So we all know the economy is more or less in disarray. And if you keep up with business news,  you also know that the $700 billion “bailout” is going to only make things worse for the economy. So everyone is more or less looking out for themselves now.

So you’re asking yourself “well if this $700 billion bailout is going to hurt us, what’s the point of it?” It’s to give a quick stamina boost to insurance and investment firms in the stock market. What does this mean to you? Well, if you don’t already have money invested in the market, now is the time to do so. Stocks are at all time lows with some of the biggest firms on the cheap. I personally recommend investing in AIG tomorrow as this “bailout” injection is going to really rally the price of the stock.

If there are any “experts” or investment personnel out there that would like to give an opinion or advice on this, please feel free to do so!

So I stumbled across this article on Gizmodo yesterday, and was wondering what everyone’s thought would be.

Please feel free to give your opinion and a brief (or expansive) explanation as to why you think that.

I have no problem with this story, as opposed to the questionable one entitled “My Holiday With John McCain.”  It will be published in the October 16 issue of Rolling Stone.

   This is the story of the real John McCain, the one who has been
hiding in plain sight. It is the story of a man who has consistently
put his own advancement above all else, a man willing to say and do
anything to achieve his ultimate ambition: to become commander in
chief, ascending to the one position that would finally enable him to
outrank his four-star father and grandfather.
t r u t h o u t | Make-Believe Maverick

SET-UP:

So by now, anyone who keeps even the most sporadic tabs on television ratings probably knows about the poor ratings this television season has brought — and they’ve probably heard even more about it in regards to FOX’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

And by now the ratings have leveled off to just about five and half million viewers a week.  I suppose that isn’t House, American Idol, or Dancing with the Stars numbers, but then again, what is?  And given that TSCC has been placed on a Monday time-slot up against Monday Night Football, quiet frankly, five and half million isn’t that bad.  Especially given that the show that follows it, Prison Break, has had three solid seasons to build it’s fan-base (TSCC has barely had one) but is currently only doing slightly better than TSCC.  But I think the thing that really drives home how bad this season has been is that one of my other new favorite shows, Pushing Daisies, on it’s season premiere, was only able to garner six and half million viewers.  That hurts.  PD is a wonderful, beautiful, and just all-around fun show to watch and it was ONLY able to acquire THAT many viewers.  Like TSCC, it deserves better.

And yes, by now the speculation about TSCC in danger of FOX’s big axe (See: Firefly, Arrested Development) has been discussed to death.  Apparently everyone has a ’source’ that’s telling them that such a thing is inevitable…

Perhaps.  Perhaps not.

Truthfully, the ONLY thing anyone really knows is… nothing!  Yes, the numbers are down, but that really isn’t meaning a whole lot this season.  And if FOX or anyone else for that matter did a little more thorough research they’d know that on Amazon.com, TSCC is one of the most popular On Demand episode downloads, usually clocking in in the top ten (as of this posting, it’s at #8).  Now from what I hear, TSCC also does well on iTunes — I’m not an iTunes user, though, so I’ll allow those of you who are to figure that one out for me (if you’d be so kind).  But I will also say that TSCC does very well on sites such as Hulu and Fox.com, where it’s episodes are usually some of the most popular watched (though Fox.com is kind of a given, I suspect, but Hulu’s still pretty impressive).  So you tell me: how bad is this show really doing?  For a science fiction show that had it’s first season abruptly cut off, ending way back in March, and having waited six months to appear again in a time-slot that should only be reserved for syndicated comedy shows… are the ratings really telling the whole story?

Simply: no.

START:

But this post wasn’t made to be about all that.  It was simply to discuss how current network TV needs a show like TSCC.

Now, this may only be the humble opinion of yours truly, but TSCC is a thinking man’s show.  It’s very introverted… and very bleak!  While other action-oriented shows such as Chuck and Heroes can be watched without requiring much brain activity (and no that’s not an insult) TSCC prefers to focus itself on themes such as faith, hope, and humanity, and allows its action not to be what drives its characters forward, but to be a product of the characters themselves.  Like Battlestar Galactica, TSCC uses it’s sci-fi plot as a setting only, not a MacGuffin.  It places its characters in these out-of-this-world scenarios and asks them simply: What does it mean to be human?

In it’s first season, we see one of the show’s characters, John Connor, struggle to maintain a normal life.  He doesn’t see himself as being some future Messiah, he’s just a normal kid… with an ambitious mother.  But as the season progressed we watched as his ‘normal life’ was stripped from his grasp time and time again.  Because of this he becomes a bit whiny (as loads of IMDb posts pointed out again and again), and why shouldn’t he?  He doesn’t want a part of this world — after a lifetime of running around, he just wants to be left alone.  But, at the close of season one and the beginning of season two, one thing is clear: John’s finally letting go of that dream life he yearned for so badly… he’s growing up.  And it now seems that it’s Sarah Connor herself who’ll take the biggest hit because of this… her child is pulling away from her.

And then there’s Cameron… ah, Cameron.  First season she was this just this odd protector robot with a questionable past.  Now she’s still very odd, but as we’ve seen, also very deadly.  But what makes her such an interesting character is that it’s never quite clear whether or not she trusts herself now.  Due to her recent chip malfunction, Cam is still not acting 100% herself (if that’s possible).  In the most recent episode (”Allison from Palmdale”) we even catch her staring off into space and taking a bit longer to respond to her protectee(?).  What was she thinking about?  And more importantly, WHY was she thinking about it?  If Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-101 made us ask ourselves, could a machine “learn the value of human life?” it’s Summer Glau’s Cameron Phillips (or whatever her current last name is) that makes us ask: “Could we ever see a machine as an equal”?

And I believe that it was this last episode itself that really shows why this world needs a show like TSCC.  All who saw it more than likely noticed the episode’s lack of action.  Instead we were given some of Cameron’s origins and the sad, heartbreaking story of a young girl named Alison Young — all played beautifully by Summer Glau I may add (seriously, this girl has some talent… lots).  In a single episode we are flipped back and forth from the future to the present and are presented with the darkest and lightest sides of the cyborg named Cameron.  We watch her cry, and we watch her kill.  And in the end we’re not sure of her motives at all.  Rarely do we see an episode of any TV take so little story and push it so far and give so much.

And the best part?  This wasn’t just some fluke of an episode.  Series creator Josh Friedman himself stated that he finds the biggest joy in writing episodes when the network tells him to hold out on using too much money on some episodes and to write these ’simpler’ kinds of stories.  I believe I agree.  But as Friedman himself stated, the biggest demographic for the show isn’t people who want just the action or just the character drama: they want both.  And in a world where too many viewers are tuning into brain-dead reality shows WAY too often, it’s a show like TSCC that reminds us what true entertainment and creativity is all about.

Catch Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles tomorrow night (Monday, October 6) at 8pm EST.

END.

Mid-life Crisis - it’s coming your way.

I never had a proper mid-life crisis.  I’m terrified of motorcycles, I like a large ride instead of a tiny sportscar, and I’m married so that rules out a girlfriend.  I also don’t drink, smoke, or do drugs.  Some would say I couldn’t have a mid-life crisis without these.  Some would say I am just plain no fun.

My dear wife offered me a mid-life crisis vehicle.  No, not a car.  It was a guitar.  She told me to go out and buy something I would never otherwise buy because I couldn’t afford it.  I fell into a Gibson 1959 reissue Heritage Les Paul.  Not a ton of those left-handed.  My wife, bless her, got off pretty easy.  What I didn’t realize was that I was being given carte blanche.  No matter, it’s a great guitar.

Guitar reproductions are driven partly by quality issues, vintage guitar pricing, nostalgia, and although few will admit it, mid-life crisis.

I had suggested that car companies get on the crisis-wagon and offer reproductions of certain classic cars.  Not like the extremely silly VW Bug; I’m talking about a pretty faithful reproduction of the body, with a nod to the original inside, but with current engine, stereo, etc.

I should have figured a way to patent that idea.

The Loud Family lives down the street.  They have a small house but it looks nice from the outside.  What I can’t figure out is how that many people live there.  We’re talking about two parents and something like five kids (you never see them all together so it’s hard to get an accurate count).  What you can divine is that they’re LOUD.

I didn’t have enough information to figure it out but when we first moved in, the daughter, about five years old, comes boldly up to the truck and announces herself by name.  It was a great moment, even for someone who isn’t too fond of kids.  The neighborhood should have suspected something also, epsecially when one of our helpers ran the entire length of the twenty-four foot truck, banging on a conga, shouting “WE’RE HEEEEEEEEEEERE!!!!!”

Time passed.  A basketball court appeared in the driveway.  With the basketball court came basketball kids.  Any time of day or night you could hear the mellifluous tones of a basketball (bang BANG BANG) combined with the screaming of assorted children (F*$& YOU).  When Mr. Loud would ask his youngest son (a serial killer in training if I’ve ever seen one) to quiet down, the kid would give him the finger and walk away.  You could hear the screaming for blocks.

Before I knew it, one of the kids was of driving age.  Apparently he fell in with a circle of friends who fancied themselves `gangstas.’  There is nothing sadder than a middle class white kid who either thinks he’s black or would prefer to be black.   One day I saw this huge black Lincoln SUV parked across the street, taking up a spot or three.  It sat there for a few days before my wife figured out it was Loud Jr’s car.  Apparently since he was a gangsta, he required a proper gangsta-mobile.

One had to be impressed with this buggy.  It was even bigger than my car.  It appeared to be loaded.  How does a teenager purchase a Lincoln?  That must have been one interesting salesman.   I will freely admit that my wife drives a Lincoln.  It was ten years old when we purchased it and cost very little.  So how did Loud Jr manage to pay for this?  Good for him, however he pulled it off.

Shortly thereafter, a red Mercedes appeared near the Loud Lot.   When I say Loud Lot, I mean every parking spot within half a block of the Loud House.  Because the basketball court took up the driveway, the Louds were forced to park their cars on the street.  All up and down the street, in fact, leaving neighbors with nowhere to park near their own houses.

Putting on her detective cap, my wife discovered the Mercedes was just purchased by Female Loud; the one who ran up to my moving truck.  Talk about a time warp.  I don’t know how much a Mercedes costs these days, largely because I don’t shop for them and also because I don’t care.  The one Mercedes I drove handled decently but drove like a truck.  Every pebble made the car shudder.

Once again we were moved to ponder how a teenage-ish child could afford a Mercedes.  Since it was red, it also cost more to insure (I kid you not - red cars cost more).   Again, good for her.

Not so good for the neighborhood, though, as there was one more Loud Car to park on the street.  Apparently no one ever told the Loud Children what being a good neighbor entailed.  One was lead to wonder if anyone told the Loud Children anything aside from `Have a good time.’

Apparently tired of new kids, the louds materialized with two Loud Dogs.  I have never actually seen these dogs, but rest assured the entire neighborhood has heard the Loud Dogs.  It is said that people who live near airports don’t hear the planes after a while.  I suspect the Louds used the same technique because the dogs were outside most of the day, barking constantly, like mad dogs.  And they continued to bark like mad dogs.   And no one did anything about it.  As the barking never stopped, the Littlest Loud had not done any science experiments with them and buried them in the yard.  I do not want to be the next person who owns that house.

Occasionally the Loud Dogs would escape.  It never took long to figure out when this happened because there was a brief pause in the insane barking, followed by Mr. Loud screaming for them to come back.  I swear, my house shook.  Sometimes even Mrs. Loud would come out of her hole and help in the rescue effort by also screaming at the Loud Dogs.  This was surprising, as we thought Mrs. Loud’s main function was yelling at Mr. Loud.

One day a new and horrible loud noise permeated the neighborhood.  It wasn’t too difficult to imagine where it was coming from.  It turned out that the latest Loud to reach driving age just got a car.  At this point you’re probably asking whether it was a Cement Mixer, an eighteen wheeler, or a Bentley.

It was a Mustang.   And not just any Mustang - it was a mid-life crisis Mustang.  The one I suggested the manufacturers make and that I should have patented.  They definitely got a bit closer to the original this time.   Once again, good for him.

What really got to me was the reaction to this car.  I was told when I started driving that there were certain cars that got women’s attention way more than others.  I just shook my head and rationalized that I wouldn’t want one of those anyway.  Eventually they’d grow out of it.  Hopefully.

So much for rationalization… my wife was most impressed by this Mustang.  Another female neighbor walked to the Loud House to compliment the Youngest Loud to drive.  People were talking.  Even one of the same-sex couples had to walk over to take a look.

I still don’t want a mid-life crisis mobile.  I still wonder what it would be like to be a teenager and be able to afford a really nice car.  And the neighborhood still wonders where they’re going to park their cars.

Paula Creamer has captured the LPGA Samsung World Championship:

“…It was the fourth victory of the year and eighth career title for the 22-year-old Californian, who finished with a three-under-par 69 for a nine-under total of 279.”

link: Paula Creamer wins LPGA world championship

The question has never been about Paula Creamer’s ball striking talent. For years, people who follow women’s professional golf have recognized her golf skills. However, winning requires a mind-set to handle pressure and adversity. Ms Creamer has learned how to win and she has demonstrated it this season. Kudos to Paula Creamer for a stellar finish to her golf season.

Catherine Forsythe

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The mainstream media is mostly useless.  This may be news to you, or if you’ve been reading alternative press a while, it might not.  There are various levels of hell devoted to the different divisions of mainstream media.

I think the lowest rung of hell is reserved for local news.  I didn’t even realize this until years after I stopped watching it.  My wife enjoys the local news.   On those rare occasions that I’m subjected to it, I usually yell at the tv so much that my wife turns it off.  Local news can run the gamut from a commercial for the next tv program to a puff piece on a kids’ sports team.  Never do they allow any of that nasty real content to seep into their broadcast.

Then there’s network news.  Its only benefit over local news is that content sometimes slips into the broadcast, mostly by mistake.   There’s an obvious slant.

Moving on, we have the Fox/CNN crew.  CNN is referred to as the CIA Network News because the CIA acknowledges having their people in the for a month, whereupon they spun the news.  The CIA has also stated that they have `people’ at all the networks in case they’re needed.  Fox couldn’t be fair and balanced if you ran them over with a road leveling machine.

People who don’t generally think beyond what they’re told are pretty satisfied with the existing choices.   The rest of us, who tend to question everything, look elsewhere for our news and enlightenment.

So where do we look?

Glad you asked.

I have added to the links on this blog.  You see them on the right of each individual blog post.  Two categories to check out are non-mainstream news and radio.   Radio covers online radio and podcasters with interesting topics.  Non-mainstream news is a few sites you can visit that concern things you won’t see but need to.

You don’t have to agree with me or the sites.  Just listen with an open mind.  You’ll find that you’ll start watching mainstream media with a different eye.   Don’t forget to tell me what you think after listening.

There are times in one’s life where one is deeply torn by two strong forces.   This would be one of them.  I have a really black sense of humor, so it’s hilarious to me.  But we have to decide between laughing and crying.

This is a Twitter client that provides a very innovative way of displaying timelines.  It allows you to make different filters or groups that allow you to have different time lines open in the same window. The only disadvantage is that it takes up a lot of desktop space, but with all the multi desktop apps out there that shouldn’t be a problem.  Watch the Video to fins out more.  You can Download Twinja Air here:Download Here

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/v1d5jJhRtxI" width="350" height="288" wmode="transparent" /]

Also feel free to comment.  Let me know what you think about my videos. Also what do you think about Twinja Air?

Tina Fey returned again to Saturday Night Live with another spoof. This time, the target was the vice presidential debate between Senator Biden and Governor Palin. Some may find it regrettable that there is only one debate between the two candidates:

link: VP Debate Open

Catherine

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If you were not already aware of it, Ubuntu has a Christian Edition of their popular Linux operating system. The Ubuntu CE edition as it is called, is a free download provided at the link at the end of this article. According to the FAQ, the Christian Edition includes the following software:

GnomeSword is a Bible study tool written for Linux and UNIX systems under the GNOME toolkit, offering a rich and featureful environment for reading, study, and research using modules from The Sword Project and elsewhere. GnomeSword also runs in the Windows+Cygwin environment.

BibleMemorizer is a program to help with memorizing Scripture. It allows you to create files with lists of verses you want to memorize, including the text of the verse and any categories you create.

BibleTime is a Bible study application for Linux. It is based on the K Desktop Environment and uses the Sword programming library to work with Bible texts, commentaries, dictionaries and books provided by the Crosswire Bible Society.

On the primary web site it also states the following information:

Ubuntu Christian Edition is a free, open source operating system geared towards Christians. It is based on the popular Ubuntu Linux. Ubuntu is a complete Linux-based operating system, freely available with both community and professional support. The goal of Ubuntu Christian Edition is to bring the power and security of Ubuntu to Christians. Ubuntu Christian Edition is suitable for both desktop and server use. The current Ubuntu Christian Edition release supports PC (Intel x86). Ubuntu Christian Edition includes more than 16,000 pieces of software, but the core desktop installation fits on a single CD. Ubuntu Christian Edition covers every standard desktop application from word processing and spreadsheet applications to web server software and programming tools.

This is a unique edition of Ubuntu that includes not only the standard Ubuntu software, but also software for those who wish to study the Bible. If you are a Christian you may wish to take a look at this edition and see if Ubuntu CE is right for you.

Comments welcome.

Ubuntu Christian Edition

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Before the ski and snowboard season, please check to see if the helmets still fit the kids. The helmets from last season may have to be replaced. One good source of information about helmets is “Lids on Kids”:

link: LidsOnKids.org

The site also features a ‘responsibility code’. It is a good reminder before the snow flies and there is the excitement to be on the slopes.

Catherine

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/R6rYz3hlRIQ" width="350" height="288" wmode="transparent" /]

Sorry for the lack of updates, I haven’t been able to post anything in Wordpress.

Make sure your system is up to date and has the latest protections in place.

1. AVG anti-virus: 10/05/08
2. Avast: 10/04/08
3. Norton anti-virus: 10/01/08
4. McAfee anti-virus: 10/01/08
5. Lavasoft Ad-Aware: 10/02/08
6. Spybot Search and Destroy: 10/01/08
7. Microsoft Windows Defender: 10/01/08
8. Nod32: 10/03/08

Updates as of October 5.  2008 6:00am CDT.

The 2008 Ig Nobel Prize goes to a pair of researchers who showed that manipulating the sound made by eating Pringles crisps can fool people into thinking a stale crisp is perfectly fresh.

This is the kind of American ingenuity we need applied to our financial crisis.

CNN eagerly laps up fake story; Steve Jobs still not harmed

Steve Jobs still valiantly refusing to be dead…

Woman Bought Home For $1.75 on eBay

Perhaps we need to talk to her about the mortgage problem…

Important and timely news from the Journal of Medical Hypotheses this week: ejaculating could be “a potential treatment of nasal congestion in mature males”

Whabt dibt do thay?

Space radiation knocks Giove-B Galileo satellite into “safe mode“

That’s the last time they will use Windows to run their satellite…

Windshield GPS mounting legalized again in California

Proving that what is dangerous in the other 49 states isn’t in California…

Phantastron - DIY tube based music kit

After ignoring the system for years, President Bush plans to sign a bill providing Amtrak with $13 billion.

That idiot just loves to give away our money, doesn’t he?

Mobile Dirty-Bomb Detectors Patrolling in New Jersey

…just in case your day was moving along too happily.

Five very interesting places where linux has popped up….