Day: January 9, 2008

Uh…. thanks?

Chris 3 Comments

A blog dedicated to unwanted gifts.

I came up with this idea after attending a Christmas party where we played that Dirty Santa game where everybody exchanges/steals gag gifts. Seeing all the random gifts brought back childhood memories of gifts I’d received that secretly ended up in the trash or in the back of my closet. I remember my parents coaching me about being polite when Aunt so-and-so gave me my annual dose of brown silk socks. I thought it might be a fun experiment to see if other people would be willing to share similar experiences, anonymously, with others.

The rubberband gift ball actually was one I received from a coworker a few years back and blogged about it then. The owner of Uh Thanks had the audacity to ask me if he could use it for his blog. Doesn’t he know that proper blogging etiquette is to just steal things without credit?

Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ

Chris 50 Comments

I’m getting a ton of hits from this post I did back in 2004 after the good people at the now defunct Christian-Forums.com did a thread on why they thought Barack Obama could in fact be the anti-christ.

Unfortunately the original thread along with the Christians Forum has been raptured but here were some of the highlights:

  • People can think what they want about me, I could really give a hoot. People think that the AC is coming out of the mid-east. My personal belief is that the AC is going to rise right out of the UN, and with this guys popularity, charisma, and how he is climbing the ranks in government real fast!!!, He may be in the UN next.
  • When I first heard of Barak, a few days ago, the first thing I heard is that he is a guy who came out of nowhere and now many flock to his side. When my wife and I heard this, we both thought the same thing, the anti-christ. Now I am not claiming him to be, just something that triggered that thought in both of us.
  • My sister and I both feel something “spooky” about this guy, but can’t quite figure out what it is. It is odd that strangers come up to him on the street. Why would they do that, unless they were drawn to him.
  • I don’t think we should directly label Obama as AC, but it is very interresting. While I was watching him, the VERY FIRST thought that came to my mind was asking the Lord if I was looking at the AC. I don’t have a big opinion either way, but man, that was pretty scary.

Shy Tory Factor

Chris 3 Comments

From Wikipedia:

Shy Tory Factor is a name given by British opinion polling companies to a phenomenon observed in the 1990s, where the share of the vote won by the Conservative Party (i.e. the ‘Tories’) in elections was substantially higher than the proportion of people in opinion polls who said they would vote for the party.

The Bradley Effect

Chris 1 Comment

From Wikipedia:

The term Bradley effect or Wilder effect refers to a phenomenon which has led to inaccurate voter opinion polls in some American political campaigns between a white candidate and a non-white candidate.[1][2][3] Specifically, there have been instances in which statistically significant numbers of white voters tell pollsters in advance of an election that they are either genuinely undecided, or likely to vote for the non-white candidate, but those voters exhibit a different behavior when actually casting their ballots. White voters who said that they were undecided break in statistically large numbers toward the white candidate, and many of the white voters who said that they were likely to vote for the black candidate ultimately cast their ballot for the white candidate. This reluctance to give accurate polling answers has sometimes extended to post-election exit polls as well.

Researchers who have studied the issue theorize that some white voters give inaccurate responses to polling questions because of a fear that they might appear to others to be racially prejudiced. Some research has suggested that the race of the pollster conducting the interview may factor into that concern. At least one prominent researcher has suggested that with regard to pre-election polls, the discrepancy can be traced in part by the polls’ failure to account for general conservative political leanings among late-deciding voters.

I Get Mail

Chris 9 Comments

Let’s open up the mailbox and see what’s inside.

Please stop posting this crap about Ron Paul it’s embarassing. Your using the propaganda of the neocons who constructed this nonsense when Dr. Paul was running for congress again. The original author is a known criminal (and got immediately fired when he wrote this stuff) who fled to mexico recently. -.-

It’s too funny btw that the New Republic posted this. (though the author already admitted that it’s just a smear and he himself doesn’t believe it a second)

This seems to be the typical Paulnut response to the New Republic’s piece on Ron Paul. If the newsletters are not legit then I would agree with the sentiment. However Ron Paul has never said that those articles were never in his newsletters, only that he didn’t write them and wasn’t aware of them. Like I said yesterday, I’d be more prone to buy that excuse if it was one or two articles but there were dozens over the years in his allegedly official newsletter. Paul won’t even say who wrote the articles or why they were in his newsletter. I’ve upgraded Ron Paul from kooky creationist to racist homophobic paranoid loony creationist for the mean time. See the cat? See the cradle?

From: Aunt Jenny (ed. note… No, I don’t have an aunt jenny)

Re: snow blowing Christmas Tree

Oh Honey! Being one prone to cynicism myself I sympathize with your reaction!

Blog your heart out if you must on this and other topics, but I recommend you get more first hand info before you do. Trust me it helps improve your life in numerous ways!

I first saw this “snowing” tree about at the nursing home in which my grandma resided. The person that set it up used grand creativity to put a display at the base that included faux ice upon which were several faux penguins, gifts, and candy canes. I was charmed.

Subsequent decor included themes of rustic nature, glamour, and Santa’s elves at recess. All contained the snow well during use. I complimented and consulted the employee responsible for the decor, being a neat-nick myself and musing over hazards and problems as I often do.

I revel in the ingenuity and cleverness of people like this woman who encouraged and coached me. I especially admire it when it is put to use for the purpose of uplifting others. Being one of those “others” in this and many things throughout my life I learned to pass along their generosity as best I can. One example being the snow blowing Christmas tree in my own home.

The mess is miniscule compared to the pleasure of it, including the gentle sound as the snow cascades. I have had live trees all my life until this one. Each kind has mess, debris, minor challenges to set them up and take them down. And each has benefits that far outweigh the work and any silly little frustrations if any should arise.

Today I find your comment simply because I am looking for a good buy on more snow! Sure we lose a little here and there, but not much. We still have plenty from our original purchase some 5 years ago, but I’m securing my desire to try a different design next year which may require more just because I’m not the greatest engineer.

So take heart dear fellow cynic-leaning thinker! To suspend judgement based solely on imagination has immense benefits! A few of these are increasing openness to simple pleasures, acceptance of personal limitations, and the appreciation of others who experience life differently than ourselves.

I ask Jehovah God to bless you with ongoing revelation of the goodness and love He brings your way to draw you into Holy Scripture and a life with Him that supercedes any existence without Him!

It is in Jesus that any hope for burying cynicism rests. And I’m here to tell ya, being LESS cynical is BY FAR a better way to experience life!!!!

Christ’s Peace, dear one.

~ Jenny

I think Jenny is referring to this post.