Saturday - September 27, 2008

Another public service announcement

This post is neither from or about Europe

As we belatedly found out in the previous post, September is/was Library Card Sign-up Month. September is almost over, so it’s probably too late to sign up for a library card this year. Better luck next year. Please mark your calendars.

I thought it would be a good idea to find out what October holds in store for us. I’ve found that October is one very busy month indeed.

Filipino American History Month
National Arts & Humanities Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month
Italian American Heritage Month: Italian Heritage and Culture Month
Polish American Heritage Month
Celiac Sprue Awareness Month
Health Literacy Month
Healthy Lung Month
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
National Dental Hygiene Month
National Down Syndrome Awareness Month
National Infertility Awareness Month
National Lupus Erythematosus Awareness Month
National Orthodontic Health Month
National Physical Therapy Month
National Spina Bifida Awareness Month
National Spinal Health Month
Rett Syndrome Awareness Month
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month
World Blindness Awareness Month
National Pharmacist Month

source: Wikipedia

I don’t see how I can fit all of that into my schedule. I got a head start on being aware of Down Syndrome thanks to Governor Palin. That will help.

That is all.

A public service announcement

This post is neither from or about Europe

September is was Library Card Sign-up Month.

(Who decides these things?)

This meant . . . a poll. Another useless poll. Full of useless facts. Facts like:

two thirds (68%) of Americans currently own a library card.

I’m not sure I believe it is that low. I’d like to know their definition of ‘American’. Do they include hostile invaders illegal aliens? That would bring the percentage down.

Some other worthless ‘facts’ from this poll:

   Thursday - August 28, 2008

News For The Gullible

Chinese Cat Sprouts Wings



It’s sad really, that Fox News, the one news outlet that even tries to avoid a huge leftist slant, has fallen so low that they now run stories usually reserved for the gossip rags. What’s next, a recurring series on what Bat Boy has been up to lately? Secret inside scoops that Obama is actually an alien? Hey, I’d believe that!

While most cats are known for their ability to land on their feet, some in China may soon be able to glide to safety on their mysterious wings.  A tabby from the Qingyan province in China recently sprouted a pair of fur-covered wings on his back during a hot-weather spell, the U.K.’s Daily Mail reported.  Immediately, the unique kitty became a spectacle to behold, as visitors flocked to see the unusual feline.  One cat owner, identified only as Feng, claimed her pet’s wings were the result of stress from too many females desiring to mate with him, the Mail reported.

But the owner later grew fearful that the tabby would either be stolen by envious admirers or that it would fly away and decided to cut one of the two flappers off, World Entertainment News Network said.

Cats with wings can be explained through several scientific explanations, including leg deformities, huge mats of hair or a condition known as feline cutaneous asthenia or FCA, which causes the cat’s skin to grow in heavy folds on its back or shoulders, online magazine Cryptozoology reported.

   Monday - July 21, 2008

policeman ‘victimised’ over opposition to homosexual event

Please allow me to state at the top as it were, that I do not personally have anything against these folks except the following.
Certainly not all but a very vocal and perhaps large group want me and apparently this cop, to accept their queer (as in very odd) behavior as normal.

Well okay.  I will concede that perhaps for some this is very normal.  For them however.  For nobody else.  But not only do they expect, no they demand that this be accepted as normal, they go further.  They want everyone else to celebrate their abnormality.  The police dept. in this case also want their officers to wear a pink ribbon.  How utterly absurd and totally STUPID!

I am not religious. However, I fail to understand how quoting a biblical phrase and believing it is somehow “homophobic.”
Why is it homophobic of me to think that there’s something not quite right in the world if a guy would rather kiss me (GAK) then say Kate Moss. That’s not homophobic.  That’s the norm.

I do not have a problem with people who just happen to have a lifestyle that really is at odds with nature.  And it by golly is.  But I don’t hate anyone because they’re homosexual.  I don’t even dislike them for that reason.  But I have a hell of a problem with all this homosexual pride crap.  And damn it give me back that word you hijacked.  Gay is NOT queer damn it!  You are.  Get used to it. 

It also occurs to me that very many homosexuals (not all of course) are perhaps somewhat ashamed or embarrassed by their proclivities. If they weren’t, they would not go to such lengths to make the rest of us buy into their self delusions.  They wouldn’t need parades nor would they insist that we are never to be critical and if we are, there should be laws against it.  A police department should NOT insist that cops wear any kind of anything to promote anybody’s lifestyle whether homosexual or heterosexual. 

The homosexual community must deep down be rather a sad lot if what it take to make em happy is a pink ribbon worn by cops to prove what?

I just can’t wait to see what comes next. Hey, some folks are attracted to little kids.  The majority of us think that is sick beyond measure but hey wait.  For some ppl it’s ... just normal behavior.  How long will it be before they want parades and ribbons also?

Christian policeman ‘victimised’ over opposition to gay queer pride event
By David Thomas
Last Updated: 8:31PM BST 20/07/2008

A Christian policeman is taking his own force to an employment tribunal over claims that it “harassed” him because of his religious opposition to homosexuality.

Graham Cogman, a constable with 15 years experience, is taking action against Norfolk Police as he claims he was victimised for refusing to wear a pink ribbon on his uniform to mark a ”gay homosexual pride” event, and for questioning the force’s stance towards gay queer acting men and lesbians.

The 49-year churchgoer, who circulated emails to officers quoting the biblical stance on homosexuality being a sin, claims he is being singled out because of his beliefs. The force has responded by saying it will not tolerate any “homophobic behaviour”.

His case echoes that of London registrar Lillian Ladele, who recently won a tribunal after refusing to officiate at same-sex civil partnerships because of her religious views.

PC Cogman, a father of two, said reconciling his religious beliefs with his job was becoming more difficult because the force’s stance on homosexuality was at odds with his religious views.

“The blatant support for homosexual rights in Norfolk Police makes being a Christian officer extremely difficult,” he said.

“I am not undertaking this action lightly but I have to make a stand when things become so blatantly biased against me just because I hold a faith.”

His complaint stems from a circular email sent to officers in early 2005 encouraging staff to wear a pink ribbon on their uniforms during Gay History Month.

After receiving the email, PC Cogman sent a reply to his fellow officers featuring biblical quotations about homosexuality being a sin. He objected again the following year when a similar email was again sent to officers.

He was subjected to a disciplinary tribunal and fined 13 days’ pay.

A spokesman for Norfolk Police yesterday said that PC Cogman’s behaviour “fell well below the standard which we expect”.

“Whilst the force fully respects the officer has strong beliefs, it is only correct that he respects the beliefs and wishes of others,” he said.

“The force will not tolerate any form of homophobic behaviour.”

At the beginning of July, Islington registrar and devout Christian Lillian Ladele won an employment tribunal after claiming she was bullied and treated as a “pariah” for refusing to officiate over same-sex civil partnerships.

http://tinyurl.com/5sto5f

   Saturday - July 19, 2008

un-bee-leivable road hazards

CHERRY HILL, N.J.  — Drivers on the New Jersey Turnpike have to cope every day with traffic jams, pollution and even the occasional deer. ( about one every 1/8 mile - Drew )

They ran into a new obstacle Saturday as thousands of honeybees swarmed around their vehicles.

Turnpike Authority spokesman Joseph Orlando said the swarm came from a beekeeper’s beehive that apparently fell beside the highway in Cherry Hill.

The Turnpike Authority was looking for its own beekeeper to deal with the problem.

It’s about 95 today, hazy, hot, and humid. Typical summer day here in Joisey. Hope these folks had their AC on and the windows rolled up. Pity the poor folks in convertibles!

Cherry Hill is the “nice neighborhood” just the other side of Camden, which is the worst hellhole in the state, right across the river from Philadelphia. Nothing says “Welcome to New Jersey” more than picking up your expensive toll ticket and then getting stuck in traffic on a blistering hot and damp summer day, followed by having a zillion bees go on the attack. Highly unusual and yet utterly typical at the same time!

   Tuesday - July 15, 2008

English Civil War ‘ghost’ captured on film.  (That’s the claim. Take a look.)

Well now, I really don’t know what to make of this. How about you? I never buy this sort of thing. After all the centuries wouldn’t we have heard from Caesar
by now?  And surely we’d have heard from Elvis.  Oh yeah, some already have.

English Civil War ‘ghost’ captured on film by paranormal enthusiasts
Last Updated: 8:25PM BST 13/07/2008

A ghostly figure, supposedly the spirit of a dead soldier from a key battle in the English Civil War, has been captured on film by a group of paranormal enthusiasts.

The Northampton Paranormal Group caught the figure on camera during a visit to the site of the Battle of Naseby, a field between the villages of Clipston and Naseby in Northamptonshire, last month.

The visit coincided with the 363rd Anniversary of the Battle of Naseby. Members said they heard clunking noises as well as sounds like cannonball fire.

When the group then looked through pictures they took during the visit, they spotted what appeared to be mysterious figure walking out of the dark carrying something in its hands.

Emma Whiteman, leader of the group, said: “The picture was taken about an hour after we heard the noises but we didn’t see anything at the time.

“When we saw it, when we were looking back through the pictures, we were gobsmacked.

“We’re saying that it’s a soldier. Some people can see it sitting on a horse and some people just see it as a walking soldier.”

The Battle of Naseby in 1645 was a key win for the Parliamentarians over the Royalists in the English Civil War.

The battle involved more than 21,000 troops when the Royal army, under Prince Rupert, was beaten by Parliamentary troops led by Sir Thomas Fairfax.

Adrian Perkin, an author and ‘ghost detective’, said he thought the image was a soldier with a musket or pike walking through a gateway.

He said: “If this is genuine it’s a very, very, good example. It’s the best I have seen for many years.”

Sceptics said the effect was caused by the camera itself.

Anne Haddon, of The Naseby Battlefield Project, said: “I haven’t heard anything like this at the battlefield in all my association with it. It’s fair to say I’m a bit sceptical.”

http://tinyurl.com/5rncey

   Monday - June 02, 2008

Meet Awe Kooda Bilaxpak Kuuxshish

Obama, Wooing Voters, Takes an American-Indian Name

The newly named Awe Kooda Bilaxpak Kuuxshish—better known as Barack Obama—faced east, the symbolic source of new life. His adopted Crow father, Hartford Black Eagle, prayed over him.

An unfortunate choice of name? Or conscious identification with friends? Awe Kooda/Al Qaeda?

Drew, how do you add categories to this blog? We need an ‘Obamination’ tag.

   Saturday - May 10, 2008

I Guess She Said NO

A 12-year-old boy and his family said they were searching for the owner of a diamond ring found floating in the San Francisco Bay.

Joe Carter said he saw something floating in the water that appeared to be a charcoal briquette while he was boating Sunday with his father, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday.

However, when the boy took the item out of the water, he discovered it was a Macy’s jewelry box containing a diamond ring—complete with price tag.

“Romance Princess. One-quarter carat. Diamond Wedding Ring. $499,” the tag said.

Carter and his family said they took out a lost-and-found ad on an Internet bulletin board for the ring, which experts said is actually worth closer to $150, but no one has yet come forward to claim the item.

“I think it would be pretty sad to be someone reaching into your pocket for a diamond ring and find out it’s not there,” the boy said. “I hope I can find whoever that person is. That would be great.”

Nah, I doubt this one was actually lost. I bet the owner tried to set up one of those “perfect moment” situations to propose in. The beach at sunset perhaps. And she didn’t show. Or she complained about the sand the whole time. Or maybe she just laughed at him and his stupid ideas. So he got pissed and chucked the thing out to sea. We’ll never know. The only thing we really learn in this article is that Macy’s jewlry is way overpriced. And that isn’t news either.

Of course, now that the press has published the kid’s name, and the brand, style, and size of the diamond, he’ll be swamped by people claiming it was theirs, but oh sorry, I lost the receipt.

The lesson to be learned here, all you young turks, is twofold: a) always save the receipt, b) don’t buy a ring if you aren’t 500% sure she’ll accept it. You don’t need to ask. You should know. If there’s the smallest doubt, don’t go shopping.

   Monday - March 31, 2008

This I Just Had to Post About.

Over at her blog Zoe Brain writes about Feminism getting piled higher and deeper. The post is about women in science, and how certain parties get the reason why women are disproportionately represented in certain field so wrong. Zoe is commenting on Math is Hard by Jonathan Kulick. As part of the article Mr. Kulick presents the following quotation.

The privileging of solid over fluid mechanics, and indeed the inability of science to deal with turbulent flow at all, she attributes to the association of fluidity with femininity. Whereas men have sex organs that protrude and become rigid, women have openings that leak menstrual blood and vaginal fluids. Although men, too, flow on occasion—when semen is emitted, for example—this aspect of their sexuality is not emphasized. It is the rigidity of the male organ that counts, not its complicity in fluid flow. These idealizations are reinscribed in mathematics, which conceives of fluids as laminated planes and other modified solid forms. In the same way that women are erased within masculinist theories and language, existing only as not-men, so fluids have been erased from science, existing only as not-solids. From this perspective it is no wonder that science has not been able to arrive at a successful model for turbulence. The problem of turbulent flow cannot be solved because the conceptions of fluids (and of women) have been formulated so as necessarily to leave unarticulated remainders.
(Hayles, N. K. (1992) “Gender encoding in fluid mechanics: masculine channels and feminine flows,” Differences: A Journal Of Feminist Cultural Studies, 4(2):16–44.)

As so many have so aptly observed, the stupid, it burns.

   Thursday - February 28, 2008

Really odd news

Blind man can see again after having son’s tooth implanted in his eye

WTF??

DUBLIN (AFP) - An Irishman blinded by an explosion two years ago has had his sight restored after doctors inserted his son’s tooth in his eye, he said on Wednesday.
Bob McNichol, 57, from County Mayo in the west of the country, lost his sight in a freak accident when red-hot liquid aluminium exploded at a re-cycling business in November 2005.

“I thought that I was going to be blind for the rest of my life,” McNichol told RTE state radio.

After doctors in Ireland said there was nothing more they could do, McNichol heard about a miracle operation called Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis (OOKP) being performed by Dr Christopher Liu at the Sussex Eye Hospital in Brighton in England.

The technique, pioneered in Italy in the 1960s, involves creating a support for an artificial cornea from the patient’s own tooth and the surrounding bone.

The procedure used on McNichol involved his son Robert, 23, donating a tooth, its root and part of the jaw.

McNichol’s right eye socket was rebuilt, part of the tooth inserted and a lens inserted in a hole drilled in the tooth.

The first operation lasted ten hours and the second five hours.

“It is pretty heavy going,” McNichol said. “There was a 65 percent chance of me getting any sight.

“Now I have enough sight for me to get around and I can watch television. I have come out from complete darkness to be able to do simple things,” McNichol said.

Put the coffee cup down ... you know I’m gonna say it ...

I guess this must have been one of his eye teeth?

Sorry, I can’t resist the really easy ones sometimes.

source

   Wednesday - November 21, 2007

Man Rapes Sleepwalking Woman

MSNBC

Man charged with raping sleepwalking woman
Homeless, HIV-positive man, 52, allegedly attacked student near highway

CINCINNATI - A homeless man was indicted Tuesday on charges that he raped a college student while she was sleepwalking along a highway near her home.

The woman, a 23-year-old University of Cincinnati student, woke up during the attack and fought back but could not get away, said Hamilton County prosecutor Seth Tieger.

Dexter Ford, 52, was also charged with felonious assault because he knew he was HIV-positive, Tieger told The Cincinnati Enquirer. Police said Ford told them that he is HIV positive, and Hamilton County Municipal Judge Fanon Rucker ordered Ford to be tested for venereal diseases. It wasn’t clear if the woman has been tested.

Wow.  I’m not that familiar with the phenomenon of sleepwalking, but holy cow.  To wake up and find yourself walking down the road would be one thing, but to wake up finding yourself out in the road being raped by a homeless guy is another kettle of fish altogether.

Strange.

   Friday - August 31, 2007

To Each His Own

I believe in the Capitalist economic model.  That is, you are free to conduct trade as you see fit, within the law of course, but don’t expect everyone to buy, or even like, your stuff.

WordWeb is a free dictionary program you can download and use.  Looks like it has some neat features and some good testimonials.  Then you get to the license agreement.  That is, what you are willing to agree to if you want to use their software.

WordWeb may be freely used only by people who meet the conditions below.

Global greenhouse gas emissions are currently around 5 tonnes per person per year, and need to be reduced by about 80% have a good chance of avoiding catastrophic warming. Most computer users are responsible for far more emissions than is sustainable. For example one medium distance return flight can be equivalent to over 1 tonne of emissions1: more than an average person should be emitting in an entire year. A typical SUV causes about twice as much warming per mile as a typical normal European car: 10,000 miles of travel in an SUV is responsible for about 5 tonnes of emissions. Offsetting emissions is no substitute for direct cuts.

You may use the program free of charge indefinitely only if

- You take at most 4 flights (2 return flights) in any 12 month period
- AND you do not own or regularly drive an SUV (sports utility vehicle).

If you do not qualify you must uninstall the program after the 30-day trial period or purchase WordWeb Pro. The licence is designed to provide a small incentive for people with massively unsustainable emissions to cut down.

Whenever a user no longer meets the above requirements, and they have installed the product for more than 30 days, they must uninstall the product or purchase WordWeb Pro; otherwise it is software theft.

Yeah, good luck with that.

   Monday - August 06, 2007

Defensive Maneuvers

I spent a good part of my younger years in Orlando, so I keep up with the news down there, mostly to see if any of my old buds get arrested.

Anyhoo, I found the juxtaposition of these two stories in my news reader interesting.

First, we have the tale of a failed robbery attempt in a small town in west Orange county:

Several screaming and frantic employees inside a restaurant apparently scared away two men attempting to rob an Orlando restaurant, according to police.

Investigators said Michael Davis and Keaton Hill tried to rob an Ocoee, Fla., Chipotle restaurant late Saturday.

As Davis and Hill burst in an open back door, employees started wildly screaming and frantically running around, police said.

The men then fled.

Police located both Davis and Hill in a subdivision behind the restaurant and they were taken into custody.

So, lacking proper tools for self defense (where were the knives people?), they employed the most basic of human responses to danger: screaming and running around.  Hey, it worked.

Then, the very next story in the reader is this one:

TAMPA, Fla.—A man in Tampa was robbed of his pants after he was attacked and pistol-whipped by three men, according to police.

Police said two men—ages 17 and 18—were standing outside when three men with guns ordered them into an apartment.

Once inside, the robbers demanded money and forced the 18-year-old to hand over his pants

As they fled by car, the robbers rammed into a police cruiser, but kept going, until the driver lost control and ended up stuck in the ditch.

The three took off on foot, but police eventually caught two of the men, the report said.

Arnez Jernigan and Kingsley Aguta were arrested and charged in the crime. Police are still looking for the third person.

Two guns and the victim’s pants were found inside the car

At least they recovered the pants.  But it begs the question:  What if the victims had just started screaming and running around?  Would the pants have been saved the horrible adventure of being pant-napped and dragged unwillingly into a hot pursuit?

I think I’ll continue to rely on my Colt, thankyouverymuch.

   Saturday - August 04, 2007

Have They Figured Out What’s Causing It?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about “Go forth and multiply” and all that.  We have four kids, which believe it or not, gets us all kinds of odd looks and comments from strangers.

But 17????

Arkansas couple welcome their 17th child

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP)—It’s a girl—again—for Jim Bob and Michelle Duggars, the proud parents of 17 children.

And after Jennifer Danielle was born Thursday morning, her parents already were talking about having more children.

“We’d love to have more,” Michelle Duggar said, adding that the girls are outnumbered seven to 10 in the family. “We love the ruffles and lace.”

The family’s home in the northwest Arkansas town of Tontitown includes dormitory-style bedrooms for the boys and girls, nine bathrooms, a commercial kitchen, four washing machines and four dryers.

The children are home-schooled by Michelle Duggar, 40. The oldest is 19 and the youngest, before Jennifer, is almost 2 years old. The family includes two sets of twins.

“We are just so grateful to God for another gift from him,” said Jim Bob Duggar, 42, a former state representative who sells real estate. “We are just so thankful to him that everything went just very well.”

All of Jennifer’s siblings also have names that start with J. They are: Joshua, 19; John David, 17; Janna, 17; Jill, 16; Jessa, 14; Jinger, 13; Joseph, 12; Josiah, 11; Joy-Anna, 9; Jedidiah, 8; Jeremiah, 8; Jason 7; James 6; Justin, 4; Jackson, 3; Johannah, almost 2.

The Duggars have been featured on several programs on cable’s Discovery Health Network.

Among the “fun facts” listed on Discovery Health’s Web page devoted to the Duggars: A baby has been born in every month except June; the family has gone through about 90,000 diapers, and Michelle Duggar has been pregnant for 126 months—or 10.5 years—of her life.

I wonder if its just for the media now.  Are they trying to get into the Guiness Book now?

Jim Bob, here’s some advice:  Get the TV fixed man. You need another form of recreation down there in Tontitown.

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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

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It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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