| Date: | 2010-08-24 22:48 |
| Subject: | |
| Security: | Public |
French or Japanese?
5 comments | post a comment
I had an idea in the shower. Is any of the Star Wars prequel salvageable. I mean, is it possible to take all three movies, and snip the heck out of them and make a reasonable movie? I'd love to see someone try.
2 comments | post a comment
Why am I listening to Space Oddity and Rocket Man and #9 Dream on loop? Got any recs for me?
3 comments | post a comment
I posted on craigslist asking for a House Manager and or ushers for The Gondoliers. Apparently somebody (whom I googled and discovered own a "Media Company") decided to even out the competition by emailing me.
Hey you're breaking the law ... will flag if you persist.
Unpaid Internships are illegal in California.
"For a position to be exempt from California wage and hour laws, the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement requires that "the training be an essential part of an established course of an accredited school or of an institution approved by a public agency to provide training for licensure or to qualify for a skilled vocation or profession. The program may not be for the benefit of any one employer, a regular employee may not be displaced by the trainee, and the training must be supervised by the school or a disinterested agency," according to a 1996 opinion letter from the department."
http://laborlaw.typepad.com/labor_and_employment_law_/2007/11/unpaid-internsh.html
http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/23795
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/27/BUG0RQ19531.DTL
Very amused.
3 comments | post a comment
Today I got an email forward from a family member which had been forwarded to her by an in-law of hers. It was this:
New Preamble for the Constitution
Ok I'm not going point by point through this. I'm just gonna pick an choose the most stupid parts of the email.
#1 The New PREAMBLE. Umm. Let's look at the old preamble:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. This New preamble has nothing to do with the real preamble. It's trying to be a combination of a bill of non-rights, and the declaration of independence ("We hold these truths to be self-evident"). Then again, Rush Limbaugh mixed up the two so it must happen to everyone at some point. #2 "liberal bed-wetters" It angers me when people try to make points by using "insults." I don't mind saying "I disagree with this idea. I don't think it will work." But I do mind "This is a liberal idea, of course it won't work." I would have more respect for this writer if he hadn't used the word liberal as a dirty word. #3 Article 3. If I sell you a car whose brakes will fail after 100 times I think you have the right to sue me. I think there is an expectation of safety. #4 Article 5. To their defense I think this was written many many years ago. When Health Care was thought as a "liberal" idea. #5 Article 10. WTF! What I find best is that this was sent by an in-law (read married-to my family) and in my family there are people who never bothered to learn English. I'm actually surprised my family member decided to forward this. Then again, it's my family and their thought is "Oh look this makes fun of liberals, and liberals = Democrats = Kennedy who stopped Bay of Pigs." #6 Article XI. Umm. You do realize that the bill of rights is only 10 right. Oh wait there are Articles because it's the constitution, in that case. There are only seven articles. In any case you fail. #7 Article XI just needs to be quoted for its sheer stupidity: ARTICLE XI: You do not have the right to change our country's history or heritage. This country was founded on the belief in one true God. And yet, you are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith at all; with no fear of persecution. The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage and history, and if you are uncomfortable with it, TOUGH! o Show me where in the Constitution or Declaration of independence it says anything about "one true God". Heck try to find the use of the word God. (Declaration: 1, Constitution: 0) That's right there is no mention of "God" in the constitution. I think the Framer's thought it wasn't that important. o "In God We Trust": According to the US Treasury the phrase was not put into the coins until 1864. And didn't become "official motto" until 1956. Hmm. That just doesn't quite give me the idea that it is part of our total heritage and history. Anyway I was just annoyed enough to write about it. Exercising my Article 2 non-right to be offended.
1 comment | post a comment
| Date: | 2009-02-23 11:44 |
| Subject: | Mold |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  cranky |
So last week we discovered mold growing on the wall of the bedroom. By looking around the house I determined that it could be caused by faulty outside siding.
I contacted the HOA, they said get a contractor and if necessary they could repair the outside siding. But they would not pay to repair the inside of the house. He said we should contact the Homeowner's insurance.
I contacted the Homeowner's insurance. First, they sent somebody to cover the area. Then they said that they probably will not pay because a) The problem is inside the walls and that's not usually covered. b) The policy for mold only covers mold caused by plumbing problems.
I contacted a mold remediation specialist to take a look at the area. He sent us an estimate, $958 to take out all the mold. This doesn't include fixing the cause of the mold, nor fixing up the wall. This is just to tear out the wall and put things in the trash. We'd have to hire a separate contractor to do the rest of the work.
Meanwhile Liz and I are still sleeping in the living room. Thank goodness for pull out couches from ikea.
Anybody had mold issues before? Want to offer any words of advice?
4 comments | post a comment
Every once in a while I discover that a word I've been using for a while had a definition that I invented and is incorrect. Two of my most notorious ones are pigeon holes and pragmatic.
I first heard the word pigeon hole in 18.313 (Probability class), in which Prof. Rota explained that if you have 100 pigeons and you stuff them into 99 pigeon holes then there must exist at least one pigeon hole with two pigeons in it. Not knowing any better (and being a city boy) I pictured holes dug into the ground and putting pigeons into the holes. I didn't know why people would do this, but I went with it. It wasn't until at least 5 years later that I discovered what a pigeon hole actually was.
Another such word is 'pragmatic.' I always heard, "She's a very pragmatic person." For some weird reason I decided that pragmatic came from the word pragma. Pragma is a word you see if you're programming in c or c++ to tell the compiler to do something special. So I decided that pragmatic meant something like mystical. Kind of like Dharma. It took me a while, and to meet a person who referred to herself as "pragmatic" but who had no scent of incense to realize that pragmatic did not mean mystical. PS. It means practical. As to why people can't just say practical I don't know.
I also had issues confusing the definitions of Precocious and promiscuous, which is a problem because precocious is usually used to describe young girls.
Anyway yesterday while looking up something on wikipedia I came across the term "false friend" According to Wikipedia, a false friend is a word that sounds similar in different languages but means completely different things. The typical example is "embarrassed" vs "embarazada" (which actually means pregnant) Anyway I had always thought that this was called a false cognate. (Though I did wonder why the word cognate was used). As it turns out, a false cognate (once again according to wikipedia) is a word in two languages that sounds similar, mean similar things, but are not related etymologically. An example is day vs dia, or, even weirder, English boy and Japanese bōya.
I know there are cunning linguists who read this. Is wikipedia correct? Do I need to re-title my list of "Fun false cognates: English vs Spanish" to "Fun False Friends: English vs Spanish"? Ooh the new title has alliteration!
2 comments | post a comment
So over Christmas I developed a lovely medical condition.
There is now a constant high pitched squeal in my ear. It's called tinnitus. Ok technically tinnitus is a symptom and not an actual condition. But sometimes doctors can't find out what's causing it.
I've already gone to my PCP who said I should take flonase for two weeks. I also went to an audiologist who tested me and said that it looks like I'm losing my hearing in the mid-high range which indicated I've been listening to too much loud music. But the truth is I don't. I don't ever wear earbuds because they hurt my ears so I really don't listen to that much music. I also haven't really gone to concerts.
Anyway my next step is to go to an ENT but they said I needed a referral. Though I really don't because my medical plan lets me skip the referral so I'll just have to call and see.
It's really annoying and causes me to not sleep well. Any advice from the peanut gallery? Do any of you have this problem. I thought it would be better at work, but it turns out it's much worse.
4 comments | post a comment
| Date: | 2008-10-17 16:50 |
| Subject: | Repetition |
| Security: | Public |
Overheard many times today:
X: So ... Ready for your last week of freedom?
Me: Why does everyone keep telling me that?
3 comments | post a comment
So next week is party week. Looks like I'm leaving bachelorhood with a bang.
Wednesday - Bachelor Party
Thursday - Sister's birthday dinner
Friday - Rehearsal Dinner
Saturday - Wedding
Sunday - Wedding Breakfast
Sunday Night - Flight to Aruba!
7 comments | post a comment
| Date: | 2008-10-05 23:39 |
| Subject: | Polibits |
| Security: | Public |
What is Patriotism? "Love and devotion to one's country," says wikipedia. Now does government equal country? I don't think so. After all during the revolutionary war we did have a government. It just happened that the government was under the English crown. Was it unpatriotic to protest against the English? Now what if you believe that the government is wrong? Is it unpatriotic to protest it? This country is really big, there's a lot to love and a lot to not love. Don't confuse wanting to change things with being unpatriotic, don't confuse disliking the government with being unpatriotic. They are different things.
Is it patriotic to pay taxes? Let's use logic. Supporting our troops is patriotic. According to http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm around 51% of tax revenues are used for military spending. Therefore, paying taxes must be at least 51% patriotic.
I'm a little worried about how quickly Obama started putting out defensive ads against the onslaught of attack ads by McCain. Though I'm only worried because I haven't actually seen any attack ads by McCain yet. Wouldn't it be interesting if McCain's campaign only "said" they were putting out attack ads so that Obama would spend money on useless ads and look bad. (Conspiracy Theory all the way)
post a comment
Here's a question I just don't know and it's hard to find the answer on the internet.
For Corporate Tax purposes are employee salaries tax deductions?
Because if they are then raising or lowering the corporate tax rate isn't gonna change whether companies hire or not. In fact, if you use the approach of a mortgage interest deduction if the taxes are high then corporations would better use their profits by hiring more people. (Sure it's the same argument as paying 10,000 in interest to get a 300 dollar tax reduction, but it seems to work on people)
Any corporate tax accountants know the answer?
1 comment | post a comment
| Date: | 2008-09-17 12:33 |
| Subject: | |
| Security: | Public |
So Cathy Young wrote this article titled: Why Feminists Hate Sarah Palin
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB122143727571134335-lMyQjAxMDI4MjExNTQxMzU3Wj.html
If I read the article correctly she says that Palin is a true feminist because she can manage career and home and that she hasn't needed any government handouts to do so. Well that's great, but that's only because she has "an incredible support system -- a husband with flexible jobs rather than a competing career . . . and a host of nearby grandparents, aunts, and uncles." The article goes on to say: "One of the best choices a woman can make if she wants a career and a family is to pick a partner who will be able to take on equal or primary responsibility for child-rearing."
I see. So what she's saying is that if you pick wrong when you're in your 20's (when most people get married), or if the man you marry is not who you thought he was, or even worse you don't have a man or a family support system. SCREW YOU!
Got it.
3 comments | post a comment
I had a really interesting dream last night which really makes for a good movie. I think.
The dream starred Mariska Hargitay, she plays a young girl who's in prison for a crime she didn't commit. Then later she concocts this amazing plan to get out of prison. (In my dream she used the train to launch herself out) Anyway it's so public that a mob shows up where she lands. Eventually the cops show up where she lands but they can't really find who they're looking for in the crowd. So she's walking by in a crowd, as the characters for Law and Order (younger of course) walk by. Then she overhears, "She must have thrown away her identity and become a new person" So she throws down her wallet (I don't know, in my dream she has a wallet) and walks away. Two or three years later she has changed her name (in my dream she had a child, though that doesn't really work with the ending) to ... Olivian Benson.
It seems interesting to suddenly reveal a new past to a character in a way that people don't think it's the same character. Anyway it was a dream, nothing more.
post a comment
Ok this is really bad. I just saw a reporter refer to Joe Biden as "that other person" and came up with this. Yes my photoshop skills are *very* bad. And really the joke only really works for two of them. The other two are just kind of there. And sorry if I violated copyrights. I do kind of think that it's within fair use.
Ok without further ado:
( It"s Politics Girls Squad!Collapse )
4 comments | post a comment
| Date: | 2008-09-11 19:54 |
| Subject: | Experiment |
| Security: | Public |
I've been reading too many political internet commentary. I don't mean *smart* commentary like the ones newscasters may give, (Though saying it is smart isn't always correct.) I mean the type of Comments you'd read in the comments section of a news article. It's usually extremely biased. So here's what I thought. (I'm not just talking about Pro-Republican or Pro-Democrat, I do mean both, this experiment is against both parties.)
So, what would happen if you take any website that usually provides pro-left or pro-right news, then take a news item that gets people to write things like "You see, we would never behave like that. Our party would never do that>" Then reverse the polarity of the people involved and post it on said website. I'd love to see people now mindlessly cheering for it, because their party did it.
In particular I was at a website that was talking about a McCain rally in which he couldn't talk a lot because Obama supporters were chanting "Obama! Obama!" so he couldn't get a word in. This was posted on a Pro-Right website so the entire conversation was about how rude those Obama supporters are (though they used stronger words) and McCain has freedom of speech. And I thought, now imagine if the article was the other way around, Obama can't get a word in because of McCain supporters chanting "McCain, McCain" would the same people write how rude their party was being?
In the same vein post an article saying that McCain said "That's like the pot calling the kettle black" and claim that he's being racist. Would that suddenly be racist? I just think we need to be less quick to draw conclusions.
2 comments | post a comment
| Date: | 2008-09-10 23:35 |
| Subject: | |
| Security: | Public |
Wow. I'm amazed this man said this on live TV. It's right on though:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/10/olbermann-slams-republica_n_125525.html
3 comments | post a comment
| Date: | 2008-09-08 17:57 |
| Subject: | |
| Security: | Public |
Very Interesting:
http://www.americablog.com/2008/09/how-americablog-reader-asked-john-and.html
Article about asking questions to McCain/Palin
post a comment
| Date: | 2008-08-20 13:38 |
| Subject: | Ask Dr. LJ |
| Security: | Public |
I can't remember High School Math enough
50 = T * (1.01)^T
Is there a way to solve for T without graphing?
Actually what I'm trying to figure out is:
V = C * T * (1+R)^T
I know V, C and R, and want to calculate T.
Anybody?
6 comments | post a comment
| Date: | 2008-08-18 11:30 |
| Subject: | Dear NBC |
| Security: | Public |
Dear NBC,
I'm not too annoyed by your commentaries during the olympics. It only bothers me slightly that you tend to only show winners and the US. Showing the US is your prerogative after all. However the 67 Million people who live in the Pacific and Mountain Time Zones do deserve to get some live shows. We do not like receiving the East Coasts Table scraps. We get this all the time, in New Years you always try to show us the ball falling on New York. Umm It's already 3am in New York! However this time, you don't even bother telling us that what we're watching is not live. You blithely pretend that things are live when they aren't. You show things live at 11pm East Coast time, but can't show it at 8pm Pacific Time? No, we must live in the land of tape delay.
Bah. I guess there are 226 Million people in the other time zones who do get to see things live, it's just annoying that they could show it to us live and refuse. But I can watch some things online and that's at least good. But noooo they ruin that too. If they are televising a sport they refuse to show it live, so I couldn't see the Mexican Beach Volleyball team at all because they don't show you it online and hmm, I think the mexicans are not called Misty, so no they don't show them. (Actually has anyone seen the other Beach Volleyball team from the US? I haven't.)
And there's a mexican diver who may win a bronze. You'd figure the 23 million Mexicans living in the US may be interested in her. But no.
I am grateful for the online feeds, I wish they'd just be better.
3 comments | post a comment
|
