Albany, NY -- No One Cares
Sorry for the lack of posting... two VERY long days of work in a row.
Bill Frist does something uncharacteristic for a Republican. He's starting a
congressional probe into the high oil prices:
If there are those who abuse the free enterprise system to advantage themselves and their businesses at the expense of all Americans, they ought to be exposed, and they ought to be ashamed," Frist said in a statement.I doubt it'll go anywhere, but guess who's preparing for his run for President? That's why he's pretending to care about people.
Who else has been pretending to care? Wal-mart. They promised increased benefits for their workers on Monday, and on Wednesday and internal memo leaks which details their callous plans to
cut benefits further.
And, instead of rolling back tax cuts for the wealthy,
Congress screws the poor again:
On a party-line vote, a Republican-run U.S. House of Representatives committee voted to cut food stamps by $844 million on Friday, just hours after a new U.S. Agriculture Department report showed more Americans are struggling to put food on the table.
Albany, NY -- Scooter Libby Indicted
Scooter Libby
has been indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, making a false statement, and perjury, but Karl Rove has so far not been indicted.
I'm still not completely convinced that what Rove did with Plame constitutes a crime (though it's likely so). The real "crime" is the lies based on which our soldiers and Iraqis are dying and we're racking up debt and destroying our reputation in the world. But unless there's something I don't know, where does it say that the President cannot deceive the people to lead them to war?
Albany, NY -- Miers Withdraws Nomination
Harriet Miers
withdrew her name this morning from consideration for the Supreme Court. (Thanks: Michelle)
What does this mean? Well, Bush won't have an embarrassing confirmation fight on his hands, but I'm not sure this is that much better for him.
The conservatives are looking for another Scalia or Thomas, and I'd expect Bush to give it to them this time... but then again, I expected that last time, so what do I know?
Albany, NY -- No Podcast Tonight
I didn't quite complete the podcast I'd hoped to tonight. I was doing some work that ended up taking longer than expected.
I'll get it done over the weekend, and I think it'll be a good one, so keep an eye on this space.
Albany, NY -- RIM Lawsuit Update
Another step towards decreasing the productivity of America...
The Supreme Court refused an appeal from RIM, the company that makes Blackberry, to put the patent infringement suit against them on hold.
This brings us that much closer to a world without Blackberry's e-mail service... yikes!
Albany, NY -- Podcast Coming
Sorry for the lack of updates over the last 36 hours or so (Playstation calls), but my gears are in motion and I had a great idea for a Podcast this afternoon. I'm hoping to publish it tonight, so please come back a bit later.
Albany, NY -- Tick, Tick, Tick
Patrick Fitzgerald, the prosecutor in the Valerie Plame case,
could produce indictments as soon as today. Who will be indicted? Rove and Libby seem like a sure bet, but how about Cheney? Tenet? Bob Novak? The President (please oh please bring Christmas early)?
Albany, NY -- This Takes Me Back
4:00 AM and I'm up playing video games.
It's like junior high school all over again.
It's a darn good thing Final Fantasy X keeps track of how long I've been playing. Now I know I've been playing for 11 hours over the last two days...
Go to bed, Jason! (In a minute!)
Albany, NY -- Casinos in Bethlehem
From the "Heard it on NPR" category:
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the old steel town between Allentown and the Jersey border (not to be confused with
Jersey Shore, the central PA town which is nowhere near Jersey or its shore),
is attempting to reinvent itself as a casino town.
I'm not a fan of gambling... I don't like putting my money on the line for games of chance. Other than ten bucks here and there on a game of darts, I do very little of it. But it's certainly a revenue generator, and Bethlehem, which has racked up nearly $400 million in debt doesn't seem to have much of an alternative. What else can they do?
I just want to state here that I REALLY like Pennsylvania. It's a great place to drive. Its four east-west interstates (I-76, I-78, I-80, and I-84) each have their own unique character (Amish country, Dutch, German, and Poconos, respectively), and are pleasures to drive. Only one strange thing... I NEVER have seen more torn-up tractor-trailer tires than on those highways.
Albany, NY -- Consumer Confidence Down
Economic measures get worse and worse...
Consumer confidence unexpectedly falls again.
The Conference Board, which tracks consumer sentiment, said Tuesday its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 85 in October from a revised reading of 87.5 in September, which marked the sharpest drop in 15 years.I keep hearing the phrase "the sharpest drop in 15 years" when it comes to the economy. Hmmm... that was when Bush's daddy was President, no? VOODOO ECONOMICS...
I have no faith in supply-side economics; it's just a way for the rich to get richer while others are left in the dust. I've always expected that the economy wouldn't do well under Bush and that it would slowly crumble. Slowly. I didn't think it would happen this quickly. It is.
Albany, NY -- Crap...
I am SO hooked to Final Fantasy X. I can't believe it. Three solid hours...
I'm engrossed not only in the story, but believe it or not, this old-timer finds the game very visually appealing. It's like nothing I've ever played before.
There goes my spare time over the next month...
Albany, NY -- Final Fantasy X
Thanks to some Jewish holiday or another, I get the next two days off.
I'm bored as hell with Madden already, so I'm giving Final Fantasy X a shot. Bet I don't last long with that either.
Some good use of $325...
Albany, NY -- Media Missing the Point on Plame?
John Fowler's take on the
media's coverage of the Plame case:
Everybody is so caught up in the minute details of who said what to whom when, that they are missing the big picture. These guys were telling lies to promote an unjustified war, a war that would never have been sanctioned with the truth, a war that has killed thousands of our kids. And those folks would do anything, anything, to sell that bad war to the US public.
That should be the headline. But as usual, the "liberal press" is missing it. Understanding this takes more than 2 seconds of thought... so it doesn't fit in a sound bite by an idiot anchor with a stupid grin whose only skill is reading a teleprompter. So... it's not "news".
Albany, NY -- Religion, Pop Culture, and Baseball
Here's a new blog for my list on the right... Michael Kress, former Editor-in-Chief of my site,
MyJewishLearning.com, is a contributor to
Idol Chatter, the new pop culture/religion blog by
Beliefnet.
Here's a Series prediction: Chicago in six. And though they swept the better of the Sox in the first round of this year's playoffs, I'll root for these White Sox to erase the curse of 1919. Then maybe Major League Baseball can celebrate by finding some forgiveness for Pete Rose while also getting real about steroids. In 86 years, will our kids and grandkids look back at steroids as the next great black spot on baseball, or will it be forgotten as the passing scandal of 2005? I suppose we'll only know if the Baltimore Orioles--Palmeiro's current team--are cursed not to win a Series until 2091.Oh, and speaking of sports, I just got my second Madden win in a row, this one over K-hole, who was crippled by Patrick Ramsey's 5 (!) interceptions... I managed something like 50 yards of offense in the game, but still won.
Skills...
Albany, NY -- Well, Whaddya Know?
Well, after going through a four game preseason without scoring a point, I managed to, through no skill of my own, win a game as the Giants over the Cardinals.
...and I'm bored to tears by this game.
Albany, NY -- I'm Old!
Well, after a handful of games, everything that I'd cited to myself as reasons not to buy a new video game system appears to be true:
-Because of the focus on realism over what's fun in a video game, it's tough for me to get into a modern game.
-Too many buttons!!!
-The load/save time lag of a disc (rather than cartridge) based game gets frustrating
The rumble thing is also annoying and pointless...
And when I was your age, we used to put a single quarter in a Double Dragon game and play all day... fifteen miles each way barefoot!
Albany, NY -- 0-2 :(
Didn't have a prayer. Lost 14-0.
Oh well -- one more game before bed.
Albany, NY -- I Still Suck at Madden
Second preseason game, this time against the Panthers.
48 seconds left in the first half, score still tied at 0, and the video Madden says, "This is when you just run the ball and get ready for the second half."
Not this guy.
This guy has Eli Manning try for a long pass when he still has no idea how to do the whole passing thing, and gets picked on his own 15 yard line for a TD.
Good thing
the real Eli is a LOT better!
Albany, NY -- Bye, Toby!
Tonight's episode of the West Wing was incredible. We all knew that Toby Ziegler was going to have to leave the White House, but the way it was done was pretty unexpected and dramatic. The show's ratings remain in the dumper, but it's having one of its finest hours right now. If you're not watching, I highly encourage you to start while you still can.
Next week, the show will be filmed live, with a debate between the two Presidential candidates, Republican Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) and Democrat Matthew Santos (Jimmy Smits). Should be memorable.
By the way, nobody's posted to the new comment areas yet... who wants to be the first?
Albany, NY -- Spooky!
I received the following e-mail this week, and thought it creepy:
Read the story before watching the videoStrange but interesting. This is a car advertisement from Great Britain. When they finished filming the ad, the film editor noticed something moving along the side ofthe car, like a ghostly white mist. They found out that a personhad been killed a year earlier in that exact same spot.The ad was never put on TV because of the unexplained ghostly phenomenon. Watch the front end of the car as it clears the trees inthe middle of the screen and you'll see the white mist crossing infront of the car then following it along the road... Spooky!Is it a ghost, or is it simply mist? You decide. If you listen closely tothe ad, you'll even hear the cameraman whispering in the background about it near the end of the commercial. A little creepy but pretty cool!Watch the video (Windows Media format)
(Thanks to Daniel)
Albany, NY: I'm Not Good at Madden
I played my first game of Madden since about the 1995 version, and not surprisingly, wasn't very good. I couldn't manage much offense, and lost my first preseason game as the Giants against the Browns, 7-0. Jesse Palmer fumbled at his own 5 yard line, right at the two minute warning with the score still tied at 0.
I can't really see myself getting into this, but I'm going to play out one season over the next few weeks.
One thing I realized: I don't know anything about football! I mean, I know the teams, I know the rules, and I know lots of the players in the league, but I couldn't tell you the difference between a Cover 2 and a Zone Blitz. Those are things you need to know to master Madden. There don't seem to be any shortcuts.
We're a long way from Tecmo Bowl!!!
New West Wing and Desparate Housewives tonight!
Albany NY -- Playstation 2!!!
Wow... Brownie, you had a heck of a... dinner? From the Seattle Times, it turns out that while New Orleans flooded, Michael Brown, the much-aligned FEMA ex-director,
took his sweet time with dinner in Baton Rouge. (Thanks to Ted)
Guess who just bought a PS2? This guy! I don't know if I'll enjoy it; I stopped playing video games in 1996, and have put in a grand total of about an hour and a half playing systems that came out after 1992. First game: Madden 2006.
Albany, NY -- Harriet Miers -- A Solution
Not in good shape after hitting Lark St. last night with Ari... but here's a post from Wampum
about the Harriet Miers debacle that made me laugh a little:
The Lakers did not make the playoffs last year. Since Shaq left for Miami they have been looking for a starting center. If Laker owner Jerry Buss offered Miers a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract to start at center for the Lakers, Miers could announce that she is no longer available for duty on the court. After all, a playoff game might be scheduled at the same time as an important oral argument and she just would not be able to do both.
President Bush, Harriet Miers and the GOP would all save face. Laker owner Jerry Buss would become Ambassador to whatever warm weather country he chooses. Phil Jackson would get to teach Harriet the triangle offense rather than having Arlen Specter teach her constitutional law. Kobe will get to take all the shots. Everyone will be happy.
Albany, NY -- Best Comic... Ever!
The creator of
Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson,
continues to live his reclusive life.
Watterson, who retired in 1995 at the age of 37, has completely avoided all semblances of commercialism and the limelight, which is why I
still can't get the Hobbes doll I want so badly!
