Affirmative Action Bake Sale
How did I miss this when it happened? The UCLA Bruin Republicans held a bake sale to demonstrate the hypocrisy of affirmative action.
Although applicable to the general practice of racial preferences, the particular target of the demonstration was admissions practices at many major universities around the country including the University of Michigan which is the subject of two upcoming Supreme Court cases.
Personally, I think the bake sale is a fabulous way to show the inconsistency of people's opinions about affirmative action and to highlight the untruths inherent in the way it is implemented in most cases. Apparently others [……]
Continue reading →In Memoriam - Fred Rogers
Fred Rogers, the man who taught, entertained and traveled to the Land of Make Believe with children of all ages for 50 years, has died at age 74 after a brief battle with stomach cancer.
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was a unique program for many of us who grew up watching it. Long after everything else had gone to a format of fast edits and multi-angle shoots, Fred Rogers insisted on keeping it simple. His was a one camera, slow paced operation until the very end and set the show apart from the rest. Rather than trying to mesmerize [……]
Continue reading →Maybe there is hope for music after all
OK - I admit it - I reneged on a vow to never again watch an award show. Last night I was very bored (and Alias hadn't come on yet) so I actually watched some of the Grammy Awards show. My conclusion? If choice in music is any indication, there might be some hope for the world yet.
While some of the Grammy festivities was the usual circus parade of drivel and underwhelming copycat-of-the-next-guy performances, those who won many of the awards were quite a different story.
Most notably was Norah Jones, a smooth, jazzy, 24 year old, alto [……]
Continue reading →The simple pleasures
I generally take my own lunch to work with me these days which usually consists of leftovers from the previous night's dinner. It makes most of the folks at work quite jealous as they plow through their pre-fab-heat-and-eat Lean Cuisine or some such thing. But today, SWMBO added something extra.
I pulled out my bag from the fridge, proceeded to unload my small collection of Tupperware and headed for the microwave. When I looked a little closer at what I thought was 3 or 4 of the (very excellent) chocolate chip cookies that SWMBO had made last night, it turned out [……]
Continue reading →Make up your mind
It struck me the other day that the folks who are objecting to a so-called "pre-emptive strike" in Iraq are the very same ones who said that President Bush should have known that the Muslim extremists of Al Qaeda were about to fly planes into buildings and should have done something to prevent it.
Hypocrites can be so annoying.
Hollywood needs to shut the hell up
If you haven't heard the latest, Ananova is reporting the latest comments by Richard Gere at the Berlin Film Festival. What makes these folks think that they speak for the entire American population?
I've kept pretty quiet about all of the peacenik comments coming from the Hollywood types because I believe it is their right to feel any way they want to about the Iraq situation and to scream their opinions from the highest mountaintops if they so desire. But when they assume that their opinion encompasses that of all American citizens, it's no longer just the exercise of that right. [……]
Continue reading →The saga of my 8N
Last spring, much to my surprise, I purchased my first tractor, a 1948 Ford 8N. The 8N was a classic design that was widely copied and has held up remarkably well over the years as evidenced by the large number still in active operation more than 50 years after the last one rolled off the line in 1952.
This excerpt from The Smiths' 8N Ford Tractor Page:
The Ford model 8N tractor was introduced in July 1947 as an update/ redesign of the earlier 9N and 2N Ford-Ferguson tractors. It was an immediate success with farmers everywhere. The N series tractors revolutionized [……] Continue reading →In Memoriam - Space Shuttle Columbia
This morning at approximately 9:00 am EST the Space Shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry over the northeast portion of Texas. There were no survivors. The crew was comprised of seven very talented individuals whose lives will stand as a testament to the best and brightest that humanity has to offer. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their family and friends as well as to all of the people involved with the Shuttle program.
Xupiter (and it's ilk) are the enemy. Ad-Aware is your friend.
Oy! I really hate scummy programs that install themselves on your computer with neither your approval nor even your knowledge.
This morning when I started up my browser at work, I was greeted with a new toolbar that I didn't put there and that wasn't there when I closed my last browser window last night. I also had a new home page. The culprit? Xupiter, one of a string of parasitical programs that install themselves on your computer for the sole purpose of generating ad revenue for their makers or sponsors. These have been called drive-by downloads and for [……]
Continue reading →Here's to good friends...
This weekend, SWMBO and I went to dinner with a group of our closest friends in what has become an annual New Year's event. We always use this time to reflect on the prior year and look toward the coming one.
We usually sit around and talk about the major things that have happened to us during the year and try to predict what will happen soon or what we have planned in the new year.
While we still did all of that, this dinner had a slightly different tone. You see, this year has been an especially turbulent one. As a [……]
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