More on Google Page Rank.

In a post from October [Google Page Rank.] I wrote how, after two years of blogging, the Google Page Rank for this particular blog dropped from it's consistent ranking of 3/10 to a disappointing 2/10.
I was at a loss to explain the drop. I've search the web for a valid explanation of how Google Page Rank works and how I should go about boosting it. I don't believe anyone really knows.
Today, while looking at my latest blog [D'offus of the Big-Doofus] I discovered that it had risen to a 3/10......which, considering that blog is less than one month old, pleased me to no end.

I immediately came back to this blog to see if the rank had changed.
It had.
The Google rank for this blog had gone back up to 3/10.

The odd thing about the ranking is that individual pages within the blog can be ranked differently than the blog's main page. Usually, my individual pages ranked much lower. I discovered, however, that one of my old posts [Clueless Nun Supports The Chosen One.] had managed to reach a 4/10 on it's own (that's probably due to that page being linked to in a Reuter's story which has a 5/10 rank).

The rankings on my three other blogs haven't changed.....understandable since I seldom post on those.
Do I see the makings of a New Year's resolution?

IPC's "Theologically innovative paper" no longer available.

From a March 13, 2007 press release, we learn that The Institute for Progressive Christianity (IPC) has issued an academic "white paper" entitled "The Kingdom of God and the Witness of Gay Marriage " which, Progressives are saying, is a theological breakthrough in showing gay marriage as "a moral good" that "spiritually liberates straight people as well as gay people."

The Rev. Mark Farr, an Episcopal priest and IPC co- director, called the paper "a truly groundbreaking scriptural affirmation of gay marriage as an almost iconic window into the reality of God's love."

The press release goes on to say the paper, "affirms gay marriage as a positive value for the Christian worldview as rooted in Christian Biblical texts......"

Unfortunately, this "theologically innovative" paper is no longer available on the Internet.
A number of articles extolling the greatness of the paper have instructed me to find the paper on the IPC website. If it was ever available there, it's nowhere to be found today.

Googling "The Kingdom of God and the Witness of Gay Marriage ", I found a few sites that provided links where I could go to download the paper. But, those links only lead to dead ends.

If, as the IPC press release states,"this paper changes the dynamics of the entire debate over gay marriage" then why can we no longer read this paper for ourselves?

I can post a link to the press release [IPC Releases Innovative Paper on Gay Marriage] but, lots of luck finding the actual paper.

More Fun with GIMP.

The idea for this photo came too late to go up on today's D'offus of the Big-Doofus post-Rick Warren to help with Kwanzaa Feast.
So, it'll have to find a home on this blog.

Falling Behind.

Earlier in the year, I decided to put forth an effort and get 366 posts on this blog this year.

I'm not going to make it. This will only be the 20th post for this month and I'm too far behind to catch up before the end of the year.

Of course, if I wanted to claim victory in spite of the numbers, I could figure in the posts for my other blogs and the total would well surpass the one-a-day average.

At least I have a legitimate excuse for falling behind this month. My wife was off from work for the Christmas Holiday from the 24th until today; we don't get as much time together as we'd like and I wasn't going to use up what little time we've gained this month with blogging.

Contrary to what many might think, I actually put a lot of thought into these posts. OK, I admit it....not all are well thought out, but probably more are than not.
I spend time looking around the Internet to get some ideas on what to write about and naturally, I have to check out my favorite blogs (you know who you are).

Some of the stories I come across call for serious responses, but, often I try to be funny and/or sarcastic with my posts.

The less than serious posts very often call for a less than serious photo as accompaniment. The D'offus of the Big-Doofus more especially needs a GIMPed photo for each post and as I'm not all that talented with GIMP, it takes me a long time to manipulate the photos in just the right way.

Even though I won't write 366 posts for 2008, I've managed to more than double the number I posted in 2007. I suppose that's something.

More Problems in the Obamanation.

Washington Post Op-Ed columnist Richard Cohen and his sister are none too happy with President-Elect Obama and his choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at his coronation inauguration. Cohen writes that his sister -who is gay- is so upset with the Messiah, that she is canceling her Obama Inauguration Party where she was planning to serve Obama Punch.

I'm not sure how Obama Punch is made, but I'm reasonably certain that it contains considerable amounts of Kool-Aid.

Like Barney Frank, Cohen believes Obama should not have chosen Warren because, they say, he likens homosexuality to incest, polygamy and pederasty.
I guess it's good to know that Frank and Cohen believe some things are wrong.

I admit that I don't understand Warren's comparison of gay marriage to polygamy. I'm not in favor of either (it's my belief that one of the reasons we have a problem with Muslims is that men with multiple wives are unquestionably insane) but, unlike homosexuality, polygamy isn't a biological and evolutionary dead end.

The folks who support "gay rights" and same sex marriage claim that homosexuals are biologically wired to be homosexual; their sexual preference isn't by choice. If that argument holds, why can't the same be said about incest and pederasty? Contrary to what they would have us believe, homosexuality is deviant behavior.

I know it's unfashionable to say this in these "liberated" times, but the ultimate purpose of sex is procreation. It's how we, as a species, have offspring. Same sex marriage can't do that.

Bush Bashing game Boring at Best.

After reading all the hoopla over the sock and awe hit Bush with a shoe game, I couldn't resist going to the site and giving it a try.
You would have to be a really big Bush hater to like this game......the graphics are terrible, the sound quality is rather poor and I can't imagine this thing holding anyone's attention for very long.
Even the guy who came up with the idea called it, a "stupid little flash game".
OK, somebody bought the thing on Ebay for £5,215 ($7,818).
Lord knows why.

Gays Angry with Obama.

According to Obama's website, D'offus of the Big-Doofus, gay activists have amassed a gigantic protest in response to Obama's plan to perform Swan Lake in Canada today.
I knew that the gay community was losing faith in the One, but I hadn't realized the situation was so serious.
The full story (and a link to the I.N.N. web site) can be found on Obama's site.....here

Rick Warren....safe as Mayonnaise.

Barack Obama's choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.
Gay activists are upset with the choice because of Warren's opposition to Prop. 8.but, I'm sure Warren's beliefs were the furthest thing from Obama's mind when he made his decision.

Obviously, Obama wasn't about to have Rev. Jeremiah Wright involved in any way. He's burned that bridge. The President-Elect can't very well choose his own personal pastor because he hasn't even made a decision on where the Obama family will be attending church when they move to Washington.

He picked Warren simply because he's well known and as bland as mayonnaise. Sure, Warren is against same sex marriage (as is Obama) and pro-life (which Obama isn't) but his being picked is for cosmetic purposes......his theology is beside the point as far as Obama is concerned.

I'm sure quite a few Obama supporters were hoping he'd find a pro-choice, lesbian minister to give the invocation. Instead, the agent of change went for the Ronald McDonald of the religious world.

My Banana Pudding.

Today, where my wife works, they'll have a little Christmas dinner. The company will provide the turkey or ham and each employee will bring a "covered dish". Some of her co-workers asked if she could bring one of my banana puddings. I was happy to oblige.

Everyone loves my banana pudding. The reason for that is simple; I am one of only a very small minority who can make a traditional, Southern style banana pudding like "grandma used to make".
The custard is home made.......made with eggs, milk, sugar and flour. It's not made by throwing an instant pudding mix together. It doesn't come from a box.

The top of the pudding is a meringue and not made with Kool Whip.

When I was a boy, that was the way banana puddings were made. My mother, her sister and their sister-in-law all followed pretty much the same recipe as did every other woman in the southern United States.

The Baby Boomers killed the traditional banana pudding in the way they've attempted to kill every worthwhile tradition in this country. In this case, it was radical feminism and fast foods that did it.
The women in my generation decided that they would not be like Mama and many simply refused to learn to cook the traditional recipes.

Of course, there were a few women (and some men) who still went into the kitchen, but, sadly when it came to preparing certain foods, convenience became more important than taste. It was too much trouble to separate yolks from the egg whites. Why take the time to do it right, when you could just make this kind of Franken-pudding from powder ?

Twenty years ago, when I discovered that no one was going to make a proper banana pudding for me, I looked for, and found the recipe. Now, I can have it whenever I like.

Best of all, I know my three year old will not be one of those poor waifs who grows up without ever having tasted a true, traditional banana pudding. I hope he appreciates it.

Balancing Act.

While we were attending a Christmas party Sunday, my three year old son said he had a new trick to show me.

He had a spoon and was trying to balance it on his nose. I wasn't sure where he had seen the trick, but I was certain that he wouldn't be able to do it. Of course, I didn't discourage him.....I didn't tell him that I thought he wouldn't be able to do the trick. I went along and smiled while he rubbed the spoon on his chin and cheeks.

Much to my surprise, he had the trick mastered in just a few attempts.
Everyone at the Christmas party was amazed.

My wife told me that they had seen a kid's program on TV where someone was doing the spoon trick, but I don't know how he managed to do this on his own.

Obama Photos.

As I mentioned in an post from November, [Mocking the Big-Doofus] for eight years, the Left has done whatever they could to belittle and mock President Bush. No slur was out of bounds ; no cartoon was too outrageous.

I decided that now, with a left-leaning President, the time had come for the Right to engage in the same tactics. With that in mind, I started a new blog [my-new-blogdoffus-of-big-doofus] called D'offus of the Big-Doofus.

Looking back at some of the images used to mock Bush, we find several photos of Bush with a really dumb look on his face.My goal was to find similar photos of Barack Obama I could use.
It was easier than I imagined it would be.

When someone is constantly followed by photographers looking to find "the picture" it stands to reason that some of those photos will be less than flattering. I was surprised at the number I was able to get where the Big- Doofus had the most doofusoid expression. Those photos, along with GIMP can give lots of material for sarcasm and satire.

The D'offus of the Big-Doofus blog hasn't received as many hits as I think it should have. Here's hoping more of you will give it a look.

Just Say "No Way" to "Calling in Gay-Day".

Today is, the so-called, "Call in Gay Day" when same-sex marriage supporters are urging people to skip work to show us how much the country depends on gays and lesbians to keep this all going.
In Phildelphia, 25 of the 60 teachers at Independence Charter School plan on participating.
"We want to get the conversation going in the community that gay is not bad," one teacher was quoted as saying. "For kids to hear that in a positive light can be life-changing."
An online community website, join the impact has suggestions for those who are afraid to call in gay:
1. Volunteer your time and services after work
2. Do not buy anything
3. Do not watch TV or use your cell phone
4. Do not go online. Online advertising is everywhere and a simple page load could cause money to be spent.
5. Do not buy lunch (and don’t go out today to get what you need for lunch tomorrow), find something you already have and pack your lunch.

I'm urging everyone else to be sure to show up for work today.....even if you really are sick......and be sure to break as many of the five suggestions as you can.

The Gift of .........huh, Life?

From FOXNews.com :
"A number of Planned Parenthood clinics in Indiana and Illinois are offering gift certificates for their services this Christmas.
Officials say the vouchers enable people to give their loved ones "the gift of life" — that would help pay for annual checkups and birth control — but also can be used for abortions."
Is anyone surprised?
Obviously, you can't expect anyone who has no regard for human life to be worried about offending other people.
Do we really think that it bothers the folks at Planned Parenthood that Christians might be upset that PP would offer abortion gift certificates for a Holiday that celebrates the nativity of Jesus Christ?
It doesn't even bother those people to kill innocent, unborn children. Do you think that they care for one minute that this pisses you off?
The Demon who came up with this idea is probably laughing himself silly at the whole notion.

Firefox crashes.....again.

Funny,
Firefox 3 was supposed to be the greatest browser ever. Saying that's an exaggeration is putting it mildly.
I've written a few blogs on Firefox 3;
D is for Download Day
I did my part, as usual.
Firefox 3 review.
After using it since June, I am rather unimpressed with the browser. As a matter of fact, I believe it's really a pisspoor piece of work.
It crashes several times a day and it hangs more often than I can count. It's even gotten to the point that I've started using IE more and more.
I'm not the only one having this problem. Googling firefox crashes yields more than 630,000 results.
Someone at i.nconspicuo.us wrote,
"I don’t know what is going on, but ever since I installed Firefox 3, it has been crashing occasionally. From time to time, when I shut it down, I get the Mozilla Crash Reporter window popping up. Has anyone else encountered this problem? Any suggestions? Here’s a screenshot of the Mozilla Crash Reporter that appears when Firefox Crashes."
The poster received 69 responses.
Going to Mozilla for an answer is usless.
As one person wrote, it's a sad day when one prefers IE over Firefox.
Oh yeah.....it even crashed while I was posting this.

Pacquiao beats De La Hoya.

I wasn't able to swipe a video of the fight, but the ESPN web site has all the information.
Pacquiao turns 'dream fight' into nightmare for De La Hoya

O.J. Redux.

Re-running a post from September, 2007.

If I Only Had a Brain

I could while away the hours
Conferrin' with the flowers
Consultin' with the rain
And my head, I'd be scratchin'
While my thoughts were busy hatchin'
If I only had a brain.

I'd unravel ev'ry riddle
For any individ'le
In trouble or in pain

With the thoughts I'd be thinkin'
I could be another Lincoln,
If I only had a brain.

Oh, I could tell you why
The ocean's near the shore,
I could think of things I never thunk before
And then I'd sit and think some more.

I would not be just a nuffin'
My head all full of stuffin'
My heart all full of pain.
I would dance and be merry
Life would be a ding-a-derry
If I only had a brain-

Merry Christmas, Ms. Michalak.

Sarah Michalak,UNC-Chapel Hill's associate provost for university libraries has decided that the Christmas trees that have traditionally decorated the two main libraries will remain in storage this year.
Michalak said she made the decision following complaints from library employees and patrons bothered by the Christmas trees.
"We strive in our collection to have a wide variety of ideas," she said. "It doesn't seem right to celebrate one particular set of customs."

OK.....rather than ban Christmas trees, why not display Jewish and Muslim decorations during their religious celebrations?
Geeze....the libraries could even put up atheists' decoration for whatever holiday they celebrate.

Merry Christmas, Ms. Michalak.

Link:
UNC-CH libraries leave Christmas trees in storage

My New Blog......D'offus of the Big-Doofus.

Anyone taking a look at the list of labels on this blog can see that there isn't a theme to all this.
I'm subject to write about anything and everything on any given day. The posts can run the gamut from religion to politics....sometimes seriously, sometimes with humor.
The nice thing about having such a mixture, is that there is rarely a shortage of things to write about. But, I think some readers who might appreciate one subject may be turned off by another.
So, in an attempt to have a more consistent blog, I've started yet another blog to take care of my "Obama posts". I'm calling this new blog D'offus of the Big-Doofus. Obviously, with that name, I won't be playing nice. I'll be making use of sarcasm, irony and satire to mock the Anointed One .
You'll be seeing less on Obama here.....I'll take out my frustrations with the President-Elect on the other blog.

Palin Helps Chambliss Win Georgia.

Here in Georgia, we sent Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss back to Washington. Chambliss had been in a run off with Democrat Jim Martin and the Republicans needed to win here to prevent the Democrats from getting a filibuster proof Senate.
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin came to Georgia to give her support. It looks as if the reports of Palin's political demise are premature. Conservatives still love her and having her campaign for Chambliss was a big help.
It speaks volumes that The One did not come down here to help Martin. True, he did a few radio ads, but, you'd think that the President-Elect would come here in person.
Obviously, the Obama camp knew that his coming to Georgia would not help Martin win. Had he campaigned for Martin it would have been seen as a lost for Obama and he didn't want to risk that.

I'm no Drudge.

In a post yesterday [A Real Man of the People.], I was critical of Barack Obama's buying a $30,000 Harmony Ring for wife Michelle.The source for the story was linked to Drudge Report.
Now, it seems that the Obama Press Office has released a statement saying that the ring story isn't true.
When asked about the story, the jeweler's spokesman, Enrico Gamba said, via email;
"I regret to inform you that because of reports so wrong and clearly different from the reality of our statements, we decided to not issue statement on this matter.
Unfortunately, we were negatively affected by read on national and foreign media news stories that have no basement[sic], and in excess of the objective reality.
I inform you that we have no intention to disseminate more information about this story."

I checked Drudge today, and there's no link to any retraction.
I'm no Drudge.........if I post something that turns out to be untrue, I'll try to set things right.

Britney more popular than Obama.

From BBC NEWS
Of the billions of searches carried out on Yahoo.com during 2008, Barack Obama was the third most popular keyword searched, behind Britney Spears and World Wrestling Entertainment.
The finish below Britney makes sense to me.....but WWE?
Haven't heard how the two did on Google.

A Real Man of the People.

The current salary for a US President is $400,000 per year, with a $50,000 expense account, a $100,000 nontaxable travel account, and $19,000 for entertainment.
It seems to me, given that income, a rare $30,000 rhodium Harmony Ring is just a wee bit extravagant.
During the campaign,Obama often told us that ordinary Americans were hurting.
I'm not quite sure how this helps the common man.....must be his version of trickle down economics.
A real man of the people.
Links:
Hit & Run: Ring the changes.
Obama buys rhodium ring for his wife.
Rhodium

December 03,2008 Update:
I'm no Drudge.

Pinocchio.

The article at ew.com says that they "could possibly be the most reckless, punk-rock group of bad-asses making music today."
The group is an underground - all female band in Saudi Arabia, called The Accolade.
Besides that article, they've been written about in the New York Times and AsiaNews.it. There's no need for me to go into great detail about the articles as I'm sure anyone can figure out what the articles have to say about the band, without actually reading the articles.
You know.....how brave the young women are to be playing the "devil's music" in a country living under the thumb of religious fundamentalists. All of that's true, of course. Female rock musicians would hardly be welcome in a country that sends rape victims to jail.
The group has recorded a single that is available on their myspace page.
OK.....by what standard do we use to evaluate this particular single? If looked at as "a recording made by female rock musicians in Saudi Arabia" then, of course, I'd say the recording is pretty amazing. If looked at as another rock song performed by just another band trying to make a name for themselves, then I'd have to give them a "C".........just average. The song is passable, but that's about it.
Needless to say, anyone can hear the song and judge for themselves by following the link. I'm sure a lot of folks will tell me that I should cut the girls some slack....after all, look at what they risk by playing this music.
Yes, I know; all of that is true, but, from a musical standpoint, the song doesn't deserve the accolades it's received.