Padiddle*

I've had at least one eye open for the better part of the day -- a grand improvement over the past four. I'm still an irritable, uncomfortable, phlegmy, miserable mess with a barking cough and the attention span of a gnat, but that's what makes the intartubes wonderful -- they're as good taken in small bites as they are in big gulps.
_____

I suspect that even if I was feeling better, this would have given me a major case of the sniffles:

Who: Joe Brottman, 15, of Palatine, founded the Taps Brigade, a group of volunteer high school trumpeters who play taps, the haunting, 24-note bugle call played at military funerals and ceremonies.

What he does: Brottman, a sophomore honor roll student, is an award-winning trumpet player in the marching and jazz bands at Fremd High School in Palatine. He formed the nonprofit brigade after he learned that because there are so few buglers left in the military, a recording of taps is very often played at military funerals instead of being performed live.

"It's more respectful for the veterans and more meaningful for the families to have someone playing taps for them," said Brottman.

Go read the rest your own self. Even Donald Mills would approve.
_____

As far as I'm concerned, this is a novel... and probably valid... argument... but ballsy:

The gay soldiers arrested outside the White House protesting "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" will annouce today that they're demanding that President Obama testify in their trial on minor civil disobedience charges.

Their novel argument: Obama himself called on gay rights advocates to pressure him, so they were just following orders.

It's about time the Big Cheese learned to measure twice and cut once with his words.
_____

Three quick laughs... and if it made me actually crack a smile today, I know it'll give you a giggle:

• Expert riposte.
• How much do you want to bet this brain trust is a gold digger in training?
• The song I'm adopting as my personal anthem, given my own Facebook experience (NSFW):

_____

Quote of the Day:

"Can you imagine, Obama as President under Acidblogging? Heh." -- Jay Solo (from my comments)

Yes I can, actually. He'd have formed his own legion of pissed off folks, but I suspect he'd have preferred to call it a Whiskey Rebellion... or a Sweet Tea Party.
_____

Headline News:

'Tessellation' starts Thursday at Subway, avoiding gaps and overlaps

Elisson, my cheese-loving friend? I expect at least a 100 word story!
_____

That's it. I'm pooped.
_____

*What? You don't know what a padiddle is?

Yakking Up...

... hairballs? No. Actually, it's more like coughing up escargot -- same size, color and texture.



Never say I didn't offer up an accurate description.

Engine Knock

Yup, that's me. I'm out of commission for the week, according to Dr. Hot Stuff. Bleah.

Urk

I've been sick since I woke up Saturday morning. Congested chest, sore throat, barking cough and I was awake all of about 6 hours total.

Sunday brought more of the same, plus waking up from a sound sleep to find myself yakking up phlegm balls over and over again.

Today? More of the same, plus cramps from my diaphragm all the way down to my... you know. Gah-ross!

Make it stop, please.

Sunday Shows

When I was growing up in Cleveland, we'd race home from church and turn on The Gene Carroll Show on WEWS-TV while the Princess Mom got lunch going. The only YouTube video I could find is not embeddable, but you can see it here. Yes, it really was that bad!

Golly Gee Whillikers!

I guess it pays to let 'em know you're blogging it:

Support Staff Response

Dear Leslie Spiller, Thank you for contacting Online Support. I apologize you did not receive a response to your previous incident. The customer number and receipt number provided do not appear to be in our systems. This does not appear to be a valid email from us. We understand the concerns about phishing and other scams that may try to impersonate Go Daddy to obtain your personal data or sensitive account information. To address these concerns we have placed a page on our website to help you determine if correspondence you receive is actually being sent from Go Daddy: • The REAL Go Daddy This may help you differentiate whether communication that appears to be coming from Go Daddy is genuine or not. Please also feel free to contact us directly using the following information if you have any further questions: Email: Support@godaddy.com Phone: 480-505-8877 Please let us know if we can assist you in any other way. Sincerely, Micah G. Online Support Team

Customer Inquiry

Name : Leslie Spiller Phone : 312-XXX-XXXX Domain Name : Shopper Validated : No Browser : Safari Version : 5.0 Other : Incident ID is: 9234281 Issue : I reported here that I received someone else's sensitive customer information not once, but TWICE, via text message on Monday. I was told, via computer-generated response that I would hear something from GoDaddy's customer support within 24 hours. It is now Saturday morning, and I have still not heard that this matter has been cleared up, that I should destroy the emails, or even a thank you for pointing out the problem. I've now blogged about this here, here and here: http://getonthe.blogspot.com/2010/06/drive-bys_22.html http://getonthe.blogspot.com/2010/06/drive-bys_23.html http://getonthe.blogspot.com/2010/06/caution-light.html I will continue to tell people how lousy your response to this matter has been, and you can bet I will NEVER use your service. But I suggest you notify me that this matter has been cleared up, because it's still open as far as I... and my blog... are concerned.

Five freaking days to get that response. Stoopid.

______

Update: Speaking of stoopid... I've been sick over the last couple of days and posted before paying attention to exactly what all I was copying and pasting. A big smoocheroo to my BlogDaddy, who pointed out my error. Yikes!

In The Rear-View Mirror

Joanie reminded me that it's been four years since Rob Smith exited this world.

Bowlegs. Crusty Old Cracker. Old Crankypants. Acidman. Those were some of the nicer nicknames used to describe him, and he relished every one.

He could be unbelievably mule-headed. Witness this three part interview with Rob.

Did he know damned well his was risking his job by blogging about it?

Yep.

Did his company have every right to fire him for it?

Yep.

If you were starting a blog today, would he recommend you not write about your employer without your employer's express permission?

Yep.

Would he, on the other hand, do anything differently?

Nope.

He was the same way when it came to friendships, wimmen (his word, not mine), fatherhood, his ex-wife, music, politics -- the man lived to yank some kind of visceral reaction out of his friends, family and readers, and it didn't matter whether it was a good reaction or bad, as long as it was passionate and real. If he could wind your watch a bit too tight, he was a happy man.

Everything I wrote about him here still holds true.

I send him a psychic raspberry every time he floats up out of the either to tap me on the shoulder and remind me that he didn't just exist -- he lived. He has a funny form of immortality.

Sometimes his unreasonable side rears it's head from the Great Beyond.

Sometimes something pops into my brain that brings him instantly to mind and puts a great big grin on my face.

Call me nuts, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Old Crankypants had a heavenly hand in outing the info that Global Warming data was made up out of whole cloth. ("We're all gonna die!")

Sometimes historic events bring him clearly into my mind's eye.

His spirit inhabits every blogmeet where more than one Blown-Eyed or BlownStar blogger attends.

He reaches out of my Site Meter to tap me on the shoulder from time to time. I'll be really sad when I don't get a referral from his blogroll any more.

It's not just me he visits in dreams.

The cats are correct, he was no ordinary hooman.

He is missed... and he is living in on in the hearts of his friends. Go wander the dusty streets of the Gutrumbles ghost town and tell him I said, "Hey."

Caution Light

GoDaddy's customer service is apparently Not Today, Daddy. Since my initial email to GoDaddy on Monday afternoon and their computer-generated email promising a response within 24 hours, I've heard nuttin' -- zip, zero, zilch, bupkis, nada.

If your screen name is "POTATOB75" you should be well and truly pissed, as I still have all your customer data and the brain trust at ZzzzzzzzDaddy's customer department haven't notified me that this issue has been cleared up.

Hey, SnoreDaddy! My Incident Number is 9234281. I haven't heard from you in more than 96 hours, and I haven't got a clue why I haven't heard from you. But I'm telling people YOU SUCK. And you do, too.

_____

Update:

New computer-generated response, new ID No.:

We've received your question. You can expect a response within 24 hours.

Your Incident ID is: 9325147

Or, talk with our highly trained, courteous support staff – they're waiting to take your call. Whatever time it takes to assist you, that's the time you'll receive: 24/7 Sales & Support: (480) 505-8877 - 24/7 Billing Support: (480) 505-8855.

Thanks,
GoDaddy.com

Saturday Morning Cartoons

King Leonardo and Odie:

Commercial Break:

The Hunter:

Drive-Bys

For my cheese-obsessed friend... a peek at Pastoral's shop in the French Market at Ogilvie Transportation Center:

I ended up buying three -- Chevre Noir aged cheddar from Quebec (yes, a goats milk cheddar), Bridgid's Abbey Trappist Monastery-Style Cheese from Colchester, CT and Nancy's Camembert from New York, along with a freshly baked baguette. Yum, yum, YUM!
_____

Giggle of the Day:


see more Lolcats and funny pictures
_____

One day I'll figure out how to get a completely focused shot at night... from a position on a bouncing bridge... with my Canon Power Shot. (I really, really, really want to upgrade to a DSLR, but won't do it until I get this one mastered first.)

In the meantime, here's my latest effort:

I swear one day I'll figure out how to get the logo on the Sun Times building in clear focus under these conditions!

I never tire of this view.
_____

Apparently nobody ever told this guy you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar:

Joliet police say Lovelee L. Walker, 29, of the 900 block of Lois Place, Joliet, spit at one emergency room nurse, hit another and broke medical equipment Wednesday because he felt they were treating his gunshot wound to the arm too slowly.

His mother did, however, give him the perfect name to be said with great sarcasm -- "Lovelee. Juuuuuuuuuust freakin' Lovelee."
_____

And here we have three brilliant and innovative thinkers who display the proper thanks and respect to a child's rescuers:

Three police officers rescued a 5-year-old boy who accidentally fell 10 feet into a hole and a man was Tased after allegedly punching the officer who scooped the child up after being lowered into the hole by his ankles Thursday night on the Northwest Side....

While patrolling the area, plainclothes officers Pinal, Guzman and Morrison were flagged down by the mother of the 5-year-old and other citizens saying that boy had fallen into a manhole next to a restaurant. Officers ran to the hole and saw the boy -- who was crying and visibly injured -- lying at the bottom of the hole, about 8-10 feet below, according to a police report.

The officers called for an ambulance as Pinal and Guzman lowered Morrison by his ankles down the hole and Morrison was able to grab hold of the boy, while Guzman and Pinal pulled him both up, the report said.

The officers then carried the child to ambulance that eventually transported him to Children’s Memorial Hospital where he was in “stable” condition....

But while paramedics were trying to render aid to the child, a 17-year-old relative of the boy allegedly became “very belligerent,’’ and tried to climb into the ambulance. When medics called for police assistance, the relative allegedly punched Morrison in the chest, the report said.

While the relative was placed in handcuffs, another man on the scene -- 29-year-old Pedro Bahena -- allegedly became irate, and was yelling and swearing at the officers. Pinal tried to calm him down but Bahena then allegedly punched Pinal, who Tased Bahena and subdued him, the report said.

Bahena was taken to Our Lady of Resurrection Medical Center to have the Taser prongs removed, but as Bahena was being placed into custody Uriel Banuelos, who is related to the teen -- possibly brothers -- tried to stop his arrest and he was also placed into custody.

Do you think idiocy is coded in this family's DNA? Future Darwin Award winners, I'm betting.
_____

Quote of the Day:

"There just aren't enough cougars to go around."

Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahaha!

Even though it's relatively close to where I live, I definitely won't be attending this event. Ick.
_____

Tootin' The Horn

My Meezer Mom pal is having a birthday today. I hope it's a really happy one... and that the boys -- Miles, Sammy and Nicky and especially Billy, who likes to break for the street any time a door opens -- behave themselves for 24 hours.

And Happy Gotcha Day to my lovely Miles!

Quick Stop

Ear Worm of the Day:



I haven't heard this song in a gazillion years and have no idea why on earth it has lodged itself in my cranium today...
_____

Update: I take that back. It was the word "simonize" found here that's the culprit.
_____

Update 2:

THE BILLBOARD SONG
Recorded by Homer and Jethro
Written by Cy Coben and Charles Grean

[G] As I was walking down the street a billboard caught my [D] eye
The advertisements written there would make you laugh and [G] cry
The signs were torn and scattered from the storm the night be-[C] fore
And as I read the [G] things they said, why, [D] this is what I [G] saw;

Smoke Coca-Cola cigarettes, drink Wrigley's Spearmint beer
Ken-L-Ration dog food keeps your wife's complexion clear
Chew chocolate covered mothballs, they always satisfy
Brush your teeth with Lifebouy Soap and watch the suds go by;

When I recovered from the shock I went upon my way
I'd gone no further than a block when there to my dismay
Another billboard caught my eye and like the one before
The wind and rain had done its work 'cause this is what I saw;

Oh, take your next vacation in a brand new Frigidaire
Learn to play pian-er in your winter underwear
And Simonize your baby with a Hershey candy bar
See the difference that Drain-o makes in all the movie stars;

Oh, doctors proved that babies shouldn't smoke til they are three
People over 35 take baths in Lipton's Tea
You wanna make this country a better place today
Just buy a record of this song and throw it "fur" away.

T - I - D - E; spells - TIDE!

Rescue Mission

Apparently Verizon is experiencing some major internet service outages in the Chicago area today... and my offices was one of the gazillion and one businesses affected. From about 10:00 a.m. on we had NO internet service.

Seriously.

One and a half floors of business consultants with ZERO intartubes.

It really wasn't pretty... so my little Portege and my Clear wireless card came riding to the rescue.

Imagine being the only summer camp kid in the cabin with candy. I swear I was like a portrait photo that had received the full Photoshop experience -- prettier, slimmer and definitely more popular.

Awe, shucks, sir. T'weren't nuthin'.

Spilt...

... coffee?

(Thanks, Elizabeth!)

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

They traded my spiritual son... and a couple of other guys to a really sucky team! Sorry, but they ALL deserved better.

Send me your address and I'll send CARE packages, okay, Kid?

Quick Stop

It appears flies truly are attracted to steaming piles of bullshit.

Drive-Bys

GoDaddy.com's customer service department lies:

We've received your question. You can expect a response within 24 hours.

Your Incident ID is: XXXXXXX

Or, talk with our highly trained, courteous support staff – they're waiting to take your call. Whatever time it takes to assist you, that's the time you'll receive: 24/7 Sales & Support: (480) 505-8877 - 24/7 Billing Support: (480) 505-8855.

Thanks,
GoDaddy.com

Hah! I got NO assistance from their Sales & Support line, and, in fact was told that I had to track down the account owner yesterday. Adding insult to injury, more than 24 hours since I first started trying to fix this mess, I still haven't gotten word that this has been resolved.

Don't do business with GoDaddy.com. Those douche bags are not careful with sensitive client data and their customer service stinks.

Update: Just to make sure I'm 100% accurate here, it's now been over 24 hours since the email answering my email to GoDaddy's customer service, sent almost 5 hours after my initial email, was received. I said it before and I'll say it again -- if you're doing business with GoDaddy, you are nuts.
_____

Real cringes? Lemme see...

I'm guilty as hell of #1 -- usually in harmony, and never quietly. (Just ask this guy. He's my most recent witness.) It makes me happy.

#2? Occasionally guilty. Big fat hairy deal. I also over use elipses.

#3? Nope. Whatever praying I have to do is between my Maker and me alone.

#4? WGN Channel 9 (news and Bozo's circus), CBS Channel 2, NBC Channel 5 and some crazy cable access channel back in the early 90's to promote this cat club's shows. (Admitting to belonging to a cat club? Now there's cringe-worthy!) But why stop there? I've also been on the radio a gazillion times, again promoting the cat show, but most recently doing a little segment for Drunks in the News. Shameful, I know, but hella fun.

#5? Never going to happen in this world or the next.

What's your definition of cringe-worthy?
_____

The scientifically proven ultimate hangover cure? A bacon sandwich! (Bacon! Yummy, yummy bacon!)

However, I think Friendly's new Grilled Cheese Burger Melt may just take second place...



... followed by the KFC Double Down...



Yep. All you'd need to complete the cure is an order of onion rings and big tall glass of ice cold milk.
_____

I was never a Jerry Seinfeld fan before, but I think I just became one:

Twelve days after Lady Gaga wound up in his box at Shea Stadium during a Mets game, Jerry Seinfeld has called her “a jerk” and then some. Joking or no? Read and decide.

“This woman is a jerk. I hate her,” Seinfeld said during a WFAN radio interview on Monday, perhaps . “I can’t believe they put her in my box, which I paid for.”

Gaga, dressed in bra and swilling beer, was moved from her front row seat to Seinfeld’s empty box (without his knowledge) after flipping off photographers.

“You give people the finger and you get upgraded? Is that the world we’re living in now?” he said.

Seinfeld first said when asked about the June 10th incident, reports the NY Post, “I wish her the best.. you take one ‘A’ off of that and you’ve got gag.”

“I don’t know what these young people think or how they promote their careers,” Seinfeld said. “I’m older, I’m 56. I look at Lady Gaga the way Keith Hernandez watches these kids when they pull the pocket out, they wear the inside-out pocket. … Do you think he understands that? He can’t understand that. That’s a new game, that’s kids.”

He added, “I’m not one of these all-publicity-is-good people. People talk about you need exposure — you could die of exposure.”

You go, sir!
_____

In another stunning example of the Dunning-Kruger Effect, the federal goverment halts the dredging of sand berms in Louisiana the same day the cap was removed from the leaking well in the gulf.

No matter how you slice it or dice it, dredging sand berms can't be any more harmful than letting that gusher continue to flow unabated.

Smooth move, folks. I grant you major style points for the sheer breathlessness and sweeping scope of your complete and utter incompetency.
_____

Ear Worm of the Day:



Name the writer.
_____

Giggle of the Day:


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Road Conditions

Oh, joy!

Dear Tenants,

The National Weather Service has issued the following weather warning & information for our area:

Severe Thunderstorms Expected, High Winds and Hail Possible

Strong thunderstorms are expected to arrive in the city between 4:00 and 7:00pm. The storms have the possibility of damaging winds and large hail. Depending on how the storms develop, winds could reach 70 mph. To view live weather radar, follow this link to: National Weather Service Radar.

Please disseminate this information to your employees and take the necessary precautions.

That ought to make the commute home interesting. (And it's the second time in a week, thank you very much.)

Around here every idiot who should never have received a drivers license, much less a set of car keys, inevitably picks weather like this to drive in.

Be careful on your way home, will you?
_____

Update:

Tornado Watch Issued - Severe Thunderstorms Expected, High Winds and Hail Possible

From the National Weather Service:

A tornado watch has been issued for Cook County until 9:00 PM.

A severe thunderstorm is expected to hit the North Central area of Illinois near Rockford between 2:00 and 5:00pm. Chicago will have approximately 30 minutes advance notice before the storm strikes here somewhere between 4:00 and 7:00pm.

The storm will be fast moving and may only last 30-45 minutes. It will be accompanied by 70 mph winds, hail (the size of a quarter) and heavy rains. The rainfall is expected to be 1-2 inches per hour. The heat index is expected to reach 100 degrees this evening (as well as on Sat and Sun). This storm will be very similar to the one that came through last Friday.

Yippee!

I wasn't kidding -- be careful on your way home!

_____

Update: Another first -- tornado sirens just went off. I've been working in and around the Loop since 1989, an it's the first time I've ever heard that.

Drive-Bys

Customer Clusterf*ck:

I don't know what the folks at GoDaddy are thinking these days, but they've lost Joanie as a new customer through sheer ineptitude, and, if my own freaky experience with them in the past couple of days is any indication, there's no way I'd ever become a customer, either.

Here's the deal -- if you have a screen name of "POTATOB75" and are GoDaddy Customer No. 64814403, you should drop me an email (omnibus dot driver at gmail dot com). I have your login name, your receipt number and know exactly how much you spent for your site because the good folks at GoDaddy texted it to my cell phone -- twice.

I tried calling GoDaddy and explaining to them that they needed to update their records and notify the correct account holder.

GoDaddy's customer service rep ever so helpfully informed me that I would have to contact the account holder, as they had no way of even opening the account information without the verification number given at the time of sale.

[Bangs head repeatedly against monitor!!!]

I dutifully called the two different numbers GoDaddy appeared to be texting (a different one in each text message), only to find that neither puzzled woman had any idea of what I was talking about, and had no business with GoDaddy.

[Bang, bang, BANG!!!]

I emailed all of this to GoDaddy's customer service folks, got a computer-generated response saying I'd hear back from them within 24 hours. NOT.

Seriously, if you're doing business with this company, WHAT are you thinking?
_____

Oooooooooooo! Pretty!
_____

Giggle of the Day... for my friend in the Cheese Aisle:


see more Lolcats and funny pictures
_____

Quote of the Day:

Dunning and Kruger argued in their paper, “When people are incompetent in the strategies they adopt to achieve success and satisfaction, they suffer a dual burden: Not only do they reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the ability to realize it. Instead, like Mr. Wheeler, they are left with the erroneous impression they are doing just fine.”

It became known as the Dunning-Kruger Effect — our incompetence masks our ability to recognize our incompetence.

And, no -- they're not talking about Obama and his band of merry morons. Then again, maybe they are. Think I'm kidding?

And now, there's the Kyl controversy. On June 18, Kyl told a town meeting in North Phoenix that Obama personally told him the administration will not secure the U.S.-Mexico border because doing so would make it politically difficult to pass comprehensive immigration reform. "I met with the president in the Oval Office, just the two of us," Kyl said. "Here's what the president said. The problem is, he said, if we secure the border, then you all won't have any reason to support comprehensive immigration reform."

"In other words," Kyl continued, "they're holding it hostage. They don't want to secure the border unless and until it is combined with comprehensive immigration reform."

_____

This shouldn't have made me giggle... but it did.
_____

Thinking about buying an ebook reader? The prices are going down!

(Short of the phone call telling me my daughter was trying to find me, my Kindle is the best Christmas gift I've ever gotten.)
_____

Ear Worm of the Day:

Quick Stop

You know I'm a sucker for a love story, and this is a beauty:



Adorable, no?
_____

Ear Worm of the Day:


_____

Bus Fumes

I kid you not, Governor Giveaway has some 'splaining to do. He can find $6 million to spend on the Museum of Broadcast Communication, but he doesn't have $380,000 to stop this:

With nine months of unpaid bills, one Illinois residential treatment center says it has no choice but to start discharging profoundly emotionally disturbed children.

Letters were sent this month to seven Chicago-area families, giving them 30 days to pick up their children.

"It was a very difficult decision … but the lack of payment is starting to affect other kids," said Debbie Reed, president and CEO of Chaddock, a residential treatment center in the downstate city of Quincy. "It's really a matter of stewardship."

The Illinois Department of Human Services owes Chaddock more than $370,000 for seven students in the state's Individual Care Grant program, which provides funding for residents with severe psychosis who cannot function at home. The facility has not been paid since September, "which makes it impossible for us to continue to serve ICG youth with no indication of when or if we may be paid," Reed wrote in the letter to parents.

Nor $1 million to pay for this...

The Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School in Chicago's Hyde Park community is owed more than $1 million for its 20 ICG students, said co-director Diana Kon, who acknowledges she's under pressure from her board to also terminate services for kids with ICGs.

"I don't want to be the one who closes a school that has been open for 100 years," she said. "We are scrambling to keep the lights on, the doors open and services up and running."

While there are many youths across the state with behavioral issues, those supported by Individual Care Grants have generally failed at every previous placement, said Ray Connor of Oak Park, who started the ICG parents group almost a decade ago.

"These are the most severe kids who are placed here for safety issues," Connor said. "They require 24-hour supervision."

Mark my word, that asshole's going to use this as an excuse to raise taxes. He's an impulse purchaser with this state's tax dollars at the expense of every day budget items, and that simply must stop.

I'm not 100% nuts about Bill Brady and some of his far right whackadoodlery, but at least he's fiscally conservative.

I cannot and will not vote for Quinn in November. His irresponsible spending habits are everything that's wrong in Springfield in a nutshell.

Down Memory Lane

Things about Darling Daddy:

He loved Big Band music, especially Glen Miller...



... Tommy Dorsey...



... and Benny Goodman.



His favorite actresses were Grace Kelly...



... and Veronica Lake (his No. 1).



His favorite song and his favorite singer?



Sentimental? You bet he was, and, almost 11 years since he's been gone, I still miss him terribly.

Make sure you tell your father you love him today and every day

Saturday Ramblings

Hmmmm...

YOUR SCORE

Your scored -1.5 on Moral Orderand -5.5 on Moral Rules.

The following categories best match your score (multiple responses are possible):

1. System: Liberalism
2. Ideology: Progressive NeoLiberalism
3. Party: Libertarian Party
4. Presidents: Bill Clinton
5. 04' Election: Michael Badnarik
6. 08' Election: Ron Paul

Of the 617,119 respondents (11,288 on Facebook):

1. 4% are close to you.
2. 9% are more conservative.
3. 5% are more liberal.
4. 45% are more socialist.
5. 39% are more authoritarian.

Next Steps

1. What does this mean?
   Start with Political Systems.
2. Take our quick survey.
3. Tell your Facebook friends.
4. See the overall distribution.

PROGRESSIVE NEOLIBERALISM

Progressive NeoLiberalism is a moderate form of Economic Liberalism.

Neoliberalism is a political philosophy and a political-economic movement beginning in the 1970s that de-emphasizes or rejects government intervention in the economy, focusing instead on achieving progress and even social justice by more free-market methods, especially an emphasis on economic growth, as measured by changes in real gross domestic product.

Progressive Neoliberalism is Neoliberalism associated withnon-conforming moral values.

Sounds about right to me, except for the presidential choices, which are not even close.

(Scooped from ALa... who I found via Tammi who finally got a new blog. Yay!)

_____

Giggle of the Day:

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Charlie Delta's cat has reason to question! (See?)

_____

I am a sucker for a love story, and this one is better than most. (Have a hankie handy.)

_____

What's your poison pickle? If it's half sour or garlic dill, go see Elisson. If it's bread & butter, on the other hand, go see Deb.

_____

This looks truly awful:

Even the synopsis has "FAIL" written all over it:

What an incredible waste of fantastic casting!

_____

Saturday Morning Cartoons

Commercial Break:

Regular Programming:

Drive-Bys

_____

Jihad Gene says, "It's Friday! Let's Dance!" and he's doing it doggie style.

Alrighty then. I'll see your Gloria Gaynor and raise you a Mark and Julee Weems:



(Swiped gleefully from Patti.)

And what've you got?
_____

Giggle of the Day:


see more Lolcats and funny pictures
_____

Quote of the Day:

You might know Jesus, but that won’t stop you from getting Tasered.

Go see more of Spark Check here. He hasn't been blogging long, but, by jinkies, he's good.
_____

I wouldn't go on a Cougar cruise for anything. And I certainly wouldn't let anyone take my picture or interview me about the experience.

That's positively pathetic.
_____

I am not at all happy with either of Illinois' choices for senatorial candidates this year, but...

... if I have to choose between a guy with a decent congressional track record but a penchant for self-puffery and a guy who lent money to mobsters and lost family bank at great cost to the taxpayer, but who called it "selling" the bank, and who lost millions of taxpayer dollars by his mismanagement of a college savings fund and lied about the extent of the loss in his first elected position, well... I know who I'm not voting for.
_____

I found Buzz Aldrin positively creepy on this season's Dancing With The Stars... but his wife is truly a horror show. Is is me, or does she make drag queens look positively straight-laced?
_____

How many months into his term in office are we before he puts this policy in place:

Don't Pay Dead People

Swell. Nice to see that, as usual, he's on top of things.
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Saw this and thought of Elisson... who's now Lost in the Cheese Aisle (without his little white chune box, apparently...). Now that's a colander!
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Boy meets girl. What a cool story! (Any bets on this becoming, at a minimum, a movie of the week?)
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Road Conditions

Severe thunderstorms are currently moving across Iowa at 50-60mph, and are expected to hit Chicago between 4-5pm this afternoon. The storm is producing winds up to 70mph. Reports also predict possible hail the size of half-dollars and rainfall up to 2 inches per hour.

Lovely! Take public transportation if you can.
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Update: Boy oh boy, they weren't kidding. For the first time in all the years I've worked in this city, our office building did an announcement advising everyone to move away from the windows and into central corridors because they were concerned windows might break and glass might fly. It was really eerie watching the glass flex (and yes, I skedaddled into a safe place as soon as I witnessed that bit of oddity).

Hope you're warm, safe and dry wherever you may be tonight.

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Update II: See? It really was one helluva storm!

My Favorite...

...time of light.

Oops

This shouldn't make me giggle...



... but it did. It's all his fault.

Quick Stop

Giggle of the Day:

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Headline of the Day:

Scientists to analyse Ozzy Osbourne's genome to find out why he is still alive

Haaaaaaaaaahahahaha!!!
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From the Department of Damned If You Do and Damned If You Don't:

Scientists found that free-range eggs contain at least five times higher levels of certain pollutants than normal eggs.

Around 17 per cent of the free range eggs had levels that European regulators would have deemed unsafe for consumption....

Free-range chickens are those that have continuous access to fresh air, sunshine, and exercise, in contrast to chickens that are confined to cages.

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Tootin' The Horn

For Peedee...



You know why. (And forget the Apocalypse. It's Happy Dance time!)

That Blows My Skirt Up Chaps My Asphalt

"Meanwhile, I've been wrestling with Kong. For more than a week I've been pounding on the epilogue, but still can't get it to gel. This morning I put that aside for a bit and went back to rewrite a Tyrion chapter, and that's going much better.

Parts of me just got all tingly. EPILOGUE!

He'd better not be toying with me again...

(Don't get too excited over me mentioning the epilogue, please. I don't always write these chapters in the order you read them. The epilogue will close the book, but it won't be the last chapter written. For instance, the last chapter written on A STORM OF SWORDS was the Red Wedding)."

Oops. He is.

Bastard. Where's my fiance when I need him to give old George another swift kick in the tuchas?

Hmphf!

Drive-Bys

Going to the Dogs:


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Quote of the Day, Part 1:

You can't just walk up to the first person you see on the street and ask: "Would you like to blow my vuvuzela?"

That sort of thing could get you punched or arrested.

Somewhere in my box of photos, wherever I've hidden it from myself this time, I have a photo of Darling Daddy sitting cross-legged under the kitchen table with an aqua plastic colander on his head and tooting on a bright blue vuvuzela, much to the amusement of my nephew and his cousin. His employees would never have believed it in a million years, even with the evidence in hand. Must find....
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If you haven't seen the video of the policeman punching the teenaged girl, here you go:



If she was a he, there would be no uproar. As it is...

The American Civil Liberties Union, citing Seattle Police Office of Professional Accountability reports, said Seattle police have a long history of escalating jaywalking citations into force situations.

But O'Neill said the officer reacted the way he was trained, and the only reason the situation escalated was because of the alleged violators' actions. He repeated one question: Why didn't they comply?

"Let's put the accountability where it needs to be: They escalated the situation.

"You escalate a situation when you put your hands on a uniformed officer -- you have no reason to do that," O'Neill said. "There's no justification to ever do that. And when you make that decision to go down that road then the officer is going to resort to their training."

It's not appropriate for officers to just walk away when someone is assaulting them because the assailants are clearly a threat to others as well, O'Neill said. In the video, the alleged violators use explicit language insulting the officer.

I'm with the officer. There was no police brutality here, and no racism -- only pig-headed stupidity on the part of a couple of stupid kids. Being female doesn't give you a free pass, either.
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Quote of the Day, Part 2:

The next thing you know, they will be requiring the farmer to put pants on the male sheep after they are sheared, because everyone can see their balls.

The MeezerMom makes me laugh!

You Must Be Dreaming

I awoke this morning to realize that this song was repeated endlessly in my dream throughout the night:

But instead of with Muppets, it was with Koi:

I'm still scratching my head. Need. Coffee. Now.

Rubber-Necking

Tango... with pole.

(For Fausta.)

Quick Stop

OK Go strikes again:

Drive-Bys

Giggle of the Day:


see more Lolcats and funny pictures
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Ear Worm of the Day:



Blame it on Joanie, who mentioned diamonds and...

Ah, well.
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I am so freaking sick of rain I can't even tell you.

Find all weather maps >>

• Enter zip code:
• GO

77°

HI 72° | LO 62°

Cloudy

SUNRISE 05:15 am

SUNSET 08:29 pm

RECORD HIGH 95°, 1994

HUMIDITY 78%

PRESSURE 29.93 in. -

RECORD LOW 39°, 1909

9

mph

• 2 PM

  Thunderstorms,

  71°
• 3 PM

  Thunderstorms,

  71°
• 4 PM

  Thunderstorms,

  72°
• 5 PM

  Thunderstorms,

  72°

This is retribution for the beautiful April and May we had. I just know it.
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Comfort food. If I can't have sunny weather, at least I can have comfort food.

Lookie here: chocolate covered bacon caramels with sea salt and bourbon and black pepper truffles. (My knees just went wobbly.)

Oooh! Here's more indulgent goodness, courtesy of Kraft: Deli Deluxe Bacon Cheddar, Jalapeno American and Three Cheese Garlic and Herb! (Why, yes! I could use a drool bib right about now.) Print yourself some coupons here.
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You know, in the history books Obama is going to be seen as a money and power-grabbing finger-wagging, late-to-the-party incompetent; whereas Bobby Jindal will be remembered as the guy who said, "Screw waiting! We're going to fix this now and worry about who's going to pay for it later. Get moving, fellas."

Oh, and here's how our pals across the pond view Obama:

'Obama is the first US president who was raised without cultural or emotional or intellectual ties to either Britain or Europe. The British and the Europeans have been so enchanted with "America's first black president" that they haven't been able to see what he really is: "America's first Third World President."'

The sad thing is, they're not incorrect.
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