Friday, September 29, 2006

Google

I am amazed at how high my blog is on Google sometimes. The video of Steve Holy's "I've Got A Brand New Girlfriend" is #3 when googled. "Pleasant Images" and "Pleasant Thoughts" are #4 & #7 respectively. I also have the honor of claiming at least two top spots. One for "Policital Parties" (yes, that typo is the way I am found) and #1 and #1.5 for "Manly Poetry"

Anyways, just thought that was interesting as this blog is not big by any means so to get top honors on Google means I actually mean something!

(sniff) Brings a tear to my eye.

Wishlist

Some things that I want...
A Telephoto lens for my camera
A Panosaurus tripod
An HK USP in .40S&W
A Taurus Raging Bull in .44Mag
A Gatling gun kit in either .22 or AK 47
An Adventure Child Carrier by Kelty
A bike trailer by Chariot Carriers
Throw a good job and a loving wife on there and all will be great! Until I want more stuff that is. Should I pull a Bane and ask y'all to go out and get it for me?

...

Nah. Go and have a good day y'all!

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Pikes Peak


This is just a single frame pic of the Peak. I chopped it to half its size but if you it is still a very good sized pic when you click on it.

I just found out that Blogger limits the size of the pic. It should appear several at least an inch longer than it does. Not really a big deal.

Proposed Law: Must Own Firearm

Greenleaf, Idaho -- All Americans have the right to bear arms. Some towns have even gone as far as to require each household to have a gun. Now a small Idaho town is contemplating a similar idea-- it's called the Civil Emergencies Ordinance. And although gun ownership is just one piece of this ordinance, it's the part that's getting the most attention.

If city council member Steve Jett has his way, each head of household that can legally own a gun, will. Along with that they're encouraged to have ammunition and appropriate training.

The proposed ordinance is modeled after a similar plan that went into place in 1982 in Kennesaw, Ga. In that instance there was a dramatic decrease in criminal activity.
Remember that Idaho is one of the three states in the Free West Alliance. The other two being Montana and Wyoming. These are states that have a reasonable chance of achieving the Free State Project's dream of "Liberty in our lifetime."

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Reason To Homeschool

Reason To Homeschool #714
"The House of Representatives has approved a tough new anti-drug and anti-weapon law that would require local districts to develop search policies – including strip searches – with immunity against prosecution for teachers and staff.
Schools would have to develop policies for searching students, or face the loss of some federal funding, under the bill – HR 5295, approved by a voice vote Tuesday.
"
WTF!

Pikes Peak

Well, it snowed last night and I went out and risked life, limb and pride to get you some pics. And yes I know that there is no snow down in the Springs but stupid me went too far off the road to get these pics and ended up stuck until some kind gentleman pulled my stupid arse out. (Thank you Sir!)

If anyone knows how to get stitched images to have the same color tone let me know. I know there is more I need to do with the setting on the camera but I have to play with that more before I have it figured out.


Click on the image for full size

RainX

With the advent of freezing weather and a touch of snow I am reminded that I really need to get RainX back on my windshield. If you have never used the stuff I highly recommend that you go out and buy some today. It really does make rain slide right off of your windshield, snow too. But even better it makes getting snow and ice off your windows easier and when it is ten below and blowing you dont really want to be out there trying to get ice off. Or freezing fog! Freezing fog is the worst! I hate that stuff but it is a fairly common occurence in the early mornings on my way to work.

There are two ways of puting it on. The actual application of the stuff and the lazy mans way of doing it which is by getting the stuff you put in the washer fluid. The latter is only intended to keep up the application and it really only affect the area that the wipers go over but I say any RainX is better than no RainX and IIRC I still have some.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Bus To Motorhome: Thoughts

Here is an example of a bus that would be about perfect for what I want to do. Opening price is 700 and currently no bids on it. As a simple way of figuring what size bus I am looking at I am wanting one with 8 to 10 windows on the driver side (not counting the driver window of course) 8 would be minimum as it would be just enough room for everything, 10 would be max as anything bigger wouldn't be able to go everywhere I would like to go and it would be more room than I am needing. My plans would make this able to sleep 6 when the table is converted to a bed. Coincidentally it would have seating for 6. Pretty nifty coincidence if you ask me.

I am going to have to rework the bedroom tho. With 30" bunks on one wall that would leave a whopping 45" for a double bed on the other. I dont think that is going to work. I could simply put bunks on both sides but I am thinking I am going to want someone to stay warm with eventually. No wait, I already want that. One day I hope to have someone to do that with. I can think of some options that would close off the back door but I would like to keep that open for toys and gear. The table will collapse into a double bed so there is always that. Another solution would be to simply go bigger and make the last section its own room. But then we are back at the issue of length. Round and round and round and round and no answers as of yet. It'll come. I have quite a bit of time to figure it out.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Eating Organic

Farmer Tom called into question organic foods over at Astro's. Being a firm believer in organics I feel I should explain some of those reasons and Haloscan isnt a good forum for that.

Organic means grown with no man-made fertilizers, pesticides or other chemicals. To qualify for organic the land cannot have had those chemicals used for several years so that the ground is free, or fairly free, of contamination. I say fairly free because it has been proven that some chemicals can be found in the soil decades after their use but the majority will leave with the next couple of years crops.

Why eat organic? Because you are what you eat. What you take in is what your body has to both build with and deal with. All food is a combination of fats, carbs and proteins and all of those are needed. But one can get all three of those from a typical McDonalds meal. What one cannot get is the vitamins and minerals that the body also needs to function. Vitamins are essentially a byproduct of plants, made in the creation of their fruits of leaves and stalks. Man oftentimes adds additional things that get into us when we eat those foods. And so your body has to do something with it. Some get passed, many others get placed into the only holding-pen in the body: fat cells.

Do we know what all stays with us? Not really, and we dont even know exactly which chemicals to look for, and even if we did very few labs are capable of finding them. One study of infant cord blood showed some IIRC 300 checmicals. These are chemicals that made it past the barrier and were then used as building blocks for the developing fetus(tangent: Fetus means "child" in greek. Just why do pro-choicers think that is a better word to use?) It goes without saying that a developing child would be affected far more by pollution than an adult would as we are not developing the various organs and systems necessary to life.

Organic avoids some of the more disgusting practices of modern ranching. As a well fed cow fetches a higher price, conventional ranchers went to a cheap sources of protein. Pig blood and (worse) chicken manure. With the advent of Mad Cow disease the practice of adding back cows blood and organs has thankfully been stopped already. The pig blood has been deemed acceptable because there has yet to be an instance of "mad cow" transfered from pigs to cattle. The other source fixed two problems. The feed for the cattle and the need to dispose of the chicken's manure. So it is gathered up and added to the feed. Need I mention that ALL cattle are herbivores? What in the world are we thinking giving them a type of food that G-d never ever intended? The USDA is banning blood and manure and it may have done so already, I cant remember when those rules were to take affect, but with organic that was never an issue.

The slaughter house is a large penned in area where cattle go to be butchered for our consumption right? Well, not exatly. Those yards are actually kept so that if the ranchers ever get out of hand and start asking a living wage for their product the slaughter houses have enough previously purchased cattle that the simply dont buy, forcing the ranchers to seel at the lower price. Those yards keep cattle close together, in crowded small and dirty pens. (There is a reason those yards smell so bad.) This often leads to unhealthy cattle. Those same cattle which they then place on your grocers shelves. Sometimes these cattle get so sick that they cannot even get to the killing floor by themselves. They have to be dragged, sometimes dead to the killing floor. The killing floor is where the do nasty gruesome stuff to make icky cows into yummy beef. I dont want to ruin the magic of that beloved transformation so I wont discuss it. But those things leading up to the killing floor? You guessed it! Doesnt happen with organic. Now I am not terribly interested in the "happiness" of the cow. I do believe it should be treated decently but I am rather more concerned with the health of the animal we will soon be eating.

Earning a living wage is a real issue with farmers and ranchers. Organic supports them with better rates than conventional buyers. The only way to help them out more (short of giving them money) is to support your local farmers markets and possibly butcher shops. At a farmers market you get fresh local produce at a better than supermarket price in most cases and the farmer benefits as he is making 10 times or more what he would get selling to a co-op. For instance, a potato farmer is doing good to get $13 for a hundred pounds of (conventional)potatoes. If he sells 10lbs to you at $3 then he is making $30 per hundred pounds.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Irritable

I am irritated. Not at such-and-such or so-and-so. Nope. But nontheless this irritation has been building over the last few days. And there isnt a blessed thing I can do about it. Ya see, it isnt a mental thing, it is physical. A symptom of a thyroid that isnt working properly. "Irritable" is actually one of the symptoms of both hypo- and hyperthyroidism. Other fun things like dry skin, hair loss, being tired, feeling too hot or too cold, depression, memory problems and dificulty concentrating. For women the menstrual cycle can get messed up (irregular and longer than normal)

Since the thyroid controls basically every function of the body, if it isnt functioning nothing else will work quite right either. Weight loss/gain is common, and is an easy excuse for those who are overweight regardless of if they actually have a thyroid problem or not. (I have a diagnosed problem and I am not overweight) Personally I have noticed two things that arent listed in the symptoms. Erratic heartbeat and extremely high triglycerides when not properly medicated. Those triglycerides will go from 700-900 to 400-500 with just the proper medicine.

So I'm irritated. Grr.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Pleasant Thoughts

Piper Perabo and Jennifer Garner




Have I ever mentioned that I always (even from a little kid) wanted to have two wives?

Loot

I finally got a paycheck today (its been 6 weeks!) so I went out and got some stuff for Lil Bear. For 11 dollars I got 22 different pieces of clothing, two smaller toys, three bottles and one large toy (way cool!)

Formyself I got Upwords and 4 tableknives cuz I dont really have enough of those (2.25 or so for all.) Oh yeah, I bought a cheap cd player for the livingroom as Beloved has the one that was down here (Do I need to come up with a new name for her? I do still love her dearly...) This one is a 6-disc changer so I can keep some music to sing my babe asleep with while still having more upbeat music for me. Not bad for a single day.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Prophecy

From AstroSmith comes this quote "I have read that there is a Catholic prophecy about the Vatican being destroyed and the Pope killed. Is [Pope]Benedict trying to bring this about by pissing [the Muslims] off?"

My question is this... Can one bring about a prophecy? If a prophecy can be made to pass is it then a self-fulfilling prophecy? And is it then prophecy at all?

If prophecy can be brought to pass it also brings up the idea that one can cause it not to happen. Ninevah is somewhat of an example, but they didnt stop what was prophecied they simply delayed it to another generation. But leaving that aspect aside, whose prophecies should be hastened? And which ones?

Or is it simply that prophecy will happen regardless of what we do, even if it is seemingly impossible for it to happen?

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Walker

Whilst on my morning route I came across a dirty but otherwise in good condition walker for my Lil Bear. Not just any walker. Oh no. A Jeep Liberty Renegade walker. Nothing but the best second hand stuff for us! It is currently in the "car wash" and will be ready soon.

***Update*** Cleaning is complete and the little guy is enjoying it right now. Blowing the horn and turning the wheel non-stop. I'd say he is one happy camper!


Wednesday, September 13, 2006

"Wish I Didn't Know Now" Toby Keith

I've never ask you where you're goin'
I've never ask you where you've been
I've never called and checked your story
You stayed out with all your freinds
I've never tried to catch you lyin'
I didn't want to know the truth
I'd rather go on lovin' blind girl
Than go on lovin' without you

I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then
I wish I could start this whole thing over again
I'm not sayin' it's you could never be true
I just don't wanna know how it ends
You'd still have my heart in the palm of your hands
I'd still look like a fool in front of your friends
Yeah I wish somehow I didn't know now what I didn't know then

I've always said what I don't know
Couldn't hurt as bad as leavin' you
Turns out I knew what I was thinkin'
It ain't an easy thing to do
Well I guess I should be goin'
I sure found out too much to stay
Please don't say your sorry
I might wait another day

I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then
I wish I could start this whole thing over again
I'm not sayin' it's you could ever be true
I just don't wanna know how it ends
You'd still have my heart in the palm of your hands
I'd still look like a fool in front of your friends
Yeah I wish somehow I didn't know now what I didn't know then

You'd still have my heart in the palm of your hand
I'd still look like a fool in front of your freinds
Yeah I wish somehow I didn't know now what I didn't know then
Yeah I wish somehow I didn't know now what I didn't know then

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Sixpence None The Richer

Normally the music I choose to listen to when needing comfort is either Sixpence None The Richer or Plumb. The beauty of Leigh Nash's voice and the artistry of Matt Slocum blended to make an absolutely incredible tapestry. Much more than simply their "Kiss Me" which did so well on the charts. I dont even think that is their best song. The members of that band have gone thru hell numerous times and it comes out in their music. Their desire for better (Anything), of doubts fears pain and despair(Disconnect, I Can't Explain, Circle Of Error), and a faith in G-d despite everything(Drifting, Within A Room Somewhere).

I'd say their best album was "This Beautiful Mess" but any of them are good. You also hear Leigh's voice grow from almost fragile to a much more dynamic quality thru the various albums.

Cranberries

Not everyone likes their music but I have always loved their album "No Need To Argue." And it is helping my mood at the moment.

"I cant be with you"

Lying in my bed again
And I cry 'cuz you're not here
Crying in my head again
And I know that it's not clear
Put your hands, put your hands
Inside my face and see that it's just you
But it's bad and it's mad
And it's making me sad
Because I can't be with you

Baby I can't be with you

Thinking back on how things were
And how we loved so well
I wanted to be the mother
of your child
And now it's just farewell

Put your hands in my hands
And come with me
We'll find another end
And my head, and my head
On anyone's shoulder
Cause I can't be with you

Baby I can't be with you

Cause you're not here, you're not here
Baby I can't be with you
Cause you're not here, you're not here
And baby I'm still in love with you

Remove Before Flight

For those who fly small planes you know there is a reminder to remove a piece from your prop before you start up. Well, here is a reminder for the women on board to also "remove before flight."
These may soon become required by FARs so make sure you have several of these. They can be found at www.plane-girls.com

Friday, September 08, 2006

Bus to Motorhome

Have you ever thought of getting a motorhome? Something big enough to take your family places but not so big as to break the bank? Lord knows some of those things cost more than a house! But they dont have to break the bank. Not if you make one yourself.

How? Old school buses.

School buses go for dirt cheap once the district is done with them. And they arent gotten rid of because they are worn out but rather because of their age. Each district sets its own rules but generally when a bus gets to be 15 years old it is put out to pasture regardless of its mileage. Regular buses are sold for about $2000, and the SpEd buses go for $500-800. What you get out of the deal is a cheap platform that has been well maintained. Much better maintained than a used motorhome would be. Also a bus is made to carry a LOT of weight which means that everything is heavy duty (axles etc.) and the bus must meet much higher safety standards as it was designed to carry the most precious of cargo.

I found the site of a guy who did just that. Jake Von Slatt purchased his 75 passenger bus (approx 40 feet long) for only $2031 on ebay. He then transformed it from an ugly yellow bus into what you see in these pictures. I am planning on something similar but smaller. While I like the blunt nosed buses better because of the way they handle, the smaller buses rarely, if ever, come like that.

My plan is to have it quite similar to what you see in the pictures above. The table and benches right behind the driver seat and a comfy captains chair on the right side so I can have some company while driving. Directly behind that chair would be the kitchenette and opposite that (behind the table) is the bathroom/shower. Then a wall would seperate this area from the back which would be the bedroom. The bedroom would have bunks on one side and I am thinking a full size bed on the other that could be folded up into the wall when not in use. This setup would leave approx 8 feet from the back door to the wall which would allow for plenty of room for toys such as a kayak perhaps? or skis.

The only quetion in my mind at this time is whether or not I want to cover up the side door. The wheelchair door. Beds on both sides would require that it be covered but it is a full height door whereas most rear doors are something you have to hunch over to get out of. Most likely I will just cover that side door as I believe it would be easier to get the beds situated then trying to do some weird mounting of a bed to the back.

One word about the type of bus to get. Make sure it is a full sized bus. Not the vans with the smaller wheels. You could make one of the van-buses into a motorhome but it wouldnt be as sturdy and the visibility sucks in those things (trust me on this)

Monday, September 04, 2006

One Big Happy

This is one of my all-time favorite comics! I got a good laugh out of this one so I thought I would post it.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Pure Weakness

Bush will no longer identify our enemies in even the most remote way in order to not offend them.

"This is a global war on terror. We're facing, you know, extremists that believe something," [Bush] said.

Well isnt that just dandy? Extremists that actually believe something? Well I'll be damned! Whoda thunk that extremists would actually believe something? I bet Bush has had the CIA working on that for the past 5 years to figure that one out.

Repeat after me: "Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslim.**" What is so freaking hard about that?

** I would be remiss if I failed to note that Government can also be terrorists (and often are) regardless if they are Muslim or not.