To honor our Independance

Hero's still fighting to insure our Independence

*DUNHAM, JASON L.
Rank and Organization: Corporal, United States Marine CorpsFor conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Rifle Squad Leader, 4th Platoon, Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines (Reinforced), Regimental Combat Team 7, First Marine Division (Reinforced), on 14 April 2004. Corporal Dunham's squad was conducting a reconnaissance mission in the town of Karabilah, Iraq, when they heard rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire erupt approximately two kilometers to the west. Corporal Dunham led his Combined Anti-Armor Team towards the engagement to provide fire support to their Battalion Commander's convoy, which had been ambushed as it was traveling to Camp Husaybah. As Corporal Dunham and his Marines advanced, they quickly began to receive enemy fire. Corporal Dunham ordered his squad to dismount their vehicles and led one of his fire teams on foot several blocks south of the ambushed convoy. Discovering seven Iraqi vehicles in a column attempting to depart, Corporal Dunham and his team stopped the vehicles to search them for weapons. As they approached the vehicles, an insurgent leaped out and attacked Corporal Dunham. Corporal Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground and in the ensuing struggle saw the insurgent release a grenade. Corporal Dunham immediately alerted his fellow Marines to the threat. Aware of the imminent danger and without hesitation, Corporal Dunham covered the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of the explosion and shielding his Marines from the blast. In an ultimate and selfless act of bravery in which he was mortally wounded, he saved the lives of at least two fellow Marines. By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty, Corporal Dunham gallantly gave his life for his country, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.


*McGINNIS, ROSS A.
Rank and Organization: Private First Class, United States ArmyFor conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an M2 .50-caliber Machine Gunner, 1st Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy in Adhamiyah, Northeast Baghdad, Iraq, on 4 December 2006.That afternoon his platoon was conducting combat control operations in an effort to reduce and control sectarian violence in the area. While Private McGinnis was manning the M2 .50-caliber Machine Gun, a fragmentation grenade thrown by an insurgent fell through the gunner's hatch into the vehicle. Reacting quickly, he yelled "grenade," allowing all four members of his crew to prepare for the grenade's blast. Then, rather than leaping from the gunner's hatch to safety, Private McGinnis made the courageous decision to protect his crew. In a selfless act of bravery, in which he was mortally wounded, Private McGinnis covered the live grenade, pinning it between his body and the vehicle and absorbing most of the explosion.Private McGinnis' gallant action directly saved four men from certain serious injury or death. Private First Class McGinnis' extraordinary heroism and selflessness at the cost of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.


*MONSOOR, MICHAEL, A.
Rank and Organization: Master-At-Arms Second Class (Sea, Air And Land), United States Navy For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as automatic weapons gunner for Naval Special Warfare Task Group Arabian Peninsula, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM on 29 September 2006. As a member of a combined SEAL and Iraqi Army Sniper Overwatch Element, tasked with providing early warning and stand-off protection from a rooftop in an insurgent held sector of Ar Ramadi, Iraq, Petty Officer Monsoor distinguished himself by his exceptional bravery in the face of grave danger. In the early morning, insurgents prepared to execute a coordinated attack by reconnoitering the area around the element’s position. Element snipers thwarted the enemy’s initial attempt by eliminating two insurgents. The enemy continued to assault the element, engaging them with a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire. As enemy activity increased, Petty Officer Monsoor took position with his machine gun between two teammates on an outcropping of the roof. While the SEALs vigilantly watched for enemy activity, an insurgent threw a hand grenade from an unseen location, which bounced off Petty Officer Monsoor’s chest and landed in front of him. Although only he could have escaped the blast, Petty Officer Monsoor chose instead to protect his teammates. Instantly and without regard for his own safety, he threw himself onto the grenade to absorb the force of the explosion with his body, saving the lives of his two teammates. By his undaunted courage, fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of certain death, Petty Officer Monsoor gallantly gave his life for his country, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.


*SMITH, PAUL R.
Rank and Organization: Sergeant First Class, United States ArmyFor conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq on 4 April 2003. On that day, Sergeant First Class Smith was engaged in the construction of a prisoner of war holding area when his Task Force was violently attacked by a company-sized enemy force. Realizing the vulnerability of over 100 fellow soldiers, Sergeant First Class Smith quickly organized a hasty defense consisting of two platoons of soldiers, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers. As the fight developed, Sergeant First Class Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60mm mortar round. Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Sergeant First Class Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded. His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers. Sergeant First Class Smith’s extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Third Infantry Division “Rock of the Marne,” and the United States Army.

Reasons why CFL blubs are not the bulbs you might think they are.

1. The old EPA figures most often cited are incorrect for several reasons. The basic one is that they assume 100% of electricity in the US is from coal plants. Not true. 50% of electricity does not come from coal plants in the US and coal plants are now being mandated to reduce their mercury emissions by between about 70% and 90% over the next several years in at least 15 States and the Feds are likely to do the same in the next Administration. The most recent calculations from the DOE indicate that, on the average, CFL's are worse than incandescent bulbs in terms of mercury.
   
2. Places like California produce little energy from coal plants, and several states produce none. So any CFL energy reductions will not cut much, if any, mercury there.
   
3. The 5mg of mercury generally claimed for CFL's is largely a goal and not the current reality which is as much as 600% higher for some major manufacturers according to suppliers of CFL's to the State of New Jersey. All but one of the CFL's offered there had more than 5mg.
   
4. CFL's are almost all made in China with energy from mostly very dirty coal plants that emit ten times the amount of mercury per KWH asUS coal plants emit. Since China gets about 80% from coal and the US only about 50%, the comparison is much worse. Also, it likely takes the equivalent of about 25% of the CFL's energy savings to produce them there including the extra energy for the packaging and shipping compared to incandescent bulbs which are almost all made here. That represents a lot more mercury per CFL. Since fuel and power in China emit up to twice as much CO2 as in the US, on average, there may go up to half the CO2 savings. And since places like California are twice as clean in terms of CO2 as the rest of the US, there may be only nominal CO2 savings realized from CFL's in some States. The same holds for SO2and the Nitrogen Oxides.
   
5. Partly due to the increasing demand for their CFL's, China is one of the few places left on Earth that still mines specifically for new mercury. And it is unlikely that these mines would meet our environmental and safety standards. Similarly, to meet the increased demand from a massive CFL program in the US, China will need to construct many new manufacturing plants using dirty energy to build and requiring much more dirty power to operate. This in turn will contribute to the need for even more new dirty coal plants there.
   
6. As much mercury is spilled into the environment in the manufacture of CFL's in China as goes into the CFL's according to recent statements from industry representatives.
   
7. CFL's are delivered here on ships using bunker oil, the worst mercury and CO2 producer of the fuel oils. Not to mention all the other really bad heavy metals and toxins that it emits. Overall, it is1,000 times dirtier than standard transportation fuel. Again,incandescent bulbs are still almost all made in the US in existing industrial facilities and shipped using cleaner standard fuel.
   
8. There is no recycling program in place or planned that could handle the number of CFL's proposed. Only 2% of CFL's are recycled.And after many years, even the industrial recycling programs only handle about 25% of fluorescent lights, with no verification of how much of the mercury is actually captured.
   
9. It is likely that if any major recycling program is set up, the CFL's will be shipped back to China for reprocessing in newly built plants using dirty energy.

ONN "Most Children Not In Favor Of Child Healthcare"

Hinted world

While in Canada Connor and I spent a lot of time together. We travelled the city on foot and by Bus to the City park, the Mall, and the local park.

The public transit system in Kewlona BC has a wide variety of Buses, Double Decker, Hybrid, Electric, Small and slinky middles long ones. Gas being around $6.00 a gallon and knowing that Connor enjoys various forms of travel I delved into the website and found that the local stop was just at the end of the block. As with most bus lines they have the overhead straps for standing passengers. You may not realize this, but, to a kid like Connor these are the greatest thing in the world!


Getting Connor to talk about something that has already occurred has been a challenge. Unprompted is downright miraculous. The inertia feeling as the bus stopped, started and took corners was amazingly exciting for him. I had to pay very close attention to the road and the route to anticipate any problems. There were none and when we arrived home he ran upstairs and related the tale, best he could, to Tina and Omi.

Wikipedia

http://www.wikipedia.com/ is a really wonderful thing. It is an online encyclopedia that is a group effort by everyone. It is self correcting in this way and the bottom of the pages there are links for more information.

In high school my kids were not allowed to use Wikipedia as a resource, however they could use the links. Most of the information they were looking up was more accurate or more complete then using archaic resources (like Britannica). The reason the teachers would not allow wikipedia is because the information is gathered from everyone and not people hired to write and research.

As such Britannica is considered a more authoritative source.

Of course Wikipedia has a corrections page for Britannica

pulling kids outta water

Oddly as it may seem, pulling kids out of water is something I find myself doing. Yesterday Connor and I were running around Mission Park here in Kelowna, a couple were watching their two year old (guess at age there) running around. The park has a three foot channel that is about a foot deep that has something to do with fish breeding. As the mom turned to talk to the dad, the little tyke, made a quick left and ran right towards the water. I was able to blurt out, "Hey little kid stop" thinking the adult voice would make him pause... It didn't He hit the drink and went under like the proverbial rock. So I find myself in a headfirst dive on the bank and fishing him out with my right hand. If I hadn't been there the parents would have been in another second.

So, go back a few years and my nephew Aaron is playing in a jacuzzi at a local hotel and he steps into the middle and sinks. Again I find myself up and reaching for him, not being able to grab him I jump in sweats and all (man those things are heavy when wet, sweats that is...).

Go back prior to being married, Tina and I are at a pool party with people I am meeting and should probably be able to relate how Tina knows them, but I cant. We are sitting chatting whilst various kids are frolicking in the water. I noticed one little kid not quite making the side, her second grab fell short, and again I find myself on the other side of the pool grabbing her wrist and pulling her up and out.

In each of the cases the kids were not in danger for their lives, I just seemed to be the closest. So either I have been in the right place at the right time, or my subconscious, on occasion, can make kids submerge, I prefer to assume the former.

George Carlin passes this mortal coil (adult language)

One tribute came to mind:

Shit
Piss
Fuck
Cunt
Cocksucker
Motherfucker
Tits

This isnt TV or Radio so it falls short.

It's not what you do its how you felt at the time?

There is a story on CNN about some students who plagurized and got caught. Thier parents went to the school board and got the teachers decision of failing marks for that assignement overturned, the reason being 'They didn't intend to cheat'

This reminded me of a Woody Allen joke: "I got caught cheating on my metaphysics final, I peered into the soul of the boy next to me"

Cheating as with crime needs access, availability and motive. Intent is not a factor. If you intended to talk to someone and ended up murdering them, I am pretty dang sure you 'intent' will not factor into an aquittal.

"Your Honor we find the defendent NOT Gulity of murder because he did not intend to do it"

Movie Award shows duex

I happened to click onto the MTV movie awards. What a fun romp!

Mike Meyers was a great host, it was irreverent and edgy. Great movie spoofs as well (most of these make it onto the actual DVDs of the actual movies.)

female\male performance, fight, breakthrough performance, best kiss, best movie, best summer movie (so far), etc.

Categories that make you smile with winners that click with what we have seen on the screen.

This show gets a much higher rating and share then the Oscars. However, the awards do not seem to have that much prestige (or do they?). There appeared to be a box office and search engine jump for the winners. So its a nice bit of marketing at the least.

check out the spoofs when you can. http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/2008/spoofsvote.jhtml

Newsers

New Mini Ice age signs "In the past, they observed that the sun once went 50 years without producing sunspots. That period, from approximately 1650 to 1700, occurred during the middle of a little ice age on Earth that lasted from as early as the mid-15th century to as late as the mid-19th century."

Excellent news for Skiing, the SLOPES ARE OPEN! "Aspen Skiing Co. said it will open the top of Aspen Mountain for skiing this weekend because it still has so much snow available"

Speculation-valuable social function "Financial speculators reap profits from global hunger."

Worst Presidental crop since 1972 "Not since 1972 have we been presented with two such painfully inadequate candidates. When Election Day came that year, I could not bring myself to vote for either George McGovern or Richard Nixon. I stayed home."

Some of the better stories I found yesterday.

Wotta Weekend

If you check out Tinas Blog you have seen all the Diana accolades around her graduation. Having two kids graduated from High School is quite a milestone for Tina and I, 2007/2008 has been quite a ride, and its not over yet.

As parents we have been getting quite a few kudos as of late, if great kids are a direct result of parenting I suppose its deserved. I would chaulk it up to being very consistant and working as a team.

With the recent passing of Wolfgang, my father-in-law, I found the gathering of family very comfortable and enjoyable. We came together in grief and still celebrated the life of a great man. I really do have love for my in-laws and enjoy the time spent.

On Sunday, my 'side' of the family came to celebrate my daughters graduation. This too struck me as a wonderful time. Seeing the support and commemoration, hearing the laughter and striking up important and trivial conversations with family and friends.

Often you hear horror stories about family's. I am grateful to say those are alien to me. The Lord has seen fit to bless me with wonderful relatives, to which I am humbly grateful.

Inspirational Obama

Obama's speaking to crowds are so inspirational.

Jet Travellering

Fifteen hours of flying last week and four airports updated me on the state of travel in the US. The last time I climbed on board a flight the kids were pre-school and homeland security was still a tragedy away.

My longest flight prior to this week was going Florida to LAX with my Mom, Pop and sister. It took six hours and we got some hot food on plates with entertaining coverings (read, not stretch wrap). There was no in flight movie no LCD like optical media (Cd's DVDs) were just being invented. There was a definite pampering of the passenger and most of the commercials focused on comfort in flying. You got a headset that was rubber tubing that allowed you to listen to eight channels of rotating music and comedy. My sister and I would listen for the song 'Nothin from nothin" to come back around.

LAX was an interesting but sterile place, United Airlines had moving walkways, TWA, Northwest, Eastern, BOAC, Braniff all had big shiny jets out on the tarmac and you could go to the boarding gate to see your traveling friend depart. You could then head to the observation platform on the roof and watch them taxi and take off. There was that big spider looking restaurant, which served poor food with lousy service for a high price. Likewise all the eateries were run by the airport and run badly.

This time around we took off from Eugene airport EUG. Which had a Pacific Northwest flavor, a fairly nice looking pub and various museum like displays of the local area. You had to put everything into grey bins, including your shoes. Toothpaste had to be on top, readily viewable. No one wants to check luggage, they all have roller bags that are designed to just fit in the overhead storage. There is an imposing set of uniforms glass mazes and queue tape that makes saying goodbye seem a bit final. More like your sending someone off to be 'processed'

The International Airport next was more friendly and plenty of recognizable places to nosh. The little lunch bar I ate breakfast in had a fairly good egg and potato platter for a reasonable price. I am not sure how I feel about Wendy's and Panda Express being in the airport food mall.

On board the plane, in this case a 737, it had tight uncomfortable chairs that leaned back just enough that you thought you hadn't leaned it back. They charged me a buck for a headset uniquely designed for that particular aircraft. There are little LCD screens that came down from the roof every other seat or so and it played clips a TV show and a movie (spiderwick cronicals). The music stations were fairly esoteric and aside from a Peggy Lee tune, not much I could get into. Improvisational piano Jazz for 30min is a bit much when your feeling claustrophobic.

Seeing the movie was novel and fun as I knew you would be doing that. The food was less then special. They give you lots to drink and two tiny bathrooms...

All in all not a 'fun' experience, but an adventure. The flight back was superior. Better seats and they handed you a dictionary sized player that gave you a bunch of selections and let you use standared earplugs. Jumper and the Bucket list with an episode of Raymond.

There was enough good experiences, if you could get them rolled into one, it would have been quite enjoyable. Some of the annoyances, however do seem to stand out.

Then you get to pricing. I overhear eveyone talking about thier tickets and what a deal or ripoff it was. The cost of flying is the price of the fuel, the Jet, the crew and however much airports charge for rent. Jet, crew, and rent can be fixed costs. Fuel depends on the current market prices and the amount consumed by the passenger.

There are other items, like marketing dealing with Government regulations, International regulations etc.

So if your going to set a price to fly someplace you should be able to determine your cost, add to it your profit and boom, good to go. Right?

All the NYC picts.

NYC overnite

Ina New York Minute

The Big Apple, first visit! First off there is an overall noise rumble, a cacophony that permeates everything. Plenty of light but all diffused so everything is a muted palate, in the air is a odd confusion of smells, pizza, bread, coffee, perfumes and body cologne, oddly enough Subway Sandwich shops are easily identified by nose. Energy though, lots and lots of it, your sense kick into overdrive just to keep up, your heart rate is increased and the feeling not unlike your late for something vibrates your core as you walk through midtown.

We left our all too comfortable house in the wee hours of Tuesday Morning and drove the hour fifteen to the airport (PNW hour driving means 65 miles.) Sans shoes we appeased homeland security and made it to our turbo-prop commuter plane that took us to PDX, for a wait and breakfast. Nice options to choose from, seeing as how my last plane flight was fifteen years ago things have changed some. Continental Airlines flew us to Newark in five hours 30 minutes. Now in a warmer bleak unfamiliar place we had to locate a car that was being sent. There were three levels to choose from. I went for the one near baggage claim, good choice. About the time we started calling a black Lexus with our last name on a card in the window pulled up.

We had to convince the driver and then we were off across Secacus, via the Jersey Turnpike, through Weehawken and then into the Lincoln Tunnel. Lots of bathroom tile and amazing dynamics to get that many vehicles into that small of a tunnel.

Now we are in midtown Manhatten and get dropped off at 42nd street between 7th and 8th. All locations in NYC are easy to find as long as you have three points of reference. We go upstairs and meet the post production people and Diana gets set up to do her voice overs (VO). I get some really bad directions from a well meaning guy and head off to check into our hotel.

Throngs of people receive its proper definition in my mind. Tall buildings, lots of distractions and I see where the TGIF web cam is located, various other landmarks. At one point I decide to cross the street and notice that I am in times square. that spot where 7th and Broadway create that triangle you have seen so often. That's when it really hit me, no longer surreal.

I keep walking and looking and about the time I see Carnegie hall (I made it without practice ma!). I talk to one of New York's finest and I am told to head back the way I came 25 blocks. *sigh*

So I turn around and head back, again marking mentally what I see as I go. My feet are feeling the fatigue as I see Macy's and just a block past that, my hotel!

The Hotel Penn is across the street from Madison Square Garden, which is cool to see. Inside there is a queue of about thirty people and the check in folks seem surly. Oh, if your in a line waiting for someone, stand at the front and wait to be recognized. If you just walk up to the next available person, they will ignore you and walk away. There was the poor couple of ladies who did that twice. Nice clean room, a tad sparse decorum wise but large enough with views of the sides of buildings.

The hotel was quite clear about anything you do outside of a limited list would be charged to your Credit Card. This included picking up the phone and dialing anything over four digits. My brief rest did not do much to stop the aches in the various joints of my apparently aging body. Still I had formulated a plan, I would get my daughters cell phone and they could call me when it was time to retrieve her. So I headed over a block and went up 8th Street to 42nd and back to the studio. As it turned out Diana was all but done with the VO, they did need to shoot some additional footage and planned on using Central park as a substitute for Oregon. No, it didn't work for me either but it was about as close as you could get I guess. I grabbed a couple slices of NY pizza and we hailed a cab.

I got to tag along and run around the area watching an adult kick-ball game, seeing the playground and Wollman Rink. I stayed a strong desire to head deep into the greenery. Oh yeah, Lots and lots of People, jogging riding, walking, sitting.

A taxi ride (wow) back to 42nd street and we headed back to the hotel. By now it was apparent that I needed some pain relievers and we were just both so damn tired that it made perfect sense to fall asleep around 9:30PM NYC time

It was a decent nights sleep, I awoke around 6:00 AM, and showered and watched the morning commuters lined up for the Bus. There is a definite respect for lines and personal space. An order to chaos. You walk with a stream of folks heading your direction. You wait your turn in line with detached patients. On an escalator you stay to the right unless your walking down as you ride.

We headed out in search of various locations that Diana wanted to see. Mostly stores that have Manga. First off, I wanted to get a fresh NYC bagel, I wanted something that the locals recommended. 'Bobby' the doorman at the Hotel instructed me to head down into Penn station and make a left. Sure enough a little alcove with lots of fresh bread and bagels. When you enter the store you are in line for the cashier, you have no other route to take. Someone behind the counter asks if they can help you and you damn well better know what you want. When you hit the front of the line you tell the lady what you ordered and pay. She never sees or seems to care what you ordered. We got our bagels and headed back up to the sunlight.

Mmmmmm, fresh bagels with cream cheese...

Book store next, then to midtown comics, which was not opened, so we hit Burger King for some soda's. Diana took advantage of free wi-fi, until the store opened. Nice comic shop. Diana found a book on using Flash.

We went for lunch at the Hard Rock, as the studio did not need Diana until 3:00. We got Tina a shirt and gawked at the various cast offs by musical entertainers.

Next we headed over to sixth street to a store that has manga in its native language. Diana got very excited at this point and bought some stuff that she couldn't read. Bryant park was across the way and the Empire state building was looming high into the air. Someplace along this journey we went into Macy's up to the 9th floor and took some old wooden escalators back down. Stopping for a brief look see at each level.

We headed down to Rockefeller Center, this is a confusing inner maze of starwells and guys in uniform that really are not that helpful. We found the rink and the big golden guy and got some pictures. That put us 10 blocks away from the studio and about 15 minutes to get there.

We went to 8th street for a change of pace, hit the M & M's factory store, along the way. Got to see a bunch of theaters with shows that will, no doubt, make it to Eugene at some point in time. Finally back to 42nd and up to the studio. I went to the lounge while they got a final few VO pieces together. We got a phone call for our car to the airport and sure enough another black Lexus took us back to Newark.

So if you need a guide through Mid-town. I'm your man!!!

NYC

30 Rock

Midtown comics

Faded shot of Empire state building

Fly into Newark take Lincoln tunnel to midtown.

Stay in a Hotel across from Madison Square Garden

See Central Park, Bryan Park, Times Square, Broadway, Macys, New York Times building, the Fashion district, basically everything between 6th and 8th by 31st through 60th.

Free of charge! SWEET!

Entertainment media

I was thinking about the oscars. At one point in time it was a much see program that garnered good ratings. The last telecast was dismal.

Why?

First off, seeing the 'stars' isnt a real big draw anymore, E channel, TV Guide channel, Reelz, are all dedicated 24hours to the 'stars'. All the news outlets carry Entertainment info. Not to mention the scores of magazines and websites out there dishing out info on any celeb you can name.

Second, few people care about anything beyond Best picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and ocsar count. So having two hours to find out something that will be news saturated the next day.

Third, the Academy appears to get it wrong Alfred Hitchcock being up six times and never getting one for directing. Citizen Kane loosing to 'How Green is my Valley"? The original King Kong not being nominated for anything, Peter O Toole nominated 7 win's zero. (Short list btw).

Personally I think the old time media outlets are due for retirement. The obvious bias, incorrect reporting, trivializing need for flash over substance is driving them into the muck end of things.

As for the Oscars, stop making it a show and just have it a ceremony and let the various networks cover how they want.

Dating deux

A comment or two required some explanation of the dating topic. First off the context makes it obvious this is for first time dating. Not going out on dates with the wife. Two VERY different topics. (posting to follow at some point).

As for the bad date ideas hiking, sporting events, movies, dinner with parents..

Hiking is a bad first date because you need gear, stamina, a love of outdoors. Its tough to get to know someone when they are puffing, gaining blisters and wondering how long till they can sit or get back to the car. Exceptions, sure, I don't deal in absolutes here. Lets say you meet someone WHILE hiking. Or your both in REI.

Sporting events require basic knowledge of the sport and some idea of the teams involved. Also dealing with less then comfortable smells, noise and food. Not knowing why everyone is standing up and yelling can distance you from person your with at a minimum. Exceptions, the person is as big a fan as you are. You have access to a box seat.

Movies, sitting next to someone not talking or noticing them is just a dumb way to expect to know someone. Dinner before and a drink after? Better, but not a good first date option.
Exception, a film festival or dinner theater, possibly. Still not a good first date, unless your into not talking or its a blind date.

Dinner with parents. Nothing like having your every move being analyzed to enhance your dining pleasure!!!

Dating in the 21st century.

My observation is that the art of dating is a near lost one. Having been out of the loop (thank the intelligent designer) for 25 years, im sure some of the nuances have gone bye bye.

Dating, simply put is arranging a one on one situation with someone you have an interest. The purpose is to see if there is a reason to arrange a second one on one situation, and to entertain yourself.

Good dates involve mutual interests, dancing, scuba diving, musical performance, exploring new cusine, theater and expositions. (Would you like to get some coffee?)

Bad dates involve hiking, sporting events, movies, dinner with parents. (I know, we can eat at my place, mom is a great cook, I live in the basement)

Often, I am seeing younger people bypassing dating and going into relationship. This generates a lot of drama, angst and depression. This could be a generational issue, that is kids have seen the parents as either a steady couple or a series of drama filled relationships.

Imagine you have the option of going to a hockey game with a hockey fan, seeing a BNL concert with someone who knows the songs, dancing all night etc. Your learning about yourself, about what you can tolerate and what you can't, exploring new idea's and concepts.
Training to be in a relationship.

Obama

Doesn't it make sense that somebody running for president have a basic understanding of American history?

Weezer pork and beans video

You have to know something about viral videos to appreciate this. All I can say is, w00T, R0X0Rs!!

Ponderance

I'm a vegetarian. I haven't purchased anything from the meat section of the store for 18 years. So the meat industry lost a consumer, did they roll back production? Nope. My personal impact could be rounded down to nil. All I can say is I am not contributing directly to that industry. Sound reasonable thinking there.

CFL light bulbs, aside from the horrible environmental pollution, icky light, the shorter lifespan, higher cost, they use less electricity. At a recent earth day fair it was being proposed that the mercury released into the environment (Your dump site has to have special equipment to dispose of these, you also have to hope people don't throw them into the garbage), was countered because of the lessor electricity use.

That is to say, because your using less electricity the power plants are generating less electricity and thereby releasing less mercury into the ground. I find the notion that electrical plants would produce less power laughable, just like my being vegetarian means there are animals out there being spared from slaughter.

Wolfgangs passing

We are home from the memorial of my Father-in-law, Wolfgang Max Vetter. It was a wonderful moving service. I wrote a small essay, which I intended to read. As it was I was a bit overcome and my bro by marriage Carl (keeka's hubby) stepped in and read in my place. I am very grateful for him being my 'wing man' in this situation, and it seemed very appropriate as the son's-in-laws to be up there together.

Here is the text:
What do you say when a good man leaves this mortal coil? How do you express in words an amazing life that saw and did so many things?
I suppose you organize your thoughts the best you can and say what you can, knowing it will fall short.
This journey of life has tears. It's the way of things. Change occurs constantly. We hope, in good times, for things to stay as they are. We look back on certain times longingly, sometimes hoping to recapture a time, place or feeling. My memories of Wolfgang are legion. I have the unique experience of being the first Son-in-law. I went the old fashion route and asked Wolfgang for his Daughters hand. He gave his blessing with sparkling eyes and a welcoming smile and a simple “I think that’s great”.
Wolfgang left his war torn home and came to Canada in search of work. He learned to speak the language, met the love of his life, started a family, he worked hard to the top of his craft.
“His Talents”, were limitless. He had a golden touch for Landscaping, brickwork, woodworking, stained glass, jewelry, and Fatherhood.
Progeny reflect the ideals of parents, the charm and strength of character of his three daughters are Wolfgang’s lasting testament.
Life is a journey with a final destination. Once you reach that heavenly place, a new journey begins with the grace of God. The greatest adventure if you will. Wolfgang is and was an explorer; he was always seeking new vistas and learning new wonderful things.
What do you say to such a man on an occasion like this?
God speed Wolfgang, until we meet again.

Dissapointing election year.

I have a vague hope that McCain will recruit a conservative as VP. Someone who might hold the values Expressed below:

"We, the members of the New Republican Party, believe that the preservation and enhancement of the values that strengthen and protect individual freedom, family life, communities and neighborhoods and the liberty of our beloved nation should be at the heart of any legislative or political program presented to the American people."

"Our task now is not to sell a philosophy, but to make the majority of Americans, who already share that philosophy, see that modern conservatism offers them a political home. ... The job is ours and the job must be done. If not by us, who? If not now, when? "

"Our party must be the party of the individual. It must not sell out the individual to cater to the group. No greater challenge faces our society today than ensuring that each one of us can maintain his dignity and his identity in an increasingly complex, centralized society."

"Extreme taxation, excessive controls, oppressive government competition with business … frustrated minorities and forgotten Americans are not the products of free enterprise. They are the residue of centralized bureaucracy, of government by a self-anointed elite. Our party must be based on the kind of leadership that grows and takes its strength from the people. Any organization is in actuality only the lengthened shadow of its members. A political party is a mechanical structure created to further a cause. The cause, not the mechanism, brings and holds the members together. And our cause must be to rediscover, reassert and reapply America's spiritual heritage to our national affairs. Then with God's help we shall indeed be as a city upon a hill with the eyes of all people upon us."

-Ronald Wilson Reagan

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU

Too amazing for words.

Your place in the universe.

For more How to videos check out 5min.com

Solving the energy issues one cup at a time

Here is the story This bra will generate enough electricity for an I-Pod or a cell phone!

Remembery

How often in your life can you call someone at 3:00am in the morning acting like a moron and have the people on the other end of the phone be happy to hear from you??

Trevor was born late at night, I had the job of calling the family. When I placed the call to my sister-in-law Connie, it was early in the damn morning and her husband (whom I hadnt met yet) answered.

Gus: "Hello?"

Me: "Oh, hi is Connie home?"

Gus: "Is Connie home? Yes, she is asleep"

Me: "Oh, um, can I talk to her?"

Gus: "Do you know what time it is?"

Me: "Not really, its 3:00am"

Gus: "She is asleep."

Me: "Okay, can I leave her a message?"

Gus: "Who is this??"

Me: "Just tell her that Lee called and her sister had a baby boy"

(Pause)

Gus: "A BOY! Oh thats great Conradulations, wait a second I'll go get her" (Major change in voice and attitude)

I apologized for to Connie for the lateness of the call and to Gus. It was just a combination of being a giddy new father and my inner jerk humor bubbling up.

Connor favorite.

Connor recites this periodically and it never fails to bring a smile to our faces. Here is the original from the TV show 'Chowder'

Smog

Before I was born my family moved to Southern California. This was in a place called Orange County, directly south of LA County.

During the 1950's LA had very bad smog (aka air pollution). There was smog alerts issued depending upon the air quality

First Stage Smog Alert: All vigorous and strenuous activities should be reduced or shortened.
Second Stage Smog Alert: All forms of vigorous activity must be discontinued or cancelled.
Third Stage Smog Alert: Students, staff, and faculty should remain indoors and restrict movement as much as possible.

I recall first stage smog alerts and not being able to breath a deep breath without coughing. A yellowing brown sickly haze hanging in the sky.

stage one was 0.5 ppm ozone, two 1 ppm, three 1.5 ppm. On Sept. 13, 1955, the city of Vernon reached 0.9 ppm of ozone and 0.85 ppm downtown. So no stage 2 or stage 3 was ever issued.

Current standards for ozone list the stage one 0.20 ppm, stage two 0.35 ppm, stage three 0.50 ppm. In the year 2000 there were no stage one smog alerts.

Cleaning up the air, good thing.

Good news for global warming fans.

It looks like global warming stopped six years ago. I'm thinking we did it! This must be man made global cooling, those carbon credits have paid off! Of course scientists need to keep on the correct political side of things to keep funding going.

Personally, I think its been due to us all becomming green. Good work folks!

There are the haters out there who just dont see the bigger picture.

Platypus

They mapped the genome found out it has 10 pairs of chromosomes to determine sex (peoples have two). Austrialia has quite a lot of oddness in its animals. Monotrema are mammals that lay eggs. I recall reading something way back in the 1960's saying that the platypus didnt 'really' lay eggs, wish I had total recall sometimes.

When I read the artical and found the word Monotreme the realitization that more then one mammal laid eggs, made me look up the others. Well, other, the echidna. And there are fossils as well of versions that probably do not exist anymore.

Still a duck\beaver, egg laying, pouch bearing, stinger wielding critter is worth noticing.

Connor and Daddy visit the ER.

My brain cannot seem to calculate the amount of sleep I have gotten over the last 24 hours. Connor is fine and has a couple of stitches in his foot.

Autism makes certain things very difficult. Monday night, I was waiting for melatonin to kick in, Connor, emerged from his room with an odd pained expression. I assumed his bladder was forcing a command performance, but a whimper told me something more was wrong.

When I am up and my spouse is sleeping, I 'try' to intercept Connor, depending upon his mood, needs and wants. In this case there was distress and he wanted Mommy. He was also limping, and had a bandaged foot. Odd as I did not recall him limping earlier.

While he cuddled with Tina I grabbed the mini-flashlight and a warm washcloth, his feet were dirty so he must have been playing outside without his shoes. Something, we do not like him doing. I washed up the non-bandaged foot and moved to the next. When I removed the bandage covering the space between his second and third toe I got to see a deep punctured like laceration. Time to go to the ER.

Connor is a tough little kid, he shrugs off stuff that would make a grownup cry. He also does not have the language skills to tell you whats wrong or what happened. I tried a number of ways to find out where he hurt his foot to no avail.

The ER wasn't crowded so it only took four hours to finally see a doctor. They cleaned the wound and took x-rays. Nothing was lodged inside his foot. Now comes the fun part.

My past experience and uncanny knack for figuring out whats coming allowed me to prepare Connor. While on the drive over I told him they would clean his foot, take pictures, stitch it up an he would get a shot. I further told him it would hurt, it would not be fun but it was very important. All the above is language he can grasp. (key word 'can')

So its time to stitch up his foot. The doctor and the soul nurse assure me that they can handle a ten year old. Last doctor visit Connor had busted his chin open, the arched out of three nurses grips. This time, I didn't defer, they needed him stomach down, I used my Dad voice to get him on his stomach then used my body weight over his hips and one arm to lock up both of his. The doctor called in two more assistance to handle his legs.

This left him with screaming and me talking him through the procedure. He seemed to understand that this was needed and actually would lie still for the bulk of the procedure.

The final thing was the tetanus shot. By this point the folks in the ER treated me more as an expert on Connor and not just a parent (yeah, I think they are synonyms as well). The nurse actually showed Connor the needle and he sat still and accepted the shot like a pro, even taking his shirt off by himself. Brave little guy.

Tax holiday

If you have business and are told that you can no longer 'pass along' any consumtion taxes to the consumer, yet you have to ensure that tax is paid.

What would you do?

Yeah, me too. It struck me as style over substance.

Music Last.FM

I have always enjoyed music. I like something different, clever, exciting, fun etc. www.last.fm is a good way for me to find new different groups.
So far I have been checking out:

• Scooter
• Darude
• Daft Punk
• Kate Ryan
• Alizee

I found out quite a few of these were from the mid 90's. So I think I musta missed something someplace.

I mowed the lawn today

Second mowing after a couple of weeks of rain. First mow takes a few days, the hill being the worse. You have to dig your heels in and then doing a squat lower the mower and pull it back up. You do this leaving little mowhawks of grass between. Then you can either weed wack them or squat mow them depending on your remaining strength. I jogged with the Dog this AM as well so I am working on my third set of clothes and my second shower. I love having a big yard. I would love having less grass that needs mowing more. Ah well one thing at a time.

Less packaging less safety?

You buy some drygoods food. Its in a bag inside a box. The contents may have settled during shipping so the box is really 1/2 full. The box has printing on it the ink may or may not be vegetable based. The bag is made out of any number of materials. This box was part of a larger case on an even larger pallet.

This covers the shelfspace, advertising, convenience, longevity of the product.

OR

You have a bin with a lid and a scoop, the product comes in a case size box with a large bag. You may or may not be able to see who the manufacturer is and everyone who lifts that lid may be adding to the contents. Seeing a grubby five year old digging through the beans would give you pause. There may or may not be an indication of how long the product has been there.

Possible inside joke

Fundamental differences

We agree to disagree on some things. Others we entrench ourselves. When an entrenchment occurs there is no longer a reason to discuss that item.



Quite a bit has gone back and forth about Man made Global warming. The sides are entrenched. However, a cleaner world, being more frugal with our resources and looking towards other solutions then the status quo is readily agreed upon.



Abortion is another entrenched issue. Both sides agree that teen pregnancy is bad and a stable environment for a new child is paramount. People want our future generations to be happy and safe.



I see the role of government is increasingly becomming a set of entrenched issues. There are many issues in our country\world that need attention and resolution. You can get agreement across the board for that fact.



respecting someones opinion and realizing that one sided dialog doesn't do anything is a tough thing to see. Agreeing to disagree is a nice thought, I'm not sure its a practical solution in some cases.


I am optimistic that in the long run, people find the truth and do the right thing.

Clinton and Obama

Slow motion train wreck. My friend Joe predicts that Hillary will drop out of the race early next month. I disagree, I think this fight is going to the convention and the super delegates will end up nominating Hillary.

Either way there is a huge advantage for McCain, as he just needs to go about looking presidential and gathering up intel. on both potential candidates. At this point I feel it is his election to loose.

Of course it has been suggested and very possible that the DNC could grab a third candidate and jettison the two they have now. Maybe Cynthia McKinney could be brought back into the fold.

I dunno. POLOTIKS iz funniez.

Happy Birthday time!

Happy Birthday Hon. What a year this has been eh? On kid in collage, one kid on quite a surreal adventure the third progressing and being the stable one. Doesn't seem like much time to even breathe. I wasn't expecting the clock to speed up and now the seasons to fly by. Still, there is no person I would rather spend them with then you. I love you very, very much.

Happy Birthday, maybe next year we can breathe a little more or get a jacuzzi or somethin...

Being Offensive (essay 3)

Comedians and Jerks, wow thin line there, can be offensive in the same manner with very different results. In both cases they are being offensive on purpose. One for triggering laughter the other for a casebook of reasons or non-reasonable reasons.

Delivery and perception really come into play. The comedy of Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks frequently went over that line of offending, and garnering laughs at the same time. It was a way of being dangerous and frequently caught up with them. That is to say, they paid a price.

Jerks (I actually had a different compound word here) on the otherhand are using a knee jerk reaction to a situation, or bullying, worse still a pre-meditated 'pushing-of-buttons' to hurt or shame or elicite some reaction. The bad part is that jerk like behavior comes to us all unbidden at times pre-meditated at other times. Part of being human?

So we have a good possibility of escalation, punitive or vengeful. More and more hurtful with an evil glee associated as each teir is broached. Truely Ugly. Worse is the rationalization that you are doing this to 'teach a lesson', or 'they started it'

Another part of being human is the acceptence of our choice's and repentence for our lesser human reactions. We tend to know when we have been jerks, or that revalation comes after being pointed out. Knowing we are wrong, as a species, and admission of that fact is based upon confidence and character. Forgiveness on the other side comes across easier then admission, not sure why we are built that way, but we are.

Being forgiven prior to begging forgiveness is quite a burden, quite a charity. I can see it as a true divine spark, to another tweek that is inteded to be offensive. What a slippery slope, indeed. The only way to win the 'offensive game'is to not play.

True repentance, true forgiveness. That occurs when we, as humans, are at our best.

Obama .vs. capital gains.

Story Link

Charles Gibson: "You said on CNBC, and I quote, "I certainly would not go above what existed under Bill Clinton, which was 28%." It's now 15%. That's almost a doubling, if you went to 28%. But actually Bill Clinton in 1997 signed legislation that dropped the capital gains tax to 20%. And in each instance, when the rate dropped, revenues from the tax increased. The government took in more money. And in the 1980s, when the tax was increased to 28%, the revenues went down. So why raise it at all, especially given the fact that a hundred million people in this country own stock and would be affected?"

Barrak Obama: "I would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness. We saw an article today which showed that the top, 50 hedge fund managers made $29 billion last year, $29 billion for 50 individuals. And part of what has happened, is that those who are able to work the stock market and amass huge fortunes on capital gains are paying a lower tax rate than their secretaries. That's not fair."

Charles Gibson: "But history shows that when you drop the capital gains tax, the revenues go up."

Barrak Obama: "Well, that might happen, or it might not. It depends on what's happening on Wall Street and how business is going."

----------------------end transcript------------

So Obama wants less money comming into support whatever government programs there are due to fairness? The secretaries are paid by whom?

Is he really saying: "If you make too much money, we need to take it from you" Gah!!!

Offensive deux.

Just for clarification this series of blogs makes the assumption that no one ever wants to be offensive.

You hear something offensive. You do not want the person to have said the offensive word(s) and you do not want them to say the offense ever again, you want to censor that person.

In general I am offended by: Colorful Metaphors (cussing) in civil society by and around children and young adults (lets use the age of 18 as the line there). Racial slurs and physical observation used to label and demean. Pedophilia.

In particular I am offended by cruel spontaneous criticism towards my family and friends. The assumption of superiority defined by scholastic achievement. Dis-honesty for purpose of deception.

You cannot exclude context. In general my reaction to someone using colorful metaphors on a military base would be different then someone using the same in a kindergarden classroom. Why were you offended? Was everyone around you offended as well? Does the percentage of those offended matter? What is your reaction?

Reactions to being offended can range from denial to death . Given the choice to interact with other people, and knowledge of enevitable offense being given or received, the evaluation and appropriate response is paramount.

Ugly indeed

No matter who you are, or where you are, at some point and some time someone is going to say something that you find offensive.

No matter who you are, or where you are, at some point and some time someone is going to find something you say offensive.

If you say lots of things, then you will offend more people over a given time. If you say less you will offend less people over a given time.

If you attempt to distance yourself from people's conversations then you will be offended very few times.

If you actively seek out people's conversations then you, of course will be offended more of the time.

So to be non-offensive you should avoid people and not talk. To be offensive you should actively seek out other people and engage then in conversation.

Now if everyone followed this all you would have is the offensive people talking to other offensive people and being offended, while the non-offensive people would vanish from your viewpoint.

Now you have this division and what seems to be a proliferation of offensive people...

Liberally thinking

We have a lady running for one of the county commissoners seats here. She used to be in the state senate. Her original platform was 'fiscal responsibility'. While a state senator she backed every tax increase bill that was put forth.

Yesterday at a forum she suggested that in the US, CEO income should be capped at 500,000.00 a year and the remainder be put into programs for the less affluent (read 'poor').

I see this as penalizing success and an attempt to kill the American dream. Needless to say, I have no desire to see her in office ever. (Her portfolio on her website lists the companies she was on the board of, all three of went from viable to closed down, bankrupt, with her on the board.)

I guess that makes her the perfect democrat??

Good news, recession over

You shouldnt expect to hear this from MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC. The Times did publish it.

“Lehman demonstrated that not only could they raise the capital at a reasonable cost, but that the Fed really had succeeded at stabilizing the financial system,” said Ed Yardeni, the investment strategist. “Lehman was an important test of that.”

Yet, I was reading last week how we are entering the great depression and only a democrat could pull us out of. By creating jobs on the Federal government pays for... umkay

If I am working for a company that makes something and sells it, I am generating some new revenue. If the government pays someone to do something, its from my taxes and is a leech on the economy.

Unfortunate.

Dont you hate it when someone seems incapable of understanding your viewpoint, thinks its something totally different, goes off on his own 'holier then thou' soapbox which is total bunk to begin with.


**sigh** Just wake up bud.

You know what you did, you apologized. Get over it move on.

Improv everywhere

This is an interesting group of Performance Artists.

The Device Has Been Modified

WeGame.com - WoW Videos

Is the English Language difficult?

The bandage was wound around the wound.
The farm was used to produce produce.
The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
We must polish the Polish furniture.
He could lead if he would get the lead out.
The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
I did not object to the object.
The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
They were too close to the door to close it.
The buck does funny things when the does are present.
A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
After a number of injections my jaw got number.
Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

Streaming

Lets say you have high speed internet but no television service. Lets further say that you would like to see some of the shows you hear people talking about.

http://www.fox.com/fod/ I went back to watch all of the Kitchen Nightmare episodes but they have so much more.

http://www.cwtv.com/cw-video/ Lets say you want to watch Reaper or Smallville.

Or you have numerous shows you want to catch up on or sample.

http://www.seabreezecomputers.com/tips/tv.htm

Finally, lets say there is a movie out there. http://www.66stage.com/ Although only the Veoh movies are any good.

My last three days

So I get the news on tuesday that my kid needs to get a Physical, Bloodwork, Drug Screening, EGK and Echocardiogram. The results needed to be in before the end of the week.

So trying to get all this set up and done has taken quite a bit of effort and convincing.

Well, we got all but the echocardiogram done and thats scheduled for Thursday 8:00 am.

So mission accomplished.

The best of intentions.

Today I would like to discuss the phrase "The best of intentions". It's meaning is based upon its context. In my pondering of the phrase I figured out the only way it should ever be used is as a warning.

Example: Are your intentions honorable? This is a civil way of warning someone that you have your eye on them.

If someone uses this phrase during an apology it nullifies the apology. An apology is you feeling remorse for your actions and saying so in a direct humble manner.

So if you apologize and then add anything to it, you nullify the apology.
Example: I'm sorry I killed your family, but they really pissed me off.

So, "I'm sorry I killed your family, but I had the best of intentions." Kinda rings false.

Intentions after the fact are meaningless. If anyone tells you different... They are selling something....

Why I might be so happy.

Originating missive

I'm a pretty happy guy. I love my town, love my family. I think we are living in some of the greatest times ever. I mean all in all life is good.

This little study by academics Daniel Kahneman, Alan Krueger, David Schkade, Norbert Schwarz and Arthur Stone. Show that if you turn off the TV your happier.

I'm pretty sure this revolves mostly around watching TV news. It's very destructive.

Please abstain.

Humor

Lets try the same idea two different ways. See which is funny which isnt.
First one:

Wouldnt it be great to start drowning about 100 people to death in the ocean?

Second one:

What do you call 100 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A good start...

Obviously the second one is funny the first one is puzzling. So its the wording and the term Lawyers that add to the mirth.

What do you call 100 republicans at the bottom of the ocean? A good start...
What do you call 100 environmentalists at the bottom of the ocean? A good start...
What do you call 100 puppies at the bottom of the ocean? A good start...
What do you call 100 (insert ethnic or religious group here) at the bottom of the ocean? A good start...
What do you call 100 policemen at the bottom of the ocean? A good start...
What do you call 100 terrorists at the bottom of the ocean? A good start...
What do you call 100 Sandinista Freedom fighters at the bottom of the ocean? A good start...

Can some of the above be not funny to someone? yes, depending upon your association with the above groups. I would point out the for example.

The more personal 'cruel' humor is the easier it is to find someone offended.

Being able to laugh at yourself is a virtue to be sure. Not taking yourself too seriously in this life because you are not getting out alive...

Connor part II

Connor got some Batman PJ's. They have both long pants and shorts for diferent seasons.

Connor, however wears both pants the shorts on the outside. I thought this was pretty strange, until I realized, thats how the Batman wears his clothes...

I guess Connor got it right.

Connor time

I am the food shopper at our house. That is to say the bulk of the edible items are purchased by me and Connor during a weekly run. I really enjoy the time with him and he likes going to Sherms

Sunday as we pulled into our parking spot Connor said "Look at the flag, Dad" being more concerned about the various four wheel projectiles being maneuvered all around me. I made a quick response. As we got out of the car again he said "Look, there is the flag". A sweep around with the old enhanced ocular membranes didn't produce anything my brain thought was flag like.

Glancing down I spotted where he was looking, Of course it was the Stars and Stripes nearly directly above us.

"Yes Connor, that is the Flag of the United States of America" I pointed out, always trying to expand his vocabulary with some object to attach the words too.

Connor looked at me and asked "Like pledge of allegiance?"

He got it.

How to ride a bike. (amazing skillz)

Amazing Bike Skills! - Click here for the funniest movie of the week

Closed minds dont bother reading.

This is a good read for anyone who still believes in the cult of man made global warming.

More info here as well. As stated on the <--link

INCOMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF A COMPLEX PROBLEM: All climate modelers must build their models based upon our current understanding of how the climate system works. Therefore, if there is some important - but as yet poorly understood - process that they are missing, they will all tend to make the same error. Past evidence for this is the tendency for climate models to drift away from a realistic climate over time. This suggests that it takes a higher level of understanding to capture the intricate processes that stabilize the climate system.

and more.

Practical Application!

I just had this idea. Lets say your an environmentalist who believes in man made global warming and you want to show everyone how dangerous CO2 levels can be.

Find a place thats public but a bit private, get a large clear trash bag you can sit in, then seal it from the inside. You will expel CO2 gases into the bag and show everyone how much warmer it gets inside there and eventually how dangerous CO2 can be.

I would urge anyone out there to try this themselves. First get an environmentalist and put them in a bag....


hey... its for science....

Light

There are 6.6 Billion people on the planet. Not everyone has a light bulb but there are enough people out there who do that the average bulb per person is probably around five.

The most popular bulb is 60 watt, which outputs around 70 candle power.

This means the world is now 462,000,000,000,000 candles brighter then it was just a few hundred years ago. Now the human eye was not meant to handle this kind of light. Which probably explains why the eye care industry has prospered so much.

Lets go back a scant 1000 years. No one was wearing glasses! Now there are factories pumping out hundreds of thousands of lenses each day. This Global Brightening crises is being ignored by the main stream media!

FIGHT THE LIGHT.

I am going to have to sell black ribbons to stop this horrible destruction of our ocular environment!!

When Elections become fun.

I was very dis-heartened to find McCain being the republican choice for President. I prefer someone conservative with a record that backs him as such. The press selected him and with a lackluster set of candidates he was skimmed off the top.

Early on the Democrat race was considered in the bag by Hillary Clinton. There was even talk about her gaining the party after super Tuesday. Obama did something of an upset, it was looking like he might get the nomination. Until Republican voters started re-registering democrat to keep Hillary's in the race.

So now you have something that the DNC NEVER wanted to have happen. Political civil war between two candidates while the Republican candidate can just take a trip to other countries while watching his eventual opponent get ripped apart by their own party.

It's very delicious after such a bad taste from the GOP candidate. Because no one can trash a Democrat as well as a Democrat..

Further reading

Public service announcement

Good Video series. You Suck at Photoshop

I ran across these videos a while back. Its a Photoshop tutorial done by a bitter man, comedy ensues. There are eight so far. This is the first one.

Joblessness

The job search is ongoing. I scour the papers and the local businesses websites weekly. For the first time ever I preformed great in an interview and didn't land the job.

Another one I applied for sent a notice that they were short on funding and would not be opening that position after all.

Not the best of times. There is a job fair this week. I am going to see what they offer.

Keep me in your prayers please, I could use any divine help out there.

Andy Mckee. He's better than you are at guitar.

Son day Roadtrip (Thursday)

I took a trip to Trevor (older sons) collage. He ran out of food and money. As Connor has a four day weekend he came along.

.

The driving is just under 200 miles and we stopped for lavoritories and caffine at White city. Then 'Lake of the Woods' which cuts through the cascades to Klamath.

As a travelling companion Connor is great. He loves looking out the windows and pointing out things of interest. Klamath Falls has quite a bit of snow. OIT likewise had some drifts upwards to three feet. We arrived unscathed and Trevor was still in class so we poked around a bit and then waited in one of the lobby like nooks in the residence hall.

Trevor arrived looking a bit haggard. He had gotten up early to clean up his room. It was not quite a full disaster. We started the process of going through some of the stacks of papers and cleaning it the rest of the way.

We took a break and got his food card back on track. Then went to financial aid to ask about Pel grants and scholorships. Turns out the deadline for some had already gone. So we have to cross fingers for FAFSA. They suggested we talk to his guidence counciler who was perplexed as she doesnt know much about financial. However, she pointed us to another guidence councilor who informed us that Junior and seniors have more enginnering grants available too them.

Next to Trevors study peoples, finally the school health center to answer some perscription questions. Wal-mart I plunked down some cache for food and some bins for organizational stuff.

Lunch at an italian place then back to cleaning and organizing. When I left he had a place for everything and a couple of workspaces. Now he should be able to organize his school stuff and hopefully pull off all A's and B's. While this was going on Connor was quite content to play around on Trevors upper bed and make cleaning suggestions.

Around 5:30 I hit the road home. Long freaking drive.

RIP Gary Gygax

Dungeons and Dragons creator dies

In my 'Teens' on up a new genre of game offered me and my friends lots of fun. It's originator was Gary Gygax. He passed away on March 4th. Thanks for the fun.

Doc Fahrenheit
Ansunidam
Suru
Torrie Pineson
Frazapacheria
Adzam
Schneka
and oh so many others have a firm spot in my nostalgic memory.

Imigration: Where below came from.

My previous posting is Mexican immigration law.

Every one of the laws below are actual laws of Mexico, today. That's how the Mexican government handles immigrants to their country.

Yet people from Mexico come here illegally, they protest in our streets, they get on our welfare program, and we have members of the United States Senate, both parties, doing everything possible to allow it to continue so that it doesn't make these people mad.

Interesting eh?

Imigration: What do you think of this?

First, if you immigrate to the United States of America, you must speak the native language.

You have to be a professional or an investor.

There will be no special bilingual programs in the schools, no special ballots for elections, no government business will be conducted in your native language.

Foreigners will not have the right to vote, nor will they ever be allowed to hold political office. If you're in our country, you cannot be a burden to taxpayers. You are not entitled, to welfare, to food stamps, or other government programs.

You can come if you invest, but it must be an amount equal to 40,000 times the daily minimum wage.

If you do come and you want to buy land, okay, but we're going to restrict your options. You will not be allowed to buy waterfront property in the United States. That will be reserved for citizens naturally born in this country in fact, as a foreigner, you must relinquish individual rights to property.

You don't have the right to protest. You're allowed no demonstrations, you cannot wave a foreign flag, no political organizing, no bad-mouthing our government or its policies, or you get deported. If you come here illegally, you go straight to jail.

Health Care

I do not think universal health care is a good idea. I am not big on socialism. Whenever this discussion arises it always goes back to cost. 'Some people cannot afford health care'

So what exactly is being done to lower the costs?

An entire industry has come into being around 'coding' medical proceedures for insurance purposes. My doctors office has a Doctor two nurses and five people in billing.

If I go see my doctor I throw down a co-pay $20 to $45. I sit for about 15min, get my weight checked, my temp and blood pressure, then I sit for about 10 to 15min. The doctor comes in and spends 5min to 15min with me. Then its either out for testing or to the pharmacy etc.

Next that blank form you signed is filled out with whatever 'prodeedure' was done and is sent off to the insurance for billing. Hopefully the insurance pays the contracturally agreed upon amount and the doctor gets the rest of thier money for your visit in one to three months. I have seen estimates that 68% of the costs go into this paperwork.

Having been in manufacturing I know that everytime a worker touches something there is a cost involved. If you have a sucessful business you pass this cost on to your customer.

Waiting one to three months to get paid, having to re-submit something to the insurance company a few times all costs a company.

As a consumer I tend to check prices and buy things on sale. Getting our weekly grocery bill down 10 or 20 bucks is what I call a win. With insurance in the picture a consumer doesnt have any incentive to look for the best doctor at the best price. They mostly go to whomever they 'like' or whomever is on the plan.

Way back when my pop would pay the doctor out of pocket and then submit to insurance for re-imbursement. This cost out of pocket would prompt the question 'what is that test for and why do we need it?'

I am thinking the best way to rein in healthcare costs is to allow the consumer to make the choices with thier own money. lets get that 68% down.

Byron joins the blogging community

No doubht FlyingVan had something to do with this.

Welcome Byron, glad to see you here and well everywhere you seem to be going nowadays.

Byron was someone I met in High School who had neat stuff at his house, I was probably someone rather different. At anyrate stage crew, band roadies, dune buggy rides, mountain cabin hang outs, road trips, jet skiiing and more usually involved his generosity.

Probably the first mechanical genius I ever met.

Nice seeing ya bud.

Voodooray Mech.

Two of the things I really enjoy is Machinima and pop songs other then the big US media machine. So when voodooray combined the two I enjoyed it enough to share.

House of my familys past

This is the originating artical

Once upon a time in the land of Disney there was a house of the future. . Shortly after my family moved out west in the late 50's my pop started working installing plumbing at the park.

Dad has many a story about working there, getting a canoe ride to Tom Sawyers Island in the morning and at lunch. Meeting Mister Disney, running gas pipes for the burning cabin etc.

However Pop, was most facinated with the Monsanto house of tomarrow. It was poised between the entrance to Tomarrow land and the Matterhorn. And like the Detroit concept cars never becames a staple.

They eventually took it out because it no longer represented the future. As far as a structure goes it withstood thousands and thousands of people. In fact the wrecking ball bounces off it several times. (so the story goes).

So, today I see they are reviving the concept. I kinda wish they would look up the folks who had a hand in the original and brought them in for the grand re-opening.

in-laws

I have quite a few in-laws. Jim, Nancy, Doug, Wolfgang, Renate, Connie, Carl and Carolyn.

Otha, who was married to my sister and Gus who passed away.

I have a slew of nieces and nephews as well but they are never referred to in-laws.

My mind has different classifications and feelings about these various peoples. As luck would have it I like and enjoy all of them. I have had issues with some in the past and probably will do so in the future, but that is the same with my siblings as well. Its just family.

While we are all friendly I think the best friendship I have is with Carl. We met going out with sisters around the same time, found out similer interests and came from similer backgrounds as well.

All in all I feel one of Gods blessings in my life is my extended family and how much we enjoy each other when we were together. It's nice to have a family you would have chosen...

Haunting my brain.

So your sitting minding your own business and somehow something sets into motion a song being played internally in your grey matter.

I call this being Haunted.

For about two months I have had the same song in heavy rotation in the auditory cortex. It is far from my normal fare. In so far as I have a 'normal' fare... its by a band named Flyleaf. and its called: I'm So Sick.

When I finally looked up the lyrics I was pleased to see it was cohesive and well matched to the music. It is a darker song.

I will break into your thoughts

With what's written on my heart

I will break, break

I'm so sick,

Infected with where I live

Let me live without this

Empty bliss,

Selfishness

I'm so sick

I'm so sick

If you want more of this

We can push out, sell out, die out

So you'll shut up

And stay sleeping

With my screaming in your itching ears

I'm so sick,

Infected with where I live

Let me live without this

Empty bliss,Selfishness

I'm so sick

I'm so sick

Hear it, I'm screaming it

You're heeding to it now

Hear it! I'm screaming it!

You tremble at this sound

You sink into my clothes

And this invasion

Makes me feel

Worthless, hopeless, sick

I'm so sick,

Infected with where I live

Let me live without this

Empty bliss,

Selfishness

I'm so sick

I'm so sick

I'm so sick

Infected with where I live

Let me live without this

Empty bliss, selfishness

I'm so

I'm so sick

I'm so

I'm so sick

Link to video Its a wow fan version, and better then the actual bands vid.

Working for yourself.

For sometime the idea of working for myself, my own business, if you will. Has a certain appeal.


My biggest stumbling block is comming up with a business that I feel is viable. Anyone can open a business. For one to work you have to fill a need or create a need to fill, or assist with filling a need.


Having some kind of storefront has appeal for me. As does starting something like a home base business and working up from there.

My neighbor is a Gardener, it suits him and he enjoys the work and answers to himself.


Ill keep thinkin.

Blogs .vs. Blockbuster

My experience at Dell doing customer care aided me in getting my money back from Blockbuster today.

We rented "So I Married an Axe Murderer" last week, primarily for my daughter who is a Mike Meyer fan and enjoys our 70's and 80's culture. The DVD had a flaw and around the final chapter it stalled. I tried it on my PC and it did the same thing.

I would have run it through a disc doctor but it is not my property. It was rather disapointing evening. So today I hoof it the two miles and tell them it was defective.

Jason, the slightly bewildered clerk informed me that they did not have another copy. So I asked for a refund. He started working on the register and informed me my refund would be in the form of a store credit. I had my sales slip with me and the CC I placed the original charge on.

We have found ourselves renting less and less and with my current situation I would prefer to have the money then a credit. So I asked for a refund of the $4.29. Jason had to go back to the back of the store to talk to a manager, when he returned I was informed that there will be NO refund only a store credit. I asked if it was policy to not give refunds when they rented a defective product. I was told he manager had informed him that there was no refund. He did not seem to understand the term policy.

So I asked if there was a corporate phone number, he cherrfully pointed it out on the recept and let me use the phone.

Soon I was talking to Vicki in customer care (more likely a third party contracted call center). Vicki asked if there was a different movie I would be interested in seeing. In all honesty there wasnt. She seemed to verify that there was not another copy of the movie I wanted, not sure on that.

Next she informed me she would open a case number and someone would call me back in the next 3 days to discuss the matter.

You get this? I pay to rent a movie, it doesnt work, they will not give me my $4.29 back, but they will set up paperwork to have someone call me in a few days. In my businessmans mind I can see the 15min of this phone call has already cost them more then $4.29 and I'm really starting to get annoyed. Vicki said she could call the store but, she doubted she would have any more luck then I did.

This is the point in the narrative where I explain how Dell customer care experienced helped. At one point we in customer care received some additional training on call excalations. That is, certain key words and phrases that signaled us to either push the customer higher up the food chain or stop the bullshit and grab your ankles.

So, I am on the phone with Vicki, who is about to write up this case report so I let fly with one of the phrases. "Man, I cannot WAIT to blog about this hassle"

There was about a two second pause and I thought I might have been hung up on. I threw out a 'Hello?' and Vicki responded as if startled. She informed me she was getting ready to call the blockbuster store in question, before, making the case notes out. Hmmm, that seemed like a change in plan.

Next the phone line rang and Jason the guy I talked to originally picked up and a short conversation took place. Vicki came back on the line and said Jason would be glad to put the credit back on my card.

Behold the power of the Blog.

Tim W. you will be missed

Tim W. worked with me at Dell. He was the I\T guy there. One person handling 300+ stations. He was a good guy. He is going to die, probably this week. Well, thats not quite true. I understand he had an anuryisem and is brain dead. His family is taking him off the machine soon. Maybe today or it already happened.

Tim was a kindered soul, he liked the things I did (as did the fellow members of the tech support department). After we were put into place it wasnt uncommon for Tim to saunter over and spend a moment or two waxing nerdy with us.

There are certain things that tech heads just can't talk to with a large bulk of the population.

I liked Tim and while I always figured we would get together for something, now that oppertunity is lost and I am sad.

My heart goes out to his daughter and family.