This is a song I've been working to put together right for awhile. It still needs work, but I thought I'd present it as is. Merry Christmas, JU! It was Christmas Eve in nineteen seventy something, The trees hung heavy with the winter snow. We sledded down the hills in cardboard boxes We huddled up and shivered from the cold. We lived in a small two bedroom apartment My mom, two brothers, a sister and me, We'd come home every day and make our dinner While mom finished her shift at the...
This last week has given me an interesting change of perspective. For those who don't know, I spent the better part of last Saturday and early Sunday literally crippled with gout. Over the week, as I've been evaluating things and learning more about my condition, I have been intrigued with how readily we embrace foods that literally poison us with no afterthought. Being crippled, even if for less than 24 hours, makes you think about those things. I'm hoping this is the beginning of some ve...
Locamama wrote an article about political correctness recently. The idea was that it was a good thing, and, of course, opinions of all stripes were offered. As a larger than average person, I have my own perspective, as obesity is one trait against which it is still politically correct to discriminate. I don't want someone to come up with a "quaint" term to describe what I am. I am what I am, and that is FAT. A cutesy term doesn't change that fact, it doesn't change what I see when I look in ...
As the debate on Vista grows from the angry to the comical, I am beginning to notice an interesting trend. More people that I speak with about computing have expressed an interest in trying alternative operating systems and hardware. In fact, I am of the opinion that in 5-6 years' time, you'll be able to walk into your local electronics store and choose between a variety of operating systems, all with approximately equal levels of functionality. Games, again in my perfect little world, will be w...
Over the years, I have made friends with various people, both in real life and online, that one would not expect. And there's a reason for that. I don't give my friendship easily. Now, that doesn't mean I won't be friendly, it just means that if I consider you a "friend", you're family. I'd take a bullet for you, and I will defend you unfailingly in front of others. But that doesn't mean I'll agree with you. In fact, in the circle of people I consider friends, I prefer to include the ones ...
This has been an article I've long had floating around in my head, in response to one JU regular's quite ignorant accusation that I have the run of "bad luck" with jobs that they have with theirs. I haven't updated people on my personal life lately, because, frankly, I have been more than a little tired of some of the games for some time, but here goes: When I started on JoeUser, I had just left the mine. The mine had never been my idea of a permanent job. I was working at the time in plumbin...
It was not that long ago that rape trials would center on the sexual life of the accuser. Basically, one had to be practically a nun in order to get any justice in many of those trials. The mentality was named the "blame the victim" mentality, and was rightly shunned for the stinking thinking that it was. A look at today's headlines shows just how far we've gone back to the "blame the victim" mentality. Only it's not rape this time, it's mass murder. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071108/ap...
As I was thinking about the big bad world of economics the other day, a thought occurred to me. I've long realized that the current approaches to poverty are dead wrong. They don't help, and in too many instances, exacerbate the very problems they were meant to remedy. One of the biggest problems is the activists who decry the income disparity from the rich and poor. As I've come to look at the big picture, I've come to realize that lack of education is the most common reason that disparity e...
As a tech geek, I have been asked several times what to get for everyone's favorite techie. This year, I've decided to compile a list of top ten tech gifts for under $20 for those who want to buy a meaningful gift on a budget. That, and it gives me the chance to promote a few favorite sites. In compiling this list, I only chose good sample products. You may find a brand you like better, a website you like better or something slightly different. I only put the list together as a starting point...
(Note: this is a bit of a diary piece. I have a lot of crap running through my head right now, and I need to filter it somehow) In the highways in the hedges In the highways in the hedges In the highways in the hedges I'll be somewhere a workin for my Lord (The Carter Family, In the Highways ) &nbs...
Zoologist wrote an excellent article on why the phrase "just a theory" irritates scientists ( https://forums.joeuser.com/?forumid=11&aid=165215#1333538 ). While it is not my intention to ridicule his point, there is another side, one I felt should be expressed. The following is my rebuttal to his argument: Well said; however, it must be stated that a theory is ALWAYS open for debate or discussion. A theory differs substantially from a law in this regard. One of the problems with global ...
I was headed back from a late day at work, and decided to stop at Taco Bell because I had a short window of time before I needed to be at the school. I placed my order and waited in line 20 minutes, something I've come to expect. After 20 minutes, when I got to the window, they still hadn't assembled the order. They were arguing about what should be in it when it was right there on the stinking ticket. I had ordered a chicken quesadilla "value meal". Well, after they finally gave me the or...
In the never ending debate, "Is Microsoft a monopoly" that resurfaced on another thread (in forums, the only surer topic to reappear than Godwin's Law is the Microsoft monopoly argument), it was pointed out that at the time of the antitrust suit, Microsoft had several thousand competitors. Now, first of all, let me say that most Americans have no idea what a monopoly is and why Microsoft is not one. Because that's not the topic of this article, however, I'm going to state that point and move ...
I don't usually do movie reviews; I feel there are a lot of folks out there who do better than I. But after seeing "Facing the Giants", I felt this was one movie review I had to write. The first thing that struck me was that I've seen this movie before. About a billion times. It's the kind of schmaltz that evangelical organizations have put out for 30 years, with slightly better production values (although, unfortunately, the acting quality hasn't improved). While it may be tempting to set...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070923/ap_on_en_ot/obit_marceau;_ylt=AprZu7Yegd8h2AfGUiqn3V.s0NUE Marcel Marceau, easily the most famous mime ever, has passed away at 84. While mime is a much ridiculed and parodied art, Marceau easily brought it to a level of recognition that few others could ever achieve. He was an artist in the truest sense of the word. But (trying to beat the rest of the Internet to the punchlines) how, exactly, do you eulogize someone like that?