Oddly enough I’ve spent more time reading up on Barack Obama since the election than I did before it, suffering from total and complete leftist media burnout as I was. I’m not yet sure what to think about him, but I think the world reaction is a great thing. Obviously W made more than his share of enemies, and it does appear many of those enemies are viewing this as a new beginning. Ecstatic that a black man was elected president – and as a friend noted on Twitter, imagine the odds you would have got back in 1908 had you bet a black man would be President before the Cubs would win the World Series again.
One interesting note in the Wednesday Metro was a look back at W’s administration, and a particular item of interest from March 2003:

Should the US have invaded Iraq? 72% Yes, 22% No
Easy to remember that in the days following 9/11 W experienced an 86% approval rating, and the American public was practically begging him to fling some missiles and bombs. 20 months later and 72% wanted to move on from Afghanistan to Iraq, yet you’d be hard pressed to find a single person to suggest it was a good idea now. Reading back through this site will show I’ve never been a huge W fan, but I will continue to argue that solely on the issue of “the war in Iraq”, nobody reading this could have been expected to make a different decision.
As for increasing unemployment 1.4%, moving from a $230 billion surplus to a $455 billion deficit, over 1.5% inflation, and destroying an economy.. that’s all him.
Today’s Random Links
The 9 most inappropriate soundtrack choices of all time.
The 12 dumbest Spider-man stories ever.
Robin doesn’t know how to ride a horse.
Now Playing
Rick’s Last.FM Radio Station

I stuck by those usually daily updates for a while, time just snuck up on me over this past week. Truth be told the new job affords me the following schedule:
5:00 Wake up
6:30 Leave for work
8:15 Arrive at work
5:00 Leave work
6:30 Arrive at gym
8:00 Arrive home
10:00 Go to bed
So, yeah, I’ve basically got two hours a day to myself between 8 and 10 at night, in which I attempt to cook some food, prepare the next day’s lunch, any outstanding house work, watch a show or two. Whatever I can cram in. So you’ll note that most, if not all, of the entries the past month occur in that 8:15 to 9:00 AM window when I’m at work but not required to start working yet.
So the good? Still below 170 lbs, getting to the gym and eating well enough not to allow the weight back on. The December 26th weigh-in and measure-in should be eventful. The job itself is interesting, the people are nice, and the projects I’m working on are entertaining. Apparently I get a new one today at 3:30, stated to me in an appointment as “Globe and Mail”. Not sure what that involves. The bad? Not much yet, I actually don’t mind the commute, affords me some time with my music and books, and a couple podcasts a day. Still getting off four stops early for a coffee, that could be improved.
Speaking of reading, a quote I enjoyed – and some of you will not – from my latest read: “For the last few decades we have been conducting an interesting social experiment in North America. We have been working on the creation of a new variety of human being I will call homo sapiens teenager consumerenis… Teenagers are trained to have specific needs… special foods, beverages, clothing, music, films. Eight year olds are persuaded that they are teenagers already and then the twenty-five year olds are convinced that they are still teenagers. This experiment is hurtling apace using some of the most creative minds in our society and every modern technological and pyschological tool, sparing no expense. Often sex, violence and greed are exploited to help sell products including TV shows and films. For the first time in the history of our species the most vital, active years of a person’s growing life are dedicated to one major goal – self indulgence.” – Robert Bateman
Today’s Random Links
They killed Windows 3.1! Surprised this came after the apparent death of XP.. haha.
The answer to the question: “I can haz cheezburger?”
Heidi Klum + air guitar = Best. Ad. Ever.
Now Playing
The Cash Brothers – Raceway

It appears I was incorrect yesterday in my relaying of the evidence behind the accuracy in fact and translation of the New Testament. There is a method by which the consistency and accuracy of ancient writings are tested. This is not exclusive to religious writings but all ancient writings. For accuracy, historians will look at the time lapse between the time a book is written and the events the book is written of, or originally took place. For example, the writings of Plato first appeared 1,200 years after his death. A little questionable. That’s better than Aristotle who saw 1,400 years pass before his writings were put down. Homer’s Iliad showed up a paltry 500 years after it was said to be written. The New Testament, 27 books written by a variety of authors, range anywhere from a few years after Jesus’ death to a maximum of 100 years.
The second test – consistency – looks at the number of manuscripts in the originating languages, compared to our English translations, to seek any errors in translation that change the meaning or teachings. We have seven copies of Plato’s writings, and 49 of Aristotle’s. Not bad. Homer does even better – 643 original manuscripts! With 643 writings to look back on we can be fairly certain the Iliad we read today is the Iliad Homer wrote. Yesterday I noted there were 5,600 manuscripts of the New Testament. This is true – in the original Greek there are 5,600 manuscripts. However, if you add Syriac, Latin, Coptic, and Aramaic translations that came almost immediately following the Greek, we have 24,000 manuscripts.
My larger point? Start doubting the historical accuracy and consistency of the New Testament and there appears to be almost nothing you can trust. Textbooks, scientific writings, and any ancient piece of literature. Curious.
Not sure if any of you are regulars at the China King restaurant outside Buffalo. If so, this article may be of interest. Who knew it was illegal to butcher a dead deer in your kitchen? The Government needs to stay out of their business!
No longer do we have to rely on frying eggs to represent a drug fix. Thanks to the advent of the interweb we can now try drugs virtually! Enjoy.
Today’s Random Links
An unrequested fission surplus of the top utterances of Montgomery Burns.
Rejected ‘Guitar Hero’ and ‘Rock Band’ titles. Loving Polyphonic Spree.
An epic ChaCha messaging service fail.. Eiffel Tower.. haha!

At Paul’s request I agreed to join him for last night’s Joe Bonamassa concert at the Rose Theatre in Brampton. Not to be confused with anything else I’ve called him in the past few weeks.. Joe Banamosta, Joe Banamassa, or most notably, Joe Bonermaster. Joe, for those that don’t know, was one of those guitar whiz kids who learned under one of my favourites, the late Danny Gatton. His claim to fame was being invited to open for a BB King tour at age 12. Now, at age 31, he tours with his only backup band showcasing skills some have stated are the best of this generation. As a very amateur guitarist it is somewhat disconcerting to watch people play the guitar the way he does. I honestly feel there are people who simply understand music like I might understand English, knowing how to read and write it, knowing how to manipulate it, and simply having a more solid understanding of what can be done with it. He was extremely impressive.
Kudos to the Liberal Party of Ontario who, only mere moments after I actually complimented them, decided in their wisdom that all users of iPods and GPS’ in cars are ticking timebombs and must be punished. Thank God for loopholes – my current plan is to tape my GPS to my windshield with duct tape out of spite, since that will bypass the current proposed legislation by making it “dashboard mounted”.
Is this the first three-day World Series game? Will there be anything more anti-climactic than the Phillies winning in three innings tonight? And as I noted on the Zonk, but posted here for posterity, what exactly is wrong with playing in the rain anyways? I’ve played baseball in the rain, it’s not that bad. Sounds like a combination of age and sheer ineptitude may spell the end for the man who made this decision – Bud Selig – come this off-season.

Did everybody have a good weekend? Saturday was spent roaming Toronto with Alex as we began work on our coming health empire. He’s written a “smart carb” book detailing his significant weight loss, and he’s sourced me out to help him with the food side of things. I’ve written a recipe book to go alongside it, and we’ll be filming some brief “in kitchen” videos as well. Should be a fun project if we get it off the ground. Lunch was Volo, one of my favourite restaurants in the city. I stuck with my old standby – Puttanesca – but visitors to Volo know the beer is their story. I was lucky to get the last sample of Dieu du Ciel’s Rigor Mortis, and it was exceptional. Followed it up with a Grand River Jubilation Spice Ale, also quite nice. From there we were off to see Sanderson Dear spin at the Sublime Cafe, home of amazing espresso, latte art, and really grouchy staff. Sunday, however, post-church was spent at home with a headache and absolutely nothing to do. I even watched Dark Rising, a cheesy movie starring TNA wrestler Christian Cage and the super hot Brigitte Kingsley. I’m probably one of very few who know Kingsley, having been a fan since her days as “Suki Diefenbaker” on a goofy Canadian video game show called Game Nation. It was just as good as you think it is.
I was drawn in by a quote I read this weekend from an agnostic astronomer and physicist named Robert Jastrow, former NASA chairman and professor at some prestigious universities. In a book called The Creation Hypothesis Jastrow is quoted: “Astronomers now find they have painted themselves into a corner because they have proven, by their own methods, that the world began abruptly in an act of creation to which you can trace the seeds of every star, every planet, every living thing in this cosmos and on the earth. And they have found that all this happened as a product of forces they cannot hope to discover.