>Take Me To Your Leader

>Two new polls report that former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh are the most powerful conservatives in the country. According to a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair survey, 26 percent of Americans rate Limbaugh as the most influential conservative voice, followed by Fox News host Glenn Beck at 11 percent. In a Washington Post poll, a plurality of Republicans say Palin best reflects their “party’s core values,” and they would vote for her “if the presidential nomination battle were held today.” Two people who don’t fare as well in the Post poll are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney:

Just 1 percent pick George W. Bush as the best reflection of the party’s principles, and only a single person in the poll cites former vice president Richard B. Cheney. About seven in 10 say Bush bears at least “some” of the blame for the party’s problems.

The Post surveyed 804 “Republicans and Republican-leaning nonpartisans” for its sample. Palin is particularly popular amongst the “loyal followers of Limbaugh and Beck.” “Overall, 18 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents cited her as the person most representative of the party’s core values. … Among those who regularly listen to Limbaugh, however, Palin was cited by 48 percent, and among Beck’s viewers, it was 35 percent, far surpassing others.”

>The Milky Way

>

All-Sky Milky Way Panorama
Credit & Copyright: Axel Mellinger (Central Mich. U)

Explanation: If you could go far away from the Earth and look around the entire sky — what would you see? Such was the goal of the All-Sky Milky Way Panorama 2.0 project of Axel Mellinger. Presented above is the result: a digital compilation of over 3,000 images comprising the highest resolution digital panorama of the entire night sky yet created. An interactive zoom version, featuring over 500 million pixels, can be found here. Every fixed astronomical object visible to the unaided eye has been imaged, including every constellation, every nebula, and every star cluster. Moreover, millions of individual stars are also visible, all in our Milky Way Galaxy, and many a thousand times fainter than a human can see. Dark filaments of dust lace the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy, visible across the image center. The satellite galaxies Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are visible on the lower right. This was not the first time Dr. Mellinger has embarked on such a project: the results of his first All-Sky Milky Way Panorama Project, taken using photographic film, are visible here.

>TOYS TOYS TOYS

>

These are Zhu Zhu Pets. They are the hottest toys for this Christmas. A check of Google showed they are out of stock in most stores including the big stores. You might find one in a smaller store. Ebay had over 20 thousand entries for this item, and the prices were high.

I won’t and never have shopped on Black Friday (today). Good luck if you do. I heard of one store opening at midnight, a few at 3am, and many at 4-5-6 am. This is nuts. The poor retail employees. Last year a shopper died trying to get in the door of a major retailer. Sad.

We are a consumer nation, so go consume. It can only be good for the current economy. Be careful out there.

I advise giving charitable donations, in the name of your friend, in place of presents. Of course that will not work for small children, and they don’t understand a bad economy. So add one new toy to your list and donate it to a childrens charity.

Have fun, pump money into the economy.

>Thanksgiving Eve Day

>I had a lot on my list to do yesterday. I knew it was going to be a busy, hectic day. It has been raining all night. A cold rain. I heard the weather report before I went to bed last night. The rain is supposed to turn to snow in the afternoon. So I thought I would get an early start and be home before the snow came. The streets and the stores were busy.

First stop, the bank of course. On my way to the grocery store, my truck died in the middle of a busy street, in a heavy, cold rain. It was something electrical. A young guy in a beat up old junker stopped, came to my window, and told me to pop the hood. I got out and checked under the hood with him.

It was pouring out, and we both got drenched in minutes. My alternator was bad. There was an auto shop just two blocks away, but the truck would have to be pushed, or towed with no power steering, or brakes. The guy got a tow chain out of his trunk and hooked the vehicles together. We were both soaked by then, and the rain started to turn to snow.

Towing my truck two blocks was harder than I thought it would be. We got to the auto parts store, they had no service bays. The clerk at the store said since I did not live to far away, if I charged my battery maybe I could get back to my garage and get towed to a service garage from there.

So I went back out in the snow storm and disconnected my battery, carried it into the store and had it charged. Then I carried the battery back out in the storm and reconnected it. I turned off everything electrical including the heat and lights, and drove off. My house was five blocks away.

I made it back to my house. I had to get out and open the garage door, and just then the vehicle died again. I pushed the truck into the garage.

I called a service garage to set up a time to have a new alternator put in. I figured I would be without transportation for the Holiday weekend. It’s been three hours since I first left on my mission of errands, and I was totally wet and cold.

The service garage guy said he could fix it today. It would take about an hour to put in a new alternator, and the towing would be free. I could not pass that up, as much as I wanted to just hit the shower and start a fire.

So I went back out in the storm, pushed my truck out of the garage and waited for the tow truck. The tow truck showed up five minutes later. We got to the service garage and they started on the job immediately. In 40 minutes my truck was fixed and running great. Minus 250 bucks, I headed home.

I gave up on finishing the errands and went straight home It has now been six hours since I left home to do my errands. The whole incident was a bummer, but I thought I was lucky to get the truck fixed the same day.

It was snowing very hard on my drive back to home. When I walked in the house, the first thing I did was to light a fire in the fireplace. I stripped in front of the fire and headed to the shower. That hot shower felt so good. I put on a bathrobe, started the tea kettle, and put two chicken breasts in the oven to roast.

I sat in front of the fire sipping hot tea, and just relaxing. Before I knew it, the chicken was done. I ate the chicken in front of the fire and sat warming by the fire for another two hours. I went to bed and slept great.

After the day I had, sitting by the fire for hours felt great. I had not allowed myself to get that wet and cold, for years. It’s not a good idea, or healthy.

That’s how my Thanksgiving Eve day went. How was yours?

Thank you Jeff H. for helping me out !!!!!

>NASA

>

Planetary Smash-Up

This artist’s concept shows a celestial body about the size of our moon slamming at great speed into a body the size of Mercury. NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope found evidence that a high-speed collision of this sort occurred a few thousand years ago around a young star, called HD 172555, still in the early stages of planet formation. The star is about 100 light-years from Earth.

It is the destiny for some things to collide, and nothing can stop that collision. It is the same with people, politics, and Nations. What does the most damage–the first blast, or the lingering effects?

>IT’S BEEN A WHILE

>

I’m
Back

That’s right, I’m back.

I used to post everyday, then nothing for over 6 weeks. Sorry.

There is a good reason, but I’m not into writing about my depressing, boring medical problems. Suffice it to say that I never saw the tunnel of white light.

Besides, my idea of Heaven is this car and no speed limits.

Nice to see the world of politics is as it was before I took my little trip, ridiculous.

I did not expect Rush to become a “nice” guy in 6 weeks. Let him have his NFL team, and be glad he’s not financially supporting a Little League Baseball team.

Neither did I expect President Obama to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Did I miss something?

I will try to post on a regular basis, but that depends on a lot of things. Blogging is one of the things I can do. Sit, type, read, and spew my questionable thinking.

Speaking of questionable thinking…the Health Care Bill from the Finance Committee could only have come from the mind of an overpaid Health Care lobbyist. The industry gets millions of new (forced to buy) customers and the rest of us get a raise in our insurance premiums. I advise buying stock in Health Care Corporations.

>IS IT ALIVE ?

>

>M.C. Escher A Graphic Artist

>

M. C. Esher (in photo) was a left handed graphic artist. He worked in many mediums, but was famous for his woodcuts. All these pieces are woodcuts. The color work above (Sun and Moon) is my favorite. The detail shows his craftsmanship. A true artist. If you would like to learn more about him, check out his official website here

There is more to his pieces, than the image you see at first glance. They are geometric illusions.

>WOODSTOCK – 40 Years Ago

>

Woodstock 1969

Performance Lineup

Day One: Friday, August 15 1969

Richie Havens

1. Minstrel From Gault

2. High Flyin’ Bird
3. I Can’t Make It Anymore
4. With A Little Help
5. Strawberry Fields For Ever
6. Hey Jude
7. I Had A Woman
8. Handsome Johnny
9. Freedom

Sweetwater

1. Motherless Child
2. Look Out
3. For Pete’s Sake
4. Day Song

5. What’s Wrong
6. Crystal Spider
7. Two Worlds
8. Why Oh Why

Bert Sommer

1. Jennifer
2. The Road To Travel
3. I wondered where you’d be

4. She’s Gone
5. Things Are Going My Way
6. And When It’s Over
7. Jeanette
8. America (first standing ovation at Woodstock)

9. A Note That Read
10. Smile

Tim Hardin

1. Misty Roses
2. If I Were A Carpenter

Ravi Shankar

1. Raga Puriya-Dhanashri / Gat In Sawarital

2. Tabla Solo In Jhaptal
3. Raga Manj Kmahaj / Alap Jor / Dhun In Kaharwa Tal / Medium & Fast Gat In Teental

Melanie

1. Beautiful People

2. Birthday Of The Sun

Arlo Guthrie

1. Coming Into Los Angeles
2. Walking Down The Line
3. Amazing Grace

Joan Baez

1. Joe Hill
2. Sweet Sir Galahad
3. Drug Store Truck Driving Man
4. Swing Low Sweet Chariot
5. We Shall Overcome

Day Two: Saturday, August 16 1969

Quill

1. Waitin’ For You

Country Joe McDonald

1. I Find Myself Missing You

2. Rockin’ All Around The World
3. Flyin’ High All Over The World
4. Seen A Rocket
5. Fish Cheer / I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixing-To-Die-Rag

John B. Sebastian

1. How Have You Been
2. Rainbows All Over Your Blues
3. I Had A Dream

4. Darlin’ Be Home Soon
5. Younger Generation

Keef Hartley Band

1. Believe In You
2. Rock Me Baby
3. Leavin’ Trunk/Halfbreed/Just To Cry/And Sinnin’ For You

Santana

1. Persuasion

2. Savor

3. Soul Sacrifice
4. Fried Neckbones

Incredible String Band

1. Catty Come
2. This Moment Is Different
3. When You Find Out Who You Are

Canned Heat

1. I’m Her Man
2. Going Up the Country

3. A Change Is Gonna Come
4. Leaving This Town

5. The Bear Talks
6. Let’s Work Together
7. Too Many Drivers at the Wheel
8. I Know My Baby
9. Woodstock Boogie
10. On the Road Again

Grateful Dead

1. St. Stephen
2. Mama Tried
3. Dark Star / High Time
4. Turn On Your Lovelight

Leslie West & Mountain

1. Blood Of The Sun
2. Stormy Monday
3. Theme From An Imaginary Western
4. Long Red
5. For Yasgur’s Farm

6. You And Me
7. Waiting To Take You Away
8. Dreams Of Milk And Honey
9. Blind Man
10. Blue Suede Shoes
11. Southbound Train

Creedence Clearwater Revival

1. Born On The Bayou

2. Green River
3. Ninety-Nine And A Half
4. Commotion
5. Bootleg
6. Bad Moon Rising
7. Proud Mary
8. I Put A Spell On You
9. Night Time Is The Right Time
10. Keep On Choogin’
11. Suzy Q

Janis Joplin

1. Raise Your Hand
2. As Good As You’ve Been To This World
3. To Love Somebody

4. Summertime
5. Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)
6. Kosmic Blues
7. Can’t Turn You Loose

8. Work Me Lord
9. Piece Of My Heart
10. Ball and Chain

Sly & The Family Stone

1. M’Lady
2. Sing A Simple Song
3. You Can Make It If You Try
4. Stand!
5. Love City
6. Dance To The Music
7. Music Lover
8. I Want To Take You Higher

The Who

1. Heaven And Hell
2. I Can’t Explain

3. It’s A Boy
4. 1921

5. Amazing Journey
6. Sparks
7. Eyesight To The Blind
8. Cristmas

9. Tommie Can You Hear Me
10. Acid Queen
11. Pinball Wizard
12. Abbie Hoffmann Incident
13. Fiddle About
14. There’s A Doctor I’ve Found
15. Go To The Mirror Boy
16. Smash The Mirror
17. I’m Free
18. Tommy’s Holiday Camp
19. We’re Not Gonna Take It
20. See Me Feel Me
21. Summertime Blues
22. Shakin’ All Over
23. My Generation
24. Naked Eye

Jefferson Airplane

1. The Other Side Of This Life

2. Plastic Fantastic Lover
3. Volunteers
4. Saturday Afternoon / Won’t You Try

5. Eskimo Blue Day
6. Uncle Sam’s Blues
7. Somebody To Love
8. White Rabbit

Day Three: Sunday, August 17 1969

Joe Cocker

1. Delta Lady
2. Some Things Goin’ On
3. Let’s Go Get Stoned
4. I Shall Be Released
5. With A Little Help From My Friends

Country Joe & The Fish

1. Barry’s Caviar Dream
2. Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine
3. Rock And Soul Music

4. Thing Called Love
5. Love Machine
6. Fish Cheer / I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixing-To-Die-Rag

Ten Years After

1. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
2. I Can’t Keep From Crying Sometimes

3. I May Be Wrong, But I Won’t Be Wrong Always
4. I’m Going Home

The Band

1. Chest Fever
2. Don’t Do It
3. Tears Of Rage
4. We Can Talk About It Now
5. Long Black Veil

6. Don’t Ya Tell Henry
7. Ain’t No More Cane on the Brazos
8. Wheels On Fire

9. Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
10. The Weight

Johnny Winter

1. More And More

2. I Love You Baby More Than You Ever Know
3. Spinning Wheel
4. I Stand Accused
5. Something Coming On

Blood Sweat And Tears

1. Mean Town Blues

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

1. Suite Judy Blue Eyes
2. Blackbird
3. Helplessly Hoping
4. Guinnevere
5. Marrakesh Express
6. 4 + 20
7. Mr Soul
8. Wonderin’

9. You Don’t Have To Cry
10. Pre-Road Downs
11. Long Time Gone
12. Bluebird Revisited
13. Sea Of Madness
14. Wooden Ships
15. Find The Cost Of Freedom
16. 49 Bye-Byes

Day Four: Monday, August 18 1969

Paul Butterfield Blues Band

1. Everything’s Gonna Be Alright
2. Driftin’
3. Born Under A Bad Sign
4. All My Love Comin’ Through To You
5. Love March

Sha Na Na

1. Na Na Theme
2. Jakety Jak

3. Teen Angel
4. Jailhouse Rock
5. Wipe Out
6. Who Wrote The Book Of Love
7. Duke Of Earl
8. At The Hop
9. Na Na Theme

Jimi Hendrix

1. Message To Love
2. Getting My Heart Back Together Again
3. Spanish Castle Magic
4. Red House
5. Master Mind
6. Here Comes Your Lover Man
7. Foxy Lady
8. Beginning
9. Izabella
10. Gypsy Woman
11. Fire
12. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) / Stepping Stone
13. Star Spangled Banner
14. Purple Haze
15. Woodstock Improvisation / Villanova Junction
16. Hey Joe

There were almost 500,000 people there. There was a shortage of food, water, and toilets, but no one got hurt and there were no fights reported. There was some bad acid and people did get sick. There was a huge traffic jam. As you just read, the performers were the best.

Just a month after man had landed on the Moon. The Vietnam war protests were at their height. The bloody riots at the Chicago Democratic National convention were just a year before, and so were the murders of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. Nixon was President, but Watergate was in the future, so were the killings at Kent State.

Some of the bands that declined the invitation to play at Woodstock were: The Doors, Led Zepplin, Jethro Tull, The Byrds, Bob Dylan, The Moody Blues, Joni Mitchell, and Tommy James and the Shondells.

>Mustard Marinated Grilled Steak

>

The Steak:

Choose a good steak for grilling. A cut with medium marbling is best. Trim off excess fat. Fat should be about 1/8th of an inch. Fat adds to the taste, but to much fat will just make fire flares while grilling. The steak should be 1 and 1/2 inch thick to 2 inches thick. This will allow for good outside blackening while the inside remains pink and juicy.

I prefer a New York Strip steak, but this recipe is great for any beef steak; T-bone, Porterhouse, Sirloin, etc. This marinade is especially good for tenderizing cheaper cuts.

The Recipe:

I got this recipe from my father. He got it from a chef in New York. Mustard marinades for beef are nothing new. This is a simple recipe, that tenderizes beef while giving a great taste.

The mustard, salt, and wine vinegar work together to break down the marbling, making for a tender “butter knife” steak.

Mustard Marinade for Grilled Steak

4 ounces (1/2 cup) of plain salad mustard

1-1/2 ounce of Red Wine Vinegar

2-tablespoons of table salt

Stir ingredients together

Spread on steak and pierce with a fork

Flip the steak over and repeat – marinate both sides

Let steaks marinade at room temp for 5 hours.

This amount should cover one large (2-4lbs) steak, or two smaller steaks. Multiply recipe for more, or bigger steaks.

Another one of my favorites, is an Eye of the Round roast in this marinade, over night in the refrigerator. Grilled to medium rare, and sliced thin.

Grilling

You don’t have to, but I use Hickory wood chips in the grill to add flavor. Soak the wood chips in water for about 2 hours before adding to the grill. Add them just before you put the steaks on the grill. Spread them around the out side of the hot coals.

Whatever grill you use, it is better to have a cover. A cover will help put out flare ups and smoke the steaks.

Try to use as little starter fluid as possible. Remove the grill grate before squirting the starter fluid, so not to have the fluid on the grate. Let the fluid soak into the coals for a few minutes, then lite the coals, and put the grate back on.

Then wash the Mustard marinade off the steaks.

The coals should take about 30 minutes until they are white ashed and fully afire. If needed, shake the grill lightly to evenly spread the hot coals. Add your water soaked Hickory chips to the hot coals, around the edges of the coals, not in the middle of the coals.

Put the steaks on the grill and allow the fat to start dripping on the coals and fire to start blackening the meat a little, about 3 minutes.

Put the cover on about 30 seconds to kill the flames and smoke the steaks.

Remove the cover, turn the steaks over and do another 3 minutes for the other side of the steak.

If the flames are to high, or to many, just put the cover on to put them out.

Turn the steaks back over again, this time reversing the grate position to get the cross look, for about 2 minutes.

Turn the steaks again to match the cross look, for another 2 minutes.

The cover use, is on and off. To kill flames and smoke the steaks.

By this time the steaks should be done to medium rare, have a nice outside blackening and a pink inside.

Adjust time to your preference of rare, medium, or well done. I do not advise a no pink juice, well done steak. You can cut into the steak on the grill to check the level of rareness, be careful of flames.

If you like a rare steak, let the flames hit the meat longer to get the blackening effect. Reverse for a well done steak. This will take experience to get it just the way you like it.

Let the steak sit a few minutes. It will retain its juice better if you don’t cut into it immediately.

One of the signs of a good steak, is how it tastes cold the next day.

I have grilled, smoked, used the spit, on every kind of meat store bought, or wild. From whole turkeys, to pigs, lamb, kabobs, etc.

If you have questions, ask me.

Enjoy

>History : August 9, 1945

>Today marks the 65th year since America dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. It was the second, and last, atomic bomb ever dropped on a populated area.

Tens of thousands were killed in an instant, and Japan finally surrendered. WW II was over. The atomic arms race was just starting.

Just a few days before, an atomic bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima. The first atomic bomb ever dropped on a populated area. Tens of thousands were killed in an instant. Yet, the Japanese did not surrender.

I don’t doubt President Truman’s decision to use the atom bomb. I am mystified as to why the Japanese did not surrender after the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

I like to think that the death and destruction caused by only two bombs has kept the World from using such weapons since. I worry that forgetting how destructive those bombs were would give a false sense to some, that atomic weapons could be used again without worldwide consequences.

We have atomic weapons now, that are 100 times the destructive power of those dropped on Japan. We also have “field” atomic weapons that are less destructive and more tempting to use.

The USSR is gone. The cold war is over, but the danger of an atomic weapon being used, is greater now, than ever before.

MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) is no longer the strategic plan in force. Some today believe in risking their their own destruction, in order to kill their enemy. It is fine with them to be dead, as long as their enemy is dead.

There was, I guess, some logic in the idea of killing off the enemy and controlling whatever was left after the battle. What logic is there in the idea of having nothing left, but the knowledge that you had killed everyone, including yourself. This is the enemy of today, and why the danger is greater.

>History : President Nixon Resigns – 1974

>Richard “tricky dick” Nixon resigned the office of the President of the United States 35 years ago.

Saying that he could not waste the time of the Congress, or the nation defending himself against the false charges of the Justice department.

There was more than enough evidence to impeach President Nixon.
John Dean (legal counsel to Nixon) had testified to the Senate (on national TV) about the inner White House and the details of the criminal cover-up.

It all started when a group of men were arrested for breaking in and wire tapping the offices of the Democratic National Party in the Watergate Office building. Those men and their ties traced backed to the committee to reelect Nixon became the downfall of the President, because of his efforts to cover up the association of those burglars and his office.

People like G. Gordon Liddy (now conservative talk show host and “birther” member) spent time in jail for the crime. Names like Howard Hunt (former CIA) and the rest of the burglars had ties to Nixon from his past government experience.

The case blew wide open when Alexander Butterfield testified to the Congress, that there were recordings of all meetings in the White House including all Oval office meetings and all phone calls the President had made.

The Congress issued a warrant to obtain those recordings. Of course Nixon fought giving the tapes to Congress, and the case went to the Courts. When the courts decided against the President; the President decided he would not give the tapes to Congress and fired (Saturday night massacre) his Attorney General (and a succession of others who also refused) when he refused to go against the courts decision.

When the tapes were finally made available, there was an 18 minute gap on the tapes, that had been erased. The President’s secretary said she had mistakenly made the erasure, but no one believed it.

Anyways, it’s a long complicated case. One worth reading up on, and so is Richard Nixon’s biography.

When Gerald Ford was sworn in, his first words to the nation was, “Our national nightmare is over.”

Later, President Ford would pardon Richard Nixon for all crimes against the United States. Although, at that time President Nixon had not been convicted of any crime. It should be noted that the House had voted to impeach President Nixon, but he had resigned.

On a personal note: I always thought that Nixon should have been charged with crimes. We never did find out the total extent of who was involved and what else happened. My main concern was that many involved, but never exposed, worked in the highest offices of the government, for decades.

This week: PBS is running the original Frost – Nixon interviews. Great TV viewing.

>

Stars at the Galactic Center

The center of our Milky Way Galaxy is hidden from the prying eyes of optical telescopes by clouds of obscuring dust and gas. But, in this stunning vista, the Spitzer Space Telescope’s infrared cameras penetrate much of the dust, revealing the stars of the crowded galactic center region. A mosaic of many smaller snapshots, this detailed, false-color image shows older, cool stars in bluish hues. Reddish glowing dust clouds are associated with young, hot stars in stellar nurseries. The galactic center lies some 26,000 light-years away, toward the constellation Sagittarius. At that distance, this picture spans about 900 light-years.

>TELEVISION

>

My Dad used to call it “The Boob Tube” or “The Idiot Box.”

My Dad was in his mid thirties before television was even available to the average American. Most Americans did not own a television set. As shown in the above picture, Americans would gather around a shop window to get a look at this new, amazing, unbelievable technology.

Television had been around as a Scientific creation for years, but it was not until after WW II that Americans started buying TV sets. In a few short years TV ownership went from single digits to over 80%. Milton Berle was credited with getting Americans to go out and buy TV’s just to see his show.

This is an old Philco TV. This is the TV I grew up watching. Only black and white, color TV’s were not yet available. This TV was 2-1/2 feet high, 2 feet deep, it was all tubes and very heavy. It generated enough heat (see those big side vents) to warm yourself on a chilly night. Back then, we thought the picture quality was great. Today it would be considered horrible. It was truly a piece of furniture. A focal point in the living room.

When our family got a TV, we were only the third house on our block to have one. That increased guest traffic in our house by a factor of 15. In those days the set offered us 3 stations. CBS, NBC, and some local station that was mostly old movies and wrestling. Never heard of ABC.

I can’t remember, must have been over a year, but my parents decided to get the new COLOR version of television. This one (left) was the first color TV affordable and available to the public. We were the first to have color TV on our block and that created another and bigger rush of neighbors to our living room. Newer, better, in color. We were the Smiths surpassing the Jones. The “old” black and white TV set, was put downstairs, for us kids.

In a truly American trait, the television just got better and bigger, and families kept buying the newer models. American society seems to approach many appliances of comfort (cars, dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers, you name it) in that manner. Buying the newer, better model, even if there was nothing wrong with the old model.

On the high end, TV’s have always been a piece of furniture. The main piece in the room of the house, that entertained. Smaller TV’s allowed us to have one in any and every room.

This beautiful flat plasma screen is set in a handsome box, but you could just hang it above a fireplace.

These days TV’s can be a Dick Tracy wrist watch, or a 2-1/2 inch by 1-1/2 inch pocket size, which can also be a personal computer and telephone.

When I was a kid, I was outside all day. If I was not, my Mom asked if I felt sick. TV was an evening thing, with the family. I never sat and watched hours of TV by myself. When I moved out of my parents house, I did not own a TV for years. Then I got one of those 9″ B&W TV’s, just to watch the news. I did not own a color TV until I was over 40, even though, by this time TV’s were high quality and everyone had at least two.

Today I have a nice 36″ tube type (very heavy) color TV, it’s about 13 years old, but still gives a great picture. I keep my TV on ALL the time. I don’t watch it all the time, it’s just on whenever I’m home. I will cook, do house chores, work on the computer, whatever, it is always on. I tell the family I’m just waiting for the prices of flat screens to go down. Truth is, I’m totally happy with my TV, but I never thought I would have to pay to receive broadcast stations – another blog post.

As I get older, I sleep less. I would say, I have trouble falling asleep sometimes. When I do, I lay in front of the TV, and I’m asleep in minutes. Now the TV is on day and night. If my TV dies, I will drop everything, leave work, whatever, to make sure I can buy a new one, and have it plugged in by dinner time. Am I addicted? Oh yes. Is America addicted? Even worse than I am.

With all this retrospective on television, you might think I’m old. I’m not. Really, I’m not. That’s my delusion anyways. I choose to believe it that way.

>Explanation: Was Devils Tower once an explosive volcano? Famous for its appearance in films such as Close Encounters, the origin of Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, USA is still debated, with a leading hypothesis holding that it is a hardened lava plume that probably never reached the surface to become a volcano. The lighter rock that once surrounded the dense volcanic neck has now eroded away, leaving the dramatic tower. High above, the central band of the Milky Way galaxy arches across the sky. Many notable sky objects are visible, including dark strands of the Pipe Nebula and the reddish Lagoon Nebula to the tower’s right. Green grass and trees line the moonlit foreground, while clouds appear near the horizon to the tower‘s left. Unlike many other international landmarks, mountaineers are permitted to climb Devils Tower.

>Freedom of Speech

>This is the famous painting by Norman Rockwell titled “Freedom of Speech.” It has become an icon of the most basic of American values. An individual getting up in a town hall meeting, and calmly giving his opinion of an issue before a legislator votes on that issue.

Expressing one’s view on how his government should set law on any given issue in a calm, uninterrupted manner, is the rock our freedoms are based on. Respecting the views of all Americans, each American has their time to speak up and state their position.

The goal might be to get a politician to vote one way, or another, but the reality is that you have a right to voice your views, without intimidation.

The same goes for the treatment given to a politician at the town hall meeting. You may disagree with the politicians viewpoint on an issue, but he has a right to be heard without intimidation, just as a citizen does. This has been the hallmark of the debate of issues, within the free people of America.

Over this weekend, many politicians held town hall meetings about the health care issue. An issue that the polls tell us, a majority of Americans want to see a change in the system we now have. Yet, these usually lightly attended and calm proceedings, were met in more than one venue, with the loud screaming and shout down of the politicians speaking at the town hall event.

They were all Democratic party speakers. The shouting citizens were all against the change in the health care system the Congress is considering. The meetings were worthless, because the exchange of ideas and definition of the legislation never took place. The citizens were successful in shouting down the speakers. One Democratic representative had to be escorted out of the hall by 5 policemen.

This would all seem very America except that these citizens were not voicing their individual concerns. These people were part of a organized effort, backed by corporate lobbyist, to defeat the current Congressional legislation on health care.

They hijacked and twisted the age old tradition of free speech in an open town hall meeting. The politicians were not able to speak, but worse, citizens speaking for the legislation were shouted down and not able to voice their opinion in a calm manner heard by all.

These are the actions more comparable to the “brown shirts” of early Nazi Germans, not the actions of sincere people voicing a deep concern. The brown shirts of Germany used to go to town hall meetings and disrupt those meetings by shouting down the majority view, and then out in the streets would physically attack the meeting attendees.

I read no reports of any attacks on people, but our calm system of debate, was stopped. Whether you are for, or against the current legislation, we must all be against this kind of fascist behavior. Intimidation has no place in a democracy of ideas, freely voicing those ideas, or allowing those from the government and the public to voice their concerns about future legislative action.

Money, intimidation, and fear is how corporate America has a louder voice than individual Americans.

Tom

>For Your Viewing Pleasure

>

The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh 1889

June 1889 (210 Kb); Oil on Canvas, 72 x 92 cm (29 x 36 1/4 in); The Museum of Modern Art, New York

The Starry Night was completed near the mental asylum of Saint-Remy, 13 months before Van Gogh’s death at the age of 37. Vincent’s mental instability is legend. He attempted to take Paul Gauguin‘s life and later committed himself to several asylums in hopes of an unrealized cure.

Van Gogh painted furiously and The Starry Night vibrates with rockets of burning yellow while planets gyrate like cartwheels. The hills quake and heave, yet the cosmic gold fireworks that swirl against the blue sky are somehow restful.

This painting is probably the most popular of Vincent’s works.

>Play the LOTTO And WIN WIN WIN

>

Do you play a lottery game? Millions do, and millions win. There are over 30 States that have a lotto game, and then there are the mega-lotto’s that have multiple state groups. These lotto games are making about 2,00 people a year millionaires. That does not include the millions of people who win smaller amounts.

In most cases, the winners take the cash value, which is usually about half of the annuity value. There are the taxes, that usually take about half of the winnings, and other payouts (like ticket seller percentage) but hey, most still end up with a multi-million dollar check, for a few dollars investment.

The odds of winning one of these mega-lotto games, is between 120-160 million to one. The odds of getting struck by lighting is a million to one. But as the saying goes, you can’t win, if you don’t play.

In the old days the criminals running numbers games predetermined who would win. These days lotto games run by States, are legitimate and under high security. Lottery fraud is usually limited to theft by clerks who sell the tickets. I could not find one example of fraud at the top level of government.

I spend $2 dollars a week on the mega lotto. I don’t play the smaller scratch off games. I have won many times, all under $20 a win.The largest payout in the U.S. was 365 million.

America spends about 45 Billion a year on the lottery. Microsoft had gross sales of 44 Billion in one year. Much of this money goes to fund State programs from schools to wildlife. Although, not one State has lowered taxes because of the profits made on the lotto.

I should also mention that over a third of the big winners end up bankrupt within five years. Many have family problems, and for some reason the statics are full of negative outcomes of lotto winners. If you happen to be lucky enough to win, say no to the photo shoot and press conference, and get a lawyer before you go to get your check. Good Luck!

>Cash For Clunkers

>

This is not the kind of car the Congress had in mind when they decided to give cash incentives, to help spur auto sales and get less efficient older cars off the road. The “cash for clunkers” program has worked well, so far. It has done what it set out to do.

Yesterday the Congress voted another 2 billion dollars be put into the program. The bill set aside a total of 4 billion dollars to be paid to customers who buy new cars and trade in their old car. The program has gone so well, that it already paid out 1 billion dollars, and the Congress simply approved another 2 billion be authorized to be spent, which still leaves another 1 billion available.

This program has helped raise new car sales, but car sales are half of what they were a year ago, so there is no saving of the auto companies, within this program. Yet, every little bit helps, and if the public continues to show such an interest in “cash for clunkers” the program should be funded to the maximum amount. The people apply for the money, should get it, even if that goes into multiple billions of dollars, and refunding from Congress. The program serves multiple positive rewards, and well worth the money spent.

>Can A Couple Of Beers Solve The Problem ?

>The President (after having stuck his nose in an argument between a professor and a cop) decided that maybe a sit down, with a beer and pretzels could solve the problem. If only all our problems could be solved so easily. How about a big kegger (toga) party for the whole Congress? We will have plenty of police on hand, to referee the disagreements. Maybe we should invite our real enemies? No, they are no fun, they would just spoil the party.

Who invited
these clowns?

If a few beers can solve the problem, then maybe a lot of beer, can solve a lot of problems. I’ll pay for the beer. Here’s my first delivery.