It's Coming...

Warm-up:

The Chicago Blackhawks have to hope they fare better outdoors against the Detroit Red Wings than they're doing indoors.

The Wings made it 3-for-3 against Chicago this season with a 4-0 victory over the Hawks at Joe Louis Arena on Tuesday night — the opener of a home-and-home series that concludes on New Year's Day at Wrigley Field with the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. The loss snapped the Hawks' franchise-record winning streak at nine games and ended their 11-game streak with at least one point in regulation.

It was the second time in less than two weeks that Detroit shut out a red-hot team. The Red Wings and Conklin defeated the San Jose Sharks , who have the NHL's best record, 6-0 at Joe Louis Arena on Dec. 18.

Well… there’s good news and bad news lurking in the blurb above. The good news (for Wings fans) is Detroit continues to win against the league’s hottest teams, and win decisively. The bad news? It’s a bit of stretch to think the Wings will make it four in a row over Chicago… but it ain’t beyond the pale.

Tomorrow’s game actually counts for something beyond spectacle:

Beyond the excitement generated by the Winter Classic, this home-and-home set between the two clubs is very significant in the standings. Detroit currently leads the Central Division by four points (ed: that would be six points now) over the Blackhawks. "We’ve come a long way, but we still want to catch the Wings," Sharp said. "It’s going to take a big effort these next two games."

Chicago coach Joel Quenneville admitted the club’s goals have been altered as the season progresses. "We’ve been chasing them," Quenneville said. "We’ve been in a different pack all season long, but now we’ve positioned ourselves in a different place. Both are meaningful games and there’s a lot of excitement around here. Our mindset is to be one of the eight. That’s our objective - to be a playoff team. There’s about 13 teams fighting for the last six spots, so we wanted to get ourselves ahead of that race. Maybe now we’re pushing ahead and can strive for a higher goal."

On the Detroit side, the Wings also recognize how essential these two games will be in the overall picture. "It’s a really important two games and it’s going to be fun," Detroit defenceman Andreas Lilja said. "They are playing the best hockey they’ve ever played. I’m looking forward to two really hard games."

Babcock is impressed by what he’s seen from Chicago. "You watch the last two games in particular and they’ve dominated," he said, adding he’s thrilled to be part of a reborn Detroit-Chicago rivalry. "It’s great that it’s back. I thought it got going last year when they beat us quite frequently early in the year. Things have really picked up for their franchise, both on and off the ice. It’s one of those franchises in the league like Toronto, like Montreal, like Detroit, obviously, like New York (Rangers) and like Boston, that you want to be doing really good, because it makes your league better."

Tomorrow… 1300 hrs EST, on NBC… in HD. Be there. Or be square.

Happy Hour...

… came early today (at approx 1330 hrs), and one is simply glad it arrived at all… given as how it’s late December. To put it another way… although 70-degree days in December ain’t unknown here on The High Plains of New Mexico, they are somewhat rare. So, one takes advantage when one can. And I most certainly did… take advantage.

Happy Hour was a mundane sort of affair. I sat outside and had not one but two cigars, accompanied by a couple o' three brewskis (of course). I spent the first hour in relative solitude, listening to the cries of the mourning doves and enjoying the (relative) silence here in Beautiful La Hacienda Trailer Park, today being a work-day for most. That got old fairly quickly… and by the time I opened my second beer I tuned my very expensive radio (aka my peesee) to Pandora’s Santana station and proceeded to kick out the jams. Much better. Excellent, in fact.

I spent most of my time looking up, watching the fast-movers etch brilliant white vapor trails across the robin’s-egg-blue skies. Well… let’s be accurate. If we’re gonna use the vernacular we should use it properly: I was watching trash-haulers, not fast-movers. There IS a difference, “trash-haulers” being transports and “fast-movers” a synonym for fighters. We don’t see too many fast-movers in these parts of late.

Anyhoo. The winds aloft must have been pretty brisk today, as the vapor trails disappeared almost as quickly as they were created. Here are three pics… taken in a span of about five minutes, give or take a minute or three:

I found it interesting that the west-bound traffic outnumbered the east-bound traffic by a ratio of about six-to-one. Here’s a pic of one of the east-bound aircraft as it streaked across the sky.

I amused myself wondering what the occupants of those big-ass aluminum tubes were doing at the exact moment I looked up. Watching a movie? Napping? Reading a book? On their third drink? Looking out the window and wondering just who the Hell would live in country as desolate as this? The mind does wander… and I imagined myself in one of those tubes west-bound, headed home after vacation, or after the conclusion of a job, or on leave... whatever. That might well have been me... in another time, long ago and far away.

Back-Story

Several of you Gentle Readers mentioned the fact that you and your chilluns go to the “NORAD Tracks Santa” site every Christmas Eve. I came across this back-story of how Google got involved with the effort and the history is pretty cool, both from a techie perspective and in a general, human interest sort of way. Excerpts:

When I look back on four years of tracking Old St. Nick on Christmas Eve, I can't help but smile. The Santa tracker has really come a long way. I always thought NORAD's Santa Tracker was a great holiday tradition, but I felt like it could have been even better if people could visualize exactly where Santa was on Christmas Eve. So in 2004, shortly after Keyhole was acquired by Google, we followed Santa in the "Keyhole Earth Viewer" — Google Earth's original name — and we called it the "Keyhole Santa Radar." The audience was relatively small since Keyhole was still a for-pay service at that point, and we hosted everything on a single machine shared with the Keyhole Community BBS server. We probably should have had three separate servers to host the Santa tracker — that first year, we had only a portion of a single machine. That night, about 25,000 people kept tabs on Santa and, needless to say, wreaked some havoc on our servers!

[…]

In 2007, Google became NORAD's official Santa Tracking technology partner and hosted www.noradsanta.org. In addition to tracking Santa in Google Earth, we added a Google Maps tracker and integrated YouTube videos into the journey as well. Now, we had Santa on the map and on "Santa Cam" arriving in several different locations around the world, with commentary in six different languages. The heavy traffic — several millions of users — put Google's infrastructure to the test, but with some heroic work by our system reliability engineers, the Santa Tracker worked continuously.

Great good stuff, this. I think you’ll like it.

(The image is an album cover from an album titled “NORAD Tracks Santa” which is apparently available for download (here)… although I didn’t try.)

Be Still My Beating Heart...

In today's mail...

Yeah, I knew it was junk-mail before I opened it... yet still. One can dream, eh?

There were most definitely better things in the mail today... and LOTS of 'em, too. I've mentioned this before, but I only check snail-mail about every two weeks or so. I should check more often during the holidays, coz my box was literally stuffed. Here's one of the best items:

That's Lou's Christmas card above. She takes the "small" paintings she does every year and turns them into Christmas cards... I count myself among the VERY fortunate recipients of her creations. She's a very talented woman, as you can tell. Last year's card is here, if you'd like more. (as always and ever, click for larger)

Potpourri

So… here we are, three days into the latest outbreak of violence between the Israelis and Palestinians. And the Usual Suspects are all up in arms over “Israeli aggression.” I really don’t have much to say on this subject, other than to voice my support for Israel, yet again.

It takes a tremendous amount of chutzpah on the part of Arabs to ignore months and months of unprovoked assaults by Hamas in the form of rockets launched indiscriminately into Israel from Gaza… without regard for small details such as targeting… in any way, shape, or form. Like Popeye, Israel finally had “all they’s can take, and they can takes no more.” And their response, in stark contrast to Hamas, has focused on military targets.

Good hunting, IDF. Get some.

―:☺:―

Really Stupid Shit… Yesterday’s First Annual “Good Riddance Day,” held in New York City.

... and Todd Zarnock says goodbye to a list of things including drugs, women and shoplifting.
Credits: Watts/News Published: 12/29/2007 04:00:00

I know there are primitive societies in this wide, wide world that have similar sacrificial rituals… but here? In NYC? Who’d a thunk it? Well, on second thought… this did happen in New Yawk. Nuff said.

There's video here... and note the de rigeur Bush-Bashing. Dang. What will the moonbats do after January 20^th, eh?

―:☺:―

Also in the NYC Daily News… celebrity smokers… with photos of people generally unknown to me and suitably snarky comment. Example:

Whatcha got there, Salma Hayek?

The "Ugly Betty" star is the latest closet celebrity smoker to be exposed after she was spotted puffing away on American Spirits this weekend in Beverly Hills alongside her 1-year-old daughter, Valentina.

Cameras caught the secret smoker outside Neiman Marcus as she lit up while her mom and tiny tot waited.

Hayek told Marie Claire last year that she got hooked on cigarettes while filming "Frida" - and subsequently quit last April.

"It's the s---iest vice you could possibly pick," she said. "I've tried to quit before. But this time I'm done with it. I've changed."

But the 42-year-old isn't the only star who tries to keep her nicotine addiction under wraps

Well, now. Young Salma has good taste, if nothing else. American Spirit was my brand before I gave ‘em up, three years ago next month. But… what IS it with our fascination with “celebrity smokers,” anyway? I’m not immune from this phenomenon, ya know, what with having put up at least three posts over the course of the last year about The One’s habit. Speaking of…

But Mr Obama has admitted to "falling off the wagon" in the course of the campaign. The media has been judgmental. "Obama clearly relishes this opportunity to defeat bigotry and reframe the expectations of young people, especially African-Americans," the San Jose Mercury-News editorialised. "And yet, he smokes." He can set things right, the paper wrote, but only "if he makes a very public show of quitting".

It is less than self-evident why Mr Obama's forgoing the cigarette he sneaks every few weeks should be a matter of national importance. There is no consistent relationship between smoking and performance of official duties. It is true, according to the historian Michael Oren, that Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli chief of staff, was taken to hospital with nicotine poisoning at the height of the six-day war, but he was on 100 a day. Cigars buoyed Churchill in the second world war. Whether or not smoking makes you think more clearly, the former German chancellor, Helmut Schmidt, who celebrated his 90th birthday last week, must count as one of the sharpest thinkers and heaviest smokers among world leaders of the last half-century.

That’s an excerpt from The Financial Times (UK), from an article titled “No smoke without ire,” which goes on to address the “tricky constitutional question” of whether or not Mr. Obama’s personal quarters in the White House are part and parcel of a no-smoking federal building. That IS a most weighty issue, dontcha think?

As far as Mr. Rabin is concerned… 100 ciggies a day? That’s five packs a day or one cigarette every 15 minutes, assuming the man was awake 24 hours a day. Or, in other words, ol’ Yitzhak never put ‘em out… he literally had to light one off the other, non-stop. And I thought I smoked a lot, at a pack and a half a day. Heh.

―:☺:―

Today’s Random Thought: As one grows older one begins to realize there are worse things in a relationship than your average mother-in-law. Such as: your girlfriend’s children. More specifically, your girlfriend’s adult children.

I’m not throwing stones at any one (or more) individual(s), mind you. Just sayin’.

―:☺:―

Along the same lines as the item above, kinda-sorta… excerpts from an e-mail conversation with a good friend yesterday (certain terms have been redacted to preserve EIP’s PG-13 rating):

My Friend: As you know I check your blog daily and frankly sometimes I have concerns for you because I am, after all, your friend and thus retain that right. I do suggest you get laid though because you exemplify the worst case of a man needing (redacted) that I've ever seen. I suspect that one or two of your "blog buddies" would be more than happy to help you out. That being said, Merry Christmas old friend and of course happy New Year which I will celebrate with you at the stroke of midnight with a couple of fingers of my favorite 15 year old single malt.

Me: |I do suggest you get laid though because you exemplify the worst case of a man needing (redacted) that I've ever seen.

Oh... c'mon! I'm not that bad! Think of all those guys in prison. OTOH, they're probably having all the sex they want (and MORE than they want, in some cases), but it's NOT the sort of experience I care to learn. As a s'matter of fact, the thought of (redacted) rarely even crosses my mind. There are some bennies to achieving Old Age, not the least of which is the Bigger Head taking control over the Little Head. There was a time in life when I'd be prowling the streets upon finding myself without a steady source. No more. The thought of entanglements is more than enough to discourage what little interest I have in that certain physical activity. OK, some of the foregoing is bullshit, plain and simple. But... that said... I'd fix it, were I in dire need. There are MANY women "looking" these days, even for us Ol Farts. Maybe even especially us Ol Farts... as we tend to die off earlier than our female counterparts.

My friend’s observation concerns me and I view it not unlike a medical diagnosis. As such, I believe I need a second opinion (and not “You’re ugly, too!”). Do I appear to be a man in severe need, Gentle Reader? I don’t think so, but then again… we oftentimes don’t see ourselves as others see us.

It's All Relative

The title is in reference to winter weather… yours, mine, and that found elsewhere. Speaking of “elsewhere”… you may find the following interesting, Gentle Reader. Or not. But here it is:

Baby It’s Cold Outside…

……as one of my favorite Christmas songs goes, but we can’t say we weren’t warned. Like our up to the minute 24 hour news channels, we were bombarded with warnings, alerts, and pager updates for days prior to the arrival of an Arctic Clipper last week. Let me tell you, we’ve seen worse. I understand we were one of the more fortunate ones, though, because we received very little snow. We did, however, get the 30 below on the thermometer and 52 below wind chill temperatures so we didn’t go completely unscathed and after five days we just went above zero for about a minute today. Like I said, we’ve seen worse, but it seemed unusual enough to fill air time on the national news. It is funny to hear and read others reactions to our weather which we know is just part of our way of life here in “the North Country”.

I was invited to join the Fortuna Air Force Station group site (ed: I added this link) on the internet some time ago and have watched with interest the many comments and memories this weather has conjured up for these once young service men and women who I’m quite sure wondered, at times, if they hadn’t been shipped to Siberia rather than northwest North Dakota . Apparently our current winter has nothing on the winter of 1961-62. Here are a few quotes recently posted on the Fortuna Air Force Station site in regards to that memorable winter:

“In the winter of 61-62 it got down to -52, colder than I saw it in Alaska -30. Louis Able who worked in the power plant left for his home in Westby at 2400, at 0200 his wife called and informed us he hadn't made it home. I got the GSA 1 ton and called Sgt Melcher in Westby, Melcher headed east found him just before we got to his car (Mercury Marauder convertible) Able only had his field jacket with him. He never could follow orders. We had our parka and snow pants and a comforter we were to take with us when we went off base. We were supposed to take food and gas too. It was probably the same in later years.”
Don Luther
EPPT 61-62

That’s from the Westby Border News… in Westby, Montana… and there’s more about the weather at the quoted piece’s title link. Long-time readers may remember I lived up in Westby once upon a time, for about seven or eight months (prior to that I lived in Plentywood for a couple o’ few months, which is about 30 miles west of Westby). And yeah: I was firmly convinced that Siberia has NOTHING on Westby and environs when it comes to “cold.” I have never experienced cold like I experienced up there… before or since.

And I hope I never, ever experience it again.

The pic is a re-re-run and is my absolute favorite Fortuna photo. But it wasn't always like this... summers were a lot o' fun (scroll to the very bottom of the linked page).

Time Waster

View tweets from around the world in real-time here, on a Google-map. Updated about every 15 seconds, as near as I can tell.

h/t: brityank, via Twitter.

A Lil Christmas History of a Different Sort

Via an old Tweet from Lileks... "Christmas Under Fire (1941)." The vid is of historical interest to perhaps a few of you Gentle Readers and is nine and half minutes long. I found it tremendously interesting; YMMV.





Here's the info blurb on the vid:

Despite the Blitz, it's 'business as usual' as England prepares for Christmas in this propaganda film intended for US audiences. It's a Christmas of holly and barbed wire, guns and tinsel, yet the British, we are told, are determined to make it as cheerful as possible.

"England is fighting for her life", asserts the American narrator, but it is admiration rather than pity that the film seeks to evoke. The filmmakers achieve this with emotions bigger than most 10-minute films could contain, as we watch plucky Londoners creating a subterranean Christmas on Underground platforms and the choristers of King's College sing their hearts out. While no doubt intended to encourage US support in the War, 'Christmas Under Fire' ultimately offers a portrait of a nation "unbeaten, unconquered and unafraid". (Poppy Simpson)

I can just imagine watching this in a darkened theater... with dread. The war, for us, wasn't even three weeks old at Christmas in 1941. The Brits had endured it for two years at the time... and they were literally getting their asses kicked.

We should thank our lucky stars and the brave men and women who answered the call back then. It was the darkest of days...

Boxing Day

If Santa didn’t bring you everything you wanted yesterday… there’s a reason. Blame our illustrious Congress critters:

Billions for Detroit and the financial industry… but nuthin’ for St. Nick. Go figure.

h/t: Barry.

―:☺:―

Today is Boxing Day in the Ol’ British Empire. I always… without fail… think of this on December 26^th…

I did recall, in great detail, the year we spent Christmas night on a British Airways flight from Detroit to London. Our flight left sometime around six or seven in the evening on Christmas Day, and we were at the airport a good three hours before that. There were three of us: TSMP, our great good friend Kim, and myself. It was Kim’s first trip outside the US, and she was as excited as is humanly possible. The flight was nearly empty because, who, after all, travels on Christmas Day? Just us bargain hunters. TSMP and Kim stayed awake most of the flight. I, on the other hand, found an empty row and slept. Don’t you just love empty airplanes on transatlantic flights? It doesn’t happen a lot these days, from what I read.

We arrived at Heathrow around 0700 and were completely through customs and baggage claim in about an hour. The Captain, although he was either a Buck Sergeant or a Staff Sergeant stationed at RAF Lakenheath at the time, met us at Arrivals. We loaded up the luggage and piled into his ratty old British Ford Cortina with the broken heater and leaky floor and did the patented B&P nickel tour of London for Kim’s benefit.

Sidebar: I use the term “B&P nickel tour” in a very personal sense. TSMP and I lived in London from 1980 - 1983 and we had a LOT of visitors. After the first wave of visitors had come and gone we developed our own little two-hour driving tour of London that hit all the high spots: Buckingham Palace, Westminster, Piccadilly Circus, Tower Bridge, et al. We also threw in a few of our favorite places. It was great fun reliving that tour!

So. After the tour we grabbed lunch and went to the hotel for a little nap before our evening out. And thus began the ten-day England Christmas Tour of 1990-something. I don’t remember the exact year, actually. But I sure remember that trip…one of my BEST Christmases (and New Year’s), ever.

The Best Thing about our arrival in London on Boxing Day was the heretofore unmentioned party we went to that evening. TSMP, SN1, Good Friend Kim, and I went to my Brit Buddy Rob’s place, where we partied into the wee small hours. The most interesting thing about that party was that Rob and I picked up exactly where we’d left off more than ten years earlier. It was as if we’d seen each other only yesterday. It’s like that with great, good friends.

So… a visit from The Ghost of Christmas Past. Which ain’t all bad, Gentle Reader.

...

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S

God Bless Us Every One

He's On His Way!

NORAD does it's annual Santa tracking exercise... here. The Fat Man has already done all of Asia and a LOT of Europe... video at the link! (The AP has a nice story on the history of NORAD's Santa Trackers here.)



Woo-Hoo!

Dang Me

Now that the Obamas are vacationing in Hawaii I’ve noticed I’ve gotten well over 40 hits (or so) in the past 24 hours for “Obama on the beach.” And they click through to this… amazingly enough:

Now That's A Line!

Via Gerard… 20 More Photos Taken at Exactly the Right Angle. Like the one above…Obama on the beach. They’re all pretty danged cool.

Go figure. I’m thinking anyone interested in beach photos of The One wouldn’t be prone to click through on this. Imagine my surprise.

―:☺:―

Ear-worm. And it’s ALL Barry’s fault. From comments on his site:

Today's rhetorical question: How could I live this long without ever hearing "shellout falter?" That's a masterful turn of a phrase if ever there was one!
Buck | Homepage | 12.23.08 - 1:40 pm | #

---

Buck, my reaction exactly, but I'm not surprised that it sprang from the mind of Roger Miller, who is a lyrical genius.

Even the silly stuff -- *especially* the silly stuff -- I love. If you catch me whistling to myself at the office, it's often something like "You Can't Rollerskate In A Buffalo Herd."
Barry | Homepage | 12.23.08 - 1:55 pm | #

---

Agreed on the silly stuff. "Dang Me" came out when I was in USAF tech school... and imagine, if you will, 20 or 30 drunken young airmen joining in on the chorus and warbling "high from the highest treeeee... woman would ya weep for me? Doo-doo-dee-doot-a-looie..." (from memory, that, but ya get the idea, I'm sure). Miller was the soundtrack for a lot of great times back then.
Buck | Homepage | 12.24.08 - 3:18 pm | #

---

OK... it's been about an hour now and I can't get that danged song out of my head. Aiiieee!
Buck | Homepage | 12.24.08 - 4:15 pm | #

Misery loves company. So… join me and sing along, Gentle Reader.

Heh.

Work

No. No, it ISN'T. Not EVEN. We digress before we've even begun.

Blog-Bud Morgan tags us with an interesting sort of meme, to wit:

It’s simple. Just list all the jobs you’ve had in your life, in order. Don’t bust your brain: no durations or details are necessary, and feel free to omit anything that you feel might tend to incriminate you. I’m just curious. And when you’re done, tag another five bloggers you’re curious about.

Famous last words: “Don’t bust your brain.” Heh. This meme is not designed for the semi-elderly or folks that are otherwise memory-challenged... and God Forbid if you should be both. Obviously. But… here goes, as best as I can remember. Unpaid positions are so indicated, in parens.

Dish-washer, vacuum cleaner operator, maker of beds, babysitter… all for a pittance of an “allowance.”

Mower of lawns, leaf-raker, snow-shoveler, car washer… same salary as above.

Paper boy.

Apricot picker.

Landscaper’s apprentice… dispenser of grass seed, wheelbarrow operator, dump truck driver.

College student.

Cook @ Mickey Dee’s.

Basic trainee.

Trade school student. (in a manner of speaking)

Kitchen help… potato peeler, dishwasher, floor mopper, aka “KP.”

Latrine cleaner.

Buffer operator, First Class.

Close-order drill specialist. (the result of many punitive hours on the drill pad)

Radar repairman.

Gofer.

Antenna climber.

Grocery bagger (part time).

Bean field weed picker and other assorted dirty agricultural jobs Americans won’t do (part time).

Tire buster (part time and the only job I’ve ever been fired from).

Radar technician.

Surveillance systems technician. (aka electronic spook enabler on the periphery of the Evil Empire)

Motorcycle racer wannabee. (amateur, but I worked damned hard at it)

Radar technician, part deux.

Maintenance control center dispatcher.

Distributor/purveyor of herbal remedies. (part time)

Suicide prevention center counselor. (part time, volunteer)

Surveillance systems technician, part deux.

Deejay. (volunteer, part time)

Radar technician, yet again. (These positions were many and varied, thus multiple entries)

Engineering/installations team chief (radar).

Bar back.

Brothel inspector, various locations in SE Asia.

Maintenance quality control inspector. (not at ALL related to the entry immediately above. Wait. Check that. Related, but not in the way you might think. You’d be amazed at the wide variety of fuck-ups I encountered.)

Plans and programs manager. (NCOIC).

Classified materials custodian. (Have you ever held your breath for three years straight, Gentle Reader?)

Public affairs NCO, news release writer, photographer.

Editor, “The Visiting Fireman’s Guide to the Best Pubs Around RAF Uxbridge and Vicinity.”

Researcher for the above publication.

Motorcycle safety instructor. (part time, volunteer)

Proxy parent. (volunteer)

Staff weenie.

College student, part deux. (on the VA dole)

Small scale farmer… or maybe large scale gardener. (kinda like Chance)

Telecommunications specialist.

Technical writer.

Proposal writer.

Proposal team leader/manager.

Telecommunications engineer.

Software development/service management/service reporting manager.

Lamaze coach. (At age 52… Aiiieeee!)

Vagabond, two-lane blacktop edition. Coast to coast and border to border.

Staff weenie, operations policies and procedures.

IT operations manager.

Retiree. (BEST job I’ve EVER had)

Blogger (we use the term quite loosely).

And there ya have it… a checkered career, if there ever was one.

Tag-ees? I’ll wimp out here and say “play if ya wanna.” But I’d be VERY curious to see lists compiled by Lou, Jay, Doc, Phlegmmy, and Christina (Once again: no pressure. Play if’n ya wanna.). Daphne has already been tagged by Gerard (veddy eeen-ter-ess-teeng, his list) and I hope she plays.

Fail!

Well... I tried to get some windshield video of tumbleweeds for ya, Gentle Reader. But I had "issues." The grab-shot camera's battery has seen better days... and although the battery meter indicated a full charge when I checked it before leaving the house... it lied. Which totally pisses me right off. I thought I shot four video sequences between here and Cannon Airplane Patch, but only two survived... one of which was truncated (and thus unusable, for all intents and purposes) for a reason known only to the Camera Gods, which were NOT smiling upon me today.

Here's the best of the two survivors:



(sigh) I thought I had good video on the return trip... but it all disappeared somewhere into the ether. I suppose I'll have to buy another danged battery for the camera, but at $50 a pop (or so) it won't be anytime soon. I just don't use the "little camera" all that much these days.

Christmas Spirit

I feel like I owe ya, Gentle Reader, after yesterday's Humbug post. So... to make amends, here's a wonderful lil bit o' Christmas Cheer for ya.

H/T: Blog-Bud Andy. And if that doesn't do it for ya, there's a NEW version of "snowglobe" to play with. Be sure to listen to the song before ya shake the globe. It's pretty good.

You can buy the candles in the pic here.

Apropos of Nothing...

Enter the confessional... and begin. "Forgive me Father, for I have sinned..." (I've never actually been in a confessional for its intended purpose but I have seen movies, so I think that's the way one begins). I had an e-mail conversation with a great good friend this morning who shares my current attitude toward the holidays (by that I mean the time period beginning with Thanksgiving and ending on New Years, which includes Christmas; I'm NOT being Politically Correct). To wit:

I hate the holidays. There are no other words for it. "Strong dislike" doesn't qualify. Nor does "ambivalent." Nope... the holidays just drag me down. As I told my friend today:

I swear to the Diety At Hand that being alone at Christmas is my very own personal "new tradition." I'm beginning to take a sort of perverse pride in this, although there are precious few I'd share the thought with... you being The One and Only at this point in time. Most folks just wouldn't "get it." At least I think that's the case.

So... there it is: out on the street for all the world to see. And I have to ask... do you "get it," Gentle Reader? Or do you think I'm a modern-day grinch?

Winter Classic

OK... Videos from the NHL tend to hose the blog, at least they did last year during the play-offs when I was posting a vid from the NHL nearly every day. We had us some complaints, we did. But Hope Springs Eternal, Gentle Reader, and I've been meaning to put something... anything... up about the Winter Classic for some time now. Let's give it another shot:



This short lil vid is supposed to illustrate the Detroit-Chicago rivalry... which is pretty lame, as far as rivalries go. Granted there USED to be one helluva rivalry between the two teams, as both are members of The Original Six and have been playing each other since 1942. I can remember some great games back in the '80s... when Chelios played for Chicago and was THE Guy I Loved To Hate, bar none (Well... except for Claude Lemieux, but we won't go there. That was the '90s, anyway.). Chelly's been in Detroit for nearly ten years now and is one of my favorite players. Funny how that works, eh? But we digress...

The Winter Classic will be played at 1300 hrs (ET) at Wrigley Field in Chicago on New Years Day. I dunno which Bowl Game will take it in the shorts here at El Casa Móvil De Pennington, but I will NOT miss the Winter Classic. From The Wiki:

The largest crowd to ever watch an NHL game was during the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic when 71,000 people watched the Pittsburgh Penguins battle the Buffalo Sabres. The game was held at Ralph Wilson Stadium, which is the Buffalo Bills home stadium in Orchard Park, New York, a suburb of Buffalo, on January 1, 2008. This was the first NHL game held outdoors in the United States.

The Sabres and the Pens game was one for the ages. I'm thinking this year's game will only be better, especially since Chicago actually has a competitive team now. They were a LOOOONG time in the hockey wilderness, Gentle Reader.

This is where I'll be on New Years Day... for a couple of three hours, anyhoo. Wanna join me?

It's Winter

Happy Winter Solstice! We entered winter at 1204Z today, and that would be 0504 hrs MST. I was still sound asleep at that time, meaning it was already winter when I awoke. It sure feels like winter, too. To wit:

Our high here on The High Plains of New Mexico will be all of 33 degrees today… if the forecast comes to pass.

But… back to the solstice. I checked the Beeb’s web site this morning to see if there were any photos from the solstice festivities at Stonehenge this year… but alas, no. I did find a slideshow of 11 photos from the 2006 event, though. It seems like our modern-day Druids are less in touch with the firmament than their ancestors. There’s a series of wry little notes at the linked site that say…

Unlike the Summer Solstice.... the Winter Solstice is a bit of a moveable feast..

...which last year saw 60 plus revellers turn up at the stones 24 hours early...

...mistakenly believing that the winter solstice always falls on December 21.

It doesn't... so to avoid any pagan pink faces...

...this is to confirm that Stonehenge will be open for Winter Solstice on Saturday 22nd December, 2007, from 7:30 am to 9:00am.

Heh. Musta been a bit of embarrassment, that.

―:☺:―

Also from Auntie… Let Them Eat Cake Caviar! Quote:

Beluga caviar seized by Italian customs officers is to be distributed to poor people in Milan as a Christmas gift.

About 40kg (88lb) of caviar was confiscated in November after two couriers travelling from Poland were stopped with the hidden cargo.

Newspaper Corriere Della Sera says the caviar had an estimated value of $550,000 (£370,000).

Tests showed the caviar to be edible, so it is to be given to canteens, hospices and shelters for the poor.

Beluga caviar is the most expensive variety of the delicacy.

Countries have tried to crack down on illegal trading of caviar after more than 600 tonnes of it were traded in the EU between 1998 and 2004.

I was shocked at how the price of beluga has gone up. You can’t buy it in the US any longer… unless you live in states where it’s directly imported… which, in the case of my google search, consist solely of California and New Jersey. You’ll pay handsomely for the privilege, too: $145.00 per ounce. That’s approximately ten times the price I paid for the caviar I bought in Moscow in 1994 (or so) and brought back to the US.

Dang.

Small World Redux

Here's yet another re-run, kinda-sorta. This past August I put this up:

Peter Parks, Sea water with mixed zooplankton and needle eye (20X) Fifth Place, 2007

About the image you see directly above… I was perusing the archives for a bit last evening and came across a post I put up last July that directed you to the “Nikon International Small World Competition,” which is an annual micro-photography contest sponsored (strangely enough) by Nikon. And I got to wondering if they’d updated their site this year. The answer is “yes.” And, as usual, there are some amazing images on display in the galleries, which go all the way back to 1977. This site could be a serious time waster if you’re into photography, only your time wouldn’t really be wasted at all. You could consider the time spent here as inspiration. Or education. Or simply an excuse to revel in the beauty of a world most of us never see. Good stuff, this.

Nikon announced the 2008 winners of the competition this past October (or thereabouts), and the NYT ran ten of the photographs along with audio commentary by the photographers on some of the images. The Nikon site has a comprehensive look at the official winners (as chosen by Nikon's judges), plus a "People's Choice" gallery. I particularly enjoyed the NYT's commentary, though. Here's the 2008 sixth-place photo:

Klaus Bolte, Chrysolina fastuosa (Micro leaf beetle) on a pin head (40X)

This is also one of the "annotated" photos at the NYT link. And, as noted above, there are galleries of every year's past winners at the Nikon site. Marvelous stuff.

More Laura-Love

From the AP... captioned thusly: "The President and First Lady unveil their portraits at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. (Dec. 19)" Laura goes first (1:35)...



I like both portraits. But as you might expect, Gentle Reader, I like Mrs. Bush's more.

Feeling Yore Pain

So... while we on The High Plains of New Mexico are dealing with high winds, tumbleweeds, and moderate temps much of America (and not a few of my daily reads, although I'm still in the process of making the rounds and haven't yet begun to visit everyone) is dealing with snow and/or ice... and lots of it.

So... tuning up my best Bubba-voice... "I feel yore pain. Really, I do." (How was that, Gentle Reader?) Here are a couple o' few pics from my snowy past...

The above were shot in Ra-cha-cha, New Yawk. We got something like two feet in that storm. Shit Stuff happens in New Mexico, too. Just last year, as a s'matter of fact:

Soooo... if'n you're part of the impending episode of "The Ice Man Cometh," or if you're recovering from same, I really DO feel yore pain. I'm more than glad I'm not experiencing it, though. (insert smiley-face thingie here)

Tumbleweeds

I’m not one of those guys who takes his camera with him everywhere he goes. But I sure wish I would have had my camera with me today (the small grab-shot one that also shoots video). Why, you ask? Coz it’s another one of those days here on The High Plains of New Mexico… which is to say steady wind of 30+ mph and gusts to 60 mph, if you believe The WX Channel. And I do, Gentle Reader… I most certainly DO.

I’ve been putting off the bi-weekly commissary run for a lot longer than I should and this morning I finally decided to get off the dime and head out to the base. I knew we were in for some wind today, but the forecast said it wasn’t gonna hit us until 1300 hrs or thereabouts. Well, my timing sucked. I really, truly intended on getting gone early on this morning but as Fate would have it (read as: I dallied waaay too long over coffee) I didn’t hit the road until 1130. And the front blew in early.

Oh, Goodie.

But… about the camera. Windshield video would have amazed and mystified you, Gentle Reader, had I had the presence of mind to take the camera along with me on the run out to the base and back. The tumbleweeds were just amazing today… literally hundreds of the danged things traveling across the highway at incredible speeds and getting some astounding air from time to time… like 20 feet or more. And there are literally thousands of the danged things stuck in the perimeter fence that encircles Cannon Airplane Patch. About which… I (ahem) shot the breeze briefly with one of the guys here in Beautiful La Hacienda Trailer Park when I got home and he told me the t-weeds were SO bad they took down a length of the perimeter fence out at the base earlier today. I can believe it. The t-weeds are so thick at some points in the fence that you literally can NOT see through them. That’s a lot of tumbleweeds.

I also thought about going back out after I got home with the express intention of shooting a little bit of video for ya… but I didn’t. It’s just not nice out there at the moment.

A couple of shots of the t-weeds (a) along the back fence and (b) piled up next to my car-hauler. As always, click for larger.

Update: Kris, in comments, sez there's something romantic about tumbleweeds. Indeed. Here's a lil sumthin from my childhood on the subject:

How romantic is that, eh? I'd say "a lot." That's The Sons of the Pioneers singin' and playin' fer yew. They were BIG once upon a time.

My Kinda Lights...

My Buddy Ed In Florida sends along the following:

My wife nagged and nagged at me to put up the Christmas lights.

Well, I finally got them up and NOW she won't talk to me!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Heh. That's MY kinda decorating.

Yet ANOTHER Reason...

…to dump IE and get Firefox. From The Guardian (UK):

Microsoft is releasing a patch for the flaw in its Internet Explorer browser, which has already lead to the infection of more than 2m computers worldwide. The patch should be available on the Microsoft Update website at 6pm GMT today (ed: that would be 1100 hrs MST).

The flaw, which lets hackers gain access to computers and steal personal data, was spotted last week in IE7. It was subsequently found in earlier versions of Microsoft's browser, IE5 and IE6, and the company has put together a patch for all versions of its browser.

Because IE is used by seven out of every 10 computers in the world, the flaw was potentially very serious and security experts went so far as to suggest that users dump IE and use another browser, such as Firefox.

Yup. And you won’t miss a single thrilling installment posted here at EIP if you switch to Firefox, too. (One should never miss an opportunity to toot one’s own horn, ya know. It’s The American Way.)

Thanks... But NO Thanks!

You can’t make this stuff up. To wit:

Still can't think what to get him for Christmas? Socks don't seem to cut it any more? Fret no longer because Burger King is here to help.

The mass purveyor of grilled meat is offering, for a limited time, something even better than their usual piles of beef patties. This week, American men were given the chance to smell like their favourite meat snack with the launch of Flame, Burger King's contribution to the perfume market.

The company describes Flame as "the scent of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled meat".

Then again, one wonders why I had to hear about this in a British newspaper. Why haven’t I seen this advertised on my teevee? Or elsewhere in American media? But then again… I know it’s real. I’ve been to the web site. (Which is kinda cool, I must admit.)

In the Mood...

... for a good Christmas story? Well, how about a great Christmas story? You should go read my Blog-Bud Jim's post today, then.

You will be moved. Guaranteed.

I HATE Blogger!

Or perhaps I hate Internet Explorer, I dunno. Whatever or whichever... If you use Internet Exploder to view EIP you're missing FOUR... count 'em... four five posts. The posts titled "Another Addition" (announcing the birth of great-granddaughter Aria), "It Happens EVERY Year" (a whine about frozen water hoses), "The Grace and Humor of Laura Bush" (a video of Mrs. Bush), "Happy Birthday Baby T" (pics of great-grandson T's first birthday), and (added) "Rock 'n' Roll," a post about 50 mph winds here in P-Ville have all disappeared into the ether... if you use IE.

I have NO ideer as to WHY this shit keeps on keeping on, but it does. The weird thing? I composed half of those posts-gone-missing in Blogger's "compose" window with the express intention of avoiding these hassles. To no avail...

My suggestion to you, Gentle Reader: get Firefox. Stuff just works with Firefox and I cannot say the same thing for IE. Frickin' Microsnot...

Update: I managed to fix it by removing MS-Word code in the "New Addition" post. Everything seems fine when viewed in IE now. PLEASE let me know if you have problems viewing EIP, Gentle Reader, with either IE or Firefox.

Stolen...

... from Blog-Bud Mike:



I loves me a good double-entendre, but this one is just over the top. The woman's expression at the very end of the ad is classic! One assumes this is, in fact, a real ad... even if I never saw it.

Another Addition...

… to the family. Grandma Alisa sent out photos of our newest arrival last evening. Granddaughter Anastasia gave birth to great-granddaughter Aria Mikala Morse (nine pounds eight ounces) on December 6^th in San Diego. Mom and Baby are doing well and looking good at the same time. The first pic is of Mom and daughter, the second is the whole family, with Dad Alex. You may remember me posting a wedding picture in July of last year.

As for me… Let’s just say I’m feeling a lil bit older, yet again. There are more to come, as well. Granddaughter Number One on the SN1 side of the house is with child, too. How does this keep happening? And SO soon?

It Happens EVERY Year...

... and this year's no exception. I'm without water and it's a self-inflicted wound. My water lines are froze up, even though I set a drip last evening. But my "slow drip" wasn't enough as I'm frozen solid. I didn't think I was in that much of a jam at first... as our forecasted high was supposed to be 37 degrees today. True to form, the weather forecast has changed and we're only going to get up to 27 degrees. I had a gallon of emergency water on hand but that's nearly gone... so I'll have to get out and buy frickin' water to make it through until tomorrow.

{sigh} It's always frickin' sumthin...

The Grace and Humor of Laura Bush

I came across this ol' video (ten minutes) of Laura at the 2005 White House Correspondents' Dinner:



You've probably seen this video before, Gentle Reader, as it made quite the splash back in 2005. The link to the video was in this Forbes article: "In Praise of Laura Bush," which is worth a read in and of itself. I agree with most of what's in the article (there ARE certain exceptions and if you chase the link you'll see what I mean, given I'm a 27-percenter) and I most especially agree with Mr. Varadarajan's closing graf:

My guess, as America changes, is that the Laura Bush type will fade away, and that more and more first ladies will be (however one interprets the phrase) "people in their own right"--and thus, potentially, a huge pain to the body politic. (Think Cherie Blair ...) There is some danger that Michelle Obama, a forthright and independent woman, could hew more to the Hillary model than to the Laura Bush way --although her demeanor in the election campaign suggests that she's not unaware of the public boundaries that Hillary, as first lady, failed to respect. And if Mrs. Obama really, really is, as I quote her saying (above), "taking some cues" from Mrs. Bush, then President Obama will be a very lucky man.

Long time readers know I have a huge crush on Mrs. Bush. I keep wondering how Michelle Obama is "gonna follow that act," as they say in show-biz. Coz Laura is indeed a hard act to follow in the First Lady department. I'm gonna miss that woman.

Happy Birthday Baby T!

That's great-grandson Taurean with Mom Amanda above. Taurean is one year old today... but the celebration was yesterday. And Mom's a pretty smart cookie, ain't she? Notice T's shirt came off before the frosting went on!

Where DOES the time go?

Rock 'n' Roll!

… that would be us here at El Casa Móvil De Pennington, Gentle Reader. But not in a good way. Observe, specifically the wind speed and gusts:

That’s what The WX Channel’s web site sez. The actual WX Channel on my teevee is a lil more pessimistic, however:

Why does that happen? I tend to believe my teevee, though. It's just brutal outside at the moment, and I won't begin to speak of the dust. Well, maybe I'll begin... the sky's color is pretty much a dull tan, which isn't like something you'd see in a Dust Bowl movie... i.e., totally obscured by black roiling clouds of dust... but it's MOST certainly a first-cousin of the same.

Where I'll Be...

…tomorrow evening at 2100 hrs (EST). Here’s a trailer (four minutes)…

I’ve seen a lot of preview activity for this show on C-SPAN this week and it looks like it’s gonna be very, very good. Bonus: Laura has a BIG part in the documentary, as you might could glean from the trailer above. The WaPo also published a favorable review of the program today. Excerpts:

C-SPAN's two-hour documentary on the White House, which airs tomorrow night, passes by with the stately drama of a roll-call vote on a bill to temporarily modify certain duty rates and make other technical amendments to whatever. Piano music tinkles in the background as the camera pans voluptuously over clocks, rugs, sofas and chairs. Martial tunes swell as the state rooms come into focus. Red carpets and dishware, hand-lettered place cards, chocolate goodies from the pastry chefs -- this is catnip for the political crowd.

Its strength, however, goes well beyond home furnishings and real estate porn. The focus is squarely on how administrations and social history have impacted the meaning and look of the house, from its first occupants -- John and Abigail Adams -- to its current inhabitants, George and Laura Bush, who appear in the film, and in interviews broadcast through the coming week.

Tomorrow's overview is, in many ways, a thumbnail history of the presidency. Abraham Lincoln's time there is credited for creating the White House's public mystique and drama, albeit a tragic one. Theodore Roosevelt swept out decades of dark Victoriana and made it a showplace for a newly confident and increasingly imperial nation. Franklin D. Roosevelt's physical handicap meant that the world had to come to him, so the house became an increasingly powerful center of civic gravity. The Kennedy administration, and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy in particular, helped establish the house not just as a working government building and a home but also as a carefully curated historical museum.

I wouldn’t want to hazard a guess at what the ratings will be. I’m guessing not too many people will tear themselves away from the frickin’ NFL to watch something like this. And that’s too bad. Ah… America.

(Forgive me my snark, Gentle Reader. But I’m far from not knowing what I do say…)

Classic!

Good Friend Lori out in the Bay Area Soviet Socialist Republic sends along a link to this:

Room for Rent -- Inauguration Day/ObamaCon 2009

---

Date: 2008-11-11, 11:45AM EST

In a search of a room in DC so that you can spend Jan. 20 standing in the bitter winter cold with thousands of like-minded souls watching the historic transfer of power from one Harvard grad to another? Look no further.

Me: Heartless, greedy right-wing oppressive type looking to make a buck.

You: Obama's election was Christmas/your first kiss/May Day all wrapped into one. You dutifully wore his button -- which you have yet to remove -- contributed money to his campaign from your non-profit job and chanted "yes we can" as if it were the 11th commandment. A strange void now exists in your life and -- like an old hippie looking to recapture the spirit of Woodstock -- you are undertaking a pilgramage to Washington for one last gulp of the Kool-Aid.

Along with my bedroom you will have access to the house's many amenities including cable television (not that you watch much TV) for viewing Keith Olberman's latest unhinged rants and CNN in high-def. Wireless internet means that the Huffington Post and DailyKos are only a click away on your MacBook. American flags and other patriotic paraphernalia in the room can be removed upon request.

The house is located in the diverse neighborhood of Adams Morgan with people of many different skin pigmentations that will allow you to revel in your tolerance. Rest assured, however, that this diversity does not extend to ideology and that you are sure to march lock-step with the prevailing sentiment ensuring that your most strongly held beliefs remain unchallenged.

Easily accessible subway and bus stops will help ensure a minimal carbon footprint while fair trade coffee is never more than a few steps away at any number of independently-owned establishments. Nearby non-chain bookstores similarly mean that tomes such as Mao's Little Red Book, Chomsky's latest masterpiece or additional copies of The Audacity of Hope can be easily purchased either for yourself or as early holiday shopping.

Rather than state a price I am requesting that you bid on this fabulous opportunity to ensure profit maximization on my part so that I can better weather the Bush Recession.

Lanier Pl. at Ontario google map yahoo map

• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 914613135

The funny thing? I'm betting the dude/dudette is simply SWAMPED with offers.

A Tragic Loss

Via blog-bud Phlegmmy... the inimitable Bettie Page died yesterday. The vid is work-safe, unless your workplace has something against beautiful women in lingerie.



Bettie fueled the fantasies of many a man (and boys, too, one of which I cheerfully admit being) in the way-back. She also created a specific genre of erotica (OK... soft-core porn) that lives to this day.

RIP, Ms. Page. Thank you.

Pain and Piñatas

Yesterday was profoundly weird in a physical sense. I was up until all hours Wednesday night/Thursday morning as is my habit… I finally gave it up and hit the sack sometime around 0300 hrs. I felt absolutely, positively normal when I went to bed; six hours later I awoke to screaming pain in my lower back and left leg. “Screaming pain” is defined as difficult to walk or stand up straight and impossible to sit comfortably… in this particular case. Rx: two Aleves and back to bed. The Aleves took the edge off, but things weren’t “right” for the entire day and I spent 90% of said entire day flat on my back, as that was the only position I could tolerate.

This literally freaks me out when it happens but it doesn’t happen all that often, Thank God. Long-time readers may recall I’ve mentioned I had back surgery for a herniated disk ten years ago. The operation was successful but the recuperation process was lengthy (eight months or so) and certainly wasn’t pain-free, in and of itself. This was an event I’ll never forget and is the very first thing I think of when I experience ANY sort of back pain, and most particularly the type of back pain that is accompanied with pain in either leg. Freaks me right the Hell out, it does. The Good News: I got a good night’s sleep and I’m fine today. The Bad News: I have NO idea why this happened.

―:☺:―

The upshot of the above is yesterday was pretty much an “internet-free” sort of day. I spent some quality time with C-SPAN (a LOT, actually)… watching the Senate floor debate on the auto industry bridge loan and associated comment here and there. Most all y’all Gentle Readers are probably most gratified to learn the Republican filibuster held and the bridge loan failed. But I’m sure ya knew that already. Interestingly enough the Dow Jones Industrials are up…modestly… in the early going. Today will probably be a day of volatility in the markets as I’ve seen 100-point swings already. It looks as if Harry Reid was wrong (ed: what’s new about that?) about today being a market bloodbath (or words to that effect). Harry was speaking specifically of the US market when he made his statement last evening, but he might as well have been speaking about global markets. They ain't doin' so well.

“Let us pray…”

―:☺:―

Today’s Pic: I spent about two months in Brownsville, TX back in 2000. I made a weekly trip over the river to Matamoros to pick up expensive tequila cheap (hecho en México), cheap Kahula (hecho en México, también), cheap cigars (hecho somewhere entirely different but the country of origin shall remain unnamed), eat, drink, and be otherwise entertained… the last item in the foregoing being the subject of today’s pic.

I spent about 30 minutes in this piñata store, chatting with the nice saleslady and the folks that made the piñatas you see here. I was amazed that one could make a business… and an apparently successful business, at that… out of a single product as esoteric as the piñata. But then again, piñatas ain’t strange at all in México, are they?

I thought piñatas were pretty appropriate for today's post, since the US auto industry has been beat all to Hell and back in these pages... well, in comments, anyway... of late. Just sayin'.

February, 2000.

Letters… We Get Letters…

Or, more appropriately: junk mail. Political junk mail. I only check my snail-mail box once a week or so, but it appears the RNC is a little behind in their mailings. Note the dates on the two letters below:

Both letters were in my box today, and I know I checked my mail last week. That’s when all the bills arrive and I’m VERY diligent about collecting the bills and mailing out the requisite payments, which keeps me in the good graces of folks who provide me with services of one type or another.

But back to the subject at hand… I suppose I’ll be dunned with RNC mailings from now until eternity Hell freezes over, but at least I can throw them away unopened. I thought I’d avoid this sort of unpleasantness by declining to provide an e-mail address when I made my contribution to the McCain campaign earlier this Fall. And I have, sorta. At least my e-mail inbox is devoid of political spam.

Lastly… I know this is a form letter, but it’s a nice form letter. This came in about three weeks after I’d made my contribution to Johnny Mac:

Not bad, eh? I’m gonna keep it.

―:☺:―

We also get a lil bit of e-mail here at El Casa Móvil De Pennington. We received a note from Detroit recently, from an old friend who happens to be a General Motors employee. And yeah, my friend’s note had a lot to do with this:

WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday night approved an emergency plan to prevent the collapse of the nation’s domestic automobile industry, but the measure faces serious opposition in the Senate, where Republicans are revolting against a White House-brokered deal to speed $14 billion to cash-starved General Motors and Chrysler.

After battling through the weekend to reach a compromise with congressional Democrats, the White House Wednesday dispatched Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten to sell the plan to restive Republican senators. But many GOP lawmakers emerged from a combative luncheon with Bolten unconvinced the plan would compel Detroit automakers to make the painful changes necessary to restore them to profitability.

After mostly partisan debate, the House voted 237 to 170 to approve the measure. But with Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and other conservatives threatening to block consideration of the measure, even some Republican advocates of the bailout said it is unlikely to attract sufficient GOP support to win approval in the closely divided Senate.

Let me quote my friend:

As you can imagine it has been rather stressful here with recent events. Our continued employment is very much at risk. Following is some information on the bridge loan and a number to call to leave a message with your representative for support of the loan. Here is the number if you do not want to wade through the material:

Phone calls to your legislators can be facilitated by calling 1-866-927-2233 and entering your 5-digit zip code when prompted.

We would all like to see the market work as it is supposed to and to leave government out of it. But these are not normal times, as the financial sector bail out indicates. (I do not remember seeing any bankers or brokers by the way having to testify for the money given, not loaned.) These are like 1932 times. The domestic auto industry has been caught at a time when credit is tight after very major restructuring.

Many people rightly wonder why others can make money here and not the big 3. Simply put, the big three have been operating in a higher cost environment for longer. We do our research here; the transplants do it overseas with workers whose health care and retirement are covered by the government. They have not operated here for 100 years, so do not have pension checks going to hundreds of thousands of retirees and their widows. And by the way, the credit crisis has affected all manufacturers; Toyota is down by a third, and Prius sales are down 48% with cheap gas on top of that.

Big changes have been made in the last few years to costs and compensation (without specifics, be assured ours is in there as well). The question is, do we want to live in a country with a large middle class, or do we want to go towards a model more like the Great Depression or one of the countries were are competing with? Anyone want to live and work in China, or Mexico, Korea, or even Poland or Russia? These are low cost countries where transplants do their engineering or major component production. Do not believe that if you are not employed by the auto industry or live in the Rust Belt that you will not be affected by a collapse of the domestic auto industry. You will be.

I was similarly frustrated as many others were by the bailout of the financial sector, but saw the necessity for the overall economy. But the auto industry loan is a loan like what Chrysler received 30 years ago. That loan was paid back early and made a profit for taxpayers of $350,000,000.

Your help in the form of a phone call is greatly appreciated and I sincerely believe also in your own best interest. Following is some material for background as well.

Click here: GM Facts and Fiction

We need you to keep the pressure on by calling your U.S. Senators and Representatives in the next 24 hours and reminding them that a healthy U.S. auto industry is vital to our nation’s economic stability and long-term security. Please use the hot line below and let your legislators know that their support for our industry will save millions of jobs that depend on us and will strengthen our economy. Congress must hear that Federal loans will help us bridge the current global financial crisis and allow us to continue our transformation and progress. A strong American manufacturing sector and technological leadership in the global marketplace depends on their acting this year.

1-866-927-2233

I tried to make that phone call Wednesday evening, but my senators (Hutchison and Cornyn) had gone home for the day and voice mail wasn’t an option. I will be making the calls later today, rest assured of that.

Most conservatives are against the “bailout” for Detroit, mostly based on tried-and-true conservative principles of limited government and the free market. I’m all for both, but at the same time I cannot see any merit whatsoever in letting Detroit fail in the midst of the worst financial crisis of my lifetime. “Letting Detroit fail” is the best way I know of to ensure we get a full-blown, 1930s-style depression rather than a deep recession. I’m NOT being a Chicken Little here: the sky really WILL fall if we let Detroit go under. You may or may not believe this, but believe me: you DON'T want to put it to the ultimate test.

The situation is dire. My friend… the guy who wrote the e-mail I’ve quoted above… called me last evening and we spoke for the better part of an hour. And, Gentle Reader, he’s convinced me that the loans Congress is proposing are absolutely, positively necessary. GM will be out of business before the end of the year if something isn’t done.

The House did the right thing last evening by passing the auto loan bill by a vote of 237-170. But, as noted in the article above, certain senators are vowing to filibuster this relief bill. And that's NOT the "right thing" to do in this climate.

Won’t you join me in calling your senators and asking them to support the auto industry loans? Please?

Eye Candy

Vanity Fair has a photographic reprise of 2008 on its web site which is quite unlike most any other "Best of (the year in question)" articles I've ever seen. And the best shots are of a type indicated by this post's title. An example:

Captioned: "April 2008: Sarah Silverman, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler as the three graces. Photograph by Annie Leibovitz; styled by Michael Roberts and Jessica Diehl."

In the "For what it's worth and it ain't worth much" department... I've been a fan of Annie Leibovitz since she became Rolling Stone's house photographer sometime back in the '70s. The woman is simply brilliant and is perhaps the best photographer of our time. Bar none.

The Scandal du Jour...

A screenshot from memeorandum this morning:

Yeah, OK. Right. Everyone who's anyone has something to say about this brouhaha, however meaningless and mundane it might be. I mean, we're talking Illinois politics, ain't we? Which is the antithesis of "squeaky clean." But I digress. All you really need to know about this oh-so-surprising scandal (surprising if you're a third grader, or if you live under a rock somewhere) is up at Iowahawk's place, to wit:

BREAKING: Feds Seize Blagojevich eBay Account

CHICAGO - The ongoing corruption probe into Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich took a dramatic turn this evening, as federal agents working for US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald announced that they had seized the governor's eBay account. It is as yet unknown how the latest seizure will effect the outcome of the case.

IOWAHAWK EXCLUSIVE! RUSH UPDATE!

Leaked documents from latest sealed federal indictment (click to embiggen)

Heh. You really gotta see this...

I Think We'll Be Staying IN Today...

There's a light dusting of snow on the ground, too, but it's the wind that makes it Not Nice outside. Glad we don't have anywhere to go.

150 100 Things

OK… I’ve seen this meme all over the place in my Daily Reads. I wasn’t going to participate, coz it’s VERY similar to that 150 Things post in my sidebar. Yet there are some different questions on this list and the thing is only two-thirds of 150. Besides that I’ve been running kinda short on motivation and/or blog fodder of late. So, here without further ado is my “100 Things” I’ve done/not done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (Well, sorta. I was a one-time vocalist with a group of friends at a squadron picnic)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (lived there for three years, been back a few times)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (Depends on how ya define “art.” But I’ll go with it…)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (Once again: a qualified yes, but not in the “Carnival Cruise Lines” sense. Do troop ships count? Tramp steamers?)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Where the Hell would that be?)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa (A very brief port call in Algeria)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (Two-thirds of the way up, thus two-thirds bold. Apropos of nothing… is there another Eiffel Tower I’m unaware of?)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (Snorkeling)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (a corporate training video)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (is there ANY other kind, other than “speeding?”)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (assuming fish count)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (fathered three, if that counts)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone (who the Hell hasn’t?)
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

So. Add these to that list of 150.

Today’s Pics: Apropos of #42, above.

May, 2000.

Pearl Harbor Day

From the EIP Pearl Harbor Day post of 2006...which I cannot improve upon today:

It’s said — quite often and by many, many people — that 9/11/2001 “changed everything.” And it is indeed true for the current generations of Americans. But I’ll submit that 12/07/1941 “changed everything” to a degree it is impossible for us who were not alive and going about our business on that Sunday in December, 1941 to realize. Those of us whose parents were members of The Greatest Generation understand my point. A smaller subset, those of us whose parents fought in World War II, understand the point a little bit better, perhaps. We have the benefit of hearing the first-person narratives of that day in December 1941, and stories from the long, long days that followed…from the dark and despair of the war’s first year to the signing of the Japanese surrender on the decks of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay not quite four years later. And a lot in between.

They are leaving us. The Pearl Harbor Survivors Association is holding their last meeting (ed: there used to be a news item linked here; the link is dead) today.

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - With their number quickly dwindling, survivors of Pearl Harbor will gather Thursday one last time to honor those killed by the Japanese 65 years ago, and to mark a day that lives in infamy.

This will be their last visit to this watery grave to share stories, exchange smiles, find peace and salute their fallen friends. This, they say, will be their final farewell.

"This will be one to remember," said Mal Middlesworth, president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. "It's going to be something that we'll cherish forever."

The survivors have met here every five years for four decades, but they're now in their 80s or 90s and are not counting on a 70th reunion. They have made every effort to report for one final roll call.

Their last meeting. I know All Things Must Pass, but it saddens me so. We owe them so much, and our thank-yous seem inadequate compared to the sacrifices they made.

But: We shall continue, we shall honor their sacrifices, we will remember, and we shall rededicate ourselves to the task that faces this generation…the one that began on 9/11/2001. The Greatest Generation expects it from us.

The image above was taken from The Pearl Harbor Survivors Association web site (ed: this link was live last year but is "403" [prohibited] in 2008. FIXED, thanks to Cynthia [Flag Gazer] in comments!).

Stuff That Makes Ya Go Hmmmm

Seen this?

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

The ad has been running in my market for a couple of weeks now. I only have ONE question… what kind of company would hire a frickin’ convicted felon to flog financial products (which is how the gold is being marketed here)? How much credibility does G. Gordon Frickin’ Liddy have in that space? I dunno about you, Gentle Reader, but I’d NEVER consider buying anything from a company that hires felons as its flacks.

Yeah… I know: Liddy has paid his “debt to society.” But doesn’t he make enough money pandering to the right-wing fringe without having to engage in advertising?

(h/t: 23/6)

The Gub'mint We Deserve, Redux

Remember that lil “We Get The Gub'mint We Deserve...” vid I posted a couple of weeks ago? The one where Obama voters fell flat on their face when it came to basic civics knowledge? A common thought in comments to that post was something to the effect that McCain voters probably wouldn’t do much better. Well… The guy that produced that Obama-voter video has commissioned a similar study/poll of McCain voters, and the McCain folks really did do did BETTER than the O-voters. For what that’s worth.

There’s lots of detail here, including a short (five minute) video that I attempted to embed here at EIP but that Blogger won’t accept, for whatever reason (altogether now: frickin’ Blogger!). Detail such as…

• 35 % of McCain voters got 10 or more of 13 multiple choice questions correct.
• 18% of Obama voters got 10 or more of 13 questions correct.
• McCain voters knew which party controls congress by a 63-27 margin.
  Obama voters got the “congressional control” question wrong by 43-41.
• Those that got “congressional control” correct voted 56-43 for McCain.
• Those that got “congressional control” wrong voted 65-35 for Obama.

And there is lots more at the link above. The trickier question, of course, is “what does this mean?” Not a whole helluva lot, to my way of thinking, as there will always be uninformed voters on both sides of the divide. That said, it certainly looks like the McCain voters got it right more often than the O-voters.

(h/t: Lex)

New Mouse, New Guv (Eventually), New Complaint

I had to make an unscheduled shopping trip yesterday… the lil plastic rodent with the single bright red eye that controls my movements around the inter-sphere finally gave up the ghost. I’d noticed it (he? she?) was having difficulty with its fine motor control muscles lately, but being the rather… umm… cheap-ass frugal person I am, I just dealt with it. Until the point arrived yesterday where its behavior was simply unacceptable. You’ll be proud to know I resisted the impulse to fling the thing across the room in a fit of pique. Nope… I just saddled up and headed off to Wally-World and bought a new pointing device, sans drama.

(Wally-World’s selection was frickin’ dismal, but that’s another story. At least they had something acceptable: an HP optical mouse for much less than 20 bucks. That works. They also had a cordless version of the same mouse for a lil over 30 bucks. That didn’t work for me. See: “frugal,” above.)

I like the optical mouse… it’s a quantum leap over the old mechanical mouse as far as accuracy and fine granular movements are concerned and it works anywhere there’s a flat surface… mouse pad be damned. That said… there’s no fixing an optical mouse when something goes wrong. I tried everything known to man… blowing out all the orifices with canned air, q-tips and alcohol, etc. Nothing worked… the danged thing just refused to go where it was pointed. Contrast that with the old mechanical mouse… which, when things got sluggish or unresponsive, was quickly and painlessly disassembled, cleaned, blown out with canned air, reassembled and was just as good as new. I never, ever, ever had to replace a mechanical mouse in over 20 years of using them. Never.

Sometimes progress… isn’t.

(Image from icanhazcheezburger. Interestingly… do a google image search on “mouse.” Just plain ol’ “mouse,” not “computer mouse” or any other qualifier. Technology IS King.)

―:☺:―

Hey! We’re gonna get a new Guv! Let us now do the Happy Dance! Whazzat? New Mexico’s gain is the nation’s loss, you say?

The president-elect said that his nominee would be dealing with the economy, the most significant issue facing the new administration, and added that “his mixture of diplomatic experience, hands-on experience as governor (ed: OMG. We’re screwed.), experience in the cabinet, experience in Congress, means that he is going to be a key strategist on all the issues that we work on. (ed: Did I mention we’re in deep doo-doo?)”

“I think the notion that somehow commerce secretary is not going to be central to everything we do is fundamentally mistaken.”

Ooops. Well, OK… sorry. I did get a lil carried away there, for a moment. But everything will work out, I’m sure. At least I (ahem) hope so…

―:☺:―

Yet another random bitch, moan, and complaint… If you chase that Richardson link above you’ll see OurGuv standing behind the podium at yesterday’s presser announcing his appointment. Well, Hell. Just look to the left here… I’ve thoughtfully included a photo (from the NYT article linked above… cropped for effect).

And therein lays my bitch/moan/complaint: that lil sign on the podium. The one that says “The Office of the President-Elect” with that cheesy lil logo that looks like a kiddie version of the presidential seal. That sign galls me for some unknown reason, and I DO believe it’s unprecedented. I could be wrong on this, and I’ll readily stand corrected if any of you Gentle Readers can provide photographic proof of a president-elect… be it Dubya, Clinton, 41, Reagan, Carter or ANYONE… designing and implementing his very own logo and “Office of…” sign. It’s like O and his handlers/staff believe we… all of us… are too thick to grasp the fact The One is the Prez-In-Waiting. Nope… we have to be TOLD, and none too subtly, either. Or maybe he's just... ummm... rubbing it in. Could be, yanno.

I’m also open for explanations as to why this pisses me off as much as it does. The feeling seems kinda-sorta irrational to me.

Ah... Subarus

Like Panasonic in the days of yore… we’re just slightly ahead of our time here at EIP, albeit only occasionally. Remember this post from earlier this year? Where I said, in part:

Today's Question: Why does it seem like it’s always Subarus that are festooned with moonbat shit? You rarely see a Ford or Chevy so adorned, unless it’s over 20 years of age (the car, not the owner).

OK… now click on this link. I’m pleased to see MoveOn.org or People For The American Way aren’t among the four organizations Subaru will donate money to in the event you choose to buy a new Subie and festoon it with bumper stickers, moonbat or otherwise. I’m thinking Subaru has tapped into a pretty clever marketing ploy. I also predict moonbats by the thousands will soon be sporting new Subies in their driveways, or on the street in front of their lofts… whatever. Us conservatives should remember this concept when it comes time to fill the concentration camps.

Here’s a 2:02 video made by Subaru titled “Behind the Scenes of the Share the Love Shoot.” Ya might find it interesting.

I have a bumper sticker on my car, too. And here it is (re-run):

OK, so it’s not technically a bumper sticker. It’s on my wind-blocker and is only visible when my top is down. It’s also been there since February of 2004… which is why the red stripes are kinda faded.

A Stupid Question

So… it’s said “there are no stupid questions, but there are LOTS of inquisitive idiots.” It’s in that spirit that I’m wondering… (a) if we’re (supposedly) in the worst financial crisis since The Great Depression, and (b) if the credit markets have dried up and financial doom is imminent, then (c) why the Hell am I still inundated with all those damned Ditech ads on my teevee? Hasn’t everyone who is anyone already re-financed or defaulted on their mortgages? {Accompanying mental image: head scratching. Lots of it.}

It’s shit like the above that got us where we are today… in VERY large part.

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All the Kool Kidz are doin' it...



My all-time fave Ramones tune and quite appropriate for the season. The Holidays bring out this feeling, ya know. In me. YMMV.

More of the Same. Still.

Long time readers of EIP (all three of you) know the onset of winter brings a small bit of recurring angst along with colder temps here at El Casa Móvil De Pennington. The angst is all about keeping warm, as an RV is a poorly insulated, drafty sort of accommodation. It’s not that I don’t have a good furnace… I do. It’s just that the thing tends to run longer and more often as the temperature drops. Which brings us to the angst bits: watching my propane gauge like a hawk to ensure I don’t run out of gas on these cold nights. The complicating factor is the small size of my propane tank… which weighs in at only ten gallons… and one can burn through ten gallons of propane very quickly when the temps really drop. And so it came to pass, as it usually does, that I was right on the bubble this past Wednesday where the propane supply was concerned. I had about a quarter of a tank to last me through the four day weekend, as of Wednesday afternoon. Re-supply? Or not?

I checked the WX forecast. I rolled the dice.

I lost.

Yep… we went into the Propane Red Zone late yesterday afternoon and it was chilly (our high was 41). It got even colder last evening, with a low of 31. While that’s not low enough to drive me out and across the street to the Holiday Inn Express, it most certainly was cold enough to keep my two lil auxiliary electric heaters running full-tilt boogie. They did the trick, though, and I managed to stay toasty all night.

I made a quick call to Albert at Cortez Gas first thing this morning, he popped around about an hour later, filled me up, and all is right with the world again. Until next time. Or until such time as Cortez finds an empty 100-gallon tank lying around. I’ve decided to spring for the installation of a larger tank after nearly six years of living with this ten gallon joke of a propane supply. But there are costs, and this is no trivial matter at $300.00 for the installation and initial fill. But I (finally) decided it’s worth it, simply to get rid of the angst. Mom… were she alive… would say “What took ya so long?” The only possible answer is a shrug and an “I dunno…”

―:☺:―

Weirdness… Sometime in the middle of the evening last night I decided to make myself a late-night sammidge, which isn’t all that unusual… but what happened next most definitely was… ummm… different. I go into the kitchen, open the microwave (which doubles as my breadbox), reach in to pull out the bread and was horrified by a swarm of small moths emanating from the microwave. And I mean a frickin’ swarm. There must have been 75 of the lil buggers in there. I pull the bread and assorted other contents (two packages of Hershey’s Cacao Reserve chocolates, a box of Triscuits, and a bag o’ chips) quickly out of the microwave and see there’s still a small horde of moths remaining all over the inside, clustered around a polyethylene bag of pistachios (I buy those in bulk… or used to).

So I did what any male would do… I slammed the microwave door shut, set the controls at two minutes and nuked the little bastards. I expected lotsa cool little sparks and such, accompanied by the (imagined) death cries of teeny-tiny moths as they met their moth-maker. But nope… all I got was the normal humming of the magnetron as it did its grisly work. No mini-pyrotechnics, unfortunately.

Two minutes wasn’t enough to kill all of ‘em, surprisingly. But I got 90% of the lil buggers and killed the remainder by the usual, customary, and expedient means of death by index finger… with extreme prejudice. I also had quite a mess to clean up inside the box… what with approximately 35 ~ 40 moth carcasses and a melted bag full of hot, inedible pistachios. Ten minutes later and the nuker is spotless, but I lost my appetite. All of the food (except for the pistachios) was moth-free, given as how it’s all in tightly-sealed containers, but the clean-up was pretty gross. Who knew pistachios served as a moth-culture medium? Not me…

And now you know the high points of my weekend, Gentle Reader. Well, there was some football, too. But I don’t wanna talk about it. {insert wistful smile here}

―:☺:―

Today’s Pics: Three pics taken on the grounds of the old Mission church in Abiquiu. Abiquiu is best known as the home of Georgia O’Keeffe in the later stages of her life but I think the mission church is worth the trip, all on its own. As always, click the pics for larger.

June, 2004.