Musings from Brian J. Noggle
Saturday, April 11, 2009
 
First, They Came For Incandescent Bulbs, But I Wasn't Paying Attention
Then they came for big screen televisions, and no doubt they'll notice:
    The California proposal—which could be adopted this summer—would forbid retailers from selling TVs that require what state officials think is too much power. Proponents claim they are mandating energy efficiency, and who could object to that? The practical effect, however, would be to remove TVs with screens 40 inches or bigger from the market.
Why not let the controlled markets work, and just let the sales fall as part of a depression caused by other leaders of that mindset?

Because that's not ruling the peasants, baby.


- posted by Brian J. @ 6:06 AM   0 comments
Friday, April 10, 2009
 
Joe Williams Catches The Essence Of A Republican Party Meeting
In his review for the film Observe and Report:
    History will attest that the most frequently occurring character in the comedies of this decade has been the self-inflated blowhard who is actually a pinhead, but in the hands of man-child Rogen, Ronnie is several degrees to the right of a blustering Ben Stiller or Will Ferrell.

    We watch in shock as this wannabe cop engages in date rape, hard-drug abuse and vigilante mayhem that seems derived from repeated viewings of "Taxi Driver." Some of the slapstick is brutally funny, but the laughs are like involuntary confessions elicited by a taser.
Date rape, hard drug abuse, and vigilante mayhem. That pretty much identifies what conservative thought is. If you're an unthoughtful film critic.


- posted by Brian J. @ 7:51 AM   0 comments
Thursday, April 09, 2009
 
It Could Have Been A Tragedy
Semitrailer truck carrying kegs of beer rolls over near Miller Park on I-94:
    Crews will have to unload kegs of beer from a semitrailer that rolled over near Miller Park and they will have to close all westbound lanes of I-94 some time this afternoon when they're ready to remove the truck from the freeway.
Except for some minor bruising, the kegs seem to be okay.

You know what would really suck? Getting hit by a keg truck and having the accident rupture some kegs which leak into your car and into your mouth and and you get a DUI for it. Now that would suck.

That's what makes me exceptional at software QA. A good imagination for how it could be worse.


- posted by Brian J. @ 12:58 PM   2 comments
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
 
The Sky Writer Was Worth Every Penny
Family Dollar sees 3Q results above Wall Street


- posted by Brian J. @ 12:33 PM   0 comments
Monday, April 06, 2009
 
Good Book Hunting: April 2009 (so far)
What a difference a couple of years makes. Two years ago, we went to a book fair in Arnold and I thought it was in the middle of nowhere. We approached from one side, from the north. This time, though, we came from the south, and I realized that the church was on the corner of Jeffco Boulevard, the main drag in Arnold. A new big box shop development also cut down on the adjacent woods. So my former impression of a rural church was mistaken.

The selection was pretty thin, thinner than the preceding visit. I have to wonder about the future of church book fairs year after year. They draw from donations from reading members of the congregation, and that pool and available donations must diminish as time goes by.

I bought a couple videos and some books:
Another visit to the Arnold church
Click for full size


Highlights:
  • Shane, the source for the Alan Ladd movie.

  • Linda Greenlaw's next book, which takes place after The Lobster Chronicles.

  • A biography of Queen Elizabeth II.

  • A book by the author of Fate Is The Hunter, which I read at the behest of the Swedish mechanic who lived next door to my father when I attended the university.
This weekend, we went to a church in Overland that had no fixed prices; you got whatever you wanted for a "donation." This is a double-edged sword for us, since we pick up books like it's a bag day, using the excuse, "It's only going to cost me a donation (that is, not much)," but when we get to the cashbox, we donate more than a similar number of books would cost at a set price. For example, we donated $40 for this:
Another visit to the Arnold church
Click for full size


Highlights include:
  • A number of Star Trek books, including some of the Blish series based on the Star Trek series and some of the Alan Dean Foster series based on the animated series.

  • The Lord of the Rings series, a set that looks like it's in better shape than the ones I own but have yet to read.

  • Some movie tie-ins, like MASH Goes to Maine and Beneath the Planet of the Apes.

  • Some classics, like Les Miserables and A Clockwork Orange. Isn't the latter a classic? I'm not keeping score.

  • A Family Circus and a Heathcliff collection of cartoons.

  • A Zane Grey western.
Fortunately, most of these books look short, unlike the 600+ page opuses (opi?) that I've worked on so far this year.


- posted by Brian J. @ 8:39 AM   2 comments
Sunday, April 05, 2009
 
Barack Obama Loves His Country
The problem is, his country is apparently the European Union. From the London Telegraph, a story that covers the Republican wrath over President Obama's remarks:
    In a speech in France, a country that has been a bastion of anti-US sentiment in recent years, the President said: "In America, there is a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.

    "But in Europe, there is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual, but can also be insidious. Instead of recognising the good that America so often does in the world, there have been times where Europeans choose to blame America for much of what is bad. On both sides of the Atlantic, these attitudes have become all too common."
You know, I'm mostly Republican, but all American. President Obama can call me those things if he wants, but if he's talking trash about America, now that does rankle me. I feel as though I should explain to him as I would a two-year-old that this behavior is inappropriate.

Perhaps this is President Obama's Ich bin ein Berliner speech. Except in his case, one can reasonably wonder if he wishes it were so.

Krauthammer says:


(Video seen on Neo-neocon.)

Power Line guys say:
    Barack Obama's criticism of America before a French audience takes this approach to a new level. He is after all the president of the United States. Obama nevertheless passed judgment on the United States and found America wanting....
Gabriel Malor adds:
    This guy is going to stand up Over There and badmouth Americans and President Bush? He's a coward with an inferiority complex, a desperate desire to win the approval of his perceived European betters. What an ass.

- posted by Brian J. @ 1:00 PM   0 comments
 
Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid (If It Suits Your Worldview)
County DA: No shooting victims could've been saved:
    A faster response by emergency officials to the attack at an immigrant services center in Binghamton would have saved no lives, a county prosecutor said Sunday.
You know who might have saved lives? A concealed carry citizen on the scene.


- posted by Brian J. @ 12:49 PM   0 comments
To say Noggle, one first must be able to say the "Nah."