Vote For David

Santorum Quits GOP 2012 Presidential Race

2012-01-27T20:26:00.000-08:00

Facing a primary next week in a key State, you go home for the weekend to do your taxes? SRSLY? This dude is dropping out, and soon, leaving us with the only 'real' candidates we've had since Herman Cain quit. The quitter.

Santorum supporters: vote for Paul in your caucuses. Everything else is a waste of time at this point.

You are Supporting a Cult

2012-01-26T22:36:00.000-08:00

IRS publication 502 (medical and dental expenses) says "You can include in medical expenses fees you pay to Christian Science practitioners for medical care"

That is to say, when they tell you they have done something to bring you closer to "clear" you can claim that as a tax deduction . . . regardless of if anything was actually done. This is in addition to any "charitable contribution" you might deduct as well.

Oh well, when's the next foosball game on the teevee?

THIS Guy, You Want Over Ron Paul?

2012-01-26T19:38:00.000-08:00

Newt Gingrich wants to establish a colony on the MOON and call it a US State. Ron Paul would probably prefer to save those trillions of dollars. I'm pretty sure Mitt Romney would be all for the idea if polling showed it were popular.

Is this REALLY the best the Republicrats can come up with for a Presidential candidate? Really? I'm pretty sure I can't vote for Romney, but I'm leaning toward not being able to vote for Gingrich, either. If the Losertarian party comes up with more than a percent or two of the popular vote, this kind of B.S. is why.

Thank God for the Rain!

2012-01-25T19:42:00.000-08:00

It drizzled for a week a while back and the ground sucked it up like a sponge. Then two days ago it drizzled all afternoon to prep the ground for absorbing instead of running-off and flooding, and then the window of heaven opened. The airport reports something like 5-1/2" of rain overnight last night. This is good for two reasons (one absolute, one subjective depending on you)

1) The lakes will refill a bit. The drought is a bit less with all this water.
2) The sky was rockin' and rollin' last night, with a continual sound of thunder and flashes of lightning every few seconds - for hours. This means the expensiver electronics at chez VFD were unplugged, so no blogging for me . . . so depending on whether you like what you read here, maybe a plus or a minus on the night!

Madness at Work

2012-01-23T22:06:00.000-08:00

NP was flying his S107G around on break time and Guido was trying to shoot it out of the air with an AirZooka. Guido is not exactly the world's greatest sportsman and his hit ratio was pretty low. I got a little frustrated at all the misses I was hearing, and set out to see if I could down the airplane with the air cannon myself. First shot was a miss but a close one. Second shot was a hit, but not too impressive because it was about 1 meter away. Then (after recovering from yet another disastrous crash) NP started flying again and he was going about as fast as his modded S107 could go. I had a wide-missed shot, then realized I needed to lead the bird to hit it in flight. I led it and hit it and the helicoper smashed into a doorjamb and went down, hard. Satisfied, I put the AirZooka on a shelf and went back to work. On my way back to my desk, I said quietly, in a squeaky voice, said "How can you shoot women and children!?" to nobody in particular.

JM asked if I had said what he thought I had said. After I responded in the affirmative, he LOL'd pretty good.

Bell Stole The Telephone

2012-01-23T22:04:00.000-08:00

Radio frequency energy is magic. Black magic. It is a little-known fact* that Alexander Bell STOLE the invention of the telephone. The first guy didn't protest, however, because he had been BURNED AS A WITCH!!!

I had a piece of test equipment fail on me today. It was reading anywhere from -30dB to -70dB down from the levels it should have. I figured out that the cable between one part and another was broken. There was no physical contact at all, and the signal was still passing - though it was greatly attenuated at lower frequencies. There was NO physical connection and the signal was still going through at a useful level! Witchcraft I tell you. Repairing the cable made it work all better again.

********

*little-known because I just made it up.

The Name of God vs. The Word of God

2012-01-22T20:58:00.000-08:00

"...for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."

"...faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God"

"In the beginning was the Word ... and the Word was God"

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us..."

"The words of the LORD ... O LORD, thou shalt preserve them ... for ever."

God's word will not change. It cannot change, because it is Him. You can hear it and believe in Him. This post started out as a quick jotting-down on a square inch of paper as an idea about it not being all that important what you call God but I'm not sure that's where it would end up if I were preaching on the topic.

God has many names, and not all of them are listed in the Bible or even anywhere in the historical record. At least one name of God, we don't even know how it is pronounced because it was so holy to the Scribes who transcribed our Bible refused to write it out the way it sounds. Besides which, the Bible was written in different languages from the one you speak. Therefore:

It is 100% certain you are mispronouncing the NAME of God. This is not the same as taking the name of the Lord in vain. It is the difference between day-vihd in English and dah-veed in Spanish. Heck these days I sometimes even answer to "Dave" and "Meester dehv" - and I am not as wise as God. My wife calls Him her "tati." Don't sweat this.

God knows your thoughts. He knows when you are thinking about, talking about, or praying to Him. He also knows if you are intending to be sacrilegious or disrespectful, honoring or worshipful. And He knows that you do not know hot to pronounce His name. But He also knows that you have in your King James Bible the entirety of His word, preserved for you to use. Sweat that. You are not held responsible for what you don't know, but for what you do know.

The Word of God is the important part. The Name of God is less important than the Word of God. "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves"

Sweat the big stuff.

Communication is the Key

2012-01-22T20:50:00.000-08:00

I realized tonight that I had recently got into an argument with somebody at work because of poor communication. We were actually in agreement as to what needed to be done, and some disagreement existed about the details. Because the intention was not communicated at all, and the details were expected to be a certain way by all parties, it degenerated VERY quickly from "hey watchoo doin" to "*(*&&$*(^&&*%#@$@)@(^&!*^@(%*))&@$@()*(*^" and it was totally unnecessary.

May we all remember to make sure people know what's going on before we go off the chain because they're not on board!

(employers and parents both . . . this means you!)

Romney Gives Gingrich The Nomination?

2012-01-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

Mitt Romney is going to give up his tax records, thinking their secrecy had something to do with his not winning the last caucus. This is a huge mistake. The only thing that can come of his tax records being made public is that his competition will have more class warfare stories to tell about him. The Anybody But Romney crowd that picked Newt at the caucus isn't his problem, HE is his own problem. The people who were on the fence but could fall off to the Newt or Paul or Santorum side with one more verifiable true negative story, will be falling off Romney's band wagon once his tax records have been

published
analyzed
digested
spun in the most-damning way possible

Good job, loser. Not that I could have voted for him anyway.

It's That Time Again . . .

2012-01-21T18:50:00.000-08:00

I spent the morning reminding myself how much of a hassle it is to change my car's fuel filter and nearly dropping the Hot Rod off its jackstands, then we went out to my dad's house and dragged "cedar" clippings down to the burn pile. Later in the evening, I was helping get his boxes of Christmas decorations into the attic and I was blowing and puffing like I'd been running. I thought it was a long time since I felt this way, and sure 'nuff I guess it's that time of year again:

The trees are pretty, but oy! A head-asploding amount of pseudoephedrine later, and I'm feeling much better. Thanks God for modern chemistry.

Here's A Better Idea

2012-01-20T22:46:00.000-08:00

The Legislature in Texas gerrymandered a new redistricting map that would likely give Republicans an advantage. Then a lefty court said that was raaaaaaacist and gerrymandered an entirely new map that would give Democrats an advantage. Then the lawsuit.

The supreme Court just slapped the San Antonio map drawing court on the pee-pee and said they have to START with the map made by our Elected Heroes in Austin, and then make it more legal-ish. All this, of course, because Texas might be raaaaaaaacist. After all, according to the ~~leftists who prefer Democrats to be elected~~ bureaucrats in the federal Department of "Justice" Texas has been raaaaacist before and might still be raaaacist by making maps that don't fairly give BROWN PEOPLE adequate representation.

Well guess what: It's 2012. The only people still worried about whether or not BROWN PEOPLE get adequate representation are STUPID OR CROOKED OR BOTH. There is no more institutional racism in the day in which we live. Get over yourselves and your stupid race hustling race pimps.

My preference: on every official form that currently has a spot for race/ethnicity, we delete that spot on the form. The datum is irrelevant to anything except getting Democrats in office and/or keeping them in power. For Congressional district maps, we make them make sense when you look at a map, with pretty close to equal population in each district. That means probably a couple of guys from Houston, Austin, and Dallas get elected as Democrats and most of the rest of the State is Republican because the rest of the state is flyover country hicks who vote republican. What does this mean in picture form?

Source: familypedia

Where there is a great big fat red spot, there is a Democrat representing leftists in big cities. Everywhere else, you add up the green and yellow in the same general area until you count enough noses to make up another seat in Congress, very likely a Republican. There. Done. How hard was that?

Yeah, No, I Still Wanna Be A Cop.

2012-01-20T22:12:00.001-08:00

My Darling Wife is watching some movei where four police went to catch two Goblins. Involved were a crack ho walking out of an open door where two suspects were known to be hiding (problem) an attic search (nightmare) and a foot chase complete with the rookie getting lost because of not knowing the streets.

She said she's glad I decided not to do it. I told her I hadn't decided not to do it (but I did take the hint). But I still want in. Dangit. Well, I guess we'll see what happens.

One thing is for sure: the Police have few supporters as fast as me. If I had spare money and time, I'd spend it making their lives easier and/or safer if I could . . . but I don't.

There's an Assassin on the Loose!

2012-01-20T21:55:00.000-08:00

This makes the third story I've seen recently about prominent people from Iran doing pro-humanity/anti-iran-government stuff being targeted or killed on US soil.

The government or military (or both) of Iran has an agent or a team here, killing people Iran finds inconvenient, and not only do we know about it, we probably have our suspicions who it is, but the timing is wrong to tip our hand.

International espionage: not confined to the 1960s US/USSR cold war.

Hat tip: Instapundit

HyundaiAftermarket > GenCoupe

2012-01-20T21:44:00.001-08:00

HyundaiAftermarket.org is better than GenCoupe.com

I frequent HA and have heard horror stories from "former" members of GC about how the site staff make it an unenjoyable experience, treating members like they are expendable and supporting disreputable vendors. If anyone is looking for a Hyundai-related message board, HyundaiAftermarket is where you want to be. Trust me on this. None of the others have the same combination of helpful staff, family-like camaraderie of the members, and a very deep treasure of accumulated wisdom. If you are currently on HyundaiPerformance and think it's too commercial and the staff are too close to the "nazi mod" attitude, go to HyundaiAftermarket instead of Gencoupe. If you miss the in-depth knowledge of the 97-01 Elantra/Tiburon (and similar year Accent) platforms since RDTiburon.com (and FXtreme) closed, know that the forum databases and knowledgeable members were both folded in to the forum at HyundaiAftermarket. All the other boards are smaller, more model-specific, and generally less hip than HA.

Scientists Discover Earth Has A Self-Cleaning Cycle

2012-01-19T19:15:00.001-08:00

Preamble: It is laughable how people who wish to not believe God invented the world will twist their minds around facts. There is a greatly inflated sense of self importance in certain "scientific" circles these days, thinking we could destroy our ecosystem by merely living in it.
***
God is both infinitely smarter than the average bear AND not really giving us verbal messages much these days. So imagine the pleasure of one who believes that the Earth is a self-correcting system designed to sustain mankind . . . when a particle theorized before the global warmening craze existed turns out to be real. And it comes from plants and scrubs pollutants out of the air.

Good job, God. Way to be smarter.

. . . nothing else matters

2012-01-18T22:50:00.001-08:00

#4 is sick and not sleeping. This sucks. This is also part of normal parenting. Have a nice day!

Going to Apply to Change My Name

2012-01-17T21:17:00.001-08:00

When I walk in the door, #4 says "TETITOPTURRR!" before anyone else can even say "DADDEEEEE!"

Seriously child, my name is not "helicopter." Could you at least say "hi" before demanding I fly the remote controlled helicopter? I mean I know you're one year old and all, but still . . .

This Should End Well

2012-01-16T20:45:00.000-08:00

Japan, with debt-to-GDP of about 230%, borrows money (mostly from its own people) at 1% interest. They are staring down the barrel of an imminent credit rating downgrade and talking about doubling their sales tax to avoid the downgrade. If their credit sours even just a smidge, they could go from 1% to 3% interest . . . and be totally unable to continue to carry their national debt. All their government revenue would be debt service and then some.

If you earn $50k/year
and owe $120k on your credit cards
and suddenly they say you have to pay $53k/year on your credit cards

that's a problem. The alternative is printing more money, which leads to printing more money, and then you end up with wheelbarrows full of cash and expiration dates on your trillion-dollar bills. Japan is, to understate things, in a problem.

But mock quietly, because they paved the way down which we are driving at breakneck speeds.

Scenes From My Life

2012-01-16T18:17:00.000-08:00

My Darling Wife was doing dishes in the kitchen and called me in to help her open a bottle. I walked in, opened the bottle in two shakes, set it down and walked back out. She told the backside of me that I needn't make it look so easy.

I turned around, with my right hand I rolled up my left sleeve, made an exaggeratedly-slow "gun-show" and planted a kiss right on my own studly left biceps muscle. Then I picked up the bottle again and (as it was now opened) opened the bottle with zero effort. Then I set it down and she laughed right out loud and called me a name.

Good life.

Voter Photo ID Laws Are NOT Racist

2012-01-15T11:58:00.000-08:00

If anyone says they think it is raaaaaaacist to require people to show photographic proof that they are eligible to vote, that person is one of two things:

An idiot
A liar
or Both

In these days when ANYONE who is entitled to vote can go to the local government office and get a State-issued photo ID, NOBODY is less-able to present photographic identification than anyone else. If you do not understand this fact, you are intellectually disqualified, if not legally disqualified, from voting.

The ONLY people who have substantial* reasons to dislike positive voter identification are people who are trying to have unqualified/disqualified voters cat ballots. This is to say, Democrats and big-city machine political parties want your dead relatives and illegal alien neighbors to cast ballots to keep them in power. There are no exceptions.

********

* no exceptions except this one: a tiny number of religious people who have genuine concerns that we are marching toward the Mark of the Beast. Privacy concerns are null - this is a public ballot! Intrusive measures like retina scanning and blood draws are both overly expensive to implement AND unnecessary AND probably impossible to get into law! Yes, voter photo identification requirements are leading us down the road to the Mark of the Beast. But, by the time that rolls around, voting will be among the least of the concerns of those who don't want to take the Mark. According to my Bible, the Mark WILL come, like it or not. Do yourself a favor and don't be here when it comes into effect!

Things You Don't Want To Know . . .

2012-01-14T20:56:00.001-08:00

For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow -Ecclesiastes 1:18

You don't go on vacation expecting to kill the guy who suddenly decides to throw your girlfriend off a bridge . . . but you should at least be aware of what you might have to do with your knife*, should it come to that.

Speaking the truth in love, the Dark Arts for Good Guys series continues with The Right To Knife. You owe it to the ones you love to read the whole thing.

********
Rule #2: Always have a knife.

THIS Is What Soft Tyranny Looks Like

2012-01-14T19:28:00.000-08:00

You move into a house
The land nearby is covered with weeds and trash
You can't even see around the corners when you drive
Residents waiting at the bus stop are crowded by blackberry bushes
So you clean it up
And the local council says you are "Cultivating" and
orders you to pay $100 for a retroactive license
or you have to put the car suspension parts back on the land
and plant weeds again.

In England, where the Nanny State is approaching its zenith, this is The Way Things Are. The slope from "no cell phones in school zones" to "no removing weeds without a license" is very steep and very slippery. Where do you draw the line? After all, all the regulations sound perfectly reeeeeeeasonable, don't they? You are not against people enjoying the land, are you? What kind of a person would object to licenses for cultivating public land?

The Good People did nothing in England and the Evil has prospered.

Don't be too amused - we are hard on their heels down this road. I know an arborist who had to pay $20,000 to have trees planted, after he cleared someone's private property of . . . unwanted trees.

But, surely, someone else will run for office where you live. Not because they want control, do they spend their time getting control. No, surely they are dedicated public seeeeervants writing the rules! Surely! I mean, otherwise you would have to GET OFF YOUR DUFF and look into your local government and maybe even (gasp) give up Friday night happy hour and attend City Council meetings!

I Has A Monkey (Like Yours!)

2012-01-14T19:13:00.001-08:00

#4 is short. Everything and everybody is higher than he is, always. So, he wants to go up. Turn around for 30 seconds and he's climbed something. Chair? Sure. Table? Why not? Stand on it or sit - well, the one that gets him higher. Is the chair stable? It matters not a bit to him. Tipsy barstool? He'll climb it. Narrow bench over hard floor? Up he goes. Across the gap between couches? If he wants to cross it, he'll try. Standing on the arm of a couch to reach the chalkboard? Of course! Did I mention he's 18 months old and none too steady on his feet?

He mostly stopped standing up at full speed CLUNK into the bottom of the table. He even stopped stripping stuff off the sides of tables. Now, he'll be found on a chair, reaching for the middle of the table. The boy is a climbing machine. Just like his other two brothers and their daddy and their grandpappy. It's a boy thing. It's no use asking "WHY!? Do you INSIST on CLIMBING EVERYTHING?@!"

That's why they called it the "Y" chromosome, don't you know.

208V 3phase, 230V Single Phase, With 120V?

2012-01-13T21:24:00.000-08:00

You can get 120V AC to give you 240V, or 208V, depending on how it is generated, transformed, and delivered. Sometimes, losing a wire in the circuit does not affect the voltage at your appliance. This is a black art to the uninitiated.

Set aside a couple of hours for reading and pondering, and go educate yourself. Read this for a discussion more directed at the layperson, and then read this slightly more technical discussion which is heavier on theory and several pages long.

Politics: Strange, Strange Things 'Round The World

2012-01-13T17:50:00.000-08:00

From North Korea: So you didn't mourn well enough when the Dear Reader died? The world laughed at you? JAIL!

So you didn't get enough signatures to get on a primary ballot in the United State of Virginia? Well that just goes to show Virginia is bustin' the law with their primary system and we should put you on the ballot, because . . . LAWSUIT! Judge says: Not so much. Primary ballots: An example of the way our system of government is the worst one except for all the others. In related news, I find it veeeEEEEeeery interesting that the two people I consider most-likely to be the Nominee will be the only two choices for Virginia's primary voter.

It Sucks Big-Time That We Have Come To This.

2012-01-11T20:46:00.000-08:00

It should have been a no-brainer and the case tossed right out for being frivolous, but it made it all the way up to the supreme Court: you can't force a church to have ministers against its religion.

Before today:
Preacher: I changed to satanism, guys
Deacons: Gotta be a Christian mang, sorry. Fired.
Preacher: Lawsuit!

After today:
. . . Deacon: Not so much, foo!
Preacher: <--- (sad clown)

A very faint glimmer of hope in a dark world, that's what this decision is.

For Sale: Kodak "Easyshare" Z712IS Image Stabilized Digital Camera w/ K8500 Charger, KLIC-8000 Battery

2012-01-10T22:25:00.000-08:00

If you arrived at this page from the eBay auction for this kit, please remember to go back and bid once you are done looking at the pictures!

This camera works perfectly. It was my "shop" camera for documenting my projects - I'm only selling it to offset the cost of upgrading.

Please click on any image to see it at 4x higher resolution.

This is a complete kit, with everything you need to start shooting right away. The long-lasting battery and charger are a worthy addition - I paid for them but you get them thrown-in because they belong with the camera now.

There is a little light wear from normal use, but you have to look for it pretty hard to see anything.

There are four defects worth mentioning, none of which ever bothered me or interfered with using the camera.

The date memory battery is dead - when you change batteries you have to reset the date, or ignore the message and just start shooting and it will remember the wrong date for when the picture was taken. No big deal.

The lens retracts all the way into a plastic barrel, which protects the sides of the lens when the camera is off. If you look carefully you will see that this protective shield is slightly out-of-round.

And the display has a tiny scratch on the back. It took clever lighting to get the scratch to show up for the photo. As you can see, it really does not interfere with the image onscreen. Also, the display is offset upward a few pixels onscreen. The image is cut off by a few pixels at the top and there is a very narrow black band at the bottom. The stuff shown at the top is still legible, and the more-important stuff (including full-manual controls settings) shown on the bottom shows up perfectly. This is only a problem with the rear panel LCD, the viewfinder display shows up normally.

The displays are bright and clear, and the controls are easy to use. The Automatic and Program modes all work fine - but if you want to, you can use Aperture, Shutter, or even full Manual control! It has a pretty fast f/2.8 lens AND image stabilization, which helps you make better pictures in lower light.

When you don't want to use the LCD display, when you want to save power, or when you want to see what it is showing on top of the display, push the button to use the electronic viewfinder.

Look back up at the LCD screen at the top/right there is a "remaining capacity" indication - The memory card coming with the camera to you is not the biggest - 26 shots at maximum resolution, many more at lower resolution settings. There is also a small onboard memory in case you accidentally leave the card in your reader. It takes SD memory cards, which are available in high capacities for cheap, so no worries there.

In addition to the camera and memory card, you will receive:

Kodak KLIC-8000 rechargeable battery
Kodak K8500 Rapid Battery Charger
Original Kodak lens carry strap

The battery and charger didn't come with the camera. At Amazon they are a $69 separate purchase. It is amazing how much longer this battery lasts than AA batteries. Yes it can take AAs but they go pretty quick. This battery will let you fill the memory card many times over, then you recharge it instead of throwing it away. Kodak should be ashamed they did not include this charger and battery with the camera, but I am including it for you.

The User Guide and Easyshare software are available online -free- from Kodak.

The data plate is on the bottom

P.S. You don't need to scroll back up . . . click here to go back to eBay and bid on this camera!

For Sale: Canon 70-210mm Telephoto Zoom/Macro SLR Camera Lens FD Mount

2012-01-10T21:22:00.000-08:00

If you landed on this page from the eBay auction for this lens, please don't forget to go back and buy the lens when you have seen all the pictures.

This lens has been sitting up for a long time, and now that I'm officially shooting Nikon it is time to let it go. I thought I might land on a 4/3 format (on which an adapter would make this a long telephoto/relatively close macro lens) but that's not the way it turned out.

Click any picture to see it 4x larger

Those of you who have 4/3 and micro 4/3 cameras will be wanting this lens. This is a clean, dust-free sample with very minor wear from light use. I got it with a filter over the front element, which was donated to my dad's photography kit. The glass behind the filter and the rear cap is pretty well flawless. A very nice sample indeed.

The full text on the front ring says "CANON ZOOM LENS FD 70-210mm 1:4 CANON LENS MADE IN JAPAN"

Go ahead, spin it around, it looks good from any angle. The "skinny end" has more opportunity for wear, and there is almost none. The "fat end" by the front element has even less. The control surfaces are in great condition.

Blah blah blah show us the GLASS, man!

As is only right for a manual lens, this has a full set of scales and labels, in color, right where they should be.

The iris has no oil and no wear marks

A cut-out lens cap was used to stop-down the aperture for these photos . . .

. . . and to open the aperture for these. Looking through the lens from the camera end

and from the front

It is a used lens, so there are a few light scratched spots on the paint. Here is the absolute worst cosmetic blemish that I didn't even see until I started looking this lens over closely before shooting photos for this sale:

It takes careful lighting to make it look that bad, but wouldn't you like to see this now and know that I'm not trying to hide anything? The 2nd worst spot:

The 3rd worst . . . it's all pretty well smooth sailing from here on . . .

The original Canon rear lens cap is included. Note the lack of wear on the metal mounting surface.

The zoom ring stays put, even when this lens is stood on its end at 210mm and its mount at 70mm . . . No zoom creep. In the MACRO mode, it is physically impossible for the zoom to creep. There is a "right" amount of resistance to zoom and focus changes, and nothing feels odd when shifting into the Macro range, it just slips in smoothly.

P.S. don't forget to buy this lens! Click here and bid!

Maybe It's The Drugs

2012-01-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

There must be something in the air in Central Texas. WM went on a cleaning spree this weekend and got the whole shop cleaned out. Then today I came home from my work with the spotless floor and ALL the boys' toys were scattered in the living room. My Darling Wife decided that RIGHT NOW would be the time to get rid of the toys they don't use, clean out their room to the carpet on all four walls, and rearrange furniture.

Cedar pollen leads to drugs, and the drugs, they lead to . . .

. . .

cleaning?

It's Specifically NOT an Election Year Popularity-Boosting Ploy

2012-01-09T21:33:00.001-08:00

US SECDEF says we don't think Iran is trying to make nuclear weapons.

But Iran controls the straits until their fleet is blown up
at which point China jumps in
and oil skyrockets
and the globe sinks deeper into depression.

The timing of this will let you know just how it works. If Iran is looking mighty next war-ish and Obama takes a bump in the polls because of being the Commander in Chief when it happens, this is an election year wag the dog ploy. Then if he loses and it blows up, the Republicrat in the White House will get the blame for the war we would be dragged into.

What's the worst that could happen?

Coming Up Roses

2012-01-09T21:21:00.000-08:00

Two positive developments appear as I gaze into my navel again:

My 10lbs chihuahua bitch is doing better. She was outside when I got home and acted all "oh poor me I need you to come get me off the ground" when I called her in. My Darling Wife (being a Mexican Female and not one to like ANY non-daughter female getting TLC from me) said she was walking around all day and not to buy the dog's act. I went out and shoo'd the little gimp inside and she was about as quick as ever, but with a big limp.

I thought I had lost $50 and was running out of places to look for it when I found it again! Whew. Good thing I like to sit on accusations of theft without proof vs. just throw them out there.
Example:

VFD: haha, yeah, so about those charges?
Officer: mm-hmm?
VFD: well, uh, nevermind we found it after all. Right where we'd put it for safe keeping.
Officer: we gotta fun thing we do here, where we trade charges: their Theft for your False Reporting
VFD: (ghost)

See? Better to be careful when thinking what happened to your stuff eh.

Poor Little Thing!

2012-01-08T20:02:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure #3 closed the back door on one of our chihuahua dogs. She cried then and she cries when she is picked up. The first time I went to pick her up after it happened she was so crazy with pain she was nipping at me as I picked her up the wrong way - she NEVER bites, ever. She cried a couple of times in her sleep when she rolled over last night.

We looked her over and poked and prodded and she doesn't have any obviously broken bones. We're thinking maybe her first ribs or something in the shoulders is either bruised or cracked. She is tender around the front quarters when she moves though, and doesn't track straight when she walks - which is seldom as it hurts to do.

Tonight when we got in, I dragged her pillow out of their little room until I could lift the pillow with her on it, and carried her into the back yard and turned her out of the pillow. I told her "go potty!" a few times, gently, and she walked a yard, pissed, walked another yard and lay down on the ground. I picked her back up and placed her on the pillow, then it into their room.

We give her 1/2 a baby aspirin and it seems to help a lot but when it wears off she just lays around. No we probably won't taker her to the vet, but that is our way. Recall that I didn't take myself to the vet when I recently broke my finger (which still hurts a little) or my toe (which is all better thanks for asking). She'll be alright, I've been sure. Still, for such a little doggy to be hurting is pitiful indeed to behold.

For Sale: Kodak "Easyshare" Z8612IS Image Stabilized Digital Camera w/ K8500 Charger, KLIC-8000 Battery

2012-01-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

If you arrived at this page from the eBay auction for this kit, please remember to go back and bid once you are done looking at the pictures!

This camera works perfectly. My family has come into a better camera and we are trying to defray the cost of upgrading.

Please click on any image to see it at 4x higher resolution.

It looks great, front and back.

The display is bright and clear, and the controls are easy to use. The Automatic and Program modes all work fine - but if you want to, you can use Aperture, Shutter, or even full Manual control! It has a pretty fast f/2.8 lens AND image stabilization, which helps you make better pictures in lower light.

I forgot to take out the memory card for the next photo. Look back up at the LCD screen at the top/right there is a "remaining capacity" indication - you will be getting a 4GB card which is plenty big enough for a whole vacation unless you REALLY take a lot of pictures. There is also a small onboard memory in case you accidentally leave the card in your reader.

In addition to the memory card, you will receive:

Kodak KLIC-8000 rechargeable battery
Kodak K8500 Rapid Battery Charger
Original Kodak lens cap with retention strap
Canon EOS carry strap

The battery and charger didn't come with the camera. At Amazon they are a $69 separate purchase. It is amazing how much longer this battery lasts than AA batteries. Yes it can take AAs but they go pretty quick. This battery survives a whole birthday party with my Darling Wife taking pictures (hundreds of shots) then you recharge it instead of throwing it away. Kodak should be ashamed they did not include this battery with the camera, but I am including it for you.

The carry strap is (obviously) not the original Kodak strap. The original strap was a 1/2" strip of hard nylon with a chintzy plastic slider. This strap is more than 3x as wide as the one Kodak sent with the camera, and the fabric is soft. Sling this around your neck/shoulder and forget it's there until you want to take a picture. This is better.

The lens cap snaps into the front of the lens and automagically removes itself when you turn on the camera. It does not get lost because it has the retention strap. This is brilliant.

The User Guide and Easyshare software are available online -free- from Kodak.

The data plate is on the bottom

P.S. You don't need to scroll back up . . . click here to go back to eBay and bid on this camera!

My Next Camera Is Here!

2012-01-06T23:47:00.000-08:00

Nikon has announced the D4. This has been anticipated for quite a while thanks to Nikons' 4 year flagship camera announcement cycle. Unless they screw something up it will very likely be a spectacularly good camera . . . like they all have been, and like the D5 will be in four years from now.

I'd like two, please.

For Sale: Samsung Instinct S30 SPH-M810

2012-01-05T20:55:00.000-08:00

If you arrived at this page from the eBay auction for this item, please remember to go back and place your bid when you are finished here!

This phone was in daily use by a lady friend of mine until she was given a new phone on an upgrade/contract deal. It works perfectly well, but she has no use for it and I'm on a different network.

Click on any picture to see it at 4x higher resolution.

Don't let any of the following images fool you: the screen has vivid color and good contrast, but the lights on my bench are WAY bright and throw glare off the screen.

With the case on it looks like any other phone. With the case off it is actually rather handsome and slender-looking.

Those light spots on the back won't clean off with a gentle cleaning solution. Fortunately that is the easiest part of the body skins to change, it just slips off and a new one clicks in place.

The few scratches on the screen are small, shallow, and don't distract from normal use of the device.

This is the worst cosmetic blemish on the whole phone, and it's on the colored skins (not the phone body itself): Fingernail marks by the power port. This is hidden when the black cover is installed, by the way.

HEY! Don't forget to go back to eBay and place your bid!

For Sale: Fast Prime Lens for Canon SLR 50mm f/1.8 FD Mount

2012-01-04T22:20:00.000-08:00

If you landed on this page from the eBay auction for this lens, don't forget to go back and buy the lens when you have seen how clean this puppy is.

This lens has been sitting up for a long time, and now that I'm officially shooting Nikon it is time to let it go. I thought I might land on a 4/3 format (on which an adapter would make this a lovely portrait lens) but that's not the way it turned out.

Click any picture to see it 4x larger, which is ridiculous. The first picture is already larger than life-size on your computer screen!

The front says CANON LENS FD 50mm 1:1.8 / CANON LENS MADE IN JAPAN and the worst cosmetic blemish I can see is a ~3mm scuff on the "steps" leading down to the front element

If I didn't need the money, I might just keep this around because it is pretty. Very little mechanical wear is evident.

The blades on the iris are free of oil. No drag when operated manually.

I used a cut-down rear lens cap to let me operate the lever for the aperture.

This is an old lens from when 50mm was normal on film SLR cameras. Is there dust inside? Yes but it won't show in your pictures. This is focused on the rear element through the cut-out lens cap. Read that linked article and come back and tell me you see a problem here.

More pictures because - well, why not?

If you have read this far, was it worth 10,000 words?

P.S. don't forget to buy this lens! Click here and bid!

Well, Isn't This Cozy?

2012-01-04T21:31:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: it just smells funny is all. The timing of the events that look suspicious may be off and it's legit when you time it all out properly; and he might have legitmately got the job anyway without being on the Austin City Council, I don't know . . .

But isn't it iiiinteresting how Brewster McCracken is now the bighigh mucketymuck at the Pecan Street Solar Project after they got a choice spot in Austin and a bunch of grant dollars to develop their Next Big Ideas?

. . . I'm just sayin . . .

Docking Your Own Pay

2012-01-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

~or, Missing Out on God's Best~

I stayed up late Saturday and woke up an hour late on Sunday. If I'd really hustled the Zoo we could have got to church on time for the sunday school lessons, but I didn't. On the way to the subsequent church service (an hour late for an hourlong class) I realized I had hurt myself.

If I wake up an hour late during the week, I call in and tell them I'll be late. No problem, they'll just dock my pay. But then, if you miss a church service, you are also losing out. The loss is spiritual. I am pretty sure between the children and the adults, SOMEbody missed out on a really good Sunday School Lesson that day.

******

Do you value your money? Get up!

Do you value your spiritual progress as a Christian? Get up!

********

There's a sermon in there, I'm pretty sure.

Negotiations: a Sign of Weakness

2012-01-03T22:04:00.000-08:00

You can console yourself all you like by saying that Western Civilization is more advanced. When you are dealing with a group which understands only the language of force, negotiations are a potential mistake. There are talks about talks between the Taliban and various national and regional governments in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and this is possibly not-good.

There are political realities on the ground which must be taken into account, I grant you. But when you start negotiating you acknowledge the superiority of your enemy in a war. The possibility exists that the Tangoes will take it as a sign of impending victory and start getting uppity. Then Afghanistan and Pakistan start to degenerate again and let's all raise our hands if we think the USA will be willing to send another couple hundred thousands of troops over there and sink another trillion dollars into the graveyard of empires.

So: make that TWO costly wars suddenly winding down for political reasons during an election year, with huge potential to undo everything we've worked to achieve on the ground in the war zones. But hey, there's an election to win and those pacifists and bringemhomenow types just won't pander to themselves!

Madness @ Work

2012-01-03T21:09:00.001-08:00

Cosmetic condition varies. At work we have for sale a heaping pile or two of Akro storage bins. These things sell fairly well, even used with minor cosmetic blemishes. Most of the time, used is just fine and very few are really used-up and useless. This little guy, however, was a little bit past its prime. Cosmetic condition varies in lots like this. Some may be like-new and some are marked-up with old stickers and paint & whatnot . . .

but . . .

you have to draw the line somewhere, and that line is pretty well and thoroughly crossed when you unload a 500lbs pallet of goods and realize that it was sitting funny because the weight was all smashing down on an Akro bin.

.
.
.

like so:

Height: 1/4" to 3", varies. Available at a significant discount!

Oopsy!

The Kids Are Alright

2012-01-03T21:00:00.000-08:00

My Darling Wife took the Zoo grocery shopping the other day. As the groceries were being unloaded both babies started requiring attention. The groceries sat on the kitchen floor, until our older two children (combined age: still couldn't drive alone, legally) decided to take it on themselves to put the groceries away. Pretty much everything actually ended up where it was supposed to go, even, but they are children and perfection is a bit much to expect . . .

The loaves of bread get stacked on the back edge of the counter, after all, right? In case you missed it, that would be an open half-loaf under the two new loaves. I call this a qualified parenting win.

Stick America With a Fork, I Think She's Done

2012-01-02T19:37:00.000-08:00

You, as an American citizen, in America, can be detained for an unlimited duration, without a lawyer, without charges being brought. President Obama just signed it into law. Because, you know, you could be a ~~political adversary~~ terrorist or something. Better safe than sorry when it comes to imprisoning people, right? Isn't that what the founders said, "It is better that one hundred innocent Persons should suffer than that one guilty person should escape?" Oh well I heard something like that was said, once.

Sure it's unconstitutional. But who will challenge it? If people are disappeared and don't get a trial, how will this ever get to the supreme Court with a party in valid standing as a plaintiff? Okay, so maybe somebody gets an injunction on principle and it's overturned by a court and the law is tossed out . . . but it was made law in the first place, by 86 of our 100 Senators and our duly elected President signed it despite "reservations" about the bill. You know what he should have done? Killed it. He would be a hero if he killed it but he signed the bill into law. What's worse people that (formerly) got MY vote voted for this monstrosity. The reasons this is a total fail overall are very many, but it might just be the single-issue for some single-issue voters that gets a bunch of people to vote against the wouldhavebeenamajority Republicans in the upcoming elections. We'll see.

I could be wrong, but I don't think I am. It's over. America as it was intended to be by the people who made it - is done. We've jumped the shark. We're now waiting for the fizzle. It was real for a minute there, though. So long, land of the free.

It's A Man Thing

2012-01-02T19:12:00.000-08:00

My Darling Wife just had me come get #4. He's pushing 1.5 years old, and takes showers with Mommy still. She handed him to me, swaddled in a towel. Suddenly, stink!

Just as I was turning away and she was getting out of the shower, he dropped an SBD stink bomb. Crop dusted his mother and not even 2 years old.

L
O
L

verizonwireless.com Website Blows Chunks.

2012-01-02T17:52:00.000-08:00

Comparing features of phones includes reading reviews. So I was reading reviews. The page hung and I went to a different tab where the website told me I was about to get booted off for inactivity. As I was using the website.

That is to say: if you are using the verizonwireless.com website, you get kicked off after 15 minutes unless you click the box. . . on a different tab than the one you are using. If you don't see the box because you are on a different tab using the same website, tough cookies.

Somebody report this to the thisisbroken.com website already. It's a quibble but how hard is it to get your website to track active users instead of active tabs?

********

Plus the stupid popup menus and login boxes all over the place are slow, and don't dismiss as quickly as they should when they do pop up - which is often. How do you write a page so it loads with the BOTTOM of the page (disclaimers) onscreen instead of the top (content) showing? Poor. For everything else it may be the bees knees . . . but for reviewing phones in depth it could use some work. Oh well, what do you want for free?

Free Vacation, Anytime, With 1 Catch

2012-01-01T19:00:00.001-08:00

My Darling Wife went on a free vacation this weekend. She got to choose the time and it was even available on short notice. Spent approximately a whole day with NO children pounding on the door when she was trying to powder her nose, nobody pulling her arm as she tried to take a bite, no four screaming people in the same room with her ears.

The catch: it was at my parents' house. She went and took a break from the children (including me) and hung out with the adults for New Years. She said it was a great thing. I think I'll make coupons so she can just go if she needs to.

Bonus: we made arrangements for her to get a free cell phone, to replace the last free cell phone she's had for a year. That one recently died as she was holding it in her hand going down the plastic slide at the park (a.k.a. the Static Generator 2000). Score, thanks Jesus!

Ugh . . . Hold Your Nose and Vote For Perry?

2012-01-01T00:09:00.000-08:00

Borepatch is looking down the same gun barrel as the rest of us this election year. He has endorsed Rick Perry for POTUS 2012. It's a tough call, and we're not even through the primary election season! Can I vote for Duncan Hunter again? Oh well, we'll see what November brings us. I'm afraid it just might bring us Presient Obama Round 2 because the Republican voters stay home in disgust and Obama takes a landslide.

Republican party, you suck. Get up and shake the tree once you pick your candidate, because he sucks already and we haven't even picked him yet. If you don't convince the easily-swayed he doesn't suck more than Obama for four more years, we're screwed. P.S. we're starting off biased toward the screwed end of the spectrum.

Don't MAKE me get up off'n my chair and run for President!

Happy As A Clam at High Altitude . . .

2011-12-31T19:14:00.000-08:00

I have two helicopters. A Syma S109G and an S108G. They are -by far- the most-fun thing I can imagine at this price point. What is more, they absorb ridiculous amounts of crashing without apparent damage. But they will take damage and wear down eventually. The S109G was not able to lift itself, even after I straightened out the shafts and cleaned and lubricated the gearing. I thought the battery might be going downhill. The S108G was flying okay, but it wanted to turn left more than it used to do, and it sounded like it had a little gas motor inside, after it hit the refrigerator. Today I had some slack time* and decided to take a peek inside both planes.

The S109G was flying again, maybe a minute per charge. A kind soul at work donated a full set of replacement blades from his dog-eaten helicopter. The first set of blades was thoroughly chewed-up from repeated crashes. The lower main rotors lost lots of chunks (about 1/4 total length x 2mm) and it would still fly, but the upper rotors losing chunks was the end of the fun. New blades let it fly again, which was not entirely unexpected. But it wasn't flying amazingly well, or for long. I opened it up and measured the power going to the motors. These aircraft have two little motors and two little transistor switching circuits to drive the motors. I thought in all my tinkering I might have killed one of the FET switches. 4.2V DC at the motor terminals looked about right. But one motor wasn't turning strongly, if it turned at all which it did about 1/3 the time when I hit the collective. Dead motor. Boo. I left it in pieces and moved on to the S108G.

The S108G had lost a tooth on the gears when the rotors suddenly stopped under the fridge. That was the noise. I went to swap in a gear from the S109G and found the gears in the S108G are captive, held on by a pressed-in pin. Bummer. But the motors are the same, and it looks like each bird has the same two motors, a black top and a white top. They have the same motor output gears, spaced the same on the same-colored motors. I pulled the defunct white top motor from the S109G and traded it into the S108G. This involved fine-wire soldering and a delicate touch but it was done.

Sharky rides again!** I had forgotten how high-performing the S109G is. That fresh motor made it a whole new airplane, thank God. And now that I'm a better pilot I think this set of blades should last a bit longer. Now I just need to scratch together a couple of dollars for a set of gears, rob a motor from that other dog-eaten helo, and I should be back in the fun times-two!

Thanks God for making me clever enough to figure this stuff out.

********

*nap time for the babies. #4 ended up n0t-sleeping and I had #1 and #2 entertain him. This worked only marginally well but at least no 3mm long screws ended up in the carpet.

**The S109G has shark teeth on the front, and the children dubbed it "Sharky" as it chased them around the living room. The S108G Laser Mouth, with a very bright white LED under the nose.

Geeks Stay Up Later

2011-12-30T23:07:00.000-08:00

This camera I'm thinking of buying seems to have a back focus problem. I ran one google search, and came up with a half-dozen links that add up to a small book. It's a good thing I read fast because this is a lot of stuff to absorb.

Like what?

Like this. This is pretty deep into the weeds for non-camera people, so don't feel like you're missing something if you get bored immediately.

********

I adjusted the focus on this camera body and committed to the purchase. Now I just have to come up with another couple hundred bucks to get a fast prime lens . . .

Nothing. I Got Nothing.

2011-12-29T19:51:00.000-08:00

I haven't been to bed before the next day at any time this week, I think, but my memory is fuzzy due to fatigue. Last night I went to bed just before two and #3 woke up 3 times between then and three thirty. I don't know what his problem was, but it might have involved Christmas lights in front of the window shining in through the double curtains and making the room bright as the dawn.

So once again nothing is as interesting as my own navel . . . I'm off to Mish's Global Economic Analysis blog and then Instapundit to check the news. Join me or not, I'm so tired I don't really mind either way . . . .

The Flesh Indeed Is Willing . . .

2011-12-28T20:52:00.001-08:00

. . . but the budget is weak!

I have a chance to get a screaming deal on a camera outfit, something I have been wanting for quite a while. This is a decent used kit, for sale around 1/2 the street value. I took a couple of photos for my Darling Wife, and it was "camera ho-hum" time, but then I broke out a special filter that makes crossed highlights on all spots of brightness. I took one photo of our ceiling fan and she was sold right there.

Now I need to get off my duff and finally sell all the junk sitting around not being useful. Sometimes I wonder why I hold off on doing some things . . . not-selling this stuff is one of those things. It's money sitting there gathering dust in the garage, why not . . . oooooh I was waiting for this camera deal to come along. Alrighty then. The seller is a guy who "knows where I work" and he trusts me with a camera worth more than this on an occasional basis. I'm trying this one out. Oops!

I just realized I have broken a cardinal rule: never test-drive a nicer car than you can afford! Oh well. We'll make room in the budget for this one, I think. Score!

You Are What You Do.

2011-12-27T21:26:00.001-08:00

It does not matter what you think you are.
It does not matter what other persons think you are.
It does not matter what you say.
What matters is what happens. You are not what you say you are, what you think you are, or what others think of you.

You are what you do.

A random rich person with $8500 worth of camera and lens who cannot make a decent exposure is a novice. Ansel Adams with a 110 film disposable is a photographer.

A he/she hermaphrodite genetic freak of nature that goes to work in an accounting firm all day long and stays home at night, is an accountant. A standard-equipment male who crawls around the street fair in San Francisco with a whip handle stuck where the sun don't shine, sucking penii of random strangers without prophylaxis, is a queer.

A woman who pops out a child and then abuses/abandons it, is a Bad Person. A woman who takes said child in to her home without the obligation to do it, then feeds, shelters, nurses, and generally cares for it, is a Mother.

********

This couples hand-and-glove with the fact that you will do what is important to you. IF you do things which seem irrational, the seeming is false. You might not be acting on the basis of a healthy motivation, but when examined in the twisted illogic of your subconscious mind your actions will make sense.

You want things to be okay so you spend yourself deep into debt. You want to feel better about your body so you eat too much. You want to save energy so you install solar panels that take more energy to produce than they will ever make. The logic may be twisted so it takes a trained mind to follow, but it will have been there when the therapy bills are all paid and you are sane.

********

[deleted] no, I don't go to a therapist! I thought this up all by my lonesome and here it is spilled onto my computer screen so I don't have to burden my Darling Wife with such thoughts at an inconvenient moment. A therapist is not required: I'm a macho. When there is a problem I confront it to the face, deal with it, and leave it behind me. I have been accused of arrogance, rudeness, and a lack of political tact . . . I am also not one to be found stressing over old stuff or letting problems fester.

The Good/The Bad/The Ugly

2011-12-25T16:31:00.000-08:00

Good: 12lbs chunk of Sirloin for Christmas dinner
Bad: Teeth that sometimes bleed
Good: The meat is so thick you have well-done and still-bleeding, all on one piece in the same oven, when it's done cooking.
Bad: The first bite of beef is bloody and it tastes like teeth that are bleeding
Good: The second bite is well-done and tastes and feels much better
Bad: The slice you grab for dinner looks well done but is just barely brown and not really cooked
Good: It tastes like cooked beef on the way down, and mixes well with the other stuff on the plate
Bad: Feeling like puking because it really wasn't cooked and it was a big ol' slice
Good: Darling Wife drives home and a nap is taken

Merry Christmas!

Total Pillow Total Victory

2011-12-24T10:01:00.000-08:00

The point of advertisement is to get you to want what they have to sell you. Total Pillow just ran a commercial on my idiot box. Near the end of it, my Darling Wife and I were agreeing that it looked like a nice thing to have, and #3 (lying on the floor in front of the TV) said "Can I have one of those?"

It looks like a good product, but my had is off to the people at Total Pillow for making a commercial that had everyone watching in my living room wanting one. I'm WAY to cheap to buy one (well, two for the price of one, plus two hot/cold packs that fit in the pillow, just pay separate shipping/handling fees) but I'll give them a free plug for doing such a good job on the television spot!

Madness at Work

2011-12-23T12:59:00.000-08:00

Overheard at the smallish company where I work, at various times:

LB: Hey, where'd Chris go?
VFD: He got fired!
:rimshot:
CB: LOL

NP: Hey at least I didnt get here late, guido
VFD (not part of the conversation): Yeah, guido!
CJ (also not part of the conversation): Yeah, guido!
Guido: Hey, f**k you, f**k you, f**k you
CJ & VFD (at about same time): . . ."not you, you're cool."
(if you missed the reference, you missed a funny movie as well)

TS: (sounding tired at 09:20): Okay (pause) - I want to go home.
VFD: Nobody's keeping you here at gunpoint, buddy!
TS: Oh yeah, sure, gimme your keys and . . .
VFD: You try taking my keys, there might be somebody keeping you here at gunpoint!
Guido, TS, VFD: LOL

Idiots. We're All Going To Fall Into A Pit

2011-12-22T22:00:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest payroll companies in the country said most of the smaller companies will be totally unable to do something to payroll tax withholding that only lasts two months, beginning readysetNOW. It is, literally, impossible - in addition to being the dumb thing to do. Going for a 2-month tax holiday extension instead of holding out for the one-year extension and taking their case to the People shows that the Republican party is in desperate need for a change of leadership. I never was a great fan of Boehner and this just further proves how right I was about that opinion.

So you would be getting two more months without paying "your fair share" into the Social Security system. It is effectively a pay raise, at the expense of your retirement account. Sounds good in soundbytes but is stupid long-term. So of course Obama was for it and the Republicrats let themselves be dragged along for the ride. Public imaging AND logic fail.

Nothing to See Here

2011-12-21T20:51:00.001-08:00

The world economies swirl around the toilet bowl, the nation is on track to elect any of a series of horrible candidates, and my christmas lights blew a circuit breaker . . . but . . . so what. I've been on antihistamines for days now and my givadamn is broken. Haven't had a good night's sleep since Sunday. Last night the air handler kept sounding like a crying baby, plus lots of crazy full-color dreams thanks to a dose of B12. I'm tired and even huge news sounds dull just now. Hungary's sovereign debt downgraded to junk? Ho-hum! SOPA means the end of the free Internet in America? And?

Geez, I think I'll get some sleep instead of being jaded out in the open where everyone can see it.

Boy Hit In Head By Helicoptor Rotor Blades

2011-12-20T18:55:00.000-08:00

. . . miraculously survives!

In related news, I was flying a Syma S109G and chasing the Zoo therewith. The thing was running low on battery so the rate of climb was not as high as it should have been. I saw that #4 was too close so I called out a warning and grabbed as much collective as I could, but it was too late. He responded to my warning by toddling his yearanahalfold head straight into the prop arc. Two of the main rotor blade tips caught him on the forehead and the chopper crashed, hard.

I laid the controller aside and checked the baby. He almost had two little pink lines on his head. For a few minutes he was calling the plane "hot!" as it flew around the room. By the end of the flight he was chasing after the thing again.

Good times.

Bring on the Rain Drizzle!

2011-12-19T20:29:00.000-08:00

Normally, 7" of rain in a couple of weeks would fill The Lake (the wide part of the Colorado River we call Lake Travis) up about 10' higher but that hasn't happened. 7" of rain in a day on bone-dry ground would cause huge flash floods, but that also hasn't happened. We have had something like 6-7" of rain in the last couple of weeks and The Lake is up about a foot. And it has been drizzling pretty much all day most days it was raining. Very, very gentle rains.

There was so little rain this year, the ground is soaking all this drizzle up like a proverbial sponge.

This is great good news. We are getting exactly the sort of rains we needed to prepare the land for heavier rain. It means the mold spores go crazy making me allergic, but the land will be ready to absorb the heavier rains I hope we will be getting soon. I hope we get some heavy rains soon, because going into a dry year with all the major local reservoirs at 1/3 capacity is . . . not great.

So? So join me in thanking God for the annoying constant dripping and stifling high humidity we've been having - the alternatives, all of them, are worse.

Hey Whydoncha Talkabout . . .

2011-12-19T19:50:00.000-08:00

You have noticed that I don't cover the major news of the day. It occurred to me again the reason for this is simple: you can get that anyplace and (if you are like me) you hear it all day. You don't need another blatherer-on about the headlines. If I've got a different take on something, or something to say, then I might talk about the news. Failing something creative, I'll just let you go to Instapundit

Things To Know About

2011-12-18T13:22:00.000-08:00

Don't use a neti pot. They are disgusting. If you do use a neti pot, do yourself a favor and don't use non-sterile water from any source in the southern United States. Specifically don't use tap water - or you could die. Most fresh warm water 'round here has these amoebae in there somewhere. Your water heater makes them happy. Boil, distill, or buy sterile the water you pour in your nose.

Good night, can you imagine holding your child down to rinse them with a neti pot against their will, and then this happens? Wow.

The techology-ignorant want to pass a bill to help out their BFFs in the recording industry, but they would rather you don't notice. Too bad there is the internet now, and news spreads at the speed of ~~bloggers crosslinking each other~~ light. With this series of tubes, we can put out word of bills written when Congress is supposed to be out of session, without the aid of subject matter experts, that make daily online activity (potentially even making a link like this) a crime. Keep praying - our contry is in deep trouble while THESE people are at the helm.

Well, That Was Fast

2011-12-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

The doorknob hasn't even hit us on the way out and already we're seeing sectarian shenanigans in Iraq. This totally unexpected turn of events is sure to be met with zero effectual response from the Obama White House.

"Unexpectedly!"

hat tip: Instapundit

The Vicious Cycle

2011-12-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

Begin on a day with bad allergies. Take enough medicine to feel okay inside the house. Go walk around looking at christmas lights for two hours to begin the cycle

Head hurts.
Frown.
Hurts worse.
Frown more.
Get cramps in frown muscles on forehead, hurts worse.
Frown more.
Hurts worse.
Repeat.

Go home and lie down, massage forehead and relax. It will start to be less worse. A tylenol and a sleep later, it will feel better.

I Mull

2011-12-16T20:53:00.000-08:00

It won't work, but it could get ugly if the Obama "Justice" Department wanted to go farther. If there were really a case against Sheriff Arpaio, there would be charges. What there appears to be is a bunch of aggreived brown people bitching to investigators, but no actual violations, and a Federal attempt to intimidate Joe Arpaio into not trying to see the law gets enforced.

The feds did such a great job taking care of a huge problem of illegal immigrants causing trouble in Phoenix that it isn't the number one city for kidnappings. NO, Phoenix (Maricopa County) Arizona is only the SECOND worst city in the world for kidnappings and the worst for car thefts in the country. So what's the problem? Why do those yokels in Arizona think they have to take the law in their own hands and start enforcing NATIONAL immigration law at the STATE level? Why, they must be a bunch of RAAAAACISTS!

The feds say the good people in Maricopa County no longer have permission to detain people on immigration charges instead of letting the feds to it . . . and no, the feds won't do it, either. Will the people of Phoenix tolerate a sanctuary city created by the dictates of some leftist bureaucrat in the District of Columbia?

The feds won't enforce the border, and they will gin up a bunch of hassle for you if you do. ~~Borders.~~ ~~Language.~~ ~~Culture.~~ The three elements that define a nation are hated by the top levels of the government in the nation. What, then, do we have left?

No, I don't believe the allegations rise to the level you hear trumped up on the news broadcasts. Maybe Sheriff Arpaio is hard on criminals. And?

What's The Worst That Could Happen?

2011-12-15T21:33:00.000-08:00

It is about to be legal for the Feds to come and get you, impound you, not charge, and interrogate you Guantanamo style. The President, big chiefy man-pants manly man that he is, has totally folded on his veto ~~threat~~ bluff.

"What then shall we do? A predatory regime of both parties has provided the citizenry with another reason to shoot first and ask questions later when a raid party comes to your home. . . . These unprincipled idiots are playing with matches in a powder magazine. And the first match of this new box just got struck." Sipsey Street Irregulars

We'll see. I can't help but think some good solid Federal agents are going to be leaving wives and children with the cold comfort of life insurance payouts because of this. I am reminded of a law that kills people in Houston. On certain highways at certain times of day, your car will be gone within six minutes. Tow trucks patrol the areas to keep the roads clear. Traffic moves. And a few years ago I heard of the first guy who was killed playing Frogger on a busy highway trying to get gasoline for his empty fuel tank, instead of catching a tow bill.

Sure and you're not an innocent man if you don a mask to disappear your fellow Americans . . . but eventually one of those matches is going to find a fuse, mark the words.

The War Is Over Begins?

2011-12-15T20:57:00.000-08:00

We are leaving. They are not ready to stand up and defend the Iraq we are leaving. They have powerful political and religious conflicts that have been kept down by our presence. Stand by for any/all of the following:

Religious/ethnic cleansing dramatically increases. Being anything but the right kind of muslim is about to become very hazardous for the health of anyone in Iraq
International aggression. Iran will have basically no impediment to taking a large swath of Iraq and making it into the "greater persia" Savage tried to warn us about
Domestic pressure, rising even to the level of a civil war. The Kurds still are there, you know. The partitioning some of us tried to lobby for may happen without us, after we tried so hard to prevent it.

^ The beginning of something horrible?

And why are we leaving before the local government is ready to defend itself? Duh! It's an election year! There was no defined goal, so there was no victory. In Vietnam at least we had a definite victory before we left the locals to ~~defend themselves~~ twist in the wind.

Ron Paul Wins Iowa Caucus?

2011-12-14T21:11:00.000-08:00

The caucusgoers in Iowa are settling in, reviewing their choices, and finding them distasteful. Ron Paul benefits by being merely an old crank, vs. a philanderer or a Mormon. The press, of course, can't bring themselves to mention it in a story on the subject until 6 paragraphs in.

********

Of course, it could be that they are also reading Vote For David.

********

May God help our republic

2011-12-13T21:21:00.000-08:00

"This is a difficult recommendation, but it’s the right recommendation and it’s time" -Deborah Hersman, NTSB Chairwoman

Agreed.

There is just shy of NOTHING as important as driving when you are driving. To make a call that just can't wait, pull over. To receive a call that just can't wait, use the hands-free and tell them to wait, then pull over. If it can't wait and you can't pull over, that's an emergency and there is an exception for that in the recommendation.

Note: what you are getting from the grocery is not an emergency. Facebook is not an emergency. You suck that it has to come down to the law to get you off the phone while you are driving.

How [deleted] Hard Is It?

2011-12-13T20:35:00.001-08:00

We went to the grocery store tonight. I went to the Cart Return area and saw that not one but TWO carts were there beside the return chute. That would be, facing the wrong way in the parking spot beside the chute, three and five steps respectively from being properly inserted into the rest of the carts 100% sure not to roll off and smash somebody else's car.

Then we went to the gas station to fill up Bad Robot. Parked smack in the middle of the driveway, directly in front of what would be a lane of traffic next to two pumps, was a car. Standing, lights on. Female driver texting. Waiting for the special man-friend to come out of the shop-n-rob with his purchases.

Because, as I have said before, you are furniture. You are exactly dog-poo to the people of Austin. F U and DIAF if you get in their way, but consideration for you? Looking out for you? Meh.

********

Yes, I put the two stray carts in the return chute.

Mighty Fine Detective Work, Lou

2011-12-13T04:30:00.000-08:00

Thug beats life sentence when his lawyer notices he was locked up when the crime was committed. Alibi: check!

Why's he gotta be a thug?

He's in and out of jail so much, he didn't remember he was in when he was accused of being out committing the crime. Also he's up against five more, unrelated charges currently.

We Depend on These People for Our National Energy Needs

2011-12-12T20:31:00.000-08:00

A woman in Saudi Arabia made a living committing fraud. Then she was tried, convicted, and executed for . . .
.
.
.
witchcraft.

I'm Tired. And I Smell Nice

2011-12-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

We got our christmas tree tonight. It takes a surprisingly long time to pick needles out of the carpet. The house smells like pine sap again and that includes those of us who were tree-hugging to get the thing upright in its stand.

Good times.

#2 decorated his bedroom with the tree lights, so we need to get more lights. Raise your hand if you decorated your room with christmas lights when you were a child!

You Will

2011-12-11T21:03:00.000-08:00

You will click here.

You will watch.

That is all.

(2 minutes of fun if you think first person shooting videos are fun)

Celtic Thunder Indeed!

2011-12-11T19:22:00.000-08:00

The televisor somehow was turned on tonight to a fund raiser for PBS that included a "concert" called

CELTIC THUNDER11!!!!!1

Apparently, Celtic Thunder translates directly to "whiteasricewhiteboys lipsync mid-1950s holiday carols to snappy lounge/easy-listening jazz muzac." So now you know.

Trying Their Luck?

2011-12-10T19:29:00.000-08:00

The climate conference in Durban has apparently come to a deal. They have agreed to agree to something over the next five years, and in another five years it would go into effect.

They agreed to:
Global taxation/wealth redistribution for poor countries' benefit
Third world countries have to use the same expensive clean technology as everybody else
You have to participate, it will be legally binding

All of this, of course, will be pretty hard to cram down the throats of the people of the civilized world. Look for backing from watermelon/closet socialists, rich people who make money either way making the transactions, manufacturers of "green" technology, and especially the leaders of crooked 3rd world "developing" nations who will be happy to steal whatever money they can that is supposed to go toward making their environment cleaner.

The loser, if the deal can be brought to life?

You.

Copilot Saves Family's Life, Film at 11:00

2011-12-10T19:16:00.000-08:00

Driving home from my parents' house, I was tired but thought I was ok to drive. Then I woke up crossing the lane markers and my Darling Wife asked me if I were okay. I asked her right back and she said she was. She sounded like she meant it.

Chinese Fire Drill . . . Go!

I was asleep a minute later and woke up when we got into our part of the world again. I could have made myself stay awake the whole drive home. Maybe. And maybe I'd have put us over the side of an overpass.

There's a joke that is slightly less funny tonight but I'm still smiling:

As Close To Official As It Gets . . . . Before The Man Says So

2011-12-09T16:09:00.000-08:00

When the US Government announces a recession, they do it in retrospect. It is usually hard to call the beginning of a recession as the nation falls into one. But there are various indicators one can call on to give an idea of whether or not we are in a recession. Big news: the indicators are pointing to an ongoing recession.

With charts.

Man With Gun at Birthday Party!

2011-12-09T16:03:00.001-08:00

Two guns, actually. No goblins showed up, so they were never drawn. Well, almost never. #4 saw Big Brother on my hip before the party and said, "No-no. No-no." I drew it and showed it to him and said "That's right, no-no for baby." Then I pulled off the holster and let him play with that instead until he got bored (10 seconds). THEN nobody even noticed.

Cynical? Us?

2011-12-08T22:33:00.000-08:00

My Darling Wife has been hanging out with me too long, perhaps. Every time she sees President Obama speaking on the Televisor, she changes the channel as she says something like "There he goes, lying again."

Ancient joke: how can you tell (insert politician's name here) is lying? Because their lips are moving! But seriously, she may be on to something. Hint to President Obama: your campaign trail lies are supposed to be HARD to spot.

Hat tip: Instapundit

"Absolute Victory"

2011-12-07T22:02:00.000-08:00

It's okay Japan, you don't have to offer annual apologies for getting us into World War II. We kicked your face in, and we DID see Absolute Victory, just like Roosevelt said we would.

Quote of the Day: "China apparently is preparing for war. What are we preparing for?" -Laura Ingraham, 07 Dec 2011, the day they told their Navy to prepare for combat.

Humility and Honesty: Most Musicians Could Use Some Improvement

2011-12-07T20:24:00.000-08:00

I spent a few minutes with a pianiste tonight, recording her playing first her part, then my part. Now this lady is the best piano player I know personally and that is saying something. Not only can she play as-written music, she can play what she thinks you wanted to hear, and she can pick up like nothing happened when a partner or even the Conductor stumbles. She's no slouch at the keyboard. She doesn't like to be recorded because her playing is, as she says, "bad."

Little known fact: a good musician thinks they are not as good as you think they are. You can't tell when they wince and give themselves facepalms during every performance. THEY know what they have got wrong; YOU have no idea. I know this from personal experience. Yes I am talented thanks God. I'm humble also, and also frankly honest. I know I'm good at singing, but I also don't like performing or being recorded, because I know how it ought to sound. I was recently (literally) applauded for a performance when I was not altogether pleased how it came out. The Conductor said afterward that I had done well. I told him I had done well for a first sight-reading, but that I knew he heard the little bits here and there that I also didn't like. With tact, he didn't answer but only smiled. He's good, too.

Buy Me This

2011-12-06T21:28:00.000-08:00

You will buy me a helicopter. My psychic powers force you to donate $25 to the cause. It does not matter how many of you do this, because there is no practical limit to the amount of fun to be had with this item. The more the merrier, literally, as proved by recent experience at my workplace.

Seriously. If you don't have one of these, you should.

No Exceptions

2011-12-06T21:25:00.000-08:00

It is a violation of Federal law to have any dealings with foreign drug cartels.

Yet we have sent them money and guns, possibly also grenades.

This is illegal for our government to do, and there are no "we wanted to see where the stuff ended up" investigation exceptions. SOMEBODY better be going to prison for a long time, or America was lost altogether a long time ago.

They used to say "ignorance of the law is no excuse" but these days the ones violating the laws are government agents. Then what?

Shopping for a Wookie Suit, Maybe?

2011-12-05T21:14:00.000-08:00

Astonishing even to myself, I find myself on the brink of casting a primary vote for . . . Ron Paul. Gingrich is slimy, Romney is crazed, Perry is . . . Perry, and all the rest are irrelevant. So. Does that leave Paul as the least worst or the last, best?

Christians, please pray for our nation as we enter this election year. We need some serious help.

YGTBFKM

2011-12-04T20:10:00.000-08:00

My reaction: "F*cking kidding me." I turned the computer, saying "Brought to you by the same people that brought you the Fast and the Furious/Project Gunwalker," and let my Darling Wife read the story, and she said, "You've GOT to be kidding me."

The story: Under the same super-genius leadership that sent guns to the Mexican drug cartels to see where they would go, now our tax dollars hard at work have sent straight-up CASH to the drug cartels, to see how their money laundering schemes work. Let's send money and guns to the cartels in Mexico, what's the worst could happen?

But, hey, at least we have the consolation that " . . . agents weren’t laundering money for the sake of laundering money." so it's all right then.

Cain Quits?

2011-12-03T15:02:00.001-08:00

The quitter.

DIY/SOLVED! Mr. Coffee Maker Stops Making Coffee, Only Gives Steam

2011-12-03T14:06:00.000-08:00

A few months ago we got a Mr. Coffee coffee maker to replace the old coffee maker that had died of old age. it was attractive enough and cost just over $10 so we picked it up. Right from the start this Mr. Coffee CG12 would spit and hiss more than we liked, and as time went by you would have to hit it on the side to make it spit out hot water instead of steam. Otherwise it would just make an annoying gurgling/hissing noise and take for-e-ver to brew a pot. This sucks, especially when three months later you have to smack the coffeemaker every 5 seconds just so your coffee is done inside of 20 minutes. Yesterday, frustrated at having to babysit the percolator, I determined to send it back to the store for an exchange.

Today, I brewed my coffee in a pot on the stove and broke out the screwdrivers. One #1 Philips and a somewhat esoteric security Torx bit are all that are required to completely disassemble the machine. I took the water inlet hose off and blew/sucked. Sure enough, there is a check valve in there and sure enough it was not sealing against pressure from the boiler side. Squeezing gently on the tube is enough to pop the check valve out. The little ball inside the check valve was covered in what looked like sand. Hard water deposits, very likely. I cleaned it off and noticed that the ball is two hemispheres glued together with a little lip around the edges where it was not glued perfectly-round at the factory. I shaved off the casting flash and polished the rough edges with a knife VERY carefully as any gouges would render it useless. I cleaned the seat inside the valve with a Q-tip.

Then I gave the whole machine a good overall cleaning, put it back together, and was back to making coffee. I ran several pots of water and a half-pot of vinegar to get out the loose chunks of chalk, brewed a pot of coffee, and learned a minor lesson:

Don't let it heat up the water, spitting water back into the reservoir while you add the filter and coffee- this will only speed the otherwise slow death-by-calcium deposits of the check valve.

Problems With Newt Gingrich Are Not His Problems

2011-12-02T23:17:00.000-08:00

That is to say, they are his problems, but they are not unique to him. And they are huge, and if you were honest you would consider them disqualifiers for the Presidency of the United States.

He is a lying, cheating, hypocritical philanderer. While Bill Clinton was stuck on Gingrich's pitchfork for cheating with Lewinsky, Gingrich was carrying on an affair of his own. He has twice married women with whom he was having extramarital affairs, less than a year after divorcing his previous wives. Both his wives, by the way, lost him right after they came down with horrible, possibly nasty death-causing diseases. The sequence is: marry Newt, get sick, and be dumped for somebody younger with whom he was already cheating.

He is fat. As has been said previously: "Being fat is a pretty strong indicator that you are lazy, stupid, or morally suspect. It is not definitive, but it's pretty close."

Combine those two, and you have a certainty approaching 100% that Newt Gingrich is morally broken somehow. This started very early in his life. He was schtupping a high school teacher while still in high school. That is not the first sign of a broken moral compass, it is rather a late symptom. This is evidence of a faulty family life from a young age. It is hardly Newt's fault that his father and mother couldn't keep their marriage together. His mother's second marriage was much more durable, but something was bad-wrong in that home. How else do you hope to explain it that the family produced not only this guy but also a half-sister of his that is a thoroughly messed-up-in-the-head "LGBT" queer activist?

With other members of Congress and Common Cause, he brought an ethics charge against a member of Congress who . . . did the same stuff he was doing. Hypocrite. He converted from Protestant to Catholic; if that means anything to you, 'nuff said. He made a public service announcement with Nancy Pelosi to get you to take action to prevent catastrophic climate change . . . which he regrets now that he wants your vote, but would have done it again, before he was a candidate.

I could go on, but you get the point. This guy is NOT who you want to vote for in the PRIMARY. In the Primary vote for the one you want to see nominated from your party. Not who you think can win, but who you want to see running.

Do you really want this guy running?

Quote of the Day 12/02/2011

2011-12-02T23:07:00.000-08:00

"The political story of the year is how many directions Republicans are willing to go, to avoid going in Romney's direction" -George Will, today on Laura Ingraham's show

They were talking about how each of the Republican candidates has had a huge runup in the polls until something came along to sink them. Each except Mitt Romney, who is laying low hoping to pick up the nomination by default.

***

Runner-up for QOTD is from Michael Savage, by way of a caller who said it back to him. She said he changed her life a while back by saying that . . .

"The general state is Morose. The rest is just a bonus"

That is to say, if you are not walking around with a stupid grin on your face all day every day, you are normal. Most people are at least a little bit "down" most of the time. You don't need a pill or a head shrinker to fix you, because you are not broke.

***

Then there is the second runner-up and I didn't hear if it was said by Newt or Mitt. If it was from Newt that makes it the winner; from Romney it's just true. They were talking about how "smart" Gingrich is, and somebody says . . .

"What you really want is somebody wise enough to avoid the BIG mistakes"

And I thought, oh really? Big mistakes like THREE failed marriages? Or is that somehow not an indication that you suck at life and fail as a human being?

I looked it up. Apparently he's still only on three marriages. Given his track record, however, it is only a matter of time until he's on four marraiges and three divorces. Just wait until a year after his third wife is diagnosed with some horrible illness, then check again.

VFD!

What? That's his pattern!

Four Monitors Is A Luxury

2011-12-02T22:04:00.001-08:00

Did you ever see a house where a family of four lived in 8,500 square feet? Or a car where the person in the back seat can read a full-sized newspaper AND have their laptop open on the seatback tray?

Four monitors is like that. I've had four monitors on my work computer before, and I found it was excessive. They were lined up in a row horizontally, and it was such a long row of displays I had to turn sideways to see them all. I went back down to three 22" monitors. Today I added another. A lowly 20" but it's high resolution. All the stuff I use normally during the day, is now totally uncovered. The stuff I use every once in a while that was only partially covered is now totally uncovered in a fourth monitor OVER the primary monitor in the middle.

That would be my CRT monitor, which is calibrated for color because I do my Photoshop work there. It is a thing of beauty, to those with a proper appreciation of a high quality display.

One monitor is required to use a computer. Make it a 22" wide screen and we're talking.
Two monitors increases productivity by a THIRD according to the study They did.
Three monitors just makes life easier. Everyone I've been able to upgrade to three monitors has loved the extra room to have stuff visible.
Four is like eating a gallon of iced cream in one sitting. There is ridiculously much space. Smoke 'em if you got 'em!

Madness @ Work

2011-12-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

I smell fun!

LB and NP and a couple of other guys are going to have little baby RC helicopters at work tomorrow. IF you have never flown a little baby helicopter around your workplace, you have missed out on some serious fun. Small company, big fun: CompanyOwner1 just laughed and shook his head as I was walking around (on lunch, off the clock) flying a little baby RC helicopter all over the place.

It is unreasonably large amounts of fun to fly little baby RC helicopters, especially when they only cost $20 so it doesn't matter if they are destroyed, but they apparently can't take damage from crashing.

I Hope The Next Thing Is Good.

2011-11-30T21:33:00.001-08:00

It occurs to me that, barring unforeseen involvement by the Good People of the land, America is doomed. It is hypothetically possible that God Himself will intervene, but nations have come and gone before. I hope that it breaks up instead of devolving into one large tyrannical state, because one might be able to find a more-free new country in the remnants of the old Union. Escaping Battlefield America might prove more difficult.

And the alternative to tyranny or breakup, failing true reform, is battle. A civil war in America (a fourth one). Not cool, dudes.

So, uh . . . good luck with that.

********

IF (and that's a mighty big "if") the people with their heads screwed on straight enough to prefer quiet family life to public service decide that public need outweighs familial bliss, they might change things. Get enough reasonable people into high elected office and see how the country could be changed. But who wants to put up with what they are doing to Herman Cain, instead of living peaceably at home while that is still an alternative?

Setting the Stage for Armageddon?

2011-11-30T21:33:00.000-08:00

China has an army that could easily march a few million men into Israel. Israel will (if you read it that way) be the location of a battle that will include so many casualties that blood flows as deep as a horse's bridle for 200 miles.

But China has nothing to do with Israel! Why would China figure into the last battle just before the return of Jesus to Earth? They wouldn't, right? It was always some sort of vague "they'll come from the Kings of the North" type of thing. Until now.

China says they'll protect Iran even if it starts World War Three. Iran, of course, is on Israel's short list of "Nations to attack before they wipe us off the map." WWIII here we come.

********
The maths are open for debate(check the comments!). Depending on how you run your made-up numbers, it could be about the right volume of blood to mean everyone left on Earth dying in the same place. That seems . . . perhaps high to me.

Machine Guns vs. Clips

2011-11-30T20:47:00.000-08:00

How is a machine gun like a clip-on necktie?

They both make a very specific task much easier! Also some people despise them for their looks. Also I like them. When I wrote this, I was wearing a clip-on tie. Not packing a machine gun just now, unfortunately.

Oh, also (and this is stretching the joke) if you don't have a belt when using either one, your friends will think you look silly (rimshot)

Prediction

2011-11-29T20:59:00.000-08:00

If Mitt Romney is the Republican candidate for 2012, Obama wins another term in the Oval Office.

The press would highlight the *ahem* unique aspects of mormonism and play soundbytes of his flipflopping on the issues, and Romney the Mormon Flipflopper would be sunk. The members of the LDS cult in America would probably also take a hit on their reputations, but who cares - they're all just white flyover country hicks anyway.

Laura Ingraham said this morning "A conservative alternative has emerged . . . or has it?" No, it hasn't. Newt is damaged goods. I wouldn't LIKE to vote for him, but maybe I could hold my nose and vote for him if it looked like the polls were predicting a Democrat-controlled congress*. Romney - I just couldn't pull the lever for him. I'd have to stay home, and I would be part of the droves of Conservative Christians who can't vote for Romney, even if it means another term for the Dear Reader.

We'll see how it comes out in the end, whether Herman Cain really can snag the nomination or not. Until his official withdrawal from the primary contest, he's still my boy. Feel free to buy me a bumper sticker:

I was a listener when Herman Cain was a talk show host and he was considering running for the Presidency. It was a calculated move, and he saw the BS coming from a ways off. Now he's realizing that the shitstorm has finally landed on him and his family. We'll see how he takes it. He's been laying low for a while now (read: not attracting headlines in the national press outlets which hate him), but it will surprise me if he drops out of the race. If he does, probably everybody left in the race will be trying to get his endorsement.

********
*The nation was designed to have as little unity in government as possible and still function. Gridlock was built in to the system ("checks and balances") and the system works great. It's harder to have 1930s Germany in the USA, because the whole thing is all bolluxed up for forcing big changes through in a hurry. That's the way it's SUPPOSED to be.

What's The Word?

2011-11-29T20:40:00.000-08:00

Hey raise your hand if you know what they call it when the military in a country is also the police force of the country. It is a national shame that we are reduced to this, instead of naming the enemy that declared war on us when I was still a little boy. They are at war with us, but we are not at war with them.

At this rate, who wins the War on Terrah?

They said if I voted for the Republicans the government would try to install a police state and target American citizens in the USA for punishment without trial under military authority . . . and they were right :(

Really, Spellcheck? Really?

2011-11-29T20:37:00.000-08:00

I was typing something up for work today and noticed an amusing "feature" of the spell check subroutine: it totally fails.

Fortunately I read lots of books when I was growing up, so I can spell AND think, and this poses no problem for me.

Oooooooh, THAT's Why!

2011-11-28T21:46:00.000-08:00

When something does not make sense, a good rule of thumb is to follow the money and see where it leads. When you find out which person in power is making money, you can then be pretty sure you can stop asking "why?"

So many people have been totally unable to get their banks to move on short sales and flat out cash purchase offers of underwater home mortgages, I have repeatedly wondered why it should be this way. Why would they want to lose money and not take a short sale vs. a frank loss?

Follow the money. I didn't have all the information - the banks aren't losing money on foreclosures, they are making money hand over fist. That right there also explains why they were having robo-signers rubber stamp so many loans into foreclosure: profit. The bank loses money, but it's only a paper loss, and only until you consider that the taxpayer (read: your mom) turns the losses into profit.

Don't Be a Dummy, Don't Buy an EVIL Camera!

2011-11-27T21:36:00.000-08:00

In the beginning, there was film. You either were a hero or you sucked at it and didn't have a camera. Then there was autofocus and automatic exposure and taking photos went from impossible to learn to merely inconvenient. Then there was digital. Taking pictures went straight to "any idiot could do this!" and now your stupid robot phone has a camera. Making photographs is super easy!

But then, people who make their living behind a camera pretty much all have these big huge ugly loud noisy heavy big cameras with lenses that can be switched out. Your point-and-shoot is little and tiny and zooms from gnatsass to acrosstheGrandCanyon, weighs nothing, and is quiet. But the professionals obviously fail to think this is Good Enough. If you were to ask a professional photographer why their big DSLR is better than your point and shoot you would come away with a vague impression of complicatedness, but a quick conversation only taught you one thing:

That guy has some badass lenses and I want in! Plus for some reason or other he has to put the camera right up to his face, how stupid is that? Everybody knows how much easier it is to just look at the back of the camera, duh. Don't you wish you could buy a camera with cool interchangeable lenses but it's not all huge and loud and junk? Well good news! They make those now, and you don't even have to smash the stupid camera up to your face to take a picture! They even have a cool name: EVIL cameras. How awesome would that be, right?

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EVIL sums up the main advantages and disadvantages of this type of thing, all in one swell foop.* Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens. There is no way to make an optical viewfinder on these cameras, because they are not that kind of camera. Your 15 year-old point and shoot might have a button to switch between the viewfinder and the rear-panel LCD, but bulky, loud DSLRs used by professionals barely got this capability in the last couple of years. Why?

Because of magic. They used a mirror to show the photographer exactly what is going on in his shot, plus some measurements that only happen when the mirror is down to measure the exposure adjustments. Then you push the button and the mirror goes CLACK and the shutter goes CLACK and you have an image recorded. The image plays back on the LCD and it looks different from what you saw looking in the viewfinder. This is a mystery. To the uninitiated, it makes no sense. Why, given the option, would you not rather look at an LCD that shows what you are going to get when you take the picture? Who cares if you aren't looking through the optics with your eyeball? If you don't, then an EVIL camera might be for you. But you are missing out. Interchangeable lenses have the capacity for greatness, but they are only half the system. The other half of the EVIL camera is the dumbed-down part. If you like automatic transmissions in your cars, pay with the EZ-pass on your keychain, and like compact fluorescent bulbs - AND you want to be able to change out your camera lenses, then the EVIL is perfect for you. If you want to make pictures that are as good as possible and don't mind a steep-ish learning curve, then do yourself a favor and get an entry level DSLR from Nikon or Canon.**

The fact of the matter is, for most people, image quality is going to be about the same, regardless of what kind of camera they buy. You will snap photos of Johnny opening his presents, look at them on screen and print 0.024% of them on a kiosk at Wal-Mart. For these people, the camera on their phone is approaching, if not already past Good Enough for Everything. Truth.

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*Piers Anthony does NOT know when a trilogy is supposed to stop.

**as good as possible, and not require the film to be developed. If you want the absolute best no-compromises image quality then digital sucks compared to medium-format film. The learning curve for DSLR cameras is less-steep than it used to be. The first DSLRs were SLR film cameras with digital guts and they would tell you your picture was bad but not help you fix it. New cameras come with magic digital brains and take perfect photos every time, because some of the best engineers in the world lost sleep over how to make it happen for the last two decades.

Oh Right, Blame the Children

2011-11-26T21:48:00.000-08:00

There would be more t0 read here, lately, but I have been sucked in. My Darling Wife and the older half of the Zoo have got me playing through Zelda the Ocarina of Time for their amusement. The N64 may be long-obsolete but you can NOT argue with the quality of the gampelay on some of the older games (Contra, anyone?).

Anyway, playing the game straight through takes 40 hours or so, and we're at it an hour or two at a time, taking significant breaks for reading the walkthrough book in between steps of the game. This is something like an 80 hour-long movie for my family. It's fun, but it's killing the time I would normally spend keeping up with current events and making snarky comments thereon. So now you know why. The choice is you or them, and they win.

Yes, I guess that means I just called you a loser.

I Never Thought I Would Live to See the Day!

2011-11-25T20:49:00.000-08:00

There is a scene in one Star Trek movie* where one guy says to another that he never thought he would see the day when a murder was committed on earth(!). That version of Earth may have been modeled after this place.

Coll, a Scottish island (population: 200) has had the first official Crime in - well, since anyone can remember. A public bathroom** was slightly damaged. They had to call the next island over to send a policeman, because they don't have one on Coll. To someone who grew up in urban and suburban Metropolis, this is . . . different. I guess it's nice to know places like this still exist, anyway.

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In related news, if you want to have a bit of a robbing spree I know this place where there are no cops. You have to bring your own getaway boat though, because the ferry to Coll doesn't run every day.

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*not being a Trekkie (Trekker?) I couldn't tell you which movie, or who the people were supposed to be

**in a city of 200 people they need a public bathroom?