Political cartoons are a riot

Thanks ImageShack

This week's sign that the apocalypse is upon us

Here's a sample of some of the ballot initiatives voted on today and their outcomes. See if you can guess what the fuck is wrong with our country. (Source: The Boston Globe)

OHIO:
- Rejected: Shifting redistricting powers from state legislators and top statewide officeholders to a commission.
- Rejected: Reducing limit on individual contributions to political candidates.
- Rejected: Shifting oversight of elections from secretary of state to a bipartisan, nine-member board.
- Rejected: Allowing all voters to cast ballots early by mail.

TEXAS:
- Approved: Amending state constitution to ban gay marriage.

WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas:
- Rejected: Changing town's name to West Settlement.

Erection Day

I call this next one, "The Disappearing Mayor" (courtesy of the Washington Post and Imageshack)

A common motif in office life is "that guy with the accent who is always talking to me." In my case, he's about 40, Pakistani, and always making "I'm shooting at you, cowboy!" gestures. When I started working, I tried returning with my own attempts at humor. It quickly became apparent that, although he can dish it out, it's more mimicry than a genuine appreciation for the finer points of American office culture. Since then, I've just kind of taken it in stride, albeit sometimes with a very forced smile or laugh.

Yesterday, I was talking to a friend about an Indian buffet lunch in celebration of Diwali. This guy walked up and asked if we went to the buffet. I hadn't, but my friend had. Because it seemed like a reasonable thing to ask, he went off on a rant explaining that he worships the same God we do (assuming, I suppose, that we were Christian or Jewish) and how ridiculous it is "this day and age" to worship "a cow and a God of Wisdom and a Creator" at the same time. One God, he asserted, was the only type of worship that made rational sense. Awkward moment number one. But that wasn't the end of it.

In what is surely the most awkward moment I've experienced since I've started working, this character came into my office moments ago and told me to look up a certain category of patent. (600/38, for those in the know.) Lo and behold, it's a list of thousands of patents for "sexual appliances." As if it wasn't bad enough to be looking at low-grade pornography in your office with a co-worker you're not that into, he told me to click on a particular application. After spending 5 minutes explaining the finer points of the diagrams ("You see, element 125 is inserted into slot 212. But it also lines up with slot 214, so you can use them in multiple configurations!"), he thankfully left.

I feel dirty and I want to keep my office door closed from now on.

Oh, God, I think I hear him walking down the hall...

One thought, two links and a video game recommendation

Why do we (or is it just me?) say "a universe" and not "an universe," but we say "an urchin"? Is it because "uni-" sounds like it starts with a "y"?

Now with the links:
- Damn Interesting: news for nerds, stuff that matters
- Did the Middle Ages Really Exist?: I say "yes." Certain people disagree with me.

That being said, if you've ever enjoyed Sid Meiers Civilization games, go out and buy the new one. I think it's probably the best one yet (including Alpha Centauri). Perhaps I've spoken too soon. I'll find out this evening when I play it for hours on end.