Herman Cain's Gauntlet

By Cal Thomas


When it comes to sex, the media apply different standards to Republicans and Democrats.

Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton allegedly trolled for women, using state troopers as his procurers. As president, Clinton engaged in oral sex with Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office. He lied about it under oath and was impeached, though later acquitted by the U.S. Senate. Other sexual accusations tainted Clinton, including one that he raped one Juanita Broaddrick. That "everybody lies about sex" and "it was just sex" and didn't affect his public responsibilities, were just two of the exculpatory statements from Clinton's Democratic defenders. James Carville slimed Paula Jones, one of Clinton's accusers, by saying you never know what you'll find "when you drag a hundred-dollar bill through a trailer park."

Many other Democrats in modern times have been caught with their pants down -- JFK, John Edwards. Some paid a political price. Most did not because their policies were favored by the liberal media, which gave them cover.

Now it is Herman Cain's turn and the rules have suddenly changed. Cain stands accused of sexually harassing two women more than a decade ago when he headed the National Restaurant Association. Many in the media wolf pack have already judged him guilty because he updated his initial statement denying the allegations. And yet The Washington Post, in association with Politico.com -- which broke the "story" -- routinely updates its online pages when new information comes to light.

Is Cain, a relative media novice, expected to have instant and total recall of events that may or may not have happened more than 10 years ago?

The way this works is, if you can't give the media immediate and detailed answers to their questions, they "raise new questions" and then when you do provide them additional information they say you should have provided it before and must be covering something up, prompting even more questions.

One cannot say what, if any, political motives the anonymous female accusers might have, or even if they helped bring these charges to Politico. So much of this is subjective. What is known is that a charge of sexual harassment is not proof that sexual harassment occurred.

This story also has a noxious odor of racism about it. Historically, perhaps the worst stereotype directed at African-American men is that they are oversexed and constantly on the prowl for female conquests.

Cain's candidacy has unnerved the Washington political establishment. I have just finished his book "This is Herman Cain!: My Journey to the White House." In it, I learned that Cain is a self-made man who achieved success without government and without self-loathing. He is the enemy of big government, and of Democrats' "can't do" condescending attitude toward minorities. Cain exudes a positive and optimistic spirit.

Were Cain to become president, this "CEO of self" would threaten the political and economic prison liberal Democrats have built to keep disenfranchised minorities down and voting for Democrats for fear their government programs will end. Cain has a better way and he writes about it in his inspiring personal story, which is the embodiment of the American Dream.

This is why Cain is being excoriated by the liberal left. Even some in the Republican establishment wish he would just go away. There will be more on this as reporters and tabloids throw money at Cain's accusers, seeking to get them to talk in violation of their termination agreements.

If you're wondering why more qualified people don't run for office, consider what is being done to Herman Cain. People don't want every mistake or bad decision they've made trumpeted from the rooftops and so they avoid politics to the nation's detriment.

Cain may ultimately triumph over these allegations. On Monday Cain recorded his biggest fundraising day ever, netting $400,000. Still, the best defense is a good offense and what would be best for Cain is for him to get all the facts out, immediately, before his enemies do it for him.

Obama Changes Fundamental Answer: "I Think We Are Better Off" Than We We...

I guess it depends on what you mean by "Better"....

Best Confirms Global Temperature Standstill

They pour over the data to convince skeptics that the overall planet has been on a warming trend.  This also shows that the warming has stalled or stopped or something not going up over the last 10 years.

If this was not enough there is this A skeptical physicist ends up confirming climate data.

Which turns out to be a poor snow job. Because, the other shoe dropped: Scientist who said climate change sceptics had been proved wrong accused of hiding truth by colleagu.

Meanwhile in the scientific world the actual discussion is on mans contribution and if we should become Amish (or buy carbon offsets from Al Gore).

Oakland Police provoked?

Mother Jones reporter says Oakland police were provoked.

Rep. Paul Ryan Blames Obama for Dividing America

Paul Ryan just has so many good things to say. I wish he was running for President. This interview hits so many good points.

Occupy Madison loses permit - News - The Daily Cardinal - University of Wisconsin-Madison

Occupy Madison loses permit - News - The Daily Cardinal - University of Wisconsin-Madison

Good lord, how can this be supported by anyone?

Mitt Romney

Flip Flop

I am not wanting Mitt to get the nominee for President.  I can see myself voting for him over the current disaster that is Obama.  Over the last few months I keep seeing him change position on various items.  At first I assumed we had some out of  context reporting from our dear old MSM.

Having Cain getting higher in the poles is nice, as I like his policies and overall attitude.  I am also glad that John Huntsman is trailing by a good margin.  I am not sure why he is considered a Republican at all (other then he registered that way?)

Another election season is about to open!

Diana's Blog

Diana's Blog about being in Japan as a student.

Picture to follow

Robert, Robert and Lee.  Robbie, Robert and Lee.  Shoo, Bobert and Lee. Shoo, Robert and Lee.  When you have two friends for 44plus years and you have consistently been in contact, things like turning 50 are important.  Tina tried to get Robert and Shoo to come for my fiftieth.  Robert, unfortunately couldn't make it. I jumped at the chance to surprise Robert this weekend.  Robert has arranged with Shoo to surprise him on Shoo's 50th.

I got the call from Andrew, Roberts eldest, about the event.  We have an airline that does commuter hops to LAX from Medford. They do not fly on Friday, so I got Thursday flight out at 2:30PM with a Return from LAX flying out at 5:30AM.

Tina drove me to my Pops house on Wednesday after work.  We visited and ate, Pop is learning to play electric Organ.  I followed him around with his routine, Walking, Sherries restaurant etc., then a ride to the airport.

The flight was uncomfortable as I chose my seat poorly.  The flight dropped me at the maze of LAX and the walk to the street and Budget rent-a-car shuttle was a long one, augmented by the scaffolds and partitions set up for a re-modelling.  The car was rented, GPS was set and I was driving in that mystically fairy land known as  El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula.

Traffic is horrid and my trusty Garmin tried its best to avoid numerous freeway blockages by shunting me to various freeways then, surface streets.  I got to tour Norwalk and Compton on my surface street route to Brea.  I got quickly disgusted with the sheer amount of commercials on the Radio broadcast (really, twenty minutes of each hour?)  So the XM came in handy, once I eliminated bulk of the stations down.

Two hours and thirty minutes later I was so happy I live in Oregon and badly in need of head ache meds.  My sis-in-law was gracious enough to give me food and medication.  We chatted, walked the dog, watched some tube and I slept soundly.  Next morning was some small bagels, then another treat of So-Cal traffix.  This time I was Garmin'd to the toll freeways.  This was really cool.  Not only do you drive over 10 mph, but you get a better sense of the sheer amount of undeveloped land.  I made good time and soon arrived at Shoo's domicile.

Due to the painters not finishing last Wednesday most of his houses furnishings where piled into the living room. It only added to the fun that only a chaotic atmosphere can bring.  Shoo took me on a tour of Laguna and then Costa Mesa where we snapped pictures of my old neighborhood and my old house.  It was unoccupied and the construction guys there let me inside for a few pictures.

We had a nosh at Togo's, played some WOW and relaxed in the jacuzzi prior to heading out for family dinner at a Vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant.  Shoo was not feeling all that great so he bowed out early.  Leaving his daughter Val and I the opportunity to watch the Ducks blank the Sharks.

Next morning, Saturday, was Roberts surprise.  I had a few hours to kill so I headed to Irvine Spectrum and looked at the sights.  Then headed off to the local Costco to spy on them.

Robert's daughter Hailey, had me hide in various spots as she enjoyed her Dad NOT seeing me.  Finally I got to step out from the shadows.  Robert was surprised and happy to see me.  We went to a favorite family restaurant, joked and got back in time for the festivities.  Andrew had set up linked X-boxes and we did some Halo followed by poker, then more Halo.

Just a pretty good set of downtime with Pizza and spaghetti.  As midnight approached I was more and more worried that if I slept I might miss my wake up call and not make my flight.  Seeing as I was open seating getting to the airport early was paramount.

So I headed straight there and waiting for the employees to arrive.  The flight back was much shorter, due to my sleeping through most of it.

What a whirlwind!  It is good to be home.  

Loss of a Mom

My Mom has been in a care facility for the last few years.  Alzheimer's is very hard on loved ones.

In August she had a fairly bad fall and we feared the worse.  Her head injury was treated but not surgically.  That may or may not have hastened her demise today.

Recently there has been a joyous occasion, a wedding of my Nephew and his beautiful bride.  My mother was in a pretty good condition and the care facility brought her to join in the festivities.  I had a very nice visit and she recognized me, introducing me as "Her Baby" for the first time, in a long time.

When she had her fall, I was in Canada and not sure how I would make it back before she died.  As I waited for a phone call, I had lots of thoughts about Mother and that last memory stood out as a good last one to hold onto.  I had placated myself with the possibility that good memory would be my last one.  She seemingly recovered and appeared to be on the mend, even regaining words to the songs she used to hum.

This Friday I got word that she had collapsed and the prognosis was not good.  The care providers gave her a week.  I had the option to head  South to say goodbye.  I wrestled with my August nice memory and haunting thoughts of the last time I saw my Grandmother.  Something that I wish I could have un-seen.  I decided to keep myself a little distant.  We went on an outing to Crater lake on Saturday with Connor.  Something he requested to do prior to winter closing the area.  I went to a going away party for a manager at work.  Although, I felt odd and detached from the festivities.  I left early and had a run home.  Neither night had me sleeping well.  Sunday we missed Mass due to a schedule change we had not heard about.

I had spoken to my Pop, who graciously gave me the option to come down or not.  I sent an e-mail to my two oldest friends explaining the situation.  They responded in kind, that being there was important and I should re-consider.  This struck me hard as I went to work Sunday, I actually felt a pressure above my heart as I kept busy and my mind off events.  I spoke to a few people, including management, who immediately suggested I take some time off to do what was needed.  I thanked them for their support and went about my work day.  I had a few well-ups of emotion but nothing I could not work around.  As the end of shift came around I realized that I had left my wife out of the equation.

It only shows how compromised I was emotionally that I thought I was going to have to go through this alone. My wife had a wonderful relationship with my Mom and equal rights to be there.  I called and asked if she wanted to go down and without hesitation she affirmed.  Which sent me relief as it exposed my wrongful thinking.  I asked her to come get me and told Management that I had to leave.

Now I felt an urgency to head south,  we hastily packed overnights and headed down the ninety minute drive.  My Pop and my sister Nancy were with mom.  We talked and cried and watched the care staff, who had genuine affection for my Mom.  Dad had spent the last few nights as had some of my siblings.  He constantly gazed at her and saw to her comfort.  He was jovial, sad, pragmatic and emotional.  As it got later, everyone needed rest.  Tina and I headed to Pops house as Nancy and Pop spent the night with Mom.

I gave her a kiss goodbye and told her that I loved her.

The next morning we got two calls.  The first call said she was not doing well and the second was she had passed.  I broke down sobbing, Tina was there.

We headed over and Mom had been washed up and lie in the bed.  Looking peaceful and asleep.

Early that morning, while her breathing was labored.  My Pop, holder her hand, leaned over and told her it was time to leave.  She died, with the love of her life gently holding her hand and a large outpouring of love which filled the room from her last few days.  The attendance remarked how amazingly peaceful her passing was, of the likes they  rarely see.

All things come to an end.  My Mom's passing was a beautiful example that matched her beautiful life among us.

Get into the BOX!

Test build successful!  On to the next phase!

The motherboard is attached to the case using stand-offs.  These are little brass fixtures that screw into the appropriate case holes to match the board mounting holes.  You can eyeball it pretty easily.  If you really want to be sure a template is a good choice.

Next up you want to mount the power supply.  Mine goes fan down on the bottom of the case (which is very common now).

My power supply is modular.  So you only need to use the cables you want.  The rest you store in a bag for later.

Next up are the drives.  For the DVD you remove a panel from the front of the tower and slide it into place. This tower is tool-less so it has some handy knobs that lock the drives down.

DVD in place!  Next the hard drive.

This case comes with some rails that snap onto each side of a standard drive.  Then you just slide it into position.

Finally the motherboard. Start with the back plate which labels all your various ports.  It just snaps into place.  Next you place the board slide it towards the back and secure using the mounting screws into the a fore mentioned stand-offs.

Using the back panel and some small black zip-ties you work the various cables through the channels to the proper position.  Less spaghetti cables mean better cooling.  I start by running power to everything, then data connectors to everything else. Including the case cables for the on off buttons and front panel USB and audio ports. Next I systematically secure the cables.

Any add-on cards, like a graphics card requires removal of a back panel (usually a screw, or you might have to bend-snap it off) and securing it into the socket.

Now you attach keyboard, mouse and monitor.  Plug in the power supply, hit the power supply on switch (if it has one).  Then push the start button.

TECH SUPERSTITION!  NEVER close up the side panels prior to starting up your system for the first time.  In fact, leave them off till after you install the OS.

Note how clean of cables this case is?  It is a work of art.

Here it is running!

Next up, Installing the OS.  This is something I may not blog about... Not sure yet.  Its a lot of looking at this:

-fini-

Building a computer.

Lets say you want to make this metal box into a computer... Further you have all the other parts as well.

First thing is to set up everything and do a test build.  You start by putting the processor into the motherboard.

The insertion is minor thanks to the zero insertion force style socket.  First you open the mouse trap looking device, line up the slots on the processor with the socket and being careful not to touch the pins on the bottom or the metal on the top, you drop it into place.

The sound made while closing is not unlike fingernails on a chalk board.  It sounds like your destroying the pins and is very disconcerting.  Next you either apply some conductive paste and put the heat-sink fan into place.

It has four pins that push through and lock into place, you should make sure you plug in the fan to the appropriate place on the board.  This now becomes a nice handle for maneuvering your board.

Next up install the RAM.  Pretty easy and a little tricky.  This is one time you MUST consult your manual to find the placement.  This becomes simple if you have four matching sticks of RAM.

The packaging your board came in is perfect for a test build. I next installed the graphics card, hooked up my monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Finally run the various power supply cords to their various sockets.  In this case we have the main power the secondary power and Graphics card additional power.

Next you start the system up by gaping two little pins on the motherboard (RTFM).

If you have good components this is what you will see.

 TADA!

Now we know everything works.  Time to install the stuff.

My new Obelisk

My old computer died.  I tried to revive it, but the parts are out of stock and problematic to find.

After perusing Toms Hardware guide, I got a battle plan of what I wanted in a system. I checked out the usual vendors and was not happy with what I saw .vs. what I wanted.  Even Costco had some nice towers but too much $$ for too little power.

As I was pricing a system at New Egg when I came across a DIY system that was 90% exactly what I wanted.This little beauty was just perfect!

Here is my system out of the shipping box.  Big black tower in the back.  Motherboard, power supply and processor in front.  In the foreground the Hard drive and RAM.  I salvaged my DVD drive and Graphics card from my old system before recycling it responsibly.

Towers are very important consideration.  Airflow, accessibility and aesthetics all come into play.  The only complaint is the metal is a thinner gauge then I would like.  There is a lot of quality in the product.  The inside was painted to match.  Both side panels have thumb screws for easy access.  All the cables are clearly labeled and plenty long enough for any motherboard.  The front, back and top fans are large powerful and quite, bonus for the pretty blue lights in the front fan.  If you need additional cooling you can add three more without any problem.  The front panel has two USB, Headset and mic and eSATA.  Which is pretty standard.  You have huge add on potential for additional drives and devices.  I am considering a card reader.

The Motherboard is excellent!  It has the current intel chipsets, can handle two graphics cards and up to an i7 Intel processor.  No downside at all!  Everything is clearly marked and well laid out. The tech support is difficult to understand due to the accent.  However, the e-mail support works well, it just takes longer.

Intel i5 2500k is a great chip for gamers.  It is inexpensive and benchmarks above several i7 cousins.  It comes with a nice heat-sink fan and a manual that is good for something...

Hard drives above 500 gigabyte are more then enough.  1-Terabyte is cheap enough, so... why not? I like Seagate for no particular reason.

RAM can be tricky.  Matching the speed to your system build takes a little bit of research.  G.Skills have good RAM at a good price.  These are dual channel DDR3 1600.  They have a built on heat sink and offer a lifetime warranty.

Finally the power supply.  You need to have enough power to run everything and more.  Most manufactured PC's short you in this area.  Dell, HP, Acer, all barely squeak by with the minimum required levels.

This beast is by corsair, it also has the advantage of being modular.  You only plug in the cables you need for your system.  Sweet!

Dear ELIZABETH WARREN

Because factory owners pay NO EXCISE TAXES for the support of the roads that carry their materials, raw or finished, and NO PROPERTY TAXES for the support of the schools that (mis)educate its work force, and NO CORPORATE INCOME TAXES for the support of the armed forces that keep the factory safe… Oh… you mean they DO pay all those taxes and more?

Government Spending Doesn't Create Jobs

Rex Murphy: The media’s love affair with a disastrous president

Source Materical

As the bad economic news continues to emanate from the United States — with a double-dip recession now all but certain — a reckoning is overdue. American journalism will have to look back at the period starting with Barack Obama’s rise, his assumption of the presidency and his conduct in it to the present, and ask itself how it came to cast aside so many of its vital functions. In the main, the establishment American media abandoned its critical faculties during the Obama campaign — and it hasn’t reclaimed them since.

Much of the Obama coverage was orchestrated sychophancy. They glided past his pretensions — when did a presidential candidate before “address the world” from the Brandenberg Gate in Berlin? They ignored his arrogance — “You’re likeable enough, Hillary.” And they averted their eyes from his every gaffe — such as the admission that he didn’t speak “Austrian.”

The media walked right past the decades-long association of Obama with the weird and racist pastor Jeremiah Wright. In the midst of the brief stormlet over the issue, one CNN host — inexplicably — decided that CNN was going to be a “Wright-free zone.” He could have hung out a sign: “No bad news about Obama here.”

The media trashed Hillary. They burned Republicans. They ransacked Sarah Palin and her family. But Obama, the cool, the detached, the oracular Obama — he strolled to the presidency.

Palin, in particular, stands out as Obama’s opposite in the media’s eyes. As much as they genuflected to the one, they felt the need to turn rottweiler toward the other. If Obama was sacred , classy, intellectual and cosmopolitan, why then Palin must be malevolent, trashy, dumb and pure backwoods-ignorant.

Every doubt they hid from themselves about Obama, every potential embarrassment they tucked under the blanket of their superior sensibilities, they furiously over-compensated for by their remorseless hounding of Palin — from utterly trivial e-mails, to blogger Andrew Sullivan’s weird speculations about Palin’s womb, musings that put the Obama “Birther” fantasies into a realm near sanity. (We are now seeing an echo of that — with a new book promoting all sorts of unconfirmed gossip about Palin, including her alleged sexual dalliance with a basketball star.)

As a result, the press gave the great American republic an untried, unknown and, it is becoming more and more frighteningly clear, incompetent figure as President. Under Obama, America’s foreign policies are a mixture of confusion and costly impotence. It is increasingly bypassed or derided; the great approach to the Muslim world, symbolized by the Cairo speech, is in tatters. Its debt and deficits are a weight on the entire global economy. And the office of presidency is less and less a symbol of strength.

To the degree the press neglected its function as watchdog and turned cupbearer to a Styrofoam demigod, it is a partner in the flaws and failures of what is turning out to be one of the most miserable performances in the modern history of the American presidency.

Thanks, Smokey!

Okay this is one of those videos that I was embarrassed when I laughed.

Devil's Dictionary, Obama Edition

Original

The Devil's Dictionary, Obama Speech Edition

Abraham Lincoln: Not the founder of the Republican Party.

Basic protection(s): Any regulation(s) that Barack Obama believes will reduce the ability of financial, medical, or fossil fuel companies to earn a profit, especially any regulation based on the Progressive view that individual Americans are too stupid to be allowed to make our own decisions in the most important areas of our daily lives. Also, any regulation that strengthens the power of unions.

Different theory: Economic policy views supported by history, evidence, and research by Barack Obama's own (former) top economic advisor, but not supported by Barack Obama.

Doing nothing: If referencing a Republican-controlled chamber of Congress, not giving the president at least 90% of what he wants even while passing legislation. Not applicable to a Democrat-controlled chamber of Congress, even if not passing any legislation.

Fair shake: The additional amount of money the government can extract from society's most successful by turning success into a vice and lack of success into a virtue; similar to shakedown.

Fair share: More than you pay in taxes now, especially if you are in the top 1% of earners who already pay more in income taxes than the bottom 95% of taxpayers and who pay nearly twice as much as a share of taxes than they earn as a share of national income.

Fairness: A never-reached situation in which the "rich" are paying their Fair share and Warren Buffett is happy.

Help: Buy one group of Americans' votes with money earned by those who pay most federal income taxes by giving the latter group a Fair shake.

Jolt: A policy dramatic enough to increase Barack Obama's poll numbers. A cola I drank in college.

Listen to every new proposal: Tailor a bill based on "suggestions" from the head of the AFL-CIO, SEIU, or AFSCME; Suggestions from Republicans responded to with "I won."

Most fortunate: Hardest working, smartest, most entrepreneurial, most responsible for job creation, paying more than others in taxes, or being part of any other such category so deserving of income confiscation, over-regulation, union domination, or any other punishment the Obama Administration can implement over Republican opposition which is based on Rigid ideas.

Nothing controversial: Highly controversial.

Paid for: Funded by increasing Fairness. Spending increases andFair Shakes implemented now with the net deficit theoretically funded by a promise of spending reductions later.

Payroll tax cut: A temporary benefit to some working Americans and businesses to be Paid for by creating a permanent penalty on other working Americans and businesses.

Political crisis: See "Urgent time for our country."

Right now: When to pass a "jobs bill," in which there is Nothing controversial, because we are in an Urgent time for our country.

Rigid idea: A position based on reading the plain text of the Constitution and thus not worthy of serious consideration, especially if it impedes Fairness or the implementation of Basic protections.

Sincerely believe: If referring to a Democrat, believe sincerely. If referring to a Republican, must be stupid or crazy to believe.

Tax loopholes; tax breaks: Advantages in the tax code that go to companies or people who do not share President Obama's goal ofFairness and who do not contribute enough to Democratic campaigns and thus must be shifted to the favor of those who do.

Urgent time for our country: A period during which Barack Obama's poll numbers are falling, causing him to fear that he will lose re-election and therefore that oceans may start to rise again.

Round the World Trip - in under 2 minutes "Tongue Twister"

The Nike MAG

It’s now disrespectful to refuse to disagree with Obama?

Mugged by Mythology | The Weekly Standard

Mugged by Mythology | The Weekly Standard

Madeon - Pop Culture (Dance Video)

One of the better dance video's.

Best laid plans, get screwed up...

My computers motherboard fried. I calculated over what to do and opted to get a replacement motherboard. Actually two generations higher then the previous, with some of the overheating issues resolved. Along with some nifty chipset updates.

I also decided to jump into Windows 7, so I ordered a new HD and got the upgrade.

Today was my first day off and I was very excited to get into my system. I had a few issues with the rear IO panel changes. I bought a metal nibbler and made some crude adjustments. Then I found the front IO panel interface cable was different as well. Argh! Who changes a CABLE interface?

So I got online with the motherboard folks and they directed me to the original manufacturers parts department. I need the Front IO board, The rear board and two cables. I got the part numbers and found the much needed cable was out of stock.

The representative did some digging and found a replacement part that will work (fingers cross). So I ordered up the parts and now I am waiting. Knowing in the back of my mind this whole thing might just blow up in my face.

U.Va. is all in on Climategate cover-up | The Examiner | Op Eds | Washington Examiner

U.Va. is all in on Climategate cover-up | The Examiner | Op Eds | Washington Examiner

learnering.

I love my job.  Every day I have members (customers) asking questions around something they want to be able to do with a computer.  More times then not I can offer them solutions they have not considered.  Most times this results in a sale now, sometimes a sale later.  Always, it results in another conversation with the same member at a later time.

While keeping up with the latest hardware requires a bit of investigation, keeping up with accessories can be daunting.  I haunt the various new tech websites and magazines.  Still something new will slip by me in a disconcerting manner.  The Knowledge base builds upon itself in an interesting manner.  Knowing what something can do makes learning what something new will do a quick understanding.

One of those things that snuck by me is WiDi (or Wireless Display).  Most televisions can be hooked up to a computer.  The picture quality will depend upon the resolution of the graphic card there within. Given that you have adequate hardware, you can then have a super-sized monitor for your entertainment needs.

This requires a cable, tethering you to the TV, which can be annoying and problematic.  Enter WiDi!

With a box hooked up to your monitor and the capacity on your PC you only need to be in the same room to broadcast sans wire.  So you plop your laptop onto the coffee table and start the slide show!  or Hulu up lost episodes of "lost" or something.

You can even hook this up to a projector for a presentation.  It is just a cool idea.

EDITORIAL: Obama: Stop selling pickup trucks - Washington Times

EDITORIAL: Obama: Stop selling pickup trucks - Washington Times

Brad Paisley - Remind Me (Duet With Carrie Underwood)

wheels.

Second time on my new wheels, two of them broke.

Book stores

So Borders Books is closing down their storefronts.  It is a sad time to their remaining customers and those who sat inside, reading books and never purchasing.  

I recall an outcry from the populace when the big book stores started displacing the mom and pop stores of yesteryear.  There was even a Tom Hanks movie about this very issue.  They had a sales model that did not keep up with the times.  You can read many analysts reasons for the giant going under.

My mind goes to the "whats next" arena.  Amazon and other online stores are starting to find governments interference causing a change in the way they do business.  E-readers are taking a toll from the printed page as well. 

Mount Thielsen

One of the surprising things about Roseburg is the elevation.  It just seems higher then 500 feet. Douglas County goes from the ocean to the High Cascades.  The highest point is Mount Thielsen  at 9,184 feet.  I climbed it at 50 years old.

When I lost my weight, I started looking for challenges. Recapturing youth?  Sure... why not?  Ego? Okay...  Things I always wanted to do? All of the above, plus plenty more upon reflection.

Turning 50 has been a bit of tumult.  There is some disbelief that a half century has passed. Then again, I am really happy with my life.  I am just in such a good place with good people that turning 50 is much more sweet then bitter.

Anyway - Last year I was thinking of climbing Mt. Thielsen for my 50th.  With the start of summer and all the planning and being included in plans, I kind of shunted that goal to the side.  In the back of my mind I kept thinking of ways to get up there.

So my birthday came and Tina, true to form, planned a number of fun things.  My co-workers were very gracious in accolades. I had a fun outing at a karaoke bar, and a nice dinner out with my in-laws.  It was all  a pleasant time.  I was actually having some down time from visitors, etc., when someone pulled into my driveway early Saturday morning.  The sound on our street plays tricks, and I had thought it was the neighbors.  Tina's out-loud wondering of who could that be, prompted me to investigate.

There is a context of your day-to-day life.  When something so totally unbelievable occurs, your mind can reel in flashes of justifications and possibilities.  I would categorize this as mental shock.  Which is what I experienced as my childhood friend Robert Shoemaker (Shoo) was standing in my doorway, with his teenage son Kenrick.

Shoo lives in southern California. Due to the wonders of the internet we keep in touch regularly.  His showing up on my doorstep was so beyond anything, I was just stunned and surprised .  Tina had been planning this for a year.  Which is all the more remarkable as she is usually less then able to keep surprises.

The three of us sallied forth to Mt. Thielsen.  This is just under a two-hour drive to the Trail Head near Diamond Lake.  The hike is an uphill trek for about three miles.  You go through wondrous forest with some snowy patches.  The trail vanished at one point, but was unerringly found again by Shoo's preternatural ability to find such.  The peak was slowly moving closer and closer.  I was able to keep pace with Kenrick, which I was quite pleased with due to my fitness level, as he is a sporto in wrestling and football.

With about two miles left the terrain changed. There was loose dirt with foot-sized rocks on a pseudo trail, cutting back and forth above the treeline.  Each step would be either a good step up or a slide back.  You quickly learn to plant your foot and ease the pressure in anticipation.  At this point I began to outdistance Kenrick.  We would pause at times and gather back together.  It was slow going at a lung-busting elevation.  Shoo's tenacity was remarkable.  He stated that he was concerned about making the climb, only to note his progress toward the peak and then double down on willpower.

The next section was loose rock over rock.  As luck would have it, a young Swiss gentleman by the name of Allen was not far ahead, providing a visual reference for the climb.  It was a hands and feet climb,  the last hundred feet or so.  Kenrick and I got to the top, Shoo was close behind us.

The views are spectacular.  There were geological curiosities to ponder and quite a sense of accomplishment.

Currently I am in my own personal feeling of grace.

Turning 50

It was a fun birthday.  Even though I am not really a Birth-day kind of guy.

Tina arranged, via Facebook, a karaoke outing with with my work crew b-day eve, Keeka and Kirby in tow as well.  It was a pretty good turn out.  I did not choose the best songs to sing. Two of them being way out of my range. I did save my best (Soul Man) for my last tune.

I worked early the next morning and large amounts of caffeine buoyed my, already flying high spirits.  I received a happy birthday from everyone (was even sung the Swedish Birthday Song).  There was some honest disbelief that I had hit the half century mark, with a caveat being a wish they had similar energy and fitness level when they reached this number of solar orbits.

The Happy Birthday part was expected, the latter was not.  That kind of accolade made my day, multiple times over.

Impressionist Jim Meskimen Does Shakespeare in Celebrity Voices

Wisdumb

Be careful presenting facts to a liberal for it's guaranteed to enrage him.

Summer's Eve Hail to the V: "The V" Extended Cut

Never before have I seen a commercial like this... for this...

Raise Taxes?

Obama didn't raise taxes in a lame duck session when he had 59 Democrats in the Senate and almost 260 in the House.

Scratch an atheist, find a Fundamentalist.

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/zac-alstin-notes-a-basic-principle/


Zac Alstin Notes a Basic Principle. Namely, he recognizes that when you scratch an atheist, particularly a New Atheist, you will typically find a passionately religious (albeit flatfootedly moralistic and literalistic) Fundamentalist.
I can’t tell you how often I have gotten mail from people who tell me they don’t believe in God and then almost instantly reveal that they are furious with him.  Sometimes they are furious with him for not existing, but much more often they are furious with him for not doing something they badly wanted him to do.

That’s not stuff for mockery by the way.  Because many and many a time the something God was supposed to do was “save my daughter from death by cancer” or “keep my wife from committing suicide” or many other variations of the tragedies with which the world abounds.  Many “atheists” are just broken-hearted people who can’t stand the thought that a good God would allow to happen the shock that shattered their world.  For such folk, prayer and love, far more than logic-chopping argumentation is necessary thing.  Many an “unbeliever” has felt the walls of ice melt between them and the Joy of Man’s Desiring after a wrenching, cleansing, gasping cry of pain and gush of tears after years of frozen rage.  Seldom has that happened because somebody hammered them with an apologetics syllogism about papal infallibility.  They needed healing, not a sound defeat in a debate.

That said, there are also any number of callow youth whose problem is not some dark wound, but simply that they are callow youth who have read some dim dumb thing that Richard Dawkins wrote or clicked on a diatribe by Christopher Hitchens and decided they are the intellectual heroes who will make them feel superior to their high school sophomore class.  These people too cannot be converted by argument because nobody can be converted by argument. Nobody can be converted by your winning smile or my clever words or his watertight philosophical proof.  These things can be prelude to conversion and rational human beings can come to acknowledge things by the light of natural reason.  But only the Holy Spirit can do the heavy lifting of opening a human heart and mind to the light of divine truth.

That means that the first thing a gung ho evangelical atheist needs is prayer, not argument.  The prayer is not so much for conversion as for de-conversion.  Because a realio trulio confirmed atheist already has a deep religious belief.  What he needs is not faith (he has that: faith in the three pound piece of meat behind his eyes).  Nope, what he needs is right faith: in God and not himself, his brilliance, his rationality, his pride.  And no mortal power can disabuse him of that wrongly ordered faith.  Only God can.

Of course, not all atheists are of the gung ho militant variety.  Some are atheists because, well, they were just raised outside any living encounter with actual faith.  Indeed, I have known a number of atheists who range from curious to wistful about faith in Christ, as though it would be nice to believe if they could, but for whatever reason the inner “click” hasn’t happened to make the life of living faith in Christ real to them.  Once again, prayer is the first thing, since only God and convert.  At the same time, such atheists are often quite open to having a real conversation about the Faith.  Such folk are often treated with profound contempt by the shallow noisy atheist Fundamentalists who have a script and are stickin’ to it.  The contempt is due to the fact that these “Christ curious” atheists actually want to use their intellects instead of merely worshipping them.

But for the dyed-in-the-wool atheist of the New Atheist Speaker’s Bureau, the use of the intellect is strictly forbidden.  Slogans and pre-fab sound bites are the key.  The same clever lines get repeated again and again in a sort of atheist liturgy that drinks repeatedly from the same stale water.  The same prophets (Dennett, Harris, Hitchens and Dawkins) are read from like the four gospels.  Slogans about flying spaghetti monsters get repeated like antiphons at Mass.  The same two arguments about “the Problem of Evil” and “How the Laws of Nature Prove There is No Legislator” get trotted out, oblivious to the fact that St. Thomas answered them both.  In addition, we hear the same fallacies again and again in the liturgy of Padded arguments: religion is for suckers, Noah never lived, why can’t women be priests, Catholics sin, some miracles are fake so all are, the Pope is not photogenic, I am smarter than you, Galileo, six day creationism, SCIENCE!, etc.

It’s all as liturgical as a kabuki or a Mass—and as predictable.  Only the New Atheist seems to be oblivious to how much he owes the religion he is attacking.  Indeed, even his blasphemies depend for their power on the God he blasphemes, which is why he spends all his time Not Believing in the God of the Bible and very little time blaspheming Thor or Odin.

Swamp Ass PSA starring Nathan Fillion