This being Sunday...

I should be doing things around the house.

In Karens new room, the closet door needs to be reversed because of the "artwork" that won't scrub off. The closet light needs a new pull switch and the entrance door striker needs to elongated to make up for the shifting house.
But, if I can't even stand where I need to, I won't do it.
I also found two coffee cups and a glass of evaporated cool-aide that I'd been blaming Thing-2 for. I guess it's just the ....ambiance of the room that lends it's self to hoarding kitchen utensils.

Thing-2's room needs the door latch roto-grinder treatment, too- but she's not too concerned about the dogs nosing their way in any time they want; so that's on hold.

The photocell in the carport needs changing, but I loaned the big ladder to the neighbors.

The lawn needs mowing, but it's still saturated.

The trucks need an oil change, but the grass is wet.

I have as much of the workshops flooring down as I want to go right now (the crooked pier and beam base and the square joists) because I don't want to drop plywood and have it rained on until I'm ready to get some cover on it.

I need to update my resume again.

I'd go to the range, but don't want to get eaten up by mosquitoes.

I'm just spectacularly unmotivated this week-end.






UPDATE
Joe Biden.
Those Libs love a loser, don't they?
I thought St. Barry was supposed to be the smartest negro in America.
But, then I'm not nuanced enough to understand how adding a 30 year D.C. insider is advancing *change*.

This oughtta be fun

Our presumptive Veep is Joe Biden.
Now they have the Indian vote sewed up.
And be assured that we have a certified *clean and articulate black man* running for the leadership of all humanity.


.....Even the newsies on Fox are wetting themselves in excitement.


Yep, this ought to be fun to watch.



UPDATE (The first)
How do you FAIL an ROTC class? All you have to do is show up for a passing grade.

UPDATE (dos)
How many times has this dork failed at running for Prez?

SIghhhhh

I'm still working at that clusterf*ck west of Randolph AFB.
It rained all week-end and the ground is still saurated, so I missed two days work and yesterday had to do interior work.

Today we have to straighten up all four of the 125' stadium light poles because the guy who was supposed to level them out half-@ssed it and now their standing crooked.

I guess I need to get used to ditch work in one spot for a while because I could just feel the loooorve from Selma all the way over to west San Antonio when they found out I had a blow-out and shredded all the fiberglass on the right side of the truck. $3000 worth of damage. The only thing that didn't get ruined was the furl tank. So with that and a new kid giveing the bosses b***s a tongue bath for ten hours a day, I won't be near any big trucks for a long time.

Oh well, I know I'm the highest paid laborer they have.....

“Huzza, my boys, we’ve made a brig of her!"

On this day during the War for American maritime rights the USS Constitution was victorious in a short, sharp broadside to broadside exchange with the HMS Guerriere.

In 1794 the USS Constitution was part of a fledgling six Frigate Navy.
Carrying 44 guns,sided with Georgia Live Oak and over sheeted (carrying too much sail) she was the Heavy Cruiser of her day.

On this day in 1812, she was searching for the British Frigate HMS Guerriere (38 38pounders) who she spotted in fog earlier. When The Constitution- under Capt. Issac Hull foundthe Guerriere, they began to gain the wind advantage.
While maneuvering, they began to take fire from the Brits in the shrouds (ropes and sails).
Capt. Hull refused to fire until he was ready, and at 50 yards distance he let go his first broadside which shredded the British ship abaft and felled her mizzen mast.

Sailing past the unmanouverable ship, Hull then crossed her T with his portside cannon, sending grapeshot and cannon balls down the entire deck. This also weakened the bowsprit.

In coming about for another broadside, the Constitution became entangled in the bowsprit of the Guerriere and her Marines in the fighting tops poured musket fire on the enemy decks until they wrenched themselves apart.

The stress then collapsed the Guerriere's bowsprit bringing down her remaining masts, rendering her at the mercy of the sea and the Americans circling to re-engage.
After Captain Dacres surrendered, it was found that the Guerriere was too badly damaged in the hull to salvage and then set ablaze.
The Constitution was almost undamaged, with the 38 pounders of the British bouncing off the thick Live Oak sides, which gave her her nickname of "Old Ironsides".

The casualties were 79 British Tars and 14 Americans wounded or dead.



The USS Constitution is the oldest Commissioned active duty ship in the American Navy, she was involved in our first unilateral war in the Mideast, and served her nation during both world wars as a Barracks ship and a training ship until she was berthed at her home pier in the Boston Navy Yard.
She almost came under the wreckers yard because she was too worn out after the Civil War for the Navy to repair her, and was saved by a future Supreme Court Judge and a short poem he motivated Americans with:

Old Ironsides


Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky;
Beneath it rung the battle shout,
And burst the cannon's roar;
The meteor of the ocean air
Shall sweep the clouds no more!

Her deck, once red with heroes' blood,
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o'er the flood
And waves were white below,
No more shall feel the victor's tread,
Or know the conquered knee;
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!

Oh, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every threadbare sail,
And give her to the God of storms,
The lightning and the gale!

Lets get a "Peace in Georgia" march going!

I just sent this to Code Pinko asking about their next peace march.

Hi,
I was wondering if or when I can become a member of your latest anti-war march in San Antonio, Tx?

I looked on your websites and didn't see anything about a peace march against the Russians unilaterally invading a sovereign country without even the U.N. as cover.

I know as caring people who only want war to stop, that you're doing your best to keep abreast of the continuing atrocities committed in this war of aggression, and want to flood the world with anti-war statements.

Please let me know when I can expect to join your peace demonstration.

Thank you for your time and dedication to ending conflicts in the world.

Kurt Petrolopolis

I'll let you know when I hear something.
Maybe all us protesters can get together in say ....a phone booth.

There's a huge load of 'nuance' that I missed

I see by a Reuters story that the two candidates have different views on patriotism.


ATLANTA (Reuters) - The U.S. presidential election presents a sharp contrast between two types of patriotism: John McCain stands as a war hero. His rival Barack Obama calls Americans back to the can-do spirit of the nation's founders.

Ummm,,,ok. Now here's that nuance that I missed:

Democratic candidate Obama has made patriotism a core theme of his campaign, seeking to inspire voters to overcome divisions of race and party and using his own story as a child of a Kenyan father and Kansas mother as an example of opportunities available only in America.
Except, that being the Democrat Socialist that he is, he uses his victimhood minority status as a club.

But, like I've admitted before- nuance isn't my strong point.
The way I see it is that though misguided- McCain actually seems to WANT to put America first; while The Great [redacted] Hope wants to BLAME America first. But don't question his patriotism.

OH.....and in the vein of America being the sole source of evil in the world. How are Barry's plans for the invasion of Pakistan coming along? Looks like a good time to dust them off with the power vacuum and all.

Regarding the corn-for-fuel boondoggle

I made a comment over at Freds place about being taxed paying for that ethanol four times. The way I look at it is that I'm paying income tax and the government is using that to pay subsidies to mega-corporations involved in farming, and not so much the few remaining family farms. Then it's given to subsidize the ethanol mandate (usually to a part of the same company) to produce that inefficient, energy intense additive.
In addition, I'm paying a fuel tax if I buy it.
I'm also paying more for anything made from any type of corn product- meat, cooking oil, cookies, bread, soda... and the increased tax -again- as a percentage of the cost.


So, am I wrong for thinking the .gov is looking out for their big lobbyists from "Big Ag" rather than their constituents?

Finally...

Let there be BLOG!


Now I can finally be using the internet for what it's for:

It's deafening, isn't it?

The silence from the Left about Russia unilaterally and unlawfully invading a sovereign country for the sake of their imperialist aggressions.

Not to mention the complete outrage against the indiscriminate killing of civilians who's only fault was their inability to get out of the way of those mother rapers and baby killers.

But, then again, it's usually hard to condemn those who hold your ideologies.

Call me Mac Gyver

We ended up working yesterday over at the mismanaged football stadium on the east side yesterday.
The General Contractor who will remain nameless decided to do the underground work backwards- more or less. Generally you put the deepest utilities in first...sewage, drainage, water mains...footings.

This GC was afraid that the drillers would hit the utilities, so wouldn't let then get started until the piers were poured (and other utilities were being buried).
This CG was the only one I've worked for who refused to give elevations for the finished grade...so we knew how deep to put our conduit.
I haven't been there the entire time (thank Gawd) so I don't know how much we've had to repair, replace or move- but we do get paid to redo our work and just on rework the company made money. Lots of money.

Anyway, we were out there yesterday just finishing up rerunning the new conduit for the parking lot lights, and needed to bend some PVC conduit into the pole base where the paving prep crew had broken it -when we couldn't find a lighter for the torch. None of our crew smoke and we were the last ones out there.
I knew I didn't have any fire making materials in my truck, so was back filling while the others took their vehicles apart looking for a lighter or striker.

When I got done, I told the Lead man...we ARE electricians, we have plenty of spare wire lying around and we have a backhoe with a strong battery....we can get that torch lit and go home.
So we have three people, two pair of six foot wire and a 12 volt 125 amp battery for plenty of spark...ZAP, whoosh, *heat-heat*, glue and bury- and we're out of there.

I'm sure glad OSHA wasn't around.


UPDATE ON THE FAP THING:
We're still on the punishment list and will be until we get below 70% of allowable usage. We're at 89% now, and Thing-2 still insists on using her laptop that I suspect is the problem...because "I can't check my MySpace mail on the other computer."

That's because I have the cookies blocked from that spyware generator; but I'll unblock it so she doesn't have an excuse anymore.

More driving tips from Kurt

Yes, it's that time again.... Been a busy week for some clueless peeps out there.
I wonder if some of them still have their car in one piece.

• Here's a hint to the kid who has a hard time with his spatial skillz- The drivers seat is on the LEFT. That's the reason the steering wheel and pedals are on that side. When yoy try to drive from the middle, you can't control your vehicle- especially around curvs at the speed limit.

I guess that's why you were going 15MPH below the speed limit on the lower level of I-35N in the fast lane during morning rush hour.
Here's another hint...you don't look cool- from the back you look like you have MS.
AND if you have a bud leaning the opposite way from the right, it looks like you two are ready for a liplock.

• On passing, or weaving. How about repeated lane changin?

Once or twice is ok, you keep trying to take peoples bumpers off, and you'll piss off someone with a gun pretty soon.

• It's an accident scene, NOT a show. Drive past it and look for it on the news, all you're doing is pissing off the 3/4 mile worth of traffic behind you.

• The sign said the lane was closed, I got into this lane almost a mile ago- I'm NOT going to let you in at the last two yards.

• If you keep getting passed on the right and then getting cut-off when they get into the FAST lane, you might consider moving into the GRANNY lane. The mile worh of open road in front and the red faces in your mirror might give you another clue.

• I can only go as fast as the people in front of me let me drive; lunging a foot off my bumper won't make you go any faster. It might make me decide what to do with that half quart of gear oil I have rolling around next to my toolbox, though.

• As I told the 17yr-old. When there's a huge traffic jam on a major road, and you see the big trucks all start to work their way to one lane- THAT'S a good place to decide to be, too.

"Oh, I know that."
"Really? How did you know that?"
"They can see farther down the road."
(OH! I didn't think of that.) "How about they're talking to each other on their CBs? The oncomming lane is telling them what happened and which lane is moving."
"Ok, that makes sense, too."

• And in conclusion, allow me to point out one thing, again.

THAT FRIGGING STOP SIGN WILL NEVER TURN GREEN! So GO!

Update on our self imposed outage

DISHinternet or more likely WildBlue caved into Google (ok, sice they're both Liberally driven- happily partenered)and changed their start page, so I can't just take a look at my usage.

Now I have to sign-in at the "Google Partener page" then I get sent to DISHmail (GoogleMAil) then I can click to go to my start page.
Since Google took over, the download chart has been updated and 'improved' so now it onlt has my percentage of use (I don't need the actual Kilobites I used) and instead of updating hourly, We gat to see changes about daily.

We must have had massive usage, or Google/DISH has changed the way they measure both downloads and uploads, since after having the modem unplugged for a day and a half- we're down to 97% downloads and went UP to 50% uploads.

I'm wondering- if anyone knows, how much data would having about five different IM's going (on the same laptop) use? Is it data intensive, or more like looking at text pages? I know Wildblue hates BitTorrent type apps....

Anyway, y'all enjoy your day.

I normally try to avoid a car wreck

But today when I got done shopping, I had to go out of my way to gawk.
See this ,,,ummm,,,,Caddy SUV pulled into the parking lot and the first thing I noticed was the air dam.
The 16" wide air dam that went from his lowered front end (about 3/4" from the ground) to his custom plastic covered bumper.
Then I noticed the 2" thick tires on the over sized rims.
After that my eyes travelled to the custom hoods scoops and the blackened windows - mine weren't that dark when I bought the S-10 and Johnny Law made me peel it off.
Along back to the plastic overly wide ground effect package at the sides and back, and the highly effective spoiler at the top of the rear hatch.

In all it looked horrible in an expensive way.

Wonderful, just terrific...

There'll be even more limited posting for the unforseen future.
We just got hit with a big Fair Access Policy violation because we not only got close to the top download limit- we shot through so fast that I only got the warning before we were over.

And since the only thing that changed lately is the 17 yr-olds new laptop, she'll be gounded from using it for at least a week- until we gat to 50% of our allowable downloads (1.2G average) and our usual speed (around 11Kps).
I don't know if it was her downloading everything she could click her curser on; she downloaded a virus or VISTA is talking to Bill Gates.

The reason I'm thinking if the last two is because our upload is 45% of our allowable. We've never had it that high even when we got fapped before, and she knows that if she downloaded too much she'd loos her laptop untill we got back to normal.

We are now sitting at 125Kps...not much for $75/mo. is it?

So, sitemeter is giving fits?

I should say those of you who haven't updated to Fire Fox and are having problems with Sitemeter because your Internet Explorer7.

My laptop has F/F 1.5.?? and never freezes or crashes, the main computer has F/F 2.5.??
and doesn't have problems. I didn't like F/F 3.0 because it's too much like IE7.

In addition to all the quaint 'quirks' of Explorer y'all are having, I'd like to point out that I get more spyware from Thing 2 going to her 'social networking sites' when she insists on opening Explorer- than I do on F/F looking at p0rn trying to remember what a female looks like.


But I'm not talking to anyone who's actuallyUSING Explorer, because YOU CAN'T READ THIS right now.
Can you?

So now we know

So you take the angle of the dangle and transpose it with the velocity of the rotational attitude with the additional sine wave of the mass, then in the next equation we add the rhythmic acoustical signature of the timing.
Thus you come up with:









Oh, btw- congratulations Brian May!

On the morning TV news

We have these two notes on the important business that out Liberal Congress is looking at.

A permanent ban on cell phone conversations on airlines. Two of the things I caught were the(usual)overly loud and abusive conversations inflicted on their seatmates.
AND
The fact that people have been taking pictures of sensitive parts of airplanes with their cell cameras. Think about that for a moment. I just woke up after a weeks worth of overtime and I realize that a cell phone can take a picture without being connected, so how is that law going to change anything? Are they going to require phones to be in carry-on baggage? Or will they be required to put them in their checked baggage (for ICE to steal)?

Also is the fact that making college more affordable is a looming priority for them.
No, they're not going to look at the huge and unwarranted increase in tuition and fees.
BUT they'll do something to make getting loans and your money grants easier to get.

Still no mention about doing anything in the way of increasing the supply of fuel in America before their month long summer break.

The chain of command works both ways

The ones on top are responsible for those below them and those below are supposed to do their job to keep those above them from falling on them.

Respect and responsibility go both ways, too.

I don't know if anyone else heard about the $70 million fire aboard the USS George Washington (CVN-73) cause by smoking in an unauthorized space.

See, onboard ship (especially an aircraft carrier) you have all kinds of highly flammable material around- fuel oil, AVGAS, JP4 and 5, hydraulics, solvents, paint, etc... leaking, applied, dropped stored or any way you can think of just waiting for that wrong trifecta of events to jump into a conflagration.

In this case it was probably diesel oil leaking from a feed to the boiler.
Because no matter how good the fitting, on a moving, twisting, shuddering ship you'll always have leakage.

What I was thinking about in the title, was that the Navy removed both the CO and XO and left the rest in place waiting on the new Captain to deal with.
Everyone had something to do with the problem that cause that fire, from the PO-3 (E-4)in charge of his detail to the 1st lieutenant(O-2)in charge of the division and the Chiefs (E-7 up) all the way up for not hammering safety enough.

That non-rate that probably caused the whole thing didn't have the pleasure of tough love to reinforce the whole responsibility thing.

What I also found surprising (and somewhat disconcerting) was that it caused so much degradation in the combat effectiveness of the carrier.
I'm sure the Navy will be learning from this fire like they did from the USS Forestal fire* of the 67.





*Oh Gawd, just wait untill the Libs see that last line...."John McCain started the Forestal fire!"

Bureaucracies

I guess they're a necissary evil.

I got Thing 2 a Virgin moble cell phone to replace half of our Sprint plan.
The phone and 30 min. (about three months for her usage) cost about $65.

I tried to activate online, but got caught in one of my lies I put her birthdate at 1999 instead of 1989 and gort caught in the "Minors Privacy Protection"....whatever and they made me call in to the 800 number where I got it all activated and was all hunky-dory untill I asked about importing her old number and was met with a very southern and polite version of "Oh cr@p!", "Why didn't you tell me that the first thing?"

Ummm,,,I didn't know I was supposed to.

I then got sent to the deactivation dept. where I was deactivated and shuffled on to the activation desk 1.0 (she was brand new and had to be talked through it by a super)- I'm Ok with OJT if someone wants to learn.
So we went throught the whole thing and I even remembered the password for our Sprint acct. and was feeling pretty good untill they needed Karens SSN......ummmmmm, dammit- I don't have it any more, it got washed.

Ok, can we hold it until Karen can take over tomorrow?
No, it won't hold.
OK, looks like Karen has something to do on her lunch hour.


All in all I was on the phone for a little over an hour.
But that's ok if we can get out of a cell bill of $72/mo for two phones using 220min/ month.

Le affaire de Edwards

As reported my ther mainstream U.S. media


Unlike the other side of the pond.

A 'Koz' kid?

I wonder if he does alot of posting on Leftie blogs.

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/audio/play/5719
CAUTION: Heavy use of the F-bomb and dammit.





H/T Wm H

According to Grahm Norton

Duffy is the new Amy Winehouse...without the baggage.

And she doesn't work as a fishmonger any more(?).







Ok, I guess,,, but my tastes kinda run to The Killer.
Who I listened to on the way home from work today.



ohh, she's a Brit, not a Cajun.
Ok this'll work:

Actually, he gives the perfectly unhinged tone to their songs.

Your mileage may vary

Since I got the S-10, I've been noting the MPGs as I filled up.
It's been averaging between 19.75 and 22.5. not bad, but I was wondering about the variation in fuel economy, especially since I was pretty much doing the same highway rout. I thought it may have had something to do with the weather because I seemed to get better mileage when it was cool to cold outside. It didn't make much difference if I had my A/C on or off, though.

Then I was assigned to a H.S. on the east side of San Antonio (go Rockets)and started getting my gas almost exclusively at Flying J truck stop because of their marginally better gas (it dropped to $3.68 on the way home today) and noticed my mileage holding pretty steady at 22.5 MPG, so I think my variation was from the varying amount actually measured per gallon at different stations.

And since I'm holding steady at the higher mileage, not only does Flying J have better prices, it seems that I get more gas for the price, too.



Oh, speaking of petroleum products- we got off early today (2PM) because we figured we'd poisoned Gaea enough for one day with three broken hydraulic hoses on the backhoe.

Devastation?

That's what our local news has been saying most of the day about South Padre and the coastal bend.
So now downed power lines, flooding and some wrecked buildings from a Cat.2 hurricane is 'devastation'? I know it's not fun down there right now, and the utilities are telling people to boil water and the power may be out up to three days.
But......Devastation?

What kind of description will they be dreaming up when we get a MAJOR storm that really tears things up?

Just a quick question about Himself

Looking at Obamas record in both Illinois and the U.S. Senate...does he know that as President he'll actually have to make a descision?

I mean he can't just vote "present" like he has a history of doing.

A question for my Jewish readers

Ok, it seems you missed the boat about 2000 years ago and are still waiting for the chosen one, and when He arrives you will achieve *oneness* or something- right?

So what are you planning to do when 'He who is all to all' makes Himself known to your religious scholars and head Rabbis on His *introducing Himself to the world tour*?
Has anything happened yet?
I mean ObaMessiah has already landed in Israel, so there must have been a religious shudder, somewhere.

Hurricane update

It's geting onshore in Brownsville, the waves are about 17 feet.

I guess it's creating problems in the upper atmosphere because our satellite broadband is really slow.

Our newest humanitarian crisis

And it's right on our border.
Due to BusHitler McHalburton, and his Draconian immigration crackdown, hundreds, or thousands of our poorest and neediest will be weathering the coming huricain on the border, because they're afraid to head north.

Not that it matters to anyone

Ecxept those that were there and the Guammanians-
But on this day in 1944 the invasion of Guam began.
It lasted until Aug. 10 and Guam became a major jumping-off point for the invasion of Japan.



I was stationed there at Camp Covington in the early 80's and have driven some of those old abandoned WWII B-29 runways that the Seabees built on N.A.S. Agana and Polaris Point.

To all who know what it means- "Hafa Adai!"

Sighhh......

So I'm reading this tripe about the Prime Minister of that once gallant island nation called Great Briton, and his brown-nosing a bunch of terrorists the downtrodden Palestinians.

You know, the usual tired pigswill of Israeli occupation, and the defenders of Palestine.

Naturally he made the obligatory gesture of taking a tour of the Holocaust Museum, and as usual made the noise about never letting anything like that happen again....

I wonder if it ever occurred to Mr. Brown and all the other apologists and appeasers of those anti-Semites in the Mid-East- that in their 'Final Solution' they wouldn't even bother with the showers?