Snake Bytes

Olympic Controversy?

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:40:09 -0800

What kind of Olympics would it be without a little controversy? There are questions about the real ages of the Chinese women gymnasts that won the gold medal this week. Maybe what really happened is that the real He, Yang and Jiang are 16, but they weren't good enough, so in the interest of the state, they were replaced with better but younger athletes to compete in their place.

Making the Poor Fill the Gap

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:58:39 -0800

As usual when confronted with a budget impasse and revenue short-fall, Ahnold's only solution is to increase the sales tax "temporarily". Is it really a good idea to make spending money more expensive during sluggish economic times? Probably not. It's also disappointing that the Dems are on board with this.

New Car Ban in SF

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:49:14 -0800

Once again the proposal to ban car traffic on Market street rears its ugly head. Its this kind of single-minded thinking that leads to a transit first policy that is really a transit only policy. I don't car how many laws you pass, you are not going to get people out of their cars. And shifting traffic to Mission and Howard will only add to the congestion that already exists on those streets.

Bad Analysis Drives Google Down

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:24:03 -0800

Google stock dropped despite the fact that they made 35% more money this year than during the same quarter last year. The reason for the drop? They came up short of analyst projections!!!

Poor Satire From the New Yorker

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:54:29 -0800

The can call it whatever they want. The fact remains that the cover depicting Obama and his wife as Islamic terrorists and revolutionaries is inflammatory and a complete political smear of Obama's image. Regardless of what their goals were, all they've really done is reinforce the efforts of Murdoch's bunch to paint Obama as anti-American.

It's Called DRAINAGE, Eli!!!

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:16:03 -0800

The Simpering Simian and the rest of his oil-lapdog party seems bound and determined to despoil every inch of the country and coast-line for a measly 7% increase in U.S. oil production by the year 2030. Can anything make it more clear which party is ready to move into the future and which one is still mired in the past?

Obama Ecshews Public Financing

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:35:17 -0800

Barack Obama has decided to forgo public financing for the general election campaign. Good for him. Taking public funding is a sucker's bet ever since Kerry got Swiftboated in 2004. When the deep-pocket funded anti-Obama ads run (and they will), Obama will be able to counter with paid ads of his own. He won't have to worry about preserving his funds or depending on the hope that people are smart enough (hah!) to see a deception for what it is.

Tim Russert Has Fatal Heart Attack

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:53:59 -0800

The Meet the Press host who became more and more just another conservative tool of misinformation, has died. I personally avoid all the Sunday morning news shows because so many of them have taken on the tone of Fox News, that it's like watching Conservative policy propaganda.

Detrimental Growing Pains For Twitter

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:00:45 -0800

Remember when Friendster was new and the king of social networking? Then they got bogged down because they didn't have the capacity to support the millions of users accessing their site. Next thing you know, MySpace comes along with better capacity and Friendster goes from leader to has been in the market they practically created. I think Twitter better get its act together very soon, or they'll be the next Friendster.

A Knife to the Back

Wed, 28 May 2008 11:27:29 -0800

Scott McClellan's new book excoriates the president's policies that led the U.S. into war in Iraq. He's got some nerve after helping to sell that war to the American people. If he thought the war and the president's actions were so wrong, why didn't he come out at the time and just say so? Instead he waits until the damage has been done. So now he just looks like another disgruntled, back-stabbing ex-staffer trying to sell book.

Revisionist History Strikes Again

Tue, 27 May 2008 16:41:43 -0800

The Chronicle has an article about JPG Magazine and 8020 publishing. The article mentions the company's "founder", Paul Cloutier, and portrays him as something of a visionary. The truth is that JPG was the brainchild of Derek Powazek and his wife, Heather Powazek Champ, two people who can truly be called visionaries. The whole story behind JPG and 8029 can be read at Derek's site.

Trevor Graham's Just Desserts

Tue, 20 May 2008 14:10:08 -0800

The self-styled "mastermind in chemistry" faces three counts of lying to federal agents during investigations that began with his anonymous tip that set off the BALCO scandal in 2003. His exact motives for blowing the whistle in the first place are still unknown, though I suspect it was related to his competitive nature.

Landmark Gay Right Decision

Thu, 15 May 2008 13:07:51 -0800

The California State Supreme Court has struck down the voter approved ban on same-sex marriages. In thirty days gay couples will be able to legally marry in California. I imaging the right wing-nuts are already up in arms.

Tiger Fight Under Way

Sat, 10 May 2008 09:03:33 -0800

SF has denied a claim made by the survivors of the tiger attack, opening the way for a lawsuit. The City is banking on the zoological society that operates the zoo on the City's behalf, to shield them from liability. But I don't think that will work.

Forget What Yogi Berra Said

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:12:28 -0800

It is indeed over for Hillary. She can't win enough delegates in the remaining primaries to cinch the nomination. That means back-room deals with super-delegates at the convention. Not a good situation. She should just concede and hand her delegates over to Obama and then use her clout to structure the party platform.