THE STEEL DEAL

The King of Obfuscation

  Let me tell you a story. I was watching a TV show and this guy came on. He was introduced as 'running for the 33rd State Congressional seat in the State of Texas'. I bit. I double bit. After a few words came out of his mouth, I walked away from my TV shaking my head saying that fucker is insane. It hurt my head. But he started up again and I had to listen. Now I was wondering if I was insane ... or going deaf. I walked away one more time. Next time the guy did what he does, I had to Google his ass. Good thing, otherwise I'd been sure I was either going insane or the drugs had finally gotten to me. The most important thing about my experience is that I really thought this fucker was for real. As in an actual politician. That should scare you.

Scares me.

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ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PLATE TECTONICS & OPIUM.

  Heh. I was about to make a post about the earthquake in Chile and vaguely recalled having made 'an earthquake' image some time back. A good many things I should remember are now 'vaguely recalled' - if at all. Which is the blessing and curse of old age - forgetting things. I'm more than happy to forget much of my life, especially my childhood - it sucked and is only a buzzkill now. Memory is a funny thing. I am very keen on it as a process and its impact on my being. For instance, marijuana affects short term memory and it takes some doing to override that. Long term memory naturally slips away with disuse - you must refresh that crap or it will disappear. My issue these days is with the stuff in between - midterm memory - for lack of a better word.

 Things that I did a few months ago are almost irretrievable. It either lodges in my long term memory or is tossed out like a handful of Post-It notes that have been gathering dust. Here's something else you probably don't know - opiates screw with memory ... in a most delicate way. When humans dream, the brain - memory - is taking all the sensations, data and feelings of the day and collating that into short term and long term memory. Without that release - that assignment of thoughts and emotions - human beings can only last for few days. Sleep deprivation works so well as an interrogation technique for just that very reason. Opium provides its own dreams.

 Opium and its derivatives create wonderfully cinematic dreams, but they have absolutely nothing to do with rearranging one's data so as to facilitate recall (memory) or prevent overload to the system or worse - a complete crash. That's one of the reasons that opiates are so damned addicting. And one of the reasons that -  even though I am supposed to - I don't take my morphine before I sleep. Not only am I not able to fully process my memories and get the attendant rest that comes from REM sleep (when all this work is done) - it is impossible to remember any dreams. I do some of my best thinking in Dreamland. 

 Now, as to the earthquake. I mentioned when Reno had its swarm, that the Pacific Plate will relieve stress all  around its perimeter. I have been saying that for over 30 years. Geologists don't buy it. They claim the plate is more 'fluid' than that and stress relief on one side does not equal a reaction elsewhere. I call bullshit. If you will recall, there was a major temblor in Samoa last fall. That was followed by a sizable quake in Japan. Then one off Siberia and volcanic activity in Alaska. Mt. Shasta even made moves, as did Lassen. I have also mentioned that these large events tend to occur in the winter months - THAT is when the tidal pulls are strongest from the Moon because that is when IT is closest in the year.

 The lithosphere is every bit as subject to tidal pull as the oceans - the medium is thicker and thus less reactive. But pull the Moon does. If I were a betting  man, I would bet that there will be a significant event somewhere between Cabo San Lucas and Vancouver BC in the next coming months, along one of the major fault lines - San Andreas or Juan de Fuca. The Pacific Plate comprises one sixth of the Earth's surface and has been relieving stress everywhere else BUT there over the last year. The worst of the tidal pull will be over in March, BUT then the opposite happens.  In June and July the Moon's pull is at its least and THAT will make the North American plate (a much denser medium than the floor of the Pacific Ocean for all kinds of geological reasons) 'lighter' if you will. That will allow the Pacific Plate to subduct more easily and cause a major quake.

But what do I know? More than those morons you'll find if you click on the above image, I'll aver.
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Mystery Jigsaw Puzzle - GUESS WHO?

From  the Daily Mail

A secretive group of Wall Street hedge fund bosses are said to be behind a plot to cash in on the decline of the euro. The speculators are said to have argued that the euro is likely to plunge in value to parity with the dollar.

The single currency has been under enormous pressure because of Greece's debt crisis, plus financial worries in Portugal, Italy, Spain and Ireland.

But, it has also struggled because hedge funds have been placing huge bets on the currency's decline, which could make the speculators hundreds of millions of pounds.

If anyone ever needed a dirt nap - it would be him.


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READ & HEED the SMOKE SIGNALS!

From McClatchy

Topeka - Get ready to say goodbye to smoking sections. Kansas is kicking the habit by becoming the latest state to outlaw smoking in bars, restaurants and workplaces.

In a landmark move, the Kansas House on Thursday voted to send a statewide smoking ban to Gov. Mark Parkinson, who has promised to sign it into law. Parkinson, a Democrat, called the legislation “a victory for workers, families, businesses and future generations.”

All restaurants, bars and workplaces would be covered by the ban, as would home day-care centers, taxicabs and limousines. The only exemptions would be tobacco shops, private clubs such as Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, designated smoking rooms in hotels, and the gambling floors of state-run casinos.

  Did you know that tobacco and related products contribute a very substantial portion of all tax revenues collected at every level of government? We are talking about as much as 15-20% of the money that towns, cities, counties, states and the federal  government spend. Where do you suppose they will find the funds to replace that revenue when all the smokers either die, quit or are regulated to stop?

(scalable gif version of the animation below the fold)
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A cause Barack Obama can embrace - HUMMERS for HOMEBOYS

  Sooo, the deal General Motors had with a Chinese automobile manufacturer to off the HUMMER brand fell through and we all know how bad GM is fairing generally since bankruptcy and being bailed out to the tune of $30 billion plus bucks. You might have heard that Jimmy Carter took umbage at being compared to Barack Obama recently and you surely know of Carter's work with Habitat for Humanity. Almost half of all young black Americans are currently unemployed. There is a fast-growing homeless population in this country - especially in urban areas. Barack Obama is doing everything he can possibly do to insure he, like Jimmy Carter, will be a one term President. And there are voices on the Left calling for him to 'go gangsta' I have an idea!

  Obama should start a new charity - Hummers for Homeboys. General Motors can hire lots of young black people to manufacture Hummers to be given to other young blacks gratis - the government is already subsidizing GM anyway and I suspect this would be much cheaper. That keeps General Motors afloat, employs tens of thousands of young black people and relieves the burden from the backs of taxpayers. Doesn't make any difference what kind of engine these H4H Hummers have - the recipients won't be able to afford gas after Israel hits Iran because Obama cannot stop their nuclear weapons program. They'll just pawn the wheels and sell the tires and leave 'em up on blocks. Enter the homeless - Hummers are very roomy and certainly more comfortable than sleeping under an overpass. Barack Obama will have something to do and occupy his time after HIS failed Presidency and finally be returning something back to the black community. and regain the 'street cred' he has lost The environmentalists will be thrilled at the prospect of vehicles that go nowhere and since all those Hummers will be taking up valuable parking space in urban areas - even more commuters will be forced to use public transportation - more polluting cars will be forced off the road. Obama gets an opportunity to repair his 'legacy'  -  just like Carter has with Habitat for Humanity. Everybody wins! I know what you're thinking. Brilliant! Masterful! Pure genius! Just trying to do my part for America. It's all about hope and change ...

... I hope like Hell we change Presidents and soon.

Over the top? Like I care.
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DISCO PORK!

 Frankie the pig is a figure created for use in Poser by Nursoda. More information HERE
Click the image for a laugh.

NAME THAT PARTY!

Got some new software and I'm rather proud of the effects in the above - hit 'refresh'.

                                

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The Case of the Purloined Sirloin

 It all started with the French Onion Soup. My sister loves it and decided to make some. We discussed it for days in advance. She wanted to make the 'perfect' soup and French Onion is one of 'those' things - very simple on its face but incredibly difficult to pull off. Everybody makes it and seldom is it worth eating. One of the things that makes it perfect is the stock - the best thing to make the hardiest stock is oxtails. Have you noticed how expensive they are? It IS just the damned cow's tail, after all, but usually costs as much as steak.- that's  because it makes such wonderfully rich stock.

 I put the stock on the other day - just at simmer overnight. If you rolling boil the pot the stock will get cloudy - I don't know why, but I know that's why a good stock should simmer all night long and not be hurried. Next evening, I cooled the pot and stuck it in the freezer so the fat would solidify and be easier to skim - lots of fat in oxtails. I skimmed it the next day and left it back on simmer for my sister to season - I went to bed. Next day, she told me it didn't 'smell' right and she was right - it didn't. I made the mistake of trying to hurry and the pot picked up the odor of the freezer.

 We decided to scrap it and start fresh. But just because it wasn't right for the soup doesn't mean it wasn't perfect for the puppies - I am constantly looking for things to add to their chow to make it tasty. So, I put it back on the stove to reduce and thought I had the burner down low enough - I didn't. An hour later I went into the kitchen only to find it filled with smoke and one very badly scorched pan. After the smoke cleared I made dinner. New York Steak with sauteed onions, broccoli sauteed with garlic and lemon, baby carrots with butter and brown sugar and pasta with Parmesan sauce.

 I wasn't hungry just then and left it all out on the counter. I generally don't eat unless I am ready to sleep - one aspect of COPD is that nothing gets enough oxygen and when the stomach gets full and demands blood to do its chore - everything else gets shorted of oxygen and you get real sleepy. I eat just before bedtime or nap time only. The food was all covered and protected from the critters ... the cats like to sniff and if given a chance the dogs will scarf it when you're not looking. I came  back to the computer.

 An hour or so later I went in for some dinner. It was gone. Not just 'gone' - all evidence of having even made it was gone. Poof! Nothing. Zip. Nada. All vanished into thin air. Now, when you get to be my age your mind plays tricks on you - especially a brain starved for oxygen. I forget things and the evidence was so gone I had real doubts as to whether I actually cooked anything and maybe just imagined it all. But there was no steak, baby carrots or broccoli in the fridge so I had a pretty good idea that it had been cooked and since that IS my department - I must have cooked it.

 It's funny, when the mind plays tricks on old people, we generally laugh it off as a 'senior moment'  and I have plenty of those. Mostly they are benign and they ARE laughable. Mostly. Sometimes not so much. Like medications. I take a bunch - I got pills comin' out the wazoo. I can skip 'em, but there are some I really shouldn't take too  many of or skip - like morphine. I forgot whether I'd taken it the other day and got a little scared. See, if I space it out I will hurt bad and if I take too many I will be lobotomized. I had to ask my sister to oversee my morphine to keep either from occurring.

 So the missing food posed a problem far beyond the obvious - that I was hungry etc. I really didn't know if I'd made it. I was worried that I was losing what little mind I have left AND hungry. The critters could not possibly have eaten it all and not even Mattie will eat broccoli - carrots maybe, but she draws the line at broccoli. The cats won't eat anything that doesn't cost a buck a can. My sister didn't eat it - she eats like a bird and we are talking mass quantities here. So who in the Hell ate my steak?

 This morning brought the answer. My nephew lives in the basement apartment downstairs and whenever I cook, I cook plenty assuming he'll enjoy some, too. I leave it out so he'll find it - usually my sister will alert him. Sooo, when he came up to find all that wonderful food, he naturally assumed I'd left it for him. Mystery solved. From now on I will write him a note. It will say in big fucking letters ...

... THIS IS MY DINNER

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STONED GEEZERS & CHOPPERS

From Yahoo

Miami – In her 88 years, Florence Siegel has learned how to relax: A glass of red wine. A crisp copy of The New York Times, if she can wrest it from her husband. Some classical music, preferably Bach. And every night like clockwork, she lifts a pipe to her lips and smokes marijuana.

Long a fixture among young people, use of the country's most popular illicit drug is now growing among the AARP set, as the massive generation of baby boomers who came of age in the 1960s and '70s grows older.

The number of people aged 50 and older reporting marijuana use in the prior year went up from 1.9 percent to 2.9 percent from 2002 to 2008, according to surveys from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The rise was most dramatic among 55- to 59-year-olds, whose reported marijuana use more than tripled from 1.6 percent in 2002 to 5.1 percent.

Observers expect further increases as 78 million boomers born between 1945 and 1964 age. For many boomers, the drug never held the stigma it did for previous generations, and they tried it decades ago.

From NBC

Chicago - Lydia Scheltes woke up in her bed at Bethesda Retirement Center one morning with pinkish hair, a tattoo on her arm and a hangover. Not a typical morning for the 90-year-old. “Seniors are more fun than you’ll ever know,” she said.

Scheltes wasn’t alone: Seven ladies and one dude – aged 65 to 97 – all had a similar hazy look in their eyes after they hung out with bikers at the Evil Olive bar in Wicker Park on Feb. 11. Some of them were still wearing their own biker gear.

Bethesda’s residents usually spend their time knitting or quilting or doing an activity typical of their age group, but they wanted something different for a change. They often drive past the Evil Olive during day trips and fantasized about what goes on inside.

One day Elizabeth Barrett, 68, asked their Life Enrichment Director, Ruth Werstler, if they could check it out. “I did a little digging and found out it was a nightclub,” Werstler said. “But that didn’t deter them.They still wanted to go.” In fact, Barrett upped the ante: She suggest going out as bikers. “It was all my idea,” Barrett says with a devious laugh. “We aren’t the regular type of nursing home.”

If more people smoked pot, this would  be a better world and that sounds like my kind of nursing home.

BLADDER CONTROL PROBLEM? Nooo, just too &%^$#@ sensitive.

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