Racist idiocy

Why does Michael Savage still have 350 stations on which to spew his racist garbage? If Don Imus lost his job, why is Savage still working?

On The Savage Nation, a caller identified by Michael Savage as "Kojo" asked Savage: "[D]o you know how the AIDS got there [Africa]?" Savage responded: "It got there because it was spread from eating green monkey meat, my friend. If you study the science -- but I don't think you have the capacity to understand science, my dear friend Kojo." Later, Savage stated: "See, we don't live in Africa where people settle arguments with machetes. We live in a country where we settle it with arguments. Something you apparently don't know anything about. ... Couldn't use the machete so his mind went blank. There, that's what we got. There's multiculturalism for you. There's immigration for you. There's the new America for you. Bring them in by the millions. Bring in 10 million more from Africa. Bring them in with AIDS. Show how multicultural you are. They can't reason, but bring them in with a machete in their head. Go ahead. Bring them in with machetes in their mind."

Lost again

Lost is back tonight! Hot damn!

But it's been so long, I don't know if I remember all the twists and turns where we left off. But thank godz we have teh intertubes to fill us in.

Edwards drops out

John Edwards is dropping out of the race today. According to reports, he's not going to immediately endorse Clinton or Obama, but he has been seen recently having closed-door meetings with Clinton, most recently after one of the debates.

It's sad that those most qualified to be president can't get any traction with voters. Most voters seem to only be attracted to "pizzazz" and "star quality." That said, Edwards would be a great choice as a VP running mate for either remaining Dem candidate.

Aromatherapy

More funny LOLcats here.

Big Oil fat cats bathing in cash

Here's something I want you to remember every time you drive by the gas station and notice that prices keep getting higher and higher, and as you turn on the news and listen to the oil companies express their sympathy for your plight and shrug their shoulders as they say, "Hey, prices are going up for us too, we can't help you."

Big Oil is getting ready to announce another round of record high profits... as in, the highest profits they've ever had in history. And it wasn't that long ago that previous years' profits were in record territory too.

Shell will be at the centre of a political storm this week when it posts profits of almost $27 Billion, the highest earnings ever made by a British company.

The record-breaking profits, on the back of soaring oil prices, seem likely to stir fresh allegations of profiteering.

Texas-based Exxon Mobil, the world's largest privately-owned oil company, is expected to improve on its own previous record on Friday by reporting earnings of $39.6 Billion, the biggest annual profits that the US has ever seen.

Cloverfield LOLcat-style

LOLcats take on Cloverfield.

Where is the sun?

No sun until Tuesday.

And why do people drive even crazier during wet weather? "Hey, now that the roads are slick and slippery, I'm going to suddenly change lanes without warning! Weeee!"

Wet

Are you kidding me? Cold, rain and drizzle through Sunday? Ugh.

Cloverfield

Five Godzillas out of five.

Two word review: Awe some. Two word review, part two: Go see.

The gimmick is the same as Blair Witch Project, except that we get more of an actual story, though you have to piece much of it together yourself. Oh, and there are some cool CGI effects, just enough to keep you in the real world and wrapped up in the story. JJ Abrams has done a terrific job, and the movie ends just before you get tired of the gimmick.

It's really nothing more than a modern-day American version of Japanese giant monster movies, but where Japan's flicks were informed by the specter of atomic bombs, this one is informed by our particular tragedy in the collective consciousness -- 9-11. It's brought home with surprising force by the images of collapsing buildings and clouds of smoke choking off city streets and sending frightened citizens into stores. It's probably no surprise that a friend who was in New York that day has no interest in seeing this movie.

The theater actually handed out motion-sickness bags on the way in, though I laughed and said, "I am far too cynical and jaded to fall for your promotional stunt." However, if you're prone, you may want to take advantage of their offer. At the very least you'll have a souvenir.

And yes, there was the teaser for JJ's upcoming take on Star Trek, set for a Christmas release. So good to see the Big E again, even if it's still "under construction."

Your credit score may determine if you live or die

Imagine this scenario.

You've got a bad case of the flu -- you have trouble breathing, it's been going on for days, and your fever hasn't subsided.

Or, you've slammed your toe into furniture and broken a bone.

Or, you're feeling dizzy and faint and are experiencing chest pains.

So you go to the doctor or the hospital, and after you've signed in you wait the requisite hour and a half or so. Finally, a nurse comes out and explains, "Thanks for your interest in seeing Dr So and So, but we've checked your medical credit score and it's just too low for us to treat you. We'll send you a letter in a few weeks explaining the details. Have a good day!"

It seems that a few years ago you were late in paying a hospital or doctor bill, so the doctor (or the corporation that employs the doctor) has decided that you're not a good risk for payment for treatment.

Some say that reality is already here as far as insurance coverage is concerned, but more doors on health care are set to close if certain businesspeople have their way: The same folks who invented the credit score system for lenders are working on a similar credit score system for the health care industry.

More and more, the entire value of your life is based on how much profit corporations can make on you. If this is not a setting for a dystopian novel, I don't know what is.

The project, dubbed “MedFICO” in some early press reports, will aid hospitals in assessing a patient’s ability to pay their medical bills. But privacy advocates are worried that the notorious errors that have caused frequent criticism of the credit system will also cause trouble with any attempt to create a health-related risk score. They also fear that a low score might impact the quality of the health care that patients receive.

Fair Issac Corp., developer of the FICO credit score, is one of several investors in Healthcare Analytics, the Massachusetts start-up that is developing the hospital risk tool. Another investor is Tenet Healthcare Corp, one of the nation's largest hospital operators. Stephen Farber, who resigned as chief financial officer of Tenet in 2004, is the CEO of Healthcare Analytics.

Several published reports have described Healthcare Analytics product as a MedFICO score, computed in a way that would be familiar to those who've used credit scores. The firm is gathering payment history information from large hospitals around the country, according to a magazine called Inside ARM, aimed at “accounts receivable management” professionals. It will then analyze that data to predict how likely patients will be to pay future medical bills. As with credit reports and scores, patients who've failed to pay past bills will be deemed less likely to pay future bills.

Sneak peak at the new Enterprise

Here's a sneak peak at an under-construction USS Enterprise from the upcoming Star Trek movie.

The official Star Trek XI movie site is now up and running here, though there won't be much on it until next week.

The new Star Trek teaser is slated to run before "Cloverfield," JJ Abrams' take on monster movies opening this weekend.

(Click on the image to embiggen)

Terminator

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles didn't bowl me over, but I found it enjoyable and serviceable, and with the lack of much new drama on the TV schedule, I quickly gave it a season pass in the DVR. The second episode showed a little more development for Summer Glau, and if that continues, the quality of the show will improve. Glau, by the way, has moved to the top of my celebrity crush list.

Hits NOW!

Hits NOW! went live 2 hours and 15 minutes ago. Not a hitch. And the world is still here.

Gas pains

A right-leaning friend of mine likes to say that even though we don't like rising gas prices, we'll pay anyway and the economy won't really suffer. The guy is a friend of mine so it's a little difficult to tell him that he's full of BE. (Bovine Excrement.) But I do.

He's right on his first point: We'll pay anyway. (At least up to a point.) We've gotta have gas to get to work. Oh, maybe we'll try to drive less, only use the car for business instead of driving around the neighborhood picking up hotties, but in the long run, that won't make much difference. The size of the gas tank remains the same whether you pay $2 a gallon or 3.75.

But he's wrong on the second: As we have to spend more on gas, we'll spend less on other stuff. Maybe we'll buy the cheap bread instead. Maybe we'll get the store brand peanut butter. We'll start feeding the cat Friskies instead of Iams. Or maybe we'll stop buying frivolous stuff at all. Later, we'll put off buying the new TV. And so on, and so on. Eventually, the economy will suffer.

And guess what, the economy IS suffering.

And it's the middle class I'm worried about. It's us toiling joes and joans that buy TVs, and iPods, and name brand peanut butter, and clothes from Target, and computers, and cell phones, and frozen veggie burgers... You know, the stuff that keeps the economy moving. One ultra rich guy buying a $25,000 Rolex doesn't impact as much, but millions of us buying yogurt, THAT makes a mark. And when we buy less, it effects EVERYTHING.

Oh, and if you've got 25 grand to spend on a wrist watch, do you really need to know what time it is? Just sayin'.

Invisible window installation

Controlling your temperature

Who controls the thermostat in your house?  If California legislators have their way next year, it'll be them.

Next year in California, state regulators are likely to have the emergency power to control individual thermostats, sending temperatures up or down through a radio-controlled device that will be required in new or substantially modified houses and buildings to manage electricity shortages.

Launch!

We're launching early! Hits NOW! will hit Monday at noon PT.

The raven is nevermore

Juno

Went to see "There Will Be Blood" the other night, but all the shows were sold out. So we decided to take a chance on "Juno," and what a winner! This is the funniest movie dialog I've ever heard. The script is brilliant, and every cast member is absolutely perfect in his or her role. Ellen Page is a revelation. J.K. Simmons deserves an Oscar. Five fetuses out of five!

Sue me, I'm a Trekkie

I'm coming out of the closet again. For those of you who don't know, I'm a Trekkie. Yes. There it is. I said it.

I grew up with Trek classic -- Kirk, Spock, McCoy. Loved the first season. Enjoyed the second. Was horrified at some of the camp in the third.

Star Trek: The Next Generation, though, was MY show. Picard is a hero of mine. Yeah, Kirk was a superhero in a 60s television sort of way, and who doesn't love The Shat, but Picard had brains and class and I dug that.

And yes I'll be there watching Cloverfield on opening weekend January 18, not just because that movie looks cool, but because we're promised a teaser for the upcoming Trek film for next Xmas.

I spent the last couple of weeks re-watching the first ten Trek movies. I have to say that First Contact popped up to the top of my personal list of fave Trek flicks. Yeah, I know that The Wrath of Khan is supposed to be the best Trek film, but hey, my taste is my taste.

The Voyage Home (i.e. Kirk & Spock Save The Whales)... eehhh. That one always struck me as Trek vaudeville, but not in a good Tribbles way.

Worst Trek film: tie between The Final Frontier and Nemesis. Okay, Final Frontier by a nose. At least the cast still looks good in Nemesis. In Final Frontier, EVERYONE looked bad. Was it makeup? Lighting? Who knows, just get them off the screen and let them have some dignity, dammit.

Best music: Overall, Jerry Goldsmith, who did most of the scores. But, one musical cue gave the one redeeming quality to the otherwise awful Final Frontier -- the short theme to the "heaven planet" sequence. Gorgeous piece of music. The only thing worthy of surviving that cinematic disaster.

Best death scene: Okay, common sense says Spock's in Wrath of Kahn. But I've always liked Kirk's death scene in Generations. "It was fun. Oh my." GREAT final line.

Best SINGLE villain: Khan. The Borg Queen in First Contact is a close runner up. Christopher Lloyd did a bang up (and underappreciated) job as Kruge in The Search For Spock, not a bad movie, but somewhat forgettable otherwise.

Best villains overall have to be the Borg -- but somehow they were more menacing in their earlier incarnations on the Next Generation series. By the time Voyager ended its run, the Borg had become ho hum stock bad guys -- like Imperial Stormtroopers.

Best guest star: Tie -- Alfre Woodard and James Cromwell in First Contact. Cromwell stole the scenes he was in. But Woodard and Patrick Stewart together? Unbeatable.

Funniest scene: "I love Italian, and so do you." "Yes." from The Voyage Home.

Best looking Enterprise in the whole Trek universe: Definitely the revamped classic Enterprise that first showed up in The Motion Picture. There hasn't been a better design yet, not even my beloved Enterprise-D from Next Generation.

The scene which made me miss DeForest Kelley the most: "What IS it with you anyway?" in The Undiscovered Country, as Kirk once again scored the babe. Goodbye, Dr. McCoy. And Scotty.

Just rubs. Happy 2008.

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