Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that businesses have no reason to raise prices following the devaluation of the bolivar and that the government will seize any entity that boosts its prices.
Chavez said he’ll create an anti-speculation committee to monitor prices after private businesses said that prices would double and consumers rushed to buy household appliances and televisions. The government is the only authority able to dictate price increases, he said.
“The bourgeois are already talking about how all prices are going to double and they’re closing their businesses to raise prices,” Chavez said in comments on state television during his weekly “Alo Presidente” program. “People, don’t let them rob you, denounce it, and I’m capable of taking over that business.”
Chavez devalued the bolivar as much as 50 percent on Jan. 8 for the first time in almost 5 years, as last year’s decline in oil revenue caused the economy to contract an estimated 2.9 percent, its first recession since 2003. The government set a multi-tiered currency system that Chavez says will stimulate national production by making imports more expensive.
Inflation Outlook
The devaluation may add to inflation by 3 percent to 5 percent this year, Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez said. The government forecast an inflation rate of 20 percent to 22 percent this year, after consumer prices rose 25 percent, according to the National Consumer Price Index.
The government also will “attack” the so-called parallel exchange rate, which Chavez called “illegal.”
Venezuelans turn to the parallel rate when they can’t get government authorization to buy dollars at the official exchange rate. The bolivar traded at 6.25 per dollar on Jan. 8, traders said.
“They put the value of the dollar at more than 6 in an arbitrary and illegal manner,” Chavez said. “We have to organize to reduce and attack that speculative, illegal dollar that hurts the Venezuelan economy so much.”
I don't know what YOU have to complain about, mister.
I am now the temporary caretaker of four dogs of individual dietary needs; three indoor cats on interesting medical protocols; one feral cat living under the gazebo; any number of fish; wild birds of varied diets (and a heated birdbath that has to be maintained daily); and all the deer within a five mile radius. They get breakfast AND dinner.
Notice that most though not all of these involve extremely unpleasant outdoor time.
Instructions run to three full, single-spaced pages. I'm surprised my mother didn't make me sign a hand receipt.
S'okay, bob. My daughter kept her rabbit in a baggie in the freezer for awhile, as she was too busy with finals to arrange a proper burial in the park.
Her roommates didn't seem to mind when they reached in for the frozen pizzas.
I kept a sand shark in my freezer for six months before my father told me I had to get rid of my first fish ever caught. My best friends grandfather took me fishing somewhere on the Jersey shore and that's the only thing I caught. I think I was is 6th grade at the time. I hate fishing.
And then, I thought it would be a cute decoration to have a small fish bowl with some sandstones on the bottom and a fish to match, sitting on my kitchen counter. Not even thinking without a filtered tank the fish would suck the life right out of it. It only took a few day for the damn thing to slow down and by the forth day he wasn't even moving. It was kind of fun to see him spring back into action with fresh water.
Lilith said... Israel to build security barrier on border with Egypt That means, of course, the only way to get in will be from Egypt to Gaza.
From your mouth to the Lord's ears..
But sadly those stinkin Israelis STILL send thru hundreds of trucks of food and fuel on a daily basis to the strip.. ANd if that wasnt enough, those freakin israelis allow gazan free medical care even if they blow themselves up...
Gaza should be cut off completely from Israel. PERIOD. The sea and the air should be open for the Gazans to do what they will with the help of the Iranians..
Of course, that would be they would have to be help accountable for all actions...
and that WILL never happen, Palestinians have no accountablity for anything except murder
You wrote a number of threads back that you actually ate streetside in Colombia. The way you wrote about it it seemed to be a rather big deal. I trust you were not involved in intelligence gathering over there...well, I hope not, but I get the impression that US intelligence gatherers are in a similar bubble when assessing foreign countries.
ash says: The way you wrote about it it seemed to be a rather big deal. I trust you were not involved in intelligence gathering over there...well, I hope not,
I hope so.. In fact every time I go anywhere I take notes of subversive types... Typically that includes any and all strippers, hot dog vendors and or course kids selling cigs for a nickels each...
No, I was not involved in any way, shape, or form in intelligence gathering.
The No Streetside Dining rule simply applies to all embassy rats, family members, and other US personnel engaged in, let's say, non-essential activities within the capitol, based on the overall threat to same.
Give it a few years and that, too, will be a thing of the past. At least in Bogota. And that's a Good Thing.
It must be somewhat frustrating to be in an exotic foreign land and shielded from the local scene so much. Welcome back to the warm and comfy environs of North America where unescorted trips to the local burger place is the norm.
"It must be somewhat frustrating to be in an exotic foreign land and shielded from the local scene so much."
It is, but at the same time everyone's aware that the whole point of it is to keep from having certain "news" walked into the Oval Office on any given day of the week.
I did an awful lot on my own - within and without regs - and pretty much always felt safe in my part of the city, but my children would tell you that I've got a "happy soundtrack" that seems to be always playing in my head...even when probably it shouldn't be.
I went to the supermarket for the first time with my daughter today.
Longed-for items joyously purchased:
Luzianne tea bags
Morningstar Farms vegetarian buffalo nuggets
Ezekial sandwich bread
Roasted garlic hummus
All of the ingredients for a gigantic pot of chili
And my dad left a whole case of Yuengling in the garage - along with whatever's left in the downstairs bar - so I wouldn't have to search for the Beer Place.
Just quessing, but I think that's because you've never gotten into any really good fishing.
I remember going salmon fishing on the coast when I was a kid, and throwing my guts up from seasickness on that boat, yet we still caught a lot, had a wonderful time.
Dad and I hired a boat and crew one time to fish between Maui and the Big Island, again, a wonderful time, though we did't catch all that much there.
And stream fishing is wonderful if you know what you are doing.
Just holding an empty line and getting a sunburn isn't so good though.
Coeur d'Alene Lake used to be great back in the better days, and the St. Joe, and especially Marble Creek.
Creek is spelled creek, not creak.
Like in Marble Creek, or Lick Creek, or Hazard Creek, that sort of thing. You'd be surprised where you can find fish.
Way the hell and gone back up some of these streams, you can find them, you wouldn't think they'd be there, and some are long and thin, from lack of food.
We used to catch fish in downtown Walla Walla, or about three blocks from there, big trout, and an occasional steelhead too, on a little tributary of Mill Creek.
I couldn't believe it one time, on the upper St Joe, off on a tributary, can't recall the name, maybe two or three feet across, where it's probably frozen 7 or 8 months of the year, big trout, though long and thin.
Trish, I had some of that tuna fish you mentioned, really hard packed and firm, hardly any water or oil. Very good.
Catch and release is a big thing now. Or only keep over 14 inches or something.
I never had any problem knocking their heads though, and the thing to do is gut them, soon.
Or if at a lake, put them in a net in the lake, where the water is cold. If you are tolling, they can just swim along, if they haven't died during the catch.
Genova tuna, albacore, packed in olive oil. For a readily available import, it's indeed good.
If you wanna knock your socks off a little more, try Ortiz in the flat tin or jar. Imported from Spain. Might be hard-to-impossible to find in your neck of the woods, but can be ordered online.
Used to send my daughter back to school after weekends home with four or so jars. A dorm luxury, to be sure.
I knew a guy in Moscow, older than me, who was a bomber pilot, or co-pilot, or something on a B-17, He flew over Germany. He used to come to a bar there, once in a while.
He had a cat he loved, and was devastated when it died.
I don't know. You can fire bomb Dresden, also weep for your cat.
I knew a guy in Moscow, younger than me, who never was a bomber pilot. Never wore a uniform for that matter, after boy scouts. He used to come my favorite bar, all the time.
He had a cat he loved, and was devastated when it died.
I don't know. You can torment your friends with bad poetry and bathos, also weep for your cat.
What do you think of the idea of the renovation of all things, or the keeping of all things in God's great memory?
Most guverment renovation projects I've observed fail. The heavier the subsidy, the quicker the failure.
The Keeping of all things in God's great memory? I like to keep old iron. Tune up the ones that run. Make 'em purr. Admire the ones that don't, recalling fond memories of when they did. My fuckin' California neighbors want to commit euthanasia on my old cars and truck, and then cut 'em into scrap.
"Researchers at James Cook University in Australia have found that cows fed a diet of algae have lower levels of methane in their farts. Cow farts are emerging as a major source of the greenhouse gas methane, but scientists in Australia may be on to a simple way to nip that in the bud. Preliminary studies are showing that feeding “algae cakes” to cows results in a significant reduction in their methane emissions." -
A couple decades ago I was sittin' with about 50 colleagues in a big circle jerk...ummm, make that a big "District Family Meeting"... attended by the Forest Supervisor.
During a Q&A session, I asked how I might square the apparent discrepancy between the EEO posters lining the halls at work with the quota system involved in placements and promotions.
The agile Forest Supervisor assured me that there were no quotas used in personnel actions.
I replied, "I guess I owe y'all an apology then. Shoulda asked first instead of believin' my lyin' eyes."
I never was too popular at Forest HQ.
The USFS back then was big on "Management By Objectives". About that time the Regional Forester and his crew up in San Francisco handed out performance objectives worthy of a Mission Impossible episode to Forest Supervisors, who promptly distributed them down to District Rangers. The classic objective was to fill X positions with Africanized-American female foresters. There just weren't no Africanized-American female foresters to be found.
In another episode the District Ranger announced at a staff meeting that the forest had received funding to organize a new Native American fire crew. Recruiting was to begin immediately to fill the positions.
The Fire Management guy asked what would happen if there weren't enough injuns recruited for the new crew? The Ranger didn't bat an eye. He just said, "Well then, we won't get money, and there'll be no crew."
"Yet no one in Hasan's chain of command appears to have challenged his eligibility to hold a secret security clearance even though they could have because the statements raised doubt about his loyalty to the United States.
"While in medical school at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences from 1997 to 2003, Hasan received a string of below average and failing grades, was put on academic probation and showed little motivation to learn…
He took six years to graduate from the university in Bethesda, Md., instead of the customary four, according to the school."
I don't know what YOU have to complain about, mister.
This morning we broke a record low for this date - it was 14 degrees. BTW - Our alltime record low for my little patch of north florida is 2 deg below 0 set Feb 13, 1899.
The Keeping of all things in God's great memory? I like to keep old iron. Tune up the ones that run. Make 'em purr. Admire the ones that don't, recalling fond memories of when they did.
Piggybacking on ya here Linear, but St. Luke recorded our Lord saying this, which might give something for someone to ponder:
Luke 20:
[37] Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
[38] For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.
Tech holiday sales were down less than 1% from 2008...Hmm...2008 holiday tech sales were down 6% from 2007. So, from 2007 sales are down about 7%, assuming the data are less than self-serving claptrap.
Bottom line: We are still sinking, but at a slower rate.
When the December housing numbers come in, we will have another chance to "happy dance", no doubt.
A local road leading down to a BLM managed recreation area on the San Joaquin River used to be called "Squaw Leap Road."
I noticed recently that name's been changed.
Are we richer for it?
Good question. There was objection here to such names and they've all been changed. We have no Squaws here now, well maybe one. But then there was a discussion of just what the term originally meant, and know no one seemed to know for sure. Usually taken as a putdown for an Indian woman, it may have other meanings, more endearing and richer.
It's warmed up a bit here as the day wore on, maybe 36-38, little hazy overcast, temp will drop tonight when the sky clears up, and I think it looks like it will, though there is a bank of clouds over there
"and at night, calm, balmy, the moon reflected in a motionless pond...."
...reminds me of my ill spent youth...We used to skate at night on frozen farm ponds...by the light of burning tires...I must purchase many carbon credits in atonement...
Chavez devalued the bolivar as much as 50 percent on Jan. 8 for the first time in almost 5 years, as last year’s decline in oil revenue caused the economy to contract an estimated 2.9 percent, its first recession since 2003.
He's sitting on a trillion barrels of sludge only slightly better than the stuff from the Canadian oil sands, it screams for high-tech investments from the US, but no one will go near that thug because he'll nationalize your ass at the drop of a hat. Any hat. And now he thinks he can overcome the law of supply and demand with government fiat. See Atlas Shrugged for how that comes out.
William Blake knew it too, Allen. And I'm convinced that it's mostly true, though I suppose there are exceptions. But it's a warning sign, like setting fires or shooting dogs and cats when one is young.
They really become part of the family. Which in my case isn't very large now to begin with.
Allen, to experience the vanishing real Costa Rica I would reccomend going to the Osa Penninsula. You can fly into San Jose and take anoter flight to the Osa. If this is your thing, this is your place
And if you go into late stage rest home or hospice care, take that mutt or cat with you. It has been shown to help. If you can find a place that allows it.
The message to Hamas from all of this is clear: the siege on Gaza will continue and even escalate from Israel and Egypt. In addition, in about six months, rocket attacks won't be as effective as they are today, since the Iron Dome system will be deployed along the border.
All of this together has put Hamas under a tremendous amount of pressure, and the IDF believes this to be the main reason behind the recent escalation in rocket attacks against the South.
While the rockets are not being shot by Hamas cells, Hamas is allowing other groups - such as Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees - to shoot intoIsrael and blow off steam.
It goes like this: The guy who came in second in the GOP primary becomes the nominee four or eight years later. In 1976, Reagan was beaten by Ford, and became the nominee in 1980. Pappy Bush was beaten by the Gipper in 80, became the nominee in 88. Dole was beaten by Pappy in 88, became the nominee in 96. McCain was beaten by Bush in 2000, became the nominee in 2008.
So Sarah Palin won't be the GOP nominee, it will be the guy who came in second in 2008: Mitt Romney. And he will ask her to run for VP to lock up the Teabaggers. If she accepts, then Obama is a one-termer. If she declines, then O gets another four.
“…It also is part of a larger Israeli-Egyptian strategy to turn the screws on Hamas and up the pressure on the terror group and its Gaza-based government….”
O, those Jim Crow Egyptians are shameless Jew lovers…probably the work of AIPAC zealots, with lots of dirty money.
“…Next was Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's decision several weeks ago to begin construction of an underground steel barrier along the Philadelphi Corridor…”
O! The apartheid of it all…”Go down to Egypt land and tell Ole Pharaoh, “Let my people go.”
“Egypt has also announced that it will no longer allow aid convoys to enter Gaza from its territory.”
This must be a war crime! Where is the UN condemnation? Where are the sweet, reasoned voices of George Galloway, MP and Cynthia McKinney, late of the US House?
“Next was the testing of the Iron Dome last week, during which the missile defense system successfully intercepted several barrages of rockets, including Kassams, Katyushas and mortars.”
Looks like that XXXXXXX research, enabling the breach of SALT et al has paid off, diabolically…XXXX will no longer be targets.
Read the whole thing; it is just heart wrenching and heartbreaking to your average Palestinian and Brown Shirt.
The shop's owner, 72-year-old Joseph Koches, was at work when the quake hit. He said he dropped to the floor and crawled to a doorway that he reinforced with iron after a 1992 earthquake.
Koches estimates he lost at least 150 pieces of glass artwork in the quake. He said his overall damages, which also includes broken windows and a display case, will likely be between $25,000 and $35,000.
"This was 150 pieces of glass going up in the air and falling and breaking and glass cases going over," Koches said. "If you can imagine some giant coming along and picking up your building and shaking it.
Its a damn shame that the Republicans praticipated in the black blackout of Negroes in space.
ReplyDeleteThe rush to judgement on Harry Reid's judgement is same ol same ol Republican same ol, if you know what I mean.
Dr. Warren Fingeroot, African American Studies, Fresno State University
ReplyDelete...It.never.happened.
---------
I swear I know that guy.
.
Before I complain about how cold it is here I will think of Sullivan, in space, freezing his nuts off.
ReplyDelete:)
ReplyDeletePriceless, Jist freadkin' Priceless
What a way to wake up :)
can we send al sharpton into space?
ReplyDeleteYeeHaww, We GOTS to get a couple of these for the Bar.
ReplyDeleteWorld's First Sex ROBOT
She talks cars, football, and . . . . uh, other things.
On second thought: We'd Never get Doug out of the place.
And, Bob would end up "falling in love."
Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that businesses have no reason to raise prices following the devaluation of the bolivar and that the government will seize any entity that boosts its prices.
ReplyDeleteChavez said he’ll create an anti-speculation committee to monitor prices after private businesses said that prices would double and consumers rushed to buy household appliances and televisions. The government is the only authority able to dictate price increases, he said.
“The bourgeois are already talking about how all prices are going to double and they’re closing their businesses to raise prices,” Chavez said in comments on state television during his weekly “Alo Presidente” program. “People, don’t let them rob you, denounce it, and I’m capable of taking over that business.”
Chavez devalued the bolivar as much as 50 percent on Jan. 8 for the first time in almost 5 years, as last year’s decline in oil revenue caused the economy to contract an estimated 2.9 percent, its first recession since 2003. The government set a multi-tiered currency system that Chavez says will stimulate national production by making imports more expensive.
Inflation Outlook
The devaluation may add to inflation by 3 percent to 5 percent this year, Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez said. The government forecast an inflation rate of 20 percent to 22 percent this year, after consumer prices rose 25 percent, according to the National Consumer Price Index.
The government also will “attack” the so-called parallel exchange rate, which Chavez called “illegal.”
Venezuelans turn to the parallel rate when they can’t get government authorization to buy dollars at the official exchange rate. The bolivar traded at 6.25 per dollar on Jan. 8, traders said.
“They put the value of the dollar at more than 6 in an arbitrary and illegal manner,” Chavez said. “We have to organize to reduce and attack that speculative, illegal dollar that hurts the Venezuelan economy so much.”
"Before I complain about how cold it is..."
ReplyDeleteThirteen effing degrees this morning.
I don't know what YOU have to complain about, mister.
I am now the temporary caretaker of four dogs of individual dietary needs; three indoor cats on interesting medical protocols; one feral cat living under the gazebo; any number of fish; wild birds of varied diets (and a heated birdbath that has to be maintained daily); and all the deer within a five mile radius. They get breakfast AND dinner.
Notice that most though not all of these involve extremely unpleasant outdoor time.
Instructions run to three full, single-spaced pages. I'm surprised my mother didn't make me sign a hand receipt.
Cat in the trashcan?
ReplyDeleteS'okay, bob. My daughter kept her rabbit in a baggie in the freezer for awhile, as she was too busy with finals to arrange a proper burial in the park.
Her roommates didn't seem to mind when they reached in for the frozen pizzas.
I could have sworn I posted a comment here this morning, it's gone now.
ReplyDeleteOh well
Israel to build security barrier on border with Egypt
That means, of course, the only way to get in will be from Egypt to Gaza.
I kept a sand shark in my freezer for six months before my father told me I had to get rid of my first fish ever caught. My best friends grandfather took me fishing somewhere on the Jersey shore and that's the only thing I caught. I think I was is 6th grade at the time. I hate fishing.
ReplyDeleteAnd then, I thought it would be a cute decoration to have a small fish bowl with some sandstones on the bottom and a fish to match, sitting on my kitchen counter. Not even thinking without a filtered tank the fish would suck the life right out of it. It only took a few day for the damn thing to slow down and by the forth day he wasn't even moving. It was kind of fun to see him spring back into action with fresh water.
ReplyDeleteLilith said...
ReplyDeleteIsrael to build security barrier on border with Egypt
That means, of course, the only way to get in will be from Egypt to Gaza.
From your mouth to the Lord's ears..
But sadly those stinkin Israelis STILL send thru hundreds of trucks of food and fuel on a daily basis to the strip.. ANd if that wasnt enough, those freakin israelis allow gazan free medical care even if they blow themselves up...
Gaza should be cut off completely from Israel. PERIOD. The sea and the air should be open for the Gazans to do what they will with the help of the Iranians..
Of course, that would be they would have to be help accountable for all actions...
and that WILL never happen, Palestinians have no accountablity for anything except murder
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletetrish,
ReplyDeleteYou wrote a number of threads back that you actually ate streetside in Colombia. The way you wrote about it it seemed to be a rather big deal. I trust you were not involved in intelligence gathering over there...well, I hope not, but I get the impression that US intelligence gatherers are in a similar bubble when assessing foreign countries.
Ash,
ReplyDeleteDon't quit your day job.
Quit to become a full-time blogger like you? Naw, I won't do that.
ReplyDeleteI do this between breaks and bouts of insomnia.
ReplyDeleteash says: The way you wrote about it it seemed to be a rather big deal. I trust you were not involved in intelligence gathering over there...well, I hope not,
ReplyDeleteI hope so.. In fact every time I go anywhere I take notes of subversive types... Typically that includes any and all strippers, hot dog vendors and or course kids selling cigs for a nickels each...
Ash,
ReplyDeleteNo, I was not involved in any way, shape, or form in intelligence gathering.
The No Streetside Dining rule simply applies to all embassy rats, family members, and other US personnel engaged in, let's say, non-essential activities within the capitol, based on the overall threat to same.
Give it a few years and that, too, will be a thing of the past. At least in Bogota. And that's a Good Thing.
I hate fishing.
ReplyDeleteMon Jan 11, 09:56:00 AM EST
Ditto.
It must be somewhat frustrating to be in an exotic foreign land and shielded from the local scene so much. Welcome back to the warm and comfy environs of North America where unescorted trips to the local burger place is the norm.
ReplyDelete"It must be somewhat frustrating to be in an exotic foreign land and shielded from the local scene so much."
ReplyDeleteIt is, but at the same time everyone's aware that the whole point of it is to keep from having certain "news" walked into the Oval Office on any given day of the week.
I did an awful lot on my own - within and without regs - and pretty much always felt safe in my part of the city, but my children would tell you that I've got a "happy soundtrack" that seems to be always playing in my head...even when probably it shouldn't be.
I went to the supermarket for the first time with my daughter today.
ReplyDeleteLonged-for items joyously purchased:
Luzianne tea bags
Morningstar Farms vegetarian buffalo nuggets
Ezekial sandwich bread
Roasted garlic hummus
All of the ingredients for a gigantic pot of chili
And my dad left a whole case of Yuengling in the garage - along with whatever's left in the downstairs bar - so I wouldn't have to search for the Beer Place.
I hate fishing.
ReplyDeleteMon Jan 11, 09:56:00 AM EST
Ditto.
Just quessing, but I think that's because you've never gotten into any really good fishing.
I remember going salmon fishing on the coast when I was a kid, and throwing my guts up from seasickness on that boat, yet we still caught a lot, had a wonderful time.
Dad and I hired a boat and crew one time to fish between Maui and the Big Island, again, a wonderful time, though we did't catch all that much there.
And stream fishing is wonderful if you know what you are doing.
Just holding an empty line and getting a sunburn isn't so good though.
Coeur d'Alene Lake used to be great back in the better days, and the St. Joe, and especially Marble Creek.
Creek is spelled creek, not creak.
Like in Marble Creek, or Lick Creek, or Hazard Creek, that sort of thing. You'd be surprised where you can find fish.
Way the hell and gone back up some of these streams, you can find them, you wouldn't think they'd be there, and some are long and thin, from lack of food.
We used to catch fish in downtown Walla Walla, or about three blocks from there, big trout, and an occasional steelhead too, on a little tributary of Mill Creek.
"Just quessing, but I think that's because you've never gotten into any really good fishing."
ReplyDeleteI just don't like to be intimately involved in the death of critters, aquatic or otherwise. Far too squeamish.
I went fishing with my grandfather a few times when I was little and he knew the rule: Whatever we caught had to be released.
And that's Ezekiel - not Ezekial - sandwich bread.
Trish does not know her Bible THAT well.
I couldn't believe it one time, on the upper St Joe, off on a tributary, can't recall the name, maybe two or three feet across, where it's probably frozen 7 or 8 months of the year, big trout, though long and thin.
ReplyDeleteTrish, I had some of that tuna fish you mentioned, really hard packed and firm, hardly any water or oil. Very good.
What the heck was the name of that?
Catch and release is a big thing now. Or only keep over 14 inches or something.
ReplyDeleteI never had any problem knocking their heads though, and the thing to do is gut them, soon.
Or if at a lake, put them in a net in the lake, where the water is cold. If you are tolling, they can just swim along, if they haven't died during the catch.
Tonio, or something like that?
ReplyDeleteGenova tuna, albacore, packed in olive oil. For a readily available import, it's indeed good.
ReplyDeleteIf you wanna knock your socks off a little more, try Ortiz in the flat tin or jar. Imported from Spain. Might be hard-to-impossible to find in your neck of the woods, but can be ordered online.
Used to send my daughter back to school after weekends home with four or so jars. A dorm luxury, to be sure.
I just don't like to be intimately involved in the death of critters, aquatic or otherwise. Far too squeamish.
ReplyDeleteheh, same old veggie consciousness.
If you are eating them, you are intimately invovled, just down the production line a bit.
I found that tuna at Costco, I think it was, about three times more expensive than normal.
It was good. Excellent.
I took Oliver to Linville early this morning to bury. I just couldn't think of him forever in some landfill.
ReplyDelete:) from my wife.
She really liked that cat.
Good pick, Rufus.
ReplyDeleteNice while it lasted.
I knew a guy in Moscow, older than me, who was a bomber pilot, or co-pilot, or something on a B-17, He flew over Germany. He used to come to a bar there, once in a while.
ReplyDeleteHe had a cat he loved, and was devastated when it died.
I don't know. You can fire bomb Dresden, also weep for your cat.
I think you've said you were a Chrisitan, Linear.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think of the idea of the renovation of all things, or the keeping of all things in God's great memory?
Because the universe may well have a memory.
I knew a guy in Moscow, younger than me, who never was a bomber pilot. Never wore a uniform for that matter, after boy scouts. He used to come my favorite bar, all the time.
ReplyDeleteHe had a cat he loved, and was devastated when it died.
I don't know. You can torment your friends with bad poetry and bathos, also weep for your cat.
.
:)
ReplyDeleteI'm over Oliver.
Was just wondering about God's memory.
What do you think of the idea of the renovation of all things, or the keeping of all things in God's great memory?
ReplyDeleteMost guverment renovation projects I've observed fail. The heavier the subsidy, the quicker the failure.
The Keeping of all things in God's great memory? I like to keep old iron. Tune up the ones that run. Make 'em purr. Admire the ones that don't, recalling fond memories of when they did. My fuckin' California neighbors want to commit euthanasia on my old cars and truck, and then cut 'em into scrap.
.
Because the universe may well have a memory.
ReplyDeleteNaw. My ex-wife's the one with the memory, Bob.
.
:)
ReplyDeleteMaybe God is the bliss of forgetfullness, and your ex is tormented?
You might take some comfort in that :)
I gotta go now, I was just waiting around, hoping Melody would come back.
ReplyDeleteOnly way I can talk to her.
And I don't like the idea of robosex.
You might take some comfort in that :)
ReplyDeleteI did. For a while.
She needs patience and compassion right now.
As do we all.
.
It's Good News Week
ReplyDelete"Researchers at James Cook University in Australia have found that cows fed a diet of algae have lower levels of methane in their farts. Cow farts are emerging as a major source of the greenhouse gas methane, but scientists in Australia may be on to a simple way to nip that in the bud. Preliminary studies are showing that feeding “algae cakes” to cows results in a significant reduction in their methane emissions." -
Algae - Small Creatures, Large Potential
A promise for as long as the grass shall grow
ReplyDeletelinearthinker said...
ReplyDelete"She needs patience and compassion right now."
Ditto...point well taken...
Getting back on topic for a moment...
ReplyDeleteA couple decades ago I was sittin' with about 50 colleagues in a big circle jerk...ummm, make that a big "District Family Meeting"... attended by the Forest Supervisor.
During a Q&A session, I asked how I might square the apparent discrepancy between the EEO posters lining the halls at work with the quota system involved in placements and promotions.
The agile Forest Supervisor assured me that there were no quotas used in personnel actions.
I replied, "I guess I owe y'all an apology then. Shoulda asked first instead of believin' my lyin' eyes."
I never was too popular at Forest HQ.
The USFS back then was big on "Management By Objectives". About that time the Regional Forester and his crew up in San Francisco handed out performance objectives worthy of a Mission Impossible episode to Forest Supervisors, who promptly distributed them down to District Rangers. The classic objective was to fill X positions with Africanized-American female foresters. There just weren't no Africanized-American female foresters to be found.
In another episode the District Ranger announced at a staff meeting that the forest had received funding to organize a new Native American fire crew. Recruiting was to begin immediately to fill the positions.
The Fire Management guy asked what would happen if there weren't enough injuns recruited for the new crew? The Ranger didn't bat an eye. He just said, "Well then, we won't get money, and there'll be no crew."
Management By Objectives.
.
...while old news and off topic:
ReplyDelete"Yet no one in Hasan's chain of command appears to have challenged his eligibility to hold a secret security clearance even though they could have because the statements raised doubt about his loyalty to the United States.
"While in medical school at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences from 1997 to 2003, Hasan received a string of below average and failing grades, was put on academic probation and showed little motivation to learn…
He took six years to graduate from the university in Bethesda, Md., instead of the customary four, according to the school."
In Hasan case, superiors ignored their own worries
One day, this is going to get us killed. I really wish I did not have to say, “I told you so.”
Thirteen effing degrees this morning.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what YOU have to complain about, mister.
This morning we broke a record low for this date - it was 14 degrees. BTW - Our alltime record low for my little patch of north florida is 2 deg below 0 set Feb 13, 1899.
LT:
ReplyDeleteThe Keeping of all things in God's great memory? I like to keep old iron. Tune up the ones that run. Make 'em purr. Admire the ones that don't, recalling fond memories of when they did.
Piggybacking on ya here Linear, but St. Luke recorded our Lord saying this, which might give something for someone to ponder:
Luke 20:
[37] Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
[38] For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.
One day, this is going to get us killed.
ReplyDeleteI used to say,"It's a damned good thing the Department of Defense isn't run like the U.S. Forest Service or we'd all be in deep shit."
Was that prophetic, or what?
.
Let's all do a "happy dance".
ReplyDeleteTech holiday sales were down less than 1% from 2008...Hmm...2008 holiday tech sales were down 6% from 2007. So, from 2007 sales are down about 7%, assuming the data are less than self-serving claptrap.
Bottom line: We are still sinking, but at a slower rate.
When the December housing numbers come in, we will have another chance to "happy dance", no doubt.
Holiday tech sales dip slightly, NPD says
The USFS bureaucrats referred to them as "Native Americans." Always.
ReplyDeleteThey referred to themselves as "Injuns." In public mixed meetings. I was there.
.
A local road leading down to a BLM managed recreation area on the San Joaquin River used to be called "Squaw Leap Road."
ReplyDeleteI noticed recently that name's been changed.
Are we richer for it?
.
A local road leading down to a BLM managed recreation area on the San Joaquin River used to be called "Squaw Leap Road."
ReplyDeleteI noticed recently that name's been changed.
Are we richer for it?
Good question. There was objection here to such names and they've all been changed. We have no Squaws here now, well maybe one. But then there was a discussion of just what the term originally meant, and know no one seemed to know for sure. Usually taken as a putdown for an Indian woman, it may have other meanings, more endearing and richer.
Like Here--Reclaiming Squaw
"This morning we broke a record low for this date - it was 14 degrees."
ReplyDeleteThat's some respectable cold, alright.
Okay, so we're all suffering. Except Doug. Who picked the invariably right place to live.
And Rat.
(That Rat is not suffering seems somehow...very, very wrong.)
But as my brother says just to be irritating, "Think of our boys at Valley Forge!"
A lot of the names of small rivers and creeks on the Inidan reservations have been changed, too.
ReplyDeleteThus the old Cow Creek bacame something much prettier that I can't recall now. Four or five syllables.
Like Moctileme Creek Which is much prettier sounding. But I can't recall if that was Cow Creek, or Squaw Creek or what. Anyway, it's better now.
ReplyDeleteYou don't want to be up Shit Crick without a paddle, I'll tell you that.
trish said...
ReplyDelete"(That Rat is not suffering seems somehow...very, very wrong.)"
O, but he is; and he would like to share :)
And let's get this straight, the Nez Perce are the Nimiipuu.
ReplyDeleteThough they often use the terms interchangeably on their own logos, advertising and stuff.
There's been so much intermarriage now there's not much 'racial' purity left around here.
In fact, with the casinos, everyone is trying to prove they are an 1/8, I think it is, Native America, to cash in.
Mon Jan 11, 06:31:00 PM EST
ReplyDeleteAstute
"...he is; and he would like to share..."
ReplyDeleteThat's one way of looking at it.
Y'all need to attend my sensitivity classes instead of pickin' on rat.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Mitchell might pick up some tips, too. Talk about tone deaf.
.
Sarah Palin To Join Fox News
ReplyDeleteNow I'll have to get a new TV.
Now I'll have to get a new TV.
ReplyDeleteShe'll bring the ratings up.
Maybe kinda risky, but I bet she handles it well.
Sometimes she sounds a little too bubbly and young, but I bet she does well.
Wrong, again, allen.
ReplyDeleteThere is no suffering around here.
A little financial hit, but suffering ...
You have to be kidding.
Elephant Bar Weather Forecast.
ReplyDeleteWarm commentary accompanied by low pressure on Monday will result in a shit storm by midnight.
.
hail, hell, sleet, snow, frozen rain and shit--good forecast
ReplyDeletea real Apache Dog Shit Eating Ceremony forecast
ReplyDeleteonly question is where will the lightning strike first
not with me, I've put a lightning rod out
73 degrees, late in the afternoon. Sunny skies, gotta wear shades.
ReplyDeleteLooks like this should continue, until May.
It's warmed up a bit here as the day wore on, maybe 36-38, little hazy overcast, temp will drop tonight when the sky clears up, and I think it looks like it will, though there is a bank of clouds over there
ReplyDeletelinearthinker said...
ReplyDelete"Warm commentary accompanied by low pressure on Monday will result in a shit storm by midnight."
Nah...nothin' but blue skies from now on :)
and at night, calm, balmy, the moon reflected in a motionless pond....
ReplyDeleteDeuce,
ReplyDeleteMy lady and I will either take a cruise or come to Costa Rica in March.
Any suggestions on good diving, beaches, few Americanos, comfortable accomodations...all at a reasonable price (I am XXXXXX, you know :)
bob said...
ReplyDelete"and at night, calm, balmy, the moon reflected in a motionless pond...."
...reminds me of my ill spent youth...We used to skate at night on frozen farm ponds...by the light of burning tires...I must purchase many carbon credits in atonement...
Chavez devalued the bolivar as much as 50 percent on Jan. 8 for the first time in almost 5 years, as last year’s decline in oil revenue caused the economy to contract an estimated 2.9 percent, its first recession since 2003.
ReplyDeleteHe's sitting on a trillion barrels of sludge only slightly better than the stuff from the Canadian oil sands, it screams for high-tech investments from the US, but no one will go near that thug because he'll nationalize your ass at the drop of a hat. Any hat. And now he thinks he can overcome the law of supply and demand with government fiat. See Atlas Shrugged for how that comes out.
bob,
ReplyDelete...sorry about the cat...
Men who mistreat animals are men who mistreat humans...Jack London knew that...
William Blake knew it too, Allen. And I'm convinced that it's mostly true, though I suppose there are exceptions. But it's a warning sign, like setting fires or shooting dogs and cats when one is young.
ReplyDeleteThey really become part of the family. Which in my case isn't very large now to begin with.
Thank you for the sympathy.
Allen, to experience the vanishing real Costa Rica I would reccomend going to the Osa Penninsula. You can fly into San Jose and take anoter flight to the Osa. If this is your thing, this is your place
ReplyDeleteAnd if you go into late stage rest home or hospice care, take that mutt or cat with you. It has been shown to help. If you can find a place that allows it.
ReplyDeleteDeuce,
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'll have a look see.
Costa Rica, nice place (or so is my evaluation after a 10 day stay). Going back in a few weeks, Dominical this time.
ReplyDeleteThe message to Hamas from all of this is clear: the siege on Gaza will continue and even escalate from Israel and Egypt. In addition, in about six months, rocket attacks won't be as effective as they are today, since the Iron Dome system will be deployed along the border.
ReplyDeleteAll of this together has put Hamas under a tremendous amount of pressure, and the IDF believes this to be the main reason behind the recent escalation in rocket attacks against the South.
While the rockets are not being shot by Hamas cells, Hamas is allowing other groups - such as Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees - to shoot intoIsrael and blow off steam.
Hamas in Gaza
It goes like this: The guy who came in second in the GOP primary becomes the nominee four or eight years later. In 1976, Reagan was beaten by Ford, and became the nominee in 1980. Pappy Bush was beaten by the Gipper in 80, became the nominee in 88. Dole was beaten by Pappy in 88, became the nominee in 96. McCain was beaten by Bush in 2000, became the nominee in 2008.
ReplyDeleteSo Sarah Palin won't be the GOP nominee, it will be the guy who came in second in 2008: Mitt Romney. And he will ask her to run for VP to lock up the Teabaggers. If she accepts, then Obama is a one-termer. If she declines, then O gets another four.
Romney's got that Mormon problem the others didn't have. But you might be right.
ReplyDelete...in loving memory of all oppressed people...
ReplyDelete“…It also is part of a larger Israeli-Egyptian strategy to turn the screws on Hamas and up the pressure on the terror group and its Gaza-based government….”
O, those Jim Crow Egyptians are shameless Jew lovers…probably the work of AIPAC zealots, with lots of dirty money.
“…Next was Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's decision several weeks ago to begin construction of an underground steel barrier along the Philadelphi Corridor…”
O! The apartheid of it all…”Go down to Egypt land and tell Ole Pharaoh, “Let my people go.”
“Egypt has also announced that it will no longer allow aid convoys to enter Gaza from its territory.”
This must be a war crime! Where is the UN condemnation? Where are the sweet, reasoned voices of George Galloway, MP and Cynthia McKinney, late of the US House?
“Next was the testing of the Iron Dome last week, during which the missile defense system successfully intercepted several barrages of rockets, including Kassams, Katyushas and mortars.”
Looks like that XXXXXXX research, enabling the breach of SALT et al has paid off, diabolically…XXXX will no longer be targets.
Read the whole thing; it is just heart wrenching and heartbreaking to your average Palestinian and Brown Shirt.
Analysis: Planned southern border fence turns the screws on Hamas in Gaza
Just about what we need for our southern border.
ReplyDeleteThe shop's owner, 72-year-old Joseph Koches, was at work when the quake hit. He said he dropped to the floor and crawled to a doorway that he reinforced with iron after a 1992 earthquake.
ReplyDeleteKoches estimates he lost at least 150 pieces of glass artwork in the quake. He said his overall damages, which also includes broken windows and a display case, will likely be between $25,000 and $35,000.
"This was 150 pieces of glass going up in the air and falling and breaking and glass cases going over," Koches said. "If you can imagine some giant coming along and picking up your building and shaking it.
CA Quake