Leslie's Omnibus

Drive-Bys

In the shock poll of the day, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has pulled into a statistical tie with Mitt Romney in the former Massachusetts governor’s backyard, New Hampshire.
Why is this a shocker?

Look -- fiscal conservatives are terrified that Romney will be the Republican candidate, based on his performance as governor of Massachusetts. To those of us who lean more to the center on social issues, Bachman is a loon. Sadly, Perry has repeatedly shot himself in the foot during debates. Cain is rapidly falling apart on his tax plan, foreign policy and the freak show of women accusing him of sexual harassment.

I'm not happy with any of these, but if I have to hold my nose when I pull the lever in the voting booth, I'm going to do it for the person who's least likely to harm the economy any more and most likely to do some good. And that simply is not Obama.

It's a pretty awful field of candidates when Palin's choice not to run is starting to look like a crying shame.

(And, FWIW, here's the guy I'd have been thrilled to back.)
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“We had it put in his hand because that is what he came for,” said another son, Dr. Robert Hoshizaki.
Get out your hankies.
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This sounds like a pretty cool gig, indeed:
Gigwalk, a free app for iPhone and coming for Android, pays users small fees to perform tasks for companies that need local eyes and ears on the ground. Microsoft Corp.'s Bing, for example, enlists Gigwalkers to photograph businesses for map listings. Navigation service TomTom uses Gigwalkers to verify turn restrictions or bridge heights. Several consumer packaged-goods companies send Gigwalkers to retailers to ensure their products are being displayed properly....

Most gigs pay as little as $4, but as Gigwalkers become more experienced, they accumulate "street cred" that enables them to access more challenging jobs, such as photographing hotels or testing mobile apps, that pay up to $95 a pop.
If you live in Chicago, South Florida, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, New York, Philadelphia or Seattle, you might just want to check it out.
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I just don't understand people sometimes:
And if you think about what you would have done in a situation where you caught someone you love and respect in that position, is it really so obvious, as the chest thumping punditariat proclaims, that you would have leaped into the shower, beaten the snot out of him, and frog marched him to the police station after you rescued the kid? Really? You'd have done that to your father, your favorite uncle, your best friend, a beloved mentor?
Yes. I would.

I am appalled at this line of thinking:
I'm sure at some level they worry about other kids Grandpa might be touching--but they also worry about what would happen to Grandpa in jail, and the rest of his family in the court of public opinion.
Quite frankly, you'd do far better in the court of this public's opinion if you turned your perv of a Grandpa in to the authorities.

Can we stop making apologies for all of these people for their unwillingness to stand up for defenseless children? This just sickens me.
Leslie

Quick Stop

Funniest headline of the week?

Cursing Christmas fairy fired

Leslie

Drive-Bys

This just beggars belief:



As does this:


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For those of you torn between the new Kindle Fire, which started shttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhipping earlier this week, and the new Nook Tablet, due out Friday, here's another curveball:
"Although Amazon goes out of its way to hide all traces of vanilla Android from its new Kindle Fire tablet, it turns out tech-savvy users can still install select third-party Android applications outside the auspices of the Amazon Appstore. These apps include Amazon competitors, like Barnes & Noble’s Nook app for Android."
Which ever one you choose, I'm envious.
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Shakira was right: Hips don't lie.

"If one would like to 'fake' a certain (positive) personality in order to attract women, this is probably doomed to fail," Fink said. "An individual's body movement pattern is characteristic and any attempt to fake it would result in less positive judgments of that person."
I knew that.
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I've heard of blaming the dog, but blaming the door???
It appears the mind regards a doorway as something experts call an ‘event boundary’, signalling the end of one memory episode and the beginning of another.
And here I thought event boundaries had to do with party manners and social mores...
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When it comes to Obamacare, keep in mind what Obama's new nominee has in mind for us:
The decision is not whether or not we will ration care — the decision is whether we will ration with our eyes open” — and, in progressive-speak, “The social budget is limited.” (Emphasis mine)
Oh, really? And how are all those folks on the public dole going to handle it when they get turned away from the emergency room for their cold and flu symptoms and free pregnancy tests?
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It sucks being a fiscal conservative these days, because I really am not crazy about any of the Republican candidates at the moment. That being said, William A. Jacobson penned a thoughtful post on why Newt Gingrich may end up being the best choice right now.
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Leslie

Drive-Bys

A tip of the cap to Juan Cortez for giving bus drivers a good name! (And that he's from my own town makes it even sweeter.)
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In the Chicago area we've had two little kids killed by TVs tipping over in the last week. If you've got little ones running around your house -- whether they're your own or somebody else's -- you need to read this. This is fixable, folks.
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Speaking of little ones, this list of cringe-worthy things kids have said in public is hilarious... and not the same old stuff you've seen before!
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Ah! This explains my frequent earworms!
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Leslie

Quick Stop

Giggle of the Day:



Forget Chelsea Handler. Why does Ross Matthews not have his own show yet? (I've loved him since his "Ross the Intern" days on the Tonight Show.)
Leslie

Knock, Knock!

Is this thing on?

Yeah... I've been a bit distracted by other things lately. I'll try to be more regular, if only to let you know I'm off doing other stuff.
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On a political note, I haven't found a candidate that I'm 100% behind yet. Between Cain's accusers (and I do believe in assuming he's innocent until proven guilty) and Perry's debate blundering, my concern that Romney is too far left for my taste and my skepticism that Gingrich is capable of sustaining it for the long haul... I'm just not ready to back a candidate at this point.
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I saw my first snowflake of the season this morning. I'm not ready for Chicago winter weather.
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I am aghast that Mike McQueary will be coaching the Nittany Lions this weekend. Of all the horrible questions I have about what happened at Penn State, why McQueary didn't: a) step in and stop Sandusky when he was caught in the act of raping a 10 year old; or, b) call 911 immediately -- local, not campus police is beyond me.

Why, when he called his father, didn't his father tell him to call the police immediately? And if his dad did tell him to call the police, why didn't he???

Why has he kept his mouth shut all this time?

I agree with John Kass and David Haugh -- I don't understand why McQueary wasn't shit-canned along with Paterno and Co.

I am sickened by the actions of the students who rioted in support of Paterno this morning.

Sadly, the whole story looks to be even worse than we thought.

When are we going to stop putting sports icons ahead of our moral and ethical duties?
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Speaking of moral and ethical duties, handing out bonuses to the leadership of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- and that leadership accepting those bonuses -- is beyond the pale. If I bungled my own job so badly, I wouldn't expect a reward, and neither should they.

Let them have bonuses when they've actually fixed something, first.
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On a much happier note, it looks like a vaccine for breast cancer might just be one step closer to reality.

Faster, please.
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Did you know it's National Adoption Month? Clearly this is a subject near and dear to my heart.

I've been reading Carrie Goldman's Portrait of an Adoption every day. I found one story that was very close to my own, and responded via the comments. Guess what? That young woman was finally able to bring her story out in the open and received the same kind of support that I experienced.

While I wish every adoption story could have an ending this happy, Ask Amy today has a letter from a sister who finds her younger sister's judgment wanting in deciding to place her child for adoption.

This is exactly why some of us kept and continue to keep our secrets to ourselves.

National Adoption Month -- it's not for sissies.
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I'm kind of caught between wanting to get my hair colored right now because the roots are about 3/4 of an inch long and letting it grow out enough to chop the colored part off and just see what nature has to offer.

Thus, today's ear worm:

Leslie

Who Has Time...

... to blog when I'm having scintillating email conversations about said failure to post like the following?

Subject: Dilatory and Derelict

Mike: Seriously, now. Twelve days?

Me: Play closing weekend, sick, family obligations and work up to my eyebrows. Pffffllllbbbbbbbttt!

Mike: You put that tongue away, missy!

Me: Yeah? Sez who?

Mike: (Every response I could think of, suppressed.)

Me: *neener neener neener*

Mike: That's it, young lady. Go to your room!

Me: Make me. Nyaah nyaah nyaah!

Mike: And no dinner, either.

Me: That's okay -- I still have my pillowcase full of Halloween candy hidden under my bed. (So there.)

There -- I posted! Are you happy now?
Leslie

Book Your Ticket

October – 12/91

Skinny Legs and All, Tom Robbins[1]

Case Histories: A Novel, Kate Atkinson[2]

The Kinshield Legacy, K.C. May

The Wayfarer King, K.C. May[3]

Plugged: A Novel, Eoin Colfer[4]

Witches on Parole: Unlocked, Debora Geary[5]

Soulless, Gail Carriger

Heartless, Gail Carriger

Changeless, Gail Carriger

Blameless, Gail Carriger[6]

Stormfront (The Dresden Files, Book 1), Jim Butcher[7]

Starting from Happy, Patricia Marx[8]


[1] A blend of screwball comedy, deep philosophy and examination of the function of organized religion. Only Tom Robbins could pull this one off so beautifully.

[2] Take a raft of characters ala Maeve Binchy, throw in a couple of murders and stir in a plodding, morose beginning. Stick with it, though, because this book does get better. Still, don’t expect happy Binchy endings.

[3] Not bad fantasy fiction. The pair are a quick read.

[4] Tense, fast-paced and thoroughly satisfying.

[5] Geary’s Witches series is like potato chips – totally addicting.

[6] Speaking of addicting, I adored this series – Victorian costume drama, vampires, werewolves and ghosts with a dollop of steampunk and a healthy dash of humor.

[7] Yeah, it’s fantasy fiction month. Another pretty decent read.

[8] Entirely too hipster in content and style for me. Ugh.

Leslie