Huh.



- Z

So the auto makers say to the government: now that people aren't spending money they don't have, they're not buying cars they don't need and there's nothing left for us to make. If we go out of business, look at all these people who will be out of jobs. You can't let that happen.

The government will hem and haw long enough to make it look like they don't want to do it, but eventually they will have pity on all these people who will be out of jobs and give billions of dollars to their employers.

The auto manufacturers will say thanks for the cash but we're still a little bit fucked, so ... we're still going to have to lay these people off.

At which point we'll look at all these people who are now out of jobs and say: was this really worth it?

When the government's done hemming and hawing I think it would be better if they said you know what? The auto industry has been opposed to the government meddling in their affairs for years and maybe now is not the time to start. So this multibillion dollar bailout package goes to the employees caught in the middle when you go out of business.

Could somebody tell me why that's crazy?

- Z

I guess I'm back to posting geeky things I found on the Internet. Today's installment: Super Obama World a Flash game that starts in Alaska and ends, um, somewhere else in Alaska but they say they're going to add more levels.

My nephew is recovering from his skull surgery, so I can stop thinking about how gross that is. He's going to be in a special reshaping helmet for I think 3-4 months? so we were asked to send stickers. I need to find one of the Great Gazoo.

I had a weird dream this morning. I was on the bus and people were talking about the war. From context I gathered that it had just ended, ilke, in the time it takes to walk to the bus stop. So finally I asked and they said that after the election the president canceled the war. He said the will of the people was clear and just called it off, like that. I woke up because it seemed funny to me that the will of the people would matter.

In other nattering, I'm working with another consultant who is good at programming but bad at estimating time requirements. He says he'll be done by a certain date so, the client being impatient, the boss will schedule a demo for the afternoon of that date. When deadline comes, either the boss will get a panicked email first thing in the morning saying it isn't done, or no communication at all. This has caused no small amount of tension between client and boss, and between boss and consultant. It really only gets on my nerves when I get a panicked call from the boss to come in to the office and instant-learn .NET* so he can give a demo that looks like it works. But anyway.

So the boss was kvetching to me, because I'm the good consultant. And it's not that he works slow [he doesn't, really] but that he makes deadlines he can't meet. So I said yeah, if you say it'll be easy and you miss deadline you look like an incompetent. If you start right out with 'I don't think that's possible' you look like a genius if you deliver anything at all. Hints for living, I guess.

- Z

_______________

• I'm such a n00b- is it .NET now? Didn't it used to be .net?

I heart stop-motion animation. This is from PES:

::Download Flash Video::

Check out his other stuff - 'Western Spaghetti' is cute and 'KaBoom' is really well done.

- Z

From the 'I wish I'd thought of it first' file, the world's first $200 HSDPA ocarina



I lost this weekend to an emergency instaproject. It was a necessary thing that will let us offload a crapton of work onto the client; I just wish it hadn't been sprung on me so late for delivery so soon. I don't think I've ever spent so much effort shirking responsibility.

- Z

Cat and Girl sums it up for me:



- Z

'Yes' on Proposition 8? Since when are the Mormons an authority on traditional marriage?

Update from my west-coast correspondent:

fuck, man.... if the entire rest of the insane country (read:midwest) hadn't gotten involved and funded the shit out of "Yes on 8", no would've passed.... don't get me started.

- Z

There is a proposition on the ballot today, which may be difficult to find on your voting machine. It will be at the very top, above all the candidates for office.

All candidates for government employment need to pass the Civil Service Exam. Veterans who were disabled in the line of duty are eligible to get extra points on the exam, but only if they are currently receiving disability benefits from the VA. Vote 'yes' if you approve of eliminating the second restriction; vote 'no' if you'd rather it be retained.

- Z

Don't just go in there and start flicking levers. Don't vote the straight ticket just because you think it looks nice when all the flags are lined up. Don't vote for John Doe (Democrat) if you should have voted for John Doe (Working Families). Don't give up the opportunity to have a say in your local government just because you don't recognize any of the names that aren't in Column A Rows 1 and 2.

There will be one proposal on the ballot. In addition, the following offices are also up for election. If you don't know which districts you live in, follow the links to find out.

United States President
United States Representative in Congress (districts 26-28)
New York State Supreme Court, (district 8 - all WNY)
New York State Senate (districts 58-62)
New York State Assembly (districts 142-146, 148)
Erie County Court Judge
Erie County Family Court Judge
Erie County District Attorney
Niagara County Sheriff

The League of Women Voters puts together an informative voters' guide for every election and makes it available for free Read it to find out more information about the offices and candidates' experience, endorsements, and opinions.

You may be wondering what it means if a candidate is listed under more than one party. Suffice it to say that a vote for a candidate counts just as much on the Democrat line as it does on the Liberal or Working Families line. However if your beliefs are more aligned with a minor party, voting on their line will give them leverage with the candidate's platform. In close elections, endorsements by minor parties do make differences [in the opposite way of the Nader Effect] so most politicians are loathe to put third-party endorsements at risk. Here's kind of a long explanation


- Z

of prostatic massage... [Are we really on the subject of prostatic massage?]



What the fuck?! It's unavailable. It's Dr. Francis Fesmire, winner of the 2006 Ig Nobel Prize for Medicine for his medical case report 'Termination of Intractible Hiccups with Digital Rectal Massage,' giving the scientific community waay too much information about how he cured his ex-wife's hiccups. And isn't he dishy.

Item two: I think I made up for not making (e:dragonlady7,46402) a sandwich last night by making us chicken fried steak with country gravy and tater tots for dinner. She's got pictures. I've got indigestion.

Item three: for those who are unfamiliar with Lemonade Stand, the intro and first day's worth of business:

Hi! Welcome to Lemonsville, California!

In this small town, you are in charge of
running your own lemonade stand. You can
compete with as many other people as you
wish, but how much profit you make is up
to you (the other stands' sales will not
affect your business in any way). If you
make the most money, you're the winner!!

To manage your lemonade stand, you will
need to make these decisions every day:

1. How many glasses of lemonade to make
(only one batch is made each morning)

2. How many advertising signs to make
(the signs cost fifteen cents each)

3. What price to charge for each glass

You will begin with $2.00 cash (assets).
Because your mother gave you some sugar,
your cost to make lemonade is two cents
a glass (this may change in the future).

Your expenses are the sum of the cost of
the lemonade and the cost of the signs.

Your profits are the difference between
the income from sales and your expenses.

The number of glasses you sell each day
depends on the price you charge, and on
the number of advertising signs you use.

Keep track of your assets, because you
can't spend more money than you have!

Lemonsville Weather Report
Hot and Dry

On day 1, the cost of lemonade is $.02
Lemonade stand 1 Assets $2.00

How many glasses of lemonade do you
wish to make ?50

How many advertising signs (15 cents
each) do you want to make ?5

What price (in cents) do you wish to
charge for lemonade ?10

Would you like to change anything?no

$$ Lemonsville Daily Financial Report $$

Day 1 Stand 1
50 glasses sold
$.10 per glass Income $5.00

50 glasses made
5 signs made Expenses $1.75

Profit $3.25
Assets $5.25

What a hoot, huh?


- Z