Dickster's Random Thoughts

Customs and ATF Officials Seize BB Guns

2010-03-11T22:39:00.000-05:00

I do not envy the job that our Customs and Border Patrol agents have to perform day in and day out in their quest to keep our country safe. They have to be diligent in their pursuit of discovering the new ways that smugglers attempt to bring in drugs and weapons into the country. Then there is the pursuit of those who try to enter the country illegally. It is a tough job to be sure.

One would think that with the multitude of items coming through customs, that occasionally legal items could be stopped at the border. You would also think that once it was determined that said product was allowed to be brought into the country that any product that was delayed or confiscated would be returned to the rightful owners of that property.

Bob Owens of Pajamamedia.com has an interesting three part series about a company, Airsoft Outlet Northwest, has been having difficulty getting their goods through customs. Airsoft Outlet sells air rifles designed to shoot plastic BBs. These rifles are designed for those who are looking for a less messy alternative to paint ball. Several of the rifles are very realistic looking, but are not made with the same quality metals used to manufacture a real weapon.

Airsoft Outlet Northwest had a recent shipment of 30 of these rifles seized by custom officials. The owners of the company thought that it would be a temporary delay since they believed that a close examination of the guns would reveal that the guns were not real weapons. Plus they had received similar shipments in the past. Customs officers turned the guns over the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Here is where the story starts to border on absurd. The ATF officials determined that seized guns were, in fact, designed to shoot plastic BBs. However, they also determined that they could be retrofit to become actual machine guns.

In his article, Owens quotes numerous experts who claim the items could not be converted to actual weapons. He also sites other products seized from Airsoft Outlet that can easily be purchased at sites like Amazon.com. In other parts of the country, similar items can be purchased from other Airsoft dealers. Owens even sites a customs regulation stating that these types of goods are perfectly legal.

Pajamas media has tried to contact both the ATF and the CBP regarding the matter and to clarify how their decision in the Northwest will impact the rest of the country and future shipments. They have not responded to those requests. Unfortunately, right now, the guns are set to be destroyed by the ATF. The actions of the ATF and CBP could best be described as being overzealous, and at worse incompetence. Sadly, a small business owner is set to be out of several thousand dollars through no fault of their own because of these events.

Our Government in Action

2010-03-10T21:57:00.000-05:00

I was checking a few sites checking looking for anything that I might want to blog about this evening. I stumbled upon a few things on Neal Boortz's website in Nealz Nuze. Boortz had a link to a post at Axis of Right on more wasteful census spending. Axis of Right received a letter from the Census Bureau announcing that in the next week they would receive a census form, and they should fill it out and return it.

OK. Is there anybody out there that doesn't know that the census is coming out? The government spent $2.5 million to advertise it on the Super Bowl. I keep hearing radio commercials during my drive to and from work each day. It has been all over the news. Talk radio has been talking about all the temporary census workers that will be hired that will cause a decline in the unemployment numbers.

Is there really a need to send everyone a letter announcing they would receive another piece of mail in a week? Sal from Axis of Right proceeded to give an estimate of how much it must have cost to send the letter. Conservatively, the price came in at over $42 million dollars. Granted, that isn't a whole lot of dough when billions are tossed around like carrying around money, but it is indicative of the waste involved in our federal bureaucracy.

Music Monday-Peter Frampton "Do You Feel Like We Do"

2010-03-08T21:50:00.000-05:00

Frampton Comes Alive! (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)Frampton Comes Alive!

Image via Wikipedia

Sometimes it's fun to look back at the musical icons of your youth and see how they look 30 years later. When I was in high school, one of the biggest selling albums of all time was Peter Frampton's "Frampton Comes Alive" album. The cover pictured a very long haired Frampton. Years later, Frampton, picture in this post is a balding, bespectacled middle aged man that looks more like an accountant than a rock star.

One of the things that I loved about "Frampton Comes Alive" was his heavy use of the talk box. It was not something that I had heard a lot of back in those days. The use of the talk box is featured in one of his biggest hit "Do You Feel Like We Do," which Frampton performs below on the old Midnight Special. Thank God for YouTube.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

The Shake Weight

2010-03-07T17:08:00.003-05:00

This afternoon, my son wanted to go to Hooter's for lunch. I can always go for some wings, so we headed on out. If you have never been to Hooter's, like a lot of sports bars they have multiple televisions on showing sports. On one of the screens, I saw the following infomercial playing.

Now, my son loves watching infomercials, so I have seen a lot of exercise infomercials, the P90X, the Bowflex, the Total Gym, and others. The Shake Weight was one that I had not seen before. I could not hear the actual commercial, but suffice to say that the thoughts I had while watching it were more in line with the parody below.

Pillsbury Orange Sweet Roll Giveaway

2010-03-06T15:01:00.000-05:00

Most days, breakfast for me consists of taking a travel mug of coffee and a couple granola bars in the car when I make my morning commute. It is a rare opportunity for me to have a nice, leisurely hot breakfast. It is exceedingly rare for us to do it together as a family. Pillsbury products make it easy for you to have a good breakfast with the family.

The Pillsbury Company and MyBlogSpark recently sent me a special VIP gift pack to try Pillsbury's Orange Sweet Rolls. The gift pack included a coupon for a free package of Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls and a photo album for keeping all those sweet family memories in one place. This morning, I was able to take advantage of that free coupon and cook up a batch of Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls.

It brought back a lot of childhood memories for me. Most days, breakfast for us growing up was a quick bowl of cereal. On special occasions, or some Sunday mornings, we would get a special hot breakfast. Sometimes it consisted of pancakes and often times, it consisted of hot Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls. For some reason, I always thought they must be hard to make, but Pillsbury makes it simple. It only takes about 15 minutes to serve some hot gooey sweet rolls.

There is no reason not to be able to start making special memories with your family, even as hectic as things get these days. In fact, Pillsbury and MyBlogSpark are giving me the opportunity to let one of my readers get started by providing a VIP gift pack for me to giveaway. Just post about your favorite breakfast memories, along with an email address that I can contact the winner to get their shipping information. I will select the winner randomly on Sunday, March 14th.

Harry Reid and Jobs

2010-03-05T22:31:00.000-05:00

I know what Harry Reid was trying to say, but my goodness, what an idiot. The job report came out today, and was a bit better than expected. Unfortunately, the country still lost jobs; 36000 of them. But in Harry Reid's world that is a "big day in America," and is "really good." Reid's comments reminded me of an event that occurred several years ago in one of my positions.

Several years ago, I worked in the division office of a grocery store chain here in the DC area. We had all heard rumors about impending layoffs, and centralizing several positions to the corporate office. The big day came when the company held a meeting. In the meeting, one of the company VP's announced that most of the people in the room would be losing their jobs. Then, as everyone sat there in a bit of shock, the VP went on to talk about how much stronger the company was going to be in the long run.

The last thing anybody in that meeting room wanted to hear after being told they were losing their jobs was how much better off the company was going to be without them. They wanted to know how they were going to pay their bills. If you were one of the 36000 who lost your job, the last thing you want to hear is what great news it is that only 36000 people lost their jobs. My reaction to Harry Reid's comments are pretty much the same as my reaction to our VP during that meeting. "What an ass!"

Ardyss Body Shaping Products

2010-03-04T21:06:00.000-05:00

I don't know of anybody who wouldn't want to look or feel better. Whenever I have managed to work out and control my weight, I feel that I project a different image. If you feel good, you appear more vibrant and confident. In these hectic days, it is often difficult to achieve the desired results on your own. Sometimes, you just need a little help.

A friend of mine has become an independent distributor for a company called Ardyss. She became involved in with the company because she was interested in their reshaping garments. She has worn the garments to work, and it does make a difference. It does provide a slimmer appearance and helps you with your posture. When you stand straighter, you look a lot better than when you are slumped over.

Ardyss makes body shaping products for both men and women. They make a number of different types of products, so they do have something for everybody. In addition to all the body shaping products, they also sell a number of nutritional supplements and cosmetic items. So not only can you look good with Ardyss products, but you can look good as well.

More Dirty Obamacare Deals?

2010-03-03T20:15:00.000-05:00

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So, I am driving home from work this evening listening to talk radio. I caught the last half hour of the Sean Hannity show, and the first half hour of the Mark Levin show. Levin started his program off by announcing that Barack Obama would be meeting tonight with ten Democrat members of Congress who had previously voted against the health care bill. Levin was announcing that he would have the names and numbers of those ten members of Congress posted on his website.

He encouraged listeners to participate in a "Levin Surge" and to call those members to encourage them to vote against health care. During his announcement of the "Levin Surge," he interrupted his opening statements by discussing an article on the WeeklyStandard.com website announcing that the White House had nominated Scott Matheson of Utah to be a judge in the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Court.

So, who is Scott Matheson and what does he have to do with Obama meeting with ten Democrat members of Congress to try to persuade them to change their vote on Obamacare? It just so happens that one of those ten members of Congress is Jim Matheson (D-UT.) Matheson previously voted against the bill in committee and against the bill when it came to a vote before the entire House. Now, Matheson is reportedly undecided.

It would appear that Scott Matheson is well qualified to be a judge. It could just be a coincidence, however, given the nature of all of the special deals that have been made to procure votes to get passage of the bill thus far, the timing of his nomination is curious. In politics, I don't believe in coincidences. The majority of people oppose this bill because of all the shady deals, but the powers that be just don't care what we think.

Oh, and speaking of the health care bill. Obama announced today that he was going to incorporate a couple ideas that the Republicans had put forth in the health care summit last week. I don't know if he actually thinks that will help it any or not. I mean, if you serve somebody a bowl of shit, and then sprinkle some sugar on it, you are still pretty much left with a bowl of shit.

Collins Bailey for Congress

2010-03-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

It is never too early to start thinking about November. I live in the 5th Congressional District of the state of Maryland which has sent Steny Hoyer to the House of Representatives for the past 30 years. Needless to say, I am not a big fan of House Leader Hoyer.

On Saturday, as I was heading to work my part time job, I saw a sign at a gas station for Collins Bailey for Congress. I decided to check out Mr. Bailey's website, and I have decided to throw my support completely behind him. According to his site, the items listed below are the things that Collins Bailey believes in. I am in complete agreement with him on all of these points.

... these truths are self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

... the strength of our nation lies with the individual and that each person's dignity, freedom, ability, opportunity and responsibility must be honored and protected.

... in equal rights, justice, and opportunity for all.

... free enterprise and individual initiative have brought this nation opportunity, economic growth, and prosperity.

... government must practice fiscal responsibility and individuals should keep more of the money they earn.

... in individual responsibility.

... in economic and personal liberty.

... that the federal deficit is caused by government spending too much, not by Americans being taxed too little.

... the proper, Constitutional, role of government is to provide those functions that cannot be performed by individuals or private organizations and that government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves.

... that the role of the federal government is to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.

... the most effective, responsible, and responsive government is government closest to the people.

... in the idea of individualism and reject collectivism.

... Americans must retain the principles that have made us strong and protect our national sovereignty.

... that spending in Congress is out of control. Americans are having to work too many hours just to support the wasteful habits of our federal government. That Congress is not representing traditional American values and Constitutional principles that reflect who we really are as a people. And that those who created the current mess in Washington are not the best candidates to translate these ideals into positive and successful principles of government.

Music Monday-George Strait "Living for the Night"

2010-03-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

Every time I hear this song, I have the following thoughts. First, I absolutely love the song. I really tend to gravitate to these mellow, broken heart songs. I especially love the line "Whiskey kills the man you've turned me into." Second, I am amazed by the consistency and quality of the music put out by George Strait. After nearly 30 years, and 57 #1 songs, like a fine wine, George Strait just gets better with age.

George Strait More CMT Music More CMT Music Videos

Homemade Jerky

2010-02-28T19:31:00.000-05:00

I received a very special birthday treat this weekend from my wife. No, not that. Get your minds out of the gutter. She made me a batch of homemade beef jerky.

She tells me that it was pretty simple to make, though it is a bit time consuming. Let me tell you, it is so much better than anything you can get in the grocery store.

It all starts off with some flank steak. You slice it at an angle in very thin slices. You then marinate the beef slices in some soy sauce. Take some cooking racks and place them on a baking sheet.

After marinating the beef, place the strips on the rack so that any drippings from the beef will land on the baking sheet. Then season the beef with some lemon pepper and garlic salt. Place the meat in the oven at about 170 degrees.

It usually takes about 6-10 hours in the oven for the jerky to be done. My wife recommends checking the beef after about 6 hours. To check the beef to see if it is done, take a slice and bend. If it breaks, it is ready. Enjoy.

Dickster's Random Thoughts Cafe Press Store

2010-02-26T19:45:00.001-05:00

I was driving to work this morning thinking about the President Obama's health care summit. It comes as no surprise that the Democrats would decide to try to go ahead and ram the current bills through without any bipartisan support.

Originally, I was going to send a tweet on Twitter saying "if they think they can shove Obamacare down our throats, then they can shove it up their ass." Instead, I decided to design the picture below and open my own CafePress.com store. The design is currently available on shirts, mugs, buttons & magnets. I hope you will check out my first effort at Cafe Press.

Health Care Summit

2010-02-25T22:06:00.000-05:00

Just a short little comment on the Barack Obama's farcical health care summit. According to Webster's Dictionary, the word bipartisan is defined as "of, relating to, or involving members of two parties ; specifically : marked by or involving cooperation, agreement, and compromise between two major political parties." Seems pretty straightforward to me.

Before, during, and after the summit, the Republicans asked that the current bills on the table be scrapped and that both sides begin working on a new bill. They want to find the areas of agreement and work on crafting a bill that incorporates those ideas. Sounds pretty close to the definition of bipartisan to me.

Apparently the Democrats have a different definition of bipartisan. The Democrats on the other hand, feel that bipartisanship involves taking their ideas and accepting those ideas. Since the GOP would not agree with Obama's plan, the Democrats plan to push forward their ideas and use reconciliation.

Every major poll shows that most Americans do not want the current Democratic bills being considered. Nearly everyone agrees we need some reform. It was interesting to watch a focus group on the Sean Hannity show tonight. The group was half Republican and half Democrat. They were nearly unanimous in agreement that the folks in DC are not listening to the public. They were also nearly unanimous in agreement that they did not want the Senate to use reconciliation to pass a bill most do not want.

Join the Online Tax Revolt

2010-02-23T21:28:00.000-05:00

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In the past, I have expressed my support for the FairTax that would eliminate the Federal Income Tax, payroll taxes, and would give you your full pay check from your employers. The Federal Income Tax would be replaced with the FairTax which is a consumption tax that is designed to be revenue neutral.

Regardless of whether or not you think the FairTax is the answer to America's woes, I think most people can agree that the tax system as it currently is comprised is broken. If you are among those who thinks the tax system is broken and a burden on our economy, the folks at Americans For Fair Taxation have launched an Online Tax Revolt.

The Online Tax Revolt is a virtual march on Washington DC. At the site, you enter your name, location, and select an avatar to represent you. Your avatar, along with over 50,000 other so far, will appear on a Google map of the country. As each day passes, the avatars will march to Washington where all will meet on April 15th.

In addition to the virtual march, there will be a rally in DC in support of tax reform. I have signed up and my avatar is on the move. Take some time to visit the site and if you decide to sign up, leave a comment and let me know. Be a part of the movement to make April 15th just another day on the calendar.

Tiger & the Porn Star

2010-02-22T22:16:00.000-05:00

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For the past three months, I have deliberately stayed away from blogging about the Tiger Woods saga. I tend not to expect too much from professional athletes in the "roll model" arena. Sure, I admire their work ethic and their skill, but not much beyond that. This way, you aren't too disappointed when their personal failings are revealed as is the case in the revelation of Tiger's multiple sexual transgressions.

To be clear, in no way, shape, or form do I condone the actions of Tiger Woods. To be honest, I am not surprised that Tiger Woods ended up having an affair. High profile athletes constantly have women throwing themselves at them. It would be one thing had it been one or two incidents, but the multiple women and transgressions, puts Tiger into the world class scoundrel category.

Last week, Woods finally made a public statement regarding his issues. Reading from a prepared statement, Tiger made his public apologies. It is not up to me to judge the sincerity of his apology, but I hope he was sincere. The only people who really are important in the judging his sincerity are his wife, family, and friends. Unfortunately, his apology wasn't enough for lawyer Gloria Allred and at least one of her clients, former porn star Joslyn James.

The two women were upset that Tiger did not include any of his co-conspirators, like Ms. James, in his apology. In a tearful press conference, Ms. James claims that she deserves a face to face apology from Tiger. With all due respect to Ms. Allred and Ms. James, but Tiger owes you bupkiss. You were a willing participant in an affair with a married man. There is only three people that Tiger owes anything to, and that is Elin Woods and their two kids. Give me a fucking break! There is only one reason why Gloria Allred and Joslyn James are together. They smell a big payday.

Music Monday-Elvis Presley "Kissin' Cousins"

2010-02-21T20:04:00.001-05:00

Every now and then you learn something new. For instance, last week, I learned that in the state of Maryland, it is legal to marry your first cousin. I thought that was illegal everywhere with the possible exception of West Virginia (bad joke, I know, but I could not resist). But, it's true. Maryland state delegate, Henry Heller, has introduced a bill that would make it illegal to marry your first cousin unless the couple were over 65 or could prove they were infertile. The other thing that surprised me, is that if the bill were to be passed, Maryland would be only the 25th state to ban marriages between first cousins. Who knew?

So, in honor of kissing cousins everywhere, my choice for Music Monday is Elvis Presley and "Kissin' Cousins."

Help Gomey

2010-02-20T09:53:00.000-05:00

I have mentioned here before that I am the father of an autistic child. In a couple months, he will be 16 years old. Where does the time go?

I know all too well the issue of people who do not understand dealing with an autistic person. When he was younger, my son would have severe meltdowns. Often these occurred in public places and we had to endure the stares of people who did not comprehend what was going on. On one occasion my wife had him in a store and he plopped himself down on the floor and started crying and yelling. An employee actually threatened to call the police if my wife could not get him to calm down.

Like many people who have autism, my son also suffers from anxiety issues. Change and unfamiliar situations can be very traumatic for him. So, while doing my blog hopping, it touched me and broke my heart to read the story of Gomey. Gomey is a 19 year old with autism. He was taken away from his family by a social worker who did not understand his situation. I can not do justice to his story, but I encourage you to click on the link below to learn more.

Thank you.

Important Issues for the Maryland Legislature

2010-02-18T07:00:00.002-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

Today, I received a call from Mrs. Dickster asking me if I had heard about any more snow on the horizon. Apparently, some woman she ran into told her they were forecasting another storm for next week that was going to drop another 14 inches of snow on the area. Needless to say, I started searching Al Gore's internet for a forecast. Fortunately, I did not see any impending doom on any of the news sites I frequent.

Instead, though, I did find an interesting article about what my state (Maryland) legislators are doing with their time. Maryland, like many states, has been hit hard by the economic difficulties of our time. In spite of Governor Martin O'Malley's tax increases, we are seeing revenues in the state drop. Revenues have dropped so much, that the state faces a $2 billion budget deficit. So our legislators have taken up the important debate on whether or not to recognize "Sassafras Sandy Loam" as the official state soil for the state of Maryland.

That's right folks. $2 billion in deficit and we must tackle the important issues like naming an official state soil. I also discovered that in addition to a state flag and state seal, Maryland has several other official state symbols. I knew a few of them, like the state bird and flower, but I was not aware of several of them. For your edification, I will list them below, followed by the year they were adopted.

State Bird-the Baltimore Oriole (1947)
State Crustacean-Maryland Blue Crab (1989)
State Dog-Chesapeake Bay Retriever (1964)
State Flower-Black Eyed Susan (1918)
State Insect-Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly (1973)
State Tree-White Oak
State Boat-Skipjack (1985)
State Folk Dance-Square Dancing (1994)
State Drink-Milk (1998)
State Fossil-Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae (1984) it is an extinct snail shell
State Reptile-Diamondback Terrapin (1994)
State Theater-Center Stage (1978)
State Summer Theater-Olney Theater (1978) I guess it wasn't enough to have just a state theater.
State Cat-Calico Cat (2001)
State Dinosaur-Astrodon Johnstoni (1998)
State Fish-Rockfish (1965)
State Horse-Thoroughbred Horse (2003)
State Sport-Jousting (1962)
State Team Sport-Lacrosse (2004)
State Gem-Patuxent River Stone (2004)
State Dessert-Smith Island Cake (2008)
State Exercise-Walking (2008)

So there you have it. All of the official state symbols for the state of Maryland. I am so glad to know our legislators have such important issues to tackle when we are facing a $2 billion budget deficit.

One Second After and an EMP Attack

2010-02-17T07:00:00.003-05:00

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A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about a book that I had started reading, One Second After, by William Forstchen. It is the story of the potential impact of an Electromagnetic Pulse attack against the United States. In short, an EMP attack could occur if one or more nuclear devices are detonated above the atmosphere. An EMP attack would basically fry the delicate circuitry of most of our technology and electrical grid, throwing us back to 19th century technology. The book deals with the struggles of a community in trying to survive.

For the most part, I enjoyed the book. There were a couple things here and there that I thought were a little questionable. For instance, new automobiles would be rendered inoperable due to the delicate circuitry in modern automobiles. Older cars, that did not rely on higher tech circuitry would still operate. That part of the book was based in technological fact. However, the story covered over a year in the life of this community, and one year after the attack, they still had gasoline to operate cars that still worked.

The book also contained an afterward written by Captain Bill Sanders of the US Navy. Captain Sanders addresses the possibilities contained in the book. Throughout his life and his Naval career, Captain Sanders has had an interest in nuclear weaponry. A group of nine American scientist came to a consensus in the Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack came to the conclusion that the threat of an EMP attack was not just theoretical but very possible. Unfortunately, the report was released the same day as the 9/11 commission which garnered far more attention from the media.

Captain Sanders quotes one of the authors of the commission, Dr. Lowell Wood, a nuclear physicist who has studied EMP weaponry for three decades. Dr. Wood describes an EMP attack as "a continental time machine that would move us back to the nineteenth century." When questioned about the ability of 19th century technology supporting the current population, Dr Wood replied, "The population will shrink until it can be supported by the technology." In other words, the population would die off from disease and starvation. In One Second After, the community had a survival rate of 20%, which was considered good under the circumstances. Cities, in particular, would be hit hardest by an EMP attack.

Captain Sanders states that a well designed nuclear weapon detonated at a high altitude over Kansas could have an impact over nearly the entire continental United States. In Forstchen's book, the attack came from three nuclear devices detonated over different parts of the country. The commission has warned that we are "vulnerable and virtually unprotected against an EMP attack could damage or destroy civilian and military critical electronic infrastructures triggering catastrophic consequences that could cause the permanent collapse of our society."

We ignored the warnings that lead to the 9/11 attacks. With countries like Iran and North Korea pursuing nuclear and missile technology, will we ignore the warnings of the consequences of a potential EMP attack? I certainly hope not. There are steps that can be taken to protect us against the consequences of an EMP attack. When I do, I will publish that letter here. There is a lot of debate on how extensive the role of the federal government should be. What is not in debate is that their chief role is to protect us from attack. In the next day or two, I intend to email my Senators and Congressman to ask them what they are doing to protect us from the hazard of an EMP attack.

Music Monday-Brad Paisley "Then"

2010-02-15T14:37:00.000-05:00

Since yesterday was Valentine's Day, I thought I would pick a love song for Music Monday. This song is for all of you hopeless romantics out there that fell in love at first sight, and it just grew from that point on. I met my wife in April, we were engaged in August, and married in November. That was over 18 years ago.

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Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Daytona 500

2010-02-14T21:43:00.001-05:00

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I had been looking forward to this day for weeks. No, not Valentine's Day, but the Daytona 500. Not that Valentine's Day isn't important, but this year it just so happened to fall on the same day as the Great American Race. It also happens to be my father in law's birthday.

Mrs. Dickster happens to be a huge race fan. Truth be told, I probably became interested in NASCAR thanks to her and my son and their interest in the sport. So our plans for today were to meet the in laws at the restaurant for dinner at 6pm. No worries, the race was to start at 1pm, so most likely we would get to see the race before heading to the restaurant.

With the blizzards of the past week, I have been able to watch a lot of the Speed Week activities in Daytona that lead up to the actual Daytona 500. I was able to watch the Bud Shootout last Saturday night and the Gatorade Duels on Thursday afternoon. Those events led me to think we were going to get to see some exciting racing this afternoon. Since the forecast was for sunny skies during the race, so it looked like we would not have to worry about any rain delays.

Unfortunately, the racing gods were not smiling on me today. A little more than half way through the race, they had to stop to repair a freaking pot hole on the track. That delay lasted about an hour and forty minutes. So much for getting to see the race in its entirety before dinner. At dinner, I checked my Blackberry and discovered they had a second delay to repair the pot hole a second time. This delay lasted 40 minutes.

To be fair, the race did have an exciting finish. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch it from where we were. Congratulations to Jamie McMurray, who managed to hold off Dale Earnhardt, Jr to win his first Daytona 500. Had it not been for the two delays, I could have seen it. Oh, well, there is always Fontana next weekend.

Vegetarian Diet More Harmful to Environment than Meat Eating

2010-02-12T13:58:00.000-05:00

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Environmental and vegetarian activists have been touting the virtues of a vegetarian diet as a means of helping combat climate change. They argue that raising livestock such as cattle and sheep leads to an increase in greenhouse gasses due to their belching and farting. The British government has even gone so far as to create recommended menus to eliminate high carbon foods like lamb and beef.

Now, a new study conducted by Cranfield University has concluded that switching to a vegetarian diet could actually be more harmful to the environment than a meat eating diet. You might think that the study was commissioned by the cattle and sheep farming industry, but you would be mistaken. It was actually commissioned by the environmental group the World Wildlife Fund.

The study concludes that if people switched from a meat and dairy diet to a vegetarian diet, that more farmland would be needed to supply the United Kingdom with all of their needs. This could potentially lead to further deforestation of the planet to provide that land. In addition, soy based protein substitutes often require a lot of processing and therefore more energy is expended.

I am sure that environmental groups and PETA will continue to push their far left agenda. We will continue to hear how livestock production is harming the environment. To be fair, it would probably benefit us all to occasionally have vegetarian days in our diets. As for me, I think I will have a steak, and I don't think I will feel guilty about it harming the environment.

Surviving the Latest Blizzard

2010-02-11T19:41:00.000-05:00

It looks like we have made it through the second blizzard to hit the DC area in less than a week. The first one hit Friday and Saturday dumping about two feet of snow. It took me about four shifts of digging after that one to get the cars out. On Tuesday and Wednesday, blizzard number two hit the region. It only dropped about a foot of snow on us. It took only two shifts of digging to get the cars out.

With the latest round of snowfall, the 2009-2010 winter is the snowiest on record in the DC area. It has surpassed the previous snowiest winter of 1898-1899, and there is still nearly six weeks of winter remaining.

On Monday, the Washington Examiner had a post online regarding an editorial written by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. just 15 months ago. RFK, Jr. is a hypocrite in the order of Al "I invented the Internet & Global Warming" Gore. They type of person who flies around in his private jet while telling everyone else what they need to do to save the planet. The Examiner reprinted most of the editorial, but to sum it up, RFK, Jr. blamed the lack of snow in the DC region in recent years on global warming.

Fast forward to today. As I said, this has been the snowiest winter on record in the DC region. We now have Time magazine writer Bryan Walsh telling us that the record snowfalls are a result of "global warming." We also have MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan telling us the same thing. The Heritage Foundation has an excellent rebuttal to Walsh's argument.

Now, I don't claim to be a climate scientist, but I am a thinker and I do tend to think logically. On the one hand, you have a global warming alarmist, RFK, Jr saying that due to global warming, the DC region doesn't get much snow fall. Then when the DC region does get snowfall, and a bunch of it, we get more global warming alarmists saying it is due to global warming. Which is it? Doesn't seem logical to me.

Let me put it into our old mathematical equation of if a=b, and b=c, then logically, a=c. In this case "a" will be DC not getting snow; "b" would be global warming, and "c" would be DC getting a bunch of snow. So a=b is DC not getting snow=global warming; next b=c would be global warming=DC getting a bunch of snow, therefore DC not getting snow=DC getting a bunch of snow. Again, doesn't seem logical to me.

Now I know that one season doesn't a trend make. However, the global warming cultists want to attribute everything to their cause. Even if those two things are polar opposites. The phrase, "You can't have your cake and eat it to," comes to mind.

Sanyo Incognito & Boost Mobile

2010-02-10T15:44:00.000-05:00

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boost Mobile. All opinions are 100% mine.

The item you see picture here is the new SANYO Incognito Model #SCP6760 qwerty keyboard flip phone. Pretty slick looking isn't it? This is the kind of phone that Mrs. Dickster would want to carry around with her, a flip phone with a full QWERTY keyboard. She prefers having the actual keys instead of the virtual keyboards you find on a lot of phones.

The Sanyo Incognito is being launched by the folks at Boost Mobile at an introductory price point of $129.99. The phone features a 2MP camera with a VGA Camcorder. It also has a music and video player with enhanced web browsing capabilities. All of these features go well with Boost Mobiles $50 per month unlimited plan. That's unlimited phone calls, texting, and web browsing. There is also no contract required with Boost Mobile's unlimited plan, so you are tied down to a carrier for two years.

$50 a month for unlimited texting, voice, and web browsing. That's amazing! Most unlimited plans are more expensive, and you might even have to pay extra for either the texting, the web browsing, or both. I won't mention my current carrier here, but Mrs. Dickster and I share minutes on a family plan. After we add in our additional fees for a set number of text messages and web browsing, we are well over $100 per month in our current plan. Boost Mobile looks like a bargain to me. Unfortunately, we are under a contract for at least one more year, but when it ends, I will have to look into Boost Mobile's unlimited plan. All of the things that are wrong with my current plan (contract, limited airtime, texting, and browsing) are all the things that are right with Boost Mobile's unlimited plan.

Another Reason to Drink Beer

2010-02-09T18:35:00.000-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

As if I needed another reason to imbibe in one of my favorite beverages, beer, besides its great taste, beer may have some additional health benefits. In particular, a recent study showed that beer is a good source of dietary silicon. This dietary silicon has been shown to improve bone health and could help fight osteoporosis.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, found that brews that were rich in hops and pale barley malts provided the most silicon. Pale malted beers were better sources of silicon than wheat beers or darker brews. Two beers could provide 30mg. of the dietary silicon. There is not a recommended daily allowance for silicon, but most get between 20-50mg. daily.

Like anything else, all things in moderation. More isn't always better. So, if you are concerned about your bone health, especially you ladies, go ahead and have a beer or two. I think I have a couple cans in the fridge, so I will lift a glass and drink to your health.

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