M4 Accessories

At some point, one must concede that too much really is too much…

Annoy Your Friends

And piss off your entire family, while you’re at it. How? Join some “network marketing” scheme. Call it MLM, or network selling, it’s still some variation on a Ponzi or pyramid scheme. I don’t care if it’s Amway, Herbalife, Shaklee, or some new-fangled energy company. If it’s got to be sold with more pressure than a used car peddler can muster, if the product proponents are cult-like in their zeal for the stuff, if there is religious like recruitment going on… RUN AWAY. And better yet, stay away from me.

The whole premise of network marketing is that you get peons who are more stupid than you to work “under” you so that you can get a piece of everything that is “downstream”. Tiny problem… Somewhere along the line, some poor shmuck actually has to sell something. Yeah. And explain to me why it’s better for me to be totally inconvenienced and pay too much when I can just go get what I need from the store? Oh, your stuff is better. Right, sorry. Slip on the reality shoes and take a few steps around. You’ll realize that the only money making thing involved with these gigs is the sign up kits. Nobody stick with selling this stuff for more than a few minutes, so the only way the folks at the top make any money is through a constant influx of new suckers, er salespeople. Do the math. See how many people it actually takes to generate the claimed income at the rah-rah meetings.

Untrained Chillun

It would have undoubtedly been beautiful. Eight Tibetan monks had sat cross-legged on the floor of Union Station in Kansas City for two days “meticulously pouring the sand into an intricate design as an expression of their Buddhist faith”. Bu they don’t work non-stop. So they took a break for the evening. And then some snot-nosed little boy showed up, ignored the roped off area, and did a little tap dance on the sand. All this was caught on video. Including the boy’s mother who just grabbed the boy by the arm and walked away. No apology offered, no nothing. The monks just started over.

Dent In Spam

There’s a lot of spam out there. A good portion is in your email box. Try this on for size… As a result of the arrest of prolific spammer, Robert Alan Soloway, federal authorities said that computer users across the web could notice a decrease in the amount of junk mail.

Bacon, Bacon, Bacon

All hail bacon. It should be its own food group. And to prove your love of bacon, head on over to The Bacon Show. It’s a blof that promises one bacon recipe per day, every day, forever.

The TSA Chronicles

Everyone knows that there are things you should not do or say in fron of or near the fine folks at TSA. They take their airport gigs pretty seriously and you really do not want to miss your plane. So here’s another piece of good advice if you happen to be a hipper-than-thou film director: Speak English. Do not say “I’m here to shoot a pilot.” That’s what Mike Figgis did in front of security screeners at LAX. As a result, he spent around 5 hours with the fine folks of TSA in a bit of a Q & A…

Outstanding Words!

BOSTON, MA — The editors of the American Heritage^® dictionaries have compiled a list of 100 words they recommend every high school graduate should know. “The words we suggest,” says senior editor Steven Kleinedler, “are not meant to be exhaustive but are a benchmark against which graduates and their parents can measure themselves. If you are able to use these words correctly, you are likely to have a superior command of the language.”

The following is the entire list of 100 words:

abjure abrogate abstemious acumen antebellum auspicious belie bellicose bowdlerize chicanery chromosome churlish circumlocution circumnavigate deciduous deleterious diffident enervate enfranchise epiphany equinox euro evanescent expurgate facetious

fatuous feckless fiduciary filibuster gamete gauche gerrymander hegemony hemoglobin homogeneous hubris hypotenuse impeach incognito incontrovertible inculcate infrastructure interpolate irony jejune kinetic kowtow laissez faire lexicon loquacious

lugubrious metamorphosis mitosis moiety nanotechnology nihilism nomenclature nonsectarian notarize obsequious oligarchy omnipotent orthography oxidize parabola paradigm parameter pecuniary photosynthesis plagiarize plasma polymer precipitous quasar quotidian

recapitulate reciprocal reparation respiration sanguine soliloquy subjugate suffragist supercilious tautology taxonomy tectonic tempestuous thermodynamics totalitarian unctuous usurp vacuous vehement vortex winnow wrought xenophobe yeoman ziggurat

Obama Offers Socialism

“The time has come for universal, affordable health care in America,” Obama said in remarks prepared for delivery Tuesday in Iowa City. Obama’s plan retains the private insurance system but injects additional money into the system to pay for expanding coverage. It would also create a National Health Insurance Exchange to monitor insurance companies in offering the coverage. Those who can’t afford coverage would get a subsidy on a sliding scale depending on their income, and virtually all businesses would have to share in the cost of coverage for their workers. The plan that would be offered would be similar to the one covering members of Congress.

Yes, health care is convoluted and expensive in the US. But placing additional burdens on businesses to make sure that everyone is covered is not the right way to go. And jacking up everyone’s personal taxes to fund it isn’t too bright, either. Sure, folks will point to Europe and gloat at how well the system works over there. But it doesn’t. Taxation is exorbitant and the national past time for just about everyone is tax evasion. Oh, I don’t have an answer… just griping.

Beat This Meat

The pork butt was lovingly rubbed with all manner of spices and goodness last night. The hard wood chunks were set in a bucket of water, as well. This morning, the wet smoker was filled up with apple juice (non-organic, thank you very much). Over the next hours, the wood smoke and moisture from the apple juice will turn that butt into porky goodness. That pork will then be pulled and served with a cidery, vinegary, barbeque sauce and hamburger buns. Sides will be dill pickle slices and raw onions. At some point, there will be peach ice cream. Blogging off for a while!

Tiny Eggs

All is not as it would seem. From Nosheteria : Fried quail eggs on crostini, simple yet spectacular, bright and sunny, with those shiny yolks staring right up at you. I made the crostini from slices of baguette, brushed with olive oil and baked in the oven until they reach a toasty brown. Then one egg, fried in olive oil, sunny side up, of course, adorns each toast. A sprinkling of fresh chives, a grinding of pepper, a dash of salt, and breakfast is served. This is so cool! And since the eggs are actually available near where I live, this is gonna get served up very soon!