Monday, April 30, 2007

Galactic Warming

Global warming has been taking place on Mars at the same rate it has been taking place on Earth since the 1970's. I wonder if the Martians are only using one square of toilet paper, too? I mean hey, Galactic Warming affects everyone - Earthlings and Martials alike! Think Galactic, Act Solar Systemly!

The Sunday Times reports:

CLIMATE CHANGE HITS MARS

Mars is being hit by rapid climate change and it is happening so fast that the red planet could lose its southern ice cap, writes Jonathan Leake.

Scientists from Nasa say that Mars has warmed by about 0.5C since the 1970s. This is similar to the warming experienced on Earth over approximately the same period.

Since there is no known life on Mars it suggests rapid changes in planetary climates could be natural phenomena.

The mechanism at work on Mars appears, however, to be different from that on Earth. One of the researchers, Lori Fenton, believes variations in radiation and temperature across the surface of the Red Planet are generating strong winds.

In a paper published in the journal Nature, she suggests that such winds can stir up giant dust storms, trapping heat and raising the planet’s temperature.

Fenton’s team unearthed heat maps of the Martian surface from Nasa’s Viking mission in the 1970s and compared them with maps gathered more than two decades later by Mars Global Surveyor. They found there had been widespread changes, with some areas becoming darker.

When a surface darkens it absorbs more heat, eventually radiating that heat back to warm the thin Martian atmosphere: lighter surfaces have the opposite effect. The temperature differences between the two are thought to be stirring up more winds, and dust, creating a cycle that is warming the planet.

In their zeal to have you change the way you live your life, the "green" advocates put it at risk by ignoring other strong evidence that suggests our current approach to dealing with global warming may be dead wrong (and will limit your freedom in the process).

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Having Fun

Riding the Bike

Found a bit of offroading!

Friday, April 27, 2007

Idiots on Wheels

I'm on the left, the idiot is on the right. He didn't hit me, but he's darn close. I'm so incensed that I'm waiting in my car for this bozo to come back so I can laugh in his face. Morons.

The Musical Grammar Awards

No, not the Grammys. We're talking the "20 Worst Lyrics, Ever" award. Man, I've been listening to some of these songs for years, and I never made the connections that are found HERE.

How could I have missed beautiful little gems like these?

"I love you like a fat kid loves cake!" - 50 Cent

"Leaving was never my proud" - REM

"Time is like a clock in my heart" - Culture Club

"Young black and famous with money hangin' out the anus" - Puff Daddy
I won't spoil number one for you, but I feel like an idiot for never really noticing how lame the lyrics actually are.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Terrorism Works: Democrats Prove It!

It's that simple. Al Qaeda has successfully intimidated us into surrendering. No matter that far fewer soldiers have died in this war than for any war of similar duration in the past. No matter that the Iraqis themselves don't want us to leave. Nope, none of that matters. For Pelosi and Reid, all that matters is power. They use one simple formula: Biased media + disingenuous politicking + hatred for Bush = keep Democrats in power.

Congress just surrendered to the enemy. See, that's what happens in war. You fight with and wear down your enemy until someone gives up (in this case, us). The one who stays declares victory. Radical Islamic fascism has defeated our benevolent and "corruption-free" Congress. Yay for progressives!

Remember when Chamberlain did this back in 1938? I mean, if appeasement worked then... oh wait.

It's also interesting to note that the democrats, in a flagrant display of hypocrisy, did the following to get the bill through (according to CQ):

As minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., demanded in 2004 that the House obey rules requiring that members be given a minimum of three days to read legislation “to prevent . . . hasty and dangerous decision-making.”

But now that she’s running things as Speaker, that rule was pushed aside — at least for the Iraq supplemental (HR 1591 — H Rept 110-107).

“That is concerning,” said Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who has pushed in the past for more time so lawmakers can decipher the fine print in legislation. Still, Flake and his GOP colleagues didn’t put up much of a fight this time, since they want the bill sent to President Bush quickly so he can veto it and the process can start all over again.

House rules state that bills must be available to members for three calendar days (excluding weekends and holidays) prior to floor consideration. But the Rules Committee, which essentially operates as an arm of the Speaker’s office, blocked members from raising any points of order against the conference report.

Top 10 Weightless Activities for Stephen Hawking

My favorite scientist will be rollin' weightless today. As a celebration of the event, I bring you these pearls.

Top 10 Weightless Activities for Professor Hawking

10. Try to get better reception on that old AM radio he's never been able to fix.

9. Get a bird's eye view of the girls dormitory at Cambridge.

8. Call all of his old high school friends and call them gravity bound monkeys.

7. Work out of the theory of black hole radiation right after working out how to go to the bathroom in zero-G.

6. Accidentally bump into the backside of his nurse and blame it on the laws of motion.

5. Prove once and for all that the law of gravity is for suckers.

4. Fool the world by announcing he can stand, then yelling "psyche!" as the gravity kicks back in.

3. Finally get a chance to show off those Superman "underoos" he's been wearing all year.

2. Plug his voice-synthesizer into the plane's com system and announce, "I am Borg. Resistance is Futile," then throw up.

1. Relieve his weightless bowels over the houses of competing scientists.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Where Have Our Heroes Gone?

After a long discussion with friends tonight, I found myself asking the question of whether or not I would be strong enough to take the stand that Professor Liviu Librescu did against Cho Seung-Hui in the VA Tech Massacre. In case you don’t remember, the late Professor is (so far) the only recognized hero of the day. What drove him to such sacrifice? Was he a romantically imposing figure like Arnold Schwarzenegger, boldly swooping in on the killer with such force as to hold off Cho long enough so that others could run to safety? Was it his training as a soldier from some old, noble war? No, it was none of these things. He was a simple 76-year-old man – a survivor of the Holocaust, and, apparently the only one with an instinctual reaction that dictated, “You know, sometimes saving others is more important than saving yourself.”

Now, I don’t mean to sound insensitive here. I’m not saying that if I was in the room staring down the barrel of Cho’s gun that I wouldn’t wet myself like a scared puppy. I might. I’ll never know for sure unless I face that kind of situation in the future. However, I do have enough faith in myself to know that I would not be able to stand by and watch people die without trying to do something. I’m not trying to make myself sound like an armchair hero, calling the plays in my favor without facing a true mortal struggle. I’m just trying to figure out, albeit publicly, what drives me to such conviction. I’m also asking myself if anyone in those ill-fated classrooms ever thought about saving people besides themselves.

Now, before you jerk your knee in the predictable reaction that casts me as an evil, insensitive prick, please read what I have to say. It’s not my intent to be malicious or partisan. I honestly want to know why no one else stayed behind. And I'm not the only one asking.

Where are the stories of brave young men standing up to the killer? Where are the stories of the one brave soul who managed enough courage to make a lunge at the killer while he reloaded his ammunition? I’m desperately waiting to hear something like this. I’m praying to hear it – for our next generation’s sake.

Please understand that I am not making a judgment call. Surely, the rational thing to do in a situation like that is to run – especially when faced with mortal danger. I can’t (and don’t) fault people for being scared. I’ve run from many things, great and small, in my life. However, in the kind of situation faced in Blacksburg, how could I stand in line, essentially awaiting execution, watching others die and not do a thing about it? Why is it that Professor Librescu was the only one who instinctively stayed behind to “hold the fort”? Have we as a generation forgotten the meaning of sacrifice, specifically self-sacrifice? I think maybe we have.

In a world that increasingly focuses on new and improved ways to be selfish, is it a surprise that these students took the phrase “every man for himself” to be a personal code of ethics? Again, I’m not saying it was a conscious choice on their part. If they had a chance to think things through – I am confident many would have chosen to help. But that’s the problem, isn’t it? The instinct to protect others did not prevail. This is just the way we’re raising people nowadays. We’re training a new generation to “look out for number one,” women and children be damned. If we feel bad about it later, we have an army of psychologists who tell us we didn’t have a choice and that everything is OK. But many times we do have a choice. We can act, even if it means we die in the process.

Sacrificing our own lives for the benefit of others is a uniquely human trait. It enhances the species and even helps to maintain it. Luckily, we’re not required to do it often, but we shouldn’t be afraid to make the stand when human duty requires it. In fact, we should make up our minds in advance on how we will choose to react.

When we fail to teach sacrifice, the default mindset is selfishness. And since we are teaching selfishness from birth these days, learning the law of sacrifice doesn’t have a chance, does it? Think about it.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Massive Blackberry Outage

It's not you. It's them.

This affects the entire western hemisphere, apparently. RIM stock is also trading down this morning in New York.

CNN Money Reports:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A massive system wide failure of the BlackBerry network has brought emails to a halt for users of the handheld communication devices Wednesday morning, according to a report from a New York TV news channel.

As of Wednesday morning the Blackberry Customer Support Center has a recorded message that says the following: "Please be advised that we are currently experiencing service interruptions that are causing delays in sending and receiving messages."

"We apologize for the inconvenience and will provide updates as soon as they become available," the message said.

The problem, which started at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, affected Blackberries throughout the Western hemisphere by preventing emails from being pushed to the handheld devices, according to WNBC.

Research in Motion (Charts) (RIMM), which makes Blackberry device and runs the system, was not immediately available to comment on the outage.

RIMM stock is trading is sharply lower in pre-market trading.

Research in Motion is trying to reset the system but expects the problem to last into the morning, the report said.

Even when the system is reset, users will experience delays as the company processes through the backlog of email messages, WNBC reported.

According to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Research in Motion had approximately 8 million Blackberry subscribers worldwide in 2007.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

We've Lost Our Senses

Is it any surprise that stories like this emerge after national tragedies such as the Virginia Tech Massacre? We have been trained to ignore "different" behavior, especially when it's being demonstrated by someone who happens to be a minority. The result? People end up ignoring information that could have prevented the worst mass murder in American history. From the article:

"When I first heard about the multiple shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday, my first thought was about my friends, and my second thought was 'I bet it was [Cho Seung-Hui]."'
We, as a nation, have been coddled into a false sense of security perpetrated by those who would have us believe that if we bury our heads in the sand and just "get along," everything will be OK. Unfortunately, by doing so we blind ourselves to the fact that truly evil people exist in the world. These people, intent on doing us harm, do not have the same respect for society that society hollowly shows for them.

It would do us well to follow our instincts once in a while, even at the risk of possibly offending someone in the process. After all, there is no excuse for burying the truth. Especially when the stakes are so high.

VA Tech Massacre: The Victims

I have decided to put together a collection of the personal websites belonging to some of the victims of Cho Seung-Hui. It breaks my heart to see how promising every single one of them were. What a loss to society.

Emily Jane Hilscher
Maxine Turner (click on Sisters, then Maxine Turner)
Liviu Lebrescu
Jamie Bishop
Ryan Clark

See more profiles HERE.

Was Cho arrested previously?

Cho Seung-Hui's Woman, First Victim

Here is the woman at the center of the worst mass-murder in U.S. history. 18 year-old Emily Jane Hilscher was one of the first two victims to be identified in the Virginia Tech massacre, along with 22-year-old Ryan Clark.

Emily Jane Hilscher

I gotta hand it to the international tabloid press... they sure do get news like this fast.

Check out Emily's MySpace page HERE.

Did Cho have a prior arrest?

How could this happen?

VA Tech Massacre Shooter: Prior Arrest?

According to this Fairfax County police report, a number of arrests are attributed to "Cho, Hui" and "Cho, Sung," Both common spellings of the VA Tech Massacre shooters official name, Cho Seung-hui. The arrests are traffic related, and are within the local area of Cho's official residence in Centreville, VA.

I'm probably totally wrong. But if I'm not, I'm the first person to make this connection.

More information on this student HERE.

And see the girl who may have sparked the worst mass-murder in American history, HERE.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Today, We're All Hokies

My deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the families of those 32 students that were killed (and 20+ injured) in the unbelievable tragedy unfolding at Virginia Tech this morning.

May God bless them.

Note: This is now the largest mass shooting/killing in American history.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Pelosi's Felonious Shadow Presidency Isn't Just a Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Theory

Now she wants to go to Iran??? No wonder the rest of the world seems to think that we have two operating Heads of State, just like Europe (a President and a Prime Minister). What they don't understand is that our constitution and laws clearly leave foreign policy (especially with our enemies) to our only Head of State, the President of the United States. Unfortunately, that quaint piece of ancient legalese is also lost on our House Speaker, Ms. Nancy Pelosi.

The "Logan Act" (one of our oldest laws) makes it a felony and provides for a prison sentence of up to three years for any American, "without authority of the United States," to communicate with a foreign government in an effort to influence that government's behavior on any "disputes or controversies with the United States."

The WSJ Reports:

When proposing the law, Rep. Roger Griswold of Connecticut explained that the object was, as recorded in the Annals of Congress, "to punish a crime which goes to the destruction of the executive power of the government. He meant that description of crime which arises from an interference of individual citizens in the negotiations of our executive with foreign governments."

The Secretary of the Treasury under President Thomas Jefferson, who was wary of centralized government: "it would be extremely improper for a member of this House to enter into any correspondence with the French Republic . . . As we are not at war with France, an offence of this kind would not be high treason, yet it would be as criminal an act, as if we were at war . . . ."

Indeed, the offense is greater when the usurpation of the president's constitutional authority is done by a member of the legislature -- all the more so by a Speaker of the House -- because it violates not just statutory law but constitutes a usurpation of the powers of a separate branch and a breach of the oath of office Ms. Pelosi took to support the Constitution.

The Supreme Court has spoken clearly on this aspect of the separation of powers. In Marbury v. Madison, Chief Justice John Marshall used the president's authority over the Department of State as an illustration of those "important political powers" that, "being entrusted to the executive, the decision of the executive is conclusive." And in the landmark 1936 Curtiss-Wright case, the Supreme Court reaffirmed: "Into the field of negotiation the Senate cannot intrude, and Congress itself is powerless to invade it."
These trips of hers go beyond fact finding. If Pelosi continues to play the part of President II, then perhaps it's time to take a long hard look at a law that has been part of this country almost as long as the country itself has been in existence, and prosecute her under the Logan Act.

Monday, April 09, 2007

Beware of Global SHAKING! Earth's Newest Threat!

Did you know global shaking is destroying some of the world's most pristine coral reefs? It's true! Global shaking is one of the most serious challenges facing us today. To protect the health and economic well-being of current and future generations, we must reduce our land presence and heavy dwellings by using the technology, know-how, and practical solutions already at our disposal.

Because of republicans, irresponsible corporations and people living in 2 bedroom and larger homes, global shaking has increased in the past 75 years by 60%! Do your part now by living in tents, eating plants and riding bikes so as to decrease the overall weight load being borne by our wonderful planet.

Naysayers will tell you that this is all a myth. To them, it is an inconvenient truth. If we continue to do nothing about global shaking, our planet will tear itself apart by the year 2100. Is that the kind of future you want for your children?

The AP reports:

RANONGGA, Solomon Islands (AFP) - The seismic jolt that unleashed the deadly Solomons tsunami this week lifted an entire island metres out of the sea, destroying some of the world's most pristine coral reefs.

n an instant, the grinding of the Earth's tectonic plates in the 8.0 magnitude earthquake Monday forced the island of Ranongga up three metres (10 foot).

Submerged reefs that once attracted scuba divers from around the globe lie exposed and dying after the quake raised the mountainous landmass, which is 32-kilometres (20-miles) long and 8-kilometres (5-miles) wide.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Pelosi's Shadow Presidency

Say what you will about political differences in this country (and I do say a lot), but what Pelosi is doing goes far beyond that and might even come dangerously close to treason. What is she trying to prove here? Not only has she undermined the constitutional authority of the President (as Head of State) by establishing her own "shadow presidency," but she is also causing diplomatic nightmares for other nations as well by delivering false messages "on behalf" of Israel.

Think I'm just spouting right-winged rhetoric? Think again. Here's what the Washington Post had to say:

HOUSE SPEAKER Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) offered an excellent demonstration yesterday of why members of Congress should not attempt to supplant the secretary of state when traveling abroad.

[...]

Ms. Pelosi was criticized by President Bush for visiting Damascus at a time when the administration -- rightly or wrongly -- has frozen high-level contacts with Syria. Mr. Bush said that thanks to the speaker's freelancing Mr. Assad was getting mixed messages from the United States. Ms. Pelosi responded by pointing out that Republican congressmen had visited Syria without drawing presidential censure. That's true enough -- but those other congressmen didn't try to introduce a new U.S. diplomatic initiative in the Middle East. "We came in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace," Ms. Pelosi grandly declared.

Never mind that that statement is ludicrous: As any diplomat with knowledge of the region could have told Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Assad is a corrupt thug whose overriding priority at the moment is not peace with Israel but heading off U.N. charges that he orchestrated the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri. The really striking development here is the attempt by a Democratic congressional leader to substitute her own foreign policy for that of a sitting Republican president. Two weeks ago Ms. Pelosi rammed legislation through the House of Representatives that would strip Mr. Bush of his authority as commander in chief to manage troop movements in Iraq. Now she is attempting to introduce a new Middle East policy that directly conflicts with that of the president. We have found much to criticize in Mr. Bush's military strategy and regional diplomacy. But Ms. Pelosi's attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish.

Little Ahmadinejads

Iran has pulled off a major public image coup. Not only did they make Britain look completely impotent and weak, they were able to get away with parading prisoners of war on television (against international law), got to show a disingenuous "nice face" of Iran, and turn a bunch of British soldiers into Ahmadinejad-clones. Embarrassing. And now these soldiers are showing off their goodie-bags, given to them by the Iranian government as a courtesy for being used as total propaganda tools.

Iran walks away from this showing the world it can get away with anything, as well as demonstrating the influence it can have on global oil prices (prices spiked when hostages were taken).

Some may argue, "If these had been American soldiers, Bush would have risked their lives and war by threatening military action. At least Blair got it right, through diplomacy." Such thinking is ignorant and short-sighted. By appeasing Iran without consequence, far greater damage has been done. Does anyone honestly believe that Ahmadinejad will come away from this thinking, "You know, Europeans are so nice. I'm going to stop playing terrorist and abandon my dreams of ushering in the Hidden Imam who will turn the whole world's population into Muslims by force", and abandon his nuclear plans? Ha. This kind of appeasement will only embolden him, and we'll all end up paying the price down the road in war, a world economy turned on its head and increased belligerence from middle eastern countries.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Monkey Boards City Bus, Attacks Passenger

I would have paid top dollar to see this take place. Holy heck... I am dying. You can't write scripts this funny.

MEXICO CITY (AP) - A spider monkey that escaped from a Mexico City zoo boarded a bus and attacked a passenger, Red Cross officials said Tuesday. The monkey got on the bus at about 11 p.m. Monday after escaping from the San Juan de Aragon Zoo, Red Cross spokesman Jair Martinez said. Zoo officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The animal sat next to the bus driver for almost an hour as he drove through the city, and scratched and bit a 20-year-old female passenger when she tried to hold it, the Mexican news agency Notimex said.

Martinez said the woman was treated for her injury, and the animal was placed in quarantine. He said he had no further details.