One of the first blogs I ever read...

is no more.

I'm late getting to the recognition of Acidman's passing. Hope he's raising a ruckus up there.

Could always count on him to tell you like it is.

Liquor and Fat Intake Increase Skin Cancer? Duh.

Go figure. See you get drunk, you tend to lose track of time. That's more time washed up and naked somewhere under the sun. And fat intake? Assuming fat is what causes obesity - leads to bigger bodies - aka more surface area. More chances for the sun to give you a nasty dose of radiation colliding with your skin molecules... BOOM! Melanoma.

Geez, I need a grant to study something. Hey Uncle Sam! Give me an earmark!

Buy Coke & Mentos Stock...

Mongrel Financial Consultants have changed their recommendations on buying Coca-Cola stock after the release of Diet Austrian Black Forest Cherry Chocolate Cake with Ice Cream flavor.

They strongly urge you buy stock in Coca-Cola and Mentos. Who cares if the buyers aren't consuming the prodcuts right?

Jim Cantore - grounded?

Guess we'll figure out soon whether or not the rumors about Jim Cantori of Weather Channel fame has been relegated to office duty by his Mrs or not.

Too much excitement from Katrina and what not I figure. One woman's prayers may have been answered....

Yup, maybe even two... :P

Prayer During a Hurricane Watch

O Lord, Thou knowest that when thy servant, Jim Cantore of the Weather Channel, appears in one's general geographic area that one is in great travail. We have seen Jim Cantore on the television and web site and tremble before You. You who are able to speak in the great wind or still small voice, send Jim Cantore farther East by several hundred miles or West by several hundred miles, we pray You. Amen.

Don't Click This

if you don't want an earworm...










... llama llama llama duck!

Hup! Excuse Me.

Walking outta my prairie subterranean office complex I hiccuped. Sort of. Kind of a "Hup!"

A fella halfway down the row turned and said, "Hello!".

He answered to 'Hup'. Weird name for a dude in a suit.

I turned away and chewed on my cud as I walked to my set o' wheels.

test post subject

testing 1 2 3

Racism Today - Europe's Jackie Robinson Moments

is largely absent from US culture in general. (Yes this is one undeducated southerner's opinion.)

But what about overseas?

...15 minutes before the end of a soccer match last month between Spanish Primera Liga leaders Barcelona and rivals Real Zaragoza when Samuel Eto'o decided he'd had enough. Shouting "No mas!" the Barcelona striker turned abruptly and began to walk off the pitch. The chorus of ape noises from the stands at Zaragoza's Romareda stadium, which had sounded each time the Cameroon-born striker touched the ball, erupted louder than ever. Although the referee, other players and his coach eventually persuaded him to stay, Eto'o knew what he was doing. "This is a struggle beyond the football field," he said at a press conference a few days later. "I made my decision because fans attacked me for my color."

And this is just one such incident. France's Thierry Henry was slurred by Spanish national coach Luis Aragones last year. There are plenty of others.

Europe is at a cultural crossroads in this ignorant American's opinion. America has been overcoming this for a century now and in my opinion is way ahead of our European brethren. Whereas a slur or insensitive comment (or sound) doesn't necessarily equate to racism, it is uncalled for. Unfortunately, all of Europe is full of sports fans that are just as awful as our Philadelphia fans. But even our Philadelphians don't go there.

NYT Exposes Ongoing Spy Program

What would happen if you or I told a bunch of criminals, being investigated by the FBI, that they're being watched? Not only that, but how the FBI was tracking them?

We'd have ruined an ongoing investigation and likely put more innocent lives at risk by helping the criminals extend their freedom.

But, the NYT is a protected medium. They can do whatever they want. All because they felt the US had gotten all it was going to get out of the ongoing operation.

Stick it to 'em I say. To hell with politics. This is just plain stupid on the NYT's part.

Didn't your mum tell you not to play with your food?

Bacon Transformer

US Flopped

:(

The US Soccer team failed to advance to the knockout round today, losing to Ghana 2-1.

This was a tough group to be in, one of the two toughest in this World Cup. Both the 2nd ranked team (the Czech Republic) and the 5th ranked team in the world (USA) failed to make it out of the group. But it was up to the US to take care of business today against Ghana and let the rest fall as it may.

Well, we didn't take care of business. We didn't play like we were fighting for anything. I saw no urgency on the field, little emotion and once the team fell behind, no fear of losing. The team seemed content to take their time and wait for their chances to come. They did come, but when your back is against the wall, you throw flurries of punches, not wait for the perfect chance. I expected us to fight like the wounded animal we were. But no.

Alas, our tactical genious, Bruce Arena, decided to play it conservative again starting with a 4-5-1 lineup. We needed attack, and lots of it. Not going to get that with just one forward. Not enough of it. Basically, we trotted out the same lineup that failed miserably against the Czech Republic. True, no one saw that coming. Genius I tell you.

I've not been impressed with Damarcus Beasley either this WC. He's been 'out of form' it seems but he did finally take the ball and run between our opponent's defenders today, and served up a delicious cross that was devoured by a streaking Clint Dempsey. That tied the game up today at 1 all. We had some life there briefly.

But then, the men in stripes turned against us again. They fell for phantom fouls and dives perpetuated by the Ghanans. The officials even gifted our opponents with a very questionable PK. And that was all they wrote.

Our team came out the second half and appeared almost afraid to take on the "African Brazil". We had our chances but only when Ghana lost possession due to their own lack of skill. I wanted us to take it to them, press them and make them turn the ball over. Instead, we watched Ghana waste time and keep the ball away from us.

On top of all this, our stalwart keeper, Kasey Keller did not appear to be very sharp this WC. Very dissappointing as we've come to expect above average net minding at least. Today, he didn't control the six-yard / goal box. This WC, crosses went unchallenged by our former Spiderman-like keeper. Not a way to finish your WC career.

Donovan has been missing in action too. Well, until his shanked freekick attempt 'wide right' of anything remotely located in Germany.

And on a side-note, anyone notice the lack of Ghanan sportsmanship in not kicking the ball out when Claudia Reyna was injured on the 1-0 goal? :P

I'm disgusted. Two more years till US quallies pick up again. I hope to see more younger players with fire in their bellies on the team. Not so sure I want Arena around again, though I love the depth thathe's helped build on the squad and am very thankful for the successes he's brought us, but this was a poor showing by him and our team.

Get Your Turtles HERE!

Discovered this on vacation last week. Track your own leatherback turtle.

Crunch Time - USA vs. Ghana

I've told the boss that I plan to be sick tomorrow morning. Got World Cup Fever baby!

I may have the elmination funk in the afternoon, but I'm hoping for a joyous hangover.

A number of the people in my small department will be 'away' from the office taking early lunches and what-not. A couple of us southern boys, a couple of legal immigrants and an Asian visa holder make a plurality in my office and we regularly discuss soccer stuff. Moreso lately. They're all heading into Buckhead to patronize ESPNZone. I think I'll join them, after I kick the ankle-biters out at camp and send the Mrs away to her meeting.

Wonder how much I'll sllep tonight.

Presbyterian Insurgency!

or rather another Presbyterian schism...

Congregations, who take seriously the current environment of the denomination and the world, and who are convinced that merely fighting battles in church courts will not take us in the direction of renewed health and vitality, will want to participate. Becoming a part of PGF is also a way for congregations to publicly identify themselves with a Christ-centered fellowship that is not defined by the PC(USA)’s governing bodies and that is motivated to “get on with the mission” of the church.

A new organization has been formed to steer a different course amidst today’s PC(USA) crisis. To those who would leave we say that we believe there is much that is effective and biblically faithful within our Presbyterian family which can be refocused toward mission. To those who favor the status quo we say that dwindling membership, declining giving and increasing fragmentation within our church strongly indicate the need to move beyond business as usual.

I've been an unhappy Presbyterian (I love my church, but the adminsitration of the sect has been lacking) what with the constant Isreali demonization (they are not without blame, but are far from the devil that they are portrayed) and today's General Assembly vote to allow for the existence of non-celibate, single elders & ministers. Will be interesting to see what becomes of this.

Not fun, but interesting none-the-less. Hopefully we can avoid the intra-denominational demonization too.

---

Already, letters from churches and congregations protesting today's Peace, Unity and Purity report are being circulated.

Best Name Ever For a Dalmation

Rorschach

nuff said.

Ouch! Airtran Computer Glitch Leaves Passengers Stranded

Bad PR for one of ATL's most successful businesses.

Heard on the radio at lunch that passengers have been stuck in Atlanta since 0630 this morning. A 'computer glitch' has caused passengers to miss flights and be left in limbo since this morning. Some of the kiosks are coming back online but long lines await any Airtran customers.

Online Check In seems to be down too. The site says: "The AirTran Airways online check-in system is currently offline for maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please check back with us again shortly. Thank you for your patience."

In February, Airtran renewed it's contract with Navitaire, a New Global Distribution System owned by Accenture.

Privately held Navitaire, a subsidiary of Chicago-based Accenture (NYSE: ACN), provides outsourced technology and business solutions to the airline industry.

Not a good day for them either. Worse day for passengers. I'm considering using Airtran this fall, but maybe not... depends on how they handle this...

Disclaimer - I'm in the travel biz.

---

Damn! Still an issue at 6pm here in ATL. Line waits of 6+ hours are being reported and Airtran is handing out water bottles and giving away free round trips to people who "ask" for it. Somebody(s) will be losing their jobs over this me thinks.

Sounds like this computer 'upgrade' has no fallback. Poor planning by Airtran and their IT dept/partners. Stuck on a one-way track to who knows where... IMHO, you can't call this a glitch. To do so would be to severely sugar coat the impact to the bottom line, operations and not to mention, the passengers.

HMX-1 Duty!

A distant cousin of mine got his marching orders today.
His orders have him headed to the Marine Helicopter Squadron 1 in the middle of July. I'm very happy for him.

Marine Helicopter Squadron-1 (HMX-1) is the only organization responsible for direct helicopter support of the White House. HMX-1 is the sole helicopter transport squadron for the president of the United States.

Cool... :D

Boys in Crisis

Sitting in bed with the Mrs this morning watching the news and the current 'article' about boys falling behind in school.

She made an astute observation that I'm sure would be poo-pooed by the PC crowd. Why not allow schools only for the teaching of boys? There are plenty of girls only schools, a'la Sweet Briar College or St. Mary's High School?

Or do the women still need all the affirmative action to succeed? All the gains made by women don't serve our nation, our people, any if the men are ignored and allowed to fall by the wayside.

Stalking Evil Glenn Reynolds...

I'd received my Top Secret orders last week that the Evil Genius Glenn "The Puppy Blender" Reynolds was headed for the Florida Gulf Coast. So...

I gathered all my family together and we hopped in the Mystery Machine to get hot on his trail. Got to say that he's one slippery fella. That and the intelligence I was given wasn't exactly accurate. While Evil Glenn was busy mixing his Puppy Hurricanes in Apalachicola, we'd taken a wrong turn in Albuquerque and ended up in the Rosemary Beach area of the Floridian Gulf Coast.

Well, we ran out of petty cash, and our monopoly money is not legal tender down here, so we'll just stick around until gas prices drop and my real world, er... business cover story comes through with a paycheck.

I don't know what he's talking about with blown over deck chairs via Alberto. We've had some gnarly waves, smelly undertow jam and Aunt Alberta fell out of her deck chair while drowning in a hurricane cocktail. Other than that, things have been awfully peachy on the gulf coast.

Well, except for the local fuzz threatening my underage niece with capital punishment for dipping her tootsies in the surf. Apparently, it's against the law to let the chillun get wet when there are two red flags flying. A little overkill in my opinion. When they were long gone, we broke out the soap and had our yearly baptism and bath, despite the riptide.

Really a beautiful day here as Alberta seems to be giving Florida a left hook to the Tampa coast. Wish I had better wireless access via my lean-to on the beach. The water tower mounted wireless node (courtesy of City Net Hot Zone) at 30A and US98 doesn't quite reach me under my crowded palm tree. Had to check out Shade's restaurant and bar at the same intersection to check my email and such earlier. I nice local addition if I do say so myself. Looking forward to getting down there later to grab a beer, watch some World Cup games and take advantage of their free wireless access.

Well, the ribs are almost done. Time to go stoke the fire one last time. Cya later.

Cup Off to a Roaring Start

Yay! The World Cup has arrived.

I stole away from work at lunch to watch the opening match of Germany vs Costa Rica. Glad I got an early seat. The sports bar I went to filled up quickly and there were 3 goals in the first fifteen minutes.

Costa Rica kept it close but were overpowered and went down 4-2.

Got home to see the last part of the second match, Poland vs. Equador. Poland was looking tired, sluggish and uninspired, while Equador seemed to have one more high gear than Poland was capable of finding. Equador held on 2-0 to win three points in the standings and staved off a late comeback by the Poles, who hit the post twice in the final ten 10 minutes of play. The Poles might have one had they played the entire game like their last ten.

Clint Dempsey's Breakout

I've felt that this could be Clint's breakout and emergence as a star player this World Cup. But this is not what I had in mind. Check out Clint Dempsey's "Don't Tread on Me" ...um... video.

Isn't it About Time We Tore Up the UN's Lease?

Mr. Malloch Brown said that although the United States was constructively engaged with the United Nations in many areas, the American public was shielded from knowledge of that by Washington's tolerance of what he called "too much unchecked U.N.-bashing and stereotyping."

"Much of the public discourse that reaches the U.S. heartland has been largely abandoned to its loudest detractors such as Rush Limbaugh and Fox News," he said.

They're whining because we won't drink thier 'Kool-aid' like a good bunch of placid believers.

I'm a critic of the UN. Yes, they do many good things, but they've shown little or no accountability for their complete failures, or their crimes against humanity, nor a willingness to do what is expected of them. How can a world organization, meant to help keep the peace, be respected and free from criticism, when it turns a blind-eye and pussy-foots around the use of the word genocide - a'la Rawanda, Sudan, and the like?

This may be a last gasp dig at the US by Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown, but I'm sure his sentiment is largely shared by the UN's denizens.

Al-Zarqawi Takes the Dirt Nap

Chalk up one more for the good guys. Hope he chokes on one of those 72 white raisins.

I don't expect this to end the insurgency, but it's another nail in the coffin. Given their hurry to get to the afterlife, I don't ever expect the violence to end.

Sure hope we are able to collect some more intelligence from the site. Maybe a second laptop?

Soccer Bashing

I don't know what it is about the psyche of the American public that leads itself to bashing soccer and its fans.

I grew up playing it. I still play it. And... I *watch* it.

I'm totally stoked about the World Cup being played in a few days.

*ahem* A real world championship.

But mainstream sportscasters, and sportsfans, deem it the duty of their manhood to put my favorte sport down. Why?

Are they skeered?

Yes, the world, by and large, loves futbol. The world, by and large, participates in futbol. Are our primarily American sports afraid of one day being eclipsed locally by soccer? Are they so weak that they won't survive?

I like other sports. In fact, I love American Football. It satisfies a primal urge that nothing else comes close to satisfying. But my first love is soccer. I love 'legally' pounding the snot out of my opponent. I've even done it without pads. It has its place. And oh how I long for it the dog days of summer. But...

Do I put down baseball? I could, but don't. Do I put down basketball and what it's become? I could, but don't. But people put down soccer like it's Christianity or something.

You can let bowling, and NASCAR be. Let my footy be. Leave me to my indulgences. And if you don't want to watch, or try to understand, so be it.

And don't judge us by a couple of limey hooligans. I won't judge you by the Philly fans.

And please don't judge us by the Soccer Mom ninnies who don't want their poor Sebastion hurt on the field, or the score to be ignored in order to protect his fragile psyche.

But enough with the jabs.

No, Today is NOT the Day of the Devil

The press is busy hyping up the 666 garbage while I've yet to hear a mainstream media outlet mention D-Day.

Course, what'd I expect, right?

My grandfather got a star for his service in the Battle of Normandy/Operation Overlord. He didn't storm the beaches but apparently his work and dedication earned him a lower order star.

Was always proud of my grandfather, but he'd never talk about any of it. He was the tall strong quite type. I was a young lad learning about history, and burning through every history book I could find on WWII and when I'd ask him about his involvement, he'd never let us discuss it. Annoyed me but what are you going to do?

This spring, his wife died. I hope they're dancing together now and maybe he's let his hair down by now. He was always so serious as I remember him. But I've seen the pictures of him and my grandmother, together in their courting days, so I have proof that he did at one time.

New Stadium Video via 11Alive

Atlanta's 11 Alive just ran a spot on the new stadium for the Silverbacks. Looks nice. Hope to see you all there!

And Check Out Wes Sarginson's video spot on it.

Atlanta's New Stadium

There's a new stadium in town. At the corner of I-285 and I-85, known as Spaghetti Junction, the newly built Remax Greater Atlanta Stadium, a soccer specific stadium (SSS) will host it's first game this Saturday evening as the Atlanta Silverbacks take on the Charleston Battery.

The biggest event to date for the Atlanta soccer community has almost arrived – RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium opens this Saturday at 7:30 pm. The buzz about the new stadium has begun around the city, the state, and the region, and with two days remaining before the home opener tickets are selling fast. Silverbacks’ owner Boris Jerkunica delivered season tickets to Governor Sunny Perdue this morning. Atlanta Silverbacks Park, home to the Silverbacks’ new stadium, is a world-class soccer facility unique to the region. The complex includes the 3,000-seat RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium, two top-quality, full-size satellite fields, and state-of-the-art lighting. Opening day and all the games to follow will be much more than merely a soccer match. In addition to professional soccer, attendees will experience a night full events designed to entertain all types of visitors. Avid soccer fans will watch the excitement of the professional game from only a few feet away, future soccer stars will get an up-close look at their favorite players as they dream about making it to the pro level, and people looking for a great way to start a summer evening will relax and enjoy RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium and all it has to offer. The Silverbacks Men will face off against their longtime rivals, the Charleston Battery at 7:30 pm. The two teams met last weekend in Charleston looking to earn the first bragging rights of the season. However, the game ended in a 0-0 tie, making this weekend’s game even more important for the Silverbacks. Atlanta needs the win not only for the pride in beating a rival, but also to improve upon their 0-3-2 start to the season. For ticket information call 1-866-GO-BACKS or visit www.atlantasilverbacks.com