I have a fascination with reading transcripts of ordinary dialog. And when it’s associated with a disaster, there’s something particularly haunting about it. Which is why this compilation of phone…
I have a fascination with reading transcripts of ordinary dialog. And when it’s associated with a disaster, there’s something particularly haunting about it.
Which is why this compilation of phone calls and other contacts with folks who were in the WTC when the planes hit is all the more chilling, disturbing, overwhelming.
Amazing stuff, the closest we’ll ever be to knowing what it was like inside. It put a chill down my spine.
The Loeb Classical Library has been restoring the naughty bits in a wide variety of classic Greek and Roman texts. As things loosened in the 1960’s, the Loeb began updating…
The Loeb Classical Library has been restoring the naughty bits in a wide variety of classic Greek and Roman texts.
As things loosened in the 1960’s, the Loeb began updating its collection. George P. Goold, an Englishman who became editor in 1973, was determined to use more accurate language, as with this old passage from Catullus: “Tis you I fear, you and your passions, so fatal to the young, both good and bad alike.” In Mr. Goold’s translation, it became: “Tis you I fear, you and your penis, so ready to molest good boys and bad alike.”
Kids still can’t “shoot” each other — or imaginary aliens — with pointed finger “guns” at Dry Creek Elementary, but at least if they do, they won’t be questioned about…
Kids still can’t “shoot” each other — or imaginary aliens — with pointed finger “guns” at Dry Creek Elementary, but at least if they do, they won’t be questioned about whether their family owns any fire-arms.
Of course the inanity of disciplining children for finger-guns in the first place goes unaddressed.
Here’s an interesting article about George Lucas, which blames his success-enabled isolation and unwillingness to collaborate for why the last two Star Wars movies sucked. I’m always a little leery…
Here’s an interesting article about George Lucas, which blames his success-enabled isolation and unwillingness to collaborate for why the last two Star Wars movies sucked.
I’m always a little leery of these sorts of psychoanalysis-in-six-column-inch packets, but it sure sounds plausible to me.
(Also via Quiddity)
Eternal vigilence is the price of liberty. Except in Missouri, where the House of Representatives has passed a law banning photo-taking in barns. The explicit target of the legislation is…
Eternal vigilence is the price of liberty. Except in Missouri, where the House of Representatives has passed a law banning photo-taking in barns.
The explicit target of the legislation is animal rights activists and press photographers who sneak into barns to take pictures of conditions there. “They’d like to come in and take pictures and say how bad it is when in actuality (the animals) have never had it so good,” said Rep. Legan, Republican sponsor of the (I kid you not) “anti-terrorism” amendment to the Agriculture Bill.
Legan had to be talked into toning down the felony punishment for such a grave offense from five years to “only” one year.
A picture may be worth a thousand words. It’s now also worth 365 days in the slammer. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Thomas Jefferson.
And just to be sure where the media actually stands in all of this, Rep. Legan added that the news media shouldn’t be allowed to conduct undercover investigative reports. “We have the investigators working for the Missouri Department of Agriculture who investigate these folks. Your job is to stay out of my business.”
We’re from the government. Trust us. Kind of an odd attitude for a Republican to take, don’t you think? Maybe the fact that he’s a farmer has something to do with it.
(Via Quiddity)
David Prowse, who played the guy inside the black armor in Star Wars Episodes IV-VI, weighs in on Episodes I-II. He has some good comments. “Some of the acting was…
David Prowse, who played the guy inside the black armor in Star Wars Episodes IV-VI, weighs in on Episodes I-II. He has some good comments.
“Some of the acting was quite banal,” Prowse told The Examiner from his Croydon home, just outside of London. “I think that’s what you get when there is too much blue-screen filming.
“I think Star Wars was initially a really basic story — good over evil, relationships, a terrible villain. And people always referred to the characters as Han Solo, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker, not by Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher or Mark Hamill. Now, it’s more about Ewan McGregor and Liam Neeson. It’s become earth-related and has lost the magic of the first three (films).”
He also hates Jar Jar, which puts him on the side of the majority of humans on the planet.
On the other hand, despite not having talked with Lucas since 1983, and not privy to what Episode III will end up having in it, he’s angling to reprise his armored role.
“I think the fans will object if it’s not me,” he said. “They’ll revolt. I’ve got a huge following over the years, and people are always saying they hope I’ll appear in Episode Three.”
Unfortunately, that’s the same tune voiced by a lot of actors when their roles are reprised by others. Fact is, there’s little to require that Prowse be the man inside the armor. Of course, there’s little that would prevent him from doing it (and the fans probably would be happy), but using a “revolt by the fans” as a threat is probably not going to be productive in negotiations …
(I just flashed on the closing scene of Ep. III, after all the “What happened to Padme and the kids?” is all answered. Anakin, having undergone still further injuries and cybernetization, is on the operating table, as the familiar black helm is locked down into place, and Darth Vader, the transformation complete, arises, the Emperor standing by, beaming in that wicked way he has at his new creation … Cue the DV Theme, and roll credits …)
(Via Quiddity)
jury duty excuses getting out of – Just do it, folks. “reed’s ginger ice cream” – Mmmmmmmmmmm. avoid jury duty – Just do it, all right?…
I vaguely recall having seen this a while back. If so, I clearly blotted it from my memory. The Mazda Millenia I know that car companies feel compelled to come…
I vaguely recall having seen this a while back. If so, I clearly blotted it from my memory.
I know that car companies feel compelled to come up with names-that-are-not-names. In other words, we can’t call something a Thunderbird any more, or a Mustang, or a Cougar, or some other evocative image. Don’t ask me why. I guess the good animals and forces of nature are all taken up.
We certainly can’t name vehicles after people or tribes. Heavens.
So unless a car company wants to go the European route and call their latest sedan the M23i/lcd or something like that, they have to make up names.
Mazda, if you’re going to make up a name, make up a name. Don’t use a word that’s almost a real word, just close enough to confuse the hell out of everyone.
I had hoped that most folks learned how to spell “Millennium” a year or two back when we had one. Perhaps I cheated, since it follows the same pattern as my home town, “Centennial,” in terms of having two N’s, which is the tricky part.
Mazda, of course, drops an N.
They also end it with an A, which makes it sound cool, foreign, classy. It also turns the word “Millennium” into “Millennia,” which is plural.
But it’s just a made-up word, right?
Imagine if they named a car the “Texen.” Or the “Ameraca.” Or the “Expleror.”
Dumb.
Oil of Bergamot, though wonderful with black tea (Earl Grey), is far less pleasing with coffee. Wash your mug in the morning….
Oil of Bergamot, though wonderful with black tea (Earl Grey), is far less pleasing with coffee.
Wash your mug in the morning.
I couldn’t find the reference to the news story at Channel 4’s web site, but I have to wonder … … why is that my wife’s employer, a major HMO,…
I couldn’t find the reference to the news story at Channel 4’s web site, but I have to wonder …
… why is that my wife’s employer, a major HMO, cannot even, legally, confirm publicly that someone has been a patient at one of their medical centers …
… but some yahoo can photograph patients at an abortion clinic and post said pictures up on his Internet page?
(Here’s an article on the tactic in Mother Jones.)
Colorado’s Telemarketer “No-Call” List is kicking off, huzzah. The first quarterly cut-off is this Friday, 31 May (it will go into effect 1 July; if you miss this Friday’s deadline,…
Colorado’s Telemarketer “No-Call” List is kicking off, huzzah. The first quarterly cut-off is this Friday, 31 May (it will go into effect 1 July; if you miss this Friday’s deadline, you can’t get listed until 1 October). You can add your name and number here.
(As of today, half a million numbers had already been signed up …)
Once upon a time, we took a second mortage from Colorado National Bank. It came with a line of credit. All well and good. A few years later, with interest…
Once upon a time, we took a second mortage from Colorado National Bank. It came with a line of credit. All well and good.
A few years later, with interest rates way down, we went back to US Bank (the new corporate owners of CNB) and got a new second to replace the first, closing out the original second. All well and good.
Here we are in 2002. We’re doing a complete re-fi of our first, which will pay off our second.
“Hmmmmm, what’s this?” the underwriters say. “You have two more liens against the property than you listed. What’s with that?”
“Huh?”
The CSB second, which was convered over to US Bank, still shows a balance of $200, which means that it, and the line of credit, still exist. US Bank, of course, never told us that.
Margie, the Queen of Phone-Related Stuff, called US Bank up in late April. After several reroutings, she was told, “Hmmm. We can’t see it on our computer. We’ll figure it out and get back to you in 3-7 days.”
Three weeks later, last Monday, she called again. She was routed to some other Shadow Dept. in the US Bank phone tree. “Hmmm. We can’t see what the status is of the first inquiry. We’ll set another group on that and get back to you in 48 hours.”
This afternoon, still no word back from the gnomes at US Bank, she called again.
After being routed hither and thither, and waiting on hold for quite some time, she discovered (a) she was rerouted to a department that couldn’t help her, (b) that person couldn’t route her to anyone who could help her, and (c) that person’s supervisor was unwilling, even after several long, long minutes of (tearful) browbeating, to get her to a manager to complain about the experience as a whole, or to even talk to her. All she got was the direct number of the group that she needed to talk two about second loans.
(If I live to be 100, I owe Margie for being Phone Point Person of the Family.)
At this point, Katherine was waking up, so I went for a long walk with her.
When I got back, Margie was feeling better. She had actually talked to someone (a) who was willing to help, (b) actually could help, and (c) helped her. It looks like progress actually has been made in getting everything closed and reversed and put to bed. Not that anyone had called to let us know this, but at least it looked like progress had been made.
And someone will call tomorrow. They promise.
[For more in this thread, visit here.]
TiVo is now “spamming” its subscribers by downloading programs they don’t want, but which sponsors would like to have seen. The programs cannot be erased for a week, and appear…
TiVo is now “spamming” its subscribers by downloading programs they don’t want, but which sponsors would like to have seen. The programs cannot be erased for a week, and appear on the main menu.
Protests by the company that it doesn’t use up any user space (it goes onto reserved tracks on the hard drive), that it’s preempted if you’re watching or recording something at the time, or that it can just be ignored are falling on deaf ears.
Okay, I admit it. I still want a TiVo. But a little bit less than I did before.
I was in Best Buy today at lunch. I hate going to BB, largely because they have the least service-oriented service reps in the world, and flog their useless service…
I was in Best Buy today at lunch. I hate going to BB, largely because they have the least service-oriented service reps in the world, and flog their useless service contracts ruthlessly. But they have a decent selection of Stuff, and usually have pretty good prices.
So I noticed, as I just happened to be wandering through the computer software section, a New Trend. Software (games, at least) are beginning to be shipped in smaller boxes. The 8×8″ box, which usually held a small manual, a jewel-cased CD, and a lot of air, is now being replaced by a smaller box, about the size of a video cassette. Less shelf space required, less material, smaller (but still useful) screen shots, good all around, I should think.
… which is just too funny not to blog about. A comment from Adam’s friend, Wendy….
… which is just too funny not to blog about. A comment from Adam’s friend, Wendy.
All those khaki-clad, helmed-or-bereted, stern and military-looking National Guardsmen who’ve been there in airports, keeping us safe from terrorists? Some of them were carrying, under orders, unloaded weapons. In New…
All those khaki-clad, helmed-or-bereted, stern and military-looking National Guardsmen who’ve been there in airports, keeping us safe from terrorists?
Some of them were carrying, under orders, unloaded weapons.
In New York and Pennsylvania, Guardsmen were not allowed to carry loaded weapons. Instead, they had clips ready to load into their unloaded weapons. BFD.
Those states that decided their soldiers should carry loaded weapons said doing so was intrinsic to the success of the mission, to be able to defend themselves and the public.
States that decided otherwise said the guardsmen were there mainly to buttress local law enforcement, and they noted they could order the weapons loaded at any time.
Officially, the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs would not comment on whether the state’s National Guard troops carried loaded or unloaded weapons. “We are not going to confirm specific rules of engagement because our soldiers could be back in the airports,” spokesman John Maietta said.
I.e., for at least Pennsylvania and New York, it was more important to look safe than to be safe.
The newspaper breaking the story, the Philadelphia Inquirer, contacted the states with the nation’s busiest airports. Pennsylvania and New York had folks come forward saying that the guns were unloaded. Most of the states (including Colorado) indicated that they had — gasp! — authorized loaded weapons. A number of states had No Comment, which seems a bit odd.
The problem is, of course, now that the information has (inevitably) leaked out, it makes it all the more likely that someone will guess (rightly or wrongly) that Guardsmen (or other security types) are unarmed, or are just for show, and will Do Something that will possibly lead to People Getting Hurt.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
And why this? According to the Guardsmen who spilled the beans, they were told that the Powers that Be didn’t “want any John Waynes.” In other words, the Guardsmen couldn’t be trusted not to start opening up with their weapons into the crowds.
Boy, doesn’t that make you feel safe?
(Via Blather)
And sometimes a Tuesday is still a Tuesday 1. Do you like your job? By and large, yes. It can be frustrating, especially dealing with people who really don’t give…
And sometimes a Tuesday is still a Tuesday
1. Do you like your job?
By and large, yes. It can be frustrating, especially dealing with people who really don’t give a fig about standards or commonality of best practices. And I dislike managing people from a distance. I spend way too much time on the phone (hence all the bloggy goodness here).
On the other hand, it provides me with a lot of freedom and autonomy and opportunity for creativity. It lets me potentially put my stamp on the organization as a whole. Heck, it lets me proofread stuff to my heart’s content, and there’s not much wrong with that.
2. What can you not live without?
Air. Food. Water. Purpose. The rest is optional.
What would I rather not live without? That’s a much longer list.
3. What are you thinking right how?
God, I hate phonecons. I really hate sitting on the phone. Blah-blah-blah-blah. I hate not seeing people’s faces, their body language. Phone = Suckiness. Blah-blah-blah-blah. Oops, better say something …
4. What would Jesus do?
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
[Matt. 22:36-40]
The devil, of course, is in the details.
5. Does your heart follow your eyes? Could you date the same people you eye day to day?
Not sure I understand this one. But for me, familiarity breeds affection, so I would be much more likely to date folks I know (were I in a dating mode, which I am most emphatically not) than strangers.
Here’s a nice article in the Register on sites devoted to the Nigerian 419 scam (“Help us defraud the government/contractors by giving us your bank account so we can deposit…
Here’s a nice article in the Register on sites devoted to the Nigerian 419 scam (“Help us defraud the government/contractors by giving us your bank account so we can deposit millions of dollars into it!”). Not only do some of the sites list all the variations on the scam, but some describe how scamming the scammers is becoming a fine Internet sport.
Whew! I am sooooo glad you wrote back to me! I was afraid I might miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime offer. You have really made my day! 🙂
Mr. Kamara, I had a vision this morning. A vision of wealth beyond our wildest dreams. A vision that came to me as a single word: angora. Yes, Mr. Kamara, angora.
Great stuff.
Since 9-11, the face recognition technology industry has been proclaming loud and long about how they can save America. It looks like they might have trouble even saving themselves, as…
Since 9-11, the face recognition technology industry has been proclaming loud and long about how they can save America.
It looks like they might have trouble even saving themselves, as a trial at Palm Beach International caught less than 50% of the faces it should have, and gave false positives (“He’s a terrorist! He’s a terrorist!”) an alarming amount of the time.
Britain continues to negotiate with Spain over the return of Gibraltar to Spanish ownership. Just one problem: the Gibraltarians don’t want it to happen — and are being studiously ignored…
Britain continues to negotiate with Spain over the return of Gibraltar to Spanish ownership. Just one problem: the Gibraltarians don’t want it to happen — and are being studiously ignored by both London and Madrid.