Hot Terminator (Possible Spoilers)

I really enjoy Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. It's a great show. Although some critics have been disappointed with the story line. But there is no denying that Summer Glau is the cutest Terminator so far!

What I've been disappointed with so far in season two is they have to keep messing with the cute Terminator (Cameron), and I hope this won't be an ongoing theme. At the end of last season they had her blown up with a car bomb. Then she goes crazy and reverts back to her default program to kill John Conner. This week sees her spacing out and assuming the identity of a human she terminated, the human who formed the basis for her design as a Terminator.

I like her when she is helping the Conner family, and kicking ass. That's always amusing. I just hope the writers are not going to over labor the obvious point that she is a trained killer and death machine, and could at any moment flip out and kill all the other main characters. I know writers love to play games like that, but I don't like it.

It rather reminds me of the original Doctor Who series when the Doctor had two different things that helped him out. One was a robot dog called K9, and the other was a sonic screwdriver. I guess you could count the TARDIS as a third thing that helped the Doctor.

Well during Tom Baker's time as the forth Doctor, there was always trouble with K9. He'd leave him to guard the TARDIS, or he's be malfunctioning in some way. The problem was that K9 had some kind of laser weapon in his nose and so could fix a bunch of tricky situations by stunning people. But I guess the writers thought that made everything too easy for the Doctor, and so had to figure out ways of getting him out of episodes.

The same was true of the sonic screwdriver, to the point where Tom Baker's replacement; the fifth Doctor Peter Davidson, had the sonic screwdriver destroyed by his arch enemy The Master.

And don't even get me started on how many times the TARDIS has been stolen, incapacitated, lost or otherwise made inaccessible for the duration of a story line!

It all brings me back to the cute Terminator. I'd rather the writers use her for good, helpful things. Rather than finding reasons to make her malfuction in one way or the other. And is it too much to ask that she be naked more often? It's the least she could do after her friends caused Judgement Day.

Goodbye WaMu

When I first moved to America, I had to start my credit from scratch. It's not easy to obtain credit without a verifiable domestic credit history, but after some searching I finally found a credit card company willing to trust me. That company was Providian.

Everything went just fine for a few years, but ultimately they couldn't compete with any of the major companies like MBNA, Discover, Bank of America, and even Chase. So I paid it off and left the account dormant.

Eventually I got a letter from Washington Mutual (WaMu) who informed me that they had bought out Providian and now my deal was with them.

They sent me some ugly ass card, much like the one above, and told me it was business as usual.

I called them one time and asked them why their card was so ugly. They told me that was all that was available. I asked them why their interest rate was nearly double all my other cards. They told me it was company policy.

So with no incentive to use the card, I continued to leave it dormant until WaMu wrote me to tell me that my business was no longer required. They canceled my card and terminated my relationship with them.

With customer service like this, it is of little surprise that they just went tits up, so to speak.

If there is one good thing that might come out of this financial collapse, perhaps the weak companies with poor customer service will be swallowed up by quality companies that understand that if you treat people like crap, they will have a hard time investing in your company.

So goodbye WaMu. Thanks for your shitty service, your ugly card, and your inferior products. I'm glad you got bought out. I'm sure the millions of dollars handed out among the useless executives will teach them a valuable lesson in customer service and running a successful business.

No Gas

I went to three gas stations here in East Tennessee yesterday. One had no gas at all. Two of them had regular only. My BMW takes premium.

I have 145 miles to empty, although that figure could be less around town.

I just don't get it. With the obscene profits the gas companies have been making, you'd think they would have a plan in place to ensure that people had access to gas.

It's bad enough being raped at the pump every time you fill up. But even worse to be told you can't have any.

I'm beginning to miss the good old days of $4 a gallon.

Would The Biggoted Rev. Dave Allison Please Stand Up

Dear Rev. Dave Allison,

I know you probably think you are so clever and 'hip' posting a sign like this outside your church. But I think you are an asshole. A bigot and an asshole.

The book of the Bible (Leviticus) that you use to justify hate against the gay community is the same portion of the Bible that advocates stoning people who work on Sunday and killing disobedient children (Lev 20:9). It also claims that if the daughter of any preacher 'plays the whore' she should be burned to death (Lev 21:9). Since Katy Perry is the daughter of a preacher and 'plays the whore' in this song, should we burn her at the stake?

Leviticus also talks about shrimp and lobster being an abomination to God (Lev 11:10-12), not to eat pork (Lev 11:7-8), and how to kill animals to offer as blood sacrifices to God (Lev 1-9). Oh and there are also instructions on how to cure leprosy by making a witches' spell, and instructions to avoid wizards (Lev 14:2-52).

There is advice on how to buy a perfect gift for your brother; a slave (Lev 25:39). And instructions to stone to death anyone that blasphemes or curses (Lev 24:16).

Odd isn't it, how easily you ignore the nonsense in Leviticus, but jump all over the bits that 'justifies' bigotry and hatred?

Is that really what Jesus taught?

Even the crazy book of Leviticus says, "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him. (Lev 19:17)" Oh and, "love thy neighbor as thyself. (Lev 19:18)"

Ugly New Acura TL

I used to own a 2005 Acura TL. It was an uninspiring Japanese Blahmobile. Sure it was comfortable. Sure it was fairly fast. Sure it had lots of nice high tech looking toys and blue LEDs (I'm a sucker for blue LEDs). And being a Honda, I'm sure it will last many years. But it truly was uninspiring to drive. Bland, boring, blah.

I'd had it less than a year before I started test driving other cars, looking to replace it. And in a personal record, I replaced it after 18 months. The last straw being when it slid off the road due to faulty factory fit tires. They gave me a brand new set of tires for free, but that didn't pay my insurance deductible, or make me feel like the nose heavy front wheel drive car was not going to do it again.

In the motoring press I'd long heard about the new TL that was just around the corner, and sure enough noticed an ad for it today. Having seen the new TSX I was not surprised to learn that the new TL is an ugly monstrosity, from any angle.

You can order the very well equipped base model for $34K, add a tech package for $38K, or add their so-called Super Handling All Wheel Drive package for another $4K.

But ignoring for a moment that it is one of the most ugly cars I have seen in recent years, I'm not sure how they really expect to compete with the insustry leader in this catergory; the BMW 3 Series.

With similar specifications the 3 Series is about the same price. The 335i has more horse power (300 vs. 280), the 335d has a diesel engine that can get 500+ miles on a tank of diesel, but still get you from 0-60 in 6 seconds. The BMW has near perfect weight distribution, rear wheel drive (or all wheel with the x-drive system). And even without driving the new TL, I am pretty certain that the BMW handles better and puts its horsepower onto the road better.

And let's face facts here, the BMW is a million times better looking:

Add to that the fact that BMW will service your car for free (including oil changes and any other replacement parts - except tires) for the first 50K miles, and you simply have a better vehicle.

About the only thing I am impressed with on the new TL is the very high tech looking interior, which is good looking. Of course the biggest advantage of the TL interior is the fact that you won't have to look at the exterior. You'll still have to endure the disparaging looks of pedestrians who are wondering why you just spent close to $40K on something that looks like a Saturn on acid, but I guess that serves you right for buying one of the ugliest new cars on the road today.

Frankly, the Honda version of the same car is way better looking, and way cheaper. Now it is missing some of the bells and whistles of the new TL, but equally you can get one fully loaded for $8,000 less. That's quite a saving. And the horse power is just 9 shy of the new TL.

Having read a couple of the reviews, there is no doubt that the new TL has a lot of cool technology. There is certainly no doubt that the technology package provides a navigation system that makes the always hated i-Drive system on the BMW look like an eight bit computer. But even if this car drove like a BMW M3 (which it doesn't), I could never get past the fact that this is one ugly ass car.

Well No Shit

Bitchin' Car

I was waiting for the light and caught a glimpse of this bitchin' convertible. Something about it compelled me to take a photograph. I think it was the combination of the backwards baseball hat, the mullet, and the silly spoiler.

I was also puzzled as to why someone would buy a convertible in the most boring color imaginable (behind beige, champagne, brown and red wine colors).

Sarah Palin Email Attack

Details have been released about the recent email hack attacks on Sarah Palin's email address.

Investigators stated that Governor Palin had two Yahoo! email addresses compromised. The addresses were gov.palin@yahoo.com and gov.sarah@yahoo.com. Since the attacks, both email addresses have now been closed.

Apparently hackers used personal information they discovered on the web to answer her 'security' questions, forcing Yahoo! to reset her passwords.

Once inside the hackers took screen shots, and various other bits of data they found and published it online. The only mistake they made was leaving some information about their proxy in some of the screen shots, which may give the FBI a few clues tracking them down.

But yet again the incident raises some major questions about the suitability of this woman to take office as President of the United States.

First off, what the hell is she doing using personal email accounts on Yahoo! to conduct state business? The law states that government officials may not delete emails, and state business needs to be archived.

Secondly, how can you be so stupid that you use information for security questions that can be found on the Internet? Especially knowing that you are a public figure.

This is just another example of why this woman seems such a horrible choice for VP or President. She plays the role of a hockey mom, and acts just like one. Yet is running for the second most important job in the world.

Call me weird, but I sincerely want to be blown away by the kind of people that run for office. I want to look up to them and be amazed at what I see. I don't want to watch these people being so inept and stupid even before they get into office.

This incident appears to be another item on the list that shows that Sarah Palin is an idiot who is not fit for office. The guy who selected her, did so for political reasons, with no real thought as to what was right for the country.

It is laughable that these people are even running for office. And scary that they have a shot at winning.

David Blaine

I was just reading a story about David Blaine. This is the 'magician' who seems to spend his life these days doing stupid endurance stunts. He's been locked in a box, buried alive, frozen in ice, left for days in a ball of water, and a bunch of other pointless publicity stunts.

Apparently for his latest trick is he is going to hang upside down for 60 hours next week. Doctors have already stated that there is a danger of going blind and experiencing numerous other health problems.

I'd just like to know what the fuck is going on in this guys head. Who gives a shit if some guy is going to hang upside down for 60 hours? Who cares if a guy is going to lock himself in a box for a week?

Magic is when a person performs an illusion that is entertaining and interesting. Hanging upside down is just stupid, and boring.

I just wish this guy would retire. Or do a stunt that involves throwing himself off the tallest building he can find.

Ultimate Cheat

From the company that brought you the 2007 online poker scandal, Ultimate Bet are pleased to announce the sequel.

Last year Absolute Poker were slammed with substantiated allegations that one of their owners was using his administrative access to secret information (such as the cards players held) and was calling up his friend on his cell phone and helping him win.

This understandably upset a whole bunch of people. The friend of the owner was making a killing, clearly following strategy that indicated an inside knowledge of the hands other player had (like folding kings pre-flop with no action before).

But this year the big brother of Absolute Poker decided to go one better with a scandal of their own. This time it involves some horrific lapses in judgment and quality control, together with what can only be described as a plethora of incompetence and stupidity.

The upshot of all this is that the online urban legend of being able to see people's hole cards was actually true for a small handful of people. These people were able to make tens of thousands of dollars playing high stakes poker, because of an insurmountable advantage.

Ultimate Bet, home to such poker pros as Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth Jr., were compromised in a way never before seen on a major poker site. They are facing tens of millions of dollars of refund requests, a multi million dollar law suit has cropped up. Not to put too finer point on it, they are in the shit!

Frankly, I never liked their site. I thought the software was ugly and clunky. I've ran ads on PokerXL.com for close to four years, and never received a dime from them, despite getting money from other sites. I took down my links today.

With the fiasco at Absolute Poker, followed by this PR disaster at Ultimate Bet, it is surely only a matter of time before one or both of them go under. It will be interesting to see the fall out from this.

Maybe President Obama will take the smart step of legalizing and regulating online poker. Because I somehow doubt that Harrah's would operate a poker web site so badly, while being regulated by say the Nevada Online Gaming Commission.

Sarah Palin - Hiding From Justice

If anyone was in any doubt that McCain is the next George Bush, this story from the Associated Press tells you all you need to know.

In what seems to have become standard modus operandi for GOP tactics we have watched one of the most divisive campaigns in history. One smear after another. Lies, boasts, and a distinct lack of truthiness. A campaign that Karl Rove has stated is, "one step too far."

The latest move involves protecting the public from finding out facts about Sarah Palin by sending a 'truth squad' to manage what information is discovered by the news media. The team includes politicians and lawyers who seemingly are willing to do anything to hide the facts that might upset the public were they to find out.

One of their current missions is to stall the 'troopergate' investigation until after the election.

Basically, the allegations are that while governor, Sarah Palin abused her powers to try and get her ex-brother in law removed from his job as State Trooper. She ended up firing the guy who refused to fire her ex-brother in law.

Originally Palin was all set to cooperate with the investigation. But now a team of Republican lawyers are deliberately stalling the investigation until after the election. Palin herself has chosen to flip flip on the issue (to put it in Republican terms). While she was once going to cooperate, it seems she is now 'too busy' to answer for her alleged crimes.

It really is sad and scary that some old guy can pluck a random person out of her life as a hockey mom, make her a vice presidential candidate, and suddenly the law no longer seems to apply.

At the end of the day, if this woman is truly the best candidate for the job, why is so much effort being made to suppress the truth? How can a woman with so little political knowledge and experience have so many skeletons in her closet? How can a man who claims to have what it takes to turn this country around, be so politically inept that he would pick this woman for VP?

9/11

Sarah Palin - No Comment

So it's been a little while now since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Republican VP candidate. Many facts have come to light about this woman, and many lies have been told too.

But what is interesting is that despite all the mud slinging, and disturbing verified facts about this possible president of the USA, is the fact that Sarah Palin herself has been reluctant to speak out in her own defense (or for any other reason for that matter).

In this article by the Associated Press we learn that since her acceptance speech she has toured around with McCain. Made various public appearances, but said pretty much nothing. Sure some lucky folks have heard her regurgitate portions of her acceptance speech, but in terms of who she is and what she believes, nothing. Likewise no rebuttle of the scary things we have learned about her.

The press have been kept at arms length by a team of handlers, and almost all of her comments have been made off record.

The Republican campaign manager, Rick Davis, told Fox News that she would conduct an interview, "when we think it's time and when she feels comfortable doing it." But then added that she was, "not scared to answer questions."

So just to recap, she's said nothing to defend herself against the numerous allegations made against her. She's unwilling to tell us what she personally believes in, on pretty much any subject. And although she is not 'scared' to answer questions, she will hand pick an interviewer when she feels 'comfortable' doing so. Seriously, what the fuck?

The election is some 54 days away. And this radical right wing fanatic who believes in speaking in tongues and faith healing, is not going to share with us her views on the world?

But there is more to the story than this. It's not just the fact that she won't tell us what she thinks, the issue for me is the inherent sexism, control and secrecy of this campaign. We've just about reached the end of the Bush era of double talk, lies, and refusal to participate in transparent government, and now here we have old man McCain keeping his VP under total control.

Is this because he is afraid of what she might say? Is it because she is a woman and Republicans tend to be inherently sexist? Are they terrified that the truth about this woman will get in the way of their message (or scare the shit out of voters)? What's the deal?

Maybe they are just afraid people will find out that her assertion that she sold the state private jet on eBay was a lie, like so many other things she said in her acceptance speech.

Why I Hate Apple

There many reasons why I think I should like Apple. They make pretty products and they are highly innovative, but for some reason something about the company always manages to piss me off. Here's my list of why I hate Apple:

1. iTunes. It's fucking shit. They are up to version 8.0 as of today, and it is still clumsy and annoying. It can't be that hard to copy some MP3s onto an iPod. Does it really need to be 80Mb? Why can't I plug my Shuffle into multiple computers? Over simplification actually makes it harder to use.
2. Genius. The new iTunes feature. All it seems to do is tell me to buy more songs similar to what I am already listening to. Audio Satellite did this some five or six years ago. Sure it was illegal back then. But the technology is hardly new, and I have no idea why it took them so long to offer it. But in any case it is just a commercial to buy more songs from iTunes.
3. Quicktime. I consider this to be the worst of all media players. It is ugly, badly written, and generally shit in almost every way. Also like spyware, once you get it on your computer it is hard to get off. It likes to seize file extensions from other players, and integrate itself into your web browser. And worst of all they always bundle it with iTunes just to piss me off.
4. DRM. Just fuck off. I don't want some file that I can't easily use as I see fit. And you know what, if I buy a song and email it to my wife, that's my business. I don't need some big brother telling me how many times I've copied the file. As easy as it is to purchase music on iTunes, I will never do it again (unless they have some exclusive thing I can't get elsewhere). I can buy my music on Amazon.com for the same or lower price, and get an MP3, that I can do what I want with. No DRM. Amazon just need to tidy up their purchase interface a bit.
5. File structure. Why the fuck does Apple fuck around with file names and weird directory structures on their iPods? F1, F2, F3 etc. WTF? Why not just store all the files in a sensible directory structure so I can back up my iPod to my computer with ease.
6. Arrogance. Apple are just so arrogant about their Macs. Guess what? They do break down, you can get a virus for them, there are a lot of things you can't do with a Mac, and malware is not exclusively a PC problem.
7. Safari. I don't care if it is the most amazing browser in the world. I don't want to be told to download it every time a bug fix comes out for one of the programs I do use. If I wanted to download Safari I would have done it already.

Despite all these little rants, I have to say the new iPod nano looks sweet, and I am quite tempted to buy an iPhone. Although I do like my Blackberry Curve a lot.

I really want to like Apple, but I just wish they would stop fucking about.

The Daily Show - Small Town Values

The Daily Show goes to the Republican Convention to discover what 'small town values' mean.

As their report shows, it turns out to be political bullshit.

Click on the image to view the video on the Comedy Central web site. You might also want to watch this video in which John McCain abandons his values in the hope of getting elected.

Face Lift

I am in the process of updating this site to the new Blogger features and stuff.

Please ignore any ugly weirdness for the next few days.

The Daily Show - Women's Right To Choose

This is another very amusing clip from the always funny Samantha Bee of The Daily Show.

Click image to watch the video at The Daily Show site.

How To Make A Linkin Park Song

How To Get Into A Club For Free

This one made me laugh. Dress like a DJ, get in anywhere (except a bus apparently).

Just The Facts Ma'am

Palin had a lot to say last night, but how much of it was true, and how much was a lie?

Thankfully the Associated Press keeps tabs on such a thing. Here are some bits I paraphrased from this article:

PALIN: I protected taxpayers from wasteful spending, and said no to the bridge to nowhere.

FACT: As mayor of that tiny town with less than 9,000 people in it, she was responsible for $27m in earmarks. She has requested $750m as governor; more per capita than any other state.

As for the bridge to nowhere, she only rejected the concept of the $398m bridge to a village with 50 people in it, after the idea became ridiculed on national TV. Prior to that she was for it.

PALIN: Obama has written two books, but not written any major legislation.

FACT: Not true. He has been involved in numerous major bills both at state and national level.

PALIN: Obama plans to raise taxes. (Frankly, someone needs to so we can pay off all the debt Bush has run up)

FACT: A recent study showed that Obama would raise middle class tax by about 5% by 2012, and McCain would raise similar tax by 3% in the same period.

However Obama would increase tax on people and small businesses that make more than $250,000 per year. But he also has plans to give over $80Bn in tax breaks to the poor and needy.

McCAIN: Palin is responsible for 20% of the nation's energy (Alaskan Oil). And runs the largest state in the country.

FACT: She is not really responsible for the oil at all. Just like Bush wasn't responsible for Texan oil when he was governor of Texas. And while Alaska may be physically big, by population it is the 47th largest state.

McCAIN: She's commander of the Alaskan National Guard.

FACT: Not really. There's only about 4,200 of them in Alaska and if they are ever to be deployed, they report to the Defense Department, not her.

HUCKABEE: She got more votes running for Mayor than Joe Biden got running for President of the United States.

FACT: Palin got 616 votes to become mayor. When she ran for re-election she got 909 votes.

Biden got 76,165 votes before dropping out of the race.

ROMNEY: We need change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington.

FACT: George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been in charge of Washington since 2000. Congress only changed to a slight Democratic edge in January 2007. And much of their efforts have been vetoed and blocked by Republicans and the President.


So thanks for all the lies. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. In fact, I'm sold: let's vote old man McCain and his Hockey Mom VP!

GOP - Gustav Relief - The Daily Show

This is especially funny. A special report from the GOP conference.

For some reason I was unable to embed this video (if anyone knows how to do that on Blogger from the Comedy Central web site, please let me know). But just click on the image to see the video on their site.

Sarah Palin II

I thought I had been pretty thorough in my previous post about Sarah Palin, the Republican VP candidate. But since old man McCain announced his choice for VP, a lot more facts have come to light. Like the fact that her conservative pro-abstinence, yet oddly pro-contraception stance, has not worked for her unmarried teenage daughter who is now pregnant. Or the fact that she has had to hire a law firm to defend herself in the ongoing investigation where she allegedly abused her power to seek the termination of her ex-brother-in-law from his job as State Trooper.

I came across this interesting blog today that includes some of the answers she gave in a questionnaire she completed when she was being considered for Governor in 2006. The questions and her responses have been paraphrased (except where otherwise indicated), but her full answers and the exact wording of the questions are available at the source. Please enjoy, and as you read, do remember that this is the woman who could be one heart beat away from the president if old man McCain has his way:

• Should abortion be legal in cases of rape, incest, a handicapped baby, cases of genetic defect or to save the life of the mother? Her response: Only if, in the opinion of a doctor, the mother would DIE by having the baby.
• Should children be taught biological facts in sex education classes, or should they be taught abstinence until marriage (without biological facts, such as safe sex practices)? Her response: "Explicit sex education will not find my support." (Too bad her teenage daughter was not given the benefit of a proper sex education.)
• Will you expand laws that try to prevent hate crime? Her response: No.
• Do you support modernising gaming laws, or expanding gambling in the state? Her response: Gambling destroys families. (Alaska is one of a handful of states that don't raise money for good causes with a lottery.)
• Should same sex couples be allowed spousal benefits? Her response: No.
• Are you offended by the words 'under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance? Her response: "Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance." As a little education for the wannabe VP, the Pledge of Allegiance was created in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a baptist minister and Christian socialist (yes socialist). He proposed a fifteen word pledge that did not include any reference to a deity. He also proposed the Bellamy Salute, that rather embarrassingly looked exactly like a Nazi salute, and so this was later replaced with the hand on heart gesture. It wasn't until 1954 that the words 'under God' were added, after a few years of religious campaigning. And although I am only a lowly immigrant to these shores, I am pretty sure the Founding Fathers were dead by 1954.
  
• What are your top three priorities as Governor? Her response: "1. Creating an atmosphere where parents feel welcome to choose the venues of education for their children.
  2. Preserving the definition of “marriage” as defined in our constitution.
  3. Cracking down on the things that harm family life: gangs, drug use, and infringement of our liberties including attacks on our 2nd Amendment rights." (Yes that's right, her top three priorities included supporting locking up more people for drug crimes; a policy that has worked so well thus far. And of all the priorities that must exist in that state, her number two priority is to discriminate against homosexuals.)

As some blogs are beginning to observe, this is like a younger female George Bush. While I already suspected that McCain was far too old to attempt to run for office, I honestly never did imagine that his judgment was so badly impaired as to select a woman like this for a running mate.

It's almost like he has given up already. Which is fine with me.

U2 - Original Of The Species

It always amazes me that U2 are not crap. They have been making music for over 20 years, and can still put out incredible songs like this one.

Since I have decided to start adding videos to my blog now, I thought I would add this as my first ever music video. An outstanding song, and interesting video.