Common Sense Electoral College Reform

Presented by "Fake is the New Real"

Terror Alert

Current terror alert level:

The end is near

Greg Maddux has two runs in today's game against the Cardinals. He also stole second base. But then Cards pitcher Marquis went and got on base and stole second right back from him.

The March of Dimes

Last November, Representative Mark Souder of Indiana introduced a bill, H.R. 3633, "To provide for dime coins to bear the likeness of President Ronald Reagan, the Freedom President, in honor of his work in restoring American greatness and bringing freedom to captive nations around the world."

Perhaps this is not the place to go into detail on America's greatness and contributions to freedom during the 1980's. The strength of this site is much more the "silly list" approach. So in that spirit, I bring you the "DystopiaBox List of Portraits on US Money:"

Amount : Honoree : Political Affiliation : Nickname(s)

Cent : Abraham Lincoln : Republican : The Great Emancipator
Nickel : Thomas Jefferson : Democratic Republican : Sage of Monticello
Dime : Franklin Roosevelt : Democrat : FDR
Quarter : George Washington : Federalist : Father of his Country
Half Dollar : John Kennedy : Democrat : Jack
Dollar : Sacagawea : Shoshone : Squaw
Dollar : George Washington : Federalist : American Fabius
Two Dollars : Thomas Jefferson : Democratic Republican : Long Tom
Five Dollars : Abraham Lincoln : Republican : Railsplitter
Ten Dollars : Alexander Hamilton : Federalist : Mr. Secretary
Twenty Dollars: Andrew Jackson : Democrat : Old Hickory
Fifty Dollars : Ulysses Grant : Old Three Stars
Hundred Dollars : Benjamin Franklin : Quaker (Federalist) : Poor Richard
Five Hundred Dollars : William McKinley : Republican : Prosperity's Advance Agent
One Thousand Dollars : Grover Cleveland : Democrat : Man of Destiny
Five Thousand Dollars : James Madison : Democratic Republican : Father of the Constitution
Ten Thousand Dollars : Salmon Chase : Free-Soil : Attorney General for Runaway Slaves
Hundred Thousand Dollars : Woodrow Wilson : Democrat : The Scholar in Politics

Google files for an IPO

From "LETTER FROM THE FOUNDERS 'AN OWNER’S MANUAL' FOR GOOGLE’S SHAREHOLDERS" which is part of their filing:

"Don't be evil. We believe strongly that in the long term, we will be better served- as shareholders and in all other ways - by a company that does good things for the world even if we forgo some short term gains. This is an important aspect of our culture and is broadly shared within the company."

Dear Ndugu,

My name is Warren R. Schmidt, and I'm your new foster father. I live in Omaha, Nebraska. My older brother Harry lives in Roanoke, Virginia, with his wife Estelle. Harry lost a leg two years ago to diabetes. I am 66 years old and recently retired as Assistant Vice President and Actuary at Woodmen of the World Insurance Company. And god damn it if they didn't replace me with some kid who; all right, so maybe he's got a little theory under his belt and can plug a few numbers into a computer but I could tell right off he doesn't know a damn thing about geniune real world risk assessment or managing a department for that matter, the cocky bastard! Anyway 66 must sound pretty old to a young fellow like yourself. The truth is, it sounds pretty old to me, too. Because when I look in the mirror and see the wrinkles around my eyes and the sagging skin on my neck and the hair in my ears and the veins on my ankles, I can't believe it's really me. When I was a kid, I used to think that maybe I was special, that somehow destiny would tap me to be a great man -- Not like Henry Ford or Walt Disney, or somebody like that -- but somebody, you know, semi-important. I got a degree in business and statistics and was planning to start my own business someday. Build it up into a big corporation, watch it go public, you know, maybe make the Fortune 500. I was gonna be one of those guys you read about. But somehow it just didn't work out that way. You gotta remember, I had a top-notch job at Woodmen and a family to support. I couldn't exactly put their security at risk. Helen, that's my wife, she wouldn't have allowed it.
But what about my family, you might ask. What about my wife and daughter? Don't they give me all the pride and satisfaction I could ever want? Helen and I have been married 42 years. Lately, every night, I find myself asking the same question. "Who is this old woman who lives in my house? Why is it that every little thing she does irritates me?" Like the way she gets the keys out of her purse long before we reach the car. And how she throws our money away on her ridiculous little collections. And tossing out perfectly good food just because the expiration date has passed. And her obsession, her obsession with trying new restaurants. And the way she cuts me off when I try to speak. And I hate the way she sits and the way she smells. For years now, she has insisted that I sit when I urinate. My promise to lift the seat and wipe the rim and put the seat back down wasn't good enough for her! No!
But then there's Jeannie. She's our only. I'll bet she'd like you. She gets a big kick out of different languages and cultures and so forth. She used to get by pretty good in German. She'll always be my little girl. She lives out in Denver so we don't get to see her much anymore. Oh sure, we stay in touch by phone every couple of weeks and she comes out for the holidays sometimes but not as often as we'd like. She has a position of some responsibility out there with a high-tech computer outfit so it's very hard for her to break away. Recently, she got engaged, so I suppose we'll be seeing even less of her now. The fellow's name is Randall Hertzel. He's got a sales job of some sort. Maybe Jeannie's a little past her prime but I still think she could have done a heck of a lot better. I mean, this guy's just not up to snuff, if you ask me, not for my little girl.
I'll close now and get this in the mail. Here I am rambling on and on and you probably want to hurry on down and cash that check and get yourself something to eat. So, take it easy and best of luck with all your endeavors.

Yours very truly,

Warren Schmidt

The Drafting Pencil Museum

This online museum includes galleries, histories, technical essays, and an exhaustive database of leadholders.

The Page 23, 5th Sentence Meme

Grab the nearest book at hand. Find the fifth sentence on page 23 and quote it on your blog or journal along with these instructions.

Here are the books equally near at hand at my desk at work:
"Connectors, Dossert ........................ 108" (Mayer Electrical Supply, Master Reference Catalog of Electrical Apparatus and Supplies, No. 80, 1979)
"Governor Sundquist received not one but two standing ovations from a crowd assembled to hear this news last year" (EnviroLink Handbook Southeast, Volume 2, 2003)
"arc doubleau: An arch, usually very massive, carried across a wide space, to support a groined vault or to stiffen a barrel vault." (Cyril M. Harris, ed. Dictionary of Architecture and Construction, 1975)
"affect: 2. to impress the mind or move the feelings of. (Random House Dictionary of the English Language, College Edition, 1968)

Hobbit Holes

"The immediate future looks 'greener' than it ever has for earth sheltered curvilinear architecture."

Come and Get It!

Your once in a lifetime opportunity to own an entire country music wax museum including wax figures of your favorite stars, authentic wardrobe items, props, instruments, sets, photographs, autographs, and much much more! (Thanks, David)