NBA Refs, They’re Craptastic!

I’m not a conspiracy theorist by any means, but the worst part of the NBA (besides the overly long season) is the quality of their referees. Star players get more than a fair share of calls, see LeBron. I would expect that since the NBA has the best players in it, shouldn’t the best referees also rise to the NBA as well? One would think.

Case in point, today’s Lakers v. Suns game. The Lakers got the correct call when Smush Parker stole the ball from Steven Nash in the closing seconds, pushed the ball up to Kobe for the game tying basket. But in OT, when Nash was surrounded, it was pretty obvious he was calling for a timeout, but the referees not only didn’t give the Suns a timeout, they ignored a foul and called a jump ball instead. Atrocious.

Kobe did hit the game winner and deserves credit for that clutch shot, but the hometown Lakers received 31 free throw attempts to the visitors 15. Something needs to change.

Miss Kentucky Wins Miss USA 2006

Being from Kentucky, you’d think I would have posted this sooner, eh?

Survivor Panama: Week 11

And the Terry-Man, keeps marching, on. With just 5 left, here’s where it really gets interesting.

Gitanos

Made quick work of his competition again. Then tried to work some tribemates, but that only meant the kiss of death to everyone’s Final 2 Companion—Courtney. Still in a might fine position with the insurance idol and all.

Playing both sides with deft control. If she doesn’t piss anyone off, she’s in good position to win the grand prize. But then, who would take her with them to the Final 2?

I love that Shane is insane and all. Fits him well and he seems to be able to turn it off, and on. But the whole Mick Jagger meets Richard Hatch persona he’s got going on here is a major sickness inducer. Can we call him Captain Ipecac?

Hanging in there. The next challenge should be telling as it’s about time for the staff to throw in a mental challenge where Terry won’t have such a clear advantage.

I couldn’t tell, but it seemed like Cirie lied. But then, if she did, she lied so well no one could tell. Interesting.

Voted Off

Made the mistake of becoming friends with the tribe leper, Terry and it cost her dearly. Maybe in the real world she’ll hunt Danielle down and pay her back. RRreeerrrrr… cat fight.

Dojo Info 4/28/06

1. Hotmail’s New Address
   I bet many of you have seen the new “Sign up for the mail beta!” graphic inside of Hotmail. I ignored it. At first. Then I tried it out. Quickly I changed back because I couldn’t sort Date so as to have the most recently received emails at the bottom. “A significant number of testers liked the old version better. ” Looks like they’ve got some work ahead of them.
2. Magician David Copperfield robbed after show at Kravis Center
   I don’t know which bothers me more: that Copperfiled didn’t slight-of-hand their wallets; or that one of the robbers calls himself “The Kentuckian.”
3. Is Jesus the next killer app?
   Maintain the message. Modify the method. tru.dat
4. World’s 2nd Largest Tetris Game
   Just because.
5. Pre-Pixelated Clothes
   I wish I had thought of that.

Supporting Marriage Can Cost You Your Job

From the Family Research Council:

People who signed the pro-marriage petition in Massachusetts are being listed on a website maintained by homosexual activists (www.KnowThyNeighbor.org). That’s how a Cape Cod fire engineer lost his job. Leo Childs has served since 1998 as a volunteer on the Board of Fire Engineers for the town of Truro. Childs’ bid for reappointment failed when Selectman Paul Asher-Best voted to remove him. Asher-Best, who claims recently to have “married” his male lover, justified his actions to The Cape Cod Times, saying: “If you think I’m not entitled to civil marriage, then the only conclusion I can draw is that you don’t think I’m fully human, or that my humanity is on par with yours.” Can he really believe this stuff? Brothers and sisters cannot marry. First cousins cannot marry. Does anyone deny their humanity? And can anyone seriously think that Asher-Best would not get full protection from fires from Leo Childs? This action is ridiculous, but it isn’t funny. It shows the tyranny of the homosexual movement in Massachusetts. The tens of thousands of signers of pro-marriage petitions are being scrutinized and subjected to various forms of abuse and harassment. By his nakedly vindictive actions, Asher-Best proves himself unfit for public office.

TV Turnoff Week

I didn’t know it but we’re smack dab in the middle of TV Turnoff Week (April 24th – 30th). I just posted about the sorry state of affairs in regard to what is being broadcast across the air waves.

Given that most kids spend far too much time watching TV, maybe it should be TV Turnoff Month?

On average, children in the US will spend more time in front of the television (1,023 hours) than in school this year (900 hours).

Crikies! How is that even possible? Amazing.

Dojo Info 4/26/06

1. Democrats Say Lieberman ‘Too Republican’
   Which is exactly why he’d have the best chance to win the White House if the Democrats would only nominate him.
2. Boy turns in knife but may still be expelled
   Truly outrageous. Common sense has left the building. I say we start a Wehrheim defense fund. These idiots need to be put in their place.
3. Coming soon: Cars that get 100 miles per gallon
   It’s about freakin’ time. Or as Glenn Beck would say, “WHERE’S MY FLYING CAR!” But make sure we understand, moving to plug-in cars, while helping out on the oil reserves side of the equation are devastating to the environment when those power batteries need disposing of; big time toxic.
4. What Did The Democrats Say About Iraq’s WMD
   While on Glenn’s site, I noticed he’s collected quotes from all the Democrats who thought Saddam had WMD. So… if Bush “lied” so did every one of these guys.
5. dorkbot
   Creative technology. What’s dorky about that?

Drawing the Line on Decency

It’s all a matter of degrees. Can they say “bitch” but not “bastard”? Of course the F-word is off-limits… or should it be? Implied sexual content? Partial nudity? What kind of violence is acceptable and what is not? Everything is debateble, right?

Well, the Jack Valenti doesn’t even agree with the premise. He wants no line at all. Valenti is the president of the Motion Picture Association of America and he’s putting together a $300 million ad campaign designed to put the parents in the hot seat.

“We want to tell American parents that they, and they alone, have total power to control every hour of television programming,” said Valenti.

So where does decency come in? If it’s up to Jack, Hollywood could produce anything they bloody well like. No matter if it’s being broadcast late night, primetime or even daytime. Parents already have an uphill battle protecting their developing children from unhealthy influences. Now Hollywood wants to turn on the sprinklers.

Tired of High Gas Prices? Blame Clinton

Now, I’m not one of those people who thinks we could blame Clinton for every evil under the sun. He wasn’t the best President, but I believe there’s integrity in honesty. But had President Clinton not vetoed legislation (already approved by Congress) for Anwar drilling back in 1995, there’d be an additional “…nearly 1.4 million barrels of oil” available that would have arrived before this past year’s run-up.

Big point: That’s domestic production, not Saudi or Iraqi or any other Middle Eastern country.

We need to become a bit more independant and soon. We’ve already got enough problems with our trade deficit, right?

Lileks Vision of Tomorrow

Lileks is such a joy. Little tidbits that, to him, fly out of his mind faster than Indy cars, give us all those “Ahh” moments and laughs to boot. Here’s a snippet from today’s Bleat.

I know it sounds rather excessive, but I made a vow when Gnat was born that I wouldn’t film & forget; I wouldn’t have boxes of jumbled unlabeled video tapes, never viewed, never sorted. It’s also had the side benefit of slowing Time’s cackling gallop; the last five years don’t seem like a blur at all, because I’ve gone back, hammered in the signposts, marked the journey. And on the odd chance that she inherits my interest in the culture of her gauzy happy youth, I’ve saved the quotidian detritus that usually gets whisked into the bin. And if some day she says she appreciates it, well, I’ll be able to say “do you know the Firewire conflicts with iSight and an underpowered bus I had to resolve to back up that movie?” And then she’ll call for the nurse and have my Soma-Drip ration increased. So it’s all good.

For the geeked family videographers among us, this is sure to bring a smile.

Catholics Get Behind Marriage Amendment

Of course, the New York Times titles the story as “against gay unions” rather than “for marriage” (media bias) but the information inside is still valid. Up until now, the Catholic church hasn’t taken much of a position on the proposed Marriage Amendment. Looks like support is growing.

If you haven’t signed the petition, please consider it. Redefining marriage really doesn’t help anyone. There is a good portion of the gay community who have no desire to marry.

Dojo Info 4/24/06

1. godBlog
   This guy has the audacity to call himself “god” but I know for a fact, the real God wouldn’t use that lame WordPress theme. And then there’s this guy. Man, anyone can claim to be creator of the universe, eh?
2. Paul Shirley’s space on MySpace
   The rich get richers, er… wrong post, uh… this is about that zany Shirley and his latest escapades from part-time Pro basketball player to someone who plays one on TV. Should be interesting!
3. State of NBA, love & trust
   The Sports Guy breaks down the NBA plays citing Pearl Jam lyrics. He’s a little bent.
4. Bloggers Weigh in on Changing Nation
   I’m sure the AP “filtered” this story a bit, but it’s still far more accurate than the standard message coming from the DP.
5. Segway Polo
   It was bound to happen. No horse chips to avoid, too!

The Power of the Human Mind

Can you read this?

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it.

I thought you could. 8^)

Barret at 3 Months

Mrs. Paladin caught the wild Bear on film. Thought I’d share the shots.

Bear hard at work in the play gym.

That playtime will take it out of you.

Bear says, “I’ve never been happier.”

Survivor Panama: Week 10

It must have been some severe pain to put Bruce on his back like that. Appendicitis? I know how that feels. Ouch!

Gitanos

Didn’t have to win another Challenge so Bruce’s pain is Terry’s gain. But of all the people to leave, I bet Terry would have chosen anyone but Bruce.

Danielle showed a more human side this show taking part in the reward with Cirie. Even still, she’s so far proven to be a me-first personality.

Shane is simply a freak. Every season of Survivor needs someone like Shane. I’m not saying I want Shane to do well, but it makes the show more rich to have someone so distasteful to root againt.

I liked that she tried to comfort Bruce during his painful episode. Maybe there’s hope for her yet?

It’s easier to see how Aras doesn’t like Terry now. Aras is a fighter and trying to play both Shane and the girls is giving him new life in this game.

Cirie is so nice. What did she do to end up with this bunch? Best she can hope for those is final 3 since she won’t do well in that final endurance challenge. Even still, she’s done herself proud.

Voted, er Medivact Off

Do they come any tougher than Bruce? He practically blew up his insides but refuesd to give up. My hat’s off to him. Reminds me a lot of this guy.