The most valuable supply of worthlessness on the web
Just watched an episode of How It’s Made (truly one of the greatest television programs ever), and saw this amazingly cool segment on how chicken farming chicks are brought about.
Oddly, the version we watched had the exact same narration, only it was performed by a male announcer. Anyway, this is interesting and funny at the same time. The handling of the chicks is funny, and makes me think the little birds are wondering “Dude, what the fuck?” through much of the process.
I’ve recently spent some time reading user reviews of the movie The Golden Compass on Yahoo. I just want to point out to all the people there complaining about the movie that a) you are an idiot if you rate a movie you haven’t even seen just because it has a different message than you feel comfortable hearing/sharing, b) America was most emphatically NOT founded as a Christian nation, and therefore this movie is not anti-America, and c) you should rate the fucking movie, not spew your own god damn beliefs and how they differ from the hidden/obvious/subtle/subliminal/obnoxious message in the movie.
I haven’t seen the movie nor read the book, so I can’t review it. I do plan on seeing the movie, and if I do I will share thoughts if anyone is interested. I happen to believe in a God with a sense of humor, open mind, and interest in people making decisions on their own. Therefore, I’m pretty sure he/she would approve of me watching the movie and deciding on my own whether or not it is a good movie.
[tags]The Golden Compass, Fucking idiots, Learn history[/tags]
While catching up on Andrew’s blog (who, thankfully, is done moving and able to update more regularly again), I read this delightful critique of a new Fischer-Price line of dinosaur toys. You can check out his full write-up (and I recommend you do), but I’m going to snag a few lines from it to use here, because I enjoyed it so much.
Gods, where to start. How about with the little man who comes with Razor™ the T-Rex. That’s right  there’s a caveman-like guy who comes with the toy, complete with saddle and… and… clubs. But not any ordinary clubs. One is a skull and backbone of some undefined creature and the other is a lobster.
Yes, caveman guy uses a lobster as a weapon.
I think my son plays a game of imagination in which dinosaurs and cavemen co-exist, but a) he knows that dinosaurs and people are actually from different time periods and b) he never involved the lobster-as-club genre of play in to it. Personally, I suggest Fischer-Price commit fully to their things-aren’t-like-this-but-we-make-shit-up toy building style and give the cavemen frikkin’ sharks with frikkin’ lasers on their frikkin’ heads (speaking of which, I’m long past due a good laser article – I’ll work on that in the coming week). And ninjas. A caveman using a ninja as a club would be awesome, don’t you think?
On the back of the box are pictures of the other toys in the set: the Predators (T-Rex, allosaurus, anklosaurus, etc.) and the “Ecovores” (brontosaurus, triceratops, etc.).
Yup. The herbiivores are now ecovores. This is probably an Al Gore and Sheryl Crow approved renaming. It’s all the fault of those damned meat-eaters that the planet overheated, if I’m to buy in to the implied message there. I just wonder where the omnivores fit in – they want to eat the herbivores, but also fight global warming and genocide. Man, what’s a poor “I-eat-everything-but-am-plushie-and-lovable” dinosaur to do? Other than run for President.
Andrews comments are far more interesting than mine, and the full article is humorous and sad at the same time. So get to Andrew’s site and read about the spiffing up of dinosaur history.
[tags]Andrew, Kantor, Ecovores, Dinosaurs[/tags]
Just in case you’d forgotten how much our leaders suck:
I’ve seen breakdowns of the Congressional numbers by satisfaction with the damn liberals and satisfaction with the damn conservatives that are interesting reads, but clearly overall Congress-Critters and Executive-person are pitiful.
[tags]Polling, Approval ratings, President, Congress, Our leaders suck[/tags]
With Evel Knieval’s body barely cooled to ground temperature, we now get news that Sally Saltman, the writer Evel beat with a baseball bat roughly 30 years ago, is trying to collect money owed him. Saltman sued Knieval after Evel broke his arm with a baseball bat in retaliation for a book Evel thought was unflattering. He won $12.5 million but (for reasons I haven’t found yet) never collected. He figures that with interest, the Knieval estate now owes him roughly $100 million.
But we should also note the incident that led to the decline of Knievel’s career: In 1977, Knievel attacked a man who had written an unflattering book about him, swinging a baseball bat at his head and shattering the man’s arm, which he used to protect himself.
Knievel spent six months in jail, and and his reputation never completely recovered. The victim, Shelly Saltman, sued and won $12.75 million in damages.
Sounds like he is due the money. The timing just makes him sound like a real prick, doesn’t it?
[tags]Evel, Knieval, Lawsuit[/tags]
I’m all for the tough-on-crime stance. I feel we in America are too soft on many criminals. A company my mother used to work for had an employee killed while on travel to China by someone who broke in to his hotel room with intent to steal stuff. When the criminal was caught, he was executed the day after his trial where he was found guilty. Swift, direct, and sure to cut down on repeat offenses.
All that said, I think the North Korean version of “justice” might be a little beyond acceptable.
A North Korean factory boss accused of making international phone calls was executed by a firing squad in front of 150,000 people, it emerged today.
. . .
The factory chief’s death last month came as executions in the communist dictatorship began increasing after a seven-year decline in the number of people publicly killed.
Of course, this is the country where the leader has changed the “educational” system to indicate that everything useful was invented by previous dictator, the so-called “Great Leader” who is also revered as deific.
This execution was carried out because the person supposedly installed equipment which allowed him to make phone calls outside of North Korea, but North Koreans are prohibited from communicating outside the country. Except, of course, the current leader, who considers him an internet expert (note: I don’t think hours of pr0n surfing every day qualify one to be an internet expert – otherwise I would be a highly skilled, high-level internet expert).
And the execution alone clearly was not enough loss of life, as more people died as they left the stadium in which the execution took place:
And six people were also crushed to death and 34 others injured in an apparent stampede as they left after the execution, it was claimed.
That is just so sad. I feel sorry for the citizens of the country, really.
[tags]North Korea, execution, Human rights’ abuse[/tags]
Idiocy at work:
[tags]Rocket boom, Stupid, Idiot[/tags]
This is such a minor story that it really should be worth mentioning here, but I have a reason. Today, there were several wrecks in Virginia caused by a 20-mile trail of spilled chicken grease.
The Virginia State Police say the smelly grease caused at least four accidents and several spinouts. One person was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
Police Sergeant Joe Bunting describes it as a “glassy film” that made the road slick and left a “really funky” odor.
Really, nothing big, right? Well, I felt like pointing it out because of the charges the driver faces:
Bunting says a truck hauling the grease left a Perdue Farms plant with a valve open and the grease poured onto northbound Route 13 before the driver was stopped near the Maryland line. He said the driver would be charged with losing his load. [emphasis mine]
Am I the only person in the world who reads these oddball accounts and laughs when drivers are charged with losing their loads? Am I the only one who reads that as the adult-movie phrase it clearly isn’t meant to be in these news stories?
[tags]Pr0n news, Losing his load, Chicken grease, traffic[/tags]
For those that didn’t hear about this last week, here’s the tale of a father who recognized he was too drunk to drive home. Wisely, he gave up his keys. Wisely, he chose someone he knew and trusted to drive his truck. Unfortunately, the designated driver was a bit drunk, too. Oh, and a bit under-age.
A police officer checking on a truck that got stuck in the mud at a city park was startled to find a 13-year-old boy behind the wheel. The boy’s father, who was sitting in the passenger seat, told police he had had too much to drink and let his son drive. The boy had been drinking, too, police said.
Well, I guess the man can’t be a perfect model for wise decision-making.
[tags]Drunk, Stupid, Father of the year[/tags]
Recently, I had a chance to get what I thought was a pretty good deal on a new Microsoft Zune. I received the Zune on Saturday and finally had a chance to hook it up to charge last night and load some music this morning. I figured that as a second release generation from Microsoft, it should be past some of the past problems. Besides – flight simulation software and hardware have been the only 2 categories I’ve felt Microsoft has ever been good at.
Let me just get out of the way now my opinion that this is the absolute worst MP3 player available on the market right now. If this is the best Microsoft can do in the 2nd generation, it’s no wonder Apple and (significantly behind but still far better than other options) Sansa are leading the media player market.
Now, for some of the “Why is that?” answers.
I haven’t had a chance to test the social aspects of the player. I doubt I ever will, but if I get a chance I’ll post again on my thoughts. I can say right now that if this is all Microsoft has come up with after having years to see what Apple is doing, there isn’t much incentive for other media player producing companies to strive to create better devices or interfaces. I don’t think Microsoft should just copy what Apple has done, but I think following Apple’s model of braindead simple to use is the right way to go. Microsoft needs to get someone who understands gadget use by non-gadget freaks, as the Zune makes it clear no one at the company currently has that idea wrapped up.
I have more thoughts, but want to wait until I’ve used to player a bit more before making some comments I’m mulling right now.
[tags]Zune, iPod, Microsoft, Apple, Media players, mp3, Sansa, Interface[/tags]
On occasion, I find a headline that I hate to pass up. Most days now, I’ll just post it to RandomLi, my other blog. However, some are good enough to gather posting line there as well as get a full post here. I present to you “Elephants electrocuted in drunken rampage.”
GAUHATI, India – Six Asiatic wild elephants were electrocuted as they went berserk after drinking rice beer in India’s remote northeast, a wildlife official said Tuesday.
How do elephants get drunk? Well:
Some found beer, which farmers ferment and keep in plastic and tin drums in their huts, said Sunil Kumar, a state wildlife official.
So I stand by my post title and wonder – do drunken elephants see pink elephants? Or is that limited to humans that have seen Fantasia?
[tags]Fantasia, Drunken Elephants, Pink elephants, Rampage[/tags]
We all know that medical care and especially drug costs are crazy high in the US. We’ve probably all heard the many commercials that recommend jumping from name-brand drugs to generic drugs. However, not all drug manufacturers find that to be a good idea. In an attempt to protect the big-money drug LipitorTM, representatives from Pfizer are citing a widely questioned study that indicates patients on generic cholesterol-blocker simvastatin die more often and have more heart attacks.
While simvastatin is not a generic equivalent for LipitorTM, it is a generic version of competing cholesterol-blocker ZocorTM. Studies other than the one Pfizer is referring to show that at the most commonly prescribed doses of LipitorTM, simvastatin is equally effective for most patients. Naturally, Pfizer representatives disagree.
The company has mounted a campaign that includes advertisements, lobbying efforts and a paid speaking tour by a former secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Pfizer is also promoting a study – whose findings many experts are questioning – that concluded that British patients who switched to simvastatin had more heart attacks and deaths than those who remained on Lipitor.
Naturally, the mighty dollar plays in here. And I do believe Pfizer has not only a right, but a duty to shareholders to try protecting such a big funding source. However, I think reliable science needs to be behind any claims used to try swaying opinions, and apparently the study in question may not be reliable science. We’ll just have to see how it turns out, I suppose.
I also take issue with the following claim from a Pfizer senior vice president:
Continue reading “Maker of Lipitor cites dubious study to keep patients from generic”