Thursday, April 30, 2009

John Edwards

There are degrees of asshole-ishness. By any measure, John Edwards clearly deserves an A+.
After the former presidential hopeful confessed his betrayal, Elizabeth Edwards writes in her new book, "I cried and screamed, I went to the bathroom and threw up." . . .

Edwards admitted the hanky-panky to her days after declaring his candidacy in 2006 . . .
Let me recount. First, cheat on your wife who is suffering from terminal cancer. Second, convince her to back your bid for president. Third, only after she commits and you publicly announce your candidacy, you reveal to her that you have been cheating, a fact that is sure to be exposed and will cause her incredible public humiliation, on top of the deep personal hurt.

Once again, a scene from one of my favorite movies seems appropriate, although I include it only for the last line.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The real world

Today, our son was told by one of his best friends that the "friend" didn't want to be friends anymore. The reason? Because our son is Hispanic and adopted. The friend later called to apologize, apparently on his own initiative, and to request a play-date.

I'm not looking forward to the cruelty of junior high school.

All good things must come to an end

An amazing streak ends.

Not unlike shooting 59 for even the most talented golfer, a no-hitter requires a rare combination of skill and luck for even the most talented baseball pitcher. But, as far as I know, no one has ever broken 60 on a regulation golf course four times in a row.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Twitter

I don't get the Twitter rage, and I'm not going to try to get it. I'm just going to ignore it the same way that I have ignored other crazes among some folks, like NASCAR and The Food Network. If Twitter makes the people who use it a bit happier, good for them.

But some people just can't ignore something that they don't understand why anyone would be interested in, so instead they lecture in a holier-than-thou-way about what other people should be doing with their time.

I really enjoy unintentional self-parody.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

I've got to get me one of those!


Story.

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - The Finch Arboretum is being overrun by ground squirrels, and Spokane Parks and Recreation is bringing in some special artillery.

The agency is using a special machine called the Rodenator Pro to detonate some of the estimated 100 to 150 squirrels tearing up the grounds.

Shades of Carl Spackler, the gopher-hating groundskeeper from "Caddyshack."

The Rodenator Pro pumps propane and oxygen into the tunnels of squirrels, then sends an electric spark that causes an explosion. The shock waves kill the squirrels and collapse their tunnels - but in a humane way, the agency said.

Chipmunks, not squirrels, are my problem.

Thursday, April 09, 2009

Vet's dog murdered

Link.

All it took was the gunshot fired outside his Walker County home to trigger training ingrained in former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, the lone survivor of a dramatic battle in Afghanistan in 2005.

He did a sweep through the house. Checked on his mother. And bolted out the door, where he found dead his beloved Labrador retriever, Dasy, a dog given to him to help him recover from his own wounds and the loss of his fellow Navy comrades.

Read the rest.