blog.bagaki.com

I was thinking about this after my haircut the other day and laughed to myself. Those of you that saw me last week know my hair was getting shaggy to say the least. Well I thought it would be nice to be “short” for a while. I do enjoy my long hair, but damn, there is nothing sweeter than short ass hair.

So during my trim the “nice woman who takes care of my hair related needs” and I were discussing my new look. Since she did cut my hair SHORT, she suggested that I tell my friends I joined the Navy. I laughed and told her no one would believe that. She then suggested that I tell everyone I joined a cult. I said that was more believable, as long as I told them I started the cult. (Which has actually led me starting a cult, thats another story)

Afterwards I started to wonder why she suggested the Navy. Of all the armed services why would she pick the Navy. Bingo, she thinks I’m gay. They Navy has a stereotype of being gay, and she has waxed my eyebrows.

All joking aside I truly don’t think my stylist thinks I’m homosexual. I am too bad of a dresser for that. Here is the question of the day: what is the current term for someone who cuts and styles your hair? Is she even my stylist? What the hell is a stylist and does a stylist also cut hair. What do people that mess with hair like to be called?

How come this doesn’t surprise me. I have had a hunch about this kind of crap since the day I was born. Marketers and business people alike will bend truths and statistics to tell what ever story fits their interests the best.

A 31 percent reduction in heart attacks, after all, seems impressive. Yet this pervasive way of describing clinical trials in medical journals—focusing on the “relative risk,” in this case of heart attack—powerfully exaggerates the benefits of drugs and other invasive therapies. What, after all, does a 31 percent relative reduction in heart attacks mean? In the case of the 1995 study, it meant that taking Pravachol every day for five years reduced the incidence of heart attacks from 7.5 percent to 5.3 percent. This indeed means that there were 31 percent fewer heart attacks in patients taking the drug. But it also means that the “absolute risk” of a heart attack for any given person dropped by only 2.2 percentage points* (from 7.5 percent to 5.3 percent). The benefit of Pravachol can be summarized as a 31 percent relative reduction in heart attacks—or a 2.2 percent absolute reduction.

This is just another example of why statistics don’t really mean much. Sure there may be cases where cold hard statistics have a meaning, but in general when someone is trying to sell you something and they offer statistics, remember, they are trying to sell you something.

READ THE COMPLETE STORY HERE

In tradition, I will be updating bagaki.com for the upcoming birthday celebration. We hope this year’s celebration can top last years, and will be outdone next year. The countdown begins in a few short days, we’ll have some fun for ya. In the meantime check out something from the past.

I wish I could do this in public places. I am going to start carrying a portable jammer with me. Do I hate cellphones. I would love to teach at some point in my life, this man is my inspiration.

One week ago today I was down in Madison for a little R&R and kigis was king enough to take me to a musical experience unlike anything I have seen to date. We headed over to the High Noon Saloon (which is a pretty cool place if you ask me - oh and I love the smoking ban in Madison, I fucking hate smoke, I’m adamant about that) to check out a local band: Young Blood Brass Band. They just got back from their European tour and were kicking it back home for the first time since. It was also a sort of CD release party for their new album “Is That A Riot“.

This was a fun show. They are a 7 piece brass band who mix the brassy sound with a little hip-hop. A really cool concept and some cool music to boot. Apparently they toured with Mission (which I cannot locate a website) which I saw a few years ago and are another really cool hiphop band. They stay true to their messages and I like that - they say things with meaning, not this bling bling riding on 40″s garbage.

Here is a shot from the balcony where we were sitting. You can see the YBBB kicking it on stage.

Now here is a shot of what I saw on stage…. and what everything looked like for the next three days. This is what I get for having a bunch of chemists as friends…

• JL421 Badonkadonk Land Cruiser/Tank: Everything Else
  Carries cargo or a crew of up to five internally or on the roof.
  Piloted from within the armored shell or from an exposed standing position through the hatch.
  6hp Tecumseh gasoline engine, top speed 40 mph.
  Includes head/tail and turn signal lights,
• EFF publishes search privacy tips
  After you buy your tank, stop on over here and check out ways to protect your privacy on the web. With today’s technology and the eager eye of companies and governments, you can never be too protective of your privacy.
• Budlight Radio Commercials
  If you’re looking for the Bud Light “Real Men of Genius” or “Real American Hero” radio spots, you’re in the right place. I’ve been collecting these spots for a few years now and it’s grown quite a bit in size and user base.
• ZUG - The World’s Only Comedy Site - Pranks, Jokes, Funny Video Clips, and Other Funny Stuff
  After your laughs at the Bud Commercials (or hatred, especially if you are getting the political spoofs in Wisconsin) this site might bring tears to your eyes. Make sure to stop by the colon cleansing section.
• Fortune favours the bold - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Fortune favours the bold or fortune favours the brave is a phrase derived from the Latin saying “fortes fortuna adjuvat”. The phrase means that luck is likely to be granted by the goddess Fortuna to the side of someone who is willing to take risks. The ph

Check the latest on the former Saved By The Bell star - he’s into porno.

He may have played nerdy eighth-grader Samuel (Screech) Powers in the sitcom “Saved by the Bell.” But former TV geek Dustin Diamond can now take his place with Colin Farrell, Tommy Lee and Kid Rock as the star of his very own sex tape.

Everyone who remembers Diamond as a lovable putz is in for a shock once they see a 40-minute video in which he engages in a kinky three-way with two women, sources tell us.

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When trying to escape from your locked trunk like MacGyver, Harry Houdini, or Siegfried and Roy it is recommended to first try unlocking the trunk before jumping in and closing the lid. Once you are locked in your trunk and you realize that you cannot reach the lock mechanism without pliers, you will be forced to lay there for 45 minutes until someone walks by. Even worse is trying to explain why you locked yourself in the trunk of your car. Even worse is the lifelong harassment of such an ordeal.

Screw a potato gun, I want a pumpkin cannon. Click for full-res picture

I stopped by the grocery store yesterday to pick up a few things for dinner. I ended up running into an old friend that I haven’t seen in years. We were talking and he was telling me how he has been crossbreeding pumpkins for the past 7-8 years and they are finally starting to turn out. He mentioned he was on the cover of his local paper recently and I was hoping a google search would turn up the article. It didn’t, but it did turn up The World Champion Punkin Chunkin. You have to go to the gallery page and look at these contraptions. Nothing short of spectacular.

Monday night was the first night in 10 days in which I could sleep in my own bed and boy was I excited. There were fresh sheets and I had just made the bed. It was almost orgasmic to slide into the cool sheets after a long week+ of travel. I was so damn happy to finally be home after living out of a suitcase for so long.

So I begin to doze off when I realized how DRY it was in my apartment. I knew immediately it was going to be a problem for me. As I lay in bed, my throat already painfully dried, I whimpered as I tried to sleep. I knew that the one thing I was lusting after the most, my own bed, was going to be night of shitty sleep and sore throat.

Well to no surprise I woke up about ever 30 minutes, my throat as dry as the desert during a drought (lame analogy but cleaner than the other one that popped into my head). I slept for shit. At one point, about 7am, I actually got up and turned on the shower on HOT for about 20 minutes to try to get some moisture in the air. At this point it was no use. It was evident what I needed to do… purchase a humidifier.

After suffering all day I drove to the local buy-it-all mart and purchased the most modestly priced humidifier. I didn’t need anything big, just something to bring relief to my throat during rest. I ended up with some Holmes brand unit that cost me 40 bucks. Thats right, $40 big ones.

So I read all the directions and fill the tank with water. I went in my bedroom a few hours after I set it up to see how things were progressing on the humidity front and low and behold that piece of shit was spottily made. The tank had already developed an internal crack, and the seal around the bottom where the clear plastic meets the cream plastic was allowing air in. With the unit turned off, the fucking tank leaks.

Now I don’t like to swear much on the blog, but this just frosts me. I just spent $40 for one of the crappiest built products I have ever purchased. Now if it only cost me $10, I wouldn’t be that surprised, but for $40 you can bet your ass I am returning this piece of shit tomorrow. Only after it attempts to sooth my throat so I can have a nice nights rest. Lets just hope for some poor customer service rep’s sake I can sleep tonight. Because there is nothing worse that some guy who hasn’t slept for two days with a sore throat calling to bitch about some crap imported from China.

you can see where the system is sucking air through the leak by the bubbles around the seal. You turn the system off and the suction stops…. which means this fucking thing starts leaking everywhere.

“What was that?” Ha-ha

I don’t know if any of you remember a few years ago some guy tried selling a “hands free” cellphone kit on eBay that was nothing more than a rubber band. (see image on the left)

Now someone, somewhere has decided to make this a “real” product. Not that the man wearing a cellphone rubber banded to his head wasn’t selling a real product, it is just that someone has now put the “hands free kit” in a pretty-ready-for-store-shelf package. The newly packaged “cell phone kit” is really not a kit. I call them on false advertising. If you look up the definition of a kit, I would think it would need more than one part. Maybe I am just being anal, I don’t know. but I do know that I sure as hell don’t want any cancer causing radiation device strapped to my head. Just give me a Steve Guttenberg movie and a bottle of Jack and we are about even.

Over the past week I have had the pleasure to experience not one but two unique eating establishments with excellent food offerings. They both share the Italian theme, if Pizza can be considered Italian.

This adventure begins with dinner last Wednesday night at Yarusso’s. This is St. Paul’s oldest family-owned Italian Restaurant, and a mighty cool place none-the-less. There are pictures on the wall, the God Father playing 24×7, and one hell of a family feeling. I just happened to know the bartender working so that made it even more like home. Who cares about the bartender, what you really want to know is how the food was. It was delicious. I had a HUGH plate of pasta, smothered in their “unique” sauce (more on that in a moment), covered with cheese and two hand-made meatballs. Delicious. Now about the sauce… the most unique red-sauce I have ever had. Nothing like you have ever had. I can’t really put my finger on it maybe cinnamon, maybe nutmeg - there is this flavor to it that one must truly taste to appreciate. The next time you are down in the St Paul area looking for a bite, definitely check out Yarusso’s. If Tony is working, tell him Kevin sent you. (I have no clout there but my friend does so I give him the credit) - Thanks Keco for the experience.

Now, if you are in Madison looking for a late night snack or just some good pizza, Ian’s Pizza is the place. I walked in to this place at 1am, everyone in there was drunk and the pizza selection was limitless. I had the Chicken Cordon Bleu (Virgina Ham, Breaded Chicken and Bleu Cheese) and it ROCKED!!! I want to go back to have their signature Macaroni and Cheese pizza. It’s no Frankie’s, but definitely top in its class. Thank you kigis for the experience, and for telling me the name of this place 8 times. I want some of this RIGHT NOW!!, almost worth the 6.5 hour drive - but they would be closed when I arrived.