Wisdoma by Brian Kindsvater

In the UK twins who were separated at birth and adopted by different sets of parents later married each other without realizing they were brother and sister.  They had their marriage unnulled after finding out the situation. 

If they had wanted to have kids that would obviously have presented a problem due to the high risk of a defect, but otherwise, at that point does it really matter as it was an innocent situation?  Or maybe they just decided it was too weird when looking at each other. 

For those advocating gay marriage, is there still any basis for familial limitations since the individuals cannot produce children with each other?  Or what about a brother and sister marrying, but using the egg or sperm or a third person to avoid genetic defects in children?

Indianapolis Colts over the New York Giants.  38 to 17.
Bet you didn’t see that one coming!  While everyone is predicting the Patriots over the Cowboys or Packers, my crystal ball has something else in mind.

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Target Stores announced lower Christmas sales this holiday.  Big surprise.

It must have been late September when their shelves were full of Christmas items visibly right behind the Halloween items.  Target couldn’t wait for Halloween to get over (not to mention Thanksgiving) so they could pimp Christmas.  When I saw the Christmas items while shopping for Halloween I intentionally bought Halloween items elsewhere.
But then, even before Christmas you could see Target lining up the Valentines Day items on the shelves.  Didn’t know Valentines Day was such a big holiday in comparison.  Target couldn’t wait for Christmas to get over so they could pimp Valentines Day.
When a store is always targeting the next holiday it will be at the expense of the current holiday.

If you want to play your XBox online against other players you need an ID, called a Gamertag, to sign up for an XBox Live Gold Account.  It costs $50 per year.

Your ID is associated with your skill level so that you are placed fairly in games to play against others.

If you have a family, say the Brady Bunch, and each kid wants their their own ID, you cannot have a family gold account.  Yep, Microsoft makes you pay $50 per year per account (per child), so this will set you back a few hundred dollars quick.

Multiple gamertags mean multiple XBox Live Gold Accounts which means multiple credit card payments to Microsoft.

Not surprisingly, you won’t find this tidbit on the Microsoft XBox website.

I was recently in Tahoe and went to see the TVs Magic Stars magic act showing at the Horizon Casino.  It was great.  The sleights of hand, magic tricks, and illusions were incredible – occuring just a couple feet away.

One of the performers, Joel Ward, and his lovely assistant Morgan, brought me up on stage to help with an act.  This is one where the lovely assistant is enclosed in a tied bag, then placed in a box and the lid to the box is padlocked closed on all four sites.  A curtain goes up, then quickly down, and now she is not only out of the box but in a different revealing outfit.

I did the padlocks and verified that everything about the box was solid – all 4 sides and the top.

I also got to stand in the box and, OMG, hold Morgan’s hand! (and verify there were no tricks in the box).

It was a great time.

Then, OMG II, she held my hand again as we did a bow for the audience.

Near the end of the show when I was back at my seat long confetti streamers were released from the ceiling.  One landed in the candle on our table and quickly burned.  Unfortunately, the other end was laying on my pants – yep, right where you know what -  and I was briefly on fire.

This is a very entertaining show.  Go see it.  And watch out for the streaming confetti.

It will be announced that the Iraqi government has not met a single benchmark set the Congress for approval of continued funding.  Big surprise.

Remember years ago when Bush said the Iraqi military and police forces were being trained, had a number of ready to go units, and it would be a few months before they could handle the security of their county.

Remember when Cheney said the ‘insurgents’ were in their last throes.

Remember when it was “Mission Accomplished.”  Actually, it was mission accomplished.  That is when our military had completed its military objective to remove Saddam Hussein.  Since then, not enough ‘reconstruction’ and too much use of the military for non-military duties and endless patrolling waiting to get hit with a roadside bomb.

So now the Iraqi government has not met a single benchmark.  Actually, it had disgressed as numerous factions are now boycotting the government.

The Iraqi government, and country as a whole, are mainly killing time waiting for the US soldiers to leave.  Then they can ramp-up the civil war started some time ago.  Then it will be killing time.

In the US, we are killing time waiting for a new President to be sworn in.

First Google brought us “swim across the Atlantic Ocean” when providing directions on how to get from some place in the US to London.

Now, Google Map’s street view images are giving us pictures of men going into strip clubs and pictures of women in embarassing situations.  Good thing Google’s creed is to “Do No Evil.”

Someone at Google hasn’t figured out there is a big difference between showing buildings which might aid someone in finding an address, and walking down the street taking photos and videos of people – without their permission – so that Google can ad ‘value’ to its service and make more money.

I think Mrs. Clinton needs to get a spelling lesson – starting TOMORROW.

Maybe Dan Quayle is on her team.

The United States Embassy in Baghdad has to issued a new order telling all employees to wear flak vests and helmets.  Apparently, those sleeping in trailers this would include sleeping in flak vest and helmets.

This, on top of the long hours, broiling heat, and distance from family members.

If our own Embassy employees have to wear helmets, I take it that means the “surge” is not going too well.  Ultimately, it looks like we will eventually be leaving and abandoning the most expensive Embassy in the world.

Can you imagine going to work having to wear a flak jacket and a helmet – and you’re not part of the military?  Basically, you’re a sitting dead waiting for rockets to rain down hoping you’re missed.