Roaches

Here's the debate that has been raging in my office today. Any entomologists or insectologists or whatever feel free to chime in here. It's been one of those hotly contested debates with co-workers raising voices, going to the internet for all sorts of conflicting information, and causing hurt feelings and resentment that will certainly cause a sting for days to come.

Sewer roaches--or palmetto bugs or WTF they are called. Do they come up through your drain into your sink, or do they go from inside your house down into the sink to find water? I cannot even tell you the various debates and points of view, all the 'what if' situations and 'how could they possibly know...', all the discussions of P-traps and water evaporation, etc. etc.

One guy just called the City of Mesa to find out. He's the guy who found the bug in his sink yesterday. Turns out when he asked the lady if they come from the sewer through the pipes, her answer was 'probably'. But then she said they'd send someone out to spray the manholes in the area, so I guess he came out ahead. Unless of course, spraying the manhole covers forces the roaches back into the sewer, where they come up through the pipes in greater numbers....oy vey.

Stereotypin's bad, mkay?

Oh man. I have to post an excerpt from an article I just read.

TRENTON, N.J. (Nov. 19) - Online dating service eHarmony said Wednesday it will launch a new Web site which caters to same-sex singles as part of a discrimination settlement with New Jersey's Civil Rights Division.

The settlement is the result of a complaint New Jersey resident Eric McKinley filed against the online matchmaker in 2005. McKinley, 46, said he was shocked when he tried to sign up for the dating site but couldn't get past the first screen because there was no option for men seeking men. "It's very frustrating and it's very humiliating to think that other people can do it and I can't," he said. "And the only reason I can't is because I'm a gay man. That's very hurtful." Neither the company nor its founder, Neil Clark Warren, acknowledged any liability. Under the settlement, eHarmony will pay New Jersey state division $50,000 to cover administrative costs and will pay McKinley $5,000. McKinley called the settlement "fabulous" and said he was happy with the outcome. He's considering signing up for the new site once it launches.

That last line is awesome. If you want to read the whole article it's at www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27821393/

Pirates

They need to make a game where you fly around these hijacked tankers on a helicopter and snipe these fucking pirates right off the deck of the ship. I am so sick of hearing about these cocksuckers.  The next ship that gets hijacked, they should just nuke it. Then I bet no more ships would be hijacked.

How much of a lowlife asshole do you have to be to be a pirate? Who are these fuckers? I need more information to fuel my hatred. And then I want to snipe them from a chopper or light them on fire with a flamethrower. Fucking leeches.

Far Cry 2

I put in a couple hours last night with Far Cry 2. I didn't buy it, it's from Gamefly.  For some reason the game seems oppressively difficult.  I started on the third of four difficulties and ended up knocking it down to the second difficulty. It seems it's less of a first person shooter and more of a first person don't-shoot-anyone. Anytime I shoot anyone dudes come out of the woodwork and annihilate me. It's made tougher by the fact that I can't see anyone in the foliage, just bullets coming out of the bushes.

Also--my missions are always far across the map, which isn't such a bad deal if I can find a car. However, anyone I encounter anywhere along the way shoot me. And then their friends jump in and shoot me. So basically instead of being able to use a car, I have to walk through the wilderness trying to avoid people.

Does this game get easier? I am hoping I can get to a point where not everyone is trying to kill me but I don't know if I can last that long. It is probably a real simulation of what it would be like to be a mercenary in a war-torn African country, but that doesn't make it a fun game. I was driving along a road in a military jeep, and a guy coming the other way in a pinto-esque car RAMS into me head-on and just starts pushing me back. I step on the gas, and we're both stuck on the road staring at each other. So I get out, he gets out and starts shooting at me! I thought the guy was a damn civilian but even HE had it in for me.

In other news, last night my Xbox wouldn't shut off. Every time I turned it off, it booted right back up again. No controllers were on, nothing plugged into the usb. It just didn't wanna die. I finally had to unplug it. I hope it's not permanently dead now.

New Rule

I think if a state is too small to put the letters on the state, or allow for a quick mouseover of the state to view the percentages, it should not get a vote. I mean come one, lining up a bunch of squares in the Atlantic Ocean? Bullshit!

And 93% of DC voted for Obama? 93%?  Really? 93%? Like almost 100%? That is fucking astounding. That's got to be some type of record.