Fitbit

TECHNO CHILLS                                FitBit Two  weeks ago my dentist waxed on about her Fit Bit, and how much it had changed her lifestyle.   It's one of those black wrist bands everybody seemingly wears now.  Never paid much attention to them; figured they were just another  "pink  ribbon" statement of some kind. "Last night I got home, dead tired.  But then Cheryl (a friend) taunted me about my measly 6899 steps,  so I went out a ran until I hit 10000!" When I told MoSup about it she volunteered that son Greeper (who I think has a UP 24 Jawbone), told her that I would like it since it would appeal to my competitive nature.  That did it.  I went  to AMAZON and bought two Fitbit Flex bands. They sell for about the same thing everywhere ($98.47 ), but no tax or shipping,  what the hell. .   Setting it up was relatively easy.  Until.  When I tried to add MoSup onto my computer it got confused (or at least confused me) by seemingly transferring my account to her.  I still have no idea.  Finally,  I just went upstairs and installed on her computer.  Then I had to delete my account and reinstall (losing two days of data).   I created a group with just two people, so she could see and applaud me, and I could see and taunt her (I will never ever let her beat me!). There was one more surprise.  My dentist-ette told how she could track her progress on her iPhone while running.  I don't use a cell phone at all;  MoSup's phone is not an uppity one, so I didn't expect it to work for us.  But, I do have an iPad (gen 1), so I did expect it to integrate; but oh-no.  I need a gen III iPad for that.  I finally found what I'll call a "sponsor site" to log into with (MoSup had Facebook; I used Google).  There are still things I don't understand.  For instance, it seems that MoSup's data is updated when she passes within 20 feet of  my dongle, which would infer that you can have two devices installed on one computer?  I will guess that some of you are expert Fitbitters, and can answer questions. Bottom line, and assuming that the NSA isn't using these devices to get into my house (I am very Mozzy these days), I heartily recommend it.  If you're a geezer, you have plenty of time to waste, and this gives you the satisfaction of thinking that you're doing something useful, as opposed to the hollowness of searching Google for every woman celebrity "nude."  If you're young, it will by-god make you pay attention to how active you really are, and that can't help but make you want to log more exercise.  By the way, there is no requirement to log meals, just the opportunity.  Sample  Logging food is easy. The look-up database is extensive, and you can modify anything.  I didn't do this for the first few days, but since I know myself, I knew that knowing what I was putting in my mouth would automatically make me "choose" to modify.  For instance, yesterday my sodium level was 5600.  Look where 1/3 of that came from—our salad!  And this— Distilled Liquor, 90 Proof Whiskey) 1 quart23360008.9 I used almost ½ of my calorie allowance on a few adult beverages. HFS.

Blow Up Picture

“ The Feel Good Story of the Week (skoonj)  Suicide Bomber Kills Self MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A Somali police officer says a suicide car bomber accidentally detonated his explosives near a popular hotel in the Somali capital. Capt. Mohamed Hussein said the bomber appeared to have prematurely detonated his explosives-laden car Saturday as he tried to park near a hotel. No others were hurt or killed in the blast. The al-Qaida linked group al-Shabab frequently carries out attacks against the Somali government, the U.N. and African Union peacekeepers. Late last month, a suicide car bomber detonated his explosives-laden car at a teashop near Somalia’s intelligence agency headquarters, killing at least 12 people. ”

Knock Knock ...

Oh My

Meztger Soprano

Homeless guy wins $1000

Today's Non-Gummint Sponsored Feel Good

Tommy Lee Smith

Obamaward

Oh My

skoonj

Ceding the Internet

“  U.S. cedes control of Internet infrastructure to the UN "Congress needs to prevent the Obama Administration from giving away U.S. control over the Internet to any international body.  To allow the free speech rights of U.S. citizens to be threatened by international bodies that don't recognize these fundamental rights is dangerous and a threat to our national sovereignty.  Perhaps this latest egregious action by the Obama Administration in their quest to deconstruct the United States will finally wake Congress up to their power of the purse responsibility as a co-equal partner in government." [getliberty] Politico benignly announces: Internet administration to shift from U.S. to global stage The U.S. Commerce Department is relinquishing its hold over the group that manages the Internet’s architecture amid pressure to globalize its functions in the wake of reports about NSA surveillance. The United States will give up its oversight role when the current contract with ICANN expires in fall 2015, NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling said. He set out a series of four principles required for the transition, including that ICANN maintain the openness of the Internet. Some U.S. officials and businesses have expressed fears about the United Nations, or governments like Russia and China, taking over control of the Web Computer World "This is historic, because it marks a point of maturity in ICANN, the ICANN community and the global Internet community," he said. "The decision of the United States government to do this at this point is truly a triumph of the multistakeholder model [isn't that special]." Mashable U.S. Set to Give up Its Last Power Over the Internet From Newsmax, on a related topic: treason “Obama has an ideology, he wants to make America very different than it is. He would love to see the American era, which began in 1945, come to an end. He doesn’t want America to be the world’s sole superpower,” D’Souza said. “Now you can’t remake America in two years or four years, maybe not even in eight years, but you sure can do it in 16 years and that’s sort of Obama’s long-term plan. “He wants to make a baton hand-off to a hand-picked successor so that his project can be completed, if not by 2016, then shortly thereafter.” Obama, he believes, is “trying to reduce America’s footprint” globally. “He’s also a redistributionist not just in America but on the global scale. So he wants to redistribute money within America, yes, but he also wants to redistribute money away from America to the rest of the world and America’s debt is part of a way to do this,” D’Souza said. “A lot of our debt now is owed to foreigners, so when we accumulate this staggering debt, we’re essentially shoveling dollars away from the United States and toward Kuwaitis and Saudis and Chinese and so on.” Best Quote They have, for 20 years or so, wanted to TAX our Internet to distribute First World wealth to Third World despots. They want to charge for each e-mail you receive and send. When this thing comes under international control, the 57 nation Muslim voting bloc will dominate decision making as to what is allowed and what is not. Add to that 57 the various communist and authoritarian dictatorships. Goodbye, free speech. The First Amendment only extends to the water's edge, folks. They will tax the 'net, and they will regulate the 'net. Our children will inherit SH1T from us. We failed them. I am sooo angry. I'll burn off my anger by tormenting some orcs.

Gnat Shoot

Gnational Defense

t. smith

One Job Only, and What?

You had just ONE job. One!    cuzzin ricky

Welcome to the Big- Our Refs Blow Too

Here's welcoming Maryland to the B1G   I am born and raised in Chicago.  My gramps wore a U. Chicago sweater (the first Heisman winner was U.C.'s  Jay Berwanger); my Dad liked Northwestern (and would say of the Rose Bowl every year "Never bet against the Big 10" - until the smart money did just that).   I liked no team; didn't know about conferences, pros, colleges, or anything (except my mom said she had applied to put me on Harvard's waiting list when I was born.  LOL)  I was a kid,  and there were no football games on television (that anyone watched).  Don't get me wrong though.  Playing football was a big deal,; we played in the street.  Tackle.   My first remembrance was playing tackle football in the back yard of the flat we were living in.  Pat Stack lived downstairs.  Pat tackled me before I could cross the goal line, so I started sobbing like a little girl that I was hurt.  When he got off me, I jumped up and ran across the goal.  My mother, who had been watching, immediately yelled to "come up here".  She told me that what I had done was cowardly and unsportsmanlike.  Made me go downstairs and apologize to Pat. The "real" first game I went to was the the 1956 College All-Star Game,  played at Soldier's Field.  I was excited because one of the college players was Ohio State's Howie (Hopalong) Cassady.  Had no idea who he was, but I was a  Hoppy fan! I have no recollection of the game other than when scantily (for the time) clad cheerleaders paraded by I hooped and hollered like a drunk sailor.  Because that's what I thought would make my dad proud of his grown-up son that could stay up late in the cold.   Instead, he told me later that I had embarrassed the hell out of him,  and my Uncle Mike too.  I remember that.  The record shows that the Browns slaughtered the All-starts. I slept through that part, but can still see the lights shining down on the fields; the crowd of about 2 million, and the smell of the turf that was being torn up. Anyway, in response to Chris's comment: Here's welcoming Maryland to the B1G, Rodger. I wish I could say our refs were better, but they're not. I wish I could say the fans of all our schools were classier, they're not (*cough, Ohio State fans are worse than Duke and Carolina's combined *cough). But we have some cool stadiums to visit and if you get to Nebraska, you'll not find classier people anywhere. So there's that. :) Are you saying, Chris, that Big Ten refs would, for instance, in a close game with OSU, behind by 1 with seconds to play,  award a tie-up possession to OSU when the possession arrow showed it was Nebraska's?  Allowing OSU to score the winner? Has that happened in the Big Ten, over and over for 60 years?  Further thoughts here.

Sen. Feinscam

“ The Two Faces of Elected Democrats  ... it's probably not a good idea to begin by asserting that virtually all elected Democrats are liars. But what the hell. Mr. Ron Metzger Which brings to mind— I naively thought Congress wanted to get rid of the bad apples. Boy, was I wrong. I thought we were doing a good thing here, but it turned out Congress didn't agree with that. They were angry Francis 'Bud' Mullen former FBI assistant director .While prosecutors won 19 Abscam convictions, Congress sought assurances that a similar investigation would never happen again. Then-U.S. Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti approved new guidelines in 1981 that governed "sensitive" undercover investigations involving politicians.  [Full] Of the thirty-one targeted officials, one US senator (Harrison A. Williams (D-NJ)) and six members of the US House of Representatives (John Jenrette (D-SC), Richard Kelly (R-FL), Raymond Lederer (D-PA), Michael "Ozzie" Myers (D-PA), Frank Thompson (D-NJ), and John M. Murphy (D-NY)) were convicted of bribery and conspiracy in separate trials in 1981. John Murtha (D-PA) was one of the Congressmen videotaped[16] in an encounter with undercover FBI operatives.[17] Although never indicted or prosecuted, he was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the scandal.[18] .... Murtha was given immunity and testified against his colleagues, and remained in Congress Until fairly recently, most discussions of Abscam misdirected his party affiliation with (Harrison A. Williams (R-NJ)   ”

Nozzled

Tip: Tommy Lee Smith

White Collar OMG

The Humanity                         “ White Collar has already lost its writing staff and several crew members. White Collar fans may need to start panicking. According to Deadline.com, renewal talks for a sixth season of the USA crime dramedy have stalled, leaving the fate of the series up in the air. Because of the prolonged negotiations, White Collar has already lost its writing staff and several crew members. Psych and more TV shows we're losing this year If the series does not return, viewers would be left without closure. The fifth season ended on a cliffhanger with Neal (Matt Bomer) being abducted by a mystery man. [TV GUIDE] How hooked on White Collar are we?  Well, we went through the first four seasons (about 60 hours) in less than two weeks.  When season four ended—with a mind numbing cliff hanger—we sped to watch the next episode on Netflix.  Gasp. There was no next episode.  I searched ROKU;  found the series five  on Amazon.  For a price.  We rarely pay money to watch movies, and paying to watch a television re-run is unthinkable.  However, with Mother Superior in shock, I suggested we buy the nest episode, just to get closure.  Cost $1.99 for SD (standard def), so I bought it.  Whew.  But Mo Sup whined (yes whined) that she would not sleep that night without following the leftover crumbs, so we bought another.  She wanted more, but after watching 5 hours of Mozzy and gang, I just couldn't.  But next night we were back, and last night we watched episodes 5 and six.  That's because episode two created a new OMFG! cliff hanger.  One so powerful that it's become a Damoclean sword hanging over every episode.  It was then that I had to reassure MoSup (and me) that there was in fact a season six in the offing; with tragic result.  When I emailed the news to  Claire: rebellious pink pig with car keys (it was she who got us  hooked after a comment she posted), her response contained, I think,  a brilliant observation. Sudden thought. ok "thought" I oft marvel at the glossy sales brochure that show is for NYC [it even makes *me* wanna go there] and wonder how much ...'financial input' they get in return. They sure get a lot of help/access/street shut downs from the city. Maybe, with the new NY admin, that went *p00f* and there's no bux/*place* for the show? They did seem to have the run of the streets -- and many other locations... Lotsa outdoor scenes. Wandering the streets, making busts, chasing around.... Wouldn't be the same show without that kind of access. [I think where Neil lives [the outside, at least] is [now] the Ralph Lauren store] But those shots are all old. Also noticing some 'sly' product placement for Ford this last season. Massaging seats and all..... And there's these object lessons The Sopranos. Went on strike. By the time a new season began (about 2 years), everyone in the cast had signed on to the Hollywood trashing of President Bush.  I couldn't bring myself to watch it again.  Not even re-runs. Mad Men:  Went on Strike. By the time a new season began (about 2 years), I didn't care.  Tried, but the magic was gone. Prediction   A new series called MOZZY ”

LIBERAL LOGIC 102

22 (dated, but accurate)THINGS reno francois

Officially BIG

Hey,ACC. Blow Us

ACC countdown

I'm getting up for what may be the Terps last ever game in the ACC.  They play FSU at noon in the Carolina Jamboree, a.k.a. "ACC toonamit."  In the meanwhile, some light heartred crap is all I can muster. Hopefully one will add a little sunshine in your otherwise "I'm too knowledeable to be happy" life.  Lousy refs.  I Roll a 7

Cry Havoc

Tip: Tommy Lee Smith

Baghdad Debbie

D Wasserman Schultz ‏@DWStweets  Mar 11 The GOP underperformed tonight in the #FL13 - a district they've held for decades. Here's why: http://demrapidresponse.com/post/79311928359/dnc-chair-debbie-wasserman-schultzs-statement-on … “ Republican David Jolly was victorious over Democrat Alex Sink 48.5 percent to 46.7 percent, with Libertarian Lucas Overby collecting 4.8 percent of the vote. It was the first major test of the Obamacare effect on an election, with both sides spending millions of dollars rehearsing national campaign strategies. Wasserman Schultz, whose Twitter handle is @DWStweets, sent out a brief tweet, stating: “The GOP underperformed tonight in the #FL13 – a district they’ve held for decades.” It provided a link to a longer comment, in which she noted: “Republican special interest groups poured in millions to hold onto a Republican congressional district that they’ve comfortably held for nearly 60 years. Tonight, Republicans fell short of their normal margin in this district because the agenda they are offering voters has a singular focus – that a majority of voters oppose – repealing the Affordable Care Act that would return us to the same old broken health care system. Ahem-FAIL ... the evenly divided district (a district Barack Obama carried in both 2008 and 2012) had been considered a toss-up. “ Clinton recorded a phone call last week seeking local volunteers to help with Sink's campaign, and a half dozen House Democrats emailed fundraising appeals to their own supporters on her behalf. “  Sink outspent Jolly by more than 3 to 1 on television advertising, though outside groups aligned with the GOP helped narrow the overall Democratic advantage. -myway.com/ UPDATE  Listen to Mark Levin's Account of this race ( Mile 66 n commente) ”

How Criminally Stupid Are They?

Summing Up, Then

Black Obesity Cause? Racism

“ GAH! And obesity? Obviously racism. Once upon a time, Americans believed that G-d was the First Cause of the universe. Then along came the left and Racism became the new First Cause of the universe. In the Unified Field Theory of Racism, everything was caused by racism. If America went to war, it was because it was racist. If it didn’t go to war, it was because it was racist. Even Global Warming was ultimately caused by the racist disregard of Americans for the Third World. The study only measures perceptions of racism, not actual racism, but again that’s a distinction that long ago went out the window in research studies. And that assumes these numbers are even valid. There’s no reason to believe that they are. And obesity? Obviously racism. Frequent experiences of racism are associated with a higher risk of obesity among African American women, a new study claims. Scientists found that women who were more frequently victimized for their race, were more likely to be obese. The Black Women’s Health Study collected information on experiences of racism, height and weight and other lifestyle factors via biennial questionnaires. The participants were asked in 1997 and in 2009 to rate the frequency of ‘everyday’ experiences of racism, such as receiving poorer service in restaurants and if they had been treated unfairly because of their race in their job, in housing or by the police. Women who reported more lifetime racism were also at increased risk of obesity, according to the study, which was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. There was a time when researchers knew the difference between correlation and causation. That long ago went out the window. Correlation is treated as causation. If two things overlap, then one must cause the other. And since obesity can’t cause racism, racism must cause obesity. [Full Fatness] Murican Problem Causation Bush Tea Party Racism ”

Chelsea Handler Goes Nuclear On Piers

Rodney Dangerfield built a comic career around jokes about not
getting any respect and was loved by millions. Piers Morgan has
turned into a joke who doesn't get any respect. T.Mann

Who Dat?

Tails of the Gun (Hot Linked)            My online footprint at the time was far less hip, being on AOL, and all... Hint: Kim du Toit with—ahem

Free Power

TECHNO THRILLS                                thorium “  If your car was powered by thorium, you would never need to refuel it. The vehicle would burn out long before the chemical did. The thorium would last so long, in fact, it would probably outlive you. That’s why a company called Laser Power Systems has created a concept for a thorium-powered car engine. The element is radioactive, and the team uses bits of it to build a laserbeam that heats water, produces steam, and powers an energy-producing turbine. Thorium is one of the most dense materials on the planet. A small sample of it packs 20 million times more energy than a similarly-sized sample of coal, making it an ideal energy source. The thing is, Dr. Charles Stevens, the CEO of Laser Power Systems, told Mashable that thorium engines won’t be in cars anytime soon. “Cars are not our primary interest,” Stevens said. ”The automakers don’t want to buy them.” He said too much of the automobile industry is focused on making money off of gas engines, and it will take at least a couple decades for thorium technology to be used enough in other industries that vehicle manufacturers will begin to consider revamping the way they think about engines. “We’re building this to power the rest of the world,” Stevens said. He believes a thorium turbine about the size of an air conditioning unit could more provide cheap power for whole restaurants, hotels, office buildings, even small towns in areas of the world without electricity. At some point, thorium could power individual homes. Stevens understands that people may be wary of Thorium because it is radioactive — but any such worry would be unfounded. “The radiation that we develop off of one of these things can be shielded by a single sheet off of aluminum foil,” Stevens said.” ”You will get more radiation from one of those dental X-rays than this.” Source: Mashable Back in the day I was one of a billion kids who built this model of the yet to be launched nuclear submarine Nautilus. Memory says it was a Revell kit, but evidently not.  I also have a vague remembrance of a controversy over how the model maker was able to get the very accurate exterior plans of this top secret boat, but can't find any supporting documents.  But that's not what  I'm writing about. The peaceful use of atomic power was a very big deal  in the 1950s.   One of the more promising predictions was that  nuclear powered electricity would become a virtually free commodity.  Woot-Woo! People believed it.  Were we naive back then, or what?  Think of the geopolitical consequences if, today, you discovered that adding a cup of sand,  ½ oz. of urine, and some eye of newt to a thousand gallons of seawater would produce1000 gallons 98 Octane gasoline. If you were foolish enough to demonstrate the finished product—without divulging the formula—I suspect you'd be lucky to make it to the weekend before succumbing to a sudden heart attack, or freak boating accident.  So, even if a  thorium-powered car engine proved to be safe and doable, guess what?  Won't happen. For one thing, the Arab's power and influence would revert back to the 18th century model.  The world economy would convulse.  So, if you ever find some successful alchemy that replaces a need for oil, release the formula before the Feds can find a way to tax it (no way,  that) stop it.   ”

Windows 3.1

1995 - WIN 3.1 Where were you?  Bill Clinton was just getting to know Monica in the Biblical sense.

House of Tards

BINGO

metzger

I can't be bothered

YIKES This is the crap I have on the table since yesterday.  I can't keep up.  Here's today's puzzle.  Using "Search Google for this picture," can anyone find the story behind each pic  and save me the bother?  So I can go back to watching The Borgias.   I'm guessing only one in ten will even know what I'm about here, especially if you don't use Chrome.