HolyMoly

Yup, I figured he would be arrested. Now he faces 10 years in stir in a Federal slammer. On top of that, the guard could (and probably will) sue Kirkwood in civil court for pain and suffering. On the criminal case, a lot will depend on Kirkwood's "priors" (if any). If he's got a clean criminal record, he'll probably just get a hefty fine, community service time, and mandatory anger management therapy. But, if he's got even one felony, he's fucked. Either way, I suspect that guard now knows who he is ($$$) and will find himself a contingency lawyer to cash in on Kirkwood's poor judgment. And, it'll end up being Kirkwood's most expensive temper tantrum.

It was one helluva surreal dream. I just hope it was BS and not prophecy.

The Brits get their salmon for canning purposes in a rather unique way: salmon.ram

Now, this is really offensive (grin): chimp.mpg

"Sunny Goodge Street" (the unedited-for-airplay Tom Northcott version)

Yup, that's a mad cow all right, hehehe. Loved it. Here's another mad cow, ala Art Bell (grin). Only this cow uses her madness to save the world from invading aliens: strange2.swf

"Open My Eyes" (Nazz)

It might also be an attempt by Jackson to pre-plan his "escape" in case he is found guilty. The Nation of Islam has been known to give aid and comfort to wanted felons, escpecially rich felons. I suspect that, by now, Jackson's children are either out of the country ... or in a place they can easily be "spirited away" on the QT if need be. And, if Jackson is certain he'll be convicted, he may have his lawyer delay closing comments to give him time to work through the NOI network to disappear. Nation of Islam Denies Jackson Aid By Louise Daly in Chicago (12/31/2003) The Nation of Islam today denied reports that its members were advising beleaguered pop star Michael Jackson on how to handle his child molestation case. The controversial black Muslim separatist group said it had "no official business or professional relationship with Mr Michael Jackson," in a terse statement issued by its Chicago headquarters. "The Nation of Islam joins thousands of other people in wishing him well," it added. The denial followed a report in The New York Times that senior figures from the Chicago-based group had joined Jackson's inner circle and were wielding considerable influence over his business affairs and legal strategy. According to Jackson employees and associates, the Nation of Islam members were first invited to the pop star's Neverland ranch in California to bolster his security detail but had progressed to negotiating media deals and advising him on his defence strategy in his upcoming criminal case. "The Nation of Islam and Louis Farrakhan's son-in-law have taken over completely and are in full and total charge," said one senior Jackson employee, speaking on condition of anonymity. "They have gone in and taken over control of the finances in terms of who's getting paid (and) how much," the employee added. "They're approving all funds and have decided they have control of the business manager and accountant, without signing authority or power of attorney. They are working out of (Mark) Geragos's office; in essence, they're telling him what to do." Geragos, the high-profile lawyer retained by Jackson to help him fight the child molestation charges, brushed off the allegations, saying that while Jackson did consult with Leonard Muhammad, he was just one of many informal advisers. "The idea that there is some takeover by the Nation of Islam - someone is spinning you," he told the daily in a telephone interview. "Nobody has told me what to do and what not to do. Leonard, I believe, is someone Michael consults with, just like in excess of 25 people." Muhammad is the chief of staff and son-in-law of Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the fringe black power group. Meanwhile, one of Jackson's business associates who was accustomed to speaking to the singer daily said there were about a half-dozen Nation of Islam members around the singer constantly, either at Neverland or in Los Angeles. "These people are basically brainwashing him," said the associate, who is also a friend of Jackson's. "They tried to do the same thing to Whitney Houston. They offer a false sense that they can control everything. Everyone is scared of them. They pretty much keep Michael semi-captive." Another Jackson employee said: "They're negotiating business deals with him. They're negotiating media deals, who can talk, how much. You've got a lawyer who's scared to throw them out. Michael doesn't know what to do with them." The employees said that Geragos and Muhammad together negotiated a recent television appearance by Jackson in which he addressed the child abuse allegations. They told the daily that CBS agreed to the interview, which aired Sunday, in exchange for the network's promise to broadcast a still-incomplete television special, for which the pop star will receive $US5 million ($6.69 million). Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department was due to respond to abuse charges from Jackson relating to his November 20 arrest. Jackson's allegations that he was manhandled "are not true"" Sergeant Tim Gracey told AFP, who said a press conference tomorrow by sheriff Jim Anderson would address the allegations. Meanwhile, Jackson's official spokesman, Stuart Backerman, resigned over what he said in a statement were "strategic differences with the way things are going." But CNN television reported that Jackson's lawyer Geragos, in fact, had fired Backerman for speaking to the press at the weekend after he had been told not to. http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/print...8291407,00.html

Speaking of predictions, the Coast-to-Coast AM show (Art Bell, et al) took 2 days worth of predictions from callers. Some were pretty bizarre. Others seemed rather astute. One person predicted that the US would adopt a two-tier currency ... one currency for domestic transactions, another currency for overseas transactions related to balance of payments (and backed by gold). I had an unusual dream a couple of days ago that felt prophetic ... but I didn't call up Art Bell to share it (grin). I dreamt I was in Las Vegas, walking down the Strip around sundown ... sometime in late fall. All of a sudden, the sky turned bright orange and, looking West, I saw three rising mushroom clouds in the far-off distance. One was in an area I believed to be near San Diego, one was in an area I believed to be Los Angeles, and the third was a bit further to the North of Los Angeles and closer (target unknown). And, the last thought that went through my head before I woke up was 'North Korea'.

The EULA was puzzling. The wording seemed to suggest (at first) that installation of n-Case was an "option." But, their EULA did not mention the extent of system-takeover evident in the program itself. My ZoneAlarm was hopping, asking me to grant net access over a dozen times to a whole host of things I'd never heard of before. Makes me wonder about something. I wonder how many clueless people out there install P2P software ... but have no firewall or malware removers. And, it makes we wish there were developers out there willing to design malware "replacement" installers ... kind of like KLite did with the CD_CLINT.DLL scenario of Kazaa. BTW, the dummy/inert CD_CLINT.DLL file also works in iMesh (grin).

Other NeoNapster features worth mentioning -- 3 new running processes and 39 malware registry entries ... as well as directories and files dedicated to malware (and one directory and file that can only be deleted in DOS mode). My God ... I didn't think they could put that much malware in one product ... but, the developers managed to do a pretty good job of it. FWIW, after I removed all that stuff with 2 boots of Spybot, 1 scan by AdAware, and one manual deletion in DOS, I attempted to start NeoNapster without it. The response was a small box saying, "NeoNapster needs BargainBuddy in order to work. Would you like to reinstall it?" I clicked the no button, uninstalled NeoNapster, then manually deleted the directory. Phew. Too much work for one day. Think I'll take a nap.

Actually, the only asshole I see in this scenario is Kirkwood himself. First, he lets himself get all worked up over a parking slot. Then, he becomes verbally abusive to the person who beat him to the slot (there must have been a reason she beat him there). Then, during a time when the whole country is on Orange alert, he assaults a guard on Federal property. Frankly, I say "good show" to the security guard. Perhaps this will teach Kirkwood a lesson in anger management he'd not otherwise have learned. BTW, that "security guard" referred to in the Billboard article was not a rent-a-cop. The Postal Service doesn't hire them. It was, in all likelihood, a Federal Protective Service officer (see their website) or a security guard contracted by F.P.S. But even if it was a contract employee, the guard was still a Fed. In short, by hitting the guard with the baton, Kirkwood is guilty of assaulting a Federal Officer (with the same jurisdiction of a United States Marshall) on Federal property. And, when Kirkwood gets out of the hospital, he'll likely have an arrest warrant waiting for him.

I think the figures would even be higher if they added in "incidentals." I don't know this for a fact but suspect that promotion companies bringing in these groups also provide hotel rooms, expense accounts, limos, etc. ... all comped ... for the stars and their road people. Heck, they might even comp airfare.

Reminds me of when dudeasincool locked me in his bedroom!! Hehe. Actually, that's probably one of the truthful things Jackson said in his interview. But, that scenery certainly wasn't provided for his benefit alone. I've never been in jail but I know people who have ... and that pretty much sounds like any jail you could name. Jails are inhospitable places that look bad and smell bad ... and the treatment he received was certainly not too different than the treatment other prisoners receive. If you ever get a chance, pick up the book "Long Time Gone" (the autobiography of David Crosby - of "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young"). He spent time in a Texas prison on drug charges and his description of prison sounds similar. And, there probably was some taunting. The prison guards rarely called Crosby by his name ... saying things like, "Hey, rock star, come over here." No doubt Jackson was verbally abused or slighted in some way he didn't like. Tough ... that's jail. I just wished they put him in stir with a few crossway breezers (grin), warning him to not bend over to pick up soap in the shower if he dropped it. But who knows ... that experience may be in his future. P.S. FWIW, depending on how I wear my hair, I could be David Crosby's twin brother (grin) ... no kidding. I was once on vacation and was stopped in Raleigh International Airport (North Carolina) by a CSNY fan who was certain I was Crosby (Crosby's photo below).

I watched NBC Evening News tonight. They had comments regarding the Ed Bradley interview: Oops. NBC aired two brief video news snippets. The first one showed Jackson leaving the police station after being released. In the interview, he said his range of motion in both arms was limited. However, in that first video, Jackson raises the "affected" right arm shown in the photo HIGH above his head, giving a peace sign, and smiling from ear to ear in no obvious pain. Further, when the video image was enhanced, it showed no evidence of the wrist trauma revealed in the photo. So, where did the wrist trauma really come from? The second video shows Jackson riding in a limo with fans alongside. Again, he extends his right arm fully out the window to wave (again, showing no range-of-motion difficulties). However, it also shows the car window being closed (obviously by an electric window switch) and "catching" his arm, right above his wrist ... something a forensic specialist told NBC could have easily caused the bruising. In short, Michael Jackson appears to be a bald-faced liar as evidenced by his own activities immediately following his release. And, this should make anybody wonder ... could a person look Ed Bradley in the eye, calmly relate a story to him that turned out to be B.S., and lie about (ahem) something else just as calmly? I'd say the answer is a big YES.

Back in the late 1960s, a long-haired hippie lost his job and was forced to look for work. This was difficult since he lived in Boise, Idaho ... a highly conservative city at the time. One by one, he applied for jobs and one by one, he was refused work. Desperate, he finally started applying for commission-only sales jobs. But, he was still meeting with no success until finally, he applied for a job selling toothbrushes door-to-door. The sales manager saw the hippie and just laughed ... sure that no one would buy anything from him. But, he figured "What the hell," and hired him anyway ... giving him a sample kit, certain he'd never see him again. At the end of the fiscal year, the sales manager was reviewing activity when he noticed something that made his jaw drop. At the top of his list was the hippie's name. And, not only was this hippie his top salesman, the hippie had sold more toothbrushes than the remainder of his sales force combined! He called up the hippie and asked him to come to his office the next day, eager to find out what his sales technique secrets were. The next morning, a stretch-limo pulled up outside the sales manager's office. The driver came around to the other side of the car and opened the door. Out stepped the hippie ... dressed pretty much the same way he was when he applied for the job, his long hair even longer. He came into the sales manager's office, shook hands with him, and sat down. "I'm really impressed with your work," the sales manager began. "But I've just got to find out what your secret is. Tell you what. Go outside my office, knock on my door, and when you come in give me the same sales talk you give to your customers." The hippie nodded, went outside the office, knocked on the door ... and when the manager asked him to come in, the hippie said, "Hey, man, wanna buy a toothbrush?" Silence... "That's it?" the sales manager queried. The hippie just nodded. Then the sales manager said, "Maybe I missed something ... go outside and try it again." The hippie nodded, went outside the office, knocked on the door ... and when the manager asked him to come in, the hippie said, "Hey, man, wanna buy a toothbrush?" "Hmmm ..." The manager was certain the hippie was holding his secret back. So, he decided to put the screws on the hippie ... and be a difficult customer. Again, he asked the hippie to go outside and try it again. The hippie nodded, went outside the office, knocked on the door ... and when the manager asked him to come in, the hippie said, "Hey, man, wanna buy a toothbrush?" "No," the manager replied. "Why in the hell would I want to buy a toothbrush from a dirty long-haired hippie like you?" "Hey, man, just chill," the hippie replied. "To show you there's no hard feelings, have this complimentary candy." He hands a wrapped candy to the manager. The manager unwraps the candy, puts it in his mouth and chews ... then says, "My God, this tastes like shit!" "That's just what it is," the hippie replied, smiling. "Wanna buy a toothbrush?"

Already have cases in your area??? I've not seen any mention of human cases in the news ... at least in the U.S.A. (are you in Britain?). The source issue (was it Canada?) is still a matter of debate. But a few things are certain: 1) Only 2 SE Washington state ranches are quarantined (so far). 2) Only 1 meat distributor distributed the meat. ... and the clincher ... 3) The only parts of the cow "infectious to humans" are the brain and spinal cord ... both of which were removed prior to processing ... making the chance of a human case about "zero" (unless, of course, someone "lied" about the processing angle). I think what we're witnessing now in the media (and around the world) is a good case of "chicken-little syndrome" ala "The sky is falling." I went to Jack-In-The-Box last night and had 3 Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers and boy did they taste gooooood (grin). And I'm kind of wondering (conspiracy theory mode) if, behind this media hysteria, you'll find a few militant vegans - eager to point fingers and say, "We told you so." In fact, I just did a Google search for "Mad Cow" and the very first site to come up (Mad-Cow.org) provides a link to another site for "news, commentary" - and that site is the Organic Consumers Association, a vegan-leaning PAC. One note. "Organically-fed" cattle cannot acquire mad cow disease. The cow found with the disease recently was born before the ban on "non-organic" feeding. Hence, this recent case will likely be the last case we hear about ... ... unless ... Al Qaeda acquires a sample of the bacteria.

And that's a fact, Jack, hehe. It's just that FastTrack downloads have gone down, not all downloads. I'm glad to see someone point out that truth about downloading "numbers."

Remember what I said earlier ... how Jackson sounds and acts childlike when he's being glommed on by the media ... but that when push comes to shove, he can understand very adult concepts and reply as an adult? Bradley had Jackson in a box ... getting Jackson to put the blame on "parents" for their money motivations. But when Bradley put the screws to him about the "current" parents involved in the case, Jackson "knew" Bradley had him in a box and very deftly avoided direct accusations against "them." No shit, hehe. Who knows ... he might get off. He's got the money and the lawyers to drag this out. But frankly, I suspect the court testimony will grind Jackson down. He's used to being surrounded by bodyguards who can "shoo" away the public if scrutiny gets too intense. But the bodyguards won't be shooing away the prosecutor. This time, he'll be unprotected ... though I suspect Geragos has a laundry-list of "excuses" to adjourn proceedings if the intensity gets too high. I suspect this whole scenario will be a test of wills ... between Geragos' attempts to stall process at every possible moment and the Judge's tolerance for them. P.S. Also, remember that Michael Jackson is a seasoned "performer." I predict at least one (possibly more) "fainting spell" ... to delay proceedings. Such spells would serve 2 purposes ... first, delay the proceedings and secondly, raise sympathy levels for this poor, poor child (no, not the kid ... Jackson).

(note prediction #7 in the article below) What's In Store For 2004 If the 21st century has any provided any lessons so far, it's how full of surprises life really is. From the horror of September 11 to the shock and awe of the Iraqi invasion to the exhilarating Sunday morning a few weeks ago when Americans woke up to pictures of Saddam Hussein with a tongue-depressor in his mouth, what's most remembered is rarely what was planned for or anticipated. Given history's surprises, isn't it futile to try predicting the future? Fat chance. With full disclaimer that no human -- especially journalists -- ever knows what's coming next, here are BusinessWeek Online's Top 10 Predictions for 2004, culled from the best guesses, hunches, and bets of our distinguished staff. As the final pages turn on 2003, see if you agree or disagree. Please let us know either way. And a happy and safe New Year to you and your loved ones: 1. George W. Bush will win a surprisingly close battle for reelection, gaining a narrow plurality of the popular vote that will erase questions over his controversial 2000 win but leave him with no mandate for a second term, save protecting and defending the national security. 2. Osama bin Laden will be captured or killed. 3. The U.S. economy will continue a decent rebound, growing at a 4.5% annual rate for 2004 4. The Dow Jones industrial average will flirt with 11,000 in spring or early summer, but end 2004 below that number, posting a modest 7% to 8% gain over 2003. 5. The Federal Reserve will state its increasing concern about the possibility of renewed inflation in its regular policymaking sessions of the Federal Open Market Committee, but it won't raise interest rates again until 2005. 6. Commodity exporters will be among the hottest stocks of 2004. Shares of agribusinesses, metal producers and suppliers, spare-parts makers, and so on will be big winners. Job losses in the U.S. manufacturing sector will end -- for now. Almost invisibly, China will suck in vast amounts of raw materials and commodities, becoming the manufacturing hub of the world by 2008. 7. The Recording Industry Association of America will back off its aggressive campaign to prosecute alleged music-file swappers amid a growing popular and legal backlash and the rising acceptance of a plethora of legal download services. The RIAA will also finally stop blaming pirates for the fall-off in sales of recorded music CDs, which drop a further 5% to 10% in 2004, even as paid downloads explode. 8. The Enron era will continue in 2004. At least one more major corporate scandal will erupt. 9. The New England Patriots will beat the St. Louis Rams in the 2004 Super Bowl. 10. The Boston Red Sox will beat the Chicago Cubs in the 2004 World Series in the battle of baseball's cursed. You read it here first. http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflas...031229_6470.htm

To check your cows for Mad Cow disease, sneak up on your herd and listen closely for one of them saying THIS.

A test for Mad Cow disease. Sneak up on your cows and listen for one of them saying this: MadCow.ram

... and record them as WAV files while listening to them with TotalRecorder ... ... making downloading unneccesary. BTW, the article's author fails to mention that Rhapsody restricts downloads. There are some files slated for "listen only." I discovered that my last time around when they announced the entire Rolling Stones collection was available online. It was ... but some of the older singles were unavailable for downloading by customers. I'll let you guess how many of those songs I got anyway (grin). I was with Rhapsody not once but twice ... and both times, I felt as though I was in a box. The box had a little bit more in it the second time around but it was still a box. Until content-for-pay equals the selection from content-for-free providers, it will always be lacking ... and as big as the selection might become, still be a box.

I have older versions of Bearshare and Limewire and have used (ahem) methods to clean them. BTW, there is an "iMesh lite" out there: PC version only

It would be nice if they did ... but I seem to recall Napster making that same suggestion prior to the RIAA running them out of business. I think it will fall on deaf ears ... again.