Saturday, February 21, 2009

Dis 'n' Dat



Heard from my neighbor, yesterday. They're having a helluva winter in Maine. SO glad I am not there...

It's Mardi Gras time here. Of course, now my arthritis in my hip and leg chose this past week to go into high gear. Big time pain that NSAIDs don't touch. So much for watching the various Krewes do their thing either in New Orleans or Baton Rouge and vicinity. Standing for more than a half hour is excruciating now.

The dogs are loving it here in Louisiana. They have a fenced yard to play in, four other dogs to play with, and they even get to have a kid or two to chase in fun, now and again.

Another soldier dies in Baghdad. The new kid on the block doesn't seem able to convince the military-industrial establishment to loosen the reins of the war wagon, does he?

Speaking of his presidency, Obama is not going to be the "Great Black Hope" supporters made him out to be, pre-election. This economic depression won't allow that particular legacy to survive. It is going to be very bad for a long time. I suspect I won't live to see a recovery...

A shout out to NZforme who has recently bought herself a house! When's the move date -- my chiropractor has me scheduled for back therapy that day... (actually I am envious - sun, warmth and a built-in cocktail shaker - what else could you want in a home?)

SO, in closing, as they say down here:

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Ode To A Fart


This was my wife's Valentine's Day gift to me. Being as I went to kindergarten, I know how to share ...

Happy Valentine's Day to my readers!


A fart is a pleasant thing,
It gives the belly ease,
It warms the bed in winter,
And suffocates the fleas.
[]
A fart can be quiet,
A fart can be loud,
Some leave a powerful,
Poisonous cloud
[]
A fart can be short,
Or a fart can be long,
Some farts have been known
To sound like a song......
[]
A fart can create
A most curious medley,
A fart can be harmless,
Or silent, and deadly.
[]
A fart might not smell,
While others are vile,
A fart may pass quickly,
Or linger a while......
[]
A fart can occur
In a number of places,
And leave everyone there,
With strange looks on their faces.
.[]
From wide-open prairie,
To small elevators,
A fart will find all of us,
Sooner or later.
[]
But 'farts are all bad',
Is simply not true-
We must never forget.......
Sweet old farts like you!
[]

Kinda brings a tear to your eye - doesn't it?

Friday, February 13, 2009

Science, Not "Creationism"

The following came across my email desk this morning. If you, or any of your relations, live in Texas and you believe that science should be taught in your public schools, regardless of religious denomination or absence thereof in your life, then pay heed:

Take Action Now to Ensure that Texas Kids Learn Science, not Ideology, in Public Schools

Creationists Besiege State Board of Education with Calls to Dumb Down Science Education in Texas Public Schools

As we mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, the religious right has launched a new and ferocious attack on science education in Texas public schools.

Last month the State Board of Education narrowly voted against a curriculum requirement that students learn phony “weaknesses” of evolution promoted by creationists. Creationist pressure groups have responded with fury in the press. They have even viciously attacked the religious faith of board members who support giving Texas kids a sound science education.

And now the Texas Freedom Network has learned that creationists are flooding board members’ offices with thousands of e-mails and phone calls critical of evolution. They are demanding that the board reverse course in a final vote next month and require that science classes teach anti-evolution arguments that mainstream scientists debunked long ago.

This is outrageous. Texans cannot permit the religious right to bully elected officials into voting against the interests of Texas families and the mainstream values we all support. Supporters of sound science education cannot stand aside while far-right pressure groups try to distort and undermine the education of an entire generation of Texas schoolchildren.

Take Action! SUFS
The State Board of Education will meet on March 25-27 to take a final vote on the proposed science curriculum standards. It’s important that you take the following actions to ensure that board members vote for standards that put sound science ahead of ideology in our kids’ public schools:

1. Tell your State Board of Education member that you oppose efforts to water down instruction on evolution in public school science classes.
- Ask you board member to vote to adopt the sound science standards proposed in December by curriculum writing teams made up of teachers and academics.
- Oppose requiring that students learn phony “weaknesses” of evolution.
- Ask your board member to vote to strip out any amendments approved by the board in January that undermine instruction on evolution.

You can find the name of your board member by clicking here. It’s best to write your board member in your own words and send your e-mail to: sboeteks@tea.state.tx.us. However, you can also click here to send your board member a pre-written e-mail.

2. Submit your comments about the proposed standards to the Texas Education Agency. You can read the standards by clicking here. Then scroll down to Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 112, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science, Subchapter A, Elementary, Subchapter B, Middle School, and Subchapter C, High School. Send your comments to TEA to this e-mail address: rules@tea.state.tx.us.

3. Sign up to testify at the State Board of Education’s public hearing on the proposed science standards on March 25. For information about how to testify, click here.

To find out how your SBOE member voted in January, and to stay informed on this issue, please click here.

TFN Main Web Logo

Thursday, February 12, 2009

It was inevitable, I suppose -- RoboGuitar


Dax covers this in his entry yesterday. The video is enlightening.

Make your Congress Critter Twitter

You're on Twitter, right? I am. Is your Congress Critter on Twitter? You can check at TweetCongress. You can even petition non-participants to get with it.

Go check and see if Senator Susan Collins, R-ME is a-Twittering...

Friday, February 06, 2009

Darwin Award Winner for 2008

THE DARWIN AWARDS:  A Chronicle of Enterprising Demises.
Honoring those individuals who improve the human race...
by accidentally removing themselves from it!

Celebrate Charles Darwin's 200th Birthday on February 12, 2009.
--------------------------------------------+---+-+---+-+-+-+-+

2008 Darwin Award Winner: BALLOON PRIEST (Padre Baloneiro)
Confirmed.

April 2008, Atlantic Ocean | A Catholic priest ascended to
heaven on a host of helium party balloons, paying homage to
Lawn Chair Larry's aerial adventure. Larry, the beloved
survivor of a Darwin-worthy fiasco, attached 45 helium weather
balloons to his lawnchair, packed a picnic lunch, and cut the
tether--but instead of drifting above the Los Angeles landscape
as planned, he was rocketed into LAX air traffic lanes by the
lift of the weather balloons. Astoundingly, Larry survived the
flight.

Adelir Antonio, 51, was not so lucky.

His audacious attempt to set a world record for clustered
balloon flight was intended to publicize his plan to build a
spiritual rest stop for truckers. But, as truckers know,
sitting for 19 hours in a lawn chair is not a trivial matter
even in the comfort of your own backyard. The priest took
numerous safety precautions, including wearing a survival
suit, selecting a buoyant chair, and packing a satellite phone
and a GPS. However, the late Adelir Antonio made a fatal
mistake.

He did not know how to use the GPS.

The winds changed, as winds do, and he was blown inexorably
toward open sea. He could have parachuted to safety while over
land, but chose not to. When the voyager was perilously lost
at sea, he prudently phoned for help--but rescuers were unable
to determine his location, since he could not use his GPS. He
struggled with the unit as the charge on the satellite phone
dwindled.

Instead of a GPS, the priest let God be his guide, and God
guided him straight to heaven. Bits of balloons began
appearing on mountains and beaches. Ultimately the priest's
body surfaced, confirming that he, like Elvis, had left the
building.

The kicker? It's a Double Darwin. Catholic priests take vows
of celibacy. Since they voluntarily remove themselves from the
gene pool, the entire group earns a mass Darwin Award. Adelir
Antonio wins twice over!

Obviously not a Jesuit priest...