The Ross Institute Internet Archives for the Study of Destructive Cults, Controversial Groups and Movements.
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Friday, May 16, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Spring 2008 Golf Roundup
Future me: here's where I'm at golf-wise in 2008.
My handicap is down slightly, but I'm at a point where I feel like I should be shooting better, and possibly break down the 18 to a 14 - but that might just be me.
My slice is pretty much gone - but I'm overextending myself on drives sometimes - resulting in sharp pulls. Actually, I do find that I'll hit some 3 wood slices now and again. I tossed out the 5-wood and 5 iron. I'm still hitting it pretty short on the course, but a lot farther on the range, so I think I just get armsy when I'm not calm. I find if I remember to grip lightly and keep strong posture, that the swing usually works for me. My irons are a little short, but relatively accurate.
Short game wise, things are pretty good. I god rid of my 54°, and replaced it with a 50°. This gives me much better gaps between clubs. My pitching wedge is 46°, so I had an 8° gap, and then 2° between the 54° and the sand wedge. I'm also a lot more conscious of how far each wedge carries the ball and then rolls. I also have been factoring in uphill and down hill roll, and the lie of the ball when I pick my clubs. I'm also not afraid of busting out a 7 iron chip if the situation calls for it - so I would love to increase accuracy, but I'm pretty happy with my short game right now.
Putting - I still need a lot of work here. I find if I place the putter down, line up the sightline, and then step into the stance and line my feet up parallel, I do pretty well.
My handicap is down slightly, but I'm at a point where I feel like I should be shooting better, and possibly break down the 18 to a 14 - but that might just be me.
My slice is pretty much gone - but I'm overextending myself on drives sometimes - resulting in sharp pulls. Actually, I do find that I'll hit some 3 wood slices now and again. I tossed out the 5-wood and 5 iron. I'm still hitting it pretty short on the course, but a lot farther on the range, so I think I just get armsy when I'm not calm. I find if I remember to grip lightly and keep strong posture, that the swing usually works for me. My irons are a little short, but relatively accurate.
Short game wise, things are pretty good. I god rid of my 54°, and replaced it with a 50°. This gives me much better gaps between clubs. My pitching wedge is 46°, so I had an 8° gap, and then 2° between the 54° and the sand wedge. I'm also a lot more conscious of how far each wedge carries the ball and then rolls. I also have been factoring in uphill and down hill roll, and the lie of the ball when I pick my clubs. I'm also not afraid of busting out a 7 iron chip if the situation calls for it - so I would love to increase accuracy, but I'm pretty happy with my short game right now.
Putting - I still need a lot of work here. I find if I place the putter down, line up the sightline, and then step into the stance and line my feet up parallel, I do pretty well.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Sergio Garcia: Players Champion
Congrats to Sergio, the winner of the 2008 Players. The bad boy spaniard held up under pressure to force and win a playoff, at Sawgrass' notorious 17th island green, no less. He's not the most beloved golfer (spitting in a hole after a missed putt) but I've always liked the guy. Hopefully he can win a major one of these years - this is definitely the next best thing until then.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
W
It's making the rounds that Oliver Stone will be lending his trademark reality obscufation field to the Bush presidency - possibly before he leaves office.
Meaningful issues aside, I'm choking on Laura Bush:
Josh Brolin looks alright (albeit Bush by way of Brian Williams), but Elizabeth Banks is a little too attractive to be playing Laura Bush (I take it this photo shoot skipped any aging make up).
I think Stone could find someone a little more spot on if he looked a little harder...
Meaningful issues aside, I'm choking on Laura Bush:
Josh Brolin looks alright (albeit Bush by way of Brian Williams), but Elizabeth Banks is a little too attractive to be playing Laura Bush (I take it this photo shoot skipped any aging make up).
I think Stone could find someone a little more spot on if he looked a little harder...
l33t
My mom was asking about l33t this weekend, and it got me thinking about it about abbreviation-based l33t (is that LT?) - everybody's favorite ascii activity.
I think there are two layers of generational immersion. The first is probably my generation, who found it a little faster, and the cultural geekiness around - we also helped pioneer other aspects of l33t, like ascii art in user tags, etc. The second generational immersion layer is generation chipmunk - the kids whittling away at their cell phones, rubbing the numbers off the keys with their thumbs.
Much like touch typing, true multi-tap mastery is something you have to pick up young, or you won't catch up. Now whether the current multi-tap alpha-numeric layout has the same staying power as a qwerty keyboard remains to be seen - which could adversely affect skills (kids can get good at multi-tap, but if it changes, are they screwed)?
The difference is that the first generation helped create and enjoyed l33t (with some backlash - see Mike Patton's "LOL: Loser OnLine"), but the second generation really needs it to communicate at normal speeds on the multitap.
Personally, I find l33t pretty passe. Typing "LOL" is the verbal equivalent of responding to humor with the word "funny", uttered without any inflection - I probably wasn't paying attention. Or course, WTF (what the fuck) and RTFM (read the fucking manual) are a permanent part of my lexicon - the former creating a fascinating hybrid of a curse that loses little of it's punch, while being sanitized for greater broadcasting range. And RTFM also leads to one of the greatest ironic snarkbites ever slapped on a t-shirt: "WWJD? JWRTFM."
I guess we'll see an end to l33t's development at some point - rolling on the floor laughing my ass of (rotflmao) is the exception that proves the rule - how many 8 letter l33t statements can you parse reasonably?
But what if that wasn't a limitation - and what if you could speak and hear l33t as quickly as you could type and read it? You could say all sorts of kick ass things at the fraction of the time...
YWISMT? (You want I should move this?)
AIHRJTS (American Idol has really jumped the shark)
I8CBLN&MAI@D4 (I ate a caliente burrito last night, and my ass is at defcon 4)
WYLTSBMP2E:C? (Would you like to stop by my place to engage in coitus?)
DHHADP (David Hasselhoff has a drinking problem)
FUILDH (Fuck you; I love David Hasselhoff)
LHN2DWIHNH (Love has nothing to do with it; he needs help)
V4Rn:8 (Vote for Ralph Nader in 08)
WYLARAWYDBCW? (Would you like a reach around with your double bacon cheese whopper?)
TWOPTAAGOR (The works of P.T. Anderson are grossly overrated)
WFST2S (What a film snob thing to say)
IAFFGC (I am flavor flav's giant clock)
----------------------------
If you pwn the competition at l33t, r u asciiking?
I think there are two layers of generational immersion. The first is probably my generation, who found it a little faster, and the cultural geekiness around - we also helped pioneer other aspects of l33t, like ascii art in user tags, etc. The second generational immersion layer is generation chipmunk - the kids whittling away at their cell phones, rubbing the numbers off the keys with their thumbs.
Much like touch typing, true multi-tap mastery is something you have to pick up young, or you won't catch up. Now whether the current multi-tap alpha-numeric layout has the same staying power as a qwerty keyboard remains to be seen - which could adversely affect skills (kids can get good at multi-tap, but if it changes, are they screwed)?
The difference is that the first generation helped create and enjoyed l33t (with some backlash - see Mike Patton's "LOL: Loser OnLine"), but the second generation really needs it to communicate at normal speeds on the multitap.
Personally, I find l33t pretty passe. Typing "LOL" is the verbal equivalent of responding to humor with the word "funny", uttered without any inflection - I probably wasn't paying attention. Or course, WTF (what the fuck) and RTFM (read the fucking manual) are a permanent part of my lexicon - the former creating a fascinating hybrid of a curse that loses little of it's punch, while being sanitized for greater broadcasting range. And RTFM also leads to one of the greatest ironic snarkbites ever slapped on a t-shirt: "WWJD? JWRTFM."
I guess we'll see an end to l33t's development at some point - rolling on the floor laughing my ass of (rotflmao) is the exception that proves the rule - how many 8 letter l33t statements can you parse reasonably?
But what if that wasn't a limitation - and what if you could speak and hear l33t as quickly as you could type and read it? You could say all sorts of kick ass things at the fraction of the time...
YWISMT? (You want I should move this?)
AIHRJTS (American Idol has really jumped the shark)
I8CBLN&MAI@D4 (I ate a caliente burrito last night, and my ass is at defcon 4)
WYLTSBMP2E:C? (Would you like to stop by my place to engage in coitus?)
DHHADP (David Hasselhoff has a drinking problem)
FUILDH (Fuck you; I love David Hasselhoff)
LHN2DWIHNH (Love has nothing to do with it; he needs help)
V4Rn:8 (Vote for Ralph Nader in 08)
WYLARAWYDBCW? (Would you like a reach around with your double bacon cheese whopper?)
TWOPTAAGOR (The works of P.T. Anderson are grossly overrated)
WFST2S (What a film snob thing to say)
IAFFGC (I am flavor flav's giant clock)
----------------------------
If you pwn the competition at l33t, r u asciiking?
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
It's time to get, while the getting is good.
So I was supporting Hillary from pretty early on. I fall into the camp that she had more substance, and that I'm a little leery of stylistic rhetoric, even if Obama's sounded so good. She frequently had more detailed answers to questions, and seemed to have done her homework. I also felt that Obama was overstating how different politics would be once he entered the white house.
For the record, as of today, I'm wishing that Hillary would concede the nomination to Barrack. It will take near total sweeps of the remaining states for her to catch up. I don't see that happening. I also don't see the super delegates giving their votes to the loser of the pledged delegate race - that would be tantamount to political suicide for the democratic party.
If she steps down now, she has the opportunity to be a gracious loser, and to help cement democratic support around Obama going into the general election. If she abstains from conceding, the party won't get that positive boost. While she wants to win, staying in this race can be interpreted as her valuing her own candidacy over a democratic win in november. It's an unfortunate side effect of what was originally positive - two candidates that were well accepted by their party, versus the republican nominee who isn't hugely supported. That's a tangible benefit, and to preserve, its time for the low-percentage candidate to step aside, if she is as committed to ending the Bush era as she claims to be. I no longer see her dogged determination as contributing anything positive - much as I don't see the value in Bush's steadfast commitment to an unethical war and total disregard of opposing viewpoints. Being committed is only valuable if you are pursuing a correct goal.
It has definitely been a very interesting primary for the democratic party, and pretty important. While I don't think republicans are feeling a lot of pressure right now, there is a palpable level of urgency on the democratic side. As a party, we need to be focused on hitting the reset button once the nominee is declared, and rally support.
For the record, as of today, I'm wishing that Hillary would concede the nomination to Barrack. It will take near total sweeps of the remaining states for her to catch up. I don't see that happening. I also don't see the super delegates giving their votes to the loser of the pledged delegate race - that would be tantamount to political suicide for the democratic party.
If she steps down now, she has the opportunity to be a gracious loser, and to help cement democratic support around Obama going into the general election. If she abstains from conceding, the party won't get that positive boost. While she wants to win, staying in this race can be interpreted as her valuing her own candidacy over a democratic win in november. It's an unfortunate side effect of what was originally positive - two candidates that were well accepted by their party, versus the republican nominee who isn't hugely supported. That's a tangible benefit, and to preserve, its time for the low-percentage candidate to step aside, if she is as committed to ending the Bush era as she claims to be. I no longer see her dogged determination as contributing anything positive - much as I don't see the value in Bush's steadfast commitment to an unethical war and total disregard of opposing viewpoints. Being committed is only valuable if you are pursuing a correct goal.
It has definitely been a very interesting primary for the democratic party, and pretty important. While I don't think republicans are feeling a lot of pressure right now, there is a palpable level of urgency on the democratic side. As a party, we need to be focused on hitting the reset button once the nominee is declared, and rally support.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
DJYC
Daily Jeopardy YouTube Clip No 5:
What is "You are a tool and Alex is repulsed by the very fact that you exist"?
What is "You are a tool and Alex is repulsed by the very fact that you exist"?
Monday, May 5, 2008
Reduction in Meat
I've eaten meat about 3 times in the last 9 days. For me, that's pretty insane. Prior to this, I haven't gone 24 hours without meat since I was weaned from the teat.
Something happened during a hangover that was unexpected. I lost my appetite (normal) but I also started feeling a little grossed out by meat. No the taste, but how it felt when I was digesting. Unlike most hangovers, I didn't totally regain my appetite, or this new ambivalence towards the car-nay.
We'll see what happens - I could easily wind up back on my daily hamburger kick, or not. For now, a good black bean taco with some salsa and guacamole is doing it for me.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
My platform
Here's my platform:
If you catch a guy taking a leak or a dump in a public restroom without washing his hands after, getting his poop or cock germs on the door handle, you will be allowed to catch up with him (don't forget to watch YOUR hands) and punch him in the throat. No charges will be filed.
DJYC
Daily Jeopardy YouTube Clip No 3:
Go back to your home, Alex. Are you too good for your HOME, Alex?
Go back to your home, Alex. Are you too good for your HOME, Alex?
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