Kid and Dog tricks

My son poured a box of cereal on the ground. Then he got on his hands and knees and tried to eat it off the floor. What else has the dog taught my son?

Hello

Hello- I am working hard on creating my new year resolutions. Will post them soon.

Riding the rails is tough business.
 

Trains in a row.
 

Trouble ahead, Trouble behind, You know that notion just crossed my mind-- Casey Jones ya better watch your speed. Driving that train . . . Sorry my mind wandered for a moment.
 

My son standing in front of his prize possession.
 

Harold the helicopter takes a aerial picture.
 

All is well on the island of Sodor.
 

Big quake-

A graphic representation of the quake and waves can be found here. I find the time line to be the most interesting.

Open letter to Santa

Dear Santa:

Thanks for all the presents. But, I am wondering why you charged all the Christmas presents to my credit card.

Thanks,
Mquest

A quick Q&A on the day after Christmas

Q: How tired was my son on Christmas Eve?
A: So tired that he dragged my wifes purse and his diaper bag to the door and repeated the words “By By” over and over.

Q: How well did he sleep after a long Christmas Eve?
A: He kept the blanket on all night.

Q: My sons favorite toy so far?
A: All things Thomas the Tank Engine.

What shall I read?

Sadly, I received no books as presents this year. I got a nifty book holder for reading while eating but no books. I guess everyone thinks I have to many books. In answer to the tittle of this post-- I have enough unread books to keep my occupied for a long time.

Twist ties and children's toys

Whats up with the strange twist ties that they use to hold all the toys to the bottom of the package? They are all tied differently. It is impossible to find a pattern to aid in undoing them.

UPDATE: It would greatly improve the process if we removed all the twist ties prior to wrapping the presents.

How tired was I?

Today at work I had to give a series of interviews. I could not stay focused. I was unable to to make the prospective employees nervous with my stare as they stumbled for words. My energy level is gone. One more full day of work before I can put this Christmas behind me. The overtime pay has been nice. But, I am so tired.

EULA

EULA is the term for all the legal stuff they put on the inside of all software packages.
You can not read it unless you open the package. What does it say? In translated English it says “By opening the package you agreed to whatever is written on this EULA”.

Can I put a EULA on the inside of my front door? When the cops come busting through my door I can point at it and say: “by opening my door you agreed not to hassle or arrest me”.

A point for you to ponder-

All I said was “my son is chasing the dog with a spoon.” My wife started laughing hysterically? Can any one explain why this was so funny?

4 days to go

I am falling behind. I must wrap presents tonight. It looks as if it might take the rest of the week. Still tired.

Sleepy- So very sleepy- Be back tomorrow.

Something more to add to the total cost of the war

Mental health

In U.S., 44 Percent Say Restrict Muslims

The survey conducted by Cornell University also found that Republicans and people who described themselves as highly religious were more apt to support curtailing Muslims' civil liberties than Democrats or people who are less religious.

The religious right has been crying about their civil liberties. They want the 10 commandments in the courthouse and they want to pray and say god in schools. They have a hole laundry list of violations against their beliefs yet, they feel it is a good idea to restrict the civil liberties of Muslims.

The survey showed that 27 percent of respondents supported requiring all Muslim Americans to register where they lived with the federal government. Twenty-two percent favored racial profiling to identify potential terrorist threats. And 29 percent thought undercover agents should infiltrate Muslim civic and volunteer organizations to keep tabs on their activities and fund-raising.

Racial Profiling is a slippery slope. Note that a white male former Marine with a crew cut committed the worst terrorist act in American history prior to September 11th.

Prior to 9/11 the Racial Profiling machine would of stopped white males. Age 18-50. The database would of looked for people from red states with a military background. People that traveled to Idaho would all of been pulled out of line at the airports. Remember Timothy McVeigh, Eric Robert Rudolph, abortion clinic bombings . . . . ? Remember all the paramilitary training camps in Idaho? The people that went to these camps for the most part had a distrust of the workings of our government. I wonder if the people that attended these camps are on the “no fly-list”?

While researchers said they were not surprised by the overall level of support for curtailing civil liberties, they were startled by the correlation with religion and exposure to television news.

This country is a melting pot. That is what makes the country a great place.

Bush Signs Intelligence Overhaul Legislation

Would it not be nice if the “Intelligence legislation” dealt with spending on schools?

Hershey to Raise Its Wholesale Prices

Prices for the company's standard chocolate bar will go up 5.8 percent, effective immediately. An increase on packaged chocolates will be effective Feb. 14, the company said.

I blame Bush for ignoring America for the last four years.

A sad tale- Jonathan Aurthur

I never head of this guy before I read his obituary. Looks as if he tried to do some good after his sons death.

In the years after Charley's death, Aurthur quit his copyediting job and wrote the 2002 book, "The Angel and the Dragon: A Father's Search for Answers to His Son's Suicide: The Myths and Realities of Mental Illness." To help other parents of troubled teens, he discussed the treatments his family had sought for Charley, and quoted liberally from his son's 10 spiral notebook journals.

Sadly he may of learned too much from his son. I hope they both found the peace that wanted.

Update:
This post has gotten a lot of hits from the search engines. I am not sure why. If anyone that swings by from a search-- can enlighten me I would greatly appreciate it. I would guess that his life had a great impact on many people.

I hope he made the world a better place for many people. Leave a note If it will make you feel better.

The Poop Truck

Every time we see a garbage truck my 2 1/2 year old son points at it and says “Poop Poo's” I guess from his perspective it hauls away all his poop.

Alabama Getaway

This Judge in Alabama shows up to court with a robe with the 10 commandments written on it. He seems to think that that the 10 commandments are his guide to law. This same type of crap has been the downfall of one other judge in the recent past. Such as “former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was removed from office in 2003 for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery.” This Judge has a right to believe what ever he wants. But, he must abide by laws and not bible teaching. He must interpret the laws of this country not the laws of the bible. I predict this judge will become a unemployed regional hero.


Alabama Getaway (As performed by the Grateful Dead)

32 teeth in a jawbone, Alabama trying for none,
Before I have to hit him, I hope he's got the sense to run.
Reason the poor girls love him, promise them everything,
Why they all believe him? He wears a big diamond ring.

Alabama getaway, getaway. Alabama getaway, getaway,
Only way to please me, ya just gotta leave and walk away.

Major Domo Billy Bojangles, sit down and have a drink with me,
"What's this about Alabama? It keeps a coming back to me.
Heard your plea in the courthouse, Witness box began to rock and rise,
49 sister states all had Alabama in there eyes.

Alabama getaway, getaway. Alabama getaway, getaway,
Only way to please me, ya just gotta leave and walk away.

Major said why don't we give him rope enough to hang himself?
No need to worry the jury, this kind takes care of themselves.
23rd psalm Major Domo, reserve me a table for three,
Down in the valley of the shadow, just you, Alabama, and me.

Alabama getaway, getaway. Alabama getaway, getaway,
Only way to please me, ya just gotta leave and walk away.

6 Court-Martialed for Scrounging Equipment

Now the government does not even support our troops? They do not have the equipment to do their job, yet when they are resourceful they are punished.

Mobsters Bully Terror Suspect in Prison

But Italian mobsters jailed on the island of Sardinia, apparently outraged by terrorism, beat up an Algerian terror suspect and threatened to kill him unless he got himself transferred to a new prison.

Is it not ironic? One terrorist threatening another terrorist.

Marine Chooses Wedding Ring Over Finger

Is this:

A: Sweet and romantic and the right thing to do
B: Keep the finger you can always get another ring( But not another finger)
C: He was in a lot of pain and not thinking clearly.
D: They lost the ring! That make the whole story funny.
E: Something else- Please explain.

Long-Lost Khmer Rouge Guerrillas Hit 21st Century

Twenty-five years later, the group emerged from the forest in clothes made of bark and leaves, unaware that the war was over, the Vietnamese had gone and Pol Pot was dead.

This is amazing. 25 years running and hiding. A tribe with births and deaths. There must be a wealth of information for social research. I wonder how different their lives are now. They live in one of the poorest countries in the world. Will daily survival be all that much different? When they make this story into a book I just might pick it up.

From the article: "We ate bird meat but kept the seeds from the bird's crop to plant." What does the mean?

'Nanny Problem' Forces Kerik to Withdraw

Have our aspiring politicians learned nothing from the recent past.? The standard “Nanny Problems” always come back to haunt them. They should look into this stuff before they nominate these people for public ridicule

U.S. Officials Sound Alarm Over Iraq Fuel Crisis

U.S. officials in Baghdad fear that a fuel crisis, which has left Iraqi homes cold and dark and drivers waiting days for petrol, may inflame unrest before the election. "If the current situation does not improve quickly, public confidence in the government may deteriorate significantly,"

One of the main goals of the insurgents, foreign fighters, terrorists, people loyal to Sadam or Arab causes (or whatever we call them this week) is to disrupt life in Iraq and cause the people to lose faith in the U.S. Forces and the future government in Iraq. Due to their size oil and fuel lines are hard to protect and are easy targets that create maximum disruptions. The elections are fast approaching. Tactics like these will continue to dominate the news.

Iran-Linked Cleric Leads Iraqi Candidates

How far will this person have to move ahead in the polls before Bush and company are forced to change the date of the elections?

Alimony Ambush

An Israeli man who refused to provide child support to his ex-wife for nearly eight years finally had to start paying up when he remarried and police raided the reception to seize wedding gifts.

Now this is a great way to ruin someones wedding.

US soldier guilty of Iraqi murder

A US soldier has pleaded guilty to murdering a severely wounded 16-year-old Iraqi, the military says.
Staff Sgt Johnny Horne Jr was convicted of unpremeditated murder of the civilian in Baghdad's Sadr City suburb on August 18.
Under a pre-trial agreement, sentencing will be limited to 10 years. Otherwise, the charge carried a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Sentencing proceedings would take place later on Friday, the military says.

A crime is a crime. I think we will see more of this as the legal stuff makes it to court. Our administration likes to stand up and make speeches that will give our soldiers a false sense that all their actions are sanctioned by the government and noble. Our soldiers need to know that they are bound by rules of war. They must realize that there are proper ways to behave during war. I think that once we get deeper into the other big issue of prison abuse we will see the administration letting these people hang as the administration distances themselves from their own memos and directives.

UPDATE: He got 3 years

Speech therapy-

At 2 ½ my son has started speech therapy. After a month he has burned through two therapists. Today he started with the third one. (I am sure they are not leaving because of him.) The problem with this high turnover is that my son is not getting into a set routine with his his teachers. As soon as he warms up to them and their teaching routine they are gone. I have liked the two previous teachers and like the new one. I just hope we can keep her.

Bush as a wise man?

It turns out that some people are upset about a display at Madame Tussauds London waxworks museum. They put up a Christmas nativity scene with soccer super star David Beckham as Joseph and his former Spice Girl wife Victoria as the mother of Jesus. It seems that some people are offended by this pop culture display. But, The sick part is that they cast the three wise men as US President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Queen Elizabeth's husband Prince Philip. Bush as a wise man? I demand this work of crap be melted down. (Story can be found here)

Pendleton drunks

The other day Bush came to our local military base. It seems that camp Pendleton has lost about 200 soldiers. Sadly this base has the highest number of casualty's of all the military basses. This base is not all that far from the U.S. Mexico border. On any given weekend the soldiers from this base can be found south of the border in Tijuana drinking, fighting, drinking, falling down, beating the shit out of anyone with hair, drinking, starting fights, puking, yelling, punching each other, visiting whores, getting sexual transmitted things, brawling and behaving badly. Every few years the media picks up on these exploits and the military is forced to crack down on this for a few weeks. What does all this amount to? Probably nothing. I wish these soldiers the best of luck. I hope their wifes and girlfriends don't pick up any of the sexually transmitted stuff from their men.

Shameful Plug-

They say Dick Clark had a mild stroke. Nice timing. Will the networks do anything to raise their piss poor new years eve ratings?

Google big name blindsided by the bright lights-

I keep reminding myself that Google owns Blogger. I like Google. I just wonder what Google is thinking. My recent post page shows my latest post as over a month ago. Why is it that Blogs get indexed slower on Google than on the other search engines? Why all the outages? This product is free but it is a Google company. This is no longer a small start up company in someones basement. Google you are stumbling and your name and image are on the line. Wake up, smell the shit,wipe it off your shoes, get off your ass and get to work. Your electronic empire is starting to misfire into the illGoogle big name blindsided by the bright lights- usion called cyberspace.

Punk ass whining spoiled child- Shut up

Kobe- The more I see and hear from you the more I wish you suffer a serious neck injury.

Gorillas Pay Last Respects to Leader

Politics in the animal kingdom. Fascinating stuff. I am not all that sure that we are all that removed from the primates.

During a question and answer session with Rumsfeld:

During a question and answer session with Rumsfeld:

"Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to uparmor our vehicles?" Wilson asked. A big cheer arose from the approximately 2,300 soldiers in the cavernous hangar who assembled to see and hear the secretary of defense. (link)

Senate Set to Approve Intelligence Bill

Does this mean mandatory IQ tests for our elected officials?

Nativity Plays Boosting Tea Towel Sales

Sales of tea towels are booming as parents use them as headdresses for their children in primary school Nativity plays, Sainsbury's supermarket said Monday.
So great is the demand -- known in the trade as the Bethlehem Boost -- that Sainsbury's has ordered extra supplies.
"Our sales figures show that, this year, most Nativity play actors will be wearing multi-striped herringbone tea towels," said a Sainsbury spokeswoman.
Sales of a more sophisticated tea towel, with yellow, blue brown and white stripes are also going well.
"We suspect these are being chosen by Virgin Marys who want to stand out from the crowd and make a fashion statement," she added.

Virgin Marys need to make a fashion statement? Odd trends in sales are fascinating.
I once read that calls for pizza delivery hit all time highs during the Popes last visit to this area. Durring the LA riots everyone was looking for flare guns. . . .

Funeral wakes turned into mobile casinos in Singapore: report

Criminal syndicates in Singapore are using funeral wakes as cover for mobile casinos by paying off grieving families to allow strangers to gamble near their loved ones' corpses, a report said. The Straits Times said the syndicates have found a loophole under which card games are permitted at wakes, usually held for several days, to keep people occupied while paying respects to the dead and meeting friends and relatives.

The complicated economics of death and gambling. I should write a book.

Killing Those Who Count the Dead?

in Iraq, US forces and their Iraqi surrogates are no longer bothering to conceal attacks on civilian targets and are openly eliminating anyone--doctors, clerics, journalists--who dares to count the bodies."

Smoke and mirrors.

JOURNAL: "Shaping" the Battlefield in Saudi Arabia

Global Gorillas has some interesting ideas on the world of terrorism. In this post they talk briefly about the attack on the U.S. Embassy in US Saudi Arabia.

Report: Tillman's Final Minutes a Horror

Take notice-

To the stupid lady who is looking for the perfect Christmas tree, God created walls and corners to deal with the imperfections. Give up.

Woman Auctions Father's Ghost on eBay

A woman's effort to assuage her 6-year-old son's fears of his grandfather's ghost by selling it on eBay has drawn more than 34 bids with a top offer of $78.

What I great idea. I would of used monster spray.

Couple Allegedly Report Stolen Marijuana

Help, police, someone stole my pot! A Panhandle couple is under arrest after notifying police Thursday that their quarter-pound stash of marijuana was stolen and that they needed the weed back, because they were going to later sell it.

Our youth offers us so much hope for the future.

Bones Suggest Women Went to War in Ancient Iran

These days Iranian women are not even allowed to watch men compete on the football field, but 2,000 years ago they could have been carving the boys to pieces on the battlefield.
Do we have to rewrite HisStory?

Scientist: Prairie Dogs Have Own Language

hey have different "words" for tall human in yellow shirt, short human in green shirt, coyote, deer, red-tailed hawk and many other creatures. They can even coin new terms for things they've never seen before, independently coming up with the same calls or words, according to Con Slobodchikoff, a Northern Arizona University biology professor and prairie dog linguist.

This is cool.

Bushes empty Cabinet

They say it is normal for people to leave cabinet posts early in the second term. More than half of the Bushes cabinet have left their post. Why this exodus? It seems the rats are abandoning ship, But I can not seem to figure out why.

Lost Blog

Yesterday I was surfing through Blog Explosion and came across a Blog where a women admitted her deep dark secret of liking science fiction books. I lost the link does any one know what Blog this was? The BE search engine sucks.

L.A. Broadcasters Sore Over Syphilis Ads

If they will not let you see it I will let you read about it.

County health officials are having trouble finding a TV station willing to air a public service announcement about syphilis that employs a lumpy, red cartoon character named "Phil the Sore." (snip) In the 30-second ad, Phil follows two men going home together. As the men later part, one of them, dressed in a bathrobe and underwear, says, "Let's do it again sometime." Phil then calls in his whole family, whose members carry boxes labeled "brain damage," "rash" and "blindness" — all of which can result from syphilis.

They make the claim that they were “troubled that the ad took such a lighthearted tone about a serious disease.” Did these idiots not watch the same cartoon sex education videos that they showed me in hight school? Would they not of shown the Disney World War II propaganda films because they were to “Light hearted” ?

U.S. Can Use Evidence Gained by Torture

Statements produced under torture have been inadmissible in U.S. courts for about 70 years. But the U.S. military panels reviewing the detention of 550 foreigners as enemy combatants at the U.S. naval base in Cuba are allowed to use such evidence, Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Brian Boyle acknowledged at a U.S. District Court hearing Thursday.

Torture does not get reliable results. Does talk like this from the government sanction more torture and bad behavior?

Canada Ends Permit Program for Foreign Strippers

There goes my escape plan.

I hear you- Maybe

The other day my son had to get his hearing tested. The person that administers the test showed my son how the process works. The man picked up a toy peg held it up to his ear and said “Beep Beep” before putting the peg in the hole. Unfortunately, my son misunderstood the process and he picked up a peg held it to his ear and said “Beep Beep” and put the peg into the proper hole. My son never did figure out he was supposed to be listening for the beeps. He just made his own beeps as needed.

Mantra

I am leaning towards creating a new personal mantra. I am thinking of going with: “I hate people, but I like pizza.” What do you think?

A bright idea-

Holly twitching testicles I just got back from the hardware store. I spent 34 dollars on light bulbs.

Comments

It has been brought to my attention that people outside of Blogger have had a hard time posting comments on this Blog. I have switched the settings for posting to allow anonymous comments. I hope this helps.

Universal Jurisdiction and Abu Ghraib

Found at “Swords into Plowshares” Read this.

Extended tour of duty

Extended tour of duty
“ . . . .extend the promised year-long Iraq tours of 8,100 Army soldiers to 14 months and the seven-month tours of 2,300 Marines to nine months.” (link)

Maker of Equal Sues Marketer of Splenda

In a complaint filed Friday in federal court in Philadelphia, Merisant Co. said Splenda's marketing slogan, "made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar," should read something more like, "made from dextrose, maltodextrin and 4-chloro-4-deoxy-alpha, D-Galactopyranosyl-1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxy-beta, D-fructofuranoside."

For some reason I find this funny.

Lava Lamp Left on Stove Explodes, Kills Man

A Washington state man who placed a lava lamp on a hot stove died when the lamp exploded and a glass shard pierced his heart, police said on Tuesday.

Was he trying to use the stove to make it work? How can a symbol of peace and tranquility cause so much harm? Long live Lava.

'Blog' Tops Dictionary's Words of the Year

It really is a ugly word. It has a harsh opening and closing sound.

Flowering Phone Is Environmental Wake-Up Call

British scientists seeking to protect the environment have designed a biodegradable mobile phone cover that breaks down in soil when discarded and sprouts a flower from a seed embedded inside the case.

This is stupid. The cellphone cover is a small part of the cellphone. What about the battery? Nothing to see here, Keep moving.