Month: June 2006

Craig may be right here when he notes that the businesses that cash checks for the poor may simply stop doing so if New York State begins to more stringently regulate the fees these businesses charge for such services, but that’s neither here nor there. I’d just like to respond to something Craig writes in his post:

The Democrats (and all this type of regulation comes from them) still cling to the notion that the poor and irresponsible actually vote.

No, the Democrats still cling to the notion that the poor are people. That makes a difference.

I’ll save for another day my ongoing irritation with the continual philosophical stance of those on the Right toward the poor — i.e., “You made your bed, now lie in it and stop bothering me.” I’ve never understood the idea that every bed is a self-made one.

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Just a quick bit o’ pimpage (for which I have not received any financial consideration, thus preserving my stance as a Blogger o’ Squeaky Clean Ethicalness): at The Store, my job as late has taken me into more involved maintenance duties. As such, I’ve been allowed to put together a pretty impressive, if I do say so myself, collection of hand tools for the job. And by far, the best products I’ve found thus far come from the good folks at Klein Tools.

I’ve been very impressed with the workmanship of these tools, and I heartily recommend them. And if the only tool you think you need to have around is a multi-function screwdriver, Klein makes a great one of those, too. It’s a ten-in-one (two Philips, two flathead, two star-head, two square-head, two nut-driver) that never leaves my person when I’m at work.

I also strongly recommend voting Democratic.

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May this bunny procreate with abundance unknown even to his prolific species. He’s earned it.

Airbus jet, heh — I got a bunny, bitches.

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We have, in our home, a Vile Scourge against which The Wife and I have been largely ineffective. Luckily for us, we introduced to our home one Cat (well, one particular Cat), who has proved more than up to the challenge of ridding us of this Vile Scourge. And now, thanks to the unceasing vigil of the Cat, we can sleep safely again, secure in the knowledge that we are once again safe from….

….Toilet Paper.

Here’s our Intrepid Feline, just after ripping the heart out of his natural enemy:

What would we do without him!

(Oh, and a Very Public Service Announcement: if you make a habit of keeping the bathroom door closed while out, in order to protect the TP supply from the Intrepid Feline, make sure that said Intrepid Feline is actually out of the bathroom before closing the door. Otherwise, the TP just doesn’t have a prayer. Seriously. We’re talking “hobbled cow dipped into the pirahna pool” territory here.)

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Can anyone tell me why Paul T. Riddell, who formerly had the LiveJournal residing here, has deleted his journal? If he’s done blogging, fine, but is there anything worse going on? I’ve enjoyed his work for years, even though he always struck me as a guy with enough self-loathing for ten people.

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So I’m watching this NBC show Treasure Hunters right now, and I’m not really enjoying it all that much. It’s pretty much of a pure rip-off of The Amazing Race, but after one hour, the contestants have been in four or five different locations, only stopping long enough to uncover a clue in the treasure hunt. But the clues only lead onto the next clue, and still, the show ends with everybody in the same place at the same time. So what’s the point? So far the show doesn’t seem to have any of the geographical love that made me get obsessive about TAR.

This show should have been designed to be non-linear. Apparently there are seven “artefacts” that eventually lead to “the treasure”, but the teams are all spending each episode heading for the same “artefact”. I’d rather just see them handed a bunch of clues at the outset as to where the artefacts might be in the US, and then just step back and say, “Go find them.” That would be interesting.

(I’m not sure my complaint makes sense, as I’ve written it here. If anyone’s befuddled by what I mean, leave a comment to that effect. I’m having one of those “I know what I want to say but I’m not sure how to say it just yet” moments. Normally, I’d solve this problem by not posting until I’ve figured it out. Sue me!)

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Blogging rule #37: When in doubt, mess around with the template. I’m going to be tinkering around with different color combinations here for a bit. Nothing major. If you experience seizures, it isn’t my fault!

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I know that my general sense of fashion trends toward the eccentric, but even I have some limits. Under no circumstances will I buy these.

Wow-za!

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It seems that the Democratic Party has abandoned the slogan “Together America can do better” (which I lampooned here), in favor of “A New Direction for America”. That’s slightly better, but as Steven Den Beste points out (scroll down; it was a few days ago and SDB doesn’t do the permalink thing), it can be heard as “A nude erection for America”. Well, now.

I was wondering if anyone at the Democratic National Comittee had realized the phonic problem inherent in their new slogan, so I gave them a call. Sadly, I was not able to reach any of the four people I’d hoped could clarify this: I. P. Freleigh, Amanda Hugginkiss, Stu Pidass, or Heywood Jablome.

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