(click to enlarge)

Just thought you'd like to see what I have on my desktop at work.

I haven't forgotten.

Posted by: Harvey at 09:19 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Blogdaughter Machelle of Quality Weenie points out that the Federal government is currently considering a piece of legislation called the "Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act of 2004". She also notes that you can sign an online form supporting this piece of legislation.

Machelle suffers from arthritis herself, and I know other people who suffer right along with her, so I'm spreading the word.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of government legislation, since all bills get loaded down with pork, and even if they didn't, they authorize horribly inefficient uses of your tax dollars.

If you'd like to do something, but don't trust the government to get it right, I'll point out that, as stated on the Arthritis Foundation web site, Nature Made® TripleFlex® will - until September 13th - match your donation.

Posted by: Harvey at 09:09 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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(click to enlarge)

(hat tip to Jed of Boots & Sabers for the pic)

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If you want to know what effect the Republican Convention and its attendant protests are having on New York City, you should bookmark Michele of Letters From New York City, even if only temporarily, because she's right in the streets and she's reporting things on the ground that you won't get anywhere else, like 5000 bicyclists clogging traffic for 3 hours all over the city.

Was it Bicyclists Against Bush?

Not originally.

It started as a group trying to bring attention to transportation alternatives.

But their protest was overwhelmed and hijacked by Bush haters.

Although I feel a guilty twinge of schadenfreude at the sight of a lefty organization eating it's young, what I mostly feel is anger.

Anger that the innocent bystanders of New York City - who REALLY have places to go and things to do and productive work to accomplish - were unnecessarily inconvenienced by thoughtless twerps. I just wish these spoiled children of privilege would exercise their right of free speech by using actual WORDS instead of making a traffic-congesting spectacle of themselves.

Actions aren't arguments, and even if they were, going out of your way to make people's lives miserable isn't a persuasive argument.

Unless the argument is about whether these asshats need a beating, in which case I've been thoroughly convinced.

An additional note, Michele also has interesting posts about:

The NYC subway bomb plot.

Protestors, both naked and clothed.

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Via Jim of Snoozebutton Dreams, I found out that Jeff of Backcountry Conservative is compiling a list of veterans who blog.

If you did your time, let him know:

Harvey Olson, U.S. Navy, Machinist's Mate: 1985-1991, (Reactor Mechanic, USS Enterprise 1987-1991).

Posted by: Harvey at 08:35 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Friday Linky Stuff

Filthy Lie Round-up: Evil Glenn's House

I missed Pink Kitty's PGH. I blame Bush for making my computer have problems.

A free-lance Filthy Lie from Matty O'Blackfive. I guess it's that time of year again :-P

New Filthy Lie Assignment: What did Evil Glenn do during the Viet Nam War?

Posted by: Harvey at 11:20 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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(Introduction)

For me, you are the queen, the rest is just the rest.

(CAUTION: Romantics beware - comments may contain naughtiness)

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(A FILTHY LIE)

To complete the latest Alliance assignment of finding out what lay inside Glenn Reynolds's house, I cleverly disguised myself as a photographer from "Better Tombs and Dungeons" magazine to persuade Evil Glenn to give me a tour of his compound. What I found will shock and disturb you.

We started off in the torture chamber. A twisted, macabre place with human hands sticking out of the walls in various stages of decay.

Turned out it was only the front entryway. Those were coathooks. That Glenn, what a prankster!

But the REAL torture chamber came soon enough. I have to confess to a twinge of jealousy, as that chair looked more comfortable than most of the second hand reject furniture that decorates my bank lobby.

In the "courtroom", the following conversation took place:

Evil Glenn: In order to keep my evil lawyering skills... pardon the redundancy... as sharp as possible, I've had my very own Kangaroo Courtroom built over here. This is where I try and convict hobos before sentencing them to death.

Harv: And they're ALWAYS found guilty?

Evil Glenn: Yes, no one EVER gets off... except me... but that's the Penguin Porn Room, which you'll see later.

Harv: No chance of acquittal? That hardly seems fair. What about justice?

Evil Glenn: Just... what now?

Harv: Nevermind.

Next came the kitchen, or as Glenn called it, the Blendatorium. Here you can see the puppies packed together like deviled eggs, awaiting their conversion to smoothie status.

We passed through the Great Hall Of Mao on our way to the next room. Upon seeing the dozens of pictures of the bald-headed, squinty-eyed dictator, Glenn became increasingly restless as thoughts of pure commie evil filled his head with unspeakable pleasure. By the time we reached the Robot Dance Hall, Glenn could no longer restrain himself and began Robot Dancing with such an inhumanly wild abandon, it made Howard Dean look like William F. Buckley.

After sitting through 3 hours of Donna Summer singing "Hot Stuff" on endless loop, we finished up the tour with the previously promised viewing of...

The Penguin Porn Room.

I ran screaming into the night.

I only hope that by exposing the vile sins within Evil Glenn's abode that we will finally have the means to put an end to the oppressive rule of the vile and despicable blogospheric dictator.

INSTAPUNDO DELENDA EST!

Posted by: Harvey at 07:39 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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After disappearing tracelessly at the end of May, causing me to worry and fret, hM of the rantings of a homicidalManiak has finally poked her pretty little head up. Looks like she's out of the Air Force & going to college now.

You may now blow out your vigil-candles, stop by, and welcome her home.

Bring some soul food.

Posted by: Harvey at 01:56 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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NOTE: I posted about parts 2 & 3 but forgot to take it out of draft mode :-(

Blogson-in-law Alex of Alex in Wonderland has Chapter 3, part 4 posted.

Watch the Witch Hunter go John Kerry on the preacher!

"Do you know who I am?"

Heh.

If you need to start this excellent series from the beginning, start here, take the link at the bottom, read that part, then navigate by the calendar starting with August 21st.

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Blogdaughter Tammi of Road Warrior Survival watched Kerry's 1971 Winter Soldier testimony on C-Span last night.

The title of this post is her short description of her reaction. The longer version is here.

To understand WHY she feels this way, you can just follow the link she provides to the full transcript.

Here's a sample of what Kerry says about his band of brothers and what they fought for:

The country doesn't know it yet, but it has created a monster, a monster in the form of millions of men who have been taught to deal and to trade in violence, and who are given the chance to die for the biggest nothing in history

"Reporting for duty", eh John?

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Dana of Eat the Lettuce made a link-fest out of the lyrics to "Rough and Ready" by Trace Adkins.

She's REALLY got a way of matching link to phrase. Check it out.

Posted by: Harvey at 09:06 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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(Introduction)

With every moment we share, every smile, every touch, I become more certain that in you, I've found something I've looked for... for a very long time. I don't know what the future holds, but I do know how much your love excites me, and how happy I feel when I'm with you. And from this day forward... that's more than enough

(CAUTION: Romantics beware - comments may contain naughtiness)

Posted by: Harvey at 09:21 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Filthy Lie Assignment reminder: What would you see on a tour of Evil Glenn's house? Due Friday by 8pm. Late entries must be accompanied by a lame excuse.

Wednesday Linky Stuff Please note: only 3 hours left to submit for Carnival of the Recipes.

Precision Guided Humor Round-up: Media Excuses

New Precision Guided Humor Assignment: John Kerry's Secret Plan

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Blogson-in-law Alex of Alex in Wonderland has Chapter 3, part 2 and part 3 posted now.

Welcome to the town church... MUAHAHAHAHA!

If you need to start this excellent series from the beginning, start here, take the link at the bottom, read that part, then navigate by the calendar starting with August 21st.

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In a post about Amber Frey, Vanessa of Stained Glass Soul made this point:

C'mon, how much do you really know a person in a month? I know, we all hear of people marrying after knowing each other only a few days. But how many of those marriages last? Almost none do, and the reason usally given is that he/she never really knew his/her spouse.

Which made me wonder... what IS a good amount of time to know someone before marriage, and why?

I say 2 years.

When people say they "know each other", what they MEAN is that they know - to a fair degree of certainty - how the other person will react in a given situation. In two years you will see a LOT of situations that test a person's character. You will see how they react to the kind of stressful and unusual situations during which you, as their partner, can NOT countenance undependability, such as needing a ride to the airport, the loss of a family member, buying a new car, having a major appliance break down, being stranded with a broken car, and other assorted unpredictable emergencies.

Time after time you will discover just how much trust you can put in your significant other when you need them the most. Unless all (or at least the VAST majority) of these tests are passed with flying colors, you're probably better off single.

But there are also the tiny, daily things. The small thoughtfulnesses that show you that you're loved, respected, and cared about... or not. The little smiles, the brief touches, the frequency of "please" and "thank you", and the number of promises - both large and small - that are made and kept... or not.

Then there are the family things. After marriage, there are - like it or not - in-laws of all stripes that must be dealt with. Chances are there will be friction with some of them, maybe most of them. But whether that's a problem depends on how your beloved handles the situation. Two years gives you two full holiday cycles to observe your darling's diplomatic skills... or lack thereof. I think this second set of holidays is critical, since anyone can hold their breath & fake it through one Christmas. But can they still be as cheerful facing the family the second year? Character will show broadly in year two.

Now I will not defend my choice of "2 years" as some sort of perfect magic number that no one should ever argue with. Depending on the situation, and the circumstances of your togetherness, it's possible to get to "know" somebody (as I defined it above) in a much shorter period of time. Conversely, you can know someone for 20 years and still be wrong, as the first lady of New Jersey found out. But a couple solar cycles should be plenty of a time for character flaws to be noticable.

Of course, whether you have the strength and self-honesty to recognize the flaws instead of deliberately ignoring them to your detriment is another matter, and I suspect that if you're making commitments in a month, you probably have a sore neck from looking the other way regarding a LOT of things you shouldn't.

Posted by: Harvey at 10:57 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Bad news: When I got home, my computer would not start. Some kind of issue with either the power supply or the mother board, I have no idea what. My old system is dead.

Good news: My main hard drive and network card are fine, so I have my important data, Mozilla, e-mail, bookmarks, and (after WAY too much messing around) internet access.

Bad news: I've got my hard drive & network card in a tiny little case that's running at 300Mhz, has no room for a CD-rom, my video card, or my secondary hard drive (only one power supply plug). Also, I lost 5 productive hours trying to make this thing work, so I'm that far behind on blogging and e-mails. Oh, and surfing in 16 colors with a screen resolution of 480x600 just blows.

Good news: I'm marginally functional in the interim and should be able to catch up eventually. We'll see how tomorrow night goes.

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to drink heavily now.

UPDATE: New system has been ordered. Probably take a week or so :-(

Posted by: Harvey at 07:17 AM | Comments (21) | Add Comment
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1 Damn, sorry to hear that Harvey. But at least you're not stranded. That week will just fly by. I hope. Hang in there!!!

Posted by: Tammi at August 26, 2004 11:15 AM (4Ls5e)

2 "Good news: I'm marginally functional in the interim" Thank-God for that. A day without Bad Example is like a day without Prozac.

Posted by: Machelle at August 26, 2004 11:30 AM (ZAyoW)

3 Pisser about the computer, Harvey, but I'm really concerned about the "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to drink heavily now" line. Seriously, drinking isn't going to solve anything. Your computer won't magically work better if you start drinking heavily. Ok, not really concerned about your drinking, just concerned about you not leaving any for the rest of us!!!!

Posted by: That 1 Guy at August 26, 2004 12:09 PM (AjSqz)

4 "Good news: I'm marginally functional in the interim" One suspects that Mudfish Billie will make a comment along the lines of "So what's new?" 16 colours? 640x480? Do you guys over there have Teletext? Must be like reading blogs using that system...

Posted by: Alex at August 26, 2004 12:10 PM (a1D32)

5 Well at least now you have an excuse to get a machine that will run Doom 3 smoothly. Be sure to tell us all what you get. Of course, now I'm going to be all jealous since you'll have a better machine than mine. I remember you drooling all over it when I posted the specs.

Posted by: RadarRider at August 26, 2004 12:24 PM (eKeht)

6 If you'll excuse me, I'm going to drink heavily now.

Congratulations, Harvey! Oh, and sorry about the computer. Too bad you're not an IT geek like me. I got one main computer, three back-up Internet-capable machines, a dial-up capable machine, and an eMac right here. And enough spare parts and operating systems scattered around to build Multivac.

Posted by: Brian J. at August 26, 2004 01:59 PM (V04ml)

7 Can I get you something? A whiskey and soda? A back rub? Pics of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders?

Posted by: Susie at August 26, 2004 02:12 PM (mua5j)

8 Computers are great as long as they're working. Once they crash, all hell breaks loose.

Posted by: Boudicca at August 26, 2004 02:45 PM (/bSig)

9 "Good news: I'm marginally functional in the interim" Ummm - can we have a report please from blogless beloved wife regarding your marginal functionality? *** sorry I just couldn't resist ****

Posted by: Teresa at August 26, 2004 03:58 PM (nAfYo)

10 ...and while he's being marginal functional, I think it's about time we had a comment party here.

Posted by: Sally at August 26, 2004 05:46 PM (a1D32)

11 480x600... might as well get out your Crayons & Big Cheif tablet... fuuuuuuck!

Posted by: Mudfish Billie at August 26, 2004 05:47 PM (f4tF1)

12 I'm marginally functional... that's what she said.....

Posted by: Mudfish Billie at August 26, 2004 05:50 PM (f4tF1)

13 Heh. LOVE the way you kids pounced on the "marginally functional" line. You make me so proud to know I've raised you right :-) What pisses me off about this machine is that it's got onboard video. There is NO reason that I can think of why it shouldn't be capable of doing high-end color. Cripes, my P166 did 24-bit. WTF? I should at least be able to squeeze 256 out of it. But tweak as I may, no love to be had. What a freakin' pain. Brian - I'm just glad I'm geek enough to have salvaged operability to the point I did. I know a lot of folks who'd have been just flat out fucked. Susie - Scotch neat, front rub, and YOU in a Las Vegas Outlaws cheerleader outfit (does anyone else miss the XFL?)

Posted by: Harvey at August 26, 2004 06:13 PM (ubhj8)

14 Harvey, sorry about the computer... anyway on to important parts, yes I miss the XFL... well not the game, just the Cheer Strippers... Nothing made me want to go see a game more then the idea of having a lap dance while watching a live football game! And from your comment I see you felt the same way.

Posted by: Contagion at August 26, 2004 07:42 PM (iZg6D)

15 No jumpers on that motherboard to disable the onboard video so you could put a better card in it?

Posted by: Brian J. at August 26, 2004 08:00 PM (V04ml)

16 I'll holder by the head so Herbey can jumper!

Posted by: Mudfish Billie at August 26, 2004 09:29 PM (f4tF1)

17 Contagion - truth be told, I actually liked the gameplay, too. Kinda sucked having to root for Chicago, but at least it was football in February :-) Brian - Blogless Brother Tom suggested that, too. First I have to figure out who made the mobo & then try to find the manual on-line. We'll see what I can do on that front. Bartender - Fuck you! Go hold your own head. Friggin' little head-whackin' monkey-spanker!

Posted by: Harvey at August 26, 2004 10:53 PM (ubhj8)

18 That last comment was most definitely was my Comment Olympics Gold Medal Winner!!! LMAO!

Posted by: Mudfish Billie at August 27, 2004 10:39 AM (f4tF1)

19 Fucker? You fucker, you brought her!

Posted by: Mudfish Billie at August 27, 2004 07:16 PM (f4tF1)

20 YOU fucker, you BOUGHT her!

Posted by: Harvey at August 27, 2004 11:21 PM (ubhj8)

21 I'll fucker, you holder by the head!

Posted by: Mudfish Billie at August 28, 2004 10:49 AM (f4tF1)

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Blogdaughter Boudicca of Boudicca's Voice has presented me with a bouncing baby bloggranddaughter, VW of One Happy Dog Speaks.

Who will probably get nicknamed "Bug" in short order, I imagine.

Let's peek into the crib, shall we?

In her first post she explains the fine art of hurting oneself while trying to take movies

A substantive first post? Trying to scandalize the neighbors already, I see.

Next she frets a little about electromagnetic radiation, citing the interesting phenomenon of getting a flourescent light bulb to glow under a high voltage power line. I wouldn't worry about it, too much, Bug, you get more radiation from sunshine.

A little bit about the joys of having a young Neil Peart giving a 6:30am concert in your living room. That one I can't imagine. I have enough trouble with all my dogs & cats playing the "hairball concerto" at all hours, complete with the mad dash to pull them off the living room rug before the crescendo.

Finally, we have another battle in the "wipe vs. shake" dribbling-weenie-wars. Not an issue at my house, but I can definitely relate to the "large dog, small bathroom" situation. If anyone can explain the fascination my animals have with watching me whiz, please do so.

So, Bug, welcome to the Bad Example Family. Feel free to grab a logo from this post for display in your sidebar, if you're so inclined.

And please don't spit up on Grandpa's nice suit anymore.

Posted by: Harvey at 07:14 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Unedited, in his own words.

Via Charles of The Discerning Texan, I found out that there's a brand new site that lets you read John Kerry's book "The New Soldier" on line for free.

Yes, that controversial, out of print, slap in the face to every patriotic Viet Nam veteran book that Kerry really regrets having written is now available in pdf format.

You might want to download these before the Kerry campaign releases the hounds lawyers.

Posted by: Harvey at 04:47 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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A couple weeks ago, after buying Doom 3 for Blogless Brother Tom for his 40th birthday, I decided it was time for a computer upgrade.

Nothing really wrong with the system I have, except that it can't play Doom 3.

And, for once, I decided to save up for it and buy it after I had the money instead of just charging it and waiting for the bill like I usually do.

Unfortunately, my computer has recently taken to restarting for no particular reason, and it's becoming more frequent.

I'm ordering the new computer today.

Meanwhile, if the old system goes down hard between now & the time the new one gets set up, I may go involuntarily incommunicado, and I didn't want anyone to worry.

And in case you're wondering, this is NOT a distracting cover story that I'm using as an alibi to disguise my secret CIA mission inside near Cambodia.

Unless I come back with a lucky hat, in which case it was.

Posted by: Harvey at 02:56 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
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1 Guess your current system sensed those Doom vibes, eh? Congrats!!

Posted by: pam at August 25, 2004 03:36 PM (l6NIn)

2 I half-expected the comment above to be from "Mudfish Billie" saying something like "Who cares if you're gone?" Alas, he let me down. Luck with the new machine, man.

Posted by: Johnny - Oh at August 25, 2004 03:41 PM (Nl2WO)

3 You can have my computer and my copy of Doom 3 too - it's kinda... disappointing (talking from a design point of view here). Feel free to flame away but I can substantiate my claims :-p

Posted by: Alex at August 25, 2004 03:41 PM (a1D32)

4 Hey... if your box is resetting... you have a fucking VIRII....

Posted by: Mudfish Billie at August 25, 2004 05:05 PM (f4tF1)

5 ...nearly forgot... adios, mofo...

Posted by: Mudfish Billie at August 25, 2004 05:06 PM (f4tF1)

6 Nothing really wrong with the system I have, except that it can't play Doom 3. Which is exactly why I haven't bought it. I gotta finish paying off the laptop I just had to have. ;-D

Posted by: Larry Morin at August 25, 2004 05:09 PM (7v56M)

7 New computer - heh. Several things. First before yours dies an unnatural death. Go to zonelabs and download the free zonealarm firewall - burn to a cd. Install on your computer before getting online with the new system. I am assuming - maybe wrongly that you are going to get a WinXP machine? If you do, don't install SP2!!! It may not let you play Doom. I know that SP2 has caused tons of problems for many. Google it and see if SP2 causes problems playing games before installing. And I would never trust Windows to make a decent firewall - so I wouldn't use the XP one anyway (it gets turned on by SP2 - it's not automatically on in the original install) Good Luck!

Posted by: Teresa at August 25, 2004 08:47 PM (nAfYo)

8 System crashed. Workaround in progress. Posting & e-mail responses will be delayed until I can throw something workable together.

Posted by: Harvey at August 25, 2004 11:23 PM (ubhj8)

9 Good riddance....

Posted by: Mudfish Billie at August 26, 2004 01:40 AM (f4tF1)

10 I'm looking at some massive upgrades when EverQuest II comes out. I quit the original EverQuest after six months because I got tired of buying expansions, but the second edition of the game looks too cool to pass up. I'll probably need more memory, a better video card ... other stuff too. Oh, well. I'll just have to use a month's beer money. Hey Harv, did you ever get around to reading A Fire Upon the Deep? S

Posted by: sandor at the zoo at August 26, 2004 09:09 AM (/sOaF)

11 I didn't know about the problems with SP2 when I installed, but thankfully there have been no problems with anything, games included. WTF, does 'Mudfish' have a crush on you?

Posted by: pam at August 26, 2004 09:18 AM (l6NIn)

12 No problems running Doom 3 on my Windows XP SP2 system. I have heard that Doom 3 doesn't properly handle the multi-user environment, which is a fancy way of saying it won't run right if you're running as a restricted user. I'm guessing it writes its saved game files to its installation directory, which is read-only to a restricted user. The only games I know of that handle this properly are the Max Payne games which write to a subfolder of the My Documents folder.

Posted by: RadarRider at August 26, 2004 12:20 PM (eKeht)

13 Pam - The Bartender's all about the man-on-man bloglove :-) RR - Well, if I have any problems running Doom 3, I guess I know who to call :-)

Posted by: Harvey at August 26, 2004 06:03 PM (ubhj8)

14 WTF is man-on-man-blo-glove? You're one sick twisted perverted monkey-boy... now - go to your room... and no playing with yourself!

Posted by: Mudfish Billie at August 27, 2004 10:41 AM (f4tF1)

15 I'm considering getting a new desktop for the same reason. Let me know if Doom 3 is worth it please :-)

Posted by: GEBIV at August 27, 2004 05:23 PM (4AB8x)

16 Bartender - a blo-glove is an inflatable hand-jobber :-P GEBIV - I'll keep you posted. And even if you never play Doom3, upgrade anyway. Hey, you've worked hard, you DESERVE something nice :-)

Posted by: Harvey at August 27, 2004 06:19 PM (ubhj8)

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