Tuesday, August 31, 2004
MikeyMoore's Own Words
Mikey gets one thing right in his (cough*hotel doormat*cough) USA Today 'coverage' of the GOP convention:
"Our side is full of wimps."
On the way home today
Two slightly entertaining sightings on the way home today:
1) A hot new Ferrari with license plate "PYMT DU".
2) An auto dealership named "Sham Auto Sales".
1) A hot new Ferrari with license plate "PYMT DU".
2) An auto dealership named "Sham Auto Sales".
doubleplusgoodthink
Here's an edited summary of some comments on Scrappleface:
Now lets see if I've I got this straight...
Clinton awards Halliburton no-bid contract in Yugoslavia - good
Bush awards Halliburton no-bid contract in Iraq - bad
Clinton spends 77 billion on war in Serbia - good
Bush spends 87 billion in Iraq - bad
Clinton imposes regime change in Serbia - good
Bush imposes regime change in Iraq - bad
Clinton bombs Christian Serbs on behalf of Muslim Albanian terrorists - good
Bush liberates 25 million from a genocidal dictator - bad
Clinton bombs Chinese embassy - good
Bush bombs terrorist camps - bad
Clinton commits felonies while in office - good
Bush lands on aircraft carrier in flight suit - bad
Stock market crashes in 2000 under Clinton - good
Recession under Bush - bad
Clinton refuses to take custody of Bin Laden - good
World Trade Centers fall under Bush - bad
Clinton calls for regime change in Iraq - good
Bush imposes regime change in Iraq - bad
Terrorist training in Afghanistan under Clinton - good
Bush destroys training camps in Afghanistan - bad
No mass graves found in Serbia - good
No WMD found Iraq - bad
Milosevic not yet convicted - good
Saddam in custody - bad
Clinton: Saddam has WMD and he's a threat - good
Bush: Saddam has WMD and he's a threat - bad
Clinton: Says he's going to do something about terrorism but doesn't - good
Bush: Says he's going to do something about terrorism and does - bad
Clinton is a draft-dodger - good
Bush honorably served in National Guard - bad
Clinton lied under oath - good
Bush never lied under oath - bad
Clinton cheated on his wife - good
Bush never cheated on his wife - bad
---
Kerry falls off his snowboard - good
Bush falls off his bicycle - bad
Kerry says Saddam had WMD and was a threat - good
Bush says Saddam had WMD and was a threat - bad
pro-Kerry 527s have been funded to the tune of $145 million dollars - good
pro-Bush 527s have been funded to the tune of $9 million dollars - bad
Kerry's wife Tereza speaks her mind - good
Bush's wife Laura speaks her mind - bad
Kerry marries into his money - good
Bush earned his money - bad
---
Kerry fought in Vietnam War - good
Kerry protested Vietnam War - good
Kerry was for funding the Iraq War - good
Kerry was not for funding Iraq War - good
Kerry wins war medals - good
Kerry tosses his war medals - good
Kerry still has his war medals that he tossed - good
Kerry challenges his band of brothers to speak up - good
Kerry threatens to sue his band of brothers when they
do speak up - good
Kerry claims to be an ardent environmentalist - good
Kerry owns several polluting SUV - good
Kerry says Bush lawyer helping a 527 is wrong and should stop - good
Kerry refuses to stop his own lawyer from helping Democratic 527s - good
Kerry is elected U.S. Senator - good
Kerry rarely shows up in the Senate - good
Kerry was against Desert Storm I - good
Kerry was for authorizing Desert Storm II - good
Kerry is now against Desert Storm II - good
Kerry makes fun of Bush reading to children for 7 minutes as WTC start to burn - good
Kerry admits to Larry King he couldn't think for half an hour after WTC started to burn - good
Kerry says it really doesn't matter whether Clinton served his country in uniform or not - good
Kerry says Bush's service in the National Guard isn't good enough and ought to be looked into - good
Kerry claims he believes in the First Amendment - good
Kerry threatens a publisher to pull a book critical of him - good
Kerry wants money out of politics - good
Kerry wants all the money he can get to beat Bush - good
Now lets see if I've I got this straight...
Clinton awards Halliburton no-bid contract in Yugoslavia - good
Bush awards Halliburton no-bid contract in Iraq - bad
Clinton spends 77 billion on war in Serbia - good
Bush spends 87 billion in Iraq - bad
Clinton imposes regime change in Serbia - good
Bush imposes regime change in Iraq - bad
Clinton bombs Christian Serbs on behalf of Muslim Albanian terrorists - good
Bush liberates 25 million from a genocidal dictator - bad
Clinton bombs Chinese embassy - good
Bush bombs terrorist camps - bad
Clinton commits felonies while in office - good
Bush lands on aircraft carrier in flight suit - bad
Stock market crashes in 2000 under Clinton - good
Recession under Bush - bad
Clinton refuses to take custody of Bin Laden - good
World Trade Centers fall under Bush - bad
Clinton calls for regime change in Iraq - good
Bush imposes regime change in Iraq - bad
Terrorist training in Afghanistan under Clinton - good
Bush destroys training camps in Afghanistan - bad
No mass graves found in Serbia - good
No WMD found Iraq - bad
Milosevic not yet convicted - good
Saddam in custody - bad
Clinton: Saddam has WMD and he's a threat - good
Bush: Saddam has WMD and he's a threat - bad
Clinton: Says he's going to do something about terrorism but doesn't - good
Bush: Says he's going to do something about terrorism and does - bad
Clinton is a draft-dodger - good
Bush honorably served in National Guard - bad
Clinton lied under oath - good
Bush never lied under oath - bad
Clinton cheated on his wife - good
Bush never cheated on his wife - bad
---
Kerry falls off his snowboard - good
Bush falls off his bicycle - bad
Kerry says Saddam had WMD and was a threat - good
Bush says Saddam had WMD and was a threat - bad
pro-Kerry 527s have been funded to the tune of $145 million dollars - good
pro-Bush 527s have been funded to the tune of $9 million dollars - bad
Kerry's wife Tereza speaks her mind - good
Bush's wife Laura speaks her mind - bad
Kerry marries into his money - good
Bush earned his money - bad
---
Kerry fought in Vietnam War - good
Kerry protested Vietnam War - good
Kerry was for funding the Iraq War - good
Kerry was not for funding Iraq War - good
Kerry wins war medals - good
Kerry tosses his war medals - good
Kerry still has his war medals that he tossed - good
Kerry challenges his band of brothers to speak up - good
Kerry threatens to sue his band of brothers when they
do speak up - good
Kerry claims to be an ardent environmentalist - good
Kerry owns several polluting SUV - good
Kerry says Bush lawyer helping a 527 is wrong and should stop - good
Kerry refuses to stop his own lawyer from helping Democratic 527s - good
Kerry is elected U.S. Senator - good
Kerry rarely shows up in the Senate - good
Kerry was against Desert Storm I - good
Kerry was for authorizing Desert Storm II - good
Kerry is now against Desert Storm II - good
Kerry makes fun of Bush reading to children for 7 minutes as WTC start to burn - good
Kerry admits to Larry King he couldn't think for half an hour after WTC started to burn - good
Kerry says it really doesn't matter whether Clinton served his country in uniform or not - good
Kerry says Bush's service in the National Guard isn't good enough and ought to be looked into - good
Kerry claims he believes in the First Amendment - good
Kerry threatens a publisher to pull a book critical of him - good
Kerry wants money out of politics - good
Kerry wants all the money he can get to beat Bush - good
Friday, August 27, 2004
See?
It is possible to mention Hitler on the net and still have a valid point. Cut on the Bias did so correctly. Kurt Vonnegut did not.
Vietnam summary
Hugh Hewitt sums it up well:
(The Vietnam War) was about stopping the Pol Pots and the "more civilized" variant of communism in the North. It was a noble effort. It failed for many reasons, but especially because of the domestic left in the United States, which slandered the front line soldiers as a tactic in the effort to withdraw America from Vietnam, and to settle the issue of moral superiority versus moral equivalence in the global contest then underway between freedom and totalitarianism.
America then and America now was and is undeniably the greatest force for good in the world. Its troops, then and now, fought and still fight to protect and defend the United States and to stop evil men, regimes, and ideologies from murdering millions of innocents. In those fights, there will be terrible tolls, and many innocents will die or be injured, but American armies fight wars - then and now - with more concern for the innocent and with more discipline and accountability than any armies in history.
(The Vietnam War) was about stopping the Pol Pots and the "more civilized" variant of communism in the North. It was a noble effort. It failed for many reasons, but especially because of the domestic left in the United States, which slandered the front line soldiers as a tactic in the effort to withdraw America from Vietnam, and to settle the issue of moral superiority versus moral equivalence in the global contest then underway between freedom and totalitarianism.
America then and America now was and is undeniably the greatest force for good in the world. Its troops, then and now, fought and still fight to protect and defend the United States and to stop evil men, regimes, and ideologies from murdering millions of innocents. In those fights, there will be terrible tolls, and many innocents will die or be injured, but American armies fight wars - then and now - with more concern for the innocent and with more discipline and accountability than any armies in history.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
The Strongbad Email "they" don't want you to see...
...because they didn't write it, and they could do a lot better.
If you are one of the approximately four people on the web who hasn't seen Strongbad Email, go check it out - it's stooooopid funny. For everyone else:
(email) "Dear Strongbad, could you invent a craaazy sport? Sincerely, Kevin"
(sb) Look Kevin, all the sports that can be invented have been invented. They've been at it for millions, or even dozens of years. Now all you can do is to mix up the existing sports, like a "sports casserole", if you will.
But if I were to make a sport... I would make the athletes run for a while, and go swimming, and ride bikes for many miles, and go shoot at things. Oh, and maybe have them swordfight or something. That sounds pretty crazy to me.
(strongsad) They already have that, you doofus! It's called a Pentathlon.
(sb) What?!? You're kidding?
(ss) No. Look at the TV. It's in the Olympics.
(sb) Oh man!!
I give up, Kevin. Those sport inventor guys are way crazier than you or I could ever be.
Olympically yours,
Strongbad
If you are one of the approximately four people on the web who hasn't seen Strongbad Email, go check it out - it's stooooopid funny. For everyone else:
(email) "Dear Strongbad, could you invent a craaazy sport? Sincerely, Kevin"
(sb) Look Kevin, all the sports that can be invented have been invented. They've been at it for millions, or even dozens of years. Now all you can do is to mix up the existing sports, like a "sports casserole", if you will.
But if I were to make a sport... I would make the athletes run for a while, and go swimming, and ride bikes for many miles, and go shoot at things. Oh, and maybe have them swordfight or something. That sounds pretty crazy to me.
(strongsad) They already have that, you doofus! It's called a Pentathlon.
(sb) What?!? You're kidding?
(ss) No. Look at the TV. It's in the Olympics.
(sb) Oh man!!
I give up, Kevin. Those sport inventor guys are way crazier than you or I could ever be.
Olympically yours,
Strongbad
Lies! Lies!
Here are a few of the many lies that Big Stupid Tommy has written:
There is no word in Russian for "pre game warmup."
There are 119 for "hangover."
The movie Mystic Pizza is a thinly veiled allegory of
Harry Truman's presidency.
Celery, if you think about it, is meat.
The National Anthem of Bulgaria is "Ice Ice Baby."
There is actually no such word as "diminutive."
Everything depicted in Marvel Comic Books from
1962-1975 actually happened.
The first cameras actually did steal your soul.
Technology has since been improved.
Porcupines are born with little tiny wings.
There is no word in Russian for "pre game warmup."
There are 119 for "hangover."
The movie Mystic Pizza is a thinly veiled allegory of
Harry Truman's presidency.
Celery, if you think about it, is meat.
The National Anthem of Bulgaria is "Ice Ice Baby."
There is actually no such word as "diminutive."
Everything depicted in Marvel Comic Books from
1962-1975 actually happened.
The first cameras actually did steal your soul.
Technology has since been improved.
Porcupines are born with little tiny wings.
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Iraqi Prisoner Abuse Photos
WARNING! EXTREMELY GRUESOME
To balance the coverage of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse, here is a site full of photos of Saddam's torture victims in Iraq. Also, here is a page from Saddam's torture instruction manual. (There are actually 14 pages - type in any number from 1 to 14 before the .jpg extension.) I can hardly force myself to look at the full size images - the thumbnail previews are horrific enough.
(Oh no, there's also a video. Here's one article that mentions it. Reading the description, I don't think I could watch it.)
ANYBODY who can look at these images and say that a pair of panties on someone's head is worse is either a PERVERT, a PATHOLOGICAL LYING $@&*$)&#, or Ted "Chappaquiddick" Kennedy.
Also, if the liberal media claims they are too gruesome for broadcast, they admit that the abuse under Saddam was worse than the abuse in Abu Ghraib. Any other reason they give is just a lame excuse trying to cover their anti-American and anti-Bush bias.
I am NOT excusing what happened in Abu Ghraib. I am trying to put it in perspective.
(Found at No Pasaran)
To balance the coverage of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse, here is a site full of photos of Saddam's torture victims in Iraq. Also, here is a page from Saddam's torture instruction manual. (There are actually 14 pages - type in any number from 1 to 14 before the .jpg extension.) I can hardly force myself to look at the full size images - the thumbnail previews are horrific enough.
(Oh no, there's also a video. Here's one article that mentions it. Reading the description, I don't think I could watch it.)
ANYBODY who can look at these images and say that a pair of panties on someone's head is worse is either a PERVERT, a PATHOLOGICAL LYING $@&*$)&#, or Ted "Chappaquiddick" Kennedy.
Also, if the liberal media claims they are too gruesome for broadcast, they admit that the abuse under Saddam was worse than the abuse in Abu Ghraib. Any other reason they give is just a lame excuse trying to cover their anti-American and anti-Bush bias.
I am NOT excusing what happened in Abu Ghraib. I am trying to put it in perspective.
(Found at No Pasaran)
Quik Linx
Rightwing Duck isn't afraid of a little old Skerrycrow.
Spoons Experience serves up an updated classic.
Hmm, The Rich Get Poorer, and The Poor Get Richer
Bush-haters of the world, unite!
Spoons Experience serves up an updated classic.
Hmm, The Rich Get Poorer, and The Poor Get Richer
Bush-haters of the world, unite!
Monday, August 23, 2004
Scotty was here
3M scientists can now make transparent aluminum in (relatively) large quantities - wow.
Eat Your Broccoli!
I haven't followed Sgt. Stryker as much lately, but this one is worth reading.
To: Main-stream Media
Re: Potentially Imploding Aspirants for the Presidency
From: Sgt. Mom
To: Main-stream Media
Re: Potentially Imploding Aspirants for the Presidency
From: Sgt. Mom
Don't give the kids a break...
Alice Cooper says "Hey Stoopid!" to the billion dollar babies on the anti-Bush music tour:
Vaguely related site: dumbcelebs.com
"To me, that's treason. I call it treason against rock 'n' roll because rock is the antithesis of politics. Rock should never be in bed with politics."
"When I was a kid and my parents started talking about politics, I'd run to my room and put on the Rolling Stones as loud as I could. So when I see all these rock stars up there talking politics, it makes me sick."
"If you're listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you're a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we're morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal."
Vaguely related site: dumbcelebs.com
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Randomness?
A few years ago, I heard a story about a university experiment of pattern analysis on random numbers, which I remembered something like this:
The story has many of the hallmarks of an urban legend, especially the whole "powerful knowledge They don't want you to know" feel of it. I had thought about it a couple of times, but had mostly forgotten about it... until yesterday, when I read this post.
I commented on it, and didn't get any direct answers, but there were a couple of (confrontational sounding) comments from one reader trying to get me to defend the claims of the story. I explained that I was not defending it, I was just wondering if anyone had heard of it and whether or not it was a hoax.
As I was trying to properly word my response, I thought it would be a good idea to find a reference to explain the meaning of "mathematical randomness" as I understood it. When I googled some search terms, the FIRST link listed both explains the concept, and has a link to the EXACT EXPERIMENT I was asking about in the first place - noosphere.princeton.edu.
How random is that?!?
The experiment is not quite what I remember. The premise of the experimenters sounds like new-age-global-consciousness nonsense, but the experiment itself is interesting (just click on the data access link, and there are several options available for viewing the data itself).
Some university has two programs running simultaneously on a mainframe. One perpetually generates a stream of random numbers – mathematically random, not like a low-level RND pseudorandom function found in many programming languages. The other one perpetually analyzes the stream for repetitive patterns. Short repetitions are relatively common, but every so often, a repetition occurs that is statistically extremely improbable. Analysis shows that an even more improbable percentage of these occurences happened within an hour of some major world event – earthquake, war or terrorist attack, death of a world leader, etc.
The story has many of the hallmarks of an urban legend, especially the whole "powerful knowledge They don't want you to know" feel of it. I had thought about it a couple of times, but had mostly forgotten about it... until yesterday, when I read this post.
I commented on it, and didn't get any direct answers, but there were a couple of (confrontational sounding) comments from one reader trying to get me to defend the claims of the story. I explained that I was not defending it, I was just wondering if anyone had heard of it and whether or not it was a hoax.
As I was trying to properly word my response, I thought it would be a good idea to find a reference to explain the meaning of "mathematical randomness" as I understood it. When I googled some search terms, the FIRST link listed both explains the concept, and has a link to the EXACT EXPERIMENT I was asking about in the first place - noosphere.princeton.edu.
How random is that?!?
The experiment is not quite what I remember. The premise of the experimenters sounds like new-age-global-consciousness nonsense, but the experiment itself is interesting (just click on the data access link, and there are several options available for viewing the data itself).
These seemed related...
Two very similar versions of the fable of the Ant & Grasshopper.
From Cheese and Bacon: I think (anti-war liberals) are the same people that never learned in pre-school that the square block will never fit in the round hole, and (think) that if they protest the circle hole enough, it'll eventually be forced to let the square block in. Then it will expect the round hole to give the square block reparations and a free ride for excluding it for so long.
From Cheese and Bacon: I think (anti-war liberals) are the same people that never learned in pre-school that the square block will never fit in the round hole, and (think) that if they protest the circle hole enough, it'll eventually be forced to let the square block in. Then it will expect the round hole to give the square block reparations and a free ride for excluding it for so long.
more magic math
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