p-baby

Despite running a fever of approximately 375.6 degrees, I made it down to Providence to see the first baby of the 120's crew - Pisit's Casey. Daisuke and Susan accompanied me, and we met Hakeem there - only missing Gordon and Jon for full quorum.

I didn't want to get Casey sick, so I kept my distance the best I could - but, from afar, she looked like quite a bundle of joy:
(more pictures here).

Hakeem had to leave us early to go on a date. At the time, we thought we gave him enough crap for departing early, but in retrospect, perhaps a bit more may have been in order. So, which quote/scene from "Borat" do you think best describes his date?

A. "Hi, would you like to be my friend?"
B. "I don't love you, Pamela... NOT!"
C. Grown man, crying with his chicken
D. A, followed by B and C

work story

Just like the ancient Greeks passed their myths by word of mouth, every workplace has its own share of stories floating around. Ours is no exception. This particular story underlines just how hard it is to get fired from my company.

The entrances to our buildings are staffed by security personnel during business hours, but after 6PM you need your badge to get in. As you walk in, you go through double doors - swipe your badge, the first door opens; walk through, close the first door, and the second one opens. That's how we keep the Commies out.

One night, an enterprising employee decided to steal a couch from one of the common areas. He brought it downstairs and got it through the first set of doors - but couldn't close the first door before he could open the second. So there he was, pretty much stuck.

It needs to be mentioned that the area between the two doors is in plain view of a surveillance camera, which is also equipped with an intercom. A security guard came on the speaker and informed the employee that he should probably put the furniture back.

Best part - even this debacle didn't get the employee fired.

blackwater

I'm sure you remember the disturbing images of four charred bodies hanging from a bridge in Falluja. It was a tragedy, no matter which way you look at it. But, after hearing about it, I distinctly remember thinking: why those four "civilian contractors" were just driving around this unstable area without an armed escort?

Only now do I realize that they were the armed escort, mercenaries hired on US taxpayer money, doing the fighting (supposedly on our behalf) with no oversight of the traditional army structure.

You need to read this article, then sit back and think, where in the hell are we heading as a nation...

on the subject of speeding

I just read somewhere that in Finland, the traffic fines are proportional to your income. Now that is fair. Keeping fines proportional punishes everybody by the same measure while it puts the dough into the municipal budget.

Unfortunately, the fines are rarely given out, since it's difficult to speed in a sled.

miso lucky

So today I decided to race to the grocery store after work, to get some easy-on-the-teeth items for Susie, as she's getting her wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow. Owww. Anyhoo, I was having a good run at the Burlington gran prix: lots of turns, lots of elevation changes... and apparently, lots of cops.

Good thing that I braked for some water on the pavement before a blind turn, getting my speed down to somewhere within double of the speed limit. But, the iron fist of the law was waiting for me right at the apex. OK, he got me.

Now, this is one situation that I have a lot of life experience with. Hands on the wheel, stay calm and don't spook the officer - but most importantly, plead complete ignorance of the offense. When he told me that the speed limit was 25mph, it was like he told me that pigs could fly (no pun whatsoever intended).

Apparently, the guy had better things to do, so he drove off without even giving me a written warning. Bottom line: don't ever, ever admit that you were going even a mile over the speed limit. It's the officer's job to protect the law, and if you admit to breaking it, it's his job to punish you.

So practice this over and over, "Really, officer, I was going 110 in a 55??"

why is the right so wrong?

Usually, I take any news from a site that calls itself "TreeHugger" with the same grain of salt as the news from a site that calls itself "Fox News". However, this time around, the article was just too good to pass up.

TreeHugger reports that Christian conservatives have written a letter to the National Association of Evangelicals, urging their VP to cease discussing global warming in favor of more "great moral issues", such as opposition to gay marriage and abortion.

Surely, I thought, this is an example of that darn liberal media spinning good intentions of the persecuted Christians. No one in their right mind would suggest that the fate of the entire planet is less important than the debate over whether women should have control over their bodies, right?

Wrong. Read the letter for yourself.

Oh yeah, and in case you're wondering where you've seen the National Association of Evangelicals mentioned before - their president has resigned recently over allegations that he repeatedly paid a prostitute to have sex (of the gay kind, of course) and abused meth.

excerpt from a google chat

Jonas: i have this thing called a psp that i play with
me: Pretty Small Penis?

let the rain come

Today started off with torrential downpours, which is somewhat rare in what was once the winter season. Still, this weather that seemed to suck at first proved to be a life-saver.

We were scheduled to take a look at a house that already had a couple of offers. On paper, it looked like a great deal - over 2 acres of land, gas heat, central air, the works. It still seemed like a great deal when we walked in... until we discovered several waterfalls on the inside... and we're not talking about the decorative kind.

It seems like the owners cut a few corners when building a roof over the addition, which resulted in a spectacular torrent that seeped through the cracks and cascaded onto the finished floor of the lower level. How about this offer - instead of us paying them, the owners can pay us to live in that house?