Facebook Makes You Feel Old
Happy Monday, loyal readers. I hope everyone had a happy and productive weekend. Here's some news.
I've been linking to stories about Somali pirates(!) for several years now. There have been a handful of developments worth noting in the last few days. On Tuesday, a US Navy ship fired warning shots... At Somali pirates! (Fox, CNN) Then, late last week, Somali pirates captured a Ukrainian ship that was carrying rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft guns, and thirty T-72 tanks. (BBC, Wired) There's a small multi-national naval force that patrols the waters off Somalia, but as this blurb from Wired says, the flotilla is under-resourced to completely stem the pirate threat. As the update section of the piece notes, the cause of the pirate threat has little to do with the piracy itself, and everything to do with the complete and total dysfunction of a state that's ruled by warring Islamist factions. Unfortunately, this is going to continue for no better reason than modern international politics prevents anyone from really solving the problem. Dr. Peter Pham has an op-ed piece, Time to Hunt Somali Pirates, that goes into more detail.
A new report says that, earlier this year, President Bush told the Israelis to hold off on bombing Iran. (BBC, AFP. Mark my words, something will have to be done about Iran; and if Senator Obama is elected in November, I think it could very well happen prior to the inauguration, while President Bush still has the authority to act on the problem.
The other day, Medved referenced an article by Andy Kessler that says that this massive government bailout could actually make the government a ton of money if it's successful. The article's worth a read, and let's hope Kessler's right about this one.
Oh, and in exceptionally tragic news, Bane is dead. The old bastard will be missed... Especially on Fridays.
I'm not sure how it was for everyone else, but this weekend was sure odd for me. Aside from frustrations with women that I'm having trouble putting into words, I had two experiences that made me feel very old.
First, I saw pictures on Facebook of a girl who I used to babysit. She's now a sophomore in college, appears to have been dating a guy for the better part of a year (who, oddly enough, looks a lot like a ****ing toolbag who once seduced a girl right out from under me - almost literally), and there were two compromising pictures of her: one in which she was downing a beer bong, and one in which she was in a rather intimate position with said boyfriend. When the awkward, shy little girl who you used to babysit is guzzling cheap beer and has a serious boyfriend, that's old.
I've noted on a few occasions that I've been watching Doogie Howser, MD on Hulu for the last few weeks. Last night, I was chatting (again, on Facebook) with the eighteen-year-old daughter of one of the couples in my church home group. I'd been watching episodes for part of the day, and had put up a Facebook status about Wanda Plenn (Doogie Howser's girlfriend) being a wench of exceeding promiscuity. First, she asked me who Wanda Plenn was. Then, when I explained, she actually asked me who Doogie Howser was. Yes, I realize that she was one year old when the series ended in '91, but seriously, they have reruns.
Conclusion: Facebook makes you feel old. Particularly the new Facebook. I think I could go for a nice glass of Scotch... Oh, great. Scotch. It's getting worse. Curse you, Facebook! Oh, and one more thing: someone accused me of "race baiting" on there (they probably don't even know what that means) for pointing out that Senator Obama's advisors have blood on their hands from the mortgage crisis. "Race baiting"? Come on, that's just silly. What's more important, Barack Obama's shady friends... Or silliness?*
Alright, that's enough ranting for today. Be safe, ladies and gentlemen. Check back tomorrow for more.
* If you caught that this was a Friends reference, consider yourself the superstar of the day.
I've been linking to stories about Somali pirates(!) for several years now. There have been a handful of developments worth noting in the last few days. On Tuesday, a US Navy ship fired warning shots... At Somali pirates! (Fox, CNN) Then, late last week, Somali pirates captured a Ukrainian ship that was carrying rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft guns, and thirty T-72 tanks. (BBC, Wired) There's a small multi-national naval force that patrols the waters off Somalia, but as this blurb from Wired says, the flotilla is under-resourced to completely stem the pirate threat. As the update section of the piece notes, the cause of the pirate threat has little to do with the piracy itself, and everything to do with the complete and total dysfunction of a state that's ruled by warring Islamist factions. Unfortunately, this is going to continue for no better reason than modern international politics prevents anyone from really solving the problem. Dr. Peter Pham has an op-ed piece, Time to Hunt Somali Pirates, that goes into more detail.
A new report says that, earlier this year, President Bush told the Israelis to hold off on bombing Iran. (BBC, AFP. Mark my words, something will have to be done about Iran; and if Senator Obama is elected in November, I think it could very well happen prior to the inauguration, while President Bush still has the authority to act on the problem.
The other day, Medved referenced an article by Andy Kessler that says that this massive government bailout could actually make the government a ton of money if it's successful. The article's worth a read, and let's hope Kessler's right about this one.
Oh, and in exceptionally tragic news, Bane is dead. The old bastard will be missed... Especially on Fridays.
I'm not sure how it was for everyone else, but this weekend was sure odd for me. Aside from frustrations with women that I'm having trouble putting into words, I had two experiences that made me feel very old.
First, I saw pictures on Facebook of a girl who I used to babysit. She's now a sophomore in college, appears to have been dating a guy for the better part of a year (who, oddly enough, looks a lot like a ****ing toolbag who once seduced a girl right out from under me - almost literally), and there were two compromising pictures of her: one in which she was downing a beer bong, and one in which she was in a rather intimate position with said boyfriend. When the awkward, shy little girl who you used to babysit is guzzling cheap beer and has a serious boyfriend, that's old.
I've noted on a few occasions that I've been watching Doogie Howser, MD on Hulu for the last few weeks. Last night, I was chatting (again, on Facebook) with the eighteen-year-old daughter of one of the couples in my church home group. I'd been watching episodes for part of the day, and had put up a Facebook status about Wanda Plenn (Doogie Howser's girlfriend) being a wench of exceeding promiscuity. First, she asked me who Wanda Plenn was. Then, when I explained, she actually asked me who Doogie Howser was. Yes, I realize that she was one year old when the series ended in '91, but seriously, they have reruns.
Conclusion: Facebook makes you feel old. Particularly the new Facebook. I think I could go for a nice glass of Scotch... Oh, great. Scotch. It's getting worse. Curse you, Facebook! Oh, and one more thing: someone accused me of "race baiting" on there (they probably don't even know what that means) for pointing out that Senator Obama's advisors have blood on their hands from the mortgage crisis. "Race baiting"? Come on, that's just silly. What's more important, Barack Obama's shady friends... Or silliness?*
Alright, that's enough ranting for today. Be safe, ladies and gentlemen. Check back tomorrow for more.
* If you caught that this was a Friends reference, consider yourself the superstar of the day.
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