INSPIRATIONAL: You know not the day nor the hour

Thursday, May 19, 2011

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/First-Communion-girl-dies-in-bouncy-castle-tragedy-121881129.html

First Communion girl dies in bouncy castle tragedy
Family devastated after freak gust of wind accident
By CATHAL DERVAN , IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Monday, May 16, 2011, 7:23 AMUpdated Monday, May 16, 2011, 9:49 AM

*** begin quote ***

Little Amy Byrne’s big day ended in tragedy when the eight-year-old died from head injuries after she was thrown from a bouncy castle at the family farm.

Parents Paul and Lorraine Byrne are being comforted by family and friends after the tragic loss of their daughter when a gust of wind threw the bouncy castle into the air.

The little girl lost her footing when the wind caught the castle shortly after 6pm on Saturday and sustained serious head injuries as she landed on the ground after she was thrown out of the castle.

*** end quote ***

It’s hard to imagine a worse day for the parents.

Donna Nobis Pacem

Carpe Diem

Stories like this teach us a lesson to easily forgotten.

Especially when after the lesson, it’s too late to do it over.

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Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: Why would some one give the DNC $143,200 for a rubber chicken dinner?

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

http://nationaljournal.com/whitehouse/obama-expects-modest-fundraising-quarter-20110517

WHITE HOUSE
Obama Expects Modest Fundraising Quarter
The Democratic National Committee comes first–for now.
By Marc Ambinder
Updated: May 17, 2011 | 11:04 p.m.
May 17, 2011 | 4:22 p.m.

*** begin quote ***

So far the president has attended a dozen fundraisers in six cities since announcing on April 14 his decision to seek reelection. Half have been events where tickets cost $35,800. DNC takes $30,800 of that; Obama’s campaign gets only $5,000.

Donors, generally, have been asked to purchase at least four tickets to high-dollar events such as these. Obama has also attended a number of fundraisers where tickets run $1,000. The president attended a two-tier event in Washington on Monday night, and he will be in Boston on Wednesday.

*** end quote ***

Ignore the headline story. Who cares. Dig deeper.

Simple question.

Why would some one give the DNC $143,200 for a rubber chicken dinner?

It’s corrupt quid pro quo.

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Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: Sarah Palin is in Ron Paul’s way to the nomination

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/2011/06/the-tragedy-of-sarah-palin/8492/

*** begin quote ***

Palin entered the national consciousness more suddenly than most high-level politicians do, and she did it in the intense final stretch of a presidential campaign, which had a kiln-like effect of hardening the initial impression—depending on your point of view, of the provincial half-wit portrayed by Tina Fey or the plain-sense Mama Grizzly proudly leading her army of culture warriors. In modern politics, your “brand,” once established, is almost impossible to change. Only a handful of politicians have changed theirs (Hillary Clinton is one), and then only through tireless perseverance. Palin has shown little inclination to revise or deepen these impressions—she didn’t respond to my requests to discuss her record—and she hasn’t designated anyone else to do it for her. (Mama Grizzlies claw; they don’t contextualize.)

*** end quote ***

> I dont think she is viable any more….RP starting to look good, just wish he were a little younger.

Too much military aggression for my tastes.

Well, he still has to get through the “tea party” R candidates, then he has to fight through the conservative / moderate sweepstake to get to the R nod, then he has to fight through the liberal media who will try to “Palinize” him like Katie Kute did to SP, and then he has to connect with the great unwashed of the disaffected voters. Dick Morris thinks he has no chance.

I think it’s more about who he picks as VP. Michelle Bachman? It would be an expressway for her to be the first woman President.

That’s my calculation.

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Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Federalizing light bulbs

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

<Broken Link>

LED bulbs hit 100 watts as federal ban looms
By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer – Mon May 16, 6:05 pm ET

*** begin quote ***

NEW YORK – Two leading makers of lighting products are showcasing LED bulbs that are bright enough to replace energy-guzzling 100-watt light bulbs set to disappear from stores in January.

*** and ***

Before the 100-watters, there will be 75-watters on the shelves this year. Osram Sylvania will be selling them at Lowe’s starting in July. Royal Philips Electronics NV, the world’s biggest lighting maker, will have them in stores late this year for $40 to $45.

*** end quote ***

Sorry, but I think the politicians and bureaucrats in DC have lost their minds.

Now, I’m just a fat old white guy injineer and I KNOW one thing: light bulbs are cheap. A buck or two versus $50?

Now poor folks are going to have to take out a loan to buy a bulb?

Sorry, but who are we subsidizing now?

This makes ZERO sense.

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Posted by reinkefj

HARDWARE: Nintendo 3DS is bad news

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

http://www.defectivebydesign.org/nintendo

Brick Nintendo before they brick you!

*** begin quote ***

The Nintendo 3DS comes with Terms of Service (TOS) that should not be accepted. To enforce these terms, Nintendo uses Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) technology. Because of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), users are legally prohibited from modifying their devices to block Nintendo’s nastiness. This combination of legal and technological restrictions makes the Nintendo 3DS dubious, devious, and defective. This page outlines some of the nastier parts of the DRM-enforced TOS.

*** end quote ***

I especially don’t like that they can take the pics and use as they see fit. I’d carefully check ANY use of the 3DS before using it. Before even buying it!

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Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: TSA blog — “we molest because we’re the Feds and superior”

Monday, May 16, 2011

http://blog.tsa.gov/2011/05/texas-house-of-representatives-seeking.html

5.14.2011

Texas House of Representatives Seeking to Ban Current TSA Pat-Down

*** begin quote ***

What’s our take on the Texas House of Representatives voting to ban the current TSA pat-down? Well, the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article. VI. Clause 2) prevents states from regulating the federal government.

*** end quote ***

Interesting, interesting, interesting … …

This is another “great fight” that is shaping up to head for the supremes.

(Never understod the Dead Old White Guys thinking that the Gooferment would be regulated by a Gooferment “court”. But they were pretty smart and never expected “We, The People” to be so dumb.)

Guess whoever writes the TSA blog never heard about “the better part of valor”.

Last thing I’d do is tell a bunch of <past tense synonym for urine output> off Texans that “we do cause we’re the tsa and better than you”.

Guess they’ve never read the 10th. Soon to be a MORE popular topic in Texas.

(The folks in the Pepuls Republik of Nu Jerzee are still trying to be better socialists than California or New York, so this will be unknow to them.)

While not enough to move the folks into the streets, it’s certainly gotta sit like a burr under a saddle.

And, if I was a troublemaker, I’d forward this story to everyone I knew in Texas.

(And, call them “goat ropers”. They just love that. It’ll put them in the proper frame of mind to read it.)

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Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Bureaucrat votes and then cashes in

Monday, May 16, 2011

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-tech/post/fcc-commissioner-meredith-baker-to-join-comcast-nbc/2011/05/11/AFYfl1rG_blog.html?hpid=z3

Posted at 11:45 AM ET, 05/12/2011
FCC commissioner Meredith Baker to join Comcast-NBC
By Hayley Tsukayama
Updated 11:45 a.m., Thursday

*** begin quote ***

Federal Communications commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker announced Wednesday that she will resign from the FCC on June 3 and join Comcast-NBC Universal as its senior vice president of governmental affairs.

Baker, a Republican, joined the FCC in 2009 after working at the National Telecomunications and Information Administration under President George W. Bush. While at the NTIA, Baker oversaw a $1.5 billion coupon program to help consumers make the transition to digital-only television.

The commissioner’s announcement comes four months after she voted to approve a joint venture between Comcast and NBC Universal.

*** end quote ***

Regulatory capture or just biz as usual.

Politicians and bureaucrats have NO shame!

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INTERESTING: Has BONES jumped the shark?

Monday, May 16, 2011

Recent episode had BONES in the sack, tastefully, without apparent sex, maybe, with BOOTH.

Is this the shark jump?

Is the tension between the kool hunk and the nerdy hunkette over?

Sigh. It was good. But maybe they’ve run out of gas.

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Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Free windoze utility to save ink and toner!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13845_3-20061950-58.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TheCheapskate

MAY 12, 2011 6:00 AM PDT
Free Windows utility lowers your printing costs
by Rick Broida

*** begin quote ***

Tired of burning through pricey ink and toner cartridges? PretonSaver Home promises to cut these consumable costs by up to 70 percent. Best of all, it’s free. (Note: You can use the previous link to download the program, but click here to go to Preton’s site and register for the activation code.)

*** end quote ***

Sounds like a great idea.

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Posted by reinkefj

FUN: On a children’s dance recital — observation #4

Sunday, May 15, 2011

OK, last one, (I think),

Here we have youngsters. Giving entertainment. Working “hard”. Doing what may or may not be their “best”.

They know that all their peers get up, jilly jack around, take a bow (in various forms), and get applause for their efforts.

There were at least three acts of “little kids” … …

(under 6 ish.)

(How do you estimate children’s ages? Saw ’em in half like trees?)

… … where no one, except me, applauded.

Shame on my fellow audience members. You “stole”. You took their effort and returned nothing to them.

Little kids.

What lesson does that teach?

Think if these folks in the audience were “promised” a pay raise and didn’t get it they would say “no big deal”.

Me, a fat old white guy injineer, was horrified. Where were these children’s parents and relatives encouraging them.

So like I crazy old fool, I applauded 75 times or so. Lost count. I left when my ride did. The “souvenir” and “refreshment” tables were closed when we left so maybe it was done.

I just felt bad for the three groups that got NO applause. Maybe I just dozed off, but I don’t think so.

Shame, shame, on those folks.

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