Just Lovely

+Brought the plants in from the porch
+Rode stationary bike (indoor)

NEXT
...Snow, ice, & road salt
...4hrs of daylight
...heating bills

Why 2007? Why? You used to be fun.

bluetiful

bluetiful \'blüt-i-fəl\ adj 1 : generally pleasing and specifically blue in color : EXCELLENT 2 having qualities of beauty combined with blue in color

usage:

"Those University of Kentucky NCAA Men's Basketball Championships were bluetiful!"

"Smurfette is bluetiful!" homina homina

"Can't Tase This"

The NCAA's bad method

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a bureaucracy made up of college and university representatives that oversees and governs intercollegiate athletics. One way to think of this body is as it's sum being greater than it's parts. Sort of a "Congress" for the conferences and member institutions. NCAA.org even states the following:

"Many believe the Association rules college athletics; however, it is actually a bottom-up organization in which the members rule the Association."

Whatever...sounds like a paradox wrapped in a riddle because one of the core competencies of the Association is to issue/make available/publish a myriad of opinions, bylaws, and red tape. One such annual treatise, titled "NCAA Division I Manual" contains six articles together known as "The Constitution".

So, this organization, ruled by it's members, is now publishing a Constitution.

Stay with me here, this is getting good.

They have titled the second article of the six articles of The Constitution, "Principles of Conduct of Intercollegiate Athletics" and section six of that article states:

2.6 THE PRINCIPLE OF NONDISCRIMINATION
The Association shall promote an atmosphere of respect for and sensitivity to the dignity of every person. It is the policy of the Association to refrain from discrimination with respect to its governance policies, educational programs, activities and employment policies, including on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, creed or sexual orientation. It is the responsibility of each member institution to determine independently its own policy regarding nondiscrimination. (Adopted: 1/16/93 Revised: 1/11/00)

Keep that last sentence in mind as you read this, from the August 6, 2005 online edition of the Boston Globe:

//
The NCAA took an important step in its campaign to eliminate the use of "hostile or abusive" nicknames by its membership yesterday by banning the use of Native American mascots by sports teams during postseason tournaments. The decision will prevent member schools from displaying nicknames or imagery deemed offensive on uniforms, clothing, or logos after Feb. 1.

The NCAA Executive Committee, meeting in Indianapolis, said at least 18 schools would be affected by the policy, including Division 1 athletic icons Florida State (Seminoles), Illinois (Fighting Illini), and Utah (Utes). Regardless of stature, each institution will also be barred from hosting future NCAA postseason tournaments. Schools already selected as tournament sites would be asked to cover any offensive logos.
//

That sounds more like the Association ruling it's members, anathema to the last sentence of section 2.6- "It is the responsibility of each member institution to determine independently its own policy regarding nondiscrimination."

So, stupid has no basement, moving along...

The second paragraph on the Boston Globe webpage starts off:

"The NCAA Executive Committee, meeting in Indianapolis..."

Whoa! "MEETING IN INDIANAPOLIS?"

Turns out, the NCAA is headquartered in the fair burg of INDIANapolis, INDIANa. The NCAA moved to INDIANapolis, INDIANa in July of 1999.

Now, via various duplicities, the Association has been able to "persuade" it's members (who rule it mind you) to change their mascots. We can only assume these persuasions and urgings took a form similar to the above Boston Globe reference, wherein the teams are banned from participating, unless they conform to the will of the NCAA Executive Committee, ruled by it's members and leaving interpretation of nondiscrimination up to individual institutions. Got that?

For instance, the Miami University Redskins became the Miami University Redhawks at the NCAA's behest. The NCAA, based in INDIANapolis, INDIANa determined "Redskins" was in violation of the "feelgood", "everybody belongs" section 2.6- "The principle of nondiscrimination".

However, the truth is, Native Americans prefer the moniker "Native Americans" for their race and culture. In fact, they ARE NOT Indians- Indians live in ASIA. Therefore, INDIANapolis, INDIANa alienates Native Americans by trivializing who they really are.

An albeit limited review of the NCAA's own publications can find no use of the word "Indian" in reference to Native Americans.

Therefore, the NCAA should take up the cause of renaming INDIANapolis, INDIANa, (as Miami University did with it's mascot) or move it's headquarters away from this location on the basis of it's very own Article 2.6!

Assuming renaming the city is the preference, Cliftonite offers the following possibilities:

+Nativeamericanapolis, Nativeamericana (this one is so obvious, it probably should have been changed yesterday)
+Cornapolis, Nativeamericana
+Flatapolis, Flatstate
+Havewemadeittochicagoyet, Reststopiana
+The Void

Since this is absolutely ludicrous, another option could be entertained- abolish the NCAA. It is self righteous, hypocritical, and petty.

Powerthirst

Thanks to cuz for passing this little nugget along...



WARNING: some slightly inappropriate language in this video

11.01.07- Apparently Google (Youtube) has been served a takedown notice for this video. Thats fine, we will all go find something else to laugh at.

Something Fishy swimming in the Cola

In Ohio, when food is prepared "to go", the state does not add sales tax. So, order a menu item costing $5.09 "to go", you pay $5.09. Order the same item "dine in" and you pay $5.42 (Hamilton County).

But, introduce the "combo meal," wherein the restaurant bundles food at one price, and things get tricky.

The state TAXES the beverage but not the food. In a bundled price, what does each item cost?

The Hopple & Colerain Wendy's sells the Turkey Swiss Frescata combo (sandwich, medium fry, medium cola) for $5.09 + the sales tax on the beverage. Recently (09.30.07), at the Hopple & Colerain location, this totaled $5.39. Therefore, the sales tax paid was $.30.

If $.30 was the sales tax on the beverage, then the beverage was priced at $4.62. It follows then, that the sandwich and medium fry, which WERE NOT taxed, make up the balance of $.77, for the $5.39 total.

This seems fishy because a medium cola is NOT priced at $4.62 on Wendy's regular menu. Rather, it is priced at $1.69. Sales Tax on $1.69 SHOULD BE $.11. Extending this logic, the price of the combo meal should be $5.09 + $.11 or $5.20.

So, in a combo meal, the state takes $.19 ($.30 - $.11) more on the cola than if the cola were ordered by itself. This is some kind of margin! Could the state of Ohio be engaging in subterfuge here? Probably: subterfuge seems to stand as the rule rather than the exception in the tax code.

The Cliff Blog recommends keeping bottled water nearby when ordering "to go" food. NEVER order combo meals- order FOOD only and skip the cola. All indications are, Columbus is Clueless about how Buckeyes want their money spent/government run. The more they receive, the more they screw it up.

The Polyphonic Spree

Tonight the Polyphonic Spree played at Bogart's in Cincinnati, OH. Attendance was light, maybe 400 people. There was plenty of room on the main floor.

However, those that attended received a gift, from the standpoint of great showmanship:

+To start the show, the Spree played their most catchy tune from their newest disc, (the one they are touring on) titled "Running Away". To kick things off, they blew confetti throughout the small crowd. Confetti & tickertape fired from canons throughout the set. It's a gimmick, but confetti at a rock show just makes the crowd happy.

+The band included: a harp, a kettle drum, a chorus, a violin, a baritone, a trombone, a trumpet, a coronet, a flute, a clarinet, a piccolo, two drum kits, keyboards, an upright bass, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, and a lead singer who must have read up on David Koresh and the Texas methodology for "getting em to join".

+After the first set, the band changed costumes, and surprisingly circulated throughout the crowd. Cliftonite "high fived" the majority of the band members.

+During the second set, Polyphonic Spree covered Nivana's "Lithium". This defied words.

+The entire spirit of the show was upbeat. The message was, "leave here happy". Contrast that feeling with the recent Interpol show (also attended) in which the band members kept the crowd waiting for around 90 minutes before starting and then "went through the motions".

Cliftonite did not want the Spree show to end, and leaving the stage with your fans wanting more is probably in the "Concerts 101" handbook.

The leader of this cult made a strong point at the end. That if you enjoyed the show, you should buy. Cliftonite believes in this new model: namely, that the studio work is made available in unencrypted MP3 format, that the band tours on the studio work, and that the RIAA mucky mucks in Manhatten have no entitlement to profits.

Therefore, the tightwad that is your blogger, coughed up all kinds of dough at the end of the show.

But the Spree wasn't done, they appeared on the main floor to sign totems for whomever asked.

Long live the Polyphonic Spree.

GRADE: A

This is Jeopardy!

Mr. Trebek: The category for Final Jeopardy is "LOSERS". We'll be back with the answer after these messages.

[kooky music]
[car advertisements]

Mr. Trebek: The category is "LOSERS". Here's the Final Jeopardy answer- Cleveland Browns, Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, & Kansas City Chiefs. Remember to phrase your response as a question. Good Luck.

[kooky music :30]

Mr. Trebek: Let's see what Cliftonite put down.
Cliftonite: Who dey?

Inland Empire

When was the last time you viewed a film that inspired a diagram?

David Lynch's, "Inland Empire" is a masterpiece. But, it takes more than one viewing to "get it". And, once you "get it" you can't explain it.

Laura Dern should have gotten Best Actress, but Hollywood doesn't exactly have an award for Best Actress. What Hollywood (the Oscars) has is an award for "Most Popular Actress". But, since they deal in subjectivity, it will be hard to nail em for it.

Mr. Lynch, this blogger hopes you have several more films to produce. Thank you for the break from the usual Hollywood Crap-ola.

Columbus Day

It is unclear to me why Columbus gets "a day". I have been to Columbus, it ain't all that.

Columbus has no geographic purpose, other than as the center of the state. Therefore, it's main "industry" is government, as it's theoretically equidistant from all edges of the state.

I think we all know how crummy "government as industry" is. But, the true hypocrisy here is, that on "Columbus Day" the government takes the day off!

Abolish Columbus Day- a cowtown like that does not warrant a national holiday.