Better late than never.

Jim Riley’s got two questions.  First:

If you were going to go on a spur of the moment trip to Argentina, what would you do there?

Hike naked in the mountains.

Then:

What do you think of the new rock supergroup “Chickenfoot”?

I actually had never heard of them before you mentioned them but checking out their MySpace it’s… well, interesting. I’ll have to give them more of a listen to really form a full opinion.

Bradley Robb brings the pain:

Any truth to the rumor that you own the entire Britney Spears discography?

Not a bit of truth at all. Nope. Not one bit. Ahem…

And on the subject of pie, do you recall the episode of Clarissa Explains It All when she went on that game show with her brother and he gave the definition to pie, when the host was really looking for the definition to pi? After all these years, do you still think that he got robbed?

I missed that episode, but that does sound like robbery to me. I mean, if they’re not going to clearly define which pie/pi then it should be based on importance and pie is much more important than pi.

Krystal’s getting the itch to make some changes at CCC:

I have been contemplating giving the blog a face lift and a makeover. Do you have any good suggestions for new themes, etc.?

I’ll have to dig some up. That’d make a pretty good post, so give me some time and I’ll churn something up for ya and everyone else sharing some of my favorite WordPress themes.  Cause there are plenty out there that are pretty darn sweet.

Thanks!

Any time.

Steven Latimer finally moves up in the world:

Jay, I finally got around to upgrading to Internet Explorer 8. Is this supposed to increase my self-worth?

Kinda. In a Microsoft world, sure. But if you really wanna feel good about yourself and be super sexy you need to upgrade to Firefox.

And John Doe came at me machine gun style with some real meaty questions:

I’ll give you a quiz:

Awesome. Let’s do this.

1. Did you vote for Obama or McCain?

Yes.

2. Who would you have preferred for President if it wasn’t Obama or McCain?

Me.

3. Your stance on SSM?

No thanks.

4. Raise taxes due to decreased revenue or decrease spending?

Buy a cabin in the woods, operate out of there.

5. Constitution: “Original intent” or “living, breathing document”?

Roll 2 D20 against to check.

6. More pro-prosecution/pro-defendant? (Yeah, I KNOW that is vague. And your point is?)

Why does it have to be either?

7. Civil litigation: More pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant? (Ditto.)

See answer to #6.

8. More pro-union or pro-business? (OK, that question could take hours to answer.)

See answer to #6, though you also forget factor three: pro-worker. And factor four: pro-me.

9. Your favorite American President ever.

Me. See answer to #2.

10. Paper or plastic?

Paper is dying and plastic tastes weird.

11. Jessica Biel or Jessica Alba?

See, that’s a tough one. While I respect the fiscal policies of Biel I’m a little hesitant on her social stances, especially in light of a recent Supreme Court decision on the nature of Blingo and its impact on whaling in the James River. Alba, on the other hand, has no fiscal policy and certain parts of her anatomy seem to have their own gravitational pull. That said, were the two able to breed with one another, they’d probably have an ugly baby because that’s just the way it goes.

12. Ginger or Mary Ann?

See answer to #11, only replace Biel with Mary Ann, whaling with Jell-O and Blingo with Mark Sanford.

Don’t worry about pidgeon-holing yourself, I’ll do it for you…

Appreciate that. Will there be beer?

It’s Wednesday!

If you’re feeling saucy enough, ask me questions and I’ll answer them. Maybe you want my opinion on something. Or maybe you’re wondering my philosophical feelings on pie. I dunno, toss me a bone and let’s see what happens.

OK, so it’s not Wednesday but so what.  Ask me a question and I’ll give you an answer!  Good times!

Jeremy has a serious question, actually:

Nice look! I need to make my blog simpler without sacrificing the aesthetic.

Thanks. It’s temp but I’m always a big fan of simple designs. Just don’t think I have the meat in my content to really justify it.

My question is: what’s your opinion on the Employee Free Choice Act?

I am opposed to it.  I understand where there is concern in terms of coercion on the part of a business to keep unions out, but I think trading that coercion for one from Union goons who are not just looking out for themselves but the good of paid Union leaders is not a viable option in ensuring proper rights for the worker.

I think that what you’re seeing among Unions is the same crisis being faced by, say, print news media.  They have failed to adapt with the times while the public and market have.  The purpose of unions was to help negotiate and ensure a fair work environment for employees.  But over time that has come to be the norm as a combination of fear of unions and free market movements have led to the need for businesses to provide a proper environment for their employees.

But unions can’t handle this.  Instead they demand the right to force themselves into work environments that do not ultimately need them.

For example, let’s look at Ukrops.  Say what you will about Ukrops, from all accounts I have heard on the inside they treat their employees right.  And they are a non-union shop.  Yet when the came to Fredericksburg the unions came out in force, screaming their heads off that Ukrops was bad for workers and bad for Fredericksburg.  Yet they offered comparable wages to the local Giant which was a union shop.  It offered better goods.  It offered better service.

Guess what?  It was a better store.  And treated their employees damn well to boot.

So, instead of patting themselves on the back for a job well done through the years and adapting their tactics and agenda to turn into a lobbying arm for ALL Americans, whether or not they pay dues and sign on for union activities or vote a certain way, they turn to the government to force their agenda and their presence down the throat of hard working Americans who already have the option to unionize if they want it.

It’s short sighted, it’s reactionary, it’s dangerous at a time of economic turmoil, and it does nothing but subsidize bad decisions on the part of the Unions and reward their failure to adapt to the market.

This is part of the Ask J~ Stuff segment done some Wednesdays. Have a question? Go ask it here.

Gonzi asks:

When did J’s Notes change its look?

Sometime over the weekend.  This isn’t going to be the final design.  I’ve been meaning to do an overhaul and this is just a temporary design to force me along because I’ll look at this and go, “damn, I really need to get on that” and come up with my sweet new look.  Eventually.

This is part of the Ask J~ Stuff segment done some Wednesdays. Have a question? Go ask it here.

Jim Hoeft wonders:

How can I be cool like you?

Here’s the thing about “cool”, Jim.  Either you’ve got it or you don’t.

The trick among us born cool is turning that “cool” into “awesome”.  And here is where you start finding the real movers and shakers in the world of cool.

So how does one become awesome?

That’s a trade secret, baby.

This is part of the Ask J~ Stuff segment done some Wednesdays. Have a question? Go ask it here.

Every now and then I take Wednesday and make it “Ask Jason Something Awesome!” day.  I think I’ll make this one of those Wednesdays:

If you’re feeling saucy enough, ask me questions and I’ll answer them. Maybe you want my opinion on something. Or maybe you’re wondering my philosophical feelings on pie. I dunno, toss me a bone and let’s see what happens.

RichmondWiki is neat.  I like the idea of creating an encyclopedia of Richmond and others being able to give their takes and bits of info they know as well.  I’m not sure how successful it’ll be in the long run of providing a good history of Richmond, but it’s already shaping up to be a nice directory of individuals, businesses and blogs in Richmond.

But maybe I’m biased.  You see, right now the entry for J’s Notes is the most popular blog on the site and the seventh most popular entry overall:

BOOYAH!

Part of that is self induced, having announced my personally created entry here on J’s Notes and also on Twitter and inviting others to not only view it but take part in telling the epic tale that is the history of J’s Notes and it’s super awesome author.  But I’m going to ignore that.

YOU LIKE ME!  Aw, shucks.  I love you, too, Richmond.  And to show my love I’m going to pass along Style Weekly’s offer to win free tickets to New Kids On The Block!  You’re welcome, Richmond.

So feel free to visit RichmondWiki and help flesh out the story of Richmond.  And J’s Notes, too.  Have at with that editing and let’s see what happens…

In typical Wednesday fashion it’s your turn to give J’s Notes some content fodder:

If you’re feeling saucy enough, ask me questions and I’ll answer them. Maybe you want my opinion on  something. Or maybe you’re wondering my philosophical feelings on pie. I dunno, toss me a bone and let’s see what happens.

So I did this whole “ask me stuff” thing back right before Christmas.  And I didn’t answer any of the questions then.  I’m awesome.  I might as well get to them now.

Pablo was first:

What do you believe, what are you sure of and don’t you give a shit about?

I believe in the inherint goodness of man.  I am sure that we, as humans, will at some point fail but are capable of redemption.  I don’t give a shit about how people live their lives as long as they do right toward others.

Matt then came in next:

What do you think are Obama’s chances of actually enacting all the change his campaign has promised the American people? As a follow-up, and more importantly, why DID the chicken cross the road? Really, I’ve never been able to figure it out.

I think Obama’s chances are slim, mainly because his “change” was empty and full of vague platitudes.  Many things will happen that can claim to be changed but in the end it is all politics as usual.  It’s not that the system can’t be changed but that Barack Obama is not the man to change it, not when he comes out of a system and network that relies upon the same old ways to operate.

Why did the chicken cross the road?  Because their was a cute chick on the other side.

And Crystal Clear Conservative asked some Christmas questions which, well, aren’t so timely anymore, oops:

Yay!! Question Time is my favorite way to celebrate the middle of the week. I have two really good Christmas questions. My Uncle Joe always makes the eggnog every year and it is super nasty. Do you have a good wine (or adult beverage) you could suggest for those who simply can not stomach the taste of whiskey and eggs?

Additionally, my family always plays a “White Elephant” game every Christmas. Do you have any suggestions on what to throw in (the price limit is $20)?

Thanks and Merry Christmas!
Crystal Clear Conservative

On the beverage, I’d say either Jameson or a 12 year Virginia Gentleman if you were looking for general drinking. Otherwise, I’d say pick up a decent port, it’s like drinking dessert.

A “White Elephant” Christmas present for under $20?  The Office Season 1 is only $20.  Or Legos, you can’t go wrong with Legos.

(This is a response to “Ask Me Something“, a feature where you the reader gets to ask me the writer a question and I answer it. Feel free to join in.)

Crystal Clear Conservative gives me a two-fer:

What are your thoughts on the current General Assembly session? Do you think transparency legislation will pass?

Oh, and another question that is non-political: Which do you prefer BlackBerry Storm or iPhone?

Thanks,
C3-Crystal Clear Conservative

First off, so far so good on the General Assembly.  They haven’t surrendered to the French yet nor have they raised our taxes or pased some sort of stimulus that puts a new car in my drive way.  Wait, that last half is bad.  Hop to it, GA!  On Transparancy, I hope they pass something to help create a more open government.  Sites like VPAP and Richmond Sunlight are great services that help keep tabs on what’s happening and that the government has been reluctant to invest in tools to do this themselves is disappointing.  What’s more disappointing are the reported numbers going around involving MILLIONS to do something.  That’s bogus and either an attempt to scare the issue into submission or pay someone a lot of money to pocket.

On the phones, personally I dig the iPhone.  Having an iPod Touch it’s what I’m most familiar with and it’s just so much pretier than a Blackberry.  It’s like having a computer in my pants.  My problem is the data plan and being locked to AT&T.  Also, from what I understand, the Storm actually requires you to press INTO the screen to click a button, which just sounds to me like it’s asking for issues with the screen and touch capabilites.

(This is a response to “Ask Me Something“, a feature where you the reader gets to ask me the writer a question and I answer it. Feel free to join in.)

Olivia mentions my favorite Super Bowl commercial:

What is the banana/octopus percentage ratio of a Nanerpus? Is it more banana or more octopus? And does it taste like chicken?

It depends on which Nanerpus you’re studying.  The Southeastern Nanerpus (nanerpusicus southeasternicus) is about 70% banana to 30% octopus while the White Nanerpus (nanerpusicus crackericus) is only about 63% banana, 32% octopus and 5% salt.  Sometimes the White Nanerpus is confused with the Siberian Octaner (octopusicus frigidicus) which is 60% octopus and 40% banana but is also poisonous to children under the age of 37.

Much like chicken, their taste depends on how they are prepared.  Raw the nanerpus is pretty flavorless.  But cut just right and place upon a pile of pancakes it is nothing but delicoius (nanerpusicus deliciousicus).

(This is a response to “Ask Me Something“, a feature where you the reader gets to ask me the writer a question and I answer it. Feel free to join in.)

Jay asks:

J:

I want to sue somebody…but don’t I need a reason? Would appreciate your thoughts on this.

Jay

Jay, there are plenty of reasons.  Look outside.  See that person walking down the street?  Say something to them.  Watch their reaction.  Then get offended.  “What’s that supposed to mean, ‘ good afternoon’?”  And then start screaming about something or another being violated or church and state or what not.  Then file some papers with a court, something really legal looking like a college application, and you have yourself a lawsuit.  Will you win?  I dunno, I’m not a lawyer, but if I were I’d probably take your case and demand a 50% cut.

(This is a response to “Ask Me Something“, a feature where you the reader gets to ask me the writer a question and I answer it. Feel free to join in.)

It’s Wednesday so ask me something!

If you’re feeling saucy enough, ask me questions and I’ll answer them. Maybe you want my opinion on  something. Or maybe you’re wondering my philosophical feelings on pie. I dunno, toss me a bone and let’s see what happens.

Maybe I’ll even answer the questions I didn’t answer from last time. You know, when I did this before Christmas.