Thursday, December 17, 2009

climate change in copenhagen




what idiot in brussels decided that copenhagen was the best place to get anything done?

if they all had gone to east africa, they would all have to forgo their comfortable hotels and running water like everyone else...they might have actually been uncomfortable.

i guess a lot depends on what you see when you get up in the morning.

Friday, December 11, 2009

nutty is alive.



it's me.

been absent from the blogosphere. moo_cho apologetti.

anyway. word of the day is:

Astonishing.

as in american commentators being completely incapable of pronouncing foreign winter sports destinations. or anywhere else for that matter.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

T-Mobile









just wanted to say a big thanks to T-Mobile.

we switched our plan online to take advantage of online services while travelling in england last month, duly paying the $24.99 fee to avoid extra international charges.

imagine how happy we were when we reviewed our statement to find out that we had been charged the $24.99 fee plus over $500 for using our 'phones abroad.

the reason? the online changes applied only to 'domestic web' according to the T-Mobile customer service representative and two t-mobile managers. they explained that the option for selecting 'international web' use is buried another 3 pages from the main account page. not on the same page as domestic...

getting nowhere, we asked if we could elect to pay the balance on a payment plan. our response was "3 weeks"!

t-mobile. you'll get your money, but not in 3 weeks.

Friday, November 27, 2009

not his best drive...




tiger woods drives into a fire hydrant and then smashes into a tree.


Thursday, November 19, 2009

our new home is no longer a patch of dirt



our new house has a roof, and walls (sort of).

this is leather-clad me, the home builder on the left and our realtor on the right.

















this is me and daisy.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

convenient history (man-made, of course)




there is abundant evidence of major catastrophes throughout human history, both natural and man-made.

since we have no credible evidence of intelligent life anywhere other than our home, planet earth, you might think we would value human life a great deal higher than we apparently show to our fellow homo sapiens and other inhabitants of our home.

"Allāhu Akbar" or "god is great"

does anybody else think it absurd that the fort hood shooting began with a declaration of god and ended in prayer and more praying?

the NRA's assertion that more guns would prevent massacres is roundly disproved by this tragedy. since an army base is full of highly trained weapon specialists how come so many died and scores were injured?

and what of our so-called heroes? pacifists don't shoot people, as neither do atheists (any news articles that anyone can send that offer countering evidence i will gladly post).

was not this army doctor a hero in the eyes of america before he committed this act?

war is not heroic.
killing others is not heroic.
wearing a uniform by itself does not make you a hero.

one has to perform an act of heroism. and that includes everyone, including those that have committed crimes, liars, thieves. absolutely anyone can be a hero.

shouldn't we also award a few medals for not dying or killing?

Health Care Spending = 16% GDP
Military Spending = 4% GDP

of course, all the lunatics that moan about govt. spending and not it not capable of running anything conveniently forget that the US military is a government-run program...

since every single person living in the united states will require health care during their lifetime, and that there is no universal coverage for every citizen, this is a staggering statistic (see below)





Thursday, October 29, 2009

a fair fight?




fed up with being drowned in jesus?

where are the signs "i love satan"?
no cheesy bumper stickers telling you how much the owner of that vehicle believes in the 'other side'

no houses of devil worship to be found in travel guides? how come? since we're all supposed to be sinning, you would think there might be a few alternatives.

so i did a quick google search on internet explorer. here are the results:

Results 1 - 10 of about 467,000,000 for god
Results 1 - 10 of about 197,000,000 for jesus
Results 1 - 10 of about 276,000,000 for religion

Results 1 - 10 of about 50,600,000 for the devil
Results 1 - 10 of about 28,300,000 for satan
Results 1 - 10 of about 589,000,000 for sin

Results 1 - 10 of about 13,300,000 for evangelical
Results 1 - 10 of about 10,700,000 for atheist

so in conclusion, not only does god threaten us with eternal damnation if we choose not to worship him, but he is so insecure that he won't even allow a fair battle.

how very fucking big of him.
of course, you can't deny it's a brilliant move getting his name on every dollar bill...you'd think it would be the other way round.

rossi wins 9th world title and i get chickenpox.



some brilliant motorcycle racing in sepang, especially in the 250cc race.

stoner was untouchable to take the victory, but all rossi needed was to keep lorenzo (future world champion) in his sights.

me getting chickenpox wasn't so great...

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Shogun Robbed!

UFC 104 was marred last night by the most attrocious or perhaps corrupt officiating the sport has seen since the Hamil vs. Bisping decision. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua not only scored more blows, but also landed the harder more damaging shots while being the aggressor, dictating the pace of the fight, and displaying superior ring generalship. Despite a sound strategy and superb execution that led to Shogun winning every aspect of the judging criteria, the judges rendered a unanimous decision to Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida. Coincidentally, judge Cecil Peoples who previously favored Bisping over Hamil showed his risible incompetence yet again by scoring in favor of Machida.

Boos reigned throughout the stadium and even Machida had a look of shock on his face when the announcement was made. This result is truly terrible for the sport as it ruins it's credibility. UFC front man, Dana White, also believed it was a poor decision and has pledged to make changes to improve the calibre of judging. However, this will be difficult because judging is run by the state athletic commission and not the UFC.

Many fans left boxing after too many dreadful high profile decisions that reeked of "fixed" corruption. Let's hope the same does not happen to mixed martial arts.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Friday, September 25, 2009

a sunday ride

out to annapolis.

met a couple of other riders and decided to go for a group ride to north beach.

after, we left to ride to solomon's island.

brilliant!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Friday, September 18, 2009

'Big Government' spending - continued...


this photograph, famous throughout the world would not have been possible were it not for government spending.

it's not just that government (federal, state & local) is responsible for the military, schools, hospitals, roads, trains, buses, bridges, infrastructure, zoos, police, firefighters, nurses and doctors. it provides a safety net for the unemployed, a functioning marketplace, and health care for the poor.

it is responsible for picking up your garbage and dealing with your sewage. it is responsible for giving you air to breath that isn't a toxic soup and providing clean drinking water.


it also is the reason why we have national parks that haven't been developed on...

sometimes it is responsible for making the impossible happen, like putting a man on the moon (and more importantly, bringing him home).


it also provides us with an incredible view of our world, and beyond:

government is far from perfect, but does anyone really want to return to the wild west (apart from the NRA).



Wednesday, September 16, 2009

who doesn't want health care for all?


  • Patients get free choice of health care providers and hospitals.
  • When you go to your own personal physician for visits, there are NO premiums, NO co-payments, NO deductibles, NO one excluded. You pay nothing.
  • When you get your prescription filled by your pharmacist, there are NO premiums, NO co-payments, NO deductibles, NO one excluded. You pay nothing.
  • If you need hospitalization, there are NO premiums, NO co-payments, NO deductibles, NO one excluded. You pay nothing.
of course, you will pay into a system, and have free choice to purchase your own private health insurance.

this is what citizens of the world's richest nation are so up in arms about.

Monday, September 14, 2009

the biggest gathering of assholes D.C. has ever seen




plenty seemed quite o.k. taking the metro, though...provided by tax dollars.

these flag-waving assholes will help prevent a public option.

sorry, i meant offensive, flag-waving, hypocritical, stupid, fat & ignorant assholes that have obviously never even left the united states. yep, without a doubt, bush was SO much better....

i sincerely hope all these worryingly ideological right-wing fed, walmart shopping, 'patriotic' idiots, lose their jobs, their health care, and their homes. because then they wil truly get what they all want: no government help.

Friday, September 11, 2009

what's missing from american newspapers on 9/11?

this:

speaking of which, have you seen Inglorious Basterds yet?




brilliant, campy, tarantino offering -

Wizard of Oz meets Reservoir Dogs, with lipstick.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Congratulations England for Early World Cup Qualification!

England 5-1 Croatia! What a remarkable result in stark contrast to how England crashed out of the Euro Cup to the very same team under the risible leadership of Steve Mclaren. The team is undefeated in World cup qualifying, winning almost every match emphatically. Coach Capello has done an amazing job in restoring the confidence in the lads that they've had at club level but always lacked on the national stage. He has also figured out how to get England's midfield firing on all cylinders by figuring out the Gerrad/Lampard conundrum. Even the attacking options look promising with Rooney and Defoe hitting form in the premiership and on the national team. Surprisingly, Capello's success has occurred without many key England starters such as Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, and Owen Hargreaves, all soon to return from injury. Any England fan might get their hopes up with trepidation given the history of painful losses and collective mental breakdowns at the most inopportune moments, but I believe the World Cup is looking bright for England with our favorite Italian at the helm.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Hotels.Com




how about booking a labor day weekend away, getting an e-mail booking confirmation, only to find out upon arrival at the hotel that no reservation had been made.

after the hotel itself helped us out, we 'phoned the next hotel booked. they also had no record of a booking with Hotels.com.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Friday, August 28, 2009

Whole Foods



why i will not be shopping at Whole Foods.

thanks, mr. mackey (CEO of Whole Foods) for sharing your views on
President Obama's health care reform with the Wall Street Journal:

“The last thing our country needs is a massive new health care entitlement that will create hundreds of billions of dollars of new unfunded deficits and move us much closer to a government takeover of our health care system,” Mr. Mackey wrote.

i completely disagree.

"the last thing our country needs" - medical debt is the single biggest cause of bankruptcy in the world's richest nation. what exactly is so great about that, mr. mackey?

i will be shopping at Trader Joe's.

see:

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Ted Kennedy dies and microsoft manages this:


a champion of civil rights, advocate for the poor, race relations, and a fierce believer that health care is a right for all americans, including children...

perhaps congress shpould consider the wider issue and not their own interests, and those of the insurance companies.

no wonder the republicans hate liberals.

astonishingly, on the same day, microsoft manages to get in the news with this gem of a photoshop job and issues an apology:


Empower your people

unless they're black...

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

my 1,270th post is the 400th anniversary of the birth of modern science.




on august 25th, 1609, observational science, not religion, ushered in a new way of understanding the world around us.

what reward did this individual receive for such towering achievements?

house arrest by the catholic church. his crime? by stating that the sun is the center of the solar system, not the earth was "false and contrary to scripture".

and contrary to popular belief, galileo DID NOT invent the telescope.

excellent wiki page can be seen here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei

amazing that 400 years later, i am writing and posting this blog using a computer that operates under the absurd 'reality' of quantum mechanics.

400 years ago there were no lighbulbs, no electricity, no tv's, no cars, no cell phones, no computers, and not even a fucking pen that you didn't dip in ink. and no internet! imagine the horror if we were disconnected from the internet for even a week...

no fast food, no fast-food chains, no burgers or hot dogs, no supermarkets, no gasolene, no united states of america, and no motorcycles. no plastic, no human-induced climate change, and 50,000 people didn't die each year because of guns.

it's quite impossible to imagine living in such a world, although i would happily like to see a night sky free of light pollution. i would also like to live in a world without guns, but that is a daydream. luckily, i can ride my ducati, and i have no thoughts of killing anyone because they differ from me.

there was plenty of culture 400 years ago though, and italy was dripping with it.

i spent the morning in rockville, today, and it has none whatsoever.

such is 'progress'.

Monday, August 24, 2009

the biggest problem with moral authority





is when you don't possess any...

and americans are outraged over the release of the lockerbie bomber. who has cancer.

exactly what moral authority is it that the united states demonstrates to the rest of the world?

actions always speak louder than words.

strange that a nation with such strong 'christian' beliefs so quickly refuses to show any mercy to a man that was convicted so conveniently readily.

i actually drove past the crash site not long after that terrible event.