Quote of the Day

Protesters again.

Here I sit, at this conveniently placed stop light waiting to drive onto base. Having to stare at them forces me to wonder to myself what I actually feel about this situation.

Sure, part of me wants to roll down the window and tell them the truth. In a monotone, sardonic voice and using a few strategically placed hand gestures to emphasize that I think their cause is noble but feeble and wearing a blank, irritated facial expression, I would say, "You guys do know that we don't make decisions about the war at this base, right? There's no direct line to the president for the commander to pick up the phone and say that the protesters at the gate have a really good point and we should definitely bring the troops home now."

It doesn't work like that.

- William Luce

Meatless Monday's

Terrible Terrible Terrible.

And that my friends, is reason 1348 why I will never move to San Fran (I imagine SF is just as pleased to hear it as I am to say it).

Teaser:

The city of San Francisco has just become the first town to adopt a resolution to stop serving meat of any kind on Mondays. As stated on the official Meatless Monday web site: “The resolution to make Mondays meatless was introduced by supervisor Sophie Maxwell, who hopes that residents will use this opportunity to make nutritious, sustainable choices.”

A Comment

So . . . um . . . yeah . . . .

I have heard about comment sections getting out of hand from time to time but have never experienced it until now.

I have been taking down the undesirables as fast as possible but it is sort of like "whack-a-mole". I don't mind really, we all know there are cretins out there - I just don't want other people subjected to it.

BTW - it is so odd how all the creeps bravely comment under "Anonymous". Bravo! Way to really take a stand! How do you possibly muster such strength and courage??!

So I have decided to change the way our comments are handled.

From now on, when you submit a comment, it will go through me first for approval before going to the ol' blog. All this will really change is that your comment will get posted about 30 minutes or so after you submit it.

I love the comments and 99.9% of them are just wonderful! Keep 'em coming!

And for that small percentage of undesirables out there, you are welcome to comment too - or for that matter e-mail me directly. Just know that your comment will never see the light of day, it will have no effect on me what-so-ever and it is a total and complete waste of your time.

Blog on!

I Had No Idea Chicken Was So Bad for You

And by "you", I mean YOU!

You have been warned.

Order something else - everything else tastes like chicken anyway . . .

Except STEAK!. Mmmmmm . . . . I love steak . . .

HT: World Net Daily

Lileks

Lileks is on his game this morning - read the whole thing.

Teaser graph:

"Never thought I’d say this, but I have that Hannah Montana song down cold. I am ready to rock. Figured out a way to funk up my part – and if the mental image that provokes doesn’t cause deep cringing, well, thank you. As I said, I’ll post a video of this performance. The collective age of the band is over 200 years, I think, but I’ll be switched if we still can’t kick out the jams. Whatever the hell that means. Have we kicked out the jams, guys? No, some jams remain in close proximity. Let’s try them again. Okay, but this jam-kicking is hard on the bunions.

"New Dr. Scholl Pads for Aging Rockers! Jams kicked with the heedless glee of a 20 year old.

"I am not, however, getting my ya-yas out. The ya-yas are wrapped in a Freak Flag, which I will not be flying."

Frieden auf der Erde

This is the Symbol for Peace:

This is Symbol for the best in German Automotive engineering:

This light display on one of my neighbor's houses is apparently the Symbol for Peace on Earth through the best in German Engineering:

Which is funny, because the Germans actually did try to establish their own brand on Peace on Earth through German engineering. Twice. Their efforts were called World War One and World War Two:

I can only assume that is not what this guy meant when he hung his Christma-kwan-aunaka lights this year.

The best part is, it blinks. Every time we pass by it, my wife giggles and repeats, "Mercedes. Mercedes. Mercedes." in time with the blinking.

Only five more shopping days left. Or should I say, "noch nur fünf Einkaufstage reisten ab"

Hemp is Hep

Elizabeth pointed me to this article in the NY Times on Eco-friendly Fashion:

"No matter how sincere fashion designers may be in their efforts to embrace the green movement this season, consumers may find themselves perplexed by how to gauge the environmental impact of the many products that claim to be eco-friendly. . .

“'When you only look at the raw materials to ask if something is really green, you are like the blind person holding the tail of the elephant,' said Chris Van Dyke, chief executive of Nau, a three-year-old outdoor clothing line founded on the principle of sustainable practices throughout its production cycle, including the ecological costs of shipping and caring for garments. 'There’s a whole lot of other factors you need to assess.' . .

"Some designs marketed as environment-friendly might include only a fraction of organic cotton, or a tag made of recycled paper. And some so-called green fashion may be downright silly, like the Goyard canvas shopping tote shown in the Barneys “Have a Green Holiday” catalog: the bag is $1,065, plus $310 for painted monogramming of a triangular recycle symbol in gold. The canvas, the catalog says, is “100% recyclable.” . .

"Sorry, does canvas go with paper, plastic or glass? . . .

"And there are still other factors for the concerned consumer to consider. . .

"Some argue that the greenest clothes — the ones least likely to adversely affect the earth and its climate — are the ones you already own. No new resources will be depleted to make them, and if they need infrequent washing and can be drip-dried, all the better. . ."

Check out this slide show of "Green" clothing along with the Pros and Cons. My personal favorite:

"ORGANIC COTTON JEANS:

"PRO Loomstate jeans, $295, are made domestically (Kentucky) from unwashed, untreated organic-cotton denim; the paper label is impregnated with seeds so you can plant it and grow flowers.

"CON Subject to unpredictable shrinkage; the care tag suggests washing with shampoo while wearing them in the shower and drying in the sun."

Let's see . . . the paper care instruction tag is impregnated with seeds that will sprout when wet . . . Anyone see a problem here?

I am a "conveniently green" person. As long as it is convenient and someone isn't in my face about it, I will do my best to do the so-called eco-responsible thing.

But tell me I have to schlep my trash from the office to my home to recycle it. Uh, no.

Tell me my deodorant is killing the universe and we were all meant to smell the way we smell. Step away from me.

Stand over my desk and "tsk tsk" as I throw my soda bottle away and you can bet I will be taking the long way home spewing whatever evil my suv spews the whole way.

You want people to be more green? Then make it more convenient - put recycle cans next to trash cans on the streets. And figure out a way to recycle more than one thing in the same container because I shant be separating the white paper from the colored paper in some sort of eco-cultural-throwback to segregation.

In short, make a better / more convenient product at a cheaper price. Heck, with all the guilt people are carrying around concerning the environment, it doesn't even have to be better or cheaper - people are actually willing to pay a little more for enviro-friendly products that are of slightly inferior quality. The key words here are "a little more" for "slightly inferior".

But tell me I have to wear my $295 jeans in the shower and wash them with shampoo while wild flowers sprout where wild flowers most certainly do not belong? Be serious.

Nebraska State Senator Sues God

Good news! All of Nebraska’s problems have been solved! Leaving their elected representatives free to spend tax dollars suing God.

From MSNBC.com: Key Graphs:

“State Sen. Ernie Chambers sued God last week. . . “

“Chambers says in his lawsuit that God has made terrorist threats against the senator and his constituents, inspired fear and caused ‘widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth’s inhabitants.’”

“The Omaha senator, who skips morning prayers during the legislative session and often criticizes Christians, also says God has caused ‘fearsome floods ... horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes.’”

“He’s seeking a permanent injunction against the Almighty.”

Funny how they don’t mention his party affiliation . . .

HT: MP