The Quackman Cometh

brightorange14 @ 2009-10-30T10:15:00

2009-10-30T14:16:06Z

If I'm monologuing does that automatically make me the villain? That would explain so much.

brightorange14 @ 2009-10-06T15:31:00

2009-10-06T19:43:04Z

The Venn Diagram of things bothering me and things going on in my life have nearly total overlap currently. Latest to join the list is that I've had to be rude and/or forceful with several phone representatives today after determining that it was the only way to achieve my desired outcome. In one case it was because the person I was on the phone with was not doing her job well, but in others it was because of poor performance by their colleagues. I've been on both ends of those conversations, and I don't like it either way.

Hey, pick a topic for me to write on!

2009-07-30T02:05:32Z

I was thinking recently about a lack of posts on livejournal recently, and realized that I haven't been posting either. I've drafted a few posts in my head, but the only topics I am coming up with are state of my love life, politics, sports and my job. I'm not sure that anybody is interested in reading about any of those. So here's the deal. You pick a topic and I'll write a substantive post on it. Unless it's a field that I'm totally ignorant on and can't research easily I'll post at least three paragraphs on any topic.

brightorange14 @ 2009-04-21T00:29:00

2009-04-21T04:30:10Z

Smithee Awards
April 25, 2009
7:00pm
1800 Chem Bldg

The Smithee Awards are a celebration of cinematic bad taste. Every year
we survey a crop of bad films, harvest only the juiciest pieces, and mulch
them into an Awards Ceremony of questionable pedigree and taste. There
can only be one winner, but the ultimate loser will be the audience,
voting to determine the eventual victor. Nineteen categories times five
clips per category equals enough bad movies to keep everyone satisfied.

Warnings:

Many of these clips contain violence, nudity, and/or explicit language,
often at the same time. Also, unhealthy snacks (including Drinks of
Colors Not Found in Nature) WILL be served.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclaimer: This was the blurb from 2004 modified with this year's date. Most is still true, though I have heard rumors that all drinks will be of colors found in nature.

Steroids in baseball

2009-02-08T00:31:19Z

Sigh. One week until pitchers and catchers report. I should be excited. The baseball news world should be filled with stories about spring training battles and where some prominent veterans (Manny Ramirez, Adam Dunn, Bobby Abreau, Ken Griffey Jr., Ivan Rodriguez...) will sign. Instead the news is going to be all about Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and the allegations that they each used steroids.

I DON'T CARE IF THEY DID

I grant that the activity is illegal, but it isn't any different to me than a player using a recreational drug, downloading copyrighted music illegally or any other supposedly "victimless crime"*. If the government has sufficient legally obtained evidence they can choose to prosecute. If the government doesn't have the evidence, doesn't try, or doesn't get the conviction then I don't care.

Performance enhancing medicine is commonplace in baseball. Lasik eye surgery. Advil. Rotator cuff surgery. Whichever over the counter supplements are still legal. These are all artificial performance enhancers. The difference between them and what are typically labeled as performance enhancing drugs is purely arbitrary. None of them should be used without proper supervision of a doctor, who must always put the patient's needs first and accurately inform the patient of the full effects and risks of the drug or procedure. If a batter can see the pitch better because of surgery that's great; better baseball for me to watch. If a pitcher arm heals faster because of pharmaceuticals that's great too; better baseball for me to watch.

The most common argument against players using PEDs are that it is an unfair advantage. Under the current CBA this is true, but in 2003 when the alleged infractions occurred it was essentially legal. The CBA stated that the tests were anonymous and that there was no penalty for a failed test. This was known to all players; therefore it was a fair advantage. Players on all teams knew that they could use these drugs without fear of reprisal from baseball or any other harm to their team. This was a level playing field.

Another common complaint is that it taints the record book. Somehow the assumption is that anything players used to train and compete before steroids is legitimate, but that modern PEDs are not. The problem with this is that the most hallowed record, the one broken by Bonds and that Rodriguez appears an even money bet to reach, the career home run record was previously held by an admitted user of illegal performance enhancing drugs. From Henry Aaron's autobiography I Had a Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story, "I was so frustrated that at one point I tried using a pep pill—a greenie—that one of my teammates gave me." Aaron went on to say that he stopped because the effect on him was negative; from which I think we can fairly infer that he would have continued using them if they had worked. The man Aaron replaced on the list? Babe Ruth, suspended multiple times by MLB for violating their rules and not subtle about violating federal drug laws by drinking during prohibition. All baseball statistics need to be taken in the contexts of the eras they were recorded in, whether it was an era of racial segregation, rampant amphetamine use or roughly 8.5% steroid use.

All of that said, Bud Selig should be suspended over this. The man gets the player's union to agree to the drug testing on the condition that the testing would be completely anonymous with no data saved to link individuals to samples or results. Breaching the CBA in a manner that is likely to cost an individual millions in endorsements is pretty darn serious. It's expected that another 97-104 names of players who also failed the tests in 2003 will soon surface. I don't want to hear anymore about this story, but if I'm going to I wish it would be in the form of a grievance by the union upheld by arbitration.

{sigh} Sorry, but the coverage of this always drives me mad. All I want to think about right now is who will win the World Series and who to draft for my fantasy team.

Oh, and for full disclosure, my performance in this rant was enhanced by the use of caffeine, pseudoephedrine and loratadine and artificial spell-checker.

*For the record I do not consider any of these crimes to be victimless. I have high regard for copyright laws. I disagree with the method of enforcement, but I do believe that the illegality of non-medicinal drugs is correct. These are sufficiently complex issues that I don't want to delve into them here any further than to state I believe in the innocence of anybody until they either plead guilty or are convicted.

Copywright law

2008-12-11T05:23:44Z

Does anybody here have any experience with copyright law as it applies to art?* I think that I'd like an M.C. Escher print, but in blue and white instead of black and white. I'm trying to figure out if legally I can hire somebody with more artistic talent than I possess to make the changes I want if I have first legally bought a print of the work.

(And yes, I know that I could easily do this without any chance of being sued for the copyright infringement. Respecting the rights and obeying the law are my issues, not a fear of retribution)

*Said because I know that my, and I suspect Mer's, time with MITS taught a lot about copyright law, but not this aspect of it.

Reason #45217 that I hate driving...

2008-10-30T21:56:25Z

Somebody hit my car in a parking lot today. (They were nice enough to leave a note and a phone number.)

Anyway, the bumper is now dented. I don't care about the aesthetics, I do care about safety. Any ideas on how to tell if the damage requires body work?

brightorange14 @ 2008-10-02T23:08:00

2008-10-03T03:19:39Z

A meme
The Rules: Post info about ONE Supreme Court decision, modern or historic to your lj. (Any decision, as long as it's not Roe v. Wade.) For those who see this on your f-list, take the meme to your OWN lj to spread the fun.

United States v. Nixon

1974 case essentially stating that the President is subject to checks and balances. In all fairness, I got the name wrong at first, thinking it was Nixon v. United States, but that was a later minor case involving a different Nixon. (Same United States though...)

"Neither the doctrine of separation of powers, nor the need for confidentiality of high-level communications, without more, can sustain an absolute, unqualified Presidential privilege of immunity from judicial process under all circumstances. The President's need for complete candor and objectivity from advisors calls for great deference from the courts. However, when the privilege depends solely on the broad, undifferentiated claim of public interest in the confidentiality of such conversations, a confrontation with other values arises."—Chief Justice Warren Burger

Now I do agree with the Court on this one. If I had to name one I disagree with Dred Scott is the obvious case, with its ruling that after Scott, a slave, moved with his master to a free state that he was still property, and therefore did not have the right the bring a court case when he tried to sue for his freedom.

Among more recent cases I'm still upset about the ruling in Gore v. Bush, though I really don't know that legally it was wrong.

I strongly disagreed with the court's decision to not rule on the merits of Rumsfeld v. Padilla, rejecting it on a technicality of jurisdiction.

And, of course, I disagree with the decision in McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, which upheld the McCain Feingold censorship act.

Poll

2008-09-19T01:31:13Z

I want to get a Cubs tie to wear if the Cubs make the playoffs. Which of these ties do you like best, keeping in mind that I will be wearing this to my job at a financial instituion? (Clicking on a picture should generate a larger image of the tie.)


Tie #1	Tie #2	Tie #3	Tie #4

Tie #5	Tie #6	Tie #7

61 days until the election

2008-09-04T22:20:40Z

The best part about having a car? I finally have a place to put bumper stickers. The first once I am getting is this:

And it's free! To get one, click here.

brightorange14 @ 2008-06-23T13:07:00

2008-06-23T17:08:06Z

George Carlin passed away. I'm totally in shock - he was one of those people that just seemed immortal for some reason.

brightorange14 @ 2008-05-14T12:41:00

2008-05-14T16:45:13Z

Right now I really miss confer. I want to post two serious rants, but I want to do so anonymously, since I don't trust the friends filter here sufficiently.

Bush's top-down torture policies

2008-04-14T16:42:14Z

On Friday night, in a national television interview on ABC News, President Bush directly admitted that the White House was deeply involved in decisions about the CIA’s use of torture.

Recent reports indicate that members of the Bush administration including Dick Cheney, Condoleeza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell and George Tenet met regularly and approved the CIA’s use of “combined” “enhanced” interrogation techniques -- tactics that amount to torture.

I just demanded that my members of Congress support strenuous efforts, including the appointment of an independent prosecutor, to hold President Bush, Vice-President Cheney and other high-ranking officials accountable for their role in crafting torture policy.

I thought you would like to know about this and would also want to do something about it. To take action, just follow the link below.

http://action.aclu.org/topdowntorture

T.V. show intro memeage

2008-03-24T17:10:06Z

Yoinked from Merrie, Dann, Dwinn, Nevik, and probably a few other people as well.

Find the opening sequence for one of your favorite old TV shows and post it to your LJ. Bonus points for datedness or obscurity. Play as many times as you like.

And while not at all obscure, I was surprised that I couldn't find an intro for The Baseball Bunch.

brightorange14 @ 2008-03-09T11:42:00

2008-03-09T15:43:02Z

Ok, probably a dumb question - How can I tell if the detector that came with my home is a smoke detector or a radon detector? (I suppose it could be a something else detector too, but those are the only two I am at all familiar with.) Is my best bet to light a candle underneath it?

brightorange14 @ 2008-01-10T13:31:00

2008-01-10T18:39:41Z

90% Mike Gravel
86% Dennis Kucinich
79% Barack Obama
78% John Edwards
78% Joe Biden
76% Hillary Clinton
75% Chris Dodd
75% Bill Richardson
39% Rudy Giuliani
30% Ron Paul
30% John McCain
28% Mike Huckabee
25% Tom Tancredo
22% Mitt Romney
18% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

So, who would have guessed it, I'm a crackpot! (Or perhaps a libertarian.) At first I was surprised that my actual first choice is the lowest listed Democrat, Bill Richardson. But then I realized that this type of quiz doesn't ask many of the questions I care about.

So, for the record, and a good two hours before he drops out of the race, the reasons that I have supported Bill Richardson for President:

He is the only Democrat running with experience as a Governor.
He also has served in Congress, on the Cabinet and as an ambassador.
He has a proven track record of using negotiations to resolve disputes.
He already has a relationship with the North Korean government.
He would be likely to help the Democrats compete in western states where we
currently do not, and would be a great asset in bringing more Latinos to the party.

I will be happy to campaign for Clinton, Edwards or Obama, and I think of any of them will make a fine president. But I do not think any of them would be as capable as Richardson.

brightorange14 @ 2008-01-10T01:36:00

2008-01-10T06:41:56Z

So, in this AP article Rich Gossage says, "Chances are, I probably would have done it [used steroids], too... I've been in that situation, trying to prolong my career with the money that was out there to be made at this time in baseball. I can't sit here and say that I would not have done it, but had I done it, I'm going to face the consequences. And the consequences are, that whether they belong in the Hall of Fame or not, the records can't stand."

Aside from some issues with verb tense, either he used steroids, is lying when he was quoted in this article, or wasn't paying any attention to Jose Canseco when they were teammates on the 1992 A's.

All that said, I really don't care if players used steroids or not. Mostly I hate Gossage for have pitched really well for the 84 Padres and really poorly for the 88 Cubs.

brightorange14 @ 2007-12-14T23:01:00

2007-12-15T04:13:24Z

Just to be obnoxious, I decided to get a vanity plate for my car using randomly determined letters to drive people nuts trying to figure out what my plate means. So, I took my trusty mini boggle game (with limited gameplay), and decided to use the first 6 letters. The first six letters - O-C-T-A-V-E. Yes, the first six letters spelled an actual English word. D'oh!. A reshake produced R-D-T-E-U-D, which is sufficiently random for me, even if it could be Duet Dr. spelled backward.

From the ACLU

2007-10-23T22:17:57Z

Across the U.S., state legislatures are in an uproar over privacy and the Real ID Act.

The Real ID Act of 2005 would turn our state driver’s licenses into a genuine national identity card and impose numerous new burdens on taxpayers, citizens, immigrants, and state governments while doing nothing to protect against terrorism, as the law claims to do.

But Michigan is fighting back. This Thursday, October 25, 2007, the Committee on New Economy & Quality of Life will be hearing testimony on House Resolution 176, a bi-partisan resolution to reject the Real ID Act.

The hearing will be held at 9:00 a.m. in room 521 House Office Building. Sign up to attend this hearing by e-mailing ACLU of Michigan Legislative Director Shelli Weisberg at sweisberg@aclumich.org.

Whether or not you can attend the hearing this Thursday, please e-mail your State Representative to urge them to support HR 176 here.

What's wrong with the Real ID Act?

It will create America's first national identity card, increase the threat of identity theft, enable the routine tracking of individuals, and propel us toward a surveillance society.

It will require Michigan to re-enroll and verify 7.7 million drivers license/ID holders. It is estimated that this will cost a total of $23 billion to the 50 states.

It will make vulnerable people more vulnerable. People who no longer have original identification documents including their birth certificate will be unable to obtain a Real ID. Many seniors, domestic violence survivors, adopted children, disaster survivors and homeless people will be at risk.

People without Real ID's will be unable to enter federal government buildings, fly on a commercial plane, cross the border or possibly even drive legally.
Over 32 states oppose Real ID and more than 600 organizations including the National Conference of State Legislatures, National Governors Association, American Conservative Union, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and others. Read more about the Real ID Act, then contact your State Representative to ask them to support HR 176.

brightorange14 @ 2007-10-22T23:03:00

2007-10-23T03:17:14Z

There's something about the weather today that makes me think about freshman year. Which makes me think about laurelar. Or maybe there's something about this weather that makes me think about her, which makes me think about freshman year. There isn't much difference in my memory really.

Sigh. It isn't that I want her back in my life or anything, but every once in a while I just get hit with every emotion all over again.

brightorange14 @ 2007-09-19T08:02:00

2007-09-19T12:10:29Z

Please consider calling your U.S. senators today to urge them to vote in favor of an amendment to restore habeas corpus when they vote on the Defense Department Authorization bill

I know that making phone calls and being politically active is something that a lot of us are uncomfortable with, but this is worth taking action on. I know that this sounds like hyperbole, but I honestly feel that this is the difference between a free society and a tyranny. My calls this morning were quite short - under five minutes total to let each of my Senators know how I feel.

Link to find your Senators' office numbers.

brightorange14 @ 2007-09-17T23:20:00

2007-09-18T03:21:25Z

My new addition to the vernacular... "Cub from behind victory". For example, tonight Chicago trailed Cincinnati by two going into the ninth, but scored three runs for a Cub from behind victory.

brightorange14 @ 2007-08-18T00:36:00

2007-08-18T14:35:49Z

I didn't think my entry was that funny, but I was the runner up in Baseball Prospectus's contest to come up with a new slogan for the Angels.

brightorange14 @ 2007-08-10T07:28:00

2007-08-10T11:32:02Z

So, I had a dream last night that there was a world wide effort to have every adult use a particular Latin word once in conversation on a particular day. That was a reasonable enough goal, not too unlike the city book programs that some locales have.

That said, the word was "octononvaquart" meaning "a group consisting of 8954 members." Yes, because that's a word that people are going to have a lot of uses for.

TELL CONGRESS NOT TO CAVE

2007-08-01T11:56:05Z

President Bush is creating a false sense of emergency in Washington, demanding
that Congress rubberstamp a spying program it knows almost nothing about.
Meanwhile, the White House refuses to comply with requests for basic information
about warrantless wiretapping and Congress can't get straight answers out of
Attorney General Gonzales.

President Bush says if Congress doesn't pass his legislation this week, the
Democrats will be responsible for any terrorist attacks that may happen in
August, even though he's demonstrated no relationship between his proposals and a
safer America.

http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=STUY4ZMaYVXQKZqx6q5r2Q.