Jim Blakeway's Blog: Flatsnake - From Scratch - Posts Tagged "facts"

So very many people. Seven billion, give or take. The planet’s most dangerous parasite continues to multiply unchecked.

From some funny person’s Facebook post. A man is walking by a senior center when he hears a tremendous uproar behind the fence. People yelling “Ten! Ten!” Being curious, the man peeked through a knothole and was immediately poked in the eye by a senior wielding an umbrella. “Eleven! Eleven!” they all began yelling.

Speaking of pokes in the eye - I just watched in horror, the you-tubing of Texas Judge William Adams and his wife beating their 16 year-old daughter for using the internet several years ago. And this man is a judge? Ironic he got bit by the very thing he feared enough to beat his daughter about, the internet. One blow for the bullied.

Again, from the Thinking Small department quoting Marshall Ferdinand Foch, a French military strategist and future World War I commander in 1911: “Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.” Hmmm

One step at a time…

Thank you to all Veterans for your courage, sacrifice and accomplishments. May you return home safe and sound, and find eventual peace.

The Pacific Northwest is in peril from climate change. All politics and beliefs aside, Puget Sound is acidic enough to melt the shells off mollusks and there are Pine Beetles ravaging our forests.

Now I understand dead trees and the occasional Great White Shark off our coastline is not horrifying in itself, but think of the long-term effects.

Hordes of tropical bugs that kill small children, pets and cows may no longer stop at the current Northern California “it’s getting cold” border. We watched the fire-ants march northward through Texas and the South only to be overtaken by an even more dangerous species of smaller ant that overcomes resistance and transformers with sheer numbers. Can we count on continued damp, cold and miserable weather to keep us safe?

For us older folk, the danger of an alligator cruising the Arboretum or the shores of Lake Washington is a ludicrous thought. However, twenty years of creeping warmth could inundate us with flying bugs that look like armed military helicopters and cockroaches capable of bringing down small dogs.

Our treasured lives of no hurricanes, tornadoes, poisonous snakes and insects may come to an end even before the much anticipated big earthquake hits. The one that splits the Mt. Baker, Rainier, St. Helens and Shasta zipper up the middle and lets fly with house-sized boulders and a six-foot blanket of ash.

And we worry about our children facing a depleted Social Security fund? How about a twelve-foot python under their house?

It looks like the cloak of secrecy has been yanked from the Penn State Athletic Department. One step at a time.

Speaking of perils. I’m all for scientific advancement. It has brought us the joy and convenience of flush toilets, backup proximity detectors for our cars and more than three TV channels (the last one of dubious benefit). However, have you really stopped to think about the developments in the clone, hybrid, DNA modified areas?

Religion and ethical beliefs aside. What about the downside? For every St. Bernard-sized salmon created, there will be some pervert building a mutant clone that combines the evilness of a human’s mind with the ferocity and strength of a dog-sized fire ant. Oh yeah, the scientists all have ethics and morals to prevent such an occurrence. Well, except for several thousand others. Mercenaries, those with a cause, or not. Those with the tools, minds and sick ambitions to create some monster.

We can’t keep nuclear weapons or rocket launchers from our potential enemies and crazies. How are we going to prevent them from unleashing flying monkeys on us a la Wizard of Oz. Aggressive flying monkeys with GPS enhanced navigation and weapons training.

Think about it. Is the Bush ban on stem cells going to stop this inevitability?

Speaking of forethought. This from Kenneth Olsen in 1977, president and founder of Digital Equipment Corp. The second largest computer company in the world, later to be gobbled up by Compaq. “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.”

Even I knew better than that back in those days.

Today it seems, we have more actual information:

If you’re feeling philanthropic, but you aren’t sure if Aunt Betsy’s African Aid charity is legitimate, try looking the charity up on the American Institute of Philanthropy Charity Watch web site. This organization rates charities based on their track record, and includes tips and information for donors. The site is http://www.charitywatch.org

Speaking of charities; Heifer International is intriguing. Since 1944 they have reinvigorated communities through livestock, training and passing on the gift. For instance, for $120 you can purchase a dairy goat and training for a family (other livestock priced accordingly). The goat provides milk, cheese, butter, fertilizer and sometimes money. When the goat has kids, one must be passed on to another needy family. It’s amazing that a gift like this can take a family from poverty to self-reliance. http://www.heifer.org

My company, Dynalogic Personal Services provides a web-page called Useful Links, containing many informative and interesting web sites. Check it out at Dynalogic Personal Services:
http://www.dynalogicinc.com/dyndmm.html

It looks like there may be some backlash on the Detainee Provisions in the Defense Authorization bill. Seems like there is some language about our military being able to capture and detain U.S. citizens indefinitely with no representation, even in the U.S.

The provision was drafted in secret by Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.). It was passed in a closed-door committee meeting, without a single hearing. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) explained that the bill will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield” and people can be imprisoned without charge or trial “American citizen or not.”

I thought the military could only come after you if were harboring an extraterrestrial alien. Hollywood, you’ve misled me! Sounds like a slippery slope, but I’m sure our outstanding representatives in the House and Senate will do the right thing. Hello?

In the “unlucky criminals” category last week: The man who tried to mug a UFC fighter. Seems he ended up shot with his own gun and severely pummeled. Ouch! Also, the man overwhelmingly apprehended in Wal-Mart’s distribution area stealing electronic gear. “Shop With a Cop Day” was not the ideal time for this venture.

Interesting news from the University of Chicago. In experiments, rats worked diligently to free another rat whether they were acquainted or not. Usually the release ended with an impromptu celebration. High-fives all around! Furthermore, the free rats would often save food for their trapped brethren. Hmmm, the rats in Congress may not be the most advanced of their species.

Sadly, Brandon Roy is retiring from the NBA at the tender age of 27 due to injuries after five seasons. An All-American at UW and 3-time NBA all-star with the Portland Trail Blazers, Brandon, we will miss you. We all loved watching you play.

“When the Leaves Fall Early” an e-book from Flatsnake Publishing, is on sale for 99 cents during the holidays. A riveting story of a rekindled romance threatened by a psychopathic killer’s increasing obsession. Available from Amazon.com for Kindle, B&N.com for Nook, and many other formats including PDFs and IPods using Smashwords.com. Go ahead, splurge!

Headline from the IBTIMES: “30 Major U.S. Corporations Paid More to Lobby Congress Than Income Taxes, 2008-2010”. Twenty nine of these well known corporations paid no taxes at all. Think of that when you buy your next GE engine, Boeing plane or fulfill your contract with Verizon Communications. How does expending $84 million on lobbying grab you when the same company is paying a federal tax rate of negative 45% on more than $10 billion in profits?

In Afghanistan a few weeks ago, President Hamid Karzai pardoned a woman who was serving a 12-year prison sentence for having sex out of wedlock when she was raped by a relative. The condition of her release is she marry the man who raped her. On how many levels is this wrong? These countries with abysmal women’s rights are the ones most likely to spawn groups out-of-control machine-gun-toting crazies. Maybe letting the women have more control would temper some of these problems before they turn into teenagers with guns.

And driving automobiles would lead to Saudi women losing their virginity? If you say so. Got to save up those virgins for the misled martyrs.

Bless you all anyway.

When the Leaves Fall Early

Board urges Cell Phone-Driving Ban

Criminal Code is Overgrown, Legal Experts Tell Panel

Last week, in an announcement designed to hamper human evolution and slap the face of any competent driver, the National Transportation Safety Board asked states to prohibit the use of cell phones and other electronic devices while driving, even hands-free devices. Does this mean Prius and Volt drivers in general? On the next page of the newspaper was another headline where legal experts say “The federal criminal code has grown so large it ensnares everyday citizens who have no idea they are violating the law.”

Hmm, I wonder if the headline heralding a report in the Journal of Pediatrics stating that “30% of Americans are arrested by the time they are 30 years old” had anything to do with the above? Land of the Free.

From Scratch brings you a new feature, Local Standouts, highlighting some of the interesting facets of local life here in Washington State:

Steve Rodriques sells the Kalakala for $1 to a buyer who promised to restore it to its original luster. Some guy in Oklahoma I believe. Clay something.

After protesting and bleating that stop-light cameras are for safety and not revenue generation, a local city coming under a budget shortfall immediately raised the obscene fine amounts for said camera traps. Hmm.

For those jumping on the hate Bill Maher bandwagon for his humorous statement about Tebow losing his Christmas game; Please remember Bill is a comedian. Comedians can be offensive, it’s part of their job. Well, apart from Bill Cosby who can be hilarious while not offending anyone.

Finally, in the Thinking Small category, a quote from Western Union president William Orton in which he rejects Alexander Graham Bell’s offer to sell his struggling telephone company for $100,000. “What use could this company make of an electrical toy?”

Interesting dance in Mukilteo, regarding the rights of citizens. Seems the citizens voted to ban the insulting red-light cameras in their fair city. However, in a surprise turnaround, we find Washington State has a specific clause in their legislation that gives the local municipalities exclusive rights to control this feature. What? I wonder when that little gem got placed into the RCWs. Hey Tim, maybe it’s time to go statewide on this before the mechanized revenue grabbers take root all over.

Rush Limbaugh gets so used to the fact that nobody with any intelligence listens to him that he forgets his homegrown Taliban rants are sometimes heard by people with a full set of teeth. However, last week, in his personal PSYOPS salvo in the GOP War on Women, Rush finally achieved the level of attention he craves with his Sandra Fluke ‘slut’ ravings. Never one to be bothered with facts, the spinning airbag managed to offend a good portion of the electorate. I can’t figure out whether the assault on women’s medical options is a race to the dark ages or just plain ignorance and short-sightedness.

Sooner or later the righteous slip up. Don Imus loses traction with his classless description of the Rutgers basketball team. Gay-bashing legislators are found with their hands in some other guy’s pants. The televangelist who succumbs to the evil temptations he has railed against. The list goes on.

On the same subject, it looks like Doonesbury’s Monday strip is being relegated to the editorial page in many places and just plain yanked from much of the “liberal press.” Trudeau takes a swipe at the Texas shaming rooms and The War on Women regarding sonograms and the closing of many women’s health clinics in the Lone Star State. I thought we settled these issues many years ago.

Well keep on voting for these bozos, but don’t be surprised when you see your daughter being chased down the street by a group of sick old men in robes waving canes and calling her a slut because her legs are showing.

In the Thinking Small category, remember with me the words of Decca Records when they rejected an act called the Beatles in 1962. “We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out.”