SNS NEWS

RoundTable Discussion: Is The Economy Dead?

2009-06-01T07:27:00.003-04:00

Tom Brady's ACL repaired
Doctor uses clock in head
Wonders if he left stuff in

.... brilliance.

btw, the answer to the orginal question is no, yes, no, sort of, yes

Update

2009-05-31T21:31:00.002-04:00

This blog is updated. Yea... I hope you're happy (actually I don't really care, I just didn't want to break the consecutive months of updates... don't be looking for any other amazing updates anytime soon but hey... you never know)

Feds to regulate blogger product reviews

2009-04-04T01:31:00.007-04:00

Just out from the Financial Times: newly proposed FTC guidelines "would also hold bloggers liable for the statements they make about products."

They're apparently serious about doing this (the FT article was published not on April Fools' day, but on the day after). But don't people already take blogs with a grain of salt?

And furthermore... What's that? HELP! I am now in this very room being accosted by Big Brother incarnate! Where's the delete button on my Apple Macintosh?!? (I have used it successfully in these situations before!)

Positive effects of global warming?

2009-03-28T21:36:00.007-04:00

According to a new AP article, global warming is causing ice to melt, opening up new shipping lanes in the Artic. Now Russia, Canada, and the United States are contesting who owns the rights to these newly-restored waterways. According to AP, "The dispute has intensified amid growing evidence that the shrinking polar ice is opening up new shipping lanes and allowing natural resources to be tapped. "

Wait -- I thought they were saying global warming was a bad thing?

Febuary 25, 2009

2009-02-25T23:39:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday Dad: ESV Study Bible

2009-02-25T22:54:00.006-05:00

Bought the family a hardcover ESV Study Bible for Christmas. Liked it so much we decided to get a leather version for Dad for his birthday. The maps and charts in this Bible are incredible, as are the explanatory notes, which try to present the major views (Wayne Grudem is the general editor). Highly recommended.

How Not To Debate

2009-02-01T21:04:00.004-05:00

This probably won't be funny unless you've seen or done NCFCA debate... but watch it anyways

How (Not) to Debate from Jake Siewert on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-01-28T21:29:00.002-05:00

I've never been 20 before so this is sort of a new thing

I Have Not Yet Begun To Write!

2009-01-25T16:08:00.010-05:00

This blog isn't dead. Really. It isn't. My excuse for not posting anything for the last decade or so is that I've been trying to get ahead early in the school semester so when things speed up as the semester moves on I'll be at least partly alive.

A few days after I posted some photos of Peter & myself skating apparently someone (oh yes, someone reads the blog!! Oh man, who would have thought that) emailed my mom and at some point in the email said that that post was inspirational. Although I completely agree, a couple days later when Peter and I were out skating I did something even more inspirational - I made a hole in the ice.

[pointing out one possible route to get to Narnia]

Someday someone is going to figure out that I am really not temperature sensitive... Anyways, if you really want to break me just play any pre-20th century composers music (ex. Bach, Mozart, etc) for long enough and I'll tell you everything you want to know.

What? Posts Have To Have Titles?

2009-01-17T19:19:00.002-05:00

Peter takes his first steps on the ice for the first time
since he broke his leg in three places a few years ago

Peter practicing his Olympic program

still practicing...

done for the day, off to met the media to discuss his comeback
(ESPN got the first interview, look for it later this week)

the overflow crowds on the ridge of the rink/stream

I prepare to go through my Olympic program, ummm, actually to go ice skating for the first time since I was about six years old (to put that in perspective, at that time I still had blond hair, was just beginning to read, thought clowns were scary [which they still sort of are...but that's another blog post] and Bill Clinton was still in his first term as president )

trying it out

it actually isn't that hard...

experimentation

Connie apparently found my Sasha Cohen falling practice
humorous for some reason. Maybe it's because I'm so good at it
(do they give out points for dramatic spills btw?)

believe it or not this is actually pretty hard...

Peter & I practice our duo (again)

I get ready to go into a sit spin while Peter does something... no idea

What Ever Happened To Global Warming By The Way?

2009-01-15T17:51:00.003-05:00

SuperShrink Me

2009-01-13T21:53:00.006-05:00

Typically when you judge, watch or are in a debate round you take notes of the round on a full page of paper (called flowing). Last Saturday I drove Peter and Aidan up to a practice debate tournament in New Hampshire and watched a few rounds. Because I have nothing else especially lame to post about I thought I would post a couple photos of some of my flows from a few of the rounds that I observed. The paper that the sticky tabs are on is the normal size flow pad with the notes/arguments written on it from one round. The three other sticky tabs are condensed flows of three rounds with the same amount of information on them as the first paper they are on top of – just written really tiny (the red one is two sided).

Why McCain?

2009-01-07T21:59:00.006-05:00

Just something I was thinking about yesterday for no reason in particular... this will be the last post I make about the 08 pres. election - for real - I promise!* I really can't think of one positive reason why I wanted McCain to be president. None, nada, zip, zer0. The most prevalent reasons given for voting for McCain, and largely the reasons why I connected the lines for him on the ballot were largely based off the fear of what Obama might do if he was elected (ex. radical judges, universal healthcare, etc) - not real reasons why McCain would be a excellent or even good president. McCain was a terrible debater ("my friends/my friends/my friends"), not really inspiring on any of the major issues, essentially very baaaaaaaaaaah.

On the other hand unfortunately there really weren't any great alternatives to vote for soooooo... Obama probably really was the "chosen one." It's an understatement to say the the Republican Party is a total mess right now. Who knows... Federalist Party (1792-1820ish) - Whig Party (1834-1854) - Republican Party (1854-today) - ?

*unless I am bribed with $$$$$$$$ - then I'll think about it

Income Tax, Property Tax, Death Tax, Cow Tax...?

2009-01-05T22:33:00.008-05:00

Apparently the EPA wants to implement a $175 annual tax per cow in the name of fighting global warming. What next, taxing cats and dogs, gerbils? Now that's the change I'm talking about...

Reading

2009-01-02T11:33:00.004-05:00

11 & 5 - A Great Season

2008-12-28T19:24:00.005-05:00

(first though) here is the video version of a few of the plays from the Christmas football game. Because I known you are literally dieing to known, the reason why I am in so many of the highlights are

1. because it's 2 on 2, do da math
2. and more importantly - I told Harold what I was doing before the play

Regarding the New England Patriots and them not making the playoffs... the very fact that this Patriots team, with all the injuries (Tom Brady, Adalius Thomas, Laurence Maroney, etc, etc, etc) was able to go 11 & 5 is amazing in itself. In my view, the Patriots last year were the best team to not win the Super Bowl. This season however, the Patriots were the best team ever to not make the playoffs. You only have control over what you have control over and the Patriots unfortunately couldn't make Brett Favre play like a Pro Bowl quarterback or Matt Cassel. Anyways, great season. It would have been nice to finish it with a Super Bowl victory but that's not going to happen. Next year.

Christmas Football Photos

2008-12-26T16:12:00.011-05:00

Preparing for the annual Christmas football game

going deep

blitz

two on two

Peter at quarterback

Aidan at quarterback

a rollout play

myself doing my best Lynn Swan imitation
(the big difference is that I didn't make the catch...)

Peter gets a step ahead of me to make a touchdown grab going one way...

...and in return of the favor I score a touchdown going the other way

December 22

2008-12-22T10:54:00.016-05:00

Patriots Win Big, Prince Caspian Is A Toss Up

2008-12-21T16:57:00.012-05:00

The Patriots beat the Arizona Cardinals 47 to 7, moving to a 10 & 5 record. Despite the win, due to the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens winning this week, the Pats postseason chances depend on what happens in the Seattle vs. New York Jets game (update: the Jets lost 13 to 3 so the Patriots can still win the division if the Jets beat the Dolphins next week).

In other non-sport related news, I finally watched the Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian DVD. Altogether I thought that it had pro and con aspects to it. It's really easy to see why it lost money. First because it was so expensive to produce. The film itself has great special effects, battle scenes, etc and everything aesthetically is very well done. Where it fails, and probably the reason why it lost money, is because the film really seems to have no goal or purpose. With most good/great films after you watch them there is some basic concept behind the storyline that makes whatever that is going on in the film a great story. In the case of Prince Caspian, there really doesn't seem to be any reason why everything is occurring - it's just a big CG extravaganza.

So is it enjoyable to watch for the most part - yes. But is it a movie that you would want to watch more than once or twice - probably not.

Rhode Island's State University is a great deal!

2008-12-16T22:49:00.003-05:00

They're finally realizing what we've known all along: state universities can be a great deal, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal's SmartMoney magazine:

"KINGSTON, R.I. – December 16, 2008 – The January 2009 issue of SmartMoney magazine ranks the University of Rhode Island 15th in a nationwide study of public and private colleges, examining the relationship between tuition costs and graduates’ earning power. In what it called a "twist on traditional college rankings,” the magazine assessed schools on their ability to deliver the best return on investment and sought to quantify the long-term value of a college education."

Working with consultant PayScale.com, the survey looked at what graduates from 50 of the most expensive four-year colleges earn in their early and midcareers. Then they factored in their up-front tuition and fees. The University of Georgia was No. 1 and would deliver a payback nearly three times that of Harvard, noted the article, while the "state universities of Delaware and Rhode Island would beat out every Ivy in the ranking.”

Click here to view the full press release.

Patriots Win; But Still Need Losses

2008-12-14T20:10:00.006-05:00

The good news is that the Patriots sunk the Raiders 49 to 26. The bad news is that the Patriots chances of getting into the postseason depend on other teams losing. It was possible that coming out of this week, the Patriots could have been eliminated from the playoffs next week even if they beat the Arizona Cardinals. Because the Ravens lost to the Steelers (13 to 9) that can't happen anymore so unless the Patriots happen to lose next week, so their week 16 game will at least give them a chance to make the playoffs.

One major factor that could put the Patriots back into the drivers seat in regards to their playoff hopes is the Cowboys vs. Ravens game next Saturday night. If the Cowboys happen to beat the Ravens, and the Patriots beat the Cardinals, then all the Patriots need to do in order to at least win the wildcard is to beat the Buffalo Bills in their final game. That's probably their best shot at the playoffs. So yeah, cheering for the Cowboys and TO is tough, but it's something New England fans are going to have to do.

The Patriots can be eliminated from the playoffs if

(eliminated from winning the wildcard) the Baltimore Ravens win their next two games vs the Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars and if the Indianapolis Colts win any of their remaining games (Jacksonville and Tennessee Titans)
(eliminated from winning the division) and if both the New York Jets (next week, Seattle Seahawks) or Miami Dolphins (next week, Kansas City Chiefs) win next week.

I don't think I've ever been more of a Cowboys, Chiefs and Seahawks fan...

Operation Frostbite

2008-12-14T18:32:00.021-05:00

This last Saturday, some friends of ours invited my brothers and myself to play in a airsoft game at their house. We had a blast (both literally, getting blasted with airsoft BB's, and figuratively) and I've posted some of the photos of the game below. Because so many of you hate captionless photos I've also added those as well. I know they are lame, but don't complain (that rhymes btw). Captions really aren't my thing. If I could outsource that job I would, but all the illegal immigrants have left the country because the economy stinks so that's really not an option right now.

it's a beautiful (20 degrees Fahrenheit) day to play airsoft

the defenders deathtrap - contrary to what you might think looking at the hill right away, no team that tried to defend was successful the entire day.

on the hill, the defenders await the assault

attempting to remain concealed

another sniper in the brush

taking aim

one of the attackers

coming down from the hill

re-picking teams

the shadows pick their next team member

walking out to the battlefield - armed and ready

proof that I was at the game (thanks Harold)nothing to worry about, the gun is out of battery...

the stonewall squad

wrapping things up

When investing in your mattress beats investing in stocks

2008-12-12T23:37:00.000-05:00

Starbucks Seeing Stars For Charging Bucks

2008-12-11T14:04:00.004-05:00

Wonderful, not only can we have negative political ads but also now corporate ones! I guess this is one way to respond to the recession. Really though, a four dollar espresso is way overpriced. Think about it. When I was like eight years old you could buy a senate seat in Illinois for four bucks. Oh well, I guess that's what inflation does.

Santa Is Coming - Or Is He?

2008-12-09T20:18:00.004-05:00

Only 15 days until Christmas... okay, I was fibbing, it's actually 15 days, 4 hours and 45 minutes until Christmas and it's 53 degrees outside and the massive total of approximately one total inch of snow has fallen so far. Global warming? Maybe; but that really doesn't concern me because if global warming were to occur our farm would instantly become waterfront property and we would have our own beach. So yeah, I could care less about the polar bears, since when did they actually care about us anyways?

This hasn't made Drudge yet but I feel confident enough in my sources to break it right now. According to numerous sources inside the Justice Department, Santa is going to be officially indicted tomorrow for tax evasion. Thought you just might want to know because if he is tied up in court proceedings he won't have time to, you know, stuff himself down a few flues to drop off some coal.

In other less serious news, I had my last day of classes yesterday so all I have is one more test next week and I am completely done with the first semester. Also noteworthy is that I finally got the Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian DVD so I should have a review of that sometime soon after I watch it. Ho, Ho, Ho.

HuckALead

2008-12-05T17:01:00.005-05:00

CNN News released an interesting survey today regarding who Republican leaning voters would like to see running as the party's nominee in 2012. According to the poll, among Republicans and independent voters, Mike Huckabee would have a lead if the primaries were held starting today (thankfully they are not!)

Mike Huckabee - 34%
Sarah Palin - 32%
Mitt Romney - 28%

Interestingly enough, also according to the poll, Huckabee leads Sarah Sixpack among female voters (aka, the people that are supposed to be going crazy over her). On the negative side, first, my name didn't appear in the poll so the online ads and commercials I've been running seem to be failing, and secondly, Huck is still losing among older voters (to Palin at least).

Anyway, the election isn't until about four years from now so a few things could change between then and now. People change, party's change, positions change [reference Mitt Romney for proof of that...], voters change, babies get changed. Change.

Just another thought... Maybe we should just give Obama a few months (or days, hours... no really how about a few months) in office and see how he does before everyone starts picking who should run in 2012? I mean, isn't there at least the possibility that he might actually be a decent president? Just a thought.

To Narnia, Or To Not Narnia?

2008-12-02T18:26:00.002-05:00

In honor of the Chronicles of Narnia "Prince Caspian" DVD being released today [at the low, low, incredibly amazingly low price of only $35.99 plus tax] I thought it might be appropriate to post something about the movie. However, on the other hand, the downside to me posting anything about Narnia is that whenever I have done it in the past, readers get upset, mad, angry, outraged, go into clinical depression and then move to Honduras. So, after considering all of those factors, I came to the conclusion that I probably should say something about it.

...it might be a good idea for me to actually watch the movie first though before I tear it apart so... sorry, you will just have to wait until someone sends me the DVD as an early Kwanzaa present.

Don't trust anyone under 30

2008-12-02T12:30:00.003-05:00

American teens lie, steal, cheat at 'alarming' rates: study

"American teenagers lie, steal and cheat more at "alarming rates," a study of nearly 30,000 high school students concluded Monday."

But the "good" news is: "Some 93 percent of students indicated satisfaction with their own character and ethics, with 77 percent saying that "when it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know."

Free wi-fi for all!

2008-12-01T21:43:00.005-05:00

"Outgoing Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is pushing for action in December on a plan to offer free, pornography-free wireless Internet service to all Americans, despite objections from the wireless industry and some consumer groups."

Change, Hope, ENTP

2008-11-30T19:33:00.007-05:00

Being the enthused Obama supporter that I am, I have to say I am very disappointed that President elect Barack has failed to bring the CHANGE we've all been waiting for (could that be though because we are the change we've been waiting for, meaning that the change is us, therefore we are already changed? Hmmm). As Connie might bring up, perhaps that's because Barack is a ENTP, meaning he can't make meaningful decisions because he's constantly thinking about his braintype and how it relates to what type of poodle he should have. Of course, being an ENTP has entails the concept of thinking [the T], which by itself is quite dangerous. As some random quote website once posted, "Last night I dreamed I ate a ten-pound marshmallow, and when I woke up the pillow was gone."

Now, what was I saying?

Really, this post is just for posting sake. Blogging is all about rhythm and consistency. When you go a few days without posting it becomes harder to think of something to post as time goes on. That's how blogs die (as most do). So I'm trying to break out of that. I've been doing this too long to stop now.

So fear not. Hope, change, free gas and grocery's are on the way!

My Excuse

2008-11-20T18:11:00.006-05:00

No, I didn't die recently or anything, I just happen to have three tests on Monday (MUS 100, BUS 110 & COM 100) so I've been sort of busy. Typically during times like these Rex is supposed to hold down the fort by copying & pasting stuff from forwarded conspiracy emails (did you know Obama was really born in China!?!) but he got captured by some Somalian pirates yesterday so he's sort of unavailable. However, this is no reason fear, fret, worry, panic, whatever, etc. I'm sure that I'll be be able to think of something to write so the trillions of you out there who are in deep depression because this site hasn't been updated for three days can have something to feed on.

As the great John Edwards once said, "HOPE is ON the WAY!"

November 17

2008-11-17T20:32:00.002-05:00

Kinda spooky... even if you don't believe in Left Behind

2008-11-16T00:24:00.003-05:00

World asked to help craft online charter for religious harmony
"A website launched Friday with the backing of technology industry and Hollywood elite urges people worldwide to help craft a framework for harmony between all religions." Read more

A Patriotic Effort - But Jets Fly Away With Win

2008-11-13T23:54:00.007-05:00

I think I may have just saw one of the best football games of my life tonight between the New England Patriots and New York Jets [Jets win 34 to 31 in overtime]. What first looked like a boring blowout for the first two quarters ended up becoming a great game right towards the end of the second quarter when the Patriots got their act together. Even though the Patriots lost in overtime, the 18 point comeback, and the Randy Moss 4th down 16 yard touchdown catch from Matt Cassel [400 yds passing, 3TD's, 62 yds rushing] with one second left on the clock made the game worth the watch regardless of the outcome.

Due to the loss the Patriots move into second place in the division behind the Jets by one game. The Jets one game lead isn't one that is impossible to overcome [unlike if the Pats had won] because the Patriots won the first meeting between the two teams back in September. Other then Cassel and Wes Welker [7rec for 108yds], Jabbar Gaffney [7rec for 86yds, TD], Steven Gostkowski [3 for 3 one field goals], etc one player that really stoodout was the rookie linebacker Jerod Mayo. Mayo had 20 total tackles and was body-slamming someone on every single play that he was in. One of those hits including a 4th down stop in with less then 2mins left in the game that made the Jets punt and allowed for the Patriots to drive down the field for a tying touchdown. The other rookie [undrafted] linebacker, Gary Guyton also had a decent game with one tackle, one pass knocked down and a fumble recovery.

Overall, a loss is a loss. But like elections, some losses are more painful then other losses, and this loss wasn't too painful at all.

November 12th

2008-11-12T17:11:00.002-05:00

A Comment On Comments

2008-11-10T19:03:00.009-05:00

Since it has recently become an issue, I thought it might be helpful if I offered a tutorial on how to properly comment on this website [and it’s free!]. I understand that not everyone that reads this site makes comments (here the number is somewhere around 97% of the readers). In fact, I’m not a comment person myself. I hardly ever comment (especially on other sites) unless I really feel like it and even then I rarely follow up on the discussion. So, if you are in that group, don’t worry, I’m one of you.

For everyone else… I have a few suggestions/guidelines/rules/regulations. First, remember, this is my website and I reserve the right to delete whatever comments I happen to dislike. As far as I am aware of, the Fairness Doctrine still has yet to be put into law so there is no rule that I have to allow for both sides of an issue to be discussed or argued. On this site, I am correct approximately 147% of the time. This is my little dictatorship, and like most dictators I don’t tolerate dissent unless I find it amusing or something along those lines. The best comments are the ones that either say how great the post/website/point/garbage I wrote is and prove further proof that I am in fact correct.

If you are still having trouble getting all of this I have a few helpful suggestions.

One – write your comment as if you were writing a glowing review for a potential best seller. For example, “thanks Silas for your wonderful post. I read it 300 times and am forwarding it to all of my friends.” Or, “once again, Silas adds valuable insight into the issue of the Palin/McCain feud. Although clearly unbiased, his lucid post unambiguously lays out the copious flaws in the selection of Sarah Palin as McCain’s vice president.” Or just the simple “dittos, you are a great Canadian” works as well.

Second – avoid lol (not terrible, but sort of overused) and rotflol. First off, do you really think I believe you when you say that you’re rolling on the floor laughing out loud? You must be a really talented person because I can hardly type when I’m lol, and I can’t even comprehend typing and rolling on the floor at the same time (if you can do it though, please consider taking a video of it and posting it on YouTube).

Third – don’t argue. If you want to debate that’s ok (sometimes). What I don’t want on my site is arguing. If you want to make insult, take out your rage, fume, etc please consider doing it somewhere else. There are programs and medication to help with that type of thing. My website is not one of those programs.

Overall, I don’t think the website really has a huge issue with the comments section. I actually don't care if people leave comments; it really doesn’t matter to me. When the content of the comments that are left are implicitly negative though that is when I feel like I need to intervene [and stuff starts to disappear…]. So in conclusion, just be thoughtful about what you write, follow the golden rule, think about how others could/are going to view it and you should be fine.

More Election Day Photos

2008-11-10T14:35:00.005-05:00

If you're interested [you are] Michael has a post over at Grand Adventure with some great election day photos.

Demographic Winter

2008-11-08T22:56:00.002-05:00

View the trailer here

The Blame Game - McCain vs Palin

2008-11-07T22:17:00.011-05:00

According to news reports, Sarah Palin is upset about the comments that some of McCain's staffers made about her following Tuesdays loss. The infighting between her staff and McCain's isn't as surprising as the fact that it is becoming so public. Either way you look at it though, it's hard to say that Palin was a good choice for vice president (as I wrote, and Aaron commented, shortly after she was picked). The whole idea that she was going to pick up Hillary voters was absurd and proved to be absolutely false and she really seemed to just be a one liner machine whenever she had a speech or interview.

So, did she inspire some support originally?

Yes. Just look at the jump in McCain's polling numbers after the GOP convention.

Did that support last?

No. Look at the Nov. 4th results.

On the other hand, I'm not sure there was anyone that would have been a good VP pick for McCain. Maybe the problem was McCain - not the VP pick...

Post Election Party/Aftermath

2008-11-06T17:40:00.011-05:00

Sorry that there aren't more pictures. Don't blame me! I only had the camera from around 5am to 8am before I gave it to someone else. Also, for some reason the camera really seems to be having problems with the resolution when it starts to get dark so you'll just have to bare with the fuzz. Think of it like a TV with rabbit ears that gets bad reception if that makes you feel any better.

Around 8:30pm, it was getting pretty dark, and things were shutting down so most of the poll-standers headed back to the house for the post-election, hopefully *victory* party.

One of the local guys that dropped in for the party just a short while after I think this photo was taken thought that the bottle of Cola I was holding was something other than what it really was... apparently that was an issue for other sign wavers also (talk to Josh)... Someone started a game of soccer (we lit up the field with car headlights) and I didn't even think about the results until I took a step inside about an hour later...

and saw that they weren't exactly looking all that great locally or nationally

just before Ohio and Florida go blue

The next day... time to start the clean up and reorganizing. On my way to school I grabbed a bunch of our yard signs, Peter & Aidan, Dad, etc also went on runs to collect the 400+ signs around the district. Who knows, we might need them again someday

Overall the feeling around here is actually pretty optimistic. It's one thing to be embarrassed, lose by a ton of votes, and on the other hand, it kills when you lose by the slimmest of margins (60 votes for example, leads to "if only I knocked on 30 more doors..." nightmares), but the margin we lost by was about as painless as you could get (4%, 250'sh votes). So yeah, right now things are peachy. There's things to be done, places to go, people to meet and thinking about "what if" really doesn't make any sense. Despite the loss, it was still a great experience, and well worth doing.

Rhode Island 08 Statewide Race Results

2008-11-06T17:13:00.006-05:00

Presidential Voting Results

Barack Obama (D) - 296153, 63.1%
John McCain (R) - 165219, 35.2%
Ralph Nader (I) - 4,819, 1%
Bod Barr (L) - 1380, 0.3%
Cynthia McKinney (G) - 793, 0.2%
Chuck Baldwin (C) - 673, 0.1%

United States Senatorial Race

Jake Reed (D) - 320,197, 73.4%
Bob Tingle (R) - 116,051, 26.6%
Tom Brady (WI) - 1, 0.0%

United States House of Rep. Race - District One

Patrick Kennedy (D) - 145052, 68.6%
Jon Scott (R) - 51, 302, 24.3%
Kenneth Capalbo (I) - 15,095, 7.1%

United States House of Rep. Race - District Two

James Langevin (D) - 158,196, 70.1%
Mark Zaccaria (R) - 67,357, 29.9%

Medcaft Elementary School

2008-11-05T23:03:00.004-05:00

Richmond Elementary School

2008-11-05T22:54:00.008-05:00

Meadowbrook Inn

2008-11-05T22:36:00.001-05:00

Charlestown Elementary School

2008-11-05T22:32:00.004-05:00

Carolina Fire Station

2008-11-05T22:31:00.000-05:00

Exeter Jobs Corps Academy

2008-11-05T17:50:00.004-05:00

Psalm 112:7

2008-11-05T00:14:00.002-05:00

He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.

The Results

2008-11-04T22:49:00.008-05:00

NBC 10 News has the results. Things didn't turn out the way we or I had hoped they would but God is in control, his ways are perfect and he has a reason for everything. Sometimes it's just hard to understand those reasons right away.

In retrospect, when you look at the numbers on the statewide races, the Obama effect really killed anyone that wasn't running as a Democrat. I'm only aware of one or two Republicans left in the statehouse actually after tonight's election (and one of them ran unopposed). Considering those factors, 52% to 48% isn't anything to get depressed over, in fact, it's only 1% less then what the RI GOP minority leader (who had been in forever), Nick Gorham got in his race (which he lost).

I wanted to say a special thank you to all of you guy's that came down to help out on election day! You made it a great day no matter what the outcome was (or how many times my soccer team lost...).

HuckaHack

2008-10-31T23:44:00.005-04:00

Last Thursday night a few sib's and I went to see Mike Huckabee speak at Brown University. The building that he spoke at was packed (every seat taken and people who couldn't fit in watched on a videocast outside), and Huckabee had an absolutely great speech and Q&A. The Providence Journal has an article about the visit here. Not suprisingly, considering how far right-leaning a college Brown is, some of the more liberal students tried to be the one to "get" Huckabee on a "tough" (great answer on abortion for example) question but he had great answers for all of them.

Six Days Left

2008-10-29T17:27:00.003-04:00

As much as I dislike Obama, the national Republican party is going to get what they deserve next Tuesday. Below is a short list of GOP accomplishments in the last eight years and proper thank you's to those responsible

Thank you Karl Rove for tearing down a real conservatives like Steve Laffey & Pat Tommy, so Lincon Chafee & Arlen Specter and could run.
Thank you Pres. George W. Bush for No Child Left Behind
Thank you John McCain for McCain/Feingold
Thank you Congress for letting spending and the debt get out of control

I could go on some more, Bush and veto's, immigration, etc... Don't get me wrong, I'm a registered Republican and agree (by far!) with more of the Republican ideas then the Democrat ones, but anyone with a brain has to admit that the Repub's really messed up the last eight years.

Shocking, Shocking so Shocking!

2008-10-24T21:05:00.007-04:00

Where have our countries morals gone? I was shocked this morning to read this email that was forwarded to me yesterday. Have we reached the total depth of depravity that now stealing is rewarded? What's going to happen next? Will Burger King give out free french fries the next time someone steals the Mona Lisa? How low can we go? (probably somewhere around David Ortiz's batting avg)

tags, Toco Bell, abomination, crime, thinking outside the bun

Statehouse Photos

2008-10-23T18:39:00.005-04:00

We're Number One

2008-10-22T22:30:00.003-04:00

...with the highest unemployment rate in the nation. From the ProJo artice, "Rhode Island’s unemployment rate of 8.8 percent in September ranked highest in the country, nudging ahead of Michigan’s, according to a federal report released yesterday." The actual unemployment rate is probably a few points higher then that number actually because people who can't find work after a certain amount of time get taken off the lists.

Oh yeah, according to Forbes, we also have the 10th most miserable city in America.

Got Birds?

2008-10-16T17:09:00.012-04:00

Some photos of the annual attack of birds on the farm.

The Joe The Plumber Debate

2008-10-15T22:06:00.004-04:00

This Joe guy must have left quite an impact on McCain... Obama seems sort of skeptical ("Joe, if you're out there...) that "Joe" exists though not suprisingly. One other thing I notice [my friends] was that McCain has stopped saying "my friends". That should result in at least a 2% jump in the polls alone.

Overall it's been a pretty mixed debate. Obama is the better speaker and some of McCain's ideas are wacko but I get the feeling that he's going to get at least a little bit of a bump from it.

Update. Joe is actually a real person. The New York Post has a video of Obama telling him that he's going to raise his taxes but not to worry because "My attitude is that if the economy's good for folks from the bottom up, it's gonna be good for everybody. I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."

I guess that goes along well with spreading happiness...

Columbus Day (woops, I meant to say Mass Genocide Remembrance Day) Photos

2008-10-13T21:27:00.015-04:00

If A Tree Falls In The Woods...

2008-10-13T19:55:00.002-04:00

...If the Patriots lose to the Chargers 30 to 10 without Tom Brady does anyone notice? Next season...

It will be interested to see if the Pats will start the rookie Keven O'Connell next week vs Denver. Cassel looked terrible last night (he spiking the ball at the ground so many times you would have thought he was trying to do some weird clock management scam to slow down the game or something) and the secondary is just totally ineffective. Rodney Harrison is my favorite player in any sport but he's lost way to much speed to keep up with tight ends anymore, not to even mention wide receivers.

It's going to be a tough season.

National Debt Update

2008-10-09T18:56:00.002-04:00

Blackberry Storm: Clouds Without Wi-Fi

2008-10-08T08:16:00.010-04:00

No serious competitor to the iPhone yet: Blackberry/Verizon still have not figured out that consumers want Wi-Fi on their smartphones. The new Blackberry Storm phone is basically worthless for around the house or yard if you live in a rural/hilly area with poor cell phone coverage but have Wi-Fi.

Sign Wars

2008-10-07T18:40:00.006-04:00

Yes We Can...

2008-10-05T20:59:00.002-04:00

Forget Palin and Obama... vote for the new candidate for change - Cynthia McKinney! She brings about as much energy and charisma to the campaign as the dynamic Mike Gravel did months ago. See the below video to see what I'm taking about.

October 2

2008-10-02T22:11:00.004-04:00

Monkey See, Monkey Do

2008-09-27T21:52:00.003-04:00

I give you another look inside my brain (using the Facebook test)

Bye High

2008-09-26T18:32:00.003-04:00

Oh NO, no, no, no, nooooooooooooo! I can just FEEL IT! The Patriots aren't going to win this week. Remember I said that when they don't.

On a more serious and somber note

Yes, 'homeschool' is a word.

2008-09-23T16:42:00.008-04:00

It's official. You don't have to feel guilt the next time Microsoft Word spell-checker tells you 'homeschool' isn't a word. For 'homeschool' is now an entry in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. For those of you who underwent some other form of education:

homeschool
One entry found.

Main Entry:home·school

Pronunciation:
\ˈhōm-ˌskül\
Function:
verb
Date:
1980
intransitive verb
: to teach school subjects to one's children at home transitive verb : to teach (one's children) at home

Realizing that this word may be obscure to some, the dictionary kindly includes a recording of the pronunciation.

But who was the lucky person who coined this term in 1980?

Fins Flay Pats 38 to 13

2008-09-21T19:47:00.008-04:00

Chef Tony Sparano's recipe to beating the Patriots.

1. Mix in three and 1/2 quarters of Matt Cassel playing
2. Add five members of a Patriots offensive line that couldn't block a one year old running with a pair of scissors
3. Throw at Ellis Hobbs the entire game
4. or at anyone else since their not being covered
5. A super game from Fins running back Ronnie Brown who ran for four touchdowns & also tossed one on a trick play just to rub it in.

That was a ugly game. I didn't watch the entire thing because it became a route around the second quarter and it wasn't like Matt Cassel was going to rally for a comeback or anything. Pretty pathetic; but it was going to happen at some point.

How I Invested My Life Savings in AIG, the Layman Brothers & Bear Stearns and Found Permanent Happiness, Joy and Sunshine (and lost 350 pounds too!)

2008-09-19T18:39:00.012-04:00

First, let me make this very clear so even those other than me, I and myself can understand - I don't like how Rex gets to act smart by posting all sorts junk of about the economy (see below post) while I post insightful, mind stimulating des ordures. So, after much thought and tears, I've decided that that must come to an end. Faithful readers, lend me your ears! I'm about to become Jim Cramer on steroids!

My first economic observation - the economy stinks

My second economic observation - Rhode Island's economy especially stinks (8.5% unemployment, 2nd highest in the US of A)

My third (& final) economic observation - Why is the government bailing out companies from bankruptcy when the government itself is bankrupt?

The Most Biggest, Baddest Bankruptcy in US History

2008-09-15T22:18:00.004-04:00

Click here to view the full-size Bloomberg chart.

And with worthless Ch. 11 laws to boot!

Hockey Moms For Truth Strikes!

2008-09-15T21:45:00.000-04:00

Oh J-E-T-S, Where Is Thy Sting?

2008-09-14T19:39:00.008-04:00

Attention Pats fans, tree huggers and Mike Garvel holdouts! This Matt Cassel thing might not be too bad after all... as long as he just keeps on dumping the rock off to Kevin Faulk & Wes Welker( 7 rec. for 72 yards) for the short stuff and somehow learns to toss it up for Randy Moss the Patriots should be able to win some more games. Underdogs for the first time in years, the Pats beat the New York Jets by a score of 19 to 10, the first victory since 2000 in a game without Tom Brady as the starting quarterback. Overall, the defense had an excellent game and Steven Gostkowski kicked the pigskin off the football all day (four field goals & about a billion touchbacks). Another player who had a great game was the former Jets, LaMont Jordan who tore right through the Jets defense the entire second half of the game (11 rushes for 62 yards)

Not everything that happened was positive by any means. Cassel still isn't in rhythm with Moss & it really showed today (especially on the deep pass that Cassel underthrew by about 15 yards) and took way too many sacks (despite the offensive line playing pretty well). Because the Jets stink, it didn't matter too much today - and might actually not matter too much the next three weeks (Dolphins, Bye, 49ers) - but when the harder games start piling up after week (Chargers, Broncos, Colts, Bills), it's going to be essential that the Patriots have a legitimate deep threat. One reason for the lack of coordination may have simply have been that Moss missed most of the practices last week with a back injury (as did Jabbar Gaffney who had no receptions at all in today's game).

Anyways, this game has too be a huge disappointment for Jets players & fans. For what was supposed to be a revenge game for the Jets (for SpyGate, the opening day blowout last year, the Mangini vs Belichick thing, etc), they really missed what was probably their best chance in this decade to really pound the Pats (Brady will be back next year & by the next time we play them in week 11, the Patriots should be a better team).

Next week - it's the 0-2 Miami Dolphins (the last team the Patriots actually lost to in the regular season back in 2006).

September 13, 2008

2008-09-13T22:32:00.003-04:00

Web Browser feature suggestion for upcoming releases (Part 2)

2008-09-13T11:41:00.003-04:00

The other idea would be automatic zoom to the width of the website...

Then you wouldn't even have to think about it...

Web Browser feature suggestion for upcoming releases

2008-09-13T07:39:00.008-04:00

Browsers should have a site-specific "save zoom" feature. Some sites have much small fonts than others, and it's a pain to have to adjust the zoom for the site each and every time (e.g. WSJ.com) when you have a widescreen display. However, it would be fairly easy to use a cookie to remember which zoom the user prefers for a particular site.

Now we'll see which browser -- Firefox, IE, Safari, Opera, or Chrome -- will be the first to incorporate this feature....

Oh Yeah, The Brady Thing...

2008-09-11T20:33:00.006-04:00

For some reason when Brady got injured it almost seemed like it was supposed to happen. After the way the last two season have ended I sort of expect bad things to happen to the Pats. This year the bad stuff just happened on opening day rather than the Super Bowl or AFC Championship. In a since, the injury does make the season a little more interesting because we have the underdog status back that we haven't had for years. Maybe winning won't just be expected, it will be celebrated (and not just winning 16 in a row, just winning any game).

Unlike probably most of the rest of the world (including Vladimir Putin [who just btw signed a 15 year, 400 billion $$$ extension as Russia's dictator], Matt Gutierrez and Chad Jackson), I expect Matt Cassel to fill in pretty well for Brady. Having 8 foot 9 inch stick man Randy Moss running go patterns for you and Wes Welker running around in circles already makes Cassel one of the top 10 quarterbacks in the AFC because unlike some other QB's, he has real targets to throw to. Hey, even I could probobly break the single season touchdown record if I had Moss & Welker to throw to*.

As for my prediction for this weeks game... Pats vs Jets, Belichick vs Mangini, Farve vs Cassel, Randy Moss vs 5-11 Dwight Lowery, and Kris lights out - I'm retiring - the nosetackle Jankins and his D-Line friends vs the Patriots offensive line & the Pats tripled headed (Maroney, Morris, Jordan) running attack... So after an completely unbiased appraisal of the situation. I'm going to predict that the Patriots will win by a score of 35 to 24 (oh yeah, & David Thomas is going to have a big game [and if he doesn't I'll just delete this like it wasn't ever here...])

*assuming that I could also throw to myself and the NFL changed abolished the salary cap so the team could afford to pay me

Victory!

2008-09-09T23:07:00.004-04:00

District 39, Exeter, Richmond and Charlestown GOP State Rep Primary Results

With 100% reporting
-Dave Hathaway, 56%
-Joseph Arsenault, 44%

You can view the results by precincts here

URI's new logo...

2008-09-07T23:02:00.010-04:00

I really like it. Now if they can only get people to start saying "URI" less, and "The University of Rhode Island" more. The full name has a ring that will put the school, at least subliminally, on par with other respected state institutions such as the University of Virginia.

Now if we can only get a big donor to name the business college after him/herself.

I'm less impressed by the "Think Big, We Do" slogan. But I can't think of anything better at the moment.

College

2008-09-06T21:41:00.002-04:00

...eats a lot of time. I just finished my first week and survived (so far). I'll try to keep this site updated as often as I can (I don't want to fill the clinics with millions of people having mental issues because there's nothing new here).

RNC Photos

2008-09-05T19:02:00.004-04:00

What Happened At 11 O'Clock...

2008-09-01T10:11:00.007-04:00

"HELP ME!"

"The donkey going to eat ME!!"

"Good Donkey... Nice Donkey..."

Patriots Cuts

2008-08-30T20:41:00.003-04:00

The Patriots cut their roster to 53 players today. Below are the players that were cut. Some of the bigger surprises on this list are Fernando Bryant, who started each preseason game & Matt Gutierrez who was thought by many to have beat Matt Cassel in the competition for the 2d quarterback spot.

DL Titus Adams
CB Fernando Bryant - one of the bigger disappointments, was brought in to take Samuels spot and just couldn't cover anyone. Getting run over in the finally preseason game by a backup tightend for a touchdown probably didn't help either.
TE Tyson DeVree -probable practice squad member
S Mark Dillard
C Mike Flynn - could be brought back at some point this season
RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis - probable practice squad member
QB Matt Gutierrez - probable practice squad member if he clears wavers
LB Victor Hobson - started 14 games for the Jets last year but couldn't make this team.
LB Vince Redd - probable practice squad member
CB Mike Richardson - probable practice squad member. That sort of depends on his ability to not be injured for at least a week so he can practice.
T Stephen Sene
S Antwain Spann - probable practice squad member
DL Santonio Thomas
G John Welbourn

Saterday Political Notes

2008-08-30T11:16:00.004-04:00

Let me the first to say on this site that I'm not sure the pick of Sarah Palin was as brilliant as some are making it out to be. On the surface it may seem like a great choice by McCain but I have some reservations about it (also, Rush Limbaugh was going nuts about it yesterday, one more reason perhaps to be concerned).

Apparently Huckabee was never considered by McCain as a potential vice presidential candidate. I'm not really disappointed at all because I'm not sure Huckabee actually would have been a great VP but that sort of was a surprise.

August 29, 2008

2008-08-29T15:33:00.000-04:00

You heard it here first...

2008-08-29T11:20:00.004-04:00

With a hurricane roaring up the coast, Mom's calling McCain's pick of Sarah Palin a "Her"McCain choice.

Palin Is The One

2008-08-29T10:43:00.003-04:00

It's official

Drudge Say's It's Palin

2008-08-29T08:26:00.003-04:00

The Art of Receiving

2008-08-28T13:50:00.004-04:00

Over 11 minutes of condensed football receiving practice with Peter throwing & me running the routes. The computer was running out of space, so I decided to upload the video to YouTube (& sped it up so it won't take forever to watch) before someone deleted it to clear space on the harddrive.

Pawlenty vs. Romney

2008-08-27T21:54:00.007-04:00

According to the New York Times, John McCain has chosen his vice president and will announce the pick Friday. Quoting the Times, which is allegedly quoting insiders, the top three under consideration are "Mitt Romney, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and, possibly, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman".

You can essentially knock Lieberman off the list, he's not going to be chosen, so if the insiders are right, it's a race between Romney & Pawlenty. Interestingly enough, both of them are in Denver right now at the Democrat National Convention playing the role of attack dog for McCain... I guess that's not too much of a surprise.

As far as Romney goes. Romney = Obama is the White House and the next Supreme Court justice will be Bill Ayres.

Pawlenty on the other hand sounds like he might actually be a decent pick. According to this article by the Minnesota Independent, Pawlenty is at least solidly Pro Life.

From the article:
"Pawlenty’s political career before becoming governor included eight years in the Minnesota House. During that time, he championed the Women’s Right to Know Act, which mandated a 24-hour waiting period before undergoing an abortion. His advocacy on anti-abortion initiatives garnered him a 100 percent rating from the anti-abortion group Minnesota Citizen Concerned for Marriage."

I guess we'll figure out who it will be Friday.

Sign Wars

2008-08-24T22:44:00.010-04:00

One of our best sign locations right when you enter Richmond.

One of our 4 by 8's that was right outside the entrance of the Washington County Fair. Approximately, over 100,000 people would have driven by/at it as they entered or left the fair.

Setting up a 4 by 8

a 2 by 4Another 4 by 8

Back home after another successful sign setting up mission

What's Wrong With America's Team?

2008-08-24T22:40:00.002-04:00

I've only seen about five or six Yankee games this year because I really haven't had time to follow them closely this season (fortunately!) but here are four reasons why I believe the Yanks have been so pathetic this season.

1st: Pitching - The Yankees entered the season with no options if any of their starters got injured or their two young guys, Phil Hughes & Ian Kennedy, couldn't play at major league levels. As things turned out, both Hughes & Kennedy fell apart just about as soon as the season started and with the exception of Mike Mussina, pretty much everyone (Joba Chamberland & Chien-Ming Wang being the two biggest names) else has been injured at some point. Due to all of that, the Yanks have been forced to start less than stellar players such as Sidney Ponson, Carl Pavano & Darrell Rasner.

2d: Injuries - Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada have missed significant amount of time. A-Rod and Johnny Damon missed extended periods & the pitching staff has been devastated by injuries all year (Chamberlain, Wang, Hughes, Kennedy, Brian Bruney & Andy Pettitte).

3d: A-Rod - this guy is a team killer. When he became a free agent last year, I assumed that the nightmare was over & hoped that the Red Sox would sign him. But, for some reason that I still can't understand, Cashman decided to pay Alex an obscene amount of money to come back. Maybe they deserve this season.

4th: The (Devil) Rays - it's a well known fact that the Yankees have steadily been declining for the last four or five years. Despite getting worse each year though, they've always found a way to get into the playoffs. The emergence of the Rays just pushed them over the edge from being a wildcard team to missing the playoffs. They could survive playing against one decent team in the division (the Red Sox) but two was too many.

Washington County Fair Pictures

2008-08-21T22:33:00.024-04:00

Here's a few of the pictures from our visit to the Washington County Fair last Saturday. I know there are no captions (I don't have time to think up any right now) so you'll just have to either live without them or make up your own.

IngPod Touch

2008-08-19T22:12:00.002-04:00

A Day At the Worksite (in HD & English!!)

2008-08-18T22:09:00.020-04:00

Because I am feeling like a benevolent dictator tonight I decide it was around time to actually post something other than copied & pasted news articles from World Net Daily on how Barack Obama fulfills all the 666 of the requirements to be the Antichrist. Anyways (Connie, it's a word - see - it's on a world wide read, respected, and esteemed website [see here!] that glactical leaders read before breakfast to catch up on what's going on [see that website here!] and Michael Phelps listens to on his IPod for inspiration before races), here's my post. Enjoy (cause you probably don't deserve it)!

Here's where I slave away three days a week with Peter (below photo). This is the view from the entrance of the coal mine where we're currently working (excuse me if I cough during this post, I forgot to wear my gas mask when I went down into the mine today and we sort of had the roof fall on us so two of my lungs aren't working but otherwise I'm doing fine).

Okay, I was just kidding. We actually don't work in a coal mine, in fact, we don't even get any shade most of the day other than when it rains or hurricanes happen. The real thing we do is general slave work at a development project near our house (started working there sometime in the spring). This is Lot 38, the model house that the buyers are suppose to think their house will look like, but, in reality probably won't because normal homeowners don't normally have access to cheap slave labor (or or going to replace their grass with imported sod).

7:50...The area shown here is almost completely done & most of the houses are sold. The only problem now is that the backyards tend to wash away because the grass is pathetic and the topsoil runs right off the hills.

7:50'ish, Peter rakes the new topsoil the backyard of Lot 33 after the it got washed away by the tsunami of rain we got last week

2:15pm... smashing rocks to dig a trench for a pipe in one of the condo basements. I suspect though that the hole is really for the employees that disappeared last week after they were caught taking a lunch break at 12:00

2:40... putting away some of the equipment

2:45, holding useless signs (there is no office)

...and after locking up everything it's 2:55 and I'm ready to file for social security & retire for the rest of my life. And I can actually really do that, because since I'm an illegal immigrant, the social security number I use really belongs to a person who's been dead since 1970's so... yEaH... Adios!

...5:00am - the next morning... gets arrested by ICE...
6:00am - gets deported

Lynch Joins Pats

2008-08-14T18:05:00.004-04:00

Free agent, nine-time Pro Bowler John Lynch has signed with the Patriots. Lynch was released by the Denver Broncos about two weeks ago after he made noise about playing time.
Think about this: Rodney Harrison & John Lynch on the field at the same time... Yep.

August 10, 2008

2008-08-10T15:21:00.001-04:00

Manny Dodges Trade Deadline

2008-07-31T19:20:00.002-04:00

By getting traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Red Sox picked up outfielder Jason Bay in the deal. As a Yankees fan this is great news because this means that Manny won't be able to terrorize our pitching until we get to the World Series - assuming that the Dodgers make it to the World Series.

Yanks Get Pudge

2008-07-30T16:50:00.005-04:00

The Yankees traded their designated home run thrower Kyle Farnsworth to the Detroit Tigers today for catcher Ivan [Pudge] Rodriguez. Pudge is batting 295 this season with 5 home runs and 32 RBI's. The Yankees made this trade after Posada decided to have surgery that would end any chance of him coming back and playing this season. Pudge is in the last year of his contract he signed with Detroit so this is probably a one year & done but money really isn't a big issue for the Yankees so they can afford to make this kind of deal.

Now the question is whether the Red Sox will be able to dump Manny before he flees to Iraq.

The Sherriff Arrives in Town

2008-07-27T21:20:00.001-04:00

Manny Being Manny

2008-07-27T21:14:00.003-04:00

Now he wants to be traded to Iraq.

Pats Sign Jordan

2008-07-26T21:38:00.003-04:00

The Patriots signed former Jets and Raiders running back LaMont Jordan to a one year contract today. He had been released by the Raiders after contract and depth chart issues earlier this year. Jordan is one of those little big guys (5-10, 230) who can pound the football inside and is also an excellent receiver. When he was on the Jets, he always had decent games against the Patriots and he wasn't bad with the Raiders either. Due to injury issues over the last two seasons, he has only played in 21 out of a possible 32 games (with 15 starts).

Well, who knows, this could be a big signing and Jordan could be an impact player this season or he could be cut before the first preseason game but either way their is no downside to giving him a chance to show the Pats if he still has anything inthe tank.

Barring injury, the Patriots should enter the season with Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Jordan, Kevin Faulk and Heath Evans.