In The News

Two stories that caught my eye:

--California is now going to have vending machines dispense medical marijuana. Excuse me? Just WHO decided this was a good idea? Can't wait for the first time some pot heads decide to steal one of these machines--and you KNOW it will happen. Read the story here.

--Highway workers in Pennsylvania have found six bags containing body parts on Interstate 380 in the Poconos. They found a severed head, but many parts of the victim were not found. In December a fisherman found bags containing body parts along a Florida beach. If we were all completely honest, there probably has been at least one moment in our lives when we could POSSIBLY understand how a person could murder another. (Think of someone doing something horrible to your child, or another loved one. Then imagine what you might want to do to that person.) But, what kind of demented individual cuts up a body and puts it in plastic bags and tosses them? You can read the story here.

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Detroit Over Phoenix, 3-2

If it wasn't for Ozzie, the Wings would have lost big time tonight. Ozzie kept the Coyotes from running away with the game in the first half and allowed the Wings to finally get up to speed. Yup, they managed to pull the win out of their asses--the break certainly didn't do anything for the guys except let them get a bit rusty!

I missed seeing Baby Boy for these many days--unfortunately, he was pretty much MIA during this game! Again, very rusty, but he did improve as the game wore on. Lidstrom and Ozzie redeemed themselves tonight after their poor showing in the All-Star game--something that wasn't surprising, by the way. :) Z came back after missing the last two games before the break and scored the first goal--hopefully he can stay healthy through the rest of the year. And--I CAN'T believe these words are being said once again--Kronwall left the game tonight with an injury. He got checked during the third and hurt his shoulder. I thought this would be his year to play without an injury--I thought wrong. He has the worst luck.

The Wings play back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday--hopefully they will be in top form.

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Does Huma Like Weiner?

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Russian Female Bodyguard dies

It's always sad when really hot women die young.

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A Short Post

All went well with K's colonoscopy today. I really am surprised that I had to make the suggestion for this to happen--unless K never mentioned to the doctor that his mother had polyps. Well, now he has had it done and the doctor will put him on the rotation.

The wind outside is gusting to 46 mph--it is a bit on the chilly side. :) Right now the wind chill is -15 and it is supposed to just get colder tomorrow. While it snowed very heavily for a bit today, it has slowed down considerably. However, it doesn't matter how much snow is coming down if we get wind gusts of 50 mph--it will drift and cause near zero visibility! I'm sure a lot of schools will be canceled for the day.

Thank you to all who commented on my 'dilemma' about the first responder. I am weighing my options and considering what I will do. While I understand what Janet had to say, I must make it clear that the responder HAS talked some details that were very confidential. Also, while everyone will find out most things because it is a small area, I guess I feel as if the details should never come from a professional--whether he/she is a volunteer or not. One other thing that bothers me about these particular people: it seems as if the main reason they are first responders is so they can be privy to the gossip and not have to hear it second hand. THEY like to be able to TELL the stories and not have to be the ones to HEAR them. This is so wrong on so many levels! People who have big mouths should never be in situations where confidentiality is a necessity.

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Looking at my site visitors the other day I noticed one that came from a site with which I was unfamilar called New Combat, inspired by the publication Combat that Albert Camus put out during the German occupation of his country. The site contains an interesting article E. Howard Hunt re JFK which is most interesting and contains a number of links to further pages. I am adding New Combat to my links.

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First Step to become Successful Model

Modeling is the world where everything doesn’t go easy. It’s not like a fairy tale’s world.The modeling work is considered as one of the most popular and professional work, which is admired all over the world, but the modeling industry’s impact, can be seen mostly in the high fashion industry counters.

Additionally, on the other hand, many people think about taking modeling as a profession, as that modeling industry is one of the most competitive in the world, so it is advisable to be on your toes, look for proper opportunity and not just depend on your own good look to make a future in it. Usually in the current time, many young boys and girls are enthusiastic to make a career with it. There aspiring girls or boys who want to start modeling career should have proper clue of modeling audition tips in there mind. To enter modeling world you have to give audition’s which suit your characteristics and talent. For example, if you’re a little fat and heaver one, then they you luck at auditions for female model. If you have good height, then go for runway modeling. If you are in slim body side, then swimsuit modeling would be a most logical choice.

Patient is the one most thing which you need, as it may take a long time before you land with your first modeling job. It’s not that only good and positive aspect of modeling will get but if you had fall in wrong hands your talent may be exploited also. Now the second thing which you have to do is to find proper modeling agency where you can able to show out your talent. The modeling agency, act as a portrait of your talent. For instance, if you are interested in making career in runway modeling, watch professional model of runway.

To get free tips regarding you intent field, it’s better to watch professional model: first of all observe how they walk, how they move around, they is there hair style, how is there clothing style and every other minute details of them. Then after having proper observation practice it in you, but not copy any style of them, sometime your own style may be admired than any others. There are so many other things which are required to learn and if we go on taking on fashion modeling, there will no end of this conversion.

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What Do You Think?

Today we got the word that a friend's brother passed. He was only a few years older than K and me, so it was a bit of a shock, even though he had had heart problems. It is just too hard to have people close to your own age die. It reminds too much of one's own mortality--and it isn't a pleasant thought.

Anyway, C called this evening and 'berated' me for not calling and telling her of his death. (She was joking.) I really didn't think of calling as he lived in the same town as The Parents, so I figured she would know about it before me, and told her so. As it turned out, she found out just before she called.

Here is the problem. C was told of his death by one of the first responders that had attended to him. This person not only told C that he had died, ****** said how he had been fine in the ambulance and they were sure he was going to be okay only to have him die at the hospital. Now, I'm not sure just exactly HOW much this person told C--or anyone else, for that matter--but I felt just a bit funny that this person said anything at all. This is the third time that I am aware of this person giving a bit of a detailed account of a first-response situation and I am not at all sure these are the kinds of things that should be told to anyone and everyone who would listen. Am I being a bit paranoid, or is this just not right? Should someone be told about this, or should it just be ignored? This person has been a first responder for a number of years--as has his/her spouse--and I just can't imagine how many stories are told. AND none of these stories are told in an anonymous way AND everyone in that area knows everyone else. What would you do in this situation? All opinions will be appreciated.

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So I Am Back

Just because the NHL was on break, that didn't mean I had to be on break also! And I never meant to be away this long, but I have been going through a funky time of it. Nothing that I can put my finger on, just one of those periods that I go through at times. Oh, well, such is my life. And life goes on.

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Today we had temps in the forties. I'm not sure if we broke any records, but it still was nice to have the January thaw. But, of course, this is not lasting very long. Tomorrow should still be on the warm side with temps in the mid to upper 30s, but then we are getting an arctic cold front coming through and temps should drop 30 degrees for Wednesday. Such fun. Looks like we will be getting snow, also. Not surprising--this is winter after all.

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K is prepping himself for his colonoscopy tomorrow. While this doesn't inconvenience me at all--well, except for the fact I have to bring him to the hospital and spend the day there--I do find it very difficult to eat meals while he can't. I hate to make anything that he might want because he has been on liquids all day and can't eat anything but clear liquids for the rest of the night. I know how hard it is whenever I have to do fasting for lab work and I don't want to make it any harder for him than it is. I have to figure out something for tomorrow night--hopefully he will be able to eat dinner.

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We did our road trip on Friday and came home Saturday. We mainly went to help our friend celebrate her Saturday birthday, so the visit was nice. There wasn't all that much shopping that needed to be done, so we didn't even go to many of our usual stores. That was all well and good--I just needed a bit of a break and this was a nice one. The only thing that really tainted our trip was K's phone call from work. He was forced to get back into town early as he had to work overtime on Saturday. He was scheduled to work 6AM to 6PM on Sunday, but he was forced to go in at midnight on Saturday--an 18 hour shift after having to drive home from out of town. The only way he could have avoided the overtime is if I wouldn't have answered the phone--but I just answered without looking at the caller ID. I really was mad at myself for that one. He's done 18s before, but I felt bad that this one was because of my mistake.

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I watched the All-Star activities on Saturday and Sunday and wasn't overly impressed. In a way I could see what they were trying to do, but the execution of it wasn't quite as great as the concept. Maybe with a little tweaking, things could become better. As for the All-Star game, it didn't do much for me. It was very hard for me to keep the players sorted out and the announcers didn't help all that much--and I watched CBC and NOT Versus! Maybe it was just me, I don't know. I don't really enjoy the way the All-Star game is played--it is just end-to-end skating and a lot of scoring. I enjoy the subtleties of a real game and the hits--something that wasn't allowed in Sunday's game. While I understand WHY there is no hitting in the game, it just isn't REAL hockey to me. The high-scoring game is what the league wants in order to try to get non-fans interested, but it doesn't appeal to me--I would rather see a well-played game that ends in a 2-1 score.

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Even though half of the season's games were played a week before the All-Star break, this was the unofficial end of the first half. Things will really start to heat up now through April--and, of course, REALLY get going once the play-offs start. Rumors are really beginning as to the trades that might be made--and it will only be getting worse till 26 February when the trade deadline is. Will really be interesting to see who goes where and how this will impact the play-offs. And to add to things, Selanne has just announced he is going to make his come-back with the Ducks for the last half of the season. I guess the Ducks just MIGHT come close to what they were last year. I REALLY don't need to see Detroit and Anaheim meet in the play-offs again!

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And Jimmy Page says that Led Zepplin just might go on tour later this year. While there isn't anything officially in the works, the tour might happen some time after September when all the band members will be free from other obligations. Might be interesting to see, except for the fact that the years haven't been too kind to Robert Plant. He is kind of scary these days.

Robert Plant: early years



Robert Plant: today

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Celebrate

I know I'm late in posting these, but enjoy anyway.

28 January
National Blueberry Pancake Day
National Kazoo Day
Bubblewrap Appreciation Day
AND
ERNIE'S BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

29 January
National Puzzle Day
Carnation Day
Corn Chip Day

30 January
Inane Answering Message Day
National Write To Congress Day
National Croissant Day

31 January
Inspire Your Heart With Art Day

1 February
National Baked Alaska Day
Bubble Gum Day
Spunky Old Broads Day
Wear Red Day
Womens Heart Health Day
(while this isn't amusing, it DOES show support for women's heart health, as does the 'wearing of the red')

2 February
Groundhog Day
Hedgehog Day
Teach Your Daughter To Volunteer Day

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So, first Chelsey is photographed with her father in front of the flag with the pentagrams on it, and now here she is wearing, supposedly, an upside-down crucifix. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the satan-worshipping tree.

Seriously, has anyone yet offered an explanation as to how the stars on that flag were upside-down?

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Bacteria Delivers "Buck-A-Gallon" Biofuel Solution

As syngas fermentation leads to lower ethanol concentrations than corn fermentations, the energy and cost to separate the ethanol from water is proportionally higher. To reduce this differential, Coskata has exclusively licensed membrane separation technology to reduce the energy requirements by over 50%. The vapor permeation process is amenable to separating ethanol from biofermentation broth because of the very low solids content of the broth relative to other fermentation processes. Image Credit: Coskata

Bacteria Delivers "Buck-A-Gallon" Biofuel Solution (two approaches)

There was a time one could buy fuel for ones car or truck for a “Buck-A-Gallon" … and it is a past we can embrace right now … TODAY!

Well, at least General Motors seems to think so with its investment in Biofuel processing startup Coskata.

The key to the conversion approach Coskata has perfected uses bacteria to break down the broad array of organic waste (switch grasses, twigs, corn husks, leaves, landscape waste, and other non-food sources of organic material) and make Ethanol for a fuel mix or replacement.

After the carbon-hydrogen bonds in the feedstock are "cracked" using gasification and converted into syngas, bacterial fermentation (biofermentation) of the syngas into ethanol occurs using proprietary Coskata microorganisms. Image Credit: Coskata

The real kicker is that this process not only protects our current food paradigm built upon corn for feed and food, the process uses far less petroleum fuel (about 13% as opposed to 77% - or 17 times more efficient) and water while greatly increasing the productive output per bale of feedstock in order to create a gallon of this cleaner burning substance here on the Oblate Spheroid.

Design engineer Mike Sura adjusts settings on Coskata's 150L bioreactor to make ethanol. Image Credit: Tyler Mallory/General Motors

This excerpted from WIRED -

Startup Says It Can Make Ethanol for $1 a Gallon, and Without Corn
By Chuck Squatriglia - 01.24.08 1:00 PM

A biofuel startup in Illinois can make ethanol from just about anything organic for less than $1 per gallon, and it wouldn't interfere with food supplies, company officials said.

Coskata, which is backed by General Motors and other investors, uses bacteria to convert almost any organic material, from corn husks (but not the corn itself) to municipal trash, into ethanol.

"It's not five years away, it's not 10 years away. It's affordable, and it's now," said Wes Bolsen, the company's vice president of business development.

The discovery underscores the rapid innovation under way in the race to make cellulosic ethanol cheaply. With the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 requiring an almost five-fold increase in ethanol production to 36 billion gallons annually by 2022, scientists are working quickly to reach that breakthrough.
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Besides cutting production costs to fire sale prices, the process avoids some key drawbacks of making ethanol from corn, company officials said. It wouldn't impact the food supply, and its net energy balance is high because the technique works almost anywhere using almost anything with great efficiency. The end result will be E85 sold at the pump for about a dollar cheaper per gallon than gasoline, according to the company.

Coskata won't have a pilot plant running until this time next year, and it will produce just 40,000 gallons a year. Still, several experts said Coskata shows enough promise to leave them cautiously optimistic.
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Coskata uses existing gasification technology to convert almost any organic material into synthesis gas, which is a mix of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Rather than fermenting that gas or using thermo-chemical catalysts to produce ethanol, Coskata pumps it into a reactor containing bacteria that consume the gas and excrete ethanol. Richard Tobey, Coskata's vice president of engineering, says the process yields 99.7 percent pure ethanol.

Image Credit: Coskata

Gasification and bacterial conversion are common methods of producing ethanol, but biofuel experts said Coskata is the first to combine them. Doing so, they said, merges the feedstock flexibility of gasification with the relatively low cost of bacterial conversion.
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Coskata's method generates more ethanol per ton of feedstock than corn-based ethanol and requires far less water, heat and pressure. Those cost savings allow it to turn, say, two bales of hay into five gallons of ethanol for less than $1 a gallon, the company said. Corn-based ethanol costs $1.40 a gallon to produce, according to the Renewable Fuels Association.
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May Wu, an environmental scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, says Coskata's ethanol produces 84 percent less greenhouse gas than fossil fuel even after accounting for the energy needed to produce and transport the feedstock. It also generates 7.7 times more energy than is required to produce it. Corn ethanol typically generates 1.3 times more energy than is used producing it.
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Making ethanol is one thing, but there's almost no infrastructure in place for distributing it. But the company's method solves that problem because ethanol could be made locally from whatever feedstock is available, Tobey said.

"You're not bound by location," he said. "If you're in Orange County, you can use municipal waste. If you're in the Pacific Northwest, you can use wood waste. Florida has sugar. The Midwest has corn. Each region has been blessed with the ability to grow its own biomass."
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"Even if you produce it county by county, you still need an infrastructure," he said. "People aren't going to go to some remote location for fuel."
Reference Here>>

The Biodesign Institute of Arizona State University - Alternative Engergy
(click image to launch video)

The biofuel developed for ASU's "Tubes in the Desert" project avoids many of the downsides presented by biofuels such as corn, cellulose or other crops/plants. Because it uses a microscopic bacteria as the fuel source, it doesn't compete with food crops and could yield a much larger amount of fuel per acre. The bacteria are grown in transparent tubes, hence the name. /// ASU researchers are also exploring the possibilities of microbial fuel cells -- tiny microbes that generate energy by feeding on waste. /// Guest interviews include: Neal Woodbury, Ph.D., the Biodesign Institute; Wim Vermaas, Professor, ASU School of Life Sciences. /// Learn More: Visit http://www.azpbs.org/asuspotlight
(ht: MAXINE)

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BBC: The US military is planning to deploy robots armed with machine-guns to wage war against insurgents in Iraq.

Wired News: Pentagon Explores 'Human Fear' Chemicals

The Guardian: US Military Testing 'Pain Ray'

Daily Kos: 'Voice of God' weapon being used in Iraq

People are dying, sure, but what of it so long as Pentagon whiz-kids are having fun?

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Did the LAPD Send Lee Harvey Oswald to Russia?

In the book, Chief: My Life in the L.A.P.D., Daryl Gates writes that the Los Angeles Police Department had a special intelligence unit that ran a program which sent American spies to Russia, totally clandestine and under deep cover. This was during the during the same period when Lee Harvey Oswald made his strange trip to the Soviet Union. A natural question arises; was the accused assassin part of the program?

Two interesting facts emerge when studying Daryl Gates. The first one is how interested he was in Lee Harvey Oswald and the JFK assassination. Just a few hours before Oswald was murdered by Ruby, Gates was on the phone talking to the Dallas Police Department. The second one is that he was in charge of Robert Kennedy's security at the Ambassador Hotel the night of RFK's assassination. Actually, there was no security. Gates kept the police away claiming somebody told him Bobby didn't want the LAPD there. The Los Angeles Police would burn most of the photos related to the assassination before Sirhan's trial began. Then Gates kept the case secret for twenty-five years. When he was forced to release the files, he had destroyed most of the evidence

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Juan Cole says:

Hiring Paul Wolfowitz to advise the State Department on arms control is like hiring Lindsay Lohan as a driving instructor.

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Pyramid Power: a nice photo of Nicolas Sarkozy and girlfriend Carla Bruni

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We'll miss you Elizabeth.

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And Now For A Rest

The Wings won back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday and now will have a much needed rest over the All-Star break. Wednesday's win was all the sweeter because they beat Anaheim AND it was without Z! Plus, they played two nights in a row and the Ducks were supposedly fresh, so... A nice sweep of the California teams.

Z won't be in the All-Star game, again. His back is acting up and he'll use the time to rest it. Hopefully he will be able to address the problem at some time or he'll wind up having a very short career. Anyway, it is real nice to see the Wings stepping up their level of play again with Z out. Baby Boy scored the winning goal against the Ducks and was named the NHL player of the night. This makes 15 goals for him--NOT out of the realm of possibilities for him to get 30 on the year.

As it stands now, I don't even know that I will be all that excited to watch the All-Star game. The players who were SUPPOSED to play are dropping like flies--both goalies for the West that were voted in have bowed out. Z is out with an injury as is someone named Sid for the East. (Crosby, for those who don't follow--as it is, he is probably out for 6-8 weeks with that ankle injury.) There are at least six players who have had to drop out for one reason or another--and most are being replaced with players I don't feel the need to watch. (Don't need to see two MORE Ducks playing in the game--saw enough of them on Wednesday. :))

The All-Star break is the unofficial beginning of the second half of the season. For the near future--till the end of February and the trade deadline--all that will be talked about are the trades. Until all of the trading is done, I will be chewing on my fingernails--there will be VERY few players who are safe once the trading begins, including Baby Boy. I HATE that teams are able to do these trades--most of the players that are traded are just 'rentals' through the play-offs and then they move on to a bigger and better paycheck during the off-season. I figure the teams should just play with what they have and let the chips fall where they may.

Once the trade deadline is passed, then all talk moves on to the play-offs. That isn't all that surprising considering the end of the season comes only about six weeks later. It is all moving along quite quickly and before you know it, the new Stanley Cup champions will be crowned and I will be counting the days till the 2008-09 season begins. Hopefully I will be smiling during those days--smiling because the Wings will bring the Cup home for the 11th time. I can only dream. :)

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The American Conservative: FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds spills her secrets. The most detailed account yet about Sibel's allegations about Marc Grossman.

After 9/11, Grossman reportedly intervened with the FBI to halt the interrogation of four Turkish and Pakistani operatives. According to Edmonds, Grossman was called by a Turkish contact who told him that the men had to be released before they told what they knew. Grossman said that he would take care of it and, per Edmonds, the men were released and allowed to leave the country.

Edmonds states that FBI phone taps from late 2001 reveal that Grossman tipped off his Turkish contact regarding the CIA weapons proliferation cover unit Brewster Jennings, which was being used by Valerie Plame, and that the Turk then informed the Pakistani intelligence service representative in Washington. It is to be assumed that the information was then passed on to the A.Q. Khan nuclear proliferation network.

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Oh, My Gosh!

In my post the other day, I mentioned two actors who had passed and 'wondered' who the third one would be. It just was announced that actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment. My goodness.

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Jeri,we'll miss you.

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Surge to Nowhere

By offering arms and bribes to Sunni insurgents -- an initiative that has been far more important to the temporary reduction in the level of violence than the influx of additional American troops -- U.S. forces have affirmed the fundamental irrelevance of the political apparatus bunkered inside the Green Zone.

Rather than fostering political reconciliation, accommodating Sunni tribal leaders ratifies the ethnic cleansing that resulted from the civil war touched off by the February 2006 bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, a Shiite shrine. That conflict has shredded the fragile connective tissue linking the various elements of Iraqi society; the deals being cut with insurgent factions serve only to ratify that dismal outcome. First Sgt. Richard Meiers of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division got it exactly right: "We're paying them not to blow us up. It looks good right now, but what happens when the money stops?"

In only one respect has the surge achieved undeniable success: It has ensured that U.S. troops won't be coming home anytime soon. This was one of the main points of the exercise in the first place.

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The west must be ready to resort to a pre-emptive nuclear attack to try to halt the "imminent" spread of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, according to a radical manifesto for a new Nato by five of the west's most senior military officers and strategists.

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A nice photo of Hillary and Huma.

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Want To Go Green?, Go Fly A Kite!

MS Beluga SkySails with the innovative towing kite system. Image Credit: DHL

Want To Go Green?, Go Fly A Kite!

Kite Runner has a new definition. A movie by the same name recently was released in December 2007 and the term Kite Runner referred to the kite retrieving member of a kite flying team in Afghani culture that flew kites in competition.

The global package delivery company DHL has a different idea what the term Kite Runner should refer to here on the Oblate Spheroid.

Lanes - Windsurfing off of the coast of Maui. Image Credit: Christian Black

This week will mark the first time a modern container bulk transport ship will use wind to aid in its propulsion across the vast Atlantic Ocean. DHL will launch a kite sail in a method similar to the windsurfing sport pioneered in the late 1990’s off of the Hawaiian coast of Maui.

The kite sail that will be deployed from a launch mast at the front of the ship measures more than the width of three football fields, or just under 350 Yards.

This new Kite Runner wind aided transport method is expected to save between 10% and 35% making the savings per year on fuel alone potentially total over $400,000 per year.

This excerpted from a press release posted at The NewsMarket -

DHL Uses First Wind-Propelled Cargo Vessel to Make Delivery to South America DHL
Deutsche Post World Net - 21-Jan-2008

The MS Beluga SkySails, the world’s first cargo vessel with the SkySails towing kite system, is being used for commercial transport for the first time. It will carry cargo from Bremen to Venezuela on behalf of DHL Global Forwarding, the ocean and air freight carrier of the Deutsche Post World Net Group.

The vessel features a new wind propulsion system with a towing kite measuring up to 320 metres, that provides additional thrust for the ship at sea, a sustainable solution for reducing fuel consumption, costs and emissions.

Depending on wind conditions, fuel costs can be lowered between ten and 35 percent. A small, 87-metre-long freighter would thus save an average of 280,000 Euros in fuel costs per year.
Reference Here>>

Bremen (Bremenhaven) - Germany's biggest North Sea coastal town, Europe's most important fishing port, member of the exclusive club of the world's leading container ports, shipbuilding location with an international reputation and, as a rendezvous for the world's most beautiful luxury liners and passenger ships, Germany's number one amongst the cruise ship ports of the world. Image Credit: Senatskanzlei (Bremen Werbung).

And this -

Eco-friendly sea transport from Bremen to Venezuela
DHL - Bremen, Germany - 18 January 2008

DHL first company to use ocean-going cargo vessel with wind propulsion system
Shipping becomes safer, more profitable and more eco-friendly

The MS Beluga SkySails, the world's first cargo vessel with the innovative SkySails towing kite system, is being used for a commercial transport for the first time. It will carry the first parts of a complete particle board factory from Bemen to Venezuela on behalf of DHL Global Forwarding, the ocean and air freight carrier of the Deutsche Post World Net Group.
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DHL will transport the particle board factory to South America for its client, Dieffenbacher, in a total of eight partial shipments. It is to be used for a government-sponsored housing project.
Claus Krüger, director at DHL Global Forwarding and responsible for the Project Group Germany, says: "Besides offering our customers first-rate quality in ocean and air freight transports, we are always mindful of the increased need for sustainable logistics solutions. The Beluga SkySails is a forward-looking example of how to implement low-emission ocean freight transports. The promising environmental aspects of the new SkySails System were a major factor in our decision for this charter."
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On 15th December 2007, the MS Beluga SkySails was christened in Hamburg by Eva Luise Köhler, wife of Germany's Federal President. The so-called "multipurpose heavy-lift carrier" belongs to the fleet of Bremen shipping company Beluga Shipping GmbH.

The ship is based on the simple principle that wind is cheaper than oil and, at sea, the most inexpensive and cleanest source of energy. The wind propulsion system, which features a towing kite measuring up to 320 square metres, was developed by the Hamburg firm SkySails and can now be used on ocean-going vessels for the first time.
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The MS Beluga SkySails tied up in Bremen's Neustädter Harbour at noon on Friday. DHL Global Forwarding immediately began loading the freighter with parts of the factory supplied by Dieffenbacher, which is based in Eppingen, Baden-Württemberg. Krüger: "In its first partial shipment, the vessel is transporting about 10,000 freight tons from Bremen to Guanta, Venezuela. The route across the Atlantic will take a good two weeks."
Reference Here>>

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And I Cry...Yeah, RIGHT

The Packers lost. They will not go to the Super Bowl. I am so sad...NOT!!!!! I think what makes me the happiest is knowing how terrible The Brother feels right now. I'm sure he is pouting worse than any three year old child--AND I LAUGH!!! (I really wonder if he managed not to throw something through his TV.)

To help you understand how I acted when I heard about the loss, I give you a link to the Happy Happy Joy Joy song--I danced along to the music.

Sorry for that little bit of gloating. You can now forgive me and go on with the rest of your day.

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Celebrate

To help you in your party planning, here are the celebrations for the next week:

21 January
Granola Bar Day
Hugging Day
Squirrel Appreciation Day

22 January
National Blond Brownie Day
Answer Your Cat's Questions Day
Rid The World of Fad Diets and Gimmicks Day

23 January
National Pie Day
Measure Your Feet Day
Snowplow Mailbox Hockey Day (?)

24 January
National Peanut Butter Day
Belly Laugh Day

25 January
A Room of One's Own Day
Fun At Work Day

26 January
National Peanut Brittle Day
National Seed Swap Day

27 January
National Chocolate Cake Day
Thomas Crapper Day

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Sunday Afternoon

We are in the middle of our cold spell, but things should be improving slowly. Right now the temp is +4, which is warm compared to what it has been the last few days. I'm not sure the temp got above zero yesterday, so ANY number that has a plus sign in front of it is good. With the wind chill, we are at -16. BRRRRRR. The only good thing about the cold: we don't get much snow when the temps are so low. Not sure which is better, too much snow or too low temps.

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Speaking of the cold, a college ski tournament had to be moved here this weekend because the temps were too cold to hold it in Minnesota where it originally was supposed to be. Ski tournaments can't be held if the temp is less than -4 and it was forecast that the temps would be much colder than that.

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A couple of celebrities have passed. Allan Melvin, who played Sam the Butcher on the Brady Bunch, was 84. Suzanne Pleshette, who played Emily Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show was 70. As it seems that these deaths come in groups of three, a third might be announced within a couple of days. (How gruesome can I be, hey?)

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NBC has begun showing The (Hockey) Game of The Week as of today. I still have so much trouble watching--the announcers make the most asinine comments, as if EVERY person watching is a total idiot. I realize they are trying to explain the game to people who aren't hockey fanatics as I am, but do you HAVE to explain that the game is played on ice? (An exaggeration, but you get my drift.) But then, I have a bit of a problem watching Canadian announcers because THEY act as if NO ONE but Canadians are worthwhile when it comes playing or watching the game. I guess I just can't get used to anyone but Ken, Mickey, and Larry in Detroit! :) (Not TOO much of a 'homer,' am I?)

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The Wings began their road trip with a 6-3 win over the Sharks. I got a little scared when the Wings blew their two goal lead in the second, but they came back with two more of their own and finally wiped the ice with the Sharks. It turned out to be a very good game. Two more on the road before the break--if they can continue playing the way they did last night, it should be a successful trip.

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K has been working overtime again. Thursday will be his first day off for a couple of weeks, so we will take advantage and do a road trip. The overtime schedule is such that he will work most of the month, so when he actually has a day or two off we will have to get any traveling done that is needed. This will continue through the month of May it looks like. But then again, things can change, so I make NO plans.

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Just got off of the phone with C and both she and the baby are doing fine. She just got the baby sling that I ordered for her and is so pleased with it--the baby loves it and C is delighted that she can actually hold the baby close AND have her hands free to do what is needed. A good purchase all around. I got her the New Native sling:




(This is NOT a picture of C or the baby. :)) C said the thing is great, but there is NO reason I couldn't make them myself. I will look to see if I can find a pattern and make her another--one to wear and one to wash, I figure.

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Sibel Edmonds in The Times again

She says the FBI was investigating a Turkish and Israeli-run network that paid high-ranking American officials to steal nuclear weapons secrets. These were then sold on the international black market to countries such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

One of the documents relating to the case was marked 203A-WF-210023. Last week, however, the FBI responded to a freedom of information request for a file of exactly the same number by claiming that it did not exist. But The Sunday Times has obtained a document signed by an FBI official showing the existence of the file.

Watch the excellent 52-minute documentary on Sibel Edmonds: Kill the Messenger

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Hillary and Occult Symbol on the Flag?

Thanks to a poster at godlikeproductions I present to you this odd photo taken directly from Hillary Clinton's official website. Scroll down slightly and watch the slideshow of photos to see it for yourself. At first glance everything looks normal enough but notice the stars on the flag. On a normal flag the stars have one point up. This flag has two points up--a pentagram, a well-known occult symbol. What's up Hillary?

normal flag

pentagram as occult symbol

Again, for purposes of comparison, note the close-up of the stars on a normal flag.

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"There's just no doubt in my mind — under any set of rules — waterboarding is torture."

--Tom Ridge, first secretary of the Homeland Security Department

Of course it's torture. That's the whole point of waterboarding as opposed to, say, speaking to them in a disapproving manner. Torture is an ineffective way to get at the truth but it is an effective way to get prisoners to talk. In fact, they will say whatever their questioners want them to, which is part of the problem.

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Jesus 'Tomb' Controversy Reopened

A leading New Testament expert from Princeton Theological Seminary, Prof. James Charlesworth, was intrigued enough to organize a conference in Jerusalem this week, bringing together over 50 archeologists, statisticians and experts in DNA, ceramics and ancient languages, to give evidence as to whether or not the crypt of Christ had been found.

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Where can I get one of them plastic fetuses?

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Photos of the Day

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Heads Up! On An “Eyes Up” Contact Lens Display

Contact lenses with circuits and lights … a possible platform for superhuman vision- Science Central Video Link (click photo) - Image Credit: University of Washington

Heads Up! On An “Eyes Up” Contact Lens Display

Have you ever asked yourself, “How can I see the display of my cellphone without having to use my hands?”

Well, it looks as though the researchers at the University of Washington have asked themselves the same question and set about doing something to address this perceived need.

Eyes with a contact lens that contains circuits that will display images one can see while going about ones business.

Contact lenses with metal connectors for electronic circuits were safely worn by rabbits in lab tests. The lenses were manufactured at the microscopic level by researchers at the UW. Image Credit: University of Washington

The prototype contact lens device contains an electric circuit as well as red light-emitting diodes for a display, though it does not yet light up. The lenses were tested on rabbits for up to 20 minutes and the animals showed no adverse effects.

This excerpt from University Week (University of Washington) –

Bionic eyes: Contact lenses with circuits, lights a possible platform for superhuman vision
By Hannah Hickey - News and Information - Jan. 17, 2008

Movie characters from the Terminator to the Bionic Woman use bionic eyes to zoom in on far-off scenes, have useful facts pop into their field of view, or create virtual crosshairs. Off the screen, virtual displays have been proposed for more practical purposes -- visual aids to help vision-impaired people, holographic driving control panels and even as a way to surf the Web on the go.

The device to make this happen may be familiar. Engineers at the UW have for the first time used manufacturing techniques at microscopic scales to combine a flexible, biologically safe contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights.

"Looking through a completed lens, you would see what the display is generating superimposed on the world outside," said Babak Parviz, a UW assistant professor of electrical engineering. "This is a very small step toward that goal, but I think it's extremely promising."

The results were presented today at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' international conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems by Harvey Ho, a former graduate student of Parviz's now working at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, Calif. Other co-authors are Ehsan Saeedi and Samuel Kim in the UW's electrical engineering department and Tueng Shen in the UW Medical Center's ophthalmology department.

There are many possible uses for virtual displays. Drivers or pilots could see a vehicle's speed projected onto the windshield. Video game companies could use the contact lenses to completely immerse players in a virtual world without restricting their range of motion. And for communications, people on the go could surf the Internet on a midair virtual display screen that only they would be able to see.
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Ideally, installing or removing the bionic eye would be as easy as popping a contact lens in or out, and once installed the wearer would barely know the gadget was there, Parviz said.
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Researchers built the circuits from layers of metal only a few nanometers thick, about one thousandth the width of a human hair, and constructed light-emitting diodes one third of a millimeter across. They then sprinkled the grayish powder of electrical components onto a sheet of flexible plastic. The shape of each tiny component dictates which piece it can attach to, a microfabrication technique known as self-assembly. Capillary forces -- the same type of forces that make water move up a plant's roots, and that cause the edge of a glass of water to curve upward -- pull the pieces into position.

The prototype contact lens does not correct the wearer's vision, but the technique could be used on a corrective lens, Parviz said. And all the gadgetry won't obstruct a person's view.
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Future improvements will add wireless communication to and from the lens. The researchers hope to power the whole system using a combination of radio-frequency power and solar cells placed on the lens, Parviz said.

A full-fledged display won't be available for a while, but a version that has a basic display with just a few pixels could be operational "fairly quickly," according to Parviz.
Reference Here>>

Poll Answers

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My Breast Day

I have NEVER identified myself by my body parts. I AM NOT my breasts and I was never any of my other 'lady bits.' A lot of women couldn't understand how easy it was for me to 'give up' my ovaries and uterus to hysterectomy. There are quite a few women who feel as if a hysterectomy is a 'mutilation,' but I DEFINITELY don't feel that way. So, my breast scare had EVERYTHING to do with the Big 'C' and NOT with the possibility of losing a breast.

As I went through everything at the hospital today, several things became clear to me. It seems as if everything was managed so that I WOULD have answers before returning home. From my calling for an appointment all the way through my visit, all things were done in a timely manner. After all, they are aware of how scary a situation this is, so they want to resolve it all quickly. Of course, they don't want you to think that THEY are that worried or that there is anything going on that NEEDS to be taken care of IMMEDIATELY, so they give excuses. For example, when I called to make my appointment, they just 'happened' to have a cancellation for the next day, so they got me in right away.

The first thing that happened today was more mammograms. Of course, the two she did weren't good enough, so she had to retake them. I got to see the area that the doctor was concerned about and I don't know why something hadn't been done before this. (I'm not the doctor, so I certainly don't know what IS a concern--that is why we trust the professionals.) I definitely saw a pea-sized, tear drop shaped SOMETHING on the x-ray. Come to find out, it has been there since 2004. HELLO!?!? When I asked why I never was told about this, the reply was, "It was within normal parameters."

After the x-rays were taken, I had my first wait. The doctor had to be consulted, but it didn't seem to be because he had to decide on whether I would have an ultrasound or not--from the beginning it seemed as if that was a done deal. When the nurse had called to tell me that I needed a follow-up, she said IF the doctor thought I needed an ultrasound... This also made me think less was told to me so that I wouldn't worry as much.

I was then taken to the ultrasound room where another very lovely lady played with my boob. (I thought the year I had two breast exams was the highlight of my life--but today I got felt up more than I did when I was dating in high school!) I have had ultrasounds done before--just recently for the carotid--and it is a fairly straight forward procedure. But, today was a first. After being scanned for about 15 minutes, she then asked me to hum--as in "I'm sorry but I don't know the words to that song." I really didn't think enough to ask WHY, but there I was humming in a dark room with a woman touching my bare breast. Surreal. When she was done with the scan, she had to go and print off the pictures and talk to the doctor. Another wait for me.

Finally, the doctor came in to the room and sat down. While I thought we were to have a consultation--which we DID have--he proceeded to scan the boob. Very early on he let me know that he wasn't concerned about what he was seeing. He didn't let me worry needlessly, which, in his line of work, is a good thing. He and his wife are imaging specialists who work exclusively with breast patients. All I can say is this: if I EVER have anything go wrong, I want him to be my doctor. I don't think I have ever felt such an aura of calm around a doctor as I felt from him. He was just wonderful and very nice. The bottom line is this: there are two cysts in my breast, but because there seemed to be some growth, they wanted to take a closer look. The doctor thinks the growth was a lymph node and nothing more. Thus, I need to have a six month follow-up mammogram.

All in all, not the way I wanted to spend my day, but at least the results were great!

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Good Day

My day just got better: the Wings broke their winless streak and beat the Canucks 3-2. Granted, it would have been nice if they had won in regulation--I HATE shoot-outs, as I have said numerous times--and it REALLY would have been great if they wouldn't have given up a two goal lead, but...THEY WON!

My Baby Boy got an assist tonight and this gives him 25 points on the year so far. He is doing very well--could do better, but he's doing well. While I don't really think this is his breakout year--I could be wrong, there still is a lot of season left--he IS beginning to get noticed by the rest of the league. His goal against the Wild was number one on last week's best goals video! The boy has got some pretty moves, for sure.

The Wings will play three games out on the west coast and then have the All-Star break. The games will be difficult, but, hopefully, with the dads along for the trip, they will be able to pull off some good wins. (The annual dads/mentors trip is coinciding with this west coast road trip. The players always like to make their dads proud.)



--Brian Rafalski #28 of the Detroit Red Wings heads up ice with Henrik Sedin #33 in tow in a game on January 17, 2008 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)--

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Celebration!!!

I just got back from the hospital and the doctor is quite sure there is nothing to be concerned about. I will need a follow-up mammogram in six months, but he thinks what is showing up is a lymph node. While I am sooooooooo relieved, I have the stress headache from hell and will need to go for a nap. BUT, as soon as I think I can get away with it, I will be indulging in WAY too many adult beverages. Celebrate away!!

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Former Military Itelligence Officer calls McCain a "Traitor"

"It was treasonous. McCain for what he did, while he was in captivity, was a traitor because he gave information to the enemy, classified military information which caused the death of many of his fellow aviators."

--Colonel Earl Hopper in a video interview here.

The site containing this interview is run by some of the same people who "swift-boated" John Kerry. There is a page accusing McCain of being a "Manchurian candidate." Colonel Hopper is a POW/MIA activist who thinks that McCain betrayed POWs that may have been left behind in Vietnam. He does not seem to have any first-hand basis for his charges against McCain.

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Across the globe, researchers searching for signs of life in space were abuzz this week with word that a mystery signal has been picked up by a giant radio-telescope in Puerto Rico.

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A Bit Of This, A Bit Of That

After the game last night--more about that later--I just couldn't get myself together enough to post today's celebrations, so here they are:

National Fig Newton Day
Appreciate A Dragon Day
Nothing Day

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And, in case I don't get around to it later, here are the celebrations for 17 January:

Pig Day
Customer Service Day
Judgment Day
Get To Know Your Customers Day

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The game last night--what can I say. They lost, again. And it isn't so much that they lost, it is the way they played! It was very, very painful to watch--NOTHING was going right. Too short and too long passes, give-aways, you name it--Ozzie was replaced by Hasek in the second after giving up four goals in 17 shots! You know it HAS to be bad if they bring Dom in without warming up--he DOES have a very sensitive groin, after all. (Can you believe discussing someone's groin in public? :D) Anyway, the third loss in a row--even though they don't count the shoot-out as a loss, it WAS a loss nonetheless. Maybe they need the All-Star break to get their shit together and get back to the way they were playing the first half. Not something to be THAT concerned about, but WHY are they playing WORSE after EVERYONE has come back from injuries? Doesn't make any sense at all. Oh, well, on to Thursday and the Canucks.

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C and the baby are doing well. The girl amazes me and puts me to shame. Not only does she have six kids and a household, but she has started taking classes again. She also is the treasurer/secretary for their church AND the go-to person for setting up pot lucks, etc. She and her husband ARE the mission committee and, I'm sure, have their fingers in a couple of other things there. She is on the parents' council for their pre-school and sets up fund raisers, etc, for their elementary school. I KNOW I am forgetting some more things, but that is enough to make me tired just hearing about it! I REALLY don't know when she has time to sleep.

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We have an arctic blast coming at us and by the weekend our HIGHS should be in the single digits. Add to that the high winds and we will be looking at wind chills in the -20s, I'm sure. It will be a real good time to stay indoors.

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I didn't want this to be an 'oh, woe is me' post, so I left this till the last. I just want to ask for everyone's good thoughts/prayers for tomorrow morning. I got a call from my GYN's office and I have to have more views of my right breast. I guess there is a dense mass and they need to look at it closer, so that is why I need to go in. It seems as if this was there already last year--something I was NEVER told, by the way--and it is a bit bigger this year, so... Of course, the nurse gave me the whole 'it probably is nothing, we just need to be sure' speech and while I KNOW that probably is the case, it's still a scary situation. I will know a bit more right away tomorrow, so that is good. Anyway, good thoughts will be much appreciated and I will have more to say about this tomorrow.

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"Mammoth Capybara” Discovery In South America

Fossil hunters have uncovered the greatest rodent that ever lived -- a one-ton behemoth that bestrode the swamplands of South America some four million years ago. Graphic Credit: AFP/GUSTAVO LECUONA

"Mammoth Capybara” Discovery In South America

In a recent document released by Institute of Physics of Montevideo, Gustavo Lecuona helps to give life to the largest fossil rodent ever discovered here on the Oblate Spheroid.

The paleobiological reconstruction of this newly-identified species is the greatest-known member of the order Rodentia and by comparison makes the largest rodent living today, the 60-kilo (132-pound) capybara versus the 1,008-kilo (2,217-pound) Josephoartigasia monesi, look like a pygmy shrew.

The newly discovered skull is considerably larger than a modern-day rat - Image Credit: Blanco

The reconstruction was based upon skull fragments (above) found at an archeological dig along the coast of Uruguay.

This excerpted from AFP via YAHOO! -

King of the rats weighed one tonne
AFP, Paris - Tue Jan 15, 7:10 PM ET

Fossil hunters have uncovered the greatest rodent that ever lived -- a one-tonne behemoth that bestrode the swamplands of South America some four million years ago.
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The skull of the extraordinary beast was found in a broken boulder on Kiyu Beach on the coast of Uruguay's River Plate region, palaeontologists reported in a study on Wednesday.

Measuring a whopping 53 centimetres (21 inches), the skull has massive incisors several centimetres long.

Despite this fearsome look, the creature was not carnivorous and looked more hippo-like than rat-like.

Its small grinding teeth suggest it had only weak masticatory muscles for chewing food, and probably tucked into soft vegetation, fruit and squidgy aquatic plants in deltas, the experts say.

Its food intake must have been vast, given its huge size.
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The newly-found species has been dubbed Josephoartigasia monesi, in honour of Alvaro Mones, a Uruguayan palaeontologist who specialised in South American rodents.

Authors Andres Rinderknecht of the National Museum of Natural History and Anthropology and Ernesto Blanco of the Institute of Physics in Montevideo say there are several ways to estimate J. monesi's size.
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The most reliable figure is an average of 1,008 kilos (1.008 tonnes, 2,217 pounds) which is derived from comparing the giant to its closest living relatives, called hystricognath rodents.

The previous rodent record-breaker, Phoberomys pattersoni, was found in Venezuela in 2003 and was estimated at 700 kilos (1,540 pounds) in its prime.
Reference Here>>

Additional Resources Here>>

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Huckabee: Amend Constitution to be in 'God's standards'

"I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution," Huckabee told a Michigan audience on Monday. "But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living god. And that's what we need to do -- to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view."

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Celebrate

Celebrations for 15 January:

Hat Day
National Strawberry Ice Cream Day

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Jesse Ventura and the CIA

Update: CIA confirms Ventura meeting occurred

Turns out there actually was a Ventura meeting with the CIA in 1999. CIA Spokesman George Little confirmed the event today in a written statement, but he offered few details.

Little said that "on occasion CIA officers meet with senior state government officials, as they did in this case, to discuss issues of mutual interest."

Little shed less light on another revelation in Ventura's book. The former Independence Party governor says he was "stunned to learn that there is a CIA operative inside every state government." Ventura says the Minnesota operative was a deputy commissioner, who was working with a dual identity.

In response to a question about Ventura's claim, Little wrote, "I wouldn't think of CIA officers as being in state governments. They're federal employees."

Former wrestler and Governor Jesse Ventura has a book out, written with well-known JFK assassination researcher Dick Russell. You can get an advance look at it here, although you have to sign up first.

Shortly after he took office in 1999, he was escorted to a state Capitol conference room where 23 CIA agents were waiting. He writes that they grilled him about how he campaigned and won the election. "In short, how had the independent wrestler candidate pulled this off?"

He said he learned "there is a CIA operative inside every state government. ... In Minnesota, this person was at a deputy commissioner level, fairly high up."

"In our country, there is a certain ruling class that won't give up the power," he writes. "I know I had to be destroyed because of what I represented and how I got elected. There was a ripple of fright that what happened in Minnesota could be a trend."

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Celebrate

A number of things to celebrate for 14 January:

National Dress Up Your Pet Day
Bald Eagle Day
National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day
National Clean Off Your Desk Day
Organize Your Home Day

I would try the 'dress up your pet' bit, but I DO want to live a bit longer. My cat WOULD go after my carotid if I tried dressing her in ANYTHING! :D

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A Couple of Videos

A few days ago I posted some pictures of that very beautiful boy, Paolo Nutini, and happened to mention he also sings. I DID go out and get his CD as soon as I could and I am loving every minute of it! While I don't think there is one song on it that I don't like, here are a couple that are on the top of my favorites list. Enjoy!








He has got an absolutely amazing voice--can't wait till he comes out with a new CD.

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Book Game--Again

Almost one year to the day, I posted the rules for the Book Game. It went over quite well, so I thought I would revive it again. A very fun and easy meme, I hope everyone gets into this. If you decide to play, let me know in the comments.

Here are the rules to the Book Game:

1. Grab the nearest book
2. Open the book to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences (#5,6,7) on your blog, along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it. Just grab what is closest!

If you decide to play, copy and paste the rules into your blog. Then, follow the rules and put your book passage following. Easy and fun!

--This selection is from Grave Peril, Book Three of The Dresden Files

--"I have your permission to come out?"

"Yep," I said, "for the purposes of this mission only. And don't waste time prowling around in women's locker rooms again."--

(Full disclosure: The nearest book I had was Hockey For Dummies--I thought that was a little TOO much, so I moved a foot over and came up with Grave Peril, instead. I just didn't think I could get away with ANOTHER hockey reference. :))

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Celebrate

13 January is:

RUBBER DUCKIE'S BIRTHDAY!!

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Ottawa 3, Detroit 2

Watching last night's game, I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. After seeing that game, Detroit has to get it together or they WON'T win the Cup this year. I'm afraid we got to see a preview of the Cup finals and it wasn't a pretty sight. Despite the end score, the game was not a close match--the Wings played very poorly the first two periods. Hell, they were down 2-0 going into the third and THEN scored their two goals. It could have gone into a shoot-out--which I despise, but still...--but they allowed ANOTHER power play goal right at the end. Oh, well.

That first power play goal that Ottawa got in the first few minutes of the game REALLY seemed to disorient the Wings. They let the Sens dictate the play and play DETROIT'S game, for crying out loud! It just was quite disappointing. They better put on their big boy panties and get it together for the next game--maybe they are in for one long winning streak. I can only hope. Two games at home and then a three-game road trip before the All-Star game--a good win streak if they can pull it off.

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