Bad day for brass monkeys

Snowed about three or four inches yesterday, then cleared up. This morning it was 10 degrees at my place. With a bit of a breeze to make it even more interesting.
Global warming, my ass...

'Pregnant' man fined in SA court

A South African man has been fined $140 for taking a week off work, telling his employers he was pregnant.

A real genius here...

His employers became suspicious and investigated the matter.

Who would have thought?
You really have to wonder what some people are using for brains.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day was good, visited my mom, then went to dinner with my in-laws. Was a cold windy day out where my mom lives, however.
Friday was a beautiful clear, sunny, and windless day, and the temperature was in the fifties (Farenheit). Went pheasant hunting for the day. Hiked a lot, got worn out, but brought home four fat birds. A good time was had by all.
Well, time to visit some relatives, and try to get a few things accomplished. One thing I am NOT doing is Christmas shopping; I am not a masochist.

Big Brother gets bigger in UK

In U.K. public places, smarter closed-circuit TV cameras have been given the ability to listen out for disturbances as well as keeping an eye on citizens.
The system works by putting microphones in CCTV cameras to continually analyze the sound in the surrounding area. If aggressive tones are picked up, an alarm signal is automatically sent to the police, who can zoom in the camera to the location of the suspect sound and investigate the situation.

The police will be sent if someone talks in the wrong tone of voice?
So they have cameras watching everyone, microphones will listen to everyone's speech tones, what is next, mandatory chip implants? How can people think it is proper for the government to be breathing down their backs whenever they are outside of their homes? Orwell had the date wrong, but the society he wrote about in 1984 is becoming a reality. I just hope they don't get ideas like that on this side of the Atlantic. Though, I think we have some types in DC who would look favorably on that kind of surveillance in this country. I won't say which ones (Hint: "It's for the children!").
Just my opinion.

Ah, life in a small town...

BRASILIA, Brazil (Reuters) - The mayor of a small Brazilian town has begun handing out free Viagra, spicing up the sex lives of dozens of elderly men and their partners.
"Since we started the free distribution of sexual stimulants, our elderly population changed. They're much happier," said Joao de Souza Luz, the mayor of Novo Santo Antonio, a small town in the central state of Mato Grosso.
Gosh, who would have thought? I wonder if they are joining in on the Global Orgasm mentioned below...

Hmm, I wonder if Norman Rockwell would have found it inspiring? Maybe someone could do a Photoshop of it in his style.

H/T to Lisa

Idiot burglar

This guy has got to be one of the most stupid, incompetent criminals I have ever seen. He should be shot just to put him out of his misery.

Hat tip to The Moderate Voice

Global orgasm?

Who came up with this New Age BS?

The mission of the Global Orgasm is to effect change in the energy field of the Earth through input of the largest possible surge of human energy. Now that there are two more US fleets heading for the Persian Gulf with anti- submarine equipment that can only be for use against Iran, the time to change Earth’s energy is NOW! Read more about the fleet buildup here.

The intent is that the participants concentrate any thoughts during and after orgasm on peace. The combination of high- energy orgasmic energy combined with mindful intention may have a much greater effect than previous mass meditations and prayers.

The goal is to add so much concentrated and high-energy positive input into the energy field of the Earth that it will reduce the current dangerous levels of aggression and violence throughout the world.


Blah, blah, blah...
Most normal people just fall asleep or have a smoke afterwards...

Memories

This is not the usual sort of thing that I write about; I usually have a comment on culture, technology, politics, and such. I don't claim to be a good writer, and this could use some polishing, but I felt that I needed to set something down today.

Some of my earliest memories are of my dad; I have a lot of good memories of both of my parents, but the very oldest ones are of me with my father doing things. I recall him taking me out to Nellis Air Force Base (where I was born) and showing me the aircraft, and even putting me in the cockpit of a Saber Jet once; there were a lot of them there back from Korea in the early Fifties.
I also remember going camping with him, and being taught to shoot long before I was old enough to go to school. We did a lot of camping, hunting, and fishing while I was growing up, and even managed to do quite a bit until I was in my forties.
When he got out of the Air Force, we moved to Utah, where I went to school when I got old enough. He became a machinist and worked at that for over 35 years.
When he retired, as a master machinist and millwright, he went to work for the government again, as a member of the Dugway Police Force. He had already accrued some time in both the Navy and the Air Force, so after several years, he was able to retire from the government.
In 2004, he was diagnosed with small cell cancer. He went through the chemo and radiation treatment, and managed to send it into remission. A few months later, it struck again; and again he fought it into remission.
In November of 2005, it struck again, stronger and more aggressive than before, and this time there was no stopping it. He died on November 15, one year ago today.


We were never rich, but we never lacked for what we needed, and he raised my brother and I on the idea that a person should make their own way in the world, and that you should always take responsibility for your actions. He worked a lot of long shifts and put in a lot of overtime to make certain that his family was taken care of ; to him family was the most important thing a person had.

I'm not sure why I am posting this; it just seems like it was something I needed to do at this time. Those of you who have gone through this may understand. For those of you who still have your family members with you, just make certain to make the most of your time with them, because you never know what can happen. I am just glad I was able to spend the time with him that we had, and wish it could have been more.

Handouts for harems

This is an interesting article that my brother found and sent me the link.

If the wives married in a country where polygamy is legal, they can all hit the UK taxpayer for jobseeker’s allowance, housing benefit and council tax relief.
And if these harems have children they can also claim child benefit and family tax credits.
The exhausted husband also gets a Jobseeker’s Allowance of £90.10 a week for himself and his first wife.
Extra wives get £32.65 each.

Hell, they don't even get that kind of deal here in Utah...

Semper fi, leatherneck

Read the article; nothing else needs to be said...

One year old child badly burned

Stuff like this makes me want to take a baseball bat to the person responsible.

At first glance, officials say it appears that the boy was placed in scalding hot water. Family members also say it appears that the child was forcibly held down, as evidenced by "finger marks" on his head.
The boy is listed in serious condition with third-degree burns on the lower half of his body. Doctors say he will likely have to stay in the hospital through Christmas.

I can't imagine why anyone could be sick enough to deliberately scald a toddler like that.

13-year-old girl leads police on 100 mph chase

And you think your teenager is a handful...