September 24, 2003
And volunteer.
hln
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Rather, I'm sure he was sure I'd have a surely grand time with this post. And, indeed, surely, I have. First, my comments directly on the original post:
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Laugh, what a crock. (But funny).
I'll address this one on my blog after dinner in detail, but, for quickness
and interest's sake, there are four ways to target/shape your breasts, which
are basically just FAT.
1) Incline chest press
2) Flat chest press
3) Decline chest press
4) Pec flyes
I'll give you the goods later (like, how men who build can avoid manboobs) and see if I can hack a trackback ping so those interested can see it (yucky blogger).
None of these add cup size. They may actually slightly DIMINISH breast size but enhance definition and give a woman a certain "perkiness," shall we say.
hln
I forgot push-ups. You'll forgive me. Those'll add size...if they're BUILT INTO YOUR BRA. And, avoiding manboobs - inclines. Dudes - incorporate inclines if you're even THINKING about bodybuilding.
Switching lanes, I want to punch this guy because he's going to get response. Think of all of the sheep YOU know in women's bodies. Uh huh.
Here's a bit of info from the web - not too far off from the blurb Hilton gives, but it contains quite the opposite outcome.
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Because women's breasts are made up mostly of Adipose (fatty) tissue, and
contain no muscle, exercise alone will not change their size or shape
directly. However by working the largest muscle in the chest, pectoralis
major, you can help support the breasts and hold them up higher. If
performing the exercise in the gym, I would say the Incline Dumbbell Bench
press is the most effective. The same exercise can be performed at home on a
Swiss Ball.
Fight the sag, yes. Add fatty breast tissue - only if you eat more, and you'll likely not praise the overall results.
(Kate - this is for that ONE reader of yours who took that article seriously and is contemplating a long vacation to the UK to give it a whirl. I'm going to guess there's only one because only great, intelligent people like me visit your blog. You, missy, that one girl who thinks boob aerobics will work. Sorry. SOL.)
hln
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On March 21, 2003 at about 9:00 in the evening, news of the war came on the radio. It was a Wednesday evening, and I was at my community volleyball session, just as I will be tonight. Volleyball was scheduled to last until 9:30. At 9:15, I left, very distracted, essentially unable to function in a "fun" and recreational enviornment. I arrived home to Brian watching Fox.
The media's night vision live action footage and term coinage, as if this were somehow trendy, this "Shock and Awe" etc. was and is disgusting. At work in the reception area, TVs are tuned to CNN all day. Every time I'd leave my cubicle to get more water, I'd walk by more bombing. Bombing, bombing, and more bombing. Bombing as an Olympic event. On Friday, I was at lunch at Ruby Tuesday's when Hans remarked while looking up at a perched television screen covering - you guessed it, more bombing - "What's the score?"
And that about sums it up. I support the government's choice to go to war; I hope I understand it. I essentially believe we declared war because we had to - we had said we would if certain final conditions were not met (we did all but ask Saddam pretty please with sugar on top to leave); the conditions were not satisfied, of course, and, well, you know the rest. Had we backed down with an "oh, sorry," I believe there would've been graver consequence than these we face today because the image of the United States would be weakened (thus leading to more attacks and a lessened ability to negotiate by staunch deterrence and subtle threat). There is no glaring evidence of WMDs (yet another term) - the SOLE reason we went to war, according to many of those opposed. This is disheartening, yes.
The simple fact remains, though. We. are. in. Iraq. We are not leaving until we have done our job. Many tragedies will occur between now and then - some preventable, some not. As a nation, though, we have made a commitment - a commitment I am comfortable assuming that was undertaken based on knowledge far greater than any normal citizen you and I can obtain.
Do I support the war and America's efforts against terrorism? Wholeheartedly and unquestionably, yes. Does this come without a price? No. The war makes me question what I'm about - I have become callous and have stopped reading past the headlines when soldiers die. I do not learn their names or about their childhoods and families left behind as I did early in the war. I do not connect.
I also believe that this nation has done two things with the war - one good, and one very, very bad.
The good is that with a limited amount of power, we deposed the Saddam Hussein regime very quickly. This stands as an example to other nations who would dare challenge our military and technological supremacy. It also paints us in a benevolent light, to those who stop to notice, because of our restraint.
The bad is that this is one nation, one link to terrorism. We are merely beginning, and I believe we are entering something that has no conceivable end. It has been said before and I merely reiterate that we will forever be criticized for every skirmish and issue and possible link to terrorism that we do NOT eradicate because we chose the war with Iraq.
This post comes from what Frank J. wrote last night on the Alliance blog and my frustration with knowing NO ONE involved in the Iraq war. I stopped to think about that - I don't know a soul serving in Iraq in this phase, either. That lends itself to a nice disconnect, no.
Sadly, and in complete honesty, yes.
hln
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September 23, 2003
1) The Alliance gets serious. An excellent post by Frank J..
2) My spouse did proxy posting for me this evening. As always, quite good.
3) I can't refer you to Blackfive enough these days. I'll do it again. He's continuing to post about his boot camp experiences. Matt, I believe you have a book if you want one.
4) Also, when Aaron at Free Will posts, he POSTS. Back at it. He links to this strange thing (which is more ethereal on dial-up, I promise).
5) And, finally, Kevin at Wizbang is hosting one big hot Bonfire. Don't stand too close.
Good night. I'm so tired I'm not even amusing myself.
hln
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The American Civil Liberties Union asked the federal
courts Tuesday to prevent the U.S. Secret Service from keeping anti-Bush
protesters far away from presidential appearances while allowing supporters
to display their messages up close.
The civil liberties group filed the lawsuit in federal court in Pennsylvania on behalf of four advocacy organizations that claimed that the Secret Service forced them into protest zones or other areas where they could not be seen by President Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney or be noticed by the media covering their visits.
hln
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September 22, 2003
1) This blew my mind - from Across the Atlantic. I'm not much into current Europe news, so this was ALL news to me.
2) Venemous Kate reports on Gulf War illnesses, specifically ALS. Not to make light of this post, but seeing as Kate's an Axis member, perhaps we Alliance folk can do her neat "letter of the day" theme, but use one letter up in defiance.
3) Mike Courtney's heavy Oil of Olay use pays off!
4) Gil le Bell explores that heavy-handed notion that there's a link between homosexuality and sports.
5) I read this whole thing. Likely, you did too, but I'll link it anyway. Den Beste presents to us a human shield and her travails.
6) Roo the day!
7) Cul-de-Sac is up again at Suburban Blight. These things keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger...
Go link up Arianna Huffington on Friendster.
9) Jared Keller cracks me up with his fiskin' entitled NFL LINEBACKERS AND CNNSI SPORTSWRITERS... and subtitled "Are there any finer authorities on gun violence?"
10) An interesting take on noise pollution. I live close enough to Lambert Field that I hear the military jets, too. No big thing.
11) Blackfive is telling tales of his military experiences. I won't link to a specific post. Just go read the blog.
12) And, finally, my Sunday plans. Nothing like 100 miles to get the old blood pumping. Wahoo.
Good night.
hln
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Michael Post 1: Bustamente must return Bustamillions elucidates the swirling opaque sands of campaign finance reform and how it comes into play with the recall.
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It doesn't look like you can roll money from one campaign into another. This
is important, because if you could spend left-over money that was originally
donated to campaign A on later campaign B, it would be impossible to enforce
donor limits. Someone could give money to campaigns A and B, and then
campaign A could fold and transfer all its money to campaign B; the donor
could end up giving twice as much as allowed.
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No one has a problem with luscious curves, the problem is when your whole
body is just one single curve. This is commonly called a "sphere", and it
doesn't count as an affirmative answer for when people ask you whether or
not you're "in shape".
Michael Post 3: Weight Loss Tip follows up on the "creamy lard" post. I read this after I posted my toothy message, so I left him a comment to that regard. Regarding soda, I'd so much rather munch and crunch than drink my calories.
And, there you have it. The soon-to-follow Links of the Day (of which there are many) is next.
hln
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I gave it the perfunctory once-over, not really reading it, but bookmarking it for later. Well, today, I went back, and here's what I found.
On a page named "what is redism?" I learned that I am oppressed. This page appears to be COMPLETELY SERIOUS. (I, however, of course, am NOT...so enjoy)
Fisssssssssk!
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If you're a redhead, you almost certainly had times at school when people
picked on you, simply because you were different to everyone else. You were
the one with red hair, and you were to be avoided at all costs. You
supposedly had the short fuse, the unpredictable temperament and I bet you
were the last one to be picked for any team too.
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There were the taunts of "gingernut", "ginger" and "carrot-top". You may
remember others. You could be walking along one day and some idiot with
nothing better to do would call out across the street "GINGER!", leaving you
to guess his I.Q. to be under 10. And did you ever wonder why you got called
"carrot-top", when you could have sworn your hair wasn't green?
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You may have managed to ignore it or laugh it off. Even the severest
taunting can be forgotten as soon as it stops, or when you leave school. You
tend to hope that adults won't voice their opinions of redheads in such a
childish manner. However, this kind of treatment can make an impact. Your
confidence can be dented by playground jibes, you can become shy or
introverted, and you may well feel as if you are less important than other
people with a different, "normal" hair-colour.
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The worrying thing is that redism doesn't end in the playground. You can
hope as much as you like but the truth is that you're stuck with the jokes
for life. The worst of it is that adults seem to be able to get away with it
without it even being deemed cruel! Having reached my twenties I still get
the "ginger abuse" from kids and young men and women of my age!
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Redism appears to be viewed as an acceptable prejudice to hold by many
people, including high profile figures such as MPs or judges (see The Hall
of Shame). But in this age of political correctness, how do they get away
with this kind of behaviour? Should this be tolerated?
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In April 2000, for example, NPower, an electricity and gas supplier ran a
poster campaign to try and get customers to switch their electricity supply
to their service. One of the posters depicted a family of two parents and
one boy, each having red hair. The caption for this advert read, "There are
some things in life you can't chose".
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Consider what would have happened if the poster depicted 3 black people,
with exactly the same caption. There would have been a public outcry, the
government would openly attack the company and the advertising agency and
the press would be plastered with the news that a well-known company was
racist. The poster campaign would be banned, if indeed it did manage to get
the go-ahead in the first place.
More black people versus redheads oppression theme for the next several paragraphs - not even a good argument.
But, most importantly, I learned I'm a minority! Oh, wait, I already get a bunch o' unearned perks for being female, so I guess that's no matter. What I learned here today is that I'm oppressed, and life as a redhead isn't worth living? Hmm - I seem to remember something about "I'd rather be dead than red on the head." Yeah, heard that one a few times.
Tall bridge just made for jumping is to the north, buddy.
hln
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Hans has long extolled the virtues of his RSS feed interpreter reader thingee to the point that one day he said "put an RSS feed on your blog." I complied. But, with Blogger, there ain't no easy way. Hence, I have a hand-coded feed I update every time after I post. I can put some fun stuff in the feed, though, and often I do.
At any rate, this weekend, I gave a bunch of different feed mulchers the whirl, and I'm still playing with two free ones. If anyone knows of a paid one that's worth the money, I'm willing to entertain that on recommendation. The last RSS aggregators standing are: Bloglines and MyWireService. The big deal about Bloglines is that it allows me to "group" feeds in a folder and then view the contents of the folder as one big amalgamated scrolling list of blogger goodness. The upside of MyWireService is that it's much simpler to find news-related channels. When I'm an expert in exporting this info, then I'll have the hook-up.
Obsession #2 has nothing to do with number 1. I'm crazy about Propel Fitness Water. I'm so crazy about it that it - with only 10 calories per serving (sugar/sucralose) and two servings to a bottle - has me excited about water. Only problem? That damned sugar. I've never been a soda drinker (and take that literally - I do mean NEVER), and so my teeth are in some pretty good condition. A week of drinking, oh, seven bottles a day, and my poor teeth are so sensitive on one side that I had to reevaluate my newfound boon. Kinda scary.
But, on the soda/teeth/sugar/Propel note, a coworker brought in a pamphlet from his dentist that says "Stop the Pop!" You guessed it - sugar/carbonation (acid, baby) do a double whammy to da teeth. I guess this isn't surprising; I've just never had to consider it. I found more info on the web if you're interested.
hln
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September 21, 2003
1) The Dictionary.com word of the day is gesticulate. I have used this word before because I'm guilty of its action. It has nothing to do with gestate or matriculate.
2) Jeff Jarvis of BuzzMachine has an...unnerving (but calmly done) post about follow-up health tracking regarding 9/11/2001.
3) Michael Williams of Master of None is going to go buy six SUVs and burn them to heat his home this winter. No, wait, that's the ELF that's burning the SUVs, and Michael's climate probably isn't cold enough to warrant burning even one.
Even so, he's got a nifty little post about global warming and non-burning SUV usage. And he uses the word Huzzah! Merit points.
4) Robert Prather of Mind of Man, er, Insults Unpunished explores one ofBush's worst mistakes, as he says.
5) Spoons posts the funniest dial-up loading picture of the new Miss America. Seriously, experience it on dial-up, and you'll swear the woman's being choked.
6) Tim Blair reminisces about the 80s!. Sigh - so long ago.
7) Eugene Volokh's got a post about ownership of the Dewey Decimal System. Who knew? (Before it hit all of the news wires today, that is. I was actually going to write on this, but, naaaaa.)
Deb Thompson of Write Lightning gives me yet another hero to put under the heroes bookmark tab for when I need inspiration. Click on the link she provides to see why. Some people refuse to accept bad news and/or encumbering medical conditions and circumvent/override them instead.
9) The Ville has today's PETA post. The Meatriarchy is, I'm sure, proud.
10) Hans, I'm posting this just to get your response.
11) Oh, I blogrolled Ravenwood of Ravenwood's Universe and put up a more suitable picture for those of you who might be frightened and/or otherwise overcome by emotion at the sight of redheads. I do so want you gentle readers to return.
Done for now. Must write.
hln
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Me, I'm a Super Hero Duck. Of course.
Quack.
hln
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Disguised as an official e-mail from Microsoft, the file comes attached to a
note asking the recipient to install a "September 2003, cumulative patch" to
protect against vulnerabilities in Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser
and Outlook and Outlook Express e-mail programs.
If installed, the program, known as Swen or Gibe.F, attempts to disable firewall and antivirus software, gather password information and replicate itself via e-mail, as well as the Kazaa peer-to-peer network and Internet Relay Chat instant-messaging.
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The virus-laden e-mail looks like an authentic missive from the Redmond,
Wash., software developer (aside from a few grammatical errors), but a
spokeswoman for Microsoft said this week that it doesn't send security
updates in e-mail. They're all distributed through Microsoft's Web site (windowsupdate.microsoft.com).
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Truly blessed and trying to always acknowledge it,
hln
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September 20, 2003
1) Tuning Spork of BLATHER REVIEW links to Newsmax.com! Really, he does. Go see why.
2) Ith reports that a Seattle restaurant named 5 Spot gets a bit snarky by requiring patrons to sign a waiver exempting the eatery from weight-related damages incurred by the consumer.
3) The American Library Association lists the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000. Some surprises here.
4) Rosemary rips on Arianna! Get a seat up close.
5) Ravenwood offers an example of "the rules don't apply to x," one of my favorite themes.
6) DavidF at Sketches of Strain curbs the violence he intends for his modem. My favorite?
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Remember that you used dial up with no ill effects for three years.
7) northstar of The People's Republic of Seabrook presents an insightful post about the leaking-money state of the NHL. As a hockey fan and follower, I agree.
The Agitator introduces me to the Broken Window Fallacy.
9) Deb Thompson of Write Lightning grabs another of my favorite topics and provides her viewpoint in Supplementing Stupidity. I agree, Deb. I've been known to wear my Question Society shirt at least once every two weeks.
10) My esteemed spouse offers suggestions regarding the 87 billion dollars spent on the Iraq war - if there were no war, we could MAKE MORE GOVERNMENT!
11) The Meatriarchy commends me for not talking like a pirate.
Thanks for stopping by.
hln
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But back on topic. PETA put out a press release on September 17, 2003 that targets PETCO and prompts it to halt the sale of live animals.
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This is part of a series of protests taking place outside PETCO stores
across the country, all designed to give consumers the full story about the
"pet"-shop chain—lawsuits, suffering animals, and angry customers. The
activists will also be encouraging PETCO employees to blow the whistle on
cruelty. PETA is offering up to $1000 for information leading to a
cruelty-to-animals conviction for the chain.
Date: Saturday, September 20
Time: 12 noon-2 p.m.
Place: 13750 E. Mississippi Ave.
According to Forbes magazine, PETCO "has been embroiled in at least four recent court-related matters … charging animal cruelty or neglect." The city of San Francisco has filed a lawsuit to bar PETCO from selling animals there because of "the cruelty and pattern of brazen violations … [that] continued over three years." After years of receiving a never-ending stream of customer complaints—including reports of sick and injured animals who were left to die in their cages or placed in freezers to die, enclosures caked with feces, a lack of veterinary care, severely stressed animals’ cannibalizing each other, and staff members untrained in basic animal care—PETA has launched a national campaign against PETCO aimed at getting the chain to stop selling live animals and carry only animal supplies.
Earlier this month, PETA, a PETCO shareholder, took its case directly to PETCO’s shareholders and board of directors. PETA filed a shareholder resolution calling on the chain store to stop selling birds, reptiles, fish, and other small and vulnerable animals—which, according to PETCO CEO Brian Devine, makes up less than 5 percent of the chain’s annual revenues—and urging PETCO to focus instead on selling companion-animal food, supplies, and services and expanding adoption programs.
hln
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1) DFMoore presents More on Moral Relativism. This subject always catches my eye, and I'm pleased to see that DFMoore does it justice.
2) Ilyka Damen offers A Happy Epiphany, a post about reactions to the war, its outcomes, terrorism, terrorist groups, and opinions/views. It's quite powerful.
hln
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Wired (and everyone else, really - I found one on the NY Times later) has an article about the JetBlue debacle.
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JetBlue Airways began sending out apologetic e-mails Thursday to customers
who are infuriated that the airline gave 5 million passenger records to a
defense contractor investigating national security issues.
The form letter, provided by JetBlue to Wired News, confirmed a Wired News story that JetBlue turned over the names, addresses and phone numbers of its customers in September 2002 in response to an "exceptional request from the Department of Defense to assist their contractor, Torch Concepts, with a project regarding military base security."
The e-mail was carefully worded to say that data was never provided to a government agency or used for airline security testing, that the sole copy had been destroyed, and that the Torch presentation was developed without JetBlue's knowledge. The company also expressed regret and promised never to turn over passenger information again without court order.
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The letter will not be placed on the company's website, but will go out
under the name of JetBlue's CEO, David Neeleman, said JetBlue spokesman
Gareth Edmundson-Jones. The e-mail closed with, "I am saddened that we have
shaken your faith in JetBlue but I assure you personally that we are
committed to making this right." Jones added the company was "flabbergasted"
when they first saw the Torch Concepts presentation.
That last sentence I quoted is a bit damning, really. It's the presentation that bit Jet Blue the worst, not the provision of the data (which was against JetBlue's privacy policy), according to an earlier Wired article. Worse yet to the public, Jet Blue isn't apologizing for its actions of handing over customers' data; it's apologizing that the action was made publicly undeniable by the presentation.
It's sad, too - another blow to the airline industry.
hln
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September 19, 2003
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Handel Masterpiece Gets 'Explicit' Label
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - George Frideric Handel has at least one thing in common with Eminem and other modern artists: his music was slapped with an "explicit" warning at Apple Computer Inc.'s online iTunes Music Store.
The baroque composer's 1742 masterpiece, "The Messiah," was marked with the red warning that indicates the content might not be appropriate for young children or others with sensitive tastes. It's on a recording by the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by John Alldis.
The warning, which appeared when the album's tracks were made available Tuesday but disappeared late Tuesday, was most likely a technical mix-up, though "The Messiah" does touch on love, violence and death - in a more profound way than, say, most music produced 260 years later.
hln
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>From New York to California, small and mid-size hotels have gone smoke-free,
cleaning, deodorizing and redecorating rooms once reserved for smokers and
designating them nonsmoking.
One major reason is that fewer guests are requesting smoking rooms. But hotel managers point to other benefits: lower room maintenance costs and a marketing tool at a time when the business has been hurt by a sluggish economy.
"In all of our publications, we promote a smoke-free environment, and we've gotten calls because of it. Families with kids, it's attractive to them. It reinforces cleanliness and safety," said Chris Canavos, manager of the 98-room Howard Johnson's in Williamsburg, Virginia, which went smoke-free during a renovation three years ago.
This is an excellent example of positive change (this time in the health arena) brought forth WITHOUT LEGISLATION. As time proves that these hotels do not disappear due to shrinking profits, other businesses will follow suit.
And that, my friends, makes me smile. Very broadly. (And breathe more easily).
hln
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Hey, if they can have the Axis of Isabel, we mid-staters should align our blogs as the Axis of Tornados (but we need a more clever name). I'll bring this up again, in, oh, April or so.
hln
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10:23 PM
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