Nope, Not Dead Yet

No, I am not dead yet... This blog is pretty damn close to it, but I'm not.

The problem is, I have too many other things to do right now, so here is a snapshot of what is going on in my life:

• Work is very busy. In this economy, that is a good thing. Sales need to pick up so we have the revenue to sustain development.
• It is weird having a child who is out of High School living in the house. I am too young for that. On the other hand, a lot of guys my age have little ones. I am too old for that.
• After three years teaching the three year old Sunday School class, I started teaching eighth graders this year. A couple of observations:


• Three year olds are a lot cuter than eighth graders


• Three year olds listen better than eighth graders


• Three year olds are more fun than eighth graders


• Three year olds are much more open to learning than eighth graders


• Despite all of that, I would rather teach the eighth graders. You can actually have meaningful conversations with them, and my prep time involves a lot of Bible study rather than trying to come up with crafts that match the lesson. I like Bible study. I don't like crafts.


• It has snowed like crazy here lately. This winter is turning out just like last winter. I hope we don't have another pipe break like we did last year.

Lack of Experience

Part of the brilliance of picking Palin as VP was that it caused the McCain campaign to sucker the left into bringing up "experience" as a issue again. This is an issue where Obama is very week.

Obama was a nothing state legislator who got into the U.S. Senate when his opponent (Jack Ryan) was involved with a "sex scandal" with his own wife, Jeri Ryan. As a U.S. Senator, Obama has not really championed any legislation to speak of or otherwise set himself apart as a Senate leader. He just really has not be a senator long enough for that.

OTOH, Palin, as the Governor of Alaska, has made sweeping changes, and has some executive experience. Is she ready to be President? No, but then she is not running for President. Is she more ready than Obama? Here I would say "Yes". This is where the Republicans need to hit the Democrats, and it looks like they are starting to do so.

Much Ado Abount Nothing

There has been a lot of talk about McCain's pick of Gov. Palin as his running mate. Most of it has been positive, some has not. Of the negative talk, however, a lot has been focused on Palin's pregnant daughter. This is a total non-issue.

Her daughter got pregnant at 17. These things happen. It isn't right, but once it happens the important thing is how you deal with it. There are several wrong ways to deal with it: abortion, the family abandoning the pregnant child, the father of the baby abandoning the pregnant child, etc. None of that is happening here. The family is very supportive of Bristol, Bristol is set to marry the father of the child, and Bristol is having the child.

If Bristol had an abortion, then there would be a serious issue, but her just being pregnant is completely irrelevant. I guess it is just easier for people to pay attention to than actual issues.

Day #4 - Race Day

The first line really says it all:

Pure and simple, Jimmie Johnson won the Yellow Flag 400 Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by winning the final race off pit road.

All I can say is that today's race was total bull crap. Congrats to Jimmy Johnson, but for NASCAR and Good Year to not test the tire situation fully before coming here, and then to handle it the way they did is just total crap. They should have just let them run and let the teams determine how long they were comfortable staying out.

I'll post more later.

Drunk And Stupid Is No Way To Go Through Life, Kid...

Every now and again I see a story where some bozo falls from an escalator at a ball park. Almost always, the bozo is male, in his twenties, and drunk (note that the latest story does not currently mention the last aspect, but it is still being investigated).

The sad thing is that in our overly litigious society, the ball park or baseball team (or both) usually end up getting sued, and thus end up spending lots of money in legal fees defending themselves against something that clearly was not their fault. This kind of crap needs to stop.

As a side note, this same thing happened at Miller Park. Some mentally challenged idiot got drunk, road the escalator down on the railing instead of standing on the step like a normal human, and fell (to his death, if I recall correctly). Now, also thanks to our overly litigious society) the escalators have stupid Plexiglas walls "protecting" us from our own stupidity.

Day #3 - Qualification Day

Today was qualifying day, so we got up somewhat early (5:45 or so) and headed down to the track. We got ourselves some nice seats up in turn one (section E penthouse). I started taking a couple of pictures of the track when one of the ushers asked me if I wanted to go up to the roof and take some pics from there. Can't pass up a chance like that! So, he removed the "Do Not Cross" rope and we climbed the ladder up to the roof of the grandstands where the spotters stand. The view from up their was spectacular!! I'll post some pictures later, though they really don't do the view justice.

After qualifying, we walked around the infield for a while and checked out the new Chevy cars and trucks. After that, we came back to the hotel for some relaxation and swimming. Tonight, we'll probably just eat somewhere here in Crawfordsville, and then hang out and relax. Tomorrow will be a busy day.

Day #2 - Indianapolis Indians, More Road Construction...

Today started out cloudy but turned in to a beautiful day. We started out by taking a short hike on the Sugar Creek Trail. We then had lunch at a nice local Mexican restaurant in downtown Crawfordsville.

After relaxing a bit, we went to Indianapolis and walked around the White River State Park and then walked around downtown for a bit. We stopped to eat dinner at the Claddagh Irish Pub. After dinner, it was back over to the White River State Park area to catch an Indianapolis Indians game at Victory Field. It was an exciting game, and the Indians beat the Syracuse Chiefs by a score of 2 - 10.

All in all, it was a great day, even through at the end of it all we managed to find yet more road construction on the way back from the ballpark. Ugh!!

Uhg! Nothing but Road Construction...

Well, we are down in Indiana for our annual trip to the Brickyard-400. Hopefully the rest of the vacation will be more pleasant than the trip down here was. I swear that there was nothing but road construction from the WI/IL boarder to the north end of downtown Chicago. Basically, all of the Edens Expressway is tore up, but once you get to the Kennedy, everything is cool all the way through downtown until you get to Gary, IN. Then, the really insane detours begin...

Once we got through Gary, though, everything was cool. The trip from Gary to Crawfordsville (where we stay for the extended weekend) was really smooth. So, here we are. Today, we will just relax, go out to dinner, have a few beers, and relax some more. Tomorrow, we will probably head down to Indianapolis. Depends on the weather.

Skank Alert...

I mean, just look at the picutre... I think I have caught 12 diseases just from looking at her... I can't believe anyone actually ever paid to had to sex with something like that.

And Justice is Served...

Man shoots wife, man abducts kid, man gets hit by bus and dies. It sure is nice when things work out in the end...

More On Ethanol Policies

It is no secret that I think the ethanol push is moronic. It is not an efficient fuel and it results in higher food causing great pain to the poor (and everyone else). Furthermore, the free market will dictate the proper solution, not government mandates, which will do nothing more than tie us to what is clearly the wrong solution.

It is nice to see others putting pressure on the G8 nations to cut back on these ridiculous mandates (though I would like to see an all out abandonment, myself). It is also nice to see that Great Briton is starting to make moves in the proper direction. Hopefully we will too.

Taking a Page Out of the Clinton Playbook

It appears that Obama is taking a page directly out of the Bill Clinton play book and is moving to the right to appease conservatives who are not all that happy with McCain being the Republican nominee.

US presidential hopeful Barack Obama has said he would expand George W Bush's programme of involving religious groups in government initiatives.
...
He said challenges from saving the planet to ending poverty were too big for the government to solve on its own.

A council involving religious groups would help to set the national agenda, Senator Obama said in his speech.

"We know that faith and values can be a source of strength in our own lives," said Mr Obama.

Obviously, this sounds all well and good. Just don't trust him to actually follow through on any of it.

Fred Phelps is a Tool...

Three young adults were recently killed in an apartment fire at U.W. - Stout (where I went to college 15 years ago).  One of the kids killed was the daughter of a Baptist minister.  Hundreds of students attended her funeral, and you can bet that the First-Baptist Church community has rallied plenty of support for her family, and share in their grief.  It is what Christians do.

On the other hand, tools of Satan, like Fred Phelps and his despicable band of hate mongers react with insane rhetoric, and by sending their evil minion protestors out to try and rub salt in the wounds.  I was happy to see that the current generation of Stout students had quite a nice turnout to drive these degenerate perverters of God's message back to where they came from.

Way to go, Stout!!

See, Some Teams Suck More...

The great thing about this article is that it affirms that yes, there truly are teams who historically suck harder than the Brewers.

Why Does My Food Cost So Much?

Blame ethanol.  Actually, blame the idiots who are pushing idiotic ethanol mandates on us.  In this country, ethanol is made from corn.  However, corn is also a staple grain in our food supply.  So, the mandates result in a higher demand for corn.  The higher demand results in higher prices.  Higher corn prices mean that more land is being used for corn production as farmers react to the market.  More land being put into corn production results in less land being used for wheat, soy, and other staple crops.  As a result, the cost of those crops also goes up.  Since corn and soy are used for feed, this means that the cost of raising cattle, chickens, ducks, etc. goes way up.  It has gotten so bad that Maple Leaf Farms has been forced to close a local processing plant because the increased cost of feed makes raising the ducks cost more than they can get back selling the ducks.  It is not stated in the linked article, but in another article (which I could not find on-line), a spokesman for the company directly blames our government's idiotic ethanol policies.

So, our stupid obsession with trying to use our food for fuel is obviously causing pain for food producers and their employees.  It is also resulting in a disproportionate amount of pain for this countries poorer people, for whom food is already a huge part of their budget.  To make matters worse, ethanol does nothing to make our fuel cheaper or cleaner.  Furthermore,  when the fuel consumption, and related pollution, associated with full production cycle of ethanol is factored in, using ethanol for fuel may even have a negative environmental impact when compared to petroleum.

All of this pain, and who actually gains from this?  Some farmers.  Farmers who are growing grains for cash obviously like the higher prices.  However, farmers who have to buy those grains to feed livestock are not exactly enjoying this.  Mostly, the only people who gain here are companies like ADM and BP.  The rest of us just suffer.

What Comes Around Goes Around...

Given that Eliot Spitzer has built his whole career by ruining other peoples lives for his own political gain, mostly through the over-prosecution of generally minor regulatory violations, it sure is nice to see his career finally being destroyed.

Egosurfing...

While I was egosurging the other day, I ran across a post I made over ten years ago. Thankfully, time has pretty much proven what I said to be correct.

I guess there isn't really much of a point to this other than to point out when you say something on the internet, it is quite possible that whatever you say may last a while, so be careful what you say boys and girls. Make sure you mean it, and use a little discretion. After all, what you say may hang around for quite some time, whether you intend it to or not...

The Party of Indecision

The presidential primaries this time around have just been weird. Here are just couple of random short thoughts that I have on the Democratic race.

1. The race has come down to essentially the two least qualified people in the field.
2. Neither candidate can get a solid lead built up. It seems that as soon as one candidate starts to emerge, the other candidate starts to get more votes.

Item #1 supports my theory that the bulk of voters, especially the bulk of liberal voters, are vapid idiots who are more impressed with style than they are with substance. This is especially true of Obama supporters, who is all style, but has not put forth the least bit of substance yet.

It is also wort noting that this vapid idiocy is not limited to just liberals. It also explains how Republicans ended up with McCain instead of Thompson or Romney. It also explains why Ron Paul has actual live followers.

I have no idea what is going on with item #2. The way this is supposed to work is that some candidate gains momentum, that momentum builds and snowballs, and by now, everyone is standing behind a single candidate. Perhaps it is just a combination of the candidates being light on substance and some weird tendency to not back a front-runner.

Lesbian Vampire Death Sex

This is just sick and wrong, it was also too odd to not share.

Killing a girl with a brick is wrong. Getting sexually excited because of it, and then making out over the dying body is sick. Having no remorse for your actions and no respect for the sanctity of human life is pathetic. What is truly sick and wrong though is that the sentence is only a minimum of 24 years.

Personally, I would have liked to have seen the sentencing start with a minimum of life and move up from there.

Abuse of Uniform...

I am not sure what is more pathetic, a handful of degenerates who feel the need to abuse the fine men and women in the military, or the reaction of the commander at RAF Wittering who told personnel not to wear their uniforms in public.

Personally, I agree with Mr. Gordon's reaction to all of this:

He said armed forces members should be "encouraged to wear their uniform in public and have the respect and gratitude of the British people".

The fact of the matter is, that no matter how people feel about the war in Iraq and the military involvement in Afganistan and elsewhere, people should have nothing but respect for the men and women who are in the military. Further, the military personnel should be proud to wear their uniforms in public, and should not hide them just because of some miscreant idiots out there.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Yes, I am still alive. I have just been really busy lately and have not had much time for blogging. I can't even remember all that we have done, but it has been hectic lately.

It has been a long, cold winter so far. About a month ago, we had a pipe break in our upper bathroom, resulting in having to shell out a fair amount of money for a plumber, and for a company to dry everything out. On the plus side, after everything was cleaned up, we finally repainted and redecorated the bathroom. I'll post some pictures some time.

It shouldn't be too long before I write again.

Later...

Free Speech, Afghanistan Style...

It is great to live in a country where we have so many freedoms that we pretty much take them for granted. Despite the paranoid delusions of certain groups, we pretty much have more rights and freedoms than people from most other countries in the world.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for people in most Muslim countries, where someone being sentenced to death for being critical of Muhammad is not unheard of.

The student, Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh, 23, who also works for a local newspaper, was charged with insulting Muhammad by calling the prophet “a killer and adulterer,” the judge, Shamsurahman Muhmand, said in a telephone interview.

Ironically, Mr. Kambakhsh's death sentence pretty much proves his point (at least on the "killer" part). This is very sad. The severe problems currently afflicting the Muslim world have no chance of getting any better until the powers that be in that world allow their people to be critical of the culture and religion that they see around them.

Drunk on Ethanol

The state ethanol whores (as Mark Belling calls them) are trying yet again to force us to use ethanol (pdf). This is bad public policy for several reasons.

• Ethanol is not a good replacement for petroleum based fuels.
• It is not as efficient of a fuel as petroleum.
• It takes almost as much energy to produce a gallon of ethanol as you get out if it. In some studies, which also take into account the cost of distribution, it actually takes more energy to produce and distribute a gallon of ethanol than you get out of it, making its production a net lose.
• Ethanol is produced primarily from corn, causing the price of corn to skyrocket. Since corn is also a stable food, this causes the price of almost all other foods to go up.
• As more land goes into production producing corn for ethanol, less land is used producing other crops, causing the prices of those crops to go up, also resulting in higher overall food costs.
• The key is to reduce fuel consumption. Ethanol does not result in reduced fuel consumption. Private enterprise is working on real solutions for this, however, such as improved hybrid engine technologies.
• Other, cleaner fuels, such as hydrogen, exist. Private enterprise is also working on making these types of fuels practical.
  

The legislation that is currently being put in front of the state legislature would allow for other renewable fuels. However, as it stands right now, it is nothing more than pork for farmers and the ethanol producers. Worse yet, it is pork that benefits few, and hurts many while needlessly tying us to a harmful fuel source for no good reason.

Stop the whoring out of our state to farmers and ethanol companies, and let the market place determine the most reasonable solution to this problem.

Football as God Intended...

This is how God intended for football to be played! The Packer's winning at home, in the cold, with the snow falling. Could life get any better?

Yes, I am Still Alive

In case anyone is still reading this, yes, I am still alive.  I have just been really busy lately, and haven't really had much to say.

I found the following candidate quiz over at Stacy's blog.

87% Mike Huckabee
84% John McCain
81% Fred Thompson
79% Mitt Romney
72% Ron Paul
69% Tom Tancredo
60% Rudy Giuliani
36% Bill Richardson
27% Hillary Clinton
26% Chris Dodd
26% John Edwards
24% Barack Obama
22% Joe Biden
20% Mike Gravel
17% Dennis Kucinich

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Hmmm, the Huckster?  I don't see myself pulling for him any time soon.  McCain either.  I may agree with some (or many) of the things they say, but what they have been saying does not really jive with what they have actually done in their political careers.

Thompson and Romney I could back.

Why is Ron Paul so high on the list?  It was probably the questions on pot and on free trade.  He is a libertarian, after all.  Problem is, he is also a nut...  It sure is good to see that the true nuts are all at the bottom of the list, and by a big gap.