Car Vs Truck

On the way to pick up my boy I came across an accident. A semi was making a right hand turn and a car decided to try to turn before him. Quite obviously with bad results for the car. When I got there the car was partially under the trailer but before I could get over there to take pics the truck was moved back. Here is what I was able to get.

In the first pic you can see the scrape along the bottom where it was pushed up against the curb.
The lesson here being twofold. Dont "pick a fight" with a larger vehicle and don't cut in front of a truck trying to make a right hand turn (That IS why they have signs on the back after all)

In this pic you can see the extent of the damage to the driver side.

National Revival

"The renewal of civilization has nothing to do with movements which bear the character of experiences of the crowd; these are never anything but reactions to external happenings. But civilization can only revive when there shall come into being in a number of individuals a new tone of mind independent of the one prevalent among the crowd and in opposition to it, a tone of mind which will gradually win influence over the collective one, and in the end determine its character. It is only an ethical movement which can rescue us from the slough of barbarism, and the ethical comes into existence only in individuals"

Albert Schweitzer, Decay and Restoration of Civilization

CodeMonkey

Mike,

With the upgrade to your page it now wants people to sign in to comment. When you click sign in it gives a 404 error.

Useful Phrases

To Know When Traveling

Fekr gabul gardan davat paeh gush divar.
(I accept your kind invitation to lie down on the floor with my arms above my head and my legs apart.)

Shomaeh fekr tamomeh oeh gofteh bande.
(I agree with everything you have said or thought in your life.)

Auto arraregh davateman mano sepaheh-hast.
(It is exceptionally kind of you to allow me to travel in the trunk of your car.)

Fashal-eh tupehman no degat mano goftam chesha yeh mohemara jebehkeshv arehman.
(If you will do me the kindness of not harming my genital appendages I will gladly reciprocate by betraying my country in public.)

Khrel, jepaheh maneh va yeii amrikahey.
(I will tell you the names and addresses of many American spies traveling as reporters.)

Balli, balli, balli.
(Whatever you say!)

Maternier ghermez ahlieh, gorban.
(The red blindfold would be lovely, Excellency.)

Tikeh nuneh ba ob khrelleh bezorg va khrube boyast ino begeram.
(The water-soaked bread crumbs are delicious, thank you. I must have the recipe.)

Taken from Lambert Dolphin's website. Lots of good stuff to be found there, check it out.

The Laws Of Life

I was sent the following list and thought I would pass it along. The only thing it is missing is the Rule of Holes: When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.


Law of Mechanical Repair
After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch or you'll have to pee.

Law of the Workshop
Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Law of Probability
The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

Law of the Telephone
If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.

Law of the Alibi
If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.

Variation Law
If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will start to move faster than the one you are in now (works every time ).

Law of the Bath
When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

Law of Close Encounters
The probability of meeting someone you know increases dramatically when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

Law of the Result
When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

Law of Bio Mechanics
The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

Law of the Theater
At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive last.

Law of Coffee
As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

Murphy's Law of Lockers
If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

Law of Rugs/Carpets
The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor covering are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet/rug.

Law of Location
No matter where you go, there you are.

Law of Logical Argument
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.

Brown's Law
If the shoe fits, it's ugly.

Oliver's Law
A closed mouth gathers no feet.

Wilson's Law
As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it. (this one is true every time!)

Doctors' Law
If you don't feel well, make an appointment to go to the doctor, by the time you get there you'll feel better. Don't make an appointment and you'll stay sick.

School Bus = Tough

Having driven a bus I am quite convinced that a school bus is the safest way to get to school (if they have to go, cuz schools aren't safe places for kids) To illustrate just how tough a school bus is I thought I would share some photos.


Note in that second photo that the bus wheels are in the air.

Update

Bodyweight Exercise

One of BW's biggest proponents is a man named Matt Furey. His book, Combat Conditioning, is supposed to be one of the best in it's field. But until recently I wasn't quite sure what set his work apart. What brought this to light for me was actually seeing his videos.

Now Furey has what he calls his "Royal Court." These are three exercises, the Hindu squat, the Hindu pushup and back bridging. With these you can work every single muscle group in the body as well as get a cardio workout and become more limber. Now furey doesn't advocate just these three as many will claim, rather he gives these as starting points. And with good reason. Furey is all about combat training. As he explains, regular weightlifting has one doing sets of one particular exercise, than resting and doing some more. In combat one doesn't have that luxury. Instead one must call upon everything the body has for as long as it takes, for example boxing is three minutes each bout and one must be able to go full out the entire time. This point was illustrated for me by watching a video of a kickboxer going through rehab. Her training routine was insane and completely non-stop, exactly what one must do in the ring.

And so one doesn't get the impression this is only for fighters, improved physical condition is for everyone. From that pick up game on the weekend to having to walk up ten flights of stairs because the elevator broke, everyone can benefit from this type of simple workout that doesn't require any equipment yet leads to incredible strength. For any doubters out there, watch Furey do vertical push ups while going below the level of his hands.

Videos on YouTube:
Hindu Pushups: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4
Hindu Squats: part 1, part 2, part 3,
Back Bridge: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

The Supreme Compliment

This past Thursday was the very first time my boy put two words together. I was playing with Lil Bear over at my mom's and he was taking his hat off so I put it on my head and grandma said it looked pretty. Lil bear came over to me and said "Pretty Daddy." I thought that was just awesome!

He keeps learning new things, finally learned the word "no" and used it for the very first time, he also said (today or yesterday) "shut door." He is healthy, growing like crazy, loves to look at girls and even grabbed on in the store today. I had him held against my shoulder and he reached over a somehow grabbed a young lady as she was passing by. I don't teach him this stuff! I wonder where he is learning it from! And I also wonder if I should be learning something from him!

Ames Straw Poll

Ron Paul placed 5th in the straw poll, out of 11 candidates, doing better than McCain and Giuliani. Tancredo placed 4th

More as I hear.

Update:
Totals are as follows:
14,302 votes
John Cox: 41
John McCain: 101
Duncan Hunter: 174
Rudy Giuliani: 183
Fred Thompson: 203
Tommy Thompson: 1039
Ron Paul: 1305
Tom Tancredo: 1961
Sam Brownback: 2192
Mike Huckabee: 2587
Mitt Rommney: 4516

Update:

Thanks to Justin.tv/RonPaul for the live broadcast! Jeff Razy(sp?) cameraman

Jeff went over to the Romney camp after the debate and did not see many happy faces. In fact, as he was leaving he walked past a Romney staff member talking on his phone and said they weren't happy with the turnout and that they did awful* (* Or horrible, I cannot remember the word used as I write this.) This is, after all, Romney's greatest area. As one of the "top tier" candidates he was expecting to do much greater, especially with both McCain and Giuliani bowing out of this contest.

Also it appears that Romney was intending to bring in 100 buses and reportedly purchased 10,000 tickets. A staff member denied the 10K tickets but then stated that they weren't telling the media how many they purchased. Adding the numbers, those tickets and buses could have come to well over $1million, if this amount was spent, this was indeed a poor turnout for them.

Update:
Tommy Thompson to drop out? From a CNN news article:

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson has said anything less than a top two finish will finish him, and several other candidates could face similar decisions.

Tommy Thompson placed 6th.

ABC Republican Debate

Unfortunately I didn't get to watch very much of the debate. I was only able to watch about the first 30 minutes of it and as of this writing ABC has not posted the whole debate, just small snippets.

Two things that stood out to me. First, Tom Tancredo. Tancredo was not asked a single question until he voiced a protest 20 minutes into the debate. He took on Stephanopoulos and this may well be the reason why he was included. I applaud Tancredo for doing this. The MSM has done their best to ignore the so called "second-tier" candidates in hopes that they will just go away.

Second, one of the candidates referred to himself as not just pro-life but "whole-life." An interesting term and one I bet we will see in the future.

Third, Romney is really trying to cover up his pro-baby-killing stance. However, it really is quite difficult to ignore someones past when they had been so adamant in the past about being "pro-choice." This is a clip of Romney 6 months after his "conversion." Romney has scoffed at an endorsement from a pro-life group, denied them on public TV. On this same video Romney speaks on how he was influenced by his mothers pro-choice stand in 1970 and since then he was "dedicated to protecting a woman's 'right to choose.'" So in essence, he was pro-choice for 35+ years and now as he has been positioning himself for a run for President he becomes pro-life? Highly unlikely.

Okay, so that was three. Perhaps a fourth thing is those YouTube videos. Perhaps those two an d a good deal more are the reason the Romney decided he couldn't make it for the CNN/YouTube debate. It is so easy to use his own words against him. Like this debate with Ted Kennedy where he states "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country, and I have since the time that my mom took that position when she ran in 1970." Watching this video one is forced to wonder just who the democrat is.

Bodyweight Exercise

Triton, I know you have Matt Furey's book and I was wondering what he recommends for the abs and back, specifically the lower back. I assume it is the same as what is in John Peterson's Push Yourself To Power but I am curious. JP recommends 9 different positions of crunches (10 counting left and right sides) and just 50 total, but I am dying long before 50! And so y'all don't think I am a weenie, these aren't the standard crunches which are pretty easy.

Top Ten Rivers For Kids

Big River Adventures for Families with Little People. These look like a ton of fun! Birdie, check out this one which is in your neck of the woods.

The site requires you to sign up after looking at a few pages, but there is lots of outdoor and travel info on the site, plus sign up is free.

Khum Dhan

Get Khum Dhan!



Not perhaps kiddo friendly but hilarious!

Jason Hommel Claims

$8000 silver in 15 years.

For the record, let me state that I disagree. I do believe silver will hit that mark when our currency/economy finally implode. However, I am continually, continually, amazed at the ability of the Gov and the PPT to keep this debt ridden service economy afloat. The laws of economics demands that it fall, but it doesn't declare when it will. And with the Amero on the horizon the FedGov may well be looking for a way out, and who knows, they may even find it. More likely though the Amero will simply continue with the same inflation (better, dilution) of the money supply.

I linked to the article because some of the information contained in the interview is valuable to know. Info such as annual global silver consumption is ~900 million ounces a year while only ~650 million ounces is mined. This means that there is a shortage every single year. Demand isn't going to go down anytime soon and at ~250 million ounces being reclaimed/recycled every year the market's supply is dwindling.

Also of note in the interview is Jason states that of the 45 billion ounces of silver ever mined, only about 9% of it remains. Or approximately 4 billion ounces in a usable form. This means there is potentially more gold available than silver and silver is far more consumable than gold.

Checks on Hommels claim:
As with every business venture, the cost/benefit ratio is looked at. Many ventures are tabled simply because the cost to make a product or mine an ore is too high compared to the return on investment, or ROI. If the profit to be derived from mining areas that are harder to mine or have a lower yield are increased, then mining will commence. This has the added benefit of spurring innovation which may lower the cost of mining this and other ores.

Demand will also decrease in certain areas as price goes up. There are certain fields that do not really need to use silver but currently do. Dental and jewelry come to mind. If the price of silver goes up tremendously we will see a precipitous drop in demand in those two categories of use and probably others as well. While this might not stop the increase in price it will certainly affect it. For reference, jewelry (~160) and photography(~145) consume around 300 million ounces a year, with photography already down ~70 million ounces/yr in less than ten years largely due to digital photography.

Where do I see silver in 15 years? Due to demand and supply as well as runaway inflation (10%+) it is really hard to say. Despite the drop in demand for some uses, industry has increased consumption about 110 million ounces in the past ten years, even despite the recent spike in price.

I think a conservative estimate based on inflation alone would put it at $125-150 an ounce. At the high end I would say maybe $250. Should the Amero come about or our economy enter a free-fall all bets are off.

This Post Brought To You By

The letters 'S' and 'X'

Semi-premeditated Randomness

Why are ducks always portrayed as yellow? Only hatchlings are yellow, and that stage doesn't last very long.

The Pythagorean theorem tells us that we can find the length of one side of a triangle by adding the squares of the other two sides. But how is it that A+B /= C but A^2+B^2 = C^2. I know it works but that just doesn't make sense to me.

I have been doing push-ups on some bars I bought at wallyworld for $8. I always go till my nose is on the floor. Today I just tried some with my hands on the floor. My first thought after nearly smashing my nose into the floor? Wow, that floor is close!

Giuliani: Unfit To Be President

The following quotes are from a report obtained by The Smoking Gun. (27 pages excerpted) The 450 page report was commissioned by Giuliani, and was the campaign's attempt to identify possible lines of attack against Giuliani and prepare the candidate and his staff to counter "the kinds of no-holes-barred assault" expected in a general election

Giuliani on abortion

"See, I don't equate abortion with murdering a child, which I guess puts me in conflict with the teaching of the Catholic church. Catholics in public office often make the mistake, a subtle but important one, of saying they agree with the teachings of the church, but because I am in public office, I have to put conscience aside and enforce the law. They haven't thought out the implication of what they're saying. If you agree with the church, there's no difference between murdering a one-year old and eliminating a fetus -- it's the same act. There is a moral consequence to the elimination of a fetus, but it's not the same thing as murder."
Rudy Giuliani, 05/25/87

I really think it is Giuliani who hasn't thought out the implications. He is stating several things here. One, that he doesn't hold to the teachings of his church, Two, that he seriously believes that he can put aside his "conscience" while in office (which is rather frightening if you ask me) and Three, that it is a mistake for a public figure to agree with the teachings of his church. I also love how Giuliani cares so little about the teachings of the church on abortion, yet when it came to annulling a 14-year marriage to his second cousin those church rules meant everything.

Giuliani: Draft Dodger

Giuliani did not attend the war in Vietnam because federal Judge Lloyd MacMahon wrote a letter to the draft board in 1969 and got him out. Giuliani was a law clerk for MacMahon, who at the time was hearing selective services cases. MacMahon's letter to Giuliani's draft board stated that Giuliani was so necessary as a law clerk that he could not be allowed to get shot at in Vietnam."
Jimmy Breslin, Newsday, 10/01/89

While Giuliani avoided military service, others his age died. His excuses are just that -- excuses! (This line included in the report)
"'Judge MacMahon wrote a letter for all the clerks in his office. Ask other judges - they all did it.'
But former Manhattan federal Judge Marvin E. Frankel, who was on the bench durin the Vietnam era, flatly contradicted Perkins. (then campaign spokesman for Giuliani)
'Not by any means was a law clerk automatically deferred,' he said. 'I don't remember ever writing a letter for any of my clerks.'
Asked if it was common practice for federal judges to write letters to draft boards for their law clerks, Judge Frankel said: 'Not so far as I know.'"
New York Post, 06/11/89

Giuliani managed to dodge a draft as a lowly clerk, a position which is in no way essential, nor does it need to be filled by a person with a degree, law or otherwise. They then go on to lie about its prevalence in order to downplay its significance. My dad volunteered not once, but TWICE to go over there so people like Giuliani could live it up and have his numerous (well documented) affairs. (Mind you I don't believe we should have been in Vietnam, but for further proof of Giuliani's character(sic), keep reading...)

Giuliani: Prosecutor of Draft Dodgers

"Six years after Judge MacMahon wrote his letter, Giuliani took a top-level Justice Dept. job in which he helped carry out the strictest part of President Ford's policy on dealing with suspected Vietnam draft-dodgers."
New York Post, 06/11/89

Musical Tesla Coil

This is just awesome!
Check it out