Friday Night at the Halifax, MA Car Show

Due to travel complications, i.e. United cancelled my flight on Thursday, I got to spend 5 extra days home on R&R. I decided to take the '63 Willys to the local car show at the Halifax, MA Walmart. A great evening with perfect weather in the mid-70s, low humidity, and many admirers for my US Navy Jeep.......even got compliments for my cigars.....Not too tough to take when if United had been able to get around the weather, I would have been back in the Sandbox instead.

I got to take the old girl out for a drive and enjoy another weekend at home.....I love it when things fall into place in my favor.

Wartime Presidents...and why our present President hasn't got a clue

There's a significant difference between what FDR did in wartime and what POTUS thinks is appropriate ......Sad as POTUS doesn't have a clue....He panders to the media culture that assisted him in getting elected while our troops sweat it out in Afghanistan....Trying to fight a war with a ROE (Rules of Engagement) that ties their hands and emboldens our enemies.

It's not like he understands about War or what it means to serve in the military... He has lived his life allowing others to do the "heavy lifting" while he criticized the Iraq conflict for being a lost cause.....and now Iraq is free. His POV and actions bring to mind the words of John Stuart Mill;

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.

John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873)

I believe Mr. Mill was commenting on people like our President, who feel that it is better for others to do the "heavy lifting" while he chats with the Cows on " The View ".

We needed a better man to make the important decisions during this time of our country's history. Instead, we got "Barry from Chicago", an egotistic, self centered elitist who hasn't got a clue as to what should be done....or what it means to serve our Country in uniform.

Brings to mind another quotation that applies directly to POTUS:

"The problem with political jokes is they get elected. "

Henry Cate VII

Priorities for POTUS...." Things Could Be Worse"

Guess POTUS didn't have any issues that were more pressing for him to work on other than appearing on "The View"....Not like there's anything serious that he could have devoted his time to.....no, everything is well.....

As the President said the other day while on the Campaign trail, " Things could be worse..." Great message....basically, " Suck it up" and stop complaining - Sorry Mr. & Mrs. America - too bad you can't get a job or your house was repossessed...it could be worse....

HOW? How could it be worse for the 15 million Americans who can't find work and for all those working for less than they deserve??? Or for those who are working twice as hard because they are afraid of being the next person laid off??? HOW could it be worse???

He did make an interesting comment though about the TV shows that he is his wife watch; The President joked that he decided to appear on "The View" because it was the only show his wife Michelle watched.

"I was trying to find a show that Michelle actually watched, and so I thought this is it, right here," he said.

"All those new shows, she's like, eh, let me get the clicker."

Guess that from this comment, he & FLOTUS don't watch "DOPRAH" any more....what happened there??? I thought "DOPRAH" was their biggest cheerleader......That remark must have gone over well at HARPO Studios in Chicago......Looks like he "misspoke" again......

Hopefully, in a few years, POTUS & FLOTUS will have all the free time to watch TV they need when they are shown the door.....None too soon.....Like POTUS said, " Things could be worse..." -

NO - It couldn't be worse because this Doofus & his collection of Village Idiots are in charge.........

State & Local Government HACKS facing deep cuts....long overdue

State & Local governments have been rife with "HACKS", i.e. public servants who are dead-wood but once they get in a job there, are all but guaranteed employment & benefits for life, all on the taxpayer's dime....They are the same as "Welfare Queens" only they are on the dole because once they are employed, it is virtually impossible for them to be fired....short of committing a crime. The cost to the tax-payers for this ineffective model of employment is high and has been welded in place by the unions. The cost that these HACKS will bring for their "life-time everything" is a major reason why we are in such dire financial straits in our towns, cities and states...

Well it seems as even the HACKS are becoming victims of the new economy....the WAPO reports that the cuts are coming and they are reaching even those who thought that because they worked for the town and/or state, they were set for life......guess again, fat-arse public servant....

From the WAPO;

" Local governments across the country are facing an intensifying fiscal crisis that is forcing them to make deep cuts in personnel and services just as more hard-pressed residents are seeking their help, according to a report released Tuesday.

These cities and counties -- which have cut jobs significantly since the start of the downturn -- could slash as many as 500,000 more jobs over the current and coming fiscal years. The cuts would affect schools, public safety, libraries, trash collection and social services, according to survey released jointly by the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties and U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Combined with the fiscal stress confronting state governments -- which face a combined budget deficit of $89 billion this year -- the crisis faced by counties and cities hampers the struggling economic recovery, analysts have said. "

It seems that the people are finally on par with Howard Beale from the 1976 movie "Network" and finally making "real change" to those who have been taking a ride-for-life on the taxpayer's dime for too long....To quote Mr. Beale and his famous words of outrage:

Howard Beale: I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's work, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV's while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be.

We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.' Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad! I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you've got to get mad.

[shouting] You've got to say, 'I'm a HUMAN BEING, Goddamnit! My life has VALUE!' So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell,

[shouting] 'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!'

Time to clean house, end life-time rides for the HACKS and bring back sanity to our State & Local Government.

'No Dogs Left Behind'

A worthy effort made for Man's Best Friends....


TV's 'No Dogs Left Behind' Follows Rescued War Dogs on Journey to U.S.Pets in the News

Goran Tomasevic/Reuters

While he was in Iraq, Staff Sgt. Bryan Spears and his company found a scrappy puppy and named him Moody. But due to military regulations, they were prohibited from caring for the animal, and the soldiers said their goodbyes to their new friend.

Fast-forward a few weeks later, and tragedy strikes: Five members of Spears's team are killed in an attack by a suicide bomber. That same day, Moody returns — and it was that turn of events that Spears says saved him from losing all morale. The dog had helped him cope with the loss of his fellow soldiers.

After that, there was no question that Moody would be going home with Spears when it came time for him to end his tour of duty; the only question left was how to do it. Moody's story, along with that of three other dogs traveling to the U.S. (including Nubs, who had a 75-mile odyssey through the desert), was chronicled for No Dogs Left Behind, a documentary airing Nov. 15 on the Military Channel.

Moody was rescued by a team from SPCA International called Operation Baghdad Pups. The project began in February 2008 after SPCA International received an inquiry from a soldier who desperately needed help with retrieving a dog he had befriended in Iraq. Since then, the team has launched 42 missions to Iraq and has saved 180 animals.

The process of bringing a dog from Iraq to the United States costs an average of $4,000. SPCA International funds most of the effort with the help of donations, and asks each dog's soldier to contribute $1,000 if they can — but things don't always go as planned.

"When you're running an operation that's inside a country that's at war, a lot of things are beyond your control," says program manager Terri Crisp. One time, she says, a dog didn't make it out as scheduled because the Iraqi president was flying in and the airport was shut down. The dogs are sometimes gone by the time the team gets there — "whether they ran off or somebody took them, you don't ever know for sure."

Most important, though, is the commitment of the soldier asking for the dog's transport. "They're making an investment in the animal, and chances are they're going to take care of that animal" Crisp said. "The level of commitment to the animal is unbelievable. They've been through so much together."

Ellen Goosenberg, the documentary's executive producer, told PEOPLEPets.com that her hope is that No Dogs Left Behind will humanize soldiers, their experiences and their needs once they return from war.

"A lot of times, they need a community," Goosenberg said. "They need to be understood. There's no way you transition from war back to civilian life without some kind of assistance. Sometimes animals do a brilliant job at that."

The More Things Change.....

The more they stay the same.........

US Navy has frickin' lasers...and they're not attached to sharks

Our fine US Navy has one upped all with a new demonstration of why THE NAVY leads in the area of use of technology...Knocked a Drone right outta the sky like shooting clay pigeons...with a frickin' laser no less.....seems they took a idea from Austin Powers' Dr. Evil:

" Dr. Evil: You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads! Now evidently my cycloptic colleague informs me that that cannot be done. Ah, would you remind me what I pay you people for, honestly? Throw me a bone here...."

Here's the bone...The Navy has frickin' lasers.....and they aren't attached to sharks. To quote Austin Powers: Yeah, baby, yeah!

Star Wars laser zaps Drone from the sky
UK SUN

A STAR Wars-style laser has been used for the first time to blast an aircraft out of the sky.

The invisible beam zapped one unmanned drone travelling at more than 300mph from two miles away.

The anti-aircraft laser — mounted on a warship — successfully shot down three other drones during testing.

Grainy black and white video emerged last night showing one of the drones being shot down.

The footage shows the aircraft flying above the sea. It is then hit by the weapon's unseen 500-kilowatt beam.

Flames then trail from the back of the drone as it plunges into the ocean.

Details of the secret trials carried out by the US Navy off the coast of California in May were revealed yesterday at the Farnborough International Air Show.

The US carried out the tests in a joint operation with Raytheon Missile Systems.

New era

Mike Booen, of Raytheon, said: "This is the first successful shoot down over water.

"We are now on path to deliver the first battlefield lasers integrated into real weapons systems."

The Raytheon Laser Close-In Weapons System produces a beam and can either be used on its own or alongside a conventional missile system.

The concept of using lasers as weapons has been around since the 1960s.

But the old method of producing a beam from a chemical reaction was too impractical for military use.

Solid-state lasers, such as the ones used in the tests, are much smaller and generated through glass or ceramic material.

It is only recently that they have been able to generate as much power as chemical lasers.

Peter Felstead, editor of Jane's Defence Weekly, said the laser represents the beginning of a new era in missile technology.

He said a laser could knock out airborne threats such as mortars and rockets.

He said: "Airbases in Afghanistan, the Green Zone in Baghdad or the border with Gaza and Israel could all potentially use something like this".

Problems with laser weapons have been that damp weather conditions tend to slow down the beam and reflective surfaces can throw it off course.

But Raytheon said it is working to overcome those issues.

The company reportedly developed the system after buying six commercial lasers from the car industry and combining them to make one, powerful beam

Back Home.....

The arrival back home has been enjoyed and it is great to see family and friends....I even took my 1963 Willys Jeep down to the Halifax Car Show on Friday evening.......36 hours after leaving Kandahar, I was at the Car Show with my best friend smoking a few fine Cuban Cigars and humbly accepting the kind remarks of those who admired my Old Jeep......

Time passes quickly and soon, it will be time to reverse the process and head back....But until then, I'll enjoy & savor each moment with the knowledge of this is what we all work hard for....Friends & Family, time at home, and the comfort of all that is cherished.

Summertime in Southeastern Massachusetts is an awesome time of year and all should take in the splendor of the season and all that it offers.....The Middleboro Veterans Memorial Park is one of the sites to see when you come to Middleboro, MA for a visit.....I am proud to be part of the group that created and built this beautiful and solemn memorial to all our Veterans, past & present.

More to follow as time allows.....time is fleeting and it waits for no man....off to play with my old cars and spend an afternoon celebrating " Beberday", a local and not so well known holiday in these parts.....

Companies pile up cash but reamin hesitant to add jobs...

Really?? Wow - shocka......The fact that companies KNOW they can use the unemployment numbers as a tool to make those who have jobs to work harder, ask for less and take whatever is given to them....this is not a good trend and is NOT in their best interest long-term as the pendulum will swing in the other direction eventually.

Companies need to " Do the right thing " - Cash reserves are good but employees will remember how they were treated when things change....].

And the present Administration is NOT helping things by making it harder for them to provide benefits with O-Care and other regulations. It is a perfect storm and the ones caught in the middle of it is the US workers.....delightful.

Companies pile up cash but remain hesitant to add jobs
By Jia Lynn YangWashington Post Staff WriterThursday, July 15, 2010;

Corporate America is hoarding a massive pile of cash. It just doesn't want to spend it hiring anyone.

Nonfinancial companies are sitting on $1.8 trillion in cash, roughly one-quarter more than at the beginning of the recession. And as several major firms report impressive earnings this week, the money continues to flow into firms' coffers.

Yet all the good news from big business hasn't translated into much promise for jobless Americans, leading many to wonder: If corporations are sitting on so much money, why aren't they hiring more workers?

The answer to that question has become a political flash point between the White House and big business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which held a jobs summit Wednesday and accused the Obama administration of dumping onerous regulations on businesses. That has created an environment of "uncertainty," which is causing firms to hold back on hiring as the unemployment rate has hovered near 10 percent, the Chamber said.

The White House countered that companies are wary of hiring not because of new regulations but because they're still waiting for consumer demand to return. The administration also claimed credit for 3.5 million jobs created by the stimulus bill from last fall.

The acrimony over jobs comes at a particularly tense moment in the relationship between business groups and the White House. With the midterm elections looming and polls showing Americans expressing a lack of confidence in President Obama's handling of the economy, White House officials are eager to demonstrate that their policies are helping, not hurting, the prospects for job growth and are making an extra effort to reach out to industry leaders.'

For the Chamber's jobs event, the White House says it asked for a speaking slot for senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, who acts as a liaison to the business community, but the Chamber turned down the request. Chamber officials said Jarrett's office called Tuesday afternoon, the day before the conference, and demanded a speaking slot immediately after remarks from Chamber chief executive Tom Donohue.

"There are going to be areas where we differ, but we do have different roles," Jarrett said in an interview. "Our job is to both protect the American people and foster a climate where companies invest and create jobs. Their role is to produce profits for their shareholders."

White House officials also choreographed a competing set of images for Obama on Wednesday, having him meet separately with famed investor Warren Buffett and, later, with Bill Clinton as well as the chief executives of Bank of America and Honeywell. Obama aides said the business meetings were a coincidence and not intended to serve as a counter to the Chamber event. They said the meeting with Buffett had been in the works for a long time. (Buffett is a director with The Washington Post Co.)

The question of how to encourage companies to hire has challenged policymakers.
A survey last month of more than 1,000 chief financial officers by Duke University and CFO magazine showed that nearly 60 percent of these executives don't expect to bring their employment back to pre-recession levels until 2012, or later -- even though they're projecting a 12 percent rise in earnings and a 9 percent boost in capital spending over the next year.

When asked why companies are holding back so much, many economists cite broader uncertainty that goes well beyond anything happening in Washington. Firms aren't sure whether the economy can sustain a strong recovery. And as long as consumer spending remains low, there's not much incentive for companies to ramp up.

The trend of companies holding more cash is not new. Between 1980 and 2006, the average cash-to-assets ratio for U.S. industrial firms more than doubled, according to research by finance professors.

One explanation, said finance professor René Stulz at Ohio State University, is that as competition has become more global, it's become harder for individual companies to survive, and so they hold on to more cash to be safe. He added that companies have also increased their cash holdings in the wake of the financial crisis, in particular since the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, as the banking system became more fragile and credit became scarce.

Tech companies in particular tend to build large cash reserves. Intel, which reported on Tuesday its biggest quarterly profit in a decade, brought aboard 400 new employees worldwide in the last quarter, though it would not identify in which countries the hirings took place. Intel spokeswoman Lisa Malloy added that the firm expects to spend slightly more money, from $4.5 billion last year to $5.2 billion this year, investing in capital projects around the world.

And yet the firm has $1.7 billion more in its cash pile compared with a year ago. Intel said it is enjoying strong demand for its chips, so low demand doesn't help explain the firm's mountain of cash.

Some analysts said it may be hard to create policy that compels companies to use some of their cash to hire workers. "CEOs don't like taking risks. They kind of move in packs," said Zachary Karabell, president of River Twice Research.

"There's not a whole lot that you could do to entice companies to hire," he added. "You could cut taxes on them, but they're not going to hire just because they have the extra cash, because they already have the extra cash."

Staff writer Michael D. Shear contributed to this report.

ROE for War should not be set by Lawyers

The need for better ROE (Rules Of Engagment) is paramount to lowering casualties in our Military. I say let Eric Holder go out for a few patrols and see how he feels about the ROE when his stupid Arse is the one on the line.....

REMF idjits making decisions that put Soldiers & Marines lives in danger is one of the biggest issues we have in fighting any conflict....Let the Soldiers set up ROE & other battle rules and keep the pampered arse nancy-boy lawyers back in the beltway out of their way.....We are engaged in a War and our troops should be able to take the fight to the enemy....

And this whole issue of not using the words " Islamic Extremists" is just a pile of BS.....That is what they are. You use language to communicate the meaning of people,concepts, things, etc. by calling them what they are - They ARE "Islamic Extremists" so that is the term we should use to describe them.

If we don't get the lawyers outta the way, there will be a lot more people killed, on both sides, and more families who will endure the cost of the ulitimate sacrifice. WW2 and other conflicts were won because we let the American Military fight wars as they should be fought,. lawyers be damned.

Dog teams seek a hidden enemy in Afghan war

Man's Best Friend assisting the mission in the most dangerous places......They are truly worth their weight in gold....and then some...No better friend to our Soldiers in the field.

Dog teams seek a hidden enemy in Afghan war
By William M. Welch, USA TODAY

KABUL — In the struggle to bring peace to

Afghanistan, few can claim a more dangerous job than the one Betty and Jimmy are preparing for.

Friendly and eager young German shepherd dogs, they are being trained to search for the remnants of war — hidden land mines and unexploded bombs.

Not only do unseen explosives kill military troops, they take a heavy toll on the innocent. More than 700 civilians are killed or maimed annually in Afghanistan, over half of them children, says the International Committee to Ban Landmines.

NATO and U.S. forces fighting the

Taliban jihadist movement do not use mines. But the Taliban does, and so did former occupiers of Afghanistan such as the Soviet Union.

More than a dozen programs and contractors are working to eliminate forgotten mines in Afghanistan. One, the Mine Detection Center of Afghanistan, known as MDC, focuses its efforts on breeding, training and using dogs to detect mines.

Funded by international partners including the United States, its dog handlers and mine teams are Afghans.

"Dogs are very sensitive animals — loyal and accurate — and they are very cost effective and efficient," says Mohammad Shohab Hakimi, MDC director.

The 20-year-old program, based on a hilltop overlooking the capital, has more than 260 dogs at locations around the country. Last year the group cleared 3,248 acres of Afghan land, according to the MDC's annual report.

Like other de-mining operations, the program also uses heavy machinery and human-operated detection equipment. But Hakimi says the dogs are better and faster because of their powerful sense of smell. Dog teams can clear about five times the area human teams can and 2½ times the area heavy machinery can clear in the same period, he says.

"The dog is very quick," Hakimi says. "Dogs use their nose first, second their ears, and also their vision."

They are trained to search in straight lines, back and forth across the mine field. When it detects a mine, the dog sits and looks to its handler until given a command to return. As a reward, it gets a little play time with a toy. The spot is marked and the mine detonated.

Since the program began in 1989, the MDC has lost seven dogs and about 30 people to explosions, Hakimi says. Besmila Qalandari, who is training 1-year-old Jimmy, lost his left eye when a mine exploded at Jalalabad in 1993. His dog, Axle, died.

"I felt sad," Qalandari says. "I had worked with that dog for 2 years."

Sayed Mustafa, the assistant training manger, lost his dog, Amy, in an explosion at Kabul Airport during that same period. But he presses on with his animals.

"Dogs make our jobs fast, and some mines, Italian and Iranian particularly, are very hard to find with machines," he says.

The program uses German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois dogs, a similar, slightly smaller breed. Mustafa says females tend to do better than males.

"The females more love the handler and obey all the rules," he says. "They are more lovely."
By the time they are a year-and-a-half old, dogs such as Betty and Angi are working with their handlers and finding bombs daily. Angi quickly finds one for an observer. "A gift from our Russian friends," says her handler, Abdul Hafeez, kicking dirt aside to reveal the device.

Dogs are worked about four hours a day, plus breaks, starting at 6 a.m. and ending by noon because of the heat. After two months in the field, each dog gets 15 days' rest. Dogs that wash out, or reach the end of their careers, are offered to embassies as pets....

Mines sown over Afghanistan come from many sources. Many date to the Soviet Union, which invaded in 1979 and stayed for 10 years. Some, such as "butterfly mines," were dropped from aircraft.

Besides endangering people, the mines deter reconstruction and development.

As the Taliban steps up terror attacks, the danger increased to the demining teams. Dogs and their handlers have been killed and kidnapped by insurgents.

Three MDC workers were shot dead in southern Kandahar province in 2007, and two more were killed in 2008 in Kunduz province. Five people from another de-mining group were killed in Jowzjan province. Last July, gunmen kidnapped 16 MDC workers in eastern Paktiya province; they were released after intervention by local leaders.

In Kabul, Betty, at 20 months, is readying for her final exam and certification by a United Nations evaluating team. The dog easily finds a series of mines, some in the ground three years.

"We used to have only one enemy, the hidden enemy, the mine," Mustafa says. "Today we have other enemies — insurgents, unknown gunmen. It is very dangerous."

NEW GADGETS VS.TRIED N' TRUE RELIABILITY / LEMMINGS

I enjoy techie stuff as much as the next person but there is a fine line between enjoying and obsession...

I have witnessed over the last 25 years, this growing obsession people have with obtaining the next greatest " whiz-bang thingee" and then the inevitable updated one that follows it in less than 6 months which makes the first thing look like a paperweight....and for a lot less dough.

DVD is a great format for films and works just fine - BUT NO !! You need Blu-ray....we need you to rebuy all the movies you already own....because Blu-ray is sooooo much better....right....It may be, but my last name isn't "Lemming" and my DVDs are just fine, thank you very much!

I-Phone 4 madness is the latest saga that falls into this category -

There was an article in the UK Independent : "Revealed: What Apple really thinks about its customers - Fury at firm's secret memo to staff over problems with new Phone By Emily Dugan" and it gets into the nitty-gritty of how badly Apple mucked it up, and how stupidly blind the buyers of the latest I-phone really are -

" Angry customers have been told that buying a rubber bumper at a cost of around £25 will cure the problem. This weekend it emerged that Apple staff have been instructed not to provide these bumpers even though the problem stems from a design fault. In a leaked memo, helpline staff for AppleCare have been told: "We ARE NOT appeasing customers with free bumpers – DON'T promise a free bumper to customers."

The memo suggests that customers should avoid covering the lower left hand corner of the phone when they hold it, and reminds staff to tell customers that the phone's wireless performance is "the best we have ever shipped". The news is a further blow to Apple's reputation, which has already been marred by a spate of suicides at the factory in China that produces its products.

The company is already facing lawsuits from at least three customers, relating to antenna problems with its latest model, but Apple's chief executive, Steve Jobs, insists that owners need to "just hold it right".

Excuse me??? Hold it just right??? - Hey, Stevie boy - HOLD THIS !!

When companies start to think that they can just shove products out the door, have people pay mega $$$ for said product and then act indifferent when the product turns out to be faulty by design, we have serious problems here.

The problem is two-sided - 1st is the company for being so slip-shod with the product and soooo eager to send it out to gain profits w/o doing the proper research - 2nd is that people are that addle brained that they line-up and ask for the abuse they get when they shell out mega $$$ for the latest thingee...and it doesn't frippin' work!

I have recently come to the conclusion that too much tech is not good. I like gadgets, don't get me wrong BUT I like things that work and are dependable. Reliability is the key factor in any product I will have around as if I can't depend on it to work, why bother having it in the first place????

Cars are another place where this is becoming an overriding issue....My wife's car recently was having problems and it all came down to computer issues and an imbalance caused by a crack in a manifold.....well that upset the oxygen balance and the computer didn't like that !! So it started changing the way the engine ran and the sensors were all out of balance......and the end product was it took the mechanic almost a month to figure it all out.....at a cost of $600. Computer turns on a warning light??? You just became ineligible to get your sticker unless you have some guy diagnose the car at rate of $100 an hour......whatta racket.....

This is why I have come to the conclusion that I will be making a plan to change my vehicles of choice as time moves forward....I have the 1963 Willys Jeep all but done and have been working on the getting the 1966 VW Beetle rebuild project started....These two vehicles will likely be my main methods of transportation in the near future....The reason why is because they work - dependibly, reliably and under most circumstances, without fail.

They are basic, reliable machines and don't need a computer talking to the O2 sensor, which needs to check with the mainfold sensor, etc. , etc. - They need three things - Air, Fuel & a spark....as long as those three things are present, the Jeep and the VW will run. And they are BOTH exempt from admissions standards based on thier age and grandfather standards.....so EPA and Global Warming idiots, you can kiss my arse too while you are at it.....HA!

And I can also fix said vehicles cheaply and easily....with parts readily available at any autoparts store...

NEW is not always IMPROVED....in this case, I will get more satsifaction and reliability driving a pair of 40+ year old cars than I would ever get out of the newest Whiz bang piece of crappola that is foisted on the public at a high cost and equally high failure rate.....

Nope, I like tried and true.....and it will work just very fine for me.....To the "lemmings" that line up for the newest gadgets, you fools get what you deserve....and at too high a cost.

And as a final note, back when I was a kid, they said by now we would all have whiz-bang stuff like Flying Cars.....what I want to know is, Where is my Flying Car?????? I wanted one for years...likely it would need the computer to tell it how to fly and then it would......aw, forget it.

THE PASSAGE OF TIME / BACK TO KAF.....THEN TO R&R

Heading back to KAF this morning.....Stay there for a few days of work and then off to R&R !

Temps here have been in the 115-120 degree range...Back home, mid to high 80s....should be a nice break and a chance to enjoy summer on OLD CAPE COD.......Looking forward to it as the time will pass quickly - all to quickly......

Over here, time *seems* to pass slowly, but in reality, it moves along at it's own steady pace. Rather, it is we in our own human condition force it to appear to go faster or slower.....

Brings to mind a conversation that occurred between Jean Luc & Riker in Star Trek Generations:

Picard: Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived. After all Number One, we're only mortal.

Riker: Speak for yourself sir, I plan to live forever

Sounds like a Plan, Number One - MAKE IT SO !

That flag stands for freedom. You know it always will...

This is worthy of posting.....Not something current but something that will stand for a long, long time - Kudos to U.S. District Court Judge William Young.....He hit the target "center mass" for sure....

Sentancing of The Shoe Bomber... Richard Reid
Ruling by Judge William Young

U.S. District Court Judge William Young made the following statement in sentencing "shoe bomber" Richard Reid to prison. It is noteworthy, and deserves to be remembered far longer than he predicts.

=================================================

January 30, 2003 United States vs. Reid.

Judge Young: Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General.

On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutive with the other. That's 80 years.

On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years consecutive to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 for the aggregate fine of $2 million.

The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.
The Court imposes upon you the $800 special assessment.

The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statues. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence. Let me explain this to you.

We are not afraid of any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is all too much war talk here. And I say that to everyone with the utmost respect.

Here in this court , where we deal with individuals as individuals, and care for individuals as individuals, as human beings we reach out for justice, you are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist.

To give you that reference, to call you a soldier gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who does it, or that happens to be your view, you are a terrorist.

And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not treat with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I know warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal guilty of multiple attempted murders.

In a very real sense Trooper Santigo had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and where the TV crews were and he said you're no big deal. You're no big deal.

What your counsel, what your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today? I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing. And I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you. But as I search this entire record it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose.

Here, in this society, the very winds carry freedom. They carry it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom.

So that everyone can see, truly see that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely.
It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf and have filed appeals, will go on in their, their representation of you before other judges. We are about it.

Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden, pay any price, to preserve our freedoms.

Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. Day after tomorrow it will be forgotten. But this, however, will long endure. Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done.

The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged, and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten.

That flag stands for freedom. You know it always will.

Silly Puppies....Being silly......

Dogs are not our whole lives, but they make our lives whole.....I have been too serious of late and wanted to post some pictures I saw.....pix of Silly Puppies being silly.....Enjoy !

NO LACK OF MODESTY FROM POTUS....what a joke!

I cannot add how much I agree with Charles Krauthammer - He is rapidly becoming one of my favorite columnists as he cuts through the HORSE-SHITE and delivers it straight....

The sheer stupidity of this issue is only out ranked by the ability of POTUS to make us look like prize-winnning fools in front of other countries like Russia, China, England, Isreal...etc. etc....




The selective modesty of Barack Obama
By Charles KrauthammerFriday, July 9, 2010

Remember NASA? It once represented to the world the apogee of American scientific and technological achievement. Here is President Obama's vision of NASA's mission, as explained by administrator Charles Bolden:

"One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math; he wanted me to expand our international relationships; and third and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science and math and engineering."

Apart from the psychobabble -- farcically turning a space-faring enterprise into a self-esteem enhancer -- what's the sentiment behind this charge? Sure America has put a man on the moon, led the information revolution, won more Nobel Prizes than any other nation by far -- but, on the other hand, a thousand years ago al-Khwarizmi gave us algebra.

Bolden seems quite intent on driving home this message of achievement equivalence -- lauding, for example, Russia's contribution to the space station. Russia? In the 1990s, the Russian space program fell apart, leaving the United States to pick up the slack and the tab for the missing Russian contributions to get the space station built.

For good measure, Bolden added that the United States cannot get to Mars without international assistance. Beside the fact that this is not true, contrast this with the elan and self-confidence of President John Kennedy's 1961 pledge that America would land on the moon within the decade.

There was no finer expression of belief in American exceptionalism than Kennedy's. Obama has a different take. As he said last year in France, "I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism." Which of course means: If we're all exceptional, no one is.

Take human rights. After Obama's April meeting with the president of Kazakhstan, Mike McFaul of the National Security Council reported that Obama actually explained to the leader of that thuggish kleptocracy that we, too, are working on perfecting our own democracy.

Nor is this the only example of an implied moral equivalence that diminishes and devalues America. Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner reported that in discussions with China about human rights, the U.S. side brought up Arizona's immigration law -- "early and often." As if there is the remotest connection between that and the persecution of dissidents, jailing of opponents and suppression of religion routinely practiced by the Chinese dictatorship.

Nothing new here. In his major addresses, Obama's modesty about his own country has been repeatedly on display as, in one venue after another, he has gratuitously confessed America's alleged failing -- from disrespecting foreigners to having lost its way morally after 9/11.

It's fine to recognize the achievements of others and be non-chauvinistic about one's country. But Obama's modesty is curiously selective. When it comes to himself, modesty is in short supply.

It began with the almost comical self-inflation of his presidential campaign, from the still inexplicable mass rally in Berlin in front of a Prussian victory column to the Greek columns framing him at the Democratic convention. And it carried into his presidency, from his posture of philosopher-king adjudicating between America's sins and the world's to his speeches marked by a spectacularly promiscuous use of the word "I."

Notice, too, how Obama habitually refers to Cabinet members and other high government officials as "my" -- "my secretary of homeland security," "my national security team," "my ambassador." The more normal -- and respectful -- usage is to say "the," as in "the secretary of state." These are, after all, public officials sworn to serve the nation and the Constitution -- not just the man who appointed them.

It's a stylistic detail, but quite revealing of Obama's exalted view of himself. Not surprising, perhaps, in a man whose major achievement before acceding to the presidency was writing two biographies -- both about himself.

Obama is not the first president with a large streak of narcissism. But the others had equally expansive feelings about their country. Obama's modesty about America would be more understandable if he treated himself with the same reserve. What is odd is to have a president so convinced of his own magnificence -- yet not of his own country's.

POTUS directs use of NASA for WORLD APOLOGY TOUR....

This ties into the posting I had about all the PC idiots who are all about " self-esteem". We now have to make Abdul and Muslims everywhere feel better about themselves......as if that was something that AMERICANS are truly concerned about right now.....let's think about this - what is most important to our nation right now - unemployment, the economy, financial crisis, terrorism, and oh yeah, that Abdul feels better about himself......WTF?

POTUS is trying to see if he can politicize the use of NASA to help Muslims feel good about themsleves....THIS is exactly what is wrong with POTUS' worldview - If the Muslim nations need to feel better about themselves, then THEY should do something about the vipers in their own midst.....and other issues that have nothing to do with SPACE and everything to do with better conduct by them on Earth.

Seeing our Nation's Space Agency used in this fashion is disgusting. NASA is not ACORN - It has a long and storied History of excellence....NOW, POTUS thinks it can become another tool in his warped PR strategy and another chapter in his " World Apology Tour" -

ARE YOU FRICKIN' KIDDING ME???

This idiot sitting in the White House needs to go - before he sets back the progress we have made over the last 50 years as a leader in Space, Technology, Exploration and Excellence - instead of the leader in all that is Politically Correct and Exceptionally Stupid.

====================

Former NASA chief: Muslim outreach is ‘perversion’ of NASA’s mission
By: Byron York Chief Political Correspondent

Washington Examiner 07/06/10 11:55 AM EDT

Michael Griffin, who headed NASA during the last four years of the Bush administration, says the space agency’s new goal to improve relations with the Islamic world and boost Muslim self-esteem is a “perversion” of NASA’s original mission to explore space. “NASA was chartered by the 1958 Space Act to develop the arts and sciences of flight in the atmosphere and in space and to go where those technologies will allow us to go,” Griffin said in an interview Tuesday. “That’s what NASA does for the country. It is a perversion of NASA’s purpose to conduct activities in order to make the Muslim world feel good about its contributions to science and mathematics.”

Griffin calls NASA’s new mission, outlined by space agency administrator Charles Bolden in an interview with the al-Jazeera news agency, “very bad policy for NASA.” As for NASA’s core mission of space exploration, Griffin points out that it has been reaffirmed many times over the years, most recently in 2005, when a Republican Congress passed authorizing legislation, and in 2008, when a Democratic Congress did the same thing.

“NASA has been for 50 years above politics, and for 50 years, NASA has been focused by one president or another on space exploration,” Griffin says. “Some presidents have championed it more strongly than others, and it is regrettable that none have championed it as strongly as President Kennedy. But no president has thought to take NASA’s focus off of anything but space exploration until now, and it is deeply regrettable.”

Griffin says NASA has always played an important, but indirect, role in diplomacy. “I have championed the use of NASA as a powerful diplomatic and inspirational tool for U.S. policy writ large,” Griffin says. “But the way NASA achieves those goals is by doing great things. NASA does those things that make people all over the world say, ‘Wow.’ If NASA is making people say, ‘Wow,’ then they want to be part of what we do. That’s NASA’s role — it’s to do those things that make other people want to join us.”

For all his unhappiness with the new policy, Griffin says blame for the situation does not belong with NASA administrator Charles Bolden, whom Griffin calls “one of the best human beings you will find.” “When I see reports in the media excoriating Charlie for this position, that blame is misplaced,” Griffin says. “It belongs with the administration. That is where policy for NASA is set.

The NASA administrator does not set policy for NASA, the administrator carries it out.”

“This is not about personalities,” Griffin concludes. “It is about the intellectual content of the policy, which I find to be bankrupt.”

WORLD'S FASTEST CAR...BUGATTI VEYRON SUPER SPORT

From a guy who is a certified car enthusiast, all I can say is "WOW"....to the car, the technology and the price tag.....and all this from the same company that produced my 1966 VW Beetle as BUGATTI is owned by Volkswagen.....

Pretty damn impressive......

World's Fastest Car Crowned at 268 MPH - BUGATTI VEYRON SUPER SPORT

Special edition Bugatti Veyron destroys previous Guinness record for production cars.

It’s been known since the onset of the Bugatti Veyron that the bespoke supercar would be limited to an exclusive production run of just 300 units, and even from the very early days there has been talk about a special run-out model. There have even been reports claiming Bugatti is already working on a Veyron successor, and then a leaked memo back in 2008 suggested that a special edition of the Veyron simply called the ‘GT’ would round out the supercar’s run.

Now, the first images and details of what is to be the last of the Veyrons, the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, have hit the web. The new Veyron Super Sport revives a tag last used on the most powerful version of the Bugatti EB110 back in the 1990s and is scheduled to be appear for the first time in public at next month’s 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California.

The Bugatti Veyron SuperSport features an output of 1,200 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet of torque, brought about by four enlarged turbochargers and bigger intercoolers to increase boost feeding its 8.0-liter W-16

engine. At the same time, the chassis has been extensively redesigned to maintain safety at extreme speed--thanks to slightly raised main-spring travel, stronger stabilizers, and new shock absorbers with a complex architecture originally developed for racing cars. The end result is noticeably more precise control of the wheels and the car as a whole.

The body has also been fine-tuned to improve aerodynamic efficiency, while the new fiber structure of the all-carbon monocoque ensures maximum torsion rigidity and passive safety--at reduced weight. The skin is made entirely of carbon-fiber composites, which customers can enjoy if they opt for the 100 percent clear- lacquered finish.

The 0-62 mph sprint still takes about 2.5 seconds but 0-124 mph comes up in just 7.3 seconds and 186 mph passes in just 15 seconds. However, the number everyone wants to know is how fast will it go? Bugatti and its test driver Pierre-Henri Raphanel have already taken care of this, posting top speeds of 265.9 mph and 269.8 mph in a Guinness world record attempt. The final number for the record books was 268 mph, a figure that even hit Bugatti's engineering team by surprise.

It is easy to spot the new Veyron Super Sport from the regular model thanks to its flat and elongated silhouette. The car’s W-16 engine gets its air from two NACA ducts integrated into the roof, rather than from scoops above the engine. The front air intakes have also been expanded and reshaped, with the lower one extending elegantly around the sides to the wheel arch. The revised back looks sportier due to the double diffuser and a centrally arranged exhaust system.
The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport will begin production this autumn at Molsheim, France along with the Veyron and the Grand Sport. The first five cars--known as the World Record Edition--are in a special black exposed carbon and orange finish and have already been sold.

As mentioned, the car will appear for the first time in public in California at the Pebble Beach Concours weekend in mid-August and will be featured at The Quail,

Monterey Historic Races at Laguna Seca and on the concept lawn of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
Only 30 examples are set to be produced, each with a pricetag of around $1.8 million.

From FOX News and carconnection.com

JOBS AREN'T COMING BACK....Big surprise.

See the enclosed NY TIMES report - Aptly titled " Jobs aren't coming back" - Bet you POTUS wonders why his pals over there at the NYT aren't doing another glowing tribute to him and his pretentious cow of a wife... I can hear her now, " Honey, weren't they supposed to write another story about my garden????" - Meanwhile, others are growing gardens beacuse if they don't, they will not likely have enough to eat.....aaaaarrrrgggghhh.....stop screwing around and just "FIX the Problem".....POTUS is likely too busy trying to figure out what to write in his next autobiography (HE has TWO....yes - you read that right - TWO. God Bless.

Jobs That Aren’t Coming Back
By CATHERINE RAMPELL

I had an article today about structural unemployment — the idea that some people are out of work not only because demand is relatively weak, but because their skill sets don’t match what employers want (for example, they are highly specialized auto workers, but the only local job opening is for an oncologist). The typical causes of structural unemployment are the three T’s: trade, technology and changing tastes (e.g., consumers want more iPods and fewer C.D. players).
We care about structural unemployment because it means many of the jobs lost during the Great Recession may not come back in the recovery. And that has important implications for public policy, and how the government can or should be helping the jobless.

Cyclical forces and structural forces are hard to disentangle, especially since structural forces, like a long-term decline in American manufacturing, generally accelerate when demand is especially weak and businesses feel especially pressured to cut costs and find more efficient ways of getting things done. A weak economy can also give employers an excuse to trim less productive workers whom they would have let go eventually.

We’ve seen this phenomenon in previous recessions, and

this paper by Erica Groshen and Simon Potter does a nice job of laying out a few reasons why structural unemployment may help explain the “jobless recoveries” following the last two recessions.

Of course, it’s hard to know how much structural unemployment there is right now. We probably won’t know for sure until the job market fully recovers in a few years, and we see what types of jobs people who are currently unemployed are able to find.

In the meantime, one particularly concerning piece of evidence supporting the structural unemployment hypothesis, though, relates to long-term unemployment.

In previous recessions, there seemed to be a lot of churn in the job market. Many people got laid off, but they generally spent a few weeks unemployed before being cycled back into a new job (not necessarily a position as good as the one they’d lost, but a new position nonetheless).
That

doesn’t seem to be the case for the recession that began in late 2007.

The chart above shows the percent of all workers who are unemployed, broken down by how long they’ve been out of work.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Take a look at the dark blue line, which refers to people who have been out of work for more than 27 weeks. That line has climbed and climbed for months, and is at its highest level on record even though we have had four consecutive months of net payroll growth.

Think about what that means: The new jobs that have been created so far seem to be going disproportionately to people out of work for only a short period (and perhaps also to people who already had a job and just changed positions or took on additional work). Meanwhile, people who were unemployed six months ago

still can’t get a job. Rather than their prospects improving, they appear to be falling further and further behind, racking up more and more weeks of idleness instead of paychecks.

Perhaps there are other reasons for the inability of long-term unemployed workers to get hired — stigma, for example, regarding the yawning gap in their résumés — but structural forces seem like a plausible explanation.

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