Gotta Wonder

I can't figure it out. A friend on Ranchoweb's Discussion Board mentioned that her daughter gave her some 'new versions' of some perfume" and they are nowhere near the originals!"

I had to ask, "You mean to say these perfume outfits change formulas without telling people?"

Evidently so.

I never hear commercials on perfume saying NEW and IMPROVED like I do soap commercials.

The way I figure it Tide is so NEW and IMPROVED by now that dirt shouldn't even exist!

I remember it was NEW and IMPROVED when Jack Bailey was hosting

Queen for a Day!

Tide commercials have continually been 'Shouting' at us (oops, different product.) that this stuff is better today than it was yesterday. So when is perfection reached? Day after tomorrow?

I guess the perfume manufacturers don't like to boast. Otherwise they would tout the NEW and IMPROVED line.

My friend at Ranchoweb prefers the original formula. Maybe that is why they don't boast, "NEW and IMPROVED".

Which makes me wonder how long can a SALE go on? (Don't ask the connection, I can't figure it out either)... I've heard there are government regulations on SALEs but never checked Snopes.com/Urban Legends on it. It seems to me that you cannot pass a mattress store or a furniture store without seeing the SALE banner out front. Some of those banners are looking shabby from age.

There is something you won't see selling big on eBay.

"Slightly used 'SALE' banner only used once"

- Yeah, for five years! -

I have to wonder if soap commercials and mattress/furniture sales (What the hell, lets throw in used car salesmen and lawyers) are not the reason behind the cynicism and the 'what the hell' attitude in America these days.

Lord know I've got it and I want to blame someone for it besides Mom.

Security Issues in America

Political Nut posted a piece called "Security Issues in America" I wanted to post a comment but unfortunately to comment on his blog a person has to be a team member.

So I figured to get my two cents in I'd bring a touch of his post and my comment here. But then I saw that for my comment to have it's impact I needed his entire post. Both sorry and thanks Political Nut. Please open your comments to the general public and/or supply an email address.

- quote - House Democrats issued a statement that the Homeland Security Department has not met expectations. They cite that the department has not met 33 of its own goals including upgrading specific types of targets and the streamlining of communications between agencies.

It is necessary that the American Public gets a report on the progress of the HSD. But do we need the specifics such as types of sites that are vulnerable. Isn't that making terrorists' jobs easier by allowing them to focus on those types of sites. Knowledge is a powerful tool, but it is also one that can be very dangerous. - end quote -

My comment:

Yesterday I was standing in front of a store when a young lady with her 9-10 year old son drove up. They got out of the car and as they neared me the boy said, (real loud) "Mom, You didn't lock your car door."

Then the boy looked at me.

I said, "Now the whole world knows."

I hope the boy learned a lesson and does not grow up to be like the House Democrats.

Yahoo Pictures 2005

Yahoo 2005 Year in Review

What a year it has been. As usual both the best and worst in man has been on display. From suicide bombings to aid for tsunami and hurricane victims.

May the bombs of terrorists blow up in their hands before their plans come to fruition.
May the Living God help us live better in the year to come. - GBYAY -

Search Engines Bring Up Differing Results

Having Site Meter hooked up to your blog can be quite interesting. Today I had a visitor come through Yahoo's Search Engine looking for - kelly letterpress for sale - My blog was not what the searcher was looking for. Nowhere close...

However number 6 on the list of his search was a link to my post - Baby Parts For Sale - in which I quoted "Kelly" a pseudonym of a person who harvested baby parts for researchers. My "About Me" section on my blog mentions that I am a letterpress printer. By Google Search I was not listed in the top 100.

How could this person have improved his search query? Perhaps by adding quote marks around the model of the Kelly press he is searching for. With quote marks surrounding a statement the search engines look for that exact statement and cull out some of the excess. But the search query was really wrong to start with.

I know it can be frustrating to search for something specific and come up with everything except what is really being searched for. (see previous post)

Looking for someone selling a used machine it might have been better to start with - "used printing equipment" - and then added - Kelly (model name) - If looking to purchase something on the internet it bodes the searcher well to check the side adverts on the search page. They are designed to aid searchers as well as pull in some coins for the search engine company that is providing you a free service.

The quote marks really help if you want to find the rest of a quotation or perhaps the source of some obscure statement. Sometimes it helps to use the advance search features both Yahoo and Google offer. The + and - marks can help add or subtract keywords you want or don't want.

Ice Cream - in Google brings up 28,600,000 hits. Modifying it to - Ice Cream Raspberry = 2,420,000 hits. Then "ice cream" -vanilla +raspberry = 522,000 / - Still quite a bit. Add the word recipes and then you bring it down a bunch more. Only 252,000 hits. Much easier to peruse. The advanced search used properly will drop that number dramatically.

I like to keep a folder in my favorites that is titled 'searchers'. In it I have links to Yahoo, Google, Bookfinder.com, a Bible search, a dictionary & thesaurus, Snopes.com (Urban Legends) and a couple other resources. I've found that results from Yahoo and Google can vary. Doesn't hurt to use both if you are really trying to research a subject.

I've found it best to not get frustrated while searching. Instead consider yourself to be smarter than the computers you are accessing. You know what you are looking for. Use the right words and you will find it!

Google and Baby Jesus

Question? Would someone at Google purposefully manipulate the search results so that if anyone, even a child, were to type in - Baby Jesus - the number one link would be for the Baby Jesus butt plug?

I'd like to think not. Others think so. I gather the problem lies in the offensive page itself not having all the bells and whistles that would put it on top. Yahoo has the same page on number 9.

Confederate Yankee sez: - quote - Other results on this search results page have more link traffic. A quick review of page's code shows no HTML meta information that should give it a favorable ranking. The page itself has a raw relevance ranking (search word divided by total words) of less than five percent. The only conclusion I can draw is that this page position ranking was done manually by a Google staffer. - end quote -

Can Google manually manipulate rankings? Have you heard of the French Military Victories search and the 'I'm feeling lucky' button? Try the 'I'm feeling lucky' button with Baby Jesus.

At the time of this posting I found this disturbing search result, as have many others, since this hit the blogosphere. I'm hoping Google decides to do the right thing and change what needs to be changed to fix this problem. As soon as I get the tip I will update this post.

When you type - jew - into Google some anti-Semitic sites come up and Google explains it thus - quote - If you use Google to search for "Judaism," "Jewish" or "Jewish people," the results are informative and relevant. So why is a search for "Jew" different? One reason is that the word "Jew" is often used in an anti-Semitic context. Jewish organizations are more likely to use the word "Jewish" when talking about members of their faith. The word has become somewhat charged linguistically, as noted on websites devoted to Jewish topics such as these: - end quote -

I doubt if an explanation like that would be acceptable to any good thinking person no matter their religion over the result of a search for - Baby Jesus -.

If you wish to give feedback to Google over this or any other search results near the bottom of each Google page is a link that says, Dissatisfied? Help us improve - I would suggest that you first view the search results (You do not need to view the offensive page) prior to sending them a message. Hopefully they have fixed it. If so, Please write and tell them thanks!


UPDATE: Google has fixed the problem. They did not want to manipulate the search results but they did for this issue and a few others. Thanks Google! (update posted 2-23-07)

Hat tip to Verum Serum who tips Confederate Yankee & wizbang...

Season's Greetings & Happy Holidays Oh, and Merry Christmas...

Don't know who wrote this but I had to post it. I'd love to give credit. It conveys my feelings exactly!

I can say, I recieved it from this eBayer, who always has some great items listed!

For My Democratic Friends:

"Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. And without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee. By accepting these greetings you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for herself or himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher."

For My Republican Friends:

Here's wishing all of You a

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Sacred Cows of the Left Put on the Barby!

John Lennon wrote 'Imagine' - A couple lines he left out were: -

"Imagine liberals are in power,
when North Korea gets the nuke...
They will kiss hineys and cower,
chanting good vibes till they puke..."

I get ticked off when I come across blogs that have the self righteous and condescending attitude of the left. Came across one tonight that was so full of logs stuck in pinko eyes that I had to come home to vent.

It starts off real nice on how America (U.S.A. for you PC Nazis that like to differentiate between the north and south continents.) was built on 'HOPE'. Goes on to say how wonderful 'HOPE' is and how 'HOPE' built this country. Sounds nice until the speal turns to (quote) "the Bush Administration, guided by their neo-con warmongers and evangelical Christian base, found in the attacks an opportunity to pursue their agenda of advancing their prophecies and ideology and exploited our fear." (end quote)

Hate Bush diatribe is so predictable. The rest of the sputum is Bush & Christians are filling our nation with fear and driving us to...

First off I'd like a definition of neocon. That seems to be the newest throw away word of the liberal lefties these days. It has no definition except, "People that disagree with me politically". 'Mindless drivel' is what I think as soon as I see the word neocon.

then the vacuous liberal poster sez:
Lets throw the Christians into the mix because everybody hates them. Hell, nobody has ever really met one to know that they really are not the way I'm describing them.

What the hell is:
"Agenda of advancing their prophecies and ideology" as if every Christian feels it is his God given duty to work towards nuclear annihilation of this planet so Jesus can come back and start over.

The next paragraph our intrepid liberal fills with conflicting statements that fails to recognize the achievements of the current Republican, "conservative" administration. And this post was on 21-Dec-05. After recent Iraq elections - It failed to recognize:

A dictator is no longer in power and his 2 sons are no longer on planet Earth raping 11 year old daughters of his country's citizens.

The citizens of a country now have the right to choose their own government.

A countryside ecologically ravaged through draining of marshes is being brought back to life just by opening dams.

The feminine gender can go to schools that were closed to them.

Mass graves are no longer being filled but instead being found and the remains of loved ones given proper burial.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I could go on but liberals refuse to recognize these good things. I doubt if any liberals will stop by to comment and say that these things are true without adding, "But Bush"...

Makes me want to whap them upside the head with my shoe.

Intrepid liberal sez:
(quote) "Religion and it's promise of a glorious afterlife is supposed to alleviate the fear of dying, and theoretically, the evangelical base of the administration'’s supporters look forward to the apocalypse so that they can be with their god." (end quote") Please note the small 'g' on God. This will help you understand where this person comes from. He hates religion and denies the good things it has done through the ages. - Prior to Jesus there is NO record of ANY charitable organizations. Not one!. Prior to Jesus there was nowhere on mother Earth (note small 'M') that did NOT have slavery. Cannibalism and infanticide were common practices throughout the planet!

Excuse me? If the Christian base was so anxious for the apocalypse why didn't they (and Bush) start throwing nukes the day after 9-11? The day of 9-11 I knew Christians and non Christians alike that would have cheered had we bombed Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Egypt and any other stinking third world country that had Muslums in it...

Thank God we had cooler heads in Washington D.C. than in the neighborhood I live in.

Near the closing of his post this person says, (quote) "As much as I recognize and fear the terrorists who would destroy America, I also fear that the politicians of today will do nothing to make things whole again. (end quote)

HEY! WAKE UP! YOU ASLEEP? AN ENTIRE COUNTRY HAS BEEN FREED FROM TYRANNY! MORE FREEDOM IS ON THE WAY FOR OPPRESSED PEOPLES IN THIS WORLD.

Except for liberals like you. Liberals in America (no apology to the PC Nazis) are oppressed by their own minds. Those on the right are free! Or at least a lot more free than these close minded, self righteous liberals that are caught up in fear and loathing of all things Bush.

- All quotes came from: Common Sense - The posting is called politics of fear

(prying1 sez: Common Sense missed it in this one. This posting of his was anything but!!!)

Heads Up On iTunes and QuickTime Bugs

A heap overflow vulnerability in Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes and QuickTime media players could put millions of PC and Mac users at risk of malicious hacker attacks, security experts warned Wednesday. -

In English this means that a lot of information is stuffed into a space too small for it and the system crashes.

For those who use these programs keep your eyes peeled for patches and updates.

Full story from eWeek.com is here.

Space.com 2005 Best Images Photo Contest

Space.com is looking for people that like to look at pictures. - Throughout the year people send photos from the surface of Earth, to the sky's above and beyond the stars. Quite a collection. The photos in this contest all appear to be of space however but if you tool around Space.com you will find the submissions from people just like you and I. Some would make nice desktop scenes.

- On each of the photos there is a short description, a click to enlarge button and above on the right is a row of five stars for you to rate the pics.

- Might want to save this page to favorites so you can come back to it at a time you can relax and enjoy.

Liberals Are Wrong Again

It has been a while since I've posted. In the interim quite a bit has happened in the political world. A NYT's article came out claiming that the President of the United States has illegally ordered spying on U.S. citizens without warrant. The lefty blogs went wild! Rush Limbaugh noted that the writer of the article has a book coming out in a few days with this news in one of it's chapters. Hmmmm...

Well, waiting to blog on a subject is something I often do. I like to think it is to get a few more facts to either back up my original thoughts or find out I'm wrong. The real reason is because I have a lazy streak.

NewsMax.com came out with an interesting article that shows this action by bush is not new.
Clinton NSA Eavesdropped on U.S. Calls - During the 1990's under President Clinton, the National Security Agency monitored millions of private phone calls placed by U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries under a super secret program code-named Echelon. -

Hugh Hewitt has a fine article on the Powers of the President. This is presented in series form which has 5 parts at the time of this posting. The opening gambit of the series says: - Overlooked in most of the commentary on the New York Times article is the simple, undeniable fact that the president has the power to conduct warrantless surveillance of foreign powers conspiring to kill Americans or attack the government. The Fourth Amendment, which prohibits "unreasonable" searches and seizures has not been interpreted by the Supreme Court to restrict this inherent presidential power. The 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (an introduction from a critic of the Act is here) cannot be read as a limit on a constitutional authority even if the Act purported to so limit that authority.

prying1 sez:
I remember times past where the government had wiretaps on home grown terrorist groups such as the Black Panthers and the Weathermen. A lot of shouting happened then too. In the group of friends I hung with the real fear was that government thugs would soon come after us for being pot smokers. They didn't. The government was looking for real bad people. Murderers and terrorists.

From what I see our current government is doing the same thing. Looking for bad guys. People that would love to destroy even more than the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. People that would love to destroy all governments and rule the world. (Please don't think I'm exaggerating. What is the goal of these Muslum extremists if not ultimately world domination? They cannot leave any countries free to oppose them.)


Imagine this. During the operations of wiretapping, listening in on cell phone calls, reading emails, etc. someone in our government learns than a U.S. citizen is having an affair. Or that someone else has homosexual tendencies. Or that someone is smoking pot. Are they going to care? I doubt it. They are busy looking for terrorists.

Now in my own business. A terrorist whose wires are being tapped calls the printing shop I work for and orders business cards. Now our shop is on the list. Throw a switch, ZAP, and all our calls are being tapped. Within 1/2 hour whoever has the job of listening will know for a fact that we are not related in any way to the terrorist and they won't bother with us again. I can only hope that the conversations recorded will lighten the day of the person whose job it is to listen in. We joke around quite a bit with our customers.


So I'm left with a choice. Oppose the policy of our government to spy on it's own citizens and give more power to people that want to kill me (and you too dear reader!) or support the policy that allows one branch of the government to use it's constitutional authority to protect the nation.

I vote to support it.

GLOBAL WARMING IS OVER!

P.S. - Update - Check this out from The Penultimate Genius -

Hat tip to - SNAFUBAR - (Disclaimer: SNAFUBAR/William Young is no relation that I know about- unless we go back closer to Adam)

On Tookie and the Death Penalty

Tookie Williams, murderer and co-founder of the CRIPS (an L.A. street gang) was spiritually removed from planet earth on 13 DEC 05 at 12:35 AM. Can't live on planet earth without your earthsuit. His earthsuit was made inhabitable through a lethal injection.

Surfing Technorati for 'tookie' I checked out a few other blogs to see the general tone out there. - Should have guessed. Some are glad he is gone and some are not. Some want the death penalty rescinded while others want to see it used more often. - Although I didn't see it I'm sure there is a scattering that doesn't care -

prying1's 2 cents:

I'm a firm believer in the death penalty when it is used as punishment for murder. Especially for a multiple murderer like Tookie was.

I think that the courts in California need to be told through the voting process to incorporate some rules concerning death row inmates. 20 years on death row is TOO much! Person is found guilty and sentenced to death there should be 1 automatic appeal consummated within 6 months. Only 2 more appeals allowed only at the request of the condemned. The only testimony allowed at all 3 appeals must deal with the facts of the case. None of this "The poor boys are orphans" crapola like the parent murdering Menendez lawyer pulled. No 'abused as a child' excuses. Just the facts of the case.

From the time of the sentence, through the appeals process to killing the guilty party no more than two years can pass. Memories fade after a bit of time and people involved in the case, especially loved ones of the victims, should not have to be dragged through life with a chain held by a murderer and his lawyer.

Both Liberals and Conservatives Demand Government Handouts!

Envoys from the two major camps of American politics converged on Washington DC today to make demands of the government. Both the liberals and conservatives met at the gates of the White House and quick thinking gate guards averted a riot by separating the groups to the right hand and left hand sides of the gates. Slight jostling as positions were taken was all the contact between the opponents.

Conservatives demanded free kits for washing out ear wax be distributed to all liberals throughout the country.

"It is obvious that liberal groups need these kits because they cannot hear the words, 'Bush didn't lie'.", said a man identifying himself as Red Stater. "It has been shown over and over again for the past couple years that everyone, even leaders of other countries, thought Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. He even gassed his own countrymen. The libs keep screaming, 'Bush Lied, NO WMD's', and can't hear when they are told it is not an issue. Bush did not lie. He may have been misled but he did not purposefully mislead the people of the U.S.A.. We want their ears washed out and we feel that the only way they will do it is if they get the kits for free on the government dole."

The liberals on the other hand were demanding that bottles of Ipecac be distributed to everyone left of center. The leader of the group, Chuck Tupp, stated, "We need this stuff because it is getting harder and harder to regurgitate the pap the Democratic party and the mainstream media keeps feeding us. It is the government's duty to supply us with Ipecac as part of health care entitlements."

Many Democrats have been looking at the news, listening to Dean, Polosi and Kerry and finding it hard to spit the talking points out. Some are not even swallowing the daily transcripts from the DNC.

Said one recent convert from Democrat to Republican, "I had to switch parties. I couldn't swallow the garbage any more. The dry heaves are not fun."

Pick Your Side!

You are faced with a choice. Which side will you pick? The side that gets scammed and loses money or the informed side?

Click here for the answer!!!

Christmas Jokes?

Thanks to Mild Mannered Reporter of the Rosemead Times for the inspiration on this post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A young lad crept up to his community's nativity scene and plucked the Baby Jesus from the manger. He ran home and hid the ceramic piece in his closet. Then going to his desk he started a letter.

"Dear Virgin Mary, If you want to see your Son again bring me a bike for Christmas."
~~~~~~~
OK, I know it is a an old joke. How about this one?
~~~~~~~
What kind of jerkwater town hires the village idiots to run it's libraries?

Memphis, Tennessee...
~~~~~~~
What? You don't think that is funny? Well every good joke has to have a bit of truth in it. The first joke is what the library officials in Memphis did. They plucked the Little Baby Jesus from his bed of straw. Woke Him out of a sound sleep too!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
World Net Daily has the story which I will summarize in the following few lines

Saying it would be "inappropriate" to include them, Memphis, Tenn., library officials have banned Mary, Joseph, Jesus and the wise men from a promotional nativity scene leaving only the stable animals and a shepherd boy.

According to a statement from Alliance Defense Fund, the controversy arose when Brandi Chambless, a member of the music ministry at Broadmoor Memphis Church, submitted an announcement for display on the library's community shelves regarding the church's upcoming Christmas show. Library officials accepted the announcement but told Chambless that she would have to remove the "inappropriate" figures of the baby Jesus, Joseph, Mary, and the wise men from an accompanying nativity scene and limit it to farm animals alone.

Now I don't know about you but I have to wonder about the IQ of these people and if it reaches the level of a cabbage? Well I guess it does come close to cabbage level because the so called 'library officials' have backed off after the news went out and the Alliance Defense Fund informed them that stupid is not the way 'librarian officials' should act.

In all fairness it was the Memphis Library Branch in the backwater town of Bartlett,Tennesseee where all this brouhaha took place not at the Memphis City Proper.

BUT WAIT!!!

The story is not over yet!!! Is this a great country or what? There is always more fun to be had!

WMCTV.com has a blurb on the story which gives credit to the Mayor of Bartlett for the resolution and does not mention the letter the ADF sent informing the parties about the Constitution of the United States. - Hmmm??? Would the station be ignorant of the ADF and their part in this? Does the Bartlett Branch of Memphis Library System have a copy of the Constitution on their shelves?

- quote from WMCTV.com - Brandi Chambless is one happy woman after hearing her nativity scene will be now allowed in the Bartlett Library. It took an order from Bartlett's mayor to put Christ back into this Christmas display. Chambless is thrilled, "It means so much and we're very thankful to the mayor for doing that." Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald heard the library had banned the religious figurines from a nativity display and would only allow barnyard animals to be shown. That's when he picked up the phone and called Betty Anne Wilson at the Central Library, "Mayor McDonald has requested the library put back the nativity scene at the Bartlett Branch library and the library is going to honor his request." That's great news to the folks at Broadmoor Baptist but Chambless says this crusade may not be over yet, "We don't believe it would be fair to have the citizens of Bartlett have one set of rules and have the citizens of Memphis have another set so we're gonna look at it a little closer." The concern is the Memphis library system still has a policy banning overt religious items from public display. Could that change? Wilson says the matter could be reviewed, "If someone asks us to review our policy we normally do but will we change our mind? That's hard to tell. It depends on a whole lot of circumstances both in the library and the city of Memphis." Right now, Brandi Chambless' priority is to put this figurine where she says it belongs, "We're going to go in and place this figurine in the window and I think that's a great step for us." But it may not be the last in this Christmas controversy. - end quote -

prying1 sez:

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

- Oh! Excuse me a moment. Someone is pounding on my front door and hollering in German.

Con Artist Caught

- 9 AUG 08 had a hit from N. Las Vegas via a Yahoo Search for David Napstead - PLEASE - Leave a comment if you would. -

~~~~~~

Last October I posted a blog on a con artist called "David Napstead". Typing the name into search engines brought up my post. AND a site from Kentucky saying he was on parole from that fair state. I had a few hits a week on the name mostly through Google and Yahoo search engines. I was able to watch the hits through Site Meter. It showed where the hits were coming from and I encourage you, Dear Reader, to get Site Meter. Quite a handy Blog tool!

One Google search for the name David Napstead was from New Zealand. How'd That Happen?

On my post I encouraged people reading it to comment on his whereabouts. A few did.

Wasn't until this evening that the message came through that The Wynn in Las Vegas was where the fun stopped for 'David'. I will recommend The Wynn as a place in Vegas that does not put up with nonsense. Something 'David' should have known.

Guess he didn't watch enough TV...

Update: - Comments have a way of disappearing so I thought I'd bring them up into the post itself. -

Comments follow:
~~~~~~~~~
Good post.
mild mannered reporter | Homepage | 12.09.05 - 5:44 am | #

Another thought. Good work on tracking this guy. A lot of criminals go to Las Vegas to blend in and scam, but Las Vegas has cameras everywhere. Good for Las Vegas. Take care.
mild mannered reporter | Homepage | 12.09.05 - 5:49 am | #

Seems to me if I were a crook Vegas is tha last place I'd go. I imagine there is more communication between the casinos than we know. The casinos want the money and are not about to share it with small time hoodlums.
prying1 | Homepage | 12.09.05 - 11:18 am | #

Casinos have some of the most high tech security available and they always update it and hire top quality people to man it.

Besides that they don't tolerate much nonsense.

Our friend should have stayed somewhere less watched
Ted Richardson | Homepage | 12.10.05 - 1:20 am | #

What do you mean "OUR" friend?
prying1 | Homepage | 12.10.05 - 10:15 pm | #

Could This Really Happen?

In the middle of the atheist meeting one member stood up to give a testimony.

"Gentlemen!" He said, "I wish to share with you that on the day I received nothing into my heart nothing happened! The guilt and shame I had felt for past offenses against others were left standing. Any relationships that were deteriorating due to my self centeredness continued to deteriorate. I felt nothing influencing me to live a better life. Nothing touched me and nothing changed. I want to recommend to you that you allow nothing to come into your heart and you too can experience nothing."

Whuz it mean?

It will do the reader well to consider this. The following paragraph would have been easily read and understood by well over 75% of the people in the New Land prior to the U.S. Constitution being authorized by the people. Education in the Colonies was that good at the time. School was mandatory and the students learned so that the common man, male or female, became educated.

Little challenge for you. Can you read through this one time and catch all that the writer meant?

James Madison wrote in the Federalist #51

But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.

Please leave a comment on your thoughts.

Buy Me One (OR BOTH) of These for Christmas!

Buddy of mine has a couple "Just Right Gifts" that I'm hoping one of you wonderful blog surfers will buy for me. Don't worry about the price. It is the thought that counts. If the pic is covered by the sidebar you can right click and view the full image...

1992 HARLEY DAVIDSON HERITAGE SOFTAIL.
Please don't forget I will need a helmet also. California has a brain bucket law.

OR

get this 1954 Chrysler Windsor Deluxe 2 Door Coupe for me and save on the helmet cost! Such a deal!

Lightninges also has a few other items on eBay that you might find interesting. (A Moto Cross ramp for example (at the time of this posting - Check near the bottom for open auctions) Cruise around his page and feel free to email him with questions. Lightninges Can Value Engineer Your Electrical Project And Save You $$$. Not to mention if you live in the Erie,PA area You can contact him about his eBay Trading Assistant Program.

FREE MONEY! I clicked the link...

What the line really said was, "Believe in Jesus?
We'll pay you $75 right now to complete a simple survey!

It was right between two other adverts for Islam. Well, I'm a Christian and not ashamed of it most of the time. (OK! I'm working on it. Still. After 35 years.) so I clicked on it wondering if my virus alert would go off. It didn't. (It should have!)

No Virus but no survey either.

What I got was a page for PaidSurveysOnline.com - (I'm somewhat loathe to put the link here but I feel it necessary for truth in blogging!)

So I read a bit of their spiel and then Googled - PaidSurveysOnline.com scam - Top'O'the List was GOOGLE'S OWN "Google Answers" - (and people are worried about Haliburton taking over the world. Pikers! prying1 sez. Google will be the AntiChrist!!!) - (read 'Late Great Planet Earth' by Hal Lindsey) -

BUT I DIGRESS!

I need not bore you with too many of the complaints. This line says it all:

- quote from Ripoff report.com - "I paid paidsurveysonline.com for surveys to make money and so far I have not receive any money I paid the amount of $34.95 on 10/11/2004 for surveys and to get paid to read email and for free samples and I
have been doing noting but filling out applications for surveys or
getting surveys that require me to keep buying thing that I don't have
the money for and I was told I would be receiving money right away and I haven't and its been a month an a half almost 2 months."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

prying1 sez: I would suggest first that 'Remedial English' is in order for David of Niles, Ohio (Author of the above sentence). And second, learn to Google a company name with the word scam after it! - Do this before you put your money down!!!

Piece Falls From Supreme Court Facade

From SFGate.com - A basketball-sized piece of marble moulding fell from the facade over the entrance to the Supreme Court, landing on the steps near visitors waiting to enter the building.

No one was injured when the stone fell. The marble was part of the dentil moulding that serves as a frame for the frieze of statues atop the court's main entrance. - end quote -

After reading this I wondered what the blogs had to say on it so I utilized Technorati.

SSquirel sez: - Quote - A large chunk of the facade of the US Supreme Court Church has crumbled and fallen away. Coincidence? Or is God sending us a sign? Either way it seems an appropriate commentary on the total lack of ethics and honesty reflected in Fearless Leader'’s latest nominations and Scalia'’s lame attempts to justify his political rulings and failure to recuse himself from ruling on cases in favor of Cheney and Bush and Repugs in general. - End Quote -

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The View from the Seven-and-a-Halfth Floor sez: According to a breaking news report on cnn.com, a large chunk of the marble facade of the United States Supreme Court fell off the building this morning. Far-right organizations like to argue that their narrow interpretation of the Bible belongs in our judicial branch, and they also like to argue that disasters are God's way of punishing us for our sins. Then what, I ask, will they say about the crumbling of the Supreme Court building? Could this be God's way of telling us that She doesn't want us to pack the Court with right-wing ideologues who use Her name to justify the abridging of civil rights?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

prying1 sez: This is proof that gravity works and shoddy workmanship is not something that just started when Bush was elected to his chair in the Oval Office.

P.S. I love the way Richie Jay has modified the gender of God. What is that all about?

Tecnorati Email Security Advisory

From Technorati Weblog

It recently came to our attention that the Technorati brand name is being used in an attempt to inject a virus onto Windows computers. Although I personally have not received these emails, Technorati takes these false emails seriously.

The email in question states that Technorati has suspended your email account, lists some reasons why this may have happened, and invites you to open an attached file for more details on how to reactivate your Technorati account. The attached file, "important-details.zip," contains the W32.Mytob.LD@mm virus, opening a back door on your computer, lowering security settings, and allowing your computer to be used by the attackers for local access or distributing other content online.

Washington Post Continues Pressing 'Bush Lied' Diatribe

Someone needs to let the Washington Post know that the 'Bush Lied' line is dead.
I heard a caller to Hugh Hewitt's Radio show ask the following question and I thought it a good one.

Where is the smoking gun evidence that President Bush was the only person in the world that KNEW Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction? Where is the evidence that Bush had that information and still went forward with WMD's as one of the points/reasons for invading Iraq?

The premise of the leftist/socialist argument that we are in a war that is a "mistake" is based on "No WMD's... - All the rest of the points are left out of their argument.

In the Washington Post OP-ED piece, The Phony War Against the Critics (Friday, November 25, 2005), Michael Kinsley proves this throughout his pro Saddam Hussein diatribe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~quote~~~~~~~~~~~
Interestingly, the administration no longer claims that Hussein actually had such weapons at the time Bush led the country into war in order to eliminate them. "The flaws in the intelligence are plain enough in hindsight," Cheney said on Monday. So-called WMD (weapons of mass destruction) were not the only argument for the war, but the administration thought they were a crucial argument at the time. So the administration now concedes that the country went to war on a false premise. Doesn't that mean that the war was a mistake no matter where the false premise came from?
~~~~~~~~~end quote~~~~~~~~~~

What Michael Kinsley does in this little paragraph is to make a statement, ignore it, and make a point based on his opinion. At least it was on the op-ed page this time instead of on the front page.

prying1 sez: Please don't worry about Michael's infecting the country with his Pro Murderous Thugs commentary. The Washington Post is fast losing readership.

The Post stands to lose millions of dollars in ad revenue because Hecht'’s, the last local department-store chain, is changing to Macy'’s, which will spend more of its ad dollars nationally. And the Post continues to lose readers. Sunday circulation has dropped 3.5 percent in the first half of 2005, falling below 1 million readers for the first time in years.

The day may soon come when Michael Kinsley and others on the Post will be vying for the Moron dot org crowd to read their blogspot posts.

US Marines Cross Syria Border

Hat Tip to AubreyJ Who links to DEBKAfile for this bit of news.

DEBKAfile Exclusive: - November 25, 2005, 12:27 AM (GMT+02:00) - US Marines are locked in battle with Syrian troops after crossing the border from Iraq into Syria at a point west of al Qaim



Both sides have suffered casualties. US soldiers crossed over after Damascus was given an ultimatum Thursday, Nov. 24, to hand over a group of senior commanders belonging to Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al Qaeda force. According to US intelligence, the group had fled to Syria to escape an American attack in Mosul. Syrian border guards opened fire on the American force.

prying1 sez: -

- ??? - re: reliability of this news. AubreyJ states, "First saw this news at Debkafile... who more times than not are right on their reporting." Glenn Reynolds states, "I wouldn't be surprised, but I don't trust Debka as a source."

Time and updates will tell. It appears to be over 10 hours since the original story and no other news sites that I could find have jumped on it.


I am hoping that Syria will do the right thing and work towards stopping terrorists and murderous thugs.

Reasons for Thanksgiving!

A good friend of mine posted this message on a bulletin board we frequent. I thought it something that you, dear readers, might like to snatch from the Internet and pass along to friends and/or enemies.

Good Morning Everyone.....Happy Thanksgiving!
I know most of you will be busy cooking, visiting and eating today.....And I hope your day is filled with wonderful blessings!
Rather than write my own reasons for being thankful....I thought I would copy this email that I received from a friend yesterday. While it was hardly traditional, it hit home and made more sense that lots of other things I have read in the past.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!


We are Thankful:
FOR THE WIFE
WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME,
AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

FOR THE HUSBAND
WHO IS ON THE SOFA
BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME
AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.


FOR THE TEENAGER
WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES
BECAUSE IT MEANS HE IS AT HOME,
NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES I PAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM EMPLOYED.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING,
WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,
AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.


FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING
I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT MEANS
WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH..

FOR THE PARKING SPOT
I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING
AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION .

FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM WARM.

FOR T HE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH
WHO SINGS OFF KEY BECAUSE IT MEANS
I CAN HEAR.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.


FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES
AT THE END OF THE DAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN
CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF
IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.


AND FINALLY, FOR TOO MUCH E-MAIL
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE
FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME.

Each and everyone of us has something special to be grateful for, and these days, I am finding the "silver linings" in the littlest clouds as well as the big ones.
I did want to thank you all for your daily contributions to this column, for your thoughts and helpful advice to all, but mostly for your friendship and camaraderie, which makes Ranchoweb such a great place to come to every single day of the year! Somedays, this is the only place I can find a smile....Or a helpful, kind ear to listen when life has my knickers in a twist! You are all the VERY BEST!
I wish you all a year of joys and happiness, and MANY successful eBay auctions!
HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!!!!! Maureen :)

P.S.

Some wonderful gift ideas on - Maureen's eBay auctions-

Pure Luck!

Luck?

A 55-year-old man who was born on May 5, has been married 5 years, has 5 children, makes $55,555.55 a year, who's lucky number is 5 receives a phone call from a friend.

The friend informs the man that a horse named Lucky 5 will be running in the fifth race at the local track that evening. Excitedly, the man withdraws 5,555.55 cash from his bank account, goes to the races and bets on Lucky 5 to win.

Sure enough, the horse comes in fifth.

I'm Sick of the Liberal Lies!

What set me off is Liberalforum.org had a post on a - Petition in Support of McCain Amendment to Stop Torture by American Troops - Reading the comments to this ticked me off because it once again showed the ignorance and continual repetition of the liberal talking points without regard for the truth. My comment to their post is as follows.

During the VietNam war the socialist faction in this country (Including John Kerry) brought out all kinds of stories of atrocities our troops were committing against the South VietNamese. During the last election the Swift Boat Vets showed how Kerry and his ilk lied and the lie was believed for more than 30 years. - Those who prefer the truth now know that VietNam vets did not eat dead burnt babies.

I know people that are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Good people that are trying to make a positive difference in the peoples lives over there. You and your ilk are merely repeating the same diatribe of the flower children of the 70's. 30 years from now history will show how much of your noise is just that. Noise.

One reason I cannot stand the liberal left is because of the dishonesty they continually shower on the world.

Example from comment above: [following was cut and pasted from a very eloquent liberal - prying1] quote - In Iraq right now, people have freedoms..yay for them!! but oh wait they dont have running water, sparse electricy... jobs whats that? and they now live with violance everywhere. - end quote -

These same people had violence under Sadamm. Would you have him brought back and placed back in power? I've asked that of many liberals and they hem and haw about the fact that Iraq and the world IS better off without Sadamm in power.

Running water under Sadamm - quote from - http://www.harvard-magazine.com/on-line/010538.html
When Saddam and his increasingly Sunni-focused regime went after the wetlands, his primary target was its human inhabitants, a quarter of a million or more Marsh Arabs, or Ma'dan, so called —Shi'ites. They lived in watery harmony with their environment, in homes made of reeds on artificial mud-and-reed islands or on the banks of the marshes, as their predecessors had for millennia. With reason, Saddam saw the Marsh Arabs as disloyal, unmanageable, and hard to catch in their refuge of reeds. His efforts to erase them and their habitat began in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq War and accelerated following a failed Shiite uprising after the Gulf War in 1991. He napalmed their houses, strafed them from helicopters, blew them up, and killed them by the tens of thousands. He slaughtered their water buffalo and cattle, poisoned the water to eradicate the fish, and burned the reed beds. Those marsh dwellers who weren't exterminated were displaced from their homes at gunpoint again and again. Rape and torture were commonplace. Many Marsh Arabs fled to refugee camps in Iran. Today, their population has shrunk to an estimated 80,000. - end quote - Now we have water flowing back in! - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4284195.stm -

Electricity is being restored. The infrastructure was ruined before we got there. It will take time to run the wires.

Jobs: (Watch this space grow!) http://www.iraqdirectory.com/en/

Prying1 sez:
Another thing that really burns me about these people is that many of them were frothing at the mouth to torture Terri Schiavo through dehydration and starvation. As Andrew C. McCarthy wrote Concerning Terri in National Review Online "She'’d be better off if she were a terrorist."

Great Sermon!

Wonderful sermon last Sunday. Really hit home with me and I'm certain that others in the church at the time must have felt their spirits move a step closer in their walks with the Lord. My pastor, Barry Griffing, Jubilee Fellowship in Torrance CA, is big on praise and worship which is a good thing because Scripture clearly teaches that it is. A good thing that is. Well, the sermon was about "Uni-tasking".

These days Multi-tasking is exalted. A Bank of America commercial shows a busy mom feeding her children breakfast, paying her bills online, getting them ready for school and smiling all the while. Compare commercials and movies of today with those of 10, 20 and 30 or more years ago. Speedy of the Alka Seltzer commercials is too slow for today's audience. Images flash and scream past our eyes compared to then. Gatorade commercials top the list as far as I'm concerned but that is just "One man's opinion".

Watch the way some people with the remote control flip through TV channels and depending on their attention span spend either a few seconds or less than a minute on each channel. Short attention spans of children are diagnosed as ADD and the kids are medicated. The list goes on...

I could say more on this but I don't want to lose your attention.

Now, on to the Uni-tasking. When someone learns any sport what is it their coach has them do? Repetition of the same moves. Running through tires, throwing, catching jumping... When a person learns dance the instructor will have them doing the same movements until muscles ache. Learning music involves running through scales until the neighbors throw rocks through windows. The results of this uni-tasking style of practice is a wonderful athlete, dancer or musician. Without it mediocre would be too good a word for the results.

If we want excellence we need to apply uni-tasking before expecting excellence.

The Scripture passage Pastor Barry applied to this concerned Mary and Martha having Jesus over for dinner.
(From Luke Chapter 10:38-42 -NIV-)
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Thanks to Kris for the pic (see comment # 2)

Note in this passage Martha is multi-tasking. (Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.) Mary is uni-tasking. (Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.) - Jesus reproved Martha's actions not because he had a big ego, liked to talk and needed a bigger audience but because he knew Martha was really hurting herself through her addiction to multi-tasking. ("you are worried and upset about many things..." - Implied was, "Just sit and listen for a while...") Multi-tasking can bring with it worry, anxiety, depression, obsessive/compulsive behaviour. None of which are good for the human body. Another name for multi-tasking could be "The Martha Syndrome".

The sermon's real point was that we need to be uni-tasking. I think the high point of the sermon was Pastor Barry's lines defining Uni-tasking as doing the one (1) thing God wants us to do (to be doing) right now. This very moment in time. This very second. Would it be for us to be multi-tasking and be filled with anxiety or uni-tasking and listening to His voice? -

prying1 sez: Remember! Practice makes perfect.

ACLU Advisory from Sacred Cow!

image permanently borrowed (until they demand payment) from: Sacred Cow Burgers dot Com

P.S. I'm not responsible for anything you might find on their page. I will admit to laughing a lot but that is it! All lawsuits resulting from clicking on the above link should be directed against the A.C.L.U. -

P.S.to P.S. Any GRATUITIES FOR ME FROM PAYMENTS from any lawsuit from winning against the A.C.L.U. as a result of clicking on the link can be sent to my PayPal account as opposed to Sacred Cow...

Who Gets the Credit?

"It is the soldier, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, who salutes the flag,
who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag."

Father Dennis Edward O'Brian, USMC

Hat Tip to AubreyJ at AubreyJ.org -

Who gives a Hat tip to Amy P at Follow the Evidence, wherever it leads

AubreyJ says: Amen Father O'Brian

I (prying1) concur.

Did I Miss Something?

Christmas has come early this year.

I'm not counting the one time in July that I was shopping and said to a woman pushing a basket past me, "Do you hear that?"

"What?"

"The music."

She listens to the canned music from the speakers overhead. She laughs. I laugh. Strains of Christmas songs were coming from on high. We shared our faith for a few moments and continued on our separate ways.
.....
What I'm really writing about is that it seems the stores have skipped a major American holiday. The day before Halloween I saw one store pulling down the haunting displays, setting the trick or treat candy on sale and putting up yuletide decorations.

I asked one of the employees what happened to Thanksgiving. He said, "I just work here, I don't make decisions." He seemed a bit embarrassed about the task he was performing. I don't blame him at all. I'd be doing the same thing were I to have his job. You do what the boss tells you. Although I don't think I would be full of Christmas Cheer while doing it. I'd be mumbling imprecations beneath my breath about the 'suits' stealing Thanksgiving.

Not only is Christmas early this year the Grinch has come early too. This time he stole the only national holiday designed to thank the Living God for all of His grace, mercy and blessings...

Bio Weapons in the Mail

Quote from New Scientist -

YOU might think it would be difficult for a terrorist to obtain genes from the smallpox virus, or a similarly vicious pathogen. Well, it's not. Armed with a fake email address, a would-be bioterrorist could probably order the building blocks of a deadly biological weapon online, and receive them by post within weeks.

That's the sobering reality uncovered by a New Scientist investigation into the bioterror risks posed by the booming business of gene synthesis. Dozens of biotech firms now offer to synthesize complete genes from the chemical components of DNA (See "A dollar a base pair"). Yet some are carrying out next to no checks on what they are being asked to make, or by whom. It raises the frightening prospect of terrorists mail-ordering genes for key bioweapon agents such as smallpox, and using them to engineer new and deadly pathogens.

Customers typically submit sequences by email or via a form available on a company's website. The companies then construct the specified genes and mail them back a few weeks later, usually spliced into a bacterium such as Escherichia coli. New Scientist approached 16 such firms, identified by a Google search, to ask whether they screened orders for DNA sequences that might pose a bioterror threat. Of the 12 companies that replied, just five said they screen every sequence received. Four said they screen some sequences, and three admitted not screening sequences at all (see Table).

The risks posed by gene synthesis first hit the headlines in 2002, when a team from the State University of New York at Stony Brook made infectious polioviruses from synthetic DNA. And just last month, researchers with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, said that they had used similar means to recreate the virus that caused the 1918 flu (New Scientist, 8 October, p 16). - end quote -

Hopefully the companies in question will tighten security but don't expect all of them too. Security costs money and that might bite into profits.

prying1 sez: What can we do as individuals whose lives are far away from this problem?

Only 2 things I can think of. The first is to pray. My prayer is that all the schemes of terrorists blow up in their faces. The second is to realize the there really is a threat. Support the worldwide war against these thugs and murderers. The term "War on Terrorism" has almost become a cliche'. Some politicians placate and coddle these animals. Boot those politicians out!

The war against terrorism is producing good results we cannot see. Every time a terrorist is killed or taken off the street that is one less act of terrorism perpetrated against humanity. That is something that cannot be measured.

"So what? It doesn't affect me!" some might say. That might have some truth in it today. Maybe tomorrow also. - But it would no longer be true after a bomb goes off near you or yours... Or after a bio-terrorist plot hits your town...

Habits

No. Not the kind nuns wear. The kind that have you doing things without really thinking about it.

When I get home from work I take off my work shoes just inside the front door. I then slide my feet into a pair of comfortable slippers. Ahhh! Much better.

Tonight after I got home and ate dinner I went to drop a couple packages off at the LAX Post Office. I think it is the only Post Office in the world that stays open until 11:00 o'clock at night. Anyway, I decided to just keep my slippers on because I wasn't planning on seeing anyone I hoped to impress. Not that my work shoes would impress them.

Got home from there and what did I do? I took off my slippers and put on my work shoes.

It was close to an hour later that I realized my feet did not have that 'Ahhh!' feeling that lives inside the slippers. Another few moments of scratching my pate to realize what had happened.

Then I started to think about how many other times in my life I've let habits carry me away from where I should be. Too many to enumerate and many times it would be too embarrassing to recount the full stories. One thing I have found though is that in spite of it all I have a way to get back on track.

Someone, you see, whom I met years ago, has been a closer friend than a brother. He is always one up on me and is always willing to help me get back on track. Although he finds my behavior repugnant at times he still sticks with me. He promised me he would never leave me nor forsake me.

Some of you reading this have guessed already because you too have met this same friend. Funny how he gets around. Little did I know when I invited Jesus into my heart in January of '71 that 34 years later I would still feel the same sense of awe that the story is true. He died for my sins. He rose again. He is still alive!!!

New PayPal Trojan Horse

Found this bit of info on WebsenseSecurityLabs.com -

Quote - Websense Security Labs has received reports of a new attack that targets users of PayPal. The attack begins with a spoofed email phishing message that provides a link to download the executable "PayPal security tool" file. The executable, named 'PayPal-2.5.200-MSWin32-x86-2005.exe', is a Trojan Horse which modifies the DNS server of the local workstation and then deletes itself. All future requests for 'paypal.com' will be transparently redirected to a phishing website. This same DNS server could also be used to redirect requests for additional websites, but it currently appears to only redirect 'paypal.com'.

The next time the user attempts to visit the PayPal website, they will instead arrive at a phishing site. The web address shown in the browser's toolbar will appear to be correct. Upon log in, the phishing site will request the user update their account. They are prompted to enter the following information: Name, Credit/ATM Card, Billing Address, Phone Number, Social Security Number, Mother's Maiden Name, Date of Birth, Driver's License, and Bank Account/Routing Numbers.

The Trojan Horse is currently not detected by any anti-virus vendors. The malicious DNS server is hosted in Romania while the phishing server is hosted in India. Both were online at the time of this alert.

prying1 sez:
Please pass this info on to anyone you know that utilizes PayPal. Post it to bulletin boards too!

How Stupid Are They?

Got a spoof PayPal email today. - 3Nov05 -

We are contacting you to remind you that: on 30 November 2005 our Account Review Team identified some unusual activity in your account, one or more attempts to log in to your PayPal account from a foreign IP address.

It then gives a chart showing times and dates some supposed hackers from Poland and Romania attempted to hack into my account. Had this been a real email from PayPal I would have thought, "Great! My password works! So why change it?"

Now even I know that many people will not read the entire text but when a spoof comes dated nearly a month ahead of time I think even the biggest blockhead will say, Hey! Wait a minute..."

Needless to say my reaction to this con was the same as always. Forward the email to spoof@paypal.com and scams@fraudwatchinternational.com - Go to PhishFighting.com and submit the phony website into the little box.

I have to wonder if there is anyone left in this world that does not know about spoofing and phishing scams. I guess there is because these con artists spend a lot of time and trouble to put these emails out. There must be a return or they would not waste their time.

prying1 sez: Be careful out there. Gobs of predators are on the Internet. Remind your friends, neighbors and acquaintances to watch their steps too.

Sidetracked Again!

As I sit here at my computer I have to wonder if I'm the only one or are others subject to the problem of getting sidetracked?

I have seen an email making the rounds of a person who decides the plants need watering and while going to get the water notices the remote control for the TV is in the kitchen and really needs to go in the living room by the TV and on the way to the living room finds the missing pair of glasses along with yesterdays mail and there is a bill that must be paid today or there will be late charges so where is the checkbook?... It goes on until the day is over and nothing is done.

I can really relate to that email.

I'll set down to list some items on eBay and decide to search the name of the book and check what other booksellers are selling it for. Next thing you know I'm purchasing some other book by the same author to add to my collection. A few days later I am the proud owner of two books and still have not listed the first.

So when I do get a round to it I'll list them together. That means I'll save a lot of time. I need to save time to make up for all the time I waste.

For my auctions I take pictures of items and upload them to the internet so I'm not dependent on EBay's costly service. Plus I use the same service for the items I sell at YardSale Pirate. Real easy. I take the pics, crop and size them and place the finished .jpg's in a folder reserved for them. Go to Ranchoweb.com and upload them. Nothing to it.

BUT

Ranchoweb.com has a message board I frequent. I have to check the boards before I upload my pictures. One of the members there had posted pics of a huge model plane she has had for years. But, she says, no identifying marks, it has no propellers or any way you could attach an engine for flying it. Plus it is much heavier than any model she has handled. It is not plastic or balsa wood. Much too heavy to ever actually fly. "What is it?", she asks. Ideas are flung about as people weigh in as to it's make etc. It is a DC-3 says one friend who posts a picture as proof. Another suggests it was a wind tunnel model. That set me off.

To Google I go! A bit of playing with a few keywords and shazammm I find a picture of a DC3 in a wind tunnel. Did you know they place the test model planes upside down for wind tunnel tests? Learn something new everyday as the saying goes. So I get to take the picture back to Ranchoweb, post it and the next day when the model's owner visits the board she agrees it is her plane or one like it.

In the meantime I sit with a pile of books next to me. The pictures are still on my computer instead of uploaded to the internet. Very few items actually listed and it is time to hit the hay.

I've come to the realization that I will never get anything done if I continually allow myself to be distracted like this. So now I've decided I must prioritize my life. How to do that? One way that has been suggested to me is to make notes of things I must do and number them 1 - 2 - 3... THEN STICK TO THE LIST!

I've got a pad of paper and pencil (in case I need to change the order of the numbers) Oh! The pencil needs sharpening. Have to go to the kitchen drawer for the sharpener. As long as I'm going to the kitchen I really should get some water for this plant by my bookshelf.

Cute Pic

I saw this entitled

- WAITING FOR THE MAILMAN -

& thought I'd share it. -

Thanks to ebarry for this post...

Piglet Must Go!!!

The American Princess has posted a piece on, of all things, piggy banks and piggy toys. - Quite a wonderful read. You will have to go to her site to catch the whole story and conclusions I agree with.

It seems that pigs are being banned from ever appearing anywhere a muslum might show up. Heaven forbid they might die at the moment their eyes focus on a pig and the be denied their 72 virgins.

By the way. What do muslum wimmen get when they die?

David E. Napstead - Con Artist Loose in California

Attention visitors to this post. Feel free to comment!
- It can be done anonymously - Your message might help someone else down the line.
Thanks - prying1 -

9 AUG 08 had a hit from N. Las Vegas via a Yahoo Search for David Napstead - PLEASE - Leave a comment if you would.

Good news for Kentucky that David E. Napstead was last seen working out of the Los Angeles area of California. - [UPDATE] Anonymous left a message that David E. Napstead was seen working (if you want to call it that) in Reno Nevada - [End Update] Kentucky Parole Board released David Napstead from Adair County prior to 9/14/2005 - According to this link (best seen through Internet Explorer and perhaps subject to change)- Kentucky Parole Eligibility Listing - July 2005 - David E. Napstead was given parole from prison in Kentucky for:

NAPSTEAD DAVID E CD178893 04CR00014 THEFT FAIL MAKE REQ DISP/PROP >$100 09/20/04
NAPSTEAD DAVID E CD178893 04CR00095 THEFT BY DECEPTION > $ 300 12/28/04

The name "Napstead" comes up close to a blank in Google.

I have a feeling Kentucky was scammed by an alias!

I work in a printing shop near the LAX airport - L.A. California -

On 9-26-05 a man identifying himself as David E. Napstead came in and ordered business cards for Primetime Cellular - The name on the card is David Napstead

- He first paid the down payment ($20.00) with cash and asked if he could redeem the cash with a check for payment in full when he picked up the cards. Trusting souls that our shop was we agreed.

Needless to say the check bounced big time with "Account Closed" on it.

Calling the number on the card gets a message that the owner of the number "is not accepting calls at this time." - That message might change as he utilizes more scams.

The reason I am posting all of this is to let people typing David Napstead or David E. Napstead into Google know that they have dealt with or are dealing with a small time scam artist. "Primetime Cellular" as of this date and time (via Google search with quotes) does not appear to be a real company in any way shape or form.

Our shop apologizes for allowing this scammer to have the business cards and we should have known something was fishy but that is the problem with small time thieves. They often times appear to be honest and trustworthy but in reality their hearts are filled with some of the most vile of the seven deadly sins. Greed and Sloth are evident in David E. Napstead's life.

I would suggest if you have knowledge of his whereabouts or have been one of his victims you contact your local police department and file a report. Hopefully your loss was small and I pray that you pray for his salvation.

That will be the only way his life is changed! And the only way others will not be scammed...

Update: - Comments have a way of disappearing sometimes So I thought I'd bring them into the post content. -
Comments follow:
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I have a guy named David Napstead chained to the wall in my cellar.I've got a recording down there playing old Barry Mantilow and Beach Boy songs 24/7.
Quantumthought | Homepage | 10.28.05 - 6:21 pm | #

This guy turned up in Reno, Nv. Scamming people in local bars.
Anonymous | 11.14.05 - 7:57 pm | #

QuantumThought - Switch from the Beach Boys to Tom Jones -

Anonymous - Would be nice to have a pic. - Any chance??? -
prying1 | Homepage | 11.14.05 - 11:44 pm | #

This gentleman is in Reno, NV ripping off car dealerships and running the same scams. Steer clear!
Nichoel Seymour | 11.18.05 - 5:36 pm | #

Recent visitors to this posting show that Carmichael, California has someone searching through Google for the name David Napstead. Hmmm. Who will snatch a pic of him for me to post?
prying1 | Homepage | 11.30.05 - 11:35 pm | #

Saw Napstead in Las Vegas 12/4/05, dining at Okada at the Wynn Casino. He ordered the $150 kobe beef teppanyaki. He told us he played for the Oakland A's for seven years before a motorcycle accident a couple of years ago sidelined his career. Said he was staying in a parlor suite at the Wynn while he was opening his 12th Primetime Cellular store--this one at the Fashion Show Mall. He claimed the other stores were in the SF South Bay. He tried to sell us (and the people at the next table) $400 Sprint Samsung phones that just came out--but at his cost of $150. I don't think anyone bit. Very interesting to read that he's a scammer! I didn't get a photo of him, but he looks like a light-skinned hispanic man, of average or less than average height and slight build.
Anonymous | 12.07.05 - 5:04 pm | #

We were sitting across the table from him and can verify the above womans comment. So obvious a braggard we were embarrassed for him, smart looking him up "Ms. bureaucrat" before falling for a scam, good job. Who the hell would pay $150 for a piece of meat unless you were rich or using free money. My wife commented to me that night why this guy would not sign the dinner check to his parlor suite with the 50" plasma as he was bragging about. Look at the above comments description and add short crewcut close to balding (very thin on top) and fast talking squeaky/high pitch voice. Definitely raised our attention when he said he played for the A's as he did not look the tall athletic type at all. Beware anyone of this description trying to sell you cell phone delivered to your door.
anonymous | 12.07.05 - 6:32 pm | #

Mr. Napstead was arrested on the evening of Tuesday, December 6, 2005 at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel. Kentucky authorities are on their way to pick him up and take him back to prosecute.

Wynn Las Vegas Company Official
Anonymous | 12.07.05 - 9:35 pm | #

Thanks Mr. Wynn Las Vegas Company Official - I do hope the Kentucky Authorities do a better job of checking this joker's past and find out who he really is. I have a feeling the Napstead name is an alias.
prying1 | Homepage | 12.07.05 - 10:52 pm | #

Gravatar I'd also like to thank the two anonymous commenters for their part in seeing this character removed from the streets.

A prayer for Mr. Napstead:

Lord, Reach this man and change his heart. - Amen.
prying1 | Homepage | 12.09.05 - 11:22 am | #

I say reach him, but rather with a very blunt object to the side of the head!
Reach his victims by repaying their losses!
anonymous | 12.19.05 - 8:42 pm | #

anonymous - I agree up to a point. A bip upside the skull might get him to think a bit but in the long run he would be back to his old ways in no time.

This character is only going to continue costing society unless he gets a change of heart or until someone really gets pissed off and kills him. I do not think he deserves the death penalty. From my experience the change of heart only comes through a relationship with the Living God.

He is intellegent and could make a very decent living without stealing but has chosen the easy way out. Con artists really do not have to work because the impulse in men's hearts is to get something for nothing (or very little). With that promise a gullible person will part with the contents of their wallet every time.

I know this because I had a good friend that worked all kinds of scams.
Getting free money was like taking drugs to him. He was addicted and refused to get Jesus in his heart because he knew that God did not want him to steal. (he did believe but would not receive...)
prying1 | Homepage | 12.19.05 - 10:56 pm | #

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*****
Update 9 Aug 08 - Bringing comments onto the main page in case they get lost. *** 9 AUG 08 had a hit from N. Las Vegas from a Yahoo Search for David Napstead - The following comments reach back to Sept, 06

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Quite a few visitors from Vegas lately coming through this page - (6-15-06) - Leave a comment if you've found this info useful in any way. -

Really I'm just curious of why the sudden resurgence of interest in Mr. Napstead?
prying1 | Homepage | 06.15.06 - 5:33 pm | #

Gravatar Well Kentucky did not do a good job of holding him then. Mr. Napstead was back in Las Vegas his past few weeks running scams about he does debt consolidation and promising people to help them pay a bill and then you giving him half and the paying the rest when you can. He targeted people that where in debt bad. But the scam is he would pay from a Bank of America bank account with check debit and show you that the balance was 0, get your money and then leave. Problem was 2 days later these people where contacted and told there was insufficent funds in that account. And that there payments needed to be paid again, on top of this he was stealing stuff from the houses of the people he befriended. But he was once again discovered due to this board and was arrested at Denny's on W. Sahara today. He has several warrants for his arrest in Kentucky and is in the Clark County Jail without bail, and the exradition hearings to take place. But anyone running into him his birthdate is 3/30/1971 as listed on the Kentucky Parole Board website. He was carrying a California drivers license listing his adderess of 37089 Spruce St still. Everyone beware, this individual has no conscience about taking your money.
Anonymous | 06.16.06 - 4:03 pm | #

Gravatar Thanks Anonymous - Curiosity satisfied - Anyone who has a claim against Mr. Napstead might want to contact the LVPD. Not that you necessarily will collect anything but your testimony might keep him behind bars a bit longer!
prying1 | Homepage | 06.16.06 - 5:29 pm | #

Gravatar Your welcome, and here is the record from Clark County Detention

Inmate In-Custody Status
ID: 01198815
Name: NAPSTEAD, DAVID EDWARD
Age: 35
Race: White
Sex: Male
Case: 06F11490X
Charge: FUGITIVE
Status: Active
Related Case:
Arrest Date: 6/16/2006
Detainer: N
Cash Bail: $0
Surety Bail: $0
Housing: Call (702) 671-5700
Sched Department: INITAL HEARING
Sched Action: FUGITIVE REVIEW
Sched Date:6/20/2006
Sched Time: 7:30 AM

Courtesy of this website:
http://redrock.co.clark.nv.us/ cc...todySearch.aspx
Anonymous | 06.16.06 - 7:23 pm | #

Gravatar Mr. Napstead is in jail in las vegas as of 6-19-06 thanks to Nationwide Realty. They did a number on him he'll never forget. This man was finally coned and was left with nothing but problems. It was done VEGAS style just like the movies. I even felt bad for him, the poor guy is looking mighty funny these days. God forgives the brotherhood dosent.
Steve | 06.23.06 - 1:32 am | #

Gravatar Now I've had a visitor from Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada - Sep 17 2006 7:31:37 pm - 8 minutes 11 seconds spent on the page - Referred from a Google search - Buzzwords = david napstead -

Don't tell me he is up to his old tricks again but has left the U.S.A.

God save the Queen! (or whatever line they use up there...)
prying1 | Homepage | 09.17.06 - 9:17 pm | #

Search Engines and Blogging

Just stopped by Sitemeter.com and checked some of the records they keep. One thing they do is keep track of some of the ways visitors are referred to my pages. For example I could see that my posting called Katrina Pics pulls up one of my posts quite often. Sorry to all the visitors. All I did was link to aka.alias and mentioned that there were some Katrina pics there but The Photo Album had some really beautiful pics. I Hope they check out some of the photographs there. Much prettier than Katrina Pics...

My post on the scam called the Rife Bare Cancer treatment gets a couple hits a month. - I hope it keeps some people from wasting their money and may the perps starve for lack of customers...

Terri Schiavo is one of the main news items I've blogged about that people look for through various search engines. I've a few post concerning her and the ungodly way she was murdered and I guess some of the search engines still have me near the top concerning her.

AOL search has me third in line for the word Muslum. I had some joker tell me I misspelled the word. All I can say is that I can show him books from the last century where they were called musselmen. (I believe it was pronounced Moo-sell-men at the time.) So the name is not written in stone. I replied to him that I was spelling it the right way for the next century. - - He was not amused. - - I'll keep on spelling it the way I want to. I'm self centered that way.

A couple of posts I did on toilets - 1 - and - 2 - Get hits from the term Toilet Humor being typed into the searchers. Looking back on one of those posts I see that Yahoo has removed the pages and the pics are no longer available. - Guess next time I'll save the pics and upload them to Ranchoweb. - Be sure to click on number 2 above and save to favorites for a slow day. Quite a wonderful read. Really funny stuff!

Sometimes it is obvious what the person is looking for. 'Katrina Pics' is a perfect example of that. I've got to wonder what the visitors from 'Toilet Humor' searches are really looking for.

As for one recent searching visitor who came through Yahoo's engines I'm not even going to speculate the motives. At least not for too long. Why would anyone type in - 'eBay Auctions Spankings' - ??? - Oh well! The prying1 blog placed number 10 on the list. Whoo Hoo! Just wish they had left a comment. Maybe my post just wasn't what they expected or hoped for...

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prying1 sez - Check the sitemeter link at the bottom of the page if you would like to get an idea of where your traffic comes from. - It can be entertaining and it is free.

Sorry About That Chief!

Don Adams has passed away.

The closest I could say I've been to the man was on a day my mom came home from Hollywood Park Race Track

- We take this moment to divert your attention to this Advert - Check out Hollywood Park Memorabilia here! -

Sorry for the interruption. I have to make a buck here and there for buying shoes and milk for the baby...

OK! Mom came home from Hollywood Park. She tells me that Don Adams was at a table near her. In the 'super star section' reserved for heavy bettors. She was invited to this section by a friend that made bets like Don Adams was doing on this particular day. Both her friend and Don Adams were tearing up tickets with disgusted looks.

Meanwhile Mom was just betting the way anyone should. - Sample of WINNING BETTOR'S THINKING - Hmmm. Forge Up in the 5th race - Hmmm. When I was in the fourth (which sounds sort of like Forge) or fifth grade (fifth race) I remember learning that Excelsior meant "Ever upward" that should place the horse in first because up is on top - And Aimed 4 First Hmmmm... Aimed... Amy... I remember Amy in fourth grade got second place in the spelling bee
- That must be place. -

Here boy!

Back in the 60's in L.A. from whence this story comes The term 'boy' had no evil nor racial connotations to it. The boy answering was not upset with the term. We don't even know his ethnicity. He was only the quickest runner waiting nearby in hopes of a tip. Upon his receipt of the $6.00 and the bidding slip I'm certain his hopes faded but he fulfilled his duties. Others in the area in which mom sat placed bids with hundred dollar bills. Both she and they would receive their wagering ticket prior to the gate opening. All wager tickets would have the race number and the horse's number stamped on it. All would have different values attached. That is prior to the race.

But

Only until after the third horse crossed the wire and the judges affirmed that not too much hanky panky went on would it be decided which slips of paper increased in value. The others would become worthless.

My mom came home with more money than she had left with. She had gathered from the torn tickets she had seen on the ground around the tables about her that her method of betting had worked this time. She doubted it's efficacy for the next. Chance can take directions as can a bird in flight. That is the main point I had learned from her tale.

Her mention that Don Adams had been there is the closest I have ever personally come to the man. I will say that impersonally, through his legacy of film, he has left us all closer than a table away.

Used Books are a 2 Billion Dollar Industry

Buddy of mine has an Internet Auction Site Blog. Lot of news items for those who like to purchase stuff online. In fact it motivated him to start the YardSalePirate.com site you can see advertised on my right hand column. Thanks to the Bidreaper for the heads up on this story from 28Sept2005 WWW.Boston.Com

Used Books are a 2 Billion Dollar Industry - Highlights from the article are:

- Quote (italics are mine) -

...a landmark study released Wednesday confirms what publishers, authors and booksellers have believed -- and feared -- since the rise of the Internet: Used books have become a modern powerhouse, driven by high prices for new works and by the convenience of finding any title, new or old, without leaving your home.

According to the Book Industry Study Group (BISG), used book sales topped $2.2 billion in 2004, an 11 percent increase over 2003. Much of that growth can be credited to the Internet. While used sales at traditional stores rose a modest 4.6 percent, they jumped 33 percent online, to just over $600 million.

"I think consumers are increasingly starting to notice that they can get used books in good condition, in a timely manner," says Jeff Hayes, a director at InfoTrends, a market research firm that served as the principal analyst for the BISG study.

More than 111 million used books were purchased last year, representing about one out of every 12 overall book purchases. By the end of the decade, the percentage is expected to rise to one out of 11, a troubling trend when sales for new works are essentially flat; authors and publishers receive no royalties from used buys.

"Obviously, these are not statistics to warm the heart of publishers," says Simon & Schuster spokesman Adam Rothberg.

The BISG, a nonprofit organization supported by publishers, booksellers and others in the industry, reports that price is the greatest appeal for choosing used books over new ones. While hardcovers often cost $25 and higher, used books purchased in 2004 averaged $8.12 -- except for text books, which averaged $42.31.
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The BISG study raises other questions, such as how publishers can respond to the used market. Jane Friedman CEO of HarperCollins rejects the idea of lowering prices, but acknowledges that she has no specific solution. "It's something we've looked at for a long time," she says.

The study also does not resolve a fundamental dispute over used books: Are they hurting the market for new books, as many publishers and authors believe? Or, as retailers say, do they simply enable customers to acquire books they otherwise wouldn't have purchased?

"But there may be an upside, because a consumer might buy a used book by a certain author, and like it enough to buy the author's next book. So at this point, the impact is hard to quantify."

prying1 sez: Thanks again to Bidreaper and especially toBoston.com for the story!

- Raising prices to make up for lost profits will only lead to more lost profits. These outfits like the one Jane Friedman runs ought to jump on the bandwagon instead of watching the parade go by. - Is HarperCollins any relation to Tom Collins? Might think so from her quote...

Why Spotty Cell Phone Reception!

NewsMax.com sends out a newsletter with highlighted news articles. - Subscribe here for free. - This is from one email I received in my mailbox that I though I would share.

Cell Phone Woes: Here's Why They Don't Work

Wonder why cell phone reception can be so bad in the U.S.?

Don't blame technology - it's a matter of economics, several experts maintain.

"Carriers would rather spend money on ads starring Catherine Zeta-Jones than on improving infrastructure," Christopher Null, editor in chief of Mobile, told the publication Wired.

"Instead of expanding into areas where coverage is spotty, companies are increasingly taking the cheap way out by leasing equipment and tower space from other companies.

"The result is that, eventually, your service will sound pretty much the same no matter which carrier you subscribe to."

Consumer advocate Morgan Jindrich, director of HearUsNow.org, has a similar view.

He said there's no economic incentive for carriers to improve service once they have a customer locked into a long service contract.

"So consumers have to be smart and take advantage of the trial periods that companies offer," he told Wired.

"You generally have 15 days from the time you sign up to make sure your phone's reception is OK in the areas you need it."

prying1 sez: Perhaps complaining to the phone companies about the wasted money going to airhead stars might help. Seems that a simple ad blitz showing towers going up would be cheaper and more effective.

Maybe It's a Guy Thing

This pic is making the email rounds. Thought I'd post it in case you missed getting it. If your Browser has the pic under the right hand panel you might be able to right click on it and click 'view image'.

Tag line is:

Why Texas had no looting during Hurricane Rita

I'm willing to bet that whoever held the camera had a gun too...

I Hear but Don't Believe

On the news tonight I heard concerning the threat of BOMBINGS on New York subways, "'High level officials' downplay the threat..."

I ask, "What are the names of these 'High level officials'?

The TV News did not say...

Do the 'High level officials' really know more than I do? Do the NewsReaders know more than I do?

I place these 'High level officials' in the same categories as I mentally place whatever groups give out the medals and ribbons in the 'Award Winning Newscasts' from which I heard this tidbit of news. Three steps down from Used Car Salesman Awards...

Personally I place more faith in the awards given out by Road and Track Magazine than I do with the TV News Awards.

Perhaps I've become a bit too cynical but I would be more apt to believe that the TV NewsReaders would prefer the subways be full to capacity and have the bombs go off so they can report it than to have the people be wary, the bombers captured and no-one hurt.

I would blame Dan Rather for my cynicism but it started long before his getting caught doing what he did best. That is, fooling his avid fans (They still say the memo's were forged but the info was true. And we are supposed to nod our heads yes...). I knew they were lying to me in the 70's but since I'm conservative I'm evil and want to control the world with cameras in every bedroom and guns for every one who is not a southpaw. Why should I be listened to?

I'd rather trust a liberal blogger than a NewsReader on TV. They may both be lying but with the liberal blogger you at least have it in writing. Unless you record the newscast there is no proof of what they said and your head is too full of mush to really put it together. Unless you walk out in the middle of a sentence as I did.

"'High level officials' downplay the threat..."

I ask again, "What are the names of these 'High level officials'?

Film at 11!