I admit that I like to read The Anomalist - it is interesting compilation of links and mini descriptions of websites dealing with ufos, ghosts, odd-wildlife, and other stuff. But do UFOs and ghosts actually exist? If you Google "best ufo evidence" you'll get 150,000 links (or something) but does that really mean anything. If you Google "John Galt" you get over a 1,000,000 links, though John Galt is both a fictional character and real people with that name.
Links, of course, don't prove anything. It will never by possible to definitely prove there are no UFOs or ghosts. It may be possible to prove that UFOs exist and that they are aliens from a different planet. I don't rule out that ghosts exist, though I've never seen one and I hope I never do.
Things that I consider to have no value as evidence: pyramids, etchings in stones from ancient peoples, and probably everything before the modern era. What we do have photos and incidents that people experience or things recorded on radar. We have the Roswells and triangular ships and flying cylinders.
What to make of all this? I don't really know. One of the biggest things weighting against UFOs seems to me to be that they are so random AND the lack of physical evidence. Do you really believe the government could cover that much successfull at covering stuff up? I don't. Of course you can be a conspiracy buff and think that 1) the US never landed on the moon and 2) the government is covering up contacts with extraterrestials.
Hmmm. Lost my train of thought.... must be rays beamed into my house causing me confusion.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Who Lied to Pelosi?
I'll just forward you the this link about how Republicans trashed Pelosi when she claimed the CIA had lied to her. The blog post misses the point that Pelosi claimed they lied to her about waterboarding, but they were certainly lying about something. The details of the program we don't know yet, but as it was under the order of Dick Cheney, don't count me as surprised if it involves torture.
Obama has been trying to cut a "balanced" line were he doesn't divulge the details of the torture. What things have pointed to is that the highest levels of the Bush administration were endorsing torture. A truth commission without legal penalties would still be useful. Obama isn't cutting this far enough to the left.
What is interesting is that Cheney has been keep his head lower these days. I'm not sure why, but he is an old man and may be he is just getting some rest.
Anyway, I'm not going to hold my breath for much GOP outcry about this, though I do expect some. The door has finally cracked open and some light is breaking into dark place the GOP was living.
I'll watch how far the lefties blogs push this. Who's head will the call for?
Obama has been trying to cut a "balanced" line were he doesn't divulge the details of the torture. What things have pointed to is that the highest levels of the Bush administration were endorsing torture. A truth commission without legal penalties would still be useful. Obama isn't cutting this far enough to the left.
What is interesting is that Cheney has been keep his head lower these days. I'm not sure why, but he is an old man and may be he is just getting some rest.
Anyway, I'm not going to hold my breath for much GOP outcry about this, though I do expect some. The door has finally cracked open and some light is breaking into dark place the GOP was living.
I'll watch how far the lefties blogs push this. Who's head will the call for?
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Bad Habits
I've gotten in to a bad habit of starting posts and not finishing them. That is a no-no if you are trying to keep a blog up.
Tid-bits:
Let me give one last thank you to Sarah Palin for contributing to the last nine months. "Sarah the Barracuda" she was and is. Sarah was not ready for to be President of the US in a clutch, a looney decision by John McCain, but a spectacle to be sure. I'll try to let her rest in piece without much more derogatory commentary from me, unless she dares to step back into the national spotlight. For instance, on a book or speaking tour (he he he).
The economy is in a terrific mess. I don't think there is any quick way out. If we're going to do stimulus spending, lets do stimulus spending by building infrastructure and have the government perhaps buy things made in America. In other words, if we're handing out money to people, get something in return if at all possible.
A co-worker was telling me about a writer that explained the more bureaucracy you have, the less individual responsibility you have. This is an important point in understanding government that I want to get into.
But now I have to go run 4 miles. So - I'm posting this as is - so I don't lose it.
Tid-bits:
Let me give one last thank you to Sarah Palin for contributing to the last nine months. "Sarah the Barracuda" she was and is. Sarah was not ready for to be President of the US in a clutch, a looney decision by John McCain, but a spectacle to be sure. I'll try to let her rest in piece without much more derogatory commentary from me, unless she dares to step back into the national spotlight. For instance, on a book or speaking tour (he he he).
The economy is in a terrific mess. I don't think there is any quick way out. If we're going to do stimulus spending, lets do stimulus spending by building infrastructure and have the government perhaps buy things made in America. In other words, if we're handing out money to people, get something in return if at all possible.
A co-worker was telling me about a writer that explained the more bureaucracy you have, the less individual responsibility you have. This is an important point in understanding government that I want to get into.
But now I have to go run 4 miles. So - I'm posting this as is - so I don't lose it.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Looney tunes (Sarah Palin quits)
Calling Daffy Duck:
Sarah Palin doesn't want to play any more, so she's taking her ball and going home. Sarah apparently just can't take the heat and so she's gonna stay out of the kitchen. She doesn't want do the stuff other lame duck governors do - so rather than just not do them as governor - she's just going to quit being governor.
To quote Captain Renault, "I'm shocked" to find that Palin isn't going to finish her commitment to the people of Alaska. You could just knock me over with a feather.
On a serious front:
I'm going to begin exploring how I can protect myself in the coming US debt disaster.
I'm throwing out my previous faint hope that Obama might really try to better than Bush, but his plans are just a different form of deficit spending.
Economic trouble continues:
If you missed the unemployment numbers ... you must have your head in the ground. They weren't good, but nature of the world economy and certain the GOP policies have done much to make recovery harder.
Rather than generating a trillion or two of additional deficit spending on government insurance, we should be spending money to make medical school affordable: lets churn out educated people to do the work, set up a fund to replace medical malpractice, etc. We take MDs and medical professionals for granted and they'll just pull out at some point.
More importantly the Democrats in particular and the GOP with somewhat less guilt have done too much to fund social programs ... the problem is, of course, that no one can accept the truth: there isn't enough money to eliminate all suffering and at least some of those suffering choose to keep on doing the things that put them there.
Sarah Palin doesn't want to play any more, so she's taking her ball and going home. Sarah apparently just can't take the heat and so she's gonna stay out of the kitchen. She doesn't want do the stuff other lame duck governors do - so rather than just not do them as governor - she's just going to quit being governor.
To quote Captain Renault, "I'm shocked" to find that Palin isn't going to finish her commitment to the people of Alaska. You could just knock me over with a feather.
On a serious front:
I'm going to begin exploring how I can protect myself in the coming US debt disaster.
I'm throwing out my previous faint hope that Obama might really try to better than Bush, but his plans are just a different form of deficit spending.
Economic trouble continues:
If you missed the unemployment numbers ... you must have your head in the ground. They weren't good, but nature of the world economy and certain the GOP policies have done much to make recovery harder.
Rather than generating a trillion or two of additional deficit spending on government insurance, we should be spending money to make medical school affordable: lets churn out educated people to do the work, set up a fund to replace medical malpractice, etc. We take MDs and medical professionals for granted and they'll just pull out at some point.
More importantly the Democrats in particular and the GOP with somewhat less guilt have done too much to fund social programs ... the problem is, of course, that no one can accept the truth: there isn't enough money to eliminate all suffering and at least some of those suffering choose to keep on doing the things that put them there.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Happy July 1 - Political Comments
The SCOTUS got it right on the Sotomayer/Firemen case. Sorry liberals, Sotomayer's nonsense about being a better judge than a white male doesn't pass snuff either. Still, I don't see knocking her out of the job because of just those things.
Al Franken wins in MN: Rarely is a man so obnoxious unduly deprived of something you'd of rather not see him have due to an even bigger jerk. Oh well. There you go.
Obama's gigantic expenditures on healthcare won't be a cure all for health care, but it will be one more nail in our collective coffin. On an interesting side note, Obama's policies included partial government funding for getting insurance through COBRA. Now my previous employees get to pay less for insurance and I cover the government portion until such time as it decides to pay me back the difference. (My faith is low, but it will probably work out, and I do see some value in the plan).
(Non-political) The US lost a heart breaker to Brazil in South Africa. Wow - who new we could play so well - but who was completely surprised by the second half choke (even if we were playing Brazil). Donovan proved to be a man despite being kind of skinny and all. We already know Howard was a man. Plenty of other good play from the US, though we're still 3 or 4 quality players short of being able to compete consistently.
Later dudes.
Al Franken wins in MN: Rarely is a man so obnoxious unduly deprived of something you'd of rather not see him have due to an even bigger jerk. Oh well. There you go.
Obama's gigantic expenditures on healthcare won't be a cure all for health care, but it will be one more nail in our collective coffin. On an interesting side note, Obama's policies included partial government funding for getting insurance through COBRA. Now my previous employees get to pay less for insurance and I cover the government portion until such time as it decides to pay me back the difference. (My faith is low, but it will probably work out, and I do see some value in the plan).
(Non-political) The US lost a heart breaker to Brazil in South Africa. Wow - who new we could play so well - but who was completely surprised by the second half choke (even if we were playing Brazil). Donovan proved to be a man despite being kind of skinny and all. We already know Howard was a man. Plenty of other good play from the US, though we're still 3 or 4 quality players short of being able to compete consistently.
Later dudes.
Burning bridges faster than you can say...
I am obviously nearing some proverbial breaking point, having got in the face of 4 clients in the span of about 4 days. This kind of trend will have me out of business faster than you can say I'm a stupid idiot. It is bound to back fire in the last case - just perpetrated about 15 minutes ago - where I told a client that he couldn't talk to me a certain way .... and that I would be happy to provide him his code library and instructions of how to use it (not instructions on where to put it).
About six hours earlier I engaged in a few holds barred verbal battle with a client about a $250k project - because I wasn't going to cut enough out to suit him and I was willing to not get the before caving to unlikely demands about someone that doesn't know my business.
Before that I partly chewed out a customer for essentially whining to me about having to work the weekend - after he caused me to have to work while on my vacation in the UK.
Normally I would have let all of these things go. This can't be a good sign (unless additional assertiveness is a good thing).
Hope you guys are more in control that me these days.
About six hours earlier I engaged in a few holds barred verbal battle with a client about a $250k project - because I wasn't going to cut enough out to suit him and I was willing to not get the before caving to unlikely demands about someone that doesn't know my business.
Before that I partly chewed out a customer for essentially whining to me about having to work the weekend - after he caused me to have to work while on my vacation in the UK.
Normally I would have let all of these things go. This can't be a good sign (unless additional assertiveness is a good thing).
Hope you guys are more in control that me these days.
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