Pittsburgh Penguins - Standings

Pittsburgh Penguins - Standings

Get some! Boy my Pens are looking good. Thats the kind of play you want to see rolling in the playoffs.

UnderwaterTimes | Maryland Angler Snags State Record 5-foot-long Blue Catfish; 'We Needed A Larger Net'

Congrads dude.

UnderwaterTimes | Maryland Angler Snags State Record 5-foot-long Blue Catfish; 'We Needed A Larger Net'

Spring Haiku

flocks arrive in droves.
grass grows in the longer days
seasons are changin

What your missing up there in the sky.

First some solar update. If you got a solar telly, get that baby out and on the sun. Look at all that activity.
There is a ripple in the community of sun watchers. I myself would love to join this group of obsessive observers, but I am still an old schooler. By Old schooler I mean I have all the technology the ancient greeks and egyptians had. Thats right point and stare baby. But that brings me to this next picture.
I would love to snap shots like this. But all I can do is watch a dot move rather steadily across the sky. Its all good though. This is the space station and the shuttle Endeavor moving across the sky. If you live around the ESMD, you can catch the dots around 8:30 at night for now.

Either way, get out and look up. You might be surprised in what you find.

Strap it in, strap it on, just make sure it's secure.

As a guy, I have realized that a good portion of my life is going to be devoted to loading and unloading the family truckster. About a two years ago, my wife was in a car accident and totaled the killa Saturn we just paid off 2 months earlier. Super bummer that was cause I just paid off my truck the month before that. We were going to be rollin. Then some asshole in a mazda wasn't paying attention and slammed into the back of our saturn without hitting the brakes. So we got this Dodge Caliber, mostly cause I got family that works at the dealership and got a good deal on it. I like the car. It performs well, has killa mpg, and is incredibly versatile. My wife and I are not SUV types. I hate on SUVs all the time. Thats just me. Why? Cause that shit don't make sense. Finite amount of fossil fuels and we make a generation of cars that drink gas like Kobayashi eats hot dogs. But we can rail on SUVs later. Lets get back to our little 4 door hatch back. See thats all we were looking for anyway. At first we were going to see if we could get hooked up with a station wagon, but those plans fell thorough. Who the hell is buying those damn Volvos anyway? But as a man, you need to change how you look at a car when buying for a family. Used to be all about the power, 4 wheel drive, and goooood paint. Not anymore, its now all about cargo racks, comfortable seats, dvd players, and folding chairs. Straight up. So when your on the prowl for a car, see if it comes with a basic cargo rack. Make sure that front seat folds flat. Seriously. That passenger flat folder has become a dinner tray, laptop desk, and baby changing table for me. And you want to look to see if your new ride comes with a standard 110 volt household outlet. Then you don't have to buy a car charger for your phone, your laptop, your dvd player, etc. And lastly, get some straps and keep them in your ride. You will use these things more than you think. When you buy lumber, but forget your in the family car. When you buy that ottoman that hangs half way out of the back of the car. Remember the family canoe? You will want to strap that jittney to the top of the car. See the uses are endless. And as a man, you will be expected to know how to do all of this and do it well. See I got a leg up on most of you. I was a strap down expert in the Army. That is pretty much all I did. Strap ammo to pallets. Strap Forklifts to pallets. Strap nukes to pallets. Hell I strapped pallets to pallets. It was funny to look back at that time and realize how useful to me that experience from the Army serves me in my everyday life. Go Army, beat Navy.

So my final word to you fellows is learn how to tie shit down. Know at least 3 different knots. And never ever allow a strap to have a twist in it. Keep that shit in mind and you should make out alright.

Reason # 572 why IBM Thinkpads kick ass.

So I was chillin with the little one on Saturday morning. We had settled in our routine of meandering around the house until it was warm enough to get outside. There is usually a break in the action from 9 to 10 so she can watch Diego and Dora, so I started to flip through the channels on the tube and found on Discover at 9:30 they were going with a live HD feed from the International Space Station. It was pretty cool. I have seen plenty of hazy, snow filled images from NASA over the years. It is high time they go all HD all the time. Anyway, it was just what you thought it would be, right down to the obligatory floating oj juice ball. I know lame. But think about it, what are they really going to show you? Here check out this top secret DOD experiment we are doing. Right. Anyway as they were showing the capsule where the American dude was camping out, there were 8 maybe 10 laptops hooked up to stations down the wall. Astronaut guy said when they have to operate the space station they usually do it from these laptops. Each laptop was an IBM Thinkpad. Yeah baby. Workhorse of the ISS. Get some. Thats pretty damn cool considering they stopped making the IBM version like 18 months ago. Its Lenovo now. Still the same bad ass laptop though. And even though they are a few years old, these Think Pads kick so much ass, they are still used by NASA. So toss that Dell in the closet and get a Think Pad.

Spring Haiku

mid day suns warmth gives
way to evenings windy chill.
birds sing their love songs.

10,000 year old structure found in Canadian lake : thecrit.com

10,000 year old structure found in Canadian lake : thecrit.com

Spring Haiku

bright yellow blossoms
robins are heavy with eggs
people walk everywhere

Eco tip.

Designer Kechenyi Camille has hit on a brilliant but simple solution for saving time and energy. And isn't it the simple solutions that work best anyway? Plus the eco-cook makes sense. I cook in distilled water only. Hell thats all my family drinks. Call me a water snob if you want, but my validation came as the headline "Large quantities of pharma in the public water supply!". But that is another post in itself. He is a banging way for me conserve that precious commodity of distilled water. Here are some comments from the designer

In 2015, environment problems from energy will become more and more serious. I believe that everyone’s life will be concerned. Thus kitchenware will be modernise to reduce energy consumption. My eco-cook is an object that helps to save water, energy and time. Everyday, everyone, has to cook pasta, rice or various vegetable. Therefore different pots are needed. In a unique pot, the eco-cook enables to divide 2 or 3 space and to boil different food at the same time. Thereby, water and gas or electricity is saved. Moreover when food is taken out the eco-cook, it will automatically drain out, allowing to win precious time. In 2015 I also believe that most people will always be in a hurry. The eco-cook design permits to help 2015 people that pay close attention to energy and time.

I love it but good luck trying to find a place to buy this. I looked for like 10 minutes in a google search and found plenty of hype but no place to buy. If anyone finds a purchase site, let me know.

5 years of war. Thanks Bush, heck ofva job your doing there.

Put it on our backs cause we don't give a fuck. Speaking from a soldiers point of view (for those who don't know, I served in the Army during the first Gulf War), life is so damn miserable, you don't care anymore. Sure there is the training that keeps you functioning, but the human inside of you, well lets just say sometimes is easier to not feel one way or the other about what your doing. This war is ridiculous. It's a meat grinder that will chew up more families and spit them out on the foundations of freedom. But thats the price you pay to keep terrorists from crawling out of their foxholes in Iraq, boarding a plane and setting up shop here in the US. All of this in an effort to kill more Americans. I understand the logic behind this thought, but it aint reality. Far from it. You want to really fight the GWOT, get these guys out of Iraq and dump this money and effort into special forces. Let them do the work they are trained to do. Extractions, hits, strategic bombings, recon, whatever you want done on the down low, SEALS, Delta Force, and the Green Berets are more than up to the challenge. Didn't the lessons of Vietnam teach this cabal any damn thing? Oh thats right, probably not considering they weren't there. Should have been, and if they had any American blood, real blood in their veins, they would have. Real warriors know when the country needs them and they answer the call, no matter what. They answer the call when they know they will not see their child born or the first 18 months of their life. They answer the call regardless of what may happen to their life. Real soldiers have enormous burdens placed on their backs by politicians that worry more about their bottom lines that the interest of their country. Look at that picture up there. A hundred pounds on his back, knee pads that have fallen to his boots and he doesn't have the time or energy to fix it, and all he can do is rest for the few spare minutes he gets. We got rid of Saddam, our job is done. Let Iraq put itself back together. If they kill each other, so be it. It has been that way for hundreds of years. From a former soldier to you Mr. President, you need to do something about this mess of yours. And make it snappy.

Backyard astronomer captures video of meteor hitting the moon.

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It was captured on a 8 in telly. I so want one of those. One day, until then I gotta stick with the nocs.

France buries last WWI vet

The Raw Story | France buries last WWI vet

Goodbye Mr.Lazare Ponticelli. May you rest in peace.

O's Hernandez in shape, re-energized -- baltimoresun.com

O's Hernandez in shape, re-energized -- baltimoresun.com

Hey I got down and watched some spring training games last night. I love my O's and its good to read that Hernandez has his shit together. Even I was like, dude is getting fat. We're paying him what?

Happy Guinness Holiday!

You know why I love St. Patrick's Day? Because I know spring is never to far behind. Good fishing is right around the corner and soon it will be time to plan the gardening activities for the year. Thats the why, but here is the now. This is the day to get a little crazy. I have been drinking Guinness forever. Since the first time I got my little grubby hands on the stout or draught. Its all good. The stout is one of the best beers to take fishing. It packs a punch and is good to go after it gets a little warm. The draught? Good to drink in a pinch now they offer it in a 11.2 oz bottle. Good to drink at lunch with a good batch of steamed veggies and taters. Got to go all out Irish today. Plus I will venture out in my yard and check out the clover patch for a 4 leafer. I got one in the pages of my copy of Herodotus. I know I know it should be Finnegan's Wake, but that book wrecks me freakin brain. Have you tried to read that shit? Its freakin hard stuff man. I had a friend who got picked up for selling week out west. We wrote each other a couple times when he was in the clink. I ask what he was doing, he told me that he had been reading Finnegan's Wake. It was the only time in his life he could devote the time to understand it. What other book can you think of that you have to wait until your ass land in jail to have the ample amount of time to understand it? Freakin Irish. Plus you can throw down and celebrate your Irish heritage with out fear of being treated like a second class slave. Of course that was 160 years ago, but its hard to let go of that shit. Alright lads, bottums up!

Incredible to see, dumb to do.

link

Bush says if younger, he would work in Afghanistan .

From Reuters- Bush says if younger, he would work in Afghanistan.:

"'I must say, I'm a little envious,' Bush said. 'If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed.'

'It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks,' Bush said."

This is the shit that really pisses me off about Bush. He does not understand. He doesn't get it because he has never had blisters on the bottom of his feet the size of golf balls cause the combat boots your wearing are so damn tight after they get wet, they constantly rub your feet. Bush has never had to look a 10 year old in the eye and wonder if the kid has a grenade in his pocket. He has never seen his best friends head explode from a sniper shot. He has never felt the warm piss run down his leg as the nerve gas in his lungs starts to shut down his nervous system leaving a soldier to drown in his own blood and vomit. You know something Mr. President? Confronting danger usually requires a bayonet and the will to run that bayonet between the ribs of the man looking to do the same to you. If I were you I would be envious too. Envious of the courage it takes to make you man enough to serve on the front lines of a war. This is another case of those who know the deal don't have to talk about it. They just know. And sometimes that aint a good thing.

Happy Pi day, you know 3.14!

Yes, right about now your like "What the hell?" then it all comes back to you. Pi. 3.14 something something. Well if your a mathematician, you are probably gonna hook up with your other math buddies and drink coffee and talk pi smack. I ain't gonna lie, I wish I could hang out. If you don't have that much pull in the math world, your probably just living out your friday work day. And there is nothing wrong with that. Just know your missing out on this special day. Just like you have no idea about 4.20 day or 3.11 day. But the numbers 911 are burned on your forehead. or for you old schoolers 12.7. Hell we all got our days we celebrate. My day that gets me is 7.30. And its all because of that damn Jaws movie. Figure it out because if I gotta tell you, you don't know. And I aint got time for that shit now. Cause I am at work. Which means I am high speed low drag. I only drag at home. Cause I can. But at work I am the man, the closer, the dude that gets shit done. Cause I take pills. I got this one pill called Fuckitol and it really takes care of everything. Fuckitol. 2 please and a cup of coffee, sugar no cream please.

No kitchen? No problem.

This here is a great design concept for the single dude or dudette. If you got a small living space or happened to be like me and live in your parents garage for 4 or 5 years, this is something you should think about. I mean there is only so much you can do with a camp stove. I have been looking at reviews online about Alex Bradley's Single Person Cooker, and I don't see how it heats. No one specifically says if its electrical or gas of some sort.
But its way better than making mac and cheese and burning the fur off your cats tail cause he gets a little to friendly with the blue flame. After rolling him around on the floor a couple of times he was fine. Only his pride was hurt. I think. Anyway when I think back to the days of living in my broke ass single digs, I know this thing would have promoted healthier food choices for me. But then again, I wasn't thinking about this back then cause I was a cook/pizza god and had all the pizza options a chap could want. My wheat crust, goat cheese, shrimp, spinach and roasted red pepper pizza is still the ass kicker. Believe it fools!

Fallon Resigns as Mideast Military Chief,

Fallon Resigns as Mideast Military Chief, Gates Says - washingtonpost.com Great. This man was all that was standing up to a administration hell bent on bombing Iran. Fallon retires on March 31st. We will bomb Iran April 1st, maybe 2nd. Get ready for the next big blunder in foreign policy, $200 a barrel oil, and a complete cluster fuck in the middle east.

This is a desk.

Now I love anything that looks like something besides what it actually is. And this desk is down right killa. Despite its smallish size, it looks really comfortable.
Can you imagine rolling up on a client with this get up. You know, your an accountant on an audit and you walk in break out a laptop and a desk of your own in like 5 minutes. Killa.

I mean look at this cat. He is of average size and seems to be making out alright in this congested entrance way. I have no idea why one would want to set up shop in the foyer, but to each their own. Personally I think its pretty freakin stupid. Where the hell is he gonna plug in after the battery dies? I guess thats where that concept of mobility will really come into play. Anyway, I just think this is a cool ass desk. They should make everyone work from one of these. Hey I wonder if you can go all Costanza and ball up inside of that thing when its closed up. Like a big sleeping egg. Now that is something to ponder....like returning to the womb.

Common Sense bitches!!!!

"That there are men in all countries who get their living by war, and by keeping up the quarrels of Nations, is as shocking as it is true; but when those who are concerned in the government of a country make it their study to sow discord, and cultivate prejudices among Nations, it becomes the more unpardonable."

Alright, there is some confusion as to when Common Sense was published, some say January 10, some March 10, some other dates included February. Well that is because there were additions and partly because it didn't occur to anyone back then this little piece of America would be so damn important to what we are as Americans. How ya like that quote at the top there? Just one of many in that book that kick ass. So go home tonight and crack open a cold one and celebrate what Thomas Paine gave us: life, liberty, and the pursuit of beer. Here is a link to an online copy.

From the sea....

I was looking at this article about a 1000 pound hammerhead caught in shallow water in Florida. If you don't want to see a giant 1 ft dead hammerhead, I would not visit the link. And if your wondering, thats not the biggest caught in the shallows around Florida, I saw a dude on Nat Geo's Monster Fish that caught this 1200 pounder. Dude was all alone and had to radio for help after the hammerhead puled him 12 miles off the coast in his 20 ft flat bottom boat. Dude had balls.
My short attention span was drawn to another article that had these killa pictures of a white killer whale. How freakin rare is this you might ask? Well for one I bet you never seen one. I haven't and I have been looking at weird shit from the sea all my life.

These shot came from the north pacific. Pretty rare stuff. Enjoy. Killer Whale article link.

You should get out and look at the morning sky.

Check out this moon sliver and Jupiter. Good stuff. If you get up before the crack of dawn like me, you should take a few minutes to look south in the sky. There are some planets that are fun to watch right now. They are moving pretty fast across the sky now, but for the past few weeks they have provided plenty of beautiful solar system moments for me while I eat a bowl of Special K red berries with a cut up banana and soy milk. Yes I need to shed some pounds off my fat ass. But I digress, get out there and look at the sky. It will make you think about life outside of this planet. Observing the wonders of our universe by sky gazing puts you in touch with the force that holds us together, binds us, flow through us. Okay Okay, sorry to get all yoda on you there. But here is another update for you. Remember that exploding comet? That is the white fuzzy thing and its hanging out by the California nebula. I bet you had no idea that Cali had a nebula named after it.

A map of our religion.

I found this map and I can't stop looking at it. It is pretty freakin amazing how regions of the country are divided along religious preference. Look at the south. I mean you can't miss it. I found it interesting that the Methodist faith is kinda unique to my area and a few other green spatters on the map. I never realized that. I guess there have always been Methodist churches around so I thought they were all over the place. I mean who would have guess Oklahoma would be the most diverse state in respect to religion? The more you look at it, the more your like hmmmmmmm. Enjoy!

Look them Penguins a top the Eastern Conference.

Pittsburgh Penguins - Recap: Pittsburgh @ Tampa Bay - 03/04/2008Welcome back Sid. And give some love to our man between the pipes, Marc-Andre Fleury. You the man. I love watching this team play. Young, fast, creative. Damn fabulous to watch.

Tuna breakthrough to help aquaculture.

Tuna breakthrough to help aquaculture. This is great news. I need to see it happen over a decade or so. Just to make sure the fish don't reject this, like salmon. They never adapted well to captivity. Tuna are killer hunters and all muscle. A real wild ass fish. I can't see them kicking that wild gene. They are just to predatory.

Some thoughts about 2008 politics.

Well it looks like The Hill is going to be around for awhile. This Dem battle will rage into April now. And that is a double edge sword, but more on that in a second. First check out this above map of Ohio. BO got his ass waxed there. Sure he won the urban centers but you have to wonder about this when you think back to Kerry in 04. Ohio. Fuckin Ohio. Why in the hell are they a such a big roller when it comes to determining our president? So if your a Obama supporter, you gotta keep this in the back of your head. He has issues when it comes to winning a popular vote in Ohio.

The Hill got to stand on stage an have the ticker tape fall all around. Such a lovely staged moment. Almost fairy tale like.

McCain got the Republican nod. Congrats. The difference between the number of Dems voting compared to Repubs is freakin astonishing. In some instances, millions more Dems turned out. Now you tell me who is more excited about this race?

And finally my thoughts on that double edged sword. McCain may have won his party's nod, but all he can really do now is head back to Washington and get ready for the real run. As long as The Hill and BO are going at it, they will be the front page news. Everyone is watching that. So McCain media time will be second choice for any producer looking to land a interview or some words of wisdom. Hey that does cut the other way. People will eventually get sick of seeing The Hill and BO. And don't think its not going to get ugly. Exit polling showed that the attacks The Hill launched on BO in the final days won over people who were undecided up until 3 days before the primary. Look for more negative ads and dirty tricks. Hey don't say you will not like it, cause you will. U.S. Americans love a good dirty fight.

Sorry for the lack of posting today, but its primary season.

I have been reading as much as I can on returns and what not. From what I am seeing it doesn't matter if The Hill wins today or not, I think Obama got enough horses to make it. Superdelegates are starting to go his way. 2 more today. 6 have switched from The Hill. Obama is rising. More on this later.

Extreme Houseboats.

Seriously, I could not wait for this to come around again. Back in the 50's and 60's you saw all kinds of cool ass innovation that gave us cars that were boats and houses that could float. It was a kids dream to believe he could drive his car in the lake and motor to his house. Or stepping out and fishing off the deck when you want. Or if you really want to get down to it, program my house to drive around the lake or shore we live near at certain times to fish certain spots at certain times of the morning and evening. I am down with this. I like this model at the top here. It seems perfect for bays and tributaries. Or lakes. Heck with the onslaught of global warming, we all better get used to mobility and adaptation in our everyday living.

Here are some modern solutions to the problems of housing in Amsterdam. The Dutchhave been fighting the sea for land for hundreds of years. With rising seas, that fight will get harder to win, let alone keep what they reclaimed. So floating is an option in countries like Germany where they have great wide rivers to use. Pretty cool designs. Here is a link to a blog with a good article on floating homes.

March.

The month of March is the agent of change. This is the month that makes some people cry for joy, other feel the tears of another year slipping away. March. Even the name implies a ruthless walk forward no matter what. March. IN like a lion, out like a lamb. March is such a gemini. One day its 66 degrees, sunny, blue skies all giving us a sneak peek at the coming summer and spring, the next day its a record low in the teens, freezing everything in sight and then some. Gotta love March. She will keep you on your toes. This is when I usually get to thinking about fishing. Wantin to get out there with the ol fly rod and swingin some bugs around. This might be the year I can take my daughter out in the canoe, but then again we will see. She still doesn't want to listen to me all the time. We will see. There are some other events that happened here in March and this is just the 3rd.

This is the day that one guy with a video camera changed everything. In 1991 Rodney King was beaten by LA police. I mean he was beat down. And everyone saw it. EVERYONE. This is the point when technology made everyone a reporter. With a video camera, we all have become citizen journalists. Here it is 17 years later and look at what a cell phone can do. Our phones capture all kinds of exciting stuff. And since 911, the surveillance industry has come of age. We are all spying on each other looking for that next piece of video that will put us on the map. Everyone is looking to be the guy that shot the Rodney King video.

Have a good day. Try to get outside and look around at the onset of spring.