31 January 2009

A Serious Question

Why is it that people -- bloggers, serious ones whose writing I respect -- don't get that Republicans are only talking to other Republicans? Ever. That their blatant hypocrisies are no such thing, because, to them, non-Republicans simply do no exist, and therefor there is no hypocrisy?

Folks, you're wasting your time complaining about them. May as well try to get the sun to not rise in the East.

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!

I have had the hiccups for 8 of the last 10 waking hours. I don't think I was hiccuping in my sleep, but, as I was asleep, I cannot be sure.

Hiccups. are. annoying. To put it mildly.

/sigh -- hic/

UPDATE: 11:11pm... after a brief, approx. half-hour reprieve, the hiccups returned and are still going.

30 January 2009

Sido Etiquetado Para un Meme

This is what I get for reading blogs. Both Lisa and Gine got me on this one.

Grab the nearest book and turn to page 46. Copy the fifth sentence (and some following) on that page. For some reason, the book nearest to me right now is Spanish for Dummies, so here's mine:

In our example, she marries señor Juan José García Díaz. She is still called Fernández, but after father's name she adds de and her husband's surname, which is García. Now, she is señora María del Carmen Fernández de García.

Note that Spanish speakers capitalize señor and señora when abbreviated the way people in the States capitalize Mr. and Mrs.


And there you have it.

Haute Cuisine du Maison Phydeaux

Since everyone else is posting their gastronomic creativity, I decided I should do the same.

So, for your viewing/reading pleasure, I present to you.... my breakfast:

First, one must find the proper ingredients. Only the freshest and best-tasting will do. Ordinarily, one would need a garden and/or access to a farm to get the best -- and I have, at present, neither. Luckily for me, there is a Food Coop just down the street from where I am currently residing, and I was able to procure some wonderful makings....




Ingredients -- Organic whole milk (with cream still in) and cereal (bowl and spoon courtesy of Sister One):

Step One -- carefully add cereal to bowl:

Step Two -- add the milk (note the proper height from which to pour the milk):

The Final Presentation -- place the bowl in front of the monitor and keyboard, so you can catch up on the latest the InterWebs Tubes have to offer while you eat:

Bon Appetit!

29 January 2009

Umm, No Thanks



I think I'll pass on the free shit.

Sol Invictus



Trailer for A Road Not Taken, which tells the story of the White House solar water heater.


“...a generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken, or it can be a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people; harnessing the power of the Sun to enrich our lives as we move away from our crippling dependence on foreign oil.” -- Jimmy Carter, June 1979

Reagan had the panels removed during his time in office.

(h/t to Bob Cesca for the video)

28 January 2009

Pheaux Phyre Phorum: The It's So Nice That We've Had a Real President For Over A Week Now Edition



Hey! Guess what? It's a Wednesday and I remembered to post this!!

You may remember the drill. I post the Phyre, and y'all talk about whatever.Click here to join! It's a Skype chat, which is totally free, but you must have Teh Skype installed on your computer. (I bet that if you click on that link and don't have Skype, it'll prompt you through the (easy and quick [and did I mention free?]) install.

See ya in the funny papers chat!!

A Message From Al Gore



Go to Repower America and sign the petition, please.

27 January 2009

Has It Really Only Been A Week?

I swear, it seems like a lot longer since we saw Dubya get on that helicopter and fly away.

Maybe it's because President Obama has accomplished so much more for the People, We in his first week in office than the previous Occupant did in ... oh, his entire life.

What do y'all think?

26 January 2009

Ooh, Could It Be... Calling Someone To Account!?!?

In DC, there's a new sheriff in charge, and it seems like it may have consequences:

The House Judiciary Committee chairman subpoenaed former White House adviser Karl Rove on Monday to testify about the Bush administration's firing of U.S. attorneys and prosecution of a former Democratic governor.

As you may recall, Rove hid behind Dubya's coattails the last time he was subpoenaed, but that shit ain't gonna cut it this time.

We may yet get to see this in real life:

25 January 2009

Random Python, Monty: Special Sunday Edition

From the Secret Policeman's Balls (best bit, Cleese making Palin lose his shit three minutes into it:



Pining for the fjords!?!?

24 January 2009

Restaurant Food Fail

Regular readers may remember mentions of chili a few weeks ago, and some passing reference to the fact that I like mine spicy.

But, it's still edible and, I think, quite good.

Then there are some restaurant chilies that are... I don't know. Some beans and sauce thrown in to add volume to the jalapeño. Now, my question is, what's the fucking point of chili that one cannot taste because it's 99.999% jalapeño? There's no taste, just burn. Why not, dear restaurateurs, just tell patrons that you're gonna destroy their taste buds and give them an eyedropper full of Dave's Insanity Sauce?

If you're brave of tongue and heart, add Dave's Insanity Sauce -- with a careful touch -- to soups, stews and sauces for insanely hot flavor. The label warning reads: "Use this product one drop at a time. Keep away from eyes, pets and children. Not for people with heart/respiratory problems."


Now if you will excuse me, I have a loaf of bread to eat to salve my burning mouth.

23 January 2009

Caoineadh Cu Chulainn

Cu Chulainn (pronounced kuh-HOO-lin) is the mythical hero of Ireland.

This is his lament from the wonderful Riverdance, played on the uillean (that's Irish for elbow) pipes:

22 January 2009

Moon Bricks



Take some moon dust, add some ground up spaceship, zap the mix with electricity, and presto! Moon bricks.

Astronauts living on the moon could someday use such a formula to construct an interlocking, virtually indestructible dome-shaped home.

"The habitat would look just like an igloo," said Kathryn Logan, a professor at Virginia Tech involved in the project. "No nails, no cement would be necessary to hold it together. The shape of the bricks will do that."


Science is so cool!!

And now that we don't have an anti-science buffoon in the White House, well, lots of things can now happen.

For My Good Phriend konagod



(h/t to Scrutiny Hooligans)

21 January 2009

More About Yesterday

No, not about the shindig in DC, about the snow here!!

Duh.


I went for a walk.



And took some pictures.



And a couple of them turned out half-decent.



The best part is? It didn't all melt away today. The streets are all fine, but the snow is still in the yards and stuff.

Bob is happy.

:)

20 January 2009

Amen!

I hardly ever mention religion, cause it's my belief that yours is none of my business, and vice-versa, but sometimes....



Dr. Joseph Lowery giving the Benediction at the Inauguration of Barack Obama.

...that you will help us work for that day
when Black will not be asked to get back,
when Brown can stick around,
when Yellow will be mellow,
when the Red man, can get ahead, man,
and when White will embrace what is right.

Let all those who'll do Justice and love Mercy say "Amen!" Say "Amen! and Amen!!"


That was what a preacher should sound like. And yes, my agnostic self was saying "Amen!" at the end.

20 January 2009 Will Live In Memory

Because today it snowed here in the flatlands!




Oh, right. There's also some big to-do going on in Washington, DC.

19 January 2009

This is Really Some Change I Can Believe In

Yesterday, the forecast for around here for the next few days was typical humdrum Winter... lows in the 20s, highs in the 40s, blah blah blah. Well, not any more! It's looking like I'ma get to see some snow!

Winter Storm Warning in effect from 9 PM this evening to 6 PM EST Tuesday...

Tonight
Rain likely this evening. Snow likely late this evening...then occasional snow after midnight. Snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches. Lows in the upper 20s. North winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation 90 percent.

Tuesday
Occasional snow in the morning...then snow likely in the afternoon. Additional snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches. Near steady temperature in the upper 20s. North winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph. Chance of snow 90 percent.


Obama is so good he's even ushering in change in the weather!

Yay C-SPAN!

They're already streaming inaugural events... right now I'm watching President-Elect Obama greet every single person at a Community Service Luncheon at some High School in DC.

Very cool.

So, if you're like me and don't have access to a TV, go here to see the happenings.

18 January 2009

Lucky Number 851!

According to Blogger, this is post #851 here at Phydeaux and Phriends.

So, Dear Readers, about what should I talk for this most momentous post?

Please tell me, cause I got nothin'.

By the way, as of this writing, Barack Obama will be President of the United States in 39 hours.

17 January 2009

Huh.

Apparently, I have "fan people". It's not understood, but there it is.


That is all.

Saturday Happenings

You may have read a while back that Circuit City had declared bankruptcy. Well, yesterday, they requested permission from a bankruptcy court to liquidate all merchandise in preparation to close down completely, having given up, due to the current economic situation, any hopes of recovering.

The judge said "Okay."

Starting this morning, Circuit City's all over the country began closeout sales. My sister has mentioned that she wanted to get a digital camera, and I told her, "Now would be the time" and, oddly enough, even volunteered to go to the nearest CC and find her one.

I was not the only person to have this idea.

There were ... a lot ... of people there, but everyone was cordial and/or resigned to waiting in lines and such. I found a nice little camera for my sister at a good price, and then ambled around a bit, looking at things.

I moseyed down the computer accessory aisle and remembered that my keyboard was a POS the spacebar of which often had a mind of its own, refused to work, or worked too well (no, I don't really need 523 spaces between those two words, thanks). I looked at what was still available and found a Logitech wireless board/mouse combo for a really good price (almost half off the Logitech website price) and I got it.

Ain't it cool looking?



Yay me!

16 January 2009

Links O' Plenty

FranIAm posts about the newest self-help craze.

Malia Obama is one smart 10 year old.

Bill Wolfrum is still a satirical genius(bonus points for the WKRP reference, Bill).

The Dark Wraith writes a letter quick note to former Senator Bill Frist.

Oh, by the way, in case the aforementioned Dark Wraith stops by, Brian over at Incertus has posted a most excellent (and hilarious) video on "The Ten Principles of Economics". Well, okay, Brian posted it whether or not the Dark Wraith stops by here. I'm not even sure Brian knows who the Dark Wraith is, so it would be pretty strange for him to make posting that vid contingent on DW visiting my blog.

And, if you're wondering why half the blogosphere was pushing hard to make Driftglass the winner in the Best Individual Blogger category for the 2008 Weblog Awards, go ye now and see this post.

Finally, thanks to Sherry, I now know what my word is:




Your Word is "Love"



You see life as possibility to form deep connections with a few people.

Relationships are the center of your world, and you always take time to bond with those you love.



You are caring and giving. You enjoy helping those you love.

And when it comes to romantic love, you feel passionately ... even in a very long term relationship.

15 January 2009

Awww, Cute Balloon Animals... Wait. What Are They Doing!?!?



Thanks to whomever emailed the link to Jen.

14 January 2009

Pheaux Phyre Phorum: The When Next We Meet Dubya Will Be Out Of Office Edition



Greetings, fellow Islamunofascists and Socialists!!! As the sidebar graphic --> says just over 5 days until the Current Occupant is gone and we once again have a President.

Also, I remembered to do this this week! /pats self on back/

I've set up a Skype Chat so we can avoid Teh Evil of Hell-0-Scam. All ya gotta do is click here, and start typing. I think. Oh, you do have to have Skype installed, but it's free. We're using just text, no voice necessary.

13 January 2009

It's All Liss' Fault

Because she posted Ren & Stimpy as today's Two Minute Nostalgia Sublime.

I have no choice, I must now post....

SPACE MADNESS

12 January 2009

On The Other Hand....

(in reference to yesterday's post title)

Today's NYT reports, Fiction Reading Increases for Adults

After years of bemoaning the decline of a literary culture in the United States, the National Endowment for the Arts says in a report that it now believes a quarter-century of precipitous decline in fiction reading has reversed.

...Among [the] chief findings [of the report] is that for the first time since 1982, when the bureau began collecting such data, the proportion of adults 18 and older who said they had read at least one novel, short story, poem or play in the previous 12 months has risen.


In addition, reading of "literary works" and poetry is up the most in the 18-24 demographic.

It seems the old slogan, Reading is FUNdamental!, still holds true.

11 January 2009

Cue R.E.M.*

"I have thousands of questions but I can't think of the right one."

So began the journalistic career of Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, live from Israel.

The people of Sderot "can't do normal things day to day" like get soap in their eyes in the shower, for fear of rockets, said America's most famous plumber,...

"I'm sure they're taking quick showers," he said. "I know I would."


Huh, turns out he's as good as most of the MSM after all.


But war correspondent or not, Wurzelbacher won't get to Gaza: Israel has barred access to foreign journalists.

"If he wants to put on an Israeli military uniform and go in as a volunteer, maybe," Seaman quipped. "Nobody goes in."


"Joe" is a big ole brave Murrikan. Ya think he'll take 'em up on the offer? Yeah, me neither.

News Corpse does an excellent snark job on Joe the Journalist. With video.




*Yeah, all the above was just an excuse to post this song:

10 January 2009

Teh Stoopit. It Burnses.

Anyone care to point out the geographic truth about which this person is apparently totally unaware?



And this is one of the Weblog "Best Individual Blog" also-rans.

Don't forget to vote for Driftglass. Once every 24 hours. Else a compatriot of the above will win.

ADDED: Okay. A few things.

One -- and this is the big one that I really don't think Vilmar is taking into account, it's the middle of Summer in the Southern Hemisphere and Winter in the Northern.

Two, Jubany Station, from where Vilmar is quoting the temp, is at a latitude of approx. 62°S and on the coast (hint, penguins and sea lions), which has average Summer temps (scoll down the page at the link) in the upper 30s(F) and can often get into the upper 40s.

Three, the average January temperature in Glasgow, Scotland (latitude approx. 56°N) is 10.6°F.

So the weather he's all ZOMG!!11!one!! about is... normal to a bit warm.

Anyway.

09 January 2009

Obamacize Me!

Dr. Monkey von Monkerstein turned me (and, well, anyone else who reads his blog, actually) on to this cool site called Obamicon.me that takes a picture and does the thing that the Obama campaign did to make the picture turn out the way it did. (I hope that explanation wasn't too technical for any of you.)

Anyway, here's my avatar pic done like the President-Elect's campaign posters:



Pretty cool, eh?

08 January 2009

Thursday Python Randomity



Silly English K-nig-uts!

07 January 2009

Pheaux Phyre Phorum: The Crap, I Forgot It Was Wednesday Again Edition



Geez...

I reckon I'm gonna have to set a weekly alarm to remind me. :)

Next week I will get this thing posted earlier, and will either have a Skype chat set up or, maybe possibly, a new commenting platform I've been hearing about.

For those of you who don't have it, Skype is a free chat and VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol -- aka "phone"). One of those dealies where you can (voice) talk to anyone anywhere computer to computer free. Jen and I use it fairly regularly, and I think it's pretty good.

However, for the Phyre, we'll just be doing text. Anyway, it's free and easy to set up, so you'll have no excuse next week when I light the Phyre and put up the chat link. ;)

For tonight, there's still "good old" Hell-0-Scam if ye've somethin' to say.

This Can't Be Good

Headline in today's NYT:

State’s Unemployment System Buckles Under Surging Demand


Swamped by a post-holiday surge of claims from laid-off workers, New York State’s computerized unemployment insurance system shut down briefly Monday afternoon and then again for several hours on Tuesday, according to the state Department of Labor.

The system, which serves as the gateway to unemployment benefits for New York residents, could not handle the volume of calls and online inquiries it was receiving, said Leo Rosales, a spokesman for the department. As many as 10,000 people an hour tried to log into the system to file new unemployment claims or to check on existing claims, Mr. Rosales said.(Emphasis mine)


I guess the good news is that at least a couple of programmers' jobs are secure for however long it takes to boost the system capacity.


In other news,

Hundreds of Coal Ash Dumps Lack Regulation

The coal ash pond that ruptured and sent a billion gallons of toxic sludge across 300 acres of East Tennessee last month was only one of more than 1,300 similar dumps across the United States — most of them unregulated and unmonitored — that contain billions more gallons of fly ash and other byproducts of burning coal.

[snip]

...Yet they are not subject to any federal regulation, which experts say could have prevented the spill, and there is little monitoring of their effects on the surrounding environment.


It's okay, though, because we all know that business will self-regulate for the common good.[/snark]

06 January 2009

Merry Old Christmas!

Or just plain Merry Christmas if you're of the Eastern Orthodox persuasion.



Father and Mother Christmas, aka my parents, circa 1994.

05 January 2009

Bush: In and Out

No, that's not a SPAM subject line, you dirty minded people. Sheesh.

Darth Cheney told Bob Schieffer yesterday that the current regime had "done some very good things". As usual, Cheney was limiting his thoughts to the very wealthy, because us Reg'lar Folk ain't no better off.

Pew poll results (via Think Progress):

04 January 2009

Wow



The above image (scroll down the page) is not a photoshop or a terrestrial light shining up. In fact, it's not known exactly what it is...

Many people have seen light pillars. They appear during winter when city lights shine upward into the icy air. Reflections from plate-shaped crystals spread the light into a vertical column.

Truhin's pillars, however, are not the ordinary kind. Even two leading experts in atmospheric optics can't quite figure them out...


More pics (and explanation) at the above link....

(h/t to kumatriel)

03 January 2009

Happy Anniversary!


To the Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity.

It was five years ago today that Spirit touched down and began its 90 day mission. For those keeping score, that was 1827 days (two leap years in that time) ago, which means that Spirit has surpassed the initial functionality by more than 20 times.

Well done, rovers!!

As Previously Mentioned...

One of the things one doesn't see every day is a Fiddler Cat On the a Roof Rolltop Hot Tin Roof Desk:




Today is, however, one of those days where one does see such a thing.

For some actually interesting blogging, see here, where I'm helping out with updates.

02 January 2009

Things You Don't See Every Day

A former Senator/VP Candidate/Presidential Candidate at the post office, especially wearing purple jogging shorts.

A cat on a rolltop desk.

(special thanks to my hawt editor)

01 January 2009

It's A New Year!!

I hope it's a happy one so far for y'all!

Jen is now trying the chili... she's still breathing.

Oh, and earlier she tried my Highland Brewery Black Mocha Stout and said,...

"Hmmm, it's not that bad!"

I do think I shall keep her, if she'll let me.

UPDATE: Jen finished her big bowl of chili, and is still alive. However, she's had two beers and is listening to infernal bagpipes with me, so ....