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April 30, 2005
Everything is now organized for the Highlander
Well we went to the Toyota dealer this morning and Dianne got to pick out everything she wanted to put on her Hybrid Highlander. (The Limited version didn't provide anything additional we could use to justify the cost. Dianne hates leather seating, the side curtain airbags could hurt Alexis in her car seat, and what difference does wood grain make really?) I've been debating the 4x4 decision for the last couple of weeks and still up until we were there I hadn't seriously decided. We need 4x4 about 4 to 6 times a year. Depending on the snow we get here in Maryland. Our street is ultra low priority for the city to plow. They do what is referred to as a passable plowing of the road. That's code for running the plow at about 6 inches above the street level. Luckily we live towards the end of the street and the next cross street is a higher priority and usually gets down to street level after a couple of days, but in the meantime to get out anywhere we need 4x4. The problem is balancing those handful of times that we need it with the fact that it costs us 3 miles per gallon because of the additional weight the 4x4 adds to the Highlander. In the end, I fall back on my standard philosophy, err on the side of caution. The gas mileage difference between our current SUV and the Highlander is nearly double, so take the improvement for what it is and call it even. Another disappointment of the day was that the State of Maryland discontinued the tax free Hybrid sales. Sort of disappointing, but at the same time insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Since I didn't know what state taxes would be I had just left them out of my calculations. So all things being equal it works out to our advantage anyway. So now all we have is the waiting for them to build the Highlander to Dianne's specifications. Oh that's the other disappointment, the on board DVD video system wasn't offered as a package option, but the Toyota salesman gave us some people that could do that for cheaper than Toyota itself. I'm not convinced of that yet, but it's background noise in the end. Another funny thing, Toyota has some sort of graduating college senior discount and as luck would have it Dianne is graduating. So we are probably going to do Toyota financing, which will save us time, which is all I ever want to do.
If you would like to learn more about the Toyota Highlander Hybrid in the meantime, click here. I'm sure Dianne and I will be providing commentary on the vehicle when it arrives.
Posted by ManDrake at 9:42 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 29, 2005
New Design Could Transform 1st Bike Ride
Now this is what I'm talking about folks! Something fundamentally different than I had as a kid. I know all you Neo-cons out there hate the notion of change, but I expect things to be better than when I was a kid. Basically as you petal faster the wheels move together until it's like you're riding on two wheels, but as you slow down, the wheels come apart again so kids don't fall over and don't need training wheels.
Unfortunately the bike hasn't made it to the production stage, but they have interested manufactures, so by the time Alexis is ready I should be able to get her one. Progress is a wonderful thing!
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 9:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
House GOP Plans Social Security Draft
"WASHINGTON - House Republicans announced plans Friday to draft Social Security legislation by June as President Bush warned Democratic critics not to "play politics as usual" with his call for sweeping program changes including curtailment of some benefits."
Interesting if the Democrats try to protect their continents from the Republican effort to rob them blind they are playing politics. But if a Republican threatens the lives of Judges that don't agree with them, they are just doing their jobs. The dichotomy is a bit on the disturbing side. But I like how the media doesn't even say Congress anymore, they just say the GOP, because the GOP doesn't even allow the Democrats to look at legislation anymore. They demand that they provide it, but they won't acknowledge it. I still don't see why these Republican crack heads are grasping at straws trying to implement this corporate welfare effort called private accounts. The billionaires supporting the Republican party have already gotten enough kickbacks for undermining our democracy so can we try to help the America people for a few minutes? Basically the Republicans have decided after turning nearly 2/3's of Americans against their ideas, to declare victory and implement their bad ideas. I mean the unmitigated gall is sickening. When will I get to vote against the morons again??? I'm tired of waiting!
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 9:11 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Men Who Claimed to Find Treasure Arrested
For any Republicans out there reading this, this is a warning for you. Criminal behavior, no matter how much you think it's ok is still wrong. For those of you that haven't heard the story, some roofers stole 125,000 dollars worth of old money they found hidden in tin cans in the gutter of the barn they were roofing. If something doesn't belong to you, you can't take it because you found it first. Anyway these poster children of Republican ideology are now in jail. Evidently their weak cover story, another Republican trait that we've all gotten annoyed with (can anyone say WMD's?) didn't hold water. All that's missing is a claim that it was the Democratic party that encouraged them to do it. I'm sure we'll see that before the next week is out.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 9:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
California Logging Protesters Win Lawsuit
I'm so happy that this case has been resolved. For those of you that weren't aware, perfectly peaceful protesters were doing a simple sit in at a logging company's offices. The local redneck sheriff and his deputies sprayed police issued pepper spray into a cup and then used a swab to paint it into the eyes of the protesters. The ignorant brain-dead cops are so damn lucky that they didn't cause permanent damage. For you worthless Republicans that can't figure out the issue, civil disobedience while annoying and pretty frustrating does not give you or your shock troopers the right to cause permanent physical harm to someone. Pepper spray is made to be sprayed!! The manufacture specifically warns on the containers not to use it at close range on people. It was irresponsible behavior of the highest order, I would have liked to seen the cops do some prison time for it, but we live in country where police misbehavior is ignored.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 9:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Researchers Locate Lost Fishing Nets
Normally I would wait for Dianne to jump on something like this, but she's busy so I'll point it out. Basically these ghost nets are nets that fisherman have cut loose and are floating around the ocean still capturing and killing fish. They are made out of synthetic materials made to last for centuries, so basically they are a massive hazard to all sea animals. I'm glad that they've found a way to detect the nets, but why are there hundreds of them in the ocean? Too bad there isn't a way to track these back to the owners and make them pay for their irresponsible behaviors.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 9:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
FDA OKs Lizard-Derived Shot for Diabetes
Now this is an interesting new treatment derived from the saliva of the Gila monster that is first in a new class of medications for Type 2 Diabetes. I think the fact that it's injected is a major drawback, now if you're already doing injections, it might not be a big deal, but the fact that's it's a new class is what is important. It works like a normal person's body would work, so if things are fine, it doesn't do anything. Reducing the chances of over medicating one way or the other. So if you've got Diabetes, you might want to check with your doctor after June 1 to see if it will provide you any long term advantage.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 9:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Doomsayers Say Benedict Fits World End Prophecy
I know Monica will get a kick out of this one. Evidently there is a prophecy running around the church that this is the next to the last pope before the end of the world. Christians have been predicting the end of the world pretty much continuously since the establishment of the Church. So I wouldn't start maxing out the credit card just yet. ;) But then again, I never thought I would live to see the day that the AP would have a serious article syndicated nationally about the end of the world. So there is cause for concern. ;)
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 9:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Standing Room Only at New Cemetery
This is such a great idea. Like there needs to a headstone in this day and age for a dead person. Our deeds are recorded for all of time in the historical archives of our lives and our families. Being buried laying down with a headstone is just a fundamental waste of space. I'm still not convinced it wouldn't be cheaper to burn the bodies, but it's not like you're going to need it for anything later. Hopefully we will develop a new mindset in this country and start getting away from these silly old notions of graveyards.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 9:00 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Girl Scouts Sue Deadbeat Cookie Buyers
What kind of loser steals from a kid??? While I'm generally opposed to anything that increases the amount of litigation in our society, I hope they continue to do it and make big bucks off of it. Having said that I'm always terrified when I open the door and there is a girl scout standing there with no one watching her. What kind of people send girls out unprotected in our world these days. It's just not safe. I've read the lame excuse on the website about it building character and presenting the public image of the Girl Scouts, but sure seems to me that it's dangerous. I don't understand why they can't move the entire process online and then you decide to have your cookie sales go to whichever troop you want or the Girl Scouts at large. Then make it so you can order the cookies year around and call it a day. Man, I just had a craving for Peanut Butter Patties!!! 75 calories a bite, but worth every single one of them. I NEED COOKIES!!!
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:58 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
April 28, 2005
CDC Pushing New Mosquito Repellents
I'm sure this will make Dianne happy. Rather than using the harsh chemical DEET, the CDC provided studies stating that several natural elements are just as effective as the standard that the CDC has been recommending for more than 50 years. The two new approved substances are chemical picaridin or the oil of lemon eucalyptus. I'm sure that you will see them on the store shelves in the next couple of weeks in mass quantities given the still large amount of West Nile infected mosquitoes running about.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 7:02 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Spitzer Sues Intermix Over 'Spyware'
Spitzer is an awesome one man corporate fraud killing machine!! I swear when you have criminals like the Republicans in charge the entire system goes to hell in a hand basket. All these winks and nods that make up the Republican political philosophy, only seeking to bring harm to the American people, is just completely unacceptable and it's not like these guys are working in the dark of night, they are have freaking offices out in the open and miraculously the Republicans can't find these guys to prosecute them for their crimes, but anyone with a phone book and few minutes free time can find them. Criminals like criminals so it's all good for the Republicans. I still don't want Spitzer to run for Governor of New York, he's too valuable to America in his current position.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 7:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Economy Grows at Slowest Pace in Two Years
I love the quote "Slow Pace Is Evidence of New 'Soft Patch' in the economy". It's interesting that the economy never seems to get out of these soft patches for more than a month at a time when the Republicans are in charge. I wonder if there is any relationship between their utter mismanagement and the ever weak economy under their leadership?? Obviously there is and yet economists seem mystified by the direct relationship between the Republican misbehavior and our country's economic woes. Not much else that can be said on the subject. Just the realization in another year we will get a chance to get rid of these brain-dead morons in Congress, and maybe if we act quickly enough we can fix things even though the country is being led by a crackhead.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 6:59 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Are You Ready for a Hybrid?
It's a good question. Dianne and I have been debating the merits of the hybrid Highlanders for the last 6 months. Now that I'm starting to get in data on the subject, the numbers are looking pretty good. Basically the hybrid system is costing about 4,700 dollars, given Dianne's averaging 10,000 miles a year, we should save about 320 dollars (assuming 2.25 per gallon) a year on gas. Add in the tax break from the Feds, the fact that Maryland makes you pay no sales taxes and we keep our cars for an average of 10 years, we end up paying a premium of 50 dollars a year over the standard model, so that's like $4.17 a month. It's hard not to justify spending the little bit extra given that there is little to no chance that we are going to see gas prices below 2 dollars again in the next 5 years. If we end up driving more, we save more. If you haven't taken a look at the Hybrids, this article has all the ones that are available now listed with comparisons with normal cars. Depending on where you are, you can save yourself and your country quite a bit of money.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 6:56 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Scientists Say Everyone Can Read Minds
Now when you read a story titled something like this you never know what to expect. It's actually very interesting scientists have discovered that people have a part of their brain that literally experiences things that other people are experiencing. This section of the brain which they are calling the mirror neutrons, mirror the reaction if you do a behavior yourself or if you see someone else do it. This explains how children may learn our behaviors. I'm a bit uncomfortable because I don't feel that they are addressing adequately the fact that we don't all share the same experiences. Ultimately what it is to be human is pretty consistent across the species, but there are things that happen when you get into the higher brain functions that aren't based on what we are anymore. For example, I completely lack the ability to empathize with a right wing ideology, I can't understand anything about where they are coming from, yet I can easily understand just about every other human based experience in existence. Also the link they made to Autism is interesting. Their brain scans show that these mirror neutrons aren't functioning in people who have Autism and it would explain the utter lack of coping behavior we see in this group. Which leads me back to my long standing belif that since I can't understand right wingers they must be broken on some mental level and need to be cured as quickly as we can develop the science to do it.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 6:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
House Votes 406-20 to Reverse GOP un-American Ethics Rules
Wow! I knew that they would let it pass, but I didn't think you'd have that much support from the GOP. I guess the surreal claims by the Republicans that nobody knew who DeLay was in their districts suddenly wasn't true anymore. DeLay is the poster child for Republican mismanagement and dishonesty that is the norm for their party. An utter disrespect for a nation of laws and our traditions of freedom and respect for our country. The Republicans are all criminals and they really thought they could protect themselves from investigation by corrupting the internal oversight of the House. Having said all that, the committee is still stacked with criminal Republicans that were involved directly in DeLay's criminal behavior. They will not convict him of anything because he broke the law the same ways that they did. So it can't be wrong, because when a Republican breaks the law it's ok.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 6:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cousteau Grandson Backs Windmill Park Plan
Interesting another offshore windmill park being planned for the US. I really love this technology, especially when it's moved offshore like this so that it's not in anyone's way. This one which is planned for Long Island will be able to generate 77% of the electricity needed for the island while generating no pollution at all. It's hard to argue with those kinds of numbers. One thing that they mentioned on their website was that it will add price stability to their market, which I never really considered as a bonus of these kinds of technology before. I mean it's basically going to cost the same amount today to generate electricity with wind as it does tomorrow. Makes sense to me and since it's going into a grid the variations caused by seasonal changes in the wind will be balanced out by increased sales of the electricity during peak times.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 6:50 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 27, 2005
Gene mutation slashes need for sleep
My father always complained, that the reason women live longer than men is because you only have a certain number of waking hours to live and women sleep so much longer they don't use them up as fast as men. I personally always thought it was the fact that women didn't spend a lot of time worrying about how long some else was sleeping that gave them the edge. ;) Well it turns out that he may have been more right than I realized. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have discovered a gene in fruit flies that allows them to go only 30% less sleep, but also leads to them living 30% shorter lives. Which fits in with my father's theory of the world. Either way the discovery of the gene and a homologue in mammals could lead to new treatments that will allow people to avoid sleep deprivation issues. I guess it begs the issue, live a short and energetic life, or a long and drawn out life. Decisions, decisions.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
UCLA Researchers Discover New Method to Generate Human Bone
I was researching some more on UCLA's website about the fusion project and I came across this article. It's absolutely amazing the work they've done on this. Basically they've found a way to tell the body to regrow bone where they want it to. This is some pretty cool stuff because it will allow you to fuse vertebra together with using the body's own ability to grow bone instead of cutting it from somewhere else or using metal decreasing the chances for infection. It also allows for other medical applications such as cleft palate repair and fracture healing as well. Of course it would be useful in military applications creating super soldiers with unnaturally strong bones.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Desktop nuclear fusion demonstrated
People working a UCLA have got an interesting little experiment going here. While not the panacea of free power for the future, it's definitely a step in the right direction. They still aren't getting more out than they are putting in, which is the key to success with this exercise. The notion of using it as a thruster is an interesting one I didn't even think of when I first read over the experiment. I like that scientists are still thinking about space even when the rest of the country isn't. It's important that all the applications for new technologies are considered.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wal-Mart Unveils Customized Music CDs
"Phil Leigh predicted Wal-Mart would have trouble overcoming the desire for an immediate return on the money paid. He also said the pool of people without CD burners or broadband Internet access was shrinking. In addition, those without a CD burner most likely are in lower-income brackets."
Having been making custom CD for myself for 5 or so years, the notion that you would pay someone else to do it seemed a little silly to me. Then I read this comment at the bottom of the article, there are people without CD burners??? I know broadband roll out has been stymied by corporate incompetence, but CD burners are below being a commodity at this point, you can buy one for like 15 to 20 bucks now. Who the hell doesn't have one now?? I mean you'd have to be using a computer that was completely out of date to not have one, or purposely shoot yourself in the foot when buying your computer. I can't imagine what these people do for data storage, I'm already looking to upgrade from DVD burners to the Blu-ray technology so I can store 50 gigs at a time. So I started doing some research to see if I could find a way to order a computer without a CD burner on it, and guess where one of the only places you could do it was??? Wal-Mart! They actually they sell computers without a burner or a disk drive, so you can't even use floppies. Not sure how people get their data off those machines, but that's not my problem because I don't own such a machine, but they have effectively created their own market for their product, by creating super bargain basement machines for 188 dollars without what has to be considered fundamental technology included.
Read more here
Posted by ManDrake at 8:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Hospital Services Performed Overseas
I've been debating this one for a while since I got the vision for Telemedicine. If I'm dying in the middle of the night, do I want some sleepy technician making decisions about my treatment or would I prefer a technician overseas wide awake to make the call. I've always leaned towards letting the overseas technician make the call, but the point of qualifications is a valid one and this is where international standards would be a nice thing to have, but that would likely harm America more than help us, because many of the overseas schools are built of the European standards which are infinitely higher than ours. Ultimately I don't see a big issue with it, for as long as the necessary precautions have been taken to minimize issues of language barriers and the necessary consulting between technicians on the ground and remotely are maintained. Given a choice between a hospital disappearing and having it run remotely by doctors from around the world, I pick the latter and I think we would all be better off.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Crackhead to unveil energy proposals
Our crackhead President decided that after his Enron written energy policies weren't selling, he would pull some new ones from his energy buddies to help out with the energy crisis by creating more corporate give a ways for Republican campaign contributors. I've listed all five and will add commentary on them below.
1. Refineries on old military bases
- A lack of real estate has never been the problem with refineries, its environmental impacts and location that are critical. At first I attributed these comments to one too many hits from the pipe this morning, but then I realized that it was covering the action by the Republicans over base closings. See they can point to this as a cover story for the communities they kill by closing a base. We are going to put in a big refinery here and you'll all get new jobs from that. The reality is that unless it's a coastal base with a port capable of supporting a super tanker, there is not a chance in hell that it will be used for a refinery. The environmental issues are pretty much a non-issue for the Republicans, they just fake the data and under fund the EPA, that handles that problem nicely for them.
2. Absorption of all licensing costs for nuclear power plants
- So let me get this straight, companies that stand to gain billions of dollars in profits from the establishment of a nuclear power plant, need the government to take on all the risk of getting one licensed?? I just don't know why I can't live in a Republican dream world, where you can only profit, you can't take any losses unless the government covers it for you. What kind of freaking corporate welfare is this?? It's beyond foolish, it's un-American. If companies are too risk adverse to make money, then they deserve to go out of business.
3. FERC to decide where liquefied natural gas terminals are located
- Translation: The LNG lobby is tired of having their highly explosive and dangerous stations blocked by state governments that don't like the notion of entire cities disappearing into a fireball of destruction because something goes wrong. Much like the CSX issue in DC, Republicans believe that they shouldn't have to have permission of the locals to do anything dangerous at all. So what if you all are killed cause we screw up, you aren't rich so we don't care.
4. Extension of tax credit for Hybrids to clean burning diesels.
- I'm actually not sure what angle the Republicans are scoping here. I imagine they have messed around with the notion of what clean burning means, but it's hard to see what they are hoping to gain here. It may be one of those legitimate suggestions that accidentally got in there to distract people from the rest of the agenda. Now if they wanted to impress me, they should make clean burning diesels a requirement for most of the monster sized SUV's and trucks. That would actually make a difference in fuel consumption in America.
5. International cooperation on cleaner and more efficient energy technologies.
- I hear a Republican talking about International anything I start laughing and can't stop. The party of Unilateral Violence without Provocation talking about cooperation is hysterical. Once again, I don't see where they are going with this one. It's not like governments own technology, corporations do, and they can make agreements with one another to share that technology. I'm curious if someone has some patents that some corporations want the Republicans to steal for them. Mostly I think it's just a cover for something sinister they are planning, it's not a real effort at all.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:30 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
School board votes to add Bible elective
Normally when I see something is an elective, even if it's controversial I'm willing to give the topic a wide berth. For as long as a radical ideology is not being forced on anyone that doesn't want to be exposed, it doesn't conflict with my American principals, but this is a public school, which means that US tax dollars are paying for this, from the desks to feeding the kids sitting in the class, all of that is state supported religion. Which is in conflict with the First Amendment, which makes it a crime of the highest order. Now if they had a volunteer teach the class after hours for no additional academic credit, there is a precedent for allowing something like that to go on and it would not be a matter of such grave concern. I feel sorry for the kids mostly, being exploited by radicals in the school board trying to make a political statement, while forcing the kids into a bad situation. Of course, when someone asks for the Koran elective to be added, I imagine that the Neo-Christian fanatics will suddenly get religion about the separation of Church and State.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Verizon To Connect VoIP to 911 Systems
While I'm not going to pretend that this a philanthropic effort by Verizon, but it's great news for the VoIP system. I'd like to see a wider roll out, but I understand the need to test the system out. Regardless I think they should be willing to roll it out as fast as possible and it would be really nice if they helped roll it out nationwide. Definitely provides the last piece in the puzzle for the VoIP roll out. I really like the work that Verizon has been doing, maybe I can have two internet connections in my house a "naked" DSL and a cable connection. That's some food for thought, the chances of both being taken out at the same time are almost nil and maybe I could do some sort of load balancing. I'll have to think about that one.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Partisan Divide on Social Security Widens
Well this isn't surprising. Republicans hate the elderly and the poor, which is not news anymore. Their goal is not only to remove the "safety net" of Social Security, it's also an effort to make sure that their corporate sponsors get a massive kickback from the private accounts. Basically guaranting the increase of stock prices no matter a company's performance, which will result in ever increasing pay packages for executives who will pay generously into the Republican campaign coffers. Ultimately the only losers will be We The People, but the Republicans could careless about us, we don't have any money, we are going to lose it all in the stock market. What I find most amusing of all is that the Republicans act like they are going to be able to rob the American people blind and get away with it in broad daylight, but then again they got away with it in Iraq didn't they, created a fake war, are steadily giving away billions to campaign contributors in the form of no-bid contracts. Sucking the life out of our economy, while giving what money that is left away to any billionaire they can find to support them. It's sickening to watch how shallow and ignorant these people are.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:24 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Records Show DeLay, Lobbyist Daily Contact
Speaking of that criminal DeLay, there are some interesting facts coming out about his criminal behavior of taking pay offs from lobbyists to make sure that America didn't shutdown third world sweat shops during the Clinton days. What I really love is the response from the Republicans "DeLay's office said Tuesday he made decisions on the merits, not because of Abramoff's largesse or lobbying." It's interesting because Abramoff's records show that he wrote legislation for DeLay to use in his efforts, so was it the merits of the money he was getting paid that he based his support off of? Or the positive merits of paying people nothing while business owners make massive profits? Since Republicans are utterly lacking in moral values it's probably a little of both. He was probably proud that these business men had the foresight not to allow themselves to be limited in their efforts at maintaining the economic slavery situation. The Republicans lost that battle in the US and they've been working tirelessly to restore that kind of mindset to this country ever since.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Democratic Challenger to DeLay Bows Out
I have to say I completely understand. Having his fifth kid and his mom getting cancer that would take a lot out of you and unlike Republicans who gladly sell their souls for any chance at political power, this guy has to work for a living to make ends meet. I don't think that any specific person is required to beat DeLay, the key is going to be running a good campaign and staying out of the mud slinging that is the standard of a vile monster like DeLay's mindset. From interviews I've heard from DeLay's constituents they have serious doubts about the guy and the polling data supports that as well. Of course these are Republican voters and they are dishonest, so though it may cause them some doubt, I don't think there will be a significant weakness of DeLay's position beyond the weakness he brought on himself by bribing people to redistrict Texas illegally, which is what led to his criminality being exposed on the national stage. I think he'll win the election by less than 51%, but given how Republicans "manage" the voting machines he will still hold onto his seat. Doesn't mean the Democrats should scrap for it, because the guy is a worthless phony. DeLay being in our Congress is an offense to the dream founded by signing of the Constitution, actually most of the Republican party is an offense to our great past.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
House Speaker Ready to Scrap Ethics Rules
I actually saw this headline when I was walking over to get some lunch. I couldn't believe what I was reading, but then good sense hit me and realized the plan. The Republicans are taking a massive publicity hit because of their ignorant agenda. They have been lying to the rank and file members of the party telling them that they aren't guilty of anything too bad, which is confirmed by comments made here on the blog, but they've still stacked the entire Ethics committee with people that were involved in DeLay's illegal activities. To punish him they would have to implicate themselves in doing something wrong. The committee still requires a majority to convict anyone of a crime. So in effect they can give up the rules because of the personnel changes and the general dim witted nature of the rank file of their party, they can just say there isn't enough evidence even if there is a mountain of it. Which is how the Republicans can work because they own and run the media that most people see. The problem I don't think the Republicans are seeing is the fact that not everyone that voted for the Republicans is a brain-dead follower like the evangelical fanatics that make up a third of the party. I mean their base would allow them to commit any crime they want for as long as they prayed to God about it, that's their only real requirement, but there are actually civilized people in party that don't approve of such blatant criminality. Or at least they used to not care. They've been pretty quiet about all these things going on. Maybe there aren't any honest people left in the Republican party, which wouldn't surprise me overly much, but there use to be some honest people in the party at one. Well we will see what the actual offer is and see if it's going to allow dishonest people like DeLay to be brought to justice for their crimes against the United States. And yes you morons selling the votes of your party to foreign governments for money is a crime, no matter how practical you think it is personally.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Stem Cell Research Standards Offered
I was so happy to hear that Standards are now available. Usually this kind of thing is handled by the government itself setting the standards for research, especially into something as sensitive as this, but with the Republican ban on the advancement of technology the government didn't come up with the standards. Finally scientists demanded that the government agencies provide them some sort of framework to work within. The limitations that these standards put in place are critical for allowing the technology to progress without becoming something dangerous and evil. For me the removal the profit motivation was critical specification that was sorely needed for the research to continue ethically.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:14 PM
New Tornado Radar System Installed in Oklahoma
Now this is a cool new system. I really like the notion of rolling it out on Cell towers so they can get a better coverage. For those of you that are interested, NEXRAD is limited to showing three miles up to the top of a storm in its scans. The new system called CASA (Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere program), uses a series of lower powered radars to target specific weather features and since you can pick the ones that are closer to the storm you can see more of the features. And they picked a good test area in Oklahoma, averaging 50 severe storms a year, with two tornado touch downs a year. More importantly the system will allow the National Weather service to make fewer false alarms. It's amazing to me because the new system will be able to detect a tornado formation within 60 seconds of the event. I haven't seen any cost analysis for a national roll out, but I think it should be done even in areas that don't get tornados regularly, because as global warming increases we are going to see more and more such weather events in places they aren't suppose to be happening regularly.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:11 PM
Exploding Toads Puzzle German Scientists
And what did I do at work today??? Nothing as cool as researching mysterious exploding toads!! Some people have all the luck! No bacteria or fungus as a source, no difference in the fundamental pollution levels in the water source. Interesting to say the least. I'm going to have to think about that one. Maybe a toad virus? Do toads even have viruses??? I'm open to suggestions on this one, Dianne you're the biology person of the family any suggestions?
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:09 PM
NASA, Rice University to Work on Power Cables
This is going to be a great project for America if Rice can pull it off. The current major problem with power generation in the US is that we are losing 70+ percent of the electricity we generate in transmission from one place to another. We don't lack generating capacity, we really lack transmission capacity. So improving conduction by 10 times could really yield massive improvements for the nation as a whole. The weight issue is unique to aircraft, but lighter is better just in cost of transport, so it's not like there won't be gains for earthly applications as well. I agree with Smalley that it won't be an easy exercise, but if they can get the SWNT to a useful production level, the profits to us all will be massive. I wish them lots of luck and I'll keep an eye on their work as much as I can.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Arizona Surrogate Mother Gives Birth to Quintuplets
I can't decide what's more impressive about this story, the fact that the Teresa Anderson ended up having 5 boys, or the fact that she waved the fee she charged the family for carrying their children for them. If you do such things, keep them in your prayers, they were all below 4 pounds and one had to have surgery for a heart defect. I'm sure the infrastructure we have in this country for mass births like this should kick in. Does anyone know if something is going to be done for Teresa?
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Drop in durables orders hampers stocks
I can't believe people are surprised by this. If you're spending all your disposable income on gas to drive to work, you're not going to have money for things like home improvement and you're not thinking about buying anything big for the future. The only people that see the economy as doing well are the brain-dead Republican faithful. The rest of us can read the hand writing on the wall. The Republicans are steadily undermining the most powerful economy on Earth with their inept mismanagement. The only solution to that problem is to get rid of them and their moronic ideological worldview from every level of our government. I'm going to discuss Bush's ignorant energy solutions in a separate post because they are so stupid.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Could plant ivory save elephants?
This is one of those kinds of headlines that catches my attention all the time. What is plant ivory?? Well evidently deep in the rainforests there is plant that produces its on version of ivory. From the article it was used for buttons before Plastics took over the world. It's an interesting notion. I wonder if the plants could be manipulated to produce larger ivory like structures. It could prove to be very profitable and protect elephants completely.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
'Superjumbo' launches new era in aviation
This is absolutely great news! While you will hear the Boeing people spinning all day saying there is no need for the Superjumbo, everyone with a calculator and a few minutes can do the math seeing how the Superjumbo is absolutely necessary to maintain the growth of the passenger capacity of the American airline industry. It's hard to argue with the ability to carry 555 people in relative luxury between major hubs at a fuel efficiency that equals the average family car mileage. You will be hard pressed to make the math work the way that Boeing is claiming it will. The airport modifications will probably take the longest to see come into effect, but I imagine with UPS and FedEx buying the freight versions to maximize their hauling capacity we will see them encouraging the airport support this in the major hubs they serve.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 8:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Buffalo Herd Catches Maryland Suburb by Surprise
Sometimes you have to see something to believe it. Evidently some rogue buffalo decided it was time to go roaming around Baltimore yesterday. The police herded them into the tennis court of a local apartment complex. There are a massive number of jokes that can be made, I leave that up to you.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 7:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 26, 2005
Spring
Posted by Daffodil at 7:21 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Bush Urges Saudis to Boost Oil Production
I heard this and I ended up screaming at the radio because it was so stupid. It's like my Congressman showing up on my doorstep telling me that I needed to work hard so that I would be better off. Excuse me?? Bush can't tell the Saudis to do anything with their oil that they don't want to do. To be honest it's retarded to even have the President ask them. Of course all of this aside, everyone I've talked too today has been talking about the pictures from the meeting.
Two men holding hands is a lot weird I will admit. I'm willing to attribute it to Bush's years of drug abuse, but it does lead one to wonder about the self-loathing argument for Neo-Conservatives. Who knows? I think this situation will invoke the don't ask, don't tell policy of Daffodil Lane.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 7:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
If Senate shuts down, who's to blame?
I love these kinds of articles on the Nuclear Option proposed by the Republicans. On the surface it's obvious who's responsible for the impending shutdown, it's the Republicans. They are helpless to stop the radicals inside their own party from harming them politically. It's pretty obvious looking at the polling data that the American people are aware of this fact as well. So the Republicans being held hostage by vile religious fanatics shrieking at the top of their lungs for the destruction of the United States to fulfill their apocalyptic worldview. Republicans are generally gutless as politicians and they corrupt members of their own party presenting them with bogus data that the Neo-Christian fanatics are the only people voting in America. I mean you know it's gotten bad when Business groups who have been dumping billions of dollars into the Republicans are telling them to stop listening to these nutjobs in their party, and the Republicans are ignoring them. It's been the generous support of business that has always given the Republicans the advantage over Democrats, but this attitude that it's better to destroy the country than to maintain the status quo, is bad for business. Which is true, what strange bedfellows the Neo-Christian revolution against America is making. The Democrats have been forced to be fiscal conservatives and a pro-Business political party. I'm liking them more and more every passing day. I wonder if they need a rude loud mouthed zealot to rail against the godless Republicans?
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 7:11 PM
Toyota won't help U.S. rivals
While I'll never claim to be a great supporter of absolutely free markets, the notion that a Toyota executive would even suggest that they should raise their prices so the US automakers would have a chance, is an absolute crime. If Toyota was using some ruthlessly unfair business practice to beat its US rivals, I could see some intervention being required. The reality of the situation is that Toyota has a better business model than its rivals. They actually focus on delivering what the customers want and seeing the future of the industry. The American automakers have basically been sitting around for 3 decades oblivious to the changes in the market and failing to improve the quality of their product significantly. I mean in 3 decades of competition and the American automakers still have 10 times as many product defects as your average Japanese automaker. Sadly that's a massive improvement for the Americans and I'm not even going to go into things like the entire effort by the US automakers to embrace new technologies and seriously innovate their designs. What I find to be the most tragic thing of all is that Toyota builds 60% of their vehicles in the US and they are talking about moving that up to 75%. So the lame argument that they have some sort of overseas advantage is retarded. They are just a better company and I will be glad to see that mindset replace the lazy and inefficient norm that is the Detroit automakers.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 7:09 PM
April 25, 2005
Micro$oft Ships Windows for 64-Bit PCs
Sad that 64 bit chips have been out for years without any support from Micro$oft and when they realized the Linux folks were killing them by taking advantage of the technology, they've decided to rush out another bug ridden release of their crappy OS. I feel sorry for the early adopters, Micro$oft can barely get software out when they are a few months late that's any good. Something that they've had to work on for years and delay several times is probably going to be a big mess.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 7:06 PM
A New Alexis Category
I'm archiving Alexis old pictures on the blog so if you want to see them they'll be here: http://www.daffodillane.com/movabletype/archives/alexis_archives/index.html
The new pictures will still be found at:
http://www.daffodillane.com/movabletype/archives/alexis/index.html
Posted by Daffodil at 1:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
That Face
How could you help but love that face, spaghetti sauce and all!
And you leave your child alone with her daddy for one day while you're working on finishing up a paper and this is what you end up with...
Could you turn the X-Box on please?
Posted by Daffodil at 12:52 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Portfolio Update
Well better than last week, but no where close to being impressive to say the least. I expect that things will continue to limp along like this over the next few months as the economy keeps getting worse because of Republican mismanagement. Good weeks and bad weeks, but the general trend will be down overall. I will move my savings into bonds again when I see another big drop on that front. Of course my mood on the entire subject wasn't helped by Lonepine sending me an article about how big a scam corporate 401k programs are. Mostly it just confirmed what I already believed about the 401k program, but such is life. Dianne and I have been debating increasing our contributions to the 401k because we tend to waste money that's not assigned to bills on things that are bad for us, like eating out. Tragically if it were all to become vapor because of the Republican mismanagement of the economy we would not be happy campers. It's a tough call what to do about it, we need to do something since they are hell bent on destroying America, but where do you put it to be safe from them. Not many choices really, back to the Russian roulette metaphor of Republican leadership, you never know what the crazy nutjobs are going to take aim at next so you always have to keep your money on the run from them.
This Weeks Actual Percentage: +3.012%
Last Weeks Actual Percentage: +2.458%
Best weekly percentage: +7.437%
Personal Rate of Return according to Fidelity for This Week: 6.6%
Personal Rate of Return according to Fidelity Last Week: 6.0%
Current Asset Allocation:
54.22% Stock
45.25% Bond
Posted by ManDrake at 12:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
GOP Stressing Constitution in Judge Battle
Yeah, it's amazing to me how every Republican party member has become a Constitutional Scholar overnight. They work night and day to destroy the Constitution, but if they can find a way to exploit it for their hate filled agenda, they sudden love the document. What I find most amusing is that nobody in America is buying it. 51% are opposed to the removal of the filibuster. And only 37% are for this obvious religious fanatical effort to undermined the Constitution by putting people who are clueless to its actually meanings or goals on the bench. So when you hear your local Republican shrieking about how its a Constitutional issue, remind them impolitely that it's an effort to undermined the Constitution to serve their religious fanaticism.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 7:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Conservative Democrats Vanishing in South
This article is so dumb, I don't know what to do with it. We have a name for a Conservative Democrat in the South, it's called a Republican. I don't think that the Democrats have been any more or less effective in the South. What is a Democrat has just changed. Right now the country is in a state of Demographic transition, as people get moved around, the representation changes. As people move into the South from other places they are no where close to as violent or radical as the people that live there now. As time passes there will be a tipping point and the Demographic transition will move them away from the vile Republican control, but there is one point that was made in the article that actually makes a lot of sense. It's a quote from Rep. John Tanner of Tennessee.
"The party has shifted — I haven't," Tanner said. "You have liberals now talking about balancing the budget. They're not doing it for the same reasons I am, but the vote looks the same on paper."
Given that the Republican party has completely abandoned that principal at every level of the party, except as a talking point to attack the social programs that they hate most because they help minorities, the poor, and the helpless. Then you'll find that Republicans are all about being fiscally conservative, but it's only to hurt people, they would never do it to help the United States. But that's just the kind of people that Republicans are.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 7:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bush Faces Hurdles on Energy Agenda
I wonder why? I can't see why Americans can't see the notion of 12 billion dollars worth of corporate giveaways to companies making record profits, with no guarantee of increased production in the next decade. I mean it's apparent that when a corporation is making record profits that they need my tax dollars to keep up the good work!! Why can't people see it? Well probably because most people (even Republicans) aren't that stupid!! But I expect that this will be rubber stamped by the brain-dead Republican majority in congress to pay back the oil tycoons that paid for their party's election. I mean they've seen return on investment in a the Republican majority that they could have never believed possible. Destabilization of the oil market the likes of which have been legendary. I imagine that all Bush is going to do is working on getting his cut from the Saudis today. One thing about Republicans is that they are greedy and always looking for a way to scam a few extra bucks for the people that own them. I hope the Senate nuclear option kills this ignorant piece of legislation, just to protect us from it.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 7:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
China Eyes Turbines at Sea to Boost Wind Power
On the surface, I'm sure most of you are saying big deal. Putting turbines out to sea is not big news, we've got them here in the US and so on. What is a big deal is that China is not required by the Kyoto Treaty to do this. They are selecting to do this all on their own, because they have added into their calculations the cost of pollution from Coal fired power plants. I think China's interest in trying to get the technology manufactured there is a brilliant move as well. You go to the market where you're going to have the most exponential growth in demand for power with green technologies. It's going to be hard for firms to resist the incentives I imagine. Maybe with the labor savings they can cut the 2 to 1 cost advance over Coal down some more. I expect that technology will be key, before long we will see an equal footing for green technologies like Wind and Coal. Now I know what you're thinking that new technology could be applied anywhere, but that's not true in the case of Coal power. They have been slow to invest in new technology, while the green technologies have to have the new technology to bridge the gaps. So I welcome China to the Green technology race. Hopefully they will change the face of the technology and help make the world a better place.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 7:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 23, 2005
FYI
Dear World,
I'm going to be a cousin! When Mom told me this morning I said "Cool!"
Love,
Alexis
Posted by Sweet Pea at 8:06 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 22, 2005
Happy Earth Day!
Unfortunately today is the only day of the year that many people even think about the environment, but that doesn't diminish the importance of Earth Day. Check out Yahoo's Earth Day page for a lot of good information, including hybrid vehicle technology and even removing your name from junk mail lists! The Earth Day Network also is a good place to look for some great information, including a section on water, my personal concern. Educate yourself. You might be surprised what you may learn.
Posted by Daffodil at 11:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Forced Hibernation Could Save Human Lives
I heard this yesterday on my commute home on NPR. Basically scientists discovered that they could add a little hydrogen sulfide to the air mice breathed and lower their body temperature and it caused their bodies to go into a hybernative state, we all lovingly call suspended animation. They can reduce the bodies metabolic rate by 90%. For those of you that don't see the immediate applications, it allows you to protect someone that has been seriously injured from their own body. As our medical knowledge has progressed we've discovered that the body's own reactions to damage are not effective for healing large scale traumas. What is effective at healing a tiny cut on your finger kills you when you've gashed a major artery, so what this will allow us to do is to suspend the body reactions until we can get in there and help the body's normal reactions work properly. Also this kind of technology is important for my favorite focus which is long duration space travel. Getting humans places in an acceptable exposure time frame is expensive in both fuel and resources for the human, but if you can cut the resource requirements down and the time requirements down as well, suddenly a lot longer duration trips become affordable. Of course we are years away from that, but I think we are on the right track for it now.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 7:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Traffic lights get an F in efficiency
Well I'm glad that someone is saying something about it. When I read the title I thought it was going to be about my next biggest pet peeve with traffic lights, which is how dumb it is to have them using anything other than LED's. When you see a traffic light burning your tax dollars for no reason in the middle of the night, it's a tragic reminder how little effort is put into planning things in this country sometimes. The traffic light situation is just completely out of control in some places. In this area it's an amazing thing to see the effects of traffic lights on the way traffic runs on the highways. If you park your car and pay attention you will see a pulse of the flow of traffic on intervals similar to the traffic lights. So even on controlled access roads the traffic lights are effecting the state of traffic. If you can ride between the pulses you're pretty much totally alone except for the speed demons that run from one pulse the next one. Anyway, it's a big problem and it really needs to be improved greatly.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 7:16 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Moore Sets Up Scholarship for Rebels
I'm sorry but that's the best hundred grand anyone could spend folks. Setting up two scholarships creating generations of activists working against a Right Wing College administration for the rest of time. I can't wait to see what the students do to qualify to get the scholarship, I think that Cal State San Marcos will ultimately be a better school from the efforts. Maybe he should consider a national award for efforts against vile Republican activism at the college level, that could make the entire country a better place. Food for thought to say the least.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at 6:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack