Bad driver alert....

American Family Insurance employees drive like assholes. Not all of them, of course, but enough to want me want to leave nasty messages on their cars and bludgeon the drivers.

Today it was an asshole in a dark, smoky gray Pontiac Grand Prix. He was obviously in a hurry, not only to get to work, but apparently in a hurry to break four traffic laws to do so! He pulled into the wrong lane making a left turn, passed two cars at once (myself included), passed on the right, and, of course, was speeding. I hope he gets a blowout!

Moving forward....

Steve Jackson, gaming-industry guru, reflected upon the loss of the Columbia:

There's no such thing as "routine" in space. The Columbia was only a few minutes from landing when... what? Maybe we'll never be sure. Frontiers are dangerous.

The heroes on Columbia knew the dangers and were proud to accept them. The team that built and launched the shuttle, no less heroes, did their best -- more than their best. We could build a better shuttle if we started from scratch today, and perhaps we should. But what we must not do is get bogged down in hand-wringing, finger-pointing, and blame-shifting.

We must continue toward space. Not because heroes died. Merely in spite of it. No frontier was ever explored without risk, and to insist that all possible risk be avoided is the same as saying "Give up and stay home." And we absolutely must not give in to those who will seize upon this tragedy as an excuse to further gut our space program. The future is out there. Resources, knowledge, a home for humanity other than this one fragile planet... we must reach space, while we still can.

We lost seven heroes yesterday. Mourn them, but honor their dream. Close ranks and go on.

No Animal House....

Carroll College, my alma mater, is in the news. They have become one of many schools to get worked up about fraternities and believe the answer to be shutting down their fraternity houses. Check out the story from the Milwaukee Jounral-Sentinel.

Engaging....

In my zeal yesterday to post about my frustrations with Madisonian drivers, I neglected to make note of some more happy news from the weekend: my sister got engaged.

On Sunday my sister said yes to her boyfriend of some time. I've lost track of that time myself, but I think it's something like two years. I don't know any more. In the end, though, it doesn't matter, because what does matter is that they're both happy.

In a hurry....

Today started off as a somewhat normal, if chaotic day. My wife began her math class at the local tech college today, and had to rise early because of that. However, once I left the house and got on the road, I should have suspected things would change. There were more people on the road than there normally are when I drive to work, and of course, most of them were in a hurry and doing asinine things like tailgating and speeding.

The final straw, if you will, came when I pulled into the drive leading to the parking ramp at work. I had made it about three quarters of the way, a distance of over a quarter of a mile, when I was suddenly being tailgated. I had seen the car before: a bright yellow Audi TT. The driver backed off, but took the first entrance into the parking ramp, and I took the second. As I proceed through the ramp on my way to spiral upwards, who should appear suddenly in front of my, nearly cutting me off, but that same yellow Audi TT. And people wonder why there's road rage.

The fact of the matter is, if you have to speed, or otherwise drive like an asshole in order to make it to work on time, you should be leaving home earlier. I try to be a defensive driver, but unfortunately all this aggressive driving is a little contagious. I find myself driving a little too quickly at times, and often have to change lanes long before I would otherwise need to for fear of being cut off or not being able to change lanes when I'd like. Driving around Madison is not very pleasant. The only blessing is that I don't have to drive on the belt-line.

Chicken!

An editorial about those whack-jobs I love to hate, PETA.

Disarming....

Gun control doesn't work. Just ask England.

Dissin' the Colonel....

Whack-jobs against Colonel Sanders - PETA takes on KFC. Read all about the fun.

The letter of the law....

Another gem courtesy of my wife, so you don't think I'm some kind of stuffy conservative:

Background: Laura Schlessinger is a US radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. Recently, she said that as an observant Orthodox Jew homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned in any circumstance.

The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to follow them.

1. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
   
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
   
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
   
4. Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
   
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 5:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?
   
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?
   
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?
   
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. How should they die?
   
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
   
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev.24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14) I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.
    

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.

Jake

Food for thought....

I received this in my e-mail some time ago from my wife, and thought I would share it.

Think about this:

1. The number of physicians in the US is 700,000.
   
2. Accidental deaths caused by Physicians per year is 120,000.
   
3. Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171.
   

(US Dept. of Health & Human Services)

Then think about this:

1. The number of gun owners in the US is 80,000,000.
   
2. The number of accidental gun deaths per year (all age groups) is 1,500.
   
3. The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is 0.0000188.
   

Statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun
owners.

Fact: Not everyone has a gun, but almost everyone has at least one doctor.

Please alert your friends to this alarming threat. We must ban doctors before this gets out of hand. As a public health measure I have withheld the statistics on lawyers for fear that the shock could cause people to seek medical attention.

"Milk for the masses...."

Scottish students unite against whack-jobs from PETA. It makes me proud enough to shed a tear.

Protecting freedom....

Hunting around the internet, I found a couple of articles, one called Fun with the Second Amendment, and the other called Why We Liberals Don't Like Guns. The first article, surprisingly enough, seems fairly intelligently presented, recognizing the fact that guns aren't the cause of American crime, and removing them from the equation won't truly solve the problem. However, they obviously don't understand the intention of the Second Amendment, an intention corroborated by the writings of such people as Thomas Jefferson. Sadly, the second article simply presents them as a bunch of doddering milquetoasts, if not exactly whack-jobs, and they seem to be the people Ben Franklin was referring to when he said "They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

While this might indeed seem extreme, as does wondering why anyone should be up in arms about a ban on assault rifles, stop and think for a moment. Where does one draw the line? While they may be assault rifles now, they'll be pump guns next, followed by any repeater. The laws present on the books in California prevent a champion target shooter from practicing in her own state with a small-bore, single shot target rifle. Absurd! you say? Damn right! But that's California for you.

California now... what next? Nowhere, I hope. Instead, I offer these collected quotations on the topic of freedom.

Wonder no more....

As if we needed to confirm what piss-poor drivers the denizens of Chicago are, my wife and I went to that same city over the weekend to visit with some friends. While we enjoyed our time there, there were two things we despised: the drive there, and the drive back. The worst, by far, was the hit-and-run trifecta coming out of the last toll plaza on our way in. A van side-swiped a car, taking out the driver's side mirror, and once they had pulled off onto the shoulder, the van took off. When the car caught up again they both pulled off onto the shoulder, and the van took off again. You'd think they'd both had learned their lessons, but this strange thing happened a third time. And people wonder why the residents of Wisconsin hate Illinois drivers.

Soup's on!

Campbell's is donating a can of soup (up to 5 million) to area food banks just by clicking on any helmet (We like the Packers one though) at their website. It's quick, easy and can be done once a day. It's really simple and is for a really good cause! Some inspiration -- Packer fans ruled last year, having twice as many cans as the 2nd-place team.

Good-bye....

On Thursday, October 3, 2002, my father passed away quietly at home. He was 55 years old. He was eulogized by friends who loved and respected him. The service was performed by Pastor Vance, who may not have known Dad very well, but nonetheless conducted a beautiful service. I'm sure it was all quite more of a fuss than Dad would have wanted, but anything less would have been insufficient.

No sense of humor....

Well, it looks like PETA can't take a joke. Barnes & Noble removed the review that I previously linked. Now we can say that not only is PETA a bunch of whack-jobs, but they're whack-jobs without a sense of humor.

It lacks flavor....

Check out these reader-submitted cookbook reviews at Barnes & Noble. In honor of PETA.

Off the market....

Well, it's official now: I'm a married man. It all happened on Saturday, September 21, 2002. Frankly, even four days later, I'm exhausted. It hasn't all quite sunk in yet, but I'm happy. Everyone had a wonderful time at the ceremony and at the reception. Maryanne and I enjoyed a brief honeymoon before returning to Madison and returning to reality.

Wacky....

If you haven't checked out Fark yet, you really should. Lot's of interesting news stories here, and a wealth of stories about whack-jobs. Why, just today I found this article about some of the more over zealous proponents of environmental causes.

Bizarre....

My favorite whack-jobs, PETA, are in the news again. Check this out.