So, I'm coming out of the Starbucks this evening with my espresso quattro (cutting back on the caffeine) and a couple scones - one for myself and one for meredith. As I get into my car, a guy pulls up next to me in an SUV and asks me in a very thick accent if I speak Italian. I told him that I didn't. He apologized for the mistake saying that I had an ( Read more... )

As meredith mentioned, it's my birthday, so I guess the secret is out. I don't really like to make a big deal out if it. I'm also not so good at accepting gifts, so I don't really like to advertise when it's coming up. My aunt, who knows me too well explained that she's sending me a cashier's check (and other stuff) since I didn't give her a sufficient ( Read more... )

I had a job interview with some Big Evil Corporation. I'm not particularly interested in working for Big Evil Corporation, but it's sometimes hard to turn these things down. For me, it's an opportunity to get a look inside the beast. During the course of the interview, the hiring manager began to describe the characteristics that he was looking ( Read more... )

I just learned from this article that Donald Rumsfeld has up until recently mechanically signed condolence letters to families of military personnel that have died in conflict. All other politics aside, this behavior is abhorrent to me. I cannot believe that a man responsible for sending other men into battle wouldn't take a moment to sign ( Read more... )

I'm sitting in the same coffee shop that I frequent every afternoon. A young girl, a student at a nearby university, came in and ordered a macaroon and then proceeded to have a very loud conversation into her mobile phone while unceremoniously chomping on her pastry. During the course of her conversation, I found it difficult concentrate on my ( Read more... )

Libertarian Party presidential candiate Michael Badnarik and Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb were arrested today for crossing the police barricade at the presidential debate. They have characterized their actions as an act of civil disobedience in protest of being excluded from the debates ( Read more... )

Libertarian presidential candidate Michael Badnarik is interviewed on Slashdot. I particularly liked the following statement:

We could argue all day about whether Bush or Kerry is the "lesser evil." The fact is that they both support the war in Iraq. They both oppose gun rights. They both supported the PATRIOT Act. They both support the war on ( Read more... )

I hate politics. It's a broken system full of corrupt individuals all scrabbling for a bit of power. My political views are generally libertarian and as a result, I receive very little representation in the political process. I was just checking up on recent developments in the federal assault weapons ban trying to ascertain whether it would ( Read more... )

Here is an interesting column regarding the Hiibel case in Nevada that I agree with. It is my belief that citizens have no obligations at all to assist law enforcement in their investigative endeavors. For those that aren't familiar with the Hiibel case, one can read about it here. I had a similar sort of altercation with law enforcement ( Read more... )

I usually eschew These sorts of memes, but I found this one particularly amusing:

You are an SRDL--Sober Rational Destructive Leader. This makes you a mob boss. You are the ultimate alpha person and even your friends give you your space. You can't stand whiners, weaklings, schlemiels or schlemozzles. You don't make many jokes, but when you do, ( Read more... )