So the shop Fleurty Girl is abiding by the legal threat handed to them by the NFL. Too bad that the NFL has to pick on this shop (and I have to assume a few other retailers have received similar letters).

I would agree with the NFL’s action in protecting their trademark…if it was something they came up with. However, I remember seeing the phrase “Who Dat?” used for virtually my whole life. As far as I can remember, it began as a home-grown rallying cry – locally thought up by who-knows-who and hand-printed on posterboard and such, to be help up during games, or scrawled on the back on car windshields with shoe polish. So now the NFL claims it’s theirs?

[In fact, the phrase "Who Dat" has been around way before the NFL or even football...it was part of the vaudeville/minstrel tradition for many many years, and only LATER become incorporated into New Orleans' football culture. Again: it's something that organically grew out of New Orleans' unique way of doing things. It should NOT be allowed to be another opportunity for the NFL to make some extra dollars.]

Ridiculous. Some things need to be left alone. Especially something dear and special to local New Orleanians. Leave us what is ours, NFL.

PS – Buy whatever else FleurtyGirl is selling. Support them!

“We are confident and feel very secure with the current state of the levees,” said John Boudreaux, a spokesperson for Jefferson Parish. “We are as ready as ever, and we want our residents to know that the levees will hold.” Mr. Boudreaux didn’t elaborate on specifics regarding the strength of the levees other than to state that they were “better” and “even more secure than when Katrina hit.”

Mayor Ray Nagin backed up Mr. Boudreaux’s words with an assurance that “everything’s been taken care of”, but he added that residents should have an evacuation plan in case of the worst-case scenario, which would be a close of direct hit by Gustav. “Our residents know that we as a city will do everything in our power to help them, but even though they know that, I just want to say that if they can get out they maybe should,” the mayor said while standing in front of his mayoral evacuation helicopter.

The highlight of the press conference was when Michael Jacobson, chief engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Levee Wall project, displayed the improved levee walls.

“This levee wall employs some new engineering techniques that we pioneered along with some of the city of New Orleans engineers. As you know, New Orleans people take pride in their city and they take great care to do a job right. And that’s what we did – we think the new levees are a tribute to the leadership Mr. Nagin has provided, and we hope to dear God the levee holds this time.”

Officials did not stay to answer questions, but closed the conference with an additional urge to the public to “get the hell out while you can” and the words “good luck”.

Hopefully, more people will hear about him and they’ll like him. If that happens, they won’t like him for an idiotic reason, such as his race, his looks, his sex, or his party affiliation. They’ll like him (i.e. support him) for better reasons.

I like Ron Paul for a few (good) reasons. I’m not a political analyst and I’m not a political science super-genius, but I consider myself a good judge of character and I am a believer in justice as well as a guy who wants what’s best for my country. (Oh yeah and I’m a guy who is open to others’ opinions, which means I’m not blindly loyal to a political party.)

So why do people like Ron Paul? If most Paul supporters think the way I think, there will be a few basic criteria. Here are my quick reasons for liking Ron Paul:

1. He is honest and open. How do I know that? Well…it might sound foolish, but you can just tell by listening to him and watching him. He’s a person who looks honest and who looks like he has nothing to hide. But let’s say you need evidence that he’s open and honest: in that case, do a little Googling (and YouTube-ing) and you’ll find that he really IS exactly who he says he is – he’s consistent, he’s been very plain and open, and there’s no evidence he’s been hiding things from the American people.
   Now, contrast that with the other top five candidates in both parties. Tell me of who else this can be said. So yeah, I like Ron Paul because essentially I feel I can trust him to tell me the truth.
2. He shows wisdom coupled with character. I’ll not get into specifics (again just Google and read for yourself) but the guy is not only smart (that’s one thing) but he’s wise. (There’s a difference by the way. Intelligence can be exclusive of wisdom.) He reminds me of a lot of older people I’ve known in my life who just…know stuff. Older people know stuff because they’ve lived longer, done more, made more mistakes, observed more things, and experienced more events than us young folks. So they’re worth listening to. But listening to him speak about issues such as health care, the economy, the war, and our national debt has shown me that not only does he understand the issues at stake but he understands them with greater depth than I’ve seen from the other candidates. Is it because he better understands the principles behind the way things work? Is it because he’s being truthful, while they are not? No, those aren’t necessarily the reasons. I think what he says rings more true because he has solutions that aren’t always easy. That’s where the character comes in: instead of telling me everything is just gonna be all right, he tells me I’m gonna have to buckle down and get out of debt and we can’t just keep printing worthless paper money. (Am I just crazy, or isn’t that actually the right thing to do???) He seems to think he has some kind of….responsibility to me, as well.
3. He doesn’t just follow the crowd. He doesn’t seem to be the kinda guy that can easily be fooled. He doesn’t go with the latest winds of change. No, he is a person who consistently abides by set principles. When he makes a decision, he gives solid reasons for doing so (reasons you can understand when he’s done talking, by the way).  He holds unpopular positions when the situation calls for it, whether the vast sea of sheeple oppose him or not (our awesomely successful war in Iraq comes to mind as well as those heartwarming Patriot Acts). It’s not that he’s a “maverick” or a “rebel” that I like about Ron Paul – it’s the fact that he’s willing to fight for the right thing even it is means he has to stand alone. Isn’t that what LEADERS are supposed to do?
4. He represents my interests. He’s not a Washington career politician who’s on the payroll of the lobbyists – right now Google the terms “ron paul lobbyists” and see what you get? If you don’t read some of those excellent articles just look at the headlines and you get the message right away: “Why Lobbyists Hate Ron Paul”, “DC Lobbyists Can’t Stand Ron Paul”. Sentences like “lobbyists don’t even bother to visit his office anymore” make me smile. Charts like this make me trust the guy more. So if he’s not busy taking handouts, what’s he doing? Well, he’s always talking about stuff like a “free society“, “liberty“, “individual rights“, and keeping government in check. It almost sounds like he’s still one of “us” – a regular American who wants what’s best for his family and country – and not a DC Robot who no longer cares about us common folks. (Hmmm…) Maybe it’s because he values our Constitution and is aware enough to realize that once our Constitution is done away with, so are we. Heck, when I read what this guy stands for I know he’s actually doing his job.

Is he a politician who’s trying to impress people? Is he a politician who, when asked a question, just talks and talks – without ever actually answering the question? Is he a slick performer who’s all sizzle (and no steak)? There’s ample evidence that he’s NOT that guy. He’s the guy we all want to have, and the guy the Average American will think he’s getting (regardless of who Average American votes for).

No one wants the “slick politician”. Everyone wants the leader who will do what’s right and actually help our nation. And overwhelmingly, that’s the leader I see when I examine Dr. Paul – genuine, good person who will be a strong leader and do what is right.

And that’s why people like Ron Paul.

I don’t know him personally, and I haven’t had any contact with him – but I like the guy.

Why? Because of a couple of reasons: he’s obviously good at what he does (cracking eBay’s systems) and he has a sense of humor about what he does (evidenced by his taunts toward eBay).

BUT one thing I don’t agree with is the posting of users’ personal info in public – even though I can understand why he did it. How else would a good hacker get the credit he deserves? Okay so that might not be a great justification (the people shouldn’t have to suffer as he fights his cause against “The Man”).

So here we have the dilemma: Vladuz pwns eBay totally and thoroughly, but eBay effectively covers it up, over and over again. When a video of the latest hack was posted on YouTube by my friend Cappnonymous, eBay no doubt managed to get the evidence yanked by YouTube. Vladuz just can’t seem to win: where’s the publicity be deserves?

OK, seriously – Vladuz is definitely for real and I have much respect for his abilities. I just want eBay to admit that not only are their policies jacked-up but that their users’ info is in peril. While I can understand WHY they would cover-up and lie about Vladuz’ achievements, I do NOT understand why eBay can’t be honest and upfront. I mean come on – who’s the one who’s doing unethical and illegal activities here, Vladuz or eBay? eBay isn’t the one with something to hide, as long as they take solid action against their insecure systems/policies.

Anyway this is for you, Vladuz. This is my list of suggestions in your ongoing efforts.

1. Instead of posting the users’ credit card numbers, etc. do something to help them instead – like zeroing out their sellers’ fees.
2. Clean up the scam auctions from eBay – like the hacked Chinese MP3-player auctions. (BTW everyone, don’t buy from the seller “hailitele”! Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.)
3. If you want to really prove that you have access to eBay’s systems, post some of their internal emails. Especially any emails from Meg.
4. Announce an exploit ahead of time (via a blog or something) and then do it at the specified time on eBay’s site when the world is watching.

I doubt Vladuz will do the first two above, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see #3 sometime in the future.

Now, to address the rather naive question I saw on one of the eBay message boards: no, Vladuz is not a “Robin Hood”. If he was, he would have altered listing fees for regular Joes like you and me, and he would have mysteriously done something like #1 above for lots of people. Vladuz is probably, on some level, a businessman.

I would guess that he HAS done that, but probably for only a few people that he knows. And I would also not be surprised if the majority of his eBay-prowess benefits him financially. Just think of the possibilities, if you were an eBay seller or eBay buyer, and the eBay servers were your playground! You could…

• Cancel/lower competing bids and win auctions  for low prices
• You could raise bidders’ bid on auctions you are selling
• You could change eBay store prices to lower ones, and buy the item
• You could NARU competing sellers (Vladuz has already shown he can NARU and restore users at will. Oh wait eBay said he really can’t…)

So this guy can benefit in many ways from eBay – he ain’t necessarily a Robin Hood. He’s gotta be in it for the money.

A recent survey, “Money as an Aphrodisiac — Being Rich Means Getting Lucky on Your Own Terms,” found that money is an enabler in a number of ways to enhance sexual experiences. “The majority of men and women credit their private wealth with achieving a better sex life.” A majority also said wealth gave them “more adventurous and exotic” sex lives (sorry, no details). Grove and Prince surveyed people with an average net worth of $89 million, and who make more than $9 million per year.

I think everyone already knew that rich men get “lucky” with beautiful women; we all can muster up a long list of rich men that date/marry beautiful young women. That’s not news. The real surprise is that wealthy women are gettin’ their freak on. In the survey, three-quarters of men cited more frequent sex and a greater variety of partners as the primary benefits of having wealth, revealing a fascination with quantity. “In short, men equate more with better,” Grove and Prince write. By contrast, women placed significantly less value on the volume of sexual interactions and partners they had than the overall excellence of the experience: Nearly 93% of women cited higher-quality sex as the greatest sexual benefit of personal wealth — and the biggest benefit overall to being rich.

“It is difficult to identify the benchmark for adventurous and exotic sex — since what might entice one person could leave another indifferent,” Grove and Prince noted. “But the much higher response rate from wealthy women once again underscores the liberating byproducts of money as it relates to sexual exploration.” For example, 72% of wealthy women say they have now joined the “mile-high club,” which means they have had sex in an airplane. Meanwhile, 33% of men say they have had sex in flight. (Just a note here: the survey found that all of the participants owned private jets, either partially or outright. So that might explain those high percentages.)

The rich women in this survey are not “desperate housewives”- that is, bored trophy wives dependent on their husband’s wealth and messing around with the pool boy. The survey polled men and women who were the financial “principals,” meaning they were the primary decision makers in their households. Today’s rich women are powerful businesspeople for whom money brings a welcome sense of control and power. “Women find wealth to be extremely empowering,” says Ms. Grove. “They have let their confidence and sense of purpose in other areas feed their sex life. They are getting what they want.”

OK. So why did 63% of rich men say wealth gave them “better sex,” which they defined as having more-frequent sex with more partners; and why did 88% of women who say more money gave them better sex, which they defined as “higher quality” sex? Ian Kerner, a New York-based sex therapist, says the study sheds new light on the links between money and sex. One reason that wealth would equate to better sex, he says, is that money helps alleviate many of the daily stresses that can inhibit a couple’s sex life. “I see in my practice that financial stress can have huge impacts on the libido and can cause general dissatisfaction,” he says. “When you strip away those elements of financial hardship and stress, that can make for better sex. This shows that sex and money are very intertwined.” The wealthy also tend to travel more, leading to more-exotic and adventurous sex lives, Mr. Kerner says. “There is just more stimuli and luxury in their lives, so that would increase libido.”

I am not sure that we really needed a survey to tell us that many rich people have “lead more adventurous and exotic sex lives” -whatever that means! Of course they have more opportunities to indulge themselves, so why not in the sex arena? But this could be yet another source of inspiration for those who are working towards financial success. After all, who doesn’t want better sex?