A lil help, here...

What do you say when someone's obviously not playing with a full deck, a few bricks shy of a load, a beer or two short of a six pack, one member less than a quorum? Let me get the ball rolling, and maybe a few (or both :-) of my regular readers can add a couple. Or more. He's playing poker with monopoly money... ...rolling dice with marbles... ...? Come on. Y'all can do better than those. Easily. Without resorting to Google. :-)

Ten Good Ones... times 2

Boudicca picked up a non-meme-ish suggestion and passed it on in Top 10 Good People of 2005. Not necessarily "big names" but folks who've been a strong positive influence, personally or in wider society. At least, that's how I'm choosing to interpret this. :-) Bou's post was a lil vague (she was still heavily medicated from her surgery), and GuyK's post at Charming, Just Charming (whence Bou picked this up) is pretty open-ended. So, maybe not ten. Maybe not the TOP ten. But quite a few. Let me begin with my fav top ten bloggers who have had a positive influence on me this year. Keep in mind: I am NOT listing them in any order other than maybe alphabetically, 'K? Having pared it down to only ten, I feel badly because another list just as long belongs with this one. So, as wrong as this list is, here are ten OF the top good folks who have positively influenced my life this last year: Kris at Anywhere But Here Christine of BTW and Morning Coffee & Afternoon Tea Bou (heal quickly!) at Boudicca's Voice My Blogmom, Carol Platt Liebau :-) Kathryn at Cathouse Chat Diane of, well, Diane's Stuff Rich at The English Guy Kat from Keep The Coffee Coming TMH (secretive booger that he is) of TMH's Bacon Bits Woody of the eponymous Woody's News & Views Please keep in mind that I've left off many who have been just as good to me, had influence just as positive as the folks on this list, but I'm trying to keep this portion at ten. The rest of you who belong on this list also know you do, but you're the kinda folks who will take it in the right spirit. Good on you one and all. In "real life" I'd have to list my Wonder Woman, Lovely Daughter and Bubba at the top. No matter what (even when I'm not at my best or irked with one of them or whatever), they are the most positive influences in my life. Period. They KNOW the real curmudgeonly me, and still lend me their light. I miss my neighbor. Yeh. The one neighbor, really. Always ready to help with anything. Nobody's perfect, but he was a thoughtful, generous guy. A couple of my siblings definitely qualify as strong influences for good-older sister and younger brother. Pretty constant contact with these two, and they are always uplifting. Heck, I'd have to say my youngest nephew has been a strong positive influence! (Just keeping up with his academic progress has thrown me back at some classics in my reading.) Great kid. Guy at the local grocery who has fun playing my silly people/word games. Heck, the checkers there are neat, too. Aww... even the owner's a really nice guy (though he'd not necessarily want ya to know it--likes to play curmudgeon. heh). And two clients who have done medical transcription for years (you know who you are-and since you read this blog, I'll let this be your "Have a great new year!" OK? :-). Thanks, ladies, for your continual positive outlook and influence on me. Oh, and thank the bread baker, too. NOTE: this list is not exhaustive, either. Just a quick runback through a few contacts in the last lil bit who have been constant positive influences over the past year. And that's my of ten of the top Good People of 2005 for the "real world"-how about yours?

2005 TWC in review

Here it is: the post you've all been waiting for. Right. :-) A few third world county posts from 2005. Not necessarily "The best of TWC" but certainly representative of the "most unrecognized posts of TWC 2005" :-). Warts and all: typos, tortured syntax, whatever. January 2005: The LLMB and MMPA's psychotic break with reality Witness this fair paraphrase of the progression of positions taken by the LLMB and MMPA leading up to and continuing through and beyond the [Iraq] election: 1.) The U.S. is embarking on empire and will not allow self-government by the Iraqis. (Demonstrably false) 2.) The promised elections are not/will not be possible. (Demonstrably false) 3.) The promised election will not take place on time.(Demonstrably false) 4.) The elections will be a failure, a bloodbath. (Demonstrably false) 5.) The election will be illegitimate (because of non-participation). (Demonstrably false) February 2005: ::YAWN:: More dog bites man non-news Belaboring the obvious: Bob Dylan flogs a dead horse... (Wherein your humble-ha!-author emulates J.E.P. "It's a daybook." It's not well organized or well-edited. It's just stuff that occurs to me to jot down. Notes, to myself as much as anything else.) Curmudgeon Mode: Tried to take an online musical survey-discovered I'm an antediluvian... Yeh. Noah still owes me two sheep and a dove... Recommended Reading between now and the 2006 elections People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil OK, I can't resist two from March: Men Without Chests And: St David's Day ;-) April 2005: Musical Teleology and Musical Survey--not so very. The first offers a perspective on a couple of recent songs and the second... May 2005: A Conspiracy of Dunces. A (short) litany of woes Here's a very short list of things that seem to be aimed at destroying the American experiment in liberty. And Javascript Cookies™! and Unconscious Parenthood (my bid for a "Blogmothers Day" observance). June 2005: News from the Islamic jihad and Preparing for '06 (Not that I hold out much hope for the denizens of Demoncrappic Underpants, Moooove-on.orgy, the Mass Media Podpeople'[s Army, the Loony Left Moonbat Brigade, Republican't Congresscritters and their ilk, etc.) And In your dreams: Headlines from 2006 July 2005: Dysfunctional America I let my mixmaster loose on the current scene and here's what resulted... Yes, there is a culltural divide in these United States. And here are a few of the dividing points... August 2005: Open Borders Kill "Open Borders"-the words have a ring of liberty, equality, fraternity… but please remember where the last great movement with that catchphrase ended up... [Throw some sand in various moonbat gears, eh?] So, Alito's next. The big question: will Republican't Senators do a pants check and find-to everyone's amazement-the stones to carry the nomination through? Follow the Rabbit Trail (in which my rambling rant becomes more than just rthe usual self-referential metacommentary-see the punchline in comments to that post: there are none :-). September 2005: Listen with your heart, A lil experiment--first Castpoint trial. And, The real threat. October 2005: Quick! Spread the 'Karl Rove IS Machiavelli' meme... Fred on the "poverty excuse" November 2005: Drive-by post Yeh, walking through when the TV's babbling one of those touchy-feely "PSAs" that are totally cracked, I hear: "Friends always make you laugh." Riiiigggghhht. "Hey, dude, your grandma died? That's like, so totally hilarious, man!" If this doesn't move you... then you need a heart and soul transplant... December 2005: You're here, browse on your own. I have a cute lil troll commenting on one post. You might find him amusing. I don't think he's trainable, but so far he's not made any serious potty messes. Look around a bit, if you want. Or not. :-) Up in lights at Basil's Blog, Bloggin' Outloud.

Torching straw men, hammering at feet of clay

(With apologies to T.S. Eliot) [These] are the hollow men [These] are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with straw. Alexandra asked for a "10 Worst Americans" list. In her post, she further elaborates using the term "evil" to describe characteristics of "worst" Americans. Most of my "worst Americans" (though not all) fit the mangling of T.S. Eliot's words above. With nearly 230 years' worth of people who have had a negative impact on society in America, I could name ten and not even scratch the surface. But here, mostly in no great order, are ten of the worst. Note: Since there are so many "worst Americans" I've included a few classes of "worst Americans" that embrace some who simply cannot be drawn out from the crowd around them. "So great a host... " An obvious pick would be Jean Fraud sKerry. Along with his more intelligent and able fellow scum, Billary Clinton (yeh, no one could doubt that unholy wedlock has made them one after the way they lied, cheated and slandered their way in and out of office over and over), Jean Fraud has defined filthy, low down dirty lying, cheating. scumbag politics for the late 20th and early 21st Centuries. There: two in one. (Still no ranking. One could lump Harry Pelosi Kennedy in the mix with Jean Fraud and Billary and not really notice any personality change.) Next, who can doubt Dan Blather, his ilk and apologists (Mass Media Podpeople and Loony Left Moonbats one and all) occupy slot number three? I say all these "people" together comprise one of the worst Americans because they "think" with a group mind. Dittoheads are anarchistic individualists next to the "commie fag junkie" (to steal a great meme from George Carlin) hive. Michael Moore. Planet-sized ego encased in lard. Liar, and proud of it. Embodies all the worst memes of the Loony Left Moonbat brigade and Mass Media Podpeople's Army in one big fat slob. Hollyweird. A sub-class of the Mass Media Podpeople/Loony Left Moonbat hive mind, differentiated only by its even greater ego and divorce from reality. Orbiting Pluto, it thinks itself the Center of the Universe. Discrete elements of the Hollyweird Hive Mind are not discernable. It is all one "person". Any cells that begin to differentiate themselves from the Hollyweird Hive Mind are attacked as a cancer on the Body Beautiful. Those such as Mel Gibson who have enough stength to survive outside the Hollyweird Hive Mind (strength=character+financial resources+an ability to, uhm, think) may find success i n their ostracization. There, that's five, all fitting very nicely the definition of "evil" proposed by M. Scott Peck in "People of the Lie". Five more? OK, some classes and individuals. Two classes of "worst Americans"-Public school administrators and educrats. Together, these two classes may be doing more to destroy America all other persons combined. Educrats-those self- and governmentally-appointed arbiters of What Shall Be Taught, and How-rule public education from afar with massive stupidity. While some may be truly evil, most are simply stupidly arrogant and arrogantly stupid. Consider all the dictates issuing from Washington D.C. (influenced by idiots running college "teacher education" programs) that govern what can and cannot be taught (and how) in your local school district. What activities are allowed and what are prohibited. Classroom disclipline, class makeup, curriculum, and more. Coming from a Congress and bureaucratic swamp that's responsible for supervising the WORST public schools in the nation. That makes sense. And public school administrators? Arguably the stupidest people in education. Seriously. I'd put my GRE scores, for example, up against ANY pubschool principal or superintendant. With extremely rare exceptions, they are all skating on the left end of the bell curve. And it shows in the effect pubschool administrators generally have on classroom teaching. Instead of doing things that enhance teaching and learning, most pubschool administrators-with noted RARE exceptions, as I have said-are massive stumbling blocks to education. America would be far better off to put all the educrats and pubschool administrators in work camps breaking rocks. Some more specific Americans to round out my list: Lyndon Johnson. What a lying snake. A venal poltroon. Lied America into Vietnam, screwed America with "The Great Society". Skated off the public stage when he should have been run off the planet on a rail. Jimmie Carter. It is to my eternal shame that I actually voted for this picayune creep. Once. He is a lying, slanderous, traitorous piece of filth. An ego-driven fantasist who apparently believes the world revolves around him. He does charitable works? Yeh. And the reason is obvious in his dung beetle grin*. Pat Robertson. He simply cannot keep his mouth shut, and what comes out is slander to the God he says he worships. Another ego-driven publicity slut. And what shall I say of Roger Baldwin, Eugene V. Debs, and John Dewey? All influential in the formation of the American Communist Lawyers Union-and Dewey has to his "worst American" credit the distinction of having been the single greatest destructive force in creating (or perhaps Dewey would prefer "manufacturing") stupid Americans, compliant sheeple. Now, let me get historical on this list: Abraham Lincoln. Yeh, yeh: I know the Lincoln hagiography, and what I'm about to say will earn me the disapprobation (to say the very least) of 90% of the folks who read this. One can argue day and night that Lincoln's so-called "freeing of the slaves" was a great thing and that he "preserved the Union", but the plain fact of the matter is that for all intents and purposes, the republic handed us by the Framers died at Appomattox, and what we have today in runaway federal anarcho-tyranny is a direct result of Lincoln's War. Each and every abuse of federal power, each and every twisting and outright violation of the Constitution we now know as just normal federal government behavior was either prefigured or practiced in even more flagrant and brutal fashion by Lincoln. More than 620,000 killed in Lincoln's War. Not to free slaves, but to increase the power of Northern industrialists, destroy the economic power of the South and, not incidentally, bring about Lincoln's view of a federal government that not only could but did (and still does) overrule Constitutionally-guaranteed State authority and individual rights. Whatever good the man did is far, far overshadowed by the legacy of federally-practiced anarcho-tyranny we have from his hand today. And I close with this: A General Summary Rudyard Kipling We are very slightly changed From the semi-apes who ranged India's prehistoric clay; He that drew the longest bow Ran his brother down, you know, As we run men down to-day. "Dowb," the first of all his race, Met the Mammoth face to face On the lake or in the cave: Stole the steadiest canoe, Ate the quarry others slew, Died-and took the finest grave. When they scratched the reindeer-bone, Some one made the sketch his own, Filched it from the artist-then, Even in those early days, Won a simple Viceroy's praise Through the toil of other men. Ere they hewed the Sphinx's visage Favouritism governed kissage, Even as it does in this age. Who shall doubt "the secret hid Under Cheops' pyramid" Was that the contractor did Cheops out of several millions? Or that Joseph's sudden rise To Comptroller of Supplies Was a fraud of monstrous size On King Pharaoh's swart Civilians? Thus, the artless songs I sing Do not deal with anything New or never said before. As it was in the beginning Is to-day official sinning, And shall be for evermore! Shamelessly flogged at TMH's Bacon Bits (He's baaaaaack!)

Confessions of a Practicing Tightwad/OP

Most of my metaphorical fires and alligators taken care of now. Now all I have to do the rest of the week is drain the metaphorical swamp... (it's overflowing primarily with references to metaphors, I think. :-) Yeh, yeh. Open post. You know awhat to do... or not. ;-) If not, drop me a note and I'll put you on the right track. Just link to this post and trackback. Now that I may have a normal schedule today and tomorrow, I'll try to at least round up some of the more interesting links from this week. Also have to finish up an assignment from Alezandra *s*. And maybe a year's roundup of TWC tomorrow, if I can fit it in. This post will be open all weekend, so tb-away! Now, the tightwaddery confession of the week. I just love NOT spending money for something I really do HAVE to have. Like my new router/firewall. (Recap: my last router/firewall died; no replacements on hand. Essentially killed the rest of my lil network, and while one or two of my computers can survive with my backup dialup, having just my own net cruiser connected to broadband while family home for a while was... not fun.) Yeh, ate up more of the time I didn't have this week just researching which setup I wanted to build and then configuring it the way I wanted. Upside? After rummaging around in my junk parts, printing out and studying a buncha manuals on different router/firewall builds, yadayada, for the cost of my own spare time (what I could spare, that is :-), I've got a much more robust router/firewall setup than I would let myself buy off the shelf. And I have a much better understanding of what my firewall is doing and MUCH more detailed control over my traffic. Oh, and the last router/firewall that died? Still under warranty. A replacement is on the way, so I'll have that for my wireless access. Total cost to emulate a ~$300 router/firewall? About $15 for Cat5e cable and RJ-45 plugs (new cables-why not?) A few CDRs shipping the old router back under warranty (yeh, not rightly a cost for this router/firewall, but will re-enable my wireless capabilities). Maybe I'll post some pictures after I finish changing my network closet a bit. Confessed at TMH's Bacon Bits (where it looks like TMH had better be using the industrial-strength sunscreen or he'll be emulating some bacon...), Liberal Common Sense (where Lisa trots out the "last of..." saw a coupla days early) and maybe some other places if I decide my reputation can take the hit of confessing my tightwaddery too widely.

ROFLKASTM—*ahem!*—BFO

Via Woody's News and Views this gem from The People's Cube: America Takes Off Gloves, Puts on Brass Knuckles I was ROTFL... until I thought, "Why not?" heh This oughta brighten The Mary Hunter's vacation...

Windows users: you got this security advisory, right?

Gee. The hits just keep on coming in... *sigh* Posted yesterday by Micro$oft: Microsoft Security Advisory (912840) Vulnerability in Graphics Rendering Engine Could Allow Remote Code Execution. Published: December 28, 2005 Yep. eWeek says, Microsoft Corp. has issued a security advisory for what Secunia is deeming an "extremely critical flaw" in Windows Metafile Format (.wmf) that is now being exploited on fully patched systems by malicious attackers. Websense Security Labs is tracking thousands of sites distributing the exploit code from a site called iFrameCASH BUSINESS. That site and numerous others are distributing spyware and other unwanted software, replacing users' desktop backgrounds with a message that warns of spyware infection and which prompts the user to enter credit card information to pay for a "spyware cleaning" application to remove the detected spyware... Fortunately, malware detection companies (AV/Spyware) seem to be reacting to this pretty quickly. Update your AV software NOW. You heard me. If you don't, then come crying to me only if you bring some of the big green with you. :-) Gotta love Micro$oft. Full employment for techies. Oh, there's a workaround for folks here, in case you're ionto the "belt and suspenders" approach to securing your computer. Pegged to Ferdy's Bulletin Board (by linking his "NSA Cookies" post—a "TWC must-read" :-) at Conservative Cat.

Send the ACLU another warm fuzzy

Still short shrift mode. Jay, at Stop the ACLU, is having a busy week, too, and sent the info below out a day early to clear the decks for his schedule. One of our contributors, Craig McCarthy, set up a petition to stop taxpayer funding of the ACLU, quite a while ago. We are trying to help Craig reach at least 25,000 signatures. We are not that far away. Just two days ago, I put up as one of Stop The ACLU's best posts of 2005, my interview with former ACLU lawyer, mr. Reese Lloyd. I had no idea it would be such great timing. Mr. Reese strkes again in a podcast with Congressman Hostettler. Rees Lloyd made the comments in an online podcast hosted by Rep. John Hostettler, R-Ind., in which the two discuss the congressman's legislation, the Public Expression of Religion Act, or PERA (H.R.2679). The bill would prohibit judges in civil suits involving the First Amendment's Establishment Clause from awarding attorney's fees to those offended by religious symbols or actions in the public square – such as a Ten Commandments display in a courthouse or a cross on a county seal. Lloyd, a California civil-rights attorney, is an officer with the American Legion who wrote a resolution passed by the national organization supporting Hostettler's bill. As WorldNetDaily reported, Hostettler's proposal would amend the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. Section 1988, to prohibit prevailing parties from being awarded attorney's fee in religious establishment cases, but not in other civil rights filings. This would prevent local governments from having to use taxpayer funds to pay the ACLU or similar organization when a case is lost, and also would protect elected officials from having to pay fees from their own pockets. Hostettler says some organizations have created a new civil liberty – a right to be protected "from religion, which is found nowhere in the Constitution, nowhere in the Bill of Rights." The Indiana congressman blames "a very select group" for "perverting" the original statute, including the ACLU, People for the American Way and Americans United for the Separate of Church and State. "They use this statute to extort behavior out of individuals," the congressman said, citing the Indiana Civil Liberties Union threatening local educators. The group sent a letter to officials saying they would be sued and be forced to pay attorney's fees should any graduation prayers be offered at commencement ceremonies. The threat sent the message, Hostettler said, that individuals tied to school districts could be impoverished personally. Said the lawmaker: "When officials see the potential threat of a lawsuit, they stop allowing children to write papers for English class – when they're asked to write about the most important person in their life and they decide to write about Jesus Christ." Hostettler's bill would allow cases to move through the courts without public officials worrying about being held personally liable for thousands in attorneys fees. "Let's let these cases go forward; let's let the courts decide what's constitutional and what's not, and let's not leave it up to the ACLU," he said. Hostettler explained that while government entities can pay attorney's fees charged to individual elected officials, they don't legally have to, which puts the politicians on the hook. Saying most taxpayers are in favor of allowing public religious expression, the congressman noted the irony of those same taxpayers being forced to pay the ACLU to sue their local governments. "The current threat to public officials is very real; it's ongoing," Hostettler stated. "It's been the case for several years that public officials are scared to death to suggest any type of public recognition of our Christian roots. It's a problem that needs to be addressed in Washington, D.C." PERA would prohibit damages, court fees and attorney's fees from going to plaintiffs in establishment-clause suits while keeping the original purpose of the civil-rights law, Hstettler says, to provide a means for those whose religious liberties have been blocked to find justice. The congressman wonders why the ACLU would oppose his legislation since it still provides for "injunctive relief" – e.g., a court can rule in the ACLU's favor and force the removal of a Ten Commandments display – but takes out the monetary incentive for lawsuits. "If they're not out for the money but are really out to preserve our civil liberties … then the ACLU should not be opposing my bill," Hostettler commented. In the podcast, Lloyd decried the "terrorizing litigation tactics of the ACLU." Said Lloyd: "Not only can the ACLU brings these suits and compel taxpayers to pay them to destroy the public display of our American history and heritage, but so can Islamist terrorists or Islamist sympathizers in our midst. "All they have to do is walk into court, make their claim that they're offended by the sight of a cross or other religious symbol, and they're going to win the case because judges follow one another under stare decisis," or deference to precedent. The judges would then order that fees be paid to the Islamists, Lloyd contends. Lloyd said this issue came into focus for him when he witnessed the fight in San Diego, Calif., over a cross on a veterans' memorial on public land in the Mohave Desert. "For me, that was the one step taken too far," Lloyd said. "Now, for the first time, the ACLU was attacking the very veterans who secured their freedom." A civil-rights activist since the '60s, Lloyd worked with the ACLU in the '70s and was "very supportive" of the 1976 Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Act because it was a "noble attempt to assure that people who had legitimate civil-rights violations and injuries could secure legal representation." Stated Lloyd: "The ACLU has perverted, distorted and exploited the Civil Rights Act … to turn it into a lawyer-enrichment act." Lloyd says the American people are "oblivious" to how many millions of dollars in taxpayer funds are going to the ACLU each year. The attorney pointed out many attorneys in cases brought by the ACLU are volunteers, so the fees the group is awarded normally do not go to reimburse an attorney but rather directly into the organization's coffers. Hostettler's bill, which was introduced first in 2003 without success, currently has 35 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and sits in the House Committee on the Judiciary. The Center For Reclaiming America claims that they have over 100,000 signatures backing this bill. Honestly, I don't know what they are waiting on. If we can up our petiton from 19,000 to 25,000, I will personally take the signatures to Congressman Hostettler myself....I promise you. I only live two hours from D.C. SIGN OUR PETITON TO STOP TAXPAYER FUNDING OF THE ACLU ....and spread the word as far and wide on this petition as you can! Folks, even if you did get your CHRISTMAS card mailed to the ACLU, this petition is yet another way we can show them we care, we really do care. There. That oughta make the All Communist Lawyers Union feel all warm and fuzzy. :-)

WARNING! (Quick hit)

OK, Skippy, if you use MSN Messenger be warned. Don't be sucked in. Virus Poses as Leaked MSN Messenger Beta Internet users are being warned about a new virus that poses as a leaked pre-release version of the MSN Messenger instant messenger program. Unsuspecting Windows users who install the phony MSN Messenger Version 8 "beta" actually install an IM worm that spreads to their IM contacts, and connects their computer to a remote control "bot" network run by malicious hackers, according to F-Secure Corp., an antivirus firm based in Helsinki. A Web site, msgr8beta.com, purports to have the leaked version of MSN Messenger. The site touts the advantages of the MSN Messenger 8... Don't say I didn't warn ya. By the time you read this, the malicious little worm who came up with this sucker play for naifs will likely have set up a different website offering this sucker bait. Update your AV software; NEVER open unasked for, unscanned email attachments and watch those phishing links, etc., yadayadayada...

Content? It is to laugh!/OP

Still in short shrift mode. It's not that I don't care about all the great stuff in the blogoshere (see here, for one of many examples-note to Alexandra: I really am working on my list; it'll take me some time to get it finished and up) or current events, it's just that in spite of the fact that my objective is to "drain the swamp" I've got a few metaphorical alligators to kick and fires to stomp out in the so-called "real world". :-) Link to this post and trackback with something interesting in whatever time I have to catch up with my reading. OK, one thing: have you gotten and read your own copy of The Fair Tax Book yet? Well, here's another one. Any questions? Comment. Any good reads? Link me and then track back. Pushed at Diane's Stuff

Is it still Christmas in Cambodia?/OP

I figure I'd better hold this post open for trackbacks in case anyone knows when Jean Fraud sKerry's gonna get back from his Christmas in Cambodia... Maybe that'll be around the time he finally keeps his word on such matters as, gosh, I dunno, releasing his records? (BTW, I've actually got that release date. Inside information. 12th of Never.) Meanwhile, If you don't understand what a trackback is go here for a good explanation. If your blog software doesn't generate trackbacks use this form or this one. Short shrift again today. A few links up later. DO hit the "Treatment Time Open Trackbacks" over at The Uncooperative Blogger. Note other linkfests in my left sidebar, too, 'K? Cya at Choose Life! (Just wanted to link to a blog! with! an! exclamation! point! :-) UPDATE: The MaryHunter noted in comments that DL's trackback from Teddy Lied, Mary Jo Died failed. A shame, really. Otherwise, how are y'all ever going to find the piece? Oh. OK. And TMH's trackback of Realizing UN/NGO Tsunami Aid… Someday disappeared into the aether as well, apparently. And do note his commentary on the hubris of modern genetic tinkerers. Still short shrift. Will update later... possibly.

Note

Very light posting today, and perhaps this week. Several "real world" things stacked up on me, for one thing, and then... tired of routers going south on me. *sigh* Going to be on/offline intermittantly this week as I assemble components and test different firewall/router setups using an old P-II as a testbed.possible appliance instead of just going out and buying yet another replacement quirky router-firewall that only does some of what I want... But that's just a lil lagniappe from life. It'll be fun, but eat up some more of that time thing... Oh. Well. Should have done this years ago.

After Christmas Sale!

That's right, guys n dolls, I'm runnin' a special after-Christmas sale here at TWC: one-a those link-fer-link deals *wink-wink*. Avoid the crowds at Wally World, the mall or wherever customer service is going ape today and link here in a post of your own, then drop a teebee off for me to have an easy reference. Don't have the foggiest what I'm talking about? Drop me a comment and I'll clarify. Later today, Guard the Borders. Just a foretaste from Vdare.com "Over the past decade, in many cases from a criminal justice standpoint [officials] have stepped back and said, 'Hey, we're just not going to look at this.'" (Immigrant crime, that is.) "It's a sign of the times; the feeling, you know, that everybody makes mistakes [like crossing the border illegally?], and there's an unwillingness to apply more law enforcement." In a further reflection of current thinking, Ward added, "'Let's not cause any problems for our neighbors (and trading partners)--particularly Mexico.'" Read the rest there. Glommed myself some free adverts at Is It Just Me? and NIF. Get some of your own here.

"For unto us a Child is born... "

[N.B. When I wrote the following rather hurriedly several years ago for a Christmas program, I always intended to go back and "fix" verse 2. Still haven't, so it's been ommited as well as some transitional material. I notice I didn't edit out all the material in the midi file, but it's getting late, so... :-) ] A Child is Born For unto us a Child is born, To us a Son is giv'n, And of His peace and righteous reign Shall be no end, shall be no end... ...So as once knelt at manger-side The shepherds with their praise, Do we who gladly gather here Our anthem raise, our anthem raise For unto us a Child is born, To us a Son is giv'n, And of His peace and righteous reign Shall be no end, shall be no end.

A Christmas (Eve) Lullaby

And see also, at Whistling in the Light, "When Christmas Gets Messy".

The Gift

Trees and lights and bells and carols; Bright-wrapped packages, piled high; Winter's sharp blow joins the heralds: "Christmas-time is nigh!" Mailmen hurry; shoppers scurry; Time is fleeing - Oh! So fast! Parties gather, loud and merry, Grander than in Christmas' past. Pause a moment to remember That a Savior's simple birth Still stirs angel wings in susur' - "Peace to men; good will on earth!" Now the Father's hands that molded The first Adam in the clay, Gently 'round a manger folded, Cradle a Baby in the hay. So the Greatest Gift extended, Gift of love and peace to all, "God's great love to man descended" Calls us to a manger stall. ©1990 David Needham Powered by Castpost Submitted to Adam's Carnival of Christmas This is a piece (already posted at Whistling in the Light) that I've used in several different ways over the years. I had planned a much more elaborate Christmas post—including a quasi-pod-cast-y sorta "report from the fields near Bethlehem" thing— but instead, I think I'll take bits and pieces and post them throughout Advent, up through Christmas. NOTE: bumped to Christmas Eve and updated with the Carnival of Christmas URL

The Meaning of Christmas

Carnival of Christmas is up at Adam's Blog. My lil piece, The Gift, is included along with a wide array of submissions. Romeocat gets-and well-deserves!-top billing for her daily Advent Meditations. Please do yourself a favor and hie thee to CatHouse Chat for some excellent reminders of what Christmas really celebrates. Below is a reprint of my casual thoughts on that matter... [This is a re-run from 12-03-04] ___________________________ Just did a lunchtime check of some blogs and ran across a comment by someone calling themseves "Vandal" responding to a post by someone fed up with the LLMB's* PC approach to eliminating "Christmas" (or anything Christian) from the season. [Note: the thread seems not to be available any longer] Vandal commented that the best response to such was "Merry Christmas, you filthy animal." Others were quick to chastise Vandal for such an "unchristian" attitude. I beg to differ. "Merry Christmas, you filthy animal," really does touch the very heart of what Christmas is all about. I applaud Vandal's clear Calvinism and want to remind us all that anyone who ascribes to the total depravity of man can't be all bad... heh After all, Christmas is God's gracious response to our "filthy animal" depravity, demonstrated in the incarnation and sacrifice of His Son... So, "Merry Christmas, you filthy animal" is kinda God's loving response to our total depravity. I like that. It is just as scripture has said, "There is no just man, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one in search of God. All have taken the wrong course, all alike have become worthless; not one of them acts uprightly, no, not one..." (Romans 3: 10-12) and The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6: 23) So, Christmas is about "Good will [from God] to filthy animals," if you will. And that's something we can be very, very grateful for: that God looked upon those who hated Him and chose to reach out to His enemies with love. (Romans 5: 8) "Peace on earth"? Accessible only through Christ. (Romans 5:1). And that addresses why so many who find the Christmas season depressing or-in LLMB* PC conformity, offensive. They do not yet know the Good WIll God has already expressed toward them, nor have they welcomed the Peace He offers through His Son. Their choice. So, I wish one and all a Merry Christmas you filthy animals! A very merry, merry Christmas, indeed. _______________________________ God rest ye merry, gentlemen Let nothing you dismay Remember, Christ, our Saviour Was born on Christmas day To save us all from Satan's power When we were gone astray O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy In Bethlehem, in Israel, This blessed Babe was born And laid within a manger Upon this blessed morn The which His Mother Mary Did nothing take in scorn O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy From God our Heavenly Father A blessed Angel came; And unto certain Shepherds Brought tidings of the same: How that in Bethlehem was born The Son of God by Name. O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy "Fear not then," said the Angel, "Let nothing you affright, This day is born a Saviour Of a pure Virgin bright, To free all those who trust in Him From Satan's power and might." O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy The shepherds at those tidings Rejoiced much in mind, And left their flocks a-feeding In tempest, storm and wind: And went to Bethlehem straightway The Son of God to find. O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy And when they came to Bethlehem Where our dear Saviour lay, They found Him in a manger, Where oxen feed on hay; His Mother Mary kneeling down, Unto the Lord did pray. O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy Now to the Lord sing praises, All you within this place, And with true love and brotherhood Each other now embrace; This holy tide of Christmas All other doth deface. O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy _______________________________ *"LLMB" as those who are regular readers know is the "Loony Left Moonbat Brigade". Could as easily be the "Light in Their Loafers Brigade" or "Loose Nut in the Braincase Brigade" but I like LLMB just fine. Sung from the heavens at Right Wing Nation, bRight and Early.

*sigh* I didn't want to give you this for Christmas...

...although those of y'all depending on Symantec security products (e.g. Norton Anti-Virus) might view this as my Christmas present to you. So, Merry Christmas, all tied up with a bow and all: Using NAV? JUST STOP IT. Quick, download a different AV product! Grisoft's free AVG Anti-Virus will do. Why? "Symantec Confirms AV Library Flaw, Promises Patches" Anti-virus vendor Symantec Corp. has publicly acknowledged that a high-risk buffer overflow vulnerability in its AntiVirus Library could lead to code execution attacks when RAR archive files are scanned. A proof-of-concept example of Symantec's products' inability to catch bad code that can execute from within an RAR file is all that's been shown, so far. But that's enough. Just ONE example like that would be enough for me to switch (and it was, several years ago), and anyone using NAV ought to at least temporarily disable it, download another AV product and install it until Symantec can restore some semblance of confidence in its product. You have been warned, If the Grinch steals your Christmas cos you didn't heed the warning, at least I know I tried. (Yes, I know that SO FAR no examples exploiting the Symantec virus scan flaw/vulnerability have been found in the wild. So? You wanna be the one to find one? :-) Red Lights Flashing at Is it Just Me?, NIF, TMH's Bacon Bits, and Jo's Cafe.

This party's open through Christmas Day

Since I don't plan on posting anything else apart from strictly Christmas-related posts until Monday, this Open Trackback Alliance post will remain open through the weekend. Oh, I'll try to do a roundup of interesting posts, but it will probably also be focused on Christmas-related posts. See the OTA blogroll in my left sidebar for a list of OTA members having open posts this weekend, as well. Just link to this post and trackback. Any questions, put 'em in comments and I'll help ya out.

Another warning

Lotsa iTunes and video clip downloads and posts going on, especially during Christmastime. And then there's this: Beware of Strange iTunes/QuickTime Movies Yep. A heap overflow vulnerability in Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes and QuickTime media players could put millions of PC and Mac users at risk of malicious hacker attacks, security experts warned Wednesday. Be careful out there...

Noël... and "there and back again"

Noël: Middle English noel, from Old French, variant of nael, from Latin nātālis (diēs), (day) of birth, from nātus, past participle of nāscī, to be born. Romeocat talks about births of more than one kind in today's Advent Meditation. I have some thoughts forming in response. What are yours? (Ahhh... share 'em over there.) And in "Rest easy, sleep well" she points to a post at Freedom Folks that, well, if it doesn't move you then you have a heart of stone, and I don't want to know you. After your visit there, just click here, please. And as long as you're still in the mood, click here, too. Moving tributes to our service men and women. Then go and send an email to a soldier serving overseas. If you don't have one in your email addressbook, go here and have one delivered for Christmas. (Note: broadband issues today, so intermittant connectiviry; Santa's gonna put some coal in an ISP's stocking if they don't watch out... I'll try to update whenever 1.) I have the time and 2.) that coincides with DNS servers being "up" *sigh* IOW: short shrift day, folks.) There's lots more around and about... Rich's Surprise Chocolate Fudge is something I need to try this weekend, as are Christines Jingle Balls. heh. This in email from my old (yes, OLD: we're both geezers) college roomie: Yeh. Merry Christmas to you too, Dave (yes, another David. Long story.) Usually I'm very glad I'm out of the "put the children on display as if they were singing dogs" Christmas program thing_*_, and then something like this comes along (from a librarians' email list)... "One of my first graders was working on memorizing some scriptures for his Wed. night children's program. He stated the scripture and then asked if it was in the New or the Old Testicle" The old one, definitely the old one, child... Not satisfied with Three Stooges, The Florida Masochist digs up four: The Knucklehead of the Day award The Co-Knucklehead of the Day award Part One The Co-Knucklehead of the Day award Part Two The Knucklehead of the Year awards- Judiciary [I'm confused, FM. Is that KotD part none, part 1 and part deux? ;-) ] freedom folks: Christianity & Democracy and Smearing the Chicago Minuteman Project Do NOT miss this one from Woody's News & Views: 9 Out Of 10 Terrorists Prefer The NY Times Conservative Cat: Happy Holidays to All. [Well, as I said in comments, it offended me that he didn't offend me with his post. :-) Some people! heh] Customerservant.com has juuuust the right lyrics for The Twelve Days Of Critmus. Oh. My. :-) Wanna sing along? Here: (best with Roland patches. Just sayin') The Real Ugly American: The Left is loosing it again with the NSA story. [sic ;-) ] Liberal Common Sense: Speicher and Maupin Families Deserve Answers... [Indeed] TMH's Bacon Bits with a fitting tribute to a great woman: Maggie: A Lady of Dignity. [God bless Maggie.] Diane, you don't wanna know the image this evoked... Barefoot n' Packing :-) And just to follow up on yesterday's "Comfort ye" here's "Ev'ry Valley": Also sung out at TMH's Bacon Bits

Slap the ACLU *heh*

And I'm feeling... ambivalence. "Commandments display is upheld No religious intent in Mercer, court says" Thumbs up on the first part. Thumbs down on the dumb part. (I'll explain in a bit.) A federal appeals court has ruled that the display of the Ten Commandments in the Mercer County, Kentucky courthouse is hunky dory... for the wrong reasons. Folks: the Ten Commandments are central to two religions. They are a religious "document" BUT displaying them in or on a public building does not comprise "establishment of religion" by any portion of civil government. THAT'S what the court would have ruled if it hadn't had half its head stuck where the sun don't shine. Nevertheless, Judge Richard Suhrheinrich's ruling said the ACLU brought "tiresome" arguments about the "wall of separation" between church and state, and it said the organization does not represent a "reasonable person." Well, duh. At least the judge had that much sense. Not to belabor the obvious, but anyone with two active brain cells could have discerned that lil factoid. *sigh* The decision was issued by a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Cincinnati. It upheld a lower-court decision that allowed Mercer County to continue displaying the Ten Commandments along with the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner" and other documents. Of course, earlier in the year, similar displays in another Kentucky county were ruled unconstitutional by a non compos mentis Supreme Communistas of the United States, because those who posted them stated their religious views. Jackasses (OK, and a coupla hinny asses). At least in Mercer, the document is left displayed. But at what cost? Once again, the ACLU-even in "losing"-reinforces the idea that religious statements or displays in public fora are "unconstitutional" unless they are rendered non-religious, secular symbols with no religious intent. Once again, let me refer you to Tuesday's "somewhat rambling essay" by Jerry Pournelle. Note that Congress has incorporated the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederacy (*sigh* wouldn't that have been nice?) Confederation that preceded the Constitution as foundational documents of our nation. They are an integral part of Constitutional law. Note also, The United States in its founding document proclaims that it is self evident that all men are created equal, they are endowed by a Creator with certain inalienable rights, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. It is clear that the document does not recognize "unjust" powers, and it proceeds to enumerate a number of powers it considers unjust. _*_ And ...one of the major issues in this nation [slavery-ed.] was decided because religious principles prevailed over Rule of Law, either Strict or Liberal interpretation of the Constitution, and over the will of the legislatures both national and State which sought compromises to avoid war. To say that religion ought to play no part in national policies in the face of that one great truth appears to be absurd._*_ The modern effort by the ACLU and others to extirpate all religious practice and expression from the public arena, or at the very least to marginalize it by embedding the meme that it is merely an unecessary historical appendix, is in some ways more dangerous than the physical threat of another Islamic terrorist attack. Beacuse the terrorist attack can only kill a few of us compared to the ACLU and their ilk killing our whiole society as they become bolder in emulation of the Taliban... Catch the picture: the ACLU as a disingenuous communist "Taliban". Probably the best characterization of the organization I know. But at least this time a judge did say the ACLU's arguments were tiresome and that it did not represent a "reasonable person". Nice slap. Next time with a clubat? See Stop the ACLU for John's take. And do check the other blogs in the Stop the ACLU blogroll to your right. Merry Christmas, ACLU! Wrapped and placed under the tree with a BIG RED BOW at TMH's Bacon Bits. This was a production of Stop The ACLU Blogburst. If you would like to join us, please email Jay at Jay@stoptheaclu.com or Gribbit at GribbitR@gmail.com. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll. Over 115 blogs already onboard.

ME Quiz

Nah, not "Middle English" (although I did have a bonus M.E. quiz for some 9th-graders once... heh), and not "me". Middle Earth. BTW, this day was eaten by orcs, so I have NO idea where I saw this. If it was on your blog, please lemme know and I'll link the post, 'K. *sigh* Here goes. Answering the burning question you all have been wanting the answer to, "To which Middle Earth race does the proprietor of TWC™ belong?" Rohirrim To which race of Middle Earth do you belong? brought to you by Quizilla

PSA—WARNING! Danger Will Robinson!

In case you have not already recieved this warning: "News: Santa IM Worm Installs Rootkit Payload A Christmas-themed worm attack is on the loose, affecting instant messaging networks from AOL, MSN, Windows Messenger, ICQ and Yahoo." See the eWeek article here. You have been warned. Don't come crying to me if you get "hit" (unless you wanna pay me for the fix. heh :-). I'll tell the world at Basil's Blog and Diane's Stuff's Wednesday Weekly Open Trackback Alliance Fest.

Comfort

The "consolation prize" Romeocat speaks about in her Advent Meditation for today isn't the kind handed out to losers. No, it's real, genuine comfort to those (hmmm... that'd be, oh, everyone :-) caught in the pinch of life. Go, read, and while you're there, let this one roll around in your sound space a bit. Text from Isaiah 40:1-3, "Comfort ye" from Messiah: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." KJV Or, in a more modern version (one The Mary Hunter may recognize :-), "Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; Indeed, she has recieved from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins. A voice cries out: In the desert, prepare a way for the Lord! Make straight in the wastteland a highway for our God!" NAB Caroled out at TMH's Bacon Bits' Bacon Break - Granite State o' Mind

Open Post; can you Handel it?

This is an open post. Leave a comment if you don't know what to do. Check the links below as folks submit them. And feel free to CLICK on the mp3 player below and listen to one of my fav choruses from Handel's Messiah while CLICKing through... Singin' it out at Choose Life! Oh, and folks, get your submissions to the Carnival of Christmas in, OK?

About that War On Christmas

Today, Jerry Pournelle posted what he calls a "long and somewhat rambling essay" essay about the War on Christmas. I rather think it is the best rational argument I have seen sumarizing how minorities who might object to religious symbols of Christmas (and, are you listening ACLU--of course not--you are an minority group...) are shooting themselves in the foot by doing so. Good stuff. Shouted from the mountaintops at Conservative Cat

A few good reads

Just a few things that've caught my eye the last coupla days... most from a window to the Wonderful World of Links (below) plus a few others. Good stuff, Maynard. Three from TMH's Bacon Bits: Clinton Eavesdropped on Americans via NSA/Echelon So, does someone want to tell me where the outrage is from the MSM and the Democrat liberal elite, who are so concerned with our civil liberties - especially in a time of war such as now? And Guard the Borders: Round-Up And George Clooney's New and Improved Liberalism I'm keen on seeing Mr. Clooney's "change." It really would be rather easy, if he and his Defeaticrat ilk would simply open their eyes. [Never happen. He'd have to become an adult.] The Irate Nation weighs in with its own post in the Guard the Borders Blogburst "Everywhere, illegal aliens receive free public education and free medical care at taxpayer expense; 13 states offer them drivers licenses. States everywhere have been pushed to grant illegal aliens college scholarships and reduced in-state tuition. ... Four from freedom folks :Christmas Parody Songs, including You hate Christmas, ACLU You'd like to see it die You have all the gentle feelings Of a NAMBLA Jamboree, ACLU And Jackass in a Fox Suit Mexican President Vicente Fox stepped up his attacks on the United States plan to build a fence along its southern border on Sunday, saying it was a "shameful" initiative for a democracy. And I Just Stepped in a Pile of Crap: I read and blogged about this article smearing the Chicago Minuteman Project. What really disturbed me about the article was the complete lack of effort to report news, rather than conveying an opinion. And Lieberman Attacked for Having a Mind of His Own from freedom folks: Democrats in Connecticut are so disturbed by Sen. Joe Lieberman's stance on the war in Iraq that some are calling for a primary challenge against him in 2006... [Well, I dare say it's not so much for having a mind of his own as for having the temerity to speak it against the Groupthink the Mothership is beaming to Loony Left Moonbats through the Mass Media Podpeople. "The emperor has no clothes!" must be shouted by a child (who will then promptly be put on Ritalin). Just sayin'... ] The Florida Masochist explains (again) that California isn't the only "California" Florida the rules are different here Chapter XI Here is some news from the Sun-Sentinel. Call me old fashioned, but the main criteria for a police officer is their competence to do their job not their sexual orientation. Lyn over at Bloggin' Outloud gives me credit for more influence than I have (nice way to rack up the brownie points, Lyn. I'll send Santa a priority e- to put something nice in your stocking :-): Random Search Strings: What is it that draws people to your blog? Is it your witty commentary? Is it being linked to Third World County? No, it's chaos theory in action. [I thrive on chaos? Well, yes, I do... Even backhanded faint praise is gladly welcomed. heh I just wonder why so many people around the world keep on coming to TWC™ searching for pictures of "Swedish pants"...] The Real Ugly American very rightly points out the obvious... but I'd bet the folks over at Demoncrappic Underpants aren't listening: True Liberals Support Democracy! As a liberal I support my country promoting Democratic elections and removing murderous dictators from power. Especially when said dictator is a sworn enemy of the United States and has been proven to support our enemies as Saddam Hussein did. READ THIS from Committees of Correspondence It's Thank a Soldier Week Pass it on. Take part in Thank a Soldier Week: Say 'Thank You' today. As we embark upon the holiday season, we must not forget those who are away from their families defending our freedom. Townhall.com is hosting Thank a Soldier Week this week [DO take time this week to participate.] And DO see THIS POST at The English Guy. Rich has the Townhall.com/Country Music Awards clip of folks wishing our troops well. Bloggin' Outloud accredits me with undue influence in Random Search Strings What is it that draws people to your blog? Is it your witty commentary? Is it being linked to Third World County? No, it's chaos theory in action. More? Sure... Odd and Odder from The Florida Masochist (one of four, today. Dude, there's life away from the computer! :-): Can a state's chief executive be committed? [Well, let's start with charging the dude with assault. Then hit him with a charge of "Like Totally Creepy, Dude" on the way to the committment hearings... ] And Troubling: You combine this with the recent NSA story, and I am just having a hard time swallowing all of this. I know we're at war, but the evidence continues to mount that our government in Washington feels its free to do anything it wants. [I dunno, FM. This sounds like what's been going on for roughly about 140 years or so. The feebs have always kept tabs on such groups-at least ever since the Constitution died at Appomattox... ] And Ms. Narim you have too much time on your hands : Some news out of London. Researchers studying what children do with their Barbie dolls? Whose bright idea was this? Was some government funding it? Do people need a life? [Well, IMO, Barbie needs therapy... ] And The Knucklehead of the Day [Man! You'll never get anywhere picking on the Transport Workers Union! ;-) ] I just love this post of Christine's. Head on over to Rick Lee's for a "George Bush Santa" and other photos from a guy with a really great eye... Droll, Don: Gun Control, Canuckistan Style. [But, hey... a serious story.] Waxing nostalgic on Christmas shopping past... Diane posts Those Were The Days Bou covers "Life with Bones" in He Doesn't Realize He Lives In a Glass House Nancy is blogging again and has another poem up, Christmas Quest. Looking for that special gift? Donna has you coverd with Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread and Marshmallows. (Some under my tree? Please? No, really. :-) And a thoughtful piece (that no one in D.C. will read, or if they do will comprehend) from Dafydd ab Hugh: The ANWR Lightswitch: On-Off-On... And another thought-provoking piece from Alexandra, The Clash of Civilizations. Ahh, man... this post's already too long, and there are so very many left just in my blogroll alone... Shamelessly plugged at Right Wing Nation, Jo's Cafe and Basil's Blog

THIS SPACE LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK Please fill it with your links.

Open Post. I'm kinda busy, so I'll round things up later. Questions? See this stuff I shamelessly stole from somebody who mumbles more eloquently than I (yeh, yeh, TMH; I'll post your links first :-): "(What's a trackback? Bad Example explains.) If your blog software can't send trackbacks you can use Wizbang's Standalone Trackback Pinger. If you have trouble, please leave a comment." Not flogging this puppy, cos it's just too much like work right now. L8R.

The Marvelous Land of Serendip

While checking for updates on the NT password recovery situation noted here, I ran across a reference to an interesting page (noted in the same post :-) that I went back to read in full later, as time permitted. There, I found this gem, probably well-known in some circles but new to me: The Acts of Gord (Yes, that "r" is definitely supposed to be there.) Priceless. Some of the best work I've seen. One small example, an excerpt from The Book of Annoyances: Annoyances: Chapter 2 Wherein The Gord refuses to sell controllers he doesn't have. "Do you have any used dual shock controllers?" No I don't. "Yes you do!" I do? "Right there!" Those are the controllers for the demo machine. "And right there!" Those belong to the rental units. "Just sell me one of those." And what would I use for rental machines? "You could open new ones for those. " Uhm, no. "Why don't you have any used controllers?" Because they usually only come in with a used machine. As such, I sell them with the machines. "So sell me one of those." And sell the machine with no controllers? That'll go over well. "You don't want my business!" How about I sell you something I have in stock like a new controller? "I'll take my business elsewhere." Would you mind? I would appreciate that. There are twenty-four other such examples, just in The Book of Annoyances. Then there are the other nine Books... Oh. My. :-)

A lil tutorial for IE users... And a Bonus for Win NT/2K/XP users

I had a chuckle when I ran across this: "...People who visit my page using the Internet Explorer browser are automatically being redirected to a page which explains the fact that the US government has recommended that people stop using IE. After seeing Microsoft's "answer" to this (the new security "features" built into Windows XP SP2) I can only agree with this recommendation- IE is indeed a dangerous browser..." Go ahead. If you're using Internet Exploder, do click on the link above. I set Opera to identify itself as IE just to check. Yep. Lotsa good info for die-hard Internet Exploder users there. You don't leave your front door unlocked 24/7/365, do you? Park your new car in a shady neighborhood and leave the keys in it? Well, then why are you still using "Internet Exploder: the World's Crappiest Browser"? Over at Jo's Cafe, I ran into her post about password woes on a Win2K computer. She feared she'd have to reformat and reinstall everything. Sadly, I didn't get to her in time, it seems. *sigh* Actually, this happens a lot. Folks with NT, Win2K or WinXP computers forget or lose their admin passwords, the SAM file gets corrupted or a malicious user who's in an admin-priviledged session changes a password as a prank or to cause harm. There are several ways around this, but the easiest is to boot into a Linux "live" session with a Linux boot CD and use any number of freely available utilities to delete the old password and assign a new one. Here's one well-thought-out system: Offline NT Password and Registry Editor. The site has links to two different versions, a floppy-based version and a CD iso you can simply burn using Nero or whatever. Do yourself a favor: download the boot disks/utilites and print out the FAQ. Save it in a safe place. It may save your data, or at least an expensive service call from a techie. Several "rescue disks" are built around Knoppix (and see this Wiki), probably the first of the "Linux live" CDs. Neat thing: just boot from the CD and you're running Linux-from the CD itself. Been around a while, and most Linux distros are imitating this. Knoppix is still PDG, though, and getting better all the time. This might help, too, if you have a techie bent: Knoppix Hacks : 100 Industrial-Strength Tips and Tools Anyone who's a Windows NT, 2K or XP user really ought to have a Linux "live" boot CD for emergencies, IMO. And one with additional "rescue" tools is even better.

How clueless is Hollyweird?

OK, I have even less interest in seeing Brokeback Mountain than the usual Hollyweird drivel. But. (Oh, this is so hard to type while I'm laughing!) How clueless is Hollyweird to tout a movie about two homosexual shepherds as a "cowboy" flick? Yep. That's right. The two "cowboy lovers" the flick is built around are... sheep herders. "'We herded sheep on Brokeback one summer,'said Ennis..." What?!? "Sheepboys"? They couldn't find a cute lil ewe? Or did Hollyweird atypically just leave the love triangle on the cutting room floor? *Ewww!* Clipped and dipped at Conservative Cat and Is It Just Me?.

Do I have to comment?

*sigh* Yeh, yeh: Dog bites man and the feds "spy" on citizens' international communications. ¡Quelle surprise! *yawn* I really, really did NOT want to give the latest LLMB/MMPA meme any ink (so I haven't stated the meme-ish sound bite), but I've had several folks ask in email why I haven't, so I'll answer that here. It's not news. And it's not the threat to our civil liberties that the Loony Left Moonbat Brigade and the Mass Media Podpeople's Army would have us think. It was, as Michelle Malkin and others have pointed out, simply a means of pushing the Iraq elections out of headline space attempting (and apprently succeeding) to kill the Patriot Act shilling (in the lead article from the New York Slimes) a book, which I'll not give any promo by even naming here. And James, at Upsated, has the final (well, almost :-) word: "Do you think that your [sic] communication is private? Believe me when I say its [sic] not. With just a small amount of cash, I could monitor my entire town. From cellphones to hardlines, anybody with just a passing knowledge of the Telco industry could listen to everything you say. Hearing your so called private conversations is a snap." Yep. (And, BTW, you know that around 75% of the wireless networked computers in just about anyone's neck of the woods are wide open to anyone who wants to browse them? People who don't care enough about their privacy to close the doors-or at least close the curtains-shouldn't "get frisky" on the living room floor... ) h.t. to Jo's Cafe for the Upstated link.

O come, all ye faithful

Thank you, Romeocat, for yet another moving Advent Meditation. CLICK on the mp3 below and then read O, faithful... COME! (This is another cut from Christmas Brass [1994] by The Dallas Brass. Fortunately, Half.com has some of the 1997 re-issue available, and it does include this cut.) Caroled out at Basil's Blog and Jo's Cafe.

Ironic juxtaposition: Guard the Borders/Open Post

"...Among the many factors that led to the dissolution of the United States was its refusal to guard its borders. The influx of cheap workers displacing citizens from jobs; the strain on the economy of government social programs supporting these workers (large prtions whose wages often returned to their countries of origin instead of recirculating in the U.S. economy); the drag on educational systems caused by "bi-lingual" programs; the dissolution of the "American melting pot" and resultant dilution of citizen status; illegal aliens importing not only non-assimilating cultures but large numbers of criminals; porous borders allowing active enemies of the United States easy entry (Islamic terrorists and others): these and many other deleterious effects of the de facto "Open Borders" practiced by the United States in the late 20th and early 21st centuries were major elements contributing to its downfall..."-The Rise and Fall of the United States of America, translated from Chinese, 2150. Think it couldn't happen that way? It's happened before. As has famously been said, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes... in endless, but predictable, variations. This is an open post. Link here and trackback. Have questions about open posting? The MaryHunter says it as well as anyone: (What's a trackback? Bad Example explains.) If your blog software can't send trackbacks you can use Wizbang's Standalone Trackback Pinger. If you have trouble, please leave a comment. Yeh, what he said. Dittoed at Bloggin' Outloud, The Land of Ozz, Committees of Correspondence, Pirates! Man your Women! _______________________________ This has been a production of the Guard the Borders Blogburst. It was started by Euphoric Reality, and serves to keep immigration issues in the forefront of our minds as we're going about our daily lives and continuing to fight the war on terror. If you are concerned with the trend of illegal immigration facing our country, join our blogburst! Just send an email with your blog name and url to kit.jarrell at gmail dot com. Blogs already on board:

Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow!

Romeocat's Advent Meditation at CatHouse Chat today is about the first missionaries of the Good News... from Luke 2:15-18. Here's another lil piece from Winterlude to listen to as you read her thoughts on the scripture passage. There's a star in the East on Christmas morn, Rise up, shepherd, and follow. It will lead to the place where the Christ was born, Rise up, shepherd, and follow. Refrain Follow, follow, rise up, shepherd, and follow. Follow the Star of Bethlehem, Rise up, shepherd, and follow. If you take good heed to the angel's words, Rise up, shepherd, and follow. You'll forget your flocks, you'll forget your herds, Rise up, shepherd, and follow. Refrain

Confessions of a Tightwad

(I am NOT Scrooge! Really! :-) Recently a new "dollar store" opened in America's Third World County™. Man! Is it ever busy with Christmas shoppers! Just about every tightwad in America's Third World County™ can be found there completing their Christmas shopping. Including me. Of course, most of the stuff is "made by slave labor in China (or some other such place)" in frank imitation of name brand products ("Nelson chocolate" could fool some folks' eyes... )... just not as well. Other stuff is perfectly fine for the uses one needs it for. I got a set of seives for my kitchen and some funnels. $1 per set. Perfectly good. Other stuff... Let me put it to you this way. You know that neighbor who borrows tools but never quite gets around to returning them? Now, I can afford a rather complete set of hand tools (a buch apiece--sometimes a buck for a small set of tools) that I can loan to such persons... preserving the good wrenches, sockets, etc., for my own use. (Hey! if a $4 socket or a $20 wrench goes missing, it adds up, especially as against a couple of bucks for a socket set and a wrench... heh) Heck, if you could shop here, Christmas presents for inlaws would be a snap. Of course, nothing could match the Christmas present I gave a really crappy boss one year. Snooty as all get out-he and his wife both. Soooo proud of their good (and expensive) taste in decorating. (Yeh, right. Over-the-top Thomas Kincaidish kitsch home at MUCH higher than Kincaid prices.) I took a Christmas card I'd gotten as an advertizing promo from my insurance agent (knowing his agent was with another company, in another town, etc.), trimmed the front, framed it in a junk frame I had sitting around in stuff my parents had dumped off on me in a "we don't have room to move this" gesture. Saw it prominently displayed in their entry on several later "come on by so we can brag on our gauche taste" visits to their home. Warmed the cockles of this tightwad's heart, it surely did. Openly confessed (after much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth) at Peakah's Provocations, Basil's for Brunch, Sunday Specials at Jo's Cafe.