Email notification to Brandon Starr's blog has been shown to reduce bad cholesterol in two-toed sloths, and has been used as an effective exfoliant.
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Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Factcheck.org on the Veep debate
Factcheck.org does its follow-up on the veep debate.
Factcheck.org (not .com, as Cheney accidentally called it during the debate itself!) goes over the facts as they could verify them from the debate.
No surprise: Cheney lied/exaggerated/misled/spoke out of his ass a lot more than Edwards. The basic numbers say it all: four boxes for Edwards, six for Cheney--and then, under "more dubious claims," four bullet points, ALL CHENEY'S. So, with the bullet points, it's four for Edwards, ten for Cheney. I also happen to find Edward's fact problems to be less extreme than Cheney's,* but really that's for everyone to decide on their own.
I'll give Cheney some credit, though--he directed them (almost) to factcheck.org regarding Halliburton, and factcheck.org does more or less vindicate him on the Halliburton pay issue--but not so much when it comes to Halliburton doing vile things in Iran. However, he's still getting Halliburton "deferred compensation," which has a stinko appearance, ethics-wise.
* With the exception of the "factcheck.com" slip.
Oil tops $52 a barrel. A record for a second day in a row. Why?
Oil tops $52 a barrel over winter fuel fears
Oil tops $52 a barrel over Nigeria worries
Well, apparently there's some debate on the subject. But it goes back to what I've written about before: world demand keeps rising, and the available supply just isn't keeping up. Now it's too tight, and every little worry sends the prices up. I don't know why it's still a matter of debate in some circles. It won't get better unless somehow supply increases (tough to do, impossible to do quickly) or demand decreases due to a worldwide economic slowdown. Hopefully that last won't happen.
Disclosure: I have a long position in oil producer/refiner/retailer ExxonMobil.
I'm getting under their skin
My new shirt design, "tourist safety shirt," got a rating...a 1 out of 10.
Gee, I think someone got perturbed...
Actually, this is pretty common. An awful lot of my shirts get either extremely low or extremely high ratings, because they have a point of view. I also have a bunch in the 5.5 range, from when one person gives a 10 and another a 1.
Any rating is fine by me. I'd rather have twenty "1" ratings on a design than just one or none at all. I put up the designs on whether they amuse me. My only other criterion is whether they sell (and I've sold some, though I'm always working on getting the numbers up more). The ratings are only useful for helping pull folks to the site when they do searches "by average rating, highest first." But again, I realize there's no way my designs will get consistently high ratings, because they come from a point of view.
I also have twenty designs with 50 or more viewings, so even for the ones that aren't selling, at least a lot of folks are seeing them in some form.
Additional note: although I could, I never rate my own designs. I don't think it's ethical. I have posted reviews of the designs I've purchased for myself, but at the top of each review I put the disclaimer that the contributor is the one writing the review.
Howard Stern goes to Sirius radio
Howard Stern moves to Sirius Satellite Radio.
Because of this news, I purchased shares in Sirius Satellite Radio, even though it's jumped today already.
Maybe the timing of my buy isn't great, but I think in the longer run it'll be a good purchase. Here's why:
Sirius is the #2 satellite radio company, behind XM Satellite Radio. Stern will have an even bigger impact at Sirius than he would have at XM Satellite Radio.
Stern has had a lot of success doing a similar thing with his TV show: his network-friendly E shows are being "uncensored" and put up for a fee on his website, with many takers. Therefore, there are a lot of folks who want his shows not under the thumb of the FCC. Because satellite radio is a pay service, it's like HBO--the FCC has no say as to language, etc.
Because Stern won't do Sirius until he finishes his contract, there's time for Sirius to get the word out and build up their subscriber base.
Sirius is giving Stern three full channels to program.
Stern has one of the largest, most loyal fan bases in radio. Many will make the move, to continue hearing Stern, or simply curious to see how the show will be different in a free environment.
It's possible that Stern will leave early, if the bill fining broadcasters individually is signed by Bush.
It isn't often that a major move by a major star can help build a whole new medium. But it's just the sort of catalyst that's needed to turn Sirius from a relatively struggling business to a new media standard.
Anyway, now I have a position in Sirius satellite (symbol: SIRI) and you know why.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Answer to trivia question of the day
(If you didn't see the question in the first place, scroll down to yesterday's blog entries to find the question. Then come back here for the answers.)
The business slogans, and the movies they come from:
"We scare because we care." -- Monsters, Inc. -- slogan for the title company
"We're ready to believe you!" -- Ghostbusters -- slogan for the title company
"Amity means 'Friendship.'" -- Jaws -- tourist slogan for Amity, the city where the movie takes place
"Service guarantees Citizenship." -- Starship Troopers -- recruiting slogan for the armed forces of the corporation/government entity that controls Earth
"Tastes great! Bounces high!" -- Amazon Women on the Moon -- ad slogan in the skit "Silly Pate"
"Smoke New Testament, and all is forgiven. I smoke 'em. HE smokes 'em." -- Bananas -- ad appearing in the film
"Ars est pecunia" -- Silent Movie -- corporate logo appearing on slogan of Big Pictures Company. It means "art is money" and is a satire of MGM's "ars gratia artis," meaning "art for art's sake."
...is out of chances for respect: dead at 82.
It's ironic that that bit is exactly what launched his career and gave him genuine respect--from fellow comics, many of whom he helped launch with his Dangerfield's comedy clubs, and from his many fans.
It also led to two very funny comedic roles I love--in "Caddyshack" and "Back to School."
You've gotta respect that.
I saw the debate. Although I thought Edwards won, it wasn't as interesting as the Bush/Kerry debate.
Mostly it was back-and-forth, and Edwards did a good job within the time allowed of not letting Cheney get away with the usual Bush/Cheney B.S.
The strongest point I think Edwards made was in the corruption of Cheney as seen through the lens of his time as CEO of Halliburton--dealing with enemies of the U.S., using offshore shell businesses to avoid taxes, failing to properly give financial information to the SEC.
The only thing I think Edwards should have done that he didn't was to stress more the ethical failings of the Bush/Cheney Administration. He had a chance when he was given the question about uniting the country. How can you expect to unite the country through lies? There's no way Bush and Cheney can do it.
...well, new-ish: they're better versions of the "parody logo" ones.
Here's my favorite of the four I did today.
I think they work better than the old ones. It may be a bit too close to the election for these designs to sell, but what the hey. The cool thing about Zazzle is you can throw things up against the wall and see what sticks.
I have plans for more shirts soon...some anti-Bush, some not. Obviously, I'll be doing the Bush ones first--or not at all.
If Bush is reelected, I'll keep the designs on the site as is. If Kerry is elected, I'll probably move them to an archive or something.
I hope I'm put out of business on November 2.
Partial answer to Trivia Question
Here's part of the answer. Can you get the rest?
(Full question below, from yesterday's blog entries.)
"We scare because we care" -- from Monsters, Inc.
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