“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”
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This video found its way into my email and I thought I’d share it on the blog.
I haven’t seen anything quite like it so I hope you enjoy it too.
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“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”
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This video found its way into my email and I thought I’d share it on the blog.
I haven’t seen anything quite like it so I hope you enjoy it too.
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“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”
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I remember on this day last year starting out with great intentions of doing a Star Wars based post in tribute the day that has become known to many as ‘Star Wars Day’ because of the pun on the memorable phrase coined in the movie series “May the force be with you”.
Unfortunately I failed miserably last year because the post ended up as one about a guy who had built himself a really cool looking laser gun based on the phasers from Star Trek, not Star Wars. (Here’s the link if you missed it – click here)
So time to make amends.
Taken together the Star Wars series of movies has to be one of the most watched and highest grossing ever in the history of the cinema, if not THE greatest. The original 1977 movie itself has been estimated to have taken $2,710,800,000 in today’s inflation adjusted terms.
On top of that it has spawned a plethora of merchandising material from t-shirts to robots to gadgets to almost everything that could be seen in the movies themselves, and then some!
Top of everyone’s list has to be a lightsabre – I have never met anyone who has seen Star Wars who didn’t want to be the proud owner of a light sabre, including me.
From the first time you saw the flash of light and heard that ‘hummm’, way back in 1977, in Obi-Wan Kenobi’s bungalow, even though you didn’t really know what it was, you still knew you wanted one – needed one!
Well for a bit north of $100 now you can own one, the Star Wars Force FX Lightsaber! It has the light, it has the sound, and it looks the part – well almost.
From the sublime, however, we also have the ridiculous.
Somewhere out there is that great Universe you just know that at least one moron has subjected their poor dog to the indignity of a Star Wars suit. Poor mutt, even the look on its face says it all.
And there are lots of other stuff in between, including these
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Finally, an interesting little piece of trivia that would just as easily have taken its place in one of my ‘Did you know factoids’.
Star Wars fans were not the first to introduce the line “May the fourth be with you”. When the recently deceased Margaret Thatcher was elected Britain’s first female Prime Minister on May 4, 1979, her party placed an advertisement in The London Evening News that said “May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations.” This reading of the line has also been recorded in the UK Parliament’s Hansard.
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“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”
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Something that has always annoyed me is the deference most people pay to scientists and scientific research, for no other good reasons than they don’t understand what is being said or they imagine because something or other is being stated by a scientist it is beyond reproach.
How this stupid thinking has come about I really don’t know, because if science has proven anything, it has proven that nothing is set in stone. What we know today, we may find out is nonsense tomorrow, as more scientific research is done and new discoveries are made. Flat earthers take note.
But people being what they are – and scientists are people too – within the scientific community, as well as the really intelligent, there are also idiots, deluded souls incapable of setting aside their own bias and belief in their own infallibility, and downright crooks who play on the public’s misplaced faith in them to promote themselves reap their rewards.
What this all boils down to is that when we hear a scientist pronouncing on some great new discovery we don’t know whether it is a breakthrough or just more bollocks.
Nowhere is this better seen than within medical research.
Here greedy scientists and big business combine to feed us with information that not only does not stand up to proper scrutiny, but that has been deliberately selective in the results it publicizes to back up its claims.
Why is this important?
Because people die as a result, that’s why. And not in small numbers either.
For example, over 100,000 people in America died unnecessarily because of they took anti arrhythmic drugs that doctors prescribed because they relied on deeply flawed scientific studies.
Imagine what the government would have done if Bin Laden had killed more than 100,000 Americans?
But enough from me. I’ll hand you over to a doctor to tell more of the story. It’s interesting and you never know, after you listen to it you might view the next big scientific discovery with the skepticism it probably deserves.
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“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”
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A few people have asked me if the quiz show answers that I use on the fasab blog are all genuine or did I make some of them up for comic effect.
It’s not that I would be beyond doing things to get a laugh sometimes, but to answer the question for everyone who considered it:
Yes they are all genuine answers.
Yes, people are genuinely that stupid.
Yes, it’s hard to believe but it’s true.
Still not convinced?
Need evidence direct from the horses’ mouths?
Grab yourself a nice cup of coffee and take 15 minutes or so to watch the video.
Enjoy (and never doubt fasab again…… well not all the time.)
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“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”
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In previous posts we have had ‘Beautiful Numbers’, ‘Big Numbers’, ‘Unusual Numbers’ and lots of what I called ‘Significant Numbers’.
Today, for a bit of a change, it is the turn of ‘Magic Numbers’, or magic number tricks.
I call them magic numbers because the results of some of them are predictable and on occasions magicians have incorporated them into their magic routines, where, for example, they need their ‘stooge’ to pick a certain card or a certain page in a book and want to give the audience the illusion of a random choice.
Try some of these out. Use them to do a bit of magic yourselves, or to win friends and influence people. Or just to entertain people you like or bore people you don’t like, whichever you think is appropriate.
Anyway I hope you enjoy this selection. You’ll need a calculator if you want to check them out.
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First Magic Number Trick.
Step 1: Pick a number,
Step 2: add 2,
Step 3: multiply by 3,
Step 4: subtract 6,
Step 5: divide by 3.
You should get the number you started with.
This works for other, larger numbers. This example started with add 2 and multiply 3. But any two numbers work, just multiply them together to get the next number that you subtract.
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Second Magic Number Trick.
Step 1: Pick a number,
Step 2: square it (probably need a calculator for big numbers),
Step 3: add twice the original number,
Step 4: add one,
Step 5: take the square root (rounding it to the nearest whole number, 7.999… becomes 8),
Step 6: subtract 1,
You should get the number you started with.
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Third Magic Number Trick.
Step 1: Pick a number,
Step 2: square it,
Step 3: add ten times the original number,
Step 4: add 25,
Step 5: take the square root (rounding to the nearest whole number),
Step 6: subtract your original number.
The answer should always be 5.
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Third Magic Number Trick.
Here is a slightly more complicated one.
Step 1: Pick a number between 1 and 100,
Step 2: add 28,
Step 3: multiply by 6,
Step 4: subtract 3,
Step 5: divide by 3,
Step 6: subtract the original number plus 3,
Step 7: add 8,
Step 8: subtract the original number minus 1,
Step 9: multiply by 7.
Your answer should be 427.
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Fourth Magic Number Trick.
Step 1: Pick a number 1 through 9,
Step 2: multiply by 12345679 (notice there is no 8 there),
Step 3: multiply by 9.
Do you see your original number?
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Fifth Magic Number Trick.
Step 1: Pick a 3-digit number in which the first and last digits differ by more than one,
Step 2: reverse this number (for example, 531 becomes 135) and subtract the smaller from the larger,
Step 3: add this number to the reverse of itself.
Your answer is 1089.
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Sixth Magic Number Trick.
Step 1: Think of a 3 digit number.
Step 2: Multiply it by 7, then by 11, and then by 13.
Your answer should be your original number twice,
for example, if you chose the number 456, your answer would be 456456
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Seventh Magic Number Trick.
Step 1: Think of a 2 digit number.
Step 2: Multiply it by 3, then by 7, then by 13, and then by 37.
You should see your original number repeated three times.
For example, if your number was 45, the answer would be 454545
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Eighth Magic Number Trick.
Step 1: Think of a 5 digit number.
Step 2: Multiply it by 11.
Step 3: Multiply it by 9091.
For example, if the number is 12345, the answer should be 1234512345
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Ninth Magic Number Trick.
If you multiply 1089 by 9 you get 9801. The number has reversed itself!
This also works with 10989 or 109989 or 1099989 and so on.
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Tenth Magic Number Trick.
19 = 1 x 9 + 1 + 9 and 29 = 2 x 9 + 2 + 9.
This also works for 39, 49, 59, 69, 79, 89 and 99.
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Eleventh Magic Number Trick.
2 is the only number that gives the same result added to itself as it does times by itself.
In other words 2 + 2 = 4 = 2 x 2, or, (2+2) – (2 x 2) = 0
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Twelfth Magic Number Trick.
If you multiply 21978 by 4 it turns backwards
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Thirteenth Magic Number Trick.
153, 370, 371 and 407 are all the sum of the cubes of their digits.
In other words 153 = 13+53+33, 370 = 33+73+03, 371 = 33+73+13, 153 = 43+03+73,
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Fourteenth Magic Number Trick.
1 divided by 37 = 0•027027027
and
1 divided by 27 = 0•037037037
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“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”
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Before we look forward to a new year it is always nice to look back to the past. In this case some more of the past statements of President George W Bush.
I don’t think he requires any more introduction than that. I’ll just let him speak for himself.
Enjoy.
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“I think war is a dangerous place.” – Washington, D.C., May 7, 2003
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“Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?” – Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000
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“Will the highways on the Internet become more few?” – Concord, N.H., Jan. 29, 2000
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“Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.” – LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000
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“If affirmative action means what I just described, what I’m for, then I’m for it.” – Third presidential debate. St. Louis, Mo., October 17, 2000
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“It’s your money. You paid for it.” – LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000
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“That’s a chapter, the last chapter of the 20th, 20th, the 21st century that most of us would rather forget. The last chapter of the 20th century. This is the first chapter of the 21st century.” – On the Lewinsky scandal, Arlington Heights, Ill., Oct. 24, 2000
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“I think if you know what you believe, it makes it a lot easier to answer questions. I can’t answer your question.” – In response to a question about whether he wished he could take back any of his answers in the first debate. Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Oct. 4, 2000
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“I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.” – Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000
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“One of the common denominators I have found is that expectations rise above that which is expected.” – Los Angeles, Sept. 27, 2000
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“It is clear our nation is reliant upon big foreign oil. More and more of our imports come from overseas.” – Beaverton, Ore., Sep. 25, 2000
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“I think we agree, the past is over.” – On his meeting with John McCain, Dallas Morning News, May 10, 2000
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“It’s clearly a budget. It’s got a lot of numbers in it.” – Reuters, May 5, 2000
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“What I am against is quotas. I am against hard quotas, quotas they basically delineate based upon whatever. However they delineate, quotas, I think vulcanize society. So I don’t know how that fits into what everybody else is saying, their relative positions, but that’s my position.” – Quoted by Molly Ivins, the San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 21, 2000
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“I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.” – Saginaw, Mich., Sept. 29, 2000
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“Keep good relations with the Grecians.” – Quoted in the Economist, June 12, 1999
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The best of Bushisms
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“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”
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By special request, today’s significant number is the number six. My thanks to John in Australia for the suggestion, turns out it was a very interesting choice. So let’s get started. Enjoy.
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In religion

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In mathematics
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In science
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In space


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In politics

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In sport





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Cars and Bikes

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In books, music, television & movies
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In militaria

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Six Million
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Finally, other stuff
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“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”
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I’ve been doing puns for a while now and it seems that a lot of other people like them too. I just can’t figure out the reason. I mean the jokes themselves are, to say the least, sometimes contrived and quite bad. Yet people groan, grimace and laugh and come back for more – me included, I’m just not sure why.
If you think you have the answer do let me know.
Meantime enjoy this week’s selection.
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The other day someone left a piece of silly putty in my house. I didn’t know what to make of it.
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My wife has left me because I am a compulsive gambler. I’d do anything to win her back.
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Some people are making Rapture jokes like there’s no tomorrow.
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Tea is for mugs.
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Did you hear about the physics student who couldn’t understand quantum theory? He was thicker than a Planck!

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A woman was attacked by a troupe of mime artists. They performed unspeakable acts on her.
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Wind turbines. I’m a big fan.
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NBC News: Two pedestrians die in collision. How fast must they have been walking?
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Don’t you just hate it when people think there clever but use the wrong grammar?
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Iraq drastically needs to reduce its car bomb footprint.
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A book just fell on my head. I’ve only got myshelf to blame.
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“So, how’s life in North Korea?”
“Well, I can’t complain.”
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How do you find a blind man in a nudist colony? It’s not hard.
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Cocaine is never a solution. Unless, of course, you dissolve it in water.
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I got a phone call from electric company to say my bill was outstanding. I said, “Thanks!”
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I often say to myself, “I can’t believe that cloning machine worked!”
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When my girlfriend said she was leaving because of my obsession with The Monkees, I thought she was joking. And then I saw her face.
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“Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy”
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Yes, I miss him, I really do.
And from what some of you have said recently, I’m not the only one.
So, today I have the honor of recalling probably some of the greatest political statements ever made or ever likely to be made.
For those of you who were privileged to live through these wondrous years I hope you enjoy recalling some of these important moments. For those who were too young to appreciate them at the time, you are I think in for a delight.
But that’s enough of an intro.
Without further ado I present to you some of the immortal words of United States of America President, George W Bush.
Enjoy!
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“Public speaking is very easy.”
-George W. Bush
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“The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.”
– George W. Bush
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“If we don’t succeed, we run the risk of failure.”
– George W. Bush
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“One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is ‘to be prepared’.”
– George W. Bush
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“I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.”
-George W. Bush
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“Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children.”
– George W. Bush
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“We’re going to have the best educated American people in the world.”
– George W. Bush
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“The future will be better tomorrow.”
– George W. Bush
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“We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe.”
– George W. Bush
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“A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.”
– George W. Bush
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“We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.”
– George W. Bush
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“For NASA, space is still a high priority.”
– George W. Bush
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“It isn’t pollution that’s harming the environment. It’s the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.”
-George W. Bush
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“It’s time for the human race to enter the solar system.”
– George W. Bush
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“You’ve also got to measure in order to begin to effect change that’s just more — when there’s more than talk, there’s just actual — a paradigm shift.”
– George W. Bush
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“I stand by all the misstatements that I’ve made.”
– George W. Bush
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Hi folks, just a little additional blog post for today. I don’t do this very often, only when I come across something that isn’t really substantial enough for a full post, but which I nevertheless find amusing.
So here is a short video of hos they saw the recent US Presidential Election in Taiwan.
Pity it hadn’t really been like this.
Enjoy!