a bloke's blog

convenient history (man-made, of course)

2009-11-10T19:01:00.005-05:00

there is abundant evidence of major catastrophes throughout human history, both natural and man-made.

since we have no credible evidence of intelligent life anywhere other than our home, planet earth, you might think we would value human life a great deal higher than we apparently show to our fellow homo sapiens and other inhabitants of our home.

"Allāhu Akbar" or "god is great"

does anybody else think it absurd that the fort hood shooting began with a declaration of god and ended in prayer and more praying?

the NRA's assertion that more guns would prevent massacres is roundly disproved by this tragedy. since an army base is full of highly trained weapon specialists how come so many died and scores were injured?

and what of our so-called heroes? pacifists don't shoot people, as neither do atheists (any news articles that anyone can send that offer countering evidence i will gladly post).

was not this army doctor a hero in the eyes of america before he committed this act?

war is not heroic.

killing others is not heroic.

wearing a uniform by itself does not make you a hero.

one has to perform an act of heroism. and that includes everyone, including those that have committed crimes, liars, thieves. absolutely anyone can be a hero.

shouldn't we also award a few medals for not dying or killing?

Health Care Spending = 16% GDP

Military Spending = 4% GDP

of course, all the lunatics that moan about govt. spending and not it not capable of running anything conveniently forget that the US military is a government-run program...

since every single person living in the united states will require health care during their lifetime, and that there is no universal coverage for every citizen, this is a staggering statistic (see below)

a fair fight?

2009-10-29T20:42:00.002-04:00

fed up with being drowned in jesus?

where are the signs "i love satan"?

no cheesy bumper stickers telling you how much the owner of that vehicle believes in the 'other side'

no houses of devil worship to be found in travel guides? how come? since we're all supposed to be sinning, you would think there might be a few alternatives.

so i did a quick google search on internet explorer. here are the results:

Results 1 - 10 of about 467,000,000 for god

Results 1 - 10 of about 197,000,000 for jesus

Results 1 - 10 of about 276,000,000 for religion

Results 1 - 10 of about 50,600,000 for the devil

Results 1 - 10 of about 28,300,000 for satan

Results 1 - 10 of about 589,000,000 for sin

Results 1 - 10 of about 13,300,000 for evangelical

Results 1 - 10 of about 10,700,000 for atheist

so in conclusion, not only does god threaten us with eternal damnation if we choose not to worship him, but he is so insecure that he won't even allow a fair battle.

how very fucking big of him.

of course, you can't deny it's a brilliant move getting his name on every dollar bill...you'd think it would be the other way round.

rossi wins 9th world title and i get chickenpox.

2009-10-29T08:12:00.003-04:00

some brilliant motorcycle racing in sepang, especially in the 250cc race.

stoner was untouchable to take the victory, but all rossi needed was to keep lorenzo (future world champion) in his sights.

me getting chickenpox wasn't so great...

Shogun Robbed!

2009-10-25T11:24:00.004-04:00

UFC 104 was marred last night by the most attrocious or perhaps corrupt officiating the sport has seen since the Hamil vs. Bisping decision. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua not only scored more blows, but also landed the harder more damaging shots while being the aggressor, dictating the pace of the fight, and displaying superior ring generalship. Despite a sound strategy and superb execution that led to Shogun winning every aspect of the judging criteria, the judges rendered a unanimous decision to Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida. Coincidentally, judge Cecil Peoples who previously favored Bisping over Hamil showed his risible incompetence yet again by scoring in favor of Machida.

Boos reigned throughout the stadium and even Machida had a look of shock on his face when the announcement was made. This result is truly terrible for the sport as it ruins it's credibility. UFC front man, Dana White, also believed it was a poor decision and has pledged to make changes to improve the calibre of judging. However, this will be difficult because judging is run by the state athletic commission and not the UFC.

Many fans left boxing after too many dreadful high profile decisions that reeked of "fixed" corruption. Let's hope the same does not happen to mixed martial arts.

Flat Eric and a day at the final round of British Superbikes

2009-10-20T07:35:00.010-04:00

monster art

2009-09-29T22:32:00.001-04:00

a sunday ride

2009-09-25T20:43:00.007-04:00

out to annapolis.

met a couple of other riders and decided to go for a group ride to north beach.

after, we left to ride to solomon's island.

brilliant!

got dust? australia does...

2009-09-23T18:11:00.003-04:00

wow!

'Big Government' spending - continued...

2009-09-18T17:25:00.007-04:00

this photograph, famous throughout the world would not have been possible were it not for government spending.

it's not just that government (federal, state & local) is responsible for the military, schools, hospitals, roads, trains, buses, bridges, infrastructure, zoos, police, firefighters, nurses and doctors. it provides a safety net for the unemployed, a functioning marketplace, and health care for the poor.

it is responsible for picking up your garbage and dealing with your sewage. it is responsible for giving you air to breath that isn't a toxic soup and providing clean drinking water.

it also is the reason why we have national parks that haven't been developed on...

sometimes it is responsible for making the impossible happen, like putting a man on the moon (and more importantly, bringing him home).

it also provides us with an incredible view of our world, and beyond:

government is far from perfect, but does anyone really want to return to the wild west (apart from the NRA).

who doesn't want health care for all?

2009-09-16T11:46:00.003-04:00

Patients get free choice of health care providers and hospitals.
When you go to your own personal physician for visits, there are NO premiums, NO co-payments, NO deductibles, NO one excluded. You pay nothing.
When you get your prescription filled by your pharmacist, there are NO premiums, NO co-payments, NO deductibles, NO one excluded. You pay nothing.
If you need hospitalization, there are NO premiums, NO co-payments, NO deductibles, NO one excluded. You pay nothing.

of course, you will pay into a system, and have free choice to purchase your own private health insurance.

this is what citizens of the world's richest nation are so up in arms about.

the biggest gathering of assholes D.C. has ever seen

2009-09-14T20:55:00.004-04:00

plenty seemed quite o.k. taking the metro, though...provided by tax dollars.

these flag-waving assholes will help prevent a public option.

sorry, i meant offensive, flag-waving, hypocritical, stupid, fat & ignorant assholes that have obviously never even left the united states. yep, without a doubt, bush was SO much better....

i sincerely hope all these worryingly ideological right-wing fed, walmart shopping, 'patriotic' idiots, lose their jobs, their health care, and their homes. because then they wil truly get what they all want: no government help.

what's missing from american newspapers on 9/11?

2009-09-11T18:16:00.005-04:00

this:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ex-us-soldier-jailed-for-iraqi-rape-and-murders-1785694.html

speaking of which, have you seen Inglorious Basterds yet?

brilliant, campy, tarantino offering -

Wizard of Oz meets Reservoir Dogs, with lipstick.

Congratulations England for Early World Cup Qualification!

2009-09-10T14:58:00.002-04:00

England 5-1 Croatia! What a remarkable result in stark contrast to how England crashed out of the Euro Cup to the very same team under the risible leadership of Steve Mclaren. The team is undefeated in World cup qualifying, winning almost every match emphatically. Coach Capello has done an amazing job in restoring the confidence in the lads that they've had at club level but always lacked on the national stage. He has also figured out how to get England's midfield firing on all cylinders by figuring out the Gerrad/Lampard conundrum. Even the attacking options look promising with Rooney and Defoe hitting form in the premiership and on the national team. Surprisingly, Capello's success has occurred without many key England starters such as Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, and Owen Hargreaves, all soon to return from injury. Any England fan might get their hopes up with trepidation given the history of painful losses and collective mental breakdowns at the most inopportune moments, but I believe the World Cup is looking bright for England with our favorite Italian at the helm.

labor day weekend

2009-09-09T08:22:00.002-04:00

645 miles.

Hotels.Com

2009-09-08T18:20:00.003-04:00

how about booking a labor day weekend away, getting an e-mail booking confirmation, only to find out upon arrival at the hotel that no reservation had been made.

after the hotel itself helped us out, we 'phoned the next hotel booked. they also had no record of a booking with Hotels.com.

she's back.

2009-08-31T17:28:00.003-04:00

Whole Foods

2009-08-28T06:35:00.004-04:00

why i will not be shopping at Whole Foods.

thanks, mr. mackey (CEO of Whole Foods) for sharing your views on

President Obama's health care reform with the Wall Street Journal:

“The last thing our country needs is a massive new health care entitlement that will create hundreds of billions of dollars of new unfunded deficits and move us much closer to a government takeover of our health care system,” Mr. Mackey wrote.

i completely disagree.

"the last thing our country needs" - medical debt is the single biggest cause of bankruptcy in the world's richest nation. what exactly is so great about that, mr. mackey?

i will be shopping at Trader Joe's.

see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_the_United_States

Ted Kennedy dies and microsoft manages this:

2009-08-26T18:28:00.009-04:00

a champion of civil rights, advocate for the poor, race relations, and a fierce believer that health care is a right for all americans, including children...

perhaps congress shpould consider the wider issue and not their own interests, and those of the insurance companies.

no wonder the republicans hate liberals.

astonishingly, on the same day, microsoft manages to get in the news with this gem of a photoshop job and issues an apology:

Empower your people

unless they're black...

my 1,270th post is the 400th anniversary of the birth of modern science.

2009-08-25T20:56:00.006-04:00

on august 25th, 1609, observational science, not religion, ushered in a new way of understanding the world around us.

what reward did this individual receive for such towering achievements?

house arrest by the catholic church. his crime? by stating that the sun is the center of the solar system, not the earth was "false and contrary to scripture".

and contrary to popular belief, galileo DID NOT invent the telescope.

excellent wiki page can be seen here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei

amazing that 400 years later, i am writing and posting this blog using a computer that operates under the absurd 'reality' of quantum mechanics.

400 years ago there were no lighbulbs, no electricity, no tv's, no cars, no cell phones, no computers, and not even a fucking pen that you didn't dip in ink. and no internet! imagine the horror if we were disconnected from the internet for even a week...

no fast food, no fast-food chains, no burgers or hot dogs, no supermarkets, no gasolene, no united states of america, and no motorcycles. no plastic, no human-induced climate change, and 50,000 people didn't die each year because of guns.

it's quite impossible to imagine living in such a world, although i would happily like to see a night sky free of light pollution. i would also like to live in a world without guns, but that is a daydream. luckily, i can ride my ducati, and i have no thoughts of killing anyone because they differ from me.

there was plenty of culture 400 years ago though, and italy was dripping with it.

i spent the morning in rockville, today, and it has none whatsoever.

such is 'progress'.

the biggest problem with moral authority

2009-08-24T22:04:00.005-04:00

is when you don't possess any...

and americans are outraged over the release of the lockerbie bomber. who has cancer.

exactly what moral authority is it that the united states demonstrates to the rest of the world?

actions always speak louder than words.

strange that a nation with such strong 'christian' beliefs so quickly refuses to show any mercy to a man that was convicted so conveniently readily.

i actually drove past the crash site not long after that terrible event.

definition of an idiot

2009-08-17T11:33:00.008-04:00

Certainly not Stephen Hawking...

... but someone who writes the editorial page at Investor's Business Daily:

“People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn’t have a chance in the U.K., where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless,”

UPDATE: Investors Business Daily has corrected its editorial, removing all mention of Stephen Hawking. And Hawking himself has responded, telling the UK’s Guardian:

Stephen Hawking:

"I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS," he told us. "I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived."

Perhaps the Investor’s Business Daily has the same sort of prophetic insight on health care reform as they showed leading up to the financial collapse…

Where did they think he lived, Cambridge Massachussetts?

and the best bit is that anyone living in britain suffering the same disease, who was not stephen hawking would receive exactly the same medical treatment.

our next new home...

2009-08-17T10:52:00.002-04:00

is currently some uneven dirt...

and what you won't be seeing tonight if you look up...

2009-08-12T17:21:00.002-04:00

...you won't be seeing the annual perseid meteor shower - because it's fucking cloudy.

the definition of economic prosperity

2009-08-11T18:16:00.007-04:00

human beings (the better off ones) consuming resources, destroying their habitat and that of others for self improvement, and leaving the consequences of their collective actions to the poorest and future generations.

i wonder what the world in 2050 will look like.

congratulations to albert & nancy

2009-08-07T06:15:00.002-04:00

cheers!