Don't be that guy

Is there someone in your life, maybe someone you work with, who does things "by the book" regardless of whether that makes sense or not? Yes, we all know people like that. They drive me nuts.

Legislators and police are big on this. Here is one example of trying to apply some common sense to break out of the "follow the rules at all costs" mindset. It amazes me that anyone would oppose this bill. From Fox 5 Atlanta:
"Motorcycle Traffic Light Bill Proposed" by George Franco
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/motorcycle-traffic-light-bill-proposed-030111

You know what pops into my mind when I see obsessive, follow-the-rules people? The crazy prison guard from the movie A Clockwork Orange. You remember the guy. No? Well, here he is. Enjoy! From Vpmatt, on YouTube:
"A Clockwork Orange: The Best of Chief Officer Barnes"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OARVGVv8HdY

Father Naus, one of a kind

Yes, I am partly a product of private schools. That's why I'm so stuck-up and such a nerd. :)

However, there ARE some very good things about private schools. Father Naus, one of my Philosophy professors at Marquette University, is one of them. He is a luminous human being. (I struggled to find the right adjective to describe him, and luminous is the best I could do.)

Marquette Magazine had a nice short story on him, and about some reading he recommends:
"Marquette Reads: Rev. John Naus, S.J."
http://www.marquette.edu/magazine/recent.php?subaction=showfull&id=1298494800&archive=&start_from=&ucat=12

Father Naus is a truly funny person, and his Christmas list is legendary. I thoroughly enjoyed the class I had with him (Ethics, if you're curious). He said that all Jesuits were clowns but he was the only one man enough to admit it! He joked that his dream in life was to play Edelweiss absolutely perfectly on the piano and then his life would be complete so he could die right then. "Luckily," he said, "I don't play the piano very well!"

How pathetic is this?

Not sure this is even true, but it's funny! It's funny because it's always easy to laugh at how dumb other people are. Surely I would never do anything like this! (Ignore all the other stupid stuff I do, please.)

From someecards.com:
"Having An Argument With Your Unborn Child On Facebook"
http://www.someecards.com/2011/02/27/having-an-argument-with-your-unborn-child-on-facebook

Song of the Day: Iris Dement - Our Town

Here is a haunting, emotional song.

Iris Dement - Our Town
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FikZwgj89HI

Gotta have more Kromer!

To paraphrase Christopher Walken (Gotta have more cowbell!), I gotta have more kromer! So, with that in mind...

I love this video. Not only do I love my kromer, but I recognize most of the places in the video--this is where I'm from!

From Wisconsin Public Television:
"In Wisconsin February 24, 2011- Stormy Kromer Hat"
http://video.wpt2.org/video/1815595547

Having a bit more fun as I watch the video, I had to link to places that remind me of home.

Here is the sign that is shown at 0:27 of the video:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=46.471534,-90.202322&spn=0.000478,0.002036&z=19&layer=c&cbll=46.471534,-90.202322&panoid=EqDrj0kB85hY5bdrP3KRQA&cbp=11,191.69,,0,5.62
Note that although this story seems to want to focus on Wisconsin, Stormy Kromers are made in Ironwood, MICHIGAN! And in this shot the car is heading to Ironwood, not Hurley! :)

At 0:34 in the video, we are here:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=46.44987,-90.182101&spn=0.001915,0.008143&z=17&layer=c&cbll=46.449865,-90.182091&panoid=qgYyM6AnT02gqU1_sEpllg&cbp=11,202.6,,0,-9.82

At 0:36 in the video we are here, looking at all the strip clubs on main street in Hurley:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=46.449878,-90.180384&spn=0.001915,0.008143&z=17&layer=c&cbll=46.449867,-90.180374&panoid=qAgj8R8IqMhbzQHPJ2XeTQ&cbp=11,109.49,,0,-4.84
Note that again, perhaps subconsciously, they seem to want to head towards Ironwood!

Bobby Jacquart, and Jacquart Fabric Products, shown at 0:38 in the video, is here:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=46.460854,-90.142372&spn=0.00408,0.008143&z=17

The gas station shown around 0:52 in the video is here:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=46.449878,-90.181789&spn=0.001915,0.008143&z=17&layer=c&cbll=46.449869,-90.181804&panoid=1LWYRTuwKdSLSX451cJeCg&cbp=11,315.57,,0,-7.69

The shot on the bridge as you cross from Ironwood into Hurley at 0:42 is here:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=46.449907,-90.178324&spn=0.001833,0.008143&z=17&layer=c&cbll=46.449908,-90.17831&panoid=q6gjcn6KzTEBAckjcGONBg&cbp=11,247.68,,0,0.14

And turning around and looking back to Michigan at 0:44 is here:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=46.449907,-90.178324&spn=0.001833,0.008143&z=17&layer=c&cbll=46.449908,-90.17831&panoid=q6gjcn6KzTEBAckjcGONBg&cbp=11,130.64,,0,5

After that a number of locations are repeated, so I won't keep going with a link for every single location. :)

Notice the Green Bay Packers colors on the kromer shown at 3:36 and at 7:10 in the video!

The sign shown at 3:58 of the video is here:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=46.463226,-90.142758&spn=0.003666,0.016286&z=16&layer=c&cbll=46.463238,-90.142748&panoid=1tpYpO6ZzLe1r1e1mG5oRA&cbp=11,249.62,,0,-2

I love the old-timer around 6:04 of the video. My kromer (one of the original Milwaukee kromers, by the way) is one I've had for probably 15 or 20 years now. Sadly, living in Atlanta now, I don't need 3 or 4 kromers like I would if I still lived in the U.P. :(

I love the story at 6:20 in the video. Sad, but touching. I guess you'd have to have a kromer to understand.

Maps and Revolutions

I love it when people use Google Maps in creative AND useful ways. Here is one such example. From Mashable:
"Internet Restored in Libya, Google Maps Shows Up-To-Date Info" by Charlie White
http://mashable.com/2011/02/19/internet-libya/

Occasionally they tell the truth, part 11: SC lawmaker says immigrants work harder

Well, maybe I should clarify. I don't know if these comments are "the truth." Maybe more like "speaking what's really on his mind." From Yahoo! News and the Associated Press:
"Black SC lawmaker: Immigrants are hardest workers"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110209/ap_on_re_us/us_black_lawmaker_immigration

"An African-American lawmaker in South Carolina said Tuesday that stricter illegal immigration laws would hurt the state because blacks and whites don't work as hard as Hispanics."

"State Sen. Robert Ford ... said 'brothers' don't work as hard as Mexicans. He continued that his 'blue-eyed brothers' don't either."

"Once his ancestors were freed from slavery, he said, they didn't want to do any more hard work, so they were replaced by Chinese and Japanese."

Wow! Let the criticism begin!