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Tuesday, September 30, 2008
skippy's tuesday nite music club
the gaslight anthem - the '59 sound
and we're going to reward behaviour
university of washington sues to end bank contractthink this financial "institution" should rename itself to northern "non trust" and star in a teevee show "northern non-disclsure" think of how many scholarships given out or facilities to be maintained on campus with $7.5 million that was lost.
...according to the lawsuit, northern trust loaned $750 million of the uw's money under a securities lending agreement that started in april. but when the uw learned of a $750,000 loss and tried to terminate the agreement via both e-mail and fax on sept. 17, the bank didn't comply, and the uw continued to amass rapidly escalating losses.
the next day, northern trust notified the uw that a recalculation showed a $5.3 million loss for the university.
the university's contract with northern trust stipulated that uw officials could terminate the lending agreement "at any time by written notice," bringing an end to lending.
...by sept. 23, the day before the lawsuit was filed, the uw was informed that the loss had grown to $7.5 million. the lawsuit alleges that also on that day, uw officials talked with their northern trust contacts and were told that the bank would continue to loan the university's securities, and that funds would not be returned as was requested by the uw. - seattle pi
with this bailout bandied about on capitol hill this week...this is the type of behaviour we are condoning only we can't sue to get our hard earned taxdollars back.
Labels: banking, financial markets
ya know...for a journalism major kinda gal
some of the newspapers i have a daily or weekly propensity to read (and often link to)
asked what newspapers and magazines she reads, palin - a journalism major in college - could not name one publication.
"i've read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media," she said at first. couric responded, "what, specifically?"
"um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years." - huffington post
latte times, nytimes, san fracisco chron, wapo, sandy eggo union-trib, financial times, atlanta journal constitution,....pppssssttt...sarah...you might take note they don't have gasoline for their cars down there these days....nola/times picayune, houston chronicle, austin american statesman, seattle pi, boston globe, the oregonian, manchester union-leader, and locally since our local former pulizter prize winning newspaper was bought out by a union busting, community hating "multi-bazillionaire by divorce" chick, i don't read it anymore...i read the santa barbara independent. oh, i forgot matt taibii at the rolling stone.
hey...because i read more than palin, does that mean that i too can be a veep on someone's ticket?
Labels: local news, multi-millionaire media, palin
pelosi fumbles
and why on earth is the senate originating a spending bill?
Labels: bailout, bipartisanship, constitution, reid
quote of the day
here's one idea for a response to the financial crisis
thanks to comrade the moar you know,
mad about crybaby repubbblicans
on the street where you live
congress did the right thing by rejecting a bailout bill that did too much for wall street and too little for main street. don't cave in to wall street or white house pressure to ram through similarly flawed legislation. we need a new "new deal" that rescues main street and reigns in wall street.
i urge you to support legislation that rebuilds our economy from the bottom up. specifically, i urge you to:
invest in main street: on main street, jobs are disappearing, infrastructure is crumbling and local budgets are straining. a $200 billion economic rescue package for main street would generate clean american energy, extend unemployment benefits, aid states and localities to avoid debilitating cuts and modernize our crumbling infrastructure.
save the homeowners: defaulting mortgages are at the heart of the crisis. keeping deserving people in their homes is critical to shore up main street and wall street. the bankruptcy courts need to have the power to renegotiate mortgages and reduce foreclosures.
hold wall street accountable: instead of simply propping up reckless firms, we should establish a reconstruction finance corporation that can take over financial firms, sort out the solvent from the insolvent, close down some and merge others. we also need modern regulation that cracks down on the abuse. and taxpayers deserve preferred shares in any bank or investment house that we are forced to rescue.
thank you in advance for putting the interests of main street first.
say hello
veep debate....
....in recent days, gov. palin flubbed quasi-mock debates in new york city and philadelphia, some operatives said. finger-pointing began, and then intensified after her faltering interview with cbs anchorwoman katie couric.- wsj via excelsior1's kos diarybring caribou barbie on.
because for one thing she probably doesn't even listen to demon hunter
that is the findings of a survey that was just done for religion & ethics newsweekly by greenberg quinlan rosner…
mccain has solidified his support with this important component of the republican base with his choice of alaska governor sarah palin – a staunch conservative christian and mother of six — as his running mate.
but the survey found that while older white evangelical women were among palin's most ardent supporters, women below 30 from that group were far less enthusiastic about her.
it found palin's favorability rating among white evangelical women below 30 was only 46 percent; compared with 65 percent for white evangelical women over 30.
Monday, September 29, 2008
skippy's monday nite music club
talking heads - and she was
cute, chocolately...and
british confectioner cadbury has recalled all of its chinese-made candy products over fears that they may be contaminated with the chemical melamine, a company statement said monday.h/t bryan at why now?
...melamine is commonly used in coatings and laminates, wood adhesives, fabric coatings, ceiling tiles and flame retardants. some chinese dairy plants have added it to milk products to make it seem to have a higher protein level.- cnn
Labels: china, commercial, food, food safety, recalls
weapons of mass financial destruction
betting on america defaulting. wow. how "patriotic" is that? i say follow the money. who is making oodles off of america's destruction? then concentrate on creating a bill that works from bottom up...not top pisses down variety.
....the crisis occurred (to greatly oversimplify) because the financial system allowed entities to place bets on whether or not those mortgages would ever be paid. you didn't have to own a mortgage to make the bets. these bets, called credit default swaps, are complex. but in a nutshell, they allow someone to profit immensely - staggeringly - if large numbers of subprime mortgages are not paid off and go into default.
the profit can be wildly out of proportion to the real amount of defaults, because speculators can push down the price of instruments tied to the subprime mortgages far beyond what the real rates of loss have been. as i said, the profits here can be beyond imagining. (in fact, they can be so large that one might well wonder if the whole subprime fiasco was not set up just to allow speculators to profit wildly on its collapse...)
these credit default wwaps have been written (as insurance is written) as private contracts. there is nil government regulation of them. who writes these policies? banks. investment banks. insurance companies. they now owe the buyers of these credit default wwaps on junk mortgage debt trillions of dollars. it is this liability that is the bottomless pit of liability for the financial institutions of america.- ben stein at finance.yahoo.
Labels: financial markets, gambling, wall street
ask not for whom the poll tells, john mcmuffin...it tells for thee
in pennsylvania, obama now leads by eight percentage points, 50% to 42%.
in virginia, it's obama 50% and mccain 47%.
the candidates are within a single point of each other in colorado (obama 49%, mccain 48%), florida (obama 47%, mccain 47%), and ohio (mccain 48% obama 47%).
national polls and other state polling conducted by rasmussen reports indicate that obama gained ground before last friday night's debate, probably as a result of the economic turmoil that has dominated the news. since the debate, the rasmussen reports daily presidential tracking poll shows little change in the national numbers.
regardless of the timing and the cause, however, the overriding trend from the past week is a shift in the battleground states that favors obama.
polltrack has, among other things, not only an electoral map based on today's polling, but one based projected on current momentum, as well as a wild-guess election day stab-in-the-dark.
the end of the u.s. financial system as larry kudlow knows it
even worse, it's not because any congressjerks voted the way their constituents told them to; it's because minorities demand entitlements, like equity ownership thru warrants, those shiftless ne'er-do-wells. larry goes on:
i'm not forecasting, because i don't know the next bill's content. and while mccain's polls are heading south, he could still win. but a three-house dem sweep to implement some off the very onerous provisions being talked about could set up the end of the u.s. financial system as we know it.
poor larry. he'll have to get a real job.
addendum: we know we are picking a nit here (as opposed to kudlow, who would pick a ninny), but larry's got tense problems in his writings, too.
in the first paragraph quoted, after we take out the modifying phrases, larry tells us that "things...will all find itself" back in the bill. [emphasis, and snarky giggling, added.]
"all itself"? larry's identity issues are all itself problematic.
down jones -777 is bad
Labels: bailout, economy, republicans
repubbbs cut off economic nose to spite economic face, rest of body faces certain death
the next steps were unclear. the abrupt defeat left the bush administration and congressional leaders scrambling to put the bill up for another vote. a vote before wednesday is very unlikely.
and stock markets reacted violently. investors who had been counting on the rescue plan sent the dow jones industrial average down as much as 700 points while watching the measure come up short. the key stock reading was down nearly 600 points with about 15 minutes of trading left.
the measure, which is designed to get battered u.s. credit markets working normally again, needed 218 votes for passage. but it came up 13 votes short of that target, as the final vote was 228 to 205 against. about 60% of democrats and fewer than 33% of republicans voted for the measure.
"there is a panic mentality afoot today," said bruce bittles, chief investment strategist at robert w. baird.
gallup-ing away
the trend on the presidential horserace showed obama building momentum heading into friday's debate, moving from a tie earlier in the week to a five percentage point obama advantage through friday interviewing (most of which was conducted before the debate took place). the debate apparently has done nothing to halt or reverse that momentum. today's report includes two full days of interviewing following friday night's debate, both of which show obama with a healthy advantage over mccain. tuesday's report will provide the first fully post-debate three-day rolling average of voter preferences in the presidential election.
Labels: bailout, bipartisanship, greed
one has to wonder...
but "fannie mae"? that sounds like the name of a fried chicken chain, not a government-sponsored enterprise. "here's your $300,000 loan. what are your two sides?" "a roll of breath mints and a bottle of aspirin."
and freddie mac is even worse. that's supposed to be an acronym for federal home loan mortgage corporation. let's compare the two. fhlmc. freddie mac. hmmm... well, if i mash the "h" and the "l" together after smoking a foot-long joint, i can laugh all the way to the bank foreclosing on my home.yeah, i'm gonna put my trust in a financial outfit named freddie mac. i might have a freddie mac repair a car -- they sound like decent mechanics. but trusting one when it comes to money? sure, freddie, loan me $2,000 -- i want to put a hotel on park place.
by the way, folks, have you ever wondered that if people were calling the federal national mortgage association the fnma instead of fannie mae, and the federal home loan mortgage corporation the fhlmc instead of freddie mac, we might not be dealing with a $700 billion bailout right now? because fannie mae and freddie mac are not people just like you and me with hopes, dreams, and spirits. they're soulless corporations with bottom lines -- lines which, as far as taxpayers are concerned, may as well be bottomless.
perhaps we ought to start looking at and treating corporations that way...
Labels: bailout, corporations, corruption, snark
this is insane...
wachovia stock lost more than half its value in pre-market trading monday as investors mulled the fate of the bank, including a potential merger with one of its peers -- citigroup or wells fargo...
i think my next bank will be in the shape of a small pig...
Sunday, September 28, 2008
skippy's sunday nite music club
joan osborne & the funk bros. - what becomes of the broken hearted
the funk brothers were the house band of session musicians that were heard on most all of the early detroit motown records. this video, with the amazing joan osborne joining the band, is from the great documentary about the musicians who made up the funk brothers, called standing in the shadow of motown.
recall elections anyone?
bailouts r us
say hello
we get letters
i wanted to follow up on the couple of emails i sent to you over the past 2 weeks. my organization, international medical corps, was nominated to be one of the top 25 in american express' members projects, "saving the lives of malnourished children" and is in the running to receive up to $1.5 million to help feed hungry children.
there is only 1 day left in the voting and international medical corps is currently number 5 in the top 5 american express members projects. if we fall out of the top 5 we will receive no funding, so every vote counts. i wanted to make one last plea for you to post on skippy the bush kangaroo because it would really help our mission. i just added some new videos and blogger widgets to our social media press release here:
please let me know if you can post and please vote for "saving the lives of malnourished children." thank you so much.
--chessia kelley, international medical corps
The bailout plan that Congress has been crafting over the weekend is a result of bipartisan work that has incorporated safeguards for taxpayers and restrictions against profiteering by executives benefiting from the bailout.we are about to buy crapped on toilet paper for $700 billion. how could the bill keep executives from profiteering?
Labels: bailout, bipartisanship, things that make you go hmmmm
hope the governor watched snl this week
oh, and sarah, thanks for the little invitation you sent me to "accept alaska's free travel guide and visit us soon." sure it was basically it was a postage-paid questionaire for www.triptoalaska.com, but it sure looked like it was coming from the govenor's office, including a picture and "signature" of you. i find the wording a little confusing though...
"alaska is different from every other destination in the world. every day offers an unforgettable memory: a mother moose and calf, glaciers and mountains, unique native cultures, our russian legacy and gold rush days."russian legacy? russian? i thought you had your eyes on putin's head rising up and not in the marketing gig for the state's being part of the russian tribe.
the results are in: obama won the debate
obama scored even better -- 52%-35% -- when debate-watchers were asked which candidate offered the best proposals for change to solve the country's problems…
the poll suggested the debate was to some extent a wash for mccain: 21% of those who watched say it gave them a more favorable view of him, 21% say less favorable and 56% say it didn't change their opinion much.
three in 10 said their opinion of obama became more favorable after seeing the debate, compared to 14% who said less favorable and 54% who said it didn't make much difference.
here at skippy international, we are of the opinion that, tho it seemed like a tie (ie, no tko's on either side), the fact that obama looked far more presidential than what people who listened to mcmuffin's "he's not ready" ads had expected, plus the fact that mcmuffin is supposedly the "expert" on foreign policy and should have knocked it out of the park but didn't, gives obama the winning touchdown.
if we may mix sports metaphors.
just so there's no misunderstanding...
when i wrote that i haven't had to deal with hiv or aids yet and hope that i never do, i suppose i was engaging in a bit of wishful thinking. i'm not one to play around, but i am beginning to test the waters of the gay community, to get to know other gay people in my area. it's been a while since i made any friends, truth be told -- nearly all of the friends i have i left behind when i moved from massachusetts to virginia ten years ago. so i'm looking forward to making some new ones. it's been too long.
right now, i don't know anyone suffering from hiv or aids. but sooner or later, i will. and i already know it's gonna break my heart to see what they're going through.
there you have it.
til further on...
Labels: life
sunday morning youtubery...
this one was inspired by this culture ghost post.
Labels: music
Saturday, September 27, 2008
skippy's saturday nite music club
modest mouse - dashboard
uncivil liberties
You idiot! Bush has rolled you again. My children and my grandchildren will curse your name forever for saddling them with Bush's latest $700 billion grab. How dare you call yourself a Democrat? FDR and Truman would be ashamed of you.i found no reason to be polite about being mugged by awol and his henchman democrats.
Labels: action alert, bipartisanship, pelosi, robber barons
question of the day...
just curious...
Labels: questions
a modest proposal
that would (a) take care of the bad mortgage debt, (b) infuse much-needed capital into the economy, and (c) make way more sense.
too simplistic, you say? what does naomi klein, author of shock doctrine, say?
one of my favorite newman movies
shooting craps with americas future
the moment the car stopped at mccain's hotel in downtown new orleans, he set out at his usual fast clip for harrah's, across the street. mccain is an avid gambler. wes gullett, a close friend who worked for mccain for years, told me that they used to play craps in las vegas in fourteen-hour stints, standing at the tables from 10 a.m. to midnight. "craps is addictive," mccain remarked, and he headed for the fifteen-dollar-minimum-bet tables. at the most obvious level, the game is incredibly simple—players rotate turns throwing the dice, and you either win or lose depending on what number comes up. but mccain's betting formula makes it much more complicated. "uh-oh!" he cried, as a player accidentally threw the dice off the table. "this is a very, very superstitious game," he said. when his turn came to throw the dice, he picked them up and blew on them first. he had placed chips on the number 5, so (envisioning a combination of 2 and 3) he called, "michael jordan! michael jordan!" - the new yorker 2005
a lifelong gambler, mr. mccain takes risks, both on and off the craps table. he was throwing dice that night not long after his failed 2000 presidential bid, in which he was skewered by the republican party's evangelical base, opponents of gambling. mr. mccain was betting at a casino he oversaw as a member of the senate indian affairs committee, and he was doing so with the lobbyist who represents that casino, according to three associates of mr. mccain. - nytimes 2008mccain as president? america can't afford to take that bet.
Labels: gambling, lobbyists, mccain, social security
commentary magazine spin vs. commentary magazine facts
but the poll itself actually doesn't say that. this is blatant editorializing on the part of cnn. the first problem is the numbers:
the cnn/opinion research corp. survey is not a measurement of the views of all americans, since only people who watched the debate were questioned and the audience included more democrats than republicans.
irrespective and regardless (or is that "irregardless and respective"?) of the fact that no poll is an accurate reflection of anything, and completely ignoring the question of whether the exact same number of democrats and repubbblicans vote in any election, we'd like to point something out to mr. pollack.
not only is he "far from being a polling expert," but he's also apparently far from being a reading expert. the very second paragraph of the cnn piece states very clearly:
he goes on to complain about cnn's conclusion that the debate ended in a tie, which was, in essence, a win for obama. now, a case can be made that the headline touting a poll showing a win is different (and disengenuous) from an editorial opinion stating same.
but mr. pollack relinquishes his authority on what an article says, or purports to say, if he can't even read it correctly.
the caveat came clearly in the first part of cnn's piece before any poll details, not "buried, way down at the bottom of the story."
hopefully mr. pollack will learn that remedial reading classes are not anything to be ashamed of.
come on down!
our good buddy alicia morgan of last left turn b4 hooterville alerts us to the fact that her new book the price of right is now available on amazon!
it's not the computer per se, it's the nut on the keyboard
skroo the presidential debates...
this is one of the things i've been reading lately:
"circles" is a comic book about six gay anthropomorphic animals who all live in the same house. it takes its name and subtitle from a harry chapin song. it's the only comic book i've even bothered with since cerebus came to an end four years ago. it's very good. my personal favorite character is marty, the skunk -- he's got a heart of gold, and i love that. but the real heart of the comic is paulie, the mixed breed of dog. he's the patriarch of the house. everybody loves paulie. he's also hiv positive, and he got that way because of one careless act -- "circles" resonates with a lot of readers, some of whom have had to deal with the horrors of hiv and aids. me, i haven't had to go through any of that. yet. and i hope i never have to.
anyway, that's some of what i've been reading.
til further on...
Labels: books
our hearts are breaking today....
bless you paul and your amazing heartfelt performances and generosity of spirit.
Labels: entertainment, passings, paul newman
Friday, September 26, 2008
skippy's frieday nite music club
the vienna philharmonic - overture, la gazza ladra by gioacchino rossini
when most people think of the great rossini overtures, naturally the william tell or the marriage of figaro will come to mind. but our personal favorite is the thieving magpie, which is as exciting as the william tell, but a bit more comical in execution. rossini did a wonderful job of evoking a big black bird coniving to find some food or trick some poor sucker out of his treat, or, in this case, a silver spoon.
here maestro claudio abbado flawlessly conducts the vienna philharmonic in the 1991 new year's concert.
addendum: minstrel boy and batocchio have both expressed fondness for claudio abbado as a conductor, so for them, and anyone else who loves expressive baton-wielding, we remind everyone of our previous skippy's late nite music club episode wherein we presented herr abbado & the vienna philharmonic doing rossini's william tell overture.
master debaters
forty percent of uncommitted voters who watched the debate tonight thought barack obama was the winner. twenty-two percent thought john mccain won. thirty-eight percent saw it as a draw.
forty-six percent of uncommitted voters said their opinion of obama got better tonight.
sixty-eight percent of uncommitted voters think obama would make the right decisions about the economy. forty-one percent think mccain would.
Labels: aWol
he go ego
the debate is
on off on!
mccain suspended his presidential campaign with much fanfare on wednesday, insisting that the crisis in financial markets and the seeming stalemate on capitol hill required that politics be set aside for the good of the country.
but, over the intervening 24 hours, mccain saw what at first looked like a brilliant political gambit turn into a nightmare, as an apparent done deal to save the financial industry devolved into a partisan shouting match at the white house that left congressional negotiators back at square one.
walk like a man
time for another king crimson fix...
when i finally broke down and began posting youtube clips along with the rest of blogtopia last year, this was the song i picked to be my first. this is one of my favorites -- and i had the pleasure of seeing king crimson perform it live, too. nowadays, it seems like it ought to be wall street's official theme song.
(inspired by bartkid...)
somebody haul john mccain to the nearest hospital...
...in less than 48 hours, mccain went from "i'm far too patriotic to debate unless there is a deal that is done -- there's no deal until there's a deal" to "i'm going to debate even though there's no deal." is there any other way to describe that other than, as spencer ackerman put it, a "humiliating failure"? the new york times's patrick healy today inanely ponders whether "in a time of crisis, is obama too cool?" (didn't rudy giuliani become the greatest man ever in history because of his post-9/11 coolness?) but surely excessive stoicism is vastly preferable to the sort of unstable, flailing panic that mccain has exhibited this week, where he issues a definitive, emphatic pledge which, less than 2 days later, is completely abandoned with little real explanation...
seriously, what the hell is wrong with that man?
Labels: mccain
three card monte
and mish's opinion of the current bail out fiasco is mainly: it's a scam...
the answer is simple: if people see the actual details of the proposal they will understand it is a bad deal for the taxpayer and a great deal for wall street.
it is the very same mad rush to judgment that kicked of the war in iraq. does anyone remember talk of "mushroom clouds"? does anyone remember dick cheney saying "we know where they are"? this week we see the same action from paulson and bernanke.
the only difference is the message this time is about "financial mushroom clouds". the rush is needed because if anyone looked at the deal they could see taxpayers being left holding the bag.
tonight we see an unprecedented break in the ranks from current fed governor richard fisher who says bank rescue plan would worsen fiscal 'chasm'.
it is not often a fed governor tells the fed chairman to go to hell. but that is what happened just tonight.
former fed governor william poole has stated "these are grand ideas that cannot be executed. there will be one stumbling block after another. i am very leery of jumping in with emergency measures like this."…
bloomberg is reporting hundreds of economists urge congress not to rush on rescue plan…
click here to see the letter from economists to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president pro tempore of the senate. http://faculty.chicagogsb.edu/john.cochrane/research/papers/mortgage_protest.htm
what is it that paulson knows that 190+ economists don't? after all paulson was telling us all how safe the us banking system was just a few weeks ago.
i will tell you what paulson knows: he knows the longer and closer the taxpayer looks at this bill the angrier the taxpayer will become…
sadly, i must tell you that house speaker pelosi is standing behind paulson and backing this absurd deal. see house speaker nancy pelosi sells out.
please let her know what you think. everyone in the country should email nancy pelosi: email nancy pelosi. if that email bounces, please try this one email nancy pelosi.
heck, please do both. let her know how you really feel about her sellout to corporate interests on the taxpayer's back. nancy pelosi is speaker of the house. she should take all of american voters interests in mind. she is failing to do so. let her know. after you email her please call her up. here is here phone number (202) 225-4965. you might also want to try her district number (415) 556-4862.
toon time
mad about mcmuffins missing the debate
boohoo for wamu
washington mutual, the giant lender that came to symbolize the excesses of the mortgage boom, was seized by federal regulators on thursday night, in what is by far the largest bank failure in american history.
...customers of wamu, based in seattle, are unlikely to be affected, although shareholders and some bondholders will be wiped out.- nytimes
the bailout also fulfills jpmorgan chief executive jamie dimon's long-held goal of becoming a retail bank force in the western united states. it comes four months after jpmorgan acquired the failing investment bank bear stearns cos at a fire-sale price through a government-financed transaction.
...jpmorgan has suffered less than many rivals from the credit crisis, but has been hurt. it said on thursday it has already taken $3 billion to $3.5 billion of write-downs this quarter on mortgages and leveraged loans. - reuters
banks are not to be trusted. this is not just the view of the public and policymakers, but that of the banks themselves. - ft.com via jerome a paris at the great orangey onewhat happens when jpmorganchasebearstearnswamu goes belly up for being too big with too much debt not so much money?
i think my next financial institution...bank o'mattress.
Labels: banking, financial markets
"left eye" mcain
peter over at the young turks thinks that there's something to it....
it's being reported that mccain has a new make up artist that is apparantly attached to his hip. she is alwasy by his side and there to give a quick touch up whenever he needs one. mccain's campaign is paying tv-ready by makeup artist tifanie white, who's worked on so you think you can dance and american idol $5,583.43 for her services, according to the federal election commission. while this suddenly makes john edward's $400 haircut pale in comparison, it still leaves one scratching their heads for such an outrageous purchase.
so why is mccain paying for so much just for make up? the answer came to us during the conference when mccain made his statement that he was suspending his campaign. while i was surfing the net and doing my own thing, i had msnbc running in the background and they were recapping mccain's statement, and my older brother was walking by and he made a comment that caught my attention, "what the hell is wrong with that guy's eye?"
Labels: healthcare, mccain
Thursday, September 25, 2008
the hell with it (part two)...
why i'm even considering going through with what i'm about to tell you all, i don't know. but...
okay. politically, i gravitate toward the liberal, and to a lesser extent, the libertarian, waters. but on the behavioral level, i'm usually conservative as hell, if not downright puritan in my conduct. some examples: i have never understood why guys would get their ears pierced; i don't see why guys go ahead and get tattoos; and although i've said here and elsewhere that i'm a fageleh (that's yiddish for "fag", as near as i can tell), i don't feel compelled to engage in the "we're here we're queer" type of nonsense.
all the same... 1) i'm interested in getting at least one of my ears pierced; 2) i'm eager to have some sort of gay-related tattoo etched onto some part of my body; and 3) truth be told, ever since i started telling people i was a fageleh, i've been generally calmer in temperament and more comfortable in my own skin. (no, senoras and horsemen, i don't get it either. but it works, so it's all good.) for reasons beyond my ken, my behavioral conservatism is slowly disintegrating. it doesn't please me. but...
oh, screw it -- hello,
i am such a homo...
Labels: it is what it is, life
skippy's thursday nite music club
abbe may - costanza
cute song
if you put lipstick on a flying pig...
the truth about earmarks & sarah palin
say hello
given that we would never have had the odious george w. bush in the white house in the first place if it wasn't for your blowjobs, bill, it seems obvious that you owe it to the people of this country, and especially to the parents whose kids died in the iraq war that gore would never have started, and to all the parents whose kids would be killed in the warfest that would be a mccain/palin -- sorry, palin/mccain -- administration to do everything in your power to get barack obama elected.
but that's not what you're doing, bill, and it's not going unnoticed. we see your rage, bill, it's too huge to hide. we see that -- as chris rock so brilliantly pointed out -- it pains you to even speak obama's name. we see you petulantly rooting against him even as you go through the motions of doing the barest minimum on his behalf to avoid being blamed if he loses... {huffington post}
wow. when was the last time that guy had a beejay?
yes, i voted for obama in my state's primary, and no, i have never been anything remotely resembling a bill clinton fan (or a hillary fan, for that matter). but that huffpo piece is really friggin' stupid...
(link via bartcop...)
Labels: it is what it is, politics
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
psssst. corporate media and ol' miss
- alan keyes (wiley s. drake, sr. veep) - american independent
- cynthia mckinney (rosa clemente veep) - green party
- bob barr (wayne a. root veep) - libertarian
- ralph nader (matt gonzalez veep) - peace and freedom
Labels: debates
i can has cheezeburger book?
more animals
and u can has it too!
Labels: humour
top reason not to blow off letterman
1 trillion here....25 billion there...and 25 billion down the road
with congress preoccupied with the massive, $700 billion bailout plan for the financial industry, general motors, ford, and chrysler have finally secured part one of their own federal rescue plan. a bill set to be passed by congress and signed by president bush as early as this weekend—separate from the controversial wall street bailout plan—includes $25 billion in loans for the beleaguered detroit automakers and several of their suppliers. "it seemed like a lot when we first started pushing this," says democratic sen. debbie stabenow of michigan, one of the bill's sponsors. "suddenly, it seems so small."so i can't get a renter's credit on my income tax return, but gm (getting billions of my tax money for bailing it out) get a $136 million tax break? give me a freakin' break.
...there's more aid coming. this year's $25 billion is just a down payment. the automakers now plan to ask the government for another $25 billion in loans next year. it's just spare change, after all. - usnews&world report
a city council committee gave tentative approval today to general motors corp. for a $136 million tax break so the company can build their chevy volt at the detroit/hamtramck assembly plant. - detroit newspigs at the trough. i'm sure that the vice presidential debates just might be cancelled so caribou barbie can go to detroit to look like she's knows anything about anything and talk about "hummers."
Labels: bailout, general motors, greed, palin, taxes, taxpayers
skippy's wednesday nite music club
phantom planet - do the panic
the sound is kind of funky at first in this video...but not in the actual song, which is quite good.
say hello
a decent start, if you're still inclined to vote democratic...
the moral of the story: karma's a bitch...
Labels: funny stuff, government, wall street
mad about mcmuffin's memory purge
the great treasury heist of '08
the html, if you wish to post it on your blog, is:
<a href="http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp1150.htm">ehrlichman's revenge</a>
Labels: bailout, corruption, nixon
another macaca moment for the gop
and de baca has officially resigned.
what's a few billion among friends?
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
skippy's tuesday nite music club
dee dee sharp - mashed potato time
why even vote for democrats
democrats have decided to allow a quarter-century ban on drilling for oil off the atlantic and pacific coasts to expire next week, conceding defeat in a months-long battle with the white house and republicans set off by $4 a gallon gasoline prices this summer. - sfgatespineless, cojonesfree brie eating, chardonnay swilling surrender monkeys.
wonder if they have ever seen our gentle neighbors in the channel, whose lives and welfare they just threw under the speedboat.
Labels: democrats, losers, offshore drilling, oil
from the your guess is as good as ours dept.
does anybody have any idea what this commericial is about?
what if there was a financial disaster and nobody came?
- why did the bush administration suddenly declare a "crisis" during the final two weeks when congress would be in session during his presidency? is it maybe because, after the election, congress would know it wasn't dealing with bush anymore?
- if this is such a sudden crisis, why is it that the bush administration was drawing up the plan for this bill for months beforehand?
- why is it that congress is supposed to bail out many banks and firms that are actually quite successful and profitable right now, and not just those that are failing?
- why is paulson blatantly lying to congress about oversight?
- where did the $700 billion figure come from?
- why is paulson urging that debate on the matter be held after the legislation is passed?
for example, consider morgan stanley's balance sheet as of 8/31/08. total assets were $988.8 billion, with shareholder equity (including junior subordinated debt) of $42.1 billion, for a gross leverage ratio of 23.5. however, the company also has approximately $200 billion in long-term debt to its bondholders, primarily consisting of senior debt with an average maturity of about 6 years. why on earth would congress put the u.s. public behind these bondholders?
the stockholders and bondholders of the company itself should be the first to bear losses, not the public. that is the essence of what a free and fair market, and a responsible government would enforce. the investors in the companies that produced the losses should be accountable for them, and the customers and counterparties should be protected.
baby needs new shoes!
According to research by economists at Merrill Lynch, after the Resolution Trust Corp. was established in 1989 to stop the savings and loan crisis, it took a year for the stock market to hit bottom, two years for the economy and three years for the housing market.
After Japan put a bailout plan in place, its stock market took another five years to recuperate, and by some measures, its economy still hasn't had a sustainable recovery, according to Merrill's chief North American economist, David Rosenberg.
Labels: corporations, corruption, financial markets
Monday, September 22, 2008
skippy's monday nite music club
gerard mcmann - cry little sister
the video is a compilation of scenes from the flick the lost boys, which introduced this song to the population at large. "gerard mcmann" is actually a pseudonym for gerald mcmahon and michael mainieri, who wrote it. mcmahon sung it.
thom hartmann issues a "conservative alert"
Labels: air america, lobbyists, mccain
mccain says if you're here illegally...welcome!
there are 50,000 irish men and women who are in this country illegally at this time, who are hard-working people, who want to become citizens. and i want to assure you that we will enact comprehensive immigration reform, after they do certain things, obviously, give them a path to citizenship in this country as part of an overall immigration reform package. - think progress
Labels: immigration, mccain, youtube
revisiting a few other bailouts
(you might not remember the prince, but murdoch and faux news certainly do...and rudy guiliani certainly does....by the way...the prince is saying "thanks but no thanks" in helping out flailing wall street companies this time.)
prince al-waleed bin talal is poised to once again come to the rescue of citigroup inc.
this time, the saudi billionaire is expected to be joined by other investors, including the china development bank, people familiar with the matter said.
while it isn't clear how much prince alwaleed will invest, the chinese entity is expected to invest roughly $2 billion, one person said. prince alwaleed's total stake in citigroup is likely to remain below 5% in order to avoid regulatory scrutiny. however, given that citi has a stock-market value of $140 billion, even a 1% stake would end up being a significant sum of money. - wall street journal article via gata.org
businessweek revisits some bailouts too....some of the more recent include....
- fannie mae and freddie mac - sept. 7, 2008
- bear stearns - mar. 16, 2008
- mbia - dec. 10, 2007
- ubs - dec. 10, 2007
- e*trade financial - nov. 29, 2007
- citigroup - nov. 26, 2007
- countrywide financial - aug. 22, 2007
- goldman sachs hedge fund - aug. 13, 2007
cheney has dumped another (estimated) $10 to $25 million in a european bond fund which tells us that he is counting on a steadily weakening dollar. so, while working class americans are loosing ground to inflation and rising energy costs, darth cheney will be enhancing his wealth in "old europe". as blackburn sagely notes, "not all bad news' is bad for everybody."
this should put to rest once and for all the foolish notion that the "bush economic plan" is anything more than a scam aimed at looting the public till. the whole deal is intended to shift the nation's wealth from one class to another. it's also clear that bush-cheney couldn't have carried this off without the tacit approval of the thieves at the federal reserve who engineered the low-interest rate boondoggle to put the american people to sleep while they picked their pockets.- counterpunch (2006)
things that make you go...hmmmmmm. i'll leave my tinfoil hat on for awhile.
Labels: aWol, bailout, cheney, corporations, corruption, economy
is this one on snopes?
dear american:
i cordially correspond today to request you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.
i am ministry of the treasury of the republic of america. my country has had crisis that has caused the need for urgently large transfer of funds of 800 billion usd. if you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.
i am working with mr. phil gramm, lobbyist for ubs, who (god willing) will be my replacement as ministry of the treasury in january. as a former u.s. congressional leader and the architect of the palin / mccain financial doctrine, you may know him as the leader of the american banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. as such, you can be assured that this transaction is 100% safe.
this is a matter of great urgency. we need a blank check. we need the funds as quickly as possible. we cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. my family lawyer advised me that i should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred. for this inconvenience you will be rewarded with grand fees of 1/1,000,000th of 1% of possible profits due to off shore laundering of skim funds due to reprinting of said funds.
please reply with mother's maiden name, routing and account numbers of all of your bank account, ira and college fund accounts and those of your children and grandchildren to firstname.lastname@example.com so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. after i receive that information, i will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.
yours faithfully,
minister of treasury paulson
addendum: how about sending them all emails w/one click?
dead-eye dodd
then marshal dodd came swinging through doors, shotgun in hand, and said "not so fast hank. put the gun down, and back away from the economy. we're going to do this my way."
for a moment calm reigned, then from off one side came a high pitched squeak, "you just put down that gun dodd," said bush as he leveled his blunderbuss "the veto" at dodd, "and you let my good friend hank walk away with the money or i'll use this gun." he swivelled and instead of aiming it at dodd, put its muzzle right against the economy's head. "i'll do it. don't think i won't! i've killed an economy before!"
hand still on the trigger, dodd glanced over at reid. the old man's fighting days, some said, were long gone. dodd hoped reid had one big fight left in him. if he didn't, the economy was done, and paulson would get away, scot-free.
at least he admits it
seniors hobble over to obama, thanks to the economy
the poll also indicates that more americans think obama, the democratic presidential nominee, would do a better job handling an economic crisis than mccain, the republican presidential nominee. forty-nine percent of those questioned say obama would display good judgment in an economic crisis, 6 points higher than the number who said the same about mccain. and obama has a 10 point lead over mccain on the question of who would better handle the economy overall…
where did obama make his gains?
"in two core mccain constituencies: men, who now narrowly favor obama. and seniors, who have also flipped from mccain to obama," says cnn senior political analyst bill schneider.
when including only those people most likely to vote, the results are pretty much the same: among likely voters, obama has a 4 point lead, 51 percent to 47 percent.
the new cnn poll of polls also shows obama with a similar advantage — 49 percent for obama to 44 percent for john mccain.
"the economy has always been considered john mccain's achilles' heel, and the cnn poll of polls started to show an obama edge in the middle of last week — just as the financial crisis began to hit home for many americans," said cnn polling director keating holland.
call your congressjerks today!
call your congressjerks today! tell them not to, under any circumstances, give paulson the blank check he's asking for.
mish explains why, and has a better plan. as he says, any plan is a better plan.
the economist's view agrees w/krugman, paulson's plan sucks!!!
there's a reason it's called a "depression"
in friedman's view, if the fed had provided emergency lending to key banks in 1929, smaller banks would not have failed and the money supply would not have fallen as far and as fast as it did, devastating an already floundering american economy. the great depression that lasted almost a decade would have instead been a severe recession, lasting only a few years...
over the next six weeks, friedman's theories will be put to the test. will they save us from financial disaster?
to succeed, the paulson/bernanke bailout plan must overcome several significant hurdles.
after stabilizing the banking system by purchasing all the "toxic" sub-prime mortgages and removing them from the books of financial institutions, there will remain a massive surplus of housing on the market. until that surplus is whittled away, housing values will remain depressed, as will the fortunes of related industries like construction and building supplies.
with tighter mortgage requirements, there will be less people able to qualify for loans to buy the available homes. potential home buyers might choose to remain on the sidelines, waiting for the market to hit bottom. sluggish home sales are likely to continue to drag on the economy unless the paulson/bernanke plan is able to quickly get people buying houses again.
while we wait for the housing surplus to disappear, the national economy will continue to cool. more people will be laid-off. state and city governments will begin belt-tightening. confidence in the future is likely to remain elusive, discouraging consumers from making big purchases and businesses from expanding. the longer the economy cools, the deeper the slowdown.
finally, just like during the run-up to the great depression, other major world economies are struggling. today, international financial institutions that were heavily invested in aig, fannie may and freddie may, are trying to add up their losses. leading banks in europe, russia, china, and across asia are furiously struggling to ascertain how many sub-prime loans are in their portfolios. england and spain are wrestling with the economic impact of their own housing bubbles.


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HGTV will feature an episode titled "Celebrity Motor Homes" on June 8.
During the one-hour special, host Carter Oosterhouse visits the extravagant RVs of award-winning hip-hop producer Timbaland, country superstar Ronnie Dunn and X Factor judge Simon Cowell and reveals a look inside the private spaces where they relax and unwind on the road, according to a news release.
"Celebrity Motor Homes" premieres at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
About HGTV
America's leading home and lifestyle brand, HGTV features a top-rated cable network that is distributed to more than 99 million U.S. households and the HGTV website, HGTV.com, the nation's leading online home-and-garden destination that attracts an average of four million unique visitors per month. The brand also includes the HGTV HOME consumer products line which showcases exclusive collections of paint, flooring, soft goods and other home-oriented products, as well as HGTV Magazine, a new home and lifestyle publication published in partnership with Hearst Magazines.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Create a smooth wall surface with this closed-cell 1/8? foam padding that helps to prevent rust, corrosion, and other wall degradation from puncturing your liner. Help keep your liner like-new for years to come with wall foam! See image above to determine how many rolls of Wall Foam you need for your pool size.


text:
Decoding Southern California Edison's Rates
Decoding Southern California Edison's Rates
It requires you to put in a separate meter and I determined it was not cost effective.
Yes - you have to put in a separate meter (no charge to you), in addition to the installation of the Tesla charger vs 240 plug connection ($800 to an electrician for installation/shut-off switch). If you use timed-charging after midnight (like the Roadster currently - coming for the Model S) > you're switched to the top tier the rest of the day! My electricity bill went up by over $100 a month until I had solar panels installed and started selling electricity back to the solar company. My SCE bill for the year was $1950 (I have a pool). SCE is potentially being sued for overcharges since the San Onofre plant was shut down - ratepayers are paying for non-production by at least 30%.
The no-brainer (if you charge off-peak) is the Time-of-Use rate TOU-D-TEV. No additional meter required. Activation is fast. http://www.sce.com/NR/sc3/tm2/pdf/CE324.pdf
I use this rate for my BMW Active E and save at least 50% on my EV charging expense. On the AE, we can program a timer to start the charging after midnight. With the Tesla, charging from fully depleted to fully full will take a bit longer, so most people might just plug it in before retiring for the night.
@astraussmd If you switched to TOU-EV-1 with a second meter, the first meter would stay on your original plan and the second meter, as long as you charge at night, should be pretty economical (except for the install). Is that not what happened?
Had a second 200 amp meter panel installed for the Volt two years ago knowing the Model S was on order. Now with just the Tesla, I am pleased with the 9 PM to 12 noon TOU-EV-1 rate since I need some air conditioning during the summer days. The second meter for the EV plus using LED lamps and HVAC zoning in the house helps keep the Edison bill from rising above the third tier.
If no one is at home weekdays between 10 and 6 and you can turn off the air conditioning during those hours, then the single meter plan should be considered. Install a High Power Wall Connector to charge the Model S fully between midnight and 6 AM for maximum savings.
@astraussmd - may the second meter is free but installation is not. I'm considering getting it, but would like to see a setting on the Model S where I could plug it in when I get home at 6pm but defer charging until after 9pm. I don't want to have to walk out to the garage again for this.
I also looked at time-of-day charging with one meter, but it was not cost-effective for me, even factoring in charging the Model S.
is there no timed charger in the S ? plug in at 7pm, but charge starts at 12am ?
Android app just became available with timed charging.. http://www.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/model-s-android-app#comment-131249
iOS not out yet...
For SDG&E, they have EV-TOU 2. Single meter (house and car), peak rates (noon-6pm). Off peak all other hours except midnite-5 am which is super off peak. The drawback is you do not get a defined readout on how many KwH you are using for the MS. The cost for installing a second meter for EV-TOU 1 is prohibitive, so it looks like we will be converting all of our electric onto TOU-2.
EV-TOU-2 Rates: Off peak ($.16), super off-peak ($.14), peak ($.26). TOU-EV-1 has the same rates, but you can keep the house on standard rates and use the second meter for MS on TOU (plus pay for the meter)
I also added a second 200A panel, and I'm going to use the TOU-EV-1 rate plan for the second meter. Just think both meters start at tier one! I also added 12,568 CEC AC watts, that is 40 modules / inverters for the house, and 20 module . inverters for the cars. I'm pushing the limit, and the SCE NEM (net metering group) is not aware of the EV group, even having the second meter option.
My wife is a respiratory therapist and works nights, so we need to keep the house on the rate plan D, so that we canrun the AC while she sleeps during the day.
Let see if this works. Here is a picture of my ground mount array, a total of 60 modules. It is about 13 by 81 feet long.
Try Two. Here is a picture of my ground mount array, a total of 60 modules. It is about 13 by 81 feet long.
Use standard HTML <img> tags. Requires web address/URL.
Of course, before installing a second meter, consider the solar option, provided that your home can support it. Solar will toss all those SCE rate tables in the trash. I'll be getting bids in March and it seems likely that I can install a 4-5 KWhr system and roughly break even on my electric bill.
I looked into solar, first 3 years ago, and again last summer. It would take me 8-10 years to break even (assuming all goes as planned). I decided against it. Part of the problem is that my house has a spanish tile roof, and Solar City won't install on it. The roof of my detached two-car garage is flat, but due to rules about how far the panels must be from the edge of the roof, only about 50% of the area of the roof could be used for panels. That is not enough to offset my electric bill, although it would bring me down to a lower tier. My lowest tier is 13 cents/kWh, highest tier 33 cents/kWh.


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A man who screamed racist abuse at an American football fan who had traveled to Dublin for the Notre Dame-Navy Emerald Classic game last year has had a warrant issued for his arrest.
Declan Nolan (24), of Harcourt Street, admitted to shouting the "n-word" at passers-by in Dublin's city center. Nolan failed to appear in court for the hearing of his case. An arrest warrant has now been issued.
The accused previously pleaded guilty to public intoxication and breach of the peace, by using threatening behavior.
Police Officer Philip Earl was on the scene on Dame Street, Dublin 2, on September 1, 2012. He told the court Nolan was in a "highly agitated state."
Earl reported that Nolan was "shouting abuse and screaming 'f****** n******' at passers-by." The police officer explained that due to the Notre Dame-Navy game there were thousands of people in the Temple Bar area at the time.
When the officer approached Nolan and asked him to calm down he failed to comply. He was arrested and brought to Pearse Street Police Station. He gave the police "various addresses and variations on his date of birth."
The police found there was another warrant for Nolan's arrest at the time and that he had 20 previous convictions including a two-year suspended sentence in 2011 for burglary.
The Herald reported that Judge Michael Walsh issued a bench warrant for his arrest and sentencing.


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Last week, Groupon and a Michigan car dealer announced the first Groupon for new cars, offering $500 off the price of a new or used vehicle for $200. This bold embrace of modern Internet marketing netted exactly four takers.
The dealer group, LaFontaine, had said at least ten bidders would need to take part before the coupon went into effect, but decided to honor the bids anyway and sold cars to two of the four Groupon-ers. Groupon says it will refund the money of anyone who took part in the company's first expansion beyond oil changes and discounts on restaurants. Of course, those deals are typically for up to half off goods with set prices, while $500 discounts have a habit of disappearing in the cologne mists of a dealer's finance department.
Which might explain the lack of enthusiasm.
Photo Credit: AP


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ON THE GULF OF MEXICO — With success uncertain, a boat carrying a 100-ton concrete-and-steel contraption designed to siphon off the oil fouling the Gulf of Mexico arrived at the scene Thursday in an unprecedented attempt to cap a blown-out well spewing hundreds of thousands of gallons a day. Another boat with a crane would start lowering the box to ...Read More »
Home » Tag Archives: Frank Besson
Tag Archives: Frank Besson
Giant dome for Gulf oil leak is next best solution
NEW ORLEANS — The best short-term solution to bottling up a disastrous oil spill threatening sealife and livelihoods along the Gulf Coast should be arriving on Wednesday in the form of a specially built giant concrete-and-steel box designed to siphon the oil away. Crews for contractor Wild Well Control were putting the finishing touches Tuesday on the 100-ton containment dome. ...Read More »


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The Oaks Montessori School is dedicated to total quality education. Our mission is to provide a safe, nurturing, creative learning environment for the whole person. Children attending the school will be exposed to a method which will facilitate the growth of inner discipline and later complex reasoning through a free choice and organized use of didactic materials within an atmosphere conducive to these ends.
Visit the School.


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Freedom to Marry campaigned to
By elevating voices of supporters in the South, we can send a message that America is ready for the freedom to marry.
Winning the freedom to marry nationwide requires going back to the Supreme Court - and in order to create the best climate for a national win, we need to work together to grow support for the freedom to marry across the South. We are proud to present a new bipartisan organizing effort alongside 13 honorary co-chairs from 9 of the southern states and 13 awesome state and regional partner…
Ashley and Gabriela celebrated their love and commitment after 11 years in New Jersey - now they need the freedom to marry in their home…Read More
Meet the man that says North Carolina's same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional.
"There was a public push, of course, with national opinion shifting in favor of same-sex marriage, but there was also a concerted effort by…Read More
Oppression of any kind has to end!!! The human race can never move on spiritually until we have gotten past our differences and we've learned to live together and work together to save our ailing planet, save our brothers from dying the world over from hunger and disease. Imagine if our…Read More
things are changing, though.


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Scott McMillin necesitaba un nuevo diseño de otro y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 68 diseños de 22 diseñadores freelance.
HairtechGear or Ribbons and Lace
Michelle and Scott's Wholesale Imports is an importer who sells to businesses for resale. We sell fashion accessories, fashion jewelry and hair accessories. We sell mainly through our website http://www.wholesaleimport.com and you can vist our website to view our merchandise.
indenendent business owners and buyers for independent businesses in the fashion hair accessory line.
This is a card which will hold hair barretts and ponyholders. The card is made to hang up in a department store. Depending on the merchandise, the card size varies from about 3 1/2 inches wide by 10 inches tall, down to about 3 1/2 inches wide by 7 inches tall. The merchandise will cover the center of the card, so the design is primarily on the top of the card and around the border. Visit our website at http://www.wholesaleimport.com and type in the following item number in the quick search box to get an example of designs we have used before. 84001, 84002, 84003, 84004, 84040, 84159. We have used the name "Ribbons and Lace" before but also have a name registered "HairTechGear" which we will be launching soon. The HairTechGear name will also be on a line of beauty supplies and there may be another contest for some of those items in the future.


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Fremd bands perform at Disney, Outback Bowl
Band students from William Fremd High School had the opportunity to perform in Florida during their winter break the last week of December.
The Fremd "Florida Band" consisted of 115 freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors enrolled in the school's four symphonic bands. Band Director Matthew Moore and 11 parent chaperones accompanied the students on the trip.
The band performed in the Disney World Magic Kingdom "Electric Light Parade" in Orlando, and also participated in Disney's "You're Instrumental" Recording Studio Workshop.
During the 2½-hour educational workshop, the band learned about demands of recording Disney movie soundtracks -- recording seven different selections. The workshop concluded with the band recording two minutes of Disney's Tarzan synced to the movie's animation.
Moore said students enjoyed working with the Disney band director/clinician, who is originally from Plainfield, Ill., and attended Western Illinois University.
The band then traveled to Tampa and participated in numerous musical events with the Outback Bowl.
The Fremd Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, and Jazz Ensemble all received educational clinics from the Outback Bowl's three college band directors: Richard Miles from Morehead State University, Larry Blocher from Troy University and William Rapp from Kutztown University.
The band also participated in the Outback Bowl New Year's Eve parade in Ybor, Fla., performing to a large and enthusiastic crowd of University of Michigan and South Carolina fans during the 1½-mile parade route. The band was awarded third place in the large band division in the Parade Marching Competition.
On New Year's Day, the band combined with 15 other high school marching bands to perform in the mass half-time band at the Outback Bowl game. The show featured 2,200 students performing a six-minute "Beach Medley" and "Armed Forces Salute" for the crowd.
The Fremd bands received the following recognitions: Jazz Ensemble -- Gold Rating, first place in large band division, Grand Champion Award; Wind Symphony -- Gold Rating, first place in large band division; Symphonic Band -- Silver Rating, second band division; and Viking Marching Band -- Gold Rating, third place in large band division.


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PHP General Guide
If you're reading this you're either looking for tips, or curious about what interesting stuff I can possibly add to an already amazing forum. I'm going to dispense some tips about general PHP development practices based on my experience, my experience with other developers and my experience with Coding Forums.
I will be adding to this post reguarly depending on what I've had to moderate in the last week, and comments I've recieved.
1.1. Formatting for the forum: This has been said so many times before. Please ensure your PHP code is surrounded by [php]code[/php] tags, and your HTML, Javascript etc is surrounded by [code]html/js[/code]. This isn't just people being too lazy to read your code. There's a reason syntax highlighting editors are so popular: It makes it a HELL of a lot easier to read. Please do us all the courtesy of remembering this.
1.2. Controverial though it may seem, the community as a whole are following some vague variation of http://framework.zend.com/manual/en/...-standard.html - I don't like all of it, and I don't expect you to either. I break some of their guidelines on a daily basis, but I have 10 years experience of reading my own PHP. Try and meet as many of those guidelines as you feel able to. It's not about some facist coding law, it's about standard ways of code layout that the majority of people can read easily.
1.3. To follow on from 1.1 and 1.2: Code that's easy to read is easy to support. If you want support, make it easy for people to help you.
1.4. Try and keep your HTML, CSS, Javascript and PHP separate from each other. It might look pretty to mix a dozen PHP code segments into your HTML, but I can assure you: It impresses no one. Do as much as possible in a separate PHP file, and make your HTML file use the absolute minimum of PHP. If that whopping chunk of PHP inside that lovely HTML table can be put into a function, in an included file, do it.
1.5. MVC: Read up on it, if you can. I'm not saying MVC is the best idea in the world, but it's good and it involves separating your HTML, PHP and Database specific code. This is always a great thing. Please read and consider this as it will, I promise, make your life easier later on.
1.6. Magic Quotes are the worst thing in the programming world, ever. This is a PHP feature that automatically puts a \ infront of ' and " in an effort to make SQL safer. It was a terrible idea when it was implemented. It's a terrible idea now. It will continue to be a terrible idea forever. If you actually use this feature and have no current plans to phase it out, please stand in line as there are hundreds of thousands of people wanting to slap you for it. See 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3.
1.7. Namespacing: Yes, there's a new feature in PHP 5.3 that allows a specific thing called "namespacing". You don't need 5.3 to implement a poor man's version of it. Do you want to write a function called "count()"? Yes, PHP already has a function called count, so you can work around it. What if you include a framework or file later that has the same function or class names? That's a pretty fast way to break a website. If you're working for Acme Inc, why not prefix all your code with acme? acmeCount() is much less likely to be in use than count(), and you'll know it's yours every step of the way. This goes for your javascript too: acme = {}; - put all your functions inside that {} and call them as acme.someFunction instead. It'll save you time and trouble later. There are other very good Javascript practices involving closures that I won't discuss here, but you might want to look up.
1.8. XSS and htmlentities: One of the most embaressing things that can happen to your site is an XSS attack. It's cross site scripting, which means someone has put a <script src="somethingbad.js"> on your site. Once such a script is on your site, it can redirect users to malicious sites, use social engineering to get malware on your users PCs and severely reduce people's trust in your website. When displaying something that could have potentially come from a user, please make sure you run it through htmlentities() first. Please.
2. MySQL with PHP
2.1. Sanitise your SQL. Use mysql_real_escape_string() or equivalent.
2.2. Sanitise your SQL. Use mysql_real_escape_string() or equivalent.
2.3. Sanitise your SQL. Use mysql_real_escape_string() or equivalent. Yes, this is worth 3 separate points. People are far too lax with putting $_POST, $_GET, $_SESSION etc data directly into an SQL query. DO NOT DO THIS. So many sites break with an apostrophe, it's actually quite depressing. Unless you can guarantee the data you're putting into the SQL doesn't include apostophes, quotes or somesuch, you should always sanitise it.
2.4. Look for a database abstraction layer. Google will help you with this, and most of them will help you sanitise your SQL properly. Using an abstraction layer also helps if you need to move from MySQL to Postgresql or MSSQL later.
3. Javascript with PHP
3.1. Sometimes people forget how separate Javascript and PHP really are. I strongly encourage people to write a fully functioning site with HTML, CSS and PHP, then and only then apply Javascript to improve it. You can never assume someone is running Javascript, or that your Javascript is running as you expect. You have full control over PHP. You have no control over Javascript, despite your best efforts.
3.2. A common issue with AJAX is caching. Unless you know better for your specific case, always disable caching in your AJAX library and PHP.
4. Bash/Shell with PHP
4.1. If you're developing a portable script, you should never, ever use shell_exec(), exec(), `` etc or any method that causes a program to be run on the server. Almost every time you think you need a shell script, look again and see if it's really necessary. You'd be surprised what can be accomplished in pure PHP, or with the help of a PECL addon. (Thanks to oesxyl for adding to this).
4.2. When running a command though one of the many PHP functions provided, I don't insist, I demand you run each and every parameter through escapeshellarg(). You'd be surprised how many websites are vulnerable to having their whole website wiped through some careless code.
4.3. File permissions are aren't just an annoyance, they're a useful tool to help against attacks like in 4.2. For most people, you want 0444 for a file you want readable but not writable or executable, 0666 is readable and writable by everyone. Directories have to be executable - executable for a directory means you can view the contents, so 0555 (readable and executable) or 0777 (read, write and execute). The first digit says "this is octal", nevermind if you don't understand octal. The second digit is for the file owner, the third for the file group, the fourth for everyone else. It's often dependant on the use of extentions such as SuExec and SuPHP. This is a complex topic that I may cover later in a more appropriate forum.
5. Debugging
5.1. Installing and using a debugger might take you an hour or two to get right. It'll save you twice that in the first week. Xdebug is a great tool, and having met the author, I can tell you he's a nice guy too! There are many editors that work with this. I have used Komodo IDE (my personal choice, though it's commercial), Netbeans, Aptana and Eclipse PDT and they all work reasonably well. I believe Komodo IDE is the best debugging IDE if you can afford it.
5.2. When debugging, remember to turn on "display_errors" and "error_reporting()", or check your logs. If you have shell access, "tail -f /path/to/your.log" is a handy way to watch your logs. (Thanks to oesxyl for this tip).
5.3. Remember, MySQL can be a black-hole of errors. Always check mysql_error() or mysql_errno() after your queries. Point 2.4 can help with this by converting MySQL errors into PHP errors or exceptions. (Thanks to oesxyl for this).


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More than two years in the making, to support the informed diagnosis & management of millions afflicted with ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome)
On May 15, 2012…
the International Association for CFS/ME (IACFS/ME) released for public sharing ME/CFS: A Primer for Clinical Practitioners © 2012 IACFS/ME.
See the printable PDF…
of the 40-page primer on the IACFS/ME website.
The IACFS/ME asks the community's help…
in seeing that news of the Primer reaches as many physicians and other healthcare professionals as possible. For practitioners who access it, they suggest a donation of $15 or another amount to help continue the work of the IACFS/ME.
Notable features include…
• An ME/CFS Clinical Diagnostic Criteria Worksheet (pages 12 and 13). References include the revised Canadian ME/CFS Case Definition.
• Attention to special groups, including severely affected, pediatric ME/CFS, and pregnancy, and to post-exertional malaise/activity management. (See full topic listing, below.)
Members of the IACFS/ME Primer Writing Committee…
dedicated more than 2 years to development and vetting of this document. The 11 members are:
Fred Friedberg, PhD (chair and IACFS/ME president); Lucinda Bateman, MD; Alison Bested, MD; Todd Davenport, DPT; Kenneth J Friedman, PhD; Alan Gurwitt, MD; Leonard Jason, PhD; Charles W. Lapp, MD; Staci Stevens, MA; Rosemary Underhill, MB; Rosamund Vallings, MB.
In a brief forward for clinician users…
Harvard physician Anthony Komaroff, MD, suggests:
"In this Primer, the collected wisdom of many experienced clinicians and clinician-scientists has been gathered. Here, you'll find advice on how to diagnose ME/CFS, and on therapies that appear to be beneficial, although not curative. I think you will find it useful."
Topics as listed in the Table of Contents…
1. Introduction and Overview (6-7)
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• Nomenclature
• Epidemiology
• Diagnosis
• Presentation and Course of Illness
• The health practitioner's role in diagnosis and management
2. Etiology (8)
• Predisposing factors
• Precipitating and causal factors
3. Pathophysiology (8-11)
• Immune system abnormalities
• Neuroendocrine dysregulation
• Brain abnormalities
• Cognitive impairment
• Autonomic/cardiovascular disturbances
• Mitochondrial/energy production abnormalities
• Gene studies
4. Clinical Diagnosis (11-16)
• Patient history
• Physical examination
• Diagnostic Worksheet
• Laboratory tests
• Differential diagnosis
• Distinguishing ME/CFS from depression and anxiety disorders
• Exclusionary medical conditions
• Co-existing medical conditions
5. Management/Treatment (17-26)
• Approach to treatment
• Sleep
• Pain
• Fatigue and post-exertional malaise
• Managing post-exertional symptoms, Pacing and the Energy Envelope
• Activity and exercise
• Cognitive problems
• Depression, anxiety and distress
• Cognitive behavioral therapy
• Management of related conditions
• Orthostatic intolerance and Cardiovascular symptoms
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Urinary symptoms
• Allergies
• Multiple chemical sensitivities
• Infections and immunological factors
• Dietary management
• Alternative and complementary approaches
• Follow-up
6. Clinical concerns (26-29)
• Low functioning patients
• Pregnancy
• Gynecological problems
• Pediatric ME/CFS
• Immunizations
• Blood and tissue donation
• Recommendations prior to surgery
7. References (29)
Appendix 35-40
A 1994 International research case definition (Fukuda et al) worksheet
B Pediatric case definition worksheet
C Functional capacity scale
D Activity log
E Recommendations prior to surgery


text: 03/05/2013 (10:00PM - 11:00PM) (Tuesday) : Julia's (Debra Messing) fears increase when Tom (Christian Borle) airs his suspicions of Peter (guest star Daniel Sunjata). Jimmy (Jeremy Jordan) and Kyle (Andy Mientus) confront their own crisis of confidence as "Hit List" is read for the first time. Meanwhile, Ivy (Megan Hilty) realizes her triumph might not be all she hoped when she meets her new co-star, Terry Falls (guest star Sean Hayes), and Karen (Katharine McPhee) wonders if she can trust Jimmy. Anjelica Huston, Jack Davenport and Krysta Rodriguez also star. Sean Hayes, Daniel Sunjata and Nikki Blonsky guest star.


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Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series
Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series
Simplify IT and accelerate time-to-value
Tested. Qualified. Proven.
Typically installing a new hyperconverged infrastructure is very much a do-it-yourself project. Customers must configure, test, debug, optimize, validate, etc., on their own. However, the ThinkAgile VX Series eliminates time and effort by completing those steps before it leaves the factory. The VX series arrives at your doorstep with everything you need to get started and with Lenovo professional services to do the installation and configuration for you.
Reliable. Flexible. Scalable.
A successful hyperconverged solution requires a reliable platform. When you are relying on your servers for both compute and storage for your mission critical applications, uptime is more important than ever. The ThinkAgile VX Series integrates the world's most reliable servers from Lenovo1 with VMware vSAN to provide a solid foundation for your growing business. VX Series offers configuration flexibility to meet any use-case, and all systems are available in all-flash or hybrid configurations. Scaling compute or storage capacity is easy, you can start small, with as few as 3 nodes, and then simply add more storage capacity to each node or add more nodes to scale performance and capacity. And you can do all of this without disrupting your day to day operations.
1 2016-2017 Global Hardware, Server OS Reliability Report, ITIC; October 2016
The ThinkAgile Advantage
ThinkAgile Advantage Services, included with your ThinkAgile VX, accelerates deployment for a faster time-to-value. And we're here to go the distance. We'll assign a single point of contact for you to put on speed dial for end-to-end support that includes hardware installation, onsite repair and installation of all replacement parts.
Plus, Lenovo's comprehensive services portfolio spans the entire lifecycle of your Lenovo IT assets. Tailor your data center services to meet specific business needs and response time targets with pre-established support levels. Additional service options include Assessment Workshops, Managed Services, Health Checks, and more.
ThinkAgile VX Certified Nodes
Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Certified Nodes eliminate basic issues that your IT team should have never have had to worry about in the first place. With VX Certified Nodes you are guaranteed that all the components of your hyperconverged solution are certified right down to the firmware on the drives and HBAs and you know that any firmware upgrades are not going break compliance. ThinkAgile VX Certified Nodes include:
Show MoreLess
- Fully validated and integrated Lenovo hardware and firmware, certified with VMware vSAN
- Preloaded ESXi software for ready deployment, VMware vSphere and vSAN software license obtained separately
- Lenovo ThinkAgile Advantage Single Point of Support for quick 24/7 problem resolution
- Optional Lenovo deployment services


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There's so much fretting around Apple right now that analysts, commenters, and Apple-ologists are calling today's quarterly financial results that'll hit after the markets close the mother of all earnings reports (Forbes is explicitly calling it that).
Why the high anxiety about the world's most valuable publicly traded company — and the most valuable California company by a substantial margin (Apple: $418 billion market cap; number two Google: $254 billion)? Simple: Analysts suspect that Apple's epic comeback story, from near bankruptcy to a mature company that's printing money with its monumental profit margins, is over. Nothing gold can stay, to borrow a line from a rustic American poet who never would have dreamed of an Age of iPhones but who would probably have been retroactively credited by Apple for his efforts to "Think different."
The stock has taken a beating since it peaked at more than $700 per share last year (it recently dipped below $500, but it's recovered a bit ahead of Wednesday's earnings announcement). Apple could, of course, turn in a phenomenal quarter, silence the naysayers, and resume its upward march toward $1 trillion in market capitalization, with a $1000-per-share price. It might get there, but...
Q: What could send Apple's stock price lower?
A: As The Street [via Forbes] points out, it's all about gross margin: how much Apple makes in profit, before subtracting various expenses. Investors have come to expect ridonkulous margins from Apple, and they're doing that again for this quarter. How does 40 percent strike you? For comparison, Amazon's gross margin for recent quarters has averaged just over 24 percent. And when you shift from gross to net margin, Amazon's falls into the low single digits, while Apple's hangs in there in mid-20 percent territory.
Google's gross margin is typically higher than Apple's but it has only recently become a hardware company in addition to an Internet company. BlackBerry maker Research in Motion used to have gross margins as high as Apple's, but they're fallen in recent years, into Amazon territory.
Apple's gross margin, derived primarily from iPhone sales, is what truly drives the stock's value. So if that margin stops looking quite so...well, ridonkulous, then the Apple stock slide could continue. But for the time being, it's looking as if Apple is going to be able to hold its gross margins well above the competition, although they might not be quite so gross in coming quarters.
Q: But what about the iPad?
A: Oh, who cares about the iPad? Apple does, but it's hitched its wagon to the iPhone, for better or worse. The iPad and the new, lower priced iPad Mini (which may have enjoyed a very successful holiday shopping season debut) could help Apple ultimately phase out laptops. The iPad has certainly helped Apple to define and effectively own the incipient tablet market. But to lose focus on the iPhone is to lose focus on what is now the heart of Apple.
That said, if Apple has carved out a new market for lower-prices tablets with the Mini, analysts are going to like the looks of potential long-term gross margins for that business.
Q: Isn't this all just inside baseball?
A: Pretty much. Apple is a company in transition at the moment. It has a now-familiar product line. It hasn't introduced any groundbreaking new technologies or designs of late. The stock isn't surging in value but settling into a waiting period. Apple isn't as much a growth company as it is a value company, a stock for the long haul, not for making a quick buck. That could all change if it introduces an iTV and reinvents television. But the fear that an earnings report that fails to hit a home run is going to send the company into a death spiral is overblown. Apple is a great company. It just isn't as insanely great for investors as it was in early 2012.
Follow Matthew DeBord and the DeBord Report on Twitter. And ask Matt questions at Quora.


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Externalip API - Followers
Externalip is a website that allows users to see what their external IP address is. This service also exists under the name Exip, but both versions use the same backend and have the same creator. Externalip also provides a REST API that lets users get their IP address from another application or service. Use of this API is currently free and unrestricted.


text: Market Warriors is a series in which expert antiques "pickers" embark on a nationwide treasure hunt, scouring flea markets for vintage valuables and selling their finds at auction with an eye toward maximizing profit. These pickers aren't your amateur-weekend-flea-market hobbyists-they are pros, here to compete against each other in a competition that takes us on a cross-country adventure. In each episode, four pickers travel to different market locations across the country to purchase certain items with a set amount of money. We will learn not only about different objects and their history; we'll see the competitors apply their knowledge and skills to real financial transactions. Using individual interviews we will get to know our pickers and learn about what they bought and why. We then will discover the current value of the objects as only the marketplace can determine. The sale of our pickers' items takes place at an auction on a different day, in a different location. Before the auction, we will hear our auction house experts appraise each of these items and their estimates won't always jibe with the dollar value our pickers have attached to these objects. All four competitors will watch the auctioneer take charge of the bidding and the picker whose objects make the highest total profit at auction is the winner of that episode.


text:
Gearing Up for Healers
There is a sudden rash of gear wishlists appearing on the blogs I read regularly. I'm going to sidestep the trend.
Not least because I'm in a situation I realize may not be uncommon. See, I respec – a fair amount, and worse not just within holy or disc or shadow. I'm talking major swings here. And what this means is that a lot of really nice quest gear is unavailable because I had to decide if I was taking the shadow or the light version. As a consequence, I'm a bit more flexible. Oh, I still have wishlists, but they're a bit different.
I actually start with deciding where I want to be. That's stats and bonuses – and maybe on top of that some 'extras'. My current main is on the edge of being Kara keyed, so my current objective is Outland Raids Level 1. (That is, 5-man raids, er, heroics, and Kara up to about the Curator). For reference, I presently have four levels of 'raids' — since that's mainly based on theorywork and listening to people, that's liable to change with experience. Level 2 is Kara post-curator and Gruul, level 3 is SSC/Tempest Keep through early Mount Hyjal, and level 4 finishes MH and goes to the Black Temple. Again, that's nominal 'so far' – though I've gotten hints BT should actually be lower on the levels. Anyway….
In my eyes, a healer for Level 1 Raid needs to have minimums of:
- Heal bonus – not less than 1000 as backup, 1200 for main
- Health Pool/armor – 7000 at 10% armor mitigation, adjusted +/-100 per percent change in mitigation. Absolute minimum 6000 (20%) or 5% (7500).
- Mana Pool – base min 9000, adjusted by mana regen, absolute min 8000.
- Mana Regen – while casting base min is 100 mp5, with an absolute min of 90. For change of 1 your mana pool needs adjusted by 100 – so at 90 regen your mana pool minimum should be 10,000, while if you want to get by with 8000 mana pool your regen rate has to be at least 110 mp5. Due to the nature of raids, you can do SOME substitution of 5SR regen — for every 10 5SR regen above 250, you can reduce 5SR by 1 – never lower than 75. IN OTHER WORDS: you could have 75 mp5 in combat IF you have 400 mp5 O5SR WITH a 10,000 point mana pool. If you increased your O5SR to 500, you could reduce your mana pool minimum to 9000 — but your in combat mp5 is already at the floor and cannot be further reduced.
- Minimum Extra – You want at least one more Greater Heal. Whether it's the ability to do one more for free (mana) or some sort of haste that lets you get two off in the time of one or a mix thereof, I consider this the minimum 'extra' you should have available as a 'use' type trinket.
You see I devoted a lot of time to mana, and a fair amount to health/armor. Let me expand, not least because this will let you plan your gear at lower levels. And yes, I want this to work for people who aren't level 70 as well.
Level 1 raid trash will do about 2000-2500 damage per hit against 10% mitigation. What I've set as minimum is a 50% chance of surviving one hit and one crit. Which also happens to be about one hit – no crit – from the majority of bosses. What this guidance means is that you can use the nominal damage of a hit from generic trash of your level of instance the same way. If they hit for 100 at a shot, then you need 300 health. 600? 1800 health. You get the idea. And armor mitigation rules apply pretty much the same.
Mana is a bit more complex, especially for lower levels. That's because MP5 gear is higher level gear. So below 45 what matters is your 5SR regen. My guideline is: I want to generate enough mana for a greater heal inside 30 seconds. I am really working to get enough 5SR regen to make it with only 90mp5 in combat in level1 raids, but with the extra mana I'm requiring in balance it's… possible. If you're running most azeroth instances — and for that matter most non-raid outland instances — you can expect to get at least 50% of the time doing the Five Second Waltz, which means you can use your O5SR rate divided by 2 to guesstimate how many seconds it's going to take to get the mana minimum.
So in the end, you need enough health plus armor to not die right off the bat, and enough mana and mana regen to not be OOM before the battle is over. That last depends on how long you expect the battles to last (four minutes at level 20? 10 at level 70?) and how many of what spells you expect to cast over that time. And that… deserves another post, or you spending time reading some other really good other bloggers, or both.
Next to last point — I think I have pretty much the LOWEST minimums of those I've seen. Frankly, this assumes you are a really, really good healer – and that you're not going to be the primary healer, and that you have a really good tank. If any of those are not quite so true, raise the numbers. And even if they're all true, these numbers are minimums, which means that there is no slack. If anything AT ALL goes wrong, you are in deep trouble – expect to die, and expect to risk a party wipe because of it.
Final point – Shadow is slightly different, but I think I'll put it in a different post.
Oh – and don't forget that all these numbers are guidelines. Don't let them ruin your fun.
9 Responses to "Gearing Up for Healers"
Now would you consider those numbers base stats or raid buffed? Because even now my health is around 6.7k unbuffed. But toss in all the goodies and I'll hit a little over 8k.
[…] off, some benchmarks are in order after reading Kirk's ideal stat requirements for holy priests, I must respectfully disagree. Mind you, my guild is 3/6 SSC with Mag and VR on […]
6k unbuffed at raid level 1 is probably fine. You'd expect to gain ~1k from PW:F, 200 from Mark of the Wild, and another 500-1k from Kings (if available). Plus you can use a stamina food for another 200 if you need.
In SSC/TK I generally run around 8.5-9k buffed (with kings), and I find that works out pretty well.
[…] Two wipes later, we trekked back to Hydross. A colleague over at Priestly Endeavors published his own suggested requirements for raiding in terms of individual player stats. At first I disagreed with him at the amount of […]
[…] Gearing up for Healers In my eyes, a healer for Level 1 Raid needs to have minimums of: […]
[…] Two wipes later, we trekked back to Hydross. A colleague over at Priestly Endeavors published his own suggested requirements for raiding in terms of individual player stats. At first I disagreed with him at the amount of […]


text:
Is there anything we car enthusiasts hate more than car thieves? Don't be fooled the mainstream media, which portrays them as heroic cool guys out to rescue their little brothers from the mob and then hook up with Angelina Jolie afterwards. Make no mistake — car thieves are assholes.
Even worse are car thieves who target rare Fox-body Mustang convertibles named after sodas that no one likes to drink. That's exactly what happened in Colorado Springs this week, as insurance saleswoman Trisha Moynihan found that someone had stolen her 1990 "7 Up Edition" Mustang, according to KKTV.
Yes, there is such a thing as a 7 Up Mustang. And it is quite rare. Only about 4,100 of them were ever produced, according to Mustang Monthly, as part of an aborted promotion that was supposed to give them away to half-court shot winners at NCAA basketball games. (7 Up must have been on one hell of a marketing blitz in the early 90s, the same era that brought us the Cool Spot video games.) That never happened, but the few green 5.0 'Stangs with white convertible tops that were made were sold to lucky enthusiasts.
Back to Trisha. Her 7 Up 'Stang was stolen from her business around 3 a.m. Tuesday. The theft was captured on camera, and the video is quite hilarious at times — the idiot thief starts throwing himself on the soft top to break in at times. Sadly, it worked.
The plate number on the car is 939-UNJ, the TV station reported. Obviously, a green-on-white Fox Mustang is kind of an unusual sight, so if you see it out on the roads, please let law enforcement know. Hopefully it will get returned to its rightful, presumably 7 Up-loving owner as soon as possible.
Photo credit Brad Norwood
Hat tip to Right Foot to Boxer!


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Athens: A bomb exploded outside a Greek ship owner`s house near a crowded pedestrian area under the Acropolis in central Athens, causing minor damage but no injuries, police said.
The explosion, on Wednesday night, a few hundred meters from the country`s most famous monument occurred at about 8:30 pm local time, after a warning call to a Greek newspaper.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which follows a string of bomb attacks in the financially-struggling country by anarchist groups that have caused no major injuries or loss of life.
Police spokesman Panagiotis Papapetropoulos said officers were able before the blast to evacuate one or two people from the building and to seal off the area.
"Judging by the minor extent of the damage, it can`t have been a very strong explosive device," he said.
The house belongs to a member of the Tsakos ship owning family, police said.
The blast, which was heard across the city centre, occurred very close to one of the Greek capital`s favourite pedestrian walks that skirts the key tourist site of the Acropolis. At the time of the explosion, the walkway was busy with strolling families and tourists.
Greece is suffering an acute financial crisis, and imposed deeply resented austerity measures over the past three years to secure international bailouts that are shielding it from bankruptcy. Domestic anarchist groups have carried out dozens of attacks on police and other symbols of state authority or wealth in recent years, especially following the 2008 fatal police shooting of an Athens teenager and during the financial crisis.
The attacks have continued, albeit slightly abated, despite the arrests of more than 20 young Greeks accused of belonging to the most active group Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire.
Earlier this month, militant anarchists claimed responsibility for a bombing at a package shipping firm in Athens, and threatened further attacks on judges, police and prosecution witnesses in a terrorism trial.
In January, another such group planted a bomb in an Athens shopping mall that lightly wounded two security guards.


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The Epistle of Barnabas is commonly categorized among the Apostolic Fathers alongside the writings of St. Clement, St. Ignatius, and St. Polycarp. This epistle can be dated near the end of the first century and was considered important by many of the early church fathers. It was most likely written to new Jewish believers in response to the growing heresy that the Old Law was still necessary for salvation.
A good example of how the early church interpreted the Old Testament, the Epistle of Barnabas explains how the Jewish law finds its true fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Furthermore, according to the author, the Old Law cannot be correctly understood in terms of the physical practice of it, but must be read allegorically toward its fulfillment in the Messiah.
From the Introductory Note to the Epistle of Barnabas
The Maccabæan spirit of the Jews never burned more furiously than after the destruction of Jerusalem, and while it was kindling the conflagration that broke out under Barchochebas, and blazed so terribly in the insurrection against Hadrian. It is not credible that the Jewish Christians at Alexandria and elsewhere were able to emancipate themselves from their national spirit; and accordingly the old Judaizing, which St. Paul had anathematized and confuted, would assert itself again. If such was the occasion of this Epistle, as I venture to suppose, a higher character must be ascribed to it than could otherwise be claimed. This accounts, also, for the degree of favour with which it was accepted by the primitive faithful...
It is to be observed that this writer sometimes speaks as a Gentile, a fact which some have found it difficult to account for, on the supposition that he was a Hebrew, if not a Levite as well. But so, also, St. Paul sometimes speaks as a Roman, and sometimes as a Jew; and, owing to the mixed character of the early Church, he writes to the Romans 4:1 as if they were all Israelites, and again to the same Church (Romans 11:13) as if they were all Gentiles. So this writer sometimes identifies himself with Jewish thought as a son of Abraham, and again speaks from the Christian position as if he were a Gentile, thus identifying himself with the catholicity of the Church.
From the original Introductory Notice
The date, object, and intended reader of the Epistle can only be doubtfully inferred from some statements which it contains. It was clearly written after the destruction of Jerusalem, since reference is made to that event (chap. xvi.), but how long after is matter of much dispute. The general opinion is, that its date is not later than the middle of the second century, and that it cannot be placed earlier than some twenty or thirty years before. In point of style, both as respects thought and expression, a very low place must be assigned it. We know nothing certain of the region in which the author lived, or where the first readers were to be found. The intention of the writer, as he himself states (chap. i), was "to perfect the knowledge" of those to whom he wrote. Hilgenfeld, who has devoted much attention to this Epistle, holds that "it was written at the close of the first century by a Gentile Christian of the school of Alexandria, with the view of winning back, or guarding from a Judaic form of Christianity, those Christians belonging to the same class as himself."
Until the recent discovery of the Codex Sinaiticus by Tischendorf, the first four and a half chapters were known only in an ancient Latin version. The whole Greek text is now happily recovered, though it is in many places very corrupt. We have compared its readings throughout, and noted the principal variations from the text represented in our version. We have also made frequent reference to the text adopted by Hilgenfeld in his recent edition of the Epistle (Lipsiae, T. O. Weigel, 1886).
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