Bush Shoe Incident

Who throws a shoe? Honestly?

Thank you NBC

Last night we watched Heroes online because our DVR is not cooperating.  They have a few short commercials throughout it.  Here is what they consisted of:

1. Little girl neatly packing up the contents of her dollhouse.  Mother comes in and says "come on Anna it is time to go".  Camera pans back to see the room full of packed up boxes.  Deep voiced man explains how "When you go through a foreclosure it doesn't just affect you".

2. Different little girl laying on her bed with images of pollution, deforestation and toxic waste being projected across her and the room.  The girl sternly says "You promised me the world... Is this what you had in mind?"

3.  Three young adolescent boys sitting around an old station wagon, with several other old cars parked next to it.  The film quality is reminiscent of the early 80's.  They are obviously bored, sitting in different positions, one on the ground one reclined on the hood and the other leaning on the wagon.  They are completely disengaged with each other and fidgety.  After 10 seconds of only hearing the basketball that one of them is apathetically bouncing, another man with a deep voice says "The community almost built them a community center... but almost is as close as they got".  Then more quiet idleness and slow basketball dribbling.

So I just wanted to thank NBC for wiping that silly naive smile-of-life off my face and putting me in my place by reminding me that we live in a world where little girls are evicted from their dollhouses, we are destroying the planet for our children, and our teenagers are teetering on the brink of violent crime due to boredom and not building them a community center is sure to push them over the edge.

I thought I was just going to get an hour of fun entertainment, but instead I got a fresh outlook on life.

Nuclear Power & The Environment

I have liked Patrick Moore for a while now. I think for an environmentalist he seems to have a pretty level head and realistic attitude towards how we should balance energy needs and protecting the environment.

Greenpeace founder now backs nuclear power

"Greenpeace founder Patrick Moore says there is no proof global warming is caused by humans, but it is likely enough that the world should turn to nuclear power...." more >>

3 kids = Showoffs :-)

Funny, I don't feel like a showoff, but I thought this was an interesting article in the Washington Post. Reading about the snobby and neurotic lives of the "upper-middle class" is enough to make me agree with Obama's crazy ex-pastor about avoiding "middle-classness". I did enjoy the below quote from the article though.

Three Kids? You Showoffs.

As for my husband and me, we hardly have unlimited resources, but we're still planning to go forth and multiply in the big city. The way we figure it, one day our children will be grateful for what we didn't give them -- and what we did for them instead.

R.I.P. DRM!!

This is very good news for music!

Sony Drives Another Nail in the DRM Coffin - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

Redefining the music industry!

...and it is about time. Record labels have proven to be the bane of the music industry for years and now we are at a point where we can cut out the middle man. Thank you Radiohead for taking this first step!

How Radiohead killed the record labels

"The announcement in the early hours of this morning of the imminent arrival of In Rainbows, the seventh Radiohead album, is hugely exciting for the band's millions of fans. In Rainbows, boxed set Potentially though it's even bigger news for the music industry. Released in ten days time, the album is available as a digital download for whatever price you want to pay. Radiohead may have done irreparable damage to the industry's traditional business model."

I can see a future where the major record labels are either dead or are vastly smaller than they are now. With computer technology for recording and the internet for distribution and marketing there is no longer a need for these juggernauts that cater to the lowest common denominator, stifle music, inhibit creativity, and rip-off artists! The RIAA has made their bed by alienating their clients with scare tactics and now it is time to see them reap the benefits of their unholy army of lawyers.*

(*if none of this makes any sense it is because I am highly medicated)

Avast ye mateys! Today be Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Arghhh, it's Talk Like a Pirate Day - Telegraph

Hit the rum, shout "shiver me timbers" or "avast, ya scurvy varmints" and integrate the following words into your lexicon: Matey, booty, Arghhh, buried treasure, plank, scoundrel, plunder etc.

If ye be havin' trouble this may be o' help: http://www.syddware.com/cgi-bin/pirate.pl

Jatropha: From Weed to Biofuel

Since I have several readers who know considerably more on this subject than I do, I would be interested in what you have to say about this. It seems like about every month or so we read about some new possible energy source. This one sounded unique and promising being a fast growing weed that is a natural pesticide in itself and drought resistant. We hopefully wouldn't see the problems that we do now with rising corn and other grain prices.

Mali’s Farmers Discover a Weed’s Potential Power - New York Times

...a plant called jatropha is being hailed by scientists and policy makers as a potentially ideal source of biofuel, a plant that can grow in marginal soil or beside food crops, that does not require a lot of fertilizer and yields many times as much biofuel per acre planted as corn and many other potential biofuels.

jatropha can grow on virtually barren land with relatively little rainfall, so it can be planted in places where food does not grow well. It can also be planted beside other crops farmers grow here

Real Life or Scooby Doo?

I did very poorly on this test.

Scooby Doo: Ripped from the Headlines?



Score: 50% (5 out of 10)

China and India in ‘race to the moon’

China and India in ‘race to the moon’

Several thoughts on this...

1. Should anyone tell them that we have already been to the moon and we won the race.

2. Should we also tell them that after going there a few times we realized there isn't anything there and we haven't been back since.

3. Don't they have to get permission to land on OUR moon. I mean, that is our flag planted there. Possibly we could reach an agreement on selling them some time share options in some of the less desirable parts, but certainly no beach front property.

4. I don't think, were I an astronaut, that I would trust a space shuttle built by a country that still has the plague... I mean, The Plague!

A close call for the U.S. ;-)

I am happy to report to you that the Oxford Union, in its infinite wisdom, has allowed America to continue existing.

After a raucous debate in front of a packed house, the motion - "this House regrets the Founding of America" - was overwhelmingly squashed.

My favorite quote from this article is...

...the Oscar Wilde quip, plagiarised by former French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau: "America is the only nation in history which miraculously has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilisation".

LOL
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6613861.stm

Help needed!

Malaysian monks face ant dilemma

A group of Buddhist monks in Malaysia is appealing for help to solve a problem with ants. Buddhism forbids devotees from harming any living creature. So the monks are looking for a creative and non-violent solution to deal with the insects, which are biting worshippers.

Buddhism forbids devotees from harming any living creature.

So the monks are looking for a creative and non-violent solution to deal with the insects, which are biting worshippers. more

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I think there are some smart and creative people that read this blog so I thought maybe we could all put our heads together to come up with a good way to help these monks take care of their ant problem without harming the ants. If you read the whole article it says that they already tried to vacuum them up and it didn't work, but surely there is another way. Please help!

Hollywood Physics

9 Laws of Physics That Don’t Apply in Hollywood



I must confess that all of these issues have bothered me at one time or another in movies except maybe the sound that travels at the speed of light. I can't think of a time that that particular physics violation has crossed my mind with movies. Now I am sure that one will annoy me all the time too.

Allegre's second thoughts

Allegre's second thoughts

"With a wealth of data now in, Dr. Allegre (a renowned geochemist) has recanted his views. To his surprise, the many climate models and studies failed dismally in establishing a man-made cause of catastrophic global warming. Meanwhile, increasing evidence indicates that most of the warming comes of natural phenomena. Dr. Allegre now sees global warming as over-hyped and an environmental concern of second rank." more...

More on the bad science behind the global warming debate:

Sorry I am sure that the Global Warming posts annoy some of you and I have somewhat decided not to post on political things anymore (don't hold me to that), but global warming is just one of those things that really gets me. It is crammed down our throats 24/7 and very few of the dissenting scientists have the courage to destroy their careers and speak up (who could blame them) and the one's who do are maligned or ignored. So whenever I see an expert speaking up I like to help spread the word.

It seems like it is getting hard to read any science article without them somehow relating it back to global warming and how we are all doomed because I drive an SUV, for example I was reading Jacob a little article in National Geographic about a scientist studying why snowflakes take on different shapes and attributes at different temperatures. It included some very cool (no pun intended) pictures of the different types of snowflakes. The article concluded with how this scientist hoped that his research would shed new light on "tipping points" in nature and help us understand global warming more. Come on the guy was looking at the shapes of snowflakes and hoping to reveal how we were all going to die in fire and brimstone b/c of our sinful lust for energy!

Anyway, below is a link to what yet another expert "Global Warming Denier" has to say.

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Global Warming is not due to human contribution of Carbon Dioxide

Global Warming: The Cold, Hard Facts?

By Timothy Ball

Monday, February 5, 2007

Global Warming, as we think we know it, doesn't exist. And I am not the only one trying to make people open up their eyes and see the truth. But few listen, despite the fact that I was the first Canadian Ph.D. in Climatology and I have an extensive background in climatology, especially the reconstruction of past climates and the impact of climate change on human history and the human condition. Few listen, even though I have a Ph.D, (Doctor of Science) from the University of London, England and was a climatology professor at the University of Winnipeg. For some reason (actually for many), the World is not listening. Here is why... more

Comet McNaught

Of course the forcast is for it to be cloudy tonight and tomorrow :-( but if not check low in the South-western sky tonight right after the sun sets!



SkyTonight.com - Catch Comet McNaught Now!

James Kim 1971-2006

I was very sorry to find that they found James Kim, the father missing in Oregon, dead this afternoon. Only 35 years old with a wife and 2 small kids! I have watched his tech reviews on cnet.com for several years now so I guess I felt like I new him a little.

I pray that God will comfort his family now and I hope that they will find comfort knowing that there is no greater love than a man laying down his life for his family.

Link: James Kim found deceased

Exercising my civic duty

I voted today at lunch.  I think it is the first time I have voted anywhere other than the Library in Garden City.  When I lived in Manhattan I drove to GC and back the day of the 96 election.  It was also my first time to use the digital voting machine rather than the archaic 2nd Millennium pencil and paper method.  I can imagine that it saves a lot of time and man power in counting votes.  The Church I was at was pretty busy but I am fairly sure I was the youngest person in the room by a good 20 years.  Kind of sad, but I am one of the few people that see low voter turnout as a good thing.  It just means that my vote counts more, plus who wants a bunch of people voting that don't know what or who they are voting for.  Everything went fine, the strange thing though was when I was at the review screen somehow I had voted for Pat Buchanan for Kansas Governor!

Time To Pull Out Of California

The American Enterprise: Eye of the Beholder

As a fifth-generation Californian, I deeply love this state, but still imagine what the reaction would be if the world awoke each morning to be told that once again there were six more murders, 27 rapes, 38 arsons, 180 robberies, and 360 instances of assault in California—yesterday, today, tomorrow, and every day. I wonder if the headlines would scream about “Nearly 200 poor Califor­nians butchered again this month!”

How about a monthly media dose of “600 women raped in February alone!” Or try, “Over 600 violent robberies and assaults in March, with no end in sight!” Those do not even make up all of the state’s yearly 200,000 violent acts that law enforcement knows about.

more...

Global Warming Skepticism Grows!

Renowned Scientist Defects From Belief in Global Warming – Caps Year of Vindication for Skeptics

Paleoclimate scientist Bob Carter has noted that there is indeed a problem with global warming – it stopped in 1998. “According to official temperature records of the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in the UK, the global average temperature did not increase between 1998-2005.
...

Earlier this year, a group of prominent scientists came forward to question the so-called “consensus” that the Earth faces a “climate emergency.” On April 6, 2006, 60 scientists wrote a letter to the Canadian Prime Minister asserting that the science is deteriorating from underneath global warming alarmists.

“Observational evidence does not support today's computer climate models, so there is little reason to trust model predictions of the future…Significant [scientific] advances have been made since the [Kyoto] protocol was created, many of which are taking us away from a concern about increasing greenhouse gases. If, back in the mid-1990s, we knew what we know today about climate, Kyoto would almost certainly not exist, because we would have concluded it was not necessary,” the 60 scientists wrote.

Find much more here: http://epw.senate.gov/pressitem.cfm?party=rep&id=264777