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Any law which violates the inalienable rights of man is essentially unjust and tyrannical; it is not a law at all. - Maximilien Robespierre A Violently Executed Feed BUY SOME STUFF, MAKE ME HAPPY Contact me. Links and stuff Handshake Bloggers Damn Good Music
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Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Supreme Court Opposes Open Government This comes as no surprise: The right wing of the Supreme Court ruled that government employees aren't Constitutionally protected when they tell their bosses they're doing something wrong. "We hold that when public employees make statements pursuant to their official duties, the employees are not speaking as citizens for First Amendment purposes, and the Constitution does not insulate their communications from employer discipline," Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the court.This, coupled with Alberto Gonzales' insistence that the government can and should go after reporters that commit the treasonous crime of reporting the truth about things like warrantless wiretaps, the NSA's data-mining of millions of American citizens, secret prison networks and torture - well, things are going to be getting a lot worse before they get better. This administration makes Nixon's Imperial Presidency look like Amateur Night In Dixie, folks. They've filed the serial numbers off the worst excesses of Stalinism and they're trotting them out in a fashion that out-Orwells Orwell as if they're the best of all possible means of protecting our freedoms. "We had to destroy the village in order to save it." posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:17:00 AM   | Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Scattered Observations From The Trip I didn't drive down into New Orleans last weekend, though my parents did go in to see a friend that lives there. They reported that the devastation is heartbreaking still, that the Lower 9th Ward looks like a war zone. Lots of "FEMA Roofs" in the area from Baton Rouge going east on I-12 - blue tarps covering roofs in various stages of repair. On the side roads, still huge piles of garbage, many probably representing a lifetime of history ruined by the wind and rain. Closer in to Lake Pontchartrain, empty lots and houses being raised. Older houses tended to be in better shape - partly, I'm sure, because their owners could afford to get them fixed sooner, but also because many of the older houses were already built with the main floor raised above the ground - some as much as eight feet. The park we camped in, Fontainebleu State Park, was only partially open. The camping area, about 300 yards from the lake, was under seven feet of water during Katrina, according to the folks in the campsite next to us. The state had only just reopened the park, and many roads were still closed off. Most buildings in the park had been swept away during the storm, and there were several about halfway built - I wondered if they'd survive this season, if Louisiana was going to get pounded again. The beach was still closed off, and the lake had only recently been shown "clean" enough for swimming/fishing - the cutoff is 200 ppm for coliform bacteria and fecal matter. The live oaks were in good shape, though. As near as I could tell, I didn't see a single one down. The people. I saw large numbers of hispanic workers - almost all men, most between the ages of 18 and 35 or so (best estimate). One new Mexican/American restaurant, slightly out of place on a parish road between a drive-though daquiri stand and a trailer selling po-boys. I wonder how many of the workers imported by corporations for cleanup will stay in the area, and what that part of Louisiana will look like in ten or twenty years. There's a good sociological research grant in that, I think. Locals I talked to were almost universal in their condemnation of almost all of the authorities - local police and emergency workers were the only ones spared. In their minds, the failure was nearly total - from the parish level right up to Bush and ol' "Heckuvajob" Brownie. They wondered where the National Guard had been, why FEMA wouldn't let people with food and water in or sick and starving people out of New Orleans. One family I spoke to told me about a member of their family that had been trapped at the Convention Center - they described it as orderly, considering the circumstances, nothing like the breathless reports describing "out of control Many people expressed concern to me that they feared that corporations were going to use the storm to buy up land belonging to "working folks", that there would be more casinos, more resorts and fewer middle class neighborhoods, fewer areas with the character of Louisiana. In two different truck stop restrooms, the most prominent graffiti was not the usual "For a good time call..." or "down-low" rendezvous locations at nearby highway rest stops. Instead, several rants against Bush were most prominent. Most interestingly, there were not the usual "commy fagot [sic]" rebuttals, but rather numerous statements of agreement. I got the distinct impression that the 2008 elections would be the Democrats' to lose, at least in Louisiana. It was a fascinating, though upsetting, trip. Some sections of I-10 between Vidor and Houston were mere inches away from being flooded following heavy rains in the area - the service roads were, in many case, covered by what looked like a foot of water, which made me wonder what any evacuations in that area would be like this season. I saw no real signs that local governments were any more prepared this time, though locals I talked to seemed much more inclined to get the hell out at any sign of trouble. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 9:02:00 AM | Monday, May 29, 2006
Home Again Sorry for the 2 days without posts, hope you all haven't left me for some younger blog with a tit job and dyed-blond hair. Drove to Mandeville, LA and camped for 2 days, then sent the oldest 2 kids off with their Gran and Grandy for 2 weeks. I'll post some thoughts from the trip later - either tonight or tomorrow. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 4:06:00 PM | Friday, May 26, 2006
Shortest. Trip. EVAR. 15 minutes away from home and Little Alec puked all over the van. We're back home now, gonna get a good night's sleep and start again in the morning. Alec seems OK now, we'll see how he's doing tomorrow. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 9:37:00 PM | What I Didn't Need Today I'm trying to pack for a camping trip this weekend, and the big kids are going to Georgia for 2 weeks immediately after. So I'm trying to make lists, pack clothes, find camping gear, pack camping gear, load the van, clean the house, finish laundry and stay sane. What I did not need was for the older kids to go make a mud puddle in the back yard and wallow in it. Argh. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:53:00 PM | Thursday, May 25, 2006
The Smartest Men In The Cell Kenny-Boy and Skilling convicted! BOO-YA! Here's hoping they rot in prison for a good long time. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 11:24:00 AM | Wednesday, May 24, 2006
TOMORROW IS TOWEL DAY  A towel, [The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy] says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical value - you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 7:39:00 PM | Well, Shit Clifford Antone is dead. Fuck. I was never really tapped into the music scene here in Austin, but Clifford Antone was an instrumental part of the growth of the scene here. I think I'll blame the Hard Rock Cafe here in Austin for breaking his heart. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 10:03:00 AM | Tuesday, May 23, 2006
The Soda - Initial Impressions I've posted the initial writeup of my nightmarish soda experience here. Read and enjoy, and be glad I spared you a description of everything. [EDIT] It seems that you, Dear Readers, cannot follow that link. So here it is: It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time... When I came up with the idea, it struck me as wickedly clever and hilariously entertaining. The actual experience, I'm sad to say, was rather different - at least for me. I'd found a Jones Soda Holiday Pack on a thrift-store run, and bought it on an impulse. My original plan had been to offer it to one of my regular blog readers as a prize for some ridiculous contest or another, but after thinking about it, I thought it would be even more entertaining if I were to drink the sodas myself and offer a critique. A friend with a camera offered to film it and what I like to call my "Trip To Soda Hell" was underway. Last night, I chilled the sodas and got some supplies ready - toothpaste and a toothbrush, some altoids, lots of water and a couple of beers, plus a large metal bowl and a couple of towels - just in case the worst happened. My friend set up the camera and we were off. A brief introduction was followed by a look at the bottles of soda - five flavors: Turkey and Gravy, Wild Herb Stuffing, Brussels Sprout with Prosciutto, Cranberry Sauce and Pumpkin Pie. Steeling myself, I opened the turkey and gravy soda first. Now, I'm what you call a fan of the turkey - I likes me some roast turkey, with or without gravy. On first sip, I couldn't taste the turkey at all. I was expecting something a little more salty, but instead was assaulted by a cloyingly sweet mixture that tasted almost, but not entirely, unlike turkey. It wasn't pleasant, but I managed to down about half the bottle. One down, four to go. Next was the wild herb stuffing soda - I'd decided to work my way through the courses as I did on Thanksgiving - which was not as sweet, but with definite hints of... something. I'm still not sure what, but gym socks might have been part of it. Gagging a little, I finished a third of the bottle and then rinsed my mouth with water. Two down. Brussels sprouts. I'm not a hater of the sprout - it's a vegetable I can live without - but the soda? If Charles Manson was in the soda business, he'd make something like this. It smelled very strongly of brussels sprouts, and I had to be careful not to inhale when I tilted the bottle up - it took me a couple of tries to actually let the soda enter my mouth, as my involuntary reflexes struggled mightily to save me from what I was about to consume - to no avail, and to my great regret. I managed two swallows and set the bottle down, sealing the cap tightly. I furiously brushed my teeth and scraped my tongue, rinsed my mouth with water and swigged from the beer. Argh. Horrible. Three down. Pumpkin pie. A friend of mine has said before, "I like pie. If someone asks me what I want on my pie, I say, 'Pie.' I like pie all the time, any way I can get it. Someday, someone will find a way to liquify pie so I can have a nice cup of pie with my pie." I wish to assure my friend that They have not, in fact, perfected the art of making liquid pie. Gods, no. One good swig from the bottle and I knew without a doubt that if it was ever necessary to designate an Official Soda for Abu Ghraib, this was the stuff. One time, when I was very small, I got some lye on my tongue. I didn't swallow it, but I still clearly remember the agony of that feeling and the horrible, greasy taste and feel of that caustic and deadly chemical. I'd've gladly swallowed a whole cup full of lye, if I knew it would wash the taste of pumpkin pie soda out of my mouth. Four down. Last, but not least, was cranberry sauce soda. After the last two, it was almost pleasant - but only in a relative sense. It was kind of like how it'd feel if you got run over by a steamroller, and then some kid ran over you with his bicycle - you wouldn't even notice the bike, being so preoccupied with your legs being flatter than a pancake. Sweeter than the other sodas, but still possessing that je ne sais quoi that made it almost, but not entirely, unpalatable. I'd made it through, tasted all five flavors. My ordeal was done, though my taste buds will never trust me again. Hell, I don't trust myself again. Asked by a friend to sum up the experience, I thought for a moment and replied, "It was the culinary equivalent of grabbing a hammer and smashing myself in the crotch." posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 3:55:00 PM | The Culinary Equivalent Of Smacking Myself In The Nuts With A Hammer Gaaaah. That soda was nasty. And I'm not talking run-of-the-mill nasty, either. I mean nasty like Oh-God-I-Can-Still-Taste-It-No-Matter-How-Much-I-Scrape-My-Tongue- Nasty. Nasty like "Almost puked when I saw the box in the garbage can outside this morning" nasty. Gaaaah. I hope you all appreciate what I went through for your entertainment. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 6:48:00 AM | Monday, May 22, 2006
The Charles Manson of Soda I don't know who designed the Jones Soda Holiday Pack, but that man is evil. EVIL. I'll post more about it tomorrow. Might be a week or so before the film gets edited for posting. I'll keep you updated. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 9:25:00 PM | We Who Are About To Hurl... Change in schedule - Will-Buddy has something going on tomorrow night, so it's now or never. I'm straightening up the bookcase right now, since it'll be a backdrop for this Hopefully, I'll have some video to post by the end of this week. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 7:37:00 PM | Fun Weekend I mean, what could be more fun than taking apart a toilet and fishing a rubber duck out of it? I ask you? Well, OK, there's the thirty minutes of Clorox-and-wire-brush scrubbing afterward, and the compulsive hand-washing for a couple of days after that, but hey! At least the toilet works now. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:53:00 PM | Sunday, May 21, 2006
Tuesday = The Big Day! You remember that package of holiday soda I bought? Tuesday evening, my buddy Will's coming over with a camera, and we shall film The Tasting. I'll have the soda, and some beer as a "palate cleanser", and probably a bucket or two in case I need to puke. Once the film's shot, it's a matter of a little editing and then posting it on the net - as soon as that's done, I'll post a link. And remember, if I don't survive this, that I love you. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 6:55:00 AM | Saturday, May 20, 2006
This Week's CSA Box beets onions red onions garlic cucumbers zucchini yellow squash carrots strawberries! 1 jar of strawberry/blackberry jelly I think we'll marinate some chicken tomorrow and grill kebabs with the onion and squash, and I'll make tzatziki and some hot fresh pita. No, you can't come for dinner, unless you bring beer. And pie! I need pie! posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:45:00 PM | Friday, May 19, 2006
Wonderful News It's easy to lose a sense of wonder these days. When the US government engages in state-sponsored torture, spies on its own citizens like some 3rd-rate Warsaw Pact police state and when the party running the country can't suck up to the religious freakjobs fast enough, it's not difficult at all to get a little numb, to forget to notice all the great things there are out there. Like this: A stand of American chestnut trees that somehow escaped a blight that killed off nearly all their kind in the early 1900s has been discovered along a hiking trail not far from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Little White House at Warm Springs. I don't know how many times I hiked the Pine Mountain Trail growing up - several times a year, at least. I probably walked right past those trees dozens of times unknowing. "When the flowers are right, we're going to rush down and pollinate the flowers, collect the seeds a few weeks later and collect the nuts," Klaus said. "If we ever find a genetic solution to the chestnut blight, genes from that tree will find their way into those trees."I don't live near Warm Springs any more, but damned if I don't feel some vicarious pride that those trees survived there of all places. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 6:28:00 AM | Thursday, May 18, 2006
I Think You'd Better Listen To The Man, Actually Arlen Specter to Russ Feingold: "I don't need to be lectured by you." A Senate committee approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage Thursday, after a shouting match that ended when one Democrat strode out and the Republican chairman bid him "good riddance."No, I think Arlen Specter needs to be lectured on protecting the Constitution. He's been part and parcel of the Eunuch Congress that has tripped over itself rushing to surrender its responsibilities to the out-of-control Executive Branch of King George. Specter's peevish little titty-baby whines aren't what really pissed me off, though. This is: Not all those who voted "yes" support the amendment, however. Specter said he is "totally opposed" to it, but felt it deserved a debate in the Senate.That's bullshit. If you're opposed to an amendment, you (and hey, all you fucking fatcats in Congress oughtta lissen up) FUCKING VOTE AGAINST IT. At every opportunity. Shit, Specter's just as bad as Frist, Santorum and Cornyn. He's a wolf in sheep's clothing, paying lip service to the idea of being a "moderate" Republican, but he's marching in lockstep with the extreme right of his party like a good little German. Feingold at least has the guts to stand up and say that an amendment that would permanently classify a group of Americans as second-class citizens is wrong, that the Bush Administration is wrong and that even tacit approval of the GOP's Culture Of Corruption runs completely counter to the oath each member of Congress swears upon taking office. Go fuck yourself, Arlen Specter. You're a miserable little toady, destined to wind up forgotten by history, because it was too inconvenient for you to actually do your fucking job. I hope you get asshole leprosy and a massive botfly infestation. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 11:43:00 AM | OMFG! TOO MANY BROWN PEEPUL!! According to Bill O'Reilley, an admitted falaphiliac, the New York Times is part of an organized conspiracy to drive out the white, christian ruling structure in America. ...That's because the newspaper and many far-left thinkers believe the white power structure that controls America is bad, so a drastic change is needed.OK, I've got no problem with having fewer white christians in power - frankly, most of them make my skin crawl - but come on, Bill! Lighten up! You're sounding like Vox Day, fer chrissakes - and that's an insult even to a pinheaded serial liar like you. Time was, Falafel Boy, your ancestors weren't deemed "white" at all. "No dogs or Irishmen", eh? I swear, someone needs to find the teachers that gave him passing grades in history and logic and strip them of their credentials. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 11:00:00 AM | Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Gee! Thanks, Motherfuckers! Boy, that tax cut you assholes in Congress passed is really gonna help me! If I'm lucky, I'll see $20 extra come next April! Boy howdy, when that tax refund check rolls in, I'm gonna take the family to McDonalds and we're gonna supersize that order! WOO-HOO!! LIVIN' LARGE, BAY-BEEEE! Seriously, though, how goddamn stupid do you have to be to really believe that (a) the economy is doing really well right now, (b) it would do even better if the richest Americans got a bigger tax cut and (c) an extra $20 (and that only for the upper end of the middle class) is gonna make voters like you? Yeah, I know - it's about making sure the goddamn fatcats like the GOP, because they're the ones that write the checks. And around 25% of the voting public is still stupid enough to agree with all of the above. Fucking idiots. Oughtta tar and feather the lot of 'em. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 7:41:00 AM | Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Joke Man goes to doctor. Says he's depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain. Doctor says "Treatment is simple. Great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go and see him. That should pick you up." Man bursts into tears. Says "But Doctor... I am Pagliacci." (Good joke. Everybody laugh.) (Roll on snare drum.) (Curtains.) -Alan Moore, The Watchmen posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 1:34:00 PM | Head. Go BOOM. You know, there aren't any simple answers to the immigration issue. It's yet another of those things that requires people to sit down and think about things, to try different means to resolving the problem and, ultimately, everyone has to compromise at least a little. I'm still sorting out a lot of the differing impulses I have - although I think one strong key to reducing the demand for cheap labor is to rebuild unions in the country - and figuring out what I'd be willing to compromise on. I am pretty goddamn sure about one thing, though: This is obscene. I won't link to the article itself, as I don't want to give scumbags like the World Nut Daily the ad clicks. I'll quote the latest idiocy from Vox Day, someone bound and determined to claim the title of "Stupidest Man Alive". He's really worked himself into a lather over illegal immigration, and wonders how hard it would be to cleanse ourselves of the "undesirables": "Not only will it work, but one can easily estimate how long it would take. If it took the Germans less than four years to rid themselves of 6 million Jews, many of whom spoke German and were fully integrated into German society, it couldn't possibly take more than eight years to deport 12 million illegal aliens, many of whom don't speak English and are not integrated into American society"::blink:: ::twitch:: Yes. That's right - those noble Aryan supermen had the right idea! We here in Amerika shall first cleanse ourselves of the Untermenschen, then perhaps we can extend the reign of the White Christian Herrenvolk over first North America and then, ultimately, the world! Really, ol' Vox (who isn't insecure in his masculinity, despite all his screeds against liberated women - you can tell, because he's told us he has a fancy sports car!) ought to hook up with John Gibson from Faux News, who thinks that White folks need to have more babies, lest we get swamped by Ay-rabs and Hispanics like they are in Europe. Jeezy-Creezy, every time I think maybe the right can't show us any more fucking idiots, that they've finally tapped out that vein of rock-solid, toilet-drinking, shit-eating dumbasses and scumbags they've been mining for the last couple centuries, they come and surprise me again. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 7:29:00 AM | Monday, May 15, 2006
We'll See How Long It Lasts While Melissa got some writing time in yesterday, I worked on cleaning. I washed dishes, swept and mopped the kitchen (plus got on my hands and knees to get the schmootz out of the corners). Moved all the furniture in the living room and swept and mopped in there. With any luck, it'll stay in something close to that condition for at least a day or two. But I'm not holding my breath. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 10:01:00 AM | Sunday, May 14, 2006
Mother's Day Don't have a lot of spare time today, so I'll just wish all the mothers out there a happy Mother's Day and then if I've got time for a more insightful entry later, I'll post it. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:39:00 AM | Saturday, May 13, 2006
Feh Not having a good day. No reason in particular, just... Not Having Fun. That's all. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 2:31:00 PM | Friday, May 12, 2006
Schedule All Out Of Whack Covering a shift for a co-worker tonight, so I slept a little later this morning, drove the kids to school and spent the morning working around the house. Folded some clothes, washed some dishes and installed a new ceiling fan in our bedroom. Busy, busy, busy. Oh, and while I was folding clothes, I watched I, Robot. Now, I loved The Crow, and Dark City is one of my all-time favorites, but I, Robot? I dunno. It was almost a decent movie. Perhaps I was spoiled by the screenplay written by Harlan Ellison, perhaps the movie I made in my head surpassed anything that could ever have been translated to the screen, but this movie ultimately left me cold. There wasn't enough heart, and it wasn't logical enough - this despite the constant talk in the movie about emotions and logic being so important. It was a decent movie, but would have been better stripped of any connection to Asimov's work. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 1:06:00 PM | Thursday, May 11, 2006
After Beastapalooza Man, what a fun party. We got BBQ from Ruby's here in town, there was a yummy fruit salad and, of course, beer and pie. A good time was had by all, lots of great conversation and entertaining stories and it was exactly what I hoped it would be. Plus, I got to have pie for breakfast today. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 7:55:00 AM | Wednesday, May 10, 2006
I Have No Willpower I mean, sure, I quit smoking, but when it comes to the important things, I can't handle the pressure. Take today - last night, we grilled some chicken kebabs and served them with nice fluffy pitas and some tzatziki that I whipped up in the afternoon. We had enough leftovers that Melissa and I were each able to pack leftovers for a lunch. I got in to work and sat down, and I could hear the lunch calling me. I could smell the pita, and my mouth was watering, thinking about the tzatziki lovingly drizzled over the chicken and wrapped in a circle of hot bread. I made it exactly 2 hours before I broke down and scarfed it all down. I doubt any gourmand could have resisted that lunch, though. While it's often true that the anticipation of a meal far surpasses the reality, in this case, it was matched exactly. The coworker in the next cubicle came over as I was almost finished and said, "Dude, you're making weird noises - what's u- hey! That smells good!" posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:08:00 AM | Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Thank God for Latvia! Without Latvia, we'd be at the bottom of the rankings for newborn mortality in the industrialized world. Thanks to Latvia, though, we've still got someone to look down on. American babies are three times more likely to die in their first month as children born in Japan, and newborn mortality is 2.5 times higher in the United States than in Finland, Iceland or Norway, Save the Children researchers found.So tell me again, motherfuckers, that there is no goddamn healthcare crisis in the United States. Tell me again how single-payer healthcare is bad for people. Fucking tell me one more goddamn time how healthcare in France or the UK or Canada is worse than in the US. Tell me, so I can shove your goddamn teeth down your fucking throats. My mother worked for years as a public health nurse in one of the poorest counties in Georgia. She saw firsthand how splendid the prenatal care was for the poor blacks and whites down there. Later, as a certified nurse-midwife, she worked with indigent women - most of them unemployed, unable to get nutritious food, who never got the education they needed. Don't look at me and tell me that those poor women and their children are better off than someone in Canada, or Sweden. "The United States has more neonatologists and neonatal intensive care beds per person than Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, but its newborn rate is higher than any of those countries," said the annual State of the World's Mothers report.What's wrong with this picture? The report, which analyzed data from governments, research institutions and international agencies, found higher newborn death rates among U.S. minorities and disadvantaged groups. For African-Americans, the mortality rate is nearly double that of the United States as a whole, with 9.3 deaths per 1,000 births.But we've solved racism, remember? It's not a problem any more, and we should stop listening to the - what did they call them over at RedState? - "race hustling poverty pimps". Bullshit. The report highlights the three areas it says have the most influence on child well-being: female education, presence of a trained attendant at birth and use of family planning services.So let's see - the GOP has cut education funding and implemented the disastrous "No Child Left Behind", Medicaid funding has been cut and the GOP is doing their level best to make not just abortion but basic contraception unavailable. I swear, it's like they get off on the thought of dead children. It just makes me sick, to see figures like that. To see exactly how far down we've fallen as a nation, as a society. To see exactly what our elected leaders think is acceptable. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:35:00 PM | She Shoots, She Scores! Once again, Melissa pwnz with her column: By the Tongue. While I certainly agree that it's to everyone's benefit for immigrants to learn English, I can't imagine how it hurts anyone for those who speak other languages to celebrate this country in their native tongues (regardless of whether they could also sing the song in English). posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 7:10:00 AM | Monday, May 08, 2006
Good Times In Austin Got some Invisible Internet Friends coming in from out of town - Spidra Webster and The Great Beast, so Julie and I are throwing a party! OK, so how many times in your life do you get to announce that The Great Beast is coming to visit? I love intarwub handles. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:11:00 AM | Sunday, May 07, 2006
When In Doubt, START OVER Over the last several months, the drain in the kids' sink has steadily slowed, and finally on yesterday it wouldn't drain at all. I had to disassemble the sink trap completely, discovering a toothbrush(!), legos, a lot of sand and mud and I think Jimmy Hoffa's finger. With that out of the way, I then ran into problems getting it reassembled - the person that installed the sink apparently just kludged something together that didn't leak. Spent a little while cursing under the sink, then just drove to the hardware store and bought a new drain assembly. Five minutes and it was installed, no leaks and it disassembles easily in case the kids cram more stuff that's not supposed to drain in there (although I took the precaution of installing a vandalism-resistant drain stopper this time - we'll see if it lives up to the hype). posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 4:15:00 PM | Saturday, May 06, 2006
Those Wacky Kids Driving home from Fran's end of the season party for her soccer team, I mentioned to the kids that we needed to plan what nice things we were going to do for Melissa on Mothers' Day. As I often do, I thought up the worst possible scenario and presented it to the kids. "I know! We'll all wake up real early and wake Mommy up with spoons on some pots and pans and a loud song, then make her cook us a big breakfast and spend the day cooking and cleaning for us!" I expected the response I normally get - "No! We need to do something nice for Mommy!" Instead, Franny exclaimed, "Dad-EEE! Don't tell Mommy what we're going to do! It's supposed to be a surprise!" Got to work on the whole concept of sarcasm with those kids, I think. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 8:16:00 PM | Free Comic Book Day Yep, it's Free Comic Book Day! So click on the link, find a participating FLCS and go get some free comics! The kids were pretty excited about it this year. Good to see them so hyped up about reading. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 1:04:00 PM | Friday, May 05, 2006
It Has Been Decided OK, so that soda I've got? Here's what's gonna go down: I'm going to drink it. All of it. And it'll be filmed and posted to the net. Why? Because I love you - all of you, even the ones with gout. Because I want to entertain you, and I believe that nothing says "entertainment" like a grown man drinking disgusting (though non-toxic) substances on film. I'll post more details as soon as I can browbeat someone with a video camera into taping me. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 10:09:00 PM | The Republicans Claim This Is Progress Mission accomplished, right? I mean, it's pretty fucking sad when the standard of living, healthcare and womens' rights were better under Saddam Hussein than they are now, in the new "democratic" Iraq. I'm not making apologies for Hussein, but honestly, how pathetic is that? We invaded Iraq (according to the latest excuses being made by the Neo-Clowns) to save the Iraqi people from a bloody dictator and to bring them freedom and a better life, and what have they got? A civil war, daily terrorist attacks, tens of thousands (at the very least) dead, women being shoved back into purdah, Ba'athist torturers replaced by American contractors, raw sewage in the streets, extremist religious militias and now, as if that wasn't enough, fourteen year old boys being shot in the face by the police for being gay. That's just wonderful. Fabulous, even. Pardon me while I go puke. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 7:34:00 AM | Thursday, May 04, 2006
Too Easy, I Suppose Already got a winner on the secret message. Well done, Tannya! Guess I'll have to come up with another contest so someone can win the Jones Soda Prize Pack I managed to snag today. So I'll work over the weekend to make up a good contest - winner gets a 5-pack of bizarrely-flavored sodas to drink or to inflict upon others. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 7:09:00 PM | Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Cipher Fun I'm bored today. It's dreadfully dull, I'm tired and jangly and I'm all outraged out today - too much too early and I wound up venting my spleen all over the dashboard of my car on the way in. Therefore, I'm going to goof around today. Somewhere in this post, there is a secret message. It's not a particularly explosive message. It is not a confession to a murder committed late one night in college in a tequila-fueled orgy of destruction, nor is it a tearful admission of a twisted sexual fantasy. It's nothing more than a secret message, and the first person to email me with the complete secret message, properly decoded, will get the warm fuzzy feeling of having solved a meaningless puzzle with no real reward save the knowledge of their own excessive cleverness. So please, by all means, start looking for the secret message right now, because it's cleverly hidden somewhere in here. It might be a sequence of letters or numbers, it might be hidden in among the words you're reading now. It might be a hidden link, or it might be disguised, like the recent "Smithy code", by a change of color or font. You might need to look up some puzzle-solving tools, or you could try to figure it out all on your own. Good luck. t ntmahsi o h esgistese Dickens, ATOTC: Dgjs! Dgp pbon gds, sopbsl. AVEB: Oim atkum efmko vbbw lt evk mzaglkr, ufr mq muh'm. So sorry! Not here, either. Give up yet? One hint: When found, the solution will be as easy as 1-2-3, if you use the right tools. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 9:30:00 AM | Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Amurka Fur Them As Speaks Amurkin! Georgie-Porgie has his little knickers all twisted up again. Seems he doesn't like the thought of Spanish-speaking folk singing the national anthem in Spanish. Oh, my stars and garters! ::clutches pearls:: Guess nobody mentioned this to him. (Someone may have, but Boy George probably stays as far away from the State Department as possible - even with that sweet little piece of Brown Sugar Condi in charge, it's still chock-full of eggheads and Double-Plus-Ungood-Wrongthinkers) Yep, if you followed that last link, it's an OFFICIAL US GOVERNMENT SITE with "The Star Spangled Banner" translated into Spanish. Just in case that link disappears, I'm going to post the lyrics below: Amanece: ¿no veis, a la luz de la aurora,Now, I'm one of those folks that gets a little misty-eyed over that song. Yes, I also wept at the end of "Old Yeller". It's a nice song, I like it. I have absolutely no problem with "The Star-Spangled Banner" being sung in Spanish, or Croatian, or Urdu, for that matter. Let everyone that lives in the United States sing it - if they can't manage the English quite yet, that's cool! I'd love to hear it in Laotian, French, !Xosa, Russian, Tagalog, Cherokee and Inuit. Let it fuckin' ring OUT, baby. [edit] Went back to emphasize the copyright date on that translation, in case any Kool-aid drinkers pop by and want to blame that translation on Bill Clinton's penis or something. posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 7:21:00 AM | Monday, May 01, 2006
We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties... Video on the PC downstairs is dead. Thought it might be the video card, but one $80 card later, it's still giving me a blank monitor. Fucking hell. In other news, I'm home with Alec today. Wheeeee! posted by Adam C. Lipscomb at 12:11:00 PM | |
