Yet another version of one of the greatest rock songs of all-time. Wish there was an official video, but...
November 10, 2012
Chaotic Mess
They got the "chaotic mess" right, for sure.
| You Are 8% Abnormal |
 You are at low risk for being a psychopath. It is unlikely that you have no soul. You are at medium risk for having a borderline personality. It is somewhat likely that you are a chaotic mess. You are at low risk for having a narcissistic personality. It is unlikely that you are in love with your own reflection. You are at low risk for having a social phobia. It is unlikely that you feel most comfortable in your mom's basement. You are at low risk for obsessive compulsive disorder. It is unlikely that you are addicted to hand sanitizer. |
And He's No Cereal Killer
 |
Did you know the man on the Quaker Oats package is named "Larry"? I always thought he was William Penn or Ben Franklin. He looks a little bit like Santa. |
Romney Sings Concession
Note: I wasn't thrilled with the outcome of the election but I wouldn't have been thrilled if it had turned out differently. Whatever...this is funny and points out the problem that comes from having a candidate that is nothing like the average American.
November 9, 2012
Time to Reboot
Dear Republicans,
You've got a problem:
I really don't think it's possible to "continue normally".
Clear cache, cookies, run HijackThis, look through the logfile, fix the errors, reboot.
Install True Conservatism...you know, the one that's for limited government, lower taxes, personal responsibility, etc. Open up the big tent, kick the RINOs out, along with the racists, the gay bashers and religious extremists. Let in the conservative libertarians and stop harping on the social issues. Stop it with the anti-abortion and anti-gay stands; neither are illegal, haven't you heard? Abortion is here to stay and gay marriage won't be the downfall of this great nation, but the continued loss of our liberties very well may be. If you don't back off on these two issues, you'll never get the future generation on your side.
Lead by example, don't preach down to people. If you're going to talk the talk, you'd damn well better walk the walk.
There's really not much wrong, after all.
Of course, you can ignore my advice and continue down the losing path, but don't expect another vote from me.
You've got a problem:
I really don't think it's possible to "continue normally".
Clear cache, cookies, run HijackThis, look through the logfile, fix the errors, reboot.
Install True Conservatism...you know, the one that's for limited government, lower taxes, personal responsibility, etc. Open up the big tent, kick the RINOs out, along with the racists, the gay bashers and religious extremists. Let in the conservative libertarians and stop harping on the social issues. Stop it with the anti-abortion and anti-gay stands; neither are illegal, haven't you heard? Abortion is here to stay and gay marriage won't be the downfall of this great nation, but the continued loss of our liberties very well may be. If you don't back off on these two issues, you'll never get the future generation on your side.
Lead by example, don't preach down to people. If you're going to talk the talk, you'd damn well better walk the walk.
There's really not much wrong, after all.
Of course, you can ignore my advice and continue down the losing path, but don't expect another vote from me.
November 8, 2012
Beat This Fact
Did you know a woman's heart beats faster than a man's? The bigger a person is, the slower their heartbeat. Women are generally smaller, so their heart beats 6-8 beats faster than the average man's heart.
I have known some women whose hearts were made of stone, though.
I have known some women whose hearts were made of stone, though.
November 7, 2012
I Must Trust My Lust
| Your Lust Quotient: 35% |
 You are a fairly lustful person, but nothing out of the norm. You usually keep your lust under control, but sometimes it gets the better of you. |
I have a little more than 35% when I look at that graphic on the quiz.
Nutty Trivia
Did you know cashew nuts contain a poisonous oil? The cashew tree is a relative of poison ivy and cashew nuts in their natural form contain poison, but roasting makes them safe to eat.
Cashew!
Gesundheit!
Victory!
Of the Pyrrhic sort.
national debt
Since the election was called for Obama several hours ago, I've been doing a little research on the national debt, the most pressing issue facing our country and the next term of the President. I won't give links or explain my math - I'm tired from the tension of following the returns, plus if you want to double-check the figures, you can look 'em up yourself, but from what I could find out, each single U.S. citizen owes over $50 thousand as our share of the national debt.
That figure is staggering, but the figure that's alarming is that Americans under the age of 18 inherit over 200 thousand as their share of the national debt.
That's what's so distressing about the election results. I saw people gloating over Obama's win, but I don't think they realize the implications. I'm not saying a Romney presidency would've been any better; he has a history of being a big govt. politician, too.
I wouldn't have been overjoyed if Romney had won; to me, he was the lesser of two evils. I don't understand the celebrating, esp. by those people with children. Thanks to the last half-dozen presidents (actually more than that), we've saddled the next several generations w/ a mountain of debt and if Obama's first term is any indication, it will only get worse.
The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $3.86 billion per day. Let that sink in; nearly four billion a day increase. (or will be four billion very soon) Listening to a radio show just now, I heard that our debt is over 30% more than Greece's...and they're on the verge of collapse.
The only way to even begin digging our way out of this crushing debt is by raising taxes...not just on the rich, but on the main body of taxpayers, the middle class. Sure, corporations can have (and probably will have) their taxes raised, but anyone with even the most basic understanding of economics should know that cost is passed along to the consumer. From there it becomes a vicious circle - taxes go up, prices go up, the consumer has less money to spend on other things, other industries suffer, etc. and so forth.
Just raising taxes won't cut it, however. The military budget can be cut, but I don't see that helping much, so...that leaves only benefits to be pared and who thinks that will be done? History shows it won't. So, that puts the burden on the taxpayer and it will be impossible to retire this debt in ours or our children's lifetime...and in fact, the debt will even grow larger until our economy collapses.
So, celebrate while you can, "congratulations" on your "win". Eat, drink, and be merry, fiddle while Rome burns. The bar tab will come due sooner than you think.
I think I'll go on to bed. I'm sure the sun will come up tomorrow and the world won't end on Dec. 22.* I just hope my country can survive the people we've elected and the fools that elect them.
What I'm really afraid of is when the Chinese come to collect on the I.O.U.'s we've been giving them.
*Edit to add: That's the Mayan calendar date the world is supposed to end. The official Inauguration Day is January 20th. However, as that date falls on a Sunday in 2013, the public swearing-in ceremony will be held on Monday, January 21, 2013.
Sorry for any confusion. I just woke up after a few hours of fitful sleep. I thought I'd feel better after resting. I don't.
national debt
That figure is staggering, but the figure that's alarming is that Americans under the age of 18 inherit over 200 thousand as their share of the national debt.
That's what's so distressing about the election results. I saw people gloating over Obama's win, but I don't think they realize the implications. I'm not saying a Romney presidency would've been any better; he has a history of being a big govt. politician, too.
I wouldn't have been overjoyed if Romney had won; to me, he was the lesser of two evils. I don't understand the celebrating, esp. by those people with children. Thanks to the last half-dozen presidents (actually more than that), we've saddled the next several generations w/ a mountain of debt and if Obama's first term is any indication, it will only get worse.
The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $3.86 billion per day. Let that sink in; nearly four billion a day increase. (or will be four billion very soon) Listening to a radio show just now, I heard that our debt is over 30% more than Greece's...and they're on the verge of collapse.
The only way to even begin digging our way out of this crushing debt is by raising taxes...not just on the rich, but on the main body of taxpayers, the middle class. Sure, corporations can have (and probably will have) their taxes raised, but anyone with even the most basic understanding of economics should know that cost is passed along to the consumer. From there it becomes a vicious circle - taxes go up, prices go up, the consumer has less money to spend on other things, other industries suffer, etc. and so forth.
Just raising taxes won't cut it, however. The military budget can be cut, but I don't see that helping much, so...that leaves only benefits to be pared and who thinks that will be done? History shows it won't. So, that puts the burden on the taxpayer and it will be impossible to retire this debt in ours or our children's lifetime...and in fact, the debt will even grow larger until our economy collapses.
So, celebrate while you can, "congratulations" on your "win". Eat, drink, and be merry, fiddle while Rome burns. The bar tab will come due sooner than you think.
I think I'll go on to bed. I'm sure the sun will come up tomorrow and the world won't end on Dec. 22.* I just hope my country can survive the people we've elected and the fools that elect them.
What I'm really afraid of is when the Chinese come to collect on the I.O.U.'s we've been giving them.
*Edit to add: That's the Mayan calendar date the world is supposed to end. The official Inauguration Day is January 20th. However, as that date falls on a Sunday in 2013, the public swearing-in ceremony will be held on Monday, January 21, 2013.
Sorry for any confusion. I just woke up after a few hours of fitful sleep. I thought I'd feel better after resting. I don't.
November 6, 2012
Stamping Out Our Rights
U.S. law mandates that when images of postage stamps are printed, a line is drawn through the denomination and must be in a different size to prevent people from cutting out the images and using them as stamps. This graphic of the new "Four Flags" forever* stamp fills those requirements, but the result is more than a little ironic.
*meaning they'll always be valid for the full first-class postage regardless of any rate increases.
*meaning they'll always be valid for the full first-class postage regardless of any rate increases.
November 5, 2012
Topix Widget
Get the Topix news widget for your website or blog. Looks like it will be some advertising along w/ a couple of local news stories.
The Fighting Frisbees
Did you know the U.S. military studied the Frisbee to see if the same idea could be used in warfare? The U.S. Navy spent $400,000 on research to see if Frisbees could be used to launch flares. Flying disc
November 3, 2012
Formerly Favorite Font
Comic Sans used to be my font of choice when I was in MSN Groups. I used it as the default font in this blog when I started and even wrote a post about it.
As is with nearly all these quizzes, I like to think most of the results really do apply to me. The "people appreciate you best in small doses" is probably true, too. That's OK; I feel that way about most people, myself.
As is with nearly all these quizzes, I like to think most of the results really do apply to me. The "people appreciate you best in small doses" is probably true, too. That's OK; I feel that way about most people, myself.
| You Are Comic Sans |
 You are a nothing but a big goofball. You're quite playful and fun! You're widely known for your zany personality and your vivacious attitude. To say that you stand out in a crowd would be a definite understatement. Remember that you are overwhelming at times and that people appreciate you best in small doses. |
Fall Back!
Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour tonight!
(Sunday morning @ 2:00 a.m.)
Change your smoke alarm batteries, too!
(Sunday morning @ 2:00 a.m.)
Change your smoke alarm batteries, too!
November 2, 2012
Adam Ant as Brad Bonner
A Facebook and long-time online friend recently posted some Adam Ant videos on her wall and seeing them reminded me of an old episode of Northern Exposure where he played Brad Bonner, a British rock star (typecasting in reverse?) visiting Cicily, Alaska and wanting to make a "tribal rock" video with some of the local natives.
The character taking the video is Ed Chigliak, played by Darren E. Burrows. Mr. Burrows and I share many of the same political beliefs and I am proud to count him among my Facebook friends. (Burrow's Facebook fan page)
The character taking the video is Ed Chigliak, played by Darren E. Burrows. Mr. Burrows and I share many of the same political beliefs and I am proud to count him among my Facebook friends. (Burrow's Facebook fan page)
November 1, 2012
Pulling For One Side
 |
| 1904 Olympic Games Tug of War |
The ancient sport was an official Olympic event from 1900 until 1920. There's a Tug of War International Federation that still organizes tournaments and it is also a part of the Highland Games.
The sport still has some "pull" in some parts of the world!
November Trivia Tournament Begins!
Test your trivia knowledge at the ToTG Daily Trivia Game!
A new tournament starts at the first of every month. Easy to play: register, pick a nickname and play the quiz, simple as that! One warning, though; the questions are anything but easy, with every category being the hardest offered at the site.
The topics change every day, from General Knowledge, Literature, World Trivia, Science and Technology, History, Movies as well as a UK category.
Choose from four possible choices but hurry as fast as you can; your total points depend not only upon correct answers but how quickly you complete the quiz.
ToTG Daily Trivia Game
A new tournament starts at the first of every month. Easy to play: register, pick a nickname and play the quiz, simple as that! One warning, though; the questions are anything but easy, with every category being the hardest offered at the site.
The topics change every day, from General Knowledge, Literature, World Trivia, Science and Technology, History, Movies as well as a UK category.
Choose from four possible choices but hurry as fast as you can; your total points depend not only upon correct answers but how quickly you complete the quiz.
ToTG Daily Trivia Game
October 31, 2012
Halloween Dictionary
From the 
archives:
Halloween Dictionary
Bobbing Apples: What happens when you leave your bra off while running.
Boogieman: Guy who passes time at a stoplight picking his nose.
Coffin: What you do when you get a piece of popcorn stuck in your throat.
Frankenstein: Hot dog and a mug of beer.
Full moon: What your repairman reveals when he bends over to fix your fridge.
Goblin: How you eat the Snickers bars you got for Halloween.
Invisible Man: What a guy becomes when there's housework to be done. Also, see "Mr. Hyde."
Jack O' Lantern: An Irish Pumpkin.
Jack the Ripper: What Jack does to his lottery tickets after losing each week.
Mummy: Who kisses the boo-boo after you scrape your knee.
Pumpkin Patch: What a pumpkin wears when trying to quit smoking.
Skeleton: Any supermodel.
Vampire Bat: What Dracula hits a baseball with.
Witch: See "Mother-in-Law."
Zombie: What you look like before that first cup of morning coffee.
archives:Halloween Dictionary
Bobbing Apples: What happens when you leave your bra off while running.
Boogieman: Guy who passes time at a stoplight picking his nose.
Coffin: What you do when you get a piece of popcorn stuck in your throat.
Frankenstein: Hot dog and a mug of beer.
Full moon: What your repairman reveals when he bends over to fix your fridge.
Goblin: How you eat the Snickers bars you got for Halloween.
Invisible Man: What a guy becomes when there's housework to be done. Also, see "Mr. Hyde."
Jack O' Lantern: An Irish Pumpkin.
Jack the Ripper: What Jack does to his lottery tickets after losing each week.
Mummy: Who kisses the boo-boo after you scrape your knee.
Pumpkin Patch: What a pumpkin wears when trying to quit smoking.
Skeleton: Any supermodel.
Vampire Bat: What Dracula hits a baseball with.
Witch: See "Mother-in-Law."
Zombie: What you look like before that first cup of morning coffee.
Best Halloween Songs
Too many videos to embed in a single post in here, but some great tunes.
25 Best Halloween Songs of All Time
25 Best Halloween Songs of All Time
Find A Grave
Find A Grave
Find the graves of ancestors, create virtual memorials, add 'virtual flowers' and a note to a loved one's grave, etc. See the graves of thousands of famous people from around the world.
Find A Grave
Find the graves of ancestors, create virtual memorials, add 'virtual flowers' and a note to a loved one's grave, etc. See the graves of thousands of famous people from around the world.
October 30, 2012
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Today's StartSampling trivia contest question was this:
Who Am I? Try your luck at this contest! We have provided information about a product character or icon. Can you guess who it is? With his toga-style outfit of leaves, green skin, and impressive stature, it's hard to miss this icon. Who is this icon? Good luck!
Sometimes I have to Google the answer on some of these advertising questions, but not today. Being a child raised on '60's TV, the answer was easy.
That reminds me of an old joke from my junior high days:
What do you have if you have a big green ball in one hand and another big green ball in the other?
Total control over the Jolly Green Giant.
Who Am I? Try your luck at this contest! We have provided information about a product character or icon. Can you guess who it is? With his toga-style outfit of leaves, green skin, and impressive stature, it's hard to miss this icon. Who is this icon? Good luck!
Sometimes I have to Google the answer on some of these advertising questions, but not today. Being a child raised on '60's TV, the answer was easy.
That reminds me of an old joke from my junior high days:
What do you have if you have a big green ball in one hand and another big green ball in the other?
Total control over the Jolly Green Giant.
October 29, 2012
The Galloping Gourmet
Better than 90% of the Food Network programs on today, The Galloping Gourmet was one of my favorite TV shows when I was growing up. I'll never forget watching the show right before lunch one summer and my dad coming in from work and growling "What are you watching?" I told him it was a cooking show and I think he probably wondered what sort of boy he had sired. It didn't take but a few minutes of watching before he too was laughing at Graham Kerr's funny stories and cooking techniques, both done with frequent gulps from the ubiquitous glass of wine always at hand.
If you've got 20 or so minutes, watch this video; if you're pressed for time, at least watch the first few minutes to understand why I loved this show and how it was the forerunner of today's cooking shows. Julia Child had the first well-known cooking show, but Graham Kerr was the best!
Beer and Rump Pot Roast
If you've got 20 or so minutes, watch this video; if you're pressed for time, at least watch the first few minutes to understand why I loved this show and how it was the forerunner of today's cooking shows. Julia Child had the first well-known cooking show, but Graham Kerr was the best!
Beer and Rump Pot Roast
October 28, 2012
Big Hits
More than a little annoyed at the end of the Cowboys/Giants game, I got online to try to take my mind off it. I wasn't going to visit any of the rash of doom 'n gloom posts that have hit my reader and were being posted on the Cowboys website and Facebook pages so I decided I'd pop in here and check the stats, see who has been visiting and what they were looking at.
I'd noticed quite a few hits yesterday on my Cast Away posts and the movie must have played on TV and I didn't notice it in the listings. The Feedjit stats showed that, but don't tell the entire story; many people have the Do Not Track extension on their browser so their visits won't show up on it or have some other "stealth" application or add-on. Unless they have Blogger cookies blocked, however, it will show up on the Blogger stats. (and I've previously blocked some of the tracking stuff, but I won't be able to see the top navbar and have to go in via the dashboard to create a post or look at the stats) Looking at the day's stats, I noticed there had been quite an increase in traffic earlier.
As you can see, there was quite a few visitors, relatively speaking, that came to this blog. ("relatively", because ToTG doesn't get all that many visits. 200/day is fairly avg., sometimes more, sometimes less.) I have it set to not track my own page views or the visits would double on the days I have nothing better to do than come in here.
I decided to switch to the "day" mode on the stats and saw this:
90+ visitors in a matter of a few hours. Wow. Wish it would be like that all the time; I would put in some paying ads...which would probably drive the traffic away. I also wish the Cowboys had put that many hits on Eli Manning.
I'm glad I'm not trying to make a living at this blogging thing.
I'd noticed quite a few hits yesterday on my Cast Away posts and the movie must have played on TV and I didn't notice it in the listings. The Feedjit stats showed that, but don't tell the entire story; many people have the Do Not Track extension on their browser so their visits won't show up on it or have some other "stealth" application or add-on. Unless they have Blogger cookies blocked, however, it will show up on the Blogger stats. (and I've previously blocked some of the tracking stuff, but I won't be able to see the top navbar and have to go in via the dashboard to create a post or look at the stats) Looking at the day's stats, I noticed there had been quite an increase in traffic earlier.
As you can see, there was quite a few visitors, relatively speaking, that came to this blog. ("relatively", because ToTG doesn't get all that many visits. 200/day is fairly avg., sometimes more, sometimes less.) I have it set to not track my own page views or the visits would double on the days I have nothing better to do than come in here.
I decided to switch to the "day" mode on the stats and saw this:
90+ visitors in a matter of a few hours. Wow. Wish it would be like that all the time; I would put in some paying ads...which would probably drive the traffic away. I also wish the Cowboys had put that many hits on Eli Manning.
I'm glad I'm not trying to make a living at this blogging thing.
My Winter is Discontent
I guess this is true, but there's no quiz that shows just how much I hate winter.
| Your Winter Personality is Comfortable |
 You can't help but be influenced by the world around you, and winter is your time to slow down and relax. You are genuinely nice and a joy to be around. You have a natural serenity that makes others feel calm. You are unpretentious and very real. You find it easy to connect to others just by being yourself. |
Massive Mass
Did you know?
|
All the planets in our solar system could fit inside Jupiter. The largest planet, composed mostly of gases, has two and a half times the mass of all the other planets combined. |
October 27, 2012
Social Disease - Elton John
Clever homemade video w/ clips of "The Twilight Zone".
Catchy tune and great lyrics w/ probably the best line of any rock song:
"I get juiced on Mateus and just hang loose!"
Catchy tune and great lyrics w/ probably the best line of any rock song:
"I get juiced on Mateus and just hang loose!"
October 25, 2012
The Patron Saint of Bachelors
Did You Know?
His process was moderately successful and adopted by Europe and the United States. The glass containers that were first used proved bulky, costly, and brittle, but the early methods of making cans weren't much better. Sheets of tin were cut with shears, then bent around a block and the seams heavily soldered. A good tinsmith could make only about 60 cans a day.
The industry grew with the 1847 invention of the stamped can. Civil War soldiers were supplied with canned meats and vegetables using this method. A machine for shaping and soldering the cans automatically was exhibited in 1876 at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.
Whoever invented the can opener deserves sainthood, too.
 |
Canning was invented in 1809 by Nicolas Appert? |
The industry grew with the 1847 invention of the stamped can. Civil War soldiers were supplied with canned meats and vegetables using this method. A machine for shaping and soldering the cans automatically was exhibited in 1876 at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.
Whoever invented the can opener deserves sainthood, too.
October 24, 2012
Rare Error
I do get HTML errors in posts, but they have a feature that allows you to ignore it. It "fixes" any tags not closed for you, though.
I love Blogger, wish I had discovered it earlier.
October 23, 2012
acephalous
acephalous a·ceph·a·lous [ey-sef-uh-luhs] adjective
1. Also, a·ce·phal·ic [ey-suh-fal-ik] Zoology headless; lacking a distinct head.
2. without a leader or ruler.
I'm not an anarchist, but I sometimes wonder if our country would be better off being acephalous.
1. Also, a·ce·phal·ic [ey-suh-fal-ik] Zoology headless; lacking a distinct head.
2. without a leader or ruler.
I'm not an anarchist, but I sometimes wonder if our country would be better off being acephalous.
You Can't Handle The Truth!
Did you know that most of the movie A Few Good Men was written on cocktail napkins? Aaron Sorkin was working as a bartender at the Palace Theater during the 80's. The napkins were free, so Sorkin turned them into mini napkin scripts.
I Like Brown Food
Alton Brown's food, that is.
| You Are Good Eats |
 You are a bit of a food geek, and you see the kitchen as your laboratory. Food fascinates you, especially food science. You enjoy testing out new recipes and cooking techniques. It's not enough for you to know that something works... you have to know why it works. You are a huge goofball and have a silly sense of humor. You like to play around in the kitchen. |
Badlands
Loosely based upon the Starkweather-Fugate multi-state killing spree in 1958, Badlands was the first major role for both stars, Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. The movie is compelling in a low-key, non-sensationalist way, so different than today's similar films.
Other than the superb acting and the outstanding cinematography, the most memorable thing about the film - for me, at least - is the soundtrack. Carl Orff's Musica Poetica manages to capture the whimsical mood of the killers as they committed their horrific crimes and yet at the same time is strangely uplifting.
Other than the superb acting and the outstanding cinematography, the most memorable thing about the film - for me, at least - is the soundtrack. Carl Orff's Musica Poetica manages to capture the whimsical mood of the killers as they committed their horrific crimes and yet at the same time is strangely uplifting.
October 22, 2012
One Hump or Two?
Did you know that when he was Secretary of War (prior to the Civil War), Jefferson Davis imported camels for the Army to ride? In 1856, Davis purchased 34 camels at a cost of $30,000 to be used in remote military outposts. The animals proved to be unpopular and not nearly as easy to train as were horses (plus they spooked the horses), so the experiment was abandoned.
More information: U.S. Camel Corps
More information: U.S. Camel Corps
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