pair of jokers
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Sunday, April 30, 2006
drawing to a couple of jokers
This morning a story about a couple of jokers is on my mind.
“Oh, Jimbo,” many of you are asking, “Do we have to hear more about your poker exploits?”
To which I answer, no, this isn’t about poker at all. By the way, the games I play don’t have any wild cards. This is about Dubya and some other joker. Here, read the story.
Bush and the joker
I guess that Bush addressed the White House Correspondent’s Association last night and he brought along Bush impersonator Steve Bridges to translate what he said. It was a lot of laughs for everyone. Yet, I wonder if it has sunk to the point that even Bush knows he can no longer be taken seriously.
I am a proponent of humor as an aid to get all of us through the tough times, but I am concerned that we may all chuckle at Bush, the comedian, while the business of government is not done and the sanctity of democracy is undone. Much as Nero fiddled while Rome burned, Dubya ridicules himself as the things we hold as important are incinerated and their ashes are scattered by the winds of history.
Someone once said it takes a big man to laugh at himself, but I wonder whether the person that said that had some joker standing beside him, mocking him at the time. While Dubya becomes the Homer Simpson of American politics, the rest of us can laugh all the way to the poorhouse. I, for one, think it’s time for Bush to take himself seriously. After all, he is the President, and not some nitwit out to get some laughs by making a fool of himself, or am I wrong about that?
At least, that’s what we think, here in Jimbo’s world.
“Oh, Jimbo,” many of you are asking, “Do we have to hear more about your poker exploits?”
To which I answer, no, this isn’t about poker at all. By the way, the games I play don’t have any wild cards. This is about Dubya and some other joker. Here, read the story.
Bush and the joker
I guess that Bush addressed the White House Correspondent’s Association last night and he brought along Bush impersonator Steve Bridges to translate what he said. It was a lot of laughs for everyone. Yet, I wonder if it has sunk to the point that even Bush knows he can no longer be taken seriously.
I am a proponent of humor as an aid to get all of us through the tough times, but I am concerned that we may all chuckle at Bush, the comedian, while the business of government is not done and the sanctity of democracy is undone. Much as Nero fiddled while Rome burned, Dubya ridicules himself as the things we hold as important are incinerated and their ashes are scattered by the winds of history.
Someone once said it takes a big man to laugh at himself, but I wonder whether the person that said that had some joker standing beside him, mocking him at the time. While Dubya becomes the Homer Simpson of American politics, the rest of us can laugh all the way to the poorhouse. I, for one, think it’s time for Bush to take himself seriously. After all, he is the President, and not some nitwit out to get some laughs by making a fool of himself, or am I wrong about that?
At least, that’s what we think, here in Jimbo’s world.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
i'll have potent potables for $20 please, art
Why is it that no one can pronounce the word “potable” correctly?
One of the panelists on Real Time with Bill Maher last night was talking about the infrastructure in Iraq and the difficulty of getting drinking water available to everyone and mispronounced the word. She pronounced it with the short vowel sound as in pot, rather than the long vowel sound as in potent.
Perhaps you remember me bitching about the mispronunciation of this word in the far distant past.
http://jimboandhisfriends.blogspot.com/2005/02/rose-by-any-other-name.html
“What is the big deal?” many of you are asking. “The important part is that we know what the word means, and that we understand the necessity of potable water to survival.”
Someday, in a dynamic language like our own, the short vowel mispronunciation will probably become acceptable and old fossils like myself who pronounce it right will probably be considered—well, fossils. We’ll be considered a relic of some past civilization that doesn’t exist anymore—dinosaurs who clung to the old pronunciation and were rendered extinct because of our inability to adapt.
Someday in the distant future, archeologists will dig up my remains and date me by the configuration of my jawbone.
“You can tell,” one will speculate, “that this ancient being was from the early 21st century, and his mouth likely pronounced the word “potable” with the long vowel sound.”
“Yes,” replies his associate. “And he probably couldn’t levitate, either.”
“He surely held onto his dated ways and beliefs and was relegated to the dust of history.”
“Yeah. What a toad.”
This chilling tale of our distant future could likely come to pass a long time from now in Jimbo’s world.
One of the panelists on Real Time with Bill Maher last night was talking about the infrastructure in Iraq and the difficulty of getting drinking water available to everyone and mispronounced the word. She pronounced it with the short vowel sound as in pot, rather than the long vowel sound as in potent.
Perhaps you remember me bitching about the mispronunciation of this word in the far distant past.
http://jimboandhisfriends.blogspot.com/2005/02/rose-by-any-other-name.html
“What is the big deal?” many of you are asking. “The important part is that we know what the word means, and that we understand the necessity of potable water to survival.”
Someday, in a dynamic language like our own, the short vowel mispronunciation will probably become acceptable and old fossils like myself who pronounce it right will probably be considered—well, fossils. We’ll be considered a relic of some past civilization that doesn’t exist anymore—dinosaurs who clung to the old pronunciation and were rendered extinct because of our inability to adapt.
Someday in the distant future, archeologists will dig up my remains and date me by the configuration of my jawbone.
“You can tell,” one will speculate, “that this ancient being was from the early 21st century, and his mouth likely pronounced the word “potable” with the long vowel sound.”
“Yes,” replies his associate. “And he probably couldn’t levitate, either.”
“He surely held onto his dated ways and beliefs and was relegated to the dust of history.”
“Yeah. What a toad.”
This chilling tale of our distant future could likely come to pass a long time from now in Jimbo’s world.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
i've got your number(s)
I don’t know about you, but I have too many numbers to remember. It’s finally gotten out of hand and I have to say something about it.
First of all, I read on Yahoo! this morning that they are considering adding a new domain name. The new suffix would be .tel, and it would give one a domain name to store all of their numbers. The domain would primarily be for saving phone numbers, e-mail addresses, websites, etc. Reading this story got me thinking about how many numbers we have and a number of other things, too.
People ask me, “Jimbo, what’s you cell phone number?”
I answer them, “I don’t know, but hang on. I’ve got it written down somewhere.”
Also, don’t ask me Jimbo’s girlfriend’s cell phone number, or my son’s or my mom’s. Fortunately, someone had the foresight to invent the address book for cell phones or computers. Otherwise I’d be lost in the ozone if I had to call anyone.
And what about my personal finances? I have IRAs, 401(k)s, a Roth, brokerage accounts and checking accounts, all of which have different user names and passwords to access. And I have a couple of credit cards I manage online. Every one of them has some unique requirement so I can’t use the same names and numbers to access them. I also visit several other password-protected websites, requiring several other unique numbers, like the website I go to publish this blog.
And then I go to work. When I sign on to my computer there, I have a master log in user name and password. Then, my e-mail and the manufacturing software have their own unique numbers.
And what’s the deal with manufacturing software packages and business software? Who was the genius who decided that the log ins all had be case sensitive and one has to log in lower case? But every manufacturing software system I’ve ever used requires that you be in upper case to operate it. I find myself typing numbers and words into the cells in the software, getting done the necessary keystrokes that keep this county working and make this country great. Then, I toggle back to my e-mail and see someone needs a reply, and when I reply to them, I realize that I am yelling, still in upper case.
And who was the genius who decided that we had to change our passwords at work every thirty days for “security” reasons? Is the purpose of doing this to bore potential hackers to death? If a hacker got hold of a list of my user names and passwords, he (or she) would have a long list to read. Presumably, sometime before the end of the list, their eyes would start to get heavy and they would drift off into a boredom-induced slumber.
I’m thinking the new .tel domain may be a good idea as a tool to help us remember all of those numbers, but won’t it be another login name and number we’ll have to remember?
At least that’s our concern here in Jimbo’s world.
First of all, I read on Yahoo! this morning that they are considering adding a new domain name. The new suffix would be .tel, and it would give one a domain name to store all of their numbers. The domain would primarily be for saving phone numbers, e-mail addresses, websites, etc. Reading this story got me thinking about how many numbers we have and a number of other things, too.
People ask me, “Jimbo, what’s you cell phone number?”
I answer them, “I don’t know, but hang on. I’ve got it written down somewhere.”
Also, don’t ask me Jimbo’s girlfriend’s cell phone number, or my son’s or my mom’s. Fortunately, someone had the foresight to invent the address book for cell phones or computers. Otherwise I’d be lost in the ozone if I had to call anyone.
And what about my personal finances? I have IRAs, 401(k)s, a Roth, brokerage accounts and checking accounts, all of which have different user names and passwords to access. And I have a couple of credit cards I manage online. Every one of them has some unique requirement so I can’t use the same names and numbers to access them. I also visit several other password-protected websites, requiring several other unique numbers, like the website I go to publish this blog.
And then I go to work. When I sign on to my computer there, I have a master log in user name and password. Then, my e-mail and the manufacturing software have their own unique numbers.
And what’s the deal with manufacturing software packages and business software? Who was the genius who decided that the log ins all had be case sensitive and one has to log in lower case? But every manufacturing software system I’ve ever used requires that you be in upper case to operate it. I find myself typing numbers and words into the cells in the software, getting done the necessary keystrokes that keep this county working and make this country great. Then, I toggle back to my e-mail and see someone needs a reply, and when I reply to them, I realize that I am yelling, still in upper case.
And who was the genius who decided that we had to change our passwords at work every thirty days for “security” reasons? Is the purpose of doing this to bore potential hackers to death? If a hacker got hold of a list of my user names and passwords, he (or she) would have a long list to read. Presumably, sometime before the end of the list, their eyes would start to get heavy and they would drift off into a boredom-induced slumber.
I’m thinking the new .tel domain may be a good idea as a tool to help us remember all of those numbers, but won’t it be another login name and number we’ll have to remember?
At least that’s our concern here in Jimbo’s world.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
the "inside" scoop
Last weekend Jimbo and his girlfriend saw the movie Inside Man. If you are thinking about seeing a movie today, and can’t decide which one, I’d recommend you see this one.
First of all, there is a great cast. Usually one can’t go wrong seeing a movie if Denzel Washington is in it. I first noticed Clive Owen as “the driver” in those wild-assed BMW commercials. You remember the ones. They also starred Don Cheadle, Little Richard, James Brown, Marilyn Manson, F. Murray Abraham, and many more. Any movie with Owen in it is also worth seeing. Jody Foster and Christopher Plummer were also good in this movie.
And, of course, if Spike Lee is the director, it’s likely to be something one doesn’t want to miss. I’ve been a fan of Spike Lee ever since he played the character Mars Blackmon and directed She’s Gotta Have It way back in 1986. I enjoyed School Daze, Do The Right Thing, Summer
of Sam and my favorite has always been He Got Game, also with Denzel Washington.
In Inside Man, the story is about Owen’s character, with a group of accomplices, robbing a bank and Washington playing the police detective who matches wits with him. There is a standoff with Owen holding a number of hostages and Washington trying to diffuse the situation. Of course, we find out that Owen’s goal is not the money, but the principal of the thing, although he ends up considerably more wealthy than he starts out.
As in He Got Game, Lee uses the technique of the full-screen close-up, focused in so tightly on the faces of his actors that we can see any flaw or blemish. Washington and Owen are engaged throughout most of the movie in a psychological duel—both trying to gain the upper hand. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you about some of the good parts, because it might spoil the movie for you. You’ll just have to trust me on this one.
Because we’d never lead you astray here in Jimbo’s world.
First of all, there is a great cast. Usually one can’t go wrong seeing a movie if Denzel Washington is in it. I first noticed Clive Owen as “the driver” in those wild-assed BMW commercials. You remember the ones. They also starred Don Cheadle, Little Richard, James Brown, Marilyn Manson, F. Murray Abraham, and many more. Any movie with Owen in it is also worth seeing. Jody Foster and Christopher Plummer were also good in this movie.
And, of course, if Spike Lee is the director, it’s likely to be something one doesn’t want to miss. I’ve been a fan of Spike Lee ever since he played the character Mars Blackmon and directed She’s Gotta Have It way back in 1986. I enjoyed School Daze, Do The Right Thing, Summer
of Sam and my favorite has always been He Got Game, also with Denzel Washington.
In Inside Man, the story is about Owen’s character, with a group of accomplices, robbing a bank and Washington playing the police detective who matches wits with him. There is a standoff with Owen holding a number of hostages and Washington trying to diffuse the situation. Of course, we find out that Owen’s goal is not the money, but the principal of the thing, although he ends up considerably more wealthy than he starts out.
As in He Got Game, Lee uses the technique of the full-screen close-up, focused in so tightly on the faces of his actors that we can see any flaw or blemish. Washington and Owen are engaged throughout most of the movie in a psychological duel—both trying to gain the upper hand. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you about some of the good parts, because it might spoil the movie for you. You’ll just have to trust me on this one.
Because we’d never lead you astray here in Jimbo’s world.
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