Glad THAT'S done!

Finally! The last of the 2005 supply.
Hoping for a smoother 2006.

Question Answered!

How do those thong things even work?
Now I know.
And, no honey, they don't make your ass look any bigger.

The School of Textiles and Design at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh have begun what is believed to be the world's first-ever study on how women's clothing affects the bottom(AFP/Illustration)

Good!

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department has opened an investigation into the leak of classified information about President Bush's secret domestic spying program, Justice officials said Friday. The officials, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the probe, said the inquiry will focus on disclosures to The New York Times about warrantless surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

But will they then need to investigate who leaked this information about the investigation into the leak of the other information?
My head hurts.

Stand Down in the Plan

Pace: U.S. to Launch Phased Iraq Pullout
By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - The U.S. will carry out planned withdrawals of American troops in Iraq only from regions where Iraqi forces can maintain security against the insurgents, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said Thursday.

Gen. Peter Pace said the current force of 160,000 would drop to below 138,000 by March, then U.S. commanders on the ground would work with the Iraqi government to determine the pace of future pullbacks in areas that have been secured by local security forces.

"The bottom line will be that the Iraqi army and the Iraqi police will gain in competence, that they will be able to take on more and more of the territory, whether or not there are still insurgents in that area," he said in an interview with a small group of reporters, including The Associated Press, aboard a military plane en route to the United Arab Emirates.

(And then there’s the usual AP bullsh*t part of the story)

Amid congressional pressure and growing public opposition to the war, the Bush administration last week announced plans to reduce U.S. combat troops in Iraq to below the 138,000 level that prevailed most of this year.

More here

The Universal Decision Maker

She's not there to make your decision?
The Universal Decision Maker makes your daily decisions both easy and entertaining.

Study of Asshats

Study: Hostility behind wheel matches non-driving personality
Associated Press

ST. PAUL - The biggest jerks on the road don't act any differently when they step out from behind the wheel, University of Minnesota researchers have found.

The most hostile people tend to react more aggressively while driving than their less hostile counterparts would, according to a study of 710 drivers aged 18 to 45 years. They're also more likely to drink and drive, take more road risks and show more anger toward other drivers, police and construction delays.

"People don't change their behavior dramatically when they get in the car," said Kathleen Harder, co-author of the study.

In the study, 35 "high-hostility" and 32 "low-hostility" subjects were put in a driving simulator and videotaped as they were faced with vehicles that boxed them in, cut them off or tailgated. The research was done in 2004.

The more hostile group followed almost 7 yards closer behind slower vehicles than the less aggressive group. They also hit their brakes and moved over to pass faster when cut off.

Tailgaters, however, brought out a more uniform reaction from both groups, prompting equal numbers to slow down or speed up.

Mike Brudevold of St. Paul says he sees plenty of bad driving behavior, so the study results came as no surprise.

"People aren't following the rules," Brudevold said.

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/state/13500983.htm

Husker Upset!

Nebraska wins the Alamo Bowl.
Down goes Michigan! Down goes Michigan!
In a very poor performance by the zebras.
Never, ever seen worse officiating.

But on an unrelated note, what the heck is this?

Those Dreaded Words!

Some Assembly Required
Still doesn't look quite right.

Howling at the Moon

Speaking of wolves and bad news reporting……

L.A. Times Prints Quote From Fake Release
Dec 28 7:05 PM US/Eastern

GREEN RIVER, Wyo. - A quote in a fake news release that was intended as an April Fool's joke ended up in a front-page story in the Los Angeles Times. The story in Tuesday's editions of the Times noted how successful the reintroduction of wolves had been 10 years ago, but said the predators remained controversial.

"In Wyoming, for example, Gov. Dave Freudenthal last April decreed that the Endangered Species Act is no longer in force and that the state 'now considers the wolf as a federal dog,' unworthy of protection," the story read.

The Times printed a correction Wednesday, acknowledging that the news release was a hoax.

"The reporter saw it on the Internet and had talked with the governor in the past, so she was familiar enough with the way he talks and writes that she thought it sounded authentic, and she didn't check, which she should have," Times Deputy Metro Editor David Lauter told the Casper Star Tribune.

"We hate when this kind of thing happens, and we correct it as quickly as we can," Lauter said.

The fake press release was put together by Maury Jones, an outfitter in the community of Afton, as a joke for April Fool's Day.

"I never thought I'd get this kind of reaction," he said. "But it's got some legs."

Illegal wiretaps used against Al Qeada?

I had to read this twice in order to even believe I was reading it.
What part of "trying to kill Americans" don't these people understand?
IF, and I do mean 'if", the wiretaps are shown to be illegal, the real problem is that they're illegal to use against this type of threat, not that they were used.
Make them legal, then!

NY Times
Defense lawyers in some of the country's biggest terrorism cases say they plan to bring legal challenges to determine whether the National Security Agency used illegal wiretaps against several dozen Muslim men tied to Al Qaeda.

Trent Duffy, a spokesman for the White House, declined to comment in Crawford, Tex., when asked about a report in The New York Times that the security agency had tapped into some of the country's main telephone arteries to conduct broader data-mining operations in the search for terrorists.

But Mr. Duffy said: "This is a limited program. This is not about monitoring phone calls designed to arrange Little League practice or what to bring to a potluck dinner. These are designed to monitor calls from very bad people to very bad people who have a history of blowing up commuter trains, weddings and churches."

More here

Move over, Rooster!

Might not apply to dog superheros, though.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese tradition holds 2006 will be a year of bad luck for people born under the sign of the dog, but misfortune has come early for some looking for jobs, state media said on Wednesday.

Chinese companies looking for new recruits had deliberately passed over candidates born as dogs in China's ancient 12-animal astrological cycle to ward off the bad luck expected for people in years of their same sign, the China Youth Daily said.

The rooster will make way for the dog at Chinese Lunar New Year in late January.

Can't BUY some gifts.

This makes all other gifts seem pretty insignificant.

Sailor Donates Kidney to Foster Mother
Sat Dec 24, 4:19 PM ET

RAHWAY, N.J. - An ailing woman who has sheltered dozens of foster children over the years received an early Christmas gift from one of them: a donated kidney.

"I'm forever indebted to this young man for this gift," said Phyllis Klingebiel, 68, of the foster son who lived with her and her husband for 11 years. "He's a walking angel on this Earth."

Navy petty officer 2nd class Mark Greshan, 23, said the donation was a natural choice for a woman who cared for him from the time he showed up at the house as a 7-year-old.

"After six months, I knew this was my home," he told The Star-Ledger of Newark in an interview before the operation. "It wasn't 'foster child,' it was 'son.'"

Klingebiel needed a transplant after a genetic kidney condition worsened in the last year. Matches from biological family members were not available.

"He called me up and said, 'I have a Christmas gift for you,'" Phyllis Klingebiel said. "'The bad news is that it's going to be early. The good news is that you're going to get my kidney.'"

Herbert Klingebiel thinks of Greshan's donation as a reward for his wife's work with children. Over the past 30 years, the Klingebiels have tended to 67 foster children.

"God gives everybody a gift, and I guess her gift is helping children," he said. "I guess this just came around and God gave it back hundredfold, back to my wife."

Their operations were Tuesday, and Greshan, who received some time off from the Navy, is recuperating at home.

He said Saturday he was sore from the operation but was OK. He was waiting to hear whether his foster mother would be able to leave the hospital and join him at their home.

"Everybody's doing fine," he told The Associated Press.

Peace on Earth.

Not so much on the moon, though.

Add one more crater to the already beat-up Moon. Astronomers have recorded a tiny blip northwest of Mare Imbrium, a flash caused by a meteoroid hit within the "Sea of Showers."
While such impacts are not uncommon, it was only in 1999 that a meteoroid hit was first recorded as it took place. This new observation of a run-in between Moon and meteoroid was recorded on Nov. 7, spotted by Robert Suggs, Space Environment team lead in the Natural Environments Branch of the Marshall Center's Engineering Directorate in Huntsville, Alabama.
The rock is estimated to have been about 4-5 inches (12 centimeters) in diameter and to have left a crater 10 feet wide and 1.3 feet deep (3 meters by 0.4 meters).
(Not an actual photo)

Come On, Big Guy!

Hoping Santa brings me that computer upgrade I wrote to him about.

Last Portage Home

Friday, December 23, 2005
Happy paddling, Joe
by Bob Cary

Sunday, Dec. 18, 94-year-old Ely canoe paddler and canoe builder, Joseph T. Seliga, made the last long portage into the sunset.
Famed in his later years as one of the nation's great wood-and-canvas canoe craftsmen, he was subject of a definitive book, "The Art of the Canoe with Joe Seliga."
But long before that, he was known in the Ely area as a skilled, meticulous craftsman who created superb hunting and fishing craft.
His garage "factory" at 244 E. Pattison St., was a maelstrom of sawdust, wood chips, seaming canoe ribs, stretching canvas, pungent glue pots and paint buckets, and the everlasting tap-tap-tap of brass tacks being driven into cedar wood by Joe and his beloved wife Nora.
Side by side, the pair built dozens of canoes up until Nora's death. Then Joe continued on alone ever faithful to his art and craft.
Read it all

Naughty Boy Justice

In the spirit of the season (leaking reports about civil rights abuse), here's just one more "secret program" finally disclosed. Hopefully, even though it's far too late for many of us older kids now, this breaking news will lead to more equitable distribution of materialistic gifts.
Too bad for you "nice" kids!

NY TIMES: CLAUS OK'D ILLEGAL SURVEILLANCE
The New York Times reported today that Polar authorities are engaged in a secret program to conduct warrantless monitoring of private communications and activities among U.S. minors. Anonymous sources within the State Department and Central Intelligence Agency said the program, codename "Operation Coal Lump," dates as far back as 1879, and recieved approval at the highest echelon of Polar administration, including President Santa Claus himself.
The disclosure of the program sparked an immediate furor among civil libertarian organizations and brats right groups. ACLU spokesman Dan Knaggs said "that chill in the air isn't December -- it's Big Brother Kriss Kringle unconstitutionally watching, and following, and evaluating your every move."

See all of it at iowahawk's site

Faceball

Somedays it's tough to tell who wins.

Our boat's got major leaks!!!!

Why don't we just tell them EVERYTHING we're doing to prevent another 9/11??!!!
The enemy within grows larger in the hunt for increased readership and subsequent advertising dollars. It's just friggin wrong!

US monitored Muslim sites for radiation: report
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials have secretly (not any longer!) monitored radiation levels at Muslim sites, including mosques and private homes, since September 11, 2001 as part of a top secret program searching for nuclear bombs, U.S. News and World Report said on Friday.
An FBI spokesman declined to confirm or deny the U.S. News and World Report article and said, "We can't talk about a classified program."
"The FBI's overriding priority is to prevent, disrupt and defeat terrorist operations in the U.S. All investigations and operations conducted by the FBI are intelligence driven and predicated on specific information about potential criminal acts or terrorist threats, and are conducted in strict conformance with federal law," he added.

(need even further details to the secret program?)

At its peak, the effort involved three vehicles in the Washington area monitoring 120 sites a day, nearly all of them Muslim targets such as prominent mosques and office buildings selected by the FBI, it said.
The program has also operated in at least five other cities -- namely Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, New York, and Seattle -- when threat levels there have risen, it said.

What, no individual names of those who participated? No mug shots?

This is dog gone nuts!

Some people will make the case that dogs are lucky in that they can lick themselves.
Turns out, it's not such a great advantage after all, especially when it's really cold outside.

Dog Frozen to Railroad Tracks Is Rescued

Thursday, December 22, 2005
12-22) 13:33 PST Chippewa Falls, WIS. (AP) --

Jeremy Majorowicz thought something was wrong when he saw a dog sitting on railroad tracks for at least two hours. But he didn't realize how wrong until he and several other men determined that the gray and white husky had been literally frozen to the ties in below zero weather.

The construction worker first saw the dog on the tracks before his crew called off work for the day Monday because of the cold, and headed to a restaurant. But the dog was still there when they returned 1 1/2 hours later.

"I like animals, and I didn't want to see it get hurt," Majorowicz said.

He approached the dog, and offered it a bit of a muffin, but the animal wouldn't bite.

"I have two dogs myself, so I didn't want to leave the dog if there was something wrong," Majorowicz said, so he called the police.

Police Officer Tim Strand said the dog was "shivering unmercifully" when he arrived and would not come to him, so he called animal control officer Al Heyde.

Heyde hooked the dog around the neck with a catch pole in an attempt to capture the dog, but it would not budge.

Strand then determined the dog was frozen to the railroad ties.

"I lifted his tail and hind quarters, and saw he was literally frozen to the tracks," Strand said. "He was pretty hunkered down."

Strand pulled hard on the dog's tail, and was able to release him, but he said the move pulled a lot of hair from the dog.

"He gave a heck of a whelp," the officer said. (duh!)

A train was scheduled to pass across the tracks about 10 minutes after the rescue was completed.

"If the dog would have seen that train I'm afraid it would have been the end of the pupster," Strand said.

The dog was transported to the Chippewa County Humane Association, where it was wrapped in blankets and cuddled until it got warm. (happy ending)

Hungry for a chuckle?

You, too, should belly up!
http://sixmeatbuffet.com/archives/category/12-days-of-christmas/

Voting on the Nation's Budget

This sounds all to familiar from Washington, D.C.

The vote came after Senate Democrats used a last-minute parliamentary objection to force minor changes to the measure, stripping out three small provisions affecting health care policy. The new version now must go back to the House, which passed the legislation Monday 212-206. Although the House is considered sure to pass the bill again, its members would have to be called back to Washington, since most have already gone home for the holidays. Otherwise, final passage could be delayed until early next year.

Too Much Television??

Someone's been watching a little too much television, me thinks.

Letterman Lawyers Fight Restraining Order

SANTA FE, N.M. - Attorneys for television talk show host David Letterman want a judge to quash a restraining order granted to a Santa Fe woman who contends the celebrity used code words to show that he wanted to marry her and train her as his co-host.

A state judge granted a temporary restraining order to Colleen Nestler, who alleged in a request filed last Thursday that Letterman has forced her to go bankrupt and caused her "mental cruelty" and "sleep deprivation" since May 1994.

Nestler requested that Letterman, who tapes his show in New York, stay at least three yards away and not "think of me, and release me from his mental harassment and hammering."

Nestler's application for a restraining order was accompanied by a six-page typed letter in which she said Letterman used code words, gestures and "eye expressions" to convey his desires for her.

She wrote that she began sending Letterman "thoughts of love" after his show began in 1993, and that he responded in code words and gestures, asking her to come East.

She said he asked her to be his wife during a televised "teaser" for his show by saying, "Marry me, Oprah." Her letter said Oprah was the first of many code names for her, and that the coded vocabulary increased and changed with time.

Her letter does not say why she recently sought a restraining order.

Huffing and Puffing

A gray wolf peers from beneath cover, July 16, 2004, at the Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake, Minn. The Bush administration is working on a new plan for removing Endangered Species Act protections for thriving populations of gray wolves in the Great Lakes and Northern Rockies after deciding not to fight a federal court ruling that found the old plan illegal. Assistant Interior Secretary Craig Manson, in a statement released Tuesday,Dec. 20, 2005, said he continued to believe the old plan was 'biologically and legally sound' _ but the Department of the Interior would be issuing a new proposal 'as early as possible in 2006.'
(AP Photo/Dawn Villella, File)

I say, "Don't remove them. Let the wolves thin the herd."
Just the sick and weak ones, though.

Speaking of Evolution....

That's how works. Simple.

Then there's this.....

U.S. Army Digs Up Weapons Cache in Iraq
By RYAN LENZ, Associated Press Writer
ZUWAD KHALAF, Iraq - U.S. soldiers in the northern Iraqi desert dug up more than 1,000 aging rockets and missiles wrapped in plastic, some of which were buried as recently as two weeks ago, Army officials said Tuesday.
Commanders in the 101st Airborne Division said an Iraqi tipped them off to the buried weapons, perhaps an indication that residents in this largely Sunni Arab region about 150 miles north of Baghdad are beginning to warm up to coalition forces.
"The tide is turning," said 2nd Lt. Patrick Vardaro, 23, of Norwood, Mass., a platoon leader in the division's 187th Infantry Regiment. "It's better to work with Americans than against us."

........

Vardaro would not comment on whether there were signs the caches had been used recently to make bombs. But service records accompanying the missiles dated to 1984, suggesting they were buried by the Iraqi military under Saddam Hussein.

Still, the plastic around some of the rockets — of Soviet, German and French origins — appeared to be fresh and had not deteriorated as it had on some of the older munitions.

Test question:
What three countries bitched the loudest about wanting to continue the UN resolution process with Iraq instead of just ridding the world of the problem, along with the problem's sons?
Hint in bold above.
Why those three? Obviously because they were selling plastic sheeting (and maybe other things?) to Sadam. Those bastards.

Making Plans!

They might include this kind of fun.

Feel the wind in your face as you cruise down our exhilarating tubing hill. Located in the East Village at the base of the SuperBee lift, the Tubing Hill is great fun for the young, and the young at heart. And, there's no skill or equipment required - just a sense of adventure and a desire for excitement. Copper's Tubing Hill has lanes like no other, and is sure to please every level of thrill seeker. When you've had enough fun, relax and enjoy a warm beverage or any of the other products offered at Copper Station at the base of the Tubing Hill. Family fun doesn't have to end when the lifts close because the Tubing Hill is open late, but plan ahead because space is limited.

Judge THIS, Jones!

Things that really make me say WTF.

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A judge on Tuesday barred the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution at a Pennsylvania school, saying in a scathing rebuke to the school board that it violated a constitutional ban on teaching religion in public schools.

"Our conclusion today is that it is unconstitutional to teach intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in a public school classroom," Jones wrote in a 139-page opinion in the case, brought against the Dover School District.

Jones condemned the "breathtaking inanity" of the policy of the board, all but one of whom have now been ousted by local voters.

"Any asserted secular purposes by the board are a sham and are merely secondary to a religious objective," he said.

blah, blah, blah, blah.....

In October 2004, Dover became the first U.S. school district to include intelligent design in science curriculum.

Ninth-grade biology students were presented with a four-paragraph statement saying that evolution is a theory, not a fact, and that there are "gaps" in the theory. The statement invited students to consider other explanations of the origins of life, including intelligent design.


My Questions:
Where exactly in the constitution does it ban teaching religion in a public school? How is it unconstitutional to teach or "invite students to consider other explanations"?
Isn't that what school is for, to teach kids to think and draw conclusions?
Where is it shown that Darwin's evolution is undisputed FACT, not just a theory itself?
Who really wins with this ruling?
Is this ruling really done in the best interest of the kids or are they just pawns in someone's political agenda?
Does a judge in this position really have the power to condemn?
WTF is happening to our country?

I remember asking myself how religion fits into this guy Darwin's theory that we all evolved from monkeys, the first time I heard it in school. I struggled with understanding how Adam and Eve fit into that. Were they swinging from the branches of an apple tree?
I reached my own conclusions. Can't they?

Do this NOW!

American soldiers are risking their lives all over the globe defending America's interests and defending the freedoms that many of us take for granted. During Thank a Soldier Week (December 19-25), Townhall.com is encouraging Americans to stop for a moment and give thanks to the men and women risking everything for us.

http://www.thankasoldierweek.com/

It's the very least anyone should do.

hey. Hey. HEY!

Warsh day?
Get your dryer fixed already!!

But no fair spying on them!

The ACLU might just want to keep an eye on anyone trying to spy on the crazy bastards that pulled this job off. Spying wouldn't be fair. That'd be as wrong as umarked patrol cars.

Bet we'll be hearing about this in the coming days.
My hope and prayer is that news will be that the explosives have been recovered and people were arrested without incident and before innocent others could be harmed.

Dec. 19, 2005 — About 400 pounds of explosive material was stolen from a research facility in New Mexico, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed today.
The theft was discovered Sunday night by local authorities.
ATF agents are investigating the large theft from Cherry Enginering, a company owned by Chris Cherry, for decades the senior explosives scientist at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico.
Also, 2,500 detonators were missing from a storage explosive container, or magazine, in the name of Cherry Engineering.
The theft is one of the largest reported cases from a facility in the United States in the last decade ending 2004. During that time, a total of about 1,000 pounds was reported stolen from government facilities in 14 reported incidents. It is unknown whether there is any connection to terrorism.
A special agent at ATF said the incident was unusual because such high-powered material was targeted.
One hundred and fifty pounds of the plastic explosive compound C-4 and 250 pounds of undetectable "sheet explosives" — a DuPont flexible explosive material that can be hidden in books and letters — were stolen in the burglary, which also included the theft of blasting caps.
Burglars used a torch bar to break into the explosives containers and remove the material.
The missing material could potentially make numerous bombs.

Holy wow! Undetectable flexible explosives?!

You Go, W!

As Judge, Jury, Executioner, Joe Six-Pack, Tax payer (big time), Dad, Voter, Well Informed, business man from Fly Over Country, I hereby authorize and order the President of the United States of America to spy on any SOB, intranationally or internationally that is suspected to have dealings or communications with terrorists or any other threat to our safety and well being.
Protect and Serve.
Have at it, Mr. President.

Time's Choice

Hey, it's their magazine and their choice, and they didn't ask me for my input, but what the hell are they thinking?
What about those people with purple fingers?
What about the soldiers who made it possible for them to dip their fingers?
What about that Finn mentioned below who is setting new records?
Bono and the Gates couple? Come on!
Time for outhouse usage only.

Shut Out again

Vikings and Steelers.
Today at Noon.
No local TV coverage by CBS (heavy on the "BS").
But at least ESPN has Men's Bowling.
Awww crap.

*** UPDATE 3:20pm --- Glad I missed seeing that.

Finnish Terrorist

News from Norway

Drunk, naked and record-setting

A troublesome Finn who was arrested causing a disturbance on a Bergen bus on Wednesday turned out to be one of Norway's most annoying characters.

If police are correct, the unruly Finn is known under five different identities, all of which have lengthy records of public disturbance, newspaper Bergens Tidende reports.

"He has received up to 99 fines. Just in Hordaland County police district he has been fined for a total of NOK 95,000 (USD 14,350). This is most likely a Norwegian record," police lawyer Rudolf Christophersen told the newspaper.

On Friday the troublesome Finn was remanded in custody, charged with causing bodily harm, exposing himself and a series of violations of the Vagrancy Act.

Police were called to the scene on Wednesday after receiving a panicky call from a bus driver reporting a naked, drunk and difficult Finn causing trouble on board. When the arrived on the scene the man was visibly drunk and wearing underpants.

According to police the Finn has a noticeable tendency to remove more and more clothing the higher his blood alcohol level gets.

The offender is a Finnish citizen and has previously been expelled and barred from Norway, but has always managed to return.

How to Man Shop

This eases the pain a little bit, anyhow.

High-End Shops Wooing Men With Pizza, Beer
By EMILY FREDRIX, Associated Press Writer
Fri Dec 16, 3:02 PM ET

OMAHA, Neb. - Mike Galaska does not like to shop. He doesn't like the crowds or spending money. It's for women, he says. But pizza and beer? He can handle that.

Galaska, 48, of Bellevue, Neb., was among the hundreds of men who came out for men's night at Omaha jewelry store Borsheim's this week, which uses free pizza and beer to counteract the otherwise intimidating notion of buying jewelry.

High-end retailers such as Borsheim's — part of billionaire Warren Buffett's empire — are changing the way they market themselves and their products to attract male shoppers. Men are shopping more and can be freer with their wallets under the right circumstances, as retailers have found.

Men will buy an estimated $49 billion in apparel this year, a 5 percent rise from last year, said Marshal Cohen, chief analyst at NPD Group Inc., a market research company based in Port Washington, N.Y. Men now buy 70 percent of their own clothing, up from 25 percent in 1985, so stores are doing what they can to attract these often reluctant shoppers, he said.

Galaska's wife filled out her wishlist the previous week at Borsheim's ladies' night. All Galaska had to do this week was say her name, and clerks began to bring out what his wife wanted.

"Whatever she brings, I'm going to buy," Galaska said of the salesclerk.

And buy he did — a silver chain necklace — before getting more pizza and beer.

Sales can increase as much as tenfold when a men's night is held and morale among salespeople stays high for weeks afterward, Konheim said.

"It's a very easy atmosphere for a guy to get lulled into having a good time and spending a lot of dough," he said.

Jim Suchy spent his dough at Borsheim's, after waiting outside for his fiancee during women's night. He bought her something earlier in the week, but came back just to indulge in men's night, he said.

Nestled in a leather lounge chair and watching a movie, the 62-year-old from Omaha couldn't have been happier with his holiday shopping experience.

"This is my idea of shopping right here, watching TV, drinking beer and eating pizza," Suchy said.

Friday. Dinner.

Repeat as necessary.
Or would that be "Repeat, as it's necessary"?

Blogosphere Growing Pains

Being relatively new to this blogging thing, which is quite evident by the “worth” calculated and mentioned in a previous posting here (which I’d link to here if I wanted to take the time to do so), as well as by the content posted since this blog’s inception, I am the first to admit my rank amateur status in the blogosphere.

As a student of the whole phenomenon, however, witnessed by my url tracks on many, many site meters I’m certain, I do find it curious how it’s growing up and evolving.

Specifically, the formation of the Pajamas Media http://pajamasmedia.com/site/about/
and their perceived or actual restraints on what used to seem like independent blog authors who have turned their hobby into a business by joining or being invited into that organization. From my perspective, it’s big business (not necessarily all that evil and bad) entering into, and thereby affecting in its usual fashion, what used to be a much more personal, private, independent sphere.

Growing pains from this are evident by a few holdouts like the great Hog On Ice http://www.hogonice.com/ which I’ve visited often and look up to as an example of what this blogging thing “should” be. Funny, opinionated, not afraid to offend anyone, passionate about quite a variety of subjects, somewhat egotistical at times, and most importantly, well spoken.
Lately, the little pissing contest between these two has provided quite a bit of entertainment for me, along with an interesting study of personalities and the sphere’s growing pains. Growing pains as it becomes a more organized force as an alternative to the Main Street Media (MSM) which we all know and don’t much trust or love anymore.

I actually know a guy who still relies on the MSM for all of his news and information about going’s on in the world, in spite of my beating him over the head and shoulders for living like that. Can you imagine? He’s a misguided fool/tool of the MSM, just like so so many more used to be before the online media gained in popularity. But, alas, I digress.

Anyways, it’s kind of interesting to watch all this. It’ll be fun and a learning experience to see how it all shakes out and develops.

I, for one, will be a student in the audience. Always learning. Hardly ever applying what’s learned, though. Staying disunreconnected, I suppose.

Ho,Ho, Ho.

Lapland Santa
Don't know where Lapland is? Google it.

Why readership is sooooo low

I do believe I've discovered the primary reason, or at least a contributing factor, in the disappointingly low readership of this blog. Seems there's a bunch of people who can't read English. No wonder!

By BEN FELLER
AP Education Writer
Dec 15 12:26 PM US/Eastern
WASHINGTON - An estimated in one in 20 U.S. adults is not literate in English, which means 11 million people lack the skills to perform everyday tasks, a federal study shows. From 1992 to 2003, the nation's adults made no progress in their ability to read a newspaper, a book or any other prose arranged in sentences and paragraphs.

For certain it couldn't be the content!
Maybe if I type slower, that'll help?

Wonder who's headed South with THIS??!!

There must be someone who's headed south from the Great White Frozen North bringing this kind of weather with them. Wonder if that's ever happened previously elsewhere?
I bet it has.

Ice Leaves 300,000 Without Power in South

ATLANTA - Freezing rain and ice jolted the South on Thursday, closing schools, snarling traffic and knocking out power to about 300,000 customers from Atlanta to Charlotte, N.C.

The outages were caused by ice — up to half an inch thick — that formed on tree limbs and fell onto power lines. About 190,000 were reported without power in western North Carolina and South Carolina's upstate, 57,000 in the Atlanta area and nearly 50,000 across parts of northeast Georgia.

Ten school systems were closed in Georgia and more than a dozen closed in North Carolina, where mountain communities in the western part of the state were told to expect 1 to 3 inches of snow and sleet.

The weather also caused delays of more than an hour at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Forecasters expected the temperatures to increase above freezing across much of the region by Thursday afternoon, but then dip back into the 20s overnight.

Pretty Much Happy

Now it's official: Mona Lisa was 83 percent happy, nine percent disgusted, six percent fearful and two percent angry, at least according to face recognition software analysis.

Back Hair Begone

Here's a little something for that Sasquatch on your gift list.

If waxing isn't for you and you haven't convinced the lady in your life to take a razor to your back just yet (or maybe that's why you don't HAVE a lady in your life), the good people at Razorba have created a gadget that's available for just $30 and is shaped to allow you to shave your back without any help. As you can see from the interesting illustrations, it includes a patented razor handle wand that holds any standard razor you may use (though a razor is included when you order it). It's ergonomically designed and gives you back your dignity, you hairy men. Also comes in gold and platinum editions, for $52 and $70 respectively. No word on if they're working on a beer gut removal system.

(Someone ought to Fark this.)

Sit in the corner and pout then, ya big baby.

Only THIS much higher.

Gave this old coot another quarter today.
Should have locked in a rate yesterday.

Mark Your Calendars

Sober Worm Attack Set for January 6

Computer users and system administrators, take note. According to iDefense, a division of VeriSign (Nasdaq: VRSN - news), on January 6, 2006, the world will see the release of a new version of the Sober worm. Security analysts hope that, at least in this instance, being forewarned can lead to being forearmed, and that computer users will take the time before the attack to update their security software.

Durham said this so-called "hactivism" came to light over a period time because the worm's authors would promote their code and spread it on historical dates of significance. For instance, November 22, the date of the most recent Sober release, was also the day Germany's first female chancellor was inaugurated. January 6 marks the 87th anniversary of the founding of the Nazi Party in Germany.

"It's not a question of someone crying wolf," said Theriault. "It's just that there are so many wolves, there is a lot of crying going on. It's just one more thing in a never-ending stream of security problems for Windows."

Aimless Argument

Apparently living with your brother can be a little stressful during the holidays.


HAINES FALLS -- A family blowout degraded into what State Police called a "Dodge City" shotgun battle between two Haines Falls brothers Sunday inside the home they shared.
Wesley N. Hall, 19, and Watson A. Hall, 21, were both in the Greene County Jail in lieu of $10,000 cash bail Sunday night after, authorities say, the two became incensed at each other sometime before 9 a.m., grabbed a shotgun each and opened fire.
Despite exchanging blasts from 12- and 20-gauge shotguns, neither brother was seriously injured, authorities said.
Both were cut by glass blown from a window and skylight destroyed in the gunplay.
"They got injured more from the glass that was in the house after their little escapades," said one law enforcement official, who asked that his name not be used.
Troopers received a call for shots fired and responded to the home to find one brother, Watson, already outside. He was taken into custody while authorities made phone contact with Wesley, who was still inside. He also surrendered.
Both were charged with felony first-degree reckless endangerment and misdemeanor menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.
Watson Hall also was charged with misdemeanor criminal possession of a controlled substance, though authorities declined to identify the substance pending test results.
At one point, Wesley appears to have had both shotguns, police said. But exactly what happened inside, and what they were fighting over, was not clear late Sunday. It also wasn't clear how many shots were fired inside what police called "a decent-size" house.
Asked if they were sharing the same cell, a jail official said: "They're not even in the same tier."

Ice Fishing Tip

Shiners and a good monofilament line seem to be working well on the bears this season.

Coupla chickens

Pussies, never made it to the top.

Weekend Project

Some assembly required

Late for Supper

Hunter Rescued After Being Trapped Upside Down For 8 Hours In Deer Stand
POSTED: 2:36 am EST December 10, 2005
MOUNT HOLLY, Ark. -- A hunter suffered hypothermia and kidney damage after becoming entangled in his deer stand and dangling upside down 30 feet above the ground in sleet for 81/2 hours.
Raybon E. Upton was hunting by himself Wednesday when his ankle became caught on the deer stand and he slipped. He was trapped there until about midnight when rescuers called by his wife were finally able to free him.
"I had cooked a big supper and he wasn't home, then I just got this gut feeling that something wasn't right. And I went out there and found him," Tammy Upton said Friday.
Upton was conscious but trapped when his wife found him about 8:30 p.m. and call for help. A firefighter was able to secure him with a rope until a fire crew with a ladder could free him.
Upton underwent surgery on Thursday and had another scheduled Saturday and Monday, his wife said.
"He thought he was going to die there," Tammy Upton said. "He had made his peace with God and everything."

Neither Tammy nor Raybon answered the doorbell for further comment.

Bragging or Complaining?

I'm torn.
Fair trade or hosed?
Who knows.

Turk proposes runaway wife swap 09 December 2005
ISTANBUL: A Turkish villager who ran away with his friend's wife has offered his own wife in exchange, newspapers said.
Farm labourer Cengiz Esme said Gulhan, his wife of 18 years, disappeared a month ago after leaving their village to go shopping in the southern Turkish town of Tarsus.
The 36-year-old said his village friend Mehmet Yaksi had telephoned him the next day and said: "I've run off with your wife. . .. You take my wife," the Radikal daily reported.
Esme pleaded for Gulhan to return and said he was ready to forgive her and make a fresh start elsewhere. The reports said Yaksi's wife, a mother of three, declined to comment on the situation.

Typo, schmypo

TOKYO - Japan's government rebuked the Tokyo Stock Exchange and one of the country's biggest brokerage firms Friday after a typing error caused Mizuho Securities Co. to lose at least 27 billion yen ($225 million) on a stock trade.

The trouble began Thursday morning, when a trader at Mizuho Securities tried to sell 610,000 shares at 1 yen (less than a penny) apiece in a job recruiting company called J-Com Co., which was having its public debut on the exchange. It had intended to sell 1 share at 610,000 yen ($5,041).

Worse still, the number of shares in Mizuho's order was 41 times that of J-Com's true outstanding amount, but the Tokyo Stock Exchange processed the order anyway.

Mizuho says another trader tried to cancel the order three times, but the exchange said it doesn't cancel transactions even if they are executed on erroneous orders.

He's coming soon!!!!

My little brother always liked Santa (as much as ever).

Live you long time

Americans' life expectancy increased again. According to the government's calculations, a child born in 2003 can expect to live 77.6 years on average, up from 77.3 the year before. In 1990, life expectancy was 75.4 years.

Before you get too excited about that increase, though, take a precious second to realize it's added on the end, not in the middle when you could take full advantage of it.

Another game anyone?

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Go Vote!

2005 Weblog Awards
Michael Yon
Vote for his blog and stories.
Vote often.

http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/2005/12/weblog-awards-2005.html

Now here's a classic

You drop a 283 in there with a four barrel carb and dual glass pack exhaust and get rid of those white wall tires and put in an 8-track player with rear speakers.... now you're talkin'.

America is the Land of Opportunity

You work hard. You get an education. You're ethical, loyal, persistant, dedicated and professional. You learn from others. You get along with others. You're tactful, moral and chivalress. You do onto others. You set high goals. You work hard. You share (god I hate that word) like Mrs. Call taught you in kindergarden. You even take daily naps like she taught you.
You generally bust your ass. Day in, day out. You try to give people something to smile about, be it humor or good service or a smile or thanks. You follow the rules. You pay your dues.
And you get ahead.
But the blogoshere, well.... not so much, it seems.

My blog is worth $0.00.
How much is your blog worth?

I nose first hand.....

This kinda hurts.

Sent to me

I did not write this, nor was I witness to it, but I have been as guilty as the next in needing a reminder.

Here it is:
I sat in my seat of the Boeing 767 waiting for everyone to hurry and stow their carry-ons and grab a seat so we could start what I was sure to be a long, uneventful flight home.
With the huge capacity and slow moving people taking their time to stuff luggage far too big for the overhead and never paying much attention to holding up the growing line behind them, I simply shook my head knowing that this flight was not starting out very well. I was anxious to get home to see my loved ones so I was focused on my issues and just felt like standing up and yelling for some of these clowns to get their act together.
I knew I couldn't say a word so I just thumbed thru the "Sky Mall" magazine from the seat pocket in front of me.
You know it's really getting rough when you resort to the over priced, useless sky mall crap to break the monotony.
With everyone finally seated, we just sat there with the cabin door open and no one in any hurry to get us going although we were well past the scheduled take off time.
No wonder the airline industry is in trouble I told myself.
Just then, the attendant came on the intercom to inform us all that we were being delayed.
The entire plane let out a collective groan.
She resumed speaking to say "We are holding the aircraft for some very special people who are on their way to the plane and the delay shouldn't be more than 5 minutes.
The word came after waiting six times as long as we were promised that I was finally going to be on my way home.
Why the hoopla over "these" folks?
I was expecting some celebrity or sport figure to be the reason for the hold up ...
Just get their butts in a seat and let's hit the gas I thought.

The attendant came back on the speaker to announce in a loud and excited voice that we were being joined by several U.S. Marines returning home from Iraq!!!

Just as they walked on board, the entire plane erupted into applause.

The men were a bit taken by surprise by the 340 people cheering for them as they searched for their seats.
They were having their hands shook and touched by almost everyone who was within an arm's distance of them as they passed down the aisle. One elderly woman kissed the hand of one of the Marines as he passed by her.
The applause, whistles and cheering didn't stop for a long time.
When we were finally airborne, I was not the only civilian checking his conscience as to the delays in "me" getting home, finding my easy chair, a cold beverage and the remote in my hand.
These men had done for all of us and I had been complaining silently about "me" and "my" issues I took for granted the everyday freedoms I enjoy and the conveniences of the American way of life.
I took for granted that others had paid the price for my ability to moan
and complain about a few minutes delay to "me" while those Heroes were
going home to their loved ones.
I attempted to get my selfish outlook back in order and minutes before we landed, I suggested to the attendant that she announce over the speaker a request for everyone to remain in their seats until our heroes were allowed to gather their things and be first off the plane.
The cheers and applause continued until the last Marine stepped off and we all rose to go about our too often taken for granted everyday freedoms.
I felt proud of them.
I felt it an honor and a privilege to be among the first to welcome them home and say "Thank You for a job well done."
I vowed that I will never forget that flight nor the lesson learned. I can't say it enough, THANK YOU to those Veterans and active servicemen and women who may read this and a prayer for those who cannot because they are no longer with us.
GOD BLESS AMERICA!

WELCOME HOME! AND THANKS FOR A JOB WELL DONE!!!!!

I can only add:
I did thank a young Marine in an airport last Veteran's Day, for his service to our country. He was returning home, fresh from having just completed Basic Training. He seemed to appreciate the comment, but the moment quickly passed as a woman I suspect was his mother, ran to greet him.

Remembrance

For those around back then, remembrance.
For those of us younger, undying respect for them.

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - About 2,000 sailors, veterans, community leaders and guests bowed their heads Wednesday in remembrance of the attack on Pearl Harbor that hurled the U.S. into World War II 64 years ago.

A True Legend

Freakin awsome!

Well, just eat my johnson!

Long, hard, cold day.

A Monday, to boot.
Tonight: Bitterly cold. Light snow this evening giving way to partly cloudy conditions late. Low -3F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.

So where do you go?
A nice quiet place, well insulated from the world, 170 degrees above zero and very, very steamy. It's like a two hour mini-vacation.
Do it.

#2 Survey Results

Flushing out the secrets of America's websurfers, a new survey of Internet use has found that more and more people are logging on -- in the bathroom.(AFP/Illustration)

In related news, many people will answer surveys with what they deem as the weirdest or funniest possible answers, like "in the bathroom".

Don't forget to wash your keyboard afterwards.

Go dog, go.

Dogs fitted with the cameras help during gun sieges.
That's all well and good, but what about that licking themselves thing? Do you really want to see that on video?

Welcome to our place

There we are.

Global Warming, my frozen backside

Oh, for cryin out loud.
Like any REAL hockey fan would be found dead in a scarf that color.
That'll get ya five in the sin-bin, nancy.

Santa delivers his package.