Arnold shares his deepest feelings

YTMND - Arnold shares his deepest feelings

This has to rank pretty high up there on the annoying webpages of all time list...but somehow I was still amused for the first 10 seconds or so!

The Beer Launcher

Now here is a useful invention...This is the kind of innovation that we should encourage here in Vermont and around the country. I'm pretty sure that the braniacs in the Asian countries aren't working on stuff as important as this....




Robotic Beer Launching Refrigerator - Watch today’s top amazing videos here

New Product Announcement from Apple

Check out the next generation of gee-whiz from the folks that brought you the i-pod.



Clip is from Mad TV...

My New Axe....

I've been waiting to find just the right guitar. I think I may have found it....

With a fixed bridge and single humbucking pickup, this Kitty is ready to rock. Agathis body, maple 25-1/2"-scale neck, die-cast chrome machine heads, single volume control, jumbo frets, and a custom Hello Kitty pickguard.

Get more info on this kickin' shred machine

Man will my friends be jealous...

Raise the Minimum Wage!

"The US senate passed a bill to boost the federal minimum wage by $2.10 an hour over the next two years, bringing the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour by 2009. The bill contained amendments with controversial tax cuts for small businesses. The increase in the minimum wage is the first in a decade. It was approved by a 94-3 vote, finishing a nine day debate on the senate floor. The bill will now be reconciled with the House version that contained no tax provisions passed on January 10, 2007.
Senator Leahy voted yes on the bill, Senator Sanders Voted yes on the bill, and Representative Welch voted yes on the bill."

I think its very interesting to note that this site quotes a study that shows the last minimum wage increase had little to no impact on businesses. In fact it made measurable improvements in lower unemployment rates etc... So much for the Republican argument against raising the minimum wage. The Republicans would lead you to believe that by raising the minimum wage you will actually lose jobs. Businesses will have to eliminate positions at the low end of the pay scale (the expendibles) in order to maintain staff payrolls. What a bunch of crap! How about increase the price of your product by 1% and let the people who can afford it shoulder the burden.

I think the key thing to point out is that, while the minimum wage has stayed the same, government entitlements have seen steady increases. The payoff for working has too be greater than the payoff for being poor. People will work if it's wortwhile. Why bust your ass if you can get to the same nowhere in life by walking to the mailbox and getting a check? In either instance, you have to provide a liveable wage. Oh and by the way, we haven't even begun to discuss how the minimum wage stacks up against housing or healthcare costs. That is another lengthy discussion altogether. How did things end up this way? Why has the income gap grown into an impassible Great Divide? Mobil/Exxon and others are making record profits and the guy that pumps your gas can't afford housing without working a second job....Oh, wait. We already eliminated his job years ago with the greedy advent of self-service.....That's ok, I hear they're hiring like crazy in India and China. It's kind of a difficult commute though.

Alas, I'm left wondering what plausible argument one could make as to why the minimum wage is not tied to economic indicators or perhaps Congressional pay raises....Read more about the facts here!

Vermont Combine Update

As NFL draft dat is rapidly approaching and NASCAR is just getting under way, I thought it would be a good time to check on our local football hero David Ball. If you recall, while attending UNH, David broke several NCAA records including the TD record formerly held by Jerry Rice. Being a fellow Spaulding High School graduate (class of 84), I've been trying to keep track of him.

I found this scouting report from the NFL combines. It basicly ranks him as a 4th or 5th receiver or perhaps a multi-purpose guy like Wes Welker (now with the Patriots). I think he has good potential as a slot receiver.

At any rate I wish David the best of luck in finding a home in the NFL. Go TIDE!

KSM whiners are whacked....

I can't believe all this KSM crap! Does anyone really care what they did to this guy? Any one of the acts that he has claimed responsibility for would be grounds for using (with a clear conscience) "all means necessary" to protect innocent lives. Admittedly, it's a little scary to have this mentality prevail in the U.S. , but I think it is justifiable considering the nature of this conflict. You can debate both sides of the politics, but the reality is this deadly enemy has no plans to go away quietly. I wouldn't care if they locked him in a room and made him listen to an endless loop of Sean Hannity and Bill O'reilly. We're at war now whether you agree with how we got there or not. The politicians are seizing this opportunity to further divide and conquer this country. We are consumed by the war, the loss of lives and the quest for moral ground. The whole time the rich people on both sides of the aisle are raking in record profits, seemingly behind our backs, yet right in front of our eyes.

I also question the unmistakable "Captain Obvious" political move the Bush administration attempted to deploy this week. Has anyone been lulled into believing that breaking of KSM story at this time is nothing more than an attempt to sway the Congressional vote on the war budget. "Look how bad this guy is! We're definitely going to need more money...". I think the timing is clearly designed to counter the Democrats pull-out plan and shame on them for being so transparent. I for one feel my intelligence has been insulted. Karl Rove would have executed that maneuver in a much slicker manner...

We can disagree as long as we remember to keep the bigger picture in perspective. We are now in position that we have to physically defend our country and our way of life. We have historically been loathe to enter into global conflicts and slow to react. Yet this time we touched off a powder keg that we will have to live with for a long time. I think that a reasonable person could presume we will be there for the long haul. That will mean many more casualties on all sides. So if we have to waterboard a scumbag like KSM to fight this war and save some lives, I say go ahead.