Disney Vacation Day 2 - Of Hotels, Sales Pitches and the Grand Floridian

Day 2 began with a quick breakfast and then being on the receiving end of a 2 hour sales presentation.

As part of our Vacation we had received a great discount for the hotel in return for listening to a time share presentation.

In short they had a well-tuned sales pitch but we resisted mightily and didn't buy anything. Indeed, on later investigation, the resale market in time shares lets you get them for much, much less than direct from the marketers.

After the presentation we did a little shopping for souvenirs and trinkets for family and went back to the hotel for a swim at the pool.

We had reserved a "Disney Cinderella Dinner" at Disney's Grand Floridian (you need to book this way ahead of time as it fills up fast). The Grand Floridian is a really, really nice hotel/resort on the Disney property - very nicely decorated and appointed with some very attentive staff.

The dinner was very nice, buffet-style with excellent food for the adults (everything from Prime Rib to paella) and appealing child fare.

And there were the Princesses -

Abby and Leah were thrilled to meet Cinderella, her step-sisters, the wicked step mother and of course, Prince Charming. They got everybody's autograph, had pictures taken with them and got to talk to them which was a lot of fun as everyone stayed in character, even to the point of putting on a show:

The stepsisters acting up:


The stepsisters getting a time out (nose to the wall, or else!):


Basically it was a fun, interactive dinner and if your kids are as Disney princess-crazed as mine are they'll enjoy it.

After the dinner as the wicked step mother suggested go to the Polynesian resort of out in back of the Grand Floridian to the dock to see the fireworks and light show (again, the staff at Disney were constantly nice, helpful and full of great suggestions to make the vacation experience even better.)

We took her advice and after touring the hotel and watching a live band perform we first hopped on the monorail for a tour of the Disney properties and then rode the monorail to a number of resort hotels, Epcot and the Disney transport center and back to the Grand Floridian - it gave a nice view and the kids liked being on the monorail, and best of all they could sit down and didn't have to walk anywhere.

After the monorail we went to the dock at the rear of the Grand Floridian and watched the boats come and go from Disney world and then watched the light show, which was a very long series of towed barges on the water that each held what looked like LED screens that lit up in different shapes (flags, animals etc) accompanied to music. The kids enjoyed it and then as it was getting late and they were getting tired, we went back to our car, drove back to the hotel and happily ended day 2.

Ancient Coin Post - A Legionary Denarius of Marcus Antonius

From my own collection, a Denarius of Mark Anthony:

Date: 32-31 BCE
Type: Silver Denarius

Obverse: Galley right.
Inscription - ANT AVG III VIR R P C. (Antonius Augurus Triumviri Rei Publicæ Constituandæ - Antony Augur Triumvir for the restoration of the Republic)

Reverse: Legionary Eagle between two standards.
Inscription: LEG XXIII (Legion 23).

Marcus Antonius (Mark Anthony) was, along with Octavian (Later Augustus) and Lepidus (The brother of L. Aemilius Lepidus Paullus a member of the Second Triumvirate.

The second Triumvirate broke up in 33 BCE when disagreement and competition between Octavian and Antony caused it to break down and end in civil war. Anthony struck this series of Legionary Denarii to pay for his legions (many of these legions he inherited from Julius Caesar).

Antony had an army composed of 30 Legions. Each Legion had up to 6,000 men plus auxiliaries and camp followers for a total of up to 160,000 soldiers. Each Legion was numbered from I to XXX.

To pay the troops each Legion had a mint that traveled with them and coined money to pay the legions, and this coin is from the mint that traveled with the 23rd Legion.

A huge number of coins were required to pay up to 160,000 men in his army. If we assume that Antony maintained the pay rate established by Caesar of 10 Asses (bronze) per day per soldier or 30 Asses per month. Pay day for the Legions occurred 3 times a year or every 4 months. At 16 Asses to the denarius (the rate at the time) we have 75 denarii 3 times a year. The payroll the traveling mints would have had to produce would have been approximately 3 million denarii a month, Or 36 million (36,000,000) per year. An impressive number of coins for the period. Paying the troops took a significant percentage of Rome's coin output so it is not surprising that the coins feature a variety of military messages upon them to maintain their loyalty and broadcast the Emperor's military virtues. Indeed keeping the soldiers well paid became a major means of remaining (or becoming) emperor in Rome, as we shall see later among the coinage and in Roman history.

This is the first of the "Legionary Denarius" series. Of all the Roman imperators, only Anthony, Gallienus, and Septimius Severus struck series of coins naming and honoring their legions.

In 31 BCE. Antony was defeated by Octavian at the naval Battle of Actium, and in a brief land battle at Alexandria, leading to the supremacy of Octavian, who changed his name to Augustus and became the first Roman Emperor.

The legionary denarii of Marcus Antonius are desirable as they are metallic commemorative of the clash of arms that led to the end of the Roman Republic and its transformation into the Roman Empire, and Antony having been immortalized in Shakespeare's Antony And Cleopatra and his end in Egypt alongside Cleopatra is well known to all.

Ammo Shortages beginning to be a real pain

One that's even being noticed in the news: The Detroit News - It's a shot in dark to find bullets as fears feed ammo shortage

Worsening economic times, fear of crime and concern that Democrats will tighten gun-control laws have led to an explosion of firearm sales and a shortage of ammunition in Michigan and the nation.

Gun and bullet sales started creeping up before the November election. They've escalated since, as many gun owners and would-be owners worry President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress will re-establish the 1994-2004 so-called assault rifle ban and levies on ammunition.

Organizations representing gun owners and the gun industry say the fears are valid. Others say concerns are unfounded and the hoarding is the result of a miasma brought on by fear and people looking to make a quick buck if gun-control laws are tightened.

Trying to find even common ammunition such as 9mm and 40 S&W is very difficult in this area, with most shops sold out and my go to store for purchasing these two calibers - Wal mart, has been quite completely out. Very annoying as I'm now eating into my ammo reserves just to go shoot for practice or for when I teach a class.

Hopefully supply will catch up to demand soon. it would of course help if the Department of State, or Commerce or whoever would expedite applications for imports of ammunition to help alleviate the shortage, but somehow I don't believe the curent administration is too interested in fixing this particular problem.

SCUBA Law: Interesting Michigan Attorney General’s Opinion on Intentional Wreck-making

If you sink a ship in Michigan waters in the Great Lakes on purpose does anybody care?

More importantly who owns it once it touches the bottom?

These questions are answered in Michigan Attorney General Opinion No. 7299, dated May 7 2009 and published today.

The opinion letter, consisting of 10 pages can be read online.

The Opinion is in answer to the question as to what happens if an organization intentionally sinks a vessel in Michigan waters for the purpose of turning it into a wreck for recreational SCUBA diving. I believe there is a group trying to obtain an ex-US navy vessel for sinking in the US for divers, which would be a neat addition to the Michigan preserves.

The opinion states that the vessel would not necessarily become property of the State of Michigan and the owner could still be liable for issues involved with the sinking of the wreck. I’d suggest the potential sinkers of such vessels inquire if gifting the vessel to the State of Michigan before the sinking would help in relieving them of such liability.

As a SCUBA diver, the opinion is of interest as not only is it a very interesting and well-written opinion that touches on all the laws related to Michigan’s claim to wrecks and items on Great Lkes bottomlands and the interface of those laws with Federal laws, but it also gives a great overview of the laws that will get you in serious trouble if you try and remove artifacts from shipwrecks in Michigan’s underwater preserves and also where the authority comes from to prohibit such activities.

Scary things in the Gym

In my efforts to get in half as good shape as Lagniappe's Keeper, among other things I've been going to the gym.

I get there and do my cardio and head over to the weight area and start working out.

There's a felow there with no neck.

Really, NO NECK.

Muscles from the shoulders are touching the head.

He could play head and shoulders, knees and toes no problem, and he'd win as there is no neck between the head and shoulders.

I'm strangely fascinated by this, wondering if some new evolutionary trait has been found - no neck means one less vital area open on a human body to attack, but it certainly cuts down on swivilleng the head to search fro predators so it may be n evolutionary dead end. On the other hand, maybe the Neaderthals didn't go extinct, they just went to the gym.

The guy is doing multiple one-handed pullups while holding a big weight in the other hand.

Quite expresionlessly and without any real apparent effort.

I'm half expecting either the MLB Officials or Imperial Stormtroopers to show up:

"Look Sir, 'Roids!"

At least he wasn't wearing spandex.....

TV Show Worth Watching - Castle

Castle is a great lighthearted and entertaining murder mystery show on ABC starring Nathan Fillion (of Firefly fane) & Stana Katic.

Nathan Fillion is Richard Castle a mystery writer who tags along with Stana Katic as Detective Kate Beckett as they solve a variety of murder mysteries (Castle and Beckett - get the literary reference?).

I'm still waiting for a bad guy in show to quip:

Will no one rid me of this troublesome detective?

Great show, and Fillion is at the top of his game and delivers in the role with well timed humor, smarts and style. If you liked him in Firefly or Drive, you'll really like him in this role.

Stana Katic is also excellent in her role as the detective that has to constantly put up with Castle following her around on cases and his dry humor. She delivers her lines perfectly and has some great expressions in reaction to what Fillion does.

Well worth watching, its on ABC at 10 pm which is why DVRs were made. Hopefully because it is on ABC it will avoid the Fox / Fillion curse. (Anytime Fillion stars in a great show on Fox they cancel it (methinks someone has it in for him and Joss Wheadon over there), Having the show ABC may keep this great show going.

Comparative (Wage) Fiddling While Michigan Burns

So what are the Democrats doing as Michigan continues its downward slump?

Introducing e i g h t - y e s - (8) (each hyperlink goes to one of the bills - from MichiganVotes.org a great Michigan political resource website) bills into the State House and Senate to legislatively prohibit paying a person a wage or salary that is less than an amount established under a proposed definition of comparable worth.

The bills would prohibit different levels of compensation for work of “comparable value,” meaning a “comparable composite skill, responsibility, effort, education or training, and working conditions.” "The bills do not specify how different kinds of work would be compared with regard to these various criteria."

Yep, its legislating wages and salary time for all folks.

Of course they don’t define what comparable worth means.

That will be decided by a committee in the form of:

directors of the Department of Civil Rights and the MEDC, and representatives from the Michigan Women's Commission, the National Organization of Women, and the Michigan Women's Studies Association, the AFL-CIO, the UAW, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and the Small Business Association.

You can tell who is going to get outvoted on this proposed committee every time right?

These comparable worth bills are based on the belief in the old canard that women are paid (whatever percentage less looks the best in the study report) of a man and this canard only flies if you discount factors like time in service, maternity leave, part time status and related factors, not to mention the actual job performed. Now it is back being considered with an even further government dictation twist, this gets expanded beyond the same job position to “comparable” jobs. How do you tell what is comparable? Ask the committee. Does a doctor perform a comparable service to the community as a garbage man or more importantly a UAW member line worker after all working conditions will have to be compared as well as education training etc? Let’s not find out.

Hopefully these bills are just some political theater by to Sen. Liz Brater (D); Sen. Gretchen Whitmer (D); Rep. Joan Bauer (D); Rep. Pam Byrnes (D); Rep. Sarah Roberts (D); Rep. Dian Slavens (D)’s for their constituents the UAW, NOW, and various university Women’s Studies departments. (Yes, there really are 8 bills with this scheme working their way through the legislative process.

If you think the Michigan Government is doing such a great job with the economy now, just wait until they get to decide what each job is comparable to and the wages and salaries to be set for it.

Disney Vacation Day 1 - EPCOT

So we made our way to our hotel after the Budget Rent A Car debacle and after dropping off our luggage and a quick lunch we went to Disney's EPCOT.

Here's a view of Epcot from the window of our Hotel room:



We took the shuttle from the hotel and arrived at EPCOT. After the obligatory (and very cursory - I could have carried a lot of harmful items in undetected) bag search, we went to will call to pick up our tickets. Leah, being under 3, got in free and didn't need a ticket, but Abby proudly got her very own.

As a security feature of our own, we wrote, using a sharpie marker, my cell phone number on the upper right arm of each kid. That way if they got lost or separated, and obviously Leah at 2 has no idea what a phone number is, and I'd bet a 5 year old under stress wouldn't remember one either we could be reunited in short order. Luckily and through extreme attention and constant vigilance verging on the paranoiac, we never lost either kid throughout the trip. We did however receive tons of compliments from fellow Disney-goers (typically Great idea, I wish I'd thought of that) and even from Disney cast members who said they wished everyone did it as it would make reuniting a lost child with their parents a lot easier.

We didn't try to do everything as the day was getting short so we first went to the Disney character photostop, where the kids lined up to have their photos taken with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Daffy and Pluto. They loved it. On first seeing Mickey as they got to the front of the line, they both ran and gave mickey a hug. The Disney staff were well organized and the line moved smoothly, the photographer knew the best place for me to stand to take pictures and only after I was done did he take pictures (that I'm sure will be much, much better than mine - still to be looked at on the Disney photo website). The efficiency, friendliness, great service, and attention to detail of the Disney cast members was no accident and seen throughout our visit. Cast members were always helpful in answering questions, even with tons of people about and were always smiling and personable - which has to be hard dealing with tourists and kids day in and day out.

The Seas with Nemo and Friends Ride. You enter the line, get on a conveyor and walk into a clam shell that closes once you enter. You then go past holograms and the actual aquarium (with some actual divers inside). Lots of fun and the kids were enchanted and even a bit scared by the shark and anglerfish popping up.

One of the nice things about Disney is the incredible attention to detail.

On the way in to the Seas with Nemo ride I saw this on the wall (expand the photo and read the Tanks A Lot Diveshop sign) -- cute and the attention to detail to such small and incidental items like this were constants throughout all the theme parks:



Then we saw Turtle Talk with Crush - an animated California Surfin' Turtle that actually interacts with the kids- including repeating their names, seeing what clothes they are wearing and answering their questions. For the adults in the audience that was an incredible display of technology. The kids accepted it without a second thought.

After Turtle Talk we went to the United Kingdom exhibit and had Fish n Chips (really good fish n chips) for dinner. We then stayed and watched the fireworks display, which was incredible.



It was a very impressive firework, laser and music show.

Then began the EPCOT Death March (part one - we weren't done with EPCOT). Take two tired kids, one stroller and a long way to the exit of the park. In short order I was carrying one kid and Natasha was pushing the other in the stroller. A good way to work off the Fish n' Chips, and a forecast of our further park excursions. We got back to the shuttle bus pickup and after a while got on the bus got back to the hotel and promptly fell asleep to recharge for the next day.

Question of the Evening

If you take a can of V8, add vodka and spices and turn it into a Bloody Mary does it still count as two servings of vegetables?

Answer: Drink it and you won't really care too much either way.

Apparently according to Wikipedia, such a concoction is called an Bloody Eight or an Eight Ball. Mind you Eight Ball sounds like you're doing illegal narcotics - "Dude, want an Eight Ball?", so we shall remain refined and stick to calling it a Bloody Mary.

What you'll need (per serving):
1 glass to put the following in, in order -
1.5 oz (1 jigger) Vodka, chilled (Stolichnaya is what I've got on hand and its good).
1 can V-8, chilled.
2 twists of black pepper grinded from the pepper grinder.
1 tsp Worcestershire (Lea & Perrins, of course accept no substitutes).
1 squirt lemon juice.
3 drops of Frank's RedHot or Tabasco sauce.

Mix drink, unwind and contemplate the remains of the day as you consume the drink and feel virtuous that you just drank 2 servings of vegetables with your after-dinner cocktail.

Stimulus Paying to Insulate Others

In the Detroit News, editor Nolan Finley hits one out of the park when in Hey neighbor, buy you a window? he points out an Obamasurdity with the stimulus.

You may be surprised when the insulation truck pulls up to your neighbor's house and starts stuffing his attic. Or when his high-tech new windows arrive.

You'll be even more shocked to learn you're paying the bill. Most of the Obama stimulus money coming to Michigan counties is in the form of weatherization and neighborhood stabilization funds -- $248 million to plug drafty houses and $134 million to pretty up foreclosed homes.

Michigan expects 40,000 homes to get attic insulation, weatherstripping and window and roof repairs at a cost of up to $6,500. The lucky recipients will save about $400annually on their heating bills.

As the taxpayer picking up the tab, you might have a few questions. I know I do.

Yes indeed, like why they just didn't do this as a tax credit and use the funds for more universal things like road repair and infrastructure (probably because it wouldn't be a government program but only an incentive for individuals - can't have that). But it gets better as it doesn't make any real economic sense -

First, I wonder who did the math. At $400 a year, it will take 16 years to recoup the investment. The White House claims the greater good is the impact on global warming, but I doubt it'll cut enough carbon to keep a single ice cube from melting in the Arctic.

Yep, in the name of global warming, we're giving plentiful handouts to a favored few, handouts that don't even make economic sense. We could have made economic sense and reduced "climate change" by using the money to build some nice new clean nuclear power plants to reduce CO2 emissions and provide a source of pretty clean power -but noooo.

My bigger question, though, is: What about my house? While my tax dollars are going to make someone else's home cozy, I've got drafts blowing through that would take a chihuahua airborne.

Likewise, my castle could use a good sprucing to make it more marketable.

But the money I might have used for new siding went for taxes to fund a federal Neighborhood Stabilization stimulus program, which gives buyers of foreclosed homes cash to fix them up. Never mind that they bought the houses at a 40 percent discount and should have plenty of cash leftover for repairs. Obama is making sure they can flip them at a tidy profit.

The counties, starved for operating cash, have no choice but to use the money to pay for Obama's Robin Hood schemes.

Paul Gieleghem, chairman of the Macomb County Commission, said he would have rather used the $8 million his county is getting for weatherization to improve Macomb's higher education options.

That would be legitimate economic stimulus in a county that needs a more highly skilled work force. And it would have been a more direct benefit to a broader group of residents.

Exactly. This handout to a select few in the guise of a stimulus for weatherization of a few homes is a wasteful stimulus at that. No real multiplier effect - just that I bet the costs for weathering services and supplies just went up to match the stimulus rates being paid out.

Weatherization? That's welfare wrapped in itchy pink fiberglass.

Even worse its welfare only for those who bought foreclosed homes and those in the weatherstripping/insulation industries - hardly a broad-based stimulus to turn this state's economy around.

It expands the idea of a safety net well beyond making sure everyone is secure, fed and healthy to guaranteeing everyone has the same stuff, even the same R value in the attic.

It reflects the driving mission of Obamanomics to equalize wealth and flatten the standard of living. . . .

That and ideology above practicality. If they really wanted to promote weatherstripping, just give everyone a tax credit equal to the amount spent on weatherstripping and insulation, both of which just like Editor Finley my house could use some more of, and I actually plan to add it.

Unlike the Obama beneficiaries however, I won't be doing it with stimulus money but I'll be paying for theirs through taxes as I pay for mine, at a now higher price due to his artificially increased demand through this stimulus plan. Thanks.

Swine Flu Follies

First, this cartoon at Protein Wisdom is hillarious. For Flu-omic relief, go see it.

Second, while Obama and Health departments around the country are closing schools to prevent the spread of Swine Flu (And the CDC), we're being told by the same people that closing the border with Mexico won't help reduce the spread of the flu. Anyone else understand the cognitive dissonance of those two pronouncements?

Third, Howard Markel and Alexandra Minna Stern in an opinion column for the Detroit News worry with much handwringing that Mexico and Mexicans will be blamed for the Mexican (oops sorry Markel and Stern, Swine - oops sorry, the Pig Growers Association just protested) H1N1 flu.

They say that closing the border would be counterproductive. While giving a history of various prejudicial and scapegoating acts against various victims throughout history for both incidences of disease and economic downturns, they never stop and explain why closing the border would be "counterproductive".

They claim its a matter of blaming the victim, but leap to that conclusion without any real substantiation, and then claim such blaming of the victim is alleged to have happend - real proof there. Once would think that the authors

Howard Markel is director and Alexandra Minna Stern is associate director of the Center for the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Both are historical consultants on pandemic preparedness planning for the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, which is part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control

would use the scientific method rather than emotion in their analysis.

During an epidemic outbreak it makes sense to quarantine and slow the spread of people from affected areas while flooding those areas with medical assistance and scientists to try and understand and fight the virus. It does not make sense to keep in place rapid transport and movement from the affected area as that can increase the spread of the disease.

Enough silly handwringing, after all its "unproductive". I haven't heard of anyone blaming Mexicans qua Mexicans for the flu (there was appropriate distaste previously towards the Chinese government for covering up the outbreak of SARS, but that's a whole different matter.) and indeed many are heartened by the fact the Mexican government seems to be taking good steps to fight the virus outbreak (including I might add the use of quarantine and preventing the congregation of people in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus).

While H1N1 is hopefully and likely just a minor flu outbreak, public health officials do need to have some kind of plan for quarantine and indeed for sealing a border if necessary when a real dangerous outbreak occurs.

Viruses don't understand and are not deterred by political correctness, and such hand-wringing assists them in their spread.

Ancient Coin Post - A Denarius of L. Aemilius Lepidus Paullus

It is certainly about time that I posted and discussed ancient coins, and this one is from my personal collection.





Date: 62 BCE
Type: Silver Denarius.

Obverse: Veiled and diademed head of Concord facing right.
Inscription - PAVLLVS LEPIDUS CONCORDIA.

Reverse: Trophy flanked by Perseus and sons, and L. Aemilius Paullus standing to the right. Inscription TER (third) at the top PAVLLVS at the bottom.

Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus was the brother of triumvir Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and son to an elder Marcus Aemilius Lepidus.

The coin was struck honoring his ancestor, Lucius Aemilius Paullus, and his third victory over Perseus of Macedon and the reference to Concordia as an appeal for harmony during the political struggles he was involved in.

He supported Cicero during the Catiline Conspiracy and never supported Pompey. Paullus was quaestor in 59 BC, aedile in 55 BC, praetor in 53 BC and consul in 50 BC. During his consulship, Julius Caesar bribed him for his support. He reconstructed the Basilica Aemilia in Rome, with part of his bribery money.

Paullus opposed the second triumvirate. Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, who was a member of the second triumvirate alongside Mark Antony and Octavian (later Augustus) was his brother. Paullus joined the political rebel Marcus Junius Brutus and after Brutus' suicide in 42 BC, Paullus was pardoned and lived his remaining years at Miletus.

Paullus certainly lived in very interesting and turbulent times and this coin, now 2071 years old is an interesting link to that past era.

Disney Vacation Day 1 - Arrival and Rental Car Follies

We flew from Detroit Metro Airport to Orlando on Spirit Airlines. A very nice, smooth flight, Spirit was nicely on time, organized and it was a good flight. Leah's first flight at 2.5 years old and she liked it. Both kids were very good on the plane, no crying, minimal fussing and boredom alleviated by a portable DVD player with their favorite movies in tow.

We arrived in Orlando to be greeted by a shining sun and 80 degree goodness Our one checked bag made it through and was quickly picked up and then we went to the rental car area of the airport. The day quickly started to go downhill.

Since we were staying off the Disney property, a car was pretty important. Not overlooking that detail my wife, planner par excellence had shopped around, called ahead, made a reservation at a good rate on the phone with the agent and had a confirmation number and all the details booked. The car rental agency was Budget.

The line up at the budget counter was not that big but it moved s-l-o-w-l-y. Very, very s-l-o-w-l-y. So much so that the kids excitement at being in the rental car area of the airport began to pale.

Finally its our turn and even with the confirmation number, the counter person won't honor the rate quoted. Apparently we need a coupon. Never mind no such coupon was mentioned as being needed on the phone when the deal was struck. After a fair bit of discussion and talking with a manager they decide to honor the reservation. How nice.

Then we went to the parking garage at the airport where Budget had their cars located. Of course no booster or car seat is ready and with the car. After asking were sent into a Budget rental booth to pull out the seats and find that there is a booster but no car seat. The Budget personnel promise to get one as we obviously can't drive off without it.

Time passes again, now in a warm covered concrete parking structure. The kids consider mutiny. The wife considers maiming Budget personnel to get them to do something other than standing around chatting away. I'm busy figuring how to load all our gear in the rental car we've been given, a Ford Focus (the confirmation was for a Nissan Sentra, but apparently that's flexible). Surprisingly the Focus has a TARDIS-like trunk that is bigger on the inside than the outside and everything fits, if only just.

Still no car seat. I begin to think the wife's proposal of maiming is too mild a form of attention-getting.

After asking yet again we get the car seat, 30 minutes after getting to the parking garage and well over 1.5 hours from landing at Orlando.

As you can guess, Budget Rent A Car is forever verbotten with this family (just wait till I describe the fun we had giving the car back on our departure -- it gets better). I'd heartily recommend avoiding them at all cost.

On the upside the Ford Focus is a product that Ford really got right. Tons better than the execrable Escort it replaced and the nasty Tempo before that. Smooth ride, no engine noise, but still zippy, good styling, huge trunk, comfy and really great gas mileage. Its enough to make me rethink my pledge to never get another Ford since the Taurus we had went to Fixed Or Repaired Daily Status and the terrible Escort I had gave Ladas a good name in reliability and handling. So from the experience at least we learned that Ford does seem to get some products right. The one we drove had 36k miles on it and was quite a nice ride.

Of course, it helped that Orlando's roads are ridiculously smooth and perfect compared to Michigan's, which are disgraceful with over 32% graded in poor condition, and that's understated because they started grading on a curve.

Once we got the car out and pointed in the right direction we followed the perfectly good and helpful road signs (another area where Michigan is sorely lacking).

We went to the Hotel and checked in and then went to Epcot.

I go away for a bit and this place goes to heck in a handbasket

Yeesh, I go on a 6 day (4 work day) vacation and:

- Air Force one buzzes New York Cityon a photo or fundraiser jaunt panicking many.

- Swine Flu hops the border, gets into Texas and arrives in Michigan

- Obama puts Chrysler into bankruptcy

- Michigan Democrats and some Republicans vote in the House for no reason absentee voting (it should be called the Voter Fraud Enhancement act).

- People are actually considering Granholm for a spot on the US Supreme Court now that Souter is announcing he is leaving that august building.

I really can't go on vacation anymore, bad things just happen when I'm not on the job. And where's everyone else keeping up their end hmmmm?

Ok, end of the narcisistic "I'm the center of the universe and this is only happening 'cause I went on vacation" mode.

On the upside the vacation - taking the kids to Disney World was great. Tiring and somewhat athletic but great. Full report to follow (with pictures, commentary about the amusement parks and a certain rental car company to avoid).

Downside, I had to work the equivalent of two weeks in the week preceding it to get away at all -- very tiring and no time for blogging then either.

So I'm back and normal blogging will resume shortly.

An Unreasonable and Unnecessary Pirate Quandary

After the excellent rescue of Captain Phillips by the United States Navy, the government is now in a quandry over what to do with the 4th living and captured pirate involved in the incident.

Potentially they might consider this a law enforcement matter and try him in New York or Washington D.C.:
US weighing where to charge captured Somali pirate

The Justice Department was considering whether to prosecute a Somali pirate in Washington or New York, U.S. officials said following the rescue of a U.S. hostage and the apprehension of his only surviving captor.

The decision will determine where the pirate will be flown in what is shaping up as the first U.S. piracy case in recent memory.

Three pirates were killed Sunday in a military operation that rescued Capt. Richard Phillips, who had been held hostage aboard a lifeboat for days. A fourth pirate was in discussions with naval authorities about Phillips' fate when the rescue took place.

Both piracy and hostage-taking carry life sentences under U.S. law.

Great, so we'll now have the expense of a securing this guy in jail in the US pre-trial, a trial and government appointed defense counsel with all rights granted to a US Defendant, then hopefully with a conviction and then we get to keep him for life in a U.S. Prison probably with living conditions and civil rights far ahead of what he has ever had and when he gets out then what, more years of legal wranfgling to deport him, or is piracy going to be a new eventual path to citizenship?

Just grand, and ceetainly not a disencentive to commit Piracy.

How about a simpler situation and instead of mamking this international act a US domestic law enforcement issue just enforce the law of the sea in situ.

Yardarm, Rope, Pirate -- some temporary assembly required.

Thank You, Car Captain Obvious

Minicars at risk in crashes

This headline wins the week's bleeding obviousness award, and its only Tuesday. (We can expect tomorrow's headline ("Your taxes are due today" or alternatively "Long lines at Post Office as people file their taxes at the last minute") to posibly beat it out.)

The sub headline is also a master of the obvious: Study finds smallest vehicles perform poorly in head-on accidents

That we need such a study is a triumph of the scientific method to confirm that which we all should certainly know (but in this blighted age of scientific ignorance probably don't) - when big and heavy hits small and light, typically small and light will come out the worse for it.

David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
The smallest cars on the road are at a high risk for damage and personal injury in frontal crashes with midsize sedans, a study released today finds.

And, the death rate in one- to three-year-old minicars -- vehicles most automakers are building or considering bringing to market -- was almost twice as high as the rate in very large cars in multiple vehicle crashes, according to the report from Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an industry-funded group that prods automakers to improve the safety of vehicles.

The IIHS crashed a 2009 model Toyota Yaris into a larger Toyota Camry; a Smart Fortwo into a Mercedes C-Class; and a Honda Fit into a Honda Accord. Each vehicle was traveling at 40 mph. All three small cars performed poorly, while the larger vehicles were rated good or acceptable.

Frontal crashes are the most dangerous traffic accidents, causing about 15,000 out of roughly 40,000 U.S. traffic deaths annually.

"There are safety trade-offs with buying minicars," said Adrian Lund, IIHS president. He said larger, heavier hybrid vehicles may be a better choice, since they often get similar gas mileage but fare better in head-on collisions. "Though much safer than they were a few years ago, minicars as a group do a comparatively poor job of protecting people in crashes."

This is called a trade-off - impressive fule economy in return for higher risk of injury in accidents, pushed by governmental CAFE standards and mandates.

Automakers are betting on smaller cars in the face of last year's $4 a gallon gasoline prices and higher government fuel-efficiency standards, which are pushing automakers to bring lighter, smaller vehicles to market. Federal fuel rules call for a 35 percent fleetwide average increase in fuel efficiency by 2020. To that end, Ford Motor Co. is bringing the Fiesta to the United States and General Motors Corp. is introducing the Chevrolet Cruze next year. Chrysler LLC is trying to finalize a deal with Italian automaker Fiat SpA, which would provide it with small vehicles. Volkswagen AG is considering bringing its minicar to the U.S. market as well.

Small cars are good for decent weather, intra-urban driving. On the highways or in Michigan snow, not so much.

The bootrom line: if you've got the cash for a fuel efficient car for in-city trips and enoguh for another for a vehicle that can actually haul your kids around, handle snow and offer some decent crash safety it might not be a bad idea to have a Smart or such as a second car. Solely having a Smart or similar unless you're an unattached, childless hipster that doesn't need to haul much around and doesn't need to travel much outside of the city streets probably won't make a lot of sense or safety.

Mind you, Obama may just change the nature of things by legislative Fiat and force all cars from now on to be built small.

Update: Instapundit has a link to Autoblog that refers to the same story and even has links to video of the crash tests. Some of the comments on Autoblog are truly priceless.

If you can't add Gas to your car, maybe you shouldn't be driving

So yesterday I'm on my way home in a bit of a rush and realize I need to fuel up my car. No problem, I'm making good time, I'll just pop by Costco on the way home and fill up there as their gas tends to be cheaper.

I get there and there's a problem.

They have one lane completely closed with a trailer there doing something that looks like sewer cleaning.

Other lanes are also partially blocked with some pumps closed.

So I get directed into a line at a lane that has one pump open, with the nozzle on the opposite side from my gas tank (the Costco pump hoses are long, on bungee-like supports that can easily reach around your car so it doesn't matter what lane you get into - pretty efficient right?).

In front of me the car at the pump leaves and the car immediately ahead pulls up to the pump, this should be quick, its a Chrysler 300M and adding gasoline to it is a pretty easy process.

In a few words: for some, not so much.

Out get this middle aged lady (ie its not a teen with her first car and not an elderly person with early onset alzheimers - then again as you'll see maybe its extra-early onset alzheimers after all). She goes up to the pump and stares at it for a while, then fishes in her purse, gets out her card and starts to do something, presses a few buttons and seems to try again.

She then does it again, takes the hose out, looks for her gas tank (on the opposite side from the pump) and proceeds to stick the handle into the tank upside down (trigger an handle on top). This should be good.

Of course it doesn't work as the auto shut off triggers as the handle is upside down! She doesn't seem to understand.

While this is entertaining, people behind me in other lines are now done already and I'm stuck behind this bozo and pined in place with another car firmly attached to my rear bumper.

She goes back to the pump and stares.

Finally a Costco attendant comes by, hits the buttond, and then fills the gas for her, then stops, and then she puts her card in again and he continues to fill. WTF?

Eventually it is done. She now has to navigate the dreaded orange cone blocking the closed off pump in front of her. This takes a while. Finally she's gone. To put it in perspective and a rough estimate of time, I've now listened to three songs waiting for this moron to figure out how to put gas in a car.

I pull up, already with my card in hand as I've had PLENTY of time waiting. Get the process started, drag the hose over the Jeep and start filling in oh 5 seconds.

The Costco guy passes by and I ask what was the difficulty the lady was having.

Well he says first, she wanted midgrade gas (Costco only has 87 and 93 and skips the midgrade) for her car and she couldn't figure out where the button for midgrade was. Then when she realized there was no button she couldn't figure it out how to do it.

Here's a clue -- Fill half your tank with 93, the other half with 87 and voila, you have midgrade at actually a cheaper price than midgrade is typically sold for.

Here's another clue - when there's a long line line behind you have some courtesy and common sense and chose one, do not stop, do not pass go, do not stand there all slack jawed all day, just put one fuel in. If you're really concerned put in the premium, but the 300M will run on 87.

The final clue - put the handle in facing down, it works so much better then, really.

Some people probably shouldn't be allowed out in public by themselves, much less behind the wheel of a car.

Anyone really believe Iran is just looking for nuclear technology for peaceful purposes?

Yeah right, then why are they caught doing this: Iranian nuke plot vaporized in the city: NY banks unwittingly aided in material transfers, says DA Yes it's a rather sensational headline but here's what Iran was doing:

The Manhattan district attorney's office has smashed a sinister plot to smuggle nuclear weapons materials to Iran through unwitting New York banks, the Daily News has learned.

Officials plan to unseal a 118-count indictment Tuesday accusing a Chinese national of setting up a handful of fake companies to hide that he was selling millions of dollars in potential nuclear materials to Tehran.

"This case will cut off a major source of supply to Iran and it shows how they are going ahead full steam to get a nuclear bomb. Long-range missiles they pretty much have already," a law enforcement source close to the case said.

. . .

Experts say Iran, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, appears close to amassing enough nuclear material to make an atom bomb. A United Nations embargo bans Iran from acquiring the high-tech metals needed to make a long-range nuclear weapon a reality.

The indictment will outline the financial conspiracy behind 58 different transactions, including shipments of various banned materials from China to Iran between 2006 and late 2008.

Among them:

33,000 pounds of a specialized aluminum alloy used almost exclusively in long-range missile production.
66,000 pounds of tungsten copper plate, which is used in missile guidance systems.
53,900 pounds of maraging steel rods, a superhard metal used in uranium enrichment and to make the casings for nuclear bombs.
The recipient is believed to have been a subsidiary of the Iranian Defense Ministry.

Now for a harshly worded letter from the State Department...any day now.....

It's pretty sad when its the Manhattan District Attorney taking the lead on this rather than the Feds.

A Taxing Time

So my taxes are now filed, electronically no less. How about yours?

On the upside it looks like we will be getting a decent refund this year.

The downside:
a. A refund simply means you're getting back money you had the government withhold and use for no interest to you.

b. The reason we're getting a refund is not due to any accounting magic or government stimulus or tax breaks. Instead it is beacause we badly overwithheld our taxes. Why? Well we figured my wife's business as a Marriage and Family Therapist would do as well this year as it did last year (the whole safe harbor witholding thing - if you don't witthold the appropriate amounts you're penalized). Instead it was down 90%.

Why is it so down: Well the Michigan economy is a great explanation. People won't pay for therapy and try to hold a marriage together or other counselling needs when they need to focus on necessities.

Another reason is beacause of the strange insurance landscape in Michigan. Blue Cross / Blue Shield does not recognize my wife's Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy, for counselling purposes mainly due to the lobbying of Psychologists and Social Workers (Social Workers mind you have far less training than MFTs in counseliing but due to their numbers provide a large lobby indeed). Other states do, and amazingly enough, BC/BS in other states also recognizes it and will have MFTs as providers.

This year doesn't look much better either, but we'll see what happens.

Michigan State vs North Carolina Competition

Let's see how they line up:

Michigan State:
Unemployment: 12%
Job loss/gain (2009): -277,000 to date
Foreclosures: 6th in the nation
Economic Potential: Been in a recession since before it was fashionable, devoted to wrong ideas and single-industry concentration.
Union or right to work: Union

North Carolina:
Unemployment: 9.5%
Job loss/gain (2009): 38,00 predicted for all of 2009.
Foreclosures: 25th in the nation
Economic Potential: Taking a hit now, but has a great deal of potential for a comeback with a very diversified and advanced economy.
Union or right to work: Right to Work

The quick comparison shows North Carolina is ahead, and it was much farther ahead last year.

Oh, you mean the NCAA match up? Two great teams of hard-working athletes, but the Tar Heels have the edge so it should be a great game. Not a bad thing to watch to get your mind off the economy.

More Sure Signs of Global Warming

Or just Nature's idea of a late April Fool's Joke:


Another shot of winter: Heavy snow slows morning commute

Or Maybe Al Gore is in town to watch the NCAA finals?

The Detroit News:

What a sloppy, gloppy, drippy, mushy mess.

A spring storm whipping in from the Midwest brought rain, snow, thunder and lighting while dumping up to 5 inches of wet, heavy snow across the Metro area. The storm sent winter-weary residents of southeastern Michigan rooting through their closets for galoshes and parkas they thought they had put away for the year.

"We had rain that turned into snow starting at about midnight," said National Weather Service Meteorologist Phil Kurimski.

"It dropped 3-5 inches across most of the area. We had some real intense snow occurring between midnight and about 5 a.m., with up to 1-2 inches of snow per hour. The heaviest snow was south of Flint down through the Interstate 96 area. The hardest hit areas were Lenawee, western Wayne and Oakland counties."

Snow accumulations included 5 inches in White Lake Township, 3.9 inches in Ann Arbor and 3.8 inches in Garden City and Dearborn.

According to Kurimski, the snow storm was also accompanied by thunder and lightning.

"We did have thunder snow last night, and there were a couple of reports of lightning strikes," Kurimski said. "It was a very heavy, wet snow. If you tried to make a snowball you'd have to wring out the water. The storm should be over with by about noon, and any accumulation will probably be held down once the sun comes out. We may also get another inch of snow tomorrow."

The spring storm is expected to have little effect on tonight's NCAA Final Four championship game between the Spartans of Michigan State University and the Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina.

In any case, this Snow after we had a tantalizing week of spring last week just plain coldly sucks.

Dive 105 - Doublin' Down

10:00 am at Union Lake, a rather cold day with the water temp reading 43 degrees.

My fist time in double tanks.

Its a little different from a single - the double tanks weigh a good 110 pounds or so, and putting them on is fun, not to mention getting your fins on in the water.

The back kick is a fair bit harder in them as well...you kick and nothing moves for quite a bit and then finally you go backwards. Doubles are also a fair bit harder to control on ascent as the wing is larger and as you ascend the air expands, making you go up even faster, which is not desirable. So you're dumping air quicker from the wing and trying to mange things a lot faster.

On the upside they're very stable in the water, more so than the single tank rig, and a lot safer as you have a redundant air supply, and two primary regulators rather than only one primary.

This is going to take some practice, but its a lot of cool, indeed cold given the water temps, fun.

Obama, Democrats and Statistics

Obama to Name Advocate for statistical Sampling to Direct the Census.

Obama To Nominate U-M Prof. For Census Director

President Barack Obama is tapping Robert M. Groves, a University of Michigan professor who has pushed the use of statistical sampling, to be the next census director.

Why does this matter?

Well he is a proponent using statistical sampling, advocates of which claim there is an "undercount" of about 5 million people claimed to not be found in urban and minority areas, which tend to vote Democrat, and any such sampling will only increase the power of these urban areas in terms of congressional districts, spending etc. So the appointment of such an advocate of a method that just happens to cook the census numbers in the Democrats favor, combined with Obama's recent push to make the Census under the purview and control of the White House is enough to get people a bit worried.

As noted in the Detroit Free Press:

But Bob Groves’ selection came amid calls from some Republicans that Obama should pick someone else: During earlier tour as a deputy director of the bureau nearly 20 years ago, Groves advocated statistical sampling as a means of correcting a historically large undercount in the 1990 Census – a stand that put him at odds with the Department of Commerce secretary overseeing the bureau.

Sampling wasn’t used – and by the end of the decade, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that it could not be used in setting congressional representation. But the mere mention of Groves’ name Thursday as the man expected to be appointed by Obama set some Republicans on Capitol Hill on edge.

“With the nomination of Robert Groves, President Obama has made clear that he intends to employ the political manipulation of census data for partisan gain,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, the ranking Republican on the House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives. “This represents a reversal of recent White House assurances that it would not exercise political influence over the census.”

Of course Democrats say they'd do no such thing really:

At the Brookings Institution, a public policy think tank in Washington, D.C., Andrew Reamer, an expert on federal statistical policy and programs, called McHenry’s statement “laughable.” He and other Census experts noted there are no plans to use sampling in next year’s count – the bureau’s mission plan doesn’t call for them and it’s too late to start now – and its own officials have questioned in the past whether they have an effective way of employing them to right the tally of historically undercounted populations, like young people, transients, African Americans and Hispanics.

Certainly such an appointment bears watching, and the whole "its too late to do sampling" claim doesn't carry a lot of weight - analytical decisions and processes can be changed and given the attention the Obama Administration is paying to the census there's certainly a risk of "change" happening to the results.

Meanwhile real human rights violations escape the Human Rights Councils investigatory purview

That tolerant Religion of Peace at work: Villagers attack homes of Baha'is in Egypt

Dozens of Muslim villagers have attacked the homes of members of the minority Baha'i religion in southern Egypt, hurling firebombs and denouncing them as "enemies of God," human rights groups said Thursday.

The attacks began Saturday after a prominent Egyptian media commentator denounced a Baha'i activist in a television appearance as an "apostate" and called for her to be killed.

The Baha'i religion was founded in the 1860s by a Persian nobleman, Baha'u'llah, whom the faithful regard as the most recent in a line of prophets that included Buddha, Abraham, Jesus and Muhammad. Muslims reject the faith because they believe Muhammad was God's final prophet, and Baha'is have been persecuted in the Middle East.

In Egypt, where the majority of the country's nearly 80 million people are Sunni Muslim, the Baha'i faith is not recognized as an official religion. The head of Al-Azhar, Egypt's dominant religious authority, has also declared it a "sacrilegious dogma."

After five days of violence, calm returned Wednesday to the village of Shouraniya, located about 215 miles south of Cairo. No one was injured in the attacks.

The village's 15 Baha'i residents were forced to leave, and police have prevented them from returning, rights groups said.

Waiting for the UN Human Rights Council to order an investigation, issue a strong denounciation, send a harshly worded note, speak a whisper of sanction.....

UN Human Rights Council set to stick it to Israel, as usual, and Obama wants to join in the fun

UN names South African to lead Israel-Gaza probe

The United Nations on Friday appointed a former chief prosecutor for war crimes in Yugoslavia and Rwanda to lead a high-level mission to investigate alleged war crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Israel refused to say if it would cooperate.

Richard Goldstone was named to head the investigation ordered by the Human Rights Council in January.

Of course, the investigation will be unbiased (as if):

According to the mandate, the investigation will focus only on Palestinian victims of the three-week war between Israel and Hamas earlier this year.

Current paragons of Human Rights sitting on the Council include: Cuba, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and a veritable rogues gallery of other outlaw nations.

In other words, a kangaroo council is setting up a biased investigation with the result a foregone conclusion.

Yet another reason the US should forgo trying to join the UN Human Rights Council and giving it any legitimacy by its presence, which Obama wants to do.

As part of President Obama's "new era of engagement," the U.S. State Department has just announced plans to seek one of the 47 seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council. This overturns the Bush policy since 2006 of shunning the Council, on grounds that, like its predecessor the U.N. Human Rights Commission, it is irredeemably tipped toward serving the interests of human rights violators.

Change, and not for the better.

A little selective news editing....

Interestingly, the Detroit Free Press article quoted in the previous post is missing something.

Gateway Pundit points out and posts about the full article from the AP, which has the following quote in it:

Welcomed with thunderous cheers, President Barack Obama pledged on Friday to work repair damaged relations with Europe, saying the world came together following the 2001 terrorist attacks but then "we got sidetracked by Iraq."

"We must be honest with ourselves," Obama said. "In recent years, we've allowed our alliance to drift."

The new U.S. president said that despite the bitter feelings that were generated by Iraq, the United States and its allies must stand together because "al-Qaida is still a threat."
.....
Obama opened his Strasbourg appearance with a 25-minute prepared speech in which he set a dramatic, long-term goal of "a world without nuclear weapons." He said he would outline details of his.....

Let's look at the Detroit Free Press cut:

Welcomed with thunderous cheers, President Barack Obama told a European audience today that he is setting a dramatic goal of “a world without nuclear weapons.”

The new American president opened a town-hall style gathering with the declaration, saying he would outline details in Prague in the coming days.

“Even with the Cold War now over, the spread of nuclear weapons or the theft of nuclear material could lead to the extermination of any city on the planet,” Obama said, previewing a planned speech.

Now the USA Today take:

Welcomed with thunderous cheers, President Obama told a European audience on Friday that he is setting a dramatic goal of "a world without nuclear weapons."
Obama said Friday the United States is changing, but it cannot be Americans alone who abandon long-held arrogance. Obama says Europeans too often have blamed the United States for what is wrong in the world, and that Americans have been dismissive of Europe's accomplishments.

Obama spoke to students at a town hall-style event with students in France. Obama used his opening remarks to praise NATO and says the 60-year partnership is a model for how the United States and Europe can work together.

Now I wonder why both the Detroit Free Press and USA Today got rid of the Obama's 'America Culpa' on Iraq portion of the speech? Just another leftist dissing America while in Europe.

Obama seeks world without nukes

And I want a Pony (not really, instead I really want a Barrett .50)

Welcomed with thunderous cheers, President Barack Obama told a European audience today that he is setting a dramatic goal of “a world without nuclear weapons.”

That's not only unrealistic, its downright irresponsible. Especially combined with his administrations complete passivity in the face of Iran's nuclear weapons development and North Korea's preparation to launch an ICBM.

And he gets in a little of the "Blame America first" mojo that he does so well.

Obama said the United States shares blame for the crisis, but that “every nation bears responsibility for what lies ahead — especially now.”

Nice to see the left wing of the Left wing of the Democrats are well and truly in charge.

Now I don't want the President to fail, he's doing that well enough on his own. But I would like him to root for the home team every now and then mmmkay?

Drunk Drivers, Hit and Run Drivers and Seatbelts

WJBK Fox Detroit: Man Severely Hurt after Hit & Run in Northville

Surveillance video (Click on the link above to view it - simply terrible) shows a white SUV rolling after a collision on Haggerty at Five Mile Road. A black truck caused the accident Tuesday around 7:00 p.m.

"He was going through the intersection at Five Mile and was just hit from the front. (That) sent him spinning and his car rolled, they say, three or four times," said Cassandra Callaghan.

Callaghan got the call a few hours later. Her father, 55-year-old David Dallas, was seriously injured. He was thrown through a window. His three grandchildren were waiting for him at the time of the crash.

According to witnesses, the driver of the truck was a white male with dark hair, possibly in his twenties. Police say he paused after the crash and they believe the suspect knew he hit someone before he took off.

"It was very clear that the driver stopped, looked and then left, which is probably the most disturbing thing to us," Callaghan said.

Even more disturbing, Callaghan's mother was hit by a drunk driver who left the scene of the accident back in December.

Dallas suffered broken bones in his back, neck and ribs. He was not wearing a seat belt.

Hopefully Mr. Dallas makes a complete recovery. I know the Callaghans -- darn good people -- so this makes it personal.

If you're in the area around Northville and you know the guy who did the hit and run, or notice the fresh damage to his truck, have him turn himself in or call police and turn the coward in.

And remember, wear your seat belt! - it reduces by far the chance of severe injury and being ejected from the car. No ifs, ands or buts. Having been in a rollover accident myself (in a Geo Prizm no less, but that's another story), the seat belt definitely saved me from being ejected and having the car roll over me, and I got through it with relatively minor injuries.

So, I pray that Mr. Dallas completely recovers and that the driver of the black truck does the right thing and turns himself in or someone else mans up and does it for him.

More Detroit City Council Clownery

Some days you wonder why we even pay attention to the goings-on at the Detroit City Council.

Sure its expected when they're jockeying for position as mayor they'll make some noise or more noise or even threats to get into the public eye.

Sure we're watching them trying their best to destroy Detroit not in order to save it, but both to aggrandize themselves and to stop the suburbs (ie white people) from having any say in keeping the City afloat and saving Detroit's "crown jewels", those rapidly declining edifices of what might have been but have been neglected into disrepair and mismanaged into shadows of their former glory.

Its a bit like watching the incompetent drunken engineer of a train cause a train wreck - in slow motion.

Enthralling, at the same time horrifying and ludicrous, a tragi-comedy of errors of epic proportions.

Maybe we watch because we just don't know what inanity they will think up next, or because the rest of the United States thinks that Detroit IS Michigan, especially southeast Michigan, and we watch Michigan decline as the rest of the US thinks we're in favor of this series of grossly negligent pronouncements of the council.

Onward Christian Soldiers (Detroit City Council Chapter only, no whites or suburbians please) indeed.

Michigan's Continuing Downward Spiral

The Detroit News: Leaving Michigan Behind: Eight-year population exodus staggers state

People are leaving Michigan at a staggering rate. About 109,000 more people left Michigan last year than moved in. It is one of the worst rates in the nation, quadruple the loss of just eight years ago. The state loses a family every 12 minutes, and the families who are leaving -- young, well-educated high-income earners -- are the people the state desperately needs to rebuild.

Long treated as a symptom of Michigan's economic woes, outmigration has exploded into a massive problem of its own, a slow-motion Katrina splintering families, gutting state coffers and crippling an already hobbled economy, one moving van at a time.

Michigan keeps being one of our nation's leader in all the wrong areas: unemployment, foreclosures, out-migration, crime (Detroit), stupidity of city officials (Detroit).

You sure can't blame people for leaving. A crumbling auto industry, a Democrat led state government that keeps taxing and spending like there's no tomorrow, a government that unless you're the film industry isn't very bsiness friendly, an economy that was in recession before anyone else and is in a depression now before any other state, of course pople are going to move to more business firendly environments. That's where the jobs are.

Hopefully Michigan will eventually figure that out, but the Democrats seemed locked in their death spiral and unable to change.

At least the State has figured out one way to slow the emigration: make the roads so bad, so its hard to leave. Michigan roads designed and paid for to last 30 years are crumbling in 10 or less due to defective concrete. At about $1 million a mile in union wages, studies and "planning" to get them paved in the first place, Michigan is again getting shafted on its investment, and giving people a bumpy ride on the way out.

AWNAA Bill introduced in Congress

AWNAA, if passed, would create jobs for the Unabled:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced today the Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA).

AWNAA is expected to create up to 25 million mid-level jobs with good titles, good pay, and little or no responsibility for the substantial minority of U.S. citizens with no recognizable skills.

Using as its model the U.S. Post Office, where approximately 74% of employees fit that profile, and certain industries in the private sector such as the airline industry and home improvement retailers, AWNAA is designed to ensure long-term employment for this neglected group of Americans. President Barack Obama told reporters in a press conference today “As a President with no abilities, I believe the same privileges that elected officials enjoy ought to be extended to every American with no abilities. It is our duty as lawmakers to provide each and every American with no ability space to take up and a good salary for doing so.”






Happy April 1, everyone.

Garmin Freeze and Fix thanks to the Internet

My wife took my GPS, a Garmin C330, on her drive with her colleagues to Washington DC, where it apparently came quite in handy while they were traveling, especially through Pennsylvania. Her friends liked it so much a few of them are planning to buy them for themselves. I managed well enough without it for the 4 days she was gone.

Today i finally plugged it in and it immediately froze, locked solid, and i could just feel myself getting lost.

Thankfully I was well aware of my location and didn't need it, but it was worrisome that i couldn't turn it off, or make it work at all. Given I often have to go to totally new locations, the lack of the trusty Garmin C330 worried me.

Thanks to the internet however all was well once i thought to Google "Garmin C330 freeze fix." One of the search results was www.fixya.com and lo and behold there was a simple solution : Under the plastic cover frame for the screen there's a tab under the Garmin logo. Pulling on the tab takes off the screen and under it, carefully hidden away is a little button marked "reset". One push of the reset button and all was well (Unlike the helpful commenter, I did not need to wait for the batteries to die for this t work). Impressively, the Garmin has been so reliable mounted in my car I never noticed the tiny tab until it was described in that most.

Thanks to the Internet and the wisdom of techy-crowds, I'm much less likely to get lost.

Obama's next move: Let them drive Ladas

After the defenestration of Rick Waggoner (on the upside, any move that brings the term defenestration back into common usage has got to be a victory for both the English language and medieval revivalism. On the other hand, that Obama is having us think of the late medieval period with the rule of Kings and nobles with the peasants and serfs toiling on the land probably isn't such a happy thought. Then again, most Democrat nobles don't pay their taxes until nominated for cabinet positions, so maybe it is more apt than not.)

Obama went on to tell Chrysler it had to complete a partnership with Fiat within 30 days or else.

Now Obama may be longing for the good old days when Fiats were used as the basis for a fine symbolic car near and dear to all progressives hearts, a "car of the people". Given Obama didn't interfere with the leadership of the UAW while forcing the CEO of GM to step down, methinks he indeed would support such government control for the benefit of the workers and peasants of America.

Yep if you didn't click on the proceeding link we're talking about Ladas, a fine example of the results of progressive government control of the auto industry. Maybe we'll call it the Obama-Lada, or Obama-Lada-Ding-Dong for the extended version.

Note: Welcome to Instapundit and View From the Porch Readers! Glad you came by. Feel free to look around, comment and have a nice view.

Islamists just not unclenching their fist

In this time of hope and change, some surprisingly won't unclench their fist.

Pakistani Taliban threatens attack on White House>

The commander of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility Tuesday for a deadly assault on a Pakistani police academy and said the group was planning a terrorist attack on the White House that would "amaze" the world.

Baitullah Mehsud, who has a $5 million bounty on his head from the U.S., said Monday's attack on the outskirts of the eastern city of Lahore was retaliation for U.S. missile strikes against militants along the Afghan border.

"Soon we will launch an attack in Washington that will amaze everyone in the world," Mehsud told The Associated Press by phone. He provided no details.

Wow, we couldn't have predicted that response now could we?

When Obama and co makes the US act like a "weak horse" the enemies of the United States are emboldened to aggresive acts, not encouraged to participate in peaceful dialogue.

Obama Cars

So I'm in a parking lot today and beside me is a nice luxury car with a prominent Obama bumper sticker.

No big deal right?

Well walking by it I notice on the passenger side, taped to the console/airbag area is not only another Obama sticker but a picture of the Obama family, another picture of Obama alone...its like an Obama shrine in that car. Wish I had a camera in my car, as this was a display to remember.

And people made jokes about some Christians praying for Bush...

This was in a synagogue parking lot by the way.

This close to Passover I half expected Edward G. Robinson to be standing by the car saying "where's your Obamessiah now?" "Where's your Obama now see?"

"Cap and Trade" on carbon emissions will bring rent seeking to a whole new level

The Detroit News in its editorial Editorial: Cap-and-trade idea needs full debate at least begins to illuminate the problems with the Democrat push of capping and trading carbon emissions.

Enacting a carbon cap-and-trade system is too transformational to allow it to be jammed through Congress without the full give-and-take of the legislative process and with the votes of just one party counting.

Credit Michigan Sen. Carl Levin for stepping in front of his own party's bulldozer to shout, "Slow down!"

Senate Democratic leaders know that cap-and-trade is an extremely divisive issue, pitting manufacturing states like Michigan against coastal states that have lost their minds to the global warming hysteria.

Levin correctly notes that a system of auctioning off carbon credits could drive up the cost of energy, meaning higher prices for nearly all goods, and put manufacturing industries at risk. He has joined seven of his Democratic colleagues in protesting the attempt to circumvent the normal legislative rules to get the bill passed without a full airing.

The cap-and-trade plan is well short of the 60 votes it needs to withstand a Senate filibuster. So Democrats are attempting to tuck the legislation into the budget bill, where it would need a simple majority of 51 votes.

Doing so would severely limit debate on a bill that would have a major impact on the national economy and the household budgets of every American. The pros and cons of the bill should be thoroughly argued, and the final version -- if there is one -- should be crafted in the philosophical middle.

But the tactic the Democrats want to employ would shut Republicans out of the discussion, as well as Democrats like Levin who are worried about how the bill will affect their states' key industries. . . .

We'll give Senator Levin credit for at least asking Congress to slow down on this one, and given this blog is rarely in agreement with the good Senator, thats's saying something. This seems to be standard Obama and hard left Democrat modus operandi - push your agenda-driven legislation through so quickly, before anyone has time for a sober second thought or to consider the implications, and then act like its a fait accompli.

Of course capping and the trading carbon emissions will increase cost. Our economy, indeed our very exhalations produce CO2. Capping such emissions, or worse rolling them back years will harm our economy in numerous untild ways. If you like the recession now, kjust wait for a carbon capped depression due to lack of energy available. Forget about plugging in your hybrid cars and feeling pious about saving carbon based fuels -- that electricity is either coming from coal (gasp! carbon!) or nuclear (double gasp! radiation! quick panic!) as wind and solar cannot provide enough, reliably enough.

In addition cap and trade is ripe for rent seeking and lobbying for allocation of the carbon credits. The amount of gaming of the system for getting the initial bank of credits issued to various industries and then trading them will be as transparent as the last stimulus bill, and much more lucrative. Just look at Michigan's current cap and trade plan for nitrous oxide emissions (based on EPA mandates for cap-and-trade) for an example of some massive multi=million dollar system gaming going on.

Most importantly, there's still no real proof that: A. Capping and trading carbon will actually reduce global warming; B. that there really is global warming going on in the first place; and finally C.That cap and trading carbon will do anything other than harm the American economy.

But then again, C. is probably the point of the whole exercise.

Dive 104 - Union Lake in March

Just returned from my first dive of the 2009 dive season.

Water temperature: 38 degrees F.
Dive time: 30 minutes
Visibility: 15-20 feet

Overall the dive went quite well, getting back in the water after a few months out for winter. The water was cold but not as bad as we'd thought it would be. After about 25 minutes or so I had an ice cream headache without the benefits of eating ice cream.

Buoyancy control was good, back kick was still there and functional and the frog kick is working.

Not a bad start to the season.

The only downside to the dive was that as I was assembling my dive gear at the site and attaching my tank to my backplate, my left pinky finger slid around the metal of the cam band and got caught under the metal cam as I was closing it. Yeowch! I now have a very swollen and black colored top of my pinky finger that hurts like crazy. I've now learned to close the cam a lot more carefully.

Ah well, the things we do for sport.

La Raza Lobbyist appointed Obama's director of White House intergovernmental affairs,

So much for that whole "no lobbyists in my administration" promise.

The Detroit News: Michigan Latina is Obama link to states, communities

Michigan native Cecilia Munoz wasn't used to busy senators calling her personally to ask about Latino concerns, so Barack Obama -- then a new senator from Illinois -- quickly stood out.

"It is rare for someone in the U.S. Senate to call you up on the spur of the moment for help in something he was thinking through," recalls Munoz, who was then a top Capitol Hill lobbyist for the National Council of La Raza.

"When (Obama) had questions about policy, he would call. He really developed those kinds of relationships with people. I learned his openness to counsel and advice and guidance."

When Senator Obama became President Obama, he tapped the mother of two teen-aged daughters to become director of White House intergovernmental affairs, the "doorway," as she puts it, between all state and local officials and the president.

"We need a strong partnership with state and local government in order to deliver ... change. My job is to make sure those partnerships are as strong as possible," said Munoz, who grew up in Livonia, the daughter of Bolivian immigrants....

Oh, and La Raza, translation into English - "The Race" (Michelle Malkin spotted this appointment before the Detroit News and has some salient comments). La Raza as in "Hispanics uber alles". as the Germans might say, hard to imagine another ethnic group getting away with the name like that and lobbying under it, not to mention defending illegal immigration to boot.

You know the economy is bad when Casinos are losing money

MGM puts casino on the block: Las Vegas-based owner of Detroit's largest, most-profitable gaming house seeks to reduce debt.

MGM Grand Detroit, the city's largest and most profitable casino, is up for sale.

It's just one property across Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage's multinational empire being pitched to buyers as the debt-ridden company seeks to shore up its balance sheet, two sources familiar with the matter confirmed Sunday.

The specter of a sale of MGM Grand Detroit and other profitable properties like Bellagio on the Vegas Strip comes as MGM Mirage is seeking to erase tens of billions in debt, much of it financing the company's $8.6 billion CityCenter venture in Las Vegas.

Selling very profitable entities (and what is a casino but a private license to print money?) to balance out bad real estate bets has got to hurt.

Madagascar - I like to Move in! Move in!

Dozens of soldiers seize a palace in Madagascar

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar – Soldiers broke into an unoccupied presidential palace Monday and took it over in a symbolic show of force after Madagascar's opposition leader called on the army to arrest the president.

No confirmation that they were singing this song and doing this dance as they did so, but one can only hope they did for sheer style points alone:


In addition, there have been no reports of Lemurs being harmed in this current move-in attempt.

Obammo begins to go after the Ammo

The Shotist: DOD Ends Sale of Expended Military Brass to Remanufacturers

AND SO IT BEGINS...
We all wondered when it was going to start.
...
From now on, remanufacturers of military brass will not be able to buy surplus brass from DOD--actually from Government Liquidators, llc.--the corporation that sells surplus materials for the U.S. government. At least, not in any form recognizable as once-fired brass ammunition.

Now all brass ammunition will have to be shredded, and sold as scrap.

Georgia Arms, who brought this to our attention, is the 5th largest ammunition manufacturer of centerfire pistol and rifle ammunition in the U.S.

Be sure to go to The Shotist and read the whole sordid mess.

In short, the Obama Administration, instead of allowing fired brass (that's the empty cartridge case folks, not even a complete round of ammunition) to be sold, will now require it to be destroyed for scrap, making its value for reloading nil.

In the process the Administration is going to reduce the supply of brass for reloading, thus tightening an already straigned ammunition market that is already casuing scarcity due to increased mikitary need, increased police training and stockpiling, and increased stockpiling by civillian owners worrying about the admninistration pulling stuff like this.

So as a reuslt of this new ban, the price of ammunition will go up, manufactureres of reloaded ammo may go out of business due to lack of components for manufacturing, and the United States will LOSE money as scrap brass is sold for less than fired cartridge brass. Brilliant move all around if you want a nice machiavellian maneuver to harm gun owners and increase the cost and availability of ammunition without having to raise the issue in Congress and face the music for it.

As seen on, and hit tip to Instapundit.

More Cobo Follies 2

Now with more schemes than even stimulus bailouts!

New Cobo plan would raise Detroit's stake

The plan would first give Detroit another $15 million to sweeten the deal and 2 spots on the committee and Wayne County 2, leaving Oakland County, Macomb and the State with only 1. You can see the problem with that right? Have the suburbs and State kick in the money and then never get any accountability for it. What could possibly go wrong?

Oh yeah, the two state representatives, Reps. Shanelle Jackson and Rashida Tlaib are both (D-Detroit), now why didn't the Detroit Free press point out that little conflict of interest?

Oakland County's Executive L. Brooks Patterson is no fool and isn't falling for it (He's one of the main reasons why Oakland County, while facing a lot of challenges, isn't a total mess while Wayne and Detroit are (also one reason I don't want him running for governor, he's needed here, and needed badly):

The Detroit News:

It's a compromise Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said Friday night he won't go along with.

"There's no way in hell we're going back to that plan (the seven-member board). That plan calls for two (representatives) for Wayne and two for Detroit. We're out-voted for the rest of my life," he said. "It's not going to happen. We had a deal. I don't want to return to the bargaining table after five years. I'm not sure others want to come back and renegotiate this deal (either)."

Quite simply if Detroit doesn't want to get bailed out and refuses to allow for any accountability, let them keep Cobo to themselves. Have Oakland and Macomb quit paying the hotel and liquor taxes towards that failure and direct them to the building of a new convention center. Build this new convention center outside of Detroit and away from its special costs and special interests, and closer to the Detroit/Wayne County Airport where there's room for a large world class facility on land that's pretty cheap right now and would be convenient for visitors to access, park and travel around safely. I bet it will cost less to build new and bigger than renovate Cobo, and there will be far more accountability and far less slippage than if the money is thrown at renovating Cobo.

More Cobo Follies

Some bad ideas just don't die.

Even after Detroit City Clown Council voted the deal down, there's still maneuvering going on to push it ahead.

As I wrote before, there's a push for Federal Stimulus Dollars to fix Cobo, and a federal bailout and fix-r-upper would prevent the City from giving up control of this tarnished "jewel".

Not surprisingly, the husband of Detroit City Council President Monica Conyers, US Rep John Conyers (D) is leading the push in Congress for this proposal.

U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Det., said that there is a chance that federal stimulus money could possibly be used to renovate and expand Cobo Center, an issue that has left state and local officials debating the future of the convention center.

“Where there is a will there’s a way,’’ Conyers told the Free Press after a rally today in support of a new deal for Cobo Center at Triumph Church in Detroit.

Detroit City Council rejected state approved legislation that would create a five member regional authority and pump $288 millions into Cobo Center for expansion and renovation. Mayor Ken Cockrel vetoed the council’s rejection. The council has sued in circuit court.....

Ah, federal dollars, nepotism, threats of court action, corruption and City Council clownery, does it get much better than this?