Monday, October 30, 2006

Untouched For A Million Years

I just wanted to share a cool science story I ran across today. Essentially, Missourians have recently discovered a "time capsule" of sorts. It's a very, very old cave that was sealed at least 55,000 years ago. The cave was used by numerous prehistoric animals, whose remains – and poop – are remarkably well preserved. Very cool indeed.

The coolest part is evidence of a ginormous bear that stood six feet high at the shoulder, and had a bite of more than 2,000 lbs per square inch!

God had must have had a total blast throughout the various periods of creation. How fun would it be to make dinosaurs and giant bears! Though I suppose he also had to create the amoebas, which would be pretty boring.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Al Gore On Earth's "Full-scale Planetary Emergency"

All style, no substance. If rhetoric was cats, Al Gore would put crazy old cat women to shame. Seriously.

I don't have time left today to give this Space.com article a scathing enough review, but there's enough hot air in Gore's speech to the Wirefly X Prize Cup Executive Summit 2006 to induce global warming on a scale beyond his wildest happy fantasies (which are wild enough already).

He treats us to some wonderful gems. On the possibility of mankind emigrating from Planet Earth:
"We didn't do a really good job of evacuating the city of New Orleans [due to the onslaught of hurricane]."
On our planet's "rising fever,"
"If the crib catches fire you don't say: ‘Hmmm, how fast is that crib going to burn? Has it ever burned before? Is my baby flame retardant?"
On Earth studies,
"It's still shocking to me that we have more detailed information in some fields about Mars and Venus than we have about Earth."
His speech appears to be littered with so much hyperbole, without the backing of reputable scientific theory, that it's more an exercise in gratuitous blather than a reasonable call to caution.

Read it for yourself. You'll see. Thank goodness he didn't win in 2000.

Thomas Sowell...A Great Thinker

For today's post, I direct your attention to my favorite columnist: Thomas Sowell (bio). I've been reading his articles since my early teens, and every reading is a graceful academic exercise reaffirming my own common-sense ideas and ideals. An economist by trade, this guy has the best-thought-out arguments about everything ranging from liberal activist judges to elitist environmentalists to anti-war peacemongers. Read any comments below his column, and you'll find very few well-crafted rebuttals--a testament to his strong grasp of today's issues and how they fit in the moral scope of the country.

I like his quiet, no-nonsense style. Pretty much the exact opposite of most other talking heads (liberal ones in particular). Check out his column. You'll be smarter for having done it.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Sting: Bored, or Boring?

Let me start by saying that Sting is incredibly gifted. He displays an adeptness for jazz and other musical conventions rarely seen among popular artists, deftly infusing them into his rock music. That's why I consider myself a fan, normally shunning standard FM radio fare.

Now, it seems, according to Reuters, that Sting is bored with rock music.
"Rock music has come to a standstill -- it's not going forward any more, it only bores me."
For me, it's no coincedence that Sting's music is the thing that has become boring in the last few years. I don't disagree with him; today's rock music is generally a huge waste of time--along with just about everything else you hear on the radio. However, an old college friend once told me, "Only boring people get bored." This seems to be the case with Sting. If he wants to shake off the doldrums of boring rock music, I think he would truly benefit from listening to the Flower Kings, Neal Morse or Ayreon. Worked for me.


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Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Deep Thoughts...by Mikhail Gorbachev

Doesn't Gorbachev have anything better to do? Apparently not. I can't figure out why anyone puts a microphone in front of the guy.

I refer to an A.P. story in which our esteemed former and defeated communist dictator compares the Berlin Wall with the United States' future border fence with Mexico.

I, too, compare the two barriers. I compare them thusly:

One was designed to keep defectors from escaping. The other is designed to keep illegals from entering.

Honestly, it's the difference between the walls of a prison, and the walls that might surround a country club. Or Disneyland. Or a petting zoo. A petting zoo that a bunch of people want to walk in and see for free.

So Mr. G., we understand your chronic humiliation in being defeated by Reagan, but show some dignity and shut it. Please.

Oh, and the picture? Nothing says "desperate for attention" like posing with Teri Hatcher.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Harry Reid – What A Hero

I just love this headline from U.S. Newswire: "Reid Goes Beyond Ethics Requirements, Disarms GOP Smear Campaign."

The article is pretty much a press release from the Harry camp, outlining the extra-mile efforts Reid has undertaken to head off a Republican smear campaign. In other words, he has frantically tried to rewrite history to avoid losing whatever moral high ground he supposes he has. And it will probably work. It looks like he received enough pressure from his fellows that rather than defend his actions, he has capitulated and tried to make his actions seem like an innocent mistake.

I wish I had the opportunity to make an "innocent mistake" to the tune of nearly a million dollars.

What a handsome picture of Nevada's dear Senator. And what a nice lapel pin.

What kind of pin is that?

Oh yeah, right. Go Harry!

Friday, October 13, 2006

Apple Should Pay Me

Then again, after discovering my well-founded cynicism toward Apple, I'm sure they wouldn't.

But I came up with just the thing to sell the iPod to more elitist Mac lemmings: the streiPod.
Who wouldn't want to gaze upon Babs as they listen to their favorite music and compliment themselves on their own fine taste?

Just remember, Mr. Jobs: It was my idea first.

Album Covers Have It Out

Now, I know this isn't much of a media-rich blog, but I just had to post this very clever and entertaining video. Especially if you're 30 or older. So here.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

People Bad. Not-people Good. Ugh.


It seems that four out of five articles I read incorporate the hackneyed, presumptuous angle that the civilization of man is bad. Can't these people come up with anything else? Don't these environmentalist blowhards realize that their arguments are anything but compelling?

Today, I refer to New Scientist.com: Imagine Earth Without People. While the subject matter makes for an interesting read (conjecture as to how planet Earth would adapt in an unpeopled condition), it's lines like this that truly make me roll my eyes:
In just a few thousand years we have swallowed up more than a third of the planet's land for our cities, farmland and pastures. By some estimates, we now commandeer 40 per cent of all its productivity. And we're leaving quite a mess behind: ploughed-up prairies, razed forests, drained aquifers, nuclear waste, chemical pollution, invasive species, mass extinctions and now the looming spectre of climate change. If they could, the other species we share Earth with would surely vote us off the planet.
Swallowed? Commandeer? Mess? Looming spectre?

Let's just cut to the chase and distribute cyanide pills to everyone. I'm not disputing these facts. I just take issue with the foregone conclusion that converting God-given lands to useful purposes is somehow reprehensible.

I love the invention of another amusing evil:
In some countries, including Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands, there is no longer any night sky untainted by light pollution.
"Bobby, turn off that flashlight right now! Don't you know you're tainting the environment?!"

I suppose if you define "pollution" as something that wouldn't exist without mankind, then sure. I suppose that means every last building, invention, composition, utterance and breath of every human on the planet is a form of pollution. Our very thouhts must be wreaking havoc on the normally pristine psychic enivornment of the planet.

My position can be nicely summarized by Mr. Hollohan, my 9th grade English teacher. Regarding the ongoing struggle between mankind and the Earth, he said that ultimately the Earth will win, hands down. The article states that some of the "damage" we inflict upon the environment will take thousands of years to heal. In geological time, that's the blink of an eye. From the perspective of Earth, it's nothing more than a mosquito bite. We humans aren't as powerful as we think we are.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Happy Birthday to #300,000!


The Independent, a UK pub, issued a guilt-ridden, accusatory article on how those American clods are hogging all the world's resources. After reading it, all I can say is, "Boo hoo." But I was able to glean a nugget of awesomeness from it:
"America is the only industrialised nation in the world experiencing significant population growth."
Gee, isn't that the goal? I know in many circles, (particularly those elitists who can't stand the unwashed masses, and countries like China who have little regard for human life) a growing population is a bad thing. But everywhere I've lived, the goal is to grow the economy, grow the workforce, expand the company, etc. All with the intent to create a higher standard of living.

The article points out that Americans consume far more resources than their fair share. What's "fair"? Are they suggesting that our trillions of dollars worth of resources and manufactured goods simply be doled out to nations crippled by corrupt governments and economically unviable cultures? Are impoverished countries somehow more moral than America by virtue of their economic status? Regardless of the horrific human rights abuses that many of their governments perpetuate? That's quite a definition of fair. Sounds like the Democrats' version of "economic reform."

Well, enough of my rambling. In stark contrast to the gist of the Independent article, I welcome the 300 millionth American with excitement. One more person to grow our economy, innovate advancement and spread the American way of life.

Congratulations, little Pablo!


Source

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

What A Funny Joke!

Boy, it never gets old. This happens every single time I wear a tie to work. Without fail. Which is why I only wear a tie about once a month. Sheesh.