Monday, April 24, 2006
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Warts & All: Hey, Teenagers! Enjoy Yourselves While You Can!
Warts & All: Hey, Teenagers! Enjoy Yourselves While You Can! Some have it pretty tough growing up.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Monday, April 17, 2006
Welcome to AnnCoulter.com
Welcome to AnnCoulter.com: "BROWN IS THE NEW BLACK
April 12, 2006
This is the only country on Earth that thinks it's not sporting to consider our own interests in choosing immigrants. Try showing up in any other country on the planet, illiterate and penniless, and announcing: 'I've seen pictures of your country and it looks great. I think I'd like to live here! Oh, and by the way, would you mind changing all your government and business phone messages, street signs and ballots into my native language? Thanks!' They would laugh you out of the countr"
April 12, 2006
This is the only country on Earth that thinks it's not sporting to consider our own interests in choosing immigrants. Try showing up in any other country on the planet, illiterate and penniless, and announcing: 'I've seen pictures of your country and it looks great. I think I'd like to live here! Oh, and by the way, would you mind changing all your government and business phone messages, street signs and ballots into my native language? Thanks!' They would laugh you out of the countr"
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Hog On Ice
Hog On Ice: "Little Victories, April 16, 2006
How I Earned my Oxygen Today
1. I discovered three Lester Young albums which look to be pretty excellent. First, Lester Young With Oscar Peterson Trio. I guess Lionel Twain must have named it. The samples are mindblowing. Ladies, if you think you hate jazz, go to Amazon and listen to this album's rendition of 'Stardust.' You will realize that you were wrong. Throw out those goddamn shitty Kenny G. albums. That isn't romance. THIS is romance.
Second, The Lester Young Trio. Guess what 'trio' mean? It means Lester Young, BUDDY RICH, and NAT KING COLE. Talk about crappy marketing. 'Trio'? Are you pulling my tit?
Third, Pres and Teddy. 'Pres' means 'Lester Young,' and 'Teddy' means 'Teddy Wilson,' one of the kings of elegant, tinkly, sophisticated jazz.
In case this is all blowing right by you, Lester Young was a sax player. And he didn't play music that was clever but hard to enjoy, like some people I could name. He had a soothing, gentle sound. Sort of like Oscar Peterson and Lionel Hampton.
2. I ate almost an entire bag of Cheddar Chex, and I washed it down with cane-sugar kosher-for-Passover Coke. I really enjoyed that. Tomorrow, back to salad and sawdust.
3. I found downloadable sheet music for 'Prisoner of Love.' A beautiful but neglected old standard. I remembered it when I saw that Lester Young played it.
4. I reached the point where I can play the third part of Chopin's A minor waltz well enough to practice it effectively, instead of sight-reading it at a glacier's pace. After I conquer this part, all I have to do is get through the A major bit, and then it's all repetition. According to my teacher. I'm afraid to look.
Every day, if you make an effort, something will go right. It's probably a good idea to think about those things before you go to bed.
I have two main tools for maintaining my motivation to practice the piano. First, I read a lot of books about pianists. Reading about other people playing the piano will make you want to play it, yourself. Second, after the nightly prayers, I go back over my daily practice in my head, and I pick out the things that went well. Even when I feel like I made no progress, if I think about it I always discover one or two definite improvements that justify the effort I put in during the day.
If that works for the piano, maybe it will work for other things."
How I Earned my Oxygen Today
1. I discovered three Lester Young albums which look to be pretty excellent. First, Lester Young With Oscar Peterson Trio. I guess Lionel Twain must have named it. The samples are mindblowing. Ladies, if you think you hate jazz, go to Amazon and listen to this album's rendition of 'Stardust.' You will realize that you were wrong. Throw out those goddamn shitty Kenny G. albums. That isn't romance. THIS is romance.
Second, The Lester Young Trio. Guess what 'trio' mean? It means Lester Young, BUDDY RICH, and NAT KING COLE. Talk about crappy marketing. 'Trio'? Are you pulling my tit?
Third, Pres and Teddy. 'Pres' means 'Lester Young,' and 'Teddy' means 'Teddy Wilson,' one of the kings of elegant, tinkly, sophisticated jazz.
In case this is all blowing right by you, Lester Young was a sax player. And he didn't play music that was clever but hard to enjoy, like some people I could name. He had a soothing, gentle sound. Sort of like Oscar Peterson and Lionel Hampton.
2. I ate almost an entire bag of Cheddar Chex, and I washed it down with cane-sugar kosher-for-Passover Coke. I really enjoyed that. Tomorrow, back to salad and sawdust.
3. I found downloadable sheet music for 'Prisoner of Love.' A beautiful but neglected old standard. I remembered it when I saw that Lester Young played it.
4. I reached the point where I can play the third part of Chopin's A minor waltz well enough to practice it effectively, instead of sight-reading it at a glacier's pace. After I conquer this part, all I have to do is get through the A major bit, and then it's all repetition. According to my teacher. I'm afraid to look.
Every day, if you make an effort, something will go right. It's probably a good idea to think about those things before you go to bed.
I have two main tools for maintaining my motivation to practice the piano. First, I read a lot of books about pianists. Reading about other people playing the piano will make you want to play it, yourself. Second, after the nightly prayers, I go back over my daily practice in my head, and I pick out the things that went well. Even when I feel like I made no progress, if I think about it I always discover one or two definite improvements that justify the effort I put in during the day.
If that works for the piano, maybe it will work for other things."
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Condoleezza Rice on Piano - New York Times
Condoleezza Rice on Piano - New York TimesAmazing article about Sec Rice!
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Hog On Ice
Hog On IceLately, I've been eating a lot of grilled cheeseburgers. When you have a gas grill, burgers are ridiculously convenient to cook, and naturally, that appeals to me. You just turn on the grill, get the burger ready while it heats up, throw it on, and take it off. And then there's almost no clean-up. Or, in my case, none.
Here's how I fix them these days. I start with between a third and a half of a pound of ground chuck. "Ground beef" probably tastes better, but God knows what's in it. Everytime you go to McDonald's, you probably eat half of a bovine penis and seven sphincters. I assume ground chuck is a little less disgusting. But I refuse to buy ground sirloin, because it's dry.
Anyway, I throw the meat in a bowl and salt it generously. I'll tell you something I have learned through experience. A burger with salt mixed into it will taste a lot better than a burger with salt ON it. Try it yourself and see. I also add pepper, and then I press a clove of garlic into the meat. Powder isn't the same. Then I mix it up and grill for 3.5 minutes per side. That makes it a little black on the outside, but not completely cooked inside. I don't care about the bacteria. Once you get to a certain age, your body deals with filth pretty well.
I like using Swiss cheese on these things, not just because of the taste, but because it's a fairly tough cheese that doesn't break up and fall into the grill or on the patio when you handle the burger.
I generally use Pepperidge Farm "Farmhouse" sandwich buns with onions or sesame seeds. These buns are bigger than the tiny, stupid regular buns, and they're always available. Homemade buns or something from a bakery would be better.
I prepare the buns by throwing them on the rack above the grill when I start cooking, dark side down. That warms up the outsides of the buns and takes the limpness out of them. Then a minute before the burger comes off, I put them face-down on the grill, and I toast them a little. When the burger is done, the buns are hot, and you can throw the cheese on the burger and put it on the bun and count on it to melt. You don't have to put it on the burger while it's cooking and stink up the yard.
It works really well. Hamburger has lots of flavor, so you don't really need to pimp it out much, although you certainly can.
Some people mix Lipton onion soup mix into their burgers. That's pretty good. I was thinking one of these days I might start adding a few carraway seeds, like on the famous Ollie burgers of the Seventies.
I also like a fried egg on top of a cheeseburger. Wonderful. I ought to try bleu cheese some day, too.
I don't salad my burgers up, but if I did, I'd go all the way, like a Whattaburger or a Whopper with everything.
Oh, hey, have you tried grilling bacon for your cheeseburgers? It's very nice. More flavor than stove bacon, and you don't have to clean a skillet.
I'm not a burger expert, but you'll get good results if you try it my way. If you learn nothing else from me, make sure you learn to mix the salt in before cooking.
Man, a couple of these babies with fries cooked twice in beef fat...oh, that would be sinful. Oh. Oh.
I'm back now.
You should probably also butter the buns after they toast. I'm too lazy.
Geez, that sounds good. Now I'll be thinking about it all day.
Jimmy Buffett was right about Heinz 57 on cheeseburgers, by the way. I also like ketchup and brown mustard, but Heinz is excellent.
Damn it. Why did I go read that? I just know I'm going to go turn the grill on.
In other news, Dan From Madison tried the ribs recipe from my cookbook, and he really liked it. Now that I'm set up for convenient smoking, I don't use my fake-rib recipe any more, but it really is good. Also, Dan is well on his way to becoming a troublemaker and agitator like me.
I may as well accept the fact that I'm going to grill today.
I make my bugers similarly, but with some different details.
I use 80% lean ground chuck usually, because it's enough fat to grill well, but not so much that it shrinks excessively.
In the bowl I mix the meat, some grated parmaggiano and romano, salt, black pepper, some crushed whole dried red chilis, some prepared mustard, and some crushed garlic.
The mustard, vinegar, and chili add some great tang, and the cheese salt, and pepper do for the savoriness.
I then very lightly butter the buns (or I use my home made chili oil - light olive oil infused with red chili) and grill them.
I personally like to put the chees on the burger cold, and let the heat from the buns and burger do whatver melting.
Oh and I think the best cheese for a good juicy burder is smoked gouda, or horseradish sharp cheddar.
I've done the grilled bacon trick, but I prefer to pan fry the bacon, and then use the drippings and some butter to fry steak fries in.
Posted by: Chris Byrne | April 8, 2006 02:46 PM
If you enjoy spicy burgers, in Austin they used to make something called a Primo at a place called Mad Dog's by the UT campus. I finally figured out how to make one after years of effort. More cleanup, but great taste:
Ground chuck
raw onion
raw jalapeno
raw bacon
All in a Cuisinart or other food processor with the blade attachment so it gets hacked and mushed together. Then make medium thick patties and cook slow, between 12-20 minutes depending on thickness. Best burger ever. Made them for 20 people last summer at a friend's birthday party and literally every single person wanted the recipe, and half of them said it was the best burger they had ever had.
If you don't like spicy, dump the jalapenos and just use onion and bacon. I tried precooking the veggies and bacon to cut down on grill time, but the burgers don't hold together when you do that.
Will probably double comment this at Acidman's.
Posted by: Uncle Mikey | April 8, 2006 02:50 PM
Same thoughts on the gas grill.
My $0.02 on Grilled Turkey CheeseBurgers
Throw the following into a bowl and use your hands to mix it up:
- Ground Turkey
- Diced Onion
- Diced
- Chopped Cilantro
- Garlic (powder or fresh diced)
- Salt
- Ground Pepper
Throw it on the grill then add pepper-jack cheese after the flip - add the bun/roll to the grill at this time as well
Cook till just past rare.
Posted by: Brian | April 8, 2006 03:12 PM
"That can't be anything but good."
we'll be waiting for the report. Best burger I ever ate, was at Fat Alberts in Gridley, Illinois. Called a Fatburger. 1/2 lb of ground beef. 1/2 lb of ground pork. Grilled separately, then smooshed together around a chunk of cheese the size of a wallet. Wrapped in a deep-fried bun. Spread with some buttery substance which I'm sure was raw cholestrol. I gained six pounds just then. And now I'm drooling uncontrollably. I think only one of those in my life is the limit.
Posted by: og | April 8, 2006 03:32 PM
Waking up after a severe MI several years ago, I saw a cardiologist looking down at me. His first words were, "You don't know it yet, but you had a pretty interesting experience there."
A few minutes later, after some discussion of payment for his services and other thoroughly exasperating issues, he continued with, "You know . . . you're going to die . . ." and then paused for effect. Confident that he had my focused and thorough attention, he continued, "Unless . . ." which included a ridiculously long list of things NOT to do or eat, chief amongst them salt, fat, and sweet.
In rehab, a cardiac nurse put it all in perfect perspective for me: "If it tastes good, spit it out, 'cause it's not good for you." That, of course, reiterated the doctor's list of condemned items (i.e., salt, sweet, fat).
So I began to read labels and modified my diet in hopes that my arteries would unharden and my cholesterol and triglycerides would come down from the high hundreds to under 200 or so.
One of the substitutes I tried was Boca Burgers for good ol' honest-to-goodness foodburgers made from large, hairy, stupid, smelly ruminants. At first they were simply awful, a kind of mystery meat sans flavor with no redeeming features except that they fit the whole-wheat buns I had shifted to.
Particularly hungry one day after mowing the lawn, I nuked two Bocas with salt substitute and minced garlic on 'em. Laid out two buns and smeared 'em with fat-free mayo, plopped a thick slice of yellow onion on the bottom half and a generous slice of big, red termater on the top half.
Somethin on the moron monitor distracted me for a few moments, but soon I had grabbed one of the sandwiches and was munching away, happy with my ability to self-delude and imagine that I was indeed consuming a forbidden menu item.
As I walked back to the counter to lay the pattie on the second bun, I saw TWO faux burgers there on the nuke pad. It was then that I learned how really unsatisfying the damned Bocas truly are.
The first sandwich had been bread, mayo, tomato, and onion. And it tasted good . . . but only because I had duped myself into believing that it would be. With the second one, the alien substance of the patties doubled in one bun overwhelmed the other, natural flavors.
Moral: you can talk yourself into one helluva lotta shit if you think it'll permit you to continue that nasty habit of breathing . . . but there ARE limits.
I would murder a gaggle of nuns for the ability to eat cheeseburgers with cardiovascular impunity. Hell, I'd take out the entire state of Massachusetts with thermonuclear weapons if I could eat pizza once in a while and not have to worry about that goddam elephant sitting on my chest again.
Here's how I fix them these days. I start with between a third and a half of a pound of ground chuck. "Ground beef" probably tastes better, but God knows what's in it. Everytime you go to McDonald's, you probably eat half of a bovine penis and seven sphincters. I assume ground chuck is a little less disgusting. But I refuse to buy ground sirloin, because it's dry.
Anyway, I throw the meat in a bowl and salt it generously. I'll tell you something I have learned through experience. A burger with salt mixed into it will taste a lot better than a burger with salt ON it. Try it yourself and see. I also add pepper, and then I press a clove of garlic into the meat. Powder isn't the same. Then I mix it up and grill for 3.5 minutes per side. That makes it a little black on the outside, but not completely cooked inside. I don't care about the bacteria. Once you get to a certain age, your body deals with filth pretty well.
I like using Swiss cheese on these things, not just because of the taste, but because it's a fairly tough cheese that doesn't break up and fall into the grill or on the patio when you handle the burger.
I generally use Pepperidge Farm "Farmhouse" sandwich buns with onions or sesame seeds. These buns are bigger than the tiny, stupid regular buns, and they're always available. Homemade buns or something from a bakery would be better.
I prepare the buns by throwing them on the rack above the grill when I start cooking, dark side down. That warms up the outsides of the buns and takes the limpness out of them. Then a minute before the burger comes off, I put them face-down on the grill, and I toast them a little. When the burger is done, the buns are hot, and you can throw the cheese on the burger and put it on the bun and count on it to melt. You don't have to put it on the burger while it's cooking and stink up the yard.
It works really well. Hamburger has lots of flavor, so you don't really need to pimp it out much, although you certainly can.
Some people mix Lipton onion soup mix into their burgers. That's pretty good. I was thinking one of these days I might start adding a few carraway seeds, like on the famous Ollie burgers of the Seventies.
I also like a fried egg on top of a cheeseburger. Wonderful. I ought to try bleu cheese some day, too.
I don't salad my burgers up, but if I did, I'd go all the way, like a Whattaburger or a Whopper with everything.
Oh, hey, have you tried grilling bacon for your cheeseburgers? It's very nice. More flavor than stove bacon, and you don't have to clean a skillet.
I'm not a burger expert, but you'll get good results if you try it my way. If you learn nothing else from me, make sure you learn to mix the salt in before cooking.
Man, a couple of these babies with fries cooked twice in beef fat...oh, that would be sinful. Oh. Oh.
I'm back now.
You should probably also butter the buns after they toast. I'm too lazy.
Geez, that sounds good. Now I'll be thinking about it all day.
Jimmy Buffett was right about Heinz 57 on cheeseburgers, by the way. I also like ketchup and brown mustard, but Heinz is excellent.
Damn it. Why did I go read that? I just know I'm going to go turn the grill on.
In other news, Dan From Madison tried the ribs recipe from my cookbook, and he really liked it. Now that I'm set up for convenient smoking, I don't use my fake-rib recipe any more, but it really is good. Also, Dan is well on his way to becoming a troublemaker and agitator like me.
I may as well accept the fact that I'm going to grill today.
I make my bugers similarly, but with some different details.
I use 80% lean ground chuck usually, because it's enough fat to grill well, but not so much that it shrinks excessively.
In the bowl I mix the meat, some grated parmaggiano and romano, salt, black pepper, some crushed whole dried red chilis, some prepared mustard, and some crushed garlic.
The mustard, vinegar, and chili add some great tang, and the cheese salt, and pepper do for the savoriness.
I then very lightly butter the buns (or I use my home made chili oil - light olive oil infused with red chili) and grill them.
I personally like to put the chees on the burger cold, and let the heat from the buns and burger do whatver melting.
Oh and I think the best cheese for a good juicy burder is smoked gouda, or horseradish sharp cheddar.
I've done the grilled bacon trick, but I prefer to pan fry the bacon, and then use the drippings and some butter to fry steak fries in.
Posted by: Chris Byrne | April 8, 2006 02:46 PM
If you enjoy spicy burgers, in Austin they used to make something called a Primo at a place called Mad Dog's by the UT campus. I finally figured out how to make one after years of effort. More cleanup, but great taste:
Ground chuck
raw onion
raw jalapeno
raw bacon
All in a Cuisinart or other food processor with the blade attachment so it gets hacked and mushed together. Then make medium thick patties and cook slow, between 12-20 minutes depending on thickness. Best burger ever. Made them for 20 people last summer at a friend's birthday party and literally every single person wanted the recipe, and half of them said it was the best burger they had ever had.
If you don't like spicy, dump the jalapenos and just use onion and bacon. I tried precooking the veggies and bacon to cut down on grill time, but the burgers don't hold together when you do that.
Will probably double comment this at Acidman's.
Posted by: Uncle Mikey | April 8, 2006 02:50 PM
Same thoughts on the gas grill.
My $0.02 on Grilled Turkey CheeseBurgers
Throw the following into a bowl and use your hands to mix it up:
- Ground Turkey
- Diced Onion
- Diced
- Chopped Cilantro
- Garlic (powder or fresh diced)
- Salt
- Ground Pepper
Throw it on the grill then add pepper-jack cheese after the flip - add the bun/roll to the grill at this time as well
Cook till just past rare.
Posted by: Brian | April 8, 2006 03:12 PM
"That can't be anything but good."
we'll be waiting for the report. Best burger I ever ate, was at Fat Alberts in Gridley, Illinois. Called a Fatburger. 1/2 lb of ground beef. 1/2 lb of ground pork. Grilled separately, then smooshed together around a chunk of cheese the size of a wallet. Wrapped in a deep-fried bun. Spread with some buttery substance which I'm sure was raw cholestrol. I gained six pounds just then. And now I'm drooling uncontrollably. I think only one of those in my life is the limit.
Posted by: og | April 8, 2006 03:32 PM
Waking up after a severe MI several years ago, I saw a cardiologist looking down at me. His first words were, "You don't know it yet, but you had a pretty interesting experience there."
A few minutes later, after some discussion of payment for his services and other thoroughly exasperating issues, he continued with, "You know . . . you're going to die . . ." and then paused for effect. Confident that he had my focused and thorough attention, he continued, "Unless . . ." which included a ridiculously long list of things NOT to do or eat, chief amongst them salt, fat, and sweet.
In rehab, a cardiac nurse put it all in perfect perspective for me: "If it tastes good, spit it out, 'cause it's not good for you." That, of course, reiterated the doctor's list of condemned items (i.e., salt, sweet, fat).
So I began to read labels and modified my diet in hopes that my arteries would unharden and my cholesterol and triglycerides would come down from the high hundreds to under 200 or so.
One of the substitutes I tried was Boca Burgers for good ol' honest-to-goodness foodburgers made from large, hairy, stupid, smelly ruminants. At first they were simply awful, a kind of mystery meat sans flavor with no redeeming features except that they fit the whole-wheat buns I had shifted to.
Particularly hungry one day after mowing the lawn, I nuked two Bocas with salt substitute and minced garlic on 'em. Laid out two buns and smeared 'em with fat-free mayo, plopped a thick slice of yellow onion on the bottom half and a generous slice of big, red termater on the top half.
Somethin on the moron monitor distracted me for a few moments, but soon I had grabbed one of the sandwiches and was munching away, happy with my ability to self-delude and imagine that I was indeed consuming a forbidden menu item.
As I walked back to the counter to lay the pattie on the second bun, I saw TWO faux burgers there on the nuke pad. It was then that I learned how really unsatisfying the damned Bocas truly are.
The first sandwich had been bread, mayo, tomato, and onion. And it tasted good . . . but only because I had duped myself into believing that it would be. With the second one, the alien substance of the patties doubled in one bun overwhelmed the other, natural flavors.
Moral: you can talk yourself into one helluva lotta shit if you think it'll permit you to continue that nasty habit of breathing . . . but there ARE limits.
I would murder a gaggle of nuns for the ability to eat cheeseburgers with cardiovascular impunity. Hell, I'd take out the entire state of Massachusetts with thermonuclear weapons if I could eat pizza once in a while and not have to worry about that goddam elephant sitting on my chest again.
World 'cannot meet oil demand' - Markets - Times Online
World 'cannot meet oil demand' - Markets - Times Online: "
World 'cannot meet oil demand'"
World 'cannot meet oil demand'"
Friday, April 07, 2006
Quote
The day Microsoft makes something that doesn't suck, is probably the day they start making vacuum cleaners.
-Ernst Jan Plugge
-Ernst Jan Plugge
To My Dear
To My Dear
and Loving Husband
Anne Bradstreet
If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me ye women if you can.
I prize thy love more that whole mines of gold,
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay,
The heavens reward thee manifold I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so persever,
That when we live no more, we may live ever.
and Loving Husband
Anne Bradstreet
If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me ye women if you can.
I prize thy love more that whole mines of gold,
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay,
The heavens reward thee manifold I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so persever,
That when we live no more, we may live ever.
To One in Papadise
Thou wast all that to me, love,
For which my soul did pine-
A green isle in the sea, love,
A fountain and a shrine,
All wreathed with fairy fruits and flowers,
And all the flowers were mine.
Ah, dream too bright to last!
Ah, starry Hope! that didst arise
But to be overcast!
A voice from out the Future cries,
"On! on!"- but o'er the Past
(Dim gulf!) my spirit hovering lies
Mute, motionless, aghast!
For, alas! alas! me
The light of Life is o'er!
"No more- no more- no more-"
(Such language holds the solemn sea
To the sands upon the shore)
Shall bloom the thunder-blasted tree
Or the stricken eagle soar!
And all my days are trances,
And all my nightly dreams
Are where thy grey eye glances,
And where thy footstep gleams-
In what ethereal dances,
By what eternal streams.
For which my soul did pine-
A green isle in the sea, love,
A fountain and a shrine,
All wreathed with fairy fruits and flowers,
And all the flowers were mine.
Ah, dream too bright to last!
Ah, starry Hope! that didst arise
But to be overcast!
A voice from out the Future cries,
"On! on!"- but o'er the Past
(Dim gulf!) my spirit hovering lies
Mute, motionless, aghast!
For, alas! alas! me
The light of Life is o'er!
"No more- no more- no more-"
(Such language holds the solemn sea
To the sands upon the shore)
Shall bloom the thunder-blasted tree
Or the stricken eagle soar!
And all my days are trances,
And all my nightly dreams
Are where thy grey eye glances,
And where thy footstep gleams-
In what ethereal dances,
By what eternal streams.
The New Colossus
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Monday, March 27, 2006
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Monday, March 20, 2006
Cafe Hayek
Cafe Hayek: " I also do not think that true love of liberty was ever born just from the sight of material goods that freedom produces; for this often succeeds in hiding it. It is certainly true that in the long run, freedom always brings, to those who know how to keep it, ease, well-being, and often riches; but there are times when it briefly hinders the enjoyment of such goods; there are others when only despotism can temporarily afford their enjoyment. Men who prize only these kinds of goods have never enjoyed freedom for long.
That which, in all times, has so strongly attached certain men's hearts to freedom, are its own attractions, its own peculiar charm, independent of its benefits; it is the pleasure of being able to speak, act, and breathe without constraint, under the government of God and the laws alone. Whoever seeks anything from freedom but itself is made for slavery.
Now such men and women who love freedom so dearly are easily accused, chastised, castigated as being ideologues -- as if commitment to some non-material value is shameful or evidence of simple-mindedness."
That which, in all times, has so strongly attached certain men's hearts to freedom, are its own attractions, its own peculiar charm, independent of its benefits; it is the pleasure of being able to speak, act, and breathe without constraint, under the government of God and the laws alone. Whoever seeks anything from freedom but itself is made for slavery.
Now such men and women who love freedom so dearly are easily accused, chastised, castigated as being ideologues -- as if commitment to some non-material value is shameful or evidence of simple-mindedness."
Thursday, March 16, 2006
The Brier Patch
The Brier Patch
It is strange the way the ignorant and inexperienced so often and so undeservedly succeed when the informed and the experienced fail.
--Mark Twain
It is strange the way the ignorant and inexperienced so often and so undeservedly succeed when the informed and the experienced fail.
--Mark Twain
The Brier Patch
The Brier Patch: "It is strange the way the ignorant and inexperienced so often and so undeservedly succeed when the informed and the experienced fail.
--Mark Twain"
--Mark Twain"
The Brier Patch
The Brier Patch: "It is strange the way the ignorant and inexperienced so often and so undeservedly succeed when the informed and the experienced fail.
--Mark Twain"
--Mark Twain"
The Brier Patch
The Brier Patch: "It is strange the way the ignorant and inexperienced so often and so undeservedly succeed when the informed and the experienced fail."
Gut Rumbles: Acidman is sick...
Gut Rumbles: Acidman is sick...It sounds like you have/had some sort of dysentery. The problem with dysentery is that although a healthy body will fight it off without resorting to medicines, you have to eat to stay healthy, and the disease won't let you keep anything in.
Two avenues of self-help are still available. First, you have to eliminate the chance of continuous re-infection. Scrub down the bathroom with 10% bleach solution. Wash all the bed linens in disinfectant soap. Spray down your bare mattress with Lysol and let it dry before putting new linens on. Put all your pillows in the dryer and roast them on high heat for an hour each, or better yet, burn them and get new. Do your skivvies in hot water and dry with high heat.
Keep yourself scrupulously clean. Shower with soap after every bowel movement.
Eat one-serving foods (except if on the purification diet listed below) and keep no leftovers. Run your dishwasher on it's highest heating and hot-washing cycles.
Lay in a supply of Gatorade. Do not chill it. You don't need to make your body work harder to warm up cold liquids you are putting into it.
Here is the risky part. Get some water-purifying tablets or drops. Make up an amount that will purify
10 quarts (liters) of water. With the tablets, you crush them with something in the bottom of a shot glass. Carefully fill the shot glass with water and stir, dissolving the tablets. If drops are used, they will self-mix as you add the water.
Horn the contents of the shot glass. DO NOT CHASE IT WITH ANYTHING. DO NOT SPIT OUT ANY RESIDUE, SWALLOW IT ALL.
Lay down for about four hours, then start in on the Gatorade, taking it as small as you must to keep it down. Try to manage at least a quart every 6 hours.
Stay on the Gatorade diet (NO FOOD!) for two days.
On the third day, eat one pint of plain yogurt. Not the fruity kind, PLAIN YOGURT. Continue with the Gatorade for another day, then slowly introduce SMALL amounts of food back in your life. What you are doing here is killing off all the digestive bacterial in your gut. You will kill the evil ones that are causing the problem as well. With all the bacteria gone, the gut can't do it's job, so any food in there will not digest. So, don't put any in. Just gatorade for survival, it will keep you going (or Pedialyte, it's better but way more expensive). Eating the yogurt next re-introduces the Lacto-bacillus Acidophillus, the good digestive bacteria, back into the gut. It will grow rapidly (if you've waited the two days for the killer-compound to be flushed out by the Gatorade, if not, the compound will negate the yogurt).
Start with the B.R.A.T. diet: Bananas, rice (plain) applesauce and tea. Or the B.O.A.T. diet, which is the same but substitutes oatmeal for rice. Saltine crackers are a decent substitute also.
After two days successful on these diets, try bringing in eggs, and a little fat (butter or some light fat). Then step up to meats.
The key is quantities. Your GI tract and colon will get into a reactive mode called enteritis and colitis, where it shits everything right out (so you don't get the food value out of it). You have to combat that by not overloading the tract and colon. Small meals, fed often, will get you adequate nutrition to recover.
By the end of the bout, you will have lost a lot of weight, which your body will try to compensate for by storing carbs and fats faster. Let it work. This isn't a weight-reduction program, and if you stay underweight too long, organ damage might occur.
BTW, the Halzone tablet amoeba-killer deal works. I have friends who used this remedy in 'Nam. The docs knew it was being used, and said nothing, so it can't be all that bad for you.
You've got a serious disease, but this is one that will actually respond to non-medical intervention.
If you let the docs treat it in the ER or Urgent Care (if they will, they might just pass it off as some gut virus and let you suffer it out). If they treat it properly, they will give you (IV) a strong antibiotic, replacement fluids and morphine and phenergan. That does everything quickly, but you will still have some residual trots until your gut gets rid of all it's previous infected waste. Then they put you on a clear diet (Gatorade), then the BOAT or BRAT diet, etc.
Then you pay their bill, $2,000 thank you. Plus about $250 worth of antibiotics to go home with. If they decide to do a CAT scan of your gut, add another $4,500 to that bill.
Two ways to go, the docs or the home-remedy way.
BTW, the cleanliness regime applies to either program.
Two avenues of self-help are still available. First, you have to eliminate the chance of continuous re-infection. Scrub down the bathroom with 10% bleach solution. Wash all the bed linens in disinfectant soap. Spray down your bare mattress with Lysol and let it dry before putting new linens on. Put all your pillows in the dryer and roast them on high heat for an hour each, or better yet, burn them and get new. Do your skivvies in hot water and dry with high heat.
Keep yourself scrupulously clean. Shower with soap after every bowel movement.
Eat one-serving foods (except if on the purification diet listed below) and keep no leftovers. Run your dishwasher on it's highest heating and hot-washing cycles.
Lay in a supply of Gatorade. Do not chill it. You don't need to make your body work harder to warm up cold liquids you are putting into it.
Here is the risky part. Get some water-purifying tablets or drops. Make up an amount that will purify
10 quarts (liters) of water. With the tablets, you crush them with something in the bottom of a shot glass. Carefully fill the shot glass with water and stir, dissolving the tablets. If drops are used, they will self-mix as you add the water.
Horn the contents of the shot glass. DO NOT CHASE IT WITH ANYTHING. DO NOT SPIT OUT ANY RESIDUE, SWALLOW IT ALL.
Lay down for about four hours, then start in on the Gatorade, taking it as small as you must to keep it down. Try to manage at least a quart every 6 hours.
Stay on the Gatorade diet (NO FOOD!) for two days.
On the third day, eat one pint of plain yogurt. Not the fruity kind, PLAIN YOGURT. Continue with the Gatorade for another day, then slowly introduce SMALL amounts of food back in your life. What you are doing here is killing off all the digestive bacterial in your gut. You will kill the evil ones that are causing the problem as well. With all the bacteria gone, the gut can't do it's job, so any food in there will not digest. So, don't put any in. Just gatorade for survival, it will keep you going (or Pedialyte, it's better but way more expensive). Eating the yogurt next re-introduces the Lacto-bacillus Acidophillus, the good digestive bacteria, back into the gut. It will grow rapidly (if you've waited the two days for the killer-compound to be flushed out by the Gatorade, if not, the compound will negate the yogurt).
Start with the B.R.A.T. diet: Bananas, rice (plain) applesauce and tea. Or the B.O.A.T. diet, which is the same but substitutes oatmeal for rice. Saltine crackers are a decent substitute also.
After two days successful on these diets, try bringing in eggs, and a little fat (butter or some light fat). Then step up to meats.
The key is quantities. Your GI tract and colon will get into a reactive mode called enteritis and colitis, where it shits everything right out (so you don't get the food value out of it). You have to combat that by not overloading the tract and colon. Small meals, fed often, will get you adequate nutrition to recover.
By the end of the bout, you will have lost a lot of weight, which your body will try to compensate for by storing carbs and fats faster. Let it work. This isn't a weight-reduction program, and if you stay underweight too long, organ damage might occur.
BTW, the Halzone tablet amoeba-killer deal works. I have friends who used this remedy in 'Nam. The docs knew it was being used, and said nothing, so it can't be all that bad for you.
You've got a serious disease, but this is one that will actually respond to non-medical intervention.
If you let the docs treat it in the ER or Urgent Care (if they will, they might just pass it off as some gut virus and let you suffer it out). If they treat it properly, they will give you (IV) a strong antibiotic, replacement fluids and morphine and phenergan. That does everything quickly, but you will still have some residual trots until your gut gets rid of all it's previous infected waste. Then they put you on a clear diet (Gatorade), then the BOAT or BRAT diet, etc.
Then you pay their bill, $2,000 thank you. Plus about $250 worth of antibiotics to go home with. If they decide to do a CAT scan of your gut, add another $4,500 to that bill.
Two ways to go, the docs or the home-remedy way.
BTW, the cleanliness regime applies to either program.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Winds of Change.NET: Maybe Iraq Is A Lot Like Vietnam - Maybe We're Wrong About Vietnam
Winds of Change.NET: Maybe Iraq Is A Lot Like Vietnam - Maybe We're Wrong About Vietnam: "COUNTERINSURGENCY: The John Paul Vann Model
By Rich Webster
In November of 1968 I can remember the legendary John Paul Vann speaking to our graduation class of newly trained advisors at Di An, South Vietnam. You cant win a guerrilla war by dropping bombs from the air, he said. You may kill some of the enemy, but you will alienate the people you are there trying to help, and they will turn against you."
By Rich Webster
In November of 1968 I can remember the legendary John Paul Vann speaking to our graduation class of newly trained advisors at Di An, South Vietnam. You cant win a guerrilla war by dropping bombs from the air, he said. You may kill some of the enemy, but you will alienate the people you are there trying to help, and they will turn against you."
Friday, March 10, 2006
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Saturday, February 25, 2006
43 Folders
43 Folders: "43 Folders is Merlin Mann’s site about personal productivity, life hacks, and simple ways to make your life a little better. "
Lifehacker, the Productivity and Software Guide
Lifehacker, the Productivity and Software Guide: "Benjamin Franklin’s 13 personal goals"
Monday, February 13, 2006
MORE CRAP
Neanderpundit: Crapblogging, of course.: "Crapblogging, of course.
I love spicy food. I can't take too much of it, because it kills my stomach, but I love to eat it. One type of particularly spicy food I had not tried, at least until a couple of weeks ago, was Indian cuisine.
So, since I had a chance to spend some time with a co-worker who was indian, and knew some nice restaurants where we were staying, I let him order for me. I had Tandoori chicken with rice and some kind of goats-milk yogurt drink.
Man, I LOVED this stuff. I had my friend order something relatively mild, so it wouldn't kill me but it was GOOD! I liked it a lot- the chicken, especially, was great. Even the rice had a lot of flavor, something you don't usually get in an American restaurant.
I decided, I'm going to eat a LOT more of this stuff, it was great!
Then cam the 6:05. You know, that first morning crap, the one that you hit right after waking, where you can sit, crap, piss, and read the morning paper just before the shower. I settled in to read the Click and Clack article about America's ten ugliest cars, and then the first wave hit.
oh. my. god.
my. ass. is. on. fire.
I never felt anything like this- it wass like being sodomized by a red hot poker while flaming maggots crawled out of your ass- yes, I could physically feel each grain of semidigested rice as it exited, and it felt, well,it felt bad. At about the same time I began to sweat, and my sweat smelled like a polecat in heat. I opened the window, despite the cold, and gasped for breath, and then the aroma hit me.
I have no idea what it was that was coming out of my ass, but it sure wasn't chicken and rice. Then, each time I thought i was done, and moved on, I ended up sitting back down again, and by the time I got through with my shower, I had been back out of the shower and on the throne several more times. By the time I was through I literally had nothing in me, i had shat every bite I had eaten the previous night, and even (by the smell) some things I hadn't eaten in years. Hey! Where'd that White Castle come from?
Before I got to work I'd been on the john again several times at rest stops, doing the anal equivalent of dry heaves, there was just nothing else. Then, the farting started, and it was worse than the smell of burning brakes and armadillo guts. I thought they were going to chase me out of the office, and finally, I left early, stopping at a Walgreens for a big container of Tucks.
No more indian food for me."
I love spicy food. I can't take too much of it, because it kills my stomach, but I love to eat it. One type of particularly spicy food I had not tried, at least until a couple of weeks ago, was Indian cuisine.
So, since I had a chance to spend some time with a co-worker who was indian, and knew some nice restaurants where we were staying, I let him order for me. I had Tandoori chicken with rice and some kind of goats-milk yogurt drink.
Man, I LOVED this stuff. I had my friend order something relatively mild, so it wouldn't kill me but it was GOOD! I liked it a lot- the chicken, especially, was great. Even the rice had a lot of flavor, something you don't usually get in an American restaurant.
I decided, I'm going to eat a LOT more of this stuff, it was great!
Then cam the 6:05. You know, that first morning crap, the one that you hit right after waking, where you can sit, crap, piss, and read the morning paper just before the shower. I settled in to read the Click and Clack article about America's ten ugliest cars, and then the first wave hit.
oh. my. god.
my. ass. is. on. fire.
I never felt anything like this- it wass like being sodomized by a red hot poker while flaming maggots crawled out of your ass- yes, I could physically feel each grain of semidigested rice as it exited, and it felt, well,it felt bad. At about the same time I began to sweat, and my sweat smelled like a polecat in heat. I opened the window, despite the cold, and gasped for breath, and then the aroma hit me.
I have no idea what it was that was coming out of my ass, but it sure wasn't chicken and rice. Then, each time I thought i was done, and moved on, I ended up sitting back down again, and by the time I got through with my shower, I had been back out of the shower and on the throne several more times. By the time I was through I literally had nothing in me, i had shat every bite I had eaten the previous night, and even (by the smell) some things I hadn't eaten in years. Hey! Where'd that White Castle come from?
Before I got to work I'd been on the john again several times at rest stops, doing the anal equivalent of dry heaves, there was just nothing else. Then, the farting started, and it was worse than the smell of burning brakes and armadillo guts. I thought they were going to chase me out of the office, and finally, I left early, stopping at a Walgreens for a big container of Tucks.
No more indian food for me."
Shit Happens
Gut Rumbles: carnival of the crappers: "Other people study the metaphysics of crap.
THE SHIT LIST GHOST SHIT- The kind where you feel the shit come out, but there is no shit in the toilet. CLEAN SHIT- The kind where you shit it out, see it in the toilet, but there is nothing on the toilet paper. WET SHIT- The kind where you wipe your butt 50 times and it still feels unwiped, so you have to put some toilet paper between your butt and your underwear so you won't ruin them with a stain. SECOND WAVE SHIT- It happens when you're done shitting and you have pulled your pants up to your knees, and you realize that you have to shit some more. POP-A-VEIN-IN-YOUR-FOREHEAD-SHIT- The kind where you strain so much to get it out you practically have a stroke. ICEBERG SHIT- The kind where the shit is so long that the end of it sticks above the water. RICHARD SIMMONS SHIT- You shit so much, you lose 30 pounds. LINCOLN LOG SHIT- The kind of shit that is so huge, you're afraid to flush without breaking it into little pieces with the toilet brush. GASEY SHIT- It is so noisy, everyone within earshot is giggling. DRINKER SHIT- The kind of shit you have the morning after a long night of drinking. It's most noticeable traits are the treadmarks on the bottom of the toilet. CORN SHIT- Self-explanatory GEE, I WISH I COULD SHIT, SHIT- It's the kind where you want to shit but all you do is sit on the toilet, cramped, and fart a few times. SPINAL TAP SHIT- That's where it hurts so bad coming out, you'd swear it was leaving you sideways. WET CHEEKS SHIT (THE POWER DUMP)- The kind that comes out of your butt so fast, your butt cheeks get splashed with water. LIQUID SHIT- The kind where yellowish-brown liquid shoots out your butt and splatters all over the toilet bowl. MEXICAN FOOD SHIT- It smells so bad, the room must be condemned. UPPER CLASS SHIT- The kind that thinks their shit doesn't smell. FISHERMAN'S BOBBER SHIT- That's the kind where you are in a public restroom, there are two people waiting on your stall, you shit and flush two times, but several golfball size pieces are still floating above the water line."
THE SHIT LIST GHOST SHIT- The kind where you feel the shit come out, but there is no shit in the toilet. CLEAN SHIT- The kind where you shit it out, see it in the toilet, but there is nothing on the toilet paper. WET SHIT- The kind where you wipe your butt 50 times and it still feels unwiped, so you have to put some toilet paper between your butt and your underwear so you won't ruin them with a stain. SECOND WAVE SHIT- It happens when you're done shitting and you have pulled your pants up to your knees, and you realize that you have to shit some more. POP-A-VEIN-IN-YOUR-FOREHEAD-SHIT- The kind where you strain so much to get it out you practically have a stroke. ICEBERG SHIT- The kind where the shit is so long that the end of it sticks above the water. RICHARD SIMMONS SHIT- You shit so much, you lose 30 pounds. LINCOLN LOG SHIT- The kind of shit that is so huge, you're afraid to flush without breaking it into little pieces with the toilet brush. GASEY SHIT- It is so noisy, everyone within earshot is giggling. DRINKER SHIT- The kind of shit you have the morning after a long night of drinking. It's most noticeable traits are the treadmarks on the bottom of the toilet. CORN SHIT- Self-explanatory GEE, I WISH I COULD SHIT, SHIT- It's the kind where you want to shit but all you do is sit on the toilet, cramped, and fart a few times. SPINAL TAP SHIT- That's where it hurts so bad coming out, you'd swear it was leaving you sideways. WET CHEEKS SHIT (THE POWER DUMP)- The kind that comes out of your butt so fast, your butt cheeks get splashed with water. LIQUID SHIT- The kind where yellowish-brown liquid shoots out your butt and splatters all over the toilet bowl. MEXICAN FOOD SHIT- It smells so bad, the room must be condemned. UPPER CLASS SHIT- The kind that thinks their shit doesn't smell. FISHERMAN'S BOBBER SHIT- That's the kind where you are in a public restroom, there are two people waiting on your stall, you shit and flush two times, but several golfball size pieces are still floating above the water line."
ECONOMY FACTS
Everything I Know Is Wrong: It's too bad the economy is in such bad shape...
It's too bad the economy is in such bad shape...
Just think how good the news would be if it were in good shape.
Payroll growth averaged 160,000 per month in 2005; it has averaged 229,000 in the past three months. The drop in the jobless rate in January to the lowest level since April 2001 was a surprise: Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected the unemployment rate to remain at 4.9%.
The unemployment rate has dropped to 4.7%.
Average hourly wages rose 7 cents or 0.4% to $16.41. Economists expected a 0.3% gain. Average hourly earnings are up 3.3% in the past year, about the same as the inflation rate.
The average work week was steady at a revised 33.8 hours. Total hours worked in the economy increased 0.2%
Payrolls in the goods-producing sectors increased by 58,000, including 46,000 in construction and 7,000 in manufacturing. It's the third increase in factory jobs in the past four months.
Payrolls in the services sector rose by 135,000 in January. Education and health care industries added 39,000 jobs; leisure and hospitality industries added 26,000. Retail jobs fell by 1,500.
Of 278 industries, 57.6% were hiring in January. Among 84 manufacturing industries, 47.6% were hiring.
My wife was "discussing" the state of the economy with a liberal friend who was convinced that it was in seriously bad shape. In the end my wife said that it must be "only the numbers" that made it look so good. Her friend agreed.
It's too bad the economy is in such bad shape...
Just think how good the news would be if it were in good shape.
Payroll growth averaged 160,000 per month in 2005; it has averaged 229,000 in the past three months. The drop in the jobless rate in January to the lowest level since April 2001 was a surprise: Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected the unemployment rate to remain at 4.9%.
The unemployment rate has dropped to 4.7%.
Average hourly wages rose 7 cents or 0.4% to $16.41. Economists expected a 0.3% gain. Average hourly earnings are up 3.3% in the past year, about the same as the inflation rate.
The average work week was steady at a revised 33.8 hours. Total hours worked in the economy increased 0.2%
Payrolls in the goods-producing sectors increased by 58,000, including 46,000 in construction and 7,000 in manufacturing. It's the third increase in factory jobs in the past four months.
Payrolls in the services sector rose by 135,000 in January. Education and health care industries added 39,000 jobs; leisure and hospitality industries added 26,000. Retail jobs fell by 1,500.
Of 278 industries, 57.6% were hiring in January. Among 84 manufacturing industries, 47.6% were hiring.
My wife was "discussing" the state of the economy with a liberal friend who was convinced that it was in seriously bad shape. In the end my wife said that it must be "only the numbers" that made it look so good. Her friend agreed.
Cartoons
EconoPundit: "Via Rantings of a Sand Monkey we have those insensitive cartoons printed in a matter-of-fact fashion by a major Egyptian newspaper LAST OCTOBER during Ramadan:"
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Restroom Revelations
Restroom Revelations: "First of all, ADHD is real. Second of all, it isn't called ADHD anymore, hyperactivity is but one symptom of many. They used to think THAT was the problem, but it's not, it is merely a symptom. Don't forget, this is an ADHD house, and only one of them, well, two, are hyperactive. The boys were when they were a lot younger, but only one of the older ones has retained that symptome, the rest have kind of outgrown it. It IS hereditary and undiagnosed can cause a HOST of problems. Kids who have undiagnosed ADHD are much more likely to experiment with drugs and alcohol in an effort to self medicate."
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Everything I Know Is Wrong: A New Mini Ice Age.
Everything I Know Is Wrong: A New Mini Ice Age.: "A New Mini Ice Age.
My friend Tim points to this article where a Russian scientist is predicting that a mini ice age will occur in just a few decades.
Khabibullo Abdusamatov of the Pulkovo Astronomic Observatory in St. Petersburg said Monday that temperatures will begin falling six or seven years from now, when global warming caused by increased solar activity in the 20th century reaches its peak, RIA Novosti reported.
Abdusamatove said that fluctuations in the Earths surface temperature are normal and are caused by differences in solar activity.
The Northern Hemisphere's most recent cool-down period occurred between 1645 and 1705. The resulting period, known as the Little Ice Age, left canals in the Netherlands frozen solid and forced people in Greenland to abandon their houses to glaciers, the scientist said.
It is reports like this one that have global warming scaremongers changing their terminology to 'global climate change.'"
My friend Tim points to this article where a Russian scientist is predicting that a mini ice age will occur in just a few decades.
Khabibullo Abdusamatov of the Pulkovo Astronomic Observatory in St. Petersburg said Monday that temperatures will begin falling six or seven years from now, when global warming caused by increased solar activity in the 20th century reaches its peak, RIA Novosti reported.
Abdusamatove said that fluctuations in the Earths surface temperature are normal and are caused by differences in solar activity.
The Northern Hemisphere's most recent cool-down period occurred between 1645 and 1705. The resulting period, known as the Little Ice Age, left canals in the Netherlands frozen solid and forced people in Greenland to abandon their houses to glaciers, the scientist said.
It is reports like this one that have global warming scaremongers changing their terminology to 'global climate change.'"
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Gut Rumbles: The religion of peace
Gut Rumbles: The religion of peace: "The religion of peace
Deeply offended by cartoons portraying Mohammed as a whacked-out, bloodthirsty, lunatic bomb-head, peace-loving Muslims set fire to the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus today. Protesting against what the Muslims regard as an insult to their Religion of Peace, 500 demonstrators gathered in the Pakistani city of Lahore to shout 'Death to Denmark' and 'Hang the culprits.'
Other insulted protesters attempted to approach the French and United States embassies with their peaceful messages, including 'Behead the Infidels,' but were turned away by police with water hoses and tear gas. Disappointed by the heavy-handed response of the authorities, some Muslims chanted 'Europe, Your 9-11 Will Come,' referring to the Muslim custom of performing The 9-11 Happy-Feet Dance in the streets when feeling particularly religious and peaceful.
Allah Akbar! Such dignity they have! Such respect for life!
Our dangerous, manical, bloodthirsty, zealous Religious Right sure could learn a lot about civilized behavior by studying these peaceful people...
"
Deeply offended by cartoons portraying Mohammed as a whacked-out, bloodthirsty, lunatic bomb-head, peace-loving Muslims set fire to the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus today. Protesting against what the Muslims regard as an insult to their Religion of Peace, 500 demonstrators gathered in the Pakistani city of Lahore to shout 'Death to Denmark' and 'Hang the culprits.'
Other insulted protesters attempted to approach the French and United States embassies with their peaceful messages, including 'Behead the Infidels,' but were turned away by police with water hoses and tear gas. Disappointed by the heavy-handed response of the authorities, some Muslims chanted 'Europe, Your 9-11 Will Come,' referring to the Muslim custom of performing The 9-11 Happy-Feet Dance in the streets when feeling particularly religious and peaceful.
Allah Akbar! Such dignity they have! Such respect for life!
Our dangerous, manical, bloodthirsty, zealous Religious Right sure could learn a lot about civilized behavior by studying these peaceful people...
"
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Friday, January 27, 2006
[The] English-Blog [.com]: Poems In The English Writing Classroom
[The] English-Blog [.com]: Poems In The English Writing Classroom: "FIRE AND ICE
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favour fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
--Robert Frost"
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favour fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
--Robert Frost"
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
BlogginWallStreet: The Whole World's a Bitch Fest
BlogginWallStreet: The Whole World's a Bitch Fest: "
The Whole World's a Bitch Fest
Yes, I'm off my rocker. I'm off my rocker with frustration. These are things I hear day in and day out. Seems like no one has a word good to say. Is it any wonder so many people obsess over so many of these things when it's thrown at them the way it is.
The U.S. is in decline. It's going the way of Greece and Rome.
Capitalism is a failed experiment.
Our trade deficit is too large.
Our budget deficit is too large.
Our debt is too large.
We'll all be sharecroppers to the rest of the world because we owe too much to foreigners.
We don't save enough.
We spend too much and buy too many frivolous things.
We're cashing out too much equity from our homes.
The dollar is doomed as soon as China and Japan stop buying our bonds.
From one year to the next uncontrollable deflation then rampant inflation are inevitable.
There's too much crime.
There's too much corporate corruption.
Our corporate leaders make too much money.
We're too fat.
We're stupid. Our kids get stupider with every generation.
We can't invent anything anymore.
No one wants to buy our stuff.
The rest of the world has passed us up and is leaving us behind.
China and India are the best places to invest your money.
We've seen the end of cheap energy.
Commodities are the greatest investment in the world.
Stocks stink.
Put 25% of your money overseas and half that in emerging markets.
Buy gold. It's the only thing that will be of value when our economy collapses.
Healthcare costs too much.
Education inflation is out of control.
Social Security is unsalvageable.
Too many men are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The government is spying too much.
The government isn't doing enough to stop terrorism.
Companies don't pay out enough of their profits.
Corporate boards are corrupt.
Companies aren't transparent enough.
The Fed isn't transparent enough.
Bernanke is too focused on inflation targeting.
Bernanke is too focused on deflation.
The money supply's too big.
Foreigners are buying up all our land, which I don't know why they'd want it anyway since our corporations are polluting it to death.
What do any of these things matter anyway when we're all about to die from bird flu, WWIII with China, Global Warming, or an asteroid, whichever comes first. And if the first one that happens doesn't get you, then one of the others will finish you off. We might as well go ahead and blow ourselves up and get it over with since we're all a bunch of heathen atheists anyway. Just launch the missiles straight up in the air and watch 'em come back down. It will be quite a show. The expatriate perma-bears can watch our self inflicted Armageddon on Al Jazeera while they gloat and cheer over our self-destruction. It's too bad though that they won't be able to cash in on their shorts since the exchanges will be gone.
My biggest complaint is that we complain too much. We just bitch and moan about everything. We bitch about the destruction of our planet. We bitch about our country. I was just working in the local Borders café and the mayor of the town next door was sitting nearby bitching to some kind of planner person about whatever there is to bitch about in a small town. People all across the country are bitching about their towns and schools. There's no end to the bitching.
How can I complain when I made it to Arapahoe Basin last Friday on the first day they opened up the famous East Wall for an afternoon of untracked bottomless powder skiing above the treeline? About the only other thing I have to bitch about is that neither the Colts nor the Broncos made it to the SuperBowl.
posted by Mark Mahorney at 7:34 PM
1 Comments:
Mark Mahorney said...
I'm an optimist. Is that so wrong?
7:52 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home
The Whole World's a Bitch Fest
Yes, I'm off my rocker. I'm off my rocker with frustration. These are things I hear day in and day out. Seems like no one has a word good to say. Is it any wonder so many people obsess over so many of these things when it's thrown at them the way it is.
The U.S. is in decline. It's going the way of Greece and Rome.
Capitalism is a failed experiment.
Our trade deficit is too large.
Our budget deficit is too large.
Our debt is too large.
We'll all be sharecroppers to the rest of the world because we owe too much to foreigners.
We don't save enough.
We spend too much and buy too many frivolous things.
We're cashing out too much equity from our homes.
The dollar is doomed as soon as China and Japan stop buying our bonds.
From one year to the next uncontrollable deflation then rampant inflation are inevitable.
There's too much crime.
There's too much corporate corruption.
Our corporate leaders make too much money.
We're too fat.
We're stupid. Our kids get stupider with every generation.
We can't invent anything anymore.
No one wants to buy our stuff.
The rest of the world has passed us up and is leaving us behind.
China and India are the best places to invest your money.
We've seen the end of cheap energy.
Commodities are the greatest investment in the world.
Stocks stink.
Put 25% of your money overseas and half that in emerging markets.
Buy gold. It's the only thing that will be of value when our economy collapses.
Healthcare costs too much.
Education inflation is out of control.
Social Security is unsalvageable.
Too many men are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The government is spying too much.
The government isn't doing enough to stop terrorism.
Companies don't pay out enough of their profits.
Corporate boards are corrupt.
Companies aren't transparent enough.
The Fed isn't transparent enough.
Bernanke is too focused on inflation targeting.
Bernanke is too focused on deflation.
The money supply's too big.
Foreigners are buying up all our land, which I don't know why they'd want it anyway since our corporations are polluting it to death.
What do any of these things matter anyway when we're all about to die from bird flu, WWIII with China, Global Warming, or an asteroid, whichever comes first. And if the first one that happens doesn't get you, then one of the others will finish you off. We might as well go ahead and blow ourselves up and get it over with since we're all a bunch of heathen atheists anyway. Just launch the missiles straight up in the air and watch 'em come back down. It will be quite a show. The expatriate perma-bears can watch our self inflicted Armageddon on Al Jazeera while they gloat and cheer over our self-destruction. It's too bad though that they won't be able to cash in on their shorts since the exchanges will be gone.
My biggest complaint is that we complain too much. We just bitch and moan about everything. We bitch about the destruction of our planet. We bitch about our country. I was just working in the local Borders café and the mayor of the town next door was sitting nearby bitching to some kind of planner person about whatever there is to bitch about in a small town. People all across the country are bitching about their towns and schools. There's no end to the bitching.
How can I complain when I made it to Arapahoe Basin last Friday on the first day they opened up the famous East Wall for an afternoon of untracked bottomless powder skiing above the treeline? About the only other thing I have to bitch about is that neither the Colts nor the Broncos made it to the SuperBowl.
posted by Mark Mahorney at 7:34 PM
1 Comments:
Mark Mahorney said...
I'm an optimist. Is that so wrong?
7:52 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home
BlogginWallStreet: I'm thankful for...
BlogginWallStreet: I'm thankful for...: "I'm thankful for...
Yesterday, I took my six-year old son to play hockey. When it was time to leave all he could do was complain about having to go. He didn't appreciate that I took him there. He didn't appreciate what he had until I threatened not to take him back again.
The perma-bears have the mentality of six-year olds. They can't appreciate what they have. Most countries don't have social security systems to lose. Most countries don't have stock markets, commodity markets, and 401k plans to invest in. Most countries don't have home equity to cash out. Most countries don't have trade deficits because their citizens don't have any money to spend on much of anything more than the bare necessities. Some countries have better school test scores because only their most privileged citizens are tested. The U.S. has lower college scores because just about anyone can go to college. The U.S. has one of the highest college participation rates in the world. I'm thankful for having so many opportunities to screw things up and get screwed over.
posted by Mark Mahorney at 8:25 PM"
Yesterday, I took my six-year old son to play hockey. When it was time to leave all he could do was complain about having to go. He didn't appreciate that I took him there. He didn't appreciate what he had until I threatened not to take him back again.
The perma-bears have the mentality of six-year olds. They can't appreciate what they have. Most countries don't have social security systems to lose. Most countries don't have stock markets, commodity markets, and 401k plans to invest in. Most countries don't have home equity to cash out. Most countries don't have trade deficits because their citizens don't have any money to spend on much of anything more than the bare necessities. Some countries have better school test scores because only their most privileged citizens are tested. The U.S. has lower college scores because just about anyone can go to college. The U.S. has one of the highest college participation rates in the world. I'm thankful for having so many opportunities to screw things up and get screwed over.
posted by Mark Mahorney at 8:25 PM"
Sunday, January 22, 2006
the irish lass
the irish lass: "Rat Pack Lingo
Do you need some new vocab?
18 KARAT
All the way, full-out: “An 18 karat idiot.”
BABY
Used as an exclamation as well as a term of endearment.
BAG
As in “my bag,” a person's particular interest.
BARN BURNER
A very stylish, classy woman. " Etc
Do you need some new vocab?
18 KARAT
All the way, full-out: “An 18 karat idiot.”
BABY
Used as an exclamation as well as a term of endearment.
BAG
As in “my bag,” a person's particular interest.
BARN BURNER
A very stylish, classy woman. " Etc
Babalu Blog: 41
Babalu Blog: 41
But not today. It's my birthday.
Forty-one years ago, my father gave the doctor that delivered me a bucket of lard and a guanajo, a turkey, as payment for the hours he spent bringing me into this world while ensuring that my mother would be fine.
Thirty-seven years ago, my father gave me the opportunity of enjoying my birthdays in freedom by exiling his family to the United States of America. It may have been in October of 1968, but it has been the best birthday present anyone could ever give or wish to receive.
This 41 year old nitwit loves his life.
My wife calls me her King. She is my Queen.
My dog loves me and never leaves my side.
I am my mother's niño lindo and my father's source of pride.
I was my grandparents "Primo" and the recipient of their love and knowledge and affection.
I am my nieces' and nephew's Uncle, my sister's brother and my family's Valen.
I've been chosen by many to be their friend.
I live in the United States of America and I am free.
And I am a Cuban with the liberty to know and speak the truth.
What more could any birthday nitwit ask for?
But not today. It's my birthday.
Forty-one years ago, my father gave the doctor that delivered me a bucket of lard and a guanajo, a turkey, as payment for the hours he spent bringing me into this world while ensuring that my mother would be fine.
Thirty-seven years ago, my father gave me the opportunity of enjoying my birthdays in freedom by exiling his family to the United States of America. It may have been in October of 1968, but it has been the best birthday present anyone could ever give or wish to receive.
This 41 year old nitwit loves his life.
My wife calls me her King. She is my Queen.
My dog loves me and never leaves my side.
I am my mother's niño lindo and my father's source of pride.
I was my grandparents "Primo" and the recipient of their love and knowledge and affection.
I am my nieces' and nephew's Uncle, my sister's brother and my family's Valen.
I've been chosen by many to be their friend.
I live in the United States of America and I am free.
And I am a Cuban with the liberty to know and speak the truth.
What more could any birthday nitwit ask for?
Townhall.com :: A Profane Life by Doug Giles Jan 21, 2006
Townhall.com :: A Profane Life by Doug Giles Jan 21, 2006
A Profane Life
By Doug Giles
Jan 21, 2006
My column last week, “The Arts, Farts and a Good Start,” got some hyper-religious people ticked off. Ah, the simple pleasures in my life. They couldn’t believe that I would encourage Christians to get involved in bad places like Hollywood, or the music industry or in D.C. They stated that my encouragement of other believers into such putrid places was unbiblical.
Well, kiss my grits. Excuse me for living.
I could be wrong, but didn’t Jesus leave His God-blessed heaven to redeem this sin-cursed earth? Didn’t He hang out with the worst of the worse? And didn’t He go to their ubiquitous watering holes and come away having influenced them and not the other way around? And didn’t He find some amazing apostles in places that most holier-than-thou’s would never have been seen? Yes, Jedediah, I think he did.
Look, horribly confused Christian: from what I’ve gathered from reading the scripture a few times, the believer has three options when he’s faced with an overtly wicked environment. He can either:
1. Absorb the culture.
2. Separate from the culture.
3. Or infiltrate the culture.
Let’s check out the tres selececciones.
Absorption.
The Christian who absorbs the culture is the type that is always testing the wind of public opinion and, like a spiritual weather vane, he twists with the prevailing airflow. This type of “believer” doesn’t really believe much; rather he allows his “convictions” to be crafted by what currently is en vogue.
Such spineless, Christian-in-name-only followers of a Jesus of their own imagination can be counted on to not stand up and be counted when Christ’s commandments run contrary to culture. The absorption crowd regularly blows off truth in favor of being liked. You’ve seen these sad cases in society, I’m sure. Believers who, trying way too hard to be relevant, hip and groovy Christians, end up doing the politically correct thing and thus, lose their contrary sting.
They have no spine. They have no conviction that they’ll live and die for. Any attempt to get them to take an unpopular stand in society causes them to melt like Bill Clinton does in front of a chunky girl with D cups. The absorption crew sees it as their business to take the bones out of the Christian fish symbol and make Jesus yummy, digestible and unobtrusive to the obstreperous.
That’s the absorption crowd.
Separation.
The separatist, on the other hand, is a completely different animal from the absorbing Christian. The separatist couldn’t give a rip what the world thinks. The separatists hate the world and all that the world is. Most of them won’t come out and say that, but it’s true. They don’t want involvement in the public square. They don’t want involvement with culture. They view most of what culture has to offer as unclean contaminates, and they’re somewhat spot-on. Godless culture is godless, and thus it is wickedly whacked. An uninformed, unprepared believer can end being . . . uh . . . influenced if he’s naïve and doesn’t watch his backside when he sashays into this world.
You’ve seen it before: some nice looking country girl with Christian values gets into showbiz and goes from being a dancer on the Mickey Mouse Club to dancing naked onstage in front of thousands while holding a white python and French kissing an aging Madonna.
The separatist, instead of holding onto his biblical bearings while interfacing with the irreverent, would rather not have the interaction—and thus, the test of his convictions—at all. The separatists believe that Christian victory and ascendancy over corrupt culture can come only through avoidance. The only victory they have over corruption is from the simple fact that they have distanced themselves from being tested. Therefore, no one, including the separatists, really knows what they believe and what they stand for. They’re sheltered little darlings that live in a Tweety Bird chirping, religious biosphere away from the ugly world.
The problem with the separatists is not only do they not know what they really know, but also that they fail to reach out to those who could use a helping hand. What’s worse is they develop an us vs. them mentality, a spiritual xenophobia towards the unwashed masses. This sin of self-righteousness, in the separatists, happens to be the very thing that ticked off Christ the most. And BTW, the only folks Christ ever warned His followers to flee from were not the gross, obvious, overt sinners—but the pompous and nauseous, self-righteous religios.
Infiltration.
Since absorption and separation are not an option for the true Christian, what is the believer to do? The only biblical option for the concerned Christian is to infiltrate society. This means we must leave our sterilized, supposedly sin-free environments and get into the swill of the real world and live what Martin Luther said was the Christian’s duty: a profane life.
Martin Luther, the 16th century Augustinian monk who shook all of Christendom like a bowl of liposcutioned fat, thought that a Christian was worthless until he came to the place of maturity where he could live profanely, i.e., “outside the temple.”
What good is our faith if it’s just our personal relationship with Jesus? How the heck does such a faith make a difference to this planet, you little self-obsessed, religious me monkey? Our faith is useless unless it sees use outside the temple and inside the public square, and the arts and the political realms are in dire need of serious saints who are over-the-top with excellence in what they do.
Don’t absorb the culture, Chicken Little. Stand up to it. Also, don’t run from the culture and separate from it, girlie man; but rather infiltrate it with creativity, love, grace and conviction, and watch the world that currently makes you wretch do a 180 via your growing Christian influence.
Giles’ new book, The Bulldog Attitude: Get It or Get Left Behind, has just been released! It is guaranteed to take the poo out of poodles and give them the Bulldog Attitude. It is a great read for young and old, families, churches and corporations who wish to excel. Logon to www.ClashRadio.com and check out Doug's latest interview with Frank Gaffney, author of the book War Footing.
Doug Giles is the creator and host of "The Clash" radio shows and a contributing columnist on Townhall.com.
Copyright © 2006 2005 Doug Giles
A Profane Life
By Doug Giles
Jan 21, 2006
My column last week, “The Arts, Farts and a Good Start,” got some hyper-religious people ticked off. Ah, the simple pleasures in my life. They couldn’t believe that I would encourage Christians to get involved in bad places like Hollywood, or the music industry or in D.C. They stated that my encouragement of other believers into such putrid places was unbiblical.
Well, kiss my grits. Excuse me for living.
I could be wrong, but didn’t Jesus leave His God-blessed heaven to redeem this sin-cursed earth? Didn’t He hang out with the worst of the worse? And didn’t He go to their ubiquitous watering holes and come away having influenced them and not the other way around? And didn’t He find some amazing apostles in places that most holier-than-thou’s would never have been seen? Yes, Jedediah, I think he did.
Look, horribly confused Christian: from what I’ve gathered from reading the scripture a few times, the believer has three options when he’s faced with an overtly wicked environment. He can either:
1. Absorb the culture.
2. Separate from the culture.
3. Or infiltrate the culture.
Let’s check out the tres selececciones.
Absorption.
The Christian who absorbs the culture is the type that is always testing the wind of public opinion and, like a spiritual weather vane, he twists with the prevailing airflow. This type of “believer” doesn’t really believe much; rather he allows his “convictions” to be crafted by what currently is en vogue.
Such spineless, Christian-in-name-only followers of a Jesus of their own imagination can be counted on to not stand up and be counted when Christ’s commandments run contrary to culture. The absorption crowd regularly blows off truth in favor of being liked. You’ve seen these sad cases in society, I’m sure. Believers who, trying way too hard to be relevant, hip and groovy Christians, end up doing the politically correct thing and thus, lose their contrary sting.
They have no spine. They have no conviction that they’ll live and die for. Any attempt to get them to take an unpopular stand in society causes them to melt like Bill Clinton does in front of a chunky girl with D cups. The absorption crew sees it as their business to take the bones out of the Christian fish symbol and make Jesus yummy, digestible and unobtrusive to the obstreperous.
That’s the absorption crowd.
Separation.
The separatist, on the other hand, is a completely different animal from the absorbing Christian. The separatist couldn’t give a rip what the world thinks. The separatists hate the world and all that the world is. Most of them won’t come out and say that, but it’s true. They don’t want involvement in the public square. They don’t want involvement with culture. They view most of what culture has to offer as unclean contaminates, and they’re somewhat spot-on. Godless culture is godless, and thus it is wickedly whacked. An uninformed, unprepared believer can end being . . . uh . . . influenced if he’s naïve and doesn’t watch his backside when he sashays into this world.
You’ve seen it before: some nice looking country girl with Christian values gets into showbiz and goes from being a dancer on the Mickey Mouse Club to dancing naked onstage in front of thousands while holding a white python and French kissing an aging Madonna.
The separatist, instead of holding onto his biblical bearings while interfacing with the irreverent, would rather not have the interaction—and thus, the test of his convictions—at all. The separatists believe that Christian victory and ascendancy over corrupt culture can come only through avoidance. The only victory they have over corruption is from the simple fact that they have distanced themselves from being tested. Therefore, no one, including the separatists, really knows what they believe and what they stand for. They’re sheltered little darlings that live in a Tweety Bird chirping, religious biosphere away from the ugly world.
The problem with the separatists is not only do they not know what they really know, but also that they fail to reach out to those who could use a helping hand. What’s worse is they develop an us vs. them mentality, a spiritual xenophobia towards the unwashed masses. This sin of self-righteousness, in the separatists, happens to be the very thing that ticked off Christ the most. And BTW, the only folks Christ ever warned His followers to flee from were not the gross, obvious, overt sinners—but the pompous and nauseous, self-righteous religios.
Infiltration.
Since absorption and separation are not an option for the true Christian, what is the believer to do? The only biblical option for the concerned Christian is to infiltrate society. This means we must leave our sterilized, supposedly sin-free environments and get into the swill of the real world and live what Martin Luther said was the Christian’s duty: a profane life.
Martin Luther, the 16th century Augustinian monk who shook all of Christendom like a bowl of liposcutioned fat, thought that a Christian was worthless until he came to the place of maturity where he could live profanely, i.e., “outside the temple.”
What good is our faith if it’s just our personal relationship with Jesus? How the heck does such a faith make a difference to this planet, you little self-obsessed, religious me monkey? Our faith is useless unless it sees use outside the temple and inside the public square, and the arts and the political realms are in dire need of serious saints who are over-the-top with excellence in what they do.
Don’t absorb the culture, Chicken Little. Stand up to it. Also, don’t run from the culture and separate from it, girlie man; but rather infiltrate it with creativity, love, grace and conviction, and watch the world that currently makes you wretch do a 180 via your growing Christian influence.
Giles’ new book, The Bulldog Attitude: Get It or Get Left Behind, has just been released! It is guaranteed to take the poo out of poodles and give them the Bulldog Attitude. It is a great read for young and old, families, churches and corporations who wish to excel. Logon to www.ClashRadio.com and check out Doug's latest interview with Frank Gaffney, author of the book War Footing.
Doug Giles is the creator and host of "The Clash" radio shows and a contributing columnist on Townhall.com.
Copyright © 2006 2005 Doug Giles
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Hog On Ice
Hog On Ice: "Final choice: the Danner Foothill.
Why? Because they're dark brown, like my wonderful horsehide A-2, and it's basically the same thing as my treasured Danner Acadias, with a different sole. Difference: the Acadias have 200-gram insulation."
Why? Because they're dark brown, like my wonderful horsehide A-2, and it's basically the same thing as my treasured Danner Acadias, with a different sole. Difference: the Acadias have 200-gram insulation."
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
One Hand Clapping � Blog Archive � Well, this is clear!
One Hand Clapping � Blog Archive � Well, this is clear!: "Well, this is clear!
by Donald Sensing
Literally clear. Joe Katzman reports that electro-active prescription lenses for eyeglasses have been invented.
New firm PixelOptics of Roanoke, VA has announced that it will receive $3.5 million from the Defense Department to develop “SuperVision,” a technology that may improve the vision of US soldiers beyond 20/20 via electro-active prescription lenses. The technology uses sensors and electro-active transparent material to alter the index of refraction of the lens dynamically, but without any moving parts.
This provides a number of performance advantages, allowing the wearer to instantly achieve optimal vision no matter where they look (far, near, or in-between). In addition, lenses based on this technology show promise for significantly reducing momentary blurring caused by head tilt and movement, as well as distortion associated with conventional state of the art bifocals and progressive addition lenses.
Joe reports that because of the technology of the lenses, it may actually be possible to improve 20/20 vision to better than that, “perhaps as well as 20/08.”
When I was a young fella, an optometrist actually measured my vision at 20/10. Alas, those days are long gone."
by Donald Sensing
Literally clear. Joe Katzman reports that electro-active prescription lenses for eyeglasses have been invented.
New firm PixelOptics of Roanoke, VA has announced that it will receive $3.5 million from the Defense Department to develop “SuperVision,” a technology that may improve the vision of US soldiers beyond 20/20 via electro-active prescription lenses. The technology uses sensors and electro-active transparent material to alter the index of refraction of the lens dynamically, but without any moving parts.
This provides a number of performance advantages, allowing the wearer to instantly achieve optimal vision no matter where they look (far, near, or in-between). In addition, lenses based on this technology show promise for significantly reducing momentary blurring caused by head tilt and movement, as well as distortion associated with conventional state of the art bifocals and progressive addition lenses.
Joe reports that because of the technology of the lenses, it may actually be possible to improve 20/20 vision to better than that, “perhaps as well as 20/08.”
When I was a young fella, an optometrist actually measured my vision at 20/10. Alas, those days are long gone."
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Z Humor
Z Humor: "No more pennies please
I hate pennies. Hate 'em. You can't do anything with them. They're so small a currency these days that they're practically worthless. Heck, they don't even match the color of my other coins. Is there anybody reading this blog who would feel somehow cheated if every business from this day forward had to round up to the nearest nickle? If you're anything like me (and I pray that you're not that misfortunate), your nightstand consists of a book, an alarm clock, your wallet, keys, a nightlight, perhaps a few scattered receipts, and 163 pennies (of course, if you have a mischievous toddler, those 163 pennies are on the floor half the time but that's a story for another day). I mean, I don't even like carrying them around if for nothing other than giving exact change. It's not worth the weight. So what's a man to do?
Funny you ask. Just last week I finally decided that I had had enough and wasn't going to accept any more pennies. That's it. No mas. Finished. The challenge is how to properly convey my stance to merchants without giving the wrong message. Why just the other day I was going to pick up my clothes from the dry cleaners...
Me: 'How much do I owe you?'
Dry Cleaner Lady: 'That be $4.98'
Me: 'O.K. Here's $5. Have a nice day.'
Dry Cleaner Lady: 'Wait a minute. Don't forget change.'
Me: 'Oh no thanks. I don't want the pennies.'
Dry Cleaner Lady: 'Oh... nice tip mista. Thanks. This go long way to paying for kid college.'
Me: 'Sorry. I didn't mean it that way. It's not a tip. I just don't need the pennies.'
Dry Cleaner Lady: 'Oh now I see. You mista big shot. You too big for pennies. Pennies chump change for you.'
Me: 'No, not that either. I just find them a nuisance, that's all. Sorry for the confusion. '
Dry Cleaner Lady: 'No, no. Me sorry to inconvenience you. I don't mean to burden you with such trivial matters as change.'
Me: 'Never mind. In fact, I changed my mind. I'll take the pennies now. Thank you.'
And just like that, I'm back to collecting pennies on my nightstand."
I hate pennies. Hate 'em. You can't do anything with them. They're so small a currency these days that they're practically worthless. Heck, they don't even match the color of my other coins. Is there anybody reading this blog who would feel somehow cheated if every business from this day forward had to round up to the nearest nickle? If you're anything like me (and I pray that you're not that misfortunate), your nightstand consists of a book, an alarm clock, your wallet, keys, a nightlight, perhaps a few scattered receipts, and 163 pennies (of course, if you have a mischievous toddler, those 163 pennies are on the floor half the time but that's a story for another day). I mean, I don't even like carrying them around if for nothing other than giving exact change. It's not worth the weight. So what's a man to do?
Funny you ask. Just last week I finally decided that I had had enough and wasn't going to accept any more pennies. That's it. No mas. Finished. The challenge is how to properly convey my stance to merchants without giving the wrong message. Why just the other day I was going to pick up my clothes from the dry cleaners...
Me: 'How much do I owe you?'
Dry Cleaner Lady: 'That be $4.98'
Me: 'O.K. Here's $5. Have a nice day.'
Dry Cleaner Lady: 'Wait a minute. Don't forget change.'
Me: 'Oh no thanks. I don't want the pennies.'
Dry Cleaner Lady: 'Oh... nice tip mista. Thanks. This go long way to paying for kid college.'
Me: 'Sorry. I didn't mean it that way. It's not a tip. I just don't need the pennies.'
Dry Cleaner Lady: 'Oh now I see. You mista big shot. You too big for pennies. Pennies chump change for you.'
Me: 'No, not that either. I just find them a nuisance, that's all. Sorry for the confusion. '
Dry Cleaner Lady: 'No, no. Me sorry to inconvenience you. I don't mean to burden you with such trivial matters as change.'
Me: 'Never mind. In fact, I changed my mind. I'll take the pennies now. Thank you.'
And just like that, I'm back to collecting pennies on my nightstand."
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Iran issues stark warning on oil price
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Iran issues stark warning on oil price
"""Any possible sanctions from the west could possibly, by disturbing Iran's political and economic situation, raise oil prices beyond levels the west expects," he told Iranian state radio.
In a provocative move, Iran also announced plans yesterday to convene a "scientific" conference to examine the evidence supporting the Holocaust. The news comes weeks after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad provoked a global outcry by describing the slaughter of 6 million Jews by the Nazis in the second world war as a "myth".
Mr Danesh-Jafari's comments echoed fears voiced by energy market analysts after crude oil prices last week rose above $64 (£36.50) a barrel as hopes faded of a diplomatic solution to the dispute.
Last week, Manouchehr Takin, of the Centre for Global Energy Studies, argued that crude prices could hit $100 a barrel if Iran stopped exporting. "Supply and demand are very tightly balanced," he said.
Mr Danesh-Jafari's warning added weight to veiled threats by Iran's president on Saturday. Iran had a "cheap means" of achieving its nuclear "rights", Mr Ahmadinejad said, adding: "You [the west] need us more than we need you. All of you today need the Iranian nation."
Recognising the danger, Gernot Erler, Germany's deputy foreign minister, said yesterday: "We are seeing desperate measures by Asian countries, mainly China, India and others, to get hold of energy resources, and for them Iran is a partner they can't do without." He said it was "dangerous" to put restrictions on trade relations "which could hurt one's own side more than the other side".
Iran's Islamic leaders insist that they want nuclear technology to satisfy its energy needs. The west suspects the intention is to produce a nuclear weapon.
But even amid the continuing rancour, some Iranian officials appeared to soften the bellicose stance. Calling for a return to negotiations, foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki accused the west of over-reacting to Tehran's decision last week to remove UN seals and resume research at a nuclear plant in Natan, when Britain, France and Germany formally abandoned 2½ years of talks and demanded Iran's referral to the UN security council.
Although Britain has ruled out military moves against Iran, two American senators yesterday said the US might undertake a strike of "last resort" to prevent Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. The Republican John McCain told CBS: "Everything else has to be exhausted, but to say under no circumstances would we exercise a military option would be crazy." Democrat Evan Bayh urged diplomacy, but said there were elements of Iran's nuclear programme which, if attacked, "would dramatically delay its development".
White House spokesman David Almacy said: "The international community is determined not to let Iran develop a nuclear weapon. How we address that regime's continued non-compliance will be decided in the days and weeks ahead."
The UN security council issue will be the centrepiece of today's meeting, when EU and US officials will attempt to persuade their Russian and Chinese counterparts of the need for a referral, which could lead to economic sanctions.
"""Any possible sanctions from the west could possibly, by disturbing Iran's political and economic situation, raise oil prices beyond levels the west expects," he told Iranian state radio.
In a provocative move, Iran also announced plans yesterday to convene a "scientific" conference to examine the evidence supporting the Holocaust. The news comes weeks after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad provoked a global outcry by describing the slaughter of 6 million Jews by the Nazis in the second world war as a "myth".
Mr Danesh-Jafari's comments echoed fears voiced by energy market analysts after crude oil prices last week rose above $64 (£36.50) a barrel as hopes faded of a diplomatic solution to the dispute.
Last week, Manouchehr Takin, of the Centre for Global Energy Studies, argued that crude prices could hit $100 a barrel if Iran stopped exporting. "Supply and demand are very tightly balanced," he said.
Mr Danesh-Jafari's warning added weight to veiled threats by Iran's president on Saturday. Iran had a "cheap means" of achieving its nuclear "rights", Mr Ahmadinejad said, adding: "You [the west] need us more than we need you. All of you today need the Iranian nation."
Recognising the danger, Gernot Erler, Germany's deputy foreign minister, said yesterday: "We are seeing desperate measures by Asian countries, mainly China, India and others, to get hold of energy resources, and for them Iran is a partner they can't do without." He said it was "dangerous" to put restrictions on trade relations "which could hurt one's own side more than the other side".
Iran's Islamic leaders insist that they want nuclear technology to satisfy its energy needs. The west suspects the intention is to produce a nuclear weapon.
But even amid the continuing rancour, some Iranian officials appeared to soften the bellicose stance. Calling for a return to negotiations, foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki accused the west of over-reacting to Tehran's decision last week to remove UN seals and resume research at a nuclear plant in Natan, when Britain, France and Germany formally abandoned 2½ years of talks and demanded Iran's referral to the UN security council.
Although Britain has ruled out military moves against Iran, two American senators yesterday said the US might undertake a strike of "last resort" to prevent Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. The Republican John McCain told CBS: "Everything else has to be exhausted, but to say under no circumstances would we exercise a military option would be crazy." Democrat Evan Bayh urged diplomacy, but said there were elements of Iran's nuclear programme which, if attacked, "would dramatically delay its development".
White House spokesman David Almacy said: "The international community is determined not to let Iran develop a nuclear weapon. How we address that regime's continued non-compliance will be decided in the days and weeks ahead."
The UN security council issue will be the centrepiece of today's meeting, when EU and US officials will attempt to persuade their Russian and Chinese counterparts of the need for a referral, which could lead to economic sanctions.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Friday, January 13, 2006
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Friday, January 06, 2006
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
The Central Political Issue of the Day in One Paragraph @ AMERICAN DIGEST
The Central Political Issue of the Day in One Paragraph @ AMERICAN DIGEST: "The Central Political Issue of the Day in One Paragraph
BY MARK HELPRIN IN Herd Animals
'Irrationality on a political level from these quarters has never been a shock. On a personal level, however, the predominant response of the intellectual Left was a mystery. It was as if the thousands of crushed and incinerated men, women, and children—those who threw themselves into a quarter-mile abyss rather than have the flesh seared off their bones as they stood in the wind at glassless walls, the small children who died in terror after watching hysterical fanatics slit the throats of screaming stewardesses, and so on, for there are almost three thousand stories—simply did not exist. How does one explain such an egregious absence of sympathy (much less assertions that 'they' deserved it, or that it was a work of art) among endlessly self-proclaiming empathetics whose stock in trade is to milk compassion even from the Rock of Gibraltar? This is a real rather than a rhetorical question, because it is significant of a great division.'"
BY MARK HELPRIN IN Herd Animals
'Irrationality on a political level from these quarters has never been a shock. On a personal level, however, the predominant response of the intellectual Left was a mystery. It was as if the thousands of crushed and incinerated men, women, and children—those who threw themselves into a quarter-mile abyss rather than have the flesh seared off their bones as they stood in the wind at glassless walls, the small children who died in terror after watching hysterical fanatics slit the throats of screaming stewardesses, and so on, for there are almost three thousand stories—simply did not exist. How does one explain such an egregious absence of sympathy (much less assertions that 'they' deserved it, or that it was a work of art) among endlessly self-proclaiming empathetics whose stock in trade is to milk compassion even from the Rock of Gibraltar? This is a real rather than a rhetorical question, because it is significant of a great division.'"
The Creche by the Side of the Road @ AMERICAN DIGEST
The Creche by the Side of the Road @ AMERICAN DIGEST: "The Creche by the Side of the Road
[Republished from December, 2003 ]
A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.
--Eliot, Journey of the Magi"
Read the whole thing!
[Republished from December, 2003 ]
A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.
--Eliot, Journey of the Magi"
Read the whole thing!
Monday, December 26, 2005
Cafe Hayek: The Beauty and Power of Undesigned Order
Cafe Hayek: The Beauty and Power of Undesigned Order: "The Beauty and Power of Undesigned Order
I love this blog-post entitled 'Of Social Snowflakes...' by Steve Horwitz. It's inspired by this photograph of a real snowflake. Here's Steve's concluding paragraph:
My fervent wish for the 21st century is that more smart and caring people can begin to see and appreciate 'social snowflakes.' People who are so willing to accept the existence and beauty (and benevolence!) of undesigned order in the natural world should be more willing to open themselves to the possibility that there are processes of undesigned order at work in the social world too. These people know that no one can make a snowflake, but seem blind to the fact that much of the innocent blood that was spilled in the last century was because too many people thought they could intelligently design the social world. Not repeating those mistakes will require a renewed aesthetic appreciation of, and deep desire to understand, the awesome beauty and complexity of the undesigned order of 'social snowflakes.'"
I love this blog-post entitled 'Of Social Snowflakes...' by Steve Horwitz. It's inspired by this photograph of a real snowflake. Here's Steve's concluding paragraph:
My fervent wish for the 21st century is that more smart and caring people can begin to see and appreciate 'social snowflakes.' People who are so willing to accept the existence and beauty (and benevolence!) of undesigned order in the natural world should be more willing to open themselves to the possibility that there are processes of undesigned order at work in the social world too. These people know that no one can make a snowflake, but seem blind to the fact that much of the innocent blood that was spilled in the last century was because too many people thought they could intelligently design the social world. Not repeating those mistakes will require a renewed aesthetic appreciation of, and deep desire to understand, the awesome beauty and complexity of the undesigned order of 'social snowflakes.'"
Power Line: Travels with Cheney
Power Line: Travels with Cheney: " [I]t appears the Bush administration will continue to make the case aggressively that Americans are better off because of its conduct of national security policy, including the Iraq war.
That effort will likely include the release of documents and other materials captured in postwar Iraq. In recent weeks, senior Bush administration and intelligence officials have been discussing several plans to expedite the public release of those materials. According to officials familiar with their contents, the documents provide an unfiltered look inside a criminal regime that brutalized its own citizens, bought off numerous European politicians, and provided significant support to transregional terrorists.
Steve also reports on the vice president's meeting with the troops, and much more, including this:
Cheney ended [his interview with the AP's Nedra Pickler on the flight home] with what may be the most forceful on-the-record defense of Bush administration national security policy yet. The vice president said it is this policy--not luck or fate--that explains why the United States has not been attacked in the last four years.
There's a temptation for people to sit around and say, well, gee, [9/11] was just a one-off affair, they didn't really mean it. Bottom line is, we've been very active and very aggressive defending the nation and using the tools at our disposal to do that. That ranges from everything to going into Afghanistan and closing down the terrorist camps, rounding up al Qaeda wherever we can find them in the world, to an active robust intelligence program, putting out rewards, the capture of bad guys, and the Patriot Act...Either we're serious about fighting the war on terror or we're not. Either we believe that there are individuals out there doing everything they can to try to launch more attacks, to try to get ever deadlier weapons to use against [us], or we don't. The president and I believe very deeply that there's a hell of a threat, that it's there for anybody who wants to look at it. And that our obligation and responsibility, given our job, is to do everything in our power to defeat the terrorists. And that's exactly what we're doing."
That effort will likely include the release of documents and other materials captured in postwar Iraq. In recent weeks, senior Bush administration and intelligence officials have been discussing several plans to expedite the public release of those materials. According to officials familiar with their contents, the documents provide an unfiltered look inside a criminal regime that brutalized its own citizens, bought off numerous European politicians, and provided significant support to transregional terrorists.
Steve also reports on the vice president's meeting with the troops, and much more, including this:
Cheney ended [his interview with the AP's Nedra Pickler on the flight home] with what may be the most forceful on-the-record defense of Bush administration national security policy yet. The vice president said it is this policy--not luck or fate--that explains why the United States has not been attacked in the last four years.
There's a temptation for people to sit around and say, well, gee, [9/11] was just a one-off affair, they didn't really mean it. Bottom line is, we've been very active and very aggressive defending the nation and using the tools at our disposal to do that. That ranges from everything to going into Afghanistan and closing down the terrorist camps, rounding up al Qaeda wherever we can find them in the world, to an active robust intelligence program, putting out rewards, the capture of bad guys, and the Patriot Act...Either we're serious about fighting the war on terror or we're not. Either we believe that there are individuals out there doing everything they can to try to launch more attacks, to try to get ever deadlier weapons to use against [us], or we don't. The president and I believe very deeply that there's a hell of a threat, that it's there for anybody who wants to look at it. And that our obligation and responsibility, given our job, is to do everything in our power to defeat the terrorists. And that's exactly what we're doing."
Monday, December 19, 2005
Patriot Act
Power Line: "...the House Republican conference reminds us why the act is so important:
If allowed to expire, the information-sharing provisions critical to breaking down the pre-9/11 “wall” between our law enforcement and intelligence personnel will be lost. This will have dire consequences.
Patrick Fitzgerald, a longtime United States Attorney and current special prosecutor, testified to his experience of how the “wall” worked in practice:
I was on a prosecution team in New York that began a criminal investigation of Usama Bin Laden in early 1996. The team ... had access to a number of sources. We could talk to citizens. We could talk to local police officers. We could talk to other U.S. Government agencies. We could talk to foreign police officers. Even foreign intelligence personnel. And foreign citizens.... We could even talk to al Qaeda members—and we did. .... But there was one group of people we were not permitted to talk to. Who? The FBI agents across the street from us in lower Manhattan assigned to a parallel intelligence investigation of Usama Bin Laden and al Qaeda. We could not learn what information they had gathered. That was “the wall.”
The “wall” had deadly consequences. The 9/11 Commission Report contained an example that none of us should ever forget. According to the unanimous bipartisan report of that Commission, the “wall” thwarted the investigation of Khalid al-Midhdar and Nawaf alHazmi, two of the hijackers who flew an airplane into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. In June 2001, FBI agents investigating the U.S.S. Cole bombing met with the CIA. Even though the CIA knew that al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were connected to the Cole bombing and had been in the United States, the CIA refused to give the FBI this information because of the “wall.” Even after the FBI learned from the CIA of al-Mihdhar’s and al-Hazmi’s presence in the United States and the FBI launched an effort to try to locate them, FBI Headquarters refused to allow criminal investigators in New York to participate. A New York FBI agent working on the case expressed his frustration with these restrictions in the following e-mail: “Whatever has happened to this - someday someone will die - and wall or not - the public will not understand why we were not more effective and throwing every resource we had at certain ‘problems.’”
That's the wall (sometimes referred to as the 'Jamie Gorelick wall') that the Democrats want to re-erect."
If allowed to expire, the information-sharing provisions critical to breaking down the pre-9/11 “wall” between our law enforcement and intelligence personnel will be lost. This will have dire consequences.
Patrick Fitzgerald, a longtime United States Attorney and current special prosecutor, testified to his experience of how the “wall” worked in practice:
I was on a prosecution team in New York that began a criminal investigation of Usama Bin Laden in early 1996. The team ... had access to a number of sources. We could talk to citizens. We could talk to local police officers. We could talk to other U.S. Government agencies. We could talk to foreign police officers. Even foreign intelligence personnel. And foreign citizens.... We could even talk to al Qaeda members—and we did. .... But there was one group of people we were not permitted to talk to. Who? The FBI agents across the street from us in lower Manhattan assigned to a parallel intelligence investigation of Usama Bin Laden and al Qaeda. We could not learn what information they had gathered. That was “the wall.”
The “wall” had deadly consequences. The 9/11 Commission Report contained an example that none of us should ever forget. According to the unanimous bipartisan report of that Commission, the “wall” thwarted the investigation of Khalid al-Midhdar and Nawaf alHazmi, two of the hijackers who flew an airplane into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. In June 2001, FBI agents investigating the U.S.S. Cole bombing met with the CIA. Even though the CIA knew that al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were connected to the Cole bombing and had been in the United States, the CIA refused to give the FBI this information because of the “wall.” Even after the FBI learned from the CIA of al-Mihdhar’s and al-Hazmi’s presence in the United States and the FBI launched an effort to try to locate them, FBI Headquarters refused to allow criminal investigators in New York to participate. A New York FBI agent working on the case expressed his frustration with these restrictions in the following e-mail: “Whatever has happened to this - someday someone will die - and wall or not - the public will not understand why we were not more effective and throwing every resource we had at certain ‘problems.’”
That's the wall (sometimes referred to as the 'Jamie Gorelick wall') that the Democrats want to re-erect."
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
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