Boy cries while daddy drinks

Jason Carneal.  Pencil on paper.  2015.

If only......

Unfortunately we are doomed to live through yet another installment of this decrepit monster that rises from the dead every now and then to take a dump on itself.

Star Wars: How to avoid The Force Awakens - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35091724

hilly start

First run at the new place.  A lot of rolling hills..... a nice 5k around the 'hood

Helping hands....

All the Republicans are "praying for the victims."

Fat lot of good that does.

Democrat windbags say that this needs to stop but provide no plans.  No action.  Still too afraid of the NRA.

All empty, pandering rhetoric.

Gotta love this do nothing sorry excuse for "leadership." But it's no less than we deserve.  

We who sit idly by and let everything slide to hell.  I admit I'm one of you.

How long until we have a party of reason in this country, so we don't have the bipolar choice between douche and turd?

-----------------

From Reuters News: Factbox: Political reactions to deadly shooting in San Bernardino, California http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0TL30220151203

Signs / la jornada no es real

Was looking for something to open my beer with this evening.  After the move, we haven't quite installed convenient bottle crackers in all rooms of the house....yet.

Lo and behold what do I find but the vidmar key from the Italy test in 2004.

I can think of no better tool to open my beer this evening, and will have to find a special place for this little piece of Carderock history.

Cheers Dave!

Whitewashing the crimes of Christians

Really?  A motive has not been established?  I wonder how many Christians will publicly denounce his actions but secretly condone them?  I'm guessing lots.  I know the secrets they hide behind their phony facade of self-righteousness. 

I used to be one, after all.  Right up until I reached the age of reason.  This story highlights just one small sliver of the damage done when millions of people refuse to wake up, admit that the ultimate Santa Claus doesn't exist, and start thinking for themselves.

And just a side note, since the fear machine has us all worked up about ISIS.  Americans kill way more Americans than anyone else.  A lot more.  Orders of magnitude.  We are already over 12,000 killed by gun violence so far this year alone.  That's more than 9/11 (3000) and both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (6800) combined, in 11 months this year.  Since 1999, 464,000 Americans have died in firearms-related deaths.  If you total up gun deaths in the US from 1968, the deaths total more than all Americans killed in all the wars we have fought.

So, apparently blue vs blue is ok, as long as you have some scary spectre to keep Americans distracted from the problems in their own back yard.  Guess it's god, fear, mindless consumerism, and booze.  Those four keep enough of the populace distracted so that those in power never, ever, have to address any issues.

--------------------------

From Reuters News: Colorado shooting suspect said 'no more baby parts': reports http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0TH05O20151129 The man accused of opening fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado and killing three people said "no more baby parts" while he was being arrested.

Hmmm....Ireland, anyone?

It's on the top 10 list for expats....

Born in the USA but choosing Ghana - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-34936103

And here we go.....

First dog fight in recent memory soon to come.  Our stripped down Turkish F-16s versus the SU-35, which should be a good match overall.  It will come down to training.  My bet is on the SU-35.  Wouldn't brat our version, but the Turkish F-16s aren't the latest model.

'Turkey gave no warning' - downed Russian pilot - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34925229

Duh.....

Can eating less meat help reduce climate change? - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34899066

Maybe it will be a bang after all....

Here we go WWIII!

Turkey 'downs Russian warplane on Syria border' - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34907983

Don't go outside!

Oh no, you aren't safe inside either!  Worldwide means worldwide.  

That's why they've changed the terror alert level to intense orange red.  They don't have any specific information on a threat, but they know that something is going to happen somewhere, today.  Maybe.....

-----------

US issues worldwide travel alert over terror threats - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34907009

Problems with part 1 of the mockingjay, part 1

So, after the wretched cinematic abortion that was catching fire, katy and I had avoided the hunger games movies.  

Until tonight, when katy put on the mockingjay part 1 and within 2 minutes, I understood why it is free to stream.

The movie is so bad.  Sooooooooooooo lazy.  I assume the books are better, but just basic plot lines in the movie would suggest otherwise.

We made it through half the movie so far, and here are a few of my grievances:

1. I absolutely draw the line at that bogus arrow shot that brings down not one, but two jets clearly flying a several hundred feet altitude and high speed. I mean come on.  There was a high rate of fire anti-aircraft gun sitting right next to them that was unable to take out the jets, but a supposedly (but not by the looks of her) athletic girl who hasn't shot in at least weeks pulls that shot off?  Never mind the physical impossibilities. Ugh.  

2.  That hydroelectric dam, the source of the capital's electricity, was way too lightly defended.  10 guys guarding a dam that a pears to be at least a mile across? And why we're on that, how come the outlets had concrete walkways on which thousands of people could sneak within 50 meters of the dam? Carrying caskets full of high explosives.  What, the capital can build a giant hydroelectric dam but can't afford a few night vision cameras? Oh, they were apparently singing too.

3.  President snow says the capital needs all the districts to survive.  Yet, he firebombs two to the ground and there are apparently no adverse effects on the capital or its economy.   And how did the capital not notice that 915 people were in the woods next to district 12 when they firebombs it.  Their bombers have shitty optics too!  Add that to their arrow-vulnerable tin foil armor and fuck, what is district 13 worried about?

4. For that matter, how does the capital not know where thousands of rebels are hiding underground in 13?  13 was the military, right?  I guess they just wrote off all the military hardware as "lost" in the firebombing?  Enon keeps better records than that!  

5. Also, the dude that designed the capital's video system can't break into it?  Apparently no one in Panem ever heard of radio.  Or laser.  Or just running a wire.  One of the thousands of people who stormed the dam could have carried a coax cable.   And, apparently radar is a thing of the past in the future because the rebels fly around like they are the pimps of the sky, dropping off people wherever they want.

6. And even the deer don't make sense. A deer just stands there waiting to be killed? Gale said they aren't used to being hunted.  I suppose they are dirt eating vegetarians in 13.  75 years of thousands of people living  underground in 13, and somehow katniss and gale are the only two people who thought of hunting above ground?

7. The whole structure of the rebels bothers me.  An president of unexplained origin in district 13, I assume elected?  Or is 13 just a failed microcosm of the same failed system in the capital?  It would seem so.  As soon as they need katniss her family gets special treatment, like keeping the cat.  Are they slyly saying that all human societies are inherently corrupt?

8.  Basic cinematic weirdness.  There are several seconds of Gale chewing before a line, weird closeups of people's chins.  A lot of odd walking scenes.  Just obvious that they were desperately trying to fill up a couple hours with very little plot.  Like Tolkien.

The only believable part of the movie so far is when Woody Harrelson asks the audience when they have ever been inspired by Jennifer Lawrence's lifeless, expressionless face with dead, soulless eyes. And as a viewer you realize "He's right, why am I watching this?"

If we ever watch the second half, I'm taking the laptop down.  My thumbs hurt.  And judging from the first half, there is a lot more to go wrong....plus there's a whole another shitty movie to go!

Captain tripps does bot exist!

This is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends, not with a bang but with a whisper....

Antibiotic resistance: World on cusp of 'post-antibiotic era' - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34857015

Next time, sharpshooters first

It's a rough day when a spinal cord lands on your car.......

From Reuters News: Bullets, bombs and body parts fly in violent French raid http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0T735A20151118 French police commandos fired more than 5,000 shots into an apartment near Paris on Wednesday during a raid against a heavily armed jihadist group that lasted seven hours and turned the area into a war zone.

Remember remember the 5th of November......

It's November 5.  Hope you can at least find something a bit subversive to do today.

Even if it's just putting this background on your computer for a while.......

Milestones....

Ran by this sign the other day.  I wonder why they didn't move it 0.1 miles towards the lake to make it equidistant.  

Also found it to be a good metaphor for where I want to be heading in life.  Definitely prefer the lake to the city.  

Even if it is a murderous path of hills to get there, much prefer it to a downhill cruise into a bustling, corporate wasteland packed with putrid humans.

Made it another half mile closer to the lake after passing this sign before heading back.  

Round trip from work to the lake and back would be somewhere around 16 miles.

Not quite there.  But I will get there.

Time to move to Canada!

Canada to withdraw fighter jets from Syria and Iraq strikes - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34589250

Reminds me of, well, some of my rants....

A Point of View: Why gardening is really about digging your own grave - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34538014

Cheapest way to buy an army?

Buy the Commander in Chief........

And be sure to buy both sides.  BLUE IS RED!  RED IS BLUE! IT'S ALL A LIE!

-------------------

From Reuters News: Bush, Clinton are Wall Street's favorites, donations show http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0SA0FU20151017 

 Jeb Bush is leading the U.S. presidential campaign by at least one measure: financial support from Wall Street. 

Unfortunately for the public....

The only people who don't like paid family leave are the corporate overlords that own your plutocracy, ahem, I mean your "representative democracy."

RVB quote of the year:

"It's all a lie! Blue is Red! Red is Blue!"

------------

Why Paid Family Leave Has Become A Major Campaign Issue http://n.pr/1huwmPM

That's some old testament shit right there. ........

2 Brothers Beaten, 1 Killed, Allegedly By Their Parents And Fellow Churchgoers http://n.pr/1hEIi1u

Smart pants for dumb asses

OK, its safe to say you are hopelessly addicted ti technology when you need your phone to tell you when to go to the toilet.....

---------------------------------

From Reuters News: Smart pants tell you when it's toilet time 

http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=365922545 

 A Japanese company unveils a device that will let you know ahead of time when you will need to go to the toilet. 

State of Denial

1000-year flood, huh?  And your last one was in 1936?  Americans really are that bad at math....

Get ready to have a 1000 year event every decade!  Its absolutely no less than climate change denying red states deserve.

Also love the hypocrisy - red states hate the feds so much until half their state is underwater and their barebone, low tax public services are completely overwhelmed.....

'This Is Not Over,' S.C. Governor Says Of Historic Rain And Flooding http://n.pr/1L1PZrc

Assassin's Tea II enhanced

Some commented that the picture didn't show up.  Enhanced for viewing pleasure

Assassin's Tea II

Assassin's Tea

Real estate and (not so) random teacher hatred.....

House is up for sale tomorrow, pics were taken today:

http://www.realtourinc.com/index.cfm?action=NewTour&ido=27533331

A kik chat prompted my personal comparison of houses to teachers:

Gotta admit

I dig this Pope!

-----------------------------

From Reuters News:

At U.N., pope condemns 'boundless thirst' for wealth and power
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0RP11X20150925

Pope Francis on Friday condemned the craving for material gains and power, warning an annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations that greed is destroying the Earth's resources and aggravating poverty.

What a deal!

I wonder if Sweden takes American refugees.....

From Reuters News:

For one Syrian migrant, a hefty price buys a '5-star' journey to Europe
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0R71T220150907

The affluent United Arab Emirates is not a normal jumping off point for Syrians fleeing war. But this is where Tareq began a "five-star" journey to a new life in Sweden, paying a high price to avoid the grave risks and hardships that most refugees face.

First the Chunder Chair, now this.........

The 'vomit machine' that helps to fight the norovirus - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-33988106

What dreams may come......

Apparently, you don't need pills if you get motion sickness.  Just gnaw on some loose wiring in your house and it should do the trick.  Not to knock the study, but I think brain zaps may do a lot if things.......

Also, I feel my life is incomplete without having a "Chunder Chair."

----------

Travel sickness study: Brain zaps 'may ease symptoms' - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34145713

American media - pure whitewash

Doesn't NOT showing the picture demean the meaning of this child's death, neuter media coverage of the incident and crisis as a whole, and leave us all awash in hypocritical ignorance?

The news outlets in this country are a joke.  Pure infotainment, bought and paid for by the same people who own your representatives.

I guess it's too risky to show a bit of truth to the ignorant legions that infest every corner of this country.  Wouldn't want your advertisers to stop buying commercials on your station, now would you?

And the last thing they want is for us to start thinking for ourselves......

-----------------------------------------

Image Of Dead Syrian Child Shakes Up Media Coverage Of Refugee Crisis http://n.pr/1OetNwr

Humans next!

Starfish-killing robot close to trials on Great Barrier Reef - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34129490

Meh...... I'll take effortless

I would have agreed with the article below for a long time.  There's probably quite a few of the "smartest kids" who are dumb enough to chase achievement their whole lives.  Particularly if you keep dangling that carrot somewhere not quite so ridiculously within reach.

Of course, if I hadn't had so much time to daydream during class, maybe I wouldn't have meandered to the inevitable conclusion that, ultimately, humanity is a worthless flash in the pan and by extension that any individual effort is, at any logical scale, meaningless.

Perhaps I would be trying in vain to save, or at least help humanity.

Sounds like a hopeless business at best and at worst a lot of poorly compensated work.

In high school, our AP physics teacher asked each of us what we wanted to be.  When my turn came, I said "beach bum."  My co-valedictorian, who at that time definitely fell into the achievement chaser category, whipped around and asked me why I didn't want to use my brain to help other people. My response to that question remains unchanged: 

<Yawn>

Alas, the answer to what I want to be has changed slightly:  "mountain bum."

---------------------------------------

How The U.S. Is Neglecting Its Smartest Kids http://n.pr/1NETs0Y

Son of a!

First the Pope, now Islam is more progressive than our environmental policies.  Unbefuckinlievable......

----------------------------------

Islamic call on rich countries to end fossil fuel use - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33972240

Round 3.........

This time we tried a new one ....... economics.

------------------------

Germans fret over Europe's future but still believe
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0Q704Q20150802

The battle for Europe will be won or lost in Germany.

The Sixth Seal (Historicist View)

Donald Trump 2016.  Polling at 24% amongst Republicans.

Perhaps we should take a step back for a wider view, and acknowledge the fact that "The Donald's" mere viability highlights some very disturbing trends in our political discourse and indeed, in our society as a whole.

BeLIEve

First off, let's start with the obvious.  He's a billionaire.  Our whole system is tilted in his favor.  Sure, everyone can register to run for President.  But for most of us, telling your kid that they could be President one day smacks of sarcasm so thick no blade could cut it.  What parents should say is:  "When you are old enough you can register to run for President."  Everyone can do that.  Some kid in South Carolina has registered his cat.  Looking at my current choices, I'll take the cat.

It's a similar lie to all the lies we were told.  Hard work will get you ahead (HA!), America is the land of opportunity (FOR WHO?!?!), capitalism works in your favor (double, triple HA!), your standard of living will always improve ( BULLSHIT!), etc., etc., etc.  George Carlin's great American okey-doke.  It was funny when he said it, but increasingly it seems tragic that people still believe this crap.  Americans will beLIEve anything, except the facts.  On vaccinations, GMOs, climate change, evolution, the list goes on.  No surprise that they believe the garbage that they do.  It's much easier than facing the truth.  Which leads to my next point.....

Idiocracy

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Idiocracy is happening (for those not familiar, watch the intro scene here).  The stupid are reproducing at a truly alarming rate.  "Evolution, a process that once favored the most noble traits of man, now started to favor different traits...."

Add in our braindead obsession with instant gratification, our limited attention for only the shortest snippets of information, our constant status update culture, and we've got a recipe for disaster.  Have you seen the news in the US lately?  Meaningless gibberish.  Flip to any of the international news stations that are, thankfully, available in this area over the airwaves and news pieces are reported in depth, always with a discussion of root cause.  Flip to NBC, ABC, FOX, CNN, whatever.....all you get is little snippets.  No meaning or context.  Just what happened.  No analysis.  No questions.  No asking "Why?"  Entertainment, misinformation, weather.  And they run it every night.

It's dangerous enough to let stupid people make decisions.  Now they are misinformed stupid people.  

Racism Revival

A while ago, a family member declared that we were in a post-racial society.  We live in Maryland, so I was a bit forgiving at the time, figuring that they simply had never been exposed to the existing racial divides that currently define "real 'Murica."

I grew up in a town that for all intensive purposes was still segregated, at least in regard to housing.  There were white neighborhoods and black neighborhoods.  My secondary school was the original black high school.  So yeah, the scars from segregation were still readily apparent where I grew up.

Not only that, but on both sides, it was readily apparent that racism is still alive and well.  Whether you want to admit it or not, it's still there.  And it will be for a very long time.  So, am I surprised that 24% of registered Republicans love Donald for his anti-Latino rant?  Absolutely not.  What surprises me is that his numbers aren't higher out in the red states.

Culmination of decay

I've been reading a history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.  And let me tell you, the parallels are simply stunning.  From the dispersion of military might to all corners of the known world, to the loss of faith in the representatives of the Republic, to the quality of elected leaders, the management of public debt, methods of taxation, we've got it all.  It's as if someone picked up the book in 1776 and wanted to see how quickly they could re-enact the whole damn thing.

Faith in public servants is at an all time low, and it is certainly well earned.  All of our representatives are in the pockets of dirty money.  It's the only way they can get and stay elected.  Which is all they care about.  They don't care about their constituents.  They care about getting a majority of the minority of constituents that still vote to vote for them.  So many people are jaded that a vocal, insane minority can set the tone of the whole election, completely reversing the concept of majority rule.  Conquered by the barbarians (thus the title of this post).

End Game

Listen.  We're already over 7 billion people on this planet.  And all of them wanting more.  Even the richest, including "The Donald," want more.  That idiot wants to be President.  If it wasn't that, he'd want 8 more gaudy hotels in wherever.  It's human nature.  More more more.  Gotta store up for bad times.  More for me.  MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE.  I'm no different.  I'm just stating the facts.

It's obvious we will burn all the fossil fuels we can get our hands on to feed our insatiable lust for convenience.  Things are so bad that climate scientists have just given up and said, well, we might as well just figure out the effects of the worst case scenario.  And for you global warming skeptics (yes, Chuck, I'm talking to YOU) - why don't you head outside in the dead of summer, pile every blanket on top of you and tell me it's not getting toasty.  Or, for an oddly-timed "Cosby Sweater" analogy, see this link. Greenhouse gases are a planetary insulator, for fuck's sake.  The only processes that will reverse climate change are nuclear winter or a huge upsurge in volcanic activity.  Trust me, I'm all for humanity pulling it's own plug or for Yellowstone taking a huge shit all over half of the U.S. as the next guy, but don't come to me with your basic lack of an education in physics.  And even if you don't believe in the scientific method, you should consider that when the Pope is taking a more progressive stance than your country, it may be time to make a change.

Bottom line:  It's fucked.  "It is beyond saving and must be allowed to die."  Probably not tomorrow, not next year, or the year after.  Maybe not in my lifetime.  Maybe not even in my kids.  But with each passing year it's getting more and more probable.  What is it?  Who knows?  Economic collapse?  Global Pandemic?  Hot War with Russia?  Does it matter?

But buck up, little camper.  With the Donald in office, you can be sure of one thing:  We will all get what we deserve.

Are you laughing yet?

Happy Birthday / Song of the day

"Let's Hear It For Rock Bottom"

In my perfect isolation
I can stay here for awhile
Antidotes and revelations
Just extend my own exile

Wasting away
The world's right in front of me
Funny you should say
That it's all in my head
Wasting away
We're hitting rock bottom
And going down in flames
Well it's not that bad

With my lack of observation
I can stay in here for days
Could you find my motivation
I can't see it through this haze

Wasting away
The world's right in front of me
Funny you should say
That it's all in my head
Wasting away
We're hitting rock bottom
And going down in flames
Well it's not that bad

Wishing away
The world's right in front of me
Call me anyway
Cause it's all in my head
Wasting away
We're hitting rock bottom
And going down in flames
Well it's not that bad

Wasting all my days
What would Ivan say
Wasting all my days
What would Ivan say

Wasting away
We're hitting rock bottom
Call me anyway
Cause I got two friends
Wasting away
We're going down together
And all in all it's not so bad
All in all it's not so bad

It's hard to know
Where to start and where to go
I will never say these words again

Or, maybe the social world is the hallucination.....

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140514-how-extreme-isolation-warps-minds

Risk averse we are not......

Not a scene out of tucker and dale vs evil.

This is dave clearing a jam in the Carter POS chipper we rented.  During an extended game of assassinate the tree we played today.  3 big poplars, a few medium oaks, who know how many maples, some trees we couldn't ID, a bunch of ironwoods, and a tree for dave to make a bow out of.  

We didn't count, but in the area of 30 trees young and old fell by the saw today.

Consider my car avenged.  Upon return, I told the maple out front that today's work may have awakened the MS260's hunger without bedding her back down. 

History repeats itself?

Just like WWII, we decide to beat Germany before turning our attention to Japan.........

---------------

Japan 2-1 England http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/33085949

DOC workout

Greece spells out debt 'rescue' deal

It took then that long for the Greeks to come up with taxes on the rich and business? 

Not surprising i guess, since in this country they would go to extremes to expand austerity and poverty before even thinking to ask billionaires for another dime.

So, a truly rare kudos to Greece, then.  Probably the only time you will ever hear that from me

Greece spells out debt 'rescue' deal http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33228119

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

I suppose today was day one.  Of what, TBD.  But after waking at 0300 last night to give Ryan a bottle and get him back to sleep, I couldn't sleep.

 

I couldn't shake a feeling that my old self from years ago would take a look at me and yell "unacceptable!"  Like Genghis Khan in the Hitchhiker's Guide, only somewhat less temporally removed.  I mean, wow, what a string of worthless jobs, stacked one after the other.  To say the least, at least as far as job satisfaction goes, the last ten years have been suboptimal.  But was it really the job?  No.   Jobs don't matter.  It was more of a feeling, pressure building up over a while now.  Little incidents of people being idiots on the road were starting to make me see red.  Those hurried little ants, always racing to go nowhere.  Completely oblivious to the futility of their own efforts.  Most of them with an IQ of a carrot.

 

I've always hated people.  Individuals are OK, even great.  There's a small number of individuals that I can spend all the time in the world with and be happy.  But when I'm forced to interact with a number of people at once, I would prefer to just disappear into the wall paper.  I don't even want to be a fly on the wall.  I don't care much what they have to say. 

 

My focus tolerance is very low.  Unless it's two people I really like, I start to fade out even in groups of three including me.  I suppose it's no wonder that I hate living in the suburbs of DC, crammed in with all these other people, all of them debt slaves chasing shit we don't need.  Including me. "Unacceptable!" yells the old me, and I start to listen…..

 

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asks.  I have no answer.   "Why are you wasting your life on this stupid shit?"  Still, no answer.  He's not in the mood to take no for an answer tonight, so the badgering continues for a while, until I finally drift off to sleep….

 

I wake up in the morning, all motivation to go to work some distant memory.  I lay in bed while the house is getting started, Katy and the parents welcoming Ryan to a new day.  At long last, drag myself into Ryan's room where Katy is changing him and announce that last night I died, and was born again…..resurrected.  To her inquisitive look I explain that I need to find something to do that doesn't make me feel like a piece of shit, or I need to quit and take care of Ryan full time.  The latter would negate my need to interact with those parts of humanity I detest.  After all, Amazon even delivers groceries now.

 

To my surprise, Katy says "OK, well see what you can find and then we can have a talk."  At that moment Mom comes around and says that it's 60 degrees outside.  I say I'm going for a run.  It's 0630.

 

The iPod shuffle plays "Adam's Song" to start off.  How fitting.  About a quarter mile in comes the crescendo with "Tomorrow holds such better days, days when I can still feel alive, when I can't wait to get outside….."

 

Thanks to my long hiatus, I feel a bit winded but good.  The shuffle seems to know my mood, and makes some great random selections.  I turn to University to Sligo and make it to University fairly easily, then head back towards Dennis.  On the way, "One Last Thing" by Angels and Airwaves comes on.  The first gate is open, and I'm flying back to Dennis.  Disregard the turn back home.  Work can wait.  "Bad Blood" by Bastille comes on.  Oh yeah, "All this bad blood here, won't you let it dry?"  A good medium pace song to not burn so bright as to burn out.  Continue on, and on to the Brunett mile long hill up to the house from Sligo.  As I start up it, "Gone" by U2.  Perfect.  A half mile out, Shinedown comes on - "Have you ever been caught in a sea of despair and the moment of truth is the day you say I'm not scared…."

 

At the end, I'm beat but overall, a much better use of my time than work.  Take my time showering and getting ready for work, and decide to motorcycle to work.  Take a new way through windy Seminary Road through Kensington, and it's now my standard route.  Fun to drive and no traffic.  Great weather.

 

Get to work and I've missed a meeting with my supervisor.  Who cares.

 

There's a message from upper upper management on my phone.  Fun fact, 3-3-7 is the code to skip to the end and delete.

 

There's a meeting with a Senator and his staff next week.  Whooptie fucking doo.

 

Decide to actually do some work on the lower priority, but more interesting project to which I am assigned.  Feels good.

 

Wrap up, and head out.  On the way home, the motorcycle dies on Beach Drive and I pull aside.  Display is dead.  Call Honda, and they say check the battery leads.  Open up the maintenance cover, and sure enough, there hangs the positive lead.  The screw is loose, and won't re-thread.  Try for a while, but ultimately redneck it and use the maintenance cover screw to dig into the loose rubber material that holds the screw in position on the battery.  Drive it in at an angle to get some traction on the screw.   It works as a temporary fix to get me home.  Reminds me of the trip out west and troubleshooting that old Suburban.  On approach to home, reflect that I should probably have been a mechanic.

 

Overall a good day.  Certainly better than portended at 0300.  We'll see what tomorrow holds…..

Going the extra mile

I see you took my advice on celebrating Memorial Day a bit .... literally 

------------------------------

Chicago: 9 killed, over 30 injured in Memorial Day weekend shootings  http://circanews.com/s/6lW

All is well!

Cover your eyes, ears, shut off your senses and your brain, and suddenly global warming goes away!  Simple as 1, 2, oops the planet is inhabitable.  Good luck kids!

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Massive India heatwave 'kills 500' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-32872846

Two hilarious things about this article

1.  BBC news is the only outlet reporting it.

2.  You drill and drill and drill.  Now reap the whirwhind, Texas!

----------------------------

Rain deluge hits southern US states 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32867226

Remind me again.....

Why we aren't burning down these companies instead of Baltimore? 

----------------

29 CEOs paid more than their companies paid in US taxes  http://circanews.com/s/SQK

Hacker gets in-game death sentence

South park world of war craft episode in real life....."we're dealing with someone who has absolutely no life."  

"How do you kill that which has no life?"

----------

Hacker gets in-game death sentence http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-32654414

Your chance to be "Dead like me"

After all, the protagonist of that dark comedy series becomes a reaper after being killed by a toilet seat falling from the ISS.

Better than being baked alive in a tuna oven.  

Russian spacecraft 'out of control' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32517447

For those with no emotional intelligence

I give you eyewear that tells you if someone is pissed, right before they break your glasses......

Microsoft awarded patent for emotion-detecting glasses  http://circanews.com/s/bDLB

Nothing is real....

New study gives more validation to theory that universe could be a hologram  http://circanews.com/s/58CB

That's No Way For A Man To Die

"A parachute not opening, getting caught in a combine, having your nuts bitten off by a laplander that's how I wanna go...."

Bumble Bee charged after employee burned to death in tuna oven  http://circanews.com/s/oBLB

The real lesson of Chernobyl

Once you eliminate humans, life goes on for the better.

----------------

Hidden lives of Chernobyl's wildlife http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32452085

The Britain don't understand.....

We are still a country divided.  But, I have to admit, the last two lines of the article are dead nuts on...

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Why don't Americans mark their Civil War like the British do WW2? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32428031

Dammit dammit dammit!

The tastiest meat is horse meat.  They should slaughter off the losers of the Kentucky derby at the finish line and sell off the meat at a premium on live TV!

US lawmakers introduce bill to ban slaughterhouses for horse meat http://cir.ca/s/wkP

Earth is nothing special....

We'rre just bugs on a rock in a void.....

After 25 Years, The Hubble Space Telescope Still Wows Humanity http://n.pr/1DnIs1P

That's why we are the land of the free.....

China bans strippers at funerals http://cir.ca/s/SvGB

We do stupid......

I guess we will keep pumping shut into the ground until Yellowstone blows and we all die...

New USGS hazard maps to include risk of manmade earthquakes http://cir.ca/s/LoR

Exercise 'not key to obesity fight'

Durp!

Exercise 'not key to obesity fight' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32417699

Enraged US man shoots his computer

We need to talk.......

Enraged US man shoots his computer http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32407688

Making knowledge beautiful

Making knowledge beautiful http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32299402

Woman wounded in armadillo shooting

Woman wounded in armadillo shooting http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32306096

Hahaha 

And mankind's only hope to escape religion....

Is China?  C'mon, really?!?!

Though for quality of life, Sweden still has them beat.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zBfx-QZKLIe4.kuPQ8_z2ZX30

Americans wake up to shittiest Presidential field ever

The severe idiocy apparent on the ballot has led many Americans to wonder why they bother to have elections at all......

More proof India is not the place to be

Monkeys eating fiber optic cables in Indian city http://cir.ca/s/RTKB 

Duh......

Men And Women Use Different Scales To Weigh Moral Dilemmas http://n.pr/19T6DNI

Mostly agree...the North should secede!

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/30/memo-to-the-south-go-ahead-secede-already.html

"Little Czechoslovakia split itself in two, why can't we?"

The guy veers way left at the end, but in general I agree with his assesments.

Truthful if not necessarily accurate

A little gem, renewing trust in business honesty ..... although the prices are wrong ... and there was no flesh buffet.

In case you are still on the fence...

.... on the whole "is humanity is inherently evil" question, here's your daily dose that tips the scales markedly toward evil.

-------------------------------

Unborn baby ripped from US woman http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-31968673

Putin 'was ready for nuclear alert'

The pansy couldn't do it......

Putin 'was ready for nuclear alert' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31899680

"Misery" index "down"

Where's the joy?  

You may want to check Scandinavia ....... or any other first world country that doesn't have its own head up its ass.

And the "Misery" index assumes that jobs equal happiness.  Which is Marie-Antoinette dumb.....

----------

More Jobs, Less Inflation Drive Down 'Misery' — So Where's The Joy? http://n.pr/1G7d8Xi

The thing I like most about my job....

.... is not being there.

Thanks for the advice, but.....

Kindly board your plane back to your inevitably-doomed sandbox, thank Moses for selecting such a wonderfully surrounded spot, attempt to solve your own problems (for once), and leave us to our own affairs.

By the way - keep this up and we may just leave you to your own affairs.  How long do you calculate you'll last then?

-------------------------

Netanyahu warns US over Iran deal http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31716684

More proof people are uncivilized monkeys

If you ever thought about going to India, I bet this will change your mind....

What a shit hole.  

After reading this, I will be rooting for Pakistan if the two countries ever stop fooling around and get down to business on a nuclear war.

---------------------

Delhi rapist says victim shouldn't have fought back http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31698154

Still dangerous to be atheist in such an uneducated world

Atheists are quickly becoming the most persecuted "minority" in the world.  

Thanks humanity - for turning earth into such a shithole.

If only religious people would stick to killing each other.....

US-Bangladesh writer hacked to death http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-31656222

73% say yes....

human existence is pointless....

http://www.debate.org/opinions/is-human-existence-pointless

Ominous clouds

As I lay in bed tonight, I can't sleep.  The furnace clicks on and off in a constant race with temperatures below zero, and I peer out the window next to the bed to see a sort of binary light show as cloud after cloud passes by at startling speed.

The clouds' exit is somewhat more striking than their arrival, darkness creeping in where there was light a moment ago, like some evil thing.  It awakens some primordial fear center of the brain and my hairs stand on end.  I feel the familiar slow release of adrenaline.  My legs feel initially  giddy, then, sensing nowhere to take flight, settle in to a slow burn. 

The monitor announces that the boy is stirring in his sleep.  Perhaps there is something in the air tonight.  Maybe it's the sharp absence of heat, reminding us that warmth and comfort can disappear as quickly as the clouds overhead.  The combination of dry heat barely keeping up with the cold reinforces the ultimate futility of our machinations when pitted against nature.  Whether it's mother nature or the human kind.

I can't escape the feeling that there's a storm brewing.  So many perturbations, somethings gonna give.  Poor kid in the next room doesn't know it yet.  We talked the other night and gave our best estimates.  The wife's guess was an optimistic 2030.  I pegged 2024.  2050 almost seemed like a joke.  Katy has clearly been hanging around me too long.

The Arctic air howls by the window, singing good bye to a commensurate volume of ice somewhere up north.  I suppose there's a beauty in expending all this energy into a feed forward loop.  It is mankind's destiny to destroy itself, after all.

I peer back out the window into a pitch black sky.  It seems the darkness has arrived and intends to stay a while.....

What's the point of satire?

What's the point of satire? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31442441

Wow

You would think police would be on good behavior after recent scrutiny.  Of course, maybe this is their version of good behavior.  The guy is paralyzed, after all.

My question is who calls the cops on a 57 year old walking down the street, just because he is glancing at your house?  Answer - Alabamans. 

Not too surprising for one of our many intolerant and racist states.

One last comment - If you are travelling to the US and don't know the lay of the land, it's probably best to avoid any red state.  I'm serious, they may try to kill you. 

I try to avoid them, and I'm white.  My fear is I will be heard expressing an opinion or asking a simple question and end up shot by some crazed, gun-toting lunatic.  For all their rhetoric about freedom, they sure hate freedom of speech and religion out there in the wastelands.

On account of their poor educational systems, they can't quite grasp the concept of freedom being the ability to have different views than the neighbors that look just like you.

------------------------------

Alabama police officer accused of partially paralyzing Indian grandfather http://cir.ca/s/44IB

SSDB

As expected of a Bush.  Do something to further your own cause without the slightest consideration for the impact it will have.

Canada looks better and better each year.

---------------

Jeb Bush deletes leaked personal data http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31427228

Facing the crocodile that 'ate my wife'

Title says it all

Facing the crocodile that 'ate my wife' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31001996

Public and Scientists’ Views on Science and Society | Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project

The full Pew article on our budding Idiocracy...

http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/29/public-and-scientists-views-on-science-and-society/

Depressingly stupid American adults

"Lackluster STEM education" - understatement of the century!

US adults and scientists have conflicting views on science 

http://cir.ca/s/W12 

When Introverts Should Avoid Coffee -- Science of Us

I would drop coffee then.  If I cared about performance.

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2014/10/when-introverts-should-avoid-coffee.html

Dutch Babies: Better Than American Babies? -- Science of Us

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/01/dutch-babies-better-than-american-babies.html

AI will not kill us, says Microsoft

Yeah, well, they also said Windows 98 would have no bugs.

---------

AI will not kill us, says Microsoft http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31023741

An amazing fortune

Mine seems to vary daily.

The rare good news story

http://thebulletin.org/press-release/press-release-it-now-3-minutes-midnight7950

Yup - every religion sucks.

Nationalist buddhists?  So much for Buddhist serenity....this guy sounds more straight gangsta.

And to be called a whore by a monk?  Wow.  How many people have that dubious distinction.

Monk's 'sexist insult' angers UN http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-30928744

It's the end of the world, and the BBC feels fine

It's the end of the world, and the BBC feels fine http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-echochambers-30859967

Rate of sea-level rise 'steeper'

We're boned!

Rate of sea-level rise 'steeper' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30816143

Computer program 'perfect at poker'

It would be fun to program these types of algorithms.  If only so that anyone with a phone could beat the best player in the world.  I guess I enjoy the idea of breaking down human hubris....

Computer program 'perfect at poker' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30718558

Not real

Random discovery on Google play:

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/deadbysunrise/endoftheworld.html

Dead on balls! 

Carlin again......

"Any time religious people get together and kill each other, I am a happy guy."

It's particularly satisfying when people of the same religion start killing each other......

IS police 'kidnapped' in Syria http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-30721021

Fwd: Proof positive....

Religion has no place in civilized society.  Let's be honest and call it what it is: total intellectual capitulation.  It is pretending to know things you don't know.  Far worse, it is trying to peer pressure others into believing these things that you pretend to know out of an infantile refusal to face your own mortality.  

And as shown today, religion is too easily manipulated to convince less mentally developed humans to kill people who don't subscribe to their insane interpretation of a book of lies.

Religion doesn't value life.  It cheapens it by having you chase the carrot of a fantastical afterlife.  Say what you want about atheists, but at least they value their time on Earth.  Religious zealots throw lives away like garbage.  

Religion should be regarded as a mental illness.  As Dawkins said:  when  one person has delusions it is called insane; when many people have delusions it is called religion.

To quote one of my favorite Carlin skits:

"The god excuse, the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument. It came from god."

Good thing we ran out of toilet paper

or I wouldn't have noticed this. Through wall corrosion on the bottom.  there were a couple of tiny stalagtites hanging on the bottom when I found it.

The hazards of pursuing happiness

The hazards of pursuing happiness http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30655616

Now all I need is good weather

Can't wait!

Florida man decapitates mother

Kids can be risky. ......

Florida man decapitates mother http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-30655802

Mexican female bullfighter gored

Yay for the bull!!

Mexican female bullfighter gored http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-30623367