Go Hokies!

I was flipping through the channels last night when I came across the NC State- Virginia Tech men's basketball game. There were 21 seconds left in the game and Tech was trailing 71-70. One point deficit against a major ACC opponent! The announcers go on to recount how Tech has overcome an 11 point deficit to get to this point. The clock starts and Tech has the ball. They bring it down the court and get it to Collins who is in the paint. He puts up a fade-away jumper to take the lead 71-72 with 12 seconds to go. Of course the Wolfpack call a timeout for strategy purposes. They bring the ball down and get it to Hodge who takes a shot only to have it blocked by Gordon. Washington recovers the ball only to be fouled by NC State. That's it, the Hokies won! Man I wish that I had seen the whole thing.

When Virginia Tech announced that they were leaving the Big East in favor of the ACC, I knew that the football team wouldn't have any difficulty adjusting. I did have visions of the basketball team upon seeing the news asking in a state of shock, "we're gonna have to play who?!" They mave have said that and been in a state of shock but they seemed to have gotten over it. When the game ended, my wife said, "looks like they're going to need a bigger basketball stadium now." It sure does.

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Be sure to click on the title of this post for proper Hokie background music.

Dog Haiku

I lift my leg and
Wiz on each bush. Hello, Spot -
Sniff this and weep.

How do I love thee?
The ways are numberless as
My hairs on the rug.

Today I sniffed
Many dog butts-I celebrate
By kissing your face

I lie belly-up
In the sunshine, happier than
You ever will be.

CG Clips

There's a very talented Coast Guard cook out there. I'm not talking about his culinary skills but I'm sure that they are superb as well since he is the Admiral's cook at the Academy. No, the talent I'm talking about is visual. This cook owns a video camera and pulls it out whenever he can. He's taken those clips and put them together in some great Coast Guard action sequences. He's now put them on a website. The address is; www.cgclips.com This is better than any of the stuff the recruiters have put out. Check it out!

Randy Moss Kerfuffle

A Large Regular sounds off on Randy Moss' fake mooning at Green Bay last week.

When I wrestle with my son and he gets away - sometimes he wiggles his butt at me as a way of saying "nana nana boo boo - you can't get me". Sure it's childish but there's no malicious intent. Just the same with Moss. Sure it was childish but there was no malicious intent.

Exactly. It was silly and childish. Just like the Green Bay fans tradition of mooning the visiting team's bus as they leave the stadium. How many times has Randy Moss and his teamates been mooned by them over the years? Give me a break.

On Sportscenter today the commentator was saying how Moss' actions took away from his team's victory. Well that's because the league and the sports press just wont let go! Give me a break.

Meet Sam

This is Sam. He'll be one year old in April. This picture was taken while my wife and I were engrossed in a college bowl game. Sam tried and tried to get our attention. Finally, he gave up in desperation and got our attention.



Linked to the Carnival of Cats in a shameless attempt to generate traffic.

Special UN Coordinator of Coordination of Coordinating Entities

“...[T]o avoid running into the UN, we must go out to where the quake and tsunami actually hit...”

The Diplomad continues his relentless assault on the United Nations:

Sitting VERY late for two consecutive nights in interminable meetings with UN reps, hearing them go on about "taking the lead coordination role," pledges, and the impending arrival of this or that UN big shot or assessment/coordination team, for the millionth time I realized that if not for Australia and America almost nobody in the tsunami-affected areas would have survived more than a few days. If we had waited for the UNocrats to get their act coordinated, the already massive death toll would have become astronomical. But, fortunately, thanks to "retrograde racist war-mongers " such as John Howard and George W. Bush, as we sat in air conditioned meeting rooms with these UNocrats, young Australians and Americans were at that moment "coordinating" without the UN and saving the lives of tens-of-thousands of people.

Don't just read this post. There are several more. My favorite is the suggestion of the first UN representative in the region that the US and Australian military personnel wear UN uniforms.

These entries are outstanding. The Diplomad deserves a place in your favorites folder.

Election Reform

I've been listening to the democrats in Congress moan and whine about the unfair elections in Ohio. They are challenging the electoral votes from that state. It's not going to go anywhere of course.

I do agree with them that some reforms need to be made. I wonder if we would agree beyond that.

Gerrymandering is going to be with us for a few more years I'm afraid. I had heard of Iowa's system but that is the first time I've seen a map of their districts. It looks great. This is a true bipartisan deal though. It won't change anytime soon because both parties like to draw the districts to protect their incumbants. Their favorite trick is to put two members of the opposite party in the same district.

My suggestions for election reform start with the voter rolls. First, I would require showing some form of ID at the polls when you go to vote. Virginia instituted this a few years ago and it had been a sucess. There is a safety valve that if you don't have an ID card, you can cast a provisional ballot. When I go to Blockbuster to rent a movie, I have to prove I am who I am. It doesn't seem to unreasonable to ask the same when I vote.

The next thing would be to keep the rolls current. Streamline the system to purge names off the list if they haven't voted in a certain number of years. Provide a safety by sending a postcard allowing the person to renew their registration. If the card isn't returned, off they go. Aren't you supposed to update your address with the voter registrar anyway?

Voting is a responsibility. As a responsibility, it requires a little effort on our part.