Wednesday, November 19, 2008
One Ball Wonder
Wow… it’s true!
And we find another reason as to why Hitler was a so mad.
AN extraordinary account from a German army medic has finally confirmed what the world long suspected: Hitler only had one ball.
War veteran Johan Jambor made the revelation to a priest in the 1960s, who wrote it down.
The priest’s document has now come to light – 23 years after Johan’s death.
Sometimes it takes years for things to make so much sense.
If he can’t win it, he’ll STEAL it.
The Minnesota Secretary of State has certified Norm Coleman the winner in the Senate race.
Al Franken, through statistical miracles, has managed to whittle the lead from 745 to 215 votes.
Now that he has lost, he must file suit to have 216 votes disqualified or disallowed.
Guess “voter intent” isn’t all that important any more, eh? 
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Convicted felon loses - finally
Alaska’s vote for the Senate seat has been counted, and Democrat Mark Begich has narrowly edged out convicted felon Ted Stevens.
The final vote count, as certified by the Secretary of State of Alaska was 146,286 (47.56 percent), to 143,912 (46.76 percent), with Begich winning by almost 2,400 votes, making him the first Alaskan Democrat to serve in the Senate since the Reagan Revolution kicked out then-Senator Mike Gravel.
As far as our contest goes, this really only changes the numbers needed.
If the Republicans win both of the remaining Senate seats, John Cross wins. If the Dems win one, then oneisnotprime wins. If the Dems manage to take both of them, then Justin wins.
Norm Coleman’s victory has been certified, with the incumbent up by 215 votes. An automatic recount is starting immediately, so we shall see. And Saxby Chambliss is leading by a few points in most polls, but the whole point of the runoff election is that more than 50% voted for someone other than Chambliss, even if he ended up with more than anyone else.
No changes in any of the four House races:
- California’s 4th still has the Republican ahead, but by only 622 votes. The delay appears to be a process called “canvassing” by the County Registrars involved. They actually have 28 days (December 2nd) to report final tallies.
- Ohio’s 15th has no change, with the Republican incumbent up by 149 votes, and recounts are ongoing.
- Virginia’s 5th also has no changes, with the Democratic challenger up by 745.
Throw in Louisiana’s runoff, and I never quite realized how weird this was going to be… 
Sorry, folks…
A REAL American Hero
Not for nothing, but Happy 80th Birthday to Mickey Mouse, who made his first appearance in Steamboat Willie.
He and his cohorts have brought happiness and laughter, tears and terror, hope and love to millions around the world ever since.
Music For Guys That Like Real Music
Try, try, try, let it ride.
I’ve been going through my music collection trying to put together a list of songs that every real man should have. Here’s one of the best:
Bachman-Turner Overdrive - Let It Ride
Sunday, November 16, 2008
One more update
Some more election decisions…
We have seven undecided elections out of the 537 Federal Officials who got votes on the 4th: two run-offs scheduled for the first week of December (Georgia’s Senate and Louisiana’s 4th House seat) and five recounts (Senate races in Alaska and Minnesota, and the House races in California’s 8th, Ohio’s 15th, and Virginia’s 5th).
Alaska’s House race has been decided. That brings the House race to 255D/176R, with four still “undecided” (CA, LA, OH, VA). Republicans are leading in two of the three races where votes have already been cast, and the polls are conflicting for the Louisiana race. No change in the three Senate seats, but Republicans are leading two of the three.
As far as our contest goes, nothing has really changed.
If the Republicans win at least two of the three Senate seats, John Cross wins. If the Dems win two, then oneisnotprime wins. If the Dems manage to sweep all three, then Justin wins.
In the House, we have just the four remaining races (including the run-off). If the Democrats manage to pick up only one of the four, or lose all four contests, John Cross wins. If the Dems win two or more, then INCITEMarsh wins.
Fall Of The Machines
I’ll take the Lexus.
Today Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama and Jon Kyl of Arizona said ”the U.S. industry a “dinosaur” whose “day of reckoning” is coming.” I agree.
A few years ago I bought a Ford Explorer. It was a really cool truck, but all sorts of stupid stuff broke on it, and I thought that wasn’t the greatest thing in the world since I spent close to $30,000 dollars on it. And it didn’t even have leather.
And then my friend bought a Toyota Tundra. For the same price, he had everything from leather, to a nice dash built with nice materials, to convenience features that cost thousands more on my Explorer. And the fact that I had to go to the dealer to get something fixed on my truck once wasn’t making me happy.
The world seemed to be in the market for trucks. My buddy picked up a Lexus SUV. It was quiet, had as much cargo space as my Explorer, looked a hell of a lot better, had trendy xenon headlights, leather, a sunroof, and traction control. And it was a few thousand more than my Explorer. And nothing broke on it. Ever. He still has the damned thing.
I finally got rid of my Explorer and picked up an import. I had a Honda back in the 90’s, and loved it so much that I got an Acura. Actually, I had two Acura’s. After the lease was up on one, I bought another. I had that one for a while until I decided to upgrade again.
So in terms of bailing out the US automakers, I think we should let them fall into demise. They make horrible products. Honda (along with their luxury brand, Acura) and Toyota (along with their luxury brand, Lexus) make far superior products for less. They look better, they run better, and if you’re worried about losing American jobs, both Honda and Toyota have plants in the United States.
Oh yeah, and neither Honda nor Toyota are held hostage by unions. Hence the reason you can get a top-quality Honda for a decent price.
So let the Big Three automakers fail. If they go away and Honda, Toyota, and Nissan take over their spots, I really don’t think it’ll hurt anyone. In fact, I’m willing to get dollars to donuts that it will help.
The Disaster of Federalization
How many times do I have to say it?
Loyal reader Bastidge told me to go read some stuff by Jerry Pournelle. So I did. I found this little snippet from his blog to mirror what I’ve been saying for years:
We have plenty of failed experiments in federal control to show that it’s not always a good idea and sometimes federalizing things is disastrous.
True dat.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
C.P., Code 1
Keep burnin’ till it sets on the Westside.
In the event you didn’t know, Los Angeles is on fire. We’ve had a lot of fires lately, which has kept the firefighters all over Southern California busy. Whenever there is widespread chaos, people tend to get a little bit crazy. They drive crazy, they act crazy, and a lot of them don’t want to leave their houses. The firefighters are busy putting out fires, and they rely on us (deputy sheriff’s and police officers) to go inside and drag them out. A few of our stations have already sent half of their patrol units to the fire-stricken areas.
Of course, being the stable-minded deputy sheriff I am, I’m the first to volunteer to go into the danger zone and save some lives. It might not be as fun as chasing gangsters in Compton, but it still involves saving lives. Six of one, half dozen of another.
But bureaucracy constantly plagues me whenever I want to volunteer for something like this. Actually, bureaucracy plagues law enforcement as a whole. This is how my conversation went today:
Helo: Hey Sergeant, it’s Deputy Helo. I’m here at home watching all of these crazy fires on TV, and they mentioned that a few of our stations are sending deputies. Can I come pick up a car and roll-out?
Sergeant: No.
Helo: I already talked to the watch commander at one of the stations. He said they need deputies.
Sergeant: That’s nice. If they need them, they can ask.
Helo: I think they’re a little too busy to ask.
Sergeant: And I’m too busy to keep telling you “no.” Do you have an outside overtime approval from that station? What if you get carried-over and we need you here? Do you realize the liability in going to a wildfire?
Helo: I think the captain will approve the outside overtime on the spot. And I’m volunteering for this. I don’t want to get paid. Oh yeah, I’m off tonight, so no need to worry about me getting carried over. What liability? Didn’t we all sign up to save lives? And I’m command post trained. I’m willing to bet they need someone to run the C.P.
Sergeant: Shut up. If they need you, they’ll call you. But they don’t, and I’ve got shit to do.
It makes no sense to me why our department, the largest Sheriff’s department in the world, makes it so hard to do anything from checking out a radio to going to help during a wildfire. It takes an operations plan to wipe our asses.
Ahh, bureaucracy. And to think that people actually want this when it comes to medicine.
UPDATE from Drumwaster: Welcome to all of the visitors from the esteemed Doctor Pournelle’s site!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Sick to death of intolerance
If you are offended because I believe something different than you, doesn’t that make you intolerant?
In the wake of the over-the-top protests and near-riots that have been carried off (without so much as a single detention or arrest for their thuggish behavior, so far as I can determine) by the opponents of a decision that has been legally made by the clear majority of voting citizens here in California - to define marriage in a specific manner.
Let me make this clear: the side that is preaching tolerance of minority views is out in force, brushing aside little old ladies, shouting them down and knocking crosses out of their hands (only to stomp on them), breaking into churches to defame and defile, and now choosing to boycott the businesses of anyone who supported Proposition 8.
The fact is that they have lost not a goddamned thing, but these alleged adults are now choosing to financially punish those with whom they might disagree, demanding public apologies from the majority, and I, for one, am sick of it.
A vote was held. Activist judges ruled that the Constitution of California grant the right of marriage to same-sex couples (even though they had to enfold it in the nebulous “emanations” from that which IS protected). The voters decided to amend the Constitution. Again, a vote was held. Proposition 8, which was an exact duplicate of the earlier Prop 22, amends the State Constitution to include (in its entirety) the following fourteen words: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” It was passed by a 52.2%-47.8% margin.
Let’s repeat that, because it bears repeating. California, the MOST liberal State in the union, has had a majority of voters define marriage as one man, one woman. The losing side has decided to throw tantrums and beat up on people who disagree, and for daring to believe what their religion tell them to believe.
Sauce for the goose, folks. I will no longer be patronizing any establishment that opposes Prop 8, nor will I spend money at any establishment where anyone apologized for believing what they do, even if they were forced to do so by these tantrum-throwers.
Word of advice to those opponents of Prop 8: Keep it up. Throw even more tantrums. Riot. Break stuff. Push around little old ladies on live TV, and as the old song goes, “revel in your abandon”. Please. Get in the faces of those who disagree with you and call them obscene names. That will get you what you deserve much faster than civil discourse and reasoned tones. I’ll be over here laughing and counting votes.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Andrew Sullivan Is A (fill in the blank)
Prove me wrong.
Andrew Sullivan is still running around nipping at Sarah Palin’s ankles like a chihuahua on caffeine pills. Patterico summarizes Sullivan in a much nicer way that I ever could.
Kurtz should be writing about the fact that Andrew Sullivan, a blogger for a mainstream media outlet, is so unhinged that he still thinks this is a legitimate story, and still pledges to chase it down. Sullivan is certifiably insane, and yet retains his post at a mainstream outlet.
My description of Sullivan includes a lot of bad words.
Go ahead and finish the following sentence and leave your version in the comments: Andrew Sullivan Is A (fill in the blank).
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Bringing everyone up to date
Okay, we have a few changes, so pay attention.
First, the list of contests and the entries:
Electoral College
235R John Cross 300D
263R Astronomizer 275D
269 oneisnotprime 269
271R texas 267D
273R Laddy 265D (INCITEMarsh posted a later entry)
274R RonK 264D
282R Justin 256DSenate
59D/39R/2I Laddy
58D/40R/2I Justin (INCITEMarsh posted a later entry)
57D/41R/2I oneisnotprime
56D/42R/2I John CrossHouse
263D/172R INCITEMarsh
250D/185R John Cross
247D/188R Laddy
245D/190R oneisnotprime
240D/195R Justin
199D/236R texas
1. John Cross wins the Electoral College vote contest.
2. Laddy is mathematically eliminated from the Senate contest because there is no way he can win, leaving the other three. However, I will be honest: the better the GOP does in the three “up-in-the-air” Senate races, the better John Cross does.
3. The House contest is mathematically down to INCITEMarsh and John Cross, depending on how the five remaining House contests end up. Again, the better the GOP does, the better John does.
Details are below the fold. (John, you should e-mail me a snailmail address, at your earliest convenience. You may have won BIG.)
UPDATE: Two new vote margins below the fold for Alaska’s Senate race and California’s 4th Congressional district.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Verbal Shorthand
My wife just asked an illuminating question, and it got me thinking.
How many words or phrases do we hear that convey a separate, and unspoken, definition?
I’m fond of pointing out that the word “but” in conversation is a verbal shorthand for, “You should ignore everything I’ve said up until this point, because now I am going to tell you what I really think”. I haven’t found any obvious exceptions. And even if you use it to start a question, that only means, “I’m going to ignore everything you said ...”.
Another one is “Therein lies the story” (or “therein lies the rub"), which usually means that something has gone very wrong, and you are going to be asked to take it in the shorts.
Got any favorites?
Looking for a Christmas present
I want a rifle. With a good scope (or even a infrared scope).
My wife has asked me to start researching it.
So I’m asking you.
I want a hunting rifle that can drop a bear or a moose, with a good quality scope. I intend to be training at ranges of up to 200-300 yards.
I already have a pistol, and have proven to my own satisfaction that I can hit a dinner plate-sized target out to 50 yards using standard iron sights. I have proven to my own satisfaction that I can rapidly and accurately discriminate between “friendly” and “hostile” in the simulator system used by local police. Because we have no children in the house, my home load is hollow point .357 Magnum. (5 shells chambered, while the hammer is resting on the empty cylinder, and I have a speed-loader ready to go.)
I want to start thinking about longer range protection, before I lose the right to buy one.
The only personal experience I have with those kinds of weapons are with an M-1, an M-16, an AK-47, an Uzi (firing 9mm, IIRC), and a .22 game gun. The only hunting I have done was Security Alert Team training aboard ship, and some possum hunting as a kid almost 40 years ago. I have fired several sorts of shotguns and pistols. There have also been BB and pellet guns, plus a wrist-mounted slingshot that fired 1/2” ball bearings fairly accurately out to 30-50 yards. (Even some training with a bokken before my wrists started acting up.)
But I want a rifle with a good scope. Any suggestions?
Let me emphasize - if I have to shoot this thing, I’m not all that interested in making life easier for forensic technicians. I want the target to “become carbon neutral”. (Because I care about the environment, donchaknow?) I want Dr. Temperence Brennan to throw up her hands in frustration.
9 years, 11 months, 27 days, 19 hours
That’s how long I spent in the Navy. After RTC and my “A” School, I served at the bombing range on the East Coast, on a Guided Missile Frigate out of Jacksonville, a Spruance-class Destroyer out of San Diego, and on the ASW Operations Center for Patrol Wing Ten (the owner of all of the P-3 squadrons on the west coast - first out of NAS Moffett Field, CA, then out of NAS Whidbey Island, WA).
I wish to thank each and every one of my Loyal Readers and Occasional Visitors who served their nation in any of our military branches, from the bottom of my heart.
If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read it in English, thank a veteran.