In retrospect, Pong and its look-alikes were incredibly dull games. Two paddles and a ball. Wow. I’m pretty sure my Radio Shack version was only in black and white as well. Of course, I only played it on black and white TVs so I can’t be sure.
Ahhhh, and maybe another.
Oh, but don't overdo it. No, no...ohhhhhh, too late.
C'mon, just slow down and pace yourself and...awwwwwwww, man.
OK that's enough, time to sleep it off.
BOSTON -- A criminal investigation has been launched into the death of an 8-year-old Connecticut boy who accidentally shot himself in the head while firing an Uzi at a Massachusetts gun club during the weekend.
Christopher Bizilj, of Ashford, Conn., lost control of the weapon on Sunday while firing it at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club.
A criminal investigation involving state and local police is being conducted, according to Hampden County District Attorney William Bennett. Officials are focusing on whether the statute that governs firearms in Massachusetts was violated.
"At this point, I have found no lawful authority which allows an 8-year-old to possess or fire a machine gun," Bennett said in a statement.
Bennett also questioned whether it was a "reckless or wanton act" to allow the boy to use a fully loaded automatic weapon.
And I restrained myself from using the word “nut” anywhere in this post. 
I’ve always wondered if getting one of these houses isn’t a mixed blessing. Sure, the new homes are a much needed windfall for deserving families, but I suspect that the community is always looking for and judging any “misuse” of the gift house or "misbehavior" of the recipient family. If a customer clearly out of view of the staff and management is sneaking a smoke, only the customer should be fined.In other words, the smokers should always be ticketed. The owner should only be ticketed if there is a reason to believe they were aware of the smoking in their establishment and did nothing about it.
If the establishment is full of smokers puffing away right in front of staff and management, then both the customers AND the owners should be fined. This would also apply to employees if they were the ones smoking.
WESTFIELD, Massachusetts (AP) -- An 8-year-old boy died after accidentally shooting himself in the head while firing an Uzi submachine gun under adult supervision at a gun fair.The boy lost control of the weapon while firing it Sunday at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club, Police Lt. Lawrence Valliere said.
The boy was with a certified instructor and "was shooting the weapon down range when the force of the weapon made it travel up and back toward his head, where he suffered the injury," a police statement said. Police called it a "self-inflicted accidental shooting."
Putting the "nut" in gun nut.
...chances are that in ten days, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will have a big decision to make about who he sends to Washington.The trouble with this speculation, of course, is that the decision ultimately comes down to the whims of one exceptionally unpredictable politician. Virtually no one, including Blagojevich, has completely ruled out the possibility that the governor might pick himself to fill the seat - a move so controversial that it is almost never attempted.
Still, there's no harm in speculation, so without further ado...
You can almost certainly rule out Democratic Rep. Rahm Emanuel, one of a troika of superpowered Illinois Democrats in Washington (along with Obama, and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin). At 48, Emanuel is already the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House. Ahead if him are current Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is 68 years old, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who is 69, and Majority Whip James Clyburn, who is 68.
The math would seem to suggest, then, that Emanuel may well become Speaker of the House some day - a historic ascension which would make him the highest-ranking Jewish officeholder in American history. It's doubtful he would give up an excellent shot at the Speakership to move to the back of the line as a freshman United States Senator (although Emanuel will be only 49 next year and would have plenty of time to climb the ladder in the Senate; Robert Menendez gave up the same position Emanuel holds, that of caucus chair, to accept a Senate nomination).
The same would not be true of State Senate President Emil Jones, a Blagojevich ally, would be selected to fill the seat. At 73, Jones holds a position of exceptional prominence in Illinois politics, which he would be sacrificing to become 100th in seniority in Washington. Blagojevich may also be reluctant to send one of his few friends in Springfield out of the state.
Selecting Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan would solve one of Blagojevich's biggest problems; it would remove a potential rival for his reelection to the governorship, a position which Madigan reportedly covets. On the other hand, Blagojevich is a long-time political enemy of Madigan's father, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, and as such, he probably has little desire to do any kind of favors for the Madigan family.
Blagojevich will be under some pressure to appoint a minority, and there are a number of possibilites there. At 67, Rep. Danny Davis is probably too old for an appointment as a freshman Senator, but it's well known that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. would welcome the appointment. Another possibility there is Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who would be the first Hispanic Senator elected from Illinois.
The hot rumors revolve around Illinois Veterans' Affairs director Tammy Duckworth, who would, I believe, be the first Asian-American woman in the United States Senate. Although she has never held elected office (she narrowly lost a race for Congress to Rep. Peter Roskam in 2006), she is apparently very well-liked by Obama, Durbin, Emanuel and Blagojevich, and a good relationship with those four power brokers goes a long way.
Outside of minority picks, Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston has been very clear that she'd like the appointment. She's certainly a solid liberal, but she's had some bad press over the last few years (her husband pled guilty in 2006 to a check-kiting scheme and served five months in prison, though Schakowsky herself was not accused of any wrongdoing).
State Comptroller Dan Hynes, who sought the seat in 2004 and lost to Obama in the primary, would also be a solid pick, as would Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn. Hynes and Blago apparently have a frosty relationship (a lot of people have such a relationship with Blagojevich), but Hynes could be appointed to the Senate to forestall a potential primary challenge for the Governorship in 2010. The same is true of 32-year-old State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, who, like Hynes, Madigan and Quinn, is rumored to seek the Governor's office.
Then there's always the possibility that Blagojevich might appoint himself. He's just...er, unconventional enough to actually do it, and since most of the other powerful Democrats in Springfield currently seek the Governorship, he might be in better position to survive a 2010 primary (which would be more likely to come from a U.S. Rep, like Schakowsky, Davis, Jackson or Gutierrez.
Overall, there's really no telling what Blagojevich will do if he gets the opportunity. Rumors are currently swirling around Duckworth, but rumors are awfully fickle.
That reminds me, how have the Bud frogs been during under this administration?
And here's CNN's reaction. They have a cool map like Fred's but are ever so more serious about it.
Here's how the foremost authority on everything describes Beer Pong:Beer pong ... is a drinking game in which players throw a table tennis ball across a table with the intent of landing the ball in one of several cups of beer on the other end. The game typically consists of two two-player teams, one on each side of a table, and a number of cups set up on each side. There are no official rules, so rules may vary widely, though usually there are 6 or 15 plastic cups arranged in a triangle on each side. The number of players on a team can vary as well, from one to three or more.
When a ball lands in a cup, the defending team must consume all of the beer inside that cup. The cup is generally not completely filled. A recent Time article stated that cups were 1/4 to 1/3 full. The game is won by eliminating all the other team's cups before all of one's own cups are eliminated. The losing team must then consume all the beer remaining in the winning team's cups.
And Beer Pong balls designed for the sport.
Like I said, I'm past the age where I need to pound beer as a matter of sport. I prefer to do it at my own (slower) pace these days.
Have a great weekend! And enjoy a beer with or without your balls.
Oh, and one other thing. I found out that at least one AIG employee has been harassed here in Springfield because of the perceived sins of the larger company management. I’m told that a local employee wearing an AIG badge was verbally abused at a local box store for the whole AIG mess. People, get a grip. Do not take your frustrations out on low level workers shopping at a retail store. That employee has nothing to do with AIG corporate decisions and that employee may wind up being a victim of the situation if the Springfield office is sold (they are up for sale), or the office is disbanded or layoffs come or whatever.
But here’s where it gets sticky for AIG. The $15 out of pocket cost per person doesn’t pay for the entire cost of the bus, so AIG pays for the rest out of some employee activity fund. Apparently, someone at AIG, fearing bad publicity, decided the bus trip needed to be cancelled at the last minute. The problem is, the way I understand it, AIG saves no money since the bus has already been paid for. A bigger problem is that some people participating in the trip went and bought things like non-refundable theater tickets for Saturday. These people now either have to eat that cost or drive up on their own.
The Republican National Committee appears to have spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August.
According to financial disclosure records, the accessorizing began in early September and included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74.
The records also document a couple of big-time shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September.
If we were all given a clothing stipend like that, this recession would be over very quickly.
In time, I think places like that may indeed become the last refuge for the public smoking hardcore dead-enders, but smoke-free will still be the norm as most proprietors are good citizens willing to work within the law, even if the politicians and law enforcement cant figure out exactly how far to go in enforcing the law. If violations ever did become widespread, which I doubt will happen, I think enforcement measure would be stepped up. Right now there’s just no need for it.
All snarkiness aside, congratulations to Kate Catalano of Brewhaus for being the Best Waitperson runner-up. We look forward to her sound beer advice on our trips there. She also sometimes hangs around to listen to our inane ramblings between beer recommendations.
Since 1989, Iceland which manufactures few things and exports almost nothing, has seen the rise of a few breweries. One Icelandic beer is Viking beer.
Another is Thule.
And this is the light version of Viking. The "Lite" logo reminds me of something but I seriously can't think of what.
I'm not sure you can buy any of these here in the the U.S. but you can order them online. For a price. A hefty price. Here.
I did a calculation and even at the cheapest shipping rate, it would cost me $78 for a six pack of Viking (although a six of Thule would run me only $48). To help out the the hard-hit people of Iceland I am almost inclined to order one, but if I did, the Mrs. would probably ship the beer and ME to back Iceland where I would probably live here.
Have a great weekend! And remember: Save Iceland, Drink Viking.
