Friday, March 20, 2015

Google is Beginning to Really Piss Me Off

And I'm a big-time Google fanboy. I have two Chromeboxes and a Chromebook. KN@PPSTER runs on Google's blog hosting. I use and love Gmail. And as much as I try to diversify my search engine use, it's simple fact that when I need the best and most fine-grained results, Google delivers.

But Google AdSense is messing with Antiwar.com. And having been called out on it, instead of correcting themselves they've apparently decided to double down.

Their bottom line demand seems to be for Antiwar.com to takes the rough edges off its news coverage and prettify everything so that nobody finds war, war crimes and war atrocities "disturbing." Otherwise, Google AdSense will keep the site shut out of its advertising program.

First things first: Please donate to Antiwar.com. Yes, I know they just wrapped their quarterly fundraiser, but now they've had a major revenue stream cut off and it's going to take time to replace. If nothing else, if you can, please match the $5 donation I just made.

As for second things, nothing short of unconditional surrender by Google is acceptable.

Even assuming, as I think it's safe to, that Antiwar.com won't be going back to AdSense, this is just plain wrong and evil.

Do you think AdSense would pull this kind of shit on, say, CNN or Fox News (if those networks carry Google ads -- I haven't bothered to check)? Not a chance.

In fact, when it comes to gore and "disturbing" violence, nothing on Antiwar.com can hold a candle to the stuff that regularly appears on Google's very own, heavily ad-monetized, YouTube service.

I really, really, really hate to even contemplate what it will take me to get away from Google. But I am contemplating it.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Looks Like Obama Has Finally Learned ...

... that appeasement doesn't work.

On the other hand, it appears that the National Republican Congressional Committee still hasn't filed its required disclosures under  the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Yet Another Reason I Need to Visit New Orleans

I miss Schlotzky's. I ate there once as a high schooler before their Springfield, Missouri location went out of business. Later, I often got similar sandwiches from the (now also defunct, I think) Mighty Melt/Melters, which was started by former employees of that Schlotzky's location.

When we moved to Gainesville, I was overjoyed to find a Schlotzky's in town -- just far enough away that I only went past it every month or so, because I had to eat there whenever I did. Then that location went out, supposedly with plans to relocate (some kind of lease issue with the location).

I sent a note to Schlotzky's yesterday, pleading for them to get a move-on with that there re-opening. Their (very friendly) reply: The franchisee has decided not to re-open. Huge bummer. Now the nearest Schlotzky's is 150 miles away in pretty much the only Florida town I'm not particularly interested in visiting (it's infested with politicians).

So, research time:


  1. Per Wikipedia, the original Schlotzky's sammich was based on the traditional New Orleans muffuletta.
  2. Could I get a muffuletta in Gainesville?
  3. Yes, I could!
  4. So I did.

A collage of Central Grocery's Muffaletta in N...
A collage of Central Grocery's Muffaletta in New Orleans, Louisiana. Contributed by Jason Perlow of OffTheBroiler.com (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Turns out that McAlister's Deli serves a "New Orleans Muffuletta -- Gambino's authentic muffuletta bread with olive oil, Black Forest ham, salami, Gambino's olive salad and provolone." And McAlister's just happens to be right on the way home from work for Tamara, so she stopped in to pick one up.

In for a penny, in for a pound -- I ordered a whole $12 muffuletta, advertised to feed up to four people. The way I saw it, either I could make several meals out of it or the other people in the house could have it for dinner as well. As it happens, Liam wasn't interested and Tamara only wanted a bite out of curiosity (she's gone "close to vegetarian" lately). So it was pretty much half for me and half for Daniel. And it made a bigger than necessary or advisable meal for both of us.

Tamara thought it was interesting, but didn't care for the olive salad on it.

Daniel thought it was great, but didn't care for the olive salad on it.

I thought it was pretty damn good, olive salad and all. As good as a Schlotzky's Original? I'm not sure. But pretty damn good.

But it was not really a muffuletta. A real muffuletta has mortadella sausage and mozzarella cheese in addition to the ingredients on the McAlister's sammich. And I want a real muffuletta. Which means I need to get to New Orleans and visit Central Grocery, where the muffuletta was invented.

A trip to the Big Easy just moved up another notch on my to-do list.