Actually, first up is a non-internet related reading tidbit. I learned two new words today be browsing the dictionary. Tumescence means a swelling, or a swollen body part. A Triskelion is a symbolic design featuring three curves or bent legs/arms eminating from the center (i.e. The flag of the Isle of Man).
Microsoft to Create Digital Monopoly: Paranoid? Yes. Is paranoia never justified? No.
The Best Candidate: Too bad he won’t be nominated. That’s what happens when you refuse to sell your soul to lobbyists.
John Edwards’s Anti-Brownie Law: “In response to pressure from the cookie lobby, Presidential hopefull-” Aw, screw it. I’m no John Stewart. But this is exactly what we need: government being run by people who know what they are doing. That’ll be the day, though.
Wikipedia: The Book: I’ve read longer…
The Opportunity Cost of the Iraq War: Good points, all causes I support. However, we’re also really fucking far into debt. Fixing social/economic/education problems is a must, but we also need to start paying this thing down. Almost 10% of our budget is paying the interest on our debt!
Full governmental transparancy: Great idea.
[Edited: On preview, I see that this post (the 14th) has forced the first post off the first page. Each page is set up to handle ten days worth of posts.]
To see how I stack up against the U.S. Presidential Candidates of 2008, look here. For my rankings against other world leaders, see here.
This was supposed to be the first Reading on the Internet post, but I never got around to finishing it. Now I have. Enjoy.
Things you Really Need to Learn: What every person needs to know to be a functional in our society, leading a happy and productive life. I think that I’ve mastered most of these.
How to write articles and essays: This is something I need to work on, although my biggest enemy is time management.
Thing you should learn this school year: Mostly business oriented, but can be applicable in all fields.
Guide to Logical Fallacies: Brushing up on your logic enables you to eliminate them from your arguments
How to evaluate websites: Or, “how not to look like a dumbass when someone reads your bibliography.”
Anti-protester manual: Essentially, this is the President using the Government to further his political agenda.
Consceintious Objector vs. Security Risk: Not every objector is genuine, but this really stung after Libby, who leaked the name of a CIA operative, had his sentence commuted.
There isn’t necessarily a link between poverty and terrorism: Gotta learn something new every day
Bush is a hypocrite: Go figure.
The Jerry Seinfeld Productivity Secret: I need this, or something like it. I thought that’s what My Progress was going to be like.
How to Develop Independent Thought: I agree with most of these statements. I find item #4 to be a tad redundent, with it’s contribution to independent thought roughly the same as #2.
What really kills Americans: Surprise, surprise! Our government is “fighting” the wrong “enemy”! Some of the other fact sheets on this site look worth checking out as well.
Our Educational System is in Shambles: Go figure.
A Brief History of Court-Packing: I had never realized that this had been done before Roosevelt. Not that it makes it any less an abuse of power.
Painted the foundations of the house and garage today. Don’t expect anything good until Monday. I also jointed MyProgress.com.
(16-August-2007):
Item #4: Check Check
Boy I’m a lazy fuck, aren’t I?
Family Security Matters: The fundie nutjob who wrote this article essentially advocates: the genocide of Iraqi Arabs and the Dictatorship of George Bush. While I wish such feelings were confined to the damaged brain of one individual, it was just this year that a “classmate” of mine’s solution to the war on terror was to “nuke ‘em all.” Keep in mind that this was the same Virginian who objected to my opinion that “we should never have let the rebel states back into the Union,” so I conclude it must be a racist thing.
The Bush-as-Dictator idea I oppose for two reasons. First, I am a good American, and believe that the only thing that unites us as a country is our love of Democracy as embodied by the Constitution*. Second, he’s an incompetent fucktard.
Third, any claim that Israel is “unable” to defend itself is bullshit. They went to war just last summer, and are still in possesion of occupied lands they’ve had for 40 years.
*Yes, I know it’s not perfect, but it’s better than anarchy.
CIA/Vatican/Wiki smear campaign: By the way I worded the title, I seem to be inferring that the three groups are in some sort of conspiratorial league with each other. Trickey, eh?
We have broken the Speed of Light: Maybe. But can you get us from here to the Neutral Zone before the Romulans attack? Only if your ship is made of many “microwave photons.” And my many I mean one.
A cool video series: I only watched the first episode, because it took two hours to load, but people on message boards I frequent speak highly of it. More Information That I Found.
A picture: So, is there really a problem with people sticking screwdrivers into thier penises? Personally, as a man who likes his penis very much, I would never do such a thing. I was even slightly wary of Googling for more information on this epidemic (I only got one hit on “screwdriver in penis injuries” that was relavent, and it was on a medical journal website.) ALthough, one cannot discount the number of people who shove unusual objects up thier asses (live animals and A TOOLBOX).
A comic: This pretty much sums up why I shut my mouth when people talk about music around me.
An Article: EHostPros would never pull this shit on me, not that I need to worry about getting liked to Digg/Reddit/etc and/or having any visitors.
Another Article: Standard people-are-becomming-ignorant,-god—fearing-savages-again fare.
This is another reason we can’t trust the people who are running this government: I think “treason” is a bit of a harsh word to describe what Young did (not that I’m implying that they used that word in the article), but he should be expelled from Congress for Abuse of Power or Missappropriation of Funds or something, and tried in a court of law for the same.
I set aside today as a personal project day. Let’s take a look at what I intended to do today, what I did, and what I futilly hope to accomplish before “The Closer” comes on tonight.
- Hang the Bull Horns: Check, and Beautiful.
- Write in my journal about how I’m probably in love with a friend/a friend’s girlfriend: Check.
- Work on my Senior Project: Check
- Write the “About Me” section for my Info Page/my MySpace: Working on it
- Write the “Who I’d Like to Meet” section on my MySpace: Working on it
- Finish “Insecticide”: Laughable
- Write the Retroactively Second Fisherman Article: Possible, ties in with Item #5
- Start again on the guitar: Doubtful
So I’m 3 for 8, though I could do as well as 7/8 if I stop typing this and get my ass into gear.
A March to Irrelevance: This man is so right. Next protest I organize (ha!), dark suits and sunglasses for everyone! But seriously, the only way to make the government responsible to the people is to make it as afraid of us as they are of the fundies.
Speaking of which, Bill Nye himself was booed by a bunch of fundies in Texas. I’d have a link to that, but the page I saw yesterday, has been suspended today (for lack of payment.)
My new fake address? 123 Gropecunt Lane, London, UK.
Classy Inslults: How can any list of classy insults be without this Churchill gem? “Lady Nancy Astor: Winston, if I were your wife, I’d poison your tea. Churchill: Nancy, if I were your husband, I’d drink it.”
Russians Claim North Pole: Unfortunatetly, we cannot claim the moon in retalliation without suffering major international backlash. (We didn’t sign that treaty, by the way.) So, I wonder how many of Santa’s Elves have been stuck with poison-tipped umbrellas?
Cows < Cars for environment: But what the article fails to realize is that that beef will be eaten whether or not the person takes the time to walk down to the store. (Especially us fatass Americans.)
Seven-legged Sheep!: This would be funny if it hadn’t been born without bowels.
Congress Fails to Man Up to Bush: Hey! Maybe I could protest this! Drat! My suit is at the cleaners. (This is a dirty lie, I’m just lazy.)
“And they use the kind of language I wouldn’t even use to my own mother.” Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchet.
“The relavent equation is: Knowledge=power=energy=matter=mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read.” Ibid. As a matter of fact, this is going to be the book quoted from for the entire post.
I like the Beowulf reference found on page 123.
One for Lauren: “‘I could kick him in the bollucks for you if you like, m’lady.’” (p204)
The bottom of 210 and top of 211 is downright hilarious.
“There is an art to throwing knives and, even then, you need the right kind of knife. Otherwise it does just what this one did, which is miss completely.” (p300)
(Oh, and the title of this post is a pittiful play on ménage à trois. I don’t blame you if you didn’t get it.)
Bonus News Story: Small Victory against Red China
