Posts from — September 2007

You already knew Chocolate ‘cuts blood clot risk’ and Chocolate ‘lowers’ blood pressure, so it’s not much surprise to learn that Chocolate ‘aids fatigue syndrome’: “A daily dose of dark chocolate may help reduce the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, say UK researchers.”

I wonder if they have researched hot fudge banana splits as a cure for cancer?

Florida License Plates

Beneficiary

A weekend feature of Why Now.

This is becoming really embarrassing. The guys in the system software shop have to be depressed.

CNet has an article up: Microsoft extends Windows XP’s stay

Large PC manufacturers were slated to have to stop selling XP after January 31. However, they have successfully lobbied Microsoft to allow them to continue selling PCs with all flavors of Windows XP preloaded until June 30, a further five months. Microsoft also plans to keep XP on retail shelves longer and will allow computer makers in emerging markets to build machines with Windows XP Starter Edition until June 2010.

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A lot of people were surprised when the Shrubbery started talking about Burma, making it a major part of his UN speech. I heard wonder in people’s voices, as to the reason for this interest. Some opined that he might actually be concerned about human rights. Silly rabbits, what do all of the countries that the Shrubbery knows anything about have in common? Of course there’s oil in Burma.

For background you can read the country profiles of Burma at the BBC, the CIA World Factbook, and Wikipedia.

The BBC also provide articles on Burma junta’s bunker mentality, and Aung San Suu Kyi, the woman who was elected to lead the country, but is under house arrest.

The Junta changed the international name of the country to Myanmar, which made sense, as that is the name of the country in the majority language, but opposition groups oppose the change because it wasn’t approved by the parliament. The US and UK stick with Burma, which is an anglicized version of the colloquial name of the country.

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Dr. Jeff Masters noted another record for hurricanes this year:

Lorenzo sets another rapid intensification record for 2007
Hurricane Lorenzo hit Mexico’s Veracruz coast near Tuxpan early Friday morning. The storm’s heavy rains have triggered mudslides blamed for at least four deaths. Lorenzo has tied the Atlantic record for fastest intensification from a tropical depression to a Category 1 hurricane–twelve hours. Hurricane Blanche of 1969 was the only other storm on record that intensified from a tropical depression to a Category 1 hurricane in just 12 hours. Hurricane Ethel of 1960 may have done so faster, though. Ethel strengthened from a 45-mph tropical storm to a 85 mph Category 1 hurricane in just 6 hours. We don’t know when Ethel started as a tropical depression, since this was before the satellite era.

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It’s Saturday and time for the liar-side chat™, in which the Shrubbery complains that he had to sign a continuing resolution because the Dems in Congress hadn’t sent him the authorization bills for the new fiscal year that begins Monday. He apparently forgot that since the Republicans gained control of the House in 1994, the spending bills have never been delivered on time, and the first thing the Dems had to do in the 110^th Congress was to pass all of the spending bills left behind by the 109^th Congress.

The coverage shows that someone on the Dem’s side understands political theater: Radio Addresses: Bush V. 12-Year-Old. The Dem response was delivered by a middle-school student who backs the SCHIP law that the Shrubbery says he’ll veto.

This is totally unfair. If you’re not going to use a politician, the student shouldn’t have gone beyond the fourth grade. the Dems keep bringing in the “intellectual elite” to sandbag Repubs. Let’s have a level playing field people.

Proving once again that we need a kindergarten teacher instead of a UN Secretary General: Iran: CIA, U.S. Army ‘terrorist organizations’

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s parliament on Saturday approved a nonbinding resolution to label the CIA and the U.S. Army “terrorist organizations.” The move is seen as a diplomatic tit-for-tat after the U.S. Senate voted in favor of a resolution urging the State Department to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization.

“The aggressor U.S. Army and the Central Intelligence Agency are terrorists and also nurture terror,” said a statement by the 215 lawmakers who signed the resolution at an open session of the Iranian parliament. The session was broadcast live on state-run radio.

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Topps expands beef recall because of possible E. Coli contamination in its frozen hamburger patties. Topps set up a toll-free recall help line at (888) 734-0451

• 21.7 million pounds of ground beef recalled
• Products have ‘sell by,’ ‘best if used by’ date between 9/25/07 through 9/25/08
• Recalled products have a USDA establishment number of EST 9748

The patties are sold under the names: Butcher’s Best, Kohler Foods, Mike’s, Pathmark, Rastelli’s, Roma, Sam’s Choice, Sand Castle, Shop Rite, Topps, and Westside.

Even if you don’t buy these evil things directly, you usually get them in restaurants.

Let the cows eat grass. Cows that eat grass do not develop the dangerous form of E. coli: their digestive track kills it. It comes from grain-fed beef cattle.

Tropical Storm Karen

Position: 16.6 N 52.9 W. [4AM CDT]
Movement: West-Northwest [300°] near 9 mph.
Maximum sustained winds: 40 mph.
Wind Gusts: 50 mph.
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 175 miles.
Minimum central pressure: 1008 mb.

Currently 590 miles East of the Leeward Islands [the upper islands of the Lesser Antilles].

Tropical Storm Melissa
Position: 14.1 N 27.4 W. [4AM CDT]
Movement: West [270°] near 3 mph.
Maximum sustained winds: 40 mph.
Wind Gusts: 50 mph.
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 70 miles.
Minimum central pressure: 1005 mb.

The former tropical depression 14 is about 260 miles West-Southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.

Both storms are seriously constrained by wind shear. Karen is becoming a very big storm, but wind shear is preventing it from spinning up, and may tear it apart.

Dr. Cole notes: Senate Partitions Iraq

The US Senate voted for a soft partition of Iraq on Thursday. First they messed up Iraq by authorizing Terrible George to blow it up, now they want to further mess it up by dividing it. It makes no sense to me; the US Senate doesn’t even have the authority to divide Iraq. Wouldn’t that be for the Iraqi parliament?

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We are finally getting to the real political season for a Presidential election year and based on what I see and read, the current “leading candidates” just don’t get it. The voters got burned twice and they are not going to just go along with vapid foolishness this time. The 2008 election has the potential to be one of the lowest turn-out elections ever.

Editor & Publisher looks at a recent poll – GALLUP: Trust in Federal Government, On Nearly All Issues, Hits New Low — Even Less Than in Watergate Era

NEW YORK A new Gallup poll reveals that, as the organization puts it, Americans now “express less trust in the federal government than at any point in the past decade, and trust in many federal government institutions is now lower than it was during the Watergate era, generally recognized as the low point in American history for trust in government.”

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Tropical Storm Karen
Position: 15.1 N 49.2 W. [10AM CDT]
Movement: West-Northwest [295°] near 9 mph.
Maximum sustained winds: 40 mph.
Wind Gusts: 50 mph.
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 140 miles.
Minimum central pressure: 1009 mb.

Currently 805 miles East-Northeast of the Windward Islands [the lower islands of the Lesser Antilles] and weakening.

Tropical Depression Lorenzo
Position: 20.6 N 98.4 W. [10AM CDT]
Movement: West [260°] near 9 mph.
Maximum sustained winds: 35 mph.
Wind Gusts: 45 mph.
Minimum central pressure: 1002 mb.

Dissipating over over central Mexico as a major rain event.

Tropical Depression Fourteen
Position: 14.1 N 26.5 W. [10AM CDT]
Movement: West near 7 mph.
Maximum sustained winds: 35 mph.
Wind Gusts: 45 mph.
Minimum central pressure: 1008 mb.

About 210 miles Southwest of the Cape Verde Islands

Ringo Baby Picture

You don’t mind? Do ya, huh?

[Editor: Very busy, I’ll explain later.]

Friday Ark

Position: 20.5 N 96.5 W. [10PM CDT] [Updated]
Movement: West [270°] near 6 mph.
Maximum sustained winds: 80 mph.
Wind Gusts: 95 mph.
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 70 miles.
Hurricane Wind Radius: 25 Miles
Minimum central pressure: 990 mb.

Currently 70 miles East-Southeast of Tuxpan in the Gulf of Mexico.