Showing posts with label deep thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deep thoughts. Show all posts

Monday, September 15

divine retribution

Okay, I'm confused.

Everybody Knows (™ Fox "News") that Hurricane Katrina was divine retribution for a 2005 gay pride parade in New Orleans. And that Hurricane Gustav was divine retribution for the same parade (Southern Decadence) in 2008.

So what is Hurricane Ike divine retribution for -- Sarah Palin's nomination? Dubya's Presidency (since the target this time was Dubya's Oil Buddies)?

I'm just looking for the correct someone/something to blame.

Friday, September 12

and now, we wait


I haven't seen the Dallas population this nervous in awhile .. not since last winter when there was a prediction of two (2) inches of snow.

Traffic seemed lighter than usual when I dropped a friend at DFW this morning, although TXDOT's freeway message signs are flashing "AVOID TRAVEL TO HOUSTON AND BEAUMONT / TEXAS HURRICANE WARNING". The grocery store parking lots aren't full, although we should be getting some of the wind and rain by this time tomorrow, unless The Weather Gal changes her mind as to Hurricane Ike's projected path.

So far, I've learned two new TXDOT terms due to Ike: evaculane (road shoulders wide and smooth enough to be used as a travel lane during times of significant traffic congestion) and contraflow (opening all lanes for outbound traffic).

Unrelated deep thought: what do you call a person from Zimbabwe? A Zimbabwiccan?

Thursday, August 21

A fable about Russia and Georgia

I know millions (billions?) of you are hanging by your fingertips, waiting on my opinion regarding the Russian invasion of Georgia. If you expect me to back John McCain, whose mantra is "War! War! Invade! Invade!" .. well, you're sadly mistaken.

Kindly allow me to paint a picture for you:
  1. Let's assume the USA decides to make Georgia a strategic ally.
  2. The USA sells lots of arms to the Georgians. Yes, they know Russia is next door.
  3. Separately, the USA announces plans to put missiles in Poland.
  4. Next, two of the 11 Georgian states (with large numbers of Russian expats) say they no longer want to be part of Georgia.
  5. Georgia sends in federal troops to prevent that from happening.
  6. In order to "protect the Russian expats", Russia invades Georgia.
  7. Now, the UN blames Russia for invading.
  8. A war-first US Senator (running for President) pledges his support for Georgia.
  9. Meanwhile, the USA sits back, ready to sell Georgia more weapons as soon as the coast is clear.
Now, for purposes of argument, let's switch the names of the players:

USA -> Russia
Georgia -> Mexico
Poland -> Cuba
Russia -> USA
  1. Let's assume Russia decides to make Mexico a strategic ally.
  2. Russia sells lots of arms to the Mexicans. Yes, they know the USA is next door.
  3. Separately, Russia announces plans to put missiles in Cuba.
  4. Next, two of the 31 Mexican states (with large numbers of US expats) say they no longer want to be part of Mexico.
  5. Mexico sends in federal troops to prevent that from happening.
  6. In order to "protect the US expats", the USA invades Mexico.
  7. Now, the UN blames the USA for invading.
  8. A war-first Russian Senator (running for President) pledges his support for Mexico.
  9. Meanwhile, the Russians sit back, ready to sell Mexico more weapons as soon as the coast is clear.
Now, what do you think? Still think this is worth (maybe nuclear) war?

Sunday, August 17

ordeal at the drive-thru


Last night, I moseyed over to a local store to fetch some CFLs that were priced at 59c each (I bought 6 of them - for me, that's a lifetime supply of these low-wattage bulbs).

Afterwards, I stopped at a local drive-thru for a sandwich and a drink, and that's when things got interesting.

I happened to arrive moments after two guys in a small white pickup attempted to place their order. Alternating ordering through their window, and opening the truck's door to talk .. they ordered about $30 worth of fast food (it wasn't hard to hear their order - lots of sandwiches with each condiment specified - e.g. "hamburger with lettuce, ketchup and onions .. (long pause) ... cheeseburger with mustard and tomato .." etc.) This should've told me that I was in for a long wait, but .. I decided to stay, since this was the last thing on My Agenda For The Night.

Next, they pulled up to the window and the clerk handed their four (4) drinks to the driver, then waited for the money. Another long pause. I guess Company Policy is that if someone leaves without paying, they didn't lose much since the profit on soda is about 96%. The driver handed two folded bills - one by one - out the window, over his left shoulder, without looking .. since he and the passenger were by then anxiously searching for something inside the cab. I mentally noted their license plate number.

Next, the passenger's door opens halfway, enough for him to stick his legs outside while continuing to search for something inside the truck. Then, the driver exited the cab, presumably to see if he'd been sitting on Whatever. It was then I could see he was wearing knee-length red satin trunks - something a Pimp Basketball team would wear.

Next, the driver got out of the truck completely and proceeded to walk past my car very slowly until he reached the drive-thru's order board. Still not finding what he was looking for, he came alongside my side of the car (by then I had locked the doors) and got back inside the truck, still searching.

At that point, I decided to cut my losses and backup .. perhaps leave. Once I'd backed up, the driver made another inspection of the drive-thru lane, a bit more meticulously than at first.

Now, this is the only drive-thru in Dallas with two lanes (like the In-N-Out Burgers on the west coast). Rather than leave, I decided to switch lanes, even if it meant stretching across the front seat to handle my transaction through the passenger window. Only then could I see that there were two SUVs in front of me. Lovely .. this had already turned into a 10-minute ordeal and was likely to be longer. Backing up from the left lane would be much more challenging. Now, I was stuck.

Eventually (another 5 minutes passed) I reached the window, and handed my cash out the passenger window, explaining to the clerk that I'd switched. "Yes, I noticed" he said, "... sorry about that". He then explained that the two guys in the pickup were Very Drunk and "had been smoking something they shouldn't have". Ah, that explained a lot.

So, the two guys in the little white pickup were drunk and stoned (hence the munchies), and had lost their bag-o-weed, hence the frantic search inside the cab.

This made me wonder what responsibility - if any - the fast food clerk had, to call the police and turn these drunk stoners over before they kill someone. Then again, they may still be at the drive-thru today, searching for Whatever.

Wednesday, July 30

growing to (heart) $4 gas

As I started my day with a read of the New York Times* I noticed:
"Oil has dropped more than $23 a barrel, or 16 percent, and gasoline prices have fallen as Americans drive less."
Conservatives Small brainers will attribute this to Dubya's threat to open up more offshore drilling (even though the oil companies haven't drilled in 80% of the areas already permitted for same). The truth is that prices fell when the magical $4/gallon barrier for gas/petrol was reached and demand eased -- Americans simply started driving less. Part of this has to include the economic meltdown that's underway - just yesterday another restaurant chain (Benigan's/Steak & Ale), and another department store chain (Mervyn's) failed.

Dubya's Oil Puppets would like you to believe otherwise, but the offshore drilling threat was hollow and had no impact. This drop in oil prices was based on sticker-shock, and is temporary.

Oil producers know that "$4 gas" will soon become accepted as the norm, at which point they can aim for "$5 gas". I heard some MSM pundits muse "now we're paying European prices for gas!!!!" while anyone who can Google knows that's a lie; many Europeans would love to see American gas prices at their local station.

I suspect this will be similar to any plateau effect; Americans will grow to think of "$4 gas" as The Good Old Days and behaviors will slip away from our New Thrifty Habits:
  1. driving at the speed limit;
  2. combining trips;
  3. carpooling;
  4. buying more efficient vehicles;
  5. using mass transit
The local bus/train company (DART) has placed orders for larger trains - with better bicycle capacity - but by the time those orders arrive, I suspect we'll be back to Business As Usual as we'll have adapted to stagflation.

Likewise, American car makers are falling over themselves as they try to retool their factories for more fuel-efficient vehicles, but it appears they cannot turn on a dime and I've heard predictions of 18 months before those adaptations are complete.

I was talking to a friend last night about the price of new cars, and she said that while her paycheck has stayed the same, the price of her Target New Car has increased - on the order of 10% or so. My theory is that in order to make a vehicle 1% more fuel efficient, the price had to increase by 5% - the law of diminishing returns has begun to set in. As Americans return to our wasteful habits (outconsuming the world by 5:1 in some cases) this is only bound to get worse.
* the local newspaper (the "Dallas Managed News") has become little more than a repurposing of Associated Press stories, plus a hefty Religion section and right-wing pundits. They shouldn't let the door hit them in the arse.

Monday, May 12

what do China, Burma and New Orleans have in common?

Recent news items:
  1. 77,738+ dead in Myanmar (Cyclone Nargis, 3 May)
    ** see Irrawaddy for updates
  2. 51,000+ dead in China (Sichuan earthquake, 12 May)
  3. "only" 1,577 died in Louisiana (Hurricane Katrina)
Deep Thought: I wonder if both China and Myanmar were gonna have Really Big Gay Pride Parades?

The big question remains: How long will it be before (McCain's soulmate) John Hagee notices and rants accordingly? If only the Chinese shared Hagee's religion, this never would have happened, right?

Ref: 230,000+ died in Indonesia/Sri Lanka (26 Dec 2004 : "Boxing Day Tsunami"), triggered by a 9.3 earthquake

Monday, April 28

sweet tooth

I suppose this posting is for historical amusement only. I got an email from a local retailer (Micro Center, if you must know) offering various capacity USB drives (private label).

Over the years I've often noted that capacity-oriented items (memory, disc, etc.) have a calculable Best Value, a/k/a the product's Sweet Spot. Today, that appears to be the 8 GB thumb drives:
CapacityRetail PriceCost Per GB
1 GB (silver)$6.99$6.99
2 GB (blue)$9.99$4.99
4 GB (black)$15.99$3.99
8 GB (green)$24.99$3.12 ("sweet spot")
16 GB (red)$59.99$3.75
Unlike hard discs, few people seem to care that USB drives vary in access speed. I do like the fact that Micro Center is color-coding their drives (1 GB=silver, etc) making it easier to choose an appropriate one.

Deep Thought: It would've been nicer if they'd used an industry standard color scale (e.g. ROY G. BIV) when assigning a color to a given capacity, but .. nobody asked me.

Monday, April 14

what a deal! (unless you can do math)

I just got an email from Baskin-Robbins, saying:
Participating Baskin-Robbins stores will reduce prices of small ice cream scoops to 31 cents.*

*2.5oz scoops are 31 cents plus tax where applicable. Limit 10 scoops per person, per purchase. Available Wednesday 4/30/08, from 5pm to 10pm, at your local Baskin-Robbins while supplies last.
Before you think "what a deal!" be advised that's some very expensive ice cream (versus just buying a gallon).

The math: there are 128 ounces/gallon, hence 51.2 of those 2.5 ounce scoops per gallon. At 31 cents each, that means the ice cream is $15.87 per gallon (not including sales tax). That makes $4/gallon gasoline look attractive.

Deep thought: I wonder if anyone ever made gasoline-flavored ice cream?

Full disclosure: there's a charity involved, so it's not like they're totally evil:
A donation of $100,000 will be made by Baskin-Robbins to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. At select stores throughout the country, you may also have a chance to donate to your local fire station.

Wednesday, December 5

genealogical deep thought

does anyone know: are Dad Gummit and Dag Nabbit related? If so, how?

Friday, November 16

somebody please hand my my cane ...

It's weird being suddenly part of the "you don't matter anymore" crowd.

Today, I got an email from Wired magazine, asking me to complete a 10-minute survey. Once I told them (in the first 2 questions) that I'm a 50 year-old male, it said "no thanks" and sent me packing:
"Thank you very much for your interest in our survey. Unfortunately you did not qualify for today's survey. Because our research was targeted at individuals that match a particular profile, not everyone who receives an initial email will qualify to take the survey. Please be assured that information is not recorded unless a survey is successfully completed."
Does anyone know what Cod Liver Pills taste like?

Saturday, November 3

digression

Jill's been in town for a couple days, crashing my guestroom (she's not couchsurfing), but that's no excuse for not updating my blog, right?

We took the train to watch the Stars lose to the San Jose Sharks 2-4 on Monday night, then (at The Saucer on Friday) got invited to last night's game where they lost to the Phoenix Coyotes 0-5. Jill and Brian watched them lose to the Chicago Blackhawks 4-5 on Wednesday night. So, while Jill was in town, the team was 0-3. Coincidence? I can't think of a more logical correlation!

Melinda bought the tickets (platinum seating!) and her 13-year old daughter was there for comic relief. At least she wasn't texting the entire game, as I saw at a Stars game last year.
Deep Thought: why would you spend $100 to sit in an arena (the American Airlines Center), with the sole purpose of Texting Your Friends the entire game? Couldn't you do that in the parking lot outside and save the money? I'm sure the conversations were something like "Hey, Britney - I'm at the STARS GAME!!!!!!!!!!" I suspect these are mostly Park Cities (or - gasp! Plano) teens who are so self-absorbed that all they can think of is impressing their friends that Mummy and Deddy were stupid enough to spend money to send them to the game (which is probably cheaper than bailing them out of jail after being arrested at an underage party at the home of that SMU lawyer who's on a monthlong vacation in The Canaries). Oops/sorry .. I'm digressing ...
At any rate, I was very proud of Melinda and Carson, who (after buying Stars jerseys and putting them on) started dancing and ended up on the JumboTron, about 2:30 before the game ended (woo hoo). I grabbed this still frame from one of the movies I took, which nearly used up my 2 GB memory card. Pretty amazing that the photos/movies I took in 2 hours could easily fill about three CD-Rs (which turns the "could you email me the pictures?" into a monumental task).

Anyway, tomorrow, Jill's running the DRC Half Marathon so I'll provide Limo Service at 7am. Maybe I'll park my car and Text all my friends: "Hey, Britney - I'm at the MARATHON!!!!!!"

Wednesday, September 26

what is is?

Last night, Judy-Bob dragged me to a biweekly session of the Dallas Philosopher's Forum which meets at a local IHOP. My last exposure to philosophy was a Philosophy 101 class I took to satisfy a freshman college requirement. I decided not to pursue this field then, and now - 30 years later - I remember why. To document last night's excursion, I made a few notes:
  1. IHOP doesn't tolerate meetings well - they had no way to independently turn off music in the meeting room without shutting it down for those who dined in the main room

  2. this group has been meeting for many years; they take a summer vacation partly because "it's too hot to meet"

  3. $4/meeting or $25/6 months (a $48 value - WOW!!!)

  4. tonight ~25 people (including 6 women)

  5. The lecturer was a professor from the University of Dallas, whose topic was "Religion and Aesthetics"
    "Both religion and aesthetics follow from the bipolarity of human existence, grounded in the sensory and ontologically referred to the Whole. Religions provide the umbrella of meaning by showing how we fit into the Whole. From ontological distance, we can learn to appreciate sensory surface aesthetically either by itself or as mediating wider meaning. The interplay between the sensory and the space of meaning is where art occurs. We will examine a few specimens of how religion and aesthetics interpenetrate in the work of art."
  6. it was a discussion of art, without any visual aids - he had trouble with a photocopier, apparently

  7. the microphone had an apparent "speaker filter" which amplified others' voices, but not his

  8. the overhead projecter (remember those?) pointed to the ceiling during most of the lecture

  9. the speaker read his ~20 page paper, but encountered noticable delays when changing pages. Didn't he number them?

  10. Wikipedia has lots of pages on philosophy, according to a pre-lecture discussion we overheard. I confirmed that later - see Wikipedia's philosophy page for example

  11. most used word: ontological - 31 times

  12. least used word: teleological - zero (I remembered it from my Philosophy 101 class)

  13. most unexpected repetition: putative - used 5+ times

  14. NeoPlatanism ("the synthesis of Christianity and Platonism into a single system")

  15. Unexpected outburst of the evening
    • Speaker:"we are conceived in (something) of animal lust"
    • YEAH!! shouts a woman

  16. Philosophers referenced: Martin Heidegger; Jean-Paul Sartre; Augustine; Aristotle; Søren Kierkegaard; Friedrich Nietzsche; Socrates; Aquinas ("a philosopher and theologian in the scholastic tradition"); Herocles of Ephesus

  17. Literary references: Walter Pater ("English essayist and art and literary critic"); William Blake ("an English poet, visionary, painter, and printmaker"); Plato's Republic

  18. Stuff it would've been handy to know before the lecture: Apollonian and Dionysian; Byzantine; Pythagoreanism; Galen; The Whore of Babylon

  19. Art references: Piet Mondrian; Matthias Grünewald's "The Crucifixion"; LeRoy Neiman

  20. Music references: Richard Wagner; Socrates and "the study of harmonics"

  21. Speaker's big laugh for the evening: "you can't stop rock and roll" related to the Berlin Wall (this had the crowd rolling on the floor)

  22. Q & A

    • q- "where would you publish this paper?"
      a- (baffled)

    • q- what do you mean by "heart of hearts?"
      a- "fundamental orientation of self to the whole"
    • discussion of "inate sense of perfection"
    • "notion of a heart" - metaphoric analysis
    • ancient iconoclasts and destruction of religious symbols
    • European cathedrals as a "portal to the divine"
    • observation: philosophers can't do basic math (4/3 v 3/4) or standup comedy
    • visible/intelligible dichotomy

Conclusion: the chicken sandwich at IHOP was edible.

Wednesday, September 19

Representation without representation

One of the more annoying problems about living in Red-State Texas is that there is no US Senator who will listen to reason. Both Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) are both lock-step Republicans, and simply will not listen to any constituent who has a thought which isn't shared by President Quagmire Bush.

So, when issue-upon-issue makes it to my desk, and I'm asked to call or email my representative, I've concluded that it's a Waste Of My Time to make my views known to either Hutchison or Cornyn, since they're going to vote against my best interests regardless of how nicely I ask.

Does this mean the fascists have won? In a sense, yes .. because I've grown weary (in my advanced age) of wasting my time, calling a senator who simply doesn't care what I think. Ditto goes for Pete Sessions (R-Texas), who barely fogs a mirror over on the House of Representatives side of the hall.

Given that incumbents win 99% of the time, and there are no term limits for the House or Senate, this trio will likely stay in power until their deaths. Maybe Texas won't always stay this way, but for now .. there's nobody in Washington who represents me. Nobody.

Thursday, August 16

dead Samaritans

I don't know if I'd ever try to assist a motorist in need; there are too many chances of something going wrong. It's safer and easier to dial 911 from my cellphone and summon professional help for them.

Nick Anthony Salinas' toxicology reports aren't back yet, but Dallas police say he must've been high. After an accident on I-35E a few nights ago, he apparently panicked when some guys stopped to help him, and he pulled out a shotgun and fired 7 blasts (the last one was saved for himself). Two men are dead as a result, and the police officer (Jerry Poston) is now blind in his left eye.

The police can cite you for FSRA [Failure to Stop and Render Aid] but I think that's only if you caused the incident. After reading the news about Salinas, I can't imagine ever stopping to help anyone, unless it's in the desert and they're without water or if there's only one of them, or if I'm with some friends and there are more of us than them and ...

Tuesday, May 15

Don O'Treply speaks!

Since today was the day that The Morons chose as "boycott gas stations day" I made sure to fill up my tank. It was $3.15 for premium and my credit card deducts 5% for gasoline purchases, so I paid $3/gallon.

Sometime around noon, I heard that Jerry Falwell died. He's the disgusting creature who, along with Ronald Reagan, elevated bigotry and hatred to new levels in American politics.
Bet #1: President Quagmire and his minions are hoping for a good photo op at Jerry's funeral.

Bet #2: James Dobson is already sniffing Falwell's corpse, wanting to know how he can get his hands on Jerry's Followers' money.

Bet #3: Jerry didn't leave a dime in his will to AIDS research.
What would make me happy? To see Fred Phelps picket Falwell's funeral .. that would be poetic justice. Maybe the KKK will fund their bus tickets? (Wednesday update: they're actually going to do this .. woo hoo!)

Finally, I'm thinking of changing my name to Don O'Treply. That would be so kewl to use in email. Hmmm.

Monday, May 7

excessive buddy lists

Is there a glut in the "social networking" category, or am I imagining things? At last count, the Major Players in this segment are: Myspace; Facebook; BeBo; Virb; Multiply; Hi5; Friendster; Orkut; MyBlogLog.

Sunday, April 22

a few less pundits : where's the harm?

I find it fascinating that the likes of Tom DeLay; Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh are advocating arming everyone, to prevent more Virginia Tech massacres.

In the "what's good for the goose is good for the gander" mentality, I have yet to hear any of these sociopaths advocate bringing more guns into their own insular worlds. Whatever could go wrong if everyone entering Comedian Rush Limbaugh*'s studio of horrors came packing a 9mm handgun? Hell, he should Loan A Glock to anyone who enters without one. Eventually (a week or so), we'd end up with one less radio host, but at least we wouldn't stray from the Radical Right's reinterpretation of the Second Amendment. This is one place where they and the KKK are in complete agreement.
Everybody Knows™ that "well regulated militia" == "arm all the White Christian Republicans"
Ditto for the US Senate: I can't see a problem if everyone entering the Senate chambers was armed, just in case. If Gingrich and DeLay are so willing to arm every college student ...
well, okay, not all of them. Not the Darkies. Or the Women. Or the Orientals. Or the Mexicans. Or the Muslims (A-rabs).
.. why not go the extra step and remove all those metal detectors from government offices around the country? We'd surely save a bundle by sacking the security staffs .. maybe enough to fund Bush's Oil War another week or so.

* description courtesy "Countdown with Keith Olbermann", MSNBC (MicroSoft National Broadcasting Company)
Everybody Knows is a trademark of the state-run media (Fox "News"); Rush Limbaugh Productions; and the Christian Fascist Republican Party.

Tuesday, March 13

Ben, meet Jerry

I was checking out of a store tonight, having a random conversation with the cashier. Although he didn't ask if I owned a dog (when I purchased dog food) the exchange wandered into the "everything tastes better with cheese" theory.

I wondered, out loud, why there was no such thing (yet) as Velveeta ice cream.

Somehow, I think I shocked the lad.

Thursday, March 1

can you hear me now?

One of my first paying jobs was in the radio business, so microphones [mics] are like an old friend to me (no, not the ones who owe you money). That said, I'm frequently amused by people who speak to crowds where a microphone is appropriate, yet they push it away like a rotting turnip.

I wonder if they somehow think that using a microphone makes them A Weak Person in another's eyes. "I don't need a microphone!," they arrogantly bellow to anyone-who-would-listen, as they continue to strain their vocal chords to show how Manly they are. Then they act downright irritated when someone says "I can't hear you!".

Me, I learned the Proper Care And Feeding Of Mics eons ago, so that I can say words with a P in them without sounding like I'm sppppiting. Or know enough to keep it out of my airstream so I don't sound like a Heavy Breathing Pervert. I also learned the subtle nuances (!) of keeping the mic away from the associated loudspeaker, minimizing feedback.

Why is it that 93% of the population needs to read Amplification For Dummies before attempting the use of these high-tech devices? Is it just practice, practice, practice?



Completely unrelated, and probably should have tossed it onto my award-winning Sundry on Thursday blog: Quotes - The Marx Brothers

Monday, February 19

a fitting proposition

It appears there is collusion in the bird seed industry.

Yesterday, while Slow Dancing the aisles at an Everthing Must Go sale at Albertsons (1341 W Campbell @ Coit), I spotted a "Snack Basket" by Morning Song (Francesville, Indiana) that was marked 40% off. Being a sucker for both wild birds and EMG sales, I added it to my shopping cart, mentally noting that I'd have to add one of those pressed seedcakes at a future time (there's often Slim Pickings at an EMG sale - where ALL SALES ARE FINAL is the mantra).

That Future Time arrived within an hour or so after I left Albertsons, when I found myself a half mile away at the local SuperTarget. Sure enough, they had a seedcake, but it was made by Kaytee (Chilton, Wisconsin). What are the odds those two companies meet at the annual Wild Bird Seed Standards Committee, to hash out the details of interoperability? After all, these two companies are only 417.3 km (259.3 miles) apart. I eyeballed the seedcake and guessed that it would fit .. if not, I'd have to dig out a butcherknife and hack it down to size.

It would've been Way Handy to use SizEasy to Fire Up A Browser and compare the Snack Basket to the cake, but that would've required that I know the dimensions of the Snack Basket, now sitting in my car's trunk .. what are the odds that data would be online?.
Hmm: I smell an opportunity for a future entrepreneur .. who would sell this Dimension Matching Service to both parties.
Once I got both parts home, I unwrapped and "assembled" them - yes, they fit. I'm hoping that my local woodpeckers (and nuthatches and chickadees) are appreciative. For those of you who are interested, here is the detailed size comparison.