tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:59:42 +0000http://www.rinderpest.com/SOgdenblog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)Blogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-8587649271267492805Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:51:00 +00002008-06-27T10:59:42.758-05:00I rarely pass along anything anyone in the entire world sends me via email, but I got a pretty good chuckle out of this. Enjoy. http://www.rinderpest.com/uploaded_images/c-toads-794608.bmphttp://www.rinderpest.com/2008/06/be-careful-at-pool-this-summer.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-9178639334298307825Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:31:00 +00002008-06-03T16:35:27.516-05:00--- Continuing From Here --- “It’s midnight,” Tiny said, “We are leaving. The time shift is at hand.” The air around Paul’s head vibrated, producing an actual hum. From the dark hallway, a series of eerie sounds erupted that he was certain were made by living beings, although they were unlike any sounds he’d ever heard before. Moans and grunts mixed with slurping, clicking, and barking. It was http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/06/tiny-shifts-part-iv.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-4722033813085801986Fri, 30 May 2008 15:33:00 +00002008-06-03T09:46:49.352-05:00--- Continuing From Here --- Dana sat down heavily on one of the barstools, and Paul thought it was a good thing she did, because he felt his own legs go rubbery at the sight of Tiny. For a moment, Paul thought he might just faint dead away like Dana had earlier. A dozen or so braids of bright red hair stemmed from Tiny’s fat, platter-sized head, cascading around his porcine features, reaching http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/05/tiny-shifts-part-iii.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-8244593372041396764Tue, 27 May 2008 15:32:00 +00002008-05-30T10:52:19.875-05:00--- Continuing From Here --- An ancient Wurlitzer stood against the wall directly in front of them providing a song Paul had never heard before. The wall was festooned with animal heads, beer signs, and old playbills. A pool table with stained green felt silently begged someone to try their luck at its banks and holes, and a pinball machine that appeared to pre-date electricity slept in the http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/05/tiny-shifts-part-ii.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-4056798345044242036Fri, 23 May 2008 15:32:00 +00002008-05-27T10:46:26.331-05:00The headlights cut a bright swath through the blanket of darkness that covered the landscape. In the dim starlight, the hills loomed on all sides, like the twisted spinal column of some giant, malevolent beast. Paul drove the Cherokee indifferent to the night, thinking of the mistakes he’d made on the river that day. Dana sat next to him humming softly in time with a Credence Clearwater Revival http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/05/tiny-shifts-part-i.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-2937762469064757923Fri, 09 May 2008 19:09:00 +00002008-05-09T14:20:16.039-05:00The Texas State Board of Education, which is made up of at least seven members (there are 15 total) claiming creationist beliefs, has been the architect of some very suspect actions over the years, and the last few months have only added to its unsteady history. Let me bring you up to speed, first on a story you may have read about that really heated up toward the end of 2007, and then on a http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/05/when-crazy-white-people-attack.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-947655472751456389Fri, 02 May 2008 20:39:00 +00002008-05-02T15:42:59.374-05:00Sorry for being away for so long, but I've had some FTP issues with my site hosting provider, and was unable to add any new content to this blog. It looks as though things have been resolved, as this update post will verify. I will resume posting at my normal, laziest blogger in the world pace as soon as something worth writing about occurs to me. In the meantime, my Houston Rockets are facing http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/05/update.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-8501670318257886881Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:41:00 +00002008-04-15T10:23:22.247-05:00Well, once again I have managed to retain my crown as the world's laziest blogger. It's been several weeks since I wrote anything worth posting here, confirming that among semi-sober, semi-coherent slackers, I reign supreme. Actually, I'm just kidding. I haven't really been all that lazy. It's just been a rough few weeks, and I simply haven't had time to post much. I've got some crazy deadlines http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/04/worlds-laziest-blogger-checking-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-2798589417778520884Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:02:00 +00002008-03-20T17:12:14.812-05:00The following account was related to me during a visit to the Shady Glen Retirement Home & Assisted Living facility. Then again, there's a good possibility that I made the whole thing up. It started as a joke. Really. It did. Busby and I were talking one day outside the cafeteria shortly after a bland, tasteless lunch and yet another "desert of Jell-O origin" had been picked over by the http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/03/gray-widow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-8115078832060188544Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:19:00 +00002008-03-19T10:21:29.836-05:00You know what folks? I don’t believe in anything. Not one goddamn thing! At least that's what the fine upstanding, highly moral, plastic, fall-in-line, self-righteous, piece-of-shit, religious jack wads I encounter keep telling me. Simply because I don't look at the world the same way they do; simply because I don't think exactly like them, they not only deem it necessary to tell me, but feel ithttp://www.rinderpest.com/2008/03/beliefs-are-flowing-like-wine.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-848088909360188305Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:31:00 +00002008-03-11T09:32:24.265-05:00When the Vatican exhumed the body of Saint Padre Pio recently for public viewing on the 40th anniversary of his death, it sparked chatter around the Interwebs in both the religious and skeptical communities. Some in the religious community were pleased to have the body of a saint displayed in time for Easter, and some in the skeptical community grabbed their collective crotch and said, "I got http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/03/ill-have-capuchino-and-steaming-pile-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-8231928536844268565Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:48:00 +00002008-02-29T16:38:25.463-06:00Sheesh, February has been a trying month. I've been so busy with other projects, I haven't had a chance to post here in a while. And today is no exception. Fortunately, my friend Elyse has given me permission to post an item of hers from Skepchick (Elyse is also a regular contributer over there). I thought this piece was not only well written, but the subject matter was just perfect to include http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/02/jesus-says-no-fatties.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-8125171706118744815Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:10:00 +00002008-02-06T15:12:32.974-06:00Recently, I ordered a soda along with a club sandwich at my local diner, and the waitress, a snappy little firecracker we'll call "Beth", because her name is Beth, asked me wryly, "Leaded or unleaded?" "Leaded," I responded firmly, indicating I wanted regular soda as opposed to diet soda. And it's a good thing I drink regular soda, because diet sodas will KILL YOU! Okay, so maybe they won't http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/02/i-drink-it-just-for-death-of-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-5242256357506833742Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:54:00 +00002008-01-31T11:14:13.573-06:00There is never any shortage of hard-earned cabbage riding on the outcome of the Super Bowl. The Vegas sports books do crazy business with people from all over betting on which team will win the game and by how much, as do various local sports books, not to mention the average group of friends wagering amongst themselves. But one of the funnest aspects of Super Bowl gambling is the prop bets. Ifhttp://www.rinderpest.com/2008/01/super-bowl-prop-bets.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-5723970749654962748Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:26:00 +00002008-01-29T11:31:59.269-06:00Well, I've been out of the loop for a couple of days. I was at The Amazing Meeting 5.5 conference in Florida over the weekend, sponsored by the James Randi Educational Foundation, and drank so much whiskey at the conference parties, it took me until today to be able to form complete sentences again. But my typing fingers seem to be working again, so let's get back to some alien space craft http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/01/ufo-beat-goes-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-3928837043460538114Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:26:00 +00002008-01-23T15:38:35.832-06:00I thought about posting something about the Tom Cruise Scientology video when it first hit the Internet, but the thing was creepy enough to be hilarious on its own. It's good to see, however, that some folks are having fun with it. Check out this parody video with Jerry O’Connell. the parody video Tom Cruise WANTS you to see! on FunnyOrDie.com Not too shabby.http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/01/cruise-parody.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-3327326014907860286Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:51:00 +00002008-01-23T10:02:56.062-06:00My Rinderpest.com tentacles are stretching out all the time, irritating larger and larger groups of people on the Internet. In the latest step in my plan to take over the entire bloggerhood, I am now also posting at Memoirs of a Skepchick. Rebecca Watson, the ass-kicker that runs the joint over there, in a fit of inspired insanity, asked if I wanted to be a regular contributor to her site. I http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/01/virus-spreads.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-8448040790459612609Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:00:00 +00002008-01-21T14:21:00.212-06:00It becomes difficult to tell if the media coverage causes an incident to become sensationalized or if the sensational events spark the media coverage. If I were guessing, I'd say it's probably the former. Until the story broke into the national spotlight some week and a half ago, there were only a few local newspapers reporting on the lights seen in the night sky over Stephenville, Texas, and a http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/01/those-darn-lights-again.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-9185565077349443056Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:33:00 +00002008-01-17T10:59:07.520-06:00Okay, things are getting silly in regard to the lights seen in the night sky over Stephenville, Texas. Anderson Cooper, the silver-haired female draw on CNN, aired a video of what is supposed to be the alleged UFO. However, despite the fact they claim the footage depicts what they actually believe is an unknown aircraft, it's difficult to tell if the videographers are not just some drunks in a http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/01/more-lights-in-texas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-7958032158202585105Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:42:00 +00002008-01-16T16:02:47.630-06:00Is it surprising when reports of UFOs come out of rural areas or is it just sad? Stephenville, Texas is the latest farming burg to see strange lights in its usually clear, starlit skies. And chatter in newspapers and on radio stations has turned to little green men from outer space and crazy alien technology. Several dozen people, including a pilot and a county constable, reported seeing a "http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/01/tuesday-night-lights.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-8904850813143089162Mon, 14 Jan 2008 22:02:00 +00002008-01-14T16:27:27.230-06:00Well, science is at it again. Apparently, creating new tickers for severe heart patients is becoming a reality. Researchers at the University of Minnesota were able to create a beating heart using the outer structure of one heart and injecting heart cells from another rat. The experiments have so far only been performed on rat hearts, but historically that's where it begins; from new rat parts http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/01/rats-make-heart-grow-stronger.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-8262579184986072244Tue, 08 Jan 2008 19:10:00 +00002008-01-08T17:04:11.638-06:00Well, I said I wasn't going to do a "look back at 2007" post, but I found this item to be kind of fun, so I thought, "What the hell". The American Dialect Society (who knew there was such a thing?) held its annual convention last weekend, and its main order of business was to choose the top words and phrases of 2007. About 80 or so members gathered in Chicago for two days to debate which http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/01/best-word-of-07-chosen.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-8673936004691609575Mon, 07 Jan 2008 19:49:00 +00002008-01-07T14:48:24.720-06:00For this post, I was going to give a recap of the major issues and stories of 2007, and then detail my thoughts about what to expect for 2008. Ohhhhh, but that would have been nice, wouldn't it? I mean, picture it: Had I started to rehash all the old roads we traveled down last year, you would have been able to hear something like Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire playing in the background.http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/01/neither-behind-nor-ahead-i-look.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-3927017867444998831Thu, 03 Jan 2008 17:45:00 +00002008-01-03T11:49:52.841-06:00Happy New Year!! I don't have much to report right now, but I just got back to my computer and I wanted to get a post out for the new year, just to let you know I'm still alive and relatively coherent. There will be more substantial writing coming in the next few days, and I know you will all be as happy as clams with my output. So stay tuned.http://www.rinderpest.com/2008/01/first-for-08.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23600170.post-4304027662863902639Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:42:00 +00002007-12-27T12:07:39.444-06:00Sheesh! It's so difficult to find time to add anything to this blog this time of year. Oh, by the way, I hope you had a very merry Christmas, or whatever holiday you celebrate. And if you don't celebrate any holidays this time of year, I wish you no specific harm, but hope you and yours are at least semi-happy and generally in good health. There. How's that for non-committal? Anyway, I'm http://www.rinderpest.com/2007/12/weariness-and-updates-abound.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sam Ogden)