as a day to get some things done; unfortunately, Daisy had some different plans.

She had been lethargic and subdued most of the day yesterday, and there was evidence that she had done some vomiting sometime between Sunday night and yesterday morning. I didn't think too much of it, but she hadn't changed by yesterday evening. Maryanne called the vet, and if things hadn't improved by this morning, we'd take her in.

Well, she was still subdued today, so we took her to the vet right away at seven o'clock when they opened; we then learned an actual vet wouldn't be there until nine o'clock, and the first appointment they had open was for 9:45. I knew Daisy would be more comfortable at home, so we took her home and would return later. Maryanne went to her doctor's appointment alone in case she wouldn't be back in time, and I took Daisy back to the vet for 9:45.

The office was very busy, and it was almost ten o'clock before they weighed Daisy and got us in an exam room, giving Maryanne enough time to meet me. After half joking with Maryanne that Daisy may simply be constipated, an x-ray showed that Daisy is indeed constipated, because she swallowed a paper clip.

So our kitty underwent surgery yesterday, and the last we heard was that she was recovering. No news is good news, and barring any complications, Maryanne will pick her up tonight.

Reflection

Maryanne and I went to Door County for the weekend, and stayed with my mom. There was nothing particularly spectacular about the weekend, per se. The weather was good, and we got a few things accomplished, and were able to take things easy the rest of the time. I'll probably be returning at the end of the month if everything goes as planned, but the next time Maryanne and I both go won't be until Thanksgiving.

Friday night was apparently a momentous occasion: Sevastopol won their homecoming game! I was flabbergasted. It wasn't a fluke, either. They beat Oconto with a score of 23-8. It marks the first time since 1983 that Sevastopol has won a game with an independent football team. More here.

Today marks the third anniversary of Dad's passing. It's not a celebratory anniversary by any means. It's just another time to pause and remember him, and wonder if things could have been different.

Get it done

Today I had a day off, so I was able to get a few things done, though not as much as I would have liked.

After driving Maryanne to work, I dropped off the cell phone bill before heading to East Town Mall. I had about 45 minutes to kill before anything really opened. The only places open were McDonald's and Starbucks; I went to the latter and got some hot cocoa and a scone. The scone wasn't really that good.

Once everything opened up around nine I went to Gordman's. The only worthwhile thing I found was a shirt. I killed some time at Barnes & Noble before the Dakota Watch kiosk finally opened. I decided I needed another new watch. I've decided that from here on out, all my new watches will need all steel cases. My body chemistry slowly erodes the plating on base metal cases.

I returned home for a bit to get some laundry done and do a few other things. Once the laundry was in the dryer I ventured out again. I stopped first to pick up my new glasses; glass lenses are 100% better. I then got a haircut at Cost Cutters before stopping at Stoughton Garden Center for a few things, including a bunch of bulbs.

While at Cost Cutters I came to a conclusion: Men's Journal must be in love with Brett Favre. Quite some time ago they did an article on the toughest men in America, and Favre topped the list. Now, in a more recent issue, they had a story about Favre and a 10-point plan for getting and keeping your dream job.

After returning home I rushed to finish the laundry and run the dishwasher so I'll have time to clean up before going to pick up Maryanne and drive north. Time might be tight.

Yossarian Lives

Well, I finished Catch-22 today. I was glad I reread it. There were parts I remembered, and other parts I did not. I'm not exactly sure how satisfied I was with the ending, despite it being a very entertaining yet thought-provoking book. I'll have to read the sequel sometime.

I was pleased to see that the author, Joseph Heller, had served as a bombardier in World War II; I hope his own experiences influenced his writing, inasmuch as the details and other factual elements are accurrate.

Unfortunately I didn't bring another book with me, and probably should have. It's been a rather slow afternoon and I could really use another book. I'm not entirely certain what will be next, but I suspect it will be the recently-acquired Mars omnibus I purchased, containing the first three books of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars series.

Yesterday and today have been flirts with autumn. Yesterday was dull and drab, with overcast skies and the occasional sprinkle of rain, and a chill wind swirling brown leaves around. Today is cool but more pleasant, with bright clear skies before heading into a weekend that will be unseasonably warm. I've come to enjoy autumn more than summer, and part of me looks forward to the first few frosty nights that will add the fiery fall colors to the trees. Some mums seem in order, but I've yet been able to make it to the garden center for any of them or for any spring bulbs. Perhaps I'll do that tomorrow.

Hrm...

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Weekend

Maryanne and I went out of town to celebrate our wedding anniversary, thinking it would probably be the last chance for a while that we'd be able to do so, what with a child on the way and all. We went up to Kewaunee and stayed at the Karsten Inn. We left Friday, since I had the day off and Maryanne only had a half day. We ran a few errands in Madison before making our way northward. It was a pleasant enough drive, and after checking in and getting settled, we decided to have dinner. I was disappointed to learn that the restaurant at the hotel had closed in December. We decided to go up to Algoma and get some pizza at Penguin City. It was interesting to see some changes in Algoma: places that moved, or closed, or opened, or other improvements around town.

Saturday we breakfasted at the hotel before departing for Green Bay. We made stops at Best Buy and the Packers Pro Shop before going to Heritage Hill. When we arrived there we learned that they were only running guided tours, and the next open one wasn't for another two hours. We decided to drive back to Lambeau Field and have lunch at the atrium. This turned out to be rather fortuitous, as we were able to see some of the Packers players leave the stadium.

After lunch we drove back to Heritage Hill and took the tour. It was very interesting, and even Maryanne enjoyed it, admitting to liking it more than she thought she would. Afterwards we drove back to Kewaunee so Maryanne could rest a bit before dinner. I was hoping to catch the Badger game, but the channel wasn't available at the hotel. After watching parts of a couple of movies, we went to dinner at restaurant called Port O' Call. It had been recommended by the front desk clerk at the hotel. We were quite pleased with it: the food was good, the service was good, the atmosphere was good, and they had the Badger game on.

This morning we breakfasted at Dairy Dean's in Algoma before departing for home. We wanted to get an early start to avoid traffic from the Packers game. This turned out to be a good decision, as well, as we had to slow down several times due to heavy rain.

Sadly, once we did get home the football game wasn't much better. There were some improvements on both sides of the ball, but not enough to get a win. I sense some impatience on the part of Brett Favre, and I think it's starting to affect his game adversely. They badly need a win to get back on track.

Seasons

Maryanne and I went out to dinner last night, because yesterday marked our third wedding anniversary. It was an enjoyable evening. We checked out a fairly new restaurant, Laz Bistro, in Stoughton. I was fairly impressed. We ordered an appetizer, which consisted of home-made kettle chips covered with Monterey jack and bleu cheeses and a red pepper sauce; it was delicious. For my entree I ordered their barbecued ribs, and was quite satisfied with them. They were accompanied by curly fries, which were fair, and baked beans with apples and pecans, which was quite interesting.

Today marks the transition into autumn. I'm kind of looking forward to it; I'll be glad to see the hot, oppressive weather of late summer go. Even the weather has sensed the change; yesterday was sunny, clear, and hot, while today has been gray and cool. I'm enjoying it.

Wasted opportunity

Maryanne and I watched The Wedding Date last night. I had actually wanted to see it, since the previews made it appear intriguing. I was expecting a romantic comedy in the traditional sense, and while it had its lighter moments, it wasn't really what you'd call a romantic comedy.

That being said, Debra Messing was pretty hot and delivers a good performance, but Dermot Mulroney's character was way too stoic, for lack of a better term. Holland Taylor was under utilized, as was Peter Egan.

It was an interesting story, but somehow lacked some punch. I think the blame can be placed on the writer and the director, because the cast really looked capable of doing more given the opportunity.

Arrr!

Avast, ye land lubbers!

Into the woods

Despite there being much shittiness at work last week, I was actually able to leave work early on Friday and participate in this year's guys' camping trip. It was at Castle Mounds Campground up in a state forest in the Black River Falls area. It was a relatively short drive for me, considering the other participants were coming from either the Twin Cities or from Chicago/Milwaukee. The whole experience was a lot of fun, and also allows me to make a list of useful camping equipment for next time.

I returned home Sunday, and Jesse and Barret stopped by on their way to Chicago. They watched the first half of the Packer game with Maryanne and me. The Packers didn't look so hot, and I place the full blame for the second interception on Brett. Let's hope they can get out of the woods next Sunday.

Trifecta

Three shitty days in a row. I mean shitty. Fucking shitty. That's what happens when you do tech support and get to clean up someone else's mess.

Apparently it all started Tuesday after a software release on Monday night. Things were broken, and we couldn't fix it. By Wednesday we were given the tools to fix it, and told another release sent that night would fix it.

Thursday morning we found out the new release didn't go out the night before. Why? It didn't get tested in time. So our customers have been using broken software for two days, and you're going to make them use it a third day because you decide to actually test it now?

I'm having a really hard time keeping from telling our customers what I really think of the whole situation.

Twee

James Lileks, on the legal system: "An adequate representation of the flaws and aspirations of its participants."

Funniest thing I've read all day, and that's considering the fact that I'm currently working on Catch-22.

Not that long

I started on Catch-22 today. The last time I read it was my sophomore year of highschool. It'll be nice to return to it, especially as I'm more mature than I was then and may pick up on some things in the book that I didn't before.

I remember an episode of Animaniacs in which Ben Stein voiced a character by the name of Francis Pumphandle, "...but my friends call me Pip." Now Pip was a caricature of Stein, and his almost monotone drone was exaggerated for the cartoon. During his long and boring monologue he spoke of Catch-22, and how it was a long novel, and he never finished novels. Now, this edition is in hardcover from Simon & Schuster, and weighs in around 400 pages, which compared to some other books I've read, isn't long at all. I think we all know I won't have any problems finishing it.

Nominated

There has been much to-do in the news regarding the confirmation hearing for John Roberts. Before even seeing any news on it, I thought to myself that he's there to interpret the Constitution, not promote his personal opinions. As it turns out, that's pretty much what he's said: "my faith and my religious beliefs do not play a role in judging. When it comes to judging, I look to the law books and always have."

Why, then, are so many people having a hard time taking him at his word?

Mmm... Good!

For some reason I found this hilarious.

I suppose it's going to be one of those things you either get or you don't.

This is kind of in the same theme.

A familiar story

I finished The Arabian Nights today. Technically it's The Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night, but we'll not quibble. I enjoyed rereading it, and this edition included a few more stories that I was not familiar with.

My only complaint is that the whole time I was reading the story of Alaeddin, I was picturing the princess's father as a doddering, portly old man like in the Disney movie. Damn you, Disney!

I didn't bring any other books with me today, so we won't know for sure until Wednesday what will be next. I have a feeling I'll be rereading Catch-22.

Unmotivated

Maryanne and I spent another low-key weekend mostly at home. We didn't really get much of anything accomplished. I did some painting on Saturday, but nothing significant, and besides watching the Packers lose, we didn't do much yesterday, either.

We both have the day off tomorrow, though, and I hope to get more done.

Outlook not so good

So I picked up my new glasses yesterday. It took a few hours to adjust to them. I noticed right away that they were much, much lighter, being that they have plastic lenses that are much smaller than my old ones.

That being said, though, I'm not sure I can handle them. I noticed right away that I had to turn my head and look directly at something for it to be in proper focus. I couldn't just move my eyes. This has been even more noticeable today at work, where I would normally just move my eyes around my computer screen. This doesn't work so well. I don't know if it's the smaller size of the lenses, or the fact that they're plastic. If it keeps up throughout the morning, I'll be calling to the optical shop and discussing it with them.

Update: After talking with the optical shop, the most likely candidate is the plastic lenses. While the high-index plastic is optically superior to polycarbonate, it's not as good as glass. Sandy, the optician, will adjust my frames on Tuesday, and if I still don't like it, we'll switch to glass, no charge.

Redecorating

I used to have a link to a website called ThemeXP, which was a place to get desktop wallpaper and themes, and the like. However, I checked them out again recently, then quickly removed my link. Why? They used to provide the files in a downloadable .zip file. Now the files are in a self-extracting archive, in a .exe format, which also installs some spyware on your system. No thanks.

Mellow

Maryanne and I spent a rather slow-paced and relaxing weekend in Door County. I helped Mom with a project or two, but other than that, there weren't many tasks to complete. This means that the next time I'm up there will be more, including moving some trees. By that time, though, the weather should be cooler and more hospitable to physical labor.

We were able to do some shopping, and we found some nice tin signs for our kitchen at an antique shop. We were also able to spend some time with Adam and Sammie, and we rented Napoleon Dynamite, which turned out to be a bizarre but amusing movie.

Labor Day weekend also usually marks Sevastopol class tournaments, so I saw some old schoolmates. We ate out a lot, but Maryanne and I paid less than $20 ourselves the whole weekend.

Yesterday I tried helping Adam set up some new computers at Cherry Hills. The computers themselves weren't too much of an issue. However, we did meet a roadblock when trying to install a second receipt printer on one of the computers. I suspect it's a configuration issue with the printer itself. Adam planned on contacting Epson support himself to get it resolved.

We got on the road much later than we wanted to yesterday, but we were still home by seven. Daisy was very happy to see us, and we were glad to be home.

Nobody could forsee....

I thought this was an interesting piece from the blogosphere. Despite the commentary on it being biased, it is, if nothing else, thought-provoking.

Chaos

It would be nice to think that disasters along the lines of Hurricane Katrina would bring out the best in everone, but clearly that's not always the case. It brings out the worst in some. After you read the article, check out the discussion thread from Fark.

See you....

August is gone, and September is here. Some would say that summer is gone as well, but we've been through that discussion. There is a noticeable change in the weather, though. The days are still warm, sometimes hot, but the nights are deliciously cool, and the air is less humid.

Labor Day weekend approaches, and with it the end of summer travel. Due not only to the high demand but by the effects of Hurricane Katrina, as well, gas prices have skyrocketed. But since Maryanne and I have not been up north since the end of July, we'll make the trip anyway.

For whatever reason, I've been having some weird dreams lately. I go days, weeks even, without remembering any of my dreams, when BANG! I'll remember one quite vividly. There have been three such of these lately, all very similar. I won't go into details, other than to say I have a suspicion as to what is causing them.

New Specs

I got my eyes checked yesterday. It had been at least four years since my last exam, and I figured I was about due. The whole process took over an hour, but that included my time with the optician picking out new frames and so forth.

The exam was even less pleasant than I anticipated. I could have told them I'm red-green color blind, but they made me look at the test cards anyway. They also did the always joyful glaucoma test. The worst was having my eyes dilated; I'd never had it done before. Not only did it blur my near vision, but it made my already sensitive eyes even more sensitive.

But I'll come out of it all with new frames and new lenses. The lenses will have an anti-glare coating, which I like the idea of. They will also be made of high-index plastic, instead of glass, which is supposed to make them lighter. Optically they'll perform better than regular plastic; I never did ask about price, and now I'm thinking I should have. We'll see how they go. Part of me is thinking I'll end up switching back to glass lenses.

Riddles

We had a gaming day on Saturday, starting later since Maryanne was attending a bridal shower and Tina was not able to join us, and running a couple of short, one-off adventures. In retrospect I should have run them in the other order.

The first was Dry Spell, a site-based adventure involving the PCs being hired to take care of a group of bandits. They worked through this adventure surprisingly quickly.

The second was The Ettin's Riddle, and was more of an event-based adventure wherein the PCs had to solve a riddle. The riddle proved more challenging than I anticipated, though I don't know how much of this was caused by the lateness of the time. Thus I ended up reworking the module quite a bit, leaving out the bit where the town constable shows up to kill said ettin regardless of whether the PCs have solved the riddle or not.

My experiment of putting basic PC information on index cards and then putting them in initiative order to help move combat more quickly seemed to work pretty well. I think instead of trying to hold them, though, I may clip them to my screen instead.

Disturbing....

This is pretty disturbing for a number of reasons, but somehow amusing at the same time.

Wet Paint

So our house started getting repainted yesterday. We're hoping that not only will its appearance be helped by a fresh coat of paint, but by the new color, as well.

The weather was pretty good yesterday, which meant I had the windows open most of the day. The house ended up smelling like primer. Daisy wasn't enthusiastic about the noise caused by scraping, but once that ended and the priming began, she was rather fascinated by all the commotion.

Maryanne's aunt Sarah is also visiting from Mexico. We had Maryanne's family over for dinner last night, and I once again tried some barbecue on the gas grill. The dry rub is pretty good, though maybe a tad spicy; I'd like something a bit more savory. Nonetheless, the results were must more satisfactory this time around, as the heat was low enough this time.

The experience made me wonder though: I used country-style ribs, boneless, which turned out delightful. Compared to a rack of ribs, it's a much better deal. No bones, more meat, and less than half as expensive. Why does anyone bother with spareribs?

"Instant Karma"

Ever heard that clever pun, "My karma ran over my dogma?"

Well, apparently they never saw this.

Firefox

So I'm kind of diggin' Mozilla Firefox. Well, most of the time, anyway. It handled pop-up blocking a lot better than Internet Explorer, and tabbed browsing is sweet. However, it sucks at downloading plug-ins on the fly. The dialog box for downloading extension appears no problem, but even if it manages to figure out what plug-in it needs, it never downloads it.

Severe weather

There was a bit of excitement in Stoughton last night.

The good news is that neither Maryanne nor I were hurt, and there was no damage to our property. We lost our cable services, and couldn't get any cell phone service, but everything else appeared to be fine.

I was bad, though, and didn't go in the basement. In fact, I was cooking my dinner.

This was probably much safer than the guy who did this.

Lost in translation....

Chinese has always been a good source of things that translate poorly from English, but things are far worse when translated from English to Chinese then back to English, as evidenced by these shots from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

A 1001 Nights

I finally finished The Last Battle today. I've enjoyed reading the Chronicles of Narnia, despite their being written for a younger audience. As an adult it's easier to see the obvious symbolism, that they are obviously allegories. I think younger readers would enjoy them for the adventure stories they are, but still might learn something useful from them.

I'm next starting on The Arabian Nights. I won't rehash everything I've mentioned before. This particular edition is from the Modern Library collection, and weighs in at 931 pages, shorter than the entire Burton translation, but much larger than a shorter edition I read many years ago. The stories for the Modern Library edition were selected by Bennett Cerf.

Trial run

I decided I'd give Firefox a try, at least at home, and see how it performs compared to Internet Explorer.

I used to like Netscape Navigator up to version 3 or so; once version 4.0 came out, I thought it was so hideous and terrible I switched to IE immediately. Now in addition to the features that Firefox has that IE does not, I also hear Firefox is faster. We'll see.

Last....

So today I came prepared: not only have I started on The Last Battle, the seventh and final book in the Chronicles of Narnia. C.S. Lewis wastes no time in this one; the book clearly parallels the book of Revelation, and only two chapters into it we've already seen the Antichrist.

I also brought with me The Arabian Nights. It's an abridgement of the Richard Burton translation. I've read some of it before, but it was a long time ago, and was a much shorter abridgement.

Someday I'd like to have a complete edition, but they have a tendency to be very expensive.

Changes

Today I started my new work schedule, working 7:30 a.m. to 5:50 p.m. to get a full day off each week. It remains to be seen if it'll be worth it. It'll make for a long day. And if I go to the gym after work? Yikes....

Still, I'll try it for a month, and if I can't handle it, I'll go to a four and a half day week.

I also finished The Magician's Nephew today, but forgot to bring the next book of the series with me today. I suspect it's going to be a boring day.

Adventure

Today I finished book 5 in the Chronicles of Narnia, The Horse and His Boy. It was a fine adventure story, with some Christian morality thrown in.

Next is The Magician's Nephew.

Succession

So I've now finished The Silver Chair as well. It featured a bit of Christian symbolism, as well as a jab at British politics. I liked it on the whole.

Next shall be book five in the Chronicles of Narnia, The Horse and His Boy.

Next

Today I finished The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, book three in the Chronicles of Narnia. It was entertaining, with a bit of Christian symbolism thrown in, this time in the form of a lamb feeding people with fish.

Next will be book four, The Silver Chair.

Beginning of the end

Today is the beginning of the end, the first of August, the last full month of summer. It sure feels like, it too. Opressive heat, sweltering humidity, and not nearly enough rain. The most prevalent sounds in the air have been cicadas and the occasional scream of a blue jay. None of these are very pleasant.

I'm actually looking forward to the fall.

Faith

This morning I finished Prince Caspian, the second book in The Chronicles of Narnia. While it had less symbolism than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, did, it was still good. It was a nice adventure story while still teaching a lesson about faith.

Next is The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Symbols

Today I finished The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and moved on to Prince Caspian. It's been entertaining so far. It's obviously a story for children, and told in the tone of a story teller, as if C.S. Lewis himself were speaking to you.

It's also quite obviously a morality tale of some sort. If I didn't already know that C.S. Lewis wrote about Christian ideas, even in his fiction, it would be easy to determine from these books. The parallels are striking, and he draws from European legends as well, particularly Norse and Greek. We have such Norse elements as the bitterly cruel winter, the White Witch, sledges, reindeer, dwarves, and so forth. We also have such decidedly Christian elements as a lion (the Lion of Judah, and St. Mark the Evangelist), eagles (St. John the Evangelist), a bull with a man's head (St. Luke the Evangelist), and humans (St. Matthew the Evangelist), the last being explicitly referred to as the Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve. There's enough symbolism to make your head spin.

And then we come to Aslan himself. Supposedly Steinbeck's The Old Man and the Sea included a Christ figure in the form of Santiago, the old fisherman. Please! Aslan is a Christ figure if there ever was one. His actions parallel the Passion and the Rapture. All the fisherman did was cut his hands on his fishing net.

Despite the fact that the Chronicles of Narnia was written for younger readers, I have the idea I'm going to enjoy it immensely.

It's magic

I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Friday night. Since a good portion of my small readership have not read the book yet, I'll be sure not to include any spoilers. Some things were surprising, some were not. Some were unexpected, some were not. I enjoyed reading it, despite a number of downers, and can't wait for the next one.

Next on the list is Narnia. That's right, I'm starting The Chronicles of Narnia. Pauline loaned me a paperback set of the seven books, and I'll be starting The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe today.

Ignorant

As much as I slag Illinois for all the stupid things there, it's now Colorado's turn: in an act of ignorant, bigoted prejudice that words are insufficient to describe, the city of Denver has banned pit bulls and is now rounding them up to be destroyed.

Then read the comments on Fark, and try to guess who's a pet owner and who's not.

"...The best of times...."

Last night I finished Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, and all I can say is, "Wow." None of the other books I've read by him have been so powerful. It was quite a departure from his previous works: fewer characters, less humor, perhaps darker in a way, and a change of setting. It indeed features one of the most memorable openings, and one of the most memorable closings, as any work in all of literature. Having no preconceptions or expectations before starting the book, now that I've finished it, I can truly say that I'm glad to have read it.

Next on the list is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. If J.K. Rowling's writing continues to progress as it has so far, I'd say I'm in for quite a treat.

Hot, hot, hot

It's been an unbearably hot weekend, not fit for doing much of anything, at least if it's outside. Yesterday Maryanne and I went with her parents to Holy Hill. It's an interesting place, and a pretty church. The mass was very long, since they were ordaining a new priest.

Otherwise it's been a lazy weekend, since neither of us have been particularly ambitious. In fact, I'm finding it hard to find the motivation to do much of anything right now.

Busted

Regardless of your opinion of the source, this article, which debunks some of the anti-war myths about Iraq, is interesting reading.

Rainy day....

Yesterday evening we got some much-needed rain. Not nearly as much as we could use, but it came down hard for a little while, at least.

Now I won't have to water the plants for a couple days, but I'll have to make sure I get the lawn cut Friday.

Wet paint....

I've been working on a home improvement project for a while now in the finished portion of our basement. The basement had been in bad shape: it was done in wainscoting, poorly, using cheap paneling on the bottom, drywall on the top, and a chair rail covering the seam. However, rather than do it correctly, which would be to drywall the entire room, and then put the paneling on top of the drywall for the wainscoting, the upper half of the walls were done in drywall, and the lower in paneling.

The paneling was very dark, and even if the paint on the drywall started as white, it had yellowed cosiderably, and was a flat finish. I decided the room needed some brightening, and decided the best place to go was white, with a gloss finish. I decided further to go with a Mondrian theme for the room. Much of this weekend was spent priming and painting the corner where the computer sits. I probably didn't give it all enough time to dry, though, and will have some considerable touch-up work to do tonight before putting the computer back where it belongs.

It's been quite a learning experience so far. The best solution, of course, would have been to rip out everything and put up completely new sheet rock, but we have neither the time nor the money for that kind of project. Also, this weekend's work was a bit rushed. I think I will take my time working on the remainder of the room, and try to allow for the full drying time recommended for the paints.

Good company....

For those of you not in the know, the Discovery Channel ran a "Greatest American" series of programs back in June. I think I may have been part of the survey that generated the original nominees. Through viewer polling they finally reached a final five: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Ronald Reagan. Not bad company to be in, eh? --Especially if you're Ronald Reagan.

I was surprised to see him make the top five, honestly. Let's compare the field.... George Washington: charismatic, "Father of Our Country," leader of the Continental Army, and landslide-winner as our first President; as much responsible for shaping the trappings of the Presidency as the Constitution is. Benjamin Franklin: charismatic, "The First American," instrumental in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, statesman, author, scientist. Abraham Lincoln: a quiet, strong leader who led the country through the Civil War, preserving the Union and thereby the idea that "all men are created equal." Martin Luther King, Jr.: charismatic, eloquent speaker, the embodiment of the Civil Rights movement. Ronald Reagan: charismatic, actor, statesman, politician.

Now, we can all debate until we're blue in the face how responsible Reagan was for the downfall of communism, or his place in the top five. But the masses have spoken, and they ranked him the greatest American.

Honestly, I'm as baffled as you are.

Happy Birthday!

It's July 4th, Independence Day, the 229th birthday of a great experiment known as the United States of America.

That's enough....

Some recent posts by Leanne, Luke and Amy got me to thinking: why is there so much negativity toward people with conservative political views?

The negativity ranges from apathy to pity to disdain to outright hatred. Those of a more liberal political position seem to have little, if anything, positive to say about those at the other end of the political spectrum. The individual opinion of a liberal seems to have some corollation to their own opinion of themselves. Those with more of an elitist attitude tend toward disdain and hatred of conservatives, while those closer to the middle seem to pity conservatives.

I'd like to consider myself fairly moderate. I support civil liberties and the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights (all of them, including the Second Amendment, which a lot of liberals seem to ignore, if not loathe). I'm socially progressive, while some have claimed I'm politically conservative. Call me a neocon if you want to, or maybe a "South Park" conservative; I consider myself independent.

I try not to hate all liberals, at least not the way that it seems liberals hate all conservatives. It's hard, though, when we're talking about the same people that are responsible for the bane of political correctness, PETA, and picking and choosing which parts of the Bill of Rights are acceptable and which are not. I'm not saying conservatives are all sweetness and light. After all, it's the far right who's responsible for such things as pushing to teach creationism in schools, Rush Limbaugh, and attempting to legislate religious morality.

Personally, I think the sudden resurgence of conservatives, or neocons, if you will, is a backlash caused by the left. Sure, the left didn't do it on purpose, but enough political correctness, animal rights insanity, and attacks on civil rights will eventually cause anyone with any common sense to say "That's enough!"

Now, like anyone in the same situation, now that the Republicans are in control of Congress and the White House, they're trying to further their agenda. The Democrats would do the same thing if they were in the same position, and anyone who thinks otherwise is deluded. It's no surprise to me that they're once again challenging a woman's right to choose (a choice I support, by the way), or trying to ban the burning of the flag (which I disagree with, by the way), or any of the other ultra-conservative stuff they're trying to do. Anybody who didn't see this coming needs help. Now, if the Supreme Court does what it's supposed to, and interpret and support the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and not legislate from the bench, then we have little to worry about. But if the left really wants to protect these rights, they should support all civil rights, not just the ones they like. They should stop ignoring the "fly-over" area of middle America, the same group accused of "demonizing" those who call themselves "progressive" and work with them instead. If they don't, it'll be more of the same.

So, while people like Amy, Leanne, and Luke continue to harbor such feelings towards the far right, I'll hope that they won't hold it against me when I suggest it's their political comrades that have caused people like me to say "That's enough."

The letter of the law....

As if I needed any more, here's another good reason not to live in Illinois.

Fun....

Well, it's July now, still early in the summer, but before too much longer we'll be facing the oppressive, over-bearing heat and humidity of middle and late summer, and then it won't be so much fun any more.

Maryanne and I were on vacation for most of this last week. We had originally planned to go to Mexico, but it was going to be at least $1,000 for both of us to go, so we decided not to. We had looked in to going up to the Apostle Islands on the Lake Superior shore, but hit some snags there, as well. Finally, we ended up going to Door County because my aunt and uncle were going to be visiting there. Maryanne didn't think it was much of a vacation for me, since I helped with some projects that needed to be done. She sometimes doesn't understand that some of those projects are actually fun for me.

We were able to do a bit of the tourist thing while we were up there, though. Monday afternoon we did some shopping up north. Not too bad of a day for it, though it was one of the hottest days of the summer. We stopped at Not Licked Yet in Fish Creek for some frozen custard, and it was probably the smartest thing we did all weekend. You had to eat fast, though, as the custard was melting pretty fast. Things weren't nearly as busy as I thought they would be. I don't know if it was because it was a Monday, or because gas prices are so high, or any other reason or combination of reasons.

I signed up to work today, thinking it would be a slow day; so far it hasn't been any different from any other Saturday. I brought in the next book for my reading pleasure, though I've yet to open it: it's going to be A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. My particular copy is the Reader's Digest hardcover edition, with illustrations by Phiz.

David and Goliath....

I found this article a while ago and found it rather interesting.

Summertime....

Well, it's now officially summer, as the summer solstice happened yesterday morning. We've definitely had some summer-like weather, with temperatures well into the 80s, and perhaps hitting the 90s by Friday. Thankfully the humidity has not been as bad as it could be.

I've more or less finish Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain. It was an interesting read. Partially autobiographical, it was a non-fiction work detailing, well, Mark Twain's life on the Mississippi river. Twain's writing style and sense of humor shine through the work, making it an entertaining read instead of a long slog through dry, historical facts.

I don't know what's next on the list, and it will be a while before we find out. I start some much-needed vacation tomorrow, and won't return to work until July 2.

Low budget....

It was an expensive weekend; Maryanne and I ate out three times over the course of the weekend, in addition to seeing a movie at the drive-in out in Jefferson. Add in the expenses of groceries and a trip to Stoughton Garden Center, and it was a very pricey weekend indeed.

The movie we saw was Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I enjoyed it, but Maryanne thought it was too slow. We didn't stay for the second feature.

I'm not enthusiastic about daytime running lamps. Maryanne's car has them, and it meant that we couldn't open the windows in her car during the movie. I got a funnel cake out of it, though.

Almost....

Today was a very pleasant day, the kind of day that makes you glad to be alive, but makes you wish you were any where other than work. Today, yard work might actually have been a joy instead of a chore, but I'll never know for sure, because I'm stuck at work.

It's almost summer now, officially. Oh, sure, there are plenty of people out there who call the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day summer, but I don't. Summer is from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox. Today is a great example of all that's good about late spring; last week was an example of why spring in southern Wisconsin is less pleasant than in northern Wisconsin.

Paranoia

So some paranoid people over at the Conspiracy Planet website have the uber-liberal lefties at Fark all in a tizzy over the report of a bill to repeal the 22nd Amendment.

So did they all skip civics class or something? Because they're all forgetting

1. An amendment would have to be passed by a 2/3 vote in both houses of Congress and
   
   
2. An amendment would have to be ratified by 3/4 of the states. Even if we round down, that's 37.
   
   
3. Even if the amendment passes, elections would still be held every four years.
   

Apparently one of these bills pops up every once in a while. None of them have gone anywhere, and I doubt this one will do anything either.

Oh, and apparently four of the five sponsors are Democrats, leaving only one Republican.

Learn to read, people.

In Memoriam....

The world of gaming lost one of its own recently, as David Sutherland died on June 6.

I remember seeing some of his work in the D&D and AD&D materials I own from the '80s and early '90s. He started doing artwork, then moved on to become TSR's chief cartographer, in charge of all the maps and charts that were included in a variety of materials.

The saddest part of the article, for me, is the part about Wizards of the Coast not rehiring Sutherland.

I used to despise WotC. I felt that if Magic wasn't the sole cause, it at least contributed to the decline of D&D and demise of TSR. I learned later that WotC bought TSR primarily because they truly wanted to save D&D. It's too bad they didn't try to save Sutherland.

Reflections....

Maryanne and I spent most of our weekend in Minnesota. I won't go into details here, as even I'm not interested in a play-by-play, and I doubt anyone reading this is, either. However, some highlights are in order:

1. Driving through Minnesota is more pleasant than driving through Illinois. While both have vast amounts of prairie, there are at least some pleasant hills in Minnesota around the Mississippi River. Minnesota also has better roads. They are in better shape, are better labeled, and there's not a toll plaza in sight.
   
   
2. The remake of The Longest Yard was pretty good. I have not seen the original, though, so I can't make any comparison in that regard.
   
   
3. The old TechTV now sucks that it's G4 and talks about nothing but video gaming.
   
   
4. I still don't like hip hop music, no matter what they sample.
   
   
5. Good people are just good people; it doesn't matter where they're from, what religion they are, or anything else. Likewise, bad people are the same everywhere.
   

Judged by its cover....

I can add this to my list of reasons for not shopping at Abercrombie & Fitch.

Here?

Here are some shenanigans from PETA that qualify as truly bizarre.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the high price of beef.

Where's the beef?

Somehow this news about rising beef prices doesn't surprise me. The price of beef in this part of the state is typically at least ten cents per pound higher than in northeast Wisconsin, and that's just for cheap cuts like ground beef. Pricier cuts run higher of course; the price of ground chuck is approaching three dollars a pound. It won't be too much longer and you'll be able to get veal cutlets or lamb chops cheaper than beef.

It's a good thing Maryanne and I like chicken and pork.

Play ball!

Maryanne and I were among the masses at Fox Cities Stadium on Sunday for the Brett Favre Celebrity Softball Game. It was a fun experience. The stadium was full, but it thankfully did not feel too crowded. The weather was very warm and somewhat muggy, but an occasional breeze helped.

I know it's a fun event for the whole family, especially for the little kids, but I really wish some parents were better about keeping their children under control. There were a couple of families right in front of us, with four little ones between the two of them. One of the little boys was horsing around a kicked over his dad's beer, and much of it landed on my shoe. The guy at least apologized. I said it was OK, but really, there wasn't much else I could say without making for an uncomfortable afternoon.

Bad Apple....

This is another excellent reason I can use for not having bought an iPod.

I think we can define bad P.R. as a manufacturer forcing their customers to foot half the bill for faulty merchandise.

"Body of the Nation"

Next on the reading list is Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain. I've become quite familiar with Twain's work, which is first rate. I really have no preconceived notions about this particular book, so it will be completely unknown to me.

This particular edition was published by Readers Digest and features the illustrations from the 1883 edition.

Hit or Myth....

Today I finished Mythology by Edith Hamilton. Since it's not exactly a work of fiction, I can't exactly write about it in that way.

I enjoyed reading it. It provides a good overview of Greek/Roman mythology, boiling down stories taken from plays, poems, and prose, into easily digestible segments. My only disappointment was that it spent little time on Norse mythology; it seemed almost an afterthought; amost 90% of the book is dedicated to Greek and Roman myths.

I don't know what's next; we'll find that out tomorrow.

Seasons change....

May is gone; June has arrived. May is my favorite month; from start to finish it embodies the progression of spring. Or at least it used to, when my Mays were spent in Door County. Here in southern Wisconsin it feels too summer-like, the way June used to feel.

And that's why June is kind of an enigma for me. Astronomically it's still mostly spring, with summer arriving on the solstice. Why, then, does it seem too much like summer? Everyone calls it summer, though it's only a quarter summer. Yet it is glorious in its own way, I suppose. It seems to ease from spring to summer in preparation for the summer onslaught of July and August with their opressive heat and humidity, and violent storms.

Home Sweet Home....

Maryanne and I spent most of Memorial Day weekend in Door County. At times I was reminded of how out of place I sometimes feel around here, living in an urban setting on the southern Wisconsin prairie. I miss the orchards and fields mixed with swamps, bluffs, and rolling hills, all within reach of the lake, instead of the constant prairie, marsh, and occasional hill dotted here and there with lakes sometimes small enough to call a pond. The seasons even seem to have a greater distinction in Door County than here. The apple trees and lilacs were blooming in Door County, and the cherry trees had just finished, while around here that seemed to happen all at once a few weeks ago. I miss the open spaces, the wildlife, and the way of life.

It saddens me, and sometimes pains me, when Maryanne shows such an aversion to living there, even once we're retired. It disappoints me that she doesn't show much appreciation for the way things are there: for the nature, the landscapes, and the culture and lifestyle that I grew up with.

I'll admit that there are times I'm not much better; clearly the prairie doesn't do much for me, and I have little enthusiasm for the landscapes of southern Wisconsin. However, southern Wisconsin does hold its own treasures. Edgerton reminds me of everything a Wisconsin small town should be. For all I say about tree-hugging hippies, Madison really is a nice city with a rich history. Stoughton embraces its past in the celebration of Syttende Mai. Yet something still seems to be lacking in it all, something that Door County has. In the end, I think it's that I still think of Door County as home.

Full Circle....

Maryanne and I saw Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith on Thursday. I enjoyed it; even Maryanne liked it somewhat. As Adam and Narf both stated, it was definitely the best of the "new" trilogy.

I thought all the acting was too subdued, especially from the Jedi. I don't know if this is what Lucas wanted or not. Ewan McGregor was by far the best of the live actors. Everyone else was too wooden, even Samuel L. Jackson. Hayden Christensen did brooding well, but not much else; I think he would have benefited from showing more emotion, and being more tortured as he’s torn between the Jedi and Palpatine. Ironically, Yoda, entirely a CGI creation, showed the most emotion of the Jedi.

There was a bit of a cheese factor involved. Most noteworthy was the Tarzan yell from one of the Wookies on Kashyyyk. The coughing from General Grievous was a bit much at the beginning, until it became apparent that he was technically a cyborg and not a droid.

The movie was redeemed by all the parts, large and small, that tied it together with the original trilogy: Obi-Wan’s relationship with Anakin, their duel, and Obi-Wan’s retrieval of Anakin’s light saber (later given to Luke); the birth of Luke and Leia, Leia being placed with Senator Organa, and Luke going to his uncle Owen and aunt Beru on Tatooine; Obi-Wan’s presence on Tatooine to watch over Luke, and his ability to commune with his mentor as he later communes with Luke. There’s more, as well, causing this movie to be by far the most satisfying of the "new" trilogy.

Tama = Crap

As I was telling Maryanne once, in a Yahoo Group called "Rock and Roll McDonald's" I got in a discussion with another member, Vickie, regarding drums and drumming equipment. It all started when Vickie talked about her daughter's boyfriend, whose name is Chris. Chris plays drums, quite well according to Vickie, and his hero is Mike Portnoy (of Dream Theater). I started joking that the only unfortunate thing was that he played a Tama drum set. Things escalated from there.

It turns out Chris is quite proud of his Tama drum set, and debated me a bit through Vickie, before posting to my Guest Book:

Hey,
You obviously know my girlfriends mom Vickie. You talk to her on the yahoo groups or whatever that is so we found your website. So what I have heard is that you HATE tame drums. lol. And i also heard that you wouldnt have respect for me if i play for vic firth. Yes everybody has there own opionions thats just crazy. There just drumstick. There wood and they break. lol. As simple so eggs. And i play on the greatest tama set. you play a pearl. ha!!! pearl. You weakest name in drums. Now tama says in clearly. (The strongest name in drums). There are the greatest drummers that play for tama and thats that. Me and you are gonna have a good coverstation sometime. Yea I play on promark and zildjian cymbals, and i play pretty good from what i hear. So dude dont be hatting man. I know your just expressing but i wouldnt go off and say that i would not have respect for you if u played on something. you play on what you play on. That is how it goes.
Thanks
Chris Honey

Ignoring the terrible punctuation, grammar, spelling, and so forth, it seems that Chris thinks Tama is the strongest name in drums (their slogan), while Pearl is the worst.

I don't know what he based his opinion on, but I based mine on my experience with not only Tama and Pearl, but percussion equipment from other manufacturers such as Ludwig, Musser, Yamaha, LP, Gretsch, Slingerland, Sonor, Remo, Zildjian, Sabian, Paiste, and Deagan. I stated my preferences for Pro-Mark drumsticks. This was based on breaking a stick in each of two pair of Vic Firth (let's call that 100% failure), while only breaking one Pro-Mark stick from a total of eight pairs (let's call that 12% failure). I also prefer Remo heads, again, from experience.

I've actually played on Tama equipment, and was very unimpressed by the quality. I'm still unimpressed after looking at Tama's website. Now, I can respect that Chris wants to use Tama drums; they are quite affordable (read: cheap), after all. But unless he's actually played on Pearl equipment, he has no basis for his claims.

Renaissance....

The other day at the doctor's office, while I was waiting, I picked up a copy of a magazine called Town & Country. It didn't do much for me; perhaps I have too much country and not enough town in me. It seemed a bit highfalutin, but not in the good way of magazines like GQ and Connoisseur. (Sadly, it seems the latter is no longer published.) Nonetheless, there was one slightly interesting article in it on the topic of the renaissance man, and whether it was possible for a true renaissance man, such as Leonardo da Vinci or Thomas Jefferson, to exist today.

What prompted me to think of this now? I was thinking today that I'd like to redesign my website. Perhaps even just start completely from scratch: new colors, new style sheet, new fonts, new graphics, the whole shebang. Really, it would be a tremendous amount of work. I would probably need to use a tool like Microsoft Visual InterDev and build a working version of a development site, then bring it online all at once. (If anyone has any suggestions about a good tool to use to try to start a new website from scratch, besides Visual InterDev, let me know.) Then I got to thinking that I really don't have the time for that kind of project. I really don't have the time to be a real renaissance man, despite my potential.

I spy....

Here's some good news in the fight against spyware.

Vitae....

The Wisconsin State Journal shows its support for stem cell research in this op/ed piece.

Vitriol....

From time to time I read a web comic called Twisted Kaiju Theater. It's filled with Godzilla toys and other such Japanese sundries. Most of the time I can handle it, even when it gets very political.

This strip though, is a little much. There are probably a lot of reasons gas prices have risen so high (while still remaining among the lowest in the world, by the way). However, I think it's very irresponsible, and downright stupid, to state that prices have been raised to pay for the war in Iraq.

Finally....

At long last I have finished Gargantua & Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais. It was a fun read. It's quite bawdy, really, full of the stuff of dirty jokes. Yet it's tremendously fun, thought-provoking, and intelligent at the same time. It's a long slog, but worth it.

Next I'm going to hit some non-fiction in the form of Edith Hamilton's Mythology. This edition is also illustrated by Steele Savage, who also illustrated an edition of The Arabian Nights I once read.

Update....

Amy brought up some valid points in her blog and in her comments to my previous post about the home loans for illegal immigrants. This may be a case where the good outweighs the bad, the ends justify the means, and all the "what ifs" are so remote that they're only a minor portion of the issue.

Still, I stand by my opinion that Madison politics are fucked up. These are, after all the same people that wanted to ban mobile billboards before considering that it would also ban the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

What?

Oh, and here's another example. I was just waiting for this one to hit the news.

This op/ed piece mentions all the same problems I have with allowing illegal immigrants access to taxpayer-funded home loans. Really, there's no point in rehashing everything here. Suffice it to say that this decision by the Madison City Council is wrong on so many levels.

I'm glad I don't live in Madison any more.

Oh, I wish....

Here's an article that nicely illustrates why I have a problem with Madison politics.

Misguided....

An animal rights whack-job finally gets caught. I'm sure PETA will have something to say about this.

Legislating morality....

There's a bill in the state senate right now to protect the right of pharmacists to refuse to fill birth control prescriptions, and to prevent them from being punished or fired for doing so. Governor Doyle vetoed a similar bill last year; a spokesperson said, "The governor does not think medical treatment should depend on the personal or political views of a doctor or pharmacist."

Yet there is a growing movement in this country for laws like this. The patient, of course, is the one caught in the middle. There have been reports of pharmacists berating patients whishing to get their prescriptions filled, and likewise imposing their beliefs on patients by refusing to find another pharmacist who will fill the prescription, or refusing to transfer the prescription to another pharmacy.

Most dismaying, though, is the remarks of Matt Sande, of Pro-Life Wisconsin. Critics of the law argued that it could restrict access to contraceptives, especially in rural areas, and in turn lead to more abortions. Sande acknowledged this, but replied "...Inconvenience should not trump conscience in this country."

While that might be true, the fact of the matter is that if your conscience is getting in the way of doing your job and inconveniencing your customer, maybe you need another line of work.

Good news, everyone....

According to this article, the forthcoming Xbox 360 will be backwards compatible. It will unfortunately be selective, but that's better than none at all.

Support....

Here's a fantastic way to support our troops serving in the armed forces: give books.

Tens of thousands....

Well, I've finally hit 10,000 hits to my site. It took almost ten years to do it, so if you figure a little over 1,000 hits a year, then it's not so impressive.

Idiocy

Javon Walker finally spoke out regarding his hold out for a new contract. He has stated that he hopes his reputation with fans has not been damaged by the hold out, that "they can forgive and forget."

We'll forgive and forget when he dumps Drew Rosenhaus, because Drew Rosenhaus is a fucking idiot.

"You know, I have to show great respect for the Hall of Famer, Brett Favre," Rosenhaus said. "But Brett Favre himself has had his own contract disputes. And I'm surprised he's not sympathetic and supportive, but we respect him."

Is Rosenhaus smoking crack? I don't remember any contract disputes with Brett Favre.

Drew Rosenhaus may end up being the worst thing to happen to football in the 21st century.

Shenanigans....

Here are some long over-due shenanigans from the whack-jobs at PETA.

Why aren't they more concerned about the pit bulls in Denver?

Prejudice....

Here's a damn good reason not to live in Denver. Fuckin' idiots.

Drifting...

On Saturday, while discussing politics with Maryanne, Amy, and Luke, I made the comment that it seemed like politics had become vastly more polarized than it used to be. I conceded that it might only be my perception, since I'm older and more mature now, and tend to pay more attention to politics than I once did.

Part of my opinion was that it seemed like both parties had drifted away from the center, Republicans drifting toward the right now that they have control, and Democrats drifting more towards the left.

Luke disagreed with my assessment of the Democrats.

Upon further reflection, I think I'm going to stand by my opinion.

All through the campaign leading up to the election, there was an attitude among liberals of "dump Bush at all costs." There was the debacle with Dan Rather and the forged memos, there was all the celebrity stumping on behalf of John Kerry, the resorts to ad hominem attacks, and there was the typecasting of Bush as not so much being the wrong person for the job, but of being evil.

I won't argue that a lot of campaigning for Bush (or, more appropriately, against Kerry) was just as alarmist. Didn't I just say that the Republicans moved further to the right? However, in the media I was reading at the time, the attacks were on Kerry's positions, platforms, opinions, and actions. Kerry wasn't cast as evil, and his person was never drawn in to question, nor his intelligence. His ability to lead was brought in to question, but I felt that the campaign against Kerry never stooped so low as that against Bush.

That being said, I do concede that the Republican party has gotten incredibly ballsy since the election, and I don't feel that's a good thing. The federal government consists of a series of checks and balances, established for a reason. Doing away with filibusters would be detrimental to the system. However, the Democrats universal rejection of all of Bush's court nominees isn't good, either.

Sooner or later this is all going to come to a head. When it does, I hope the cooler, moderate heads and common sense prevail. I've had enough of the elitist, ignoring of middle America attitude from the left, as well as the "Holier than thou" attitude from the far right.

License to Drive

This is an issue I've been following off and on for a while. Michael Balboni, a politician from New York, summed it up best, stating "What's so ironic about this bill is everybody agrees with the concept, one person, one driver's license. How you get there is really the tough issue."

I can see the desire that the federal government has to some form of standardization, because really, things are all over the map right now.

However, I think it still remains a states' rights issue. From what I've read on the issue so far, it's unlikely many states are going to like this idea, even if the federal government coughs up some money to help foot the bill, which doesn't appear to be likely. Hell, Wisconsin has enough problems of its own with a new computer system without throwing this in to the works.

There's been some concern about illegal aliens on the issue of driver's licenses. Most states don't require proof of citizenship or legal status to get a driver's license. It's feared that illegal aliens would not apply for licenses, and lead to unsafe driving.

What a bunch of horseshit.

If they're a safe driver already, how is this going to change if they can't get a license? Is an unsafe driver going to become a safe driver just because a legal resident suddenly gets a license? If proof of legal status isn't required, then it's not like you're going to catch anyone when they apply for a license. Likewise, if proof is required, then illegals aren't likely to show up in the first place, are they?

In any case, depending on the guidelines the federal government sets forth, it may be opening a door better left closed.

Weekend....

Friday Maryanne and I went to Waukesha and dropped by the Carroll campus. I had been wanting to go for a while, to go to the bookstore if nothing else and pick up a t-shirt or some such thing. With Maryanne along I was able to give her a brief tour. We then were left with trying to kill three hours before meeting with Dan and his girlfriend Bobbie Jo. Come to find out we could have met them earlier, if only we could have gotten a hold of them. Oh well. It was a nice visit, though. Thanks again to Maryanne for paying for my selections at the bookstore as my birthday present.

Saturday we went with Amy and Luke to Chicago for Leanne's graduation from seminary. It was a long day, especially since it involved a bit of walking, and Maryanne got some blisters on her feet. It also involved some dining out, so check out the Restaurant Reviews for some new content there.

Sunday was thankfully less eventful. While it was Mother's Day, it was also my birthday. Since we hadn't driven up north, we felt it was fair (or equally unfair) to not do anything with Maryanne's mom, either. Instead we saw The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Maryanne didn't like it. I found it entertaining, but not up to par with the book(s). It was based on a script developed by Douglas Adams himself. I wonder if it would have turned out better had he still been alive to participate in the project. It did pay homage to its roots, though, showing a picture of Adams as part of the Improbability Drive, and also sporting the old Marvin the Android costume from the BBC production as one of the persons queuing in the Vogon office.

Monday I took a day of vacation, mostly because I could. It was productive; I was able to get the last coat of paint on the shelving unit, work on patching and sanding the shelves themselves, and get a few loads of laundry done. I could have done more if it hadn't rained.

Party Line

This probably isn't much of a surprise to some people:

I am: 54% Republican.

"Congratulations, you're a swing voter. When they say 'Nascar Dad', they mean you. Every Republican ad on the TV set was made just for your viewing pleasure. Don't you feel special?"

Are You A Republican?

"Eve of Destruction"

Have you ever wanted to destroy the Earth? It turns out it would be much harder than you think.

Some people have too much time on their hands.

Commute Conundrum

After the recent crack down on the Beltline, a couple of columnists from the Wisconsin State Journal weigh-in on the issue.

Andy Baggot claims speeding is not the problem, while Susan Lampert Smith has the sense to recognize that speed is a major part of the equation.

That this is being debated at all just about sums up my problem with Madison drivers.

History....

Check out this amusing History Of The Internet. It wouldn't be as funny if it weren't so true.