Ben Nelson Inspired Bumper Sticker

Honk if you...



Get it, or make your own, at makestickers.com

Doe, a deer, a dead deer on a couch

I stumbled upon a blog I hadn't read before, called Nobody Asked Me, run by a retired Navy man. Go visit, there's some decent reading there.

By way of flattery, I'm stealing this post and the unbelievable picture that went with it (as usual, click to enlarge):

This is the pull off SR 61 and Adamsdale Rd. in Shuylkill Haven.
The deer was hit there.
The couch was dumped there previously.
Day two the deer was on the couch.
Day three the end table and lamp showed up.
Day four the TV and TV stand showed up.


And then everybody started taking pictures... Read the sign too!

The Trooper had to call PENN DOT and wait because of all the people stopping to take pictures. I LOVE SCHUYLKILL COUNTY!!!!

Part of this video isn't true

I'll leave it to you to decide which part isn't accurate...

Tape Measure Zorro

Innocent Bystanders had this video under the heading Tape Measure Ninja... But he's more than that. He must be using The Force too:

Best My Touch Ad so far...

T-Mo must be spending a fortune on, well, a lot of B-list stars for their My Touch 3G commercials. Most of them are pretty lame. Frankly seeing Whoopie Goldberg using a T-Mo product is almost enough to send my back to Verizon... But this commercial is good.

And Sir Charles is getting f - a - t.

Nexus One

Update, 12/18/09: What, no multitouch? Guess I'll wait a little longer...

The Nexus One is Google's handpicked Android phone... possibly coming to the masses in January. Or not.

Big, beautiful screen? Check

Android 2.1? Check
Snapdragon Processor? Check
App storage on SD card? Unknown
Memory, RAM and ROM Space? Unknown
CPU Clock speed? Unknown

3 BIG unknowns, yet as a pretty much Android fanboi I have to put this on the WANT list... but I could do without the light beams bouncing around the wallpaper.

A couple of videos I saw over at Androidspin, but as you can tell they come from a site called Nexus One

Coverage is all over the regular tech blogs and Androidisphere, with Nexus blogs all ready popping up. Check out NexusOneblog.com as an example.

And for comparison purposes, here's a pic of the Nexus One side by side with the T-Mo G1/HTC Dream:

The Science Is Settled

An excellent video graphing the temperatures as inferred from Greenland ice cores. As an aside, note the cooling around the time of Christ as seen on the graph introduced around the 0:40 mark.

This video was produced by "Doc" at The Autopsy. In addition, check out the all ways informative Watts Up With That, hosted by the intrepid Anthony Watts.

A Suicide Bombing

A before and after picture. A graduation ceremony for medical students was the target for a suicide bomber in Somalia earlier this month. Who knows why the jihadis pick their targets, but this doesn't seem to be a particularly good "hearts and minds" op on their part. Lesson to Somalis: Don't try to help your self, don't try to help other Somalis...

Note during the voiceover that it seems Somalia's problems are apparently due to the lack of Crusader intervention, or something. The report ends with "Somalia is slipping away." I know this is from Al Jazeera English, but even they have to understand that Somalia is well past "slipping". She stopped being a functional nation decades ago.

We should be updating our maps to indicate that Somalia is, and has been, West Chaosistan, or just another satrap of the caliphate.

Red Neck Christmas Decortations

Stolen shamelessly from Theo Spark's place:

The Swiss

The Swiss "get it".

Heinlein said "an armed society is a polite society". I think the Swiss must rank pretty highly in that department... Because they sure as hell can bring the rain if they need to:

So, about that diet

Stolen from the good folks at 6 Meat Buffet...

DO NOT CLICK PLAY! Bad things will happen to your corneas, or something....

Update: I published this through the normal blogger.com front end. The next screen that came up after publication featured a Google ad - for a meat slicer. Google scares me, some times...

Post-Thanksgiving Food Coma

This says it all:

Thanksgiving Eve Cats

A Conversation with a cat:

Cat fraudsters:

You'll never take a picture this cool...

But if you're like me you'd love to...

(Photo from NASA (duh))

Happy Dogs

My previous post showed a dog welcoming home her master... well below is a video of two wiener dogs welcoming home their master; a sailor home after 8 months in Kuwait. Turns out Mental_floss put together an excellent post on 10 November showing several of these 'welcome home' movie. Watch the one below, then head over to Mental_floss, but you sensitive types may want to grab a box of tissues on your way...

Happy Dog

Soldier returns from Afghanistan, Dog rejoices. What could be better?

Cat and Feather

From College Humor:

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Veterans Day - A UK Tribute

Today is Veterans Day here in the US. In the UK it's known by its original name, Armistice Day, honoring those who served, and especially those who died, in The Great War, and as Remembrance Day, honoring the fallen of all wars. Via Theo Spark, a video tribute from the Coldstream Guards made for Remembrance Day 2009.

Happy Birthday USMC!

234 Years of service to the nation, thank you and happy birthday, USMC!

On Socializing Medicine

Project Valour-IT, or It's Payback Time

Until 11 November the fundraising gadget at the top right will have pride of place in this dump.

Think if it as a tip jar for those who have given more than just a few years of their lives in service to the nation. Project Valor - IT is a program run by Soldiers' Angels. They trick out computers for our wounded service members. Stuff like Voice Activated laptops for vets who have lost hands/arms. Their moto is "Technology for the wounded", but I think it goes beyond the hardware.

The fundraising is divided into "teams"; Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines. (I think the Coasties should have a team too). There is one goal, but we like our parochial rivalries. As I type the grand total is just north of $35 thousand dollars. Please help

Give till it hurts. Then give some more. Donations are tax deductible. You're employer may even match, so ask at work.

And while I have you - head over to our esteemed team captain Greyhawk at the Mudville Gazette... Mrs Greyhawk has an interesting Halloween line up in honor of Project Valour-IT.

But I do wonder why they use the British spelling for Valor...

zOMG!!!

Android 2.0, A/K/A Eclair... the SDK has dropped:

A picture is worth...

I saw this over at The Black Sphere and thought it was a great picture. In one shot it highlights the hypocrisy of the Democrats, and echoes their cousins in the old National Socialist model....

Should I return to VZW?

I left Verizon last fall so I could get on the Android bandwagon (before there was a bandwagon). Big Red will be offering their first Android hand set next month. And me only 1/2 through my contract... and getting a little tired of my G1.

Verizon isn't just offering an Android hand set, they are actively promoting it.

Tolerance, UK Muslim style

Gert Wilders, a Dutch politician, had been banned from the UK. The government feared that his outspoken opposition to Sharia could lead to violence. I suppose they were worried that the Anglicans would mix it up with the Presbyterians, or something.

The ban was reversed in court. Wilders went to the UK yesterday. The Daily Mail headlines their story Far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders faces Muslim protest after arriving in the UK (Does the Daily Mail EVER refer to anyone as a far-left politician?)


Here's some of the signs that "greeted" Mr. Wilders:





Freedom go to hell... Nice.

Quotes from two "protestors":

Protester Abu Mousa said: 'What he says deserves the death sentence under Islam.'

Sayful Islam, said he wanted to see Mr Wilders 'tried in an Islamic court' for 'insulting the Prophet'.

He added: 'We need to put this dog on a leash.'

So, Freedom is bad, sharia is good. Has it occurred to these troglodytes to move OUT of the (more or less) Christian country of Great Britain?

For cleaning the National Wound

My sister in law sent this to me... I think this says it all...

Celtic Heritage

 

I attended a Celtic festival in Hartford, CT called Pipes in the Valley. To me, nothing say "Celt" more than a butt load of knives, swords, axes and balls and chain.

Bon Voyage, Texas

From Strategypage.com:



SP's caption:The Virginia-class attack submarine USS Texas exits the Thames River as it departs Naval Submarine Base New London for the final time. Texas is transiting to its new homeport in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Photo by Canadian Forces PO 1 Steven Meyers.

Sorry to see them leave Connecticut.

Escher inspired

This is some excellent work:

Android 1.6, aka "Donut"

Official Google video of features in Android 1.6, which should be released "real soon now", as they say in the tech biz. This release is named "Donut", a follow-up to "Cupcake". I think they are in a competition with Ubuntu for silly project names.

A new entry for the I WANT file...

My sister sent me the link to this.

Now I think I must start a collection of jet powered RC planes....

The Dog that Didn't Bark

I snapped the above picture in Memorial Plaza located within the Coalition Compound of my home away from home here in "Southwest Asia". As you can see there are several flag poles that proudly display the flags of the USA, Qatar, Australia, Canada, France, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

What's missing?

Doo, doo, doo, lookin' out my side door

Some months ago my brother posted a picture on his blog entitled Doo, doo, doo, lookin' out my back door... it was, of course, a view outside his home during an early March snowstorm.

I'm currently doing a short sentence at Al Ud..., er, "an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia". What's that I see out my side door?



Ahh, a bunker. It's just like old times! A little poking around the bunker reveals some of the native fauna, and...



A chair? One chair? WTF?

Another map for the world pin...

I'm currently at HERE.

I'm working long days for the next few weeks, blogging likely to be light.

I will say one thing: ABU's as 'desert' uniforms = Epic Fail. I long for my well broken in Desert Camoflage Uniforms... they were just getting to the point of comfort - and by that I mean they were getting to that Viet Cong pajama stage...

Thanks, and light posting

Our team raised over $650.00 for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. It will be more, the final tally isn't in yet. I want to thank you if you donated - especially the generous donation from Mr. and Mrs. Poolbar!

Posting has been very light lately due to my normal slacker nature. That and I've been jumping through hoops preparing for a (very short) deployment to the Persian Gulf region.

The English Explained

... Sort of... I saw this over at Theo Spark's place:

Iran Elections

Two pictures from the protests in Iran (click image to enlarge). These are from Reuters via Spiegel

First a woman who expresses a little individuality with a great pair of Chucks. However her fashion sense doesn't stop the fat piece of excrement from threatening her. I don't know if she fell down, or was pushed, but the image says to me "stay in the gutter, woman". This to me is Iran in a nutshell.



The second picture reminds me who we are dealing with. Yes, I have sympathy for their situation. I'm disgusted by the fact that the Revolutionary Guards' hired thugs appear to have murdered a protester. But an Iranian election rally/protest is the place for this crap?



Nice. This creep isn't even an Arab. Note too that it appears to be a pro "Imadinnerjacket" rally. Yet this protestor appears to be of the same age as the anti-Imadinnerjacket protesters.

Finally, one more "in a nutshell":

I wonder if that shiner is from her husband or the government. Does it matter?

Why the Lakers are called the Lakers

I'm not an NBA kind of guy... but I still think it's lame that I had to learn this from a Russian woman...

Shopping, the Amazon way

I love shopping on Amazon. One feature of the site that's in need of a little work, however, is the "Recommendations For You" bit. Today when I logged in I saw that Amazon thought I'd want a USB Blue Tooth dongle (I've been shopping for A2DP stereo head sets...) ... a PS3 controller... and then two things that really caught my eye - Ghirardelli Chocolate's premium hot cocoa mix (!?!) and... a package of super thin condoms. 100 of them. From Crown-Okamoto. Imagine my surprise....




Hmmm OK. Why on earth does Amazon think I need condoms... let alone 100 of them? I mean, rubbers have a shelf life, don't they? I'd have to use them for balloon animals before they expired...

But I digress. What could make Amazon think I need/want one hundred condoms? Apparently I put something on my wish list:




A video camera? Seriously? Just what does Amazon think I'm going to put on video?

Update: I just noticed that Amazon lists the pricing as "10 used and new from $10.75". In a word - Ick.

Memorial Day

This song was used in the movie We Were Soldiers. It is sung by Joseph Kilna MacKenzie in memory of his great-grandfather, Sargent Charles Stuart MacKenzie. According to the younger MacKenzie:

Charles Stuart MacKenzie was a Sergeant in the Seaforth Highlanders. He went to fight in France during World War One and was shot in the shoulder, the military sent him home to Scotland for treatment, where the surgeon wanted to amputate his arm. He immediately refused, stating that he had to get back to his men. During his time in hospital he was asked what it was like to kill 'the hun' (as the Germans where called then). He replied what a waste of a fine body of men.

On the steps of the hospital, the last picture of him was taken in his uniform. This picture hung in his home above the fireplace. On his return to battle, he and his men were engaged in fixed bayonet combat. To the best of my knowledge, and taken from reports of the returning soldiers - one of his close friends fell, badly wounded. Charles stood his ground and fought until he was overcome and died from bayonet wounds. On that day, my Great Grandmother and my Grandmother where sitting at the fire when the picture fell from the wall. My Great Grandmother looked, and said to my Grandmother "oh, my bonnie Charlie's dead." Sure enough a few days passed, then the local policeman brought the news - that Sgt. Charles Stuart MacKenzie had been killed in action.

This same picture now hangs above my fireplace. A few years back my wife Christine died of cancer, and in my grief I looked at his picture to ask what gave him the strength to go on. It was then, in my mind, that I saw him lying on the field and wondered what his final thoughts were. The words and music just appeared into my head.

Northern Ireland Soccer Mob Beats Catholic Man to Death

My God, people - haven't we gotten past this???

From an AP story at Fox News:

Militant Protestant supporters of a Scottish soccer team beat to death a Roman Catholic man in the latest sign of how sports rivalries inspire sectarian bloodshed in Northern Ireland, police and politicians said Monday.

Witnesses said more than 20 Protestant supporters of Glasgow Rangers, many of them wearing the team's blue-and-white jerseys and scarves, drove into a Catholic district of the town of Coleraine after Rangers clinched the Scottish Premier League championship Sunday.

...Kevin McDaid, 49, was fatally bludgeoned while his wife, Evelyn, and a 46-year-old Catholic neighbor, Damien Fleming, were both injured. Fleming was reported in critical condition....

The victim is, of course, a fairly non-political model citizen and father. Police make usual calls for calm:

The officer leading the murder investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Frankie Taylor, appealed to the Catholic minority in the town not to retaliate.

Taylor said the dead man had four children, did volunteer youth work in the town, and had been encouraging local Catholics to cooperate with Northern Ireland's traditionally Protestant police. He described McDaid as "a man who would do anything for anybody."

Ever been to a bar where there was a sign that said "No Leather", or "No Colors"? Well, in Northern Ireland, it's a little different:

Both (Catholics and Protestants) like soccer — but rarely root for the same teams. In international competitions, Catholics back the Republic of Ireland soccer team, Protestants the Northern Ireland squad. Many Belfast pubs refuse to admit customers if they are wearing soccer jerseys or scarves, particularly the rival Glasgow colors, because of the likelihood it will spark a fight.

So, the next time the Red Sox win the pennant I guess I should go to a Yankee neighborhood and, I dunno, burn the garden gnomes or something. Maybe even put a Red Sox hat on the lawn jockeys. But attack a man because he probably supported the team that finished second place? How long until the "Real IRA" or some other such self-appointed guardians of Catholics find a Protestant father minding his own business and beat/stomp him to death?

Effin' heathens - the lot of them.

Relay for Life

Regular visitors (both of you) may notice the Relay for Life graphic to the right and wonder what's up with that?

Relay For Life is the American Cancer Society’s signature activity. I know this is true because I just copied and pasted that line in form their website... Relay is 24 hours of fun and fund raising. It's a time to honor cancer survivors and a time to remember cancer's victims.

Relay starts with a survivor's lap - just current and former cancer patients once around the track. They are then joined by their caregivers for a lap, and then team members join in. For the next 24 hours teams will have at least one person walking or running.

After the sun goes down luminaria are lit. These are paper bags, sand in the bottom for weight, and tea candles. But they are in honor, or sadly, memory of specific people. Here's a picture I found on flickr from the 2005 Relay for Life in West Hartford:



Spelled out on the bleachers is the real reason we Relay.

Give till it hurts. Please.

California water company insider steals $9 million, flees country

So the California Water Service Company needs auditors so badly they hire an H1B-type. Except there appears to be something funky with this auditor's computer privileges. At the very least this guy had waaaaay to much access for an auditor. And his credentials were still good after he resigned. From SC Magazine:

An insider at the California Water Service Company in San Jose broke into the company's computer system and transferred $9 million into offshore bank accounts and fled the country.

Abdirahman Ismail Abdi, 32, was an auditor for the water company, which delivers drinking water throughout the state and is located in San Jose, Calif. Abdi resigned from his position on April 27. Allegedly, that night he went back to work and made three wire transfers totaling more than $9 million from the company's accounts to an account in Qatar. Abdi was seen by a janitor on the night of the crime, according to the San Jose Mercury News, citing court documents filed Wednesday in the federal court at San Jose.

Now what would a good Presbyterian like Abdirahman want to go and do a thing like that? Now it's possible his motivation was the old fashioned greedy kind, but my thoughts do wander to that other possibility.

The water company claims to have worked with their financial institution to reverse the transaction and get the 9 million back in their account. Reading the story further revealed this stunner tucked in almost as an after thought (emphasis mine):

The local investigation also revealed that Abdi tried to book a flight to London on May 1, days after police searched his South Bay home. Abdi is not a U.S. citizen and was ordered deported to Somalia in 2005, the Mercury News reported.

So he was an H1B type... he just didn't actually have a valid visa. What the hell is the California Water Service doing? There aren't enough qualified American citizens or legal aliens to staff their Auditing department?

This is just great. They have scored the Trifecta of Fail:

1) Illegal Alien. `Nuff said.

2) This guy had a level of system access that an auditor should not have.

3) His access rights should have been terminated as soon as he was separated from the company.

Jerks and Idiots. I almost wish that they didn't get their money back. They don't deserve it...

Lufthansa teaches geography

How bad must others be if - percentile wise - I was only half bad? Not a bad game as far as advertising goes. This was part of a contest that has long since closed - but the game's still afoot.

No, Zombie, No!

Klavan on the Night of the Living Government:

Been busy

Between work, the kids' social calendars, their school stuff, etc., I havn't blogged in a while...  I'm percolating some original stuff, but for the time being, here's a video I saw over at Hot Air.

Holy Crap:

Watch CBS Videos Online

As Allahpundit put it, we already knew that Petraeus was a miracle worker...

About that $100 Million Budget Cut

You knew BO's budget cut is less than smoke and mirrors - here it is, illustrated in pennies.

The plane, the plane!

I had a few thoughts cobbled together on the Air Force One flies over strafes Manhattan incident. You know, poor communications, bad idea, what if Bush,
etc. But Jon Stewart and the Daily Show do it much better than I ever could:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Mistakes on a Plane
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Unintended Consequences

Whoever said that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" should get royalties from the environmental movement. We have seen that banning DDT (against scientific evidence) has lead to the unnecessary deaths of countless people in malaria and dengue fever plagued areas. In an attempt to reduce carbon monoxide from car emissions the government mandated that methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) be added to gasoline. MTBE reduced fuel economy, resulting in more fuel being burned than was necessary. It was banned because it poisoned ground water if underground tanks leaked.

Now comes word that the Army's "green" training ammunition may be carcinogenic. In the 1990s the Army came up with a lead free round to be used in training. In order for the training to be of any value the round had to have the same ballistic characteristics as the lead rounds used in combat.

Sometimes the devil you know really is better than the devil you don't know.

Girl Talk

My sister in law e-mailed me the following pic...



The caption? "Bill thought he was the President, too."

2013 can't get here fast enough...

Wow.

She's almost 48... and, uh, not a supermodel. As I watched this over at Hot Air I thought I was going to see some nice woman humiliated on British TV and the Internet.

Wrong. She pwns them all:

Susan Boyle on Britain Got Talent
by dwarthy

My Next Bumpersticker

From American Digest... Full size image suitable for printing:

SkyCar!

Here's a talk from an advocate of 'personal airtravel'. Sorry, not Jetsons music:

Piracy

Somali pirates are holding an American merchant captain hostage. They vow to fight if attacked... I don't really care if these Somali pirates are classified as terrorists or enterprising criminals. The attack is the first on an American ship since 1805 or so. It comes within days of this self-imposed humiliation:



Maybe it's just a coincidence, but I find it significant that the last serious pirate threat faced by our nation was from Muslim pirates in Africa. That the threat was quelled by actions by the Marines and Navy, but resumed shortly after the above bow.

So what do we do now? Obviously, we try to save the life of the American Captain Richard Phillips. There's a report that he's tried to escape on his own. Our nation must send one message: It is suicide to attack an American ship. Period. Regardless if Captain Phillips is rescued, returned or murdered, his captors should be tracked down and killed.

John Keegan, writing in The Telegraph stated in part:

...One of the reasons why the attack on the Maersk was the first to involve American sailors in around 200 years is encapsulated in a well-known line of the US marines' anthem: "From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli". This refers to the occasion, in the early 1800s, when the young republic sent a naval expedition to the north-western coast of Africa, den of the Barbary pirates, to deter attacks on their shipping.

Like other countries, America had paid bribes and ransoms, but the pirates' promises were never kept. Military action, in the form of two expeditions separated by a decade, was far more successful, especially when consolidated by the French occupation of Algeria in 1830. Admittedly, piracy did persist in the South China Sea and East Indian Sea, but with the rise of the European empires – and especially of the Royal Navy – it was eventually wiped out. One of the triumphs of Victorian Britain was to rule waves on which piracy had been extinguished.

He prescribes 17th century medicine for this 17th century ailment:

...So our campaign must be ruthless and pitiless: pirate ships must be sunk on sight and the crews left to swim to safety, if it can be reached.

Many would complain about such tactics but, in my opinion, pirates have no rights – indeed, it will be vital to exclude human rights lawyers from the anti-piracy campaign. To bring any captives to Europe or America for trial would probably be to grant them their dearest wish, which is to secure entry to a new life in the First World.

I'm a fan of Mr. Keegan's. He is a noted historian. I'm glad to have read some of his books, and so should you. However his advice doesn't go far enough. In addition to sinking their ships we should be attacking their safe harbors and removing their shore based logistical support. Mr. Keegan is writing for a British audience, which so he also is obliged to write about the need for rearmament for the Royal Navy. How sad.

Arrogant American

The One decries past American arrogance... then publicly tells the EU who they should let in... From Toby Toons:

Rogue Cessna

So a crazed Catholic in Canada steals a Cessna 172 and flies it to the US. F-16s "escort" him until he decides to land... in Missouri. WTF? Why didn't the 16s take him out sooner?

Oh, he's a naturalized Canadian, but surprise, probably not a Catholic - he's a Turk.

The Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights... from a guy in a locker room.

Sort of Lego-looking, isn't he? Except for the blond chest hair. That's like extra teh ghey.

Photography versus Taking Pictures

Originally uploaded by Horse Photographer

I will forever be a picture taker and never a photographer. I'd be happy with the "before" picture - it's clear and the subject is interesting. Maybe I'd futz with "auto level" or some such "make me a genius" buttons in post-processing, but probably not much. Every aspect of the picture is better in the after image - and it makes the whole picture more effective.

See more of Tami Gramont's work at http://newhorsephotography.com/ or on Flickr.

1976, Ronald Reagan

Reagan lost the nomination to Gerald Ford in 1976. After Ford gave his acceptance speech the delegates called for Reagan.

He spoke briefly. No notes, no prepared remarks, no teleprompter. He sealed the 1980 nomination then and there:



There is a shorter version of this clip, but I liked some of the back story that the few extra minutes fleshed out.

How would Barry have done if the nomination had gone to Clinton? If the Democratic race had gone the other way I'm sure Clinton would not have put Obama on the spot - The Clinton Machine would not have allowed Obama to suck the air out of the room.

Full disclosure - in 1976 I was in Carter's camp. Except for a brief flirtation with Paul Tsongas, it was the last time I supported a Democrat. Thank God I was too young to vote for the peanut - I'm not sure if I could have survived the remorse. By 1979 I was ready for a Reagan, but not Republicans. As a teenager I watched the Carter administration stumble along; for a while it was enough that he "wasn't Nixon". Towards the end I think the only thing that kept Carter in office was the thought of having Wally Mondale as president... By 1980 I had become a card carrying Cold Warrior type - and I carried said card in a wallet emblazoned with the slogan "I'd rather be killing Communists".

Miss Israel

Miss Israel is a seaman?

Doubletapper informs us that Seaman Adi Rodnitzki is Miss Israel, 2009:

The Irish in Africa

This video is titled "Proof the Irish discovered Africa" which is a silly proposition.

It is proof, however, that some of Ireland's liquid exports are enjoyed by people who create videos for YouTube:

Banana Dogs

Because I'd forget about this picture if I waited until Halloween to post it...

The Great Seal of TOTUS

H/T Mike Moody The Catholic in me made me opt for the image with the motto in Latin. It reads "Repeat after me". As the Brits would say, this is Brilliant!

Best Baseball Story of 2009

Felix Perez with Team USA

And I thought the World Baseball Classic didn't mean much to fans. For me it was a chance to see Cuban players, but for an American veteran it was much more. Via the Babalu blog comes this story from ESPN:

MIAMI -- Brian Finnegan was only doing his job on Tuesday night when he saw Felix Perez in the handicapped section of Dolphin Stadium. Finnegan's son, Tommy, had spent his life in a wheelchair battling cerebral palsy, and recently had passed away at age 20.

So when Finnegan, working security for the World Baseball Classic, realized that Perez was hoping some of the players would sign his American flag, he didn't hesitate.

"It was like divine intervention," Finnegan said. "In some ways I saw Tommy in Felix and wanted to help."

Finnegan took Perez's flag -- the one Perez carried with him through tours of Afghanistan and Iraq as a sergeant with the 82nd Airborne -- and brought it into a raucous clubhouse filled with American players who were wearing that flag on their chests. The players had just scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the last two coming on a David Wright single, to avoid elimination at the WBC and secure a 6-5 win against Puerto Rico, and now they were partying together as a team.

Finnegan came into the clubhouse and announced that there was a veteran who'd love to have his flag signed.

"We said, 'Send him in,'" Jake Peavy said.

And proof that the Y chromosome is universal:

The players wanted to know what Perez thought of the win.

"You guys gave me a [expletive] heart attack," Perez told the big leaguers.

The room erupted into laughter and cheers.

The big leaguers spent less than half an hour with Perez. I can only guess at what Felix Perez was thinking, but I know I'd be blown away to be in that locker room after that white knuckle come back.

The ESPN piece gives Felix Perez the credit for the photograph in the locker room. Those major league players did the right thing, apparently without a professional camera in sight. Thanks for proving that some athletes do the right thing even when no one is looking.

Read Amy K. Nelson's piece at ESPN. And then tell me there are no good guys left in sports.

Old Wiener

She's going into the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest dog. She's 21 - someone buy her a drink:

St Patrick's Day

This might as well be an ad from the Irish Tourism Board:



See it and others at e-water

Amazing...

I've heard of "throwing clay"... but throwing concrete? I saw this at Theo Spark's place this morning, and was blown away. If they were playing second base and short stop I think they could turn a double play in a hurricane. Working with concrete, the South African way:

"Gone" Barack Obama

De-Motivator

Shamelessly stolen from The Black Sphere:

Help Us, Obama Wan Kenobi

As it happens, my 11 year old son is a huge Star Wars fan. As in I fear for his future - one that will no doubt be littered with SF conventions and steamer trunks full of thoroughly read paper backs.

When I saw this picture at Instapundit I knew it would wind up here. And I know I will show it to my son, who will see no humor, only sacrilege - not against The One, but an unorthodox deviation from that which has been sanctified by George Lucas:

Easter Bunny, or something

I think few men appreciate the female form more than I do. But this doesn't exactly scream the miracle of Easter or the promise of salvation and eternal life. But for some it may mean 'he has risen'.




And just to further prove my point, at least about the appreciation thing, the bunny ears are available in black as well:

I think I want one...

... though I don't believe I need one. At least not yet:

2 Presidents, One Marine Corps

I think the departure is the bigger 'tell'. And unlike the video caption, I don't think the Marines are any different...

Picture Time

Caption this photo...

The Credit Crisis Explained

An excellent video that explains some of the reasons we're in the mess we're in. It sort of skips the government intrusions into the market that set the stage for this, but still educational:


The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

This can't be right

I think everyone has heard of the 'teens only' sound... It's alleged that only teens and young adults can hear the tone.

I'm over the hill, have documented hearing loss (too much jet noise, among other causes)... and yet I heard the sound? In a word WTF?

Created by Train Horns

Dateline: Buffalo, NY

Dinah Lord points us to this video from The Nose on Your Face - Islamic Rage Boy explains the Buffalo, New York honor killing

13 Year Old Author at CPAC

When I was 13 I think every time I had to speak in class I came close to crapping my pants. There's no way I could be this polished now, and I'm 30 years older than this kid:



Oh, he blogs and he's written a book.

Sign of the times

One of the best signs so far from yesterday's Tea parties. This comes via Dave from the At The Point of a Gun blog:

Honk

On Twitter jgillmartin pointed to a post at Powerline which features some artwork courtesy of the Tennessee Republican Party. I believe this will lead to Kevin Bacon in four more steps...

After all that, here's the pic:

Toon of the day

TheyCallMeEllis twittered about this cartoon. He's right - epic:

No Bias at all

From the "We're not in the tank" file, comes another bit of iconography from AP via Yahoo news

The Swiss get it right - Maria Not Sharia!

Via Creeping Sharia, comes this picture and story:

A poster of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) campaign for stringent immigration laws is placed beside a road in the town of Bremgarten, south of Zurich February 16, 2009. The poster reads: ‘Maria not Sharia!’. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann (SWITZERLAND)

Speaking of the Swiss, the SVP wants to punish us. Well, our government at least.

The right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) called on Saturday for retaliation against the United States over a U.S. tax probe into the country's biggest bank UBS that threatens prized banking secrecy.

The populist SVP, the country's biggest party, said Switzerland should not take in any detainees from the U.S. prison for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, which the Swiss government said last month it could consider to help shut the camp down.

Switzerland should also reconsider its policy of representing the United States in countries where it has no diplomatic presence, the parliamentary SVP said in a statement.

Great... another foreign policy success in the making. But the administration must be working hard... I mean pissing off the Swiss. That's gotta require lots of work.

2012

I'm not so sure about the VP spot... but who else?



Maybe Palin-Jindal?

h/t The Powers That Be

Change!

Shamelessly stolen from Theo Spark's place:

Coolest use of Android yet

File this under Gadget envy, cross indexed with "too much time"... Either way, it's cool.

Goodbye, Venezuela

I guess we really shouldn't be surprised, as the United States rushes headlong to embrace the fetid corpse of statist socialism: Venezuelan voters have given Chavez approval to run for re-election. For ever. So as our own economy shrinks, at least we'll always be able to say "well, we're not Venezuela." At least until oil prices rebound. At least Venezuelan socialist allow their country to exploit their oil.