Subway has been doing those "Jared" commercials with the guy that lost weight eating their subs. Wienerschnitzel spoofed them with their "Chili-Dog Diet" promotion. And now a woman claims to have lost 33 pounds on two months of a McDonalds-only diet, in an experience obviously quite different from that of Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me fame, who GAINED 25 pounds in a month of eating only McFood.
FoxNews: Losing Pounds Under the Golden Arches
So let's get this straight: You can lose weight at Subway; you can gain spectacular amounts of weight at McDonalds; now you can lose a ton at McDonalds as well. In fact, I'll bet you could actually gain weight eating at Subway!
I wish I knew what to believe. I wish there was a place where I could get all the correct information I want without having to worry about what I was actually learning. I've tried mass media, but I got confused by the unacknowledged liberal bias. I've tried talk radio and it's full of overt conservative editorializing and opinions. And new media sources are even less balanced.
It's like I have to actually think about everything now or risk coming to errant conclusions. Just like I have to think about what I eat.
filed: health; media
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Non-Mexicans Hopping the Border
US Border Patrols agents are apparently catching a substantial number of illegal immigrants coming up through Mexico who are not Mexicans. Unlike Mexican citizens, who are normally returned to Mexico to try to come across again the next day, Mexico will not accept citizens of other countries. So, we check them against terror watch lists and what not, and if that doesn't raise any flags we apparently just let them go. INTO OUR COUNTRY. Unbelievable.
It's not that I have any problem with immigrants, what with the US being the land of opportunity, and it seems to me that we need more liberal immigration policies to allow more good folks from other lands to come here legally. However, with our urgent and well-founded concern with terrorism today, it is ludicrous to make it so easy for our enemies to sneak in and wreak whatever havoc enters their heads.
Tom Clancy wrote a book in which Islamic terrorists entered the US through Mexico and attacked shopping malls with machine guns in suicide missions. Fiction, yes. But another Clancy thriller (published in 1994, well before 9/11/2001) has a bad guy flying a fuel-laden airliner into a joint session of Congress. Chilling...
Yahoo: Non-Mexicans arrested at US Border nearly doubled
filed: politics.us
It's not that I have any problem with immigrants, what with the US being the land of opportunity, and it seems to me that we need more liberal immigration policies to allow more good folks from other lands to come here legally. However, with our urgent and well-founded concern with terrorism today, it is ludicrous to make it so easy for our enemies to sneak in and wreak whatever havoc enters their heads.
Tom Clancy wrote a book in which Islamic terrorists entered the US through Mexico and attacked shopping malls with machine guns in suicide missions. Fiction, yes. But another Clancy thriller (published in 1994, well before 9/11/2001) has a bad guy flying a fuel-laden airliner into a joint session of Congress. Chilling...
Yahoo: Non-Mexicans arrested at US Border nearly doubled
filed: politics.us
Whence Caffeine?
Many of us enjoy caffeine, some of us REALLY like it and could "quit any time", but few of us know much about it. Have you, for instance, thought about the history of caffeine, or asked some of the hard questions like "Does caffeine reduce the effects of alcohol?", "Is caffeine a diet requirement?", and "Is coffee really good for hyperactive children?" This is stuff you must know.
Caffeine: Any Health Risks?
filed: etcetera
Caffeine: Any Health Risks?
filed: etcetera
Sunday, July 10, 2005
A Plane in Every Garage?
60 Minutes ran a report today about NASA's Highway in the Sky program, which is supposed to open up airways for huge numbers of personal aircraft. The piece also profiled several inventors who are working on innovative machines that are gunning for a piece of this new market.
But if a jet is more your style, check out this little baby--it's a six-passenger jet that is supposed to be about 1/4 as expensive and 1/3 to 1/5 the cost to fly as the current smallest business jet. And hey, they're only 900,000 bucks so just pick one up for me while you're there. That would be great. Thanks.
CBS News: Flying Cars Ready to Take Off
P.S. Snowman, you wanted a plane article? This one's for you.
filed: technology
But if a jet is more your style, check out this little baby--it's a six-passenger jet that is supposed to be about 1/4 as expensive and 1/3 to 1/5 the cost to fly as the current smallest business jet. And hey, they're only 900,000 bucks so just pick one up for me while you're there. That would be great. Thanks.
CBS News: Flying Cars Ready to Take Off
P.S. Snowman, you wanted a plane article? This one's for you.
filed: technology
Friday, July 08, 2005
Weekend Fireworks
I like fireworks. I like weekends. I would like to present some fireworks for your weekend.
Homestarrunner.com is, quite simply...one of the harder things to explain that I have found on the crazy WWW of ours. It is a site that brings us the cartoon hijinks of an eclectic cast of characters, including Homestar Runner, who is not the star, and Strong Bad, a sarcastic little dude who does wear a mexican wrestling mask and boxing gloves but does not wear a shirt. Strong Bad is in charge of the sites' most popular feature, Strong Bad Email, in which he answers emails from viewers like you. Strong Bad Email has given us classic moments like the Guitar email, and later, an email called Dragon that spawned its own video game.
What would the world be like without people who walk that fine line between genius and insanity? Thanks to Homestarrunner.com, we may never need to know.
P.S. This one is for those who can't stop editing things. You know who you are.
filed: humor
Homestarrunner.com is, quite simply...one of the harder things to explain that I have found on the crazy WWW of ours. It is a site that brings us the cartoon hijinks of an eclectic cast of characters, including Homestar Runner, who is not the star, and Strong Bad, a sarcastic little dude who does wear a mexican wrestling mask and boxing gloves but does not wear a shirt. Strong Bad is in charge of the sites' most popular feature, Strong Bad Email, in which he answers emails from viewers like you. Strong Bad Email has given us classic moments like the Guitar email, and later, an email called Dragon that spawned its own video game.
What would the world be like without people who walk that fine line between genius and insanity? Thanks to Homestarrunner.com, we may never need to know.
P.S. This one is for those who can't stop editing things. You know who you are.
filed: humor
Thursday, July 07, 2005
London Bombings: Anti-Globalists or al Qaeda?
If you're like me you're a little unclear about the motivation behind all of the violence over the years at economic summits like the G8 meetings this week. Of course, the Live 8 concerts this past weekend were aimed at influencing the conference as well.
So who are these people who are so worked up about the G8? Short answer--Socialists, Marxists and anti-globalists. All are opposed to free trade and hold to the basic Marxist view that rich people are obviously hurting poor people because they are rich, so they owe it to the poor to help them escape poverty. (see this chatter for some representative Marxist thought.)
So, while we're all used to Islamic terrorism, maybe we'll learn that today's bombings are actually anti-globalist violence, given their timing and location in Britain during the G8 summit in Britain. However, anti-globalist extremist tactics have been more about rioting than coordinated mass-transit bombings, and authorities are already pointing toward al Qaeda. It seems much more likely that al Qaeda is trying to toy with the politics of Britain (where Tony Blair faces pressure to withdraw from Iraq), just as they did in Spain (attacking and successfully affecting an election whose winners immediately withdrew their troops from Iraq) and the US (bin Laden belittled Bush and threatened America days before the election, but Americans re-elected him).
Whoever the terrorists are, this American's deepest sympathies are with those who have been victimized in another yet another indefensible act of violence against innocents.
filed: politics:world
So who are these people who are so worked up about the G8? Short answer--Socialists, Marxists and anti-globalists. All are opposed to free trade and hold to the basic Marxist view that rich people are obviously hurting poor people because they are rich, so they owe it to the poor to help them escape poverty. (see this chatter for some representative Marxist thought.)
So, while we're all used to Islamic terrorism, maybe we'll learn that today's bombings are actually anti-globalist violence, given their timing and location in Britain during the G8 summit in Britain. However, anti-globalist extremist tactics have been more about rioting than coordinated mass-transit bombings, and authorities are already pointing toward al Qaeda. It seems much more likely that al Qaeda is trying to toy with the politics of Britain (where Tony Blair faces pressure to withdraw from Iraq), just as they did in Spain (attacking and successfully affecting an election whose winners immediately withdrew their troops from Iraq) and the US (bin Laden belittled Bush and threatened America days before the election, but Americans re-elected him).
Whoever the terrorists are, this American's deepest sympathies are with those who have been victimized in another yet another indefensible act of violence against innocents.
filed: politics:world
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Steinem and 200 protesters
In a huge development yesterday, US feminist Gloria Steinem and the granddaughter of convicted communist spies Julius and Ethel Rosenburg were accompanied by 200 protesters as they demanded the shutdown of the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. The AP story made the rounds in US news outlets and in the Middle East on Al Jazeera. (Al Jazeera's story is a clinic in western-style, state-the-facts-but-twist-the-meaning biased journalism. It also features a European government report absolving the US of torture allegations but recommending the base be closed because of its damage to the U.S. reputation and because it fosters hatred of the US in prisoners, some of whom aren't that bad.) In Cuba's version of the story there were "hundreds" of protesters in a "massive" demonstration.
This is why conservatives believe that liberals hate this country (that, and things like the protesters at the funerals of our soldiers). Gloria Steinem is only the latest in a long line of distinguished left-wing figures (like Sen. Dick Durbin, who likened Guantanamo "abuses" to those of the Nazis and Soviets) to tickle the ears of our enemies looking for anti-american propoganda. Am I overstating? She compared the radical Islamic inmates at Guantanamo to the Puritans, noting that "they came to escape the very things - detention without due process, bias, a religious government ... that we protest today." Memo to Ms. Steinem: prisoners of war are not afforded the same constitutional protections as US citizens, and they never have been. And neither are the citizens of Iran or Saudi Arabia, which are home to many of these prisoners and whose governments are far more "religious" than ours.
Why is this even news? 200 protesters in NYC? Please. And it isn't because they came up with any solutions. Now if Gloria had invited the terrorists over to her place so they could rest more comfortably, THAT would be news.
filed: politics.us
This is why conservatives believe that liberals hate this country (that, and things like the protesters at the funerals of our soldiers). Gloria Steinem is only the latest in a long line of distinguished left-wing figures (like Sen. Dick Durbin, who likened Guantanamo "abuses" to those of the Nazis and Soviets) to tickle the ears of our enemies looking for anti-american propoganda. Am I overstating? She compared the radical Islamic inmates at Guantanamo to the Puritans, noting that "they came to escape the very things - detention without due process, bias, a religious government ... that we protest today." Memo to Ms. Steinem: prisoners of war are not afforded the same constitutional protections as US citizens, and they never have been. And neither are the citizens of Iran or Saudi Arabia, which are home to many of these prisoners and whose governments are far more "religious" than ours.
Why is this even news? 200 protesters in NYC? Please. And it isn't because they came up with any solutions. Now if Gloria had invited the terrorists over to her place so they could rest more comfortably, THAT would be news.
filed: politics.us
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Postcard from the Spamosphere
I get tons of spam every day, from free money notifications (National Lottery: Congratulation!!!!!!!!!!!) to offers for low-cost mortgages ("We tried contacting you awhile ago about your low interest morta(ge rate."). Note to spammers: I have a policy that I will not buy anything from you that you can't spell, so I don't need any "st0-ck quotes" or "C_I_A_L_I_S". (Actually, I don't respond to unsolicited email at all, and if we all did that there would be no spam. Together we can make a difference.)
Occasionally, though, a spam message catches my eye because it is so over the top or bizarre that it stands out from the crowd of broken English and ridiculous promises. Not so much that I buy the product, but just enough to get a good laugh. Like this one, for instance:
Subject: Thicker hair within 30 seconds.....complimentary sample
Hmm, 30 seconds. This is faster than the average claim.
Are you suffering form thinning or balding hair? If, yes, then Toppik is right for you.
Toppik is wrong for me.
-Toppik is the world?s #1 solution for insufficient scalp coverage for both MEN and WOMEN
#1? In the whole wide world? This I doubt.
-One application will thicken your locks immediately
Ah ha! It's a giant bottle of mascara!
-There are no medical procedures or medications required for results.
I've gotta admit, this is a plus.
-Take ten years off of your appearance by using Toppik
"Who is that attractive 29-year-old person with the long, thick, luscious eyelashes on his head? I sure hope he's single!"
-Toppik is doctor recommended
...by the same medical professionals who prescribe truckloads of C_I_A_L_I_S daily
-Toppik has over one million satisfied customers
* fine print: "satisfied customers" may mean "recipients of this spam who have not actually launched a Denial of Service attack on our servers"
Thanks, spammers. I know you'll keep the good times rolling.
filed: humor
Occasionally, though, a spam message catches my eye because it is so over the top or bizarre that it stands out from the crowd of broken English and ridiculous promises. Not so much that I buy the product, but just enough to get a good laugh. Like this one, for instance:
Subject: Thicker hair within 30 seconds.....complimentary sample
Hmm, 30 seconds. This is faster than the average claim.
Are you suffering form thinning or balding hair? If, yes, then Toppik is right for you.
Toppik is wrong for me.
-Toppik is the world?s #1 solution for insufficient scalp coverage for both MEN and WOMEN
#1? In the whole wide world? This I doubt.
-One application will thicken your locks immediately
Ah ha! It's a giant bottle of mascara!
-There are no medical procedures or medications required for results.
I've gotta admit, this is a plus.
-Take ten years off of your appearance by using Toppik
"Who is that attractive 29-year-old person with the long, thick, luscious eyelashes on his head? I sure hope he's single!"
-Toppik is doctor recommended
...by the same medical professionals who prescribe truckloads of C_I_A_L_I_S daily
-Toppik has over one million satisfied customers
* fine print: "satisfied customers" may mean "recipients of this spam who have not actually launched a Denial of Service attack on our servers"
Thanks, spammers. I know you'll keep the good times rolling.
filed: humor
Do You, Like, Like to Say Like?
"O-like-Kay."
Official Friend of the Brink Ben S.
By (quasi-sardonically) inserting "like" into the middle of a word in casual conversation, Ben confounds all those who thought that the word is so completely overused that it could not saturate our language any further.
filed: random.quotes
By (quasi-sardonically) inserting "like" into the middle of a word in casual conversation, Ben confounds all those who thought that the word is so completely overused that it could not saturate our language any further.
filed: random.quotes
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
New at Google
Google is always coming up with something new to add to their industry-leading search engine. These days they're working on their video search, which uses the closed captions to allow you to search the text of past TV broadcasts. Now they are beginning to accept video contributions, which can be searched just like the TV broadcats, and also viewed. Here's their explanation of Google Video.
For those who wonder, the name Google came from the word googol, which is 1 followed by 100 zeros (here's the story from the horse's mouth).
Google: Google Video Search
filed: cool.web.stuff
For those who wonder, the name Google came from the word googol, which is 1 followed by 100 zeros (here's the story from the horse's mouth).
Google: Google Video Search
filed: cool.web.stuff
Monday, June 27, 2005
Tom Cruise and Scientology
You won't see much Hollywood/celebrity gossip here because I consider our cultural fixation on the personal lives of the stars pretty much stupid and unhealthy. That said, Tom Cruise is freaking me out, and not in the standard movie-star-on-dope way. It seems like he's acting really weird, and I think Scientology may be a big part of the problem.
Scientology (an introduction here) claims to be "an applied religious philosophy", but many say that it is a business or a cult. Founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, its history goes back to the 1950s and over the years it has been the subject of articles in Time, Readers' Digest, the Boston Herald and the New York Times. The Church of Scientology apparently holds to an amazing account of ancient earth history, but most of the criticism of the group (here and here) focuses on their alleged coercion and use of mind-control techniques. Known to be very well funded and extremely litigious, they often sue to suppress damaging information or dissemination of their materials.
Tom Cruise is one of a number of high-profile Hollywood Scientologists, who are said to receive very special treatment by the organization. Now the new love of his life, Katie Holmes, has decided to convert to Scientology in the course of their whirlwind romance. In the article featured below, Fox's entertainment columnist tiptoes around the issue but obviously suspects that Holmes has been subjected to some kind of brainwashing procedures (and he's not the only one who smells a rat). Oh, and Cruise argued with Matt Lauer over the Scientology hot-button topic of psychiatry. All of this has Cruise seeming a lot more creepy than cool lately.
FoxNews: Katie Holmes' Missing Days
Sardonic alt-rockers Cake have a song called Comfort Eagle whose lyrics seem to be speaking about Scientology. Or maybe not; you never can tell with music these days...
filed: entertainment; religion
Scientology (an introduction here) claims to be "an applied religious philosophy", but many say that it is a business or a cult. Founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, its history goes back to the 1950s and over the years it has been the subject of articles in Time, Readers' Digest, the Boston Herald and the New York Times. The Church of Scientology apparently holds to an amazing account of ancient earth history, but most of the criticism of the group (here and here) focuses on their alleged coercion and use of mind-control techniques. Known to be very well funded and extremely litigious, they often sue to suppress damaging information or dissemination of their materials.
Tom Cruise is one of a number of high-profile Hollywood Scientologists, who are said to receive very special treatment by the organization. Now the new love of his life, Katie Holmes, has decided to convert to Scientology in the course of their whirlwind romance. In the article featured below, Fox's entertainment columnist tiptoes around the issue but obviously suspects that Holmes has been subjected to some kind of brainwashing procedures (and he's not the only one who smells a rat). Oh, and Cruise argued with Matt Lauer over the Scientology hot-button topic of psychiatry. All of this has Cruise seeming a lot more creepy than cool lately.
FoxNews: Katie Holmes' Missing Days
Sardonic alt-rockers Cake have a song called Comfort Eagle whose lyrics seem to be speaking about Scientology. Or maybe not; you never can tell with music these days...
filed: entertainment; religion
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Geek Humor, Continued
Here' s the other funny entry in that index:
Loop, Infinite: See Infinite Loop
Click the link for more info.
Get it now? Just keep clicking until it makes sense.
=-)
filed: humor
Loop, Infinite: See Infinite Loop
Click the link for more info.
Get it now? Just keep clicking until it makes sense.
=-)
filed: humor
FireFox, Baby!
You know how it is when you get something new that you're not sure you need, but then you realize how awesome it is and wonder how you got along without it? Like when they used to eat bread in hunks, but then somebody started slicing it, leading directly to the Earl of Sandwich and thence to modern civilization as we know it?
FireFox is kinda like that. It's a cool, sleek, browser that replaces the clunky, old Internet Explorer that you're currently using. It's quick and easy to install, fast and easy to use, and takes no relearning to get started. You can use it just like IE, but it has some cool little features that really grow on you. For instance, pressing Ctrl while you click on a link opens the new page in a separate tab inside the FireFox window, so if you have 10 pages open they don't cover your taskbar but sit politely in the FireFox window where you can switch between them or close them at will.
Also, for if you're getting into blogs and blogging, you'll love its built-in RSS reader. What this capability means is that on any RSS-enabled web page (like most blogs including this one, as well as FoxNews.Com, ESPN.Com and many other sites featuring constantly-added articles and content), you can simply click the small orange button that appears at the bottom of the browser and "subscribe" to the RSS feed. The feed is saved as a bookmark folder in FireFox, with a bookmark for each of the currently available articles. When the browser restarts it then refreshes the feeds to which you have subscribed, and you can see at a glance what is new with all of your favorite sites without having to visit them each individually or comb through the stories on the site for things that interest you.
So hey, it's cool and free--sheck it out!
FireFox: Rediscover the Web
filed: cool.web.stuff
Geek Humor
The funniest thing I have ever seen in a computer manual involved an index entry in the back of the book (go figure). Although that's not saying much, since I don't read too many manuals--I usually only crack them open to find out what I just blew up. Anyway, the entry is below:
Infinite Loop: See Loop, Infinite
filed: humor
Infinite Loop: See Loop, Infinite
filed: humor
Friday, June 24, 2005
NBA Champions...and the Stuff they Wear
I'm basking in the glow of the Spurs' Championship today, as they are the Official NBA Team of the Brink. I heard from my people in San Antonio that there were happy fans gridlocking downtown freeways and honking their horns last night, but I haven't seen any reports of rioting or burning stores or cars. I guess we don't mess with Texas. According to this article, there were off-duty Subway employees ("a self-described sandwich artist") directing traffic with Spurs flags and septuagenarians in waist-length peroxide wigs pouring out of retirement centers to party in the streets. That's good times.
I also hear there were so many people trying to get into the Academy stores to buy Spurs championship gear that they were beyond fire code and that the people lined up outside could only come in as others left. Which begs the question: Where do they get so many hats and shirts only moments after the champion is decided? And also, what if the Pistons had won? Well, there's an interesting story about that...
ESPN.com: Tracking the Merchandise
filed: sports
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Snowmen
"There's nothing wrong with loving a snowman."
Friend of the Brink Adam F.
Sometimes you hear a great, or funny, or bizarre thing--or maybe it's all of those--and you just have to share it. Often these quotes need context to be appreciated, but sometimes they are best all by themselves. This is one of those times.
filed: random.quotes
Sometimes you hear a great, or funny, or bizarre thing--or maybe it's all of those--and you just have to share it. Often these quotes need context to be appreciated, but sometimes they are best all by themselves. This is one of those times.
filed: random.quotes
What's My Word?
Have you ever not known what a word meant? Were you embarrassed by your lack of knowledge? Did you lose a promotion, a job, or even a limb? These things will never happen again if you use today's cool web tool, www.m-w.com. With a cool dictionary that can even read words aloud, you'll be able to learn all of the verbiage you need. All this for only zero payments of zero dollars each!
And, if you act now, you can also use their thesaurus, which makes it possible for you to find other words that are similar to words you already know! If it's good enough for us here at the Brink, it's good enough for you! Don't wait--click now!
Merriam-Webster Online: Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and more!
filed: cool.web.stuff
And, if you act now, you can also use their thesaurus, which makes it possible for you to find other words that are similar to words you already know! If it's good enough for us here at the Brink, it's good enough for you! Don't wait--click now!
Merriam-Webster Online: Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and more!
filed: cool.web.stuff
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
What is 'Mainstream'?
"If some in the minority were as insightful as they claim to be about 'mainstream America' they would not be in the minority. The fact is, many of these three nominees' fiercest critics neither understand nor agree with mainstream America on many issues..."
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, hailing the confirmation of Justices Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen and William Pryor as victories for the mainstream
That's a pretty good zinger for a senator, what with the august Senate's more, uh, collegial atmosphere.
FoxNews: Searching for the Definition of 'Mainstream'
filed: politics.us
FoxNews: Searching for the Definition of 'Mainstream'
filed: politics.us
Hello, World!
Well, I've talked about blogging for a while now, so I'm taking the plunge. I guess I'll just post about whatever interests me, which may or may not include, but will probably not be limited to: US politics, Texas GOP politics, fantasy football, sports news, cool web stuff, geeky science and technology items, movies, philosophy, religion and humor. Wait, don't leave--it'll be great!
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