Summing Up the Rest of Drudge Today

Nancy Pelosi proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that she is an idiot.

Jimmy Carter proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is (still) an idiot.

Mitt Romney proves he is as full of it as almost every other politician.

And then there’s this

My brother made a Freddy Krueger glove when we were kids, and I thought it was AWESOME!  To my knowledge, he never tried to slice my face off while I was sleeping, but maybe that was only because I always slept with a machete in hand and my face protected by a hockey mask.  😛

Girls Just Wanna Have Fights!

And teachers are doing nothing about it!  This is news!!!  Local6 in Orlando has video as well, if that’s something you want to watch.  Not for me, thanks.

“The teacher was just sitting there, and as soon as they started hitting each other, the teacher had called someone else,” student Partrick Charite said.

Witnesses also told Local 6 News that the substitute teacher said, “Let them fight,” during the scrum.

First, let me state (again) that it makes my stomach turn every time I hear a fight or scramble for a basketball referred to as a “scrum”.  I don’t think it’s too much to expect professional writers to know the meanings of the words they use, especially when they are sports writers and are using a sports term.  

A scrum is not a frantic melee, but the most complicated and intricate aspect of rugby.  It is kept safe and controlled mostly because its participants are strong, technically sound, and agile.  Saying that a couple of out of shape seventh grade girls slapping and pulling hair is a scrum is like saying that two mixed breed dogs humping Continue reading “Girls Just Wanna Have Fights!”

Do Smoking Bans Cause DUIs?

From the KNS:

”As the U.S. Surgeon General said last year — the debate is over, the science is clear. Secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard that causes premature death and disease in children and nonsmoking adults,” said Conte.

That statement is certainly true, and I’m not contesting it.  However, there is one small detail to this issue that proponents of smoking bans overlook–the freedom to choose. Continue reading “Do Smoking Bans Cause DUIs?”

Bank Robbery? Me?

Here’s something that doesn’t happen to you every day…

This morning on my way to work I passed an Alcoal police officer who quickly turned around and pulled me over.  I wasn’t speeding or doing anything else wrong, but oh well.  I rolled my window down and he motioned me out of the car.  He told me it was actually nothing, that there had been a bank robbery and that it obviously wasn’t me.  My plates and vehicle description were close to that of the suspect.

I told a co-worker about it as soon as I got in, and he forwarded a news email he’d received from WNOX‘s Dave Foulk.  The suspect was a female (obviously not me).  She was driving a silver VW Jetta (I drive a silver VW Golf), and the robbery happened at Northshore and Pellissippi (I’d driven by there moments before). 

Good job by the Alcoa police for a well-executed stop.  I think the officer was smart to pull me over.  Volkswagens look pretty much the same from the front, so a silver VW was a good reason for him to turn around and check it out.   The possibility also existed that a witness had seen a Golf, but thought it was a Jetta.  Additionally, the two of the last three digits of my plates matched that of the suspect.

Most importantly, he quickly realized I’d done nothing wrong, explained the situation, and told me to have a good day.  I wish all traffic stops were handled that well.

***UPDATE***

The KNS has more.

A Simple Grammar Reminder

Conjugating “to be”

I am. You are. He/she/it is. They are.

The last example leads us to the correct conjugation for expletives with plural subjects. For example:

There are many reasons to construct grammatically correct sentences.

not

There’s (there is) many reasons…

This simple nugget of knowledge should be especially helpful for those who want to add a little legitimacy to their assertion that immigrants to the US to learn our language.

**4.6.07 UPDATE**

Apparently there are several other issues that need to be addressed as well.