Dec 1, 2006

Brrr! There is cold weather nearly everywhere

It's cold almost everywhere and it isn't even winter yet. Story here.

Reported here are several random places that show unusual cold including that recent snow storm in Seattle.

Below are links to 6 random locations:

Miami, Florida
Seattle, Washington
Monterey, California
Arizona
Salt Lake City, Utah
Texas

What do the global warming alarmists have to say about this?

Novelist and screenwriter Roger Simon says that they'd still believe in Global Warming if Palm Springs turned into Antarctica. I agree. Should someone alert Al Gore?

Mr. Simon’s comment is here.

Man stole car to keep appointment with sheriff

A 26-year-old man Vermont man was required to report to the sheriff daily as dictated by his bail conditions.

He found himself in a nearby town with a broken-down car.

So determined was he to keep his court-ordered appointment that he stole someone else's car, police said.

Now, in addition to the theft-related charges he previously faced, Joshua E. Reed of Rutland is accused of felony possession of stolen property, and two misdemeanor counts of operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent and violating the conditions of his release.

Link

US Mint to give dollar coins another try

The U.S. Mint will give $1 coins another try.

The U.S. Mint is hoping that Martin Van Buren and Millard Fillmore can do what Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea couldn't - get Americans to use dollar coins.

The Mint on Monday revealed the design of the new U.S. $1 coin, which will be issued in a series that will eventually include the faces of each U.S. president.

It will release four new presidential dollars each year, starting with George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in 2007. The Van Buren dollar will be released in 2008 and the Fillmore in 2010.

The Susan B. Anthony dollar was first issued in 1979.

Because of its size and silver color, it was too easily confused with a quarter which is why it was dubbed the Carter quarter.

As long as we have one dollar paper currency in circulation, dollar coins will never be successful.

We're going to have to discard the $1 bill or mass produce so many of these coins so they'll be out there at retailers.

Link

Nov 30, 2006

The ultimate Coke billboard

This photo of the ultimate Coke billboard was one of the entries in a Worth 1000 contest.

This picture was altered using PhotoShop.

John Kerry finished dead last in likability poll

Out of 20 top American political figures, John Kerry (pictured) finished dead last in a likability poll.

Among those placed ahead of Kerry were about a dozen potential 2008 White House rivals, including Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

The article says Americans know who he is, and have pretty much decided they don't like him.

This is not good news for Kerry who still has presidential aspirations. The news is not surprising, however.

Link

Nov 29, 2006

Genetically modified cotton is edible

Cotton has been genetically modified to make it edible by researchers at Texas A&M University.

Cotton, for thousands of years one of the most important crops for clothing and shelter, might also become a source of food.

A chemical called gossypol makes cottonseed inedible for humans, though some of it is used in feed for cattle, which are less affected by the toxin.

Now, researchers at Texas A&M University have genetically modified cotton to produce seeds with little or no gossypol.

Edible cotton? Bart Simpson knew it all along. He has been saying, “eat my shorts” for years.

Someday cotton candy may literally be cotton candy.

Not sure what cotton would taste like but it should make you feel all fuzzy and warm inside!

Now if they could just make it taste like chocolate…

Link

Diversity stops at the classroom door

American professors are overwhelmingly liberal, according to a report on faculty political attitudes.

The report shows that professors who are liberals and Democrats outnumber conservatives and Republicans by large margins.

Previous surveys have reached similar conclusions, but this one suggests that the ideological divide on campuses may be greater than has previously been thought.

The authors of this survey say that their evidence suggests say that conservatives, practicing Christians and women are less likely than others to get faculty jobs at top colleges.

Faculty members in the study were asked to place themselves on the political spectrum, and 72 percent identified as liberal while only 15 percent identified as conservative, with the remainder in the middle.

The liberal percentage was highest in English literature with 88 percent. The performing arts and psychology were next at 84 percent.

Other fields have a little more balance:

Education 61 percent
Economics 55 percent
Nursing 53 percent
Engineering 51 percent
Business 49 percent

The study also found a negative correlation for being a practicing Christian or a woman to getting positions at top colleges.

It is well known that liberals have always been more secular than conservatives. It is the gender bias that comes as a surprise to me.

Link to article here. Link to report here.

Nov 28, 2006

Monday Night Football: then and now

I watched my first Monday Night football game while staying at the Ramada Inn in Fort Walton Beach Florida during an audit of the FWB Centel office (Centel is now owned by Sprint).

It was September 1970 and the game was between the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets.

Keith Jackson was the play-by-play announcer. Howard Cosell and former Dallas Cowboy quarterback Don Meredith joined Jackson in the broadcast booth.

At the start of the 2006 football season, the broadcast team left me cold. For me it was a big disappointment. After the third game the contention and disruption in the broadcast booth was just too much.

From then on I turned off the TV audio and listened to the play-by-play on the radio.

from left: Tony Kornheiser, Mike Tirico and Joe Theismann

I enjoy Monday Night Football so much more while listening to the radio broadcast where Tony Kornheiser is not a source of disruption and discord in the broadcast booth.

I don’t care if Kornheiser is a big-name Washington Post sports columnist, I choose not to listen to the TV game broadcast. I don’t like his argumentative, disruptive style.

To be fair, I should turn the radio off and listen to the TV broadcast again. Maybe Kornheiser has mellowed since the start of the 2006 football season.

Loveland Colorado reflections

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Nov 27, 2006

Emily Peoples

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Emily Peoples - our newest great grandchild

Thanks for coming back (updated and bumped)

After the recent disaster converting to the new Blogger beta, It’s nice of you to come back for a visit! Thanks for giving us another look.

Blogger beta doesn’t always work well with outside functionality requiring third-party code on the sidebar. Blogrolling, for instance, require new code from Blogrolling especially designed for Blogger beta.

More on the Blogger beta disaster here.

Contact ‘em by email

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Nov 26, 2006

Chainsaw motorcycle

The Dolmar company of Hamburg, Germany is noted for gas powered chain saws which they began making in 1927. Now they put their talents to work on a custom motorcycle unlike any other.

The end result is a monstrosity of a motorcycle they call the Dolmette.

The Dolmette uses 24 Dolmar chain saw engines. Power is transmitted by a series of belts to a Harley Davidson 5-speed transmission. The end result is a 24-cylinder, 2-stroke power source with a total displacement of 1900cc with about 170 horsepower.

This elongated speedster can reach speeds in excess of 120 MPH in third gear. The cycle is now on a publicity tour at locations around Europe. Wonder what 24 chains saw engines sound like all working in together? A bit tricky to ride on the street but the sight and sound would be awesome!

Link

How not to lead my example

There is a Washington Times article here that says:
House Democrats put lobbying reform near the top of their agenda, but their incoming majority leader was one of the biggest recipients of special-interest money.

A new report states that Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat, was the "most dependent" on special-interest funding and received the fifth-highest total in lobbying contributions among members of Congress.

Look for Hoyer to pretend to back lobbying reform while continuing to benefit from special interest funding. That’s the Democratic way.