On the Air

Tonight, Thursday 8/30, will be my first broadcast of the season. I've got a new partner, who's a nut. We'll be on 1490am and if things go right we'll be global at protalk1490. Check out the site I did to back things up - blackbearfootball.com.

It's just easier to show how I incurred 2 hours of lost time....

'Scott J. Dummit Presents'

U-Boat Engineering Officer: North Atlantic, 1944 - Naval Engineer's black "leather" jacket and trousers, dark blue cloth officer's cap with insignia, black combat boots, die cast wrench and hammer. Vintage-style figure body....

This figure is an accurate depiction in 1:6 scale of Napoleon Bonaparte as he was in 1805; the year of the Battle of Austerlitz and at the pinnacle of his military glory. He is attired in his favourite uniform of Colonel of Chasseurs '87 Cheval de la Garde Imperiale that was his standard dress while in the field ... with a full assortment of garments and personal belongings including his sword, telescope, watch and even a favourite snuffbox....

Roman Vexillarius- IGN-AR-023 - The "Vexillarius" carried the banners of the Legion. In this case Ignites Vexillarius carries the banner of Legio X Gemina. Set comes with real metal helmet, and two swords. Banner staff is also topped with metal decoration. Figures wears red tunic, simulated mail armour and rubber molded wolf's skin wrap. Accessories include shield, sandals and belt....

Which, of course, led me to

Unbelievable govt. waste

I've always hated farm subsidies, but this is... more than I can bear. Info here & here. More & more I consider finishing my career with another team.

Break out the Glug!!

I'm getting these even if I have to sell my truck-boat-truck.

Squidbillies, Vol. 1 (2005)
Starring: Squidbillies Rating NR

List Price: $29.98
Amazon.com Price: $22.49

This title will be released on October 16, 2007. Pre-order now! Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Squidbillies Logo T-Shirt
at Hot Topic
$18.00
Other Sizes available for $20.00
Tuck that mullet under your trucker hat, call your friends at the NRA and get ready to watch some NASCAR. This cream T-shirt features a brown outlined image of Early Cuyler with the Squidbillies logo below. 100% cotton.

Not just for Travian junkies

Vercingetorix (pronounced [werkiŋgˈetoriks] in Gaulish) (died 46 BC), was chieftain of the Arverni, originating from the Arvernian city of Gergovia and known as the man who led the Gauls in their ultimately unsuccessful war against Roman rule under Julius Caesar. Known primarily through Caesar's accounts, Vercingetorix's revolt is frequently used as a heroic example of Gallic virtue and resolve.

Read it all at Wikipedia.

Gul Elected President To A Divided Turkey

Abdullah Gul is elected as the 11th president of Turkey. In the third round of the election Gul received his own party AKP’s 339 votes out of the 448 MPs present on the floor of the parliament. The main opposition party CHP did not participate.

The parliament is in recess for about two hours after which it will reconvene for the swearing in ceremony of the new president. Gul will take over the presidency tonight in Cankaya (the presidential palace) from Ahmet Necdet Sezer with a modest ceremony.

While massive celebrations are planned in Abdullah Gul’s hometown Kayseri and other places, half of the nation is sad and concerned.

Source: All Turkish dailies, August 28, 2007

Turkish Armed Forces Issued a Stern Statement to Mark Victory Day - One Day Before Gul Becomes President

Turkish Chief of General Staff General Yasar Buyukanit’s written statement came three days before the 85th anniversary of August 30 ‘Victory and Armed Forces Day’ in Turkey.

In his strongly worded message General Buyukanit said, “Sinister plans to destroy the unity of our people and the democratic, secular nature of our country are emerging every day in different shapes and forms. Turkish Armed Forces as it has in the past will continue to guard and protect Turkey as a democratic, secular, social state of law, without compromise.”

Read it all at The MEMRI Turkish Media Blog.

I'll Lower Your Taxes If You Whip It Out

If you're ever approached for sex in a men's restroom, it is now statistically probable that it will be by an elected Republican.

First you have the recent case of Florida Republican Bob Allen, who was caught soliciting sex from a cop in a public restroom. Guess what Bob wanted to pass tougher laws against. Go ahead, guess. That's right: sex in public restrooms! But it was all ok: the blacks scared him into doing it. Oh, what a hilarious misadventure of misplaced shame, self-hatred, and repressed racism that was!

Not to be outdone, Larry Craig, the Republican Senator from Idaho, has plead guilty to lewd behavior in an airport's public restroom. And it looks like he knows how the game works, like this wasn't his first time at the (gay) rodeo. Uck! The thought of that creepy old coot rubbing one out next to the auto driers has caused by scrotum to ascend into my bladder. Thanks for that Larry.

And yes, Larry is a member of the "Singing Senators" barbershop quartet (chuckle, convulse, barf), and--not surprisingly--he doesn't vote very gay-friendly. Give the man credit for not voting with his dick I guess...

Total Lunar Eclipse Tuesday morning

NASA's Lunar Eclipse Page

Shadow & Substance Home Page

MrEclipse.com

Christians Are Beautiful People

From Trading Spouses.

Approved use of carbohydrates (in addition to beer, of course).

Sony Bio Battery powers gadgets on grape juice and sports drinks

Their Rods And Thy Staff

What is it with Christians and whores?

A fairly well-known North Carolina Christian Right activist, who opposed alcohol sales and gay marriage, is found running a prostitution ring. Hey Privette: Jesus ministered to prostitutes, not ad-ministered over prostitutes. If you're not going to bother to follow your trashy book's rules, then we'd appreciate it if you wouldn't insist that the rest of us do.

And if you're really going to be like Jesus, you'll need some young naked men hanging around as well. They let children read this stuff?

That part of my brain which produces cynical, snarky comments has just blown a fuse...

Fallen Pastor Seeks Financial Support

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - The Rev. Ted Haggard, who left the megachurch he founded after admitting to "sexual immorality," has asked supporters for financial assistance while he and his wife pursue their studies.

The former New Life Church pastor plans to seek a master's degree in counseling at the University of Phoenix while his wife studies psychology, he said in an e-mail sent this week to KRDO-TV in Colorado Springs.

The couple and two of their sons planned to move Oct. 1 to the Phoenix Dream Center, a faith-based halfway house in Phoenix, where Haggard and his wife would provide counseling, the e-mail said.

"It looks as though it will take two years for us to have adequate earning power again, so we are looking for people who will help us monthly for two years," the e-mail said. "During that time we will continue as full-time students, and then, when I graduate, we won't need outside support any longer."

Read it all at Breitbart.

Viking Landers may have discovered evidence of life on Mars

Calculating the Biomass of Martian Soil

A new interpretation of data from NASA's Viking landers indicates that 0.1% of the Martian soil tested could have a biological origin.

Dr Joop Houtkooper of the University of Giessen, Germany, believes that the subfreezing, arid Martian surface could be home to organisms whose cells are filled with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water. In a presentation at the European Planetary Science Congress in Potsdam on Friday 24th August, Dr Houtkooper will describe how he has used data from the Gas Exchange (GEx) experiment, carried by NASA's Viking landers, to estimate the biomass in the Martian soil.

Dr Houtkooper said, "The GEx experiment measured unexplained rises in oxygen and carbon dioxide levels when incubating samples. If we assume these gases were produced during the breakdown of organic material together with hydrogen peroxide solution, we can calculate the masses needed to produce the volume of gas measured. From that, we can estimate the total biomass in the sample of Martian soil. It comes out at little more than one part per thousand by weight, comparable to what is found in some permafrost in Antarctica. This might be detectable by instruments on the Phoenix lander, which will arrive at Mars in May next year."

Read it all at Mars Today.

NASA/JPL-Caltech
Viking 2's image of Utopia Planitia on Mars.

Following up on the robot holocaust

Daniel C. Dennett in MIT Technology Review: "It's been 10 years since IBM's Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov in chess. A prominent philosopher asks what the match meant" - article.

What I'm reading...

... when I'm not stuck in Pixieville