Scary Numbers

I was just listening to the news on the radio and they had a case of dueling quotes.

John Boehner was asking Obama where his list of spending cuts were.

Nancy Pelosi was asking where Boehner's revenue was coming from.

Nancy: right now the Federal Government is spending over $11,612.00 a year for each man, woman and child in the country, over $4,800.00 of that amount is borrowed money.

Don't take my word for it; do the math yourself. $3,600,000,000,000.00 spent; $1,300,000,000,000.00 borrowed divided by 310,000,000 million citizens.

Scary number, ain't it?

Kind of Neat

I found this picture interesting.

To me, it shows the real extent of modern civilization, meaning the places in the world that use energy, as compared to the areas that are not converted for our comfort.

If you look at just the eastern US it's pretty easy to pick out most of the major cities.

The site has a video as well; a couple of minutes well spent.

What hath God wrought?

Just another interesting place on the internets I found through Instapundit.

Oh and before I forget, one of the first comments is from some Luddite decrying the waste of energy and the light pollution.

What an ass.

More Beer

This article really demonstrates part of what I have been saying for years; nobody really liked most of the corporate beers. They just didn't have any alternatives.

Now; we have alternatives. Like we talked about in this post about Beer, people have wanted better beer for years. Now we can get it.

The one interesting point is about Michelob. Back when getting a Guinness was a pipe dream, beer aficionados drank a lot of Michelob. It was a better beer than the normal brews.

And then we were able to get Guinness.

So what happened to Michelob? Was it the ability to get better beers that has caused its slide (Sales loss (2006-2011): 72.0%, according to the article), or was it the cheapening of the Michelob brand that caused it? Beers like Michelob Ultra.

But they also produced some better beers, like Amber Bock that I really enjoyed and a very drinkable Porter.

Could be one or the other or both. It wouldn't be the first time a good product was squeezed from both sides. It was more or less a niche beer that has had its niche disappear.

It was a good domestic large beer. Now if you want a good beer, you go microbrew; if you want a large beer you go (hold on while I pause for an involuntary shudder) Bud Light.

I find it interesting also that the  'cheap crap' beers have also lost sales. Old Milwaukee; Milwaukee's Best and Amstel have all lost between 35% and 58% of their sales. Is that a reflection of increased taste among beer drinkers for better beer, or a loss in sales to cheaper drunks, as cash strapped budgets looked for cheaper alternatives? Hard to say.

But this article from 2010 basically says that the loss in top shelf booze is more than made up for in the increased sales in lower priced stuff. Is there enough room in there for a few former beer drinkers?

My guess is yes.

Bud Light is sort of an anomaly in this report, with 39.15 million barrels sold last year it is the undisputed king of the hill in Beer sales.

Its not really hard to figure out why. Most sports stadiums and arenas sell it almost exclusively. If you want to drink beer, you (please allow a short break while I pause for another involuntary shudder) drink Bud Light.

I'm sorry; I just don't under stand how anyone with a single functioning taste bud can drink that swill. I seriously would rather drink dishwater than Bud Light. That's not a recent opinion; I have never liked Budweiser or Bud Light.

I guess it has something to do with having an edjamikated beer palate.

I was, you may recall, raised on Weidemann.

Stirring Up Some Old Memories

According to BING, today is the 50th birthday of the Petrified Forest National Park. Well; Happy Birthday.

Somewhere I have a picture of me, my sister and our Dad in the Petrified Forest. We're sitting on a log about 8 feet long and maybe 30 inches in diameter. I'm about 4; Sis is 3 or so. Dad is wearing a cowboy hat. That hat is still in the family. It is a white Stetson, and I don't think Dad ever wore after we left Texas a few days later. But he kept it for the next 40 years, hanging off of a basketball trophy on his chest of drawers.

Back in the 60's real Stetson cowboy hats were kinda rare in our part of Kentucky. So, when a local theater group did a production of Oklahoma!, Dad's hat did a star turn on the head of Curly. We got free tickets to the show.

But, I digress.

The visit to the petrified forest was on the return leg of our California trip. A real Vacation trip that took us through Denver to Los Angeles and Disneyland, then up the coast to Knott's Berry Farm and San Francisco, then home the southern route through Arizona, for the Grand Canyon, and Texas. One Day I am going to do a series of posts on that trip. I just have to figure out who has the movies.

My Mom's Dad was on the trip with us, and took hundreds of feet of film from Cincinnati to LA and back, some of it with the hood ornament of our '55 Oldsmobile figuring prominently. Dad had the super 8 footage converted to video tape years ago, and I think my brother had it converted to DVD a few years later. As soon as I figure out who has the movies, I'll rip 'em to my computer and post pieces in the blog.

Our trip wasn't as exciting as the trip the Griswolds took 20 years later, and Disneyland was open when we got there, but I can still remember bits and pieces almost 50 years later.

I have to confess; the primary memory I have of that trip is the smell of hotel rooms. A combination of cleaning fluids and air conditioning, that smell remains with me today for some reason. I associated that smell with air conditioning for years; that trip was the first time I remember spending a considerable amount of time in cooled air.

Amazing what will impress itself on the mind of a 4 year old, isn't it?

What's Your Emergency?

Sometimes a blog post comes easy. Sometimes I have to hunt for something to talk about. Today I had to hunt.

And them I found this.

How often does the burglar call 911?

Apparently there were other times when they could have, but lacked the opportunity.

One report I saw on line said civilian guns are used 2.5 million times a year to stop crime. Although that seems a little high, we are talking about a country of over 300 million people.

There is also ample evidence that once states have enacted concealed carry laws crime rates drop.

There are people who are against private ownership of guns; obviously I'm not one of them. They believe that guns only have one purpose, and that is to kill, and that no individual needs that power.

In some respects they are right; guns are an effective killing tool. Notice the last word: TOOL. Wikipedia defines TOOL as any physical item that can be used to achieve a goal. I think that is an adequate description. A person can defend themselves with any number of tools- sticks; bricks; bats; knives; swords; physical prowess in defensive arts like boxing or karate. Or a gun. Each method is a weapon.

Guns can also form a defense without being used, only displayed, like in our initial story. Wikipedia defines weapon in part this way: In a broader context, weapons may be construed to include anything used to gain a strategic, material or mental advantage over an adversary. Guns make good weapons because they instantly create that advantage.

Knives will work to create that advantage as well, like in this scene from Crocodile Dundee. This scene also displays, to me anyway, how weapons can level the playing field. The crook initially has the advantage, by having a weapon, and then accomplices. Dundee evens the odds by not only having a weapon, but by having a larger weapon. And knowing how to use it.

The knowledge is key. Any weapon is useless without the knowledge of how to use it.  Having a gun isn't a defense. Having a gun and knowing its proper use is. If you decide to own a gun; make sure you know how to properly and safely use it.

Just like any another tool. Having a table saw is usually a good thing. Not knowing how to use one safely is a bad thing.

But those stories are for another day.

Truce?

I found both this article and the comments interesting.

I didn't read all of the comments- there were over 800 when I was looking at the article- but i didn't see a one that was pro- drug control.

I wonder why? Are people becoming pro-drug, or anti-government?

I don't think its either; I think folks are just becoming more freedom oriented, and less believing in the omniscience of government.

Its called experience. They have seen what government can do, and what it can't. They have also seen what government is unable to do, such as drug interdiction.

We have been fighting a war on drugs since the 1960's; escalated in the 70's; 80's and 90's.

And not only can you still buy marijuana on dang near any street corner, there has been a proliferation of more dangerous drugs created that didn't exist when the war began, like crack cocaine and crystal meth. Pills- both illegally manufactured and prescription- are available for the asking. Doctors and pharmacies are cashing in; creating 'Pill Mill' offices where a short visit and an exchange of currency will allow a prescription to be written for 'Back Pain'. A prescription that will be filled in the doctor's own pharmacy, occasionally paid for by Medicare or Medicaid.

No-knock raids, some going horribly wrong, is just the latest weapon to be used, and mis-used, to fight a battle that few want fought and the government can't seem to win.

But we continue to fight the War on Drugs. Just like we tried to fight the War on Alcohol 70 years ago, and finally admitted defeat.
What is behind the War? Is it a desire to protect people from themselves? Or is it a desire to extend government control and activity?

We have surrendered a lot of freedoms to the war on drugs. With images of drug soaked criminals to bolster the requests, we have surrendered freedom for security from the rampant druggie.

Only to no longer have the freedom nor have we gained the promised security.

Washington State and Colorado both recently, by popular vote have called a truce in the war.

Maybe its time more places considered doing the same.

Schedule? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Schedule

Last night we turned on NCIS- which is just about the only show I watch on broadcast TV- and I wasn't on. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was instead.

And we turned it off.

A classic Christmas program, one I have enjoyed almost my entire life. And we turned it off. Why?

Because the shows that we once waited all year to see; the shows that defined and delineated the Christmas Season are all sitting on the library shelf; viewable any time, in High Def and without commercials.

Why sit through a program on someone else's schedule when you can view on your own?

In some respects, that is the most modern of TV metaphors, and the reason both broadcast TV and even cable TV is dying.

Yes; you can DVR a show and watch it later. And when you do, do you watch the commercials or zip through them? But cable is $80 a month; Netflix is $8. Save a few bucks and stop paying for channels you never watch; cut the cable. It's happening all over the country.

You can even watch most shows on your computer, at your convenience. No more rushing to meet that 9:00 PM on Thursday time slot. Kick back on Friday when the dishes are done at 6:39 and fire up the show you want to see.

How long until the cable channels get wise and stop distributing shows over cable, but have their channel available internet only? Would it be a successful business model for the History Channel to be available over the Wii? Shows that once were scheduled for Sunday night at 9:00 will now be available for viewing anytime after 9:00 on Sunday.

No more surfing through 90 channels of garbage to see what's on. 50 million homes at $1 a month is some pretty long green. Plus an ad or two at the beginning of the show.

I would go into more detail, but its 9:41PM; I think I'll go fire up something on the Wii; I feel like watching a Mythbusters episode.

Comments Anyone?

The article is more or less fluff. Its the comments I find interesting. Not enlightening mind you, but interesting.

The article is a back handed compliment/slap at Sarah Palin.

The comments are pure Lefty hatred.

What is it about that women that raises the left's hackles so bad?

Okay; He Did What?

Okay; I had a few minutes while the water was heating up so I could do the supper dishes- Have you ever seen a 7 year old girl burn through every drop of hot water in a 40 gallon tank in ONE flippin' shower?

Any way; took a minute to visit a few friends; Sippican Cottage and its companion site, Borderline Sociopathic Blog for Boys, where I ran into this.

And all it took was a $2.00 yardsale shovel. And a little know how. And a few extra parts. And the guts to pull the trigger when he was done.

Amazing; ain't it?

Family Lore Turns Into Official History

My Grandfather on my Dad's side was a United States Marine.

Family lore was always that he had done his basic at Paris Island and was then sent off to the Dominican Republic. This was the lore. Now I have the proof.

Ancestry.com is a wonderful resource. I have been using it for years in my genealogy research. Recently they added more military records to their resources, including the muster rolls for the Marine Corps.

Based on these monthly records I was able to reconstruct Grandpa's entire military career. Well; almost. There are a few months missing; I just need to figure out how to find the missing months.

These records are interesting, even without the family connection. They list every Marine in the Corps, by unit and by rank alphabetically. The sole identifier, after their name, was their muster date in this period. Typewritten, they contain small details, like when they were transferred in and out, and if the Marine has gotten into trouble, requiring a reprimand and/or loss of pay. 

As it stands now:

Enlisted in on June 16, 1918 to Company X, Marine Corps Barracks, Paris Island, South Carolina; one of 396 Privates in the company, noted without comment.

On July 8, 1918 he was assigned to 3rd Regiment, US Marines, Santo Domingo City, Dominican Republic, along with quite a few of his Training Company.

He arrived in Santo Domingo on July 22, 1918, sailing on board the USS Hancock, and became part of the 44th Division, 3rd Provisional Regiment, 2nd Brigade, USMC.

August is interesting. The muster list for the 44th only list those Marines that were being punished for some transgression, were sick or had died. Several of the Marines died from 'incised wounds in the skull'. But no reference to Grandpa; thankfully.

In September he spent the 26th to 30th "in field, in Providence of Santo Domingo".

I checked October pretty thoroughly, and could not even find a reference to the 44th Division; maybe the records are incomplete? I did not look at every one of the 480 some pages, so I may have missed something. Still; are the records complete? Hard to say.

The next record is January, 1919, where the record indicates he spent the entire month "in field in Providences of Macoris and Seibo, DR".

Next record is April of 1919, again with no comment.

Then comes July of 1919, that contains a rather (for these records anyway) lengthy comment:
"22 participated in an engagement with native bandits at Plata de la Palma, DR. 25 transferred to Barracks Detachment per Regimental transfer order 92, dated July 25, 1919".

There are two records in August of 1919. The first is from the Barracks Detachment, Third Provisional Regiment, Santo Domingo City, DR: "7-transferred to US on USS Kittery".

The second is from the Barracks Detachment, Marine Barracks, Charleston, South Carolina: "14- disch. (discharge) by S.O. (special order) of the MSG (unknown; Marine Strike Group?). Char. (character) 'Excellent'." Basically, he was involved in a battle with the bandits they were in the Dominican Republic to fight, and 3 days later was sent back to Headquarters and rotated back to the States for discharge.

Total time in service: June 16, 1918 to August 14, 1919; just shy of 14 months.

Also according to family lore there were only a few things that could be saved from the family home in Newport before it was flooded in the Flood of January, 1937, and two of the things Grandpa saved were his Marine Corps uniform and discharge papers.

Interestingly enough, as near as I can tell there were only two Marines in the 1918-1919 period with my Grandpa's name; the other mustered in in April of 1917, and spent his time in France.

Lots of questions answered, but like with any good mystery, more questions remain. What was Special Order 92? What does MSG mean? Strike Group is a fairly modern term, so I doubt it is correct. And why are there months missing?

I just wish I would have been able to have this done a couple of weeks ago, for Veterans Day.

Servant; or Master?

In the United States of America the government is supposed to be the servant of the people; we, as the voters are supposed to be in charge. Congress is supposed to listen to us, and act accordingly. The President is supposed to hear our voices and respond.

Isn't that what they tell us every 2, 4 or 6 years? Hell; some of them may even believe it.

But then the election is over and the mask slips. Then we find out out servant is a tyrant.

Take for instance the EPA and the new ethanol requirement. There has been a lot of resistance to the increase of ethanol in gasoline, but all of the complaints have fallen on deaf ears. Big, jug-eared deaf ears.

The EPA doesn't care that less than one-half of one percent of the vehicles on the road right this minute can use this fuel without damage. Knowing this administration, they probably consider that a feature; not a bug.

What type of damage are we looking at? Well, ethanol is alcohol, which absorbs moisture. so anything it comes into contact with that contains moisture will start to be dried out; things like fuel line hoses; rubber seals on gas tanks and gaskets on intake systems. Ethanol is also less cohesive than oil based gasoline; meaning it will flow past the rings in engine cylinders, washing the lubrication off of the cylinder walls, allowing the rings to mark or scar them, which will hasten engine wear.

This cylinder wall bypass will also allow ethanol to contaminate the engine oil; thinning it so that it provides less protection, increasing wear on the bearing surfaces of the internal moving parts.

Bottom line: ethanol will cost the owners of 228 million vehicles in the country money. money for either a major engine repair or a new car or truck. What are the chances you vehicle is one of the 228 million affected? Odds are pretty dang good.

I don't know about you, but in the New Normal Economy (also known as Obama's Depression) I ain't got that kinda cash.

And that is just cars. This fuel will also damage/ruin your lawnmower; chainsaw; weedeater; rototiller and snow-blower, as well as every other piece of gasoline powered equipment you put it in.

 Plus- and here is a real kicker- the addition of ethanol LOWERS fuel economy. There is less 'bang' in each quart of ethanol that there is in a quart of gasoline, so the more ethanol you burn the more fuel you will use. Since the addition of ethanol will not lower the price of a gallon of gas, the cost of your commute has just gone up.

And ANOTHER kicker; burning food in your gas tank will raise the demand for corn, which will also raise the price/cost of the corn. Which means the addition of ethanol will most likely mean an increase in the cost of a gallon of gas.

Unless the Federal government continues to subsidize the ethanol industry with a larger subsidy, paid for out of our taxes. Unless of course they just borrow the money (hey; when you are $16,000,000,000.00 in debt already, whats another billion or two?) instead, meaning we will pay for the subsidy and the cost of the interest to borrow the money to pay the subsidy, in addition to paying for the repairs to our gas powered equipment caused by the ethanol we are paying to subsidize.

But that subsidy won't apply to other uses of corn; like as animal feed or creating sugar. An increase in the cost of corn will lead to an increase in the cost of any foodstuff that relies on corn. Not only Fritos, Doritos and tacos, but anything that contains High Fructose as an ingredient, or eats corn, like cattle/beef, hogs/pork and chickens.

Not to mention what this will do to the cost of moonshine and bourbon.

This is a government that is the servant of the people?

How do I fire this servant?

Oh yeah; never mind; apparently we can't fire this servant until we can find a suitable replacement.

And we have to wait four three two more years to even start the search.

Beautiful Weather

Today was an absolutely beautiful day around here. 64 degrees and sunny. Probably the best December 1 I can recall.

And what did I do with it?

Spent the day with my oldest boy removing the transmission from my BMW. Which was perfectly enjoyable. I can remember spending some raw days in December working on cars. Like the heater core in my sister's Dodge Aspen. I had to take out almost the entire dashboard. It seemed like hundreds of little screws, and took hours. Especially when I had to stop every 40 minutes or so to warm up. It was cold out- probably 20 degrees- and the small screws meant I couldn't use gloves. That was a miserable job.

Batteries had to be replaced every winter it seemed, and going the entire winter without replacing a water pump or a radiator was pretty rare. All things that seem like ancient history. I haven't replaced a water pump in 4 or 5 years. I can't remember the last battery I bought.

But today it was beautiful and I was pulling a transmission.

Sometimes life is good.

Sometimes the strangest things pop up on the simplest of searches. I did a search for Beautiful Weather Images.

Did you know there is an entire website devoted to pictures of beautiful weather girls?

Apparently it is a part of the weather girls' job in Mexico to report on the weather half naked.

Don't take me word for it; you can look it up.