100,000+ hits in my old blog

Well, the other day, my old blog broke the 100,000 hit mark.  It’s somewhat remarkable since I haven’t posted any new content there in quite some time, yet, the number of hits haven’t dwindled too much (hovers around the average of 190 hits a day…in excess of 300 hits a day when I was actively posting blogs there).

I figured I’d mention it.  Carry on.

Not taking the Oath on the Bible: No big deal

I don’t think these critics who don’t want Representative Ellison to swear the Oath on the Koran realize what’s going on.  For many, swearing an oath on the Bible works because the oath-taker holds the Bible as sacred and breaking their oath would be horribly blasphemous.

Someone who doesn’t see the Bible as sacred might not feel the same about keeping their word/oath/etc.  An atheist being sworn in on the Bible in court might not think twice about lying under-oath.  If people don’t hold the object they’re being sworn-in-on in high regard (or in any regard), it defeats the purpose of having them swear-in on such an item.

Personally, I don’t have a problem with a Muslim being sworn into Congress on the Koran.  In fact, I’d feel more comfortable if he was being sworn in on something he reveres.  Why?  Because then this person will be taking his Oath seriously.  Rep. Keith Ellison should be allowed to use the Koran to take his oath for that reason alone.

Critics like Dennis Prager feels that America’s book is the Bible and that nothing else should be used for swear-ins.  His only reason is because he finds the Bible holy and that the Bible is what America was built on.  Well, last I checked, America was built on the blood of the Colonists, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and subsequent Amendments to the Constitution.  If anything, forcing someone to swear-in on the Bible when they don’t want to is un-Constitutional and un-American.  John Adams wasn’t a Christian.

Here’s a nice little opinion piece I just found that goes along with what I’m saying…only in a better way.  America has been built on cultural differences, and people like Prager are showing how far this country has drifted from what it was founded on.

Welcome to Bawston (or Boston, as the rest of you call it)

Got this in an email.  Feel free to add.

Welcome to Bawston

For those of you who have never been to “Bawstin”, this is  a good guideline.
I hope you will consider coming to “Beantown” in the near  future. For those who call New England home, this is just plain great!

Information on Boston and the surrounding area:

• There’s no school on School Street, no court on Court Street, no dock on Dock  Square, no water on Water Street.
• Back Bay streets are in alphabetical “oddah”: Arlington, Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, etc.
• So are South Boston streets: A, B, C, D, etc.
• If the streets are named after trees (e.g. Walnut, Chestnut, Cedar), you’re on Beacon Hill.
• If they’re named after poets, you’re in Wellesley.
  
• Massachusetts Ave is Mass Ave.
• Commonwealth Ave is Comm Ave.
• South Boston is Southie.
• The South End is the South End.
  
• East Boston is Eastie.
• The North End is east of the former West End.
  
• The West End and Scollay Square are no more; a guy named Rappaport got rid of them one night.
• Roxbury is The Burry, Jamaica Plain is J.P.

How to  say these Massachusetts city names correctly:
(Say it wrong, be  shunned)

• Worcester: Wuhsta (or Wistah)
• Gloucester :  Glawsta
• Leicester Lesta
• Woburn: Wooban
• Dedham : Dead-um
• Revere:  Re-vee-ah
• Quincy: Quinzee
• Tewksbury : Tooks berry
• Leominster :  Lemon-sta
• Peabody: Pea-ba-dee
• Waltham : Walth-ham
• Chatham:  Chattum

Definitions:

• Frappes have ice cream, milkshakes  don’t.
• If it is fizzy and flavored, it’s tonic.
• Soda is CLUB  SODA.
• “Pop” is Dad.
• When we want Tonic WATER, we will ask for Tonic  WATER.
• The smallest beer is a pint.
• Scrod is whatever they tell you it  is, usually fish. If you paid more than $6/pound, you got scrod.
• It’s not  a water fountain; it’s a bubblah.
• It’s not a trashcan; it’s a  barrel.
• It’s not a spucky it’s a sub.
• It’s not a shopping cart; it’s a  carriage.
• It’s not a purse; it’s a pockabook.
• They’re not franks; they’re haht dahgs; Franks are money in France.
• Police don’t drive  patrol units or black and whites they drive a “crooza”.
  
• If you take the bus,  your on the “looza crooza”.
• It’s not a rubber band, it’s an elastic.
• It’s  not a traffic circle, it’s a rotary.
• “Going to the islands” means Martha’s  Vineyard & Nantucket.
  
• If something’s good, it’s a “pissa”. If  something’s really good, it’s a “wicked pissa”.
  
• The Pat’s = The Patriots
• The Sawx = The Red Sox
• The C’s = The Celtics
• The B’s = The  Bruins

Things not to do:

• Don’t pahk your cah in Hahvid Yahd  … they’ll tow it to Meffa (Medford) or Slumaville (Somerville).
• Don’t  sleep in the Common. (Boston Common)
• Don’t wear Orange in Southie on St. Patrick’s Day.

Things you should know:

• There are two State  Houses, two City Halls, two courthouses, two Hancock buildings (one old, one new for each).
• The colored lights on top the old Hancock tell the  weatha’:
  • “Solid blue, clear view….”
  • “Flashing blue, clouds  due….”
  • “Solid red, rain ahead….”
  • “Flashing red, snow instead….” (except in summer; flashing red means the Red Sox game was rained out)
    
• Route 128 is also I-95 south. It’s also I-93 north.
• The underground train is not a subway. It’s the “T”, and it doesn’t run all night (fah chrysakes, this ain’t Noo Yawk).
• Order the “cold tea” in China  Town after 2:00 am you’ll get a kettle full of beer.
• Bostonians…think that it’s their God-given right to cut off someone in traffic.
• Bostonians…think that there are only 25 letters in the alphabet (no R’s).
• Bostonians…think that three straight days of 90+ temperatures is a heat wave.
• Bostonians…refer to six inches of snow as a “dusting.”
• Bostonians…always “bang a left” as soon as the light  turns green, and oncoming traffic always expects it.
• Bostonians…say  everything in town is “a five-minute walk.” (pronounced “wok”)
• Bostonians…believe that using your turn signal is a sign of weakness.
• Bostonians…think that 63-degree ocean water is warm.
• Bostonians…think Rhode Island accents are annoying.

Mission Accomplished: Part II

Oh, this is hilarious…in a sad and twisted way.

Remember this:

Well, today Bush said that our troops will remain in Iraq and will not be removed until “the mission is complete.”  I’ll give you a moment to think about that.  Did you laugh outloud while crying on the inside?  You can’t make this stuff up.

But, we have to face reality and get serious: Iraq is a clusterfuck.  The troops are caught in the middle of civil war (don’t argue semantics with me, it is what it is).  Our President, apparently, is recycling his press material.  It’s going to come down to Iraqis making things better because they want things to get better and they fight for it; not because we’re fighting for it.

There will always be spam in your Inbox

Let’s face it, people, e-mail companies will always be battling spammers and us, the users, will keep getting caught in the middle of this war.

I believe spam in our inboxes is just an extension of junk mail in our mailboxes and telemarketers calling us during dinner time. I have to believe it’s incredibly expensive, relatively speaking, to produce junk mail and then adding the cost of actually paying for postage. Personally, I’ve seen a reduction in junk mail from the “old days” when I was a wee-kiddie. I think the explosion of e-mail is responsible for that. Telemarketing calls are another form of pre-spam. It serves the same purpose: suckering stupid people into buying crap.

Today, we have e-mail spam and, recently, text spam…the latter costing the recipient. Why do I think spam is here to stay? Despite the best efforts of tech companies to filter this inbox-clogging-crap, there is one factor that tech gurus can’t control: people. More specifically: morons.

CNN reports that 9 out of 10 e-mails are spam. It’s a lucrative business that costs the individuals, companies, or in the case of the article, “gangs” virtually nothing. There is no need to pay for postage or to pay for paper and ink. Just like everything else in the world, the offenders find ways around the defenders, the defenders find a way to block the offenders, and so-on and so-forth.

Back to the morons. They’re the reason why spam will never die. As long as people click on the text links and/or pretty pictures and fall for what they’re reading, there will be a market for spamming. Take one spam e-mail. Out of the millions of this one variant, it only takes thousands of morons to make it profitable.

Couple morons with the fact that spam laws have failed to net all that many spammers and actually get a conviction, and you have yourself a damned fine good business opportunity.

So, until the morons stop their clicking and the spammers get their digits removed, you’ll be seeing those e-mails offering you penis pills (I like my penis the way it is, dammit) and dream vacations (my dream vacation involves a world without spam).

You’ve got spam!