Category Archives: My World
Sarah Palin and the “Pink Elephants”
Sarah Palin has a new political video for “Sarahpac.” Please watch this before reading:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsUVL6ciK-c&feature=player_embedded
Here are some things I learned about Sarah Palin’s political views from this video:
1. This is the year for “common sense conservative women”
2. Women love their kids.
3. In the last year and a half (since Obama’s election) women have awakened and don’t like the fundamental transformation (like comprehensive health care?) in America.
4. Moms are psychic- they just know something is “wrong.”
5. Moms have “woke up” in the last year and a half.
6. Momma Grizzles are tougher than pit bulls.
7. There is a “stampede” of pink elephants (which I assume are the aforementioned “conservative women”) crossing the aisle.
8. Grizzly bears can stand up on their hind legs.
9. Women are standing up (like grizzles?) this year.
10. The word adverse means “something bad”..thank you Mrs. Palin for that vocab lesson.
**SIGH**
What political stance did she take-other than the “in the last year in a half” veiled Obama shout out. I feel that her, “I am woman, I love my kids, I am conservative, and you, a woman, should vote for me based on that alone” should be offensive to a modern woman. Is that all it takes? I cry to the like gendered “pink elephants” out there. I SINCERELY HOPE NOT!
I understand that this political ad was not geared at me – a male. However, I felt offended by it because the utter ignorance in the comparisons of women and bears and their ability to “stand up”, “wake up” and “protect kids and grand kids” from something adverse. Does Sarah Palin really think that democrats and other bears (?) want to harm their kids with their political beliefs? I have not seen nor heard of any Democrat agenda that involved any kid torture, bear attacks, or anti-women sentiment.
ANY WOMEN, PINK ELEPHANTS, OR MOMMA GRIZZLES AGREE WITH ME ON THIS?
Happy Thursday damnit!
The Daily Beast: 11 Extreme Oil Spill Solutions
BP officials told the House on Wednesday that the Deepwater Horizon oil well failed a key test on the morning of the April 20 explosion. The test revealed that gas had built up unevenly in the pipe; it’s now believed that a surge of gas caused the explosion. Separately, Representative Bart Stupak is expected to announce that the House has discovered “four significant problems” with the blowout preventer, including “a significant leak in a key hydraulic system.”
Garbage, fire, nuclear bomb explosion—these are possible solutions to stop the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? The Daily Beast looks at 11 of the most out-there ideas proposed so far.
Peat Moss
Is the fact that it worked in Norway a good reason to give peat moss a try? The hyper-absorbent moss has been used to generate moisture, and the panhandle county of Escambia, Florida, has proposed dropping it into the Gulf. Kallak Torvstrøfabrikk, a Norwegian company, developed a series of products based on peat moss to be used in oil spills, after it was used to clean up a spill off the coast of Norway in 2009.
Oil Corral
BP’s engineers have suggested a giant underwater cone, but one amateur engineer has a different solution: to create a permeable cone placed over the leak. By creating the malleable cone, Rick Lewis hopes it reduces pressure in the deep sea environment. In this model, some of the oil will leak out from the structure.
Berms
State and local officials in Louisiana started dropping sand bags in the water, and U.S. National Guard teams in Alabama arrived on Dauphin Island, a tiny barrier island, to build a sand berm, intended to back the oil from moving any closer to the mainland.
Garbage
Don’t laugh: BP’s COO proposed creating a chamber over the leak and shooting garbage into the space to plug it. Plans to create a four-story dome to cap the leak fell apart after crystals formed when the gas combined with water, so officials hope the smaller chamber filled with garbage will be a stronger structure. Newsweek also has a post up highlighting some of BP’s crazier schemes.
Nuclear Bomb
Norway offered one solution; here’s another from Russia . Komsomolskaya Pravda, a major Russian daily, suggests an old Soviet trick: small nuclear blasts. According to the newspaper, it’s such a useful solution that it was used five times by one company in the Soviet Union.
Surfactants
A scientist from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis proposes spraying these soap-like substances, which would work like dishwashing liquid. Dr. Gabriel Filippelli said surfactants disperse the oil in the water and work as a nutrient for the bacteria.
Hair
The much-publicized hair solution has been proposed by a California-based ecological charity. Philippine officials initially came up with the idea in 2006 but backed out at the last minute. Instead, rice stalks were attached to bamboo poles and used as makeshift brooms.
Woodchips
Green Energy Recourses Inc. offered 100,000 tons of wood chips for containment. The company proposed placing woodchips inside a containment boom and through honeycomb structures to absorb the oil as well as collect it. One difference from peat moss: It won’t sink to the bottom; it would need to be collected from the surface. But the woodchips could help generate electricity at power stations.
Fire
Stop gas with fire? It’s not the most extreme idea out there. BP conducted five controlled burns last week to try to burn the oil off.
Hay
The Florida panhandle town of Walton has already started spraying hay into the water if it arrives at the shoreline. A popular YouTube video has surfaced this week showing viewers how to use hay to disperse oil.
Hot Tap
Another solution from BP: Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) would be used to tap into the riser and pump oil out of it and onto the surface through a pipe. It’s admittedly more dangerous, as it drills another hole into the rig.
Correction: This story originally referred to surfactants as suracants.
The Tao of Russell
Few things make me as upset as seeing someone who “deserves” to win lose through no fault or mistake of their own. I am speaking in general terms of the results of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villians, a reality show on CBS. Russell Hantz, an oil company owner from Dayton, TX is arguably the greatest manipulator the show has ever seen. Like him or not- he plays the game within the rules and does what he needs to to accomplish his goals. He is the most hated player the show has ever seen, BY THE OTHER PLAYERS, which has cost him winning either of the two seasons he as been on. However it is also worth noting that he as won the “FAN FAVORITE” $100,000 award, which is voted on by the viewers, both times he has competed and reached the finale. What this shows me is that the people Russell manipulated and used to his own ends-WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF THE RULES- can never win because the other contestants can not look past their own disdain and anger toward him to see that he truly deserves to win based the thousands
Russell’s play and 2 second place finishes have made me realize something that I really think is important. In my mind he deserved to win, when looked at from a “game” perspective…however, he made people upset and made their lives miserable on his way to reaching the finale. That part of the “game” is not accounted for by Russell and ends up what eventually costs him the million dollars, because the people he moves like pawns and manipulates are the very ones that decide to give him the million dollars or not and they can not and will not over look his brashness, rudeness, and hubris and acknowledge his superior game play and manipulation techniques.
THAT IS THE LESSON DEAR FRIENDS
The Tao of Russell states: No matter your level of accomplishment, no matter your level of success, no matter your level of pride – when looked at and judged by other people, they will remember how you treated them and those around them proving that emotion will always out weigh logic in personal decisions.
Oh Arizona!
I keep seeing headlines like these:
Arizona now has toughest immigration law state
Bill McCollum (R) Defends Change In Stance On AZ Law
and now I see this:
Arizona gov. signs bill targeting ethnic studies in an AP News story.
Well, I can’t just not say anything can I? You know me better than that.
Gov. Jan Brewer has signed a bill that Tom Horne (Az State School Head) has been pushing for for years. Horne has said, well… let me quote the AP article:
Horne, a Republican running for attorney general, said the program promotes “ethnic chauvinism” and racial resentment toward whites while segregating students by race.
Tom Horne is sacred that ethnic studies classes will educate minorities and make life harder for whites? Holy Shit! Where is his clan robe? Look, I live in Mississippi, I know a racist when I see or hear one. Tom Horne…you qualify! Can this man really advocate for the removal of the classes that teach the TRUE history of 56% of the Tuscon SD students’ ancestry? By the way, that’s 31,000 students in the Tuscon School Dist alone. Staggering.
Now I will give you something I found that will blow your mind:
|
||
| As a Golden Rule state, I am pleased to present a program that positively recognizes those who “treat others the way you would like to be treated” and who make a difference in Arizona. By using the form below, you can nominate an Arizona resident as an Arizona Golden Rule Citizen! Please nominate people who practice the Golden Rule and my office will mail you an Arizona Golden Rule Citizen Certificate that you can present to the person whom you nominated.
Click here to read the Golden Rule Senate Concurrent Resolution Feel free to contact my office for more information. JANICE K. BREWER |
I found this hypocrisy on the Governor’s own website! I can safely assume ole Jan and Tom will not be getting a nomination anytime soon! If this theory of the golden rule is carried out they way it should be and she is treating people the way she wants to be treated then European History should be shut down. They both look vaguely European. Maybe they need to show some papers. WAIT WAIT WAIT…they are white. OBVIOUSLY AMERICAN!
That sounds ludicrous dosen’t it. Well, you gonna play hard ball…then play hard ball. I can’t believe I live in this country sometimes. I am ashamed of it on, what seems like, a growing number of fronts.
I never thought Mississippi would be more tolerant than another state esp. a western state. UNREAL!
A Parenting Quiz Yields Unintended Answers
In my ongoing quest to learn everything there is to know about becoming a parent (I know it is a futile gesture, but it makes me THINK I am being productive.) I decided to take a parenting quiz.
I figured that testing my newly acquired parenting knowledge could give me some feedback as to my “readiness” for this part of my life. As I read the some of the questions and the answer choices I noticed something…one or more of the answers is complete child abuse – either mental or physical or both. You don’t believe me? Look at this question:
| 5. It’s a Saturday and you’re going out with your little boy. You watch from a bench as he runs up and down the slide and plays with his friends. Then you watch him walk up to a man sitting on the bench across from you. |
|---|
| *Run after him and give your son a re-run of the “Don’t talk to strangers” lecture. |
| *Watch cautiously and wait until your son has stopped talking to him and continues playing. There are many people around. He wouldn’t do anything right? |
| *Walk casually up to your son and ask him a question or divert his attention (tell him that you are going to take him out for icecream or challenge him to go on the big slide, etc.) so that he would walk away from the stranger and sit down and talk to him about the safety rules that come into play whenever we go out. |
| *Walk up to him quickly and hold him by the ear as you drag him away, then yell at him, take him home, and promise never to take him anywhere ever again because he is stupid and he never listens. |
Please note answer #4. Here is the summary: Drag him by the ear while yelling ,because you just reduced his ability to hear by 1/2 by destroying the ear you are pulling on, at him about how stupid he is.
Does this really happen so much that it is a viable answer choice? This pattern was repeated over and over in the quiz allowing you to resort to violence and child abuse OR suffer a mental breakdown for yourself. Want an example? Here ya go…
| 13. Today, after school, you went to your child’s school to pick him up. You showed up a bit early, so you are just watching the class as they are packing up their things and getting ready to go home. On the side, you can see your son and two of his friends playing with one of the class toys, a green dinosaur, and then you see that your son has pushed one of the other boys to the ground and took the toy from him. What would you do? |
|---|
| *Hold him by the ear and yell at him until you reach the car. |
| *Ask him why he did it, and explain that there is no good reason to hit anyone. Then make him apologize. |
| *Make him apologize and tell him that he is grounded and he cannot play any of his games for a week. |
| *Hit your head against the wall and cry because the world is ending. |
This question dosen’t LIMIT you to auditory canal child abuse (#1) it allows you to have the choice of a mental breakdown(#4). How thoughtful. I am sure that the kid in question appreciates that consideration.
I WANT to believe that these horrible choices are meant to be so SHOCKING that the quiz taker will never pick them and maybe remember this quiz when the impulse to destroy the child ear leaps into their mind when the “good china” gets broken. However, I can’t help believe there are parents who resort to violence when a child disobeys, smarts off, or commits any infraction what so ever.
OK, I admit I know some parents that do leap to physical punishment over a more communicative and less painful method of compliance assurance. Admit it, you know them to, maybe not the same people, but the same type of people. I think they are lazy parents and need to be more concerned with the development of the child rather than the 10 minutes of silence the physical abuse yields them or they want to be OBEYED that they will make sure that happens at any cost.
I have never SAID anything to any of them when they “disciplined” their child in front of me because:
1) I had no kids of my own.
2) I don’t know what’s led up to this instance.
None the less, I knew that exchange between parent and child was wrong and I am positive my face reflected that. Yet, I have never said anything. So, I apologize to all the kids who have been disciplined in front of me in an inappropriate manner. My silence is inexcusable. I am typing this apology because I know you couldn’t hear me…due to the ear pulling and yelling.
I am going to try to not ever do anything to my child that hinders trust, fosters fear, or causes them physical pain in any way. I know that people’s definition of abuse, discipline, corporal punishment differ. However, I think that most impartial observers can tell when it goes too far.
Parenting is going to be hard but not hard on my kid.
Anyone got any bows, glitter, or pink tutus?
For the Record: I would not have picked this outfit.
The doctor has confirmed it. We are having a girl. I will pause now for your applause. (((PAUSE)))
Thank you.
My wife would like to make her official statement regarding this news:
“PHEW!!! I am glad it is a girl, but a healthy boy would be ok too. WOO HOO…ITS A GIRL!” Read the rest of this entry
Some Assigned Reading
Article in Chicago Sun Times covering Tax Day Tea Party In Daley Center. Enjoy.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
‘Chicago Tax Day Tea Party,” read the colorful card handed to me as I emerged from Union Station into the soft, summery day Thursday.
“Liberty” it continued, in spidery, colonial-era script. “Constitutional Principles. Fiscal Responsibility.” Then, in bright-red type — the blood of patriots, no doubt — “Repeal it! Replace Congress.” And finally: “Chicago. Daley Plaza. 12:00 Noon.”
Oh, right, I thought, sadly realizing that, though I’d love to toddle off to Gene & Georgetti as planned, I was duty-bound to cancel lunch — another sacrifice on the altar of freedom! — so as not to miss this moment in history. I’m sure guys were sheepishly telling their grandchildren, “No, Johnny, I was not at Lexington & Concord. But I was quite near — the Spooner Tavern, two miles down the road, sharing a potato pie with Jim Griswald . . . ” Read the rest of this entry
Wiretapping Misconceptions: Compliments of Fak3r
My friend Fak3r (as seen here) has “been online for over 15 years, blogging for 10.” He also works with “open source software, various hardware and whatever else that I can hack on.” In his spare time he enjoys “learning by doing, painting infrequently and listening to more music than the law allows.” Kids, today he as also provided us with some knowledge: Prepare for it to drop on ya dome. Read the rest of this entry
NYC: Blind Date
Upon final approach to the city the vastness of it was somewhat breathtaking. As the plane got lower and lower cars, people, and the Hudson Bay became very clear as we hit ground at Laguardia. 
“So, here I am NYC,” I thought as we taxied to the terminal (No, really check my tweets.) Cab ride to hotel, room not ready, stowed luggage at hotel, and set out into the city. Carmine’s was the 1st spot on the list. Pasta with Vodka Sauce and Country Style Rigatoni were inhaled by the weary travelers…the complementary sour dough bread was a great find there. A not so great find was the $3.00 a glass iced tea with no free refills. I guess the south has spoiled me to some expected luxury at a restaurant. From Carmine’s we sadly exited into the booming St. Patrick’s Day celebration teeming with green clad teens, twenties, and up. All in some state of happiness and inebriation. Exactly what a St. Patty’s Day in NYC is supposed to look like times 500. 
Antennae with glitter shamrocks, “Kiss Me I’m Irish buttons,” “Mugs not Drugs t-shirts, and 1000 different races pretending to be Irish for one day. There is something to be said about homogeneity in cause for celebration. No one cared about the color of the skin, the language being spoken, the non-red hair of the green clad woman next to you-they all were happy about…something. Maybe the parade? Maybe the beer? Maybe the color green? It really doesn’t matter, Times Square was green and it was great. As we trudged through the scores of people, we happened upon a “tour bus.” Being the adventurous lot we are, we bought the “NIGHT TOUR.” Saw a lot of the city at night. From Chelsea, to SoHo, The Village, through midtown, and over to Brooklyn. Thats when it happened, the bus broke. Yep, right there UNDER THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE, the bus broke.
Brandon kicking the bus' ass.
Wouldn’t crank and it did not seem to want to try. Being a country mouse, I knew I knew I could crank that diesel with some implement starter (compressed ether). My wife didn’t have any in her purse, so I couldn’t help us escape. As the sun sank into the western sky the lights of the city across the river came on. The Empire State Building’s spire, in honor of St. Patty’s Day, lit up with green lights, the thousands of internal building lights became visible as the silhouette of the city disappeared into the darkness and was replaced with a fluorescent cityscape that really showed the depth and breadth of this city. Almost an hour later, another bus arrived and loaded us in. They took us back through China Town and rounded us back to our starting point. It was a fun night, it was a good night and a great one to start the trip. Hopefully the coming days will be yield good food, good fun, good memories, and a lot of laughs.
sometimes right - sometimes not - always correct 