http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/ vladimir's Blog en-us © 13:25:39 Greasy.com All rights reserved. Wed, Feb 13:25:39 8 GMT 30 http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/democrat_policies_squeeze_middle.html Jon took me to task for drawing distinctions between Right and Left with respect to energy policy and its role in inflation. Core inflation -- which measures CPI excluding energy and food, both of which fluctuate to greater degrees -- is a tame 1-2%. As I pointed out, energy and food are now even more interrelated than before. Prior to a shift in policy that subsidizes corn production for ethanol and other biofuels, the cost of energy from transportation eventually trickled into marginally ... http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/democrat_policies_squeeze_middle.html#comments Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:53:58 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/response_amerigobard.html I don't normally take these things public, but this one deserves it. I just got the following note: ---- Original Message ----- From: amerigobard Subject: Re: Re: Reply To Your Comment Sent: Feb 27, 2008 11:52 AM PST sorry vladimir, I just don't appreciate your negative and judgmental slams ... avoid hammering on me ... if you wish to avoid being impaled ... metaphorically speaking ... I am genuinely sorry for stooping to name calling ... you came into my site and slammed on me, and blocke ... http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/response_amerigobard.html#comments Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:41:31 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/pelosi_democrats_favor_pork_spending.html Here's a summary... House GOP leaders have instituted a moratorium on earmarks -- pork barrel spending -- tucked into legislation and asked their Democrat colleagues to join them. The Democrat leadership refused. Minority leader John Boehner launched a website to fight for earmark reform in the House. Now the Democrats want it shut down. From the NYT article: The White House says Congress earmarked nearly $17 billion for more than 11,700 projects in the current fiscal year. About 40 percen ... http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/pelosi_democrats_favor_pork_spending.html#comments Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:00:55 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/religious_work_funded_congressional.html Americans United for Separation of Church and State yesterday urged several federal agencies to refuse to distribute earmarks to religious groups that will use the money for programs that appear to violate the First Amendment and which the agencies are forbidden under their interagency regulations that forbid funding of overtly religious work. In their press release, Reverend Barry Lynn, Executive Director of AU, said, "Government pork for religious work is never kosher. The federal govern ... http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/religious_work_funded_congressional.html#comments Tue, 26 Feb 2008 18:25:32 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/cheap_shot.html I've defended Barack Obama here and at the other site from racist attacks and insinuations about his family, patriotism, and religion. I won't get into that again, except the attacks continue to come hard and heavy. Now it's the desperate Clinton campaign playing this despicable card. Matt Drudge has a news flash about Clinton staffers, panicked as they trail in the delegate count and the polls in Texas and Ohio, circulating a photo of Senator Obama during a 2006 visit to Kenya. "Wouldn't ... http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/cheap_shot.html#comments Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:35:48 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/kweather.html I love this time of year. I also love some KDE's little applets. Here's my clock and kweather (the airport is a couple degrees cooler than I am here in the city) in my KDE panel (or kicker). http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/kweather.html#comments Sun, 24 Feb 2008 16:07:56 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/religious_wrong.html Officials in Saudi Arabia are investigating 57 young men for flirtatious behavior. Their crimes? Dressing provocatively. Listening to loud music. Dancing. Impressing girls. They were arrested following a request of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Sounds like a faith-based initiative to me. This commission also banned the sale of red roses earlier this month to prevent people from celebrating a pagan Christian holiday that seems to encourage relations betw ... http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/religious_wrong.html#comments Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:10:43 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/empty_suits_lots_style_substance.html I don't know what to say about this except Kirk Watson is our former mayor and current state senator (he's been active in Democrat circles for a long time). Is Watson an empty suit or is the real problem the candidate he's supporting is long on style but short on substance? Or is it both? You decide. Watson's getting beaten up in the local media over this. Ben Sargent of the Austin American-Statesman nailed him today. EDIT: The Statesman has already endorsed Obama. They'll also endorse Wat ... http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/empty_suits_lots_style_substance.html#comments Fri, 22 Feb 2008 01:16:58 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/satellite_debris_video.html The debris of the errant satellite is beginning to re-enter the atmosphere and burn up. Here's a photo of fragments in a photo. (I think that gallery is for an astronomer in Hawaii.) Video of the explosion... Pretty cool when you consider the speed of both the satellite (300 miles per minute) and missile (about half that). http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/satellite_debris_video.html#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:00:53 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/star_wars_.html Our weapons technology rocks. Marine Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Pentagon press conference Thursday that he couldn't rule out that hazardous material would fall to the earth. "Thus far we've seen nothing larger than a football," he said. ....Officials are 80 percent sure that the tank was breached and the hazardous material [hydrazine] was vented off. Falling satellite crisis averted thanks to superior fire power. Now let the nuts trot out thei ... http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/star_wars_.html#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:54:11 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/equality_evil.html Someone has made the move from that other blog site to here and brought his hatred and intolerance with him. ("Edjamacator"? Who knows, it's certainly one of those from the extra chromosome crowd.) He started out by writing, "Always, without fail, homosexuals claim they just want equal rights." What's wrong with that? Gays want the same opportunities and protections anyone else in society is entitled to: the same protections against discrimination in housing and employment, the same protec ... http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/equality_evil.html#comments Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:26:12 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/dantes_inferno_level_fiver.html Shit, I need to try harder. The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Fifth Level of Hell! Here is how you matched up against all the levels: LevelScorePurgatory (Repenting Believers)Very LowLevel 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)Very LowLevel 2 (Lustful)Very HighLevel 3 (Gluttonous)Very HighLevel 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)Very HighLevel 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)Very HighLevel 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)HighLevel 7 (Violent)HighLevel 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Pande ... http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/dantes_inferno_level_fiver.html#comments Wed, 20 Feb 2008 03:14:29 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/ignorance_triumph_florida_opens.html Science education took a hit from religionists in Florida today when the Florida State Board of Education decreed today that evolution must be taught as "a theory rather than a settled fact." Science teachers and experts had pressed for the view that evolution is the basic "concept underlying all of biology." The Florida board's 4-3 vote now opens the door for teaching creationism, or, as it's become known in stealth language, "intelligent design." A federal court declared "intelligent des ... http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/ignorance_triumph_florida_opens.html#comments Tue, 19 Feb 2008 21:34:23 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/best_vladimir_left_because.html I'm only posting the image I put together, not the body of the post that went with it. New text for this. This was one of the funnier moments at that other site for me because it was a broader message about focusing on the wrong thing and not seeing the forest for the trees. Instead, someone took offense at my lighthearted post and some of the comments that were made under the presumption it was about her personally. As I noted at the time, the early church dealt with the issue of gluttony ... http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/best_vladimir_left_because.html#comments Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:15:01 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/feature_user.html I think this is retarded. Not their choice, just the way they handle this stuff. I think it's lovely they finally removed milk carton boy. Now he can get back to work. Or hire someone able to fix the mess he's made. This is what you get if you're not on the featured bl*gster's buddy list. Also, if you notice, their artwork looks like shit in Opera. Guess they're still squashing bugs. Anyway, what's the purpose of featuring someone whose blog you can't see? To quote Carlos Mencia: "Dee dee ... http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/feature_user.html#comments Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:53:25 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/real_linux_desktop.html I don't have Huawei USB things and I'm not brave enough for alpha testing like the fearless Mr Mustakim. Current distro stats on this desktop: Debian Etch Some Sid updates Linux kernel 2.6.23.14 (custom/optimized) KDE 3.5.5 Open Office 2.1 Opera 9.50 Beta 1, Build 1643 No KDE 4. No crazy docks. And it won't look like a Mac. Ever! http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/real_linux_desktop.html#comments Mon, 18 Feb 2008 02:59:01 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/best_vladimir_damage_religious.html I originally posted the following on 8 October 2007. The person to whom I'd left the comments had posted some drivel about how things had changed in society. I wanted to balance her views with some shared by others who've benefited from cultural changes in the last 50 years. Her response was to have my comments removed from her blog. Make of that what you will. I certainly have. :-) In the 1960s, "conservative" clergy were loyal to the Democrats and brazenly defended segregation. Today, th ... http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/best_vladimir_damage_religious.html#comments Mon, 18 Feb 2008 02:08:27 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/attention_detail.html This is the least of their worries, but maybe it's also indicative of the lack of attention to details in their code that has a lot of people really mad. I did see one improvement when I just went over there: milk carton boy's picture isn't on the front page. http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/attention_detail.html#comments Sat, 16 Feb 2008 23:17:53 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/see_barack_obama.html Before I say anything else, I've defended this guy against some very disgusting attacks. He is not Muslim, he says the pledge and sings the national anthem, he holds his hand over his heart. If you post ANY bullshit comments about that,I will gladly rip you a new asshole. I've made it clear he's not my first choice for president. He's not even my first choice in his party. If I were given only a choice between him and Hillary Clinton, I would take Clinton even though I think she got where ... http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/see_barack_obama.html#comments Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:19:34 GMT http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/wanna_rock_star_.html With sincerest apologies to Gene and Paul and to everyone in the KISS Army. I know that's not Huckabee's constituency. But I would vote for a guy who'd get on stage with KISS and play "Heaven's on Fire" or "Ladies Room." LEGAL: Original Photo by "Flickr user Wok" License: Creative Commons Attribution (CCBY) To my knowledge, no member of KISS endorses Reverend Mike Huckabee. http://my.greasy.com/vladimir/wanna_rock_star_.html#comments Sat, 16 Feb 2008 01:50:15 GMT