Silflay Hraka

I’ve come to realize that politics isn’t about operating the country, it’s about how to bitterly hate the living bejeezus out of everybody who doesn’t agree precisely with every single opinion you hold, so that even sweet gum drops taste like ashes in your mouth, until the day comes that you can have everybody in the opposing party drawn, quartered, and dipped in an admixture of lemon juice and salt and then baked on a shingle, and how it will wreck your entire life until you can see everybody with even remote ties to the opposition party crucified with rusty 10 penny nails along the roadside on the way to either Amarillo, or Boston, depending on your persuasion… but still.

Do you think the Democratic National Committee could have picked a better guy to alienate most of middle America than Howie Dean?

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Stalking a Killer That Lurks a Few Feet Offshore.

Reading the article above may just save your life!

United Airlines sets course for Wi-Fi.

German airline Lufthansa already allows passengers access to wireless technology during flights.

Not by personal choice, but because they typically offer the lowest fares on travel sites, my last few flights have been on United. I can’t say that the experience has been totally positive, though I didn’t have horrible experiences the last time out. If I had my choice, I’d fly Southwest or Delta. Offering wireless Internet access during flights might convice me to fly United more frequently, however. At least I’d have something to do if the in-flight movie sucked.

Rocketeers pick Canadian launch site.

Another private space-flight company is getting close to launch testing. Most of the private companies are pursuing the goal of space tourism or sending private citizens into suborbital space.

I think these companies would be much better served in pursuing the market for small satellites. I think that the business model is certainly more solid than the tourism model. But that’s just me.

For the record, I don’t care about going into space. I don’t even think I want to go. Anyone else?

You get three clues. You should only need one. All are taken from this Virgina Postrel article at Reason.

Like cheap food and sedentary labor, the argument goes, abundant choice is not something human beings are biologically evolved to cope with. We?d be better off with fewer decisions to make.

Freedom and choice are wonderful things that allow us to realize our human potential. But there?s a limit to how many choices each of us has time to make, and most people in the rich world are pretty much maxed out already.?

…Swarthmore psychologist Barry Schwartz…

Gosh, one wonders how Swarthmore psychologist Barry Schwartz would go about reducing the amount of choice available? Anyone care to lay odds on whether the words “government program” would be part of his solution?

Extra Bonus Game: Guess the Sexual Orientation of Swarthmore psychologist Barry Schwartz!

What used to be a five-minute task requiring no more information than a waist size and length now demands multiple decisions and an unnerving amount of self-awareness. What leg shape and denim wash say ?Barry Schwartz?? What shape is his body really? ?Finally, I chose the easy fit, because a ?relaxed fit? implied that I was getting soft in the middle and needed to cover it up,? he writes.

Note: The idea that one’s shopping patterns imply anything about one’s sexual orientation is ludicrous, and you should be ashamed of thinking that they would. After all, men who appear to be perfectly heterosexual appear on Queer Eye all the time. Whatever is wrong with them–and there is definitely something wrong with them–it’s not related to whichever sex they happen to be attracted to. Now go forth and swear never to indulge in casual stereotyping of this nature ever again!

Or at least for the rest of the day.

Bigwig’s Clothes Shopping Tips For Men!

Not that it implies anything about his sexual orientation, though one could be forgiven for wondering, considering his use of the term “Clothes shopping tips”.

1. Let the wife/girlfriend buy it. This frees up time for more valuable pursuits. (i.e. anything other than shopping) If you don’t like it, don’t wear it. Attempt to give it to Goodwill at the earliest possible opportunity. She’ll get the message eventually. The SW gave up buying me anything other than solid color shirts ages ago.

2. Jeans require that you know a waist size and a leg length. That’s it. Worrying about anything else means that you’re way too in touch with your feminine side. Frankly, this makes you unattractive to women.

3. The only place silk belongs on you is in areas where it touches your ass or feet.

4. Should your wife or girlfriend berate you for a lack of fashion sense, consider the nuclear option.

Extra Bonus Link! Swarthmore psychologist Barry Schwartz’s Ideal Grocery Store!

I wonder what country that photo was taken in?

It’s too late now, of course, but which man would you have felt more comfortable voting for; (lvi)

Sheriff Andy?

or Gomer?

Is Bush a Sith Lord? by Paul Craig Roberts.

My question is this: if Bush is a Sith Lord, what is his Sith identity? Darth Shrub?

Some months ago, I switched my local phone service from BellSouth to Vonage. I do not use my home phone service enough to warrant the baseline price of $25.00 BellSouth was offering. Mostly I use it to intercept calls from marketers or other people from whom I don’t wish to hear.

Also for some months, BellSouth has been calling and mailing asking me to switch back to BellSouth. Their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. I don’t have any need or any interest in any service offered by BellSouth.

That just changed.

BellSouth to launch wireless broadband.

I wouldn’t go back to BellSouth for phone service or DSL. But I would drop my cable modem in a heartbeat if I could cruise all over town carrying my Internet access with me.

eBay item 5585398483 (Ends Jun-06-05 19:23:30 PDT) – WILL LEGALLY CHANGE OUR NAMES TO ANYTHING YOU WISH!!!!!