It is as if Anton Chigurh Hit Me with an Airgun.

Update #2:  Not a fan of french politicians but this guy seems to have been determined guilty until proven innocent.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn feared that one of his political opponents would pay a woman more than $1million to say he raped her, it emerged today.  – Main Online

Yeah, ok.  I’ll tell you what improves your chances even more – don’t be known as a womanizer – or even better yet… don’t be one!  But if you have a history of being a horny perv it doesn’t help your case.  See below for my stance on unnamed accusers being able to make a claim that is nearly undefensible, especially if the sex was actually consensual beforehand.  It’s a lesson to all of us guys – be careful and try not to be a horndog.

But it does stretch my imagination that someone could be that prominent of a figure and be stupid enough to sexually assault a woman as she claims.  I don’t think he’s a stupid man.

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Update:  I am intellectually erect.  The fourth fundamental type of passive electronic isn’t far off in the future.  Memristors, and the HP guys think they’ve got them licked.

Memristor cells can also be built using exceedingly small fabrication processes. Using a grid of nanowires whose crossing points form the memristors, Williams told The New York Times that HP Labs has working devices with three-nanometer memristors that switch on and off in about a nanosecond and could store 20GB in a square centimeter.

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Alert reader mrmacs left a link in a comment today.

“Friday on CNBC, Bill Clinton gave an interview that is causing some unrest on popular news sites today. When asked if there is a role for government in terms of ensuring that the information out there is accurate, he replied, ‘Well, I think it would be a legitimate thing to do. … If the government were involved, I think you’d have to do two things … I think number one, you’d have to be totally transparent about where the money came from. And number two, you would have to make it independent. … let’s say the US did it; it would have to be an independent federal agency that no president could countermand or anything else because people wouldn’t think you were just censoring the news and giving a different falsehood out. That is, it would be like, I don’t know, National Public Radio or BBC or something like that, except it would have to be really independent and they would not express opinions, and their mandate would be narrowly confined to identifying relevant factual errors. And also, they would also have to have citations so that they could be checked in case they made a mistake.’ His statements have elicited responses ranging from a Ministry of Truth a la 1984 to discussion of genuine concern about internet rumors and falsehoods.”  

– slashdot – http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/05/16/182220/Bill-Clinton-Suggests-Internet-Fact-Agency

The most dangerous man in the world, except one, because at least Clinton was smart and savvy.  I loathe him but I gotta give him credit, he was able to lead worth a damn unlike the current Pied Piper we have in the White House.

Go back and look at this part again:

…because people wouldn’t think you were just censoring the news and giving a different falsehood out. That is, it would be like, I don’t know, National Public Radio or BBC or something like that…

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Yes, I know the lions share of reported rapes are just that.  But not all, and the mere accusation is enough to f*ck up some poor bastard’s life.  You can’t take the innocent until proven guilty fella and trash his life regardless of the outcome of the trial.  Whether he’s innocent or guilty he’s hosed.  The anonymous accuser thing is a bad idea folks.

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Ok, you need some happy stories.

Non-profit Panera Called a Success.  A huge round of applause to FARK for having that link where I could see it.  In spite of all the good results I still have faith in human nature.  (Boy that sure pisses off Cruel Wife when I say that all caustic-ally and cynically like I do.)

Here’s a guy with the balls of a tiger.  Building your own levy around your own house rather than give in.

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2nd Degree Burn

Have you tried the Doritos 2nd Degree Burn Buffalo Wing flavor chips?

You know I’m a chilihead.

You should also know that 20 minutes later my mouth was still on fire.  My guts didn’t know how to respond.  Next day I noticed it then, too.  So I can offer the following advice:

GO FOR IT!!!

I’m surprised that Doritos did something that daring.  No, they aren’t Blair’s Death Rain Potato Chips, but they are something to be reckoned with.

If you like heat you’ll be surprised.  If you are a chili lightweight, it’s training, confidence-building, and character-building.

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Bill Clinton, never able to remain silent for long.

“What we learned from Oklahoma City is not that we should gag each other or that we should reduce our passion for the positions we hold – but that the words we use really do matter, because there’s this vast echo chamber, and they go across space and they fall on the serious and the delirious alike. They fall on the connected and the unhinged alike,” he said.

“One of the things that the conservatives have always brought to the table in America is a reminder that no law can replace personal responsibility. And the more power you have and the more influence you have, the more responsibility you have.”

Perhaps he could give Obama some pointers.  But I hope he doesn’t, because Obama is the best thing for the right-of-center folks, just by spouting off.

But here’s a tip for Mr. Clinton – we don’t need you to help us choose our words.  You weren’t a “calming influence” while folks were bashing Bush, so don’t take “the high road” now.

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On revolt and other matters…

People keep talking about the Revolution and revolting as a response to current events.  There’s crucial differences.

Then, the colonists were against England’s Parliament, any form of monarchy, and taxes.  Taxes higher now?  They say they are.  But here’s the thing – then, the loss of the the form of government that they had was a good thing, and they contrived and embraced the system (the ideals of) we have now.

To incite revolt would be to say that the system we have now must be scrapped and replaced.  To give up what we have now would be a catastrophic mistake, because as flawed as it is, and even as corrupt as our representatives are, I defy you to find a better system.

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Pot Calling the Kettle…Black?

Confusing as hell trying to figure the old saying when it is in this context, what with the first black president being dissed by the second black president and all.

How much difference is there really?

His wife is now Obama’s secretary of state, but Obama had some tough words for the actions of former President Bill Clinton during the campaign.

“We had to figure out how to deal with a former president who was just lying, engaging in bald-faced lies,” Obama explained to Wolffe.

Read more: “‘Renegade’ CliffsNotes – Jonathan Martin – POLITICO.com” – http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23218_Page2.html#ixzz0HIx74EaA&A

Let’s just hope that Obama understands that his successor may very well also have crappy manners embedded in his leadership style and dis him, too.

Let’s hope that happens, and often, too.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Clinton is a dirtbag.  I saw him when he came to Michigan and I was totally amped – hated the guy but was in awe of being near the president.  But if you’re going to be leader of the free world, you ought to be able to have a certain poise, which Obama tries to pull off and fails every time due to his total lack of class.

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Good catch by The Dude:

“The president has the right to select who he wants [for the Supreme Court]. [He] doesn’t have to get it cleared from Congress, Senate or anybody… No president before this has come under this kind of scrutiny … before the committee hearings even begin.” –Air America radio host Montel Williams

You have to elect to be this stupid.  It doesn’t happen by chance.  It takes years of practice.

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“Today, when a concerted effort is made to obliterate this point, it cannot be repeated too often that the Constitution is a limitation on the government, not on private individuals — that it does not prescribe the conduct of private individuals, only the conduct of the government — that it is not a charter for government power, but a charter of the citizen’s protection against the government.” –author Ayn Rand (1905-1982)

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WHO is he talking about?  (emphasis mine)

Obama said in Turkey that Americans “do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation”. John McCain was criticised in 2007 for saying the US was “a Christian nation”, later amending this to “a Judeo-Christian valued nation”.

So NOW Obama is proud of his middle name and hoping that he can walk the thin line between embracing his muslim nature yet still being “christian”.  Well, his buddies in the press might just help him do it.

It is important to note that “if you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we’d be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world”.

So says President Barack Obama.

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Wacom Tablets STILL Rock.

Working on an ocean. It is the cliche ocean waves breaking scene (much like in raytracing, doing the mirrored ball on a checkered plane) but it is also perfect to teach me all about how to use a tablet to simulate an oil painting (sans canvas texture, of course – I may add that in later, who knows?). Mixing colors would be much better implemented if you could actually have a palette board and mix colors as if you were painting for real.

It is rough, the wave on the left side is still elusive, and the shade of green in the sky isn’t my favorite. I also want to slowly tease the green in the wave itself into a slightly bluer shade – it’ll be delicate given the sky color.

(Click it to bigger it)

Next is WIP 2 – with some sunlight added… not sure if I like or not, but the green in the sky has gotta go.

Again, click it to get the larger version.

But, like I said – it’s my first painting of this style and I’m not totally displeased with it. A tablet and pastels/pencils/ink are so different as to be in different solar systems.

For those of you who are interested, the Wacom Bamboo Fun variant of the tablet family is an excellent way to dip your toes into it for $105.

Critical comments and suggestions for improving are welcome. I like advice because if I didn’t need it, I’d be selling art for a living, you know? It’s pretty obvious I could use it. 🙂

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Update: Only slightly disturbing was the hit to my website using these search words:

self defence portable flame thrower

It’s unfortunate because I only sell the plans for the canine-mounted version. A LARGE canine.

Update #2: This is so cool my tongue has dried out because my jaw is still on my chest and my socks flew clear across the room as they were knocked off my feet. Can’t even find my bunny slippers.

NASA’s Mars Phoenix Lander can be seen parachuting down to Mars, in this image captured by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/images/press/9227-PHX_Lander.html

Update #3: Boo-hoo. Man is this guy a whiny little bastard when things are not going his way. Face it Bill, life just ain’t fair. Your “wife”s votes aren’t being counted for Michigan and Florida because they couldn’t hold to the rules of the game. Typical democrat attitude to try to circumvent anything you don’t like, typically using “It’s for the _____” (insert: children, disenfranchised, environment, lower class Americans – whichever furthers your cause most)

May 26, 2008

Bill Clinton says wife is victim of a ‘cover up’

Posted: 10:55 AM ET

From CNN Associate Political Editor Rebecca Sinderbrand
(CNN) — Former President Bill Clinton said that Democrats were more likely to lose in November if his wife Hillary Clinton is not the party’s presidential nominee, and suggested some people were trying to “cover this up” and “push and pressure and bully” superdelegates to make up their minds prematurely.

“I can’t believe it. It is just frantic the way they are trying to push and pressure and bully all these superdelegates to come out,” he said at a South Dakota campaign stop Sunday, in remarks first reported by ABC News. “’Oh, this is so terrible: The people they want her. Oh, this is so terrible: She is winning the general election, and he is not. Oh my goodness, we have to cover this up.'”

The former president added that his wife had not been given the respect she deserved as a legitimate presidential candidate. “She is winning the general election today and he is not, according to all the evidence,” he said. “And I have never seen anything like it. I have never seen a candidate treated so disrespectfully just for running.”

“Her only position was, ‘Look, if I lose I’ll be a good team player. We will all try to win — but let’s let everybody vote, and count every vote,’” he said.

The former president suggested that if the New York senator ended the primary season with an edge in the popular vote, it would be a significant development. “If you vote for her and she does well in Montana and she does well in Puerto Rico, when this is over she will be ahead in the popular vote,” said Clinton. (more)

Update #4: This can’t be for real, can it?

IAEA: Iran may be withholding info in nuke probe

May 26, 8:24 PM (ET)

By GEORGE JAHN

VIENNA, Austria (AP) – Iran may be withholding information needed to establish whether it tried to make nuclear arms, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Monday in an unusually strongly worded report.The tone of the language suggesting Tehran continues to stonewall the U.N. nuclear monitor revealed a glimpse of the frustration felt by agency investigators stymied in their attempts to gain full answers to suspicious aspects of Iran’s past nuclear activities.

(Here’s the portion of that article that should get you – LK)

“The intelligence also suggested Iran was researching construction of an underground site that apparently could be used to test fire nuclear bombs and ordered “dual use” equipment from abroad that could be part of an atomic weapons program.

Additionally, Iran possesses diagrams showing how to mold uranium metal into the shape of warheads.”

We all know that shaping of uranium is crucial to generating nuclear power, so what are you worried about? -LK

source: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080527/D90TLAO00.html

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O’ Hilary, Whatfor Art Thou? – subtitled “The Woman Who Cried Assassination”

There was an appropriate (yet stupid) question on CCN/Time. “What Does Hillary Want?”

It is clear that at the very least that she and Bill would want her to get the consolation prize as a veep. But it is well known that the Clintons will fight until all hope is lost.

Does she have hope? Certainly. I don’t mean to say that I’m hoping for her. But she is holding out hope that somehow she can make the claim at the convention that with Florida and Michigan, two obviously dysfunctional states, she would beat Obama in a popular vote.

If she can stubbornly hold out until the convention, she will now have a forum where she can grandstand and win through guile and honeyed words what she could not by dint of her charming personality (which is that of a crocodile in a satin power-suit and makeup). Her every move and utterance is unconvincingly facile yet the Clinton persona is such that one must always use plausible deniability or nuancing to shape public reactions and they somehow pull it off in defiance of natural law.

The pundits have spoken and by and large the imply that bringing Hillary on to Obama’s team would help his ticket. I politely disagree. Obama is going to be very very wary of Hillary because of the baggage she brings – Primadonna Bill – who like a moth to flame, cannot possibly be a part of something without being a headliner name. Not to mention, her remarks towards Obama kind of make it hard to like her…

We have seen an X-ray of a very dark soul. One consumed by raw ambition to where the possible assassination of an opponent is something to ponder in a strategic way. Otherwise, why is murder on her mind?

It’s like Tanya Harding‘s kneecapping has come to politics. Only the senator from New York has more lethal fantasies than that nutty skater.

We could have seen it coming, if only we had realized Clinton’s thinking could be so cold.

– Michael Goodwin

(Wow, I never would have guessed that her thinking could be so cold. Could you?)

One thing I have not heard mention of is the wildcard. Ted Kennedy announced his brain cancer earlier this week after siezures. While I wish this sort of ill will on no one (an aunt of mine died from brain/lung cancer), there was a huge outpouring of absolutely disgusting behavior from all walks after his announcement. Claims from every quarter about what a bridging-the-divide influence he was in “reaching across the aisle”. There were words of his honorable intentions in quarters where you would never have heard such a thing in any other circumstances. This leads one to two conclusions: That they either lie like rugs or that they have actually always liked Kennedy and have lied like rugs to hide the fact (which is more disturbing for reasons which should be obvious). In any event, the point is that the value of Kennedy’s poker chip has just increased ten-fold, and in any convention tie-breaker that he chooses to attend, look to see his word skew the debate into emotion-driven territory.

Should Hillary make a persuasive argument for bringing the two states with the least intelligent behavior in 2008, Michigan and Florida, into the fold, McCain will have triumphed. These two states chose to hold primaries outside of their agreed schedule and have been appropriately penalized. What is done is done, and to change it now (or not) will serve to make only one side happy since Hillary seems to have those states.

Sadly, the field has been narrowed down to three liberal candidates, and what would normally be cause for conservative celebration is reduced to shudders of revulsion wherever one looks. The best possible outcome will be for Hillary and Obama to bleed each other dry and the loser’s supporters flock to McCain for his liberal-policied alternative. That fact is partly to blame for McCain’s pretty little “Damn, am I Green or What?” speech in Oregon.

Welcome to an election that showcases all the worst and denies the best of humanity. Welcome to Hell.

Camille Paglia on Hillary’s Sexism Problem.

Peggy Noonan had her say, too.

And Goodwin on an X-Ray of a Very Dark Soul.

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Update:

That ol’ oil-baron-antichrist, Old Iron will appreciate this link from Bloomberg regarding oil prices. When you see a correlation coefficient of 0.95 between the rise of the Euro vs crude oil costs, it says something, and says it loudly. It’s not the whole reason, but it is a reason.

Old Iron has a great post discussing oil prices. It’s a complex issue and yet there are certain key points which are fairly simple and obvious – and this post covers both well, I think. If you’re sensitive and get offended and righteously weenie-pissed easily, read it anyway. Might make you tougher.

(that was meant in fun, Old Iron – just ask and I will delete the antichrist jibe)

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Update #2:

Awww. Poor baby. Any bet-takers here want to bet on whether he joined the Guard for money to go to school and then found out that there might be… uhm… obligations?

NOW, Canada is depriving him of his comfy life after deserting because he didn’t want to go to Iraq.

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Cockroaches, Why Did There Have To Be Cockroaches…?

Update: My buddy EW1(SG) just gave me hell for grossing him out with cockroaches. Oh, this will really strain a friendship, but what the hell, no guts no glory. I can’t claim credit on this one but I can give it where it is due. Go to this site and look at the T-SHIRT.

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Sometimes, to cheer a friend up, you gotta gross ’em out.

Said friend related a story explaining his hatred of roaches. In his small room they had a habit of getting inside the TV, then doing a good job at self-immolation on a HV connection.

My version of blowing sunshine up someone’s butt required this response.

Look at the bright side:

1) You have a bugzapper

2) You have incense

3) Both were for no more price than that of watching TV

My post for tonight is the tool I used for the gross-out. It is something I cooked up – the cutting diagram for the American Cockroach, Periplaneta americana. I assume it is called the American Cockroach because they are so well suited for the BBQ.

It was buried in the UN-Bug Eating Post, but here is the TerraLobster™ (AKA “CockTails”) concept along the same lines.

cocktails-brochure (PDF FILE)

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Lemur King Gets a Toy…

Update… Wacom ROCKS. Really.

Been saving up for a while to afford a glass-carving setup, but that is a $1200-1800 proposition. I want to do something now, not a year from now.

So, after some great advice, tips, clarification from Weasel and Enas I went out and threw clams down to get one of these little gadgets. That, constant readers, is a Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet.

Yes, the name is not remotely “manly” and indeed I will need to snip the corners off my Man Card™ but I’ll get through this. I got through the Clinton Years, so I’ll get through this too.

Just a mini-update.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am off to make a huge pot of Tom Yum Goong soup. Mmmmm tomyumgoong soup…

– LK

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