Archive for the ‘oddities’ Category

And the prize for not being George Bush is…

Posted: October 9, 2009 by datechguy in Blame Bush, oddities, opinion/news
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I crashed on the couch last night because the Sox game was on the west coast. When I woke up this morning and signed in AIM the headline was that President Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Being a normal and sane man I assumed I was still groggy or maybe still asleep and then turned on the TV.

Apparently not being George Bush counts for a lot. From what I’ve seen on Morning Joe even the White House seems a bit embarrassed.

I was always under the impression that you actually had to DO something to win the prize.

That makes three four US presidents. Teddy Rossevelt for his mediation in the Russian Japan war. Woodrow Wilson for the League of Nations, Jimmy Carter for Camp David and President Obama for… for… not being George Bush.

I guess we should be watching for international youtube videos of kids singing now.

I can’t think of anything that can illustrate the bankruptcy of the prize than this award. I’ve gotta run my kid to school but I’ll do some blog round up later.

Update: Forgot about Wilson. I still haven’t checked any other blogs but I can’t wait to do that.

Update 2: I must say this IS deserved. No US president since the Bush administration has not been more not George Bush than Barack Obama.

The last few days …

Posted: October 6, 2009 by datechguy in oddities, personal
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…hits are way down.

Maybe it’s my breath.

On the Bright side the son’s hand is finally out of the split and cast for the first time since May.

I’ll take that trade.

The don’t give it away for nothing

Posted: October 6, 2009 by datechguy in oddities
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You would think that particularly in this economy the prospect of free land would motivate people, apparently not:

The town of Anderson – population 300 – is foreclosing on 18 of 26 large, spruce-covered lots it gave away because the new owners did not develop them as required.

“It sounded good in theory. Oh yeah, free land. But the reality is it costs a lot of money to build up here,” said Eric Warner, one of the few to build a home, on Monday.

Hey how hard could it have been?

The March 2007 giveaway prompted thousands of calls from around the world. By the day of the land grab, 44 waited in line. Many camped out in weather as cold as minus-25 for a shot at the 1.3-acre lots, which went to the first 26 people to claim them and put down nonrefundable $500 deposits.

Under the rules, winning applicants were supposed to build a house measuring at least 1,000 square feet within two years.

Many of the winners, however, never came back or communicated with the town, even to respond to formal letters asking what their intentions were, City Clerk Darla Coghill said. She still hears daily from others interested in getting some free land, but she tells them Anderson is out of that business these days.

She thinks most outsiders couldn’t cut living in a place where the nearest gasoline and groceries are a 20-mile drive away.

As the grandson of people who came thousands of miles across the ocean to settle in a strange land I really don’t get this. I guess this is just one more thing Americans won’t do.

I’ll wager if they made the offer to immigrants having a chance to come over the majority of them would have managed.

So Michael Moore’s movie isn’t selling in the US

Posted: October 5, 2009 by datechguy in oddities
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That’s not where it’s designed to sell. It will do a fair amount of business overseas.

Its primary job is to generate buzz to keep him on the personal gravy train, to keep him invited here there and everywhere.

Moore is set and he knows he is set, so he makes the movies he wants to make. There’s nothing wrong with that, after all that is Capitalism for you.

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