Rejoice! The war is won!
You may have noticed that there has been spam recently. The move to Recapture has apparently attracted a band of manual spammers who focus on sites who use it. Spiteful bitter Romanians for the most part. Anyway, this site's admin also allows me to customize the spam filter quite easily and yesterday I thought that I would try filtering "URL" and "a href" - the tools used to create a link of any sort. I realized only spammers link. Hans has been posting here for four years and still can't link. And even if you do, it will just be hidden until I check. Rejoice! Rejoice!!!
- Timekilling Update: Death from above via John Gushue.
- Asteriskman Update: A good commentary on SI about the indictment of Bonds. I guess we don't have to worry about whether he shows up when the ball goes into Cooperstown.
- I should find a copy of The Cult of the Amateur - a book setting out how stunned the infiltration of Web 2.0 mentality has made us all. Here is a screaming example from Metafilter. Can you believe someone is still citing the Cluetrain Manifesto? How many times can Dan Rather get fires in the minds of dopes with bandwidth?
- As Mohammad is to Denmark, so too are nudy Royals to Spain...except the enemy is within.
- We are entering Senate reform season again despite "vehement objections from some provinces which insisted the chamber can't be reformed without their consent." It is beyond me how it is possible to provide for such change without the provinces. I pray every night for an application to be made from PEI to the Supreme Court of Canada demanding a say if anyone touches their four seats. Because if you can shift the Senate seats without consent, the Feds should be able to shift the four seats in the House of Commons.
- If killing a cat is a crime, is stealing virtual furniture?
- I no longer watch much NHL hockey. In part it is the strike but in part it is also that I am a Leafs fan. Damian Cox in the Star neatly summed up the Leafs this week:
A 22 per cent return on investment can buy you a lot of things, apparently, but just not a soul or a sense of professional pride. And just think: Ontario's teachers own the majority share.
Good dig at the elementary school teachers, Coxy.
Comments
Hans - November 16, 2007 9:38 am
- I didn't know you were a Leafs fan. You know, there is always next year.....
- On Senate reform, I would expect PEI and other provinces to challenge its legality should such reform mean a reduction in representation.
Alan - November 16, 2007 9:54 am
If they tacitly allow a change to be made that does not mean a reduction, they may have set a precedent that will later bite them. FIGHT THE POWER!
Hans - November 16, 2007 10:02 am
I could see that happening. A lot of PEI political history is a bunch of lack of decision-making on issues that has ultimately bitten the Island in the arse later.
Hans - November 16, 2007 10:03 am
Its true. Hyper, Perma, Whatever. Linkwise, I'm useless here. Why can't GenX40 be as user friendly as Facebook?
Alan - November 16, 2007 10:06 am
Because GX40 does not sap the soul in return?
Alan - November 16, 2007 10:07 am
By the way, Hans, I am now listing you in my Facebook enemy book for defaming the convenience of my blog.
Hans - November 16, 2007 10:29 am
I'll have to go check it out. Surely, I'll be travelling in some elite company there....
Matthew Fletcher - November 16, 2007 11:09 am
Regarding redistribution of Senate/Commons seats:
There is federal legislation that guarantees provinces cannot have their number of seats in the Commons reduced, regardless of what their population is. So if PEI shrinks to 100 people there will be one seat in the Commons for every 25 of them. I don't know if similar legislation applies to seats in the Senate but I suspect not as Senate seats are not apportioned, strictly speaking, to the provinces.
Alan - November 16, 2007 11:10 am
That is just Federal legislation meaning the Feds can change it without provincial consent.
Hans - November 16, 2007 11:11 am
You are correct about PEI's H of C seats and I believe that there is a provision somewhere that says PEI can't have fewer Senate seats than H of C seats.
Matthew Fletcher - November 16, 2007 11:16 am
What kind of dictatorship are the Spanish living under if "Slandering or defaming the Spanish royal family" is a public crime?
I can think of several 18th century cartoons that depicted King George in some particularly unsavoury and explicit positions that likely wouldn't make it past today's Spanish censors. Further, it sounded like the Spanish cartoon was pretty funny.
Matthew Fletcher - November 16, 2007 11:19 am
"That is just Federal legislation meaning the Feds can change it without provincial consent." Indeed, that was my point.
I think Hans is also correct about Senate seats in relation to Commons seats.
Douglas - November 16, 2007 11:21 am
The Senate rocks totally. It's like Dr Frankenstein's lab. There are Progressive Conservatives in there, and an "independent New Democrat" the other New Democrats won't talk to because they don't believe in the Senate. We should bring back the provincial senates.
Alan - November 16, 2007 12:05 pm
Matt: I just meant to stress the different level of legality and process involved with amending legislation and amending the constitution.
Greg - November 16, 2007 1:53 pm
I wonder if they could make up rhymes about the royalty then.. like the ol' Georgie Porgie Rhyme =)
sean liddle - November 16, 2007 5:26 pm
I am impressed.
ry - November 16, 2007 7:30 pm
Since we're talking hockey I find the rules about +/- far more baffling than offsides in football(fussball, sorry there's no 'esset' on my computer, or an umlaut.). That's too bad about the Leafs, Al. I do have one thing that should make you feel better about it: at least they aren't the Kings, a team that buys great players only to seem them suck during their tenure and return to greatness once they leave.
Sean Liddle - November 16, 2007 8:38 pm
Wow.. it detects l33t and phonetics and key words. I am impressed.
I grew up in an arena. My Dad coached for decades including a few that made it to the NHL.. When I was old enough, I helped convened a league. But I was never allowed to play because it was "too expensive and you don't stick with anything long enough".. Harrumph.. maybe this is why I have no interest in the game nowadays.
However, Ry.. I happen to have gone to school with a good number of players for the Bulls that ended up at the Kings and I must say WHAT ABOUT 1990-91??? Have you forgotten about that season!?!? Okay, they suck.
ry - November 19, 2007 4:48 pm
Oh, you mean the year that Barry Melrose didn't try to dismatle the high skilled team he was handed? The year Gretzky was still The Man? I still have my ballcap from that year. The classic silver and black. But they're still a pathetic team. The Sharks and DUcks have been far more successful than the Kings. The Ducks have played for Lord Stanley's twice and one once. The Kings have only played once, even if they had a couple of years where they did well by upsetting Detroit.
But yeah, 90-91 was a good hockey year for me, and a good familial one(rather a rarity).