I'm from the government I'm here to help

(Darn had a really cool animated cat gif. that just wouldn't work here. Need to bone up on my HTML skills.)
I've never lied to you before have I?

A nuclear reactor at a northern Illinois plant shut down Monday after losing power, and steam was being vented to reduce pressure, according to officials from Exelon Nuclear and federal regulators.

This is radioactive steam they are releasing into the air folks but don't worry it won't harm you. Much. Basic nasty being released along with some steam is tritium.

Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen, which allows it to readily bind to hydroxyl radicals, forming tritiated water (HTO), and to carbon atoms. Since tritium is a low energy beta emitter, it is not dangerous externally (its beta particles are unable to penetrate the skin), but it is a radiation hazard when inhaled, ingested via food or water, or absorbed through the skin. HTO has a short biological half-life in the human body of 7 to 14 days, which both reduces the total effects of single-incident ingestion and precludes long-term bioaccumulation of HTO from the environment.

I was once asked to dispose of one of those new exit signs powered by tritium. After a call to the home office I was told they'd have to find another method because our company could not handle it. Even though this is a very low level of radiation we did not have the correct certifications to remove or transport the sign. You may think that silly but when dealing with hazardous wastes of any type you have to follow the letter of the law no exceptions.

That brings to mind the changes in the laws on asbestos roofing material. Here's the way that works. Roofing shingles and paper containing asbestos must be removed using proper protective equipment full moon suit, wet methods and all. However once that material hits the ground it magically turns into general construction debris where it can be thrown into a dumpster. Ah but there a fly in the legal ointment here because once it makes it way to the land fill it magically turns back into an asbestos containing material because the land fill doesn't want any legal liabilities. So we normally treat it as asbestos containing for the entire process bagging it in double bags or double wrapping it in 6 mil plastic with the proper labels and manifest.

So knowing what I do about hazardous materials and the fact that it's almost impossible to determine the exact level of a release at any given distance (that's why when they evacuate an area it usually at least 1/2 mile for any gas) I'd be almost certain they're feeding these people a line of BS. When dealing with a gas leak you want to be on the upwind side and where that material lands depends on wind direction and speed.

News you can't use and could probably care less about

As the clown car continues to empty out the two remaining finalists vow for the number one spot. Gad this so reminds me of a Monty Python sketch. Do you remember the one where the aristocratic idiots are in a contest to see if they can kill themselves? I'd post a link but I think John Cleese and the boys might have a few words with the RIAA. Since when did fringe become the norm and norm become the fringe? You will note that anyone in this campaign with even the remotest of sane ideas was cast out like a drunk at happy hour. Relegated to a dark corner if they kept quiet or seen quietly skulking out a side door far from the stage spot light. And now we have the main event with two contenders both wearing black masks. You know of whom I speak. Each the designated bad guy of a WWF wrestling match. How did that happen? Supposed to have at least one guy in white to represent the goodness of the audience. Not so with today's clown show. One representing greed while the other representing lust, moral values be damned. Either one would happily steal your lunch money or your girlfriend or both given a chance. Keep you eyes peeled on just how many voters show up to even cast a vote in this farce. I'll try and give you the percentages later once all the glitter has settled.

More news from Davos where that other group of trapped in a bubble billionaires are partying while Rome burns. Side note: how ironic that Italy is part of this economic meltdown. Fits my example perfectly.
Once again the fringe (er translate that = norm) show up to make their presents known and felt. God bless those fine young ladies from the Ukraine who have the courage to bring out the "naked" truth. Because as we all know there's only two ways to bring attention to a problem in this day and age and that's either sex or violence. While the powers that be desperately tried to keep the event out of main stream media our heroines stepped up to the challenge to "bare" witness to the economic inequities of the world.
"We came here to Switzerland to Davos to explain the position of all poor people of the world, to explain that we are poor because of these rich people who now sit in the building," said Inna Schewcenko.


You have to admit these gals are committed to giving all they've got even if it means giving the shirt off their backs literally.
Of course inside the conference it was a different story:
Budding bankers expecting the bumper bonuses of years gone by will have to think again, with only the top performers likely to be paid top dollar.
Only the creme de la creme will get to keep their blood money. This is like the usual game of Monopoly where only a select few reap the rewards. Once all the assets are owned by a single player only then is the game over. But this isn't a game. Real people will be cast out of their homes or worse die from lack of medical care if the system isn't fixed soon. What they fail to see is how much life runs by the sweat of the little people. Maybe it's time we showed them what happens when nobody shows up to do their dirty work. I know the day is coming when they'll hear those words "no soup for you!" We the little people do indeed own this world it's just a matter of taking possession of it.

Reading through the likes of NAFTA CAFTA and now CETA in Canada I see how the top 1% has managed to boil the frog. No need to speculate about a "New World Order" conspiracy theory it's already here. Neatly tucked away in these trade agreements are provisions that, to say the least, provide little benefit for the average guy just trying to make a living. Imagine if your boss came up to you one day and told you you're taking a 50% pay cut because the top brass a world away said that's the way it's going to be from now on. We saw the effects of NAFTA when the jobs went first south of the border then to China. My question to the 1% then is who are you going to sell to when you have effectively bankrupted your consumer base? Just what are you going to do about the sludge you created that shows up on the beach at your vacation home? Keep flaunting laws and logic and soon it will bite you in the ass. Hoisted by ones own petard I believe is the expression.

Sick pussy cat

Ah choo it's that time of year again when everyone crams into close quarters and gives the gift that keeps on giving a virus. Those nasty little bugs that knock your insides out for about a week to ten days. Take your aspirin drink plenty of fluids and get your rest. Last time I had the flu was in the mid 70s. I believe it to be a version of the Hong Kong strain that was going around at the time. I can only remember having it one other time in high school. That was just after getting my one and only flu shot. I vowed then and there never to get a shot. In spite of crawling through some of the nastiest places on earth over the last 20 years I've managed to stay relatively healthy. True we take a decontamination shower (actually two per day) but they aren't the type to get really clean. They're just enough to remove whatever toxic material we may have been removing that day. I always took a third shower at home for good measure.

Viruses - I never really thought about how many there are. You have your equine, bovine, swine and bird, norwalk, legionnaires, herpes, and HIV too. Then you get into the bad boys the hemeragics like ebola, marlburg and west nile. I had to study about that last group in hazardous waste class. I am part of your homeland security in the event some unfriendly were to sneak it into the country. Not much concern about that because I figure if they haven't done it by now then they haven't figured out a way to do it. Then there's talk of super bugs. That's the drug resistant bacteria and viruses. I would say many of them are our own doing with the over use of antibiotics. Oh and there's another thing. If you know you have a virus don't bother with antibiotics they only work on bacterial infections. For a virus you would need an antiviral like Cipro but you may not like the side effects so most hospitals don't give it for common type A flu. There are many more things that'll make you ill like molds, fungi and bacteria but I'll save you the gory details for another day.

Just trying to jog the brain cells and recall a job involving a virus. And it came to me a job involving hanta virus. That's a virus carried by deer mice. It's somewhat fatal (can't remember the exact mortality rate) killing you in about three days. These suspect critters had made their home over a drop ceiling in an office. We had to remove the ceiling tiles, hepa vacuum everything and mist all areas with bleach water. I found one of the nests but nobody was home thank goodness.

So I remain healthy for now. Let's hope that doesn't cause a jinx.

Bank fails late.

So the "big boys" think they can solve the world economy

(oops this isn't Friday get back in your folder kitty. Okay I'll do a two fer this week)

This just amazes me. At a meeting in Davos, Switzerland some of the worlds' richest people (including 70 billionaires) are getting together to discuss the world economic crisis. One of their topics is income inequality. One of the suggested solutions will floor you. One billionaire said that business should be more profitable. Yeah right pal we know how that works. The worker lands up working less hours making less with less benefits or worse with no job at all.


Then there's the Greek debt problem. Here's a quote from one of the brainiacs on our side of the pond:
Unless official lenders come to the rescue, it appears likely that Greece will default on Mar. 20, because it simply doesn’t have the €14.4 billion ($18.5 billion) that it owes bondholders on that date. “It is just a matter of time before the whole house of cards falls apart,” says Robert L. Rauch, a partner at Gramercy, an emerging-market investment manager in Greenwich, Conn.

So the solution by them is to borrow yet more money and throw it at a sinking ship. Let's say they cover the $18.5 billion. Then Greece would owe $37 billion. Greece is facing draconian cuts to basic programs as well as massively higher taxes (29% for everyone) and more lay offs. That'll sure get their economy going won't it? First they lay you off then they try and tax you to death whether you're working or not.
A better way might be to forgive half the debt. Then take up a collection and have them start rebuilding their infrastructure. Another idea would be to diversify their economy. Their largest source of revenue is tourism which is in the pits of late. While their at it they might just want to slap a 30% tax on all the millionaires who are hiding their loot in off shore accounts and under the guise of multinational corporations. This is sounding quite familiar.

The thing is and this ticks me off the most is that we've been down this road before. The Great Depression was caused by all the usual suspects in the economic game. We know what it took to get us out of that then so we should know what it will take to do it again. Back then it was lack of regulation and gambling by Wall Street, the same as today. And to date we still haven't put regulations in place to fix the problem. Anybody see a perp walk by any of these crooks in three piece suits? No we haven't.

A couple of last things, we know where the money went. We know who's trying their damnedest to protect the wealthy. They may try and pander to the ignorant and stupid because after all they called the rest of us lazy and overpaid but this time they won't win with 91% against them. Even many of the tea party woke up and saw they'd been used.

The slashing gashing severed vernacular

"Rivers of blood" - Sounds like something out of a 1950s horror movie. Funny how we incorporate such lexicons into our daily speak. Some whiz bang 20 something slams a double tall double (oops make that a "Grande") and the next thing you know the politicians are "mike checking" it all over cable news. "Wtf" is going on here lol? Our language is getting minced and diced to something Billy Mays would be proud of. On the one hand it helps pack more verbiage into our already over packed carry around linguistic back pack but there is no other hand because it was assumed and later dropped. Watch out for those dangling participles they'll get in your face every time. And what's with all the abbreviations and acronyms? Even knowing their meanings oft times is of no help. The Google is many times no help because I wasn't looking for the latest deal on a river rafting trip and I surely don't need a blood transfusion from the nearest blood bank.

You can just about sandwich any two words or phrases together and have the latest catch phrase that they'll be using around the office. Like shooting off fireworks, the peopnage will oo and ah and incorporate it into daily communications because it's what the CEO is using at the moment. " Well back in my day" we had standards damn it! We spoke in complete sentences and defined acronyms at the beginning. Now it may be necessary to take a translator when moving about. I thought English was our primary language here. Forget delving into the bowels of a text messaging conversation even the Urban Dictionary won't help you there. We have isolated ourselves to the point that no one can interpret our true meaning even with all the graphics and squiggles we end the sentence - omg lol just kidding. A couple hundred years from now the archeologists will have no clue when they dig through our electronic clay tablets and try to decipher this tech speak. And everyone just loves to create their own slice of the language because you never know it just might make main stream and they can claim it as their own graffiti in the daily dialogue.

I like to keep focus on how the mass information flow spins what should be simple objective actions. It's never a simple matter of rain. Such reporting must be followed with as many adjectives as will fit into a two minute segment. "Sell them the sizzle" was the ancient expression. But there in lies a problem when we can't step back and realize that we're all just trying to make it one more revolution on this globe. No need to belittle me or anyone else in the process. Think we aren't being programed? A little test and you can tell if you have more than a few brain cells left. Fill in the blank:

Tax _________
Welfare_______
Arab_________
Muslim________
Illegal_________

Maybe you can think of some more, these were off the top of my ever shrinking head. Step back with jaded eye when reading or viewing the news because you know they have an ulterior motive. But with so much blood and mayhem cropping up are we becoming desensitized to what's going on? That is unless it's happening to us.

Later and keep your linguistic shields up.

Amazing this new media

I find this new media fascinating. At what other time in history could you talk to people face to face with someone else anywhere in the world in real time. Sometimes there a few second lag but it reminds me of the first satellite coverage we saw in the 1960s. Only now it's not limited to 90 minute segments. That was the window the satellite was in the right position to bounce the signal around the world. I'd like to say how this new technology works but with cell towers and wifi and hot spots I admit I'm clueless. Can't even figure out how the computer connects to the net other than a rudimentary understanding.

It's kind of funny watching the goings on of the different livestream broadcasts. Much like the CB craze of the 70s it's more a matter of process than product. When I think about it it's really far cheaper now than it was when I had a CB. Most rigs then cost over $100 which is quite a bit in todays' dollars. But as the beginnings of a new media it's an experiment of seeing what works. Much of the content ends up with folks being silly but every now and then some serious stuff is laid out before the worlds' eyes. Such was the case the last day or two. People in far off lands under extreme conditions are getting their message out. From what I saw I take this as an SOS to the world.

I give fair warning what they've captured and broadcast is graphic and sometimes quite violent. Viewer discretion advised.

Syria

Called Ugarit News English this loosely organized site is made up of young people trying to get the word out about what's really going on in Syria. But consider this. If they get caught they will be executed but not before they're tortured severely.

Where'd the voters go?

This is a break down of the vote in South Carolina for the republican primary.

Registered Voters: 2,804,231
Ballots Cast: 599,571
Voter Turnout: 21.38 %

Gingrich got 40% of the vote. Romney got 27% of the vote. But of all of the qualified voters that's only 8% for Gingrich and 6% for Romney. If the republicans are hell bent on getting rid of Obama the voters of that state sure don't look like they really care even if the candidates do. Having to pick from that field who can blame them.
Another little tidbit of info I found while researching this. For all the blather about lower taxes South Carolina has some of the highest state taxes in the nation. And South Carolina's state legislature is solidly republican with only one democratic district. Do I smell the republican stench of hypocrisy? I held my nose and went to the republican state web site to see their issues.

Economy - They'd like nothing better than to shrink the government down and drown it in a bath tub failing to realize that in order to have business you need a government to make things run smoothly. Lowering taxes on individuals and corporations while failing to realize that the money pays for roads, airports, hospitals and the like. And with the state taxes being one of the highest you'd think they'd have roads paved with gold.

Regulations - Or should I say no regulations on business because you know government just loves to get in the way of business when it's polluting our air and water. That is unless it concerns a women's health then it's a different story.

National security - Keep pumping money into the military. That makes me wonder how many defense contractors there are in South Carolina. But they mention just training and equipment for the troops and nothing about benefits and treatment after the constant wars. Oh and the fence. Must have a fence along the borders to keep out the Mexicans even though they aren't mentioned by name and I guess Canadians don't seem to matter to them.

Family values - Exactly what the hell that means any more is anyone's guess. This isn't a nation of Ward and June Cleavers of 50 years ago. Seeing as how they picked the poster boy for philanderer of the year I see they overlooked adultery when they were thumping their bibles. It's okay as long as it's man on woman action. Then they bring up religion. They have this unfounded belief that this nation was founded on the bible. It was not. They seem to forget the first amendment to the constitution that states the government shall establish no state religion. The boys back then were smart. They must have realized that would have created all kinds of problems when people from all over the world started coming here and bringing their beliefs with them. That's not to mention the beliefs of our native born who met the pilgrims when Mayflower was pulling into Plymouth. Imagine the scene at a local school if we allowed all religions to do their thing? Muslims on prayer mats. Jews reading from the torah. Holy rollers rolling in the halls. Krishnas chanting. Snake handling and devil worship (hey got to let everyone do their thing). Incense and magic powders with ritual fires and bells and gongs would make for a rather interesting display don't you think?


What they fail to realize is that this nation has taken a very large shift in demographics over the last 30 years. It's no longer the country of white northern european settlers it once was and it will never be that way again. The era of Ozzie and Harriet isn't coming back no matter how much they long for it.

Where'd they go?

About once per week I go through my lists of favorite blogs. This is much like you'd swing by a friends house to catch up on their goings on. Sadly though you come across ones that haven't been home in a while or worse some that have been deleted. I do try to keep track of the people behind those crazy names. I can tell when they may not be around. Some get busy with work or family issues. Some have medical problems but one or two have vanished without a trace. One in particular Distributorcap was a very well known blogger for many years. He not only posted some very funny political photoshop satire on his own site but was a contributor to several other blogs as well. Then one day I popped over for my usual shot of funny only to find that he was only permitting a select few to his site by permission only. I searched in vain for his email address to see what was going on. Then in checking just recently I find his blog deleted all together. That makes me wonder. He looked like the type who'd be blogging for years. Had a sudden accident prevented him from doing what he liked? Was there an illness? You know that unless I drop dead of a heart attack that I'm in it for the long run. To just up and leave you hanging is not my style. So you're stuck with me at least for now. But it's almost as if you've lost a friend when you go and find a dead link. Speaking of which I almost thought I lost this post until I realized I had the archive set to published.

At least the snow is finally gone now and it's back to the usual warm rain. Pretty good. Fifteen inches of snow gone in just a day. We have an expression here "If you don't like the weather just wait ten minutes". That's one visitor I hope I don't see soon again. So as a neighborly present we're sending it your way in the east. Now it's out to restock the provisions because you can't make much out of just a couple of cans of corn and I don't think the TP supply would last much longer either.

Later and to the neighbors in the east drive safely!

Friday Pussy and the clown car drives on

With clowns falling out of the car this week the "blunderBUS" moves on leaving a trail of Huntsman and Perry in it's wake. Hey this isn't a boat get back to the right analogy. Fumbling and stumbling whirling and twisting they'd better start using Desenex spray for mouthwash. I want a job too but ya have to reveal a few things about yourself to get the job. Imagine if you went to an interview and expected to be hired and the interviewer asked for past financial records. If you told him/her you'd provide that info once you got hired what do you think he'd/she'd say? Okay so you break down and tell them you'll provide that info in a couple of months but only for the past year could you imagine the laughter at such arrogance? If Mittens thinks he can just bully his way into office he has another thing coming.

Then there was the major gaff of Perry. Any fifth grader knows that Turkey is our ally and not some terrorist nation. I guess Ricky cut his high school history classes or maybe Texas is teaching another version. Oh I forgot anyone wearing a turban or other head scarf is a terrorist. They're all alike you know. This reminds me of something that happened just after 911. My idiot neighbor (a republican of course) was on the alert for suspicious activity. About 4 am a man driving the neighborhood with a turban on is spotted by said neighbor. The police are called. I can only imagine the look on the poor guys face when he gets surrounded by 5 cop cars at 4 am. Turns out he was delivering newspapers. Note to neighbor: "He was from India you idiot!"

So Newt gets all miffed when asked about a previous marriage. I have a question for him. Hey Newt when do you plan on cheating on your current wife or have you already found a new mistress? Maybe you should change religions again I hear the Mormons permitted multiple wives at one point. Next question. Just how many ethics violations were you charged with before being forced from congress? And you expect us to hire you?


No bank fails of late but I'll check later and get back to you. Bank fail update After nearly a month of no fails we have three this week in FL GA and PA

Postscript: To all the progressive radio and TV shows that read this blog I thank you for your patronage but a little acknowledgment might be appreciated. Once while driving to work I heard the very same words I had written verbatim the night before on progressive radio.

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Snow

Here a shot of a lady driving into a local cafe here. Sorry lady they don't have a drive thru.
(More photos later if I can figure this out)

We get about two snow storms a year out here on average. Some winters almost none. Anyone from the northern states would laugh at the amount we get and having come from that area many years ago myself I can understand. What people don't understand is what always happens to our snow here. We get an arctic breeze that combines with the warm water filled fronts from Hawaii and where the two meet we call the convergence zone. That's the area that gets hit the worst. Snow usually starts in the evening making for a less than happy commute but in Northeastern terms it would be seen as a mere inconvenience. As morning and evening rush hour commutes grind on and temperatures warm it causes a couple of inches of snow to turn into slush. All complete with news crews racing to find the latest spin out into the ditch and interviews with 4X4 driver who said he didn't think it was that bad when he started out. Then of course we always hear everyone except the other guy knows how to drive in this mess.
After the roads are turned to that slushy mess and the towing companies have finished their first round, the temps drop and everything turns to ice. That's when the real fun begins. If you're lucky enough to live near a hill you can kick back with a cocoa and watch the show from your front window. Maybe a little Blue Danube playing in the back ground would add to your viewing pleasure. I recall one car dealership having their sales staff hold up point signs with each spinout with an SUV doing a 360 getting a 9.5 for style and difficulty.
But alas the beauty of living in the Northwest is that such storms are short lived with the warm rains from Hawaii winning the battle with old man winter. It's one reason why I moved here in the first place. You don't have to shovel rain.

Smoke mirrors and world debt

The game of kick the can continues. Or maybe a circular firing squad would be a better example. Only in this case a couple of players are holding a gun to their own heads. Funny how these things work out or are even started in the first place. Somewhere a couple of thousand years ago it was written "neither a borrower nor a lender be". Why would that be such a pearl of wisdom one might ask? Because it only adds to the stress of life. The borrower must worry about being able to pay back the loan and the lender worries that he'll get his money back with or without interest. Then their is the matter of collateral. Which in todays' case is non- existent. All based on paper and promises it's not something anyone can see, feel, or touch. What could the loan sharks of the central bank repo? Who would want to take over the Acropolis or other antiquity in Greece as payment? That'd be a white elephant for sure.

But this wonderful game of playing Monopoly is being played out around the world and not just in the euro zone. Leveraging works swimmingly well when economies are humming along but at some point the bubbles burst. Reading the financial pages you'd think that some magical power has deep pockets and a solution to the crisis but the truth is that no one holds the keys to a vault with endless cash. But they'd like you to think as much. No dear reader it's nothing more than trading one debt for another. There is no magic bullet, no elixir that will fix today's problems. Unless of course there is a massive write off of debt. Even then the pain inflicted would be massive. Most of what we own as an individual and as a nation is tied directly or indirectly to debt. The savings you have in the bank isn't sitting there collecting dust. It's loaned out at nine times its' value adding to the problem. Also true of your checking.

So we must now face the reality that we're all broke. Even if you're not, the country you live in is and more than likely your neighbors are if they still live in their home and hold a mortgage. But if you read the financial pages they'd have you believe that everything will work out okay. They must keep the game of smoke and mirrors going to reap the scraps of the delusion. You can watch the ups and downs of the markets and know that there is nothing there based in reality. Most of it is done by computer programs those automatic uncaring machine decision makers that are running the world. Slap a few zeros in and money magically appears on a banks books created out of thin air. Gee don't you wish you could do that?

For lack of anything better to do

Thought I'd throw my picks for the playoff hopes. Please note though that I paid little attention to the entire season so any accuracy on my part will be just dumb luck. But I've done it twice before. Let's see if I'm still lucky.

New Orleans at San Francisco - San Fran by 3

Denver at New England - Denver by 7

Update: Looks like I'm 1 for 1 above I guess God was out for the day when Tebow went after New England

Houston at Baltimore - Houston by 7 although I hope the Ravens could be victors

Lastly we have New York Giants at Green Bay I think Green Bay will run away with it by 3 TDs

Update:Sheesh! Did Green Bay even bother to show up to play?

And as I said I didn't follow the NFL much so I could be just whistling in the breeze.

It's Friday and you know what that means

Call me a nihilist but the way things are going we might as well throw a big end of the world party. That's right. A wild naked drunken drugged up loud music dance around the fire blast. Then when everybody is three sheets to the wind and falling down crazy fire off the nukes. It'd only take a couple of dozen to end life on this planet as we know it. And why not? We've pretty much screwed things up for any future generation to endure. Why not just go out in one final hoopla? Make it something that even make Caligula blush. An orgasmic blast of epic proportions. Fire up your favorite tunes at ear shattering volume. Strip off you clothes and say howdy neighbor yee haw the end is near! Break open that special bottle. Down your favorite drug. Smoke em if you got em. Grab that guy or gal you had your eye on and get down cause there'll be nothing left in the morning but a burned out cinder. No need to cover your ears kiddies cause mom and dad don't care. Always wanted to get into things you shouldn't? Well now's your chance. Eat a bowl of butter. Cover yourself in whip cream. Pull down you pants and slid on the ice. Everything is fair game. Run your car into a tree. Time for everybody to be free. Slash a tire. Build a fire. Don't worry where you do it when you need to take a pee. Paint you body brown. Slither on the ground. Cause nobody will care you see. Stuff jello in your pocket. Is that a sound of a rocket? No the parties not over just yet. Kick open the door to the Scream Room cause nobody cares you bet. Armageddon's on it's way so it's time to play. Party hardy while you still can. Cover your eyes. Cover you ears. The blast wave 'll get you so have no fears.

Tags: Doin' the apocalyptic shuffle, Ansel Adams raised from the dead, I got mine you got yours so the hell with all of us, Fun things to think about with too much time on you hands.

$5 a gallon gas? Not so fast

Some are predicting $5 a gallon or higher gas. Nothing like some splashy shocking headlines about more saber rattling to push prices up and get speculators running to the trough. I see it as only a minor glitch. Why? The fundamentals aren't there. The much touted Christmas buying frenzy actually didn't happen as was predicted. Sales were up a scant 0.1% and not the 2.5% as was stated. From my December post It's the economy stupid retailers had to slash prices to get anybody into the malls and even then it was with a tight budget and bargain in mind.
On the global scene what do we have? Everybody says that China is sucking up the world supply but even their economy is slowing down. This is not to mention the massive austerity programs that are hitting Greece, Spain, Ireland, England and others in the European union. We know that won't create high demand. People too are getting creative in changing their driving habits. What was once a suggestion to carpool is now becoming a necessity. Toll roads aren't helping matters here. Get slapped with a $7 to $10 a day toll and those at the bottom of the income chain will find new routes. So if you have to leave earlier for work just to get by then so be it.
So I think it may inch up to the $4 a gallon mark but not for long. Iran may add a bit to the supply of world oil but not as much as everybody thinks. In fact most of the oil we get here in the U.S. comes from Canada. We also know there'll be no bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran as Mr. McCain would like. To do so would bring the wrath of the arab world and with all their oil out of the picture we wouldn't have a chance of continuing any aggressive actions. We seem to have forgotten how our supply system works not to mention what damage it would do to our economy.

Decision 2012

The Santorum clan are really a bunch of communists?
Who would have known? And "red commies" to boot. Not just your ordinary run of the mill commie. Ricks' grandpa was a "pinko" to the core and fled the very ideology that the present day candidate is touting. For shame Ricky! Grandpa is rolling in his grave.

Then there's Mitt Romney the current front runner. Mitt would just love you to think he's an average unemployed guy just like you, that is if you had a couple of hundred million in the bank. And that money he has stashed away is blood money. Imagine the American dreams he dashed to get it. Sorry small town America there's a chinaman doing your job now because Mitt wanted another nickel. And never trust a guy who says he's been happily married for decades. We're talking about the human race here even if he does look like a robot at times. Wonder how his Mormon faith is going to play out in the bible belt? And you just know his opponents will use his past to paint him as a liberal. Break out the popcorn the cage match is about to start.

Dr. Ron Paul was the second place finisher of last nights' contest. Ronny has an idea or two that appeals to the left but that's about it. He has no chance in hell of getting the party nod. Anyone who has looked at his other ideas knows that they are unrealistic and undoable. Shrink government down and drown it in the bathtub would effectively end this nation but don't burst Ron's bubble when he's on a roll. And funny how he'd relinquish control of everything except what happens to a woman's vagina. Must go with the territory, he is after all a gynecologist. Mr. "Do no harm", unless the patient can't pay. Is that the new "Hypocritic"® oath?

I know I haven't delved into Jon Huntsman the third place finisher mainly because he's been hiding in the background for so long. You can blame main stream media for that. He wasn't even invited to many of the debates. That must mean he has more than a few rational ideas in this clown circus. For a while there I was wondering when the cat lady from the Simpsons was going to announce her run.
And here's another dirty little secret the Lame Stream Media isn't telling you, Romney didn't win with any landslide victory either. He got less than 23% of the possible votes to be had. You see about 2/3 of the voters didn't show up at the polls to vote in this primary. Maybe they are about as tired of this clown circus as I am.

What a day

Fired up the old computer this morning and odd things started happening. First the browser wouldn't load then when it did it got funky and all pixelated. I tried a disk first aid but that wouldn't work either. Time to call in the big guns. "Oh computer geek!"

After a morning of fiddling and farting around...

Eight or nine updates and several test firings it's back to the old casa Demeur of old. And I do mean old because we had to load an earlier version of the operating system for functionality. But no sweat because it now runs like it's owner, old cranky and slow.

So I'm back baby! You can't keep this web surfer down for long. No siree Bob.

Wars and the nature of animals

Other wars you don't even hear about.
Balochistan - Balo who? You might ask. A small region in the south of Pakistan made up of a loose knit bunch of tribes that wants their independence. An isolated area not much there with some stone built houses no electricity or running water but I guess they like it that way. They are happy to trade the modern world for their own sense of security and self respect. The Pakistani government has tried to bring power and other services to the area but the locals will have non of it.
If that's the way they want to live then I say go for it. It's not like you're bothering the rest of the world.

Then there's Somalia. That's that non country that we've tried to help in the past with humanitarian aid when Clinton was in office. It looked as if they were just about to get some peace in the country when we stuck our nose into their business once more. First we dumped a bunch of military aid to the Ethiopians and had them try and clear out Al Qaeda. Problem is Al Qaeda isn't exactly a definable army and when you have unwanted guests in your country with guns and tanks you wouldn't take too kindly to the act either. Supposedly Al Qaeda was pushed to the far south of the country and things were a bit more peaceful until now when we're returning to a puppet war. You'll note that we sent 100 troops to the Congo in Dec to train their army against rebels. I wouldn't be surprised if we're not also training some Kenyans and Sudanese in the process.
But here's the problem folks. The idea of Al Qaeda and terror is just that. It is an ideology and a concept. You can kill as many humans as you like but you can not kill an idea no matter how hard you try. And as I may have said several times before at some point you will need to sit down and reach an agreement and that can not be done at the end of the barrel of a gun.
Interestingly the Afghan government has been trying to negotiate peace terms with the Taliban but again we're dealing with a somewhat loose knit group here. The country after all is made up of small local tribes that have no real allegiance to a central government.

In stepping back from world affairs this kind of reminds me of an experiment I did in a college biology class many years ago. We took two breeding pairs of rats and put them in a defined cage and let them procreate. After several months when space in the cage was quite limited many of the behaviors we see in today's society emerged. Some rats sat motionless and showed no interaction. Others continuously chased their tails. While other fought constantly even though they were provided with adequate food and water. When the experiment was over the rats were released into the wild only to return near the building where they were kept. I know we're not rats but I think that says something about the nature of animals on this planet.

You don't have to be crazy...

To be a New Hampshire republican state senator. But it sure helps.

The bills these guys came up with defy logic. Where to start? One bill requires all legislation to be matched up to the Magna Carta. Exactly how today's legislation relates to a charter that gave English barons more power in 1215 is beyond anyone's imagination and even the idiot state senators didn't bother to do their history homework as they didn't know either.

Right to starve re (work?). Failing to pass this republican agenda several times before they thought they'd try again but this time lay the burden on state employees requiring them to pay part of the union dues even if they chose to be non union. Considering most state employees make about 25% less in pay than the private sector this is nothing more than another take away for workers. And funny how legislators can vote themselves a raise and benefits at any time, the public be damned.

Education or lack there of. Another bill would require all schools to offer alternative courses if a parent found said course offensive or something to that effect. This would be for any courses offered. Some type of alternate course would have to be offered by the school district. You could just imagine the chaos that would create not to mention the bankrupting of the educational system.
Of course what republican agenda would be complete without some anti evolution legislation. In spite of all scientific evidence to the contrary these geniuses would like nothing more than to pull us back to an era when the earth was flat and the sun revolved around the earth. Maybe God had a hangover the day he created these governing idiots. But all is well the bright eyed senators in another bill will let you take your guns to school. Hope you keep your safety on during "show and tell" boys and girls. "Gee can we even bring them to the floor of the state legislature too senators"? I'll bet not.

There are more idiotic bills there but I thought you'd get a kick seeing these. If there was a New Years award for the dumbest legislation these guys would be at the forefront. Help me out here guys all I can think of for the moment is the Fickle Finger of Fate from the old Laugh In days.

Nothing for today so

Stay tuned for the regular Friday gig. Who'd want to miss the pussy pictures?



To lazy to blog

Hybrid cars, Hybrid corn, now Hybrid sharks?

I love this bit of info. It disproves two wingnut theories (myths). First that there is no evolution and second that there is no global warming.


Scientists said on Tuesday that they had discovered the world's first hybrid sharks in Australian waters, a potential sign the predators were adapting to cope with climate change.
The mating of the local Australian black-tip shark with its global counterpart, the common black-tip, was an unprecedented discovery with implications for the entire shark world, said lead researcher Jess Morgan.
"It's very surprising because no one's ever seen shark hybrids before, this is not a common occurrence by any stretch of the imagination," Morgan, from the University of Queensland, told AFP.
"This is evolution in action."

If there was no evolution then viruses wouldn't mutate as any scientist can tell you. That's right boys and girls we aren't the same creatures that roamed the planet 6000 years ago or even 2000. I just wonder if we're smart enough to mate with heat enduring people. Ah oh that would mean paring up with the folks in Africa and the middle east. Oops better start being kind to them now or your offspring may be the last of the line genealogically speaking.

Which republican candidate would you choose?

Come on now time is running out. Make up your mind ladies and gentlemen.

Okay easier question. Which was your favorite stooge? You can't offend anyone now they're all long dead. Mine was Curly (the first one to play the part in the lower left). I even got a hair cut like his way back when because I had an abusive teacher who liked to pull hair. Man would she have been booted out of school these days for the things she did back then. But in looking at the news today I see not much has changed in the last 50+ years Boy stuffed in duffle bag, mom opts for home schooling

Also know you couldn't do half the stunts these guys did back then today or teachers either.

News you can't use and could probably care less about

Fuel additive used in French breast implants
Gives new meaning to the expression "boy is she hot".

Greek pharmacists, doctors on strike
Nothing like trying to balance the budget on the backs of the sick and disabled.
We're seeing that here in the U.S. with cuts to state health care. And here's a bit of a heads up. Drug treatment programs were cut as well. Keep that in mind the next time you need to go out at night.

Romney hopes N. Korea will embrace 'openness
Mittens must be living in la la land if he thinks N. Korea will be changing it's tune any time soon.

Anger rises as Nigeria fuel prices soar
Their cost for gas doubled over night as the government dropped subsidies. Ah yes nothing like trying to boil a frog by throwing him directly into a pot of boiling water. They never though about actually building an oil refinery and making their own gasoline.

A fairly quiet day here. But here's a bit of an oddity. In browsing the fair of xmas flicks from the ghost of weeks past I noted 6 yes six, counted em, back to back ads for cars. Just wonder who would want to buy a new car right before the winter onslaught of snow and ice?

Happy New Year

Pretty quiet here at casa Demeur last night. I never go out any more, too many amateur idiots on the road plus those days are long behind me now. Last year was soon to be forgotten and mediocre at best. I did make it one more revolution around the sun so that's a plus. Is it me or is there not much to look forward to as we get older? Yes there are the run of the mill birthdays and anniversaries that I pretty much don't celebrate any more either but for the most part the excitement is gone. No more counting down the days until some special day because most days are the same. Maybe you get to a point in life where you've seen it all, been there, done that and as BB King would say "the thrill is gone". You get to a point where you pretty much know how something is going to work out before it does because you've been down that road once before or at least witnessed it in the past. But how quickly people forget their history yet now with the internet it's neatly tucked away on some Youtube video somewhere. Makes you wonder what that will do to coming generations. They are lucky to have the attention span of a gnat these days, imagine how grandma will get along when she's forgotten her smart phone password or even where she put it. Don't they have an app for that? Forget "help I've fallen and I can't get up" it will be "help I've lost my phone and I can't remember anybody's name or address".

I guess I'm very old school when it comes to some of the little things. I never rely on electronic devices for everyday information. If it's something truly important I write it down with pen and paper. I can't tell you how many times the boss was at a total loss because the battery died in their phone. One boss couldn't tell time without his phone which made it interesting when he left it at home one day. I still wear an old Timex that keeps on ticking.

And speaking of time it's about the end of this ramble. Time to sit back and listen to the arteries harden and watch the rest of the body parts wearing out. Now what was I going to do?