Mid Week Rock

Some newer stuff from the Killers:

9 FUCKING HOURS

That's how long I've been working on 301 tonight...5 hours for me, 4 hours helping a friend, all spent doing Stata in a computer lab in MacKay Hall.

On the plus side, I was reminded of a quaint little male restroom that exists on the second floor of MacKay (0214A MacKay, in case anyone was curious). It's just east of the small rectangular shaped lecture hall shoehorned in on the center-south side of MacKay (0213). I say "quaint" for two reasons. One, the lone faucet in this restroom is so old school it has two spigots, one each for hot and cold water. Two, the lone toilet in this restroom is mounted ridiculously high off the ground, so high in fact that when taking care of business your feet are off the ground. As a connesieur of the restroom experience, I can say that it is quite a unique and enjoyable sensation. I highly recommend that any male whose curiosity is piqued by this description to investigate 0214A MacKay. You won't be disappointed.

Frustration

Getting set to register for classes today, find out that two of the 400-level Pol S classes I was planning on registering for aren't being offered. Nothing in the catalog or online that would indicate this, but they just aren't being taught. This throws my schedule for a loop, as both of those classes were fulfilling graduating requirements. Go look up the LAS Arts and Humanities Gen Ed list, find a class on it that looks halfway interesting that is a 300+, go look to see if it's offered, no dice. Repeat this FIVE MORE TIMES (rapidly burning through the short list of classes that I would be even remotely interested in...it ran the gamut from a French Film class to History of Landscape Design) until I finally find one that's offered. Plug everything into the schedule planner and find out that my planned class list doesn't generate any possible schedules (meaning that at least two of the classes I was planning on registering for are only offered once and that they are offered at the same time).

Does anyone know if the University is planning on offering any classes at all this Spring that aren't at the same time?

South Park Monday

How I felt filling out my absentee ballot.

Or, how I feel whenever I see the Red Guards youthful Obama supporters encouraging people to register to vote...with huge frickin Obama stickers on their clipboards.

Sunday Smoke

No smoke tonight, but have smoked a couple cigars since last time.

First, last Sunday. Smoked a CAO Black Bengal Habano. The Black line is CAO's original, the one that got their business rolling. I can see why that was the case. Somewhat earthy, but not nearly as much so as the Brazilia. The earthiness was balanced out by the lighter wrapper which added some lightness and dryness to the smoke. Finished with a hint of sweetness, vanilla maybe. Driving was on the agenda after smoking (did the white trash thing and smoked on the tailgate of my truck) but I think a medium to heavy beer would've been an appropriate companion for this smoke, something along the lines of a Fat Tire or a Boston Lager.

Next, Friday night I smoked a CAO Brazilia Amazon Maduro. This cigar line comes highly recommended, and I was definitely not disappointed. Very earthy, both in fill and wrap. I think the words "spicy" and "moist" could be used to describe the draw. No real hint of any other flavors other than the earthy, but that is a very all encompassing word. The earthy flavor was quite complex and powerful. I would have liked to have tried this with a couple fingers of Black Label, but unfortunately studying at the Armory was my next activity after the smoke, so alcohol was off limits.

Finally, last night I smoked a La Herencia Cubana Robusto. This came in a Churchill 5 cigar variety pack that I nabbed for next to nothing with the rest of my most recent order. While I wasn't expecting much given the price, I was pleasantly surprised. While the burn was more than a little uneven (I suspect the ridiculous wind we had last night was responsible for some of that) the cigar overall was more than adequate. A relatively mild bodied cigar, the light wrap imparted a lot of dryness. I think a lighter quenching beer would've been the best accompaniment for this cigar, given its dry nature.

Irony

Driving home from an Econ 102 Macroeconomics exam and hearing a commercial on the radio extolling the virtues of buying Ford since it's 'Murican. It's called globalization, artard.

In the same vein, here's a list of 10 good ol' fashioned 'Murican companies that aren't so domestic.

h/t: Chap

Behind

Been under the weather for the past week, which has put me a little behind. It probably couldn't have happened at a better time, as I'm just gearing up for the push to Thanksgiving Break, but it still wasn't fun. Given that I spent 4 hours on a Friday night doing homework and that all I've done for the 12 hours I've been awake today has been food, study, and a cigar, (with more of the same tomorrow) things will probably be pretty light around here.

25 years on

Pig

This piece of shit isn't worthy to carry a gun, much less a badge:



h/t: Radley Balko

Every time after one of these incidents you'll hear from cops that it was just a "bad apple" and that most cops aren't like that. I'd like to believe that, but given that the department tried to buy the lady off and wasn't planning on taking any disciplinary action against the guy (pretty much SOP for this type of incident), I keep losing more and more of what little remains of my faith in law enforcement. Organizations define themselves by the actions they take when members step outside the norms of acceptable behavior. If the U.S. military had stood idly by and done nothing to the perpetrators of Abu Ghraib, every single last service member would and should have been lumped in the same with them. I know I certainly would not have wanted to be a member of an organization that condoned such behavior. As such, I find it difficult to accept the excuses from the "good" officers who still remain members of the departments where stuff like this happens.

Mid Week Rock

Not exactly rock, but this image from Outlaw 13 is too good to pass up:

Alright, since it is Mid Week ROCK, here's Save Ferris' version:

I lied...

...a few weeks ago when I said I loved John Stossel for doing the video on uneducated voters. I really love him for this series that he did last Friday: "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Politics." You really need to watch this:













A few thoughts:

- Never forget that John McCain, when discussing McCain-Feingold, described the First Amendment as "quote 'First Amendment rights.'" This would be not the least of the reasons why I can never vote for him. There's a certain degree of pragmatism involved in elections, but how you can support a candidate who values "clean" government and elections (how are those 527 groups working out, Senator?) over the Constitution is beyond me. I suppose if he's elected he'll solemnly swear to preserve, protect, and defend the quote 'Constitution.'

- The section on the bailout basically sums up how I feel about that whole thing. It's called a correction, markets have them just like how people vomit when they drink too much alcohol, and the longer you put it off the worse it eventually is (in both cases), although I think I'd rather get alcohol poisoning than deal with the financial storm that is coming as a result of the bailout.

- The only way the bit on the credit crunch, or a lack thereof, could have gotten any more ironic would have been to show the loan commercials during a commercial break right after a news story on how homeowners can't get loans. I've seen that, by the way.

- I defy anyone to watch this video series and then be able to vote for any of the worthless parasitic pieces of shit politicians that are currently in office.

- Stossel gets bonus points for sneaking in a Bigger Longer and Uncut WWBBD reference.

Why Ray isn't that bad

Gamer juggles over 3o Warcraft characters.

Yes, 30. That's pretty ridiculous.

South Park Monday

That's...one of the hardest things a parent has to do.

Pretty Clever

What's on tonight

Mid Week Rock

How I feel about school right now...

Sarko 1, W 0

From Radley Balko:

President Bush, on the financial meltdown:

“I’m a strong believer in free enterprise, so my natural instinct is to oppose government intervention. I believe companies that make bad decisions should be allowed to go out of business. Under normal circumstances, I would have followed this course. But these are not normal circumstances. The market is not functioning properly.”

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on the financial meltdown:

“The financial crisis is not the crisis of capitalism. It is the crisis of a system that has distanced itself from the most fundamental values of capitalism, which betrayed the spirit of capitalism.”

South Park Monday

Well then, perhaps we could interest you in...another butterscotch candy $300 billion bailout of your subprime mortgage?

Sunday Smoke

The past couple Sunday nights I have taken some time in the evening to enjoy a quality smoke. Now that I've got half a humidor full of good cigars, I've decided to make a post every Sunday reviewing the cigar I smoked, as well as any others I smoked that week. Don't expect much beyond the Sunday smoke though, because you can't like them too much since they're more expensive than drugs.

Anyway, tonight's smoke was a Drew Estate Acid One. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Drew Estate company, here's a good primer. The best word to describe their cigars would be "different." They take everything from wine to roses and infuse it with the tobacco in their cigars to create some flavors that I didn't think were possible in a quality tobacco product. The Acid One, while non-aromatic (unlike the rest of the Acid line) still has some very strong non-tobacco flavors. The first that hits you as soon as your lips hit the cigar (even before you draw smoke) is a very sweet, almost chocolate taste. Given that the wrap is pretty dark, a sweet taste is to be expected, but this is much beyond the faint hint of sweetness that is usual for a dark wrapper. This sweetness is the central flavor to the rest of the smoke. The smoke itself is very mild and light, a good draw. The cigar burned slowly and evenly. As the cigar progressed, I began to detect some hints of mint, which complemented the sweetness well. I was drinking a Sam Adams Boston Ale, mainly because that's all that is in my fridge at the moment, but I would be interested to see how this cigar would go with a sweeter beer, such as Sam Adams Cherry Wheat or Pyramid Apricot. It would also be interesting to see how it would fare against the opposite end of the spectrum, with a bitter hoppy beer, such as an IPA or the like. However, this is a powerful cigar, so a powerful beer is needed. The Boston Ale was a little overmatched.

Overall, a very enjoyable smoke. I think this would be a good smoke to offer someone new to cigars, as the mild sweet taste would be good for a beginner. However, don't mistake this for a simple cigar, as I am confident that there are several tastes I missed my first time around.

Why I love John Stossel

h/t: Radley Balko

The horribly racist, sexist, elitist, and generally evil idea that only white male landowners should vote which was foisted on us by our Founding Fathers wasn't racist, sexist, or elitist at all. Of course, the social mores of their time were all of those things, but the fundamental reason that this requirement was in place was that generally speaking only white male landowners knew what the hell they were talking about. How many women, slaves, natives, or bums of that time do you think knew or cared about freedom of speech or the right to bear arms, to say nothing of such intricacies as negotiations with foreign powers or the federalist vs anti-federalist debate?

It may make me an elitist to say so, but the right to vote should be restricted to people who have a base of knowledge and have tried to educate themselves about the issues. In fact, given that populism has been responsible for some of the worst evils foisted on us by our government, I'll wear an elitist label with pride.

Seen (and heard) in Ames yesterday

Saw a plane off in the distance as I was walking out of the Armory and though that it looked a lot like a Mustang, but I figured my eyes were just playing tricks on me since it was so far off. About half an hour later I was driving around with the Giant and heard the unmistakable sound of a Merlin engine. Grabbed the AFROTC guys and off to the airport we went. When we got there we found Big Beautiful Doll waiting for us.

(C)rap

First video isn't essential to watch, but watching it will make the second one all the more funny:


Rap Battle Gone Bad - Watch more free videos

Second video is the same "rap battle" from the first video, only this time translated:


Rap Battle Gone Bad Translated - Watch more free videos

And a good day to you too, sir. I would like to rebut your claims in an improvisational and rhythmic manner.

Third video is just pathetic:


Worst Rap Battle Ever - Watch more free videos

Rosie O'Donnell at a bisexual bridal shower

Mid Week Rock

Comes to you courtesy of The Outlaws:



I would've put the live version up, but that song is so damn long is requires two YouTube videos to show the whole thing...20 min. plus. That's just silly. On a related note, this song, while rockin', is ridiculous to play on Rock Band, mainly due to it's near 10 minute length. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a great song, but if you're gonna put it on, why not some Grateful Dead or Phish?

South Park Monday Wednesday

In honor of the comments I received in this post...



What you think it means, bitch?

Quote o' the Day

Comes from the comments section on this post over at Radley Balko's place discussing the debate:

I don’t mean to sound elitist, but why would anyone here watch the debates? It’s like going to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua and complaining that it’s not nearly as good as Bladerunner.

Yup, pretty much sums up why I haven't and don't plan on watching any of the debates. This isn't a choice between a douche and a turd, this is a choice between getting punched in the face or kicked in the balls. It only gets worse when the people asking the questions are idiots who, less than a month before the election, still haven't made up their minds as to who to vote for.

New baby

Mossberg M44US arrived in the mail today from the CMP. Bolt action .22 rifle used by the U.S. military for marksmanship training; .22 LR is a helluva lot cheaper than .30-06 or 7.62 NATO. Mine has blued metal, nearly flawless except for one small ding on the barrel. Both the muzzle and the bore are in absolutely pristine condition. Looks like she should be a tack driver. The bolt has seen some use but is in great shape considering its age. The plastic trigger guard is shrunken in away from the stock, but not cracked. Missing the fire indicator button for the safety. Equipped with the relatively standard S100 Mossberg aperture sights. The furniture is birch (I'm pretty sure) with a walnut finish. It's in immaculate condition, with 2 or 3 very small but noticable dings or dents, and a few other ones that you really have to look to see.

Overall I'm very pleased. Got an order in with Havlin Sales (the place to go for Mossberg parts) for a magazine, a new trigger guard, a new fire indicator, and a sling. Looking to get her cleaned up this weekend and see how she shoots next Wednesday. Pictures will be forthcoming if I can get my hands on a camera.

Ammo

I'm now ready for the upcoming rabbit apocalypse, as I am currently in possession of 5,000 rounds of Aguila .22 LR ammo thanks to the CMP. (Actually, I've got a bit more due to a separate purchase, so the grand total is 5,500 rounds). In any case, I'm ready to kill those damn rabbits.

Programming Note

Tonight I got final word that the a project that has been in the works a couple of weeks is a go: I'll be co-hosting a political talk show on the local campus radio station with a friend of mine I know from my old dorm. The show right now will tentatively run from 1700-1800 on Wednesdays. For those of you in the Ames area, tune in to 88.5 KURE. For those of you that aren't, check out the website where there is a link to the webcast.

We'll see how it goes, but right now I'm pretty excited about it. My co-host is probably best classified as a centrist with strong leftist tendencies, while I'm a rather extreme libertarian with some rightish tendencies, so things should be interesting.

Priceless

A fine brew: ~$1.25

A good smoke: ~$7.00

Degraded internet connection from living off campus: Intangible cost in frustration and lost productivity, not to mention problems with putting up South Park Monday

Being able to step out my front door and drink a brew (always a good choice!) while lighting up free from the tyranny of the ISU Health Nazis?

Priceless.

Because there's nothing better the morning before PT than tobacco and alcohol.

The Day of the Rangers

15 years out...

The wooden arrow, geothermal energy, motorsports, and American Samoa Support Act of 2008

It passed. And when I say it, this is the bill I'm talking about. This Congress can't even pass a bill that it deems essential and vital without loading it up with pork. Speaker Pelosi admitted in her final remarks during time for debate that a) neither she, nor any other Congresscritter, nor anyone in the Administration had any idea how much money was actually going to be needed; b) none of the afore mentioned people had any idea whether or not this was going to work; and c) the only reassurance that we have that the American taxpayer isn't getting screwed is this nebulous idea of "fees" paying for any possible shortfall if the government isn't able to turn a profit on these assets.

The government (Democrat AND Republican) created this problem through insisting that everyone own a home and by turning a blind eye to funny money financial practices (mainly because it uses similar practices on a regular basis). Now we expect government to be singlehandedly able to fix the problem. Given this poll, it's all the more amazing to me that we're stuck with the current politicians scumsuckers.

Our country deserves all of these morons.

UPDATE: My Congressman the Hon. Lee Terry voted in support of the bill, which he called "not the perfect solution, it’s not even a good one," because "I can’t look into the eyes of someone who has just lost their job and say, "I did nothing to help"."

The fact that a Republican is able to say that last sentence with a straight face shows how far the party has fallen into the fever swamps of populism. Chalk up one more "none of the above" vote for me.

Update Part II, electric boogaloo: You know how the government helped cause this crisis by meddling in the mortgage market? It's planning on fixing it by doing the same damn thing.

The crash is inevitable, it's only a matter of time and how severe. Thanks to this bill, the can has been kicked down the road. On behalf of my generation, I'd like to thank Congress for doing the politically expedient thing and (possibly) preventing the mild pain of the Baby Boomers in favor of royally fucking us over.

Blasphemy

Reminds me of an old joke...two Soviet tank commanders meet in Paris and ask each other over coffee, "By the way, who won the air war?"

Awesome

h/t: Chris

Awesome

This is one of the best motivators I've seen in awhile:
h/t: Outlaw 13

Courageous Stupidity

Made the mistake of flipping over to CNBC during a South Park commercial break just in time to catch the Senate press conference of Reid and McConnell sucking each other off. Lots of talk of bipartisanship, and just how gosh darn awesome it was that the Senate could come together in a time of crisis and courageously find a solution to the problem so close to an election...nevermind if the solution will actually work. What matters is they *DID* something. Of course, being politically courageous is no panacea for being flat out wrong.

Now if they could only find a way to convince all those stupid American citizens that assuming (approximately) $700 billion in toxic assets is in their best interest. In case you didn't click on that link, it's worth noting in black and white that the Administration has no idea how much the assets are actually worth. They pulled the $700 billion number out of thin air their asses because they "wanted a really big number."

Here's the real problem: most of the unpopularity of the bailout is not due to the idea of the government bailing people out; it's due to WHO it's bailing out. Most of America would be okay with the government bailing people out, it just has to be "average middle class joe" instead of the "corporate fat cat bankers." Personally, I don't like money being taken from me at gunpoint to be given to people who made poor financial choices, no matter how rich or poor those people are. Make no mistake: that is what the bailout is.

The other major problem with the bailout is that capitalism and the free markets are being tainted by the failings of a corporate socialist economic system.

One last thing: somehow I don't think that the person who is most to blame for exacerbating the Great Depression is someone we should be listening to right now.

Okay, I lied...one LAST last thing. I have absolutely no sympathy for any of the sob stories contained in this article. One, if you can't retire at 55, too damn bad. Retiring that young is a luxury, not a birthright. (Hell, retiring at ANY age is a luxury and not a birthright, but that's a rant for a different day.) Two, if you were expecting to be able to retire at 55 solely on a pension of $1200 a month you're an idiot. Three, if you are 62 and your portfolio was significantly affected by the market fluctuations, you're a bloody idiot. If that's the case, then you were still playing the market within five years of retirement and like I said, at the least you're a bloody idiot, at the most you're a GREEDY bloody idiot. But don't just listen to me, listen to the certified financial planner:

Bryan Hancock, a certified financial planner in Birmingham, Ala., said if investors have a well thought-out investment plan, they shouldn't need a sudden change of course. People who are close to retirement should avoid heavy investments in stocks, he said.

What he said. At last check, my IRA is down 2% on the year, the three year history is even worse. I'm okay with that because I've got a looooong time before I even think about retiring. If I was three years away from retirement, I wouldn't be in an IRA laden with stocks...because I could lose 2% of my porfolio in one year. Like I said above, I find it very hard to feel sorry for people who have made poor financial decisions. I am by no means a financial genius, but I've made what I feel are some fairly sound decisions. If they turn out to not be so sound, I'll accept the consequences of the actions and move on, not go bitching and moaning about how much my situation sucks, how unfair it is, and how the government needs to do something about it.

Mid Week Rock Rap

This is actually a pretty clever rendition of some classic satire. However, that's not the reason I'm posting it...there's a running joke with a good female friend of mine who happens to be rather tall (a giant, you might say) that she likes to eat babies. Yesterday, she chose to leave a comment on my housing post. Turnabout being fair play, this one's for you, Giant...



It's bar-be-que time! I'm gonna saute the motherfuckers!

Two questions for ya, giant...

1) Which tastes better? Bar-be-que baby or sauted baby?

2) How much do you think a baby skin handbag would cost?