When Drugs in Sports Go Too Far

I can only say that the use of 'performance enhancing drugs' in sports must be much more widespread than I had ever suspected. Of course, the term "sports" has expanded beyond my comprehension. For example, we now have drug testing for "competitive ice fishing":

WAUSAU, Wis. — The ice fishermen spent a week on the frozen lake, and on the last day, after emptying perch and bluegill from their buckets and scrubbing bait from their hands, several winners of the World Ice Fishing Championship were ushered into their rooms in the Plaza Hotel.
There, an official from the United States Anti-Doping Agency ordered them to provide urine samples for a surprise test to detect steroids and growth hormones — drugs not normally associated with the quiet solitude of ice fishing. “We do not test for beer, because then everybody would fail,” said Joel McDearmon, chairman of the United States Freshwater Fishing Federation.       
www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/sports/ice-fishermen-not-immune-to-dopings-reach.html?hpw&_r=0
(really; read the whole thing.)

     
I've been ice fishing (once, which is one more time than any sane person really needs) and I assure you that whiskey is by far the drug of choice when engaging in the "sport". While it may not enhance your performance, it will help you accept the fact that you are sitting on ice trying to catch a fish, rather than enjoying the benefit of a civilization that has heat and stores that sell fish. Anyone who "competes" at "ice fishing" as a "sport" is probably on the wrong drugs anyway.

President's Day

Long time readers may know that I usually use President's Day to honor Millard Fillmore (pictured in the post below) for being the only president named "Millard", which is still true. But my sister felt the need to honor William Henry Harrison, our 9th president, who is best known for being the first to die in office about a month after inauguration. With his short tenure, Harrison most likely holds the record for "fewest mistakes while president", which is an honorable record to hold.
So, which President are you honoring today?
(and if anybody says "Nixon" I will kick them in the gonads.)

State of my Union

                                        (In honor of Presidents Day, here's Millard)
Watched the SOTU with my sister (whom I'm currently living with; long story) and she says "with all your political opinions, you should start a blog."
Ah, sis, if you only knew.

So...

According to this calendar I've got, today is officially "International Kite Flying Day."
I bet you didn't celebrate it.
But that's OK. Neither did I.

Still Here (Sort Of)

Sorry about the paucity of posts. Life has been rather weird lately, and changes are happening (which is a very vague thing to say, but true). Since I really don't want to tell the whole story, I will instead give you a story of burning cheese:

This is the cheesiest story you'll read all day. And we mean that literally. That's because 27 metric tons of flaming goat cheese burned inside a Norwegian road tunnel, closing nearly two miles of the road for six days.

The Brunost, a Norwegian delicacy, was being shipped in a truck that caught fire. No one was hurt in the incident, which firefighters were finally able to put out on Monday.

As the website Nordic Nibbler explains, Brunost is technically not a traditional cheese. It is made from the whey of goat's milk and can contain up to 30 percent fat. It is described as having a "slightly salty and surprisingly sweet flavour with a hint of goat about it."

The BBC reported that the truck's driver noticed the cheese had caught fire and was forced to abandon the truck about 300 feet from the tunnel's exit. Toxic fumes emanating from the smoldering, brown cheese kept firefighters at bay for several days before they could attempt to extinguish the flames.

Which is much more amusing than what is my current life...

Scandal Fodder for Wingnuts

Perhaps congress will investigate...

Merry Christmas

Here's a four dollar christmas tree. It's all I can affor. Be merry!

As The Solstice Arrives

If you're reading this, that most likely proves that another apocalypse has failed to occur. I've lost count of how many apocalypses, raptures, and ends of the world I've survived in my lifetime, but after this many I gave up on worrying about them long ago. Heck, climate change is the thing that's most likely to destroy civilization, but that is a slow process without a dramatic end date. So our society will continue to ignore it.
Any way, it's another Winter Solstice (6:12am, EST), which is always something to celebrate. Days will now start getting longer, and that's a good thing.

Happy "Three Dozen Day"

I do like when we have days with interesting numbers, and today is 12/12/12. Since many cool things come in dozens, today is a triple good day.

Happy Repeal Day!

Happy Repeal Day! On Dec. 5th, 1933 prohibition was repealed. So I suggest that we have a drink to celebrate.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!

I hope you are all well fed, around those who matter most, and enjoying your holiday in the way you choose. I'm about to start cooking a feast, which makes me very happy. Best wishes to you all!

St. Sleazy McCain Out Does Himself

As I noted in my previous post, St. Sleazy McCain has been calling for a congressional investigation on the Benghazi attack. As all the political talk shows will tell you, Sen. McCain is a very serious person. In fact, he's so serious that when the Senate Homeland Security Committee (on which he sits) received a closed door briefing on Benghazi yesterday, he failed to show up.

If there's anyone in Washington who would benefit from a detailed briefing on what actually transpired in Benghazi in September, it's the senator who's throwing fits over what he thinks happened in Benghazi in September.
As luck would have it, the Senate Homeland Security Committee, which McCain is a member of, received a classified, closed-door briefing for nearly two hours yesterday, receiving up-to-date information. What did McCain learn from the briefing? Nothing -- according to the Republican ranking member on the committee, McCain failed to show up.
But what's unclear is why McCain didn't bother to attend the lengthy briefing on a subject he claims to care so deeply about. McCain had time yesterday to appear in front of cameras to talk about Benghazi, but didn't have time to get more information about Benghazi?
Update: According to a CNN report, McCain hosted his press conference demanding more information during the hearing in which he could have received more information.
Second Update: Josh Rogin also reported, "[A]lthough McCain had time to speak on the Senate floor and on television about the lack of information provided to Congress about the attack, he didn't attend the classified briefing."
"If you want answers, a good first step is to show up and ask a question," an administration official told Rogin. "That's what a senator does."
maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/11/15/15190778-mccain-doesnt-have-time-for-facts-information?lite

Instead, St. Sleazy was holding his own press conference demanding more information. He was too busy grandstanding to actually hear the information he was requesting. Unless he's actually completely senile, this is flat out rank hypocrisy at its worst.
Added: His staff now says it was a "scheduling error." Alrighty, then...

Second Term Scandal Search Starts

Now that Obama has won a second term, it's time for the rethugs to  try to find a scandal, even if they have to make one up. So far, Benghazi and Petraeus are the early entries.
Benghazi may have been a security miscalculation, but I can't see how this adds up to a "scandal". Yes, it was a tragedy. Yes, the consulate wasn't secure enough given how unstable Libya still is. But you cannot conduct diplomacy by insulating behind walls and marines. A risk was taken, and, sadly, we lost four people. But somehow St. Sleazy McCain and Ms. Lindsay Graham want to make this the new Watergate. They're starting by attacking Susan Rice, although I find it odd that they feel the UN Ambassador is somehow responsible. The investigation will be a carnival sideshow, with plenty of grandstanding, but in the end Benghazi is a tragedy, not a scandal.
(BTW: If you really want to find a diplomatic scandal with a woman named "Rice", I suggest you look into the previous administration.)
Then we have the Petraeus/Kelly/Broadwell/Allen soap opera...I'm not quite sure how they'll blame Obama for this, but I'm sure somehow the right wing will. There is sex involved, so the media loves this story. I'll admit, I'm not comfortable with the CIA director having affairs that become public, but that's because I prefer a chief spy who can keep a secret. I'm old fashioned that way. Expect long hearings in the House on this one, but no real scandal.
Remember the Clinton years? Investigate everything, regardless of the facts. What started with a bad real estate deal (the Clintons lost $30,000 on whitewater) led to the travel office, then the Christmas Card list, before they finally found a blow job. It took years, but they finally found a "scandal".
In reality, Obama, like Clinton, is guilty of being President while a member of the Democratic party. And the repubs are going to do their very best to convict him of it.

Winning elections is fun. We should do it more often.

Election Day

OK, it's finally election day. Obviously, you should get out and vote (if you haven't already), preferably for the good guys. If nothing else, your vote buys you the right to complain for the next four years.
I'm not much for predictions, but I'm guessing that Obama holds on to a win via the electoral college. Nothing profound there; I tend to trust Nate Silver's math (he was a baseball statistician before moving into politics, which makes me confident) more than the pundit class. Also, I can't believe that a majority of Americans are stupid enough to believe Willard's non-stop lies. At least, I hope not.
If nothing else, today will bring the end of the campaign ad season. Which should be a relief for us all. (1,463 days until election day 2016, BTW.)

Some Stuff

                                         (picture is unrelated*, but I like it)
As we close in on election day, I find myself again amazed at the only country I've lived in. In the wake of a major disaster, our current president has done a great job of marshaling a federal government response. His rival staged a photo op collecting canned goods (which aren't needed) that now has proven to be mostly faked. Yet the polls are still mostly tied.
New Jersey Governor Kris Krispy Chris Christie (I would usually mock him, but today he's doing the right thing), who gave an anti-Obama keynote speech at the republican convention, is now heaping quite effusive praise on Obama and the federal government response. I disagree with Gov. Christie on most things, but he has proven that he takes his job seriously and is trying to do right by his people.
I sometimes make fun of President Obama, calling him "Sober Panda Time", but the real fact is he's doing a decent job of running the country. Not my 'ideal', but my 'ideal' could never get elected in this country. And he is currently managing the response to this disaster perfectly. He's being "The President" quite well.
Willard, on the other hand, spent $5,000 on stuff to stage a campaign rally that he called a "relief" event. Last time I looked, Willard R-Money was really fornicating rich; maybe he could actually cut a check to the American Red Cross that might actually help. Not gonna happen.
(BTW: if you really want to help, AMERICAN RED CROSS The Red Cross is providing shelter, clothes, supplies, food and blood, as needed, for the victims of Sandy. You can donate blood, but in terms of items, you’ll be doing more for those in need by donating money instead of physical goods.Text message: Text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. As in the case with other donations via mobile, the donation will show up on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your balance if you have a prepaid phone. You need to be 18 or older, or have parental permission, to donate this way. (If you change your mind, text the word STOP to 90999.)Phone: 800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767); for Spanish speakers, 800-257-7575; for TDD,  800-220-4095.To donate blood: Visit this Red Cross Web page. Online: American Red Cross)
This election does truly matter. Instead of "the lesser of two evils" we have a choice between an honest, dedicated, competent, if mediocre, candidate or a corporate greedhead evil candidate. I'll be spending most of election day working a GOTV phone bank, myself.
(*bonus point to anyone who can identify the source of that photo in the comments)

Superstorm Disaster

That is one damn big storm. Reports on Sandy are currently listing at least 16 dead (update: now listed as 33 50 dead) and 7.5 million without power, and it's still very early in the damage assessment. Along with the human tragedy, the economic impact is going to be huge for quite a while.
Calls for disaster relief will be going up soon, and all our prayers and good wishes go out to those effected by the storm. From all that I've read, our current President is doing everything possible to get aid to those in need, and it's good to have a competent administration in charge at times like this. This is the kind of thing we need a Federal Government for, conservatives!
In the aftermath, can we begin to address global climate change, maybe? Might be a good idea.
Scenes from Sandy through Monday here, and more epic pics are here. Incredible scenes.
I'm sure I'll have more comments soon, but for now I'm just trying to wrap my head around the scope of this disaster. Be safe, people!

Champions Again!

For the second time in three years, the San Francisco Giants have won the World Series! I'm actually rather surprised; I didn't have a lot of faith in this years team. Considering that, until 2010, the Giants hadn't won it all during my lifetime, I'm used to being disappointed. I'll be smiling for at least a week!
Now, if my 49er's can keep winning football games and the "good guys" can win on election day...

Giants!

My beloved San Francisco Giants are going to the World Series for the second time in three years. I admit that I had pretty much given up hope during the playoffs, both against the Reds and the Cardinals. Facing elimination in both series, they managed to win three in a row each time for a total of six wins in elimination games, which is virtually impossible. Amazing.
Now they get to face the Detroit Tigers for the championship. On paper, the Tigers look like the better team by a wide margin. But the Giants seem to defy odds, so it should be an interesting series.
Go Giants!
Added: Some baseball history that I wasn't aware of:

Sean Kirst notes that this is the first time the Giants and Tigers have met in the World Series, despite their status as ancient teams. These two teams had plenty of success, the Tigers appearing in ten World Series prior to 2012, the Giants in sixteen (modern era). The teams tended to just miss each other. For example, the Giants were in the series in 1905, then from 1911-1913. The Tigers played in three straight from 1907-1909. The the Tigers went back-to-back in 1934 and 1935, while the Giants played in 1933, 1936, and 1937.

Another example of the beauty of the game; even with over 130 years of history, something totally new can happen.

McGovern Memory

Sadly, good old George Mcgovern passed away this morning, and we'll all miss him. He was the first presidential candidate that I actually cared about (not that I could vote for him; I was 13 in 1972,) I liked him; he always seemed like a "good, decent" guy (as opposed to Richard Nixon, who was a truly unlikable man.) While I was aware of some politics in previous elections, Nixon versus McGovern was when I truly felt it mattered.
And we lost, big time. Which set me on a life long path of cynicism. Nixon was evil, McGovern was decently good (read Doc, "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72" if you have any doubts), but evil won big. That's when I began to understand America.
I once thought that we would never elect someone worse than Nixon, but along came Shrub. Heck, Ol' Ronnie R was plenty bad enough.
I guess we get the government we deserve.
We have an election coming up. We have a choice. I hope you all know which way George McGovern would vote.