Party #1 - The Dude
Pretty funny... Jeff Dowd has a website: www.jeffdowd.com
Jeff Dowd is "The Dude" in real life.
It looks like he's making some dinero on the whole deal. Why not?

Movie: "The Big Lebowski"
Review: 5 bill-stars (out of 5)... the best!

Could be a top 10 Bill-movie.
I can't come up with a funnier movie off the top of my head.


Party #2 - Trekkie
Excellent.
http://video.yahoo.com/network/100063489?v=7086116&l=100063517

The "Tholian Web" episode was on last night... 40+ years and still the BEST!

QOTD

"Bones, Spock. Since you are playing this tape, we will assume that I am dead and the tactical situation is critical and both of you are locked in mortal combat.

It means, Spock, that you have control of the ship and are probably making the most difficult decisions of your career. I can offer only one small piece of advice for whatever it's worth: use every scrap of logic and knowledge you have to save the ship, but temper your judgment with intuitive insight. I believe you have those qualities, but if you can't find them in yourself, seek out McCoy. Ask his advice, and, if you find it sound, take it.

Bones, you've heard what I just told Spock. Help him if you can, but remember he is the captain, his decisions must be followed, without question. You might find that he is capable of human insight and human error. They are most difficult to defend, but you will find that he is deserving of the same loyalty and confidence each of you have given me.

Take care."
- Capt Kirk's, taped message for Spock & McCoy in the event of his death, imdb source

Party #3 - Ripping Al a new one
Great article... props to Steven F Hayward for the writing and to the Morning News for the link:


"In Denial" is pretty long. But worthy.
The interesting part is not just the rebuttal of the science, but also the outright (and justified) attack on the selling of science and its politicization by Al Gore and his ilk.
warm this... yow, bill

Speaking of Star Trek... this is the girl who played Uhura in the new Star Trek movie. Jeez. And Yow!

Labels: 5stars, fun, globalwarming, movies, qotd

Chart #1 - Funding obesity
Hey, this is a great chart.


Ya get it? The feds don't tax obesity; they fund it.
Oh, don't worry they'll tax obesity, and then funnel the money back into more subsidies.

I don't know the real source for this graph, but I found it using this weird Google Reader Play.
I don't think this link will help you, but if you use Reader, try Reader Play. Just for fun though.

Chart #2. Tracking the cult of personality
Looks like Evita, I mean, President Obama is taking a bit of a popularity hit.

Well, huzzah to that.
Hopefully, that Obama approval rating will continue heading due south. ***

QOTD

"Over the last year, we’ve gone through the budget line by line looking for places to trim the fat out of government."
- President Obama fibbing yesterday, source

chart this... yow, bill

*** footnote - I'll bet it doesn't go down much more... the stock market is telling us that jobs are coming around the corner. If that happens, that popularity will pop back up somewhat.

PS - BTW, "hope I die before I get old"... this article is FUCKING BRUTAL!

Labels: fun, politics, qotd

1. Intentionally Funny
Funny satire by Christopher Buckley offering some new tax ideas to the Obama administration.


My fave: taxing non-smokers. He he!



Just as funny, but unintentionally so:

Did you catch those stats?

• Latinos own 6.8% of all US business, but have received only 1.6% of the Obama stimulus kitty.
• Blacks own 5.2% of all businesses, but have gotten only 1.1%.
  

Nice going, President Obama.
funny... yow, bill

Labels: fun, myphoto, politics

I heart minor league baseball
Minor league baseball teams really, really want your business. They cater to you. They try hard. This is the exact opposite approach than you see at MLB teams like the Chicago Cub.

Here's a great story about the Peoria Chiefs, the Cub class A minor league team... they're leasing out their skyboxes to fantasy baseball leagues for their draft meetings. For $35 a guy, you get the luxury (cough) suite, all-you-can-eat buffet, beers, and a ticket to a future Chief game. Sweet!


I heart minor league baseball.


I heart my crock pot
RIP Mable Hoffman... author of “Crockery Cookery”, an early and popular crock pot recipe book.


I heart my crock pot... and Mable too, I reckon.


I heart Ronald Reagan
Book: “Tear Down This Wall” by Romesh Ratnesar
Review: 2 bill-stars (out of 5)... meh

This book is very dry and kinda boring. This is hard to fathom, given how interesting the subject matter is. The other irritating thing is the guy sprinkles in his politics into the thing here and there. The big two that bugged me:

1. Reagan's optimism was naivete
   
2. Gorbachev ended the cold war, not Reagan
   

OK, poindexter.
Reagan's optimism and belief in the human spirit defined him.
The author's incredulity likely defines him, and maybe this is a defining trait of your average leftie.

One of the best anecdotes from the book was by a girl attending a talk Reagan gave in Moscow. Russian security officials picked which students would sit where for Reagan's speech. They were told, "Don't make any movements with your body. If you get up, you will be shot." Well, that'll discourage those distracting potty breaks during an event, eh.

QOTD

“General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
- Ronald Reagan, Jun 12 1987, speech at Brandenburg Gate in (then) West Berlin

I believe the difference between Reagan and other presidents was an actual set of values which drove his decision-making. His values: small government, personal freedom, optimism. If you know what President Obama's values are, please chime in and enlighten me.

Reagan was stricken with Alzheimer's a few years after leaving office. He penned a final correspondence, a sort of goodbye, before losing his faculties.

QOTD2

“In closing, let me that you, the American people for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your President. When the Lord calls me home whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.”
-Ronald Wilson Reagan, Nov 5 1994 letter

I heart Ronald Reagan


I heart our great sunny weekend!
run faster... yow, bill

PS - A couple photos of Reagan in front of the Berlin Wall on Jun 12, 1987.

...

Labels: 2stars, books, fun, politics, qotd, sports

QOTD

"Coin-operated self-destruct... not one of my better ideas."
- Plankton

yow, bill

PS - Hey, I predicted this. The fall, the changing of Sarah Palin. (Yeah, genius. I know). Too bad.

Labels: fun, qotd

1. Health Care Nonsense
Good, if snarky, article here:


I'm not a big Buffet fan, but he's right here. The issue is cost.

QOTD

"We're just going to focus on costs, and we're not going to dream up 2,000 pages of other things... Get rid of the nonsense."
- Warren Buffet, on scrapping ObamaCare and starting over

I said it a year ago. President Obama could have easily made meaningful, common sense changes to health care in America. But we went down the rabbit hole instead. And here we are.

2. Hot Curlers
I watched some Winter Olympics... more than I thought I would. The USA-Canada hockey matches were both awesome!

Anyway, here's my Olympic wrap... two things:

1. It's a good thing Canada won the gold in men's hockey. The gold medal game was the most watched TV show ever in Canada (source) with 80% of the flipping country watching the game. Jeez! If the US had won the game in overtime, I think Canada would have collectively jumped off a window ledge or something.
2. I still don't understand the rules, but women's curlers were hot hot hot!
   

The hottest women's curler of all is...


Jeez.
pro curling... yow, bill

Labels: fun, healthcare, qotd, sports

1. Retro Sheet
I turned on the tube after the market closed yesterday, and there it was on some MLB channel that I don't know why I have...

Excellent.
So, google, google, google... and giggle, giggle, giggle... here's the boxscore from that game:


Checkout the "Play by Play" section at the end of the file... every batter and move in the game is detailed. Amazing.

Read, read, read... the guys that pour in the time to do this are:


QOTD

"Retrosheet was founded in 1989 for the purpose of computerizing play-by-play accounts of as many pre-1984 major league games as possible."
- Mission statement of RetroSheet, source

Couple observations:

• Jack Brickhouse was the broadcaster... perfect guy for a simpler time.
• The Cub crowd was decidedly younger... the voices chanting "We want a run" sounded like a school choir.
• I remember that game... or I think I do... because I would turn the Cub on after coming home from school. When you come home, and the score is 22-22, there's a good chance you'll remember it.
  
• The Cub today are not as much fun as those ever-losing Cub of yesteryear. Either that, or I'm an old goat. Who can tell?
  

2. Financial Fasting
Certainly, confusing economic times... tough tough tough, and then you can't get into a restaurant on a Tuesday night. I don't know what the heck is going on.

This is a fun article on a 20-something doing a "financial fast" for 21 days... basically cutting back on all discretionary spending.


3. Bumper Sticker of the Day (BSOTD?)
Saw this (too funny) bumper sticker last week:

He he.
peace out... yow, bill

Labels: fun, politics, qotd, sports

1. Health Care Summit
The "Health Care Summit" was yet another setback for President Obama. He had hoped to sway public opinion by talking rings around the repubs on national TV for a few hours.

Oops.

QOTD

"And I've got to tell you, the American people are engaged. And if you think they want a government takeover of health care, I would respectfully submit you're not listening to them."
- Paul Ryan, Wi repub, to President Obama, source

Will he still try to cram crappy Obamacare through the Congress?
We shall see.

Paul Ryan is a Congress dude from Wisconsin. He's doing well, but he's not nearly as highly-regarded as the Packers bikini girls below:
2. Earthquake!
The Richter scale is base 10 logarithmic (wikipedia). So, a mag 5 earthquake is 10x more powerful ("seismic energy") than a mag 4.

Earthquakes like these:

• Illinois 2010 - We had an earthquake earlier this month in Illinois. It was early in the morning. I felt it, but I didn't realize it was an earthquake. That was a magnitude 3.8 quake (source).
  
• San Jose 1989 - My favorite earthquake was the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake... because I was there. It was magnitude 6.9. So, the 1989 quake was roughly 1,000x more powerful than our little Naperville shake.
  
• Chile 2010 - My earthquake theme is because there was a big quake in Chile today, mag 8.8. That's roughly 100x more powerful than 1989... or 100,000x more powerful than Naperville's baby quake. Yow!

3. Bill48
God bless February 27... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_27
Wikipedia says I was born on the same day as:

• Adam Baldwin - I don't think he's a "Baldwin brother". I remember him most in "My Bodyguard" from back in the day, and more recently, from "Serenity"... a movie I heart.
• Grant Show - who I don't know from Adam... um, any Adam, not just Adam Baldwin.
  

I got a fish for my birthday (the Christmas fish already, um, passed on):

We'll name him:

• Flint... main character from "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs", or
• Ryan Miller... if the USA hockey team wins Sunday
  

Stay tuned... and GO USA!

48 is OK.
Sure, things are slowing down, but nothing's fallen off yet. He he!
Birthday poker party at The Castle today... then family dinner at Domo tomorrow.
happy birthday... yow, bill

Labels: fun, healthcare, qotd

1. Killer Weeners
Sigh.

Pediatricians call for a choke-proof hot dog

I heart Janet Riley...

QOTD

"Ensuring the safety of the foods we service to children is critically important for us."
- Janet Riley, President of the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council

That's right... the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council
Hey, they have a website and everything... www.hot-dog.org
They're a Facebook page too... you'll have to find them on your own though. I'm a fan!

And dang, President Janet Riley looks like a cute little Irish girl...

Who would you rather have babysit your kids?

1. Janet Riley, President of the Weener Council
2. Or some pediatrician who wants choking warnings on your hot dogs

You know my answer.

2. Two more Silly Things

BTW, why do kids have peanut allergies now, and they didn't 40 years ago?

Doctors launch major trials to treat childhood peanut allergy after promising pilot study

QOTD2

"The therapy is the most promising development yet in the search for a long-term treatment for the allergy, which affects 4% of British schoolchildren."
- 4% of British kids are allergic to peanuts?!? Really? Source

There's something fishy (peanuty?) here. I heard a theory this weekend that kids are more sheltered from, well, everything, and that a by-product of this is more allergies to, well, everything... including peanuts.
Maybe.

Finally, have you watched any Olympics?
Pretty good.
I saw some skiing.
They pointed out two parents in the crowd during my short tenure in front of the tube.
Both of them were videotaping their (adult) children as they were performing in the Olympics.
Does that make any sense to you? To anyone?
Well, that "anyone" crack is rhetorical because it obviously makes sense to them, but how about living before videotaping.
I don't know.
peace out... yow, bill

Labels: fun, qotd

1. NBA Nerds
Only foreign-born NBA players read... American players play video games. Sigh.


The two causes are obvious:

1. Crappy public schools
2. Coddling of athletes from a very young age

Ah, nuts to that, here are some awesome dunks:

1. Vince Carter literally jumping over some poor schlep in the Olympics: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMrPjl-927Q
2. Michael Jordan, with two hands, dunking on 7'4" Mark Eaton in Utah: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhdMHcI2dRo
3. Kevin Johnson dunking on Hakeem: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kidpegzfFc

2. Obama Malaise
My fave, the Mad Hedge Fund guy, puts the odds at 50/50 for a Jimmy Carteresque ending to the President Obama story:


QOTD

"If you’re over 50, and all of this sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because we’ve been through it all before. Remember Jimmy Carter? Remember the “misery index,” the unemployment rate plus the inflation rate, which hit 30, and catapulted Ronald Reagan into an eight year presidency?"
- the Mad Hedge Fund guy, source

Who knows?
In any case, it may not be the best time to buy and hold in the stock market. IMHO.

3. Poll wording
Finally, it's nice to confirm the obvious... the wording of a poll can dramatically effect the results.

QOTD2

"Seventy-nine percent of Democrats said they support permitting gay men and lesbians to serve openly. Fewer Democrats however, just 43 percent, said they were in favor of allowing homosexuals to serve openly."
- Poll results based on "gay" or "homosexual", source

Good one.
peace out... yow, bill

Labels: fun, politics, qotd, sports

EARTHQUAKE!
Magnitude 4.3 earthquake rattles Illinois

Definitely felt it at The Castle.
Cool.

Oh, and a pol/global warming quickie...

• $2B in stimulus money
• 6,000 jobs
• That's more than $300K/job
  
• And they're temporary
• And... (drum roll)... the jobs aren't even in the United States

Good one:
Wind Energy Stimulus Money Not Creating US Jobs; Most of $2 Billion Going Overseas

That's Obamanomics (?!?) for you.
Ok, maybe we'll just stick to ObamaCare. He he.

And windmill farms are a blight...
earthquake... yow, bill

Labels: fun, globalwarming, politics

1. Mortgage Banker Payback
Funniest story of the day:


Even funnier QOTD...

QOTD

"We have come to the inescapable conclusion that owning our own building was the smartest long-term investment for the association."
- Mortgage Banker's Association in 2007, on buying their building

I guess foreclosure would have been more appropriate, but still... pretty funny.

2. Hopey Changey
Sarah Palin's "Tea Party" speech was chockful 'o Obama zingers.
Back to that in a second.

QOTD2

"Now, a year later, I got to ask the supporters of all that...
how is that hope-y, change-y stuff working out for you,"
- Sarah Palin, source

Hopey, changey... jeez. good one.

It dawns on this addled observer... why is Sarah Palin the only one calling this guy out?
Even this crappy blog pulls punches, I must admit.
Why?
Is it a black guy thing? Or social pressure? Fear of not dating hot 40-somethings?
I honestly don't know.
Processing...

QOTD3

"I think instead of lecturing, he needs to stop and he needs to listen on health care issues, on national security."
- Sarah Palin

Cha.
I read that now Obama is calling for a meeting with repubs on health care.
Now.
NOW!

Fucking idiot.
You've had a year... the Senate... the Congress... 53-47 victory over an 80 year-old stiff... 10% unemployment... few trillions in debt... and NOW you want to talk about health care reform.
Pathetic.

I have a better idea... more talks with Iran.

3. Book Review
Book: "The Night in Question" by Tobias Wolff
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... very good

Good read.
I am much more a novel guy than short stories, but still good.
Thanks, Matt for the rec.

QOTD4

"He was big in every direction - tall and rotund with a massive head, a trophy head."
- Tobias Wolff, "The Night in Question" page 191

BTW, the best short story of the bunch was the shortest and the last, "Bullet in the Brain"... about a guy who... well, just read it.
He he he.
hopey changey not... yow, bill

Labels: 3stars, books, fun, politics, qotd

1. Betty White
Best Super Bowl commercial... Betty White.


Dammit, that's funny.
All the Super Bowl ads are at that link, BTW.
How do young people even know who Betty White is?

2. Argentina
Ah, the world would be so much better off if hot chicks were running things.
Um. Don't tell that to Argentina, where the girls are just as corrupt as the boys.



I will say this... it looks like they're having fun.
I don't know how much fun hyper-inflation is going to be for your average joe (jose?) in Argentina, but whatever.

3. Milwaukee School Choice
Speaking of corruption... Dear President Obama. Dear Arnie Duncan. School choice is working in Milwaukee and DC and NYNY and...


QOTD

"In 2008 the graduation rate for voucher students was 77% versus 65% for the nonvoucher students, though the latter receives $14,000 per pupil in taxpayer support, or more than double the $6,400 per pupil that voucher students receive in public funding."
- School choice stats in Milwaukee, source

So great that money can't buy results.
So great to see freedom working.

It's a smooth ride... arguing for choice and personal freedom.
How's that anti-freedom argument working... Obama and Arnie and the teacher's unions and other lefties.

All you have to do is allow for a little risk... the risk that people will take care of their own stuff (like kids) better than anyone else.
No risk with the gov plan... you know it will suck.
an easy choice... yow, bill

PS - "bikini school choice"

Labels: fun, politics, qotd, schoolchoice, sports

1. Crazy Heart
Movie: "Crazy Heart"
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... really good

Let's see...

• Outstanding performance by Jeff Bridges.
• This is a fun, slow movie with lots of fun country music
• Good ending
• I'm definitely buying the soundtrack
  

It's a great date movie... or maybe I just had a great date... who can tell?

QOTD

"Falling feels like flying... for a little while"
- some good, ole, hard-drinkin and hard-livin country lyrics from "Crazy Heart"

2. Crazy Pol
Book: "End the Fed" by Ron Paul
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... worth reading

OK, Ron Paul isn't crazy, and the book is OK.
Ron Paul is an ideologue who takes his beliefs and extrapolates... gets kind of old after a while.

Here's Paul's basic argument, as I see it... "The Fed", since it was established in 1914 or something, has too much power and is corrupt and has led to the ruination of the United States.
OK.
Well, the obvious problem with this argument is that, under our current system, we have ascended to being the lone superpower in the world, both economically and politically.

To his credit though, Ron Paul puts his money on the table. He says that unless we go to a gold-based monetary system pronto, we're doomed.
So, when the US crashes in flames, I'll come back and give Ron Paul his props.

That said, I absolutely agree with Ron Paul's call for an end to Fed secrecy and shenanigans. There is no reason for the Fed to operate outside of scrutiny and without being audited.
I also absolutely agree with Paul's implication that far too much power has shifted to Washington DC in our country.


3. Quirky links
A couple-a quirky links por vu...


It's so tough to be an artist, right? You can be completely amazing and you're likely to be completely poor and obscure at the same time. In just a few minutes of trolling, I found some really cool stuff on "Art blog". Check it out... these click are definitely worthy:

• Redesign of the dollar - bunch-a artists create their own dollar bills
• A single sheet of paper - amazing designs from just a piece of paper... the hand below is an example
  
• Egg shell art - thousands of tiny holes in an egg, jeez
  

This is a weird, fun music site. Click away on the squares and enjoy.
crazy, crazy, quirky... yow, bill

Labels: 3stars, books, fun, movies, politics

www.williamt.com is proud to announce our 2nd annual Super Bowl contest. This year's contest is sponsored by the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act. At www.recovery.gov we're helping America because "Shoot, we've got plenty of money!" (TM)

The contest is easy... you put in no $$, just email me your three picks to win win win:

1. Who will cover in the Super Bowl? Indy -5 1/2 or New Orleans +5 1/2
2. How many total points will be scored in the Super Bowl?
3. How many passing yards will Peyton Manning and Drew Brees have combined?

That's it.
The winner get a crappy replica jersey of some player from the winning team... not to worry, my stimulus $$$ will more than cover it.

Oh yeah, the rules:

1. Email me (williamt@williamt.com) your three picks. Get me the stuff by noon Super-Sunday. Any friend or family member or neighbor can play... the more the merrier. Warning: No fictional characters, and if your kids play, then they must make the picks. If your kid thinks the Bears are gonna win this year... send it in!
2. I'll email back a spreadsheet Sunday afternoon (before the game) with everyone's picks.
3. The winner is based on the three picks; they are sorted in order of importance. For example, if 7 people get pick #1 right, then pick #2 will decide. If there are any ties still left, then pick #3 will decide. I'll make sure no one has all three the same. If we have a tie, then closest without going over ("Price is Right" style) for total passing yards wins.
4. I'll announce the winner to everyone Monday. My decision is final. (Yes!) Offer not valid in Tennessee or Kentucky.

Last year's contest was super-exciting! Last year's winner (weener) was Chris the Commish. This year's winner (weener) could be you. Heck, it could be me. Yes, of course I'm playing.

www.williamt.com is your best source for crappy vacation photos.

www.williamt.com is there to sate your radical right-wing blog needs.

And yes, www.williamt.com... voted "Best blog on the Web" by "Hot 40-somethings" magazine for 6 years running.
Huzzah!

Email me: williamt@williamt.com
go bear... yow, bill

Labels: fun, sports

Self-interest #1 - PBS
PBS has a novel proposal... have the feds "bailout" media to the tune of $30B/year:

This is one of the most "out there" QOTD's I can recall.

QOTD

“This is sort of the number a free society pays to have credible journalism”
- Dude, on giving $30B/year in taxpayer money to media, source

If I were gulping down some milk, it would have shot out my nose after that blooper.

Self-interest #2 - Teacher's Union
And my least favorite group that favors their own interest over (seemingly) anything... the teacher's unions.

This article describes the teacher's unions attempts to derail funding for charter schools in poor districts in New York City:


Lowest of the low, the teacher's union guy uses special ed as why charter schools are successful. Easy solution... pull special ed money/costs out as a separate thing. You'll still see funding for public schools far out-pacing their private counterparts, while significantly under-performing.

Speaking of teacher, this little bikini girl (and teacher) actually has a story:

excellent... yow, bill

Labels: fun, politics, qotd

QOTD

"My pictures are really old but it's about substance right?"
- fave (sarcastic) quote from a POF girl-fishie profile

That's all. Wrapping a good, productive MLK Day for me.

So, that's it... fun QOTD and bikini shot.
But what a bikini shot. Jeez.
yow, bill

PS - Oh yeah. Sorry, not buying the story line: charismatic MA repub wins Teddy Kennedy's seat (I mean, the people's seat vacated by Teddy Kennedy... he he!) tomorrow and then derails crappy ObamaCare. It's all made up. They're just selling newspapers, folks. The whole f'ing Obama train doesn't derail only 12 months in. ObamaCare will pass in some form; they don't much care about form at this point. It has to pass, so victory can be claimed, and claimed it will be. Done.

QOTD2

"I'm an Illinois boy. I've lived on both coasts for work, but moved back to Illinois for the weather and the view. LOL."
- my own humorous (cough) POF email to a girl-fishie

Labels: fun, politics, qotd

Just for fun...

QOTD

"Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerder the ltteres in a wrod are. The olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Olny 55% of plepoe are albe to raed tihs."
- lots of places, including here

Even more fun is Switcharoo, which jumbles up a web page by randomizing the middle letters of each word. I switcharoo'd this humble blog... see?
Just for fun.

Oh, and I heart Mitch Rapp.

QOTD2

"Because, my friend, if you succeed in killing Mr. Rapp, and the Americans find out you were behind it, the king will cut off your head. If you fail, and Mr. Rapp finds out you were behind it... he will visit you and your family with more pain than you can imagine."
- Saudi prince in Vince Flynn's "Consent to Kill"

Only 17 pages in... so great!
he he... yow, bill

PS - This AP news headline is just funny... "Report: Health costs up slightly under Senate bill"
Good one.

Labels: fun, healthcare, qotd

1. A New Low
I humbly present... a new low.
The Taco Bell Drive-thru Diet.


Here's a youtube of the stupefying commercial: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ89JaxqVgI
Sigh.

2. WSJ too
The WSJ loves Ann Tyler and her new book "Noah's Compass too:


The WSJ guy didn't mind her Noah not needing a compass theme... seemed like a hook to me... contrived.

3. Annoying, Part 2
This isn't a new phenomenon... just something that is getting more common.
Bugging you at the store to give money to this charity or that:


QOTD

"...can't I just get a gallon of milk in peace?"
- WSJ guy on getting accosted for money checking out at the Safeway, source

I remember my telling Ty at Wendy's when we were hit up for some dough... "Can I just buy my lousy burger." He he.

4. My Handle
From my previous post... "everything has two handles, one by which it can be borne and one by which it cannot."

Taco Bell ads and Safeway ninnies and on and on... these can be borne by the handle (knowledge, approach, outlook) that these are exceptions to the beauty and care surrounding us. Focus on these positive things every day, and the Drive-Thru Diet can be borne, in all its ridiculousness.

Or, worded another way, Venus Williams in a bikini trumps any shenanigans I might bump into watching TV or at the Safeway.
my handle... yow, bill

Labels: fun, qotd

For 2010, only one Bill-resolution... improve my meditation quality and quantity.


Three Big Stories
Three big stories this year for my money:

1. Rebound of the stock market and economy
2. Passing of the crappy health care bill... could be the worst piece of legislation in my adult lifetime
   
3. With the ClimateGate emails and guys like Bjorn Lomborg, we saw the first significant (I fucking hope) chinks in the global warming armor that been allowed to see the light of day by the main-stream media
   

We shall see what 2010 holds for all 3 of these stories.

Here's another global warming article... we don't know what fraction of man-made CO2 goes into the atmosphere. This guy suggests this ratio/fraction has remained stable.

Desiderata
I got this poem or tome or whatever called "Desiderata" in a Christmas card this year (from Aunt Phyllis). I like it. Preachy and blah blah, but it's worth a read. Here's an online version:


My fave QOTD from that is...

QOTD

"Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass."
- from Desiderata

Happy New Year!
yow, bill

PS - Marisa all 40-something crinkly and hot hot hot:

Labels: fun, globalwarming, qotd

Pretty good story in the WSJ this morning...


QOTD

"For 20 minutes we read or sent emails and spoke nary a word to each other. "
- Guy standing outside the health club... the impact of technology, WSJ source

It's a question I'm confronted with more and more... how much technology will you incorporate into your life?

• This blog... YES! This is fun.
• Other blogs... Iffy. I have a long blog roll in my Reader of mostly investing blogs... the content seems more and more like shit every day. Here's a classic example of a guy (Slope of Hope) calling everyone who made money in 2009 (presumably, he didn't) "dumb": www.slopeofhope.com/2009/12/dumb-luck.html
• Twitter... NO. Yawn.
• Smart cellphones... Iffy. I won't pay for a cellphone. Or rather, I haven't had to pay for a cellphone yet. My current version has a camera and limited Internet browsing which I almost never use. I also don't carry my stupid phone everywhere I go.
  
• Internet dating... YES! How else are you going to meet people, married friends? Married people are the enemy. Also, www.meetup.com is a great site!
• Facebook... Iffy. Facebook is love/hate. Love the fun, when it is... dislike the negativity that is so pervasive.
  
• Ipod... Iffy. I don't like the ear buds. I think eventually I'll load up one of these suckers for my car, but I'm not pining to do so. I heart my CD's.
  
• DVR... NO. I don't need to watch more TV. If there's nothing on, then go read a book.
• Blu-ray DVD... NO. Can't tell the diff.
• Ebooks... Not yet. Once the technology gets better, then I'll partake.
  

And so on...
I guess the point is... this is becoming more and more a conscious decision for me. Where to jump in the tech pond and where not to.

Ty called me a Luddite this morning, in so many words. I was mocking his tech-boast of downloading this or that onto his PSP. He's getting good too because he mentioned the odd contrast of me being a computer science guy and a Luddite at the same time.

Obviously, I can only SMILE... so SMILE I do.
What a great kid.
Then, I pummeled him in ping pong for an hour.
he he... yow, bill

PS - Congrats to KGG Football on his 2009 title... www.williamt.com/fantasy/football/season2009/index.htm

En homage... a kelly green bikini with some chick name Kelly, I think:

Labels: fun, technology

QOTD

"Commit to the Indian!"
- Dennis Savard rant

Savvy's rant is classic, and it's here (for now): www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gM6REx3NVY

Follow the youtube chain for 60 seconds worth of jaw-dropping Savvy goals from back in the day: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB_LC10N3xU&feature=fvw
Spin move!

I heart Savvy.
winter wonderland... yow, bill

Labels: fun, qotd, sports

QOTD1

"Illness is the night side of life, a more onerous citizenship.
Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick."
- Susan Sontag

It sure seems that some (many?) need illness and adversity to realize what they have.
Count me out. I gots it all, and I know it.

QOTD2

"Calling Rapp a counterterrorism operative was essentially a polite way of ducking the truth. When everything was stripped away, the reality was that he was an assassin. He had killed, and killed often, for his country, and in his mind 9/11 was proof that he hadn't killed enough."
- Vince Flynn, "Memorial Day"

I heart these Mitch Rapp books.

QOTD3

"... we got 95 percent of what we called for"
- President Obama on the health care bill, source

This guy is a 3 dollar bill... bald-faced liar.
The economy better not turn south, ya tourist.

QOTD4

"My wife gives good headache."
- Rodney Dangerfield

He he.

QOTD5

"Everything you need to teach your fish amazing tricks."
- R2 Fish School, www.r2fishschool.com/

Kim39 got Ty a Christmas goldfish.
We're supposed to train him to play soccer and make toast.
Stay tuned.

Finally, XKCD has a good, nerdy Christmas strip: Christmas Plans

Merry Christmas.
yow, bill

Labels: fun, politics, qotd

QOTD

"In nearly 200 years of recorded stock-market history, no calendar decade has seen such a dismal performance as the 2000s."
- WSJ today, source

If that weren't enough the WSJ kindly provides fancy graphics to visually display the investing carnage of the 2000's:


OK, I snarfed two of the charts for you (and perpetuity)... this first one is annual rate of return for each decade since flipping 1830. Crap.



The second killer graph add the poison of inflation to the mix. Barf.


Well, we were there. I guess that's saying something.
Also, I hope the 2010's are better. I hope we're not Japan. I hope... oh, never mind.

Let's cheer up with an excellent picture of Sarah Palin.
dreamy... yow, bill

PS - Addendum... hate to wreck the Sarah buzz, but here's Faber's (Ivy Portfolio guy) comparison between the US and Japan. Gulp.

Labels: fun, investing, qotd

1. Nucular
Nice, brief summary of some improvements in nuc-u-lar power that are going on, courtesy my fave "Mad Hedge Fund Trader":


Hey, what the heck do I know.
I just can't understand wallpapering Indiana with wind turbines, when you could get 10x the buck for none of the blight with a couple of nukes.
This is another piece of evidence against the global warming crowd... if carbon emissions were really the planet's doom, then they'd be calling for nukes to replace coal and natgas plants for electricity. But no.

2. God's ETF
There's a new line of ETFs that invest in a particular way, depending on your religions. They're called: www.faithshares.com. They have ETF's for Catholics, Methodists, and generic Christians. Kinda weird, but whatever. I think God would more likely have his 401K in a tech fund.

The commonality between all these specialty funds, like religion or socially-conscious or whatever... higher fees. Amen!

3. Old dog, new chair
Well, I just ordered this new-fangled chair: Balance Ball Chair
Thank you, JC, for the recommendation.

It was only $65... so try something new.
I am sitting in this crappy office chair a lot.
old dog... yow, bill

Labels: fun, globalwarming

1. Tiger. Crazy Ambien Sex.
I'll bet a dollar Tiger had some Ambien coursing through his blood, driving that Escalade all willy-nilly.

QOTD

"She told a friend she had crazy Ambien sex with Tiger."
- Tiger tales, source

In that last article Tiger's agent called the Ambien claim "reprehensible."
If I were representing Tiger, I might shy away from the word reprehensible, eh.

Granted I haven't read many articles, but I have yet to see a Tiger article that focuses on him having 3 yo and 9 month-old kids. I know we live in a loosier and goosier society, but jeez... if banging every cocktail waitress you bump into when your new bride is home pregnant or with the kids or both isn't, um, reprehensible, then what is?

Argh.
I thought the National Enquirer was one of the last bastions of real journalism. I guess I'm only left with "The Morning News" for true, hard-hitting journalism.

QOTD2

"In 2007, according to two people familiar with the negotiations, Mr. Woods and his representatives made a deal with American Media, the company that owns the National Enquirer, to quash a story detailing an alleged affair. In exchange, Mr. Woods posed on the cover and did an interview for another American Media property, Men's Fitness, these people say. American Media declined to comment on this issue."
- Sweeping Tiger shenanigans under the rug, How Tiger's Top Man is Managing the Crisis

Ambien will also be Tiger's out, eventually: "Oh, I was addicted to Ambien, so..."
Whatever.

2. Fantasy Football
Punkin win!
I'm the Punkin. Ty is the F-14.
Ty's New Orleans defense had been credited with a TD on a fumble return by the Saint offense (ole Robert Meacham to the right)... then, overnight, Yahoo took it away.

Adding to the fun... this shit made the WSJ this morning:


Punkin are 9-3-1. First place. Sorry Ty.
he he... yow, bill

Labels: fun, qotd, sports