Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Change 1 Letter and the Whole Thing Switches Up

This past Sunday, the San Jose Mercury News published the results of a word contest. The goal of What a Difference 1 Letter Makes was to alter a word by one letter and share the new meaning. There were some words that should go into circulation as soon as possible.

THE BEST

Escapegoat: One who bears the blame for others' mistakes and then manages to pass the blame to someone else. Karen Hopkins - San Jose

Factose Intolerant: An agenda that refuses to be swayed by truth or data. Duff Howell - Felton


THE REST

Bipod: Animal that moves about on two feet with wires trailing from its ears. Ken Braly - San Jose

Blogy: Condition arising from reading too many blogs, as in "blog hangover". Catherine Kitcho - Mountain View

Blurprint: A vague idea of how to proceed. Nuriya Janss - Sunnyvale

Condominimum: A 400-square-foot condo that, in San Jose, costs $600,000. David Myers - San Jose

Hark Drive: Driving around the valley with someone who always has to point out and make it clear that 50 years ago on the plot of land currently occupied by a high-tech firm was a cherry orchard, ostrich farm, stereoscope repair shop or some other relic of an era gone by. Patrick Leal - Los Gatos

Hosing market: Silicon Valley real estate. Bruce Kerr - Mountain View

iPad: Living space completely overrun with Apple products. Byron Cheng - Los Altos

Jestation: Time it takes to come up with another dumb joke. Rick Blackman - Santa Clara

Nagosecond: The amount of time between the shouted command to do something and the moment when you whould have accomplished the task on your own. Allen Fleishman - San Jose

Nervana: State of supreme bliss achieved through chutzpah. Sheila Scobba Banning - Sunnyvale

Phactasm: A product of fantasy that is presented as fact. Chris Ringer - Sunnyvale

Referendumb: A bad idea that made it to a vote. Woody Carroll - Santa Cruz

Smell Checker: Checks to see if your spelling stinks. Nancy Lowe -Morgan Hill


Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Rest in Peace, Sam - "World's Ugliest Dog"

I was sad to find out from a Yahoo News article that Sam - "World's Ugliest Dog" recently died, Friday, 18 November 2005. As the roommate of a small dog, I can image what Susie is going through. Luckily Culo is only turning 9 in January, so I hope that means we have a few more years. You can find out more information on Sam & Susie's Blog or Sam Ugliest Dog website. I read in one of the Yahoo Message Board Posts that the funeral is next Monday, November 28th at 10 am. Unfortunately, they didn't state the location, but I'm sure it's around Santa Barabra, CA.

Sam-World's Ugliest Dog

Part of pre-funeral eulogy from Craig Schmitman DogExplorer.com’s Big Dog:

Sam, a Chinese Crested Dog entered in our World's Ugliest Dog contest and known throughout the world as Sam, the World's Ugliest Dog, has passed away. He was fifteen. We were notified of his death during a phone call with his owner, Susie Lockheed, today.

Anyone who has spent anytime with Susie and Sam would know that she adored him, and, he adored her.

Sam helped Susie through some difficult health issues and Susie also credits him for helping her find her fiance. In addition to the love she showered on the little dog, Susie likely also saved his life when her fostering him on a temporary basis turned into an adoption.


Meet Tater Tot

Sam-World's Ugliest Dog's Girlfriend, Tater Tot


Sam's Girlfriend, his sweetheart.


Sam-World's Ugliest Dog with  Girlfriend, Tater Tot

For more so ugly they are cute dogs, check out: http://www.fuglydog.com/. Look for the dog with the tongue the size of a man's arm and the melting dog.


Sam-World's Ugliest Dog @ CNN
Sam-World's Ugliest Dog @ CNN

Sam article with video at CNN, 11-22-05 Watch Sam's bizarre gait and hear him howl.




World's Ugliest Dog Dies at 14
Tue Nov 22,12:17 PM ET - Yahoo News

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Sam, the tiny dog whose hairless body and crooked teeth earned him a reputation as the World's Ugliest Dog, has died.

The pooch died Friday, just short of his 15th birthday, his owner said.

"I don't think there'll ever be another Sam," Susie Lockheed said, adding: "Some people would think that's a good thing."

Sam won the ugliest dog contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair this summer for the third year in a row. The pedigreed Chinese crested had made appearances on TV in Japan, radio in New Zealand and in Britain's Daily Mirror tabloid. He also had met Donald Trump on a talk show set.

Lockheed said she initially was terrified of Sam when she agreed to take him in as a rescue dog six years ago on a 48-hour trial basis. Although she fell in love with him, his appearance repulsed her then-boyfriend and prompted the man to break up with her.

Later, however, Sam became a matchmaker by bringing together Lockheed and her current beau, who saw a picture of the two on an online dating site.

Lockheed said she had Sam euthanized after she learned Sam's heart was failing.

She said she's felt a little lost ever since, and is sleeping with Sam's favorite toy — a stuffed bear he picked up and carried home.
Sam-World's Ugliest Dog with Susie

By chance, Susie is putting out a Sam calendar this year for 2006. I for one plan to buy one to help her out and because it's my chance to get a closer look.

Sam-World's Ugliest Dog with Susie

Thursday, November 03, 2005

All Hat - No Cattle

Dubya Bush has slipped his leash.

This article is the best explanation I've seen on the topic.

Ladies and Gentlemen: The Real George W. Bush
by Stephen Pizzo
October 27, 2005
http://www.alternet.org/story/27385/

I found this editorial on my favorite website to read the New York Times columnists, Bob Herbert and Maureen Dowd, for free, Topple Bush. Be sure to read the comments at the bottom. Some of them are a kick in the pants.

FAVORITE QUOTES FROM THE ARTICLE

Either way, Bush is finished as a force in American politics. How he ever got to become president in the first place -- not once, but twice -- will remain a subject social scientists will study and debate for decades to come. Because there was plenty of evidence that George W. Bush was a made man. He had accomplished nothing in his adult life on his own -- not one thing.

These benefactors had learned long ago that there was more money and more power to be had in the shadows than in the limelight. All they needed was the right person to front for them -- someone with a name, a smile, a confident swagger. Vision, dreams, hopes and ethics were not only unnecessary, but liabilities in a beard. All they needed was a person they could program, wind up and send out into the public spotlight and deliver for them.

They began by nurturing Bush's pathetic efforts to become a high-rolling Texas oil man. Though his companies failed, they made sure he never did. Then they were able to further his ascendancy by indulging his playful side, buying him his own baseball team -- a Texas baseball team. That raised Bush's public profile to just a notch below their ultimate goal: public office.

Fully groomed and programmed, they finally steered Bush towards the goal. And it worked, probably beyond their wildest expectations.

Bagging the United States presidency was an unexpected super-bonus. Still, they knew it was a development ripe with as much danger as opportunity. After all, they knew the real George W. Bush. There was no way they could send that hayseed off to the Big Show unattended. Dick Cheney and Karl Rove were tasked with keeping their idiot prince both on message and on a short leash. God forbid he should ever make a speech, take a position, or make a decision on his own.

And just as it looked as if he was on the way to fulfilling another assignment -- the elimination of the estate tax -- his beard fell off. It was the thing they had always feared most: the real George W. Bush went public. There it was, for the whole world to see: a chuckling, twitching dope of man standing in front of the American people, unleashed and unscripted. Worse yet, he was making his own decisions. He chose his friend and admirer, Harriet Miers, for the Supreme Court of the United States of America.

What went wrong? Where were his handlers? Busy. They dropped Bush's leash when handed subpoenas. Junior was unleashed and home alone.

It's as if the police had come and dragged Edgar Bergin offstage in the middle of a show, leaving Charlie McCarthy, wide-eyed, mouth agape and slumped alone on his stool.

So, what now?