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Guard Dog
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Posts posted by Guard Dog
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Hey, can we do an Obsidian Fantasy Football league this season? I miss doing one, I pay better attention to the season when I'm involved.
At the very least we should do a weekly pool like we did two years ago...
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I'm not surprised by this. I am a little bummed out however. I had Susan Collins in the Which-Senator-Bails-First pool. Oh well.
On a more serious note this move is entirely self serving on Spectre's part and any attempt to use it as a referendum on the GOP would be a mistake. This is a classic case of a career politician seeing which way the wind is blowing and tacking in the direction that best seves their own interests. It does however shed a little more light on the growing schism between the Goldwater Republicans and the Rockefeller Republicans.
Perhaps the GOP really will fade as a viable political force after 2010. I'm curious, does anyone here think that is a good thing?
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Going to work today for the first time since Jan 19th. 2009 got off to a really crappy start for me. Hopefully the worm turns today. There is definitely something exciting about starting a new job.
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equally addictive, albeit a) legal to abuse and b) so much more fun and tasty to boot!
yesterday was john's 6th birthday. i suppose i should change my avatar to something more recent. he's upstairs playing ratchet and crank, btw, and already spent time with grandma shirley on the slot car track. i need to get some sort of base to set the thing on because the carpet is less than ideal for a variety of reasons. today is his actual party with friends at pump it up (inflatable slides, and similar stuff). not till 5, however. should be interesting since there will be 16 total rugrats in attendance. most are from his kindergarten class.
taks
You are going to have your hands full today.
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QUOTE (Aristes) I'm sure I made some sort of silly slip, especially since I'm one of the hoi polloi who lacks a law degree, let alone a background in early American history. I'm just a guy with a high school diploma and a few books. Nevertheless, my point has always been largely the same. The US constitution lacks the component for direct democracy and I dislike the fact that we have ballot initiatives that pit the judiciary against the explicit will of the people.
In many instances (California Gay Marriages as example) the ballot initiative is an amendment to the state constitution and as such if passed it becomes the supreme law of the state and trumps the state supreme court. In fact they state supreme court is then bound to uphold it and judge cases accordingly. I dislike the ease with which many state constitutions can be amended because it often leads to bad law as Enoch correctly pointed out. I could name three off the top of my head in Florida. However, it can be a necassary counter weight to rein in the state judiciary and to a lesser extent the state legislatures which all to often forget they govern at the consent of the governed. It is not a pretty or perfect system. In fact Republican Democracy is the worst form of government there is, except for all of the others.
And don't worry, not having a college degree does not mitigate any point you make so long as it is founded in logical reasoning. You are certainly no dummy Aristes.
(Enoch) On the other hand, oligarchic tendencies have been checked by things like the federalism jurisprudence of Rehnquist Court, internet-driven increases in transparency ("media elites," at the very least, have had their power sharply curtailed), major events like the Gray Davis recall and the various gay marriage ballot initiatives, and even the growth in internet-driven Dean/Obama political fundraising as a partial alternative to big-money donors.Excellent points. The trouble with me is I see so many instances where the federal government is usurping power and trampling liberty (especially since Obama took office but GWB was nearly as bad) that I often miss or quickly forget that there are a few triumphs out there.
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I think I overdid it yesterday. I hurt so much today I can't do much of anything. And no more pain pills. I can see how they could become addictive. Thats ok, Knob Creek and Sam Adams work almost as well.
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American government has always been a balance between pure democracy and a somewhat oligarchic technocracy, and this has worked pretty well over the years. There are both good and bad consequences of nudging things one way or the other through processes like ballot initiatives.
I doubt even you would disagree that for the last sixteen years or so we have been in a definite and perceptible drift to the latter.
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I spent the day making home made bombs from 3/4" PVC, duct tape, fishing line, finishing nails, and a few common household chemicals mixed in the proper proportions.
No, not really. But Obama seems to think I did.
I cut my grass for the first time since the accident. It was pretty out of control. Then sat by the creek are read while the dogs played.
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You sort of make it sound like the vets only come from the right. Or maybe that's just the way I'm readng it.
Based solely on my own experience I'd say it's probably 65%-35% Conservative vs Liberal. And that cuts accross racial and ethnic lines so that is pretty extraordinary. That really only applies to vets though. While you are actually in, the service is VERY apolitical and members are strongly encouraged not to involve themselves in politics other than voting. No one actually stops you, its one of those things that's just not done. I think thats a good thing.
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Actually, as a veteran I find the idea that vets make likely terroists to be incredibly offensive. There is no group of people who are more patriotic or hold their country in higher regard than those who have worn the uniform. Especially those who have done so in war time. And given the utter lack of respect and outright contempt and antithipy the left has held for vets over the years I think they published this report because this is exactly what the Obama admin thinks. That is not to say the military has not produced a few nutjobs but by and large the veterans are the ones who stand, remove their cap, and place their hand over their hearts when the star spangled banner is played at the ball game while everyone else sits or talks.
One can certainly imagine why the left would hate people like that.
Anyway, this is not the appropriate thread for this discussion and I was just trying to make light of something that I find VERY troubling. So I'll drop it here.
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Another US ship was attacked today but the somalis were repelled by gunfire from the freighter crew. I guess being a pirate isn't much fun when the target shoots back!
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I found out today that I am a greater threat to American security than Osama Bin Laden: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/a...wing-extremism/
This was my favorite part: she stands by the report sent to law enforcement that lists veterans as a terrorist risk to the U.S. and defines "rightwing extremism" as including groups opposed to abortion and illegal immigration.
Well whaddya know. I am a veteran, a combat veteran at that. And I oppose illegal immigration. I thought being evil would be hard work, it's actually pretty easy!
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The catcher in today's A's vs. BoSox game got a pitch between the legs. Even I winced as he rolled around in the dirt. But then he slowly got back up and kept on playing. That's dedication for ya.
Wakefield had an awesome pitching game - a no-hitter for 8 innings + staying in all 9. Was happy for him, plus the BoSox really needed it, after the 12 inning game last night depleted their available bullpen.
I don't watch much baseball, but seeing a good knuckleball pitcher from the TV-standard over-the-shoulder viewpoint is hypnotic to me. If I flip by a game with Wakefield on the mound, I pretty much have to keep watching.
Charlie Hough had the worst one I can think of. It would give you motion sickness just watching.
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made me wonder wether it looks at other websites Im browsig and so on. It was like:
I wonder if that was why it kept asking if I was thinking of a porno star?
Kidding!
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I stumped him with Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and Ferdinand Magellan. But he got Aribeth right! Freaking Aribeth De Tylde-whatever and he got it. Apparently 1400 others thought that would stump him too.
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The Yankee Years by Joe Torre. Yeah, he was pissed at the organization and this was a way to get "even". But still an interesting read.
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I don't know how much anyone has been following this but it looks like the last Wheel of Time novel will be split into three volumes. The first will be coming out this year! I have to credit Brandon Sanderson for his work here. The very best he can hope for is to live up to the source material. If he botches it he will likely ruin his career. I tend to believe he will do well. I've read some of his writing and he has a good easy to read style.
Anyway, check out his blog for the story of the last WoT book: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/article/56/Splitting-AMOL
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Trying to figure out which would be better for me: MLB Extra Innings on cabletv (which is not in HD in my area) or the MLB.tv streaming internet option.
The TV package is more than twice as much as the internet, but I'd have more confidence about reliable broadcasts/quality and don't have to fret about bandwidth usage. But since HD isn't a factor, the internet price is right even with potential streaming issues. Plus the internet means I wouldn't hog the big TV constantly while watching. Decisions, decisions.
It's funny...last time I was into baseball was in the early 80's...I watched baseball hardly at all and didn't care about it for years and years. Then I watched the playoffs/WS last year (and was astounded/confuddled by some gameplay/style changes...) and I'm madly obsessed enjoying watching all the games again.
I was going to buy the extra innings package this year because I never get to see Marlins or Rays games here in Tn. But I have XM/Sirius radio and so far I've just been listening to the games on the radio. I may still buy the MLB.tv streaming package, because you get minor league games too. One nice thing about radio games is I can catch them while working on other things.
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If the pirates were smart they would have followed the mafia business plan. After taking the first few ships they then sell themeslves off as a security force to protect ships from themselves. Or just charge companies a small fee to not attack their ships.
I'm sure they would do this, if they had a stable method of policing themselves internally. But there's no Don running all of the pirates-- anyone with a dingy, an RPG, and a couple friends with assault rifles can go out and hijack a ship. It would take a pretty strong organization to keep all these independent operators in line, as well as to discourage newcomers to the business from hitting ships that have already paid the protection money.
True enough. Of course the Barbary Pirates tried to do as I suggested in 1804. Their utter defeat became a verse in the Marines hymn.
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If the pirates were smart they would have followed the mafia business plan. After taking the first few ships they then sell themeslves off as a security force to protect ships from themselves. Or just charge companies a small fee to not attack their ships.
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I lost my job. But that may have happened anyway.
the new job you got right before the accident, or are you talking the old job?
taks
The old one. The new one has been nothing but nice waiting for me to recover. I'm actually starting in two weeks. I can't wait.
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Went to the dentists today. Along with everything else the accident left me with four broken teeth. Finally started taking care of that today. Gotta go back next week for the permenent crowns. Hopefully they get them all right on the first try. But they never do.
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I was going through some old boxes I had in storage before I moved. I came across the Sword of Shannara trilogy (one book, all three novels). I never read it so I sat down and gave it a look. My first impressions were that it was just a bad cliche following the same boring formula so many other fantasy books (and CRPGs) do. A party of young men/women set out in search of a magical sword to defeat the dark lord. Ugh. Its one of the reason I HATE the genre but enjoy GRRM's books. But I realized that since it was written in the 1970s it really is the story (along with Tolkiens work) that created the genere. But if it doesn't get better in the next 50 pages, in the trash it goes!
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I was at a blacksmithing workshop all morning and most of the afternoon, then I hung out with some friends -who were also at the event- and decided to buy Rome: Total War and Medieval II: Total War when they go on sale at GameStop tomorrow[s/] later today.
If you have not played them yet you will be very happy you did this. I would reccoment getting the Barbarian Invasion expansion for Rome as well.
What you did today
in Way Off-Topic
Posted
I went to the doctor again today. I have seen more doctors more times in the first five months of this year than in my whole life before this. I think physically I'm as good as I'm going to get. I've lost a lot of strength in my arms and legs and walking for too long just hurts. It's an amazing thing. Somewhere someone you have never met makes a stupid decision that does not involve you at all and the consequences of that decision ends their life and nearly ends yours. And radically affects everything that comes after. Absolutely and completely random. If I had been held up by just one stoplight or missed one I did stop at my whole life would have turned out differently. Fate can change course on the matter of a few seconds.
The lawyer agreed on a settlement for the accident. Its just got me thinking about what the monetary value of someone's life is.
It just sucks. The whole thing just f**king sucks.