Tuesday, December 11, 2012

[“Ready”] This is the response I received about the Bahia Honda Webcam: We are trying to keep it going but have no funding left on the project. We thought it would last a couple of years! It was working last night.

[Marathon Journal]

1.  Marathon’s infrastructure needs attention on a regular basis. That saves property tax dollars. Such work like maintaining the Community Park at a high quality basis. Jesse Hobbs Park, City Hall, satellite firehouses, public works building, and workforce family living.

3. How do you heat up a recovering Florida Keys local economy? Build out our transient units like resorts and high-end hotels. Encourage new tourist attracters along with bringing workforce families back. Devote time and effort to strengthening and helping local businesses.

4.  Pigs on a leash, what will they think of next, children under five must be leashed?

5. The next slaves? Sentient computers or robots. The future is closer than we realize.

6.  Christmas, Hanukkah, Wright Brothers Day, Saint Nicholas Day, Kwanzaa, and New Years Eve, Aids Awareness day, Human Rights Day, International Calendar Awareness Month, Safe Toys and Gifts Month, First Day of Winter, and Hand Washing Awareness Week. No, I did not make any of this up!

7.  Hemingway cats in the news. Next stop the Supreme Court. The issue is “an animal exhibition license”. 

8. In The Coconut Telegraph, “[“The world will end in 12 days on December 21, the Winter Solstice”] Everyone is talking about the Mayan Calendar end date of 12-21-12.

“But what about next Wednesday 12.12.12? This type of date sequence won’t happen for another 988 years and 20 days. 01-01-3001. None of us will around to see this again.”

I have resolved to live 1,000 years so that I can see the next 12.12.12 and the year is 2112.

9.  Connect with family and friends this holiday season. There is no more important action than God and family. I also would ask each local government unit to establish a chaplain/ombudsman to represent residents and visitors. Before an important meeting is started, the chaplain could offer a small nugget of information good for our soul and family. ~Publisher@MarathonJournal.US

Marijuana for recreational use became legal in Colorado Monday.

Traffic is slowing down in the Keys, according to a URS report going to the BOCC at tomorrows meeting.  Part of the report says “Falling below approved traffic levels could limit new construction.”

So what if traffic is slowing down. We don’t need no more stinkin’ development.  When did development become the holy grail?  When did we give up?

Really, Weather Channel, are your ratings so low you have to name snow storms? What next? “Look out Bar Harbor, here comes fog bank MIlford” or “Houston, we have a problem with thunderstorm Willie.”

[Internet Security Billionaire Hiding in So America] That McAfee guy should have taken refuge in the Keys; he would blend right in and nobody would have recognized him. He  looks like any number of guitar players down here. The twenty year old hot girlfriend however, would be a dead giveaway.

The path of any Geminid meteor you see will, if traced far enough back across the sky, cross a spot near the heads of Gemini. This very wide-field scene (from horizon to zenith) is for about 2 a.m. as seen from mid-northern latitudes.

Why Florida’s giant python hunting contest is a bad idea. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has announced that it will hold a month-long competition starting January 12, 2013,  “to see who can harvest the longest and the most Burmese pythons” from designated public lands in southern Florida. The goal is to raise awareness about the threat this invasive species poses to the Everglades ecosystem, and to generate “additional information on the python population in south Florida and enhance our research and management efforts.” Python hunting permit holders, as well as members of the general public, are invited to compete for the cash prizes of $1500 for the most pythons killed and $1000 for the longest python killed.

The Burmese python is one of the largest snakes in the world. (In August researchers at the University of Floridar eported the capture of a 17.7-foot-long specimen—the biggest one ever found in the state.) And there’s good evidence that these constricting snakes, which are native to Asia, are bad news for the Everglades ecosystem. In January researchers published a paper implicating the python in the dramatic decline of raccoons, bobcats and other mammals there.

But allowing anyone over the age of 18 to register and go out and hunt giant snakes on public lands? What could possibly go wrong?

Contest rules require that all participants complete a 30-minute online training course on detecting and documenting the pythons and that they dispatch the snakes “using humane methods,” guidelines for which are available. But compare those rules to the more stringent requirements already on the books for obtaining an FWC  python removal permit, which specify that applicants must, among other things, “have experience capturing wild snakes, handling aggressive snakes and working in remote areas.”

How reliably can a novice sort Burmese pythons from native Florida snakes—some of which are venomous—in the wild after 30 minutes of preparation online? And obvious human safety concerns aside, can someone who has never handled snakes before really be counted on to kill a large constrictor humanely in the heat of the moment? Check out those euthanasia guidelines—they’re more complicated than you might think.

The Burmese python is a very real problem for Florida’s residents—humans and wildlife alike. But the 2013 Python Challenge does not seem like the wisest way to tackle it.

Plastic bags are a product with an inherent design flaw. The bags are lightweight, aerodynamic, practically indestructible and made specifically to be discarded.

I always get a chuckle from reading something sent in by some egotist claiming to be speaking for everybody.

Unicyclists arrive in Key West to complete art project.  Link

Operation Walk USA is a non-profit medical humanitarian organization that provides free hip or knee replacement surgeries for these patients. Operation Walk USA targets patients – US citizens and permanent residents – who do not qualify for government assistance programs. Harnessing a national network of volunteer hospitals, physicians, nurses, physical therapists and others, Operation Walk USA is committed to helping those in need by restoring their mobility, self dignity, productivity, and helping them return to their social world.

On behalf of our patients and participants, we thank our corporate sponsors.  Their generosity helps us restore mobility and give hope. Need help? Start here Link 

[NASA TV Coverage Set for Next Soyuz Space Station Crew Launch] NASA Television will provide live coverage of next week’s launch and docking of the next crew members who will fly to the International Space Station. 

Tom Marshburn of NASA, Roman Romanenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency are scheduled to launch to the space station in their Soyuz TMA-07M spacecraft at 6:12 a.m. CST (6:12 p.m. Baikonur time) Wednesday, Dec. 19, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. NASA TV launch coverage will begin at 5 a.m. and include video of that day’s activities leading to the crew boarding its spacecraft.

[Burglar Breaks Into The House Of A Boxer And Gets Beat Up] The rest of the story really added nothing.

[Free Utility] AM-DeadLink detects dead links and duplicates in browser bookmarks and text files. If a bookmark has become unavailable you can verify and delete it permanently. Additionally you can download FavIcons for all your Favorites and Bookmarks.  Link

Rice Krispies Santa Sleigh Snack.  Link

[Unions] Go ahead and eliminate the unions. But forget about making enough money to afford a house and stuff like that, unless Grandma or Mommy and Daddy gives you one. Of course the rest of you all can get rich too by starting your own businesses, except you will have to run it by yourself because everybody else is going to be too busy running their own businesses to work for you. Wow, we’re all going to get rich!

Looking for something fun to do on a Tuesday night? Join me at Bingo!  Video

[Fracking Creates Local Jobs] We have been saying for years that once they start fracking the cheap ass oil and gas companies are going to use specialized out of state carpet bagger employees and not create jobs to stimulate the economy in poorer areas of Appalachia. It was all lies and now and it has been proven.

Gov. John Kasich said he has “evidence that we’re gathering” that oil-and-gas companies taking advantage of Ohio’s shale plays aren’t hiring Ohioans. “You could have a situation where we are not getting the jobs, they’re taking the resources, and all their profits and they’re heading home,” Kasich said. “That is not acceptable to me. Now, we don’t have the conclusive evidence that this is happening yet, but I want you all to know, and I want the companies to know that this is an extremely serious matter, and we expect them to be responsive to the people of this state.”

[“Trailer for rent, no monkeys, chickens or goats”] You just know there’s a story behind that.

[Perjury] If an individual swears to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and then proceeds to plead “not guilty” and the court goes on to find that defendant is in fact guilty, doesn’t it go without saying that along with J-Walking, the defendant also committed perjury when said defendant plead not guilty?

I wonder why all those civil war battles broke out in National Parks?

Nira Tocco has a beautiful new listing in Doctor’s Arm. Video tour

I Finally got the tree up!  What a job. I worked on it most of the day, but it’s worth it. I just love the smell of pine.

[Billionaires Warn Higher Taxes Could Prevent Them From Buying Politicians] Introducing a new wrinkle into the already fraught fiscal cliff showdown, a consortium of billionaires today warned that if their taxes are raised they will no longer have enough money to buy politicians. The group, led by casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, commissioned a new study showing that the cost of an average politician has soared exponentially over the past decade.

While the American family has seen increases in the cost of food, health care and education, Mr. Adelson says, “those costs don’t compare with the cost of buying a politician, which has gone through the roof.” The casino billionaire points to his group’s study, which puts the cost of purchasing an average House member at two million dollars and an average senator at several times that. “And let’s say you buy a Senator like [South Carolina Senator] Jim DeMint and he decides to quit,” Mr. Adelson says. “Good luck trying to get your money back.”

The Vegas magnate complains that the media has ignored billionaires’ essential role in giving jobs to politicians who would otherwise have difficulty finding “honest work of any kind.”

“Billionaires are providing employment for a group of seriously incompetent and marginal people,” Mr. Adelson says. “You raise taxes on us, and who’s going to create those jobs? I really don’t think people have thought this through.” Adding insult to injury for America’s billionaires, he says, “the simple dream of someday owning a President is slipping out of reach.” “People think a billion dollars buys you a President, but they’re wrong,” he says. “It barely gets you a lemon like Mitt Romney.”  ~Posted by Andy Borowitz

[Illegals Should Die] Dialysis for an illegal alien, which must be done in an ER setting, costs upwards of $75,000 per year. This guy was on dialysis for 8 years. Do you think any of us would have received all that free dialysis? How many of us do you think would get that transplant surgery (and all the pre-testing, screening, evaluation and post-surgical care) and all associated costs of a few hundred thousand dollars done for free by Loyola or any major medical institution? (And in two other Chicago hospitals, another illegal is being considered for a free liver transplant while his brother, also illegal, has been placed on a liver transplant waiting list.)

His mother who knowingly, purposely and illegally brought him here 23 years ago, should have gone back to Mexico with her son years ago to fight for his health care there. Mexico has a national health care system, and kidney transplants are routinely performed there. There is NO reason this Mexican citizen could not have returned to his home country, the country he IS a citizen of, and had his transplant surgery there. And, as a Mexican citizen, the Mexican government should be responsible now for the cost of his post-surgical anti-rejection medications–which will cost upwards of $10,000 per year for the rest of his life– not the U.S.taxpayer. We should not be forced to cover potentially over $1 million in medical bills over his lifetime because he is here illegally. 

[“We will all be sharing the cost of Obamacare“]  Why do I think you’re not sharing a dang thing other than what you can get from it?  I don’t care to share your cost, get your hand out of my pocket.

[Global Warming Not Real] Lovely piece on global warming, I see it is written by that same esteemed journalist that has written for the left on countless occasions, he is from Vermont, you know that state with the Socialist governor, nice to have folks like this looking out for us , as we are all to stupid to decipher the shenanigans of the world stage, How does that old saying go “figures don’t lie, but liars figure” we can bend facts of the global warming nature into most any scenario we wish, all we need is an outlet and lots of folks who get their total sum of their knowledge of world events from the likes of the evening T.V. shows which they ardently peruse for perhaps a half an hour before turning to their favorite game show, But again all is well in the U.S.A. and we have a printing press, and a solid core of what Lenin described as our “Useful Idiots” what more could a fellow like Obama ask for.

[Foreign Aid] Maybe Americans will realize that charity begins at home. With millions of our people in need and in poverty, let’s save our borrowed money and spend it at home instead of sending it to Egypt,Libya,Pakistan, etc. Staten Island and parts of New Jersey would gladly thank America if we spent those billions there.

[“Global Warming: If man and his use of fossil fuels is causing this, please explain to me why the ice caps on Mars are melting, too.”] That was the most ridiculous Republican criticism of climate change I’ve ever read. They truly are out of the loop. I hope that was humor and I’m just too sensitive to ignorance.

[Captain Doom and Gloom] No one is asking anyone to pay for your health care. That is the truth, but twisted as usual. They are making you pay for everybody’s healthcare if you like it or not. Zig hail comrade, it is socialist time in the old coral. now all you got to do is figure out how not to work for a living!

Love the way the Democrats knock the Republicans with twisted truths, bend slander, phony facts, and pure master baiter logic. Just a few years ago, all that is said today about the Republicans, was gospel in the Democrat Party. Thank you media.

From the Right

We’ve consistently been reading some tortured postings from some of our Denizens of Left Field.  Some rejoice in condemning Republicans/Conservatives as being: 1. Old. 2. White. 3. Incapable of absorbing new ideas. And 4. Rich!

Deer friends, just think of that, the kids condemn us for being exactly what they aspire to be. I’ve never met a sane young person who really wanted to die young. If there were lots of bubble heads like that, we wouldn’t have the problems with SS and Medicare we have now. Let’s face it, being old is one hell of a lot better than not getting to be old. As to being white, there is nothing special about that, but for the life of me, I can’t imagine any sane person being ashamed of being white, black, Asian, tall, short, glbt, or even ugly. On the other hand some of our CT left fielders really should be ashamed of writing dumb postings.

As for wealth: certainly there are some small number of folks who would avoid being wealthy by choice, but they are but a tiny fraction of our society.  Nearly everyone wants to be wealthier than they are. That why they want raises, they play the stock market, they gamble, they look for higher paying jobs etc… To condemn anyone for being wealthy or wanting to be wealthy is hypocrisy writ large.  It is at the very core of the visceral liberal hate of persons with wealth. 

Our society is degrading. Energy, ambition, and  self-respect are not an important part of the liberal lexicon. It is both tragic and very unsettling that many Americans have decided that having just enough is enough. Many have decided that they can get along just fine on the public dole. Entitlements quash ambition and hope. Huge swaths of our society have decided that they can exist comfortably enough on what guv’mint gives them.  In fact, Liberals strongly encourage that ethos. One difference between the Liberals and the Conservatives is that the Conservatives believe in a safety net, but the liberals believe in a hammock.

We also must consider the hypocrisy of some of these liberal posters. Some falsely damn the Reps etc. as being bigots. Yet these same liberals rail against conservatives because they have identified the conservatives as being white, male, old, and rich. Is that not pure bigotry? Check out Webster’s definition: “person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices…”

Then of course there is the issue of their hatred of “old”.  Perhaps it is not hatred, perhaps it is only fear.  But, from personal experience I know that being old is a privilege and even more of the great adventure of life. We Olde Farts have a vastly superior inventory of experience that do the youngsters.  While the youngsters are laboring to become educated and to garner wisdom, we Olde Farts are already there. While the youngsters are repeatedly surprised by life’s travails and pleasures, we Olde Farts have experienced most them. We’ve known joy, love, pleasure, hate, envy, failure, success, fear, grief and every other measure of the human experience. We are the consummate “been there, done that”.   Most of us Olde Farts have even learned not to be smug about it. Our youth, like us when we were youth, go careening about fueled more by emotion and hormones than by thought and wisdom. 

Yep, being old is good; being old and wealthy has got to be even better.