In other news, Melissa's dog Nixon has a new name: Dingo. And here is a crappy picture of Dingo.
Monday, July 30, 2007
The Simpsons
If you have not gone to see the movie, and you are a fan, make plans to go see it. It is good. I agree with one of the first reviews, "It didn't suck!" It is not the greatest movie of all time, perhaps not even the best episode ever, but it does the job. It is about 90 minutes long and some of the detailed scenes are impressive. The PG rating is sort of funny because it allows the Bart nude scene and Marge to say "Goddamn". I am sure you have seen the commercials about "Spiderpig", it is a recurring theme and I would advise you to stay for the entire credits.
In other news, Melissa's dog Nixon has a new name: Dingo. And here is a crappy picture of Dingo.
In other news, Melissa's dog Nixon has a new name: Dingo. And here is a crappy picture of Dingo.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Cingular/AT&T Sucks!
I had a Sprint cell phone for many many years. Upon moving to the Delta I had to switch to a different service provider. The options here are Cellular South and AT&T. That made it a no-brainer, so I transferred my number to AT&T. The transfer was not without complications, but I eventually got it done. This was done with no help from the local service reps at the one and only AT&T store in town. Two weeks ago my new RAZR phone went dead on me. Once I got it up and running again it worked but not 100%, it acted as if the cover was always open. This was an annoyance but I managed. That is at least until last night. I was on the phone and hung up and plugged the phone in to recharge. Suddenly the phone was acting properly! I got out the shower and went to take a look at the phone only to find it was dead. The phone was charging but would not turn on.
So this morning I drove over to the one and only store in town. The store's response was to call the 1-800 number for customer service. Gee, I could never have done that myself. AT&T's response is to ship me a new phone....so suck it up and have no service for a few days. The woman at the store assured me a phone could be delivered by tomorrow. The customer service rep said it would be 5 to 6 days unless I was willing to pay $7 for 2 day service. I bit the bullet and paid the $7. Of course I would like phone service in the meantime. So off to Wal-Mart I was sent to by a Cingular Go-Phone (prepaid service disposable phone). It was never made clear to me why I could not buy the phone at the AT&T store. I bought the cheapest one they had, so $20 later I have cell phone service again on what might be the smallest and crappiest cell phone made. Popped the SIM card out of my dead phone and into the Go-Phone and it is all good until my replacement phone arrives.
In other news, try the Muppet Personality Test:
So this morning I drove over to the one and only store in town. The store's response was to call the 1-800 number for customer service. Gee, I could never have done that myself. AT&T's response is to ship me a new phone....so suck it up and have no service for a few days. The woman at the store assured me a phone could be delivered by tomorrow. The customer service rep said it would be 5 to 6 days unless I was willing to pay $7 for 2 day service. I bit the bullet and paid the $7. Of course I would like phone service in the meantime. So off to Wal-Mart I was sent to by a Cingular Go-Phone (prepaid service disposable phone). It was never made clear to me why I could not buy the phone at the AT&T store. I bought the cheapest one they had, so $20 later I have cell phone service again on what might be the smallest and crappiest cell phone made. Popped the SIM card out of my dead phone and into the Go-Phone and it is all good until my replacement phone arrives.
In other news, try the Muppet Personality Test:
| You Are Animal |
 A complete lunatic, you're operating on 100% animal instincts. You thrive on uncontrolled energy, and you're downright scary. But you sure can beat a good drum. "Kill! Kill!" |
Monday, July 23, 2007
Redneck Home Renovation
So the backstairs on my house needed to come down. How best to accomplish this task?How about a chainsaw and a sledge hammer?
Within a few minutes the stairs were down and a bit extra came with it. The landing was in pretty bad shape. The last picture shows rim joist being rotted/termite eaten. I missed the fence by just an inch or two. Within another 30 minutes the chainsaw had reduced the stairs to scrap.
In other news, Nixon is back from the vet/kennel. Melissa has changed his name to Brewski, however as of this afternoon it was now Jackal. It will be interesting to see what name she settles on.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
New Canine Family Member
Many of you know that I have a dog, Boozer, who is a lab mutt that was released by a college student in Ruston. She wandered onto my grandparents' farm and eventually ended up coming to live with me in Metairie. I moved to my house and Gretna and no longer had a yard so she moved to my parents' house. After Katrina she lived on the farm and then with my sister, Melissa, in her house by the Fairgrounds. She is now back in Gretna.
My sister in Philly has two Golden Retrievers, Acadia and Remoulade (Rummy for short). Melissa and Rene had a Great Dane, Mi Dawg, for a number of years but he died a few months ago. Well, as of this weekend they have a new dog.
The latest canine family member is Nixon. Pictures will be coming soon. Nixon is a Catahoula/Pit mix. He was abandoned in his crate with all of his papers and food and water in the Warehouse District of NO, in front of an apartment complex. Melissa and Rene were out to dinner and ran into someone from Southern Animal Foundation who had found him. He was quite nervous Friday night but as of Saturday he is healthy, happy, and in good spirits. He has been checked out by the vet and looks like he will make a great addition to the family.
For those who are not aware, the Catahoula is the state dog of Louisiana.
My sister in Philly has two Golden Retrievers, Acadia and Remoulade (Rummy for short). Melissa and Rene had a Great Dane, Mi Dawg, for a number of years but he died a few months ago. Well, as of this weekend they have a new dog.
The latest canine family member is Nixon. Pictures will be coming soon. Nixon is a Catahoula/Pit mix. He was abandoned in his crate with all of his papers and food and water in the Warehouse District of NO, in front of an apartment complex. Melissa and Rene were out to dinner and ran into someone from Southern Animal Foundation who had found him. He was quite nervous Friday night but as of Saturday he is healthy, happy, and in good spirits. He has been checked out by the vet and looks like he will make a great addition to the family.
For those who are not aware, the Catahoula is the state dog of Louisiana.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Free Energy == Bad Science
So I got a video sent to me via email today. It it a 2 minute clip from a Cleveland news broadcast. This guy, a retired tv station owner, was inspired in the middle of the night to cure cancer. His idea is to inject nanoparticles of metal into the body and for some reason the metal particles will attach only to the cancerous cells and then when blasted with RF (Radio Frequency) energy the metal would heat and kill the cancer cells....ummm ok. Anyway, so this guy starts to work on this idea and then finds that if he exposes saltwater to RF energy he can burn the gas that is given off by this. To demonstrate this "amazing" achievement he puts his hand in the field and shows no ill effect. He then inserts a fluorescent light bulb (attached to nothing else) into the field and it lights up. Then he puts a container of saltwater in the field and lights a flame on top from the gas. He has the flame on the bottom of a small engine and it starts rotating. He goes on to say how this can solve the "energy crisis" and the newscasters are awed.
The guy who sent me the video, which I will post if I can figure out how, wanted my take on it. So here goes:
1) Perpetual motion machines, free energy, etc don't exist. You can't get something for nothing. That applies in life and in physics, especially in physics.
2) Is it possible for someone to cure cancer "by a dream" or other random piddling around? Sure! Is it likely? Hell NO!
3) When water is exposed to energy hydrogen can be a by-product and hydrogen is "slightly" flammable. However, the energy required to generate the RF energy to do it is more then the energy that you will recover from burning the hydrogen.
4) The fluorescent light trick is a standard phenomenon of fluorescent tubes exposed to RF fields. Many magicians use this trick. It is also a very good way to detect RF fields.
5) The little engine they showed rotating right along on the small heat input was a Stirling engine. Stirling engines are external combustion engines. They are very neat and work great on the small-scale but not too easy to replicate on a large scale. It is actually a popular science project to make a small one that runs off the heat of your hand....hmmm I know, lets harness people to create the energy we need....oh wait that idea was already done. They are neat to watch but can't actually put out much power.
*****RANT ON*******
I hate how the media promotes crackpots like this. That includes celebrities who think they know a few things about the environment and science, when most of it is bad science. For example, the maximum return on corn-based ethanol is 1.3 units of energy for every 1 unit of energy put into it. This sounds like 30% return, a pretty decent return when you consider that the standard power plant is doing great if it is running at 30% efficiency. However, when you take the total life cycle analysis into account and the energy of producing the corn and transporting the corn, you rapidly get into single digit returns. Cellulosic ethanol has maximum returns on the order of 16 units of energy per unit of energy put into it. This allows for realistic returns to make it worthwhile if the basic scientific problems with cellulosic ethanol can be solved. Note, that although you get more then 1 unit of energy out for every unit of energy put into the process this is NOT free energy. The extra units of energy are from the plant bio-mass which is extracted from nutrients in the soil. Carbon density of the bio-mass has a large effect on the process. This is not free energy because those nutrients must be replaced in the soil. Oh yeah, it is the same nutrient material that over long enough time and conditions can become coal, oil, and/or natural gas. Nature is funny like that. I still say go solar, wind (which is a form of solar), and hydroelectric (especially tidal) for big returns on energy investment.
And remember boys and girls, no matter what celebrities say, DO NOT run E-85 or other ethanol fuels in your car on a regular basis if it is not a Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV). Disregard this if you like the idea of your fuel injectors not working, reduced fuel efficiency because your car's computer can not call for the right fuel/air ratio, and my personal favorite your steel fuel lines corroding on you since a by-product of ethanol combustion is water! FFVs have stainless steel fuel lines and modified computer programs.
******RANT OFF***********
The guy who sent me the video, which I will post if I can figure out how, wanted my take on it. So here goes:
1) Perpetual motion machines, free energy, etc don't exist. You can't get something for nothing. That applies in life and in physics, especially in physics.
2) Is it possible for someone to cure cancer "by a dream" or other random piddling around? Sure! Is it likely? Hell NO!
3) When water is exposed to energy hydrogen can be a by-product and hydrogen is "slightly" flammable. However, the energy required to generate the RF energy to do it is more then the energy that you will recover from burning the hydrogen.
4) The fluorescent light trick is a standard phenomenon of fluorescent tubes exposed to RF fields. Many magicians use this trick. It is also a very good way to detect RF fields.
5) The little engine they showed rotating right along on the small heat input was a Stirling engine. Stirling engines are external combustion engines. They are very neat and work great on the small-scale but not too easy to replicate on a large scale. It is actually a popular science project to make a small one that runs off the heat of your hand....hmmm I know, lets harness people to create the energy we need....oh wait that idea was already done. They are neat to watch but can't actually put out much power.
*****RANT ON*******
I hate how the media promotes crackpots like this. That includes celebrities who think they know a few things about the environment and science, when most of it is bad science. For example, the maximum return on corn-based ethanol is 1.3 units of energy for every 1 unit of energy put into it. This sounds like 30% return, a pretty decent return when you consider that the standard power plant is doing great if it is running at 30% efficiency. However, when you take the total life cycle analysis into account and the energy of producing the corn and transporting the corn, you rapidly get into single digit returns. Cellulosic ethanol has maximum returns on the order of 16 units of energy per unit of energy put into it. This allows for realistic returns to make it worthwhile if the basic scientific problems with cellulosic ethanol can be solved. Note, that although you get more then 1 unit of energy out for every unit of energy put into the process this is NOT free energy. The extra units of energy are from the plant bio-mass which is extracted from nutrients in the soil. Carbon density of the bio-mass has a large effect on the process. This is not free energy because those nutrients must be replaced in the soil. Oh yeah, it is the same nutrient material that over long enough time and conditions can become coal, oil, and/or natural gas. Nature is funny like that. I still say go solar, wind (which is a form of solar), and hydroelectric (especially tidal) for big returns on energy investment.
And remember boys and girls, no matter what celebrities say, DO NOT run E-85 or other ethanol fuels in your car on a regular basis if it is not a Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV). Disregard this if you like the idea of your fuel injectors not working, reduced fuel efficiency because your car's computer can not call for the right fuel/air ratio, and my personal favorite your steel fuel lines corroding on you since a by-product of ethanol combustion is water! FFVs have stainless steel fuel lines and modified computer programs.
******RANT OFF***********
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
More Movies and a Really Good Laugh
I totally forgot about a great movie: Best In Show. Fabulous movie. Pretty much all of Christopher Guest's movies rock.
In other news. I was on my way out of work on Monday and it started to rain. I don't mean a light rain. I mean it was pouring down in incredible sheets of rain. I turned around and headed back up to my office and checked the weather radar. Notice the screenshots below:
If you look at this picture you will see an isolated bit of storm right by Indianola. Let's look a bit closer at that storm cell.
That one little pixel of intense red, just north of Hwy82 and just west of Hwy 61, just a bit north of Leland? That is my office! Yep, sheets of rain that you could not see through and not a speck of rain a 1/4 mile in any other directions.
Just call me Eeyore.
In other news. I was on my way out of work on Monday and it started to rain. I don't mean a light rain. I mean it was pouring down in incredible sheets of rain. I turned around and headed back up to my office and checked the weather radar. Notice the screenshots below:
If you look at this picture you will see an isolated bit of storm right by Indianola. Let's look a bit closer at that storm cell.
That one little pixel of intense red, just north of Hwy82 and just west of Hwy 61, just a bit north of Leland? That is my office! Yep, sheets of rain that you could not see through and not a speck of rain a 1/4 mile in any other directions.Just call me Eeyore.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Must See Movies
I was flipping channels tonight at saw that Miller's Crossing was on. If you have never seen it, it is a must see. About a week ago I got a phone call from a friend, Foamy the squirrel, who was in a movie store and was asking me for the names of some of the movies I have told her she has to see. I am not a huge movie buff, but I like what I like. This list will not be comprehensive or complete, but a good first start at that list. I invite everyone to provide some feedback. Check IMDB for more info.
1. Anything by the Cohen Brothers and most movies by the Raimi brothers. The Cohen Brothers are best known for Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, The Hudsucker Proxy, Barton Fink and O'Brother, Where Art Thou?. All of these are great movies. The Raimi Brothers have had a bit more varied movie lineage. Their classic work includes the Spiderman movies, Evil Dead, and the great Army of Darkness. These guys are also responsible for some great trash television such as Xena and Hercules. Most of their work is directed by Sam Raimi and features at least in cameo, Ted Raimi and Bruce Campbell.
2. Boondock Saints. If you haven't seen it, you must. Especially good on St. Patrick's Day.
3. Bravo Two Zero. The book is better, but it is the true story of just how bad a military operation can go from the get go. The British SAS were reluctant to let the story out.
4. Siege of Firebase Gloria. This is one of the most amazing stories to come out of Vietnam and yet it is a little known film. It goes well with such classics as Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket.
5. Heat. Pacino and DeNiro. I think anything with both of them usually works out pretty well.
6. Goodfellas. Enough said.
7. Casino. Very good!
And the list goes on. These are some of the movies I can watch again and again whenever they are on.
1. Anything by the Cohen Brothers and most movies by the Raimi brothers. The Cohen Brothers are best known for Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, The Hudsucker Proxy, Barton Fink and O'Brother, Where Art Thou?. All of these are great movies. The Raimi Brothers have had a bit more varied movie lineage. Their classic work includes the Spiderman movies, Evil Dead, and the great Army of Darkness. These guys are also responsible for some great trash television such as Xena and Hercules. Most of their work is directed by Sam Raimi and features at least in cameo, Ted Raimi and Bruce Campbell.
2. Boondock Saints. If you haven't seen it, you must. Especially good on St. Patrick's Day.
3. Bravo Two Zero. The book is better, but it is the true story of just how bad a military operation can go from the get go. The British SAS were reluctant to let the story out.
4. Siege of Firebase Gloria. This is one of the most amazing stories to come out of Vietnam and yet it is a little known film. It goes well with such classics as Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket.
5. Heat. Pacino and DeNiro. I think anything with both of them usually works out pretty well.
6. Goodfellas. Enough said.
7. Casino. Very good!
And the list goes on. These are some of the movies I can watch again and again whenever they are on.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Life around Greenville
I went out to the Greenville airport today while just driving around town. The airports official title is Mid Delta Regional Airport. It is located on a former Army Air base. The picture above is the airport, that is it, the terminal and parking all in one shot....impressive I know.
In government news, our Location Administrative Officer sent an email out to everyone at our location yesterday warning us about the dangers the can come with crossing rail road tracks. The email admonished us to be cautious when crossing the tracks near the office.....um good to know!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
My home town and random ruminations
First Jefferson Parish showed a lack of heart in deciding that all FEMA trailers had to go. This, of course, is after they told people to go ahead and invite friends and relatives who lived in other parishes and needed a place to put their FEMA trailers to come and stay on friend's property in Jefferson parish. Whoops! Get out!
Then Jefferson parish decided that the taco trucks and other food vendors needed to get out. This is of course after they have been issued licenses by the parish. Forget the fact that they are helping to rebuild.
Then there is the hypocrisy of Sen. Vitter and the prostitution scandal.
Now the DA is releasing more murder suspects, this time someone accused of murdering 5 people at once......NICE!
Morons! Lets throw them all out!
Check out NOLA.com for any and all of these stories.
In other news, my new boss is fixated on statistics. I tend to believe that statistics are overblown for most applications and that they serve to either confuse or baffle people. However, he has been on my case to make more use of statistics and requires a section on Statistical Methods for each Plan of Work proposal for projects. I did a little digging on the web and found a great resource from NIST on statistics for engineering and scientists. I highly recommend it. The best part was my boss asking me if I had help with my writeup. I am not sure if I should be offended or flattered. I don't consider doing a bit of reading to be having help. I explained that he wanted more stats so I read up on a few things before writing the proposal. It shut him up so I was happy.
Then Jefferson parish decided that the taco trucks and other food vendors needed to get out. This is of course after they have been issued licenses by the parish. Forget the fact that they are helping to rebuild.
Then there is the hypocrisy of Sen. Vitter and the prostitution scandal.
Now the DA is releasing more murder suspects, this time someone accused of murdering 5 people at once......NICE!
Morons! Lets throw them all out!
Check out NOLA.com for any and all of these stories.
In other news, my new boss is fixated on statistics. I tend to believe that statistics are overblown for most applications and that they serve to either confuse or baffle people. However, he has been on my case to make more use of statistics and requires a section on Statistical Methods for each Plan of Work proposal for projects. I did a little digging on the web and found a great resource from NIST on statistics for engineering and scientists. I highly recommend it. The best part was my boss asking me if I had help with my writeup. I am not sure if I should be offended or flattered. I don't consider doing a bit of reading to be having help. I explained that he wanted more stats so I read up on a few things before writing the proposal. It shut him up so I was happy.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
My house
I am starting to upload pictures of my house to my Picasa account. For starters I have the original pictures from when I bought the place. Check it out and standby for updates as I upload more pictures showing the work before and after Katrina. If you check out the whole public gallery you will see the garage being built.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Back.........AGAIN!
So I spent the better part of a week in NO. It was great and I got a ton of stuff done on my house. There is just one ceiling left to be ripped out from Katrina, the kitchen ceiling. I got the "living room/den" gutted, wired, and insulated. The room is ready for sheetrock, but then I realized I have no way at this point and time, to bring sheetrock into the house. I used to carry it up the back stairs, but they are gone. So sheetrock will have to wail awhile.
I also got to see my neighbor's progress. He told me they were going to build a fence...okay, a bit annoying but no problem. Lo and behold they are building a garage and carport in the middle of the historic district of Old Gretna....without a permit....perhaps the new building inspector will deal with it.
I also got to drink quite a few Guinness with my friend Mike at Crown and Anchor . Unfortunately, La was still in her birthday celebration mode and tried to match my Guinness consumption with her bourbon consumption....she was hurting the next day. I received this text message from her after she was at a wedding reception (and she knows why the purple type):
Seven or diggit o mind bourbon s oh my. What a fun reception that makes. ---Happy 777 day (sent at 11:53pm 7/7/07)
The translation is "Seven or eight or nine bourbons, oh my!"
And one last thing....a MIRACLE!
One of the 2 Kroger's in town is now carrying Abita Amber and Turbodog!!!!
Monday, July 2, 2007
Back in Greenville but not for long
The trip home this weekend was a lot of fun, but busy. I got to see one of my sisters and her daughter. I also got to see my friend La while hanging out at Cooter Brown's. Which is always a good place to grab a beer and some awesome food. I also got to have the fun of installing a door at my parents' house which was not exactly fun or as straight-forward as it should have been. The best part though, is tomorrow I am headed back home AGAIN. I am taking the rest of the week of so I might even get some work done on my house.
As I have said before, I live in the birthplace of Kermit the Frog, so with that in mind, I found this article about Rubber Ducks . (For an extra laugh read the actual web address of the article) A shipment of rubber duckies (and frog and turtles) got knocked off a ship on their way from China to the USA more then 15 years ago. Since then they have been used to track the ocean currents and a large group got caught in an ice pack in the arctic and has gone from the Alaskan coast, across the top of Canada, and are now melting pack into the ocean in the Atlantic. So everyone join in:
Rubber Ducky, you're the one, You make bathtime lots of fun, Rubber Ducky, I'm awfully fond of you; Woo woo be doo Rubber Ducky, joy of joys, When I squeeze you, you make noise! Rubber Ducky, you're my very best friend, it's true! Doo doo doo doo, doo doo Every day when I Make my way to the tubby I find a little fella who's Cute and yellow and chubby Rub-a-dub-a-dubby! Rubber Ducky, you're so fine And I'm lucky that you're mine Rubber ducky, I'm awfully fond of you. Every day when I Make my way to the tubby I find a little fella who's Cute and yellow and chubby Rubber Ducky, you're so fine And I'm lucky that you're mine Rubber ducky, I'm awfully fond of - Rubber ducky, I'd like a whole pond of - Rubber ducky I'm awfully fond of you! Doo doo, be doo.
Oh yeah, check out the Kwik-E-Mart near you. Jacqueline, if you see one....I want pictures! There is one near you!
As I have said before, I live in the birthplace of Kermit the Frog, so with that in mind, I found this article about Rubber Ducks . (For an extra laugh read the actual web address of the article) A shipment of rubber duckies (and frog and turtles) got knocked off a ship on their way from China to the USA more then 15 years ago. Since then they have been used to track the ocean currents and a large group got caught in an ice pack in the arctic and has gone from the Alaskan coast, across the top of Canada, and are now melting pack into the ocean in the Atlantic. So everyone join in:
Rubber Ducky, you're the one, You make bathtime lots of fun, Rubber Ducky, I'm awfully fond of you; Woo woo be doo Rubber Ducky, joy of joys, When I squeeze you, you make noise! Rubber Ducky, you're my very best friend, it's true! Doo doo doo doo, doo doo Every day when I Make my way to the tubby I find a little fella who's Cute and yellow and chubby Rub-a-dub-a-dubby! Rubber Ducky, you're so fine And I'm lucky that you're mine Rubber ducky, I'm awfully fond of you. Every day when I Make my way to the tubby I find a little fella who's Cute and yellow and chubby Rubber Ducky, you're so fine And I'm lucky that you're mine Rubber ducky, I'm awfully fond of - Rubber ducky, I'd like a whole pond of - Rubber ducky I'm awfully fond of you! Doo doo, be doo.
Oh yeah, check out the Kwik-E-Mart near you. Jacqueline, if you see one....I want pictures! There is one near you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)