Christmas

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Recently I was very emphatically informed that only real dummies think that the carpenter from Nazareth was born on December 25. And I think that the person who told me this is indeed a Christian. Apparently the celebration of Christmas is nothing more than a modern day continuation of the pagan mid-winter rituals.
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I like the old part of Christmas where one was encouraged to help people who were less fortunate than yourself. Humility, the meek shall inherit the earth, and all that stuff.
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I lived abroad for many years, so this is the first American Christmas I have had the pleasure of celebrating in a really long time. It feels like time travel. Or maybe a Stranger in a Strange Land.
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One thing that stands out above all else about the modern Christmas is the out of control GREED.
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Christmas is now almost entirely about acquiring things. And not through diligence and hard work, but for free. By a con job. Getting people to give you gifts. Most of which they bought using their credit cards. Which they are in serious danger of not being able to pay. And in some ways it is no longer just giving a gift to someone you love, rather a form of extortion: Either you buy me an expensive present or (1) You don't love me, or (2) Perhaps you are such a loser you can't actually afford to buy me the expensive present I want.
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What I see is insatiable self-indulgence, gluttony, and hedonism.
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It is better to give than receive. Say What? Are you crazy?
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This is not the America that I grew up in, or the country of the American Dream. This is some sort of really disgusting and sick parody of it.
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150 cc Chinese Scooter

I really like my Honda 250 cc Reflex. It is ideal when I need to go on the freeway or take a 10 - 30 mile trip.

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But I put so many miles on my 50 cc Vespa when I was living in Europe that I got sort of spoiled. I missed having a small, lightweight, nimble scooter. If I just want to go a mile or two over to the store, then a smaller bike like this is just right.

So I bought a scooter from Amazon.com and paid $1,066- for it, plus $160- freight from California.

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Of course I had to semi-assemble it. An easy one day job. This saved me at least $2,000 compared with buying a new 150 cc scooter from a local dealer, maybe more like $3,000-.

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I am amazed at how nice a bike it is. And the power to weight ratio is fantastic. It weighs 105 kg (231 lbs) and has 9.3 hp, 4 cycle engine. In theory this is a lower power to weight ratio than with the Honda Reflex, but for some reason the Chinese bike runs like a little rocket! Probably if you put them side by side with riders of the same weight the 250 cc Honda would win easily, but the 150 cc Chinese moped just FEELS strong.

in-
Link: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2231/2068265713_ce4df64c7c_b.jpg

Trent Lott

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Trent Lott is quitting the United States Senate.
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He will not be missed. Another member of the conservative "old guard" is giving it up.
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In the Christian Bible there was a fellow named Lot. He had sex with both of his daughters and got them pregnant. Some people say that the story of Lot in the Bible supports rape, homophobia, and incest.
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Don't let the doorknob hit you on the way out.
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Snow In The High Desert

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I woke up this morning to find everything covered in snow.

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My little black doggie loves the snow. It is like he is turbocharged.

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Electronic Books

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Amazon is the latest to try to move people away from paper printed books. Their new product is called Kindle. A wireless electronic reader.
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On the surface it looks really quite attractive. I came very close to putting my name on the waiting list. But then I did a little deeper research.
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Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000FI73MA/ref=pd_sl_aw_manual-1_kindle1_40650458_1

When you look closely into what books are available, and what everything costs, the Kindle quickly seems far less attractive. For example, you can't buy any of the Harry Potter books from the Kindle Store. There are a limited number of magazines and newspapers available, but the quality of the selection is high. So is the price of the subscriptions especially when you consider that most of this content is available for free on the internet. And the books are really fairly expensive.
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Out of 649 people who have reviewed it so far, out of 5 stars possible it has gotten an average of a little over 2 stars. Gosh, this is not good. Amazon has a great track record for success, but this product is going to fail horribly unless they greatly reduce the cost of content.

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Hillary

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I am getting increasingly concerned that by nominating Hillary Clinton the Democrats will guarantee a win in the general election by a Republican who is even more right wing and reactionary than Bush.

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Beautiful Weather

This morning when the dog and I went out in the desert it was beautiful.


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There was a light rain overnight which exposed new things for discovery. By this morning the sky was completely clear, there was a very light breeze, and the temperature was a beautiful 48 degrees F (8.9 degrees C).


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During our walk I found two stones which fluoresce nicely when illuminated with short wave UV light, and 15 pottery shards from the ancient native peoples. One piece is a remarkable 6 cm (2-1/2 inches) square.


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Afterwards we went over to the store which sells pet food and supplies. Since it is beginning to be a little cool, I got Inu a really cute day glow/reflective coat.


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John F. Kennedy

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Anyone who can remember where they were on 22 November 1963 is clearly an old timer.
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This year Thanksgiving falls of Nov 22. In 1963 it was the day that President Kennedy was killed in Dallas.
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I was in high school at the time. School was closed and everyone was sent home. Partially as a symbol of respect, but also because it was widely feared that the Russians were responsible, and that this very possibly might be the beginning of WWIII.
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Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy

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Impeach Bush

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President Bush's former press secretary says in his new book that both the president and the vice-president were complicit in intentionally outing the identity of former CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson. They were unhappy with her and her husband because of his open accusation of deceit regarding the non existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
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Commenting on this allegation by Bush's own press secretary, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico promised to "never mislead the American people."
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"It is a low point in our history when the leader of the free world fights to deceive the American public," Richardson said in a statement. "Rather than defend the Constitution, President Bush has bamboozled the country."
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In my opinion what President Bush has done is orders of magnitude worse than President Bill Clinton getting the occasional blow job from very willing young staff members.
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The American people have been in denial about Little Bush for some time. The rest of the world could see right through him and his deceptions, but we were willing to forgive (and ignore) a lot. But now it has gone so far that it really is time to stop talking and take some serious action. I guess this means that we need to begin impeachment proceedings against Bush.

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Nixon was certainly a loser and really bad news. President Ronald Rayguns (like George W) almost bankrupted the country. But I'll bet that history will judge President Bush II as the very worst president that the country has ever had.
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Link: http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2007/11/democrats_jump.html
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Dog Trailer For The Honda Motorcycle

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I've got a fun project in process.
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I've got a small, light weight trailer on order from Harbor Freight and a sort of "universal" trailer hitch for motorcycles from another supplier.
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The plan is to be able to take the good fuel economy Honda, and also bring along my best friend Inu in a large airline doggie carrier.
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Rape Victim Under The Religion Of Islam

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In Saudi Arabia the victim of a gang rape has been sentenced t0 200 lashes and 6 months in jail.
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Yes, that's right, the female rape victim has been sentenced.
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After reading this I would ask if any reasonable woman still thinks that Islam is a responsible religion which has a place in 21st century society?
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The woman was initially punished for violating laws on segregation of the sexes - she was in an unrelated man's car at the time of the attack.
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When she appealed, judges doubled her sentence, saying she had been trying to use the media to influence them.
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Her lawyer has been suspended from the case and faces a disciplinary session.
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The Arab News newspaper reports that the 19-year-old woman from Saudi Arabia's Shia minority was gang-raped 14 times in an attack a year and a half ago.


Link: http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/17/2093880.htm?section=world
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I Guess This Makes It Official Now

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I have nothing against women leaders. Golda Meir in Israel did an outstanding job. Same with Indira Ghandi in India. And although Hillary Clinton may not be much of a leader, she is smarter than any three of her male opponents put together. Maybe five if you compare her to the Republicans.
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But she is so offensive to so vastly many people, voting for her may well insure that the Republicans remain in office. p

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So if I'm going to support a leader who has not one tiny chance of being elected, at least it is a guy who I truly believe in.

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------------------Bill Richardson

The Catholic Church

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If the Catholic Church were a corporation and you owned stock in it, I would recommend selling. There appears to be a genuine sickness at the heart of the church. This sexual celibacy routine which began several hundred years after Jesus of Nazareth died has caused some odd results. Homosexual priests are almost the norm now rather than the rare exception.
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And for some time the scandal over priests engaging in anal intercourse with young boys in their church has grown. Now the reports of nuns also engaging in sexual harassment of young and vulnerable members of their parish are beginning to come out. Stories of pregnant nuns and brutality by nuns in positions of power have been quite common for many years, but these resports of nuns engaging in sex with the youth of their church have just started to trickle out.
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A Roman Catholic nun pleaded no contest yesterday to two counts of indecent behavior with a child in connection with accusations from the 1960s when she was a principal and teacher at a Catholic school in Milwaukee.
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The nun, Norma Giannini, 79, faces up to 20 years in prison for what prosecutors say was sexual abuse of two male students.
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Although dozens of nuns have been accused of sexual abuse, often in civil lawsuits, Sister Giannini is one of the first to face criminal charges, said Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, a group that compiles reports about abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.
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Mary Pat Fox, president of Voice of the Faithful, a lay group formed in response to the Catholic sexual abuse scandal, said she hoped the case would encourage more victims of nuns to come forward. “I think this is the tip of the iceberg,” Ms. Fox said.

New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/us/13nun.html?ref=us

What ever happened to "The meek shall inherit the earth." It seems that the absolute power of these religious leaders has corrupted them absolutely and led to their destructive moral decay.
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The damage they have done to these young people is unforgivable.
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I am not a Catholic, and I don't know what advice I would give to Joseph Ratzinger if I were asked. But unless he is going to watch this 2,000 year old institution crumble during his watch, he needs to take some serious and dramatic action.
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Not just words, but strong action.
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Excommunication should be the minimum punishment for any Church employee who uses his religious power to sexually harass any member of his/her parish.
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Shower For Teardrop Camping Trailer

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The dog and I really enjoy going camping out in the wilds in our little teardrop camping trailer.

This is a really lightweight trailer, so I can easily pull it with the 1.8 liter Toyota Crayola and still get more than 30 miles per gallon. The trailer has photovoltaic cells on the roof which charge two deep cycle batteries. These power a 1,600 watt inverter, which in turn provides 115 vac for the microwave oven. The trailer has rechargable lights inside, an mp3 player, and a tiny little black and white TV.

The limiting factor the last several times we have gone out is that after two nights out I really long to clean up with a hot shower.

(click on this photo and it will enlarge)

So I bought a Coleman propane powered demand hot water heater with the shower attachment. It has a built in rechargeable battery, which can also be recharged from the electrical system in the teardrop trailer.
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At the home improvement store I bought a collapsible fiberglass pole which supports the inflatable shower stall. When I’m not using it the pole goes under the side of the mattress, and the shower stall goes back into its stuff sack.

Praying For Rain In Georgia USA

The American state of Georgia and much of that part of the country is currently going through a drought. Population growth and gross waste have finally caught up with them. People have been using far more water than what has been available from rainfall, and now the water reservoirs are almost empty.

So the redneck, religious fanatic Governor of the State of Georgia, Mr. Sonny Perdue led a public prayer on the steps of the Capitol building hoping that a quick little prayer to the Christian God would result in a nice rain storm.

The LA Times says that “Hundreds of Georgians -- ministers and lawmakers, landscapers and office workers -- gathered in downtown Atlanta for the prayer vigil. Some held bibles and crucifixes. Many swayed and linked arms as a choir sang "What a Mighty God We Serve" and "Amazing Grace."

What a good example of how stupid and destructive organized religion can be. The Governor would have been just as effective to hire some Native American Indians to play their drums and dance around doing some sort of a rain dance. Maybe the Indians would have been a good bit more effective. Their religions certainly have had more experience in encouraging people to live in harmony with the earth and in asking the Gods to provide adequate rainfall.

Many people who have studied astronomy or have a good scientific background are so blown away by the complexity and wonder of the universe that they strongly believe in some sort of a higher being. I consider myself one of these people.

But deeply believing in a God is a totally different concept than believing in (having blind faith) in any of the current organized religions where the high priests have anal sex with young boys in their congregations (no doubt in the name of God). And where the priests are the ones who interpret their particular brand of Holy Scriptures, rather than the parishioners. And where passing around the collection plate is one of the most important parts of religious service.

So in the American South, instead of using Democracy and governmental laws to REQUIRE water conservation by households, farmers, and industry these right wing religious fanatics called in the tele-evangelists. And no doubt the ministers were able to raise some money for their various worthwhile causes, like their mansions, cars, and garishly excessive lifestyles.

Go ahead, make my day

From 1971 to 1988 Clint Eastwood played the character Harry Callahan in a series of five movies which have come to be called the Dirty Harry series. Even today more than 35 years later they are a great deal of fun to watch.

In the films he plays a police officer who has to operate by his own sense of right and wrong. But in the end Good always triumphs over evil. Just like in most good fairy tales or religions.

In all of the movies Harry carries a 44 magnum revolver. Harry claims that it is the most powerful handgun ever made. This is not 100% technically correct, but it is certainly true in the normal sense of practical day-to-day reality.

In the film Dirty Harry, Clint Eastwood made one of the most quoted speeches in modern times:

“I know what you're thinking, punk. You're thinking, 'Did he fire six shots or only five?' Well, to tell you the truth, what with all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you gotta to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?”

Just as an aside, I currently own three revovlers. The Ruger Super Redhawk 44 magnum is a six shooter. But the other two revolvers, a very light weight titanium alloy 38 special and the Taurus 44 magnum are both five shooters, not six shooters.
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The manufacturer has done this because of the small size of these handguns and the incredible pressure generated by the 38+P special and 44 magnum rounds when they are fired. By going to a 5 shot design they are able to make the metal walls a little thicker, and thus better able to cope with the extremely high pressures these large rounds generate.
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The sixth most famous quote in movie history was made by Harry Callahan in the 1983 film Sudden Impact where he said “Go ahead, make my day.”

Links:
You Tube scene - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m9pjJ6A9UM
Wikipedia article on Make My Day - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_ahead%2C_make_my_day.
Ruger Super Redhawk revolver - http://www.kitsune.addr.com/Firearms/Revolvers/Ruger_Super_Redhawk.htm

Honda Reflex

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The Honda Reflex scooter is a great piece of technology. It has a water cooled 250 cc engine with an electric starter. No clutch or gears, essentially an automatic transmission. It weighs 375 lbs (170 kg) and normally gets very good fuel economy - around 70 mpg (3,4 liters/100 km). It will easily cruise on the freeway at 70 mph (115 to 120 km/hr). And you can park it anywhere.
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I have owned several other scooters made by Vespa and Yamaha. They were nice, but the 250 cc Honda Reflex is the best...by far.



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I was looking around on the internet and found some fun pictures of various Reflexes.



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They do fine with a Sidecar attached.



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Or they can be turned into a Trike.



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They can even be converted into an Ultralite.
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Would You Buy A Used Car From This Couple?

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Look closely at these two people.
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The man used to be princess Diana's husband, so he is the future King of England.
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And the horse next to him that is having the bad hair day, is his latest wife. She is the woman of little virtue that he was openly screwing on the side while he was still married to Diana.
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They were in the news today because they went out to eat at an Indian Restaurant.
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What a couple of losers.

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The Wild West

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To my friends back in Europe, Texas seems really foreign. A whole different world.
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People legally carry guns around with them here in Amerca. In fact on the rock collecting field trip I went on this weekend, of the 10 poeople who went on the trip three people (two men and one woman) were packing large bore hand guns.
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Many, many people in the USA don't have health insurance or access to the health care system. Not illegal aliens, but American Citizens. This seems completely brutal and irrational to a great many people around the world. America spends more money on health care per person than any country in the world, but gets fairly poor results. It would seem reasonable that the legislators would look around to our allied countries and try to learn if there are other ways of doing this which are more effective and efficient. But NO, the Americans are convinced that they have the best and final solution to all problems. I'm sorry to have to say it, but this closed mindedness is just an ugly form of arrogance.
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Most people in Texas drive around in enormous SUVs and pickup trucks with large engines, which get very poor fuel economy. This is just plain dumb. Stupid. Clueless.
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The evening news today said: El Paso Police said late Friday that East Side city Rep. Rachel Quintana faces forgery charges. An arrest warrant has been filed alleging misdemeanor forgery, and Quintana appears at the El Paso County Jail.
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So she is my city representative. Kind of like my Member of Parliament but at the council level. I think this just fits in with what many of my friends would expect. And this lady was SMILING as they took her into custody. Good grief!


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Jazz

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This morning I have been listening to internet radio from Germany on DW and Radio Netherlands. I wanted to check on the status of that winter storm in the North Sea.
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DW had a piece on Jazz Music which reminded me of this definition. It is not orginal, I heard it somewhere, but unfortnately I can't give credit because I don't remember who I heard it from. I like most kinds of music, but Country and Western and Jazz both put me off a little. This definition is a little harsh, but pretty much summarizes my feelings towards Jazz.
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Jazz is the sound you hear when a Blues musician is pushed down the stairs. The cacophonous sound he makes as he tumbles down the stairs, head over heels.
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Toyotas Rule

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I have owned lots of cars over the years. Many American cars including several Chevys and Fords (all V-8s); various German cars including ones made by BMW, Mercedes, and VW; and a few French cars by Renault and Simca. I even owned an Anglia English Ford in high school, which got 40 miles to the gallon.
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Based upon my personal experience I am convinced that the Japanese cars are the most reliable. By far.
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I have owned a Mitsubishi, and I have driven plenty of hard miles in the four different diesel Nissan four-wheel-drive cars I have owned.
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After having owned many different models of Toyotas from a white Tercel, a white Van, two white Celicas, a white Crayola, a Toyota Avensis which is a fairly large family car made by Toyota in Derbyshire England and which is sold in Europe but not in America, a 4-Runner SUV, and their superb hybrid Prius I am completely convinced that Toyotas Rule!
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Woodward Ranch

About 13 miles south of Alpine, Texas you turn right to go to Woodward Ranch. (N 30.17396, W-103.58521)
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I have camped there on two different occasions, and I have a really special feeling for the place.
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You can camp at the ranch house where there are full hookup RV spots. (N 30.15364, W-103.60044) There is also a nice rock shop and a great old dawg named Blue. Trey and Jan Woodward own and run the place. Trey's dad was a geologist, and Trey does a lot of things including running cattle and leading rock collecting trips on their land. Jan is a teacher with a master's degree and for years was the postmistress in Terlingua. They are really nice people.
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Or you can camp out at their primitive place right next to Calamity Creek (N 30.14394, W-103.61227). I guess it is a mile or two further away from civilization. I have spent four nights there so far, and I just can't speak highly enough about the place. It is practically right underneath Cathedral Peak, sitting at almost 5,000 ft MSL.
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In west Texas one does not talk about owning acres, or hectares, rather one talks about owning sections of land, which is one square mile or 640 acres. They own enough land that they describe it in sections.
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On the Western part of their land they run some longhorn cattle. One is almost like a dog. She was bottle fed as a baby and comes when her name is called, just like a house pet. Except that she is rather large, and of course she has those giant sharp horns!
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This area of West Texas around Ft. Davis, Marfa, Alpine, and Big Bend is a remarkable part of the world. And one just can't find a better place to camp out than at the Woodward Ranch.


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Terlingua

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The ghost town of Terlingua, Texas is famous. It lies just north of the Big Bend of the Rio Grande in West Texas.

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It used to have numerous mines which were going after the metal mercury (quicksilver). Like in the famous mines in Almaden, Spain the mercury ore in Terlingua is found in the form of a red colored rock called cinnabar . They processed this rock into mercury by first grinding it up, then putting it in large retorts where it was heated. The mercury easily boiled off and vaporized into a mercury "steam." This was then condensed into liquid mercury. This particular job, working around the retorts, was probably the most hazardous to one's health because the operators breathed in the mercury vapor. Overall it was more hazardous than even working in the mines.

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Mercury is extremely toxic. Wikipedia says that the Romans used convict labor in their mines as a form of death sentence. The Spanish also used shorter term convict labor at the Almadén mines, with a 24% overall fatality rate in one 30 year period.

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Abandoned mercury mine processing sites often contain very hazardous waste piles of roasted cinnabar calcines. Water runoff from such sites is a recognized source of ecological damage.

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Cinnabar was often used in royal burial chambers during the peak of Mayan civilization. The red stone was inserted into limestone sarcophagi, both as a decoration and, more importantly, to deter vandals and thieves with its well-known toxicity

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The mine waste heaps are all over the place down at Terlingua.

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Terlingua is famous in modern times for being the place where the concept of a Chili Cookoff originated. Some years as many as 10,000 or even 15,000 people show up for the Terlingua Chili Cookoff.

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Even though I had been to Big Bend before, and had even done a river raft camping trip through Santa Elena Canyon, I had never been to the chili cookoff. So this year I went. I really didn't know what to expect but what I found were two competing chili cookoffs in Terlingua. Apparently there is sort of a feud going on.

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The food company which I worked at for 25 years is one of the sponsors of what a policeman called the "rowdy group." They are on the West Side, just out of town. The whole town and event seemed geared to take as much money as possible from tourists. In any manner possible. That seemed to be the number one goal.

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To collectors of fluorescent stones, Terlingua Calcite is famous. Today it is a type or variety. Like in Terlingua Type Calcite from Durango, Mexico or Boquillas. Actually some of this material fluoresces better than what came out of the mines in Terlingua, but the original stuff is famous and desired by collectors just because of its historical significance.

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Under long wave ultraviolet light it fluoresces pink to red, when illuminated with short wave UV light it is blueish, and then when the short wave UV light is extinguished the mineral continues to glow blue (phosporescence). This calcite came out of several of the mercury mines in Terlingua. The mines have all now been closed, so the "real McCoy Terlingua Calcite" has become hard to find.

LINKS:

http://www.hgtech.com/Mines/USGS%20Big%20Bend.htm

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/MM/dkm2.html

http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/exhibits/glen_evans/geology/mercury_and_terlingua.html

http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2002AM/finalprogram/abstract_45634.htm