massdestruction

Super Chelsea FC

Tomorrow morning Cate and I are flying up to Philadelphia for a mini-vacation. On Monday evening my beloved Chelsea will be taking on AC Milan in an exhibition match. We have front-row seats near the corner so if you get Fox Sports World you can look for my dorky, smiling face when they are taking corner kicks.

Livestrong

Hey squishy, that was a good call on spotting Kerry's Livestrong yellow band. Not mentioning it shows a certain amount of class - as does John Edwards not bringing in the fact that he lost a son to Leukemia. Some things have no place in campaigns, they are better left to family and friends.

See, I can give Edwards his props - he just has to earn them.

Note: Edward's son died in a car accident in 1998, not Leukemia. Perhaps one of his son's had Leukemia though - I might be wrong. Nonetheless, the fact that he hasn't used the loss of a child to garner sympathy in his political career is to be admired. I have not even heard of him using it on the Senate floor.

Spamusement

Wow - this guy has some real fun with his spam. I really wish I could draw.

Demofat

As I sit here watching John Edwards' not so exciting speech about helping the children in rural America (despite trying to shut down the pediatric office that served his town of Robbins) I am struck by something interesting....

Each time they break away from Johnny to show the crowd... well... Democrat delegates are FAT. Heavy, overweight, huge, unhealthy, portly. Seriously folks, don't eat so damn much!

Also, someone should tell Hilary that she IS going to be on camera... smile once or twice.

Minidisc

I want a minidisc player. No, not because I think they are great... but because they are such the underdog in the world of gadgets. I suppose its all Sony's fault... well, I know it is... but really its not a bad medium. With the new 1Gb version it would make a kick-ass replacement for floppy drives. Of course, Sony never made a MD drive for computers - they saw a world of pre-recorded MDs - idiots.

Think about all the sci-fi/futuristic movies that have people sticking small discs around the size of an MD into their cool-ass lighted terminal-thingies... well, at any rate it sucks that Sony screwed the pooch so badly on that one because the form-factor kicks ass.

I'm going to go update my iPod now.

Obama

I missed Baraak Obama's speech last night when it was live, but I did see a replay of it. To me this speeck harkens back to when speeches weren't written for small sound bites but for language and message. It was amazing, electrifying, and beautiful. It would be an honor for me to one day cast my vote for Mr. Obama.

Whatever your affiliation I plead with you to watch the speech. When it comes down to it there is only one big difference between Democrats and Republicans and that is how large a role the government has in helping the citizens. I believe with all my heart that the government's job is to be there and help people make a good life. All the other issues tend to be social issues which I think government has absolutely no business being involved in. If we remember that it is much easier to deal with each other. As Obama said, "I am my brother's keeper" - and if you want to know what I mean.... watch the speech!!!

Fight Back

A few of my good friends from the Clark campaign have started a new Political Action Committee (PAC). The PAC is called Fight Back Fund and I think their motive is excellent. I was talking to my friend Eric, one of the founders, and I loved that he told me... "If you want something done you have to do it yourself". In politics that rings way too true.

Good luck to Eric, Josh, Vanessa, and Rich - with folks like you this PAC should be quite successful. Everyone visit their site and contact them to volunteer or donate money!!

Removing the Helmet

Cate and I went for a good, long bike ride today. At one point we saw a funeral procession coming up behind us. We stopped by the side of the road to show our respect but I was unsure whether etiquette required me to remove my helmet or not. I decided that I should.

What do you think? Is a nasty, sweaty head more respectful than a yellow bike helmet?

Gif party

All the gif patents ran out didn't they?

Oh good!!

Jesus H. Christ in a Chicken Basket

I know I have pointed this out before.... I know that those of you who are web-savvy have seen it before.... but it really is the one thing on the web that makes me laugh everytime I see/hear it. Absolutely brilliant.

War on Nazis Terror

This post is brilliant. Neo-Nazi's PR guy helping a war on terror organization. Did the neo-nazi's PR guy suggest he visit with "war on terror target" Saddam Hussein?

FactCheck

This site is brilliant!! Whether you are a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, or Other(tm) this site is a national treasure. Totally unbiased, non-partisan fact checking on ads and speeches by politicians.

I think everyone should link to it, tell people about it, make posters for it - anything. All voters should see it in my opinion.

De Tour

Looks like Lance has sewn it up. I couldn't agree with him more about having a time trial up a mountain being a bad idea. The crowds were enormous and obnixious. On the one hand I think its brilliant that people can still get so close to the best cyclists in the world but today I felt like it was too much. Some people were interfering in a bad way. The people who run alongside the riders are the worst as they could fall at any moment... especially if they have had as much to drink as they appear to have had.

If they decide to do a time trial upwards again I think they should have barriers over the whole course. Good for Lance anyway!

YEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAWWWWW!

The latest novel in the Left Behind apocolyptic jesus-fictions has been released. This one supposedly gets good and juicy with some "end game action" where Jesus piles non-Christians on his left to be pushed into the pits of hell. There is an excellent review of this book which I marked as being a "helpful" review. I have it quoted below in case Amazon decides it isn't very helpful. Thanks to my friend Joe for pointing this one out to me.

Lord Jesus I Sure Hope You Save Us!!!!!
I just dun finished this here book. Now I'll tell all ya fellas that I aint too much on book learnin or readin words but I was goshdanged by this here book. It's just like I always dun knew it was gonna be. The Lord Jesus God gonna come down here on this Earth and be a whuppin up on all those people that aint right like christians. That includes all the dirty muslins and the stoopid aytheists (can't never be spellerin that word correct-like). Anyways I only hope the Lord God Jesus's repersentive on Earth, George W. Bush, can a get this here 'pocalypse a comin soon enough. Theez damn books are a goshdamn sight better than a watchin Jerry Springer or beatin up ma kids like I usually be doin'. One of them stoopid revewers said this here book was a ritten at a sixth grader level. Well thats a bunch of spit and possum vittles. I dint even finish the fourth grade and I'm a readin it just fine. Ima just hopin somebody gonna make nifty cartoon out this here book. YEEEEEHAAAAWWWWW!!!! PRAISE JESUS!!!!!

MS 150 Ride

This year I am going to ride the MS 150 bike ride. This ride has been around for a long time here in N.C. (on the coast, nice flat ride). This year it is pretty special because its the first chance I have had to ride it since a good friend was diagnosed with MS. Many of you know the person but I am not going to use their name here without permission - but I am riding to raise money with this person in mind. I am going to do 100 miles the first day and 75 the second day on Sept. 11, and 12.

I hope those who read this will make a pledge - not for me, but for those like my friend who have to live with the pain, the motor and mobility problems, the discomfort, and the fear of what's next.

When you go to the page, enter my name as David Mason in North Carolina, not 'Dave'. By the way, their ASP-generated website really blows - sorry.

Less of a snob

Back when I was in college the latest of many coffee crazes started. Coffee shops started opening, beans began showing up in gourmet shops, people started to learn how to prepare and drink good coffee. Like others I learned that if I were to make a GOOD(tm) cup of joe I had to buy whole beans and grind them myself just before brewing.

I have lived with that lie for years. Recently I decided that my home coffee was simply not so good (better than Open Eye's but thats different). We ended up replacing our grinder and still I found our coffee to be lacking to when I bought a cup at a good coffee shop.

Taking matters into my own hands I asked for my coffee to be ground by the seller to the specifications of my coffee machine (cone-shaped, gold filter). This is, far and away, the best cup of coffee I have had at home. I now do not buy that notion of grinding at home - sure, if I didn't drink it every day it might be better as the bean might stay fresher, longer. But drinking as fast as I do, I don't have that problem.

So I say burn that bra and ditch the grinder people. Don't be so much of a snob, grind at the store and enjoy one less step and a better tasting brew!

Deconstructing our Lexicon

I have been struck lately by the introduction of the word deconstruct(ion) into our more popular lexicon. I have also been struck by the fact that it is being misused. First of all, the press seem to be using the word a lot. The problem is that the word comes from a literary and philosophical theory rather to describe something rather complicated. It really doesn't me to tear apart. The definition, as the word was coined by Jacques Derrida and perfected by Paul de Man, refers to the reading of texts in an attempt to discover logical (or rhetorical) incompatibilities between the explicit and implicit planes of discourse and to demonstrate by means of a range of critical techniques how these incompatibilities are disguised and assimilated by the text. To put it too simplistically, one would find the hierarchy of a text, turn the hierarchy upside-down to analyze the meaning, rearrange the hierarchy to analyze the meaning, and then displace and reassert these conclusions within a nonhierarchical relationship to find "difference." .... and this is me trying to remember all this shit from ~15 years ago with some help from an old de Man book. However, it has fuck-all to do with trying to find the real meaning behind a soundbite from a politician, it is much more complicated than that.

What I am most interested in is how exactly the word found its way into our current popular condition? Perhaps I should deconstruct it... hmmm.

I have a few pet-peeves when it comes to our lexicon. First is the use of the word "depress" in relation to buttons. One does not depress a button... one presses it. To depress it seems cruel. Second, the use of disinterested rather than uninterested - there is a difference. Now I am finding that this use of deconstruct is starting to climb the list the more I hear it.

Che

Cool - Steven Soderbergh is going to make an epic about Che Guevarra and Benicio Del Toro is going to be Che.

I have always been curious over the power of Che's image in popular culture. Sure, he was a good looking guy with a rough-shod kind of appearance, but why did his image go so far? I am convinced that the majority of people who wear 'Che Shirts' have no clue about his life... not that they wouldn't wear it once they found out about his life... I am just not convinced they know.

Sail away

Oh man - lets go for a Cruise!!!!

Silence broken

OK Y'all - its finally public knowledge so here is the deal. I have been doing some work with some old friends from Red Hat who have started a new company that will be trying a new approach to Linux.

So far its been very good. I am not a full-time employee which is fine as I can get other stuff done and still get to do Linux stuff with good friends. Perhaps I will go full-time later, we'll just have to see. Still, its really great to work with these guys again - especially in a nice, small startup without the incredibly crazy stress of Red Hat. So far its Erik Troan, Matt Wilson, Michael Johnson, his brother-in-law David, an old GNOME-buddy Tim Gerla, and then out in California there is Kim Knutilla and Jim Wilson (probably more but I don't know who is out there really) oh, and li'l old me. Good, good people.

Want more detail? Here it is, Specifix is public knowledge.

I got mail, G

Thanks to my friend Tony I am giving gmail a try. I am really glad to see that they have tried some new ideas for reading mail instead of just being another webmail system. I am also not surprised as they seem to do everything right.

I think at some point I get five invites to the still-beta system, so if you've been wanting to check it out, let me know. So far I haven't gotten any but I will make a note of who wants it.

Passion of the Summer

Here in town we have one of those new neighborhoods designed after old neighborhoods but is still a long way from the center of town. People who live there seem to like it - I just wish people would stop building mini-downtowns and put money into real downtowns. However, thats not what this is about.

This particular area (Southern Village) has a movie theater. They sponsor outdoor films in the summer every Saturday. There is a big public area and I guess they string up a large sheet or screen (I haven't gone to any, details are not mine). While looking at this weekend's movie schedule for our area, I noticed that the outdoor movie this week is The Passion of the Christ.

Now I have not seen this movie, so again the details are not mine... but isn't this over 2 hours... subtitled from Aramaic... and pretty graphic? Maybe I am off-base but this doesn't seem like a 'summer outdoor movie' to me. Yeah, lets go sweat in 80 degree nighttime temps with high 70's dew-points, fight mosquitos, sit on grass and watch a violent movie thats in Aramaic. Hmmmmmm.

Ladies and Gentlemen....

What you've all been waiting for..

Overseas political scandal has never looked so good...

Please help me welcome...

The July Surprise!!

Porcelain Crack Pipes kill Motorcycles

I had no idea people were this creative. Unfortunately it hurts my friends with motorcycles.

G O Pee

Here we go. The GOP is starting up with Edwards. I'm telling you, when there is a trial lawyer on the ticket, there is a lot of ammunition. You see, the problem is that trial lawyers are always down with used car salesmen when it comes to trusted professions in the U.S. Remember, this election, like the last, is about the swing voters. The swing voters don't dedicate as much thought and time to the candidates as the base supporters do. They tend to start looking in about Sept. By then the GOP hopes to have the media repeating its tag-lines about the Dems. Don't believe me? Look at how CNN reported Edwards being added to the ticket this morning.

There will have to be a great deal of work done on the Professional and Business voters because they will be very wary of Edwards.

Keep your ears open for the GOP - they will play this so well (if not unethically). We have never seen or heard Edwards fight back in a campaign. In fact, when pressed about his miserable existence as a trial lawyer during the primaries, he avoided it at all costs. Those were Democrats then. The GOP is much better at ratfucking. "I'm the son of a millworker" won't stick as much as some GOP-generated nickname (think "slick-willie").

By the way, I get the sense that some of my friends are upset with my distaste for the next Vice-president of the US. Well, I call 'em like I see 'em. I am a life-long Democrat - I buy into the ideals of the party and always have. I want what's best for the Democrats and I don't see Edwards as good for the party. Don't take it personally please, these are just opinions.

Edwards

No, I am not happy about Kerry choosing Edwards as his running mate. I don't care how well he comes across on television... that dude is a dishonest prick. Not only will the Republicans nail him on his shady career as a trial lawyer but they will certainly nail him on his voting record... excuse me, lack of voting record. John Edwards never found it important enough to actually show up for votes while a Senator, now he wants to be the President of the Senate.

By the way, he may be good on the stump but I truly believe that Cheney is better at true debating. I'm saying it here first - I'm on the record... Cheney will school him. I hope I am wrong.

Yes, I will still vote for Kerry in the election but I am now officially not a big supporter of the ticket. To my friends working on the Kerry campaign, enjoy him, he's a tool.

TDF

I have welcomed the return of the Tour de France in my summer of European sporting events. Today though, I was happy to see the rookie Cancellara —who won the yellow jersey in the opening time trial— leading the peleton as hard as he could in the closing kilometers.

I think it is one of the special moments of the Tour de France when we see the overall leader working hard for someone else in his team. It is just one of the reasons I watch the tour year after year.

Atypical Independence Day

Today was not only the 4th of July—Independence Day—but also the final match of Euro 2004, the European Soccer Championship. Portugal and Greece played so we had some friends over and made Greek food to eat with Portugese wine. Greece won in beautiful underdog fashion and a good time was had by all.

We were thinking about going to see the town fireworks since we weren't being good Americans, but there is a very large storm cloud moving in on the weather radar. Hell, I've been in D.C to see 4th of July fireworks - I've even watched the Boston fireworks from the top of a Beacon Hill townhome after walking the "Freedom Trail". Yes, I have done my "good American" duties before - I had never had Greek food and Portugese wine together though.

Debiant

Today marks a sea-change for me. I have switched to Debian on my little Fujitsu laptop, I have used Debian a bit in the past, and I have no particular reason to switch to it now other than taking the opportunity to play around.

I used the Knoppix disc to install it as it uses more experimental drivers - which is a good thing for this laptop, Plus, Knoppix does provide for a very quick install (not to mention a faster boot time than Fedora). I immediately removed KDE and some other Knoppix stuff and now have, essentially, Dave-Linux... ManDave Linux... DaveDrake... Davian... whatever.

I am more pleased than I expected to be.