Innocent Bystanders

Ames, IA, and Iowa State University, the alma mater of a certain fella we know, has determined that the weight of kegs hitting the sidewalk is a major problem. In fact, the sidewalks near an area where many bars are located and the required beer distributors unload their liquid goods are becoming cracked and damaged.

So, how did Ames overcome this dilemma, without disrupting vital beer supplies?

Why, they made rubber sidewalks!

The city of Ames is installing a rubber sidewalk at a spot near the Iowa State University campus where beer distributors unload hundreds of kegs from trucks for area bars.

The heavy kegs have been cracking the concrete pavement. So officials have decided to install sidewalk pavers made by a California company using recycled tires.

The city’s streets supervisor tested the project by taking a sledge hammer to it. The new sidewalk didn’t even dent.

Apparently, the sidewalks also saved a bunch of tires from being burned. But who cares about that? Beer supplies will continue unabated.

Yep.  With a post on puppies and pooters.

I don’t even have to explain it, do I?

Last night, my father, oldest younger sister, and I went to a local range for our local mandatory anti-zombie training. I practiced with my Mosin Nagant and my .22 Ruger.

I only fired 20 Rifle shots, and 40 Ruger shots because loading that rifle was something I had to get used to and after the two 10-round magazines that came with my Ruger were expended, I still have to learn how to load a .22 magazine quickly.

As you can see, I still need a lot of practice. But this is fun, and I want more.

Oh, and those zombies don’t stand a chance.

Pistol Shooting.

Rifle Shooting

I have been asked by McCain’s campaign to be the chair of the ‘Veterans for McCain’ Committe for the county I live in. I think I’d rather gouge out one of my eyes but I also have a sense of party loyalty to consider. I’ve been stalling for two weeks to see who he picks for VP because I will be damned if I’ll campaign for a McCain/Lieberman ticket.

So my question is this: principles or party?

A few days ago, my wife, daughter, and I went pedal boating through the canal system built in Forest Park, which leads to the Grand Basin. The Grand Basin is at the base of Art Hill, with the St. Louis Art Museum and the statue of King Louis IX at the top. Here are a few photos my wife took from the perspective of a pedal boat operated by a lardass who thought he was in better shape than an hour of continuous pedaling in water would prove.

This is one of the fountains in the Grand Basin.

This is a shot of Art Hill and the St. Louis Art Museum.

This is a photo from a little bit ago from the top of Art Hill to provide perspective on the Grand Basin.

And here is a shot I took of the statue of King Louis IX.

All these years, I thought only the Dallas Cowboys, Keith Hernandez, and The NBA approached random casual sex with the same vigor that I approach the All-You-Can-Eat Sushi Happy Hour Fun Time at Mr. Sushi. But I was wrong.

It turns out those paragons of virtue and innocence, namely Olympic Athletes not named Kobe, really love to get acquainted with each other after the day is through. So much so, 100,000 condoms are available at the Olympic Village.

While sex is not an Olympic sport it is expected to be an activity in the Beijing village housing 10,500 athletes, all of whom are in great shape and with plenty of free time on their hands once knocked out of the Games.

Athletes have received free condoms at every Olympics since Barcelona in 1992 to help raise awareness of AIDS, and Beijing is no exception.

“There are many young, strong, single people in the athletes’ village and, like everywhere, some will fall in love or other things so we need to make condoms available,” Ole Hansen, spokesman for UNAIDS China, told Reuters.

“A lot of these young people are not married or in relationships so we want to make sure they have the information and tools to protect themselves if they have sexual encounters.”

The UNAIDS, the Beijing organising committee BOCOG and International Olympics Committee are providing 100,000 condoms as part of a campaign on HIV prevention and anti-discrimination.

At the Sydney Games in 2000 athletes quickly exhausted a supply of 70,000 and another 20,000 had to be brought in.

Well, lets see who could be top contenders to exhaust this supply.
First up:

Some members of the German Female Athletic Contingent. These brave lasses gamely shed their clothes to discuss the Georgian War. Well, at least that is what I gathered when I went to the original source document. But my German is a bit rusty. Anyway, here is a snippet from the German version of a certain magazine that has great writing from George Plimpton and lotsa skin. But mostly skin.

Petra Niemann is competing in her third Olympiad, and sailing is her game. “I’ve been working hard with my psychologist,” she told Playboy, as if to suggest this had something to do with sport or being naked.

Kayaker Nicole Reinhardt is one of Germany’s best hopes for gold in Beijing, and is grateful that her sport is about technique, so the “dickere und kräftigere” (”butch”) ladies have nothing on her svelte frame.

Yeah. I told you the interviews were great.

Another contender is Spanish Rhythmic Gymnast Almudena Cid Tostado, who was kind enough to pose for the Spanish version of FHM, which also has great articles.

(more…)

The Pupster Boys and Mrs. Pupster have been having loads of fun making videos, mostly clips from characters they create in The Sims, mixed with music in Windows Movie Maker. Since they like to post them on their personal blogs or share them with friends, I’ve been letting them use my YouTube account.

Today I received a sphincter-tightening email from YouTube titled “A YouTube partner made a copyright claim on one of your videos”

Dear impupsterdammit,

UMG has claimed some or all audio content in your video Wake Up Call The Sims 2 Music Video. This claim was made as part of the YouTube Content Identification program.

Your video is still live because UMG has authorized the use of this content on YouTube. As long as UMG has a claim on your video, they will receive public statistics about your video, such as number of views. Viewers may also see advertising on your video’s page.

After I unclenched and began to follow some of the links in the email, I found the situation to be acceptable, and if I may say so myself, handled elegantly. Copyright holders, in this case UMG, provide to YouTube ID files for the material they wish to protect, and YouTube uses a Video Identification Tool to wash all new uploads against the ID files. When they get a match, the copyright holder can choose three courses of action:

There are three usage policies — Block, Track or Monetize. If a rights owner specifies a Block policy, the video will not be viewable on YouTube. If the rights owner specifies a Track policy, the video will continue to be made available on YouTube and the rights owner will receive information about the video, such as how many views it receives. For a Monetize policy, the video will continue to be available on YouTube and ads will appear in conjunction with the video. The policies can be region-specific, so a content owner can allow a particular piece of material in one country and block the material in another.

In the case of Mrs. Pupster’s Wake Up Call The Sims video, USG has allowed the video to remain on YouTube with the addition of Google Ads (which I assume with fill their corporate coffers with untold riches), and will receive tracking and usage information.

It seems like a pretty good application of common sense, and I hope to see more of the same in the future, rather than the heavy handed tactics some other copyright holders pursue.

Here is one way:

Here is how others may spend their time off:

Or, here is another idea:

Ruger Mark III .22.

Somebody, and I think it was Russ, mentioned something about a warning on the side of the pistol. I thought he meant a big sticker. Turns out I didn’t know what he meant. There is a warning about reading the instructional manual engraved on the side of the pistol. And the loaded chamber indicator has “loaded chamber indicator” engraved on it as well. The nerve. Warning people that firearms are dangerous and holding peoples’ hands to tell them when a pistol is loaded?. What’s next? Nagging us that eating raw Crisco is bad for you?

But I digress. As an added bonus, Ruger is offering a discount on NRA membership.

My dad also went with me and bought a Taurus (from Brazil?) 9 round .22 revolver.

Those zombies won’t stand a chance.

One of the best EVAH.  No car.  No inlaws.  Sunny and temps in the low 80s.

Sailboat regatta all week long.  Nightly sunsets.

Full service bar ten feet from my room.

I kinda missed you guys.

Meet Bia and Branca Feres, twin sisters from Brazil. What makes them even better is that they are synchronized swimmers. I could care less if they are on the Olympic team from Brazil or not. But this just proves that all sports should be taken seriously. Here is a photo of them:

And here is a video of the sisters in action. You know, for educational purposes.

Oh, and I bought a .22 Ruger Pistol today, and Lauraw may have a kindred spirit in her hatred of crocs, but who cares about that?