Voder-Vocoder

I checked my pocket today and I had two shiny Wisconsin quarters. I strongly disapprove of the design.

Stupid cow.

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I installed Fedora Core 3 on my workstaion at home this month. It works fine; I get slightly more up to date versions of the software I use, no big deal. For those who care (really, for my own reference), here’s how I set things up.
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One more thing about how the dollar’s decline will effect us: Stephen Roach has a column,
“When Weakness Is a Strength”
in todays Times. It discusses two possible outcomes: a market crash or a managed correction.

I’ve been worrying about the federal buget deficit and its effect on the value of the dollar. Here’s what Tresury has to say:

At 3.6 percent of GDP, the 2004 deficit is up from the 2003 level of 3.5 percent of GDP and is the highest level since 1993.

The deficit increased in 2004 even though the recession officially ended in November 2001. This is the first time since before the Depression of the 1930s that the deficit has continued to increase this far into a recovery.

Nations in the eurozone are required to keep their deficits under 3% GDP. They don’t always meet this goal, but it is a real goal for them.

The administration here has shown no desire to keep deficits in check. They will not cut military spending and they will not fail to cut more taxes, so theoreticaly, they will have to cut non-military spending (another conservative goal). I don’t see that happening, because as soon as they start to gut those parts of the buget in quantities large enough to make a difference, they will lose the significant percentage of republican voters who believe that the gop can deliver a free lunch. There is an election in a only two years away.

So the dollar will gradually slide against the euro. But it’s not as bad as it could be. It’s only the difference between 3.6% and 3.0%.

found on the internets…

Back during my sophomore year in college there was this girl in one of my physics classes that I thought was pretty hot. She was totally vapid and completely uninteresting in personality, but basically it was just a matter of trying to get into her pants at the time.

Acting under the premise that it’s easier to get with someone by being what they want than who you are, I asked her out to go “clubbing” and she actually agreed to it. That kind of blew my mind but whatever.

So we went out to this place on State Street, and good lord almighty was I bored. Especially since I don’t dance or anything. So we sat at the bar, and she yammered on and on and on and on, and I sat there feining interest. Of course there comes a point where someone, no matter how hot they may be, are just entirely too annoying to ever consider sleeping with. I don’t even know at what point I noticed that she wasn’t even sitting next to me any more, she was grinding with some meathead on the dance floor. So I sat there drinking beers, and guess who sits down next to me?

The Riddler.

I jive you not, the friggin’ Riddler sits down at the bar right next to me.

I mean my god, what are the odds that you’re going to meet the Riddler in a bar in Santa Barbara? And get this… He buys me a drink! He buys me a drink and starts going on about how he got ditched by his date too. For a smart guy, he sure seems to whine an awful lot. He keeps buying me drinks though, and he won’t shut up, and then something hits me…

My god, is the Riddler HITTING ON ME?

So I look at him, and his sitting there sucking on a straw like he’s trying to be seductive, and I think, “OH MY GOD, HE IS TRYING TO HIT ON ME!” Of course I immediately go back to staring straight into my drink and start pondering how the hell I’m going to gracefully extricate myself from this situation, when a hush falls over the crowd. We all turn to the dance floor, and who should be there but BATMAN.

Batman. On the dance floor. And before anyone can know what’s happened, he challenges the Riddler to a dance off right then and there.

Now when you go out clubbing, the last thing you expect to see is the Riddler and Batman get into a dance off, least off all with coreographed back up dancers behind them. It was totally unreal to watch, a feverish blurr of twirls and pelvic thrusts and poses, but in the end there could only be one winner.

The Riddler.

Sorry Batman, but as athletic as you are, you just weren’t gay enough to out dance the Riddler. Of course that didn’t stop Batman from just punching his lights out and doing that little zip line thingy to book it out of there.

So I stuck around for a while out of that before leaving, and when I get outside, what do you think I see? My date hopping into the Batmobile. Of all the luck.

LEGENDS OF BATMAN!

— Mike Miksch (source)

I am almost thankful for the incompetence of the administration. The decline of the dollar, which has accelerated in the past month, might eventually force Americans to be more humble.

Extra credit to whoever points out the flaw in this statement.

Bachelor Chow. Serves 1 (duh).

1. Make some ramen noodles. Feel free to substitute whatever other pasta or rice you have on hand.
2. Drain water. Use of a collinder is discouraged, because a true bachelor will make this with one pot and one fork. No other dishes to wash.
3. Add a can of Hormel chili with beans. Mix together.
4. Heat on medium until everything is hot.
5. Eat

This meal costs less than a dollar. You get what you pay for.

When the poets take over, top and bottom will become truth and beauty again.

Q: You talk about how the radical conservatives have distorted the term “liberalism.” What’s your definition of liberalism?

A:

[1] Keeping church and state separate.

[2] Fighting concentrations of economic power that undermine democracy.

[3] Expanding social insurance, including health care.

[4] And extending the reach of international law and human rights.

These principles all interact. They have to do with the interdependence of all of us.

—Robert Reich (source)

Let’s explain what these “central vote-counting” machines are. Basically, it’s a machine running Microsoft Windows with a Microsoft Access database attached. (Note to the computer-savvy among you: Yes, I shit you not. MS Access. Jeez.)

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