2007 is winding down

Another year shot in the ass. Seems like I had a lot of plans that never seemed to get completely off the ground. Anyone else have that feeling? Hopefully this coming year will be different. I know I need to get my health squared away; more cardio exercise and drop more pounds, if I want to keep my heart from failing on me again.
Getting things taken care of around here is up high on the list, also. Seems like since my health went bad I got messier; I used to keep things a lot neater than I do now. That needs to get back on track. If I can clean up my act, maybe I'll feel like blogging more. There are a lot of people who come by here to visit and chat, and I'd like to tell you that I appreciate the company; visiting others and having them take the trouble to stop by at my mad ravings is one of the higher points of my day, sometimes. Are there any subjects or thoughts that any of you would like to share or to have me share with you? I'm not always sure what I want to blog about, so sometimes my thoughts tend to wander about like a stoned sheep. Thanks for bearing with me.

Have sort of a moody playlist today; most are older, but some of you may recognize a few of them in the top ten of the list.

"Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol
"Red, Red Wine" by Neil Diamond
"Turn the Page" by Bob Seger
"It's My Life" by Bon Jovi
"Someday Never Comes" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
"Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel
"Honky Tonk Blues" by Hank Williams
"Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" by Johnny Rivers
"And the Tide Rushes In" by The Moody Blues
"Always On My Mind" by Willie Nelson

Anyone have any opinions, or memories associated with any of those?

Best holiday wishes to all

Looking at the news, there is a lot wrong with the world, but in the spirit of the season, there will be none of the usual ranting, raving, bitching or complaining today. It was good to see that there were people out there who actually noticed my absence; I wasn't too sure of anyone coming around once I got back on line.

My music mood today has been all over the place; the top ten on today's playlist shows that:

"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding
"If You Don't Like Hank Williams" by Kris Kristofferson
"With You There to Help Me" by Jethro Tull
"She's a Lady" by Tom Jones
"These Dreams" by Heart
"Perfect" by Sara Evans
"If You Could Read My Mind" by Gordon Lightfoot
"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" by Dusty Springfield
"Georgia on My Mind" by Ray Charles
"Bring Me Some Water" by Melissa Etheridge

Some old, some newer. Anyone who is familiar with all of them?

Sorry about the absence...

In case anyone was wondering where I've been, I've been having technical difficulties the past two weeks, and am just now getting online; will be visiting people and posting soon.

Professional hand-wringers...

I see where the MSM is falling all over themselves to report on Romney's talk about his religion. WHO THE HELL CARES? I can think of several reasons not to vote for him without bringing in the fact that he wears funny underwear (here in Utah, we non-LDS refer to them as "angel pants" or "chapel chaps"); I don't like his way of changing his platform every time he talks to someone different. Who he (or any other candidate) prays to is irrelevant to me. It seems as if the journalists go out of their way to find the least little thing, and try to magnify it into pant-wetting proportions.

I don't have a real lot to say about the shootings in Omaha; once again some kid falls out of his tree and takes it out on a bunch of innocent people. He had a history of drug abuse, was mentally off, and was a felon. Why did anyone think a "No Guns Allowed" sign would keep them safe from him? And why did they think laws prohibiting him from having a firearm would keep him from acquiring one? I notice the MSM is going on about an "AK-47 automatic assault rifle"; too bad they don't have a clue what they're talking about. It seems as if half the people in journalism are as stupid as most actors; what is it about the media that attracts idiots?

Time for some music, maybe that will cheer me up on a gloomy day. The top ten on the playlist for today:

"Welcome to My Nightmare" by Alice Cooper
"Sundown" by Gordon Lightfoot
"Alone" by Heart
"I Just Want to Make Love to You" by Muddy Waters
"Essence of Now" by It's a Beautiful Day
"Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix
"Snowblind Friend" by Steppenwolf
"El Nicoya" by Santana
"Tube Snake Boogie" by ZZ Top
"Black Blade" by Blue Öyster Cult

I've been lost...

Been a while since I had decent contact with the Web; my connection has been down more than up, and when it was up, was running at about 30% speed (sort of like right now). The past few days have been snow, which is probably why I've been having internet withdrawal symptoms. Yesterday I had to shovel about a half foot, and it is some really heavy wet stuff. The main roads are clear, but neighborhood roads like mine still have about an inch of clear ice, so driving has been interesting.

I notice they're still fighting about the UK teacher over in Sudan. I don't understand the logic here; the country hires foreign teachers, and then gives them grief for a well-meaning mistake that didn't hurt anyone. It seems to me that no matter what is decided, when the teacher is sent home from that cesspool, the UK (and everyone else who has the slightest inkling of ethics) should pull out all aid, close their embassy there, and let those ignorant assholes either solve their own problems, or climb out of the Dark Ages and join civilized society.
Just my opinion.

I feel in an Eighties mood today, so the top ten of todays playlist reflects that. I imagine most of these should be familiar to visitors.

"Back Where You Belong" by .38 Special
"The Tide Is High" by Blondie
"This Ain't the Summer of Love" by Blue Öyster Cult
"Life Is a Lemon and I Want My Money Back" by Meat Loaf
"Sole Survivor" by Asia
"Shot of Poison" by Lita Ford
"A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran
"Dreamboat Annie" by Heart
"Take My Breath Away" by Berlin
"Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds

Boy fully recovered from antler in the brain

This could have turned out a lot worse than it did.

A 5-year-old boy has made a full recovery from injuries sustained when a deer antler punctured his brain.
KTVX reports that Connor Schick was on a July camping trip with his family when he found a set of deer antlers. He picked them up, and while running tripped -- and an antler went through is left eye and into his brain.
Fortunately, the antler entered at an angle that spared his sight and serious neurological injury.

Well, at least he wasn't running with scissors...

Panhandling time again...

The Brady Bunch has heard the latest case the SCOTUS is going to decide on, and has decided that they need more money, NOW! They are already e-mailing everyone.

Just minutes ago, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to take what could be the most significant Second Amendment case in our country's history.

Thanks to your support, your Brady legal team had already begun preparing for this announcement, but now our lawyers have swung into high gear to prepare our "friend of the court" brief.

We have a tidal wave of work to do in the weeks ahead and we need your help now.

This fight is so critical that we need to raise $50,000 by November 30. And since your gift will be going to our Brady Gun Law Defense Fund, it will be fully tax deductible!

We need your help today to build a strong Brady Gun Law Defense Fund to protect America’s gun laws. Please give today.

I fail to see why they always seem to need more money; and why are "gifts" tax deductible? Sending money to the NRA is not deductible, so why should it be for the anti-gun crowd?
The Brady Bunch is always telling us what the second amendment is supposed to mean (according to them); now that the SCOTUS has finally been backed into a corner into making a ruling on it, the hoplophobes all have their panties in a bunch.
If you have any doubts as to what the writers of the amendment were talking about, read below:
______________________________

"No man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
-- Thomas Jefferson.

"The great object is, that every man be armed ... Every one who is able may have a gun."
--Patrick Henry

"That the said Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms ... "
--Samuel Adams
_________________________

Is that clear enough for you?

This explains some things

The Rogers Indicator of Multiple Intelligences created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Visual/Spatial You probably feel at home with the visual arts, maps, charts, and diagrams. You tend to think in images and pictures. You learn best by looking at pictures and slides, watching videos or movies, and visualizing. People like you include sculptors, painters, surgeons and engineers. Visual/Spatial 89% Logical/Mathematical 86% Verbal/Linguistic 86% Musical/Rhythmic 75% Intrapersonal 75% Bodily/Kinesthetic 64% Interpersonal 57%

I guess this is why I'm not consistently good as a writer, but seem to have no problems with photography or math.

H/T to Roberta

You have got to be kidding...

ASHLAND, Ky. (AP) - A man wearing a ski mask used a stapler to hold up an eastern Kentucky ice cream store - and briefly got away with $175, authorities said.

I wonder if he got it at a gun show...

In further news, Milton was unavailable for comment.

Interesting technique...

SOUTHWORTH, Wash. - A man trying to loosen a stubborn lug nut blasted the wheel with a 12-gauge shotgun, injuring himself badly in both legs, sheriff's deputies said.
The 66-year-old man had been repairing a Lincoln Continental for two weeks at his home northwest of Southworth, about 10 miles southwest of Seattle, and had gotten all but one of the lug nuts off the right rear wheel by Saturday afternoon, Kitsap County Deputy Scott Wilson said.
"He's bound and determined to get that lug nut off," Wilson said.
From about arm's length, the man fired the shotgun at the wheel and was "peppered" in both legs with buckshot and debris, with some injuries as high as his chin, according to a sheriff's office report.
"Nobody else was there and he wasn't intoxicated," Wilson said.
The man was taken to Tacoma General Hospital with injuries Wilson described as severe but not life-threatening.

You really have to wonder what the hell some people are thinking when they do stuff like this.

So what are you playing on your musicbox today? The top ten in my list is mainly old rock today, with a bit of other odds-and-ends thrown in.

"Coming into Los Angeles" by Arlo Guthrie
"Oye Como Va" by Santana
"Unconscious Power" by Iron Butterfly
"For Ladies Only" by Steppenwolf
"Quicksand" by The Youngbloods
"Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer" by Nat King Cole
"You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" by The Lovin' Spoonful
"Magic" by Olivia Newton-John
"Hell Hound on My Trail" by Robert Johnson
"I Only Want to Be With You" by Dusty Springfield

Veterans Day

In honor of Veterans Day, I would like to take this time to say to our veterans: Thank You.

Thank you for the sacrifices you made; on the bloody battlefields, the burning decks of ships, and in the smoke filled skies.
Thank you for giving everything you had; your life, your health, and your innocence, in order that others would not have to give theirs.
Thank you for helping to preserve everything that is important in our country; life, liberty, and the ability to choose what we do in life.
For all those that died before their time, in order that we at home would not, thank you. We owe a debt that can never be fully paid.














"Militum semper memento"
(Always remember the soldiers.)

Earth to BobG, please reply...

Looks like I've been remiss about blogging for a few days.
Ever have one of those periods where you can't seem to get too excited about anything? It's been like that around here. Something about the weather change seems to cause a slight ebb in my metabolism, which in turn affects my moods. It never reaches the depression stage, but it does cause an amazing case of apathy at times. Add that to the pains of a bad back, edema, sleep apnea, and the normal BS of everyday life, and it can get to you at times. Luckily I seem to be coming out of my slump, so thank you for visiting during this time.
I haven't really been doing too much during this time, mainly getting things ready for winter out in the yard. I did go to a gun show Saturday, and that cheered me a bit, even though I couldn't afford some of the stuff I really liked.

Most of the weekend was classical music time; I seemed to be favoring Handel and Bach, with a bit of Vivaldi thrown in. Today I seem to be in a "country oldies" mood; these are the top ten in the playlist:

"Tennessee Stud" by Eddy Arnold
"Cold, Cold Heart" by Hank Williams
"Johnny Reb" by Johnny Horton
"I Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash
"Wolverton Mountain" by Claude King
"Saginaw, Michigan" by Lefty Frizzell
"Walkin' After Midnight" by Patsy Cline
"Ribbon of Darkness" by Marty Robbins
"Long Haired Country Boy" by The Charlie Daniels Band
"He'll Have to Go" by Jim Reeves

Anyone else out there old enough to remember them?

Separatists claim responsibility for California wildfires

ORANGE COUNTY, California (CNN) -- Radical Hispanic separatist organization MEChA ("Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan") is taking responsibility for setting the wildfires in California, confimed Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
California officials received a letter earlier today containing photographs of individuals holding Molotov cocktails, then throwing them into dry brush. The faces of the individuals appeared to have been digitally distorted.

Also included was a rambling manifesto, stating that the reason for the act of arson was that "Aztlán belongs to indigenous people, the Chicanas and Chicanos of Aztlán. We are sovereign and not subject to a foreign culture."

Orange County Fire Battalion Chief Kris Concepcion told CNN that the pattern of wildfires definitely indicates arson.

If this is true, we may have a bigger problem than originally thought; this amounts to terrorism when a group attacks civilians. There may be some interesting times to come.

Update:

This has turned out to be a hoax, luckily. Glad that it does not seem to be true at this time; this could have gotten really ugly.

Poll: One-third believe in ghosts, UFOs

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was bad enough when the TV and lights inexplicably flicked on at night, Misty Conrad says. When her daughter began talking to an unseen girl named Nicole and neighbors said children had been murdered in the house, it was time to move.

Put Conrad, a homemaker from Hampton, Va., firmly in the camp of the 34% of people who say they believe in ghosts, according to a pre-Halloween poll by The Associated Press and Ipsos. That's the same proportion who believe in unidentified flying objects — exceeding the 19% who accept the existence of spells or witchcraft.

According to the poll, over a third of the people in this country believe in ghosts. Interesting, in a country like America in the 21st century.

A smaller but still substantial 23% say they have actually seen a ghost or believe they have been in one's presence, with the most likely candidates for such visits including single people, Catholics and those who never attend religious services.

I would have thought that more religious people would believe in the supernatural; evidently that is not so.

By 31% to 18%, more liberals than conservatives report seeing a specter.

Hmm, that explains a lot...

This is begging for a caption

Anyone got a good caption for this?

Warning: Geek Alert

This is one of the more interesting ideas I've seen in a while; a simple docking station for internal hard drives that connects to the USB. Instead of tossing out older, smaller drives, just use them for simple storage by swapping them in a dock. I wonder if you could boot from one? That could be a good thing, since you could have one drive with Windows, one with Linux, etc, and just swap them. It definitely bears some looking into to see how well it works, and how reliable it is.



Hat tip to Everything USB

Baggy pants

When the Virginia House of Representatives tried to outlaw the wearing of low-slung pants two years ago, they drew ridicule from Sydney to London. Comedians joked about a "boxers' rebellion," and so many online political blogs derided the bill that the state Senate quickly killed it.

The mockery in Richmond, however, hasn't stopped other politicians from trying to stamp out sagging pants. Bans have become law or are being considered in at least eight states. The movement is fueled by growing worries among lawmakers that sloppy dress by America's youth could be related, no matter how indirectly, to delinquency, poor learning and crime.

It's good to know that we have solved all the other problems in those states so that this is the most important thing on their agenda. Since when do baggy pants mean "delinquency, poor learning and crime"? If that's true, we better lock up clowns, since they have some of the baggiest pants money can buy.
Granted, seeing guys walking around looking like they shit their pants is not exactly esthetically pleasing, but neither is it a menace to society, only to good taste. Since when is it illegal to go around looking like a dumbass? If you want to fight "delinquency, poor learning and crime", then fight those directly. Quit wasting time worrying about Buttcrack McMoon and his baggy pants.
Just my opinion.

In a different vein, a music selection. The other day, Sir Philipston-Higham Johnston-Higham of nourishing obscurity didn't find the list I had as particularly cheerful. To help correct that, I have put together a playlist of more upbeat stuff, the top dozen of the shuffle being listed here. Anybody out there who is familiar with all/most of them? Any comments?

"Lookin' Out My Back Door" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
"Dreamboat Annie" by Heart
"I'm Alive" by Electric Light Orchestra
"Here For The Party" by Gretchen Wilson
"Soapstone Mountain" by It's a Beautiful Day
"Sugar Town" by Nancy Sinatra
"Reasons for Waiting" by Jethro Tull
"Orinoco Flow" by Enya
"You Got It" by Roy Orbison
"She'd Rather Be With Me" by The Turtles
"Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys
"Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles

After getting a letter from Hoplophobes-R-Us, it is time for something to lighten the mood; so I've loaded a playlist with ladies of rock; I don't know how familiar everyone is with them, but here is the first ten of the list:

"Holding Our for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler
"Sometimes It's a Bitch" by Stevie Nicks
"I Only Want to Be With You" by Dusty Springfield
"Kiss Me Deadly" by Lita Ford
"Summertime" by Janis Joplin & Her Kozmic Blues Band
"Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes
"Promises in the Dark" by Pat Benatar
"As Tears Go By" by Marianne Faithfull
"Both Sides Now" by Judy Collins
"What's Love Got to Do With It" by Tina Turner

Any thoughts, observations, or opinions on this group?

Didn't take them long, did it?

Part of the latest mail from the Brady Bunch.

If this email does not display correctly, click here to open it in your browser.

More Guns at Schools While Senate Stalls on Improving Background Checks Your support can help us break the logjam on a bill to strengthen the Brady law's NICS Dear Robert, I'm once again heartbroken that a deranged teenager was so easily able to get his hands on two guns and ammunition, shooting four people before killing himself at a Cleveland school on Wednesday. Together, we must stop senseless tragedies like this. And we can. The first thing we must do is convince the U.S. Senate to strengthen the Brady background check system by passing the National Instant Check System (NICS) Improvement Act. Will you help me by making a special contribution to the Brady Campaign right now? Your contribution will be used to bring pressure to bear on the Senate, garner media attention, and rally public support for this critical bill.

Somebody gets goofy and these people immediately have their hands out asking for money.

It's For The Children™.

Just how is the NICS Bill supposed to prevent something like this? He was already unable to buy any kind of firearm legally; obviously the law was unable to prevent him from obtaining them. The problem, in this particular case, was a bad home environment; it seems he and his brother had been in and out of trouble for quite some time. As long as there are people growing up under bad conditions, you are going to have violence. Blaming a piece of metal and making "feelgood" laws does not solve problems.
Just my opinion.

Hmmm...

I'm actually surprised I wasn't farther out on the upper right quadrant.

You are a Social Liberal (86% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (75% permissive) You are best described as a: Libertarian (75e/86s) Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Autumn

Saturday was one of those sort of cloudy, dreary days, so we decided to go up in the hills for the day. Just south of Salt Lake Valley is Utah Valley, home to BYU and Provo. At the north end of Utah Valley, branching off to the east, is American Fork Canyon. The road through it takes you up over the top and down into Provo Canyon, the home of Sundance. The drive is quite scenic. There was a light rain in American Fork, with snow in the higher elevations as we journeyed toward the summit. Going down the other side we went down through snow, and into patches of rain and sunlight. The temperature was not too bad; a long-sleeve shirt and a light vest were enough to stay warm. It was a relaxing day, but winter is definitely on it's way.
The first two pictures are from the American Fork side, the bottom two are from the Sundance side. The one of the stream is at Sundance Institute, where it was not snowing at all (the sun was shining) at the time I took the photo.

Click on pictures for full size.

Uh, no thanks...

Welcome to Inkafterlife.com. We make custom photo memorials by creating a custom ink formulation using ashes from a loved one or pet and our ink. We then print a beautiful memorial photo using that blended ink.

Is it just me, or does that sound sort of creepy? I'm not sure I want someone's remains hanging on my wall.

I ar iliterut

Been trying to knock some of the cobwebs out of my brain today; my linguistic skills are getting a bit rusty, and I decided I needed to do a bit of vocabulary and grammar revues. I was looking up something that Caesar wrote, and found that my Latin was a bit out of practice, so I thought I might brush up a bit. I had already found that my Anglo-Saxon was not what it used to be, so I will be spending a bit of time with Beowulf, also. It's interesting how you lose touch with a language when you aren't using it a lot. Though not fluent in any language, I have a working knowledge of several, mainly in their written form. Looks like I need to do a bit more work with them than I have been doing lately.

I found music helps when studying, but only instrumental, highly structured types. For studying, lyrics can be distracting, and some repetitive types are mind-numbing if you are trying to concentrate. My favorite for studying is mainly baroque (Vivaldi and Bach, in particular), and some light jazz, such as Brubeck; I find it to be conducive to thinking and organizing the thoughts. Any suggestions on methods that you have found to work well with languages?

Tiny twin-engine plane

This has to be one of the smallest planes ever. Seems like you would feel every little variation of the wind, and I can't imagine what would happen if you hit a decent-size bird. Check out some of the other pictures at their site.

Better times

This is a time of year that always brings bittersweet memories to me; experiences that bring joy to remember, but sadness in knowing they will never be repeated.
While I was growing up, I went camping a lot with my dad. Even after I grew to adulthood, we would get together and go camping and fishing at times. Fall was always sort of special to us; the temperature was cooler, and it was the start of the hunting seasons.
I recall the crisp bite of the morning air when getting up in the morning; the way you could smell everything around you with crystal clarity, and your ears were tuned to hear and interpret all of the sounds, whether in woodland after deer, or in more open plains and chaparral looking for rabbits and hares.
Sitting around a small campfire, bacon and eggs in an old cast-iron skillet, with a couple of slices of bread to sop up the grease before it hardened in the clear cold air as you stood before the fire to warm up, since the sun was usually still down behind the mountains.
A few pieces of jerky or peanuts in your pockets, check your rifle and ammo, and go off hunting. If you were lucky, you brought home game. If you didn't get any shots, it was still ok; you had the experience of doing something out away from the city together.
When traveling or sitting around the campfire, it was a time to talk; children and parents don't always agree on everything, but as long as they can communicate with one another, they can get along and bond at some level.
I lost my dad in November of 2005, and now those experiences are relegated to the status of memories. I have a lot of them, but there never seem to be enough to fill up the empty space that a loved one leaves behind.
To those out there with children and parents, make as many memories as you can now, because later there may not be time.

Thanks for sitting through this uncharacteristic post, I usually don't get this maudlin.