Subject to Change

I’m not the McGee(s) you’re looking for.

Cindy Sheehan has finally realized what everyone else has known for three years: she’s a tool.

“I’ve been wondering why I’m killing myself and wondering why the Democrats caved in to George Bush.”

She’s also realized that she’s not a media superstar anymore.

“Good-bye America … you are not the country that I love and I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I can’t make you be that country unless you want it.”

And, she’s giving it all up. I mean everything.

Last year, with $52,500 in insurance money she received after her son’s death, Sheehan bought 5 acres near downtown Crawford as a permanent site for protests.

“Camp Casey has served its purpose,” she wrote in the diary. “It’s for sale. Anyone want to buy five beautiful acres in Crawford, Texas?”

Sounds like a great place for a war memorial, doesn’t it? If we don’t build one, some crazy Texan might put “Jesus in Cowboy Boots” on the site, for crying out loud!

Dear Bubba,

You will be getting a new roommate soon. His name is Michael McGee Jr., or Michael Jackson. To be honest, we’re not really sure what his legal name is. You see, Michael is a shady character. Until recently he actually had two driver’s licenses, two social security numbers, and a mistress or two.

Mr. McGee was a Milwaukee alderman, until his bad behavior landed him in the bunk under yours. He has a history of violent outbursts and diarrhea of the mouth. He has openly threatened violence against his opponents, going so far as to turn to his supporters to fear-monger the people who stand up against him. Some physical attacks and fire bombings have even taken place. Most recently, the former alderman declared war on the entire city of Milwaukee. We have yet to see what he meant by that.

Perhaps you’re wondering how a man like McGee, who has gotten away with so much for so long, finally found himself under your gentle care. Well, The Alderman took his reign of terror just a little too far. He abused his position of power to take advantage of the people in his district. I imagine that if you met his constituents, they might remind you of home. They’re people much like yourself, struggling to make it in a rough neighborhood. But, The Alderman was greedy. He shook them down and took their hard earned money in return for political favors.

Luckily for the people of his district, at least two brave souls decided to stand up for themselves and their community. They turned to the authorities, who worked to catch Mr. McGee in the act. The rest, as they say, is history.

Please take good care of Michael. He deserves the best.

Thank you,

Concerned neighbor

P.S. Michael is extremely homophobic. It may be difficult for him on the inside. Please see that his prison time passes as comfortably as possible.

It’s hard for us to miss Memorial Day, we get our own parade.

These photos were taken just minutes ago from our front lawn.

And, what parade is complete without a “Special Bus.”

Who’s going to cater their fat, deranged, lesbian demographic now?

Someone should send Rosie O’Donnell one of Sherman’s Neckties. If a wood fire can soften a railroad tie enough that a dozen men can bend it, you can bet that jet fuel can soften steel beams enough for a building to crush them.

Today’s word of the day: malleability

n.[CF. F. malléabilité.]
The quality or state of being malleable; — opposed to friability and brittleness. Locke.

See example – Sherman’s Neckties.

H/T Geekologie

I just watched a brutal video of a pride of lions taking on a pack of water buffalo and two crocodiles. Yeah, it’s that cool.

I never expected much response to my question about TV/radio towers, much less something this thorough:

My knowledge of the FCC regulations is a little rusty, but here goes:

Towers that are 200 feet tall or higher are required to be painted (more on that in a moment) and lit up. Side note: I don’t know if this is height above ground level at that spot, or what is known as Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT). The bands are to be 1/7th of the height of the tower (up to a certain height, which I don’t recall), alternating in color betweek white and Aviation Orange (the official name of the red color of radio/TV towers). The bottom and top bands are orange (red), the others are white.

As for lights, there are to be two beacons, one at the top of the tower and one at the midpoint, and I think one or two other places on the tower need to have a steady-on red light. Strobe lights are also an option on towers under 200 feet, and some tower owners opt to use strobe lights during the day. I don’t think this is required, but the regulations may have changed recently.

Now for the fun part: if a light is burned out on the tower, or the tower is in need of paint (either the initial painting or a re-paint), the owner of the tower (or in some cases, the station that leases space on the tower) is required to call the nearest FAA service station and inform them of the outage, and any progress in fixing the problem. This must be re-upped every 45 days. Failure to do so can subject a station to fines by the FCC.

The antenna in question easily meets the 200 foot rule. So, then the question remains: why isn’t it painted?

I don’t plan to be flying near it any time soon, so this is merely a question asked out of curousity. Of course, if there’s someone out there who wants to pay me to stop asking, that would be a major bonus.

Imagine this news tease: A local TV station is broadcasting from an illegal antenna, details at 10.

From BrainyHistory

1726 People’s revolt due to increase in gin/brandy tax
Should’ve raised the gas tax instead

1830 “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” is written

1844 Samuel FB Morse taps out “What hath God wrought,” the first telegraph message
“God doesn’t know Morse Code,” was the response.

1899 1st auto repair shop opens
First customer received a complimentary bottle of blinker fluid.

1915 Thomas Edison invents telescribe to record telephone conversations
One of Edison’s first recordings, when he invented the phonograph was “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”

1954 IBM announces vacuum tube “electronic” brain that could perform 10 million operations an hour
And it can download porn in a little over a week.

1976 1st commercial SST (super sonic transport) flight to North America

1980 Iran rejects a call to World Court to release U.S. hostages

1989 “Indiana Jones and Last Crusade” premieres

This site is also blocked in China. Of course, I’m assuming that someone didn’t just put together a fancy Shockwave animation.