Category: News

I’m in. So are Vivian, Scott and Jaime as well as a bloggers around the world.

Via Boing Boing, replace “bombings” with “shootings” and you get the gist of it:

Many people will use this terrible tragedy as an excuse to put through a political agenda other than my own. This tawdry abuse of human suffering for political gain sickens me to the core of my being. Those people who have different political views from me ought to be ashamed of themselves for thinking of cheap partisan point-scoring at a time like this. In any case, what this tragedy really shows us is that, so far from putting into practice political views other than my own, it is precisely my political agenda which ought to be advanced.

Not only are my political views vindicated by this terrible tragedy, but also the status of my profession. Furthermore, it is only in the context of a national and international tragedy like this that we are reminded of the very special status of my hobby, and its particular claim to legislative protection. My religious and spiritual views also have much to teach us about the appropriate reaction to these truly terrible events.

People are going to take this tragedy and relate to it in terms they understand, whether those are personal or political or other. Everyone is going to have their own take and approach and either push it on others or take offense to how others approach it. But ultimately 99% of these people are simply trying to cope with something that is just too much to comprehend, especially with the even so close at hand. Just keep everyone in your thoughts and prayers.

For the 2007-2008 year instate VCU students can expect to pay around 5% more compared to the previous year:

Tuition and fees for full-time, undergraduate Virginia students was set at $6,196, an increase of $377. Out-of-state students will pay $18,740, an increase of $1,124.

Which isn’t too bad compared to UVA’s 8.3% increase or Tech’s 10% jump. Still ends up being cheaper to school, live and dine at Tech, but for those who do their living and eating elsewhere, VCU’s tuition is the best rate.

I’m coming to it late, just now emerging from my cave of an apartment and catching the news. But my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Blacksburg and at Virginia Tech.

There’s been a thread going around MySpace and other assorted sites that Richmond City Council is considering legislation “banning” tattoo shops. On April 10th Councilwoman Kathy Graziano proposed the following:

Res No. 2007-R60: (Patron: Ms. Graziano)- To request a study of whether the City’s (sic) zoning ordinance should be amended to establish provisions prohibiting the location of tattoo parlors in residential districts and requiring conditional use permit in business districts: and to direct the planning commision to hold a public hearing on such proposed amendment.

But what does it mean? Word’s been spreading like wildfire that this is going to ban tattoo shops in Richmond and that this city will lose all it’s wonderful parlors and businesses and the end of the world is near.

But someone seems to have gone out of their way to go straight to the source, contacting Ms. Graziano’s office for clarification:

Email from Kathy Graziano’s office:

The resolution is the typical city way of doing business…Council is requesting that the Planning Commission study… The Dilligaf thing came up and caused Kathy to look more closely at the whole issue. We discovered that there is no prohibition on the establishment of a tattoo/piercing business as a home-based occupation in a residential district. Hence the proposed prohibition in a residential district. The SUP for commercial is an opportunity for communities to comment on a permit for a business. Otherwise, it is a “by right.”

…

I asked for more clarification.

Kathy’s office replied,
“First, it does not affect any current business. Second, it prohibits the opening of any tattoo business in a residential district. Third, it would require a special use permit for a NEW tattoo business in a commercial district. Finally, it would not ban anything. David”

So existing businesses, you’re fine. New businesses, you’d have to figure something out. I’m assuming these are the same types of restrictions that, say, a restaurant would face trying to open in a residential. A special use permit may be a bit much, so that’s certainly something to take issue with. But overall, tattoos aren’t going anywhere, Richmond.

But it’s nice to see people participating in the legislative process.

Seattle banks are finding that a good way to cut back on robberies is to offer the best customer service possible:

Excessive friendliness is the key to the “Safecatch” system created by FBI Special Agent Larry Carr. The premise is that an overdose of courtesy will unnerve would-be robbers and get them to rethink the crime.

“If you’re a legitimate customer, you think, ’This is the friendliest person I’ve met in my life.’ If you’re a bad guy, it scares the lights out of you,” said Drew Ness, a vice president of Bellevue-based First Mutual Bank, who advocates the approach.

When I worked at Borders many moons ago this was their policy with suspicious people in the store. Go up and offer them excellent customer service, smother them with attention, and their more likely to get unnerved and walk out because they don’t know if you’re just doing your job or if you’re onto them.

CHPN.net has a list of roads that are going to be closed this Saturday for the US Open Cycling Championship. Which happens to be at the same time as the next RVA Blogger Meet-Up. Drats, I wanted to go to both…

US has to win to have a shot to advance. And considering they haven’t scored a goal in the whole tourney yet…

1025am UPDATE: Ghana’s up 1:0 after a 22nd minute goal.

1030am UPDATE: 30 minutes in and Ghana’s got three shots to USA’s one. US, with the fewest goals of any team in the tourney, now needs TWO to win and have a chance to advance. Eesh.

1032am UPDATE: Italy’s up 1-nil over Czech in the 33rd minute of that game.

1035am UPDATE: Yay, we took a second shot! And Ghana’s fouling the crap outta USA, 12:5.

1044 am UPDATE: GGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!! 1-1 tie.

1045am UPDATE: USA’s first woal was the World Cup’s 100th this tourney. Whatever that’s worth.

1048am UPDATE: Goal for Ghana on a penalty kick, they’re now up 2-1.

1050am UPDATE: Half time, Ghana leads 2-1, leads shots 5-3, and fouls 14-7. USA has one more half to score two goals and keep Ghana out of the net. Italy’s still up 1-0.

1055am UPDATE: Seems US captain Reyna hurt his knee during the play where Ghana made their first goal.

1107am UPDATE: Game on.

1116am UPDATE: Ghana’s been holding US off. EVERY US sub is warming up on the sidelines.

1122am UPDATE: SIX Ghana fouls in the last three minutes. And Eddie Johnson is in for USA.

1128am UPDATE: Aw, damn, header off the post by USA in the 66th minute. So close…

1137am UPDATE: In the 74th minute USA has used all three subs.

1144am UPDATE: Italy’s up 2-0.

1157am UPDATE: TIME – US loses to Ghana, 2-1. That’s it for USA.

BAH. I anyone needs me I’m going to be outside tipping cars and setting fire to stuff.

Thank God Pravda’s out there to keep us in the know:

Ask yourself one thing: ‘If two five-hundred-pound bombs were in fact used to kill Zarqawi, where did they get such nice photos of his intact, undamaged, supposedly-dead face?’ Photos of the ‘dead’ Al Zarqawi were all over the television every 20 minutes for days.

Because a thousand pounds of explosives would make a deep crater, blowing everything to smithereens, Zarqawi would have been tomato paste and not distinguishable as even human. Yet the media just happened to receive cameo morgue photos to convince us suckers that Zarqawi et. al. were dead instead of evacuated.

So, why doesn’t the head of Al-Zarqawi look like a pizza? Because, perhaps, he’s no deader than the at least seven so-called 9-11 hijackers that are still living in the Middle East.

Cause, you know, the planes just flew themselves. Man, this is almost as good as the Weekly World News, but at least the WWN is ALL TRUE! Says so on the cover.

You know why soccer will never take off in the US? Because we don’t have soccer hooligans. The moment people here get so riled up over this game that they’ll start riots when we lose, that’s when America will take notice.

Just sayin’.