An M.I.T. design team has come up with a tsunami resistant house

Great, I'm not as smart as a janitor from M.I.T., but I think I see a flaw or two in the design description. I'm from the gulf coast of Texas, so I take into consideration what happens before, during and after a tidale surge.

Lets start with the design description:

The "Tsunami Safe(r) Houses," which will be built for about $1,200 each using materials available locally in Sri Lanka, will have four core columns made of concrete and rebar, each about 3 meters wide. Between these columns, homeowners can build walls of wood or bamboo to individualize the homes. Engineering simulations indicate that the design will help the core and foundation of the homes to withstand water or wind force over five times greater than a traditional concrete-block Sri Lankan home.
Ok, to me a "column" is a solid shape (square, rectangle, etc). Does that mean that my house will be built with 24 (9'x9'x8'/27)cubic yards of concrete on each corner?
That's ALOT of concrete. It would also take up alot of room. Or the writer could NOT know what he's talking about, and ment poured 'crete walls.

Also, isn't that alot of weight to put on:
The homes will be built atop concrete blocks or wood 1 or 2 feet above ground so that high waters can flow underneath, making them more storm resistant.
We put our houses on pilings about 10' into the ground, and attached to the house- you know to keep it from floating, or blowing away AND we raised them anywhere from 2' to 8' so we could use it for parking, storage or work areas.

Next problem I have is my basic concept of a house. The house is supposed to protect you and your belongings. Here is what this house is designed to do:

The team recently produced an architectural model for a Sri Lankan house that essentially would allow a powerful ocean wave to go through the house, instead of knocking it flat.
See anything at odds between my idea of a house and M.I.Ts?

We're not as smart (living in hurricane threatened areas, and all) - historically as those designers, our houses are built with a "hurricane room" if it was necessary, and we'd rebuild what was left. We'd restock the house from what was blown into our yard, and the downwind neighbors would restock with our stuff- recycling.

More jobblogging

We thought we had the airport licked, but we had one new booster pump motor, I looked at the nomenclature plate. 240/480V- we got 480 CHECK; use the high side wiring diagram.

Start connecting wires, , , OOPS- there are 3 black wires and one red, which one is ground? since none are marked. Grab one of my crew and ohm it out- its a black one. Yeh, why do the logical thing like use the ODD wire for the ground?

I hooked the motor up, had both my electricians look at it, my boss checked it out- cool, turn it on!
Bump it to check the rotation, it's running backwards, so we swap a wire.

WTF??!??!! It just blew two fuses.
Ohm it out, no shorts. Swap the wires back and try again.
ALL THREE 20 amp fuses blew this time!

Got the guy who sold the water foreman this motor out to look. He said it's wired right, we swapped wires to the working motor- the problem isn't in the control panel.

We had another problem and our motor control expert was out near us, so he had a look- we had the motor wired WRONG. The 480v incoming gets dropped to 240v. (and YES we did look at the voltage across the motor contacts, exept I know I stopped checking when the volts got above 140; because HEY we've got the energy-- don't know about the others)

Ok, change wiring, and WALA! it works!!!!!

And the other water wells' over pressure problem was simply a bad sensor.

Great- The Outage problem seems to be fixed, both wells are working- the weather seems to be ok- Gawd I hope I can stay home this week-end.

Did my 4 hours O.T. and boy does that beer tase good

We had a water well pump go bad the other day- just froze up. We changed fuses, looked for shorts, and couldn't find anything. We even checked for continuity across windings, we found- using our electronic ohm meter, that it registered NO resistance across windings. OK, it's a $10,000 motor, lets call our expert!

Our expert came out and listened to our stories, and ohmed the motor out, checked the motor control pannel- bad motor. Ok, pull the motor and send it in for a bench test/rebuild.

UMmmm,

It tested good on both the main windings and the squirrel cage starter windings.
We got it back and reinstalled it exactly the way we took it out; same wires connected together, and the same amount of thread showing at the shafthead.

OK, fire it up- One of C.P.S.s 75KVA transformers sounded like a freight train, and before we could shut it down, it(the motor) sheared the shaft bushing - the one just above the wellhead.

CRAP! it's 3:30, now we'll have to pull the entire f*cking well shaft- get done sometime around 3AM.

The well guys got out there, and I called C.P.S. to have a look at their transformers. after the well guys got the old sheared coupling off and a new one on, C.P.S. got there to look at their equipment. Everyone's doing their thing and I'm trying to stay out of the way untill they're ready to go.

We reinstalled the well motor, and the well guys showed the water forman what probably happened- the well shaft didn't drop when the motor was off, and he pulled the impellers too tight to the ball couplings. The well guy hit the shaft and it dropped about 1 1/4" inch, then he reset the shaft heigth to the original; he then took up another quarter inch to make up for the stretching of about 500'worth of shaft.

we reconnected the wires, well guys were satisfied, C.P.S. was ready- throw the switch! THUD went the cutoff switch, WHANG went the motor (that's what it's supposed to do), and BUZZZZZZZZ went the transformer untill the starter motor shut off, then everything worked like it was supposed to.

C.P.S. is going to moniter their transformer.

Cool,I'd rather get off at 8PM than 3AM any day. We chalked it up to a little of everything, and no one cause.

It would seem that Ex (and future) Prez candidate Kerry has signed his 180 form

I'm just seeing things in blogs, not in "real" papers, or most of the MSM. I have heard of his military record from that Boston paper, you know the Liberal version of Tass.

Several questions, if I may- not being a highly trained member of the MSM:

• If Kerry really did let his ENTIRE record out, why is it only being selectivly being relesed by one paper?
• Some of this record supposedly puts to rest the "Swift Boat Vets" accusations. Why wasn't that brought forward in the campagn?
• What's with the two discharges? I only got one for each time I (re)enlisted.
• did it take this long to get the Navy to clean up Kerrys record?
• Is this really his entire military record? or just what he chooses to spoonfeed a friendly paper?

Ok, I saw the guys picture and couldn't help posting

I was surfing and clicked on the Crazy Canadian Chainsaw Carrier over at the Puppy Blender.

This news item has a picture you just have to see, then tell me if you may have seen the guys sister lately.

Oh, he was trying to cross from Canada into the U.S. with:

a homemade sword, a hatchet, a knife, brass knuckles and a chain saw stained with what appeared to be blood. U.S. customs agents confiscated the weapons and fingerprinted Despres. Then they let him into the United States.
Nothing unusual going on, just another day protecting America.

Today in history

The prophet Mohammed died in 632 A.D.

Which goes with what I've said before. Islam is a religion of Johnny-come-latelys who's followers are filled with jealosy for the Judeo-Christian maturity, well being and forbearance.

---But, it IS a religion of peace- if you believe in the "right" sect of islam.

Light posting ahead

It's not so much that I'm so busy, just tired. I don't have that much keyboard time, and when I do,I'm trying to catch up. I know I'm a pretty crappy writer anyway, but with so little time to post, I don't even feel like cleaning up what I bash out.

I'll try for several a week, but that can change, too.



On an unrelated note; I posted a link from missJenny about AlGores internet. When I was a "UrineBomber" driving the Interstate over in Tenn. I noticed that they had Al Gore Sr.s' name right under D.D. Eisinhower (the Prez) on Interstate signs. Does that mean that Als dad was the "inventer" of the Interstate?

If it's on AlGores internet, it's gotta be true!

Right? I mean nobody (exept the MSM) would go thru the trouble to mislead you for no good reason(well ok, they DO have a reason).

Well I came across a link from MsJenni and had to pass this news on.

ATTENTION, ATTENTION, , , do I have your attention?

It appears that James Douglas Morrison is alive and well, and living in the Northwest.

Please buy his video- I'm sure he misses his fans.

And I'll keep an eye on MsJenni, and will probably be putting her on my blogroll.

More on the Fake solicitation mail- from my server

I guess alot of gullible people are biting on the dangling Phish-mail.
This is what I got in my mail today:



From: "EV1 Customer Service" Save Address
Subject: Unsolicited Emails....
To: *ME*@ev1.net
Date: Mon, 6 Jun 2005 12:43:01 -0500
Greetings to our VALUED EV1.net customers!

We have recently received reports that a portion of our subscribers have been receiving unsolicited emails that are not coming from us. In an effort to protect our subscribers we have gathered the information below that will be helpful to you.

More than likely you're probably already familiar with this information. Even so, reviewing this information can improve the way you protect your personal information online.

1. Always choose a long and memorable password. Should you suspect that someone has your password change it as soon as you can. You should come up with something that's easy for you to remember but impossible for someone to figure out.
2. We will never ask for your password in an unsolicited email or phone call. If you receive such a request, assume it's fraud and don't reply. We may ask you for verification purposes if you call in to our call center to verify your password, for security reasons.
3. Be suspicious. Anyone that has a ISP can create a message that appears to be from any other person. Don't assume an email from "Dad" or "Aunt Mae" was actually sent from someone you know. Don't assume that an unsolicited message from user@ev1.net was really sent by that account. We will never send you a attachment unless you have requested us to send it to you.
4. Scams. Scams are currently the most popular way of getting your personal information nowadays. The most common scams are fake login pages and forged emails that ask for your password, credit card number, or other sensitive information. Ignore or report anything you see that strikes you as questionable or suspicious to our abuse@ev1.net team.
5. Get to know your software. Malicious software (e.g., viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and spyware) most times will masquerades as legitimate and useful software. Search online carefully before installing or running new software, especially anything unsolicited to ensure it's legitimacy.
6. Always use and maintain anti-virus software. This potentially could detect many, maybe not all, types of malicious software before they have a chance to affect your computer. Anti-virus software does not likely detect spyware.
7. Always keep your software up to date. Many problems can be prevented by regularly checking for and installing updates for your operating system, browser, and other programs. Usually most software programs allow you to have this automatically done each time you logon to the internet your software will have a section where you can enable this feature
8. Be careful when using shared computers. (eg. Library, Anyone's computer other than your own, etc.,) If you share a computer always make sure to sign out when not using your account. You should also become familiar on how to "clear the cache," if you use the computer to browse the Internet. Remember that using a shared computer is always riskier than using a computer to which you are the only person with access. Never save your password on a computer other than your own.
9. Contact our friendly Customer Service Team. If you suspect that your account has been compromised or someone else has your account verification information, contact customerservice@ev1.net team for assistance as soon as possible.
10. Working Together works. Working together and knowing how to protect ourselves, we can all enjoy our experience online more and be less prone to run into trouble.
    

Thank you,
Mario R
Customer Service Team Manager

Did I ever mention that I hate playing politics?

Have I mentioned that my new boss just LOVES playing politics?
In the Natural gas business you don't want alot of "exitement"- my boss loves to get things going.
My boss doesn't care how many of his people he ruins a Sunday inconveniences to make a political point- on a Sunday morning- and I'll get my @ss jumped on because I had this "project" scheduled for tomorrow- not yesterday.

Did I mention that I took a paycut to work here?
The only positive things about this job is fully paid health insurance and I'm closer to work.
I have more overtime- exept when it falls on a holiday week- then it's straight time.
I get jumped on alot more for nothing I did.
We get called in in the middle of the night, anytime the wind is wrong- for something not our problem- and we can't fix it.
I get bypassed between my boss and his favorite worker- who nominally works for me.

I'm sure my old boss would hire me back.

Barcepundit is posting about an anti-terror march in Spain

Which would be a positive step, exept the terrorists they're demonstrating against belong to their ETA homegrown terrorists.

Spain's prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero faces the first major demonstration against him today when tens of thousands are to march through Madrid demanding he does not negotiate with the Basque terrorist group Eta.

Organisers said at least 200 coaches were due for the march, which has the backing of the main conservative opposition, the People's party.

The march comes more than a year after Mr Zapatero's Socialist party formed a government and a month after the Spanish parliament gave him the go ahead to open talks with Eta if it shows a "clear will" to renounce violence.

"Do not negotiate in my name," is the slogan of a march that was also expected to attract dissident sectors of Mr Zapatero's own party.

The marchers, to be led by relatives of some of the 800 people killed by Eta over the past three decades, will go from the site of one Eta bomb attack in Madrid to another.

Snip, , , ,
"We want to demonstrate against a policy that we believe is humiliating for the victims of terrorism," explained José Alcaraz, president of the Association of Terrorism Victims.

"I could not live in a place where those who represent me are striking deals with those who nearly killed me," said Irene Villa, who lost both legs in an Eta bomb blast a dozen years ago when she was 12. Via the UK Guardian

Ok, so it's Ok to cut and run and deal with Moslem terrorists, and not to deal with your own?
Barcepundit has this to add:

UPDATE II. According to Telemadrid again, local police has released a figure: 850,000. Organizers have an even higher figure: 1 million (the real one is probably in between). That's more or less the same number on the big rallies against the Iraq war, touted by the intelligentzia as an evidence of a vibrant democracy in which people were speaking the truth to self-centered politicians. The same inteligentzia has been criticizing the plans for today's demonstration because they now say that street demonstrations are not really democratic since it's up to politicians to make decisions

Someone's been phishing in my e-mail

I'm sure all 3 of my returning my returning guests know this thing; but as a public service(and a posting topic)I thought I'd let you know the basics of "phishing".

The mail I gotlast week was that my Paypal had unusual activity on it, and check in to validate the activity. I sent a question back, and never got an answer. So today I got another one saying my account was going to be "secured" untill I could "validate" my account in the presonal action section. - - - Just be sure to click on the link.

I opened a new window and looked into my Paypal account- no problem.

I did, however find a section on e-mail spoofing or phishing as I learned it.

The basic thing to remember is to NEVER click on a link in e-mail if you have to give personal information. The legitimate businesses I don't think even offer a link.

Chirac gets his nose slapped by voters, selects Cruella De Villepen as new Prime Minister

Villepin then proposes a NEW and IMPROVED

EU Constitution which include:

• To give a greater sense belonging in the transnational government, the new name of the European Union shall be EuroNation (pronounced 'Your Own Nation')

• *The flag of EuroNation, instead of a circle of twelve golden stars on a blue background, shall consist of a more traditional hammer, sickle and star in gold, against a red background.

• Instead of basing the anthem on Beethoven's ‘Ode to Joy’, the EuroNation anthem shall be based on the more familiar, less religious, Beatles' classic 'Back in the USSR'.

• The motto of the Union shall no longer be ‘United in diversity’ but rather the more poetic: 'Liberté, Égalité, Diversité'

Here's a local posting that will give you another view of Independence Day

I can't begin to count the number of people in the larger cities that have commented that they really wish there were a small town in which to celebrate the Fourth and not have to contend with the monster crowds of the big city. You can call me nostalgic, but in my mind I keep seeing a scene from the movie "Doc Hollywood," where Michael J. Fox is walking in the park during the small town's Squash Festival contemplating why he is in such a hurry to leave. There are strings of lights hanging between the trees and
children running like imps with sparklers dancing in their hands and laughter soaking the ground in their wake. There is the soft melody from a local band in the distance as fireflies add their own special ambiance to the scene as the mayor of the town hauntingly echoes, "Turn off the Interstate, Ben Stone."
This is our little piece of Americana. It is our chance to come together as a community and celebrate the freedoms that we take for granted that have cost our nation the lives of those so dedicated in the vision of our forefathers.

This is from out local paper The Hondo Anvil.

The writer just got his pyrotechnics license and is putting the show on for cost only. His feelings even makes my cynical self want to donate to the cause.

I've said I'm in favor of nuclear power before, now tree huggers are not as opposed

"It's not that something new and important and good had happened with nuclear, it's that something new and important and bad has happened with climate change," says environmentalist Stewart Brand, who recently authored a controversial article on the topic in the May issue of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Technology Review.

Brand has joined a small but growing cadre of environmentalists, which includes Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies dean James Gustave Speth and World Resources Institute head honcho Jonathan Lash, in touting new, cleaner, safer nuclear technologies as a solution to the vexing problem of how to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels before solar and other renewables are ready to take up the slack. Together, alternative renewables account for less than 2 percent of the nation's energy production, while nuclear power contributes ten times as much power to the grid today. ok, sounds good

BUT

And in a new twist, Senator John McCain (RINO-AZ) has reportedly added language to the climate change bill he is drafting with Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) that calls for major federal subsidies to pay the cost of developing new nuclear energy technologies to lessen our nation's dependence on fossil fuels, (Emagazine.com) You know if John McCain's involved, he's trying to stab consrevatives in the back- somehow.


What the problem has been -long term with nukes is the spent fuel; no one is in agreement with what to do with it. My question is WHY do we have to store it here, on earth? Park it in a far orbit, or send it into the sun; the worst we could send up thereinto the swirling radiation would be as weak as sweat-comparetivly. If you're worried about the stuff not making it into space, use something tried and true.

I've always said that when we get into a war with the ChiComs

that I hope their military machinery is as cr@ppy as the stuff they sell in Wally-world.

I guess it is!

A Chinese Navy submarine stalled apparently after a fire broke out aboard the vessel while it was submerged in the South China Sea, sources close to the Japanese and U.S. defense authorities said Monday.

As of Monday afternoon, the submarine was being towed above the water in the direction of Hainan Island. The Japanese and U.S. governments have been monitoring the vessel, and it is unknown whether there were any casualties, the sources said.

Snip. . .

In 2003, all 70 crew members of a Ming-class submarine were killed in an accident caused by a mechanical malfunction.

The accident is believed to have been caused by a rapid decline in the amount of oxygen inside the submarine. China never disclosed the cause.

Via Fark

Are there really sensitive men out there?

A woman meets a gorgeous man in a bar. They talk, they
connect, they End up leaving together. They get back to his apartment
and she notices that his bedroom is completely packed with sweet cuddly teddy
bears.
There where Hundreds of cute small bears on a shelf all the way along the
floor, cuddly medium-sized ones on a shelf a little higher, and huge enormous bears on the top shelf along the wall.
The woman is surprised that this guy would have a collection
of teddy bears, especially one that's so extensive, but she decides
not to mention this to him, and actually is quite impressed by his
sensitive side.

She turns to him ... they kiss...and then they rip each other's clothes off and make hot steamy love. After an intense night of passion with this sensitive guy, they are
lying there together in the afterglow, the woman rolls over and
asks, smiling, "Well, how was it?"
The guy says:


'


'


'


'


'
"H elp yourself to any prize from the bottom shelf "

I was just surfing when I came upon this article in the American Thinker

It talks about Kosovo (remember that?), and how badly that is going under the UNable abilities of the UN and it's EU forces, and how the MSM refuses to talk badly about it.

If they want to carp about how badly the US (and our unilateral allies)"quagmire" is doing in Iraq, then the Balkins would be called, , , what? a Black Hole?

The Deutsche Welle yesterday relayed a report from the Brussels-based International Crises Group (ICG) that says that the UN Administration (UNMIK) in Kosovo “lacked credibility and was scrambling for an ‘escape strategy’". Six years after Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic cried “uncle” after a NATO bombing campaign, the situation in Kosovo is deteriorating rapidly. The ICG report said,

Funny how no one demanded a withdrawal strategy two years, hell six months after the first "invading" boot stepped foot on that soil.

We celebrate this Memorial Day because of This

and This.

And we have this day to remember those that died so that you could enjoy the freedom to read and say whatever you want without the Government throwing you in prison for doing so.






Thank You

What an "interesting" weekend

I took stand-by for one of my kids. We've had some good ol' south Texas thunderboomers going on.

I just got in from a call at the airport - no power. It was our supplier again. When you have hundreds and hundereds of miles of high wire, lightning will do that.
In the last two nights; I've gotten 9.75 hours of overtime. All but one of them has been after midnight callouts; and that's clock-time, not doorstep to doorstep.

El Capitan has a Superhero post up

That reminded me of this Comic Book critique.

Kinda like a SuperHeros' "What not to wear". This includes the full 'Grizzly Adams' beard, and flowing white sleeves.

Down here in Texas, we'd call it a cloud of feathers

It seems that in California, they give tickets to CHICKENS! Yep, if a chicken is a traffic hazard they get a ticket.

And if they have a good lawer, it gets tossed.

Even our Democrats wouldn't try to openly overturn an election (yet)

But Chirac and his Socialists wouldn't think twice about disregarding the popular "NON" vote against the EU PC bible Constitution that's expected.

A "no" vote would leave M Chirac seriously weakened. His rival Nicolas Sarkozy, the UMP leader who aspires to become president in 2007, was blaming the Chirac Government's policies for fuelling the voter rebellion. M Chirac is expected to react to a French "non" by promising to listen to the people before making a second attempt at ratification.

He and other "yes" campaigners have said repeatedly during the campaign that there is no “Plan B” if the treaty is rejected and that there would not be a second referendum.

But one option being discussed in senior diplomatic circles is for candidates in the French presidential election in 2007 to promise to ratify the treaty in parliament rather than by referendum.


Then again, don't our Socialists Liberals Democrats have that idea too?
That we, the great unwashed are too stupid to do what's best for us.

It seems like the best thing that could happen over there is for that piece of paper to just go away. Don't try to be a "United" europe. Europe is Europe, it will never be America. Our histories are too different. Our mindsets are too different.

I don't want to say that European reliance on big government is ingrained, and self reliance is a unique American trait; but it is a byproduct of our differing histories.

Europe has had some kind of centralized government since at least the Romans were in charge, and they're used to looking to Government for all their needs. Americas' feeble Federal Government was almost forgotten beyond the foothills of the Appalachian Mts for the majority of our history, and citizens and (legal) immigrants were forced to be self reliant..

The United States are CITIZENS who (originally) gave our Federal Gov't the ability to use our strength of numbers for our common good on a limited basis. The European Union seems to be a group of seperate NATIONS who only have #1's best interest at heart, and a (seemingly unenforcable) business contract to hold everyone accountable.

Mix one part lighter fluid, one home tracking device and a moron

And you have this months entry for the Darwin Awards.

The idjit tried to BURN the thing off.

Yesterday I linked to a satieristic posting

It was about a moron who decided to kill himself by wrecking his car.

This, however is true.

What's big- and red- with flashing lights - and has a SIREN?
Well, this guy hit it anyway.

I Don't know where to start with this

Diggers realm has a post on Indian Reparations.

I also don't know where to go with this, or how to end. I know what I think, and that's to call BULLSH*T on the thing. Sen. Sam Brownback (R. Kan) wants the Federal Gov't to offer a formal apology to American Indians. John McCain's involved, too.

Tex Hall (nice Native American name) has this to say:
"Tribal leaders have cautioned that the apology will be meaningless if it is not accompanied by actions that begin to correct the wrongs of the past and the present," Hall said.

THAT sounds alot like somekind of reparation talk.

Ok, we did what everyone in America has done to their predisesors since man walked upright. the whiteman did it more efficiently. Who, besides Liberal appologists think that Indians were nature-loving-peace freaks? Who lived in harmony with their neighbors, and never starved during winter, or tortured their prisoners to death?

OK, they have problems on the Res., but that is fixed by something to live for, NOT the Gov't dole.

If the News media and cops told the truth


You'd see alot more stories like this one:

WHEATLEY, AR—Although reckless driving and minor driver impairment were cited as additional factors, police investigators ruled pure, unadulterated stupidity as the primary cause in the death of an unlicensed motorist involved in a single-car accident Sunday.

"We're fairly positive the deceased was operating under the influence of being an unbelievable dumbass," forensic investigator Evan Lawrence told reporters at the scene, a stretch of road littered with SUV parts, beer cans, food containers, fishing equipment, and pornography. "I mean, we're not saying alcohol, fatigue, poor vehicle maintenance, and driver error didn't play their parts—but mainly, that driver was a goddamn dipshit."

The violent and inane mishap occurred at approximately 4 p.m., just north of town, where Highway 63 passes beneath the railroad bridge.

Just look at some of the drivers around you every day, and don't you wonder "Why aren't they wrapped around a tree already?"

NEWSFLASH - PBS has no Liberal political slant!

WASHINGTON -- Public broadcasting must -- and will -- remain free of political influence, PBS prexyprexy Pat Mitchell declared Tuesday.

"PBS is not the property of any single political party or activist group or foundation or funder with an agenda of any kind," Mitchell said in a speech at the National Press Club.

"Our editorial standards ensure it, and public opinion polls verify it," she continued. "PBS does not belong to a red or blue or purple constituency, and it does not shrink in the face of political threats.

"PBS has built and maintained a steadfast resolve to never give in to pressures to reflect a political agenda. That resolve is as rock solid today as it has ever been," she asserted.

She goes on to say that polls say that most PBS viewers concider that agency to be unbiased. Yeh, that's because most regular viewers are Liberals who think Clinton was a moderate.

Mitchell also has an ace up her sleeve:

Mitchell also highlighted initiatives meant to help keep PBS bankrolled and competitive. The org has started a foundation to solicit major donations; it secured its first gift recently from the Ford Foundation, which ponied up $10 million.

Ok, now rest assured that our Gov't sponsered broadcasting company is as unbiased as the BEEB.

Have you seen the commercial for the Tyco-Scott airpacks?

It's not an in-your-face commercial. It just kinda torques me that they're using firemen to get their name out there, for what? The SCBA isn't the firedogs choice, it's his employer, weather it's city, county or an evil big corporation.

His employer could have easily chosen from MSA, Draeger, SurvivAir (which I've used with great effect), or any other resperatory protection.

If I were going to buy any kind of personal protective equipment, that commercial would tell me that I didn't want a Tyco-Scott Airpac. If it leaks so bad that my face was covered in that much soot, I'd know my breathing would be adversly affected, too.

The senate came to a compromise on the so-called Fillibuster

AGAIN!

There are times when you just have to stand up and tell someone to "Shut the f*ck up", or your precieved weakness will be proved to be real.

The R.I.N.O.s have showed that they aren't even a paper TIGER, maybe a paper kitten.
They've been the majority for what? 5- 7 years now? And have let the Dems run roughshode over them ever since- in the "Spirtit of 'bi-partasinship'."

The only time in the last 60 years that the Democrats (and their LLL MSM apologists) cared about the minority party being heard has been since they've BEEN the minority.

I'm looking for a real, viable conservative party to replace the R.I.N.O. party.

There is a column of bones in your back, it's called a spine.
Bill Frist- see if you can grow one! - or borrow one, anyway.