Misfitopia RSS

Super Bowl 46

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:27:08 +0000

As I said in the playoff thread, I think the matchup favors the Giants. Pats DBs stink. The Giants have multiple receiving targets. Manning is great under pressure. On the other side of the ball, the Giants' d-line is at the top of the game right now. The Pats don't have a running game to keep the heat off Brady. I expect a repeat of the game earlier this season...except the Giants are better now.

Personally, I don't care who wins, but I'm hoping for a close game. I expect to be disappointed.

What's at stake historically? Belichick doesn't need another ring for the Hall of Fame, but it will silence the SpyGate doubters (you can say he cheated all you want; if you don't think he understands football at a deeper level than at least half of the current pro coaches, you aren't watching the same games I am).

A second ring for Manning puts him in an elite class of champion QBs (but people need to stop this crap about how it would make him better than Peyton. Peyton is the best pure passer the game has ever seen.). Only Brady, Montana, Bradshaw and Bart Starr have 2 or more SB MVPs.

A second ring for Tom Coughlin puts him into an elite class of coaches and would make him a lock for the Hall.

Gronkowski has an outside shot to be the first tight end SB MVP. (But if he gets the ball that much, they'll probably give it to Brady anyway. It's a bs award anyway.).

Steve Albini on Lady Gaga, New York and Odd Future

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:23:50 +0000

Good morning and welcome to your semi-sometimes Steve Albini round-up.

Steve Albini on Odd Future:
"I spent about 40 minutes with these little pricks at the end of May and I haven't wanted to strangle anybody that much in a real long time."
He goes on about their behavior on an airport shuttle bus.
"this is not a case of regular people making music about assholes, but assholes making music about being assholes. I have no time for that...If the whole thing is a put-on, a bit of Vincent Gallo life-as-theater for the benefit of whoever happens to be sitting next to them, that's no excuse. It's being an asshole about being an asshole."

Steve Albini on New York:
G: So this is an interview for Gothamist, which is a New York-centric website.
SA: I believe you.
G: Do you have any New York stories that you�d care to share?
SA: No.
G: You ridiculed New Yorkers pretty badly at your last Bell House show.
SA: Well, there�s the thing about New York. New York is such a monolith that it�s pointless to have an opinion about it. It�s like bitching about the weather. It certainly won�t accomplish anything and it certainly won�t make you feel better about what you didn�t like. New York has a couple of characteristics that are undeniable and one of those is that it�s a magnet for assholes who couldn�t get any attention at home and decided that the problem wasn�t that they weren�t interesting but that there were all these squares around them in Dubuque or whatever and they need to go to some big cosmopolitan city like New York where people will appreciate them. So if you can imagine that scenario playing out within every city in North America and every one of those assholes with an opinion slightly outreaching his ability getting on a fucking Greyhound. You end up with a pretty good description of what�s annoying about New York is that it�s full of people whose self-image just ever-so-slightly outstrips their ability.

Steve Albini on Lady Gaga (same link):
"I�m an exceptionally lucky man in that I�ve never heard a note of Lady Gaga�s music and you could sit her on my lap and I wouldn�t recognize her. I know that she�s a cultural force at the moment but I�m quite satisfied in having dodged that one. It�s like a truck drove by spraying shit from a nozzle over the entire neighborhood and I happened to be under an awning. You know?"

Rewatching Tennant's run on Doctor Who

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 22:35:37 +0000

After the disappointing season 6, the next season isn't going to air for a full 12 months. So I figure it's time to go back and rewatch the highlights of the Tennant seasons (2, 3, 4, 4.5). Episodes that sucked or did not advance the storyline much, I will skip. Feel free to suggest an ep I should not have skipped.

Started with an episode from season 1: Father's Day. This will be the only episode I'll watch from season 1. End of the World wasn't bad, but I think Father's Day is necessary to really get in the spirit of the Rose-family-centric season 2. So despite all the bad cgi, melodramatic overcompensating score, dodgy logic (people popping in an out of existence), it still hits all the right notes for the characters. There's that scene where Rose makes up all the stuff her dad did during childhood, and the dad--rather self-consciously--realizes she's describing traits he's incapable of. The bracketing scenes of Jackie telling the story of dad's death to a young Rose--and the story changing at the end--worked very well.

After that, I flipped to the end of Parting Ways to see Eccleston killed off. Sweet.

Next up: Christmas Sycorax. Whatever it's called.

NFL playoffs 2011

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:02:31 +0000

Last week, I thought the only real surprises were that the Falcons and Steelers played so poorly.

I'm relieved that a modern NFL defense was finally able to derail the Tebow Train of Godawful QB Play. Thank you Bill Belichick. Thank you for restoring my belief that the level of play in the pros is higher than in college. Maybe now people can start appreciating Cam Newton and his decimation of rookie QB records.

The 49ers/Saints game was better, of course. I couldn't believe New Orleans was able to hang in after giving up 4 quick turnovers. So many mistakes yet they were only 17-14 down. Really impressed by the 49ers front four. They put pressure on Brees all game. Alex Smith had moments of brilliance in the fourth quarter, but it's hard to gush about either quarterback: the cornerback play on both sides was terrible. Still, all the lead changes in the last two or three minutes made for a great finish.

I'm looking forward to 49ers vs Packers/Giants. I don't think one match-up is better than another. In the AFC, I'd probably prefer to see Patriots vs. Ravens but only because I haven't seen the Texans as much this year and I don't know what Yates is going to give you in a playoff game.

1987 Crystal Light National Aerobic Championship - San Francisco Bay Team

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:34:28 +0000

Sometimes the Gawker comments section has absolute gems. This is the 1987 Crystal Light National Aerobic Championship (the Super Bowl of Aerobics and crystalline drink mixes), featuring the San Francisco Bay Team. But you already knew that.

Brock Lesnar retires at 34

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:48:10 +0000

Quote

Brock Lesnar always knew how to make an entrance. And even after losing to Alistair Overeem in the main event of UFC 141 Friday night, he knew how to make an exit as well, stealing the show in Las Vegas with his announcement that he was retiring from the sport of mixed martial arts at the age of 34.

Finishing with a record of 5-3, Lesnar’s slate didn’t truly reveal the impact he had on the sport in a little over four years, or what he had to overcome to get into the Octagon in the tail end of his short career. Needless to say, he will be remembered by fans of the sport, some who booed, some who cheered, but all of whom watched him when he competed.

Full Article

The last line of the quote from the article is sums up Brock's career pretty well. I liked Brock, he was one of the very few legitimate heavyweights to compete in the UFC. Guess having a couple feet of your large intestine removed can have an effect on a professional sports career. Who knew?

Bungee jump goes wrong

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 01:27:34 +0000

Who the fuck goes to Zimbabwe and goes bungee jumping?

Ask a Mormon

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:40:35 +0000

My name is Chad, and I'm a Mormon. This wasn't always the case. As a child I was raised without any religious influence or education whatsoever. By the time I was leaving my teenage years I had embraced atheism, passionately so. I would say I was a militant atheist, eventually using the phrase "nontheist" to accurately describe my views on religion. After reading the works of the worlds most prominent atheists including Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, Victor J. Stenger and Christopher Hitchens, I fell into the ranks of the New Atheism movement and embraced this culture as a huge part of my identity. For most of my adult life, atheism was the cornerstone of what defined me. I watched debates between my atheist heroes and theologians, philosophers, rabbis and priests of many different faiths and reveled as the logic and reason of the secular intellectuals always left the religious experts fumbling for words to refute common sense points and justify their irrational beliefs. I couldn't understand how these gentle hearted people, sincere and well meaning for sure, could disregard and ignore all the advancements of science and technology which had, and continues to, expand our knowledge and understanding of the world around us. I looked down on them. After a while I stopped differentiating between them all. As far as I was concerned, if you held the belief of an invisible God who is defended in arguments by logical fallacy upon logical fallacy, there was something wrong with you. And anything you said automatically became insignificant in my view. I just couldn't take someone seriously who held into the Bible for definition and meaning, a compilation of books that are thousands of years old written by sheep herders who lived in caves and worshiped lightning. The scientific method ripped the Bible apart, archeology and anthropology produced discoveries that contradicted the most sacred believes written in the Bible. The stories, the "historical" accounts that were once held as absolute truth (just like the world being flat) started to become "metaphors" that the major religions minimized and reduced to inspirational tales. I saw the inevitable collapse of a construct that has long outlived it's usefulness and needed to be put out of it's misery.

I was enlightened, I had the truth. Testable, controllable proof you can observe and measure. Over the years the passion I had started to become more subtle, but always remained solid and strong. I entered into my mid 20's very well educated in the philosophy and understanding of the generals leading New Atheism into legitimacy. I read their books, watched their debates, watched the conferences, kept up to date on the current arguments and all the while had no idea what I was talking about. I blindly followed these prominent people and bought into whatever they threw out there because they were smart, educated, held positions in prestigious universities and had a unifying characteristic that I latched onto; they were angry, bitter, jaded, and found a way to "fuck the system" on a civil platform that demanded attention. And there was no one who could walk to the debate stage with these people and walk away with their head held high or their beliefs unshaken. The fact of the matter is the New Atheism leadership had perfected the art of making people look stupid. I related to that more than anything. Bitter, jaded, nothing matters and everyone's an asshole so do whatever makes your happy at the moment. If someone has a problem with it they can mind their own business because it doesn't concern or affect them. Live and let live and stay out of other people's lives.

Heading into my late 20's I had a realization that diffused a lot of my animosity towards religion. I realized that I didn't know a single thing about what I've spent my entire adult life hating. There were crazies and ignorance aplenty that I had drawn attention to so as to justify my claims about these people. But all things being equal, you find assholes no matter where you go in life. I slowly started to realize I'd been attacking a straw man all this time. No bit of information I had learned over the years had been taught and presented without bias towards my "side" of this battle. There was bias to be found on the other side, no doubt. But I wanted to learn the basics of what the "other side" was so vigorously defending. This journey would be the undoing of everything I held onto that defined me.

I would spend a long while confused, going back and forth between what was familiar and what was new and I struggled more during this time than at any other point in my life. I was torn and those closest to me had no sympathy for my plight. They didn't share my doubts and they didn't share my interest in examining religion with a new point of view. I had been shunned for my ambiguity and the farther away I strayed the lonelier it became.

Then one day it finally happened. I had what I would call at the time an "epiphany" that lead me to go to church on my own for the first time in my life. I knew there were lots of Catholics where I lived (Massachusetts) so I found a church near by and started going. I got there pretty early and I remember walking in and being humbled at how beautiful the inside of the building was. There were a few people who were already there but I felt like I had the privacy and solitude at the moment to sort out what I was feeling. I sat down, looked around, and felt a feeling that was burning in my chest that I never felt before. I couldn't explain it, I didn't know how. It was the first time in 28 years that I had felt the spirit in my life. I remember whispering out loud to myself "so this is why people go to church. I finally get it." I knew I had finally found the direction to take my life in but I was not on the right path just yet. I spent a few months going to that Catholic church, trying to keep up during mass and trying to learn what I could but most of the time I just felt lost as to what was going on, and I wasn't getting the meaning to it all. One day I met with a woman who worked for the church to get the information I needed about what I should be doing to further myself along in the church. She was a very sweet lady, old as dirt but was overjoyed to sit down with me and answer my questions and give me some direction. I told her my story up to that point (mostly) and told her where I was in my spirituality, in my religious knowledge and where I wanted to be. She went over the basics of Christianity and I was able to keep up. Then she got into the specifics of Catholicism. I will never forget this, she said to me "you're going to learn about the mystery of faith." And I looked at her with a very quizzical look and said "what do you mean? Mystery?" to which she excitedly replied "oh yes, you'll learn all about it. The great mystery of the Catholic faith. I can't wait for you to start learning." and this was confusing to me, and irritating. I took a small bit of offense to this 'mystery of faith' and sat up straight, lean forward and made my thoughts as clear as I could without badgering this poor woman. My response was "what do you mean great mystery of the catholic faith? I have mystery, I have tons of it. I didn't come here for more mystery I came here for answers, do you have the answers or not?"

Well she didn't. They didn't. That church didn't. So I left her office and never went back. Even though I viewed this as a huge setback, I didn't lose a bit of my resolve to figure "all this" out for myself. I needed information on what made all the different churches out there special and unique from all the other churches out there. So I hit the interwebs in search for truth. A few months prior to this point I had been best man in my cousins wedding. His wife was raised in the Mormon church but had not been in 10 years. I had heard of Mormons from South Park. Their episode taught me all I knew. Most of my research into other denominations produced very similar information. Plus all these different churches all branched off from Catholicism. If the Catholics didn't have it right, how could an offshoot of the Catholic church be correct? Didn't make any sense. So I looked up the Mormons. I read a little about their core beliefs and their history, and if nothing else they had a different story to tell and a very unique history that no other church I'd read about it could compare with. This church made some bold claims. I read about prophets, golden plates, temples and underwear, sounded like orc mischief to me. On my way off their website I stumbled across a video of some guy who worked for the church, giving what seemed to be a motivational speech. By this point I had my mind made up about this Mormon stuff. But I felt I should watch the video, hear about the church and this Joseph Smith guy from the mouth of an employee of the Mormon church. So I clicked play. What followed was a talk by a gentleman named Jeffrey R. Holland. He was speaking at an event called "General Conference" held twice a year by the church where it's leaders prepare talks to give guidance, inspiration, hope, and information about the status of the church. I found out that Jeffrey R. Holland was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and his talk "Safety for the Soul" that I accidentally stumbled upon changed my entire life in ways you normally read about in books. It was a talk about the origin of the Book of Mormon, and the final events and moments surrounding the murder of the churches leader Joseph Smith, and the murder of his brother Hyrum Smith. Every question that I had was answered, and questions I didn't know I needed to ask were answered as well. Sitting at my computer I had a spiritual experience that has never been rivaled. By the end of Elder Holland's talk I would have done anything he asked, I would have been baptized right then and there if I could have.

I clicked my way through the website to request my free copy of the Book of Mormon. A few days later those dreaded white shirt and tie missionaries came to my house to give me my free book, and answer any questions I might have. I don't remember a lot of what was said, They asked me a few basic questions about my knowledge of Jesus Christ and of Joseph Smith. What do I remember was that spiritual experience I had felt before was there again, testifying to me spirit to spirit that I had found what I had been looking for. These young men had the answers to my questions. As they taught me the core beliefs and history of the church, that spiritual feeling became stronger and more clear, talking to me and bearing witness that I was finally hearing the truth, the most important truth I would ever hear.

I was baptized in less than 3 weeks. I excelled as a new convert but not without growing pains. Changing my lifestyle and behavior proved (and continues to be) a process. I had moments of weakness in the following months. I took a long serious look at how I'd lived my life and struggled to come to terms with it. But never did I doubt what I had learned, never did my faith flinch. The only thing that suffered was my ego. I stuck it out, made mistakes, came back from them, and stayed on the path the LDS church was taking me.

Year and a half later I am living in Utah. I've been through the temple and completed all of the ordinances performed within them and entered into the accompanying covenants you make while going through the temple. I had a temple marriage last month to my eternal companion. I've received both priesthoods and am now a Sunday School teacher in my ward, I teach Gospel Doctrine.

I'm still who I was before in many ways. I don't pretend to be this perfect little Utah Mormon that didn't live the life I did or do the things I wish I hadn't. I am very open and honest about my past, more so than I ever have been. I'm big, I'm bald and have tattoos up and down my arms. I swear (despite my best efforts) and I will never fit into the mainstream culture of the church. I am sarcastic (as best I can be) and still have a sense of humor that couldn't get anymore shallow. A lot of people who have had trouble accepting the changes I've made in my life over the last year and a half. Some have accused me of being fake or trying to be someone or something I'm not. Part of those accusations come from their ignorance of the LDS church and what is really taught and believed. The rest of the accusations come from a clear and unwavering prejudice against the church with a closed door policy for discussion about it. Some members of my family cut off all communication with me, the only family who came to my baptism were my mother, my cousin and his wife who I best manned for at their wedding months earlier, and that was it. My stepfather wouldn't go, stepsisters wouldn't go, I had one single friend who came to support me in addition to the 3 others.

Being raised in Massachusetts and having a circle of friends who deeply rooted their beliefs in everything I just walked away from lead to fight after fight, confrontation after confrontation and eventually lead to the dissolution of many friendships. Some of those people I've lived with, been on vacation with, and went to their wedding. My gay friends were on the front line, prop 8 was a board that they beat me over the head with. I was a Mormon, and therefor a gay bashing close minded bigot. Never once was I given the chance to tell them what I felt and thought about the church's teachings and how we could still be friends. That idea, apparently, just proved I was a hypocrite. I still struggle with some of those people, trying to find new common ground. Some have cut me off, refusing any and all contact with me. Some I've let go from my life, their choices, beliefs and lifestyles have lead them to a place where our friendship is unable to survive.

I've spent a great deal of time trying to get my life to work right. I have a family, a home, I start college in a few days, and I have the answers to the big questions that can't be found anywhere else. I've received the gift of healing in my life, and I've helped bring that to others. I take a long look at how I lived my life up until last year. The bad choices I made over and over, being a victim to my circumstances, just letting life drag me along without any thought to where I was going or what state I would be in if I made it there. I realized that I wasn't living, I wasn't even surviving. I was stuck in the same place making the same mistakes for years and years. That isn't a life. Some have had the audacity to ask me "don't you miss the old days? How are you happy with all these "rules" this church puts on you?" I used to get mad and defensive when asked questions like these. Now I just feel deeply sorry for those people. They ask me "Don't you want to have a drink, don't you want to go out and get laid?" The question is so beside the point that I can't give them answer they will understand. Like "wanting to" was ever justification for anything.

I want to be very clear, I don't have a shred of doubt about the history or the authenticity of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I don't have a shred of doubt as to whether I made the right choice by being baptized into the church. Joseph Smith was called of God to be His prophet and usher in the dispensation of the fullness of times. I have always belonged here, this is always who I've been. I've tried to jam my round shape into every square hole I could find for as long as I remember. I've said and done horrible things to cover up that emptiness in my life, I will be first on the witness stand to testify about how imperfect and down right screwed up I am. I try very hard not to judge, I've been humbled an awful lot throughout this journey, it's helped me to see and admire things in people that I was never able to see before.

I don't expect anyone to believe what I do, I won't try to make you believe either. I will gladly answer questions you have, I will never give you an answer that I myself personally don't believe. If I don't know an answer I will tell you so. If I can't find a reliable answer, I will tell you that as well. In closing ... I will not argue, I will not debate. I will teach, I will testify, I will explain as best I can and if needs be I will agree to disagree. I will try to be as polite as I can, even if you make no such effort. No promises, I'm far from perfect. That's my story to bridge the gap of the last 2 years to anyone who is interested. Sorry for this being so long. I get a bit speechy sometimes. My goal is not to convert you (unless you ask) my goal is to get you accurate, reliable information that is as unbiased as possible.

The "Ask a Mormon" thread is open for business. Ask away

First post of 2012 - How was your NYE?

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 05:20:12 +0000

We stayed in. Watched a couple of movies, Weird Science & Flash Gordon (1980). Had cocktail weenies & chips & dip & Nutter Butter Doublestuffs. I had a beer & mimosa, Cynthia had a Pina Colada & two mimosas. We watched the fireworks in Victory Plaza, then called the police on our neighbors & went to bed.

Last week of the NFL season 2011

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:03:45 +0000

Once again, the Jets came up small in a big game, and their playoff hopes are slim. If they squeak through, Ryan will give his "it's all about the playoffs" speech and will continue to ignore the team's glaring holes. It is all about the playoffs. But it's also about having a team that can be successful in the playoffs--this is not that team. The regular season record is a strong indicator of a team's relative strength, and the Jets' 8-7 record, which includes only one win against a team with a winning record (the 8-7 Cowboys in week 1), tells you all you need to know.

The Giants are built to destroy the Cowboys. Top 5 or 6 passing attack against a weak secondary. Good pass rush. Banged up Romo. Romo's history in playoff games (and this is a playoff game, for all intents and purposes). I'd pick the Giants, over 46.

Raiders play Chargers, who are eliminated. Broncos play the Chiefs. Raiders need a win and Denver loss to get the division and a playoff berth (and to end the Tebow luck madness). I love that the schedules end on division games. Division rivalries are the strongest, and they ensure fewer no-shows for the last week of the regular season. Rooting for the Raiders, but I don't know how the Chargers will approach this game. If it's last week's team, then Oakland wins.

Saab files for bankruptcy

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:43:36 +0000

Quote

Dec 19, 5:35 AM EST

Automaker Saab files for bankruptcy in Sweden

By MALIN RISING
Associated Press

STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Saab Automobile filed for bankruptcy Monday after attempts by Chinese investors to take over the loss-making brand were blocked by previous owner General Motors Co.

Saab CEO Victor Muller personally handed in the bankruptcy application to a court in southwestern Sweden, ending his two-year struggle to revive the more than six-decades-old car maker, known for its rounded sedans and quirky design features.

Full Article

I had completely forgotten that Saab existed.

What I've been up to since I was last here

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:36:51 +0000

The last time I was here with any regularity was mid-July. I can't remember exactly why I stopped visiting, but I do know it had nothing to do with anyone here. I also pretty much stopped visiting all of the online communities I frequented at that same time. I think I just needed a break. Then I found I didn't miss it. Anyway...

August:

Cynthia had a mammogram. They found "an irregularity" and asked her back for another one. The second one confirmed the irregularity, so they scheduled a biopsy for September 8.

Labor Day Weekend (Sept 3-5 for you non-'Mericans), we drove up to Arkansas to visit my MIL. There was construction on I-40 through Oklahoma, and the highway was down to one lane, so people interpreted the highway number as the speed limit, even though the speed limit was 65 in the construction zone. We puttered along at 40mph until we got to Arkansas, where construction ended and the road opened up to 3 lanes. When I gave it gas to speed up, the car started shuddering as if it was driving on a washboard road (it wasn't). I then noticed the check engine light was flashing, never a good sign, so we pulled over. We checked the manual and discovered that a flashing CEL most likely means a problem with the catalytic converter, and that it was ok to drive it under low power to a mechanic. So I started it up, and we limped it the 5 miles to my MIL's house. The strange thing was, the more power I gave it, the smoother it ran. Under low power it shuddered worse than under high power. Once there, I immediately called the local VW dealer to see if/when they'd be able to check it. At that point it was about 4pm. The dealership was still open, but their service department had closed at noon, and wasn't going to reopen until Tuesday. We had to be back in Dallas on Tuesday, so that wouldn't work. I asked if they knew of a mechanic who might work on it, and he gave me a number, but no one answered when I called (it was Labor Day Weekend, go figure).

Meanwhile, Cynthia was trying to contact Enterprise Car Rental to see about renting a car on Monday so we could make it back to Dallas, with the plan of the dealer working on the car on Tuesday, and we'd come back up Wednesday in the rental. I decided to see if the local auto parts store had a code reader to see exactly what the problem was, so I called them. They said to come on over, they'd check it. When we got there, he checked it and (mis)read the code that I was misfiring on 3 of the 4 cylinders. He went back in, as we stood outside & wondered what to do. I went back in and asked him if he knew of anyone who worked on VWs. He said, "Yeah, this guy does," and pointed at the customer standing next to me. I asked what his name was, and when the employee said, "Chris," the guy (Chris) turned and asked what was up. It turns out that Chris has his own auto shop, and was there buying parts for a job. He went out & popped the hood to see what was up. He suggested that it was probably the coil boots. He said he had to go have dinner with his wife, but that we could come by his shop in 30-45 minutes and he'd work on it for us. He gave us directions to the shop and left. We went back to my MIL's and had our late lunch.

If you've never driven through rural Arkansas, let me tell you about where we went. The highway was two lanes each way, with a grass median. The "frontage road" was a dirt road. The "businesses" along it were very blue-collar, and most had their address number spray painted on the side of the shed, if they had a number at all. We eventually found his shop. It was an steel shed with concrete floor & hydraulic auto lift. His wife was working on the engine of a pickup, and happened to be missing about 1/3 of her teeth. Chris moved another truck out of the way and had me pull the Beetle up for him to work on it.

As he worked, he explained what he was doing, and also gave me some of his history. At one point, he said that he doesn't usually work on "little" jobs like this, his usual job is rebuilding engines, specifically VW engines & transmissions for drag racers. I figured if he can rebuild an engine for a drag racer, he can surely fix mine. Here's what it looked like while he was working on it:

He tested everything, in order to find out exactly what the problem was. It turns out that it was misfiring on 1 of 4 cylinders, not 3 of 4. We needed 4 new spark plugs, a small hose, and an ignition coil for cylinder #3. I told him to take his time, that we were planning on being there until Monday, and to just call me when it's ready. He said it'd be ready that day.

We went and ran errands, and 2-3 hours later he called. I asked how much, and was told $180, parts & labor included, cash only. When we arrived, I handed him ten $20 bills, and didn't expect change.

So Cynthia & I went to her biopsy on the 8th, where she was told that they'd have the results some time the following week. I had made plans months earlier to go to Austin for the weekend of Sept 9-11 with friends for a bachelor party, and told her that I'd cancel it if she wanted, but she said to go, so I did.

It was supposed to be 12-15 guys in two suites at the La Quinta (spanish for "Next to Denny's") in Downtown Austin. Due to guys being flaky, it ended up being 6 guys in one suite at the La Quinta. The Best Man, Groom, & Maid of Honor's boyfriend drove down in the Best Man's truck that Friday morning, while two other guys and myself drove down that afternoon in another car. That weekend was a UT home football game, against BYU. We'd planned on hitting 6th street (the college bar scene) to people watch & drink, and when we did, it wasn't as crowded as we'd expected, until we figured out that everyone there was a UT fan, that the BYU fans weren't there, being Mormon and all. During the planning stages of the weekend, having a theme for the weekend was discussed. One suggestion was a Pirate theme, because Paul, the groom, liked pirates. That got shot down pretty quickly, because no one wanted to walk around Austin dressed as a Pirate. Someone suggested we all wear fake mustaches. Someone else said, "we're guys, we can grow them." So we did. Except we didn't tell Paul. Everyone had a mustache except Paul & the MoH's boyfriend. Our significant others were not worried about us straying at all, because they knew our chances of getting laid with the mustaches were slim & none, which pissed off the one single guy in the group. To make matters worse, the single guy looked like a cop.

The following week, the results of Cynthia's biopsy came back benign.

The next event of note was in November, when Paul got married. We took the train up to the venue, which was great because they had an open bar. The train ride home was a little scary, but worth it to not get a DUI.

We both took the week of Thanksgiving off to drive up to Wisconsin to see my family. The last time I'd been up was 2009. The last time Cynthia had been up was 2006. We rented a car because we didn't trust the Beetle to make it. We'd reserved a Hybrid, but I got a call the Thursday before we were to pick it up that they didn't have any, and that we'd get an equivalent standard car instead. I did my research on what cars they said they carried, so that I could make an informed choice as to the best one to get, gas mileage-wise, to keep our trip costs down. One of the aspects of Enterprise is that we'd have unlimited mileage within Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana & Arkansas, but if we left those 5 states, we'd get 1500 miles per week and 200 miles per day for the duration of the rental, and additional miles would be billed at $0.25 per mile. Since we were going to have it for 9 days, we'd have 1900 included miles, and 200-400 additional miles. When making the reservation, I asked how they'd know if I went out of those 5 states. I was told that they wouldn't know, that they'd assume by the mileage that we had. I said that it was possible to drive from Dallas to Amarillo to Midland to El Paso to San Antonio to Corpus Christi to Houston to Austin to Tyler to Dallas, hitting one city per day over a 9 day period, never leaving the state of Texas, and thus never leaving the unlimited mileage area, and still rack up 2300 miles. She said we'd get charged overages in that case. So I said it's not unlimited then, is it. Her response: "It's unlimited to a point."

Anyway, we ended up with a 2012 Chrysler 200 sedan. It was ok. The fuel economy wasn't anywhere near as good as I'd have liked, and it wasn't as comfortable as we'd hoped, but it had tons of room. And when I went to turn it in, they never asked if I'd left the 5-state area, and I didn't volunteer it, so we weren't charged mileage.

We drove up to Arkansas on Saturday, arriving in the evening. We stayed overnight at Cynthia's mom's, then headed out the next morning. It rained through most of Missouri, so our average speed wasn't as high as I'd have liked, and we arrived in Madison around 11:30 on Sunday night. We spent Monday & Tuesday night with my brother, sister-in-law & niece. Monday we just hung out with them, went out for lunch, had dinner at their place, & drinks at a bar. Tuesday I dropped Cynthia at church near my dad's & I headed to his house until she called to be picked up. We then went back to his house to chat. They took us out to lunch, then back to his place to hang out for a while. We went back to my brother's & went out for dinner with them. Wednesday we had breakfast with them, then headed up to Wisconsin Dells to see my Mom. I'd arranged to go out for drinks with some HS friends that night, but only one showed up, the principal's daughter. We had a blast. I never knew she was as wild as she was. Thursday we went out for Thanksgiving dinner with my mother's side of the family. We'd decided to head back to Madison after dinner and get a motel room for the night. Cynthia was burned out from visiting my family, and wanted one night with just us. We stayed at the Red Roof Inn near the mall. When we got checked in, she realized that she'd left her purse at the restaurant in Baraboo. Luckily it was connected to a hotel, so we were able to retrieve it that night. She wanted to get a new Nook Simple Touch on Black Friday. We drove by Best Buy at 11pm to see how long the line was, since they had the nook on sale there. There were at least 1000 people in line, so we went back to the room & took a 5 hour nap so that we could hit Barnes & Nobel when they opened at 5am. I stood in line for the Nook while she shopped for a cover for it. We were in & out in 45 minutes. Back to the room where we slept some more. We reversed the route on the way back, except we stayed over Friday & Saturday night at her mom's, before heading back to Dallas Sunday afternoon.

Monday, December 5th Cynthia woke me up at 6:30 because the car wouldn't move. It would run, but it wouldn't go into gear. Trying to put it in any forward gear caused the car to creep forward. The only gear it'd go into was reverse, and doing so would cause it to lurch backwards & stall. This was with the clutch fully depressed. We called roadside assistance for a tow, and were told to get it out of the garage. I coasted it down 6 levels of spiral ramp to the street. I then went to Enterprise to rent a car so Cynthia could get to work while it was getting repaired. The only thing they had was a 2012 Ram 1500 Crew Cab. It was HUGE! It was fun to drive, but we didn't want to try to park it in our garage, so she traded it out for a Corolla later in the day. It turns out the clutch was burned out in the Beetle. They wanted $1100 to fix it. It's an 11-year old car with 160k miles on it. We told them to hold off on the repair while we considered our options. We spoke with our Credit Union, and they told us they would be able to finance an $18k car for us if we did two minor things to our credit report, that we could do with in a couple of days. They also wanted a Proof of Employment letter from her employer. She asked them for it Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday morning her boss called her in to the office & fired her, because "it is no longer a good fit." So we ended up getting the car fixed so that we weren't locked into a loan we couldn't pay, and so that she had a car to drive to job interviews.

She's had a few good leads, and been on 4 or 5 interviews since then. Our lease is up at the end of February, and we're moving out to a cheaper place then. We just have to find it. We've been looking in South Irving, and have found a 1000+ square foot 2br/2bath house for $750/month. Living there would cut our rent in half. We could almost afford to live there just on my income. Almost.

It seems I've written a novel.

TL;DR:

Been busy.
Cynthia had a cancer scare, but it was benign.
Car needed two repairs, one in Arkansas, one in Dallas.
Took a trip to Wisconsin to see (most of) my family.
Cynthia is unemployed & looking for a job.

Directv, why do you curse me?

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:42:08 +0000

Pointless complaining, but still...the new Directv software adds more interface clicks for the user to access his/her recorded programs. That's crappy design.

NFL network programming

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:08:47 +0000

In late December and during the playoffs, all I really want to see on the NFL Network are the old NFL Films half-hour Super Bowl recaps. Why don't they show more of this? Or any of this?

I just clicked on to see Steve Mariucci doing a remote from his home. Nobody wants to see that.

6th anniversary: celebrating last year's anniversary today

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 01:36:23 +0000

linkorama

Celebrating last year today.

MA: 1 Year of Inactivity (Observed)

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 01:25:30 +0000

I found my way over to MA and noticed that a week ago was the one year anniversary of the last post that was made.

http://www.maximumaw...liday-toy-drive

Happy hibernation MA. Sleep well.

Dates set for Supreme Court health care reform arguments

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:31:27 +0000

Quote

Washington (CNN) -- The Supreme Court has carved out a week in late March to hold oral arguments in perhaps its biggest case in a decade -- the sweeping healthcare reform law championed by President Obama.

The court announced Monday it will hear 5½ hours of arguments spread over three days March 26-28.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or ACA) was signed into law March 23, 2010, passed by a Democratic congressional majority with the support of the president. It has about 2700 pages and contains 450 some provisions ...

... At issue is whether the "individual mandate" section -- requiring nearly all Americans to buy health insurance by 2014 or face financial penalties -- is an improper exercise of federal authority. The states also say that if that linchpin provision is unconstitutional, the entire law must be also go.

Full article.

NFL week 15 - the countdown to failure continues

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:22:30 +0000

The longer the football season, the greater the chance for complete failure. The Jets moved swiftly in that direction, returning to old form by dropping 40+ to the Eagles. The only reason they're in the 6th spot is because every other team in the AFC lost the last two weeks.

Failure Medal #2 goes to the Bills who have gone from 1st place in the AFC East to tied to the once winless Dolphins.

I would also like to take this occasion to say, "go to hell, 1972 Dolphins." The Chiefs' uncanny win against the Packers has dashed my dreams yet again.

Thanks go to the Patriots for shutting up Tebow fans for one week. It still doesn't answer why the Broncos are able to rush for so many yards.

Failure Medal #4 to the Giants for absolutely uninspired play against the Redskins. Somehow they will still win the division if they win out.

Failure #5: Marv Albert. He's getting that Pat Summeral "I'm not drunk, but I don't know what's going on" syndrome.

G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation trailer

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:09:37 +0000

G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation trailer.

Stop everything you're doing and watch.

http://io9.com/58674...erican-insanity

Juggler-esque storyline. Advancing the Rise of Cobra very, very quickly. Looks good, despite the ninja magic. And Bruce Willis and The Rock. Fucking John McClane is a Joe.

Men in Black 3

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:08:34 +0000

Will Smith just does NOT age.

Up for adoption

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:32:32 +0000

Anyone who doesn't live in the US feel like adopting me so I can renounce my citizenship?

Kim Jong Il dead at age 69

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:53:33 +0000

From the Associated Press ...

Quote

Dec 18, 11:32 PM EST

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il dead at age 69

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- Kim Jong Il, North Korea's mercurial and enigmatic longtime leader, has died of heart failure. He was 69.

In a "special broadcast" Monday from the North Korean capital, state media said Kim died of a heart ailment on a train due to a "great mental and physical strain" on Dec. 17 during a "high intensity field inspection." It said an autopsy was done on Dec. 18 and "fully confirmed" the diagnosis.

The news came as North Korea prepared for a hereditary succession. Kim Jong Il inherited power after his father, revered North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, died in 1994.

In September 2010, Kim Jong Il unveiled his third son, the twenty-something Kim Jong Un, as his successor, putting him in high-ranking posts.

Full story.

Mom Kills 3 Kids, Boyfriend, Then Herself

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:53:45 +0000

PONTIAC, Ill. (AP) -- A burst of gunfire sent Annelise Fiedler running out of her home to see what the noise was. In the yard next door, she saw 30-year-old Sara McMeen hovering over her baby as if she had dropped her. Fiedler asked McMeen if everything was all right. "She looked at me and said, `No, everything is not all right,'" Fiedler told The Associated Press.

Then, Fiedler said, McMeen shot the baby. Fiedler fled for her life

While authorities in the small Illinois farming community remained tight-lipped Saturday about the details of what they said was a murder-suicide that left five people dead, neighbors described shocking violence that took place outside, in full view of their homes. Some could see two of the children's bodies from their windows.

The dead included McMeen, her 29-year-old live-in boyfriend, Daniel Warren, and her three children, 8-year-old Skyler Lemke, 7-year-old Ian Lemke and 10-month-old Maggie Warren, authorities said.

What the hell ...

NFL week 9 and Penn State/Paterno scandal madness

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 15:42:54 +0000

So wow. Been distracted by the Penn State scandalpocalypse. (Somethingpocalypse is now a cliche, huh? Thanks a lot, blogging hacks.)

Joe Paterno fired an hour ago by Penn State's board of trustees. Unanimously. University president gone too.

What to say? When you are confronted with a difficult decision in life, don't pull a Paterno.

On to happier things, like the Jets playing solid D for the first time in a long, long time. Good win, but not as good as the injured Giants taking down the Patriots. I only saw the highlights; I wish I had recorded that game.

You know what? I got nuthin. Been a little obsessed over the Paterno thing.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 08:35:39 +0000

We need to free ourselves from our dependency on foreign oil.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

So I went to church yesterday

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 08:25:14 +0000

Over a year ago I agreed to go to church once a month with Cynthia because she wants me to go with her. I've explained that I get absolutely nothing beneficial from going, but agreed to go to keep her happy.

So we went yesterday. Now, it's Latin Mass, from the 1962 Catholic Missal, so I have absolutely no idea what the priest is saying or what is going on. She gave me an annotated missal to follow along with, but it didn't seem to match up with what was happening (which it usually does match up), so I gave up and just thought I'd sit & listen & observe. Then it came time for the homily.

There are two priests, the head priest, and the assistant. The head priest was performing the mass, but the assistant came out to do the homily. I've never heard the head priest do a homily there. The first homily I heard the assistant give mentioned something about non-Christians and Christian holidays, and I could tell he was getting worked up over it. Yesterday's homily happened to be about the "San Francisco Marriage" act that New York recently passed. It took me a few instances of the phrase "San Francisco" to realize that he wouldn't say "gay" or "homosexual". The more he went on about "San Franciscans" and that their getting married was an attack on Catholics, and that the Catholic priests, Bishops & Cardinals in the US didn't fight the legislation, the more pissed off I got. The guy is a bigot, plain and simple. If I hadn't been there with Cynthia, I'd have gotten up and walked out in the middle of it. As it was, I'm glad that he wasn't outside afterwards greeting the parishioners, because I'd have pointedly ignored him.

At first I found it amusing that he was using the phrase "San Francisco" in the way that he was. I find it rather amusing that San Francisco translates as St. Francis, and that he's using it in a derogatory way. Then I realized that he's lumping all residents of San Francisco into one group, when only slightly more than 15% of the residents there belong to that group.

Anyway, one thing is for sure. If I ever were to decide to follow a religion and join a church, he has just guaranteed that it won't be his church, and it won't be Catholicism.

Jesus Alive!

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 07:58:28 +0000

Dos Santos vs. Velasquez - UFC heavyweight title

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 07:26:51 +0000

This was the big tv debut? Why so desperate for mainstream crossover? (especially in a down economy)

It's a short fight. About a minute.

Christopher Hitchens Dead

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 07:10:18 +0000

"A contrarian in life, the writer Christopher Hitchens united the world in death, with friends, colleagues and even debating opponents joining to celebrate his fearless intellect, ready wit and diamantine prose after he died from cancer at the age of 62."

Link-O-Matic to full article

Once upon a time, in a lifetime far far away .... Christopher Hitchens was my hero. I loved watching his debates. He was brilliant, and he had a real talent for making people look stupid. Something I looked up to, at the time. He was as atheist as atheist could be, but was super Republican at the same time. An odd combination. He was one of the most brilliant philosophers in recent history. I still have a couple of his books.

Godspeed Chris.

NFL 4 games left: snatching defeat from victory

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:51:37 +0000

Two weeks ago, with Cutler out, the Bears (and dunderheaded Mike Martz) had backup Hanie throwing all over the field. Line up and give the ball to Forte 30 times. Give it to Barber 15-20 times. Then call it a game. Instead Forte got it 12 times. Hanie threw 36 passes. The Bears lost. Stupid.

Now Forte's out and the only reason the Bears still have a shot at the playoffs is because the Lions and Giants can't put games away.

At 7-5, the Jets are fighting for the last playoff spot, and again, despite winning their last two, they just don't look like a strong team. Kansas City, Eagles, Giants and Miami are all winnable games, but so was the Bronco game three weeks ago. Even if they make it, this team will go nowhere in the playoffs.

Oakland, Kansas City, a beat-up Bears team and Detroit are all that's left for Green Bay. Detroit will probably need that last game to get into the playoffs unless the Giants and Bears really nose-dive (which is possible). Losing Suh to suspension hurts. New Orleans has the best chance to beat them in the playoffs. I don't think the 49ers have enough offense to keep up--they'd need some turnovers.

Babies know you suck

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 02:19:49 +0000

Babies know you suck.
http://www.livescience.com/17399-babies-picky-imitate.html

"Babies are famous for copying adults, but a new study shows that little ones carefully choose whether to imitate an adult's actions based on how credible they think the adult is.

"Researchers divided 60 babies between 13 months and 16 months into two groups. In the first group, "unreliable" experimenters looked inside a container while expressing excitement, and invited the babies to discover whether the box contained a toy or was empty. For that group's experiment, the box was empty. The second group had "reliable" experimenters, so when the babies copied the adults' enthusiastic behavior and looked inside the box, they found a toy.
In a second imitation task, each baby again observed the same experimenter that they had looked at during the box exercise. This time, the adult used her forehead instead of her hands to turn on a push-on light. The experimenter then watched to see whether the infant would copy her behavior.

"The results showed that 61 percent of the infants in the "reliable" group imitated the irrational behavior of using their foreheads to turn on the light. By contrast, 34 percent of infants imitated the unreliable testers who had previously deceived them during the box task.

"Like older children, infants keep track of an individual's history of being accurate or inaccurate and use this information to guide their subsequent learning," said study researcher Diane Poulin-Dubois, a professor in the Concordia Department of Psychology and member of the university's Centre for Research in HumanDevelopment. "Specifically, infants choose not to learn from someone who they perceive as unreliable."

Movies that just don't hold up over time

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:57:44 +0000

Some movies just don't hold up well over time. It could be dated special effects, archaic acting styles, or a tired 80s soundtrack with matching dayglo wardrobe and decor. You liked it when the movie first came out, but the wizened eyes of time exposed all its faults when you watched it on cable 20 years later.

I'm going to start with an odd choice: X-men 3:The Last Stand. It's not gritty enough to have stood out against other gritty, Super Self-Important comics movies in its era, and the special effects are just not special enough in a rapidly advancing cgi-led period. Worse, the stunt wire effects don't seem to have been mastered. The entire film is slightly off in that "is this a cable movie?" kinda way. After Underworld, is it possible to see an entire cast dressed in black leather without clanging the parody bell? In the near future, people will laugh at our generation for allowing Hugh Jackman to play Wolverine.

NFL week 11: a bad way to start off the week

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 04:49:52 +0000

Once again, the Jets drive me up the wall. Awful game to watch from a football standpoint. Sanchez has looked horrible lately. His timing is way off. He's not seeing the receivers. Not seeing the coverage. Horrible.

I don't want to hear anything about Tebow's last drive. The game was lost with the Jets' inability to move the ball. Pathetic.

Ordinarily, I wouldn't make a big deal out of a loss in a non-division game played four days after a Sunday night game, but the Broncos are so beatable. You can't drop games like this and make the playoffs.

NFL week 10: Jets, Bills, Lions, Falcons...down in flames

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 04:45:25 +0000

Jets, Bills, Lions and Falcons all go down in flames.

Only got to watch the Jet game and highlights of the others. Jets really disappointed me. Patriots were pulling people off the street to stick in their secondary and Sanchez couldn't take advantage. When they went up 9-6 after the safety and TD, I thought they had a shot, but they let the Pats move 80 yards in the last minute of the half (which felt like a half hour) and that was pretty much the turning point. They couldn't pressure Brady after the safety. The secondary played terribly. Just bad stuff on both sides of the ball.

Houston is in trouble with Matt Schaub out. Leinart's rapid-fire incompletion offense will be unveiled next Sunday.

The Falcon thing: going for 4th and inches on their own 29. I can understand Smith's thought process feeling like Brees is unstoppable, but the whole thing was clumsy. Punting team out, timeout, a deep set formation...bad. And New Orleans blew them back off the line. At least try to hard snap it, then call timeout, then sneak it. I also wouldn't fault the Falcons for punting. The stats guys are going nuts saying that the math says go for it, but I think those guys are abusing probability by making the mistake in thinking it tells you more than it does. Probability helps you make decisions; it doesn't determine them. There are other factors at play, and the fact that the stats guys don't see it and prefer to pray at the altar of math is weird. On the one hand, they mock guys who go with "gut" feelings because it's not scientific, but then they make an unscientific leap in mistaking a statistical tool for god's truth in decision-making. Okay. I'm also not exactly sure that they calculated the probability right in the success rate of 46-yard or shorter field goals for failing on the 4th down play.

Best 10 British Movie ?

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 07:26:55 +0000

1. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

2. Touching the Void (2003)

3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

4. 28 Days Later... (2002)

5. Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)

6. Dog Soldiers (2002)

7. Trainspotting (1996)

8. Kes (1970)

9. Hot Fuzz (2007)

10. Control (2007)

11. My mom getting banged by the football team (1999)

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: crap or not crap?

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 16:07:52 +0000

How has It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia never been mentioned in a forum named Misfitopia? Seriously? This show is great. Lots of dark humor and hilarious jerkishness.

The only bad things I can say about it are that sometimes the screaming is too much and I often wonder if Mac is a superfluous character who should have been divided between Dennis and Charlie.

The actress who plays Dee is really good, and the group works very well as a petty, screaming ensemble.

Not crap.

I'm surprised this hasn't been brought up before.

Ask McAwesome II

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 15:52:32 +0000

McAwesome,

Earth or fire? Which is more important to you?

(continued from the original thread)

Occupy Wall Street

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 15:35:32 +0000

Occupy Wall Street is ...

Quote

Occupy Wall Street is a people-powered movement that began on September 17, 2011 in Liberty Square in Manhattan’s Financial District, and has spread to over 100 cities in the United States and actions in over 1,500 cities globally. OWS is fighting back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in generations. The movement is inspired by popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, and aims to expose how the richest 1% of people are writing the rules of an unfair global economy that is foreclosing on our future.

From OccupyWallSt.org

I never thought that Americans would ever do something like this. Whether or not this had made a difference, or will lead to ... well anything, I never thought there was enough people in this country who would be motivated enough to demonstrate. After George W. Bush was reelected in 2004, I gave up on my fellow Americans. Then everyone threw in with Obama. I never thought he was the promised messiah everyone was making him out to be. All I hoped was that we would not elect another Republican. As long as the Republicans were shown the door, I was positive that there would be some improvement. The subprime mortgage crisis paved the way for "change" and in my opinion was the deciding factor in the election. Obama's platform for "change" was exactly what people wanted to hear. A great philosopher once said "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."

The last 4 years have been historical. I saw universal healthcare slip away, the promise of transparency in government spending go unfulfilled, and then I saw the federal government hand over trillions of tax dollars to the most unethical and immoral businessman who have ever walked the earth. I saw AIG, a company who posted the highest losses (across 5 straight quarters) in corporate history, receive a series of bailouts totaling over $150B. Part of that money (over $200M) went to bonuses for the top tier executives and agents, who after receiving billions in tax money, went on vacations and resort getaways costing millions. But it's okay, in exchange for the $150B the government got an 80% stake in the company. The company that lost $99B the previous year. They got 80% of that. Instead of reaping what they had sown, Wall Street was able to privatize profits and socialize losses.

Follow the money: CNN's Bailout Tracker and the late-2000s financial crisis

The slogan of Occupy Wall Street is "We are the 99%" which is a reference to the concentration of wealth in the US, with the richest 1% controlling 40% of wealth in America. Another fun fact is that Forbes 400 (that is the 400 richest individuals in the US) have more money than the bottom 155,000,000 (one hundred fifty five million) people combined. Or In 2010, of the 100 highest-paid chief executives in the U.S., 25 took home more pay than their company paid in federal corporate income taxes. And according to the C.I.A.’s own ranking of countries by income inequality, the United States is more unequal a society than either Tunisia or Egypt.

So the question for me is, now what?

NFL 2011 midseason

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 01:07:22 +0000

Just about midseason now. I do this every year, and every year is a mistake. About three games in, I start to feel like I have a sense of where the season's going. Then at about midseason I pause, look back, and realize how much has changed. I thought the Eagles were in serious trouble; they've bounced back. I thought the Steelers were heading to 8-8; they're 6-2. I never believed in the Redskins, but at least their record has caught up with them. 49ers at 6-1? Bengals at 5-2?

Meanwhile, the Tim Tebow Self-destruction Cycle has begun. This should be exciting...to some. But mostly shrugs from me.

Presidential Election 2012

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 08:18:51 +0000

I kinda like Ron Paul, for the most part. I can't seem to notice any real difference between any of the other candidates. Is there really a difference between the others? For me, if it isn't Ron Paul, then it's "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss" and that goes double if Obama is reelected.

Thoughts?

Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 21:41:15 +0000

Quote

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar has been on the shelf since losing the title to Cain Velasquez back in Oct. 2010 thanks to a second bout of the deadly intestinal disease, diverticulitis.

Shortly thereafter, Lesnar had surgery to have a whopping 12 inches of his colon removed. He's now officially "back" and ready to get back down to the business of doing the two things he loves best:

1. Fighting.
2. Tracking down live animals and killing them.

He'll attend to the former on Dec. 30 when he battles Alistair Overeem in a heavyweight match-up of massive proportions at UFC 141 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Link-O-Matic

I don't know anything about Overeem. Wikipedia has this to say about him ...

Quote

Alistair Cees Overeem (born on May 17, 1980) is a British born Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer, signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Interim Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and made history by being the only fighter in combat sports to hold a world title in both MMA and K-1 kickboxing at the same time. As of November 2010, Overeem is ranked as the #3 best heavyweight mixed martial artist in the world by Sherdog, #3 by MMAWeekly, #3 by Yahoo! Sports and #2 by FightMagazine.com.

His MMA record is 35-11. He has some wins over a few noteworthy people, and most of his losses are to legitimate fighters like Antônio Rogério Nogueira and Chuck Liddell to name a couple. I found a few of his better fights posted online and this fight seems to have great potential. One of the things I really like about Lesnar is that he is a true heavyweight in a weight class where most of his opponents aren't. Overeem is 6' 5" and 260 lbs. Both of these guys have knockout power on par with a semi-truck. I refuse to pay $45 for a Pay-Per-View no matter what the event is so I'll be "bargain shopping" for the video online the next day. But if I paid that kind of money for stuff like this I would totally do it for Lesnar vs Overeem.

Steve Jobs dead

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 09:37:06 +0000

Steve Jobs, Apple guy (but not Apple Music guy), Macintosh guy, iPhone guy is dead.

So...you know...the funeral will be nice and advertised all over and Bono/Feist will do the soundtrack and it will cost 4x a regular funeral that would functionally do the same thing: bury a guy.

(Too soon? Maybe it was too soon.)

Friendly's on verge of chapter 11. Am I the only one who doesn't care?

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 06:26:02 +0000

Friendly's is on the verge of filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Am I the only one who doesn't care?

I don't ever remember liking Friendly's. The little wooden games they used to have at each table...okay, fine. The crayons? Fine. Were they the first to add candy bars to ice cream? I have no idea. Were they? It's not like it's patentable. Lots of people were doing that. Their food? Eh. It just seems like people have this manufactured love for Friendly's because they could have a burger AND ice cream dessert in one place.

I guess I never thought their ice cream was worth it. There are better places with bigger selections to go for suburban ice cream. Add to that the multiple times (as in I-didn't-learn-my-lesson-the-first-two-times) I found a hair in my ice cream, and you have one unhappy Friendly's camper.

(re: Ch. 11 - Not sure what the brand is worth outside of a few select locations. If this were four years ago, I could see another restaurant chain swooping in and swapping logos to expand their own chain. But what do I know. Just my local bias, but every Friendly's I've seen within 30 miles is in a sub-optimal location with shitty parking and no anchor-type store nearby. In other words, at what point does bankruptcy reorg turn into full blown liquidation?)

NFL week 7: RexNorv Bowl I and Tebow HoF talk

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:01:51 +0000

RexNorv Bowl I ended in happy, happy times for the Jets. Plaxico actually stuck his hands out to catch passes. This turned out better than his last strategy of watching balls sail near his face. He got 3 TDs. Cell block 1138 let out a big cheer.

After all the Rex Ryan/Norv Turner hoopla, it turns out that Norv still sucks as a coach. They had plenty of time with 1:30 left, but that was the sorriest 2-minute drill I've ever seen. 3-yard completion, tackled in bounds. 4-yard completion, tackled in bounds.

If the state of Florida had its way, Tebow would be pre-inducted into the Hall of Fame. But can he throw the ball?

After Denver next week and the bye, Detroit heads into a four-game stretch that includes at Chicago, at New Orleans and home against the Packers. Detroit can sleepwalk to 10 wins, but you want to see them beat someone good.

NFL week 6: strong handshakes

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 23:53:27 +0000

Raiders escaped with a win and then traded for Carson Palmer. They gave a lot up for him, and Palmer is fragile. This is one of those high variance, bimodal trades that will either be wildly successful (AFC Championship or better) or fantastically disastrous (Palmer gets hit at the knees and retires forever...which he has threatened to do, and I believe him).

49ers over Lions was an unexpected result to me. I haven't been following the 9ers much this year.

So Rex Ryan is not the most obnoxious coach in the league. Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz have taken the lead. Except Rex shot ahead again today talking about how many rings he would've won if the Chargers hired him instead of Norv Turner. Can you imagine how obnoxious Rex will be if he ever wins a title? I mean, like, actually winning a title instead of just talking about it...while coaching a .500 team. Just sayin, Rex.

Jets over Dolphins. I was worried when the Dolphins recovered the fumbled kickoff, but the Reevis 100-yard interception return seemed to suck the life out of them. Jets look eh.

NFL week 5: Jets and Lions are for real (bad and good, respectively)

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:04:28 +0000

That was a rough Sunday. The Jets can't get out of their own way. Stupid penalties. Lots of dropped balls. The loss against the Pats wasn't as close as the final score. If Cromartie didn't intercept what should've been a TD at the end of the first half, the Jets wouldn't even have been in it.

Meanwhile, I guess the Lions are ... for real? The Lions/Bears game was the first time I saw them this season. Looks like they'll be fun this year. Their DEs are incredible...or the Bears' tackles suck.

My last thread here EVER!

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 03:26:23 +0000

I take great pride in deleting your crap and adding to your warning level. I bed you farewell.

Al Davis is dead: "Commitment to Resurrection" era begins

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 16:08:51 +0000

Al Davis is dead. Merger of Heaven and Hell possible.

There's a quote from Bill Walsh (from the late 70s or early 80s) that had Davis remained a coach, he'd have been one of the best ever.

Without a doubt, Davis was one of the better evaluators of talent throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s. He broke down color/minority barriers his whole life. But with the good, he has to take the bad. His continued insistence on pure speed and vertical passing in a league that had long adapted and evolved ruined the team for the past decade.

As the NFL's old guard continue to fall away, I hope they're replaced by similar minded people (like the Mara family transition) so that selfish idiots like Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder don't continue to infect and destroy the game's parity.

Doctor Who season 6 (Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill)

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 17:57:53 +0000

It's crowded in the Tardis. The result is the most tedious, continuity-destroying, character-ruining season of the new era (Eccleston, Tennant, Smith).

Who is River Song? Both your guesses are correct. Who is the Doctor? Amy's pet. Who is Amy? The main character of the show, according to the new show opening. What's so bad about crossing your own timeline? Nothing, because it's done all the time. What's a plot hole? Moffat knows not.

Where to begin? The Silence are stupid. Anyone who likes them as a new monster race is an idiot, and I'll explain why. The Doctor has a fondness for human beings. This is (as far as I can tell) old continuity reinforced in new continuity via Eccleston and Tennant. The Doctor loves humanity for its rashness, boldness, for what it is capable of achieving (despite what it is capable of doing). Humanity has bothgreat promise and terrible danger, but its heights are higher than its lows, in balance. The Doctor loves this. It's what attracted him to humans and why he has defended the planet so vigorously in past seasons. In fact, he has traveled to various points in humanity's timeline to see these very traits.

The introduction of The Silence erases all of this. It turns out the Silence have been manipulating humans for....well, forever. Everything is a product of the Silence. So all that stuff about the Doctor liking humanity for its tremendous promise? Everything that gave the show and its titular character a heart? Everything that made this odd, alien man so human? "Nope, just kidding, it was all an illusion," says Moffat via his plot hook.

That's unforgivable. It's one thing to build on an existing universe of continuity--even change bits in order to move the plot forward. It's quite another to stamp them out with your boot heel.

Amy's voice over opening, "When I was a little girl, I had an imaginary friend..." is shocking. This is no longer a show about the Doctor, it's about Amy. Why? To bring in new viewers? People only want to see the hot girl? Will the next Doctor and companion be even younger? Will future seasons only hire underwear models? Doctor Who Kids, where the Doctor reincarnates as a freshman in high school (or whatever the British equivalent is)? Doctor Who Babies, with Travolta for a Look Who's Talking reboot? Doctor Who crossed with Twilight? No more sci-fi elements, only melodrama? Fuck me.

The Amy/Rory/Doctor love triangle could've had some promise, but that gets wrapped up early. Rory is still a flat character, but he's likable and it's hard not to root for him. The fact that he keeps dying and coming back is amusing. Abruptly, the Doctor kicks Amy and Rory out of the Tardis joy ride super adventure. Amy leaving was so anticlimactic. Even now, I don't even know if she'll be back or not. The 'proper' place to have left Amy was the end of Season 5. That was a good point to end it. I felt no emotional connection to her leaving here at all, possibly due to how lackluster this entire season has been.

The penultimate episode was a below average one-off. Giant plot holes, which have become characteristic of Moffat's run, were more pronounced than usual. Nothing made sense. The rewriting of how people are assimilated into cybermen was typical sloppy writing by Moffat. In the larger scheme of the season, this episode was supposed to be the doctor's last dash before The End. Comparing this to Tennant's last visit to his old friends (which I think is a fair comparison) reveals how thin Moffat's doctor is. Tennant's doctor had friends all over the place (well, England). Going around to see them all one last time was a chore in itself. It had a huge emotional payoff after 3.5 years. Moffat's doctor is an unknown. He's defined mostly as Amy's fashion accessory. His only friend outside of Amy is a tubby dude in a flat. And the tubby dude exists only to be pathetic--the Doctor needs a foil with this lowly level of patheticness in order to look cool. Because (speaking of this season only) the Doctor only existed in Amy's shadow. Outside of Amy's motivating force, he's lame. And for lame to look cool, he's got to be juxtaposed next to someone lamer: tubby dude in a flat. This is the Doctor on what he believes is his last night. Tennant doing something mundane on his last night (going around to see his friends) was something that spoke to the elevation of his character. Moffat's Doctor doing something mundane on his last night (seeing his one friend, Tubby dude in a flat AND ignoring Amy/Rory) was pathetic.

The finale...whatever. More gaping plot holes. One completely unnecessary wedding. Doctor and River try to change Time by not killing the Doctor, and it doesn't work. Then the Doctor uses a robot to change Time by not killing the Doctor, and it...works? We're talking Time with a capital 'T'. Fixed point in Time. Old continuity. Deleted, again, by Moffat. By parity of reasoning, for consistency's sake, those two attempts should either both work or both not work. Using a robot can trick Time? You can't fool Time.

Moffat without Davies to pull back on the reins is bad. He had one good season in him, several good eps in the Davies years, and that's it.

Positive things?

A reprieve from Dalek-heavy plots was refreshing. Needed a break from them.
The Tardis not being a big facet of the stories was also somewhat refreshing. It's more special when you don't have every episode telling you how special it is.
Having said that, however, the best episode of the season featured the Tardis in a starring role: The Doctor's Wife.
Most everything else was drek.

Doctor Who season 5 (Matt Smith and Karen Gillan)

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 17:08:04 +0000

This season felt like a reboot. In a way, I think it was semi-on-purpose. The Tennant era grew the franchise in popularity. Moffat took the opportunity of a new Doctor to bring in new and younger people to the fold. Taken in isolation, with no past continuity issues, this season works very well. You generally care about Amy and Rory's relationship, even though Rory is pretty flat as a character. There's nothing deep about the season (although the Amy's Choice episode with the Dream Lord was particularly brilliant--great revelation of the Doctor's character).

Is the finale believable? Not really. It stretches the suspension of disbelief. But I'm willing to go along for the ride if the ride is emotional payoff is good and sincere. And I think it was. All the little plot holes of the last few episodes are forgivable.

But then you remember that this season is not a one-off man-with-a-magic-box mini-series. It turns out this character has decades of continuity, some of which has been cemented during the past 4.5 seasons. You realize that the season 5 finale ran roughshod over most of that. The plot holes seem wider than they did a moment ago. People are going back over their own timelines with no consequences. It feels rushed, unfinished and sloppy. Little do you know that this season would feel like Shakespeare compared to what was to follow.

In retrospect, the strongest episodes were:
The Beast Below (the last time the Doctor has a bit of Tennant-style moralizing?)
The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone (also neat the way the later finale clarified a part of Flesh and Stone...the "remember" business. It makes you rewatch this episode again.)
Amy's Choice
The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood (oh, okay, maybe there's a little bit of moralizing here...sorta. Now I regret mentioning it, because it really should've been condensed to one episode)
Vincent and the Doctor (Vincent Van Gogh)
The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang (which has plotting problems, but is somewhat necessary due to being the finale of the season)

Next: Season 6