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8 Minutes On High

Bankruptcy – what the government should do, and what they did.

March 30th, 2008 by Max


Remember ALL the Republicans who said that we need “Tort Reform”, and “Bankruptcy Law Reform”?

They wanted to legislate smaller lawsuit results – to protect business.

They wanted to make it more difficult to declare bankruptcy – to protect banks.

They bailed out Bear Stearns – a bank.

Now they don’t want to allow the government to help home buyers restructure their mortgages, because of “the sanctity of contracts”.

Remember that phrase – the sanctity of contracts. Remember it when your neighbor loses their house, your property loses its value, your factory closes …


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Today Barb and I saw just a few birds…

March 29th, 2008 by Max


 Imagine if it had been a big day for birds.  [These were mostly far away and have been adjusted.]

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Snakes On A Mutherfuckin Plane man~

March 27th, 2008 by Max


This is a quick review.

If you want to see a silly movie, Snakes On A Plane is it! There’s a couple scenes … no ya know what? If you watch this movie on purpose, and you aren’t ready for what you get, if you are surprised … then you deserve to be shocked by Snakes On A Plane.

You got Samuel L Jackson.

You got a mutherfuckin’ plane…

You got snakes! N’est pas?


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Thomas Boswell’s best baseball book

March 26th, 2008 by Max


From Why Time Begins On Opening Day: These are the ten commandments of the dougout. At the beginning of this article, Tom explains why, despite having never played the game, he was able to get the “insiders” view of the game. He relates a story of Gaylord Perry etc. which I won’t add here.

“*Judge slowly. No. Eve more slowly than that.” – This is one of my favorite lines that I’ve ever read anywhere. I think it captures a true fans appreciation of the game, and he says its the way the pros look at the game.

“*Assume everybody is trying reasonably hard.”

“*Physical errors, even the most grotesque, should be forgiven.”

“*Conversely, mental errors are judged as harshly as physical errors are ignored. The distinction as to whether a mistatke has been made ‘from the neck up or the neck down’ is always made.”

“*Pay more attention to the mundane than the spectacular. Baseball is a game of huge samplings. The necessity for consistency usually outweighs the need for the inspired.”

“*Pay more attention to the theory of the game, than the outcome of the game. Don’t let your evaluations be swayed too greatly by the final score.”

“* Players always know best how they’re playing. … Self criticism is ingrained.”

“*Stay ahead of the action, not behind, or even neck and neck with it.”

There’s only eight of these commandments in this book. I think perhaps he only wrote eight, “ten” commandments.  Either way what I have ends with this:

“Sure, opening day is baseball’s bandwagon. Pundits and politicians and every prose poet on the continent jumps on board for a few days. But they’re gone soon, off in search of some other windy event worthy of their attention. Then, once more, all those long, slow months of baseball are left to us. And our time can begin again.”


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Awe geeze

March 26th, 2008 by Max


Its a tough time.

I see I haven’t blogged in over a week, and the truth is that I’ve been distracted by a cranky tooth. I fear the root canal!

Went to the dentist on Monday, and we agreed to try a sealer of some kind and a little patience with this tooth that sometimes seemed fine. Just fine. And a little bit touchy if I caught it just right.

My problem. I’m obsessed with root canal. Its not funny. Its unusual and its not interesting. But if you have a tooth in your head that has just been worked on, that feels different than it has for the last 50 years … try to ignore it!

Try to not pay attention to a headache that has lasted for three weeks. Is it relevant?

I don’t know. I’m obsessed!


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Tv or not tv?

March 18th, 2008 by Max


At a time when Bears Stearns gets a weekend bailout, preventing the worsening of an economic crisis. At a time when Barak Obama makes a moving speech on the subject of race, that he never wanted to make. At a time of strife around the world arrogance and ignorance and corruption and greed in Washington … I want to take a moment to talk about something really important!

I want to do a survey of TV remote users and ask which strategy do you use, to avoid commercials?
a. Two channel switch?
b. Two channels plus a third stored in your own memory as an alternate or third channel as backup?
c. Bumping down the channels [especially effective from the upper or sports channels]?
d. Some other means of keeping informed of the shows that you are missing while you’re wife is watching Dancing with the Stars?

I’m a three channel guy!

How about you?


Posted in Other People's Theories, Social Commentaries | 2 Comments »

Yep

March 18th, 2008 by Max


Way far, from the ground, white sky behind.

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Sunday’s Eagles – a baby by the side of the road

March 17th, 2008 by Max


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From the NY Times

March 15th, 2008 by Max


Run on Big Wall St. Bank Spurs Rescue Backed by U.S.

Potential buyers began circling Bear Stearns after it was given a secured line of credit, and policy makers may spend the weekend dealing with the fallout.”

 I confess to being unsophisticated in the ways of big finance.  But from a populist perspective, this looks a little like the big guys in government helping out the rich guys in finance.  Maybe I’m wrong.

But then look at it through the perspective of a Congress that a couple years ago made it more difficult for the little guy to declare bankruptcy.

Is it relevant?  You tell me.


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Cal Poly and the Saudis

March 14th, 2008 by Max


I’m hoping mad about this one.  Just heard it on NPR.  Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is getting almost 6 million dollars from the Saudis, to start an Engineering Campus at a university in Saudi Arabia.

Fine.  We need to engage with the middle east.

However the Saudis insist that no women can learn engineering at this campus.  Wait.  Not that they can’t.  THEY’RE NOT ALLOWED TO STUDY THERE!

Fuck the Saudis.  Fuck ‘em.  Don’t lets send ANY of our efforts, or our learning to a place that insists that we engage in their middle ages society, we should insist that if they want to study with us, they have to study with all of us.   We categorically reject that women cannot, or should not, study engineering.   Fuck ‘em!

If we could have gotten off oil 30 years ago on the road that Jimmy Carter had started us on, then these people would be selling their oil for TEN dollars a barrell and we could simply ignore them until they realized that they were living in the 21st century.

I’m not saying we should bomb them.  I’m not saying we should have bombed their neighbors.

But I AM saying that we should NOT ACT LIKE THEM!

Fuck ‘em.  Don’t help them.  Ignore them.  Fuck ‘em!

[I know, I shouldn't always use these high brow intellectual tactics, but sometimes you need to form a more cogent subtle opinion.    I'm sorry if anyone can't keep up with my reasoning but this is the way that it is sometimes.]

Fuck ‘em!


Posted in Social Commentaries | No Comments »

LOST

March 13th, 2008 by Max


Awww.

Last week they rehabilitated Juliette.

This week they made us fall in love with Jin and Sun … then they tell us he’s dead.  Didn’t tell us how.  We have to wait for him to die.  Fuckers.

The baby is cute.  The acting was brilliant.  We learned another of the Flight 815 six.  And this happy episode, had to be a sad one … Awww!


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Boy, the Democrats Are Killin’ Themselves

March 12th, 2008 by Max


No less a ground breaker than Geraldine Ferraro has come out with some statements that were, shall we say, unsubtle. Some others would say racist.

Elliot Spitzer, Democratic Governor of New York, will resign on Monday, after spending some $80,000 on call girls!

Barak Obama has accepted the resignation of one of his advisors, female, who mentioned, on the record, that Mrs. Clinton was ‘a monster’.

Mrs. Clinton’s campaign is being called “The Kitchen Sink Strategy” because she seems to be throwing everything at Sen. Obama in an attempt to destroy his credibility. She has stated that the Democrat’s rival, Sen John McCain is more qualified … than Sen Obama. She claims to have won Michigan [I told you we'd get back to talking about Michigan] even though she had prior to the election, agreed to not have her name on the ballot in Michigan. She did have her name on the ballot. Nobody else did. None of the Above got 40% in Michigan. Plus, no one campaigned in Florida. Florida didn’t count. Still Mrs. Clinton claims victories in both of those states. That my friends, is a fraud! When Mrs. Clinton counts the states she won, she goes right through Florida and Michigan as if those were legitimate elections!

Now her friend Gerry Ferraro is calling Sen. Obama black. What’s worse is she is saying that he is LUCKY that he is black!

Come on. Its very simple. People identify with people in their group. The tricky group to identify is black women. They have an obvious stake in both Democratic candidates. Tough choice it looked like in January. Two capable, talented members of your party to choose from.

I grew up in an Irish Catholic family. ALL the Catholic’s I knew, and all the Irish I knew, and my Dad who wasn’t even Catholic … LOVED John Kennedy. The Catholic’s loved him because he represented their group so well. My Dad loved him because he represented the country so well. My Dad still talks about the Excess Profits Tax on the oil companies! From 1963? Yep.

So yes, its fair to say blacks may be more inclined to vote for a black man. Its also fair to suggest that women vote for Hillary in part because it is just simply a woman’s turn.

Its also fair to suggest that some people don’t think a woman should BE president. This would be a negative.
Its also fair to suggest that some people don’t think a black should be president either! This is also a negative.

I wish the Democrats would stop eating their young.

Senator McCain suggested the United States could be in Iraq for a HUNDRED YEARS! Which is more important!~


Posted in Politics | 1 Comment »

The Best So Far

March 12th, 2008 by Max


Conan O’Brien – Elliot Spitzer has been reported to be getting ready for a life as an attorney.  He said he’d like to have a job where he can work by the hour, charging large amounts of money – to screw people!


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What? No saving throw?

March 8th, 2008 by Max


ultimate_game.png

http://xkcd.com/


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Oops forgot to blog!

March 6th, 2008 by Max


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Did I just hear the begining of the end of Senator Obama’s run?

March 5th, 2008 by Max


Its almost midnight. Tuesday. The night of the Texas, Ohio, RI and Vermont voted tonight.

He’s telling his optimistic story …”Where else can a young sheep herder in Kenya …

Grow up to marry a white girl …”

Its all true of course … but this time he mentioned race, in a race where race isn’t supposed to matter! It was the first time I heard him sound tone deaf in politics. It made me think of Howard Dean.


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Saturday Night Live is driving our politics

March 4th, 2008 by Max


Despite the awkward way she went about it, Madam Hillary has accomplished one thing that she’s tried to do.  She’s gotten the media to rethink they’re coverage of Obama, by pointing out that the joke on Saturday Night Live was how fawning the media was toward him.

I’ve heard several commentators asking basically this question:  Since it was funny, is it true?  Are we too nice to him?  Maybe we should rethink our coverage of Obama!

Now they’re rescrutinizing themselves and their campaign coverage.

Saturday Night Live is driving our politics!


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Listen to Countless Screaming Argonauts

March 3rd, 2008 by Max


Its a podcast!

Its fun!

I’m in it!!!

http://csapodcast.blogspot.com/


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“Last time I saw Richard was Detroit in ’68 …”

March 1st, 2008 by Max


I setup a computer for a woman with amazingly beautiful eyes. We got on politics because things are slow at work. We were talking about jobs going to China. She’s about my age, and had no wedding ring. … Imagine how my heart sank when she was talking about Saddam, and said “Still we had to take him out after he attacked us”, I think were the words she used. And “well we needed to get Al Queda out of there”. I told her he didn’t, and they weren’t.

Anyway. I walked away. I hated Dick Cheney just a bit more after that!

I know its arrogant to think that I have even some of the answers, but dammit people are being deliberately lied to, or indoctrinated from birth, with things that just can’t be true. I’m beginning to think its just not so benign after all.

Annette’s buddy Joni said “… All romantics meet the same fate someday, cynical and drunk and boring someone in some dark cafe”.

Am I just romanticizing some pain that’s in my head? I feel like I want to turn some lights on…


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