Land of Oz

Eating

Usually eating is something I do only too well. However there's some stuff that I've never quite been comfortable with trying to eat. It's not that I don't like the taste of the stuff, it's just that I don't really know how the stuff is supposed to be eaten. I mean, I manage to eat the stuff, but I often wonder is there some secret way that people know to eat it correctly? Am I looking the fool of all fools when I blithely wade into a meal and eat it? Here's some of the stuff I'm not quite sure of:

Pumpkin seeds - how do you get them out of the shell?

pomegranate - there's got to be an easier way than chewing the seeds and spitting them out.

Indian food - is it OK to soak up the sauce with your naan?

Kiwi - do you peel, scoop out the innards, or eat the skin?

Boiled shrimp - what is OK to leave? Can the black vein cause problems?

Chicken/Turkey - how much meat can one leave on the bones without appearing too picky? Can you use a knife and fork?

Soup - can you pick up the bowl and drink?

Fried eggs - how can anyone eat those slimy things?

Pork chop - what's the proper way to eat with chopsticks and no knife?

Chilis - the hot tiny dried Chinese red ones - do you eat them or leave them?

Moldy Cheddar - can you cut off the mold and then eat?

Just wondering...

2fers: Dining 1 and Dining 2

Holocaust

I know this will piss people off and probably cause me to be accused of all kinds of anti-whatever feelings, but here goes. Why is the holocaust such a big deal. First, let me say that I'm not one of those who don't believe it happened - I firmly believe people are more than capable of doing something so despicable. My question is why is it that the holocaust gets so much publicity while other genocides are hardly ever mentioned. By the way, this entry is going to be laid a little differently from the others I've done. You will find many more links within the text in this one. So, on this 60th anniversary of Auschwitz, along with the Jews, remember the other millions and millions and millions who have been murdered as well.

One of the biggest pieces of crap I heard today was that the Russian leader had the gall to talk about the holocaust and how the Soviets did more than anyone else to fight fascism. What about the 50 million or so you guys wiped out in your gulags? I take it that was a service to the world too?

Or the Brits who tried to "...Measures to be taken as would Bring about the Total Extirpation of those Indian Nations"...

not to mention the USof A who later did its best to exterminate the inconvenient natives...

or maybe Rwanda in 1994 until most of the 800,000 victims had been murdered...

not to mention Japan and Nanking or perhaps Japan's Unit 731...

not that China is any better, it had its celebrated Cultural Revolution - killing by any other name...

What I'm trying to say is that the Jews don't have a lock on being murdered in vast quantities. The world seems to be an equal opportunity place for killing in massive numbers. Whoever you may be, there's probably some "government" out there who wants you out of the way - preferably dead. They don't need much of an excuse either. Whether it was 200 years ago, 60 years ago or next month - skin color, religion, gender, place of birth, ancestors, or just because they don't like you - there's always going to be someone or something who wants others dead.

Where on Earth?

I was looking at the referral log for this site recently and noticed someone had found my blog after searching for Cape Romanzof. There's probably a pretty small number of folks who'd ever heard of Cape Romanzof, let alone search for it. For the %99.999+ of those reading this who have no idea what or where it is, let me inform you that it's an old Air Force site about midway up the west coast of Alaska near Hooper and Scammon Bays. It was built in the 50s as one the many, many DEW sites during the cold war. And for those of you too young to understand DEW, it stands for Distant Early Warning and was the name of a ring of radar sites that circled the US watching out for a Soviet air attack.

Cape Romanzof was built in the cone of a thankfully, extinct volcano. The radar units were on the crest of the cone, the main camp was nestled inside the cone, and a road followed an old lava flow down to the beach where the airstrip and weather station were located. There was probably less than 100 guys there at any one time (and it was guys up until the time I left in 1976). Now most of those sites are either gone or in some cases, automated, or in even rarer cases upgraded and still around. I was a heavy equipment operator at the time - plowed snow in the winter and graded roads in the summer. Since the place changed to civilian contractors before my year was up, I never had a chance to learn how to operate the cable car that connected the lower and upper camps together. I finished my one year tour on Shemya - yet another strange Alaska air site, this time in the Aleutian islands.

Anyway, since this hit brought up some old USAF memories, I thought I'd list where I'd been stationed over my 22 years, which in turn will probably bring even more folks here looking for old military memories. Lackland AFB TX, Dover AFB DE, Cape Romanzof AK, Shemya AFS AK, McConnell AFB KS, RAF Upper Heyford UK, Lowry AFB CO, Rimini AFS IT, Keesler AFB MS, Clear AFS AK, Peterson AFB CO, Dhaharan SA, Osan AB ROK, Castle AFB CA. I'm not listing all TDYs, but some are Thule AFS GL, Cape Cod AFS MA, NATO Shape School GE, RAF Croughton UK, Randolf AFB TX, Cavalier AFS ND, Eielson AFB AK, Eglin AFS FL and others.

2fers: NATO Shape School and DEW Line

Darwin

Have you ever wondered that we are tossing evolution out the window. All that survival of the fittest and stuff. I sometimes think we're heading the human race along the road to extinction - not that's necessarily a bad thing.

I don't mean just all the diseases and physical impairments, but of course they do mean something. After all, with my eye sight, I wouldn't last two hours in the wild. I'd not be able to see a predator heading my way until it was 4 feet away. Not to mention the fact that since I was an incubator baby, I wouldn't have lasted the delivery anyway.

I mean mostly just the sheer stupidity of people. This weekend is a prime example. Let me give just two examples of Darwin tossed on its ear. This is Michigan and it's wintertime. There have been blizzard warnings, wind warnings, winter storm warnings, and every other kind of nasty weather warnings since Thursday. So what do two of humankinds' finest do this weekend? They wander off onto the Saginaw Bay ice and surprisingly enough get lost. I haven't heard if they've been found yet. The last news I saw was that the search was called off because of bad weather - yes bad weather. Does it really take a rocket scientist to know that walking onto a flat featureless plain of ice in the middle of a blizzard is not a good thing?

Today, there was another news report of another genius sinking into a river after driving his snowmobile on the ice. Rivers are running water and running water doesn't freeze that fast. Add the fact that just a week or so ago it was raining cats and dogs (note: rain is not ice). Again this nuclear physicist must have figured that if the ice was dangerous to walk on, a snowmobile would be safer.

Come on people. You can get hypothermia in a summer time thunderstorm when the weather is in the 70s. What on earth do you expect when it's 9 degrees and the wind is blowing 30 miles per hour?? You're going to freeze to death unless you're very, very careful. We lost people in Alaska who tried to walk from one building to another across the street and they got lost and froze to death yards from a nice warm hallway. What the heck do you expect walking onto a frozen Michigan bay in January?

2fers: Darwin Awards and Darwin Award Wannabees

Shoveling Snow

As I'm writing this, it's about 5 degrees with a 30 mph wind howling outside. The snow has quit, but about 10 inches came down since last night. Today, I ended up shoveling the snow twice. Once this morning, and after the wind put all the snow back, again this afternoon. I can't complain too much about the winds today. The way the wind blew this morning most of my driveway was clear and the neighbors managed to collect most of the wind blown snow.

However, I really don't mind the snow that much. Especially the type of snow we've been getting lately. Nice dry, cold snow that doesn't clump or stick. You see, I don't use one of those smoke belching, eardrum rupturing gas powered snow blowers to move my snow. Just like my push reel lawn mower, I much prefer the quit and low hassle manual stuff. However, it's not all money since I will admit to being a bit of a snow shovel snob.

When I first moved to the house I bought the usual $12 aluminum cheapy snow shovel which all too soon wore out - both times. I finally decided to spend some bucks and buy a "good" shovel. For pushing most snow, I invested near $40 in a heavy Garant Yukon steel snow shovel that was designed to push snow (and made in Canada - eh?). For dry fluffy stuff like we've had for awhile, it's great. To move the big piles around, I then invested around $30 in a big Aluminum scoop shovel. Which stangely enough after buying the "feed" shovel in a farm store, has a note on it that states the lifetime warranty doesn't apply to agricultural use.

So what happens is I push the stuff around into big piles with the Yukon and then move the big piles around with the scoop shovel, and follow up with my cheapy aluminum shovel to clean up the small corners and finish things off with a straw broom. It's actually a pretty good way to get some exercise. Sorta a zen in shoveling.

Every now and then however, I do look a little lustfully at the big shiny snow blowers sitting in Sears - usually when I've finished shoveling snow in a blizzard while suffering from a cold - like this week. Sigh...

2fers: Garant Yukon steel snow shovel and Tractor Supply aluminum scoop shovel.

Spam2

I finally figured it out. One of you idiots out there is answering the spam they're getting! The only reason people (and I use the term loosely) would send out spam is because someone, somewhere it answering the crap. Look a the subject list I've taken at random from the 168 odd spams I got the last night or two. And by the way, this is by no means the most disgusting of the subject listing.

Why on earth would anyone in their right mind (that probably being the problem) even think about dealing with a company that would put out material like that. Do you really think ordering medicine from a company that spell viagra is safe? Are you really going to take it even assuming they delivered it? Or how about stock from a company that spells it st0ck?

Really folks - get a grip. These spam idiots aren't sending stuff out just for the heck of it. They have to be making enough money to justify their internet connection. And these guys aren't using a slow cheap dial-up account (of course except for the accounts they've hijacked). No, they are making money and the reason they're making money is that idiots like you are giving them money for the crap they supposedly sell. So STOP IT!

Marmaduke

is one of my most hated comics. I mean really. Can you imagine living in a neighborhood with a huge dog running loose? Are kids really going to be happy with a dog bigger than them comes bounding up barking and slobbering and slavering all over the yard?

I know people look at their own pets as nice a friendly animals who wouldn't hurt a flea - but... The last dog who bit me was a dog "who wouldn't hurt anyone." And of course, "we don't understand why it went after you." And naturally behind one's back they figure you must have been teasing or otherwise bothering the dog. Well, you know? I didn't do crap except walk to our car when the mongrel decided that my thigh looked his lunch.

So don't give me that he won't hurt a flea crap. No matter how much you like it and kiss it and pet it and buy it funny clothes, it is still an animal. And animals don't always act like you'd expect them to. So please keep your dog under control. While it may not attack you (unfortunately) it may well attack me. And even if it doesn't I don't need the aggravation of wondering if the stupid animal is going to decide once again that my thigh makes a nice appetizer.

"It has been estimated that about 4.5 million people (nearly 2% of the U.S. population) are bitten by dogs each year."

2fers: Michigan Dog Bite Center and Real Dog Control

Vietnam

I got a book out of the library this weekend about the air war in Vietnam. (Air War in Vietnam by Phil Chinnery) I enlisted in the air force in 1973 - right at the end of the war. I knew a lot of guys who had spent time there and elsewhere in SEA theater. The book's copyright is 1987 and there are two postscripts in it. The first was about the POW/MIA problem of 2500 GIs still missing at the time of publication.

The second was a table about the aircraft loses from 1962-1973. I won't include all the listing, but just a few listed. The Air Force lost 2251; the Navy 878; the Marines lost 700; and the Army 4760. The Army total included 2590 Huey helicopters. Two of my favorite aircraft, the F-4 and F-105 lost a total of 669 and 397 respectively. 26 B-52s and 56 B-57s were lost along with 55 C-130s. That quantity is quite amazing.

The totals were 3720 fixed wing and 4868 helicopter losses, with a total of 8588 for a total cost of $6907 million. That's a lot of aircraft.

2fers: USAF and Vietnam Air War

You're getting old when...

There are a lot of lists and other sayings that follow this, but it struck me pretty forcibly the other day. I was walking in one of the local megastores looking for cereal and began to hum along with the background music. I decided that now that one of my favorite songs was being played as background music I was officially old. It was by the way, the Eurythmics.

I was also looking for a bran cereal and ignoring all the big brand titles, like Cheerios and Kellogs Corn Flakes for the generic equivalents. I know when I was young that Lucky Charms was much better tasting than the Meijer's magic symbol stuff and that all that sugar was so much better than plain stuff. Of course now I buy Kroger's or Meijer's corn flakes or "toasted oat circles" and enjoy them just fine.

My CDs all seem to be copyrighted sometime before the late 90s and my mailbox is full of magazines with back page ads that sell velcro sneakers and elastic pants "just like those brand name ones" at 3 for $30.

The Salvation Army routinely takes off their 15% senior's discount and Macdonalds usually offers me a cheap cup of coffee when I occasionally stop for my late breakfast. A few years ago, my glasses got that nasty streak across the middle called a bifocal and now I'm wearing "progressive" lenses - not only did I have to get bifocals, I'm now wearing trifocals.

Another right of passing last week was a colonoscopy - thankfully everything came out OK - and yes that was a pun. I'm not totally over the hill yet however.

I'm not wearing a white belt and my pants haven't been pulled up over my belly button. My VCR isn't blinking 12:00 and I am writing this on an operating computer of which I understand a great deal. My first computer came with 16K and cost $900 and I still have my first slide rule. I do know the difference between MP3, DVD, WiFi and AARP. I don't drive a blue Buick, but I do drive a New Beetle, which is probably close. On the other hand, while I do own a cell phone, I pretty much hate using the damn thing - and really hate listening to others use it. Rap is something I do with my knuckles and a reality show is Nova on PBS.

2fers: The "Good" old days (not really) and The "Good" old days 2 - (don't believe it)

boyz in the hood

I just rewatched the movie, Boyz N the Hood and it brought up a couple of interesting points. The main one being that there was a news show about the problem people of the world and there was nothing about the USofA in it.

Think about it. Every day or so, you hear about a few folks being shot or bombed in Faluja, or Sri Lanka, or Chechnia, but when's the last time South Central (which has been renamed to make it less memorable - or swept under the rug maybe) came up in the news as a community deserving federal aid?

This weekend two kids got shot in our little town - and nearly 20 have been murdered during 2004. The look of downtown Saginaw isn't really that much different from Bosnia or Serbia. Half the buildings have been torn down and probably one quarter of what's left is in ruins. Homes all over town, not just the bad side of town are boarded up or full of trash and garbage. I took the wrong turn one night a couple of summers ago and actually feared for my life when a mob started towards my car.

You got babies raising babies and kids killing kids every day all across America. You got old folks trying to decide between their medicine and a cheap meal. You got soup kitchens in most cities that can't keep up with the demand and even young folks in pretty good jobs are putting off medical treatment because they can't afford it even with company supplied health care. And CEOs are getting fired but paid millions for bankrupting companies.

I know the US is a heck of a lot better than a lot of other countries, and I'm not saying the rest of the world doesn't deserve help, but I am saying there's a hell of a lot of folks right here in the USA who can use a hand as well.

L.A. or Third World? and Criminal Victimization

Fun and Games

What has the prez done for us lately? Iraq seems to be a mess and the chem-bio weapons have never turned up - however Michigan is coming up on the flu peak, and I can't get a flu vaccine for the first time in 30 years. And there was a chlorine leak the other day down in South Carolina that killed at least 9.

The guy at the Post Office yesterday looked at the package I picked up and said I won't be doing that much longer. I got a cell phone charger from Canada and he seemed to think I was bringing in drugs.

Basically it isn't torture unless you kill someone. And while they are tiptoeing around that definition, Bush has reserved the option to call for torture.
And like I alluded to earlier, the government can keep you in jail forever - even if they don't any proof that you did something illegal.

And the pres says that we will be going to a hydrogen based transport plan. However, there is no option to generate hydrogen right now except for using the inplace fossil fuel which means that instead of burning up fossil fuels directly, we get to put another layer of inefficiency between the wells and the roads.

And this year brings up increased med care costs and lessened coverage at my company and I can look forward to a Social Security system based on the same economic outlook that caused stocks to go from $40 when I started my job to zip - zero - nada - four years later. What's to keep whatever scumbag company I stick my Social Security account into declaring bankruptcy six months later. The CEO of that company would retire with his multi-million golden parachute and I'd get to look forward to being one of the mindless smiling greeters at WalMart when I'm 70.

And aren't we all looking forward to his $20 million inauguration, which would cost $5 million more than his initial monetary offer (after three days of whatever) towards international relief efforts.

2fers: Whitehouse.Gov and Whitehouse.Org

Naturally

And the reason I was driving to the Post Office. I'd gotten a package delivery notice earlier in the week and was expecting another today. The Post Office closes at noon on Saturdays. I figured I'd wait today until the mail was delivered to see if another package would make it. I waited until 11:30. It's about ten or fifteen minutes to the Post Office and the roads are covered in snow and ice.

At 11:30 there was no sign of the mail, so I left for the Post Office. Read the previous post to learn about that stop. I got back about 11:50 - and yes, I'm sure you guessed, the mail had been delivered. The only good part, kind of, was the package notice wasn't there. I'd have really liked to get the package, but at least I didn't miss the package by 15 minutes.

Sigh...

Aargh!

Idiot drivers. This morning I went to the Post Office to pick up a package. There was some idiot parked across the last two parking slots in the lot. I should mention that these are the normal pull in slots. This nitwit was in some old SUV with busted mirrors and the usual assortment of low-life dents and dings. He was towards the end of the lot. As I was waiting some others came out and got into their cars.

So while I was waiting for them to get into their car and pull out so I could park, the idiot's passenger came out and got in the SUV and went to back out. I guess it was small of me, but instead of backing out of the way, I waited for the other car to pull out. After I pull into the slot, the idiot gives me this "what is YOUR problem look." If he hadn't taken up two slots, both of us could've gotten our business done quicker.

And naturally, while I'm pulling out of the parking lot - which is marked with one way signs and arrows - some other idiot in one of those huge Buick I wanna be a school bus car comes in the wrong way.

And what is it with burned out lights?? Today I must have seen a dozen cars with burned out headlights, taillights and running lights. One of them was a minivan with about 400 extra yellow running lights - and a burned out headlight. Fix the regular ones, then add extras.

And yes - turn signals do have a purpose other than supplying a handle to hang your extra keys from. Turn them on before you turn, not after - and turn them off if you're not going to turn.

And yes - snow and ice and below freezing temperatures make for slippery streets. Plan on them. You need to slow down for a turn otherwise you're going to hit my car as you slip through the intersection. If you can't get a handle on cold weather driving get your ass to Florida or Arizona instead of Michigan.

2fers: Traffic signs and I'm not alone

Lost and Found

What happens to stuff when you can't find it? I watched a TV show the other night that had one idea that made me think about it. In that case it was stuff that is lost forever. However, I wonder about what happens to stuff you lose temporarily.

For instance, I lose my car keys fairly often - couple times a month or so. Where do they go while I can't find them? They don't disappear, since I keep finding them, but they must go someplace since I can't find them. Do they physically disappear, or just mentally disappear?

I think maybe they slip temporarily into some kind of a lost warp zone. Maybe it's subspace - you know, where the Enterprise radio signals go. It must be some rift that opens and closes. It's probably some type of a wave that travels around. When it hits an area or somehow reacts with our normal space, some stuff falls in and is lost. While some stuff does get lost forever, most just gets moved around.

For instance, you put your keys on the counter just like you always do, the warp riffles through and woof - they're gone. Now, if you're really unlucky, they're gone forever. I think the warp can sense your need and the more you need the item, the more lost that item will get. For the most part, as the warp shifts through the area, the item eventually gets barfed back out. That's why those keys you're sure you put on the counter end up being found under the couch cushions where you haven't been all day. You did leave them on the counter, but the warp moved them to the counter.

Since the warp is extra-dimensional to our dimensions, the item can appear anywhere. That's why you finally find the sales slip in the basement, when you're sure you left it in your car. What this means of course, is that no matter what you do, you're going to lose stuff. And it's going to end up where you least expect it. So it doesn't matter where's the last place you had the item - the warp is going to move it someplace else.

2fers: Michigan Lost Stuff and U.S. Lost Stuff

Tsunami News

By the way, absolutely nothing you donate to this site will be passed on in support of tsunami victims. However 93% of any donations will be passed on to a local charity - City Rescue Mission of Saginaw.

Now This is Scary

From Los Angeles Times Staff and Wire Reports

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Sunday dismissed as "a bad idea" a reported U.S. government plan to keep some suspected terrorists in custody for their lifetime, even if there was not enough evidence to bring them before a judge.

Do you realize this means that the government can keep you - yes you, this isn't limited to guys with beards who pray 5 times a day - in custody for the rest of your life without any evidence that you have done anything wrong? Doesn't that bother you?

Unless this is changed, the terrorists have won. They beat us. The United States, Land of the Free, is now a police state where the accused no longer have any rights. All that has to happen is that someone, somewhere in the government takes a dislike to you and accuses you of terrorist activities. Bingo, you're in jail for the rest of your life. And what a jail. You won't be tortured, unless sleeping handcuffed in freezing or boiling rooms with bright lights and loud music, makes you uncomfortable. You will have no contact with anyone unless the government approves it, so who do you think you'll complain to?

I can just hear George Orwell now, "see, I told you so, but you wouldn't believe me would you, said it couldn't happen didn't you, only crackpot extremism on my part wasn't it. How long before you say, "do it to Julia.""

2fers: Room 101 and Big Brother Awards

Rehash Time

Don't look now, but just about every publication right now is rehashing the last 365 days. Who really cares about who's best or worst of 2004. It's over and done with and let's get on with things. I'm sure 2005 will suck just as much as 2004 did and in just another 364 days we can rehash the happenings of 2005 all over.

Yes, you can count on each top and bottom ten consisting mostly of stuff you don't agree with. Whether it was the stupidist person or act of 2004 or the greatest thing that ever happened of 2004. That's what people like about lists - they can alwasy disagree with them.

Here's my list of 2004 happenings: stuff got blown up, burned down, designed, built, bought and sold; people gave birth, died and changed jobs; prices went up, down and stayed the same; employement was good or bad depending on if you had a job or not; stocks went up and did great or dropped and did bad; religion killed folks, saved folks, gave away money, took money, cheated, lied and did good and bad.

And next year, I'll drag this out of the archives, change 2004 to 2005 and repost it.

Happy New Year - fooey.