:: Archipelapogo ::

:: 31.5.04 ::

Diversions

You know you don't want to be working tomorrow (or Wednesday) upon your arrival back at the office, so here, get in trouble:

..::The Potted Meat Museum isn't as disturbing as it sounds. No, wait, it most certainly is. (via)::..

..::The Way We Eat Now from Harvard Magazine, a pretty damning article. (via)::..

..::Speaking of food, here's the most recent Big Mac index, courtesy the Economist. It's a very strange way of looking at global Economics, but it has never failed to fascinate me::..

..::Also from the Economist, Bringing it all back home, an article about the gang culture in Central America in light of the recent fire at the San Pedro Sula, Honduras prison::..

..::NFL player-cum-Army Ranger Pat Tillman was likely killed by friendly fire, the Army announced on Saturday::..

..::For no reason at all, more info on the history of my birthday, curteous the recently redesigned (and how!) Wikipedia::..

..::The World Press Photo of the Year, 2003 and list of all the winners here. A guy from the Dallas Morning News got 2nd in one of the categories::..

That should hold you for a bit.
:: Scott [+] ::
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What art in Dallas?

Surfing around looking for shows and whatnot, I stumbled upon two things.

1) whatartindallas.com - Whatartindallas.com is a not-for-profit website dedicated to help build the Dallas art scene by supporting both local artists and galleries while allowing the community easy access to the information needed to become involved. They've got some galleries and local artists listed, but it looks like they're just starting out. If you know a local artist, you may want to divert their attention that way.

2) Completely unrelated, there's apparently something coming to town called the Rok'um Sok'um Tour of Midget Wrestling. The best page I could find is this recent article in a Las Vegas alt-weekly. I guess I'm placated by the fact that this is a "midget-empowerment" sport. I hate to admit it now, but there was a time when I had an affinity for all things little people. It was a source of neverending entertainment for me. In fact, my very first webpage back in '97 or so had a page full of midget-tossing pics. Fortunately, I grew up a bit and got all PC'ed out and it phased away. I don't think I'll be attending this spectacle.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Old Age Ain't Gonna Hold Me Back

Happiness is finding out that the two days after your birthday, there are good shows, one local, one national. All in all, the Summer schedule for Dallas isn't looking all that bad, surprisingly. Add in a smattering of local guys, and it looks like I'll be continuing the slow destruction of my hearing ability.
:: Scott [+] ::
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I know it's year of the monkey too, but still...

Is the end of May too late to declare 2004 the year of X?

I hope not, because I'm declaring 2004 the Year to return to Letter-Writing. Don't get me wrong, I love e-mailing and calling people on the phone* as much as the next guy, but there's just something Romantic about writing a letter in longhand.

So as I'm drafting up my second letter of the year, I'd encourage you all to do likewise and get out your parchment and quills** and just sit back and knock one out to someone special. It's really quite cool.

*this is a lie, as I actually really hate talking on the telephone

**or, you know, a Pilot G-2 and a spiral notebook of recycled paper. If I keep this up, though, I may have to get one of those personalized stamp and wax sets.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Well, wasn't that fun?

It just wouldn't be a trip to Tulsa in May without a nice little tornado scare, so around 12:30 last night, the parents and I cleared out the hall closet and found flashlights and a battery operated radio and important documents and prepared to hunker down.

See, it's likely not a good thing when a storm that has had a history of producing several tornados and baseball sized hail is heading straight for your town. It's also not good when one meteorologist says the worst of it will hit two miles south of you and another says the worst will hit two miles north. Because, see, that's meteorology terminolgy for "We really have no clue, so if you're in a 200-mile radius, take cover, because we don't want to be blamed for not warning enough people". See, it's like all those terror warnings, just on a more focused scale. And probably a bit more viable.

So for the first time in nearly a decade, I got to hear the sirens go off and wonder out on the back porch with my dad to see if there was any hail yet and all of that fun stuff that comes this time of year in Tornado Alley. It was actually kind of fun in it's own way, but that's probably just because nobody got hurt.

Anyways, this is all an excuse to post these three storm chaser blogs. The bad storm season is pretty much over for this year and I want to remember them come next year.
:: Scott [+] ::
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I'd be remiss

...if I didn't mention and give a small thumbs up to the Baylor Bears Men's Tennis team for winning it all this year, the first time a Baylor team has ever won a national championship in, well, anything. FWIW, I have a picture of myself, the guy on the right in the picture in the link, and about 6 other people the night of my graduation. He's from Argentina, and while I only met him a handful of times and never really talked to him, I can now at least say I've met someone whose name has been in a USA Today article. For myriad reasons, I don't have a whole lot of love for the alma mater, but at least this week, it's given me some shit to talk in the office for all the Texas Tech, UNT, and SMU alums.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Battleground America

The Wall Street Journal and Zogby Interactive are teaming up to take a bi-weekly poll of voters in 16 Battleground States (oddly, Texas isn't one of them). The first round is looking pretty good:

Results of the first poll, conducted May 18-23, show Mr. Kerry leading in 12 of the 16 states in this poll, including five states that Mr. Bush won in 2000. Mr. Bush leads in four states, including one -- Iowa -- that voted Democratic in 2000. The 12 states in which Mr. Kerry leads have a total of 148 votes in the Electoral College, while the four in which Mr. Bush is ahead have 29 electoral votes.

Mr. Bush won eight of these 16 battlegrounds in his 2000 victory, but if the election were to be held tomorrow, it looks unlikely that the president would fare as well. But more than half of the states that Mr. Kerry leads fall within the polls' margins of error. All of the states that Mr. Bush leads are within the margins of error.

Looking at details of the red-and-blue map that has come to illustrate U.S. presidential politics, Iowa, which Democrat Al Gore won in 2000, now is favoring Mr. Bush over Mr. Kerry by 5.2 percentage points. But, as of now, Mr. Kerry is ahead in New Hampshire; he leads Mr. Bush by 9.6 percentage points. Overall, Mr. Kerry is making inroads in Midwestern states, but Florida remains closely contested.

While voters were given a choice among Messrs. Bush and Kerry and Ralph Nader, the latest results show that the independent candidate wasn't much of a factor. Mr. Nader, who has yet to get on the ballot in any state, made his best showing in Minnesota, where he received 3.4% of the vote, compared with Mr. Kerry's 51.3% and Mr. Bush's 42%.

With the election still more than five months away, the online poll results are merely a snapshot of how likely voters are leaning today.

Also notable is this fact: The combined Electoral College votes of the four states that Bush is leading in: 29. The combined Electoral College votes of the 12 that Kerry is leading: 148. No wonder we're seeing elevated Terror Risks™.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Superstar USA

I had the grave misfortune yesterday of witnessing a tragedy of Universal proportions. See, I was watching the syndicated Simpsons before heading out for a quick run. Like an idiot, I left the TV on, and when I returned, that wretched Superstars USA was on. D'oh.

For those not in the know, Superstar USA is supposed to be a riff on American Idol, mean-spirtedly tricking untalented wanna-bes into thinking that they are on a real show and have, uhm, talent. The performances are horrible, but not in the laughable way that the producers intended. It's really quite mean. Like watching a three legged dog and a midget with progeria kick an old lady's ass.

Speaking of the producers, they really must've been scraping the bottom of the barrel while casting the show. Tone Loc? What were Heavy D and Young MC too busy? Are all of the Fat Boys dead? And he's the biggest star on the show.

To host, they found that blonde guy from MTV that makes Carson Daly look like less of a tool. Brian something or other, I think. How this no-talent-assclown has found a way onto the small screen defies logic, even if it is a show on the WB. He must be working for scale. Maybe pro bono.

Anyways, sitting through about ten minutes of the show, I started to feel really bad for the "contestants". They seem quite earnest, if not a little strange and awfully naive. How can you not realize that the other nine people that you're competing against all blow? Delusion abounds and I'm sure each individual that really thinks they are good gets one hell of a false sense of security. Obviously, these aren't the brightest bulbs in the Home Depot. I didn't realize how much so until they cut to a commercial break during the "elimination process". They were showing soundbites from some of the kids, and one of them closed by saying "the suspension is killing me". I kind of lost sympathy after that.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Six More Years!

So, we're #1....again. Fantastic.

As expected, FBI statistics for 2003 show Dallas has the highest overall crime rate among the country's largest cities for the sixth year in a row.

City and police officials have known since last summer that Dallas was on track to keep the top crime spot. Since then, they have instituted new crime initiatives, fired the police chief and replaced him with a proven crime fighter, former Arlington Police Chief David Kunkle.

"We've known that we would be hampered by last year's numbers. That's what they are last year's," Mayor Laura Miller said. "We're really happy with the trend we've seen so far in 2004."

Rough numbers as of Monday for the first five months of 2004 show about a 6 percent drop in the major crime categories compared with this time last year, interim Police Chief Randy Hampton said.

Violent crimes -- murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults -- are down about 8 percent, while property crimes -- burglaries, thefts and auto thefts -- have fallen 5.7 percent, he said in Tuesday's edition of The Dallas Morning News.

At least Detroit's still more violent. I blame the octopus.

One of the hot-spots for crime in Dallas is about a half mile north of where I live. I was driving through there a couple of weeks ago after dropping off my recycling. It was 7:00 on a Sunday evening, still broad daylight, and I passed six squad cars in a two block period of time. While stopped at a light, I could see four different ones. None of them were working together. Let's hope this new police chief can actually do something.
:: Scott [+] ::
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For our 4-legged friends

If you're a pet-owner, animal-liker, or just generally a groovy kind of person, you may want to send a letter to your Representative encouraging them to support H.R. 1563.

Every year, an estimated 10,000 cats and dogs are needlessly poisoned by ingesting antifreeze. Many engine coolants and antifreezes contain ethylene glycol (EG), an extremely toxic chemical. Unfortunately, EG has a sweet taste and smell that attracts animals. H.R. 1563 would require that manufacturers of antifreeze that contains EG add a bittering agent (denatonium benzoate) to render the liquid unpalatable to animals.

Done and done.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Eat it, Ashy

Greenpeace was recentally slapped with a BS charge by the US Attorney General's office.

In April 2002, six Greenpeace activists did just that. After two of them boarded a commercial ship, the APL Jade, which was bringing illegal mahogany into the port of Miami, Florida, they pleaded guilty, were fined and sentenced to "time served" - the weekend they all spent in jail. The judicial process had run its course.

Or so we thought. 15 months later Greenpeace USA headquarters in Washington was served notice that the US Attorney General's office would be prosecuting the entire organisation for the action - the first time in history that the US Government has prosecuted an advocacy group for a free-speech related activity.

Fortunately, they got the trial dismissed. Justice was actually served(!?)
:: Scott [+] ::
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More Photos and Video from Abu Gharib

The more I hear about the prisoner abuse at Abu Gharib the more depressed I get. Apparently more photos and videos have been released.

The new pictures and videos go beyond the photos previously released to the public in several ways, amplifying the overt violence against detainees and displaying a variety of abusive techniques previously unseen. They show a group of apparently cavalier soldiers assaulting prisoners, forcing detainees to masturbate, and standing over a naked prisoner while holding a shotgun. Some of the videos echo scenes in previously released still photographs - such as the stacking of naked detainees - but the video images render the incidents more vividly.

However, as HereIType points out, it happens all over the place
:: Scott [+] ::
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Out-tacking Flavor Flav is hard

You know I can't see a Flash game called "Archipelago" and not link it. I can't play it until I get home from work, but if the Ultimate Insult says it's good, it must be. TUI's got a ton of great links lately, including the Enoch Free Library's WWI poster scans and iced out Jesus Head medallions

*note, all that blockquoting looked really sloppy, so I broke this out into individual posts.
:: Scott [+] ::
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McGoogle

So with the upcoming public luanch of gmail and google groups, added with the search engine, Froogle, Orkut, and GoogleNews, tie in the IPO and the fact that (as I mentioned before) USA Today is covering the relaunch of one if its subsidiaries, how long is it before Google becomes part of the evil empire?

I ask this in all sincerity. The Web at large, at least those that kind of use it as a way of life versus just a tool, is notoriously picky when it comes to its babies either getting "too large" or "too greedy". Examples abound of this. The recent hullaballoo about the launch of MovableType 3.0 and its pricing structure was nothing less than controversial. Some time ago, the same thing happened with Rusty and kuro5hin when he tried to launch as a non-profit with a board of directors, building in a sizable salary for himself. And these are people within the community.

So when does the straw that breaks the camel's back fall? What's the thing that will push Google over the top (or to borrow the cliched phrase, jump the shark)? What would the backlash be if Google was bought out by, say, TimeWarner or Disney? Will there be a moment when Google is no longer trustworthy? Where it's more "one of them" than "one of us"? Just some questions to chew on while I'm waiting for FrontLine to start.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Pedal Pushers

So the Ride of Silence was quite a success*. The Dallas Morning News reported on the event, which brought out around 2,500 riders (DMN login: e-mail addy: cpunks@cpunks.com password: cpunks) --

More than 2,500 rode to honor him (Gary Glickman) and other fallen cyclists at White Rock Lake in the Ride of Silence.

It was the second year for an event that has spread nationwide since starting in Dallas last May. Only the steady clicking of bicycle chains was heard after the ride's 7 p.m. start, the same time similar events began in 54 other cities. The nearly half-mile-long pack of riders traveled the 10-mile loop around White Rock Lake in silence, spinning no faster than 12 mph.

It was a pace far slower than what Mr. Glickman – who was riding with his cycling club friends when a pickup struck him – was used to going, but his widow, Kate Glickman, said her husband would have appreciated what the event was about.

"Hopefully, this will create more awareness in the public so that these accidents don't happen," said Mrs. Glickman, who rode with her 4-year-old son, Cameron, in tow.

There was a great mix of people out there. Teams all in matching, sponsor-logo laden jerseys, bike messengers that I recognized from downtown, biktivists and environmentalists, families, grandparents, and a few recreational riders like myself. I rode back in the final 1/4 of the pack, and it was an amazing site to look over on the other side of the North part of the lake and see the beginning of the stream, and then try to connect it all back to where I was.

At the end, as I pulled up and slowed down, there was the sound of thousands of pedals unclicking and shoes hitting the ground, sounding a bit like a muted group of storm troopers. A few minutes of silence, a round of padded applause, and then a little bit of comraderie. A very cool event, and I'd definitely like to go again next year.

*Except for my parking snafu, which required me to take a five mile "warm-up" and "cool-down" as I rode respectively to the starting point and then back to my car, thereby doubling the distance I had planned on riding. Oh well, I guess I can use it.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Ride of Silence

I got an e-mail earlier today about the Ride of Silence, an organized, controlled, and quiet ride to honor the memory of those who have been injured or killed by cars while biking.

On May 19, the Ride of Silence will roll across the country at 7 PM, beginning in the Eastern Time Zone and concluding in the Pacific Time Zone. In more than 50 cities in the U.S. and Canada, cyclists will take to the roads in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to share the road with motorists, the motoring public often isn't aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.

Chris Phelan organized the first Ride Of Silence in Dallas last May after endurance cyclist Larry Schwartz was hit by the mirror of a passing bus and was killed.

The Ride Of Silence is a free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph and remain silent during the ride. There is no brochure, no sponsors, no registration fees and no t-shirt. The ride, which is being held during Bike Safety month, aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a chance to show respect for those who have been killed or injured.

The ride in Dallas is at White Rock Lake (where I rode two days ago, actually). I'm strongly thinking about making it out there, especially in light of other things about White Rock* that deserve thought happening lately. I'm very impressed to hear that the ride has expanded to 50 cities in it's second year. And, to be frank, this seems like a hell of a lot better way to get your message out than Critical Mass, who are lumped in with a lot of groups whose message I agree with but whose tactics are so over the top as to render the point moot.

Given the point of the ride and the fact that it's Bike Safety Month, I suppose I should buy a helmet. At the Tour Dallas, it was really awkward being one of maybe ten riders, out of 2,500, not wearing one. I'll be sure to take care of that after work. (btw, Jo, if you read this and want to go, shoot me an e-mail, we'll work something out).

*It's apparently not on the news sites yet, but Sunday morning, before my aforementioned ride, there was a second attempted sexual assault of a female jogger at White Rock Lake. The first took place in January, and they have the alleged assaulter in jail. Both women escaped via pepper spray, which is obviously a good idea to carry regardless of gender.
:: Scott [+] ::
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gmailswap

Well then. First off, an apology to those that commented and e-mailed me about the gmail invite. If I hadn't left town for a week, you'd've been golden. That said, I don't really know any of you, so the loyalty issue wasn't quite there...

And then, on my first serious day back online, I find gmailswap, a site produced by the wonderful Marquis, he who makes very badass swap CDs.

So via the MetaFilter thread about gmailswap, I began checking out the site and seeing who was offering what. It's apparently pretty popular, so a lot of the good offers were swept up quickly. So this afternoon, I began refreshing every five minutes or so, and wound up exchanging my two invites for two $25 Amazon Gift Certificates. Not too shabby, eh?

So here's what I ordered:

Eugene Onegin: A Novel in Verse by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin

Enduring Love : A Novel by the recently mentioned Ian McEwan

Drown by Junot Diaz

The Russian Debutante's Handbook by Gary Shteyngart

Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia

So I wound up paying $2.10 of my own money. Not too shabby, eh? I do kind of regret not requesting gift certies from Powell's instead, but I was pleasantly surprised and feeling a little giddy after a lackluster day. I'm sure there are going to be people ripped off by others on the site, but hopefully they'll be those that are passing out the invites versus those passing out the goods for invites. 'Cause, you know, I really didn't have anything to lose. Thanks to the two guys that owned up honestly.
:: Scott [+] ::
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I be returned

So I'm back from the Redneck Riviera where my sister lives. A bit darker in spots, a bit more relaxed, and completely tired of Mexican and Genericana food. But I had an enjoyable time* and the beaches there really are quite nice. Apparently kiteboarding is the big new thing down there. I didn't give it a shot this year. Maybe next time. But as my dad opined, "I'd imagine there's a pretty sharp learning curve for beginners". I didn't feel like flying with a broken leg/neck/ass. But next time, love. Next time.

Anyways, here's some random stuff that's been building up in my brain.

..::It was really surreal not checking my e-mail or even touching a computer for 4 solid days. And it really creeped me out how giddy I was when I finally made it to my sister's townhouse to debug her computer and get online for a little bit. Even stranger was reading about the Blogger Relaunch in last Monday's USA Today. In the Money section. Creepy.::..

..::I'd been back in the city for about 30 hours before heading out to a show. Friend of a friend's band was playing at one of those places where one cover gets you in at more than one venue. So during some downtime I crept over to the other side to see some largely forgetable metal band. This is only notable for the guy wearing the Pigface shirt, the back of which said "Eat Shit You Fucking Redneck". If I were in someplace not Dallas-like, I'd probably get all PC and kind of mad. Here, though, I thought it was pretty funny. I will say though, I've been to hundreds of shows over the years, big and small, and while I've seen and not really been disturbed by most piercings/tattoos/body mods, I still get squigged out when I see someone with a full neck tattoo. Something about a needle penetrating your Adam's apple hundreds of times a minute just kills me::..

..::While in Flarida, I polished off two enjoyable reads. Atonement, by Ian McEwan, is has a very fine plotline that would take four or five paragraphs to explain, but it was quite enjoyable. I'll definitely check out some of his other works as I am sorely not well-read in the modern era of lit. Thanks again for the rec, mamacita. I also am now officially the last person on Earth** to read Word Freak, the book about obsessive Scrabble players. I really do enjoy Scrabble (played about 6 games with my mom during my time in FL, top score, 399. So close to that elusive 400 point game!) so this was pretty much guaranteed to be a hit. And yeah, I really did enjoy it. These guys are hardcore, but the most interesting aspect for me is that, while reading about Stefan Fastis's unanticpated decent to Scrabble geekery, I could kind of feel myself desiring a similar experience. It won't happen, but if I happen to run into a list of the 2-letter combos that are acceptable, I may peruse it a time or two::..

..::It's been fawned over a lot lately, and deservedly so, but I'd feel remiss if I didn't formally offer my kudos to one Senor Dong Resin for getting his book published. Enjoy your time in the sun, man. I eagerly anticipate the regaling of doing coke out of Penelope Cruz's asscrack and the inevitable spiralling descent onto the corner where MC Hammer and Mike Tyson now live. Well, that, and when the kids and I are watching "I Love the Naught-ies" on VH12 in 2025, I'll be able to say that I received a swap CD from that genius::..

..::I was quite disturbed to read the story about the prison fire in San Pedro Sula, Honduras that killed 103 prisoners. The story will, of course, be conflicted depending on who you ask, but there are certainly some disturbing aspects about it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the people that died were saints. During the two weeks that I spent in San Pedro Sula in June of '01 (including my 22nd Birthday, actually) I was constantly confronted with men in military uniforms bearing assault rifles at most intersections and restaurant and club entrances. But, the mandatory minimum sentencing and completely overcrowded cells, combined with the fact that the men were gang members, seems to be a microcosmic example of some of the problems facing that country, and many others in Latin America. But yeah, it's still very disturbing::..

..::Couple of quick links:

Vegan Essentials offer some pretty decent shoes, wallets, and belts at reasonable prices. I need to remember that, hence the link. And no, I'm not vegan (or even vegetarian), but I'm much more disturbed by the tendency of humans to wear animals than I am about the tendency to eat them. And I really need a new belt. The one I have, I've had to poke holes in twice due to stretching and some weight loss.

The blog Cooking For Losers is great. As much as I, at times, pretend to be a food snob (ha!) I'm not the most natural or intuitive cook. Plus, it's just really funny in a sort of self-depricating way.

I don't really have a ton to say about the Mass. Gay Wedding thing, other than I'm for it. If you've been here more than a dozen or so times, I'm sure that's no surprise. That said, this MetaFilter comment was really, really fucking cool. I hope and pray that everyone (meself included), gay or straight, can have an experience like that at some point in time in their lives.

..::One final item. This being the busier time of work for me, and hotter than balls, I'm not going to be going out much for the next few months. Add in the fact that sports will bore me to shreds until late October, and it means it's high-time for some NetFlix abuse. You can see my current queue here. Based on that, I'd love some recommendations. And can I just say a big Huzzah for the fact that they've now got The Triplets of Belleville and The Fog of War? Indeed I can. Huzzah!::..

*Big exception 1.) My flight down, of which there I believe two a day direct from DFW, was on a very small plane (maybe 64 seats or so) was infected with five couples from, and this is pure conjecture but likely accurate, Frisco or something. Still being the school year, the only kids on board were under school age. Between these five couples, who were all travelling together, there were no less than 7 kids under the age of 6. That tested my patience more than I can put into words. Big exception 2.) In the gym of the condo, as I was huffing through a trot on a treadmill (I just can't run on the beach. It's too hard.) I got trapped with a girl on the next treadmill powerwalking to Oprah blasting really loud from the tv trying to drown out the latest Trace Adkins or Kenny Chestnut or some crap like that over the stereo. Ugh.

**Last on Earth except my mom, who I bought the book for two years ago, when she was just beginning to get obsessed with Scrabble, but she never read it. So I stole it back from her. I'll give it back. Probably.
:: Scott [+] ::
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R & R



I'm off for a special week-long project intensely studying the mating patterns of Pelicans for an Environmental Group. I should have access to the interweb, so there may be a tale of redneckery or familial debuachery dropped sometime in the interim. Behave yourselves, kids.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Wednesday Linkage

..::100 days until the opening ceremonies, and the Guardian brings you 100 Things You Didn't Know About Athens 2004, some things to chew on while we're digesting the recent triple bombing in Athens earlier today::..

..::The 46 Best Freeware Utilities - well, sorta. You get the first 15 here. You have to subscribe to their free mailing list to get the rest. (via Interact)::..

..::The Report From Iron Mountain - On the Possiblity and Desirability of Peace

It was a classic "black propaganda" operation -- a "top secret" document ghostwritten to appear as though it was authored by the enemy -- perpetrated with the skill of a CIA psywar specialist. Yet the grand disinformation effort known as the Report from Iron Mountain was conceived and written not by some veteran covert operative, but by a cabal of crafty leftist intellectuals who sought to turn the logic of the national security state against itself. Though long ago exposed as a hilarious, highbrow parody of think-tank jargon and realpolitik reasoning, the Report continues to be viewed in some quarters as a leaked official document that exposes a secret government scheme to maintain the "war system" indefinitely.

Full text of the report (from a very very strange site) here. Museum of Hoaxes Iron Mountain page here::..

..::Early contender for the Asshole of the Year award is the basketball coach that gave one of his players a Crybaby award at an assembly. Dipshit::..

..::Forgot to mention: If anyone wants a GMail invite, lemme know (because they're sooooooo hard to come by these days). Anyways, I've got one invite I can give out and I don't really know anyone that wants it. So either leave a comment here or e-mail me::..
:: Scott [+] ::
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Also raised: 37 gallons of Pruno and about a dozen homemade shivs

This is a pretty cool story. The NAACP and a Veteran's group worked with prison officials in Nevada to organize a Race for the Cure at the Southern Desert Correctional Center in Indian Springs, Nevada.

When Richard Santana crossed the finish line Sunday afternoon on the dirt track at Southern Desert Correctional Center, the rarest of scenes unfolded: More than 100 inmates showered him with applause.

Santana, braving an unforgiving sun and 90-degree temperatures, won the prison's first-ever Race for the Cure 5K run. The 34-year-old is doing time in the medium-security prison for burglary, but he and more than 400 of his fellow inmates were in a giving mood.

They raised more than $6,500 for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation on Sunday, a day after mainstream Americans participated in the annual fund-raising event.

Most of the money came from wages the inmates made on their prison-sponsored jobs and their personal pledges, Warden James Cox said.

Yeah, I'm posting a feel-good story. Get over it.
:: Scott [+] ::
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E-mails I need to send

To: readers@archipelapogo.net
Subject: Apologies

Work's been busy, outside of work has been busy. I'll try to put some stuff up this week since I'm headed to Florida on Saturday, so yeah...


To: mycomputer@officeofslack.gov
Subject: Uncool

That really sucked how you decided to give the fritz to your TCP/IP for two days. My boss is going to expect me to be this productive all the time. Please don't leave me netless at work again. Next time, I'm hauling you out to the grassy knoll and going Office Space on your ass.


To: neighborguy@thevillage.com
Subject: Um...

Please, sir, go put a shirt on. Standing outside topless while practicing your golf swing with an invisible club makes you look awfully silly and give me the creeps.


To: otherneighborguy@thevillage.com
Subject: Children

You seem like a cool guy. But I swear, if you ever get full-time custody of those hellions, I really really hope that you move. Go back to watching porn at far too loud a volume. Thanks.


To: customerservice@target.com
Subject: Enough already!

Seriously, you're wasting far too much paper with the damn gift receipts. I'm willing to bet that Nail Clippers aren't on very many bridal registrations, and the carrots and apples were for personal consumption.


To: jason@fincheswings.blogspot.com
Subject: (none)

Please continue this recent posting kick. I'm throughly enjoying it.

kthxbye!
:: Scott [+] ::
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