At the Point

California High Speed Rail

2011-11-20T07:53:00.001-05:00

I've seen a lot of articles about high speed rail in California, and how the expected cost has exploded. Conservatives can't grasp why anyone would assume this could get any passengers. It's slower than air travel (LA to SF), and will cost more. Why would anyone go by rail?

Let's explore...

Q: Does Congress have power to regulate interstate commerce?
A: Well, yeah, that is in the Consitution, but...

Q: Okay, so then who has power to regulate intrastate commerce?
A: The states! That's well established in the 10'th amendment.

Q: And do the states have the power to regulate commerce in the name of environmental protection?
A: I didn't think so, but California seems to have gotten away with that.

Q: And is air travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco intrastate commerce?
A: I don't think I like where this is going, but yes.

Q: So, you concede that the states could limit or ban such commerce in the public interest?
A: WTF! You have got to be kidding me!

If anyone knows of any reason...

2011-11-05T08:48:00.003-04:00

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2057081/Engaged-couple-discover-brother-sister-parents-meet-days-wedding.html

Clapton is 66

2011-03-30T20:17:00.001-04:00

Yikes, that makes me feel old.

http://www.myspace.com/ericclapton/music/songs/cocaine-32368

Oysters anyone?

2010-11-29T17:27:00.002-05:00

Cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay would be cool and everything. There is also an economic aspect to it.

"Bay pollution is not only an ecological disaster, it's an economic one, too," said Ann Jennings, the group's Virginia director.

For example, the decline of the Chesapeake oyster alone has cost Virginia and Maryland more than $4 billion over the past 30 years, the report said.

Wow! That seems like a lot of oysters. In fact, let's do the math.

$4B over 30 years is over $133M/yr. (I'll assume they're talking about current dollars.)

But how many oysters is that? Well, as of two weeks ago -

The buyers had been paying as much as $42 per bushel but, this week, they lowered the price to $35, said Danny Webster of Deal Island. And rumors are circulating that the price could drop to $30 next week.

OK, at $35/bushel that $133M is going to buy us 3.81 million bushels of oysters per year. Given that the average American eats only about 1 1/2 ounces of oyster meat per year, that ought to pretty well supply all of us.

Fields of Dreams

2010-05-23T17:52:00.002-04:00

In the movie Field of Dreams the characters Ray and Terrence mystically pick up a kid on the road going to try out for a little baseball team in the midwest. They comment on how there haven't been that sort of league for years.

Well, yes they do exist. Here is one such team in the Northern League - the Lake County Fielders.

And the owner? Kevin Costner.

3-D plotting

2010-05-01T20:44:00.005-04:00

This is something I thought I was going to have to write myself. A 3-D plotter that allows you to rotate the view to any angle. Thanks gnuplot!

The Country That Pees Together Stays Together

2010-03-12T16:35:00.007-05:00

Re: the Olympic Gold Medal hockey game -

EPCOR, the water utility company that runs the fountains up in Edmonton, Canada released this graph yesterday. It's water consumption during the Olympic gold medal hockey game, overlaying consumption of the previous day. How much do Canadians love their hockey? A lot.

The first period ends. Time to pee. The second period ends. Time to pee. The third period ends. Time to pee. Consumption goes way down when Canada wins and during the medal ceremony.

Another jumper

2010-02-22T12:31:00.002-05:00

I was hearing all of the sirens as the vehicles wnet past our house yesterday, thinking "this is not good". We had another person jump off the bridge.

The 59-year-old Newport News man who died on Sunday after leaping from the
Coleman Bridge was a prominent financial advisor on the Peninsula. Carroll
Marcus "Marc" Cooper Jr. died after leaping from the bridge into the York River.

Nuthin', Nada, Zilch

2010-02-21T16:50:00.002-05:00

Yup, nothing posted in months. No excuse. Well, lots of excuses. That bad feeling in my chest that sent me to the emergency room Christmas Eve. Finding out one dog has cancer. A generally cold, miserable winter. Total disruption at work that meant I was employed, but had me living out of boxes of my stuff for two months. I'll try to be better.

Another Darwin Award - when will they learn?

2009-10-28T19:15:00.001-04:00

Why won't these people learn to read?

A 28-year-old man died early this morning in Pueblo while trying to steal electrical wiring from a high voltage electrical box, the Pueblo police said.

The man, Brian Repinski of Pueblo, was brought unconscious to Parkview Hospital suffering from high voltage burns, said Sgt. Mark Duran.

He died shortly after his arrival.

Nobel Prizes

2009-10-13T19:33:00.002-04:00

OK. the Nobel Peace Prize thing was funny, but I hadn't realized that President Obama also has two Grammy Awards.

Also, if we want to make friends with the world, couldn't the USA lighten up a little? The Nobel committee has named the awards in the six categories, with a total of 13 recipients. Of those 13, 9 are Americans, and only 4 went to the rest of the world. Quit being such hogs.

Geography of Jobs

2009-10-12T20:53:00.003-04:00

Here is a nice animated visualization of the increase and decrease of jobs in various metropolitan areas from FlowingData.

Writing

2009-09-22T21:45:00.003-04:00

Yesterday and today I spent a total of 12 hours writing a draft of a users manual for training people that work under me, and for another state agency. (That sounds more grandiose than it is.) A 36 page document: title page, "version" page, TOC, and 33 pages of useful stuff and appendices.

Remind me again why they cut my contract rate 10%?

How Insensitive

2009-09-22T20:20:00.003-04:00

How insensitive can VDOT be? Well, they're all racists, and didn't even realize it.

There's a new turn in the debate over high occupancy toll lanes or HOT lanes.

A lawsuit filed by Arlington County last month claims the lanes benefit wealthy white people and discriminates against minorities. While the only rule to get in the HOV lanes on Interstate 395 is you must have three people in the car, Arlington claims adding HOT lanes would cut out poor and minorities by defacto.

'Cause you can't get three minorities in a car without... I guess I'd better stop right there.

"It is not our intention to play a race card. I think that's a very divisive approach," Favola told FOX5.

But we will, because we think there's some money in it.

The PhD Cook is in the House

2009-09-18T20:44:00.002-04:00

Winnie has started to post some of the things she is cooking for us. Yup, we're Cooking with the PhD.

Public Humiliation is Sweeeet

2009-09-06T20:47:00.005-04:00

Nope. I didn't do it, but here is a sign that popped up on the edge of the parking lot down the street by some local businesses. Winnie says "better them than us", as we used to find the MD20/20 bottles out in front of our house.

Can anyone tell me how to look up, for free this VA license plate? It might be nice to send her a copy.

Plate Tectonics

2009-09-06T20:37:00.002-04:00

650 Million Years in 1 Min. and 20 Sec.

What a scam!

2009-08-17T19:35:00.002-04:00

I got my AT&T bill today. $34.99. Out of which $2.57 was actually for 21 minutes worth of calls. The rest was "plan" fees, connectivity fees, cost recovery fees, and tax. Yes, $2.57 for the product, and $32.42 for overhead.

Damn VDOT!

2009-07-21T20:36:00.001-04:00

You'd think they'd contact us directly before turning off our water tonight.

Work on the Route 17 project in south Gloucester will result in a water outage for customers along the northbound lanes of the highway from Lafayette Heights Road to the Gloucester Point Shopping Center and a small section of Greate Road.

The water outage will extend from about 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., said Martin Schlesinger, director of the Gloucester Department of Public Utilities. The work is required in order for newly constructed water lines to be placed into service.

VDOT and Transurban - Part 2

2009-06-07T17:45:00.004-04:00

So, I have my doubts about how viable this toll road is (8.8 mi, $2.75 one-way) given that it connects together two Interstate highways, and not much else. But they may have an actual, real solution. The Airport Connector.

The original agreement with Transurban requires them to build a 1.6 mile connector to the south end of the Richmond airport. This $50M connector will save travelers up to 10 minutes of travel time!

I guess they've done a sophisticated analysis of airport user patterns to determine how all of this will work. From their advertising though, travelers going east onto I-295 will pay $1.25, and the travelers going west will pay the full $2.75.

How much does this make for them? Well, that's where you need that sophisticated analysis.

Right now RIC gets about 3.5M passengers per year. Unfortunately, the April 2009 statistics show travel was down 2.6% from the year before. Well, it's the economy again.

Yeah, and in April 2008 the travel was down 4.0% from 2007. And in April 2007 it was up 4.0% from 2006. So, I guess about the best we can say is that their passenger traffic is flat.

Even so, if half the passengers use the connector (1.75M/yr), and 50% each go east and west, then the roundtrip cost of $4.00 (average) comes out to an increase in tolls of $7M per year. Not bad! An increase of over 50% from what they're collecting now.

Except...did you notice the problem? The assumption that 50% of travelers arrive via the connector? Via the Parkway?

Why would anyone coming from east of the airport arrive that way? They wouldn't.

Why would anyone coming from the north in Henrico or Hanover come that way? They wouldn't.

Why would anyone coming from the West End come that way? They wouldn't.

Why would anyone coming from Richmond come that way? Maybe a few would, but most wouldn't.

That leaves the south end, Chesterfield, Petersburg, and the surrounding areas. Convenient for them, so they'll use it. But is it enough to pay another $50M in loans plus operating and maintenance expenses?

VDOT and Transurban - Part 1

2009-06-06T10:02:00.003-04:00

In May 2006 the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and a consortium including the Australian corporation Transurban signed an agreement under which Transurban will operate the Pocahontas Parkway (State Route 895) as a toll road. This route connects Interstate 95 to Interstate 295 just south of Richmond.

In the agreement, Transurban agreed to pay the Commonwealth an estimated $552 million plus a percentage of the toll revenues above Transurban's operating and maintenance expenses. Transurban agrees to operate the toll road for 99 years, and will be required to build a 1.6 mile connector road to Richmond International Airport.

So, how's that working out? Click on the the picture.

Traffic in the last year is down 14.6%. Revenue, despite an increase in the toll, is down 2.8% to a total of about $13M per year.

Their annual report notes that traffic grew during the first half of the year, and then dropped in part due to the toll increase, and of course the mandatory "economic conditions".

I think they should elaborate a bit on these economic conditions that are affecting them.

Are they talking about high gas prices affecting overall driven mileage? If so, that hardly explains the drop in traffic compared to the same time last year. The first quarter of 2009 had gas prices that were about $1 per gallon lower than a year ago.

A decrease in commercial traffic? Well, maybe. It certainly can't all be a decrease in just non-commercial travel. People still need to get home every night.

Right now the real problem is that this road doesn't go anywhere. It connects together two roads that intersect both north and south of this location. They are also connected by several other free roads. So why use the toll road?

In any case, revenue of only $13M per year is going to be a problem in trying to pay off a $552M debt while paying for operations and maintenance as well. Do you suppose that their financing is as cheap as 2%? If so, their interest payments alone are $11M per year.

Overall, it doesn't appear from their corporate financial statements that toll roads are doing that well. Through the end of FY2008 they lost $140M. Still, that was better than the preceding year when they lost $152M.

So how long, at this rate, until they come back and want to revise the terms of the deal?

I guess I won't buy this...

2009-05-18T17:59:00.001-04:00

Not too fond of the new Honda hybrid.

Much has been written about the Insight, Honda’s new low-priced hybrid. We’ve been told how much carbon dioxide it produces, how its dashboard encourages frugal driving by glowing green when you’re easy on the throttle and how it is the dawn of all things. The beginning of days.

So far, though, you have not been told what it’s like as a car; as a tool for moving you, your friends and your things from place to place.

So here goes. It’s terrible. Biblically terrible. Possibly the worst new car money can buy. It’s the first car I’ve ever considered crashing into a tree, on purpose, so I didn’t have to drive it any more.

Man, Obama is up early!

2009-05-16T08:32:00.002-04:00

At 8:33 am EDT I see this article, posted by AP at 6:22 am EDT:

US President Barack Obama on Saturday urged Congress to pass comprehensive health care reform by the end of the year, arguing it was necessary for the country to maintain its competitive edge.

That man must get up and start making speeches really early!

How not to clean up a dead whale

2009-05-14T21:57:00.000-04:00

Uh, oh! Here they come again.

2009-05-13T19:49:00.002-04:00

I made it past the first round of budget cuts, but they're back!

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday that the ongoing recession will force even deeper cuts in state spending in the coming months.

Kaine said he has instructed the heads of all state agencies to reduce spending further, because revenues for April, May and June are expected to fall below estimates upon which the budget for fiscal 2009 was based.

That means the state could fall up to $225 million short of the revenue it needs to balance Virginia's budget through the fiscal year that ends June 30.

Richmond Baseball

2009-05-13T19:39:00.002-04:00

Richmond lost their Triple-A team to Gwinnett County, Ga this year. apparently there is a deal in the works to bring in a replacement Double-A team from Connecticut

Richmond Baseball Club LC will close a deal to acquire the Class AA Connecticut Defenders any day now, according to Eastern League President Joe McEacharn and Bryan Bostic, RBC’s chairman, and will do so without a firm plan for a new ballpark here.

The Defenders, contractually bound to be a San Francisco Giants’ affiliate through next season, will continue this season based in Norwich, Conn., then relocate to The Diamond next season, even without a firm plan for a new Richmond ballpark. Minor League Baseball officials previously expressed reluctance to approve the franchise’s relocation without such a plan for a new ballpark.

Well, it's something. They'd be playing against teams from Binghamton, Harrisburg, Erie, and the like. Still they apparently need to work on the stadium issue.

Richmond may be at risk of losing the Class AA franchise, Minor League Baseball officials have suggested, without a long-term ballpark solution.

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. The stadium in Richmond is twice the size of the stadium the Connecticut team plays in now, so obviously it's inadequate.

The Auto Industry is Doomed

2009-04-12T17:17:00.002-04:00

Well, not totally doomed. And not just the US auto industry. And for different reasons than usually cited.

The usual mantra is "the US auto industry is doomed because they have really high legacy costs, and their quality isn't up to international standards, and they only make gas guzzlers."

My thoughts are that it's the middle one that's going to hurt them all.

See, 20 years ago you were lucky if your US car lasted 50,000 miles. Foreign cars were better, but not much. Now, 100,00 mile warranties are expected. And if quality continues to improve, you can expect that to increase.

How many miles can you really expect to drive a car, though? If the 100,000 miles was a pure mean value the answer would be "well, on average 100,000 miles." But auto makers don't actually want to have to make good on the warranty. Therefore cars last more than 100,000 miles. Given their thin margin, would it be safe to guess that most cars will actually not die until, say, 200,00 miles.

Now the US DOE estimates that the average car is driven about 12,000 miles per year, so most of the new cars we currently have will last for about 16 years.

Given there are already about as many cars as people in the US, so there's no room for growth, what kind of profit can you make selling a new car to people only once each 16 years?

We Are Not Amused

2009-04-11T14:34:00.002-04:00

This morning we took Curry, the oldest dog, to the Farmer's Market in Williamsburg. As usual, he was wonderful. The center of adoring attention.

When we got home we found the other dogs had expressed their displeasure at being left behind by peeing in our beds.

True Genius

2009-04-04T14:55:00.004-04:00

I went out to work in my yard this morning, and the neighbors, two houses down, were out too.

See, where we live is semi-rural, and it's legal to do open burning. So, a lot of people burn yard waste. But it's not legal to do it before 4pm. (This was about 8am.)

And they've got a freakin' bonfire going.

OK, a technical violation only. I've burned leaves in my driveway at times that barely skirted the 4pm rule. But, they've got two more strikes against them.
1) They use propane and their 250 gallon storage tank is only about 10 yards from the fire.
2) As you can see in the picture, their house backs onto a gas station, so this fire is only about 30 or 40 yards from the gas pumps and storage tanks.

Hey, doofus, I don't mind if you blow yourself up, but leave me out of this.

I called the sheriff. They had the fire department come give them a little talk.

I can't imagine what they were thinking.

Lebron - Underhanded, Three-quarters Court

2009-03-26T21:42:00.001-04:00

Model Trains

2009-03-23T20:16:00.001-04:00

I always wanted a model train layout, but this kind of takes the fun out of it for amateurs.

Newspapers are Worthless

2009-03-20T23:09:00.002-04:00

I've been pawing through every on-line version of a newspaper in this state and can't find any statement by a Representative or Senator regarding any damn thing that is happening in this country. I will admit, our local pols seem pretty useless, but I imagine they are making some public statements on occasion. So, why is nothing in the paper?

Summer Camp

2009-03-07T15:09:00.002-05:00

An article about families trimming back on their kid's summer camp expenses.

It's the fireside tale that spooks parents every summer: A few weeks at camp can cost thousands of dollars.
To avoid that scary fate, Gabriel and Jennifer Griego and their friends plan to take turns watching the kids for part of this summer.
"In the past, we always sent them to camps the whole summer," said Gabriel Griego a 43-year-old father of two in Berkeley, Calif.
"This year we're looking to reduce that by about half." Translation: No more than $1,000 for both kids.

In the past you sent your kids away for the whole summer? I'm not clear on this. Was it because this was cheaper than day care? Camp, for the whole summer, only cost you $2000 for both kids? That probably is cheaper than day care.

That doesn't mean parents are opting out of the national camp tradition altogether. In fact, enrollment numbers are on track to hit the 10 million mark that has held steady for the past several years, according to the American Camp Association.

This is something that clearly has grown a lot. 10 million kids? Their are 81M kids between age zero and 19 in this country. If you figure only half of these are old enough to go away to camp, that leaves 40 million kids.

Of those, 25% are going to camp? When I was a kid I don't recall even knowing anyone that actually ever went to a summer camp. Unless they're counting Vacation Bible School. The closest I ever got to summer camp was watching The Parent Trap.

The Price of Airfare

2009-03-01T11:40:00.003-05:00

I was theorizing about what it would cost to visit England to see my daughter after she moves there this fall. Not wanting to skew the results with the cost around holidays, I picked a date in mid-September as a comparison point.

Hey! That seems very affordable. $750 is doable. In fact, given that an eight hour flight in coach would nearly kill me, I wonder what first class costs.

A factor of 10 to 20 higher? Ummm, maybe not.

The Crisis of Credit

2009-03-01T11:15:00.001-05:00

This should be required viewing. Certainly for our so called leaders.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Mortgage free - again

2009-02-28T17:18:00.002-05:00

Three and a half years ago we had some renovation work done. Wood floors refinished, new deck put on the side of the house, electrical retrofit and upgrades.

Paid for it with a 'line of credit' against the house. A small mortgage where we had none before. The terms gave us 20 years to pay it off. I made the last payment today.

< $1,000

2009-02-22T19:23:00.001-05:00

My home improvement line of credit gets paid off on Friday. Then, we will again be mortgage free. Just in time for Obama to declare the workers proletariat.

So, I got a promotion

2009-02-22T08:48:00.002-05:00

I am now the "GIS Roadway Centerline Manager" for the Virginia Department of Transportation. I have a staff of five editors working for me, and a QA/QC manager to come (my old assignment). We will be trying to get all of the centerlines up to snuff so we can build a decent linear referencing system.

To date the Interstates build pretty good, and short little subdivision secondaries are OK, but lord what problems in every oher road! We have crazy deadlines for trying to get at least some sort of LRS working. This is causing me to do 50+hr weeks right now because, frankly, I'm a good editor, and have the best understanding of the data model, so I'm doing a lot of it myself.

I'm still an IT consultant, so they can still "fire his ass" at will. Interestingly enough, my main contact outside of VDOT may be my former manager that originally coined that phrase. The job change also resulted in a higher pay grade, and a sizable increase in my hourly rate. Now I'm dealing with my own company where my immediate supervisor is telling me that my getting a raise out of this is "not automatic". Like *expletive* hell!

How messed up is that?

2009-02-20T22:50:00.002-05:00

George Mason University just elected a drag queen as Homecoming queen

George Mason University senior Ryan Allen dresses in drag and doesn't mind being called a queen — homecoming queen, to be exact. Allen, who is gay and performs in drag at nightclubs in the region, said he entered the homecoming contest as a joke, competing as Reann Ballslee, his drag queen persona.

Granted, in 1974 one of my fraternity brothers was elected homecoming queen. We were so proud. But what kind of a school has homecoming in February?

You know what they say

2009-02-17T22:42:00.004-05:00

You only rent beer.

OK, I stole it from Ace. So sue me.

I'm Confused

2009-02-05T21:00:00.002-05:00

At the Egypt-Gaza border -

Hamas negotiators left Egypt without a long-term cease-fire with Israel on Thursday — but not before some members of the militant group's delegation were stopped at the Gaza border carrying millions in cash.

The delegation walked away from the cease-fire talks because of disagreements over the blockage on Gaza and border security. Talks will continue at a later date.

An Egyptian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the group initially refused to be searched by Egyptian authorities at the Rafah border crossing. When the group relented, authorities found $7 million and 2 million euros ($2.5 million) in cash in their suitcases. Another security official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said $9 million and 2 million euros were found. The discrepancy could not be immediately explained.

OK, I can understand a terrorist group would have lots of uses for cash, but why would they be smuggling it into Gaza? Is there something special there they have previously been unable to buy? Or steal at gunpoint?

Dude!

2009-02-04T20:25:00.001-05:00

The growth of Target

2009-02-03T20:22:00.003-05:00

There is a cool visualization at FlowingData about the spread of Target stores.

They also have a similar visualization for the spread of WalMart stores.

Insanity...

2009-02-03T20:17:00.004-05:00

...is defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.

So, some of my coworkers kept dropping $1.25 in this vending machine. The slot for the green Gatorade has been problematic since day one. It always gets stuck. But what's with the others? Did everybody else figure this was like a slot machine, and they were just waiting for the big payout?

Military Judge to Obama: Go Pound Sand

2009-01-29T19:42:00.003-05:00

The Obama administration had asked for a suspension of the military commission proceedings at Gitmo. They are contemplating how they may decide to change the nature of the handling of the prisoners there. The judge was not impressed.

"Congress passed the military commissions act, which remains in effect. The Commission is bound by the law as it currently exists, not as it may change in the future."

In other words, even a popular President can't just order trials stopped.

Of course he does have an alternative. He could just pardon them all.

Sex & Alcohol

2009-01-27T12:16:00.001-05:00

Just more proof, if you ever needed it, that sex and alcohol don't mix.

A FEISTY raccoon has bitten off a pervert’s PENIS as he was trying to rape the animal.
Alexander Kirilov, 44, was on a drunken weekend with pals when
he leapt on the terrified – but toothy – fur ball. “When I saw the raccoon I
thought I’d have some fun,” he told stunned casualty surgeons in Moscow.
Now Russian plastic surgeons are trying to restore his mangled manhood.
“He’s been told they can get things working again but they can’t sew back on what the raccoon bit off," said a pal.
“That’s gone forever so there isn’t going to be much for them to work with."

Gobal Warming - the Persian Gulf edition

2009-01-25T10:47:00.003-05:00

Today's report from the United Arab Emirates on the ongoing effects of ~~global warming~~ climate change. -

Snow covered the Jebel Jais area for only the second time in recorded history yesterday.

So rare was the event that one lifelong resident said the local dialect had no word for it.

According to the RAK Government, temperatures on Jebel Jais dropped to -3°C on Friday night. On Saturday, the area had reached 1°C.Major Saeed Rashid al Yamahi, a helicopter pilot and the manager of the Air Wing of RAK Police, said the snow covered an area of five kilometres and was 10cm deep.

“The sight up there this morning was totally unbelievable, with the snow-capped mountain and the entire area covered with fresh, dazzling white snow,” Major al Yamahi said.

Oh, Good Lord!

2009-01-22T21:13:00.003-05:00

Winnie wasn't quite ready to make up what I'd gotten out of the freezer for dinner, so we went out. After she had a salad and tiny burger, she said she wouldn't mind a dessert. I had had a half pound burger, but was game to try. So, she ordered this monster.

I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight.

U.S. Airways Hudson River Crash

2009-01-17T16:21:00.001-05:00

I don't watch much TV, so I'm sure everyone but me has seen this CCTV video. The crash happens at 2:02. The operators don't react to what has happened for another 30 seconds or so after that.

Kittens are good eating

2009-01-09T21:09:00.002-05:00

You know that anything that PETA is against just has to be tasty. Now they are referring to what you and I call "fish" as "sea kittens". Because "nobody would hurt a sea kitten"! Normally I don't like eating fish, but I could make an exception in this case.

Classifieds

2009-01-09T20:31:00.003-05:00

How bad is the Florida real estate market? The on-line version of the Newport News paper, here in Virginia, has a special section just for Florida foreclosures.

Wingsuit Base Jumping

2009-01-05T19:59:00.001-05:00

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

Detective Work

2008-12-30T08:43:00.004-05:00

My line of IT work involves a lot of analysis. "If this, then that. Does that agree with observation?" So, it was no surprise I had to do an investigation when my boss gifted me with something he found recently.

What he found was a 2GB SD memory chip, like they use in a lot of digital cameras. He was at the New River Gorge Bridge Day when he looked down and saw it lying on the pavement.

Knowing I had a digital camera of more-or-less the type to use such a chip (and his camera didn't), he asked if I could use it. I said that I could. He assured me that he had checked and the chip was empty.

Being the non-trusting, investigative sort that I am, I checked it myself a few weeks later when I remembered it again. I didn't want to throw out someone else's photos if I could help it. The boss was wrong. There were over 700 photos on the chip spanning a period from July to October.

How tough was it to find someone to contact about returning the chip to its owner? Not hard at all. Several of the photos showed kids on an YWCA outing, all wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the local phone number. A quick Google search of the phone number on the kids' shirts said this was the YWCA in Charleston, WV. An e-mail to the "Contact Us" got a quick response, I popped it into the mail, and yesterday I was informed the owner is delighted to have it back again. Good Deed done.

"Just Like Us"?

2008-12-29T08:52:00.003-05:00

Most of what Caroline Kennedy seems to get is fluff, but seriously -

Amid all the recent buzz about Caroline Kennedy's bid for a U.S. Senate seat, there has been a great deal of talk about her connections, her power, her wealth. But the way I see it, if you strip away the glamour, the name and the money, then Caroline is . . . me. And many of my friends. Maybe even you. If, that is, you happen to be a midlife woman raising kids and returning -- or thinking of returning, or hoping one day to return -- to the full-time workforce.

She seems like you and your friends? And you are...?

Anne Glusker is a freelance journalist living in France and the host of "Stir it Up," a weekly food program on Swiss radio.

Hat tip: Powerline

Cocaine comes from the ocean

2008-12-27T18:06:00.002-05:00

Yes! The truth comes out! The Associated Press says so!

Prosecutors said the gang allegedly arranged for sea-born cocaine shipments from Colombia to Mexico's Beltran Levya cartel.

Or, maybe we should "Yoo-hoo! Oh great professional writers and journalists, don't you mean 'sea-borne'? "

I do like the touch about threatening to feed the narco-crooks to the lions, though.

Algebra

2008-12-20T16:26:00.004-05:00

Teaching is apparently not just a low paying job, but a low skill job.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge Friday blocked a controversial state plan requiring that all California eighth-graders be tested in algebra.

Uh, why?

...approximately one-third of the state's middle-school Algebra I teachers are either underprepared or teach out-of-field...

So, your college educated math teachers aren't conversant with algebra? Guys, this is a field that's not exactly trembling with new discoveries.

Meeting the mandate would require the state to hire 3,000 more qualified teachers and offer substantial additional training to 1,000 underprepared math instructors.

O'Connell's staff has estimated that the requirement would cost $3.1 billion at a time when the state is slashing even larger amounts from its budget as a result of the economy.

Well, not really, because you'll save a similar amount when you fire the unqualified teachers. And math teachers not prepared to go beyond multiplication tables aren't really math teachers, are they? More like baby sitters. But then I forget, NEA membership is a lifetime meal ticket.

Brrrr

2008-12-10T22:10:00.002-05:00

Think it's cold where you are? Check out eastern Siberia.

ATO Rocks

2008-12-02T21:10:00.001-05:00

I've been working with the Alpha Tau Omega Colony at the College of William and Mary, and they will soon be getting their charter! They got this message over the weekend.

Car Companies

2008-11-23T17:01:00.002-05:00

The magnitude of hysteria over the "Big 3" car companies going broke is so silly.

Detroit's car makers employ nearly a quarter-million workers, and more than 730,000 other workers produce materials and parts that go into cars. If just one of the automakers declared bankruptcy, some estimates put U.S. job losses next year as high as 2.5 million.

So, your point is that if GM goes under Americans will stop buying cars? Anything else doesn't make sense. "Import" companies make their cars in the U.S. now. It's too expensive to ship many of them from overseas.

Looks like Toyota has plants in 12 states, as does Honda. What will happen to their workers if the government decides to subsidize the others?

I got 94%

2008-11-23T16:44:00.003-05:00

There is a test about civic literacy posted at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Apparently, a lot of elected officials have problems with basic concepts (44% correct answers). On a positive note, the population as a whole gets slightly higher scores (49%).

I got 94%. Darn Lincoln-Douglas Debates!

US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.
Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).

"It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI's civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned," said Josiah Bunting, chairman of the National Civic Literacy Board at ISI.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, govern.

Mines is in a Bowl Game - Again?

2008-11-22T16:43:00.002-05:00

Gosh, they made it to the this game last year too. In 2004 they were in the NCAA Division II Playoffs.

When I was there we thought it was a stellar season if we broke .500.

(ST. GEORGE, Utah – November 10, 2008) The Colorado School of Mines Orediggers and the Western Washington University Vikings have accepted invitations to play in the 23rd-Annual Dixie Rotary Bowl Game, as announced by bowl director Gary Benson announced Monday afternoon in a press conference held during the St. George Rotary Club’s weekly luncheon held at the Holiday Inn. The game will be played Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008, at 12 noon (MST), at Hansen Stadium in St. George.

The 2008 Dixie Rotary Bowl match-up will mark the first-ever meeting between the Orediggers and Vikings on the gridiron. For WWU, the 2008 Dixie Rotary Bowl will be the Vikings’ first postseason bowl game in school history, while CSM will be making its second-straight Dixie Rotary Bowl appearance. In the 2007 Dixie Rotary Bowl, the Orediggers faced Western Oregon and came up on the short end of a 26-12 loss to the Wolves (12/01/07).

This looks like fun.

2008-11-16T17:17:00.000-05:00

A cool year

2008-11-12T21:53:00.002-05:00

I've seen a lot of newspaper stories about how this has been such a cool year. I was willing to nod knowingly and agree, while sweating. Then I saw this image.

Wouldn't you know it would turn out that I live in the one major area in the entire country that has seen significantly higher temperatures this year.

The Skinny on Sex

2008-10-30T20:17:00.001-04:00

I've always said that all the plump ones had to come from somewhere.

Overweight and obese women have more sex than skinny types, a new study suggests.

The research, announced today, is based on data on more than 7,000 women collected in the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. The new analysis looked at the relationship between body mass index and sexual orientation, age of first intercourse, number of partners and frequency of intercourse.

The results seem to contradict stereotypes that overweight and obese women have less sex. If anything, the researchers said, the opposite seems to be true.

We are not Worthy! We are not Worthy!

2008-10-20T20:48:00.002-04:00

Now that's a burger!

2008-10-16T20:16:00.004-04:00

Denny Beer Barrel Pub has upgraded their regular menu burgers since the last time I wrote about them. This still isn't as big as their Main Event Charity Burger, though. That one was 80 pounds of meat.

CLEARFIELD, Pa. - It took Brad Sciullo 4 hours and 39 minutes to finish a marathon. A meat marathon, that is. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound western Pennsylvania chef is the first person to eat a monstrosity called the Beer Barrel Belly Bruiser: a 15-pound burger with toppings and a bun that brought the total weight to 20.2 pounds.

The mountain of beef is the product of Denny's Beer Barrel Pub, about 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh in Clearfield.

Sciullo, 21, of Uniontown, said he was surprised he finished the sandwich Monday. "About three hours into it, things got tough," he said.

When asked what possessed him to eat a burger that big, Sciullo said: "I wanted to see if I could."

The burger included a bun, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, mild banana peppers and a cup each of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and relish, pub owner Dennis Liegey said.

For completing the challenge in the under-five-hour time limit, Sciullo won $400, three T-shirts, a certificate "and a burger hangover, as I call it," Liegey said.

Well, I should think so.

Don't believe it exists? Go here.

Apple Season

2008-10-13T19:59:00.002-04:00

It is apple season here, so we took advantage of the holiday today to drive up to Charlottesville to the Carter Mountain Orchard. They have "pick your own", but I'll leave that to the families and those who want them 'just so'. Besides, per picked is only 10 cents a pound more, and that hill was steep.

While we were there we also did some wine tasting and picked up a bottle of Reisling and a bottle of Port. Thank goodness they had apple cider doughnuts up there, because we needed it when we got out of the tasting room. We don't usually 'sample' at that time of the day.

Storm footage

2008-10-12T14:18:00.002-04:00

We had quite a good storm back on 9/25, though it wasn't "tropical". A few seconds of footage follow. Compare to Tropical Storm Hanna a few weeks before. I took the earlier footage from the area I show being underwater here.

The Dogs Don't Forget

2008-10-05T22:24:00.000-04:00

After 14 months they just say "where were you?"

This Might Explain Some Things

2008-10-05T16:14:00.002-04:00

The British commander in Afghanistan doesn't think the war there can be won.

"We're not going to win this war. It's about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army."
He went on: "If the Taliban were prepared to sit on the other side of the table and talk about a political settlement, then that's precisely the sort of progress that concludes insurgencies like this. That shouldn't make people uncomfortable."

Well, he may be right, or he may be wrong. But attitudes like that certainly go a long way to explaining why, 232 years later, there are US troops permanently based in the UK, and not the other way around. That "negotiating with the insurgency" thing didn't turn out that well for them.

Market Crash

2008-09-16T19:54:00.003-04:00

You think our stock market has problems? Try a country absolutely dependent on exports with a history of public corruption as wide as the Volga and a mile deep.

Russian shares suffered their steepest one-day fall in more than a decade on Tuesday, losing up to 20 per cent, as a sharp slide in oil prices and difficult money market conditions triggered a rush to sell.

The heads of the Russian central bank, the finance ministry and the financial market regulator met on Tuesday night for an emergency discussion on ways to halt the crisis.

Earlier, trading had been suspended on both the Micex and RTS stock exchanges as investors ignored assurances by Russian officials and a cycle of distrust set in amid liquidity fears.

Obama? Magua?

2008-09-12T21:07:00.005-04:00

Is it just me, or does The One remind you of actor Wes Studi as Magua?

When the Grey Hair is dead, Magua will eat his heart. Before he dies, Magua will put his children under the knife, so the Grey Hair will know his seed is wiped out forever.

Another "Almost a Darwin Award"

2008-09-10T21:36:00.002-04:00

There's a lot of water. Here. And bridges. And draw-bridges. Please, don't believe what you see in the movies.

A motorist fleeing police tried — and failed — to jump across an open drawbridge in Chesapeake on Tuesday afternoon, and emergency workers had to pull the driver and his car out of the Elizabeth River.

Michael Christopher Mills, a 38-year-old Chesapeake resident, was wanted on four counts of identity theft. After his escapade on Tuesday, he has also been charged with felony disregarding of police.

Tropical Storm Hanna

2008-09-06T10:59:00.000-04:00

It's not much as these things go. I'll post an update if it changes.

It'll be a HOT day in hell...

2008-08-25T18:49:00.003-04:00

At the urging of our glorious General Assembly, VDOT has contracted to turn the I-495 beltway around D.C. into HOT (High Occupancy - Toll) lanes. The idea is that car pools travel for free (like HOV lanes), but cars containing only 1 or 2 people can travel in them by paying a toll, thus saving a little time.

How much of a toll? How much time? From the Washington Post -

Using an average rush-hour toll of $1.54 a mile, as projected in the studies, a 6.3- mile morning commute between Route 29 and Braddock Road in Fairfax County would cost $9.70 and save 90 seconds over the Beltway's "free lanes." That translates to $6.47 for each minute saved -- an hourly rate of $388, which would make some K Street lawyers jealous.

Yikes! Ten bucks each way? Well, I can't afford it, but I guess there are those that can. But to save 90 seconds? Come on, you've got to have messed up the numbers.

Project officials say HOT lanes traffic will move at a minimum of 55 mph. That is why there is no cap on toll rates -- to discourage drivers who might clog up the lanes and slow speeds.

That predictability could eliminate what transportation planners call "buffer time," the extra time travelers build into their commute to cover traffic mishaps. Eliminating buffer time could mean an extra hour with family, a second cup of coffee with the morning paper, an extra hour of sleep. There also is the security of knowing that traffic will not cause one to miss that job interview or breakfast with the boss.

"Buffer time". Hmmm, call me self centered, but if I left for work an hour early, and traffic was light, and I got there, well, an hour early, I might be tempted to possibly leave an hour early. Net loss to my family - zero.

This is more like a way to screw yourself even worse. Imagine that instead of a bona fide K Street lawyer, you are a guy that uses the lanes, but feels the pinch.

The way they keep traffic flowing at a minimum of 55mph is by raising the toll. As the speed drops they raise the toll in real time. OK, you can afford $1 per mile. You OK with $1.50? How about $2? $4? Remember, it's now 20 minutes until the day care closes, and they charge you an extra $15 for every 15 minutes you're late. What do you do?

By the way, about that minimum 55mph?

Daley says the toll lanes will maintain an average speed of 55 mph, but the internal reports estimate average rush-hour speeds of 43 mph to 44 mph.

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if it was that slow. See, the Beltway doesn't have HOV lanes now. ("Huh?" is what I said when I moved into the area.) Car pools are mixed in with everyone else, but a lot of people do pool. How many? We'll find out. But remember, car pools use the HOT lanes for free. The toll payers are just using the spare capacity. Also,

Off-peak tolls could be as little as 14 cents a mile.

Yeah, you stick with that story. I've driven the Beltway late at night, or on good-weather weekends. It's 4 to 6 lanes of 75mph from the Potomac to nearly Springfield. No one is going to pay even 14 cents unless you make that 75mph the legal speed limit.

The LHC

2008-08-23T11:53:00.000-04:00

More Gobal Warming

2008-08-19T21:01:00.002-04:00

While claims fly that the north pole could be iceless this year, there are different reports from nearer the other pole, in New Zealand.

Mt Ruapehu is claiming the biggest snow base ever recorded for a New Zealand skifield with over 4.5m of snow on the ground.

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts, operator of Mt Ruapehu ski area, was celebrating what it called a major milestone today.

The snow measuring stake at Turoa previously only stood at 380cm so had to be extended to measure today's 455cm snow base.

The Whakapapa side of the mountain also had 350cm of snow, the biggest since 1995.

For the metrically challenged, a 455cm snow base translates as 179 inches (about 15 feet).

So, anyway, how is that whole ice-free, basking on the beach, polar bear-drowning thing working out? Uh, not.

...data sources show Arctic ice having made a nice recovery this summer. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center data shows 2008 ice nearly identical to 2002, 2005 and 2006. Maps of Arctic ice extent are readily available from several sources, including the University of Illinois, which keeps a daily archive for the last 30 years. A comparison of these maps (derived from NSIDC data) below shows that Arctic ice extent was 30 per cent greater on August 11, 2008 than it was on the August 12, 2007. (2008 is a leap year, so the dates are offset by one.)

Our Governor is an F'ing Fool

2008-08-15T20:20:00.001-04:00

Obama - Change You Can Believe In

2008-08-12T20:18:00.002-04:00

Ah, another endorsement

Barack Obama is not a left candidate. This fact has seemingly surprised a number of progressive people who are bemoaning Obama’s “shift to the center.” (Right-wingers are happy to join them, suggesting Obama is a “flip-flopper.”) It’s sad that some who seek progressive change are missing the forest for the trees. But they will not dampen the wide and deep enthusiasm for blocking a third Bush term represented by John McCain, or for bringing Obama by a landslide into the White House with a large Democratic congressional majority.

A broad multiclass, multiracial movement is converging around Obama’s “Hope, change and unity” campaign because they see in it the thrilling opportunity to end 30 years of ultra-right rule and move our nation forward with a broadly progressive agenda.

You might want to click through on that link and see who's endorsing him.

Too Good To Be True

2008-08-12T20:01:00.002-04:00

I'm not even going to bother researching this, because I don't care if it's true or not. It just mirrors my preconceptions about modern art, and that's all that counts.

A giant inflatable dog turd by American artist Paul McCarthy blew away from an exhibition in the garden of a Swiss museum, bringing down a power line and breaking a greenhouse window before it landed again, the museum said Monday.
The art work, titled "Complex S(expletive..)", is the size of a house. The wind carried it 200 metres (yards) from the Paul Klee Centre in Berne before it fell back to Earth in the grounds of a children's home, said museum director Juri Steiner.

The inflatable turd broke the window at the children's home when it blew away on the night of July 31, Steiner said. The art work has a safety system which normally makes it deflate when there is a storm, but this did not work when it blew away.

Those Who Can't Do Math, Take The Train

2008-08-11T21:09:00.003-04:00

The local paper has a story about all of the people switching to riding Amtrak.

Imagine lines of passengers waiting for departure, baggage sprawled about, sold-out tickets and chaos in the parking lot.

This is the scene at the Newport News Amtrak Station throughout the week at any given departure time.
With high gas prices and tough economic times upon us, it's no wonder why many people are deciding to park their vehicles and board a train.

Karina Romero, an Amtrak spokeswoman, said that as of June, the company reported an 11 percent increase in ridership across the country.

This picture shows the Newport News station. Chaos in the parking lot? How is that possible? It only has 50 spaces.

"My husband and I were just noticing that it is a lot more crowded than we expected," she said. "I think more people are riding the train because it is less than flying and because gas has gotten so high. Gas is terrible."

Obviously we have a situation where these people can't do simple math. Or, they drive real gas hogs. Or both.

Let's do the math, shall we? I just priced the cost of a round-trip from Newport News to NYC on Amtrak for a three day trip. The cost of the fare is $220 for two.

Now my thrifty little Civic gets 40 mpg with just me in it. Let's assume it gets only 35 mpg once I add in the spouse and baggage (Sorry, honey.) So, for $220 I could buy 55 gallons of $4 gasoline, and travel 1925 miles.

Problem is, the distance to NYC is only about 400 miles, so the price of gas for a round-trip would only be about $92. Granted, they won't be paying the cost of parking once they get there ($65/day at the Holiday Inn in SoHo, for example), or tolls on the NJ Turnpike, but still, gas prices are no excuse folks.

It is better as you travel further. The roundtrip for two to Denver would be about $1000, and it takes 48 hours one-way to make the trip. Gas for my car would run about $440 for that distance, plus an undoubted need for an oil change when I was done.

Still, jeez, I've driven that same run in about 36 hours. Can you imagine being on trains continuously for 2+ days? No chance to wash decently or anything.

Au contraire! Those classic private cabins are still available on the train. They do bump up the cost though, to about $2950 for 2 people.

By the way, the same trip via Orbitz is about $1038 for two people, packed in like sardines, but for only 9 or 10 hours, not 48. First class tickets are available from about $2050 for two.

I'll Give Him One Thing...

2008-08-08T21:54:00.001-04:00

...and he'll give her another.

One positive point to John Edwards admission of having an affair. At least he appears to know which end of the girl it goes in.

Did They Think This Through?

2008-08-08T21:39:00.002-04:00

Olympic Trivia: The 2008 Olympics in Beijing were designed by Albert Speer.

Just by coincidence, or maybe not, Albert's father, also an Albert Speer, designed the 1936 Olympics for Adolph Hitler. The elder Speer server as Hitler's Minister of Armaments, and later spent 20 years in Spandau prison after his conviction at the Nuremburg war crimes trials.

It's almost enough to make me wished I had watched the opening ceremonies.

Almost.

Recall Update

2008-08-05T21:45:00.002-04:00

They're doing pretty well with the petitions I wrote about earlier.

An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 signatures have been gathered by a grass-roots group of volunteers seeking to remove from office four members of the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors.

In the third full day of collecting signatures across Gloucester, residents were lining up at tables from Gloucester Point to Gloucester Court House to sign petitions seeking to oust supervisors Teresa Altemus, Bobby Crewe, Michelle Ressler and Gregory Woodard.

To put that in perspective, Gloucester County has a population of under 39,000 of whom about 30,000 are of voting age. In the election that brought these critters to power, there were only about 1,700 votes cast in my precinct (Crewe won by 218 votes). In the one Supervisor race that was at-large there were under 9200 votes cast (Ressler won by 1,642 votes).

My understanding is that in order for a recall to be authorized, they have to get signatures equaling 10% of the votes cast in the last election. So, 170 or so for Crewe, and 920 for Ressler. Sounds like they'll have that to spare. Which is good, as the judges will throw out the signatures on any technicality.

But, looks like we'll be voting again soon.

Recall

2008-08-02T16:49:00.003-04:00

After the great time we've had with our supervisors here, the recall process has begun.

Just after noon Friday, Garr Johnson walked into Burke's of Gloucester on Main Street with copies of 250 petitions that seek to remove four members of the county Board of Supervisors from office.

Within an hour, the petitions hit shops and sidewalks in Gloucester, and residents were already lining up to sign them.

Winnie and I signed this morning. They were set up at a card table in the parking lot of the post office, and they were keeping a line about 5 deep in the few minutes I was there. Shouldn't take too long.

My office

2008-07-18T20:02:00.002-04:00

Yes, it's pretty awesome. I really do have my own office. I think this was my reward when my boss couldn't get my hourly rate raised, or get me hired permanently. Of course, I do get to share it when there is other testing to be done (you can't see the other computers in the corner), but that seems a small price to pay.

My suggestion would be...

2008-07-18T20:00:00.000-04:00

...never talk to a judge this way.

$5,900,000,000 more = "budget woes"

2008-07-18T11:59:00.004-04:00

The Governor has announced a hiring freeze (damn!) because of falling general fund revenues.

This year, Kaine implemented a series of cuts based on forecasts of reduced revenue. As a result of those cuts, the state finished fiscal 2008 on June 30 barely in the black -- $5.4 million in a general-fund budget of $17.2 billion.

But, when you look at the budget for previous years, you see the general fund expenditures have increased by a quarter billion dollars just over the previous year ($16.96B), and are still a little above those from two years ago ($17.03B).

The article also whines about the difficulty of making the state's $77B two year budget, when the previous two years totalled $71.1B. Gosh guys, an extra $5.9B from 7.7M residents (~$375/person/year) isn't enough of an increase? Who's getting the money? The state employees aren't seeing any pay raises.

Stephen, you naughty boy!

2008-07-16T21:48:00.002-04:00

The Barenaked Ladies are one of my favorite bands. However, Stephen was bad.

Barenaked Ladies singer arrested on drug charges

07/16/2008 5:13 AM, AP

The singer and guitarist for the band Barenaked Ladies has been arrested on drug charges in upstate New York.

Police say Steven Page was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance on Friday in the Syracuse area.

Authorities say the arrest occurred at about 2 a.m. after police noticed a suspicious car with its driver's side door left open. They say they found Page and two women in a nearby apartment, along with cocaine and marijuana.

Barenaked Ladies' manager Terry McBride confirmed the charge to the Post-Standard of Syracuse but declined to comment further. The singer, released after paying $10,000 bail, is due in court Thursday.

Page helped form the band in 1988. The group, know for hits such as "One Week" and "Pinch Me" recently released their debut kids CD "Snacktime."

Gosh! And only a few days ago, they were announcing their upcoming concert with Disney.

I love this quote from a Canadian news story.

"I do not think it's going to hurt them in the long run," said Arsenault, whose client roster has included children's entertainers Sharon, Lois & Bram, Fred Penner and large music events including the Junos.
She noted that other celebrities with wholesome images have weathered far worse scandals, such as Jamie Lynn Spears and her teen pregnancy, and teen queen Miley Cyrus who appeared in a suggestive photo spread.

The problem, guys is that Jamie Lynn and Miley apparently sex, or got naked. Not quite the same as smokin' and snortin'. And, both are American citizens. Stephen is a Canuck, and if convicted of felony possession, even if he doesn't go to jail, he could be banned from entering the country for life.

The last month

2008-07-15T22:35:00.002-04:00

It's been a month since my mom passed away. Almost everyone in the family was there. It all still seems a little unreal. I miss talking to her.

Electric Cars

2008-07-14T18:07:00.003-04:00

Hey, if you want to go green, how about buying a new Tesla?
It's all electric.
It does 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds.
Gets 220 miles on a single charge.
"Fuel" costs are under 2 cents per mile.

They're taking reservations now, and the first production models are delivering.

Cost? Oh, the base price is $109,000, and delivery is in 12 months. If you want to lock in an earlier delivery date, that can be done for an additional $55,000. Full payment being due 3 months before they deliver your car.

New Energy Sources

2008-07-12T20:58:00.002-04:00

I've heard quite a lot lately in the news about "why don't energy companies invest in technologies like solar, or wind?" Even so, progress is being made.

In Massachusetts, the Patrick administration's Commonwealth Solar rebate program, implemented in January, is part of a push to increase the amount of solar energy used from 4 megawatts to 250 megawatts over the next decade. (By comparison, the Pilgrim nuclear plant has a generating capacity of nearly 700 megawatts.) A novel program included in the state's new energy bill would allow utilities to own solar panels for the first time.

Uh, whoops. Wait a minute. Did you say the electric company was prevented by law from owning solar panels? So what was supposed to be their interest in seeing solar technology prosper?

It makes me wonder what other dumb laws like this exist. Probably designed to 'level the playing field', but in fact preventing those with capital from using it.

I'd love to hear an oil company exec actually say "Senator, we are pursuing all alternative forms of energy. We look forward to a day when the use of oil is banned. And when it does, with the technologies we will own, you can bet your booties we'll jack the price sky high."

Hat tip to Ace of Spades.

Blowing her nose

2008-07-12T20:31:00.002-04:00

This girl nearly got her nose blown of.

A delicate moment

2008-07-11T12:31:00.001-04:00

I've told a story similar to this to family members.

A report of a family fight Wednesday afternoon in New Castle didn't turn out to
be what police expected.

A nine-year-old girl called 911 after she awoke from a nap and heard her mother screaming. She went to her mother's bedroom and thought her mother was being attacked.

Turns out, her parents were just enjoying marital relations.

But the New Castle Police Department responded to the little girl's call, and even filed a report, noting "Mom and Daddy were involved in a romantic moment and daughter mistook them as fighting."

"Enjoying" being the operative word.

Too Good To Ignore

2008-07-09T22:02:00.002-04:00

Some stories are too good to ignore.

Would-be car thieves could learn from a New Bedford man's mistake: If you're going to steal a car, avoid the idling state police cruiser — especially if two troopers are inside.
Jose Alvarez Nieves was arrested Monday night after he allegedly tried to break into three cars in a convenience store parking lot, including an unmarked state police cruiser, according to state Trooper Paul Gifford.
"It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime stories," Trooper Gifford said.

Not quite a "Darwin" story, but close. Give Jose some time.

Ah, small town life!

2008-07-08T20:54:00.004-04:00

It's so fun to live in a small community, where everyone gets in everyone else's business.

Four members of the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors and the Gloucester sheriff were indicted on a total of 15 misdemeanor charges by a special grand jury Tuesday.

In addition, a Gloucester developer faces 10 felony charges in connection with the forgery of county documents.

Supervisors Teresa Altemus, Michelle Ressler, Robert "Bobby" Crewe and Gregory Woodard each were indicted on charges of transacting public business in private, unlawful warrantless search and computer trespass. Crewe and Ressler also faces charges of coercing and intimidating a county employee as a result of a closed-door meeting on Jan. 8 with former Planning Director Jay Scudder.

Sheriff Steve Gentry faces a single misdemeanor count of malfeasance or misuse of office for conducting unlawful searches and seizures related to the entry of the offices of former county employees Bill Whitley and Danny Stuck.

Developer George Woodhouse, who was Crewe's largest campaign contributor and who also contributed $500 to Gentry's campaign, is accused of forging county certificates of occupancy, which are documents that certify that a structure complies with county ordinances regulating building.

We've all been waiting for this ever since these four decided they were going to personally remake all of Gloucester's government.

I sneer at $4 gas

2008-07-08T19:59:00.004-04:00

Yeah, because it only hits me a few bucks at a time, spread out over the entire year.

But, this house gets hot water for taps and baseboard heat from a fuel oil fired boiler. Fuel oil prices are about 20 cents per gallon higher than last year, and to get a discount price I have to pay in a lump sum for the year up front. That'll be around $3500 - 4000. I'm not sneering at that.

Jim Webb - not VP

2008-07-07T21:47:00.001-04:00

So, our senator says he doesn't want to run with Obama.

Freshman U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, in a statement just released by his office, said he's told presidential nominee in-waiting Barack Obama, "Under no circumstances will I be a candidate for vice president."

Given that he only won his Senate seat by 0.5%, I don't see that he would have been that much of an asset anyway. Or, since it's Virginia, was that supposed to prove he's a centerist?

Stay Strong Lou

2008-07-07T21:43:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite bloggers, Lou Minatti, is going through some rough times. Having lost both my grandmother and mom this spring I've got some idea. Stay strong, pal.

Bling

2008-06-30T21:26:00.002-04:00

Damn! Now we're going to have home invasions to steal our doorknobs. Well, I guess it could be worse.

Robert "Boochie" Burrest Jr. has always liked to tinker.

As a child, he'd go around his neighborhood with a wagon full of tools, doing odd jobs. In high school, he'd make his own wooden shoes. As he grew older, he began customizing cars.

About eight years ago, after fooling around in his workshop, Burrest came up with his first invention. It's a wooden or metal ring on which you can screw an assortment of decorative doorknobs.

Maybe ol' Boochie here can figure out how to get rappers to use these doorknobs, instead of gold teeth, as a new status symbol.