I'm back...

CNN: "Please don't play your annoying 'tragedy' music every time there's a tragedy. It started with 9/11 and has gone on ever since. Isn't silence the more dignified option to allow viewers to pause and reflect upon the terrible news (just before you cut to commercials)?

Wanker of the week award

Apart from me, obviously for not blogging, the list includes:

Pastor Terry Jones:

Disturbing Wanker

The Pope: For employing child molesters and protecting them from prosecution.

Hypocritical Wanker

Cardinal Walter Kasper:

Smug Wanker - Why don't you put your own fucking house in order? You don't like Britain because everyone isn't willing to subvert their existence to your liking?

Christine O'Donnell:

Stupid Wanker - Can't handle her own money, so wants to ruin everybody else's. She also believes that the world was created in six days...

Not at the Holiday Inn..

Since March 17th, actually.

Our new home...still

Holiday Inn, Rosslyn, VA

Yes, i've been absent from the blogosphere, but to be fair, all my shit is in storage and we've been living out of either a basement apt or a hotel since the end of July, 2009.

Hopefully moving on March 17.

the best sporting event this weekend

NOT the fuckin' commercialised to death, look-at-me prima donna Superbowl (tv ads every 6 mins)

Six Nations Rugby: England vs Wales at Twickenham.

Brilliant! and on BBC America.

universal health care dies

well done america.

you deserve everything you have voted for. i.e. how good tomorrow is going to look for "ME!, ME!, ME!..."

proof that the filibuster works and americans are, quite simply, stupid.

the only way out of this is for everyone to vote republican at every election, give them 100% control of both the house and senate, and then just sit back and wait.

jesus sure loves haiti...

1st ride of 2010

2009 miles on ducati monster 1100S: 4,680.

only a short ride out to battley cycles and back, but i'm definitely less grumpy.

blogger still alive...

due to the fact that i'm extra grumpy (haven't ridden for close to two weeks...), it's bloody cold in this cramped basement, my desktop, along with my external hard drive, my printer has gone on the blink and it's my busiest time of the year.

apart from that, congrats to 'contador' for a dominating performance!

life with a six year-old laptop...

hundreds gather to protest global warming

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.

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.

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.

couple desperate to set record straight after gatecrashing whitehouse state dinner

not his best drive...

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

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.

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)

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...

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.