Random Thoughts

I went and did it - Now on Facebook

jwalkmagic — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:07:06 GMT

So I am now on Facebook - once again I bow to peer presure. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=630181027#/profile.php?id=1429809120&ref=profile

The 2008 Pigasus Awards

jwalkmagic — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:27:11 GMT

The Pigasus Awards for 2008 have been announced. They include such luminaries as: Category #1: To the scientist or academic who said or did the silliest thing related to the supernatural, paranormal or occult: Dr. Colin Ross, a psychiatrist in Texas. He is a lettered man, having published many articles in peer-reviewed journals, and you might think he would be the last person to earn a Pigasus... until you look a bit deeper. Dr. Ross claims that he can send electromagnetic beams out of his eyes. Category #2: To the funding organization that supported the most useless study of a supernatural, paranormal or occult claim: The Producers of "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed": Logan Craft, Walter Ruloff, and John Sullivan. Category #3: To the media outlet that reported as factual the most outrageous supernatural, paranormal or occult claims: The makers of Enzyte. Category #4: To the Performer who fooled the greatest number of people using the least talent: Jenny McCarthy, the well-known model and actor, who in recent days is getting far more publicity for her stance that vaccines cause autism. Category #5: Most persistent refusal to face reality: Kevin Trudeau. If you watch late-night cable TV, you could hardly have missed our final Pigasus awardee. He hit the airwaves in the 1990s shilling his book "Natural Cures 'They' Don't Want You to Know About", where he claimed eating coral calcium cured cancer. http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/pigasus-awards.html http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/component/content/article/3-newsflash/506-randi-speaks-the-2008-pigasus-awards-.html

More Damage From the Cult of Celebrity.

jwalkmagic — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:18:48 GMT

That intellectual giant Jenny McCarthy is the latest to use her celebrity status to foist dangerous ideas on a gullible public. She continues to advocate against childhood immunization against the mountains evidence to the contrary. Her basic argument is the usual one in these cases - I'm right because I'm well known. All those scientists and there well controlled studies must then be wrong. Just because she has been on Oprah dosn't mean she knows what she is talking about folks. Now there are those willing to fight back. http://www.jennymccarthybodycount.com/Jenny_McCarthy_Body_Count/Home.html http://www.stopjenny.com/ http://www.whatstheharm.net/ Feel free to re post these links. If we are luck she will bo back to her real talent - posing for Playboy.

Subject: Apology

jwalkmagic — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:11:14 GMT

Subject: Apology We, the United States of America, a top quality supplier of the ideals of liberty and democracy, would like to apologize for our 2001-2008 interruption in service. We located the technical fault that led to this eight-year service outage, and we have been working on the software since November 4, 2008. On January 20, we launched our new version. Early tests of the newly installed program indicate that we are now operating correctly. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by the outage. We look forward to resuming full service and hope to improve in years to come. We thank you for your patience and understanding. Sincerely, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Sent to me by a relative - thought I would pass it along.

It Is Over

jwalkmagic — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:48:04 GMT

I make this a separate entry because the thoughts Iwish to express are so contrary to that post - even contrary to how I feel at the moment. Our nightmare ends today. The Bush presidency will go down as perhaps the greatest failed presidency in history. As I write the neo cons and the far right pundits attempt to re-write history. They are using phrases like "The Obama Recession" and "The Bush Recovery Plan". It wont work. It wont work because Bush is not a failure for the things that went wrong in his tenure. He is a failure for what he is. His administration of blame and shame was his failure. Why worry about some guy living in a cave. What could he possibly do? In the wake of our greatest tragedy was the greatest international support for this nation in history. Do I use it to unify the world for generations to come? No - I take it as an opportunity to be the playground bully and dictate terms for how I want the world to be. After the greatest natural disaster in our nations history I find out that the frat boy buddies I appointed are incapable do I make decisive changes to get back on track? No - I find a way to blame the victims and the other party for what went wrong. When the nation needed someone to comfort us and be our strength. When we needed to call on all the talent available to us. When we needed to know we were all included did you reach out? No - You chose instead to spend your political capital purging your perceived enemies. Good people who's job it was to tell you when you were wrong - did you listen to them? No you chose to drive them away. Even to ruin some of their lives. Some say your failure was in trying to rule by deceit. But self deceit was your real failure. So now you go back to Texas to build your Library. You leave behind your mess for others to clean up. We will clean it up. We will because your lack of faith in the American people was misplaced. In the end your failure was that you just don't get it. Not only that you don't get it but that you are incapable of getting it.

Inauguration Day - The Future Is Now

jwalkmagic — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:57:22 GMT

Inauguration Day - The Future Is Now I have seen many changes in my life. Cultural, social, political. Change - a funny word when you think of it. The one inevitable constant in life is change. Mostly we fear it. Face it with anxiety, trepidation, even dread. It is never what we expect. Rarely as bad as we fear nor as good as we wish. It is after all the unknown. Once in a while we look for it, embrace it even desire it. This is one of those times. One of those rare times when we as a people have said we would rather look forward with hope. We want to embrace the future. No longer will we cling to the worn out ways of the past. No longer will we be swayed by old and tired dogma. Pundits keep telling us that "its the economy stupid" but they are wrong. They tell us that the Republicans lost sight of there fundamentals but they are wrong. The people are tired of leadership that follows. Leadership that sees the world through blinders. Leadership that can divides between us and them. Many years ago a man spoke on the Mall in DC of having a dream. He spoke to a future that judged not by the color of ones skin but the content of ones character. Today we take a quantum leap toward that future. We are not there yet. Much work remains. However for now hope is the order of the day.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Read My Christmas Blog

jwalkmagic — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 19:33:48 GMT

In the rush of crowds and less than polite shopping clerks it can at times be tough to smile and relish in what the season means. Throughout human history even before there was a Christmas people rejoiced at this time of year looking forward to the coming spring and a rebirth of life and spirit. Let not the naysayers dim the light one bit. Let not those who would twist this season to their own ends get even a single thought from you. Let us remember the words of Scrooge's nephew: “But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round—apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound 11 on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!” So with just a little irreverence I pass this along to all my friends however you choose to celebrate this wonderful season and say from my heart. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT The Xmas-Files 57 ELM STREET BETHLEHEM, PA. 11:51 P.M., DECEMBER 24TH We're too late! It's already been here. Mulder, I hope you know what you're doing. Look, Scully, just like the other homes: Douglas fir, truncated, mounted, transformed into a shrine; halls decked with boughs of holly; stockings hung by the chimney, with care. You really think someone's been here? Someone, or something. Mulder, over here-it's a fruitcake. Don't touch it! Those things can be lethal. It's O.K. There's a note attached: "Gonna find out who's naughty and nice." It's judging them, Scully. It's making a list. Who? What are you talking about? Ancient mythology tells of an obese humanoid entity who could travel at great speed in a craft powered by antlered servants. Once each year, near the winter solstice, this creature is said to descend from the heavens to reward its followers and punish disbelievers with jagged chunks of anthracite. But that's legend, Mulder-- a story told by parents to frighten children. Surely you don't believe it? Something was here tonight, Scully. Check out the bite marks on this gingerbread man. Whatever tore through this plate of cookies was massive-and in a hurry. It left crumbs everywhere. And look, Mulder, this milk glass has been completely drained. It gorged itself, Scully. It fed without remorse. But why would they leave it milk and cookies? Appeasement. Tonight is the Eve, and nothing can stop its wilding. But if this thing does exist, how did it get in? The doors and windows were locked. There's no sign of forced entry. Unless I miss my guess, it came through the fireplace. Wait a minute, Mulder. If you're saying some huge creature landed on the roof and came down this chimney, you're crazy. The flue is barely six inches wide. Nothing could get down there. But what if it could alter its shape, move in all directions at once? You mean, like a bowl full of jelly? Exactly. Scully, I've never told anyone this, but when I was a child my home was visited. I saw the creature. It had long white shanks of fur surrounding its ruddy, misshapen head. Its bloated torso was red and white. I'll never forget the horror. I turned away, and when I looked back it had somehow taken on the facial features of my father. Impossible. I know what I saw. And that night it read my mind. It brought me a Mr. Potato Head, Scully. It knew that I wanted a Mr. Potato Head! I'm sorry, Mulder, but you're asking me to disregard the laws of physics. You want me to believe in some supernatural being who soars across the skies and brings gifts to good little girls and boys. Listen to what you're saying. Do you understand the repercussions? If this gets out, they'll close the X-files. Scully, listen to me: It know when you're sleeping. It knows when you're awake. But we have no proof. Last year, on this exact date, SETI radio telescopes detected bogeys in the airspace over twenty-seven states. The White House ordered a Condition Red. But that was a meteor shower. Officially. Two days ago, eight prized Scandinavian reindeer vanished from the National Zoo, in Washington, D.C. Nobody-not even the zookeeper-was told about it. The government doesn't want people to know about Project Kringle. They fear that if this thing is proved to exist the public will stop spending half its annual income in a holiday shopping frenzy. Retail markets will collapse. Scully, they cannot let the world believe this creature lives. There's too much at stake. They'll do whatever it takes to insure another silent night. Mulder, I- Sh-h-h. Do you hear what I hear? On the roof. It sounds like...a clatter. The truth is up there. Let's see what's the matter. Written by Frank Cammuso and Hart Seely

I Now Own A Tricorder

jwalkmagic — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:05:38 GMT

OK - not literally. In my last blog I waxed on about my new cell phone/PDA. Well I already traded it in for a new one. Don't get me wrong - I loved the other one. It did almost every thing I needed it to do. Except of course hold a charge. Because Verizon couldn't fix the battery problem for me I convinced them to wave the restocking fee and allow me to upgrade again. The new phone you ask! Samsung Omnia. It is as close to a tricorder as I think any device can be. Once again it is essentially a mobile computer I carry on my belt. I can make phone calls, access the internet, read and send email, take pictures and video. With 8 gigs of on board flash memory and possible expansion by up to 16 gigs I'm not sure I will ever have to delete a file. I can beam files directly to another PDA or over a wifi network. While it has not got the cool built in sensors that the tricorders of Star Trek have it will if I so choose give me continuous updates of weather, news and traffic conditions any where in the world. If that was not enough I can use the camera to record documents and convert them into word or PDF format. OK this one is more James Bond than Star Trek but you get the point. I guess that is the question - Was this designed by a Trekky or Q branch? When I think I paid less for all this technology than I paid for my first computer ( Atari 800XL with 64K of pure memory ) I am again more than a little shocked. I again had to remind the child at the Verizon store that I did actually know a little something about computers. It was fun to see the expression on his face when I told him a friend of mine had built an Altair. He didn't know what I was talking about. He was all about the Blackberry Storm. That would have meant waiting till the next shipment arrived and giving up on some features. I must admit tho - I am getting something of an ego boost from owning the coolest phone on the block - until the next coolest phone is announced. Of course being able to do a bit of "in your face" to those iPhone freaks I know doesn't hurt either.

And So I become Even More Of A Techno Weenie

jwalkmagic — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:26:44 GMT

So my cell phone was dying - Excuse me my Personal Communication Device was no longer functioning to its specifications. I got down to Verizon and found that I had an upgrade due so as I was looking over my options - and the new pricing for the plans - I found it was about the same for me to go with a PDA as with a Cell Phone (oops Personal Communication Device) and wireless web. I ended up with the SMT5800 - Windows Mobile, sliding Qwerty Keyboard and pre loaded Office for mobile. When I am away from the house I check my email allot and more and more I am getting both word and PDF attachments that I need to at least read so I guess it was a good choice. I could have gone with a Vcast device but then I feel like I would be paying for features I would never use. I just don't see the point of watching TV on a two inch screen. Of course I still get stuff I will never use - stereo Blue Tooth music playback, video playback via Micro SD and a few others. What I like most is that finally Verizon is letting these devices sync directly to my computer - at the time I got my old phone (Er PCD ) they had a policy of locking out most of these features so that you had to access the Verizon network to transfer files and of course pay for the privilege. Now of course the I-Phone fanatics out there are all telling me that I should have gone with an I-Phone. Funny how the Apple freaks go all glassy eyed and take every pronouncement from Jobs as the Sermon on the Mount. Of course that would have meant switching to AT&T and the crappy coverage they have on the Cape. It would also mean a much higher monthly bill. Then there is the Google G1 - I love the idea of open source but I just can't bring myself to go with T-Mobile. My Blackberry friends think Blackberry is the only way to go - OK I admit the Storm is way too cool and I am tempted to trade in before my 30 day trial runs out but I like the 5800 in part for its size. If I am on a lighting call it is much less likely to get caught on something. While I have always been a fan of computers. I have actually put my hands on an Altair. I never thought I would get so deep into the instant communication age. I was the last person I know to get an answering machine and I had to me dragged kicking and screaming into the store for my first cell phone. So here I am more and more one of the "Connected". I now carry on my belt a more powerful computer than was aboard the command module for the Apollo missions to the moon. That thought alone is enough to cause more than a little culture shock.

History

jwalkmagic — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:38:58 GMT

Like all of you I am still more than a little blown away by the election results. More than the needed shift that President Elect Obama represents but by what truly has happened. How often can we say we were there for a true paradigm shift in history? More important how few people in the past witnessed such a paradigm shift as it was happening and knew it? We are fortunate to be able to say we have seen one of those moments. A moment that shows we as a country have matured. We have grown well beyond our past. We now have chosen to look at a man for the content of his character. How far have we traveled in such a short time. In my own lifetime I saw images of fire hoses being turned on people who only wanted to be treated as equals. I saw rocks being thrown at school buses filled with children - both black and white - because some didn't like the idea of their kids mixing with kids of other races. In my life time men of great courage were killed by fear. Fear of change. Fear that the truths held so tightly to might be wrong. While the work is not done by a long shot we can all feel a sense of pride in the great leap our society has taken. I know that there are those who do not share my joy or wonder. Who cling to the past. But for the moment they all seem very petty. I am trying my best to chronicle this moment for my nephew. He is still young enough that some day he will never know a world where race was a barrier to the highest office in the land. What some day will I say to him of the time before? What words will I have for the many who will like wise never know the world I grew up in? Will they even believe what I have to say? That is my hope. That they will live in such a world that they will find it odd that people ever acted that way. Thank you Barack Obama for giving me that hope.

How Low Can They Go?

jwalkmagic — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:46:45 GMT

Republicans try to use Oxford don to smear Barack Obama http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5063279.ece Sarah Baxter in Washington The Republicans have made a last-minute attempt to prevent Barack Obama’s ascent to the White House by trying to recruit an Oxford academic to “prove” that his autobiography was ghostwritten by a former terrorist. With two days before the election, Obama is poised to become America’s first black president, according to polls showing he has an average six-point lead over John McCain, his Republican opponent. Dr Peter Millican, a philosophy don at Hertford College, Oxford, has devised a computer software program that can detect when works are by the same author by comparing favourite words and phrases. He was contacted last weekend and offered $10,000 (£6,200) to assess alleged similarities between Obama’s bestseller, Dreams from My Father, and Fugitive Days, a memoir by William Ayers. Ayers, now a university professor in Chicago, co-founded the Weathermen, a radical 1960s underground group that bombed government buildings in Washington and New York. The Republicans accuse Obama of “palling around” with him. The offer to Millican to prove that Ayers wrote Obama’s book was made by Robert Fox, a California businessman and brother-in-law of Chris Cannon, a Republican congressman from Utah. He hoped to corroborate a theory advanced by Jack Cashill, an American writer. Fox and Cannon each suggested to The Sunday Times that the other had taken the initiative. Cannon said that he merely recommended computer testing of the books. He doubted whether Obama wrote his autobiography, adding: “If Ayers was the author, that would be interesting.” Fox said he had hoped that Cannon would raise the $10,000 to run a computer test. “It was Congressman Cannon who initially pointed me in that direction and, from our conversation, I thought he might be able to find someone [to raise the $10,000].” He believed that if “proof” of Ayers’s involvement was provided by an Oxford academic it would be political dynamite. Fox contacted Millican, who said: “He was entirely upfront about this. He offered me $10,000 and sent me electronic versions of the text from both books.” Millican took a preliminary look and found the charges “very implausible”. A deal was agreed for more detailed research but when Millican said the results had to be made public, even if no link to Ayers was proved, interest waned. Millican said: “I thought it was extremely unlikely that we would get a positive result. It is the sort of thing where people make claims after seeing a few crude similarities and go overboard on them.” He said Fox gave him the impression that Cannon had got “cold feet about it being seen to be funded by the Republicans”. Cannon insisted, however, that he was not interested in making an issue of Obama’s memoir “even if it were scientifically proven” to be someone else’s work. Obama said this weekend that the campaign would “get nasty” in its closing days. Last night he was forced to deny that he knew a Kenyan aunt was living illegally in the US. Zeituni Onyango, half sister of his late father, lost a bid for asylum in 2004. Obama said he had no knowledge of her status, but that the law should be obeyed.

Wasilla - Meth Capitol Of Alaska

jwalkmagic — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:55:18 GMT

Sarah Palin's all American Small Town turns out to be ground zero for meth production in Alaska. Make one wonder about firing all those Police Officials. "WASILLA - The Matanuska-Susitna area is the methamphetamine capital of Alaska, according to Alaska State Troopers. In 2003, authorities uncovered nine meth labs in the area. Last year, the number increased to 42, said Kyle Young, an investigator with the troopers who works with the Mat-Su narcotics team. Officials with the Office of Children's Services in Wasilla said the problem affects children. The office receives about 40 calls a month from people reporting abuse or neglect involving some aspect of the highly addictive drug. " http://www. huffingtonpost. com/2008/09/04/wasillas-meth-problem-mad_n_123996. html

Resume Padding From The McCain Campaign

jwalkmagic — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:26:34 GMT

Once again Sarah Palin has grossly padded her resume. Her much vaunted trip to Iraq was so much smoke and mirrors since the closest she got was a border crossing in Kuwait. Another ChickenHawk for the Repugs. "Palin camp clarifies extent of Iraq trip Says she never ventured beyond Kuwait border By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff | September 13, 2008 WASHINGTON - Sarah Palin's visit to Iraq in 2007 consisted of a brief stop at a border crossing between Iraq and Kuwait, the vice presidential candidate's campaign said yesterday, in the second official revision of her only trip outside North America. Following her selection last month as John McCain's running mate, aides said Palin had traveled to Ireland, Germany, Kuwait, and Iraq to meet with members of the Alaska National Guard. During that trip she was said to have visited a "military outpost" inside Iraq. The campaign has since repeated that Palin's foreign travel included an excursion into the Iraq battle zone. But in response to queries about the details of her trip, campaign aides and National Guard officials in Alaska said by telephone yesterday that she did not venture beyond the Kuwait-Iraq border when she visited Khabari Alawazem Crossing, also known as "K-Crossing," on July 25, 2007. Asked to clarify where she traveled in Iraq, Palin's spokeswoman, Maria Comella, confirmed that "She visited a military outpost on the other side of the Kuwait-Iraq border. " It was the second such clarification in as many weeks of the itinerary of what Palin has called "the trip of a lifetime." Earlier, the campaign acknowledged that Palin made only a refueling stop in Ireland. In her interview with ABC News Thursday night, Palin did not mention Iraq in describing the visit, saying only that she went to Kuwait and Germany to meet with US forces. According to an itinerary obtained from the Alaska National Guard, the Republican governor visited troops and airmen at a series of bases in Kuwait, including Camp Buehring, Camp Virginia, and Ali Al Salem Air Base. Her visit to Iraq itself was during a short stop at Khabari Alawazem Crossing on the second day of her two-day trip to the region. Palin arrived at Camp Buehring in Kuwait, where she held a town meeting with soldiers and reviewed various training programs designed to prepare troops to deploy into Iraq, said Lieutenant Colonel Dave Osborn, commander of the 3d Battalion, 207th Infantry of the Alaska National Guard, who was in charge of the 570 local troops serving in Kuwait and Iraq. "The whole intent was to check on the Alaskans," Osborn said in a telephone interview yesterday. On the second day of the trip, he said, Palin was flown to the border crossing, about 100 miles north of Camp Buehring, where she spent the morning meeting with troops and presiding over a ceremony in which an Alaska National Guard soldier extended his enlistment. But she did not venture into Iraq, Osborn said. "You have to have permission to go into a lot of areas, and [the crossing] is where her permissions were," he said. Palin did not stay the night in Iraq, and spent the rest of the second day at Camp Virginia and Ali Al Salem Air Base, Osborn said. Palin also told ABC that she had traveled to Mexico and Canada. Her campaign had previously mentioned a Canada visit, but not a trip to Mexico. Comella said yesterday that Palin had visited Mexico on vacation, and Canada once last year. "We did not have 100 percent confirmation about the Mexico trip in the initial days we were being asked. It was a personal trip," Comella said. Palin's campaign did not respond to requests for details about when she traveled to Mexico and where she went, nor did it provide details of her 2007 Canada trip or indicate whether it was for business or pleasure. Bryan Bender can be reached at bender@globe.com. © Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company" http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/09/13/palin_camp_clarifies_extent_of_iraq_trip/ http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/13/palin.iraq/?iref=hpmostpop

Sarah Palin - Compassionate Conservative?

jwalkmagic — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 02:32:44 GMT

I can't wait for the spin on this one. Back in 2000 the Governer of Alaska had to sign legislation to stop Wasilla from charging rape victims for there own rape kits. This practice had been going on for at least four years of the Palin Administration. "Knowles signs sexual assault bill" JO C. GOODE / The Frontiersman / May 23, 2000 "ANCHORAGE - Gov. Tony Knowles recently signed legislation protecting victims of sexual assault from being billed for tests to collect evidence of the crime, but one local police chief said the new law will further burden taxpayers. The governor signed House Bill 270, sponsored by Rep. Eric Croft, D-Anchorage, outside the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) exam room at Alaska Regional Hospital. In attendance at the signing were members of victims advocate groups, law enforcement agencies and legislators. The new law makes it illegal for any law enforcement agency to bill victims or victims insurance companies for the costs of examinations that take place to collect evidence of a sexual assault or determine if a sexual assault did occur. We would never bill the victim of a burglary for fingerprinting and photographing the crime scene, or for the cost of gathering other evidence, Knowles said. Nor should we bill rape victims just because the crime scene happens to be their bodies. While the Alaska State Troopers and most municipal police agencies have covered the cost of exams, which cost between $300 to $1,200 apiece, the Wasilla police department does charge the victims of sexual assault for the tests. Wasilla Police Chief Charlie Fannon does not agree with the new legislation, saying the law will require the city and communities to come up with more funds to cover the costs of the forensic exams. In the past weve charged the cost of exams to the victims insurance company when possible. I just dont want to see any more burden put on the taxpayer, Fannon said. According to Fannon, the new law will cost the Wasilla Police Department approximately $5,000 to $14,000 a year to collect evidence for sexual assault cases. Ultimately it is the criminal who should bear the burden of the added costs, Fannon said. The forensic exam is just one part of the equation. Id like to see the courts make these people pay restitution for these things, Fannon said. Fannon said he intends to include the cost of exams required to collect evidence in a restitution request as a part of a criminals sentencing. Palmer police chief Laren Zager said that to his knowledge, no sexual assault victim has ever been billed by the city of Palmer for an exam to collect evidence of a crime. Zager, who has been police chief since January, said he would never expect a victim to be burdened with the cost of a police investigation. Im prepared to pay every dime in an investigation. As long as I am chief, I would never bill a victim, Zager said. The new bill would also make law enforcement agencies that are investigating a sexual assault responsible for the costs of testing victims for sexually transmitted diseases and emergency contraception." http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2000/05/23/news.txt

Distortions?

jwalkmagic — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 15:31:56 GMT

Distortions? I was taught to call them lies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH0xzsogzAk Pass it on.

Bush Doctrine - WTF

jwalkmagic — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 15:18:57 GMT

I have watched the video over and over again so I have come to a conclusion. The talking heads have got it wrong - Its not that Palin did not know what the Bush Doctrine is. Sarah Palin did not what the word doctrine means. "Gibson: Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?" "Palin: In what respect, Charlie? ' "Gibson: The Bush -- well, what do you -- what do you interpret it to be?" "Palin: His worldview." Again I say - WTF? http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/12/AR2008091203310. html

Save the Arecibo Telescope: Write to Congress

jwalkmagic — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:42:05 GMT

Arecibo Observatory, the world's largest radio telescope and the source for the SETI@home data that your computer analyzes, faces massive budget cuts that will END its ability to continue the search for life beyond Earth. The decision to ensure full funding currently rests upon votes in Congress on Senate Bill S.2862 and House Resolution H.R. 3737. These bills desperately need more support. Please take a moment to help us SAVE ARECIBO. Clicking the link below will direct you to a web page that allows you to printout letters prepared for your Senators and Congressional Representative urging them to support Arecibo. Printing and mailing the letters is really easy, too!You will also have the chance to add a few personal thoughts, if you wish, tolet your Senators and Representative know why this funding is important to you!And if you're really feeling passionate about saving Arecibo, please use these letters as the basis for letters you write yourself, urging your congressmen and women to vote to save Arecibo. Because our representatives in Congress rarely give much attention to all the email they receive, printing out and MAILING these letters via standard U.S.Postal mail remains our best option for contacting them and our best hope for saving Arecibo (The second best option is to call your representatives). Your 42 cent stamps on these letters could help us get the millions of dollars needed to save Arecibo. Our search cannot continue without the necessary support. Your work, asSETI@home participants, represents an indispensable resource for conducting the search. Now, we need your help to ensure that our other most valuable resource- our eyes and ears to the cosmos - can continue to probe the universe as we seek to answer the question: Is there anybody out there? http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/arecibo_letter.php Thank you for your help, The SETI@home Team

Looking for some help

jwalkmagic — Sat, 03 May 2008 16:13:45 GMT

I am in the process of researching old time Medicine Shows. I want to write a script and put together an act to market to living history events and trade shows etc. I have found a number of sources but any extra input will be welcome.

New Items On Etsy - Shameless Self Promotion

jwalkmagic — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 14:26:24 GMT

I Just wanted to let every one know that I have listed some new stuff on Etsy. www.jwalkmagic.etsy.com Check it out.

Christmas Greatings

jwalkmagic — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 16:04:30 GMT

Once again Christmas Eve Is here. Much of what I feel is exhaustion at the pace of the last few weeks. It is however a good exhaustion. This has been a trying year for many and the next year seems to promise more of the same. Let us forget for a few moments the hustle and bustle that gets magnified oh so much this time of year and try to remember what is most important. As most of you know I have faced a number of challenges this year but in reflection nothing more than we are all required to face in our brief journey through life. I must admit that I am not good at sending out regular communications so I try each year to express to all my friends how I feel at this special time of year. Most of all what I can wish for all of my friends no matter what holiday you celebrate be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule, or a Roman Saturnalia is that you bring the joy you feel this time of year to all who you meet. This year I instead of the usual Xmas Files that so many have commented is getting old I am sending out some of my favorite passages from Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" Text http://www.stormfax.com/1dickens.htm Audio http://www.switchpod.com/cats.php?a=4692 While it is difficult to chose those that best express the spirit of the season for me I think these put it into the best light. So if you are feeling the "Bah Humbugs" or just a bit flustered try to remember in the words of Scrooges nephew: "There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say," returned the nephew. "Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round -- apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that -- as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!" And divergent visions of Christmas as shown by the Ghost Of Christmas Past: "Hilli-ho!" cried old Fezziwig, skipping down from the high desk, with wonderful agility. "Clear away, my lads, and let's have lots of room here. Hilli-ho, Dick! Chirrup, Ebenezer." Clear away! There was nothing they wouldn't have cleared away, or couldn't have cleared away, with old Fezziwig looking on. It was done in a minute. Every movable was packed off, as if it were dismissed from public life for evermore; the floor was swept and watered, the lamps were trimmed, fuel was heaped upon the fire; and the warehouse was as snug, and warm, and dry, and bright a ball-room, as you would desire to see upon a winter's night. In came a fiddler with a music-book, and went up to the lofty desk, and made an orchestra of it, and tuned like fifty stomach-aches. In came Mrs Fezziwig, one vast substantial smile. In came the three Miss Fezziwigs, beaming and lovable. In came the six young followers whose hearts they broke. In came all the young men and women employed in the business. In came the housemaid, with her cousin, the baker. In came the cook, with her brother's particular friend, the milkman. In came the boy from over the way, who was suspected of not having board enough from his master; trying to hide himself behind the girl from next door but one, who was proved to have had her ears pulled by her mistress. In they all came, one after another; some shyly, some boldly, some gracefully, some awkwardly, some pushing, some pulling; in they all came, anyhow and everyhow. Away they all went, twenty couple at once; hands half round and back again the other way; down the middle and up again; round and round in various stages of affectionate grouping; old top couple always turning up in the wrong place; new top couple starting off again, as soon as they got there; all top couples at last, and not a bottom one to help them. When this result was brought about, old Fezziwig, clapping his hands to stop the dance, cried out, "Well done!" and the fiddler plunged his hot face into a pot of porter, especially provided for that purpose. But scorning rest, upon his reappearance, he instantly began again, though there were no dancers yet, as if the other fiddler had been carried home, exhausted, on a shutter, and he were a bran-new man resolved to beat him out of sight, or perish. There were more dances, and there were forfeits, and more dances, and there was cake, and there was negus, and there was a great piece of Cold Roast, and there was a great piece of Cold Boiled, and there were mince-pies, and plenty of beer. But the great effect of the evening came after the Roast and Boiled, when the fiddler (an artful dog, mind! The sort of man who knew his business better than you or I could have told it him!) struck up "Sir Roger de Coverley." Then old Fezziwig stood out to dance with Mrs Fezziwig. Top couple too; with a good stiff piece of work cut out for them; three or four and twenty pair of partners; people who were not to be trifled with; people who would dance, and had no notion of walking. But if they had been twice as many -- ah, four times -- old Fezziwig would have been a match for them, and so would Mrs Fezziwig. As to her, she was worthy to be his partner in every sense of the term. If that's not high praise, tell me higher, and I'll use it. A positive light appeared to issue from Fezziwig's calves. They shone in every part of the dance like moons. You couldn't have predicted, at any given time, what would have become of them next. And when old Fezziwig and Mrs Fezziwig had gone all through the dance; advance and retire, both hands to your partner, bow and curtsey, corkscrew, thread-the-needle, and back again to your place; Fezziwig cut -- cut so deftly, that he appeared to wink with his legs, and came upon his feet again without a stagger. When the clock struck eleven, this domestic ball broke up. Mr and Mrs Fezziwig took their stations, one on either side of the door, and shaking hands with every person individually as he or she went out, wished him or her a Merry Christmas. When everybody had retired but the two prentices, they did the same to them; and thus the cheerful voices died away, and the lads were left to their beds; which were under a counter in the back-shop. During the whole of this time, Scrooge had acted like a man out of his wits. His heart and soul were in the scene, and with his former self. He corroborated everything, remembered everything, enjoyed everything, and underwent the strangest agitation. It was not until now, when the bright faces of his former self and Dick were turned from them, that he remembered the Ghost, and became conscious that it was looking full upon him, while the light upon its head burnt very clear. Or The Ghost Of Christmas Present: The Grocers'! oh the Grocers'! Nearly closed, with perhaps two shutters down, or one; but through those gaps such glimpses. It was not alone that the scales descending on the counter made a merry sound, or that the twine and roller parted company so briskly, or that the canisters were rattled up and down like juggling tricks, or even that the blended scents of tea and coffee were so grateful to the nose, or even that the raisins were so plentiful and rare, the almonds so extremely white, the sticks of cinnamon so long and straight, the other spices so delicious, the candied fruits so caked and spotted with molten sugar as to make the coldest lookers-on feel faint and subsequently bilious. Nor was it that the figs were moist and pulpy, or that the French plums blushed in modest tartness from their highly-decorated boxes, or that everything was good to eat and in its Christmas dress; but the customers were all so hurried and so eager in the hopeful promise of the day, that they tumbled up against each other at the door, clashing their wicker baskets wildly, and left their purchases upon the counter, and came running back to fetch them, and committed hundreds of the like mistakes, in the best humour possible; while the Grocer and his people were so frank and fresh that the polished hearts with which they fastened their aprons behind might have been their own, worn outside for general inspection, and for Christmas daws to peck at if they chose. And now, without a word of warning from the Ghost, they stood upon a bleak and desert moor, where monstrous masses of rude stone were cast about, as though it were the burial-place of giants; and water spread itself wheresoever it listed -- or would have done so, but for the frost that held it prisoner; and nothing grew but moss and furze, and coarse rank grass. Down in the west the setting sun had left a streak of fiery red, which glared upon the desolation for an instant, like a sullen eye, and frowning lower, lower, lower yet, was lost in the thick gloom of darkest night. "What place is this?" asked Scrooge. "A place where Miners live, who labour in the bowels of the earth," returned the Spirit. "But they know me. See." A light shone from the window of a hut, and swiftly they advanced towards it. Passing through the wall of mud and stone, they found a cheerful company assembled round a glowing fire. An old, old man and woman, with their children and their children's children, and another generation beyond that, all decked out gaily in their holiday attire. The old man, in a voice that seldom rose above the howling of the wind upon the barren waste, was singing them a Christmas song -- it had been a very old song when he was a boy -- and from time to time they all joined in the chorus. So surely as they raised their voices, the old man got quite blithe and loud; and so surely as they stopped, his vigour sank again. The Spirit did not tarry here, but bade Scrooge hold his robe, and passing on above the moor, sped -- whither. Not to sea? To sea. To Scrooge's horror, looking back, he saw the last of the land, a frightful range of rocks, behind them; and his ears were deafened by the thundering of water, as it rolled and roared, and raged among the dreadful caverns it had worn, and fiercely tried to undermine the earth. Built upon a dismal reef of sunken rocks, some league or so from shore, on which the waters chafed and dashed, the wild year through, there stood a solitary lighthouse. Great heaps of sea-weed clung to its base, and storm-birds -- born of the wind one might suppose, as sea-weed of the water -- rose and fell about it, like the waves they skimmed. But even here, two men who watched the light had made a fire, that through the loophole in the thick stone wall shed out a ray of brightness on the awful sea. Joining their horny hands over the rough table at which they sat, they wished each other Merry Christmas in their can of grog; and one of them: the elder, too, with his face all damaged and scarred with hard weather, as the figure-head of an old ship might be: struck up a sturdy song that was like a Gale in itself. Again the Ghost sped on, above the black and heaving sea -- on, on -- until, being far away, as he told Scrooge, from any shore, they lighted on a ship. They stood beside the helmsman at the wheel, the look-out in the bow, the officers who had the watch; dark, ghostly figures in their several stations; but every man among them hummed a Christmas tune, or had a Christmas thought, or spoke below his breath to his companion of some bygone Christmas Day, with homeward hopes belonging to it. And every man on board, waking or sleeping, good or bad, had had a kinder word for another on that day than on any day in the year; and had shared to some extent in its festivities; and had remembered those he cared for at a distance, and had known that they delighted to remember him. And Scrooge who learned to live as a changed man: Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him. He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One! So from me to all of you, May the Joy of the Christmas Season stay with you through the coming year. Joe

Magicians Open Mic on Cape Cod

jwalkmagic — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:50:07 GMT

I am posting this on my blog as well as a few tribes I belong to under the tell two friends theory. The owner of the Blackspot Cafe in Hyannis MA http://www.theblackspotcafe.com/ is interested in hosting a Magic Open Mic perhaps starting in February. This would be on a monthly basis as is the poetry open mic he also hosts. We had discussed the possibility of incorporating magic into the regular Wednesday open mic but the feeling is that the crowd might not be receptive. Magicians are of course welcome to perform any Wednesday as is any one else. Micah the owner of the Blackspot is a magic enthusiast and would be interested in booking acts in the future as well. So if you are interested or know any one who might be then please get back to me and I will pass the word to Micah and set up the first date.

I Have My Internet Back

jwalkmagic — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 15:01:47 GMT

As many of you know Noel hit Cape Cod hard. Much of the Cape lost power, phone service, and cable. My house was one of those. We got power and phone service back befor most - it was only out for about 10 or 12 hours. Cable was a much longer wait. Football fans of course were upset that they had to miss the Pats game. On the other hand I was suffering from webis interuptus. One of the delights of our modern age is when you call for customer service the person you are speaking to is probably not any place near you. When calling Comcast to get an update on when I could expect to get service back I was informed that - "we have no reports of service disruptions in that area." "What about the storm?" I asked. "What storm?" was the reply. Ah technology. So in the end we were lucky. A couple of trees are gone. No deaths or serious injuries reported on the Cape so far. And those folks who keep saying - "these things always miss the Cape" now have something to think about. And winter is still on the horizon.

New Pictures

jwalkmagic — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 17:39:02 GMT

I have posted some new pics of pouches on my page. Feel free to comment. They are also available at www.jwalkmagic.etsy.com. Yup a shameless plug.

Recruting Crew For Talk Like A Pirate Day

jwalkmagic — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 16:04:29 GMT

I am still trying to recruit a boarding party for TLAPD ( Sept 19 ) at The Black Spot in Hyannis MA. So if your on Cape Cod, close by or just would like to stop on by for some Piratical fun then drop me a line. Attitude a must. Singing a plus. Proper attire a bonus. As an added bonus scuttlebutt has it that Micah is working up a special recipe for Pirates Grog that night - what more can you ask for? So work on your best pirate song and join us for a set at open mic night and Talk Like A Pirate Day.

The Black Spot Tonight

jwalkmagic — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 14:04:40 GMT

Date/Time: Friday August 24, 2007 Time: 8:00pm - 9:00pm Entry Type: Appointment Location: The Black Spot!! Street Adr: 10 Ocean Street City: Hyannis http://www.theblackspotcafe.com/index.html