New Madrid Quake?

Earthquake.

Living here in California, I've been through a few. I was sitting in a Denny's Restaurant (finally getting around to eating lunch) about four miles from the epicenter of the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. The Denny's is located off of Highway 17 in Scotts Valley near the summit of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

I had no idea how devastating the quake was until I arrived home. I should have guessed how bad it was when the power went out and the lamp poles in the parking lot were waving like palm trees in a hurricane.

I just tossed a $20.00 on the counter and bolted for my truck.

If you missed it, or were in part of the country that kinda was hoping California was going to fall off into the ocean, you can look at some gnarly (pronounced NAR-lee for all you hodads out there) photos here.

I wasn't able to receive any radio stations on the stereo in my old Dodge Ram. Just static came through, so I think I was listening to the soundtrack from the movie "Innerspace". I had this thing for the music of Wang Chung at the time. Hey, it was the 80's and I guess you had to be there. Navigating a mountain after an earthquake is an interesting experience. The strange thing is, I remember very little of the trip. Just bits and pieces of it.

When I got down off the mountain and into Los Gatos, it was freakin' sureal. It was starting to get dark, and there were cop cars, ambulances, firetrucks, city vehicles all with their lights flashing all over the place. Man, it was like being at Studio 54 while on acid. It was probably even worse news for some poor epileptic who got caught out there in that stroboscopic nightmare.

Toppled power poles. Collapsed buildings. Houses off their foundations. People standing dumbstruck in the streets. Dogs and kids running everywhere. And darkness coming with the power out.

Back then cell phones were expensive and somewhat of a rarity. Not to mention they were so huge you could use them as a weapon. I had a pager, but it wasn't working. Well, more accurately no one could page me because the phones were either out or overloaded by the volume of calls.

I had no idea how freaked out my girlfriend (now my wife) was and how she was trying to reach me. I had no idea that the dispatchers for the company I work for were trying madly to reach me via pager, and by calling my home.

Nope.

I was playing tourist on my drive home to San Jose. Just taking in the sights of chaos and destruction that surrounded me.

When I got home, I was greeted by one of my housemates. He was sitting soaking wet wearing his swim trunks in the living room eating a bowl of cereal and watching TV. Several blocks of homes around us didn't lose power after the quake, but it did come and go through the next week as repairs to surrounding areas were made.

I saw the scenes of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge on the TV. My housemate was upset that World Series had been interrupted. It was then I noticed that the carpet in the living room was soaked, and that the pool was half empty.

I asked my housemate about it. "Dude, it was so GNARLY! The pool was like a giant tidal wave, man! I didn't know it was coming so I totally barnwallered!" The fool had been in the pool when the quake hit. The water sloshed out like when kids move the water back and forth in a bath tub. It explained why the carpet was soaked.

He's lucky that the water hadn't thrown him head first into the side of the pool.

It started to dawn on me that this whole thing was pretty serious.

I tried to call my mom, brother, boss, the dispatchers, and my girlfriend. The lines were completely jammed.

"Dude, have you been upstairs?" I asked.

"Shaaaaa, man look at the book case. Why do you think I'm still sitting here wet? I ain't going to be no Freddie and try and climb that!"

I went to the stairs and saw the book case that used to be at the top of the stairs was now halfway down the stairs and blocking the damn thing. I started heaving books to the bottom of the stairs. After clearing the stairs so I wouldn't risk sliding on a book, I worked the book case free and started shoving it back up the stairs.

I had to force the door to my bedroom open as EVERYTHING was now on the floor.

I made a quick tour of the exterior of the house and checked the breaker box, the gasline and water line where they came into the house. In my neighborhood all the utilities were underground, so I wasn't too worried.

I grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom to clean up. I didn't know how long we would have power or gas. So I wanted to take advantage of it while I could.

After cleaning up, I tried making phone calls again with still no luck.

I told my housemate to let John and Jean (the other two housemates) that I was okay, and I'd be back later. I was going to try and get down to my girlfriend's house.

The drive down to Morgan Hill along Old Monterey Highway was uneventful. I was the only vehicle until I got to Madrone.

Traffic lights were out. Power was out. And people were wandering around in the streets.

I jumped over to Railroad Avenue and took the back way to my girlfriend's.

Her place was trashed. It looked like the Ramones had thrown a party there. I spent the evening helping her and her folks clean up the place.

I'll post more tomorrow, I've gotta grab some shuteye. I have to be at an early job.

Back from the dead

First,

Allow me to apologize for my protracted and unannounced absence from this blog and others that I read and participate in.

Sometimes things just get squirrely, and you just have to ride the wave and chillax.

I appreciate that some of y'all out there expressed concern for my well being.

What happened was a wedding (not mine, Thank God or my wife would have killed me), several days of training from some folks from a very fine Swedish company, Axis Communications, and several more days placating a few angry customers. Axis has some very fine megapixel IP cameras, BTW.

Then there's been the whole screwy cluster with the stock market, and the economy. Things here in California are seriously screwed up. Anyone ever seen a walking rectum in an Armani suit? Well, then my friend, you've seen a California politician!

The posturing and the spewing of offal from politicos at the national level just got to me as well, and I had a serious case of the vapors. Breathing into a paper sack won't do much for you when every fiber in your being starts screaming for you to introduce certain people to the wonders of a Case 580 and a bag of lime.

Notice how deep the 580 will dig. Keep it in mind. It may prove handy when you decide you don't like your daughter's boyfriend. Yes, that's right, you can bury his car (make sure you break the glass out after dumping it into the hole, you don't want the glass to break later. The soil will settle into the empty space and create an easily noticed void in your landscape) or motorcycle too. Remember kids, "Shallow graves are bad."

I can't believe I just typed that.

Oh well, I guess that shows you how much thought I've put into dealing with certain things when the time comes.

So, as you can see, I'm chillaxing at the moment. If this is chillaxing, you can imagine what was running around inside my skull when I was really missing out on the glide.

So, it was necessary for me to avoid the Internet for a few days in order to get myself in a coherent state. I have this old friend who calls every night, and says we need to get reacquainted.

Jack has this knack for getting in trouble.

Mr. Daniels, I may just decide that trouble is what I need to take the edge off.

More News

You have to watch this video.

After being being born into the US Army and being dragged halfway around the world on Uncle Sam's nickel, I wound up in California when my dad retired.

The land of Fruits and Nuts.

I'm a "nut" in case y'all haven't figured it out.

The American Taxpayer was mugged

Now you're being raped.

American Express, a credit card company, has just become a "bank" so that they can get bailout funds as well.

Read the story here.

I'll bet on April 15th they won't even blow you a kiss.

Veteran's Day

The Tyrants The tyrants are loose again;
They hate all but their own.
They give their lives to kill us,
To scatter our blood and bone. They care not whom they murder,
Whether woman, man or child;
Their minds are full of fury;
Their sickness has gone wild. To rule the world with violence
Is their one and only goal;
Terror is their method;
They want complete control. We’ve seen it all before,
And we could not let it be;
We gave our lives for freedom,
For the world, and for you and me. We fight all forms of oppression,
Helping victims far and near,
To keep the world from chaos,
To protect what we hold dear. America’s the only country
That gives with its whole heart,
And asks so very little;
We always do our part. So let’s unite again
To subdue our newest foe,
Whatever we must do,
Wherever we must go. Let’s show the world once more
That America is blessed
With people who are heroes,
Who meet each and every test.

By Joanna Fuchs

I can only offer my thanks to all of you who have served valiantly since this nation was founded. -Catman

Firearms Industry Press Releases

Wow.

Frankly I am amazed that TWO industry press releases were available on Market Watch.

Maybe people are starting to wake up to how much their rights and their future are being threatened at this point.

Firearms Industry Addresses Rising Gun Sales; Obama Administration Showing Anti-Gun Cards Early

CCRKBA Asks Democrats: 'Has Party's Anti-Gun Mask Come Off?'

GUNS! GUNS! GUNS!

Another post about guns.

This appeared in the Kansas City Star.

Obama's welcome assault on the NRA and gun lovers

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Gun lovers across America are concerned that Barack Obama's administration will take on the National Rifle Association and impose stiffer gun laws. Let's hope so.

Shop owners are reporting an upsurge in sale since Obama's election last Tuesday. Why?

Because many people fear that Obama and a Democratic-controlled Congress will try to stop them from buying assault rifles -- as if there's any reason in the world for a citizen to own such a thing.

And some Americans are worried that Congress will take away their rights to own three, four or more guns -- as if any American family truly needs that much firepower in their home.

Obama handily won the election, it should be noted, even with the NRA running extremely negative ads against him. That should tell you a little bit about the "power" of the NRA in our national elections.

Still, Obama hasn't yet made gun legislation one of his top priorities. He probably won't in the near future, either. He faces big obstacles in reviving the U.S. economy, which has tanked under an incompetent president, George Bush.

But gun haters across the nation can only hope that Obama eventually takes on the NRA and helps wipes out lax gun laws that have encouraged Americans to arm themselves to the teeth.

Submitted by Yael T. Abouhalkah on November 10, 2008 - 8:15am.

I think you all get the meaning of the color "yellow". Yellow journalism. People who are just plain yellow.

I had to read this character's surname several times. I'm not even sure how to say it. If they really wanted to screw up a kid in a spelling bee, this would be a whopper to toss out.

The one thing I know is that there wasn't anyone with this name when the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth. There wasn't anyone there on the shore of this great land greeting the Pilgrims with this name either.

I don't think there was anyone with that name fighting in the War Of Independence.

Was there a drover somewhere on the Westward Migration with a name like this? Did someone with a name like this work on the First Transcontinental Railroad? Did one of his ancestors drain the California Delta? Mine gold? Build the great factories or farm the great plains?

I think we'd be hard pressed to find the name in the rolls of Ellis OR Angel Islands.

I'd wager he hasn't been here in this country very long.

He has NO RESPECT for American Institutions, and the rules we have all agreed to play by. My answer to him is simply go back where you came from if you don't like the way we do things here.

New World Order ..... again?

LONDON (Reuters) - The international financial crisis has given world leaders a unique opportunity to create a truly global society, Prime Minister Gordon Brown will say in a keynote foreign policy speech on Monday.

In his annual speech at the Lord Mayor's Banquet, Brown -- who has spearheaded calls for the reform of international financial institutions -- will say Britain, the United States and Europe are key to forging a new world order.

You can read the rest of the article here.

I want to know what happened to Papa Bush's New World Order. Is this it? Are we living in it?

Holy Crap, if this is it, and they've messed it up this badly, can you imagine what the next New World Order is going to be like?

Can you stupid "World Leaders" just go to Ross and buy some ugly slacks that are too short, a couple of pastel Polo shirts and go play golf or something? Man, just leave us alone. We're fine without you.

Are you storing food yet?

If you haven't started, it really is time. I can not recommend this strongly enough.

Reuters, in this story, noted that we will see "prices rise by at least seven percent in 2009". The thoughts are that it could rise by as much as twelve percent.

There are other issues as well. I have heard stories. They're just stories but one has to wonder when one hears them. Why would anyone start such a tale if there wasn't a kernel of truth to them somewhere?

A truck driver I know who delivers food to rural, and I mean rural (150+ miles from a major city), communities told me that the company he works for has scaled back deliveries. They used to make bi-weekly runs out there. Now they won't go unless they're delivering a full load to all the stores in the area.

Two small store operators I know have recently complained that a beverage company is demanding that they buy 24 cases of sodas per week. They said that they move maybe eight cases a week from their stores. The company will not allow the local stores to buy as a group and split the order.

What they've had to do is resort to COSTCO. They make a weekly run to the nearest one and split the order among the local small stores.

Everyone believes that the issue is the cost of diesel fuel, and the increased cost of production. Long runs for small loads are no longer profitable. The distributors won't give a reason directly.

I have heard from some people I know who live in major cities, that they've seen some of the smaller corner grocery stores going under as the economy continues to slide. In some of the big cities, many people don't own cars and it is a hassle to go more than a few blocks to get your food.

Then I came across this article.

Here's the fifth paragraph:

"Feeding America will receive $4.5 million from Kraft Foods to purchase 25 refrigerated trucks over three years that will be dispatched to rural communities and urban pockets across the nation where grocery stores and food pantries are difficult to get to or find."

As the Japanese would say, "Honto?" Really?

Grocery stores are difficult to get to OR FIND?

So the stories I've been hearing are not just the fantasy of a few people out there. If KRAFT Foods is donating $4.5 Million, there has to be SOME truth to it all. The article goes on to say that Kraft intends to donate $180 Million.

Corporate America doesn't give away stacks of cash unless there is a payout in the end. I have to wonder what deal was cut with the government.

The article then says, "Mobile pantries offer choice and dignity".

Wow. That sounds an awful lot like someone trying to head off unrest before it starts.

On top of that, if you Google "agricultural disaster" in the news section, there are 1,139 stories for the last 30 days. Droughts, floods, failed crops, even the disappearance of the honeybee.

What more prompting do you need?

Here's a tip for you.

The holidays are here. Watch for sales. At the end of last years holiday season, we were able to pick up number two and a half cans (29 ounces) of sweet potatoes, corn, and pumpkin for......are you ready for this?

0.25 each.

The date codes say they're good through 2010.

We'll use those this year. The date code on the cans in the store today say good through 2012.

I wonder if they'll still be 0.25 each. Even at $1.00 a piece they'd be a bargain.

Poster of the new messiah

To: The Democratic National Committee
430 S. Capitol St. SE
Washington, DC 20003
202-863-8000

From: The Directorate Of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528
202-282-8495

SUBJECT:

Propaganda images

Attached find one of the new posters being evaluated for distribution and installation at key traffic centers such as train, bus, and air terminals.

Installation in educational facilities receiving public funding is already mandatory.

It has been determined that it is imperative that our new leader's image be favorably ingrained upon the mind of our impressionable youth. Research has determined that this is an effective method of combating dissent within the adult population.


** note from Catman. This is a spoof at the moment at least. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. **

Sweet Farewall, Tuba Man

Those of you who are in the Seattle area, or are originally from there, you know The Tuba Man.

When I read articles that tell of the death of one of our fellow citizens at the hands of cowardly gangs, it enrages me.

I don't care about gang on gang violence. I say we round them all up, throw them into an arena filled with crowbars, broken bottles, and trash can lids. Then we charge admission. It would make our communities safer and generate some coin for the park and rec programs.

FIVE young men attack an old man. What can be said?

How can you possibly defend your actions?

Where is your sense of honor?

Read the whole story here.

My mom's tip for survival

Many of us have put away for the lean times coming. We've been Aesop's Ants to the world's grasshoppers.

Those of us who live in rural areas probably won't have to worry too much about this. We depend on ourselves. We garden or farm, hunt and or fish. We'll be able to look after ourselves much better than those in urban or suburban areas. My mother's tip is for those who live closer to the cities.

My mom watched her country destroyed by war as a child. Food was difficult to grow, transport, and distribute. The population was homogeneous, and that meant some unity among the people, but it did not eliminate the distrust and suspicion.

If you lived in a city, you had best look as hungry as your neighbor even if you had eaten well that day. If you were too plump everyone would wonder why you were so plump.

There were only three reasons you could be so well fed.

1) You were connected to the powerful in government. Everyone would expect you to do favors for them.

2) You were involved in the black market. Some would seek to profit by turning you in. Others would expect you to do favors for them.

3) You had food. You weren't sharing. People would beat you and ransack your home looking for what you had hidden.

In this land, with the diverse languages, cultures, and racial divisions, I do not think that one can expect to simply escape with a beating.

MOVE, DAMN IT!

Obama is coming for everything you have.

He wants your wealth.

Read this article from the Carolina Journal:

Dems Target Private Retirement Accounts:Democratic leaders in the U.S. House discuss confiscating 401(k)s, IRAs

They're going to have your money "managed" by the Social Security Administration? Let me translate that for you. What they mean is they are going to take your retirement and put it into the general fund and spend it. The money they take from you now for Social Security GOES INTO THE GENERAL FUND! It isn't saved. It isn't invested. It is spent! Every single penny is spent! It's the worst Ponzi Scheme ever created!

He wants your guns.

Address Gun Violence in Cities: As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn't have them. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.

That's straight from his website, people. The Liberals always say that un-Constitutional laws, illegal actions, and immoral conduct is "common sense".

He wants your children.

Obama outlines plan for national service

"Loving your country shouldn't just mean watching fireworks on the 4th of July," he said. "Loving your country must mean accepting your responsibility to do your part to change it. If you do, your life will be richer, our country will be stronger."

"We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set," he said Wednesday. "We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded."

Great. Everyone unarmed, and Obama Youth roaming the street ready to re-enact Krystal Nacht on the non-conformists among us?

Who IS this guy? The love child of Mao Tze-tung and Adolf Hitler?

Safeguard your assets. If this 401(K) crap looks like its going to pass, I'm going to EMPTY out my 401(K) and take the hit on the taxes.

Buy your weapons and ammunition NOW. Buy extra magazines. If you can swing it, get reloading equipment and materials. PAY CASH PEOPLE!

It will make it more difficult for them to determine what you actually have if they begin confiscation. DO NOT STORE WEAPONS THAT ARE REGISTERED with those that are not. Make preparations to conceal your unregistered weapons. When you conceal them, make sure there aren't any telltales left behind. For example, you have a CAR-15 in .223. They know about it. They come for it. And they find .308 ammunition and a cleaning kit. Capice? You may not be at home when they come to your house. Be proactive and safeguard your investment, and the tools to you will need to save Freedom and your family.

For the Love Of God people, talk to your children and make sure they understand what is happening. Make sure they know that many teachers, police, and even the parents of other children ARE NOT THEIR FRIENDS and can not always be trusted. Make sure they understand the difference between being friendly and being friends.

When my daughter was in the first grade, the police came to my daughter's school for one of these "safety" assemblies. The nice police officer asked all the kids in the auditorium to raise their hands if there was a gun in their home.

Already the Liberals are paving the way for activities the Hitler Youth were infamous for. In Great Britain, there are the "Green Shirts", who inform on people committing "eco-crimes". Read the article in the National Post here.

It ain't over people, but it sure is going to get a lot worse.

A Hero For Everyday

T- Minus Seventy Days

I have to finish the article on preparing for a potential pandemic. However, we face a more imminent threat.

Most of us realized what would come when the Obamanation came into being, but some of you may have missed some of the larger picture seeing that the whole picture was large enough to block out the ugly mug of a detestable rather corpulent individual. That has been the one good thing to come out of the presidential contest. It knocked Michael Moore out of the spotlight for just a while.

Charles Schumer, D. NY, with what he thinks is a mandate from the Almighty Himself, issued a statement proclaiming “I am really looking forward to the next session of Congress, because I think it’s going to be a groundbreaking session, and you are going to see significant change,” Schumer told reporters. “As a legislator – and I have been a legislator for 34 years – I can’t think of a time that I have been more excited at the prospect of change.”

His support for efforts to undermine The Constitution are well known. He has repeatedly attempted to destroy the Second Amendment and the First Amendment.

Schumer intends to revive the "Fairness Doctrine". The Hill has an excellent piece on what will be happening here. What the idiots like Schumer fail to realize is that the rise of so-called "Right Wing Talk Radio" is a result of the unfairness of the media at large. Many of us just got sick and tired of only listening to one side of the story, and a side that most of us knew was a bunch of bull pucky. The "Fairness Doctrine" should install a Conservative in every Left leaning show.

If they really mean it, they'd attach a machete wielding Ron Paul to Obama's hip to keep him from signing any bills into law. There's a true "Fairness Doctrine".

Personally, I'm not looking forward to having some tie-dyed, Birkenstock wearing, Lotus flower munching, unkempt Berkeley reject having to approve my blog.

I'm not a medical professional. I have never claimed to be. Even someone as ignorant of the mysteries of medicine as I am can confidently pronounce Schumer, "Barking Mad".

You have to read his rant over at www.firearmsandliberty.com. Link to the text of his speech is here. This is back from 1995 and I doubt he has mellowed like a fine moonshine in the intervening thirteen years. More than likely he's become more like a fine trucker bomb that has rested alongside a desert roadway for just as long.

He doesn't want you to have the ability to defend yourself, but it is well known that he carries a firearm himself. One can only hope that somehow he winds up on the list for the Darwin Awards like this idiot down in Florida.

Mayberry and Ken over at Keep It Simple Survival inferred last night that this may be your last chance to easily procure a firearm, ammunition, and magazines for your weapons. That's why I titled this post T-Minus Seventy Days.

In approximately seventy days, Obama and his cadre of Che Guevara wannabees take over control of our nation. Once that happens, all of us may find what little rights we still enjoyed severely curtailed, especially as the economy continues to slide.

Get what you need now.

The End Of The Road?

It is fairly difficult to discourage me.

I watched this evening's events unfold, and I have to admit, I feel almost as hollow as when my father died.

Our country, this nation, has been severely ill for a very long time. She's been plagued with parasites that have drained her essence to support their growing numbers.

Quacks have bled her, and drunk and grown fat on her blood like perverse and putrid vampires.

Most of our so-called elected representatives have tried to eviscerate her by removing the very organs that embody Liberty. They've attempted to delete, ignore, or rewrite The Constitution and our Bill Of Rights.

Even after all of this. Even now, Liberty still lives. In each heart of each patriot, each free American, she sings her song of Freedom. Those of us who are free in conscience and thought hear her. Her voice is still sweet and pure, and shows nothing of the abominations that have been heaped upon her.

I did not vote for McCain. I did not vote for Obama. I wrote in Ron Paul's name because I know he hears the same song as I. Many of you reading this hear this song as well.

I'll say this now.

If you are a so-called elected leader, an appointed judge, or a bureaucrat that answers to no one, you are on notice this day. You have chosen to ignore the law, and have held yourselves above it. You have demonstrated contempt for the will of the American people, if not just contempt for the American people. You have sent your minions to enslave us through your twisted logic and tortured slantings of our basic laws. The attention given to minutiae when it suits your purpose, and the disregard when it does not has not gone unnoticed.

The Constitution Of The United States Of America was written by common men for the common man. Anyone who can speak basic English understands the meaning of the words and ideas embodied by that document. We have no need nor want of your so called learned "interpretations".

We have grown weary of your priggish proclamations that do nothing except strip us of the fruit of our labors.

You have parlayed your cupidinous desires to excess at our sufferance, secure in the knowledge that we, as law abiding people, would not transgress the very laws we hold sacrosanct in our efforts to seek redress.

That has been the card up your sleeve throughout this game. You know we obey the law. You know that we hold the law in high esteem. You know that we value the law.

You do not. You never have. You never will except when it can be malformed to suit your ends.

Your laws are no longer MY laws. You have diverged so far from what I was raised with that I can not even stretch my ever fertile imagination to see any relation between what I value, and the pestiferous corruption you swim in each day.

Your pompous, and vainglorious edicts and admonishments will fall upon deaf ears.

I will not surrender my weapons. I will not surrender my beliefs. I will not yield to the effete jackbooted thugs, your Neo-Shutzstaffen, that you send to punish me.

Since you no longer follow the laws that I hold valid, you have placed yourself outside the protection of the law. You are no longer guaranteed the Rights afforded by The Constitution.

Each of you is an enemy of The Constitution. Each of you is an enemy of America. Each of you have declared yourself to be my enemy.

H.L. Mencken once penned, "Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."

Consider the black flag raised.

Countdown to E-Day

It is 1630 hrs here Pacific Time as I start to pen this. There are only a few hours remaining until the polls open and those who have not cast their absentee ballots, or have not opted for the early voting that is available in some areas of the country, make their voice heard.

Or try to at least.

Persistent warnings about the vulnerability of electronic voting machines to tampering or hacking are as common place today as when the technology first appeared years ago. Every single time I see one of these news articles, I wonder, "Is Microsoft running the election? Will I get the dreaded BSOD if I vote for the wrong person?"

How long were paper ballots in use before now? Seems to me paper ballots worked just fine to found this country. They ought to be good enough to keep it.

Scientific American reports that the number of people casting votes electronically is declining. You can read about it here. Personally, I'm quite happy to see these damnable things go away.

The New York Post reports that the election there is posed to be a "disaster". Mayor Bloomberg has refused to release funds to pay for additional poll workers. You can read the article here.

Okay. The word "idiot" just seems to have found a new synonym. Especially since so many people out there just seem to want to have a reason to riot.

Articles: New American, Sky News, Southtown Star, AP There are so many stories, just check your news section in your favorite browser.

Personally, I think a requirement for running for office is that you've actually been a farmer, plumber, fisherman, rancher or some other REAL job. I can't understand why people want to go to so called "Ivy League" schools. If one looks at the examples of their graduates who make the news....not a stunning recommendation for the quality of education.

Especially at those prices.

These Hah-vahd, Yale and other Ivy League School types only seem to study how not to do something correctly. The links take you to some of the great examples of their graduates.

I guess it must be that rarified air up in those social circles that convince people that places like that are wonderful. The rest of us know some people suffer from hallucinations as a result of cerebral hypoxia. Read the rest of the symptoms on this page. I think it fairly well describes most of our celebrities and politicians.

Sometimes I can't tell the difference between a celebrity or politician. They both do the same stupid things. Eddie Murphy = Senator Larry Craig?

Getting back to the potential for riots, does anyone know who Erica Jong is? I had no idea who she was until she popped up in the New York Observer with this piece: HERE.

I wonder if she watches Gumby while on acid.


I have no idea how I got off the subject of preparing for a pandemic onto a rant about the elections and stupid people.

Back in the saddle

I apologize for the dearth of posts over the past few days. It was one of the weekends where a confluence of events conspired against me.

Halloween is always a big thing here. Kids get trucked in from as far as 10 miles away. There are many TINY towns near here, and well, as a parent you have to take the kids somewhere. We started with 500 pieces of candy, and we had about 400 visitors drop by to help themselves to the treats.

That was followed up on Saturday by the Lodi Grape Bowl band review. If you've got kids who participate in marching bands, you know what it is like. No jokes about "One time at band camp..."

Hopefully I will be able to get home from work and be able to finish the post I have been working on.

Thanks for all the kind comments from fellow bloggers who have stopped by to take a peek at my handiwork!