Some idiot shot himself with a bazooka, and the unexploded shell was still in his chest. While he sat in the operating room.
I was flipping from channel to channel post-Super Bowl and saw Gray's Anatomy. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
(For the record, I thought someone might have had Ebola, just based on the previews.)
CGI excellence: FedEx's Caveman Shipping, with Budweiser's "Wave" as #2.
Sentimental Favorite: Budweiser's "Clydesdale American Dream" tied with Dove's Self Esteem.
Best Movie Trailer: V for Vendetta. Best Movie Advertised: probably Cars.
Wierdest: Emerald Nuts.
8:32PM: Huge touchdown for the Steelers. Nice.
Gotta go to the bathroom on the plane, and now you're stuck. Ameriquest has another good one (the doctors were better).
The asteroid erodes. Oh, "pebl". It's good that Motorola's current phone came from outer space, they can't make money selling phones from anywhere else.
Captain Hook gives out autographs. He's obviously making that liberal arts degree pay off.
Another Lost ad. I just can't care.
More Clydedales. This one is sweet, at least. Nothing like a little horse doing the big horse's job.
Fabio gets old fast. I saw this one before now, but it is hilarious. "Live comes at you fast." Good, but not as good as when M. C. Hammer goes broke 15 minutes later.
The old timer wants the old times, when you checked scores on the internet. Haha.
8:49 Time Out
Godzilla-style monster falls in love with giant robot. How very manga-ish. And you get a Hummer. I always knew there was something wrong with them.
People in biohazard suits. They've obviously been around the Packrat household right now. No, just Target cleaners.
Unscripted show. From Lorne Michaels. Sons and Daughter. I knew it'd stink.
Just back from timeout, and Seattle gets the interception and make a 50 yard + return. That's the big play they needed. (Then a touchdown a couple of minutes later.)
8:55PM: The monkeys are back. And his friend works for donkeys. Cute.
Now nerd boy in cool car finds nerd girl, and has Taco Bell. Adam West narrating is an extra touch.
I missed a SlimFast commercial there. I don't notice Optra, since I can't drink it (I'm allergic to NutraSweet.)
Sons and Daughters is going to be VERY stupid.
9:01: The razor commercial is still stupid.
Anthony Hopkins as a speed-hungry au ssie is a strange choice.
So why did they try to flood a Toyota Takoma? And do you REALLY think it just drove away?
9:06PM: The kids and I swept and cleaned the floor a bit for Milady. Wow, they're skipping another commercial opportunity, but they did mention Gray's Anatomy in the show.
9:15: Did I miss one? I was helping Milday clean.
A Benny Hill reference in a Sprint commercial? Very strange.
The rest are local, I think, and not worth mentioning.
9:23
Stunt City: Nothing says "Deoderant" like a guy coming through a glass roof.
"Even druids like Emerald Nuts" What?
Paul McCartney is now selling Fidelity Investments. What a sell-off.
Michael J Fox is back on Boston Legal. Good to see him working.
9:28: A reverse pass. Impressive.
Budweiser being poured by the stand pictures. CGI graphics #2, but not as good as the Fedex one.
"We can't leave Jack behind.... Never mind, let's go." I liked the original Pirates of the Cari bean, so I'm somewhat impressed.
MacGyver is back! And he uses Debit MasterCard. I always knew it, myself. MacGyver wasn't a credit kinda guy.
9:34: Another mobile ESPN commercial. Yawn.
Missed the rest of them cleaning, but they weren't good. Nothing lost there.
9:40 The real world series happens in March.
Repeating the GoDaddy.com "sequel".
Monday Night Football's moving to ESPN. I would care if I ever watched MNF.
This one's old. When you want that one certain teddy, it's gotta be the same teddy. What that has to do with minivans, I don't know.
9:54: "Running Scared". They really didn't wanted to describe what I'd do to this movie.
That guy really should have gotten thrown out of outback.
Westin doesn't smoke. Good to know that.
We still have a Code Black.
10:03PM : Seattle basically falls apart at the end....
And the special ads are done.
Now the talking heads are talking. Blah.
8:03PM: Code Black is still a Bad Thing. I guess.
"We;re going to hell. Because we're Jews". Sons and Daughters. It will be stupid, because it will try to be too edgy.
Lost: I like "Addicted to Love". They've mucked to make it sound like it says "Addicted to Lost". Argh.
Now we get to see old guys play rock songs. Cool.
8:07PM: At least Mick Jagger doesn't look like he's lip syncing.
Have to shed a bit of the food from the appetizers, so I'll listen to them from the bathroom.
Now we're back to locals, nothing original there, except a Darryl Isaacs commercial. He's a local ambulance chaser who looks more like a cross between a football linebacker and Guido.
Back to nationals. Grays Anatomy is Code Black again.
6:30PM EST: I haven't watched the pre-game ads, so it's all new.
Bud lights all around: Everyone's tearing the office up to find them. Not very original.
Burger King does a 50s musical with burger parts. All of the Burger King "King" commercials worry me. They give me flashbacks to Queen Bee, the Burger Queen character of the Mid-80s, and that brings Druther's "Andy Dandytail" to mind too. For flashbacks like that, I deserve to at least have done enough drugs to have earned them. ;)
More next commercial.
6:39PM EST:
Sierra Mist: The TSA people steal his Sierra Mist, threatening him with a bit of a body search. You know airport security REALLY acts that way.
Bud Light's Magic Fridge: Cute. Why not just buy some more beer though?
16 Blocks: Yawn.
Halftime Show Commercial: If the Rolling Stones wanted to watch themselves, they'd be banned from the field. Heh e.
Rest in the extended body.
Toyota Hybrid Car. Huh? I watched it, and it still doesn't make a lot of sense. "Dad, why didn't you put money in my college fund?" "I bought this car for your future."
Cave Man Package: Interesting, in an evolutionary nonsense kind of way. Definitely nominated for "Best CGI" category.
Grizzly bear attack: Yet another way giving someone a Bud Light saves the world.
6:51PM EDT: More kicking.
V for Vendetta: It won't be good, but the trailer sure looks good. They could only afford 15 seconds.
diet Pepsi: Catchy, but really weird. A diet Pepsi can singing hip-hop. The can at least sings better than the real singles.
News commercial. Blah, blah, blah.
Back to the game. Maybe they can get a first down this time. (Before I hit save, Seattle did. Yay.)
6:59PM EDT: Field Goal. Yay.
Leonard Nemoy Aleve: Wow, Nempy act ually did "the sign". Amazing what some real money will get one to do.
"That killed him": OK, Ameriquest has a winner. A young doctor uses the paddles to kill a fly and says "That killed him" just as the patient's wife and kid walk into the room. Definitely on my list for favorites.
Cleaning the gutters: Yet another Bud Light commercial. Yikes. One guy falls through his roof. That's why Milady won't let me on the roof.
"Lost": I just can't get into it, and I liked Twin Peaks.
7:04PM: Almost missed the commercials again:
Diet Pepsi: A movie with Jackie Chan... the stunt double is a diet Coke, and it gets stompted. Cute 15 second, but they're about to push the concept into the ground.
Cars: Oh, is that movie going to be SO GOOD.
Dancing with the Stars: Yawn
I think the next is a local Ford commercial. Not original at all.
7:07PM: Wow, they actually skipped a chance to have a commerical. I'm astonished.
7:12PM: Another kickoff... No res t for the blogger.
Clydesdales playing football, and other animals flashing the game. I didn't need to see that either.
The oblivious guy watching his phone: Huh? I'm not sure I get it. Oh, Mobile ESPN. I still don't get it.
Gray's Anatomy: Code Black must be really bad, but I just can't get enough energy to care.
7:17PM
Monkeys running the company: I've never worked for this kind of place, but I've seen them work. It's not fun.
Fashion Model unmelting from the runway: Cadillac is trying way too hard to be something other than an old people's car brand. Haven't they heard that SUVs are bad?
United way and NFL: babies are always cute.
7:20: Interception and commercial. MI-3. Phillip Seymour whatshisnmae is REALLY creapy. He makes such a good bad guy. Only 15 seconds though, and it's got that guy who likes to jump on Oprah's couches.
I love these Dove commercials, "True Colors". Very sweet, and a very good thing to help offset the "supermodel or ugly" view the media and porn reinforces.
ABC is trying to out-CSI CSI with "The Evidence". I like the Rob guy, but this sounds like a loser.
7:26PM The Shaggy Dog: Every time I think Tim Allen has fallen farther into the career commode, he digs just a bit deeper.
Kermit being outdoors: didn't know that Kermit was such an outdoorsman. "I guess it's easy being green". Ford Escape. Ha.
Finally, a beer commercial that isn't dense. Just stupid.
Shaq advertising Desperate Housewifes. I watched it 5 seconds ago, and I've already forgotten it all.
7:35PM: Time-out
GoDaddy.com makes fund of "The girl". Much cleaner than the last one.
7:38: 2 Minute Warning. Poseidon: Boat sinks. People die, climb and crawl. They drown. Save your money.
Boy, I didn't know it was so hard to make razor blades. Now we have 5 razor blades. Is there such a thing as too many blades on a razor?
Another Desperate Housewife commercial. Hugh Hefner likes it. I guess th is is to convince us that manly men will watch a soap opera. Of course, I liked Falcon Crest, so I can't say much...
7:41: Review of the touchdown. Is the O a part of your life? Do you really care? Blah.
7:44PM This Walt Disney commercial isn't new. Very touching.
7:53 PM Time out. They skipped commercials three times. Amazing.
I'm going to make a seperate entry for Halftime another for a Second Half.
First Half Winners:
Ameriquest's "That Killed Him". Easily. No other serious contenders. Honorable mention: The sheep flasher from Budweiser was a distant second.
"Would you sleep with me for a million dollars?"The Kentucky horse industry and gambling interests are supporting the expansion of gambling in the state, allowing casino gambling and slot machines into the state."Of course."
"How about $10?"
Outraged the lady yells, "I'm not a whore! What kind of a lady do you think I am?"
"We already know what kind of a lady you are," says the man. "Now we are just negotiating a price."
As I've posted before, I am a recreational no-money-bet poker player. I also have played some serious bridge, again not for money. I have known people who were quite capable of playing games of chance and skill without being out of control. If you have some spare money, and wish to entertain yourself by trying to get ahead of the horserace odds, or try to outplay others at poker, I'm not going to critisize you one bit.
On t he other hand, my great-grandfather allegedly gambled away an entire tobacco check one year. There are a lot of people who gamble in many different forms with money they really need for other things.
The problem is that Kentucky, like the lady, is already committed. The state is littered with Bingo parlors from one end to the other, all providing games of chance under the flavor of charity fundraising. The Commonwealth runs the largest numbers racket gaming system in the state, the Kentucky Lottery. There are race tracks and parimutual gambling stations all across the state. Betting is already here, and already legal.
I personally wish slots were banned world-wide. They are a complete ripoff, because they are a complete game of chance. Video poker and slots have been described as the crack cocaine of gambling addiction. That said, bingo and scratch-off lottery tickets are just as purely chance, and probably just about as addictive.
The other big proble m with the KEEP campaign is the dollar figures being thrown around. KEEP is suggesting that Kentucky will receive $430 million a year on a 33% tax. That means the gaming industry would have to pull in at least $1250 million in profits. Even the best games for the house involve 90%+ payouts. Let's we assume that the industry can pull 75% payoffs, which doesn't happen. To generate $1250m in profits, Kentucky gamblers will have to spend at least $6000million (6 billion). Even with much of that money being recycled, it still just isn't going to happen.
I'm afraid that, like the Kentucky Lottery before, gambling will not pay off like its promises. I just hope that the worst of the negatives don't pan out either.
I'll renew my opinion that Ms. McDonald needs to own her property before feeling a sense of ownership.
I think I've said here before that I am a graduate of the University of Kentucky. While I was on campus, I only had one apartment, which was on Conn Terrace Drive. I am still amazed that the landlord didn't evict me a couple of times. :) The SuperAmerica store on South Limestone had a lunchtime cafeteria with the best barbeque pork in Lexington. I'd get it and mac & cheese at least twice a week on the way to class. It helped make me the man (or at least 30 pounds of the man ;) ) I am today.
When Milady and I got engaged, we moved away, but Conn Terrace has retained a special place in my heart. Even 12 years later, Milady dreams she's calling me at the apartment and can't get through.
Unfortunately, you can't go home again. UK bought my old apartment, and every other building on that side of Conn Terrace and the street behind it. They've torn all of the old houses down ahead of the construction of the new parking garage for the Chandler Medical Center.
There is an old building at the corner of Transcript and South Limestone that held several businesses. The Dutch Mill Cafe was famous for being a lunch place that two old ladys ran in the late 80s and early 90s (never did get to eat there). Wheel Liquor was a mainstay there, and several other restaurants and businesses gave the place a try. The last place to close there was PJ's Barber Shop. The Herald-MisLeader had an article about her in the paper a couple of days ago. Miss McDonald rented her place from the building owner, who recently sold out to UK for over $600k. I can understand one's attachment to a place one's rented for 19 years, but PJ has been unusually bitter these last two weeks. I've seen several signs in front of her place complaining about UK, and then this quote from the story:
The university acquired the building from owner Frances Fresh for $650,000, according to Fayette Circuit Court records. McDonald says she now is seeking an agreement with Fresh on compensation for the loss of her business.
She wants to be compensated because her landlord sold out? A renter wants to be paid! No, no, no, a thousand times no! She was a renter, not a sqatter.
If you lease, you don't own. That's pretty simple. Miss McDonald was offered (I hope) fair rental rates each of those 19 years that she was i n her place. A renter doesn't get any rights to a place just by sitting in a place for a bunch of years. Frances Fresh sure didn't get any extra from UK because Miss McDonald was in the building; if anything, UK would have prefered the building empty from the start.
It is a serious sign of an entitlement society where a renter can get upset that a landlord has a different use for the building. Miss McDonald needs to apologize to UK and to Miss Fresh, and buy her next cutting shop if she wants to control what happens to the property.
I am thinking about outsourcing to a hosting site. Can anyone recommend a good one?
Update: It's not the database, but instead it appears to be my ADSL line. My DSL provider is looking into it now, but I may be forced into deciding if I'm keeping my ADSL line or going to a hosting site and cable modem.
Update 2: The home network line acts like it's fixed. Hopefully it's fixed. That was enough excitement for one day.
I usually shut the cats and dogs out from our utility room, since they want to follow me up under the floor if I do. This time, I forgot to do so, and our alley cat went in. Rather than chase him around, I left the door open and waited for him to come out. Unfortunately, our other cat went in.
Sue-y (yes, named for Steve-O's dog) is our oldest animal. She appearantly was tormented by kids before we got her, and then our kids and dogs (including Psycho-Terrier) were aggressive in playing with her. Now, she hides in the house unless just Paula and I are awake.
Sue-y has that singular abilit y to go into a space and disappear. One writer described cats as multi-dimensional creatures that could phase themselves in and out of our existance at will, which explains how they can enter a room, you can be sure they've left, and then they'll be in the room again.
Well, Sue-y phased out of our crawlspace the same way. Yesterday, it was too cold to leave the crawlspace door open, so we had to try to get her out. Number 1 Son and Little Miss took flashlights and went around the furnace while I waited to corral her out. No luck. Then I crawled the furnace. Still no luck. I finally crawled up to the furnace and looked around. No Sue-y. She was finally in a spot that absolutely no one would pester her, and there she was staying.
I knew she hadn't eaten much for a couple of days, so I finally had to commit to a siege approach: I emptied the cat bowl. She wasn't eating until I saw her out. Fortunately, when the dogs got up at 3AM this morning, she was out. I shut the door t o the crawlspace and fed the cats again.
She isn't happy though. This morning she was under Number One Son's bed, meowing softly in annoyance. If cats could cuss, I'm sure that's what she would have been doing.
So preoccupied are the critics of religious activism with the alleged threat posed by their enemies that they fail to notice that many Christian groups lack the courage of their convictions today, and seem to doubt the authority of their own faith. This is particularly striking in relation to the controversy surrounding Intelligent Design. This theory holds that certain features of the universe, and of animal and human life, are 'best explained' as having an 'intelligent cause' rather than being the product of natural selection. Many see only the danger of superstition in Intelligent Design, describing it as a new form of Creationism on the march. They overlook the remarkable concession that Intelligent Design makes to the authority of science.Unable to justify creationism as a matter of faith based on divine revelation, advocates of Intelligent Design are forced to adopt the language of science to legitimate their arguments and the existence of some kind of God. This highlights their theological opportunism and inability to justify religion in its own terms. Of course Intelligent Design isn't science; but its appeal to faith in science exposes the limits of the authority of religious faith today.
A secular humanist can see what many ID supporters can't: it is a compromise and we all know it. Once you give science dominion over God, then one only argues degrees, not basic facts. I do believe in the basic tenant of Intellegent Design: there are immense numbers of biological systems that could not have been designed in a piecemeal fashion by rand om genetic mutation, since they could not work until complete.
However, I reject the main compromise of intellegent design: Current neo-Darwinian timelines concerning the evolution of animals are completely and irreconcilably inconsistent with Genesis. Even if you wish to say that the Hebrew word yom does not mean day, but instead age, Genesis documents that the Earth was created before the Sun. Plants were created before the Sun. Birds were created before the land animals. Not only is Genesis 1 not in agreement with current scientific thinking, there is no reason for it not to be if science is correct. The language of Genesis 1 would allow a story that is basically consistent with current scientific thinking with little change. Therefore, either Genesis 1 is correct, God chose to write a grossly incorrect story, or Genesis (and by extention, much of the rest of the Torah) is not inspired.
I refuse to believe that God told a deliberately incorrect story, since that doesn 't match His character elsewhere in the Bible. Even the parables, while possibly not factually true, told moral truths in a story that could be true. Genesis isn't presented in a parable. Instead, it is presented as history.
I also believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. It is factual when it wishes to be factual. Its visions are prophetically accurate. Its parables tell moral truths. It reveals enough information to us to know the nature of God as fully as we possibly can. There is no line in the book that says "Past this point, everything is accurate". I can't see how Genesis 1 is less accurate than Genesis 20, or Matthew 1 for that matter.
More posting later, after I can relax.
The onlything missing is a built-in Windows emulator. VMWare, are you listening?
Excuse me while I cry like a little child because I can't afford one.
We went really cheap in buying our current couch (which is really more of a love seat). Three of us can barely fit on it. Since we know that our tax refunds will be substantial, I decided to end the couch whining and buy a new couch.
Over to the local furniture store for their half-price sale. In the middle of the store is a really nice sectional couch. The thing was huge. It could easily have sat nine people, and all of us could comfortably lay down on it at once. Very nice. So we signed on the dotted line, and were anxiously awaiting it.
It's raining today, but they wrap them in plastic, so I wasn't that worried. Then Milady called. The couch wouldn't fit through the doors in the house.
I've never heard of a couch that couldn't be taken through a standard 32" or 36" doorframe, but this one couldn't. The delivery guys worked their hardest to bring it through, but no luck. Fortunately, it was the store's people, so we never took delivery. We now have to take measurements of the house back over to the store to see if we can get a different couch to fit the place, or if we're back to the love seat....
It happened, while they were there, that the day had come that she should give birth. She brought forth her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn. There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you, this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.”
Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying,
- “Glory to God in the highest,
- on earth peace, good will toward men.”
It happened, when the angels went away from them into the sky, that the shepherds said one to another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in the feeding trough. When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child. All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.
When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Luke 2:1-21, World English Bible translation.
I am addicted to pornography. Since starting college, this has manifested itself in an addition to porn on the Internet.
(I'm going to take the rest of this to the extended body, in case you don't want to read the details)
In college, I had access to Porn on Usenet, and then many of the free web sites that exist on the network. Access to high-speed Internet didn't enable my addiction, it simply made it easier to get.
As an addiction, it did grow until it impacted my relationship with my family and especially my wife. I know it has hurt her and made her insecure in our marriage, and no matter how much I have asked her for her forgiveness and how much she has extended it, I know that this stain will never quite wash out.
Finally, the Lord worked on my heart to convict me that my behavior is wrong. I admitted to Milady that I was looking at the porn. Our marriage was strained, but she felt led to forgive me. I thank the Lord every day that she has forgiven me, and that He has forgiven me as well.
Just like Paul's thorn in the side, the Lord hasn't completely removed this addition from me. I still have urges to use porn, and will until the Lord chooses to completely remove it. I haven't had a personal accountability partner, which was (and still is) a mistake. What is worse is that I am succeptable to pseudo-porn outlets like Stuff, etc., and I see how close to porn they really are. Sometimes, the Lord lets me keep this thorn as a way to humble me, so that I am aware of my own sinfulness still. This is, of course, no excuse on my part, and is not meant to be, but if you're in the same situation, please know that prayer and working in the Word will help you too.
I am even more scared by the trash-girl industry being inspired by the pseudo-porn and porn industries. Women like Brittney Spears have inspired girls fashions that look like trash. Dolls like the Bratz dress like prostitutes, and Milady has to buy Little Miss (at 6 years old) boy's clothing at times because some girls clothes sling too low or are too exposing.
If you are fighting problems with pornography, go to someone in your church or a local Promise Keepers for help. Go to xxxchurch.com for other links. Stay away from porn and the pseudo-porn that is currently marketed as "Men's Entertainment". Stand against the selling of porn and pseudo-porn in your local stores.
Most of all, Christian men, you need to provide an example to your son to stay away from Porn and the pseudo-porn trash currently being produced. Tteach your daughters to have enough respect for themselves to stay away from the porn and the pseudo-porn industry, and their trash-girl image offspring. Teach them modesty, and have them cover themselves in modest, decent clothing. It isn't "empowering" to teach your girls to dress like sluts, or to let your boys look at girls who are dressed like sluts.
But I'm not complaining at all. It's not always easy, but I do know that God is still in control. This week last year, Number 1 Son was laying in the hospital with a heart rate over 175 while the doctors rushed to get a second chest tube in him to drain the pneumonia that almost gave him Congestive Heart Failure. Last year, we spent 5 weeks waiting for the Lord to use a surgeon to heal the remaining half of his right lung. Last year, I was trying to keep a new job and having to work days at the job and spend nights at the hospital so that I could measure out the few sick days I had stored up & not have to go to unpaid days (which we couldn't afford).
This year, I have my family home for Christmas. This year, we're all reasonably healthy, blessed with riches that most people in the world couldn't dream of possessing. We have been able to participate in a couple of ministries to help others. We can go to both sides of the family, and celebrate Christmas together. This year, Little Miss has been baptised, meaning that I can know my entire family is saved.
It is a good Christmas, you know.
We got downstairs, and I could tell it was coming from the bathroom. Our downstairs faucet isn't well-insulated, so it can occasionally freeze in 15 degree weather (like tonight). I'd turned on a heat lamp. That heat lamp had fallen off the clip, and was proceeding to scorch its way through the bottom of the sink cabinet.
I grabbed the plug to the heat lamp, and pulled it so hard the lamp flew back out of the cabinet, causing it to burst the filament (i.e. nice flash, no damage). There's now a two-inch wide scorched wood mark in the bottom of the cabinet. It's solely God's hand of protection that the cabinet didn't burst into flames.
There really wasn't even any smoke downstairs, so <mumble> even if I'd had the smoke detector working downstairs</mumble> it wouldn't have helped. I'm just glad that the dog had to go.
Anyone willing to spend $2-$3 for an electronic copy of my 1991 & 1992 newspaper articles, with commentary added for value? :)
Needless to say, the projects that might possibly bring in real money are overriding blogging. I'm hoping that will change tomorrow, but I thought that last week too.
