EPIC BEAT BOXING ICE TRICKS

Awesome ice skating warm-up routine

MapMyRide - Shoot me now, hill climb. in Roseburg, OR

MapMyRide - Shoot me now, hill climb. in Roseburg, OR

This hill really kicks my rear. I keep hoping it will get easier over time.

Great read about a great president.

I'm starting to understand what made Ronald Reagan such a great president

Ke$ha - Your Love Is My Drug

One of those songs that just makes one dance.

So what to invest in?

Along with my 90 day probation period I get benefits including a 401k with matching funds. In looking at the various funds history's one thing is apparent. They have preformed poorly over the last three to five years.

So, getting to invest in something that looses money really does not sound all that great...

Science .vs. Funding (The truth is suppressed...)

US physics professor: 'Global warming is the greatest and most successful pseudoscientific fraud I have seen in my long life'

Harold Lewis is Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Here is his letter of resignation to Curtis G. Callan Jr, Princeton University, President of the American Physical Society.

Anthony Watts describes it thus:

This is an important moment in science history. I would describe it as a letter on the scale of Martin Luther, nailing his 95 theses to the Wittenburg church door. It is worthy of repeating this letter in entirety on every blog that discusses science.

It’s so utterly damning that I’m going to run it in full without further comment. (H/T GWPF, Richard Brearley).

Dear Curt:

When I first joined the American Physical Society sixty-seven years ago it was much smaller, much gentler, and as yet uncorrupted by the money flood (a threat against which Dwight Eisenhower warned a half-century ago). Indeed, the choice of physics as a profession was then a guarantor of a life of poverty and abstinence—it was World War II that changed all that. The prospect of worldly gain drove few physicists. As recently as thirty-five years ago, when I chaired the first APS study of a contentious social/scientific issue, The Reactor Safety Study, though there were zealots aplenty on the outside there was no hint of inordinate pressure on us as physicists. We were therefore able to produce what I believe was and is an honest appraisal of the situation at that time. We were further enabled by the presence of an oversight committee consisting of Pief Panofsky, Vicki Weisskopf, and Hans Bethe, all towering physicists beyond reproach. I was proud of what we did in a charged atmosphere. In the end the oversight committee, in its report to the APS President, noted the complete independence in which we did the job, and predicted that the report would be attacked from both sides. What greater tribute could there be?

How different it is now. The giants no longer walk the earth, and the money flood has become the raison d’être of much physics research, the vital sustenance of much more, and it provides the support for untold numbers of professional jobs. For reasons that will soon become clear my former pride at being an APS Fellow all these years has been turned into shame, and I am forced, with no pleasure at all, to offer you my resignation from the Society.

It is of course, the global warming scam, with the (literally) trillions of dollars driving it, that has corrupted so many scientists, and has carried APS before it like a rogue wave. It is the greatest and most successful pseudoscientific fraud I have seen in my long life as a physicist. Anyone who has the faintest doubt that this is so should force himself to read the ClimateGate documents, which lay it bare. (Montford’s book organizes the facts very well.) I don’t believe that any real physicist, nay scientist, can read that stuff without revulsion. I would almost make that revulsion a definition of the word scientist.

So what has the APS, as an organization, done in the face of this challenge? It has accepted the corruption as the norm, and gone along with it. For example:

1. About a year ago a few of us sent an e-mail on the subject to a fraction of the membership. APS ignored the issues, but the then President immediately launched a hostile investigation of where we got the e-mail addresses. In its better days, APS used to encourage discussion of important issues, and indeed the Constitution cites that as its principal purpose. No more. Everything that has been done in the last year has been designed to silence debate

2. The appallingly tendentious APS statement on Climate Change was apparently written in a hurry by a few people over lunch, and is certainly not representative of the talents of APS members as I have long known them. So a few of us petitioned the Council to reconsider it. One of the outstanding marks of (in)distinction in the Statement was the poison word incontrovertible, which describes few items in physics, certainly not this one. In response APS appointed a secret committee that never met, never troubled to speak to any skeptics, yet endorsed the Statement in its entirety. (They did admit that the tone was a bit strong, but amazingly kept the poison word incontrovertible to describe the evidence, a position supported by no one.) In the end, the Council kept the original statement, word for word, but approved a far longer “explanatory” screed, admitting that there were uncertainties, but brushing them aside to give blanket approval to the original. The original Statement, which still stands as the APS position, also contains what I consider pompous and asinine advice to all world governments, as if the APS were master of the universe. It is not, and I am embarrassed that our leaders seem to think it is. This is not fun and games, these are serious matters involving vast fractions of our national substance, and the reputation of the Society as a scientific society is at stake.

3. In the interim the ClimateGate scandal broke into the news, and the machinations of the principal alarmists were revealed to the world. It was a fraud on a scale I have never seen, and I lack the words to describe its enormity. Effect on the APS position: none. None at all. This is not science; other forces are at work.

4. So a few of us tried to bring science into the act (that is, after all, the alleged and historic purpose of APS), and collected the necessary 200+ signatures to bring to the Council a proposal for a Topical Group on Climate Science, thinking that open discussion of the scientific issues, in the best tradition of physics, would be beneficial to all, and also a contribution to the nation. I might note that it was not easy to collect the signatures, since you denied us the use of the APS membership list. We conformed in every way with the requirements of the APS Constitution, and described in great detail what we had in mind—simply to bring the subject into the open.

5. To our amazement, Constitution be damned, you declined to accept our petition, but instead used your own control of the mailing list to run a poll on the members’ interest in a TG on Climate and the Environment. You did ask the members if they would sign a petition to form a TG on your yet-to-be-defined subject, but provided no petition, and got lots of affirmative responses. (If you had asked about sex you would have gotten more expressions of interest.) There was of course no such petition or proposal, and you have now dropped the Environment part, so the whole matter is moot. (Any lawyer will tell you that you cannot collect signatures on a vague petition, and then fill in whatever you like.) The entire purpose of this exercise was to avoid your constitutional responsibility to take our petition to the Council.

6. As of now you have formed still another secret and stacked committee to organize your own TG, simply ignoring our lawful petition.

APS management has gamed the problem from the beginning, to suppress serious conversation about the merits of the climate change claims. Do you wonder that I have lost confidence in the organization?

I do feel the need to add one note, and this is conjecture, since it is always risky to discuss other people’s motives. This scheming at APS HQ is so bizarre that there cannot be a simple explanation for it. Some have held that the physicists of today are not as smart as they used to be, but I don’t think that is an issue. I think it is the money, exactly what Eisenhower warned about a half-century ago. There are indeed trillions of dollars involved, to say nothing of the fame and glory (and frequent trips to exotic islands) that go with being a member of the club. Your own Physics Department (of which you are chairman) would lose millions a year if the global warming bubble burst. When Penn State absolved Mike Mann of wrongdoing, and the University of East Anglia did the same for Phil Jones, they cannot have been unaware of the financial penalty for doing otherwise. As the old saying goes, you don’t have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing. Since I am no philosopher, I’m not going to explore at just which point enlightened self-interest crosses the line into corruption, but a careful reading of the ClimateGate releases makes it clear that this is not an academic question.

I want no part of it, so please accept my resignation. APS no longer represents me, but I hope we are still friends.

Hal

Harold Lewis is Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, former Chairman; Former member Defense Science Board, chmn of Technology panel; Chairman DSB study on Nuclear Winter; Former member Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Former member, President’s Nuclear Safety Oversight Committee; Chairman APS study on Nuclear Reactor Safety Chairman Risk Assessment Review Group; Co-founder and former Chairman of JASON; Former member USAF Scientific Advisory Board; Served in US Navy in WW II; books: Technological Risk (about, surprise, technological risk) and Why Flip a Coin (about decision making)

More about Werk.

On Sunday I will hit the 90 day mark of my employment. Meaning I will cease to be in my Probationary period. Seeing as my reviews have been stellar it was, to me, waiting for the planet to spin then worry. This is a very different employment situation for me. Since moving to Oregon I have had jobs that I enjoyed and some not so much.

The first one I enjoyed, then left for a better opportunity. That job was equally challenging and enjoyable. Due to a downturn in the economy I was laid off.

That lead to a job I was not that crazy about, but it paid the bills, the stress of making quota was horrid. The same company moved me to a position that was much more suited to my skill set. Then to a position that I was enjoying. They closed down that division suddenly one Wednesday. I fully understand from a business standpoint, personally it was a harsh time.

The next job I found challenging, then felt quite used as it became apparently they used me instead of hiring a contractor (Salary is so much cheaper you know). Only to be kicked to the curb with a "Job well done, goodbye!"

This lead to a long unemployed stint that, in retrospect, I could have utilized some grants for collage education. I was able to be active with my Daughters TV episode.

Next came another Full Time job at a good time for a pay cut. I was low man on the totem pole and immediately above me there was some frustration with knowledge crossovers, I adapted and there was some good opportunities available. It was with our local government so the benefits were pretty good as well. Things were tight but, manageable. Then they cut me back in hours and tight became, count the pennies tight. Just about the time they were going to cut me back to 20 hours I landed a full time at my current position.

With 90 days I get to enjoy the many benefits and I am really enjoying the job. The entire experience falls so well into my mindset and skill-set one could almost think it came about through "intelligent design". My supervisor delegates a laundry list of tasks with a high level of trust. The management has tapped me for various assignments above and beyond. They have also been quite generous with accolades. In any given day I get to field questions about electronics, troubleshoot problems with our various displays, move products to better locations and make executive level decisions, with a near rubber stamp from those in charge.

Mentally there is no Monday morning dread of the work week starting. Rather, it is a giddy anticipation. I get to ride a bike into work, wear shorts and during busy times the hours tick by at an amazingly fast pace. Best of all, work stays at work.

Have you ever had a job were the management did not seem to have a clue, yet presented themselves as all knowing? I see every manager on the floor every day in every conceivable position. Stocking shelves, sweeping up messes, driving fork lifts and planning moves for the next shipment. It is quite inspiring to have a boss who keeps pace (sometimes out paces) you.

I really feel I have fallen into something great.

Werking at the Company of Costs.

For the last 11 weeks I have been gainfully employed full time. It is still a lot of fun. My title is Major Sales. I will greet people as they enter, field questions about electronics and diamonds, and give my best directions as to where a given item might be located. Our store is a warehouse in name and nature. Things are moved to make room for other things every single day. It is a treasure hunt atmosphere. Luckily my brain is wired well for recalling where items are located.

I have become quite versed on HD televisions, blu-ray adding to my knowledge on computers. Thanks to my sister in law Connie I got a laymen level of information on jewelry which I am supplementing. My goal in talking to our members (read customers) is to make sure they get the product that fits the need. They should be able to explain why they chose that computer or that Television. "Zero returns" is my personal sales motto.

I was able to fix the Gordian knot of component cables that run our Televisions. In general I am become the go-to guy for fixing frustrations.

Also, I passed the safety test on forklift driving, which will allow me to start training on them (woot!). Further the marketing folks have tapped me to do the front board pictures. This is a rather fun assignment with some frustrations on the slowness of our intranet printing (4 min 23 sec a page).

Then comes the unexpected new projects. Where they need to squeeze six pallets worth of new items into an area that has one pallet worth of room. It is a challenge and requires some creative solutions.

In the past I have worked at places where the management would sit in offices, hand down expectations with a vagueness that would set one up for failure. Or they would come out of their hovel, bark orders for seemingly no purpose then to display alpha dominance then walk away not caring about the outcome. This is not the case currently. I see management running forklifts, restocking product and sweating it out like the rest of us. Most of them have been with the company in nearly every position. It is VERY common to see them manning cash registers, sweeping up messes and pitching in during heavy times. This, to me, is inspiring.

What I find I enjoy is showing up, doing the job then heading home. When I hop on that bike I might have a thing or two about work to consider, but as the miles roll on those too fade.

Life is good.

We No Speak Americano ft. Cleary & Harding

Freidrich Hayek

Dick Blumenthal Stumped On How To Create A Job

LINDA McMAHON: A follow-up, Mr. Blumenthal. You've talked about you want to incentivize small businesses. Tell me something, how do you create a job?

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL: A job is created, and it can be in a variety of ways, by... a variety of people, but principally by people and businesses in response to demand for products and services. And the main point about jobs in Connecticut is we can and we should create more of them by creative policies. And that's the kind of approach that I want to bring to Washington.

I have stood up for jobs when they've been at stake. I stood up for jobs at Alderman Motors when GM wanted to shut down that automobile dealership. I stood up for jobs at Pratt & Whitney when that company wanted to ship them out of state and overseas. I stood up for jobs at Stanley Works when it was threatened with a hostile takeover.

I know about how government can help preserve jobs. And I want programs that provide more capital for small businesses, better tax policies that will promote creation of jobs, stronger intervention by government to make sure that we use the 'Made in America' policies and 'Buy America' policies to keep jobs here rather than buying products that are manufactured overseas, as WWE has done.

McMAHON: Government, government government.

Government does not create jobs. It's very simple how you create jobs. An entrepreneur takes a risk. He or she believes that he creates goods or service that is sold for more than it costs to make it. If an entrepreneur believes he can do that, he creates a job.

Skating In Eugene

Diana, Trevor and I went to our local rink many times over the summer. Skating is one of those activities that I really enjoy (as previously stated ad nauseam). The fact my kids enjoy skating makes it a great family outing.

Last night, I was off early enough from work to go up and skate with Diana at the Eugene roller rink. I sort of recall being there before. But with my sieve-like memory that may or may not be factual as many rinks look the same.

The rink is nicely put together and probably dates back to the early 70's. It was 80's night which means way too much Michael Jackson and a lack of groups like, Ultravox, Dead Kennedys etc. There was an older crowd (no speed bumps as Trevor put it).

The local derby team was in force as well. I enjoy skating with the music and the style I enjoyed most was a fancy footing dance. Suddenly, a gentleman appeared who was a blast from my past. He had all the moves and style that I remember and I pointed out to my kids the skating style to which I aspire. The kids seemed impressed and dutifully said I was really close and had my own style as well.

So I did kick it up a notch. Today I am thankful for the pain relief provided by Ibuprofen. Its not the years, it's the milage.

Obama, a very divisive president.

Thanks CNN.

Molson Canadian Beer Advertising

While it is not the best version of this commercial. I came across it a few years back when I was in Canada. Last year I heard some kids reciting it word for word. Some other kid stated that everyone knows that rant.

Anyways I think it is pretty funny and effective.

Haiti still waiting for pledged U.S. aid | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Haiti still waiting for pledged U.S. aid | detnews.com | The Detroit News

One-point-five billion pledged US aid still has not arrived in Haiti.

Eminem - Love the Way You Lie ft Rihanna Parody: Key of Awesome #27

Connie posted this on FB. Wanted to share the goodness.

Mainstream Polling.

From Politico:

According to a recent poll, likely voters get their political news primarily from cable television. Among cable channels, 42 percent, a plurality, watch Fox News for its political coverage. Only 12 percent said they watched MSNBC. What's more, most likely voters don't like or have never heard of MSNBC's prime time talent.

The poll, conducted by Politico and George Washington University, used a sample split evenly between political parties - even slightly favoring Democrats in some areas: 41 percent of respondents identified as Republicans, while 42 percent said they were Democrats. Forty-four percent said they usually vote for Republicans, while 46 percent answered Democrats. Forty-eight percent voted for Obama, while only 45 percent voted for McCain.

Even among this group, Fox News is by far the most popular cable outlet. CNN comes in at second, with 30 percent. A sorry MSNBC brings up the rear.

Among cable news personalities, FNC's Bill O'Reilly - consistently the highest-rated cable news talker - is the most popular. Forty-nine percent of respondents said they thought O'Reilly has a positive impact on the American political conversation. Thirty-two percent said he has a negative impact.

Interestingly, respondents - again, split evenly among the two parties - thought all three of Fox's evening opinion commentators (O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity) have a net positive impact on the national debate. All three have a positive spread in the category. Also of note, for none of the three did majorities answer "never heard of".

MSNBC's hosts are a different story. Only 23 percent said Keith Olbermann has a positive impact on the debate, while 25 said he has a negative one. A plurality, 42 percent, had never heard of him

But at least it was only a plurality. Majorities said they have never heard of Ed Schultz or Rachel Maddow - 70 percent and 55 percent, respectively. The positive impact/negative impact responses were split down the middle for both.

In other words, the vast majority of likely voters either do not like MSNBC's prime time talkers, or have never heard of them (with the notable exception of Chris Matthews, whose name was not included in the poll).

"How did it get to this state?" wonders Ed Morrissey.

After all, NBC had a long history in television news, starting decades before CNN and even longer than Fox. Its partnership with Microsoft should have given the cable news network a distinct advantage in the New Media world. Their roster of news anchors, present and future, should have immediately challenged CNN for primacy and marginalized Fox, who may have had cash but relatively fewer newsgathering resources in the US when it launched.

Under the direction of GE's Jeff Immelt, though, NBC's cable network went for the full-insane demographic. Fox took CNN's talking-head format and simply reversed the bias, although Fox rightly argues that it presents more opposing viewpoints than CNN did as part of their establishment talent and not just occasional guests and party spinmeisters. NBC decided to emulate Air America with its cable lineup instead, perhaps seeing some opportunity in the last Bush term to capitalize on his unpopularity and become a center of opposition opinion.

Rather than accomplish that, the decision by NBC and its parent GE has not just destroyed MSNBC's credibility but also NBC's as well. With the exception of Joe Scarborough, who is hard to pigeonhole but certainly isn't a hard-Left hysteric, the entire lineup is exactly what one would find on the failed libtalker radio network. It's no coincidence that two of its featured hosts come straight out of Air America, Rachel Maddow and Ed Schultz. Maddow has, at least, produced a watchable show, albeit with a hard-Left tilt that clearly is out of touch with the mainstream, but Schultz is barely coherent. Top that off with a daily "news" broadcast from Keith Olbermann that almost literally consists of a Two Minute Hate (Olbermann's WPIW lists), and it's a recipe for the kind of disaster that only political hacks could love. The wonder is that GE and NBC apparently seem content to alienate 88% of the viewing audience with its trainwreck theater.

Efficiency on the fly.

At work I am finding that tasks called 'daunting' are my favorite. I got home tonight very exhilarated by my work day.

I do need to digress a bit. Thursday Night my supervisor apologetically gave me a long list of items that needed to be done before the store opened on Friday. He himself, was to arrive at 6:00 Friday morning to try to complete whatever was not finished. He pretty much dismissed the Idea that I would be able to accomplish a modicum of the list.

I finished it all. With the list in hand my mind was able to organize the job in an interlaced series of tasks that could be done prior to the close staging an efficient undertaking. It could have easily been a debacle, but the things outside of my control fell into place.

Tonight was a similar situation. This time I was not staying afterwards, so I have to pass the job onto my co-worker. I had notes and a plan of attack. We got the do-able portion either staged or done prior to close (when I had to leave). This left my co-worker with one smaller task and the awaiting of new shipments.

I even anticipated a number of problems that would occur and pre-solved them as well. It was my brain firing on all cylinders. Solving complex, real life, real time problems like these certainly appeals to me. My favorite command is "Just get it done"

Juxtaposed is my not wanting to create any problems. That is to say, leaving well enough alone, keep it simple stupid, if it aint broke... Are more the motto's that guide me.

As I sit here on the brink of a Saturday, I am really looking forward to work in the morning and skating in the evening. Sadly I miss out on Connors swimming. Sunday Connor and I are going on a bike ride... It is going to be a nice weekend.

55 inches!

Maybe its the shorts...

The powers that be decided that our neck of the woods would like 26" to 37" Televisions. We got the obligatory Samsung Series 7 3D sets (which some of the other store imports for opening told us would be a tough sell). We sold them all in the first four weeks of being opened.

Other stores have not seen any inventory go out the door.

Also the 55" 240 hz LED LCD have been nigh impossible to sell at other locations. We sold all of ours and we have been getting in other stores inventory (which, by the dust on top, have been stored for a while). We cannot seem to keep the things in stock. We got four last night, two already are spoken for.

The TV's we carry are all the newfangled flat HD televisions. There are a few things to know about them.

The size is still measured diagonally, so getting the height and length requires some searching the literature or having a tape measure at the store.

1080p is the top resolution for High Definition. It refers to the number of lines that make up the image. You may see 720p or 1080i as well. The 'p' stands for progress, the 'i' stands for interlaced. Progressive is better as it displays the full image faster.

120hz is the speed at which the images are displayed. 120 frames per second is about the best on a bigger screen. up to 32" a 60hz would be fine the hz rating seems to be noticeable at 37" and up. There are some 240hz machines out there that would provide the smoothest action.

However, that is more Dependant on how your brain and eyes are wired.

Finally the way the TV displays the image. Plasma, LCD or LED. Plasma gives a good big picture at a lower price. The plasma gets rather hot and uses more electricity then other sets. Also, most of the ones are still at 720p.

LCD is lighter but require a back light. There are limits to how bright you can get these sets. So they may require more shading.

LED are LCD screens that use LED's for the light source. These are brighter then your LCD and can even fight the suns glare. These also have the lowest electrical consumption and are the thinnest at under 2" in some cases.

The interesting bit to me is how these numbers compare to broadcasts. Nothing broadcasts in 1080p at 120hz. The best is 1080i at 60hz. The 120hz sets do something kind of cool. They take the current image and the next image and create a new frame that is inserted in the mix. This makes the motion look better.