Economic Stimulus Package On Its Way

Monday, January 28, 2008

Economic Stimulus Package On Its Way

Congress agreed on an economic stimulus package that would give individual taxpayers a rebate of up to $600. What do you think?

Tom Nagle, Systems Analyst "Perfect. That should cover my moving costs to Toronto."

Julia Wilding, Parole Officer "I wish that once in a while, Congress would give me a tax rebate not to boost their economy, but because they love me."

Neville Head, Dog Trainer "I hope buying $600 worth of waffles helps the economy, because that's what I'm going to do."

The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Survived by Gyllenhaal

Can't believe Heath Ledger is dead. Kind of like a River Phoenix thing only Heath had kids. Would have liked to have seen what he was going to do with the Joker. *sigh*

Obama And Clinton Call Truce

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Obama And Clinton Call Truce

After tense days of racial and personal accusations flying back and forth between the top Democratic candidates, Barack Obama has called for a truce with the Hillary Clinton campaign. What do you think?

Keith Bonney, Blackjack Dealer "Yesssss!!! Hillary wins!"

Alex Hacke, Accountant "Leave it to the Democrats to introduce racially suggestive character accusations so subtle that people actually get bored by them."

Marcia Campton, Canvas Stretcher "There's no need to bicker. As a black man and a white woman, they are completely and equally flawed in my eyes."

The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Travel Plans

Man Who Intruded Into Nicolas Cage's Home Nude Sentenced
Furo, 46, Pleads Guilty To Felony Stalking

POSTED: 7:38 pm PST January 10, 2008
UPDATED: 6:51 am PST January 11, 2008

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- A San Pedro man arrested in the Newport Beach home of Nicolas Cage -- naked except for the actor's leather jacket -- pleaded guilty Thursday to felony stalking and was ordered into a drug rehabilitation program.

Robert Dennis Furo Jr., 46, was given credit for time served in the Orange County Jail and ordered to undergo six months of rehabilitation, consisting of one month in lockdown and five months in a residential facility, according to Farrah Emami of the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

Superior Court Judge Karen Robinson also ordered Furo to have no direct, indirect or third-party contact with the Oscar-winning actor and to remain at least 100 yards away from the Cage family, Emami said.

Furo, arrested Oct. 1, was initially charged with burglary and theft with a prior conviction, but those counts were dismissed.

Furo, who has worked as a caregiver, will be transferred Friday from the jail to a rehab facility in Tarzana, defense attorney Jack Kayajanian said.

Furo has relatives who live in the Bayshore gated community in Newport Beach where Cage bought a home, Kayajanian said. Furo has a sticker on his car to get into the community, which is on a parcel where John Wayne's estate was once located, he said.

At the time he wandered into the Cage home, Furo was taking sleeping pills and Vicodin, for which he has a prescription, but was taking more than prescribed, the lawyer said.

"He was in a drug-induced daze," Kayajanian said, describing it as "sleepwalking."

The Cage home, which Kayajanian said he understands is being sold, is adjacent to a homeowner association-run beach with docks that are used by the community for small boats.

Kayajanian said he knew a previous owner of the house and is familiar with it.

"It's easy to walk into," he said. "Apparently there were a couple of doors ajar. There was no breaking and entering. This young man walked through an open door and somehow he went upstairs. He took his clothes off in the bathroom. He saw a jacket with a brand-new tag in the closet."

Police said Cage, who was upstairs with his wife and child, reported seeing Furo, whom he did not know, standing at the door of the bathroom, and that he was naked, except for the leather jacket.

Cage escorted the man out, and Furo did not resist the actor, star of such films as "Leaving Las Vegas," "The Rock" and the "National Treasure" films, according to police.

A lieutenant said earlier that Furo's sweatpants were found in his car, but no other clothes were around.

Cage was apprised of the disposition of the case and signed off on it, Kayajanian said, applauding the actor "for recognizing the frailty" of his client.

Kayajanian said prosecutors refused to allow Furo to plead guilty to misdemeanor trespassing. But if he completes his program and three years of formal probation, he can apply to get the felony count reduced to a misdemeanor.

Emami said Furo had been subjected to mental health and medical reviews, and they were considered as part of the case.

"The medical reports are sealed," she said.

"The essence of why was not as important as the fact that it happened," she said. "The district attorney's role is to charge him based on what he did."

That's awesome! I wonder how understanding Brad Pitt and Angelina would be if I dropped by.

Alls Fair

When I first saw this image on CNN's article about Kerry backing Obama, I thought it was from one of those Republican joke sites. I swear it looks like Barack is leaning in for a kiss. Maybe someone needs to check index finger and ring finger lengths.

McCain Wins New Hampshire Primary

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

McCain Wins New Hampshire Primary

Senator John McCain surprised observers by winning the Republican vote in the New Hampshire primary. What do you think?

Rebecca Carlson, Systems Analyst "If I've ever trusted a state to set the stage for the presidential election, it's the one that leads the country in per capita sales of alcohol."

Paul Messner, Chiropractor "You know, I'm happy for him. If a guy spends five years getting tortured by the Viet Cong, the least we can do is toss a primary or two his way."

Thad Cowley, Canvas Stretcher "While I agree with much of his policies, I can't, with clear conscience, condone his age."

The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Anti-Cancer Machine Invented?

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Anti-Cancer Machine Invented?

Research reports on the American Cancer Society's website suggest that a new machine, invented by a Florida man with no medical training, may be able to destroy cancer cells. What do you think?

Kerry Huth, Systems Analyst "The inventor has no medical training? I think I'll stick with my cancer, thanks."

Alma Stein, Montessori Teacher "Using gold nanoparticles to attack the cells is either ingenious or very stupid, depending on what my HMO says."

Kevin Blum, Collectibles Dealer "Yeah, well the machine I invented in my basement destroys a lot more than just cancer cells."

The Onion - America's Finest News Source

A Lot Lighter

Back in teh day before torrents and P2P networks there was Usenet alt.binaries. I scoured them pretty regularly for music (never pr0n or warez) then burned off my findings to CD since hard disk space was a premium. My collection grew to almost two hundred discs before I finally bought a DVD burner.

Brought my fattest disc organizer in to work a few weeks ago. At various points in the day I would toss in a CD and copy it over to my USB drive. Got the last one done today. Totally a nerd moment, but it felt so cool to see all those discs turned into trash and all of their contents now immediately accessible. Still have more than 4gb free, too. Now I have to do the tag and cover updates so I can get more stuff on the iPod.


Technological Reduction Transfered more than one hundred of my old archive CDs onto my little Western Digital USB drive. I so love technology.