A Washed-Up Old Fool

A couple of Barak's buddies

2008-09-12T20:14:26Z

"Kill all rich people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home, kill your parents, that's where it's really at." -- Bill Ayers, unrepentant terrorist, as well as friend, campaign supporter, and former boss of Barak Obama.

"I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough." -- Ayers, 2001.

"[The US Government] is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world..." [Living in America is] "the belly of the beast" and "the heart of the monster." -- Ayer's wife, Bernadine Dohrn, fellow terrorist, also former member of the Weather Underground, during a 2007 SDS reunion.

[In response to the Manson family murder of pregnant Sharon Tate, and others] "Dig it. First they killed those pigs, then they ate dinner in the same room with them, then they even shoved a fork in the victim's stomach. Wild!"

When speaking about judgment as a qualification for office, I wonder how good Obama's judgment really is when he has political allies and friends of this caliber. He's obviously very intelligent, so it's exceedingly likely he is aware of what they believe and is either pandering to these people or actually harbors some of their sentiments. Which is it, Mr. Unity?

evditchpig @ 2008-01-13T13:44:00

2008-01-13T19:48:31Z

Bizarre Ron Paul statements..

http://www.verboten.to/ron-sean-paul/

evditchpig @ 2008-01-04T02:42:00

2008-01-04T07:51:00Z

James "The Amazing" Randi is finally going to cancel his "Million Dollar Challenge," after years of offering it to any person who can, under labaratory conditions, demonstrate their "paranormal" powers.

The prize has been offered for twelve years, and so far not one person in the whole world has claimed the prize. Maybe because it's all a bunch of ridiculous stuff that fools gullible people? Doesn't it ever cross the minds of those who believe in such things, that it seems odd, at best, that no one in the entire world can demonstrate their psychic powers in a lab?

At any rate, I always thought Randi was a pretty cool guy, and one of the few voices in the public eye calling for the supremacy of science over superstition and mysticism. With his expertise in magic (real pull-a-rabbit-from-a-hat magic, not the "burn a straw from a broom inside a pentagram and someone will love me" nonsense)he's exposed countless charlatans, and will no doubt continue to do so.

Anyway, the article from the James Randi Educational Foundation's website:

THE JREF MILLION-DOLLAR CHALLENGE

It was March 6th, 1998, when the JREF Million-Dollar Challenge first came into existence. That’s almost ten years ago. It’s always been a simple, direct, matter: do what you claim you can do of a paranormal nature, and walk away with the prize. Our expectations at first were that we’d attract major personalities by this means, but they’ve avoided having to take the test by simply not applying; those who have actually applied are generally honestly self-deluded persons who have difficulty stating what they can do, which can be understood if they really don’t know what they’re experiencing; we at JREF have gone through involved procedures to help them recognize their problems. Usually, they have indicated that they don’t know what real scientific rules are, when it comes down to their actually being properly tested.

All this is obvious to anyone who has followed the action over the last decade. Now, while the JREF earns a certain income from having the prize money very conservatively invested, that sum could certainly be used more productively if it were made freely available to us.

As of March 6th, 2010 – twelve years after the challenge was first offered – it will be.

The James Randi Educational Foundation Million-Dollar Challenge will be discontinued 24 months from this coming March 6th, and those prize funds will then be available to generally add to our flexibility. This move will free us to do many more projects, which will be announced at that time.

This means that all those wishing to be claimants are required to get their applications in before the deadline, properly filled out and notarized as described in the published rules.

Now, we’re sure that there will be those who will offer all kinds of objections to this decision – though they could have simply applied and won the prize. There will be accusations that the JREF is concerned about the safety of the prize money – which was never any sort of concern, I can assure you – and there will be more claims that the money was never there in the first place. I can see the professionals out there sighing in relief that they no longer have to answer questions about why they won’t take the prize, and they’ll just wait out the remaining period that the prize is available. All that’s to be expected.

Ten years is long enough to wait. The hundreds of poorly-constructed applications, and the endless hours of phone, e-mail, and in-person discussions we’ve had to suffer through, will be things of the past, for us at the JREF.

Those who believe they have mystic powers now have two full years to apply… Let’s see what happens.

evditchpig @ 2007-12-19T07:31:00

2007-12-19T12:31:51Z

Create your own Friend Test here

lolz

2007-11-22T03:46:59Z

Lets101 Quizzes - Blog Quizzes

Guess what sign most of my friends are? haha

How come people still believe this bullshit, but laugh at alchemy or geocentrism? If anything, astrology is the dumbest.

P is cool...

2007-11-09T00:26:39Z

... because she bought us tickets to:

Should be really fun. Though I think she may have just bought the tickets to catch a glimpse of Huerta in person. Who knows... it'll be great seeing a UFC event live though.

Before he was the Motor City Madman, Uncle Tedly wrote cool stuff...

2007-11-06T23:58:29Z

evditchpig @ 2007-10-28T23:46:00

2007-10-29T03:53:50Z

Mexico was pretty fabulous. We snorkled for hours nearly every day, rode bikes through the jungle, swam in the turquoise waters, followed jaguar tracks, spied on the crabs in their tide pools, ate habaneros at a hut in the middle of the jungle, explored abandoned huts on the beach, kayaked for miles through paradise, cut our feet on sharp rocks while swimming in dank caves, watched a Mayan shaman perform a ritual, zip-lined from a 100' high tower, drank under a thatch-roofed hut in the tropical rain, ate many varities of delicious food, laughed lots, loved lots. It was all great.

Lolz....

2007-09-08T03:14:19Z

Insane times.

Econ 101

2007-09-05T16:57:38Z

Price controls = shortages. But do they ever learn?

Guess not... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6979824.stm

Stolen from albadore

2007-09-01T17:26:41Z

evditchpig @ 2007-08-31T13:03:00

2007-08-31T17:08:03Z

You've gotta love that certain, special kind of "friend" who continuously assures you throughout your relationship that he "couldn't handle the drama you have to endure with your girlfriend," and "could never go out with her," while behind your back trying to hook up with her -- and who eventually swoops down like a ravenous vulture as soon as you split up. A friend who doesn't need an ... is 45 and Single show to explain why one reaches midlife lonely unfulfilled, because I can explain the reasons why in two words: desperate creep.

Best of luck with being yourself, though. Adios.

Just Keep Moving... Nothing to see here...

2007-08-25T19:14:08Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6962185.stm

Mi deporte favorito...

2007-08-25T10:45:25Z

.... 's 'l rock!

Anyone going to this?

2007-08-01T23:08:42Z

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/64535026

Ouch

2007-07-28T20:35:28Z

Just got out of Day 1 of a Sambo (Russian wrestling) seminar hosted by this guy: http://www.rus-sambo.com/

Never have I seen so many people in the class laugh with sadistic glee at the pain of demonstration subjects. It was really, really funny. (At least until Igor called you to be his subject.)

Sambo is rough! Damn.

Day 2 tomorrow.

evditchpig @ 2007-07-22T04:57:00

2007-07-22T08:58:24Z

Taken in a herdlike manner from aralis:

So, evditchpig, your LiveJournal reveals...

You are... 0% unique and 4% herdlike (partly because you, like everyone else, enjoy travelling). When it comes to friends you are popular. In terms of the way you relate to people, you are keen to please. Your writing style (based on a recent public entry) is intellectual.

Your overall weirdness is: 42

(The average level of weirdness is: 28.
You are weirder than 83% of other LJers.)

Find out what your weirdness level is!

The Blogalyser reveals...

Your blog/web page text has an overall readability index of 16.
This suggests that your writing style is intellectual
(to communicate well you should aim for a figure between 10 and 20).
Your blog has 7 sentences per entry, which suggests your general message is distinguished by clarity
(writing for the web should be concise).

CHARACTER MATRIX

male		female
self		world
past		future

Your text shows characteristics which are 63% male and 37% female
(for more information see the Gender Genie).
Looking at pronoun indicators, you write mainly about yourself, then your social circle and finally the world in general. Also, your writing focuses primarily on the present, next the past and lastly the future.

Find out what your blogging style is like!

evditchpig @ 2007-03-31T23:41:00

2007-04-01T03:41:17Z

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Literature Nerd Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and it's eloquence; and you may like to read/write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society, however you can probably be overly-critical of works. It's okay. I understand.
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Drama Nerd
Social Nerd
Musician
Artistic Nerd
Science/Math Nerd
Anime Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

When you try to tell a lie, you look down into your shoes...

2007-03-28T07:01:50Z

First good garage show in who knows when, this Friday at the Magic Bag:

? & the Mysterions (? benefit show)
Nathaniel Mayer
Fortune & Maltese
The Henchmen

A few others too, but that lineup alone sounds pretty fucking awesome to me. About time.

evditchpig @ 2007-03-16T03:26:00

2007-03-16T07:27:25Z

Off to Mexico. See you in 9 days. Hopefully it'll be good.

evditchpig @ 2007-03-10T23:47:00

2007-03-11T04:47:45Z

Stolen from mzkittie...

The Everything Test

There are many different types of tests on the internet today. Personality tests, purity tests, stereotype tests, political tests. But now, there is one test to rule them all.

Traditionally, online tests would ask certain questions about your musical tastes or clothing for a stereotype, your experiences for a purity test, or deep questions for a personality test.We're turning that upside down - all the questions affect all the results, and we've got some innovative results too! Enjoy :-)

Personality

You are more logical than emotional, more concerned about others than concerned about self, more atheist than religious, more dependent than loner, more lazy than workaholic, more traditional than rebel, more artistic mind than engineering mind, more idealist than cynical, more leader than follower, and more extroverted than introverted.

As for specific personality traits, you are intellectual (80%), adventurous (80%), romantic (71%), horny (61%).

Stereotypes
Punk Rock	87%
Young Professional	82%
Prep	69%

Life Experience
Sex	58%
Substances	49%
Travel	64%

Politics
Your political views would best be described as Libertarian, whom you agree with around 79% of the time.

Socioeconomic
Your attitude toward life best associates you with Upper Class. You make more than 0% of those who have taken this test, and 31% less than the U.S. average.

If your life was a movie, it would be rated R.
By the way, your hottness rank is 45%, hotter than 65% of other test takers.

TAKE THE TEST
brought to you by thatsurveysite

evditchpig @ 2007-03-08T15:55:00

2007-03-08T20:55:53Z

Wow, the Hamtramck Blowout this year basically just blows...

http://www.metrotimes.com/blowout/

evditchpig @ 2007-02-27T00:04:00

2007-02-27T05:05:18Z

From the journal of albadore, I took this Haiku generator. And using it, I produced this lovely piece:

Haiku² for evditchpig
a beginner but i'm goin' up in her i had to use my arms
@

Created by Grahame

evditchpig @ 2007-02-21T18:53:00

2007-02-22T00:07:09Z

Owie. Was so sore when I got home from BJJ last night that I had to use my arms to help drag my left leg out of the car, because it was almost too weak and painful to go on its own. Practicing trying to pass allroy's guard resulted in numerous triangle chokes, arm bars, and an omaplata -- on me. I dunno why they never pair me with someone 80-lbs lighter than me, instead of 80 lbs heavier! My arms are bruised worse than ever... I was going to post a couple of pictures of my leopard-like arms, entitled, "Just Call Me Spot," but I couldn't find my camera. My joints ache like I have the flu. And yet, I'm still considering going back in tonight because I really don't like missing class, and am aparently something of a masochist.

How To Be A Dictator -- Step 2

2007-02-15T14:37:21Z

So now Chavez is going for the food. How long before there is both food shortages and rationing in Venezuela? I predict within a year... price controls = shortages. Also, drive up ineffeciency by about 1000%, compounding the problem. Can you imagine the government running Ralph's, Von's, Meijer, and Kroger like they run the DMV or the SSI office? What a nightmare.