Yay!

Judge blocks California game law - News at GameSpot

Interesting: "games are protected by the First Amendment".

Pokemon Causes Cancer!

Well, I suppose more specifically, the POK erythroid myeloid ontogenic gene causes cancer.

Read what Pikachu has to say about it.

12,000 UAW Workers Plan Strike
Will sit around doing nothing, as usual

Thousands of United Auto Worker members at job banks around the country are planning to strike against unfair wages, poor non-working conditions, and threats of outsourcing. Unless the Big Five Auto manufacturers (GM, Ford, Chrysler, Delphi, and Visteon) immediately agree to the non-workers' demands, the union members plan to go on strike.

"We'll play crossword puzzles, watch videos that someone brings in or read the newspaper," threatened one UAW member. "Basically we'll do the same thing we do every day, except we'll be on strike."

The UAW members are complaining that the average $26/hour that they're making doesn't adequately cover the hardships of their non-jobs. "It's hard work to sit around for 8 hours a day, doing nothing," said a representative of the employees. "The mental fatigue caused by the boredom of it all is not an easy thing to cope with. Plus, our health care costs are rising with the increased cost of blood clots from sitting down doing nothing all day." In addition to pay increases, the union is demanding that the Big Five manufacturers improve the quality of the job banks, citing such inadequacies as uncomfortable, hard plastic chairs, flickering flourescent lighting, and sub-par non-high-definition televisions in the job banks.

But perhaps the biggest issue for the workers is the rumor that GM and Ford are in talks to out-source their job banks to China. "What sort of way is that to treat your non-workers?" demanded one angry UAW member. "They think that just because they can pay someone in China 56¢/hour to sit around doing nothing they can get away with it. Well, I say they need to stop taking non-jobs away from non-working Americans!" Officials at GM and Ford have refused to comment on the matter of outsourcing.

The Big Five have made an offer to the UAW members that includes compromising on a number of issues. The offer includes a 5% pay increase over 12 months, factory-supplied cushions for the job bank chairs, and the promise that no existing job-banks non-jobs will be transfered overseas, although the possibiltiy of creating foreign job-banks in the future, in addition to the domestic job banks, is left open. The UAW has yet to vote on accepting the compromise.

Union Demands More Money
And doesn't care who they hurt

More for the ridiculous union strike files.

Transit Strike Daily Price Tag: $420M - Forbes.com

So, 10.5% pay increase over three years isn't good enough. They want better than 24% over that same period. And in order to acheive their ends, they're willing to inconvenience 7 million people, and cost New York City $420m a day.

In addition to their already above average pay, their retirement age is 55 and they pay no health care premiums.

I so desperately need to start my own Union.

So Gay.

Let me preface this by saying, I’m always right.

Upon getting into an argument with people I used to call friends, I realized how vastly superior I am intellectually.

The subject of eBay bidding came up, and the method of bid-in-the-last-5-minutes was espoused (yes, I LIKE the passive voice). They defended it by claiming it helped you to pay the least and it helped you to “win.” Realizing how much could improve their spiritual state by berating them, I quickly resorted to an argument and finally fisticuffs.

I espouse the Bid-the-MAX-you-are-willing-to-pay method. Bid once. Determine how much it’s worth to you, bid that. Or

float bid; //init the amount we want to bid
bid = findWorth(object) – shippingCost(object); //take into account the cost of shipping
placeBid(bid);

This works, and it allows you to know early on when you are outbid so you can move on and attempt to find the same or similar item elsewhere without ever paying too much. Thus you don’t waste a week expecting to buy this item, only to be outbid at the last second by someone you outbid a week ago. If they were really willing to pay $1more than me, why not have just posted their bid that high? I could have moved on instead of waiting for the legally (ort least honor) binding agreement to end, because I sure as heck ain’t gonna pay twice for the same object.

What the bid-at-the-last-second bidders don’t realize is that the point is not to “win”. The point is to Buy. And to buy smart. I shall illustrate with a true tale of danger and intrigue. I once was boy. Call me Tom. Tom is a fitting enough name for a boy. But what you don’t know about this boy is that he was on a mission. He had shopped online to find the cheapest he could buy some used Beatles CDs. The cheapest he could find from a reseller was $20. So he went onto eBay and bid $16 because he was smart enough to take into account the cost of shipping and knew that for every dollar below $16 he paid, he saved that much more on the purchase. A week later, he was outbid by the same two people he had outbid earlier. They had both attempted to bid at the last second, and so they raced each other. The winner paid $30. Idiots. So instead Tom paid $20, and the CDs arrived a week later than they should have because incompetent people had wasted his time since they were willing to pay more but only at the last second.

But alas, perfect logic was no match for them. So I must resort to quoting eBay itself.

Consider your buying options
Determine the maximum you're willing to pay for the item. Take into consideration how much you want the item, how difficult it will be for you to find another one and how soon you need it, and determine the highest price you're willing to pay.

Here's how bidding on eBay works:
When you place a bid, you enter the maximum amount you'd be willing to pay for the item. Your maximum amount is kept confidential from other bidders and the seller.
The eBay system compares your bid to those of the other bidders.
The system places bids on your behalf, using only as much of your bid as is necessary to maintain your high bid position (or to meet the reserve price). The system will bid up to your maximum amount.
If another bidder has a higher maximum, you'll be outbid. BUT, if no other bidder has a higher maximum, you win the item. And you could pay significantly less than your maximum price! This means you don't have to keep coming back to re-bid every time another bid is placed.

QED: I am awesome.

I'm too lazy to write any decent satire, so I'll just link to some funny stuff instead.

The Forbes Fictional 15 - Forbes.com

Just pretend I wrote it.

Idiot of the Day/Week/Month.

Hm. I seem to recall there was a reason I stopped reading movie reviews from Box Office Mojo.

Oh yeah.

Yes, Narnia is nothing more than "Christian propaganda" that demonstrates the "arbitratiness of religion" in a "poorly disguised Christian fairy tale".

Note that this is the second time reviewer Scott Holleran has received an Idiot Award.

More from the "Department for Studying the Obvious".

Abortion induces long term mental distress

Ya think?

Michigan J. Murloc.

Baby Freezes to Death in Snow;
Nearby King Charged with Criminal Negligence

A Bay Area woman inspired authorities to look into a cold case involving a baby purportedly freezing to death 2,005 years ago. At the time the death was reported, no suspects were charged with the crime. However, Tampa’s Mrs. Burud discovered shocking new evidence indicating that a nearby king, whose name has not been released, may be responsible for the Baby’s death.

A well-known Christmas carol commemorating the devious deed is what tipped Mrs. Burud off to the king’s involvement. Accordingly, an investigation was conducted, resulting in new evidence that was sufficient to get an indictment against the king (who incidentally looks amazingly well for being 2,035 years old).

The most damning piece of evidence was a 2,005 year old parchment penned by the king’s bard in which details of the crime were recorded. When originally questioned by authorities, the king denied any knowledge of the crime or of the situation surrounding the events. However, the parchment states otherwise.

An excerpt of the document suggests that a peasant shepherd, angered at the king’s lack of approval of tax breaks for the poor and disappointed at the economy’s unfortunate state in general, sought to inform the king of his grievances. His plea, which was included in the parchment in its entirety, utilized real-life examples illustrating how the poor in his region suffered from the king’s negligence. Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king:
“Do you know what I know, in your palace warm, mighty king, do you know
what I know? A Child, a Child shivers in the cold!”

The shepherd sarcastically suggested that the king send the Baby silver and gold, as the monarch had a reputation for being ungenerous. The implication was clear: the king valued silver and gold over the life of a poor child shivering in the cold. The investigation revealed that the king had indeed done everything to make the lives of the poor in that region unbearable.

Of course the practical solution was that the king should send the baby a blanket so that the child would cease to freeze to death. The rest of the letter outlined the shepherd’s plan for distribution of every-day goods (such as blankets) to the poor in the region. Other royal court records, supposed burned until recently unearthed, confirmed that the king read the letter and was well aware of both the problem confronting the poor and of the shepherd’s intelligent and practical solution to the problem.

However, in response to the shepherd’s letter of complaint, which caused quite a stir in the royal court, the king merely attempted to quell the anger of his subjects by making warm and fuzzy, politically correct remarks such as, “Listen to what I say! Pray for peace, people everywhere!” According to several court members, the king was heard to say secretly to his advisors, “Listen to what I say: the Child, the Child, sleeping in the night--he will bring us goodness and light.” It is speculated that this remark suggested a sinister plot to kill the shepherd, thereby silencing the only voice of opposition to the king’s reign.

The child who was shivering in the cold without a blanket froze to death. The new evidence led to charges of criminal negligence being filed against the king; he is due to stand trial at the Highest Court upon his death. The people are seeking a maximum sentence of 20 to life in Purgatory pending his conviction.

New Study Indicates Link Between Marketing and Consumption.
Shocking new findings could dramatically affect how companies seek to sell products

According to a new study released by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), there is a clear link between the advertising of a product and consumers' desire to use that product. The study specifically tested how marketing of food products affected children's desire to eat that product, but may have more profound implications.

According to the IOM, "The committee found strong evidence that television advertising influences the food and beverage preferences and purchase requests of children ages 2 through 11 years old and affects their consumption habits." The report goes on to state that, "While the study focused on children aged 2-16, there is evidence to suggest that this 'marketing' may influence adults as well." If so, this could dramatically affect how companies seek to sell their products. Some theorize that companies may seek to spend thousands, if not millions of dollars on so-called "Tele-vision commercials," if it could potentially increase their sales.

"This really could usher in a new era for product usage," said Alan Cato, a business commentator. "The idea that a company can affect the comsumer's preference simply by advertising and marketing is an entirely new concept. No one has put forth such a radical proposal before."

The IOM also couples the results of the study with other recent studies that indicate eating junk food may not be good for you. "For years it was believed that what you ate had no influence on your health. We now know that is not true. Coupling that knowledge with this new study leads one to conclude that if companies advertise unhealthful food, consumer's intake of such foods may increase, leading to an increase in obesity." The IOM report goes on to say that, "If voluntary efforts by industry fail to successfully shift the emphasis of television advertising during children's programming away from high-calorie, low-nutrient products to healthier fare, Congress should enact legislation to mandate this change on both broadcast and cable television. We all know that personal responsibility is too much to ask of the individual American. Parents cannot be counted on to say 'no' to their children, so the government must step in and cut off the problem at the source."

Other IOM studies expected to be released soon call for parenting licenses, mandatory public schooling, and that all children be taken from their parents and placed in "Wellness Warehouses" to be cared for by the state.

My Cat, hates your cat
 

New Additions to the Family
There be kittens!



So we've adopted a pair of stray kittens. We figured we'd start simple. If we can keep them alive, we'll think about graduating to something harder, like babies.



This one is Isis. She's a Bombay kitten. Initially when we decided to get a kitten a month or two ago, Rie said she wanted a black cat and wanted to name it Isis, after Catwoman's black cat. She researched cat breeds until she found the Bombay and decided she wanted one of those. Shortly thereafter, she found a Bombay kitten up for adoption from Second Chance Pet Adoption and we made arrangements to adopt her.

The story behind Isis is that she walked into an office building and started meowing, wanting attention. The people there called Petsmart, who works with the shelter, to see if they could take the kitten.



The shelter had named her Polly, as she is a polydactyl, meaning she has an extra toe on each foot. You can see her sixth toe sticking out from her paw in this picture.



When we first went to meet Isis, she was in a cage with her friend Bastet (the shelter had named her Gracie). We couldn't take Isis home at that point because she was too young and still being bottle-fed. After we got home I asked Rie "is she going to be all right at home by herself when we're at work?" One thing led to another and we asked the shelter if we could adopt Bastet as well. Deanna, the lady who was caring for both of them said that would be wonderful, and later expressed gladness that we adopted them both, as they had become best friends.

Bastet is a Pastel Calico. We figure she's about a week younger than Isis.