5/10/03
David Neiwert has the goods on Bush's military shenanigans, and the links therein are all worth following. The Boston Globe has a good rundown left over from the 2000 campaign of the blatant discrepancies between Bush's biography and what military records had been uncovered. Let's be clear about one thing. There is no reading of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that allows Bush to deny this central fact: he deserted the military during wartime. It is not disputable; the law is crystal clear. As is the punishment: "Death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct."

It is no coincidence that Bush refuses to release his military records. As Senator Daniel Inouye, who left a limb in Vietnam, stated, "At the least, I would have been court-martialed." Now, it would be a colossal waste of time, money, and energy to bring charges, but given the fever pitch at which this administration hurls accusations of disloyalty and undermining of troops, it's worth a letter to your local paper.

Don't get me started on "you hate republicans" either... if Gore had won, I'd be blasting his piss-poor military record now, too.

5/10/03
The world's precious supply of the beloved snack chip Pringles is threatened as a tornado recently damaged a Pringles factory in Tennessee. The earth's Torengo supply is also at risk. Read the grisly details of the snack tragedy here. I suggest a moment of silence for the beloved reconstituted potato product. In a related story, I'm glad and her crew are healthy, if very inconvenienced by the weather.

Saturday, Dan-day, at least briefly. He’s doing me a favor by bringing me some groceries and letting me pay him back via check. It's greatly appreciated... saves me a good deal of trouble, and he's pretty busy this weekend.

Poked my nose in there and saw sis racing, so I went in there and promptly lost 3 races. :) Good fun anyhow. A jerkie by the name of whatever was really annoying, but the power to teleport away is a wonderful thing to have.

cracked 1000 users this weekend and is now at 1002. hooray for that landmark.... speaking of landmarks, later this month is my lj's 3rd anniversary.

vampire hint scroll shop "Scrollmania", at Kyanite and 84th.

5/9/03
Sleeping poorly at night, as the muscle relaxer wears off about 4 hours in, and tension begins shortly after… wake up to an owie, get an icepack, take a pill, and repeat.

I'm very glad that I'm not taking any form of narcotic, despite that. I don't feel like being hooked on any medication, thanks... I have a strong will, but I prefer not to test it on something that can kill me.

Physical therapy went well - they evaluated my range of motion, and the facility is right next door. I should have a full-blown PT done about Wednesday of Next week I'd like to see if I can get a TENS unit

got gems rather than cash prizes in the scavenger hunt in There... I think the other hunters will be envious of our gain, as I gently persuaded Josie to let us have the actual sailor's treasure rather than the $T300 prize at a cost of $T49 (or maybe 12 cents) because it cost her 349 to create the item. We're the toast of There, and I wonder if Whimsy or Chias will be too envious... I suppose if asked nicely, Josie will reproduce the prize offering to them, too.

The search was outstanding. Ldy's Sense of Direction and D's innate knowledge of There (plus, she unscrambled the final answer first, with ldy only a hair's breadth behind) caused us to crawl all over There, each of us in our pirate (or later, genie) garb. I treated myself to a new hoverboard... a sort of Atlantean pod racer, with twin sharks as the pods pulling a giant squid behind. When dressed as a pirate in bunny slippers, it's quite a surreal sight to behold. There has served as a fairly strong time sink lately...visually stimulating, but more so, the people are quite a delight to be around. Sort of similar to the early days of LiveJournal… just a small core, and everyone seems to at least have heard of everyone else. Maybe three degrees of separation at the most there. Actually it has a lot of the macro-social elements of LJ... cliques are formed, different interest groups... people pestering the more artistically accomplished then themselves... but the punks and the whiners are easily dealt with. Press ignore, and they'll never IM you. If you see them in a community or chat area, they become stick figures that speak nothing but "Woodstock Speak" of logical ors- like "|||| |||| | ||| ||| ||| |||| |||||" so you don't have to see them say anything particularly offensive. There is one of those players that I can foresee blocking in the near future... not because he says anything bad, but he's sort of socially retarded, and is a real IM-pest. I'm also glad that my There-stalker has moved on to greener pastures. I'm enjoying the attention of being a spokesmodel for D (and one shirt for Whimsy)... and am quite flattered that sales have been booming. I know I can't take credit for the designs, and wouldn't want to... but being out there and being able to promote for talented folks that really like what they do is a good feeling.

Sort of like my new job. I really enjoy working on my current automation project because the people there are enthusiastic, and realistic about the arrival of it. Telecommuting went very well yesterday, and is even better today, now that I've stopped the dang thing from going into hibernation every 10-15 minutes. I think I'll have a process that's about 80% automated done by the end of next week. (Maybe more so, if the data is only in a subset of different types, instead of a complete crapshoot each time.)

5/9/03
from ldy's entry

On June 2, the Federal Communications Commission is planning on authorizing sweeping changes to the American news media. The rule changes could allow our local TV stations, newspaper, radio stations, and cable provider to all be owned by one company. NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox could have the same corporate parent. The resulting concentration of ownership could be deeply destructive to our democracy.

When we talk to Congresspeople about this issue, their response is usually the same: "We only hear from media lobbyists on this. It seems like my constituents aren't very concerned with this issue." A few thousand emails could permanently change that perception. Please join us in asking Congress and the FCC to fight media deregulation at:

http://www.moveon.org/stopthefcc/

After the FCC and Congress relaxed radio ownership rules, corporate giant Clear Channel Communications swept in and bought hundreds of stations. Clear Channel has used its might to support pro-war political rallies and conservative talk shows, keep anti-war songs off its stations, coerce musicians into playing free promotional concerts, and bully them into performing at its music venues. In many towns that used to have a diverse array of radio options, Clear Channel is now the only thing on the dial.

Monopoly power is a dangerous thing, and Congress is supposed to guard against it. But the upcoming rule change could change the landscape for all media and usher in an era in which a few corporations control your access to news and entertainment. Please tell Congress and the FCC to support a diverse, competitive media landscape by going to:
http://www.moveon.org/stopthefcc/

You can also automatically have your comments publicly filed at the FCC.

Democracy is built on the idea that the views and beliefs of an informed citizenry are the best basis for political decision-making. Without access to fair and balanced news, the system simply doesn't work. And media corporations can't be trusted to balance themselves: news corporations have shown again and again that they're willing to sacrifice journalism to improve the bottom line. That's why we need many media entities -- to keep each other honest, and to provide the information and ideas that make democracy happen.

Please join this critical campaign, and let Congress know you care.

Sincerely,
--Eli Pariser
MoveOn.org
May 8th, 2003

P.S. Here's a copy of our recent bulletin on this subject. To sign up for the bulletin, just click here:
http://www.moveon.org/moveonbulletin/

You can read the text of the bulletin here:
http://www.moveon.org/moveonbulletin/bulletin12.html

Thank you for your kind indulgence.

Monopolies restrict our freedom of choice. And monopoly of the media is even more insidious, controlling not only what we can choose, but what we can know.

To sell our reality to the highest bidder instead of encouraging diversification is lunacy.

We each have a responsibility to protect our democracy, and protect our freedoms.

Consider this your call to arms.

5/9/03

From metafilter:

One of the more interesting Senate races in 2004 is shaping up in Florida, where everyone but the electorate appears to know that Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Foley is gay. This open secret -- which would help explain how a "dream come true" right-wing politician has a strong gay-rights voting record -- calls into question whether respecting a person's right to "stay in the closet" perpetuates the idea that homosexuality is abnormal. (Via Eschaton).

(as told to me via Mike Cohen)

5/8/03

First Day Of PT - 2pm at 203

Hopefully FedEx will get my copy of PCAny to me quickly today. Holy cow.. PCAny requires 1.5 gig free on XP to run, as opposed to 30 meg free on 2000. Yet again, I am glad I have 2000.

An asteroid discovered in 1993 has been renamed for the late Fred "Mr." Rogers. Here's the CNN story.

That's just fine, as long as 300 years down the road, there isn’t some Headline reading "MISTER ROGERS BREAKS FREE OF GRAVITY, RUSHES TOWARD EARTH, ASSURING ARMAGEDDON"

is at 997 members.
is at 97 members.


I keep hearing good things about X2. I refuse to get my hopes up... that way, if it is good, I'll be pleasantly surprised. I rarely nitpick about things as long as they get a good story out, and keep the powers straight.

vampire hint - Torment and 52nd - immolator 1

5/7/03

Well, I've set up a club in There for Fans of Orange Cats. Considering the size of the current beta user base, I wonder if that's too specific a topic It matters not, I'm confident that at least a few people will join, and it's nice to have Newtcam accessible through another venture. :)

Going to my first PT tomorrow at 2:00... I hope that they have a whirlpool, and therapists as good as my old one. Man, he whipped me into top shape in nothing flat.

Even though I don't use them as a hosting service anymore I enjoy browsing the photos at freePhoto-i.net Fills my random picture needs nicely.

My being a spokesmodel for D is taking off, and now I also get to augment that now with Whimsy’s Charcoal jersey. The PGM Crew is composed of some truly talented folks. I'm thinking bout making a shipwrecked sailor / tattered guy skin, just to put my hand in, and try it out. Oh, how in need we are of headkerchiefs beards and eye patches there!!
Retromedia - Classic snippets of the part. I'm made nostalgic.

Wubby's a monster that smells like a rat
That's taken a bath in an oversized vat
Of Molding tomatoes and flatulent yaks
Who died months ago and are stuck on their backs.

Boy 'pregnant' with twin brother

A seven-year-old boy who was admitted to hospital with stomach pains was actually "pregnant" with his twin brother.

Doctors at Chimkent Children's Hospital in Kazakhstan originally believed Mourat Zhanaidarov was suffering from a cyst.

But during surgery, they discovered he was in fact carrying the dead foetus of his twin brother.

The foetus had developed into a tumour but was found to have hair, nails and bones.

'No longer alive'

Doctors at the hospital told the BBC the tumour was the remains of his twin brother's foetus.

They said that while it was no longer a living substance it was feeding off the boy's blood supply.

If left unchecked it could one day have threatened Mourat's own life.

The tumour has now been successfully removed.

It is believed that the foetus grew inside Mourat while he was developing in the womb.

Doctors believe the two foetuses should have developed into conjoined twins.

"At first we saw that the boy's organs were squeezed by a large hard swelling covered with black hair," one surgeon told a British newspaper.

"As we washed him, we could see that inside him he had his own twin brother. Mourat had been a Siamese twin but nobody knew it.

"Something had gone wrong during his mother's pregnancy and the baby grew inside his brother."

Valentina Vostrikova, chief surgeon at Chimkent Children's Hospital, told the newspaper: "It was remarkable. For seven years it lived like a parasite inside the boy's body."

Doctors at the hospital told the BBC they were unable to explain the phenomenon.

They suggested a number of factors could have played a role, including malnutrition in the mother.

5/6/03
My body is not happy today. Creaky, uncomfortable during the best of times today. Shriekingly painful during the worst. The only thing to do is to use muscle relaxers at the worst point, icepacks and heating alternately. I'm calling workman's comp tomorrow morning first thing regarding my ability to uses the local physical therapy. (Also right across the street @1212).

I really like that TMBG is doing theme music for Cartoon Network.

Holy cow... Poser 5 is amazing. The new hair and flesh models are especially good, and I think I've only scratched the surface.

I look forward to investigating the sketch designer, in particular.

New Quest coming up: Sailor's Quest.

Follow the sea trail of a sailor looking for lost treasure and more! Quest runs Wed. - Sunday. Bux prizes for completers.
Ticket Price: T$ 0
Date: May 7, 2003
Time: 8:00 pm - 1:00 am

Got my Speedpad in the mail today.... huzzah!

Vodou's Veil - South Florida's Vodou scene



Let's not bicker and argue about who killed who!


What Monty Python Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla




Pick a band and answer using only their song titles.
They Might Be Giants

Are you male or female? Mr. Me, Mr. Klaw, Particle Man, Exquisite Dead Guy
Describe yourself: The Biggest One, Spy, Twisting, We Want A Rock, For Science, It's Not My Birthday, Santa's Beard, No One Knows My Plan
How do some people feel about you? The Great Unknown, Rabid Child, Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes, Extra Savoir-Faire
How do you feel about yourself? Farewell to the Old Me, Everything Right Is Wrong Again, I'll Sink Manhattan, I should be allowed to think, O, Do Not Forsake Me
Describe your girlfriend/boyfriend/interest: She's An Angel, Lucky Ball And Chain
Where would you rather be? Birdhouse In Your Soul, Cowtown, The World's Address, Sleeping In The Flowers
Describe what you want to be: Hope That I Get Old Before I Die, Farewell to the Old Me, Now That I Have Everything
Describe how you live: Alienation's For The Rich, Don't Let's Start, I'm Def, Whistling In The Dark, Cage And Aquarium
Describe how you love: Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head, Shoehorn With Teeth, You'll Miss Me, Thermostat
Share a few words of wisdom: When It Rains It Snows, Stand On Your Own Head

5/5/03

enchanted apple
awakens one hidden truth
now your world shall change

Back from the orthopedist. I've got physical therapy coming up, and 3 weeks of no work (at that point, I go back and see the doctor to see how I'm doing.)

On Crutches for the duration. Treating the knee and hip with ice, back with heat.

Well... Let see if I can make this month a healing one. The folks at JKG have been very understanding, and it looks like I'll be working for them from home via good ol' citrix and pc anywhere. Very cool, and I'm glad of that. Full salary rather than workman's comp.

Sure, I can't chill out, now that the fun superhero movies are coming out. Hulk, X2, The Matrix 2... ah well. If need be, I'll download them if I don't get to see them in the theatre.

Kartoo has made improvements on the search engine... fascinating. Vanity searches can be illuminating.

I discovered cretin's LiveJournal link page. it looks like I’m in good company, considering bq and sebab are on there.

I thought I made out like a bandit in There... my sis is getting a boatload of clothes form the PGM crew... D, Chias and Whims have been very friendly and welcoming to her as well as myself...

I need to go back to the "five minutes writing about a random word or phrase" project. Just not right now.

"It's going to take time to find them."
In an interview with Tom Brokaw, George Bush said he still believes some Weapon of Mass Destruction™ will be found but that "it's going to take time to find them." It's just too bad that he wasn't willing to give UN weapons inspectors that kind of time.

In spite of everything, though, I honestly hope they do find a giant pile of WMDs - if they don't, we look like even bigger jerks. I love being right, but I would gladly suffer the cries of "I told you so" if they found a huge stash of nerve gas or anthrax or whatever, and bunch of missiles to launch it, and we could be good guys again instead of the bullies of the world. I'd like George Bush to be right about something for once. I'd like ONE SINGLE THING he's said to not be a self-serving lie.

Somehow I don't think it's going to happen, though.

From waxy-

If you're going to videotape your Star Wars fighting skills on a school camera, remember to remove the cassette when you're done. Watch this embarrassingly good video (Windows Media video).

It didn't take long for the online community to remix it with full Star Wars special effects and lightsaber noises. I have no idea where this video originated from; if you know this kid, let me know.

5/4/03

33 1/3 Sammy Davis, Jr. played at 78 sounds like Eartha Kitt.

Talked to Dave, and apparently Cathi is 2 months or so along with baby #2!

Wow. Makes sense. Mayah is able to say "Hi Scotto" on the phone. :) I'm so happy for them!! I'm sorry that I 'm so horked over that I can't go with Dave to See X2 today, though.

Spending a lot of time in There this weekend, scavenger hunt and wonderful folks...found an incredible lost temple area under a canopy which might make an outstanding new place to live.

Regarding my back, Icepacks are my friend.

I hear the Air show again... not as rambunctious or active as yesterday.

Tomorrow's Cinco de Mayo... will that affect city traffic in Ft Lauderdale?