Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Someone Can That Designer!

If you know me at all, you know I'm a car guy. It's not something I can really explain; it's a love of beauty and elegance that only other gearheads can fully appreciate. However, there are a few cars out there that I think the world would be better off without. In no particular order, here's my list of some of the world's ugliest cars.

1973 Pontiac GTO

From it's inception in 1964, and particularly from 1967 to 1970, the GTO always exuded a tough, brawny attitude, helped in no small part by it's aggressive design. But this "fresh" re-design left it looking (rightly so) like an econobox masquerading as a muscle car. Plus, it had a case of overbite so bad that it would have given any dentist a coronary.


2010 Kia Soul

Kia calls it a blending of the Scion xB and the Honda Element. Looks more to me like one of those freaky concept cars you see at auto shows, only with normal door handles. The headlights in particular irk me; they look like they're from a Transformers movie.


1956 Ford Edsel

Nicknamed "The Toilet-Seat Grill" for obvious reasons, the car was named after the late Henry Ford's son (and former President of the Ford Motor Company), the late Edsel Ford. Predictably, the car was a flop; it sold rather dismally for three years until Ford finally pulled the plug. It's probably a good thing Edsel, who was also a very talented automobile designer, died thirteen years before the car went into production: seeing his name on this monstrosity would have likely killed him.


2007 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe

I love this car. I absolutely love it. It broke my heart when I found out that someone stole the real headlights and replaced them with the ones from the Fiat 500. Wait, what? Those are the real headlights? *Insert Horrified Scream Here* And would it have killed them to use a wrap-around windshield?


2001 Pontiac Aztek

Probably the most famous ugly car in recent history, there really isn't a whole lot I can say about it (pretty self-explanitory, don't you think) except to wonder what the designers at Pontiac and GM were smoking when they designed it, or what they were thinking when they let one of their kids design it.


2010 Toyota Prius

Despite what you might think, I really don't have a problem with hybrids; I just have problems with people who by them to pretend they care about the environment (park it in your driveway while you get chauferred around in an Escalade or private jet). This thing, however, looks like an over-inflated party balloon getting ready to pop. Or, if you paint it the right shade of green, it could pass for a giant booger or a radioactively-mutated garden slug. Oh, and guys at Toyota, the larger grill is supposed to be above the bumper.


1965 Fiat 500

Desinged to compete with such famous marquees as the Volkswagen Beetle and the Mini, the 500 comes off looking like the product of an unholy union between the two, only without the sickening cuteness that made its parents worldwide successes. Plus, it gave its headlights to the aforementioned Rolls-Royce.


1970 AMC Gremlin

In the early 70s, if it was an econobox, it was probably ugly. But the Gremlin here takes the cake. It was a perfectly proportioned station wagon... from the B-pillar forward. That's where they chopped off the back seats and the cargo area and welded on some random sheetmetal. Take the wheels off, fill in the wells, and you've got a spaceship from the old Battlestar Galactica TV series. No, wait, forget it: they'd still have made the back end longer.

Before anyone says anything, yes, this little rant of mine as inspired by Sam's Annoyance with Crayola.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The Muppets vs. Classical Music

I know I swore of YouTube posts for a while, but these are so good I just couldn't resist.

Okay, so we have, in order, Ode to Joy, The Blue Danube, Stars & Stripes Forever, and Habanera... Muppetized.

Enjoy.










Sunday, July 27, 2008

I'm Sorry Boss

In response to a request that I post something original (something I admit I should have been doing anyway), I present you with a piece originally written as an exercise form my Advanced Writing course last semester. Enjoy.

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I’m sorry boss, I know I’m four hours late today; my building lost power sometime last night and my alarm clock reset itself, so needless to say my alarm didn’t go off this morning and I overslept; then some moron parked his delivery ban in my building’s driveway while he was dropping off flowers to the old lady who lives upstairs from me, and when I asked him to move his truck, the little old lady hit me with her purse – yes, sir, that’s why I have a black eye – yes, I know the client is coming in to close the deal today; so after the delivery guy finally moved his truck, I pulled out of the garage; I knew I would be late by that point – I did try to call you sir, but my cell phone has a dead battery because I was charging it when the power went out last night; so I finally get on the highway and am doing my best to make up lost time when I see a police car behind me flip on its lights and siren, so I pull over and turn the car off; next thing I know the cop rips my door open and throws me on the pavement –yes, sir, that’s why my suit is damaged – yes, I know that the meeting with the client is a formal one – yes I know that formal means wearing a suit that hasn’t been destroyed; turns out that my license plate partially matched one from a getaway car that some bank robbers had used that morning, but they didn’t tell me that until they had hauled me down to the precinct and began interrogating me; I had to convince them to call the little old lady who lives upstairs before they’d believe me – yes, I realize that it sound like a bunch of, uh, bull-stuff, sir, but I swear it’s – wait, what do you mean, ‘I’m fired’?

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Top Gear: The "Fox" Hunt

It's Jeremy Clarkson and his "Foxmobile" vs. The Hunters and their Hounds (and Richard Hammond)



I swear, this is the last Top Gear post for a long time.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Top Gear: Boom De Yada

In the spirit of the Discovery Channel's now famous commercial... it's Top Gear! (please note that I didn't make this)



Many thanks to nerdjedi for sending me this video

Monday, July 21, 2008

It's Back!

Gearheads rejoice! After six long years, the era of the Pony Car is reborn!



Meet the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro.

With a 6.2-liter V-8 engine putting out 425hp and 408 lb-ft of torque; this bad boy is aimed straight at the Mustang and the Dodge Challenger. The Muscle Car Wars have a new force on the battlefield. And to make certain individuals (*cough* *cough* *Al Gore* *cough*) happy, the engine features Active Fuel Management, which means it shuts down up to four of its cylinders to increase fuel economy while cruising, for a maximum of 23mpg highway. (Bear in mind, this figure is for the aforementioned 6.2L V-8 from the SS model, not the sissy 3.6L V-6 of the lesser models)

What's really exciting is that this could mean the return of a whole string of classic muscle cars. In the good ol' days, the Camaro and Pontiac Firebird were built on the same platform. If the Camaro is a roaring success (which all accounts say it should be), this might mean the rebirth if the Firebird, then maybe the Pontiac GTO, and from there, who knows?

Now, the only question remaining is thus: should I stick with getting my Mustang, or pick up one of these instead?

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Top Gear: Jeremy Clarkson vs. The Porsche Pipe

There's nothing I can really add to this. Just watch it.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Top Gear: The Boys Go Camping

This time, the guys decide to see what the big draw is to camping, or caravaning as they say in Britain. If you've been paying attention, you've probably figured that this probably isn't going to end well.











I've done a bit of exploring, and it turns out that this whole thing, or at least parts of it, was staged. Whatever, it's still hilarious.

Oh, and if you're wondering what the deal with Clarkson's Kalashnikov was, and why Richard Hammond was freaking out when they were sleeping, it turns out that James May is homosexual. Not like I have a problem with that or anything.


Also, and this has nothing to do with Top Gear, but I've decided to clarify my position in my last reaction.

Clarification

There has been some harsh reaction to this post. I feel I am to blame for this only because I do not feel I made my position clear enough. My opinion still stands.

Okay, Obama says that we need this "Civilian National Security Force" because "We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set." Thing is, we're not relying completely on the military. We haven't been doing that for over 100 years. In addition to our Armed Forces, we have the FBI, CIA, NSA, BATF, DEA DIA (Diplomatic Intelligence Agency), TSA, Secret Service, and many other Law Enforcement Agencies also protecting our national security. Not to mention the countless state and local police forces across the country.

I've heard one objection to my position made on the basis that Obama wants to establish a National Guard. Thing is, we already have one. It's been around since 1903, and it's designed to be a force of civilian reservists who are to be called upon in times of war to supplement the standing army and to keep the peace in times of extreme crisis at home (riots, natural disasters, etc.) Making the National Guard "just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded" as the Army a) defeats the purpose of having a reserve force (They're not meant to be front-line troops, and therefore don't need to be as well-equiped as the standing army), and b) in times of war, National Guard units come under the command of regular Army leaders.

I mentioned that the idea of having this "Civilian National Security Force" scares me, but I failed to explain why. It scares me because Obama says that said force needs to be "just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded" as the regular Army. How, exactly, does he plan to make it that strong? By giving it Abrams battle tanks, artillery, and jet fighters? Yes, the National Guard does have those things, but those are only used in times of war, and as I mentioned, National Guard comes under the command of the Army (or Air Force) at those times. Plus, those are all old equipment that has been phased out by the standing military (Ex: most national guard units are equipped with the M60 Patton tank. That was phased out in in the late '80s, with the last being retired just after the Gulf War [and those were used by the Air Force])

So, Obama is disregarding the roles that dozens of Federal and civilian Law Enforcement Agencies take in defending our National Security, and he can't beef up the National Guard without making it a part of the standing Armed Forces. So, what exactly is this "Civilian National Security Force?" The only thing that makes sense (without making something completely redundant and, ergo, completely useless) is a seperate, government-controlled, civilian-operated paramilitary force. What scares me is, why would Obama want such a force? The only thing I can think of is that he wants to use it for something he can't legally use the Army for and that the various LEA's around the country are not put together to do. Exactly what that might be terrifies me.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Top Gear: Plane Vs. Car: The Rematch

Okay, this time, it's a Bugatti Veyron vs. Europe's most advanced jet fighter: the Eurofighter Typhoon in a winner-take-all-loser's-a-vegetarian drag race.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Top Gear: Plane Vs. Car

Actually, it's more like Plane vs. The Car. The Bugatti Veyron is the fastest (255 mph), most powerful (1,001 horsepower), most expensive (over 1.5 million dollars) car ever made. And it's going up against a lousy Cessna turboprop! Not much of a race. Or is it? Either way, Jeremy is obsessed with that car.

Part 1:



Part 2:




Part 3:



Part 4:



Part 5:

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Is Obama Ressurecting the Brownshirts?

Check out this article from The Chicago Tribune. Pay particular attention to the part where Obama says that we can't rely on the military and need to create a "Civilian National Security Force" that is "just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."

Am I the only one who is very, very scared by this? Barack Obama, the man who wants to become Commander in Chief of our armed forces does not trust that they are capable of defending our nation, so he wants to create his own private paramilitary force to keep us safe.

What exactly is this force going to be tasked with doing? Who is going to lead it? How is it going to be equipped and/or trained? How are we going to pay for it? Most importantly, what, if any, oversight is the government and the military (the real military) going to have over it?

Civilian National Security Force. A government-controlled paramilitary force. Does this remind anyone else of the Brownshirts?

New Reaction

Obama looks like he wants to bring back the brownshirts. No, I'm not making this up.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Remember What This Day Is All About

It's not about getting the day off from work.

It's not about a killer sale at some store.

It's not about an all-day movie marathon.

It's not about grilling burgers and hot dogs and drinking beer in the back yard.

It's not about concerts or fireworks.

It's about this:


It's about the great nation that this flag stands for. It's about the ideas and ideals that this flag represents. Most of all, it's about the men and women who have been willing to give their lives in defense of those ideas, those ideals, this flag, this country. Never forget that.

Happy Birthday, America. May God continue to shed His Grace on Thee.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

The Top Gear Police Challenge

Prepare to ROFLYAO!

Part 1



Part 2



I love these guys! This show rox!

And I hear they're making an American version...

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

New Bond Ahead!

Just found the trailer for the new 007 movie, Quantum of Solace.





Looks like another winner! Can't wait until November!