WARNING: Inciting political statements below

The following is a posting I recently made on a message board in response to a fellow poster who asserted that Australia was not only better than the United States, but in his opinion, the best country in the world. It's a little "colourful", but I tend to do that when writing on politics.

Mr. Furple, Australia is indeed a fine country, but you know very well that Canada has been the best country to live for decades. I say so and the United Nations says so. You have either forgotten, dismissed or ignored the posting I made at the NOSY board which clearly shows that Canada has been rated the number one place to live more times than any other country. In fact, Canada is almost always in the top five, currently sitting in the number three spot, one ahead of your lovely country.

In contrast, the U.S. has never cracked better than the number six spot and is currently rated 15th. They just can't seem to get past that "S-word" (Socialism) that their overseers have convinced them spells doom. Ironically (to Americans), the upper echelons of the UN HDI list is always populated by social-minded nations. We seem to have grasped that taking a little more out of workers' pay checks to help those in need makes for a happy and peaceful populace. Americans are stuck in the hell that allows a handful of born-into-money multi-billionaires to stay rich and for millions to be homeless, millions to languish in prisons and much of the rest staging gunfights in the streets fighting tooth and nail for their sliver of the American pie--a pie that is tainted and well past its expiration date.

Another tenet of "the American dream" is freedom and democracy. This dream is really a pipe dream. It is yet another way that the rich fool the huddled masses into buying into this system that forever keeps a small number of people filthy rich and a large number of people...well, just filthy. According to the 2008 Democracy Index (which measures electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, functioning of government, political participation and political culture), the United States ranks 18th in the world. This kind of performance from a country who purports to export democracy far and wide. What they really export is imperialism for the benefit of the elite few Americans.

Words of wisdom

A dog was sitting too close to the railroad tracks. A train came by and cut off half its tail. The dog chased the train to try to bite it. The train ran over the dog's head, severing it.

Moral: Don't lose your head over a piece of tail.

2008 will go down as a long year

That's because an extra second will be added at 23:59:59 on December 31st. According to those who keep an eye on the earth's rotation, tides and other factors have skewed the gap between atomic clocks and the sun's position above the earth.

Such factors and adjustments are not rare. Alterations to time are made from every six months to seven years--whenever the earth's position and atomic clocks are off by one second or more.

Learn More

Q & A's from around the web

I'd like to chat via yahoo messenger with girls who swallowed a live goldfish. I wanna know more about it?

Listen, bud. Don't think that they're going to want to swallow your minnow.

How To Install A Home Security System

1. Go to a second-hand store and buy a pair of men's
Work Boots size 14-16 (used)
2. Place them on front porch, along with a copy of
Gun And Ammo Magazine.
3. Put a few giant dog dishes next to the boots and magazine
4. Leave a note on your door that reads


Hay Bubba,

Big Jim, Duke, Slim, and I gone for more ammunition.

Will be back in one hour. Don't mess with the pit bulls-- they attacked the mailman this morning and messed him up real bad. I don't think Killer took part in it, but it was hard to tell from all the blood. Anyway, I locked all of the dog's in the house. Better Just wait outside until we can get back.

Scooter

I've only hunted for two things in my life. Snails--they have a hard time getting away once you track the lil buggers down. And mushrooms--they move even slower than snails. But both are great eatin'.

Q & A's from around the web

Does anyone know of any politically oriented online games that simulate elections?

Try the Bill and Monica game. Oh. I thought you said "stimulate erections".

Q & A's from around the web

Why do police have locks on their lockers?? I MEAN, POLICEMEN DON'T STEAL!!

THey hve to keep the stuff they steal from citizens out of sight. For example, I had a cop let me go for speeding if I willingly gave him a P-38 German pistol I had on me at the time. I told him a speeding ticket did not warrant me giving him my $1,000 or more P-38 and he told me "What speeding ticket? You were breaking and entering." So, yes, cops do steal.

My husband is a cop and I am sorry to tell you that police do in fact steal. They mostly steal food out of the refrigerator but they have been known to take stuff from lockers as well. From all the b.s. my husband says about his job it sounds like it is pretty much like working anywhere else. People are untrustworthy and annoying no matter where you work. Cops are not above the law, they break it as well.

Q & A's from around the web

What is the best dialogue to make someone happy within 1 minuets ?

Even without dialogue, listening to 1 minuet is usually enough to make me happy. :)

Money!

I've been putting off writing about the stock market, but I can't ignore it any longer. The economic news keeps getting worse and worse and the indexes keep going higher and higher. Something's got to give. I've been out of the market for several months, having exited before the major carnage started, but I've been reluctant to get back in the water, fearing there's sharks just below the surface.

It's possible that the market dropped too low and has corrected itself, but being a pessimist by nature, I am more prone to believe that the recent recovery is a "dead cat bounce". As far as I'm concerned, we have not yet seen the devastating effect all the layoffs are to have on the economy. Everyone is cutting spending. And that includes those lucky enough to have a job right now. They're scared #$!2^@# that they're next on the chopping block...and they probably are.

This sort of situation tends to be a catch-22. The more layoffs there are, the less spending there is. The less spending there is, the worse the economy gets. The worse the economy gets, the more layoffs there are.

I am going out on a not-so-long limb and declare that this thing will get much worse before it gets better. I know I'm not the only one predicting doom and gloom, but I have been posting, chatting, e-mailing and conversing about the emergence of third world countries and the possible economic collapse of the United States for almost 20 years now.

Having said that, I pray it doesn't turn out as bad as I have imagined it, for that would not bode well for the whole world and especially Canada, America's largest trading partner. One bright note is that the emergence of third world nations has provided a much needed diversification of trading partners. If an economic collapse of the U.S. had happened ten years ago, the entire planet might have become "the third world". Today, there's a few others to do business with.

One last thought, and remember, you heard it here first (at least if I am right), I see the American indexes dropping below their previous lows in the coming months. I'll join the market at that point because I expect slow and steady gains going forward for the foreseeable future. However, I'm not giving refunds if I'm wrong.

Ripped from the headlines

KABUL, Afghanistan – On a whirlwind trip shrouded in secrecy and marred by dissent, President George W. Bush on Sunday hailed progress in the wars that define his presidency and got a size-10 reminder of his unpopularity when a man hurled two shoes at him during a news conference in Iraq. Each shoe was thrown with great force and accuracy and the president narrowly avoided being struck in the head...twice.

In unrelated news...

Toronto, Canada – Early Sunday evening, the Toronto Blue Jays announced the signing of a pitcher to replace A.J. Burnett who was recently wooed to the Yankees organization with a five-year, $82.5 million contract. No name and few details regarding the Jays' new hurler are known but the release did say "He has international experience".

They didn't have robots like this when I was a kid

Here's a story right out of my own backyard. Trung Le of Brampton, Ontario, Canada has been building robots, he says, since he was four years old. He has sunk many thousands of dollars into his hobby and his latest invention is quite an amazing thing--a life-size female android. "Aiko" is a very talented girl with some interesting features such as smooth, life-like skin, breasts and even er, um, naughty bits. Trung is looking for funding that would enable him to "teach" Aiko enough skills to be a viable "employee" for home and or office.


You can read the story for yourself here:

You can watch Aiko in action here:

Q & A's from around the web

How can i win a scolorship for master degree ?

First, you'd have to learn how to spell "scholarship".

Q & A's from around the web

Wat do guys look for in grls?

intelegence. i want a gal who can carry on a conversation, who is romantic, and we have to at least ahve a few likeness in some aspects of movies, or music.


Editorial note: I'm not going to start splainin' the irony of the above.

Great Christmas moments

For those of you who have a partner or children who can't keep their mits off their Christmas gifts before jolly St. Nick arrives, Hallmark has just the thing for you--gift bags that come with a built-in alarm system. A motion sensor will alert everyone in the house that someone is trying to sneak a peek at their Christmas presents. These handy bags come in a variety of sizes and range in price from $4.99-$6.99.

Used creatively, such as placed at the foot of the stairs with a romantic little gift, they also double as an early warning system when you're cheating upstairs with the chick next door. Nothing says love louder than a Hallmark siren wailing like a banshee urging you to quickly stuff the biatch through the window.

New Hallmark Products

Historic event...pffft.

I let an important(?) event slip by without mention. This past Sunday, a regular season NFL game was held outside of American soil. The Buffalo Bills played host to the visiting Miami Dolphins in a muchly hyped game here in Toronto this past Sunday. I am not and never have been a football fan, but it was difficult not to hear of this "spectacle".

I use quotes because unlike the excitement inherent in most any NFL game, from all accounts, this one was fairly dull. For one, there were few real fans. Not only because neither combatants brought many of their supporters, but because not enough interested Canadian fans could be found to fill the 54,000 seats. Apparently, I'm not the only non-fan--there were seats available at game time. I wonder how much it had to do with the fact that the Rogers family figured $575 a ticket was a fair price for the best seats.

Did I mention that the action on the field was even worse than the attendance? It turned out to be a field goal fest with the Bills on the losing end of a 16-3 final score.

The high point of the day came before the game even started when the girl singing the Canadian national anthem was singing too slowly and the entire stadium sang out loudly and at the right tempo completely drowning out the singer.

Is this heart-wrenching or what?

A dog is run over by what appears to be two vehicles. Another stray attempts to rescue the already dead dog by dragging him away from highway traffic to the safety of the median.





This pooch is also "dog's best friend" and deserves a medal of valour. It's times like these that the memory of my own deceased pet touches my heart. Sometimes, it's an insult to beasts to describe humans as "acting like animals". Our furry friends are often nicer than our fellow man.

I see cold people

I was very disappointed yesterday when I attended Woodbine, my local horse racing venue, and they cancelled thoroughbred races 3 through 13. According to the announcement, the jockeys felt it was too cold for them to ride. Having already paid $5 for a racing form and this being the final day of live racing until spring made it particularly upsetting.

Now, I've known them to cancel racing cards due to lightning storms and windy conditions, but this is the first time I've heard the excuse that it's just too cold for the jockeys. While I imagine it's happened before, it seems like a pretty flimsy excuse. After all, standardbred horses (trotters) and their drivers race all winter long through the worst that a Canadian winter can throw at them. Racing in blizzard conditions is almost commonplace. Many is the time when neither fans nor announcer can see the horses at all for much of the race!

I'm sorry if I'm going to upset people, but unless there is a safety concern that was never expressed by the announcer, "too cold for the jockeys" just doesn't cut it with me. The temperature was about 5 C degrees below freezing and there was bright sunshine. Granted, there were wind gusts that produced a wind chill factor, but how bad can it be to be outside for the less than two minutes it takes to run a race? As it was, horses and riders were going directly to the starting gate, dispensing with the post parade.

Most of the betting public spent considerably longer than two minutes walking from the parking lot to the grandstand. I wonder--would the jockeys and everyone else who makes a living from the races be understanding if the public informed them that they would not attend on account of it being too cold to walk from the parking lot? We make that trek even at 40 below! I'm guessing that Mr. Leading-jockey-who's-used-to-spending-the-winter-in-the heat-of-Barbados had a lot to do with the cancellation.

I also wonder why they staged two races before cancelling the rest of the card. It's not like the weather got colder during that time. If anything, it got warmer. Of course, if they had cancelled all the racing before it started, many people wouldn't have attended at all. Once they have us there, obviously we're going to wager on the simulcast races from other tracks. And buy forms and programs. And buy food. Am I the only one who smelled rotten fish?

Speaking of rotten fish, it left a very bad taste in my mouth. I and many others were looking forward to the last day of live racing before the long drought that lasts until April. Jockeys: Next time, bring your long johns.


Horsies frolicking on a beautiful winter day:


You always won every time you placed a bet...

Innapropriate image

No commentary required. It's just wrong.

Ripped from the headlines

Man assaults girlfriend with cheeseburger

VERO BEACH, Fla. – A Vero Beach man faces a domestic violence charge after authorities said he assaulted his girlfriend with a cheeseburger. An Indian River County Sheriff's Office arrest report said a 22-year-old man and his girlfriend got into an argument as they sat in a car in front of their home.

The report said the man would not let the woman out of the vehicle, so she threw his drink out of the car. In response, the man allegedly grabbed her arm and smashed the cheeseburger into her face. The pair got out of the car, and authorities say the man again took the McDonald's sandwich and put it on her face.

The man was released on $1,000 bond Wednesday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wonder how much the bail would have been if instead he had thrown chicken McNuggets at her.

Q & A's from around the web

Pads vs Tampons which one kicks butt better?

If they're kicking butt, you're a couple of inches too low.

Fewer cars stopped, but a lot more drinking drivers found

Notice anything strange about this article taken from my home town newspaper?

Peel police have charged 18 motorists with drunk driving in the first five days of the Holiday RIDE campaign. That's triple the number of drivers charged after 2,622 vehicles were stopped compared to the same time period last year when 5,065 vehicles were stopped and only six drivers charged.

Others charged with impaired driving and having an excess blood/alcohol level are: Brampton's Amrik Singh Densa, 41, Khemraj Persaud Rajaram, 36, Sean Anderson, 22, and Jasver Singh, 30, Mississauga's Joao Da-Rocha, 52, Grzegorz Faryna, 48, Oakville's David Vila, 23, and Pickering's Emad Lamie Awad. Charged with having an excess blood/alcohol level are: Brampton's

Edgar Arteaga, 44, Thuan Thi Tran, 25, Mississauga's Samidh Kumar Patel, 28, Sandeep Dhaliwal, 20, Michael Daniels, 19, Darmendrea Nandran, 35, and Oakville's Hannes Carl Svensson, 36. Amarpreet Pahuja, 27, of Mississauga is charged with impaired driving, refusing to give a breath sample and assault.

It just warms my heart to know that many immigrants have adapted so well to the Canadian tradition of getting sloshed during the holiday season and then getting behind the wheel of a car. In fact, it's a disgrace that there's so few "white" names listed above. I challenge every proud Canadian out there named John, Bill, Daryl and his other brother Daryl to get out there, chug some Molson and get some normal sounding names on that police blotter. Show your Canadian spirit!

I beg your pardon?

Dallas Stars forward Sean Avery is in hot water again. The Superpest of the NHL received a suspension for conduct "detrimental to the league or game of hockey."

The offence occurred when the team was in Calgary and Avery made these comments on camera:

"I'm really happy to be back in Calgary. I love Canada. I just want to comment on how it's become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds."

Avery's ex-girlfriend, actress Elisha Cuthbert, is dating Calgary defenceman Dion Phaneuf and had been romantically linked to Mike Komisarek of the Montreal Canadiens. Avery also dated model and actress Rachel Hunter, the girlfriend of Los Angeles Kings centre Jarrett Stoll.

Elisha Cuthbert:



The Stars were so shocked by their own player's conduct that they publicly supported the suspension. In the past, he's occasionally painted his fingernails black to distract an opponent during a fight. On the ice, he is human sandpaper. Newsweek dubbed Avery "the human equivalent of jock itch."

Supermarket outlaws

Yesterday, I was at the supermarket check-out line and I noticed that the woman in front of me had eight 24-can cases of coke in her shopping cart. In fact, that's all she had in it. Moments later, a man whom I presume was her husband, brought an empty cart and they transferred four of the cases from her cart to his. Then, they proceeded to nonchalantly and while chattering, pay separately for the soda. In fact, it turns out he was a little short of cash and she provided the needed funds.

The reason was clear, but to verify it, when I got home, I checked the flyer from the store that gets delivered to my door each week (the flyer gets delivered, not the store) and sure enough, the pop was on sale and there was a limit of four cases per family.

Now, not only did they clearly violate the terms of the sale, they also thought nothing of the husband butting in line. Of course, neither offence was serious enough to end in a lynching, though it might have had a deterrent effect not only on those two culprits but also on other would-be supermarket rule violators.

I don't generally call people out on immoral behaviour, but I have on occasion, and I'm feeling sorry today that I didn't that time. Bothersome also, is the fact that the check-out girl never batted an eye during the proceedings. I think she should have lost her badge or at least forced to clean up aisle five for a week or so.

I wonder if people would be as quick to break with store rules if there were a gallows with two dummies hanging from it in the centre of every supermarket with a sign that reads "THEY VIOLATED THE LIMIT OF FOUR PER FAMILY PURCHASE RULE". Or perhaps a man on a cross--I don't mean as a threat to be crucified, but as a reminder to be decent for Christ's sake. Well, either way.

Q & A's from around the web

Where can i get a PhD online for free?
One of those dodgy ones where you put your name down and get a PhD for nothing..I want to be a doctor.

People are well aware of this buddy, and do a HUGE back-round check.

A back-round check??? You can spot a phony doctor by checking their ass? Most doctors put their degree on a wall.

Indiana woman dies at 115 as world's oldest person

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. - Edna Parker, who became the world's oldest person more than a year ago, has died at age 115.

UCLA gerontologist Dr. Stephen Coles said Parker's great-nephew notified him that Parker died Wednesday at a nursing home in Shelbyville. She was 115 years, 220 days old, said Robert Young, a senior consultant for gerontology for Guinness World Records.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The above sounds like something I could have made up, considering that the story came from Shelbyville, a fictional town next to The Simpsons' home town of Springfield, and the gerontologist bearing the same name as the actor (Robert Young) who played the lead in the TV series "Marcus Welby, M.D.", who himself lived to a ripe old age of 91, but I assure you the story is authentic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Parker outlived her two sons, Clifford and Earl Jr. She also had five grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and 13 great-great-grandchildren.

Parker taught in a two-room school in Shelby County for several years after graduating from Franklin College in 1911. She wed her childhood sweetheart and neighbor in 1913.

Coincidentally, Parker lived in the same nursing home as 7-foot-7 Sandy Allen, whom Guinness recognized as the world's tallest woman until her death in August.

News Story

Q & A's from around the web

How long should I let them go at it for? I put my male hamster with the female over an hour ago and they are still having sex. How much longer should I let them go for?

It depends. How much money did he put on her dresser?

Brilliant CSI's? I think not.

What's up with every location in every episode of CSI taking place in the dark? The CSI geniuses are smart enough to find a kidnapped person from a single clue of a wasp larva burnt to a crisp found in the wheel well of an abandoned car, but they're not smart enough to turn on the lights in their lab to examine evidence? The biggest item in the crime unit's budget must be for flashlight batteries. Gimme a break.

Q & A's from around the web

What can I use to discipline my wife that won't leave any scars or bruises?

Your tongue.

Ripped from the headlines

The Canadian Press

N.S. lobstermen told to stay clear of area near sunken, diesel-laden barge

November 24, 2008 6 p.m.

HALIFAX, N.S. — On the first day of the fall season for Atlantic Canada's biggest and most lucrative lobster fishery, federal officials warned Nova Scotia lobstermen to stay away from an area where a dredging barge carrying 70,000 litres of diesel sank in rough seas on the weekend.

An emergency response team confirmed Monday that surveillance flights spotted a long, narrow slick of some kind of oily substance about 15 metres wide and about 1,600 metres long.

Reporters aboard several news helicopters as well as small crafts that have made their way to the scene confirmed that the government's warning to lobstermen is being heeded as none of the creatures have been spotted near the wreck thus far.

File photo of lobsterman.

News item

ADT turns the lights off

Recently, I noticed an ADT TV commercial that has been playing very frequently. For anyone who doesn't know, ADT is one of the biggest and most respected security companies in North America. The reason I noticed this commercial is because in it, the announcer says "You can arm and disarm your home remotely and even turn on and off your lights". Now, you can call me a nit picker and I wouldn't object...so long as you don't do it by saying "Go home and pick them your nits".

Was this commercial translated from Japanese to English? Did none of the hundreds of people who read, saw, heard, were involved with or approved this commercial notice the glaring disjointed phrase? Perhaps the CEO's nine-year-old daughter wrote the copy.

I just decided to see how common this "flowery" phrase is. I got 121 hits on google for the exact phrase "turn on and off your lights". Well, it's nice to know that if ADT ever needs another ad writer, there's plenty of them out there who are up to its standards.

Ok, I'm leaving my keyboard now and going to turn it on my TV.

Listen to yo mama

As a card-carrying purebred Italian, I have always made my own pasta sauce from scratch. Last week, I either suffered a stroke or someone put a spell on me or something and I did a very uncharacteristic thing: I bought a jar of prepared sauce. My mom might disown me if she finds out. The relatives might stone me or shun me--ok, I'm alright with being shunned.

Let me explain. I had decided to try to reduce my grocery bill, so I started buying things that are on sale. Most of the items are things that I buy anyway--it's just that I have always bought them regardless of whether they were on sale or not. For the most part, it's been working out extremely well. Then I saw that I could pick up a jar of Ragu pasta sauce for $1, a fraction of what it costs me to make sauce from scratch--and without the work!

Long story short...it was little better than pouring ketchup on my spaghetti--yeccchhhh. Ragu puts the rag in Ragu. Even covering my bowl with a generous helping of Parmesan cheese wasn't enough to redeem the dish. Unfortunately, I am also Catholic and live by the rule that wasting food is a sin, so I had to suffer through three separate times eating the vile sauce. Mama mia!...was right again.

Q & A's from around the web

How is todays schooling different from 50 years ago ?

nothing different

Jews are considered humans now... anyone that notices them thieving is considered a racist.

They used to like, teach ya stuff, man.

they didn't go around killling each other and raping and having sex in school.

Q & A's from around the web

What is the difference between a pre-op and post-op transexual?

About six inches.

Mmm, mmm, good

If you ever wondered why kids' writing skills have been deteriorating for, well, quite frankly, decades, this blog entry may shed a little light on the situation. What follows is a letter copied verbatim that my daughter brought home from school about ten years ago. I just happened across it today and decided to post it. The teacher who wrote it committed an error in virtually each and every sentence in it, sometimes making three or four errors in a single sentence. In fact, she wastes no time in her assault on the English language by screwing up the salutation!

Parent and Guardians

The school council had become aware of another fund raiser that is no cost to you but could be a great benefit to the school.

Unlike the Kellogg’s fund raiser where it was for a short time span, this is one that continues over every year. Campbell’s food has a program that can benefit the school in many aspects. They ask us to collect soup labels (the entire label in GOOD condition). This includes all soup labels form Campbell’s, Chunky Soups, Classic Soups, Hearty Request, Half Fat, Special Selections, and Pepperidge Farms Goldfish Crackers snacks. This also includes their larger size can of 48 oz cans of soup.

The labels must be sent in by May 15, 1999, but we can continue to collect them to put them into out 1999/2000 year totals. We will be notified in early spring 1999 with details on how to register for the years 1999/2000 program. This program has been running 25 years in the U.S. and is now launched across Canada in the fall of 1998. The program runs from September to May every year with the labels’ count carried over to the next year.

With the help of friends, relatives and the school in whole we would be able to make a big dent in collecting the labels Here is some of the merchandise categories:
Computers, Sport & Equipment, Musical Instruments, Electronics, Videocassettes, CD-Roms, etc.

Please forward your entire label in good condition to the school so we can get started on a great fund raiser with nothing our of your pocket except the food you would put on your table.

If any questions please do not hesitate to call or talk to one of the school council representatives. Thank You for your support in helping your school get better for the sake of all the students in St. Stephen.

Sign of the times

I reported an issue to MickeySoft

...about their recent implementation of a new release of Windows Live Mail (hotmail). Here is my report followed by their response followed by my response to their response:

From : Vinny xxxxxx@hotmail.com
Sent : Sunday, November 09, 2008 1:28:25 AM UTC
To : LV_ML.WNLV.WW.00.EN.MSF.SEA.TS.T01.RTG.00.EM
Subject : Windows Live Mail:Other:Viewing Messages

Service :
Windows Live Mail

What type of problem do you have?
Other [Other]

Viewing Messages [Viewing Messages]

Be specific when describing your problem. The details that you include enable us to promptly send you the most likely solution to your issue.

"Check Mail" is no longer a function. Is there another way?

---

From: WEBCS.WLHM.00.00.EN.SYK.MNL.TS.T01.SPT.00.EM@css.one.microsoft.com
To: Vinny xxxxxx@hotmail.com
CC:
Subject: RE: SRX1084189647ID - Windows Live Mail:Other:Viewing Messages
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2008 04:00:19 -0800

Hello Vinny,

Thank you for writing to Windows Live Hotmail Technical Support. My name is Anna and I apologize for the delay in responding to your e-mail. I gather that you no longer have the Check Mail function. I understand the importance of this matter to you.

Windows Live Hotmail has just released a new version to provide better user experience. Check Mail function was removed. We understand this change may have come as a surprise to you, but we strongly feel you will soon have a much better experience with the new Windows Live Hotmail. As always, your satisfaction is our main goal.

To learn more about the new features and benefits of Windows Live Hotmail, please visit:

http://www.windowslive-hotmail.com/comingsoon/en-us/default.htm

We recognize that a change like this can feel unexpected and surprising, and we are eager to hear your feedback (both positive and negative) about the auto-upgrade process.

To send your feedback:

1. Please go to http://feedback.live.com/eform.aspx?productkey=wlmail&page=wlfeedback_home_form
2. Select the first option in the drop-down list, "I want to provide feedback on the automatic update to Windows Live Hotmail."

or click on the help icon "?" and choose "Feedback" on the upper right side of the page.

You are valuable at Windows Live and we look forward to provide you with consistent and effective service. We appreciate your input and involvement in our Windows Live products.

Sincerely,

Anna P.
Windows Live Hotmail Technical Support

---

Hello Anna,

Thank you for writing to me. My name is Vinny and I apologize for the delay in responding to your e-mail. I gather that you are aware that I no longer have the "Check Mail" function. I don't believe you understand the importance of this matter to me.

I understand that Windows Live Hotmail has just released a new version to provide better user experience. "Check Mail" function was removed. You understand this change came as a surprise to me, and while I strongly feel I will soon have a much better experience with the new Windows Live Hotmail, I also strongly feel I will miss the "Check Mail" function. If, as always, my satisfaction is your main goal, you would either explain how I can accomplish the same function, as my e-mail asked or else take steps to re-introduce the function.

I have learned more about the new features and benefits of Windows Live Hotmail, at:

http://www.windowslive-hotmail.com/comingsoon/en-us/default.htm
but it doesn't address the removal of the "Check Mail" function.

The change was unexpected and surprising, and I am eager to hear your feedback (both positive and negative) about the auto-upgrade process that removes a popular function without warning.

You are not so valuable at Windows Live since you did not answer my question on how to accomplish the function in the new version of Windows Live Mail but I look forward to you providing me with inconsistent but hopefully, occasional effective service. If you appreciate my input and involvement in Windows Live products, please respond with useful information.

Sincerely,

Vinny M.
Windows Live Hotmail user

The psychosis of corporations

For anyone who still had a modicum of respect for the institution of corporations, guess what Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are doing with the $10 billion of American taxpayer bail-out money. What else? They are giving out $12 billion in year-end bonuses, mostly to executives, of course, who have done a fine job taking them to the brink of bankruptcy. Oy.

Their reasons for the bonuses are further testament to the depth of their mental malady. According to them, the purpose of the bonuses is to retain "the talent". The same "talent" that nearly put the company under. The powers that be are so clueless that they don't know that if "the talent" leaves over being disgruntled over a lack of a bonus this year, that 1) they are spared the expense of a possible severance package should they need to cull the herd and 2) that this is an employer's market where they can re-hire better talent and for less compensation. Duh.

Always think of your health

Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting. Someone I know who is retired recently related this story:

The other day I went downtown and into a shop. I was only there for about five minutes, and when I came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket. I said to him, "Come on, man, how about giving a retired person a break?" He ignored me and continued writing the ticket. I called him a "Nazi". He glared at me and wrote another ticket for having worn tires. So I called him a "doughnut-eating Gestapo". He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he wrote a third ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more I abused him the more tickets he wrote. Personally, I didn't care. I came downtown on the bus, and the car that he was putting the tickets on had a bumper sticker that said "Obama in '08 ". I try to have a little fun each day now that I'm retired. It's important to my health.

Whose side is God on?

I stopped on a religious channel where an American soldier was recounting his experiences in Iraq. Several times he explained how he kept asking God to show that He was on his side. It seemed bizarre and incongruent that a believer should call on God while he is directing his tank to bombard the hell out of people across the river.

It made me think of the old expression "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition". Certainly anyone uttering this phrase sees the irony in it. Was the soldier's tale any different? How different was his situation from the enemy combatants possibly shouting "Allah is great!"?

I can understand a person defending his life with deadly force if he were in immediate danger. I cannot comprehend someone going half way around the world with the express purpose of killing people and then invoking God's name for his protection or even His help in killing other human beings.

Q & A's from around the web

In what ways do you worship George W Bush?

As a human reflection of Dionysus, the god of drunkeness and tomfoolery

i cry out his name while having problematic bowel movements

Ripped from the headlines

Portland Tribune - Fort McMurray, Alberta

A man has been charged with marijuana possession and cruelty to animals in an unusual case in this sleepy Canadian town. Fred Ketchup will be arraigned in court on Monday after police received a call about the suspicious death of a beaver.

A man walking along a ravine came upon the remains of the animal. The scene appeared suspicious and police were summoned. While authorities were investigating, incredibly, Mr. Ketchup, whose property backs onto the ravine, appeared at his back fence nonchalantly smoking a joint.

Police smelled the pot and went to speak with Fred. After a few minutes he was taken into custody and driven to the station where he allegedly confessed that he had stashed a bag of marijuana at the foot of a tree by the ravine.

Police released this photo as a warning to area beavers of the dangers of marijuana.

Q & A's from around the web

Atheists, do you find it condescending when christians say to you "I will pray for you"?

Absolutely. Those kind of people are no better than box-cutting wielding maniacs who crash airplanes into office buildings.

I usually respond with "I will think for you."

Q & A's from around the web

Is it legal to send/transmit one-way signals to space?

Just out of curiosity, are you wearing a tinfoil hat right now?

Ripped from the headlines

BBC News - Extracts from cannabis could help reduce brain damage in stroke victims, according to new research.

American scientists say they have found that several of the chemicals in cannabis or marijuana help to prevent damage to brain tissue.

The report is likely to lead to increased pressure to make marijuana and its derivatives more widely available for use on prescription.

Seen below is the leader of the research team:

How ironic is it?

How ironic is it that a video game about death, destruction and war is rated "M"? I don't know about you, but what I would call someone purchasing such a game is definitely not "Mature". Maybe the "M" rating stands for "Moron"?

How ironic is it?

How ironic is it that the election of Obama as president of the United States has made virtually the whole world jubilant while almost half the citizens of the united States are so completely distraught over it? Barack Obama was widely called a terrorist and even the anti-Christ. How could 150 million people hold such an extremely different view from the other six billion people on the planet?

I think the answer lies in the fact that Americans think quite differently than the rest of the world. And Obama is more like the rest of us than he is like the average American. In the minds of a great number of Americans, this can only spell disaster. Several had expressed to me that they would leave the country if Obama were to be elected. Remember, these are the same people who elected George W. Bush to office not once but twice. I think this makes it extremely clear how Americans think.

Right now

It's warmer in Toronto (17 C.) than it is in:

San Francisco (16 C.)
Rome (16 C.)
Paris (10 C.)
London (10 C.)

Must be all that globally warmed Arctic air wafting down.

Inappropriate image

Just what was this young lady thinking? The kid on the far right has no qualms about staring directly at heaven. I have a feeling these boys will never forget that day.

Britney Spears caught nude by hidden camera

An amateur photographer has made public explicit photos of...

Sorry, guys...this is just an experiment to see if scandalous keywords increase hits.

Palin gets punked