In UK, a former National Health Service director died while waiting for a follow-up stomach operation at her own hospital.
Remember: If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Our Wilsonian President & His Wilsonian War
A fine analysis by Walter Russell Mead.
If you're the thoughtful type, you should probably be reading Mead's blog regularly.
If you're the thoughtful type, you should probably be reading Mead's blog regularly.
Message In A Bottle: Baltic Sea, 24 Years Later
Tossed off the side of a ship by a German boy, found 24 years later by a Russian boy.
The article theorizes that the glass bottle spent most of that time buried in beach sand, and that's probably true; fragile glass wouldn't easily have survived in the water for 24 years, and would have been covered with marine growths.
You're better off, if you wish to throw a bottle message into the sea, to use a modern lightweight plastic bottle. I've had pretty good success with such bottles, myself. It's a great thrill to receive an email noting that a bottle you threw into the sea had been found. Click the tag below for some of those stories.
The article theorizes that the glass bottle spent most of that time buried in beach sand, and that's probably true; fragile glass wouldn't easily have survived in the water for 24 years, and would have been covered with marine growths.
You're better off, if you wish to throw a bottle message into the sea, to use a modern lightweight plastic bottle. I've had pretty good success with such bottles, myself. It's a great thrill to receive an email noting that a bottle you threw into the sea had been found. Click the tag below for some of those stories.
Bull Market In Satanism Creates Opportunities For Careers In Exorcism
Sorry, couldn't resist giving this story a headline of the sort that might be found at USA Today or Yahoo! News.
Meanwhile, Also In South Carolina...
...the Lucky Seven #2 convenience store in Gadsden has been ordered to stop selling raccoon meat.
I'd have to guess that, if Robert Earl Keen had been a native of South Carolina instead of Texas, that raccoon meat would have been on the list of items to buy in the song Merry Christmas From the Family:
I'd have to guess that, if Robert Earl Keen had been a native of South Carolina instead of Texas, that raccoon meat would have been on the list of items to buy in the song Merry Christmas From the Family:
Babysitter FAIL of the Day
IF you're going to be a babysitter and you have a habit of smoking marijuana, it's probably good policy NOT to teach your young charges how to roll joints.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Fried...Pie
Now I'll be the first to admit that although I'm a Southerner born and bred, there's a lot of traditional Southern cuisine I don't eat, nor have ever tasted. One such treat is Fried Pie.
Note: I haven't tried this recipe, so I don't know how it tastes or will turn out. I just offer it for your consideration.
I'll see if I can find one in a local convenience store, since I'm not a skilled baker. If you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out.
Note: I haven't tried this recipe, so I don't know how it tastes or will turn out. I just offer it for your consideration.
I'll see if I can find one in a local convenience store, since I'm not a skilled baker. If you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out.
Interesting Side-Effect Of War
Because so many military members stationed in North Carolina are deployed overseas in our various wars, North Carolina will not receive an additional Congressional seat that it would have been awarded from the results of the 2010 Census.
It works this way: if the military members had been home in North Carolina, they would have been counted as NC residents for Census purposes; since they were all deployed, the Census counts them as part of their home state, or state of origin. (It's explained better in the linked story, believe me).
Another interesting side-effect of this Census practice is that, since most of the large US military bases are in the South, potential loss of seats in Congress would be larger from Southern states than northern/midwest states with smaller military populations. Of course, those same northern and midwest states are the ones that lose residents due to high taxes/high cost of living, so it seems to balance out, doesn't it?
It works this way: if the military members had been home in North Carolina, they would have been counted as NC residents for Census purposes; since they were all deployed, the Census counts them as part of their home state, or state of origin. (It's explained better in the linked story, believe me).
Another interesting side-effect of this Census practice is that, since most of the large US military bases are in the South, potential loss of seats in Congress would be larger from Southern states than northern/midwest states with smaller military populations. Of course, those same northern and midwest states are the ones that lose residents due to high taxes/high cost of living, so it seems to balance out, doesn't it?
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Our Son-In-Law, the Pirate
A Somali pirate who is holding a Danish family captive is willing to forego ransom demands if they instead give him their 13-year-old daughter as a wife.
This is so bizarre a story I don't even know how to comment on it.
This is so bizarre a story I don't even know how to comment on it.
Over At Massad Ayoob's Blog...
...Mas celebrates the birthday of the 1911 by showing off the first one he ever owned, and still owns.
And it's a 1911, not a 1911A1, but has been customised a bit down through the years; not, however, to extremes. He didn't turn it into a racegun, in other words.
And it's a 1911, not a 1911A1, but has been customised a bit down through the years; not, however, to extremes. He didn't turn it into a racegun, in other words.
Drunkenness, Or Perhaps Tourette's
That's the only thing I can conclude as to the reason Jacqueline Howett destroyed her budding writing career with an ill-advised series of replies to a bad book review. The review and the comments have gone viral, and Howett is a laughingstock.
h/t John Scalzi.
h/t John Scalzi.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Whole Lot Erasin' Goin' On
In some Washington DC schools where low standardized test scores are endangering teacher jobs because of the No Child Left Behind Act, there's a whole lot of erasing being done on those tests.
*nudge nudge wink wink* Say no more!
*nudge nudge wink wink* Say no more!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Treasure Blog: Atocha
If you thought that Mel Fisher's success in finding the Nuestra Señora de Atocha was finished back in the 1970's, you'd be wrong.
Fisher is dead now, of course, but his company still owns the salvage rights to the Atocha, and they'll tell you that all of the treasure hasn't yet been recovered: for instance, this gold cross and chain, fished up recently:
Apparently the contents of the stern castle of the ship, where the wealthy passengers were quartered, have not been found, and there is potentially billions of dollars in treasure to be gained if the stern castle is discovered.
Fisher is dead now, of course, but his company still owns the salvage rights to the Atocha, and they'll tell you that all of the treasure hasn't yet been recovered: for instance, this gold cross and chain, fished up recently:
Apparently the contents of the stern castle of the ship, where the wealthy passengers were quartered, have not been found, and there is potentially billions of dollars in treasure to be gained if the stern castle is discovered.
Traveler's Advisory
If you're traveling to Austria, don't yodel during the Islamic call to prayer. That's now a crime.
h/t reason.com
I note that the yodeler's name is Helmut Griese, which sounds like a character name from Spaceballs.
h/t reason.com
I note that the yodeler's name is Helmut Griese, which sounds like a character name from Spaceballs.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Knobby In Shelby
In other words: Bigfoot (Sasquatch) in Shelby, NC.
Shelby is about 40 miles from here; I go up there occasionally to eat BBQ.
I'm as skeptical on Bigfoot/Yeti/Loch Ness Monster sightings as I am on the subject of God and necrodestinations. When someone brings in a Bigfoot carcass for scientists to study, or even better, brings one back alive á la Frank Buck, I'll give it some consideration, but until then, not so much. These things usually turn out to be canny rural people hoaxing city people, and it's not a new phenomenon.
If you go to the details of the story at the website linked by Fox News, you read some fun stuff, such as:
4. I was there on the road with it and I truly believe it was real. I clearly saw its private parts and it was a male. I have never saw a suit with male parts. I could clearly see its rear and anal region when it ran into the woods.There was a very distinct odor coming from this animal. I believe it was real. I do not see how it could have been anyone wearing a suit. Unless I am proved wrong I will always believe this was a real living breathing being.
And...
5. It is a Slick brand cheap video camera I purchased at the Dollar Store. I wish I had been in possession of a better camera but it was what I had. When it ran into the woods I tried to follow it in but the camera would not pick up anything in the darkness there under the trees.
And, don't provoke it!
7. When it growled at me I saw yellow teeth in a very real looking mouth. It threw its hands up in the air and I don't know why when it growled at me. I do not think it was waving at me I think it was pissed that I was there on the road with it.
Like so many other people in rural NC, Knobby needs some dental work.
h/t Hot Air Headlines.
Shelby is about 40 miles from here; I go up there occasionally to eat BBQ.
I'm as skeptical on Bigfoot/Yeti/Loch Ness Monster sightings as I am on the subject of God and necrodestinations. When someone brings in a Bigfoot carcass for scientists to study, or even better, brings one back alive á la Frank Buck, I'll give it some consideration, but until then, not so much. These things usually turn out to be canny rural people hoaxing city people, and it's not a new phenomenon.
If you go to the details of the story at the website linked by Fox News, you read some fun stuff, such as:
4. I was there on the road with it and I truly believe it was real. I clearly saw its private parts and it was a male. I have never saw a suit with male parts. I could clearly see its rear and anal region when it ran into the woods.There was a very distinct odor coming from this animal. I believe it was real. I do not see how it could have been anyone wearing a suit. Unless I am proved wrong I will always believe this was a real living breathing being.
And...
5. It is a Slick brand cheap video camera I purchased at the Dollar Store. I wish I had been in possession of a better camera but it was what I had. When it ran into the woods I tried to follow it in but the camera would not pick up anything in the darkness there under the trees.
And, don't provoke it!
7. When it growled at me I saw yellow teeth in a very real looking mouth. It threw its hands up in the air and I don't know why when it growled at me. I do not think it was waving at me I think it was pissed that I was there on the road with it.
Like so many other people in rural NC, Knobby needs some dental work.
h/t Hot Air Headlines.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Another Type of Gallantry
A newly published book claims that Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie engaged in sexual intercourse during the love scene for the movie Don't Look Now.
Mr. Sutherland is refuting the claim, saying that intercourse didn't occur.
While Sutherland is a liberal ideologically and has starred in several left-wing films from the debauched 60's and 70's, his refutation in this instance is very virtuous. It could simply be the truth; if it's not, then Sutherland is displaying an old-fashioned gallantry in his denial of dalliance with the lovely Ms. Christie. In these latter days of reality shows, such a denial would be unheard of; boasting, smirking and winking (by both man and woman involved) would be the order of the day.
Well done, Mr. Sutherland.
Of course, it's not the same order of magnitude as single-handedly taking on 30 Taliban or charging two machine-gun nests, but...well, it IS Julie Christie we're talking about here...Hmmm.
I'll have to think about this one for a while. Here's a pic of Christie from the time period involved, you decide for yourself if you could forgo:
Mr. Sutherland is refuting the claim, saying that intercourse didn't occur.
While Sutherland is a liberal ideologically and has starred in several left-wing films from the debauched 60's and 70's, his refutation in this instance is very virtuous. It could simply be the truth; if it's not, then Sutherland is displaying an old-fashioned gallantry in his denial of dalliance with the lovely Ms. Christie. In these latter days of reality shows, such a denial would be unheard of; boasting, smirking and winking (by both man and woman involved) would be the order of the day.
Well done, Mr. Sutherland.
Of course, it's not the same order of magnitude as single-handedly taking on 30 Taliban or charging two machine-gun nests, but...well, it IS Julie Christie we're talking about here...Hmmm.
I'll have to think about this one for a while. Here's a pic of Christie from the time period involved, you decide for yourself if you could forgo:
1 Gurkha, 30 Taliban: Gurkha Wins, Of Course
You expected differently from a Gurkha?
My only disappointment is he didn't decapitate the SOB's with his Kukri.
My only disappointment is he didn't decapitate the SOB's with his Kukri.
Chuck Him Out, the Brute!
Meanwhile, over in Oz (Australia)...
The Australian Defence Minister had to apologize to the Afghan government over Australian soldiers calling Afghans "Sand Niggaz," "Ragheads," and "Dune Coons."
The head of the Australian Navy has warned the seagoing service to end its culture of alcohol-fueled debauchery. (Knock off the rum and sodomy, or it's the Lash!)
The Prince of Wales is defending the Australians for referring to him as a "Pommy Poofter."
And also, almost incidentally...
a member of the Australian SAS won the Victoria Cross for conspicuous gallantry in Afghanistan, charging two separate machine-gun nests single-handedly.
All of this simply reinforces the words of Rudyard Kipling:
We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.
From Tommy.
update: added the Churchill reference in the Navy link.
The Australian Defence Minister had to apologize to the Afghan government over Australian soldiers calling Afghans "Sand Niggaz," "Ragheads," and "Dune Coons."
The head of the Australian Navy has warned the seagoing service to end its culture of alcohol-fueled debauchery. (Knock off the rum and sodomy, or it's the Lash!)
The Prince of Wales is defending the Australians for referring to him as a "Pommy Poofter."
And also, almost incidentally...
a member of the Australian SAS won the Victoria Cross for conspicuous gallantry in Afghanistan, charging two separate machine-gun nests single-handedly.
All of this simply reinforces the words of Rudyard Kipling:
We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.
From Tommy.
update: added the Churchill reference in the Navy link.
Best Wishes Sought
Sara, the companion of my BBQ forays, underwent gastric bypass surgery this past Monday. She intends to lose a lot of weight, and this was the solution she chose. Please send her your best wishes as she recovers from her surgery.
A Question I'm Sure You'll Ask
"So, Bob, are you going to be any more profound this time? What makes you think you're qualified to be a blogger?"
Well, if Barack Obama feels himself qualified to be Commander-In-Chief and send our young men to war in Libya, I certainly feel qualified to snark on that subject.
Well, if Barack Obama feels himself qualified to be Commander-In-Chief and send our young men to war in Libya, I certainly feel qualified to snark on that subject.
Zippos & Rippos
Zippo of Bradford, PA has problems with Chinese knock-offs.
I have a few Zippos at home, but they basically stay in a drawer. You're better off with a $3 disposable butane lighter than you are with a Zippo. And if you're a non-smoker and don't need the convenience of a lighter, you can carry a Swedish Army Firesteel as an emergency firestarter.
I have a few Zippos at home, but they basically stay in a drawer. You're better off with a $3 disposable butane lighter than you are with a Zippo. And if you're a non-smoker and don't need the convenience of a lighter, you can carry a Swedish Army Firesteel as an emergency firestarter.
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