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[mouseman]

http://www.foxnews.com/

Was that a general critique on the nature of Fox News, or were you trying to reference the story of the woman who saw the face of Jesus on her iron?

Now, I wonder if this is what Christians mean when they say Jesus is steamed at the way the world is going?

Well there are always gems to be had there like this juxtaposition:

Headline:

Bin Laden Was 'Within Grasp'
Senate report says Al Qaeda leader was in Tora Bora when military leaders decided not to pursue him with force

Right underneath:

• Obama Faces Tough Task in Outlining Afghan Strategy

This implies, of course, that it happened recently, and that it is Obama's fault.  You have to go to the story to actually find out that, of course, that the decision was made in 2001...
Of course, the best stupid story from this issue is:
Barbi Twins Slam President Obama, Democrats Over Animal Rights Issues
I don't think that any comment is needed.

[toni52]

There has GOT to be more to this story about Tiger Woods .  What the freak?

Yeah, it seems strange that his wife was handy at the scene of the accident, although not in the car herself, and just happened to have a golf club available to smash the window to get him out of the car.  So, you hear a crash and grab a golf club before running outside?  Any way, one website is linking this to an affair that Tiger was supposedly having with someone named Rachel.

I think there's definitely more to the story.  But I really don't understand why (or what) the police are investigating.  They received a 911 call and so I know they have to follow up.  But people crash their cars all the time.  There was no alcohol involved.  No one else was injured.  And although it's all a bit odd, it's not a crime to leave your house and go for a drive at 2:25 in the morning.  Yes, he crashed into a hydrant.  But wouldn't that just be a ticket and a fine? And why are the police releasing information to the media? There's no indication (yet) that anything untoward happened.

[mouseman]

There has GOT to be more to this story about Tiger Woods .  What the freak?

Yeah, it seems strange that his wife was handy at the scene of the accident, although not in the car herself, and just happened to have a golf club available to smash the window to get him out of the car.  So, you hear a crash and grab a golf club before running outside?  Any way, one website is linking this to an affair that Tiger was supposedly having with someone named Rachel.

I think there's definitely more to the story.  But I really don't understand why (or what) the police are investigating.  They received a 911 call and so I know they have to follow up.  But people crash their cars all the time.  There was no alcohol involved.  No one else was injured.  And although it's all a bit odd, it's not a crime to leave your house and go for a drive at 2:25 in the morning.  Yes, he crashed into a hydrant.  But wouldn't that just be a ticket and a fine? And why are the police releasing information to the media? There's no indication (yet) that anything untoward happened.

'Tis America's obsession with celebrities, that's all.  Unknown man saves family of 5 - 3rd page, small print.  Celebrity eating waffles?  First page, large headlines, with commentary on the importance and implications of this earth-shattering event.

[toni52]

I agree.  And I get why the media is pushing the story.  We live in a celeb obsessed culture and the public wants to know what happened.  A single press release or police news conference would have sufficed.  I don't like how the police are handling the situation.  For instance, why are the police are providing updates to the media?   Even if Tiger and his wife did have a fight before the accident, it's a private matter which should be handled privately by the police. 

[yellowtractor]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/12/02/us/AP-US-ODD-School-Worker-Space-Aliens.html

Your tax dollars at work, Arizonans!

[conjugate]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/12/02/us/AP-US-ODD-School-Worker-Space-Aliens.html

Your tax dollars at work, Arizonans!

How does it cost a million dollars to run "uninstall" on all those computers?  Really, that's a profoundly stupid estimate.  Either that or they have a freakin' lot of computers there.  Where I work, IT could simply return all our computers to default status overnight by just sending a single command, if I understand it correctly.

Granted, the guy was a boob to install the software without permission on all these computers, but still it seems way out of line to claim it will cost a million dollars.  Maybe they just like the sound of the number.  Like Austin Powers's nemesis: "One Million dollars!  Mwa-ha-ha-ha!"

Or maybe they pay their IT people way the hell too much money.  Maybe I should go to AZ and get to be a public school district IT staffer and get a million dollars.  More likely, this Birdwell person is freaking out over nothing.  I mean, really, how many computers are we talking about?  Maybe a few thousand?  And they can't do a mass uninstall?

[conjugate]

Okay, so technically I'm double posting.  However, I have an excuse.  First of all, about this:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/12/02/us/AP-US-ODD-School-Worker-Space-Aliens.html

Your tax dollars at work, Arizonans!

There is more to the story than this.  I refer the interested reader to this blog entry, which specifies that the IT administrator was fired for a number of causes, not just alien search.

Finally, I was amused by this New York Times story, in which we saw the magic words "acknowledged cupcake meccas" used with a straight face.  I wonder how often those words have ever appeared in that context before?

[thenewyorker]

Finally, I was amused by this New York Times story, in which we saw the magic words "acknowledged cupcake meccas" used with a straight face.  I wonder how often those words have ever appeared in that context before?

To New Yorkers this would be read with a completely straight face. One is either in the Billy's camp, a rabid fan of Magnolia, sweet on Sugar Sweet Sunshine or mad for Babycakes, a vegan cupcake destination that provides extra shots of frosting for a quarter. I am sweet on Sugar Sweet Sunshine myself and will only tolerate Magnolia when necessary. They recently made their cupcakes smaller, but did not reduce the price. They are still trying to capitalize on the Sex and the City shout-outs.

[yellowtractor]

This is not one of the NYT travel dept.'s better moments:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/12/11/travel/escapes/11stonehenge.html

On the other hand, how often do you encounter "A charming mix of prehistoric wonders, alpaca farming and kitsch" as an appositive phrase?

[mountainguy]

[bump]

Think that no one would sign up for a credit card with a 79.9% interest rate??? (Yes, you read that right: 79.9, not 7.9). Think again.

[conjugate]

[bump]

Think that no one would sign up for a credit card with a 79.9% interest rate??? (Yes, you read that right: 79.9, not 7.9). Think again.

Technically, they don't say that anybody's signed up for it yet.  And I think they are also the people who kept sending me ads for the card with the $300 limit and $80 annual fee and $50 new account fee, and... so you wound up with a new card and a bill for over $200 before you charged anything to it.

It looks like a narrow niche; you get the card, you charge 10 bucks to it and pay it off, and you can get another card from a decent company, having "repaired" your credit rating by showing that you pay your debts.  I can't see this bank getting much in the way of customer loyalty.

[stitch]

[bump]

Think that no one would sign up for a credit card with a 79.9% interest rate??? (Yes, you read that right: 79.9, not 7.9). Think again.

Technically, they don't say that anybody's signed up for it yet.  And I think they are also the people who kept sending me ads for the card with the $300 limit and $80 annual fee and $50 new account fee, and... so you wound up with a new card and a bill for over $200 before you charged anything to it.

It looks like a narrow niche; you get the card, you charge 10 bucks to it and pay it off, and you can get another card from a decent company, having "repaired" your credit rating by showing that you pay your debts.  I can't see this bank getting much in the way of customer loyalty.

Huh. 

I remember reading about secured credit cards for rebuilding credit.  (You had to give them a deposit, and then they'd give you a credit line in the amount of the deposit.  After you made your payments on time for perhaps a year, they'd refund your deposit.  Which would leave you with a standard unsecured credit card, albeit with a low and slow to increase limit, and a high (25%) interest rate.)

This is a whole other animal. 

I know my state passed a law essentially aimed at outlawing payday loan places.  I think it limited both fees and interest rates.  I wonder whether this card would be legal here?  Have to look into that.

[conjugate]

Huh. 

I remember reading about secured credit cards for rebuilding credit.  (You had to give them a deposit, and then they'd give you a credit line in the amount of the deposit.  After you made your payments on time for perhaps a year, they'd refund your deposit.  Which would leave you with a standard unsecured credit card, albeit with a low and slow to increase limit, and a high (25%) interest rate.)

This is a whole other animal. 

I know my state passed a law essentially aimed at outlawing payday loan places.  I think it limited both fees and interest rates.  I wonder whether this card would be legal here?  Have to look into that.

Many credit card companies specify that the laws governing the credit card agreement are the state laws of (I think) Delaware, as the companies are incorporated there.  So it might not be applicable.  Of course, the state might ban letting them have an office in your state, but I don't think the state can keep you from making an agreement with the company.

I could of course be wrong; I am not a lawyer.

[gennimom]

Okay. How bad is this marriage?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100101/od_nm/us_prison_sicilian

Also, I think this is a good place to post Darwin Award candidates!

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-talk-darwin-awardsjan04,0,5602927.story?track=rss

[mountainguy]

And you thought eHarmony was harsh

My take: Anyone shallow and self-centered enough to sign up for such a website reaps what they sow.