This used to be me

Not so much anymore.

Eight things

I was tagged by Scott over at Ah, Shoot!. And I don't usually do these at all, but for as infrequently as I post it was nice to be remembered at all, so in no particular order:

I am

1. something of a technophile. I like more of those things than I can afford. The ones that cost money and the ones that waste time.

2. a formerly avid comic book collector/reader. Never bought them for value, just for entertainment. I still have about three big boxes in the basement, I think, for when the kids show some kind of interest (and are old enough).

3. a major math geek. Probably not so different from Defiant Infidel, but my tool of choice is Mathcad.

4. an insufferable procrastinator (which you know if you've been here twice in a month and seen that I haven't posted in between).

5. a huge political and economics junkie. I believe firmly that the American experiment has been as successful as it has due to the unique combination of laissez-faire economics, democratic thought, plus belief in a divine Creator.

6. stubborn. Wow. Yes, I am.

7. at a new employer as of last month. Twelve years at the old place, but I got an opportunity that was too good to pass on.

8. going on vacation in a few weeks, but don't worry. Irregular posting will not be noticeably affected.

Schadenfreude

I never really appreciated the term. Sure, I've taken pleasure in the suffering of others. I'm human, after all. Not sure I've ever enjoyed it this much though. Lileks's saga of the Oak Island Water Feature seemed to have come to an end on Friday. (He's been mentioning it on and off since last September.) What a relief to read this morning that it still leaks.

I'd have thought he'd be having nightmares about it by now - but I'm guessing not since he hasn't written about them. At any rate I'm happy to say his continuing pain is our gain.

Freedom of speech (blah blah blah)

There was some hoopla last week about a poll (PDF) which indicated unsurprisingly that Americans are more familiar with elements of pop culture than the freedoms explicitly listed at the top of the Bill of Rights. Sad perhaps, but as I said, unsurprising.

Unfortunately, some people support those First Amendment freedoms so vehemently they'll attack anyone who disagrees with them on the interpretation. Case in point: Stop the ACLU's primary site has been taken offline by what is known as a denial of service attack (DOS). They're working on the problem, and have a secondary site up here.

Of course it's highly possible the people who did this aren't citizens at all, which means they probably can't even be prosecuted.

On the other hand, the folks at Stop The ACLU are in good company. Congratulations!

Tag: Denial of Service

I'm number one!

If you search for "grinding gears" on Yahoo, that is.
Simple gratification, that's what I'm talking about.

How much is your blog worth?

My blog is worth $3,951.78.
How much is your blog worth?

Sound like a lot? Maybe if this is the only blog you read.
The top blogs on the TTLB ecosystem are:

• Instapundit: $3,826,452.12
• Michelle Malkin: $2,889,315.72
• Daily Kos: $5,689,434.12
• Powerline: $2,330,985.66
• little green footballs: $2,094,443.40

Hat tip to La Shawn Barber, whose site is worth a cool million!

Absent actual content:

Really? Really??

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

I've got a decent post or two percolating right now, but still trying to flesh them out.