Thursday, March 7, 02002
Why spy when you can just hire a PR firm ?
What would James Joyce do if he was in the CIA ?
He'd be earning his keep, spying his little heart out.
He wouldn't be praying the Invisible Hand points out terrorists to him.
Posted at 01:32 PM EST [Link][Comment]
Wednesday, March 6, 02002
The circus is coming to Cincinnati !!!
Domestic terrorist Clayton Lee Waagner is going to defend himself at his stolen car / stolen weapons trial.
Those poor jurors...
Posted at 01:50 PM EST [Link][Comment]
I experienced a bit of patriotism today.
I went to the dentist today for a cleaning. When I was ready to pay, there was an argument going on at the front counter. The receiptionst and some patient were at odds over some insurance claim. I just wanted to pay and get back to work. I kept trying to pass my credit card to the receptionist, figuring he could talk and swipe at the same time. But the argument went on for some time. Actually it was pretty fun to watch because the receptionist is a bit of a queen, and he was working it pretty hard. I suspect he considers arguments like this a job perk. Eventually the patient gave up, agreeing it would be better totalk to his HR department instead of pestering the poor helpless receiptionist any more.
So finally my credit card was being processed. The receptionist was apologizing for the delay, and complaining about the patient. As I'm signing the slip, he finished up saying, "Those Americans......", sighing dramatically and shaking his head. I'm taken aback. First thought is "What the #&^$*# !! Don't I look American !! I could be working at one of the four government agencies on this block !!", closely followed by, "What the $^@$# !! You're so far out, if you went back home, your neighbors might drop a wall on you. So enjoy it here already."
But I didn't say anything. I just took my receipt and got back to the office.
Posted at 12:59 AM EST [Link][Comment]
Tuesday, March 5, 02002
Though the article doesn't bring it up, the best thing about the Tower Of Lights memorial is that it's mobile.
Some implication of a mobile memorial are covered in my Virtual Towers idea.
I should probably revisit this idea now that a couple months have gone by, if only to clean up the grammer and spelling.
Posted at 12:58 PM EST [Link][Comment]
Sunday, March 3, 02002
I saw two blue birds and a senator today.
The first blue bird was in the trees outside my balcony when I woke up. I was surprised to see it, it being March and not all that warm. The second blue bird was along side the C&O canal later in the afternoon. It was on the other side of the canal, and when ever I would get close enough for a good view, it would fly ahead another forty feet or so onto another tree branch. This went on for a while, until some mountain bikers came zooming down in the opposite direction, and scared the poor guy away.
The senator was in a supermarket parking lot on my way back from the canal. He cut me off at an intersection inside the lot, not even bothering to slow down at a stop sign. I expected to see diplomatic plates when I pulled in behind him, but surprise-surprise, the car's license plate was "28", issued by the U.S. Senate.
But it gets worse. On exiting the lot, the senator decided he really wanted to go straight about half way through his right hand turn, almost hitting me again as he suddenly tried switching lanes. Then he did the same thing on the next block after deciding against making a left hand turn. Luckily by that time I was far away from him. Egads. But I suppose I shouldn't complain. It's not like I was shot twice in the face this weekend.
Posted at 11:43 PM EST [Link][Comment]
Enough gloom and doom for one week.
Let's move onto the first convention of the International Association for the Protection of Garden Gnomes where the participation of female garden gnomes has caused quite a stir.
The female interloper vexed gnome enthusiasts at their annual conference this week in the German city of Chemnitz. It was decided to levy a fine of 75 (£45) on Reinhard Griebel, whose company has produced thousands of countesses. The association, of course, has no legal right to levy fines, but Herr Griebel decided to humour the conference and paid up.
No word on whether the Garden Gnome Liberation Front was involved with the conference, or otherwise made its presence known. The GLF even has its own manifesto.
And let's not forget the Charlottenburg Palace Gnome Parade of '96.
Posted at 11:16 AM EST [Link][Comment]
Yeh, sure, Stalin World trivializes Soviet gulagism. But Vilnius is also the site of the Museum for the Victims of (Soviet) Genocide and to top it all off, a memorial to Frank Zappa.
"Okay, so Zappa never visited Lithuania and had absolutely no connection with the country, but as far as I was concerned, this was a test of our new-found freedom. Lithuania had just proclaimed itself to be a democratic country. I wanted to test it and see if I would be able to realize my ideas."
Posted at 10:20 AM EST [Link][Comment]
