Tired

Well, here. And tired. I should do exciting blog posting abotu Dland and upload digipics, but I humbly apologize and plead exhaustion. Expect more tomorrow.

Boo loved her first trip on Space Mountain, though!!






And thanks to Justin and LYT for stepping up production!

Check in!

Welp, i'm getting one post in. Hoorah free high-speed internet! Checked in to the hotel, which is beautiful with Christmas trees and Pluto and Dale walking around. Christmas monitors will be pleased (or displeased), depending on their preference, by the fact that 'Silent Night' was playing in the lobby. Guess Disney gets a little too much flak (or credit) for being PC, after all.


Well, I've got to run (or walk) to the park now. Bye (see ya later).

Balloons

Balloons are fun.

But I bet right-wingers hate them and would gladly pop every one if they could.

What's the difference?

I've noticed that people sometimes tend to confuse physics majors like me with engineering and math majors. There are however, fundamental differences between engineers, physicists, and mathematicians;

An engineer, a mathematician, and a physicist are staying in three adjoining cabins at a decrepit old motel. First the engineer's coffee maker catches fire on the bathroom vanity. He smells the smoke, wakes up, unplugs it, throws it out the window, and goes back to sleep.
Later that night the physicist smells smoke too. He wakes up and sees that a cigarette butt has set the trash can on fire. He says to himself, "Hmm. How does one put out a fire? One can reduce the temperature of the fuel below the flash point, isolate the burning material from oxygen, or both. This could be accomplished by applying water." So he picks up the trash can, puts it in the shower stall, turns on the water, and, when the fire is out, goes back to sleep.
The mathematician, of course, has been watching all this out the window. So later, when he finds that his pipe ashes have set the bedsheet on fire, he is not in the least taken aback. He immediately sees that the problem reduces to one that has already been solved and goes back to sleep.

A good way to tell who's who is to ask them what the value of pi is;

Mathematician: approximately 3.1415927..
Physicist: it's 3.14
Engineer: a little more than 3

Hope this clears things up.

Update: To get a better (or more confused) understanding of us physics majors, you might want to read The Physicist's Bill of Rights. Also, if you're reading a research paper written by a physicist or any scientist in general, you might want to refer to this guide.

A Math Question now.

Quick! What's the 182,528,097th digit of pi plus the square root of the 182528235th digit of pi? No cheating. (cos(pi/2) points)

Filling in

Well, it looks like some of the Pererro crew can't post today, so I sort of have to fill in today. Anyway, here's a physics problem for you to ponder;

If Bill drinks enough beer so that his driving ability is determined by random quantum events, and his truck is traveling at a speed of 85 miles per hour, does he run over Schrodinger's drugged cat lying in the middle of the road? If Bill does kill the cat, at what speed would he have to be driving in order to get PETA's attention? Assume that Bill does not swerve off the road and hit a tree until after he passes or runs over Schrodinger's cat.
(7e^2.66 points)

Post your answers in the comments below. Whoever gets the highest score on this problem wins.

Generi-blog (in case we don't get online much in the next few days)

Well, blah blah. Blah blah trip tomorrow. Blah blah will be busy. Blah blah non sequitir. Blah blah weird thing. Blah blah stupid Pajams Media. Blah blah...

Blah blah!

...just read that a few dozen times. Later!

Good for them.

Google stocks slid 5%. Serves the Google founders right for having a personal vendetta against me.

Hm. (Superman/Wedding)

Is this d00d cool, for showing his originality, or not cool, cos of the way he does it? I mean, I've got some fanboy inclinations, but... hm.


Also, he and a lot of people complained about the 'messianic' aspects of the Superman trailer.

Thing is, that's from the first movie, innit? I'm not sure. Several people have said that, and Hollywood Jesus has said Superman is the most Christianest movie ever, or one of them, but then again the voiceover doesn't sound quite like Brando's in the trailer, and I don't remember the line, and HJ doesn't mention it in their review, which seems like an odd omission on there part, if true.

Anyway, look at it here and have Deep Thoughts.


OK, go to my post that linked the place where you can go watch it. Picky, picky.

Eureka!

I found my favorite picture of David this afternoon. I think he looks like a young Charlie Sheen. Maybe love has made me wierd. Feel free to toss out your thoughts!

Where I belong

Well, here's the group blog we should be on. It's like my long-lost relatives.

PS, Rodge uses SALTY LANGUAGE! BEWARE!!

OSM/PAJAMAS

I've been keeping an eye on this part of Pajamas Media's site, being rather curious about whether they would post the Carnival of Satire that included a handful of entries that mocked them (including ours, natch). So far, they seem to have not updated from a couple weeks back. It's either willful omission or immense slowness for a blog with a full time staff. Not so good.

Coincidence, or psychic phenomena? You decide.

Creepy (Newsmax)

Well, here's a creepy bit from Newsmax:

John McCain: Torture Worked on Me

Sen. John McCain is leading the charge against so-called "torture" techniques allegedly used by U.S. interrogators, insisting that practices like sleep deprivation and withholding medical attention are not only brutal - they simply don't work to persuade terrorist suspects to give accurate information.

Nearly forty years ago, however - when McCain was held captive in a North Vietnamese prison camp - some of the same techniques were used on him. And - as McCain has publicly admitted at least twice - the torture worked!

Huh. Using this in an argument at all rubs me the wrong way a bit. Plus, it's not particularly accurate:

In his 1999 autobiography, "Faith of My Fathers," McCain describes how he was severely injured when his plane was shot down over Hanoi - and how his North Vietnamese interrogators used his injuries to extract information.

"Demands for military information were accompanied by threats to terminate my medical treatment if I did not cooperate," he wrote.

"I thought they were bluffing and refused to provide any information beyond my name, rank and serial number, and date of birth. They knocked me around a little to force my cooperation."

The punishment finally worked, McCain said. "Eventually, I gave them my ship's name and squadron number, and confirmed that my target had been the power plant."

Well, sounds like they 'knocked him around' a bit too, eh? I think if you asked, say, Ody how he felt about Newsmax insinuating the US Army beats wounded prisoners, I think he'd be offended.

And then later...

The episode wasn't the only instance when McCain broke under physical pressure.

Just after his release in May 1973, he detailed his experience as a P.O.W. in a lengthy account in U.S. News & World Report.

He described the day Hanoi Hilton guards beat him "from pillar to post, kicking and laughing and scratching. After a few hours of that, ropes were put on me and I sat that night bound with ropes."
"For the next four days, I was beaten every two to three hours by different guards . . . Finally, I reached the lowest point of my 5 1/2 years in North Vietnam. I was at the point of suicide, because I saw that I was reaching the end of my rope."

McCain was taken to an interrogation room and ordered to sign a document confessing to war crimes. "I signed it," he recalled. "It was in their language, and spoke about black crimes, and other generalities."

Once again, I hope Newsmax isn't insinuating our guys do this. Not to mention hoping there's absolutely no truth to it. I think this is supposed to be a defense of the US Army, but it almost comes off as a smear...

Anyway, McCain did, indeed, sign a document confessing to war crimes. But, they were fake, which is one of the more convincing arguments against torture in the first place. I mean, regardless of humanitarian concerns (and those are knotty, due to the number of lives that could be at stake) and issues of legality, the simple fact is that a lot of experts say information derived from torture is whatever the recipient of torture thinks the torturer wants to hear. Just like this. So what is Newsmax proving here?

Then again, they post stuff from the Men's Coalition.

Hee hee. The Men's Coalition.


MEN!!

Back, I guess

Ah, it felt good to say I quit. And to just relax. But, I guess I missed it or something. And I suppose if I were serious about quitting I'd give a lot of warning, esp. to the Pererro Team (TM). But, I'm not sure if I was joking or not, because it was awfully cathartic for a joke.

It's strange, living with ADD. To get anything done, I need rituals and schedules. But then I sort of don't like them. But whenever I try to Free Myself, I just end up sitting around and wasting time and then feeling depressed later. AH, anyway. Not usually an angsty sort.

Anyway, was meant to be funny. Guess too many Real World Thoughts intruded on it, tho.

Och, anyway. No, I'm not really quitting. And, if Luke was fooled, that came off more serious than I thought. It probably showed some Deep Seated Desire to be free of obligations, but so it goes. I do generally like blogging, anyway. It's fun to just toss stuff out.

Basically, I blame Pajamas Media. And also diet caffeine free Coke. What's the point? What's coke with no sugar or caffeine? Funny-tasting water. That's what.

TTLB (Callin' it Quits)

Well, apparently TTLB has some crazy new system for making links. After weeks of slowly building, we anda lot of others are getting flushed down a few stages. I mean, you think you know how this stuff works, and then it's all over, like that, on some madman's whim. Between that, and 2/3 of our hits dropping off over the last week...

This is too much stress. I have no axes to grind, and I have other things I'd rather be doing. Also, I really don't think anyone cares about my opinion.

So, this is my announcement that I quit. Back to actually working during the day and writing at night. Hell, maybe I'll manage to read other peoples' blogs instead of keeping up my own, since i used to like that a lot more than I like this.

So, g'night, all. Stay cool.

Good morning! (3)

OK, well. Waking up. Haveta go help clean the kitchen. Brain struggling to make sentence for fingers to type. Brain full of air. Can't think. WIshing I was a fish. Gotta go bye.

Feeling Left out?

Looks like we've accumulated a few more right-wing readers. I figured it was time to stir them up a bit, CSM style...

So anyway, I was on my way to the "Al Sharpton for President" rally, when I stopped to buy some whiskey. It cost more than I would have liked.

The man solely and completely responsible for this turn of events? Sean Hannity.

Yep. All his fault somehow.

An hour later...

And I still haven't started. But, Julie saw me watching this, which I thought was old and busted, but she said I should post since she hadn't seen it and maybe thus others had not, as well.

AND HERE IT IS!

Or here.

Maybe here.

Newp, here!

Bedtime Postie...

Finally, our 'adventure' to the textbook shop and Sam's Club.

Ah, what joke to use. If Justin had a bug... Gee, and I thought you had to be on the left to drive a bug... Yellow, it's the new red... I'm overshadowing this person's political views... Eh. Crap. Anyway, any idea what that driver's license stands for?

Hey, an interesting development here... Krispy Kreme, once the most famous donut chain around, has been replaced by healthy Chick Fil-A. Maybe people are realizing that chicken is better for you than donuts. Or, maybe they realized that donuts dipped in icing are kinda gross. Duh.

And, finally, due to horrible internal conflict a lack of consensus on our new name, we're staying old school, with CSM. Who takes advice from a little kid, anyway?

So, here's that logo if you want to add it to your site...




Off to bed! No, I wish. Off to finish cleaning out the closet and do homework. Blagha!

I've been joking too long...

On here. From now on, I will do what others have done and cross-post my best posts!

Behold!

Dangit!

Stupid ding dang dagnab doggone durn dadgummed thing. I mean, who makes these things? You? Me? Anybody at all? I think they just spring fully formed from a tree or something.

Like, made out of sap and crap like that. Stupid nature.

Back!

Well, saw a couple interesting (boring) things while doing errands. Finally freed ourselves of textbooks. We had a couple years worth, and the textbook place wouldn't buy them, because my enemies had paid them double what each book was worth to ruin my day. Bastards. The whole lot of them. They'll pay, one of these days. I promise you that.

Yep.

Didn't leave. Leaving now.

So it goes...

Illegal Immigration

Scott over at Paladin's Blog has a large post on illegal immigration that I thought was interesting. Just last night, my mom and I were watching a special on MSNBC on illegal immigration and the minutemen that I thought was pretty interesting.

Anyway, he's debating with Dr. Steven Taylor (check the comments on both posts) about the effiacy of border fences.

Here's an odd bit that often sort of clogs in my mind, though. How does this interact with minimum wage laws? I mean, America says that there's an absolute minimum people should be paid for working. But instead of paying those wages, corporations expand overseas and farms hire illegal workers that lack protections.

So, how can this be dealt with? If we want a minimum wage (and understand that I'm not particularly attacking it) then how do we justify the fact that so much of what we buy sneaks around it? If not, then why force companies overseas for something we really don't care abouit?

Or does this only apply to legally-registered Americans? I suppose that's not necessarily terrible, but it seems to put the US in an odd position as a country that is always dependent on other nations for just about everything...

What do you think? Prove me wrong, I'd sleep better... :)

Fight Nicely

This is an interesting idea. A place for Maia and her classmates to argue the Iraq war. I don't remember doing stuff like this in high school.

Then again, I guess I don't remember high school.

Justin Stone

Frequent commenter Justin Stone/Creekbed does just about everything. Or so it would seem.

Off to help with da kitchen. Back soon, or cheese!

My Thanksgiving Vacation - A CSM diary!

Some random notes from our little weekend trip:

Was lying in the bed when I saw this sight above me... So apparently Residence Inn has such a widespread problem of people hitting the fire sprinklers with hangers that they have special stickers that that stick next to every single one warning you that if you hit said sprinkler you might flood the room. As if one just accidently knocks a fire sprinkler with a hanger. I hate it when that happens.

It certainly has nothing to do with the fine upstanding young adults who get hotel rooms there. As David said when he walked out onto our balcony "Apparently somebody had a little too much to drink last night... come see this." (or look at the above picture, since you don't have to walk out onto a balcony, thanks to the magic of digital pictures!)

We escape to Fazoli's. Here is a cute picture of David and the Boo while David waits in line for thier very yummy cinnamon breadsticks!

Ta Da!

Border Patrol Uniforms are Made in Mexico

According to this article, making border patrol uniforms in Mexico may give people there the chance to get ahold of them and cross the border as 'border patrol agents'. I have the perfect solution; make them in China, like everything else we have.

I'm referring you to an ad..

But not because Justin's won me over to the dark side... Nope, this is just a really cool ad. Check out the Make Me Dance, and upload a pic of your own head! It's esp. funny if you're a big white guy with a beard. Theoretically speaking.

I'm all for humor, but...

I think this may be too soon.

Too soon for the world, too soon for me.

Illegal Immigration

Scott over at Paladin's Blog has a large post on illegal immigration that I thought was interesting. Just last night, my mom and I were watching a special on MSNBC on illegal immigration and the minutemen that I thought was pretty interesting.

Anyway, he's debating with Dr. Steven Taylor (check the comments on both posts) about the effiacy of border fences.

Here's an odd bit that often sort of clogs in my mind, though. How does this interact with minimum wage laws? I mean, America says that there's an absolute minimum people should be paid for working. But instead of paying those wages, corporations expand overseas and farms hire illegal workers that lack protections.

So, how can this be dealt with? If we want a minimum wage (and understand that I'm not particularly attacking it) then how do we justify the fact that so much of what we buy sneaks around it? If not, then why force companies overseas for something we really don't care abouit?

Or does this only apply to legally-registered Americans? I suppose that's not necessarily terrible, but it seems to put the US in an odd position as a country that is always dependent on other nations for just about everything...

What do you think? Prove me wrong, I'd sleep better... :)

UH-oh

Don't show Justin this blog... He may up and move to Maryland...

Holidaze

A buddy of ours just said he'll be busy with holday things and moving for a month. A couple other friends of ours said it waws touch and go. I personally am beginning to feel the pressure.

So,

Are holidays good, or are they a gyp? I'm pretty fond of em meself, but was curious what you think.

On a quasi-connected note, this guy seems very down on black Friday and the holidays in general. Agree? Disagree? Have trouble following his argument? I have my own opinion, but by gum I'm curious what you think, again.

`Night!

Big Post

OK! Regular posting will (finally) resume tomorrow. Really, I thought it would have resumed yesterday or today, but illness has kept me semi-incapacitated much of the last 48 hours. It's already mostly faded, so unless I indulge my inner vampire and stay up all night, I think I'll be shiny tomorrow.

So, quick notes:

I thought this was an odd bit on Fox News:

First Amendment experts were critical of the seizure.

"This is a terrible lesson in civics," University of Tennessee journalism professor Dwight Teeter said. "This is an issue about the administration wanting to have control. Either the students are going to have a voice, or you're going to have a PR rag for the administration."

Huh. Sounds serious. Except it's, like, a high school paper. 'A PR rag for the administration'? Ohhhkay.

Next, something that at first seemed like the usual self-indulgent fluff at MSN:

Ah, the holidays. Traffic is worse than ever, lines are interminable, my stress-inducing family is beckoning me home and everyone else has someone to take to their office Christmas party. That’s why it’s so tempting to relish in those woe-is-me-and-the-rest-of-us-single-people pity parties. Sure, happily coupled people can say it’s no big deal and to enjoy it sans date. But, hey, that’s because they don’t have to deal with, for starters, these six reasons I find single-dom particularly loathsome during the holiday months. Read on, see if you don’t agree with me, and let’s work towards finding our matches in 2006!

then...

5) Having to answer the infamous “Who are you seeing now?” queries from random relatives.
Holidays mean interactions with everyone from Aunt Barbara to Grandpa Bob and the interrogation process can often begin before I’m prepared. “You look good—seeing anybody yet?” a relative might whisper while kissing me on the cheek. Even though the queries have diminished with every year that passes (a fact I’m not sure whether to slot in the “good” or “bad” category), I never seem to have a response that suggests anything other than the fact that I’m destined to be the family’s freaky spinster with the 400 cats.

Huh. Guess her job keeps her from getting a significant other. Beautiful and brilliant but driven, etc. Except, her job...

Anna David is a Hollywood-based sex and relationship columnist whose work has appeared in Details, Playboy, Razor, and Premiere.

Isn't this kinda like your new financial advisor arriving in a Gremlin? I'm just sayin'.

Then, good ol' Cathy Seipp showed why I give her respect:

4. That this weekend a blogger actually linked and discussed a Pajamas Media post he found interesting, about Teen People's pulled story on the singing neo-Nazi teen twins Prussian Blue. That's a first -- at least, the first I've seen. So...yay. Now if only PJ Media could rid themselves of their opaque and pretentious let's-make-it-seem-boring-and-corporate tic, "Compiled by Pajamas Media staff & contributors in Portland and Los Angeles," which bylined that story. Translation: Jill Stewart and/or Hillary Johnson, tearing their hair out in L.A. (or, God help them, El Segundo), and Hillary's sister-in-law Nancy Rommelmann, roped in to help from Portland. So why can't Nancy at least get a byline and link to her blog?

Also, Hog On Ice has a rude but quite insightful post that Pajamas Media just went 24 Hours Without Doing Anything Egregiously Stupid, and while PJ Media enemies may see that as faint praise, I see it as at least faint hope (call me Pollyanna) that they're beginning to glimpse the light at the end of the tunnel.

Yep. Count on Cathy to not sell out, even if she is a OSM/Pajama/Bail Bondswoman blogger now.

Oh, and one more:

LYT proves that he's open-minded enough to agree with his arch-enemy, Ted Baer. It's good enough that I didn't excerpt it. Scope it!

I'll be posting once or twice at Pyjamas Media, by the way.

Yo

Well, feeling a bit better this AM... had a nasty fever yesterday, which sort of sucked do to day of vacation ruinage. On the other hand, it was nice and quiet and the in-laws agreed to watch the Boo an extra day, which gave me loads o' recovery time.

No time to talk now, tho--off to start loading the car.

Kiss of Death

It's true. You really can die by kissing the wrong people.

This is an Outrage!

They're selling Saddam's uniform online? That's like... like selling Hitler's Car!

Whatever...

Happened to me? Dunno. Maybe it was the vermiucious knid. Or like burnout from all the stress.


Then again, cheese is always a possibility.

Not so investigative reporting...

We were walking to Denny's via Placentia Ave in Fullerton this afternoon and saw this bit of unpleasentness. Apparently the Asia Buffet next to the Chase Suites had a really bad fire.

Freaky. Hopefully no one was hurt, but regardless this can't be a good start to the holiday season for the buffet owners.

Oh Holiday Tree, Oh Holiday Tree...

Jerry Falwell is mad about Bostonians calling Christmas trees holiday trees. Being a Christian myself, I could really care less about the term that people use for what was originally a pagan symbol. That's not to say that I'm against having Christmas trees, but I don't see why Christians are so passionate about preserving traditions of a holiday that the Bible hasn't even called Christians to celebrate. I'd much rather see Christians and evangelists like Jerry Falwell using Christmas as an opportunity to save people instead of trying to save a holiday that has pagan origins. Besides, saving pagans was the reason why Christmas was created in the first place.

Black Friday

So I finally went shopping on Black Friday and it actually wasn't as bad as it always sounded. At least the mall we went to didn't seem any more crowded than any other shopping trip I've made during the holiday season. I guess it helped that me and my sis didn't actually go out until 9am, but still I was surprised. Managed to get a good amount of Christmas shopping done, though.

Best find of the day went to the mini-Roboraptors at Sharper Image that they are selling for about $15. Boo has been begging for one for her birthday. And they are some funky green limited edition version. Score!

Funny Story

So...I was wearing the above outfit for GMing an Evil Game of DnD tonight - I guess because it made me feel evil - but I got stuck with fast food run duty while everyone finished thier characters.

So, I went to KFC and when I got up to the drivethru the guy started to repeat my total, but then did a total double-take and said "Hello! How are you doing tonight?" in this total "nice" voice. I had to prompt him to give me my total again, but he was nice enough to give my order special attention.

It made my day. It also made me laugh and laugh. Sometimes fast food runs are fun.

On Second Thought...

Roger Simon's decision not to let his daughter use the Internet because people were talkin' mean about him didn't last long....

Sad, but... I dunno.

Check this out.

LOS ANGELES - Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, who turned mid-level music careers into Hollywood superstardom by celebrating their marriage in an MTV reality show and television specials, are calling it quits after months of persistent breakup rumors.

The couple announced their separation Wednesday.

"After three years of marriage, and careful thought and consideration, we have decided to part ways," they said in a joint statement released by their publicists. "This is the mutual decision of two people with an enormous amount of respect and admiration for each other."


Wow. After all that, US magazine was right. I'm realigning my views on sources for celebrity news...

Crappy Thanksgiving for them, though. :(

Bad news reveals a happy development

Welp, a temporary invisibility to the Homespun list has dropped the Pere down to Marsupial.

However, one thing that has come out of this is that we haven't abruptly fallen to flappy bird. And I think the reason why is... links! Real links!

Thanks to:

The Paladin Blog!

Environmental Republican (he was nice, post-pwning :P)

Private Radio!

And Ancheotic Room!

They's all good peeps! And, maybe us small guys can shake the mighty OSM up a bit, anyway.

Of course, Althouse probably did most of the heavy lifting. But, que sera sera.

A good sign

Well, OSM/Pajamas has dumped the weird name and crappy logo. Their new one is silly, but kinda cute.

Also, they seem pretty aware of their problems, as shown here:

The turkey that laid a golden egg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today's panelists, all members of Pajamas Media's Editorial Advisory Board, will be carving up the turkey that was OSM (Open Source Media) and has now been reborn as Pajamas Media. What is our new identity, and what does it mean for us moving forward? Weighing in are:

Adam Bellow
Tammy Bruce
Clifford May
Glenn Reynolds

Well, kudos to them for noticing and analyzing problems. I suppose I'd prefer more of a direct Q+A session, but the practicality of that (or lack thereof) weighs heavily on my thoughts.

Two odd bits, though:

#60 Roger L. Simon at November 24, 2005 12:56 PM

Glenn, regarding feedback and comments, we've been discussing that internally. We obviously want to avoid spam and junk comments, if that's possible. One proposal is have everyone register for a nominal fee (say three bucks) with a credit card payment to one of several charities (not to Pajamas). That way people have identified themselves as real human beings... and given some money to something worthwhile. Our thought is they would be less likely to spew hate from whatever angle. What do you think?

Why not just use Typepad, like RogerLsimon.com does? Am I missing something?

I heartily approve of the model (if not the name) of Open Sore, here: a real open media, with no real misfires yet. Don't know why Pajamas can't incorporate something similar.

Oh, and...

#43 Adam Bellow at November 24, 2005 12:46 PM

Roger is a sensitive guy. I hope his critics will keep that in mind.

Bleah. Sensitive guys shouldn't try to read the blogosphere. I said a lot more, but decided to clip it because it's Thanksgiving and I can tell they're trying. Let's keep it up, eh?


Blah blah.

Happy Thanksgiving!

THanksgiving Blogging 2

Well, had another Thanksgiving dinner. Yep, more turkey and taters. Julie's family this time. If you were wonderin'.

Thanksgivin' Bloggin'

Hey all--at my great grandparents', and getting ready to eat. Postin cos I'm a dork. Well, off to not be rude.

Thanksgiving!

Hey, it's the day where we say thanks. And, I've had a pretty good year this year, tho' I suppose technically it's New Years when you think about that...?


Anyway, I'm thankful for all of you. Really! I appreciate all of our readers, especially those that comment. And if you read this and you're someone we hang out with non-digitally, then I'm doubly thankful for ya. I appreciate all of my friends a great deal. And, of course, as long as Julie posts on here there's an obvious top to the thankfulness pyramid: my lovely wife and partner and crime.

I'm thankful for all of ya, and I pray for ya when my ADD brain fires in the tight ways to remind me.

Gotsa hit the showers, but I gotta say...


Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving Carnival

Pererro has been featured on a Carnival of Satire, so I guess somebody thinks we're funny.

Go check them out and the other funny posts on there. Just the thing for post-turkey (or other holiday meat) blogging.

Posting will likely be slim today, so Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Pink!

PJs/CSM exclusive!

I bought new clothes today! Lots of them! And they are all pink or black!

Hoorah!

I bought new makeup, too. Which was also pink (lipstick) and black (mascara)!

Whee!

G'night

Well, working on books means less obsessive late night blogging, I fear. So, I leave you with a few links:

First, I'm testing out this new, supposedly 'open' site. Lets see how much inanity they can stand before turning against their supposed principles! Bwahahaha!

Second, I decided to make a contest based on this.

I finally realized what seemed so familiar about the OSM/Pajamas Media business plan.

It is the same as the Underpants Gnomes!

1. Collect underpants

2. ???

3. Profit!

The problem is that they are entering step 2 of the business plan, after collecting the underpants (and discarding the ones that didn’t make the cut), and they still haven’t found the person who knows what step 2 actually is.

My pick for number two is 'light crap on fire', because I'm in that sort of mood and I still smell of smoke from what I will humbly call my heroic rescue mission/journalism earlier.

Person submitting the best #2 gets the balance of the Dennis The Peasant fund, since it turned out he was just faking a mental breakdown to get donations.

And, link numbah three is: this guy, who actually had the same experience with you know who as me but bothered to write it down more detailed-like.


Remember, Peeps, this is your source for alternatives to anything useful.

Goodnight!!

PJs/CSM Update 12 (I think) - Mark profile

No-one knows much about the mysterious Mark, who wouldn't provide a photo for this interview, except that he's a graduate of "some college somewhere" where he received a doctorate in the study of "Leftists." He is a self-procliamed expert on same, and while he doesn't have a blog, he spreads his message on other peoples' blogs on our behalf. Now that's New Media!

PJSM: Mark, it's good to have you on board with the New Media!

M: Leftists hate New Media. It helps bring down their heroes like Dan Rather, Michael Moore, and, if he had a blog, Al Sharpton. The fact that he doesn't have a blog is proof that, like other Leftists, he lacks basic common sense.

PJSM: You seem mad at Leftists. Why?

M: Some guy told me once that he knew another guy, and Leftists were mean to that guy. IOW, Leftists are not necessarily any more compassionate than Attila the Hun.

PJSM: How did that one guy know they were Leftists?

M: They were black and acted homosexual. IIRC, statistics show that such people voted for John Kerry.

PJSM: Isn't that a racist assumption?

M: You only say that because most minorities are Leftists. If they were suddenly to display a smattering of common sense and lean right, you'd be saying, "Yeah! Let's lynch them coloreds!" Which is definitive proof that Leftists are actually less tolerant than they say they are.

PJSM: What about right-wingers who don't like homosexuality?

M: The anus is for stuff to come out of. That's why most people, if they're truly honest with themselves, find the notion of homsoexuality unpleasant. Besides, Marlon Brando kissed a dude once, then had some kids. That's conclusive proof that people can "choose" their sexual orientation.

PJSM: So it's okay not to like gay people?

M: Nobody really does, but Leftists pretend they do, except when there's a right-leaning gay man like Al Rantel, then they'd be happy to see him get AIDS and die.

PJSM: Who said that?

M: All Leftists think it. It's typical of the black-is-white, up-is-down foolishness that allows for the mishandling of King-Drew hospital and the OJ Simpson verdict.

PJSM: What about Robert Blake?

M: He killed someone, which means he most likely voted for John Kerry, and probably thinks he's "compassionate." Besides, he's from Hollywood, which is run by the worst kind of limousine liberals.

PJSM: Then who are the good kind?

M: Psyche! There are no good kinds.

PJSM: Awesome! It sounds like you have just the kind of transparent biases we love. Welcome to the team!

What do you think of this?

-----Original Message-----
From: basil [mailto:basilsXXX@XXXX.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2005 1:40 PM
To: dnjscott@equitywest.com
Subject: OSM

> weirdos like this

You cut me to the quick!

Hey, why don't you improve the quality of the writing at Open Sore Media by loging in and posting something? After all, you are on the opensoremedia.org blogroll. And were when it launched.

Of course, that only because you were on my blogroll already.

Anyway, Open Sore Media is there for anyone to register, log in, and post. Even weirdos like me.

Can you believe this guy? He makes a site mocking our old name, Closed Source, and then he has the gall to challenge me to post there?

Eh, then again, it'd give the place a tiny bit of class, maybe. So it's not all bad.

What do you think?

Pererro as a kid's show

Because Becca had the TV on whilst I was making lunch, I decided to do Pererro as a kid's show. Ready?


What kind of animal would you like to be?

(Pause)

Really? That's really important.

(pause)

That makes you special! Let's all clap for you!

(Pause)

That was fun, huh? Goodnight!

New (mean) Site

Check this out:

What? Your refrigerator? That’s what they want you to believe. It’s their spy equipment. They’re watching you. They’re watching me. That’s how they found out about this little blog before it launched.

And that’s why they changed their name back to Pajamas Media.

Well, we all know who they're talking about. I mean, technically it's PJs Media, not 'Pajamas', but I think weirdos like this arent so concerned with accuracy.

This is hard for me. It really is. We've always tried to be moderates here, to just discuss things. And now, when we try to revolutionize media, someone immediately moves to attack us. And, it's going to get worse, I'm sure. I mean, it's been less than a week, and we're already being compared to blisters.

You know, my daughter's online right now, playing dora the explorer. Do I have to worry, now, that Nickelodeon will be posting some sort of cartoon documentary comparing her dad to a skin condition? I think, maybe, I do.

And that's the saddest part of all.

I'm only human, people.

Only human.

Welp

Julie's still not back yet, and thus I am still deluged with responsibilities. Maybe some co-bloggers'll spruce this place up a bit. There's always hope...

Hope of sprucing!!

Oops

Dennis has clarified that he is not actually approaching mental breakdown. Let me know if you want your money back, or if you're okay with the 'carpet fund'.

Check it out here:

I’ve received a number of emails expressing concern over my being “tired” (as opposed to be “enraged”), as I mentioned at the end of my The “Certain Thing” post. There’s been talk of a Vacation Fund. And while I am flattered that so many folks I don’t know are concerned for my welfare, I think I need to clear this point up, because I may have inadvertently confused some of you.

There reason I was tired, rather than enraged, was because I didn’t finish that post until about 6 AM on Sunday. The reason for that was we had City of Westerville maintenance crews knocking at our front door at 10 PM Saturday night saying they suspected a burst sewage line near our house. After one look at me and a quick inspection of my basement home office, it was determined that sewage wasn’t the problem – it was a month’s worth of empty Fresca cans, Spam tins and Cheetos bags. And the urine jar.

Man, people who work at home is crazy.

Citizen Journalist Report-3

Julie took the camera when we she went shopping. Heh. Makes it a bit hard to be a citizen journalist, but I can, uh, manage.

Holy crap! That car's on fire!

It spread to that house!!! Got to go help!

I fear no fire but the burn of my conscience!


Well, everyone's saved. Just another day in the life of a citizen journalist, eh?


Exclusive to PJs Media, natch.

Sunrise

OK, I missed it. But 10 AM is like sunrise to me, you know? Yep. I know. I know.

So, it's hard to post when it seems early, even though it really isn't. We used to work 7-4 and get up 5ish, so I know early. And, Senator, this is no early. Anyway, we'll get on earlier and earlier scheds as our ads start runnin. But, for now, it's sleep in time and stay up late time.

Julie finished editing book 4 last night, so will be getting cranking on 5 pretty soon. Expect less 2 AM posts then, cos I'll be either writing or asleep cos writing made me tired. It's unpredictable.

And...

Ninjas!

Hmmm (OSM Blogroll)

Is the fact that we're still on the OSM blogroll a sign that they're better-humoured than they get credit for, or just a sign that no one notices us?

Things that make you go hmmmm...

PJs Media Update 10-Update on our Name

Hello, all!

I'm sure you've noticed that I'm posting as PJs Media Update now! We decided to switch in a secret meeting last night. It may seem a bit similar to other, less cutting-edge services, but the Pererro team personally made sure those less cutting-edge places were okay with it.

So, that's all for now!

Stay groovy!

Exclusive to...

PJs Media!!

Awww.

The revolution is not being blogicized. Are we on here? Newp. Stupid blogs ignoring us just because we're outdating them.

One day, they'll understand.

I just know it.

PJs Media Exclusive Report - AVALANCHE IN LOS ANGELES!

10:00 a.m.: Woke up to loud bangs and the sound of things crashing down around me. Looked out the window, as per our new journalism paradigm. Falling rubble! It's an avalanche! Take cover!

Update: Upon closer inspection, it's just a bunch of Mexicans (or possibly Mexican-Americans, can't be sure, and they're too scary looking to ask) on my roof demolishing the old tiles. But isn't it great that PJs Media has self-correcting mechanisms like this in place?

Update 2: Actually, it was some guys in suits in a silly old meeting that told me to report an avalanche. Yeah, that's it. Didn't seem so groovy at the time, but I went along with it because I was trying to be all "professional" and stuff.

Serious Post...

On Open Source, OSM, and/or Pajamas Media.

This thing is bothering me more and more. I keep hearing about the 3.5 million. Listen, that just isn't that much, I assure you. Even the world's smallest mortgage company can burn through 10,000 a month, easy, and we don't have the staff, the two offices, the massive opening parties with celebrity guests...

But, with dedicated people like this, OSM/Pajamas Media/Open Source Media can only rise to the stars... Emphasis added...

I am on the blogroll of OSM but have not yet contributed due to serious time constraints. That said, there's a lot of disgruntled folks who have issues with this Charles Johnson-Roger L. Simon-led venture.

Why? I've no idea. Any new form of news should be considered a good thing, shouldn't it?

Anyway, make OSM your first stop for breaking news and blogger opinion, they will be a player.

Yep. That's some vigorous investigatin' and defendin'.

Edit:

A response!

Wow. Clever. Looking around your site, I've been enlightened and I didn't have to do any investigatin' to to find out that this site blows.

Bring your "A-game" if you want to debate any issue, scrub.

OSM may tank and may not, whatever. People thought my own business would fail, including losers like you. I've proven them wrong spectacularly.
Scott Welsh

Huh. What would we be debating? 'OSM may tank and may not, whatever'? Not much of a disagreement with my thinking you're disconnected and disinterested, is it?

And obviously if people thought his business would fail, and he 'proved them wrong, spectacularly', that proves that risky, badly managed ventures everywhere have a chance! Wee!

What's funny is that this is pretty much the same reaction we got from the last official OSM/Pajamas Media person who deigned to notice us. 'Yeah, well, you suck!'

And not only that, but he deleted the comment I left on his post. Classy. Also, a bit typical.

Like LYT said a week ago... what're the OSM and their angry, defensive little mini-thems so afraid of?

Edit Two:

Since he'll probably delete this comment, too, here's my response on his site:

My 'A Game', huh?

OSM:

Didn't make sure their name wasn't trademarked. And then they lied about it, and tried to cover it up.

Apparently dicked over one of the little guys they supposedly stood for, i.e. Dennis The Peasant (know who that is? I hope so.)

Had some stupid-sounding, probably unimaginably expensive opening dinner that included info on 'fashion blogging'.

Lacks a clear mission statement.

Ditched 230/300 of their supposed member blogs.

Hired and then fired Luke Ford and then covered THAT up by deleting it his profile and comments about it on member blogs.

Responds to criticism with angry phone calls and emotional appeals on the big end, and angry attacks on the little (Roger L. Simon's weepy posts on the big, Pajamas Minions like yoursef and Socal Pundit on the little). Also, as mentioned, they have a habit of deleting comments.

Took six months to set up an official site.

Pretty much let the initial four month waiting period expire with almost no communication.

Set out ridiculous form letters to recruit high-profile bloggers, and failed to apologize for them.

And, because I'm runnning out of time, I'll just add that they seem to have forgotten their RSS feed.

Good luck refuting half of that, if you can get up the energy to investigate it. Scrub.

Heh, 'scrub' is a stupid insult, but it was hard to refrain.

PJs Media Update 11-Burgandy Skies Interview

Well, it's night-time, and that's the right time to find BurgandySkies, webmistress for Pererro! Guess the kid keeps her busy during the day.

Anyway, I found her in her room, apparently ready for action...

PJM: What's with the corset? And the whip?

BS: I'm the web mistress, get it?

PJM: Sure, I guess. So, uh, what's a web-mistress do?

BS: (Smiles) You know... Inflict pain.

PJM: With the whip?

BS: (Shakes her head) No, by taking away Frequent Commenter Status. I think people didn't get the idea with Slacker, so I'm gonna go for 'turd face'.

PJM: 'Turd face?'

BS: Yep! I'd like to say s*** face, but that's not family-friendly.

PJM: Yeah, you shouldn't say s*** face. Uh, are you sure that outfit is family friendly?

BS:(Leans in closer to me) No, but I like breaking rules. Do you know what I mean?

PJM: Not really, no. Do you mean rebelling against the BM and MSM and OM?

BS:(Takes a deep breath, shivers): I love it. It's what I'm all about.

PJM: Are you feeling okay?

BS: Never better. Tell me, do you like being dominated?

PJM: Well, I guess I make a good lackey...?

BS: (Leans in a little closer) Oh, excellent. How'd you like to move up to newshound? (Raises eyebrow)

PJM: Isn't that Justin's job?

BS: Not if I don't want it to be.

PJM: Uh... okay. So, uh, where's David, anyway?

BS: Oh, blogging and blogging and blogging and blogging. It's his new passion.

PJM: Oh, so he leaves you alone a lot?

BS: (frowning) What? No! I keep up the site, remember? It doesn't surprise me that you'd think that, though, because nobody appreciates me. Tomorrow, you're all turd-faces! Bwahahahaha! Brilliant!

PJM: Well, uh, I gotta go. Before I get more, uh, demoted.

BS: (crosses her arms) Probably a good idea. Humph.

PJM: Uh, bye...

BS: ...


And so, that was my visit with the mean volatile firey Burgandy. (Posting it this afternoon, she forgot about the 'turd faces' thing. Whew.)

Anyway, see you soon for another update!

Citizen Journalist Report - 3

Sighted the above butterfly while watering the backyard plants.
David and the Boo were there to witness this historic event.
But Boo didn't get as close as she did last year.

PJs Media Update 10-Update on our Name

Hi, all! Haven't done that name switch yet, but I assure you that it's in progress!

Anyway, I've gotten one or two... uh, hundred, one or two hundred e-mails since last night about our name change.

Some people have pointed out that there's already a Pajamas Media/PJ Media, and that there's some PJ's Media, too. And, you know what? It's true. But, first of all, our name is different. PJ Media has no S, and PJ's has an apostrophe. Sure, it's still similar, but from what I understand about trademarks, we're okay.

I also asked David, and he said we were, uh, 'iconoclasts', and 'iconoclasts' don't obey rules.

So, I appreciate people trying to help, but we already know about those names. We just don't care, because we're those iconoclast things. Word up.

Exclusive to...

PJs Media!!

Citizen Journalist Report-2

So, here's some photo-blogging of my own Citizen's Beat!




Left Side!




Right Side!






Middle!





I wonder if those people who live up on the hill look down on us.




Car looks good.



Julie's a bit ripe.



Self-Portrait.




Whoops. Got a foot.



Flower bed looks dry.



Trash guys came by.



Neighbors have mail going out.



Oops. Somebody's got a nasty oil leak.


So, that's my world. Visit it, but live in yours.

Remember, this is all exclusive to...

PJs Media!!!

Decision

Sometimes, leaders have to decide. And I, the leader of formerly-known-as Closed Source Media, have declared our name to be...

PJs Media!!

This new name, strong yet playful and flirty, magnificent, yet approachable, lovable, yet fearsome, will be the harbinger of the death of the old media and the new media, to be replaced by...

PJs Media!!!


We're still taking applications, so get in the ground floor, because it won't be very long at all before people compete for the privilege of saying that they are part of...

PJs Media!!!


So, goodbye for now to you. Goodbye from...

PJs Media!!!

Name-In-Flux Media Update 9 - Douglas

Douglas lives under a bridge near Venice Beach, where he exemplifies the paradigms of New Media by regaling the locals with tales of his fame as an actor, and his history with the Royal Shakespeare Company. The homeless community of Los Angeles then spreads his stories far and wide, reaching an audience that bloggers could never hope to obtain. Douglas is a good friend of actor Christopher Lee, and has appeared in such classic films as Gladiator, Forrest Gump, Gone With the Wind, Easy Rider, The Wizard of Oz, and the original 1933 King Kong.

We caught up with Douglas when he begged us for spare change on the Santa Monica Pier

CSM: Hello, Douglas, how are you?

D: Oh, I suppose you want my autograph? I'll sell it to you for $20.

CSM: No thanks.

D: All right then, can I sell you my blood? It's quality English blood, you know!

CSM: Uh, no. We just wanted to ask you about your role in the New Media.

D: Oh yes, that group of bloody lunatics. Well, they approached me in hopes of making me their celebrity spokesperson, and adding gravitas to the operation with the aid of my English accent. I told them it would cost one million pounds. A struggle ensued.

CSM: And then what happened?

D: David N. Scott socked me in the jaw, and knocked most of my teeth out. I'm suing him for one million pounds.

CSM: I don't think he has it.

D: Nor do I. That's why I agreed to be his spokesman.

CSM: How do you respond to critics of the project thats ay this is a right-wing operation?

D: I say it's not bloody right-wing enough! I'm a monarchist, myself. We should rescind that godawful constitution and let Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II take control here -- she'd certainly do a better job than you bloomin' Yanks.

CSM: And how will you take your message to the people?

D: Oh, I have a cell phone. I also have a lot of free time, between working with Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese. During that time, I call everyone and leave threats on their voicemail. That gets the word out, oh yes.

CSM: Do you think this whole deal will make you famous?

D: I'm already famous, silly man! Now you get away from me -- you ask me another question, and I'LL CUT YOUR THROAT OUT! GETOUTTAHERE! RAAARGH!

Crap.

You know, I just think that we bowed to investor pressure too fast with Closed Source Media. Sure, sure, it makes us sound more mature and grownup, but we're iconoclasts! People who listen to no one!

So, I think I've come up with a good fusion here.

Black Tie Media.
Elegant. Yet, It's The Kind Of Thing James Bond Wears, And He's Cool.

Is that good? I worry about the sexism angle. But, is Black Tie and Gown too ostentatious and long? Black Tie And Gown. I don't know. But will just Black Tie perpetuate the patriarchy? Look how much trouble all those old people get in for assuming 'man' covers 'and woman'.

Man, this is so much pressure. Defining the english language.

And it's so hard to think with all the buzzing...

Any ideas? Anybody? Please?

Closed Source Media Update 8-TIm McGarry Interview

Well, I'm really excited about this one--our first recruitment outside of the Pererro crew! I found Mr. McGarry in his living room, contemplating something or another.

CSM: Good evening, Mr. McGarry! Can I have a few minutes of your time?

MMG: How did you get in here? Who are you?

CSM: Why, I'm your Closed Source Media Update Interviewer!

MMG: What?

CSM: Remember, you joined this afternoon?

MMG: No, I didn't.

CSM: But David forwarded me the e-mail! You said you wanted to join.

MMG: But I also said it was a joke.

CSM: Huh. I only got... half the e-mail, somehow. Heh.

MMG: Is there something else I can help you with? (He gestures towards the door with his chin)

CSM: Well, uh, want to join now?

MMG: No.

CSM: Now?

MMG: No.

CSM: Uh...

MMG: Something else?

CSM: Well...

MMG: What?

CSM: Now?

MMG: No.

I forget what happened next, but then I was outside and kind of in the gutter and a bit wet and upside down, too. So, I dashed off to make this report to my fellow citizen-journalists! Let's... keep it up!

Closed Source Media Update 7 - Justin Interview

I was walking down a sidewalk today, and I met a fellow at the bus stop. It turns out that it was actually Pererro contributor Justin, who told me that he also runs some blog somewhere that has something to to with scientifical stuff. Anyway, I decided to interview him right on the spot.

CSM: So, what are you doing here?

J: I'm waiting for the bus.

CSM: Don't you have a car?

J: Yes.

CSM: ...

J: ...

CSM: If you have a car, why are you waiting for the bus?

J: Why do you need to know?

CSM: Hmm. Is this some sort of VRWC operation?

J: No. Why is it that every time a Right Winger is waiting for a bus, people automatically think that it must be a part of some covert operation? I could just be waiting for the bus to come by so I can smell the sweet aroma of diesel exhaust.

CSM: Diesel exhaust does smell good.

J: Exactly my point.

CSM: So, is this what do you do on your free time?

J: Not always.

CSM: Well, what else do you do on your free time?

J: I do lots of things.

CSM: ...

J: ...

CSM: Any specifics?

J: No. I gotta go now.

CSM: But the bus hasn't come yet--hey, what are you doing? I still have more questions for you!

X Marx the Spot

According to Drudge, CNN X'ed Cheney out;



While X'ing is an effective method for marking the wildlife refuges that the U.S. VRWC will officially allow companies like Halliburton to drill in, I'm not exactly sure what they're trying to pull here. I gotta talk to my colleagues at the 'conspiracy.

Closed Source Media Update 6 -Righty McPundit

Righty McPundit runs the ever-popular blog "Rants from the Red States." He will be assigned to edit and fact-check many of CSM's exclusive reports.

CSM: How do you view the future of the news media?

RMP: The news media are a bunch of decadent elites, with no understanding whatsoever of hard-working, average Americans. Blogs are bringing power to the people, and we've finally got to the point where bloggers have moved on from "Kirk vs. Picard: Who would win?" to "Just how great a president is George W. Bush anyway?"

CSM: Hard working Americans like you?

RMP: Oh heck no. Not me. Those rednecks scare me. But as long as they support the president, I'll feel free to speak on their behalf.

CSM: So you're a Republican?

RMP: Absolutely not! I'm an independent. I differ from the president in that I don't think gay people who try to marry each other should burn in hell. Also stem cell research might be okay. But he's pretty much right about everything else, and the only people who don't admit that are partisan zealots blinded by hatred, like the entire Left-o-Crat party who are blinded by hate and hijacked by the fringe.

CSM: But is it safe to say you're conservative?

RMP: Only if you want to be bound by traditional paradigms. I'm actually a classical liberal, in that I believe in fighting for freedom against fascism. I also support big government to the extent that it locks up lots of criminals. I used not to feel that way, but on September 11th, Everything Changed.

CSM: How did you used to be?

RMP: I was a pot-smoking hippie. But now I think that all my old pot-smoking hippie friends really should get stoned...TO DEATH!

CSM: So what's your editorial focus at CSM?

RMP: I'm going to make sure we write lots of stories about Oil-For-Food.

CSM: That U.N. scandal? What's it all about, then?

RMP: Something about the U.N. being in league with Muhammedonazis. I dunno. If it makes the U.N. look bad, I'm for it.

CSM: Isn't that kind of biased?

RMP: Who is more biased, the biased man, or the man who counters the biased man's bias with a corrective bias?

CSM: I have no idea what you just said.

Citizen Journalist Report-1

8:30 AM. Roll out of bed, and stretch. Today's the day. Can I start a revolution today? No. No, that's not the question. The question is: Could I stop myself from starting a revolution if I wanted to? No. I can't not do this. Not today of all days, because to day is the day.

8:30-10:15 Go back to bed. Better to have well-rested journalism than push myself. I could miss something.

10:15 Burgandy brings me up a bagel and some coffee. I remember when she made eggs and bacon. Stupid breakfast. Plus, she's not wearing the frilly one, so I grump at her a bit while she sets out my clothes.

10:15-10:30 Stretch fingers, brush teeth. Serious typing online today.

10:30-10:40 Some client from my so-called 'real job' calls and bothers me. I call her a traitor to the revolution and hang up after a while.

10:40-11:00 Check and return all my e-mails. Call up Godaddy to complain: still no CSM applications coming in, so it must be on their end. Unless there's some problem with Outlook...

11:00-11:30 Some crisis comes up with ads or something. Don't really pay attention. Burgandy takes care of it after a while, but she really needs some more pizzaz with the hair. Sheesh.

11:30 Still no applications.

11:31-12:00 Stop by and sneer at all of these soon-to-be-outdated 'blogs'.

12:00-1:00 Lunchtime! Burgandy makes me a sandwich and it's pretty good, but I have to give her a demerit for forgetting to cut it in half.

1:00-1:10 Time to go! I watch out my window for a long time, but don't see anything.

1:10 Burgandy comes in my window and I realize it's the door. Stupid desk facing the wrong way.


1:10-1:30 Burgandy turns the desk around; I help out where I can.

1:30-2:00 We realize that the cable won't reach the computer now with the desk turned around. Burgandy and the Boo run out to get a cable and I take the laptop on the balcony where I can get free internet from the neighbors to sneer at some more blogs and do some state of the nation research on The Superficial.

2:00-2:10 Cable is replaced. Burgandy's a little crabby about crawling under the desk in a mini and heels, and Boo wants to eat or be played with or something and it really stresses me out; my back starts to cramp up, so I get in the bath.

2:10-3:00 Bath Time!


3:00 Finally, I watch for the news, ready to set an example and start the revolution.

3:00-4:10 Street's kinda boring, though. Hey, there's a car! Crap, gone already. Some client calls or something, but I tell Burgandy to get it, so I don't miss any scoops. Hey, my sister got home, and I almost missed it! See?

My sister came home-CSM Exclusive

4:45 Yep. That was a high point.

5:15 Well, this is getting a bit boring. And you know I know boring! Heh.

5:30 Mmm. Dinner's starting to smell good.

5:35 Another car!

5:40 Ooh, some kid!

Some Kid Crossed The Sidewalk-CSM Exclusive

6:00 Crap. It got dark. Stupid season change.

Season Change Makes It Darker, Faster!-CSM Exclusive

6:05 Dinner time!


And, you know what? You can take all that to the bank. It really happened.
So, got to head off, peeps. Now, remember, if you want to do the same thing that'd be great! Just contact us about becoming a subsidiary of CSM!

Viva la revelucion!

Closed Source Media Update 5

Hello, everyone! We've been a little quiet today, but David N. Scott's been working hard on his first Citizen Journalist Report, and I've been interviewing our very own webmistress, Burgandyskies! So, expect some heaping helpings of CSM goodness in just a little while!

Just to prove the new Superman won't be gay...

...He's been made into a Ken Doll. Can't get more strikingly heterosexual than that, right?




And yes, Lois will be Barbie. You can see her, and the full story, HERE

State of the Burgandy - November

Went to Gen Con and had a good time. Especially considering I had to do homework while I was there. For our Business Research class we had to break up into groups and pick a potential business idea to research. My idea of a girl-oriented gaming store won out, so we decided to do a survey as long as we were going to Gen Con anyway. I took 25 surveys while we there and most people were really nice about it. Whee! If you would like to take the survey email me (though I will probably post it up here when I get a chance).

Cute Story: There was a booth at GenCon selling these really cool corsets and I tried one on and loved it! But it was a tad expensive, so David got the sizing and website info and said maybe for Christmas. Then later he asked if I thought he bought me enough girly stuff and said he felt guilty about not getting the corset, because I obviously really liked it. So he sent me over the dealer room to see if the gal was still there but they were closed. But, when I came back to let him know the corset was waiting for me on the table! David had snuck over there while I was doing surveys and bought it for me! How sweet is that?

Webmistress News: There is a link to our new Spreadshirt.com shop over there on the right. Just in case, y'know, someone really wanted to put a Pererro t-shirt on thier Christmas list. Though I suppose someone could pick up the "First!" t-shirt and really annoy Donna B.

Burgandy Out!

Misc

Well, trying to get psyched up to talk to the ad rep guy. So far, he's been pretty annoying. I guess maybe I should let him have it soon, BAM! But maybe then again we can go on a little longer. Lacking energy of manicness today, for some reason or another. Seems like too much stuff to do, I guess. Eh, anyway.

Closed Source Media Update 4 -LYT interview

This is exciting. One of the founding members of CSM, LYT is the proprietor of the hugely popular website LYTrules.com, and a semi-successful actor and screenwriter (though, much like Roger L. Simon, he hasn't managed to sell any scripts this decade, a situation he blames entirely upon Hollywood's political bias against Southerners).

CSM: What do you hope to achieve with Closed Source Media?

LYT: I think it's pretty clear that there's a paradigm shift afoot in the new media culture, one in which the market is becoming fragmented, and the BM just isn't...

CSM (interrupting): I'm sorry...BM?

LYT: Big Media. It's one of those cool acronyms we bloggers like to use to prove that we're hip and we "get it." Anyway, as I was saying, the old left-right dynamic is no longer sufficient to encompass the full spectrum of information gathering/dstribution.

CSM: OK. What does that mean, exactly?

LYT: I'm not sure, but it sounds good. Mostly we'll just be linking to stuff, and accusing it of being "objectively pro-evil" when we disagree. It's important work, and somebody has to do it.

CSM: I think lots of people already are.

LYT: None of them has an acronym as cool as CSM, though.

CSM: What about the people who accuse you of selling out? You're in business with Justin Feng, a man who relentlessly and hatefully bashes commies. Doesn't that prove it's all a bunch of disgruntled neocons, with you being dismissively treated as a token dissenter?

LYT: Well, if you disagree, just sign up with us yourself. Anyone can join. Period.

CSM: Except Larry Flynt.

LYT: No, we let him join. We just let him go afterwards.

CSM: And those other 230 bloggers you initially signed up and then dismissed.

LYT: I said "anyone can join." Not "anyone can stay." Pay attention. Besides, they were objectively pro-evil.

CSM: I submitted my blog to you guys too, and never heard back.

LYT: not sure what ur point is...but ok.

CSM: Well, my point is that this doesn't sound like anything different from what blogs already do.

LYT: Whatever. It's different from what the BM does. I mean, they're dinosaurs, and we're going to replace them.

CSM: Dinosaurs are a Darwinist myth, you heathen. And how are you going to replace Big Media?

LYT: Think of it like this: When I see news on TV, how can I be sure it's really happening? But if I look out my window and see something, I know it's for real. So when you see me blogging about stuff right outside my window, well, you know you can trust it 100%. Unlike on TV, where they have an agenda.

CSM: So you don't have an agenda?

LYT: Welll, sure we do! But we have such extreme biases that it's easy to see through it. Unlike on TV, where it's all subtle and such. Don't you think horrendously slanted reporting is more honest than when folks try to be objective?

CSM: Not really, no.

LYT: Then you're objectively pro-wrong.

Dennis The Peasant

Hey, you should give Dennis money. No, seriously. I Paypaled him $50 of my college loan overage check. Why? Because he just does this as a hobby, and yet he was the most badass reported around when it came to OSM. Now, you may think he's a nut or whatever--certainly Mr. Simon would like you to--but, regardless, we all deserved to know about OSM's stepchild.

And, any doubts I had about this were dispelled when in an almost cruel irony, the OSM moved to ignore Dennis and try to smear him. Like I've said many times... the OSM is looking a lot like the MSM. So, he's worked hard and he sounds tired...

My contention is simple: The appropriate time for Roger L. Simon to end our business association was when he first realized he no longer wanted to work with me, and the appropriate way to tell me that was by picking up the telephone and calling me. The only thing required in that is basic human decency.

Had I received that telephone call in February, March, or anytime before April 28 I would have been upset and angry, but I would have let it go. But in my opinion Roger L. Simon thought so little of me that he felt he could do with me as he pleased, and then fast-talk his way out of any possible problems. After all, I was Jethro Bodine and nothing more.

I am closing comments on this post. I want it to stand on its own, without distraction. And I will probably not be posting for several days at the very least. I am no longer enraged. I am tired.

So, now that we're profited from what was probably a low point in the dude's life, I think we should send him a few bucks. Agree? Hate the idea? Let me know!

GENCON

So, we went to GENcon. Things started out a bit bad, with CSM Update calling me right when we are trying to leave and then having to do that interview. But, eventually, we were ready to go.



Here's Punk Supergirl, striking a pose.



And here she is with her sidekick, Stephanie.

Anyway, we got there, got checked in, blah blah. And then... stuff!




This doll-headed cosplayer disturbed me a bit, but Boo wanted a hug and a pic...






Here are some old friends of ours... I used to basically live at the dude's parents house in a tumultuous time between quitting college and starting working again... anyway, they were cool and we played Uno for like an hour.



We played UNO because we were in the kids' area, where we ended up spending most of the time we were there. Anyway, our daughter and their son hit it off almost disturbingly well:

Him: I... I love her.

Her: He's my best friend!

Yep, actual dialogue.



It's a picture of the guy in stilts, not the girl in the skirt. Look closer. Pervert.



Speaking of such things, this moment is probably the only time I really regretted Boo being there. Le sigh.



This is actually most of the dealer room stuff right here... the anime and CCG sections were massive, but poor old regular Roleplaying stuff was about half the size it was last year. Check out Boo's scalp on the bottom. Hee. I retook that picture, but liked the first one.



And then, Julie and I split up. She went and took surveys for our business research class, and Boo and I explored. Here we are with Ang of Avatar, or at least a picture.



And here's Boo with people from some show she's probably never seen. I basically took this picture to satisfy the staff guy who was sure Boo liked little doll people better than martial arts fighters. Even though she doesn't. But it turned out cute, anyway.




Here's Boo confronting her fear of this scary manneuqin, who ironically turned out to be a women underneath all the paraphanelia. These dudes also sold the best little sets for minis ever, including and especially a little crypt with like thirty different parts. We're leaving it in the box til we need it, but I'll upload a pic sometime soon.

Oh, and note that Boo is covered in Pirate Stickers. THey had a Ninjas Vs. Pirates booth, which we found quite hilarious. Julie bought pins: 'A wench does it in every port' and 'Hands off the booty'. LOL!!



Here are some demonstrators for a booth selling cool foam weapons. Boo loved these guys, and wanted to watch em forevah and evah. Love her expression, too.



Anyway, the dealer room closed and we hit the bounce house again. Here is Boo with her 'new best friend' striking a post above the bounce house slide.




Well, the kids area closed at eight, and we had to head home. But, on the way out the door, Boo had time for one last picture, which is probably my favorite of the lot, below the gigantic Thing statue. Tres cute, even if she did bang her shin on one of the bricks on the way down.

Anyway... that was Gencon. Tada, and such.

Grr.

It's been an hour, and I still can't find a place that converts VHS to Beta-SP. Kinda need that to get our ad on the air. AAAAAAAAAARGH. Though rationally I know it's the internet making this search even possible, at the same time I'm irritated at it being stupid...

A small... tiny... thing. Thing.

Heh, heh. So, you might be wondering why I'm posting so late, when I have work in the morning. But, don't worry--it's not because the head of OSM CSM Update has gone missing and I didn't realize there weren't any posts until just now. Newp, just a bit of insomnia. And, who wouldn't have a bit of insomnia, when something this exciting is unfurling? Heh, heh. Yep.

I mean, sure, it's a bit of strain. Nothing I can't handle, I mean, but sometimes people want a lot from you. They don't always listen, either. I mean, you know things and you have a lot of knowledge to offer, but people just want to do their own thing. And that's fine, you know? That's fine. I mean, independent people are the interesting ones.

But, sometimes, I just don't understand what I do to earn all of these arrows, hell, these bullets , that are always being aimed at me. I just want to bring people the news. That's all. I'm sorry if my methods are going to end the hobbies and amitions of a lot of people. I can't help being a visionary. I really can't. And I understand the frustration. I do. But it's just with this stuff going on all the time and it just never ceases and hearing people outside, stalking you, I... I dunno.

You just start to get weirded out. And, when you're not sleeping well and the strain maybe gets a bit bigger--I mean, no worries, no worries, but still--when it gets bigger you just are sort of walking the house and you hear buzzing and you tell yourself, 'calm down. There aren't any bees in here.' And you tell yourself and you tell yourself, but what the hell do you do about the noise and I just don't know anymore.

But, hey. It's all part of the job.

Yup, yup. Bees. I mean, no worries.

Welp, gotta go! I'll talk to you soon, and I'm sure we'll have updates and no bees tomorrow!

Ciao!

OSM didn't make it up

But it's really old. So nyaa.

The Wild World of "Open-Source Media"
Web logs, or blogs, offer everyone a platform for political commentary, diary writing, and sharing links. And the best are truly influential

Still seems like a misuse of the term.

OK, this is strange (Environment)

Remember I posted that 'save the environment' song?

Well, a bunch of weirdos did a contest for remixes. So, next time you have some extra time and want to melt your brain, check it out.

Thanks on both refers to sometimes frequent commenter Pete.

Funny

Don't really watch Smallville, but this sounds pretty irresistible:

For going on five seasons, John Schneider has played Clark Kent's foster dad, Kansas farmer Jonathan Kent, on The WB's teen-Superman drama "Smallville." That whole time, the question has been raised: When will Tom Wopat, Schneider's co-star on the hit 1970s-'80s series "The Dukes of Hazzard," make a guest appearance?
"Somebody finally heard you," Schneider says, calling in from the show's Vancouver set with Wopat at his side, "and here we are."

An episode called "Exposed," airing Thursday, Nov. 3, reunites Wopat and Schneider, who played cousins Luke and Bo Duke, a pair of modern Robin Hoods in rural Georgia, in the classic series

Good stuff.

Picture of the Month

Here's President Bush's reaction to being locked in a room full of ravenous reporters by commies;
Luckily, the President was rescued by an aide before getting torn apart by bloodthirsty MSM reporters. I knew we shouldn't have trusted commies to take care of our President on his trip to China.

Closed Source Media Update - Breaking News

CSM and Larry Flynt are no longer in business together. We asked him to leave. We're not gonna tell you why.

(theology expert, my butt!)

Closed Source Media Update 3 -LF Interview

We're very proud of our newest contributor to CSM. He's a free-speech advocate, political straight shooter, and not tied down to any moribund ideology. (I just said "moribund." Isn't that awesome?)

Best of all, a cursory glance indicates that he probably has no skeletons in his closet whatsoever. Please welcome LARRY FLYNT!

CSM: We're so glad you could join us, Larry. Because you're famous, and that makes us seem all important and stuff.

LF: Yeah, there was a movie about me starring Woody Harrelson.

CSM: But isn't that kinda mean that they called it "White Men Can't Jump"? Because you're in a wheelchair. Of course you can't jump. Seems insensitive.

LF: I would slap you right now, but that's not the Bible's way.

CSM: Wait. You're an expert on theology now?

LF: Yes (winks a few times). Any time I'm on TV, that's what I discuss (winks again).

CSM: Dude, I think you might be having a stroke or something.

LF: That's what my priest, Chuck Amazon, keeps telling me.

CSM: Chuck Amazon?

LF: I know, it's a silly name. But he doesn't actually exist. He's an ironic unreliable narrator on my blog.

CSM: So what's the focus of your blog?

LF: Oh, it's mostly about Julie Scott. I try to give her moral guidance and stuff.

CSM: And you make a living doing that?

LF: Not exactly.

CSM: What do you do?

LF: What? What? You'll have to speak up, sonny.

CSM: But you're rolling your wheelchair away from me really fast. Hey! Wait!

Oh well, that's it for now. But I have a feeling we'll be hearing a lot from our pal L.F.

Closed Source Media Update 2 -LJ Interview

Well, I managed to find another subject for a Closed Source Media Update Interview!

Here he is, the oft-mentioned and rather mysterious Lurker Joe!

CSM: Hello, Lurker Joe!

LJ: Uh, hi.

CSM: How are you today?

LJ: Are you selling something?

CSM: No, no. I'm with Closed Source Media.

LJ: Who?

CSM: The soon to be family of blogs, begun by the proprietors of Pererro!

LJ: Oh. Dave gave you my number.

CSM: Yuppers! Now, any thoughts on the CSM experiment?

LJ: No.

CSM: Really? Aren't you going to contribute?

LJ: If I contributed, would I be 'Lurker Joe'? And I have a name, you know.

CSM: Really?

LJ: Yes. Joseph Riesen. And, I know a lot of funny stories. Just last week, I was at the beach...

CSM: Ooh, look at the time. We'll catch ya later, Lurker Joe.


And so, another interview with a member of CSM. Sort of. I've got to work on that newsletter a bit, but you'll be hearing from me soon.

Closed Source Media Update 1 -DNS Interview

Hello, all! Closed Source Media Update is getting off the ground, and we're really excited. So excited, that we can't wait to hear your feedback about our team.

We'll start first with Pererro, and it's going to take a while because they have a big team! Hopefully, we can get it done fast, but not so fast that no one else has joined when we finish, hm?

So, most of our bloggers are kind of busy at noon on a Saturday, but Pererro's founder, David N. Scott, managed to free up some time for us today.

CSM: Good afternoon, David! How are you?

DNS: Is it morning yet?

CSM: Yeppers! Almost noon!

DNS: Oh. Okay.

CSM: Hm. So, how do you feel about starting Closed Source Media?

DNS: What? I wasn't listening.

CSM: Er, Closed Source Media.

DNS: Right, that thing. I think it'll replace blogs.

CSM: I'm sorry?

DNS: Well, my vision for CSM is that, one day, we'll actually give the news directly to the people.

CSM: Isn't that what blogs do?

DNS: (Shakes head, violently) No, no. You don't understand. (Spreads his hands wide) I have a global vision.

CSM: Really?

DNS: Yup.

CSM: What is it?

DNS: What?

CSM: The vision.

DNS: I told you already. Bringing news to the people.

CSM: But what does that mean?

DNS: (Looks around a bit nervously): Well, uh, I was thinking... (raises finger) Post-its!

CSM: Post-its?

DNS: Yep! I was thinking about writing news on little post-its and leaving on people's refrigerators. Much faster than blogs. There are some problems with the idea, though.

CSM: I'd... I'd have to say so, yes.

DNS: Not everybody has a refrigerator, you know. We'll have to expand to iceboxes and stuff like that eventually.

CSM: Oh. That wasn't really what I was thinking you would say.

DNS: What do you mean?

CSM: Well... Seems like you'd need a lot of people, first of all.

DNS: Oh, sure. But we're building a global network.

CSM: Really?

DNS: Yup. Applications to CSM will start flowing in any minute now, I'm sure.

CSM: Have you received any yet?

DNS: ...

CSM: Any at all?

DNS: No. But if that OSM place, whose failures I have so sparklingly documented, can build up their team, I can build up mine.

CSM: Oh, will you be paying competitive rates?

DNS: (He looks confused) Paying? Why would I pay someone to blog?

CSM: Open Source Media pays their bloggers.

DNS: Really? Huh. Well... (he thinks for about half a minute) We pay too! But we pay percentages.

CSM: Percentages?

DNS: Yep! Once we get this thing going, our new members can have a percentage of the profits. We should still have a lot left, even after buying all the post-its. Besides, Open Source money is from Venture Capitalists. Venture Capitalists are all in the mafia, so it's like blood money.

CSM: Interesting... that reminds me...

DNS: Hm?

CSM: Speaking of blood money, is there any truth to rumors of you and your Pirate friend actually posessing a pretty large store of 'pillaged' Euros?

DNS: I don't know what you're talking about.

CSM: No, really: I think I've heard of the Pererro Pirate, and...

DNS: This interview is over. (Leaves)


Well, as you can see, our founder is a man of
vision. I'll be interviewing other members of CSM as they become available, and I hope you're as exceited as I am.

See you soon!

-CSM Update

In the Beginning...

God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

Then God said,

∇ • E = ρ / ε_o
∇ • B = 0
∇ x E = - ∂B/∂t
∇ x B = μ_oJ + μ_oε_o∂E/∂t ;

and there was light.

Update: Frank J. has some more blasphemy on IMAO.

Well, g'night.

And say goodnight to ninja pose Boo, too.

Sleep (Poem)

O for sleep!

O to take my hands from the keyboard!

O for relaxation to replace adrenaline-fill'd alertness!

O to lay my head on the pillow in the cool dark!

O to stop posting bad poetry and post something worthwhile!

O for ambition and a special quality!

O...

O to be me.

`Tis tragedy.

Sooooooo

That's a lot of politicking. And it's tiring. I feel like I'm Making A DIfference, even though most likely nobody cares about my little portion in the first place.

Really, I need to be talking about being de-linked by Luke Ford. It's a bit of a cruel irony that, even while the Pererro team strives to keep his name alive and unforgotten by the OSM, he has chosen to abandon his support of our efforts.

But no, no! I can do no more good tonight... slaying the dragons of the OSM has left me far, far too tired on this night, devoid and empty to my very bones, my very soul. And so, forsooth, I leave you for a night and a day to rest, to recuperate, to prepare another assault on those that doth oppress us.

And to go to a dork con and pretend to be important in my big round head. Woot!

The Middle Drawer (a poem)

The middle drawer
of our dresser
holds my socks
and my undies
and all those wierd little bits of clothing
that I don't wear anywhere but the bedroom.

Purple
Red
Black
Fishnet
Leopardprint

I love you all

except on laundry day.

Well

On eighteenth thought, Althouse says Roger's apology is so-so:

Poor, sensitive Roger? Let me remind you once again that Simon telephoned me when I first criticized the Pajamas offer that was emailed to me. He bullied me in the most unbelievably patronizing tone of voice, then, when I tried to express how I felt about blogging, said "Nice to talk to you" and hung up on me. He totally did not impress me as a sensitive sort of person, though he is playing that role in that post of his. I'm sure he feels terrible about his project. But the notion that bloggers shouldn't criticize it, when they had a flashy launch party, is beyond absurd.

So, balance, peeps.

And, just cos it's fun...




Oddly, a scanning of the comment she links to would insinuate to me that I got the idea for the overlay of the old and new thing from Dennis' site. But I don't remember that, but maybe I didn't read the comments. Or maybe it was subconcious. You can explain anything with that. 'That's cos it was subconcious! Ooo!'

OSM Part XVIIIIII

Yeah, that's not a real Roman numeral, I don't think.

Anyway, more OSM thoughts, cos I'll be gone tomorrow.

First, this made me a bit sad.

Recently my OSM colleagues and I have been subjected to all kinds of criticism, much of it well intentioned and warranted. But a fair amount has been surprisingly personal, bordering on the abusive. (My wife and I were about to allow our precocious daughter to have an internet connection, but now we think we'll postpone it.) Some of this criticism came from people my colleagues and I thought were friends who did not even give us the common courtesy of querying us on why we did a certain thing. Besides being rude, that's not very good reporting from an MSM or blog perspective.

Now, LYT things I'm a sucka for letting this get to me. Especially since he's probably talking about Dennis and probably has no concept of a website named Pererro. But it did make me feel a bit sad for the guy. He's still a person, etc. And he did admit a lot of it was warranted.

Next, you have this:

Meanwhile, the former Pajamas now OSM launch of which I’m part is still trying to right itself before it comes crashing down on our heads. Contrary to hysterical predictions from full-time Internet Liberals, OSM proved to be anything but a steam-roller, NeoCon wehrmacht. On the contrary, apart from a certain palpable political pluralism, it looks more like the Keystone Kops. Turns out that bloggers are bloggers and not great strategic geniuses, so we’ll see.

Hey, that guy commented on Pererro, maybe. I'm instinctually very suspicious of someone with any sort commenting on the Pere, but you never know. But anyway, happy with the sentiments laid out here.


And then, one of the things I was most annoyed about really really was a joke (which LYT sort of tried to tell me earlier) as I could see here. Having a supremely manic day is all I can offer as a sort of excuse.

And... now what? Seems like this story is being pushed by those both more annoyed and capable than me, but my semi-connectedness to Luke Ford and PM way back give me a bit of an in, so I'll keep an eye on it. Oh, and Dennis revealed his secret identity!

So, I feel like something is being accomplished. Dennis and many others may disagree. But I like giving people credit when I can.

Keep Bloggers humble!

Keep Bloggers humble!

And...

Don't eat monkeys! They're smart!

Save The Environment!

Click here.

Argh.

Geeze, I thought that was a sufficiently 'if I was too rude or personal I'm sorry but I still pretty much meant everything I said except maybe the weirdest parts' post, but Julie and LYT both apparently missed it.

So....

I was just apologizing for saying anything too rude or personal, but I still pretty much meant every thing I said that I said! Well, all the substantive stuff, anyway. Hee hee. Closed Source Media.

I like to get along with people, okay? Whacha want?

OK, less bitterness

Well, the more I think about it, the more I think maybe I was being bitter and over-the-top earlier. Really, some of the OSM stuff is just funny, and that's where I started, but after a while it got into bitterness.

Now, I still think that the OSM is becoming a lot like the Conservative view of the MSM. Certainly I do think they ditched the li'l guy a lot more than I had liked. And, I also feel a bit confused as to what the whole thing is supposed to be. But, their succeeding can only help everybody else, so I don't really want them to fall. Really, I reckon they'll be like the H-Post in a few months, with everyone eventually forgetting that they're going to collapse any minute.

But I do still they think they need to be more accountable, especially with the dumping of Luke and Dennis. Also, they could work quite a bit harder on viewpoint integration, and it's hard to take them seriously as the great Open Source until they do. And they probably shouldn't steal that one company's name.

Sigh. Now I'm getting grumpy again. But hopefully OSM will listen to its critics, improve and thrive for it. Otherwise... well, we'll see.

Confusing (Superman)

Well, LYT posted the Superman Trailer here. And it prompted a Cinerati post here. But, since I've posted on Superman and Cinerati on here before, and so has LYT for that matter, I thought I'd sort-of put it on both.

Now, if you look hard enough, you'll find my most insensitive post ever, probably. I'm embaressed and proud of it all at the same time. Mostly the first. But so it goes...

Pre-emptive War on a Pet Peeve

With the 1933 King Kong coming out on DVD, and the new theatrical remake, I'm hearing a lot of talk about "Big Monkey." So let me attempt to set the record straight.

Kong is an APE. NOT a monkey. If he were a monkey, he could have taken out those planes with his long, prehensile tail. Because monkeys have those.

So no "Monkey Shines" or "Show Me The Monkey" jokes. Unless you want to look ignorant.

Some praise of OSM, for a change...

They have a good blogroll. I'm just sayin'.

Return!

I am back, and my psuedo-blogging populist urges have died down again. Gotta get something more, well, fun going. This is all too heavy for a Friday, to say the least. It is funny/ironic stuff, tho.

So, for now... we're getting ready to have Jen and Lurker Joe and even LYT over before going to Gencon tomorrow! Hoorah for Gencon!

Oh, and your mom's coming over, too. But she's always over here. Ooh! Ouch.

Is the Pope Creationist?

His astronomer doesn't seem to be. Not when it comes to science classes.

Still, the Vatican opposed the Iraq war too, so they're obviously a tool of the radical Left.

A little more OSM...

Even though I feel like I'm kicking a dead horse here.

What is Open Source Media?

Open Source Media is a new multi-aspect business concept in which many of the top superstar and mega-hyper superstars of the internet blogosphere have formed a powerful alliance to create shareholder value, and piss off Ann Althouse.

Huh. The MSM is getting a bit of an attitude. 'top superstar and mega-hyper superstars'?

Let's see if I can find that old e-mail... Emphasis added...

DS, not in the least, we are creating a very broad umbrella. We have
every area of interest from those with a deep passion for fashion to car
nuts and the cooking crowd. We are non-partisan, non-denominational and
non-elite. Big, small, left, right and center. That's why we have
reached out to people like Eric Urbanksy of Slate, and why Marc Cooper
of the Nation is on the editorial board. We love centrists--there are
far too few of them. We hope it will be a very close match to the
blogosphere itself.

Take that, too, horse. Pwned!!

Anyway, I think I'm going to inaugurate something new:

Closed Source Media: Sticking It To The OSM.

You like?

Edit: Oops, link is here. And eys, it's a joke to some extent or another, but it's still linked on LGF, and I don't think the 'superstar' part is a joke. They're joking about it, but I don't think they doubt it. Plus, 230/300 blogs dropped, blah blah.

Drink your sprouts, kids!

Doc Brown's celery-flavored Cel-Ray soda was bad enough. Now the Jones Soda company goes above and beyond.

Is this funny?

I think it is. But mebbe I'm trying too hard.


Dunno why it looks crappy, but haveta go. It looks fine on my end...

Sigh. It's a comparison of the explanation and the fact that it's closed out now, as slightly compared to LGF's flogging of the CBS Memo. Think abstractly, people!*



*People meaning Julie.

Topical

Well, it was fun to be topical for a bit, but it's starting to look like OSM is well-covered. So, though Pererro was fast on the draw on this one, it may have jumped the shark, but with Dennis getting 50,000 hits today. Seems less obscure.

But, can't resist this one:

An email received today from Brendan Greeley of Radio Open Source:

Dennis the Peasant, wow. You were aware of it before I was, but I've spent the last two days trying to figure it out.
Where to start.
We haven't received a response from our email inquiry to them, and we've fedexed them a letter. Then, after I drafted response to their posted -- but not mailed -- explanation, they pulled the explanation off of their page. Now, this morning, they have a new explanation under the same post name, which is both different and manifestly untrue.
And moot, by the way. URL names don't really have anything to do with it. In any case, we never gave them permission to use opensourcemedia.net, and in fact have never had contact with anyone over at OSM. Explanation in the links below.
And wow, Dennis. You're more on top of this story than I am.

Read the whole thing here. Wow. They pulled their old explanation? How CYA is that? As someone asked, how much like CBS back in the day is that, too?

So, spread this around, I think:

About Our Name
OSM Staff in New York

Thursday, November 17, 2005

We are OSM. A gentleman named Christopher Lydon has an excellent web site called Open Source. He uses that as his corporate name, but not as his trade name. His URL is RADIOopensource, and he’s given up opensourcemedia.net – which we and our lawyers confirmed before we chose our name.

His trade name is Open Source – and Open Source alone. He’s filed a trademark application under Open Source alone, not Open Source Media.

Our trade name is OSM, and please note that we have a TM after OSM, not after Open Source Media. We consider Open Source Media to be a description of what we are and do, not a trade name.

There are virtually no corporate names that have not been taken in some state – but what is important is the name used in the public.

We own opensourcemedia.com but we are not using that as our primary URL because we do not consider Open Source Media to be protectable name by anyone ... which is why it’s not our name.

Thank you. We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming.

If they're trying to hide it (so much for 'accountability') then, we should spread it!



Put it on your blog! Bloggers (If that's a meaningful group in the first place)should be committed to the truth and getting stories out, not some sort of bizarre club mentality. That's supposed to be the old way.


I mean, seriously. New boss, same as the old boss. First the Republicans went big gov when they won, now the bloggers are having exclusive clubs, prevaricating, and deleting their old posts in order to support a whitewash. What a world we live in.

Truer words have never been produced by an online survey

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman 85% Spider-Man 75% Green Lantern 70% Hulk 65% Batman 55% Iron Man 55% Robin 52% Supergirl 50% The Flash 50% Wonder Woman 45% Catwoman 40%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...


Oh, yeah. You know it's true.

Thanks to Jen for putting this here.

Sexist Post

I don't really know who this Criss Angel guy is, other than he has some sort of goth/metal illusionist show on A&E called Mindfreak that I watched all of 10 minutes of while doing weightlifting the other night, but my word he's hot. And resembles a taller Glenn Danzig. And if there was anything Glenn needed to be it's taller.

What do you think?

Supposedly, this is me.

You fit in with: Taoism Your ideals mostly resemble those of the Taoist faith. Spirituality is the most important thing in your life. You strive to live by all of your ideals, and live a very intellectually focused life. 40% spiritual. 0% reason-oriented.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Now, what odds me out is that I know I answered the two Christian money questions, uh, Christian-ly. So maybe it's a smarter test than I think, or something. You take it and let me know what you think.

It's fun to think about, isn't it?

Hello, goodbye

Hey all--back but now off to the inlaws to helpt hem get Adaware and Spybot running. I'll be seein' ya when I see ya. Just remember to always let the energy flow through the centers of your body. Especially the ones between your eyes.

Commie Sentenced for Wearing Red Star

A member of Hungary's commie party has been sentenced for wearing a red star, which, along with wearing swastikas, Soviet hammer/sickle symbols, and Che Guevara shirts, is a practice banned in Hungary. Serves him right for being a commie.

Yep, still here

The water here in my sink is remarkably still. Not a ripple to be found.

Still Here

Ate lunch, at least. But now... off to da store! I hope. Stay tuned for another 'still here' post in a half hour... :P

Hmmm

Well, today is a big errand day. Dennis pointed out that I missed a couple bloggers in my angry OSM defenders roundup, so I shall collect them post-store. Anyway, stuff's interesting, innit? And my contrarian side is coming out at the thought that I somehow am being a nasty librul to laugh a bit at OSM and decry some of their defensive/offensive tactics.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut for noooooooooooooooooow...

Behave!!

And...

Jaye is asking for you to send her your best audio clips. Get famous! Make millions! Click here!

Happy News

Looks like ocassional commenter Moni has finally found love. Good news for her, bad news for single male readers...

Good morning!!

Wow, was up too late last night and woke up late today. Sleep schedule's slipping, with what will be a de facto vacation between ad schedules. May be overwhelmingly busy in December, if the new expanded ads pickup, Lord willing. And... Julie's dying her hair and just came out in some weird helmet thing. Will get picture.

And, here it is.

Orange Country Should be Renamed

How about Chevron-Texaco County? We can call Irvine the City of Exxon-Mobil, Anaheim Arco, Newport Beach Unocal, and Santa Ana can be renamed Halliburton City. Hey, if this town can do it, why not Nixon Country?

Burgandy Stares into a Mirror

Boring? Check
Self Absorbtion? Check
Evidence I haven't done laundry all week? Check

Weird (Justin)

Is it just me, or is this uber-random blog done by our Justin's long lost relative?

It has been estimated that over 7,000 cars have been burned in the recent Infintada in France. There seems to be a misunderstanding that this vandalism was done because of the disaffection of unemployed Muslim youths. I have another theory. It’s because the Muslim youths, like many other people, don’t like French cars. I am willing to concede that there are social problems involved in the riots, but why torch cars in your own neighborhoods? I come to this conclusion because of the low opinion of French cars by the auto buying public. It seems that French cars have all the cachet of a Yugo and the East German Trabant, the latter at least being made of plastic, and not a waste of the metal found in Gallic-mobiles.

Or maybe I'm just tired.

I am tired.

Goodnight.

Dang

I was just watching a funny ad on Myspace, where a crab was talking to an SUV, and then it crapped out. Dang. It was actually funny.

And, while we're talking, what's up with this?



Maybe 'Michael Savage' and 'Grumpy Old Coot' aren't nearly as synonymous as I tend to think they are. I'd link to him, but he has a truly apalling picture on the upper left of his site right now, so I won't...

One last OSM Post...

It's interesting to me that criticizing OSM/Pajamas has suddenly become partisan. Well, and trendy. I've been complaining about it since May-ish.

But anyway, Rodger Jacobs (see 'Mentors') mocked OSM for having a typo on some post or another. Sort of tying it to the generally sort of sloppy stuff OSM is becoming infamous for. I was surprised by the response, though, by the SoCal Pundit:

Tying errors corrected by this whiny liberal. You can almost smell the fear and trepidation these guys have over our little experiment. But do they know that a typo here and a minor misspelling there won’t derail the plan?

Whiny liberal? A little vehement. (He mis-spelled 'typing', too, but I'm no one to talk). But what was odd was the thought that to criticize OSM and make fun of their myriad mistakes you have to be liberal. Guess Ann Althouse is liberal now, given her extensive mockery of Pajamas form letters. And guess I gave up on being a centrist earlier than I thought.

Also, somewhere in there, Rodger started this line of discussion:

See, Rog used to be a writer. Sometimes he was damn good, such as when he partnered with film maker Paul Mazurksy to adapt the wonderful Isaac Bashevis Singer novel Enemies: A Love Story for the big screen.

But Simon hasn’t written a movie since the 1998 Gina Gershon vehicle Prague Duet (I know, I haven’t heard of it either).

And what about his series of Moses Wine detective novels? Out of print, except for electronic versions — well, you can order a printed version but it takes up to three weeks and an additional $1.99 fee. But they can’t give these books away, as we shall see.

The first and most popular of the Wine novels, The Big Fix, currently ranks at #710,220 in sales at Amazon. Rough translation: Ain’t nobody buyin’.

The Amazon rankings for Simon’s other Moses Wine novels:

The Left Coast: #439,017

Wild Turkey: #927, 986 (Guess that one was aptly titled)

Peking Duck: Are you ready for this? The Amazon rank for this one is … drum roll and a little flop sweat, please … #1,009,850!

Kind of makes one wonder how much of that $3.5 million in start-up funds will make it’s way into Simon’s personal bank account, doesn’t it? Hard to make a living from residuals on books that sell in the top half-million and one million titles at Amazon.

Hey, now if this is true it's a big deal, isn't it? Hell, a scandal, even. Suddenly OSM has gone from exciting new venture to desperate attempt to raise money. Not that Dennis would be surprised. More on that later.

But, the response? A quick counterattack.

He also criticizes Open Source Media CEO Roger L. Simon here.

And what about his series of Moses Wine detective novels? Out of print, except for electronic versions — well, you can order a printed version but it takes up to three weeks and an additional $1.99 fee.

Well, the funny thing about that is that Rodger has a link to his own book, Long Time Money and Lots of Cocaine, where you can buy an electronic version for $8.53, or you can get a printed version for an additional $8.48 fee.

Now, that segued into Rodger posting some of his sales numbers and someone telling them to shove them up his ass, and various posts back and forth, with some pretty ugly rhetoric on the other side, The 'other side' being in this case mostly a fellow under the name of TC@LeatherPenguin and a fella by the name of Del. The actual proprietor, Brainster, mostly stuck to hardbook prices and such.

But, the thing is, what about it? OK, maybe Rodger's not Stephen King. Whatever. Does that somehow make Roger L. Simon rich and make OSM not an act of desperation? Rodger could be a 14 year old with no job and it wouldn't make Simon somehow have money.

Basically, people are treating him like some random political operative, which Rodger has never struck me as. But regardless, how does smearing Rodger clear OSM's name?

Also, Dennis TP seems to be feeling the heat...

Every person who came here came for a reason that had nothing to do with me.

Poor Man, Pierce, Gilliard, Wolcott and that lot came because they were overjoyed to find a member of the fascisti angry enough to air dirty laundry that was suitable for their own uses. Anyone think James Wolcott, Tony Pierce or any of their readership would piss down my throat if they knew my heart was on fire? I may be helpful, but I’m still a ****in' neo-con...

Same goes for any number of the legion of bloggers who Roger stiffed or offended. They might actually help put out the fire in my chest if I asked, but that wouldn’t be the reason they are hanging around this site. Am I right?

I'm stretching a bit, cos I don't really know the dude, but it sure seems like he's being tarred with OSM opposition being left wing. So, what's this about? You can't think a bunch of people who took six months to set up a website have a bad business plan unless you're a Socialist? Guess I should just give up now. At least I already live in CA... won't have to move or anything. Sheesh.

Edit OK, went through and sourced things a bit better so it didn't look like Brainster V. Roger, at his request.

Laundry Day

Today is laundry day. I really have to decide if I want to wear my Transformers shirt and X-Large shorts while Julie does the laundry or not. One one hand, it makes sense because they're too big and raggedy to wear normal places. On the other, I don't want them to not get washed because Julie and I will probably forget to wash them if I'm wearing them. So, then they'll be stinky for a week.

What do you think I should do?


(How's that, Luke?)

What's OSM Afraid Of?

Marc Cooper, one of the few lefties on board, has been saying for weeks that anyone can join OSM, and has challenged other lefties to do so.

So last night, I left a comment on his site about how the phrase "anyone can join" didn't seem to apply to Luke Ford. My comment went up immediately, but now it's not there any more.

There's also the issue of the 230-some bloggers who've been jettisoned since the initial start-up, and the fact that David tried to sign up this blog and got nowhere.

None of this has been formally addressed, and while I know posts can disappear for many reasons, it seems fishy that Marc apparently doesn't even want the Luke Ford question asked.

Still, I think the statement that "anyone can join" is now demonstrably false.

Homework Post - Chapter 1

2+2=4
2+3=5
2+4=6
2+5=7
2+6=8
2+7=9
2+8=10

(Note: I didn't say it was MY homework)

A Challenge!

The new OpenPajamaMedia site is more boring than Pererro.

Guys (and Gal), we have some work to do.

Respect For the Families of the Fallen

In a time of mourning, the comforting sound of motorcycle engines drowns out even the loudest of those who desire to increase the pain of the suffering.

According to this article in the Kansas City Star:

SOUTH HAVEN, Kan. — The Phelps family hoisted the same old laminated gay-bashing placards.

They made their same tired chants taking glee in a soldier’s death.

Another funeral, another round of pickets from the minichurch fixated on homosexuality.

Yet now that the Rev. Fred Phelps Sr. has moved on to flinging epithets at military martyrs, a few politicians have begun trying to silence him. Their success will depend on how carefully they mind free speech as they write their laws.

In the meantime, noise is met with noise.

Whenever the few protesters from Topeka’s Westboro Baptist Church shouted or sang Wednesday in South Haven, the earth trembled.

Any time they spoke up, the wrists of biker veterans twisted on dozens of throttles to strike the thundering chords of Honda and Harley-Davidson.

God Bless those bikers. Those protestors from the Westboro Baptist church and it's sick, hate-filled pastor Fred Phelps should be ashamed of themselves. They have a sick and twisted view of Christianity, and use their views as a justification for hate. Pardon my French, but the Westboro Baptist church continues to piss me off with their damned rhetoric and damned protests. I consider myself to be a Baptist, but Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist church does not represent my views nor the views of most Baptist Christians. The Southern Baptist Convention, for example, has denounced them for their hate-filled activities, and unsurprisingly, the Westboro Baptist church congregation is conducting protests in front of Southern Baptist churches.

That is not to say that I hate the Westboro Baptist church, it's congregation, or its pastor Fred Phelps, as despicable as they all are, nor am I advocating that other Christians hate them. Christ himself said to love your enemies and to do good those who hate you (Luke 6:27). That doesn't mean, however, that I can't get pissed off at what they do. They're hurting the country, and they're pushing people away from Christ, in the name of Christ. That is something, in my opinion, that should be creating more outrage in the Christian community.

Hmm.

Hey, look. I finally got attention with a post. And I'm back. I'm supposed to be friendly, right?


Welcome, Begging to Differ Readers!


Too much?

...

It's too much, isn't it? I'm sorry.

Well, Whaddaya Know...

It looks like Watergate wasn't the only thing those Nixon-era United States Vast Right Wing Conspiracy (known as the 'Silent Majority' at the time) agents screwed up. I don't know why we let them run the special election this time here in California. Every time we let them do anything, like cover up the leak of Valerie Plame, they screw up. I guess it's because Rove has some sympathy for those guys, but it's coming at the expense of 'publicans like me.

FSM II

Argh, cos it won't post in the FSM 1 entry...

Anyway, seems pretty mocking of Christianity and unrelated to Kansas school boards to me.

Flying Spaghetti Monster

Bleah.

Anyway, check this out.

Target Corporation on Plan B:


In our ongoing effort to provide great service to our guests, Target consistently ensures that prescriptions for the emergency contraceptive Plan B are filled. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also requires us to accommodate our team members' sincerely held religious beliefs.

In the rare event that a pharmacist's beliefs conflict with filling a guest's prescription for the emergency contraceptive Plan B, our policy requires our pharmacists to take responsibility for ensuring that the guest's prescription is filled in a timely and respectful manner, either by another Target pharmacist or a different pharmacy.

I'm not sure on this one. I think, first of all, that probably pharmacists ought to be ready to prescribe medicine. But I suppose is it or is it not medicine is the core of this thing, eh? But anyway...

We need to apply public reason in order to protect liberties from religious strictures backed by market actors who stand to benefit from supporting religious adherents. Logically speaking there's no great step from "I won't fill Plan B" to "I won't distribute to Catholics" or "I won't drive a transexual in this ambulance," and we don't have liberty if it's up to Target (or Tyson's, or Townville Hospital) to market test these positions to determine whether they are profitable and thereby viable rights. It's in the interest of all liberties and religious systems to protect a free, public square, where the most commonly held moral beliefs prevail and all individuals are able to participate. Story of America and so forth.

But then I think think point needs to be better worked out, at least. Is it really no great step from witholding a certain prescription to not accepting people in ambulances? Couldn't you almost as easily say that denying this right would be a step towards religious discrimination or ethics being banned from the workplace? I don't think that's right, particularly, but it seems like an argument could be made. Certainly I could say 'It's no great step from banning conscience exceptions to banning religion, all in the name of tolerance'. And, I'm sure you can find someone saying that on google. Especially the tolerance part.

I don't really know which of these is correct (both? neither?) but I'd like a better argument before really being convinced of the point in this post.

But, it was all secretly a plan to talk about this in the comments:

OK, OK, you guys don't like FSM—but the point isn't to mock others' religious beliefs. The point is to mock legislation based on religious precepts that not all citizens share. The original thrust of FSM was about how Kansas should "teach the controversy" of FSM creationism/ID because FSM adherents very strongly believe in FSMistic claims.

The whole point is to show that it would be insensible to create policy based on the beliefs of a minority religion. But also that it's no more sensible in principle if those beliefs are those of the majoritarian religion.

Posted by Kriston on November 16, 2005 02:46 PM

Now, I kinda sorta see the point of the FSM. As I believe I've mentioned on here, I'm not too big into Intelligent Design, though I think it definetely doesn't get enough credit for embracing evolution, albeit with some mostly cosmetic changes. But, personally,the idea of proving God through Evolution rankles me as somehome irreverent. Also, I can't really understand the fine points of the argument vis a vis biology. I'm more of a Humanities sort.

But, I'm interested by this defense of the FSM as just a political statement. Well, first of all, a very unscientific google check seems to reveal that most people take the FSM as bring more than a complaint about the Kansas School Board.




Regardless, I just don't see the FSM as 'proving' anything. Speaking from a (slightly unusual) Christian perspective, FSM makes me just sort of shrug. I think I sort of thought of a good analogy as to why.

Christian: I don't believe in George Washington.

Person: Excuse me?

Christian: Well, all we know about George Washington is written in some book. And people wanted him to be important to support their regime and make the country look good. So I think it's all lies.

Person: That's a bit stupid. There's lots of documentation of George Washington.

Christian: I know! Just like Jesus! But people don't believe in him, so I don't have to believe in George Washington? Hahahaha!

Person: Uh?

Christian: Jesus was in a book and people believe in him, JUST LIKE GEORGE WASHINGTON! And people don't believe in Jesus and the Commandments, so I don't believe in Washington and the Constitution! HAHAHAHA! PWNED!

Person: Sure, whatever.

Christian: Don't you GET IT? IF you believe in George Washington, you have to believe in Jesus.

Etc. I mean, it's just sort of... eh. 'Look, this stupid thing isn't real! So your stupid thing must be fake, too!'

I think most Christians are either offended at the intentional ridiculousness or just sort of disinterested.

Anyway, I like this guy's take:

The Flying Spaghetti Monster... a smart tactic?

Bobby Henderson's Flying Spaghetti Monster theory of creation getting a lot of attention (see links in the Wikipedia page and links to FSM paraphernalia on BoingBoing). Now, I understand the urge to make fun of Intelligent Design, because, frankly, it's laughable. And FSM follows in a long philosophical tradition of making a serious point--in this case that intelligent design is just as consistent with any deity, even a silly one, as it is with the Judeo-Christian-Islamic deity.
The problem is that phrasing the criticism this way is that it's likely to alienate the people you're trying to convince. I suspect that most people who believe in ID are honestly ignorant, not mendacious. Making fun of them probably isn't the way change their minds. Worse yet, the FSMers aren't just saying that the FSM is an equally good explanation as Genesis, they've also made up a new parody religion based on it, complete with Jesus-fish parody logos. Unsurprisingly, most people who believe in ID are Christians. I'm skeptical that openly mocking their religious beliefs is the best way to convince them of one's point of view.

As always, I'm all for dialogue. And, I'm pretty skeevy about pulling science from textbooks. On the other hand, I think the dominant scientific paradigm can probably use some opposition. I think it's good for science.

What do you think?

Off!

Eh, I'm leaving again! WHY???


Anyway, will hopefully be back later and stick around for a bit. I'm getting a cold from all this leaving and doing stuff.

Horrrah!!

Sony has backed down on the copy-protect software. I think we'll be able to end our boycott soon. Once again, Pererro has affected social change. I feel good tonight. Thanks to my readers. You folks are the best.

Perhaps the Only Thing Worse Than Commies and Ninjas...

...are commie ninjas. Here's my favorite quote:

"Ha!" said the evil Communist Chinese leader, "You are no match for my Commie kung fu! It will spread pain equally throughout your body!"

Who Wants to be a Taxi Driver?

Heh.

Sleep...

There you go. I am tired now, and I go on to rest, to recuperate from my exhaustion.

Would you not prefer to stay awake, to accomplish more?

I doubt that I will--I think that I am too tired to accomplish much of anything.

Are you sure that you wouldn't feel better in the morning if you were tired but had gotten something done?

Yes, but that assumes that I wouldn't end up both tired and unaccomplished.

Well, a life of timidity has it's appeals, I suppose.

Not to mention the appeals of sleep.

Short-sighted.

Perhaps. But, sometimes we do have to look at the things closest to us.

Sometimes...

More Pajamarama

Apologies in advance, as I'm going to get ever so slightly serious in this post. It's not going up at my site because I don't think my regular readership knows or cares much about Pajamas Media, and explaining would take a while.

But man, the trainwreck continues. They change their name to Open Source Media, seemingly without even bothering to check whether or not someone else already owns that name.

I've met Roger L. Simon a time or two, and found him to be a personable fellow. But I've also read his blog since almost the beginning, and watched it deteriorate from a reasonably well-thought-out centrist blog to a self-important Bush cheering section. I get the sense that Roger really thinks he's doing groundbreaking, important stuff, even though there are at least a hundred other blogs with virtually identical content. At National Review Online, he claims that his colleague Charles Johnson is "the guy who ended Dan Rather's career."

And you gotta laugh at their idea of "balance":

"you've got David Corn on one side, and Michael Barone on the other," Simon
said. "And in the middle Tammy Bruce."

Corn is one of two avowed liberals on their staff out of 70, the other one being Marc Cooper (yeah, Simon and Johnson claim to be liberal, but they somehow define "liberal" as "pro-war"). Bruce is NOT centrist, whatever she may claim. Her gimmick is that she's a self-professed lesbian feminist Democrat, but her entire radio show is about how Democrats are "malignant narcissists." If she's centrist, Joe Lieberman's a radical leftist. They'd do better to promote Jill Stewart as their centrist, as she's the opposite of Bruce -- gets tarred as a right-winger, but has some strong left-wing opinions as well as strong right-wing ones.

Pererro, on the other hand, is truly balanced -- it's fair to say that I'm on the left, Justin's on the right, David's got ADD, and Burgandy rarely gets political (I'm not sure where the pirate stands, but I'm thinking some combination of libertarian and anarchist). But frankly, I think it's looking better for all concerned that Pajamas/OSM/Whatever doesn't seem to be that interested in this here corner of blogdom.

Anyway, sorry for deviating from the style. I'll only do this for stuff connected to Pererro, and since David applied to PJM a while back it seems reasonably on-topic.

In other news, I had nachos today. So how come this isn't called Nacho Day, huh, huh, huh?

Hm.

Do you get much out of this? It seems to me that Slate has lots of firey rhetoric about stuff that isn't really that interesting.

Prove me wrong, if you dare.

Heads Up

The 2005 Weblog Awards are coming up soon. Pererro should be nominated for something. I dunno which category I'd nominate Pererro for, probably something like best blog design on the basis that Pererro looks better than all the other blogs that use the same blogger template.

Anyway, put your suggestions in the comments.

Homework

Tried to make those posts a bit more fun this time. Might not be too horrible to read. Well, off to class in a few moments... I'll try to scrape up some precious wireless bandwidth, but no promises.

Checking things off my list...

Homework blogs posted? Check
Proof digital camera is working? Check
Fufillment of promises of self-absorbtion? Check
Obglitory picture of the Boo? Check

I feel so accomplished.

Organizational Behavior - Chapter 15 Post

Leadership is an idea that is important to the world in general, or at least I think so. The book has five rules that identify transformational rulers. First, Charisma. People tell me sometimes that I personally am charismatic, but I think they are imagining it. Anyway, that is important as it allows a leader to be, well, a leader. Now, we are often assured in our business management courses that you can learn leadership. Now, obviously, all of these people would be out of business if they admitted the truth, which is that you actually can not learn charisma. But then again, I suppose I have issues with charisma due to the long-running charisma/no charisma debate in my own mind. So, I may not be a fair source.

Anyway, the next rule seems pretty learnable. Basically, leaders should pay individual attention to others. Now, this should be motivated by a genuine care for the individuals in question, but it sounds reasonably easy to either fake concern or learn to not be self-absorbed. Likewise the other three: encouraging creativity, reminding people of the rewards they will receive for success, and only managing when needed. All of these things seem quite easy to learn, though it may take a bit of operand conditioning.

So, the only thing left is the first thing, the ability to drag others along with force of personality. This, I maintain, can not be taught. Hey, think about George W. Bush. Do you think he probably would be better with speeches and more charming if he could? I rather think so, personally. I mean, he is the president. Presumably he has been working constantly on it for the last half decade. Actually, even longer when you consider that he used to be a governor, businessman, etc. Anyway, if he grew charisma I somehow missed it. So, I say learning charisma is a sham.

Yes, the above is pedantic, and some may not appreciate the example. And, yes, Bush has done some good speeches in his time. But, even most of his partisans will admit a bit of nervousness when they see him behind a microphone. Heck, considering the relative dearth of speeches and interviews by the President, I think he is aware of it, as well. I was just using him as an example for people not learning to be charming and charismatic, nothing more.

Organizational Behavior - Chapter 14 Post

Well, here we have a chapter on decision making. First, a very long decision on rational decision making. This can be me, with the afore-mentioned detailed budgets, six month plans for the books, and worrying about my Master’s Degree with a year and a half on the Bachelor’s. Unfortunately, these are among the very few things that I actually have learned to think rationally about. Usually, I am more trapped in a sort of mental static, an inability to focus, a mental state wherein thinking seems laborious or forced, at least when it comes to boring things. I rather like thinking about interesting things. For instance, even though I like blogging and think this book is reasonably interesting, it takes a massive effort of will to not wander off and check on the blog proper or check e-mail.

And so, perhaps inevitably, my eye was drawn to Alternatives to Rational Decision Making. It has only two entries and pages, but I liked it. First, a bit of a post-modern approach, though that may be a stretch. The Administrative Decision Making process. In here, we admit that individuals are usually hampered and made miserable by constraints and lack of information. So, the goal is to just make a decent, reasonably productive decision. A no-frills travel plan is mentioned as an example of this: you will make it there on time and with cheap airfare, and that just might be enough, even if you miss comfortable seats and a good meal. Really, I think this is my goal most times… just enough to not completely mess everything up. And now, I know that is a Bounded Rationality Approach, which is interesting.

Next, we have intuitive Decision Making, which just involves ‘going with your gut.’ I find that I have to do this too often, due to time constraints. Once we have an approval, we want to hurry and get loan docs together and out to the borrower. This can mean some guessing, as we can not always reach the borrower in time to really fix things up as well as we would like. And, well, I do it constantly on blogging; I see something interesting and I post it, usually with little thought. That’s what makes Pererro… fun?

Organizational Behavior - Chapter 13 Post

Well, here we have communication. More specifically, a section on technology-aided communication. First of all, there is a big vacancy here, nary a mention of blogs! Now, I suppose thinking of blogs as a communication device is a sort of a minority position, maybe? I guess I tend to run Pererro as more of a Livejournal than a blog, maybe? Then again, a blog is still a ‘weblog’, which I think we fit some criteria for. Anyway, I think blogs are a great way to maintain communication. You can post about what is going on in your life, and people can read it. Sort of saves a lot of time with conversing and e-mailing and phone calling, I think.

The main thing mentioned in here is e-mail. It says that “a few years ago e-mail users sent out unedited, poorly-written messages on the fly.” Well, I think I still do that. Hard to help it—might well be an ADD Thing. I send out e-mails before I really think about it sometimes, sort of bam! Anyway, says there are 60 billion emails sent out every day worldwide. And, of course, that does not include IM, which I give the book kudos for at least remembering the existence of. It actually mentions in here that a lot of companies have internal IM systems, which I think is interesting.

60 billion e-mails a day, though. Rather impressive, I think. Then again, I suppose I have about 1500 messages in the last thirty days. So that’s about fifty a day. I guess that means people like me bring up the average. But still, there are a lot of people without e-mail to compensate for. I love e-mail though, for reasons previously mentioned that I will not bring up again. Well, I suppose I will do so briefly: basically, it is fast, sidesteps any of my residual social anxieties, and also has a convenient written record for when you are dealing with weasels or conversation deniers. Just the other day, someone lied and said they had e-mailed me about a problem with an appraisal. Luckily, it was quite easily to sort by name and see that no such mail existed. E-mail provides accountability… just remember that when e-mailing your girlfriend or boyfriend about steamy sessions, like that one lady in England.