Well surprize, surprize, surprize...

Gee, whodathunkit???

It's no wonder why R. Lee Ermey is our favorite U.S.M.C. Gunnery Sergeant.

OMG! Not global warming again?!

Despite the obvious, there are still some hard-core anti-capitalist leftists who are determined to keep the global warming discussion alive. Case in point: An Op-Ed article by Judah Cohen, director of "seasonal forecasting at an atmospheric and environmental research firm," posted (predictably) in the NY Times on Christmas day. In the article, Cohen tries to explain the reason for the unusually cold season...

...As global temperatures have warmed and as Arctic sea ice has melted over the past two and a half decades, more moisture has become available to fall as snow over the continents. So the snow cover across Siberia in the fall has steadily increased...

WUH???

How freakin' stupid do you think the public is? Somehow this genius thinks that melting ice in the north is responsible for an increase of snow just a little further south of the Arctic Circle which is pretty much on par with making an argument that 2+2=5. Cohen then tries to back up this ludicrous connection by taking the reader on an atmospheric roller-coaster ride around the world. By time you return to the scene of the crime, provided you haven't fallen off the carnival ride along the way, the reader has forgotten all about the fact that NONE of his assumptions are backed up by actual scientific fact - an inconvenient technicality overlooked by the greater purpose of the article which is the need to re-brand the "global warming" lie into the more aesthetically pleasing title of "global climate change." But just in case you doubted me, you can skip to the end of the article and see it for yourself.

...It’s all a snow job by nature. The reality is, we’re freezing not in spite of climate change but because of it.

At least the NYT had the common sense to place the article in the Op-Ed section. Otherwise, they could have posted it in the local news section under a headline that read "There's nothing quite like the feeling one gets from flogging a dead horse."

Hodie Christus natus est! Halleluja! Halleluja!

...And they came with haste; and they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. And seeing, they understood of the word that had been spoken to them concerning this child. And all that heard, wondered; and at those things that were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God, for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
(Douay-Rheims - Luke 2:16-20)


To all of you and your families, I wish a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I pray that the love and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.

Dominus Vobiscum,
Tony

Tranquilla Nox, Sancta Nox...

...And there were in the same country shepherds watching, and keeping the night watches over their flock. And behold an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them; and they feared with a great fear. And the angel said to them: Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people: For, this day, is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying: Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.
(Douay-Rheims - Luke 2:8-14)

Winter solstice lunar eclipse AND a meteor shower???

Seems like most everyone with a clear sky got to see a good show last night. For the first time in 456 years, the winter solstice coincided with a full moon and a lunar eclipse! But did you know that there was also a meteor shower? That's right, a meteor shower! Little did I know, the Ursid meteor shower was also taking place which added to the spectacle of the lunar eclipse. While I personally only saw a couple of "shooting stars" last night, I didn't take enough notice at the rest of the sky to realize what else was going on. It was blustery outside and bitterly cold here in the northeast. The temperature was a chilly 27°F and the wind chill made it feel like 17°F. I spent the focus of my time darting in and out of the house to re-adjust my camera and snap pictures every 5 minutes. Unfortunately, most of the pictures didn't come out all that great so I picked out the best four, centered and cropped them and posted them here for your enjoyment.

Christmas is only one week away. Please donate to Toys for Tots...

...and give happiness to a needy child on Christmas morning.

The Marine Corps Reserve once again goes above and beyond the call of duty - as they have for the past 60 years - making sure that impoverished children in our communities have something to smile about on Christmas morning. The happiness of opening Christmas gifts, we and our children take so much for granted, is a joy that every child should share. Please donate something, whatever little you can spare, and spread a little Christmas joy this holiday season. Thank you.

Drop off an unwrapped toy at any one of the many retailers in your area with a Toys for Tots collection bin or simply click on the link below, go to their website and...

Donate to Toys for Tots

Got an iPhone? Launch it into orbit!

Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.

IMHO, that's about all they're good for.

I'm also thinking that if they added a little weight on the end of a tail underneath the iPhone, they would greatly reduce the amount of roll and sway they experienced. Holding the horizon steady would have improved quality of the video... just sayin'.

LMAO! The 12 Days of Winter...

I'm just surprised it took so long for someone
to think up this brilliant masterpiece.

OBAMACARE DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL!!!

...at least for now. :)

Judge Calls Health Law Unconstitutional
By JANET ADAMY
The Wall Street Journal
DECEMBER 13, 2010, 5:16 P.M. ET

RICHMOND, Va.—A federal court ruled Monday that a central plank of the health law violates the Constitution, dealing the biggest setback yet to the Obama administration's signature legislative accomplishment.

In a 42-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson said the law's requirement that most Americans carry insurance or pay a penalty "exceeds the constitutional boundaries of congressional power."

The individual mandate "would invite unbridled exercise of federal police powers," wrote Judge Hudson, of the Eastern District of Virginia. "At its core, this dispute is not simply about regulating the business of insurance—or crafting a scheme of universal health insurance coverage—it's about an individual's right to choose to participate."

The lawsuit, brought by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, is the first court ruling against the law since President Barack Obama signed it in March. More than 20 federal lawsuits have been filed against the overhaul, and judges in two of those cases ruled in favor of the Obama administration.

While the ruling creates a headache for the law's supporters, it doesn't mean states or the federal government must stop implementing the law.

*snip*

Even though the fight isn't over to stop the federal government's takeover of the healthcare system - presently the greatest system in the world, it's about time a judge with common sense ruled that this nightmare called Obamacare was in fact unconstitutional. Seriously, WTF gives them the right to force me into buy anything against my will?!?! So he can rape my grandchildren's future in order to pay for this bureaucratic monstrosity?!?!?! I realize that this is going to end up being decided by the Supreme Court, but why was this crap allowed to even be signed into law in the first place??? Hopefully SCOTUS will support this lower court's ruling that the federal government has no right to impose individual mandates for health care coverage and if that's the case, then Obamacare will fall apart completely because without the ability to penalize taxpayers for not having health care coverage, there won't be enough money available to sustain the program.

Keep praying, folks... keep praying!

Remember folks, reindeer have other uses...

In case you didn't know, I am a proud life member of PETA - People who Eat Tasty Animals. So when I read this article earlier, it made my pallet salivate like Pavlov's dog at the sound of a ringing bell...

Caffe Boa offering an-all-reindeer menu over Christmas
by Howard Seftel - Dec. 7, 2010 10:45 AM
Republic restaurant critic

Last Easter, chef Payton Curry and the crew at cheeky Caffe Boa in Tempe decided to get in the holiday spirit by putting together a special all-rabbit dinner. Public reaction ranged from anger to bemusement. The Easter Bunny went into hiding. Needless to say, the publicity was priceless.

Now, channeling the spirit of Christmas, and firm in the belief that there's no such thing as bad publicity, the Caffe Boa team is fashioning a multicourse tasting menu featuring - you guessed it - reindeer.

Well, not exactly Euro-Asian reindeer, but North American caribou. (The two are basically the same - the distinction is based on geography.)

Don't worry about Rudolph and the rest of the gang not being able to play any more reindeer games: Curry's caribou comes from Colorado and Idaho, not the North Pole.

The menu begins with caribou tartare gilded with pickled quail egg. That's followed by caribou tongue bruschetta with pickled watermelon radish and horseradish cream. Then there's caribou sausage with red lentils and quince mustard. Up next are two pasta courses: pappardelle with caribou Bolognese and caribou-filled tortellini in a parmesan broth. The caribou parade ends with bollito misto, a meat and vegetable stew...

*snip*

It's not that I hate them. They really are some of God's most beautiful creatures and they sure do taste good after cooking for a few hours over a hickory flame. Ten years ago, when I was working down in Westchester County, I had the pleasure of eating at a restaurant named "La Braseria" (at least I think that's what it was called). I can't find them on the internet today, assuming they have since gone out of business, but back then, they must have had a chain franchise in and around NYC. I've eaten at one in White Plains, one outside of Valhalla, and one in the Nanuet Mall. It was a Brazilian BBQ house that features an all-you-can-eat menu of animals, uncommon to typical American cuisine. Servers walked from table to table with long skewers held vertically and resting on a block of wood. Each server had healthy portions of several different BBQ'd meats on his skewer, and upon arriving at your table, would identify each the meats. If you liked something he had, he would remove it from the skewer and place it on your dish. If you didn't want what he had, you simply waited for the next server to arrive at your table with with a different selection of meats. One night, I ate the flesh of 17 different beasts. Among them were ostrich, camel, crocodile, kangaroo, tortoise, and REINDEER. Yes folks, I ate BBQ reindeer and it was damned good, but stay away from the kangaroo, it was tough as leather!

More importantly here folks, the reason for the Christmas season is not any more about Santa and reindeer than Easter is about a large furry rabbit hiding colored, hard-boiled eggs and candy around your house on a particular Sunday in early Spring. These holidays are supposed to be about the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even if a bunch of pagans or atheists try to make these holidays about anything other than what they really are, that doesn't take away from the fact that God gave us dominion over other animals for use as food and labor. You should also bear in mind that Santa's reindeer, while probably just as tasty, serve a higher purpose due to their ability to fly, and for that reason alone, have likely been able to save themselves from becoming the main course on Santa's dinner table.

Once again, global warming is upon us...

As I stated recently in a previous post, I chose my favorite cartoon, the original pre-1950s Woody Woodpecker as my Facebook profile avatar for the weekend. That being so, allow me to shamelessly use him to lead off on this particular blog post, highlighting what many of us in the American Northeast consider to be a BRUTAL onset of early Winter weather. For the past several days, the temperatures here have been more common to late January than early December. Perhaps we feel this way because we were so fortunate to have such temperate Fall weather throughout most of November that we've become a bit spoiled. Now it feels like old man Winter is literally pounding down my front door! After the last weather system passed through a couple of days ago, daytime temperatures have dropped into the low to mid 30s and nights have been down in the low 20s. Accentuating this temperature change, the winds have been at a constant 10 to 20mph with gusts up to and exceeding 30mph, putting the wind chill at chilly +5 to +15 deg. Fahrenheit. BRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!! And making matters worse, the folks at Accuweather.com are making early predictions for a possible weekend snowstorm...

Big Upcoming Snowstorm for the East?
By Meghan Evans, Meteorologist
Dec 5, 2010; 2:35 PM ET



A storm that will take shape by the middle of December will cross the country and could end up developing into a major snowstorm for portions of the mid-Atlantic and New England.

There are different storm track scenarios at this point that mean the difference between mostly rain or a potential blizzard along the Interstate 95 corridor from Washington, D.C., to Boston.

So far, Chief Long Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi has been correct with the Winter Forecast for the Northeast with his prediction that late November to December would be cold and stormy for many...

*snip*

I love a white Christmas as much as the next person, but mentally, I'm just not ready for this. I guess with life getting more difficult all around, it doesn't feel like it has in previous years. There's something missing and it isn't just the lack of funds that were available only a year ago. It's something I can't explain, but suffice it to say, it's giving me cause to be more mindful of the things I do and to err on the side of caution as I move forward.

I guess Jingle Bells didn't make the cut...

A great cause on Facebook...

There's a great movement on Facebook to show support in the fight to end child abuse. The request is to copy the following text to your FB status and change your profile image to an animated character from your childhood and keep it that way until this coming Monday...

Change your FB profile picture to a cartoon from your childhood. The goal is to not see a human face on FB till Monday, December 6th. Remember your childhood and join the fight against child abuse. Copy & paste to your status to invite your friends to do the same. Please make every effort to try and commit yourself to this effort to try to fight against child abuse.

I originally picked Droopy Dog, but later found that another FB friend had picked him. I can't believe I forgot about my absolute favorite from back then, Woody Woodpecker. While I didn't care too much for the ones produced after 1950, I love the older ones from the 1940s (same with the Bugs Bunny 'toons). Sadly, I don't get the Boomerang channel on Dish, so I've had to live without quality cartoons now for the past 15 years. Thank God for YouTube!

Happy Hanukah to all my Jewish friends!

Better tell Obama, now those evil capitalists are profiling fat people!

Women accused of hiding merchandise in body fat
Bobbie Miller Reporting
KFOR
6:49 p.m. CST, November 29, 2010

EDMOND, OK -- Two women are arrested for shoplifting and police say they used their bodies to conceal the goods. Edmond police authorities say it was at the Edmond TJ Maxx that loss prevention officers found the duo stuffing items under their belly fat and breasts.

They say they took four pair of boots, three pair of jeans, a wallet and gloves; $2,600 worth of store merchandise.

Ailene Brown, 28, and 37-year-old Shmeco Thomas were arrested for shoplifting and are facing felony charges.

Officer James Hamm said, "These two were actually concealing them in areas of their body where excess skin was, under their chest area and armpits."

Police say Brown also had a knife in her purse they say she used to cut security tags in the store.

Copyright © 2010, KFOR-TV

UNBELIEVABLE! In this day and age? I'll even bet the store dick was as thin as a cracker, too! Damned those skinny capitalist cacomorphobist Nazi bastards!

Pawns in a game of political chess...

Lately, there appears to be a new trend in how large municipalities deal with budgetary shortfalls. It seems that in most instances, emergency, education and infrastructure maintenance services are first in line for cuts. WHY?!?!

Newark Mayor, Police Union Head At Odds Over Layoffs
While Sides Bicker, Residents Fear Spike In Crime
November 30, 2010 8:55 PM

NEWARK, N.J. (CBS 2/1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – There is concern and worry in New Jersey’s largest city.

Newark residents were wondering Tuesday if their streets were safe after 14 percent of the city’s police officers were laid off, CBS 2’s Pablo Guzman reports.

The mayor of Newark and his police director said even with 167 officers laid off, people will not notice a difference on the street.

“Newark residents should know that tonight. We will have virtually the same amount of people, on patrol. As we had last night. And the night before,” Mayor Cory Booker said.

But that answer was not giving the citizens comfort.

“The criminals are sitting back, saying, ‘Oh boy. I like this. I like this!’” resident Emma Montgomery said...

*snip*

That's just the most recent example I've seen. Over the past couple of years, I've been seeing it more and more, and it's always large populated cities and coincidentally almost always run by Democrats. Not to sound overly partisan on this issue, but come on folks, we're talking political demographics 101 here. All you have to do is Google "city budget cut services" and you'll see what I'm talking about. But why? Why cut such important and essential services that would surely result in severely diminishing the quality of life for all people living and working in these metropolitan areas? Aside from the fact that union pensions are now strangling these large municipalities, I believe politicians target essential services for budget cuts in order to justify raising local taxes and service fees. By raping the taxpayers, politicians can pay off the unions to secure their political support and campaign contributions. In the meantime, emergency service workers are being used as pawns in a game of political chess. Until politicians begin cutting non-essential items from their budgets and union leaders stop shoving unaffordable contracts down the throats of taxpayers, emergency service workers, and moreover, society in general, will always be at their mercy.

Leslie Neilsen dies at 84 years old? Surely, you can't be serious.

Sadly, I am serious, so please stop calling him Shirley.

'Naked Gun,' 'Airplane' actor Leslie Nielsen dies
(AP) – Sunday, November 28, 2010

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Leslie Nielsen had the somber demeanor and stone-serious face that were just right for dramatic roles. They proved even better for comedy.

"Surely you can't be serious," an airline passenger says to Nielsen in "Airplane!" the 1980 hit that turned the actor from dramatic leading man to comic star.

"I am serious," Nielsen replies. "And don't call me Shirley."

The line was probably his most famous — and a perfect distillation of his career.

Nielsen, the dramatic lead in "Forbidden Planet" and "The Poseidon Adventure" and the bumbling detective in "The Naked Gun" comedies, died on Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 84.

The Canada native died from complications from pneumonia at a hospital near his home, surrounded by his wife, Barbaree, and friends, his agent John S. Kelly said in a statement.

"We are saddened by the passing of beloved actor Leslie Nielsen, probably best remembered as Lt. Frank Drebin in 'The Naked Gun' series of pictures, but who enjoyed a more than 60-year career in motion pictures and television," said Kelly...

*snip*

Neilsen was one of my all-time favorites. Back in the day, quoting Airplane and Naked Gun in conversation was as popular as quoting Monty Python's Holy Grail and Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles. After all these years, I still LMAO every time I watch those old comedies. He will be sorely missed.

It's that time of year again...

Time to pull out the decorations, deck the halls and play the Christmas tunes. With economic circumstances being the way they are, I promise not to over do it this year. Although there's no need to scale back my decorating here at this website, I am going to scale back the usual amount of outdoor lights I put up each year. I just don't have the desire to be constantly finding and replacing bad bulbs. I've got better things to do with my time and better ways of celebrating the season. I have heard a couple old songs that I'll be adding to Santa's Jukebox as soon as I can find them on the internets. Other than that, what you see is what you get. Enjoy.

I can't believe I ate the whole thing!

*shameless image repost from last year*

OMG, just roll me over to the couch so I can pass out while watching the football games!

Can't find anything to be thankful for?

Also, if you are a citizen of the United States of America, you are better off than 95% of the rest of the world because you are an official member of the freest, most beautiful, most prosperous, most charitable, most peaceful and most powerful country in the world. Even with a socialist occupying the White House, by being in this country, you have more opportunity here to better the lives of yourself and your family than you do anywhere else on Earth.

I've lost quite a bit over the past 10 years and stand to loose even more in the near future, but even with all that loss and heartache, I still have many things to be thankful for. God blesses me each day that I'm able to rise and see the light of a new day. Every morning He gives me yet another day to try and finally get it right.


Happy Thanksgiving

This can't be a good thing, folks...

China, Russia quit dollar
By Su Qiang and Li Xiaokun (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-24 08:02

St. Petersburg, Russia - China and Russia have decided to renounce the US dollar and resort to using their own currencies for bilateral trade, Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin announced late on Tuesday.

Chinese experts said the move reflected closer relations between Beijing and Moscow and is not aimed at challenging the dollar, but to protect their domestic economies.

"About trade settlement, we have decided to use our own currencies," Putin said at a joint news conference with Wen in St. Petersburg.

The two countries were accustomed to using other currencies, especially the dollar, for bilateral trade. Since the financial crisis, however, high-ranking officials on both sides began to explore other possibilities.

The yuan has now started trading against the Russian rouble in the Chinese interbank market, while the renminbi will soon be allowed to trade against the rouble in Russia, Putin said.

"That has forged an important step in bilateral trade and it is a result of the consolidated financial systems of world countries," he said...

*snip*

Now that China and Russia (for all intents and purposes, both still very much communist nations) have unpegged from the dollar, what will happen to our economy here in the USA? A much quicker onset of hyper-inflation! This is what many economists have feared would happen if we strapped our debt to the mercy foreign nations, as the following article adequately explains...

Schaef Brief: China Unpegs Yuan – Good or Bad for America?
Author: A Schaef - June 29th, 2010

...What if China Steps Out of the US Treasury Market? Two possibilities then lie before us: higher interest rates to lure new investors or the Federal Reserve will have to step in as the main buyer. Some say that the former is not even an option right now because of what higher rates will do to our economy, therefore the latter is the only immediate possibility. Eventually, a combination of the two is the most likely scenario. As the Fed becomes the main buyer of US debt (in other words, as we monetize our debt), inflation then kicks into high gear because we are basically just printing money at an incredible rate at that point. To try and curb this inflation, higher interest rates will soon follow. When this happens you should already be well positioned in commodities; mainly precious metals. When the rest of the world finally figures this out, the gold rush we will have will be unlike anything we have ever seen. Let not your heart be troubled. If you make the right moves now you will survive; maybe even thrive...

*snip*

I don't want to sound like an alarmist, but I've been keeping an eye this SHTF scenario stuff since 9-11 and this has all the indications of being the real deal. My spidey senses are tingling and the boy scout in me has been causing me to prepare for what I only see now as inevitability. NOW is the time, folks! Buy gold, stock up on canned and dry foods, try to secure additional cooking and heating fuels, and re-surplus your defensive and emergency measures - yes, guns and ammo, first aid supplies, etc. I'm not telling you this because I'm following the marching orders of anyone else; I'm telling you this because I've been researching this stuff on my own for nearly 10 years. Good luck and God willing, we will survive this storm.

Naw, Facebook isn't evi... OMG!!!

Facebook Closer to Trademarking the Word 'Face'
Updated: Wednesday, 24 Nov 2010, 8:34 AM EST
Published : Wednesday, 24 Nov 2010, 8:34 AM EST

(NewsCore) - Facebook is one step closer to trademarking the word “Face,” TechCrunch reported Tuesday.

The U.S. Patent And Trademark Office has sent Facebook a Notice of Allowance, which means it will grant the “Face” trademark to the popular social networking site.

Facebook now has three months to pay an issue fee before they officially own the word.

To be sure, if "Google" were a body part or reference to a commonly know bodily function, we'd be equally outraged at them as well.

No Joke

North Korea has been the proxy war/distraction used by communist China in order to take the free world's focus off of them for the past 60 years. While North Korea creates a diversion by warring with its southern neighbor, China builds its own military and economic strength. In return, China supplies North Korea with some food, but mostly military technology and armaments. Without a doubt, this is how that lunatic pot-bellied dictator got his hand on civil and military nuclear technology.

Recently, North Korea has been ratcheting up their military prowess by attacking the south without warning or provocation. First it was the sinking of a South Korean battleship back in March, and now there is the very real possibility that the north and south will resume where they left off 56 years ago due to North Korea's shelling of the south as reported this morning...

South Korea Vows ‘Enormous Retaliation’ After North’s Deadly Island Bombardment
Published November 23, 2010
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who convened an emergency security meeting shortly after the bombardment by North Korea, said that an "indiscriminate attack on civilians can never be tolerated."

"Enormous retaliation should be made to the extent that (North Korea) cannot make provocations again," he said.

North Korea bombarded a South Korean island near their disputed western border Tuesday, setting buildings ablaze and killing at least two marines and injuring 16 others after warning the South to halt military drills in the area, South Korean officials said.

South Korea said it returned fire and scrambled fighter jets in response, and said the "inhumane" attack on civilian areas violated the 1953 armistice halting the Korean War. The two sides technically remain at war because a peace treaty was never negotiated...

*snip*

My theory is that the lunatic pot-bellied dictator is preparing to hand over power and control to his son, Kim Jong Un. So as not to give the appearance of his country's weakness during this time of transition, North Korean military has been place on hair-trigger alert. But make no mistake, this is no laughing matter. Do not forget that North Korea has become a nuclear power - thanks to poor military intelligence and appeasement diplomacy over the past 20 years.

Only gone 3 years, but I sure miss him...

Ain't much of a secret NOW, is it?

Air Force Launches Massive, Secret Spy Satellite
Delta 4 Rocket Blasts Off With U.S. Spy Agency's "Largest Satellite in the World" - Believed to be 328 Feet Wide
(CBS) This story was filed by CBS News space consultant William Harwood.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Nov. 22, 2010

A powerful Delta 4 rocket roared to life and climbed away from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Sunday evening on a high-priority mission to boost a National Reconnaissance Office spy satellite into orbit...

*snip*

Well, at least it's not like it's going to be used to spy on our good friends over in Russia or China. It'd be much easier for us to just keep our focus on their proxy war comrades in Iran and North Korea respectively. *cough, cough* You see, to this administration, today's real threat comes from within our own borders from those fascist, racist, homophobic, and bigoted Tea Party terrorists. They'll probably just park the damned thing over the continental U.S. so as not to offend that all important global community. I mean, what's the sense in us having spent all those millions in tax payer dollars to have our wonderful President travel around the world apologizing to our enemies only for us to step on their toes again by sending up a spy satellite to keep an eye on them?

Besides, I'm sure they're much more concerned about those annoying pissants who are behaving like a bunch of babies because the TSA wants to take naked pictures of them, grope their junk or fine them $11,000 for disobedience. Yeah, that's probably the same ignorant bunch that opposed gubmint run health care earlier on. Go figure.

Got Presents? Better hurry folks, Christmas is coming!

As if you didn't know...

Well, we saw it coming months ago; With the economy in near depression and inflation threatening to make a bad winter even worse, for the past few months, retailers have been shoving holiday sales down our throats in hopes of turning some kind of profit before year's end. The early Christmas push has been getting worse and worse each year. Just last year, I was joking with my wife that before you know it, they'll be advertising for Christmas the day after July 4th! Trust me folks, you didn't need to be Nostradamus to figure that out. However, unlike previous years, I don't think retail holiday greed is solely to blame this time around. Like us on the consumer end, I believe retailers are pulling out all the stops in hopes of just surviving this horrible recession.

While prices are being slashed for the holidays to just above wholesale on most of the unnecessary garbage people feel the need to clutter their lives with, prices on everything considered to be necessities are going through the roof!!! Food, common household items and hygiene products have gotten way more expensive. Just about everything in the grocery store has either gone up in price or manufacturers are reducing weights and/or quantities in products in order to keep prices the same. The price of gas is back up over $3.00 a gallon and I'm sure heating oil and electricity increases will follow, especially if we suffer a cold winter. On average, it costs me an extra 10 dollars more to fill my Jeep's gas tank than it did just six months ago. Health insurance costs have become unaffordable (yeah, I know, don't get me started on that). Taxes and government service fees like DMV costs feel like they've doubled over the past couple of year. The real estate market is still extremely stagnant and unemployment is at levels I haven't seen since the Jimmy Carter days. Yet, they still won't call this a RECESSION?!?! But, I digress.

Despite all those economic woes, an increase in consumer turnout at some stores appears to be a prediction of good fourth quarter earnings. But should that be taken as concrete proof that the economy is on the upswing? Likely not. Everyone I've talked to tells me how much harder their families are struggling than they were this time last year. They're traveling less, shopping only when stores offer big sales, reducing their monthly expenses to a bare minimum and even clipping coupons to save money on groceries - something many claim they've never done in the past.

Many also tell me that they've even been preparing their children for the holidays this year by telling them not to expect a lot of stuff for Christmas. And while that may not bode well for the retail sector, it does give me some hope to know that folks are shedding some of the excess materialism that comes with Christmas and Hanukkah. Hopefully there will be more focus on the real meaning of the holidays and not be so reliant on gift wrapped presents to make the seasons bright. Speaking for my family, our kids only get a couple of toys each along with some new clothing, games (non-electronic) and books. I don't know about folks, but we just can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars on a bunch of crap that gets played with for a couple of weeks and then tossed in a closet where it sits for the next several years until it becomes yard sale fodder.

Economic conditions not withstanding, Christmas is supposed to be, first and foremost, about celebrating the birth of Christ and Hanukkah is supposed to be a remembrance of Jewish perseverance and victory over their enemies. More generally speaking, the holiday season is supposed to be about friends and family, charity and compassion, peace and good will. Regardless if we can afford to spend large amounts of money to make ourselves and others around us happy, we should all focus more on what really is most important, because even though your financial situation appears stable at present, everything can change in the blink of an eye and it is times like those that we rely on friends and family to help us survive the new year.

There will always be a segment of society that continues to enjoy economic prosperity, but in this economy, How long do you think that will last? I believe the vast majority of us are hanging on by a thread, living paycheck to paycheck, pinching pennies, tightening their belts, and hunkering down for a long, dark, cold, and frugal winter.

Know what today is???

Yup, that's right!
So make it a good one!

Defenders of the 4th Amendment, UNITE!

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." - 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution

It appears a lot of my blogger friends are covering this topic. The above image was taken from RightPundits.com and John Tyner, the guy who coined the phrase, has his own blog here...

Someone's bound to make a bunch of money off this idea for flags and tee shirts. No doubt.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise...

Oh well, so much for Nancy Pelosi's "most ethical congress, ever" legacy.

House ethics panel convicts Rep. Rangel on 11 of 13 counts
By Susan Crabtree and Jordan Fabian
The Hill
11/16/10 11:55 AM ET

A House ethics panel has convicted Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) on 11 of 13 counts of violating House ethics rules.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of the adjudicatory subcommittee and the full House ethics committee, announced the decision late Tuesday morning following an abbreviated public trial of the 20-term lawmaker and nearly six hours of deliberations...

*snip*

Despite being under investigation for all these ethics violations, this guy was able to be reelected just weeks ago by an overwhelming margin in his district of Harlem NYC. But now that he's been convicted, doesn't that mean he'll be punished?

...The full ethics panel will now convene a sanctions hearing to recommend a punishment. Serious sanctions — including formal reprimand, censure or expulsion — require a vote on the House floor. Expulsion requires a two-thirds vote, while a reprimand, which Rangel refused to agree to in July, or a censure would need just a simple majority. The ethics panel could also impose a fine and diminish some of Rangel’s privileges...

*snip*

Oh, I forgot, he's a Democrat career politician and a minority. He'll receive a slap on the wrist and get sent on his merry way. Isn't that nice.


11/18/10
I stand corrected...

Censure recommended for NY congressman Rangel
By LARRY MARGASAK
Associated Press
November 18, 2010

WASHINGTON – The House ethics committee's chief counsel recommended Thursday that veteran Rep. Charles Rangel of New York be censured for financial and fundraising misconduct as lawmakers neared closure on a 2 1/2-year-long scandal.

The committee deliberated behind closed doors Thursday after counsel Blake Chisam made his recommendation and Rangel pleaded for fairness, telling the panel he was not a crooked politician.

Chisam's recommendation was that Rangel receive the most serious congressional discipline short of expulsion. A censure resolution would require a vote by the House disapproving Rangel's conduct and the speaker would orally administer an embarrassing rebuke to the 20-term Democrat in front of his colleagues.

The ethics committee, made up of five Democrats and five Republicans, could opt for lighter punishments, such as a reprimand, fine or a report deploring Rangel's behavior.

The full House would have to vote on a reprimand or fine, but Rangel would be spared the embarrassment of being rebuked at the front of the chamber, called the well. The House also could change the recommended discipline by making it more serious or less serious...

*snip*

Well, the House still has to vote on the censure, but so far, ol' Charlie is getting a serious tongue lashing which was more than I originally expected him to get.

How to enjoy bacon from the foxhole

In my field manual, anything with cooked bacon is a win... doubly so when it involves using what appears to be a 7.62 mm MG3 to do the cooking!!!.
For full cooking instructions, visit TheFoodBeast.com

Drudge echoes my sentiments exactly...

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin

OH NOES!!!

Wordpress (my website blog engine) offers me a software update and I'm like "OK" because there are some security bugs that hackers and spammers have been exploiting and causing this website to crash. So after the update, my side-bar menus disappear!!! I tried getting them back through manual code tweak to no avail. I fear it has something to do with Wordpress' inclusion of widgets (mini Java code applets) used to now handle typical side-bar tasks like log-ins, blog post history, local weather, blog-rolls, etc. Now I've got to figure out how to incorporate these new tricks into my website's old HTML code. Just wonderful and if that wasn't enough, my Windows smart-phone doesn't ring anymore. I tried removing and replacing the battery, but that didn't fix the problem, so now I'll have to try doing a hard reset which will pretty much get rid of all my settings and other programs I've installed over the past 6 months. Hmmm, I wonder if the ROM cookers have a newer OS that I can use.


Sunday, November 14, 2010

Almost done. What a PITA!!! I've got a few CSS tweaks to do, I'm redoing some of the images on the sidebars and I'm trying to go through my links to weed out the dead ones, but FWIW, I appear to be back in business for the most part. Just think; in less than 2 weeks, I'll be putting up the website's Christmas decorations!!! Man, time does fly.

OH GOODIE!!!

I've got a great idea: Lets all meet in DC, attend her party and tell her how much we appreciate her accomplishments.

2010 Autumn Leavin'

***click the image for full size panoramic view***

This past Saturday, we took our annual ride to admire and capture the Autumn splendor of area where we live (for now, at least). It really is quite breathtaking. It's a shame that despite all this beauty, it is becoming damned near impossible to remain living here. The economy is bad enough nation wide, but even more so here in the Socialist Republic of New York State where, irregardless of the political change across the rest of the country, the intellectuals here, in their infinite wisdom, have decided to keep the state in a perpetual downward spiral.

Anyway, if you would like to see where this panoramic picture was taken, here's a link to the actual location on Google Maps. It's about 20 minutes north from my house along side Route 208 just south of New Paltz, NY. I snapped it on our way back from traveling almost all the way to Kingston on the same road. Perhaps next year we'll tour the Catskills or the Delaware Valley and hopefully the weather will be more cooperative so that conditions will permit us to capture the next images a bit earlier when the trees are more full with colorful leaves.

If you're interested in viewing my previous Autumn panoramic pictures you can go here for last year's and here for 2007's images.

And 229 Days Latter...

Wow! Nice to see the site is still here and in tact. :D

Well, I know I've been away for quite an extended period of time (yet again) and although my regular readers have long thought me dead, I can assure you I am still very much alive.

For the last 7 & 1/2 months, I've been keeping in touch with the outside world through Facebook and email. I know, not befitting someone with a registered URL address, but I've had somewhat of a falling out of sorts with the internet. Aside from keeping an eye on the positive effects the Tea Party movement has had on politics and the 2010 mid-term elections, I've pretty much become an internet recluse of sorts. Hopefully that will change. I've just gotten so tired of politics all the time. Suffice it to say that I'm happy about the outcome of the recent elections and hope these events will start having a positive and restorative effect on our economy.

Back about a month or so ago, I received a notice from my web host that my monthly bandwidth allotment was exceeded and as a result, this web site was down for a number of days. Apparently this was due to a bunch of people "hot-linking" my website's images for their own use in other sites around the internet and my site was also being overrun by search engine bot scans. Thankfully, to resolve the matter, all I needed to do was add a couple of Wordpress plug-ins to my site and that appears to have solved those problems.

OMG, I can't believe we are approaching Christmas already. Where has the time gone? In less than a month, I'll have to switch the website theme for the holidays. The weather is supposed to be nice this week so I'm also going to try and get a jump on putting up the Christmas lights this year. Last year was a nightmare with trying to replace all the blown bulbs. I might just forget all that nonsense this year and buy new lights instead (not that I can afford it). We shall see.

A Wonderful Birthday Celebration

Margaret and I celebrated my birthday yesterday evening with a nice romantic dinner. With the kids at Grandma's, we had the house all to ourselves. We started off with fillet mignon sauteed in butter with onions, mushrooms and chilies, stir fry veggies served on the side, black olives and a nice pinot grigio red wine.





After dinner, we enjoyed a Dairy Queen Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard ice cream cake. Thankfully, we didn't have to put the fire department on alert prior to lighting the candles. Instead, we used two rows of 4 candles and 1 to grow on. She asked me what I wished for and I didn't tell her, but I'm sure she knows what I wished for anyway.



For gifts - in addition to the cool cell phone she got me earlier this month - Margaret got me a spicy cuisine cookbook, a pouch of sweet rolling tobacco, a pack of rum dipped cigarillos, a good butane lighter and a wonderful tasting - yet rather expensive - Monte Cristo Cigar. She knows I'm fond of Fuente's Opus X, but they are $160+ for a box of 4 and the local dealer was out of stock. Regardless, the Monte Cristo was an excellent choice!





With all the tobacco products my wife got me for my birthday, I can't help but wonder; is she pampering me and my indulgence and enjoyment of unhealthy sinful habits or is she plotting to get rid of me by sending me to an early grave? I may never know, but one thing is for sure, she gave me a wonderful celebration to be remembered for a very long time. TNX, Honey! I couldn't ask for a better birthday - or for that matter, a better wife ;)

Premonition for November 2010

PAYBACK'S A BITCH!!!

I'm baaaaaack!!!

Sorry for the absence, folks. I've been on somewhat of a sabbatical. Things here have been bizarre to say the least. I was working on my mobile ham radio antenna project and then other distractions followed suit. First and most importantly, the wife was in the hospital for a week, but she's OK and recovering nicely. I promised her I would not divulge any more information on that, so just keep her in your prayers for her continued recovery. Secondly, before that little incident, she got me an early birthday present: an HTC Pure smart phone with a two year "unlimited" contract with AT&T. Believe it or not, that's what we get the best reception on where we live. Anyway, this thing's got Windows Mobile 6.5 on it and FWIW, I find it to be a remarkable piece of equipment. There have been many poor reviews on this phone, but since it's a Windows OS, I've been hacking the crap out of it for the past two weeks. I've just about got it to where I want it, but it's going to take me a few more days playing with it to get it there.

The user interface is driven by HTC's Touch Flo 3D technology. To put it mildly, it sucks. So does all the bloatware that came with it. I ripped out that lame interface and installed SPB Mobile Shell 3.5. It's an awesome user interface with a 3D carousel and other 3D features that make it much more versatile and enjoyable. Plus there's lots of apps out there for download to play with, most notably, the GPS apps.

Then I got news that an old friend of mine from 20 years ago passed away back in September. After hearing about it, I spend the next few days looking up old friends who knew him in order to pass the word along. There was good news, however; His brother who was fighting Leukemia at the time was reported to be alive and well and living only 20 minutes from my house. Unlike his brother that passed away, this guy had a heart of gold. He was a firefighter who left the fire company before 9-11 and ended up beating the cancer! It's been a trip down memory lane calling up and chatting with friends you used to hang with from 20 years ago, always wondering what ever happened to them. Kudos to Facebook for making these reunions possible. Turns out that after one of those recent conversations with one of my closest friends, I found out that he lives right up the hill from me not 3 minutes away! Damn, we had some great times together and I can't wait to see him again someday soon.

As far as politics are concerned, I've already placed several calls to my US Representative's office in DC and although I have little hope of him changing his vote on Obamacare, because he's a hardcore Dem, at least I gave it my best shot. Weather it passes or not, I hope every last statist assclowns in Washington gets the boot in November. If this monstrosity of a health care overhaul does get passed, it will be tied up in courts for months to come and it will end up getting shoved down our throats one way or another. If it doesn't pass, the leftists are going to shove it through in a piece-meal fashion, regardless. Either way, like I said back on November 5th, 2008, we're screwed. Even if in the next two subsequent elections we get a government that holds strict adherence to our Constitution and even if every last commie in both elected and appointed office was hung by the neck until dead for their acts of treason (my little wet dream), it would still take more than 20 years to fix the damage done over the past two years by Obama, Bush and all the criminals in the US Congress.

Cup still half full??? Yep, despite the fact that somebody replaced my beer with turpentine.

Solid modeling about 90% complete...

***rollover pic for skeleton view***

I'm just about 90% finished modeling all the components and the assembly of my screwdriver antenna. The only thing left to model is the bracket which will attached to the right rear frame on my '06 Jeep Grand Cherokee. In the way of a completely modeled assembly, I need to get the miscellaneous hardware (screws, nuts, washers, etc.) from McMaster-Carr. They conveniently have 3d models for downloading of all the hardware I need to purchase from them. I also have to finish mapping the parts with material images to make them look real (stainless steel, Delrin plastic, gray PCV, aluminum, etc.). Once I have all this computer modeling finished, I need to shop around for a machinist willing to do one-offs of all the parts at a reasonable price. I've got a drill press and I can also do most of the cutting and welding, but most of the parts will need to be either water-jetted or CNC machined.

Side Note: Tomorrow is the wife's B-Day, so I will be out most of the day today and tomorrow. Won't she be surprised when she sees what got her. :D

HA! WE SURVIVED SNOWICANE 2010!!!

Thursday morning I woke to a lovely snowfall. By noon it was snowing like mad and we had about 5 inches on the ground. By 4:30pm we had about 10 inches and I decided to venture outdoors to clear the snow in order to make cleanup much easier the following day.





We knew it was getting bad. That afternoon, Orange County declared a state of emergency that was to last until 6:00am the following morning. About 9:00pm that evening we lost power. I tried to hook up a power inverter to the Jeep as a makeshift generator, but the output was insufficient to run the furnace or the well pump. I've been saving for a more powerful generator system, but as of yet, we just haven't saved up enough so the inverter was all we had to work with. It was dark, we had no running water and we were preparing ourselves to wake in the morning to a very cold house.

Friday came and so did news that the state of emergency had been extended until 6:00pm that evening... and the temperature inside the house had dropped to 52 degrees. I went outside, filled gallon freezer bags with snow and stuffed the fridge and freezer to protect the perishables. We ate cold cereal, PB&J sandwiches, cold chicken from the night before and thankfully we had plenty of bottled water. I even BBQ'd some burgers on my propane grille for lunch and got them medium rare before I ran out of propane. Throughout the day as the snow fell, the solar radiation which sifted through the overcast sky actually warmed the house by 8 whole degrees. Unfortunately, we knew that once darkness fell, the temperature inside would fall even more than the night before.

At 4:30pm I decided to go out for the second snow clearing. By that time we had somewheres in the neighborhood of 18-20" of wet and heavy snow. Thanks to my efforts the night before, I only had to clear some 8-10" of snow from around the house.





Then, by 6:30, we finally got word from the power company (NYS Electric and Gas or NYSEG) of an estimated restoration time; midnight the following day! Screw that!!! 30 minutes away, my Mom had power, heat and phone, so we packed up the family and spent the night at Grandma's house. There were a few tree limbs down on the road getting there, but we managed to make it to her house by 8:00pm. Next morning, Saturday the 27th, we woke up in warm beads, had a hot breakfast and took hot showers.







We finally got word from the utility company that power was restored that afternoon, so after an early dinner, we packed up and journeyed back home. The house was still warming up when we got there and thankfully most of the food in the fridge was still OK.




What a nightmare!!! It's amazing how we overlook such simple luxuries in our daily lives! Needless to say, I don't want to get caught with my male appendage swinging in the breeze like that again. I am determined to step up my efforts in preparation for future SHTF scenarios. Generator, backup propane tanks, more dry food storage, more ammo, etc... oh, and get finished building that damned antenna!