Soxy

I was really hoping the Reds would be able to keep it together for the whole season. There's really no teams in it that I want to root for. So, I guess I'll be able to focus on work this October. . .

Very interesting Heart attacks decline after smoking ban Tue Sep 26, 7:58 AM ET DALLAS (Reuters) - A Colorado city ban on smoking at workplaces and in public buildings may have sparked a steep decline in heart attacks, researchers reported on Monday. In the 18 months after a no-smoking ordinance took effect in Pueblo in 2003, hospital admissions for heart attacks for city residents dropped 27 percent, according to the study led by Dr. Carl Bartecchi, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver. "Heart attack hospitalizations did not change significantly for residents of surrounding Pueblo County or in the comparison city of Colorado Springs, neither of which have non-smoking ordinances," said the American Heart Association, which published the study in its journal Circulation. The association said this was further evidence of the damage wrought by secondhand smoke. "The decline in the number of heart attack hospitalizations within the first year and a half after the non-smoking ban that was observed in this study is most likely due to a decrease in the effect of secondhand smoke as a triggering factor for heart attacks," it said. It said the researchers had taken into account other variables such as air pollution and community-wide changes in preventive care and concluded that they did not have an impact on their findings. The American Heart Association estimates that more than 35,000 nonsmokers die each year in the United States from coronary heart disease because they inhale secondhand smoke. Working-class Pueblo has a higher percentage of smokers -- 22.6 percent -- than the statewide average of 18.6 percent. "Adopting a non-smoking ordinance has the potential to rapidly improve the cardiovascular health of a community," Bartecchi said in a statement. Pueblo forbids smoking in indoor workplaces and all public buildings, including restaurants, bars and recreational facilities such as bowling alleys. "You can save lives with drugs and expensive, sophisticated devices, but this single community action led to 108 fewer heart attacks in an 18-month period," Bartecchi said. "Each hospital admission for a heart attack costs an average of $20,000 here in Pueblo," he said. "So in addition to saving lives, non-smoking ordinances also save a lot of money."

On my list Rare Kierkegaard book to be auctioned By JAN M. OLSEN, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 3 minutes ago COPENHAGEN, Denmark - A rare copy of Danish philosopher Soeren Kierkegaard's famed book, "Either/Or," will be sold at auction later this year, a Copenhagen auction house said Tuesday. The book, a second edition from 1849 dedicated to Danish fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen, was offered to the Copenhagen-based Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers of Fine Art by an unidentified Danish family earlier this year. "The family had no idea how important it was," auctioneer Sebastian Hauge Lerche said. "He was the father of existentialism after all." Kierkegaard, who lived between 1813-1855, was a major contributor to existentialism and its focus on each individual's responsibility, freedom and fear. "Either/Or," which is considered to be his most important book, was first published in 1843. The brief dedication is signed by Victor Eremita, a pseudonym used by Kierkegaard for the first two editions of "Either/Or." Andersen and Kierkegaard lived in Copenhagen at the same time and but did not socialize with each other. In his first book from 1838, Kierkegaard criticized Andersen's work as a novelist, saying he was "a sniveler." Andersen wrote to Kierkegaard several times but received no reply until 1849 when the philosopher sent him the dedicated book. "We have no earlier testimony of a direct contact from Kierkegaard to Andersen," Lerche said. The second edition, estimated by the auction house to be worth at least $17,110, will be put on sale Dec. 12. The sale will include other literary works by Kierkegaard and a rare complete copy of the Second Folio of William Shakespeare, published in 1632. In 2003, a first edition of "Either/Or" that Kierkegaard dedicated to his fiancee, Regine Olsen, was sold for $171,100 by the Bruun Rasmussen auctioneers.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 25, 2006 -> 04:35 PM) The funny thing is that its sad, but true. See also Dems to GWB.... I think the worst part, for me, is that here you have this "Reverend/Man of God" talking about how he would get people more riled up for Hillary than The Prince of Darkness. Come on, don't say that stuff if you're a pastor.

And THIS is exactly what's wrong with the Republican party. "I certainly hope that Hillary is the candidate," Falwell said at a breakfast session Friday in Washington. "I hope she's the candidate, because nothing will energize my (constituency) like Hillary Clinton," he said. "If Lucifer ran, he wouldn't."

QUOTE(samclemens @ Sep 25, 2006 -> 04:09 PM) oh, i think that would be BS if walgreens gave in to that too. though the term PC and a homogenizing liberal agenda do have a strong link under my definition. So, it's not a broader definition, it's a biased definition of PC to include things that you personally don't like.

QUOTE(samclemens @ Sep 25, 2006 -> 11:46 AM) political correctness has a broader meaning for me that it does for you i guess. Well, let me ask you an analogous situation (I think your idea of PC might be more anti-liberal than simply broad): Let's say a fringe extreme group that is against contraceptives (all contraceptives) boycotts Walgreens because they provide those products. If Walgreens gives in (about as likely as Six Flags giving in), is Walgreens being too PC? They too would be pandering to a vocal minority.

QUOTE(samclemens @ Sep 25, 2006 -> 11:27 AM) I say PC because they are asking six flags to cancel a roach eating contest because it offends their tiny minority group. If six flags gives in to their demand, that is nothing less than polictically correct pandering. so it is PC BS in my opinion. IF Six flags gives in (highly unlikely), then it will be pandering to the minority. Politically correct though? Please. There is nothing political about eating a stupid cockroach.

QUOTE(samclemens @ Sep 25, 2006 -> 10:53 AM) all together now... "PC BS" I think that this has nothing to do with being PC. PETA is against the cruelty to animals and is also against eating animals. So, it's not PC BS. It's what the organization (by definition of its name) aims to do. So you may disagree with PETA, but this stand has nothing whatsoever to do with being PC. (And are you honestly trying to say that killing roaches isn't PC?)

Caught Royal Tenenbaums on Comedy Central today--I love that movie.

QUOTE(jasonxctf @ Sep 23, 2006 -> 06:35 PM) great point. I wonder if GWB will follow the path of Ford, Reagan and his father and become a "consultant" or try and help out society like Clinton and Carter. I'm not fan of H.W., but he and Clinton did raise a ton of money for the tsunami and Hurrican Katrina victims.

So I just saw a funny bumpersticker: Bush/Cheney 1984 War is Peace

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 22, 2006 -> 09:02 AM) The Gaydar scene at the end of that episode might have been the single funniest ever for the "The Office" That was funny and Creed was funny, other than that I thought the episode was 100% terrible.

QUOTE(SnB @ Sep 21, 2006 -> 10:36 AM) The office season premiere tonight. A group of 5 or 6 of us is going to chili's for dinner in honor of the show. Maybe I'll order an awesome blossom, extra awesome. I'm actually pretty excited about it. Woo!

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 21, 2006 -> 02:18 PM) Seriously, yes, I see your point, but I guess my thing is - if someone would have come to the UN and delivered a speech like this in 1979, REPUBLICANS would have been pissed and come to the support of Carter. It's kind of like dissing a family member - you might not totally get along with them, but you'd support them through it all. Fast forward 25+ years, and no one is really condemning it, and I think it's a rather sad testament to our times. That was more my point. Okay, I do understand what you're saying. But I view Chavez and the Iranian president as crazies. If Merkel or Chirac or Harper called Bush the devil I would be more upset because, at some level, I have a respect for them and their points of view. But having Chavez do it, well that's sort of like getting made at the hobo on the corner who calls you a slut whenever you walk by. You may want to tell him off, but then you think about the source and, oh, right, crazy pants, so you walk on.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 21, 2006 -> 01:43 PM) Touche. Look, for once I'll do some research... and post what has been said and compare it to Chavez. It'll probably be the weekend, though before I can. The rhetoric is much the same, though. And that's my point. And the rhetoric is the same on both sides: They're wrong, if you vote for them XXXX will happen. You don't want XXXX to happen because it completely undermines what being an American is all about. You can put: terror, civil liberties taken away, income disparity, terror in there and I imagine most every single person on the campaign trail has spoken some variant on this. As I tell my students: you're too smart for a cheap cop-out like that; think up a new critique.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 20, 2006 -> 11:48 PM) It's another reason why 'leftists' in this country love him... he takes money from the 'rich' and GIVES it to the poor. I find it amazing that he pretty much quoted the rhetoric by (insert Democrat name here) and it's all ok. Please. Let me put this in a lovely SAT style analogy: Leftists: Chavez as "Righties":: Pat Robertson Great open dialogue though, Kap. Really, you post is a step in the direction to this country moving forward in a bi-partisan manner. You complain a lot about partisanship and corruption, yet you post stuff like this which is completely contrary to starting an open dialogue.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Sep 20, 2006 -> 03:07 PM) What?!! You want to put the Mile High Club out of business too?? I'm just glad I can still wear my gel filled push-up bra. If we ladies can't wear our push-up bras it means the terrorists have won!

So, to take a break from discussing the current happenings, I thought I'd put up this very cute little quiz. So, what historical lunatic are you? Apparently, I'm a mid nineteenth century harmless crackpot. You are Joshua Abraham Norton, first and only Emperor of the United States of America! Born in England sometime in the second decade of the nineteenth century, you carved a notable business career, in South Africa and later San Francisco, until an entry into the rice market wiped out your fortune in 1854. After this, you became quite different. The first sign of this came on September 17, 1859, when you expressed your dissatisfaction with the political situation in America by declaring yourself Norton I, Emperor of the USA. You remained as such, unchallenged, for twenty-one years. Within a month you had decreed the dissolution of Congress. When this was largely ignored, you summoned all interested parties to discuss the matter in a music hall, and then summoned the army to quell the rebellious leaders in Washington. This did not work. Magnanimously, you decreed (eventually) that Congress could remain for the time being. However, you disbanded both major political parties in 1869, as well as instituting a fine of $25 for using the abominable nickname "Frisco" for your home city. Your days consisted of parading around your domain - the San Francisco streets - in a uniform of royal blue with gold epaulettes. This was set off by a beaver hat and umbrella. You dispensed philosophy and inspected the state of sidewalks and the police with equal aplomb. You were a great ally of the maligned Chinese of the city, and once dispersed a riot by standing between the Chinese and their would-be assailants and reciting the Lord's Prayer quietly, head bowed. Once arrested, you were swiftly pardoned by the Police Chief with all apologies, after which all policemen were ordered to salute you on the street. Your renown grew. Proprietors of respectable establishments fixed brass plaques to their walls proclaiming your patronage; musical and theatrical performances invariably reserved seats for you and your two dogs. (As an aside, you were a good friend of Mark Twain, who wrote an epitaph for one of your faithful hounds, Bummer.) The Census of 1870 listed your occupation as "Emperor". The Board of Supervisors of San Francisco, upon noticing the slightly delapidated state of your attire, replaced it at their own expense. You responded graciously by granting a patent of nobility to each member. Your death, collapsing on the street on January 8, 1880, made front page news under the headline "Le Roi est Mort". Aside from what you had on your person, your possessions amounted to a single sovereign, a collection of walking sticks, an old sabre, your correspondence with Queen Victoria and 1,098,235 shares of stock in a worthless gold mine. Your funeral cortege was of 30,000 people and over two miles long. The burial was marked by a total eclipse of the sun.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 20, 2006 -> 01:38 PM) And I have to say I'm a bit surprised at Hastert being in there. He has always seemed to me to be a straight arrow. I'll have to read up on their reasoning there. Iirc, there was a very recent scandal ( I didn't follow it closely), I feel like it involved a land deal in Kendall County, but I could be mistaken. My dad talked about it for a while, but my dad is often wrong about politics, so. . . Coming from O-town (Denny and my Aunt when to high school together, the Hasterts also used to attend the same church I did), I can't say I'm totally surprised.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 20, 2006 -> 10:00 AM) You may be right about the draft - and I hope you are. But honestly, I am not sure about the Army Times and how it might be spinning the recruiting picture. Honestly, I know nothing about that publication. I'll see if I can dig up the last thing I read on this. The picture painted was fairly bleak - fewer recruits incoming each year since 2003, and the need for more troops growing. But then, if the Army Times is talking about actual versus target, they may be right - maybe the Army has set declining targets. I do not know. I'll see what I can find. They do appear to be meeting their recruitment targets. But I remember lots of press last year about declining numbers--your thought about lower goals is an interesting one. . . 2005 targets, with the notable exception of the Marines it looks like they did decrease goals.

Will hold elections in 2 weeks. Allegedly.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 19, 2006 -> 04:50 PM) When there aren't 1,000 applicants for 150 jobs, then Walmart will have to raise wages to attract the candidates they need. My point was more that I can't imagine that ever happening.

QUOTE(3 BeWareTheNewSox 5 @ Sep 19, 2006 -> 04:17 PM) It's not even her voice, a heard a quick blurb on the radio that there was a big thing online about how someone found out that some girl in a underground/indie type band sold out and is singing on the CD for her (someone at the same recording studio saw it) Source? Come on people, you can't throw rumors out as fact without at least a couple of sources!

QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 19, 2006 -> 01:11 PM) That will not work. What will work is a better educated work force that is not forced into those jobs, combined with government incentives that distinguishes the quality of the jobs, not just the number. Tex: Someone will always have to have these jobs. There will always be the poor, heck if everyone in the country had a BA it would just mean that someone with a college degree is going to be bagging groceries. I'm not trying to down play the importance of education but not everyone should be in college. Not everyone is capable or receiving a college degree. Should those people be relegated to the the role of societal minions?