Shark Attacks Blamed on Global Warming

Useful Idiots

Written on Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 by lorien1973 :: 2 Comments so far

The rise in recent shark attacks has been blamed on Global Warming(tm).

Some experts suggest that an abundance of seals has attracted high numbers of sharks, while others believe that overfishing has hit their food chain. ‘I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but it’s a convenient excuse,’ Burgess said. Another contributory factor to the location of shark attacks could be global warming and rising sea temperatures. ‘You’ll find that some species will begin to appear in places they didn’t in the past with some regularity,’ he said.

I wonder if this is a reporter prompted response or the ‘expert’ personally believes Global Warming(tm) is causing the attacks. In either case, since ocean temperatures are falling:

The world’s oceans cooled suddenly between 2003 and 2005, losing more than 20 percent of the global-warming heat they’d absorbed over the previous 50 years. That’s a vast amount of heat, since the oceans hold 1,000 times as heat as the atmosphere. The ocean-cooling researchers say the heat was likely vented into space, since it hasn’t been found stored anywhere on Earth.

It seems like a rather illogical conclusion to reach doesn’t it? What isn’t being blamed on Global Warming these days? It’s gotten to the point where the whole thing is a joke. This is caused by it; that’s caused by it. It’s really no wonder at all that the same number of people worry about it today as they did 20 years ago. All these blizzards during Earth Day/Global Warming celebrations in April aren’t going to get those numbers higher.

Update: Tim Blair notes that Global Warming(tm) will give us all AIDS too. Stunning.

Orangatun Uses a Spear

I, for one, welcome our new simian overlords.

Written on Sunday, April 27th, 2008 by lorien1973 :: 1 Comment so far

For the first time ever, an Orangatun was photographed a spear to catch fish. Tool use is not new for Orangatuns, they have already reached the intelligence level of most guys with a remote control:

an adult male orang-utan broke off a dead branch and used it to scratch his rear for half a minute.

So I’m not too worried, yet. Even less worrisome, is that this orangatun seemed to have just been copying the idea from local fisherman:

This individual had seen locals fishing with spears on the Gohong River.

Although the method required too much skill for him to master, he was later able to improvise by using the pole to catch fish already trapped in the locals’ fishing lines.

So, the orangatun did not come up with the idea on his own. This is simply a case of “monkey see, monkey do”.  Ace is justifiably alarmed at the concept though.

We know where this train is headed.

So, is it time to nuke ‘em from orbit, just to be sure? Not yet. But maybe it is time to re-aim a few nukes their way. Just to be safe. You know. For now, I’m just going to blame Global Warming(tm).

This, on the heels of scientists revealing that the Tyrannosaurus Rex was just a big chicken; my whole concept of the planet has been shattered.

Boba Fett and the Case For Parental Involvement

Star Wars teaches so many life lessons.

Written on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 by lorien1973 :: Be the first to Comment

In Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, we are introduced to a character called Boba Fett, who is an galactically renowned Bounty Hunter. The only one, in fact called out by Darth Vader (”No disintegrations”) and is the one who tracks Han Solo to Cloud City. He is eventually killed (or maybe not, it’s never really explained) in Return of the Jedi while Han Solo is attempting to escape Jabba the Hutt.

While his part in the original movies is limited; his back story is greatly expanded upon in the second set of movies, starting with Attack of the Clones.  Here, we learn that his father, Jango Fett is the original source of the Clone Troopers (and thus the Storm Troopers) and that Boba Fett is a clone of him as well, but allowed to age normally. He lives with Jango on the Water Planet, being trained and educated by his father.

Jango is eventually killed (by Mace Windu, if memory serves) and Boba Fett takes up the family business of being a Bounty Hunter. Where, apparently, he performs marvelously in this enterprise for at least 20 years, the presumed time span between Episode 3 and Episode 4.

But what of Boba’s brothers? The Clone/Storm Troopers? Now is where you can get some interesting comparisons between different educational systems and the need of a father figure. Especially in regards to Lucas’ beliefs.

Boba was home schooled, educated by his father, taught independence, a trade and became one of the most well known bounty hunter in a brief period of time.

His clone brothers were schooled in a government run mass education camp, stripped of their independence, taught that the could only be one thing and they had no choice, and they became cannon fodder. Eagerly dying at the whim of their masters.

Boba became a crack marksman and scout - tracking down anyone who had a bounty and killing (nearly) anyone who came into his path. His brothers couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn - they were perhaps the worst marksmen ever to populate that galaxy. Awful shots.

Boba was also an excellent pilot. The Troopers had specialists who were pilots, specialists who rode on things in the woods, specialists who worked in cold environments, etc. Apparently, their mass governmental training facilities weren’t set up well enough to train them in more than one skill - and the one it did trained them for, they weren’t very good at.

Finally, Boba Fett and his father, because of their training seemed to be immune to the Force powers (at least the mind control ones); while Storm Troopers were consistently fooled by the most simple tricks, which always hampered them in their missions - and usually cost them their lives.

So, what’s the lessons here? Clearly Lucas believes that home schooling and parental involvement in that schooling is far superior to mass education camps (public schools). And I think Boba would agree.

Example of a Strawman Argument

Plus, bonus misunderstanding of who earns money.

Written on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 by lorien1973 :: Be the first to Comment

I always love easy examples of a strawman argument. Today’s comes to us from this blog, which I stumbled across today.

So how much easier could the answer be in solving the AMT crisis (or any crisis really)? Just cut the damn AMT out of the Internal Revenue Code and . . . bingo! . . . Americans will start making more money and the federal budget will be balanced.

No one argues that decreasing taxes will  balance the budget alone. Supply side economics argues that when you lower taxes, you increase the amount of money people keep, which in turn, is used to help the economy grow. Which leads to, in the end, higher revenue for the government. Furthermore, when one argues for supply side economics, they usually do so while arguing for spending cuts at the same time. It’s a mixture of both that lead to a balanced budget. One cannot work without the other.

But, more importantly, this blogger seems to think that cutting taxes means Americans will start making more money. Does the author believe that it’s Washington’s money and that if you give someone a $500 tax break, they earn $500 more per year, and thus making more money? That’s an astonishing belief system. A little sad, but telling.

 So why isn’t the GOP demanding the repeal of the AMT on the ground that the damned tax-and-spend Democrat[ ] Party is once again in the way of progress?

Actually, some senators have been pushing for a repeal of the AMT. Both Republicans and Democrats. Maybe the real question should be is, why aren’t Democrats (who currently control congress) pushing for a repeal of the AMT? They chair the House Ways and Means Committee and the Finance Committee. Furthermore, in 2006, the states that had the most victims of the AMT were (PDF link): New Jersey, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maryland, Massachussetts, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Rhode Island, North Dakota and New York.

So the other question would be - if the AMT is so devastating, why are only 2 of the 20 Senators in the most affected states pushing for it’s repeal and co-signed onto most recent legistlation to kill it? I’m going to hazard to guess that most of these 10 states (NE primarily) have 2 Democrat Senators. Why aren’t they looking out for their constituency? They are being burdened with an unfair tax that exempts most Americans, right?

Obama Compares Hillary to Annie Oakley

Epic Fail.

Written on Sunday, April 13th, 2008 by lorien1973 :: Be the first to Comment

After yesterday, I thought we’d be done with this. But Obama decided that he needs to compound his error by claiming that Hillary is Annie Oakley. While it’s an obvious attempt to attack her ridiculous claim that she is somehow a fan of hunting and guns, Obama has given Hillary yet another chance to fake her non-elitist credentials.

 ”She’s running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsmen, how she values the Second Amendment, she’s talking like she’s Annie Oakley! Hillary Clinton’s out there like she’s on the duck blind every Sunday, she’s packin’ a six shooter! C’mon! She knows better. That’s some politics being played by Hillary Clinton. I want to see that picture of her out there in the duck blinds.”

By thanking him for comparing her to Oakley. It’ll help shed her own “elitist” air while making him appear more so. How? By listing off some of Oakley’s acheivements through life. All she has to do is go to Wikipedia:

Because of poverty, she did not attend school. Paid off her own mortgage through hunting and selling the kills to locals. She also supported her siblings. (She was probably bitter though - since Obama’s government was not there to do all of this for her, so Obama has that going for him!) She promoted service of women in the military, championed women’s rights and she gave much of her fortune to charity once she died.

So, Hillary. Run with this one, too. Obama is looking ridiculous this whole weekend and this whole episode will help you win PA. Run with the Oakley comparison. Keep this thing going. Republicans are loving it. Both of you look ridiculous. But you are ever so slightly less so.

Halp Us Brak, We R Stuck in Small Town

Halp Us

Written on Friday, April 11th, 2008 by lorien1973 :: 8 Comments so far

Obama put his foot in it again today, saying that:

And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

So, in celebration of his discovery of my bitterness and anger, here is a photo from my small town today; complete with the general sentiment of those who live here:

So my small town agrees (as does the media). Just a bunch of gun toting, bible reading, unemployed hicks waiting for our Jesus to come along and save us from our world of pain and suffering.

It doesn’t bug me that Obama thinks this about small town folks (is anyone -really- surprised that he thinks this?), but that he doesn’t even have the audicity (of hope) to tell small town folks to their faces that he wants to spread his message. Hey, Obama, if you are gonna bring hope to these downtrodden people, I suggest you begin them on their 12 step journey; help them see that they are xenophobic protectionist gun toting bible thumpers who stroke their rifle because jesus tells them too. Help them see the error of their ways. But do it to their face, not to a bunch of billionaires in San Francisco.

Hallelujah!

(More coverage at Instapundit and Ace)

Hidden Object Game Review: Can You See What I See?

Great Graphics.

Written on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 by lorien1973 :: 2 Comments so far

Can You See What I See is a hidden object game that you can download at Big Fish Games. All of these types of games are essentially the same; but what sets this game apart is the graphics. This has, by far, the best graphics of any of these game types that I’ve ever seen. i’m not sure if the locations are shot with actual items or if the artist is just the best ever, but either way the game has wonderful scenes.

See image for an example:

The downside to these backdrops is that, generally, objects are very easy to find. And most of the time they are. After visiting the same drawer a few times, you can locate items almost instantly. This problem is most apparent on the stuffed animal and dinosaur ones - where the game does a very poor job at hiding things.

The game also features a memory mini game to progress to the next level. The game has no time limit, so you can essentially click around until you finish. The game would really lose nothing by just getting rid of this entire debacle. Time limit would have at least made it challenging.

The game also hides “rare” items in the scenes from time to time. They are all historical in nature and give a nice spoken lesson about them after they are found. These objects require you to find them in a time limit and some are near impossible to find, not only because you aren’t exactly sure what you are looking for, but because the object is obscurely hidden somehwere in the scene.

Overall, the game features tremendous graphics and a cute story line. I enjoyed it and for $6.99 (more if you don’t join the Big Fish Games club), it’s a pretty good bargain.

I’ve downloaded several of these hidden object games over the past week or so and I’ll review others coming up shortly. Some good, some bad.

Olivia Mojica Sends Me a Love Letter

I feel special!

Written on Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 by lorien1973 :: 3 Comments so far

So who knows how long ago, I find Olivia Mojica’s sex tape (nice keyword there, eh? let’s bold it so everyone knows how important it is - that’s better) online where she’s banging nasties with her boyfriend, so of course, I embed the thing on my site. Liveleak took the video down a few days later so you all couldn’t watch it unless you were fast. Didn’t miss much; just your average chick getting nailed. You know how it is. Pretty boring, really. But her being “famous” always makes the mundane more interesting, I had to post it.

I hadn’t even thought about the post since, oh about 10 minutes after I embedded it. But lo and hehold, today I get a notice from my host that I’m infringing copyrights because of the remnant screen cap of the embed. Who knew that screen captures were copyright protected? It could have been any random chick with black hair. Oh well.

But I got a love letter anyways that I’ll keep for posterity. It has a phone number on it, so if I never need a date, I know who to call! All the DMCA shows is that, yes, she did have her sex tape put online (in case anyone was in doubt of that fact) and that she knew the tape was being made.

Here’s my general opinion of sex tapes. If you don’t want them to appear online, don’t make one. If you don’t want people online see your hoo-hoo’s and ha-ha don’t make one. It’s all really very simple.

What’s even more unusual about this whole incident is that making a video of yourself banging nasties and it being put online - illegal. Standing in public and having some pervert take a picture without your knowledge of your ha-ha and posting it online - legal. What a world.

Obama & Hillary: How the Campaign Changed (in Pictures)

Pictures tell the slant

Written on Friday, March 21st, 2008 by lorien1973 :: 4 Comments so far

It’s been an interesting week for the Obama campaign. Rev. Wright and all that hub-bub. With Hillary laughing her way to the bank - in terms of rising in the polls. Obama’s halo has come off and so has, apparently, the media’s gloves. The picture below tells the entire story.

Old: Hillary: Old. Tired.  Obama: New. The Messiah. An Angel. Hope. Jesus.

New: Hillary: Vibrant. Engaged. Obama: A Zombie?

When the media turns against you and puts prominent photos like this on the web; you got problems. Awful:

As a Republican, I’m laughing myself silly of this absolutely ridiculous primary season. Democrats had 2008 tied up. Presidency was theirs to lose. Now? Not so much. I’m not a McCain fan, but it seems more and more likely that the race is his to win. Hillary voters are saying they won’t vote Obama in Nov. Obama voters are saying the same thing.

Of the two, I’d prefer Hillary to win. She’s a pragmatist. Interested in her own survival, much like her husband. He signed welfare reform and passed a balanced budget at the behest of the Republican House/Senate. She’ll do the same. It’s all about the legacy with them.

H/T: Hotair for the ABC link.

Garfield: A Lesson in Schizophrenia

Awesome. Just awesome.

Written on Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 by lorien1973 :: 5 Comments so far

I saw a new(?) site out there that takes Garfield comics, but removes that stupid unfunny fat cat and turns into a lesson in schizophrenia. Here is a sampling of the comics:

It’s hilarious and sad all at the same time. Garfield, as you can see, isn’t really missed and the comic simply morphs into reality. Where the cat doesn’t talk back (or is even present) and Jon is just, more or less, a little insane. Wonderful!

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