Thursday, December 31, 2009

Chuckles and the Chocolate Factory


"Now Chuckles, the President is coming to town. He likes chocolate. And he likes unique stuff. So take this chocolate gun to the speech to give to him. Now he's a busy man so it's best not to take a lot of his time so just run right up to him with it in your hand."

Do It Like the Israelis

If we did it like the Israelis, airport security would be done professionally. And therein lies the problem. The TSA personnel that do security now would have to rise to the level of professionalism and really do the job or be fired. And then they'd be back to fucking up my order at McDonald's.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

December/January BlogMeet


I think this is the Official December BlogMeet. In January. Don't ask. Just be there! And don't forgot to RSVP so RobertaX can reserve the proper size table. Click HERE and leave your response in the comments.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!

Venison for Xmas dinner here at the Holmes house and all sorts of presents. Next year though. . . it's doubtful Santa's gonna come. Sorry.


Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Tuesday Tunes

"A game show love connection." Makes me smile.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Quote Of The Day

Uncle Obama has gotten ahold of your credit card. And he’s amassing charges on it that – you – not he – are liable for. You can call the fraud line, you can call the police, you can call any politician or government agency, and they will all tell you the same thing. Shut up and pay up.
---Nancy Morgan at Flopping Aces

Friday, December 18, 2009

Today's WTF Moment

Drunk 4-Year-Old Steals Christmas Presents

The news report says, "It's a strange story, but also a sad one."
The child, Hayden Wright, was found around 1:45 am Tuesday, wandering the streets of his neighborhood. In a police reports, officers said he was wearing a little girl's dress and drinking a beer.
The one word that comes to my mind is 'precocious.'

In Today's Email

I received this from my sister-in-law this morning:

You heard the rumors on all the gossip shows...





You've read about these two publicity seekers in the news...





You've heard about them on TV...





You've heard speculation about how they were somehow able to deceive so many inside the system, and breach known protocols...





Their bravado and arrogance is mind-boggling.





Their feat of connivance is legendary...





Now, at last....as a result of exhaustive investigation...





We can FINALLY show you an authentic photo of...













The couple who sneaked into the White House... without any credentials!!

Friday, December 11, 2009

Obama's Peformance in Norway

My thoughts on the report:

Obama in Oslo Insults Norwegian King, Journalists and Orphans

What do you expect from a president who is coming to be seen as an Affirmative Action hire?

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Son of Today's WTF Moment

More apple juice!

Helping Students

One of my former students is a Facebook "friend." He has an assignment in his Arabic class requiring him to produce a five minute video in which he is to talk about himself. He has written:
. . .found out that his webcam will make him look like a werewolf. This arabic video is going to be interesting.
I suggested:
Say, "Murah wahidah fi-l shahar ana al-rajul al-dha'ib." (Trans: Once a month I am a man-wolf.) Then play f**king Werewolves of London for the rest of the time while you dance around in your boxers on the web cam. It'll be a hit. Trust me.
I feel good about myself. Always helping.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Me and the AARP, Part Deux

Last month I wrote about how I wrote [E-mail] to the AARP asking to be removed from their membership rolls due to their support of the House's Health Care Bill. Yesterday their damn magazine showed up. So I CALLED to cancel my membership.

It should be noted that when you call their membership line at 1-888-OUR-AARP you now hear, as your first option, "If you are calling about Health Care Reform, please press or say 'One' now." I did and listened to their message about how their volunteer Board of Directors, some of whom are doctors and nurses, studied and worked and studied and decided that the House's Health Care Bill is the best option we have. After hearing this, I pressed '0' and talked to a nice young woman who at my request cancelled my membership and noted that I did so because of the AARP's support of the House's Health Care Bill.

I like what John Angove says in the Letters to the Editor section of the Colt's Newsletter:
AARP, for $16, sells me a membership, so I can save money on hotels and stuff. Then the organization tells the president it represents my political views, including my opinion on health care. Next, it supports the Senate's plan to strip $400 billion from Medicare. And in a final act of social conscience, AARP tells me it will sell me medical gap insurance to offset the aforementioned $400 billion reduction.

Is this why AARP makes twice as much from selling insurance as it does from membership revenue?

Friday, December 4, 2009

Today's WTF Moment

Hell, everyone else seems to blog about cooking. But I wanna blog about Star Trek, too. I've got a solution.



h/t Topless Robot

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Newsworthy?

The Colts Are Gods News Sheet again shows how shameless it is in supporting a cause. I offer:
Veterans push climate change bill
By Erika D. Smith
Posted: December 2, 2009

Bringing a new face to the debate over climate change, a half dozen military veterans spoke today to a small group -- mostly of the converted -- about the threat that a warming Earth and an ongoing dependence on foreign oil poses to national security
We get more people than that at our BlogMeets! Jesus F-ing Christ. Can they be any more transparent than this?

Erika, come to our next BlogMeet and report on what WE think.

Today's WTF Moment

Bob Dylan sings "Must be Santa."

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Quote Of The Day

"So, basically we are being asked to restructure the entire economy of the planet on the say-so of a few "scientists" whose work cannot be verified or even reconstructed. Is there any intellectually honest person who thinks that is a good idea?"
-- TigerHawk on the CRU destroying the original climate data

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Another Example Of People In Public Education

Commenting on the assaults reported in 10 North Naples Middle students suspended for taking part in “kick a Jew day”, District Spokesman Joe Landon says:
You are talking about an incident that has anti-Jewish bias if not anti-Semitism.
So, Joe, being anti-Jewish is bad, but 'anti-Semitism' is worse and only then deserves punishment? Do you have any clue at all as to what the fuck you're saying?

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Friday, November 20, 2009

Global Warming Junk Science?

It's all over the interwebs that stolen E-mails point to Global Warming as a scientific fraud but I still believe Tiny Tim:



Update: Wretchard has a thoughtful exposition on the situation.

Angelic Friday

Every time a bell rings. . .

Reform in Politics

I am becoming a strong proponent of both term limits and mob violence; at times the latter bringing the former.

United States presidential line of succession


  1. Vice President Joe Biden
  2. Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi
  3. President pro tempore of the Senate Robert Byrd
  4. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
  5. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner
  6. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
  7. Attorney General Eric Holder
  8. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
  9. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
  10. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke
  11. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis
  12. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius
  13. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan
  14. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood
  15. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu
  16. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
  17. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki
  18. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolita

Fuck.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Friday, November 13, 2009

North to Alaska Michigan

Heading up to Michigan today. Be back Tuesday, November 17.

Update: November 17, 6:00 AM
I'm back. Saw one brother, about 30 does, and one buck that was running after a doe and cleared the shooting lane before any shot could be fired. I had a splendid time, though.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Quote of the Day

"Why are you looking at me like that, Master?"
"I have been thinking, Mister Reese."
Oh no. "About deposing this kindly king?"
"Kindly? Do you not realise, Mister Reese, how perfectly diabolical is this king's genius? Every tyranny imaginable is possible when prefaced by the notion that it is for the well-being of the populace. Patronising? Of course, but when delivered with wide-eyed innocence and earnestness, what is a citizen to do? Complain about the benefits? Hardly, not when guilt is the benign torturer's first weapon of choice. No," Bauchelain rose to his feet and turned to face the dark city. He used both hands to sweep his hair back, his eyes glittering in the gloom, "we are witness to genius, plain and simple."
--Bauchelain in Bauchelain and Korbal Broach: Three Short Novels of the Malazan Empire, Volume One (Malazan Empire Novels) by Steven Erikson

Tuesday Tunes

Getting ready for the police state.



The Politics of Dancing - Re-Flex

Monday, November 9, 2009

Nancy's Donuts

I dropped off some donuts in the Dean's Office today:



h/t to Lisa for getting me a good picture!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

AARP Down One Member

The AARP has now officially backed the House's Health Care bill and have made Obama happy.

I've written the AARP and asked to be removed from their membership roll. I'll post any response here.

I'll Tell You Where I'd Like To Park It!

Yesterday I received what I can only call an advertisement from Parking Services here at IUPUI:
From: Parking Services IUPUI
Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 8:47 PM
Subject: Guaranteed Garage Parking While Supplies Last

The temperature is dropping and so will the number of available parking spaces on campus. In a few weeks, the campus skyline will begin to change when a new, 1,300-space parking garage goes up on the east end of campus. As the garage goes up, available parking will go down.

Do you really want to spend your time searching for a parking spot? Premium parking is available in the Vermont Street or North Street garages . . . but only while supplies last.

Get your garage permit before someone else takes your spot. Simply visit Parking Services at 1004 W. Vermont St. to exchange your current permit.
I wrote back with a copy going to Chancellor Charles Bantz:
I'm still astounded that IUPUI would build yet another parking garage when we know for certain that the price of gas will be going up, the number of cars on campus will go down, and students will be looking for better ways and cheaper ways to get to campus. IUPUI is myopic in looking at the current situation and not looking into the future.

Perhaps IUPUI should be looking to partner with local companies for mass transit(and NOT Bloomington-based shuttle companies!) to support our students', staff's, and faculty's transit needs.
Maybe it's time to bring out the clue bat and start hitting these people over the head with it.

UPDATE

I received the following note from Carol Pferrer, the Director of IUPUI Parking and Transportation Services and I'm heartened!
I agree that helping people move to more sustainable options as they relate to transportation needs to be a priority. We’ve been partnering with IndyGo for three years by providing our students with a S pass that is valid on any of IndyGo’s fixed routes. The university has a sustainability committee and I co-chair the Transportation Subcommittee for Sustainability. We are looking at ways the campus as a whole can affect transportation. One of our Assistant Directors is charged with moving us more toward TDM (Transportation Demand Management) and we have an intern that is collecting data for several sustainable transportation projects. I would like to invite you to join our Transportation Sustainability committee as it seems you have a passion for this topic.

All that being said, we are looking to our master plan to guide us as we move into the future. It has many garages on the plan, as we will no longer have a sea of surface parking available for our community. We will continue to search for the balance.

Our next Transportation Sustainability meeting is on November 10, 2009 at 1pm at Parking and Transportation Services. Hope to see you there.
I'm going!

Thursday Twisted Tunes

We know this one:

Dreaming - Blondie

but I'm liking this cover:

Dreaming - Amy Speace

And Iggy Pop's I Wanna Be Your Dog has been re-imagined by Uncle Tupelo.

h/t Cover Lay Down

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Wishes for Wishard

Almost a month ago I received the following plea from our Chancellor here at IUPUI. I found it troubling that our Chancellor would stoop to using our E-mail resources for campaigning. Today I went to the polls.

I voted no. Deal with it, Charles!
From: CHANCLLR
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 4:31 PM
To: CHANCNEWS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
Subject: [CHANCNEWS] Chancellor's Newsletter

Chancellor Charles R. Bantz
IUPUI Website Chancellor's Website Contact the Chancellor About IUPUI

Greetings from IUPUI


October 2009


As you may know, Marion County provides health care through Wishard Hospital and the Health and Hospital Corporation (HHC). This is a 150-year tradition that began with the creation of City Hospital in 1859. IUPUI and our health schools are partners with Wishard, so the proposal by HHC to build a new Wishard Hospital is very important to us.

Under recent state law, the voters of Marion County must approve a referendum at the November 3rd special election that allows Health and Hospital Corporation to borrow money via municipal bonds to build the new hospital.

What is being proposed?

An entirely new Wishard Hospital—including in-patient, out-patient, and emergency services, plus parking and office—would be built on the west side of the IUPUI campus. This facility would replace more than 15 buildings, averaging 61.2 years of age. The hospital would actually be smaller than the current one, but would be more efficiently designed, more energy efficient, and most importantly better designed for the highest standards of contemporary medical care.

Why is this being proposed now?

HHC has conducted a thorough review of its facilities and the options for replacement. There is a great deal you can read about this analysis at WishardFacts.org , however, the short version is the current facilities simply cannot serve into the future. Wishard spends more than $25 million per year to maintain their deteriorating facilities.

The option of a new hospital on the IUPUI campus was selected over three alternatives: no new construction and eventually closing Wishard, remodeling the current facilities in steps over many years, or building a new hospital away from IUPUI.

The option chosen will create a new state-of-the-art facility quickly—and at much lower cost, because of the current construction and financing market. Most importantly, a new Wishard Hospital will both maintain the valuable proximity of Wishard to IUPUI and provide enhanced services to the 20,000 patients admitted annually.

What does this mean for IUPUI?

For our health schools, a new Wishard Hospital on the IUPUI campus would assure the continuation of our long-standing educational partnerships. Nearly 1,100 physicians practice at Wishard Hospital, 99 percent of whom are School of Medicine faculty members. Wishard operates Indiana's largest ambulance service, busiest emergency room (over 111,000 visits last year), largest adult burn unit, the only emergency psychiatric care, and one of only two adult Level I Trauma Centers.

Wishard is our major teaching hospital. It offers clinical practice and field instruction sites for students in our Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and Social Work as well as the Regenstrief Institute for Health Care and Purdue University School of Pharmacy.

The proposal for a new Wishard Hospital also involves a land swap.

HHC will swap their land and current facilities on the north side of IUPUI for land on the west side of campus, including the now-boarded-up Larue Carter Hospital and State Board of Public Health Building, plus three other IUPUI buildings: the Union, Psychiatric Research, and Campus Facilities Services. The exchange will be phased over several years as the new hospital is built. Planning is under way to find new homes for the occupants of the IUPUI buildings, including the possible reuse of the newer of the existing Wishard facilities.

Marion County voters must approve a referendum to allow public bonds to be issued for the new hospital on the November 3 election ballot.

That will allow Wishard to borrow $613 million over 30 years to finance the new hospital without a tax increase. Absentee and early voting has begun at the Marion County Clerk's Office , which will open three satellite offices beginning October 24th, including one near campus at the HealthPlex on 860 W. 10th Street.

For more information on the proposal, see WishardFacts.org . For voter information, see the Marion County Clerk's Office .

I encourage you to review the materials and consider casting a "yes" ballot in favor of Wishard's new hospital.

________________________________


Charles R. Bantz
Chancellor

Friday, October 30, 2009

Hamelin Town

Wretchard hears the piper calling and urges:
Those unentranced by the magic flute have an obligation to remember what happened; to keep the history books free of revisionism so that by shame and memory those pied pipers who led a generation astray can never return unchallenged to sound their witching tune again. But for the children already lost to the dark we can only wish that wherever they have gone, they’ve found what they were looking for.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Shots and Polls

IUPUI has an arrangement by which USA Today and the New York Times are to be had for free. Yeah, those two newspapers. It does give me the opportunity to read the New York Times as I'd never give 'em a dime of my money for the privilege of reading leftist editorials embedded in the news. Anyway, yesterday I grabbed a copy to read over lunch and ran across an interesting op-ed: One Person, One Dose by Douglas Shenson who is an associate clinical professor of epidemiology and public health at the Yale School of Medicine. He proposes that polling places would be handy distribution points for the H1N1 vaccine. I like the idea as in my mind it would have the side effect of familiarizing folks with how easy it is to go to their polling place. Come 2010 they might be more inclined to go and vote. It's for this reason that I suspect the Obama Administration would not back this distribution plan; it might lead to more people voting. And the chance is that they would NOT be voting for liberal Democrats and incumbents.

As we've seen in the past, once the Democrats have what they want they prefer to stop the process. Vote recounts come to mind. Perhaps in some way elections as well. Hmmmm?

Monday, October 26, 2009

I Brought A Little Pot To Work



To help the day go by. Maybe I'll sell it.

Marion County Smoking Ban

Details here.

I wrote the following to my City-County Councilor:
Dear Ms. Mansfield:

Though I am a non-smoker I am very disappointed in your support of the proposed smoking ban. Such smoking bans are onerous, misguided and dangerous. Your disregard for an otherwise legal activity leads me to conclude that I will not support you in the next election and will work to see that a candidate with more respect for individual rights will be representing our district.

Sincerely,

October 2009 BlogMeet Report

I missed it but it looks like it was fun!

Friday, October 23, 2009

Friday Night Music

I came home this evening to find that a substantial number of leaves had fallen from the trees around the house. And I remembered this tune from a very interesting presentation of War of the Worlds:

"Welcome To Government Health Care"

The dude at the flu shot line has it right:



Go to Gateway Pundit to read about the protest and catch some links.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Barry Bops Bobbi's Best Buds

Just saw the headline:

U.S. Said to Order Deep Pay Cuts at Bailed-Out Companies

In part:
Under the plan, which will be announced in the next few days by the Treasury Department, the seven companies that received the most assistance will have to cut the annual salaries of their 25 best-paid executives by an average of about 90 percent from last year. Their total compensation — including bonuses and retirement contributions — will drop, on average, by about 50 percent. The companies are Citigroup, Bank of America. . .
I stopped reading at that point and will celebrate Vishnu's karmic engineering being done for Roberta X on her favorite bank folks.

I'm smiling as I knew that the Progressive Socialist/Fascists would not be able to resist meddling in the companies who were foolish enough to accept the Government's money. The fuckwits damn well knew there were strings attached. . .

Wednesday Alternatives

Paul's other version of "I Will" from the White Album:



h/t Boing Boing

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

'Equal' in Office of Equal Opportunity

I'm sitting on a search committee. The administrative assistant to the Dean of our School sent the following to the Chair of the Search Committee who then wrote to us asking, "Any ideas?"
OEO [Office of Equal Opportunity] has challenged us to include non-white members of the search committees for two other searches. I anticipate that they will do the same for the Technical Editor search. Do you have someone else that you would like to add to the search committee who would help meet this criteria?
I wrote back to the committee and sent a copy to the Dean:
Dear Colleagues:

I'm offended that the Office of Equal Opportunity feels that due to the color of my skin or ethnicity (it's not clear which) I'm unable to render a decision of the same value as someone who does not share my background.

Republican National Committee and Me

They sent me a survey. I sent it back with this:


Friday, October 16, 2009

Freaky Friday Ain't Over Yet!

Still trippin'!

"Whale Song" for Modest Mouse from Bent Image Lab on Vimeo.

Freaky Friday Fantasy!

A blast from the past.

My Little Sea Horse?

Freaky Friday

Ahh. Yeah. Freaky.

CNN and me

I just sent the following off to Michele Gretch Carter of Barnes & Noble @IUPUI Bookstore:
CNN on B&N Coffee Shop TVs

Ms. Carter:

I visit your coffee shop on a daily basis and occasionally have found programs OTHER than CNN on the TVs there. I would encourage you to increase this practice, finding programs that inform the faculty, staff, and students who visit your store. CNN offers only substandard programming of questionable veracity.

Thank you.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Oh, the Sweet, Sweet Snark!

This is growing to be one of my favorite blogs about one of my least favorite people:

Michelle Obama's Mirror's Blog

Good stuff about a nasty, mean person.

Scarin' The White Folk

That's what our local Colts Ra-Ra Rag attempts and Roberta X critiques. Read her!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Thank God The MSM Is There to Get The Facts Straight!

I haven't watched Saturday Night Live in many many many years. It had become unfunny to me a long time ago. The only way I do catch anything at all that may be broadcast from that show is when something shows up in the news. On Sunday I ran across a posting at Power Line entitled "Acceptable?" in which the question, "Is it now OK to mock President Obama?" is asked in the context of an SNL skit that surprisingly mocked President Obama. I watched some of the skit that was linked to in that posting and found that SNL is still unfunny; the skit had an actor portraying the President basically listing all the things that he has NOT accomplished. Funny? No.

Now today I see that Ace of Spades and Flopping Aces are all over how the MSM is "fact checking" that SNL skit! A fucking comedy skit! I think this drives home what a bunch of worthless sons of bitches they really are and why I don't watch TV news and am very careful about what Internet news sources I do trust to inform and not shill for Obama.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

The rules are there for a reason.

It's a slippery slope once you start making exceptions to the rules. Roberta X's favorite bank has a rule that to cash a check you must supply a thumb print. No exceptions.

No thumbprint, no money, bank tells armless man

Good for them! Rules are rules.

h/t Boing Boing

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Morning Traffic Observation

What is it with Indianapolis drivers? They slow down for green lights and speed up for yellow.

Hint: You've got it backwards, Fuckwits!

Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fhtagn! S. T. Joshi Coming to Indy!

Received word of the following yesterday.

*************************************************

S. T. Joshi
Biographer and editor of H. P. Lovecraft and scholar of supernatural fiction
6-7 October 2009


Public Conversation with S. T. Joshi
Tuesday 6 October 2009
6:00 PM-8:40 PM
IUPUI, Campus Center (CE) 248
420 University Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46202

S. T. Joshi will discuss and answer questions about his work as biographer of H. P. Lovecraft and editor of supernatural fiction. This event is free and open to the public.

Poe, Lovecraft, and the Revolution in Supernatural Fiction
Wednesday 7 October 2009
Reception: 7:00 PM
Lecture: 7:30 PM-9:00 PM
Lilly Auditorium
On lower level of IUPUI University Library
755 W Michigan St., Indianapolis, IN 46202

The lecture by S. T. Joshi will discuss the revolutionary changes introduced into the genre of horror fiction by prominent American writers, Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft. Joshi will draw on research for his soon-to-published two-volume comprehensive history of supernatural and horror fiction (Ohio U. Press), which begins with Gilgamesh and proceeds through the present. This historical background will provide the context for examining American innovations in the horror tale. This event is free and open to the public.

***

S. T. Joshi is the well-known biographer and editor of H. P. Lovecraft and an important editor and scholar of supernatural and horror fiction. He is the author of over 25 books, including scholarly studies of supernatural fiction, annotated bibliographies, and works of cultural criticism. He has edited over 40 books of tales and essays including works by H. L. Mencken, Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, Lord Dunsany, and several other writers. He has edited or co-edited over 30 books of writings by H. P. Lovecraft

*************************************************

Monday, September 28, 2009

TSA and Poop Chute Shenanigans

Though I find his politics muddled (to say the least) I think Cory Doctorow does us a service with this warning:
Now that a terrorist has tried unsuccessfully to blow up a Saudi prince with a bomb shoved up his ass, the TSA is obliged to perform rectal exams on every flier for the rest of time. After all, once a jihadi failed to blow up a plane with his shoe, we all needed to start taking our shoes off. Then some knuckleheads believed they could blow up a plane with energy beverages and hair gel, so now we have to limit ourselves to 100ml of all liquids and gels, unless they're for babies or are prescription (because no mass-murderer would be so evil as to forge a doctor's note, which, as every junkie knows, cannot possibly be forged).

Now we found someone who was made to believe he could kill people with an asshole bomb, and so it follows that the TSA will have to ban -- or at least inspect -- our assholes.
This is going to be interesting. Will the Fourth Ammendment continue to be ignored as we continue to be players in the daily production of Security Theatre at our airports?

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Second September 2009 BlogMeet Report

Brigid has the report!

NatGeo is Warning Us!

Tonight the National Geographic Channel is going to show us one of the greatest dangers we face today: American Nazis. Extremist anti-Semitic white racists.

I wonder if the producers are creating a series of images that we're supposed to superimpose on, oh, say, anyone who doesn't like the policies of the current President?

I'm waiting for NatGeo to do "Inside ACORN." It'll probably show immediately after the nature study of the winged monkeys that live in my butt.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

The Phone

I try to avoid blogging about work but this topic necessarily touches on it.

Maybe it's because I see the phone as a tool and not a source of entertainment. Maybe it's because as a child whenever the phone rang and my father was at home he would say "Damn phone!" Whatever the case may be I do not like the phone and at times I hate the phone. And I wonder why people walk around and drive around with the damn phone stuck to their ear. Maybe they're afraid of being alone with themselves and need to be in continuous touch with someone else. I LIKE being alone with no one yammering at me.

I have a cell phone. I made the mistake giving my cell phone number out to some of my coworkers assuming that they would only call me in case of an emergency. But no, they call me at their convenience, not mine. They call me for their benefit, not mine. I'm half tempted to announce that my phone will no longer be accessible to them and if they call I will not answer regardless of how important the call might be to them.

But upon reflection I realize that the majority of these annoying calls come from one person at work. She will call instead of sending e-mail. She will call instead of coming to my office. She will call at her convenience and for her benefit. And beyond that what is even more annoying is that she will call and convey whatever message she deems important and then use the opportunity to think out loud over the phone. When I call I normally convey the message, give the person the opportunity to answer, and then suggest they E-mail me if there are any questions.

The other day I saw this person as I was going to lunch, spoke of a couple small work-related items and informed her that I was going to eat and would be back within an hour. Just as I sat down to eat my cell phone rang. I couldn't help myself and blurted out, "Who the FUCK is calling me during lunch?" Unfortunately I was in the hospital cafeteria. I received more than a few dirty looks. I looked at the display on my cell phone and saw it was her. I did not answer.

I suppose the more appropriate solution to this particular problem is to add this person to the Shermlock No Answer List.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Street Fightin' Man!

Yep. All those Town Hall/Tea Party protesters are tearin' up Pittsburgh as we speak. Nancy Pelosi predicted it. You should see the. . . .what? It's left-wing anarchists? Oh, nevermind. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Quote of the Day

The reason congressmen try so hard to get re-elected is that they would hate to have to live under the laws they've passed.

-- Email message from a friend.

Monday, September 21, 2009

BlogMeet Report: Company good, food bland

While I'm waiting for Shermlock Jr. to upload pictures from yesterday's BlogMeet I did want to do a quick post to say a good time was had by all (see Roberta X's preliminary report) but as Joanna was unable to attend, my "Torture makes the meal." experiment will have to wait until next week. My Shepard's Pie was a bit bland and might well have been improved by a right cross or two.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Pain as MSG? A BlogMeet Thought.

It seems to be a common practice among despots to have their prisoners tortured while they're feasting (the despots that is). Vlad Tepes (the historical Dracula) and the Mogul Emperor Jahangir are two examples of this behavior. For some time now I've wondered why they did this. Were they so busy that they could find little time during the day and thus had to combine both eating and torture? Or did the act of torture that is the pain of the tortured add flavor to the food? I may explore this today when I attend the Indy BlogMeet. I'll take a bite of my food and note its flavor. Then I'll ask someone like Joanna to punch someone. Then I'll take another bite of my food and see if it tastes better. I'll post the results here.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

A blogging experiment

A few months ago one of my colleagues informed me that he have begun using Dragon NaturallySpeaking, a voice recognition/dictation program the computer for those of you that may not be familiar with the name. He'd said it increased his productivity. This started me thinking about using Dragon NaturallySpeaking as a blogging tool as it can get tiresome typing out my thoughts and statements rather than being able to speak them in a natural voice. So the other day I found a reasonably priced copy of the program on eBay, ordered it, and it arrived today. After about a half hour of training the program appears to be functioning and this post has been done using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Let's see if it increases my productivity.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Born Racist?


Question for the class: Why is the baby Caucasian?

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Sunday Tunes

I'm closer to having the time and energy to write. In the meantime, here's the best cover yet of "Tainted Love":

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Break from Blogging

I've been taking an unannounced vacation from blogging this last week or so. I've been busting my butt ramping up for the Fall 2009 semester at IUPUI that has just started this past Wednesday. Most of my emotional energy that drives my blogging has been sucked into that. And blogging was getting to feel like an obligation. I've got enough of those. So let's see as things settle down if my blogging picks up again.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Thursday Night Tunes

I like the cover better than the original. And the kids did a good job on the video.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Quote of the Day

“If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard."
-- White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina to Democrat Senators.

Seems right to me. I seem to recall Jesus saying something like this in the Gospels:

"If someone strikes you on the right cheek, punch them back twice as hard." - Matthew 5:39

Yeah, that's right.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

August BlogMeet!

Roberta X has the details. What may be a big draw is Frank James is bringing sweet corn. A lot of sweet corn. Much appreciated!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

You've got to have your priorities.

Saw this in the Fabulous Shrinking Colts Fan Sheet:

4 kids found living in squalor; moms held

Tragic! Victims of poverty. Forced to live in squalid conditions trying to stretch every dollar to support those kids. The ladies were probably out either looking for work or working at some ill-paying jobs just to put food on the table. Let's see:
Police today filed preliminary charges of felony neglect of a dependent against the two mothers and placed the children, ages 14, 7, 5 years and 7 months in the custody of child welfare workers, according to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report.

Police said the apartment in the 700 block of N. Rochester Avenue had little food, a half a can of baby formula and was littered with dog feces. The children, all girls, had lice in their hair and roaches swarmed over their clothes and toys.

Police went to the apartment at 9 p.m. Saturday night because an extension cord ran from its back door across the alley and into an outlet of a vacant garage. The children said their parents had gone Downtown earlier and left them alone.

At 1 a.m. today, Tiffany Johnson, 25, and Jamie Presley, 28, returned to the apartment. They told police that they had left at 8 p.m. to visit friends. Presley said she lived in the apartment and Johnson and her children moved in three day ago when Johnson had domestic problems.

Johnson is the mother of the 7-month old girl, according to the police report.

Both women smelled as if they had been drinking alcohol, according to the report.


Ah, never mind.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Research Project: Atmospheric Carbon

I'm thinking about undertaking a bit of research on global warming . . . er . . . climate change. Despite evidence that global warming has stopped our politicians want to push ahead with the cap and tax bill. Here's my research project: How much global atmospheric carbon would this program prevent? How much atmospheric carbon does a volcano put out? Now wouldn't it just be a bitch if the USA is beggared by stopping a relatively small amount of carbon getting into the air and have all that canceled out by some Mexican volcano?

Monday, July 20, 2009

July 2009 BlogMeet Report

Roberta X has it.

And as for the squishy toy, if it isn't at the Rock Bottom, it may be in my truck. I can't recall if I had the courage to walk out with it or not.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Enemies of the State, Again

Yesterday I called my brother and as usual the conversation veered to politics. I observed that the actions of the current Administration and Congress seem to be either be extremely stupid or undertaken to purposely weaken and even destroy our country and support our enemies.

You think I'm extreme? I just saw this over at Gateway Pundit:

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Says US Should Pay For China's Emissions


And this benefits the United States how?

Saturday, July 18, 2009

It Was 40 Years Ago Today

Over at The War on Guns, David Codrea reminds us what happened 40 years ago today. David doesn't hold back. I like that.

Quote of the Day

Need a report written? Call a cop.
-- CandyMan

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Viking Love Song

I'm rendered speechless. And that ain't easy.

Campus Political Bias

I found this thanks to Alphecca:

Nearly all my professors are Democrats. Isn't that a problem?

I can vouch for the bias shown by faculty who feel that anyone who is not a Liberal Democrat is 'not quite right in the head.' And as my degree(s) are in Religion, I know that many Liberals hold to their beliefs as strongly as someone who believes that a 1st Cen. rabbi was executed by the Romans and came back from the dead and it's fruitless to attempt an intellectual argument.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Beat it!

I may have missed it but I imagine that sooner or later there will be accusations of racism leveled at those who did not properly mourn Michael Jackson's passing. Myself, I figure we had Princess Di's memorial service forced upon us so why should we have to watch the memorial service of another anorexic white woman? Or was Di bulimic?

Saturday, July 4, 2009

4th of July Quote of the Day

I was unaware that "freedom" was a partisan thing. I think married gay couples should be able to smoke all the tax-free dope they want in their walk-in gun safes without having to petition some government flunkie for permission to do so.
--Tam

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Sunday Night Noise

Art of Noise, that is. And oldie but a favorite dealing with the deconstruction of music. Sort of.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

A Good Bumpersticker



h/t Gateway Pundit

The Case of the Libidinous Lawmaker

Democrat candidate for Lt. Governor and former lawmaker Dennie Oxley ran into a bit of trouble last night:
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers found Dennie Oxley, 38, at a Downtown Citgo gas station about 1 a.m. Friday, according to an incident report.

He was standing a few feet away from Kristin Dowlut, a 21-year-old former intern for the Indiana House Democrats and a special-session employee, who was lying face down in the gas station parking lot, apparently unconscious, according to police.

After trying to quickly walk away, Oxley was detained, and he told officers he was a state representative in special session. Officers said he smelled heavily of alcohol and had glassy, bloodshot eyes and extremely slurred speech.

As police investigated, Oxley asked several times where he was and what was going on. He was evasive and uncooperative, according to the report.
Dennie temporarily 'dodged the bullet' because he claimed immunity from arrest as granted here in Hoosier Land to legislators during a General Assembly session. Ahh but Dennie isn't a legislator at this time so he may still have to answer to the law sooner rather than later. And methinks he'll also have to answer to his wife Jayme, and their two daughters, Demi and Audrey:



The Happy Oxley Family


who might wonder why Daddy was out playing with the young Ms. Dowlet in the wee hours of the morning.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Quote of the Day

I'm waiting for the "con" side on the important national debate over whether this is sad.
-- Ace at Ace of Spades HQ regarding Michael Jackson's death.

Well, maybe I'm sad that the freak show is over. Perhaps I'll console myself by playing a little Escape from Neverland or Baby Drop.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Wednesday Night New Regina

From Regina Spektor's new album Far.


Tuesday, June 23, 2009

For the children!

That's what gun control is about! When a person who cares reads the news headline:

Boy, 15, hospitalized after shooting in car

Their heart tells them that these eeeevvviiiiillll guns must be removed from the hands of citizens. I read further to see how the poor innocent child caught a slug:
Police think the boy was in a 1992 Chevrolet Cavalier with four other people when a gun discharged shortly after 3 p.m. in the 600 block of North Elder Avenue, said Lt. Jeff Duhamell, spokesman for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

Officers found the boy on the ground near the vehicle. His companions had scattered by then, Duhamell said.

He said police think the shooting may have been accidental.
Hmmm. Maybe the young rascal's companions left so quickly because they were late for a Boy Scout troop meeting? They were helping out at an old folks' home and had to get there to help prepare supper? So sad. So sad. Now let's check out how things are going for another poor young child:

Judge to decide whether boy will be tried as adult
A waiver hearing began Monday to determine whether a 15-year-old accused of murder should stand trial as an adult.
Tsk tsk. Another victim of our gun culture. How tragic.

Monday, June 22, 2009

June BlogMeet Report

Roberta X has the details. And yes,

Tam has paper shorts now.

Roberta X was live blogging. . .on a typewriter! It reminded me of this educational film on Facebook manners:

Friday, June 19, 2009

Thursday, June 18, 2009

A Fly In The Ointment

PETA is reportedly miffed at our President for killing a fly. I wonder how they'd feel about this horrible device (about 1 minute in)?

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Hajji Ellison

Some of you may be familiar with Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, our first Muslim congressperson. As he's performed the Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca, incumbent upon all Muslims) we might refer to him as Hajji Ellison. That is, if his pilgrimage counted. The gang at Power Line have commented on Congressman Ellison's source of funding for his hajj. He didn't do it out of his own pocket. First it wasn't thenit was the Muslim American Society, the American branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Such duplicity puts the thawab ('religious merit') of his hajj into question as there are certain pre-conditions regarding the Hajj:

All Hajj expenses must be paid out of money obtained through legitimate (Halal) means. Money obtained through illegitimate or doubtful means is not acceptable.


All of your debts and financial obligations must be fully discharged before you start your journey and, where necessary, a written acknowledgement of the transaction obtained for future use.



Well, Keith? Maybe you better go do it again on your own dime.

Shermlock Shomes: Prophet

Back in February of this year I said:
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. . .But I bet it will be YouTubed.
Pretty much the same is being said now over at Little Green Footballs regarding Iran.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Country roads take me home.

I see that Michigan is returning some paved county roads to gravel. Works for me. I grew up in Michigan with most of the back roads gravel instead of paved. And do y'all remember the county trucks spraying waste oil on the roads to maintain them and keep the dust down? I wonder if that's going to return. :)

Friday, June 12, 2009

Senator Richard G. Lugar - Traitor

Am I being extreme? I don't think so. All of these fucktards took an oath to defend the Constitution. Some have shown that their word means nothing.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

The Moving Finger Writes; and, Having Writ. . .

. . . gets reported.

Subject: [IUPUISAFETY-L] Activity 06/11/09
IUPUI POLICE
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
1232 W Michigan Street
Indianapolis IN 46202
ACTIVITY REPORT

06/10/09, 1620 – 1635
09000555 Harassment
Ball Annex

An employee reported someone has been writing harassing messages in the dirt on his vehicle for the last six to eight weeks; investigation continues.


Yeah, I can imagine the messages they've been getting for the last couple of months:

CLEAN ME I'M DIRTY

And ya know, Sparky, I've got a way you can stop these messages. CLEAN YOUR DAMN CAR!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

June BlogMeet

The June BlogMeet is on!

June 21, 3:00 PM at the Broad Ripple Brewpub!

Obama Reevaluates America

From the Onion:



And I invite President Obama to visit the WalMart at 86th and Michigan Road here in Indy if he wants to get a sense of the folks that most likely put him in office.

h/t Little Green Footballs

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Advice

Too much Obama and news today. I was compelled to revisit this song by Cake:

Monday, June 8, 2009

Mrs. Obama

It's a gut feeling but I have a sense of Michelle Obama as being someone with a 'tude problem. This feeling is only reinforced when I see pictures like this:



I think it would be quite telling to see how she's treating the White House staff.

h/t The Jawa Report for the picture.

Update: It looks like this picture caught Breda's eye as well.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Ammo Storage

I bought some surplus ammo cans today to consolidate my ammunition and better store it. The one concern I had was getting some desiccant. Cheap desiccant. My solution?

This:



Plus this:



Equals this:

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Quote of the Day

In another universe, we can imagine President Obama noting that the U.S. is one of the largest Jewish countries in the world. We have 5 or 6 million Jews here, about the same as Israel. But what political purpose would that serve?
-- John Hinderaker "One of the largest Muslim countries in the world"?

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Oppress the Press in Hope and Change Land?

Think of how this would be covered if it happened six months ago!

Reporter Dragged Kicking and Screaming From Near Air Force One

And this was a woman of color! Say it can't be, Batman! All I can say is:

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Cronyism and Revenge in Hope and Change Land?

Say it ain't so, Batman! Gateway Pundit is all over a story of the Obamessiah and his followers using dealership closings to reward those who supported him and punish those who didn't. This story may grow.

Best Wishes to Frank James

who's gone in to have a detached retina repaired. I sympathize and I, like Frank, suffer from lattice degeneration though only in my left eye and not in both. If you're a religious person, you might say a prayer for Frank.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Good Dog!

Jim Irsay's lapdog bites the hand that feeds it pointing out that Tony George doesn't come to us taxpayers hat in hand to run the Speedway. Now the Colts and the Pacers. . .that's a different story.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

"Think with your dipstick. . ."

Jimmy!

I find this commercial absolutely hilarious. A crazed Scotsman running around raising welts by smacking people with a dipstick is sublime.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Thursday Night Tunes

Damn. I can't think of anything I don't like from Steely Dan.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Shermlock Shomes: Detective

I put on my deerstalker when I saw this in Jim Irsay's Favorite Rag:

Police: Suicidal driver caused crash on I-65

In part:
The Indianapolis woman was driving her Plymouth PT Cruiser southbound near the Greenwood exit about 4 p.m. when she rear-ended a Toyota sport utility vehicle. . . .the woman told deputies she was trying to commit suicide. She was taken to Community Hospital North in Indianapolis for psychological evaluation.
The cynic detective in me thinks that this woman was probably talking on her cell phone and not paying attention when she rear-ending the SUV. Panicked, she figured the, "Shit, I'm nuts and I did it on purpose!" excuse would keep her out of jail. Nice. And the fidget* cops seem to have bought it.

*One of my favorite contractions. Do a search in this blog, Probie.

Monday Afternoon Tunes

Never let the lack of talent get in your way.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

BlogMeet Report

Robert X reports on a very nice 1st Anniversary meeting of bloggers and their readers. Another nice time was had by all!

I picked up an apple pie from Locally Grown Gardens for Mrs. Shomes who had to work and could not attend. She's had a piece already and it looks good. I . . . must . . . resist. . .

Quote of the Day

It is constantly necessary to remind oneself that not all liberals are mean-spirited. Because an extraordinary number of them are.
- John H. Hinderaker at Power Line

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Security Theatre

A couple of days ago I read about Breda's experience with TSA flying out of Indy Cleveland. I see Roberta X has commented on it.

I've met Breda and find her to be a pleasant, fun woman and a bit of a hornet in a tin can (that's a GOOD thing!) but who would never fit the profile of a terrorist. But we have to remember that TSA is not into actual security but is participating in Security Theatre starring the same sort of people who regularly fuck up my order at McDonald's.

Update: Roberta X corrects me. Breda flew out of Cleveland. I must have been flashing on Mrs. Shomes flying out of Indy earlier this month and HER adventures with TSA. And Shermlock Jr. gets extra-special attention when he flies. Here's his DL photo:

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Tuesday Night Tunes

I don't drink rum. But I like the notion from the latest Bacardi commercial of walking back through time. And I like the tune. Here's the original.

I love you madly, madly Madam Librarian...Marian

Well, maybe then. Now. . .I dunno.

SHIRLEY JONES MIGHT POSE NUDE

h/t Ace of Spades HQ

Sunday, May 10, 2009

And Then There Were Three

I started grad school at UW-Madison in 1978. Same year as Genesis brought out their album And Then There Were Three.

I met my wife there and we married on June 6, 1981. On March 29, 1986 Shermlock Jr. was born. And then there were three.

Happy Mothers Day!

Better Quote of the Day

From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this, though: despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Osama bin Laden, there’s a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death.
--David Feherty in D Magazine

Quote of the Day

"Most of you covered me; all of you voted for me."
--Barack Hussein Obama II at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

It'd be funny if it wasn't so true.