Duck Goes Moo!

Dilbert cartoon author Scott Adams lost his voice a while back due to Spasmatic Dysphonia, a neurological condition for which there is supposedly no cure. The funny thing about this disorder is that often a person with it can speak normally when singing or other certain activities, but cannot converse at all when trying to speak in a normal situation. Scott Adams was able to speak to large groups just fine, but could not talk one on one.

Well, Scott may have found a cure, at least for him. He found he could speak fine when he spoke in rhyme. Somehow using the parts of his brain used for rhyming helped form a neural bridge to allow normal conversation. After reciting nursery rhymes he was then able to talk normally in any situation for extended periods of time.

Read more about this on his personal blog:

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2006/10/good_news_day.html

I remember how excited I was when the 2004 exit polls shown Kerry leading by a large margin, and then the sinking feeling when the actual returned vote counts fell short of a victory for Kerry and Bush remained president. The next day there were tons of news reports and political cartoons depicting exit polls as faulty and a bunch of hoodoo, but there was barely anything about the possiblity that the exit polls were actually right and something fishy went down.

Even Garrison Keillor, usually a calm and collected fellow, became outraged and somewhat embarrasingly spoke out about how he believe the election was stolen.

As time went on I forgot about this whole issue and went on with my normal life as Bush continued his presidency. I just read an article in Rolling Stone magazine by Robert F. Kennedy Jr that has brought back a lot of my memories of the time. Read it and see what you think. I cannot personally vouch for the truth or “truthiness” of what is presented in the piece but it is an interesting read for anyone on either side of the political fence.

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10432334/was_the_2004_election_stolen

The 2006 Knox College graduation commencement was graced this year with non-other than Stephen Colbert. He gave a humorous speech and was granted an honorary degree.

I myself nearly got a degree from Knox College… but I had other things I had to do first in my life before getting a degree.

Boing Boing has more on it here:

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/06/05/colberts_knox_colleg.html

Many people invest in the New York Stock Exchange, but starting just yesterday people can literally invest money into shares or the New York Stock Exchange buy buying the NYX stock, which is the publicly traded stock for the merged company of Archipelogo and the NYSE. Is this a good thing? Well, it was good for the current seat owners of the NYSE, as they became millionares over night, plus the stock gained about 20% in value in its first day of trading, ending with a total of $80 per share.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11726488/

“It’s something wonderful to get a letter. The paper, the stamp, the envelope. It is not just a piece of paper. It is something sacred. “
IBRAHIM ISMAIL ZAIDEN, a postman in Baghdad, Iraq.

(this quote originally posted in the New York Times)

A new ecological find in Papua New Guinea has been labeled as “close to the Garden of Eden as possible on Earth”.

The land is completely untouched by mankind, as far as anyone can tell, and it is full of new species and species once thought extinct.

A ballot measure just recently passed in Denver has legalized the posession of less than an ounce of marijuana by those 21 or older. This is in some ways merely symbolic as the state laws against posession still remain in place.

A man named Mason Tvert was the main motivating force behind this campaign, who is the executive director of SAFER (Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation). Their main talking point is that alcohol is a far more dangerous and addictive drug than marijuana, and that marijuana is a far safer alternative.

Here is the link to an article telling more: link

In Japan there seems to be far more concern about humanity’s impact upon the environment than in the United States. One company in particular, NEC, which I assume stands for Nippon Electronics Company, has shown their concern about life on Earth in a very creative way.

Ecotohona

This has to be one of the best uses of flash I’ve seen in a long while. Everyday a virtual tree is constucted by people coming to this site and adding their own personal “shout-outs” to the world, each of their comments acting as leaves on the tree. For every tree created in this virtual world NEC will plant a tree in the real one.

The Apprentice series with Donald Trump has been such a success that a new spin-off series was formed with Martha Stewart as the CEO of the show, which premiers this coming Wednesday. The show has its own line-up of apprentices and one of them happens to be an old co-worker of mine called David Karandish. It’s not everyday one gets to see a friend go on national television, so I took this opportunity to interview a potential celebrity in the making:

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DuckGoesMoo: So David, tell me about Martha?

David: hehe

DuckGoesMoo: Class act all the way?

David: Well ya know, she is very witty

DuckGoesMoo: Witty, like how? Does she make a lot of puns or play pranks on coworkers?

David: well, i’d say she likes to laugh…probably gets her through the tough days here and there

DuckGoesMoo: Did she wear the anklet thingy the whole time?

David: c’mon, you think i was checking out martha’s ankles? wink wink

David: jk

DuckGoesMoo: hehe

David: i think she did, that was a bit of a taboo topic

DuckGoesMoo: gotcha, so was there any love going on in “the loft” or was that taboo as well?

DuckGoesMoo: BTW, that loft looked spectacular. I want a loft like that.

David: it was very loftariffic

DuckGoesMoo: hehe

David: surprisingly, not a lot of time for lovin

David: we were all very task focused

DuckGoesMoo: hehe, probably for the best. Was there any time for checking on the cultural scene in NY?

David: i did get to see a lot of nyc – it is an amazing city, none other like it that i’ve been to

DuckGoesMoo: What did you like the best about it?

David: within two steps you could get to a restaurant – i loved the fact that there were more restaurants in nyc than i could count

David: and they were all very very good

DuckGoesMoo: wow, that sounds great. If I ever go to NYC my first stop will have to be a resteraunt. Any interesting characters you met up there, ones not related to The Apprentice?

David: it’s funny…you see all sorts of interesting people in ny by accident

David: i saw kevin bacon in the streets

DuckGoesMoo: wow, did you get to meet him?

David: no, he was busy getting into some fancy car hehe

DuckGoesMoo: oh well, no other notable celebrities besides your co-stars?

David: hm

DuckGoesMoo: and yourself, of course

David: hehe

DuckGoesMoo: Oh wait, let me guess… you met someone that you can’t talk about because it’s a surprise?

David:

DuckGoesMoo: Hillary Clinton?

DuckGoesMoo: Gulliani?

David: can’t say

DuckGoesMoo: hehe, alright, speaking of rising celebrityt, how have your parents reacted to this all?

David: they are sooooo proud/excited

DuckGoesMoo: I’d imagine. Are they calling all their family and friends over to watch it together?

David: i think they are all going to come to my premier party

DuckGoesMoo: BTW, whenever you get sick of this interview, feel free to tell me g’night.

David: shall do

DuckGoesMoo: right on, so I’ll finally get to meet your parents?

David: yes!

DuckGoesMoo: awesome

David: it should be interesting

DuckGoesMoo: Do you think any of your old employers will be there?

DuckGoesMoo: or coworkers?

David: i would sure hope so – if not they should at least watch on tv

David: the biggest problem with the show: it conflicts with my favorite tv show – smalliville!

DuckGoesMoo: hehe

David: hehe

DuckGoesMoo: I’ve actually never watched it… I don’t know, seemed a little hokey to me. But then again I watch Teen Titans

David: hehe

David: its pretty good

DuckGoesMoo: right on

David: it chronicles the life of superman before he is superman

David: him and lex luthor are best friends…but they keep things from each other and slowly go against one another

DuckGoesMoo: Do you yourself feel like your becoming a “superman” of sorts with all of your newly found success and coming fame?

David: i don’t want it to get to my head…it is fun, i’m enjoying it and i’m thankful for the opportunity

DuckGoesMoo: Do you feel that your time at The Apprentice has changed you at all?

David: i think, as with most life experiences, i grew up a bit

DuckGoesMoo: You’ve still kept the Faith, I imagine. Did you feel your religion helped you get through some of the tough times?

David: but overall it was an 11 out of 10

David: you know what

David: i used to be one of those people who really rips into reality tv shows

David: but it is not easy at all

David: the only way I could get through it was with God’s provision

DuckGoesMoo: What do you think was the toughest thing about it?

David: lots of confrontation – each week someone has to go home

DuckGoesMoo: ouch

DuckGoesMoo: lots of politics and backstabbing?

David: and it can get ugly

DuckGoesMoo: did you play fair the whole time or did you have to get your hands dirty to survive?

David: just like the real world (no pun intended hehe)

DuckGoesMoo: gotcha

David: its hard….

David: you just try to do your best and keep your integrity

DuckGoesMoo: right on right on

DuckGoesMoo: I admit, sometimes in an office situatiion I’[ve found myself engaging in office politics without even noticing it. I guess in the end everything in a business is political, and even more so in a reality show format where everything is so dramatized.

David: everything is dramatized and sped up

David: its like living in hyperdrive hehe

DuckGoesMoo: wow, cool cool, well, I think I may have run out of questions. Do you have anything to say to all your soon to come fans?

David: root for me! and check out DavidKarandish.com and Karandish.com, powered by duckgoesmoo software

David: (..plug…)

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David is definetely a very bright and likeable character, and I have a very hard time imaginging him being a corporate shark, but I have a funny feeling that if he did not win The Apprentice he came close to the end. Still, it is going to be very surreal to see someone I know on TV weekly and possibly on talk shows and commercials in the near future.

Here are some photos I took of David at his abode:

David loves to laugh and has a great sense of humor. And yes ladies, he is single.

David has made quite a bit of money with some internet ventures he has made with his live-in business partner Chris Sims.

Here’s David and I locked in a very brutal chess game that lasted nearly three hours. I was winning but the whole game tipped to his favor once one of his pawns slipped out of my blind spot and into a nasty fork… stupid pawns.

David is not only an entreprenuer but is also a musician.

There is much buzz about India and China being the new economic superpowers of the future. Some people have even gone as far as to refer to this century as “China’s Century”.

Still, there are many concerns that both of the nations’ respective beuracracies and old-fashioned notions may prevent one or both of them from reching their greatest potential. One of the great debates is, “Who will be the stronger enconomy, China or India”?

Just between you and me, I’m studying Mandarin, not Hindi.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/08/opinion/08friedman.html?th&emc=th

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3412069.stm

It’s official, Ellen Degeneres, named “Entertainer of the Year” by Entertainment Weekly in 1997, played the lovable but forgetful blue fish, Dory, in “Finding Nemo”, and who came out of the closet on her syndicated tv show, is now going to play the greatest role she has ever played in her life: God.

The old 1977 classic “Oh, God”, which originally stared George Burns as the head diety, is being remade and re-produced by Jerry Weintraub who helped produce the original version. Here is an article describing it in a bit more detail:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5800765/