Things that must be seen.

First watch this,



then watch this:

What is wrong with people?

I'm sure everyone has heard the story of how a group of U.S. Marines burst into 4 houses in Haditha and killed 19 Iraqi civilians including women and children... right? RIGHT?! Well, I'm not surprised that no one has heard about it. It happened a year ago, and now even with talk of a cover-up, it's still not a major news story. If you want to read about it, there are two sources here and here.

Also, I received an email from MoveOn.org. Here's a snippet:

Last week, Net Neutrality advocates stunned the political world by
winning a vote overwhelmingly in a House committee. You were a big part
of that win.

Unfortunately, your representative, Rep. Spencer Bachus, was not part of
it. He voted AGAINST Internet freedom and Net Neutrality-caving to big
telecom companies and selling out the Internet.

Am I surprised that an Alabama politician didn't do the right thing? Nope. If you want to call him up and tell him he's a jackass, here's his info:

Congressman Spencer Bachus
Phone: 202-225-4921
District Offices:

• Birmingham: 205-969-2296
  
• Clanton: 205-280-0704

MoveOn.org recommends that if you "talk to a staffer, you can mention that you expect Rep. Bachus to support the bipartisan Sensenbrenner/Conyers "Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act" when it comes to the House floor."

Oh yeah, just in case you didn't know, he also serves on both the Financial Services Committee and the Itty Bitty Titty Committee where he and his peers routinely share a good laugh over "fair" business legislation and women with small breasts. Around the office he's even known as Dr. Double-D and has the personalized license plate to prove it. He also has a personal space rule when it comes to standing next to a black person. If there are two black people, that space is obviously doubled . Sometimes he does what he has to, but it's always pretty apparent. I guess that's why he and W get along so well.

Loss.

To me, one of the greatest losses is that of Douglas Adams. I only knew him through his works, but his wit, humor, and caring was apparent.

Being at work.

Sometimes, being at work just feels like this:

Keep the internet free (part 2).

Don't let corporate greed destroy the internet. Don't take my word for it, see what Sir Tim Berners-Lee has to say about it here. After reading that, sign this petition.

Good stuff.

Have you ever wondered, "where can I find audio clips of some of the greatest phrases from Arrested Development?" Well, the search is over. Check them out here. Come on!

The cat, snoring.

Turn up the sound for this video.

Keep the internet free.

Help keep AT&T and Verizon from turning the "information superhighway" into a "toll road" by signing this petition.

You can also see what Moby has to say about it here.

Movies.

There are some movies coming out this summer that I'm really "jazzed" about. Obviously, they are X-Men 3 and Superman Returns. I also wanted to see The Da Vinci Code but after reading this from Reuters, I think I'll pass:

At a screening late on Tuesday in Cannes, members of the audience laughed at the thriller's pivotal moment, and the end of the $125 million picture was greeted with stony silence.

I also want to see United 93, but I'm not going to pay money for that. I don't think it's right that the movie company and movie theaters are profiting on this tragedy. If they were making this movie because "the passenger's story must be told," then the theaters and movie company would donate all the profits, after taxes, to a charity (like what Paul Newman does). I know, I know. "What makes a movie about this tragedy any worse than a movie about any other tragedy?" I don't have a good answer for that. The events on Sept. 11 were a little more personal to me than the Rwandan genocide, for example. It's terrible to say, I know, but I guess I am still a product of my American culture.

People.

People are weird. How come no one ever opens their blinds? I was walking through my apartment complex the other day and about 80-90% of the windows had the blinds closed. The complex isn't ugly. There are trees all over the place. It's not just where I live either. I've noticed that a lot of houses that I pass are the same way. Even a lot of my friends don't open their blinds. Are people just not interested in looking outside or letting sunshine in? I find that strange. I would get depressed if my blinds were always closed.

My goal.

So, I've decided to set a goal for myself this summer. I'm not going to watch any "unnecessary" tv. By that, I mean I'm only going to watch the news, the last couple of new episodes of LOST, and my Netflix movies. That's it.

I'm doing this because I have a lot of books that I want to read this summer and I have a lot of work that I should be doing. Besides, I have plenty of other distractions like the internet and the upcoming release of Half Life 2: Episode One (see my previous blog).

We'll see how long I actually last.

The difference.

Patiotism - Love of and devotion to one's country.

Nationalism - the doctrine that your national culture and interests are superior to any other

From Wikipedia:

Hitler and his Nazi party used nationalism to get what they wanted in Germany, already a nation where patriotism was widespread.

Bush vs. Nixon

I just read this blog and it says that the lowest approval rating for a president was Nixon's 24%... Bush is at 29%. Holy crap. Actually, Truman had 23% but comparing Bush's approval rating to Nixon's as he was forced to resign hits a little harder.

Check out this graph of Bush's downhill slide.

Skunk.

The cat likes hanging out with me while I'm using my computer.

Work.

I've been at work/school since about 10a and I have only seen one other person in the building. I guess summer has officially started. I like the quiet, but I feel more motivated to do some work when other people are working as well. I'm just not as productive when I know everyone else is out having fun.

Woah.

I guess 29% of Americans are die-hard Republicans. The only time Bush did anything that I remotely approved of was getting rid of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

I also liked Bush's idea of being able to invest your social security money in the stock market , but it was just a ploy. Most people will want to take out their S.S. money, but most people don't know squat about the stock market. These people will then give their money to brokerage firms that will get a nice commission.

I kind of dig the "guest worker" program that Bush has in mind. I don't know too much about it, but on the surface it actually seems like a good idea. I don't think that we should give amnesty to all the illegal immigrants because then you might as well give amnesty to everyone for everything. Why stop at illegal immigration? I think creating a guest worker program will slow illegal immigration but not stop it. It'll keep the not-so-desperate people from trying to cross the boarder, but not the people with nothing to lose. To stop illegal immigration, the US needs to help make these people's home country a better place to live. We need to help make their home countries good enough, at least, to where people aren't willing to risk their lives to try and have a better life.

That's how American I am.

You Are 34% American

America: You don't love it or want to leave it. But you wouldn't mind giving it an extreme make over. On the 4th of July, you'll fly a freak flag instead... And give Uncle Sam a sucker punch!

How American Are You?

That's how I remember it.

What a nice day.

I just want to rub it in:

Clever.

As if Myspace couldn't get any worse with the countless bands, deodorant sticks, and shoes that want to be your friend, now there's a new "commercial hack".

Today on my Myspace account, I had about 13 friend requests... from girls. Cool right? That's what I thought. I figured that I was listed as a "cool new person" on the login page or something. Nope, I had 13 friend requests from cleverly disguised porn sites. The entire Myspace pages of these "girls" is a giant link to a porn website.

I have to admit, that's pretty clever. If that porn site has advertising on it, they are probably going to make a lot of money. I wonder how, or even if, Myspace is going to combat that.

I guess I am.

You are The Flash

Fast, athletic and flirtatious.

I just can't figure out how to fix the spacing of the table, so you'll have to scroll down to see my results. Sorry.

The Flash		75%
Superman		75%
Iron Man		65%
Batman		65%
Robin		60%
Spider-Man		60%
Green Lantern		55%
Hulk		50%
Supergirl		48%
Catwoman		45%
Wonder Woman		23%

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

I took this quiz 3 or 4 times and every time I end up with either Superman or The Flash. Well, at least The Flash is cooler than Supes.

How to Replace the Driver's Side Front Turn Signal in a 1996 Chevy Cavalier Z24

When I tried to do this about a year ago, I remember looking online and trying to find out where the driver's side turn signal bulb for my car was. I couldn't find anything useful online. There were no descriptions or pictures of how to get to the bulb.

I always planned on putting a description online to help people out, but I'm a procrastinator. Now the problem is that it has been such a long time, I barely remember how I did it. I'll try my best to describe the process. If someone out there has a question for me, post it on my blog and I'll do my best to respond.

Before we get to the actual process of replacing the light bulb, I need to point out a couple of things.

1. Let me start out by saying that if you want to do this without unscrewing a bunch of things on the car, then you are going to need some thin, girlish fingers (like mine), or make friends with someone that has some. If you or your friend are not girly enough then I would recommend just taking the car to a shop. I know, I know... "Take the car to a shop to change a bulb?! You're crazy!" The things that you are going to have to unscrew to get to the bulb include the windshield washer fluid tank and the front bumper. I'd rather pay the $30 or so to have someone else do that
2. You'll need some old clothes to do this job. You are going to be laying underneath the car for about an hour trying to fiddle with this light bulb, so you are going to need some clothes that can get dirty. I would also recommend a clean broken down cardboard box to lay on. It's cheap, insulated, somewhat soft, and thin.
   

Step 1:
Ok, so first you want to jack up the car. It'll make it easier to crawl underneath to get to the bulb. If you are doing this in a garage, then you'll probably want to have a flashlight handy. If you are doing this outside, like I did, then you can open the hood to get a little more light.


Step 2:
Next, you'll want to see what the bulb looks like. The bulb on the passenger side looks exactly the same and much easier to get to. The picture below is of the passenger side bulb. I would also practice taking the taking the passenger side bulb in and out. When you do the driver's side, you won't be able to see the bulb as you reach for it, so you are going to have to go by your sense of touch.


Step 3:
Now comes the tricky part, removing the driver's side turn signal bulb. From what I remember, it's not easy to see the driver's side bulb and impossible to see it while you are trying to remove it. Try looking through the gaps around where the bottom of the windshield washer fluid tank is attached to the another part of the car. You should be able to catch a glimpse of the bulb. Once you see it, you are going to have to reach through the gap and try to remove the bulb the same way as you practiced with the passenger side bulb. You practiced, didn't you? I vaguely remember getting a better handle on the bulb by reaching through the gap closer to the top of the following picture. You will definitely need patience to do this, it's not easy. Also, keep track of which way you turned the bulb to get it out. I don't remember if it was the same as the passenger side or not. Remembering which way you turned it to get it out will come in handy when you are trying to put it back in.


Step 4:
Well, hopefully that didn't take too long. Now that you have the bulb out, as shown below, it's a simple matter of taking out the old one and putting in a new one. Once you plug the new one in, turn on your hazard lights just to make sure the bulb works and it's not some kind of wacky electrical problem, which Cavaliers are known for.


Step 5:
Now you have to put the new bulb back into the turn signal lens. I remember this being harder to do than taking it out. Once again, you will have to use your sense of touch because you won't be able to see anything. When you actually get the bulb in the opening for the turn signal lens, you have to turn it so that it locks into place. Voila, you have a working turn signal again!


In conclusion, let me apologize for the fairly useless pictures. The installed bulb is nearly impossible to see and even harder to get a picture of. Overall though, I hope this description is able to provide a bit of help on the subject. Good luck!

Hasbro.

Hasbro has made some great toys in the past like GI Joe, Star Wars, and Transformers. I loved those toys and played with them all the time as a kid. My current Blogger profile picture is even of Storm Shadow from GI Joe (just in case you didn't know).

My friend, Scott, showed me something that Hasbro has come up with more recently. It's the Super Soaker Oozinator. Here's the description from the Hasbro website:

* Air-powered blaster lets you drench your opponents with powerful blasts of water or globs of gooey bio-ooze!
* Hit targets up to 35 feet away with a 27-ounce water-supply capacity or up to 20 feet away with a 10-ounce bio-ooze capacity!
* Blaster comes with 10-ounce cartridge of bio-ooze.

Sneak up on your opponents with a surprise bio-ooze attack! Just when they think you’re coming at ‘em with water, blast ‘em with a shot of icky bio-ooze! Shoot out globs of gooey bio-ooze and then drench ‘em with water! It’s a double blast attack that’ll keep your opponents on their toes and running during every water fight. With the OOZINATOR blaster you don’t just get soaked, you get drenched!

Are you still intrigued? Check out the reviews on Amazon.com. You can also watch the original tv commercial and a remix on Youtube.com.

Whatever.