BTW I am one of the Pirate-king’s gun-converts.
That said, I am also a former resident of the Left Coast. I even voted against Grey Davis.
Things have gotten pretty weird in that state since I left and they just got weirder.
Now all I can say is:

Terminator for Governor!!!
Only in America…

Wish I could vote for him. Instead I’ll have to vote against Minner <sigh>.
Maybe we could get a famous Delawarian thespian to run.
I know, I can’t think of any either…</sigh>

That is how my day was.

Only good thing all day was Jim caught me on AIM and invited me to spend lunch up at the shooting range killing paper. A few boxes of 9mm and 357 helped keep this day from being a complete loss. I left one of my targets sitting on my desk at work. At least 5 people came over and chatted about guns after seeing the target. Helped out a crappy day.
Good article on men who don’t care for gun articles over at D.C. Thornton’s blog. Essentially calls them wussies. Hmm… I tend to agree. I’ve been around guns for a long time, and they’re just like dangerous power tools. Treat them with care, and they’ll do exactly what you want them to do. They’re not going to do things on their own. I’m trying to remember the website where someone has kept a webcam on one of his guns for years. And not once has it jumped out and killed children or anything like that.
My wife likes shooting more than I do. I got “that look” when I got home and told her where I went for lunch. And she had never shot before I took her.
I’ll still leave my offer open to anyone I know to take them shooting if they’ve never shot before. I’ve done it twice, and it went extremely well both times.
That and its Wednesday night, which means South Park and Good Eats.

Tomasky examined the editorial commentary on 10 Bush and Clinton episodes that were roughly comparable. He did not include extraordinary events, such as the Lewinsky scandal or 9/11. Everyone knows that virtually all papers, of every political stripe, whacked Clinton over his Monica dissembling. No surprise there, and there’s no similar Bush scandal. More interesting is how the papers handled run-of-the-mill political controversies.
The liberal papers criticized the Clinton administration 30 percent of the time, while the conservative papers slapped around the Bush administration just 7 percent of the time.
The liberal papers praised the Clintonites 36 percent of the time, while the conservative papers praised the Bushies 77 percent of the time.
One more set of numbers: The liberal papers criticized Bush 67 percent of the time; the conservative papers criticized Clinton 89 percent of the time.

So reads an article on the Washington Post that talks about a study at Harvard.
Maybe the obvious conclusion is that the Clintons are worse than Bush. That would fit in all the data. Bill and Hillary probably deserved more stinging editorials than Bush does. That may be too obvious for

New York magazine columnist Michael Tomasky, who did the study for the Joan Shorenstein press center, is a certified liberal, so some may be inclined to discount his findings. But the nature of his research makes it harder to dismiss.

Pirate attacks are at an all time high this year according to the Associated Press. Well, all time considering records are only kept for 12 years.

Pirate attacks worldwide hit record numbers in the first half of 2003 with the heaviest violence in the waters of Indonesia and Bangladesh, a maritime watchdog group said Thursday.
The shipping industry suffered 234 attacks from January through June this year, up 37 percent compared with 171 incidents during the same period in 2002, the International Maritime Bureau said in a report released by its Kuala Lumpur-based piracy watch center.
More attacks are not the only worrying trend. Reverend David Ellis, a senior chaplain who counsels victims of piracy, says attackers these days have guns and are not afraid to use them.
“If they do not find money on board, they make life difficult for the captain, the officers and the crew,” he said. “And they are more likely to become violent if they can’t get cash.”

Sounds like pretty traditional pirate activity. Of course the attacks are centered mostly around Muslim dominated areas of South-East Asia. Indonesia is marked as one of the worst. Coupled with the terrorist attacks in the area, it is becoming a troublesome area to live and do business. I suspect a full blown war may break out in the area, and then piracy will be the least of their issues.

Pirates usually don’t go too far inland, but Colorado was gorgeous. All you who currently live there are very lucky. But the scenery, the weather, and the people were just wonderful. Just to prove I was in Colorado and not just trying to get out of helping anyone move or anything, here’s me in front of everyone’s favorite Colorado town-
And thank you, personally, for knowing how to drive. Even with all the construction on I-25. Its still easier to travel than I-95. Turn signals, keeping right except to pass, and common curtesy were in abundance. Take heed east coast drivers, you’re all a bunch of non-driving bastards. Around here Maryland drivers never leared keep right except to pass. Pennsylvania tends not to use turn signals, and don’t get me started on New Jersey. Delaware drivers have the common traits of all bad drivers. And from what I remember of the west coast, ya’ll are the same bunch of morons on the road.
UPDATE - The wifey posted a bunch of pics on her site…

Hello all,
Just a reminder that I could use some input/feedback on the site IT Professionals Association of America ITPAA.org. Stop on by and post at the bulletin board. Get in on the ground floor on a debate that is shaping our industry and the 2004 election as well (according to Glenn Reynolds). The site is getting traffic, but everyone is being shy about the forums.

Post something! Now! Don’t make me get your mother!

The site will soon be “featured” in an AP story by Rachel Konrad. It would be nice if it looked “lived in”.

So I will leave it up to you, the friends of the Pirate-King. Most of you are IT people with an opinion - share it at my site. Here, I’ll even make it easier for you. Press this link!.

The ITPAA is NOT anti-capitalism, anti-Globalist, or union-loving. It is a lobbying organization set up to defend the interests of American IT pros and the companies that employ them. It’s a serious mission, but it is a real bitch to start.

So come on fellow Pirates of the 7 Seas, there is booty to be had and treasure to be found here for all.