A Spring Recipe

This prefaces the audiblog below.

A Poem by Sister Beatrice Engle presented by Steve the Creator.

Enjoy!

Illegal Immigration Trends...

Washington DC -- Washington is overwhelmed with on major topic this week: Immigration. Or should I actually say: Illegal Immigration. It is hard to put into persective what all the hype is about when most people don't know exactly why immigration reform is needed.

The chart here is a chart of illegal immigrants on a timeline. This would be a nice stock chart, but I digress. As you can see, the past ten years have had quite a jump in illegals crossing US borders. The past five years have really jumped. If reform doesn't happen quickly, these numbers will just keep following this path exponentially.

Fixing the problem of illegal immigration is also a dicey situation. Many smart men and women have pondered just such a thing. Here is a link to a blog article that goes into detail of basically six options we have and reasons why they won't work. http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/archives/2006/03/the_new_america.html Anyone out there got any bright ideas?

Patch Panthers!

Stuttgart, Germany -- I guess there should be a bunch of opening games this weekend in MLB. Bring it! The high school baseball team I am the assistant coach for this season also begins with our first two regular season games this Saturday. Double-header! I am not sure if I put this link on the blog before, but I will again. This link is a site I created for our team this year. Click on the calendar if you would like to follow along during the season. It has music too so make sure your speakers are on. Pretty cool site. Here is the link: http://eteamz.active.com/panthersbaseball06/

Bernanke Update

Looks like Bernanke is picking up where Greenspan left off. The battle of inflation rolls on. I wrote about Bernanke a while back concerning interest rates. Anyway, here is a chart of the trend and if anyone is interested...here's the link for more: http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/28/news/economy/fed_rates/index.htm?cnn=yes

Coming Soon: New Blog Feature!

I just wanted to announce that I have been working on a new blog feature. So, to build up some anticipation, I thought I would announce it before I work it into the blog. There is all kinds of stuff that you can do to the blog that I have been working on. For instance, I put the debt, SS, and oil trackers at the top of the blog. Those are real btw. I was surprised that no one commented on them (http://zfacts.com/).

Anyway, I basically had to copy the html code and fit it into the blog code. It took a couple of tries, but I got it. It is really cool learning about the different codes, etc. Also, does everyone like this blog format? Perhaps I will change it next month to see a different view. We'll see. So if this new blog feature I have coming works, it is going to be really cool. Be ready!

Can You Kill a Man with a Catfish?

You guessed it; I finally had to time to post a message. I am not currently up to much. I was working on a Business simulation tonight. Tomorrow, I will be going to Lent services. Thursday, I'll be going to an arena football game. Work is going well; I tend to stay very busy. I went to St. Louis about a week ago. I enjoyed the time away and had the opportunity to go to the riverboat casino and the landing. I am heading to DC next week for about 3 days. It is another trip for work. I look forward to the Cherry Blossom festival. Then, it is off to Belize on 8 April. Other than that, it is my last day as a 2nd LT on Friday, so I'm buying my work center beer and giving them the afternoon off after a cookout in the park. I'm out of here. John

Who the heck is George Mason?

My bracket is completly shot!~ Along with everyone else's I suppose. For those that didn't watch, one of the greatest games/upsets in NCAA Tourney history happened yesterday when #11George Mason beat #1 UCONN in OT! Talk about Cinderella. Even though this ruined many a brackets out there...we all welcome it. Excitement...underdogs...buzzer-beaters...doesn't get any better for March Madness!

Illegal Immigration in Mexico?

Mexico City, Mexico -- Half-million protesters peacefully clog Mexico City streets. Proposed legislation targets immigrants, employers, Samaritans

Mexico City police say the turnout for Saturday's demonstration was more than 500,000.

By Steve the Creator ("my alternative view")

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (SP) -- They surprised the police, and maybe themselves, their T-shirts turning block after block of downtown Mexico City streets white in a demonstration so massive that few causes in recent Mexican history have matched it. Police said more than 500,000 people marched Saturday to protest a proposed federal crackdown on illegal immigration.

Wearing white as a sign of peace, and waving flags from the U.S., Canada, Denmark, and other countries, they came to show that illegal immigrants already are part of the Mexican fabric, and want the chance to be legal, law-abiding citizens.

Police used helicopters to come up with the crowd estimate. "I've been on the force 38 years and I've never seen a rally this big," said Cmdr. Goerge Lopez Jr., incident commander for the rally.
In Tijuana, Mexico, more than 50,000 people protested downtown Saturday, according to police who had expected only a few thousand. Acapulco was similarly surprised Friday when an estimated 20,000 people gathered for one of the biggest demonstrations in city history, and more than 10,000 marched in Cancun on Thursday.

The demonstrators oppose legislation passed by the Mexican House that would make it a felony to be in the Mexico illegally. It also would impose new penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants, require churches to check the legal status of parishioners before helping them and erect fences along one-third of the Mexican-U.S. border.

"I think it's just inhumane," said Elmer Kervorkian Jr, a 26-year-old premed student who was pushing his 8-month-old son in a stroller at the Mexico City march. "Everybody deserves the right to a better life here in Mexico."

Many demonstrators said they had immigrant relatives or had crossed the border from the U.S. themselves. "My mom came from the United States. She had to cross the river, and thank God she did," said Peter Justice, 22, who held a sign saying, "I'm in my Mexican homeland."

Claims are rejected by advocates of the legislation that it would help protect the nation from terrorism, noting that it would hurt Americans the most.

The Mexican Senate was to begin debating immigration proposals Tuesday. President Vicente Fox of Mexico is pushing for a guest worker program that could provide temporary legal status for some of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants in the Mexico, but many of his fellow constituates are taking a more restrictive stance.

"As we debate the immigration issue, we must remember there are hardworking individuals, doing jobs that Mexicans will not do, who are contributing to the economic vitality of our country," Fox said Saturday in his weekly radio address.

President Bush was asked to comment on the recent increase in Americans illegally crossing the border into Mexico, but did not comment. However, many insider staff believe that President Bush actually encourages Americans crossing the border to Mexico to establish work so that they can send money back into the American economy.

Some immigrant-rights advocates, however, are also against Fox's proposed guest worker program, saying it would create an underclass of foreign workers. Illegal immigrants want legislation that would protect them, unify their families and address future flows of immigrants, Hilary Smith, of the group Rights for All People, said at the Tijuana protest.

The rally at Mexico City's Central Park, like the one in Tijuana, was peaceful. Mexico City police spokesman Elian Gonzalez said the crowd, mostly made up of families and older Americans, was respectful.

Tijuana resident Julie Smith, a pilot who came to Tijuana in 1999 from the U.S to look for work, said she came to the Tijuana protest because she just wants to be considered equal. "Even though we illegally crossed the border from the US here to Mexico, and even though some are causing crime and drug trafficking here in Mexico, and even though we are causing a tremendous burden to the Mexican taxpayers, we still have the right to be illegal! People who do something illegal should not be overlooked...they should be rewarded!"

Evolving OKC

There is a lot of changes since I have been there. I am sure you guys still living in OKC can enjoy. Check this out:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/03/23/oklahoma.city/index.html

Baseball Game

Stuttgart, Germany -- Patch Panthers. That is the name of our baseball team. We will have our first game tomorrow and I am pretty excited. It really is a scrimmage, but kind of a game. Double-header. Our first "official" game is the following weekend. I think we have a decent team.

I had practice with all of them yesterday all by myself. I have done this before, but only during gym workouts. This was a full practice on the ball field outside. A lot of fun. We have one kid that is a complete stud. He throws about 90 (really!) and can hit bombs. He hit 5 yard balls out yesterday. Fun to be back in baseball!

Recession Looming?

Is there a recession looming? Well, history tells that most of the time when the yield curve is inverted, a recession follows. It happened in 2000 and other years. Anyway, it is sometimes hard to understand what raising interest rates means. You hear it all the time. They Fed is raising rates again. What's going to happen to the economy? Mostly, they try to control inflation (which are monitored by monthly CPI reports). Anyway, this is Ben Bernanke's (left) first real appearance as the Fed Chairman. Alan Greenspan retired in January (Maestro is a good book here if interested).

Anyway, I found a good tutorial on what yield curves mean and thought I would post a couple of descriptions. It means a lot on how our economy works and where we are headed on a macrol level. Here we go:

Four types to talk about here: normal, typical move, flattening, inverted.

Normal. Normally the longer you lend somebody money, the more money you want back in return. After all, more time means more risk. So longer-term bonds typically command higher rates of interest than short-term notes and bills. The resulting yield curve -- a graphical representation of the rates of return for short-term to long-term Treasuries -- rises from left to right.

Typical Move. When the Fed starts raising or lowering its target for an overnight bank lending rate -- essentially moving the "short" end of the yield curve -- the entire curve typically moves as well.

Flattening. Recently the Fed has been raising short-term rates. But long-term Treasury rates have been falling. This has led to a "flattening" of the yield curve, where the difference between short-term rates and long-term rates becomes less and less.

Inverted. If short-term rates continue to rise and long-term rates refuse to do so or head even lower, the yield curve will "invert" -- an unusual state when short-term rates are higher than long-term rates. This is often taken as a sign of impending recession. But debate has grown in recent months over whether this is in fact a reliable indicator. The last time the yield curve inverted was in 2000, and a recession followed. The same thing happened in 1989. But an inversion in 1998 proved to be a false alarm.

Anyway, right now we are in the flattening stage. So, everytime Bernanke and the Fed come out and raise interest rates, there is a chance of the yield curve inverting (which means possible recession ahead). Something to think about.

"Failure"

Here's something interesting: Type the word "failure" into Google. You'll be surprised at the first selections to choose from. Weird.

...In the Zone

This was a cool picture I found that reminded me of Dad. He sure has been in the zone since joining the hospital. Just wanted him to know we were thinking of him.

BTW, I received a CD in the mail that was mixed CD that said Chris Shirley on it. Anyway, thunderstruck by ACDC was on there and that definitely brought back memories. Thanks for the CD!

Clean Games for Kids

This game ought to be alright for Keri and other potential parents out there. It has no effect on kids whatsoever. I thought it was pretty funny. Here it is:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/43441

Navy Combats Modern Day Pirates

Somalia -- This pirating phenomenon still applys today. US Navy takes care of a few off the coast of Somalia. Pretty cool. Here's the story:

http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20060319423607.html

Roe vs Wade...For Men?

Interesting for debate. Check this article out on this link:

Roe vs Wade for men

The Male Brain

Medicine for Dummies Institute -- That's about it. The male brain. I just wanted to get this out there too since I have posted the female brain. Equality of the sexes I suppose. I have always been a big supporter of telling both sides of the story. Enjoy!

The Male Brain

Medicine for Dummies Institute -- That's about it. The male brain. I just wanted to get this out there too since I have posted the female brain. Equality of the sexes I suppose. I have always been a big supporter of telling both sides of the story. Enjoy!

The Female Brain

Medicine for Dummies Institute -- Delia will be visiting on Sunday and it got me to thinking how I can better prepare myself for her visit. I have been contemplating on what goes on in the female brain for some years now. It turns out there has been a vast array of medical studies on this very subject. They even have released detailed diagrams of the female brain. Enjoy!

That ought to rile some of you up!

Operation Stormer

Iraq -- Coincidence? Or planned all along. As we launched the largest offensive assault yesterday in Iraq, I began to wonder if this time and date were planned all along for this assault or whether it was in response to comments by Saddam the day before yesterday.

On Wednesday, Saddam was allowed to testify in his own defense and made a statement that Iraqis should unify and fight US forces. So what happened the day after these comments? The largest US offensive assault since 2003. It seems like too much of a coincidence.

The US Press Secretary said that Bush did not give the go-ahead for this, but rather the decision was made by commanders in the field. I don't buy it. I think Bush gets operations briefs daily and this was a prepared operation plan for just such an occasion. I mean were the commanders really planning to make this assault on March 16th months ago? If so, one heck of a coincidence.

I am not saying the tactically it was a bad decision because it definitely was not. I think it was perfect. What a response to Saddam's comments. Talk about offensive-thinking. Put down another uprising before it becomes one. Overall, a good operation.

Spring Training...

Barry Bonds didn't join the USA Team in the World Baseball Classic, but he is still getting some Spring Training in for the upcoming season. I hear he eats a lot of meals in between workouts and also drinks protein shakes after workouts. Good workout tip!

...1000 Words

Belgium -- I got your Belgium right heeerrre! That's what I think of that! I found this pick from Brussels somewhere and thought it was a funny intro to be blabbing some more. On 06-9 April, Delia and I are planning a trip to drive to Brussels, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Basically, we have a baseball double-header in the Netherlands on the 7th and I am turning it into a road trip. A little open Autobaun for the soul. It should be fun. I know Keri and Colin have been to Amsterdam...we are not going that far north. Has anyone else been in that neck of the woods? Tell me about it.

USA VS MEXICO

No, I'm not talking about illegal immigration this time. Not border patrol. Not oil imports from Mexico. Not votes.

Good ole' fashion baseball. If the USA Team doesn't win tonight against Mexico, they are out of the baseball classic. It has been a great classic so far, but I have only been able to watch mostly highlights and a few innings of some games. I have yet to watch live action of a USA game. I have to wake up at 0430 tomorrow morning to catch it, but I think I will. They need this win to make it to the Semi-finals. USA!

Dubai Ports Deal

I know this a little late, but the Dubai ports deal was a complete mess on all parts.
1. The Bush administration should have realized that this was going to be a frontline issue. They didn't recognize this situational factor and it came back to bite Bush in the end.
2. Both the Democrats and the Republicans that rejsected the deal are doing it for politcal gain and political gain only. The Democrats are trying to gain a foot in the door on National Security which has ben traditionally a Republican thing. The Republicans voted no so they would look like they weren't giving up on National Security.
Even though this has nothing to do with Security.
I like how Sen Hillary Clinton and Representative Chuck Schummer handled this, idiots! These two people are the same two people that, after Sept. 11, said we couldn't racially profile against people in the airport security lines. So when an Arab country wanted to buy a few terminals in a few ports they said NO! Sure seems like racial profilling to me!
One fact I'd like to put out there, since I was a Merchant Marine, they weren't "buying" the port security, they weren't even "buying" the port, they were buying a few terminals in a few ports! It's like El Al airlines owning a terminal at JFK airport, they don't own the security and they surely don't own the port!
Port Security will still be done by the Coast Guard and Customs.....
What a MESS!
Oh by the way a Dubai company, ISS, already owns port deals for the US Navy and deals with US Navy ships schedules, food and fuel deliveries. Often they have te ships schedule well in advance! Now why isn't that on the front page news?

Missing White Woman Syndrome

I wrote a piece on this on the "old" blog (before I took up rage as a hobby and deleted it). I was basically spurring thought on why you have to be a murdered or missing blonde, white American good-girl to make headline news. I was JUST talking about this yesterday at lunch with my co-worker as we were watching news on tv. There was another murdered good-girl, Imette St. Guillen. I was talking about how people are murdered everyday (black, latino, etc), but that they never make it to the news because they are "of color". Anyway, I sometimes read Anderson Coopers blog (even though he is a goober...ie his crybaby coverage of Katrina) and he focused on this exact idea. For an experience perspective from a 30-year newscaster, check it out on this link:

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/

Word of the Day: Portends

I came across this word while re-reading a chapter in the book Blood and Oil (Great book!).
Portends means: To indicate by prediction; forecast. Here is the context from the book:

The pervasive instability of the Persian Gulf undoubtedly portends the continued presence of a large American military force in the region.

BTW, in my March Madness bracket, I portend that Connecticut and Duke will play in the Championship game and further portend that Duke will win it all. Reddick leads them all the way. My other two Final Four predictions are Boston College and Gonzaga.

PS. Dad's word of the day is plethora, which means a superabundance; an excess. He says that when he uses that word, it calms people down.

Movies We Don't Ever See

Somewhere -- I get tired of reading or seeing something about some great movie that I'll never get to see. Unless I some how miraculously see it sitting on the shelf when it gets to video. I guess that is what I really liked about Monterey. We had an independent theatre there (Sean likes it...he's seen Brokeback Mountain there 7 times already!). You could catch independent films there and most of the films that were up for Oscars. It is weird that every year, most people don't have a clue on some of the films that are up for Oscars because they are not released anywhere. Certainly not the Red States.

This movie Game 6 was made for about 1 million dollars. Every actor worked for only 100$ a day. It is about a writer that must decide to between going to his premiere or going to Game 6 (the big game where Bill Buckner ruined a lot of dreams). Might be a good flick, but I doubt anyone will see it. Have fun imagining watching this movie.

Book Review: The Wisdom of Crowds

I read a good book over the weekend that I think some of you would like. Here is the basic premise of this book: Larger crowds or groups of people are smarter than the elite few.

I know some of you have read Freakonomics, Blink, or Tipping Point...all of which are great reads. Well, this book is similar in nature to the style of those books. It has a lot of neat examples and theories that go along with them. I think that Chris would like the later section on short-sellers and the stock market. How to understand why people do what they do in the stock market? Sean would like the story in the beginning (introduction I think) about a lost submarine called The Scorpion in 1968. It is interesting how a lowly Naval Officer used Bayes Theorem to help locate the submarine.

Anyway, I give this book two thumbs up for anyone interested in the mystery of crowd psychology and group decision-making.

The Baseball Classic is a Jewel!

Baseball Classic -- What a jewel this spring has become! I originally thought that this Baseball Classic was going to be a joke and interfere with the fun of Spring Training in Arizona and Florida. I can remember being at Spring training and seeing and talking to all those players up close. That was a blast! I thought that this Baseball Classic would ruin that, but it seems to have done the opposite (at least for B-ball fans like myself).

I can remember talking to Mark McGuire, Mark Grace, VinnyCastilla and many more. I even met Harry Carrey! Most of those are gone or retired, but I did get to see Vinny hit a single in the bottom of the ninth for Mexico as they tried to rally past Chan Ho Park and the Korean team.

How about A-ROD! He had a monster game and hit the game winning, 2-out single in the ninth to win! Amazing. Is it Fall or Spring? (I guess it must be spring because if it was Fall, A-Rod would be choking...right Sean?)

The point is that you all must try to check out a game or two of this Classic. It is definitely turning into one!

Hello from all 3

Hello from the Shirleys of Washington...

We are doing well. Baby is at 27 weeks and kicking. It is amazing to me that if I were to deliver now (which I don't want to yet!), the baby could be sustained as a premie! Wow, God working with medical advances is amazing!

Paris, France

Paris, France -- Has anyone been here before? I think maybe Sean might have been. John and Katrina (they aren't on here yet...but might be someday). Anyway, I just bought Delia and I tickets and hotels reservations to visit there the 14-16th of April. Basically, I just want to see the Louvre and see this Eiffel thing. Any other recommendations? I think there may be a Da Vinci Code connection here too. I can't remember. It has been a long time since I have read the book.

Selectively Living (Part II)

I thought that maybe I was over-reacting in the previous writing. So I just thought I would try again. The first article I come accross is called "GOP Senators propose NSA spying bill". Here we go again...

Wow! We're spying? On who? How evil? Damn those Republicans!

My first thought was that a Democrat wrote this article. But, there is no author listed. Just from CNN. I guess the idea is to portray the word "spying" to make it seem bad or harsh?

Yet no where in the article does the word "spying" appear. In fact, the bill refers to the program that is labeled "domestic surveillance program". It is not called "domestic spying program".

So why label it that way in the headline? So someone will click on it? To keep your job because you have "catchy" headlines? Because you are a Democrat and want to label the Bush Administration as a bunch of shotgun spies? (Okay, maybe I shouldn't have used the word shotgun) I have gotten to the point now where everything I read, see, hear, etc...I try to weed through the facade and peel back what is really there. (btw...the UAE Port Deal is a good example)

I guess we just have to be careful out there on how to interpret things a complex world. Another way to say it...we have to be able to see throught the big pile of shit out there.

Selectively Living

I saw a headling that read "Lung Cancer claims nonsmoker Dana Reeves". I have many problems with this headline.

First of all, respect is due for Mrs. Reeves. A tough life the past few years.

The problem I have with the headline is the "nonsmoker" part. Why is that there? I mean Kirby Puckett just died too and his headline said, "Stroke claims Kirby Puckett". It didn't say that "Stroke claims nonsmoker Kirby Puckett". Why?

Selective Journalism?

Turns out that 2 of 10 lung cancer deaths are other than smoking related. Much like Dana's tumor in the lungs. Here is the kicker, 1/5th of all strokes are causes by smoking. So maybe Kirby was a smoker? We'll never know because the headline didn't throw it in my face.

If someone had just died of AIDS, would the headline have to be "AIDS claims 'non-gay' person". Because you can die from AIDS without being gay.

Maybe its like any other "ism". Racism. Sexism. Over generalities of human life.

If I see a black person, do I think criminal? Athlete? Wrapper? If I see a Mexican, do I think "illegal alien" or automatically think that a woman would be a housekeeper and a male a crop worker? If I see a woman in a business suit, do I think that she is just trying to act like a man in a man's business world? Feminist? Ism's...if I see lung cancer, I guess this article is saying that we must automatically assume smoking is the reason.

A small thing to notice in this headline, but it happens everyday! Selective Journalism. Selective Surrounding. Selective Living. You almost have to have a secret decoder ring to muddle through all the lights, tricks, and special fog machines.

Give us the truth! Don't select it for us! Let us make our own opinions. Enough already!

Boring, But Making Waves...

John and I were driving back to our "lives" after a summer in Seattle. We had a pretty good time there for the summer of 94'. It was an adventure at least. Anyway, we split paths on the way back to our "lives" around South Dakota. What a boring drive! If memory serves we just had spent the day viewing Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Then he went to Iowa and I went back to Okalahoma. The split was in South Dakota. I remember because up until then the drive was somewhat eventful with Idaho (not that back a country) and Montana (in which John drove like a bat outta hell). Then I woke up early and hit mighty South Dakota and into Nebraska. I have driven thru just about evey state in the United States and South Dakota was soooooo boring, I wanted to shoot myself. The only radio stations were some Indian music(Seinfield quote, "Not that there's anything wrong with that") and talk radio about some church or something...for 5-6 hrs! I tried to make a gas stop to relief the thoughts of driving off the road into a random telephone poll, but I ended up in some Deliverance Prequel Gas Station Scene and the only thing offered was help pumping the gas and warm Coca-cola out back! Ugh!

Well, it seems that little ole' boring South Dakota might not be as boring as previously thought. There may be a South Dakotan Wizard behind Oz as well. It seems that newly appointed Judge Roberts and Alito will be put to the test soon (No, not on the military recruiting approval at major colleges), but on abortion. We all new this was coming. This is the freakin' reason they were put into office by Bush Administration.

South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds signed a bill Monday that bans nearly all abortions in the state -- legislation in direct conflict with the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in 1973.

So it looks as if newly appointed Judges will have to earn their keep (song? Regulators by ????Ugh, you got me again Chris! I can't remember the group, but I think it was in the Young Guns movie?). South Dakota may be boring (like "float"), but time, patience and years may prove to provide a decent return in the end for some.

PS. That one was for my little bro comments on the previous word of the day.

Word of the Day: Float

Since I like value investing the most out of the different types of investment strategies, I have been studying the best in that field since about a year and a half ago. From Ben Graham in THE INTELLIGENT INVESTOR to my favorite, Warren Buffett. Anyway, I started last year with 2004 Annual Report and found a word in this year’s 2005 Berkshire Hathaway INC. Annual Report.

The word is “float” and here is a blip from the report that describes it:
-----------
Let’s now talk about our four sectors and start with insurance, our core business. What counts here is the amount of “float” and its cost over time.

For new readers, let me explain. “Float” is money that doesn’t belong to us but that we temporarily hold.
---------------
Anyway, it goes further into discussion on page 6 of 82 in the report. If you would like to view the report or just see what this is all about, click on the following link. The report can be accessed by clicking on the “shareholder letter” midway through the article. Here it is:
http://www.thestreet.com/_tscs/stocks/insurance/10271792.html

"Crash" Into Me...

Hollywood -- For those of you who haven't seen this movie...you need to go to the video store (or use Netflix if your Chris), and see this movie. I have seen this movie about 5 times since it came out last Feb/March (I can't remember). I DO remember telling many of you on the phone after I first saw it that it was one of the better movies I had seen in a long time. Anyway, if you scroll down on my Oscar Predictions lists below, you can see that I wanted this movie to win for Best Pic. Anyway, great flic!

Dis' Ain't No Brokeback Mountain

My prize for the translation? Hope so! First we have to get Penelope away from that Matthew character.

Gus Hansen

Chris, you know who this is. How does this guy do it. A set of steel balls that guy. He will enter with anything. Just amazing to watch. For those who don't know...look it up. Just simply amazing.

Enriche', Heidi, and Tatiana

Remember? Anyone? Yep, they were our neighbors in Huntsville, Texas. I remember them because Heidi would always let us just come in her house and give us drinks and stuff. They would let us cross thru their yard on the way to Kevin Hanselman's house. More importantly, that is where Nicholas came from! I KNOW everyone remembers our dog Nicholas. They moved back to Venezuala and gave him to us. At least that's how I remember it. I am not sure if they were legal or not. I think they were.

Anyway, I was at O'Donavan's Irish Pub last night watching my boss play in his band. They had their neighbor come too and she had a guest. He seemed like a pretty cool guy and had an accent. I asked him where he was from and he said Venezuela. He was a beer maker at a local brewery and had been living here for 7 years. He was friendly.

My point is these people are the only people I have ever met in my life that are from Venezuela. They are all very nice. But why is Venezuela so mean? I'll tell you.

Hugo Chavez!

For those that don't know why Venezuela is so important to the US, let me enlighten you. We import about 10% of our oil from there. Yep, 10%!

So what?

Well, Hugo Chavez (Venezuelan President) literally hates the United States. Not only that, but he likes and is allies with every other country that hates the United States. Communist countries. Top allies are Cuba, Iran, and China. Lately, he has been letting Chinese oil companies have more and more ground there. He is contemplating shortening the amount of exported oil to the US. He is rallying many South American countries to limit the amount of all kinds of products traded to the US. He supports Iran's nuclear program and many other anti-US programs.

See article: http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20060227419472.html

I guess sometimes in this international world, some of the nicest people you meet are from some parts of the world that are your worst enemies. Something to think about.

Word of the Day: Sumptuous

I am in the middle of another great W.E.B Griffen novel called The Hostage. I was telling Dad about it too. Anyway, came across the word: sumptuous. It means of a size or splendor suggesting great expense; lavish. Here is the quote from the book:
-------
"See you a little after nine," he said, and walked from the balcony, through the room, and out the door. Charley took a shower. The only word to describe the bathroom was sumptuous. Except for the ceiling, everything was marble. There was both a Jacuzzi and a large shower stall, and a heated chrome rack on one wall held enough thick towels to dry an elephant.
-------

I ate a sumptuous meal last night with my boss before we went out to see his band play.

World Baseball Classic!

The 1st Annual World Baseball Classic is upon us beginning March 3rd. At first I thought this was a crazy idea...in it for the dollar...in it for politics. But, then after I pondered on it for a while, I think this will be pretty cool! Ichiro in Japan. Ortiz in Dominican Republic. Castilla for Mexico. Sean's boys from the Yanks--Derek Jeter/Randy Johnson representing the U. S. of A. Many more as well. It may be a rough start in the beginning as many are apt to accept change. However, in the end I think this is good for baseball. The World Is Flat right (that is going to be my next book to read btw). Anyway, I hope some of you can enjoy a game or two of this Classic. I know I will!

Do Girls Love Migraine Headaches?

Well, not really. I have never had one personally, but some of you have. Some more than others. Anyway, I got to thinking about why most of the people that I hear of having migraine headaches were women? Evidently, there is a connection between migraines and fluctuations in estrogen levels in women. Interesting. Here is a more in depth article if interested:

http://womenshealth.about.com/cs/headaches/a/migranes1.htm

The Power of Blogs

Looks like the military is getting into this blog thing too. Check this article out:

http://ebird.afis.mil/ebfiles/e20060302420077.html

Word of the Day: Countervailing

Countervail means to to act against with equal force; counteract or offset. I figured that it was like counteract or something, but had never actually seen the word before. (BTW--Dicionary.com is good to have on your internet favorates for quick reference.) Anyway, here is the quote from the article on CNN that I saw the countervailing in. It was an article about the new US/India nuclear pact (that's where my boss is now). Here it is:
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Despite the potential political fallout from the nuclear deal, there is a lot to gain for both sides from such a deal going ahead, one analyst said.
"The essence of this strategic partnership is to provide a countervailing influence to China ... to act as a restraint on the exercise of Chinese power," security analyst Brahma Chellaney told CNN.
China on Thursday was quick to respond.
Any pact "must meet the requirements and provisions of the nuclear nonproliferation regime and the obligations undertaken by all countries concerned," The Associated Press quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang as saying.
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Don't worry out there, the crap I put on here won't always be boring. Every now and then I will put some cool or funny stuff on here to countervail the boring stuff.

The Onion

Check out the site called The Onion for a good laugh every now and then. I have had it on my favorates for some time now, but this article had me laughing pretty hard. It is a satirical site (for those that might think it is real). Anyway, here is the link to the article:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/45572

Daily Trivia Challenge

Daily Trivia Challenge

I set up a daily trivia challenge to see if I can entice you to check out the site more often. It should be challenging I think. Here is how it works:

I set up a quiz site at the below link. Go to the site, get signed on, then begin quizzes. The quiz will change questions every day. It will be based on a point system that will be totaled monthly. So the more you take the quizzes, the more points you can accumulate. Just trying something a little different here. Have fun with it.

http://my.funtrivia.com/tournament/Steve-the-Creators-Trivia-Challenge-47344.html

Oklahoma Wildfires!

Oklahoma -- I guess there are some terrible wildfires near Duncan, Oklahoma. Are these near any of our family? Looks pretty nasty. For all my Oklahoma family out there -- Stay Safe!

Word of the Day: Transmogrified

Almost every day I am coming across new words that I don't know what they mean or where they came from. Mostly just eager writer's flipping through a thesaurus I imagine. Anyway, I am going to start putting my words here so all can join in the fun. Here is a quote from a Wall Street Journal article I was reading that uses the word transmogrified:
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"For many, Iraq is no longer a war whose prognosis is to be judged empirically. It has instead transmogrified into a powerful symbol that apparently must serve deeply held, but preconceived, beliefs -- the deceptions of Mr. Bush, the folly of a neoconservative cabal, the necessary comeuppance of the American imperium, or the greed of an oil-hungry U.S."
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Writing this post has transmogrified my brain!