July 29, 2005
Courtesy of the husband (of course. who else do you think sends me this stuff?) we have someone's imaginings of what would be said in the chatroom if WWII had been an online strategy game, instead of an actual war.
A small sampling for your amusement:
{...}deGaulle: **** Hitler rushed some1 helpHitler[AoE]: lol byebye frenchy
Roosevelt: i dont got **** to help, sry
Churchill: wtf the luftwaffle is attacking me
Roosevelt: get antiair guns
Churchill: i cant afford them
benny-tow: u n00bs know what team talk is?
paTTon: stfu
Roosevelt: o yah hit the navajo button guys
deGaulle: eisenhower ur worthless come help me quick
Eisenhower: i cant do **** til rosevelt gives me an army
paTTon: yah hurry the fock up
Churchill: d00d im gettin pounded
deGaulle: this is fockin weak u guys suck
*deGaulle has left the game.*
Roosevelt: im gonna attack the axis k?
benny-tow: with what? ur wheelchair?
benny-tow: lol did u mess up ur legs AND ur head?
Hitler[AoE]: ROFLMAO {...}
Heheheheh. Go read the whole thing.
And if you have trouble with the Leet Speak, don't ask me.
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...it's the husband's 35th birthday today.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEETHEART!
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08:35 AM
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July 28, 2005
Understandably, I had a hard time believing him.
But, apparently it's true. I wonder how much these women had to do with it.
Moderate Muslims would be wise to learn this lesson. I've read speculation that, given the neighborhoods involved, the attack of 7/7 was as much an attack on the British Government via its citizens as it was on the Muslim population of London. The neighborhoods involved are heavily populated by Muslims and this was, perhaps, a way of trying to terrorize them into compliance with the Islamofascists message. I don't know if this is true, and I don't know if we'll ever find out, but it stands to reason that if Al-Qaeda and its minions thought they could kill two birds with one stone, they would. We don't hear much from moderate Muslims about the civil war that is occurring in their religion (Islamofascists vs. moderate Muslims; those who would advocate a return to the stone age and those who advocate civilization) and, again, it's been speculated that it's because these moderate Muslims are afraid to speak up, for fear that the Islamofascists will turn on them.
Well, it appears that six women---who loved a man as a brother and a fiancee---proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back when it came to the IRA. Robert McCartney, a Belfast Catholic, was murdered for no other reason than he was critical of the IRA and had the guts to speak truth to power. When the IRA offered to "take care of the matter" the women who loved him refused, and instead opted to speak out. The IRA is an organization that used as much terror on its supporters as it did the British.
It should be a lesson to those moderate Muslims we only hear from when they're worried about being attacked themselves that only by speaking out and denouncing the Islamofascists acts---by refusing to play the game the Islamofascists way---will they spare themselves an IRA-like rule of terror. They have got to start denouncing these actions now, and they must do it loudly. They cannot only be worried about the racial profiling of their community, but rather must integrate further into their communities. They must learn that there can only be respect for their faith when they are not silent about the acts that some would commit in the name of it. This will spare them a reign of terror like that of the IRA's. Because, if 7/7 wasn't a message to moderate Muslims to get with the program, it should be said that that message is already being played daily in Baghdad. And that's the message we really don't want to be played in the streets of London or New York or D.C.---or anywhere for that matter.
It's past time for them to choose.
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10:17 PM
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See, I'm at a complete and utter loss, so I shall make shit up. Work for you? Ok, good. It's not like you mind, right? Because if you're a devoted Cake Eater reader you're obviously fond of bullshit, so this isn't really a big leap.
Have you seen those commercials for some allergy medication, where a woman is narrating about her woes with allergies? Then, miraculously, once she starts taking this medication her woes are over with. The entire background starts out full of people and things, these people and things disappear (obviously because this woman has allergies) and then once the woman starts taking the medication, all those things that disappeared reappear, replete with a neato popping sound effect. One of the people who disappears is a "boyfriend with cats." Are we all on the same page here? We are. FABULOUS!
What I don't understand is why this dude reappears.
There's two problems here: the dude still has the cats, which apparently affects the very essential ability of the young woman he's dating to take in the air she needs to breathe, and why on earth would anyone subject themselves to heavy duty allergy medication just to get their boyfriend (and his cats) back? The dude apparently wants her, but still wants his cats too. That sounds pretty selfish to me.
Cat allergies are a pretty big deal, of you didn't know. There are varying degrees of sensitivity, but as I'm married to a man who can walk into a place and tell if there's been a cat in the domicile sometime in the preceding five years, I'm just going to assume everyone's like him. (Work with me here, people.) If I had had a cat when I started dating the husband, he never would have become the boyfriend without me getting rid of the cat. And it would have been selfish of me to keep the damn cat when things started getting serious. I can understand not wanting to jettison a much-loved pet after the first date, but come on. This chick in the commercial was obviously beyond the first date. Yet, she apparently loved this selfish cat owner enough to go on daily allergy medication which probably came with the requisite warning advising against heavy machinery while drugged up. How dumb was she, too, while we're at it? This dude is apparently insensitive to the fact she needs to breathe, yet he refuses to get rid of the one thing that causes his girlfriend agony: his cat. And she goes along with it. Duh.
I think that tells you rather a lot regarding this one cat owner and the girls he dates. He apparently likes them willing to do his bidding, to put his priorities and needs first, even if it's not the best option for their health.
Why, I'll even bet he's asked her to clean out the litter box!
The NERVE of some people!
I suppose the lesson of all this is that if the object of your affection has more consideration for the needs of their pets, that means they think their (and we're talking about the pet owner here) needs are more important than that of their signifcant other. Which means they're selfish and you should probably dump them. It's just not going to work.
Ok, so now that I've bloviated authoritatively on a subject which I know nothing about, go and read what the other daring demystifying divas---Sadie, Chrissy, and Silk---have to say. Ruth at Chaos Theory was supposed to be our guest diva today, but since she's occupied with something else, she has, in one fell swoop, shifted the Diva/Men's Club operational balance by---gasp---asking a man to chime in. It's supposed to be five girls to four guys, hence ensuring we always win, but alas this week the boys have a chance at gender equity. If you're in favor of that sort of thing, Men's Libertation, that is, go and visit Tincanman to see what his take on the topic is. And while you're at it, go and visit The Wiz, Phin, Stiggy and the Naked Villains for even more testosterone blogging.
Posted by: Kathy at
07:51 PM
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Did I do something wrong?
Posted by: Steve at
12:02 PM
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It wasn't my faauuuullltttt!!!!!
YIPS From Kathy: Dude, I'll believe that when pigs start sprouting wings.
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10:55 AM
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July 27, 2005
I always love the ego wall the best---the wall in their house where they have their little slivers from their brushes with fame.
Well, I have to report, ladies and gentlemen, that our old pal Kathy has been holding out on us a wee bit..... more...
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08:03 PM
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Posted by: Steve at
07:28 PM
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The problem is, you let your neighbors have the keys, and then you forget about it.
Honey, I'm Home.....
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11:18 AM
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I'm leaving town for the day. WooT! Exciting stuff, no? I haven't been out of the Cities since, well, last October. This is heady stuff for moi. I can't wait.
Anyway, the Cake Eater Sister and her family are out at a lake a couple of hours west of here and the husband and I are going to visit for the day. Hence, you're all SOL as far as blogging entertainment is concerned. I know, you're bereft and all that jazz. Well, all I can really tell you is that you'll live. Maybe not happily, but you'll live nonetheless.
Things should be back to normal on Thursday. Have a great day!
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12:00 AM
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July 26, 2005
This is proof that I know just enough about computers to be dangerous.
{Hat Tip: Robbo, who really is a nerd}
UPDATE: From MRN aka "The Husband"
meh
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02:44 PM
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I particularly like the one about Robbo. Heh. And, in case you were wondering, Sadie's going to dethrone Ann Coulter. {Insert sorts of glee here} Someone needs to show that leggy bitch who's boss and Sadie's just the girl to do it.
Posted by: Kathy at
02:27 PM
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He received an autographed book: Fence Line by Curtis Bauer
Curt is one of the husband's friends from high school. Apparently, they played football together and bonded on their high school's trip to Germany. What's more is that we believe that the "Michael Nelson" listed in the author's acknowledgements is, indeed, the husband. (There are a lot of Michael Nelsons in the world, so it could be someone else, but we don't think it is.)
Pretty cool, eh?
So, if you like poetry and would like to give an Iowa boy a leg up, go and buy his book. Christopher Buckley liked his stuff, so if you need legitimate literary props before you spend money on such a thing, you're covered.
Posted by: Kathy at
12:21 PM
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Some twelve years ago, I was introduced to one of the husband's fraternity brothers. We'll call him R. At the time, R. was dating a lovely girl who we shall call J. J. and I hit it off instaneously. R. married J. about a month after we got married and we and have been good friends ever since. R. is a cycling fanatic and he's translated that love into a great career working for a world renowned cycling company. Recently, he was transferred from the U.S. to Switzerland. I don't know precisely what his job entails for the company anymore, but I do know that for some of the Tour he got to work support crew, helping to take care of their bikes. I'm assuming this was a dream come true for him, considering that in his spare time he used to assemble bikes from free spare parts. (He actually made an all titanium bike. You could pick it up with one finger! He loves titanium so much that his wedding ring is made out of titanium.) Anyway, R. and J. were in Paris over the weekend, and had some great seats in the bleachers and backstage access to the riders. They also got to ride in the parade with the support crew, just behind their riders. Anyway, to get on to the perhaps not-so-juicy Sheryl Crow gossip, I quote from J.'s email:
{...}After he spoke at the Podium his girlfriend Sheryl Crow's song was played on the loud speakers. It was SO TACKY. Everyone groaned, of course. She wanted some attention too !His ex-wife and their nanny were the women you saw on the TV next to ol
Sheryl. The rumors all over that day were that Sheryl was flown to Switzerland to a fertility clinic to be artificially inseminated with some of Lance's healthy sperm. Not sure if it true- you back in the States would know more about that tabloid gossip than me ! Anyway, Sheryl wants to get married and Lance is going to take it easy{...}
Heheheheh. I can almost buy it, can't you? Tee hee.
My bad. I know. I'm a horrible person, but I couldn't quite resist.
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10:43 AM
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Well, then it would be your lucky day as The Cotillion is up and running. Go and visit these fine sites to get your Rhumba groove on:
My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
e-Claire
Who Tends The Fires
Posted by: Kathy at
09:52 AM
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Check it out if you get the chance.
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01:09 AM
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July 25, 2005
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) -NASA is prepared to waive a flight safety rule so it can launch space shuttle Discovery on the first mission since the 2003 Columbia accident if a fuel sensor glitch reoccurs, managers at the U.S. space agency said on Monday.The malfunction involving one of four hydrogen fuel sensors forced NASA to postpone Discovery's first launch attempt on July 13. For its second liftoff attempt on Tuesday, NASA is considering changing a rule that all four sensors must be working.
"Any time you talk about changing a launch (rule), that is a big deal," said Stephanie Stilson, Discovery's vehicle manager.
"It's huge. That is not something we would go into lightly, as we should not," Stilson said in an interview.
Officials said NASA was willing to waive the rule requiring all four sensors to be working because it feels there are sufficient safeguards and they are confident the shuttle's safety would not be endangered even if one sensor malfunctioned.
Liftoff of Discovery and seven astronauts on a long-delayed resupply mission to the International Space Station remained on track for 10:39 a.m. EDT (1439 GMT), despite minor damage found on a heat resistant tile on Monday that delayed launch preparations slightly.
NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham said technicians spotted a "small ding" on one of the tiles that protects the spaceship from superheated atmospheric gases on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, and it was "swapped out." Launch preparations were quickly brought back on schedule, Buckingham said.{...}
Sigh. I feel sorry for the poor people at NASA. That they should have to defend the action of waiving a rule that says you have to have four working sensors when three are working is ridiculous. Never mind that the fourth sensor is three times redundant, these poor people have to defend their actions to the utmost, otherwise this could be---ahem---something an astronaut could die from!
Well, far be it from me to point this out, but I do believe these astronauts know what the hell they're getting themselves into when they strap into a machine that's going to slingshot them into space. Nothing in this world is perfect, particularly not with a machine that flies into space. The entire endeavor is not safe. It never has been and it never will be. Figure it out.
What is it with these nannies in the media and in Congress? Ever since Columbia exploded two and a half years ago, I've watched in awe as everyone and their mother has bellyached about making space travel safer. And by that I don't mean they want to make it safe within reasonable expectations. They want the shuttle to be a freakin' Volvo, replete with side airbags and parachutes for the astronauts. They seem to think that if the astronauts had parachutes and a better way of exiting a space shuttle that's---ahem---in the process of exploding at a high altitude, these astronauts would be able to exit the shuttle and pull a rip cord. They would then float safely to earth from 50,000 feet or higher and would live to tell the tale.
Ok, that's a nice thought, but it's not going to happen. Do you remember how quickly both Columbia and Challenger exploded? I believe it took eight seconds for Columbia to explode. That's simply not enough time for the astronauts to undo their restraints and jump out of an escape hatch. Never mind that parachuting from that altitude is generally something only SEAL's do on on a rare occassion. The only reason pilots of F-18's and the like find themselves alive after an accident is because the roof of their plane explodes and they're forcefully ejected from their plane. Nothing even remotely similar was proposed for the Space Shuttle in all of the caterwauling that occurred after Columbia exploded. They simply couldn't remodify the shuttle for such a thing. Which should be a big honkin' clue to the rest of us that the commission meetings were not about making the shuttle safer: they were about making the people on the ground feel better about astronauts dying. They were doing something. Well, that's all well and good, but what did they actually get done at the end of the day? What, exactly, is different on Discovery because of Columbia's explosion? If they'd really wanted to make the shuttle safer, they would have done something about those ridiculous tiles that have been a problem since day one, wouldn't they? Those tiles were directly responsible for Columbia's demise, but they did nothing about them. The shuttle is still lined with them.
Space travel is something we're obviously still working out. The shuttle was a big step toward making a reusable aircraft. What I don't understand is how people could not understand that we don't know everything when it comes to flying into space. We just don't. We're still working on figuring it out. These new Magellans and de Gamas, our astronauts, know this. I have to think that they know precisely what they're risking in this endeavor to learn more. If they're willing to take on that burden, why shouldn't we, the people on the ground, trust that they know what they're doing?
I'm not saying that NASA doesn't have it's problems. God only knows that that organization has its issues. But it's time to go already. They shouldn't have to defend against worthless accusations of not wrapping the shuttle up in bubble wrap.
Nothing will happen tomorrow when---and if---the shuttle lifts off. It will all go smoothly, I predict.
So, stop worrying and light the fuse, already, eh?
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10:56 PM
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{...}Mr Flatters, chief executive of Future Foundation, the research group, thinks a tendency to take a po-faced attitude to the indulgences of others is on the increase. He has even turned this into a trend: the rise of the neo-Croms - short for neo-Cromwellians, in a nod to the censorious 17th century English statesman.Neo-Croms support curtailing the consumption of alcohol, smoking, rich foods and some technology on health grounds and patronage of SUVs, budget airlines and mass tourism on environmental ones. To their critics, however, they seem keenest on regulating other people.
Mr Flatters said: "There is a culture out there in favour of restricting other people's pleasures. If you're a smoker but don't drink, then you are quite happy to see regulation on drinking. This is an assault on pleasure and many businesses are likely to see more regulation."
Evidence for the prosecution include calls by neo-Croms for tighter regulation of advertising for fast food and children's brands in European markets; smoking bans in New York, the Irish Republic, Sweden, Norway and Italy; and protests against SUV sales.
The most jaw-dropping claim made by the Future Foundation is that in a poll of 1,000 UK adults, 30 per cent agreed that pregnant women should receive a police caution for smoking in public.{...}
The rest of the article ponders the wisdom of actually gearing marketing towards these neo-Croms. It seems this might just be a fad, instead of a trend. Hence, the backlash could be huge against companies who gear marketing campaigns toward these people.
Which is hopeful, no?
In any case, spread the phrase around. It deserves wider recognition and is much classier than "smoking Nazis."
Posted by: Kathy at
10:36 PM
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"Left Behind: Eternal Forces" is a real-time strategy game set in New York during the End of Days, which will allow gamers to choose between the angelic Tribulation Forces and the demonic Global Community Peacekeepers in a multiplayer online mode. The game is set to ship before Easter.Left Behind CEO Troy Lyndon said the books have a diverse loyal reader base of more than 10 million parents, single adults, teens and kids. He said the company, which was founded in October 2001, will invest more money and resources into its first game than any Christian game has ever seen. Lyndon also said his games will be sold at Wal-Mart, which accounts for about 25% of all game sales.
"If only 10% of the readership buys our game, it will be a top hit, selling more than 1 million units," Lyndon said.
Pidgeon said that while a game success on the level of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" movie might be possible down the road with a big franchise like "Left Behind," films are still much more accessible to the Christian demographic than video games.{...}
The husband, Mr. MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) himself has confidently predicted that everyone is going to want to be an evil Global Community Peacekeeper, no matter how much they love the Lord.
{Hat Tip: Steeeeeve-o.}
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09:04 PM
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The author grew up in Sicily, but moved to London to start a law practice and has since become a novelist. The anecdotes she shares are startling, if for no other reason than that they show the Sicilian populace's willing participation in the system of "clientelism" that brings the mafia its power. Even if the participation is that of the unthinking variety:
{...}”Mafiosita” lurks within me, and it came out powerfully last summer. I was at our family estate in Sicily. My grandchild cut his hand; while I was holding him in my arms, blood flowed copiously. I rushed to the telephone and called a friend: “Whom do you know at A&E?”, I asked. Had I been in London, I would have gone straight to the local hospital.I thought long and hard on that episode, and was shamed. Distrustful of the ability of the local health service to deliver services without an “introduction”, I had resorted to the “known ways”: personal contact. My friend is just a friend, but for people less privileged than I, the Mafia is always ready - at a price - to be the “best of all friends”, and it has friends in all places. Sciascia was right: there is “something of the Mafia” in each of us. My father would have been ashamed of me.{...}
Go read the whole thing. It's fascinating.
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12:59 PM
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