PolarShark

Naked Truth

2009-07-01T22:29:00.003-04:00

Here's another reason to avoid a seat in the back of a plane. Click the title above for an interesting read.

It's the Economy...

2009-04-23T17:30:00.002-04:00

Got this in email...

NFL Headsets

2009-03-20T03:11:00.000-04:00

The NFL should take a lesson from NASCAR and put headsets in every player's helmet. Then each player/position should have a spotter up on the roof telling them what's going on during the game. "Watch out, you're about to get blindsided on your left..." or "It's a fake, it's a fake..." or "You're over-pursuing, get back to cover the reverse..." I think it could make the game much more interesting. They could even bill it as a "green" initiative - think how much paper they'd save by not printing out thousands of those rooftop Polaroids they print every game.

And speaking of helmets and green... Get rid of the stupid lime green dots on the helmets. It make sense on the Seahawks helmets because they have lime green piping on their uniforms anyway. But, for everyone else, have it match their uniform. For a league that is so uniform conscious, lime green stickers for everyone are stupid.

NASCAR and the Rain

2009-03-18T03:11:00.001-04:00

NASCAR should take a lesson from the NFL and have a couple of indoor races. Put some covers on a couple of those racetracks so we can do away with these incessant rain delays. Bristol's small, surely they could cover Bristol Motor Speedway. But I'm trying to remember if I've ever seen rain at Bristol.

Better yet, learn to drive in the rain. Heck, give 'em snow tires if that's what it takes. Especially on road courses, they could definitely race in the rain on road courses. And if they can't, well, we get more action and they last one left in the race wins by default...

NBA Tournament

2009-03-15T22:52:00.003-04:00

As we get ready for the Big Dance I was thinking about the NCAA tournament versus the NBA playoffs. One evokes excitement while the other is three months of boredom. Wouldn't you think the NBA would like to have people as excited about their playoffs as people get about the NCAA tournment? Come on, NBA, try it - just one year, try it. Can you imagine, May Madness! Heck, seed all 32 teams and let 'em play. I think all but two of them get in now, don't they? Wouldn't that be pandemonium?

Is Your Senator Really This Arrogant?

2009-02-12T00:25:00.002-05:00

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY): The American people don't care about pork projects in stimulus.

I say if you're not part of the "chattering class," perhaps you're part of the problem...

Heaviest Element Ever: Governmentium (Gv)

2009-02-10T00:52:00.004-05:00

Don't know who is responsible for this - I got it through email but its good...

Lawrence Livermore Laboratories has discovered the heaviest element yet known to science.

The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second, to take from four days to four years to complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2- 6 years; It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.

When catalysed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Dirty Jobs' Mike Rowe on Lamb Castration, PETA, and American Labor

2009-01-25T14:50:00.002-05:00

Drawing on his experiences picking up roadkill, feeding swine, and castrating a lamb with his teeth, Mike Rowe, host of Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs, discusses how modern American culture belittles necessary labor. ...

Well worth the 20 minutes. I think he has a great perspective on work...

Hat tip, Red

Where Next?

2009-01-21T22:26:00.002-05:00

Here's a little input from the only page I like in the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

Today marks the first full day in the wilderness for Republicans and for conservatives — the start of the long process of defining the principles on which the party stands. And, when that is done, finding a way to frame the message to a nation that has begun to divide roughly 50-50 on whether we want more or less government.
Those who carry its financial burden want less, as do those who accept the responsibility to provide for themselves and their families. Those who want more see government as the second provider to the family — or in many cases the first — as well as the co-signer on every note, whether the note is a mortgage or a business loan.

The rest of the piece can be found at the link at the top.

Home Protection

2009-01-19T23:28:00.009-05:00

It's about time we had a neat invention like this. It might be a little difficult to make the bed, but what's more important?

The Backup

What to Do with an Old Xbox

2009-01-13T23:08:00.004-05:00

So I've had this old Xbox Classic sitting in a closet for a while now. I guess you could call it my ex-Xbox. It has long since been replaced by the 360. I've considered selling it on Ebay but it's still there. I stopped by Game Stop the other day and asked them what they'd give me for it and I was staggered to find out they'll pay a whopping $20 in store credit. So it's still there.

But the other day, while researching media center options for the house I came upon something called XBMC (Xbox Media Center) and I was immediately intrigued. I found an how-to article on LifeHacker that talks about how to convert it so I think I have my next system project for the house. I guess installing this software will void the Xbox warranty with Microsoft - oh, wait... I did that years ago when I popped the case open. I'll let you know how it turns out.

There's a little sample video of XBMC at youtube.com/watch?v=8amNvWnGrew

Groups Working Hard to Tax Online Purchases

2009-01-12T17:49:00.002-05:00

New York appears to be leading the charge of trying to make online companies collect sales tax for Internet purchase even when the company is not in New York. There are a number of states looking to further tax their citizens. Some bricks-and-mortar companies have banded together with states to form the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board. Their idea is to simplify the tax rules in order to be able to collect more taxes.

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20090112/D95LPQH81.html

Let's get this straight. The economy is down and everywhere you look they are telling us that people have less money; things are tight. So the Government answer is to find newer ways to tax us. Does anyone else see the problem with this? Shouldn't these states be looking at ways of reducing costs? A tax-deficit has two potential solutions; "collect more taxes" isn't the only solution.

2008 in Review - Dave Barry Style

2008-12-30T13:59:00.002-05:00

As only Dave Barry can...

How weird a year was it?

Here's how weird:
O.J. actually got convicted of something.
Gasoline hit $4 a gallon -- and those were the good times.
On several occasions, Saturday Night Live was funny.
There were a few days there in October when you could not completely rule out the possibility that the next Treasury Secretary would be Joe the Plumber.
Finally, and most weirdly, for the first time in history, the voters elected a president who -- despite the skeptics who said such a thing would never happen in the United States -- was neither a Bush NOR a Clinton.

See the full review at http://www.miamiherald.com/283/story/826965.html

Snowzilla Lives!

2008-12-24T09:54:00.003-05:00

The mysterious 25-foot-tall Snowzilla has once again arisen from his wintery slumber in Anchorage to the delight of many and the chagrin of some...

News24.com

Bailouts, Bailouts, Everywhere, and Not a Cent to Spend

2008-12-16T21:10:00.005-05:00

RedPlanetCartoons hit it again with Bailout Fatigue. Where does it end. How long before we have companies intentionally tanking just so the government will bail them out? Is it already happening.

It brought to mind to a few thoughts:

The Mouse the Roared. Begin an enterprise just to lose and take advantage of the American people.

The perversity of the Law of Unintended Consequences. Check out Laura Rowley's suggestion for creating positive unintended consequences. Reward good behavior - wow - what a concept...

Somehow it will all translate to the the government needing a bigger chunk of our paychecks.

Shouldn't we be finding ways to encourage the growth of private enterprise? After all, businesses create jobs and more revenues. Wonder how the FairTax could help us out of this economic handbasket we find ourselves in? (referring to an old Far Side cartoon: "Where am I going? And what am I doing in this handbasket?")

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T12:49:00.003-05:00

I hope your day is festive and that you have much to be thankful for...

If you think you know everything about Thanksgiving, try this little test. I got 10 out of 20...

home.aristotle.net/Thanksgiving/trivia.asp

And, here's a little Thanksgiving story sent to me by a friend...

One year at Thanksgiving, my mom went to my sister's house for the traditional feast. Knowing how gullible my sister is, my mom decided to play a trick. She told my sister that she needed something from the store.

When my sister left, my mom took the turkey out of the oven, removed the stuffing, stuffed a Cornish hen, and inserted it into the turkey, and re-stuffed the turkey. She then placed the bird(s) back in the oven.

When it was time for dinner, my sister pulled the turkey out of the oven and proceeded to remove the stuffing. When her serving spoon hit something, she reached in and pulled out the little bird.

With a look of total shock on her face, my mother exclaimed, 'Patricia, you've cooked a pregnant bird!'At the reality of this horrifying news, my sister started to cry.

It took the family two hours to convince her that turkeys lay eggs!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Politics of New Coke

2008-10-14T21:24:00.000-04:00

Years ago Coca-Cola changed the formula of their signature product: Coke because they were losing market share. They assumed they were losing customers to Pepsi and came out with "New Coke," which was more Pepsi-like. Not better, just more Pepsi-like. They assumed that's what people wanted because they assumed they were losing customers to their dreaded rival.

Turns out that Coke wasn't losing customers to Pepsi, they were losing customers to Diet Coke. So they changed their formula for no reason and wound up ticking off a bunch of people for no reason. Suddenly Coca-Cola Classic appeared on the market and New Coke began to disappear.

I see the same thing happening in politics today. I think the Republican Party is afraid they are losing market share to Liberals. So they're giving us a "New Coke" version of the Republican Agenda. They seem to think that if they're more like the Democratic Party they'll woo Liberal voters while keeping Republican voters by virtue of brand loyalty. Let's face it, the Republican Party has gone so far left that, given a set of campaign promises, I couldn't tell you which party they came from.

Guess what: "New Coke" sucked.

I think the Republican Party is losing market share because they're starting to smell TOO liberal. They're are headed in the wrong direction. Right now it feels like my voting options are "liberal" and "more liberal." I want my "Classic" back.

Flying.... Again

2008-10-14T20:52:00.001-04:00

Flew to Seattle this morning. Flying lately brings out some of my pet peeves regarding customer service. Coach flying has almost reached the level of going to the Post Office. I wonder if that's their goal...

Looby Loo Packing Heat

2008-10-08T22:13:00.005-04:00

I know this is a bit dated (a month or so) but it's too good to pass up... and from a Brit, no less. So many people seem interested in "change," well Governor Palin would certainly provide that, wouldn't she... from www.dailymail.co.uk

A pistol-packin' Looby Loo: the Left's worst nightmare...

Frank Sinatra would have got the joke. In the words of the great political philosopher, they all laughed at Christopher Columbus when he said the world was round. They're all laughing too, at John McCain for choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate. The usual suspects took one look at this pistol-packin' momma and reacted like John McEnroe to a disputed line call: you cannot be serious! Certainly, the pick came, as the Americans say, out of left field. But Sarah Palin is centre stage now, and suddenly it's game on.

At the very least, McCain has got a wonderful sense of mischief - a quality sadly lacking in most politicians.

The way the Left, both, both here and in America, are contorting themselves is a joy to behold. Sarah Palin is every Guardianista's worst nightmare.

It's reminiscent of how they used to patronise Mrs. Thatcher 30 years ago. What did this small-town girl know about anything?

How could any woman expect to run a country and raise a family? What does she know about foreign affairs?

Of course, they weren't saying that a woman couldn't be Prime Minister, you understand. Just not this woman.

Shirley Williams would have been fine, but this ghastly, lower middle-class Snobby Roberts woman from Grantham, of all places - AAARGH!

It's been hilarious watching the sisterhood tie themselves in knots over Sarah Palin.

They've been in full Glenda Slagg mode - dontcha just hate her, dontcha just love her?

On one hand she's a feisty, capable woman shaking up the political establishment, while juggling a family and career. I don't know how she does it.

But on the other, she's a God-fearing, gun-totin', good ol' girl. She hunts, she fishes - she's a Republican, for goodness' sake.

Sarah Palin is every red-blooded redneck's fantasy figure, every randy schoolboy's Mrs. Robinson. She could have stepped straight out of one of long-lost cousin Michael's Ripping Yarns.

Cheerleader, beauty queen, dominatrix of the Harper Valley PTA, mother of five, mayor, governor and now a heartbeat away from the Vice-Presidency.

You couldn't make her up. Law and Order's Fred Thompson, once a presidential candidate himself, hit the baby seal on the head when he said the Left were in a blind panic over what to do about Palin.

What they are doing is what they usually do when confronted with something which offends their world view - character assassination. Every 'liberal' newspaper and TV network has sent hatchet men north to Alaska to dig for the dirt beneath the tundra.

What they discovered is that 80 per cent of Alaskans think she's doing a great job.

A supermarket tabloid is claiming she had an affair, which she denies. Apart from that the worst the scandal-hounds have come up with is that Palin, as governor, put pressure on a police chief to fire her former brother-in-law.

Given that said brother-in-law had beaten up her sister and threatened to kill her father, I'd say that far from abusing her office, she showed considerable restraint. I'm surprised she didn't put a bullet in his head.

The big talking point is the pregnancy of Palin's 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, who is soon to marry her boyfriend. That's what I call a shotgun wedding.

Still, it kills the wild rumour that Bristol is really the mother of Palin's Down's syndrome baby, Trig.

You've just got to like a woman who calls her son after a character in Only Fools and Horses. Although it's probably fair to assume she doesn't have a working knowledge of Cockney rhyming slang, otherwise her daughter would never have been christened Bristol.

When Palin talks about shattering the glass ceiling, the sisters are supposed to cheer - except most of them suspect her idea of shattering a glass ceiling would be with both barrels blast from a 12-bore.

She epitomises the 'God and guns' mentality at which Barack Obama and his supporters sneer. They use 'small town' as a pejorative term. That's not how Middle America sees it.

John Mellencamp wrote his hit song Small Town as an ironic take on Hicksville, USA. He even performed it an an Obama rally earlier this year.

But that hasn't stopped Middle Americans adopting it as an anthem. Mellencamp must be just as horrified as Springsteen was when Ronald Reagan purloined his anti-war Born in the USA as a campaign song.

It's not that the Americans don't do irony, as European 'sophisticates' always maintain.

It's just that sometimes, my dear, they don't give a damn. A good song is a good song - and to hell with the message.

Most Americans were born and raised in a small town. Her values are their values.

The mantra from the Obama camp is that she lacks the experience to be VP. In truth, she has more executive experience than either Obama or his Neil Kinnock-impersonator sidekick mate Joe Biden, neither of whom as ever run anything.

But, wail the skeptics, what about foreign affairs? Admittedly, Palin has never slagged off her country at a mass rally in Berlin. But Alaska's next door to Russia. She's got more experience of dealing with Russians than anyone outside of corporate hospitality at Stamford Bridge.

Who is Putin more likely to be wary of - Barack 'we must negotiate with dictators' Obama, or Looby Loo packing heat?

To paraphrase the Duke of Wellington, I don't know what she does to the enemy, but she scares the life out of me.

Palin reminds me of the old joke about what's the difference between the IRA and a woman with PMS? You can negotiate with the IRA. What she does have in spades is experience of the energy industry - the number one concern right now. Palin would drill, drill and drill some more - polar bears or no polar bears. And when the oil companies got greedy, she imposed a windfall tax. Unlike Gordon Brown, who'd keep it, she gave every Alaskan a $1,200 rebate.

With all the hoop-la, it's easy to forget that she's running for Vice President, not President. Not yet.

U.S. Financial Mess - Where Did It Start?

2008-09-30T21:25:00.002-04:00

You know, we (I'm guessing you're not that different from me) get a boatload of "stuff" in our email in-boxes on a regular basis. All kinds of wild, outlandish forwards that fuel the fire for "our" side - whichever it is. I just got this article forwarded today and, although I've heard it discussed some, I confess that I didn't quite believe the article truly existed. But I "googled" it and here is the link to the real, original article published on the New York Times' own website on September 30, 1999.

NY Times - Fannie Mae Eases Credit to Aid Mortgage Lending

This financial mess, banks folding because of bad debts, is due to government meddling. The government started telling banks to lend to bad credit risks and... surprise, surprise... they turned out to be bad credit risks. It was the Clinton Administration - read the article - that pushed it but Congress went along with it. We need government to quit mucking with business.

And now the government wants to meddle again and is blaming greedy banks for causing the problem.

I can't help thinking we're at a crossroads - not a financial one, although getting through this may well be a significant challenge. I think we're coming to an Accountability Crossroads. It is time to toss out the pork-spending, promise-lying do-nothings and put some common sense in our government.

Remote Control Pilots Suffer Stress

2008-08-31T17:48:00.003-04:00

This shouldn't be a surprise but the article acts like it is. "The Air National Guardsmen who operate Predator drones over Iraq via remote control, launching deadly missile attacks from the safety of Southern California 7,000 miles away, are suffering some of the same psychological stresses as their comrades on the battlefield."

I'm glad it's a problem. I just wish someone had thought that it might be. Hopefully these pilots are getting the help they need.

Full article at AP.google.com

Happy Birthday Dillon

2008-08-09T08:16:00.000-04:00

Have I mentioned before that they grow up so quickly? This picture was from about four years ago when I think he was trying to invent something called "Math Rap." I don't know... We were at ICE! in Orlando (good fun) and he was hamming for the camera (where'd he learn that?).

Happy 17th dude!

The Rubik's Cube was made at www.dumpr.net

Happy Birthday Madison!

2008-07-26T08:21:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday! We hope this is your best year yet!

Reality Hosts Really Hosting Emmys

2008-07-26T07:44:00.002-04:00

This is news. The five hosts nominated in the new Emmy category - reality TV host - will preside over the September 21 Emmy broadcast. It seems that adding this new category is creating a stir in Hollywood circles. I don't know, perhaps adding a new category always causes some kind of a stir in those who follow this sort of thing. They've created this new category and now, realizing the hype it has generated, they Emmy folks are running with the promotional football by including all five in the show itself.

How about this? Since the five (Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, Jeff Probst, and Ryan Seacrest - if you don't know what shows they are associated with, good for you!) currently host reality-game shows, why not take this concept one step further and have they COMPETE throughout the Emmys broadcast? Have them each take their turn hosting and then flash each contestants 866-number (remember, it is not an 800-number, it is an 866-number) and let the viewers vote on which one does the best job. They work in a talent segment where each host shows what else they are good at.

Or... they could incorporate aspects of each of their shows into the "reality" portion of the show. They could have each contestant dance down a runway, eating balut and carrying a numbered case with some amount of money while singing their favorite Abba song from "Mamma Mia!" This would allow them to market one of those $10,000 dial-in tie-ins where viewers can text (standard messaging rates apply) to guess which one of the contestants' cases has the $10,000. The opportunities are endless.

Of course this would allow the Emmys to market the Emmys Elimination Show the following week where they could easily fill two hours of re-run clips of last week's Emmy Show, performances by last week's winners and announcing, in the last minute this year's winner of the Best Reality Show Host Emmy.

Wouldn't that be fun? The marketing opportunities are endless. I think next year they should add Emmy category for Best Reality Show Judge. We have the likes of Simon Cowell, Bruno Toniolo, The Hof, Mary Murphy and her scream. Part of the show could be them critiquing the performances of the other judges.

What about a category for Best Reality Show Contestant? Each of the contestants could then draw out of a hat a challenge from one of the shows represented and then have to compete against each other on the Emmys. Hey, we could turn the Emmys into a whole series of shows. They could announce a winner each week with the finale coming right in the middle of sweeps! Throughout all of these competitions, each of the nominees would have to try to figure out which nominee is not really a nominee but rather... a mole bent on disrupting the other contestants efforts.

And finally, since there are so many awards shows, and each of these shows is broadcast on televisoin, it only makes sense to add a Category for Best Television Awards Show (please tell me they don't already have one).

Science or Racism in Dallas County?

2008-07-09T13:24:00.000-04:00

A war of words breaks out at a Dallas County Commissioner meeting... funny and sad all at the same time.

CityHallBlog.DallasNews.com