Thursday, February 27, 2014
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Genius
Harold Ramis was a comedic genius. Simple as that. He was involved in some way with so many classic, hilarious movies that it's almost unfathomable. Animal House, Stripes, Caddyshack, European Vacation, Ghost Busters to name a few.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Kiev II
Amazing day in the Ukraine. Events are moving swiftly. The thuggish and corrupt dictator President has left Kiev. The people have triumphed (for now). The police and the military have turned. The Parliment has impeached the President. The heroic leader of the opposition has been released from prison. It's all good. But now the difficult work begins. Putting a new and democratic government in place is hard work. Hopefully wise leadership will guide them. Of course, Russia could be a wild card. When he gets done with the Olympics, let's see what Putin does. Will be interesting.
And as has become the norm, the USA was nowhere to be found. No statement of encouragement, no offer of help, no reinforcement of the principles of freedom. Nada. That's because for this crowd it's all political. If they don't see a political benefit, they will do nothing. How they are acting and where they are leading the country is really new territory. Our leadership position is gone. A good article in today's WSJ sums up our global retreat. Sad. If you're interested, you can read it here.
And as has become the norm, the USA was nowhere to be found. No statement of encouragement, no offer of help, no reinforcement of the principles of freedom. Nada. That's because for this crowd it's all political. If they don't see a political benefit, they will do nothing. How they are acting and where they are leading the country is really new territory. Our leadership position is gone. A good article in today's WSJ sums up our global retreat. Sad. If you're interested, you can read it here.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Kiev
Unless you've been living under a rock or out backpacking through the wilderness you can't have missed the tragic events unfolding in the Ukraine.
It's becoming a familiar story. People wanting to live in freedom finally reach the tipping point. The thugs in power go too far, or the government is too repressive, or life just gets too difficult. So they take to the streets. They erect barricades, arm themselves with rocks, hope for solidarity among their supporters and leniency by the police who confront them.
But it's never easy or clean. Ask the Egyptians, Libyans, Tunisians, Syrians, Czechoslovakians, Serbs, Israelis, Americans, etc, etc, etc. So now the Ukrainians are finding out what the price of freedom is. The images are stark. Their beautiful city is being laid bare. Will they be successful? Hard to say. There is some cause for hope as the days go by. But there is a long way to go.
And there is one thing for sure. They will get no support, no encouragement, no pressure on their repressive government by the beacon of freedom in the world, the United States of America. That's because it's not our concern. There is no threat to us. We are leading from behind. I guess I could see us threatening to do something if one of the geniuses in power in Washington thought there might be some relation to climate change by the killing and the repression. Because after all, climate change is the greatest threat to us. It's settled science you know. Of course, it would only be a threat, a red line not to be crossed...we all know nothing would be done.
It's becoming a familiar story. People wanting to live in freedom finally reach the tipping point. The thugs in power go too far, or the government is too repressive, or life just gets too difficult. So they take to the streets. They erect barricades, arm themselves with rocks, hope for solidarity among their supporters and leniency by the police who confront them.
But it's never easy or clean. Ask the Egyptians, Libyans, Tunisians, Syrians, Czechoslovakians, Serbs, Israelis, Americans, etc, etc, etc. So now the Ukrainians are finding out what the price of freedom is. The images are stark. Their beautiful city is being laid bare. Will they be successful? Hard to say. There is some cause for hope as the days go by. But there is a long way to go.
And there is one thing for sure. They will get no support, no encouragement, no pressure on their repressive government by the beacon of freedom in the world, the United States of America. That's because it's not our concern. There is no threat to us. We are leading from behind. I guess I could see us threatening to do something if one of the geniuses in power in Washington thought there might be some relation to climate change by the killing and the repression. Because after all, climate change is the greatest threat to us. It's settled science you know. Of course, it would only be a threat, a red line not to be crossed...we all know nothing would be done.
I'll Take One
Don't why this car intrigues me. Maybe it's because I'm a SoCal guy who's roots go back to cruising around on a Saturday night. Maybe it's because it's insanely fast. Maybe it's because I won't ever have one. All I know is this car is very, very cool!
Misplaced Humor
I'm sure this guy thought this was cute, or clever, or something when he got this idea. Uh...epic fail!
Well Done Captain!
I'm not a huge fan of celebrities. Especially the Hollyweird types. But every once in a while there is a story that redeems them a bit. This is one of them. What a very nice and human thing for Johnny Depp to do. And that you never hear anything about it makes it that much more special. Well done Captain!
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
He's Right
This guy has his head on straight. Really nice to see someone in the spotlight say something like this.
Technology Advancements
This is pretty interesting. A lot has happened in 10 years. The revolution in data storage is just one of them.
The Cockpit
I fly a lot but I've never seen this in a cockpit. Guess I'll have to glance up there once in a while!
Sunday, February 16, 2014
College
In retrospect I'll bet many wish they would have thought a bit more about picking a major in college. With cost of a college education compared to lifetime earnings, it is only smart to consider what the investment gives you. An ROI so to speak.
More Rules
This list is pretty interesting. Don't think they are universal "truths". Like I'm not down with number 30 at all...of course I'm a cyclist so there you go. But, take what you want from it.
Friday, February 14, 2014
True Then...Really True Now!
Here's what the newly formed Republican Party platform said in 1860.
"The present Democratic Administration has far exceeded our worst apprehensions . . . in its general and unvarying abuse of the power intrusted to it by a confiding people. That the people justly view with alarm the reckless extravagance which pervades every department of the Federal Government; that a return to rigid economy and accountability is indispensable to arrest the systematic plunder of the public treasury by favored partisans; while the recent startling developments of frauds and corruptions at the Federal metropolis, show that an entire change of administration is imperatively demanded."
"The present Democratic Administration has far exceeded our worst apprehensions . . . in its general and unvarying abuse of the power intrusted to it by a confiding people. That the people justly view with alarm the reckless extravagance which pervades every department of the Federal Government; that a return to rigid economy and accountability is indispensable to arrest the systematic plunder of the public treasury by favored partisans; while the recent startling developments of frauds and corruptions at the Federal metropolis, show that an entire change of administration is imperatively demanded."
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Watching The Olympics
Every two years we are treated to the Olympics. Oh I know, it's commercialized, politicized, and the athletes are incredibly pampered. But still...it's the Olympics. The best in the world. To just compete is something special. And especially for the Winter Games it's a chance to see so many things that we just don't usually get to see. That is especially true for Americans. I mean curling, speed skating, biathlon, cross country skiing, slope side, etc, etc. It's really pretty cool to see all these sports.
The Olympics last for a couple weeks every two years. So I want to see it all. And I want to see the events. As many as possible. And here is where I just can't figure out NBC Sports. It seems to be more about human interest stories, or political stories, or showcasing the Today Show knuckleheads, or some other inane story that makes no sense. I used to really like Bob Costas. But he seems to have decided he has the right to foist his political views on the rest of us. It's stupid.
NBC has at least three (and probably more) networks that they could use to show events. But today in the middle of the day on a weekend, none of them had the Olympics. NBC had a cartoon, NBC Sports had a soccer game, and MSNBC had their usual liberal political drivel. It was unbelievable. I have no knowledge of how these things work but I really hope that at some point ESPN will bid on and win the rights to cover the Olympics. They know how to do sports!
The Olympics last for a couple weeks every two years. So I want to see it all. And I want to see the events. As many as possible. And here is where I just can't figure out NBC Sports. It seems to be more about human interest stories, or political stories, or showcasing the Today Show knuckleheads, or some other inane story that makes no sense. I used to really like Bob Costas. But he seems to have decided he has the right to foist his political views on the rest of us. It's stupid.
NBC has at least three (and probably more) networks that they could use to show events. But today in the middle of the day on a weekend, none of them had the Olympics. NBC had a cartoon, NBC Sports had a soccer game, and MSNBC had their usual liberal political drivel. It was unbelievable. I have no knowledge of how these things work but I really hope that at some point ESPN will bid on and win the rights to cover the Olympics. They know how to do sports!
Seeing is Believing...Or Is It?
Hmmm...how many times have you watched the news and saw some sensationalistic story about a large gathering or protest and thought to yourself, "that doesn't sound right"? Well, I bet this is more common than we know. The old adage is don't believe everything you hear. It could also be don't believe everything you see...
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Friday Funnies
Lots of funny (if you're not there) images of how unprepared the Russians are in Sochi for the Olympics. I thing one is pretty emblematic!
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