LukPac.org

8.31.2005

Gas prices continue to rocket. Last night I filled up at $2.85 a gallon, which ended up costing $35. I can't wait to see what things are going to be like in a week or two. I know - let's drill in Alaska! That will fix all of our problems!

This weekend we had planned to take a little trip to the UP, but it looks like that got derailed for more domestic issues. I've known for a while that the floor in the bathroom would need to be replaced, but it wasn't a huge issue. A few tiles were coming up, but I just put them back in place with some silicone caulk. Not perfect, but it works. Well, there were a few other tiles that looked like there were coming up, but I didn't put too much thought into them. Yesterday, while finishing some new moulding, I stepped on one of said tiles. SQUISH. Not good. I pried a few up to discover some really nasty black ooze. And a layer of the plywood underlayment buckling. So, yes, this weekend will not be spent in the UP, but rather in the bathroom, ripping up the floor now, removing the toilet, replacing the bad underlayment, and putting down a new floor. And of course that's the only toilet in the house, so we have to stay in a motel.

Sigh.

[12:18 PM] post a comment

8.28.2005

The world may be coming to an end: we actually got things done around the house this weekend. No, the drywall isn't done, but the landing at the bottom of the stairs has been moved/removed in preparation for the drain system going in the week after Labor Day. Plus we started working on the storm windows for the two windows in front. The paint on them was badly peeling, and it didn't look like the bare wood had seen the light of day since they were first painted. I'm not sure why people think it's a good idea to keep putting on layer after layer of paint. At any rate, one of the two *is* currently down to bare wood, with the second up next.

And that's all for now. I need to sit down.

[5:04 PM] post a comment

8.15.2005

The Intelligent Design debate rages on:

Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was He who created all that we see and all that we feel. We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes is nothing but a coincidence, put in place by Him.
[...]
We have evidence that a Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe. None of us, of course, were around to see it, but we have written accounts of it. We have several lengthy volumes explaining all details of His power.
[...]
You may be interested to know that global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking numbers of Pirates since the 1800s. For your interest, I have included a graph of the approximate number of pirates versus the average global temperature over the last 200 years. As you can see, there is a statistically significant inverse relationship between pirates and global temperature.

Personally, I believe the universe was created by the Lord of Hamburger (not to be confused with the Hamburgler). Plain, of course.

[7:55 AM] post a comment

8.14.2005

I've always liked Roger Ebert, but this just confirms things:

["Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo"] created a spot of controversy last February. According to a story by Larry Carroll of MTV News, Rob Schneider took offense when Patrick Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times listed this year's Best Picture Nominees and wrote that they were "ignored, unloved and turned down flat by most of the same studios that ... bankroll hundreds of sequels, including a follow-up to 'Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo,' a film that was sadly overlooked at Oscar time because apparently nobody had the foresight to invent a category for Best Running Penis Joke Delivered by a Third-Rate Comic."

Schneider retaliated by attacking Goldstein in full-page ads in Daily Variety and the Hollywood Reporter. In an open letter to Goldstein, Schneider wrote: "Well, Mr. Goldstein, I decided to do some research to find out what awards you have won. I went online and found that you have won nothing. Absolutely nothing. No journalistic awards of any kind ... Maybe you didn't win a Pulitzer Prize because they haven't invented a category for Best Third-Rate, Unfunny Pompous Reporter Who's Never Been Acknowledged by His Peers."

Reading this, I was about to observe that Schneider can dish it out but he can't take it. Then I found he's not so good at dishing it out, either. I went online and found that Patrick Goldstein has won a National Headliner Award, a Los Angeles Press Club Award, a RockCritics.com award, and the Publicists' Guild award for lifetime achievement.

Schneider was nominated for a 2000 Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor, but lost to Jar-Jar Binks.

But Schneider is correct, and Patrick Goldstein has not yet won a Pulitzer Prize. Therefore, Goldstein is not qualified to complain that Columbia financed "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo" while passing on the opportunity to participate in "Million Dollar Baby," "Ray," "The Aviator," "Sideways" and "Finding Neverland." As chance would have it, I have won the Pulitzer Prize, and so I am qualified. Speaking in my official capacity as a Pulitzer Prize winner, Mr. Schneider, your movie sucks.

That's too damn funny. And I think it's also the first time I've seen him give zero stars to a movie.

[8:28 AM] post a comment

8.13.2005

Either Rush Limbaugh has a sick sense of humor, is clinically insane, or both:

We just had Stephen Breyer saying, oh, yeah, totally appropriate, we must import what they're doing around the world in other democracies, it will help buttress their attempt to establish the rule of law, and we might learn something, too. Well, here's something I'd like to import. I'd like to import the ability that the Brits are doing to export and deport a bunch of hate-rhetoric filled mullahs and imams that are stoking anti-American sentiment. Wouldn't it be great if anybody who speaks out against this country, to kick them out of the country? Anybody that threatens this country, kick 'em out. We'd get rid of Michael Moore, we'd get rid of half the Democratic Party if we would just import that law. That would be fabulous. The Supreme Court ought to look into this. Absolutely brilliant idea out there.

It's interesting how those so hell bent on upholding the Constitution and who also decry "judicial activists" seem to have no clue what that document is or what it stands for. Never mind the fact that he has no clue what he's talking about (see the link for details).

[12:44 PM] post a comment

8.08.2005

UW profs: Evolution is a fact

In a letter dated July 18, the biochemistry faculty wrote: "Among scientists, there are many discussions and arguments about how evolution came about and the mechanisms that drive it. However, there is NO argument, at least among scientists, about whether evolution occurred. Any assertion to the contrary would be completely false."

I'm glad these faculty members wrote this letter, but there's a much larger message which I think is too often overlooked. Evolution is based on science. It may not be perfect, the process that information has been gathered by and hypotheses formed by is still scientific in nature.

Creationism/intelligent design/whatever, on the other hand, is based on a fairy tale. It might be a fairy tale that millions of people are willing to accept, but it's still a fairy tale. There's nothing scientific about it. "Being exposed to other viewpoints" is a farce when those viewpoints are based on fantasy.

Perhaps schools should also start teaching that "the world might be flat" because some people think it is.

[10:15 PM] post a comment