2 days ago
Friday, October 19, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good News
Bad News
- Mormon feminists? Yes they exist, and they're for Obama
- Star Commentator Is Out as Christian College President After Scandal I'd call him a hypocrite except idiot seems more appropriate: “I had no idea that it is considered wrong in Christian circles to be engaged prior to being divorced.”
- Doctors say shot Pakistani girl improving
- Ill. Amtrak train set to hit 110 mph in test run
Bad News
- Soup kitchen in Ryan photo op losing donors The Romney campaign should make a donation to compensate for this loss.
- Judge allows Texas cheerleaders to use "Bible banners" for now Regardless of who pays for the uniforms, when they are on the football field they are representing their school. What they do should be considered an official act of the school.
- France delays debate on gay marriage
Traveler's insurance fail
Now I understand more fully why my automated credit card payment for my Traveler's insurance failed last month. I had made an extra payment on the credit card, as I was getting close to my limit and the charge was large. I just thought the payment got delayed. It seems that was not the problem.
After the charge didn't go through, I got a letter from Traveler's saying that my automatic charges to my credit card had been cancelled, and I had to sign up for it again. I did this, specifying that I wanted the charges to made on the 20th of the month. I then got another letter from them saying my credit card would be charged on October 22 (because the 20th is a Saturday).
The charge went through today, the 19th.
After the charge didn't go through, I got a letter from Traveler's saying that my automatic charges to my credit card had been cancelled, and I had to sign up for it again. I did this, specifying that I wanted the charges to made on the 20th of the month. I then got another letter from them saying my credit card would be charged on October 22 (because the 20th is a Saturday).
The charge went through today, the 19th.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Recent news round-up
Good News
- Dad Protests for Son Suspended After Standing Up to Bully I was once punished a couple of times for standing up to bullies. The school administrators who do this should be fired.
- Man held in plot to attack Federal Reserve in NYC I'm really glad there are law enforcement people out there catching fanatics like this.
- New Polls Have Good News for Obama
- Appeals court rules against Defense of Marriage Act
- Belfast judge: Gay, unmarried couples can adopt
- Same-Sex Marriage Support Has Grown Among Latinos, Survey Finds
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Recent news round-up
Good News
Bad News
- Pakistan sends girl shot by Taliban to UK for care
- High court won't block early voting in Ohio
- Obama extends slim lead over Romney in White House race: Reuters/Ipsos poll
- Cuba to End Exit Visa Requirement in January
Bad News
- Exotic Bird Decapitated at Las Vegas Casino; Law Students Charged I kind of doubt they will ever be lawyers.
- UK blocks extradition of alleged hacker to US
Monday, October 15, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Semi-random thoughts
- Recently I had lunch with an old friend at his office. He works for Google, and it's as wacky a place as I've heard. If I worked there I'd probably be as big as a house, with all that yummy, free food. The most amazing thing I saw was a rack where people can park their scooters. There were two scooters neatly parked.
- Somehow I'm on the Chabad's mailing list. Oy.
- The Browns finally won a game! After only 11 losses in a row (dating back to last season).
Micro movie review
Argo: The gripping story of the 1980 escape from Iran of the U.S. embassy employees who were not captured there. Despite some over-dramatizations and exaggerations (trucks, even police cars, can't go that fast), a fine movie.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Monday, October 08, 2012
Why political movements have so much trouble
Last week I got a group e-mail asking us to say which of three times we're available for a conference call. Today I checked to see if there was a consensus. Ten people have replied. Five of us are available for each of the times.
Oy.
Oy.
Recent news round-up
Good News
- Court rules N.Y. shooting victim can sue gun maker, distributor
- French police kill one in raid linked to Jewish market attack
- Indiana Senate race may hinge on disenchanted Lugar backers The Democrats could pick up a seat here.
- In Va., ex-Rep. Goode may pose risk for Romney He could be the Ralph Nader of the Republicans.
Sunday, October 07, 2012
Micro movie review
Arbitrage: Any resemblance between this film and reality is purely co-incidental. There isn't even anything about arbitrage in it.
Friday, October 05, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good News
Sort of Good, Sort of Bad, News
Bad News
- Boston man named 1st 'Price Is Right' male model Why is his being from Boston relevant?
- Meryl Streep donates $1M to The Public Theatre
- Jobless Rate Falls to 7.8%, Lowest Since January 2009
- Loitering Rules in Projects Are Too Vague, Judge Says
Sort of Good, Sort of Bad, News
Bad News
Thursday, October 04, 2012
Update on my taxes
Taxes are going pretty well. It started slowly Monday, as I had difficulty (re)installing TurboTax, and then getting it to run. Their website was quite helpful in getting past the installation problem (though I did have to try their procedure twice to get it to work). But it was of little help in getting the software to run. After I tried all of their possible solutions, which did nothing, I decided to uninstall and reinstall. It was only when I went to do that did they offer me the alternative to "repair" the program--which did the trick. It should have been one of the suggestions on their "troubleshoot" page.
Then I transferred the info from my 2010 return, and downloaded my state tax software. Finally I imported the data from my stock broker. This was critical, as it would take forever to type all of that stuff in--my 1099 is 24 pages long.
I resumed working on my taxes Wednesday. I organized all my documents, then started doing the income information. There were a couple of cost basis figures missing from the 1099s (one of mine, one of my wife's), but I was able to find the numbers pretty quickly. I'm not quite done with all the income items.
I'm taking today (Thursday) off to go out, and I'll start again on Friday.
I resumed working on my taxes Wednesday. I organized all my documents, then started doing the income information. There were a couple of cost basis figures missing from the 1099s (one of mine, one of my wife's), but I was able to find the numbers pretty quickly. I'm not quite done with all the income items.
I'm taking today (Thursday) off to go out, and I'll start again on Friday.
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Recent news round-up
Good News
- New Mexico removes "forcible" from state regulation mentioning rape
- Pennsylvania judge: Voter ID law a no-go for November 6
- Pakistan: Attack on Hindus prompts blasphemy case Blasphemy should not be a criminal act. But I'm glad the thugs who did this might be brought to justice.
- Chick-fil-A chief: 'We support Biblical families' I guess this means he supports polygamy.
- Gay pride march banned in Serbia
- Study: Fraud growing in scientific research papers
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good News
- Romney: I might win Pennsylvania! Polls: No, you won’t
- California man behind anti-Muslim film jailed over probation I said before that I hoped they put this guy in jail.
- Obama Up In Iowa As Early Voting Begins
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good News
- Americans say Obama's ads are more honest, but expect both sides to lie, Esquire/Yahoo poll finds
- Obama leads in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania: Poll
- U of Calif to pay pepper-sprayed Occupy protesters
- Google offers 25 cent Android apps to celebrate 25 billion downloads
- Proposal Sets Circumcision Regulations in Germany As much as I dislike religion, as well a lot of "parental rights" ideas, I do believe that this is a legitimate religious practice, and should be allowed.
- More Republican leaders get behind Akin in Missouri Senate race Even beyond the question of which party controls the senate, this guy is particularly horrible.
- At U.N., Egypt and Yemen Urge Curbs on Free Speech
Recent news round-up
Good News
- Report: Americans feel more confident in economy
- Prosecutor Deals Blow to Stop-and-Frisk Tactic
- Obama Tells U.N. New Democracies Need Free Speech
- Some conservatives consider funding Akin in Missouri Senate race
- Court rejects bid to block Arizona "show your papers" immigration provision
- Conservative group launches ad attacking Florida Supreme Court
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Woe is the Cleveland sports fan
The Indians outscored the Browns today. Both are still in last place.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good News
Bad News
- Pro-American Libyans Besiege Group Suspected in U.S. Envoy’s Death
- Judge lets Walmart discrimination case proceed for now
- VP candidate Ryan heckled, booed at retiree event I love watching the Republicans self-destruct.
Bad News
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good News
- New poll shows Obama leads Romney in swing states
- Egypt's mufti urges Muslims to endure insults peacefully A voice of reason.
- Chick-fil-A agrees to stop funding antigay groups, Chicago alderman says However, the owner is still homophobic. Apparently he missed an awful lot of the marriages described in the Bible. Then there's this: Chick-fil-A makes another statement on controversy
Monday, September 17, 2012
Recent news round-up
Good News
- Obama inches ahead in key voter polls There seems to be an article like this almost every time I do one of these round-ups.
- Iran says saboteurs cut power to nuclear plant
- Study: Tax Cuts for the Rich Don't Spur Growth I could have told them that. If you give a larger after-tax income to people who already have more money than they will ever need, their immediate tendancy is usually to spend the extra, mostly on luxury items that generate relatively few jobs. On the other hand, government spending tends to create jobs, either directly (like teachers and fire fighters), or indirectly (like building bridges or high speed rail).
- Complaints about automated calls up sharply We get tons of them. If we don't recognize the Caller ID, we let it go to the answering machine, which is on 24/7.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Friday, September 14, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good News
- Obama up by four points with likely voters
- Norway court upholds ban on tobacco store displays
- Probation department looking at filmmaker I hope he goes to jail.
- Wal-Mart loses Brooklyn store site, still looking I'm proud to say I've never set foot in a Wal-Mart.
- Judge Strikes Down Wis. Law Limiting Union Rights
- Judge temporarily blocks possible Iowa voter purge
Romney is so out of touch with the average citizen
Romney: 'Middle-income' between $200K and $250K
How in the world could he lead the country when he has absolutely no idea how the average person lives?
How in the world could he lead the country when he has absolutely no idea how the average person lives?
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Recent news round-up
Good News
Bad News
- Appeals court upholds Illinois campaign disclosure law
- Obama expands lead, Romney still in striking distance
- Teen Boy, Pa. Hershey School Settle AIDS Bias Case
Bad News
- Despite pleas, missing SC boy falls by wayside As I suspected, the boy is African-American. What I didn't think about was his gender.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Plat du jour--guest submission
I guess this refers to the celtic music group from Canada.
This was found quite a while ago by Joanne.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Recent news round-up
Good News
- Web Businessman Sentenced for Threats Aside from this guy going to jail, the best thing about this story was how Google moved to stop this maneuver using their system.
- Queens Carwash’s Employees Are First in City to Join Union
- Players’ Support of Gay Marriage Alters N.F.L. Image
Friday, September 07, 2012
Fairey gets probation
Shepard Fairey Is Fined and Sentenced to Probation in 'Hope' Poster CaseI have written about this a number of times, most recently here and here. I'm disappointed he got no jail time. Maybe he has learned something from all this, but I have to wonder if this will deter anyone else from doing what he did.
Semi-random thoughts
- I am now older than my father was when he died. Hopefully I'll be at least as lucky as my mother--I've got 18 years to go to equal her longevity.
- I always like it when the catcher throws out a runner trying to steal. Stealing is wrong.
- Citibank now gives me the option of having the record of my ATM transaction e-mailed to me. No more little slips of paper to handle.
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good News
- Federal judge orders Massachusetts to pay for killer's sex change I just wish the judge and the writer of this article had used female pronouns.
Tuesday, September 04, 2012
Headline of the day
People with purple beds have the most sex, according to study
Remember, correlation does not imply causation.
Remember, correlation does not imply causation.
Monday, September 03, 2012
Sunday, September 02, 2012
Micro movie reviews
The Dark Knight Rises--I think I liked it, but I'm not totally sure because, for some reason, the dialog was very hard to understand when I saw it.
Sleepwalk With Me--A snooze, mildly amusing. The sleepwalking has almost nothing to do with the rest of the film.
Sleepwalk With Me--A snooze, mildly amusing. The sleepwalking has almost nothing to do with the rest of the film.
Saturday, September 01, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good News
Sort of Good, Sort of Bad News
- Teen Becomes First Female Quarterback to Play in Florida
- Neon Museum set to open in downtown Las Vegas This sounds interesting.
Sort of Good, Sort of Bad News
- Government ends criminal probe of controversial Arizona sheriff They're still investigating Arpaio for civil rights abuses, which I consider far more important.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Recent news round-up
Good News
- Judge Rules Against Zoning Law on Sex-Related Businesses This is censorship, pure and simple.
- Washington state Catholic bishop warned over anti-gay marriage campaign I hope this stops him.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Polite euphemism headline of the day
Ryan takes factual shortcuts in speech
What that really means, is, "Ryan lied."
It's what Republicans have been doing a long time: If the facts don't support your beliefs and positions, just make something up that sounds like it could be true. For example, weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
What that really means, is, "Ryan lied."
It's what Republicans have been doing a long time: If the facts don't support your beliefs and positions, just make something up that sounds like it could be true. For example, weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Recent news round-up
Good News
- Facebook Israel-Arab youth group has rare meeting
- FAA to study use of electronics on planes Right now the situation is ridiculous. On my last flight I saw a number of people using their phones to listen to music, playing games, and perhaps texting.
- Judge to lift restrictions on Florida voter registration Confusing headline.
Animal headline of the day
Firemen called to rescue cow stuck up a tree
I was hoping this would be about a cow that thinks it's a cat.
I was hoping this would be about a cow that thinks it's a cat.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Thank you, Amazon
Now I'll really know when to expect delivery.
Your estimated delivery date is:
Friday, August 31, 2012 -
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good News
- Israel arrests 3 settler boys suspected of attack on Palestinians
- "Go-Topless Day" in New York seeks equal rights to bare chests
- Seattle names Russell Wilson starting QB Former Wisconsin quarterback makes good. I guess being a little bit short doesn't matter.
- Isaac Upsets Plans for GOP Lobbyists, Wealthy Donors If I weren't an atheist, I'd say this was god's way of disapproving of what's going on. Unfortunately, it's still proceeding, though with a smaller attendance.
Semi-random thoughts
- I just noticed that I've passed the 7th anniversary of this blog.
- My monthly health insurance premium now exceeds my mortgage payment!
- The software that categorizes news stories is confused about recalls. Stories on product recalls are appearing in my political news summaries.
- A couple of my friends had their Facebook accounts hacked. They appeared to be posting recommendations for a weight loss drug, saying things like "I've lost 20lbs. in 3 weeks!" Ironically, both of them are dancers. If either of them lost 20lbs. she'd be on death's door. All of their Facebook friends know this, so the ads are totally ineffectual.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good News
Bad News
- Galliano stripped of French Legion d'Honneur award What really angered me about Galliano's statements were the people who said it's OK because he's an artist.
- Russian court acquits Kasparov regarding rally While I'd like to think this is an indication Russia is not as repressive as it seems, I think it might only be having a judge who's a chess fan.
Bad News
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Recent news round-up
Good News
Bad News
- High school valedictorian denied diploma over ‘hell’ speech says she won’t apologize I'm glad she's standing up for her rights.
- Lesbian brides win settlement from Vermont inn
- Egypt President Passes Law Against Media Detention It's a good first step.
Bad News
- U.S. court strikes down EPA pollution rule This article does not say why the court struck the rule down. Bad reporting as well as bad news.
- Appeals court rules Texas can cut off Planned Parenthood funding Another article that doesn't explain the court's reasoning.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Stupid headline of the day
U.S. Open tennis referee accused of killing husband with coffee mug
The only thing her being a tennis referee has to do with this story is to explain why she is in New York. This is a minor detail which does not belong in the headline.
The only thing her being a tennis referee has to do with this story is to explain why she is in New York. This is a minor detail which does not belong in the headline.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Recent news round-up
Good News
- Navy's oldest commissioned warship to sail again
- Augusta National to Add First Two Female Members
- Akin’s ‘Macaca moment’ could flip the Senate race
- Myanmar Abolishes Censorship of Private Publications
- Bacon Scattered Before Muslim Celebration May Be Bias Crime This is despicable.
- High school valedictorian denied diploma over graduation speech The school administrators should apologize to her.
- Custody at Risk After 'Toddlers & Tiaras' Star Wears Controversial Outfit I think Toddlers and Tiaras is a form of child abuse. I hope the kid's father gets custody.
- Court allows "show me your papers" laws in Alabama, Georgia The court invalidated a lot of the laws' provisions, but not this big one.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good News
Bad News
Sort of Good, Sort of Bad News
- Abortion charges against Kansas Planned Parenthood clinic dropped
- U.S. court says Florida's early voting rules discriminatory
- Packers turn ball over, lose to Browns 35-10 Go, Cleveland!
Bad News
- Russian Band Given 2-Year Term for Stunt Deriding Putin Russia is a repressive state.
- Gay parades banned in Moscow for 100 years Ditto.
Sort of Good, Sort of Bad News
- U.S. sues Florida over ending kosher meals in prisons It's bad that Florida did this, good that they are getting sued, but bad that it took 5 years to sue them.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good News
- Meet Brig. Gen. Tammy Smith, the first openly gay U.S. general
- Hungary far-right leader discovers Jewish roots LOL
- Australia's High Court rejects challenge to anti-tobacco marketing law
- Vermont jury finds Mennonite minister guilty of aiding kidnapping
- Man Seated Next to Unaccompanied Minors Forced to Change Seats At least the airline is reviewing its policy.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Recent news round-up
Good News
- Facebook enters legal arena to defend Likes as free speech I don't think the author of this brief article knows much about the law.
- After Sinai Killings, Cairo Tightens Grip on a Neglected Region
- Badgers football: Montee Ball returns to practice, but won't face contact immediately
- Wed and Tortured at 13, Afghan Girl Finds Rare Justice The girl gets justice bit the overall situation for women in Afghanistan remains bad.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Tuesday, August 07, 2012
Saturday, August 04, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good News
- NCAA denies Paterno family appeal of sanctions The Paterno family is just making fools of themselves.
- Tennessee Democrats reject "gay-bashing" Senate primary winner
- Street Stops in New York Fall as Unease Over Tactic Grows
- New Browns owner wants a winner in Cleveland
Friday, August 03, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good news
- NCAA backs new penalty structure I'm really glad that coaches may face suspensions. Up to now, no matter how severely a school was penalized, the coach responsible for the infraction could just go work for a different college. The only problem: I doubt they can be stopped from being television commentators.
- Anti-Islam challenge to Tennessee lawmaker fails
- Appeals court blocks Arizona's new late-term abortion ban
Thursday, August 02, 2012
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Another interruption
I'm watching the Olympics, so I'm not going to be posting much the next two weeks.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good News
- The Caucus: Amazon's Founder Pledges $2.5 Million in Support of Same-Sex Marriage
- Lettire Construction Agrees to Pay Back Wages for Workers
- Rude surprise: French fed up with own incivility
- Court leaves ruling against big tobacco intact
- Woman Rowing Perimeter of Lake Michigan Sexually Assaulted At least the police will be protecting her from now on.
- Rise Is Seen in Cyberattacks Targeting U.S. Infrastructure
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Today's news round-up
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Today's news round-up
Good News
- Amtrak plans $7 billion upgrade of Washington, DC, station The waiting room, now filled with shops and restaurants, is beautiful.
- Scotland to legalise gay marriage I'm sure Alan Cumming will be happy about this.
- Double-decker bus does push ups to mock “fat Americans” visiting the Olympics If this "fat Americans" thing keeps going I will be rethinking my desire to go and re-visit the UK.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Recent news round-up
Good News
- In a Sanitation Garage, a Gallery of Scavenged Art
- U.S. monsignor gets 3-6 years in prison for child sex abuse case Basically, he did what Joe Paterno and other Penn State officials did, only he enabled many more child molesters to continue their crimes.
- Penalty for Rule-Breaking Bicyclists: A Remedial Class
- Eagle Scouts return medals over organization’s anti-gay stance
- Airline bid to block consumer protections rejected
- Iran nuclear energy facility hit with malware that plays AC/DC at full volume
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Semi-random thoughts
- I've been listening to the Rockabilly Station on Pandora lately, but I've had to reject 2 or 3 songs just for reasons of misogyny.
- A few weeks ago I noted that NYC taxi fares would probably be going up. Now it looks like they almost certainly will. So it looks like I'll be starting to use credit cards to pay for my rides, as I explained in my previous post. I won't even feel a little guilty about it, because the drivers aren't going to have to pay 5% anymore.
- Apparently the new way to market magazine subscriptions is to mail out free samples. Recently I've received copies of Manhattan and Architectural Digest.
Today's news round-up
Good News
- Boston Mayor Bans Chick-Fil-A Restaurants from City!
- Plane Leaves Homophobe at the Boarding Gate for Calling United Worker a Faggot
- Flood of donations will help Ohio cancer patient, 4, make trip to Disney after dad denied wish Update on yesterday's Bad News.
- Former Badger Jon Leuer claimed by Cleveland Cavaliers It would be great if a former star of my favorite college team plays for my favorite NBA team.
- Troops march in San Diego gay parade in uniform I'm happy for the gay service people, but transgender people are still not allowed to serve their country.
- Navy's new gender-neutral carriers won't have urinals This doesn't mean that they're planning for mixed-gender or gender-queer sailors.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Animal headline of the day
Three Canadian elephants flying to California
Until now, the only elephant that I knew could fly was Dumbo.
Until now, the only elephant that I knew could fly was Dumbo.
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