An Informed Public

Dead Pool

Last week's high profile celebrity deaths--Ed McMahon, Farah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson--reminded me of the myth that famous people always die in groups of three.

Well, yesterday saw the passing of both '50s actress Gale Storm and infomercial pitchman Billy Hays. That's two more down in one day.

So the question becomes: Who's going to the lucky celebrity to round out this latest trilogy?

Honduras

The above photo is a scene from yesterday's coup in Honduras. When I saw it, I was left speechless by the shocking image that is now seared into my brain.

I mean, who knew Honduras had a McDonalds?

Going with the Flow

Keeping track of the key players in the Republican party's noble efforts to preserve the sanctity of marriage and preserve family values can certainly be challenging. Fortunately, someone has prepared a helpful flow chart to help us along.

Pass the Jesus Juice

Quite frankly, I'm surprised by the outpouring of emotion over the death of Michael Jackson. I just don't get it.

I completely agree that 30 or 40 years ago, Jackson was a highly talented performer. For several years in the '80s, he certainly deserved the title "The King of Pop." And if he had died in, say, 1987, then I would have agreed that the world had suffered a huge cultural loss. But that was then and this is now. He was a man who had been given huge gifts, and then squandered them.

Over the last 20 some years, Jackson had become a joke. And whatever else his accomplishments may have been, I will forever remember Michael Jackson as a punchline.

Seriously, think back to how this man once dangled his kid over a hotel balcony. One little slip, and his son would have been dead. What the hell kind of a parent does that? And where was the outrage? Instead of condemning his actions, Jackson's fans laughed it off.

Then there were the sleepovers. A grown man sleeping with 13 year old boys? Especially when the grown man isn't even a Catholic priest? Sorry, but that goes well beyond the realm of just being creepy.

And don't even get me started on the Elephant Man remains, the oxygen tent (as Danny's comment on yesterday's post put it: "Guess the oxygen tent didn't help much"), and the whole Neverland Ranch amusement park/zoo thing. Sure, it was intended to appeal to kids, but parents, you'll have to wait outside while Jacko gets your little ones drunk on Jesus Juice.

Give me a frakking break.

Michael Jackson: 1958-2009

Holier Than Thou

Elie Mystal has a great column on the True/Slant website that raises some legitimate questions about the sanctity of marriage, the Bible, and sanctimonious politicians. here it is in its entirety:

Mark Sanford held a magnificent press conference today. You might have heard that he’s been crying in Argentina with his mistress about having to go home to his wife who kicked him to the curb weeks ago.

Some people are saying that Sanford did a great job today because he was honest. Others are talking about how it’s a great tragedy — Rush Limbaugh even said that Sanford “could have been our J.F.K.” Democrats are talking about not making political hay out of the situation, while furiously trying to find any kind of misappropriation of taxpayer dollars to turn his adultery into some kind of a crime. The only thing I’ve heard out of Obama today is that he is going to see the Pope (nice timing, sensei).

Well, I say screw it, let’s make some hay. An instance of immense hypocrisy only comes along once every couple of days in American political life, why waste this moment?

Can we not use the struggles of seemingly every man who wants the Republican nomination in 2012 as a powerful lesson about the sanctity of marriage? Because I am really, really sick of people thumping the Bible when gays want to get married, and then thumping a little bit on the side.

I’ll admit that I’m a Christmas and Easter Catholic, so my new testament knowledge is not what it should be. But I’m almost positive Jesus really doesn’t like hypocrites. I think he said that they were “bad.”

But the larger point is that maybe the Bible doesn’t have all the magic spells one needs in order to have a successful marriage? If the Bible doesn’t always work for those that believe in its teachings, isn’t it conceivable that the Bible might not be the absolute authority on who is “allowed” to get married? What horror can a gay person visit upon the institution of marriage that God fearing heterosexuals haven’t already explored?

Adultery is not a republican/democratic thing, it’s not a liberal/conservative thing, and it’s certainly not a christian/atheist thing. Clearly, there are lots of people who are capable of taking the sacrament of marriage and flushing it down the toilet. If God wanted everybody to respect marriage, He would have provided us with stronger pants by now.

So why can’t gays and lesbians get in on the act? Surely some of them will respect marriage better than your average American politician.

And why couldn’t Mark Sanford lead the charge for gay marriage in South Carolina. I heard him apologize, I heard him say that he “needed to get his heart right.” But you know what I didn’t hear? I didn’t hear him say “I’ve been living as a hypocrite for months. Through this experience, I’ve learned that I am the last person to be lecturing people about how they prosecute their sex lives. I apologize to all the gays and lesbians that I have indirectly demonized just because they loved someone I thought they shouldn’t. Henceforth, I’ll never try to legislate morality again.”

That would have been praise worthy.

Good Thing They Replaced That Oppressive Shah

The Metro Crash

In the immediate aftermath of Monday's crash along the DC Metro's Red Line, many people assumed that it was the train's operator that had screwed up. This jumping to conclusions was probably understandable to a point. After all, last year a commuter rail engineer in California caused a major accident when he ran a signal while texting on his cellphone.

It is now beginning to look like Jeanice McMillan, the train operator in the DC crash, was as much a victim as the eight passengers who died. According to a Metro spokesperson, the train that caused the accident was operating in fully automatic mode. That means that it was Metro's own computers--not the train operator--that was in charge. The computer controls the train's speed, it's braking, and the distance between trains. There is also evidence that the operator hit the emergency brake in the moments before the crash. This would indicate that she was fully aware of what was about to happen.

Thus the question becomes: What went wrong with Metro's computers? According to the various safeguards built into the system, an accident such as the one two days ago was simply impossible. The computers wouldn't allow two trains to get that close to one another.

It was also revealed that a similar incident happened a few years ago along the Orange Line. In that 2005 episode under the Potomac, a train operator noticed that he was getting too close to the train in front of him even though the signal system was telling him the tracks were clear. He hit the emergency brakes and managed to prevent disaster. A third train behind his also managed to stop in time. Metro officials launched an investigation but at this point it remains unclear whether they ever figured out what went wrong.

In another revelation, it turns out that the two lead cars of the train that caused Monday's accident were overdue for an inspection of their braking systems. What the hell is that about? And how many more trains does Metro have running that are also past due on safety checks?

And if that's not enough, it turns out that the transit agency disregarded safety recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following previous accidents. One was to install data recorders on the trains to aid in future investigations. The second was to strengthen older rail cars to prevent the very "telescoping" effect that caused Monday's loss of life. In both cases, Metro cited a lack of funds as the reason it couldn't follow through.

For what it's worth, there was a somewhat fortuitous angle to the crash. The trains involved were both heading southbound, from suburban Maryland into DC. Since it was the evening rush hour, that means they were substantially less crowded than trains heading northbound out of the city. Had it been the other way around, with the rail cars packed with standing room only crowds, the loss of life would have been far higher.

The Glory of HDTV

A Holy Communion of Wackiness

Over the last couple of years, several hundred Episcopal parishes have broken away from the mother church. Their conservative members have been upset by what they view as the increasingly liberal policies of their former leaders. This week many of those breakaway parishes are expected to form a new denomination called The Anglican Church of North America.

Anyway, some of the important changes that the new church will adopt include excluding women and gays as bishops. It's not clear what they have against women, but conservative Episcopalians, who are really big on family values, hate gays. And if there's one thing those Episcopalians know, it's family values.

Some historical background: The Episcopal church is the American division of the Church of England, and the combination of the two is called The Anglican Communion. The Church of England was founded by King Henry VIII. And why did Henry decide to break from the then dominant Catholic church and create his own religion? Well, basically because the Pope refused to grant Henry a divorce from his first wife, Catherine. And why did the king want this divorce? So he could marry his mistress, Anne Boleyn. And as you probably know, that second marriage kind of ended badly for Anne as well. Henry went on to marry several more times.

So as you can see, when it comes to lecturing others about family values, the Episcopalians have a lot of credibility.

Polishing the Apple

Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who has been on medical leave since January, has reportedly received a new liver.

According to doctors familiar with the case, the new liver appears identical to the original. However, it includes more memory, a video camera function, and longer battery life. Unfortunately, it is still stuck with the ATT network.

Shake It, Sarah

An earthquake rattled parts of Alaska earlier today. No injures or serious damage has been reported, but many people did dive under their desks or hide in doorways.

So what caused the earthquake? It was undoubtedly God punishing Sarah Palin for criticizing David Letterman's jokes.

The Trouble with Interpreting God's Will

There's an old man who lives by himself in a farmhouse. One day a policeman shows up at his door and says, "Sir, there's a big flood coming, and we're evacuating the area. You'll have to grab what you can carry and leave."

The old man says, "I'm not going. The good lord will save me."

The officer shakes his head and leaves.

Sure enough, the water from a nearby river begins to rise. Soon it has filled the entire first story of the house and forced the old man to flee to the second floor. A fireman comes by in a boat. He rows right up to the window where the old man is sitting and says, "Get in the boat and I'll take you to dry land!"

The old man shakes his head and says, "That won't be necessary. The good lord will save me."

The fireman shrugs and leaves. Still, the waters keep rising. Soon the old man is forced to climb onto the roof.

A helicopter flies by, sees the old man, and lowers a man on a cable. "Sir!" he says. "Strap this safety harness around your waist and we'll hoist you up to safety!"

The old man waves him off and says, "The good lord will save me."

So the helicopter leaves. But still the waters continue to rise. Soon, the old man is forced to stand on his tiptoes. The water is now up to his chin, and it is becoming painfully obvious that he will soon drown.

The old man summons what little strength he has left and cries out to the heavens, "Lord! Why have you not saved me?!?"

Suddenly a booming voice echoes down from on high and says, "I sent you a cop, a boat, and a helicopter! What the hell else do you want?"

And the Priest Was LaterCaught Abusing Pupae

At Least It Wasn't the Swine Flue That Got Him

A Continental Airlines flight carrying 247 passengers from Brussels landed safely in Newark yesterday after the pilot died somewhere over the Atlantic. He had apparently suffered a heart attack in midflight, and attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.

Aside from an announcement asking if there was a doctor on board, the passengers had no clue that anything was amiss. They were never told that the pilot had died.

That's probably a good thing. If they had been told, there probably would have been another two dozen heart attacks on that plane.

The Loss of Our Collective Humanity

Well, this is certainly outrageous. A man in Oklahoma City was sitting at a bus stop getting ready to eat a bologna sandwich. Another man then walked up, punched him in the face, and took the sandwich.

What the hell is wrong with people? Is this what our society has come to? Shouldn't we, as part of a supposedly civilized society, be above such things? Perpetrating senseless acts of violence against our fellow man just so we can steal his bologna sandwiches? My God.

Now if it had been a pastrami on rye, then yeah, I could understnd it.

Maybe a 'Failure to Launch' Would Have Been a Good Thing

John Ensign, a conservative Republican senator from Nevada and possible contender for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, has admitted to having an extramarital affair with a member of his staff. Even worse, the woman he had the affair with was also married. Not that anyone's counting, but in a sense the senator's libido helped violate TWO sets of marriage vows. And in case that's not bad enough, the woman's husband was a golfing buddy of the senator.

Do I understand the Republicans' position correctly? Same sex unions would destroy the so-called "sanctity of marriage" but boinking the wife of one of your best friends honors it?

Makes perfect sense.

Missionary Position

Yesterday evening when I got home and got out of the car, I immediately sensed that there was danger nearby. I don't know if it's some kind of sixth sense, or just a subtle awareness of what was going on around me, but I could tell that it was time to be on my highest alert. With my senses heightened by the surge of adrenaline, I began to take in my surroundings. I was looking for anything out of the ordinary while simultaneously looking for avenues of escape should the need arise.

And that was when I saw them: Two white males on bicycles at the far end of the parking lot. Both were wearing crisp white shirts, dark ties, and black nametags on their pockets. I recoiled in horror at the sudden realization of what I was seeing: Mormon missionaries.

Fortunately they were heading for the building next door, so I had time to mount a defensive strategy. I ran to my apartment and thought about barricading the door. But then what would I do if there were a fire? I'd die trying to clear the door which I had barricaded to keep from having my soul saved.

If there's one thing I fear more than Mormons, it's dying an ironic death.

So I grabbed a 3 X 5 index card and a magic marker. I simply wrote "NOT INTERESTED" on the card and taped it to the outside of my door.

Sure enought, about half an hour later, I could hear them knocking on my neighbor's door. When there was no answer, they knocked on the other neighbor's door, and then the third one's. Soon I could hear them knocking on doors upstairs. I had been spared!! I was feeling pretty proud of myself. As a precaution, I decided to leave the card on the door overnight.

This morning as I was leaving for work, I took the note down. That's when I noticed something concealed under it. Foolishly I looked. It was a card with a picture of Jesus on one side and some kind of prayer on the other.

F*cking bastards got me anyway.

California's Impending Financial Earthquake

Just as it's beginning to appear that the U.S. may be recovering from the "Great Recession," a new threat has appeared on the horizon: California.

The Golden State is facing a massive $24 billion dollar budget deficit. State officials just made a last ditch appeal to the Obama administration and were rebuffed. White House officials were concerned that if they give in to California, 49 other states would show and start clawing at the door. Considering that the White House is a historical landmark with valuable 200 year old doors, this was ruled unacceptable. The scratch marks would have violated Federal law.

It remains unclear what will happen next. California can either enact massive spending cuts, or it can just go into default. In any event, one state official warned that it would be a "financial meltdown." Considering that the state has what amounts to the world's eighth largest economy, such an outcome would no doubt be felt nationwide.

So why rescue General Motors and not California? That's a tough call. But whatever horror awaits the state's citizens, they brought it upon themselves. There was a recent ballot initiative that would have raised $8 billion in new taxes, but the voters defeated the measure by a wide margin. In fact, many people say that one of California's major problems is that it's just too damn easy to put things such as property tax increases on the ballot. It's like democracy out of control. And since no one wants to pay higher taxes, the state is often left in a lurch.

Ironically, one of the things that had been helping the state's tax revenues somewhat were same sex marriage ceremonies. All those weddings were boosting tourism from other states and generating business for caterers, florists, hotels, and more.

Which raises a theological mystery of biblical proportions: Since the voters decided to ban same sex marriages, and the measure was upheld by the state's supreme court, why is God still punishing California? Shouldn't he have rewarded the state's citizens with some sort of massive divine cash infusion?

Whatever happens, the people of California brought it upon themselves.

A Literal Wild Goose Chase

New York city has announced plans to "remove and dispose of" as many as 2,000 geese in the coming weeks. In January a USAir flight hit a flock of birds, lost both engines, and was forced to ditch in the Hudson River. The city hopes that the effort will reduce the number of bird strikes around the city's major airports.

Meanwhile, the American Council of Geese has announced plans to trap and dispose of hundreds of 737s and 747s in an effort to reduce the number of plane strikes. This comes after a USAir flight in January killed several innocent geese in a brazen daytime attack.

Candidates with Funny Names

Pandemonium has erupted in Iran following that nation's presidential election. The final results were very tight, and both candidates are claiming victory. Incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmasomethingoranother has a slight edge in the numbers but his challenger, Mir-Hossein Mousav, whose middle name is--GASP--darn close to being Hussein, is claiming extensive voter fraud. The end result is that protests and even riots have broken out in the streets. Things have gotten so bad, in fact, that you'd think Iran just switched to DTV.

The final outcome, as always, depends on a recount in Florida.

End of Daze

DTV FUBAR: The Final Chapter

Well, today is the big day for the conversion to digital television. By midnight the transition will be complete and analog will be officially dead. Anyone who still relies on over-the-air broadcasts and has failed to buy the necessary equipment will be poop out of luck.

Despite years of publicity, the Federal Communications Commission is bracing for viewer anger from those who have failed to make the transition. This raises the specter of angry mobs of senior citizens rioting and looting once the early bird dinner specials end.

To play it safe, stay indoors after 5:30 PM and let the police regain control of the streets.

Also, as TV stations officially deactivate their analog signals, its likely that some may shift their frequencies for some reason. Viewers (the over the air ones) will have to rescan their channels if this happens. Some stations may even shift to new broadcast towers, which could require changing the position of your antenna.

One big winner in this transition may be the CW Network. The fledgling network has been unavailable in many smaller cities and communities simply because there were no available stations. But with DTV, existing stations will be able to broadcast several programs simultaneously, so it's possible that some will pick up the CW. That means that more people than ever before will be able to avoid watching Gossip Girl.

Those Hot Dogs Better Be Kosher

If This Isn't Irony, It's Damn Close

Back in 2000 there was a forgettable horror movie called Final Destination. A group of high school students going on their senior trip narrowly miss their flight to Paris. The plane blows up, killing everyone on board. The premise of the movie was that they were destined to die. Death, not one to be cheated, starts claiming the survivors one by one. Pretty far-fetched, eh?

Then again, maybe not.

Johanna Ganthaler of Italy was supposed to be on Air France 447 but arrived at the airport in Rio too late. She and her husband ended up returning to Europe the next day on a different plane.

Earlier this week Ganthaler was killed in a car crash along an Austrian road. Her husband was seriously injured.

Right to Life Logic

But What Effect Will This Have on Insurance Rates?

Astronomers using computer projections say that there is a remote but nonetheless real possibility that the Earth will collide with Venus or Mars in 3.5 billion years.

Wasting no time, Republicans have issued a statement blaming the Obama administration.

Suicide or Murder?

It was last Thursday morning that actor David Carradine's body was found in a Bangkok hotel room. Police quickly ruled it a suicide, saying he had hung himself. The family apparently wasn't satisfied with that explanation and called in the FBI to assist in the investigation.

More information has now emerged about the actor's death. Among the disturbing details is that in addition to having a rope around his neck, Carradine also had ropes around his genitals and wrists, suggesting that he may have been tortured.

Hmmm.... Can Dick Cheney account for his whereabouts last Thursday?

An Undeserving End to a Great Show

Well, this is a pisser. I just found out that ABC has already aired two of the last three episodes of Pushing Daisies. The series finale airs this coming Saturday night, June 13. The other two (from May 30 and June 6) can be found here.

Too bad we can't just touch it and bring it back to life.

Time for Some Summer Reading

Modern Planes, Yesterday's Commucations

Searchers have finally found the debris field for Air France flight 447. Almost two dozen bodies have been recovered, along with some luggage, tickets, and pieces of the fuselage.

What still remains missing, however, are the two "black boxes" from the aircraft. While some investigators consider their recovery essential to solving the mystery of what exactly happened to the doomed plane, their recovery is very much in doubt. They are probably under as much as two miles of ocean (that' almost as deep as the Titanic, which was found 2.5 miles down). But since it took several days to locate the debris on the surface, it likely drifted tens of miles because of winds and currents. It's not as if the the bulk of the wreckage is directly below the surface debris.

Now here's what I don't get: In this day and age of digital satellite communications, why are we still relying on freakin' tape recorders in our planes? Obviously this can be changed. In fact, what little is known about what happened is due to some information that was sent back to a control center by the plane's computers. Thanks to that, investigators are already focusing on 447's speed sensors. If they iced up, then that could have confused the plane's computer and thrown the aircraft out of control. But to confirm that theory, and further pin down the precise nature of the malfunction, the more detailed information contained on those recorders is needed.

Why can't the data sent back by modern jetliners be expanded to include everything that is included on those still missing recorders? Then when something does go wrong, there's never any worry about recovering the devices. The technology for such a system is clearly there. NASA has been getting detailed information on its missions for decades this way. Hell, if an astronaut farts, Houston knows about it before anyone else on the spaceship. To a large extent, it was the telemetry from the Columbia that helped the accident investigators determine why the shuttle broke up during its reentry. There was no need to look for black boxes.

It's time to bring the jet age into the 21st century.

Bravo and Pass the Nyquil

Broadway producers, always desperate for a fresh new hit, have announced plans for a new musical about the Swine Flu epidemic.

It is tentatively titled "The Sound of Mucus."

How to Make an Ear of Corn Happy

Still Missing

Well, this is certainly an odd development in the mystery of flight 447: For the last couple of days we had been hearing that searchers had found a debris field along the plane's flight path. Yesterday the big news was that the first remnants from the crash had been recovered. However, after inspecting the items, the French government says that the debris is NOT from missing plane, and that in fact they still have not found any evidence to indicate where 447 went down.

Aviation experts are apparently not lending any credence to my personal theory that there are survivors stranded on an deserted island and being pursued by a smoke monster while shifting back and forth through time. And as bad as things may be for them now, just wait till they encounter The Others.

Have you ever noticed that every single time there's a plane crash, we're always told by the experts that the aircraft involved has a strong safety record? It never seems to matter what kind of plane it was: The statistics tell us that it's a remarkably safe airplane.

Just once I'd like to hear someone from the FAA come forward and tell us, "Yeah, that plane's a f*cking deathtrap. You'd have to be a fool to get on that thing."

Proof That Twittering Is More Evil Than Blogging

The Power of Nature

We had some pretty big thunderstorms roll through the area last night, so it was a good time to go out and buy some lottery tickets.

You see, I once read that your odds of winning the lottery are about the same as being hit by lightning. Consequently, to improve my chances of becoming a multi-millionaire Powerball winner, I only play the lottery during thunderstorms. So whenever it looks like a storm is approaching, I run across the street to the 7-11 and load up on tickets. Then I run back home, climb up on the roof, wrap myself around the big metal TV antenna, and start scratching away.

Unusual? I suppose. But nowadays, it seems like a better retirement plan than investing in the stock market.

Only problem was that during this last storm the wind blew the ladder away, so I was stuck on the roof all night. I finally shimmied down the drainpipe, and boy, are the insides of my thighs raw!

Just No One Trip on Any Cords

Some VERY Cool Animation

I wish I knew more about this video. All I can really say is that it's based on a book by Colby Buzzell, a former soldier who served in Iraq.

Thanks to Tim for the link

Flight 447

Perhaps what is the most surprising aspect of the disappearance of Air France flight 447 is the way in which it happened. For a large airliner to seemingly go "poof" and simply vanish in this day and age just seems impossible. Things like that just aren't supposed to happen anymore, not with cellphones, gps, transponders, and constant surveillance of all kinds. Even out over the middle of the ocean, it's just difficult to believe. It's the 21st century, after all.

There is no doubt that sooner or later some sort of wreckage will be found. Investigators will then begin to piece together what went so terribly--and quickly--wrong. Could lightning or even turbulence really have brought a modern airliner down? More importantly, why would the pilot even have flown into a thunderstorm?

The investigation will likely involve a major deep sea salvage operation. And though the process may take several years (like the Swissair crash investigation), the mystery of Flight 447 will eventually be solved.

Explaining the 'Science' Behind Intelligent Design

And It's Made from All-Natural Trees!

Pretty much everyone and their uncle is familiar with that ShamWow commercial in which an obnoxious huckster wearing a headset pitches a miraculous super absorbent cloth. Well, despite the recession, the business world continues to innovate. Here's an even newer product that is expected to render the ShamWow obsolete:

Thanks to Dan for the link

Musical Interlude

I added a music player on the right hand side and believe me, it was a bitch getting that iPod to stick to the monitor. Word of warning: If you don't like Springsteen, don't go anywhere near it. On the other hand, if you are a fan, there's some great stuff on there. The first cut is what I dubbed Bruce's "Super Bowl Suite" from the game's halftime show. The audio track came from my TiVo.

Also, there's what is arguably the best version of "Incident on 57th Street" around. It was recorded in 1975 and has a police siren at the end. That siren has been the subject of much speculation among fans, but it was a stage prop. Nothing coincidental about it.

You'll also find a duet of "Thunder Road" with Melissa Etheridge.

Finally, there's Nils Lofgren doing his take on a couple of Springsteen songs.

Enjoy.

Joining the Dark Side

Although I've been writing this blog for something like six years now, I've resisted the urge to do the Facebook thing. However, last week, in a moment of profound weakness, I gave in and joined. I'm not sure why, but for some reason I feel like I surrendered to the temptations of the Dark Side. I keep expecting Darth Vader to show up at my front door and chop off my hand. If he does, I'm hoping he takes my left one so my sex life remains unaffected.

For the most part, anything you read in my Facebook notes will have first been posted here at MM&M. However, not everything here will make it over to Facebook. Though I toyed with the idea of linking the two--it's possible to set it up so anything you post on Blogspot also shows up on Facebook--I decided not to. The fact is that I occasionally discover typos that I missed before posting an item. And while I hope it's not considered cheating, I do go back and correct them. You can't do that on Facebook if a posting arrived via a feed from Blogger--only if it's an "original" item.

Make sense? That's okay, I'm confused, too.

Thanks to Facebook, I've also managed to find several people from my 1977 high school class. And judging by the growing pile of restraining orders, they were even more surprised that I found them.

There is one catch: Facebook requires potential readers to sign up. But if you're already a member, or decide to join me here on the dark side, feel free to pay me a visit. If you decide to do the friend thing, mention in the request that you came from the blog.

Oh, and don't be confused by the name Andrew B. Cseplo. In order to preserve my anonymity, I resorted to using an alias.

Careful What You Wish for