Friday, May 28, 2004

Las Vegas SUN: After Age 40, Wives Seek 2 of 3 Divorces

Las Vegas SUN: After Age 40, Wives Seek 2 of 3 Divorces: "NEW YORK (AP) - Two-thirds of divorces after age 40 are initiated by wives, debunking the myth of an older man divorcing his wife for a younger woman, a new survey shows. "That obviously happens, but mostly it's women who are asking for the divorce," said Steve Slon, editor of AARP the Magazine, on Tuesday. The magazine will publish the results Thursday in its July-August issue."
I think I'll just stay single and not worry about being turned on. Yup, safe and single is the way for me. Right now it's not worth the risk.

Span of French Millau bridge, world highest, is completed

MILLAU, France (AFP) - Engineers brought the two central ends of the Millau road viaduct in southwest France together, completing the span of the highest bridge in the world.

The road surface is 270 metres above ground, a world record, and the total structure, with suspension cables added will be 343 metres (1,132 feet) above ground at its highest point or 23 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower.

The crowing part of the operation will be the raising of seven pylons above the platform of the bridge from which are to be suspended supporting cables.

These will take the total height at the highest point to 343 metres. One of the main supporting pylons beneath the platform, known as pylon 2, stands 245 metres high, making it the tallest pylon in the world.
I don't know about you but I don't really want to go on anything French built!
Queen Mary II accident kills 13 - SAINT-NAZAIRE, France (Reuters) - Thirteen people have died and 31 have been injured after a dockside gangway to the world's biggest and most expensive cruise ship, the Queen Mary 2, collapsed at Saint-Nazaire in western France.
Hmm... Looks like the French have a problem with things that suddenly fall down go boom! Falling down and going boom off of the worlds highest bridge doesn't sound like much fun to me!
Paris Airport Emptied After More Cracking - ROISSY, France (AP) - New cracking sounds forced the evacuation Monday of the futuristic terminal at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport a day after a roof collapse killed four travelers.
Again, things that fall down go boom and kill people in France. They can't win wars and apparently they can't build things either!! I'm amazed that the Statue of Liberty hasn't fallen over and killed people. Of course, it is in America where it probably gets better maintenance and the such.

Thursday, May 27, 2004

California senate approves anti-Gmail bill

The California state senate on Thursday approved a bill that takes aim at Google's new Gmail service, placing strict limits on e-mail providers seeking to scan customer messages for advertising and other purposes.
No more gmail for inabeanpod :(
"My legislation guarantees that our most private communications will remain just that--private," said Sen. Liz Figueroa, D-Fremont, the bill's author, according to a statement.
Since when was email our most private communication? Since when was email even private? System Admins can read my email, third partys who have my email forwarded to them can read my email, people standing over my sholder can read my email, the list could go on and on!! If that really bothered me, I wouldn't use email would I?
... Google proposed placing ads in messages based on the mail's content, requiring customers to agree to let the company scan their correspondence for keywords.
See! I agreed to let Google scan my email's when I signed up to be a beta tester for the gmail system! I knew it going in. No one is pulling the wool over my eyes! Sen. Figueroa, I don't need you to tell me what to do, what's right and wrong, what's an invasion of my privace and what's not. And you are only a Calafornia Senitor, what give you the right to make laws that will impact people outside of Calafornia?!
Technology groups opposing the bill noted this week that limits on e-mail scanning would appear to affect a large number of widely used industry practices that have not sparked any privacy concerns to date.
Sen. Figueroa, now you are just pissing everyone off! Trying to make something out of nothing I tell ya!!

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Out of the blue!

Out of the blue I tell ya! I was able to pick up my Nikon D70 today. Yea! But now I'm pretty much broke. Time to learn how to use this sweet camera :)

Monday, May 24, 2004

Channelnewsasia.com

Channelnewsasia.com: "'Some wag has glued a pink dinosaur in front of our digital camera,' GNS' John Callan said." - link to Dino

CBS.SportsLine.com - MLB Weekend in Review: Weird injuries nothing to sneeze at

CBS.SportsLine.com - MLB Weekend in Review: Weird injuries nothing to sneeze at: "The latest bit of statistical evidence pointing toward Atlanta missing the playoffs this fall for the first time since 1990: According to Stats, Inc., of the 14 other teams to have"

Sweet! The evil braves not in the playoff's this year! That would be awesome! I really hope it happens.

Wimp!

Well, I broke down and turned the AC on today. I know I'm a wimp and I'm gonna pay for it on the next power bill.

Saturday, May 22, 2004

:(

Just called Photographx and found out that I can't get my Nikon D70 kit because they are out! Total bummer! I wanted to have it by Sunday May 23rd. I'm at the top of the waiting list, but the girl I talked to didn't expect any in for a long time :( I guess I'm going to have to find my old happy snappy camera to take to the basic photography class I start this Sunday night. Oh well. I guess I can always take the class again this fall with my D70... assuming I get one by then. :(

Friday, May 21, 2004

Interesting People Out There...

Just had the following conversation on Yahoo! Messenger.
---- New Conversation [Fri, 7:23 pm] ----
This contact does not support text formatting.
howells_uu says: how are you mr Chaw-lie
Inabeanpod says: i'
Inabeanpod says: I'
Inabeanpod says: im find how are you?
howells_uu says: i am okay
Inabeanpod says: thats good
howells_uu says: i just finished going through your profile
Inabeanpod says: yahoo or one of my others?
howells_uu says: yahoo
howells_uu says: i decide to contact you on a business
that will be beneficial to both of us at the end
Inabeanpod says: oh?
howells_uu says: i have just sent you a mail you can go
through it very well and get back to me
Inabeanpod says: do you have a yahoo profile?
howells_uu says: no the internet is new in my country
Inabeanpod says: what country are you from?
howells_uu says: lome-togo in west africa
Inabeanpod says: I"ve never been there before.
Inabeanpod says: Out of all the people on yahoo with
profiles, what made you pick mine?
howells_uu says: BECAUSE YOU LOOK VERY
DETERMINED AND HARD WORKING
Inabeanpod says: I guess that's a good thing right?
howells_uu says: so i will like you to go through the mail i
sent to you and get back to me stating your interest,
Inabeanpod says: I'll check the email when I get home
howells_uu says: ok that 's good i will be waiting for your
reply as soon as possible
Inabeanpod says: what time is it in lome-togo?
howells_uu says: 12.30in the morning
howells_uu says: so let me wait to hear from you bye
Inabeanpod says: bye
howells_uu says: what time is it in your country?
Inabeanpod says: 7:40 PM
howells_uu says: OK BYE

I don't think I've ever had a random chat with anyone from West Africa before. I did a google search on lome-togo and found Embassy of the United States of America Lome,Togo has a webpage. I'll check for the email when I get home.

UPDATE: Nothing. No email with "a business that will be beneficial to both of us at the end." I though that he would email my yahoo account from his yahoo account, but it doesn't look like it happened. Now I guess I can't turn him down. Oh well. Maybe the internet is too new and he doesn't quite have the hang of sending email? I may never know.

UPDATE: No email this weekend either. If the spam filter caught it, that's not my fault. I'm not gonig to turn it off. I've collected 597 chunks of spam on my yahoo email since I checked it a couple days ago. I don't want all that junk in my inbox!! I guess i'm not going to get an email from howells_uu.

gmail swap

gmail swap: "Everyone's talking about Gmail, but it's still only a handful of lucky ducks who have snagged an account. And while the rest of us go hungry, you can be sure that the best email addres"

Fun stuff!! I've still got 1 invite I can send out. Maybe I can find a good trade on gmailswap.com!

Thursday, May 20, 2004

Hoax Nation

Hoax Nation: "Hoax Nation - How reliable are the images we see in the news?"

John Dvorak's got a great article here about digital image manipulation and the media's willingness to fall for hoax's.

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

CBS.SportsLine.com


CBS.SportsLine.com: "Randy Johnson slowing down at 40? No way. The Big Unit becomes the oldest to throw a perfect game, striking out 13 in the Diamondbacks' 2-0 win over the Braves."

I love it when the evil atlanta braves lose!! Nothing else is better in baseball!

Oh yeah, I wish I'd had Randy Johnson on my fantasy team!! oh well.

Giant Lava Lamps

Giant Lava Lamps: "Laser Magic has taken the Lava� Lamp to the max with our new 5 foot high Lava� Towers. For decades millions of people have been fascinated by the mysterious 'gloppy' action of the one"

Man I need one of these! I mean I really need one! OK, maybe I don't need one, but I would really really like one! ;)

Guess I'm going to have to shave my gotee...

Is hairless handsome?
By Sara Kinnarney
Is it true that women prefer a freshly shaved face? We asked a panel of experts — i.e., women — to express their views.

Kristin, 25, from Minneapolis didn't mince words: "No facial hair at all, yuck!" she says.

"While a slightly stubbly face can look rather manly and ruggedly handsome, I would much rather kiss a smooth face and touch non-stubbly cheeks," says Kris.

Lea, 32, from Studio City, California agrees. "Clean shaven is the best for kissing, but a little scruff — not Marlboro man scruff, just a 3- or 4-day growth (think Colin Farrell) — is sexy to look at," she says.

Deanna stresses that the beard should be well-maintained. "I don't like long beards. I like goatees and beards that are trimmed and well-shaped," she says.

That's a good reason to get rid of mine. Can't keep the thing trimed worth a hill of beans. That and I've never been any good at trimming the facial fuzz.
Hilary, 23, from Austin also likes a minimalist approach to facial hair. "Soul patches are very much appreciated," she says.

Jenny Faye, 21, from New Brunswick, N.J., cautioned that facial hair was not right for everyone. "Only a select few can pull it off. And no mustaches please!" she says.

There you have it. 100% of all, carefully selected mind you, quotes from this story prove that men with hair on their face are completely ugly and super duper unattractive. So, if you are a guy and you have had facial hair once in your life, just once (IE puberty), you don't stand a chance to ever get smooched. But if you are one of those weirdo's who liks fuzzy faced moldy men, well good for you!

So just remember next time you see your favorite hollywood hottie with a bit of stubble, he's no better looking than I am! ;)

Lycos: We're first with a gigabyte of e-mail

Lycos announced Tuesday that it is upgrading its service in the United Kingdom to give consumers 1GB of e-mail storage. But unlike some rival services being developed, the Lycos service is not free. Users will have to pay a monthly fee of 3.40 pounds ($6.01).

Whatever Dude! Spymac's got ya beat by a good month!!
Spymac Launches The Internet's First Free 1 Gigabyte Email Service
04/05/2004 00:15 | By The Spymac Team
One gigabyte of storage is available to all Spymac Mail accounts, effective today, Monday April 5, 2004.

Spymac
agrees with the staff at Google that a 1 GB e-mail account makes sense. Millions of people rely on easy access to mail and depend on their email service to not indiscriminately delete important mail. Spymac Mail offers several advantages over other free Internet-based email. In addition to the one-gigabyte storage increase, Spymac Mail also offers both POP3 and Webmail access to the email accounts. For those wondering why on earth they would need one gigabyte for POP3 mail, don’t despair; because IMAP mail capabilities are under development and will be available very soon. Spymac Mail does not include keyword scanning for search and has no advertising.

Spymac
welcomes email accounts from users 13 years old and up on any operating system. Sign up for your free account today by clicking here.

Hey Lycos, did ya see that little line that says "Sign up for your free account"... did ya? Spymac was first. And free. So just get off your high horse and stop making a fool of yourself!

Monday, May 17, 2004

Mozilla Firefox - The Browser, Reloaded

Mozilla Firefox - The Browser, Reloaded: "The Browser, Reloaded Firefox is an award winning preview of next generation browsing technology from mozilla.org.Firefox empowers you to accomplish your online activities f"


Just testing the "blogthis" extention for FireFox.

Sunday, May 16, 2004

The sexual appeal of liberals:

The sexual appeal of liberals: Click here to see the French looking John Kerry's daughter, Brunette Alexandra Kerry's covered (but not really) boobs. Or click here to see the Air America thong she isn't wearing. Of click here to read more about why Ohio Republican chairman Robert T. Bennett said
"They ought to be absolutely embarrassed and ashamed of this guy, but obviously standards take a back seat to power in the party of Bill Clinton
(hint: the Jerry Springer)

P-P-P-PowerBook for a S-S-S-Scammer...

You've got to go to /. (slash dot) and read this. Follow the links and download the PDF. It's a riot!!

Saturday, May 15, 2004

Swinger!

I went swing dancing tonight! yea! I had a lot of fun, even if I did seem like a big uncordinated first time dancer. Showed up in time for some basic instructions, which were above my level of swing dance compitance, but were good none-the-less. I wound up learing way too much! Talk about information overload! Got to dance with a couple girls that I came with and a couple complete strangers too. The girl with the big fance diamond ring on her married finger didn't even have her guy kick the crap out of me! ;) I wanna go again! But its kinda hard as the guy should lead the dancing and I don't really know that much yet, so I'm not much of a leader. My friends were kind to me though and gave me lots of help, pointers and encouragement. :)

Ouch!


Man, reality sure can bite sometimes!

Friday, May 14, 2004

D'oh!

America's Best (and Worst) Cities for Dating

Best cities for dating
  1. Austin, TX
  2. Colorado Springs, CO
  3. San Diego, CA
  4. Raleigh/Durham, NC
  5. Seattle, WA
  6. Charleston, SC
  7. Norfolk, VA
  8. Ann Arbor, MI
  9. Springfield, MA
  10. Honolulu, HI
Worst cities for dating
  1. Kansas City, MO
  2. Wichita, KS
  3. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
  4. Detroit, MI
  5. Louisville, KY
  6. Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC
  7. Atlanta, GA
  8. Pittsburgh, PA
  9. Houston, TX
  10. Charlotte, NC
D'oh! D'oh! D'oh! I live in the wrong city. (D'oh!) I work in the wrong city. (D'oh!) I own a house in the wrong city. (D'oh!) I'll never date in this city? (D'oh!) I don't know about that, but with the slim pickin's and me being particulary picky about girls, maybe I won't. Only time will tell ;)

A real webpage

I've been thinking about getting a "real" webpage. You know something like inabeanpod.com. Well, inabeanpod.com has been my top choice for quite sometime, as "inabeanpod" is me in the online world. But, I don't like how it works for email address... @inabeanpod.com... I guess I could be inabeanpod@inabeanpod.com, but that seems silly to me. Maybe, me@inabeanpod.com. Na, don't like it either. Sooo... I started trying to think of something else, some better domain name to pick. Right now I'm thinking: thegaudyorange.com. It seems to work better for email... inabeanpod@thegaudyorange.com or charlie@thegaudyorange.com. Do you have any ideas? If so, leave them as a comment.

I think I really want it to start with "the" though.

Last Sunday Night (May 9th)

Last Sunday Night I went to an alternative church with a friend of mine. It's in Westport in an old catherdral. Oh yeah, the church is called Jacob's Well. It seemed like a really cool church! Don Chaffer of Waterdeep fame spoke, how cool is that?! Needless to say I was impressed. You can listen to Don's message, the same one I got to hear live, by clicking right here. So, if you are in KC and you want to go to a church where you don't have to pretend to be someone you aren't, chuck out Jacob's Well.

Thursday, May 13, 2004

Jewish Proverb

"If God lived on earth, people would break his windows."
Oh God did live on earth, and we did more than break his windows. Sure he could have stopped us, but he loved us way too much!
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 3:16-17 NRSV

The Day Hell Froze part 2

Hell froze again today. The Royals won a game! Which means two games in a row. They are on a hot streak now! Might as well just not show up if you have to play them.

Alfredo Amezaga
of the Angles is my Hero of the Moment for breaking the nose of the Evil Yankee catcher Jorge Posada (who urinates on his hands by-the-way).

Well, its raining now and I can hear the water pooring into my basement, so I better go.

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

IPod All the Rage in High Fashion

http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,63423,00.html

German designer Karl Lagerfeld is so obsessed with the iPod, he's designed a couture case for carrying up to a dozen of them. Why? Because he needs just such a crate to transport his collection of 40 iPods. By Leander Kahney.

Mr. Largerfeld must have picked up a Bucket-o-iPods at his local Apple Store.

Google Copernicus Center is hiring


Google is interviewing candidates for engineering positions at our lunar hosting and research center, opening late in the spring of 2007. This unique opportunity is available only to highly-qualified individuals who are willing to relocate for an extended period of time, are in top physical condition and are capable of surviving with limited access to such modern conveniences as soy low-fat lattes, The Sopranos and a steady supply of oxygen.

The Google Copernicus Hosting Environment and Experiment in Search Engineering (G.C.H.E.E.S.E.) is a fully integrated research, development and technology facility at which Google will be conducting experiments in entropized information filtering, high-density high-delivery hosting (HiDeHiDeHo) and de-oxygenated cubicle dwelling. This center will provide a unique platform from which Google will leapfrog current terrestrial-based technologies and bring information access to new heights of utility.

I don't know about you, but that made me laugh... so I though I'd share it with ya. HiDeHiDeHo! Google's gonna kill me! LOL

Did Hell Just Freeze Over?

What a night! Major League Baseball had some great games! Five games went into extra-innings allowing fans to get their money's worth out of the game. At least I always want extra innings when I go to the ball park. At the moment, the Pirates and Rockies are tied at 10 in the top of the 12th inning. Man, that is baseball! I can't stand a pitchers dule... well, if its the pitcher on my team who's doing the striking out and the other pitcher who's serving up the fat pitches right down the middle of the plate, then its ok. I like to see lots of runs scored.

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

How can that be news? It's not depressing!!




ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF A DIGITAL CAMERA: SOLDIER AS HERO TO FREED IRAQIS
Mon May 10 2004 23:09:13 ET


Here's an image you will not see in the NEW YORKER or on 60 MINUTES:

An American soldier welcomed as a hero in Iraq!

As the world's satellites and printing presses await fresh images of troop horrors and abuse, soldiers on the ground e-mailed this snap of warm greetings from some of Iraq's women and children.

Monday, May 10, 2004

Think the blogger comments are working now. maybe.
Hmm... I didn't see anything different. oh well. I'll mess with it later.
I think I've got blogger comments now... so, be nice. Don't make me cry. K, gonna post and publish and look to see if I really do have blogger comments.

Saturday, May 08, 2004

So I saw this link that says "splashy new swimsuits" and I thought to myself... yeah right, there's nothing new and super special about new swimsuits this year. You are either naked, half naked or pretty much all covered. That's it. No more, no less. But I must say I was supprised by one thing... the prices! Eeek gads man!

This one will cost you around $54.00. That seems high to me... then again I've not purchased one before.


(From left)
Hanna in Chaiken cutout ($140).
Scheiner in Gottex high-front tank ($148).
Coso in AXM one-shoulder cutout ($113).
Medic in Karla Colletto racer-back, zip-front tank ($200).
Camunez in OMO Norma Kamali full-coverage ruching ($350).

Eeek gads man! $350.00! That's got to be way over priced! I don't know who can afford that price. I can't. Do they set the high prices so the $50 swimsuits, which seem high at first, seem like a great deal later? Girls, I think you'll look just fine is something less expensive.

iTunes is environmentally friendly, no packaging, no gas, no need to shower....

http://macslash.org/comments.pl?sid=4494&cid=72569
Estimated 51.1M Tune in for 'Friends'

An estimated 51.1 million people tuned in to watch Ross and Rachel get together on the final episode of "Friends," according to preliminary Nielsen Media Research ratings released Friday.

That was roughly two-thirds of the audience gathered by the "Cheers" and "Seinfeld" finales, but along the lines of what NBC had been predicting.

Thank God that show's off the air!

Not everyone was heartbroken to see it go, especially with the show's omnipresence during the past few weeks.

"Can I tell you something honestly?" Jon Stewart said on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" on Thursday. "I never watched that show — and I'm sick of it."

He's my new hero of the moment!

Friday, May 07, 2004

hmm... seems like there was something else I was going to blog. I can't remember now. I must be old or something. Or paranoid. Yes paranoid. I'm afraid to blog at work. Don't want to get fired for abuse of company resorces used to express my opinion which is different than that of the company... or something like that. Maybe they won't fire me, just take away my net access... which would mean I couldn't log my time, thus I wouldn't get paid and look like a slacker. They could fire me for that. Not logging my time as a slacker that is. Well, I have to get up early tomorrow so I better go.
Smile, You're on Candid Phone Camera
The Internet has made lapses in behavior more embarrassing
By Philipp Harper
Special to MSN
http://mobilemomentum.msn.com/article.aspx?aid=12

As if we needed help making fools of ourselves, the Internet has taken this all-too-human propensity and turbocharged it, magnifying our missteps and screw-ups in ways no one could have imagined just a few years ago. What once were quietly embarrassing events — you name it — now are given a public currency that mortifies.

Consider: Last year at one of the Midwest's tonier prep schools, a 14-year-old girl was persuaded by her older boyfriend (pressured, say her parents) to take sexually explicit photos of herself and then transmit them to him via the Internet. Boys being boys, the recipient of this misguided ardor e-mailed the snaps to a few of his close friends, who, boys being boys … well, you get the idea.

When officials at the school learned of this amour less-than-propre, they gave the boot to the young couple and to two additional male students whose viewing of the images could be confirmed. But if the carnage seems to have been limited, it really wasn't.

Word got out and there were front-page stories in the local newspaper. There followed, too, the inevitable lawsuits. As to the number of eyeballs (to use Net speak) captured by the images, the girl's mother asserts the photos made it into the great cyber river and were spread far and wide.

Yeah well, that's not the cell phone makers fault, or the internet's fault. Probably not the "older boyfriend's" or the 14 year old girls fault... Nope, i'm going to pin the blame directly on the parents. Why would anyone let their 14 year old daughter date an older guy who is obviously a bad influence on her? This story leads one to think that they are bad parents. If you don't raise your childeren in the way they should go, bad things will happen. It's never too late to start being a good parent, and hopefully they have.

How does that happen, you ask?

Enter the cell phone camera, a device that not so long ago could have existed only in the fecund imagination of Q, supreme gadgeteer and outfitter of James Bond and other denizens of Her Majesty's Secret Service. Easily concealed, innocuous looking — it's main purpose is not as a camera, after all — the cell phone camera is becoming known more for its misuse than use.

Yeah it's always the manufactuer's fault when something bad happens with their product. Come on! Give me a break! It's not the cell phone makers fault if someone takes a nudie pic with it, nor is it the cell phone's fault. The blame is to be placed on the person who takes the pic.

But make no mistake, the camera phone is also a handheld mischief maker, one that seems to have tickled the funny (or naughty) bones of countless users. Which would explain the proliferation of Web sites devoted to the embarrassing, risqué or often plain pornographic images captured by amateur auteurs.

Any Hollywood starlet who swings her legs out of a low-slung sports car, revealing a flash or more of lingerie in the process, can pretty much assume that a snapshot of her unmentionables will be posted somewhere on the Web before the sun again sinks into the Pacific. Ditto the college student who, in a rum-induced fit of joie de vivre, sheds her top (or worse) at some beachside bacchanal.

Hey, if that Hollywood starlet is dumb enought to flash her lingerie and unmentionables, its her own dumb fault if they show up on the internet!! Tip too all the Hollywood starlets out there... if you don't want me to see your boobies, don't dress so I can see them, even when you get out of a low-slung sports car. Same goes for anyone who's dumb enought to drink and strip. If you have a problem with drunk nude pics of you showing up online, stop drinking. If you don't drink, you don't get drunk. If you don't get drunk, you don't strip or are much harder to talk into stripping. If you don't strip, you can't be seen naked on line! Is it really that hard to understand?

Ultimately, the most effective policing will be done by the camera phone owners themselves, relying on common decency and teachings like the Golden Rule to guide their behavior.

Probably the only thing the author got correct in the story.
Hmm... lots of crap to blog tonight. I'll start with this:




I found her on the msn.com web page. Some silly story about how to lose pounds by drinking juice, or something like that. I didn't read the story. How could I? As soon as I saw her I was smitten (anyone know if I spelled that right?). No, not love at first sight. I don't believe in that crap. Now if you want to say lust at first sight or infatuation at first sight, hubba hubba, hello juice girl! I've got no clue what the rest of her looks like, but her face is mighty nice to look at. I also love the "face" she is making... her eyes looking slyishly away from the bottle of juice which is in the corner of her mouth, which has a very slight smile :) MMmm.... i'm gonna go get me some juice right now! *gets glass of juice*

Thursday, May 06, 2004

It's the economy stupid!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - America's employment outlook brightened on Thursday after the government said jobless claims dropped last week to their lowest since 2000, bolstering expectations for strong numbers in the April jobs report.

http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/63342|top|05-06-2004::12:24|reuters.html
Bush pauses to comfort teen

'This girl lost her mom in the World Trade Center on 9-11'

By Kristina Goetz
The Cincinnati Enquirer


During his visit to the Golden Lamb Inn in Lebanon, President Bush stops to hug Ashley Faulkner, who lost her mom in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Photo by Lynn Faulkner
In a moment largely unnoticed by the throngs of people in Lebanon waiting for autographs from the president of the United States, George W. Bush stopped to hold a teenager's head close to his heart.

Lynn Faulkner, his daughter, Ashley, and their neighbor, Linda Prince, eagerly waited to shake the president's hand Tuesday at the Golden Lamb Inn. He worked the line at a steady campaign pace, smiling, nodding and signing autographs until Prince spoke:

"This girl lost her mom in the World Trade Center on 9-11."

Bush stopped and turned back.

"He changed from being the leader of the free world to being a father, a husband and a man," Faulkner said. "He looked right at her and said, 'How are you doing?' He reached out with his hand and pulled her into his chest."

Faulkner snapped one frame with his camera.

"I could hear her say, 'I'm OK,' " he said. "That's more emotion than she has shown in 21/2 years. Then he said, 'I can see you have a father who loves you very much.' "

"And I said, 'I do, Mr. President, but I miss her mother every day.' It was a special moment."

Special for Lynn Faulkner because the Golden Lamb was the place he and his wife, Wendy Faulkner, celebrated their anniversary every year until she died in the south tower of the World Trade Center, where she had traveled for business.

The day was also special for Ashley, a 15-year-old Mason High School student, because the visit was reminiscent of a trip she took four years ago with her mother and Prince. They spent all afternoon in the rain waiting to see Bush on the campaign trail. Ashley remembers holding her mother's hand, eating Triscuits she packed and bringing along a book in case she got bored.

But this time was different. She understood what the president was saying, and she got close enough to see him face to face.

"The way he was holding me, with my head against his chest, it felt like he was trying to protect me," Ashley said. "I thought, 'Here is the most powerful guy in the world, and he wants to make sure I'm safe.' I definitely had a couple of tears in my eyes, which is pretty unusual for me."

The photo has been circulating across the country, Faulkner said. Relatives have passed it on to friends, bosses and acquaintances. As they tell the story, they also share in Wendy Faulkner's legacy, which her family continues through the Wendy Faulkner Memorial Children's Foundation.

"I'm a pretty cynical and jaded guy at this point in my life," Faulkner said of the moment with the president. "But this was the real deal. I was really impressed. It was genuine and from the heart."



I love it when things on the net get screwed up. Like the caption on for the pic above. I mean come on, doesn't anyone check these things out before posting them for the world to see and laught at? Maybe it wouldn't be so funny to me if it was an amiture page... kinda like this here InabeanBlog, but it's not.

More Later

Tuesday, May 04, 2004

Is Natalie Portman really a vegetarian? This page says so! How disappointing. How depressing. How (fill in the blank). I guess I'm going to have to find a new hollywood hottie that I don't stand a chance with. I gots to have a girl who eats mean. That's probably why I prefer real girls, my friends for example, to surgically enhanced unrealistic beautiful people. Never-the-less Natalie Portman is still quite good looking. But looks will go away, so any kind of permanent relationship should never be base only on or even mostly on looks.

********** We interrupt This Blathering Blog Post To Bring The following Breaking News!************
I just ran the blogger.com spell checker... and it found a mistake... "that'd" which it suggested should be "teat" When really what I meant was "that's"
********** Now back to your regularly scheduled blathering*********

...What was I droning on about before I was so rudely interrupted? Oh yeah, real girls are better than the hollywood hotties we see on tv and in the movies.

********** We interrupt This Blathering Blog Post To Bring The following Breaking News!************
Blogger.com's very own spell checker doesn't reconize the work "blog"
********** Now back to your regularly scheduled blathering*********

Monday, May 03, 2004



Ted Rall, why do you hate American Heros? Why do you hate Pat Tillman? Is it because he was more famous than you when he joined the Army to defend your freedom to draw political cartoons? Or was it the fact that he passed up an opportunity to make more money than you ever will to simply to something he thought was the right thing to do? Or do you simply hate all American soldiers? If that's true, you really should meet my Dad before passing judgment on him. Ted Rall, remember this: American soldiers have died for you in the past, American soldiers will die for to today and American soldiers will die for you in the future. You might want to honor and respect that. Or do you cling to your political views too tightly to see something bigger?
I got my jeep stuck in a ditch today. It was quite interesting. Not even 4wheel drive could get me out! Boy did I feel dumb and somewhat embarrased... espically because I probably didn't make such a good impression on the girls at the place I was going. Oh well. If I had known I was going to slide into the mud pit, I mean ditch, I would not have tried to park there. But I didn't know, so in I went. I'll see if I can get some pics up sometime. I felt bad, I didn't mean to steal all the attention away from my friend at her college graduation open house.

I want a job where I can work the day shift (and still pay the bills) so I can learn to swing dance and stretch out of my comfort zone and try taking girls out.

I want to buy a Nikon D70.

I know this is really asking a lot, but, I want the Royals to win more often!

I want you to be blessed by God and have an awesome day or night or whatever it is when you read this.
Someone using WebTV went to my webpage looking for "hot boobies." Boy I bet they were dissapointed when they got there!!

Saturday, May 01, 2004

The Happy Happy Birthday Song
--------------
by The Arrogant Worms

Once a year we celebrate
With stupid hats and plastic plates
The fact that you were able to make
Another trip around the sun

And the whole clan gathers round
And gifts and laughter do abound
And we let out a joyful sound
And sing that stupid song

Happy birthday!
Now you're one year older!
Happy birthday!
Your life still isn't over!
Happy birthday!
You did not accomplish much
But you didn't die this year
I guess that's good enough

So let's drink to your fading health
And hope you don't remind yourself
The chance of finding fame and wealth
Decrease with every year

Does it feel like you're doing laps
And eating food and taking naps
And hoping that someday perhaps
Your life will hold some cheer

Happy birthday!
What have you done that matters?
Happy birthday!
You're starting to get fatter
Happy birthday!
It's downhill from now on
Try not to remind yourself
Your best years are all gone

If cryogenics were all free
Then you could live like Walt Disney
And live for all eternity
Inside a block of ice

But instead your time is set
This is the only life you get
And though it hasn't ended yet
Sometimes you wish it might

Happy birthday!
You wish you had more money
Happy birthday!
Your life's so sad it's funny
Happy birthday!
How much more can you take?
But your friends are hungry
So just cut the stupid cake

Happy birthday!
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday, dear...
(random calling out of names, including Ralph, Bill, Ralph Kramden,
Skippy, the bush kangaroo, and the b-b-b-b-b-bu-bu-bu- that leads into
"Dangerous")
Happy Birthday
--------------
by "Weird Al" Yankovic

Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to you!

Well it's time to celebrate your birthday,
It happens every year.
We'll eat a lot of broccoli, and drink a lot of beer.
You should be good and happy that there's somethin' you can eat.
A million people every day are starvin' in the street.
Your daddy's in the gutter with the wretched and the poor.
Your mama's in the kitchen with a can of Cycle Four.
There's garbage in the water,
There's poison in the sky.
I guess it won't be long before we're all gonna die!

Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to you!

Well, what's the matter, little friend, you think this party is the pits?
Enjoy it while you can.
We'll soon be blown to bits!
The monkeys in the Pentagon are gonna cook our goose.
Their finger's on the button, all they need is an excuse.
It doesn't take a military genius to see
We'll all be Crispy Critters after World War III.
There's nowhere you can run to,
Nowhere you can hide.
When they drop the big one,
We all get fried.

Come on, boys and girls, sing along, okay?

Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to you!

Well, there's a punk in the alley, and he's lookin' for a fight.
There's an Arab on the corner buyin' everything in sight.
There's a mother in the ghetto with another mouth to feed.
Seems that everywhere you look today, there's misery and greed.
I guess you know the Earth is gonna crash into the sun,
But that's no reason why we shouldn't have a little fun.
So if you think it's scary, if it's more than you can take,
Just blow out the candles,
And have a piece of cake.

Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to you!

(wow!)

Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to you!

And a pinch to grow an inch!