Fun Stuff...Off Topic(O/T)

[Peter Hansen]

The Hysteria Continues LOL

The Washington Post

The Arctic ocean is warming up, icebergs are growing scarcer and in some places the seals are finding the water too hot, according to a report to the Commerce Department yesterday from Consulafft, at Bergen, Norway. Reports from fishermen, seal hunters and explorers all point to a radical change in climate conditions and hitherto unheard-of temperatures in the Arctic zone. Exploration expeditions report that scarcely any ice has been met as far north as 81 degrees 29 minutes. Soundings to a depth of 3,100 meters showed the gulf stream still very warm. Great masses of ice have been replaced by moraines of earth and stones, the report continued, while at many points well known glaciers have entirely disappeared.

Very few seals and no white fish are found in the eastern Arctic, while vast shoals of herring and smelts which have never before ventured so far north, are being encountered in the old seal fishing grounds. Within a few years it is predicted that due to the ice melt the sea will rise and make most coastal cities uninhabitable.

====================
Oops. Never mind. This report was from November 2, 1922, as reported by the AP and published in The Washington Post - 88 years ago!

[Karel]

Yes, as long as people will get excited by local weather conditions (There's snow on the ground, how can they say the earth is warming; or: There was less sea ice at Spitsbergen in 1922 than there is now) the hysteria will continue. It will only stop when people start to educate themselves and are willing to look at the big climate (not weather) picture. 1922 apparently was a fluke for Spitsbergen and Spitsbergen only; a year when the Gulf Stream had a surprisingly great effect there. For the rest of the Arctic and the Nordic sea things seemed to have been normal. There now may be more ice at Spitsbergen than in 1922, but this is more than compensated by the loss of ice elsewhere in the Arctic.

Source: LONG TERM ARCTIC ICE TRENDS AND GLOBAL WARMING (PDF)

Regards,

Karel

[Karel]

I don't seem seem to be able to do funny posts on climate change; well, so be it. Here is another link for people who take the threatening disappearance of polar ice seriously:

http://www.mypolarice.com/

Regards,

Karel

[donlmc]

Important Data

Important Data




Year to date statistics on Airport screening from the Department of Homeland Security

Terrorist Plots Discovered 0
Transvestites 133
Hernias 1,485
Hemorrhoid Cases 3,172
Enlarged Prostates 8,249
Breast Implants 59,350
Natural Blondes 3

[steelman]

Here in Denver, on 12/30 it was 1 degree F. The news said it felt like -14 F with the wind chill. Usually in the winter we will see some temps that range from -10 to -20 F, without wind chill. Maybe Denver is exempt from Global Warming, ha ha. Oh yeah, did I hear on the news that part of FL and Hotlanta had snow in the last week or so.

[Peter Hansen]

Karel All Will be OK

I don't seem seem to be able to do funny posts on climate change; well, so be it. Here is another link for people who take the threatening disappearance of polar ice seriously:

http://www.mypolarice.com/

Regards,

Karel

Karel why worry? all will turn out OK ......life is too short . Some say the world will end in 2012 ......I say I will bet my bank account with doom sayers that in 2012 the world will still be here ....I have yet to have anyone take me up on that bet! LOL
Remember the A-holes that believed some Guru that preached their was a wheel in the sky , and they had to return to such. Wearing sneakers and purple garb many in the group committed suicide.
Well one positive aspect of the whole affair was that, at least they did not die in vain ......thank God they were permanently removed from the genetic pool!

[Peter Hansen]

Army Navy Game & "The Rest Of The Story" SUPER!

Subject: Arm/Navy Game The rest of the story


Wonderful news gets around in spite of our so-called news media!





Why is it that I get more real news from my emails than I do from the main stream media ?


Is it that the media doesn't want us to know what is good about our country? I don't know the answer. This troubles me.
Here's a 'today' Yule story that occurred 3 weeks ago ~ AND NOW, in time for the holidays, I bring you the best Christmas story you never heard.
It started last Christmas, when Bennett and Vivian Levin were overwhelmed by sadness while listening to radio reports of injured American troops. "We have to let them know we care," Vivian told Bennett. So they organized a trip to bring soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital to the annual Army-Navy football game in Philly, on Dec. 3.
The cool part is, they created their own train line to do it. Yes, there are people in this country who actually own real trains. Bennett Levin - native Philly guy, self-made millionaire and irascible former L&I commish - is one of them.
He has three luxury rail cars. Think mahogany paneling, plush seating and white-linen dining areas. He also has two locomotives, which he stores at his Juniata Park train yard. One car, the elegant Pennsylvania , carried John F. Kennedy to the Army-Navy game in 1961 and '62. Later, it carried his brother Bobby's body to D. C. for burial. "That's a lot of history for one car," says Bennett.
He and Vivian wanted to revive a tradition that endured from 1936 to 1975, during which trains carried Army-Navy spectators from around the country directly to the stadium where the annual game is played. The Levins could think of no better passengers to reinstate the ceremonial ride than the wounded men and women recovering at Walter Reed in D. C. and Bethesda , in Maryland . "We wanted to give them a first-class experience," says Bennett. "Gourmet meals on board, private transportation from the train to the stadium, perfect seats - real hero treatment."
Through the Army War College Foundation, of which he is a trustee, Bennett met with Walter Reed's commanding general, who loved the idea. But Bennett had some ground rules first, all designed to keep the focus on the troops alone:
No press on the trip, lest the soldiers' day of pampering devolve into a media circus.
No politicians either, because, says Bennett, "I didn't want some idiot making this trip into a campaign photo op"
And no Pentagon suits on board, otherwise the soldiers would be too busy saluting superiors to relax.
The general agreed to the conditions, and Bennett realized he had a problem on his hands. "I had to actually make this thing happen," he laughs.
Over the next months, he recruited owners of 15 other sumptuous rail cars from around the country - these people tend to know each other - into lending their vehicles for the day. The name of their temporary train? The Liberty Limited.
Amtrak volunteered to transport the cars to D. C. - where they'd be coupled together for the round-trip ride to Philly - then back to their owners later.
Conrail offered to service the Liberty while it was in Philly. And SEPTA drivers would bus the disabled soldiers 200 yards from the train to Lincoln Financial Field, for the game.
A benefactor from the War College ponied up 100 seats to the game - on the 50-yard line - and lunch in a hospitality suite.
And corporate donors filled, for free and without asking for publicity, goodie bags for attendees:
>From Woolrich, stadium blankets. From Wal-Mart, digital cameras. From Nikon, field glasses. From GEAR, down jackets.
There was booty not just for the soldiers, but for their guests, too, since each was allowed to bring a friend or family member.
The Marines, though, declined the offer. "They voted not to take guests with them, so they could take more Marines," says Levin, choking up at the memory.
Bennett's an emotional guy, so he was worried about how he'd react to meeting the 88 troops and guests at D. C.'s Union Station, where the trip originated. Some GIs were missing limbs. Others were wheelchair-bound or accompanied by medical personnel for the day. "They made it easy to be with them," he says. "They were all smiles on the ride to Philly. Not an ounce of self-pity from any of them. They're so full of life and determination."
At the stadium, the troops reveled in the game, recalls Bennett. Not even Army's lopsided loss to Navy could deflate the group's rollicking mood.
Afterward, it was back to the train and yet another gourmet meal - heroes get hungry, says Levin - before returning to Walter Reed and Bethesda . "The day was spectacular," says Levin. "It was all about these kids. It was awesome to be part of it."
The most poignant moment for the Levins was when 11 Marines hugged them goodbye, then sang them the Marine Hymn on the platform at Union Station.
"One of the guys was blind, but he said, 'I can't see you, but man, you must be beautiful!' " says Bennett. "I got a lump so big in my throat, I couldn't even answer him."
It's been three weeks, but the Levins and their guests are still feeling the day's love. "My Christmas came early," says Levin, who is Jewish and who loves the Christmas season. "I can't describe the feeling in the air." Maybe it was hope.
As one guest wrote in a thank-you note to Bennett and Vivian, "The fond memories generated last Saturday will sustain us all - whatever the future may bring."
God bless the Levins.
And bless the troops, every one.

[Karel]

Subject: Arm/Navy Game The rest of the story

Wonderful news gets around in spite of our so-called news media!

Why is it that I get more real news from my emails than I do from the main stream media? [...]

Why Pete, most of the news from email you post here turns out not be real at all! This news however is real, and you got it from the Philiadelphia Daily News, December 22nd, 2005. See the original article by Ronnie Polaneczky.

And it appears that you did not read the story, or else you would have known the excellent reason why not more media reported on this wonderful initiative: The Levins did not want to let this devolve into a media circus.

Please Pete, read the story. It really is wonderful news, an initiative carefully designed not to carry extra payload, because that could only detract from its beauty.

Regards,

Karel

[Peter Hansen]

I will check it out Tanx

Why Pete, most of the news from email you post here turns out not be real at all! This news however is real, and you got it from the Philiadelphia Daily News, December 22nd, 2005. See the original article by Ronnie Polaneczky.

And it appears that you did not read the story, or else you would have known the excellent reason why not more media reported on this wonderful initiative: The Levins did not want to let this devolve into a media circus.

Please Pete, read the story. It really is wonderful news, an initiative carefully designed not to carry extra payload, because that could only detract from its beauty.

Regards,

Karel

Thanx for the comments!

[Peter Hansen]

Who Was Delford Smith?

Needless to say , the guy was a cut above the average bloke!
A super story. view the brief video clip , and read the short bio ....DEFINITELY Worthwhile!

http://sandacom.wordpress.com/2009/09/09/delford-m-smith-valley-innovator/

[Peter Hansen]

What Political Party Are You?

Take this simple unbiased test to determine your political party. I scored LIBERTARIAN!

Click on the link below . . .



World's Smallest Political Quiz http://www.theadvocates.org/quizp/index.html

[billyjoe]

Pete,
Same here.

----------billy

[steelman]

I have always thought of myself as a Conservative but I scored Libertarian. I read the descriptions and both are fitting. What would we call a combo of Conservative and Libertarian lol.

I feel most fit in this category. We are a center right country although you wouldn't think so from the last presidential election. I think there were a lot of people that voted in the last election, that based their vote on a likeness of Obama or a dis-likeness of Bush which was sad. Votes should be based on the issues. Maybe we should get back to where only landowners / homeowners can vote. This group seems more informed on voting issues, just sayin'.

[billyjoe]

Here's a strange story that is also true. In about 1971 on the Bowling Green U. campus in Ohio I saw an old high school classmate of mine sitting under a tree. We weren't close friends in high school but he became a friend and roommate in college. I remember he was interested in animals and he once said that if he could go to Africa and capture a Bongo (type of antelope) he could get $50,000-$100,000 for it.

He quit school. I saw him once maybe 15 years later at a high school reunion and he said he was working at a zoo I think in Texas.

Yesterday, I went to facebook mostly to check on my daughter. They have a feature that posts little pictures of all your friends and their friends. I don't know most of the people but they must know people I know.

Anyways There's a picture of a guy with the same name as this old friend but it sure doesn't look like him. Funny thing is he has an unusual name. There can't be too many with that name. So I Google his name and look up images and there's a picture of the old friend with a captured Bongo in Kenya. I still have no idea who the guy in the facebook picture is.

Here's the picture: http://www.animalorphanagekenya.org/...cator_surratt/

[Karel]

Take this simple unbiased test to determine your political party. I scored LIBERTARIAN!

Click on the link below . . .

World's Smallest Political Quiz http://www.theadvocates.org/quizp/index.html

I score exactly on the Libertarian/Left/Centrist corner.

Regards,

Karel