tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-118437902009-02-20T16:09:23.100-08:00Dedicated to the rather dubious notion that anyone might actually <em>care</em> what I have to say about things.Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1134699747860595902005-12-15T18:04:00.000-08:002005-12-15T18:27:05.323-08:00

Here is an idea whose time is long overdue! It seems that the Alibi Network has developed a sizzling new business model in that they've found a way to profit off of "the dark side".This website offers a buffet service providing and executing excuses to allow budding lotharios to cheat on their significant others, the shiftless to call in sick and the unemployable to present themselves as top

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1131905104163281162005-11-13T10:05:00.000-08:002005-11-13T10:06:20.670-08:00

One can only speculate as to what would induce would-be suicide bomber Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi to go on public television to confess her crimes. The answer doesn't appear to be a desire to promote her political ideology as she doesn't seem to have given any reasons for her actions.I'm wondering if the Jordanian methods of extracting confessions from their criminal suspects are perhaps a

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1117311759626527602005-05-28T15:10:00.000-07:002005-05-28T15:10:18.433-07:00

Well it's in. Murder is on the rise in the U.K. as that august periodical the British Medical Journal informs us. And what is the weapon of choice of our Anglo brethren? Knives, accounting for one third of all homicides.The solution to this epidemic of death by cutlery... "We suggest that banning the sale of long pointed knives is a sensible and practical measure..."I'm no expert on the dynamics

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1117175734380345552005-05-26T23:41:00.000-07:002005-05-26T23:43:20.450-07:00

Eugene Volokh of the Volokh Conspiracy recently published this post. He quotes the language of some Indiana and Tennessee law defining the crime of public nudity. Volokh calls particular attention to this clause:"the showing of covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state."I'm particularly gratified to note the precise exposition of this important bit of legislation. However, several

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1116378181373397142005-05-17T18:02:00.000-07:002005-05-17T18:03:01.376-07:00

Thanks to A Welsh View for this post: Las Vegas is claiming the record for the world's largest birthday cake. I'm anticipating a lot of doggie bags.

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1116311248928034262005-05-16T23:25:00.000-07:002005-05-16T23:42:03.746-07:00

Michelle Malkin has more to say about the Newsweek story retraction.Personally, I never trusted Newsweek's story about the Guantanamo Bay intelligence agent who flushed a copy of the Koran down a toilet. I don't know how things are at your house but around here, any such attempt would require a prompt search for the plumber's helper.

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1116065852351241452005-05-14T03:16:00.000-07:002005-05-14T03:17:32.356-07:00

At last!

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1115998317913495262005-05-13T08:31:00.000-07:002005-05-13T08:35:35.463-07:00

I think it's really a shame that The Huffington Post doesn't make their traffic data public as the Huffington Toast does. This is definitely a race for market share I'd love to follow. Thing's at the Toast are picking up dramatically. Is it too late to get in at the ground floor?

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1115850186121314822005-05-11T15:27:00.000-07:002005-05-11T16:34:51.796-07:00

Michael Heistand wrote a column for USA Today on the fact that ESPN's ratings are no worse since replacing NHL games with other things (such as some sports star bowling show). It must be tough on the best hockey players in the world to know that the ratings they generate are no better than those of women's softball.His article quotes NHL spokeswoman Bernadette Mansur as saying "the point is not

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1115687898569653972005-05-09T18:18:00.000-07:002005-05-09T18:38:46.673-07:00

A lot has been said about the Huffington Post, much of it scathing. I would like to post one link that is quite a gem however. Jonah Peretti, the site's technical guru has posted a demo of just what an expert with Photoshop can do. The original graphic artist responsible for the display, Greg Apodaca has other examples here.I particularly liked this example of how he made the model's breasts

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1115660561070326042005-05-09T10:42:00.000-07:002005-05-09T13:56:27.163-07:00

The Instapundit linked his readers to an account of the MIT Time Traveler Convention. Apparently the convention was a big success. Unfortunately, there were no time travelers in attendance.Six reasons for this conspicuous absence were raised. To me, there was a seventh: Perhaps in the future, time traveler conventions are generally dismissed as passé.

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1115496730771300162005-05-07T13:40:00.000-07:002005-05-09T17:44:54.926-07:00

Parking meter man Jason Burke is in big trouble. It seems that the Mount Kisco, NY public servant stole some $30,000 worth of quarters he collected over an eight month period. This in itself raises troubling questions about government oversight in this community.According to the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, a quarter weighs 5.7 grams. It therefore follows that $30,000 weighs about 1,508

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1115418186170922292005-05-06T15:22:00.000-07:002005-05-06T15:23:06.186-07:00

It's not very funny but here's something that should definitely give us pause (if true). I wonder how non-Muslim Brits view the rising political power of their Muslim neighbors.

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1115239474068706422005-05-04T13:44:00.000-07:002005-05-07T16:37:25.790-07:00

Lynndie England is truly the Rodney Dangerfield of the U.S. military. She couldn't even get a military court to accept her guilty verdict. Its conclusion was that she didn't know what she was doing. I don't know what's more humiliating, her infamous photo ops or her court-adjudicated incompetence.Either way, I hope she exhibits a higher level of competence when she commissions the ghost writer

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1115100898951692142005-05-02T23:15:00.000-07:002005-05-02T23:14:58.953-07:00

It seems that NASA's most experienced shuttle pilot has some less than favorable words about the NASA upper management "culture". When someone criticizes an organization, one needs to assess three things:Do the claims make sense?Is the critic credible?Does the critic have a hidden agenda?To me the answers are yes, yes and, unless NASA has failed to make good on some back wages, no.

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1115004061872861992005-05-01T20:21:00.000-07:002005-05-01T20:23:29.490-07:00

Linguistics scholars have long been concerned with the implications of words and syntax uttered by national leaders and their representatives. Recall the complex discussions regarding the president and his Russian translator in the novel Fail Safe.It seems quite likely that North Korea has tested a short range missle by firing one into the Sea of Japan. What then will the linguists make of the

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1114935649374872162005-05-01T01:21:00.000-07:002005-05-01T10:09:44.086-07:00

Two men in Wyoming created a snow phallus in their front yard. The press clearly wasn't quick enough on the draw for this story. Philistine neighbors destroyed it before a picture could be taken. Now that would have been a front page New York Times photo I'd like to have seen!By the way, one point I've learned from this story is the accepted journalistic term for the male genitalia (thankfully a

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1114884838042718902005-04-30T11:13:00.000-07:002005-04-30T11:14:38.023-07:00

I've no doubt the people of Cape May, NJ have long been awaiting this happy day. A 30 year ban of Speedo swimsuits has at last been lifted (or perhaps dropped) from this little town. As one who is perhaps prone to overanalysing things I have only this to say: be careful what you wish for.My experience has been that, as a first approximation, those most inclined to wear the least are those we'd

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1114805815897439972005-04-29T13:16:00.000-07:002005-04-29T13:16:55.896-07:00

While I generally choose to avoid dwelling on the negative, I've long held the philosophy that if you give most people the opportunity, they'll disappoint you. Then, when they fail to meet those expectations, I find my spirits cherrily boosted.The reaction of many individuals to Laura Ingraham's battle against breast cancer has unfortunately bolstered my overall world view. It appears that some

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1114804095469102302005-04-29T12:48:00.000-07:002005-04-29T12:50:56.163-07:00

I've been concerned about safety issues of the space shuttle (see here and here ).It seems like NASA is delaying the flight of the shuttle a bit longer. This may seem like bad news but I think it reflects a growing awareness within the organization that having the shuttle disintegrate on its next flight would be bad.

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1114718243822986002005-04-28T12:57:00.000-07:002005-04-28T18:02:49.920-07:00

The toads in Hamburg and Denmark are exploding. Fortunately, some of the best minds in Europe are on working on the case. Some current working hypotheses:Crows are pecking out their livers and causing the problem. Frank Mutschmann, a Berlin veterinarian reports that "The crows are clever...They learn quickly from watching other crows how to get the livers." Does this mean that crows have

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1114641499772559502005-04-27T15:37:00.000-07:002005-04-28T11:21:25.363-07:00

I know that a lot has been made about republican Ann Coulter's somewhat unattractive Time Magazine cover. Personally, I found it to be rather intriguing (though inexplicably avant garde). The claim was made however that conservatives are photographed in a less-than-flattering technique than liberals.Few people would characterize Rosie O'Donnell as anything but liberal. However, I'd check out

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1114624280726426332005-04-27T12:41:00.000-07:002005-05-02T03:11:24.770-07:00

The responses to my last post appeared primarily concerned with the physics of the proposed change to the international definition of the kilogram. Little concern was voiced for the delicate sensitivities of the French as they prepare to lose yet another trapping of Francocentricity.We seem unprepared to shed even a single tear as they confront the domination of American creativity exhibited in

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1114560638662736592005-04-26T17:10:00.000-07:002005-04-26T23:47:23.580-07:00

French supremacy with regards to the international definition of the kilogram may be coming to an end. Currently, the plum-sized platinum-iridium standard is stored in Paris. If some scientists have their way, the kilogram will be redefined in terms of some obscure physics mumbo jumbo.The take-home point is that Americans will no longer have to come to France and brave the legendary snootiness

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11843790.post-1114240310186019502005-04-23T00:12:00.000-07:002005-04-24T21:39:03.813-07:00

It seems that one of our men in blue had an unauthorized discharge while sitting on the toilet. On the bright side, the constipation of the man in the stall next to him magically resolved.

Dubious Notionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00508090610350450761noreply@blogger.com0