Archive for August, 2008

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McCain — Palin; The Killer Match

Friday, August 29th, 2008

John McCain shocked many today by announcing that his pick for VP is Sarah Palin. A woman! Palin is currently serving as the governor of Alaska, and in the minds of many conservatives, is an excellent pick. I’d go so far as to say that with her as VP, they are an unbeatable team, especially against a lightweight like Obama.

From what I’ve heard of her, Palin is an excellent candidate for the Republican Party in her own right. She is as pro-life and pro-family as they come; she & her husband have five kids, the youngest of which is less than a year old and has Down’s Syndrome. She’s got a record of standing up against the corrupt political machine in Alaska. She’s got experience in executive roles, both in politics and in business. I could go on…

But the reason that the McCain/Palin ticket is going to walk all over team Obama/O’Biden is that Palin is a woman. The Democrat leadership is going to be in a tizzy over this, because many voters who supported Hillary (mostly women) primarily because she’s a woman are likely to throw their support to McCain/Palin. Add to that the massive amount of disgruntlement among Democrats who supported Hillary and are disappointed with Obama… Why even hold an election?

But… It doesn’t stop there though. I remember hearing that many women base their choices between two male political candidates on looks; which one is more handsome. Given that, men tend to be even more shallow than women (of course, that doesn’t apply to me) so it’s likely that many men will make their choice the same way. And in that respect, McCain hit a home run with Sarah… Even at 44 she is a babe. And she is by far better looking than either Barack or Joe.

Sarah\'s Official Photo, Miss Alaska Photo

Sarah's Official Photo, Miss Alaska Photo

So, what do you say? Should we just call the election and put John & Sarah in office right away? I for one could do without the campaign.

Posted in Politics | Comments Closed

When Geese Attack

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

So, there I was, minding my own business riding my bike to work. When out of the blue, a Canada goose attacks me. Stoopid goose.

It’s not unusual to see geese on the Sioux Falls greenway bike path, but usually they scurry down the side of the dike to get out of your way. Just last week there was a herd of them not far from this morning’s encounter, and most of them just moved out of the way. There was some hissing, and one ended up trying to get out of my way by moving in the same direction & taking flight, but not this morning.

I was going north on the path near the fairgrounds when I saw him. My first thought was, “Aha! My nemesis!” (that actually did cross my mind.) It looked like the goose started moving down the slope, but as I approached, he opened his beak hissing & took flight right at me.

I was buzzing along about 20mph (thanks to the handy dandy electric motor) and stuck my left foot up to at least keep him out of my face and hopefully stay on the bike. That worked pretty well; my foot caught him square in the breast, and he wasn’t able to lay a wing on me.

I looked back & saw him picking himself up off the ground, so I don’t think he was hurt too badly. I had thoughts of going back and finishing him off, but that might have some, ummm, repercussions if someone were to see it. Besides, something tells me that particular goose won’t be pulling anything like that again any time soon.

Stoopid bird.

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Posted in Bikes, Just Stuff | Comments Closed

Michael Phelps Has Always Been Fast

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

And here’s proof.

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Posted in Fun! | Comments Closed

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

Yup, there am some reel jeeniesses workin’ in transportation. Uh huh.

Thanks, Miss C.!

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Posted in Bikes, Fun! | Comments Closed

Pushing 3,000

Sunday, August 17th, 2008

Just two short months ago — June 10 — davintosh.com hit the milestone of 2,000 site visits, as recorded by Sitemeter. I commemorated that event with this post.

Now it’s August 17, and it looks like that number will likely break the 3,000 barrier sometime today. Two months; how about that! It took about 21 months to get to 1,000, 7 months to get to 2,000, and 2 months to get to 3,000. Most of the hits still come from Google searches. Others come from comments I’ve made on Jalopnik, Neatorama or elsewhere.

Even though the numbers are climbing and Google has been a good referral, the visitors that come here to read what I’ve written for the sake of reading what I’ve written are few. Most come here looking for something specific then they’re gone. I guess there’s nothing terribly compelling to draw people here. I’ll have to do some thinking on that…

Oh, and the Google Adsense ads that were added… So far I’ve earned a whopping $3.29. At this rate it’ll be decades before I get to the $100 mark that’ll warrant a check from Google. Patience.

Posted in About This Site | Comments Closed

It’s Called A Turning Lane For A Reason!

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

My biggest pet peeve when driving around Sioux Falls — and anywhere else for that matter — is when people looking for a quick way to turn left out of a parking lot or side street onto a busy street jump first into the turning lane and use it to merge into the flow of traffic. Gah! I hate it!

It’s called a TURNING LANE you ignorant lump of human debris, not a merging lane, so use it for TURNING, not merging!

Thanks. I needed to get that off my chest.

But then, while looking for info on this topic, I find that in some states it is legal to merge into traffic using the center lane. Go figure. At this point, I’m not even sure if South Dakota is one of those state; the codified laws are less than clear on that point (or most any other point for that matter.) So I guess I’ll do a little digging and report back. Even if it is legal here, it still bugs the heck outta me when people do it; you just can’t tell if they’re going to go barreling into the flow of traffic or if they’re going to wait, so every time someone does it I have to brace for impact.

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Posted in Cars!, Just Stuff | Comments Closed

The Return Of The Weatherball?

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008

The Argus Leader ran a story today about a Sioux Falls guy — Greg Allis — who is leading the charge to resurrect one of the weatherballs that used to operate in town.

When the weatherball is red,
Warmer weather is ahead.

When the weatherball is white,
colder weather is in sight.

When the weatherball is green,
No change is forseen.

When it blinks in agitation,
There’s going to be precipitation.


There are only two weatherballs left in Sioux Falls; a 5-foot ball at 33rd and Minnesota and a 10-foot ball at 9t Street and Main Avenue. Neither one works. Apparently there is no desire on the part of the banks to get them working again, so Allis wants the city to pick up the project and place one of the balls in a city park, in the name of historic preservation. But the city is balking because they aren’t really old enough to qualify for the “historic” designation.

I love the idea of putting a weatherball back in action, but I don’t necessarily like the idea of it becoming a city government thing. I’m surprised though that one of the local news & weather stations hasn’t grabbed the idea and used it for promotion. KELO-TV was one of the original sponsors; wouldn’t it be great for them to put a weatherball on top of their tower in the downtown area? Just think of the mileage they’d get out of that thing. Or if KSFY picked up on the idea and placed one on a prominent billboard with reference to their weather forecasting…

That would be pure genius. At least I think so. (more…)

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Posted in Just Stuff, Old Things | Comments Closed

Splattered Dreams

Sunday, August 10th, 2008

It seems that for some people, dreams are fragile things, like a glass figurine. They are very solid and tangible, but can be easily broken and destroyed — shattered. I don’t know if I’m weird or what, but I find that to be really hard to comprehend dreams like that, and there are times when I feel envious of someone who does have dreams and ambitions that are solid and tangible.

I guess people can be categorized in two groups according to their dreams & ambitions; those for whom dreams are solid & tangible, and those for whom dreams are more fluid and resilient. I would fall into the second group; my dreams would be better described as “fluid”.

I talked with an old friend a while back who is having a tough time because he’s been hurt in the process of chasing a dream he has had since childhood. He worked hard for a very long time to do what he felt he was called to do, and in the end, with the fulfillment of that dream within reach, he’s now doing something totally unrelated, and continues to nurse his wounds. I look at his situation and have a tough time putting myself in his shoes; I just can’t understand that kind of attachment to a goal, and that kind of hurt when things don’t go well.

For me, there are just so many little things I enjoy that I can’t fathom chasing after one thing in particular and banking everything the fulfillment of that one thing. Having more fluid or diversified ambitions has served me well in some respects, but in others I’d be better off with the other. To some I’m sure it appears that I lack ambition and drive — I know my boss sees it that way — and to a degree that’s probably true.

The difference comes in when bad things happen; to someone with dreams that are concrete and tangible, bad things can come along and shatter them all to bits. And those bits have sharp edges that can wound. But for me, with dreams that are more fluid and resilient, bad things can shake up my bucket of dreams, causing some to splash out, but I won’t be hurt by any of it.

Is it something of a protection mechanism to avoid being hurt? Or is it a manifestation of ADD? Or maybe something that’s come about as part of a fear of success? I don’t know, but I sometimes feel a yearning for that sense of drive… That kind of dedication.

Posted in Personal Growth, The Deep | Comments Closed

The NObama Network

Thursday, August 7th, 2008

I just bumped into another great site, nobamanetwork.com

Americans are feeling angry, appalled, defeated, and invisible. Often we hear our neighbors and friends remark they are not going to vote because their vote does not count. If you are feeling disenfranchised by your party, the DNC, or by the news media it is time for you to take a stand. On this site you will find numerous Grass Root Movements of people like yourself fighting for change. Find one that speaks to you, spend some time posting to Blogs, and talk to your neighbors and friends. Every vote counts and each voice will be heard. Get involved America. No one has the right to tell you what candidate to support or how to vote.

So far they have no less than 485 sites linked on the front page that focus on defeating Barack Obama in November. And it appears to be mostly Democrats leading the charge. I wonder if there’s ever been a political candidate with so much animosity directed at him, from his own party no less.

So maybe George has only a short time longer to live with his ignominy.

Posted in Politics | Comments Closed

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