Pictures

Click on the photos to make them larger. You can see my dogs 3 gray hairs. They are so funny. He's had them since he was a pup. Sorry they are so blurry. I am bad with a camera I guess.

So here is the biggest frog I've ever seen. The photo in the rocks there is actually the giant frog and a regular sized frog. His blending skills are stellar, so you have to look for him. Then there are some geese that are migrating I guess. Evil fucking birds. Actually those are much nicer than the canadian geese. That is my dog oscar with the frog, I've lovingly named Jeremiah. Oscar is a mini-dachshund and weighs like 11 or 12 lbs and about 15 inches long and maybe 7 inches tall to give you some perspective on this fucking frog. Also, when I was carrying Jeremiah, he put his legs on my chest and jumped with such force that he flew out of my hand and on to the ground where oscar picked him up and ran with him. He didn't hurt him or even break its skin and the frog hopped away back to the lake, but oscar was drooling for about an hour and hasn't been right all day. I'm starting to think there is something to that legend that says if you lick a frogs back you will get high. There was a gekko or another lizzard like that too, but I just put him in the brush and didn't take a picture. I wish I did now.

It was like 55 and rainy all day. The photos actually remind me of what I think Oregon looks like in the winter. Fucking beautiful. I like it when the sun is out too, but this is perfect weather for me.

True Love Lost and Found

This is an amazing true story of a love that endured over decades although it was found, lost, and then found again.

It is a story with its beginnings amidst the horrors and devastation of World War II. I hope you find it as touching and heartwarming as I did:



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_poland_germany_lasting_love

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_poland_germany_lasting_love

Republicans/Olympics

So you have to understand something before you digest what I have to say, Northwest Indiana (where I am) is a Chicago Affiliate in markets. Everyone who lives here is tied to the Chicago economy, politics, and pleasure. We happen to be the most populated part of the state as well and we carried the state blue in the last presidential election. This video is EXTREMELY damaging to the Republicans.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1460906593?bctid=43158474001

On a personal note who takes pleasure when America loses? This is billions of dollars taken out of our economy and probably 10s of thousand if not 100s of thousands of jobs lost, that could have been created. If the bid was coming from Austin or Dallas would they have cheered? Isn't this sickening? They are like full of glee. So are they going to cheer when America loses events at the Olympics? Would they cheer if we lost our entire army in the middle east, just because it happened on a black man's watch?

I sincerely don't know why they are obsessed with making him fail, even if it costs the country tons and tons of money. Why can't they focus on making the country better, instead of ignoring it just to try to bring demise to one man. They are vile. Just disgusting excuses for human beings. Would Jesus cheer because his enemy lost?

Republican Comeback

This is an article discussing the Republican revival. It's from the Washington Post (don't they have a Republican reputation?) and it is kind of disturbing. I wouldn't even post this, but I think we've all heard about this from here or there. I know Nate Silver has written about it as well, which is why I give even give this a second chance. Nate Silver may as well be The Oracle as far as I'm concerned. I hope he is wrong about this one, or we get our Neo to bend reality and save us all. I guess I'm in a Matrix mind space right now.

I will say that I don't know how this is possible. I mean I know the dems have fucked up royally, but if 3/4s the population wants a public option or single-payer, how can the reps be winning market share? Why would people side with them, when they have not offerred a single piece of productive legislation? Don't the normal people see that they aren't for anything, but against everything? I just don't get it. If we loose congress or the presidency, I'm out. Seriously. I'll be done with school by then and get a job in Amsterdam. I can't live my life in a country like this. I just can't.


http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/10/01/a_republican_comeback.html

Olympics

This very moment (12pm Central), we should hear who is going to be voted out of the Olympic host running. What a terrible sentence. My guess is that Japan will be the first sent home, and that Rio or Chicago will get the bid. Rio because the Olympics have never been to South America, and Chicago because all the voters just met Obama yesterday. I'm counting on the weakness of man. The judges will surely cave just so they can brag about meeting Obama and him asking them for help. Then they can tell everyone that they personally helped Obama.

We shall see. Also, Michael Moore's movie has its wide release today. I want to see it, but it will be in a couple weeks or so. I've had a money issue come up. Tell me if you've seen it or plan to.

Sorry Joseph

Chicago doesn't get 2016 Olympics

And you made such a good case for it.

Amazing Photo

This picture captivated me and thought you might appreciate it too. Click on it. I'm not sure why I fell in love with it, but I think it is the eyes of the little boy and the obvious love and protection he feels from his brother.

They are both Philipinos stuck in the storm they just had in Manila.

New Hominid Skeleton Discovered

This is the kind of stuff that is so fascinating about our entire natural world (the kind based on scientific research and long lost artifacts).

It was long believed that man evolved from a being by the name of Lucy. Lucy, at the time of the discovery of her skeleton, she was the oldest hominid skeleton to ever be found. Now, an even older skeleton, name, Ardi, has been revealed. Ardid was found in Ethiopia. Here's a fascinating article about Ardi and the potential theories that the discovery has sparked in the evolutationary chain of hominids, which includes all of the great apes (apes, gorillas, organutans, and chimps amongst other) and human beings.

I am posting the link as both a cut/paste and an anchor (since my anchor links don't always work correctly).

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/1001/1

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/1001/1

Migration

I pretty much hate this time of year because it is migration time. The only animal that freaks me out more than cats are birds. The herons and egret things are ok at a distance but geese and the little birds that travel in flocks of 1000's are terrible. This morning I woke up to something that sounded like hundreds of firecrackers going off. It was like 10,000 black birds landing in acorn trees and the acorns were landing on different tin roofs. My car is covered in bird stuff. They won't go away. Enough of my complaining. I just thought I would share the horror. It sounds like a fucking jungle here with random bangs.

Trial Day Eleven

Today, amongst the various doctors and nurses that testified, the injured woman’s husband took the stand. Let me preface the following by mentioning he received a head injury in 1981 after falling off a fork lift and the only kind of work he can get now is from a “work today pay today” outfit.

When questioned by his own attorneys he rambled and cried about how much he loves her and how he has to do everything alone now. Lots of pictures of their wedding day where shown.

Then came the questioning from defense attorneys and it turns out he filed for divorce from her several times. I have access to divorce filings and I discovered the first time he filed for divorce was after a year and a half of marriage. They reconciled four months later. Another year and a half later he filed for a second time and again after several months they got back together. Six months later he filed for divorce a third time. This filing was after the motorcycle accident that injured her neck. They once more reconciled after several months. Five months after that reconciliation was the surgery that is the subject of this trial.

In response to the question about his multiple divorce filings he said,“Oh sure, yeah, it was a joke mostly.” Each time he filed for divorce he retained the services of an attorney. Real funny. When questioned further, he admitted he wanted a “Ward and June Cleaver” type of life and would get frustrated when his wife did not cook or clean to his standards. He stated he then would realize that God didn’t see that as a good reason to get divorced so he would drop it.

I feel bad for the injured woman and how hard her life has been. Her first husband died and then she marries a brain damaged man who files for divorce every year or so. If that isn’t bad enough she has horrific complications to surgery and is now permanently brain damaged and sentenced to life in diapers sitting in a wheel chair.

Be grateful for good health.

Pen is mightier than the sword.

Leaflets killed a girl in Afghanistan. I don't want to take anything away from the story. Click here to read more.

If this wasn't a real person and we weren't occupying a foreign country this would make me laugh. Admission, I giggled a little when I read this. How terrible is that?

Trial Day Ten

This is getting painful. More doctors and nurses testifying today saying, in their opinion, either the standard of care was met or that it wasn’t. The parties really should have found a way to consolidate witnesses. I don’t know what they are thinking making jurors go through this.

The attorney fees involved must be astronomical. Even if the woman’s attorneys are only working for a percentage of any jury award that doesn’t pay for all the depositions taken and the expert fees.

In civil cases if you lose at trial and are the party that started the suit you have to pay the other side’s attorney fees. Not sure if medical malpractice trials are the same but if they are, and the woman loses, her family is going to owe a ton of money.

Joseph, your tsunami post was an interesting way to use this blog. Had it been going to hit the coastline here I would have heard it from you first!

Tsunami Watch

There is a tsunami watch for Hawaii and much of the pacific coast, including Washington and Oregon. The earthquake off of the Samoas has been upgraded to an 8.3. I don't know much, but I wanted to get this up asap for you guys.

http://www.hawaii247.org/2009/09/29/tsunami-watch-from-major-earthquake-in-samoa/

2001: A Space Odessey

So being a movie buff it has always been quite embarrassing that I had never seen Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey. I just finished it. Can someone tell me what the black thing was? The thing pictured above.

I can say for sure that I absolutely love the piece they use as the theme song. It is absurdly beautiful. I also got my nerd on with the theme of relativity that seemed to be so prevalent. When you think about space it is so hard to picture how things move and operate coming from a world where we pretty much just move from side to side, forward and backward.

I'm glad I was kind of faded when I watched this. It made it more interesting than normal I think.

Trial Day Nine

Today the injured woman’s brother and sister testified. He testified about a typical day for her at the nursing home which is getting up around noon, getting set up in her chair, being fed and if no one visits she watches TV. The sister testified about similar things.

Before and after the brother, more doctors and nurses testified. At this point I don’t pay attention to more than I have to unless something really interesting catches my ears. I noticed one juror struggling to stay awake.

The injured woman is testifying. OMG. The judge was trying to put her under oath and she just kept repeating her name. Finally she was able to direct her attention and answer. She is talked to as one talks to a very young child. It is hard to understand her answers. She suddenly jerks and makes noises that are not words. He husband had started to cry.
The defense has no questions…..

I was told after one of the breaks the jurors had locked one of their own out of the jury room as a joke. He was standing out in the hall just knocking and knocking….I hope it means they are getting along if they can kid each other like that. Some juries don’t get along at all….

Supervolcano -- Anatomy Discovered

I'm really fascinated about those "super forces" that have shaped our Universe in any way, shape or form. There is a creation that is called a supervolcano. Scientists and researchers have discovered the fossilized remains of a supervolcano in the Italian Alps recently. This article from Live Science discusses this and also has some fascinating links, including active volcanos.

One of the world's largest supervolcanos is here in the United States. Yellowstone National Park is actually the caldera of a supervolcano that is still very active. This supervolcano is what causes the natural geysers of Yellowstone. It is, literally, the earth beneath what we see, letting energy escape. That thought occupied my mind as I moved from Wisconsin to Washington and traveled along the edge of Yellowstone -- that I was driving on TOP of an active supervolcano. I was hoping it wouldn't decide to blow its top while I was in the vicinity.

When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts again (and volcanologists predict it will but can't determine exactly when) it will have a devastating effect on the entire Continental US but the world at large.

If you do nothing else, at least look at the image gallery link at the bottom of the article. Fascinating stuff!

http://www.livescience.com/environment/090924-supervolcano-plumbing.html

Memories

Remember when watching the debates or campaign speeches Obama's use of the term main street was nearly a drinking game? Has he used the phrase once since January?