Yesterday I watched a portion of the broadcast of the House Ways and Means Committee hearing regarding the IRS alleged targeting of conservative groups and individuals through intimidation and harassment. I came away saddened and ashamed that an arm of my government would so flagrantly trample upon the rights and freedoms of its employers -- the people. Our nation, which holds itself up to the rest of the planet as a symbol of freedom and liberty for all now has a big glob of egg on its face.
The idea that we periodically elect (or re-elect) officials and representatives to manage the affairs of our great nation in the best interest of ALL its people has become a farce. We have become increasingly like any third rate banana republic with a government that will use its power primarily to stay in power. The whole idea that federal and local governments are constrained and limited by the articles and amendments of our constitution is becoming more and more vaporous.
All that said, there is something causing me even greater concern and trepidation as the future unfolds. That being, throughout history governmental regimes built upon the charisma and seductiveness of a single individual rarely end gracefully.
"Don't tread on me!"
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Eclipsed
Gosh, it's been a long time since the last post. Both of my readers have likely either moved on or died.
Needing a break from my routine and some adventure in my life, I've decided to travel to the 'left coast' to view the up coming solar eclipse on May 20, 2012. Since I have avoided air travel since the implementation for the latest TSA rules, this could be a new and exciting (?) experience.
The next several posts will be about the foibles of my planning and packing for this adventure. Depending on the success (or lack there of) of the trip I may even have some photos to share here later.
Needing a break from my routine and some adventure in my life, I've decided to travel to the 'left coast' to view the up coming solar eclipse on May 20, 2012. Since I have avoided air travel since the implementation for the latest TSA rules, this could be a new and exciting (?) experience.
The next several posts will be about the foibles of my planning and packing for this adventure. Depending on the success (or lack there of) of the trip I may even have some photos to share here later.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Census
We filled in our census questionnaire and mailed it in a few weeks ago. Pretty painless. So I am in the majority (barely) of people that did so in our area. I'm not sure what the objection some have to being counted. Americans are strange creatures in some ways. We'll rail about the government trying to invading our privacy while we think nothing of posting intimate information on FaceBook or other social web sites. Go figure.
How about filling out your form and get counted. Make 100% our goal. (That was the first embedded link on this blog. I was dying to try it.)
But then I read elsewhere barely half of U.S. households pay federal income tax. The rest pay nothing. What's up with that? Come on people! You're enjoying the benefits of living in this great society. We need you to pony up your share of Obama care and other government handouts. The same article pointed out that the top ten percent of tax payers pay 73% of the taxes. And we still hear a clamor to "tax the rich". It's nuts. The time is approaching when the few tax payers left will no longer be able to support the growing number of leaches in our society. What happened to our pride?
How about filling out your form and get counted. Make 100% our goal. (That was the first embedded link on this blog. I was dying to try it.)
But then I read elsewhere barely half of U.S. households pay federal income tax. The rest pay nothing. What's up with that? Come on people! You're enjoying the benefits of living in this great society. We need you to pony up your share of Obama care and other government handouts. The same article pointed out that the top ten percent of tax payers pay 73% of the taxes. And we still hear a clamor to "tax the rich". It's nuts. The time is approaching when the few tax payers left will no longer be able to support the growing number of leaches in our society. What happened to our pride?
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Gore Gored?
Last year my 1995 Chevvy Tahoe succumbed to the ravages of old age. The brake lines rotted away. I replaced two only to expose weakness elsewhere. It had been a good set of wheels, but its time had come. The price at the pump was still hovering up around the four dollar mark so I should be looking for one of the gas sipping little toys that you put on with a shoe horn and zip up the back, right? Not me. I came of age in the '50s when the coolest cars had fins that knifed through the sky like the tail of an F-16. Four barrel carbs and dual exhausts were the mark of a man. Cars that actually allowed rear seat passengers to have feet. I did, however, downsize a mite to a low mileage 2003 Ford Explorer. A V-6 instead of the Tahoe's V-8. Mind you my gas mileage improved from 16.5 mpg all the way to about 18. For that I had to give up the ability to tow my 24 foot travel trailer cross-country. In reality we haven't done any traveling with in the last few years, but now the dreams are gone too.
Even though I downsized my carbon footprint somewhat I still gets those looks. The looks that acuse me of destroying the planet with my gas guzzler. Every time I fill up at the pump I'm snatching an ice floe from the grasp of some fuzzy little polar bear somewhere. Now I normally drive less than 4000 miles per year, mind you, using about 200 gallons of fuel. Still I can imagine Mr. Gore scolding me from behind the tinted windows of his Escalade as he races to the airport on his way to another planet rescue meeting in some far away exclusive resort hotel complex. Maybe Dubai with its indoor ski hill on man made snow. Shit!
Now I'm not necessarily a global warming skeptic. I know the Earth is warmer now than a century or so ago when it was still coming out of the mini ice age. I also know it was warmer than today during the medieval warm period when the Vikings were growing crops and playing football in Greenland. What I am skeptical of is the hysteria and media hyperbole surrounding the anthropological contribution to climate change. I see the social and political elite telling the huddled masses they must huddle closer to save on heating fuel. Huddle tighter to fit into public transportation. Lose weight to fit into ever shrinking airline seats. Whether it's print media or television news they don't feel their job complete until we're filled with feelings of anxiety and guilt about what we're doing to planet Earth.
Consider for a moment the profit motive behind such hyperbole. Government research grants to study the "problem" and develop new methods to combat it. New industries to develop products to assuage the guilt ridden public. New opportunities to levy taxes and pass laws to control our lifestyle. That's a lot of incentive to keep this ball rolling. It's every futuristic science fiction movie all rolled into one big nightmare.
And then someone pulls back the curtain exposing the mighty Oz. Hackers broke into the computer system at Britain's University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit (CRU) and downloaded a potful of emails going back for years. Now from what I've been able to glean from the excerpts posted online the emails are no smoking gun of a deceitful plot to promote the myth of global climate change. They do, however, shed some light on conflict among scientists and how they work behind the scenes to discredit opposing views. Climate skeptic bloggers are having a hay-day with the news.
Now I'm no advocate of illegal computer hacking and cyber-theft in general, but maybe it's time that the public gets a look at how scientific consensus is built and promoted. I'm waiting to see how it all shakes out in the public spotlight. The scientists at the CRU are in damage control mode right now. The steps they take in that effort may tell a lot about comfortable they are with their dirty laundry. Personally I would like to see the paper trail behind the funding of much of the climate research done by both sides. I imagine it would be about as easy to decipher as the health care reform bill.
I think someone should tell Al Gore that the debate over climate change may be open again and it's still a long time before the fat lady sings.
11/28/09 Update:
Boy it didn't take long to hit the fan. The blogoshpere is tingling with electricity and the established media is finding it difficult to ignore. I look for the pendulum to swing the other way while some prominent researchers purge their computers and maybe freshen up their resumes. The whole climate change issue has become such a political football that the truth won't surface until the non-scientists have grown tired of kicking it around.
Note that I've added to the list of blogs that I follow.
Even though I downsized my carbon footprint somewhat I still gets those looks. The looks that acuse me of destroying the planet with my gas guzzler. Every time I fill up at the pump I'm snatching an ice floe from the grasp of some fuzzy little polar bear somewhere. Now I normally drive less than 4000 miles per year, mind you, using about 200 gallons of fuel. Still I can imagine Mr. Gore scolding me from behind the tinted windows of his Escalade as he races to the airport on his way to another planet rescue meeting in some far away exclusive resort hotel complex. Maybe Dubai with its indoor ski hill on man made snow. Shit!
Now I'm not necessarily a global warming skeptic. I know the Earth is warmer now than a century or so ago when it was still coming out of the mini ice age. I also know it was warmer than today during the medieval warm period when the Vikings were growing crops and playing football in Greenland. What I am skeptical of is the hysteria and media hyperbole surrounding the anthropological contribution to climate change. I see the social and political elite telling the huddled masses they must huddle closer to save on heating fuel. Huddle tighter to fit into public transportation. Lose weight to fit into ever shrinking airline seats. Whether it's print media or television news they don't feel their job complete until we're filled with feelings of anxiety and guilt about what we're doing to planet Earth.
Consider for a moment the profit motive behind such hyperbole. Government research grants to study the "problem" and develop new methods to combat it. New industries to develop products to assuage the guilt ridden public. New opportunities to levy taxes and pass laws to control our lifestyle. That's a lot of incentive to keep this ball rolling. It's every futuristic science fiction movie all rolled into one big nightmare.
And then someone pulls back the curtain exposing the mighty Oz. Hackers broke into the computer system at Britain's University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit (CRU) and downloaded a potful of emails going back for years. Now from what I've been able to glean from the excerpts posted online the emails are no smoking gun of a deceitful plot to promote the myth of global climate change. They do, however, shed some light on conflict among scientists and how they work behind the scenes to discredit opposing views. Climate skeptic bloggers are having a hay-day with the news.
Now I'm no advocate of illegal computer hacking and cyber-theft in general, but maybe it's time that the public gets a look at how scientific consensus is built and promoted. I'm waiting to see how it all shakes out in the public spotlight. The scientists at the CRU are in damage control mode right now. The steps they take in that effort may tell a lot about comfortable they are with their dirty laundry. Personally I would like to see the paper trail behind the funding of much of the climate research done by both sides. I imagine it would be about as easy to decipher as the health care reform bill.
I think someone should tell Al Gore that the debate over climate change may be open again and it's still a long time before the fat lady sings.
11/28/09 Update:
Boy it didn't take long to hit the fan. The blogoshpere is tingling with electricity and the established media is finding it difficult to ignore. I look for the pendulum to swing the other way while some prominent researchers purge their computers and maybe freshen up their resumes. The whole climate change issue has become such a political football that the truth won't surface until the non-scientists have grown tired of kicking it around.
Note that I've added to the list of blogs that I follow.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sorry officer...
Returning from an evening in the city the other night we were tooling east along the New York State Thruway when my co-pilot asked if I realized how fast I was going. I guess it was the scolding tone that got to me. Since she was sitting right beside me I stated that I was traveling the same speed as she was. Didn't win any points for that one. A lengthy period of silence ensued. After all I was only driving a tad over 65. Well, maybe more like a hair under 70, but I think my speedometer is off by a few miles per hour.
During the following quiet period I conducted a thought experiment about how fast we were actually traveling. Let's see, driving east at 68 mph we get a boost from the Earth's rotational speed. At our latitude of 42 deg. (Albany) the longitudinal degrees are just over 51 miles apart. With the Earth rotating at 15 degrees per hour I'm getting a 766 mph tail wind. No wonder NASA always launches orbiters to the East. Now my actual speed is 834 mph. Whee! Wait there's more.
The Earth is orbiting the Sun at once per year. That seems slow, but consider the distance it covers. With a mean radius of 93 million miles times 2 times pi we get a path of around 584,337,600 miles. This all comes out to 66625 mph. Since it's approaching midnight we can add that to our forward velocity. Now we're doing 67,459 mph. That'll blow your hair back. But wait...
We're approaching the Winter solstice when I believe the Earth lies on the opposite side of the Sun as the galactic center. This means we're traveling in roughly the same direction as the Sun's orbit around the Milky Way's core. Ok, so now we add another 491,040 mph. (1) Now my husky six banger SUV is tooling along at 558,499 mph. I know the critics will say that the plane of the solar system is tilted with respect to the galactic disk so I should be calculating vectors instead. Come on, we're having some fun here. NASCAR eat my dust.
Oh oh, I almost forgot. The whole Milky Way is also moving through space. Some say it's being sucked toward "The Great Attractor" at a respectable 1,339,200 mph. I have no idea what that direction is from our perspective. Just for grins let's pretend for a minute it's just over the eastern horizon giving a final kick in the pants. Now we're red-lining at around 1,830,240 mph.
"Sorry officer I didn't realize I was over the speed limit." (chalk it up to a rounding error)
(1) Another source - Astronomy Magazine Sept. 2011 page 31 puts the orbital speed at 537,000 mph. Stay tuned for further updates.
During the following quiet period I conducted a thought experiment about how fast we were actually traveling. Let's see, driving east at 68 mph we get a boost from the Earth's rotational speed. At our latitude of 42 deg. (Albany) the longitudinal degrees are just over 51 miles apart. With the Earth rotating at 15 degrees per hour I'm getting a 766 mph tail wind. No wonder NASA always launches orbiters to the East. Now my actual speed is 834 mph. Whee! Wait there's more.
The Earth is orbiting the Sun at once per year. That seems slow, but consider the distance it covers. With a mean radius of 93 million miles times 2 times pi we get a path of around 584,337,600 miles. This all comes out to 66625 mph. Since it's approaching midnight we can add that to our forward velocity. Now we're doing 67,459 mph. That'll blow your hair back. But wait...
We're approaching the Winter solstice when I believe the Earth lies on the opposite side of the Sun as the galactic center. This means we're traveling in roughly the same direction as the Sun's orbit around the Milky Way's core. Ok, so now we add another 491,040 mph. (1) Now my husky six banger SUV is tooling along at 558,499 mph. I know the critics will say that the plane of the solar system is tilted with respect to the galactic disk so I should be calculating vectors instead. Come on, we're having some fun here. NASCAR eat my dust.
Oh oh, I almost forgot. The whole Milky Way is also moving through space. Some say it's being sucked toward "The Great Attractor" at a respectable 1,339,200 mph. I have no idea what that direction is from our perspective. Just for grins let's pretend for a minute it's just over the eastern horizon giving a final kick in the pants. Now we're red-lining at around 1,830,240 mph.
"Sorry officer I didn't realize I was over the speed limit." (chalk it up to a rounding error)
(1) Another source - Astronomy Magazine Sept. 2011 page 31 puts the orbital speed at 537,000 mph. Stay tuned for further updates.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Killing Fields
There's a slaughter underway in our front yard. It's a brutal annual event that gets worse every August. No it's not my continuing campaign against invading moles or or my fierce destruction of encroaching crab grass. Instead it's the return of the "cicada killer wasp" (Sphecius speciosus).
These critters like to excavate underground dens in the lawn. These tunnels are not insignificant. The females which are as big as my little finger dig out a one inch diameter hole generating a mound of soil that would put any self respecting mole to shame.
Once the burrow is complete she will hunt down a cicada and paralyze it with a sting. It's quite a sight to see her struggling move an inert body of equal size from who knows how far away over a jungle-like terrain and into the hole. With the zombie cicada safely stowed she lays an egg in it and seals it in a chamber and continues the hunt. The larvae will emerge in a couple of weeks to feed on the zombie cicada and turn into a pupa to emerge the following summer. The females only live for about a month before succumbing to exhaustion.
With the females doing all the heavy lifting apparently the only function males perform is to stake out a territory and attempt to mate with anything that flies by. Hey ladies don't blame us, it's Nature's plan.
Next month I'll fill in the burrows and scatter some grass seed on the bare spots to cover up the evidence. I'd better plan for next year though. Last year there was only a half dozen burrows compared to twenty this year. Next year it could be fifty or more. Time to get proactive here.
These critters like to excavate underground dens in the lawn. These tunnels are not insignificant. The females which are as big as my little finger dig out a one inch diameter hole generating a mound of soil that would put any self respecting mole to shame.
Once the burrow is complete she will hunt down a cicada and paralyze it with a sting. It's quite a sight to see her struggling move an inert body of equal size from who knows how far away over a jungle-like terrain and into the hole. With the zombie cicada safely stowed she lays an egg in it and seals it in a chamber and continues the hunt. The larvae will emerge in a couple of weeks to feed on the zombie cicada and turn into a pupa to emerge the following summer. The females only live for about a month before succumbing to exhaustion.
With the females doing all the heavy lifting apparently the only function males perform is to stake out a territory and attempt to mate with anything that flies by. Hey ladies don't blame us, it's Nature's plan.
Next month I'll fill in the burrows and scatter some grass seed on the bare spots to cover up the evidence. I'd better plan for next year though. Last year there was only a half dozen burrows compared to twenty this year. Next year it could be fifty or more. Time to get proactive here.
...to be continued.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
