wombat_socho

Sinfest reads from the book of love.
Terminal Lance examines re-enlistment incentives.
Moe Lane spotlights a deplorable truth about steampunk.

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: Guns N' Roses - Patience

...a couple of things of interest from around the Intertubes.

Jersey Shore Gone Wilde. (GVDL)

Vietnam: Historians At War. Truth will out, no matter how diligently liars try to hide it. (Maggie's Farm)

The results of the Auditing final were posted; got an 89 and a C for the class. Better than a poke in the eye, etc.

Hung out with Mark T. yesterday; he insisted on showing me the first three episodes of the HBO series A Game Of Thrones, based on the George R. R. Martin series of the same name. Man, I haven't seen a show with so many characters I wanted to see die in a fire in ages. Awful, awful people. Dire wolf puppies v. cute though, especially when they grow up to be v. protective critters. All the Byzantine political maneuvering reminds me of the more unpleasant parts of Drake & Stirling's Raj Whitehall novels; Westeros in general gives off a strong vibe of 13th century England with a heavy injection of the Eastern Roman Empire where it needed it the least, but that's the way it is. I may have to read the books, once they're all out.

Took some time this afternoon to head down to the VEC office and see what happened with my unemployment, and it's a good thing I did. Will go back tomorrow to resubmit my job apps for the last two weeks and hopefully will get paid Thursday. We'll see how it goes.

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: Aaron Static - Power Hour - August 2010

Well, I apparently did quite well on the Intermediate Accounting final: there's a B posted for the course. :)

Don't expect to do that well on the Cost Accounting final tonight, but that's okay. I'll settle for a C in that one, and hope I never see any of that stuff ever again.

Another example of two things I don't care much for individually, but combined...well, I think I'd pay money to see The Brothers Mario.

UPDATE: They closed the college at 3 PM today, so no final exam tonight. WTF?
School closes out the fall term next Thursday, so I wonder when we're going to be able to take the final.

UPDATE UPDATE: All classes/tests scheduled for today rescheduled until tomorrow. Okay, then.

Current Mood: calm
Current Music: Aaron Static Power Hour - October 2009

Egg on Their Faces by Steven Malanga, City Journal Summer 2010:

According to Scientific American, growing research into carbohydrate-based diets has demonstrated that the medical establishment may have harmed Americans by steering them toward carbs. Research by Meir Stampfer, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard, concludes that diets rich in carbohydrates that are quickly digestible—that is, with a high glycemic index, like potatoes, white rice, and white bread—give people an insulin boost that increases the risk of diabetes and makes them far more likely to contract cardiovascular disease than those who eat moderate amounts of meat and fewer carbs. Though federal guidelines now emphasize eating more fiber-rich carbohydrates, which take longer to digest, the incessant message over the last 30 years to substitute carbs for meat appears to have done significant damage. And it doesn’t appear that the government will change its approach this time around. The preliminary recommendations of a panel advising the FDA on the new guidelines urge people to shift to “plant-based” diets and to consume “only moderate amounts of lean meats, poultry and eggs.”

Via Transterrestrial Musings and Ace. There's some especially good comments at TM about the gubmint/ADA diet recommendations that are spot on with respect to Type 2 diabetics; there may be some at Ace's place too, but the link there is to the Overnight Thread, and the comments there are tl;dr.

Current Mood: bitchy
Current Music: A3 - Woke Up This Morning

Didn't get everything done that I wanted to, but one of the things on my to-do list got punted until tomorrow since it makes more sense to do it at school anyway. I did get the Toaster's oil changed and a new kludge installed to hold the driver's seat down, but decided against getting the A/C fixed after Carlos told me there's coolant in the system but nothing happens when he hits the button. I'd think it was a matter of not being familiar with the controls, except nothing happens when I have the fan on and hit the button either. Which means it's probably an electrical problem, and that means a trip to the dealer for a $1500 wiring harness repair job, and my wallet just can't handle that right now. Or in the next year or two, either, most likely. Shouldn't be an issue since I don't drive during rush hour if I can possibly avoid it. Almost all the garbage I've been meaning to throw out this weekend is now gone.

I'm re-reading Anton Myrer's Once An Eagle, a book that I picked up off a giveaway rack in high school and have been re-reading ever since. Once again, I am dithering over whether I want to read the end of the book, starting with the last part of the Pacific War section. I didn't see all of the mini-series when it was on the air, but I did see the ending, which was much better for TV (and Sam Elliott was perfect as Sad Sam Damon, just as he was perfect as John Buford in Gettysburg) but I understand why Myrer didn't end the book that way. What I don't understand is why I keep coming back to the book; parts of it are almost too painful to read, and others ache like a dry socket. It's a compelling tale, with some memorable characters, but I have dozens of other books like that in my library. Why does this one keep calling to me?

...also, tactical corsets. Perfect if your girlfriend/SO/lady you want to impress is into corsets and RKBA. And, really, shouldn't she be? ;)

also also,

jariten has a few things to say about anime conventions. You should go read them. All I can add is HELL YEAH.

Current Mood: pensive
Current Music: R.E.M. - It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

Been there, done that, but I didn't get as detailed and I didn't bother with YouTube. Also unlike GVDL, I've only been through one marriage. Still noodling over whether I want to do that again.

My list is here, for what it's worth. Amuse yourselves trying to figure out which songs go with which women, if you like; there haven't been that many.

Current Mood: pensive
Current Music: Big Audio Dynamite - The Globe

Helen Thomas calls for Jews to leave Israel, go "home" to Germany & Poland. Y RLY.

UPI, how much longer are you going to let this senile old bat cripple your brand? You could get a high-school kid for a quarter the price who could actually ask coherent questions and file intelligent reporting.

Also from the category Kate McMillan calls "Not Waiting for the Asteroid":
ABC journalist goes to work for SEIU. (Instapundit)
Related: SEIU Threatens Red Criss, Blocks Blood In case there was any remaining doubt what worthy public servants these purple-shirted goons are. (Instapundit)

Why do the ~~heathen~~professors rage? Amity Shlaes explains. I've watched Glenn Beck a couple of times now that I can hear what the guy is actually saying (we had Fox News on at H&R Block, but kept the sound off) and don't see what all the fuss is about. The guy is no more whacked-out than Sean Hannity or Mark Levin or any other half-dozen conservative talk-show guys; it's obvious, though, that he takes this notion of an America slowly sliding/being pushed further into socialism very seriously. So do a lot of people in his audience and elsewhere. It's interesting that Shlaes mentions the fact that Beck and others like him ultimately pose an existential threat to the dominant media/academic culture's paradigm of American history. To me, this dovetails with the increase in home-schooling and the spread of serious business colleges for profit. It also ties in with what Cobb is saying here about the challenge posed to colleges by the Internet and its legions of bloggers, many of whom have taken up freelance reporting as a side line and a few even as a main line.* The revolution in news is already underway, is being televised, and will eventually end in the death of newspapers, news magazines, and TV news divisions who are already staggering along despite deep cuts into the muscle of their reporting staffs. We are seeing the education revolutionaries coming out of the jungles and taking over villages, and like their journalist comrades, the educrats don't have a clue how to effectively deal with these people except through applying the blunt force of the law where they can. We'll see how well it works for the liberal arts colleges; certainly, getting in bed with the politicians hasn't helped journalism a damn bit.

*Stacy McCain and Michael Yon, to name a couple of the more famous.

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: Aaron Static - Power Hour - May 2010

D.C. Sports Bog - Saluting the Nats:

And so, long as it lasts, might as well enjoy the good times. The Nats' star pitcher is unhittable, and also is batting .333. Their new closer has nine saves; no one reached that number in last year's pen until August 4. They haven't lost more than two consecutive games all season; at this point a year ago, they already had two three-game losing streaks and a seven-gamer. In an especial brand of insanity, Kevin Millar has even compared them to the 2008 Rays.

Also, they happen to be a game out of first place. Last year on this date, they were 7-and-a-half back. Two years ago it was 6-and-a-half. This is the whole point to April; to keep us excited for May. Cross that off the list.

"Talk of contending is still fiction, but I don't care. It's time to pretend," writes one Nats fan.

Plus, they have goofy routines and nicknames. Nyjer Morgan has dubbed his lineup "the S.W.A.T. team." Fans are calling the 8th and 9th innings "Clip and Save." And maybe I missed the explanation on this, but Morgan seems to salute everyone within 500 yards after wins. So someone give me directions to the bandwagon; I'm gonna need 'em.

Also, silliness from Nyjer Morgan, the Nationals Fangirls suggest you dress for success with Tyler Clippard, but best of all Chris Needham is posting again at Capital Punishment.

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: Sixoseven - Baldwin Hills

The Gospel according to Matthew .

As an additional dose of Easter "awwwwww", I submit these links to Lileks' Bleat:
Heat on the street. Also, the Gnat discovers old Russian guys on the Internets. (This will sound very familiar to all parents with kids who grew up with the Internet and don't remember when there wasn't one.)
Memories, and our old pal Reddy Kilowatt in his Easter finery.

Usual Sunday icon replaced by the smiling face of Victor Von Doom. Because. :)

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Salubrious Invertebrae - No. 2

After eight years of this bullshit?
And a year of insisting that people who oppose the President and his Congressional cronies are racist thugs?
YGBSM.

I know some of you Democrats out there are smarter than this. In fact, I'd be willing to bet most of the leftists on my F-list aren't even remotely on board with this kind of asinine behavior. But the dumb ones are making you look really, really bad. And I don't think I'll be wasting my time at a coffee party any time soon. This kind of "civility" in my face, I don't need.

(Post as a whole keys off Moe Lane.)

Current Mood: annoyed
Current Music: Santana - Black Magic Woman

Go Green. I double-dog dare you.

Declining polar bear population? Only if 25,000 is less than 5,000.

Charles Stross talks about The Family Trade and its sequels. Some very good food for thought in there, especially for aspiring authors. (KaChing!)

VDH: Reflections on the Revolution in America. Interesting commentary here. (GVDL)

Goodnight Keith Moon - yeah, it is in bad taste. But it does make you think. (KaChing!)

"Other than being completely wrong and passé, Lind's argument on this score is brilliant."

Mark Steyn describes the evolution of the conservative counterculture, contra David Brooks.

Grace-Marie Turner explains why MassCare is hanging around Mitt Romney's neck like a rotting, diseased albatross. Mark Steyn comments.

Better late than never: Reason Saves Cleveland, with Drew Carey!

Current Mood: energetic
Current Music: Aaron Static - Power Hour - September 2009

Pedobear becomes official symbol of the Winter Olympics. Good going, eh? For those of you mercifully unaware of 4chan memes like this, Steven den Beste explains it all. (Ace)

Even more stupid, verging on evil: chic LA restauranteur succeeds in suckering California schools into mandatory school gardening curriculum for children of Chicano farm workers. (Little Miss Attila)

As a palate cleanser, try this Finnish war movie. No English subtitles, unfortunately. (Ace)

Current Mood: calm
Current Music: James McMurtry - Too Long in the Wasteland

No call from the manager this morning, so I slept in and stayed in bed as much as possible while continuing to munch on Percocet and Clindamycin. This seems to be helping; the red & swollen area seems to be getting smaller, and this is Good.

I would like to recommend this week's installment of Rule 5 Sunday at Stacy & Smitty's place, especially because the first item in the list celebrates fellow citizen of the Commonwealth Caressa Cameron and also includes a clip of Rush Limbaugh getting DOWN. Not everyone was pleased by Rush winning the Judges' Dance Contest:

Current Mood: sick
Current Music: Lou Reed - Heroin

Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.

Seems to me I read a story with this plot, somewhere along the line, but can't recall the author or title.
(David Thompson)

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: Martin O'Donnell - Halo - 22 - The Long Run - Ha

Recently seen at Marginal Revolution:

A revisionist history of the Ivy League: they became what they are by cutting themselves loose from the states. Note that nobody considers Rutgers or William & Mary (owned by NJ and my Commonwealth respectively) to be on a par with Harvard & Yale.

The best and worst of 2009, per the Ukrainians.

Historical origins of fish & chips. This reminds me that I ought to motor over to US 1 and give some custom to the Arthur Treacher's there.

Weird correlations: Japanese kids who skip breakfast and hate their moms have sex younger.

Thomas Schelling examines why a world without nuclear weapons would suck. SF fans knew this already; there were a number of stories, most memorably Edwin Corley's The Jesus Factor, which explored the consequences of such a world. None of them were pleasant, and for me personally, I'd be out at least one friend, whose father would have gone into Tokyo Bay with the 31st Division for Operation Coronet.

Finally, if the Dead Kennedys were your kind of band, Jello Biafra has a new album out, The Audacity Of Hype. It's free to download at Amazon.

Current Mood: blank
Current Music: The Alan Parsons Project - The Naked Robot [*]

R. Stacy McCain, more often referred to as The Other McCain in order to avoid confusion with "Crazy Cousin John", the senator from Arizona, has moved to new digs in the blogosphere. You should know this already from being a regular reader of his site, if you're a conservative, but even if you're not, drop by. You might could learn something, or you could just enjoy the occasional excursions into music popular when Stacy and I were young, drunken fools. Well worth your time, at any rate, because the man actually gets out there and does old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting, which a lot of these feckless young "journalists" wouldn't recognize if it bit them in the butt.

"If there was no Internets, I'd have to stand on the overpass and yell at cars."

(Sippican, via Maggie's Farm) More likely he'd be arguing with his friends and neighbors, or yelling at the television. I think blogging is a lot more productive, and better for the spleen.

For all the bleating about Fascism in America (which was already being implemented by FDR, thankyouverymuch) historians generally agree that the true threat to the Republic during the Depression came from Huey Long, Father Coughlin, and Francis Townsend. Townsend is largely forgotten these days, but he's a big reason we have Social Security - because as FDR would have cheerfully admitted, sometimes it's just easier to co-opt the opposition and steal their ideas. Especially when the bill won't come due for another century or so. (Maggie's Farm)

Current Mood: calm
Current Music: Oasis - Some Might Say

Woke up at 0430 due to some transient pain in the groin and couldn't get back to sleep; wound up re-reading Quartered safe Out Here, playing Civicrack and listening to classical music. It's strange: I find these days that Christmas pop music annoys me no end, but I don't mind choral arrangements of the classic Christmas hymns or instrumental versions of the same. Anyhow, I spent the rest of the morning farting around on the computer and eventually ran out of steam around 1130. I don't nap often, but today seemed like a good day for it. Hopefully it won't completely screw up my sleep cycle.

D.C. cop brings gun to a snowball fight. Seventeen police forces in the District, and the DC police manage to find the most retarded of the lot. Go figure. (Instapundit)

I guess I picked a bad time to stop drinking. Coffee, that is; a few years back I cut down on coffee because I thought all the caffeine was messing me up. Bad idea, apparently, although I think my diet and lack of exercise would have gotten me to the state I'm in sooner or later anyway. (Ibid.)

I saw people out walking today, although it was hard to tell whether they were walking in the streets or on the sidewalks. Maintenance came to shovel out the steps and sidewalk to my building, but I stayed inside anyway. Nothing to go out for, really.

Decided to forgo the apocalyptic delights (sic) of Lucifer's Hammer and instead delved into my collection of Analog issues from the 70s to find Robert Silverberg's Shadrach in the Furnace, a story about the personal physician of Genghis Mao IV, ruler of the plague-wracked Earth of the 21st century through the Permanent Revolutionary Committee. Genghis Mao is old, and sustained through organ transplants; his personal physician, Shadrach Mordecai, is linked to him through telemetry implants that keep him aware of the Chairman's biological processes. Shadrach also supervises the three projects by which Genghis Mao seeks immortality: one that will translate the Chairman's mind into a robot, another that will regenerate his brain cells, and a third that will transplant the Chairman's mind into another human. It's a fascinating story, and I remember thinking at the time how much different it was from all the New Wave stuff Silverberg had written for Galaxy and other venues in the 1960s and 70s. It still feels that way, and I still like it immensely.

Current Mood: content
Current Music: Jason & the Scorchers - Break Open TH Sky

DHS protects America from those infamous scourges of freedom: role-playing games and the traitors who play them.*

In other tales of terrorism, Maziar Bahari reports on how Revolutionary Guards really feel about America: “He hated me and he was jealous of me at the same time because I had been to New Jersey.” While the article is entertaining enough, there are some real prizes in the comments.

The same is true of this smackdown of racist thug Woodrow Wilson; the bus riding comments alone would be worth the price of admission, if they were charging any.

Honduras gives the finger to Hugo Chavez, the OAS, and the 0bama Administration, not necessarily in that order. More commentary and links at Fausta's blog and Babalu.

ESR comments on the whole Global Warmening conspiracy hack: "For those of you who have been stigmatizing AGW skeptics as “deniers” and dismissing their charges that the whole enterprise is fraudulent? Hope you like the taste of crow, because I do believe there’s a buttload of it coming at you. Piping hot."

*EDIT It occurred to me some hours after composing this post that this is literally true of Paranoia players. It's right there in the rules.

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: Rush - Distant Early Warning

Secular America, it appears that the Church has had enough of your shenanigans. (The Western Confucian via The Marmot's Hole)

One photographer's battle against anorexia in the modeling field.(Probably NSFW) (Ibid.)

Need to pick up the season's hottest political tomes? Look not further than The Other McCain! As a further inducement, the taste Amazon gives Stacy off these sales goes to support independent news reporting of the sort not often done by the lamestream media, and keeps Mrs. McCain happy. Honestly, who could deny a woman like that the pleasure of a jingly tip jar?
"But I already have a glut of books/hate politics/want to get something for my SO!" you say? Well, that's already been covered, with some helpful tips on maintaining a happy marriage supplied along with some tasteful art. (YMMV)

As for me, well, I don't have a wife and six kids, but I wouldn't mind a little traffic through my portal either. Take a look at my bookstore or take advantage of Amazon's Black Friday Deals.

Last but not least, The Dugout gives thanks for Joe Mauer.

Current Mood: content
Current Music: Three Dog Night - Joy to the World

Honestly, this made me LOL so hard I almost violated the Suiseiseki Sunday icon rule.
( Totally and completely NSFW. )

Current Mood: giddy
Current Music: Ultravox - I Can't Stay Long

Profile

wombat_socho

February 2017

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28

Syndicate

Page Summary

Style Credit

Style: Early Edition for Five AM by winterfish

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated Sep. 26th, 2017 09:15 am

Entries tagged with linkagery

Friday comics linkagery

While taking a break from studying for my Management final...

Thursday update

Maybe they should just shut up and not publish any damn guidelines.

moderately busy Monday

My life with women

Because it ended so well the last time

Yeah, this is pretty much how I feel.

Happy Easter!

Oh, NOW you want "civility"?

Hump Day Vacuum Dressing & Dump Day

At times like this, I wish I had a facepalm icon.

a largely horizontal Sunday

More than a little creepy.

New Year's linkagery

A new year and a new website

a disjointed Sunday

Help Help We're Being Repressed (Again)

Black Friday Linkagery (with extra bonus capitalism!)

Sunday night linkagery funnies