World’s First Bouncing Camara

Incredible technology and stylish too! [via kottke]

Dojo Info 1/11/06

1. FIS wants U.S. team to address Miller’s comments
   “Talk about a hard challenge right there. … If you ever tried to ski when you’re wasted, it’s not easy,” Miller said. There ya go. America’s skiing role model. Lovely.
   Update: Looks like his agent got a hold of him.
2. Coming Soon: ‘Polyamorist Rights’?
   It’s been cited, but the homosexual lobby has denied it, that promoting gay marriage will bring along all kinds of couplings. And they were right.
3. Andrew Reviews: Glory Road
   He gave it high marks but he doesn’t seem to note that the film does villify the Kentucky fans. Eye-witnesses have gone on record stating that there were not any confederate flags flying within the arena, but Hollywood wanted to increase the racial tension. My fear is that future generations will remember (believe?) the movie version over the real life version.
4. Russia celebrating Orthodox Christmas
   I had no idea other people groups celebrated Christmas on January 7th.
5. FAQ: The new ‘annoy’ law explained
   After reading this FAQ, I’m still not clear on what violates the law. Not even sure the lawyers know at this point.

Alito Deserves a Vote

It’s incredible how we’re even debating whether or not Judge Alito deserves a vote. Of course he does! That’s the law as it has been practiced since the beginning of our country. The President has always had the job of appointing judges. It’s only been this legal season that the Democrats have “ported” the practice of filibuster and have threatened to use it on judge nominations.

It’s been estimated that liberal groups opposing Alito’s confirmation are spending as much as $30,000,000. All because he’s shown himself to be an interpreter of the law, rather than an activist. The Founding Fathers would be banging their dusted wigs on the table if they could see how we’ve twisted their work.

If you believe your Senators may be part of the group working towards Filibuster Madness^TM, contact them and let them know you want an up-or-down vote. If your Senator is Kennedy or Shumer, forget it, those two wouldn’t listen to reason if it bit them.

Top 10 Strangest USB Devices

I’ve seen my share of strange tech devices, but these take the prize. Those Japanese sure do love their sushi and saki!

Marcus Vick Just Won’t Quit

Some people think they’re above the law or something. Maybe our penalties don’t make memorable enough examples of criminals. Whatever the case, just a few days after Marcus Vick was kicked off his college football team for The Stomp plus some, he’s arrested on firearm charges.

Hopefully he’s learn his lesson at some point, but I don’t like his odds.

Be Sure to Get Your 20 Minutes of Vids

Who says video games aren’t healthy? This game helps America’s overweight youngsters lose weight. Can’t you hear mother’s across the country, “Johnny, have you played your 20 minutes of In The Groove yet today?”

Dojo Info 1/8/06

1. Buckley F. Williams’ Predictions For 2006
   Like WuzzaDem, The Nose on Your Face is full of funny stuff.
2. Islam In Summary
   Jason Pappas does a thorough job describing both Islam the ideology and Islam the sociology and shows how Islam today is not a religion of peace that many claim.
3. S.F. Gun Control — Criminals Exempt
   Doesn’t appear that the newly enacted handgun ban is getting the kind of results legislators had hoped for. I really don’t see the common sense in this approach. There’s no way it makes sense for only the people who ignore the laws to wield the power.
4. Where Do You Stand on Faith?
   For the first time ever, I clicked on one of my Google ads and found something useful. Some of the results of this survey are interesting.
5. Like Superman, only running on AA batteries
   Someone has created a new device that can “sense through 12 inches of concrete.” This will be great against some of the guerilla tactics of our less than honorable terrorist opponents.

NEA Funds Alito Opposition

This comes straight from the Family Research Council email newsletter. I post it so people understand that the NEA cares about more than just education. Teachers are forced to pay dues to the NEA and they have almost no say in how the power bloc distributes them.

The Wall Street Journal has done some solid research on how left-wing groups get their money. The National Education Association (NEA) is the nation’s largest teachers union. NEA gives to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest gay advocacy group in the world. It also funds the National Women’s Law Center, an anti-Alito feminist group. The NEA got $295 million of last year’s $341 million annual income from member dues. Many teachers are required by law to join the NEA and pay dues. The Journal reports that People for the American Way (PFAW) last year got $51,000 from the NEA. PFAW has led opposition to conservative judicial nominees since Judge Robert Bork was named nearly twenty years ago. To this point, at least, Americans don’t seem to be buying what the NEA’s liberal grantees are selling. A pre-Christmas Washington Post poll showed 54 percent of Americans favor confirming Judge Sam Alito for the Supreme Court. Still, we expect to face hostile protestors at Philadelphia’s Greater Exodus Baptist Church for Justice Sunday III this Sunday. I expect all their fury to be unleashed against Judge Alito next week–and against any who stand up for a fair hearing for a fair judge.

Tough to be a conservative and a teacher and not feel taken advantage of.

Dojo Info 1/5/06

1. Judge Upholds Prayer Limits in Ind. State House
   U.S. District Judge David F. Hamilton has bought the lie that the Founding Fathers desired for there to be zero religion in government. If it weren’t so appalling it would be funny.
2. Fckng Ralph Nader, fckng Public Citizen
   Tough to make a call on this one, but certainly public advocacy has power to make change. Now, is that change the right one?
3. Sharon’s stroke stuns Israelis but enemies smile
   Does this sound evil to anyone else?
4. Steyn On Ice
   Interesting piece on how eventually the Islamic fundamentalists will run Europe. As I understand it, he’s coming at this from a demographic data perspective. Frightening.
5. 100 things we didn’t know this time last year
   Interesting stuff. My son Ben’s favorite would have to be, “18. If all the Smarties eaten in one year were laid end to end it would equal almost 63,380 miles, more than two-and-a-half times around the Earth’s equator.”

‘Book of Daniel’: Intending to Insult

Have you seen the promos for NBC’s new show called Book of Daniel? Anyone with an ounce of affection for the Bible and spiritual matters would understandably take offense; especially with what people of faith have routinely seen coming out of Hollywood. So they try again. “Let’s take jabs at spiritual things. Hell, it’ll be fun!”

Of course, many are outraged. Affiliates are being asked to reject the show. I emailed my local station and while I didn’t get a reply from the General Manager, I did get this from the Operations Manager:

Dear [Paladin] & [Mrs. Paladin],
Thank you for taking the time to write. I will pass along your e-mail to
NBC and WAVE’s General Manager.

Sincerely,

Dan Foos
Operations Manager
WAVE 3
502 561-4162
[email protected]

Now I hear that the Terre Haute, Indiana, affiliate WTWO has become the first to announce that it will not carry the anti-Christian program. Good for them. Listen to your viewers. If you have concerns, contact your affiliate as well.

In typical fashion, the Dominent Press says “Quit being so judgemental. Lighten up.” So, what’s the big deal? What’s so bad about this show? I’ll let you be the judge.

• the program’s main character is Daniel Webster, a drug-addicted Episcopal priest
• his wife is an alcoholic
• his son is a 23-year-old homosexual Republican
• his daughter is a 16-year-old drug dealer
• he has a 16-year-old adopted son who is having sex with the bishop’s daughter
• his lesbian secretary who is sleeping with his sister-in-law
• all the while a white-robed, bearded Jesus talks to the priest

The show would likely fail on its own merits by why should we be subjected to it?

Movie: Fun with Dick and Jane

I had no idea that Fun with Dick and Jane was a remake. The idea is engaging enough, but I’d wager gold to goldfish that Jim Carey is a tad more hysterical than George “Just Shoot Me” Segal.

My only problem with the film was that… it hit a bit close to home. Being laid off myself by a good portion of the Fortune 500, I can speak intimately about the pain of the ordeal. This film, however, really plays it up as both Dick Harper and his wife Jane, played by Téa Leoni, both bomb in every post-layoff endeavor. Thus, they resort to criminal behavior.

For my money, nobody is funnier than Jim Carey. Maybe I’m still a child. (My wife says as much.) But I was laughing at silly flops throughout the film, while much of the theater remained silent. Perhaps, it was exactly due to my close proximity to Mr. Harper’s hardship that I could commiserate. Either way, I loved the movie. Sure it’s goofy. But did you expect anything less? If you need a light-hearted laugh or 20, then by all means, see Fun With Dick and Jane.

8 out of 10

The Stomp, Version Two

Yesterday’s Gator Bowl held many things, but I’ll leave full coverage to more ambitious analysts than I. I’ll focus on The Stomp. As a die-hard Cat fan, the first thing I thought was Christian Laettner! Let’s go back to 1992 and perhaps the most famous college basketball game in history.

What most people (but never Wildcat fans) forget is that Christian Laettner should never had the opportunity to shoot that miraculous overtime shot because. like Marcus Vick, he purposefully stomped on a downed opponent and deserved to be ejected. As an aside, I found this interesting quote from one of Laettner’s teammates concerning the event.

“It’s so Laettner. He’s supposed to be like this all-America, this glamour boy, Mr. GQ. If you know Laettner, it’s such a Laettner move to do something like that.” -Cherokee Parks

So, in the 1st quarter Jimmy Williams bumped a ref and was correctly ejected. So how is stomping on the leg of the guy who just tackled you “Ok”?!? In all probability, Louisville shouldn’t have lost to Virginia Tech. Vick should have been likewise ejected. The camara’s caught it. His quarterback coach saw the deed. He shouldn’t have been in the game to lead his team to a 4th quarter comeback. Just the same way that Laettner wouldn’t have been present to help Duke beat Kentucky.

So where’s the Instant Replay? Isn’t that what it’s for… to correct errors? I doubt it will be reviewed, but why should some action on the field be reviewable and other action not? I feel for you Card fans.

Update 1/7: So now he’s been kicked off the team for “numerous legal transgressions and his unsportsmanlike conduct in the Toyota Gator Bowl.” Turns out he’s one of them there bad apples.

Dojo Info 1/2/06

1. Starting the new year off properly
   There’s drunk, there’s stupid and then there’s this guy.
2. 50 Best Firefox Extensions for Power Surfing
   Out of 50, a couple must be worthwhile right?
3. Where are 2005′s best posts?
   Ambitious endeavor especially for one of the non-elite but he could have simply come and asked me.
4. The Movie Card Website
   Just in case you didn’t believe that the Internet has everything, here’s another example.
5. [Closed but sharing]
   It’s like, um, like only the best show on TV, oh-my-gosh. And just so you know, it goes like this, “*dink DINK dink DINK*“

Annual Wildcat Game 2005

As a Kentucky fan, one of the biggest problems is that tickets to games are hard to come by. And if you can find them, they’re very expensive. So I’ve made it my goal to try and take my boys to just one game each year. That game is usually one that other fans care less about thus prices fall out of the insanely expensive range into the only slightly less outrageous price range.

This year that game was Kentucky vs. Ohio being held in Cincinnati. Now, it might sound like an easy win the traditionally strong Wildcats but going into the game Ohio had lost only a single game and had made the NCAA Tournament the year before. So they were a pretty good tea. At #18, Kentucky has been steadily sliding down the polls. So with a mere 4 point spread, this game was ripe for an upset.

Once we finally found parking and made our way to our seats, it was obvious that blue dominated the landscape. Things started sour. In fact, the Wildcats trailed most of the first half. The second half wasn’t much better. We were starting to wonder if we’d be having a sad drive home. With about 12 minutes left Kentucky still trailed by 7. That’s when the fans came alive.

Each time our team got a steal or made a basket the 13,000 Cat fans rose to their feet. It was as loud a crowd as I’ve heard in person; far better than the larger Rupp Arena. We had a great time as the team came storming back to win the game 71-63.

The boys really enjoyed themselves and we made it back to Louisville by midnight, mission accomplished. Now I can start saving money for next year.