The Cancer of Democracy

Bread and Circuses is the cancer of democracy, the fatal disease for which there is no cure. Democracy often works beautifully at first. But once a state extends the franchise to every warm body, be he producer or parasite, that day marks the beginning of the end of the state. For when the plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses without limit and that the productive members of the body politic cannot stop them, they will do so, until the state bleeds to death, or in its weakened condition the state succumbs to an invader--the barbarians enter Rome.

— Lazarus Long, in Robert Heinlein's To Sail Beyond the Sunset

(Note: To anyone who wants to nitpick - yes, I know that's from the cover of a paperback edition of Time Enough For Love, but it IS a depiction of Lazarus Long, so just stow it before you whine, all right?)

Whoosh Bottle

Do a search for these on YouTube and you'll find several more, but I thought this was the coolest looking one. 

DISCLAIMER:  DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.

Actually, go ahead if you want, I was just covering my ass.  If you DO try it at home, please record it and post it to YouTube, esp. if it blows up.

For some detailed instructions, view this video: Extreme Whoosh Bottle Trio

I'm thinking that if you're thinking of doing this, you might want to watch it to find out the proper and safest procedure.

Inkblot Test

This Inkblot Test Will Reveal If You Think Like A Child

My results:

Based on your visual associations, we found that your style of thinking is much like that of a rebellious teenager. You tend to be quite strong-minded and inquisitive and tend to question the world around you. Your decision making process is mostly based on instant gratification rather than rational reasoning as you prefer to live in the moment. You can come across as quite cynical at times, but that's only because you don't accept things as they are and try to understand the real meaning behind them. You don't play by the rules and make your own destiny as you go along.

Sounds 'bout right.

Inkblot Test

Moon Phase Widget

From a great website: Midnight Kite. They also have nice selection of star charts in PDF available for download.

Me and Mrs. Jones - Billy Paul

R.I.P. Billy Paul

Ancient Words For These Times

A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly.

But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself.

 For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men.

 He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.

 ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero
Roman Statesman, philosopher and orator (42 B.C)

I've Been Thinking About You - Londonbeat

Noticed the original video had been taken down, an expected hazard of posting videos.

Originally posted on April 26, 2009

Shines the Name!

When I was a young man I was introduced to Robert A. Heinlein's books by Mrs. Seitz, a gentle lady who became my very favorite teacher. I'm sure she was also a favorite of both of my sisters who also attended her classes.

It wasn't the first one I read, but my favorite "juvenile" Heinlein novel was Starship Troopers. The novel helped to shape my views on what a citizen owes to his country. (I should also say "her country" too, because Heinlein also influenced me as to the proper respect owed to women)

In Troopers, a young man, a rich and privileged boy named Juan "Johnny" Rico desires to earn his citizenship and enlists in what Heinlein envisioned the future Marines might become. When it became time to board the assault ship or to return to it from battle, the ship's loudspeakers would play "The Ballad of Roger Young" as a homing signal. RAH mentioned it several times in snippets "....shines the name, shines the name of Roger Young"

I was always curious about who Roger Young was, but couldn't find anything in the meager research resources available to me at that long-ago time. When I got a computer, it was one of the first things I researched.

This is what is on the very last page of Heinlein's classic novel:

Young, Rodger W., Private, 148th Infantry, 37th Infantry Division (the Ohio Buckeyes); born Tiffin, Ohio, 28 April 1918; died 31 July 1943, on the island of New Georgia, Solomons, South Pacific, while singlehandedly attacking and destroying an enemy machine-gun pillbox. His platoon had been pinned down by intense fire from this pillbox; Private Young was wounded in the first burst. He crawled toward the pillbox, was wounded a second time but continued to advance, firing his rifle as he did so. He closed on the pillbox, attacked and destroyed it with hand grenades, but in so doing he was wounded a third time and killed.

His bold and gallant action in the face of overwhelming odds enabled his teammates to escape without loss; he was awarded posthumously the Medal of Honor.

---

From a now-defunct R.A.H. fan site:

For Robert Heinlein, Rodger Young stood for that noblest of men--the soldier willing to put himself in harm's way for the sake of his people. Heinlein first mentions Young in 1952, when he recorded his piece for Edward R. Murrow's This I Believe show. Heinlein expands greatly on the theme in 1958 with Starship Troopers, a controversial novel which he freely admits having written in part to "glorify] the military. . .specifically the P.B.I., the Poor Bloody Infantry, the mudfoot who places his frail body between his loved home and war's desolation--but is rarely appreciated." In the story, Johnny Rico serves aboard the troop ship Rodger Young, and we have occasion to hear the boarding tocsin for that ship, a verse from Frank Loesser's "The Ballad of Rodger Young."

To the everlasting glory of the infantry
Shines the name, shines the name of Rodger Young

The Ballad of Rodger Young

Ball

Play Ball!

This is one of those games that is simple, yet maddeningly frustrating.

Using your cursor that's "tethered" to the ball, flick it up and click on it and the ball will change colors.

Easier said than done, and not easy to do several times in a row.

A friend of mine sent me the link to this game and it reminded me of when I had an MSN Group that found these types of games, zipped them up with the page and instructions, even included screenshots to promote them.

(It - the group - was a resounding failure, but that's another story)

When I'd find a game like this, I would write the webmaster, tell him what I wanted to do, ask his permission to redistribute his game. More often than not, they'd give permission, sometimes stipulating certain things such as what websites were prohibited from using the games.

I liked this game, so I "dug" the shockwave file out of my Temporary Internet Folder and made my own page so I can play it anytime I like.

I wondered if the site had more games, so I clicked on over to the index page, found out it was a forum for techie types, no other links to other games or cool things.

I did see this graphic and it made me literally lmao:

One Toke Over the Line - The Lawrence Welk Show

Uh, it's "spiritual", but not in the way you think.

What Is The Meaning of Your Life?

The Meaning of Your Life is Joy

The purpose of your life is simple: to live it to the fullest. You believe that happiness is a choice, and being happy isn't that hard to figure out. Too many people struggle in their lives. You think they should just let go and enjoy what they've been given. It's easy to find misery, but it's difficult to find happiness. You know that all the happiness you need comes from within.

What Is The Meaning of Your Life?

After Taxes - Johnny Cash

Countdown to the NFL Draft

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Let's Stay Together - Al Green

Happy Birthday to Al Green!

Michelle's Money Message

I am Mrs.Michelle Obama and I am written to inform you about your Bank Check Draft brought by United Embassy from the government of Benin Republic to the white house Washington DC and has been mandated to be deliver to your address on Tuesday  being April  11th 2016 as soon as you get back to me with your below information.

Home address:.............................
City:...................................
Phone number.........................

You check is containing the sum of $10 million USD.

Here is my number.(+1-360-437-6565) you can call me or send me an sms, but i prefer sms because I'm always busy in the white house and i cant be able to pick calls all the time.I will be waiting to hear from you immediately, thanks and God bless you.

Sincerely
Mrs.Michelle Obama
First Lady

Thanks, Mrs. Obama, but there are many reasons I'm sure this isn't legit...and the main one is that if you know who I am, then you probably also know how rudely I've spoken about you - much worse than I have your husband, actually.

As always, I am publishing the email addresses (hidden below this) found in the source in hopes the spammer gets spammed.

I'll just have to say I'm FINALLY proud to have a chance to criticize you on my blog.

USA.@ninus.ocn.ne.jp; mogw0339.ocn.ad.jp; mf-smf-ucb001.ocn.ad.jp; mv-mta-ucb026.ocn.ad.jp; mzcstore352.ocn.ad.jp; vcwebmail.ocn.ad.jp; michelleobama666@outlook.com

Fast Track - Simon's Cat

They Don't Sell These

Around here

You Are an Acai Berry

You are an intense, fascinating person with a very strong personality. You don't shy away from controversy, and you're incredibly independent. You are cultured, knowledgeable, and worldly. You have a deep understanding of things. You are lively and healthy. You believe your body is a temple, and you treat it as such.

What Tropical Fruit Are You?

---

I was liking how it flattered me until the last bit; there's no need to try to fool my friends and family who might be reading this.

"My body is a temple..." -snicker-

The sad thing is the controversy surrounding this fruit, namely the health food scams and that the harvesting of this fruit is helping to deplete the Amazon rain forest.

BallDroppings

Cool application - draw some lines so the balls dropped can bounce off them, turn up your sound and waste some time in a fun fashion. It helps if you draw some "boundary lines" so the balls don't bounce off the screen. Adjust the ball drop rate and gravity to change how the balls react.

BallDroppings

Bible Gateway

A nice feed for a Bible verse of the day.

Polly Want Some Cracker Trivia?

A Ritz cracker has seven holes, while a regular saltine has thirteen.

What Would Scotty Do?

"Aye, Captain...we canna warp without the analytics!"