Thus Spake Russ

Posted By Russ on January 27, 2012 at 1:17 pm

This morning, I had a brilliant insight into the GOP primary race. It was clear, concise, and (dare I say it?) profound in its perspicacity.

And then I went to bed, thinking I’d write on it when I got up.

When I woke up, it was gone. I cannot for the life of me remember what those words of genius were, or even what they might have been.

Obviously, I should have written it down before going to bed.

Not so obviously: would that alleged brilliant insight have survived scrutiny under the light of day, or would it have turned out to be mere blather?

I’d kind of like to know, one way or the other.

Category: Bloggery, Politics | Add Your Comments »
Tags: punditry fail

Posted By Russ on January 25, 2012 at 9:47 am

Indiana governor Mitch Daniels:

In word and deed, the President and his allies tell us that we just cannot handle ourselves in this complex, perilous world without their benevolent protection. Left to ourselves, we might pick the wrong health insurance, the wrong mortgage, the wrong school for our kids; why, unless they stop us, we might pick the wrong light bulb!

From the GOP response to the State of the Union speech.

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Posted By Russ on January 23, 2012 at 10:00 am

• I wonder if there will be any questions about contraceptives at the debate tonight. Because it's such a burning issue, that's why. Shut up. #
• Oh good. I've shaken my cold, just in time… to catch another cold. Huzzah. #
• No, 3:30pm is NOT too late in the day to enjoy a good cup of coffee. (Nor, for that matter, is 11pm… if you work nights.) #
• I swear, every single thing L Ron Paul says sounds like a bad parody written by the lamest TV writing teams. Like, say, SNL or Glee. #
• No Wikipedia? Man, I feel sorry for all those kids who have papers due tomorrow. #suckitjunior #
• In case you hadn't heard… SOPA and PIPA are the largest potential threat to the 1st Amendment since… well, maybe ever. #
• SOPA and PIPA are the kinds of thing that happen when you have lawyers making laws about technology. They ignore actual technical experts. #
• Here's a thought: until members of congress can explain how the internet works, they ought not to presume they know how to regulate it. #
• Perry drops out – http://t.co/wkqIOmRT – class act. #
• Is it really so nuts to have a contingency plan for if the cats figure out how to open doors and use can openers on their own? #
• Yay, work is done for the night. Now I'll spend the rest of the night trying not to fall asleep in my comfy leather executive desk chair. :) #
• I've picked Kismet up off the desk and moved him to the floor about 100 times today. He weighs 15lbs and squirms. Upper body workout: done. #
• Fridays at work are always interesting, if "dread" might be considered interesting. Never know what kind of weirdness will land on my desk. #
• First problem of the day: EIGRP neighbor failure. One command, goodbye. I was inclined to say "boom, headshot" on the conf call. #geek #
• It seems somehow wrong to be eating kimchi & rice with a fork. #
• Dang, I did it again. Dozed off in my comfy desk chair. This is gonna screw up the rest of my night. #
• Having just watched an episode of a zombie series, I am thinking that the Anime Network could call itself the Fanservice Network. Egads. #
• OK, which of you knuckleheads broke the network today? #
• Apparently, my role at work today is to emulate The Amazing Kreskin. #
• Has L Ron Paul tied an onion to his belt yet? #tcot #
• I missed it… when L Ron Paul made his entrance, what was the background music? Crazy Train? #tcot #
• It must seem like a miracle to a cat, to see a human extract food from a can. Sure, the novelty wears off quickly when they're hungry…. #
• This new Kiefer Sutherland show "Touch" looks kind of interesting. So Fox will probably cancel it after four episodes. #
• Species-ist! RT @AndrewBreitbart: http://t.co/6gHWEw96 #

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Posted By Russ on January 20, 2012 at 4:13 pm

Ace nails it:

This aspect of the Paul agitation — seeking power without going through the bothersome step of ever securing permission — infuriates me. It’s always these games with rigging polls, caucuses, straw polls, etc.

There’s an arrogant contempt of democracy here.

“Infuriates” is the right word for it. The most rabid followers of Doctor L. Ron Paul have no concern for the legitimate contest; rather, they attempt by any means necessary and/or possible to game the system, to generate the appearance that Paul has more support than he in fact does have. They lie — quite openly and unabashedly — about the support he has from, say, military personnel. Unfortunately, some unsuspecting voters are buying into it.

God help us if that lunatic and the people who worship him ever gain the levers of power.

Category: Idiots, Quotes | Add Your Comments »
Tags: paultards

Posted By Russ on January 17, 2012 at 4:22 pm

Like a lot of other folks, I am compelled to give a sample of Newt dismembering rejecting the premise of Juan Williams’ questioning.

[Video via Hot Air.]

One main takeaway from the debate, though, is that the more I see of L. Ron Paul, the more I think that all he needs to do to sink his candidacy is keep talking.

What a loon.

Seriously, if Doctor Ron Paul wasn’t an actual office holder, he’d be nothing more than the loopy relative everyone has to apologize for constantly whenever he is exposed to the general public.

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Posted By Russ on January 16, 2012 at 1:31 pm

Today would have been Mycah’s eighth “Gotcha Day.”

We — the lads and I — have adapted to life here without her.

She was elderly, and her passing in November was somewhat expected, but when the end came I wasn’t even close to being ready for it.

I still miss her every day, quite a lot; it was the support of people on the net, especially the Cat Blogosphere, that buoyed me through that initial grief.

For that, I am truly grateful.

Category: Animals | 2 Comments »
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Posted By Russ on January 16, 2012 at 11:00 am

• I have been *so* completely out of it today. Maybe loading up the flintlock & firing a (blank) round into the ceiling will wake me up. #
• Kismet must have sensed my malaise. He opted to knock over my guitar and its stand. Gee thanks , Knucklehead. #
• ICYMI: Breathtaking, spectacular, magnificent: The Piano Guys ft. Alex Boye – youtu.be/Cgovv8jWETM #
• L. Ron Paul's 2nd place showing in New Hampshire is proof that only bad things can happen when you let independents vote in a GOP primary. #
• Every time I hear L Ron Paul speak, I expect him to go into his "I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time" routine. #tcot #
• Rock Sugar Live, Download 2011, Dreaming Of A Whole Lotta Breakfast – YouTube – http://t.co/Duvukh65 #
• Rock Sugar, Live, Download 2011, Shook Me Like A Prayer – YouTube – http://t.co/YPQvCo5d #
• Rock Sugar, Download 2011, We Will Kickstart Your Rhapsody – YouTube – http://t.co/FvqtmKmb #
• I put "Iranian nuke scientist" at about the same level as Dr. Mengele on the hierarchy of Good/Evil. Boo-frikkin'-hoo: http://t.co/aIRXdZ80 #
• My own hashtag! Awesome! (due to: http://t.co/W4JnSuQQ) MT @policymeetworld: http://t.co/VoQRvmMT #russemersonloveshimsomewar #
• I'm not altogether sure how/why I received a Victoria's Secret catalog in my mail. This may bear some serious investigation. #
• Leg mode: spaz-tastic. On the plus side, I was able to go out and get my own groceries today rather than rely on delivery. So, bonus! #
• The last ten minutes have been a non-stop struggle to keep Kismet from sending a random tweet and/or Facebook status update. Pest. #
• I feel a bit weird today. I have an urge to try to sync "Dark Side of the Moon" with this training video I have to watch. #
• Another 7-hour conference call. I'm thinking "5 Hour Energy" is a couple of hours short of ideal for my purposes. #
• Wait… it's Friday the 13th? Remind me not to walk backwards into any dimly-lit rooms or say something dumb like "it's perfectly safe." #
• Joran van der Sloot gets 28 years in a Peruvian prison… couldn't happen to a nicer guy. #
• My new office chair is maybe too comfy. I turned off the PC and lights this a.m. before bed… and woke 6 hours later, still in my chair. #
• US troops in trouble for peeing on some dead Taliban? They could have stayed out of trouble if they'd just cut off their heads instead. #
• John Edwards’s Heart Surgery Forces a Delay in His Trial – NYTimes – http://t.co/SZdkRL22 – a lawyer with a heart? *That* is news. #
• Fahrenheit 451 for 30 minutes. #booksyoucaneat #
• "American Pickers" and "Hoarders" are basically just two sides of the same sanity coin, aren't they? #
• I'm going to bed. I'm by no means ready to sleep, but I don't want to accidentally drop off while still at my desk. 'Night, all. #
• Finally getting to last night's DVRed #RedEye This afternoon is looking good so far. #
• Some days, the network problems I deal with are weird but give me the opportunity to dazzle the unenlightened. Like today so far. Me FTW. #
• So very sad but true. MT @theleanover: Sometimes I wish I was a lady. because I'd have that "cats, tea and shawls" thing locked down tight. #
• Dinner: hamburger steak & a big green salad. #ForAmerica #
• So, the Animal Planet show "Finding Bigfoot" – that's pretty much a lie from start to finish, isn't it? #
• Watched the Swedish version of "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" – pretty good, but man, some parts are disturbing. #
• +100, maybe *100 // @baseballcrank: My timeline is full of the Golden Globes, & not one tweet makes me wish I was watching. #
• Better than one on every neck w/ Obama. MT @CatsPolitics: A Boot On Every Head! #endorsed RT @leahblizz: vote for Vermin Surpreme. #
• If there is a more self-defeating statement than "No, I'm not in denial," I can't think of it. #

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Posted By Russ on January 12, 2012 at 3:57 pm

I received in my mail an item that’s apparently been going around the internet recently, what looks like a photocopy of a bit of doggerel that appears to be on New York Daily News letterhead, dated November 4, 1949.

Like anything that circulates on the internet, it’s worth what you paid for it… but the image (see below) looks legitimate, and the language has the right “feel” for the era in question.

Genuine or not, though, the words are as applicable today as they would have been in 1949. Perhaps more so, given our current national financial straits.

ODE TO THE WELFARE STATE

Mr. Truman’s St. Paul, Minn., pie-for-everybody speech last night reminded us that, at the tail-end of the recent session of Congress, Representative Clarence J. Brown (R-Ohio) jammed into the Congressional Record the following poem, describing the author only as “a prominent Democrat of the State of Georgia”:

DEMOCRATIC DIALOG Father, must I go to work?    No, my lucky son. We’re living now on Easy Street    On dough from Washington. We’ve left it up to Uncle Sam,    So don’t get exercised. Nobody has to give a damn —    We’ve all been subsidized. But if Sam treats us all so well    And feeds us milk and honey, Please daddy, tell me what the hell    He’s going to use for money. Don’t worry, bub, there’s not a hitch    In this here noble plan — He simply soaks the filthy rich    And helps the common man. But, father, won’t there come a time    When they have run out of cash And we have left them not a dime    When things will go to smash? My faith in you is shrinking, son,    You nosy little brat; You do too damn much thinking, son,    To be a Democrat.

The photocopy in question:

Category: History, Humor, Politics | 1 Comment »
Tags: doom

Posted By Russ on January 9, 2012 at 11:00 am

• I don't know why I should be so surprised about it, but I really do feel better after 8 hours of sleep, rather than, say, 3. #
• Heck's Bells #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• The Visitor-on-a-Tourist-Visa Song #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Rock You Like A Tropical Storm #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• The Wreck of the Edward Fitzgerald Kennedy #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• One Bourbon #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Quatre Bras #lessambitiousrocksongs #historygeek #
• Not so fast there, Sandman #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Johnny B. Meh #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• American Pop-Tart #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• BiBill O'Reilley #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Balzac Blitz #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Hirsute Guys of London #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Shine On You Crazy Cubic Zirconium #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Mmm Mmm #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Twist and Groan in Pain from a Herniated Disk #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Mr. Accordion Man #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• The Odds Are in Favor of Getting Fooled Again #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Louis, Louis #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Smells Like Teen Sweat Socks #lessambitiousrocksongs #OWS #
• Nothing Compares 2 U2 #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Little Red Chevette #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Bad Herbal Remedy #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Oye Como What? #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Oh Petty Woman #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Oh, There's That Thing I've Been Looking For #lessambitiousrocksongs #
• Kalbi & kimchi…. #paradise #
• Re-re-reiterate: if the words "colossal" & "douchebag" didn't exist, they'd have to be invented to be used to describe Alan Colmes. #
• Pay attention, Iowa. / RT @IMAO_ If you think Ron Paul has an actual chance to be president, the kind of lusional you are is the “de” kind. #
• Woohoo! // RT @agentbedhead: New "Justified" wallpapers are out for Season 3! http://t.co/C9hsSKRo #
• I need a red laser dot to play with to take my mind off everything. #
• If any of y'all were in N.Carolina, I'd say come on over, let's drink. #IAcaucus #
• When is the History Channel going to just admit the truth, and rename itself the Alien/Illuminati/Templar/Trilateral/CIA Conspiracy Channel? #
• Ron Paul shouldn't play the "chickenhawk" card on Gingrich until he first shows us his own Spanish-American War enlistment papers. #tcot #
• What are the odds we'll ever again have a POTUS who isn't in love with the sound of his own voice? (Slim, meet None.) #
• Minus spiders, plus heights. Clowns… *shudder* // RT @CatsPolitics: Bridges, spiders, 4 more years of Obama, clowns #MyFears #
• OK, legs: if you were to, say, stop spasming for the rest of the night, I'd really be OK with that. Promise. Cross my heart. #
• New beard/mustache trimmer arrived from Amazon today. Kismet has *no* idea how close he is to getting "DOPE" shaved on his side. #
• Poor bandwidth on the VPN to the office today. Multitasking difficulty tripled or worse. #firstworldproblems #
• Oh yeah… maybe I should take my medications sometime today if I want my legs to behave. #
• Finally figured out how to reprogram the thermostat. How humiliated would I have been if I'd had to call tech support? *T-H-I-S* humiliated. #
• Ducking a strike contingency assignment (climbing utility poles in OH) is one of the few pluses to being a cripple… but a definite plus. #
• I feel like I've been in a coma all day. Not sure what's up with that. #
• New "Walking Dead" episodes coming next month… I don't care what @allahpundit says, it's a good show. #
• Other gamers keep telling me I should try Skyrim. I'm about to give up all my free time for Mass Effect 3, so let's not go nuts, folks. #ME3 #
• Quick poll: am I the oldest (49) gamer on the planet? I begin to suspect I may be. #bf3 #me3 #
• My cable went out just now, 10 minutes before work. No net, no phone. Came back in the proverbial nick of. What terrific timing I have. #
• Perspective: those who mock how the Santorums dealt with the death of a newborn are the same ones who think drum circles are normal. #
• "Because the Democrats shouldn't have a lock on the anti-Semite vote." #ronpaulslogans #
• "Do you see? DO YOU SEE?" #ronpaulslogans #
• "If you've had too much sanity, Dr. Ron Paul has the cure." #ronpaulslogans #
• "Because liberty is about more than just smoking dope. Sometimes it's about isolationism & letting Iran have nukes, too." #ronpaulslogans #
• "The voices in my head say you should vote for me." #ronpaulslogans #
• "I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have white onions because of the war… and Jews." #ronpaulslogans #
• "Magnets: how DO they work?" #ronpaulslogans #
• No, I really am handicapped. Serious. // MT @rachelveronica: You're not handicapped. You're exceptional. #EdwardScissorhands #
• Am I the only one who still has trouble remembering to say "Czech Republic" instead of "Czechoslovakia"? #
• Another Monday morning, and again my "weekend" begins with a complete lack of sleep. Maybe I should medicate myself…. #

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Posted By Russ on January 5, 2012 at 6:59 pm

Ace, and the magic of language:

From Triumph To Triumph: California Board Puts Kibosh On High-Rail Boondoggle, As Economically Retarded

Their word. They actually said that. The report really said, “economically retarded.”

No it didn’t.

But in that one moment of doubt, a million possibilities existed. I created those possibilities. You’re welcome.

Positively lyrical, that.

Category: Language, Quotes | Add Your Comments »
Tags: magic

Posted By Russ on January 5, 2012 at 1:31 pm

The good news — one goblin down, one under arrest.

A young Oklahoma mother shot and killed an intruder to protect her 3-month-old baby on New Year’s Eve, less than a week after the baby’s father died of cancer.

Sarah McKinley says that a week earlier a man named Justin Martin dropped by on the day of her husband’s funeral, claiming that he was a neighbor who wanted to say hello. The 18-year-old Oklahoma City area woman did not let him into her home that day.

On New Year’s Eve Martin returned with another man, Dustin Stewart, and this time was armed with a 12-inch hunting knife. The two soon began trying to break into McKinley’s home.

Read the rest here.

The bad news — this is a bit more complicated than mere scorekeeping, but fundamentally boils down to the question: how poorly educated on their own basic rights are people, such that a young mother has to ask a 911 operator whether it is OK to use deadly force to defend herself and her child from a murderous attack?

Admittedly, the brave young woman was under an enormous, unimaginable amount of stress. The right to self defense, however, is the most basic of all rights, and should be a no-brainer under virtually any circumstance.

There is an anti-gun culture that tries to teach that firearms are evil in each, any, and every case. That culture nearly cost Sarah McKinley her life.

Category: Barbarians, Guns & Shooting, News | Add Your Comments »
Tags: bravery, crime

Posted By Russ on January 3, 2012 at 3:09 pm

Four years ago you held caucuses, and came up with Mike “Aw-Shucks Nanny-Statist” Huckabee as your chosen winner. The only thing that kept me from going nuclear on you then was that I recognized the ease, the slickness with which Huckabee had been able to con voters throughout his career.

You have another chance tonight. You should, by this time, be a bit more savvy. Granted, the candidates amongst whom you have to choose do not make up the greatest slate that’s ever been; there’s no Ronald Reagan (or even a Calvin Coolidge) for whom you might cast a vote tonight.

Nonetheless, there are some candidates who are worth your vote, some who might not be, and one — Ron Paul — who is worth little, other than repudiation.

Don’t blow it.

Category: Memoranda, Politics | Add Your Comments »
Tags: bad idea, good idea

Posted By Russ on January 2, 2012 at 3:00 pm

• Well, I made it through Christmas without coming down with a cold or anything. Can't quite say the same about Boxing Day, though. #
• Mycah always loved Boxing Day. Here she is in 2005: http://t.co/JBgRDyhu – You may understand why I thought she was a beauty. #
• I found out the Korean food I got was sent by my sis. I'd thank her publicly, but she's not on FB or Twitter, so instead I'll be an ingrate. #
• Been sick (the word "projectile" was involved) since Monday. Finally starting to feel human again. #
• NOW HEAR THIS, NOW HEAR THIS: my cats are morons. That is all. Carry on. #
• Michelle Bachmann, after learning that her Iowa chairman defected to Ron Paul: http://t.co/XAwTGhnG #
• Michelle Bachmann, after learning that her Iowa chairman defected to Ron Paul: http://t.co/XAwTGhnG #tcot #
• I'm good with that, if it means we can stick him in liquid nitrogen until then. // RT @keder: Ron Paul 3012! #
• Remember how I said I was sick earlier this week? Yeah, I seem to be having a problem with use of the past tense. #
• Mmmm, sacred steak… // RT @thekelliejane: Truth. RT @ChrisBarnhart: Your sacred cow is guaranteed to be someone else's porterhouse. #
• 15+ years in networking, and I'm finally senior enough to say "no" to a sales team's request and make it stick. I'll celebrate later. #
• Whenever I hear *Doctor* Ron Paul whinging about something, I feel an an urge to curse out loud. #
• For every news story teased before an ad break, I think "I hope beatings were involved." Can't tell if this is my usual grumpiness or not. #
• Very good. MT @CatsPolitics: THIS RT @AnthonyBialy: They'd like USA if it could be like them. United and Altered States http://t.co/6x7TtYSS #
• Hot soup on a cold evening: yummmm. #
• The kittehs are very definitely *not* fans of fireworks on New Year's Eve. Or any time, really. #
• 2011: good riddance. 2012: I'm expecting quite a lot of you. Don't let me down. #
• #2012resolution Enhance reputation as "scary neighborhood hermit" by being seen going to the shooting range at least once. #
• #2012resolution Refuse to fall for the old "come on, it's just one tequila" line again. Unrelated: no tattoos or piercings. #
• #2012resolution Find and punch a Mayan. Preferably a Mayan hippie. Or just a hippie. #
• #2012resolution More Jell-o, less sort-of-accidental poking self with fondue forks. #
• Not necessarily a *good* one, though. // RT @tinastullracing: Why is it when you run into a spider web, you suddenly turn into a ninja? #
• Sorry, Cooking Channel people, but I did not make it to the top of the food chain so I could eat grasshoppers. Not gonna happen. #

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Posted By Russ on December 30, 2011 at 1:45 pm

Iowahawk:

Teddy Roosevelt charged San Juan Hill. Barack Obama charged $4 trillion to my kids.

on Twitter.

Category: Quotes | Add Your Comments »
Tags: bad idea, Obambi

Posted By Russ on December 26, 2011 at 3:00 pm

• I don't know who declared today would be Muscle Spasm Sunday, but I am SO ready for it to be over already. #
• "I'm not a psychopath, I'm a high-functioning sociopath. Do your research." I really love the recent Masterpiece Theatre series "Sherlock." #
• Christmas shopping: complete. Bank account: depleted. Blood pressure: normalized. #
• Mmmm… tacos. #
• I couldn't agree more. RT @VodkaPundit: There's nothing wrong with skim milk, once you've lost your capacity for joy. #
• "Side effects can include coughing up blood clots…." Yeah… no, I'm gonna give that particular medication a pass. #
• My hair is just about long enough now, if I dye it red, to go for the Pippi Longstocking Effect. Yes, that's scientific nomenclature. #
• Got a "soaker" – it turns out the leather dye on my slippers is NOT in fact colorfast, as shown by the footprints on my carpet. Dagnabbit. #
• Kismet has discovered that milk is *yummy* – I may be doomed. #
• Best Buy's "Game on, Santa" ad – http://t.co/p89AkYfm – I confess, I LOLed. #
• Someone – I don't have any idea who – sent me Korean food. Best Christmas ever. #
• ICYMI: Thus Spake Russ: Lethal cuteness for the holiday. – http://t.co/U35S1oSV #
• There must be something seriously wrong with VA's election laws if all but 2 primary candidates fail to qualify to get on the ballot. #
• I think it's just about time now to go line up in front of the Walmart for their after-Christmas end-of-the-year sale. No? #
• Nothing like spending the wee hours of Christmas Day watching a classic movie. OK, it's a western, but still…. #
• I bet it chaps more than a few "professional atheist" butts that the Army band plays Christmas carols. #

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Posted By Russ on December 23, 2011 at 12:00 pm

My all-time favorite:

Luke chapter 2, verses 1-14, LOLcat Bible Version:

1 ‘Roun dis tiyem, Agustis Seezr wuz like, “I can has sensus?”
2 (‘Coz while Quirinius was Teh Boz of Syria, is invisible sensus!)
3 And all teh doodz went home for teh saying, “I iz heer!”
4 So Joseph went from Naz’reth to Judeeah to Bethlehemm whar David wuz borned, ‘coz David wuz hiz graete-graete gran-daddie,
5 An Mary went wif him, ‘coz she was gonna be married wif him an she had Jeebus n her tummy oven.
6 When they wuz ther, it wuz time for teh kittn to be borned.
7 it wuz a boy, so he wuz wrapd in blanket like burrito an placd him in fud dish (srsly!), cuz innkeeper wuz liek, no room here kbai!

8 Then there wuz sheep-doods in teh field, an they wuz watchin teh sheep in teh dark. Iz vry vry boring. srsly.
9 An suddenly, visible angel! An glory! O noez!!
10 But teh angel sed, “DONT AFRAID OF ENYTHING! it r ok, you can has gud news for all teh doodz!
11 Todai in da city ov David, you can has sayvur! is Christ da Lord! w00t!
12 Iz sign fer u, find da kitteh wrapd like brrito in a big fud dish.”
13 An suddenly, moar angelz! They sez,
14 “w00t to teh Ceiling Cat! An peace fer doodz he luffs! Kthxbai.”

(A more conventional reading can be found here.)

Have a good weekend. Oh, and Merry Christmas everyone.

Category: Animals | 2 Comments »
Tags: Christmas

Posted By Russ on December 21, 2011 at 3:15 pm

The third and final installment of the Commander Shepard saga in the universe of Mass Effect drops on March 6… I am, to my own surprise, rather eager for it to arrive.

BioWare have released a third trailer. It looks really deeply seriously good.

Mild language warning.

I’m particularly impressed by the nearly seamless transitions back and forth from gameplay, to cinematic clip, and back again. The effect is much like watching a viewer-controlled movie.

It is going to be epic.

I foresee that I will be spending every free moment in the game once it arrives. You might not see much of me thenceforth.

Category: Gaming | Add Your Comments »
Tags: Mass Effect

Posted By Russ on December 21, 2011 at 11:57 am

Look, just because I was a Korea expert 20 years ago doesn’t mean I have any useful insight into what’s happening in North Korea now after the long overdue death of Kim Jong-Il.

The entire country is insane. Extrapolating from what I knew then is going to be of virtually no use now.

So stop asking. I have no more clue than… well I was going to say the State Department, but I suspect I might yet have more clue than they have.

Category: News | Add Your Comments »
Tags: good riddance, Korea

Posted By Russ on December 18, 2011 at 5:27 am

• I'd like to take this opportunity to note that I have nothing noteworthy to note. Carry on. #
• Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Of course, I said that yesterday, and look where it got me. #
• Only 11:30 and I've already been down and back up the stairs three times. I guess my back really is getting better. #
• "This letter brought to you by Lucky Strikes. LSMFT." #RejectedHolidayLetterOpenings #
• Wait a second… if Sunday was the first day of the rest of my life, that makes today the third day? What if I lose count? #
• I cannot think of a political endorsement that could possibly matter less than that of Christine O'Donnell. #
• This doesn't seem right…. RT @LIFECOACHERS: No one likes being told that they're wrong. Now you know how to ruin everyone's day. #
• How ironic is it that the TV show "Unforgettable" is so utterly and completely forgettable? I couldn't even remember to watch it. #
• Holy smokes… that woman on the TV is *orange* (no, not watching "Jersey Shore.") http://t.co/HYhGFu1F #
• TWO premium packages?!?!? RT @ExJon: Beats fixing the economy. RT @jaketapper: POTUS tells People he watches Boardwalk Empire and Homeland. #
• Dear people who make and advertise the "Snuggie": die in a fire. Love, Russ #
• In her 60s, Felicity Kendal remains just about as cute as a bug's ear. (Probably only fans of British TV will know who I'm talking about.) #

Category: Twitter | Add Your Comments »
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Posted By Russ on December 16, 2011 at 12:11 pm

Mark Hemingway:

When it comes to fact checking, the media seem oblivious to the distinction between verifying facts and passing judgment on opinions they personally find disagreeable.

. . .

It’s impossible for the media to fact check without rendering judgment on their own failures. Seeing the words “fact check” in a headline plants the idea in the reader’s mind that it’s something out of the ordinary for journalists to check facts. Shouldn’t that be an everyday part of their jobs that goes without saying? And if they aren’t normally checking facts, what exactly is it that they’re doing?

via Hot Air Headlines

Category: Quotes | Add Your Comments »
Tags: liars, media

Posted By Russ on December 11, 2011 at 5:27 am

• Note to customer: if you want my help on a conference call, don't interrupt me *every single time* I try to explain what you're doing wrong. #
• Woke up this a.m. with Kismet rubbing noses with me – not nibbling – & he's been in my face *all* day. I guess I have an admirer. #
• One of the (few) good things about living alone (not counting cats): the frozen T-Day leftovers last so much longer. (Now warming….) #
• I still have a hard time believing someone got paid to green-light that repulsive Heineken "niteclub" TV ad. I'm buying Bud from now on. #
• Went out of the house for the first time since I blew out my back 6 weeks ago. I seem to have picked a spectacularly nice day for it. #
• While I was out, I picked up Mycah's cremains. Lovely little rosewood urn. I suppose I need to build a shrine, now. #
• Most people get tunes stuck in their heads – "earworms." Me… I often get odd words stuck there. Today: giganotosaurus. #
• You helped me along, makin' me strong… RT @rsmccain: Give me the beat, boys, free my soul http://t.co/VOAReRAq Dobie Gray, R.I.P. #
• Sleep seems to have been, shall we say, rather elusive this morning. I may be totally cooked by the end of my shift at midnight. #
• 5 Hour Energy, it's time for you to work your magic. #
• **SNEEZE** **SNEEZE** Uh oh…. #
• I voted for Mass Effect 3 to win the #VGAanticipated category at the @SPIKE_TV #VGA http://t.co/bQO5zLw0 #
• I'm really hoping that today isn't as heinous, work-wise, as yesterday was. Maximum suckage. #

Category: Twitter | 1 Comment »
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Posted By Russ on December 10, 2011 at 1:37 pm

I really haven’t had a opinion about anything that was strong enough to overcome my innate laziness to the point where I felt compelled to write about it.

Regular opinion-based badassery may resume next week.

Category: Miscellany | 1 Comment »
Tags: meh

Posted By Russ on December 4, 2011 at 5:27 am

• Like that's a bad thing…. // RT @Y_Strahovski: It's come to this. I'm watching Star Wars. #
• Terrible, terrible news. Prayers for James, et al. // RT @drjjoyner: New at OTB: Kimberly Webb Joyner, 1970 to 2011 http://t.co/KR3xEEiy #
• i uploaded a new video — Battlefield 3 – Metro http://t.co/9DiGLGnf via @youtube #
• I do so hate it when Hollywood just goes and makes up utterly wrong but plausible-sounding science when real science would work just fine. #
• Oh joy… The power is out. #
• Yay, the power came back on… just as I was falling asleep. #
• Other than running for prez, what's Romney been doing since '08? Any activism or party-building? Staked out any intellectual or policy turf? #
• Sudden craving: In-n-Out Double-Double & fries. Problem: nearest In-n-Out is at least 1500 miles away. #
• Uh oh… scratchy throat. Time for massive preemptive vitamin & chicken soup action. #
• Tip: if you're producing 3-hour-long web-based training classes, make sure that the narrator you use doesn't have a speech impediment. #
• "Hold" music that sounds like the long-form version of a '70s sitcom theme song doesn't say "professionalism" to me. Clarinets rarely do. #

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Posted By Russ on November 29, 2011 at 12:04 pm

This morning at around 1:30 the power here went out, I assume due to the weather that moved through the area. I was in the middle of a round of Battlefield 3 at the time; I noticed something odd.

Less than a minute before the power went out here, I was booted from the game due to a failed connection; in other words, my internet connectivity was gone. I looked over at my cable modem and router — which are mounted on a rack within arm’s reach of me here — and saw that some of the modem lights had gone off. Seconds later, the power went out completely, and stayed off for a couple of hours. I have a pretty good battery backup, so I was able to shut down my PC normally before heading to bed.

This isn’t the first time I’ve noticed the cable “head end” going offline during a “weather event” — most of those times, our neighborhood doesn’t lose power at all.

This raises a couple of questions:

- How is it possible that my neighborhood has a more robust electricity supply than does the cable company?

- How is it that *I* have better backup capability than does a public utility?

This doesn’t bode well for civilization surviving a zombie apocalypse.

Category: Geekery, North Carolina | Add Your Comments »
Tags: TimeWarnerFail

Posted By Russ on November 28, 2011 at 10:40 am

Been playing a bit of Battlefield 3 for the last few weeks while I wait for the March release of Mass Effect 3.

It’s good fun. I get killed a lot — my kill/death ratio is only about 0.6 — but I’m improving and enjoying myself in my Copious Free Time. And every once in a while, I have a pretty spectacular round (best so far: 26 kills, 2 deaths.)

Here’s something more typical of late: 17 kills, 15 deaths:

[Video captured with Fraps, edited with the 30-day trial version of Sony Vegas 11 - pretty cool stuff.]

Did I mention, it’s a lot of fun?

It’s also a novel way of meeting people. Back in ’06, during the heyday of Battlefield 2, I ran into and joined up with the Iron Sharpens Iron Christian Clan – a like-minded group of serious gamers. I’d never have thought of it before… but hey, why not?

Category: Gaming | 1 Comment »
Tags: Battlefield 3