Jul 10, 2010
Fishing in a green China sea
A fisherman rows a boat through the algae-filled Chaohu Lake in Chaohu, China.
Jul 9, 2010
Chaubunagungamaug Massachusetts is a mouthful
Lake Chaubunagungamaug is a mouthful.
Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg is an even bigger mouthful.
One of the world's longest place names started out a bit shorter.
Centuries ago local Nimpuc Indians reportedly called a 1,442-acre lake in present-day Massachusetts Chaubunagungamaugg, which historians translate to "Fishing Place at the Boundary."
When European settlers moved into the area, the Nimpuc apparently adopted the phrase Chargoggagoggmanchauggagogg, which means "Englishmen at Manchaug." Later they strung it together with their original lake name, winding up with the descriptor "Englishmen at Manchaug at the Fishing Place at the Boundary," or (deep breath) Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg.
Over the years, Massachusetts frustrated by misspelled signs and having to pronounce a tongue twister name have reportedly tried to change the name.
One attempt, in the 1950s, to reduce the number of g's from 15 to 13 inspired a poem that begins, "Touch not a g of our big lake!"
Currently the Department of the Interior lists the official name as Lake Chaubunagungamaugg. But some locals just call it Lake Webster.
Link
Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg is an even bigger mouthful.
One of the world's longest place names started out a bit shorter. Centuries ago local Nimpuc Indians reportedly called a 1,442-acre lake in present-day Massachusetts Chaubunagungamaugg, which historians translate to "Fishing Place at the Boundary."
When European settlers moved into the area, the Nimpuc apparently adopted the phrase Chargoggagoggmanchauggagogg, which means "Englishmen at Manchaug." Later they strung it together with their original lake name, winding up with the descriptor "Englishmen at Manchaug at the Fishing Place at the Boundary," or (deep breath) Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg.
Over the years, Massachusetts frustrated by misspelled signs and having to pronounce a tongue twister name have reportedly tried to change the name.
One attempt, in the 1950s, to reduce the number of g's from 15 to 13 inspired a poem that begins, "Touch not a g of our big lake!"
Currently the Department of the Interior lists the official name as Lake Chaubunagungamaugg. But some locals just call it Lake Webster.
Link
Bear cooling it in Gelsenkirchen zoo
A bear cools down in the water at a zoo in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
Running of the bulls in Pamplona Spain
Photos taken during the dangerous running of the bulls at the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, Spain.
Tanning salon patrons see red over increased cost get tan
As a part of ObamaCare, a vanity tax has been leveled at tanning salons the beginning of this month.
Tanning salon owners must now charge a 10 percent tax every time a customer uses a UV tanning bed and it's all in an effort to raise money to help pay for ObamaCare and to discourage Americans from subjecting themselves to cancer-causing UV rays.
The tanning industry is just the latest victim of government paternalism, putting it in the same category as cigarettes, alcohol, gambling, sodas, trans fats, junk food and other targets of so-called "sin taxes."
Link
Tanning salon owners must now charge a 10 percent tax every time a customer uses a UV tanning bed and it's all in an effort to raise money to help pay for ObamaCare and to discourage Americans from subjecting themselves to cancer-causing UV rays.
The tanning industry is just the latest victim of government paternalism, putting it in the same category as cigarettes, alcohol, gambling, sodas, trans fats, junk food and other targets of so-called "sin taxes."
Link
Jul 8, 2010
Sen. Boxer and former HP CEO nearly even in poll
From a Reuters report at the link below:
Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer's edge over Republican challenger Carly Fiorina has dwindled to 3 points as she seeks re-election in November, with more Californians now holding an unfavorable view of the three-term senator, a poll released on Thursday showed.
Boxer once held a 30-point lead over Fiorina.
Barbara Boxer is shown on left above. Carly Fiorina is on right.
Now, however, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard and a political novice, is ahead by a margin of only 47 percent to 44 percent.
One of Barack Obama's staunchest allies who has become a powerful liberal voice in the Senate since she was first elected in 1992, Boxer is facing her toughest challenge yet, as a wave of anti-incumbent sentiment sweeps the nation.
McDonald's faces lawsuit over Happy Meal toys
A watchdog group says giving away toys with Happy Meals contributes to childhood obesity and threatens to sue. McDonald's cites healthful menu choices.Citing toys aimed at promoting the latest "Shrek" movie, the Center for Science in the Public Interest said that the plastic promotions lure children into McDonald's restaurants where they are then likely to order food that is too high in calories, fat and salt.
Link
Prince Charles amid elephant sculptures
Prince Charles views some decorated elephant sculptures at the Royal Hospital, London The sculptures are to be auctioned to raise money to save the endangered Asian elephant.
The one with the bow tie is Charles.
Drug companies determined to get Harry Reid re-elected
From a Washington Examiner report:
LinkNo scalp would be as treasured by Republicans this fall as that of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (pictured). And no incumbent is receiving as much air support from the drug industry as is Reid, who championed a health care bill that pads drug company profits.
The drug lobby has begun a pro-Reid TV blitz in his home state of Nevada. One ad praises Reid for saving jobs and for understanding that "good jobs with good benefits [mean] a better future." The narrator then instructs viewers to "call Harry Reid today; tell him to keep fighting for Nevada families."
But "Nevada families" didn't pay for the ad. The drug lobby did. And while the TV spot makes only passing reference to the health care bill passed in March, there's no doubt this ad buy -- and the rest of the drug industry's generosity toward Harry Reid -- is a big thank you for the corporate-welfare "reform" bill that Reid shepherded through the Senate.
Jul 7, 2010
TSA rescinds ban on “controversial opinion” websites
This is an update on the recent directive from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to their employees forbidding them from websites with "controversial opinions."
After an uproar from conservative bloggers and free-speech activists, the Transportation Security Administration late Tuesday rescinded a new policy that would have prevented employees from accessing websites with "controversial opinions" on TSA computers at work.
It is interesting to know that TSA workers now can have access to Rush Limbaugh along with pornographic websites (porno sites were not - and are still not - on the list of forbidden sites).
The original report is here.
The policy reversal story is here.
After an uproar from conservative bloggers and free-speech activists, the Transportation Security Administration late Tuesday rescinded a new policy that would have prevented employees from accessing websites with "controversial opinions" on TSA computers at work.
It is interesting to know that TSA workers now can have access to Rush Limbaugh along with pornographic websites (porno sites were not - and are still not - on the list of forbidden sites).
The original report is here.
The policy reversal story is here.
Japan court convicts anti-whaling activist
Anti-whaling activist Peter Bethune (pictured) was given a two-year suspended prison sentence and five years' probation Wednesday by a Tokyo district court judge for his role in boarding a Japanese whaling ship.
Bethune was found guilty on five charges, ranging from assault against whalers to trespassing onto a whaling vessel. Bethune had previously pleaded guilty to all charges but assault.
The New Zealand citizen could have received up to 15 years behind bars in Japanese prison.
At the May hearing, Bethune tearfully described the January collision between the Shonan Maru 2 and the Sea Shepherd's multi-million-dollar catamaran style speedboat, the Ady Gil. The crash sunk the Ady Gil (pictured), which Bethune captained.
Link
Bethune was found guilty on five charges, ranging from assault against whalers to trespassing onto a whaling vessel. Bethune had previously pleaded guilty to all charges but assault. The New Zealand citizen could have received up to 15 years behind bars in Japanese prison.
At the May hearing, Bethune tearfully described the January collision between the Shonan Maru 2 and the Sea Shepherd's multi-million-dollar catamaran style speedboat, the Ady Gil. The crash sunk the Ady Gil (pictured), which Bethune captained.Link
Rockies baseball fans may need cardiologist's permission to see home games
On the 4th of July the Colorado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants by a score of 4-3 but it took 5 hours, 24 minutes to do it. It was the longest game ever at Coors Field in Denver. Story here.
Last night in the first game of a three game series with the St. Louis Cardinals the Rockies gave their fans another reason to give their heart medicine a workout.
In the first game of a three game series with a very good St. Louis Cardinal team, the Rockies entered the bottom of the 9th inning trailing by 6 runs. The Rockies scored 9 runs for a 12-9 victory. It was the largest ninth-inning comeback in Rockies history. The previous best was four runs.
Story here.
Last night in the first game of a three game series with the St. Louis Cardinals the Rockies gave their fans another reason to give their heart medicine a workout.In the first game of a three game series with a very good St. Louis Cardinal team, the Rockies entered the bottom of the 9th inning trailing by 6 runs. The Rockies scored 9 runs for a 12-9 victory. It was the largest ninth-inning comeback in Rockies history. The previous best was four runs.
Story here.
Feds helped pay bills for prisoners and dead people
An article at the link below reports that the federal government helped pay home air-conditioning bills for federal employees, prisoners and dead people!
According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the federal government helped pay the home air conditioning bills for more than 11,000 dead people, 1,100 federal employees, and 725 convicts in fiscal year 2009.
The payments were made by a $5 billion program known as the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
LIHEAP is designed to provide federal assistance, administered by the states, to help people pay the energy bills to heat their homes in the winter and cool them in the summer.
The GAO examined the LIHEAP programs in seven states: Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, New York, Illinois, Michigan, and New Jersey and found evidence of fraud in each state.
Most glaring among the problems the GAO found were payments of LIHEAP benefits to dead people, some of whom, records show, had been dead for quite a long time.
The GAO matched LIHEAP data with federal civilian payroll records and found about 1,100 federal employees whose federal salary exceeded the maximum income threshold at the time of their application.
One such case involved a Chicago-area Postal Service employee making $80,000 per year!
The program also provided subsidies to the wife of another Chicago-area postal worker, who earned $84,000 per year, after the wife certified that her husband had no income.
The third chronic issue the GAO discovered was that the program repeatedly paid the air conditioning and heating bill of convicts who were in jail at the time the payments were made!
More here.
Jul 6, 2010
A hat to celebrate Tour de France
photo by Bogdan Cristel - Reuters via Time Magazine
A severe heat wave and no alarms from global warmists?
With a severe heat wave in the east and no "I told you so" warnings from the "global warming" alarmists is almost alarming in itself.
The "warming fraternity" is as silent now as they were during the long frigid winter we had a few months ago.
Are they still in shock from the scandal surrounding their guru Al Gore? Are they in hiding, waiting to see if there are any other Gored women out there?
[sarcasm off]
The "warming fraternity" is as silent now as they were during the long frigid winter we had a few months ago.
Are they still in shock from the scandal surrounding their guru Al Gore? Are they in hiding, waiting to see if there are any other Gored women out there? [sarcasm off]
Hotel in the sky for luxury transportation
The Aircruise is designed to be a multiple unit dwelling in the sky for luxury transportation. The initial design proposes a bar/lounge zone, four duplex apartments, a penthouse and five smaller apartments.
The photo on the left shows the Aircruise tethered to the ground. The photo on right shows an Aircruise floating in the sky.
The aircraft would be limited to a height of 12,000 feet because the hotel is not pressurized and the hydrogen keeping it afloat constricts at the colder temperatures found at extreme elevations.
Link
The photo on the left shows the Aircruise tethered to the ground. The photo on right shows an Aircruise floating in the sky.
The aircraft would be limited to a height of 12,000 feet because the hotel is not pressurized and the hydrogen keeping it afloat constricts at the colder temperatures found at extreme elevations.
Link
Lightning at the Parthenon in Athens, Greece
A flash of lightning illuminates the sky above the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple in Athens.
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