I believe that the Libertarian Republicans are the last hope for the Republican Party (and the United States of America). For reasons that I don't fully understand, many "George W. Bush Republicans" have dismissed the Libertarians within their party. Today I opened an e-mail that seeks to refute those "Neoconservatives."
I'm serious folks, join the Ron Paul Revolution.
16 May 2009
Hockey Pond
So I've just about given up on creating a high-quality hockey pond on my property. It seems that we just don't have a good spot for one. Faced with this realization, I'm getting serious about Plan B: build a backyard rink.
As every inch of my property is hopelessly sloped, I'm going to have to grade an area to make it level enough for a rink. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to take out some overgrown vineyard before I can do that. Convincing my wife to let me clear the patch that I have chosen may be tricky. It's the most level place on our property and right next to our backyard. Unfortunately, it's a section of vineyard that she had hoped to put back into production. I'm afraid I'll have to bribe her...
In any case, I'm looking at putting in a rectangular rink measuring 14 meters (about 46 feet) by 8 meters (about 26 feet). Ideally I'd construct a rink 15 meters x 10 meters, but my best liner option is only 32 feet x 100 feet. This way I'll get two liners out of one roll of plastic, halving my cost.
I want to make a metal goal, but I'll look into that after the school year has ended. For now, I'm ordering the plastic for the liner, planning how to make the boards, and beginning clearing of the vineyard. Now that I have a definite plan for this winter, I'm psyched!
Wish me luck!
As every inch of my property is hopelessly sloped, I'm going to have to grade an area to make it level enough for a rink. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to take out some overgrown vineyard before I can do that. Convincing my wife to let me clear the patch that I have chosen may be tricky. It's the most level place on our property and right next to our backyard. Unfortunately, it's a section of vineyard that she had hoped to put back into production. I'm afraid I'll have to bribe her...
In any case, I'm looking at putting in a rectangular rink measuring 14 meters (about 46 feet) by 8 meters (about 26 feet). Ideally I'd construct a rink 15 meters x 10 meters, but my best liner option is only 32 feet x 100 feet. This way I'll get two liners out of one roll of plastic, halving my cost.
I want to make a metal goal, but I'll look into that after the school year has ended. For now, I'm ordering the plastic for the liner, planning how to make the boards, and beginning clearing of the vineyard. Now that I have a definite plan for this winter, I'm psyched!
Wish me luck!
First post in more than two months...
It has been more than two months since my last post - blame facebook. Earlier this year my buddy finally convinced me to join facebook. It has been fun, but it has had terrible consequences for this blog. I have no intention of deleting this outlet-for-my-random-thoughts, but I can't guarantee that it will ever regain its former "glory." [Note: I use the word 'glory' VERY loosely.]
In any case, today's blogging subject is the A.D. 2009 Bones season finale. For those of you who aren't familiar, Bones is a drama series on the FOX American television network.
My wife and I began watching Bones when it premiered back in A.D. 2005. My wife was/is a fan of star David Boreanaz, and decided that we would be loyal viewers before the show had even aired. It was extremely convenient that I enjoyed the show so much. Season one was excellent and season two was great. However, the show began tending toward the gimicky in season three. Nonetheless, it was still good television. Unfortunately, all of that changed in season four.
This past season was marked by a plethora of gimicky and mediocre episodes that were interspersed with an equal number of terrible and fantastic episodes. Unfortunately, the worst episode of ANY Bones season was this year's finale.
If you haven't seen the season finale, you're not missing much. The basic plot is as follows: Booth and Bones are married club owners in a dream that Booth has while in a brain surgery-induced coma OR in a fictional short story that Bones has written (which is promptly deleted). At the end of the episode, Booth awakens from his coma to ask a joyous Bones "Who are you?"
The episode was a joke. Media outlets have been reporting that it was to have been the episode in which Booth and Bones finally consummate their relationship. Instead, a fictional Booth and Bones consummate a relationship in a dream/fictional short story. To top it off, Booth has apparently lost his memory at the end of the episode. Quite simply, the plot is out of some low-budget "B" movie. Why should I be surprised? Both of the last two episodes were like that. I've been threatening to give up Bones since midway through this past season. My wife grew angry with me every time I predicted increasingly outrageous plots, but yesterday, for the first time, she agreed with me.
I'll finish with a note to television show writers: You manage to screw up most good shows in an effort to squeeze out as much milk as you can from each cash cow. For once, end a show before you've ruined it for the viewers. Make season five the final season of Bones. Have Booth and Brennan end up together. Have Hodgins and Angela end up together. Get rid of the gimicky interns. Get back to your original formula for success - interesting criminal cases supplemented by a growing attraction between your two main characters. Please, just this once, don't screw it up.
In any case, today's blogging subject is the A.D. 2009 Bones season finale. For those of you who aren't familiar, Bones is a drama series on the FOX American television network.
My wife and I began watching Bones when it premiered back in A.D. 2005. My wife was/is a fan of star David Boreanaz, and decided that we would be loyal viewers before the show had even aired. It was extremely convenient that I enjoyed the show so much. Season one was excellent and season two was great. However, the show began tending toward the gimicky in season three. Nonetheless, it was still good television. Unfortunately, all of that changed in season four.
This past season was marked by a plethora of gimicky and mediocre episodes that were interspersed with an equal number of terrible and fantastic episodes. Unfortunately, the worst episode of ANY Bones season was this year's finale.
If you haven't seen the season finale, you're not missing much. The basic plot is as follows: Booth and Bones are married club owners in a dream that Booth has while in a brain surgery-induced coma OR in a fictional short story that Bones has written (which is promptly deleted). At the end of the episode, Booth awakens from his coma to ask a joyous Bones "Who are you?"
The episode was a joke. Media outlets have been reporting that it was to have been the episode in which Booth and Bones finally consummate their relationship. Instead, a fictional Booth and Bones consummate a relationship in a dream/fictional short story. To top it off, Booth has apparently lost his memory at the end of the episode. Quite simply, the plot is out of some low-budget "B" movie. Why should I be surprised? Both of the last two episodes were like that. I've been threatening to give up Bones since midway through this past season. My wife grew angry with me every time I predicted increasingly outrageous plots, but yesterday, for the first time, she agreed with me.
I'll finish with a note to television show writers: You manage to screw up most good shows in an effort to squeeze out as much milk as you can from each cash cow. For once, end a show before you've ruined it for the viewers. Make season five the final season of Bones. Have Booth and Brennan end up together. Have Hodgins and Angela end up together. Get rid of the gimicky interns. Get back to your original formula for success - interesting criminal cases supplemented by a growing attraction between your two main characters. Please, just this once, don't screw it up.
03 March 2009
Think, people!
When will America realize that left-of-center government is bad?
According to a February 2009 study by the Mercatus Center, states that voted for the Democratic candidate in the A.D. 2004 U.S. Presidential election tend to have lower rates of overall freedom. In the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, the 28 states won by B. Hussein Obama included 20 of the 28 states with the lowest overall freedom ratings, including every state ranked 35th or lower. Ironically, B. Hussein Obama won both New Hampshire and Colorado - the two states ranked highest in overall freedom. Aside from those two, he carried only one other state in the top ten. An average of the rankings of the states carried by B. Hussein Obama results in the number 31.32. Averaging the rankings of the states won by John McCain results in the number 18.09, indicating that, on average, states with higher rates of overall freedom tended to vote for John McCain.
To dramatically oversimplify the results: free people vote for Republicans and subjected people vote for Democrats. The question is, "why would Americans elect people who consistently take away their freedom?" Unless the answer is "They're a bunch of idiots," I have no idea.
State debt levels also lead one to question the wisdom of voting for Democrats. In the A.D. 2008 U.S. Presidential election, B. Hussein Obama won 18 of the 28 states that, in 2002, had the highest public debt (per capita). That included 8 of the top 10 and 15 of the top 20 states with the highest public debt. Twenty-five of the states carried by Obama were in the top 40, while three were in the bottom ten. Again, a logical individual would question the wisdom of empowering a party that consistently builds public debt. Again, our conclusion must be that Americans aren't logical.
Finally, one can look at cost of living rankings and conclude that Democrats promote a high cost of living. Of the 28 states won by B. Hussein Obama, he carried 10 of the top 11 and 25 of the top 29 states with the highest costs of living. Obama carried none of the twelve states with the lowest costs of living.
People, get your head out of your ass and stop voting for those who would bring us down.
Note: I understand that the information in post has been presented in an unscientific way. However, I believe that my conclusions are valid. I understand that opponents of my conclusions might argue that I have made some ideological leaps in drawing them, but I firmly believe that any "leaps" I have made would stand up to academic scrutiny.
According to a February 2009 study by the Mercatus Center, states that voted for the Democratic candidate in the A.D. 2004 U.S. Presidential election tend to have lower rates of overall freedom. In the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, the 28 states won by B. Hussein Obama included 20 of the 28 states with the lowest overall freedom ratings, including every state ranked 35th or lower. Ironically, B. Hussein Obama won both New Hampshire and Colorado - the two states ranked highest in overall freedom. Aside from those two, he carried only one other state in the top ten. An average of the rankings of the states carried by B. Hussein Obama results in the number 31.32. Averaging the rankings of the states won by John McCain results in the number 18.09, indicating that, on average, states with higher rates of overall freedom tended to vote for John McCain.
To dramatically oversimplify the results: free people vote for Republicans and subjected people vote for Democrats. The question is, "why would Americans elect people who consistently take away their freedom?" Unless the answer is "They're a bunch of idiots," I have no idea.
State debt levels also lead one to question the wisdom of voting for Democrats. In the A.D. 2008 U.S. Presidential election, B. Hussein Obama won 18 of the 28 states that, in 2002, had the highest public debt (per capita). That included 8 of the top 10 and 15 of the top 20 states with the highest public debt. Twenty-five of the states carried by Obama were in the top 40, while three were in the bottom ten. Again, a logical individual would question the wisdom of empowering a party that consistently builds public debt. Again, our conclusion must be that Americans aren't logical.
Finally, one can look at cost of living rankings and conclude that Democrats promote a high cost of living. Of the 28 states won by B. Hussein Obama, he carried 10 of the top 11 and 25 of the top 29 states with the highest costs of living. Obama carried none of the twelve states with the lowest costs of living.
People, get your head out of your ass and stop voting for those who would bring us down.
Note: I understand that the information in post has been presented in an unscientific way. However, I believe that my conclusions are valid. I understand that opponents of my conclusions might argue that I have made some ideological leaps in drawing them, but I firmly believe that any "leaps" I have made would stand up to academic scrutiny.
"I want to be a part of it - New York, New York!"
"New York is by far the least free state in the Union (#50 economic, #48 personal). One of us lives in New York and can attest to the fact that few New Yorkers would be surprised by such a finding. Sadly, equally few New Yorkers seem to believe that anything can be done about the situation. New York has the highest taxes in the country. Property, selective sales, individual income, and corporate income taxes are particularly high. Spending on social services and “other” is well above national norms. Only Massachusetts has more government debt as a percentage of the economy. Government employment is higher than average. On personal freedoms, gun laws are extremely restrictive, but marijuana laws are better than average (while tobacco laws are extremely strict). Motorists are highly regulated, but several kinds of gambling are allowed statewide (not casinos, except on reservations). Home school regulations are burdensome, but asset forfeiture has been reformed. Along with Vermont, New York has the strictest health insurance community rating regulations. Mandated coverages are also very high. Eminent domain is totally unreformed. Perversely, the state strictly limits what grassroots PACs may give to candidates and parties, but not what corporations and unions may give."
Source: http://www.mercatus.org/uploadedFiles/Mercatus/Publications/Freedom%20in%20the%2050%20States.pdf
If you're an American (or find America fascinating), this study is really interesting reading.
Source: http://www.mercatus.org/uploadedFiles/Mercatus/Publications/Freedom%20in%20the%2050%20States.pdf
If you're an American (or find America fascinating), this study is really interesting reading.
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