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Monday, October 29, 2007Men at Work: It's a MistakeReposted only because I can't possibly believe song this lost Virtucon's Friday Night Video Fights: Colin Hay is still producing some quality work, but you can't beat this for the memories. Wednesday, October 24, 2007USAToday's Candidate Match GameNow I won't tell you how I scored... but I was a bit surprised at the results. Take our own shot at the quiz and feel free to post your results in the comments below (and whether the results surprised you). Tuesday, October 23, 2007Barticles: The RK Brain-Teaser ChallengeBart Hinkle over at the RTD effortlessly destroys the logicians at Raising Kaine, which in turn quickly enfeebles themselves with a response: In other words, when the Republicans start attacking the freedom of minority groups that aren't well represented in government (to marry, to work, to pray without fear of harassment), you better believe that RK will call them on it -- public opinion be damned.Ah yes. How dramatic. Didn't Harry Frankfurt write a fairly popular book on this sort of positioning? Our hyperbolic diary author would have been better served to write, "Why yes Mr. Hinkle, you are correct sir -- it's not pandering or playing to the crowd when we do it!" Absolutely maddening... go read the exchange and judge for yourself. UPDATE: Jerry Furhman speaks From on High: Read the whole thing. Mr. Hinkle cites a number of examples where the kids at Raising Kaine criticize Republicans for shamelessly pandering ... and for shamelessly not pandering. Ricocheting off the walls like adolescents who really don't have a clue.Lynn Mitchell over at SWAC Girl echoes the comments... DISCLAIMER: Yes yes... RK is a group blog, and you can't blame the group for everything that is posted on RK... still, a bit of discretion (and thought) would be awful nice... DISCLAIMER x2: And yes, you'll probably smirk at the title of Frankfurt's book, but it (and it's sequel, On Truth) is an excellent read, and not just a neat gift because you enjoy handing out such items to friends... if you have the book and haven't read it, you are doing yourself a terrible disservice. Vandals destroy glass monument to 'Che' in VenezuelaSic Semper Tyrannis... and I hope it cost a fortune to make that monument, too. Sunday, October 21, 2007WaPo: Vultures Are Circling Over Distressed PropertiesKenneth Harney over at the WaPo discusses grave dancers, or businesses who swoop in and buy once overpriced homes for $0.50 on the dollar: Subprime mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures are swelling those numbers significantly, he said, along with plunging prices in some local areas. Softening markets also are driving down the expected discounts on troubled houses. Whereas in past years, "we might offer 65 percent of a property's expected value after repair, now in some places we're looking at 50 percent," Hayes said.I have remarked before to friends and family that I do not believe the "bubble burst" will last for long, precisely because these investors seem so willing to swoop in and take advantage of the current turmoil. Why are they so confident? Consider what homes were selling for one year ago... and people were paying then... The real danger is the folks trapped by the real estate market: loans they thought (or were told) they could pay for and a mortgage industry willing to lend to virtually anything that could pay. The public mood during the '00s could arguably be compared to stock trading in the 1920's, junk bonds in the 1980's, any dot.com startup in the 1990's, and so forth. The good news is the housing market will inevitably rebound. The bad news is that millions of Americans will undoubtedly feel as if they were taken advantage -- rightly or wrongly. Bacon's Rebellion: What Bobby Jindal Means for VirginiaAn excellent post by Jim Bacon, given the fact that Jindal's gubernatorial bid was so heavily attacked for his conservativism -- and for being Catholic (true item: the Louisiana Democrats actually ran ads attacking and distorting his religious beliefs, which Jindal responded to here). Why bring this up on Bacon's Rebellion, a blog about Virginia? Because it's a recurring theme in the comments sections that the cultural conservatives opposed to uncontrolled illegal immigration into Virginia must be motivated by xenophobia and/or "prejudice against brown-skinned people."Read it all. If you've been disturbed about the trends of the progressive movement, their true colors were shown in Louisiana... Friday, October 19, 2007I Heart ZapposNot a sucker for sap stories, this one was pretty darned good. Zappos appears to be a online shoe company. Never heard of them myself, but this is the kind of customer service story that deserves your business. Wednesday, October 17, 2007Tech Bubble 2.0Believe it: The surge in the perceived value of some start-ups has even surprised some entrepreneurs who are benefiting from it. A year ago, Yahoo invested in Right Media, a New York company developing an online advertising network. Yahoo's investment valued the company at $200 million. Six months later, when Yahoo acquired Right Media outright, the purchase price had swelled to $850 million.Must hurry! Develop the next big thing, have my 10-month old daughter name it (x-gibberish), and then... profit! Tuesday, October 16, 2007BBC: CIA man recounts Che Guevara's deathFascinating article about Che Guevara's last moments: Felix Rodriguez received the order from the Bolivian military high command. There was a simple code: 500 meant Che Guevara, 600 dead, 700 alive.It's too bad none of the idiots wearing his face on a t-shirt understand how much blood his "revolution" truly consumed... or how his brutal violence encouraged more of the same. Virtucon: Coincidence or a sign?
Yes, yes. Correlation is not proof of causality. But the coincidence is remarkable, especially given the event. Monday, October 15, 20072007 Virginia Catholic Conference QuestionnairesIn Arlington and Richmond editions! Thursday, October 11, 2007Clockwise or CounterclockwiseWhich way is the dancer spinning? And can you alternate between the two? HINT: Put your hand/GTalk box over the dancer, think whichever way you want it to go, then remove your hand. Best if you can see part of her head. My mental preference was originally counterclockwise, then clockwise, and now it take a bit of effort to get her to go back to counterclockwise. (h/t Kottke.org) Wednesday, October 10, 2007WaPo: The Days and Knights of Tom MurphyIn yet another article worth printing off and reading during lunch, here is a snap portrait of one of Washington D.C.'s Tom Murphy: Norowitz volunteered one of his students for a game. The new client was a thin, pale boy with a baseball hat and a cranky, studious mien. He looked Murphy over, his stained shirt and unclean fingernails, and it was hard not to notice the brittle contemptuousness with which he regarded the older man. In the first game, he made a brash, arrogant attack and was soon moving his queen toward Murphy's king."I'll stop the clock, and you can analyze your position." What a great way to set straight those Bobby Fischer types. Supposedly, this gentleman is still at DuPont Circle, and over the next week or so will make tons of money off of people who want to play (but don't worry -- seems as if you can make the money back playing poker). John Paul the Great Catholic High SchoolBig ol' tip of the hat to Jim Riley, who was my first recollection of this name being offered for the Arlington Diocese newest high school. One complaint: it's not Saint John Paul the Great H.S.... but that will come in due time. Installing a Dual-Boot with Windows and UbuntuJust because... you know... this could come in handy one day. One day, Linux will do games well... and on that day, I will end my Microsoft addiction. Until then, Civ IV plays well on Windows (but hey, I can quit anytime... honest). Tuesday, October 09, 2007A Second Tech Bubble?So says the Wall Street Journal: The goofy-names index, for example, is back near its previous high. Consider Orgoo Inc., which helps people organize all their Web communications. Or Zipidee Inc., a purveyor of "digital goods" such as cellphone ring tones. "Are these names of dogs or are they names of companies?" asks Kate Mitchell, a venture capitalist in Foster City, Calif.I would tend to agree... as there are plenty of ideas out there, and plenty of beta startups, but not much momentum. OTOH, look at the risk/benefit analysis. It's not like Google is an ordinary name either, and the ROI on something like that has turned into a Microsoft competitor -- a feat unimaginable during the 1990s when Netscape was only expected to make a dent into the web browser market. And forget the operating system (where MS is still unrivaled)... when it comes to games, Microsoft will dominate. Saturday, October 06, 2007Congresswoman Jo Ann DavisCongresswoman Jo Ann Davis passed away this morning at the age of 57. When my grandmother passed away from cancer, Jo Ann sent me a very tender note then. I remember that today. Please pray for her family and her staff for strength. Congresswoman Davis presence, her smile, and most of all her quiet yet firm leadership will be missed amongst Virginia Republicans. Today's Web 3.0 Nonsense BlogstormSince most folks can't even get Web 1.0 right, I proudly (note the sarcasm) introduce you to the next big wave -- Web 3.0! Woo doggie. Get on board before we invent Web 2590.0.1.3 w/ mod. Wednesday, October 03, 2007Patrick Ruffini: Kos Traffic Numbers Inflated by 60%...and before you go "HA!", realize this isn't the fault of Kos, but rather the inherent imprecsion of SiteMeter. Of course, Ruffini doesn't let some folks entirely off the hook: Why does this matter? Because if someone uncovered a 60% ratings inflation in Rush Limbaugh’s or Bill O’Reilly’s numbers, we’d never hear the end of it.Words more true have never been spoken... Monday, October 01, 2007Moleskine HacksYes America, you too can hack your moleskine notebook. In other news, moleskines can indeed be hacked. Now where (oh where) have I seen this idea before? Through a Lens, DarklyAn article on Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine, and the story of the picture most easily recogized as symbolic of the 1957 desegregation. A long read, but worthwhile to print and read over a lunchbreak. (h/t to Kottke.org)
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JEFFERSONIAD POLL: Whom do you support for Virginia Attorney General?1) John Brownlee2) Ken Cuccinelli AboutShaunKenney.com is one of Virginia's oldest political blogs, focusing on the role of religion and politics in public life. Shaun Kenney, 30, lives in Fluvanna County, Virginia.ContactThe Jeffersoniad
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