Bits and pieces

Why I live here.



The azaleas have come and gone but the roses linger on. The woods are full of wild climbing roses, the ones that Nat King Cole sings about here.

I have discovered a varmint repellent that is effective. You can spray it around and they, at least for now, stay away. I couple that with a fake owl, poles with white plastic flapping and a new device.

It is a device that you can bury in the ground and it will send out a vibrating "gawpppp" every 28 seconds. Supposedly it runs off moles. I'm using one above ground to run off rabbits and such.... I have a second one that I will try on moles. Supposedly it is good for a circle of 30'. Runs off 3 D cells. The Guard Dog hates the sound but has finally decided to coexist.

But it was too late for the cabbage. No matter what I did the varmints could eat'em faster than I could set'em out.

But the squash and cukes are up, the tomatoes are starting to bloom and the red, yellow, green and banana peppers look fine. The okra, aka Candy around here, is starting to come up.

The downed trees and limbs have been cut and dispatched and things have dried out. I did lose the Texas Sweet onions I had out, most of them were just washed away but after seeing some of the other damage around here I feel blessed. Especially since a tornado passed us by less than a half mile away. The downed trees, with the signature "twist and snap" rather than just "blown over" are impressive. Some of'em are 24" or so in diameter. Just try and imagine the power it took to do that.

My alter ego, Poker Player, has a new scheme which he will share with you later.

Life is good.

Time for bed. Much to do tomorrow.

What else can a man want besides work? Most of the world's problems come from people who haven't anything to do, or plainly, don't want to do what needs to be done.

On Twitter I am Lesabre1

This is so dead on right...........

What happens when a fly falls into a cup of coffee.

The Italian - throws the cup, breaks it, and walks away in a fit of rage.

The German - carefully washes the cup, sterilizes it and makes a new cup of coffee.

The Frenchman - takes out the fly, and drinks the coffee.

The Chinese - eats the fly and throws away the coffee.

The Russian - Drinks the coffee with the fly, since it was extra with no charge.

The Israeli - sells the coffee to the Frenchman, sells the fly to the Chinese, sells the cup to the Italian, drinks a cup of tea, and uses the extra money to invent a device that prevents flies from falling into coffee.

The Palestinian - blames the Israeli for the fly falling into his coffee, protests the act of aggression to the UN, takes a loan from the European Union to buy a new cup of coffee, uses the money to purchase explosives and then blows up the coffee house where the Italian, the Frenchman, the Chinese, the German and the Russian are all trying to explain to the Israeli that he should give away his cup of tea to the Palestinian.

Hat tip to Larry P!

On Twitter I am Lesabre1

Saved by the drug dealers?

Wow, so it wasn’t Turbo Timmy, the AIG rescue, the alphabet soup of Fed currency facilities or the currency swaps that saved the global banking system. The marginal suppliers of capital, according to the UN, were drug lords. That means that the UN is saying that the banks went into the money-laundering business on a much greater scale than before as a matter of survival. I would presume if this is accurate, it would also mean terrorist groups were able to more more money through the banking system.

From the Guardian:

Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said he has seen evidence that the proceeds of organised crime were “the only liquid investment capital” available to some banks on the brink of collapse last year. He said that a majority of the $352bn (£216bn) of drugs profits was absorbed into the economic system as a result….

Costa said evidence that illegal money was being absorbed into the financial system was first drawn to his attention by intelligence agencies and prosecutors around 18 months ago. “In many instances, the money from drugs was the only liquid investment capital. In the second half of 2008, liquidity was the banking system’s main problem and hence liquid capital became an important factor,” he said.

Link Naked Capitalism

So it wasn't the "Masters of the Universe" who saved us? It was their dope dealers?

But hey, that's from the same organization that tells us Global Warming is destroying us.

Hat tip to SeeEmDee at Talk Left.

On Twitter I am Lesabre1

On who Kagan is

In her capacity as editorial chairman during her junior and senior years, Kagan spent nearly every evening at the ‘Prince’ newsroom. But Bernstein cautioned that Kagan likely did not write all the editorials. “That wasn’t her style ... She was a very collaborative person,” he said.

One set of unsigned editorials published in the spring of 1980, written in response to the federal government’s discussion of reinstating draft registration, attacked the militaristic identity the country was headed toward. The nation was “unfortunately” moving toward “an era in which myopic and over-sensitive ‘national pride’ precludes the thoughtful search for alternatives to an unnecessary draft registration,” it said.

How exciting. A President we knew nothing about before his election nominates someone to the SC who we will know nothing about before the confirmation.

Trust me. I'm from headquarters and I'm here to help you.

Link

And a hat tip to MKS over at Talk Left.

On Twitter I am Lesabre1

Frank Frazetta R.I.P. 1928-2010

I have always loved fantasy and science fiction. As a youngster it offerred the perfect escape away from dust and heat and not much else.

And part of this escape was the artwork.



Frazetta didn't get into fantasy until years after I had moved into the adult world but he had a talent that made him recognizable at a glimpse and an ability to bring fantasy heroes alive. What young male could not see himself standing on top of a pile of bones that use to belong to his enemies with a nubile succulent female wrapping herself around his feet?

Link

Unisex was not in his genes.

In the early years most science fiction and fantasy magazines were not adult nor intended to be. They were pulp magazines intended to fill an evening of reading much like most of the junk on TV is meant to be mind numbing time killers between 7 and 11. The artwork wasn't always great but it always moved.



And the girls were always beautiful and buxom but not to be argued with.



And then we had the girls dancing for their supper.... paid for by aliens... of course. But the sex was always on the cover and never between the covers. Like radio, it expanded the imagination.



And some of the girls were hotter than others.



Of course in its infancy, as shown in this February 1927 cover by Paul, the covers were more about adventure and the contents were, well, much the same as they would be 20 years later.



And by 1992 the view of the universe had expanded as shown in this cover of a child watching an alien friend blowing bubbles. Peaceful yet threatening it almost has an "Alice In Wonderland" feeling.



But was sex out? No.



Sometimes I will have to do a post or so on the artists that made the stories better. And here's to the ones that made us grasp our quarters and gleefully pay for the latest issue of Amazing, Startling, Planet and all the others.

On Twitter I am Lesabre1

You don't need no education

and apologies to Pink Floyd.

And we all thought he was protesting the Right.

Well, just as Nixon was the only one that could go to China, Obama is the only one who can say things like this.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: "Meanwhile, you're coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don't rank all that high on the truth meter. With iPods and iPads; Xboxes and PlayStations; information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment. All of this is not only putting new pressures on you; it is putting new pressures on our country and on our democracy."

LInk to video of speech.

This should send a real chill up your leg, past your waist and to the top of your head screaming, "Danger! Danger!"

And it should tell you what The Chosen One thinks of your ability to rule yourself.

On Twitter I am Lesabre1

New Zealand: Global Warming Fears Seen in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Patients

Somehow we knew it would come to this.

New Zealand: Global Warming Fears Seen in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Patients
A recent study has found that global warming has impacted the nature of symptoms experienced by obsessive compulsive disorder patients.

Climate change related obsessions and/or compulsions were identified in 28% of patients presenting with obsessive compulsive disorder. Their obsessions included leaving taps on and wasting water, leaving lights on and wasting electricity, pets dying of thirst, leaving the stove on and wasting gas as well as obsessions that global warming had contributed to house floors cracking, pipes leaking, roof problems and white ants eating the house.

Compulsions in response to these obsessions included the checking of taps, light switches, pet water bowls and house structures.

“Media coverage about the possible catastrophic consequences to our planet concerning global warming is extensive and potentially anxiety provoking. We found that many obsessive compulsive disorder patients were concerned about reducing their global footprint,” said study author Dr Mairwen Jones.

They left off denying it is cold. Insisting warm weather causes it to snow. Constant recounting the polar bear population...

Is anyone actually surprised?


On Twitter I am Lesabre1