Rudy

Rudy Giuliani
I think he’s smart to actually put a platform out early on rather than sit around waiting for opinion polls to shape his platform. He is appealing to the base that Bush forgot. I’m not saying that I’m considering rejoining the ranks of the Republican party or anything, but as a social conservative it is important to me that someone is willing to stand for something.

See Rudy’s 12 Commitments .

Minor league baseball pwns the majors.

Major league baseball lost me a long time ago…with all their strikes and miscellaneous crybaby nonsense from both owners and players, it’s clear that the fans are the last thing on their minds. Every one is in it for himself. At least in the minors, players are trying. It’s also more likely that you’ll get your money’s worth at a minor league game. If you’re lucky, you’ll also get to see a manager lose his mind, like Phil Wellman who manages the Mississippi Braves.

YouTube: Minor League Braves Manager Phil Wellman Goes Nuts

Commodore: Still first in our hearts

I mentioned Commodore’s new foray into high-performance gaming rigs in the PC market, but it also bears mentioning that you can experience all the joy of classic C64 gaming at Commodore’s website.

Commodore Gaming: Play classic C64 games

Microsoft Surface in a new video teaser

In a new teaser, Microsoft is touting its new, revolutionary GUI, Surface.

It looks cool, but how far away is Surface, realistically? This interface does not lend itself to everyday interaction. Who wants a computer in their coffee table? Well, the answer is “I do!” but is it really practical?

I’ve seen many demos for interfaces like this — some from MIT student project videos, and I definitely remember seeing other videos on YouTube showing interfaces like it. I’m guessing Microsoft won the bidding war and this is the end result.

YouTube: Microsoft Surface Teaser

Female lawyers know best

An all-female law firm in Chicago is turning heads with a slammin’ new billboard campaign.

Life’s Short: Get a Divorce

ABC News: ‘Life’s Short. Get a Divorce.’ — Chicago Billboard Turns Heads

The Sanjaya Syndrome

In case you hadn’t already figured it out for yourself, American Idol has jumped the shark. They did it to themselves when they let the adorable little brown boy from Seattle into the field. They had a story — the boy and his impish sister — and they let the wrong sibling through.

Now Sanjaya isn’t even taking it seriously anymore. The seven ponytails for good luck and the schoolyard insults are just fuel for the fire as far as America is concerned.

Now the producers are stuck with a Sanjaya Summer Tour. This kid makes Justin Guarini sound like Andrea Bocelli.

If it were career day…

…and my Dad were a “professional LEGO sculptor,” that would be pretty cool.

I do not have an exact count, of course, but a conservative estimate would be that I have half a million (500,000) bricks in my working supply. I have probably used another 300,000 bricks in various projects and models (some of which have gone to clients, others are used in the prototypes about my place). The vast majority of my pieces are standard bricks and plates… probably only about 5% of my supply are ’specialty pieces’ of some type.

Eric Harshbarger: Professional LEGO Sculptor

The re-birth of Commodore

Like millions of others who grew up with Commodore in their living rooms, I was introduced to the amazing world of computer gaming by the Commodore64 personal computer. Some of the best times of my childhood were spent typing “Look West” while playing Planetfall — and all of the other Infocom titles. The text adventures were great, but I don’t think anyone can argue that Commodore defined a generation of computer graphics, culminating with their high-end Amiga desktop series.

Now, Commodore is set to throw their hat in the ring once again. In an article from Pro-G News in the UK, the word is that they are set to introduce “a new breed of gaming PCs that will see the return of the legendary Commodore brand.”

As far as Internet scams go…

I think this one falls into the “Irony” category.

Someone’s daddy didn’t love her

This actually falls into the “Politicians who don’t already have enough to do so they sit around dreaming up new, crackpot legislation,” but that was too long to fit into my sidebar.

Obviously, Sally Lieber didn’t get the attention she craved as a child, so she’s out to make sure that you don’t get to decide how best to discipline your child. She is failing miserably at life, and we are being told she failed miserably at her effort to introduce new legislation in California that would make spanking a crime.

Think this idea is far-fetched? Not really. In fact, while the news of the world is that she dropped her efforts, the truth is that she successfully introduced the bill to the California State Assembly today. She uses language like “use of force” instead.

Says Karen England, Executive Director of Capitol Resource Institute:

Assemblywoman Lieber has claimed that she is no longer going to ban ‘spanking’. This is mere semantics as AB 755 on its face bans the use of force in disciplining a child.

This is a tactic often used by politicians to make their legislation seem benign when in fact it is still just as bad.

Parents often use a wooden spoon or ruler to spank their children. This legislation actually bans the use of ‘a stick, a rod, a switch, a belt’—tools often used by responsible parents in spanking disobedient children… [via ChristianNewsWire.com]

Think it couldn’t happen in your state? In your town? Don’t kid yourself. I’m not even a spanking advocate. I reserve that type of punishment as a last resort, and rarely need it. Kids respond to many other forms of punishment, but there are times when brute force is the only thing that will create a lasting impression.

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