Monthly archive for June2014

When I say that we still don’t even know what we don’t know, I mean that we are discovering new things all the time that we didn’t know existed and therefore didn’t know that we didn’t know them.

You’d think we’d know all there is to know about the oceans, especially the surface and currents, since man has been sailing the oceans since the dawn of time.  But now scientists have discovered enormous votices (plural of “vortex”) of water called mesoscale eddies that swirl their way across the oceans, each one a 60 mile wide and 3,000 foot deep mountain of water that will persist for months or even years.  These are different from the large circular ocean currents known as “gyres”.  The discovery will likely change atmospheric modeling methods.  Huh.  I thought the science was settled.

call me “Eddie”

This reminds me of some years ago when scientists were surprised to find eddies in the rings of Saturn.  Read more about it here – Wired.com: Giant Ocean Vortices Seen From Space Could Change Climate Models

Cross posted at Men Out of Work Blog

Today the United States Supreme Court ruled on two cases.  I won’t go into details here – I may at a later date, but I don’t think readers of this blog want to wade that deep into the law.  If you do feel like wading, here are a couple good places to do so:   SCOTUSblog     and     The Volokh Conspiracy. My intention here is to make a broader observation, especially in light of the fact that Independence Day is just a few days away. Begin Observation:  The U.S. Supreme Court consists of nine Justices and is the people’s last line of defense against an overreaching Congress or President or in this case, both.  Often, as today, cases are decided with a one justice majority, i.e. 5-4.  In my informed opinion, four of the Justices are reliably pro-government and believe in essentially unlimited government power, regardless of Constitutional text.  Since I cannot see into their hearts to divine their true intentions, I give them benefit of the doubt and assume their motives are benevolent, and their goal is to build a utopian society where all forms of entitelments are “rights”, certain favored classes have more rights than others and the government is the source and sole provider of those rights.  Should a fifth Justice join them to form a pro-government majority, we can kiss our free country goodbye since individual liberty would be impossible in such a society.  I find the prospect of their benevolence frightening, especially in light of the fact that any means they choose to achieve their ends would be done with the blessing of their conscience.

click on the picture to enlarge

No matter your ideaology, remember that a government big enough to give you everything you want can also take from you everything you have.  And take it will…because Government has nothing to give anyone that it hasn’t first taken from someone else.

I have an idea to balance California’s budget.  What’s that you say?  California already has a balanced budget?  I see…I see.  Look at that last line there…on the bottom.  In small print.  Why would there be $20,000.000.00 appropriated for “Smoke and Mirrors”?  Hmmm?  You see my point.

I have a real world solution.  We simply replace the entire legislature with a broken clock.

This one should do the trick

It’s a fact that a broken clock is right twice a day, which is two times a day more than the legislature is.  Case In Point: Plastic Bag Bans Will Cost You.

The fact that my idea is stupid is no reason not to do it.  That never stops the Legislature from pushing their silliness on all of us.  Besides…it’s for the children.  And it’s not stupid if it’s for the children.

You’re Welcome!

Unidentified sources reveal that there are behind the scenes discussions at the State Capitol to introduce legislation that would require all legal residents of California to wear Birkenstock Sandals.  No attempt to verify the report was neccessary, since the legislature’s record on such matters combined with the sheer stupidity of the proposal makes it a statistical impossibilty that the report is not true.

Members of the Democratic caucuses in both chambers are reportedly “giddy” at the prospect of moving California a quantum leap forward toward the zen state of “Liberal Utopia”.  “This legislation checks all the boxes”,  one politico gushed.  It adresses footwear inequality, global warming and landfill overcrowding, among other things.  Perhaps most importantly, it reduces the undue influence the Global Footwear Conglomerates have over the California economy.  It was previously believed that the best way to reduce the economic clout of these and other big corporations was to simply destroy the California economy altogether, then those evil corporations would “just go away and leave us alone”.  Those efforts continue apace.

But total destruction of the economy would only go so far – other measures were needed.  A staffer who requested anonymity stated “One of the hurdles we’ve always had to cross was how to get all Californians to think like burnt-out Haight-Ashbury refugees.  Then one day the light went on:  If we can get people to dress like burnt-out Haight-Ashbury refugees, they will start to think like them.  It is hoped that a side benefit of the legislation would be to drive any remaining rational people out of the state once and for all.  Everyone knows that there is no place in the California political debate for fact-based rational analysis, and it’s time for these people to just go away and stop harshing on us all the time.  Of course we would require them to continue to pay California taxes.  You know what they say:  You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.  Ha Ha.”

A comment was sought from the State Republican Party, but it was flat on it’s back, not breathing and with no discernable pulse.

Word has it that final touches are being put on the bill at this moment as legislators work out their color preferences and whether any synthetic materials should be permitted, or whether to add a $100.00 “Bullet Train” surcharge on the production of what some are already calling “the State Sandal”.  Also being considered is a rider to the bill to make Marijuana use mandatory in order for the government’s actions to be percieved as “sane” by the general public, though there is debate as to whether a stronger drug would be needed to produce that effect.

No real people other than myself contributed to this report.

Cross posted at Men Out of Work Blog

I have not written a post about the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 since May 18th  because there have been no new developments.  Yesterday, however it was reported in the Wall Street Journal that Australian Authorities have announced a new search area and are seeking bids from private contractors to search that area.

Since the plane disappeared on March 8th, thousands of square miles of the Indian Ocean west of Australia have been searched, but have yielded no trace of the missing plane.  The new search area was deduced using a combination of known facts and educated guesswork.  The current assumption is that the plane’s autopilot was switched on (it could not have been accidentally engaged) after the plane deviated from it’s assigned course, and that the plane flew on it’s own for several hours after the crew was disabled, possibly from hypoxia or oxygen depletion.

This is a mystery that may never be solved.  The search area is immense and in arguably the most remote and unfriendly ocean in the world.  Even if the wreck is found it may not hold all the answers to what happened and why.  The investigation continues…

WSJ: Australian Report Postulates Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Lost Oxygen

One final one hit wonder for you…because I can:

Today let me walk you down memory lane for a little one hit wonder action – 1970’s style, baby!  I have often referenced the AM Radio Top 40 format in my past music posts, and so these songs are songs that made the charts and therfore received play time on AM radio in the 70’s.  Now, just because these songs were on the charts doesn’t mean they were good.  I’m conviced that a couple of these made the charts simply because they sounded very much like popular bands of the day.  Everybody in?  Seatbelts on?  Please keep your hand and feet inside the vehicle…here we go.

OK, just so I don’t piss you off immediately, the first song is actually a good song, and you may still hear it on the radio if you listen to a classic rock station.  It is What You Won’t do For Love by  early “Blue Eyed Soul” artist Bobby Caldwell.

That is one Mellow Groove.  Next up is an American group called “The Ides of March”.  They must have been Shakespeare fans (they were).  Anyhoo…this song is titled simply Vehicle.  You may recognize it – you also may recognize that it sounds very much like “Blood Sweat and Tears” who were very a popular band at this time with several hit records of their own.  It’s possible that was the formula – pick a popular band and imitate their sound as closely as possible.  Here’s Vehicle:

Not bad…and yep.  A lot like Blood Sweat and Tears.  OK, I saved the worst for last.  I’m not kidding.  I can’t exactly tell you not to listen to this song since I’m the one who posted it, but you probably won’t make it all the way through, I’ll bet.  I’m pretty sure these guys were trying to cash in on sounding very much like the Bee Gees – the band is Tin Tin and the song is Toast and Marmalade for Tea

That is horrible.  I don’t know how it charted.  I had initially thought of doing this entire post with bad songs like that.  God knows there were plenty of them!  Now I’m glad I didn’t.  Please forgive me for that one.  But if you can remember any stinkers and wish to relive the trauma, leave them in the comments and maybe I’ll treat..I mean punish everyone with them in a future post.

Boys and Girls, please remain in the car until it comes to a complete stop….and thank you for visiting!  Please come again and have a great day!

Because I felt like sayin’ a little prayer

These three things I pray…Amen

The Boeing 747, one of the world’s most recognizable aircraft, was the first wide body jet built and revolutionized air transportion.  When it was introduced in 1970, it carried twice as many passengers as then current airliners.  It’s cavernous cargo capacity brought airfreight into the realm of financial feasability.  During it’s development it was designed to be easily converted to cargo hauling because the conventional wisdom of the day was that subsonic aircraft like the 747 would soon be rendered obsolete as passenger liners due to the imminent introduction of supersonic airliners.  The predicted proliferation of the supersonics never materialized – the lone SST, the Concorde, has come and gone.  Boeing expected to sell 400;  As of April 2014, 1487 have been built with another 51 on order.  The “Queen of the Skies” still reigns.

I am awed by the fact that a machine this large can fly – it can have a takeoff weight nearly one million pounds, and a range of over 9,000 miles!  Amazing!  Click here for tons of pictures.  Here are some clips of the bird in action – enjoy!

Today we learn that the 1st quarter 2014 GDP estimate is revised down again!.  The US Gross Domestic Product (GDP), often referred to generically as “the economy” contracted for the 1st quarter of 2014.  Originally estimated at a merely anemic .01% it was revised downward for a second time, this time to a disastrous -2.9%.  That’s minus 2.9%.  Oh…did I say disastrous?  I meant awesome!

It’s ok, because now the economy is even more poised to rebound!  So much more rebound potential!  I mean, we thought is was poised before.  Turns out that was nothing.  It is now poised like a…like a…giant poised thing.  Because…something something.  Trust me.  We are in great shape.

Hang on.  I hear some kind of alarm…