English Practice: Taking a Taxi to Texas to Pay Taxes

A Chinese friend of mine came up with a mild tongue twister: Taking a taxi to Texas to pay taxes. I thought it was something from an English book like “Sally Sells Seashells by the Seashore”. But they said they made it up. I googled it and don’t see it anywhere on the web. I guess I’m a geek. I think it’s so cool that it’s original.

So play a stupid game with me and let’s see how much we can expand on it. The first version was “taxi to Texas”, then someone added “to pay taxes” and someone added “taking” so we have:

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2010 Thailand and Poi Pet Cambodia Border Crossing Details

Last week (October 2010) I crossed the border from Thailand into Poi Pet, Cambodia. I had read on internet forums and websites about how hairy it is with scams at every corner. My experience was exactly as others had mentioned so I wanted to detail that information for other people that plan on making that crossing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poipet

If you’re crossing the Cambodia/Thailand border via Poi Pet it’s probably because you are going to or coming from Siem Reap (Angor Wat) Cambodia. Angor Wat was fantastic. I cannot imagine anyone who would not enjoy it. Well worth the journey. So here’s info to make your journey safer.

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Blog Stats 2010 – Almost Top 100,000 in US

I was a little surprised to find out my little blog is almost in the top 100,000 of US websites. This blog was never created for any particular marketing or SEM campaign. I just started in 2006 to write about things of interest to me at the time. Maybe that’s why it’s popular – no ulterior motive!

Conradaskland.com’s three-month global Alexa traffic rank is 344,767. The site is relatively popular among users in the city of New York (where it is ranked #100,546). Compared with all internet users, the site appeals more to users who are aged under 25 and 35–55; its visitors also tend to consist of both uneducated and highly educated men earning over $60,000 who have more children and browse from work.

Visitors to it view an average of 1.3 unique pages per day. We estimate that 58% of Conradaskland.com’s visitors are in the US, where it has attained a traffic rank of 101,553.

LABATOIR – Path of a bum (Official Music Video)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7elSUOflVMk

First music video from Trigo – one of the moderators and members of my RapDogs.com hip hop and rap artist website since 2004. I think it’s a sic video. Most of it’s in Italian I think. Even thought I don’t know Italian street slang I still find the emotion very moving. Hope you enjoy.

Video musicale di “Path of a bum” del gruppo LABATOIR.
Canzone tratta da “Percorsi InVersi Vol.1 – Per il gusto di farlo”

Rocky Horror Show Live – Time Warp

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4fKG0fcogg

I ran across this live video of the Time Warp from a 1997 production of The Rocky Horror Show. This was one of the most fun musical theater projects I ever worked on. I wouldn’t mind going on a tour with this show for a few years because the interaction with the audience is intoxicating.

Working on my own project I always go back and forth between “high art” and the just plain fun of a Rocky type experience. When it comes to art what’s more important – having fun or giving people a more thoughtful experience? I guess we need it all for a colorful life…

RDF TV – Baloney Detection Kit – Michael Shermer

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUB4j0n2UDU

With a sea of information coming at us from all directions, how do we sift out the misinformation and bogus claims, and get to the truth? Michael Shermer of Skeptic Magazine lays out a “Baloney Detection Kit,” ten questions we should ask when encountering a claim.
The 10 Questions:
1. How reliable is the source of the claim?
2.Does the source make similar claims?
3. Have the claims been verified by somebody else?
4. Does this fit with the way the world works?
5. Has anyone tried to disprove the claim?
6. Where does the preponderance of evidence point?
7. Is the claimant playing by the rules of science?
8. Is the claimant providing positive evidence?
9. Does the new theory account for as many phenomena as the old theory?
10. Are personal beliefs driving the claim?