SeniorJunior

... And I don't mean emergency workers. When some of your smart buddies respond to a blog post with substance and smarts, it's a joyful experience. Joyful experiences being not all that common these days, I pass these along so that you might share mine: Outdone I am (By a successful entrepreneur acquaintance who called my "Obama Speech" and raised it with an Obama ad) I'm Barack Obama and I approve this message because the stakes are too high. · For 6 of the last 7 years, Republicans have controlled the House of Representatives. · They've controlled the Senate. · They've controlled the Whitehouse Republicans have had complete control over our Government. And look what Republicans have done. We've gone from record budget surpluses, to the largest deficits in our country's 332 year history. Real wages for a majority of our people are down, and people on main-street are scared. Unemployment is rising a

What the heck.... My name is Barack Obama. Some of you are hearing it these days as Barack Hussein Obama, which is a whole 'nother issue. So let's talk about something important. For the record, I approve of this message, because it is what I whole-heartedly believe. [THIS IS THE 'CENTRAL THEME.' NEITHER CANDIDATE SEEMS TO HAVE ONE.] What you've been hearing on the news for the past several years is that Americans are growing ever more unhappy with the course our country is on. It's one of the oldest questions in the survey business about public attitudes: "Do you believe America is on the right course?" It's a yes or no question and there are years of tracking the results. It's never been this bad. As I'm sure you've heard, the "no" votes are building very rapidly. Lately 80%... eight out of every ten Americans... are saying "no." My central goal, the very reason I am committed to becoming President of th

"High Fructose Corn Syrup"... Sound the Alarm! More on this later, but for now, digest this: "Our study shows for the first time the surprising speed with which humans make body fat from fructose. ...Once you start the process of fat synthesis from fructose, it's hard to slow it down." From an article by K.H. Shear This is from the September, 2008 "Center Times," a publication of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Super credible. So read your labels. (Soft drinks, processed food, all that easy stuff.) Avoid fructose unless its actually in fruit. Save yourself. And your kids. And your friends. More to come. ... and here it is. If you don't check Digg.com occasionally, you are missing a lot of news. For a summary of all the recent postings about articles on HFructoseCS. Check this . And check THIS. I paid $2.14 for a bottle of fat juice called "SoBe Black & Blue Berry Brew" which looked like a rea

Rants, "Taken Private" You may have (not) noted that I have been quiet. Not a rant in weeks. Well, busy-bee me has been ranting to friends and relatives instead of to the blog-o-swear. So here are a few excerpts from said rants. A friend said: "Obama's socialist" I said: There you go again. Socialism is when the government owns the companies. "... Economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods." Or, worse, ".. . state control of capital within the framework of a market economy..." kind of like helping Bear Sterns, Fannie/Freddie and now Lehman Brothers. Who's the socialist here, anyway?] A friend sent me an editorial from Independent Business Daily , blasting Obama's positions. I said: America is in serious trouble. If we are to remain the beacon of freedom, the leader of the free world, the font of innov

Sanity(?) Among the Nutso With the Prez campaign going the way it is... at least from The Right... the "celebrity" angle with Britney and Paris, the "Tire Pressure Gauge," gambit, etc., it seems a moment for something completely different. A personal admission, confession, whatever... One of my hobbies is writing science fiction. As we said in the good old days (see below), "far out." In this case way far out, as in the other side of our galaxy. In this instance I am trying to describe something really big. I mean BIG. It's a writing challenge to do that and not use "vast, gigantic, immense, humongous" et al over and over. So my questions to you, occasional reader, are (1.) Do you get the sense of "really big" from this, and (2.) Is this little sketch even comprehensible (a.) ... if you are a sci-fi fan, or (b.) if you are not. Here 'tis: Depot Circling a quiet white dwarf in a leisurely orbit of 30 parsecs radius

If You Haven’t Received One of These Lists, You Will Since I’m a certified Olde Guy, I get a lot of these. You know, the lists of how rotten things are now compared to how wonderful things were then (the 1970s, the 80s or even the 90s if you are really young). This one is for the older crowd and I found myself grumbling as I read it. My grumbles are in RED CAPS. “Progress” ain’t all good, but what is? Here’s one list: TO THOSE BORN 1930-1970 TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!! WHICH IS FAR FROM ALL OF US. First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant . WE DON’T REALLY KNOW HOW MANY KIDS WERE CURSED BY FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME OR STUNTED BRAIN DEVELOPMENT OR PREDISPOSITION TO TOBACCO USAGE. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. WHEN A WOMAN “LOST HER BABY” WE JUST WERE SORROWFUL. Then after that trauma

Whadda Republican! [Click to enlarge] 'Nuff said. Graph credit: http://www.chrismartenson.com/debt

Well Said A friend recently dropped me a note in response to one of my "things are going to heck in a handbasket " blog posts. I found myself nodding in agreement, and I thought his short statement was on the money. If everyone held such a balanced and kind position, the world would be a better place all around. Here's how he put it: "With age I have learned that 1) nothing is ever as good as it seems and its corollary nothing is ever as bad as it seems. 2) This too shall pass 3) that for we who believe in being responsible for our own actions, practicing common civility and being honest and ethical to all, there is a God, and that kindness should be extended to all... (All this) makes me a dinosaur of giant proportions." A giant, yes, but not an extinct one, thank Heavens. [for more on 'this too shall pass," check this .]

Cross-eyed Version 3-D without glasses is for "eye-wallers" and "eye-crossers." Eye-wallers are people who can easily relax their eyes into 'the distance' and see the 3-D Magic Eye stereograms in the comics pages. Eye-crossers are people with good control over crossing their eyes (a skill typically learned in grade school) . Either works fine, just so the L & R pictures are on the correct sides. Here's an "eye-crosser." "Eye-Crossers" Version. [Slowly cross your eyes until images merge. Didn't see the hole* in the woodpile before you 3-D'd, did you?] I'll have an "Eye-waller" up soon. * Made by our Airedales, seeking varmits hiding in the woodpile.

First Cars, Now THIS! "The only existing superpower" certainly applies to a lot about America - particularly in the size (and expense) of our military. Alas, in more and more of the other important "super" subjects, specifically leadership in national ethics, human rights, the environment, public health and other "soft" issues, the U.S.A. has ceded leadership to other countries. Of all things, this: "Japan is by many measures the world’s most energy-frugal developed nation. After the energy crises of the 1970s, the country forced itself to conserve with government-mandated energy-efficiency targets and steep taxes on petroleum. Energy experts also credit a national consensus on the need to consume less." And they are going to make a fortune because of it. Japan Sees a Chance to Promote Its Energy-Frugal Ways A view through a window looking onto a commercial complex in Chiba, Japan, that uses transparent solar panels on window glass to gene

SMART GUY [I have been too aghast and what Congress (even Obama!) did with the FISA bill "compromise" to write anything. Low and behold, a Guy very close to me just sent me a couple of paragraphs that catch my outrage perfectly. It even has an upbeat note in it.] "I am continually appalled at how even the Democrats are caving on Telecom immunity and allowing agencies to submit large lists of people by group or affiliation for wire tapping, email tapping and so on, without individual merits for each case. It seems like daily even the Democrats are pushing for a Nazi SS-like levels of monitoring into all of our lives. It is so far from the idea of defending the United States Constitution, Bill of Rights and the idea that we live in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Instead they are using propaganda and scare tactics and hyperbole to make us the land of the terrified and the home of the government enslaved. I am intended to remain in good spir

We Hear a Lot About the British, Canadian, French and Danish Systems, but not... The German health care system "The German health care system has the reputation of being the best in the world. There is an extensive network of hospitals and doctors covering even the remotest areas of Germany. Waiting lists for treatments are rare. Medical facilities are equipped with the latest technology and the statutory health insurance scheme provides nearly full cover for most medical treatments and medicines. Almost everybody in Germany has access to this system, irrespective of income or social status." It ain't perfect, but it's one helluva lot better than ours. The key is a mix of non-profit (by far the largest segment) and for-profit (for the rich, mostly) insurance companies, both rigorously regulated by the German government. Want a (rigorous, German) perspective? Check this out. Then, check out the Duffer's plan for the U.S. transit