Rediscover Communication

2009-08-01T23:28:00.003-05:00

REST IN PEACE MAXIMUS
Unknown-08/01/09 [15-20 yrs]

In 2004 my mother died and I inherited a cat. An 18lb orange tabby my brother had named Maximus on account of his size. You see my mother had adopted him from some Ironton trailer trash. Being recently separated from a longtime feline friend (another neutered male), he was needy. He would hug and use his mind bending purrs to achieve his goals of unending massage.
I promised my mom that I would look after the cat when she moved into the hospital/hospice and soon after became his owner. He has been my roommate for the past 4 yrs. Best cat eva. I once turned down an offer for $2500 to sell him. This was no ordinary cat. Regal. Expressive. Sometimes pissy and abusive. Other times almost courteous. I don't understand it.

Last week the vet explained he had "water around his heart". I had specifically not heard that phrase since it was used to explain my mom's condition in her final days. The x-rays showed heart failure / liver cancer and he was sent home with a diuretic Rx and no eta but terminal nonetheless.

Only a matter of time.

I had underestimated my attachment to this animal. Did Max represent some vicarious connection to my mother's memory? Or was it just that I was used to having him around? Or was I just being a big baby?
Whatever the cause I was prone to random bouts of tears on the bus, all day, and often when I would leave work in the morning trying to gauge his breathing.
His last week was spent dining on wet food and getting as much attention as he desired.
As the week went on I began to realize there were no viable taxidermy options, and max was slowly deteriorating. I set the appointment 2 days ago. The lady called it 'euthanasia'. A word I had subjectively ascribed to referring to human death of some sort - not animal. I considered the implications of our pets being allowed a painless death while our relatives our made to suffer and wallow? It made me want to go back in time and feed my mom the best key lime pie.
Last night his breathing became much worse and jerky. He made it through the night without crying but wouldn't eat this morning. I knew termination was the best thing for him.

My cabbie got wind of the situation en route to the vet. He proceeded to tell me about how his 19yr old dog had a stroke and died 3yrs later the same day that his dad died of stroke. WTF. Also his cancerous 10yr old feline was on holistic meds. Suddenly my story didn't seem so pitiful. Somehow this helped me to once again regain that pragmatic lens.
Literally my only question for the tech was "Can I push the syringe myself?".
"No, I'm sorry." she replied.

2009-06-01T18:53:00.004-05:00

Absolute best summary of the MN Senate recount, and election challenge up to date through 05/31. Warning! 19min.

credit to theuptake.org

2009-04-14T22:01:00.002-05:00

Required viewing!

Reminds me of old Counting Crows before they sobered up and had children.

"one day I'll wake up and I'll be 38
doing the things I used to hate
the trick to forget the bigger picture is when
you look at everything in close-up as often as you can"

also recommended:
Milow sings a song about a Priest

Milow 50cent cover

Milow impromptu Snoop cover

2009-03-28T12:47:00.003-05:00

I always enjoy Matt Taibbi's writings and recently he face planted the new Corpro-Financial-Political overlords in the RS article The Big Takeover. I have to say that we will be dealing with this for a long time if we don't put it down quickly. The problem is approaching the threshold to be preventable by pitchfork. All of us might be well served to self-educate at this point.
Some excerpts:

...When one considers the comparatively extensive system of congressional checks and balances that goes into the spending of every dollar in the budget via the normal appropriations process, what's happening in the Fed amounts to something truly revolutionary � a kind of shadow government with a budget many times the size of the normal federal outlay, administered dictatorially by one man, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke. "We spend hours and hours and hours arguing over $10 million amendments on the floor of the Senate, but there has been no discussion about who has been receiving this $3 trillion," says Sen. Bernie Sanders. "It is beyond comprehension."....

...In essence, Paulson and his cronies turned the federal government into one gigantic, half-opaque holding company, one whose balance sheet includes the world's most appallingly large and risky hedge fund, a controlling stake in a dying insurance giant, huge investments in a group of teetering megabanks, and shares here and there in various auto-finance companies, student loans, and other failing businesses. Like AIG, this new federal holding company is a firm that has no mechanism for auditing itself and is run by leaders who have very little grasp of the daily operations of its disparate subsidiary operations.

In other words, it's AIG's rip-roaringly shitty business model writ almost inconceivably massive � to echo Geithner, a huge, complex global company attached to a very complicated investment bank/hedge fund that's been allowed to build up without adult supervision. How much of what kinds of crap is actually on our balance sheet, and what did we pay for it? When exactly will the rent come due, when will the money run out? Does anyone know what the hell is going on? And on the linear spectrum of capitalism to socialism, where exactly are we now? Is there a dictionary word that even describes what we are now? It would be funny, if it weren't such a nightmare....

....There is a reason it used to be a crime in the Confederate states to teach a slave to read: Literacy is power. In the age of the CDS and CDO, most of us are financial illiterates. By making an already too-complex economy even more complex, Wall Street has used the crisis to effect a historic, revolutionary change in our political system � transforming a democracy into a two-tiered state, one with plugged-in financial bureaucrats above and clueless customers below...

If you simple can't take 20 minutes to read the full article (slowly, and re-reading the heavy parts) then consider the insight of the great George Carlin on the real owners of this country. And yes, its in easy to digest video format.

"But I'll tell you what they don't want. They don't want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking." - George Carlin

2009-03-07T13:16:00.002-06:00

well we got some chess on the first day.
5 euros per game!

2009-02-13T00:50:00.001-06:00

Happy Darwin Day!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

2009-02-08T11:48:00.002-06:00

Songs will be sung about this day. Credit to TrekMovie for this

The televised version is only funny because the newscaster says "Trac" like an idiot.

The question is did this guy indeed use a bat'leth or some other kind of fantasy weapon/dagger thing? Consider the following. By far the most common incarnation of this weapon throughout the series looks like this:

Notice how the blade arches inward, the sharp part being the inside of the half circle not the outside.

Our perps blade seems to be sharp on the outside, like this ebay listing claiming to be Lursa's weapon:

But the problem with all these weapons is they are much too big. Our perp's weapon can't be much longer than 25" while a standard bat'leth wouldn't fit through a 7-11 door sideways. After some searching I came across this:
The Sacred Sword of Kahless
Which seems more likely though 43" is still unlikely.

I then stumbled on this great analysis from Squid.org

They were able to narrow it down to a cheap one handed dagger knock-off calling itself "Klingon". This kid could have acquired it at a county fair for all we know.

He might not even know what a Klingon is. He is without honor.
But what is even worse is the media portraying it so simply. Compare the Squid debunking with the Dever Post coverage. Bullshit.

2009-02-05T00:27:00.001-06:00

This guy is fucking hilarious.

I wanna buy some leather now. ha!

2009-01-27T22:53:00.004-06:00

Rachel calls it "Blogo's Big Day"

I call it his Magical Media Mystery Tour. Fucker is on the View (insanely bizarre) instead of attending his own impeachment. Its pathetic and hilarious - thus entertaining.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

2009-01-22T23:38:00.001-06:00

From Blogger Pictures

2009-01-16T00:15:00.001-06:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Go Turley!

2008-12-18T21:09:00.002-06:00

REcount drama in MN continues. I'm watching live coverage on theuptake.org that just concluded. Franken is now down by 5 votes and trending to overtake Coleman tomorrow by several dozen votes. However, remember several piles of ballots are still left out of this total. The withdrawn challenges that amount to somewhere around 6,000 + need to be factored in. And the improperly rejected absentee ballots need to be reconciled.
If you want more math and depth - the authority/god/prophet is Nate Silver.
here is a widget.

2008-11-24T19:45:00.000-06:00

Required viewing this holiday season.

What Would Jesus Buy?

2008-11-08T12:30:00.001-06:00

Voting Machines Elect One Of Their Own As President

2008-11-06T23:08:00.002-06:00

27 seconds is all it takes...

Si se puede!

2008-10-25T23:43:00.003-05:00

RIP Paul.

video from 10/25/2007. Thanks to Crooks and Liars for bringing it to my attention.

2008-09-27T22:02:00.000-05:00

I upgraded the firmware on my PDA phone and I've been playing with it all day.

2008-09-06T11:50:00.000-05:00

that about sums it up.

2008-07-24T19:28:00.002-05:00

"... I will LASH OUT DANCING LIKE
A MADMAN WHEN YOU'RE GONE...
...and I will spit the blue flame
and hurl my glass against the wall..."

- m doughty -

2008-06-20T18:48:00.001-05:00

Wexler sums it up!

Impeach Now.

2008-06-10T01:49:00.005-05:00

If you're wondering what the Mainstream is not informing you about its this. Just this evening, Rep Dennis Kucinich of OH has introduced 35 articles of impeachment of George W Bush for numerous high crimes. It took him over 4 hours to recite all of the charges. It has begun. I'm proud to say that my congressman Rep Ellison was chairing the house to conclude such an occasion. I am extremely proud of these boys.

You can read the text here.

I have listened to much of this myself. Maybe I'm a geek. Maybe I've got a soft spot for justice. I dunno.
What I do know is Kucinich has taken the first step toward accountability. FINALLY.

Support Wexler's push for impeachment! Scotty is going to testify before congress to confirm who know what when. Look for McClellen to have an "accident" in the next 9 days.

2008-04-26T15:34:00.004-05:00

Atheist soldier claims harassment

It eventually came out in Iraq in 2007, when he was in a firefight. Hall was a gunner on a Humvee, which took several bullets in its protective shield. Afterward, his commander asked whether he believed in God, Hall said.

"I said, 'No, but I believe in Plexiglas,"' Hall said. "I've never believed I was going to a happy place. You get one life. When I die, I'm worm food."

Cool troop. I personally believe that when I die the FSM enters through the cosmic belly button hundreds of miles beneath Iowa and will consume the worm food that is my body. I invite you to prove me wrong.

2008-03-16T01:51:00.002-05:00

Chris Hitchens explains Why Women Aren't Funny.

Sexist? Bah.
Observation and reason are all we have. Use it. Adjust.

2008-02-15T08:05:00.000-06:00

The F word.

/agree

2007-11-18T11:58:00.001-06:00

long live UCB.