random picture of the moment: nature shot (widescreen)

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random picture of the moment: looking outside

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random picture of the moment: On-coming traffic

taken with the new camera outside tonight. i like the night mode it has, plus my little tripod helps.

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to quote Opie and Anthony:

thanks AAAAAAALLLLL

they talked about this yesterday, but i figured i'd post this with a bonus.

Rev. Sharpton won't oppose Imus comeback

NEW YORK - The Rev. Al Sharpton, who urged the Imus' firing, wouldn't object if the radio personality returned to the airwaves. "He has a right to make a living," he said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

Sharpton said he hadn't softened his views about Imus, who was dismissed from his syndicated program (simulcast on MSNBC) in April for calling the Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos." But he added that, under the right conditions, the radio star's banishment could eventually end.

Sharpton said he hoped that any broadcast outlet that hired Imus would take steps to ensure that he wouldn't return to a brand of humor that included race- and gender-based insults.

"We had never asked him to never work again," he said, echoing comments he first made to Radar magazine.

Imus' attorney, Martin Garbus, wasn't answering questions about his client's future Wednesday.

(bonus originally found here - thanks Anthony. just be warned, link may lead to NSFW audio/video/pictures so don't blame me when you get in trouble)

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Random Picture of the Moment: Non Illegitimi Carborundum!

many years ago (some 17-18 i think) dad stuffed his Bill the Cat into the copy machine at work and made the following. ever since then, 'Bill Stuck In The Copy Machine' has traveled with me wherever i have lived at the time and is usually displayed on my fridge (as it is today). i haven't figured out how to sneak that tie out of the house yet w/o dad noticing.



the post-it says 'from one latin scholar to another'

(translation)

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now there's something that doesn't happen every day

i was driving into work this morning, stuck in the traffic that surrounds the local T station and the minivan in front of me dives into the pull off (that isn't really much of a pull off) to drop her passenger off (who thankfully jumps out pretty quickly). she starts to pull back into traffic (i can't do anything but let her in) but then she starts to turn back rather than out in front of me. so i start yelling at her to move left (pull back into traffic, go around the idiot in front of her)

then Uncle Al usurps me.

the final four lines to LiesLiesLies (a fine little ditty off Rio Grande Blood, also available in remixed form on Rio Grande Dub) are:

Don’t listen to me, listen to your head
Don’t listen
Don’t listen to anything they say
Don’t listen

i know the song is a political rant, but taken out of context (me yelling at a stupid driver), it sounds like Uncle Al was telling the foolish driver to ignore me.

D'OH!

(turned out she was being kind to the car in front of her who wanted to pull out, but i couldn't see due to her being in a minivan obstructing my view (i saw the first car, but not the one immediately in front of her). by which point the CD had moved onto the next track - The Great Satan)

i laughed.

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this has been a while

i think i've done this from time to time, but i know i haven't done it recently. prolly since the great cheesecake fiasco (nearly 2 years ago, how i've not missed that dump).

anyways, yesterday M&i decided that we wanted to have lunch at Finz in Salem. to our surprise, there wasn't much of a wait (none) as the last time we tried, it was pretty busy. so i'll list the good things (you may see a pattern developing)

the good:

• there was no wait to be seated
  
• they moved a table out of the sun under the awning so we could sit in the shade
  
• lunch was free

we arrived around 1pm, and were promptly seated (outside on the deck, see above, they moved a table for us). so far so good. we are given water with lemon, ordered ice tea (after considering the peach mojito). that was promptly delivered.

without a way to sweeten it.

110pm
our waitress (i believe her name was Michelle, but she never tells us her name, we find this out later on) takes our order. nothing fancy, fairly simple, all appetizers.

• Watermelon Salad (entree size)
  
• Scallop Ceviche Mini Tacos
  
• Guacamole Topped with Crabmeat (added at the last moment)
  

after taking our order, our waitress gives us the sugar packet thing so we can finally sweeten our ice tea. at this time, 3 women arrive and are seated, and another couple arrive and are seated (they opt for a sunny seat). a few minutes later, a party of 6 (and infant) arrive.

M&i chat about this and that, the usual lunchtime conversation. M wonders if we are getting rolls (as she arrived pretty hungry). our waitress is nowhere to be found.

during this time, all 3 of the afore mentioned tables have placed their orders and had drinks served.

120pm
ditz of a greeter shows up, sucking down her dunkin' iced coffee. my water glass facing traffic with passing waitresses, a ditzy greeter and sluggish bus boy, is empty.

125pm
M wonders aloud how long it takes to put together 3 cold appetizers. we managed to flag ditzy greeter over (after she blatently avoids eye contact with us for several minutes) to ask about our waitress. my water glass is still empty.

130pm
the party of 3 women now have a hot appetizer. we finally manage to flag down our waitress (thanks to sluggish bus boy) and ask if we are getting rolls. she informs us that they don't serve rolls at lunch, but she can have some put in to warm for us. the only thing is our meal would be out before we received the rolls. we pass on the rolls. we ask what the problem with our order is and she informs us that everything but the tacos are ready. we send her off to the kitchen to bring out the salad and guacamole. running theory is that she never placed our order. my water glass continues to be empty.

135pm
the couple sitting in the sun receive their lunch. (not appetizer, LUNCH) M is boiling. we receive a basket of rolls. just like several OTHER tables. after a 2nd trip, all of the seated tables around us have baskets of rolls. we flag ditzy greeter over and ask her why it is taking so long to assemble 3 appetizers. she stumbles over her words and heads off to talk with someone. hot appetizers are delivered to party of 6 (and infant). and like my water glass, my ice tea is now empty (i could only nurse it for so long).

140pm
one of the several managers comes out to speak with us. she apologizes for the delay, that things will be taken are of. couple sitting in the sun receive their bill. my water and ice tea glasses are empty.

145pm
couple sitting in sun depart after paying their bill. M tries a roll. water glass: empty. ice tea glass: empty.

149pm
lunch is served.

150pm
M&i receive ice tea refills. ditzy greeter neglects to remove empty glasses from now overcrowded table. oh yeah, water glass is still empty.

at this point, M&i finally have an opportunity to eat. it was hard to really enjoy lunch, and we can't say we were really wowed by the food (most reviews we have read imply that the food & service is pretty good). as we sat there, we looked at what we had ordered and wondered how it could take so long to make what we had ordered.

the watermelon salad was nothing fancy, it isn't hard to place guacamole in a large bowl, add some crab meat, surround with chips. and the tacos aren't that complicated either - as an appetizer, they are pretty small, so while we were eating, we were boggled at how it could take so long (unless the order hadn't been placed until we complained).

206pm
we finish eating. waitress comes over to clear the table and ask if we want anything else. M orders another ice tea which is prompty delivered.

215pm
we couldn't leave the place fast enough.

never once did our waitress apologize to us. the manager did, but by the time she did, we were both boiling. we never received an explanation as to what the delay was, or why there was such a delay.

so, M&i will say this: don't eat at Finz in salem.

i realize that there have been plenty of people who have had really good meals there, but based on our experience, i cannot, nor will i suggest anyone go there to eat.

so, like the burlington cheesecake factory location, finz in salem is now blacklisted. i will not eat there again.

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heh

according to the Machiavelli personality test at Salon:

The Machiavelli personality test has a range of 0-100
Your Machiavelli score is: 78
You are a high Mach, you endorse Machiavelli's opinions.

Most people fall somewhere in the middle, but there's a significant minority at either extreme.

This survey itself measures only one thing -- whether you subscribe to the ideas of a 16th century Italian political philosopher. But experiments have shown that reactions to Machiavelli act as a kind of litmus test, delineating differences in temperament that can be confirmed with more traditional personality inventories. High Machs constitute a distinct type: charming, confident and glib, but also arrogant, calculating and cynical, prone to manipulate and exploit. (Think Rupert Murdoch, or if your politics permit it, President Clinton.)

True low Machs, however, can be kind of dependent, submissive and socially inept. So be sure to invite a high Mach or two to your next dinner party.

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GO AWAY!

i'm trying to enjoy looking thru the headlines at Gizmodo and every other post for the most part is on the iPhone or the fucking douchebags waiting in line to get one.

i give little stevie jobs points for creating this media (and in turn fucking douchebags) frenzy over this thing, but this phone is not the end all be all of phones.

and, to top it off, the tubbalard who is first in line at the NYC apple store is a professional first in liner. that's what he does for a living - be the first on line for whatever "it" is. why do you want to pay $500 for this thing? or $600 for the 8gb version? nevermind the additional required phone plans you have to get.

ugh...

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i'm just going to keep this short.

yesterday i was informed that my cousin's husband killed himself. what little we know, there were marital issues that precipitated this, but for whatever reason, he felt that it was better to kill himself than go down a different avenue.

i never met him (my cousin is on a different branch of the family tree than mine), so i have no idea what he was like, so i don't have any real opinion on this other than 'oy'. the part that bothers me is his family is blaming my cousin for him killing himself. fuck you. you obviously don't know the full story, and if thru your grief and rage actually set your rage aside for a moment, you might discover that maybe it wasn't my cousin's fault. i certainly do not know the circumstances, but in a time like this, getting angry at the person who was the supposed root of HIS depression/insecurities is just plain wrong. maybe, just maybe, there was more to this than you know. maybe if you would talk to my cousin in a civil tone, you might hear her side of the story.

suicide is fucking selfish. it affects everyone around you, and he took the easy way out. he didn't think of his family, his wife, his SON. he thought of himself. he killed himself.

so i end on this:

to his grieving family, fuck you.

to my cousin, i'm sorry. our side of the family is here for you.

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what a jackass

Michigan Woman Claims Starburst Candies Are Dangerously Chewy in Lawsuit

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Starburst Fruit Chews are exactly as their name would indicate: chewy. But one Michigan woman says the candies are so chewy, they should come with a warning label.

Victoria McArthur, of Romero, Mich., is suing Starbursts' parent company, Mars Inc., for more than $25,000 for "permanent personal injuries" she claims she sustained after biting into one of their yellow candy in 2005.

"I don't know, maybe about 3 chews and it literally locked my jaw … and it just literally pulled my jaw out of joint," she told MyFoxDetroit.com.

McArthur's lawyer, Brian Muawad, says the candies caused her to develop a condition known as temporal mandibular joint dysfunction. McArthur says she has had trouble chewing, talking and sleeping since the incident.

Muawad says McArthur offered to negotiate a settlement with Starburst's insurer to pay for her rehabilitation, but the company said no way. A spokesman for Mars refused to comment.

McArthur says she just wants to make sure nobody else meets the same end she did when she decided to indulge her sweetooth.

"I don't want to see anybody else have to go through what I have gone through from eating a piece of candy that was supposed to be soft chew," she said.

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i am so enjoying this

thank you Judge Sauer.

Hilton sent back to jail in hysterics

By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent

LOS ANGELES - Screaming and crying, Paris Hilton was escorted from a courtroom and sent back to jail Friday after a judge ruled that she must serve out her entire 45-day sentence behind bars rather than in her Hollywood Hills home.

"It's not right!" shouted Hilton, who violated her parole in a reckless driving case. "Mom!" she called out to her mother in the audience.

The 26-year-old hotel heiress was taken handcuffed from her home in a black-and-white police car, paparazzi sprinting in pursuit and helicopters broadcasting live from above. She entered the courtroom disheveled and weeping, hair askew, without makeup, wearing a fuzzy gray sweat shirt over slacks.

She cried throughout the hearing, dabbing her eyes, and her body shook constantly. Several times she turned to her parents, seated behind her in the courtroom, and mouthed, "I love you."

Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer was calm but apparently irked by Sheriff Lee Baca's decision to release Hilton three days into her sentence due to an unspecified "medical condition."

"I at no time condoned the actions of the sheriff and at no time told him I approved the actions," Sauer said. "At no time did I approve the defendant being released from custody to her home."

The hearing was requested by the city attorney's office, which had prosecuted Hilton and wanted Baca held in contempt for releasing Hilton despite Sauer's express order that she must serve her time in jail. The judge took no action on the contempt request.

A member of the county counsel's staff said Baca was willing to come to court with medical personnel. The judge did not take him up on the offer.

Assistant City Attorney Dan F. Jeffries argued that Hilton's incarceration was purely up to the judge. "Her release after only three days erodes confidence in the judicial system," he said.

Hilton's attorney, Richard Hutton, implored the judge to order a hearing in his chambers to hear testimony about Hilton's medical condition before making a decision. The judge did not respond to that suggestion.

Another of her attorneys, Steve Levine, said, "The sheriff has determined that because of her medical situation, (jail) is a dangerous place for her."

"The court's role here is to let the Sheriff's Department run the jail," he said.

The judge interrupted several times to say that he had received a call last Wednesday from an undersheriff informing him that Hilton had a medical condition and that he would submit papers to the judge to consider. He said the papers never arrived.

Every few minutes, the judge would interrupt proceedings, state the time on the clock, and note that the papers still had not arrived.

He also noted that he had heard that a private psychiatrist visited Hilton in jail, and he wondered if that person played a role in deciding her medical needs.

The last attorney to speak was another deputy city attorney, David Bozanich, who declared, "This is a simple case. There was a court. The Sheriff's Department chose to violate that order. There is no ambiguity."

As the final pitch was made for Hilton's further incarceration, her entire body began trembling. She clutched a ball of tissue and tears ran down her face.

Seconds later, the judge announced his decision: "The defendant is remanded to county jail to serve the remainder of her 45-day sentence. This order is forthwith."

Hilton screamed.

Eight deputies immediately ordered all spectators out of the courtroom. Hilton's mother, Kathy, threw her arms around her husband, Rick, and sobbed uncontrollably.

Deputies escorted Hilton out of the room, holding each of her arms as she looked back.

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this has my vote

A Solid Candidate for Photo of the Year (now with picture goodness)



(via Best Week Ever)

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today is brought to you by the letter "J"

as in jury duty. i had it. and thank whatever gods there are that kept me out of it.

got up at the asscrack of dawn to head into cambridge goto the cambridge courthouse. parked at the galleria and hoped like hell that i'd be out before the 5th hour was up. (that's when parking goes from $8.99 to $20, talk about a jump)

so at 7am sharp, i pulled into the garage and parked. a quick stop by dunkin' yielded a large ice coffee. a short walk up the street and i arrived at the courthouse. waited my turn going thru security and waited for them to let us upstairs to the jury pool area (read: cattle pens). and there i sat, listening to Opie and Anthony and waited with my fellow jurors for the next hour until we were herded into a room to watch a 17 minute cinematic masterpiece that instructs us on the duties of a juror. ($5 if interested.)


i had to laugh a few times during it at the wonderful production qualities. the old lawyer with his hands clutching both lapels of his suitcoat. set a top hat on the table next to him and you'd think it was filmed a long time ago.

so, by 9am the video finished, and we were told that we'd have a 50 minute break and we had to be back by 950a. and on the 2nd floor, the cafeteria had food so i wandered down. turns out it was a corp cafe so i laughed (we have one at work, didn't see Stingy S at this one). while looking out the window, i spotted a bus and a few state police cruisers and started to get a little nervous.

when dad was a jury foreman (lucky him), they bused people to the site where the accused did his deed, so knowing that i was afraid that we'd be going for a ride. it wasn't until i was upstairs (and remembered i had a camera on my phone) that i realized that maybe that was the bus used to transport the accused to the courthouse. thankfully that's what it appears to have been the case. i had to chuckle when i first saw the police cruiser that was numbered 666 (you can sorta make it out on the roof - sorry, didn't have time to get a better picture)

i found it humorous as most state police cruisers are crown vics but this one was a dodge charger.

so around 10am, jurors whose number was between 2 & 75 were asked to assemble in the hall. they did a roll call and all told, there were prolly ~60 of us (i was in the 60's). we were then led upstairs to the court room and asked to take a seat. the room was circular with what reminded me of an eyeball with an extra ring on the ceiling, i suppose to provide that faux sense of natural light.

the bailiff then explained a few things to us, swore us in, the judge comes in and he starts informing us of the details we needed to know. at the 2 tables were 3 people, 1 on the left, 2 on the right. the guy on the far right had the look of an overworked underpaid public defender with beady eyes, crappy haircut and big chin. turns out he was the accused.

the judge explained the hearing to us, a convicted sex offender was petitioning for release. he was convicted in 1993, served his 9-12yr sentence and since then has been incarcerated. currently there were 10 jurors seated, and they needed 4 more. so i figured ok, the odds are in my favor. then he told us the expected duration of 2-3 days testimony and a day for deliberation. any hardship problems? a few raised their hands. ok, so far so good. being out of work for more than a day wasn't thrilling, but if need be, ok, i'd live with it.

then the question was raised as to whether people would be able to deliberate objectively. then i started getting a little nervous as i didn't raise my hand and 2/3 of the people seemed to. (don't blame them, but i realized that i wouldn't be able to come up with a convincing reason, tho i now realize that i do have one.) so we still needed 4 jurors, and my number was high enuff that i stood a chance of not being picked.

then the players were introduced and i realized that i was sitting not 15 feet from a convicted sex offender. (i won't list his name as i'd rather not have someone plug his name and have my blog pop up). turns out he was the beady eyed, crappy haircut big chin guy. i knew something was slimey, but i thought it was lawyer slime, not convicted sex offender slime.

a few final formalities and jurors were brought into the judge's chamber, ~10 at a time. after the 2nd batch of people were brought in, the bailiff gave us 1 of the 2 things that all jurors want to hear.

1) if you are excused, you can go home.

because MA has this one jury one trial thing, if you aren't selected to sit on a case, you are not excused. you have to return to the jury pool and wait in case you are needed for another trial. you don't go home. unless told otherwise.

a few more groups go in and then the last group walks in, and walks back out a few seconds later and the bailiff announcses the 2nd thing that all jurors want to hear.

2) you can go home, your service is complete

the bailiff then informed us that we'll get a form in the mail 8-10 days from now stating that we served. he also suggested making a copy for future reference in case we get called back as that's our get out of service (for a period of time, minimum of a year). if we can't produce documentation that we served, we'd have to serve again. so i'll keep it in a safe place.

so, just past 11am, i headed out of the courthouse and headed back to my car, pleased that i'd be out before that $8.99 turned into $20.

and the best part, i didn't get stuck in traffic on my way home.

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Happy Birthday Bonzo

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