Beer Labels

My good friend Stu recently received an honorable mention for his beer label in a contested sponsered by BYO.com (Brew Your Own). "Yeah, big deal. I'm sure every entry receives at least honorable mention," I thought. Then I checked out the site. They had over 1,000 entries and they recognized a total of 22 labels. That winning label is AWESOME! Who wouldn't want to drink the Captain I.P.A.? I was really impressed with all of the labels - some really creative stuff. Oh, and on Stu's label, that's Stu on the left and his brother Doug on the right.

Jonathan 6/25/2002 07:17:00 PM

 
Martha Stewart Ripples

Check out this FoxNews story on the ever evolving Martha Stewart insider trading scandal. It is no longer beyond the realm of speculation that her actions may sound the death knell for Kmart. This story should raise the same level of ire in investors as the Enron scandal. How different is Martha Stewart who got rich by selling shares that she knew were about to tank from Kenneth Lay who got rich selling shares that he knew were overvalued? Not very. It will be interesting too to see how this story affects Merrill Lynch. Merrill has been plagued with bad news seemingly ever since they announced they were going to lay me off. I'm not saying there's anything to that, but it is an awfully strange coincidence.

Jonathan 6/24/2002 09:18:00 AM

 
Hockey via Fark

There are lots of hockey stories on Fark today.

Pavel Bure claims that Anna Kournikova has two vaginas. Well, actually, he claims he doesn't claim that, so he sues. Well, she was already the top pick in the FHM 2002 100 Sexiest Women in the World survey. This is just the kind of rumor that could keep a girl on top. Heck, if true she can be on top and on the bottom at the same time...

Kentucky is getting a new minor league (ECHL (think double-A)) hockey team. No word yet on where they're coming from - though the Macon Whoopee seem likely - or what the new team will be named (Fark has some suggestions (I like Slack-jawed Yokels and Fighting Mullets, personally. Hey, I'd buy those jerseys!). The last team was the Kentucky Thoroughblades who are now off to Cleveland as part of the San Jose Sharks development program.

Next year the NHL will standardize glass heights around the ice and hang nets to prevent injuries to spectators from flying pucks. I agree that what happened to Brittanie Cecil at the Blue Jackets game was an awful, awful tragedy. But it was a one in a million accident. Thousands and thousands of pucks have flown into the stands for dozens and dozens of years without causing critical injury. I worry that the nets will make the game harder to watch and thus lead to fewer and fewer new fans. As successful as this season's Stanley Cup playoffs were for the NHL in terms if ratings and excitement generated, I don't think the NHL is in a position where they should be - literally - erecting barriers to fan entry. Hopefully, I'm wrong and the nets will be made out of nearly invisible, yet amazingly strong, spider webs.

It further concerns me that Gary Bettman, the commissioner of the NHL, said that, "This wasn't anything that required a great deal of debate." They are changing the look of the game, and it didn't require much debate? I don't know though. The same article has a quote from Vancouver Canucks head coach Marc Crawford who doesn't seem to have a problem with it. He's a great hockey guy and I respect his opinion, so maybe it's not as bad as I fear.

The standardizing of glass heights may be the more interesting change in terms of play. The peculiarities of the boards and the glass are one of the few physical artifacts that affect home ice advantage. The home team is used to the bounces and the ricochets and the nooks and the crannies. Home ice advantage is almost non-existent in the playoffs, but is a larger factor during the regular season (though still smaller than in the NBA or NFL). It will be interesting to look back in a few years to see whether this change further erodes the home ice advantage.

The NHL draft will be held this weekend in Toronto. There's a lot of fresh talent coming into the league. Everyone has lots of good things to say about Jay Bouwmeester, the likely number one pick. Hopefully, some of these kids will have the opportunity to make an impact in their first year.

And, finally, check out this page which has a list of memorable quotes from players, coaches, and fans from throughout the season.

Jonathan 6/21/2002 01:02:00 PM

 
I Am Not Depressed

And the main reason I am not depressed is that I am horrified by the new treatment options. Actually, this is a pretty fascinating article. There are lots of reasons to be suspect as both critics and the author point out, but surely this warrants continued study. If any of you ladies are feeling blue and want to try an experimental treatment, I think you know how to reach me...

Jonathan 6/19/2002 10:13:00 AM

 
Read the Bleat

I never cease to be impressed by the quality of writing delivered by James Lileks. His column today comparing the fight of the Palestinians with the fight of the Ukranians is really something. The Palestinians are monsters.

Jonathan 6/19/2002 10:00:00 AM

 
Lab Results

It's usually The Hyena who is pushing everyone over to Testosterone.net, but let me point you there once too. This is a good reference article to have should you ever need to have blood work done or need to understand a someone else's results.

Jonathan 6/18/2002 07:15:00 PM

 
Another Reason To Go To Australia

The Aussie lasses have a shortage of quality mates according to this story on the elusive eligible man.

Jonathan 6/18/2002 06:51:00 PM

 
Free Chicken

In case you didn't catch this, Kentucky Fried Chicken is giving away popcorn chicken on Thursday. I've had this stuff before and have to say it's not bad. I'm sure it's in response to America's demand for ever more fatty fast foods. Smaller pieces of chicken means that you can cram more inexpensive, deep-fried batter into every box.

Jonathan 6/18/2002 06:45:00 PM

 
Fun Judge

This link via Fark.

PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- An Ohio man is making a run for freedom.

Municipal Judge Michael Cicconetti ordered Monday that Michael Logar, 33, compete in a 5-mile race next month.

The better Logar finishes in the race, the less time he will have to serve under house arrest.

The reason for the unusual sentence was that Logar, a passenger in a car, evaded an Ohio State Patrol trooper after being seen drinking a beer. He admitted running from the trooper June 9.

The same judge recently sentenced a man who had called a cop a pig to stand in a pen with a big (350 pound) pig. I think both of these guys will learn their lessons.

Jonathan 6/18/2002 06:24:00 PM

 
Cool Spinning Design Thingy

Found this on Fark. In the proper state of mind, this promises to be highly entertaining. If only it had more colors and was full screen.

Jonathan 6/17/2002 04:37:00 PM

 
Hero, Not Asinine

Home Depot is making it clear that they want to run their business in the ways that they see fit. They want to be able to hire and fire the best employees not uneducated, untrained, unfit minorities that the federal government might otherwise mandate. To this end, the company is making it clear that they have no desire to do business with the government.

Good for them! In today's marketplace, there are very few arenas where a business can survive without a government contract or grant. Accepting either of these puts you at the beck and call of the government. It is good to see an industry leader stand up for themselves.

Now I have to go sell my AT&T and buy some Home Depot.

Jonathan 6/17/2002 10:45:00 AM

 
Here's a Tip For You

The Supreme Court has ruled that the IRS may make estimates of the amount of cash tips that restaurant employees receive for the purposes of calculating the Social Security tax owed by the restaurant owners. This is going to make things very interesting for waiters and bartenders across the country. Now that the IRS is cracking down on the restaurants, the restaurants will have little choice but to crack down on the staff. As a former (and future?) restaurant employee I know that a lot of folks vastly under report the amount of tips they receive. With some cash tips, some credit, some from pools, some paid into pools, it becomes difficult to track and easy to underestimate the true amount of money one is making -- intentionally or unintentionally. I suspect that this will hit the smaller, less fancy outlets hardest of all. One is much more likely to pay cash at the Wynkoop than Ruth's Chris, and it is the cash transactions that are the concern. The Court encouraged the restaurant to take its policy concerns to Congress. It will be interesting to see if they do.

Jonathan 6/17/2002 10:25:00 AM

 
Interim Palestinian State

For the most part, I tend to leave the heavy political blogging to the InstaPundits and Andrew Sullivans of the world. Anyone reading this is probably not here for my political commentary or for the most up to date world news. I find it very strange though that I have not seen anything on any of the blogs or other major news sources this afternoon regarding this story from the Los Angeles Times.

The paper is reporting that President Bush is likely to propose an interim Palestinian state early next week.

The idea behind an interim state is to generate hope among the Palestinians and to undermine the belief among them that violence against Israel is the only means to move to eventual creation of a larger, permanent state, administration officials say. Creating the formal mechanisms of an interim state--including a constitution, national assembly and judiciary--also could weaken the decisive role Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat has played and disperse power among others, the officials say. That is a major goal for both Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

...

"No right-minded Israeli official is going to agree to give more political power to the Palestinian Authority ... when that body is as it is today. It sponsors terrorism, is untrustworthy, and it doesn't live up its commitments," an Israeli diplomat said. "No one will agree to an interim or provisional state that is a mirror of what it is today."

...

Powell publicly broached the idea of an interim state in an interview this week with the Arab world's leading newspaper, Al Hayat, which is based in London. He used the term "provisional" to describe it, but the administration has opted for an interim state to make clear that such an entity would be considered a "way station" en route to a permanent state and final resolution of the half-century-old conflict, said the well-placed administration source.

A provisional state sounds too open-ended, said the source, adding: "Interim captures the flavor we're looking for."

It seems to me that this is a bad idea for the United States to be backing. Once a provisional or interim status is granted, it is going to be very difficult to rescind. I am not sure that Israel (much less the United States) has anything to gain here. I find it unlikely that such a declaration of community would do anything to lessen the attacks on Israel. I can even see where this modicum of recognition would encourage Arafat and his henchman to step-up their campaign of terror. Hey, it got them this far.

Surely the wisened pundits will soon share their comments. Brooke? Stephen? Melanie?

Jonathan 6/15/2002 01:53:00 PM

 
Letterboxing

Letterboxing is apparently an ongoing scavenger hunt that features hidden "treasures" throughout the country. This seems like a great excuse to go hiking and lends a bit of motivation to the hike. Here is the page showing the current clues for Colorado. I'm willing to bet that after the coverage from FoxNews, there will be twice as many treasures and clues 3 months from now. I think this is a really neat idea and an excellent excuse to get into the great outdoors.

Jonathan 6/15/2002 12:51:00 PM

 
Democrats Can't Control Urges

Found this link via Drudge, so you've probably already seen it. Apparently Sanford Bishop, a Democrat Representative from Georgia has as much control of his bodily functions as Billy Clinton did. At least no dresses were reported ruined.

Bishop, who was seated in coach, relieved himself in a closed area between the cockpit and first class. When the bathroom door finally opened, he disposed of the cup and washed his hands, McCash said."

I don't have kids, but I'm pretty sure the average five year-old can wait until the person in front of him is done to go to the bathroom. The guy pisses in a cup and then the door opens and he goes in and cleans up. Why not wait and piss in the bathroom? I hope this guy gets crucified in the political cartoon press. Whoever the Republicans run against this guy should have a field day.

Jonathan 6/15/2002 11:24:00 AM

 
Father's Day

Father's Day is Sunday. If you're like me, you probably haven't had the chance to go out and get a card or anything yet. Well, you're in luck. The folks over at Something Awful have put together a number of cards that you could copy and paste into a nice email or even print out and mail. The cards start here. The best card is number two on this page.

Jonathan 6/14/2002 04:50:00 PM

 
Suddenly Loving Soccer

Warnings: This is a huge page to download. Do not follow this link at work. You may need to refresh the screen to get all of the players to load; it took me four tries.

Click this link! Man, what fine specimens. I've had dreams like this before although they were in English.

Jonathan 6/14/2002 04:16:00 PM

 
On Pornography

I feel like over the past few days I've been reading a lot about pornography on the internet. The article in Salon that InstaPundit pointed to was a very good read on what it's like to write a porno script and then have it all fall apart in the hands of the actors and producers and film crew. Eric Raymond wrote a good treatise on the dearth of good porn on the internet. Hmm, I feel like there was more than that, but it must have been actual porn. Anyway, the two links above are worthwhile.

Jonathan 6/14/2002 03:02:00 PM

 
Mmmm, Bourbon

A great article by the WaPo on all things bourbon. One really interesting point that the story doesn't touch on is the literal kinship of the different bourbons out there. A family friend relayed the story of a bourbon tasting that he went to that focused on the Kentucky families that produce the fine spirit. Although there are a number a patriarchs - Jim Beam, Old Crow, Wild Turkey - apparently a number of the offspring started up their own distilleries such that, for example, Old Forrester might actually be the nephew of Jim Beam. Apparently there was quite a bit of inbreeding among the businesses. He said the host had a big family tree poster that showed how all of the different brands were related. I remember him saying that it was a tree without enough branches.

Jonathan 6/13/2002 06:29:00 PM

 
Second Place

The United States came in second to Canada but ahead of third place Poland in the World Beer Games. I can't believe I wasn't invited to tryout for the team. Sure, my quarters skills are probably a little rusty, but I am very confident in by ability to chug 450 millilitres, errr, 1 pint of beer. The complete order of finish for all 15 teams wasn't listed, but I'll bet you the French - assuming they even participated - finished in the lowest third.

Jonathan 6/13/2002 05:02:00 PM

 
How the West Was Won

That's West as in Western Civilization. Here is an article by Peter Watson in The Times that discusses how Islam went from the scholastic throne that they sat upon until around 1000 to a backwards regime utterly dominated in every way by the West. There are a few competing theories about what exactly propelled the West ahead. It seems to me that the underlying theme of success is free trade.

Jonathan 6/13/2002 04:16:00 PM

 
52 Projects

I found this link for 52 Projects via Missy Schwartz. This is the kind of thing the guy should self-publish as a cutesy little gift book ala The Book of Questions. That's the feel the thing has. It's basically a list of various proects that the author for one reason or another thinks might be fun or useful to accomplish. I liked numbers 5 (I know I could have pulled this off at my last job) and 8 (which has a distinct Subgenius feel to it.

Jonathan 6/13/2002 03:34:00 PM

 
Martha Stewart In Troule?

Martha Stewart's ex-boyfriend has been arrested for insider trading. The former CEO of ImClone Systems apparently told at least two people that the company was not going to receive FDA approval for a cancer fighting drug prior to that information being made public. It is unclear whether Martha Stewart had any non-public information when she sold 3,000 shares of ImClone just before the announcement. Stock in her company is down big today on worries that her image may end up tainted.

Jonathan 6/12/2002 10:53:00 AM

 
Caribou Coffee Responds

This is the full text of the reply that I received from Caribou Coffee.

From: Caribou Coffee Customer Care (CustomerResponse@Caribou-Coffee.com)
Subject: Ownership

Caribou is a classic American growth company, founded in Minnesota and now
employing over 2,900 Americans in 9 states. Caribou has approximately 99
shareholders and option holders, including management, employees and the
original founders John and Kim Puckett. A majority of our stock is owned by
a group of international investors led by First Islamic Investment Bank,
E.C., a highly respected and purely financial organization based in Bahrain
and regulated by the government of Bahrain, a strong U.S. ally in the Middle
East and the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. The recent
investment by this group has enabled Caribou to continue expanding its store
base in the U.S.

We are extremely concerned about accusations that an outside advisor to
First Islamic has made statements that do not reflect the views of either
Caribou or any of its shareholders, and we categorically reject any attempt
to link such statements to Caribou. The person in question is not an
employee or shareholder of either First Islamic or Caribou, and neither we
nor our shareholders have any control over this person's political views.
We have made First Islamic aware of the statements and understand that this
relationship is under review.

Any concerns that anyone involved in ownership of Caribou condones terrorism
are totally unwarranted. Our ownership has no political agenda and is 100%
opposed to terrorism of any kind, anywhere - period.

Caribou Coffee Company

Well, maybe the bit about blood in the coffee was a bit much then...

Update: See this discussion at Snopes for more information on the relationship between the investment bank owners, the coffee shop, and extremeists.

Jonathan 6/12/2002 09:58:00 AM

 
The Philosophy of Punctuation

Is the title of this article by Paul Robinson on the merits ands faults of the comma, period, semicolon, and quotation marks - among others. It's really just a particularly well written rant on the decline of proper punctuation, but I know that many of you will find it entertaining if not enlightening. Ok, maybe not many of you, but surely two of you.

Jonathan 6/11/2002 01:29:00 PM

 
Happy Fun Pundit Not Happy

And with good reason too. Dan has a long post about the problems with the Senate bill 2048 also known as the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act. Man, this is scary stuff. For further information on how to rally against 2048 check out this site. I really don't know what the use of voting Republican is these days. All around us government is getting bigger, more intrusive, overly protective, and anti-competitive.

Jonathan 6/11/2002 12:03:00 PM

 
Boycott Caribou Coffee

Apparently Caribou Coffee are big supporters of death to Americans. I don't think that we have any of these in Colorado. The Hyena has the scoop. The company's website leads you to believe that they are a mom 'n' pop type store - not a funding operation for terrorists. You can send feedback to the company here. I send them a letter saying the website as disingenuous and asking them if it was true that there was a little drop of Jew blood in every cup. We'll see if they reply.

Jonathan 6/11/2002 11:41:00 AM

 
What It's All About

Want to know more about the religion of Islam and the beliefs of the Muslims around you? Check out this link. The site is devoted to the teaching of Islam. Among a couple of the more noteable beliefs:

Women are harmful to men.
Mohammed said, "After me I have not left any affliction more harmful to men than women." Vol. 7:33

Mohammed married a 9 year old girl.
"Narrated Aisha that the prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old."Vol. 7:64

Drinking camel's urine will make you healthy.
"The prophet ordered them to follow his camels, and drink their milk and urine , so they followed the camels and drank their milk and urine till their bodies became healthy." Vol. 7:590

Well, sign me up! (And thanks to Protein Wisdom for the link.)

Jonathan 6/11/2002 09:26:00 AM

 
Fire Update

It looks like the fire bearing down on Denver will soon reach 100,000 acres in size. Stay tuned to N.Z. Bear for updates. This guy is doing a great job with maps and accounts of the fire. Scroll down a bit and see the satellite photos. It gives you a bit of an idea as to just how smoky it is here. I thought I was getting a cold, but now I'm starting to think that it's just a real bad irritation from all the smoke. VodkaPundit and Diana Hsieh are also relatively close to the fires and providing updates. Diana is preparing to evacuate.

Update: N.Z. Bear has taken own the maps lest anyone rely too heavily upon them (though that cool satellite photo is still up). Vince, who works on the southern edge of the city closest the fires, reports that, at the least, visibility in the area has improved since this morning.

Jonathan 6/11/2002 09:12:00 AM

 
The Belmont Stakes

The LA Times has an interesting story on War Emblem's owner Prince Ahmed bin Salman of Arabia. But the LA Times sucks hard now. Not only do they still bombard you with pop-up ads, now they want you to register with your name, address, phone number, age, and all kinds of other identifying information. Feel free to use my login and password. Both are 456123. Or get your own by feeding them a bunch of bogus information. Or boycott 'em - whatever.

Oh yeah, horseracing. It seems that a lot of folks are none to happy with the way the Arabs are throwing around their money and buying the talent to win - ala (no, not allah) the Detroit Red Wings. The article quotes Jimmy Breslin from Long Island Newsday as writing, "It is understood that these Saudis won't have the class of a goat. If this Bin Salman had any, he would stay away and not run his horse out of respect." The article suggests that the Prince's father may be involved with terrorists. And the Prince himself owns a number of Arab newspapers around the world though they are said to print "not as much of the hate" as papers actually published in Arabia. Well, that's a relief.

Jonathan 6/08/2002 11:47:00 AM

 
Blogger Bash Back On

The rumored Rocky Mountain Blog Bash looks to be a go for the 29th. Here's the info. More info here. And, of course, more info throughout here. The Rox are in Seattle that night, so parking and downtown access shouldn't be too tough.

Jonathan 6/08/2002 11:07:00 AM

 
New York Prepares for the Worst

No, not the subway warning or another threat from Islamists. But it is time for the annual wilding by a group of illegal immigrants. It's the annual Puerto Rican Day parade in NYC. Maybe the INS in an effort to prove their competence will be on hand to help round up illegal immigrants. Oh wait, I forgot, the INS doesn't work weekends. Any bets on whether the parade or post-parade activities turn violent?

disclaimer: Yeah, I do realize that some of those in attendance will be law-abiding citizens of the US. They're not the ones anyone is worried about.

Jonathan 6/08/2002 10:41:00 AM

 
Job Search

The realization is slowly setting in that I will not be attending classes in the fall and that I instead face the daunting task of finding a job in the current market. I really think I'm almost still in shock. I tried hard to qualify my conversations over the past four months with the phrase assuming I get in. But that was just it. I did assume that I would get in. Many people told me they were sure it wouldn't be an issue. Some commented that they thought I was absolutely making the right move. And now here I am.

My current plan is to not start actively looking for a job until after I spend some serious time cleaning my house. I've made significant headway over the last two days, but I still have a ways to go. I have an almost impossible time keeping myself motivated to clean. Ughh!

If any of you out there happen to know of a position in Denver that may be a good fit for me, a would certainly appreciate any leads you might be willing to share. I'm a hard worker and a dedicated employee, and despite what the CU School of Law may think, I am actually a moderatley intelligent person.

Actually, the rejection letter from CU was about as well (professional, empathetic, kind) written as one could hope to receive. A few people have asked me if they said why I was rejected. The letter didn't say. I've never had the displeasure of receiving a rejection letter from an university before. Do they ever tell you why?

Dear Mr. Harrington,

We regret to inform you that we will not be able to accept you for our 2002 fall class. It is clear from your transcripts that you are a serious underachiever. Your reputation as a heavy drinker precedes you, and we fear that these two qualities in combination may endanger the academic pursuits of those around you.

We wish you every success as you struggle to keep your career afloat.

Warmest regards, etc. etc.

Jonathan 6/07/2002 03:10:00 AM

 
Weird Stats

It is absolutely unnatural how many of the hits that I get on this meager little page that are the search results to pubic hair and/or brazillian waxing. It all seems to stem from this one post that I had back on 4/13/02. I seem to average about one a day. You folks are weird, but I sure am glad you're here reading all of this.

Jonathan 6/07/2002 02:52:00 AM

 
Think of the Kittens

This is a phrase that turns up regularly on Fark. This link appears to be the picture that started it all. Apparently the little guys in the background are Domos - popular Japanese characters that are particularly flatulent.

Jonathan 6/07/2002 02:20:00 AM

 
What a Day

It's just after two in the morning, and I just walked into my house after finally getting back to Denver six and a half hours later than scheduled. United Airlines sucks. I know now why some people argue against allowing airline pilots to carry guns. If United treats their employees anything like they treat their clients, there would be a very high likelihood of workplace violence.

Then on top of my frustrations with flying, I returned home to find out that my application to law school was rejected.

Jonathan 6/04/2002 01:16:00 AM