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September 30, 2004
Beware the Terrorist Tax
I went to AT&T Wireless today because my new Nokia 3200 is a cool phone but is the most easily scratched consumer product on earth. And Nokia doesn't offer replacement covers, even though they're made to be taken off by consumers. I walked in to see if they knew where I could get new ones. They didn't know, but while I was in there, there was this livid fat man who was upset about his bill. When they explained some of the costs were taxes, he claimed that soon they were going add the Bush Terrorist Tax.
"I can't stand that guy. He makes my blood boil," he cried loudly. I was going to be in line for at least a few more minutes, so I went for it.
"Why, because he raises taxes so much?"
"No, he, uh, he doesn't."
"Well, you just said he would raise a terrorist tax."
"Oh, that's a joke," his wife explained.
"I just can't stand him," he cried. "He's a liar!"
"What has he lied about?"
"Oh, the war, WMD."
"Really? I mean, he had faulty intelligence, but that's not really lying."
"But the evidence was cooked up by Cheney and his cronies!" he claimed.
"How do you know that?" I asked. "Do you have proof?"
"I just know! I wish I had proof, but I just know he lied!"
I had tried to keep things cool and calm, but by now he had starting moving around the store, flailing his hands about, shaking his head. He was obviously frustrated that his solid unshakable evidence wasn't convincing me. I must have been a partisan hack.
Figuring I didn't want to escalate things further, I simply responded by shaking my head and saying "huh, okay." Not that I wouldn't have enjoyed seeing him get more upset, but I didn't want to get kicked out before I got my question answered.
I wanted to ask him if, without proof, he was little more than a conspiracy theorist. After all, I can claim Bill Clinton had Vince Foster killed. I could, and I could say I just KNEW it, in my heart of hearts. But that doesn't make it true. It doesn't make me look credible, it just makes me look like a loon.
Not a winning strategy people.
Posted by March at 10:30 PM | TrackBack
The First Debate
Kerry did a good job tonight. Bush came off looking unprepared, he meandered, he seemed confused. Kerry, uncharacteristically, was focused, stayed on track, and even sort of likable. This probably means the media will have LOTS to spin. Expect the story to be something along the lines of "Kerry Launches Comeback with First Debate!" And I think he'll probably even things up in the polls.
But Jennifer thinks he's still too confusing, that he's talking over the heads of most Americans. In fairness, Bush did REALLY well in response to the question regarding worth. That had to be the highlight of the night. But I doubt the media will spin it that way. Nor should they... you don't make the losing quarterback MVP.
10:20PM Update: A lot of people are calling this debate a draw. I just didn't see it this way. I think Bush really failed to seal the deal with undecided voters. But maybe I'm being too hard on him. The whole way through the debates, I thought "Oh, the perfect response would be..." and when Bush didn't jump on it, I ended up disappointed. In hindsight, my responses would have been pointed, but maybe a bit too mean. If anything, they'd probably be more fitting if they came out of the mouth of John Kerry (in style, not substance.) I didn't feel Bush did well, but if I went back and watched the 2000 debates, I might think the same thing. Jennifer found Kerry's oversmug smile creepy. And I have to admit that I found it weird that he'd nod and smile, even when Bush was driving home a point like Kerry's inconsistency.
Posted by March at 07:23 PM | TrackBack
September 29, 2004
Sims 2 Serial Numbers
Look, we do not have serial numbers for the Sims 2. Go to the store, shell out $50, and buy a copy. Honestly, if you can't afford to buy the game, how can you afford a computer that will run it?
Posted by March at 06:01 PM | TrackBack
September 27, 2004
Goodnight Jay
NBC announces tonight the retirement of Jay Leno and new Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien. Conan is, in my mind, more of a successor to Carson than Leno ever was. Under Jay, the Tonight Show has been dumbed down. Is watching stupid people try to answer questions really that funny?
I'm not sure how Conan's antics will play at 11:35. He has to appeal to more than college kids now. His show has to draw viewers from 18 to 80. But if anybody has the class to do it, it's Conan.
An interesting thought: with Conan taking the slot Letterman always wanted, will 2009 see Conan and Letterman in the same time slot?
Probably not.
Posted by March at 05:30 PM | TrackBack
September 26, 2004
Miscellanea 2
School starts this week for both Jennifer and myself, but I don't have my computer back yet, so I won't likely be updating during the days. When I do get it back, I'm sure I'll have plenty to say, given the gigantic break between classes I have. I don't remember if it's three or four hours. It's going to be BORING. I guess I could do, like, schoolwork or something. Ha ha ha.
In case you didn't notice, I adjusted the color scheme, because I find the site unreadable on Jennifer's computer. I don't know if it looks different on her LCD, or if I'm just going blind. Let me know what you think.
Don't Get Kerryed Away
I've just about had enough of John Kerry. I'm going to be watching the debates, and will probably mention them, but he's become so irrelevant to me that he just doesn't foster any interest. I don't mind his flip-flopping so much, but his latest stance on Iraq is really just the last straw. It's like he's unaware that it's become a running joke. Much like the whole "well, to answer your question about health care, when I served in Vietnam..." thing, he just continues on as if nothing were wrong. Is this really the guy we want as our President. I don't really care anymore. America seems to have figured it out. I have faith that this country isn't dumb enough to elect this guy.
I really wish the Democrats would nominate someone worthwhile. They tried really hard to nominate someone they thought would be electable. Which I guess only demonstrates how out of touch they are, that this guy would get the nod. Does screaming Howard Dean really look so bad now? I mean, I don't agree with the guy, but at least he stood for something.
My Phone Crashed
I got a new cell phone last week. It's a Nokia 3200, and it's loaded with goodies. Camera, color screen, radio, even a flashlight! It's a very unusual design, that I guess was aimed at Gen Y. I guess I'll fit in well when I go to the mall.
It gets great reception, and I'm very happy with it. I spent yesterday downloading all sorts of interesting games and applications for it, and today playing them. I noticed that most of the games sell for only a few bucks, which is okay, because they can't be any larger than 64K, and I've almost finished my new Pirates of the Caribbean game in one day.
On the other hand, I'm very impressed by what they can fit in 64K. I've been playing a Crash Bandicoot kart game (the name escapes me) and they've managed to fit a LOT in such a small space.
The phone itself is full of limits. The screen isn't so hot, and the phone only holds 1MB of memory. But I only paid $49 for it. And it does a LOT more than the $79 phone I bought a couple years ago.
Of interest to me, though, is the fact that you can fit a LOT in this little phone. Why does Windows XP hog up 100MB+ of RAM, and that's just to boot up? I'm impressed by programmers who can squeeze every last bit out of a Nokia phone. I am not impressed that my sister's BRAND NEW PC barely plays the Sims 2. Jennifer wants this game too, and to do so will require a video card that could cost $100 or more! I'm going to see if she can get one on eBay, but this is why I stopped playing PC games and switched to the PS2. In a few years, I'll buy a PS3, and be set to play whatever games I like for the next few years.
Sony vs Nintendo
Speaking of the PS3, while I'll be buying Sony's successor, I'm not sure it'll have a very prominent place in my life. The PS2 (and the XBox) are great game systems... for lonely losers. They're bachelor machines, used by lonely guys with nothing better to do than spend 80 hours playing Final Fantasy. I know, because I was one of these people.
But now that I'm married, I find my PS2 gets very little use. I've been playing Kingdom Hearts again, but Jennifer likes to watch the Disney characters. My Final Fantasy X-2 sits literally unused.
What does get used is my brother's Gamecube. Oh, sure, it's 45 minutes away, but Jennifer loves playing Super Smash, Animal Crossing, and Medal of Honor. (She likes shooting me, I guess.) It's a great machine for family... to get together and play together. With four controller ports, it's made for people to gather around. Up until this Christmas, I hadn't even BOTHERED to buy a second controller for my PS2. For years I just played it by myself. And you know, I didn't even use the controller until last week, and even then only for the sake of doing so. The PS2 is a lonely, lonely machine. (For further proof, I caught our soon-to-be divorced neighbor playing one yesterday.)
Posted by March at 05:46 PM | TrackBack
September 19, 2004
Mother-in-Law Update
I enjoyed having the mother-in-law around for a week. It was interesting having an older version of Jennifer around. Of course, I was outnumbered 2-to-1, so we rented tons of chick flicks, and I think we ended up at Krispy Kreme four times.
The day she left, Jennifer got pretty down. She's missing her mom pretty bad right now. She might try to come back up in October. We head down to California about once every three months, though we haven't been down there since June, but I think Jennifer enjoyed having her mom all to herself, and she really hasn't had that in a couple years now.
Krispy Kremes make you really fat.
Posted by March at 10:40 PM | TrackBack
CBS Misled
Well, what would you know, CBS is apparently going to announce they were misled on the authenticity of the National Guard documents. It will be interesting to see how Rather reacts.
Frankly, I think CBS would have been better off just keeping quiet about the whole thing. They'd look stubborn and partisan, especially to conservatives, but now they look incompetent... to everyone.
Posted by March at 10:33 PM | TrackBack
September 18, 2004
Miscellanea 1
We played the Sims 2 today. Very fun, although gameplay, so far, doesn't seem astoundingly different from the original. Why mess with a good thing, right? But what amazed me was the realism of the Sims. We recreated Jennifer's family, to the point of being eerie. There was my mother-in-law, with her constant scowl, Jennifer with her pale complexion and thin features, and my sister-in-law, a bit grumpy, a bit chubby, and with way too much makeup on. (Keep in mind that Jennifer designed her.) It's not just how they look, it's how they act. The Sims 2 takes into account the personality characteristics, and alters the movements and actions of the characters to act. So my mother-in-law really does scowl in the game, and my sister-in-law is a bit pushy, and Jennifer isn't very social. It's wild, and Jennifer will soon be playing it on her computer too, provided it will work on her video card.
Meanwhile, on the My Favorite Things front, one of my favorite things is people who are too lazy to take the trash out, so they DRIVE their car to the dumpster. I park my car near the dumpster now, so I can't help but notice these things. Today we went out and there was this morbidly obese woman taking trash out of her car. She only lives maybe a hundred feet away, but she'd driven the trash to the dumpster in order to save her the trouble, I guess.
In political news, apparently there appears to be a tie between the Kerry campaign and CBS News' forged documents. This has long been speculated, but now there's some actual evidence for such ties. Some have claimed that if there's a Kerry-CBS connection, that the election will be over for John Kerry. I don't believe this... the electorate, for whatever reason, is extremely forgiving of Democrats, even when their actions are plain malicious. CBS, not Kerry, or even Dan Rather, but CBS News will take the fall for this one.
Back here at home, the Democrats are attacking King County Sheriff Dave Reichert. You may know Reichert as the man who finally caught the Green River Killer. He's running for Congress, and Democrats are running negative ads claiming he doesn't have public policy experience. True, perhaps, but they don't mention anything about his Democratic opponent, who is a radio talk show host.
Posted by March at 09:52 PM | TrackBack
September 13, 2004
Bye Bye Bon
Just as I predicted, The Bon Marche, which was recently renamed Bon-Macy's, will now just be called... here it comes... Macy's.
Jennifer thinks this is cool, because she's used to Macy's in California. But it's a loss for the Pacific Northwest, and in particular for Seattle.
In other parts of the country, this strategy might be a good idea. But the Bon is a well-respected and loved name around here. I think this will backfire to some extent, but ultimately people are probably too stupid to care.
Posted by March at 10:05 PM | TrackBack
September 11, 2004
You Dropped a Bomb on You
Apparently North Korea dropped the bomb. They dropped the bomb on themselves, but whatever. Sounds to me like they've got nukes.
Theoretically, if an angry North Korean found a gun, and wanted to point it at you, who would you depend on to defend your physical well-being? Would it be John Kerry, or George Bush?
North Korea with nukes isn't a good development for Kerry.
Update: Apparently, the theory is this was an accident, not a test, given that testing would kill a lot of innocent people. Would that really stop them? I just don't know.
Update 2: What exactly happened here? This news really wasn't followed up on. Oh well... this entry has the best title ever!
Posted by March at 11:46 PM | TrackBack
September 10, 2004
Definitely CBS Forgeries
Dan Rather is defending the forged documents (by now, I think there's no doubt), claiming they are entirely authentic. Given how easy it is to reproduce the documents, using default Word settings, I just don't see how they can defend them.
And now Little Green Footballs points out that the documents are auto-centered and apparently word wrap identically with Word.
Media credibility has been at new lows... this is going to be DEVASTATING (to quote Andrew Sullivan) to CBS and Dan Rather. The other networks have been willing to report this too, I think partially because they don't want to look guilty too, and perhaps partially out of the sheer satisfaction of driving another nail in the CBS coffin. But given that debunking the documents helps Bush (and might hurt Kerry), they're not to eager. There's also that little matter of the forgeries being discovered on the internet... you know, where the "standards of journalism" don't have to be met.
Whatever.
Update: Tonight, CBS News will reportedly defend itself against charges that the documents alleged to be created in the early 1970s are not forged, claiming that typewriters could create the superscript th that some have pointed to as proof.
Is it too late, or will the general public not notice? I think, given Rather's response, there is clear bias. I mean, basically he's unable to say "let me look at this, as a OBJECTIVE journalist." It's as if the "objective journalism" of Oliphant has infected the entire media, leaving only the "new media" of the internet to actually research and report real facts. The networks and print media are all left to just report what they WISH the facts were.
The latest theory is that these documents came from the Kerry campaign, but even Bush supporters admit that they MAY have come from the BUSH campaign, who passed them along to the Kerry campaign, who passed them along to CBS, making Kerry and CBS look like fools. Well, hey, I mean, these are people that claim Bush should have known there weren't WMD in Iraq, so they ought to have been able to tell they were forged in Microsoft Word, right?
Now the question comes: will CBS apologize, backpedal, and start playing nice with the Bush campaign, in an effort to revive a shred of credibility. Or, defeated and outed, will they play hardball and fire back. I'm sure there's got to be something juicy on Bush.
The really sad thing for CBS and Rather, is that these documents were pretty much toothless. Even if they were true, who cares? Surely not undecided voters. These guys took a big risk (and lost) with virtually no payoff, even if the documents were real.
Update 2: Check this out.
Posted by March at 11:19 AM | TrackBack
Mother-in-Law
It's nice having my mother-in-law here with us. Jennifer's family lives 600 miles away, and this is the first time, beyond the wedding, that family has come to visit. We've been down to see them several times, but this is the first time anyone has come up to see us. (It's okay, the number of times my mother-in-law has been at the apartment is about equal to the number of times my mother has been here, and she only lives like 45 miles away.)
Anyway, I know mother-in-laws can be a real pain sometimes, but if you've got one, you have to be thankful, because she raised the person you love.
Posted by March at 01:00 AM | TrackBack
September 09, 2004
CBS Forgeries?
What's going on in the big media? All right, get this: CBS reports on documents that supposely determine whether Bush was given special treatment in the National Guard. According to CBS, the documents were verified by independent experts, who declared they were authentic.
Uh-huh? But then it turns out the documents, supposedly created in 1972-73, look suspiciously like they were created in Microsoft Word, using Times New Roman.
And then this: by opening up MS Word, using default settings, one can PERFECTLY match the "authentic" documents.
Meanwhile, typesetting experts all seem to be in agreement; the documents were probably forged.
What is CBS's response? We'll just have to see.
Update: Nightline covered the forged documents angle tonight, though they didn't go so far as to call them an outright forgery.
Meanwhile, Turtle wants to know why, after the media defended Kerry against the Swift Vets, the first he'd heard of this was from marchdecember.
In other news, my mother-in-law is in town! YEEHAW!!!
Posted by March at 05:04 PM | TrackBack
September 03, 2004
The Bush Speech
First, even before last night's speech, a Time poll showed a 52-41 lead, Bush over Kerry. WOW. That's a big difference, and Bush hadn't even made his speech yet.
Second, the speech last night was fantastic. The first part of the speech was uninspiring, frankly. The second part made Bush look engaged, in command, and very, very Presidential. Not much has been said about it, at least not from what I've seen, but when Bush was talking about the soldiers who weren't coming home, he appeared to be tearing up. Bush is a very emotional man, and last night's speech showed that he doesn't take the "rush to war" lightly.
I have already stated that I would vote for Bush. Last night's speech didn't change that for me. What it did change is my resolve. I'm voting for Bush because the President has my faith, not because he's just the lesser of two evils.
Posted by March at 07:55 PM | TrackBack
September 01, 2004
The Sad Saga of Our Neighbor
Instead of watching the convention, like I probably should be, I have been sitting in my living room, silently, listening our new neighbor interact with his kids.
A few months ago he moved in, kicked out of the house by his wife. Now his kids come over and he struggles to make them happy. He tells them all about the new games and books he got for them. He just sent them off to the store to grab some cake. He's trying his hardest to be a good dad, in a situation where he doesn't get to be with his family.
I feel really sorry for him.
I probably shouldn't be so nosy though.
Posted by March at 07:03 PM | TrackBack
Fun at the Fair
Jennifer and I spent much of yesterday at the Evergreen State Fair. It has been so long since we took time out to go to a fair! (All right, it's been ten weeks.) Maybe we'll go to the Puyallup next month. I don't know if it's all worth it... after all, a fair is pretty much a fair, but it is fun. We rode a couple rides and walked around looking at exhibits, cows, etc.
We sat down to watch a dog show. We got some cotton candy and a big Pepsi. We watched judges judge a giant cow, who promptly walked by me and scared me to death. We walked through chickens and rabbits, ducks and pigs. We rode on the Zipper (and Jennifer didn't throw up!) We took a romantic spin on the Ferris Wheel. We looked at cars and spas. We sat down and watched a man try to sell us his cookware. ("We all want to eat healthy! I know you do! That's why you came here today!" No, actually I came here to eat greasy disgusting fair food and then throw it up after being turned upside down multiple times.)
As there often is at these events, we came upon a booth there that claimed to answer whether or not I was going to heaven in two simple questions. The key with this little game is the second question is a trick question... there is no right answer. The real answer is long and tedious, and involves you reading a prayer out loud. I just want a simple "yes" or "no."
Last time, back in 2002, the man asking me the questions told me "I'm sorry, you're wrong. None of these are the right answers," to which I loudly proclaimed "Oh, great, I'm going to hell!" The other people in the booth looked very concerned and upset. I walked away from him, and he tried to convince Jennifer that I could be saved, that she needed to work on me.
But yesterday the old woman working the counter was polite and non-pushy. She did react a little surprised when I asked her "If none of those answers were right, wasn't it a trick question." But in general she was too nice to be mean to. Then I would have REALLY gone to hell!
All in all we had a very good time. This is the time of year many people go to the fair. I'd suggest you do too. If you're dating or married, take your honey. If you're not, there's a lot of young, single people there! A lot of those rides require two people. Volunteer my friend, volunteer!