[ music | Four Non Blondes - What's Going On ]

Tom shared this gem of an article at the Telegraph. Wow. I can't believe this article made it past a fact checker, or an editor, or anyone without an extreme eco-agenda. Don't get me wrong, I am pro-environmental activism, but this is just crazy.

First all, if you pay to pollute, then the stigma of polluting is gone. There is no incentive not to pollute.

First all, wrong. This would only be correct if money was infinite. This statement is blatantly incorrect in that carbon credit purchasing/trading make pollution a fiscal issue, rather than purely an environmental or moral issue. Pollution now directly affects the bottom line.

Imagine that someone came up with a plan for you to cheat on your spouse, say by paying someone else not to cheat on their spouse!

Again, wrong. Cheating on your spouse is binary, either you're cheating or you're not. Polluting is binary, either you are or you're not, but the point is to pollute less. I doubt anyone's husband or wife will be happy that their spouse now only cheats three times a week rather than four times a week, but I think everyone would be happy if we could reduce emissions of power generation plants by 25%.

Do they ever mention that the only trees that make a difference are the ones planted inside the tropics? Or that some trees actually increase the amount of carbon in the atmosphere? Or that mass tree planting to satisfy our ravenous energy appetites reduces biodiversity, displaces people and causes social disruption.

No, no one ever mentions that because it's not true. Apparently this gentleman has never heard of temperate rain-forests, for example. I haven't the faintest idea what his second statement is based upon. I've never heard of trees increasing atmospheric carbon without burning them. Also, planting trees does nothing to biodeversity because forests aren't usually made up of thousands of different types of trees, there's usually a few dominant species in various stands, and a number of different stands. Trees aren't planted in places people currently live, so there's no displacement, and certainly not more displacement than would occur if sea levels rise by only a single meter. And when is the last time a tree disrupted anyone doing anything? That one's just absurd.

And do any of them guarantee that they will actually plant that tree on your behalf? Do they send you a picture of the thing? Can they guarantee you that the tree in question will live long enough to absorb the carbon you dumped in the atmosphere, you naughty boy, before being chopped down?

Actually, reputable ones do just that. They promise a minimum lifespan for the trees, and yes you can ever see the stands they create.

I have no clue how articles like this can make it into a newspaper with any intelligent people behind it. Apparently the standards for the Telegraph have dropped dramatically in recent times. This kind of nonsense isn't even fit for "letters to the editors" pages.

[ music | XTC Vs. Adam Ant - They Might Be Giants ]

So, I bet tom that within 5 years oil will hit $60 a barrel. He thinks I'm nuts. While he's not wrong, this isn't the reason. This article at Portfolio.com is a good read, as is an article Tom found over at The Telegraph stating some very sound reasoning. Namely, the economics of $120/barrel oil is unsustainable in the short term. No, it won't drop to $60 and stay there, not at current use levels, but right now supply is up, demand is down, and some Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia are about to open the spigot even wider. In short, what's good for us is good for them, and cheaper oil is good for us. They've made it clear they don't want it at $20/barrel again, but we cna live with it at $60/barrel much easier than two or three times that amount.

[ music | The Bangles - Manic Monday ]

Politicians do it, every one of them. Generals do it, CEOs and Chairmen of the Board too. And frankly, once in a while I know you wished you could have done it too. What am I talking about? Ghost writing. Why am I talking about it? Well, a good friend of mine runs a ghost writing company called GoodTermPaper.

While him being one of my best friends might bias me, I think Larry's a brilliant writer. he always was. He started ghostwriting several years ago and has grown it into a full fledged business competing with other, somewhat dodgy companies who offer stock papers that will get you nailed for plagarism faster than a copy/paste from Wikipedia. Larry and his team of writers at GoodTermPaper actually create every project to spec for each customer, no recycled crap. I've seen where some of their customers come from, too. Top notch universities around the country, Ivy League even. Most are repeat customers, too, so that speaks to the quality of the work. Their customers come back again and again.

Recently their website was redone, as well, with a more updated and cleaner look. I must say a fantastic job was done, as well. ;)

So next time you have been given a really crappy assignment, or forgot your project is due in two days, don't panic. Call the pros, and make your professors wonder when you got so smart.

[ music | The Clash - Should I Stay or Go Now ]

[ music | Right Said Fred - I'm Too Sexy ]

It's my birthday today. Yesterday was one of my bestest friend's birthday too. We're 29. BOOYA. I haven't updated in a while, and to the rest of the friends I've been sadly neglecting, sorry, I've just been crazy busy. Lame excuse, but it's the only one I have handy. I'll catch up with y'all soon though.

[ music | Kylie Minogue - Love At First Sight ]

I think the title says it all, boys and girls.

[ music | Whistle While You Work ]

You know, normally I have a crush on Cinderella for some reason. Then I saw some shots of Rachel Weisz as Snow White. I haven't been this excited by Snow White since I played a bunny in our school play of it in the first grade...

[ music | The Christmas Song - Mel Tormé ]

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

[ music | Depeche Mode - A Pain That I'm Used To ]

So, a couple times in June and once in August I get this near-pain in my upper abdomen. A little research showed that it was in the area of my gall bladder. It wasn't horrendous pain. I just had to sleep carefully on one side, and it only happened after a couple really cheesy meals, so I assumed it was some kind of indigestion of the fatty cheeses.

Flash forward to last night. About 11:30pm I get the same pain, although it dulls a little. I get a couple hours sleep. The pain returns about 8 in the morning, and I can't get back to sleep. Still not really bad yet, I waste a couple hours then get ready for work. It's getting pretty bad now. 1pm rolls around and I feel like I'm being stabbed over and over. This is a little more than I can deal with, so I decide to go to the hospital. Over the next ten minutes it got much much worse, and getting to the hospital on my own is no longer an option. I'm doubled over in agony, pale as death (from what I hear), sweating like a klansman in Harlem, and call 911. By the time the ambulance comes I'm weak, shaking, dizzy, and nauseous as hell. They put me on oxygen and hit the gas to the hospital. I do the technicolor yawn twice during the ten minute ride. We arrive and they start an IV, take blood, give me a wonderful cocktail of painkillers in my IV, and I'm back on Earth.

A few hours and tests later we find out I need my gall bladder removed. I have three gallstones, and they can't do the ultrasonic crushing like kidney stones. So, I'll consult with some surgeons, watch my diet, and get it yanked in the next few weeks.

I'd like to take this moment to thank the Republican party for helping make it possible for 44 million Americans to have no health insurance by demonizing every national healthcare initiative as "socialism", and not raising the minimum wage in over a decade, yet raising their own pay 7 times in the same period. Rock on!

[ music - They Might Be Giants - Planet of the Apes ]

"So we just pretend there's no one home in the universe."
"That's it."
"Cruel. But you said it yourself, who wants to meet meat?"

[ music | Django Reinhardt - I'll See You in My Dreams ]

I would totally marry this girl. Seriously.

[ music | Morningwood - New York Girls ]

I went through NYC recently, but in addition to not trying to fight downtown traffic to see the WTC hole, I also somehow missed these hotties:

She's got the look.

Now, in all seriousness, these girls ARE hot. The one on the left especially. The boots, oh dear.