tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52737842011-04-21T17:46:45.913-04:00WizBang (Legacy Site)Disconnected ruminations on an ever changing set of topics. As for the name Wizbang, it seemed like a good idea at the time...Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comBlogger691100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-947541902003-05-22T16:56:00.000-04:002006-08-22T10:35:40.046-04:00Wizbang Has Moved: This page should automatically take you to our new location within a few seconds, but if it doesn't, just click hereKevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-947523082003-05-22T16:08:00.000-04:002003-05-22T16:08:57.683-04:00Time For Wizbang To Shitcan Blogspot
As with other Blogspot users I am now seriously caught up in moving off of Blogspot. Over at Jay Solo's Verbosity, Jay has been mulling over a move to MT. I've been using BlogWorks XML at MediaReview an have really been enjoying it. So I'm getting ready to pack up this site and covert it over to BlogWorks. The benefits are a RSS feed, comments hosted Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-947052302003-05-21T17:39:00.000-04:002003-05-21T17:39:54.233-04:00The Rise And Fall Of A Blogger
Dawn Olsen has a great post on how to generate traffic to your blog here. Forget all the posts on other blogs on the topic, Dawn owns it now.
In a nutshell her advice for traffic seekers: Sell your soul to the devil
In a nutshell her advice for the rest of us: Blog from the heart
Loved the PS about marrying Moxie. That queue would make the Matrix Revisited Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-946991022003-05-21T15:12:00.000-04:002003-05-21T15:12:27.806-04:00From MediaReview: Unrepentant Blair Taunts 'Idiot' Editors
The New York Observer has an exclusive with Jayson Blair. The Observer appears to have no permalink system, so the link to the article will probably eventually disappear. Also their server is swamped.
It is a fascinating read for a delusional self centered look at the NYT crisis from Blair's point of view. He certainly has all the Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-946980392003-05-21T14:45:00.000-04:002003-05-21T14:45:07.533-04:00Best Of Wizbang
Some Wizbang items you may have missed:
Intuit To Discontinue Product Activation - TurboTax users read this!
Comments - Enough To Set A Web Master Over The Edge? - Did a hacker cause the Case Western shootings?
Circular hypocrisy - Guns and kids...
Kidnapping Lands Egyptian Grandmother In Maryland Prison - Investigative journalism, some of it my own.
A Modest Proposal - What ifKevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-946677222003-05-20T23:52:00.000-04:002003-05-20T23:52:18.740-04:00Carnival of the Vanities - Week 35
Wizbang is a proud participant in COTV. The 35th edition of Carnival of the Vanities is at cut on the bias. A collection of the weeks top posts from a variety of blogs await your clicks. For those passing through via COTV, I hope you will poke around the Wizbang site a bit, there's lots of good stuff here :-).
Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-945938232003-05-19T15:10:00.000-04:002003-05-20T23:47:53.640-04:00Another Reason To Hate Delaware
A quick getaway to Dewey Beach in Delaware this weekend, and what do I see in the local papers? Low-digit tags fetch six-digit prices. Here's a quote from the article:
Low-digit license tags are all the rage in Delaware, where some equate small numbers with big status. The fad started before World War II but has taken off in the past decade, with single-digit Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-944572582003-05-16T12:33:00.000-04:002003-05-16T12:33:18.703-04:00Friday Joke
I'm taking a break from posting this weekend for a quick getaway with the wife. I'll start posting again Monday night. I'll leave you with a joke I heard that made be laugh out loud (which very few jokes do).
Several men are in the locker room of a golf club. A cell phone on a
bench rings and a man engages the hands free speaker-function and
begins to talk.
MAN: "Hello"
WOMAN: Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-943956892003-05-15T11:55:00.000-04:002003-05-15T13:57:02.000-04:00Intuit To Discontinue Product Activation
The loud and vocal protesting worked: Intuit backed down.
Did you know there was an issue? Get the background information at ExtremeTech. The product activation idea probably sounded good to Intuit at the time, but the heavy handed implementation and their lack of preparation for the shitstorm that followed doomed their tax season.
Most users were Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-943943502003-05-15T11:31:00.000-04:002003-05-15T11:31:17.096-04:00Times Meeting Details
Howard Kurtz at the Washington Post has the notes from the Times staff meeting. Read his column here. You've got to believe that the Post is just having so much fun watching this unfold. Remember it was the ass kicking they got (based on Blair's falsified stories) in their own backyard on the sniper case that started all of this.Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-943935722003-05-15T11:16:00.000-04:002003-05-21T09:49:24.750-04:00Canada Labels Mossad Informer "Terrorist"
Via Marduk's Babylonian Musings
The Canadian government in its continuing effort to piss off every government is used to have good relations with has label a Mossad agent a "terrorist" and refused his refugee protection request.
Here's the National Post story.
Another feather in the cap of the Chrétien government.
Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-943627362003-05-14T21:54:00.000-04:002003-05-14T21:59:06.333-04:00So I'm on a work trip to Boston, watching TV in the hotel room when I see an infomercial screaming:
"When is a diet pill worth $153?"
OK I'm mildly interested in the marketing pitch. They are trying to use the price as an indicator of product value. The product they are trying to sell is Leptoprin. Never heard of it?
I did a little snooping around and found a debunking site. I have no Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-942890112003-05-13T17:35:00.000-04:002003-05-14T17:37:05.816-04:00Bronx Student "Fisk" Wall Street
No actual Fisking, sorry - I just liked the sound of it. None the less the students at Clara Barton Elementary in the Bronx are kicking you ass in playing the market. They're also kicking Wall Streets ass. Their game portfolio is up 44%. Their strategy? Invest in companies who's products they use.
The New York Post op/ed piece details some of their picks Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-942825042003-05-13T15:30:00.000-04:002003-05-13T15:36:06.000-04:00Comments - Enough To Set A Web Master Over The Edge?
The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that a hacked post and deletion of web site files are what lead to the Case Western shooting last week. Loner's rage burned after ruin of Web site details the Biswanath Halder's obsession with blaming Shawn Miller for a nasty comment left at his web site and deleting the web site content. Millers was Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-942766062003-05-13T13:36:00.000-04:002003-05-13T13:36:42.566-04:00Five Hurt in Badger Rampage
LONDON (Reuters) - An angry domesticated badger savaged five people, leaving one man so seriously injured he needed skin grafts, and chased away pursuing police officers during a 48-hour rampage through a quiet English town.
One-year-old Boris launched what experts described as unprecedented attacks after finding himself hungry, alone and frightened after being Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-942242272003-05-12T16:50:00.000-04:002003-05-13T01:02:32.996-04:00Texas Woman: "God Told Her To Kill Her Kids"
There's just no way to imagine what could be going through this woman's mind: Mother charged in Mothers Day's murder. Deanna Laney's brother-in-law (the pastor at their church) delivered the following sermon Sunday regarding the murder. The Laney family were to all appearances a normal family, and Dee did not have depression problems according toKevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-940603802003-05-09T12:40:00.000-04:002003-05-10T14:08:50.533-04:00I've Been Promoted
Apparently I am the Canadian Minister of Environment and Labour. I wish someone had told me earlier I would have made some capricious decisions and resigned in protest over the governments decision to lick the boots of France.
As to the nasty golf course battle: I reward golfers and piss off environmentalists. I guess the other Kevin Aylward is not so bad after all even forKevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-940340292003-05-09T00:52:00.000-04:002003-05-10T00:43:05.890-04:00Hollywood Invades The Blogoshpere
Of course I'm exaggerating. Production companies are not likely staking out blogs to acquire the film or television rights. What with all the media convergence though where is the one as yet unsown fertile field? The blogoshpere, of course.
The assignment today is to give a representative movie, mini series, series, of actor/actress to go with a blog. Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-940323632003-05-09T00:15:00.000-04:002003-05-10T13:14:02.143-04:00Circular hypocrisy
Maybe I'm just opening myself up for flames, but the whole assault weapon ban debate has me in twisted in knots of pretzel logic. First a couple facts:
1) Growing up I hunted, and all the men and some of the women in my extend family hunted. We fly fished a lot as well, but that's not so important. My grandfather was a midwestern lawyer who lived on a large ranch in KansasKevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-940104332003-05-08T16:30:00.000-04:002003-07-30T01:43:45.400-04:00GM Should Be Felating Murdoch For Buying DirecTVIn the neverending charade that is the Congressional hearing, Democrats were trying to do a little grandstanding at the expense of the potential new owner of DirecTV (See Ruppert Murdoch Defends DirecTV Purchase).What these asshats forget is how royally GM screwed the pooch on this deal. Just 2 years ago GM blindly accepted EchoStar's $32 billion Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-939393282003-05-07T13:49:00.000-04:002003-05-07T13:49:26.076-04:00Delaware Bashing
I was all set to do a big long rant on how I detest Delaware, specifically the government of Delaware. In a nutshell they operate like the Soprano's, constantly looking for new ways to shake down outsiders. The giant scam of their "forced robbery" on Interstate 95 was my major beef. So I started listing all of my grievances against the state, and in the process of doing Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-939100312003-05-07T01:18:00.000-04:002003-05-07T01:18:43.070-04:00How Could One Blogger Be Any More Wrong?
Some one named RonK has a post at Daily Kos that is trying to revise history in real time concerning Iraq. The full post is here. While I take issue with just about every line in the post, there is one particular item that is so wrong it just cannot be left hanging out there. It is regards to the effect of the war on terrorism. Here's the quote:
Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-938773042003-05-06T14:39:00.000-04:002003-05-06T14:39:38.966-04:00Kidnapping Lands Egyptian Grandmother In Maryland Prison
This is a story that caught my eye this morning as I scanned the pages of the Washington Post. Buried in the local section was a story about a a custody feud and kidnapping landing a grandmother in prison. The story is here.
The unique angle to this story is the the custody holder is the Maryland father and the mother is the kidnapper.Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-938695082003-05-06T12:13:00.000-04:002003-05-06T12:13:38.763-04:00From NY Daily News - Rush & Molloy The '70s folkie formerly known as Cat Stevens has become a voice of moderate Islam since the the Sept. 11 attacks. But Israeli officials are charging that thousands of dollars donated by the "Peace Train" songwriter for humanitarian causes in 1988 were rerouted to the terrorist group Hamas, GQ magazine reports.
The article by Jake Tapper claims that Stevens, Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-938643562003-05-06T10:39:00.000-04:002003-05-06T10:41:19.196-04:00Coming Soon US Version Of UK Hit Coupling
If you are a fan of Friends you owe it to yourself to check out the UK comedy Coupling on BBC America. Do this now before the only reference you have to the Coupling series is a NBC remake of the show coming this fall.
NBC president Jeff Zucker is quoted in a NY Daily News article as saying the show would be slotted for a 9:30 PM time slot. The likelyKevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-938104412003-05-05T13:20:00.000-04:002003-05-06T15:37:44.230-04:00A Modest Proposal
There has been a lot of press recently on the after effects of the decision against the major record labels in their case against Morpheus and Grokster. Much of the speculation has centered on the record labels potential use of proactive search and destroy programs against consumers. Most of the information coming out is aimed at the casual P2P user as a form of FUD (fear, Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-937363202003-05-04T01:33:00.000-04:002003-05-04T01:33:05.020-04:00Kiwi's Like Brie
As reported on DailyPundit, New Zealand seems to have thrown its hat into the French/German/Russian ring. The timing of this seems odd, since it is not at all clear that the "alliance" (a term I use loosly) will remain solid in the post war dash to get in on the Iraq action.
NZOOM One News details New Zealand PM Helen Clark's top level meeting with Chirac. One interesting bitKevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-936696942003-05-02T16:07:00.000-04:002003-05-03T00:26:07.130-04:00Bush Declares Victory - Wiggles Approve
Is is just me or did the troops in the backdop of the President's speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln the other night look like the cast of the Wiggles? Maybe you have to have really young children to see it...
The Wiggles greet the President
Am I the only one who see's this? Considering I made a Wiggles greatest hits CD for my kids it might be a Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-936669012003-05-02T15:08:00.000-04:002003-05-02T15:08:59.973-04:00The Man of Virtues Has a Vice
Newsweek is reporting that Bill Bennett has wagered millions in Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos during the past decade.
Apparently being a white knuckled gambler is not a problem in the virtue department.Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-936362022003-05-02T00:32:00.000-04:002003-05-02T00:32:55.806-04:00Intellectuals Launch Campaign to Defend Cuba
HAVANA (Reuters) - More than 160 foreign artists and intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez, have come out in defense of Cuba even as many of their peers condemn recent repression on the Communist-run island, one of the campaigners said on Thursday.
Latin American Nobel laureates Garcia Marquez, Rigoberta Menchu, Aldolfo Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-936091622003-05-01T14:47:00.000-04:002003-05-01T16:14:39.696-04:00New Hampshire Bids to Protect Wireless Access Jumping
From the Security Wire Digest:
Lawmakers appear poised to make New Hampshire the first state to protect computer users who get free rides on wireless networks by passing a bill saying corporations are responsible for keeping the networks secure.
The legislation was written to protect accidental bandwidth jumping, which occurs when laptop Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-935775942003-05-01T01:02:00.000-04:002003-05-07T12:33:11.450-04:00Driving in Boston - What $14.6 Billion Dollars Buys
As a resident of the fast growing suburbs of Northern Virginia there is little in the way of traffic that can shake a jaded occasional commuter like me. I've been in Boston for the last couple days and have noticed some improvement with the partial opening of some of the Big Dig project.
My first indication that something had changed was Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-935023102003-04-29T21:42:00.000-04:002003-04-29T21:42:59.710-04:00Fisk Update
For those of you wanting to keep tabs on Robert Fisk, I've found a link that shows his recent stories, since the UK Independent is now subscription only. Independent Online a South African news organization carries his stories. Click here to see the search results for "Robert Fisk"
As posted at Media Review:
Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-933783502003-04-28T00:10:00.000-04:002003-04-28T00:10:38.073-04:00Read This
Bill Whittle at ejectejecteject.com has a very long and very well reasoned article on the Victory. He's not really talking about the military operations in Iraq - he's talking about a much bigger victory. It is an absolute must read...Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-933532112003-04-27T14:52:00.000-04:002003-04-27T14:52:23.790-04:00Tucker Carlson is a spudgun freak
In a Darwin Award worthy story of a boy, a frog, and a potato gun unfortunately the loser seems to have been the boy. Blinded by a frog shot out of a spudgun seems to me to be like amputating your hand with a butter knife...
Read all about it (halfway down the page) at SpudTech. Note: I guess your really can have the business of your dreams on the Internet. Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-932472582003-04-25T12:26:00.000-04:002003-04-25T12:26:41.183-04:00Drug Problem, or Pain Problem?
M. Simon has a provocative read on Winds of Change about whether drug enforcement policy can ever really be effective if what we call addiction is in fact self-treatment of undiagnosed pain.
He gave me a head up a few days ago to the article in reference to my review of John Stossell addiction program on ABC. After hearing about his article, I recalled the book IKevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-932429582003-04-25T11:13:00.000-04:002003-04-25T11:13:28.146-04:00Comments On
So I've turned on the comment option... We'll see how that goes.Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-932217772003-04-25T00:38:00.000-04:002003-04-25T11:06:16.253-04:00Stop The Insanity!
Howard Owens over at the appropriately titled HowardOwens.com has a good read on A tale of two presidents. The whole Santorum and Dixie Chicks (bet you never thought those two would be mentioned together) episodes of late have me really wondering about the effects of virtual "mobs". I've seen them referred to as virtual lynch mobs, witch hunters, etc. For every target on Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-931892422003-04-24T13:45:00.000-04:002003-04-24T18:00:04.343-04:00Sounds like an ordinary day at my house...
PARIS (Reuters) - Two three-year-old twin boys who disappeared from home then reappeared hours later without their clothes had been off wreaking havoc in a neighbor's empty house, French newspapers reported on Thursday.
Police initially feared an abduction by a pedophile when the missing boys were discovered late in the evening walking through their Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-931584132003-04-24T00:41:00.000-04:002003-04-24T00:47:16.480-04:00MediaReview - Keeping tabs on print and television journalism, so you don't have to...
So the last couple posts have been about journalism and media. As part of my startup for a new blog called MediaReview I've been cross posting. I can't promise I will never cross post between the two sites, but MediaReview is a blog dedicated to tracking print and television media (if I get really ambitious Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-931548712003-04-23T23:33:00.000-04:002003-04-23T23:33:10.496-04:00U.S. Officials Seize Art, Weapons Looted from Iraq
Reuters is reporting that returning journalists and military personnel are being searched for looted Iraqi art and weapons.
Marvin Kalb, senior fellow at the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University said there is a long tradition of war bounty.
Oh really... I'm sure custom agents have a deep Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-931328272003-04-23T16:18:00.000-04:002003-04-23T20:56:54.273-04:00MSNBC - A shift to the right?
As the war winds down and networks and cable news outlets assess their relative strength, consider the case of perpetual also-ran MSNBC. Clearly the cable news outlet has the talent and resources to compete (NBC and Microsoft as owners), and they do effectively compete on the Internet - with msnbc.com regularly besting cnn.com. The cable news side of the house Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-931299782003-04-23T15:26:00.000-04:002003-04-23T15:26:52.920-04:00Monday I noted a San Francisco Chronicle had a story: Case of another 'Laci' languishes in obscurity. This is now getting some serious press as an early preview of one of the avenues of a possible defense for Scott Peterson. The theory goes that there is a serial killer roaming the Bay Area decapitating pregnant women and dumping them in the bay. You will hear the name Evelyn Hernandez quite aKevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-930909682003-04-23T00:07:00.000-04:002003-04-23T00:20:23.993-04:00Robert Scheer in the LA Times (registration required) wonders: Did Bush Deceive Us in His Rush to War?. The subject of the following quotation is the lack of findings (yet) of WMD.
And, in a more sober mood, one must still ask the embarrassing yet essential question: Did our president knowingly deceive us in his rush to war?
If he did, and we are truly concerned about our own democracy, we Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-930698072003-04-22T17:20:00.000-04:002003-04-22T17:20:48.040-04:00TMQ Mock Draft @ ESPN.com - Page2. TMQ (Tuesday Morning Quarterback, originally on Slate, but soldout to ESPN) is a personal favorite and required reading for anyone who likes the NFL, but not the typical boring sports columnists associated with it. Also included (during the football season only) is the ever popular New York Times Final-Score tracking system. NYT scored a 1-272 for the 2002 Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-930652232003-04-22T15:56:00.000-04:002003-04-22T15:56:37.153-04:00Rant: I Can't Help Myself
Ratings loser ABC, offered up Help Me! I Can't Help Myself Monday night. I like John Stossel on 20/20 and his specials are usually good. This one was a classic. The basic point of the whole hour, was that various special interests are making diseases out of everything. If you want to stop being (fat, smoking, drug addicted, etc.) just stop! Makes perfectly good Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-930606042003-04-22T14:25:00.000-04:002003-04-22T14:25:24.676-04:00Salon offers up a review of Dennis Miller's HBO special "Raw Feed", that complains mostly about his politics. I
Overall, though, Miller's self-congratulatory tone is off-putting. While the humble goofiness of Chris Rock or Ray Romano can make you sympathize with their perspective, even when they're crabby or close-minded, Miller's arrogance renders his over-the-top opinions even less palatable.Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-930038522003-04-21T17:10:00.000-04:002003-04-21T17:11:46.903-04:00Joseph Menn has a great artcile in the Boston Globe Magazine about the death of Napster, and the main culprit. Juicy family details...
Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-930037872003-04-21T17:09:00.000-04:002003-04-21T17:09:16.983-04:00Why TiVo Owners Can't Shut Up
As a long time convert, I can only say that after a while you do shut up. Of course you are smug in the knowledge that you have it better than everyone else when you know that you can watch Friends, Scubs, Will & Grace, Survivor, CSI, and ER by 11pm (Dual tuner DirecTivo required). Also if you already have a Tivo and find 30 hours to limiting, why not get an Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-929645392003-04-21T00:23:00.000-04:002003-04-21T13:10:46.293-04:00Case of another 'Laci' languishes in obscurity
Kelly St. John has a story in the San Francisco Chronicle about the torso of missing pregnant mom was found in S.F. Bay last year. The similarities with the Laci Peterson case are heartbreaking.
I happened to be in San Francisco in mid January, when the Laci Peterson case was getting a lot of attention, and was duly captivated by the story. Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-929378172003-04-20T13:28:00.000-04:002003-05-01T16:31:34.000-04:00I enjoy Rachel Lucas's Blog. How could you not be won over by a gun totting Texan who likes to call people "assclown". I have been trying to think of who in the news I can use this term to describe, since I like it so much... As I was pondering, this picture showed up on my screen:
Scott Peterson Assclown of the week!
View Picture.
Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-929376992003-04-20T13:24:00.000-04:002003-04-20T15:16:13.000-04:00Looks like Monica Lewinsky and Christina Aguilera need to lay off the Hagen Daz. By the way, both of you have had your 15 minutes of fame...Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-929182842003-04-20T00:32:00.000-04:002003-04-20T00:32:53.310-04:00NYT (login required) is reporting that the U.S. plan to keep 4 bases in Iraq and possibly reduce its profile in other countries.
The United States is planning a long-term military relationship with the emerging government of Iraq, one that would grant the Pentagon access to military bases and project American influence into the heart of the unsettled region, senior Bush administration officials Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-928458282003-04-18T13:04:00.000-04:002003-04-18T18:50:03.000-04:00Where's Raed? In Jail?
Steven Den Beste has a very interesting article on the possibility that Raed Rokan Al-Anbuge, arrested on March 25 in New York City, might have been the author of Where's Raed, last updated on March 24. I have to admit that I have always been sceptical about the Where's Raed blog. A gay man in Iraq? I bet that it would be much safer for an Iraqi to be gay and living in Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-928369572003-04-18T10:06:00.000-04:002003-04-18T18:50:55.000-04:00TV Footage Said to Show Saddam on April 9
Why is this important? There will most likely be a good explanation for the emergence of this tape from U.S. intelligence sources at some point. One note that an Arab expert on MSNBC noted, that I think is very relevant, is that he is convinced that this is a deliberate media manipulation by well funded unnamed Saudi groups. I would venture to guess Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-928211512003-04-18T01:04:00.000-04:002003-04-18T18:51:10.000-04:00Dr. Atkins
Megan Rosenfeld has a nice article in the Washington Post Paying Respect to Low-Carb Visionary, about the untimely death of Dr. Atkins. I cannot possibly begin to say enough good things about the man and his tenacity. All I can do is report his plan worked for me (40lbs lost since Sept. 2002). Naysayers be dammed...Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-927874282003-04-17T13:02:00.000-04:002003-04-18T18:58:04.000-04:00Why Programmers Should Have Kids
OK this is a bit of a stretch, but caring for infants is sort of like debugging a program. Until they are about 2 years old they are mostly a series of problems to be solved. Baby crying, investigate the possible causes: Hungry, check; Dirty diaper, check; Sibling took their favorite toy, check, etc. It is all about getting through the day with the minimum ofKevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-927300172003-04-16T14:41:00.000-04:002003-04-16T14:42:22.000-04:00Erik Kirschbaum of Reuters reports Anti-War Front Collapses as Iraq Gold Rush Begins. An interesting tidbit at the end on the possibility of Germany dropping from the pro-appeasement bloc...
Political analysts said Schroeder's evident discomfort at a St Petersburg meeting last week with the Russian and French presidents showed their alliance was effectively dead and that each would pursue his Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-927244312003-04-16T12:54:00.000-04:002003-04-16T13:56:32.000-04:00Greg Easterbrook's war wrapup Truth in Advertising at TNR ia must read. An interesting paragraph on renumeration, that I think is actually a very good idea.
As a demonstration of goodwill toward the people of Iraq, our side should pay compensation. Suppose $10,000 went to the family of each civilian killed. Too expensive, you say? If there were 1,300 Iraqi civilian dead, $10,000 for each Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-927239492003-04-16T12:45:00.000-04:002003-04-16T14:43:41.000-04:00From OxBlog - An excellent article on the vodoo of body counters...
OxBlog HEY, LOOKIE THERE! I have an online article at the Weekly Standard website today on civilian casualty predictions and counts. (Yes, more Herold bashing. But a few other groups come in for some criticism, too.)
But the best part? I got to use the phrase "fools and knaves" in a reputable publication!Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-926670102003-04-15T15:13:00.000-04:002003-04-15T15:13:39.936-04:00Creating a new Iraqi government
According to the CIA - The World Factbook 2002 -- Iraq Iraq (pre-invasion) had 18 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta'mim, Babil, Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Karbala', Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din, and Wasit. I have not checked the actual boundaries as they Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-926043822003-04-14T16:39:00.000-04:002003-04-15T15:32:09.000-04:00Don't miss Esquire's Sex Tips from Donald Rumsfeld.
My favorite:
Dear Secretary Rumsfeld: My wife and I are happily married, but the spark seems to have gone out of our sex life. How can we spice it up? —Harry Blumenthal, Bakersfield, California
Secretary Rumsfeld: There's no great mystery here, Harry. It can't be that hard to understand. You get in there, you do your job, you develop an exitKevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-925890492003-04-14T12:01:00.000-04:002003-04-17T20:11:56.000-04:00Check this out. I deceided to have some fun with the sayings of Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf (Bahgdad Bob - ooops that's Baghdad Bob), so I created the Iraqi Information Minister Quote Generator.Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-925621432003-04-14T00:13:00.000-04:002003-04-14T00:13:12.373-04:00An interesting look at Britian's failed plans to reshape the Middle East in 1955 from BBC - BBC NEWS | Middle East | Lesson from history: 1955 Baghdad Pact. Hopefully the neocon's are studying this...Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-924942322003-04-12T14:35:00.000-04:002003-04-12T14:50:15.000-04:00On a totally unrelated topic, check out My Way if you are a Yahoo user. The look an feel will be familiar... The nice thing is... NO POPUPS, NO BANNER ADS, NO CLUTTER (unless you change your layout to get clutter). The folks who run iwon.com own this site. I've made the switch from Yahoo, and I can honestly tell you I don't miss Yahoo at all. Did I mention that Google is built-in?Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-924941112003-04-12T14:32:00.000-04:002003-04-12T14:50:28.000-04:00Interesting news related to the Pentagon's deck of 55. AP is reporting Saddam's Science Adviser Surrenders. This is the man who was at the front Iraq's interference campaign with the UN. I wonder what country he will be taken to for "questioning". The military, with the Al Queda hunt under their belt, knows which countries are the best at extracting information with methods that may not be Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-924682082003-04-12T00:17:00.000-04:002003-04-12T14:50:42.000-04:00The NATIONAL POST has an excellent story regarding the failure or the pro-appeasement block (France, Germany, Russia, and yes Canada). The most notable information is on the little known (until now) oil firm TotalFinaElf and their business with Sadam's Iraq. Big supprise Canada dumps support for the U.S. when the largest shareholder in the company is related to to the Canadian PM.Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-924678122003-04-12T00:08:00.000-04:002005-04-11T12:29:16.316-04:00Eason Jordan's The News We Kept to Ourselves is a masterpiece of moral relativism and revisionist history. In a nutshell CNN was TOLD DIRECTLY by Uday Hussein that he intended to assassinate two of his brothers-in-law who had defected and also the man giving them asylum, King Hussein of Jordan. Whom did CNN share this news with? Only King Hussein, who was never in any real danger. The Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273784.post-924669372003-04-11T23:47:00.000-04:002005-04-11T12:34:30.756-04:00Sad news about the death of David Bloom and Michael Kelly. David Bloom is remembered by collegues at Romenesko, and Michael Kelly is remembered at Slate.Kevin Aylwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919243938098372345noreply@blogger.com