Jack Layton: Military Expert

Jack Layton is an insensitive buffoon whose ill-timed and feckless comments today are tantamount to pissing on the graves of Canada's fallen heroes.

OTTAWA — Canada should withdraw its troops from Afghanistan as soon as possible, NDP Jack Layton demanded Thursday.

"This is not the right mission for Canada," Layton told reporters at a news conference.

What would be the right mission, Jack? Providing security for Empress Chow? Patrolling stores on Davie Street to ensure GLBT quotas are being met? Security at the inSite building where heroin junkies can get their fix?

Layton said the mission in Afghanistan is not making the world a safer place and, with no end in sight, he wants troops home by February 2007 at the latest.

I'd say it's making the world a lot better for the men and women who were tortured/raped/beaten by the Taliban.

Layton said the current mission has no clear mandate, no criteria to measure its success, no timeline and no exit strategy.

"We believe we should bring our troops back," he said.

Izzat so? Well, if Jack! had taken four point two seconds of his time and accessed the Department of National Defence's Afghanistan website, he would have found a clear mandate...

Canada is in Afghanistan today to:

* defend our national interests;
* ensure Canadian leadership in world affairs; and
* help Afghanistan rebuild.

folks discussing criteria for measuring success, and the requirements for our exiting the country. As far as the timeline goes, it is idiocy to set a date for a troop withdrawl when there is still work left to be done.

Layton accused the Harper government of "blindly following" the lead of the Bush administration when making foreign policy decisions.

It just wouldn't be Jack! without a gratuitous anti-american statement, would it?

"It’s time once again for a made-in-Canada foreign policy … it’s time for Canada to reclaim its place in the world," Layton said.

Uhhhhh, correct me if I'm wrong here... but Stephen Harper was born in Canada. The Conservative party is a Canadian political party that was elected to form government in Canada. Canadians elected him! We are reclaiming our place in the world thanks to the work being down by our brave and noble troops in Afghanistan.

But the real clincher is this:

Layton prefaced his call for troops to come home by saying that not supporting the mission in Afghanistan doesn’t mean a lack of support for Canadian military.

Well what in the blue bloody blistering Hades does it mean? He's effectively stated that our troops are not doing any good over there. They are rudderless and without direction or focus. He has essentially stated that our troops are useless flotsam over there. Truth be told, the Canadian military is doing a great job over there under very harsh conditions.

Has Jack Layton even been to Afghanistan? Has he seen the work our troops are doing? Has he ever asked one of them?

Ask Marilynn Chenette if she thinks her work has no clear mandate or criteria for success. Ask the Engineers in charge of rebuilding Afghan infrastructure. Or the troops on the front lines that endure daily occurances of terrorist warfare. How about asking the President of freakin' Afghanistan what he thinks of Canadian involvement in his country.

Or how the the families who have lost loved ones defending freedom for residents of Kabul? Ever ask one of them, Jack?

It seems to me that each of our fallen soldiers knew exactly what they were doing over there. They were there to do a job and were fully aware of the risks. They choose to give of themselves for a cause greater than themselves because they have certain traits like honour and courage and bravery and selflessness. Although I cannot imagine what it must be like for the wives, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters of the fallen soldiers, I can state without any hesitation they they can hold their heads up high and know they their loved one did not die in vain.

But to call for a troop withdrawl. And say our forces have no business being there. And say we are blind followers. And claim we have to strategy or reason for being there.

It is an insult and a slap in the face to each and every soldier working in Afghanistan. Worse still, it is equivalent to vandalizing the tombstones of each Canadian who has died serving in Afghanistan since we 2001.

Jack Layton, your words have offended many Canadians, including this one.

You do not speak for me.

Update 9:00pm - I've jumped into the fray, and began a bit of a discussion with Youngfox and his commenters. A very robust conversation ensues...

File Under: What have I got myself into?

Over at Waiting For Stanley, I've gotten myself into a bit of a pickle (scroll down to comments).

This is either going to be really good, or really really baaaaaad...

Domus Aurea

Heh, please allow me to spiritualize in a most elegant, preterist fashion.

Revelation 13:15-18

He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 1so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.

With a Stanley Cup Ring to Colby, we hear of the refurbishing of Nero's Golden House:

One of Rome's prime tourist attractions, the ruins of Nero's Domus Aurea, is set to be re-opened to the public sooner than expected.
***
After Nero's suicide in 68 AD the Flavian emperors who succeeded him proceeded to bury all trace of the man who even in his own life was a byword for dissolution, cruelty and excess.

Nero was a bad, bad man. Some might even say he was a monster. A veritable beast, if you will.

Award Winning!

At one time, this was an award winning blog...

sometimes it's nice to look back at history!

Joel Gaines' short lived T3 contest was quite a boon for me. Back in the early stages of WCC, I was all gung-ho about traffic, and any kind of linkage was the good kind of linkage, if ya know what I mean. I decided to enter NPI's contest when I heard about the proposed Vietnam draft dodgers war memorial in Nelson, B.C.

Joel remains one of my favourite bloggers. He's always got a fascinating perspective on everything from US politics to foreign affairs. Joel also clued me into the Support Our Troops bracelet campaign, which has raised over 100,000 in the last year and a half for various military charities.

Sadly, my article fell upon many deaf ears, as Romano is still up to his old tricks.

Contridiction in terms

Ol' Mahmoud sure has a way with words:

"Iran is not a threat to anybody, not even to the Zionist regime," Ahmadinejad said, using Iran's term for its arch-enemy Israel, which the Islamic Republic does not recognize."

Peaceful nuclear objectives.

I'm not convinced.

Now for something a little nicer

Admittedly, that last post was a little on the harsh side.

But this, on the other hand, is quite cool:

RAMAT RACHEL, Israel (Reuters) - Archaeologists in Israel have unearthed an ancient water system which was modified by the conquering Persians to turn the desert into a paradise.

Cool that something like that was used continually for centuries, and we are just finding out about it today.

For centuries water supplies have been one of the most sensitive issues in the Middle East, where most of the region is desert.

I wonder if it was destroyed/rendered un-useable in ad 70 when the Roman army sieged Jerusalem.

Big Whitey

I was about to get ready for bed when I heard a knock at the door. A neighbour had the sad duty to inform me that Big Whitey had been killed in a car accident. I had let him out when I got home from work earlier, and hadn't even thought to let him back inside. Normally he is alright, but tonight he picked the wrong night to be on the road.

Poor cat had one helluva life. Deaf from birth and quite overweight, he bumbled and stumbled his way gracefully through life. He always enjoyed looking through the window and following the birds as they fed from the feeders outside. He was also quite fond of lazing around in the grass in the yard.

R.I.P. Big Whitey
September 2001-August 2006

And a special note to the motherfucking parasite that ran him over and ended his life outside my fucking house and didn't even have the decency or courage to own up to it: if I ever, ever, EVER find out who you are, I will beat your fucking brains in with a shovel. I will rip your heart out and and shove it up your ass so you can feel it beating in your colon before you die. Fucking Fucking Fucking SHITBAG with a capital S.H.I.T.B.A.G. May you reap exactly what you sow, asshole.
At the very least, I'll sleep tonight knowing that someday you will get exactly what is coming to you, you miserable, wretched, vile, maggot-infested hemorrhoid on the ass of humanity.

My public service announcement for all readers of WCC: PAY ATTENTION WHEN DRIVING IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS AT NIGHT!

*sigh*

Van City

If pictures are worth a thousand words...



I took this picture from the Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver back in February. That is the Seabus in the foreground, if you look halfway between the center of the picture and the left edge, you can see a float-plane that looks like it is flying in between the skyscrapers. In reality, it was coming in for a landing on the water.



Here is a wider shot, taken a few seconds earlier. Notice the float plane, a tiny speck just above the ray of sunlight, and the Seabus gracefully making its way towards North Vancouver.



What a great city.

Can't wait for my next vacation.

Dalai Lama visits Mongolia

Much to the dismay of the Chinese, Mongolia has welcomed the Tibetan Buddhist leader otday.

Organizers of the visit have kept the Dalai Lama’s travel schedule under tight wraps in an attempt to avoid angering Beijing, which cut off rail links with Mongolia for two days in 2002 in apparent retaliation for his last visit.

There had been few outward signs of his impending arrival in Ulan Bator, Mongolia’s low-rise capital, now in the throes of a tourism and construction boom.

The Mongolian government seems to be covered it's proverbial butt this time, which is understandable I suppose.

The Mongolian government has not been openly involved in arranging the visit, and it wasn’t clear whether the Dalai Lama would be received by President Nambaryn Enkhbayar or other top leaders.

“The top-ranking lamas had a meeting and decided to keep the visit low profile so as not to annoy China,” said Bazargur, a high-ranking monk at Mongolia’s largest monastery, Gandantegcheling, the Dalai Lama’s host.

But this statement caught me a little offguard:

The Dalai Lama is widely revered in Mongolia, whose people have strong historical links to Tibet and have traditionally followed Tibet’s esoteric school of Buddhism.

Yet decades of communist rule that ended in the early 1990s nearly wiped out Buddhist institutions, and the religion’s hold on the young is tenuous. Mongolia’s open society has also allowed new competitors to Buddhism.

New competitors to Buddhism? Christianity was introduced to Mongolians in the 7th century, it wasn't until the 16th century that Buddhism really took off in the region.

Nonetheless, anything free and deomocratic societies can do to stick it to China, I'm in favour of. Mongolians should not let a bunch of elitist dictatorial idiots to the south determine their course of action.

64 Kilometres

Damon Allen reached 70,000 total yards tonight as the Toronto Argonauts defeated the Montreal Alouettes 31-6.

To put that into perspective. Allen has been responsible for moving the ball over 64 kilometres, nearly 40 miles.



Click the picture to enlarge. 70,000 yards is the same as passing and running the football from Smithers to Houston. It's nearly the distance from Smithers to the Hazeltons.

Amazing,

Map Source

I'm just trying to find the bridge.

Has anybody seen the Bridge?

Have you seen the Bridge?

I ain't seen the Bridge.

Where's that confounded Bridge?

Stanley Cup Ring to Rock 101 in Vancouver.

For Darcey!

This is what beer ought to look like when poured from a bottle into a glass (apologies for the poor quality pic... I used my cell phone).



as opposed to this:



Tragic! A poor display to say the least. However, Darcey is not without hope.
Learn you shall, Master Broom! Technique you will perfect.

Seeing as how it is FNB&B, I shall pithily discuss my current beer of choice.



Fullers Organic Honey Dew Golden Beer. A unique honey flavour, with lost of malty, hoppy goodness. And this way I can appease my enviro-veggie-liberal friends at the same time. Everybody wins!

Darcey, that last song kicked ass.

And you, my man, you kick ass too.

Eye of the Tiger, Rock!

Sylvester Stallone is among 84 Hollywood celebs taking a stand against terrorism.

"We the undersigned are pained and devastated by the civilian casualties in Israel and Lebanon caused by terrorist actions initiated by terrorist organisations such as Hizbollah and Hamas," the ad reads.

"If we do not succeed in stopping terrorism around the world, chaos will rule and innocent people will continue to die.

"We need to support democratic societies and stop terrorism at all costs."

This list is an impressive one, including Nicole Kidman, Danny Devito, Bruce Willis, and Michael Douglas.

Good on 'em for speaking out like and being counter-Hollywood culture.

Last Days Madness

Everytime I come across a blog that is discussing the "end times" or Biblical prophecy, I cannot help but stick my two cents in.

Christians that have the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the another in an attempt to discern the future are not doing anybody any good.

Mole Man

Forty Years, 100 cubic metres of dirt.

Seems like a decent way to pass the time.

An eccentric known as The Mole Man has been banned from his home after digging a 60ft network of tunnels beneath it.

William Lyttle, 75, spent 40 years burrowing under his 20-room house, removing 100 cubic metres of earth with a spade and pulleys.

It is now feared the street could give way, reports the Daily Mirror.

Philip Wilman, a surveyor for Hackney Council, told Thames magistrates: "There has been movement in the ground. He's fortunate a London bus is not in his front garden. It's liable to lead to catastrophe."

It takes all kinds to make this crazy world in which we live.

A fine fisking indeed

John the Mad takes Alexandre Trudeau to town for his latest piece in the Toronto Star, a fawning tribute to dictator, authoritarian, and oppressive bastard Fidel Castro:

I can't quite figure out if the son of the former Prime Minister is expressing subconscious homo-erotic thoughts about the cigar smoking, communist octogenarian, or if it is that Trudeau is as thick as a brick. I do not rule out both.

Please do yourself a favour and read his entire post. This is truly a fisking of unparalleled proportions.

A Novel Approach

I've got the pithiest and most succinct slogan on stopping the spread of global AIDS.

Instead of spending millions of dollars on fancy website layouts, hotel bookings, myriads of programs and pricey conferences to "raise awareness", I've got a unique idea that could stop the spread of AIDS within a generation:

STOP F*CKING WITHOUT PROTECTION!!!!!!!

We could also have "Use your head before you use your head!" and "Sharing needles to inject drugs? You're an idiot!" as slogans, but those are a bit more crude.

I don't really care if you are gay or straight, when you have sexual relations (how Clintonesque) with multiple partners and without protection, you are acting very foolishly. And that really is the bottom line.

I know the situation in other countries is a bit more dire than it is in North America*, but let's be serious. Clinton, Gates, et al. want to treat AIDS as though it is yellow fever or muscular dystrophy - something that humans catch through no fault of their own, and if we could only find a cure then humans would no longer suffer needlessly from this disease they totally did nothing to bring upon themselves. This is cognitive dissonance at its finest.

But the sad truth is, people do not get HIV/AIDS by fluke**. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only ways to get the human immunodeficiency virus are through sexual contact with an infected person, or by injecting yourself with a needles used by an HIV positive person. In Canada, there was a huge controversy (and rightfully so) over tainted blood being tranfused into people. But this issue was resolved, and is no longer a concern for those in need of transfusions.

It seems amazing to me that people would still put themselves at risk, when it is so easy to prevent the spread of HIV. I must emphasize though, that people in North America are putting themselves at risk. You put yourself at risk whenever you choose to have sex with an infected person. Without protection, it is imperative to remain committed to one partner. You're risk of getting infected is ZERO if the only partner you have is not infected. Unfortunately the majority of people in the West do not see monogamy as a very pleasant option, but if everyone did, eventually AIDS would be wiped out. It would no longer spread like wildfire. There would be no stories like this:

In northern San Diego County, Vera's team from the Vista Community Clinic scribbles medical histories, takes blood samples and answers questions from workers. An encouraging 75 percent of those tested for HIV eventually get their results and education about the disease, she said.

Among them is Jose Hernandez, 35, a native of Oaxaca who has lived six years in a makeshift plastic room near the fields where he picks strawberries and avocados.

"It's scary, but I go now," he said.

Researchers said migrants who spend long stretches of time away from their families can be exposed to HIV through sex with other workers and prostitutes.

"A person has needs," Hernandez said. "You are here, very alone."

Many migrants forego condoms and sometimes share needles to inject vitamins to stave off illness and exhaustion, Lemp said. Hernandez knows condoms are important but admits he doesn't always use them.

Emphasis mine, and do you understand why I emphasize it?

If you aren't going to be monogamous, the next best thing is to use latex condoms. Don't be like the moron in the story above!

*I heard on CBC radio today how young girls in India get HIV by sleeping with their husbands. Their marriage was arranged for them, and they had no way of knowing that he was HIV positive. This is a complete tragedy, and if you are a parent in a culture where arranged marriages are the norm, then you need to be aware of this before you give away your daughter! I've also heard stories of how shamans in African villages teach people that having sex with a virgin will kill the virus. This is utterly contemptible, and utterly asinine. The west has been trying to educate Africa for over a decade now about safe sex and monogamy, but the people who believe such nonsense will simply never accept the truth. Whoever said all cultures are equally valid needs a smack to the head.

**The spread of HIV through blood tranfusions no longer occurs with any sort of regularity, at least not in the western world. You cannot catch the virus by sitting a toilet seat or by kissing someone, or shaking their hand. It is not the common cold.

Downgrading Pluto

There is serious talk amongst astronomers at the International Astronomical Union regarding the redefinition of Pluto as a planet.

Driven largely by controversy over the status of Pluto, which lacks several key attributes of the eight other planets, the resolution could mean Pluto's dismissal from that group.

Instead, it could be defined as simply one of thousands of small, icy objects in the less glamorous Kuiper Belt, just beyond Neptune.

It's still the biggest object beyond Neptune that is round and has an orbit.
I say keep it a planet.

What do you think?

Games of Addiction: Mini Putt

I absolutely hate this game.

HATE.

Do NOT click this link and play this game.

You've been warned!

Friday Night Blues and Dutch Beer

It's Friday night, and that means Friday Night Blues and Beer over at Dust my Broom.

I for one am exceedingly grateful it is Friday. I've been bitterly sick all week, with cold and flu-like symptoms that just keep hanging around. Just when I think I'm getting better, the rotten virus pulls a fast one on my immune system and throws me for a loop again. Case in point: this morning. Blech. Not Nice.

Anyways.

Not only am I grateful it's Friday, but I'm really happy to be able to tune into the FNBnB. There is just something about the blues. I don't exactly know what it is, nor can I describe it in any sort of language that would be discernable. But it's the blues, man. The commenters at DMB seem to have a pretty good handle on it, though.

Last but not least, I'm really, really exciting about drinking this beer. Heineken. An old favourite. Zanstorm got me hooked on this years ago, and I've never forgiven him for it forgotten that. A nice refreshing lager with a unique flavour that goes down smooth. If anything can cure the common cold, this must be it.

I wonder if there is a poker game going on somewhere this evening...

Dogs Gone Wild

Overheard at Bound By Gravity:

The hump-beatdown pattern continued for most of last night, although for twenty glorious minutes the two actually played without any X-rated shenanigans.

Any pet owner who has had to pet-sit for a friend will relate to Andrew's story.

Heathrow Airport plot

LONDON Aug 10, 2006 (AP)— British authorities said Thursday they thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up several aircraft heading to the United States using explosives smuggled in carry-on luggage. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the terrorists planned to use liquid explosives disguised as beverages and other common products and detonators disguised as electronic devices

I'm glad that this plot was foiled, but it would sure suck to be a regular passenger in London just trying to get home. Did you see those line-ups?

AFI - This Time Imperfect

Shaky video, but great song.

Now is the time at WCC when we chillax...

Afi - This Time Imperfect

I cannot leave here, I cannot stay,
Forever haunted, more than afraid.
Asphyxiate on words I would say,
I'm drawn to a blackened sky as I turn blue.

There are no flowers, no not this time,
There'll be no angels gracing the lines,
Just these stark words, I find.
I'd show a smile, but i'm too weak,
I'd share with you could I only speak,
Just how much this, hurts me.

I cannot stay here, I cannot leave,
Just like all I loved, I make believe.
Imagine heart, I disappear, seems,
No one will appear, here and make me real.

There are no flowers, no not this time,
There'll be no angels gracing the lines,
Just these stark words, I find.
I'd show a smile, but i'm too weak,
I'd share with you could I only speak,
Just how much this, hurts me.

I'd tell you how it haunts me,
I'd tell you how it haunts me,
(cuts through my day, and sinks into my dreams.)
I'd tell you how it haunts me,
(cuts through my day, and sinks into my dreams.)
You don't care that it haunts me.

Oh,
There are no flowers, no not this time,
There'll be no angels gracing the lines,
Just these stark words, I find.
I'd show a smile, but i'm too weak,
I'd share with you could I only speak,
Just how much this, hurts me.

Just how much this, hurts me.

Just how much you...

Reason # 3245 to not like Bono

What a self-serving moonbat.

Gads, I dislike Bono. The term "pompous bloviating blowhard" doesn't quite do him justice.

Summer Fun

Recently I spent some time in Houston, British Columbia doing some work on the new leisure facility. On the last day I was there, I decided to bring along my camera and snap a few pics to compare their facility with the one in Smithers. As well, it's always nice to get a sneak-peek at something before anyone else does, and plenty of my friends were interested in having a look. This pool and leisure centre will be used by families in Houston year-round, and if the rumours of a future waterslide to be built are true, I may just have to make a trip there myself.

Since Alan at Genx@40 is hosting the latest edition of the Red Ensign Standard with the "summer fun: Canadian Style" theme, I've decided to post the pictures and give a bit more information on the pool. I think Alan was hoping for posts that contained "outdoorsy" summer flare, but I'm sure this will suffice. It is, after all, a community project that had broad-based support of residents, businesses, and the municipal government. And a few people made some money, too! What could be more Canadian than that?

With any major town project, there is always grumblings about cost and maintenance. The estimated cost of building the pool is around 4.4 million dollars. This money was collected through individual and corporate donations. You can always tell who donated the most money by the advertisements located around the pool! Two of the biggest donations came from forestry giant Canfor (no surprise there) and the Sullivan GM car dealership, but individuals who donated to the project have their names printed on tiles surrounding the kids pool. All politics aside for today though, I present to you a visual tour of the pool facility.

First of all, there is quite a nice mural surrounding the pool and hot tub. There is a better photo coming up where you can see a little more clearly. The pool is 25 metres (about 80 feet) in length, and at the far end you can see three white diving platforms. No diving board; however, as the maximum depth is less than 3 metres (under 10 feet).















As always, click to enlarge/borrow any pictures. Part of the reason we were there was to ensure the round ducting near the ceiling was free of dust and debris. It was a slow process using scaffolding and ladders, but it needed to be done.















Do you see those two trees in between the main pool and kids pool? Well let me tell you about those silly things.















To say they are a pain-in-the-swimming-trunks would be a complete understatement. As an added bonus, we had to remove and reinstall the branches while there was water in the pools. Well, I shouldn't "we" really, one of my co-workers did it (that's him in the bottom corner)! But I had to watch as he handed them down to me, and let me tell you, it was some kind of nerve wracking. The trunks of the trees are painted steel, but the branches are real. I had the sap on my hands for two days after handling them all.
















The kids play pool is really quite something as well. You can see the white tiles along the sides with the individual donators names on them.
The kiddie pool seems rather quiet and unassuming in this photo, but flick a few switches and...






























Another of my co-workers told me that when the plumbers/pump techs were testing the sprayers, he happened to be walking by that side of the pool. He didn't realize they were going to be testing them, and when they came on all at once it startled him quite a bit. They are quite loud and potent! Summer fun for the kids? You bet!

I'd say the artificial river design built into the kids pool is an extremely novel idea:















The rapids move at quite a clip. This picture is one thing, but standing next to it and hearing the jets blasting the water gives it a whole new dynamic.

Ultimately though, I think this is more my style:















I'm not one for doing laps at a pool, and I'm too old to fully enjoy the river and splashy spray jets. I may check out the waterslides because I haven't been on one in years, but the hot tub? Oh yeah, now we're talking. You could comfortably fit 12-15 people in this beauty. And the mural behind the tub makes for a pretty nice back-drop. It gives a summer feel all year round.

So there you have it. The Houston Leisure Facility officially opened on July 28th, although there is still some work to do on the east side of the building. The social lounge, servery, and fitness centre were still being assembled after I left. The first link I posted at the top shows the floor plan of the entire building, whereas I've given you a mere glimpse of the project.

The pool is located on Poulton Avenue next to the Curling Club in Houston. If you are in the area and would like more information, call 854-2238.

File under: Idiots

There are a lot of funny clips on youtube under "Jackass", but if I ever saw someone do this to my car, I'd kill them:

Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir?

I was doing some work at the Bulkley Valley Christian School today, and while I was there I noticed something a little odd on a bookshelf next to a teachers desk:

I quickly snapped a pic with my camera phone (hence the poor quality), but what you are seeing is a copy of Ralph Martin's New Testament Foundations next to a DVD of Moulin Rouge. Surely I am not the only one who finds that mildly ironic and humourous!

What are they teaching in those Christian schools, anyways?

Kevin Cosgrove

I had not heard the 9-1-1 call Kevin Cosgrove made from the World Trade Centre moments before it collapsed. Until Now (via the Flea).

This is one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen in nearly 28 years of life on Earth. And it made me think.

Every day brings challenges for me, and lately I have become quite frustrated at work. I feel as though I work very hard, and although I do not get paid a six figure salary, at the end of the day I can know that I have done good work and have helped people out. Even though 98% of my customers will tell you they are more than satisfied with my efforts, inevitably there are one or two that you simply cannot do enough for. After watching the video footage of Kevin Cosgrove's final moments alive, I cannot help but think of myself as a complete total whiner. I'm a whiner for getting so riled up over something so trivial. So insignificant. And yet I allow it to affect me to the point where it affects my relationships with those around me; those I care most about.

The challenges I face are miniscule compared what Kevin Cosgrove faced in the moments before he died. "Oh God..."

And people cheered when the towers fell. They cheered when Kevin Cosgrove died.

Never Forget.

Update 10:35pm - If you've got fifteen minutes or so to spare, please read The Web of Trust, by Bill Whittle. It fits nicely with what I'm thinking and feeling right now.

Don't quit your day job.

I've heard stories like this one before, but I never really believed they were true. How could someone be so clueless?

LACEY'S SPRING, Ala. Aug 1, 2006 (AP)— A robbery suspect gave authorities a bit of help when he fled the scene of a noon holdup at People's Bank of North Alabama: He left his personal bankbook.