Monday, December 25, 2006

Friday, December 22, 2006

COMMERCIAL XMAS GIFT

Today have purchased Why You're DUMB, SICK, and BROKE ... and How to Get SMART, HEALTHY, and RICH! by Randy Gage as X-mas gift to myself. [Editor's comment: Do a key phrases search inside the book.]



Go to my other blog and listen to Art Jonak's interview (Secrets of a Multi-Million-Dollar Producer) with Randy Gage. [Editor's note: Art Jonak is affiliated with Vitamark and Randy Gage is involved in Agel.]

I wish my readers a Merry X-mas! I recommend you to read Dr. Leonard Peikoff's article, Why Christmas should be more commercial, not less.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

AROUND THE WEB ON 12-14-06

Cross posted from Gus Van Horn

Ugh and Yippee! Christmas is only eleven days away! The "ugh" comes from the realization that I have a substantial amount of shopping to do. The "yippee" is for the fact that I'll be reunited with my wife the weekend before.

Blogging may be lighter than usual next week and I will take a week off from blogging as I do every year the following week, so today's roundup may be the last of the year....

Congratulations!

Michael Bahr, who has been sweating law school exams since I became aware of his blog, can now append J.D. to his name! Or, as he put it himself, "As Jesus Christ once said, 'It is finished.'"

Move Zig -- er, Chad. For great justice!

Bubblehead has asked us to "set up us the vote" in his quest to win in this year's Weblog Awards.

Friday Night Pig Racin' -- Coming Soon to Katy!

A while back, I ran into this somewhat incoherent news story about a land owner in a suburb of Houston who was basically told to move from land that had been in his family for ages by his new neighbors: a local Moslem association who had just bought adjacent land and decided to build a mosque.
These pigs are subtle weapons, here to show the new neighbors -- the Katy Islamic Association -- they aren't entirely welcome. Tension has been growing in this west Harris County community since September when the Muslim group announced it had purchased 11 acres south of Interstate 10 to build a mosque, school, community center and athletic facilities.

Hard feelings started when Baker met association officials, who, he said, advised him he should move his stone shop.

"They told me it was time for my family to pack up," said Baker, whose family has occupied its land since the early 1800s. "They said a mosque and a marble shop didn't go too good together."

Angered by the perceived insult and aware of Islamic dietary laws banning pork consumption, Baker responded by announcing he would stage weekly pig races on his Muslim neighbors' holiest day of prayer.
Student posts a video from a local newscast about the races.

Swedish Mosque Linked to Terrorism

It galls me that Moslems feel they have any room whatsoever to complain about Baker's pig races (or his marble shop for that matter) when their "houses of worship" so frequently figure in the plotting of murder.

Martin Lindeskog provides us with the latest example of that, from Sweden. According to a Radio Sweden report, "The [U.S.] Treasury also says the 41 year old [terrorism suspect] 'was the uncontested leader of an extremist group centered around' a mosque in the Swedish capital."

Reverse Rejection Letter

Diana Hsieh, who recently celebrated her birthday and whose blog is one of my favorites, has posted a very funny "reverse rejection letter". I re-post it here for the benefit of my wife, who has been following my blog since heading up to Chicago a couple of weeks ago.
Herbert A. Millington
Chair - Search Committee
412A Clarkson Hall, Whitson University
College Hill, MA 34109

Dear Professor Millington,

Thank you for your letter of March 16. After careful consideration, I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your refusal to offer me an assistant professor position in your department.

This year I have been particularly fortunate in receiving an unusually large number of rejection letters. With such a varied and promising field of candidates, it is impossible for me to accept all refusals.

Despite Whitson's outstanding qualifications and previous experience in rejecting applicants, I find that your rejection does not meet my needs at this time. Therefore, I will assume the position of assistant professor in your department this August. I look forward to seeing you then.

Best of luck in rejecting future applicants.

Sincerely,
Chris L. Jensen
Mrs. Van Horn is applying for medical residencies and I will need a new position some time in the near future as well. This approach should come in quite handy for us. Thank you, Diana!

The "two body problem" has been solved!

Medical Tourism

David Veksler posts on medical tourism and asks, "[W]hy do you think medical procedures are so much cheaper in India? Could medical liability laws and the FDA have something to do with it?"

The "Crimes" of Youth, the Price of "Friends"

Software Nerd has a couple of interesting posts up.

First, he posts on a very stupid type of law being considered in Germany.
In Germany, two state governments have drawn up laws would could criminalize violence against computer game animated characters, if those characters are human-looking.
He thinks these laws won't get passed. I also hear he is thinking about retitling his blog as "PollyannaPundit".

Second, he tells us of a "friendship merchant":
Someone is betting that there are enough people with MySpace pages who want to appear to have "cool" friends so that they can impress others.
Since you can tell your new "friends" what kind of comments to leave, you can bet that a bunch of clueless horn-dog men are going to have pretty women leaving slutty remarks on their sites: Precisely the kinds of remarks that anyone else -- especially the women they hope to impress -- will know couldn't possibly be things actual women would really say! A fool and his money are soon parted.

Selling to Idiots Crowded Field in '06

Just when I thought Software Nerd had found the silliest way to empty one's wallet, I went over to Tim Blair's blog, where I found a post on the following ad:
What do reindeer do when they're not flying around the world delivering presents?

They graze, burp and fart!

Did you know? Together, Santa's nine reindeer - Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph - produce 3.75 tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution per year.

We guarantee that if you choose to offset the pollution created by Santa's reindeer, we will reduce CO2 pollution by 3.75 tonnes.

You'll receive a certificate and special Carbon Neutral Christmas card confirming that you've made Santa's reindeer Carbon Neutral!
That's seventy five smackers, Australian for a card listing carbon credits to abate nonexistent emissions in order to solve an imaginary crisis. That would be $58.74 down the toilet -- if the purchaser still uses one.

What Went Wrong?

Andy offers his take on Robert Tracinski's still unfinished "What Went Right" series:
I don't know Robert and have not spoken with him about this. But it seems to me what went wrong with Tracinski is that he himself carried rationalistic ideas about Objectivism, discovered his error, and then went empiricist -- dropping principles and focusing no longer on self-detached ideas, but now on unconnected concretes.
He also links to the series, which Tracinski recently made available on the web.

One Man's Journey

I have added a new blog, Galileo Blogs, to my sidebar. Aspects of its author's intellectual journey from religion to reason remind me of my own, especially this part:
The interesting thing about all of it was that throughout my youth (and continuing to this day), I took religion seriously. I listened to what the priest said at mass; I excelled at Sunday school where I was a top student. I was even an altar boy and relished the opportunity to be closer to the "body of Christ" than anyone else, other than the priest.

Taking religion -- i.e., ideas -- seriously appears to be the leitmotif of those who reject the religion under which they are raised.
That last sentence is quite profound. Religion cannot withstand even the slightest modicum of honest, rational inquiry. The fact that heretics have been persecuted throughout the vast majority of human history is a confession, as it were, of this weakness. Furthermore, it serves as evidence that religion actively seeks to snuff out the best within us.

I was luckier in many respects, especially concerning my relatives. My family did not react badly at all when they learned I was no longer religious. In fact, during my agnostic stage, I decided to tell my Dad. He stole my thunder by informing me he was an atheist!

I miss him very much when I remember that conversation.

Solar Tsunami

Bothenook posts video and rightly proclaims, "Now THIS is a tsunami!"

The above quote has been corrected for capitalization and punctuation, of course. Hee, hee! I haven't done that in awhile!

The permalink he mentions is here.

Why End Just Busing?

I like the way Jim Woods put this:
All public schools are inferior, but some are more inferior than others. The other day I listened to part of a C-SPAN program on the Supreme Court case Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education, where the public schools intend to "improve" education by using race to determine where a student attends school. Instead of using the governments monopoly on force to impose racism, it is time to recognize that force is not an educational resource. By all means get guns out of the schools, and let us start with the full privatization of education.
Yes. That is true. By the very nature of government, guns are in the public schools whether students can carry them in or not.

Is this a trend?

Two days after I took two quizzes, Grant Jones did the same. Let's see how I did on his....

Same overall result as he on the first one:


You scored as Strong Egoism. Your life is very much guided by the concept of Egoism: You work primarily to promote your own interests.



"I swear by my life, and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."

"I am not primarily an advocate of capitalism, but of egoism; and I am not primarily an advocate of egoism, but of reason. If one recognizes the supremacy of reason and applies it consistently, all the rest follows."

--Ayn Rand



More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page...

Strong Egoism


100%

Existentialism


85%

Hedonism


70%

Justice (Fairness)


70%

Kantianism


55%

Divine Command


40%

Utilitarianism


20%

Nihilism


10%

Apathy


0%

What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03)
created with QuizFarm.com

And on the second one? Also the same overall result!

You scored as Special Ops. Special ops. You're sneaky, tactful, and a loner. You prefer to do your jobs alone, working where you don't come into contact with people. But everyonce in a while you hit it big and are noticed and given fame. Your given the more sensitive problems. You get things done, and do what has to be done.

"VULCAN NECK PINCH!!!"
"owww.......(slump)"

Special Ops


94%

Engineer


94%

Artillery/Armor


75%

Support Gunner


50%

Officer


44%

Medic


31%

Combat Infantry


31%

Civilian


25%

Which soldier type are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

How 'bout that?

-- CAV

Saturday, December 9, 2006

TERRORIST LINKED TO MOSQUE IN STOCKHOLM

In the news:

US freezes Swedish terror suspect's assets
- The Local.

A Swedish citizen of Moroccan origin is one of five men to have their assets frozen by the US Finance Department. The man is suspected of supporting the al-Qaida terrorist network and other groups. (TheLocal.se, 12/07/06.)

U.S. Treasury Names Swede Alleged Terrorist Helper - Radio Sweden.

The Treasury also says the 41 year old "was the uncontested leader of an extremist group centered around" a mosque in the Swedish capital. (SR.se, 12/08/06.)

For more information on Mohamed Moumou, go to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the News - International (Pakistan).

Related: My post, TERRORIST UPDATE.

CHRISTER FUGLESANG

Christer Fuglesang has waited a long time for his journey in space.

Related, My post: DOTCOM BOOM AND THE NEW SPACE CAPITALISTS.

MAFIOSO METHODS BY UNION

On Friday I went to the indoor market called Briggen in order to give moral support to Sofia Appelgren at Wild'n Fresh Salad Bar and Deli. The Hotel and Restaurant Union had sent out members as "strike guards," picketing outside the shop. The union is trying to use force by a blockade against the employer. They handed out flyers stating that "employees without collective bargaining agreement are losing more than SEK 40,000 / year." I bought a piece of lasagne and gave the individuals behind the counter a Blue Chip Café brochure and told them to come to our place for a cup of tea or coffee.


Union workers posing outside the indoor market.


Wild'n Fresh at Saluhallen Briggen, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Wild'n Fresh Saladbar & Deli

UPDATE 02/11/07:

In the news: Salad bar owner to sell up - The Local.

UPDATE 02/20/07: From the Local, a week ago:

Politician Fredrick Federley and former member of pop group Army of Lovers, Dominika Peczynski, plan to make a bid for Sweden's most famous salad bar. (02/13/07, TheLocal.se)


[Editor's note: I will add updates until everything is settled...]

UPDATE 06/19/07: New salad bar owners sign agreement - The Local, 04/10/07.

Thursday, December 7, 2006

AROUND THE WEB ON 12-7-06

Cross-posted from Gus Van Horn

The shower wakes me.
My mind races: All haiku!
Can I make it work?

***

A stand for child porn --
By the Danes' absent colleagues?
Why? Both please Allah.

***

Uncovered -- dishes --
Have surrounded the "cat-house"!
Round up the varmints!

***

Three haiku on porn?
These should have been limericks!
Make love, not jihad.

***

Shotgun! Humph. He's first.
Power and concealment tied.
Will Nick pick us off?

***

Sword sheathed, wielding pen --
Yet still afraid? What's afoot?
Submariners' wives!

***


Condi's not Vesper,
And Bush isn't Bond. Roulette?
George, war is no game.

***

"I think most ... insane."
Leftist mobs show teen-ish angst.
And make him look good.

***

They banned Sudafed.
And now, trans fats. Next, syrup?
Freedom dies piecemeal.

***

Good luck to my friend!
(Why must this be left to chance?)
Good luck, U. S. A.

***

Believe it or not!
Regulation of dating!
Martin, second thoughts?

***

The elephant lost.
They don't forget. Can they read?
Voters, gypped, recalled.

***

Three things are certain:
Death, taxes, and lost data.
Guess which has occurred.

-- CAV

Sunday, December 3, 2006

DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM

As an American in spirit, I have entered the green card lottery.

Morris is looking out for me...


In the news: Entrepreneurs Make Money From African Migrants' Dreams - Voice of America News.

UPDATE: Check out the 141st Carnival of the Cats at Catymology. [Editor's comment: I wonder if Aloysius and Mr. Eko of Dark Star Books are fans of STEVE DITKO AND THE SPIDER-MAN.]

Saturday, December 2, 2006

COFFEE HOUSE FOR GOOD BUSINESS

Blue Chip Café, our meeting place for entrepreneurs and business minded individuals, has been mentioned in the local newspaper ("Gothenburg-Post"). [Editor's note: Do you recognize the man in the picture?!] The article was written by Eva Wieselgren, editor, Technology & Trends.

Talking coffee business, a Lavazza ad has been banned in Sweden. [Editor's comment: I wonder what the "Trade Ethical Council against Sexism in Advertising" has to say about our choice of coffee, Columbia Bar Extra / Gold. Click on the image and you will see a picture of a good looking (Colombian?) woman.] Do you think I should try to get hold of the Lavazza calendar (First Class Espresso Experience) with photos by Ellen von Unwerth?

CASTRO PROPAGANDA TV

I shouldn't be amazed by the programs on TV, but the recent Fidel Castro theme is another example of communist propaganda and how the Swedish journalists are showing their real (blood red) colors.

From the article, Storm grows over Swedish TV's Castro night.

Criticism of Swedish Television's Fidel Castro theme night is growing. Now, several national newspapers' editorials have attacked the SVT special linked to the Cuban dictator's 80th birthday celebrations.

Dagens Nyheter feared that SVT was lining up "a tribute to Castro" while Expressen called the programme "a disaster". "SVT is celebrating by bowing down before the bearded dictator," wrote Svenska Dagbladet. (TheLocal.se, 12/02/06.)


Instead of showing several hours about the socialist "paradise," the Swedish television should have shown respect to the victims of Castro's dictatorship, by having a black screen for a silent minute.

Fidel Castro


The Swedish-Cuban Association is very active here in Gothenburg.

Related: My post, YA NO MAS!