Category: Interesting

Today, the Telegraph newspaper is reporting “Iranian scientist claims to have invented ‘time machine’”
Their story appears here, but when I read the headline, this is what I expected to read:

Iranian scientist, Abdul McFly, claims his invention will take you from the 7th century to the 21st century simply by driving his mechanical invention at 88 mile per hour from Iran to virtually any other country in the world. Religious rulers in Iran were angered by McFly when he told them that in the future there would be air conditioning, running water, indoor plumbing, and virgins would be in short supply on television.

This screen capture is from World Net Daily 03-12-2013

Headlines that even Jay Leno could love.

Since today is the end of the world, here are some movies titles to consider watching as we enjoy our last few hours on the planet.

Armageddon – Bruce Willis
Out of Time – Denzel Washington
Resident Evil – Apocalypse – Milla Jovovich
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Martin Freeman
In the Blink of an Eye – Eric Roberts
The Mark – Eric Roberts
Deep Impact – Robert Duvall
Night of the Comet – Catherine Mary Stewart
Knowing – Mel Gibson
Spaced Invaders – Douglas Barr
End of Days – Arnold Schwarzenegger

(Please note: had the Mayans used legal sized clay tablets for calendars instead of the cheaper and more plentiful letter sized ones then we could have enjoyed a few hundred more years before our apparent extinction because there will be no tomorrow.)

The following is an essay that won the Fallen Soldiers Scholarship at Elk Grove High School in 2010.
It is proudly written by Kendall Connolly.

Veterans of Foreign War

        Most people understand that, on the surface, one is a veteran after one has served in the Armed Forces. Most people believe that once a soldier becomes a veteran, he hangs up his uniform, gun, and camelback and goes on with his life. Most people believe that a solder’s life stops after he leaves the army, and the soldier becomes a normal, everyday citizen. They assume that veterans are just as common and just as ordinary as anyone else in this country. That assumption is false. Veterans are not ordinary people – they’re extraordinary people.

        Veterans are different from others not in the fact that they wore a uniform at one point, but in the fact that though their uniform is hanging in the closet, they still perform as if they still wore that uniform. In other words, a veteran never stops being a soldier. A veteran carries the values he learned in the armed forces – pride, honor, dignity, hard work, unity, and courage – and lives by them every day of his life. A veteran knows that these qualities are what makes any team successful. A veteran knows that through his hard work, he can help the greater good of the country. A veteran knows that by living with these qualities, he can do anything he sets out to do.

        While normal people struggle with everyday problems and complain about the smallest aspects of their lives, veterans take these things in stride. How? It’s simple: they’ve been through things normal people can’t even imagine, and they’ve learned to fight through whatever comes their way. To veterans, everyday problems seem like a walk in the park. When life hands them big problems, though, they’re just as stoic, just as poised, just as steadfast as they are when they fight through the small problems.

        That’s how veterans serve their community, their state, and their country. Veterans don’t live a “normal” life. To a veteran, life means so much more than getting by. To a veteran, life should be spent becoming everything one can be. To a veteran, life should be spent exemplifying what it is to be a soldier, what it is to be a citizen, and what it is to be an American.

I haven’t blogged much laterly but plan to get back to it in 2010. I will finish my MBA from University of Phoenix in mid January.

Random Thoughts
Best Electronic Toy of 2009 is Google Android phone by Motorola.
Best Radio Talk Show host is Rush Limbaugh.
Avatar will win some awards from Oscar next time.
Most over-hyped show on SciFi Channel was Battlestar Galactica.
Worst first year term as US President goes to Barry Obama, I never thought I’d be missing Jimmy Carter.
Worst Republican in 2009 Dierdre Scozzafava in New York’s 23 Congressional Race
Worst Democrat move is following Harry Reid anywhere.
Dumbest environmental move of 2009 was decision by California Democrats to recycle Jerry Brown as the anointed candidate for Governor in 2010.

You’re old enough to remember when France actually won a war.

Sears & Roebuck published the most entertaining material you could find in your neighbor’s outhouse.

Fireflies were the best nightlights a kid could have.

Milk was delivered in bottles or fresh from the cow.

The Three “R”s of education were reading, Writing and ‘rithmetic not Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Everyone in your neighborhood walked to school.

“Depression” was a word describing the economy not an excuse for selfish people to get drugs from their doctor.

These questions are things that I wish I had more time to write about on my blog.

Why is it that every time Governor Schwarzenegger announces a new policy initiative, the media—for the sake of reporting both sides of the story—then refers to the Republican response to the governor’s proposal?

Why do Border Patrol agents go to prison while drug smugglers get immunity?

If mankind is to blame for climate change, how did the Ice Age end?

How is mandating corn derivatives as additives in gasoline good public policy when it creates higher corn costs that result in economic hardship south of the border, higher fuel prices and no measurable energy savings?

Why does Nancy Pelosi need a taxpayer funded 757 jet to commute to work?

Can you name one accomplishment in her life that makes Hilary Clinton qualified to be the next President?

Who would make a better President candidate, a lapsed Catholic or a “good” Mormon?

Why is almost every CPU manufactured by Intel a Pentium when the name has no relationship to the function or capability of the chip? (Originally it was the successor to the 486 CPU hence 586 or Pentium, but that was twelve years ago.)

If men were not alive at the same time as dinosaurs, why do cultures around the world have stories of dragons and other similar creatures?

Why are institutions of higher learning the strongholds of diversity and multiculturalism when “University” conveys the assumption of universal Truth that can be known through study?

In the news today several more men have come forward claiming to be the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s baby daughter. A coworker commented to me today, “It sure looks like Anna Nicole Smith slept with just about everyone.”

My response was, “Finally; Hillary has an excuse.”

This one could make Jay Leno’s Headline segment.

In the December 29, 2006 edition of the Sacramento Business Journal is the following item on page 33.

Rachel Mikel is suing Petsmart, Inc, Whitney Lumstead and Antionette Valles for a complaint of sexual battery and false imprisonment.

This raises many questions to the careful reader including:
How did Rachel get in the gerbil cage?
Are Whitney and Antionette employees?
Does Rachel buy all her leather goods at Petsmart?
Aren’t the cages too small for any kind of imprisonment?

Rachel, that’s not what they mean when they offer obedience classes.

Several months ago, I was talking on the telephone to my sister about her child rearing experience. She said that her one regret was that she didn’t have a room in her house that was dedicated for her children to play with their friends.

This seemed like good advice to me so I decided to follow her recommendation. I decided to convert part of the garage into such a room. Like many homes, we have a “three-car garage”. If our garage could really hold three cars this would be no big deal, but the garage size is really more like my wife’s car plus a golf cart.

Anyway, I was able to carve-out an area about 10 x 14 to make into a room. I have been working on nights and weekends to make this room a reality. Thus far I have had to move lighting, jack hammer floors to move drain lines, relocate water pipes, roto-hammer wedge anchors and take one trip to the emergency room for stitches. The room in now framed and my plumbing wall is close to completion.

To get to this point has taken much longer than I had anticipated, but with no one to help me except my energetic two-year-old son, I think that I’ve done ok. Yes, I get to do this project and baby-sit at the same time. When he’s asleep I have to quit working. This is one reason that my progress has been slow. (I also have spent a few weekends playing in my new Jeep, a subject of a future blog.)

I have several obstacles yet to overcome but I can see the end point approaching. My remaining tasks are electrical, drywall (including tape and texture) and floor coverings.

Most of my tools for this project have been cordless, battery operated tools that my wife bought me about two years ago. Considering it’s been 30 years since my last woodshop class, I think I’m doing ok.

The one aspect of this project that I might actually hire a contractor to do is the tape and texturing. While the theory of this is simple it seems as much art as science to get consistency in the final result.

I look forward to getting this room completed. So far it has been a relatively inexpensive way to spend some quality time with my son doing “guy things”.