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Tuesday, July 3. 2012

Checkitout: 'Life's Little Mysteries'

I blundered my way across a fairly interesting site a while back called Life's Little Mysteries. It struck a deep nerve because I realized it was answering the very questions that haunt all people of vast and superior intellect. Questions such as:

What If The World Stopped Turning?

How Do You Weigh An Atom?

What If The Yellowstone Supervolcano Erupts?

How Much Would the Avengers' Damage to Manhattan Cost?

Which isn't to say they don't cover the important stuff, like How To Properly Bury A Vampire and Italian Crop Circle Linked to Solar Eclipse.

Having recently put two documentaries on the Japanese tsunami/Fukushima meltdown on my Special Vids page, I had an interest in Does Radioactive Tuna Mean Fukushima Was Worse than Expected? (I believe the answer to that last one would be 'yes', since the meltdown at Fukushima wasn't 'expected' at all)

It also has a few techie-type things on it, like What's The Difference Between LED and LCD TVs?, and it tries to answer a question so many of us ask ourselves while staring into the mirror in wonderment and awe, Why Are Genius and Madness Connected?

A little somethin' for everyone.

Posted by Dr. Mercury in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 10:00 | Comments (6) | Trackbacks (0)

Big C update

Last week I noted that I need an operation to get rid of a tumor in my lower intestine. It's always somethin', huh? As my rather glib doctor put it, I have a cancer, not the cancer, and they caught it at a fairly early stage, so I've got some time to dig up the cash for the operation. Gruesome details are here.

I just wanted to express a huge 'Thank You' to all of you who have chipped a little something into the pot, and especially to those who gave more than their fair share, so hopefully I'll make it. If anyone's interested, my bio is here. I guess you could say I've been around the block a few times. If you'd like to join the Save-Our-Doc campaign, my PayPal donation page is here.

To those who have contributed: While I promised not to spill the beans and let everyone know what a terrific person you are, I obviously will if you want, and if you have a web site I can promote in an article, I'll be happy to do so. Also, if you've been thinking of putting up a blog or web site, I'll do the initial setup for you. Just don't get a domain name until we talk. If you want to do any of the above, just say "please email me" in the comments and I'll get hold of you at the address associated with your login name.

Thanks again for the help,
Doc

Posted by Dr. Mercury in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 09:00 | Comments (14) | Trackbacks (0)

Tuesday morning links

Why I said goodbye to NASCAR.

Good Reason to Kill #24: Pancake Battery

Surf Dog Competition Sees New Guinness World Record, Gains National Attention

Mitt Romney’s summer vacation full of competitive sports and family meetings

New York Times Asks: Should Air-Conditioning 'Be Rationed Away? via Al Gore’s Mansion Could Not Be Reached for Comment

Why the Education Bubble Will Be Worse Than the Housing Bubble

Mexicans took jobs that Americans did not want to do. Asians take jobs that Americans don’t know how to do.

Sorry, Bucko, Europe Is Still In A Death Spiral

Euroland as an empire

Will More Doctors ‘Go Galt’ Because of Obamacare?

Obama Spanish language ad blitz aims to wrap up Latino vote

Obamacare: Seven New Taxes on Citizens Earning Less than $250,000

Syria's Display of Virility Against Turkey

Palestinian Crimes against Christian Arabs and Their Manipulation against Israel

VDH on the election: Good News — What Good News?

Another Obama Record… Number of Americans on Disability Exceeds Number of People in New York

Food stamps + EBT card + easy disability = votes

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 05:00 | Comments (19) | Trackbacks (0)

Monday, July 2. 2012

Robots building boats

At Bavaria Yachtbau:

Posted by Bird Dog at 13:29 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

No progress in the War on Poverty and none expected

Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty failed.

There are simple reasons why (relative) poverty persists in America, but the first is most significant: If poverty is defined as roughly the lowest 15% of income then, obviously, it will persist whether the poor have cars, air conditioners, farms, houses, lots of food, iPhones, TVs, a government dwelling, government medical care, government schools, government cheese, etc.

Is there abuse? Of course there is. Welfare Loophole: Sisters Make $540,000 Babysitting Their Kids. Can't help it because the world is full of people who will work any system to their own advantage. It's their loss of dignity and self-respect. Once given up, those things are difficult to ever recover but some people don't care. Dependency can be a trap whether from government or from a trust fund.

The second major part seems to be life choices. If more money is what you want, then you have to make life plans and choices which might make that goal possible and, if you have any sense of honor at all, you will not take it from your neighbors except in desperation. This via Powerline:

Posted by The Barrister in Politics at 13:05 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

Monday morning links

Image from Sexist or Not

George Washington and the Constitution

Religious Freedom Wins In New York

Last Bite for Foie Gras Lovers in California

Level 99 archer (video)

Reuse a Leaky Garden Hose, Make a Soaker Hose

How to Save the Planet: Euthanize Your Pet

The Freaky Fetishes of Golden Age Hollywood - A tolerant new tell-all from Tinseltown’s sexual fixer

Degrees in ‘Pop Culture’?

World's first GM babies born

Feds considering declaring Arabs eligible for affirmative action

Supreme Decision: The Best Possible Result for 2012

Judge Roberts’ decision forces Americans to stand on their own two feet — and that’s a good thing

John Yoo: Chief Justice Roberts and His Apologists - Some conservatives see a silver lining in the ObamaCare ruling. But it's exactly the big-government disaster it appears to be.

Food Stamps, Handouts, and the Ever-Expanding Welfare State

'Spoiled Rotten': How the Democratic Party Lost Its Soul to Patronage

Viva La Obama!… George Clooney to Host Obama Fundraisers in Europe

Forget Immigration. It's Big Government Hispanic Voters Want

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 05:57 | Comments (4) | Trackbacks (0)

Nice house

Had to be back in NYC on Sunday. This wonderful old house is on the corner of East End Ave. and 86th St.

East River views from the rooftop garden, for sure:

Posted by Bird Dog at 05:08 | Comments (4) | Trackbacks (0)

Sunday, July 1. 2012

"Son, a guy with a yacht can have a different wife every night."

Photo is Taki's sailboat (or "yacht," if you will) Creole. Very nice.

His story: Gangsters at Sea

Posted by Bird Dog at 18:41 | Comments (4) | Trackbacks (0)

Wanted Man

Posted by Bird Dog at 15:32 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

Growing up on antidepressants

There are limits to the "medical model" of Psychiatry. Psychiatrists like me tend to focus on the "psycho-social" aspect, while others go full-bore with pills and symptom check-lists. There is no single form of Psychiatry today and many shrinks my age have never perused the DSM unless to find a plausible insurance code.

Word to the wise: Some shrinks want to understand you in depth, some want to diagnose you and give you pills, and some try to tailor help to you as an individual with talk therapy and/or medicine if needed. Many patients do not wish to open their hearts and souls - it feels too threatening and often is - and just want a pill if it will help them feel better without having to think too hard. My approach is to try to understand a person first but, if they want to try a pill, fine.

Here's something: The Medication Generation - Many young people today have now spent most of their lives on antidepressants. Have the drugs made them 'emotionally illiterate'?

Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss in Psychology, and Dr. Bliss at 13:54 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

Re-posted from last June - Southern Umbria #6: Photo dump of the Todi area in the Tiber Valley, mostly

Through Delta, flew from JFK to Rome via Paris (cheaper that way) on Air France (which I like very much - decent airplane food with cheese and baguettes, etc, champagne when you board, drinks free, charming hostesses). We had the worst seats so you do your best to zone out. I needed some Ambien. The quick 2 hr- flight down to Rome, using Delta, is on Alitalia.

We clever, thrifty Yankees can do a 12-day grand luxe and glitz-free trip around Umbria for the price of a good high-end Mac server. A few travel trips for this first pic dump post:

We got some very good hotel deals via Expedia. We are very particular about where we will stay, as you will see (if you care). Mrs. BD is my planner. We seek out little gems without jacuzzis and absolutely without bellboys with uniforms. We are allergic to that sort of crap, and like to explore places that most people do not. We reserved a fine hatchback Lancia through Costco. Cheap. With the talking GPS - and that came in darn handy because we prefer trying to get lost on back roads unless we are in a rush to the airport. Somehow managed not to get the car in a roadside farm ditch on this trip - but I have done that in the past. Hilarity always ensues! Amusing recriminations also. Good way to meet the local farmer with tractor!

We stayed at one hotel in the Tiber Valley, one in the Valle Umbra, and one in the Valnerina to cover all the of Umbrian geography. View of the olive orchard of our hotel 10 k outside Todi, early morning mist:

More good stuff and fun pics below the fold -

Continue reading "Re-posted from last June - Southern Umbria #6: Photo dump of the Todi area in the Tiber Valley, mostly"

Posted by Bird Dog in Our Essays, Travelogues and Travel Ideas at 12:39 | Comments (15) | Trackbacks (0)

Happy Birthday, Canada!

As some of you know, there's a country to the north of us. I know it sounds crazy that anyone would lay claim to some vast expanse of frozen wasteland, but as the old expression goes, "One man's trash is another man's treasure", so I suppose it's understandable that someone would come along and claim the parts we didn't want.

The name of this delightful British protectorate is "Canada" (also referred to as "Great Britain Jr."), and the fact that it exists at all is often cited as "The eighth wonder of the world." National Geographic magazine has done a number of specials on it over the years, amazing the readers with photographic evidence that people actually live in this frozen hellhole.

Well, today is their Independence Day, which celebrates the famous day in 1867 when Britain bought a big chunk of it from France for $38 and change (roughly $17.2B accounting for inflation) because they needed to import drinking water to their Caribbean colonies and Canada has lots of snow. Then they filed an Instant Country document with the League of Nations and became "Canada", which is Eskimo for "land of many snow".

In doing my research on this adorable little principality, I quickly discovered that Canadians are very patriotic:

And I'm sure you caught the Biblical reference to covering up the private parts with a Canadian fig leaf (their national symbol), so we have to presume Canadians are also exceptionally moral.

Now, while some people call Canadians and other Nordic tribes "humorless", their money proves this just isn't so. Based on the famous Warner Bros animated cartoon series "Looney Tunes", they named their money "Loonies" and "Toonies".

All in all, that's quite the little accolade for Porky and the gang. Personally, I was always a Yosemite Sam kinda guy. Why, I remember once when he-

Wait... where was I?

Oh, right. Trying to think of nice things to say about Canada.

Well, others have also taken up this mighty challenge, and it was only by combing the very bowels of the Internet that I was able to conjure up what appears at first glance to border upon the miraculous:

Canada Day: 5 Reasons to Love Our Neighbor to the North

Five!

That's about four more than I can come up with, so I'm grateful for the assistance. I get to "Gave us John Candy" and then draw a blank.

Anyway, happy birthday, Canada! Just remember, we like you there. Come the Russian invasion, we think you're going to make a great buffer zone!

Posted by Dr. Mercury in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 09:00 | Comments (44) | Trackbacks (0)

Good street pics of NYC, the greatest city in the world

Here, via Sipp's To Do A Simple Thing Well

It's difficult to take good pics of people in public spaces because you never know who might take offense.

Posted by Bird Dog in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 07:03 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

Rehashing some Obamacare hash

McCarthy: Limiting the General Welfare Clause

Campos: On Roberts’ majority opinion becoming the joint dissent

Bernstein: More Hints that Roberts Switched his Vote

Dear Uncle Sam: What's in the health care act?

Romney’s desperately trying to sell independent voters on repealing Obamacare. But don’t count on it working. America thinks it’s time to move on.

WSJ: Jenkins: ObamaCare—Upheld and Doomed - Regardless of the Supreme Court, fiscal reality will prevail.

What's Wrong With ObamaCare? Here's A Partial List

Posted by Bird Dog at 07:02 | Comment (1) | Trackback (1)

From today's Lectionary: Wait for the Lord...

Lamentations 3:22-33

3:22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;

3:23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

3:24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."

3:25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.

3:26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

3:27 It is good for one to bear the yoke in youth,

3:28 to sit alone in silence when the Lord has imposed it,

3:29 to put one's mouth to the dust (there may yet be hope),

3:30 to give one's cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults.

3:31 For the Lord will not reject forever.

3:32 Although he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love;

3:33 for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.

Posted by Bird Dog at 05:39 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

BD got himself some new wheels

New wheels for ye olde wheelbarrow. I done wore out the old tires. These are slick (Home Depot). Shiny and guaranteed never to deflate, and thus good for impressing the chicks.

Rides like a Beemer now. Get a new girlfriend, wheel her all over town in that thing.

Home Depot, unfortunately, had no whitewalls available.

The clam rake? It does double duty for clamming on Cape Cod and getting nasty roots out of gardens.

Alas, more of the latter these days. My honey-do list keeps getting longer, but I ain't askeered of work unless it's lectrical.

Give me a list, and I will do it. That's why I am here.

Posted by Bird Dog at 05:00 | Comments (7) | Trackbacks (0)

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