:: Running from the Thought Police ::

:: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 ::

News Channels are Worthless

All I want is news about the Pope, yet none of them are focusing on it.

:: The Squire 4:13 PM :: email this post :: ::
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It's Not Bull, It's Bush

What's with Bushie saying he doesn't know who the leakers are? He knows full well, that's why he doesn't want a Special Prosecutor. That, or because while he may not technically know, he knows that the prosecutor will hit something else big fairly quickly.

:: The Squire 3:03 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Apparently No One In The Pentagon Was A Boy Scout

'Cos they didn't send our troops into duty properly prepared.

:: The Squire 11:33 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Some People...

"What's your major?"

"MCB-Premed."

"What are you planning on doing with that?"

"Joining the circus. Here's your sign."

:: The Squire 11:11 PM :: email this post :: ::
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ARRRG!

I HATE musical banner ads. Die! Die! Die!

:: The Squire 10:13 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Found It In My PoliSci Notes

"The problem with the pressure group heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with an upper class accent." - E.E. Schattchneider

:: The Squire 9:16 PM :: email this post :: ::
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We're Evolving

At least until the Ecosystem gets that archive post out of my links collumn. Until then, I'm a Slimy Mollusc.

:: The Squire 8:23 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Duh.....

People told Tbogg why they were Republicans, and it's pretty much what'd you'd expect.

:: The Squire 7:34 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Connecting the Dots

Dr. Josh demonstrates how Plame's outing indicates that the Bush administration doesn't really give two shits about WMD.

:: The Squire 4:16 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Fire Up the TARDIS

It's Official - Dr. Who's returning to TV in 2005. I really hope that either the university gets BBC International by then, or they syndicate it to PBS at the same time.

:: The Squire 2:41 PM :: email this post :: ::
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You Didn't Need to Know This

One of the bad things about having to shower with flip-flops on is that you accumulate insane amounts of toejam, seeing as the water has little place to go once it hits the gaps between your toes.

:: The Squire 2:58 AM :: email this post :: ::
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I Can Feel Myself Shrinking

Requiem for a Dream is a really depressing movie.

:: The Squire 4:13 AM :: email this post :: ::
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Sorry For the Light Posting

I'm recovering from my Chem 231 exam, and my life is on hold until I get the test results back. Also, the distribution for the MCB 250 test hasn't been posted to the website yet either (grumble).

:: The Squire 1:04 AM :: email this post :: ::
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Test Results Back

I just got ahold of the MCB 250 exam key, and I ended up getting 27/30, with each question counting for five points.

:: The Squire 5:30 PM :: email this post :: ::
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A Matter of Effort

Sometimes, AIM really is better than a discussion board.

:: The Squire 3:58 AM :: email this post :: ::
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How Sad

My organic chem class has way too much fun with it's online social discussion board. Then again, we're nerds...

:: The Squire 1:04 AM :: email this post :: ::
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Halfway There....Or Point of No Return?

Will The Squire survive his second science test in as many days? Will the evil forces of biology lab take him down first? Will the lovely lady (yes, there really is one) succumb once again to his charms or keep leading him on? Tune in next time to find out!

:: The Squire 12:45 AM :: email this post :: ::
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I'm right, right?

When you ask someone where to find a piece of information, you don't want to be told that it can be found, right? Neither do I. I was looking for where to find it.

I'm really feeling Dilbert's pain right now.

:: The Squire 10:54 AM :: email this post :: ::
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I Hate Organic Chem Lab

The information for the class is poorly organized, with poor instruction on how to find what is needed. If the directions for the post-lab calculations are not in the textbook and not in the syllabus, where the hell am I supposed to find them?

:: The Squire 1:58 AM :: email this post :: ::
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The Truth is a Three-Edged Sword

Atrios makes a Bab5 comment about Bushie's UN speech.

:: The Squire 1:02 AM :: email this post :: ::
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Remember The Real Enemy

Hesiod reminds us that, this primary season, it's not about your pet issue or candidate, but about getting Bush out of the Oval Office so we can get some real shit done in this country. So we don't want no friendly fire now, ya hear?

:: The Squire 12:31 AM :: email this post :: ::
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In Reference

To my earlier post, yes, I am overreacting. I need to remember that things do take time.

:: The Squire 11:34 PM :: email this post :: ::
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It Might Only Be Funny 'Cos I'm Pre-Med

The Onion reports that the FDA has approved Placebo for prescription use only.

:: The Squire 1:49 PM :: email this post :: ::
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I've Gone And Confused Myself

Why is something that started out so simple now so complicated? Is it because I screwed up? Did I miss something? Did I do everything right and yet get misinterpreted or come across wrong? Or do I just have to stick my head in the fridge and chill out?

:: The Squire 10:22 AM :: email this post :: ::
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My Government At Work

The FBI tracks down an AOL Phisher not because her crime was very major, but because she was stupid and spammed an FBI agent specializing in computer fraud.

:: The Squire 8:25 PM :: email this post :: ::
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In The Year 2525...

The reason I don't listen to Oldies stations.

:: The Squire 7:05 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Amazing What Studying Will Turn Up

I just found out from my chemistry textbook that one of the major buildings on campus is named for a guy who did his more famous work on the chemical components of Marijuana.

:: The Squire 5:51 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Tom Petty Never Spoke Truer Words

The waiting really is the hardest part.

:: The Squire 5:03 PM :: email this post :: ::
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I Like Drunk Women

Not for that reason, though. Get your mind out of the gutter. No, I like them because, since their inhibitions are lessened, you can ask very probing questions and get honest answers. If you're really lucky, she won't even remember you asking, or the answers she gave, making you appear all the more sagely with your newly acquired wisdom. You can then apply your newfound knowledge to, yes, those purposes. You may return your mind to the gutter at this point...

:: The Squire 3:07 AM :: email this post :: ::
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You Can Tell It's Dad's Day

Because the dorm food didn't suck today - they know where the money's coming from.

:: The Squire 8:22 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Prepare to be Boarded!

Arrr, today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day, me hearties.

:: The Squire 12:19 AM :: email this post :: ::
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The Runaround

Apparently the University of Illinois has introduced new recordkeeping software across all the campuses and many departments, which of course created a royal mess. This was exhibited to me via the aforementioned mis-mailing of my tuition statement. So I, with many other similarly-afflicted proles, stood in line for a half hour to get a copy of my statement. Armed with said statement and its record of a mystery $2000 fee (whose name changed between the statement I had and the statement my parents recieved), I called Housing, who then refered me to the Area Office (an area is a group of dorms at UofI), who then referred me to the Contracts and Settlements office back at Housing. There I talked to a woman who, while she didn't know the exact source of the fee, pinpointed it to the mealplan switching I did before the semester. As switching before the semester begins is not supposed to incur a financial penalty, she looked into it, and I went to go eat and then to bio lab. In the five minutes before lab started I checked my email and found that - surprise - the Housing computer had screwed up and charged me twice for my meal plan. So they put a $2000 credit on my account and called it even. So all things are now even, except that the University stole a good hour of naptime from me.

:: The Squire 11:59 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Lies My Teachers Told Me

For years my chem teachers have been hammering home how regular and wonderful the naming schemes for chemstry are. Now I get to Organic where everyone says "Screw It" and sticks with all the old common names, making absolutely no sense and requiring pure memorization. I was lied to, I swear!

:: The Squire 8:37 PM :: email this post :: ::
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You Can Tell It's Been A Long Day

I tried to open the security door for my floor with the key to my bike lock.

:: The Squire 3:18 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Clinton All Over Again

Hesiod at Counterspin Central makes some (apparently accurate) predictions about the GOP smear against Gen. Clark.

:: The Squire 1:17 AM :: email this post :: ::
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The World is Against Me

As a student over the age of 18, the University holds me responsible for making sure that my tuition bill gets paid. However, they went and sent the bill to my house, not my dorm, which does me a shitload of good, seeing as I can't pay a bill I don't recieve. Topping this off is a strange extra charge on my bill which I can't look at to verify. Heads will roll come morning.

:: The Squire 11:46 PM :: email this post :: ::
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More Entymology

There's a ladybug currently looking for aphids on my mousepad.

:: The Squire 6:29 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Simpson's Term

"Drunken Jockocracy"

:: The Squire 5:03 PM :: email this post :: ::
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From The Tenth Circle

I have the Onion's desktop calendar sitting on top of my monitor and yesterday's headline was: Politicians Ignoring Dangers of Jowl Implants.

:: The Squire 2:48 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Clark's Running

And apparently I'm one of the last people in the liberal blogosphere to glom onto this story. The announcement's supposed to be in Little Rock tomorrow.

:: The Squire 2:39 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Oh Shit

I just went through two thirds of the work I did last semester in Chem 102 in one section of one chapter in my Chem 231 book. I am so screwed.

:: The Squire 12:01 AM :: email this post :: ::
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Damn Insects

There is currently a bee sitting on my keyboard right beneath the number pad, where I spilled pop about a week ago. I guess that I won't be doing any spreadsheets for a while, not that I would anyway.

:: The Squire 7:48 PM :: email this post :: ::
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More Questions, Never Answers

The Rittenhouse Review points us to this article outlining twenty outstanding questions about September 11, 2001.

:: The Squire 7:36 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Schedule Woes

On Mondays, the only break between classes that I have in the morning is from 10-11, the hour when all the dining rooms in the residence halls are closed. No lunch for me.

:: The Squire 1:43 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Good News, Bad News

The EME (Eucharistic Minister - yes, I know it doesn't follow, but it saves explaination) schedule for weekday mass at Newman just came out, and with it comes some good and bad news. The Good News: I get to work at a mass with the Bishop! The Bad News: I have to EME at the weekly Latin mass. Blah. I mean, this diocese (and especially St. John's Catholic Chapel) is regressive enough already, and having them be so in Latin may be a bit much for me. Don't get me wrong, you can actually do a cool Latin mass, but there's no way these people would be able to pull it off.

:: The Squire 3:02 AM :: email this post :: ::
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Rule of College Laundry Ettiquite

If you're enough of an asshole to leave your laundry in the dryer long after it's stopped drying, at least leave a basket in front of said dryer so that people have a place to put your stuff (other than the floor) when it's done drying.

:: The Squire 1:36 AM :: email this post :: ::
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I Hate Being Helpless

But really that's part of a larger hatred of mine. I hate being powerless. I hate not being able to affect certain things, and right now that's been driven home to me.

:: The Squire 8:32 PM :: email this post :: ::
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I Don't Understand

Why some people measure the quality of their weekend by how badly they damaged their livers over it.

:: The Squire 5:29 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Someone Had Too Much Time On Their Hands

The guys over at Real Life found a rather strange and hypnotic flash cartoon. They not only do it justice, but make the perfect joke too.

For those party poopers, you can skip the comic and see the cartoon here.

:: The Squire 1:37 AM :: email this post :: ::
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I Voted, So I Can Complain

I voted for Gov. Blagojevich (and actually never needed help pronouncing his name), so I feel kinda put off by his current fiscal behavior. He's a Dem, so why the hell is he so hell-bent on "cutting waste," especially from the University? Cutting funding, limiting tuition, and saying that you don't want to affect undergrad studies don't all work together. I have a class that is all lecture due to the budget cuts when it used to have a discussion section with it, and I got off easy - many have it worse. The library system - the largest public academic library in the world - can't even do basic circulation. The freshman Discovery program, putting freshmen in classes with full professors and capped at about 30 people, has been cut back. My Stat 100 class last year was a Discovery course, and I did at least a letter grade better just because I was more involved. The academic experience at the state's flagship university is hurting, Mr. Blagojevich. So, I ask a question on the lips of many democrats on campus: "You're a Democrat! Why are you cutting services?" That's something Republicans do. If I wanted to have a Republican in the Governor's mansion I would've - gag - voted for Jim Ryan. I didn't. The best way to deal with the state income shortfall is not to cut essential academic services here at UIUC and the rest of the state's colleges and universities, but to do as Alabama tried to do and restructure state income taxes to be more progressive. That's the kind of thing Democrats do. Why am I not seeing it?

:: The Squire 8:06 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Liberals and Taxes

Paul Krugman outlines our position.

:: The Squire 6:03 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Fairwell, Man in Black

Johnny Cash, 1932-2003
R.I.P.

:: The Squire 4:29 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Avoiding Topics

I normally don't, but as I'm not all drippy-sappy about September 11, I didn't want to be overly negative either. However, David Neiwert has the Sept. 11 post that I wish I could write.

:: The Squire 1:16 AM :: email this post :: ::
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Who's the Bigger Moron?

They guy who took the bill, or the guy whose picture is on it?

The world may never know.

:: The Squire 4:59 PM :: email this post :: ::
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You Could've Lived Your Life Without Knowing

That I have two scabs on my elbow that, together, look like New Zealand.

:: The Squire 4:26 PM :: email this post :: ::
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This Was A Fire Drill

This was only a drill. Were this a real prank pulling of the fire alarm, it would be near or after midnight and involve a hell of a lot more drunk people.

:: The Squire 8:57 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Dubya's Lying (Though When Isn't He?)

And David Corn at the Nation fact-checks his latest one about his efforts (or lack thereof) on Homeland Security.

:: The Squire 8:19 PM :: email this post :: ::
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It Takes All Kinds

Of sick, perverted people (like Dave Barry) to get back at telemarketers by doing to them what they do to us.

:: The Squire 4:32 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Another Sad Day

The Onion continues to report real news.

:: The Squire 4:22 PM :: email this post :: ::
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I Feel Sorry

For the many generations of science majors before me who did not know the wonders of word processors.

:: The Squire 3:38 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Handwriting Stuff Sucks

Especially when one has let things slide and has to do two pre-labs and a lab report in one day.

:: The Squire 1:09 AM :: email this post :: ::
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A Question of Entymology

If there are ants crawling around my third-floor dorm room, where the hell is the colony located?

:: The Squire 2:12 PM :: email this post :: ::
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The Litigious Sword Has Two Edges

The Register reports that the courts, which are usually the tool of the Church of Scientology (who practice pay-as-you-go salvation), have for once turned against them.

:: The Squire 8:12 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Great Dogma Quote

"His only beef with mankind is the shit that gets carried out in His name: Wars, Bigotry, Televangelism." (Emphasis Mine)

:: The Squire 7:49 PM :: email this post :: ::
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An Interesting Vice Tax Proposal

Some doctors are proposing that teens be charged a tax to use indoor tanning beds. Being an MCB major, I know exactly how bad the UV radiation used in those beds are for the skin - I'm all for the tax. Either earn your tan by working outside or do something more worthwhile with your life.

:: The Squire 7:43 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Holy Shit!

CNN.com does some actual reporting and has bad news about the War on Terrorism (i.e. the war in Afghanistan - the one in Iraq is the war for Halliburton profit). CNN never has bad news, always good news. I guess they figured out that the good news was growing rather thin - and just in time for the kickoff of the Democratic Primary race to boot.

:: The Squire 7:24 PM :: email this post :: ::
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The Eagle Doesn't Use Stealth

It just moves so fast you don't know that it's coming until it's already gone. No, stealth, as Brad Delong discovered, belongs to a different group of birds.

:: The Squire 12:44 AM :: email this post :: ::
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How Very Nixonian of You

Atrios makes a salient historical reference.

:: The Squire 12:37 AM :: email this post :: ::
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It's in the Damn Textbook!

In the intro to chapter four to my PoliSci textbook:

"Don't watch what we say. Watch what we do." - Edwin Meese, counselor to Ronald Reagan(1981)

One would hope that more people would apply such to Dubya.

:: The Squire 4:26 PM :: email this post :: ::
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News Isn't the Only Thing Fox Dumbs Down

Fox must think its viewers exceptionally stupid - they seem to think that their audience isn't able to associate the teams on the field and the cities they come from, so instead they put the team logo on the scoreboard.

:: The Squire 3:53 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Some Things I Will Never Understand

A girl sitting two rows in front of me came to the football game alone and instead of socializing or doing anything of the sort, she talked on her cell phone for two straight quarters and left.

:: The Squire 3:51 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Questions, Never Answers

I don't know what I did to get linked to from doublethink, but I'm thankful nonetheless. It's better than an earlier and much more confusing link to this blog.

:: The Squire 11:11 PM :: email this post :: ::
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The Dorm Version Of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

The RA will not ask you if you have beer, and as long as he doesn't get told that you have beer, nothing will happen. However, beware the RA that finds out that you have beer, for you will not have it much longer.

:: The Squire 10:40 PM :: email this post :: ::
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One Thing I Hate

How certain most women in my dorm don't even look at me 'cos I'm not a jock.

:: The Squire 8:12 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Emma's Pissed

And to answer her question: NO, you shouldn't forgive or forget how rotten and horrible the conservative movement in this country has been for the past decade. None of us should forget.

:: The Squire 5:53 PM :: email this post :: ::
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It's a nice day outside

But after spending three and a half hours in chem lab, standing, all of which followed an 8-9-10am lecture schedule, I really just wanna sit down.

:: The Squire 5:37 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Military Vote Going...Left?

At least, that's what Kos seems to think, and he's got some evidence to back him up too.

:: The Squire 5:03 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Talking with Hobson

The pizza selection at latenight was lacking (in sausage pizza, to be exact) so I was forced to look at the other entrees - the hamburgers and the meatball subs. The hamburgers are there every night and leave much to be desired, but the meatball subs aren't there normally but were familiar. A bit too familiar. Lunchtime familiar. So I was forced to choose between the fresh but bad food or the good but old food.

While I'm on the subject of food, Brad Delong has re-discovered why you choose between skipping breakfast and lunch, but never skip both.

:: The Squire 11:07 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Now Let's Synchronize Our Watches

Time.gov confrims it: Blogger's internal clock is 4+ minutes faster than local time anywhere. Someone needs to play with the time settings on the server.

:: The Squire 7:55 PM :: email this post :: ::
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The Long March of Progress

I just downloaded and am now running the current beta of Mozilla Firebird. So far, it's working well. I've still got mie and my old Mozilla 3.something installed, so I'm not dependent upon Firebird working, but I'm not too worried. I'll keep you posted on anything good or ill that comes about with it.

:: The Squire 7:52 PM :: email this post :: ::
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I Could've Told You That

More examples of the Leave No Child Behind Act failing.

:: The Squire 12:26 AM :: email this post :: ::
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Fun With Basic Math

Brad Delong's teaching his thirteen-year-old some very elementary Newtonian physics, made possible by the distributive law.

"So you're saying that people who don't know the distributive law regularly get klonked on the head by their own cannonballs?"

:: The Squire 10:36 PM :: email this post :: ::
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It's Michael Moore!

Channel Two has Bowling for Columbine on ALL MONTH LONG!

:: The Squire 12:08 AM :: email this post :: ::
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Explain This to Me, Slowly, Using Small Words

Go to any vending machine on the University of Illinois - Unlimited Coke campus and you can get a 15.2 oz bottle of Orange Juice for $1.25. Even though this costs more than a 20oz bottle of soda, I'm willing to pay more because, well, OJ is an organic product which requires a bit more effort to grow and distribute. However, when I went to the new Ala Carte location near my dorm - replacing the old Sunrise Saks grab-and-go location - I found that the same bottle of OJ there would cost me 150 "cafe credits." With an equivalency rating of 1credit = 1¢, said bottle of OJ costs me (well, alright, my parents) $1.50, a rather important difference of 25¢, seeing as I'm in the habit of drinking two bottles of OJ every morning. Also, last year, one meal (475 credits for breakfast) would, at Sunrise Saks, get me two OJs and two other sides (usually a doughnut and a bananna nut muffin). This year, those same items cost me 550 credits - 75 credits more than the normal breakfast!

Considering all this, I'd already become convinced that Dining Services is out to rip off every single resident, myself included. This was confirmed when I took a wander over to the Illini Orange, a convenience store in the Six Pack operated by Dining Services itself, and discovered that my favorite little bottle of OJ costs me only $1.17 there! Why there are three different prices on the same bottle of OJ -all within 100 yards of each other - is beyond me.

:: The Squire 6:00 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Wow

If Sammy's shot had landed foul, I would've died laughing.

:: The Squire 4:59 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Calling Lamb Chop

This is the game that never ends....
Yup, the Cubs are in the 15th inning AND they have to play again tonight. I'm a follower of the south side, but the second game of this double header should be worth watching at least for its comedic value.

:: The Squire 4:53 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Unclear on the Concept

So the University has a system of bike paths and all cyclists on campus are expected to use them when possible. However, the University of Illinois Under Construction then proceeds to go out of its way to obstruct said bike paths, forcing cyclists onto sidewalks (which, I thought, the paths were supposed to avoid) or worse, force pedestrians onto the bikepaths, where they able on as if they belong and almost beg you to schwinn them. Furthermore, the University mantainence staff as well as it's contracted construction workers seem to enjoy parking their vehicles in and across the bike paths. Would I park my bike in the middle of the road? Hell no! Then where do people get off parking cars in the bike paths? By not planning out it's construction programs, the University itself undermines its own safety programs.

:: The Squire 11:06 AM :: email this post :: ::
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No More Cowboy Hat

I see that Dubya's taken to wearing headgear of a more Roman style.

:: The Squire 12:25 AM :: email this post :: ::
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It's Late

And maybe that's why I can't find the inherent flaw in this collumn from the DI. A Republican actually listening to the message of the New Testament? I highly doubt it.

:: The Squire 12:17 AM :: email this post :: ::
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My Current Reading Project

I've started reading The Clinton Wars by Sydney Blumenthal. I'm not yet a full hundred pages in, but I've a few comments already. First, RU486 is an abortion pill, not a birth control pill. Second, I find it interesting to read about stuff that I first read about in Blinded By the Right by David Brock. Thirdly, I'm now begrudged to give just a small hint of respect to Barry Goldwater, as much as the thought causes me to gag.

:: The Squire 11:31 PM :: email this post :: ::
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An Associate's Degree/Entrance into ROTC is Looking Real Good Right Now

Two years ago, anyone would've laughed if the suggestion of reinstating the draft ever came up. However, the more I hear shit like this, the more I keep thinking that I may have to report to a draft board on my 20th birthday....

Oh, and my being in college won't help me either, seeing as college deferments were removed when the Selective Service System was reinstated in 1980.

:: The Squire 7:21 PM :: email this post :: ::
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It's In the Paper, Hence It Must Be True

Quoth the Chicago Tribune, "Naperville. If it weren't a suburb, it would be a theme park."

UPDATE: "Vile" though it is, that's not how the city's name is spelled.

:: The Squire 2:38 PM :: email this post :: ::
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Tchotchke

If you can pronounce that, you are most likely of Polish or other Slavic descent.

:: The Squire 2:32 PM :: email this post :: ::
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My Omnipotence Fails Me Once Again

I really want to go out walking or biking right now, but it's coming down in sheets outside. Since I also don't want to end up looking like something the cat dragged in, the current 100% humidity outside kinda gets in the way.

:: The Squire 12:13 AM :: email this post :: ::
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