A sign of the times in NASCAR

From NASCAR.COM

MIAMI -- Teresa Earnhardt and Chip Ganassi will combine their slumping race teams next season, an effort to stabilize their organizations in a tough economic time.

The combined team will be called Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. Martin Truex Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya will drive the Nos. 1 and 42 and Aric Almirola will be behind the wheel of the No. 8. The driver of the No. 41 has not been named.

Both organizations have struggled to secure sponsorship this season, forcing the teams to pool resources.

 

Interesting that this would happen.  Chevy shop and a Dodge shop.  Will it be a sign of what is to come for the big 3 automakers?  They have not decided what cars to go with but it would appear to be Chevy's as Dodge has been less help then Chevy when it came to cars this year.

Be good for goodness sake!

From Fox News comes a story about Christmas and another group trying to get Christ out of Christmas (though they say that they are not).

The American Humanist Association is spending $40,000 to encourage people not to believe in God.  While I applaud the fact they are urging people to be good, I find it interesting that they want to solve a problem that should not be:

"We are trying to reach our audience, and sometimes in order to reach an audience, everybody has to hear you," said Fred Edwords, spokesman for the humanist group. "Our reason for doing it during the holidays is there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists and other types of non-theists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion."

Ok, so the reason they feel left alone is that the holiday is religious.  Why should that bother them?  If there is no God then people are celebrating something that does not exist.  They have two choices.  Join the celebration of people they think are foolish for celebrating or ignore the holiday.  If they truly believe there is no God, they why should this holiday bother them?  Or is it that it does bother them and they have a nagging feeling that maybe there is a reason for the Christ in Christmas?

Colossians 1:9“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) NIV. All Rights Reserved.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Study shows how spammers cash in

By hijacking a working spam network, US researchers have uncovered some of the economics of being a junk mailer.

The analysis suggests that such a tiny response rate means a big spam operation can turn over millions of pounds in profit every year.

It also suggests that spammers may be susceptible to attacks that make it more costly to send junk mail.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Study shows how spammers cash in

An interesting read. It seems that the rate of return on spam is really quite low.

The response rate for this campaign was less than 0.00001%. This is far below the average of 2.15% reported by legitimate direct mail organisations.

But even with that low percentage:

Scaling this up to the full Storm network the researchers estimate that the controllers of the vast system are netting about $7,000 (£4,430) a day or more than $2m (£1.28m) per year.

Clearly it pays to be a spamer or people would not do it. Now there is economic proof of it.

Long ago and far away, in a galaxy... well you get the idea

Enjoy

Saturday night live and Keith Olbermann

The really sad thing about this video is that he nailed the attitude of Olbermann to a T.  It is funny that NBC would to that to their news division's poster boy.  

The other side of the world

From the Make Use Of web site, a total but fun waste of time.  Find out what is on the other side of the world from where you are.  

Obama urges counting of military votes - USATODAY.com

Democrat Barack Obama's presidential campaign is encouraging state elections officials to ensure that all military personnel serving away from home are able to vote, after a Virginia law threatened to toss some absentee ballots aside.

Obama urges counting of military votes - USATODAY.com

Thanks Senator Obama.  In a campaign that has been crazy with ACORN rumors this is a sign that you care about it being a fair election.  You run the risk, with the military being more conservative as a whole, of loosing a few states.  You want it to be a fair election and that is good. 

Though I will most likely vote for McCain, you have gained respect in my eyes.

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Former Newsweek Reporter Admits Dreaming About Taking Out Giuliani - FOXNews.com Elections

Michael Hastings wrote in GQ magazine that he had a "recurring fantasy" that he could somehow stop the former New York City mayor in his tracks.

"I quickly realized Rudy was a maniac. I had a recurring fantasy in which I took him out during a press conference (it was nonlethal, just something that put him out of commission for a year or so), saving America from the horror of a President Giuliani. If that sounds like I had some trouble being 'objective,' I did. Objectivity is a fallacy," he said.

Hastings said he wasn't the only reporter who despised Giuliani, although he frequently tried to appear sympathetic to his campaign staff so he could get information from them.

Former Newsweek Reporter Admits Dreaming About Taking Out Giuliani - FOXNews.com Elections

Nice to know that we have an unbiased press out there.  Hey, I know both sides are represented here, but the press as a whole is a lot more liberal than conservative.  For every FOX News, there is a CNN, MSNBC, and who knows how many newspapers.

It is downright scary that this man was/is a reporter for a major magazine that is supposed to be unbiased in its reporting.

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Got to love Reverend Fun

One of the best efforts I have seen there is a long time.  Generally his material is good for a laugh. 

Catch him at Reverendfun.com

Or get the RSS feed at:  http://www.reverendfun.com/features/rss/?language=en

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FCC to sponsor David Gilliland's Yates Racing ride - Sprint Cup Series | SceneDaily.com - NASCAR News

On Feb. 17, 2009, all full-power broadcast television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting on analog airwaves and begin broadcasting only in digital.

"I'm flattered that the FCC chose our No. 38 Ford to help them convey the message about the upcoming digital television transition taking place next year," Gilliland said. "This is a very big undertaking to convert the entire country to digital services, but the end result will be improved picture and sound quality and those are definitely important factors to NASCAR fans.”


Financial terms of the sponsorship were not disclosed.

FCC to sponsor David Gilliland's Yates Racing ride - Sprint Cup Series | SceneDaily.com - NASCAR News


Your tax dollars at work. Next thing you know we will have a president say 'Gentleman, start your engines....'. Oh I forgot, we had that already.

Mickey Mouse Tries to Register to Vote - FOXNews.com Elections

Mickey Mouse is as American as apple pie, and he has starred in films, TV shows and video games. But apparently he can't vote.

Florida elections officials rejected Mickey's application this summer. It is unclear whether Mickey tried to register as a Democrat or a Republican. But the application included a stamped logo of ACORN, the community organizing group that is facing accusations of voter registration fraud.

ACORN -- which has a history of voter fraud allegations -- acknowledged its logo was on the application but said its workers routinely scan all suspicious applications.

"We don't think this card came through our system," Brian Kettenring, ACORN's head organizer in Florida, told the St. Petersburg Times.

Mickey Mouse Tries to Register to Vote - FOXNews.com Elections

I guess I do not understand how this could happen.  If it has the stamped logo of ACORN, and if ACORN has done questionable voting drives in the past, then how can Mr. Kettering say that he did not think it came through their system.

You see, I have said it here before, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck.  Please fix your system or get out of the business.  If a conservative based group were doing this there would be screams of protest.

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This scares me

From FoxNews GretaWire (Greta Van Susteren)

450 pages that they are going to vote on and the almost 0% chance that they have read it all (or any part of it at all). 

They want to vote on a economic stimulus bill to bail on the banks  but they have no idea what is in it.  I say leave everything alone.  It took us a while to get into this problem and we are not going to fix it by going to the government and asking for money.  Sure it will hurt.  Getting fat hurts, but the diet to loose weight hurts.  We have been feeding at the pig trough too long.  Time to go on a diet.

IANAE though....

One more thing...  if pro is the opposite of con then progress is the opposite of....... (fill in the blank, it should be obvious)

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Tell the Children

New post on my Sermon notes page. Tell the Children is from Jack Hayford and is a podcast that I get from him. It deals with what we should show of our Christian faith to our children and how and uses the Bible to show it.

Twittering the Debate: Amateur Pundits Plan to Sound Off - America’s Election HQ

Now that Barack Obama and John McCain are definitely and unequivocally going to debate on Friday night, a popular micro-blogging site is making it easy for just about anyone to be an instant political pundit.

Let the twittering begin.

Twitter, the online communication network that lets users post short messages of up to 140 characters called “tweets,” has launched a political section to streamline its coverage.

Called election.twitter.com, the company has launched a specialized section that aggregates election-related topics in a continually updating feed.

Twittering the Debate: Amateur Pundits Plan to Sound Off - America’s Election HQ


I guess that 15 minutes of fame are now measured in seconds now and are accumulative.  I use Twitter but I find this kind of weird.  Especially because the system is overloaded and this can only attract new users who try to add to their total to get their 15 min. of fame.

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Jamie Lynn Spears says motherhood so much fun | Reuters

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Teenage mom Jamie Lynn Spears, sister of pop star Britney Spears, showed off her new baby girl in an OK! magazine exclusive on Wednesday and said being a mother was "so much fun."

Jamie Lynn Spears says motherhood so much fun | Reuters

Great, that is all we need.  A bunch of teenage girls (and some pre-teens) wanted to have a baby cause Jamie says it is so much fun. 

Well she has people to take care of the kid.  The average teen will not.  It will not be fun for them.

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FOXNews.com - Director of Will Smith-Founded School Says It's Not Scientologist - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment

LOS ANGELES — Will Smith 's soon-to-open private school is not a Scientology facility, as some reports have suggested, the academy's director said.Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, have founded the New Village Academy, scheduled to open in September.The school will use instructional methods developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard called study technology. And a few teachers belong to the church.

FOXNews.com - Director of Will Smith-Founded School Says It's Not Scientologist - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment


There is an old saying that really fits here.  If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck.

I have no problem with them having a school, that is their right.  When they try to say it is not a Scientology school I have a problem. Scientology tried the same stunt here in Oklahoma a few years ago saying that a drug treatment facility that they were trying to get money for was not related to Scientology.The government knew better since you had to use Hubbards materials to get through the session it was called for what it was. 

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Very few things make me sad to say I am orignally from Massachusetts...

This is one of them. Listen to the man pleading that 'Jessica's Law' not be passed. What type of person can look himself in the mirror after he has done what he says he does.

Marked By Faith: Wordle

Marked By Faith: Wordle

Some one did word clouds on books of the Bible.  An interesting look at the big words in each book of the New Testament.

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NASCAR.COM - Montoya salvages sixth; has issue with Ambrose - Jun 23, 2008

He didn't appear to be having much fun when Ambrose, who was making his Sprint Cup debut in the No. 21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing, got inside of him in the hairpin turn, Turn 11, at Infineon. Montoya insisted that Ambrose brazenly charged into the turn too hard, causing the accident.

"I braked where I normally brake, and the 21 just dive-bombed like three cars," Montoya said. "When he went to turn, he couldn't slow down and I was the next one in line. So I just got punted by him. It's pretty frustrating.

"A guy like that who has never run here doesn't understand the give and take as much, and wants to prove he can race here. It's hard, because guys like that just want to prove themselves. I just ended up on the bad end of that deal."

NASCAR.COM - Montoya salvages sixth; has issue with Ambrose - Jun 23, 2008

Juan, before you open your mouth, you had better think about your previous quotes.  Things like saying your owner pays you to go out there and race hard and win.  Ambrose did nothing more or less than you have been doing the last year and a half and you have the gall to talk about give and take!

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Teen's death blamed on faith healing - CNN.com

Members and former members of the church in Oregon City have told The Oregonian newspaper in previous interviews that the congregation has 1,200 people. It has no apparent ties to other congregations or any mainstream denomination.

Teen's death blamed on faith healing - CNN.com


Bad reporting CNN.  This should not have been the last paragraph of the article, especially since most people just skim the articles.  The fact that this church has ties to others is a key thing.  Most faith churches also teach that you should also use intelligence also.  If your faith is not enough to get you healed, get to a doctor.  My doctor and I belong to the same church, and it teaches the Word of Faith.  That does not stop me from seeing him when I cannot get the healing I expect. 

Articles like this help spread the lies that churches that preach faith healing are backwoods hicks.

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