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Electoral ponderings

For the past few days I've been checking Electoral-vote.com to keep up on the latest polls in the presidential race. The site offers downloadable polling data of ALL the polls to date for each state, or just the most recent data (basically, the average of the most recent poll plus any other polls in the previous 7 days). I was looking around at this data, and noticed something interesting: If Obama takes all of the states currently rated as "Strong Dem" and "Weak Dem," he wins the election with 282 electoral votes. This does not include the states the are considered up for grabs as of today - basically, those where there is a statistical tie (where one candidate leads the other by less than twice the margin of error). These include Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Ohio.

Now, the North Dakota thing has got to be a fluke. The last previous poll was dated September 17th - nearly a month ago - so it's plausible that the balance has shifted. But for McCain to go from a 13-point lead to trailing by 2 points in a state that has gone Republican for every presidential election in recent history, and where Bush had near-30-point margins in 2000 and 2004? Either that poll is seriously flawed, or McCain is in more trouble than it seems.

But aside from that, even assuming McCain takes North Dakota, Obama doesn't need to win in Florida, Missouri, or Ohio - states that have been considered vital in previous elections. Unless, of course, something significant happens in the next three weeks.

It's okay to say "dick" except when you mean "penis"

The other night on The Daily Show, John Stewart was talking about exchanging recipes for spotted dick with the British (or something - I wasn't completely paying attention). ANYway, he goes on to say "My recipe for spotted dick involves a Sharpie ... [pause] ... and my *beep*." To me, the funniest part about the whole thing wasn't the pun, but the fact that he'd said the word "dick" two or three times prior to that last one, and that was fine, but when he used it to mean "penis," the censors had to step in to protect us.

I wonder if a similar rule would apply to discussions about titmice? For instance, if one suggested that a titmouse is a mouse sitting on a *beep*. Huh. I guess it does.

xILF meme breaks the glass something

Sarah Palin goes from HMILF to GILF, then shoots for VPILF status.

"Seriously funny"

The Daily Show turns out to be a pretty decent news source. A study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism 'concludes that The Daily Show is a satire in the tradition of Art Buchwald and H.L. Mencken, and argues that it “performs a function that is close to journalistic in nature—getting people to think critically about the public square.”'

Politics roundupdate!

The comparisons between the Republican presidential ticket and Battlestar Galactica are only just warming up.

• John McCain is a Cylon (and here's one from March ... and two from January)
• Vote Tigh/Roslin!

An awesome reason to not have a credit card

Credit card companies will fuck you.

Politics roundup

It's that time of year - the Republican convention over in St. Paul is winding down soon, and the Democrats took care of their nomination process in Denver last week. Of course my reader is wondering, "What does Lady With a Hat have to say about all this?"

One of my favorite nonsenses of the season has to do with those disaffected Hillary supporters who are threatening to vote for McCain. A handful showed up on the Daily Show last week to protest the selection of a black(ish) man over their beloved feminist icon as the Democrats' candidate of choice this year. A number of them indicated their disgust with being accused of racism for supporting a white woman over a man of color in the contest. Almost immediately afterward, they bicthed about the blatant sexism that pervaded the media coverage of the race for the Democratic nomination and ultimately prevented Hillary from getting the support she needed to secure the nomination. Is that irony? I don't know, but it looks like a textbook example of morony to me.

And then there's McCain's pick for running mate - and all the attendant "does he really have good enough judgment to be trusted in the Oval Office" talk (scattered throughout the 'b).

Sarah Palin is the 2nd female in history to make it to November as part of a presidential ticket (assuming she makes it that far). I don't know much about her, but what I've heard so far reminds me of Michelle Bachmann, who represents Minnesota's 6th District in the House of Reps. Bachman is a religious whackjob, and if Sarah Palin is anything like Michelle Bachmann, I'm a bit nervous about the prospect of her being so close to commander-in-chiefdom.

Speaking of Michelles, a piece in Slate carries the subtitle "Michelle Obama and Sarah Palin have more in common than you might think." My first thought was, "They both hate whitey?"

There's also the problem of Palin's 17-year-old pregnant, unwed daughter. Obama says the subject is off-limits (I can't find a source for this right now, but it's out there), but it's already in the open, and the father of the fetus is even joining the family at the Convention. And given the typical hypocrisy and "do as I say not as I do" attitude characteristics of religious wingnuts, one has to wonder What if Bristol Palin Were Black?

But I think my favorite piece on the whole Sarah Palin subject is this piece, which compares her to the character of Laura Roslin from Battlestar Galactica. Pointless, flimsy fluff? Definitely. But it's shiny and distracting, like a Cylon. Wait, if Palin=Roslin, does that mean that Cindy McCain is the mysterious 12th Cylon?

From the "I'm not surprised" department

"Male enhancement"? Maybe he meant "Enhance the size of my certain part of the male body - the wallet."

Is that meat on your head, or are you just happy to see me?

Meat Hats

TV make brain work not good

TV > Autism?

Project tablecloth

A new season of Project Runway started last week, and as much as I loathe "reality" TV, this is one program that has a good premise behind it. The difference between this and 99.9% of "reality" programming is that the contestants actually have to demonstrate some level of skill. The downside is the way the producers milk the "drama" aspect of the show. Seriously, they could cut it down to a 30-minute program if they got rid of the crap.

Anywho, I am just catching the first episode tonight, and Tim Gunn (the most awesome non-fiction person on TV) took the contestants to a grocery store to collect materials for their first competition. A ridiculous number of them picked up tablecloths, because apparently they completely missed the point of the competition, which is to be creative and innovative. It reminded me of the season 3 (I think) episode where the guy who used a bedsheet won - he DID make a very nice dress, but hello! It's a bedsheet - a big slab of fabric - and the guy who made the kickass dress out of coffee filters did not.

Foreclosure property, anyone?

On a whim, I decided to look at real estate online. One place I looked was Craigslist, cuz it sometimes has funny things. Here is what I saw:

Energy News

Biofuels bad:

• Biofuel use 'increasing poverty'
• Bioenergy: Fuelling the food crisis?
  
• Clearing Land for Biofuels Makes Global Warming Worse
• Biofuels Deemed a Greenhouse Threat
• Bush administration biofuel confusion
  

Renewables gooder?

• Solar powered solar power
• The U.S.'s First Offshore Wind Farm...FINALLY
• Heavyweight physics prof weighs into climate/energy scrap
• The economics of solar power

Oil is crazy

• How much oil is out there?
• Slick John McCain and the offshore oil ruse
• McCain links wars in Iraq & Afghanistan to oil prices
  

UK Science

An article at Slate examines the fact that Brits are generally more up on science and technology than Americans. An interesting point is made in this paragraph:

Did I mention odd sex practices? The Brits can't get enough of them, yet they're wonderfully rational about it. The latest uproar is over first-cousin marriages in some immigrant communities (never mind that Charles Darwin did it, too). In contrast to the pious calls for prohibitive legislation that we'd surely have heard from Congress under similar circumstances, the British press actually looked at the genetics of cousin marriage. And the answer seems to be that education and genetic screening are a better way to go.

So basically,while Americans get their jeebus-themed undies in a moralistic bunch, the British explore the facts of the issue. Interesting concept, that: rational thought applied to a controversial issue.

"Every child is a blessing (except the gay ones)"

I've seen a lot of pro-life billboards that claim "Every child is a blessing" and then show a kid with Downs syndrome. Based on comments from religious talking heads, apparently it's a gift from zombie jeebus if you have a retarded baby, but if you have a gay one, well, that's not so special. (I'm not going to privilege the actual religious whackjobs' websites with extra traffic, so you'll have to hunt them out on your own.)

301

I just noticed that (1) it's been a little over a month since my last post and (2) that post was number 300. I figure I ought to have at least one entry each month, just to keep your attention, right?

I saw part of this "Alter Eco" program on one of the Discovery channels the other day, but couldn't stand the host. Then, yesterday, I ran across this piece in Slate about the latest Discovery channel spin-off, Planet Green. When I first saw ads for the network, I thought, "That seems potentially interesting, but also really pretentious." I think the best line in the Slate article is "I for one want to go out and kill a dolphin." If the author is looking to put together a crew to do so, this is my official request to join. I'll bring the harpoons!

I have so far avoided looking at any of the comments on the article. Mary & I have talked about the fact that everything on the internet apparently needs to be discussed by the unwashed masses, and I've decided it's in my best interest to ignore that discourse whenever possible. If I look, I might be tempted to contribute - and then who's the ass?

Oh no they di'int!

Neat trick

This video was created by overlaying 1000 plays of a racing video game, to show the range of possible play sequences all at once.

Home sweet Kwik Trip

There's a Kwik Trip about two miles north of our place on 494. It's only the 2nd one I know of in the TC Metro - the other being down in Eagan or thereabouts. They're all over Rochester, and they have no-fee ATMs, so finding one so nearby was nice. What I didn't expect was that sort of nostalgic feeling one gets when experiencing a familiar comfort that one has lost. It kind of creeped me out at first, but then I just figured, wtf, I'll just roll with it.

What!?

I'll be brief:
"UFO Hunters" on the History Channel (which has pretty much hit the same quality of programming the TLC achieved long ago)....
Two people, allegedly contacted by aliens.
One of them has a rare blood abnormality.
How can we prove that there's a connection between them, and therefore they really are being contacted by aliens?
... wait for it:
Blood tests for both. If both people have the same blood abnormality, BAM! Aliens are real, and they're visiting Earth to conduct anal probes.

Oh, and even better: Close the show with a reference to Voyager I.

And then, a program that opens with the following (I paraphrase):
The following program provides theories about an historical event that is shrouded in mystery. We use reenactments, dramatizations, and old tyme footage (can you tell which is which?) to provide information, and then you, the American public, with your 5th-grade education and your pear-sharp wit, can draw your own conclusions.

[EDIT]
I'd like to add that Stanton Friedman is one of the freakiest looking guys I've ever seen, and may serve as evidence of an alien-human hybrid operation.

[EDIT]

I'm trying to visualize...

a Jehovah's Witness dressed up like a blood transfusion.

Seen on a t-shirt

Saw a girl on campus yesterday wearing a t-shirt that said:

Don't make me think
it hurt's too much

Srsly.

Six word stories? Not so much.

A while back, Wired asked a number of writers to follow in Hemingway's footsteps. (No, not with the suicide thing - besides, Abercrombie & Fitch doesn't sell guns anymore.) The backstory is included in the article, but I'll recap: Hemingway once wrote a six-word story ("For sale: baby shoes, never worn."), and according to legend claimed it was his best work. So Wired decided to see what other authors could do in six words, and asked for submissions from a variety of writers in the fields of sci-fi, horror, & fantasy.

I remember seeing this piece in Wired when it was originally published. It's interesting that very few of those submitted to Wired have the same power that Hemingway's piece does. Hemingway's example uses specific details to force the reader to imagine the story behind those six words, and creates characters for whom we can have some empathy. Thinking about the tragedy of a child's death and its impact on the prospective parents made me realize that as much as I don't really enjoy much of Hemingway's work, he clearly had talent. So many of the pieces submitted to Wired lacked that. Meretzky's "I win lottery. Sun goes nova." and Lee's "Automobile warranty expires. So does engine." generate a momentary chuckle, and Moore's "Machine. Unexpectedly, I'd invented a time" is clever, but so few of these offer that deeper meaning that Hemingway provided. Even the writers I love (Joss Whedon, Neil Gaiman, David Brin, Margaret Atwood) didn't quite get there, although I did enjoy "Gown removed carelessly. Head, less so."

Spluh

So I haven't posted for a long time. A looooong time. Ages. As my readers know, Ben & I have moved. We are now living in Minnetonka, renting an apartment while we wait for our house in Rochester to sell. One of the most frustrating things about the apartment is that the bathroom has too many doors. Sounds weird, but trust me - there are too many.

Also annoying: The fridge has about two dozen little egg holders in the door. I've seen fridge's with them before, and never realized how useless they are until I'd gotten used to having functional space in the door.



In the history of refrigeration, nobody has EVER used those things. Who came up with that idea? Eggs are sold in containers. Why would I take them out of that container and put them in these stupid little cups? WTF?

What's the poop?

No, really.

Mitt says the darndest things

Mitt Romney is out of the running for the Republican presidential nomination. His rationale is that if he stays in, he would "forestall the launch of a national campaign and frankly I'd be makign it easier for Senator Clinton or Obama to win. Frankly, in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."

Use our landfills, or we'll sue!

More enviro news out of California. I heard the tail-end of this on "As It Happens" last night, so was intrigued to learn more. Eddie House of San Carlos, CA, has cancelled his trash collections service because he found that he could recycle or safely dispose of everything himself. Now the city is suing him, seeking a court order to make him not only reinstate weekly pick-ups, but also to reimburse the city for attorney and court fees. It doesn't get much dumber than this. Mr. House went so far as to propose bi-weekly collection as a compromise, but no, that wasn't good enough for the fat cats down in city hall.

I've been wondering myself for quite a while why we don't recycle more. At my house we have a huge trash can that, each week, goes to the curb accompanied by a much smaller bin for recyclables. Shouldn't it be the other way around? So much of the stuff we consider "trash" can be recycled - why not change "trash collection" into "recycling service." Shift the paradigm, people, and use the clutch! Even better, remove the onus of sorting from the customer - many a time I find myself wondering, can this go in the recycling? And as often as not, if I don't know, it goes to the trash. People are lazy, and there's empirical evidence that, when confronted with a decision and a shortage of information, people take the path of least resistance. Make it easier, and more people will do it.

Your dog drinks out of the toilet - why can't you?

Orange County, California is setting up a facility to recycle sewage as drinking water. "Toilet-to-tap" sounds gross, but this actually happens in nature already. Treated effluent typically is released to places where it re-enters the global hydrological cycle, either through evaporation, percolation into groundwater storage, or returning to rivers and lakes. In many cases the water that comes out of sewage treatment plants is cleaner than the bodies of water it enters. The OC facility is not going to take freshly treated water and pump it right back into drinking water supplies, though. The output of the plant will be put into area riverbeds where it will infiltrate to the groundwater and join the existing sources of drinking water. The cycle will take, at the very least, several months if not years to complete, so sewage that enters the plant now isn't going to be coming to a faucet near you for quite a while.

An orgy of cross-posting!

(Or, since Mel & I are the same person, would it be more like masturbation?)

She makes some excellent points about New Year's Resolutions. And, in the interest of repetitive redundancy, I'll repost some of my thoughts from the comment I left on her post.

I mentioned that I took to making lists of "to-dos" between semesters with the express purpose of not doing anything on the list. That made me wonder, maybe I should make anti-resolutions. It might include things like, "Do not buy every album released by Britney Spears and The Backstreet Boys."

Huckabee loses all remaining credibility

First some backstory:

Mike Huckabee is seeking the Republican nomination for the 2008 Presidential election. As Ben commented, the man does have charisma. Sadly, he lacks any concept of reality: he doesn't accept the scientific validity of evolution, but rather accepts as fact the mythology that an the Christian god created the world blah blah blah. That alone is enough for him to fall off my radar.

But he's also been entertaining, particularly in his ongoing partnership with Stephen Colbert. On numerous occasions, he has confirmed his intent to name Mr. Colbert as his running mate if he receives the Republican nomination. Now, if you've seen the Colbert Report at all, you have some sense of what Mr. Huckabee got himself into. But last night, watching the rebroadcast of the Jan 9th, 2008 edition of the Colbert Report, you can actually see the moment the Huckabee goes from legitimate presidential candidate to farcical impersonation of a presidential candidate. Check out the video labeled "Stephen reunites with his running mate, Mike Huckabee." (I have to admit, I love the visual image of a pneumatic tube shooting illegal immigrants into Mexico.)

Despite the fact that I have significant readership, and that I have no history as a political prognosticator, I'm going to forecast that Huckabee has pretty much eliminated himself from the running (not that I'm complaining - we don't need another Jesus freak in the White House.)

Do people still actually make New Year's resolutions?

I used to be one of those people who, when January 1st rolled around, would think, "What things can I set out to do this year?" Then I realized that putting together a list of resolutions or goals for the year is silly, because I'm going to forget them within a week anyway. I could write them down, but then I'd have to carry around a ratty piece of paper for 365 days. How inconvenient!

I realize that 2008 is well into its second week already, but I'm wondering - does anybody out there still make New Year's resolutions? If so, what have you set as your targets for 2008?

In the interest of playing fair, here are a few items that I might put on such a list if I were inclined to do so, and if I actually thought I'd follow through on them:

- Finish school (Actually, I will be doing this one, whether I like it or not, so it doesn't necessarily fit here. But it is something I'll be spending considerable effort on for the next 4 and a half months.)
- Get a job (see comment on previous item)
- Lose weight (Yeah, I know - I could stand to lose a few pounds, but I don't really see myself putting much energy into this right now.)
- Read more (aside from what is assigned in classes)
- Write (see previous comment)
- Draw/paint (see previous comment)
- Travel

Ack!

I searched Google for the phrase "lady with a hat" and although the first hit was fun, I noticed something more interesting near the bottom of that first page...

[edit]
FWIW: I had to get to page three of the search results before finding ladywithahat.com.
[/edit]

Life is horrible

...but despair.com makes it fun!

I especially like this line: "Clothes make the man. These clothes make the man sad."
Need a 2008 calendar? Build your own!

Dear Jesus and the G.O.P.

Here's a little story for my Xian and Republican friends.

Once upon a time there was a couple who'd been together for many years. We'll call them B1 and B2. In every respect but the legal one, you could say they were married. B1 decided to return to school for a graduate degree, and gave up gainful employment to do so. Naturally, this sacrifice of income was accompanied by a loss of health insurance benefits as well. Fortunately, B2 had a job that offered health insurance for both of them, and so all was well. B2's employer, however, was bought out by a company less inclined to offer insurance coverage to the euphemistically-termed "domestic partners" of a particular subset of their employees, but agreed to continue the coverage for employees who had received it in the past.

This situation went on until the final year of B1's education, when B2's employer decided that they would no longer pay any portion of the insurance premium for B1. While the opportunity still existed to receive coverage through the employer, the cost for B2 would increase by almost 400%. Seeking a more acceptable alternative, B1 decided to enroll in the school's insurance plan, which was much cheaper and offered good coverage. The catch was that for 21 days at the beginning of the calendar year, before the school term began, B1 would be without insurance. B1 ordered enough of the necessary prescriptions to remain sane until the new coverage kicked in, and carefully scheduled medical appointments after the 22nd day of the new year.

But this stop-gap measure would prove inadequate. On the 7th day of the new year, B1 received a letter, dated the last day of the previous year, indicating that B1 was not eligible to use the prescription drug service at the time the order was placed, 5 days before that year ended. B1 was confused - B2 had been paying the same premium for insurance coverage throughout the year. Why would coverage be terminated in the middle of the year, and why would they not have been notified? There was obviously an error, and although B1 anticipated a fight from the insurance company, it would not be difficult to rectify - or so B1 assumed.

As it turned out, B1's coverage had been terminated, according to the insurance company, on the first day of May in the previous year. This was ridiculous - B1 told the representative that claims had been paid and prescriptions filled through November, no questions asked. After putting B1 on hold, the representative returned to state that B2's employer had been slow turning in the paperwork to update their records - instead of notifying the insurance company in May, they waited until the 4th of December to do so. As a result, the insurance company continued to cover B1 up to the point that update was made, despite the fact that the employer didn't want B1 to receive benefits after April 30th.

My question for the Jesus-fucking Republicans out there is this: do you think that couples like B1 and B2, who are currently denied the right to legal recognition of their relationship, ought to receive the same treatment that legally married couples receive, vis-a-vis said relationships?

Answer carefully, and stay tuned to find out how this situation is resolved.

Happy New Year!

I just realized that I've only made one post this year so far, and that was a "poll results" post. Man, I'm boring. To rectify the situation, here's a post where I wish all my "bitches" a happy and healthy 2008! (bitches!)

Poll results

Q:
Do these shoes make my ass look fat?

A:
What ass? 0/5
Yes. Stop putting them in there. 2/5
No, they have no effect. 0/5
No, they make your ass look skinny. 0/5
No, your fat ass makes your ass look fat. 3/5