PolarShark

Human Statue of Liberty

2008-05-12T06:18:00.000-04:00

Cool picture taken back in 1918! This is 18,000 men preparing for war in a training camp at Camp Dodge, Iowa.

There are some other similar pictures at: Carl Hammer Gallery

Absolut Mexico?

2008-05-11T10:21:00.003-04:00

I don't know if this is old news or not (is that an oxymoron?)... My daughter told me about this. She said they discussed this in her college history class. You could say it is just an ad run in Mexico, but is it? Should Americans be ticked about it or is it just a way to get Absolut in the news? It appears to be working... Should it spur a boycott in the USA?

As an aside, I never quite understood the allegiance to the taste of a product that's supposed to be tasteless...

You can see some discussion on it at: LATimesBlogs.com

Random Thoughts

2008-04-27T07:11:00.001-04:00

Quote of the day: A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. - Thomas Jefferson

Found this web site linked from a printing company website: The History of Taxation.

Now that the Presidential candidates are declaring years ahead of the election, the cartoon above becomes even more true. My questions are:

If being a United States Senator is so easy that you can do it in your spare time while doing years of campaigning and fund-raising, what are the rest of the Senators doing with all that free time (idle minds are the playgound of the devil...)? ...and why are we paying them so much?
Even if they are only campaigning when the Senate is not in session, how are they representing their states? How are they studying up on key issues?
If being a US Senator is a full time job, how can those running effectively do the jobs that we're paying them so highly to do?

I like that commercial that says "What if firefighters ran the country..." ... if only.

Maybe I missed something, suddenly I'm seeing Ken Griffey, Jr. listed as "Griffey Jr." in the box scores on ESPN. Has Senior come back to play? That's the only reason I can think that they would need to distinguish him that way. Similarly, I noticed Patrick Ewing, Jr's jersey actually says "Ewing, Jr." on it. Now I know that both Mr. Ewings went to the same school, Georgetown, but they are not playing together so I fail to see the need.

Which leads me to another sports peeve. Why does any team feel the need to put first initials on the jerseys of players who share the same last name? There is a GIGANTIC number on the front and back of the player's shirt that distinguishes the two. Are fans so lazy that they can't figure out that #85 is Chad Johnson and #32 is Rudi Johnson? It gets even worse when teams then start to spell out the first name and or middle name in order to clearly distinguish which player is which. Perhaps we should do away with numbers all together. I kind of like the attitude of the teams that refuse to put names on home jerseys. Fans know which player is which.

'nuff said.

Playing With a Taser

2008-04-26T06:33:00.001-04:00

I'll start this off by saying I don't know whether it is true or not. Neither does Snopes. I just know I laughed until I cried when I read it. Enjoy...

Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something for my wife Julie.

What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized taser. The effects of the taser were supposed to be short-lived, with no long-term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety...

WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button AND pressed it against a metal surface at the same time; I'd get a blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs. AWESOME! Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.

Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two triple-A batteries, right?

There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh and blood moving target.

I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and then thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat.

But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I wrong? So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and taser in the other. The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries. All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5" long, less than 3/4 inches in circumference; pretty cute really and (loaded with two itsy-bitsy triple-A batteries) thinking to myself, "no possible way!"

What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best... I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as to say, "don't do it, dipstick," reasoning that a one-second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad. I decided to give myself a one-second burst just for the heck of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and... HOLY MOTHER OF GOD... ...WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION... WHAT THE HELL!!!

I'm pretty sure Jesse Ventura ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs.

The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace, obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the living room.

Note: If you ever feel compelled to "mug" yourself with a taser, one note of caution: there is no such thing as a one-second burst when you zap yourself. You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor. A three-second burst would be considered conservative. SON-OF-A-BITCH, THAT HURT LIKE HELL!!!

A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. The recliner was upside down and about eight feet or so from where it originally was. My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. I had no control over the drooling. Apparently I crapped myself, but was too numb to know for sure and my sense of smell was gone. I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head which I believe came from my hair. I'm still looking for my testicles.

PS - My wife loved the gift and now regularly threatens me with it.

"If you think education is expensive, try being stupid."

Malice or Stupidity?

2008-04-25T05:34:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite quotes is Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. But yesterday I found this on Wikipedia:

A practical observation on the risks of stupidity was made by the German General Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord in Truppenführung, 1933: "I divide my officers into four classes; the clever, the lazy, the industrious, and the stupid. Each officer possesses at least two of these qualities. Those who are clever and industrious are fitted for the highest staff appointments. Use can be made of those who are stupid and lazy. The man who is clever and lazy however is for the very highest command; he has the temperament and nerves to deal with all situations. But whoever is stupid and industrious is a menace and must be removed immediately!"

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon's_razor

Deer Thoughts

2008-04-24T18:06:00.000-04:00

I think this email has been going around a while but it's still worth a post. In a May 2006 interview conducted with British journalist Robert Chalmers for The Independent on Sunday:

"What do these deer think when they see you coming?" I ask him. "Here comes the nice guy who puts out our dinner? Or, there's the man who shot my brother?"

"I don't think they're capable of either of those thoughts, you Limey a*******. They're only interested in three things: the best place to eat, having sex and how quickly they can run away. Much like the French."

Don't mess with Ted.

Thanks, Johnny.

Snopes.com/politics/soapbox/nugent.asp

Who Will Own Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)?

2008-04-21T21:47:00.004-04:00

At the conference, "Mecca, the Center of the Earth, Theory and Practice," Muslim scientists and clerics called for a change to make Mecca the time reference for the world. They argued that the holy city in Saudi Arabia is the center of the Earth and should be the reference point for world time, not Greenwich (pronouced "Gren-itch"), England.

Greenwich, England was originally chosen because its longitude is 0 degrees, 0 minutes, 0 seconds. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) has been the standard time since 1884.

GMT is also sometimes known as "Zulu" time, particularly by aviators. Some people mistakenly believe that the term "Zulu" is related to GMT's Zero-Hour time reference since "Zulu" is the phonetic reference for the letter "Z." I have it from a reliable source, however, that the people of Greenwich were very much impressed with the 1986 ABC mini-series, Shaka Zulu, and lobbied with airline pilots unions, under the promise of "change" to get pilots to coin the new terminology.

Now that the Muslim community has lobbied for Mecca to be the new Mean time, other religions have gotten on board. Rumor's have it that the Pope was caught on audio tape in a private conversation with American priests lobbying to make Vatican City the new standard.

The Dalai Lama has begun preliminary discussions on making Tibet the new standard for time. A theory there is that by moving the central time reference for the planet into China perhaps the Chinese government would cut them some slack. The Chinese government is not amused. The Chinese are fine with equating England with a lot of zeroes.

And finally, Tom Cruise has a taken different tack in an effort to make Scientology the religion that owns time. Tom has gone into negotiations to buy the town of Greenwich with the plan to move it into his backyard in Beverly Hills. Of course he will make pretenses of trying to get the local government to fund a new stadium deal that he knows won't go through so that he can move the time zone "with a clear conscience." He hopes that his efforts will allow the world to retain the "Greenwich" name by changing it slightly to Greenwich Cruise Time.

The Hoochie Mama of Ellicott City

2008-04-17T23:46:00.010-04:00

Okay, couple of weeks ago we were wandering around historic downtown Ellicott City, Maryland when we came upon the Sweet Cascades Chocolatier at 8167 Main Street. I'm not sure what a 'chocolatier' is but I'm pretty sure it means they make candy. Anyway, we stepped inside to see what savory wares they might have.

In no time, the Mrs. was pointing out a thing called a "Hoochie Mama" (right) on one of the lower shelves. It was a jalepeno pepper dipped in chocolate. Oh my!

Since "Hoochie Mama" is my catch word for everything (kind of like a mainland version of "da kine"), I just had to get one.

I asked how hot the peppers were and the proprietor said they were fairly hot. I asked if the chocolate would cut the heat any. She lovingly smirked as she replied, "Honey, you won't even know the chocolate is there." Yikes!

She tried valiantly to convince me to bite the Hoochie Mama right there in the store but I had bigger plans. We were meeting a large group for dinner and I wanted to show off my Hoochie Mama.

I'll add here that I also bought a slice of chocolate covered bacon. That just sounded too strange to pass up.

So off we went to meet our group. There were about 30 people from the our week-long conference gathered for dinner at the Crab Shanty. I probably made a spectacle of showing off my Hoochie Mama but I think it was fun for everyone. I will also add that I gave everyone in the place a chance to bite the Hoochie Mama and none stepped forward.

So, after polishing off the Soft Shell Crab Volcano, I gathered everyone around to witness the event. After offering my Hoochie Mama one last time to everyone in the crowd and finding no takers, I lifted my chocolate dipped pepper friend and took the plunge.

I'd like to admit that I chewed my Hoochie Mama with a casual abandon befitting a man of my stature. I'd like to... but I can't. I had a glass of milk waiting there on the table and quickly chased the Hoochie Mama with the milk. She was still pretty danged hot. It was an event. George Wright tried some of the pepper (without the benefit of the milk - I drank it all). He ate it and he liked it. He was sweating profusely and had a kind of wide-eyed look on his face, but he liked it. I liked it too.

So, if you ever find yourself in Ellicott City (just outside of Baltimore), head to historic downtown Ellicott City and the Sweet Cascades Chocolatier and find yourself a Hoochie Mama. I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Just Another Spring Day...

2008-04-17T06:49:00.005-04:00

Wouldn't this be nice? April 15th - just another sunny day... Think about how much time and effort goes into tracking accounts and expenses on a daily, monthly, yearly basis. Why?

Check out FairTax.org and see a better way. Better for you, better for business (watch them flood back INTO the US), better for the environment (think of all those paper forms), better all around. Check it out.

April 15th - the Real April Fools Day

2008-04-15T05:26:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the real April Fools Day. I was thinking about the three big Presidential candidates making their empassioned pleas for donations during the Idol Gives Back event last week. I saw only glimpses of the event but I was fortunate(?) enough to catch our candidates.

How much more could people give if we didn't have this punative tax burden heaped onto our backs? After listening to all these politicians I finally get it. The whole problem with the the Government is that they don't have enough of my money. I wonder what would happen if we had a fair tax system...

By the way, what was with Bono defining the "new Americans" as the kind of people who will dig deep to give to Idol Gives Back? Seems to me that the "old" Americans have given quite a bit. Why are we even entertaining these ideas that there is something wrong with us?

Freedom is One Beautiful Lady

2008-04-14T06:25:00.001-04:00

Got to see this beautiful young lady last Friday as we walked around the Nation's capitol. Her name is Freedom and she has adorned the top of the US Capitol since 1863.

It is amazing to me how much of our freedom we take for granted. I'm concerned that too few of us understand freedom at all. It is truly a blessing that so many people can take arguably the most free society in the history of the world for granted. I think that says a lot for the beauty of freedom.

It was a beautiful, albeit crowded, day in Washington last Friday.

Statue of Freedom

Greatest Play in Baseball - 1976

2008-04-13T03:11:00.001-04:00

I don't know that I remember this happening. But then I'm not sure our covered wagon had television in North Dakota back then. But what an inspiration - Rick Monday's reaction, along with the reaction of the crowd at Dodger Stadium.

Mercedes Joystick Car - Not So New After All

2008-04-12T22:38:00.005-04:00

Got this email today touting this cool new Mercedes that uses a joystick rather than a steering wheel. Perfect for the Nintendo generation, eh? Except that the F 200 was a concept introduced at the 1996 Paris Auto Show.

Interesting that 12 years later we're still stuck with steering wheels. I'm going to the Atlanta Auto Show next week so I'll let you know if I find anything I can drive with my xBox controller.

1996 Mercedes Benz "Joystick" F 200 Concept Car

Pickle Day in McDonough?

2008-04-07T06:48:00.001-04:00

There is a rumor going around that April 7th is Pickle Day in McDonough, Georgia. I haven't confirmed this but if you see Tony B - make sure to ask him.

Or... it might just be his birthday...

Virtual Bubble Wrap

2008-04-05T19:15:00.003-04:00

I have a similar application for my PDA. Kids love it because the PDA vibrates whenever you pop a bubble. But this virtual bubble wrap is almost as good.

Korea Wants to Classify Dogs as Livestock

2008-04-03T13:23:00.002-04:00

"SEOUL (AFP) - The Seoul city government is seeking to classify man's best friend as livestock in order to set food safety standards for South Korean lovers of dogmeat, officials say.

"Somewhere between two and four million dogs are estimated to be consumed in South Korea every year but the slaughtering and processing is carried out in dirty environments and poses a risks (sic) to diners' health, they said.

"Since dogs are not currently classified as livestock there are no hygiene regulations on their slaughter, officials said."

I remember a buddy and I coming up on what looked like a dog ranch while bicycling in the Korean countryside. It was a strange situation and we just moved on. Was it a kennel or a ranch? I don't know. Some of the foreigners over there seemed to worry that they would accidentally wind up eating dog. As I understood it, "Kaegogi" (dogmeat), is more of a delicacy and more expensive. Based on that I figured I never really ate any. I guess if I did eat it, it tasted like beef. Before this item I hadn't realized it was such a polarizing issue for Koreans.

Anger as Seoul Aims to Reclassify Dogmeat

National Commemoration Day of 5th Anniversary of Fall of Baghdad (April 9)

2008-04-02T06:23:00.002-04:00

All Americans are urged to join the nation in a moment of national reflection April 9 in remembrance of the 5th anniversary Iraqi Liberation Day and the fall of Baghdad to celebrate the hope given to the Iraqi people because of the courageous actions of U.S. and multinational forces.

At 5 p.m. EDS -- as the sun sets across Arlington National Cemetery-- Americans are urged to honk their car horns to celebrate, honor and recognize the courageous actions of U.S. and multinational forces in giving hope to the Iraqi people. The National Remembrance Ceremony will culminate with a joint U.S-Iraqi wreath–laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as salute our troops, our veterans and our military families.

The national remembrance moment is being initiated by “Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission," a not-for-profit 501(c)3 grassroots coalition of Gold Star and Blue Star families, veterans and Americans, who share a deep appreciation and support for the uniformed services men and women in their efforts to make America safer. Collectively the group’s mission is ensuring that the sacrifices of courageous warriors have not been made in vain, and that the heroic soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who have been charged with such a vital mission will be given the support they need to complete their mission.

Corporate Taxes

2008-04-02T04:50:00.000-04:00

Why don't people understand this? Expenses and costs flow downhill to the customers and the employees. If you hammer the corporation (oil or otherwise), the natural process is either that the corporation must then either cut expenses (wages & wage increases) or charge more (cost of product). It hurts American families more than corporations. I like the quote that Yogi added along with this:

“Nothing is easier, or more emotionally satisfying, than blaming high prices on those who charge them, rather than on those who cause them.” –Thomas Sowell

Good job Red Planet Cartoons.

Short Explanation on Multiculturalism

2008-03-30T22:42:00.002-04:00

Excellent impromptu explanation of multiculturism by Mark Steyn.

John Wayne's Wishes for His Daughter

2008-03-24T17:42:00.001-04:00

Would you expect anything less from the Duke? Excellent values.

Thanks, Cal...

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T06:11:00.001-04:00

May your neighbors respect you,
Troubles neglect you,
Angels protect you,
And Heaven accept you!

How to Throw a Golf Club

2008-03-22T08:48:00.003-04:00

Top 100 teacher Charlie King teaches how to properly launch a golf club.

Thanks, Vince

Disneyland Sign Generator

2008-03-21T21:40:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Mickey for the shoutout...

Disneyland Sign Generator

Easter 2008 - Earlier than Most, But with the Same Great Value

2008-03-19T05:55:00.003-04:00

Easter is unique this year. Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Here's the interesting info. This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here's the facts:

The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).
The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

Check out John 3:17

Watch Before the Election

2008-03-17T03:50:00.002-04:00

Tony B sent this link over. You might think you want Government-run health care, but how many Government-run service programs can you say you're truly happy with? If you think dealing with an HMO is a pain now - consider how it will be when the HMO is run by Big Brother.

FreeMarketCure.com