A Canadian View

Blog Post from OneNote

2010-04-10T15:10:00.001-04:00

I'm going to attempt something new today. Posting from Microsoft OneNote to my Blogger account.

I have no idea how this will work, but certainly we'll see.

This may be a much easier way to Blog.

Trick or Treat

2008-10-27T16:14:00.002-04:00

Bush Sees a New Threat

2008-09-15T07:09:00.000-04:00

Biology Eclipses Physics in Smasher Race

2008-09-14T10:03:00.002-04:00

Ok, so physicists fired up the Large Hadron Collider at Cern this week. Very impressive but not to be outdone "Scientists from the Evolutionary Acceleration Research Institute (EARI) announced that the first test of the Giant Animal Smasher (GAS) will begin on December 19, 2008, the 41st anniversary of the premiere of Dr. Dolittle."
In an effort to finally discover the "Darwin Particle" scientists will start small by colliding microscopic lifeforms such as viruses but the collider can hand lifeforms up to the size of squirrels. Thus the nickname "squirrel smasher". Thank you for the link Pharyngula.

Yellow Thunder Woman

2008-09-11T07:57:00.003-04:00

Don't know why but for some reason I was thinking about the Bastard Fairies today wondering whether they'd released anything new lately. Sadly no. But I thought I'd post a link to the Rollerskate Song anyway.

Palin for VEEP !

2008-09-08T16:20:00.002-04:00

I've changed my mind, I think Palin would be a good choice as heartbeat away from the oval office.

Follow the Box

2008-09-08T15:31:00.004-04:00

For some reason I find this rather interesting. The BBC has tagged a shipping container with a gps device and will follow it on it's journeys. At the moment it appears to be sitting in Southampton waiting to start it's trip but I for one will be checking in regularly. There's something fascinating about web stories that develop over time. Thanks J-Walk.

Mystical Atheistic Appearance

2008-09-06T09:45:00.004-04:00

Now here's something you don't see every day. Not one of your typical Mary on a grilled cheese or Jesus on a tree trunk. Oh no, now this is something I can really get into.

Creation Science 101

2008-09-01T10:09:00.004-04:00

I came across Roy Zimmerman some time ago. He's a tremendous satirical whit. Couple that with an impressive musical talent and you have someone who cuts right to the heart of the problems inherent in the American political system. This is one of my favorites but you really should check out the whole song list at YouTube.
Also check out his website: www.royzimmerman.com. Enjoy.

Ahh! Now I Get It .. Not really

2008-08-28T09:49:00.000-04:00

Been Busy

2008-08-23T17:26:00.003-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. It's been a very busy week and my one and only client has been keeping hopping. Not a whole lot new to report. The cat is still fat and still does her best to stay that way. Just check her out through the week on the webcam. It really is a streaming web cam and if you wait long enough you will see her stretch or get up for a drink or a dump. Honest.
Listening to CBC on the way to Ingersoll this week they did a piece on Anita Renfroe. She's the lady who has scored millions of YouTube hits for her Mom Song performed to the William Tell Overature. Well, it had been quite some time since I heard it and it still makes me laugh out loud. Honestly with the very few technological references (texting and iPods), my own mother actually used every single one of these lines back in the 1950's.
Enjoy:

Lovin' Life in Yellowknife

2008-08-21T10:01:00.007-04:00

Our friend Jerry has finally settled in, has a solid internet provider and has fired up a blog. Visit it and send him a note. http://lovinlifeinyellowknife.blogspot.com/

What Olympic Sport are You ?

2008-08-13T12:18:00.003-04:00

According to the undoubtedly scientific quiz:
I am Fencing:
You're competitive but not brutally so. You compete to make yourself better.
You find having an opponent to be challenging and rewarding.
You are fierce when you're in a competition, but you don't wish your rivals any real harm.

Rodney Carrington - A Man for all Seasons

2008-08-12T13:41:00.009-04:00

Chatting with Jerry up there in the territories today and he was asking if I had any Rodney Carrington mp3s I could send to him. Well, try as we may his internet service is very glitchy so I thought I'd try creating a direct link to some of the songs.

If you've never heard Rodney Carrington you just may get a kick out of this. .

Click on the image to check out his website too.

Here's the PlayList:

The day my wife met my girlfriend

Things that piss me off

Dear Penis

MC Stevie Hawking Check It

2008-08-12T08:12:00.005-04:00

You may remember CERN the world's largest particle physics lab in Geneva that was eluded to in Dan Brown's prequel to the DaVinci Code "Angels and Demons". In the novel he had the particle physics lab creating small amounts of anti-matter with possibly dire results. Well, CERN is 28 days from startup and are the physics nerds concerned with the possibility of destroying the galaxy? No they aren't and to explain exactly what it is they are up to, they've put together a rap video. Yep nerds doin' rap. Whoda thunk? The MC sounds a lot like Steven Hawkings meets Homer Simpson. As they say in the video, Check It!

CERN Rap from Will Barras on Vimeo.

1-2-3-4

2008-08-12T07:50:00.002-04:00

Who doesn't love the Muppets? Oh yes and Feist is pretty good too.

I'm coming Out of the Closet

2008-08-11T20:54:00.008-04:00

It's time for me to come out of the closet. After nearly 6 decades I need to admit something to all of my friends, co-workers and acquaintances. It's a difficult thing to say, a guilty pleasure I've enjoyed for many years. It started as a curiosity on my part. I first found it titillating and somehow rather exciting and then one day threw myself fully into it.
Let me explain. My parents were good Church of England folk and properly led me through the rituals. I was baptized in the Anglican church, eventually confirmed. I can recite the apostles creed and of course the Lords prayer by heart. I even know the catechism.
Sorry, you thought I was confessing some nonconformist sexual inclination. Oh no, sorry, that truly is none of anyone's business. No, I'm confessing to be a thinking intelligent human being.
I AM AN ATHEIST.
I can't tell you the exact date the conversion occurred. It's not that simple. Richard Dawkins who in my opinion is one of the greatest thinkers in such subjects describes atheism as a continuum. You can't be an atheist without admitting the "possibility" of the existence of a supreme being. It's a non-provable hypothesis. Is it possible there may be a creator of the universe? Of course that's possible. It's possible because it's impossible to prove a negative.
Biology and Darwin on the other hand elegantly "prove" that such an entity is not required to explain the diverse nature of the world as we know it.
Followers of fundamentalist religions however feel it necessary or convenient to solve all equations by substituting X the unknown with a mysterious God. Why?
That is the question that I've come to grips with. The answer is simple, there is no reason to accept X as unknown and arbitrarily solve the equation by stating therefore:X=GOD. No, unacceptable. By eliminating the work and substituting GOD we stop short scientific progress and all improvement in the human condition.
I truly believe if the human race survives and evolves far enough we may indeed solve for X and if not we will improve the human condition in the effort.
If we stop at the King James Version of the bible we must all still believe the world to be flat, the sun orbiting the earth. Scientific advances in medicine, energy creation, engineering science will have left us in that era. Instead, due to the obstinance of great minds like Galileo and Copernicus we know the planets orbit the Sun and from there all astronomy grew.
When Newton was asked "how did you ever come to the pure mathematical laws of gravity" his answer was " If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants." and he was referring to Galileo, Copernicus et al.
Belief in a personal God inhibits science and progress. Today fundamentalist Christians in the United States are holding back scientific research in the areas of stem cell research, aids research and most importantly general genetic research in the name of an arbitrarily selected series of ancient scrolls, interpreted in dubious ways, attributed to be accurate by King James and stated to be "the word of God". Bear in mind the entire screed hinges on the stated fact the world was created in it's entirety 6,000 years ago.
My bottom line. This is an absolutely amazing universe. The earth is a spectacular place to be. I'm thrilled that I live. I care about my fellow creatures. I need no reward other than this life. I need no other love than the love of my fellow creatures.
With credit to "The Actors Studio" and in answer to the final question in the Proust Questionnaire: "If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?" my answer would have to be "you're from where? Oh sorry, forgot about that place. How's it doin'?"
My Name is Brian and I AM AN ATHEIST.

Wick's flame fading fast

2008-08-11T13:41:00.003-04:00

The London Free Press reports the end of an era. "The Wick, as it's sometimes called, has been a downtown fixture since it was built in 1855, its rooms steeped in history if not grace.
Now, the owner has applied for a city demolition permit, a request staff are backing. "
Kind of sad actually but likely overdue. I was in there about a year ago and I gotta tell you, it's not what it used to be.
"With its wooden beams warping, its upper floors condemned and much of its original material unusable, heritage activist Joe O'Neil said he won't oppose the owner's bid to demolish it. "
You know it's bad when the heritage dudes won't even step in to save it.

Paris Hilton for President

2008-08-10T19:53:00.004-04:00

Just in case you haven't already seen this thanks to Countdown with Keith Olbermann :

Meebo ~ Facebook ~ Good Ideas but not for me

2008-08-10T17:12:00.009-04:00

My personal website BrianSwann.COM attracts a little bit of attention due to the streaming webcam. Folks seem to like watching a cat sleep I guess.
The camera webpage until today also included a chat widget from Meebo. I'm afraid that became a little problematic. Meebo is a very useful little gadget but requires work. You need to be logged on your Meebo account and listen for alerts otherwise people who'd like to chat with you feel you're just never there.
In the beginning I used Meebo as a customer support tool on one of my client websites and it worked very well. It allows you to create a closed group of chat clients without disclosing any personal information. For a personal website however, not so good.
The people I want to chat with, my friends and colleagues all have my MSN Messenger account and I'm almost always logged in to messenger. That's the place to reach me.
A further catharsis took place today when I officially discontinued my Facebook account. Facebook is probably a really good idea for chatty sociable in your face oooh! listen to the gossip kind of people but it's just not for me. I find it incredibly complex to use with all of its gadgets and widgets and addins, intrusive as hell when you have incessant posters in your friends list and an extremely poor substitute for simple email.
I'm also not comfortable with the world knowing my personal business. So many folks don't understand by posting on your wall you may as well go outside and spray paint on your house.
So to all of my personal friends and colleagues, chat with me on MSN. If you want to know what's going on in the cobweb infested dusty and cluttered attic I like to refer to as my brain, come here once in a while.
For anyone in the whole web world, feel free to email me. You remember how to do that right?

Batshit Xians Foiled by No-Nonsense Canadians

2008-08-10T13:15:00.010-04:00

The Winnipeg Sun reports the whacko fundies from Westboro church apparently arrived in Manitoba but didn't get a chance to harass the family of Tim McLean. In case you aren't aware Tim McLean was a young man who lost his life to a mad man on a bus. He was murdered and his corpse subjected to gross indecencies. "The fundamentalist Westboro church, deemed a hate group by some U.S. organizations because of its raucous rallies to promote its stance against homosexuality, had announced a plan to picket at the funeral. The church had earlier claimed that McLean's grisly slaying was God's punishment of Canada for its liberal laws and policies."
In response "hundreds of Winnipeg residents who lined a Westwood street in hopes of keeping a zealous U.S. religious group from rallying outside the funeral"
Now here's my take on this. It may be true the majority of Christians would never agree with these incredible nut cases but in the U.S. they condone it under a provision in their hallowed Constitution. The 1st. amendment in it's "free exercise" clause allows this type of behavior below the border. The framers of U.S. constitution I'm sure had no intention of condoning such an interpretation any more than they expected the right to bear arms (by a well regulated militia) would be construed as the right for folks like Charleton Heston to construct a gun vault containing everything from muskets to rocket launchers.
Why does this bother me? Well, polls indicate the majority of good amurcans truly believe these are their rights the earth is 6,000 years old, the end is nigh and the One God is on their side and they WILL impose that on the rest of the world.
Think whatever you like but please I beg you, keep your asinine opinions to yourself.

The WebCam is Back

2008-08-10T12:48:00.007-04:00

It took a bit of work but I finally sorted out the problems I was having with my streaming webcam. It seems to be working again so feel free to take a look. For the most part it's pretty boring but, a few hardcore cat lovers seem to tune in on a regular basis to see how Suzie is doing.

Iced Coffee anyone ?

2008-08-10T12:20:00.013-04:00

Apparently it's official. Jerry Sweet has moved to Yellowknife Northwest Territories. He hopes to eventually open a coffee shop and he's looking for help naming it. For now though, Jerry is working on dyi projects in his new home. You know painting, dry wall. Insulation no doubt and perhaps roof repairs.
Jerry reports the night he arrived (only night according to the clock by the way since he says the sun thought about setting then changed it's mind), anyhow, that first night the cat was keeping him awake so he let it out. Guess it hasn't come home yet. Jerry feels it may have run off with or perhaps is now contained in some of the local wildlife.

But the good news is, they have a spare. Far more frightening than the fauna, impending cold and 24 hour darkness in my opinion is the fact 24 cans of Kokanee beer cost $52.00. Sheesh. Due to the permafrost, the high speed internet pipe freezes up on occasion so contact is a little difficult but feel free to drop him a note at: jerry@jerrysweet.com.

2008-08-10T11:36:00.001-04:00

The Genius of Charles Darwin

Richard Dawkins whose recent book "The God Delusion" has rocked the religious right has produced another brilliant documentary. If you aren't familiar with his work you should visit his website. Dawkins is one of the greatest proponents of Darwin, a professor of biology, holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair in the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford, a brilliant author, orator and documentary producer. The BBC is currently airing a three part series entitled "The Genius of Charles Darwin". Sadly there's little hope we'll see it here in North America since our media content is controlled by the theocracy to the south. Thanks however to YouTube you can view Part 1 of the series on-line.
Expect a great deal more postings in this blog related to science vs religion.

2008-08-10T11:12:00.000-04:00

I'm thinking of resurrecting my blog. It's been a long time since I made an entry and this is actually just a test to see whether I remember how. My live webcamera is back on line, check it out at Click Here.

2007-01-23T15:08:00.001-05:00

Subliminal Advertising:

It's been a long time since I heard about subliminal advertising. I knew it existed once and always thought of it as a failed experiment. Apparently not. Check out this examination of an Iron Chef episode on the Food Channel. Spooky! Hey, Guv maybe you should consider subliminal ads on www.deaconswebsite.com What do you think? You're big on swf files.

2006-11-22T12:08:00.000-05:00

Kirstie Alley's Bikini Shock

I'm not sure I really understand the audience reaction here. I think she looks very good. She's certainly lost a lot of weight.

2006-11-06T12:54:00.001-05:00

To the Victor go the Spoils

Just a thought, Sadam Hussein has now come to the end of his trial on the charges of Crimes Against Humanity for the brutal killing of political and religious opponents. For the record I believe he was likely guilty of mass murder although for whatever reason this most incredibly important trial since Nuremburg was covered very little by CNN. Bear in mind there was gavel to gavel coverage of O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson trials. Every piece of evidence examined by talking heads. With Sadam, we're expected to simply believe what the U.S. administration has to say. After all, they haven't lied to the world in the past. (Notice incidentally he has NOT been charged with any responsibility for terror attacks on the Excited States of America even though that was given as the secondary reason for the invasion of Iraq once WMDs were proven not to exist) Now then, if this were a fair fight in the playground sense, and somehow the Iraqui's won and successfully captured the U.S. leaders, is there doubt in anyones mind that George W. Bush and his cronies would be tried on the same charge of Crimes Against Humanity for the thousands of combatants and innocents killed in the Iraq invasion? Also, what about the numerous incidents of torture carried out and still occuring to this day? As I say, just a thought.

2006-10-26T13:24:00.000-04:00

Weird Al Canadian Idiot

This is Weird Al's cover of American Idiot by Green Day, and a rather good slide show to go with it. Here are the lyrics by the way: Weird Al Yankovic Canadian Idiot Lyrics

Don’t want to be a Canadian idiot

Dont want to be some beer swillin’ hockey nut
and do I look like some frost bitten hosehead
I never learned my alphabet from A to zed

They all live on donuts and moose meat
and they leave the house without packin’ heat
never even bring their guns to the mall
and you know what else is too funny
their stupid monopoly money
can’t take ‘em seriously at all

Well maple syrup and snow’s what they export
they treat curling just like it’s a real sport
they think their silly accent is so cute
can’t understand a thing they’re talking aboot

sure they got their national health care
cheaper meds for prime rates and clean air
then again well they got celine dion
eat their weight in kraft macaroni
and dream of driving a zamboni
all over saskatchewan

Don’t want to be a Canadian idiot

We’ll figure out their temperature in Celcius
see the map they’re hovering right over us
tell you the truth it makes me kinda nervous

always hear the same kind of story
break your nose and they’ll just say sorry
tell me what kind of freaks are that polite
It’s gotta mean they’re all up to something
so quick before they see it coming
time for a pre-emptive strike

In the Jungle

2006-10-26T12:24:00.000-04:00


In the Jungle, Very impressed with this dogs dancing ability.

Halloween

2006-10-22T12:05:00.001-04:00

2006-10-22T11:48:00.000-04:00

20 Things the Average Person Doesn't Know about XP

This is an interesting article. Contains a few bits of useful information.

2006-10-22T08:28:00.000-04:00

IE7 Looks Pretty Good to Me

I must say I'm quite impressed with IE7. The tab feature works extremely well and it integrated all of my existing settings such as my Google toolbar with ease. I haven't experimented with the improved RSS function but understand the detection capabilities are impressive. I've also read the search function using multiple engines is something I need to try but let's face it, I really am a Google fan. There certainly doesn't seem to be any downside to upgrading from 6 if you have the requisite OS. Apparently IE7 will only work with WinXP SR2 and the upcoming Vista. It seems IE7 relies on the security provided by the XP operating system.

2006-10-18T12:31:00.001-04:00

Western researcher develops HIV AIDS vaccine

This is the good news. "A pioneering HIV/AIDS vaccine developed by a virology professor at The University of Western Ontario is being readied for clinical trial.
The vaccine developed by Dr. Yong Kang, of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry could be available for therapeutic use within three years and for use as a preventive vaccine within the next six years." They do some really fine science at the UWO here in London Ontario.

IQ - Genetic ?

2006-10-18T12:23:00.001-04:00

On the other hand ....

The University of Western Ontario is also the academic home of Phillipe Rushton. Yes, the same Phillipe Rushton who devined physical, intellectual and anatomical differences between the races. Now he reports: "Men are smarter than women, according to a controversial new study that adds another cinder to the fiery debate over whether gender impacts general inetelligence". I have to say in defence of Rushton, I honestly believe he analyzed available data and produced a report. Well probably not him but one of his research assistants who happens to be quite proficient in database programming. Is it wrong to say for example that on average, people of African heritage tend to have skin several shades darker than the average Caucasian? Also to be fair the difference is only 3.6 percentage points.

Outside The Box

2006-10-18T09:56:00.001-04:00

2006-10-12T15:59:00.000-04:00

Mental Health Hotline

CLICK if you need help.

2006-10-09T08:18:00.000-04:00

Off the Couch All You Slugs

This one goes out especially to Joan. One of her favourite songs.

2006-10-03T13:42:00.000-04:00

Dubya Impression

This guy definitely does the best George W Bush impressions. Funny stuff. Thanks JibJab .

2006-10-02T14:14:00.000-04:00

Compilments of: The Bob and Tom Show

"I am trying to learn Spanish so that I can start Text-Mexing people."
- Heywood Banks

"I won't tell you how many times my dad has been married, but if they were sandwiches, his next one would be free."
- Jimmy Pardo

"Using it as a suppository seems to take all of the romance out of heroin."
- Tom Griswold

"In my twenties I was anal about my birth control. Literally."
- Laurie Kilmartin

"Some day I want to hold your hand and run across the rainbow little fluff-puff."
- Harland Williams to Frank Caliendo as George W. Bush

"I feel like a dog listening to a card trick."
- Chick McGee while listening to Don McMillan's tech joke

2006-10-02T13:40:00.000-04:00

Guardian Unlimited reports: "Security at the Prime Minister's residence is under review after an intruder armed with a large kitchen knife managed to climb into a secure area outside Downing Street." Thank goodness someone was watching the back door. It's certainly safer at Downing than at the Canadian PMs home at Sussex Drive. Mind you that was back in 1995. Hopefully it's a little more secure now.

2006-09-28T17:15:00.000-04:00

CHEAT SHEET

J-Walk pointed me to this very interesting pdf file that contains a lot of Google functions I wasn't aware of. I can see it will come in quite handy. Things like define:phrase or word retrieves definitions fast and easy.

The Works of Pablo Picasso

2006-09-11T09:15:00.002-04:00

The Works of Pablo Picasso

I've always been fascinated with Picasso's work. The Online Picasso Project has an extensive archive of his works. I had know idea just how prolific an artist he was. This site containes 11,133 catalogued artworks. I've saved a number of these images and use them as a slide show screen saver. I've heard that Picasso was known to draw small artistic representations on scraps of paper and napkins to pay his bar tab on occasion. I certainly wish someone would accept a chart of a database structure from me in payment of my tab. I'd sign it of course.

2006-09-06T14:36:00.001-04:00

Deep Thoughts

ON DEEP THOUGHTS
A day without sunshine is like night.

ON HIGHER EDUCATION
College is a fountain of knowledge...and most of the students are there to drink.

ON MATHEMATICAL TRANSFORMS
A polar bear is a rectangular bear after a coordinate transform.

ON COMMON SENSE
Never pet a burning dog.

ON PROBLEM SOLVING
When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail.
-- Abraham Maslow

ON MATERIALISM
He who dies with the most toys, is, nonetheless, still dead.

ON ECONOMICS
The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity.

ON PUBLISHING OR PERISHING
I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top.
-- English Professor, Ohio University

ON DATING
When aiming for the common denominator, be prepared for the occasional division by zero.

ON LAMENTATION
Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most.

ON POETIC LOVE
When you're swimmin' in the creek,
And an eel bites your cheek,
That's a Moray!
-- Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers

ON EXTINCTION
Save the whales. Collect the whole set.

ON HUMILITY
To err is human, to moo bovine.

ON EXPLANATION OF THE END
"... one of the main causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was that, lacking zero, they had no way to indicate successful termination of their C programs."
-- Robert Firth

ON PROPHECY
The meek shall inherit the earth--- for they are too weak to refuse.

ON WORLD POLITICS
Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggy" until you can find a rock.

AND FINALLY, ON DRUGS AND DEVELOPMENT
There are two major products to come out of Berkeley: LSD and UNIX. We don't believe this to be a coincidence.

THE PAEOMNEHAL PWEOR OF THE HMUAN MNID

2006-09-06T13:57:00.001-04:00

Ignor the jumbled nature of the following paragraph and just read it:

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

2006-09-05T16:15:00.001-04:00

Flybar 800 Flip Variations

This is kind of cool.

2006-09-04T12:51:00.000-04:00

Furgler Hardware Summer Video

The previous post about Camel Toe reminded me I hadn't been to the Bob & Tom site in quite some time. Now, I know today is Labour Day the official end of summer, but this is still too good to pass up. From the boys at Bob & Tom , they take a call from Furgler Hardware who apparently has a summer instruction in house video. It's a radio show so listen to the soundtrack here.

2006-09-04T11:05:00.000-04:00

Blooper Stargate SG1

Although I was never a McGyver fan, I can still appreciate the humour.

2006-09-04T10:37:00.000-04:00

Crocodile Hunter Dead at 44

From Australia Broadcasting Network. After all those years of handling crocodiles and venomous snakes, he apparently was killed by a sting ray. "His producer and close friend John Stainton says he was swimming above a stingray on Batt Reef when it suddenly pierced his heart with the barb on its tail. Very sad, I thought he was a very interesting and entertaining guy.

2006-09-04T09:53:00.000-04:00

Moosehead now Largest Canadian Owned Brewery

According to CBC News , Moosehead is now officially the largest Canadian owned brewery. How sad is that? "With the impending sale of yet another major brewery to foreign interests - this time Ontario-based Sleeman Breweries (TSX:ALE) to Sapporo of Japan - the Canadian brewing industry is all but dead." My own beloved brand Molson Canadian has been spirited away by Coors. Does this mean that in Smoky and the Bandit IX Burt Reynolds will be doing a beer run to Montreal. "Mon Dieu!"

2006-09-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

Camel Toe

I know, this is old but it just cracks me up. From the Tom and Bob show : Get the lyrics and wmv file here .

Not to be confused by the way with Camel "Toads " apparently found at public swimming pools.

2006-08-31T12:47:00.000-04:00

Bubba and the Boys pick the Wrong BMer

I was directed to this video by A Welsh View . I'm not sure if it's real or not. If it isn't it should be.

2006-08-29T10:41:00.001-04:00

Cult or Religion ?

(In the two years since Jeffs has been a fugitive from justice, he has built three compounds from scratch in Colorado, South Dakota and Texas, the latter including a huge white temple.)

You tell me, the Las Vegas Sun reports: Warren Jeffs was captured in Las Vegas today. He was wanted by authorites on charges of polygamy 80 or so wives and according to the SanAntonio Current 'It's also possible that he has raped dozens of children. Jeffs is wanted for sex with a minor, conspiracy to have sex with a minor and rape as an accomplice (of a minor).' You just know he is going to quote scripture at his trial. Jeff's of course is a Mormon and don't kid yourself one of the four books they use to dictate doctrine is the good old King James bible. Religion, the true root of all evil.

2006-08-27T17:07:00.000-04:00

Is Canada Facing a Quagmire in Afghanistan?

Likely not in the classic sense of the U.S. rut in Viet Nam (1950? - 1975 ) or the U.S.S.R. when they took on the Afghan rebels (1978 - 1982). But, if we're truly under the direction of the United States in this effort to tame the untameable there may be reason to take pause. Afghanistan is currently on the political back burner in the U.S. however, a case can certainly be made for the need to continue the policing of the country by NATO and coalition forces. The next president of the United States will undoubtedly still have both files on his desk when he first takes his seat in the oval office. The current Canadian government is striving to prove itself to the U.S. as a true ally and Canadian soldiers are paying the price for this reconciliation. To be fair, I felt a limited strike in Afghanistan to close the terrorist training bases and track down and capture Osama Bin Laden was more than justified but this turned out to be a rehearsal for the Iraqui invasion. Nothing short of regime change would suffice.

History tells us this region is best left alone. The British found out in the 1800s and Rudyard Kipling states it best in his poem "The Young British Soldier "

'When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.'

Things in Afghanistan haven't changed much since 1839 and we may as well learn from history now, sooner than later we will have to leave this land to the people who live there.

2006-08-21T11:54:00.000-04:00

Time for Sensible Profiling Perhaps

According to news reports , passengers are becoming increasingly alarmed by fellow passengers based on their prejudice:

British holidaymakers staged an unprecedented mutiny - refusing to allow their flight to take off until two men they feared were terrorists were forcibly removed.

The extraordinary scenes happened after some of the 150 passengers on a Malaga-Manchester flight overheard two men of Asian appearance apparently talking Arabic.
Passengers told cabin crew they feared for their safety and demanded police action.

In my opinion, this sort of irrationality can be resolved if airport screeners around the world were allowed to use sensible profiling and in depth screening of passengers. This of course will only work in conjunction with a concerted effort to assure the flying public that such efforts are being made and safety is thereby assured.

2006-08-21T10:29:00.000-04:00

Are You Pretty Enough?

Remembering the Laci Peterson case and with the return to the U.S. of John Karr the 41 year old school teacher who has confessed to the kidnap murder of 6 year old JonBenet Ramsey in Colorado Christmas of 1996, I once again question the conscience and morality of the average U.S. citizen. It seems the only victims worthy of media interest are white, beautiful and at the very least middle to upper middle class.

What Of the Faceless Victims?

I confess I haven't broken down the statistics but I'm certain the week JonBenet disappeared there were hundreds of black, Hispanic and poor white children abused, kidnapped and/or murdered in the United States. The simple fact the FBI in its 1996 Uniform Crime Reports , lists a shocking 19,645 occurrences of Murders and Nonnegligent Manslaughter that year must give one pause. How many of these murder victims do you remember? How many of these murders were reported on CNN? Ask yourself, was there anything particularly outstanding about the murder of JonBenet other than her status and its occurrence during Christmas. Such holidays seem to bring as much aggression and depression to the surface as joy to the world. If anything the statistics for that week would have been considerably higher than other times of the year. When time permits I intend to explore the statistics in more detail in a future post.

Media Must Make Money

How many of the disenfranchised victims made it to the front page? Very few I suspect and none got the overwhelming T.V. coverage that a 6 year old beauty princess did. Don't even get me started on the horrid exploitation of these little girls by their twisted parents projecting some displaced narcissism on their children.

Face the Problem

What is the matter with the good Christian people of the God Blessed America that they care more about one blond blue eyed victim than the large number of daily victims of poverty, drugs and sexual deviancy. Concentrating on the inherent sickness of a society caused by it's social blinders surely is more important than solving a ten year old murder mystery.

I admire the tabloid This Week With George Stephanopoulos for closing every episode with a listing of U.S. service men and women who lost their lives that week. It brings the tragedy of the war in Iraq to the attention of the American citizen in a graphic sense. What a tremendous value it would be for CNN to end each segment with a listing of those Americans murdered that day (approximately 60) name, age, gender and city.

In all sincerity, my heart goes out to those who loved and cherished JonBenet. No child should ever experience such a death in this world, and no loved one should ever be faced with this sort of wrenching loss.

2006-08-21T08:19:00.001-04:00

Writely Revitalizes BLOG

Well! I am impressed. Writely, the new Google offering that is attempting to allow on-line collaboration using a word processor, much like the excel offering Google presented not long ago, WORKS. Yes it does, and most importantly it makes BLOG posting so much more simple. Alright, watch this blog, I'll now be using it much more due to this incredibly simple means of posting. Try it, you'll like it.

The Tax Man Cometh

2006-06-10T07:39:00.000-04:00

Well it's 5 days until the deadline for filing. We're allowed until June 15th. to submit the first business income tax return and to be honest my procrastination tendancies are showing. The amount of paperwork is daunting to say the least. Hopefully if I get everything right, there won't be a huge tax bill but, we'll need to see.
Usual Saturday. Full breakfast, a little relaxation. England plays in the world cup today and although I'm not a football fan, I am genetically disposed to things English. After that, a little grocery shopping and if I feel like it, a long overdue haircut and some shopping for odds and ends for my friend Joan.
I'll check back later and report whether any of the above was done.

Susie and the Gender Benders

2006-06-09T11:11:00.001-04:00

This is Susie. The old Susie when she was evil and annoying as hell.

Susie came to me as a gift from a client who found her as a stray some time ago. Cute little thing. Quite small for her age (the vet says she's likely 2 years old).

Anyhow, shortly after receiving this little bundle of joy, I came to discover just how demonic a female cat in heat can be. The noises are the horrid utterances one would expect to hear rising from the bowels of hell.
In addition, this little 2 lb. writhing fur ball of sexual energy seemed to want to constantly mate with an imaginary tom cat that somehow was growing out of my shoulder. Night and day made no difference. Ignoring her would cause this creature to break any rules previously laid out and agreed to simply in order to attract my attention. Climbing on the entertainment console, scurrying up drapes, batting paperwork and equipment from the desk, nothing was taboo any longer.
Well, we fixed that! Or I should say the vet fixed that. After uncerimoniously stuffing Susie into her carrier she was swept away to the clinic and returned home the same day a changed creature.
I suspect we now have a cat that will live like other of her species. Totally ignoring me. No longer crawling onto my lap at all times and nudging my ankles while I make the rounds of my lodgings.
But the peace. The sweet, sweet peaceful nights. Worth it? YES I say YES !
Update: August 21, 2006. What a sweetie, she's completely reformed and I'm happy to say is an absolute joy to live with. Mind you, her appetite has increased and she's gaining weight.
Suzie today:

In the beginning ...

2006-06-09T11:05:00.000-04:00

There was a blog. A blog much like many other blogs and yet, somehow unique. I intend over the next days and weeks to put down my thoughts much in the way of a diary. By doing this I hope to gain an insight into myself. Introspection if you will. Something I don't seem to do enough of.
In addition this may be the beginnings of a journal of the banal and insightful.
Time will tell. Now let's begin ...