"The water board technique dates back to the 1500s during the Italian Inquisition. A prisoner, who is bound and gagged, has water poured over him to make him think he is about to drown. Current and former CIA officers tell ABC News that they were trained to handcuff the prisoner and cover his face with cellophane to enhance the distress. According to Sen. hn McCain, R-Ariz., himself a torture victim during the Vietnam War, the water board technique is a 'very exquisite torture' that should be outlawed. 'Torture is defined under the federal criminal code as the intentional infliction of severe mental pain or suffering,' said John Sifton, an attorney and researcher with the organization Human Rights Watch. 'That would include water boarding.'" lifted from here.

habeas corpus Lat. "you have the body" Prisoners often seek release by filing a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. A writ of habeas corpus is a judicial mandate to a prison official ordering that an inmate be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not that person is imprisoned lawfully and whether or not he should be released from custody. A habeas corpus petition is a petition filed with a court by a person who objects to his own or another's detention or imprisonment. The petition must show that the court ordering the detention or imprisonment made a legal or factual error. Habeas corpus petitions are usually filed by persons serving prison sentences. In family law, a parent who has been denied custody of his child by a trial court may file a habeas corpus petition. Also, a party may file a habeas corpus petition if a judge declares her in contempt of court and jails or threatens to jail her.

I once took Madonna to the airport. She was standing by the side of the road with a mountain of high priced luggage two miles west of McPherson Kansas in 1993. I pulled over in my 1963 sky-blue Ford Fairlane and asked her if she needed a ride.

She asked me to take her to the Wichita airport, and I agreed.

She had eight bags with her, all expensive luggage. I threw the bags in the trunk and back seat, and we were off.

Trying to remain cool, I pretended not to recognize her. She was wearing sunglasses, and her hair was pulled back in a pony-tail, and she was wearing jeans and a simple white top. But I knew her instantly. She was really pissed off.

“That twit Raphael is going to be so fired when I get back to L.A.,” she said. In ’96 she had yet to put on her ridiculous fake British accent, so her saying “twit” was sort of prophetic.

She didn’t even pretend to care who I was. She didn’t even ask me my name.

“I’m Dan,” I said. “I’d play the radio, but it’s broken.”

“Brilliant.” She said. Again a British expression, no British accent.

“Well, I was going to get it replaced. I like some of your songs.”

“Oh, thank you,” she said, and she finally smiled, showing the famous gap between her teeth.

I drove her to the airport. She gave me gas money and autographed a Domino's Pizza box I had in the back seat. I still have that pizza box. I have it framed in my office. No one believes me when I tell this story.

I didn't do any shopping. In fact, we went to Fred Meijer Gardens and looked at the Xmas trees for awhile. Deb did brave the crowds to get an office chair for her new desk upstairs. I dropped off one machine and picked up another. I guess people are trampling each other for cheap stuff now. Animals. Merry Thanksmas everybody.

Just when I think the world can't get any goofier, when I think we've finally jumped off the brink into madness, something goofier comes up and surprises me: Michael Brown, the Uber-F*ckup who used to run FEMA, is starting a disaster preparedness consulting firm.(link) Whah? Wha-wha-what? Hamina-hamina-hamina-hamina. Somebody get me a f*cking straight jacket. Have we slipped into the friggin' twilight zone or something?

What am I thankful for? Tryptophan. Because I ate turkey, I got sleepy. Because I got sleepy, I took a nap. Because I took a nap, I didn't have to witness the unholy suck-fest that is the Detroit Lions. Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

It’s 11 at night, and I’m aimlessly clicking around the Internet. For what? I’m afraid to open that crappy book I’ve been procrastinating for the last few months. It’s shit. I should just start with something new. Something that hasn’t molded like old cheese, stinking up my hard-drive with it’s unmitigated crappiness. Jesus Christ.

Today is Monday, and I've had another fantastic day. I replaced a power supply and cleaned out a massive amount of spyware on another machine. Then they call me at ten at night because Microsoft Word locked up on them, and they forgot to save their work.

Alex at Lake Charlevoix
Originally uploaded by danmanning2001.

Took this pic of Alex when we went to Lake Charlevoix on Sept. 4th.

Thanks Barry for re-introducing me to a site I liked, forgot about, and then had to be reminded of: democraticunderground.com. Looking over that site led me to another good one: pre$$titutes.com 11.7.05.0724

Thanks Don for linking to www.nowaterball.com back at ya: cooladventures.net Don has been around the world running marathons and doing all sorts of other cool things I wish I could do. Check out his web page. He also is the mastermind behind the Grand Rapids Marathon . Thanks again Don! 11.6.05.1857

I couldn't stand watching Joey H. F*ck up again, so I watched the New York Marathon highlights instead. What a finish. The closest finish in NYMarathon history. One guy posted a 4:21 mile -- on mile 15. that's crazy.

I had to take three machines in Friday, and I spent all Saturday trying to get rid of them. I dropped off two, and got a call back from one within an hour, the customer saying the machine locked up when they opened Easy CD creator. Never seen it before in my 2 years doing this on my own, so I had to take it back and format it again. Spent all Saturday dinking around with it.

This morning, dropped the second one off @ 8:30 this morning, breaking my rule to never work on Sunday.