Archive for the ‘The World’ Category

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Terrorist or Non-Denominational Miscreant?

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Great article about the shooter in last Thursday’s massacre at Ft. Hood over at NYTimes.com.

With all that has been discovered about this ordeal and the guy behind it — Maj. Nadal Malik Hasan — it’s amazing that there is so much handwringing over whether to call it an act of terrorism or not. The media and the politicians seem to be going way out of their way to avoid stating the obvious, seemingly motivated by out of an over-developed sense of political correctness.

The good news is that he was denied the reward he was likely seeking from a ‘martyr’s’ death; he was shot four times, and survived. Even though to him, being held by infidels is a punishment worse than death, I’m not sure if that’s quite enough.

Posted in Media Bias, The World | Comments Closed

Feeding Frenzy at Ewe-Pullet!

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

Yesterday was Harvest Days at the local self-serve parts yard known as Nordstrom’s Ewe-Pullet (yeah, I know, corny), and it was downright crazy.

I had heard about their Harvest Days deal a while back, and had held off going there because of the deal… Fill a wheelbarrow with as much as you like/need, and it’s yours for $40, provided you can push said wheelbarrow for 40 feet in 40 seconds without losing anything from your load. I planned to get out there early to grab a bunch of miscellaneous stuff from the 735iL and the 525i they have on the lot. I got there at 10 am (they opened at 9) and ended up parking about as far away from the gate as possible. The place was packed.

I chatted with one of the guys directing traffic who said they had people show up at 4 am & wait for the gate to open. The gal signing people in said she had seen more than 500 people go through the gate already. When I got inside, it was pretty clear that most of them were still there; people everywhere! And a line of guys waiting for wheelbarrows. The times I’ve been there before, there might be a dozen or so people there at one time, but it’s a big enough place that it’s possible to get in & out without seeing another customer; not yesterday though. Everybody I talked with who worked there was shocked at the turnout.

It took me a couple hours to pull the parts I was after; some of the larger parts I would like to have grabbed — front suspension bits, brakes, rear axle halfshafts — were either too far gone or too difficult to pull, so I left them and got the low hanging fruit instead. Both the cars were already pretty well picked over, and for most of the time I was the only one grabbing stuff off them, but I still got some good stuff. While I was there a couple of groups of guys came by trolling for turbochargers; they had several stacked up in their wheelbarrow, and seemed to be grabbing them and other high-dollar items from random cars. Pretty sure they’d turn around and eBay those parts & turn a few bucks off their wheelbarrow load!

After stacking the stuff I wanted near the cars, I went to find a wheelbarrow, hoping nobody would want what I wanted. After standing in line for a half-hour or so, I finally got loaded up, then went & got in line to check out. Decided to grab a couple of the free hotdogs they were handing out & watch some of the action; it was pretty entertaining! Some of the guys that were there had their wheelbarrows really loaded down; some with entire engines, others with transmissions, many with wheels & tires, and a lot with various body parts, stacked ridiculously high. One bunch of guys had four or five bumper skins, a couple of doors, and a bunch of other stuff I couldn’t see, all piled on; something in the load shifted as they were approaching the start line and it all came tumbling down. I sure wish I had taken a camera along… I’m sure there will be some photos up on the Nordstrom’s site at some point.

It started raining a little while I was waiting (the forecast was for a sunny Saturday!) so I bugged out before it got too miserable. All in all, it was a decent deal. I grabbed several items that can be used on my 528 and 735, and several other things that can maybe be sold to offset some of my expense (and time!) But was interesting to see was how people were out to get the most for their $40, and all they were willing to do for it.

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Posted in Cars!, Fun!, The World | Comments Closed

Here we go again…

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

Just when you thought the economy might just be back on the upswing, a story like this pops up…

Denise Tejada bought a house last month at the age of 20, thanks in large part to a loan guaranteed by the Federal Housing Authority…

… Without question, Tejada’s loan is toxic — to her and to the taxpayers who are backing the loan. Her house cost $155,000. Tejada’s loan was apparently made on a micro-down payment of just 3.5%, the minimum down payment to qualify for an FHA loan. On top of this, however, she got an additional government backed loan to make improvements. Her total loans amount to $183,0000. In short, she was immediately underwater on her new house.

The monthly payments on her debt amount to $1328. Her income is $2470, leaving her with just $285 a week to live on. She’s paying 54% of her income to make the mortgage payments. She earns that income by holding down one full time and two part time jobs. Obviously, this woman has a strong work ethic. But it also means her income is precarious…

“Precarious”? Ya think? Did we learn nothing in the last 12 months? Whoever is writing & approving loans like this ought to be slapped. Hard.

Posted in Just Stuff, The World | Comments Closed

The Nobel Peace Prize? Seriously?

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Guess this makes it official; Barack Hussein Obama (mmmm, mmmm, mmmm!) being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize means that the Nobel Peace Prize means absolutely dick. i.e. Zip. Zero. Nada. Nothing.

obama_halo_lr

It was bad enough when the prize was awarded to Al Gore, who at that time was singularly undeserving of such an award, but Barack Obama? What has he done to deserve this prize? Nothing that I can think of, unless he leads a secret life of which the public is largely unaware (oh wait, we still don’t know much about what his work as the editor of the Harvard Law Review, nor do we know anything of the grades he earned at Harvard.) According to one Reuters article, he deserves it for “… offering the world hope and striving for nuclear disarmament”? I guess you could say that his naive striving for nuclear disarmament gives hope to some, like Iran, North Korea, China and Russia (who surely were all laughing in their sleeves at his “… dreams of a world without weapons…” while “… right in front of us two countries are doing the exact opposite.”)

The prize surely isn’t for his leadership at the nation’s capitol when it comes to bipartisan cooperation, nor for his leadership in his dream of universal healthcare… All of that has left the nation even more polarized than when he (mis)took the Oath of Office in January. And the prize can’t be for his leadership in the role of Commander in Chief, as troop morale is at an all-time low in Afghanistan, exacerbated by the lack of clear mission goals and confusing rules of engagement that leave them poorly equipped to even defend themselves in the face of an enemy unafraid to hide behind civilians…

But according to the Nobel Prize Committee, he gets the prize because, “Very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future.” So it’s all about celebrity. I laugh, as do many when they first heard this news. The only hope inspired in me by Obama is that his agenda for this country fails, and by the grace of God and the arrogance & incompetence of the Democrats in Congress, thus far it has.

Since the Nobel comes with a cool $4 million bonus, I wonder whether the Obamas will be inclined to “share the wealth” with the country. Something tells me that ain’t happening.

Posted in Media Bias, Politics, The World | Comments Closed

The Cicada Killer Wasp

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

For the last few summers we’ve had some scary looking bugs in our yard. Thankfully, they’re just scary looking, and nothing to really be afraid of, provided you’re not a cicada.


A female cicada killer wasp in flight, approaching a prospective nest site.

The lifecycle of the cicada killer wasp sounds like something out of a Ridley Scott movie… The female cicada killer wasp hunts down a cicada and stings it to paralyze it. When the cicada is safely immobilized, the wasp carries the cicada back to its burrow — a hole dug in loose soil. The cicada is placed in a dead-end chamber of the burrow; the female then lays a single egg (sometimes two) on the still paralyzed but very much alive cicada, and seals up the chamber. When the egg hatches, the larva gnaws through the exoskeleton of the cicada and feeds on its internal organs, saving the nervous system for last so as to maximize the length of time that the cicada remains alive. Gruesome, no?


The same female digging in the loose dirt for a new nest site.

The female cicada wasp killers are very large; up to 2 inches long. I’ve had them buzz by my head a few times and the sound is pretty unnerving if you’re not expecting it. The males are supposedly much smaller, but I can’t say that I’ve seen any.

Very scary looking, but very cool. It’s this kind of thing that makes me really question the theory of evolution. The evolution of physical body parts is only part of the equation; what about complex behaviors like this? So the larvae that just happened to leave the nervous system for last gained an evolutionary advantage over the others? And how did that “just happened” get passed on to the progeny of those lucky larvae? Nah; not buying it. I wouldn’t need to believe in an omnipotent, omniscient Creator to know that something like that doesn’t happen by chance.

God makes some cool stuff!

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Posted in Home Life, Just Stuff, Personal Growth, The Deep, The Kids, The World | Comments Closed

So That’s Why The Internet Is So Disfunctional!

Friday, August 14th, 2009

“By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back,
but the lips of the wise will preserve them” – Prov. 14:3

I was reading from Proverbs this morning, and that verse made me think… that first line explains in part why discussion forums on the Internet don’t work very well. When I was a kid in school, if someone lipped off, said something stupid, there were consequences. If what was said was stupid enough, or the kid was just a little obnoxious but persistently so, the consequences often involved a good beatin’; the proverbial “rod for his back”.

Even in adult life, when people are talking face to face they tend to be more civil than the discourse you usually find on the Internet. People tend to be incredibly rude in what they write in comments on blogs, on YouTube, in discussion forums, emailed correspondence, etc… On the Internet, there is a level of anonymity and an unnatural buffer between the ‘speaker’ and the ‘hearer’ that makes people say things they wouldn’t necessarily say in person. It’s a lot harder to be a jerk when you can see your victim’s reaction, or be subject to their temper.

I’d like to think that I’m above that. That I’d not say anything here or in a forum or in an email that I wouldn’t say to someone face to face, but I know I have. And once it’s out there it’s difficult if not impossible to retract. So I guess the solution is to be more self-disciplined in what I write and say, no matter whether I’m online or sitting across the table from you.

Now, how do I get that message across to the rest of the Internet?

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Posted in Personal Growth, The World | Comments Closed

Light Pillars Over Sioux Falls

Friday, February 27th, 2009

I had some after-hours stuff to do at work last night, so was there until about 1am, and got quite a show of light pillars on the way home.

I don’t know the exact weather ingredients necessary for light pillars to show up, but it had rained/sleeted/snowed a bit earlier in the day, then the temperature had dropped from the mid-20’s to around 0°F, and there wasn’t a breath of wind at that time of night. These pillars of light were all around and in all different colors; it was just breathtaking.

Of course, I didn’t have my camera with me, but drove home, grabbed it, and went back out to try my hand at capturing the effect. I’m afraid didn’t do a very good job, but with a little time in Photoshop I was able to tweak the image a bit and ended up with a reasonable facsimile. Of course it doesn’t do justice to what I saw last night, but for that you’ll have to be on the lookout yourself!

Posted in Favorite Things, Fun!, The World | Comments Closed

A Little Left Of Centrist

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

I saw this cartoon at American Thinker last week, and thought it fit the situation perfectly. We as a country have just elected another guy who ran as something he is not and has no intention of being. Barack Obama is likely as far left as anyone in Washington, DC, yet he ran not as a leftist, but a centrist. Why? Because he knows he wouldn’t stand a chance of getting elected if he didn’t hide who he really was or what he really wanted for this country.

Actually, the entire ordeal is very reminiscent of 1992, when William Jefferson Clinton became the first President elected without receiving a majority of the votes cast. Clinton’s ride to the White House was marked by claims that he was “a new Democrat”, vowing to work with both sides of Congress to do what’s right for the country. In those days I was admittedly pretty naive politically, and I took him at his word. His word proved to be worth little, as he demonstrated in the coming two years, taking the side of the Democrats and demonizing the Republicans at every turn, especially during the 1994 election cycle. It was then that I more closely examined what I believed was right in the world of politics and compared it against the platforms of both parties; I changed my registration to Republican that year, and haven’t looked back.

Obama isn’t as politically savvy as Clinton, and despite his handlers’ best efforts, managed to show some cracks in his centrist veneer during the campaign, revealing his true ideological identity to be way, way to the left. Of course, that didn’t get much attention in the mainstream press… It would’ve made him look bad, and that’s the last thing they wanted.

Now that he’s won the election, we’re likely to see his true colors. His pick for Chief of Staff is Rahm Emanuel; not exactly known for “reaching across the aisle” unless it’s an attempt to smack a right-winger upside the head. Jon Podesta is working as co-chairman of the transition team; he’s got about as much in common with Congressional Republicans as Obama. If those two are a sign of things to come… Well, it’s only going to get interestinger still.

But still, as a Christian I’m called to pray for those in authority; that’s especially important when I think they’re up to no good. God can work untold miracles even in and through people who are far from him.

Posted in Politics, The World | Comments Closed

Much To Be Thankful For

Sunday, September 7th, 2008

Someone sent me this as part of an email chain letter. I won’t pass emails on to others, but this was good enough to share; this is a much preferable mode for this sort of thing.

Much To Be Thankful For
He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags. 

You talk trash about your ‘buddies’ that aren’t with you. 
He knows he may not see some of his buddies again. 

You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls. 
He patrols the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.

You complain about how hot it is. 
He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow. 

You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong. 
He doesn’t get to eat today. 

Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes. 
He wears the same things for weeks, but makes sure his weapons are clean. 

You go to the mall and get your hair redone. 
He doesn’t have time to brush his teeth today. 

You’re angry because your class ran 5 minutes over. 
He’s told he will be held over an extra 2 months. 

You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight. 
He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home. 

You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday. 
He holds his letter close and smells his love’s perfume. 

You roll your eyes as a baby cries. 
He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they’ll ever meet. 

You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything. 
He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting. 

You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him. 
He hears the gunfire, bombs and screams of the wounded. 

You see only what the media wants you to see. 
He sees the broken bodies lying around him. 

You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don’t. 
He does exactly what he is told even if it puts his life in danger. 

You stay at home and watch TV. 
He takes whatever time he is given to call, write home, sleep, and eat. 

You crawl into your soft bed, with down pillows, and get comfortable. 
He tries to sleep but gets woken by mortars and helicopters all night long. 

If you support your troops, send this to 7 people. 
If you don’t support your troops well, then don’t send this out. You won’t die in 7 days, your love life won’t be affected, and you won’t have the worst day ever. 
You don’t have to email this. It’s not like you know the men and women that are dying to preserve your rights. 

REMEMBER our Troops, and do not forget them LATER 
Lest we forget

It drives me just a little crazy when people criticize members of the military. How often have they considered the fact that the freedom they enjoy which allows them the ability to make that criticism was purchased for them by soldiers fighting and dying on battlefields in many places around the world throughout history. They may not agree with the current war going on in the Middle East, in spite of the reality of the threat, but you would think they’d show a little gratitude for those who have gone before. But the privileged rarely give thought to the source of their

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Thank God For Barack Obama!

Friday, August 1st, 2008

nobama08.jpg

Kyle-Anne Shiver has written another brilliant piece about Barack Obama over at American Thinker; in her morning prayers she thanks “God for the emergence of Barack Obama. Not because my hope is in Obama, but because my hope is always, unequivocally in God.”

While I can’t say that I’ve thanked God for BHO any time lately (like, never), and only hope for his defeat this November, I can see the logic and wisdom in Kyle-Anne’s words. It’s so clear that Obama isn’t fit for the Presidency — and becoming clearer every day — that there really isn’t any choice to be made come election day. He is not just an empty suit, he is The Empty Suit with an empty resume. And that’s one reason to be thankful for him — that the choice will be so easy for so many Americans.

Unfortunately, there is a sizable number who cannot see past his flowery yet empty speeches to the shallowness of the doomed promises he makes, and will cast their votes for him anyway. That’s too bad.

I could go on about this, but will just encourage you to just read Kyle-Anne’s column. Another good one to read is from last month, where she asserts that the coming election could be a landslide, with Obama on the losing end. (Link) I happen to think that might come true. And so does George McGovern. How else can you explain McGovern’s early support of Obama unless he secretly hopes that Obama will take away his shame by losing even bigger than he did back in 1972.

Posted in Personal Growth, Politics, The World | Comments Closed

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