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Belch.Com
Stuff about Belch.Com and General Admin stuff
Rogue and the Robot
Feb 23rd
The kitten got fixed today. When she got home from the vet, she still had problems walking from the nerve block the vet applied. Below is a pic of her shaved butt.
But I also got a cool toy in the mail today. Its a little articulated walking raptor dinosaur. I put batteries in it and set it loose on the kitten. Kitten no like!
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Loading ...Migration Pains
Feb 16th
Posting has been a little light due to spending time completing the migration of this blog from the old server to the new one. The biggest problems have been with unrecognizable characters being inserted into posts from the restored sql backups. I think the errors came from compression issues with the WordPress backup utility.
I tried editing the SQL file directly, using WordPress plugins, but it was no real help. I eventually had to touch almost every post on the blog to delete the old characters that looked like: ?
I used the opportunity to put a google ad banner on each post, so do me a favor and click one of those banners.
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...MySpace Negligence Suit Dismissed
Feb 15th
This is just round one, but its an important ruling, namely that the Communications Decency Act provides MySpace with some level of immunity in regards to online communications.
However, there was no decision as yet regarding MySpace’s lack of effort in providing age verification. I think that lawsuits that focus on age verification will have broad success. From Reuters here:
NEW YORK (Reuters) – News Corp.’s MySpace said on Wednesday a federal court dismissed a negligence lawsuit filed by the family of a teenage girl who was sexually assaulted by someone she met on the popular Internet social network.
In dismissing the suit, Judge Sparks said that as an “interactive service”, MySpace was protected from materials posted on its site by the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996. Sparks explained that the CDA is aimed at allowing Internet and other interactive services to continue to develop.
“To ensure that Web site operators and other interactive computer services would not be crippled by lawsuits arising out of third party communications, the Act provides interactive computer services with immunity,” Sparks’ ruling said.
Sparks noted also that the girl lied about her age, posing as an 18-year-old when she was only 13, and registered for an account. MySpace’s minimum age requirement is 14. The girl’s name was not divulged because of her age.
Adam Loewy, a partner in Austin-based law firm Barry & Loewy LLP, who represented the family, said they planned to appeal the dismissal of the negligence charge and to refile charges of fraud and misrepresentation in a different court “in the very near future”.
Family protection groups have criticized MySpace, saying the Rupert Murdoch-controlled company had failed to provide safeguards such as age verification rules to protect its large group of teen users.
The girl was lying about her age, so how if MySpace supposed to prevent that? Easy. No more free accounts. If every account holder was required to pay an annual fee with a credit card, there would be no more inappropriate underage use of the site. And the url of the personal profile should show up in the bill so even if a card is stolen and used to access the site, the credit card account holder would be notified of the usage and address of the myspace page.
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...Valentine’s Day
Feb 14th
I almost blew Valentine’s Day. I was working from home due to the ice in Northern Virginia and the wife presented me with a great card and a bottle of my favorite wine- a 2002 bottle of Norton Estate from Chrysalis Vineyards.
I was going to present her with her Valentine’s Day present- a nice collection of truffles from Godiva Chocolates. But realized in horror that it was locked in the trunk of my car, which was at the body shop across town, having the bumper replaced! I drove across town in the rental vehicle to retrieve the chocolates. Hopefully they will thaw out tonight.
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...God Still Hunting NOLA Residents
Feb 13th
God has it in for New Orleans, or as Ray Nagin calls it, “Chocolate City.” God did his best to wipe out the Bayou City with Katrina. Those the storm didn’t kill, he used rampant murder rates to take out more. Not quite satisfied, God sent a tornado after survivors hiding in those FEMA trailers. And he got one too.
From the AP here:
NEW ORLEANS – A powerful storm and likely a tornado hit the New Orleans area early Tuesday, killing an elderly woman, injuring at least 15 other people, and damaging dozens of business and homes in a region still trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina.
An 85-year-old woman died in the city’s Gentilly neighborhood, one of the areas hit hardest by Katrina 18 months earlier. Stella Chambers died after the twister slammed into her FEMA trailer, ripping it and their newly renovated home apart and scattering debris about 200 feet to the Industrial Canal levee.
In the New Orleans area, FEMA trailers were tossed around, homes collapsed, and the wind tore the roof off a hotel across the river in Westwego.
Mike Wiener, spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said FEMA had assessment teams in the areas affected by the storm.
“Right now our concern is with the safety of the travel trailer residents,” he said. “We’re going to get them adequate housing as soon as possible, whether it be a hotel room or another trailer.”
Democrats are still scrambling to figure out a way to blame this latest weather in New Orleans on George Bush.
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...Robertson Calls Down Vengeance?
Feb 12th
Who knows if this story is true? I kinda doubt it since the bodybuilder is pretty crazy too. After all, the bodybuilder recently fired his own lawyers so he can represent himself in this case, which is a bad move in any legal case.
From the DailyPress here:
NORFOLK — A Texas bodybuilder suing Pat Robertson contends the religious broadcaster walked into federal court for a legal proceeding and told him: “I am going to kill you and your family.”
Robertson has been touting his “age-defying” weight-loss shake for five years on his Virginia Beach-based Christian Broadcasting Network talk show “The 700 Club,” offering the recipe free to any viewer who requested it.
Busch contacted the show in 2005, saying he had slimmed down from 400 to 200 pounds by drinking the shake. CBN showed his before-and-after photos 20 times in a promotional spot and flew Busch to Virginia Beach for a live TV interview with Robertson.
Busch says he didn’t know when he contacted CBN that Robertson recently had licensed his shake for commercial distribution by a nationwide health-food chain. He sued Robertson in September 2005, alleging that the broadcaster used his image for a commercial purpose without compensating him.
I think the biggest news of this story is that Pat has his own shake! Yummy! Godly Goodness in powder form.
Maybe its the shake that allows him to legpress one ton! You can buy some of it here. Its fat free and Satan free!
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...Anna Nicole Tainted My HoneyMoon Memories
Feb 9th
For the first couple of nights of my Honeymoon, my wife and I stayed in South Florida before we embarked on our cruise. One of our fondest memories is the night we stayed at the beautiful Hollywood Hard Rock Hotel complex. We didnt gamble, but we thoroughly enjoyed the outdoor restaurants and nightclubs.
Now the Hard Rock is going to be famous for the next few years as the place of death for Anna Nicole Smith. The drug-addled woman checked into a plush hotel room at the Hard Rock, started swilling children’s cough medicine, passed out several times, and choked to death on her own vomit. Niiiiiccce.
Anna Nicole’s cash is going to be squabbled over for years to come.
Hopefully no one will let her death deter them from visiting the Seminole Hard Rock. It is a fabulous place for a weekend getaway. They have outstanding restaurants, a Harley Davidson store, high fashion shopping, a beautiful swimming pool complex, and fun night spots. If you are looking for an adult getaway to a warm location, check out their site.
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...Six Weird Things About Me
Jan 30th
Bazl from Nosumo.com tagged me, asking that I follow her post about six weird things about her with a post of my own.
THE RULES:
Each player of this game starts with 6 weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don t forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog.
Like Bazl, I really don’t comment on some peoples’ blogs enough to account for six. She did two, so I will do two as well. Maybe Kristen and Poppy.
Okay, my list-
- I collect belches. Since I have had my domain for so long, I have amassed a hefty collection of digitally recorded belches. Gross, yeah. Often very funny. But collecting them makes me weird.
- Wormholes gross me out. No, I’m not talking about Star Trek lore- I mean real trails left behind in rotting wood or ground where worms have blazed a trail. I have no idea why it makes my skin crawl, but it does. When I used to weld for a living, a flaw in the finished product could produce metallic “wormholes” in the surface of the weld, and it always creeped me out.
- I was once the “best man” at a lesbian wedding. It was a beautiful civil ceremony between a co-worker of mine and her partner. I have lost contact with her over the years and often wonder how the “marriage” worked out.
- When it comes to tear-jerker movies, I often roll my eyes, or worse, secretly take delight in the fact that the leading lady keeps botching her attempts to get the man of her dreams. But in the Spider-man movies, when Mary Jane calls Peter Parker “tiger” I get a little misty.
- I think the dirtiest spot on any person’s body is the belly button. Watching anyone dig into their navel and pull out a wad of linty goodness would make me throw up in my mouth.
- I am hopelessly fascinated at watching short-order cooks cooking over a large griddle with that long spatula. They cook everything with butter, are super quick with the orders, and skilled at their jobs. I find myself sometimes a little envious of their ability. Its one skill I secretly want to learn and master. But I would never want to be a short-order cook.
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...I Melt in Your Mouth
Jan 26th
I always wondered how I would look with a hard candy shell. Now thanks to www.becomeanmm.com, I have my answer. I don’t think this one is as cool as the South Park Character generator, but it is still fun. Stop over and “Emmandemm-ize” yourself today!
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...Blog Migration to New Server
Jan 22nd
I will be working to move this blog to a higher capacity server over the next few days. Unfortunately, the new server will not recognize the URL for this blog as it exists now.
The old URL is www.belch.com/~blog
The new one is www.belch.com/blog
DNS will be updated in a few days and the change will take effect then. So please bear with me.
Please update your RSS feeds and bookmarks to reflect the new address.
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...Loving the Weather
Jan 6th
Half the country is experiencing an ice age and my half is experiencing a freakish warm January. It was warm enough that I could open and assemble my Christmas Present, my blue Weber One Touch grill!
It is an awesome grill. Funny thing is that it did not come with assembly directions, or at least, mine didn’t. Weber thinks that if you are man enough to run a grill, you are man enough to figure out how to put the thing together.
So it was two-inch thick sirloins on the grill tonight along with some of Virginia’s finest red wine to toast the great weather. There’s just something great about the flavor of a charcoal grilled steak.
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...Politics. Its a Dirty Job.
Jan 3rd
The 2008 Presidential Politics are already heating up. On the news today I heard that Barak Obama, the Illinois Senator who wants to be the first black president admitted to smoking pot and doing lines of cocaine. And now the newspapers such as the Washington Post are saying that yes, its about time we had a President who admitted to doing coke. Its funny, but when Bush was running for President, there were no democrats that could be found that thought it was okay if Bush had done coke. Even though there was no evidence of such behavior, it made liberals insane. But the usual double standard applies if its one of their own guys.
Also, John Edwards went down to the worst area of New Orleans, still devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and held a clean shovel in his clean hands with his clean clothes and perfect hair, and announced that he was running for President. What a putz. He should try to use that shovel to help the people of New Orleans to rebuild their homes.
I was impressed at the work that Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs did down in New Orleans helping with home reconstruction and neighborhood cleanup. It showed how gritty and tough that work is down there. Mike Rowe spent days shooting to show the efforts it took to get just one home ready for refurbishment. John Edwards showed up long enough to appear on camera and pretend that he was genuinely concerned. He did not sully his manicured nails.
That’s why I want to be the first blogger to call for Mike Rowe to tackle the dirty job of Presidential Politics. Mike knows what real mud slinging is like, and he is not afraid to step up and get his hands dirty. He has strong stage presence, is extremely likable and would probably poll very highly with the ladies. Most men would view him as honest and tough, and willing to work to get the job done.
And the new season of Dirty Jobs starts next week.
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...Holiday Home Improvements
Jan 2nd
Posting has been particularly light because I have spent much of my long holiday weekend working in my basement. It is the first phase of creating a nursery for Baby Belcher.
The upstairs guest bedroom is going to be the nursery. But in order to change that room into a nursery, the furniture must be moved to the basement spare bedroom.
But the basement spare bedroom is the Art Room. So the Art Room needs to be moved to the basement family room. And in order to move all of the Art Room stuff, which includes paints, clay, beads and other stuff, I had to create a workspace, and preferably something sturdier than the card table we were using before.
So I bought and assembled some base cabinets and topped them with a solid countertop. (pictured above.) Its pretty nifty, has room for storage, and is a great height for either standing or sitting on a tall stool or chair. We can now move the rest of the supplies from the Art Room to the new workspace. When we get a few extra bucks, we will also install some hanging cabinets and more corner shelving.
Now we have an empty Art Room that we are going to spackle and paint to turn it into the new Guest Bedroom.
As an aside, it should be noted that I shopped both Home Depot and Lowes to plan and build this project. Lowes had everything I needed at great prices. Home Depot had very little in the way of base cabinets and no counters in stock. I will likely be using Lowes for the rest of the nursery projects.
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...Happy New Year!
Jan 1st
I was at a great concert tonight at a local pub and was able to catch parts of the New York Times Square Celebration on NBC. That show featured Carson Daly and thousands of people wearing foam rubber Chevy hats.
I’m one of the biggest Chevy fans around. But I get creeped out at the idea of Chevy sponsoring a New Year’s eve. New Year’s Eve should be sponsored by MADD. New Year’s Day should be sponsored by Alka Seltzer, which is still one of the best hangover cures.
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...Beatles Stamps
Dec 28th
A set of stamps featuring the Beatles Album covers are expected to be released in England on January 9th. I just ordered the First Day Cover, which features all of the stamps, canceled on the day of issue. The reverse of the envelope will feature the backs of the album covers. You can buy Beatles Stamps from the Royal Mail here.
The stamps are irregularly shaped to appear like a stack of albums. The wife must possess all things Beatles, so even as a sometimes philatelist, this is a must buy for me.
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...I Feel Violated and Dirty
Dec 28th
My whole life has passed by so far without me sitting down on my living room sofa to watch violent gay porn. At least until last night.
We watched Jackass 2 on DVD. Those. Sick. Bastards! I was uncomfortable the entire time I was watching, and several times my wife had to leave the room. Once she puked in her mouth a little, but she’s pregnant, and I was surprised it didn’t happen more than just that one time.
But Knoxville’s gang of idiots have totally degraded from tasteless stunts to hard core man on man action. There was the streaking, the nut slaps, the glory hole and the snake, buttplay, and way too many ballsacks. I doubt I would have seen as much full frontal male nudity in most pornos.
Was it entertaining? Highly! I laughed many times, but I must confess that my favorite parts were when horrible injuries were inflicted. I took much delight when an anaconda munched on Johnny’s arm. But when it was over, I felt dirty.
Here’s to hoping they make Jackass 3, the plot of which should be a man orgy followed by the severing of limbs.
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...Christmas at Arlington National Cemetary
Dec 24th
It is a mild Christmas Eve in Washington DC. My Wife’s Grandmother is in town and we drove in to the city to see where her husband is interred. The wreaths in front of the grave markers are beautiful, and it adds to the peaceful tranquility of those hallowed grounds.
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...BelchSpeak’s Best of 2006
Dec 14th
2006 was a remarkable year in my life, and much of it was documented on the pages of this blog. This post should be considered a year-end restrospective on the events and items that I found to be among the most outstanding. Click on any item below to see a story or collection of stories that were among the very best of 2006.
Identity Theft is Still a Problem
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...Christmas Postage Stamps
Dec 3rd
We are getting ready to send out Christmas cards and wanted to buy some nice Holiday themed stamps from the US Post Office. They have one for Muslims. They have a cute dradle for Hanukkah. But they have lame snowflakes for Christmas. So I decided to make my own stamps for Christmas cards this year. You can do that at stamps.com. The image on mine will be the picture below.
Rogue the Christmas kitten. I was shocked that she let us put that teddy bear sweater on her.
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(No Ratings Yet. Rate It!) Loading ...World AIDS Day
Dec 1st
President Bush has done more to stamp out AIDS than any other leader in any other country in the world EVER. In some parts of Africa the HIV/AIDS infection rate is topping 89 percent. And AIDS activists still try to give GWB a hard time because he has made abstinence part of his fight against AIDS.
From the AFP here:
US President George W. Bush joined other leaders around the world in renewing a vow to combat a disease that has claimed more than 25 million lives in 25 years and for which a cure and vaccine remain dismayingly elusive.
“The pandemic of HIV/AIDS can be defeated, and the United States is willing to take the lead in that fight,” he said.
Bush spelled out Washington’s leading role as a funder for access to AIDS drugs in poor countries, but he also put a big emphasis on promoting abstinence.
That tactic is derided by many AIDS activists as moralizing and unworkable, even potentially dangerous, for young people at the dawn of their sexual lives. These campaigners plead instead for sex education and access to condoms.
Fighting AIDS “includes the ABC approach, encouraging abstinence, being faithful, and using condoms, with abstinence as the only sure way to avoid the sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS,” said Bush.
Africa is full of superstitious people, some of which believe that if they have sex with a virgin, the AIDS virus will disappear. You wanna talk about dangerous ideas? How about children as young as 6 months being raped for a false belief that it will cure AIDS?
The only sure way to avoid sexual transmission of HIV is abstinence. As long as President Bush keeps writing bigger checks to fight AIDS than anyone else in the world, AIDS activists should shut the hell up.
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