glacier

Sorry kids, they already scrambled the jets.

Funny, I was talking with my folks on this in October - They are retired cattle ranchers, and we had just seen a talk in marketing of beef sales to South Korea and Japan - the two countries make their largest beef imports from the U.S - both high-end beef, as well as 'second' cuts, like skirt steak (diaphram) and tongue - But both are also insular markets, sensitive to real or perceived threats to the health of their own industry. Long and short of it - Canada had one case of mad cow a couple years ago, and Japan has not imported beef from them since. My folks were disbelieving that it could happen here. The day after our BSE-suspect cow shows up, Japan shuts up down. It's a difficult path to walk - we need to better fund and improve inspections, but not so much that the costs potentially cripple our own market - at this point, I'm not sure that the existing testing is statistically significant enough to protect the foodsource. Was watching local coverage of the cow this AM, and traced the path of the carcass/meat. Yakima to Moses Lake to Centralia to Portland. about 400 miles. In a couple of days. The speed and distance (average of 800 miles producer to consumer) at which our food is distributed is a definite weak link. newsflash - beef ban up to 12 countries (mostly Asia and South AM) - Europe already banning/limiting imports due to growth hormone use.

Funny article regarding the cgi battle programming proof of artificial intelligence

13, but I kept aiming at the rabbits. Is that bad?

135, visionary philosopher - I'm off to philosophize under a tree and get me some followers.

Santa Letters Dear Santa: I wud like a kool toy space ranjur fer Xmas. Iv ben a gud boy all yeer. Yer Frend, BiLLy Dear Billy: Nice spelling. You're on your way to a career in lawn care. How about I send you a f***ing book so you can learn to read and write? I'm giving your older brother the space ranger. At least HE can spell! Santa -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Santa: I have been a good girl all year, and the only thing I ask for is peace and joy in the world for everybody! Love, Sarah Dear Sarah: Your parents smoked pot when they had you, didn't they? Santa Dear Santa, I don't know if you can do this, but for Christmas, I'd like for my mommy and daddy to get back together. Please see what you can do. Love,Teddy Dear Teddy: Look, your dad's banging the baby-sitter like a screen door in a hurricane. Do you think he's gonna give that up to come back to your frigid Mom, who rides his @ss constantly? It's time to give up that dream. Let me get you some nice LEGOs instead. Santa -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Santa: I want a new bike, a Playstation, a train, some G.I. Joes, a dog, a drum kit, a pony and a tuba. Love, Francis Dear Francis: Who names their kid "Francis" nowadays? I bet you're gay. Santa -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Santa: I left milk and cookies for you under the tree, and I left carrots for your reindeer outside the back door. Love, Susan Dear Susan: Milk gives me the runs and carrots make the deer fart in my face when riding in the sleigh. You want to do me a favor? Leave me a bottle of scotch. Santa -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Santa: What do you do the other 364 days of the year? Are you busy making toys? Your friend, Thomas Dear Thomas: All the toys are made in China. I have a condo in Vegas, where I spend most of my time making low-budget porno films. I unwind by drinking myself silly and squeezing the @sses of cocktail waitresses while losing money at the craps table. Hey, you wanted to know. Santa -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Santa: Do you see us when we're sleeping, do you really know when we're awake, like in the song? Love, Jessica Dear Jessica: Are you really that gullible? Good luck in whatever you do. I'm skipping your house. Santa -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Santa: I really really want a puppy this year. Please please please PLEASE PLEASE could I have one? Timmy Timmy, That whiny begging sh!t may work with your folks, but that crap doesn't work with me. You're getting a sweater again. Santa -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dearest Santa, We don't have a chimney in our house, how do you get into our home? Love, Marky Mark, First, stop calling yourself "Marky," that's why you're getting your @ss whipped at school. Second, you don't live in a house, you live in a low-rent apartment complex. Third, I get inside your pad just like all the burglars do, through your bedroom window. Sweet Dreams, Santa

Memo from SANTA I regret to inform you that, effective immediately, I will no longer serve the States of Georgia, Florida , Virginia , North and South Carolina , Tennessee , Mississippi , Texas , and Arkansas on Christmas Eve. Due to the overwhelming current population of the earth, my contract was renegotiated by North American Fairies and Elves Local 209. As part of the new and better contract, I also get longer breaks for milk and cookies so keep that in mind. However, I'm certain that your children will be in good hands with your local replacement, who happens to be my third cousin, Bubba Claus. His side of the family is from the South Pole. He shares my goal of delivering toys to all the good boys and girls; however, there are a few differences between us. Differences such as: 1. There is no danger of the Grinch stealing your presents from Bubba Claus. He has a gun rack on his sleigh and a bumper sticker that reads: "These toys insured by Smith and Wesson." 2. Instead of milk and cookies, Bubba Claus prefers that children leave an RC cola and pork rinds [or a moon pie] on the fireplace. And Bubba doesn't smoke a pipe. He dips a little snuff though, so please have an empty spit can handy. 3. Bubba Claus' sleigh is pulled by floppy-eared, flyin' coon dogs instead of reindeer. I made the mistake of loaning him a couple of my reindeer one time, and Blitzen's head now overlooks Bubba's fireplace. 4. You won't hear "On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner, and Blitzen..." when Bubba Claus arrives. Instead, you'll hear, "On Earnhardt, on Andretti, on Elliott and Petty." 5. "Ho, Ho, Ho" has been replaced by "Yee Haw" And you also are likely to hear Bubba's elves respond, "I her'd dat" 6. As required by Southern highway laws, Bubba Claus' sleigh does have a Yosemite Sam safety triangle on the back with the words "Back Off." 7. The usual Christmas movie classics such as "Miracle on 34th Street" and "It's a Wonderful Life" will not be shown in your negotiated viewing area. Instead, you'll see "Boss Hogg Saves Christmas" and "Smokey and the Bandit IV" featuring Burt Reynolds as Bubba Claus and dozens of state patrol cars crashing into each other. And Finally, 8. Bubba Claus doesn't wear a belt. If I were you, I'd make sure you, the wife, and the kids turn the other way when he bends over to put presents under the tree. Sincerely Yours, Santa Claus

Near Gold Bar - I went there a couple months back, but forget the driving directions - I can get them from one of th kids at SG.

That's my buddy's stream of consciousness. Fricking enthusiastic genius always writes/talks like that. So I have no idea what 'droplet spectra' is - I'll ask. He was likely just using it as an example.

Evogear.com is having a tent sale up on Cap. Hill tomorrow - They had K2 Axis 167's, and some other shorter models, last time I checked, if you're looking for downhills.

In any case - not bad for an early-40's ex grade-school teacher. Oh yeah, add Sandra Bullock.

The word from the Atmos. Sci. doc. "It's 'Legit', sources and all. I bet much of the source of this comes from negative feedbacks to global warming natural to the climate cycle. You've heard the whole double the levels of CO2 and then you get warmer temps, but you also get more evaporation as the temp warms, this causes more clouds. Question is, are they high clouds or low clouds? Because high clouds tend to cool the atmosphere and low clouds tend to warm the atmosphere. Also through in particulates / aerosol - the very small kind that volcanic eruptions, pollution etc. create. These particles can change the planetary albedo - this might be part of the 'global dimming' picture, but probably not all of it. Now go back to the clouds, the clouds have drop and ice crystal size spectra and number concentrations. There have been very very very few studies on what the natural state of affairs is here and very very little on the variation of this. They can and do vary a bit is my intuition (and probably most atmospheric scientists) - the # and size spectra of cloud droplet and ice crystal size distributions in the clouds are heavily influenced by the aerosol populations and this in turn strongly effects radiation budgets of terrestrial (IR) and solar (vis/UV) radiation. I had not heard about this drop in radiation at the earth's surface, but given what I know about clouds and water cycle it doesn't suprise me. I bet much (maybe not all) of it lies in these issues of how aerosol, cloud droplet spectra, the rate of evaporation and cloud formation with the changing climate all interrelate. This is why climate modeling is such a nightmare (and so interesting). This is also why atmospheric scientists have such a hard time saying definitively what way the climate will go - they have soooo many variables (many not well understood like the droplet spectra in clouds and how it relates to aerosol and how this effects the radiation budget for one small example) to include in their models. The ozone whole issue was so much simpler. Release flourocarbons and their like and you will destroy the ozone whole, that is easy to predict - thus policymakers are quicker to make effective changes. Burning fossil fuels and the CO2 issure and all its global warming / now dimming ramifications are much harder to pin down - thus the struggle to control or emissions is much harder to pin a specific reason and need to (though we are fucking so hard with all the strings I think that is reason enough - but policymakers are not foward thinking enough to want to fight for the system just for hard causes - whatever - keep trying). Anyway - did I make any of that clear enough?" Clear as mud.

Via South Park (look out - bad words) I heard there is no Christmas, In the silly Middle East.. No Trees, no Snow, no Santa Claus, They have Different Religious beliefs.. They Believe in Muhammad, And not in our Holiday.. And so every December, I go to the Middle East and say.. Hey there Mr Muslim, Merry Fucking Christmas Put down that book 'The Koran' and hear some holiday wishes Incase you haven't noticed, it's Jesus's Birthday So get off you heathen Muslim Ass And fucking celebrate. There is no holiday season in india, i've heard.. They don't hang up their stockings, and that is just absurd.. They've never read a Christmas Story, They Don't know what Rudolph is about.. And that's why in December, I'll go to india and shout.. Hey there Mr Hinduist, Merry Fucking Christmas Dring some 'nog, and eat some Beef and pass it to the Missus Incase you haven't noticed, It's Jesus's Birthday So get off your heathen hindu ass, And fucking celebrate. Now I heard that in Japan, Everyone just lives in sin.. They pray to several gods, And put needles in their skin.. On December twenty-fifth, all they do is eat a cake.. and that is why i'll go to Japan, and walk around and say.. Hey there Mr Shintoist, Merry Fucking Christmas God is gonna kick your ass You infidelic pagan scum. Incase you haven't noticed, There's festive things to do So lets all rejoice for Jesus and Merry Fucking Christmas to you. On Christmas Day, I travel round the world and say.. Taoists, Korishnas, Buddists and all you atheists too.. Merry Fucking Christmas to you. Thank you, Mr Hat..

I thoughtit was going to be a link to this idiot-in-chief

Ours also had a preview for 'Touching the Void' [insert shiver graemlin here]

hell, you can even buy kits warwolf yer right, I think they evilled him up a bit for the flick. Yeah, the whole 'Arwen will die if you don't become king' in ROTK grated a bit, although I did like the treatment overall of the Aragorn character having doubt and having to come to grips with his destiny as they did it in the movie, even if it wasn't as true to the book, where he went in with full knowledge and confidence. Probably not, but they needed them for the short commute.

I think the interpretation was fairly close - doesn't he have one of those 'eye' stones as well in the book, which was affecting him in preparations for war and feelings of hopelessness, as wel as his mental stability? - the whole sibling rivalry thing is cobbled together for the movie, though - Although it is a good contrast between the reaction of Theodan and Denethor to the loss of their sons. I remember being disappointed with 2 towers when Faramir takes the hobbits to gondor, rather than just releasing them as he did in the book, saying that he was not his brother and not tempted by the ring. The other big bitch I had with 2 Towers was that Helm's Deep was shown as this desperate last stand rather than a holding action, as in the book (also the banishment of the Rohirrim). And the contingent of elves reinforced Gondor, not Helm's Deep. And I need a trebuchet for my deck.

I don't think they were able to pull a connection, either. Although they did see the correlation between the dimming and pan evaporation rates, which would be counter to warming, although evaporation is not necessarily connected to temperature, rather other radiation. With respect to potential global warming - it is connected not necessarily to the amount of radiation that the earth is receiving, but the amount that is being held in the atmosphere due to the increase of CO2, etc. There could be less input, but a more 'efficient' insulation keeping the energy in (e.g. a simple balansce equation input +/- change in storage = output). I'll have to forward this to my buddy in atmospheric sciences to see if he has an opinion.

Got in last night - The movie does rock - And for you who care, Shelob does not look like a tarantula, rather a large orb-weaver who has had a number of bad days. (No giant spiders were harmed in the making of this film). The portion with Frodo and Sam stuck to the book pretty well, if I remember right. The battle scenes were incredible, but what was with the hokey scene of Legolas taking down an oliphant on his own? All I could thing of was 'the empire strike back' AT-AT's. Great cavalry charge, btw. I need to get me an army of the dead. another mild omission (not necessary to the movie story) was Gandalf and Aragorn going up into the mountains where they find a sapling of the White Tree to replace the dead stump at Minas Tirith to signify the return of the king and the coming if the 4th age. With no 'Scouring of the Shire' it does leave the ending a bit weak, as the four hobbits return to a place that couldn't care less that they were gone.

No wonder my SADD is getting worse. darkness falls

Neither - they'll both pack out as soon as they put on a couple of years and/or get married. Their hips will have callouses from bruising on the doorjams. Try Jennifer Garner.

Grease the entire carpet to match the stain.

Up there on the platform He is speaking to the people The people are responding With clapping and a cheering But the meaning of the message Not revealed to those assembled They're taken for a ride Taken in his stride When the generals talk You better listen to him When the generals talk You better do what he say There's a rumour in the ranking Someone talking insurrection So the general has a purge 'Cos he wants to win elections With the certain satisfaction That the people are appeased Long live the revolution The general's very pleased Sitting on the fence both ears to the ground The fat cat's still push the thin cats around

...also considering that the bulk of LOTR was written during WWII as a serial story for Tolkien's son in the army in Africa(?) - a time when a great evil was encroaching on the world. ... off to Cinerama to see Two Towers, extended.