Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in David's LiveJournal:

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Thursday, February 23rd, 2012
10:35 pm	Obama energy policy I listened today to Obama's speech on energy. He said, "all of the above." But, then he talked about specific programs he waxed about algae. Algae? Was he serious? We need millions of barrels per day and he was focusing on a few million dollar grant on algae? (Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012
9:26 pm	The stupid party The republicans are just stupid. Here they have the opportunity of a lifetime. An economy reeling from Obama policies. Anyone who says things are getting better is just spinning. We have two million less in the workforce. You think these people died? No, they just aren't in the workforce anymore. Their unemployment is up and they dropped off the roles. If we had the same workforce when Bush was president than the unemployment rate would be 11%. Combine this with a gas price inflation that is viewed as pretty much a direct consequence of Obama policies, it is almost impossible to see a better environment for the republicans. So, what do the republicans do? Get sucked into a debate about contraception? Something, by the way, no republican is against. Stupid, stupid, stupid. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, February 19th, 2012
4:32 pm	Whitney Houston I have been trying to avoid the Whitney Houston extravagansa. I listen to this people mourn her death. They treat it like it was this terrible unforseen tragedy, like cancer, or a lightning bolt from the sky. I want to scream and say, "no, she was a dumbshit and killed herself." Anyone watching that reality TV show she was one could see what was happening. She ruined her voice and then she threw away her life. No mystery. What we should really have is a "teachable moment." This is what happens when you let drugs run your life. (Comment on this)
Friday, January 20th, 2012
6:40 pm	another bias in the media I am living with Ann currently (we shall see how that goes). Anyways, she gets Time. Several weeks ago she had a picture of Michelle Bachman on the cover. She was wide eyed and looked almost hysterical. This is actually easy to do with high speed camera. You can get anybody with eyes open (showing wierd) or closed during a blink (and looking sleepy, unattentive). TIME picked this photograph because it fed their narrative that these righties are just crazy. Then TIME had a picture of Romney on the cover and it was one of him on the campaign trail with the title Why does nobody love me? Today they had a picture of Obama on the cover. It was a picture of Obama walking through a garden with the white house in the background (perfect postcard, by the way). The tile was: Obama's World. Honestly, could you have spun it any better? (1 Comment |Comment on this)
6:34 pm	Yes, not on for a while I have not been up for a while. My life has been pretty much in turmoil. I got divorced and I changed jobs. My doctor says I need to change my lifestyle (odd, didn't know I had one). So, livejournal has not been high on my agenda. But, I will start to make more entries. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, October 3rd, 2011
3:10 pm	The apocalypse is coming! There are very few universal truths that one can depend on. That the democrats will always, when in trouble, play the race card, no matter what is wrong with Obama it's George Bush's fault, and the Detroit Lions will always suck. Imagine how my confidence was shaken with Detroit being 3-0! Not since 1980, or an entire generation, have the Lions started the season 3-0. And, so they traveled to Dallas. For three quarters Detroit re-inforced my sense of rightness in the world. The lions, true to form, were incompetent, inept, and unispiring. Dallas and Romo were almost brillant and, yet, the third quarter came. Romo dropped back and began to rally the Lions. Again and again, Romo made the right throw at the right time and the lions climbed back into the game. Finally, Romo could relax and simply just become inept. He had put the fire back in the lions and they were playing not like the perennial loosers that they have been. Finally, Stafford rallied Detroit to a late fourth quarter victory. Even smiling on his last posession. Almost saying, "hey, Romo, thanks but this is really how you do it." How can I keep functioning? My confidence in the world has been shaken to its core. Can it be? Detroit is now 4-0? Is it the apocalyspe or should I buy a lottery ticket? Or, better yet, go to Romo and tell him I am a Detroit fan and have him buy me a ticket. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
9:57 pm	Hooray for Obama Obama going to help lower gas prices? sure: consider the following: Obama insisted yesterday that “There is no magic formula to driving gas prices down.” That is true. But there are also things the government can do that will drive the price of gas up. And the Obama administration has done many of them including: * Immediately after taking office in 2009, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, canceled 77 leases for oil and gas drilling in Utah. * The EPA announced new rules mandating the use of 36 billion gallons worth of renewable fuels (like ethanol) by 2020. * Last summer President Obama needlessly instituted, not one, but two outright drilling bans in the Gulf of Mexico. * After rescinding his outright offshore drilling ban, President Obama has refused to issue any new drilling permits in the Gulf, a policy that the Energy Information Administration estimates will cut domestic offshore oil production by 13% this year * Interior Secretary Salazar announced that the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic coast, and the Pacific coast will not be developed, effectively banning drilling in those areas for the next seven years; * The Environmental Protection Agency has announced new global warming regulations for oil refineries; * Interior Secretary Salazar announced new rules making it more difficult to develop energy resources on federal land. * The EPA is slowing a pipeline that would expand U.S. access to Canadian oil sands. All of these policies raise gas prices at the pump by either: 1) decreasing the availability of domestic energy supplies, or 2) increasing regulatory costs on gasoline production. No wonder Obama is urging “patience” at the pump. Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/04/obama-voter-gas-prices-you-might-want-think-about-trade#ixzz1KgVIagF0 (Comment on this)
Saturday, April 23rd, 2011
12:55 am	Union + Govenment every time I think that Atlas Shrugged was exaggerated I read something that says, no maybe not. The following website is a video in which union leadership says that they will take action irrespective of the law: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/forget-about-the-law-union-bosses-white-house-advisors-bob-park-rich-trumka-admitting-they-are-overriding-us-law-sovereignty-with-the-international-labor-movement/ I also read about the international machinist union's lawsuit against Boeing. They have struck Boeing five times since 1977. Each strike has cost Boeing billions of dollars. Thus, Boeing has taken the position that it is not financially prudent to build their new plants in Seattle. Thus, the 787 line (which is quite hot) will be built in South Carolina. The plant is almost complete. The union is suing to prevent the plant from opening because, in their words, the plant was built as retaliation against the union which is against the law. Obama's NRLB has, in fact, upheld the union's position. Retaliation has always been interpreted as firing union organizers or workers who were pro-union. However, with the help of the Obama NRLB, the union wants to interpret that if the company takes any action that hurts the union it is, by definition, a retaliation. Ultimately, if upheld, this means that the union has the right to determine any action of Boeing. Afterall, if the union can hold any company's action as actionable than they can allow only actions they find as not objectionable ones that they will give tacit approval to by not filing suit. Honestly, this is something I would see in an Ayn Rand novel. The union has the right to approve plant locations. Who is John Galt? (Comment on this)
Friday, April 22nd, 2011
7:14 pm	Atlas Shrugged is exaggerated? I say to myself that Ayn Rand exaggerated government actions in Atlas Shrugged for story telling effect and then I read: Obama and Federal Regulations Strangling Oil Development? Even though gas prices had bounced up and down and were on the decline in May 2010 after the oil spill, prices have shot up in the past year. Gasoline cost $2.73 per gallon when Obama instituted his sixth-month moratorium on deepwater and shallow drilling on May 30, 2010. Prices are now more than a dollar-a-gallon higher. Pump prices have more than doubled since Obama took office in January 2009. "After two federal courts said the moratorium was illegal, the Obama administration instead moved to a de facto moratorium, by issuing no permits, while speeding up the permitting process for wind farms," The Heritage Foundation wrote back in December 2010. Jeff McMahon, a blogger for Forbes, wrote on March 25 that although the administration has begun issuing permits again (five as of that time), those drilling permits weren't "completely new" as the government was claiming. The exploration in question had begun before the moratorium. "Of 14 permits submitted for initial exploratory drilling in the Gulf-drilling that would be, in other words, new - one has been withdrawn for modification and 13 are listed as 'pending,'" McMahon said. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is also seeking to regulate the oil industry over greenhouse gas emissions, and the Bureau of Land Management under Obama appointee Ken Salazar "would issue new rules making it harder to develop natural resources on government-owned land," according to Heritage. That's not all. On March 15, 2011, American Petroleum Institute (API) released a press release criticizing the administration for new environmental hurdles to a pipeline that would transport crude from Canadian oil sands. "This much-studied and much-needed pipeline would provide a critical link to our largest energy supplier, Canada, and its vast resources of nearby and available crude oil," Jack Gerard, API's president and CEO, said in the release. API also said the pipeline could mean 13,000 construction jobs in the U.S. and the project could lead to more than 340,000 U.S. jobs eventually. The pipeline, called Keystone XL, has already been scrutinized for 32 months by 10 federal agencies and many state and local ones, yet "workers are sitting on the sideline waiting for the project to start," according to API. Yet most of the network stories about gas prices didn't even ask if such policies were contributing to the rise. During the Bush years, the networks did the opposite - criticizing the president for gas prices, asking what the government should do and even entertaining far-left conspiracy theories about gas prices manipulation and election outcomes. CBS's Couric wondered back in October 2006, "Is this [falling gas prices] an election year present from President Bush to fellow Republicans," while showing an image of bumper sticker that read: "GOP: Grand Oil Party." Following Couric's tease, Mason said: "Gas started going down just as the fall campaign started heating up. Coincidence? Some drivers don't think so." Others in the media including CNN and Associated Press also ran stories about the supposed oil-price conspiracy. I don't know maybe Rand was right? Who is John Galt? (1 Comment |Comment on this)
4:47 pm	Atlas Shrugged I went to Atlas Shrugged last weekend. I had very low expectations. The movie was produced on a shoestring budget with no name actors (I know that Angelina Jolie wanted the part of Dagny Taggart, but because of the budget that fell through). It was a rush job to meet the twenty year deadline that the producer had on the movie rights. As I watched the film I was struck by a couple of things. First, the film was much better than I thought. The actors did a credible job. I could see, however, exactly why Ms. Jolie wanted to play Dagny Taggart. It is the female role of a lifetime. Dagny is a kickass character. She is a woman who takes no prisoners. She runs her business and gets what she wants. She truly is the perfect feminist character. Kind of Amazing that this part was written in 1957. Secondly, the ideas do come across. Of course, the actions of the government and unions are exaggerated. But the essential ideas are there. What does not come across is the subtleties. For example, Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden heroically keep their companies going and, in so doing, keep society going even though it resists. What you don’t get in the movie is, in fact, that Hank and Dagny are the antagonists. They are, in fact, the enablers of the takers. Without them society falls apart even faster. And, of course, the whole Randian concept of sex does not come across either. Rand was an atheist and nowhere is there any mention of god in any context. This the movie got this correct. Rearden was a very tortured man in the book. He felt that he was betraying his society, his government, and his wife by loving Dagny. Rand saw his affair with Dagny as almost inevitable. He saw Rearden with his wife as a maker with a taker and doomed to failure. Don’t bitch to me, that is just the way Rand saw it. Anyways, I would go to the movie. I would do so for no more reason that it is refreshing to see a movie that is trying to express an idea. We have too many special effect films about junk. Atlas Shrugged at least makes you think. (Comment on this)
Sunday, April 17th, 2011
1:50 am	Every so often I write an opinion piece on investment strategy for the next six months. I have a group of fellow investors I send this to and they, of course, write their opinions. Here is my little essay: I was sitting through a management presentation for the company I work for and it was quite interesting. In North America, the 2012 capital budget was reduced by 60%. Fortunately, for me, I am working on a Brazilian project and this will last several years. However, I started talking to friends in other oil & gas, engineering companies in the Houston area and I found out that my company’s policies were fairly typical. Most of my friends are working on overseas projects. The reasons for this are the high US corporate tax rate, uncertainty over US energy policies (can you get drilling permits?), hostility from the federal EPA, and uncertainty over US fiscal policy. The federal EPA is taking over the Texas EPA and they have made it clear that climate change is going to be their driver. It will become progressively more difficult (note the irony in that statement), in Texas and the US, to get permits for plants that produce carbon dioxide. We are, in effect, going to get “cap and trade” not by legislation buy by executive decree. All of these trends are, of course, devastating for the US economy. However, their effects are long-term. The inability to develop oil projects will increase the price of oil, but it will take time. The inability to build power plants and other facilities will drive electric rates up, but it will take time. In the short run these policies will not be obvious. In fact, these policies will cause an under investing in America which will, paradoxically, actually increase short term corporate earnings. I think the US markets will pretty much stagger along. We will be swinging between the hope that the republicans can actually bring the US fiscal house in order and restrain the EPA versus the fear that they will either cave in to democrats or simply cannot achieve any meaningful policy changes. Which sides wins will determine the long-term future for our children. Is our future economic based upon economic freedom and hope or Detroit writ large? Still, I expect the market to do nothing. I feel that a “buy and write” strategy of covered calls on dividend paying stocks is best. I still like commodities. After all, commodity prices are determined by world markets that the democrats cannot control. So I will buy dividend paying commodity companies (hopefully, foreign ones) and write covered calls against them. (Comment on this)
1:12 am	I don't make this stuff up By Bob Unruh © 2011 WorldNetDaily California state lawmaker Mark Leno Lawmakers in the state of California are proposing a law that would require schools to portray lesbians, homosexuals, transsexuals and those who have chosen other alternative sexual lifestyles as positive role models to children in all public schools there. "SB 48: The worst school sexual indoctrination ever" is how officials with SaveCalifornia.com describe the proposal, SB 48, sponsored by state Sen. Mark Leno. Openly homosexual, Leno boasts on his website of founding a business with his "life partner, Douglas Jackson," who later died of AIDS complications. That description as "worst" is considerable, considering the organization, SaveCalifornia.com, was a key player in the battle in the state in 2007 and 2008 over a variety of laws that now forbid any "adverse" portrayal of those alternative sexual choices in school, class, curriculum and by teachers. Find out why laws promoting homosexuality are being developed, get "The Marketing of Evil: How Radicals, Elitists, and Pseudo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised as Freedom" On its website, the organization explains the plan by "homosexual activist" Leno "would require all students in social studies class to admire 'lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender' role models. "The Democrat state legislators pushing this radical bill want to recruit boys and girls to support the homosexual-bisexual-transsexual agenda, personally and publicly," the organization's Action Alert explains. "They want them to become 'LGBTIQ' activists [and] help trample religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, business-owner rights, private property rights, the Boy Scouts, and everything else you hold dear." Equality California, an organization that advocates for homosexuality, said others sponsoring the plan include Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego; Assembly member Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco; Assembly member Toni Atkins, D-San Diego; Assembly member Rich Gordon, D-San Mateo; and Assembly member Ricardo Lara, D-East Los Angeles. On his state website, Leno expressed his worry: "Most textbooks don't include any historical information about the LGBT movement, which has great significance to both California and U.S. history. "Our collective silence on this issue perpetuates negative stereotypes of LGBT people and leads to increased bullying of young people. We can't simultaneously tell youth that it's OK to be yourself and live an honest, open life when we aren't even teaching students about historical LGBT figures or the LGBT equal rights movement," he said. He said it is confirmed that where schools promote homosexual lifestyles, those who exhibit that lifestyle "are treated more fairly by their teachers and peers." But SaveCalifornia.com, which teaches people to stand up for "what's right in God's sight" and encourages them to challenge "liberal forces" and "impact the next generation," is promoting a campaign to have state residents contact state officials with their own concerns The message warns that if the plan becomes law, "children as young as kindergarten will be taught to admire homosexuality, same-sex 'marriages,' bisexuality, and transsexuality.'" "Children will be enticed into political activism in support of everything pushed by 'lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and questioning' political groups, as the bill requires 'particular emphasis on portraying the role of these groups in contemporary society.'" Further, it would require that "teachers will be made to positively portray homosexuality, same-sex 'marriages,' bisexuality, and transsexuality … because to be silent opens them up to the charge of 'reflecting adversely.'" "This is radical, in-your-face sexual indoctrination that parents genuinely don't want and children certainly don't need," the statement says. The California Legislative Counsel's commentary on the plan affirms it would "require instruction in social sciences to also include a study of the role and contributions of Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, European Americans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans … to the development of California and the United States." It also would require "alternative and charter schools" to "take notice of the provisions of this bill." The law itself requires that schools teach "particular emphasis on portraying the role of these groups in contemporary society." SaveCalifornia.com, run by executive Randy Thomasson, notes that it would demand that school boards select textbooks and other materials that actively promote homosexuality, because to be silent "opens them up to charges of 'reflecting adversely.'" It also notes parents would not be able to exempt their children from the mandatory teaching. Thomasson told WND that this is the next progression following a multitude of earlier laws adopted in California that serve the dual purpose of cracking down on traditional families and promoting the "alternatives." "The California public schools are no longer safe places for boys and girls morally," he told WND. "This new bill, SB 48, reflects the desire of the Democrat state legislators to recruit boys and girls to support the homosexual-bisexual-transsexual agenda both personally and publicly." Under the law, he said, "textbooks, teachers and school boards will be forced to promote homosexuality, same-sex 'marriage,' bisexuality, transsexuality, sex change operations, cross dressing as positive role models." "Pushing this slop bucket in the face of impressionable kids is disgusting to most people," he said. It was just two years ago when the organization launched the Rescue Your Child effort to encourage parents to withdraw their children from public schools because of such indoctrination. That followed work by the legislature and then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to establish Senate Bill 777 and Assembly Bill 394 as law. Those institutionalized the promotion of homosexuality, bisexuality, transgenderism and other alternative lifestyle choices by banning any "adverse" references in schools. Homosexual former San Francisco leader Harvey Milk At the time, officials said SB 777 "functionally requires public school instructional materials and school-sponsored activities to positively portray cross-dressing, sex-change operations, homosexual 'marriages,' and all aspects of homosexuality and bisexuality, including so-called 'gay history.'" The second bill, AB 394, "requires public schools to distribute controversial material to teachers, students, and parents which promotes transsexuality, bisexuality, and homosexuality, all under the guise of 'anti-harassment' training." Those laws ban in any school texts, events, class or activities any discriminatory bias against those who have chosen alternative sexual lifestyles, according to Meredith Turney, legislative liaison for Capitol Resource Institute. But there are no similar protections for students with traditional or conservative lifestyles and beliefs. Offenders will face the wrath of the state Department of Education, up to and including lawsuits. California also has mandated that public schools honor Harvey Milk – a homosexual activist and reported sexual predator, as well as an advocate for Jim Jones, leader of the massacred hundreds in Jonestown, Guyana. SaveCalifornia.com led a statewide battle against "Harvey Milk Day" before California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the S.B. 572. The bill designates May 22 – Milk's birthday – a date of "special significance" and encourages all California public schools to "conduct suitable commemorative exercises … remembering the life of Harvey Milk and recognizing his accomplishments as well as the contributions he made to this state." Read more: California wants lesbians as mandatory 'role' models http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=262485#ixzz1JkoimeiZ (Comment on this)
Friday, April 15th, 2011
10:03 pm	How to save Detroi I was reading about Detroit. Some of its pathologies are absolutely frightening. For example, 80% of all children are born to single mothers on welfare. 94% of all children are bastards. Current unemployment rates are almost 29%. If you include those that are discouraged and no longer looking, the unemployment rate is north of 40%. The foreclosure rate is hideously high. But, the banks literally cannot give the houses away since the crime and tax rates are so high. Ironically, Detroit has high income tax and property taxes. The school system has a graduation rate of about 30%. Half the population is illiterate. The fundamental problem of Detroit is that the city has been boiled down to those that have basically failed at life. So, the children of these failures go to school with other children in the same state. The result is that family and personal pathologies become the norm and we teach this to the next generation. So, how do you save Detroit? The solution is really obvious. You simply have to create a “government free” zone. I would do the following: 1. No unemployment and no welfare to any resident of the city. If you want those benefits you have to leave. 2. The only city functions that are to be maintained are road maintenance, sewage, and the police department. These are paid for by the state of Michigan. Yes, they may object, but it beats the payments they are making no in terms of welfare, unemployment, etc. The police department for only three years. 3. No taxes for anyone who lives in Detroit. I mean no state, no city, no property taxes, no social security taxes, and no federal income taxes. If the residents want to send their kids to school they will have to pay for it out of their own cashflow. Without the government in their pockets they can certainly do so. After three years, the residents will have to provide their own security. In Detroit, a training program will be created in which you can carry your own weapon and you can be trained as a security guard. Businesses will have the cashflow to do this. If you did the above, Detroit would rock. The welfare recipients, the unskilled, the unmotivated would leave. People that want to better themselves will literally re-homestead the city. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
1:27 pm	New pet I was walking in the park and I found this little dog. He had no dogtag and was hungry and tired. I couldn't resist and I took him home. I cleaned him up, took him to the vet. I put up posters but no one has responded. He is a little dog, he is half black, half white. He has this cute little growl and he howls so nicely. He thinks he can charm everybody and, so far, he pretty much has. His only shortcoming is the he tends to shit too much and expects me to clean it up. So, what do I call him? What should his name be? I mused this for a while and then it hit. He is half black, half white, charms everybody, and expects you to clean up his shit. The only name I could give him is Barack. (Comment on this)
Saturday, April 2nd, 2011
11:19 am	The Great College Scam One of my pet peeves is how colleges manipulate kids to extract money from them. Colleges perpetuate this myth that college rankings matter and that going to a school with a higher ranking (i.e. more expensive) will, somehow, be a good investment. And, the other college myth is that degrees like english, political science, sociology, and communications are worth anything. Sure, you can always find the occasional guy who had an english degree and wrote books and did well. But, they are rare and far between. Most english majors work in offices doing some sort of business clerical work. As far as engineering is concerned, I once tried to explain to Michael (my son who believes nothing I say) that there are three engineering schools in America: MIT, CalTech, and others. Because after you are out of schools industry doesn't give a damn which school you went to. Private schools are usually the best ripoff artists. They try to push the cachet that the private school is somehow better. Maybe this is true if it was Harvard (not for the schools but the connections). But, in the vast majority of cases, all the private schools do is to saddle you with more debt. And, debt is, of course, the problem. You come out of college with this huge debt that has to be serviced. And, it is a non-dischargeable debt. This means that you service it forever. Welcome to economic slavery for the old alma matter. None of this is told to the 18 year old kid who is picking a school. It is a fraud worthy of Bernie Madoff. (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
12:36 pm	Safety History I attended a one week course last week on safety design. The course was much better than anticipated. We spent a lot of time doing calculations on 1 out of 2, 2 out of 2, and 2 out of 3 voting for shutdowns and control. Doing the calculations and design was very enlightening. I got a couple of books on the subject and have been reading. One was about safety design and the other was about the history of accidents. Yes, doesn’t sound that interesting but, actually, it was. One of the things I found most interesting was the history of the field. 2 out of 3 voting and other high security logic design and implementation was pioneered by the Germans in the design of the V1 and V2. Von Braun had a problem with gyro control. The high g environment of the V2 was prone to vibration and introduced a high failure rate. This meant that the V2 would have a gyro or a timer failure and throw it off course. To solve this, his team developed logic in which he had three gyros and three timers all interconnected in a 2 out of 3 voting scheme. Thus, the failure of a single gyro or a mechanical timer was not fatal. I am very ambivalent about this. Reading the history of the subject, it is obvious that Werner Von Braun was, in fact, as brilliant as his reputation. Consider his engineering intellect: he personally designed the liquid fueled rocked and it was his idea to use the liquid oxygen as the coolant for the rocket pumps. He then did the calculations for the 2 out of 3 voting. The ability to do high level mechanical engineering and then to turn around and have the ability to do the logic for a sophisticated control circuit shows a breadth of knowledge and ability that is breathtaking. But, for what purpose was this intellect used? To develop the logic so that V-2s would reliably hit their target? To, basically, make the V-2 a better killing machine. And, for what purpose, to support the Nazi regime? His defense was that he was ignorant of the dark side of the nazi reich. But, this is not plausible. Afterall, the V-2 was built in a factory of slave labor, a factory in which workers that had not performed as directed were often hanged and displayed at that same factory’s entrance. There is no way that Von Braun could not have been aware of this. And, yet, he still chained his intellect to work that supported this regime. So, what do we make of this man? A great intellect that failed in a basic test of humanity? (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011
9:54 am	School system I was listening to the radio and they had a debate between the head of the school teacher's association of texas and a tea party activist. A few things came out that I found interesting: 1. On a per capita basis, spending on education in Texas has been increasing at a 50% greater then inflation basis for over 20 years. 2. In 1970-1971 school year there were 5 teachers for every administrator (5:1 ratio). In 2011, that ratio is 1 teacher for 1.1 adminstrators (approximately .9:1 ratio). Like I thought, the school system has vast amounts of money. They just spend it on administration. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 1st, 2011
12:36 pm	Global Cooling? </a The above chart indicates that the earth has cooled over the years 2002-2009 (the last years we have full data for). I, of course, don't really believe these charts anymore then the famous "hockey stick." But, it is interesting. (Comment on this)
Sunday, January 16th, 2011
10:04 pm	Carolina Bill is an airport friend of mine. He always hangs around the airport and we swap stories and I take him flying often. He claims he is ex-cia. I have no way of telling whether this is true but his stories are very entertaining. He believes in the principal of never allowing the truth getting in the way of a good story. So, one day he comes to me with arms open and a big smile on his face. This usually means he wants a ride or needs to borrow money (his stories do not come without a price). He smiles and introduces me to a young woman next to him and a small child. The woman is Kim and the child is hers. The child's name is Carolina. Bill says, "Hey, David, I am going to walk with Carolina around the airport. Entertain Kim till we're back." Kim smiles and begans to talk to me. She tells me that she and her child live in Odessa and they fly to Houston for Carolina's treatment. She smiles and says, "Mr. Marson in Odessa donates his jet to fly us here." I smile, "that's cool, maybe I can arrange a trip for me." "The price is too high", she shakes her head with a half-smile. "Bill tells me you fly him often." I laugh, "yes, I do. You don't think all those funny stories come without a price?" She smiles, "would you fly Carolina? She wants to fly badly." "in my little airplane? You fly in a jet." "yes, we do, but Carolina doesn't fly it. Bill told me about the visibility and control of your plane. Carolina wants to fly it", she looked at me and said, "please" with a mad intensity. I was a bit taken back but shrugged my shoulders, "cool". "One thing, David, don't baby her. Everyone does that, make her work for it." I shook my head, "so, be hardass on your baby?" She nodded, "exactly, make her work for it." "Ok", I said just as Bill returned. I looked at Bill and Carolina. "So, Carolina, you want to fly?" "Yes, sir", she said. Bill said, "He is Mr. Norris" I smiled, "not at the airport, I am just David" Carolina smiled and what a weapon, I was totally disarmed, "yes, sir, Mr. David." "Ok, let's pre-flight it and then we go." I took Carolina to my airplane and I showed her how to take a fuel sample. She took the sampler in her hand and I noticed her hands were mishappen, she tried but said, "Mr. David, I'm not strong enough to do it." "don't worry, Carolina, I'll do it." I opened the engine access panel and I held her up, "unscrew that lid and we will take an oil sample." She reached in and after some effort she said, "I can't open it Mr. David, I'm not strong enough." "Don't worry, I'll do it", I checked the oil and as I walked around the plane I pointed out things to check. Soon I told her to hop up on the wing and get into the cabin. She tried but soon she said, "Mr. David, I'm not strong enough to climb on the wing." I lifted her up and she climbed in. I began to buckle her in, "One thing Carolina, in that pocket is a barf bag. So, if you have to throw up, use it, Ok? Carolina looked at me and gave me this huge smile, "Oh, Mr. David, I am very good at throwing up." I looked at her for a moment and quickly put on my sunglasses. Some things a kid shouldn't be good at. I fired up the plane and roled up to the startup area. I went threw the engine checkout, told Carolina that we were ready to go. We took off and I started south. At 1000 feet I told Carolina to take the stick. She grabbed it and began to move it around. I told her to move slowly as we progressed south. Carolina loved it. She smiled and started to yell into her microphone. I told her to calm down and we swung south. I have rarely flew with someone who loved flying like she did. Her laughing, squealing, and giggling were infectious and I felt myself just smiling. When we landed, she hopped out of her seat gave me a hug and ran to her mommy squealing all the way. Kim smiled at me and held her child. Bill came to me and smiled, "welcome to Make a wish." "No, you didn't suck me into another one of your charities." "Fraid so, hook line and sinker." "Damn, such a sucker I am. I suppose this means I have to fly her whenever she comes into town." "Yep, already gave Kim your phone number." "You are so helpful, Bill." He laughed. And, so it was. Over the next several months Kim would give me a call whenever her and Carolina were in town. And, if the weather was right and I was available I would take Carolina up. She always smiled and yelled. And, each time she flew she got better at it. I gave her my old FAA books and she began to study them. Every now and then she would call and ask questions and I would hear Kim, in the background, say she was being a pest. Of course, she was, but what a pest. Everytime I would think of her reading my old books and I would smile. And, all was good, until the last time we flew. She had changed. I found out that Carolin may have looked like she was ten, but she was actualyy close to 14. But, this time, she just did not have the same energy, the same enthusiasm. She was polite, as always. As we took off, I gave her the stick and for a few minutes the old Carolina was there, but after a few minutes she asked me to take over. She leaned against the window and looked out. When we landed, I looked over and found her fast asleep. I opened the canopy and lifter her out. I was astounded by how little she weighed. I walked her back to Kim and handed her to her mother. She held her child, her eyes red. She looked at me and gave me the most helpless look I could imagine. She leaned forward, and kissed me on my cheek. "I thank you," she said. "Trust me, flying with Carolina has always been a joy. You owe me nothing. I'm not a softy like Bill, I don't do things for charity." She smiled, "sure, you don't. You're just a hard-ass meanie." "Yep, that's my story." She turned and walked to the car. I stood for a few moments and watched them drive off. I was a little shocked at how fraile she was. So, it was not surprizing when Kim called me a few weeks latter and said that Carolina had died. She was shaken up, I could tell. She thanked me for my kindness and said she would appreciate it if I came to the funeral. I shook my head, "no, I don't think I can go." A vision of Carolina in a casket flashed across my brain. No, I couldn't do that. We talked a bit more but I have no idea what she said. I wasn't really listening all I was doing was thinking about Carolina. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, January 14th, 2011
12:52 pm	Democracy as irrelevant The state of Louisana sued a consortium of petroleum refiners. Their complaint was that the action of the refiners caused global warming which caused Katrina. The refiners were, therefore, liable for any damages caused by the hurricane. Before you laugh, this got all the way to the supreme court and was dismissed on a technicality, not on its merits. The northeast states have a law suit against AEP, TVA, and several other utilities. Their argument is that burning fossil fuels causes global warming and, therefore, the utilities are liable. Note that there is no proof that global warming has occurred and that there is no causal link to damages that I am aware of. Yet, this case has just been accepted by the suprement court for review. Based upon a previous supreme court ruling, the EPA has decided that carbon dioxide emissions are dangerous and is now implementing nationwide controls over the use of fossil fuels. What is interesting to me is that all of this has bypassed the legislative branch all together. If the courts rule that one is liable burning a fossil fuel then the utilities and refiners will simply shut down. What choice will they have? The EPA (with no legilsative support) is now implementing a regulation scheme breathtaking in scope. Why bother to have legislation? Why bother to have elections? Simply let the courts and bueracrats decide. AFterall, I am sure that they know more then we little people in the states. (Comment on this)