Monday, October 30, 2006

Enjoy the Story...

The True Origin of the Internet

In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot.

And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she had been called 'Amazon Dot Com.'

And she said unto Abraham, her husband, "Why doth thou travel far from town to town with thy goods when thou can trade without ever leaving thy tent?"

And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said, "How, dear?"And Dot replied, "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale and they will reply telling you which hath the best price. And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)."

Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever moving from his tent.

But this success did arouse envy. A man named Maccabia did secrete himself inside Abraham's drum and was accused of insider trading. And the young man did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Siderites, or NERDS for short.

And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to the drum maker, one Brother William of Gates, who bought up every drum company in the land. And indeed did insist on making drums that would work only with Brother Gates' drumheads and drumsticks.

And Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others."

And as Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or as it came to be known "eBay" he said, "We need a name that reflects what we are."

And Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators."

"YAHOO," said Abraham.

And that is how it all began. It wasn't Al Gore after all.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Hypoctrical Celebrities Pretending They Love The Environment



This is all about celebrities out in Hollywood who claim they are environmentally responsible by buying hybrid and electric powered cars...but then nullify those good effects by riding around in their jet fuel guzzling airplanes.

Welcome to Zimbabwe...



I have a friend from Zimbabwe, where 1 US dollar equals 1 million Zimbabwe dollars. The inflation rate for this country is roughly 1,200% per year. To curb inflation, they have cut 3 zeros off of their currency. He figures that he has easily counted a billion dollars before.

Much of Zimbabwe's economic troubles are directly related to the corruption and human rights abuses that have been suffered under President Robert Mugabe. Mugabe has been "elected" president of Zimbabwe since 1980s. In the free world, we like to call Presidents who reign for 25 years, dictators.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Word of the Day

solicitous \suh-LIS-uh-tuhs\, adjective:

1. Manifesting or expressing care or concern.
2. Full of anxiety or concern; apprehensive.
3. Extremely careful; meticulous.
4. Full of desire; eager.


He does not appear to have suffered from homesickness, although the suspicion that this might have been due to the unsatisfactory nature of his 'home' life seems belied by the tone and content of his letters; he makes frequent and solicitous inquiries after not only Mabel and his mother but also his father.
-- Matthew Sturgis, Aubrey Beardsley: A Biography

Sunday, October 22, 2006

What Can Brown Do For You?



I once heard that roughly 2% of America's GDP was sold through Wal-Mart. That stat shocked me - but is nothing compared to what I read last night in "The World is Flat," by Thomas Friedman. In it, Friedman states that "On any given day, 2% of the world's GDP can be found in UPS delivery trucks of package cars." Unbelievable.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Wal-Mart

Here is yet another ridiculous set of facts concerning Wal-Mart. Per today's WSJ:


Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Population 300,000,000 and something



According to this article, the US population hit the 300 million mark at 7:46a.m. this morning when the Census Bureau's population calculater rolled over the big number. This of course is not a precise measurement and it is common thought that our population has been over 300 million for some time. Only now, it is official.

Friday, October 13, 2006

One Of Those E-mails...



Below is one of those e-mails that get passed around all the time. I really don't like them, but haven't put anything on here in a while, and this seemed like some nice fodder. Have a nice weekend, everyone.

What a Country!!!!

5 million of our older Americans have not signed up yet for their Medicare, Part D, drug plan---they are old and confused. We are not going to grant them an extension.

However, 12 million illegal aliens are in our country and we are going to allow them to stay, protest, procreate, receive support monies, attend schools, avoid paying income taxes, have our teachers take 300 hours of ESL (English as a Second Language) training at our expense, etc.

WE MUST REALLY DISLIKE OUR OLD PEOPLE......OR WE MUST REALLY LOVE TACOS!

Monday, October 09, 2006

Google Buys YouTube



Today Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion. Here is the official press release. Also, you can listen to the conference call announcing the merger, here. TechCrunch is the blog that first reported the rumors of the acquisition.

Could be Helpful

In the case you are pulled over after enjoying some libations, this is what you should tell the police man:

My Lawyer Has Instructed Me
Not to Answer Any Questions, Take
Any Field Sobriety Tests without
My Lawyer Present. I Will Take
Your B.A. or Blood Test, but
I Do Not Waive Any Liability.
I Do Request an Independent
Test of My Blood at a
Hospital.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Something Sick



This is almost too horrible to put on my blog, but I think it need to be addressed. The below exchange is coming from an ABC News blog, via the Drudge Report. This is an exchange that Congressman Mark Foley, from Florida, had with a congressional page (a teenage boy), while in the middle of a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Now Foley is claiming that he is a gay, was abused by a Catholic clergyman, and is also an alcoholic. This is quite literally one of the most shocking things I have ever heard ...at least Clinton in the Oval Office was with a consenting female of legal age...this is completely different and much, much worse.

Maf54: I miss you
Teen: ya me too
Maf54: we are still voting
Maf54: you miss me too

The exchange continues in which Foley and the teen both appear to describe having sexual orgasms.

Maf54: ok..i better go vote..did you know you would have this effect on me
Teen: lol I guessed
Teen: ya go vote…I don't want to keep you from doing our job
Maf54: can I have a good kiss goodnight
Teen: :-*
Teen:

The House voted that evening on HR 1559, Emergency War Time supplemental appropriations.

According to another message, Foley also invites the teen and a friend to come to his house near Capitol Hill so they can drink alcohol.

Teen: are you going to be in town over the veterans day weekend
Maf54: I may be now that your coming
Maf54: who you coming to visit
Teen: haha good stuff
Teen: umm no one really

Maf54: we will be adjourned ny then
Teen: oh good
Maf54: by
Maf54: then we can have a few drinks
Maf54: lol
Teen: yes yes ;-)
Maf54: your not old enough to drink
Teen: shhh…
Maf54: ok
Teen: that's not what my ID says
Teen: lol
Maf54: ok
Teen: I probably shouldn't be telling you that huh
Maf54: we may need to drink at my house so we don't get busted