Misc. Friday Ramblings...

I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe. - Frank Zappa

• It's Photoshop Phriday.
  Computers in the movies...
  


• What's your color?
  

  You have exaggerated demands on life but you are cautious enough to try to hide these beliefs from the outside world. You are covert enough to try to impress other people around you with your achievements and at the same time able to put on an act of pretending to be 'humble' - being the same as everyone else. It would appear, however, that whatever you are doing seems to be working out O.K.
  
  You are in need of rest, some peace and quiet. You feel the need to be close to that someone special, that someone who can give you that special consideration and unquestioning affection that you seek. If you don't find that 'special someone' and resolve your problems very soon, you are liable to become extremely introverted and cut yourself off from society.
  
  You feel that you deserve far more than is being attributed to you, but there is no-one to whom you can turn to for sympathy and understanding. Your pent-up emotions and inherent egocentricity make you quick to take offence, but as matters stand you realise that you will have to make the best of things as they are.
  
  You are pretending that the situation around you doesn't matter, but the effort of trying to conceal your emotions and anxieties is resulting in untold stress. The existing situation is disagreeable. You feel unwanted and lonely and you would really like to associate with someone whose ideals are as high as your own. You want to be above the standard of mediocrity and this need to be needed and that need to need has almost become an obsession. You are trying to magnify the need into a compelling urge. You would really like to tell the world how great you are but no, you are holding back because you feel that your peers may treat you with contempt. This is a great pity because you have in fact a unique quality of character, but the continual restraint that you impose on yourself makes you suppress this need for others and you pretend you don't really care. You treat those who criticise you with contempt. However, to be honest, beneath this assumption of indifference you really long for the approval and esteem of others.
  
  It is strange that the anxiety that you are experiencing at this time is of your own making simply because of your desire to be respected by your fellow man and with those whom you work with. You are not satisfied. The normal congenial 'you' is becoming quite introverted. This is becoming increasingly more obvious because you seem to shy away from participating in everyday activities. You are refusing to allow yourself to become involved or to participate with others and it is the reluctance to communicate that is the inherent cause of your problems.

  
  Damn, that hit home. Thanks to Ken for this quiz.
  


• Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy
  ...fun fun fun fun fun! Thanks Rez.
  


• VENOM!!!!
  Damn, another year until Spiderman 3. Can't wait!!!
  


• The moons of Saturn.
  
  
  


• "I CAN'T tell you how excited I was when the wife suggested we spend the day looking at boobies."
  


• Rubik's cube solving robot.
  I usually just took it apart, then put it together again.
  


• A Wii little bit.
  So, size doesn't matter.
  


• Importing Head Lice.
  Because, you know, can never have enough cooties.
  

Friday FIREPOWER!

• The FS 2000s have started to arrive.
  
  
  
  It is unfortunate that this particular model has started to exhibit some unsafe behavior. It might be best to wait and see what abuse internals can actually take before shelling out $2000.
  


• Never look down the barrel of a loaded (spud) gun.
  

  The 24-year-old received serious facial injuries when hit in the face with a solid paper ball after the gun accidentally fired.
  
  Police said she had found her boyfriend's gun, designed to fire potatoes and other projectiles at high speed, in a shipping container in their backyard.
  
  She picked it up and looked down the barrel as she placed it on the ground.
  
  "But the spud-gun ignition switch fired and a solid paper ball hit her in the face," a police spokesman said.
  
  Officers are yet to interview the woman, who is being treated in Royal Perth Hospital.
  
  Her boyfriend has been summonsed to appear in court at a later date on a charge of possessing a controlled weapon.

  
  I guess the lack of guns breeds people with the lack of gun safety knowledge.
  
  Rule number 1: All guns are always loaded (until you establish whether they are or not).
  


• Are you a paranoid American?
  

  "I think that eventually Americans will realize that their obsession with arming themselves in fear, in a paranoid belief that they’re going to be able to stave off the ills of the world through owning guns, through turning every house into an arsenal, eventually Americans will go away from that."
  
  Rebecca Peters
  Director
  International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA)
  U.N. wants global ban on guns
  June 21, 2006

  Call me crazy (and I'm sure Ms. Peters would), but isn't defense-minded gun ownership about meeting the evils of the world head-on in personal combat and taking responsibility for one's own well-being?
  
  It seems to me that social engineering is more from the "staving off" school.
  American By Blood
  TheHighRoad.Org

  
  
  

Never piss off a heavy machine operator.

TERRIFIED Janice Gledhill told last night how a maniac in a mechanical digger began reducing her house to this scene of utter devastation — with her STILL inside.

The holiday park owner was shaken awake at 7.15am yesterday by the roar of the machine trundling menacingly towards the home she shares on site with boyfriend James Harvard.

Minutes later plant hire operator Robert Taylor — furious at being asked for £1,000 in back rent — began a wrecking spree ended only by ARMED COPS.

The digger driver calmly smashed aside a patrol car answering the 999 call, then:

CRUSHED the couple’s two luxury Chrysler cars, worth £80,000, parked by the house.

RAISED the bucket to its full height and brought it down on the tiled roof of the four-bedroom home.

FLATTENED three sides of the timber-framed house with the digger’s arm, reducing it to a litter-strewn rubble.

Then ASKED if a van beside the only remaining wall could be shifted so he could smash it down.

Armed police surrounded the home and pulled Taylor, who has a history of heart problems, out of the cab.

I think that an armed homeowner could have taken care of this without as much loss of property. Heck, probably just a shattered front windshield on the machine.

War is hella expensive to maintain.

The annual cost of replacing, repairing and upgrading Army equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan is expected to more than triple next year to more than $17 billion, according to Army documents obtained by the Associated Press.

From 2002 to 2006, the Army spent an average of $4 billion a year in annual equipment costs. But as the war takes a harder toll on the military, that number is projected to balloon to more than $12 billion for the federal budget year that starts next Oct. 1, the documents show.


The $17 billion also includes an additional $5 billion in equipment expenses that the Army requested in previous years but has not yet been provided.


The latest costs include the transfer of more than 1,200 2 1/2-ton trucks, nearly 1,100 Humvees and $8.8 million in other equipment from the U.S. Army to the Iraqi security forces.

According to the Army, the $17 billion includes:


$2.1 billion in equipment that must be replaced because of battle losses.


About $6.5 billion for repairs.


About $8.4 billion to rebuild or upgrade equipment.

Not just for the military, but for the civilians as well. Rising costs has forced the price of ammunition and firearms up. Mainly ammunition, if you can get some. Main rifle calibers used in the war, like 7.62x39 and 5.56x45, are scarce right now. I believe the days of 1000rnds for $99 are long gone.

PS3 Secret Weapon Revealed?

While everyone is heaping praise on the Wii, (and rightly so) we've received a tip-off from one of our sources that is claiming to have inside information about an accessory that will be available at the launch of the PS3 in mid November. The secret hardware is reportedly being developed by an Israeli company called Prime Sense, with patent-pending technology that can "reconstruct 3D topography without assuming anything about the user or environmental conditions".

Prime Sense’s concept is a device, which allows a computer to perceive the world in 3D and derive an understanding of the world based on sight, just the way humans do.

The device includes a sensor, which sees a user (including their complete surroundings), and a digital component, or "brain" which learns and understands user movement within those surroundings.

Prime Sense’s interactive device can see, track and react to user movements outside the computer, all without change of environment or wearable equipment for the end user. The closed device is plug and play and platform independent.

So how will this be used in games? Well, the device will apparently allow the gamer to make physical motions in order to interact with the game. This could be applied in any number of ways by the developer. A recent example of such technology is Sony's very own EyeToy, but this new device is said to be even more advanced.

The device was actually hinted at during this year's E3 conference, with Sony claiming the PS3 had some sort of connection to the Minority Report movie. Well, it seems this connection has now been made. If you remember Minority Report, part of the movie involves a similar device which can in fact reconstruct 3D topography.

What are you doing now, Dave? Dave, put that away, you'll go blind...

Boy hit in head by propeller.

A 16-year-old boy suffered a head injury Sunday evening when he was cut by a boat propeller on Lake Osborne.

Justin Musselman, who was operating an inflatable boat with three friends when the accident occurred, was taken into surgery late Sunday evening at Delray Medical Center and had a "favorable" prognosis, police said.

Musselman was hurt at about 5 p.m., when two of his friends began wrestling and fell into the water. He playfully jumped in after them, leaving the fourth friend alone on the boat. But not knowing how to drive it, the fourth friend got scared and also jumped in the water.

Without an operator, the boat spun in circles.

Musselman, whose parents own the boat, tried to stop the spin by grabbing the boat, but the boat whipped around and he was hit in the head and torso by the propeller.

If you are the last one in the boat, don't jump out if it ain't sinking. Also, who the hell let's their friends wrestle in a dingy?

Misc. Friday Ramblings...

Better than a bag of Funions...

• It's Photoshop Phriday.
  Unwanted soundtracks indeed.
  


• Woman Preparing For Driver's Test Plunges Car Into Canal.
  I'd had to see her try the parallel parking.
  


• Robots patrol the world cup games.
  They haven't found Sarah Conner....yet.
  


• Clutter your GUI desktop like your actual desktop.
  So, I guess this is the true implementation of a paperless office.
  


• Two people killed in Fla. prison shooting.
  No, it wasn't the inmates this time. It was the guards.
  


• Biting the hand that freed you.
  
  
  


• Officers honored for finding man's penis.
  I guess they broke out the dick dogs.
  


• Cop accused of beating wife over group sex.
  She's not a donut pumper.
  


• Do not microwave gunpowder.
  From the "No Duh" category of Brainiac.
  

Friday FIREPOWER!

• Minigun for sale.
  

  Group Industries M-134 Mini Gun transferable and in immaculate condition. Very rare serial #0001. Gun is currently registered on a form 4.
  
  Additional photographs available on request.
  
  We are willing to entertain serious offers contact: fullauto@impactguns.com
  
  All NFA rules apply.
  
  Price: $399,999.99
  Impact Item #: minigun

  
  Hmmm, $400k for this, or maybe paying off all the bills. I'll take the minigun!
  


• If you can't swing the real minigun, try the airsoft version.
  

  The M-134A2 is powered by both electricity and compressed air. The electricty comes via a high powered battery and powers the motor which controls the rotation of the barrel and the compressed air source physically propells the BB out the barrel. Inside the reciever is a central hub machined from Delron, a frictionless polymer compound, which houses a complex series of cams and bolts. During each revolution, the central hub, through a patented firing system engineered by Paul Piper of Piper's Precision Products (Patent 6,152,125) will pick up a BB from the central hopper and chamber it into the barrel. Each barrel has its own dedicated bolt and loading system independent from one another. It fires from a closed bolt system and features collasping design to insure no damage will occur due to misfire or misfeed. As each barrel rotates into the 11 o'clock position, it passes in front of the constantly expelled compressed air that is activated by the trigger, thus firing out the BB. As one barrel is firing the others are in the stages of being loaded, thus producing the high rate of fire. The weapon features many failsafe systems to minimum damage and wear and increase reliablity. In fact, the R&D test and demo M-134A1 model used by both Piper's Precision Products and X-Caliber Tactical over the last two years has to date reliably fired over 1,002,000 rounds without any maintainence or notable wear.

  
  When paintball just won't do the trick anymore.
  

The UN small arms conference.

1. U.S versus the UN over July arms conference - the article.
   

   Americans mistakenly worried the United Nations is plotting to take away their guns on July 4 -- U.S. Independence Day -- are flooding the world body with angry letters and postcards, the chairman of a U.N. conference on the illegal small arms trade said on Wednesday.
   
   "I myself have received over 100,000 letters from the U.S. public, criticising me personally, saying, 'You are having this conference on the 4th of July, you are not going to get our guns on that day,'" said Prasad Kariyawasam, Sri Lanka's U.N. ambassador.
   
   "That is a total misconception as far as we are concerned," Kariyawasam told reporters ahead of the two-week meeting opening on Monday.
   
   For one, July 4 is a holiday at U.N. headquarters and the world body's staff will be watching a fireworks display from the U.N. lawn rather than attending any meetings, he said.
   
   For another, the U.N. conference will look only at illegal arms and "does not in any way address legal possession," a matter left to national governments to regulate rather than the United Nations, he added.
   
   The campaign is largely the work of the U.S. National Rifle Association, whose executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre, warns on an NRA Web site (http://www.stopungunban.org/) of a July 4 plot "to finalise a U.N. treaty that would strip all citizens of all nations of their right to self-protection."
   
   Kariyawasam said, "The U.N. conference will not negotiate any treaty to prohibit citizens of any country from possessing firearms or to interfere with the legal trade in small arms and light weapons."
   
   The group also asks members to write to John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, urging him to "ensure the defeat of this treaty." Bolton's office confirmed he had received tens of thousands of cards from concerned Americans.
   
   "We understand their concerns and will work during the conference to communicate their concerns," Bolton spokesman Richard Grenell said.
   
   At the same time, 1 million people around the world -- symbolizing the number of people killed by guns since the last U.N. small arms conference in 2001 -- have signed a petition backing stronger controls on arms deals in a campaign organized by Oxfam International, Amnesty International and the International Action Network on Small Arms.
   
   The June 26-July 7 U.N. conference was called to review a 2001 U.N. action plan aimed at stemming the illegal global trade in small arms, which, as defined by the United Nations, range from pistols and grenades to mortars and shoulder-fired anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles.
   
   The action program set out broad guidelines for national and global measures to track arms sales, promote better management of government arms stockpiles and encourage the destruction of illicit arms.

   
   


2. U.S versus the UN over July arms conference - the non-conspiracy side.
   

   But here’s the thing: The UN isn’t going to vote to do anything on July 4th, because like the rest of its host country, it will be observing the Independence Day holiday and taking the day off. It’s unclear if delegates will be grilling ‘dogs and downing brewskis under a “When in Rome” dictum, but they won't be working.
   
   Nor will it be voting to take your guns away on July 3rd or 5th, or some other day nearby.
   
   The one thing it is doing on guns this summer is discussing the progress of its ongoing efforts to cut down on illegal gun trafficking, particularly focused on guns that wind up in the hands of terrorists.
   
   The UN Small Arms Review Conference is going to “review progress made in the implementation of the programme of action to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.” (Don’t you just love it when they spell programme that way?)
   
   The conference will debate and send a report to the General Assembly.
   
   What the report will say remains a subject for discussion, which is why the UN has set aside a couple of weeks for the conference. Maybe they’ll come up with some restrictions aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of Al-Qaeda. Or the Weather Underground or ELF, for that matter. Maybe they won't. What the General Assmebly does with the recommendations is also unknown.
   
   But there will be no discussion of regulating legal gun sales, a UN source said. No call for countries to change their constitutions.

   
   


3. U.S versus the UN over July arms conference - the conspiracy side.
   

   Actually, this May 11, 2006 letter was penned by none other than one of the most anti-gun senators in the Congress -- Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI).
   
   What especially caught GOA's attention is that Sen. Kohl emphatically states that the UN is NOT trying to disarm us.
   
   "Current UN proposals do not infringe upon these [Second Amendment] rights," he says. "The State Department has assured me that 'the Convention is intended to address the problem of transnational trafficking in firearms, and is not meant to regulate the internal firearms trade' of individual nations, including the United States."
   
   Did Kohl really say that? And did the State Department really say that current UN proposals don't infringe upon Second Amendment rights? That the UN is only interested in stopping the international trafficking of firearms, and is not trying to infringe the rights of law-abiding citizens?
   
   Well, as they say on the farm: that's just horse-pucky.
   
   The fact is, the United Nations has ALREADY TRIED to impose mandatory gun controls for member nations. In 2001, delegates from more than 140 nations met together to hammer out various firearms restrictions. But there were a few countries -- most notably, the United States -- that resisted all efforts to discuss legally binding measures or restrictions on civilian ownership of firearms.
   
   The hero at that conference was our very own John Bolton, who at that time was an undersecretary for arms control at the State Department. Bolton, who is now the US ambassador to the UN, said that our country would not support any language that conflicted with the constitutional right of our citizens to keep and bear arms.
   
   That was the proverbial monkey wrench in the cog wheel. Without US support for mandatory restrictions, the agreement became a "voluntary" one.
   
   The leading organization that is pushing for global gun control is IANSA (International Action Network on Small Arms). They are the umbrella lobby group for all the anti-gun groups at the United Nations.
   
   IANSA is helping coordinate an international convention this July 4 to discuss, among other things, "the importance of regulating guns owned by civilians." This is the latest series of conferences where nations are putting together a global gun control treaty.
   
   But Sen. Kohl is either lying or is ignorant to what the UN has been up to. All he needs to do is check the IANSA website to see what the global gun grabbers are saying about the upcoming global meeting on small arms. Kohl tells his constituent that the UN "will not infringe upon the rights of U.S. citizens to bear 'firearms such as hunting rifles and pistols.'"
   
   But that is exactly what a majority of the UN delegates want. In its 2006 report, Bringing the Global Gun Crisis Under Control, IANSA defines small arms as "weapons that can be carried and used by an individual, for example, revolvers, pistols, rifles, shotguns, sub-machine guns and assault rifles." So, it sure sounds like they're talking about regulating the kinds of guns that average citizens own.


Here's my suggestion. This holiday buy some ammo, go shooting, buy some beer, then grill out and drink with family and friends. Also, don't mix the alcohol and shooting, driving, etc.

0 to 60 in 3 seconds, 170mpg

The X1 prototype is a concept car, and a test platform. It is not a production car, and never will be. It’s a proof-of-concept vehicle that will lead to a production car in the future.

To build it as a prototype, we looked for the best of the best, in today’s technology. We chose the AC Propulsion (www.acpropulsion.com) 3-phase AC induction motor and inverter – the highest power/weight ratio system available; brilliantly engineered, and with about a decade of durability testing to date. For the chassis, we turned to Ariel, in Somerset. (www.arielmotor.co.uk). Simon Saunders, the designer of the Atom and the founder and CEO of Ariel, has created in our view one of the world’s most beautiful cars, as well as the quickest, lightest chassis on the road. To drive it is a revelation. Simon’s background is in automotive design, notably for Aston Martin and Porsche. The Atom chassis was substantially modified for the electric drive train, but retains the original styling.

The X1 prototype is just the beginning. It meets its design specs of 0-60 in 3 seconds, 170 mpg equivalent; and at 1536 lbs, is only 36 lbs over the design target of 1500. It really does raise the performance driving experience to a new level, even for racing drivers. No clutch, no shifting, precise and immediate control of torque in drive and braking, perfect traction control…first gear takes you to 112mph…

So instead of not being able to pass a gas station, an issue most fast cars have today, this thing will be unable to pass by an electric outlet. Still, it is no Koenigsegg CCR.

Star Trek: re-boot the universe.

Two years ago, J. Michael Straczynski and Bryce Zabel wrote a proposal for a re-vamp of the original Star Trek series. Paramount in their infinite wisdom and awesome decision making concerning the franchise, turned it down. I wonder if the success of another redone science fiction series known as Battlestar Galactica has made them realize how poor a choice this was.

I only hope that when it comes time for Star Trek: Online to come out that none of the people responsible for declining to take the Babylon 5 creator up on his offer are still involved in anything having to do with Star Trek. Because if they want the game to fail, I'm sure those guys would find a way to make that happen.

Here is a link to the proposal. It sounds like it could have been a great idea.

Breaking a computer speed record

IBM and Georgia Tech have coaxed a chip to run at 500GHz, a record for a silicon-based device, by dropping the temperature to minus 451 degrees Fahrenheit.

The experiment is part of a project to explore the ultimate speed limits of silicon-germanium (SiGe) chips. SiGe chips are similar to standard silicon chips, but they also contain germanium for better performance and lower power consumption.

At room temperature, the IBM-Georgia Tech chip operates at 350GHz, or 350 billion cycles per second. That's far faster than standard PC processors today, which range from 3.8GHz to 1.8GHz. But SiGe chips can gain additional performance in colder temperatures.

To that end, IBM and Georgia Tech scientists turned down the temperature and cryogenically froze the chip at minus 451 F. It's about as cold as things get. An extremely cold temperature like that is found naturally only in outer space, but can be artificially achieved on Earth using ultracold materials such as liquid helium. Absolute zero comes at minus 459 F.

I can see it now. "New from Alienware, liquid helium cooled overclocked systems." Something to stroke the e-peen of the warez guys, I guess.

What the hell is an aluminum falcon?

Ah, a day in the life of the Sith Overlord.

It's almost vacation time. Here comes a Tropical Storm

The first tropical depression of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season formed Saturday in the northwestern Caribbean Sea, and was expected to become the year's first named storm as it veers toward Florida, forecasters said.

The depression was not expected to become a hurricane, said Jack Beven, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center.

And, for a state battling a drought, forecasters say rainfall from the storm could be a good thing.

Over the next three days, the system was expected Saturday to move through the Yucatan Channel into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, then turn toward Florida where it could make landfall somewhere between South Florida and the western tip of the Panhandle by Tuesday, bringing rain to the parched peninsula.

"It's not going to be a wind event, it's not going to be a flood event, but it could bring us two to three days of rain," Barry said.

I should work for the hurricane center. Every damn time I want to go on vacation, a f*cking storm shows up. I swear, I hate vacation time. Work always picks up. Something goes to shit at home. And, for the past two years, every time I take a vacation that involves travel, some sort of weather event happen. I hate my life sometimes.

Misc. Friday Ramblings...

• It's Photoshop Phriday!
  Paintings of Light.....and darkness...
  


• A computer Crysis.
  I think I just smelled my video cards melting.
  


• Take the What Pulp Fiction Character Are You? quiz.
  
  

  Tired of being underappreciated and manipulated by powerful "others," you fight back. Though possesssing a cold, violent outside, you have a soft, scentimental inside. You love your partner, you cherish family heirlooms, and you want nothing more than to be geniunely happy -- but you don't mind having to kill a couple of nimrods who happen to clutter your path.

  
  


• David Lee Roth doing Jump, blugrass style.
  Hell has frozen over.
  


• P-P-P-Powerbook, take 2!
  Scamming the scammers, one fake laptop at a time!
  


• Dilboard...er, Billboard harassment settled.
  Gives new meaning to the phrase "the green monster".
  


• Forensic's class finds real body in fake crime scene.
  Talk about one hell of a field trip.
  

Friday FIREPOWER!

• U.S. Army Says 5.56mm Is Adequate
  

  The U.S. Army completed a study of current 5.56mm M855 round, in response to complaints from troops that this ammunition was in adequate in combat. Troops reported many instances where enemy fighters were hit with one or more M855 rounds and kept coming. The study confirmed that this happened, and discovered why. If the M855 bullet hits slender people at the right angle, and does not hit a bone, it goes right through. That will do some soft tissue damage, but nothing immediately incapacitating. The study examined other military and commercial 5.56mm rounds and found that none of them did the job any better. The study concluded that, if troops aimed higher, and fired two shots, they would have a better chance of dropping people right away. The report recommended more weapons training for the troops, so they will be better able to put two 5.56mm bullets where they will do enough damage to stop oncoming enemy troops.

  
  So, whatever happened to the "One shot, one kill" mantra?
  


• The FN S.C.A.R.
  

  SCAR Program Fills a Need That Years Of SOF Operator Experience Tells Us Still Exists. A Multipurpose Weapon of Choice With Choices for Today’s And Tomorrow’s Battlefields. SCAR Program Will Field The Best Possible Weapon System To The SOF Operator.

  
  *sigh* Something I'll want and never get, once the civilian version comes out. Darn responsibilities.
  


• Special forces have wings for their protection.
  

  Elite special forces troops being dropped behind enemy lines on covert missions are to ditch their traditional parachutes in favour of strap-on stealth wings.
  
  The lightweight carbon fibre mono-wings will allow them to jump from high altitudes and then glide 120 miles or more before landing - making them almost impossible to spot, as their aircraft can avoid flying anywhere near the target.

  
  Not to ruin the fun, but Cobra had these back in the 80's.


• Nap time, F-18 style.
  Don't close your eyes, you'll miss the view.
  

Skip the middle man.

A driver who sped through a cemetery in an apparent road-rage incident has died after crashing his car into a mausoleum.

Police said the man was chasing a car that had cut him off Sunday. His classic 1967 Corvette skidded out of control on a turn in the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Hayward and crashed in front of mourners watching a nearby burial.

The identity of the 52-year-old man was not immediately released. Police said he was chasing a Mercedes-Benz convertible through the cemetery after an apparent argument on a nearby street.

A pair of crypts inside the mausoleum were jarred open, but the caskets inside weren't damaged.

Police said they want to question the driver of the other car that kept going after the crash. The Mercedes driver is being sought as a witness but is not thought to have caused the crash.

Nothing like drive-thru service into the afterlife.

Toys of yester-year you'd never see today.

When personal responsibility surrendered, the US became a sadder place to live.

This did not affect games, they sucked just as much as ever, the manufacturers just get sued for it, now.

06/06/06

Mothers giving birth tomorrow might be tempted to check their newborn for any unusual birthmarks … you know, just to be sure.

Such is the hype surrounding the sixth day of the six month of the year '06. A significant date for superstitious souls, 666 is the "number of the Beast," as mentioned in the Bible's Book of Revelation.

So it's a day of trepidation for some people, perhaps, but an excellent marketing opportunity for the remake of the 1976 horror movie The Omen, which uncoincidentally opens tomorrow.

The film features Damien, an antichrist figure with the triple-digit mark of the devil hidden beneath his hair. (Related: "Horror, Japanese Style: Beyond 'The Grudge'" [2004].)

In Europe, North America, and elsewhere there have been reports of expectant mothers hoping to avoid giving birth on the supposedly ill-starred day.

Pregnant women have been discussing the approaching date in forums of the Web site of Mother & Baby, a British parenting magazine.

"Keeping my legs well crossed that day," writes Emma Robertson, whose baby is due on June 10.

"I have just found out its going to be a boy," says another forum member, whose baby is due tomorrow. "If it's born on its due date [I] think I might call him Damien."

If these women don't appear to be taking the idea of spawning devil children too seriously, a survey in Texas by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram suggests some real concern among expectant mothers.

"I'm going to be induced on the fourth or fifth," Carrie McFarland from Dallas told the newspaper. "If my doctor had offered to induce me on the sixth, I wouldn't have done it."

Angela Dubose-Davidson of Fort Worth told the newspaper, "I'm a Christian, and that number has significant occult meaning behind it of a negative nature."

At 06:06, on 06/06/06, I was out the door and driving to work. Traffic was quite a bit lighter this morning than usual. It's all a bunch of simple tricks and nonsense today.

Here's your sign.

Ever seen those signs in front of churches with the moveable letters? Ever wanted to rearrange the letters to make your own church sign? Well, now you can. Choose a design below, add your text, and a personalized church sign photo will be generated for you! Save it, send it to a friend, put on your website, or use it however you like. Enjoy!

Misc. Friday Ramblings...

• It's Photoshop Phriday.
  Misspelled movies. Shakes on a plane?
  


• Woman Hit By Lightning While Praying.
  You want God's attention? Pray. God wants your attention? Duck!
  


• It flys so well because it has wings.
  
  
  Addidas on one side, Stay Free on the other.
  


• ECW is coming back!
  But on the Sci-Fi channel? WTF?
  


• Mona Lisa speaks.
  Too bad she probably sounded like Harvey Firestein.
  


• Batwoman as a lesbian.
  Can't wait to see the shape of those Bat-a-rangs.
  


• Watching for falling rocks does no damn good...
  if you can't get the hell out of the way.
  


• Oprah's Super-Fun Adventure.
  
  
  
  Must have been a happy-happy, joy-joy time.
  

Friday FIREPOWER!

• Chicks and Guns.
  Ah, bliss and boobies. Nothing finer.
  


• Fast reloading.
  Oh sure, if you have the money to spend on STI mods/guns, you can take the time to practice for speed. The expanded magwell helps too.
  


• AA gun near airport sparks concern.

  A North Texas man is keeping an unusual piece of military history in his yard near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
  
  An anti-aircraft gun from the Korean conflict designed to bring down airplanes sits in the man's front yard off of Valley View Road in Irving.
  
  NBC 5 found out about the gun after receiving calls and e-mails from viewers who were concerned the gun was being used to target aircraft taking off from D/FW airport.
  
  A quick investigation by NBC 5 found that was not the case.
  
  
  NBC 5 spoke with the elderly man who owns the gun and he said he inherited the gun from the owner a while back. The gun hasn't been fired in years and has been inactive for a long time.
  
  "He's had it in his front yard the entire time I've lived here," said Eric Macnak. "It's been sitting in his front yard all this time."
  
  The owner said the gun is facing D/FW because the gears are broken and it's stuck in its current position and that the gun's next home will likely be a scrap yard.
  
  "I just think in our heightened state of awareness and all the development that is going on in the area, people are just now seeing it," said Tracee Smith. "I kind of look at it as character. Character on the road."
  
  A viewer e-mail identified the gun is a 75mm anti-aircraft gun called a "Skysweeper." It was constructed in the 1950s.
  
  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has been out to investigate the weapon and said it poses no threat.

  
  Young, liberal blissninnies move out to the 'burbs only to find that people keep all sorts of things on their lawns. Nimby kicks in, and even though someone has had it for years, it'll have to go do to pressure from the public. I hate having neighbors sometimes.

Who are you when you wake up?

A couple sat by their daughter's hospital bedside for weeks after an auto accident until she came out of a coma and they realized she was not their daughter after all, but another blond-haired young woman injured in the wreck. Their own daughter, it turned out, was dead and buried.

In a tragic mix-up, one family had been incorrectly told their daughter had died in the April 26 crash in Indiana, and another was erroneously informed their daughter was in a coma.

The two young women — both students at Indiana's Taylor University — looked remarkably alike, and the one in a coma suffered facial swelling, broken bones and cuts and bruises, and was in a neck brace.

The family of Laura VanRyn, 22, disclosed the mix-up Wednesday on a Web log that they had used to record detailed updates on the young woman's recovery.

"Our hearts are aching as we have learned that the young woman we have been taking care of over the past five weeks has not been our dear Laura, but instead a fellow Taylor student of hers, Whitney Cerak," the VanRyns said on the blog.

Cerak's grandfather, Emil Frank, said news of his granddaughter's survival was a shock. "I still can't get over it. It's like a fairy tale," he said.

Coroner Ron Mowery, whose office handled the case, apologized for the mistake. He said acquaintances of the students had identified the survivor as VanRyn, but no scientific tests were conducted to verify the IDs.

You know it is bad when the person recovering wakes up and asks, "Who are you?". It is almost like that Sanda Bullock movie, While You Were Sleeping.