Tuesday - July 03, 2007

Where The Hell Is Matt?

Why have I not heard of this before?

Matt is a 30-year-old deadbeat from Connecticut who used to think that all he ever wanted to do in life was make and play videogames. He achieved this goal pretty early and enjoyed it for a while, but eventually realized there might be other stuff he was missing out on. In February of 2003, he quit his job in Brisbane, Australia and used the money he’d saved to wander around the planet until it ran out. He made this site so he could keep his family and friends updated about where he is.

A few months into his trip, a travel buddy gave Matt the idea of dancing everywhere he went and recording it on his camera. This turned out to be a very good idea. Now Matt is quasi-famous as “That guy who dances on the internet. No, not that guy. The other one. No, not him either. I’ll send you the link. It’s funny.”

The response to the first video brought Matt to the attention of the nice people at Stride long-lasting gum. They asked Matt if he’d be interested in taking another trip around the world to make a new video. Matt asked if they’d be paying for it. They said yes. Matt thought this sounded like another very good idea.

At the end of 2005, Matt left on a 6 month trip through 39 countries on all 7 continents. In that time, he danced a great deal.

Matt dances very badly, but most people don’t seem to mind.

Matt is not rich. Matt also doesn’t have some magical secret for traveling cheaply. He does it pretty much the same way everybody else does.

This is awesome. Yes, Matt dances badly, but the idea of a young man venturing out on his own and dicovering the world is a dream many of us share.  The fact that a corporate sponsor picked him up, with pretty much no restrictions, and let him continue his journey, only adds to the magic.

I’ve been to a couple of the sites he danced in, and watching the videos made me want to get back on a plane. 

Posted by Drew458     on 07/03/2007 at 02:30 PM   
Filed Under: • Celebrities • Philosophy •  
• Comments (3) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

Doing the Right Thing

I have a lot of respect for Derek Fisher, not because he’s a great player (I don’t actually follow the NBA that closely), but because of this

Fisher leaves Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)—The Utah Jazz agreed to release guard Derek Fisher from his contract Monday so he can concentrate on finding the best care for his 11-month-old daughter, who has cancer in her left eye.

“Life for me outweighs the game of basketball,” Fisher told reporters after flying from New York to meet with Jazz owner Larry H. Miller and other team executives.

“When it comes to decisions related to them,” he said of his family, “I do what’s best.”

.....

“For me and my family, we just don’t believe in it. ... I don’t think I could be the player I could be if I had to carry that load,” Fisher said.

Wiping away tears, Miller said Fisher “leaves a legacy” of leadership and toughness for Utah’s young players.

“He’s focused on the most important thing,” the owner said of Fisher’s request to leave the Jazz.

We’re praying for Tatum and your family Derek.

Posted by Drew458     on 07/03/2007 at 12:13 PM   
Filed Under: • Health-Medicine • Sports •  
• Comments (0) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

That’s Not The Way It’s Supposed To Work

These poor misguided “yutes” obviously didn’t read the liberal playbook.  You see, they were supposed to be kind and gentle robbers if the clerk just complied with their demands.  That is why we don’t need to have the means to defend ourselves.  If we just comply with what the bad guys want, they will leave us unharmed and go about their business.

NOT

Police: Clerk Complied But Shot By Robbers

ORLANDO, Fla.—A woman was shot and injured during a robbery on Monday despite complying with the assailants, according to Orlando police.

The woman, who was working at Magic Fry, located at 300 North Ivey Lane, was shot at about 6 p.m. and transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center. Her condition is not known.

According to police, three young black men armed with handguns entered Magic Fry and demanded money. The victim was complying, according to Orlando police, but one of the gunmen opened fire and struck her.

Posted by Drew458     on 07/03/2007 at 12:07 PM   
Filed Under: • Crime •  
• Comments (5) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

Opulance on the Waves

Extreme Sailing: The Biggest Boat in the World

WIRED

Tom Perkins had done it all. He’d made a fortune, conquered Silicon Valley, even been Danielle Steel’s fifth husband for a time. His venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, was an early backer of Genentech, Netscape, and Google. But when he turned 70 a few years ago, Perkins decided to do something even grander and a bit crazier: He would build the biggest, riskiest, fastest, most technologically advanced, single-hulled sailing mega yacht in the world. The 289-foot Maltese Falcon, launched in spring 2006, is that engineering dream come to life.

There’s no official definition of a megayacht, but every one agrees they’re longer than 250 feet and tend to be triumphs of excess, with opulent staterooms, stainless steel and leather galore, plasma TVs — even their own speedboats and jet skis. To accommodate these toys, all mega yachts used to be powerboats, for the simple reason that sailboats must be reasonably svelte. But Perkins insisted on sail power — and refused to compromise on speed or lavish appointments. The solution was to go long, since (other things being equal) the longer the hull, the faster a sailboat can go. The result is the perfect blend of ego and utility, a $130 million wonder that represents the most daring advance in sailing technology in 150 years.

If the 1,367-ton Falcon were anchored in New York Harbor, its masts would nearly reach the tablet in the arm of the Statue of Liberty. The exterior has teak decks, a varnished cap rail, and exquisitely finished surfaces — all attributes of a classic ship — yet the overall look is sleek, metallic, and ultramodern, almost foreboding. When Darth Vader builds his own intergalactic yacht, it will look like this.

Check the link for more of the technology involved in this sailing wonder as well as some pictures.

I loved this quote from Perkins:

Heh.

Posted by Drew458     on 07/03/2007 at 10:49 AM   
Filed Under: • Science-Technology •  
• Comments (1) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

Scooter’s Free

Good move by President Bush.  This is the non-case that got a ridiculous amount of coverage.

Bush Wipes Away Libby’s Prison Sentence

WASHINGTON (AP) - Just when things looked darkest for I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, when prison seemed all but certain, President Bush wiped away the former White House aide’s 2 1/2-year sentence in the CIA leak case.

Bush’s move came Monday, just five hours after a federal appeals panel ruled that Libby could not delay his prison term. His prospects for an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court seemed bleak. The former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, Libby was just waiting for a date to surrender.

After months of sidestepping pardon questions, Bush stepped in. He did not issue a pardon but erased a prison sentence that he felt was just too harsh.

“I respect the jury’s verdict,” Bush said in a written statement. “But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby’s sentence that required him to spend 30 months in prison.”

Of course, not everyone thinks this is such a great thing.

Hot Air has a link to Rosie’s reaction:

[snort]

If Rosie’s pissed, it must be a good thing! 

Posted by Drew458     on 07/03/2007 at 09:40 AM   
Filed Under: • Politics •  
• Comments (7) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

Your Government In Action

From Gun Law News

Proposed OSHA Regulation Threatens Firearm and Ammunition Industry

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the government agency charged with assuring the safety and health of America’s workers, is proposing a regulatory rule affecting the manufacturing, transportation and storage of small arms ammunition, primers and smokeless propellants.

As written, the proposed rule would force the closure of nearly all ammunition manufacturers and force the cost of small arms ammunition to skyrocket beyond what the market could bear—essentially collapsing our industry. This is not an exaggeration. The cost to comply with the proposed rule for the ammunition industry, including manufacturer, wholesale distributors and retailers, will be massive and easily exceed $100 million. For example, ammunition and smokeless propellant manufacturers would have to shut down and evacuate a factory when a thunderstorm approached and customers would not be allowed within 50 feet of any ammunition (displayed or otherwise stored) without first being searched for matches or lighters.

NSSF and SAAMI have already had a preliminary meeting with OSHA officials to begin the process of explaining to them the major problems this proposed rule presents for all levels of the firearms and ammunition industry. Furthermore, NSSF and SAAMI are each seeking a 60 day extension of the public comment period (currently scheduled to expire July 12).

NSSF is urging all retailers to contact OSHA directly and request a 60-day extension of the public comment period. Retailers should inform OSHA that the proposed rule constitutes a “significant regulatory action” as defined in Executive Order 12866 (1993) Section 3(f)(1) in that it will clearly “adversely affect in a material way” the retail sector of the firearms and ammunition industry, productivity, competition and jobs and that the annual compliance cost for all retailers of ammunition will far exceed $100 million dollars.
Click here for a template letter. If you choose to draft your own letter, the reference line must read as follows:

RE:  Docket No. OSHA–2007–0032
Request to Extend Public Comment Period and Request for Hearing on
“Significant Regulatory Action” as Defined in Executive Order 12866

Please fax the letter to: 202-693-1648 (include the docket number and Department of Labor/OSHA on the cover sheet and in the reference section of your letter).
Please e-mail the letter by visiting: http://www.regulations.gov and following the submission instructions.

Another regulation aimed at destroying law-abiding businesses.  Another attempt to rid this world of eeeeeevvviiiiiiil guns.

Posted by Drew458     on 07/03/2007 at 09:35 AM   
Filed Under: •   
• Comments (4) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

   Monday - July 02, 2007

Some Good Frenchmen

Reader Matt714 sends us a link to this site.

In the spirit of our mission statement, “The French Will Never Forget” (a not for profit organization) is launching a new project scheduled for Independence Day 2007.

Our goal is, once again, to demonstrate the deep respect and gratitude of the people of France for America’s sacrifices during the Second World War.

Given the very large size of this massive endeavor, we have decided to team up with “Collectif Respect,” a French association which shares our values and which will help make our new event an even larger success.

Below you will find a detailed outline of our latest project. We believe this will be one of the most successful demonstrations of our stated desire to enhance the friendship and communication between the French and American people.  We are expecting a large participation in this event.  .

On June 30, 2007, we will join together with thousands of French people on the famous Omaha Beach, in Normandy, France to pay our respect to the fallen American war heroes who came to our rescue. 

The participants assembled on the beach will form a human chain of letters and spell out the following words as a huge message from the French people on one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the American people on the other side.  The message will say:

FRANCE WILL NEVER FORGET THANK YOU AMERICA

Posted by Drew458     on 07/02/2007 at 07:13 AM   
Filed Under: • International •  
• Comments (6) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

DISCLAIMER

THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.

Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.

Copyright © 2004-2015 Domain Owner