Posted 11/28/2010 09:03:00 PM by Douglas

Leslie Nielsen died? Surely you can't be serious? I am serious, and don't call me Shirley.

Leslie Nielsen, the Canadian-born actor who in middle age tossed aside three decades of credibility in dramatic and romantic roles to make a new, far more successful career as a comic actor in films like “Airplane!” and the “Naked Gun” series, died on Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 84.

I just want to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you.



Barbara Billingsley, now Leslie Nielsen?

Labels: Airplane

Posted 11/23/2010 05:49:00 PM by Douglas

I've ranted about the police busting drug runners on I-40 so much that I'm bored with it, but then there's this piece about who really benefits from these drug busts. Spoiler alert: The Baptists and the bootleggers always come down on the same side of any prohibition argument.

"Why the counties are complaining I'm not sure. If they want to get out there on the highway and make those traffic stops and such, then they could have a bigger share of those proceeds from any currencies that were seized."

This article is a rambling diatribe about how they seize money. This is the second part of this story, and I can't seem to find part one, which was more focused on "taking the drugs off the street." You know, because there aren't any illegal drugs anywhere.

But the part that burns up (small 'l') libertarians is what a cash cow this is for poor, rural law enforcement agencies. This flies in the face of the "legalize and tax it" argument that comes from those against the drug war. Is this cash/drug seizure just a tax? I haven't seen a prospectus for one of the Cartels (but I bet they're doing better than my 401(k) right now) but does anyone think they're really suffering when they lose a few million dollars to the County Mounties in Podunk, Texas? It's just the cost of doing business for them.

Labels: I-40 Drug Bust

Posted 11/22/2010 05:40:00 PM by Douglas

I thought we put this one to bed in 2006. For the last time, Pluto is NOT a planet.

Now that Pluto may have regained its status as the largest object in the outer solar system, should astronomers consider giving it back another former title — that of full-fledged planet?

Pluto was demoted to a newly created category, "dwarf planet," in 2006, partly because of the discovery a year earlier of Eris, another icy body from Pluto's neighborhood. Eris was thought to be bigger than Pluto until Nov. 6, when astronomers got a chance to recalculate Eris' size.

Now it appears that Pluto reigns — though only by the slimmest of margins (the numbers are so close as to be nearly indistinguishable, when uncertainties are taken into account).

It's the only "planet" that has an orbit inclined over 10º to the ecliptic. It's also smaller than the moon. Keep Pluto OFF the planet list!

Labels: Pluto

Posted 11/22/2010 05:22:00 PM by Douglas

I've ranted in the past about how corn-derived ethanol is a net loss, thermodynamically. Well, you know it's official when Al Gore comes out and says it's all horseshit.

Former U.S. vice-president Al Gore said support for corn-based ethanol in the United States was “not a good policy”, weeks before tax credits are up for renewal.

“It is not a good policy to have these massive subsidies for (U.S.) first generation ethanol,” said Gore, speaking at a green energy business conference in Athens sponsored by Marfin Popular Bank.

“First generation ethanol I think was a mistake. The energy conversion ratios are at best very small."

Wow, and that mistake only cost $40 Billion dollars of our money going to ADM. Yay?

Labels: ethanol

Posted 11/22/2010 05:08:00 PM by Douglas

Hugh Prather, the real life Jack Handy, has died.

Hugh Prather, a self-help author whose first book, “Notes to Myself,” put an aphoristic finger on the pulse of the ’70s, has sold more than five million copies and inspired the long-running “Saturday Night Live” segment “Deep Thoughts,” died on Nov. 15 at his home in Tucson. He was 72.

Mr. Prather died in his hot tub, apparently of a heart attack, his wife, Gayle, said.

What they don't tell you is that EVERYONE in Tucson dies in a hot tub. This has to be my favorite:

One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. "Oh, no," I said. "Disneyland burned down." He cried and cried, but I think that deep down, he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late.

Posted 11/19/2010 10:58:00 PM by Douglas

The red light cameras are gone in Houston, and the red light runners are free to run red lights, unabated.

The Southwest Freeway feeder road at Bellaire is one of the busiest traffic spots in the city. More drivers ran the red light than anywhere else in September; a total of 1,600 times -- more than 50 times a day the red light cameras snapped pictures of alleged red-light runners, generating a lot of money for the city.

Two things about this that is monumentally stupid. First, if one camera catches 50 people running the red light each day and sends them a ticket in the mail, the intersection isn't any safer. And also, this:

In September alone, Houston's cameras combined netted $1.1 million, of which $330,000 went to the city.

The city only gets to keep a third of the money? What a sweetheart deal that is, for the company that provides them.

Posted 11/19/2010 10:48:00 PM by Douglas

This story has been told to death, but here's an angle that bears repeating

Bossi was taken to a private room where two female Charlotte TSA agents began what she calls an "aggressive" pat-down.

Bossi said the exam halted when they got around to feeling her right breast - the one where she'd had surgery.

"She put her full hand on my breast and said, 'What is this?' Bossi recalled. "And I said, 'It's my prosthesis because I've had breast cancer.' And she said, 'Well, you'll need to show me that.'"

And here's the real reason for this sudden increase in security. As always, follow the money.

Posted 11/10/2010 06:49:00 PM by Douglas

The first and possibly last page in the atheist hymnal:

Posted 11/09/2010 05:12:00 PM by Douglas

Fortes fortuna adiuvat.

The clearest manifestation of this is the rise of the idea of sustainability. The doctrine of sustainability demands that we don’t take any risks with our future. Taking decisive action to promote progress is seen as far more dangerous than simply staying still. That is why, these days, the ideals of development, progress and economic growth enjoy little cultural valuation. In contrast, just to ‘sustain’ a future of more of the same is represented as a worthwhile objective.

Interesting paradigm, considering the 21st century's pussification of humanity.

Posted 11/04/2010 05:39:00 PM by Douglas

Red-light cameras defeated in the City of Houston.

Houstonians rejected the city's red light camera program in a hard-fought ballot contest, delivering an immediate $10 million hit to an already dire budget situation at City Hall.

With all votes counted, 53.2 percent of voters demanded a decisive end to the use of the devices, which had been used to issue more than 800,000 tickets and collected $44 million in fines since 2006.

I know those figures don't include all those that don't pay, but that's $55 a ticket. But it's not about the money. Except that it is. I don't generally read the opinion page of the Hearst-on Chronicle, but this is a bit much:

The city of Houston, its police department, area trauma centers and the contractor managing the cameras receive millions of dollars in revenue generated by the red-light citations. Since the city installed the system in 2006, nearly 800,000 tickets have been issued with $43.7 million collected.

On the other hand, the financial heft and organization behind the camera opponents comes largely from traffic-court attorneys, including Paul Kubosh, who make their living helping motorists fight tickets. Kubosh claims the city's motive for installing traffic cameras is profit rather than public safety. In his case, it's a pot-calling-the-kettle-black situation.

You can't rebut the "it's all about the money" argument for the cameras with "they want money, too." It's such a stupid argument.

I don't think anyone thinks running red lights is a good idea, nor do I really think that most reasonable people think it's an effective attempt to enforce criminal law. But here's the rub that I don't see how either side can refute: In four years they've issued over 800,000 tickets. One thing is very clear. The cameras do not stop people running red lights.

Posted 11/01/2010 08:13:00 PM by Douglas

The headline is all you need from this one:

Texas Democrats fear a stormy Tuesday

I guess only Democrats don't like to get rained on?

Posted 11/01/2010 07:56:00 PM by Douglas

Pretty funny video from the rally this weekend. Remember, liberals, it's the other side that's dumb, right?



I don't think "The Man Show" version of this is online, it's almost as funny as the fight to end women's suffrage.