Friday Cat Blogging

T-chan responding to McCain's convention address.

He did perk up his ears when McCain said "She's worked with her hands and nose..."

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:44:31 PDT - Link

That's Odd.

I'm not sure if I'm the only one who noticed, but during tonight's Republican speeches there was someone in the audience who had a loud, distinctive and distracting shout, which they elected to use just one beat out of sync with the rest of the crowd, close enough to the stage mics to be frequently and annoyingly heard above the rest.

Very Distracting.

And the speeches themselves weren't so hot either.

Note to Joe Lieberman: Staples is running a sale, and you're gonna need new business cards.

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:08:03 PDT - Link

Snark Of The Day

Palin is all mukluks and no caribou.

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:12:38 PDT - Link

Lies, Damn Lies, and Stopovers.

The Ireland trip was a refueling stop on her trip to military installations in Germany and Kuwait, spokeswoman Maria Comella said.

And she's also visited Canada, another spokesman, Ben Porritt, says.

Ben Smith

Oh Snap! John McCain's running mate didn't even spend the night in Ireland. It was only a refueling stop. I've changed planes 4 times in Nagoya, but I never claimed to have 'visited' Nagoya.

Now we need to find out if "visited Canada" was just changing planes in Vancouver.

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:36:07 PDT - Link

Abstinence Only Fail

ST. PAUL (Reuters) - The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said on Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.

Yahoo

This should not disqualify Sara Palin from becoming the Republicans vice presidential candidate. She should be disqualified because she is simply not ready to become president. She is the Michael D. Brown* of vice presidential candidates.

I went back to Wikipedia this morning, and the trip to Ireland has been expunged. I'm withholding judgment, but at this time I've seen no evidence that Sara Palin has ever left the USA just to experience another part of the world. This isn't 1908, folks. Someone in line to be president must have proven interest in the rest of the world if they want to be the "leader of the free world."

* Actually, Brown is probably more qualified that Palin to be president. Lest we forget, when things began to spin out of control he he raised the alarm to Washington for help. It was the Bush administration who really dropped the ball.

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:14:12 PDT - Link

An Insult To The World

Dear John. I'm sure Sarah Palin is a very nice person, and she's by all accounts a very loving protective mother, but I'm worried. You see, she apparently hasn't seen much of the world. Did you see this in the New York Times?

Ms. Palin appears to have traveled very little outside the United States. In July 2007, she had to get a passport before she visited members of the Alaska National Guard stationed in Kuwait, according to her deputy communications director, Sharon Leighow. She also visited wounded troops in Germany during that trip. - New York Times

Between you and me John, that doesn't sound like someone who is connected to the rest of the world. This worried me so much that I've been asking the Google all morning about her world travels. I found this this in the Wikipedia

Palin has traveled abroad twice: once to Ireland, and in 2007 to Germany and Kuwait, where she met with members of the Alaska National Guard.

It looks to me like she's been to Ireland once, but it's not clear if it was was so long ago that she needed to get a new passport for the 2007 Germany Kuwait trip, or if it was part of that same trip. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt, and assume that it was a separate vacation to the Emerald Isle.

But let me get this straight, John. You searched the whole nation and picked a running mate who, at best, has been out of the country twice, and one of those trips was official business, visiting US nationals on US military installations, on the US dime. We can't really count that for world travel, can we? It's not like she wandered the streets, chatted up the locals over coffee in cafes.

You're no spring chicken, John, and the VP might be called on to take the wheel of the ship of state in (literally) a heartbeat. I'm not nearly as old as you John, but twice in my life I have seen the vice president serve out the president's term.

A word in your ear, John. It's an insult to the world to have chosen a running mate who has so little interest in the rest of the the world that she's only bothered to visit it once.

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 09:57:56 PDT - Link

Top five reasons McCain Chose Sarah Palin

#5 She's not named Fay, Rita, or Katrina

#4 Two Words: Moose Burgers!

#3 It's a sure lock on Alaska's 3 electoral votes

#2 He was a big fan of her work in Monty Python

#1 Proven ability to garner enough loyalty in her staff to break the law.

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:04:30 PDT - Link

John McCain's Shorter Energy Plan

1) Drill Drill Drill

2) Burn Burn Burn (all the oil)

3) Carve big stone heads

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:49:42 PDT - Link

Shorter John McCain at Saddleback:

I'd balance the right wing of the Supreme Court with an ultra-right wing.

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:31:26 PDT - Link

Friday Cat Blogging

Tory James: Sounds like 10 to 15 horses and... and... Zzzzz Zzzzzz

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:10:45 PDT - Link

Oh, That Doggone Electoral Collage

The Princeton Election Consortium is looking at the polls on a state by state basis, then applying the electoral votes to the states to give a picture of where the election stands (today).

Looking at the distribution, it's not very close. No where near close enough for election tampering to make the difference. No where near as close as they make it sound in the main stream media.

I've already made a contribution to Obama's campaign, and he's going to get more from me every time he says things like:

Now two points, one, they know they're lying about what my energy plan is, but the other thing is they're making fun of a step that every expert says would absolutely reduce our oil consumption by 3 to 4 percent. It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant.

I keep waiting to hear that Giant Hissing Sound as the true believers head out in their driveways to let a few PSI out of their SUVs just to show solidarity. You know that's coming. Some willful ignorant will call into right wing radio to witness that he got better mileage with less pressure in his tires, and dittoheads all over the nation will take up the call.

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:55:06 PDT - Link

Who'da Thunk?

But who's really out of touch? The Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right.

Time

Of course the right wing is apoplectic that Obama suggested keeping your tires properly inflated in response to a direct question from a voter as to what she could do today.

I've personally observed that I can get about 2-3% better millage on my own car, and it also helps a percent or so to keep it washed. But mostly I save gas by combining trips, and working at home when possible, and rather than driving from store to store to find a rare item, I'll order it online.

We're still wasting loads of energy. Our grocery store keeps the milk in a walk-in cooler that has an open side to the store. Apparently, they think I'll buy less milk if I have to open a glass door to get to it, so they removed ALL the doors. The result is wasted energy, and milk that has gone off a week before its "sell by" date.

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:00:17 PDT - Link

Friday Cat Blogging

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:51:55 PDT - Link

Everything You Need To Know About McCain's Neverending war

John Lewison has put together a short documentary on John McCain's Neverending War [youtube]

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:51:38 PDT - Link

Friday Cat Blogging

Miko: I'm ready for my close-up, dad.

Miko: Wait. Too close.

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:52:15 PDT - Link

Musical Experiments Update

I removed the cover from the bridge pickup on the Les Paul. The result was a crisper, more defined sound, without going all twangy. I love the tone, very Jimmy Page.

I also 'top-wrapped' the tailpost with a new set of strings, but I'm not sure as sure about that mod. The problem is that while it has no effect on the nut-to-nut scale, there is another 1/2 inch of string tuner to tail stop, which means that I have to push the strings further for the same amount of note bend.

I'm not sure I like this change so much, the feel is better on my right hand, but now my left has to work much harder. Since they are new strings, I'll leave it strung up this way until it's time to replace them.

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:52:15 PDT - Link

Friday Big Cat Blogging

Zulu: "No, I don't want any damn Cheetos.And It wasn't even funny the first time."

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:17:11 PDT - Link

We're Number One!

President George Bush signed off with a defiant farewell over his refusal to accept global climate change targets at his last G8 summit.

As he prepared to fly out from Japan, he told his fellow leaders: "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter."

Independent

Oh, Bush really put his foot in it this time. I betcha Faux News will be all over this, you know.

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:21:19 PDT - Link

ORLY?

RUSUTSU, Japan - World leaders on Tuesday endorsed halving world emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, edging forward in the battle against global warming but stopping short of tough, nearer-term targets. — Huffington Post

Yeah, right. That's like saying an a decade, I target being 10 years older.

The reason carbon emissions will be down 50% in 42 years is that the world production of fossil fuels will be down 50%.

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:54:34 PDT - Link

Matias Gets Some Love From Engadget

My former co-worker at Danger is now at Palm, so says Engadget.

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:06:13 PDT - Link

Friday Cat Blogging

Tory: How many times do I have to tell you? I'll get up when you bring the coffee.

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:22:54 PDT - Link

Podcast - The Seasons Stories 3: Summer - a Ranma 1/2 Audio Fanfiction

This is a Ranma 1/2 audio Fanfiction. No, it's not a new story, it was first published over 10 years ago. Summer is the third in an arc of four stories which have come to be called "The Seasons Stories" in the Ranma 1/2 fanfiction world.

Please consider this a preview — I plan to add background sound effects and do a bit more mastering to clean up the sound - what you're hearing here is the raw recording and overdubs off my MR-8 mkII recorder.

Enjoy, and please let me know if you like what you hear.

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:50:53 PDT - Link

Please visit the history files for earlier entries!