The Avenger

Source for your CO2 figures?

- Most school funding is based on property taxes, meaning if you don't own property you aren't paying in - do you propose we hunt down all renters and force them to pay? - Plenty of folks use the hospital and don't pay for it - it's called being without health insurance. If you assume every last illegal is uninsured they still only comprise 25% of all uninsured people. To put it another way, your illegal in the emergency room with a broken arm is sitting next to 3 citizens without insurance who are creating the same draw on the system. Unless they are sitting in a municipal hospital (and there aren't many left these days), the cost bourne by the hospital to treat these folks is not made up by tax revenues but rather increased health insurance premiums (and we just established that being insured and being a citizen are 2 different matters entirely). - News for you - most welfare recipients in ANY state aren't paying INTO the welfare system, legal or not - that's why they're on welfare! Hopefully these people get off welfare and earn a living with a decent job and pay into the system, but that has nothing to do with whether they are citizens.

Let's not forget the payroll taxes (SDI, etc.) paid by employers to the govt. based on false social security numbers furnished to them - that money goes into the pot and is never paid out in Social Security benefits. Or the sales taxes on goods and services illegals buy - they don't withhold the tax when you buy a shirt simply because you're not a citizen.

I think they cancel out those predicting 16-0.

Thomas Jones, formerly of the Bears, was traded to the Jets. It's hard keeping up with the Joneses

Slayer does put on a good show - Tom is so intense on stage. I've actually met him a few times and he's really not at all intense when he's not performing - just seems like a regular guy - not sure how he turns it on like that... It's a bit sad to see Kerry bald because its pretty obvious that he shaved his head because he was going bald, not because he he thought bald was cutting edge. I recently put Seasons in the Abyss as my phone ringer - I think I'm going to give a prize to the person who can correctly identify it when it goes off at work...

If it's from a NY Post writer the story MUST be true - 100% - I bet Rupert Murdoch himself can even vouch for its accuracy.... Funny how conservatives scream about "liberal media bias" and then take any new from the Murdoch empire as the voice of God...

Based on the dinner contest entries it look like lots of people expect the 2007 Bills to be a very solid playoff team (double digit wins). What do you think their win-loss record will be?

Sept. 9 DENVER BRONCOS - L Sept. 16 @ Pittsburgh Steelers - L Sept. 23 @ New England Patriots - L Sept. 30 NEW YORK JETS - W Oct. 8 DALLAS COWBOYS - L Oct. 21 BALTIMORE RAVENS - L Oct. 28 @ New York Jets - L Nov. 4 CINCINNATI BENGALS - W Nov. 11 @ Miami Dolphins - L Nov. 18 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS - L Nov. 25 @ Jacksonville Jaguars - W Dec. 2 @ Washington Redskins - W Dec. 9 MIAMI DOLPHINS - W Dec. 16 @ Cleveland Browns - L Dec. 23 NEW YORK GIANTS - L Dec. 30 @ Philadelphia Eagles - W

Having gone to school in Hamilton (Colgate), I am not surprised at all that they had snow in September of 1836 - when I was there it seemed like they had it every September!

It's hard to argue that there isn't some sort of advantage a team gets via the bye week - they get 2 weeks to rest and prepare for their next opponent. Whether that advantage is big or small is open to interpretation, but the mere fact that one team (the Pats) always get to use this advantage against the same team (the Bills) every year really is crap...

4 years in a row - come on, that's crap...

What Imus said was stupid and unfortunate, but he shouldn't be strung up for it. He appologized for it and he'll be suspended for 2 weeks - why do Al and Jesse insist on his being fired? I'm also ticked that these two are the ones screaming for blood, as if they come from pure backgrounds. Anyone recall Jesse referring to NYC as "Hymie Town" in 1988? Anyone recall Sharpton defamed Steven Pagones in the whole Tawana Brawley circus, was found guilty in a civil case and to this day has never said he was sorry for the pain he caused with his false accusations? Why do these jokers get to make decisions about who gets to keep their job over some stupid words?

I saw Metallica in Japan as well - Tokyo, May 1998 (last show of the world tour) - it was great! I've seen Metallica about 25 times and I'm used to the crowd knowing all the lyrics to all the songs. In Tokyo was dead quiet except for the Marianne Faithful "Da da da" part of The Memory Remains - that was thunderous because everyone in the crowd could do that part - man, that was funny! First show was David Bowie at the Aud in 1983 (Serious Moonlight). I also caught the Police there as well. First metal show was Iron Maiden/Twisted Sister at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1984. Favorite shows (besides Metallica in Japan) - Dio Sacred Heart at the Aud in '85 (stage was a dragon), Clash of the Titans at MSG in 1991 (Alice in Chains, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax and Public Enemy showed up).

Why can't these things be fought with guns?

Its doubtful that a Sunni extremist group like Al Queda will ever have an extensive foothold in Iran, a hard line Shite regime.

I'd agree with you on that, had it not been for the fact that he was simply reading a script on the prompter and the video package that went with the story was a clip reel on Brittney Spears with absolutely no footage of Bush. This was not a newscaster just reading the chart wrong. Given the journalistic integrity of Fox News I tend to believe they put Bush at the bottom to try and sweep under the rug that more people found him foolish than a pop star who snapped and went bald...

News for you - Ahmadinejad isn't the power in Iran - he's merely the face of political power. The Ayatollahs run the show and control the Republican Guard and are the folks calling the shots on this and all other matters.

I's psyched! I thought the show would lose something last season when it was no longer a race but rather a quota, but the excitement is still the same. Those guys are nuts - hard to believe anyone does that job, even if you can make a year's salary in a few weeks...

As a beekeeper myself I can tell you that CCD is no laughing matter. 3/4 of the word's fruits and vegetables require some sort of pollinator and bees are the workhorses of these efforts. Every 3rd bite you take is there because of pollination. Sadly, we don't understand why this happens. In theory it should be an environmental factor (climate, pesticides, parasites like mites), but there is no definitive proof. I put in the same category as why kids today seem to have more (and much more severe) allergies to things like peanuts and why children seem to reach puberty earlier - there are lots of theories but no real smoking guns. This weekend the state Commissioner of Agriculture is coming to speak at our bee club and CCD is one of the main topics of discussion. You may not think about bees very much, but their value to agriculture is in the billions and money is starting to be spent to understand CCD better - we really can't afford to wait.

It's a silent press conference. Transcript: </transcript>

A close second - The Christmas Shoes by New Song - who writes this schlock? It was almost Christmas time, There I stood in another line Trying to buy that last gift or two, Not really in the Christmas mood. Standing right in front of me Was a little boy waiting anxiously, Pacing round like little boys do, And in his hands, he held a pair of shoes. And his clothes were worn and old. He was dirty from head to toe, And when it came his time to pay, I couldn’t believe what I heard him say. Chorus: Sir, I wanna buy these shoes for my momma please. It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size. Could you hurry, Sir? Daddy says there's not much time. You see, she's been sick for quite a while; Know these shoes will make her smile. Want her to look beautiful if Momma meets Jesus tonight. He counted pennies for what seemed like years Then the cashier said “There’s not enough here.” He searched his pockets frantically Then he turned and he looked at me. He said “Momma made Christmas good at our house Though most years she just did without. Tell me, Sir, what am I gonna do? Somehow I’ve got to buy these Christmas shoes!” So I laid the money down; I just had to help him out. And I’ll never forget the look on his face When he said “Momma’s gonna look so great!” Chorus I knew that I got a glimpse of heaven’s love As he thanked me and ran out. I knew that God had sent that little boy to remind me What Christmas is all about. Chorus in children’s voices Young boy: I want her to look beautiful If Momma meets Jesus tonight.

Muskrat Love - Written/performed by America, popularized by Captain and Tennile Muskrat, muskrat candlelight doin' the town and doin' it right in the evenin', it's pretty pleasin' Muskrat Susie, Muskrat Sam Do the jitterbug Out in the muskrat land And they shimmy And Sammy's so skinny And they whirled and they twirled and they tangoed Singin' and jinglin' the jango Floatin' like the heavens above It looks like muskrat love Nibblin' on bacon, chewin' on cheese Sammy says to Susie Honey, would you please be my missus? And she says yes with her kisses And now he's ticklin' her fancy Rubbin' her ties muzzle to muzzle now anything goes as they wiggle and Sue starts to giggle And they whirled and they twirled and they tangoed Singin' and jinglin' the jango Floatin' like the heavens above It looks like muskrat love

Tivo is the answer! You can watch a full episode of Deal or No Deal in 2x or even 3x speed and not miss a thing. Sure, there's no audio, but you don't need it! In about 20 minutes you can see a full hour of fake drama played out by people with no math skills at all - brilliant!

I think the concept of "advancement" depends on the corporate culture of your company. In many places it is true that to be perceived as "advancing" you get pushed into management - "the boss" is always more powerful, successful and better compensated, right? That used to weork pretty well, but it doesn't always hold true today, particularly in technical fields. Management is its own skill. Some people are very good at it, some people are very bad. Some of it can be learned, some of it can't. Some people enjoy it, others can't stand it. I think you probably need to step back and ask yourself: 1. What do I WANT to do? Do I enjoy being a very technical person? Do I want to do less technical work and do more management work? What makes me feel good about my current job? What's missing? 2. If you decide you decide you want to try management, do you think you can do it successfully? Sure you'll need to learn like anyone else, but do you feel you'll evolve into an effective manager? I think the WORST thing you could possibly do is to go into management because you feel its the only way to advance and that by taking such a position you would be doing something you didn't enjoy or felt you wouldn't be effective doing. This happens frequently in technology fields - the senior technical guy gets pushed into a management role because "that's advancement" and the guy has no desire or aptitude for it. In the end, everyone loses in this scenario - the company doesn't get what they want/need out of a manager and the employee gets frustrated/burned out and fails and leaves, taking all his knowledge with him. If you don't want to take a management route to advance you don't have to - but you need to be with a company that understands that. There are many technology companies where people in non-management roles "advance" by continuing to climb the ladder in terms of responsibility and pay without taking any management responsibility. It won't get you to be CIO or CEO, but that may not be what you want anyway. I'm in technology management because I enjoy management and was never heavy duty technical, but some of the guys who report into me actually make more than I do based on their technical skills - I'm higher on the organization chart, but the truth of the matter is that these guys have "advanced" beyond me (and I'm fine with that).