RIP...Cool Hand...
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Burning Down The House
Lairs, Liars, Pants On Fire . . .
Crank up the volume on your computer speakers and watch this short video story in it's entirety:
There's a test later...so pay close attention...
Update: 10/1/08
You Tube took this video down not once but TWICE, but Rodger over at Curmudgeonly & Skeptical saved the day and has it up.
Crank up the volume on your computer speakers and watch this short video story in it's entirety:
Replay video Share video Watch more videos |
There's a test later...so pay close attention...
Update: 10/1/08
You Tube took this video down not once but TWICE, but Rodger over at Curmudgeonly & Skeptical saved the day and has it up.
Today's "Told You So" Moment
Lying Rat Bastard "Experts" Still At It...
I've mentioned about a zillion times before that I've had a cell phone since way before every one's children were born with cellphones in their hands.
In fact, continuing that thought, I believe it just might not be too long before some peoples' babies are born with the phone actually attached to the side of their head in place of one ear or even have a RF modulator chip and GSM card inside their skulls upon delivery.
Imagine signing up for lifetime cellular coverage with T-Mobile before your first birthday?
Any way, I'm always bitching here about missing my old 3 Watt Motorola Bag phone and the Nokia handheld that got stolen by a wrecker driver and for which I have a speaker phone and 3 watt booster setup still installed in my old Suburban today.
In spite of the improvement in cellular coverage, I still find places where these stupid little 0.6 watt phones work as well as holding my tennis shoe to my ear when it comes to making a call. Mexico Beach, Florida last time I was there and our old condo on St. Simons Island both existed in mysterious dead spots where you could drive a half mile in one direction and have a full strength signal and come back to my sofa to find yourself living in a Cell phone vacuum.
When I first found out that virtually everyone had stopped making non-handheld midget cell phones I started bitching about dialing on keys the size of Chiclets and holding something the size of a pack of chewing gum to the side of my head so that it could microwave my inner ear and hypothalamus for a few minutes each day.
I cant imagine what it's doing to you and your kids brains if you're one of these people that start mindlessly blabbing when you get up in the morning, carry on endless conversations in the car, and walk all the way through the grocery store holding a little electromagnetic transmitter against your skull because you're lonely or bored or afraid of being by yourself for fifteen minutes.
At least once every few months stories like this one questioning the long term safety of irradiating human brains leaks out into the media and my head starts spinning again.
The potential link between mobile telephones and brain cancer could be similar to the link between lung cancer and smoking -- something tobacco companies took 50 years to recognize, according to US scientists' warning.
Scientists are currently split on the level of danger the biological effects of the magnetic field emitted by cellular telephones poses to humans.
(snip) ...
Many studies denying a link defined regular cell phone use as "once a week," he said.
"Recalling the 70 years that it took to remove lead from paint and gasoline and the 50 years that it took to convincingly establish the link between smoking and lung cancer, I argue that we must learn from our past to do a better job of interpreting evidence of potential risk," said Herberman.
Isn't that just lovely?
I've got to go to work now, but I suggest that you think about this issue as you eat your healthy high fiber diet breakfast and drink your "fru-fru" bottled water on the way to the gym for your workout this morning.
If the computer operating the finely tuned machine you call your body crapps out early, all you're gonna end up being is a good looking corpse in an expensive box for everyone to say "he/she looks too good to be dead" in spite of all your efforts.
As for me, I'll continue to eat butter and eggs and red meat and over indulge in all the other things I consume, but I won't be paying AT&T/Sprint/T-Mobil to expedite my departure from this confused but lovely planet because my brain's being cremated...
AFTER I'm dead...not before.
I've mentioned about a zillion times before that I've had a cell phone since way before every one's children were born with cellphones in their hands.
In fact, continuing that thought, I believe it just might not be too long before some peoples' babies are born with the phone actually attached to the side of their head in place of one ear or even have a RF modulator chip and GSM card inside their skulls upon delivery.
Imagine signing up for lifetime cellular coverage with T-Mobile before your first birthday?
Any way, I'm always bitching here about missing my old 3 Watt Motorola Bag phone and the Nokia handheld that got stolen by a wrecker driver and for which I have a speaker phone and 3 watt booster setup still installed in my old Suburban today.
In spite of the improvement in cellular coverage, I still find places where these stupid little 0.6 watt phones work as well as holding my tennis shoe to my ear when it comes to making a call. Mexico Beach, Florida last time I was there and our old condo on St. Simons Island both existed in mysterious dead spots where you could drive a half mile in one direction and have a full strength signal and come back to my sofa to find yourself living in a Cell phone vacuum.
When I first found out that virtually everyone had stopped making non-handheld midget cell phones I started bitching about dialing on keys the size of Chiclets and holding something the size of a pack of chewing gum to the side of my head so that it could microwave my inner ear and hypothalamus for a few minutes each day.
I cant imagine what it's doing to you and your kids brains if you're one of these people that start mindlessly blabbing when you get up in the morning, carry on endless conversations in the car, and walk all the way through the grocery store holding a little electromagnetic transmitter against your skull because you're lonely or bored or afraid of being by yourself for fifteen minutes.
At least once every few months stories like this one questioning the long term safety of irradiating human brains leaks out into the media and my head starts spinning again.
The potential link between mobile telephones and brain cancer could be similar to the link between lung cancer and smoking -- something tobacco companies took 50 years to recognize, according to US scientists' warning.
Scientists are currently split on the level of danger the biological effects of the magnetic field emitted by cellular telephones poses to humans.
(snip) ...
Many studies denying a link defined regular cell phone use as "once a week," he said.
"Recalling the 70 years that it took to remove lead from paint and gasoline and the 50 years that it took to convincingly establish the link between smoking and lung cancer, I argue that we must learn from our past to do a better job of interpreting evidence of potential risk," said Herberman.
Isn't that just lovely?
I've got to go to work now, but I suggest that you think about this issue as you eat your healthy high fiber diet breakfast and drink your "fru-fru" bottled water on the way to the gym for your workout this morning.
If the computer operating the finely tuned machine you call your body crapps out early, all you're gonna end up being is a good looking corpse in an expensive box for everyone to say "he/she looks too good to be dead" in spite of all your efforts.
As for me, I'll continue to eat butter and eggs and red meat and over indulge in all the other things I consume, but I won't be paying AT&T/Sprint/T-Mobil to expedite my departure from this confused but lovely planet because my brain's being cremated...
AFTER I'm dead...not before.
Tons Of Steel...In A Hurry
You Want Fries With That???
After returning from five glorious days spent on our little Island on the Georgia Coast, I learned yesterday morning that I had to shift into Warp Drive at work in order to meet an expedited deadline on a project that suddenly flew in from over the horizon while I was away.
It looks like I'll be working through the weekend in order to have about 12 sheets of CAD drawings and design detailing modified and available for review early next week.
Please excuse me if the posting is sporadic, but then again my head may explode over something I see on TV or read here on the Internet and I'll be forced to stare at the keyboard through bloodshot eyes and wipe spit off the monitor as I let you know how I feel about the goings on in the world.
Until then, Y'all have a nice weekend...if you will...
After returning from five glorious days spent on our little Island on the Georgia Coast, I learned yesterday morning that I had to shift into Warp Drive at work in order to meet an expedited deadline on a project that suddenly flew in from over the horizon while I was away.
It looks like I'll be working through the weekend in order to have about 12 sheets of CAD drawings and design detailing modified and available for review early next week.
Please excuse me if the posting is sporadic, but then again my head may explode over something I see on TV or read here on the Internet and I'll be forced to stare at the keyboard through bloodshot eyes and wipe spit off the monitor as I let you know how I feel about the goings on in the world.
Until then, Y'all have a nice weekend...if you will...
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Are They Minting Money In Washington, Or Just Plain Stealing It In Tennessee?
Reaping What You Sew...
Are you, like me, spending any time scratching your head or other body parts wondering about the "Mortgage Crisis" and the other pending "financial meltdowns" going on up there in NY and Washington DC?
For a simple bit of clarification of how we got to where we are I suggest that you check out this NY Times story which might as well be considered to be the nine year old preface to the current drama we're watching today...
Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending
By STEVEN A. HOLMES
Published: September 30, 1999
In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.
The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.
Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people [emphasis mine...VRR] and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.
Let me caution you that I have a slightly different take on this debacle, in as much as if you listen to the Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats et. al. they are screaming that they have nothing to do with the current situation..."it's all the Bush Administration's mismanagement of the economy."
I'll buy exactly none of that garbage because the Democrats did in fact apply pressure to get people with crappy employment history and poor credit into mortgages in the late 1990's, continuing even to today as reported in the Times story.
Let me be clear--the Democrats fingerprints are all over this crime scene, but the prints are smeared by the handling that the Republican dominated Congress of that time gave the issue as they bumbled and fumbled their way through the "bipartisan" "reaching across the isle in cooperation" process they exude repeatedly on the TV sound bites.
Further, to hear the conservative pundits like Sean Hannity tell it, it's all the blue collar/minority pandering Democrats fault...PERIOD...and that take on things falls quite short of the truth and reality.
Fanny Mae WANTED to be allowed to make the money associated with buying "sub-prime" loans and collecting the associated higher interest rates they earned, confident in the fact the the Federal By-God Government of the United States of 'Merica would step in and cushion the blow should things turn south as they have today.
And the mortgage originators--savings and loans and banks and such--also wanted in on the action and needed to have a place to park the loans they made after the deal was done and they needed a fresh supply of money to lend.
Where do the bankers get their money?
Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac...in the NY Times own words:
In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.
It's clear to me after doing a little studying that going back to the repeal/modification of the Glass Act, again under Clinton in 1999, that this whole gang of scoundrel politicians, bankers, and corporate executives knew exactly what they were doing and worst of all, they knew that they were making huge amounts of money while at the same time relying on you and I--the American Taxpayers--to underwrite their risk should things go sour.
And go sour they did, and thus today I being told that I'm looking at handing over about $3,500 of MY MONEY this year (seven hundred billion divided by 200,000,000 taxpayers) to cover the cost of corporate compensation of assholes getting fired for doing a poor job and deadbeat fellow citizens that can't or won't pay for their homes.
What kills me is they're letting the people stay in their houses under "renegotiated terms" while I pony up the extra $3,500 in addition to the near $20,000 I'm paying for my own house, on time each and every month.
Welfare for the wealthy and unscrupulous, that's all this amounts to.
That, and yet another experiment in socialism gone bad at taxpayer expense.
Just wait until you hand over the health care system to these same elected idiots that can't help but screw up a two hundred year old banking system.
When your private parts swell up and start falling off or your eyeball pops out of it's socket and you're told that you can see a specialist sometime next year, don't come crying to me because I'm just gonna tell you...
I TOLD YOU SO
Are you, like me, spending any time scratching your head or other body parts wondering about the "Mortgage Crisis" and the other pending "financial meltdowns" going on up there in NY and Washington DC?
For a simple bit of clarification of how we got to where we are I suggest that you check out this NY Times story which might as well be considered to be the nine year old preface to the current drama we're watching today...
Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending
By STEVEN A. HOLMES
Published: September 30, 1999
In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.
The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.
Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people [emphasis mine...VRR] and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.
Let me caution you that I have a slightly different take on this debacle, in as much as if you listen to the Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats et. al. they are screaming that they have nothing to do with the current situation..."it's all the Bush Administration's mismanagement of the economy."
I'll buy exactly none of that garbage because the Democrats did in fact apply pressure to get people with crappy employment history and poor credit into mortgages in the late 1990's, continuing even to today as reported in the Times story.
Let me be clear--the Democrats fingerprints are all over this crime scene, but the prints are smeared by the handling that the Republican dominated Congress of that time gave the issue as they bumbled and fumbled their way through the "bipartisan" "reaching across the isle in cooperation" process they exude repeatedly on the TV sound bites.
Further, to hear the conservative pundits like Sean Hannity tell it, it's all the blue collar/minority pandering Democrats fault...PERIOD...and that take on things falls quite short of the truth and reality.
Fanny Mae WANTED to be allowed to make the money associated with buying "sub-prime" loans and collecting the associated higher interest rates they earned, confident in the fact the the Federal By-God Government of the United States of 'Merica would step in and cushion the blow should things turn south as they have today.
And the mortgage originators--savings and loans and banks and such--also wanted in on the action and needed to have a place to park the loans they made after the deal was done and they needed a fresh supply of money to lend.
Where do the bankers get their money?
Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac...in the NY Times own words:
In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.
It's clear to me after doing a little studying that going back to the repeal/modification of the Glass Act, again under Clinton in 1999, that this whole gang of scoundrel politicians, bankers, and corporate executives knew exactly what they were doing and worst of all, they knew that they were making huge amounts of money while at the same time relying on you and I--the American Taxpayers--to underwrite their risk should things go sour.
And go sour they did, and thus today I being told that I'm looking at handing over about $3,500 of MY MONEY this year (seven hundred billion divided by 200,000,000 taxpayers) to cover the cost of corporate compensation of assholes getting fired for doing a poor job and deadbeat fellow citizens that can't or won't pay for their homes.
What kills me is they're letting the people stay in their houses under "renegotiated terms" while I pony up the extra $3,500 in addition to the near $20,000 I'm paying for my own house, on time each and every month.
Welfare for the wealthy and unscrupulous, that's all this amounts to.
That, and yet another experiment in socialism gone bad at taxpayer expense.
Just wait until you hand over the health care system to these same elected idiots that can't help but screw up a two hundred year old banking system.
When your private parts swell up and start falling off or your eyeball pops out of it's socket and you're told that you can see a specialist sometime next year, don't come crying to me because I'm just gonna tell you...
I TOLD YOU SO
Morons And Trolls
I'm Operating A Storefront Of Words... Open To Infinity
Perhaps the coolest thing about writing here on the Internet is the reality that you never know who might be stopping by to see what's going through your mind and coming off your fingertips onto the computer keyboard on any given day.
Might be Madonna today, might be Micheal Jackson tomorrow, could be the Pope or someone working for the CIA next Tuesday...you just never know and I insist on being myself come what may rather than writing what I think that people might want to see and read.
Personally, I obtain a good deal of value from my efforts because writing things down (thoughts, ideas, etc.) and then viewing them in the light of public scrutiny helps me make better life decisions...in as much as if something sounds really stupid when I write about wanting to do it or already having done it I might reconsider doing it in the first place or repeating the effort in the future.
I also write about some things which I firmly believe but which many people would hardly ever say out loud let alone write down for public consumption.
I guess that it helps that I have a fairly strong personal belief system which I rely on to get me through each day, and rather than floating like a jellyfish through the sea of my fellow humanity which has elected or been taught to behave like spineless jellyfish, I instead tend to point myself in a direction and take responsibility for the consequences as they occur.
No, everything is and has not been perfect or easy in the process of meandering through almost five decades of life, but it certainly has been interesting when viewed from an internal perspective rather than worrying about what other people and society "thinks" all the time.
For instance, my recent Internet traffic increase had to do with an innocent posting I tossed up in a hurry this past Sunday entitled Biden's "Health Problems" addressing some rumors I'd been hearing over the past month about sHrillary replacing Biden on the Obama ticket for President.
As I've said in the past, I say/write what I think/believe here on this blog and you can and should take it with a grain of salt, but I do not support purveying outright liable and slander in my writing.
I just address the things that bother me or make me happy and if you don't like what I write you're welcome to get the hell out and go somewhere else on the Internet. Remember that just like the radio and TV have "channel knobs", the Internet has URL's and you're welcome to exclude mine from your favorites list any time you want.
That said, I've had a couple of snide commenter's take the time to poke me with a pointy stick this past week in the comments section and while I'm not going to lose any sleep over the occurrences I think that it's worth mentioning my position on comments and the inevitable encounters with "Comment Trolls" that every successful blogger has to attend to.
For those not versed in the subject, a "Troll" is a person that elects to hang around a website and nit pick or even torture the websites' owner on the basis of the commentary contained therein.
Thus far I've been such a low traffic, obscure site that I get virtually ZERO comments (other than Heather and Ed and Rick) so I have to assume that those reading my rantings either agree whole heatedly or could care less else find me too stupid to waste mental energy issuing a rebuttal.
Every once in a while, usually during a link induced traffic blast, I get someone that thinks themselves to be "intelligent" or "web savvy" and feel that they must impart some of their intellect on me and my blog.
Most recently I've had these comments:
"Not to rain on your parade but I didn't hear it here first. This speculation has been out for close to a week already."
"And your point is?"
The first comment was in response to my very short Sunday blurb pointing out that Biden's health was an ongoing issue on the Internet, but because of limited time I just tossed out the headline to acknowledge the event--so I guess that I have to accept the Anonymous commenter's one-upmanship that he/she knew about it before I could get to my keyboard.
In response to "And your point is?" I offer these closing paragraphs from my Monday, September 22nd essay:
"I can no more vote for him than against him using this data as the deciding factor than I believe that anyone should discount John McCain's ability to fulfill his term if elected president because of his age.
As to what if anything Obamarama's campaign might be planning regarding a personnel change in the Vice Presidential slot, I think that Senator Joe's mettle might just over-ride any purported physical fragility (which should have been vetted prior to the announcement of his inclusion on the Dem's ticket).
But then again--since when have the facts gotten in the way of expedience and "winning" when it comes to politics?"
So what is there to not understand in my efforts?
All I was saying was that people were interested in Joe Biden's health history, I handed out a few links to the details I could find, and I said that I wouldn't be electing a President and Vice-President based on anything I could find relating to the health of the candidates for those offices.
The good news is I've got Internet traffic, the bad news is that everyone doesn't think I'm smart and good looking I guess...
Perhaps the coolest thing about writing here on the Internet is the reality that you never know who might be stopping by to see what's going through your mind and coming off your fingertips onto the computer keyboard on any given day.
Might be Madonna today, might be Micheal Jackson tomorrow, could be the Pope or someone working for the CIA next Tuesday...you just never know and I insist on being myself come what may rather than writing what I think that people might want to see and read.
Personally, I obtain a good deal of value from my efforts because writing things down (thoughts, ideas, etc.) and then viewing them in the light of public scrutiny helps me make better life decisions...in as much as if something sounds really stupid when I write about wanting to do it or already having done it I might reconsider doing it in the first place or repeating the effort in the future.
I also write about some things which I firmly believe but which many people would hardly ever say out loud let alone write down for public consumption.
I guess that it helps that I have a fairly strong personal belief system which I rely on to get me through each day, and rather than floating like a jellyfish through the sea of my fellow humanity which has elected or been taught to behave like spineless jellyfish, I instead tend to point myself in a direction and take responsibility for the consequences as they occur.
No, everything is and has not been perfect or easy in the process of meandering through almost five decades of life, but it certainly has been interesting when viewed from an internal perspective rather than worrying about what other people and society "thinks" all the time.
For instance, my recent Internet traffic increase had to do with an innocent posting I tossed up in a hurry this past Sunday entitled Biden's "Health Problems" addressing some rumors I'd been hearing over the past month about sHrillary replacing Biden on the Obama ticket for President.
As I've said in the past, I say/write what I think/believe here on this blog and you can and should take it with a grain of salt, but I do not support purveying outright liable and slander in my writing.
I just address the things that bother me or make me happy and if you don't like what I write you're welcome to get the hell out and go somewhere else on the Internet. Remember that just like the radio and TV have "channel knobs", the Internet has URL's and you're welcome to exclude mine from your favorites list any time you want.
That said, I've had a couple of snide commenter's take the time to poke me with a pointy stick this past week in the comments section and while I'm not going to lose any sleep over the occurrences I think that it's worth mentioning my position on comments and the inevitable encounters with "Comment Trolls" that every successful blogger has to attend to.
For those not versed in the subject, a "Troll" is a person that elects to hang around a website and nit pick or even torture the websites' owner on the basis of the commentary contained therein.
Thus far I've been such a low traffic, obscure site that I get virtually ZERO comments (other than Heather and Ed and Rick) so I have to assume that those reading my rantings either agree whole heatedly or could care less else find me too stupid to waste mental energy issuing a rebuttal.
Every once in a while, usually during a link induced traffic blast, I get someone that thinks themselves to be "intelligent" or "web savvy" and feel that they must impart some of their intellect on me and my blog.
Most recently I've had these comments:
"Not to rain on your parade but I didn't hear it here first. This speculation has been out for close to a week already."
"And your point is?"
The first comment was in response to my very short Sunday blurb pointing out that Biden's health was an ongoing issue on the Internet, but because of limited time I just tossed out the headline to acknowledge the event--so I guess that I have to accept the Anonymous commenter's one-upmanship that he/she knew about it before I could get to my keyboard.
In response to "And your point is?" I offer these closing paragraphs from my Monday, September 22nd essay:
"I can no more vote for him than against him using this data as the deciding factor than I believe that anyone should discount John McCain's ability to fulfill his term if elected president because of his age.
As to what if anything Obamarama's campaign might be planning regarding a personnel change in the Vice Presidential slot, I think that Senator Joe's mettle might just over-ride any purported physical fragility (which should have been vetted prior to the announcement of his inclusion on the Dem's ticket).
But then again--since when have the facts gotten in the way of expedience and "winning" when it comes to politics?"
So what is there to not understand in my efforts?
All I was saying was that people were interested in Joe Biden's health history, I handed out a few links to the details I could find, and I said that I wouldn't be electing a President and Vice-President based on anything I could find relating to the health of the candidates for those offices.
The good news is I've got Internet traffic, the bad news is that everyone doesn't think I'm smart and good looking I guess...
It's Not Exactly Home Improvement TV...
But It's My Own Little Episode Called "Tip This House"...
I guess that practically everybody has heard the term "flipping" when it comes to the real estate investment business.
Well, I'm proud to announce that I've invented my own laid back beach bum version of this process, except instead of "flipping" I call my efforts "tipping"...as in causing something to slowly "tip" over.
It's not fast, it's definitely not pretty, but here's where I am right now in my 15 month long process:
What began as a tiny 1959 vintage duplex last summer looking like this...
Is now a 1200 square foot single family house that looks like this today:
I hope it's finished and that I'm out of the coastal Georgia real estate business by the new year.
Only time will tell I guess.
I guess that practically everybody has heard the term "flipping" when it comes to the real estate investment business.
Well, I'm proud to announce that I've invented my own laid back beach bum version of this process, except instead of "flipping" I call my efforts "tipping"...as in causing something to slowly "tip" over.
It's not fast, it's definitely not pretty, but here's where I am right now in my 15 month long process:
What began as a tiny 1959 vintage duplex last summer looking like this...
Is now a 1200 square foot single family house that looks like this today:
I hope it's finished and that I'm out of the coastal Georgia real estate business by the new year.
Only time will tell I guess.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The "UN Eviction Act"
Another Great Idea That Will Never Fly with the Dems...
I'm happy to report that the experiences of the past five nights of grand living spent down here on our Little Island on Georgia's Atlantic coast have renewed my spirit and balmed the sore spots in my soul (read that--eliminated the shaking and stuttering bouts of profanity issued in response to news stories of government bailouts of smarmy Wall Street hustlers and zillions of taxpayer dollars tossed at innocent victims of Greedy Republican/George Bush failed policy/Global Warming induced Hurricanes.)
We're reluctantly departing St. Simons about 7:00 AM this morning, headed back toward the banks of the Mighty Tennessee River.
Unfortunately, in the process we're facing another eight hours sitting in the car, burning Democrat declared "over priced" gasoline dispensed by "greedy" oil companies...but then again we simply have to return home after extending our trip by an extra day because there's our "fair share" of taxes due from the bulging financial account of this over-paid college educated racist/bigoted white man--allowed to sit around basically doing nothing all day except merrily designing hundreds of tons of steel up there in Eastern Tennessee--headstrongly ignoring the the grim realities of every-day life in a country lead byan ignorant Texan a Republican President
Did I mention that I just finished building my twelfth set for a Community Theater Play here on the Georgia Coast?
I'm happy to report that the experiences of the past five nights of grand living spent down here on our Little Island on Georgia's Atlantic coast have renewed my spirit and balmed the sore spots in my soul (read that--eliminated the shaking and stuttering bouts of profanity issued in response to news stories of government bailouts of smarmy Wall Street hustlers and zillions of taxpayer dollars tossed at innocent victims of Greedy Republican/George Bush failed policy/Global Warming induced Hurricanes.)
We're reluctantly departing St. Simons about 7:00 AM this morning, headed back toward the banks of the Mighty Tennessee River.
Unfortunately, in the process we're facing another eight hours sitting in the car, burning Democrat declared "over priced" gasoline dispensed by "greedy" oil companies...but then again we simply have to return home after extending our trip by an extra day because there's our "fair share" of taxes due from the bulging financial account of this over-paid college educated racist/bigoted white man--allowed to sit around basically doing nothing all day except merrily designing hundreds of tons of steel up there in Eastern Tennessee--headstrongly ignoring the the grim realities of every-day life in a country lead by
Did I mention that I just finished building my twelfth set for a Community Theater Play here on the Georgia Coast?
The big giant open frames around the back and peremeter will be covered with fabric later this week to complete the illusion of a living room and parlor.
Meanwhile, my Internet presence has also seen another minor milestone as a result of you new readers stopping by looking for information on VP Candidate Biden's "health issues," the result being my first day with over 800 "hits" and nearly 1700 visits in the past three days.
I've tried my best to keep up with the news by watching a little TV and perusing the usual sites like Drudge, but I still feel like I'm a few hours behind each day being off my normal ritual and away from my home server/workstation living on the old HP laptop.
Something that caught my eye this morning was fellow Blogger Rodger's reference over at Curmudgeonly & Skeptical to Colorado's sixth district Congressman Tom Tancredo's "UN Eviction Act" now meandering it's way across the floor and sewage plumbing of Washington DC.
This is exactly the kind of thing I've been talking about here since I started writing this blog. The United Nations and Kofi Annon et. al. are proven feckless, inept, obtuse idiots when it comes to actually doing the job of promoting world order and preventing Capuchin Monkeys look alike's like the Iranian dictator and Trolls like the penis bearing morons running Korea and Venezuela from killing their citizens and threatening the rest of the world's population.
I say that we hire a fleet of U-Hauls, pack the whole UN crowd up with their expensive suits, handbags, shoes, and limousines, and haul them all down to Haiti and let them solve the problems down there, and IF they're successful we'll think about listening to anything they have to say in the future.
What do you think?
Monday, September 22, 2008
Stairing On Stage
Making Sawdust...
This is more complicated than I thought, but we're coming along nicely...
This is more complicated than I thought, but we're coming along nicely...
Over 100% Of Americans Will Believe Any Made-Up Statistic
See What I Mean?
That will be all...for now...
That will be all...for now...
Joe Biden's Health--Part Deaux
Here's The Skinny As I Know It...
So I'm sitting here in our hotel room this morning on the last full day of my latest "working coastal vacation," perusing Drudge and the other usual websites and blogs trying to keep up with what's going on, when I jump over to this blog and check the Sitemeter statistics and find that I was blasted yesterday with people stopping by looking for information about Vice Presidential Candidate Joe Biden's rumored "health issues."
Amazing what brings in the readers...and I hope a few of you that entered this site for the very first time looking for information on the condition of Senator Biden's body stayed around to look at the issues I was actually writing about over the past few days and will possibly elect to stop back by every now and then to see what's going on in the cracks and crevasses of my demented, tortured, hyperactive (and Ritalin deprived) middle aged mind.
Unfortunately, I knew nothing as of this morning about Biden's body (other than it apparently having one head, one torso, two legs, two arms, ten fingers, ten toes, and other protrusions and orifices beyond the scope of this essay this morning.)
That said, I thought it only fair since people were Googling about Joe and finding me that as a service I direct them to where they were really trying to go, and possibly gain their return here in the future if they like what they see.
To that end, I did a little research this morning and found out that in fact the good Senator has had his own personal run-ins with doctors and the US health care system his party so desperately wantsto control give away Nationalize reform.
The first reference is copyrighted and cost a few bucks to view the entire story but here's the link to the February 12, 1988 story about Biden suffering from and being hospitalized for "neck pain."
Then there's this February 23rd, 1988 NY Times story about Biden having been diagnosed and having surgery for a "Berry Aneurysm" in one of the arteries in his neck feeding blood to his brain.
Following that 8 hour surgical procedure and nine day hospital stay, in mid March of that same year he was re-admitted to the hospital for treatment of a suspected post-surgery blood clot in his leg.
He left the hospital on March 25th "thin and full of good cheer" "despite a setback that has delayed a second operation on an artery in his head..." (viewing entire article costs $2.95)
Here's a FOXnews story which offers this summary while talking about South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson's similar surgery:
"According to CQ Today, a Capitol Hill magazine, several lawmakers have been derailed by illness and unable to vote, but have not given up their posts and eventually returned to office. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., suffered an aneurysm and had brain surgery in February 1988. He returned to office seven months later and is still serving. [emphasis mine--VRR]"
Next, on March 9th, 2005 Senator Biden underwent emergency surgery in Naples Florida to have his Gall Bladder removed. This same article reports that the aforementioned blood clot in the Senator's leg actually moved to his lung, and as a result he had a "filter" installed to prevent future occurrences. (I actually had a similar "filter" installed in a big vein in my abdomen last February and appreciate the value of the procedure.)
So there you have it Ladies and Gentlemen...the results of a good hour's worth of effort which in the end only points out that Biden is in fact a typical human, and like most of us he has had previous problems with the organic machine God gave him to live in and operate while residing here on earth in the 20th and 21st centuries.
I can no more vote for him than against him using this data as the deciding factor than I believe that anyone should discount John McCain's ability to fulfill his term if elected president because of his age.
As to what if anything Obamarama's campaign might be planning regarding a personnel change in the Vice Presidential slot, I think that Senator Joe's mettle might just over-ride any purported physical fragility (which should have been vetted prior to the announcement of his inclusion on the Dem's ticket).
But then again--since when have the facts gotten in the way of expedience and "winning" when it comes to politics?
So I'm sitting here in our hotel room this morning on the last full day of my latest "working coastal vacation," perusing Drudge and the other usual websites and blogs trying to keep up with what's going on, when I jump over to this blog and check the Sitemeter statistics and find that I was blasted yesterday with people stopping by looking for information about Vice Presidential Candidate Joe Biden's rumored "health issues."
Amazing what brings in the readers...and I hope a few of you that entered this site for the very first time looking for information on the condition of Senator Biden's body stayed around to look at the issues I was actually writing about over the past few days and will possibly elect to stop back by every now and then to see what's going on in the cracks and crevasses of my demented, tortured, hyperactive (and Ritalin deprived) middle aged mind.
Unfortunately, I knew nothing as of this morning about Biden's body (other than it apparently having one head, one torso, two legs, two arms, ten fingers, ten toes, and other protrusions and orifices beyond the scope of this essay this morning.)
That said, I thought it only fair since people were Googling about Joe and finding me that as a service I direct them to where they were really trying to go, and possibly gain their return here in the future if they like what they see.
To that end, I did a little research this morning and found out that in fact the good Senator has had his own personal run-ins with doctors and the US health care system his party so desperately wants
The first reference is copyrighted and cost a few bucks to view the entire story but here's the link to the February 12, 1988 story about Biden suffering from and being hospitalized for "neck pain."
Then there's this February 23rd, 1988 NY Times story about Biden having been diagnosed and having surgery for a "Berry Aneurysm" in one of the arteries in his neck feeding blood to his brain.
Following that 8 hour surgical procedure and nine day hospital stay, in mid March of that same year he was re-admitted to the hospital for treatment of a suspected post-surgery blood clot in his leg.
He left the hospital on March 25th "thin and full of good cheer" "despite a setback that has delayed a second operation on an artery in his head..." (viewing entire article costs $2.95)
Here's a FOXnews story which offers this summary while talking about South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson's similar surgery:
"According to CQ Today, a Capitol Hill magazine, several lawmakers have been derailed by illness and unable to vote, but have not given up their posts and eventually returned to office. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., suffered an aneurysm and had brain surgery in February 1988. He returned to office seven months later and is still serving. [emphasis mine--VRR]"
Next, on March 9th, 2005 Senator Biden underwent emergency surgery in Naples Florida to have his Gall Bladder removed. This same article reports that the aforementioned blood clot in the Senator's leg actually moved to his lung, and as a result he had a "filter" installed to prevent future occurrences. (I actually had a similar "filter" installed in a big vein in my abdomen last February and appreciate the value of the procedure.)
So there you have it Ladies and Gentlemen...the results of a good hour's worth of effort which in the end only points out that Biden is in fact a typical human, and like most of us he has had previous problems with the organic machine God gave him to live in and operate while residing here on earth in the 20th and 21st centuries.
I can no more vote for him than against him using this data as the deciding factor than I believe that anyone should discount John McCain's ability to fulfill his term if elected president because of his age.
As to what if anything Obamarama's campaign might be planning regarding a personnel change in the Vice Presidential slot, I think that Senator Joe's mettle might just over-ride any purported physical fragility (which should have been vetted prior to the announcement of his inclusion on the Dem's ticket).
But then again--since when have the facts gotten in the way of expedience and "winning" when it comes to politics?
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Biden's "Health Problems"
sHrillary As A Replacement VP Candidate?
Say it isn't so...but you heard it here first on the blogs if it's true...
UPDATE 9/22:
If you're doing a web search and found me based on this posting, go here:
http://coastalcompanion.blogspot.com/2008/09/joe-bidens-health-part-deaux.html
for my real attempt to tell you about Biden's body...
Say it isn't so...but you heard it here first on the blogs if it's true...
UPDATE 9/22:
If you're doing a web search and found me based on this posting, go here:
http://coastalcompanion.blogspot.com/2008/09/joe-bidens-health-part-deaux.html
for my real attempt to tell you about Biden's body...
Liberal Government Bullshit Jargon
Those That Ordinarily "Can", "Can't" Under Political Mandate...
Sitting here within a mile of the shore of the Atlantic Ocean this morning, I can't help but gloat over the absence of tropical weather on the NOAA website map -- although for all of you weather hysterics out there there is an "area of concern" out in the Lesser Antilles and one off Central America which could serve to give you and all of the sniveling Owl Gore Global Warming zombies something to cheer for in the next week or so.
By then we'll have driven all of our stuff and Miss Missy the Turbo Pup back to the safety of her suburban compound on the banks of the Mighty Tennessee River and will have to settle for watching the proceedings on TV rather than enjoying any impending "un-natural natural disaster" in person, but I digress...
My head starts spinning around slinging spit out of my mouth when I read News stories like this one talking about our so-called government keeping people out of their homes because of hazards like "mosquitoes" and the lack of "cell phone coverage" in the areas affected by weather aberrations and from which they were ordered to evacuate:
GALVESTON, Texas - Rats, raw sewage and a no-excuses curfew await exiled residents who try to return to storm-wrecked Galveston Island when it reopens next week, officials warned Saturday, a week after Hurricane Ike came thundering ashore.
Ugly as the city's last week and immediate future may be, the grim predictions didn't seem to scare some of the 45,000 evacuated islanders from trying to get home, even though most of the island won't open back up until Wednesday.
Another miles-long traffic jam clogged the only highway into the city Saturday. Some ignored orders to turn around, while others resorted to deception to sneak past police guarding a roadblock.
David Culpepper met his brother Joe in Atlanta, put a phony magnetic sign on a truck to masquerade as contractors and drove down to help a third brother, Michael, who owns an antiques shop on Galveston
Planes continued spraying the island to control mosquitoes, and officials urged returnees to wear masks to protect from mold and to properly dispose of spoiled food to stave off vermin.
...
"We don't want that flowing out into the streets," LeBlanc said. "We don't want varmints getting into it."
Hundreds of stop signs were being trucked in to replace traffic lights, nearly all of which were blown away, and 150 state troopers were on their way to help police the city.
...
More than 439,000 families had registered for FEMA assistance in the wake of Ike as of Saturday, and about 9,300 were staying in government-funded hotel rooms.
Have we really become a society filled with people that need the GOVERNMENT to protect us from NATURE; and from a lack of cable TV and cell phone signals and Internet?
Are we so fragile that our hearts will stop beating if we are forced to miss watching Geraldo and Gretta tell us about dead toddlers in Orlando and must resort to listening to Sean and Rush and Boortz on a battery powered AM radio while crapping in a 5 gallon pickle bucket with a toilet seat duct taped to the top and drinking government supplied bottled water, washing our feces stained hands in water boiled on a gas burner and cleansed with a few drops of Clorox?
We have?
And another thing...
If we did ever manage to screw up and get hit by a hurricane this weekend, since I never reproduced, and I'm currently not married but have been living with and own a home with a woman for going on eight years, do Pat and I and Missy the Turbo Pup qualify as a "Family" in the government and news statistics, or am I just a stupid single white bastard, Pat a "retired single woman", and Missy the Turbo Pup a "canine of undetermined origin" when they fill out the FEMA and HUD forms so we can qualify for our "spending cards" and get our trailer, replacement NBA jerseys, and $200 tennis shoe vouchers?
Well...I'm waiting for an answer here because I'm entitled to one else I'll probably need counseling by a government "grief professional" in order to get on with my life six or eight years from now.
Does the government really need to intervene with a threat of force or arrest to keep me from eating spoiled food from my sea water contaminated freezer while standing atop a live zillion volt electrical wire found laying in my driveway, as I force other peoples' children to walk barefoot through the glass shards from my shattered windows in my front yard in order to bring me a six pack of warm Budweiser and a carton of soggy cigarettes?
Things like this really worry me these days Ladies and Gentlemen, and starting right now I'm making it my civic duty...no...It's a religious calling...to get to the bottom of questions like this.
I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, WHO'S RESPONSIBLE, AND WHAT OWL GORE, sHRILLARY CLINTON, OBAMARAMA, AND JOHN McCAIN ARE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT, AND I'MHOLDING MY BREATH NOT WATCHING ANOTHER SECOND OF THE VIEW OR OPRAH UNTIL I GET AN ANSWER.
Stay tuned for the answers published here when I get them.
That will be all...for now...
Sitting here within a mile of the shore of the Atlantic Ocean this morning, I can't help but gloat over the absence of tropical weather on the NOAA website map -- although for all of you weather hysterics out there there is an "area of concern" out in the Lesser Antilles and one off Central America which could serve to give you and all of the sniveling Owl Gore Global Warming zombies something to cheer for in the next week or so.
By then we'll have driven all of our stuff and Miss Missy the Turbo Pup back to the safety of her suburban compound on the banks of the Mighty Tennessee River and will have to settle for watching the proceedings on TV rather than enjoying any impending "un-natural natural disaster" in person, but I digress...
My head starts spinning around slinging spit out of my mouth when I read News stories like this one talking about our so-called government keeping people out of their homes because of hazards like "mosquitoes" and the lack of "cell phone coverage" in the areas affected by weather aberrations and from which they were ordered to evacuate:
GALVESTON, Texas - Rats, raw sewage and a no-excuses curfew await exiled residents who try to return to storm-wrecked Galveston Island when it reopens next week, officials warned Saturday, a week after Hurricane Ike came thundering ashore.
Ugly as the city's last week and immediate future may be, the grim predictions didn't seem to scare some of the 45,000 evacuated islanders from trying to get home, even though most of the island won't open back up until Wednesday.
Another miles-long traffic jam clogged the only highway into the city Saturday. Some ignored orders to turn around, while others resorted to deception to sneak past police guarding a roadblock.
David Culpepper met his brother Joe in Atlanta, put a phony magnetic sign on a truck to masquerade as contractors and drove down to help a third brother, Michael, who owns an antiques shop on Galveston
Planes continued spraying the island to control mosquitoes, and officials urged returnees to wear masks to protect from mold and to properly dispose of spoiled food to stave off vermin.
...
"We don't want that flowing out into the streets," LeBlanc said. "We don't want varmints getting into it."
Hundreds of stop signs were being trucked in to replace traffic lights, nearly all of which were blown away, and 150 state troopers were on their way to help police the city.
...
More than 439,000 families had registered for FEMA assistance in the wake of Ike as of Saturday, and about 9,300 were staying in government-funded hotel rooms.
Have we really become a society filled with people that need the GOVERNMENT to protect us from NATURE; and from a lack of cable TV and cell phone signals and Internet?
Are we so fragile that our hearts will stop beating if we are forced to miss watching Geraldo and Gretta tell us about dead toddlers in Orlando and must resort to listening to Sean and Rush and Boortz on a battery powered AM radio while crapping in a 5 gallon pickle bucket with a toilet seat duct taped to the top and drinking government supplied bottled water, washing our feces stained hands in water boiled on a gas burner and cleansed with a few drops of Clorox?
We have?
And another thing...
If we did ever manage to screw up and get hit by a hurricane this weekend, since I never reproduced, and I'm currently not married but have been living with and own a home with a woman for going on eight years, do Pat and I and Missy the Turbo Pup qualify as a "Family" in the government and news statistics, or am I just a stupid single white bastard, Pat a "retired single woman", and Missy the Turbo Pup a "canine of undetermined origin" when they fill out the FEMA and HUD forms so we can qualify for our "spending cards" and get our trailer, replacement NBA jerseys, and $200 tennis shoe vouchers?
Well...I'm waiting for an answer here because I'm entitled to one else I'll probably need counseling by a government "grief professional" in order to get on with my life six or eight years from now.
Does the government really need to intervene with a threat of force or arrest to keep me from eating spoiled food from my sea water contaminated freezer while standing atop a live zillion volt electrical wire found laying in my driveway, as I force other peoples' children to walk barefoot through the glass shards from my shattered windows in my front yard in order to bring me a six pack of warm Budweiser and a carton of soggy cigarettes?
Things like this really worry me these days Ladies and Gentlemen, and starting right now I'm making it my civic duty...no...It's a religious calling...to get to the bottom of questions like this.
I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, WHO'S RESPONSIBLE, AND WHAT OWL GORE, sHRILLARY CLINTON, OBAMARAMA, AND JOHN McCAIN ARE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT, AND I'M
Stay tuned for the answers published here when I get them.
That will be all...for now...
