Christmas 2008

Got to see the immediate family minus a couple nephews and one niece. Everyone was mostly civil. Food was good and plentiful. Hope your holiday was as at least as nice.

Not the same old carols....

Since Lis over on Kid Sis in Hollywood posted Twisted Christmas.

I thought I'd counter with:

Run DMC - Christmas In Hollis


George Thorogood and the Destroyers - Rock n roll christmas


Eminem - Jingles Bell


I want a boob job for Christmas


Chipmunks Roasting on an Open Fire


Police Stopped My Car


Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Canon Rock


U2 - I Believe In Father Christmas


Achmed The Dead Terrorist - Jingle Bombs


Weird Al Yankovic - The Night Santa Went Crazy


Techno~Jingle Bells {REMIX}


Carol of the Bells - Techno Remix


All I Want For Christmas is You (So So Def Remix)

In preperation for The Spirit

The Spirit's Day Off.

A creative, humorous spoof.

Voted or not?

I'm wondering if Duncan M. MacDonald voted this past election.

Pumpkin Soup

4 cups of Pumpkiin Pureed
1 Can (13.5 oz) Coconut milk
1 cup whole milk
1 onion
1 apple
1 ripe banana
4 Tablespoons salted butter
4 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon ginger
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon coriander
1 dash of cloves
1 cup of light brown sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery salt

Pureed Pumpkin then put in pot
chopped apple, onion, and banana and pureed with whole milk and coconut milk
put on heat to full
put in salted stick butter in 1 tablespoon pieces
stirred in spices
brought to boil
reduced to low heat for 1/2 hour
served with whole wheat bread.

It's the first time I made pumpkin soup and the recipe is approximately the above.

Personality Disorder Quiz

You May Be a Bit Schizotypal...

A bit odd and socially isolated. You couldn't care less of what others think. And some of your beliefs are a little weird. Like that time you thought you were Jesus.

What Personality Disorder Are You?

WTF?!!

I came across this particular item and thought it noteworthy. First it's under diseases, which makes just about everyone diseased. That led me to read the symptoms which finally led me to read the signs. I'm just going to add that website to the BS list.

Architecture or Sex Toy?

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Chicago. Are they looking to make unique architecture, or are they just advertising for entertaining phallic objects?

Refuel

Just for note:
Purchased fuel last night. $2.029 for Regular gas in South Hadley, MA.

Obama needs protection

Skinheads accused of plotting to kill Obama.

A friend told me tonight, he overheard one of the local (meaning CT) KKK members bragging in public that their going to let the neo-nazi's all take their shot at Obama before they go in and show them how to do it right. He couldn't do anything because being violent while at work is a firing offense ... even when a good ass-kicking is in order. I think the Secret service is going to have to hire alot of new agents quickly, probably the FBI as well.

Filling Up!

I went and got gas last night. The local gas buddy price says that the station down the road from me on the Mass side of the border is $2.23. The gas there really doesn't run well in my car. I drove a couple miles further and filled up for $2.27 at a Sunoco. If I were going up to Chicopee, It's as low as $2.04 and $2.08 for a good brand name. If I were simply going through West Springfield, The Sunoco there is $2.09. It cost $23.50 for the tank. It's been awhile since it's been that cheap. I think they need to keep the margins killed for the commodities markets. Apparently that's what is spiking the prices.

Why I voted for a Democrat

Well, not really, but this does sum up the Bush Administration nicely.

My Voting Experience 2008

Got to the polls just before lunch. The woman in front of me didn't have I.D. and thought because her brother voted, she should be able to vote. Umm, No. No I.D., Vo Vote. The moderator was still on the phone when I left. I was only in line a couple minutes, unlike many places.

I think they need a abstain bullet to fill in on the ballot though.

BTW, the betting houses all have Obama to win. One had the following odds. If you bet $7 on Obama, and he wins, you get $8. On the other hand if you bet $1 on McCain, and he wins, you get $6.80. Those are terrible odds for McCain. Thankfully.

Voter turn-out is higher than ever, but it is always high in an presidential election. If Obama could get people to turn out in such high numbers next year, that would truly be impressive.

Voted? Get your sex toy, coffee, or ice cream!

Obama vs. McCain

I believe Obama will win. With the exception of Fred Barnes, it seems that the pundits agree.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/02/election-predictions-pund_n_140149.html

Sieg Heil

Can you tell who I'm NOT voting for? Yeah it's a cheap shot; I'll admit it.

Honestly, there are no perfect candidates. You can tell by the fact that they WANT TO become President. I figure the best candidate would be very qualified, and not want to be in office. I think for the next election I'll come up with a write-in campaign.

Now, there are good points to both sides, if you can trust either candidate. My biggest problem with both of them is that neither can do math. Then again, the GAO never has either. It must be a D.C. thing, perhaps in the water. I will be voting for Obama for only one reason. He is the best candidate for the time. Next election, it might be Republicans, but this year, I'm voting for a Democrat.

To give you an idea of how bad things are. My mother, who has been Republican since 1947, is voting for Obama. She was active in politics for years. Was part of the process back with Reagan. So when she votes for a Democrat, it's because she pretty much knows that the Republicans that are being offered are far from optimal candidates.

Finally, If you're only voting for McCain/Palin because there's a woman candidate, then you need to have your head examined. The same goes for voting for Obama just because he is black.

The only two questions we need answered are:
Who will get us out of these costly fruitless occupation campaigns?
Who will get our economy back on track, or at least not screw it up further?

There are initiatives that would make me happy.
1) Do what's best for America first; what is best for the world trade comes second (unless they want to become states and pay taxes like the rest of us).
2) Bring back the jobs that multi-national conglomerates have shipped overseas.
3) We need to go back to certain core-values, but at the same time, identify where we need to progress into the future.
4) Cut spending. CUT spending. CUT SPENDING. It would cause some unemployment, but if you bring back the jobs into the USA, then it won't be for long.
5) Don't give tax breaks yet. Don't give tax increases. Cut some of the tax loopholes that only the rich can afford. Business taxes should favor wholly american companies, and then mostly american companies, and the most taxes should be paid by foreign companies. We've got a $10 Trillion or so debt. Time to start paying back the credit card.
6) Trade Imbalance: This needs to be worked on. It's not only the fault of the government, but of American businesses as well. Take the big 3 automakers in the USA. They kept getting bigger and bigger engines. Toyata and Honda kept making more and more efficient and cost-efficient models. Guess which ones sell more world-wide. Chrysler got bought by a Euro-co and tried to sell that styling to Americans. Honestly, if we wanted that style we would have bought a BMW or Mercedes, etc. We need to get some old-style jeeps and VW bug style vehicles. Mind you, the transmissions need more gears and less electronics.
7) American English as the national language. I can't say this enough. The one thing that joined all our multinational ancestors into being americans is language.
8) No government sponsored parades for non-national reasons. I'm sure individuals and businesses will support these if they are popular.
9) No government grants to other countries. Loans are okay, so long as they aren't forgiven.
10) Get out of the world police effort. Give up most of our bases and just have visits at allied bases. The only time we should get involved in someone else's country is under 3 conditions:
1) They invade another country.
2) A UN sanctioned military operation.
3) If someone attacks us.
If one of these conditions occurs, then you beat them completely and install an OLD SCHOOL DEMOCRACY. An old school democracy is one where you hand all the adults a cheap bolt action rifle and a clip of ammo, and tell them, take care of the problems locally, don't make us come back, or we won't be nice.
The invasion of Kuwait would have ended Hussein back in the early 90's.
The Serb-Croation operation would have been okay.
The invasion of Afghanistan would have been okay.
Also we need to change the way our military is structured. It's very inefficient. We should also reduce the active component. Our forefathers said we shouldn't have a standing army for more than 2 years. The reason for that was, after awhile, to justify their costs and existance, they end up getting us involved in someone else's conflict.
11) All contract with companies should not have the ability to exceed their estimates unless it comes out of the company profits. They should not make deals they can't complete. They should not make estimates that are well below what they'll actually cost. Our Naval contracts with Northrop Grumman who never made ships before the current contracts and are way over budget are a single example. The F-35 could be used as another example (originally supposed to cost $35 million each are now up to $83 million each). Nasa and it's over-reaching ideas, especially in the face of an economic recession / depression.

This list just covers a tiny part of the basics and not all of them fully.

WTF?

Boy, 8, killed in Mass. gun show accident

Boy, 8, shot to death in Mass. gun show accident

Micro-uzi to be exact. I'm all for teaching children how to shoot when young, but who the hell thought an 8 year old could handle that kind of recoil? It's unfortunately not a true case of Darwinism. Had the father and other brother been taken out, then I'd say so. Morons. I know the anti-gun people will go all crazy with this. Really, the gun didn't kill him, the supervising adults were at fault.

I BRAKE FOR REPAIRS!

I finally had to do my brakes. Here's a note: The front left brake of a Saturn wears out twice as fast as the front left. Kept the front left as emergency spare for when front left wears out again. They smoked a bit on my first run with them ... then it would probably have been from grease on the rotors, I found I was out of brake-kleen at the end. Honestly, not a huge problem, just annoying. Vegetable Lasagna for Dinner tonight. I ache from working in the cold, but nothing really bad. Tired from a lack of sleep last night. More later.

But Yet . . .

Here I rated a libertarian. Better general list of questions though.

When did that happen?

I've gone Democrat?
When I was young, I was a Republican . . . then I got better.
I thought I was a liberterian.

But I just got marked a Democrat by this test.
*Sigh* .... Guess it's a good thing then that I'm voting for Obama.

Somedays . . .

Some days you say Hello.
Other days you say Oh Hell.
And a few days are just Hell.
-Hugo Fuchs

Mother Update

She's still in the hospital. I'll be heading up there shortly. No apparent stroke. Will have to see what's what. Thanks for listening.

Life can suck.

My mother has gone to the hospital for a possible stroke. More later.

Space

Listening to Arthur C. Clark interview circa 1968 on a 2001: A Space Odyssey DVD.

"Space has tremendous promise and, although it will be fatal if we use this lure to distract us from of our down to earth problems, nevertheless many of those problems can be solved if some may only be solved through space technology."

I think too many people (Especially Trekkies, have focused on the last half of that statement, and too few on the part about it being fatal to be distracted from our earth-bound problems. We still have over-population, war, starvation, disease, all the so called "7 sins". Not to mention destroying our own environment, a so-called mass suicide of humanity. Maybe more on this later, I'm going to walk & feed the dog, then go to bed.

Sound advice vs. Darwinism

Son of a ...

Son of a. . .

Is it just us?

Is it just my family, or is NBC's commentators at the olympics just terrible.

The New American Dream

Me: Have you heard about the new American Dream?

Sister: What? Debt and Taxes?

Me: No. The American Dream of owning so many houses that you can't keep track of how many.

Getting older . . .

Comic is from Nicholas Gurewitch at The Perry Bible Fellowship.

Nerd Word Test

Score 237

This is how your score compares to others who have done this same puzzle:

79% scored better,
1% scored the same, and
20% scored lower.

You Rank #151 out of 189 players.



Better than Beginner...

Personality Defects Quiz

Your result for The Personality Defect Test...

Spiteful Loner

You are 57% Rational, 43% Extroverted, 71% Brutal, and 29% Arrogant.

You are the Spiteful Loner, the personality type that is most likely to go on a shooting rampage. In high school, you were probably that kid who wore all black and who sat alone in a corner of the lunch room, drawing pictures of dead babies. You are a rational person and tend to hold emotions in very low-esteem; not only that, but you are also rather introverted, meaning you probably bury any emotions you feel deep inside yourself, like all of the bodies in your backyard. Combine these traits with your dislike of others and your brutality, and it seems that you would be quite likely to shoot innocent people in a rampage. Most likely, you also have low self-esteem. Hell, I get low self-esteem just looking at you. This is only yet one more incentive to go on a shooting rampage, because you wouldn't care if you died as a result. Granted, you probably haven't gone on a shooting rampage and probably never will, but all the motivations are there. All you need is for someone to push you over the edge, calling you names and belittling you. Like me. But don't shoot me. I have a 101 mile-long knife, you know. In conclusion, your personality is defective because you are too introverted, brutal, insecure, and rather unemotional. No wonder no one hangs around you, you morbid, cold-hearted freak!

To put it less negatively:

1. You are more RATIONAL than intuitive.

2. You are more INTROVERTED than extroverted.

3. You are more BRUTAL than gentle.

4. You are more HUMBLE than arrogant.

Compatibility:

Your exact opposite is the Televangelist.

Other personalities you would probably get along with are the Capitalist Pig, the Smartass, and the Sociopath.

*

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If you scored near fifty percent for a certain trait (42%-58%), you could very well go either way. For example, someone with 42% Extroversion is slightly leaning towards being an introvert, but is close enough to being an extrovert to be classified that way as well. Below is a list of the other personality types so that you can determine which other possible categories you may fill if you scored near fifty percent for certain traits.

The other personality types:

The Emo Kid: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Starving Artist: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Bitch-Slap: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Brute: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Hippie: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Televangelist: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Schoolyard Bully: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Class Clown: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Robot: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Haughty Intellectual: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Spiteful Loner: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Sociopath: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Hand-Raiser: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Braggart: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Capitalist Pig: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Smartass: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

Be sure to take the Sublime Philosophical Crap Test if you are interested in taking a slightly more intellectual test that has just as many insane ramblings as this one does!

Take The Personality Defect Test at HelloQuizzy

Good-bye Television ... It was great while it lasted.

Today I started listing all the movies I've ever seen. Thousands. Well that aint too bad ... maybe 5% of my lifetime.

Then I started on TV. Holy $#!+. I spent how much of my life on TV hours?

I just gave it up. I will now make a list of TV shows to buy when I retire. Until then, I'm going back to living life.

You might think that I watch too many movies, but that 5% also includes movies that I've seen on TV/Cable, but doesn't include reruns, and neither did the TV listing.

I'm going to allow myself one new movie, and one old movie per week MAX. That'll be about 3%.

Are you ready to face ZOMBIES?

PHYSICAL RATING (YOUR PHYSICAL SURVIVABILITY, ENDURANCE, AND STRENGTH) : B
DR/ BIZMORE SAYS : WITH A LITTLE TRAINING AND EXERCISE, YOU'LL BE READY FOR AN UNDEAD OUTBREAK.

MENTAL RATING (YOUR MENTAL STABILITY, ENDURANCE, AND INTELLIGENCE) : B
DR. BIZMORE SAYS : PERHAPS A LITTLE STUDY WOULDN'T HURT. YOUR MENTAL FORTITUDE IS ABOVE AVERAGE, BUT CAN STILL BE IMPROVED.

EXPERIENCE RATING (YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF OUTBREAKS AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM) : B
DR. BIZMORE SAYS : YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT ZOMBIES AND OUTBREAKS THAN THE AVERAGE PERSON AND CAN RECOGNIZE CLICHES IN ZOMBIE MOVIES AND FICTION.

EMOTIONAL RATING (YOUR EMOTIONAL INTEGRITY) : F
DR. BIZMORE SAYS : YOUR MANTRA IS, "NUMBNESS IS THE PATH TO SURVIVAL."

TOTAL SURVIVAL RANK (YOUR OVERALL SURVIVAL GRADE) : Z+
YOUR KNOWLEDGE, STRENGTH, AND WILL TO SURVIVE ARE UNSTOPPABLE. IT WOULD TAKE A NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST TO REMOVE YOU FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH. ZOMBIES DON'T STAND A CHANCE.

Quiz at:
http://www.newsandentertainment.com/zFzombiequiz.html
NO CHEATING. Post your the scores of the first time through.


Note: I disagree with a couple of their assumptions, but most are accurate.

Word Test

256 points

NERD TEST

Konquered

It's my first post under Linux. Hardrive shit the bed, so I'm currently on a KUbuntu CD copy that I'm running purely in memory. At least until I empty some space and set up a drive with it. Not sure whether it is better than Microsoft, but I'll give it a chance. Oh, and the price is right. The Post name is because the CD comes with a web browser called Konqueror.

-HF

Is it Just Me?

I've been to several decent restaurants in the past week. One thing I've noticed (between myself and another) is that the lobster this year is tough. I don't know exactly why that is, but it happened at two different restaurants.

On the other hand, I went to Outback Steakhouse and the Prime Rib was excellent. Of course I had to send it back once. I ordered it medium, because most people get it slightly over or under cooked, and I can eat that on either side of medium. What I got first was on the edge between rare and medium rare. It wasn't bleeding still, but barely. So I sent it back, it came back a decent Medium Rare. Delicious. Excellent Sweet Potatos, though my dining companion was mildly allergic to them. The Clam chowder had plenty of clams too. It's prices are slightly higher than other restaurants, but the food makes it worth it many times over.

Hopefully, in August, I'll make it up to the Hofbrauhaus.

Pissing people off?

I don't believe that you can piss a person off. They choose whether or not to be pissed off.

Example:
"You are such an asshole!"

I can say it to a friend and he'll just laugh it off. If I say it to a stranger or adversary, then I'll get punched in the face.

Same words, same context. My friend knows that I'm either full of it, or that he is one. The adversary or stranger probably won't admit that they are being one.

Most things you can call me and not get me riled up. Studpidity, and lack of common sense are the things that get me riled up. It's all subjective whether one should or should not be angry. Just like it's subjective whether or not someone needs an ass-kicking. Some say there is never a good reason, others say that it is the most expedient way of teaching people not to be rude and obnoxious.

Burma Cyclone

From one news story:

US First Lady Laura Bush has accused the military government of failing to act to protect its people.

Oh, and the Bush administration did such a wonderful job in protecting people when Hurricane Katrina blew through.

Texas sex toy laws

I love how the law can make something for sex illegal. To summarize the laws:

* You can’t own more than 6 dildoes because that means an intent to sell
* You can’t call them “dildoes”: they’re “educational demonstrators.”
* You can’t use the word “vibrators”: they’re “personal massagers.”
* You can buy as many butt plugs as you like because the anus is not a sex organ.

I'd love to see the debates over these laws when they passed. The arguments would make for hillarious reading.

DVD Review - A History of Violence

The public Library has been good to me. Currently it is saving me alot of money I don't have by being able to check out DVDs.

My latest borrowing was A History of Violence. Overall, not a bad movie. The ending was inconclusive, but is otherwise good. The pacing of the movie is somewhat slower. The nice thing about watching this on DVD is getting the extras. The featurettes are worth watching, the Director's commentary is very similar to what you'll get out of just watching the featurettes. If you're in a hurry, skip the commentary, and just do the featurettes.

Personal notes:
I like the rough 'street-fight' style of fighting that was done. Real fights tend to toss out pretty styles for what works. No 'Rambo-isation' of the Protagonist, he gets injured almost as much as the bad guys. About the only thing that felt missing from this is a father-son talk. There occurred at least twice in the film where I expected it. It was well shot, with only one scene that I really disagreed with the lighting.

Bad Hybrids

I looked through the hybrid automobiles out. The good news is that there is more than one. The bad news is that most companies are using it as a marketing tool without there being significant advantages.

The Toyota Prius is the best, mostly from being the oldest and having time-tested benefits. It has good interior and luggage room but is standardly lacking a couple selling points such as mp3 playback, but with an estimated 48 mpg local and 45 mpg highway, it's a good buy.

The only other competitor is the Honda Civic hybrid, I expect them to be fully competive with Toyota soon. Slightly less interior and luggage room than the prius, it does come with a built in mp3 playback system. With an estimated 40 mog locally and 45 mpg on the highway, it is only slightly behind the prius.

Both of these cars employ CVTs, and I wonder how they will fare in the area of repair. The original CVTs in autos were replace only rather than repair. I'll have to inquire with these companies at some point.

I expected something at the more expensive levels, and you would think that Toyota would have at least optioned the prius system in a luxury body. Nope, not that bright. I guess they figure that the rich won't balk at making money for the oil companies and ruining the environment.

Bedroom Worth

The Usual Sisters

Normally I don't blog about my family. But here is a snippet that hit me right enough to add.

Blonde sister: (Says something elder sister decides to take offense at.)

Brunette sister: Don't talk to me like that again or I'll pluck you like a chicken!



And people wonder why I have yet to procreate. I tell them, as soon as I can find a place far enough away to ensure no vistations from my sisters, and I'm financially stable, then I'll consider it seriously.

Today's Weather Blows

Well, not that it isn't sunny after all the rain we've had, or that the temperature isn't okay. It is however, windy as hell. Started yesterday near the end of the rain and has continued. Needless to say, that it sucks the heat from your body quick.

Raindrops keep falling on my head...

The next storm hit here, and it's all rain. That's better than snow.

Gary Gygax, 'Father of D&D', Dies at 69

Read Details Here!

Ah, well, nobody gets out alive. We all pour a glass of mead for the passing of the man who set up more for the modern fantasy genre than any except papa Tolkein. Good bye Gary, and hope you roll a better saving throw vs. death in the next life.

The value of a Dollar

Don't know about other parts of the world, but here everything has doubled or so in the last year. I look at the dollar compared to two things:
1) The Euro
2) The Canadian Dollar
Before this occupational fiasco, the US dollar bought roughly 1.50 in canada and around a euro. Now it buys roughly 1 Canadian dollar and 2/3 of a euro.

This isn't necessarily bad. Usually under such conditions, the Europeans and Canadians would be doing an above average amount of international tourism which would bring money back into the USA. Unfortunately, the overzealous Department of Homeland Security has made it a point to make it difficult and Harrassing to enter the United States. Thus stopping money from entering.

Now I might understand if they made it more difficult for people who are of middle-eastern lineage or are muslims. Obviously, regardless of how unfair it may be, they would have a much more intensive background screening. But the truth is, that it is impossible to keep out people who desperately want to enter. That's why we have a constant influx of ILLEGAL immigrants. If they can't keep them and/or drugs from entering the United States, what makes them think they'll be able to keep out a determined terrorist?

Nothing. It doesn't work. Ever. Just like an occupational force can't completely stop Guerrilla Warfare. The smartest thing to do is hand every adult a bolt action rifle with a clip of ammunition in each and every village, town, and city. Then you tell them "Don't make us come back. If you have problems with people who wish to go back to a non-democratic system then deal with them."

You see, only if everyone is committed to democracy that way, and is armed both against these brigands as well as any abusive government, will democracy work.

As to the detainees that were held in places like Midway and Guantamano, well, let's just say that most of the interrogation techniques are pretty primative.

Eat me Ethan!

Well storm Ethan has passed. Had to dig out again. Every time I get done it seems that it decides to flurry. Luckily it didn't accumulate.

End of Destiny

Had to move more snow from the storm this morning, ran a movie out to my niece. Can you believe that she's never seen Raider of the Lost Ark? I found out when she wanted to see the fourth one, and then her mother tells me she hasn't seen the other three. So I ran across the first one and got it to her, and I'll pick up the The Last Crusade later in the week. Temple of Doom can wait until I come across it on discount some time. I finished the first disk of Daredevil, and am now on the second one. At the store today, I saw an extended version with more commentary. It will have to wait for now. Haven't done any writing for the last couple of days, so I'll have to put some time in tomorrow. Monday I have to go to the bank, then pay the cable bill.

Destiny Sucks!

Okay, so they named this storm Destiny. It's been snowing, and it seems likely that it will continue until ... TOMORROW. That's a long time to snow, and it means I'll be running out at least twice to remove snow. Ugh!

I suppose that gives me a couple hours before I make my first run. So I better get to it.