Global Warming Data Manipulated All Along?
ClimateGate – Climate center’s server hacked revealing documents and emails.
Britain’s Climate Research Unit, University of East Anglia, suffered a data breach in recent days when a hacker apparently broke into their system and made away with thousands of emails and documents. The stolen data was then posted to a Russian server and has quickly made the rounds among climate skeptics. The documents within the archive, if proven to be authentic, would at best be embarrassing for many prominent climate researchers and at worst, damning.
The contents of the emails and data seem to be authentic, but I will withhold judgement until verified.
The emails contain an array of discussions including what appear to be concerted efforts to withhold data. Just as troubling is conversations that allude to potentially manipulating climate data to “hide the decline” of temperatures seen in the last decade.
Will be checking for further confirmation. If true, this will blow a hole right through the climate change consortium.
Fact-Checking Sarah Palin For Dummies
Bonus points to anyone who can spin this in a convincing way to say that she WASN’T just repeating what she read from a piece of paper. And “slip of the tongue” doesn’t count, Hannity JUST SAID Iran at the start of the question.
What If Those Big Hurricanes From The Past Happened Today: Insured Losses In Today’s Dollars
The more interesting question, then, is what would be the ranking were these historical hurricanes to recur today. Using current property exposures, the only recent storm to break the top ten is Hurricane Katrina. First on the list is a hurricane unknown to many: the 1926 Miami hurricane (hurricanes were not systematically named until 1953). The 1926 Category 4 storm made a direct hit on Miami, but at the time, Dade and Broward counties had a combined population estimated at roughly 135,000. Today, that storm would likely result in insured losses exceeding $100 billion.
That’s right. Only two of the top 10 most expensive (in insurance loss) hurricanes of the past 100 years have occurred in the past 10 years. The number and intensity of super hurricanes is increasing, right? Al, aren’t they?
| Date | Event name | 2009 Insured Loss* |
| September 18, 1926 | Miami Hurricane | $101 billion |
| August 24, 1992 | Hurricane Andrew | $57 billion |
| September 17, 1947 | 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane | $55 billion |
| September 17, 1928 | Great Okeechobee Hurricane | $51 billion |
| August 29, 2005 | Hurricane Katrina | $42 billion |
| September 9, 1900 | Galveston Hurricane of 1900 | $40 billion |
| September 21, 1938 | The Great New England Hurricane | $38 billion |
| September 9, 1965 | Hurricane Betsy | $36 billion |
| September 10, 1960 | Hurricane Donna | $31 billion |
| September 5, 1950 | Hurricane Easy | $21 billion |
| *Modeled loss to property, contents, and business interruption and additional living expenses for residential, mobile home, commercial, and auto exposures as of December 31, 2008. Losses include demand surge. | ||
VIDEO Of Bugatti Veyron Crash Into Marsh. Oh, And I Called It — No Low-Flying Pelican – Geekologie
Did you hear about the guy who drove his Bugatti into the water a few days ago. Here is a vid shot by some kids driving on a road parallel to the Bugatti driver.
Where do I sign up?
For some reason, ads like these make my day. Is it the ambiguous titles where the large print seems to indicate that the subject matter is something different from the small print at the bottom of the ad? The blatant disregard for the lost art of editing (or dare I say it, spelling)? In any case, sign me up. I desperately want to learn 6 new ways to crush employee morale today – and if all goes well, I may learn to “custs” costs in the process.
10 Most Amazing Images From Chandra X-Ray Observatory
10 Most Amazing Images From Chandra X-Ray Observatory.
Does life exist out there as well? One would think it has too.
AP Assigns 11 “Fact Checkers” To Palin’s Book. Finds Six Errors.
According to the incomparable (NH resident) Mark Steyn: “That’s 1.8333333 writers for each error.”
Here’s his post in today’s NRO “The Corner”:
Rogue’s Eleven [Mark Steyn]
If you wonder why American newspapering is dying, consider this sign-off:
AP writers Matt Apuzzo, Sharon Theimer, Tom Raum, Rita Beamish, Beth Fouhy, H. Josef Hebert, Justin D. Pritchard, Garance Burke, Dan Joling and Lewis Shaine contributed to this report.
Wow. That’s ten “AP writers” plus Calvin Woodward, the AP writer whose twinkling pen honed the above contributions into the turgid sludge of the actual report. That’s 11 writers for a 695-word report. What on? Obamacare
? The Iranian nuke program? The upcoming trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?
No, the Associated Press
Question of the Day: Are the Nuggets for Real??
“Are you kidding me? This should be against the law….son.” Great call by Mark Jackson
Operation Christmas Child 2009
This year I am an “official” project leader for Operation Christmas Child. Individuals in my small church have already given me about $120 in cash donations towards putting boxes together and I have pledges for about 25-30 boxes above and beyond the six boxes my family and I are putting together. The goal this year is to collect a record breaking eight million boxes. I’ve given several small presentations about this missons and charity outreach project and am deeply moved by the outpouring of interest and participation that my own passion and interest has provoked. I made a very last ditch and unprepared appeal last year that brought in eleven boxes in addition to my own. This year I got myself plugged in to the official effort and came armed with prepared boxes, brochures, posters and videos. And it payed off. I basically tripled the amount of participation from my small circle of contacts from what it was last year.
My family and I shop year around for clearance items and good deals for Operation Christmas Child and by the time November rolls around I’ve got boxes and bags of items ready to go for this effort. It’s a great way to reach out to others, to fulfill the Great Commission, and to teach not only my children but also myself about how generousity and sharing with someone you will never get to meet (at least in this world) is one of the best things you could ever do. If you ever have the opportunity to participate in this program please do so. It’s ability to change lives is amazing and it has become a passion for me. I am considering donating ten percent of all profits from my soon to be released book to charity and I think Operation Christmas Child would be a great place to start.
The Pollution of China
Amazing Pictures, Pollution in China
October 14, 2009, the 30th annual awards ceremony of the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund took place at the Asia Society in New York City. Lu Guang (卢广) from People’s Republic of China won the $30,000 W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography for his documentary project “Pollution in China.”
Who Else Finds This Pic Disturbingly Hot?
In Defense Of Cyborg Athletes (H/T Instapundit):
Much of the debate on the place of advanced prostheses for the disabled in competitive sports often downplays arguably the most important perspective: that of the athletes who couldn’t compete without them. In light of the recent MIT research project that found prosthetic limbs offering no advantage over natural legs, sprinter and double Cheetah leg user Aimee Mullins has some even more thought-provoking (and first-hand) analysis of the issue.
Well, who really looks at feet in bed anyway? Only the sickoes….
Cyborgs can be sexy, though:
Bye, bye copyrights….hello new music!
Copyright Time Bomb Set to Disrupt Music, Publishing Industries | Epicenter | Wired.com.
The late ’70s, when punk exploded and disco imploded, were tumultuous years for the music industry. A time bomb embedded in legislation from that era, the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, could bring another round of tumult to the business, due to provisions that allow authors or their heirs to terminate copyright grants — or at the very least renegotiate much sweeter deals by threatening to do so.
At a time when record labels and, to a lesser extent, music publishers, find themselves in the midst of an unprecedented contraction, the last thing they need is to start losing valuable copyrights to ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s music, much of which still sells as well or better than more recently released fare. Nonetheless, the wheels are already in motion.
I for one am looking forward toward this move away from studio control. Up until the past few years, artists have only been able to release (for the most part) tracks that were deemed album appropriate by the studios who controlled distribution. Now with the potential for decentralization of this process, I envision not only being able to purchase released tracks, but what must be an incredible unreleased catalog. Artists will be able to be able to position these undiscovered tracks along with their hits, creating a channel for these yet undiscovered tunes.
Bring on the new media!
The Copyright Act includes two sets of rules for how this works. If an artist or author sold a copyright before 1978 (Section 304), they or their heirs can take it back 56 years later. If the artist or author sold the copyright during or after 1978 (Section 203), they can terminate that grant after 35 years. Assuming all the proper paperwork gets done in time, record labels could lose sound recording copyrights they bought in 1978 starting in 2013, 1979 in 2014, and so on. For 1953-and-earlier music, grants can already be terminated.
The Eagles plan to file grant termination notices by the end of the year, according to Law.com. “It’s going to happen,” said Eveline. “Just think of what the Eagles are doing when they get back their whole catalog. They don’t need a record company now…. You’ll be able to go to Eagles.com (currently under construction) and get all their songs. They’re going to do it; it’s coming up.”
Rock Music Quality vs. US Oil Production: Interconnected?
The Hubbert Peak Theory of Rock, or, Why We’re All Out of GoodSongs | Overthinking It.
Many rock purists and music snobs (myself included) often lament the quality of most modern pop/rock music. “Music these days is so trite and derivative,” they say. “It’s just been downhill since the 60’s and 70’s. Those were the days.”
A few years ago, Rolling Stone magazine added fuel to the music snobbery fire with its “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list. Anyone casually paging through the list would notice that the bulk of the list was comprised of songs from the 60’s and 70’s, just like the music snobs always say.
I, however, wasn’t content with the casual analysis. So I punched the list into Excel, crunched some numbers, and found an interesting parallel between the decline of rock music quality and, of all things, the decline in US oil discovery and production:
So the question is…If we start drilling offshore and in Alaska, will the quality of rock music improve?
Dave’s Quote of the Day
You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.
~ Ronald Reagan – 40th President of the United States
Justice served – John Allen Muhammed executed
Another jihadist and poor excuse for a human being received the justice he deserved this evening and FreeRepublic even had an execution live thread (well, then it became a “dead” thread) to pass the time during the death watch countdown. The Beltway sniper is no more but his victims, and his crimes, should not be forgotten.
Execution time: 9:11 p.m Eastern.
Here is a list of the people shot by the D.C. snipers during their coast-to-coast crime wave in 2002.
1. Keenya Cook, 21, killed Feb. 16 in Tacoma, Wash. She lived in the home of a friend of John Allen Muhammad’s estranged wife.
2. Jerry Ray Taylor, 60, killed March 19 on a golf course in Tucson.
3. Paul J. LaRuffa, 55, wounded Sept. 5 in the parking lot of his restaurant in Clinton.
4. Rupinder “Benny” Oberoi, 22, wounded Sept. 14 outside a beer and wine store in Silver Spring.
5. Muhammad Rashid, 32, wounded Sept. 15 outside a liquor store in Brandywine.
6. Million A. Woldemariam, 41, killed Sept. 21 outside a liquor store in Atlanta.
7. Claudine Lee Parker, 52, killed Sept. 21 outside a liquor store in Montgomery, Ala.
8. Kellie Adams, 24, wounded outside a liquor store in Montgomery, Ala.
9. Hong Im Ballenger, 45, killed Sept. 23 outside a beauty store in Baton Rouge.
10. James D. Martin, 55, killed Oct. 2 outside a supermarket in Wheaton.
11. James L. “Sonny” Buchanan, 39, killed Oct. 3 while mowing grass behind an auto dealership in White Flint.
12. Premkumar A. Walekar, 54, killed Oct. 3 while pumping gas at a service station in Aspen Hill.
13. Sarah Ramos, 34, killed Oct. 3 while sitting on a bench waiting for a ride in a shopping center in Silver Spring.
14. Lori Lewis Rivera, 25, killed Oct. 3 while vacuuming a car at a Shell gas station in Kensington.
15. Pascal Charlot, 72, killed Oct. 3 while waiting to cross a street in Northwest Washington.
16. Caroline Seawell, 43, wounded Oct. 4 while loading her car in the parking lot of a store in Fredericksburg.
17. Iran Brown, 13, wounded Oct. 7 outside a school in Bowie.
18. Dean H. Meyers, 53, killed Oct. 9 while pumping gas in Manassas.
19. Kenneth H. Bridges, 53, killed Oct. 11 while pumping gas near Massaponax, Va. His first grandchild will be 2 next month.
20. Linda Franklin, 47, killed Oct. 14 in a Home Depot parking lot in Falls Church.
21. Jeffrey Hopper, 37, wounded Oct. 19 while walking hand in hand with his wife in a restaurant parking lot in Ashland, Va.
22. Conrad E. Johnson, 35, killed Oct. 22 while standing in the doorway of the bus he drove in Aspen Hill.
The five stages of Customer Service or what I learned from Best Buy. . .
The following is a mini-excerpt of one day’s experience at Best Buy trying to replace my fourth Xbox 360. Yes, one day before Modern Warfare 2’s arrival on store shelves, the Red Ring of Death appeared.
The experience has 12 chapters. 12. Granted they are short, but they are quite powerful, and the range of emotions expressed within those digital pages is quite noteworthy.
Chapter 3 – The Five Stages of Best Buy Customer Service
Office Life Runs Amok!
Well, this is what happens when you work in a building with a bunch of techies. This is me chasing a woodpecker around the office last Saturday. Set to music, and sped up about 10 times faster than normal. I guess you have to be able to laugh at yourself. I was the talk of the corporate headquarters today. It appears this is my “youtube moment” whether I like it or not.
After minimal damage to both bird and myself he was successfully captured. Scared me a bit at the beginning. Not what you expect to go zipping by your head when you are working in a big, deserted building on a Saturday. I should have had the wife cook him up for dinner. I hear woodpecker is good.
Filling in for the humble messenger
An Orchid will get you two to life
There can be no argument that I am unfit to be Your Humble Messenger. Enraged by our deletion controversy, the true messenger has abandoned us in a fit of righteous rage. Perhaps if he knew how everyone here loves him so, he might feel compelled to enlighten us yet again. . .
Speaking of deletion controversies, it appears House liberals are all atwitter over the deletion of abortion from the final healthcare bill:
Reps. Diana DeGette (Colo.) and Louise Slaughter (N.Y.) led the group of Democrats in writing to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) threatening to withhold support for a final conference report if it strictly prohibits federal funding for abortion services.
Your messenger finds it curiously amusing that the Maine “Republicans” are in line with these ladies.
Last week I didn’t want to get too political about the Ft. Hood shootings, but the cat is now out of the bag. From Cal Thomas:
The federal government at all levels has hired and promoted Muslims to influential positions. It requires “sensitivity training” for federal employees, including those who work at the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. Last week, the House Judiciary Committee, dominated by liberal Democrats, defied the White House and removed from the USA Patriot Act a tool for tracking non-U.S. citizens in anti-terrorism investigations. As our enemies grow stronger and more emboldened, they see us becoming weaker and less committed.
As Cal said: suddenly gays in the military doesn’t seem so threatening.
Your messenger also stumbled upon this gem from last week. It is a piece entitled ‘Criminalizing everyone’ and details an old man being locked up for two years because he didn’t follow protocol on importing orchids. No seriously. When Dave writes of bad case scenarios, this is they type of stuff he is refering to.
Mrs. Norris testified before the House Judiciary subcommittee on crime this summer. The hearing’s topic: the rapid and dangerous expansion of federal criminal law, an expansion that is often unprincipled and highly partisan.
Imagine that. There can be political motivations for being locked up. I am just your messenger here.
Surfacing in the news again is the uber-hot ex-Miss California. Apparently she is having a Bill Clinton moment and she “did not have sexual relations in that video.” Your messenger thinks none of this would be an issue if she were a lefty that believed marriage was a union of whoever feels the itch at the moment, but what does he know.
And for you sports fans, it appears that Tennis’ Marat Safin, a Frenchman Russian, believes American Andre Agassi should give his titles and his money back. Apparently, he doesn’t get how we do it here in the U.S.; inject, win, and listen to everyone else bitch about it. The opposite side of the spectrum are the French Russians. They inject, lose and bitch about the Americans for winning.
Sincere apologies to PG for butchering his baby. But there is a way to change the humble messenger. . .
Thom’s quote of the day – The 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall
“We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace. There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace.
General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”
Some poignant words on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall which was the symbolic end of the cold war. I remember that day clearly. Berliners from both sides danced on top of the barrier that once divided them. A barriers that witnessed the deaths of countless East Germans seeking freedom on the other side. Even with all the historical perspective of a 13 year old I knew that I was witnessing history in the making.
The full text of the speech after the jump courtesy of historyplace.com
The Sage will have to be excused for a short time
Due to an absolute deadline that is fast looming, I must excuse myself and concentrate fully on some other tasks. Facebook, Conclub and a few other time consuming activities will basically be suspended for the next two weeks. I now am taking orders for Christmas on a manuscript that is not yet fully completed. Yesterday, one lady ordered eight copies of a “product” that doesn’t really exist yet for Christmas presents. I’m in “hurry up” mode and will be spending every spare moment for the next two weeks “elsewhere” other than here I am afraid. I spent several hours on my “special project” today alone and was happy with the progress that was achieved. I could probably use the break anyway. I’ve been a bit beat up and tired emotionally lately due to the unforeseen events that unfolded here recently and I could probably use the break time to rejuvenate and refocus my energies on what I believe to be truly important instead of allowing myself to get sidetracked. When I return I will begin running a series of philosophical essays on the ideological struggles of the day. Despite what you may have heard, I am far more of an ideological and sociological philosopher than many may believe. Activism and politics is secondary to understanding the agendas, goals and mindsets of those involved in the great struggles of the day. One can’t fight effectively what you don’t understand, and you can’t achieve true victory unless you truly understand what you are fighting for.
When Does “Cool” Become “Cold”?
The Beast is not the only one who finds our President disconnected and passionless. The Brits over at the Telegraph have noticed it, too.
During the election campaign, Barack Obama’s cool detachment was a winning quality, the “No Drama Obama” a welcome contrast with the “Mr Angry” John McCain, never mind the hot-headed “I’m the decider” President George W Bush.
A year into his presidency, however, Mr Obama seems a curiously bloodless president. If he experiences passion, he seldom shows it. It is often anyone’s guess as to whether an event or issue truly moves him.
Saturday Night Classic Rock-Cowboy Song/Boys are Back in Town
A live tune from the 2nd album I ever owned. Love it.
Friday Night Punk – Link 80
A nice catchy little punk/ska song. Unfortunately you’ll never hear from this band again. The lead singer who happened to be author Danielle Steel’s son died of a heroin overdose at the ripe old age of 19. What a shame. Another waste of talent.
Fort Hood shooter’s last words
To the regulars at conclub please forgive the ridiculous title but it was done for a reason. To those of you who googled that and landed here I beg you to discontinue your search. No one yet know if Major Nidal Malik Hasan created some sort of Virginia Tech shooter style youtube video or rambling manifesto prior to murdering 12 American soldiers but if such a thing exists I ask you to ignore it.
Stop googling it, and please ask your freinds to do so as well. Website hits for such a thing only lend him credibility and give the next lunatic motivation. I appreciate that in times of tragedy we try to make sense of a senseless act but I assure you that you will not find answers in the ramblings of a homicidal maniac. It is an unfortunate reality that evil does truly exist in this world and man was not meant to understand why.
If indeed this man committed this heinous act in order to deliver some sort of message let the message fall on deaf ears. We live in a country where free speech is cherised and there are countless ways in the information age to peacefully deliver a message to the masses. Don’t give a voice to those who chose to deliver their message through murder.
Obama Waffles For Two Minutes On Ft. Hood Speech
Obama starts his speech on the tragic Fort Hood massacre with two minutes touting a conference, including a “Shout-out” to a participant. This is inappropriate at best, but it also shows how cold the man is. Does he show genuine emotion about anything?
Commentary magazine’s Linda Chavez compare it to Bush reacting to the news of the 911 attacks: “Obama’s Pet-Goat Moment”.
We still don’t know what was behind the killings at Ft. Hood this afternoon, in which 11 soldiers and the killer died, but President Obama’s rushed press conference was surprising in its flippancy nonetheless. Before he got to the issue on everyone’s mind — namely the deaths of Americans in uniform — the president gave a “shout-out” to government bureaucrats gathered for a previously scheduled conference at the Interior Department, complete with appreciative chuckles. He treated the event like a pep rally rather than a tragic occasion with a wider audience than those gathered in the room.
CBS even trimmed the start of this speech, presumably to make it look less – cold and self promoting?
UPDATE: Even NBC Chicago thinks Obama blew it:
Obama’s Frightening Insensitivity Following Shooting
A bad week for Democrats compounded by an awful moment for Barack Obama.
By ROBERT A. GEORGE
President Obama didn’t wait long after Tuesday’s devastating elections to give critics another reason to question his leadership, but this time the subject matter was more grim than a pair of governorships.
After news broke out of the shooting at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas, the nation watched in horror as the toll of dead and injured climbed. The White House was notified immediately and by late afternoon, word went out that the president would speak about the incident prior to a previously scheduled appearance. At about 5 p.m., cable stations went to the president. The situation called for not only his trademark eloquence, but also grace and perspective.
But instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions of sympathy and compassion, viewers saw a wildly disconnected and inappropriately light president making introductory remarks. At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian affairs, the president thanked various staffers and offered a “shout-out” to “Dr. Joe Medicine Crow — that Congressional Medal of Honor winner.” Three minutes in, the president spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms. Who is advising him?
Anyone at home aware of the major news story of the previous hours had to have been stunned. An incident like this requires a scrapping of the early light banter. The president should apologize for the tone of his remarks, explain what has happened, express sympathy for those slain and appeal for calm and patience until all the facts are in. That’s the least that should occur.
Indeed, an argument could be made that Obama should have canceled the Indian event, out of respect for people having been murdered at an Army post a few hours before. That would have prevented any sort of jarring emotional switch at the event.
Did the president’s team not realize what sort of image they were presenting to the country at this moment? The disconnect between what Americans at home knew had been going on — and the initial words coming out of their president’s mouth was jolting, if not disturbing.
A sad day for the military. Is this a glimpse of today’s army?
I would certainly never imply that today’s army is not a well honed fighting machine. Our armed forces are still the greatest in the world. But when a member of the officer corps opens fire on a base killing 12 and wounding many others, a serious look at the process of selecting and recruiting officers as well as evaluating their mental fitness is in order. Preliminary reports indicate that Maj. Nadal Malik Hasan, a Muslim, was wounded but captured alive. Worse, he was a psychiatrist that did not get very good reviews and was set for deployment to a war he verbally critisized.
U.S. officials said Hasan was an Army psychiatrist, NBC News reported. Defense officials said Hasan, 39, arrived at Fort Hood in July after practicing for six years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, which included a fellowship in disaster and preventive psychiatry.
At Walter Reed, Hasan received a poor performance evaluation, according to an official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
There was no official word on motive. But Hasan was scheduled to be deployed overseas on Nov. 28, officials said. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said military officials had told her that Hasan was “pretty upset” about his deployment, which she said was to be to Iraq.
The Associated Press, quoting federal law enforcement officials, said Hasan had come to their attention at least six months ago because of Internet postings that discussed suicide bombings and other threats. The officials said they were still trying to confirm that he was the author.
I know its early and I wouldn’t want to get too political in the immediate aftermath of such a stunning tragedy. But our armed forces need to evaluate a few things here. 1) why are we sending officers that are disgruntled and in charge of the mental states of their inferiors overseas. 2) should we not monitor those with poor performance reviews and suspected writings of suicide bombings and other threats much more closely?? Even if it means immediate release? 3) The inescapable truth is that the shooter was a convert to the ‘religion of peace.’ There must be immediate policies put in place for how we deal with disgruntled soldiers who happen to be Muslims.
I hope that our army has not become so steeped in political correctness and being as non-offensive as possible that they fail to take basic precautions to protect the men and women that have enlisted to serve this nation. Thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families.
The Return of Genghis Khan
In my never ending quest to be a good father and at the same time quinch my thirst for knowledge and history I took the opportunity to accompany (chaperone) my daughters seventh grade class to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. A highly touted Ghengis Khan exhibit is touring the United States and is currently on display there. They have a large number of unique and one of a kind artifacts on loan from the Mongolian National Museum. Unfortunately, they didn’t allow gum, water, or photography of any kind while you were inside their heavily monitored and climate-controlled display area. I did manage to get some pictures of a fine rendition of the Great Khan himself that greeted you as one approached the entrance. I can’t get enough of historical artifacts. Bringing the past alive is an emotional and quickening experience for me. It was extremely interesting to see such rare and very old items up close and personal. As a history buff I knew a good deal of the information that was displayed for one’s reading pleasure but I learned much as well. Definitely worth the visit. I spent twenty minutes last night giving my wife a history lesson about the origins and tactics of Genghis Khan and the Mongol empire so I must have been excited about today.
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My open apology to the blog
Since apparently everything is to be hashed out in public despite my overruled protestations I figured I might as well do this here. I do not like admitting I am wrong. It does not always come easily to me, but sometimes it is the right thing to do as painful as it may be. Ladies and gentlemen, I openly and sincerely apologize to all of you for my part in the last three days of chaos on Conclub.
Read the rest of this entry »
Beast Quote Of The Day
“He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind.” – Proverbs, 11.29
Oh and let us not forget the second sentence:
“And the foolish will be servant to the wisehearted.”
Wes’s Quote Of The Day
“I won’t insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said.”
William F. Buckley
CORZINE LOSES!
It wasn’t even that close, heh. It was gonna go all night in a squeaker – and the race is called one hour and 12 minutes after the NJ POlls CLosed.
Your messenger’s topical quotes of the day.
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, “Peace! Peace!” — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!
Great and powerful words. If being a patriot is extreme, the I gladly accept the label. Only thing is, it is not 1775 and I am not Patrick Henry. I also love the following quote.
Comes The Morrow: Predictions?
The Beast predicts a clean sweep – Dems lose Jersey, Virginny and NY-23. Anybody else?
Blue state blues
There is absolutely no reason why operating a business in New Jersey should be a losing proposition. I contend that we have the best infrastructure in place to accomdate manufacturing, distribution or most any other type of business in the nation. We have the busiest seaport in the nation at Port Newark, a major international airport in Newark, and are situated between two of the largest cities in the country in New York and Philadelphia. We are chock full of interstate highways and rail lines.
But businesses are leaving the state in droves. When I was growing up we had 3 auto plants in the state. We currently have none. The textile business in northern New Jersey and the glass manufacturers down south are all but gone.
Since we are on the topic of Rich, it gives your messenger a chance to mention this…
The October 14, 2007 Times featured Stephen Colbert guest-writing most of Maureen Dowd’s column. In that article, Colbert satirically wrote: “Bad things are happening in countries you shouldn’t have to think about. It’s all George Bush’s fault, the vice president is Satan, and God is gay. There. Now I’ve written Frank Rich’s column too.”
I thought Colbert was halarious at the time when he wrote that Column. Truth be told, I am a Rich junkie.
Now this is topical
The GOP is not dead yet and that ‘paradigm shift’ proclamation may have been a bit premature.
Weekend Wuss Rock – 90’s style
Oh, don’t think I forgot. This could be the king of 90’s wuss rock. Open a new browser while this plays and listen to some soothing wussness while you read the other comments.
Happy Reformation Day
DISPUTATION OF DOCTOR MARTIN LUTHER
ON THE POWER AND EFFICACY OF
INDULGENCES
While we love our Catholic brothers and sisters we Protestants owe a great debt to Martin Luther and his courage on this day. My oldest daughter (12) just finished a fairly extensive study of him in school so she got excited when she saw I was posting this. At the time we had a good conversation about the Biblical teachings concerning salvation and Martin Luther’s emphasis on faith over works (though faith without works is dead) which we continue to abide by to this day as practicing, Bible-believing Protestant Christians. I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and breadth of her knowledge and understanding of the subject. As the son of the Protestant version of a priest I guess I should be thankful of the abandonment of celibacy by the Protestant clergy through the example of Luther himself otherwise I probably wouldn’t be here to enlighten, entertain and enrage.
OCTOBER 31, 1517
Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light,
the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg,
under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther,
Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and Lecturer in
Ordinary on the same at that place. Wherefore he requests that
those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us,
may do so by letter.
In the Name our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Grab a Mop
This reads like something from the Onion. The great leader who gives us hope and change is apparently out of ideas. What’s even funnier is that I have heard reports today of people standing out with signs reading “grab a mop.” Stop it you are killing me. Talk about drinking the kool-aid.
Anyway, feel free to stop by and get your free blame Bush for everything “Grab A Mop” bumper sticker.
Friday Night Punk Reel Big Fish
The title incorporates a few of my favorite things. Fishing, punk rock, and beer. I saw these guys wih Goldfinger way back when. What a great show. Lot of fun.
Australia: 10 Foot Great White Bitten Nearly In Half By 20 Foot Great White Shark!
Nice, pink meat on him (this fish is male) - looks a lot like Salmon.
A ‘monster’ great white shark measuring up to 20 ft long is on the prowl off a popular Queensland beach, according to officials.
Swimmers were warned to stay out of the water off Stradbroke Island after the shark mauled another smaller great white which had been hooked on a baited drum line.
The 10-foot great white was almost bitten in half.
The fictional shark at the centre of the Steven Spielberg blockbuster Jaws was estimated to be just five feet longer.
For comparison purposes, here’s 2 pictures of a 20.3 footer caught off Prince Edward Isle, Canada in 1988:
Looney Tunes At 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
What's up, Fox?
The White House assault against FOX news gave us our second bipartisan moment of the month. The first came early in October when the Nobel Committee announced they’d selected Barack Obama for their Peace Prize, prompting both sides of the political spectrum to scratch their head in bafflement. There was near universal agreement that Obama had done nothing to earn it and didn’t really deserve it.
Now our thin-skinned President has taken it upon himself to declare what he thinks a legitimate news organization should be and has called for the other “real” news outfits to ignore the fake one. And pundits are back at their scalps again, wondering what he was thinking when he unleashed the hounds on this particular fox and how he expected it to work out in any way other than bad.
Tuesday early morning jazz: Atmos Trio-Another Slip
A little pallet cleanse after this weekends wuss rock.
You can listen to Atmos Trio albums for free or download them from here.
E the Wise
DFV the Scribe
Andre the Defiant
Wes
pg - your humble messenger
thompaine
Drowning Creek
Mo K.