Friday, July 13, 2007

PantsMan Roy Pearson Continues to Embarrass Himself

This is basically a repost with the change in bold. Mr. PantsMan actually appealed, saying they don't understand what "satisfaction guaranteed" means.

$54,000,000 pants makes me mad. It should make you mad. With all the BS spewed about increasing medical malpractice frivolous suits, real frivolous suits should make you mad too. So make a difference and make it loud.

At a time when SCOTUS is pissing away reason concerning free speech, religion and campaign finance cases, a new judicial plague is a foot; actually, it's a single judge as plague manifest: Roy L. Pearson, Jr. You've probably heard, but here's a brief synopsis:
  • Roy takes suits to Custom Cleaners, owned by Ki, Jin and Soo Chung
  • Roy picks up suits, notices pants are missing from one suit
  • Roy wants $1,000 for the suit
  • Chungs say "no"
  • Roy sues for $67,000,000
  • Chungs try to settle for $12,000
  • Roy says "no," eventually bumps down suit to $54,000,000
  • Court says Roy's a choad
  • Choad appeals
Roy Pearson is a U.S. Administrative judge (although currently not hearing cases?) who has seriously financially damaged a hard-working family. I'm pleased that the court ruled against him, but now that he's appealed, I can't leave it alone. This should probably go further.

More info:
If you would like to leave a message expressing your outrage you can snail mail to:

Pearson, Roy L Jr
3012 Pineview Ct NE
Washington, DC 20018-1617

Or leave a message on his answering machine (he doesn't answer his phone directly anymore): (202) 269-1191

Or send him an email: roypearsonjr@verizon.net

...
According to Marc Fisher of the Washington Post, a legal defense fund has been established. You can contrubute through the Chung family's lawyer, Chris Manning.

Chris Manning
Manning & Sossamon PLLC
1532 Sixteenth Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
202) 387-2228
202) 387-2229 (Fax)
Email: cmanning@manning-sossamon.com
Remember to always be kind when expressing outrage.

Now, if CNN would just shut the hell up about the idiots suing the TB patient (with no actual damages), we might just have some real news.

Save Radio on the Internets! Last Chance!

I wrote about the old May 15th deadline where the Copyright Royalty Board was going to impose new fees that are absurdly larger than what regular radio and broadcast fees are. The extended date is July 15th.

That's Sunday!

Yes, that's Sunday. This is our last chance. And if we don't act, internet radio will die a fast yet painful death as they'll have to pay these sick fees retroactive to January 2006: immediate bankruptcy.

I like Pandora. I like streaming radio. I'd like to stick it to the money-whoring of the CRB. And I don't necessarily want to be the "I told you so" guy on Monday when none of these services are available because their owners are either trying to protect their business or their own personal funds...and houses...and families.

Look up your congressional representatives at Save Net Radio. Call them. Make it count.

I did.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

The Bad Science of Dreaming

I caught a Weird Science blurb on MSNBC by Jeanna Bryner of LiveScience.com, and I had to do a double take and shake my head in disbelief:
In general, scientists agree that dreaming happens during your deepest sleep, called Rapid Eye Movement (REM).
No, no, no!

Yes, scientists agree most dreaming occurs during REM sleep, but this is actually the least deep of the stages of sleep. You can also see a diagram on this page showing how REM is at the top, and you hit that stage (and start dreaming) at about 90 minute cycles. The deepest sleep stages are N3 and N4, signified by pronounced delta brainwave activity.

I knew neuropsychology would come in handy down the road.

I have contacted Jeanna Bryner on the subject.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Dropping the Dollar to Hell

I'm no economist or even a business major, but take this into consideration: In April of 2002, the newly-monikered Mrs. Shambles and I traveled to the beautiful, charming country of Ireland. This is soon after the Irish punt was (reluctantly) surrendered to the new-fangled Euro. Trade between the dollar and the euro was similar to the Canadian dollar at the time: $0.89 would get you €1. Good stuff. Later that year - around November - they hit dead even ($1 = €1). Today, we saw a new record in that one-way see-saw: $1 will get you € 0.72.

Is this because the € is way cooler than the $? Well, not entirely; the article linked above cited the wonderful world of subprime lending! For those of you unaware of this practice, it basically allows those who have questionable credit to get a loan - usually a home loan - at a reasonable rate.

That's great! What a service!

Woah, hold on kids. It's not that noble. Here's the rub: While the first year or two of blissful home ownership may be manageable, the fine print jumps monthly payments soon after and keeps the raises coming. In many cases, the home owners can no longer afford the home and must sell or spiral into bankruptcy and surrender their houses. Foreclosure is at epidemic levels, sometimes decimating entire neighborhoods and lowering property values across the board. Hence the drop in the dollar.

True, people who cannot truly afford a house should not buy one. If they try, they should have a serious and complete understanding of the terms of the loan. But many don't. And the money-hungry banking industry is, in part, to blame. This is beyond capitalism in the way that pimping hos is beyond selling services. It's greed; it's money gluttony; it's shitting where you eat. But if all the springs are tainted with feces, the only way to stay alive is to drink poop water.

The interesting aspect to drinking poop water is that the poopers are not only polluting the landscape, but sinning as well.

I am not an economist, banker, or religious zealot, but I am aware of a word that does not get brought up enough: USURY. Usury (you-sa-ree), in old testament meaning, is charging interest. It is a sin. And no one seems to mind. My favorite quote:
He lends at usury and takes excessive interest. Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head.
- Ezekiel 18:13
Lending at usury means lending with a fee - taking an extra, heavy interest payment is a compounding of the betrayal and results in what Ezekiel calls, well, death.

How many of our banking magnates claim a Judeo-Christian life? How many of our local, state, and federal representatives claim a Judeo-Christian life while throwing us under the bus of corporate breaks and lenient laws? May the money lining their pockets burn out their eyes in the hell they have earned!

Sorry, was that too much? You're right. Usury at this point in our timeline has been relegated to "eh, not so bad." Why? Well, sure, God's Word was written about how it is a sin, but you've got to dumb it down a bit for the modern world, even if you keep every other word in the Bible as sacred and refuse to change interpretations when it comes to sex or contraception.

Even the Vatican has a bank.

But less cynicism: The good news is that the 17.80 I spent 5 years ago to purchase the €20 note I kept has now turned into a potential $27.78. That's a 56% increase in value. Oh, I should've invested in the €. Then again, I also should've invested in Chiquita when it was $0.10 a share (that'd be turning $100 into $18K at today's close).

Wah, wah, wah.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Real News Network: This Might Just Work


[Alternate YouTube Link]

This is the Real News Network, an emerging news station that deals with "NO advertising, NO government funding, NO corporate dollars, NO strings." It relies on $10/month from thousands of people all over the world. Think we can handle that?

I think it has a serious chance at working; people are sick and tired of being sick an tired of the alternative. And this is our shot. Take a look at "The Promise" video on their home page. Check out interviews on their YouTube page. And if you think it's worth it, if you think they're going to do what they say they're going to do, then volunteer. Support them.

Sometimes the river is so polluted that only by standing on the shore can we smell the stench. And then do something about it.

MoveOn.org's Town Hall on Climate Change

Check out MoveOn.org's Town Hall on Climate change. You can see videos on how the candidates answered questions. Then vote. You have about 12 hours left.

And who did I vote for?

Well, I am originally from Cleveland.

Seriously, I support Dennis Kucinich. He's the only candidate that seems willing to bring serious change to our country. Change we need.

More on support and endorsements and whys and hows to come. C'mon, we've still got 483 days left!

Monday, July 09, 2007

Smart Bombs in the Hands of Dumb People - Billy Bragg

"...if you got a website, I want to be on it..."

You've got it, Billy Bragg. via Blue Gal.

Bloody fucking brilliant. Watch and learn.



Is the Surge Working?

I don't believe I'd toss this into a News Salad, but even though just about everyone is dropping support from the administration, they're stickin' to their story and "plan" of heaving 21,000 troops into the hellmouth that is Iraq, with no plan of pulling out, even though, eh, there isn't much positive news coming out of Iraq. And 140,000 Turkish troops itchin' to kill 'em some Kurds, braced on Iraq's border isn't going to make things less complicated.

The administration's policy is like a sad, old man, like Dick Cheney. Grumpy curmudgeon, always muttering under his breath. But the muttering is signing statements and deception, and no matter what anyone else says or better plans are presented, he's going to keep on going the way it's always been, and that's that.

But is the surge working?

I'm going to tune into C-SPAN at 2pm today:
Now that the increase of troops is complete, the American Enterprise Institute takes an assessment of Pres. Bush's Iraq strategy. Danielle Pletka, AEI, moderates a conver-
sation between AEI Resident Scholar Frederick Kagan, former Acting Army Chief of Staff Jack Keane and defense Analyst
James Miller.
Updates on what they have to say later.