Russell Weisfield's Blog

2010-12-28T11:06:00.001-07:00

Sad news that the Cherry Creek Bike Rack is closing . . . . Citibank is full of thieves - I thought that the new law that went into affect was supposed to stop the usurious activities in which they were engaged.

2010-11-15T19:03:00.002-07:00

In addition to John Tyner's excellent video at: http://johnnyedge.blogspot.com/2010/11/these-events-took-place-roughly-between.htmlthis quote has come out: "Nobody likes having their Fourth Amendment violated going through a security line"— Mo McGowan, former assistant director of the Transportation Security AdministrationFinally - an admittance by government officials that the Fourth Amendment

2010-09-12T16:45:00.001-06:00

Finally found a sloppy windows tweak in Vista: http://bogomip.net/blog/2008/09/08/sloppy-focus-in-windows/

2010-06-16T05:26:00.000-06:00

Those people criticizing Israel’s actions are ignoring that Israel is trying to protect itself in the same manner as the United States. Israel’s alleged assassination of a terrorist leader in Dubai compares with the USA’s assassination in Pakistan of Al-Qaeda’s number three man. Israel’s blockade compares with the USA’s wall around Mexico or embargo of Cuba. Israel’s killing of Turks

2010-01-08T07:53:00.002-07:00

Let's see, the Terrorist Support Association (TSA) required other countries to step up their security. As part of these intrusive searches, explosive materials were planted in a suitcase to test security measures - unbeknownst to the passenger! That passenger then had his apartment in Ireland raided. Previous articles detailed theft by TSA personnel going through belongings and who knows how

2009-10-12T09:56:00.002-06:00

OK my latest technological complaint is the iPod Touch. This thing is neither an iPhone nor an iPod. I bought it thinking I could get wi-fi and my iPod together. Apple has totally messed up the iPod on this one though. In fact, the music player is so bad (the auto-rotate alone is enough to kill you) that there are many apps proliferating now on ways to improve it. The original iPod had a

2009-09-28T16:58:00.000-06:00

I went to the hospital today - prayed I would live another year, and was told to go home and for God's sake eat something!Yontif Tov.At Thu GABF, there were long lines and crowds at New Glarus, Jolly Pumpkin, Lost Abbey. Sat. Night there were long lines and crowds at PBR, Miller, Blue Moon (which had run out of their Peanut Butter Ale)! Hmmmm . . . Oh and if Shmaltz is going to advertise

2009-09-24T22:02:00.001-06:00

The first night of great american beer fest (GABF) was pretty decent! The surprise of the evening was a sour beer from New Belgium though the best of the night was cranberry from New Glarus which, amazingly, is even better than the Raspberry Tart! As a huge fan of the Raspberry Tart (I get extra bottles whenever I journey back to Wisconsin) the Cranberry really blue me away. It had a nice sour

2009-03-28T07:52:00.002-06:00

So we just got back from the Governor's Art Show and I'm just wondering why so many Colorado artists feel compelled to paint the mountains so much. Oh granted there was some real beauty in the pictures themselves and artists often paint what they see and hey, if you live in Colorado its quite likely you're taking trips to the mountains - I sure do. It just seemed so trite at the art show since

2009-03-01T16:50:00.003-07:00

I HATE WINDOWS VISTA!!! Why is it so difficult to do simple things like add a folder to my start menu from the start menu. Why couldn't they have made it such that 32 bit programs would work on 64 bit machines (I understand the problem but now my old complete version of Adobe Acrobat - which was fine for my needs - won't work). UAC absoutely sucks. Heck, I turned it off and still had problems

2009-02-27T04:51:00.002-07:00

ROCKY: 150 years ago someone emerged from a non-descript building to put forth the first issue of the Rocky Mountain NewsMIKE: What seems like 150 years ago, Mike Weisfield emerged from a non-descript building to begin working at a labRockY: In the late 90s, to fight its competition, the Rocky sold its services for pennies a dayMike: In the late 90s to help send two thankful and adoring

2009-02-11T21:11:00.002-07:00

Ed Quillen mentioned that his daughter, a bartender, came up with the idea of serving a drink called "Economic Stimulus" that would be quite expensive but no one would really know what is in it. Does anyone know what is in the economic stimulus package. I've heard all kinds of things some of which seem crazy, some seem good, some seem useful to me, and I have no idea about the rest.In the words

2008-12-05T17:42:00.004-07:00

Quick TidbitsMay Bruce Wayne Rest In Peace. The famed comic book character was recently killed though Batman will likely see a new incarnation.In an excellent and landmark ruling, Britain was ordered to destroy DNA information on people who were not convicted of a crime! Hooray! Now if only the US also goes down that path!I finally saw Midnight Express, the acclaimed movie about a drug

2008-11-27T09:02:00.001-07:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!Even amidst an economic meltdown there is much for which to be thankful. I will not list many here but there are indeed many things.On some other notes I am now the proud owner of one square inch of land in Pinon Canyon. This opposition group is definitely doing some creative things to raise some cash.There was a story about a man being charged with criminal libel. What

2008-10-13T08:10:00.002-06:00

Random tidbitsOf interest and possibly missed is that there will be a public sukkah in Denver this year. There was an article about in the Intermountain Jewish News. Also noteworthy is that Comcast is dropping usenet. Let's see, their maximizing the amount you can download (admittedly 250GB is CURRENTLY high but will be small in the future - when there would actually be an outcry) and getting

2008-09-30T09:02:00.003-06:00

New Year, New Thoughts, Soon a New Blog!Its a new year (5769)! Have a sweet and healthy new year! I think it will be a good one!Of course, it started with the news of the Dow Jones tanking. Heck someone at Erev Rosh Hashannah services reccommended saying a mi-sheberach for Dow Jones. It was an amusing thought.Now mind you the Republicans were able to orchestrate the demise of a bill that was

2008-08-28T15:21:00.000-06:00

DNC PT IIAfter three and a half days of the DNC I can say some of the catastrophes that were predicted (by myself included) have not materialized. Granted the closure of I25 has yet to occur but the Invesco festivities seem to be going smoothly. The traffic issues have been mild at best. Heck, they opened Speer more than planned and when I went downtown Tuesday night, the city and streets were

2008-08-24T18:54:00.001-06:00

DNC OBSERVATIONS The DNC has come to Denver so the question is how much of impact is it really having. Are the protesters or police really out of line? Is traffic really screwballed? Are laws being followed? Well with regard to the traffic - Southbound Speer was closed before it was supposed to be closed. This caused a bit of a traffic jam especially when out-of-towners pulled over on

2008-06-13T17:00:00.003-06:00

Information on Arvada tollway opposition can be found at: Arvadans for Responsible Transportation (ART).- Russell Weisfield

2008-05-09T11:38:00.002-06:00

Jefferson Parkway Public Highway AuthorityI will be writing more about this topic over the coming month - considering I'm leading the petition drive against its formation. Its important to recognize that the formation of the authority is not just about the building of a road - its also about the creation of another government entity with eminent domain powers!Russell Weisfield

2008-05-09T11:35:00.002-06:00

Two quick shotsSo Jack FM used to have an announcement making fun of people who listen to other stations to win prizes. Now they are having silly contests wherein you have to be the X number caller. Quite hyopcritical! Playing the music or just playing ads?Someone asked me recently what I thought about all the cyclones, earthquakes, etc. I responded that it must mean the U.S. is getting to

2008-04-25T16:18:00.002-06:00

Boston Legal, The Fox, Popular Vote CountsBoston LegalA couple of weeks ago in Boston Legal they did a rendition of Tom Lehrer's Who's Next. Wow! I didn't think people were still up on his music except for people of my parent's generation and some of my friends. That was pretty cool. Granted this season of Boston Legal has taken a step downward probably meaning that this spinoff of The

2008-03-30T09:20:00.002-06:00

Obama's Eloquence?I don't deny that Obama has rallied and inspired lots of people. I don't deny that a cult of personality has formed around him. I don't deny that his eloquence has been praised. I do, however, question that eloquence.His acclaimed speech distancing himself from Rev. Wright did not deserve the praise it received. There was no change in cadence, little use of parallel

2008-02-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

Libertarians, caucuses, laptop searches, DNA testing, miscellaneousLibertariansSo in the beginning of the legislative session the Libertarians were expounding the virtues of Doug Bruce (who has since been censured) and were attacking a bill that would cut down on automatic dialing machines arguing that it cuts down on free speech. Obviously the Libertarians, who think they're well versed on free

2008-01-22T12:25:00.000-07:00

The funeral for Diamond Lil was quite nice. She was a great woman and will be sorely missed!I was going to write a couple of other statements (including some foolishness by Colorado Libertarians) but will wait to write in order to reflect on Lillian's passing. She truly was someone whom everyone liked.- Russell Weisfield

2008-01-04T08:57:00.001-07:00

Final 2007 ipod playcounts:Eat Out my Heart: 72Pre-Emptive Strike: 51Into the Ocean: 39Mr. Foff: 32Landed 26Carbon Copy: 26We Should be together (1992 live) 24Scott Bakula: 24Don't Stand So CLose To Me: 20Bank Job: 19Karma Chameleon (really???) 19Balaimos: 19Lips of an Angel: 19Bat Out of Hell: 19Cop Killer: 18The Reflex (really???): 18Jack-a-Lynn (20 years version) 18It A'int Me Babe (Joaquin

2008-01-03T22:49:00.000-07:00

Well Jackie and I are back from our honeymoon in St. Lucia. It was great! On some quick notes, I noticed that the Unix Y2K problem will start kicking in this month with 30 year mortgages. Think we're ready? I also noticed that the stupid DNC is starting to talk about a big perimeter next year. Think they'll respect the Fourth Amendment? I don't.- Russell Weisfield

2007-12-16T20:18:00.000-07:00

More quick notes:The Republican House delegation from Colorado - voted for Torture (HR2082) and against tax relief (HR4351) - hmmm. . . . what does that tell you? Of course there was a bill earlier in the year that has a chilling effect on free speech in the name of fighting terrorism. Something about making any remarks that remotely support terroristic acts (like saying you admire Al Qaeda's

2007-12-08T13:43:00.001-07:00

A quick post to keep this active:1) Wedding was great! We really enjoyed it!2) What are the real details of the adverse possession case out in Boulder?3) Why on Earth was Westminster stupid enough to give the unintelligent city manager J. Brent McFall another raise? Boy, the stories I've heard on that guy would make you wonder why he was even hired!4) Congrats to Angie Weeks on the birth of her

2007-09-14T10:45:00.001-06:00

Wow - 6 weeks and I have published nothing! Talk about being a Slacker (and not even the one on Alice 105.9). I guess wedding plans and other summer activites kept me way to busy. Let me see what I can't get in here though. Let me start by saying Happy 5768! Services were good yesterday and I have to say taht I'm quite curious about what Rabbi Mo has planned at Temple Micah for the afternoon

2007-07-29T14:34:00.000-06:00

Food Challenge, Fancher's Campaign, Amusing QuotesFood ChallengeAri Armstrong of free Colorado, will be taking on a food challenge this month that is more extensive than many of the ones tried by various politicians. His efforts are worthwhile when it comes to discussing the merits of various food stamp programs. Is it possible to live on $3.00 a day for food? If so, is it still healthy or

2007-07-11T06:39:00.000-06:00

Luke Staudenmaier was the first to be knocked out in the World Series of Poker's Main Event but said he did nothing wrong. Actually, dropping out of college and then putting 10k of your own money in a pipe dream seems like doing something wrong. You could argue about his play as well since he went all in prior to the flop and hadn't even picked up any antes. It may not have been utterly stupid

2007-06-28T22:53:00.000-06:00

OK, my postings are getting sparse. This one will also be sparse. First, my condolences to everyone on the loss of Patrick Thornton AKA Baron Patric of Blackthorn. He was a good man. My sonnet for him follows at the end. ALso of note in passing was Mr. Wizard. I learned a few things from him.Of amusing notes in the government, there is a contract available for people who will write the

2007-05-14T19:32:00.001-06:00

Xcel Energy being ridiculous, 1st Amendment, Websites noted, Amusing ThoughtsBefore starting I would like to extend my condolences to the Werbel family on the loss of Brian. I send my deepest sympathies.Now for the rest of the blogXcel Energy being ridiculousXcel energy is ridiculous in so many ways. The latest I have heard is that if you don't spend enough that you may be the subject of an

2007-04-07T19:08:00.000-06:00

Lots of Random ThoughtsStemming from a bit on Slacker and Steve in which I heard people were stealing all kinds of things from work I offer this a Definition of Honest People: Someone who tells a thief exactly where valuables are hidden when not even threatened.Why can't Ticketmaster tell me the cost of tickets even when there is a pre-sale? And btw, why is there even a pre-sale. Its not that

2007-03-28T18:52:00.000-06:00

Amusing Quotes:"Its like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, it looks pretty from the outside, but it’s totally unlivable and it’s hanging around LONG after anyone thought it should. But we keep propping it up!" - Kelley Coleman in reference to software we've developed"What would be the Yiddish word for Putz" - name withheld by request"Its like pscyhedelia spewing everywhere" - name withheld by request

2007-03-23T17:31:00.000-06:00

Varoius UpdatesI'm really getting bad about updating this thing. Too much to do to little time. Here are some notes:1) Sunspot's new Album Neanderthal is pretty decent including their track Eat Out My Heart2) Wedding planning goes forward pretty reasonably . . . . for now.3) Boy does Wal-Mart and its allies (like city mayors) not play fair.4) Interesting choice by John Edwards to stay in

2007-02-23T17:03:00.000-07:00

Various ramblingsFirst, I have to comment on http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/02/23/MNGCAO9NSB1.DTL in which the Canadians are accessing US databases and denying people entry based upon long ago irrelevant offenses. See where Big Brother has gotten us!Second, wedding plans are really starting to irritate me. Pretty soon I will probably list all the problems but for various

2007-02-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

Switch of blogger, Bill Crane, much ado, energy tidbit, continued good serviceSwtiching to the new blogger was quite painful! It is now switched over but I may also start looking at some other bloggin sites. It still seems difficult to add pictures and the enter key now really sucks (enter in HTML should be
and not

.------------------------ Bill Crane recently said that he was libeled

2007-01-29T21:22:00.000-07:00

Catch up timeA bunch of quick thoughts as I play catchup after being lazy about posting.1) I am playing too much Warcraft now. Thanks Andy!2) The cities in the Denver metro area really need to clean the roads. It is just ridiculous at the amount of ice and stuff we have had to deal with. My comments at the Arvada city Council meeting on Jan. 8 were perfect (about 10 minutes in at Council

2006-12-20T17:07:00.001-07:00

Cartoonists Deaths, Blizzard, Playcount, DNC, New RulesCartoonists DeathsI found out recently that the creator of Green Lantern (A DC superhero) and Joe Barberra of the famous cartoon tandem that created Jetson etc. have died. More sad passings for 2006.BlizzardThe talk of the Denver area right now is our blizzard. Its closing most offices, government included, stopping mail, cancelling flights

2006-12-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

Hot Tub Snow Angel Hot Tub, KBCO Studio C, Ice Speed Bump, New RulesHot Tub Snow Angel Hot TubOK, this is going to be a modest post but there was one new rule I wanted out there and maybe one or two others. Anyway, I have to say I enjoyed my first escapade of the season of jumping in the hot tub, sitting there for a while, then making a snow angel in my back yard (while still boiling from the

2006-11-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving, Film Fest, news items, beer fest, cute quotesHAPPY THANKSGIVINGI hope everyone has had a happy Thanksgiving. It has always been one of my favorite holidays. This year I had a more traditional one though I do recall enjoying lobster and crab on Thanksgiving instead of Turkey. I also didn't play any turkey bowl games this year though perhaps next year I can get one

2006-11-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

Election 2006, Skul Plumbing, Fruitcake Lady, DMB, Queensryche, Fourteern, Film FestElection 2006Election 2006 was quite a night! I don't think anyone in Colorado batted 1000 with the ballot being so ridiculously long. The Ed Perlmutter victory party was quite satisfying - have a few pictures to post (of course the only one in which I am pictured with Ed was the Farmers 5000 race and I don't

2006-10-19T05:42:00.000-06:00

FBI and Beauprez, Ellis, and continued from previousFBI and BeauprezThe CBI and FBI are investigating how Rep. Beauprez's campaign got information regarding a man Bill Ritter prosecuted. This is the same tact that was used during the recent wiretap flap. I ask, why is the FBI holding such secret information about us?NOTE: This was written prior to the Rocky Mountain News's op-ed on 10/21.

2006-09-20T05:59:00.000-06:00

Bob Thaves, Haroon, Ticketmaster and Scalping, DMB, upcoming GABF, Nodenver2008, Offenders, Clinton hiring assassains, UK copyrights, Art Auction, more politics, Queensryche, and more Bob ThavesAn under-reported event in August was the death of Bob Thaves - author of the Frank and Ernest comic strip. He was quite old and had been preparing for his children to take over the strip but it is sad

2006-09-06T19:14:00.000-06:00

Random RantsI'm tired right now but I feel like ranting a bit. Before I rant though, my trip home this weekend was really good - far better than I had thought it would be. My parents new home is also quite large I might add - oh and they have a ton of art - more than I remember and of which some is even good. BTW, Andy, I now have a Gropper repro:)!Ken Waters was wrongly denied ballot access

2006-08-26T17:02:00.000-06:00

Interesting Articles and side notes Here are some interesting stories I've recently read that are probably going under-reported1) A couple of guys survived being marooned on an island for 8 months (since last Dec.) after their fishing boat sank. The interesting details were in Discovery.2) A local man is still being hounded about a traffic ticket - two years after he paid it on time. In

2006-08-12T13:18:00.001-06:00

Response to Terror Threat, CandidatesI have to say that my heart sank upon hearing of the recent threat. At the same time I was thrilled to hear the British had foiled the plot. In fact the way they did it, from what I currently understand, is exactly the way we civil libertarians have been saying such matters should be handled. The police successfully infiltrated the cell and then REQUESTED

2006-08-02T18:31:00.000-06:00

Perlmutter, Outlands 20 Year, Letters to the Editors, New RulesPerlmutterAs is known I am supporting Ed Perlmutter (not his swine cousin Jordan) in his bid for the U.S. Congressional seat formerly held by Bob Beauprez (who with any luck will lose his Gubernatorial bid - though I am still waiting for a better choice than Bill Ritter). I have to admit though that the ads that both Perlmutter and

2006-07-12T19:42:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays! WSOP Results, Vegas Roundup, upcoming plans, World Cup, books news opinions, Fun QuotesHAPPY HOLIDAYS!I didn't right on the Fourth of July (as I was in Vegas) so I hoped everyone had a good one. I heard it rained in Colorado (YAY!) There were no fireworks on the Strip in Vegas - what the heck. On NYE its extremely raucus but fairly quiet on our nation's birth. I'm not saying

2006-06-11T12:30:00.000-06:00

Catchup, Missing Files This year, babies, emails from friends, World Cup, New RulesCatchupI haven't posted in a while. I guess I've been too busy catching up on things now that school is over. Well, OK also had to get ready for the College of Three Spires first SCA event. That was yetserday and considering that we competed with the Lillies War and the Uprising in Artemesia, it went pretty well

2006-05-21T10:35:00.000-06:00

A New Award, Noteworthy Facts, Races, local politics, Ipod List, Richard Clarke NoteA New AwardI am launching a new monthly award. It is going to be called "The Blacker Pot Award". It is of course going to the person who is pointing out a fault in someone else when in fact it is he who has the fault as in "if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black" or more amusingly "Kettle. Come in

2006-05-18T21:11:00.000-06:00

Hodgepodge and New RulesA quote from Sen. Russ Feingold "I've enjoyed you're lecture too sir" in response to Sen. Arlen Specter who said "Good Riddance" when Feingold said he would leave. What civility the Senate currently has.A quote from a co-worker: "Like I needed a periscope from heaven to figure that out."Props for David Harsanyi in the Denver Post. I find his column to be somewhat

2006-05-12T11:46:00.000-06:00

Grad Completion, Spying and Kudos to Papa Joe, Concerts, Random Thoughts Grad CompletionI completed my final final on Wednesday! I'm pretty certain I did fairly well on it (and certainly enough to graduate). Won't know for sure for a few weeks but I'm feeling quite good! As for my next plans, well I intend to take some time and enjoy not having to go to school and also get some more years in

2006-05-02T20:23:00.000-06:00

School, Voting, Upcoming, A QuoteI know I'm behind but school is almost over! YAY! Party is planned for 06/03/06. Currently will not be going to Commencement but I did go to a College of Engineering banquet. I even got a certificate from it. Woo hoo.Voted today in the North Jeffco election - they have a really bad idea on increasing taxes ridiculously for the sole purpose of improving

2006-04-16T13:14:00.000-06:00

Quick NoteHave plenty to post about that I am kind of saving in my head right now but I did want to post on my Grandfather's first Yartzeit. Busy with finishing school so probably will have a plethora of words posted upon completion - perhaps a pic of me on a "new" bike too, who knows.Happy Passover/Easter/Eid/etc!- Russell Weisfield

2006-04-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

Fees Meant to add this in the last post. I will also be talking about this a bunch more in the future. The thoughts stems from all the fees Tom and I encountered when he was here (including a bizzarre surcharge while skiing). My new idea, and I encourage everyone to partake, is to add a "check writing fee" when paying your bills. Knock off 3 bucks (hey you have you're costs of writing the

2006-04-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

More quick thoughts This is going to be another quick stream of conscious post - term project is knocking on the door.March Madness - looking good for me I think I won my pool regardless of outcomes this weekend (I could be wrong but it does look good).Arvada in the podcast from 3/06 talks about a big study session for money going towards the Arvada center - this is something I am hoping to get

2006-03-23T06:19:00.000-07:00

Quick Addendum: Just wanted to put in a quick link to googlebomb Butch Hicks. Oh and happy belated birthday Jonathon.

2006-03-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

Catch up time - to include a cracked open head, Bennish, Caucuses, Visit from Friends, stupid Quotes, upcoming plans I have lots of catching up to do - not all of it will happen now. I will try and get some thoughts I have been pondering along with some updates of my world.Cracked Open HeadWell, I was skiing on Friday at Crested Butte having gotten free tickets for attending the Colorado Rapids

2006-02-23T22:00:00.000-07:00

Some Quick New RulesNew Rule: If you don't care about a sport for 1460 days out of 1461, don't pretend to care about it for that one.New Rule: Sitting on a bench at a gym and periodically standing up is not doing a set!New Rule: Having to type in a passphrase every time you send a mail on Yahoo is not stopping spammers but is stopping people from using Yahoo!New Rule: Charging maintenance

2006-02-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

Birthday, Death of an iPod, Super BOWL!, Powerball, Valentines Day Haven't written in a while and was really going to on my birthday (Jan. 28th). Things just came up. Had pretty reasonable seafood that day though. Mind you, the day before my iPod up and died. Everything on it was mysteriously erased. I re-installed all the music but it only worked for another week or two. It is now being

2006-01-21T17:58:00.000-07:00

Football, Colorado Legislation, upcoming projects, New RulesFootballDenver has been crazy this week with the upcoming Broncos/Steelers game. Of course, from what I understand, Pittsburgh has been just as crazy, even more so since one Rocky Mountain News reporter called the city "butt-ugly". His column today was a most amusing ending to the saga. I have also been amused at the offers for

2006-01-16T13:55:00.001-07:00

New Year, Shows, stupid news itemsComing soon: Colorado legislation, Upcoming Projects, Football!, New RulesNew YearIts a new year. Well, its a new school year starting tomorrow anyway. Its also of course a new year since I last wrote. Guess I've been lazy about writing - that and actually making this site look like something worth two darns rather than random thoughts. Its coming - kind of

2005-12-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

Happy ChrisKwanzUkahYuleSticeEidI want to offer my annual message of happy ChrisKwanzUkahYuleSticeEid!Skiing, article, band music, food for thought, and New RulesSkiingSkiing yesterday was kind fo fun. It was icy in spots and I have to say that Christmas Day Skiing is starting to be really crowded. Don't people want to stay with their families? Stopping at Fortune Valley Casino afterward also

2005-12-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

Torture, Patriot Act, Searches, Lance Armtrong, privacy, lights, Movies, New RulesTortureHallelujah! Sen. John McCain was able to get his Torture bill past this pig headed President. It really was astounding how much that sadistic President (encouraging torture is clearly sadistic) stonewalled to try and get around that bill. Thankfully, enough members in Congress have a sense of honor, duty,

2005-12-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

Quick Observations and New RulesOther things still forthcomingGeorge Bush said that the inappropriately named Patriot Act was necessary because prior to it federal agents could more easily get a wiretaps and files for tax evaders than they could for terrorist because of too many civil rights protections for them. No George, American citizens who were terrorists had the same protections as Tax

2005-11-30T21:56:00.000-07:00

Reunion, more political fallout, torture, new RulesForthcoming: TSA, assorted updates, more concerts, 4th AmendmentReunionI recently attended my high school reunion and actually had fun. I like many people there, was trepidatious about going. I wasn't even sure I wanted to go. I half expected a lot of reminiscing or one upmanship on careers and success. That really wasn't there. Additionally

2005-11-19T15:59:00.000-07:00

Tull, Rock and Roll thoughts, Film Fest Films, Car ReparisComing Soon: torture, updates, new RulesJethro TullSo the Jethro Tull concert I saw on Thursday (the second one played in Denver) was quite good! Granted I am a little biased being a huge fan but other people have likewise said as much. The setlist is available at the ministry of infomration (searching on Jethro TUll setlist on Google

2005-11-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

Veterans Day post - quick tribute, CIA and torture, Comcast, Film Fest, Halloween songs, Carrie's book, stupid comments, and . . . New Rules TributeOn Veterans Day I find it only appropriate to take a quick moment and thank our soldiers. In fact, I will take a little extra time to honor my favorite soldier, Mr. Julius Sfarti a WWII veteran who died on April 26th this year and whose flag I am

2005-11-01T23:56:00.000-07:00

Quick Highlights - World Series of Poker, ElectionIts late and I haven't written in a while so I just want to put in a few quick updates. First, I'll Be going to the WORLD SERIES OF POKER! After entering a tournament sponsored by IRSA, an organization endorsed by Juila Roberts that works towards finding a cure for Retts Syndrome (Not Turretts) I won a 5K seat at the World Series of Poker in

2005-10-20T20:00:00.000-06:00

Quotes, elections, CFC, iPodius, etc.Think I'll start off with some various qutoes:"Only one thing would be worse than the status quo and that would be for the status quo to become the norm" - Elizabeth DoleParaphrased from the Rocky Mountain News on a pending measure that would decrimalize possesion of 1oz or less of Marijuana in Denver:"If people are too stoned to find their car then there

2005-10-12T06:59:00.000-06:00

Quick Quotes, new shows"God has been lashing out lately. I think its because of all his lovers. All these people saying they love God . . . If they were my lovers, I would lash out too." - - Salaman Rushdie on Late Night With Bill Mahrer"They're putting all the high schoolers near the elementary school""Well, at least they'll be close to their children" - MeOn a seperate note - the new snow

2005-10-09T13:36:00.000-06:00

Mama Loves Funions! Happy New Year!Pat McCurdy offerred the opening statement. Not really sure I follow all the thinking behind the statement but it sounded fun at one of his recent concerts (setlist below).Happy Jewish New Year to all those celebrating. Eat some apples and honey for a sweet and healthy New Year.Speaking of which, I'm a little annoyed I'll be unable to get to see my family

2005-09-26T20:21:00.000-06:00

Quick Events, Songs to play, quotes So since I last wrote a gorram long time ago I've done quite a few things. As I said, I am also going to try and reign in some of my rants and maybe even pop in a couple extra amusing quotes such as Otto Von Bismarck's famous quote of "Never believe anything until it has been officially denied" (I''ll work on some other ones) Shows In the past two weeks I

2005-09-17T09:18:00.000-06:00

Final Rants for a while, Google, BierstadtA Very Good Friend informed that my blog starts to weary the palatte after a while. A such, I am going to try and move away from some rants (gosh I hope I can) and put up some more humorous things as well as neat observations and happenings. My rants for this session will appear at the end of the post (including John Roberts, Wal-Mart, Refs C and D, etc

2005-09-13T21:20:00.000-06:00

CorrectionsDave pointed out to me that Google is not doing the map tracking script but Google maps is being used by gvisit to do the map display. Additionally, it appears that I am missing - at least that's what my High School class told me. I am goign to try and correct that. Interstingly, I will be seeing a High School classmate this Thursday for the first time in ten years. Ought to be fun

2005-09-10T15:18:00.000-06:00

Google, Quick ThoughtsGoogle has some interesting new tools. Dave showed me one involving visitor logging and I found one on sitemap URLs. This when they have been stealing big brains from MCI (Vint Cerf) and Microsoft. Working on the Halting program this weekend among other thigns fro Theory of Automata. Football starts tomorrow for the Steelers and I'll be watching! Crown tourney is today,

2005-09-06T18:49:00.000-06:00

More New Orleans, Rehnquist, Beer, Homecoming, Odds and EndsThere is a constant barage of people asking for donations to relief efforst in New Orleans. In fact, I was invited to a party where the hostess will be collecting donations. This seems a bit on the ludicrous side. I'm all for donating (and am in fact trying to determine where exactly to send my money as there are so many people asking

2005-09-02T09:52:00.000-06:00

New Orleans, Labor Day There has been lots of talk about the looting in New Orleans. The President has said how he wishes to persecute looters. This, mind you, as according to Associated Press "The New Orleans police chief ran off looters while city officials themselves were commandeering equipment from an Office Depot". Hmmm. . . a discrepancy? Apparently during a state of emergency the

2005-08-29T22:40:00.001-06:00

No Searches on American Airplanes, Westminster Wal-Mart, party invitesSo Sen. Obama and Kluger (I believe) refused to be searched on an airplane in Russia. Apparently they were on a military airplane and therefore felt exempt. At least they draw the line somewhere. The planes without the guns should be searched (passenger planes) but the ones with all the weapons shouldn't be. I guess we

2005-08-23T21:41:00.000-06:00

We're Number 1! End of the War! New School year. Random names for vanity searches.After years of coming in second, my alma mater - U. Wisconsin-Madison has finally cracked number one on the Princeton Review's Party School poll. Huzzah! Congratulations. We tried in my day with such festivities as Mifflin street block party riot but you new students really took the taco!*******************I

2005-08-11T21:58:00.000-06:00

Blog Hits, quick thoughts, Off to WAR!I got confirmation today that people are indeed reading my blog. Woo hoo! Granted there is a lot of hits stemming from vanity searches on Google but that is not the point. Its intersting to see people suddenly realize that with the internet, its very easy to have your name spread about.************SWORD successfully got enough signatures to force city

2005-08-02T05:57:00.000-06:00

Back to Regularly scheduled programmingFor regular readers, the letter to Mr. Lozow had to be done for other reasons and of course is still on this page. We now return to regular writings . . . Why is it htat Bush doesn't like a bill that would define treatment of prisoners from the war on terror? It was revealed that Sen. Frist removed a bill from discussion that had bipartisan support and

2005-07-24T11:59:00.000-06:00

A Letter to Mr. LozowDear Mr. Lozow,I have received your letter dated July 14, 2005 and first let me clarify that your letter should really read that you wish to "change the sitution". I am, however, obliging your request for the simple reason of swiftly ending the issue. I admit no fault. I admit no wrongdoing.In accordance with your letter this matter should be resolved. I will assume it

2005-07-24T11:49:00.000-06:00

Quick thoughts on Big Brother:No this is not a reference to Andy (interpret that as you want). I am referring to New York's decision to search people at subways. The ACLU dumbly states that this might lead to profiling. Hello, how about unreasonable searches? The profiling is irrelevant. Its the simple fact that government should not be prying through our belongings. Prickly City by Scott

2005-07-17T11:40:00.001-06:00

More Supreme Court, water, Wal-MartI just have to say - Alberto Gozalez is NOT LIBERAL. He is not moderate either. Anyone who would condone torture is far from liberal.Judge Kourlis's name has been tossed around for O'Connor's spot. I think she would be a wonderful compromise. This is why she won't be nominated.It seems that Rehnquist is determined to live out Justice Thurgood Marshall's

2005-06-28T00:04:00.000-06:00

Supreme Court, new home, reunion, Wal-MartWhat is with the Supreme Court? Their rulings are all narrow and make little legal sense let alone any other kind of sense. Today we had a mixed Ten Commandments ruling that from what I can tell means it may be OK to put the Ten Commandments in public buildings - it depends on what ajudge rules. Hmmmm. . . . aren't they judges?This goes along with

2005-06-19T11:16:00.000-06:00

Serenity, Events, ContradictionsThere have been various sneak previews (or advanced viewings I guess) of the upcoming movie Serenity based upon the Sci-Fi show Firefly. It was a bear trying to figure out when the tickets were going on sale but a friend of mine may have snagged me some for this Thursday . . . **************I can also now say that the apartment is cleaned and I am completely out

2005-06-09T06:39:00.000-06:00

Deep Throat, Copikiller, other newsMark Felt (aka Deep Throat) in the 1970s objected to the government opening mail. In fact it was one of the reasons he leaked information to Woodward and Bernstein. The Bush administration now openly is pushing a law to do just that . . . Have times really changed that much. In the 1970s we worried about communists (a question you still get asked if you apply

2005-05-27T10:04:00.000-06:00

News reactionsImagine this: you come home and find your loved one who has been depressed in recent weeks beside a suicide note and a botched suicide attempt. What do you do at this point? You can imagine extra details to the scenario such as your loved one's overall wishes with regard to living wills (I guess in this case will to live), the exact nature of the botched attempt (drugs vs an

2005-05-25T22:06:00.000-06:00

More Musings - Frogtails, rock climbing, news Dave posted a response I gave to him about some questions he had on my site. I will be intersted to see where Dave heads with this. Hoepfully, Wordpress will also be fully up and running.------I went Rock climbing for the first time alst week. It was great! I think there is also a thrill about the possibilty of dying or being severly injured.

2005-05-19T07:29:00.000-06:00

Frist's IstihlalIt seems that Sen. Frist is determined to move forward with the tyranny option. This to me reeks of Istihlal or the act of making up one's own laws. How would filibustering just judicial nominations be unConstitutional while any other filibustering not be? Hopefully the senate can reach a compromise . . .- Russell Weisfield

2005-05-18T21:22:00.000-06:00

Random Thoughts and music""Dear Mr. O'Reilly,We regret to inform you we are unable to process your families claims asyour name is not compatible with our system. Please contact us when yourname has been changed to something that does not contain apostrophies."- sarcastic comment from Mr. Donavon Buss when facing issues storing special characters in a databaseIron Maiden is being sponsored by the

2005-05-15T09:01:00.000-06:00

Events, inter-session plans, articles from this morning's Denver PostYesterday I attended the Coronation of Hoegaarden II and Chiara II as the new King and Queen of the Outlands. This gave me an opportunity to catch up with some people I've been needing to see as well as fight in the Queen's Protector tournament. I did all right but the rainy weather made footing terrible. Many people

2005-05-13T08:45:00.000-06:00

MAZEL TOVMazel Tov to Jacob and Emily Berenson on the occasion of their B'nai Mitzvah (tonight/tomrrow). Mazel Tov to David Weisfield on the occasion of his Brit Milah (a couple weeks ago).Congrats to my group member Yelena Solomonik on graduation from CU Denver (this week). Congrats to all other graduates.- Russell Weisfield

2005-05-13T08:27:00.000-06:00

Cop Killer The media has been abuzz quite a bit since the point blank shooting of a Denver police officer who was moonlighting as a security guard. My heart goes out to the family and I do hope they catch the piece of dirt that shot him. The police, however, seem to react efficiently when one of their own are killed but not when someone else is. A nationwide search is on with phtographs

2005-05-01T18:01:00.000-06:00

Happy May Day!"Oh it is the first of May, it is the first of May . . . Something, something, something, since 12 O'clock this morning it has been snowing."Okay, I don't quite remember the song as I sang it last as I danced the Maypole at Picnic Point in Madison Wisconsin a number of years ago. But it was snowing this morning!Anyway, Happy birthdy SCA, Happy Beltane to one and all (a Happy Love

2005-05-01T17:58:00.000-06:00

A Rare event - Don't Miss In the Denver Post this morning there was an article about Glen Canyon. It seems that due to the drought, the waters have subsided so much that caverns hidden for decades are now able to be visited again. Thanks to the precipiation this year, however, or at least the snowmelt, the waters are expected to return to their levels by mid-July. Go see it while you can!-