Life of Smiley

God I hate election years. Here's a list of the top 5 most annoyingly repetitive commercials on TV in MA right now: 5. Deb Goldberg: She fought for our homes 4. Tom Reilly: I'll do the opposite of whatever the Republicans do 3. Deval Patrick: My mom was poor and now I'm rich 2. Kerry Healey: I promise I won't change anything 1. HEAD ON: Apply directly to the forehead I know that last one has nothing to do with politics, but that's just the exception that proves the rule. These four campaign ads are almost as annoying as what just might be the most annoying commercial of all time. Seriously, is that HEAD ON commercial designed to cause headaches? On a side note, Tom Reilly's been spamming my inbox too, so I'm twice as unlikely to vote for him. I guess I just want my leaders to leave me the f--- alone.

...if you just Googled "irregular heartbeat" and "steroids." Ortiz sidelined with irregular heartbeat

These guys deserved a trophy Manny Ramirez deserves (even) more credit than he receives. I admit part of the problem is his propensity for taking a play off here and there. But hey, that's just Manny being Manny. A couple weeks ago, after Ortiz hit his umpteenth game-winning homer and everyone started making "Most Valuable Papi" signs, NESN color man Jerry Remy wondered on-air why teams haven't started intentionally walking Ortiz in critical situations, like they often do with Bonds and other home run threats. The answer is so simple and obvious, it is too often taken for granted; Manny bats next. [Ramirez] has a higher on-base percentage than David Ortiz (.431 to .397); a higher slugging percentage than Ortiz (.619 to .616); he's in the top six in the American League in OBP, OPS, RBI, HRs, walks and slugging. Lately, the best Manny can hope for is to be credited as one half of the "greatest hitting combo of this generation," as he and Ortiz were refer...

Wife needs one-day marriage after drunken divorce KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - Islamic clerics in eastern India have ruled that a woman divorced by her husband in a fit of drunkenness can remarry him only after she takes another husband for one day, police said Monday. Ershad, a rickshaw puller, uttered the word "talaq," or divorce, three times earlier this month while he was drunk, and when news leaked out in their village in eastern Orissa state, the clerics said they must separate. "The couple had kept it under wraps and continued to stay together but the clerics ruled that since Ershad uttered the word talaq three times, it constituted a divorce ," district police chief Shatrughan Parida said over the telephone. What, is that like saying Beetlejuice?! (Note I only said it once). Under the rules, the woman, who is a mother of three, must marry another man and obtain a divorce from him before she can be reunited with Ershad, the clerics in the local mosque said. The...

Nine no longer: Panel declares 12 planets The solar system has 12 planets. That is the conclusion, to be announced today, of an international panel formed to devise a scientific definition of a planet and settle an increasingly intense dispute over whether Pluto qualifies. The panel suggests retaining Pluto and immediately adding three new planets to the nine that are familiar to any schoolchild: Ceres, currently considered a large asteroid; Charon, now considered a moon of Pluto; and Xena, a recently discovered object that is larger than Pluto.... The result of this reconfiguration is a jarring new view of the Earth's neighborhood. Between Mars and Jupiter is a vast belt of asteroids, presided over by the planet Ceres, named for the Roman goddess of agriculture. At the solar system's fringes is another vast belt of icy objects, the plutons, with Xena being the largest known, slowly orbiting the sun. There are 53 objects that meet the panel's criteria and probably many more...

Drugs: Sports' Prisoner's Dilemma In the end, doping is all about economics. Athletes will continue to dope because the prisoner's dilemma forces them to do so. Sports authorities will either improve their detection capabilities or continue to pretend to do so -- depending on their fans and their revenues. And as technology continues to improve, professional athletes will become more like deliberately designed racing cars.

First there was calendar.google.com , now there is spreadsheets.google.com , not to mention gmail ... As soon as they come out with presentations.google.com you can stick a fork in MS Office. MS has been talking about going on-line with their applications for a while now but Google is doing it first, and well.

Pastrana Electrifies Crowds With His Theatrics If I were to attempt a single back-flip on a motorcycle, I would inevitably die in spectacular fashion. So I have no real sense of how difficult this is, but the crowd seems duly impressed.

My dog ate my urine sample Well since you put it that way, I'm through defending these guys. They're all a bunch of cheating liars. I do have to give props to American sprinter Dennis Mitchell for his explanation of high testosterone levels (8A). Regarding Spanish walker Daniel Plaza (14), all I have to say is, you're a race walker . Why are you taking drugs? What an all-around ridiculous person he must be.

Body Worlds 2: Opens July 30 at Boston's Museum of Science. Check out the video -- it could easily be a trailer for this summer's next horror flick.

Just thought this was funny. http://www.babybushtoys.com/

One thing that duct tape can't do: hold up 3,000-lb. slabs of concrete. Bolts have falled (sic) out before epoxy sets,” one inspector for the management firm Bechtel/ Parsons Brinckerhoff wrote in November 1994. “Crew is now using duct tape to hold bolt to ceiling.” - Crews used duct tape to hold up slabs

Greed. One of the seven deadly sins, greed also seems to be the underlying principle of many (all?) commercial enterprises. From the shareholders' perspective, at least, this is a good thing. We all want as much return on our investment as possible. But when a company's profits come at the cost of severe financial (even physical) harm to the consumer or taxpayer, that enterprise has crossed the line from commercial to criminal, and it must be stopped (see: Enron). In the case of Bechtel, the corruption that led to billions of dollars in cost overruns for Boston's Big Dig project has now resulted in the death of an innocent commuter. If Bechtel's criminal negligence was not apparent before, surely it is now laid bare. Emotional Farewell to Tunnel Victim Workmanship and design of tunnel are called into question I can't imagine anybody signing off on a design of suspending 3-ton concrete panels such that the failure of any one hanger would lead to 12 tons of concre...

An increase in global temperatures will lead to an intensification of the hydrological cycle. This is because an increase in surface air temperature causes an increase in evaporation and generally higher levels of water vapor in the atmosphere. In addition, a warmer atmosphere is capable of holding more water vapor. The excess water vapor will in turn lead to more frequent heavy precipitation when atmospheric instability is sufficient to trigger precipitation events. Intense precipitation can result in flooding, soil erosion, landslides, and damage to structures and crops. Early Warning Signs For the 2006 north Atlantic hurricane season, NOAA is predicting 13 to 16 named storms, with eight to 10 becoming hurricanes, of which four to six could become 'major' hurricanes of Category 3 strength or higher. NOAA PREDICTS VERY ACTIVE 2006 NORTH ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON

Ebell spoke about the "scientific activists" having their agendas, how global warming is good for them because it keeps their research projects well funded. You know what? He's probably right, although I'd argue that this is money well spent. Everybody's got an agenda these days; this is no selfless age. A free market, über alles, is CEI's agenda. People who believe in letting market forces create some kind of equilibrium believe in it absolutely. I don't happen to share that view. But ideology isn't the point. The health of the planet -- our only planet -- that's the point. What can we conclude? How about this: Even if it's not 100 percent certain that we're rushing headlong toward some kind of ecological tipping point -- even if there's room for argument -- why argue at all? Look. Something is happening out there. What matters here is the planet, not whose economic system prevails. Can an unfettered free market settle things? Great, u...

FX has some of my favorite shows on television: 30 Days   Season 2 premieres Wednesday, July 26 at 10PM Good show from Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me). Last season he only did the first and last episodes. I'd like to see him do more, but I guess he has a life. The Shield   Season 6 begins early 2007 Actually I'm not as crazy about this one as some people are, but I still recognize it as a cut above. Over There Ah, crap, this was cancelled due to low ratings. I'm holding all of you responsible. Rescue Me   Tuesdays 10PM Now in season 3, it's not as good as it's ever been, but it's still entertaining. Tommy Gavin is my hero. Sprinkle in some guy movies and syndicated re-runs, and I probably watch FX as much as any other channel. So, can we take up a collection or something and buy them an HD feed? Isn't FX owned by Rupert Murdoch the multi-billionaire? WTF? Maybe this isn't even up to FX but just Comcast being Comcastic. I want to know.

Last October I hinted that I didn't agree with the general consensus of how United Airlines Flight 93 came to an end on 9/11. Since then the story of UA 93 has been made into a feature film, and a damn good one. Credit writer/director Paul Greengrass for keeping the drama in check, with just the right sense of urgency and deadly seriousness. When a director can take a story to which everyone more or less knows the ending and still manage to keep the audience riveted right up to the end, he knows what he's doing (see: James Cameron, Titanic, highest grossing film of all time). United 93 has been widely praised , in large part for its faithful recreation of the day's events. And this is why I feel compelled to rant. If you haven't done so already, check out the Complete 911 Timeline for United Airlines Flight 93. Specifically: 9:58 a.m.: Ed Felt Said to Describe Explosion and White Smoke from Bathroom Call (Before 10:06 a.m.): Fighters Trailing Flight 93? (Before...

This is an awesome video of a dude doing a live version of the first level of Super Mario Brothers at a college talent show. http://www.buzzpatrol.com/news/bizarre/real-life-super-mario-004282.php

By the way, I might need to start another list of movies you should avoid at all costs. Based on the preview, "Drawing Restraint 9" appears to have something to do with whaling, but it also seems to contain an important subplot dealing with the fact that Bjork is from outer space.