Table of Contents
Motherfucking Cubs!
The Veep Debate
Top Ten 'Things Overheard At Palin Debate Camp'
GOPers still toking the crack pipe.
House GOPers to Wall Street - Fuck You
John McCain just got pwned.
Cubs - 4 games left
Tech stuff
At least they get to kick ass at Wrigley.
Money quote of the day.
Why do the responsible have to subsidize the irresponsible?
The Super Bowl of Beer
Other Links
Hit count:
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Motherfucking Cubs!
October 5, 2008
Couldn't they wait until I could catch a post-season game on TV before they choked? That's it; I'm through. 97 regular season wins for what? To get swept in three by the barely above 500 Dodgers? Carumba!
That Fukudome shirt I bought at the boutique next to the Hall of Fame is going straight into the car washing rag bin. Fuck him and fuck the motherfucking Cubs.
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The Veep Debate
October 2, 2008
The undecided Ohio voters to whom CNN gave the little controllers to are very hesitant to go negative on either candidate. I would therefore say that any score near the zero line is negative.
I also see that the undecided Ohio voters like the fluff Palin was dishing out early on, but kind of got tired of it later on. Biden killed on foreign policy, a subject on which it was very clear Palin had no frickin' clue.
It also appears that women were more often more critical of both candidates than men were. If you get a chance to watch a replay of this, you will see the orange (women) line consistently above the green (men) line. I also noticed that whenever Sen. Biden called Gov. Palin on her rather obvious bullshit, the reaction to that was not nearly as positive as it was to Gov. Palin's fluff.
If I had to score this thing, I'd call Biden the clear winner on points, but how does this play in Peoria, as they say? Who knows? I am inclined to believe, based on past experience, that Americans like fluff. Whoever tutored Gov. Palin for this debate, hats off to them; they get it. America loves fluff. The love to be lied to, as long as the lie is more pleasant to the ear as the truth. It's just the way we are as a people.
As I noted earlier, we live at the mercy of idiots. Idiots have the same right to vote as do the smart, the normal, and the sane, and that is unfortunate. If there were some way to weed out the idiots without enabling those who would use such laws for nefarious purposes (see Jim Crow), I'd be all for it.
God help the United States of America. Please. Canada doesn't have these problems. Steven Harper is an idiot, but his government didn't last long enough to cause lasting damage to Canada. Why? Because their system is superior to ours. An election campaign in Canada lasts to months, tops. It costs something like $50,000,000, about two trips to the International Space Station for some bored billionaire. That's it. None of this two year marathon shit. None of this $200 million campaign just to get the endorsement of your own party. None of this idiotic bullshit. God help the United States of America to see beyond the bullshit and do the right thing for once. I won't hold my breath.
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Top Ten 'Things Overheard At Palin Debate Camp'
 October 2, 2008
I sure wish I could pick up CBS in my podunk town in Upstate New York so I could watch Dave before going to bed. Goddamn DirecTV.
10. "Let's practice your bewildered silence."
9. "Can you try saying 'yes' instead of 'you betcha'?"
8. "Hey, I can see Mexico from here!"
7. "Maybe we'll get lucky and there won't be any questions about Iraq, taxes or healthcare."
6. "We're screwed!"
5. "Can I just use that lipstick-pit bull thing again?"
4. "We have to wrap it up for the day -- McCain eats dinner at 4:30."
3. "Can we get Congress to bail us out of this debate?"
2. "John Edwards wants to know if you'd like some private tutoring in his van."
1. "Any way we can just get Tina Fey* to do it?"
* Interesting thing about Tina Fey as Sarah Palin that Jon Stewart pointed out the other day. Instead of writing up a schtick, they just had Tina and Amy recite the actual interview text more or less verbatim. When Saturday Night Live gets laughs with the words that actually came out of your mouth instead of having to write their own, you're screwed.
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GOPers still toking the crack pipe.
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October 1, 2008
Via Yahoo! News:
Obama's failure to achieve a double-digit lead and maintain it "has given a lot of hope to Republicans," GOP pollster Whit Ayres said. Yet he also allowed, "You can't have a playing field that leans this heavily toward the Democrats and not be nervous."
A month ago it was, "Obama's failure to achieve a lead outside the margin of error..."
Two months ago it was, "Obama's failure to break 50 percent in any of the major national polls..."
What will it be on Halloween? Obama's failure to achieve a lead of at least thirty points? The White Sox' failure to win the Pennant/World Series?
Keep on smoking that shit, Republicans. It makes you all much more entertaining.
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House GOPers to Wall Street - Fuck You
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 September 29, 2008
The headline:
House ignores Bush, rejects $700B bailout bill
The reason, according to Minority Leader Boehner (R-OH): Nancy Pelosi gave a speech that pissed him off. Something about "right-wing ideology of anything goes, no supervision, no discipline, no regulation" being the root cause of the problem this bailout was supposed to address.
The final score on Wall Street today:
DJIA | 10,365.45 | -777.68 | -6.98 pct
NASDAQ | 1,983.73 | -199.61 | -9.14 pct
S&P 500 | 1,106.42 | -106.59 | -8.79 pct
Ouch.
Meanwhile,...
McCain takes credit for bill before it loses
"I've never been afraid of stepping in to solve problems for the American people, and I'm not going to stop now. Sen. Obama took a very different approach to the crisis our country faced. At first he didn't want to get involved. Then he was monitoring the situation. (grins, flashes thumbs up)
"That's not leadership. That's watching from the sidelines." (cheers and applause)
No, Johnny Mac, that's keeping your nose out from where it doesn't belong. Something you should have done. It's also not throwing down your hand until all bets have been made. Bad, really bad. Is that how you intend to negotiate treaties with the likes of Russia? Putin will eat you for lunch.
UPDATE: On the way home, I heard on NPR that Congress intends to try again on the bailout. In light of the 9 percent correction in the S&P 500 today, I'm not so sure it would matter much If I were the Speaker, I'd declare today's vote one of no-confidence, as our neighbors to the north might, and move for immediate adjournment. Then I would sit back and watch hilarity ensue. I wonder how John Boehner would react to that.
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John McCain just got pwned.
September 26, 2008
Headline at Yahoo! news: "The debate is on; McCain agrees to participate."
WASHINGTON - Republican John McCain agreed to attend the first presidential debate Friday night even though Congress doesn't have a bailout deal, reversing an earlier decision to delay the forum until Washington had addressed the financial crisis.
I guess this whole thing with Obama going to Mississippi to talk to the audience for an hour and a half by himself was just too much. That and the perception that McCain scuttled the Big Shitpile buyout deal so he could take credit for "rescuing" it.
Big party at my place Jan 20th. BYOB.
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Cubs - 4 games left
September 25, 2008
1st inning - You gotta appreciate Lou Pinella as a manager. He clearly believes in making sure all his people play. Of course, since the Cubs have locked up home field advantage in the playoffs (formerly known as winning the goddamned pennant), all those guys who were invited up for a cup of coffee are getting to start tonight.
It helps that the Cubs' bench is about as deep as any I have ever seen. Take recent AAA grad Micah Hoffpauir, who hit third, and hit a solo home run in his third game in the major leagues. Way to go, rookie!
Middle of 1st - Cubs 2, Mets 0.
Oops, I just saw Hofpauir boot a line drive from the Mets' Jose Reyes that the Cubs' usual first baseman would have walked to the bag for the out. Way to go, rookie! Reyes then stole second on a weak throw from the plate. Seems Giovany Soto got the night off as well. It's OK; he needs and deserves it. Reyes then reached third on a fielder's choice. Yep, giving rookies playing time is generally good idea, but it does come at a cost. Good thing the Cubs can afford it.
Ooh, Reyes just scored on a sacrifice fly. So while the Mets have not gotten a hit in the inning, they have just cut the Cubs' lead to 1 run.
End of first - Cubs 2, Mets 1.
That was quick. Pitcher Rick Harden reaches base on an error at third, then Felix Pie hits into a double play to end the inning. Pedro Martinez has three Ks already.
I don't know how much of this game I'm going to watch, but I'm liveblogging the whole thing. Felix Pie just let a fly ball drop in center field. You know, permission from MLB and all that. I guess it's OK if the Cubs don't win their last four games. Pinella knows what he's doing.
UPDATE (8th Inning) - Cubs 6, Mets 4. Don't they call games for rain anymore? It's coming down pretty good right now. Meanwhile, Rookie Of The Day Hofpauir is 5 for 5 with 2 homers and 5 RBIs. Awesome.
As for the Mets, they're getting their asses kicked by Chicago's second string. I would guess they're not feeling very worthy of a postseason berth right now. So who's it gonna be? The Brewers? Well, they have a three-game series with the Cubs this weekend, so the Mets might actually limp into the playoffs after all.
The Cubs had better win the fucking Pennant this year.
Update (top of 9th inning) - Score is tied at 6, capped by a spectacular play at the plate where Ryan Church managed to avoid a tag where the throw was good and in plenty of time. Play of the day.
Final score, Mets 7, Cubs 6. You'd think it was the seventh game of the World Series or something, when they were really playing a bunch of guys who were in AAA a month ago. Sheesh.
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Tech stuff
September 22, 2008
OK. Most of the kinks have been worked out of the comment rating system. That is, it works, and the system isn't hosed. Beyond that, let's talk about the next set of changes.
1. Differentiate between a 'survey', which I now have, that averages responses in a range from 0 to n, and a 'poll', that counts responses and displays the number and percentage of each.
2. Enable unlimited comments in the main Articles directory. Right now, I have a three-digit number that goes in front of the filename for purposes of sorting the articles. Once I get past 999, the system fails. Changing the numbering system to something like a date/time stamp would enable sorting while also lifting the ceiling on the number of files.
And here's a stretch goal, which might take a longer time to implement because I don't employ an army of software developers:
3. Threading instead of strictly chronological commenting. This would involve some extra data members for each comment as it comes in, mainly a list of children that would get updated when someone replies to a comment. From there, I would need a recursive algorithm to print the comment tree. That's complicated, and a lot of work for something that's just a hobby.
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At least they get to kick ass at Wrigley.
September 22, 2008
As you might have figured out if you were one of the dozen or so folks (if that many) who followed my rantings over the past several years, that I am not a fan of the three-division system in Major League Baseball. Last year, it was the National League Central's champion, the Chicago Cubs, who would have finished fifth or sixth in a wild-card race, and were, of course, swept in three games in the NLDS.
This year, it's the Cubs again, except this time, they are one win away from the NL's best record and home field advantage for the entire NL playoffs. This is bullshit, and I'll tell you why.
Prior to 1969, when the major leagues expanded to twelve teams per league, there were no divisions in either league. You either won the most games, the pennant, and the right to play in the World Series, or you did not. It was as simple as that. Think about it this way. The Chicago Cubs, if there were no divisions, would have already won the National League Pennant with a win tonight against the Mets. They'd be playing the Angels for the world championship about a week and a half from now in Anaheim.
It would be a World Series for the ages. Not only that, it would be played in early October, when the weather is still decent, and a rain delay or two wouldn't push the Series perilously close to Election Day. As much as I'd love to see Barack Obama and the Cubs win it all on the same night, November baseball simply sucks a cat's ass. It's just too damned cold to still be playing baseball during the NFL's Week 9.
At least the Cubs will get to play at Wrigley Field for most of the NL playoffs, where they will probably crush their feeble opposition, but should either of those teams (cough)Dodgers(cough) manage to get lucky and limp into the World Series with a regular-season record barely over .500, I will be seriously pissed off, enough to dust off my last rant about the three-division system and how seriously weak teams like the '06 Cardinals get to the post-season (and even win the World Series) who have no business being there.
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Money quote of the day.
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September 22, 2008
"I want to be done playing this lady Nov. 5. So if anybody can help me be done playing this lady Nov. 5, that would be good for me." - Tina Fey on Gov. Palin (R-AK)
You know what to do.
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Why do the responsible have to subsidize the irresponsible?
 September 22, 2008
Someone please tell me that.
I own a modest home on which I have a mortgage that is well within my means. I do not have a HELOC, I did not "cash out" my imaginary equity a few years ago or attempt to shave a few bucks off my monthly payment by taking out some ridiculous adjustable rate mortgage. I did, however, refinance my plain old 30-year fixed mortgage to a 25 year one at 5.5 percent, also fixed, taking out a very modest amount of money for some home improvement projects, but otherwise keeping the final deal more or less neutral as far as my monthly payments go. As a matter of fact, I made a much better deal with my refi that gives me a shorter term, lower payments, AND a fixed rate.
In short, I am careful with money, especially when it comes to debt. So why do I have to assume responsibility for people who were not? Because if I don't, Henry Paulson will let his boys "whack" the economy and blame it on the Democrats? It is as if Tony Soprano were in charge of the Fed and Paulie Walnuts was the Secretary of the Treasury. So who's showing up at my house with a tire iron if I can't come up with my share of the $700,000,000,000.00 Paulson says Congress has to let the Fed borrow on my behalf, and right motherfucking now?
I'm glad to hear Speaker Pelosi saying stuff like this:
"Congress will respond to the financial markets crisis by taking action this week in a bipartisan manner that will protect the taxpayers' interests. The Administration's $700 billion proposal does not include the necessary safeguards. Democrats believe a responsible solution should include independent oversight, protections for homeowners and constraints on excessive executive compensation.
"We will not simply hand over a $700 billion blank check to Wall Street and hope for a better outcome. Democrats will act responsibly to insulate Main Street from Wall Street.
"As we proceed to deal with this crisis, this is clear recognition that the party is over for the Bush Administration's anything goes, failed economic policies that have damaged our economy, undermined the middle class and further pointed out the need for a New Direction."
I'm still waiting for Dick Cheney or somebody to pull the old Darth Vader mind trick on her so she does that patented 180-degree back flip she's been doing on everything else the Bush Crime Syndicate wanted since January 2007. I say let the crooked bastard investment banks die and take our lumps now rather than later when Tony's even more pissed off and it ends up hurting more. What have any of them done for us lately?
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The Super Bowl of Beer
September 19, 2008
Started today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest
I went to the 1984 Oktoberfest, and drank four Mass. I was pretty plastered.
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