DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

I’ve written about Biomorph desks before. I bought one a few years ago, and I think it’s the best desk in the world.

It’s a split-level desk: the front can be lowered to keyboard height, and the rear can be raised to monitor height. It’s big enough for two monitors, speakers, and a laptop too.

I’ve been told of a sale on 30 of these desks, purchased at auction from (you knew this was coming) a failed dot-com. The desk surface is “Maple Appleply”, which in my opinion is the nicest of the available finishes. See the finishes and other specs at the Biomorph Personal Interactive Desk website.

The original retail on these things is about $1700. The used desks, which just like you have survived at least one dot-com implosion, cost $695. Yes, that’s still a lot of money, but as I said this is the best desk in the world. If you don’t want to buy one of these, don’t worry too much… your medical insurance will probably cover your carpal tunnel surgery.

If you’re interested, email me and I’ll put you in touch with the seller.

These desks will be gone by the end of the month.

The first step in preparing for a dinner party is to arrange the necessary documentation: gather all the printed information needed to prepare for the event. Given our intended menu (pizza) and the particular group of friends we’ve invited, the following source texts are appropriate:

• Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (recipe: “Another Mushroom Pizza”)
• Artisan Baking (recipe: “Sullivan Street Potato Pizza”)
• Bon Appetit, September 1997 (recipe: “Manchu Spiced Garlic Chicken Pizzettas”)
• SF Chron food section, January 6, 1999 (pizza tips)
• DSM-IV, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

That last volume isn’t a cookbook, but I’m hoping the section on delusional behavior will explain why I think I’m going to be able to make five kinds of pizza, none of which I’ve ever tried before, using two dough recipes and a sauce recipe I’ve never tried, for six, without getting up from the table 300 times during the course of the meal.

I always tell myself that if I have all the pies topped before guests arrive, then I’ll actually be able to eat dinner with the group, but it somehow never works out that way. I’m invariably up to my elbows in flour when the doorbell rings.

But this time will be different, for I have a Plan…

[My delusions continue in part II.]

Digital photographers: check out Petteri Sulonen’s technique for great black-and-white images.

The downside to lying all the time is that chronic liars eventually get caught. Public and prolific liars could even get caught on national TV. That’s what happened to Donald Rumsfeld on Face the Nation.

In late 2002, Rumsfeld said:

No terror state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

Last week, Rumsfeld denied ever using the phrase “immediate threat:”

You and a few other critics are the only people I’ve heard use the phrase “immediate threat.” I didn’t. The president didn’t. And it’s become kind of folklore that that’s what’s happened.”

Folklore? Please. See the video. Judge for yourself: Rumsfeld caught lying on Face the Nation. Watch him backpedal as the video fades out, stuttering about “the best intelligence…” What a maroon.

Here’s a page full of Bush, Rumsfeld, and the whole band of neo-con lunatics spouting off about imminent and immediate terrorist threats.

Frightening results from a recent Pew Research Center poll on global opinion of the war on Iraq:

• Osama bin Laden is viewed favorably by large percentages in Pakistan (65%), Jordan (55%) and Morocco (45%).
• In those same countries, more people than not think suicide bombings against Americans are justified.
• Large majorities in almost every country surveyed think that American and British leaders lied when they claimed, prior to the Iraq war, that Saddam Hussein’s regime had weapons of mass destruction.
• Large majorities in every country, except for the U.S., hold an unfavorable opinion of Bush.
• Just 14% of Germans, 24% of French and 41% of British think that people who have moved to the U.S. from their countries have a better life.

To anyone who thinks America can succeed and survive in the long term without the support (if not admiration) of the rest of the world, I humbly suggest you cancel any international travel plans.

But don’t take my word for it. Listen to what John Hulsman, from the right-wing Heritage Foundation, says about the recent bombings in Madrid and subsequent ejection of Spain’s Bush-friendly government:

Al Qaeda clearly determined the outcome of a Western election. That is terrifying, and it will only encourage them to continue. The lesson is going to be that if you side with America, there’s a price to be paid.

More from Hulsman, and more interpretation of the Pew results can be found here: U.S., allies face rising antiwar sentiment (mirror)

When I visited Greece last Fall, I was treated with courtesy and respect nearly everywhere I went. But outside of the towns I saw evidence that my appeal was less than universal. This is only a tiny data point, but I took it personally. I don’t want to be judged based on the actions of my government. Moreover, I don’t want to be punished for them.