NCAA Tourney Expansion Jibberish Squashed

No big post needed here. Why? Because it’s stupid to even think about expanding the Tourney to 128 teams. Just read Forde’s article on the subject. Hopefully the NCAA will prove smarter on this issue than they have been lately with the team mascot political correctness gone amuck.

Top 10 Video Game Weapons

Sure it’s juvenile. Sure it’s a giant waste of time. But little brings more joy to more little boys than video games. Here’s GameTrailers.com bringing you the Top 10 weapons of all time. And they are sooo right about that Gravity Gun.

NBA Draft 2006

Like most thought, Italian 7-footer Bargnani was picked first by Toronto. After that, all hell broke loose as during the next 30-40 minutes 4 trades popped out of nowhere. Here are my thoughts in no particular order.

• ESPN Crew – Stephen A. Smith: Has their every been someone so annoying who’s also in so many placed? Jay Bilas: Must be in his contract to announce each players “wingspan.” Enough already. Dan Patrick: Used to be young, hip and edgy. Now he’s old, tired and agitated. Not a good trend. Dick Vitale: Sure he adds spice, but please, let’s go light on the seasoning. Greg Anthony: I like the guy, what can I say?
• Adam Morrison [#3 to Charlotte], while being the most complete player in the draft, needs a hair stylist in the worst way. Reminds me of a movie I say as a kid called The Shaggy D.A. where a giant sheepdog has human-like qualities. It’s not a fond memory.
• Shelden Williams [#5 to Atlanta] is known to some as The Forehead. I’d rather call him “Fish.”
• Rudy Gay [#8 to Memphis] had the ugliest gold watch I’d ever seen. I could have sworn it came out of a Super Sugar Crisp box.
• JJ Reddick [#11 to Orlando], in his post pick interview, had a sweet slapback on Stuart Scott, left him speechless for all of 1.27 seconds.
• Hilton Armstrong [#12 to New Orleans] will go down as a wasted pick.
• Quincy Douby [#19 to Sacremento] What I’d like to know is, “How in the world did the Trailblazers, with 4 first round picks, not get the guy with the last name ‘Doobie’?!?”
• Rolando Balkman [#20 to New York] was the worst pick in the draft. Not even close. Not that the MSG fans needed anything to complain about. They were whining the moment Stern took the stage. What city has worse fans than New York?!?
• Rajon Rondo [#21 to Boston] was the first PG chosen and will cause Bill Simmon’s head to explode before his next column. I don’t mind the pick, Boston needs all kind of help.

Last Comic Standing: Week 2

Either I’m just not inline with America or I’m a horrible guesser. After ranking the comics last week, my #1 and #2 picks are gone. I’m horrible!! I couldn’t have done worse had I tried. That’ll teach me to make predictions. Now, if I can only curb my NFL gambling.

I’m Still Standing

Michele, Chris, Joey and Bil all were pitted together. Whenever 3 people of one sex compete with 1 of the other, the single person has the huge advantage of pulling the majority of support from their sex. To be fair, Michele had a very funny set. Not family friendly, by any stretch of the imagination, so we had to hold our laughter in so our kids wouldn’t be out repeating her bit about the remote control vibrator.

Chris didn’t go the sex route, but rather chose the drugs, another topic we shouldn’t be promoting in front of our kids. Guess America has different priorities because Chris made it through. Like Michele, he did get far more laughs than Joey and Bil.

Heading Home

Decent set but just not enough. Had a great attitude though. Telle est la vie.

Drat! Draft! Drat! I liked Bil. Now I’m just gonna have to really pull for Josh. Loved the pratfall over the chair in the voting chamber.

NEA Changes Tune Due to Public Response

I wrote last week that the NEA was forcing a non-educational agenda, homosexual marriage, down its member’s throats. Public response against this effort was apparently significant, because now it looks like they’re making a change.

Earlier draft:

The Association believes that legal rights and responsibilities with regard to medical decisions, taxes, inheritance, adoption, legal immigration, domestic partnerships, and civil unions and/or marriage belong to all these diverse groups and individuals.

Revised draft:

The Association also believes that these factors should not affect the legal rights and obligations of the partners in a legally-recognized domestic partnership, civil union, or marriage in regard to matters involving the other partner, such as medical decisions, taxes, inheritance, adoption, and immigration.

The NEA continues to deny their efforts were designed to promote homosexual marriage, while their California groups have already stated as much. We’ll see just how much of this the American people will stand.

MS Paint Artist Has Mad Skillz

Simply amazing skills on display by SWMoore who used only MS Paint to create incredible stuff. The only significant tool of the program is Undo.

Dojo Info 6/28/06

1. Maverick Mav’s owner taking on stock cheats, journalist says
   All the Cuban haters need to relax, breath deeply and then see all the good the man does instead of whine about his money.
2. Ready for a Next-Gen DVD Player?
   Still pricey but this article should bring you up-to-speed on the latest.
3. BobParsons.com
   “35 million names registered in May. Only 8% of registrations were paid. 32 million were part of a scam. It’s called “domain kiting.” At some point ICANN needs to do something. Legitimate businesses and new business ventures are suffering for it.
4. Adobe updates Flash Player, Flex tool
   Not big news except for the Flex promotion. They want “to expand the audience of Flex developers from a few thousand to 1 million developers in the next three to five years.” Once a couple stellar examples surface, that shouldn’t be too tough.
5. The YouTube Hall of Fame, by Bill Simmons
   Most of Bill’s stuff is gold. This is no exception.

Buffets Charities Include Abortion

Did you see this? Warren Buffet To Donate $37 Billion To Gates Foundation

Wow! That’s gotta be a record. But before you judge Mr. Buffet, you need some additional information. This comes from our friends at the FRC.

Back in the 1990s, the Buffett Foundation gave $2-3 million dollars to fund research and clinical trials needed to bring RU-486, the abortion pill, to market. Thanks to the Buffetts, and other promoters of abortion for population control, the drug was fast-tracked and approved under an order from President Clinton. Since then, approximately 500,000 American babies have been killed with RU-486. There has also been some “collateral damage” as they decreased the surplus population. At least, six American women have been killed following RU-486 use, and three of those women left children who are now motherless. Buffett’s billions have the potential to do damage like this on a global scale. His foundation over the years has given millions to the likes of Planned Parenthood, Pathfinder International, the Population Council, and more besides. It has been reported that Buffett and Gates visited communist China in 1995 and made sure to visit a “family planning” clinic along the Yangtze. China’s one-child policy has had a history of coercion, which went unremarked on the Buffett-Gates tour. It would be tragic if the new funds flowing into the Gates Foundation further today’s assaults on the sanctity of human life, especially when the population bomb that is actually detonating is the one whose ideological fragments are wrecking Europe’s fertility and contributed to so much pessimism about the Continent’s future.

I just wanted to make sure you had the whole story.

Stop the Insanity

So here I am looking at headlines like, NCAA to Weigh Expanding Basketball Tourney and Field of 128? Coaches want NCAA tourney expanded. Let me be the first to say, “They’ve done lost their freakin’ minds!”

In all seriousness, they should be removing the ridiculous “play-in” game and go back to the 64 team field. Because the tournament is single-elimination (which it definitely should remain; don’t get me started on the eternal, best-of-seven playoffs of the NBA) the regular season needs to mean something. Making the jump from 64 to 128 teams would add another round to the already demanding 6-straight-wins needed for a championship.

The whole time these people talk about expanding the field they say it’s because deserving teams aren’t making the field, but we know it’s really about money. The NCAA Tournament is one of sport’s highest rated events and adding more of it, which arguably would add more fun for fans, would make it tougher on the best teams in college basketball to win the grand prize. I just don’t think it’s in the best interest of the sport.

Dojo Info 6/24/06

1. NASCAR teen uses video games to become racer
   Of course he did. Just like I’ve been using video games to become a Grand Master Thief.
2. Columbine Monument Construction to Begin
   Whoa now! That better not be on public land or you’ll have the ACLU breathing down your necks so fast that NASCAR teen will be impressed.
3. Physics may take video games to next level
   That’s great. I’ll take the emphasis on reality of physics over glamorous graphics, but what about realistic in-game reality? I’ll never stop trumpting my Lifelike Adventure Manifesto.
4. Toilet Cleaners Are ‘Restroom Specialists’
   Let’s just say that if you have the word “specialist” in your job title, your job probably sucks.

Social Mores and Japanese Prank TV

Leave it to the Japanese to find a truly frightening use for new technology. On the plus side, pranks are almost always funny. Did you see the prank they pulled on PETA guy?!?

Dojo Info 6/23/06

1. New York Investigates Skating Rink for Playing Christian Music
   “The New York Division of Human Rights threatened Len and Terry Bernardo, owners of the Skate Time 209 rink in Accord, with an investigation because the rink plays Christian music during certain hours.” Yeah, those certain hours are a Christian Music Skate party. These anti-Christian government agencies need to get a clue.
2. Switching Alpha Dogs
   Simmons breaks it down like no one else, how Shaq has officially handed the car keys over to Wade.
3. CBS Offers Downloads of TV Shows on iTunes
   The progression is in “full speed ahead” mode.
4. Coffee may reduce risk of cirrhosis
   My Beer/Coffee combo plan is working to perfection.
5. ‘Skype Me’: EBay to Add Button to Listings
   The smart people at eBay are making good decisions. Expect their stock price to start trending upward.

Bear at the Beach

My apologies for not posting more photos of Bear. Here are two of the astounding seven we took during our entire vacation. Seems our state-of-the-art digitial camara is behind the times. So due to it’s poor picture quality we’re more apt to reach for the videocam. But I’m determined to get a new, COOL camara at some point. Now where did I put my lottery ticket?

Removing the ACLU Incentive

The ACLU has long since abandoned it’s initial goal of social justice. Today, they’re as much about making money as anything else. But the Public Expression of Religion Act (PERA), H.R. 2679 could change that. Spread the word!

When the local school board in Miami voted to remove a pro-Castro book from the school library, the ACLU sued. “Censorship,” they cried. Of course, we never see the ACLU demanding that books like The Black Book of Communism be included in libraries. That book, written by French leftists, documents the fact that Castro’s government has killed 40,000 Cubans. The school board simply reflected the interest of the parents, but once again the ACLU wants to dictate policy in the school house by using the court house. Shockingly, the ACLU makes a financial killing suing states and localities in federal courts. That could change, however, if Rep. John Hostettler’s (R-IN) bill passes. The Public Expression of Religion Act (PERA), H.R. 2679, provides that no monetary damages, costs, or attorney’s fees can be awarded to the ACLU and its cohorts as a result of a public official’s performance of his duties. For too long, the ACLU has used an obscure provision of the civil rights laws to extort concessions from cash-strapped local governments. We must end the ACLU’s reign of terror. We must end the practice of taxing Americans to fund the ACLU’s assault on America and religious freedom. Thank you, Congressman Hostettler, for standing up to these bullies. [link]

NEA Thumbs Their Nose at America

Just goes to show that most non-political organizations truly aren’t. Take for example the National Education Association (NEA). Despite widespread support for marriage maintaining it’s current definition of one man and one woman, they would rather force their opinion on all of our school children.

The National Education Association is set to endorse homosexual marriage at their convention coming up in Orlando June 29 through July 6.

The new NEA proposal essentially says schools should support and actively promote homosexual marriage and other forms of marriage (two men and one woman, three women, two women and three men, etc.) in their local schools.

The new proposal, expected to pass overwhelmingly, is found under the B-8 Diversity paragraph:

The Association… believes in the importance of observances, programs and curricula that accurately portray and recognize the roles, contributions, cultures, and history of these diverse groups and individuals.

The Association believes that legal rights and responsibilities with regard to medical decisions, taxes, inheritance, adoption, legal immigration, domestic partnerships, and civil unions and/or marriage belong to all these diverse groups and individuals.

Even teachers who personally want gay marriage don’t think the NEA should be doing this. Right on the Left Coast gives his feelings on the topic.

What happens when a teacher doesn’t want to join this union because they disagree with their practices? Isn’t membership mandatory in most places? Talk about a dictatorship.

I just wish the NEA would stick to teaching our kids the basics and keep their political views to themselves. We’re having enough trouble educating our kids with this skills already, much less getting into the I’m Ok, You’re OK doctrine.

All this is going to do is increase the flow of parents taking their kids out of public schools. In my opinion, we need a voucher system. Let your NEA affiliate know where you stand.

Update: If I’m reading this correctly, it seems like the onslaught of public opposition has caused at least one NEA representative to change or shut-down their email address. I just received:

—– The following addresses had permanent fatal errors —–

(reason: 554 No SMTP service here.)