I Didn’t Learn It on a Blog, but in a Book

Filed under:Miscellaneous — posted by Anwyn on December 12, 2008 @ 5:51 pm

Earth’s rotation is slowing, lengthening the day by 2.3 milliseconds “per day per century,” due to “tidal friction.”

Thank All the TV Gods

Filed under:Ew,Television — posted by Anwyn on December 10, 2008 @ 2:15 pm

…that I stopped watching Heroes when I did:

Because let’s face it, Sylar being all lovey dovey with Veronica Mars makes everyone want to vomit.

My infallible TV Radar once again saves my eyes, in-brain imager, and delicate sensibilities.

NO AUTO BAILOUT

Filed under:Not Cool,Politics,Priorities — posted by Anwyn @ 12:28 pm

Email your representatives. It probably won’t stop it, but let them know you’re angry. They’re about to write a blank check for huge, unwieldy, inefficient, and bloated corporations practically held hostage by the UAW … held hostage in their private jets, that is. This is preposterous. Let your reps know what you think. I just did.

Baby!

Filed under:Cool — posted by Anwyn on December 7, 2008 @ 5:29 pm

Gib’s wife has had a baby whom the Bean has pronounced up to code. Congratulations, Crosbys!

Communications 101

Filed under:Heh,Language Barrier — posted by Anwyn @ 3:05 pm

Good sentiment, bad expression.

An Australian mayor who begged unattractive women to move to his town has been crowned “sexist of the year.”

John Malony pleaded for “ugly ducklings” to migrate to Mount Isa to counter a lack of eligible women.

The mayor of the remote mining town in northwest Queensland state defended his comments, saying he was “telling it like it is.”

Why is this sexist, exactly? Because he didn’t call for ugly gay men as well?

All he had to do was put out a call for women, and then count on them to figure out who benefits the most from packing up their current lives to move to 5-1 Mantown. I mean, even if the women who make the switch are not beauty queens, you’d like them smart, right?

Via Ace’s headlines.

???

Filed under:Good Grief,Religion — posted by Anwyn on December 5, 2008 @ 4:44 pm

That five bucks in the bucket outside the grocery store today was my last donation to the Salvation Army until they loosen up this junk:

Capt. Johnny Harsh, who has led the Oshkosh Salvation Army for more than three years, has been suspended for disobeying orders and could soon be terminated from the agency.

Harsh, whose wife, Capt. Yalanda “Yoley” Harsh, died unexpectedly in June, said he violated a Salvation Army rule that an officer in the agency may only marry another officer of the organization. Harsh is engaged to a woman who is not affiliated with the Salvation Army. He said they plan to marry in June.

Read on for the other ways in which the organization gets into their officers’ business–no overnight stays in the guest room for this lady because the Salvation Army pays for some of their officer’s housing expenses. I’m of mixed mind about that–the solution seems to be don’t accept funds earmarked for housing from your employer if you don’t want to give them a say in who gets to stay there.

Oh well, the Bean’ll be just as happy if we never poke any bills into the kettle again. He doesn’t yet quite understand how we can give money away and still have some left for ourselves, and though he enjoys the actual act of folding the bill to the appropriate size and turning and twisting it until it slides into the slot, he still decidedly disapproves of the concept. Lighten Up, S.A. I’m now frankly surprised this outfit is still going as strong as it is.

Via Allah, who brings the C-word.

Premiere Dates

Filed under:Television — posted by Anwyn on December 3, 2008 @ 8:46 am

For ABC’s midseason:

Castle: Mondays at 10, starting March 9.

Cupid: Tuesdays at 10, starting March 24.

Lost: Three hours of last season’s conclusion, followed by a three-hour season premiere, followed by three hours of clip/catch-up show from the previous four seasons, followed by an hour and a third of that one plot with the “fish biscuits,” followed by an hour of clips of Charlie marking his knuckles and singing “You all, everybody,” followed by an hour of the new season, wrapped up with every minute of footage involving Jack’s mountain-man beard. Don’t miss it! January 21.

No Auto Bailout

Filed under:History,Jerks,Politics,Priorities — posted by Anwyn on December 2, 2008 @ 10:14 am

Stupid stunts as the politics of finance.

Of the very thin specifics of Ford’s plan in the linked article, they are all salary cuts or freezes for management. When it comes to what the UAW will sacrifice, there is a vague sentence about “cost cutting.”

No bailout. Email your senators. The Great Depression was caused in part by an administration that pressured industry to keep wages unaffordably high until mass layoffs resulted. The UAW will do the same if given half a chance–except they will milk the government trough for all it’s worth for as long as they can possibly avoid the layoffs. Taxpayers will be paying the artificially high wages of uncompetitive workers. This is not economically sound.

The U.S. auto industry is not competitive with overseas makers. They can either become competitive through realistic cost cuts, including wages, or die.


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image: detail of installation by Bronwyn Lace