This is a slice of a few seconds of life. I was walking along toward the Web 2.0 Expo conference earlier this year, when this voice from the box was basically scaring people. So I got my camcorder and went back to film him in action
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Angry Man In A Box In San Francisco
This is a slice of a few seconds of life. I was walking along toward the Web 2.0 Expo conference earlier this year, when this voice from the box was basically scaring people. So I got my camcorder and went back to film him in action
SCARY MARY - Video Recasts Mary Poppins As A Horror Flick
I don't know if you've seen this, but check it out.
According to the description:
This recut of the Disney classic 'Mary Poppins' was made by myself (Chris Rule), with assistance by Nick Eckert. This is TOP-QUALITY for YouTube and TAG-FREE.
This contains the musical piece "A Violent Attack" composed by Caine Davidson for the film 'An American Haunting,' "Stay Awake" written by Richard and Robert Sherman for Disney's 'Mary Poppins,' and stock sounds from iMovie.
According to the description:
This recut of the Disney classic 'Mary Poppins' was made by myself (Chris Rule), with assistance by Nick Eckert. This is TOP-QUALITY for YouTube and TAG-FREE.
This contains the musical piece "A Violent Attack" composed by Caine Davidson for the film 'An American Haunting,' "Stay Awake" written by Richard and Robert Sherman for Disney's 'Mary Poppins,' and stock sounds from iMovie.
Incompetence At The Highest Level- Part 1
In a business environment, it is imperative for managers and executives to foster
teamwork,facilitate group problem solving and focus the group’s attention and
enthusiasm on continuous improvement. Naturally, it is a forgone conclusion to expectthat the federal government is well equipped and prepared to protect the American people,guide them through destructive and tumultuous times and provide hope and optimism,instead of negativity and despair. It has become increasingly evident over the past seven years that through dishonesty, amateur style leadership and unskilled and unprofessional men and women, the American taxpayers have lived through destructive and abominable events that will forever persist. Moreover, incompetence has reigned supreme in Washington.
When the war in Iraq was first sanctioned by the 109th Congress back in 2003, our commander and chiefs approval rating skyrocketed to its highest mark ever and democrats and republicans were in agreement about the goal at hand. What has precipitated over the past four disheartening years has been wasteful spending to the tune of over $800 billion, more than 3,800 lost lives and continuous lies and mishaps by our leaders in charge.
Of the $18.4 billion allocated by Congress last year for the reconstruction of Iraq,
only $1.1 billion has been spent because of increased tension, and a mere 110,000 out of the 800,000 intended jobs for Iraqis have been established. It’s evident that somewhere someone has floundered miserably. Additionally, this dictates that President Bush’s stern words of ‘’stay the course’’ was nothing more than an unrelenting lie to deceive the American people into thinking progress was being made in the Middle East and that our brave troops would one day be able to return to home. According to Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel, the performance of our administration is ‘’beyond pitiful and embarrassing’’.
General after general in Iraq has failed to bring any level of sustainability to the region and above all has failed to securely protect the interests and safety of
Americans by permitting insurgents to regain charge. In the workplace, when an employee does not adequately master the mission statement of the company they are handed their walking papers. Conversely, the American people have been forced to pay theconsequences of their governments wrong doings as they face the calculated risk of another terrorist attack, see their taxes escalate as President Bush is handed a blank check, fall victim to increased security checks at the airport and watch their way of life reform drastically before their very eyes.
teamwork,facilitate group problem solving and focus the group’s attention and
enthusiasm on continuous improvement. Naturally, it is a forgone conclusion to expectthat the federal government is well equipped and prepared to protect the American people,guide them through destructive and tumultuous times and provide hope and optimism,instead of negativity and despair. It has become increasingly evident over the past seven years that through dishonesty, amateur style leadership and unskilled and unprofessional men and women, the American taxpayers have lived through destructive and abominable events that will forever persist. Moreover, incompetence has reigned supreme in Washington.
When the war in Iraq was first sanctioned by the 109th Congress back in 2003, our commander and chiefs approval rating skyrocketed to its highest mark ever and democrats and republicans were in agreement about the goal at hand. What has precipitated over the past four disheartening years has been wasteful spending to the tune of over $800 billion, more than 3,800 lost lives and continuous lies and mishaps by our leaders in charge.
Of the $18.4 billion allocated by Congress last year for the reconstruction of Iraq,
only $1.1 billion has been spent because of increased tension, and a mere 110,000 out of the 800,000 intended jobs for Iraqis have been established. It’s evident that somewhere someone has floundered miserably. Additionally, this dictates that President Bush’s stern words of ‘’stay the course’’ was nothing more than an unrelenting lie to deceive the American people into thinking progress was being made in the Middle East and that our brave troops would one day be able to return to home. According to Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel, the performance of our administration is ‘’beyond pitiful and embarrassing’’.
General after general in Iraq has failed to bring any level of sustainability to the region and above all has failed to securely protect the interests and safety of
Americans by permitting insurgents to regain charge. In the workplace, when an employee does not adequately master the mission statement of the company they are handed their walking papers. Conversely, the American people have been forced to pay theconsequences of their governments wrong doings as they face the calculated risk of another terrorist attack, see their taxes escalate as President Bush is handed a blank check, fall victim to increased security checks at the airport and watch their way of life reform drastically before their very eyes.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone
Hey everyone! Just a note to say "Happy Thanksgiving" and be thankful for all that you have, regardless of if it's a lot or a little and cherish the people around you!
Priest Holmes ends short comeback, retires from NFL
By DOUG TUCKER, AP Sports Writer
November 21, 2007
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- What drove Priest Holmes out of the NFL is something most football players try to drive out of their thoughts.
They know it's a dangerous, violent endeavor that can leave them unable to walk. Holmes, after making one of the most improbable comebacks in NFL history, decided that as much as he loves the game, it wasn't worth the risk of a paralysis.
So the former Pro Bowl running back retired on Wednesday, thanking the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL for all they had done.
"I had to look at the situation for what it is," he said, flanked by Kansas City Chiefs president Carl Peterson on one side and his three young sons on the other.
He had been out of the game for 22 months after sustaining head and neck injuries in a game in 2005. Then he called Peterson in June and told him he wanted to try a comeback.
He made it, too, after working so hard he earned the admiration of everyone who was watching. He made two starts in place of injured Larry Johnson the past two weeks. But last Sunday during a game at Indianapolis, he began to feel certain symptoms that doctors had warned him to watch for.
He refused to be specific, but during an often rambling series of answers said paralysis had been a possibility if he kept playing.
"Much of that is, I guess you could say, in the past," he said. "Just to know the symptoms were similar to the ones before. But to be technical, to go into medical terms, I wouldn't feel comfortable."
His teammates seemed unanimous in their respect for the man who holds team career records for yards rushing.
"It's probably the best decision that he could make for himself, for the rest of his life and for his family," said wide receiver Eddie Kennison.
"I try not to think about the dangers of the game. I understand what they are. I know they're there. And no man really wants to go out of the game with an injury. But we chose this job to take those risks. That's just part of it."
Tight end Tony Gonzalez had teamed with Holmes a few years ago when they were part of one of the NFL's most explosive offenses.
"I told him my thoughts are with him and what an unbelievable career he's had," Gonzalez said. "But you've got to be smart about this thing. Football is not the end-all, be-all. There's definitely life after football. Priest is a guy who's prepared himself for it."
Although he's down to third-team running back Kolby Smith with Johnson out again this week, Herm Edwards felt like thanking Holmes when the running back told him he was calling it quits.
"I thanked him for what he's done for this football team," Edwards said. "He's done something most players would not even attempt to do. He didn't have to do this. He came back knowing that first of all, he had to make the team. What he went through for three months trying to come back, that set a precedent for a lot of young players, to witness a guy like this who had accomplished everything he had accomplished in his career."
Peterson said Holmes had an agreement with the club that he would alert the Chiefs the moment he felt any danger of recurring injury to the head or neck.
"That was our agreement," he said, "that if that ever happens, to whatever degree, we needed to know about it. And he adhered to that and was great about it."
Holmes is the Chiefs' all-time rushing leader with 6,070 yards. He accumulated 8,172 yards rushing in 11 seasons with Baltimore and Kansas City.
"I have truly been blessed with the opportunity to play in the National Football League," he said. "I will be forever grateful to the Hunt family and the Chiefs organization for the opportunity to come to Kansas City, where the community embraced me from Day 1."
Holmes was the 2002 Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 1,615 yards in just 14 games in 2002. In one season, he set a then-NFL record with 27 touchdowns. The mark has since been broken twice.
After taking himself out of the game last Sunday against the Colts in the third quarter, Holmes went back in for a few plays.
"As much as we try to do everything we could to prepare me, there's just one thing that seems like we couldn't technically prepare for," Holmes said.
"Now that we've seen that, now that I've had some symptoms, there's nothing really the helmet can do to provide that protection and to allow me to do my job effectively. And we all know this is a business of performance."
Regrets? Not a single one, he said.
"There's nothing I'll look back and say, `Maybe there's something I could have done different.' There's no other shoes I'd like to fill and I'm pretty sure there's no one who would like to fill my shoes."
November 21, 2007
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- What drove Priest Holmes out of the NFL is something most football players try to drive out of their thoughts.
They know it's a dangerous, violent endeavor that can leave them unable to walk. Holmes, after making one of the most improbable comebacks in NFL history, decided that as much as he loves the game, it wasn't worth the risk of a paralysis.
So the former Pro Bowl running back retired on Wednesday, thanking the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL for all they had done.
"I had to look at the situation for what it is," he said, flanked by Kansas City Chiefs president Carl Peterson on one side and his three young sons on the other.
He had been out of the game for 22 months after sustaining head and neck injuries in a game in 2005. Then he called Peterson in June and told him he wanted to try a comeback.
He made it, too, after working so hard he earned the admiration of everyone who was watching. He made two starts in place of injured Larry Johnson the past two weeks. But last Sunday during a game at Indianapolis, he began to feel certain symptoms that doctors had warned him to watch for.
He refused to be specific, but during an often rambling series of answers said paralysis had been a possibility if he kept playing.
"Much of that is, I guess you could say, in the past," he said. "Just to know the symptoms were similar to the ones before. But to be technical, to go into medical terms, I wouldn't feel comfortable."
His teammates seemed unanimous in their respect for the man who holds team career records for yards rushing.
"It's probably the best decision that he could make for himself, for the rest of his life and for his family," said wide receiver Eddie Kennison.
"I try not to think about the dangers of the game. I understand what they are. I know they're there. And no man really wants to go out of the game with an injury. But we chose this job to take those risks. That's just part of it."
Tight end Tony Gonzalez had teamed with Holmes a few years ago when they were part of one of the NFL's most explosive offenses.
"I told him my thoughts are with him and what an unbelievable career he's had," Gonzalez said. "But you've got to be smart about this thing. Football is not the end-all, be-all. There's definitely life after football. Priest is a guy who's prepared himself for it."
Although he's down to third-team running back Kolby Smith with Johnson out again this week, Herm Edwards felt like thanking Holmes when the running back told him he was calling it quits.
"I thanked him for what he's done for this football team," Edwards said. "He's done something most players would not even attempt to do. He didn't have to do this. He came back knowing that first of all, he had to make the team. What he went through for three months trying to come back, that set a precedent for a lot of young players, to witness a guy like this who had accomplished everything he had accomplished in his career."
Peterson said Holmes had an agreement with the club that he would alert the Chiefs the moment he felt any danger of recurring injury to the head or neck.
"That was our agreement," he said, "that if that ever happens, to whatever degree, we needed to know about it. And he adhered to that and was great about it."
Holmes is the Chiefs' all-time rushing leader with 6,070 yards. He accumulated 8,172 yards rushing in 11 seasons with Baltimore and Kansas City.
"I have truly been blessed with the opportunity to play in the National Football League," he said. "I will be forever grateful to the Hunt family and the Chiefs organization for the opportunity to come to Kansas City, where the community embraced me from Day 1."
Holmes was the 2002 Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 1,615 yards in just 14 games in 2002. In one season, he set a then-NFL record with 27 touchdowns. The mark has since been broken twice.
After taking himself out of the game last Sunday against the Colts in the third quarter, Holmes went back in for a few plays.
"As much as we try to do everything we could to prepare me, there's just one thing that seems like we couldn't technically prepare for," Holmes said.
"Now that we've seen that, now that I've had some symptoms, there's nothing really the helmet can do to provide that protection and to allow me to do my job effectively. And we all know this is a business of performance."
Regrets? Not a single one, he said.
"There's nothing I'll look back and say, `Maybe there's something I could have done different.' There's no other shoes I'd like to fill and I'm pretty sure there's no one who would like to fill my shoes."
J.C. Watts, Mitt Romney, Diversity - CNN / YouTube Question
This is my latest CNN / YouTube Republican Debate Question. and it was inspired by today's "The Situation Room":
Hi I'm Zennie Abraham in Oakland, CA.
On November 21st, Former Oklahoma Congressman and CNN "The Situation Room" Contributor J.C. Watts asserted and complained that your campaign Governor Romney didn't have a single African American staffer.
This question is for all of the candidates: do you have more than one African American employee on your campaign, and if you're going to ask for votes of African Americans, can you realistically do so without having someone who works for you who looks like they do?
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Cinncinati Reds Manager Dusty Baker Supports Barack Obama
As an "opener" to Barack Obama's November 14th 2007 speech in San Francisco, new Cinncinati Reds and former Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker gave a great speech explaining why he supports Barack Obama for President and empasizing Senator Obama's concern for the environment as a key reason. I didn't expect Dusty to be so good without notes, but he did it; he talked well.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Pew Poll African Americans Divided Over Identity
My friend who's a frequent reader of my blog sent me this news below. My personal view is it's about time we had a poll of this type. I'm not surprised at the report.
Blacks See Growing Values Gap Between Poor and Middle Class
Optimism about Black Progress Declines
November 13, 2007
Download the complete report
African Americans see a widening gulf between the values of middle class and poor blacks, and nearly four-in-ten say that because of the diversity within their community, blacks can no longer be thought of as a single race.
The new nationwide Pew Research Center survey also finds blacks less upbeat about the state of black progress now than at any time since 1983. Looking backward, just one-in-five blacks say things are better for blacks now than they were five years ago. Looking ahead, fewer than half of all blacks (44%) say they think life for blacks will get better in the future, down from the 57% who said so in a 1986 survey.
Whites have a different perspective. While they, too, have grown less sanguine about black progress, they are nearly twice as likely as blacks to see black gains in the past five years. Also, a majority of whites (56%) say life for blacks in this country will get better in the future.
Telephone interviews for this survey were conducted among a nationally representative sample of 3,086 adults from September 5-October 6, 2007. African Americans and Hispanics were over-sampled - a total of 1007 interviews were completed with blacks, and 388 with Hispanics.
Other key findings include:
Asked whether blacks can still be thought of as a single race, given the increasing diversity within the black community, 53% of blacks say they can, but 37% of blacks say they cannot.
Big gaps in perception between blacks and whites emerge on many topics. For example, blacks believe that anti-black discrimination is still pervasive in everyday life; whites disagree. And blacks have far less confidence than whites in the basic fairness of the criminal justice system.
But there are also areas of agreement. For example, blacks and whites concur that there has been a convergence in the values held by blacks and whites. On the popular culture front, large majorities of both blacks and whites say that rap and hip hop have a bad influence on society.
Blacks and whites express very little overt racial animosity. As they have for decades, about eight-in-ten members of each racial group express a favorable view about members of the other group. More than eight-in-ten adults in each group also say they know a person of a different race whom they consider a friend.
The most newsworthy African American figure in politics today - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama - draws broadly (though not intensely felt) favorable ratings from both blacks and whites. But blacks are more inclined to say that his race will detract from his chances to be elected president; whites are more inclined to say his relative inexperience will hurt his chances.
Three-quarters of blacks (76%) say that Obama is a good influence on the black community. Even greater numbers say this about Oprah Winfrey (87%) and Bill Cosby (85%), who are the most highly regarded by blacks from among 14 black newsmakers tested in this survey. By contrast, just 17% of blacks say that rap artist 50 Cent is a good influence.
Over the past two decades, blacks have lost some confidence in the effectiveness of leaders within their community, including national black political figures, the clergy, and the NAACP. A sizable majority of blacks still see all of these groups as either very or somewhat effective, but the number saying "very" effective has declined since 1986.
A 53% majority of African Americans say that blacks who don't get ahead are mainly responsible for their situation, while just three-in-ten say discrimination is mainly to blame. As recently as the mid-1990s, black opinion on this question tilted in the opposite direction, with a majority of African Americans saying then that discrimination is the main reason for a lack of black progress.
On the issue of immigration, blacks and whites agree that most immigrants work harder than most blacks and most whites at low-wage jobs. Also, blacks are less inclined now than they were two decades ago to say that blacks would have more jobs if there were fewer immigrants.
Blacks See Growing Values Gap Between Poor and Middle Class
Optimism about Black Progress Declines
November 13, 2007
Download the complete report
African Americans see a widening gulf between the values of middle class and poor blacks, and nearly four-in-ten say that because of the diversity within their community, blacks can no longer be thought of as a single race.
The new nationwide Pew Research Center survey also finds blacks less upbeat about the state of black progress now than at any time since 1983. Looking backward, just one-in-five blacks say things are better for blacks now than they were five years ago. Looking ahead, fewer than half of all blacks (44%) say they think life for blacks will get better in the future, down from the 57% who said so in a 1986 survey.
Whites have a different perspective. While they, too, have grown less sanguine about black progress, they are nearly twice as likely as blacks to see black gains in the past five years. Also, a majority of whites (56%) say life for blacks in this country will get better in the future.
Telephone interviews for this survey were conducted among a nationally representative sample of 3,086 adults from September 5-October 6, 2007. African Americans and Hispanics were over-sampled - a total of 1007 interviews were completed with blacks, and 388 with Hispanics.
Other key findings include:
Asked whether blacks can still be thought of as a single race, given the increasing diversity within the black community, 53% of blacks say they can, but 37% of blacks say they cannot.
Big gaps in perception between blacks and whites emerge on many topics. For example, blacks believe that anti-black discrimination is still pervasive in everyday life; whites disagree. And blacks have far less confidence than whites in the basic fairness of the criminal justice system.
But there are also areas of agreement. For example, blacks and whites concur that there has been a convergence in the values held by blacks and whites. On the popular culture front, large majorities of both blacks and whites say that rap and hip hop have a bad influence on society.
Blacks and whites express very little overt racial animosity. As they have for decades, about eight-in-ten members of each racial group express a favorable view about members of the other group. More than eight-in-ten adults in each group also say they know a person of a different race whom they consider a friend.
The most newsworthy African American figure in politics today - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama - draws broadly (though not intensely felt) favorable ratings from both blacks and whites. But blacks are more inclined to say that his race will detract from his chances to be elected president; whites are more inclined to say his relative inexperience will hurt his chances.
Three-quarters of blacks (76%) say that Obama is a good influence on the black community. Even greater numbers say this about Oprah Winfrey (87%) and Bill Cosby (85%), who are the most highly regarded by blacks from among 14 black newsmakers tested in this survey. By contrast, just 17% of blacks say that rap artist 50 Cent is a good influence.
Over the past two decades, blacks have lost some confidence in the effectiveness of leaders within their community, including national black political figures, the clergy, and the NAACP. A sizable majority of blacks still see all of these groups as either very or somewhat effective, but the number saying "very" effective has declined since 1986.
A 53% majority of African Americans say that blacks who don't get ahead are mainly responsible for their situation, while just three-in-ten say discrimination is mainly to blame. As recently as the mid-1990s, black opinion on this question tilted in the opposite direction, with a majority of African Americans saying then that discrimination is the main reason for a lack of black progress.
On the issue of immigration, blacks and whites agree that most immigrants work harder than most blacks and most whites at low-wage jobs. Also, blacks are less inclined now than they were two decades ago to say that blacks would have more jobs if there were fewer immigrants.
Amazon Kindle Launches Today - Wireless E-Reading
I just saw that Amazon's come out with Kindle, which allow me to read on the go. A great idea. You can take many books in the space of one book. It reminds me of a device Captain Kirk used in "Star Trek" to read status reports given to him by Yeoman Rand.
It could be that the Amazon developers got the idea from Star Trek!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Obama Leada In Iowa, Stunning CNN in The Process!
Yep. Here's the news from ABC : Barack Obama's ahead 30 percent, 26 percent for Clinton, and John Edwards at 22 percent. Wolf Blitzer can't seem to stand that Obama's ahead of Clinton. They didn't mention that, or the Des Moines Register Poll, or the latest poll reporting Obama's lead at 4 percent.
Instead, CNN's Blitzer's focusing too much on other matters like the CIA leak, and totally ignoring Senator Clinton's major gaffe on Pakistan.
The Clinton News Network can't stand the news that Obama can win the Iowa Caucus.
Instead, CNN's Blitzer's focusing too much on other matters like the CIA leak, and totally ignoring Senator Clinton's major gaffe on Pakistan.
The Clinton News Network can't stand the news that Obama can win the Iowa Caucus.
ROBERT NOVAK *I'VE SEEN NO EVIDENCE OF DIRT ON OBAMA
In this video, Fox News interviews columnist Robert Novak, also called "The Prince of Darkness" who in this case spread darkness about Senator Barack Obama by stating that the Clinton campaign claimed to have news about a sex scandal about Obama. Novak -- in the video -- essentially that the source was not from the campaign but who was told by an agent of the campaign. In other words, his source has a source. It's called gossip and he's spreading it, but there's nothing there. Novak does compare Clinton to Nixon!
Mike Gravel - "Hillary, Your Lips are Moving and You're Lying'
In this video, Former Senator and U.S. Presidential candidate Mike Gravel -- who was not invited to be in the Nevada debate -- held his own event where he responded to the answers given by the candidates, well, ok, Senator Clinton here. He says she's lying about Clinton's position on Iran, saying "Hillary, Your Lips are Moving and you're lying. She's ignorant. The law that was past right after 9-11, coupled with the resolution that (U.S. Senator Joe Libermann) put in, gave the President the power to go to war."
It's not right that he was excluded; he'd have made the event informative and unforgetable as well as providing a great check for Hillary Clinton.
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