We’re paying taxes just for laughs now
Posted By RichC on October 9, 2013
This jaw-dropping Milky Way galaxy pano is now on my iMac
Posted By RichC on October 9, 2013
The U.K.’s Royal Observatory Greenwich and National Maritime Museum awarded Mark Gee’s photos showing the Milky Way galaxy as it lights the sky at Cape Palliser, New Zealand lighthouse this year. The photo (click for VERY large) was made by stitching together 20 individual images to create this panoramic photo which as the Space.com article puts it “are jaw-dropping” … it now wallpapers my iMac display (above).
The Australian space photographer beat out more than 1,200 other entrants in this year’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest and the rest of Mark Gee’s Flickr collection are equally impressive.
“I love the tranquil combination of sea and sky in this beautiful image, along with the comforting human element of the cliff-top lighthouse,” stated Marek Kukula, a competition judge as well as the Royal Observatory’s public astronomer. “This view from the shores of New Zealand makes me think of the long voyages the Maori’s ancestors made into unchartered oceans, guided by the stars. We’re in a similar situation today, as we set out to explore the universe.”
Archive: A Packard documentary from the History Channel
Posted By RichC on October 8, 2013
I ran across a “Packard: An American Classic Car” documentary on You Tube the other day and know it is something my dad will enjoy watching. 
I downloaded a copy to my iPad (using McTube Pro) and am archiving the 44 minute clip to my blog — might purchase the DVD as it would make a great Christmas gift?
If you like cars, the Packard story is a great one … but the companies downfall is pitiful and walking through the old Detroit Packard complex even more depressing for this great American nameplate.
Tis the season to watch for scary pranks
Posted By RichC on October 7, 2013
More on what the Obama administration chooses to shutdown
Posted By RichC on October 6, 2013
In a previous post, I commented on the Obama administration choosing to shutdown U.S. memorials and parks in what many perceived as unnecessary. It is obviously that it is purely politics when it requires more federal workers and costs more to close sites like the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial (never closed in previous government shutdowns -below) than permitting access. Turning the public away from “even viewing” Mt. Rushmore is ridiculous, but even worst seeing government golf courses open.
Anyone who can’t see that the shutdown is little more than theater simply isn’t paying attention. If the above examples aren’t enough for you then look no further than to President Obama’s favorite golf course, which remains open. President Obama frequents Andrew’s Air Force Base Golf Course, which boasts three 18-hole courses. It is located on prime Washington D.C. property.
According to the PGA the US government spends an average of $384,000 – $1,000,000 per year on every golf course it owns. The federal government operates some 234 golf courses around the world. Combined, that’s a total of about $140 million per year on golf courses.
The course remains open. Officials cite that the course receives payments from private individuals on snacks and course fees, but it is clear that the courses still run on tax payer dollars. Many federal golf courses are also national parks, such as Yosemite National Park Golf Course.
Even so, how is that any different than the privately owned Mt. Vernon, or the WWII memorial, which has zero staff or operational costs. How is it different than the privately funded Air Force, Navy athletics departments? Why block people from taking pictures of a rock more than a mile away from the actual entrance?
PAST FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS
1976
Thursday, Sept 30 10 Monday, Oct 111977
Friday, Sept 30 12 Thursday, Oct 13
Monday, Oct 31 8 Wednesday, Nov 9
Wednesday, Nov 30 8 Friday, Dec 91978
Saturday, Sept 30 17 Wednesday, Oct 181979
Sunday, Sept 30 11 Friday, Oct 121981
Friday, Nov 20 2 Monday, Nov 231982
Thursday, Sept 30 1 Saturday, Oct 2
Friday, Dec 17 3 Tuesday, Dec 211983
Thursday, Nov 10 3 Monday, Nov 141984
Sunday, Sept 30 2 Wednesday, Oct 3
Wednesday, Oct 3 1 Friday, Oct 51986
Thursday, Oct 16 1 Saturday, Oct 181987
Friday, Dec 18 1 Sunday, Dec 201990
Friday, Oct 5 3 Tuesday, Oct 91995
Monday, Nov 13 5 Sunday, Nov 19
Friday, Dec 15 21 Saturday, Jan 6, 1996
Ordered a discounted copy of “Killing Jesus”
Posted By RichC on October 5, 2013
Don Imus had an excellent interview with commentator and bestselling author Bill O’Reilly a few days ago and the exchange has me even more interested in reading O’Reilly’s Killing Jesus. The book is presented as a “history” rather than a religious book but as a Catholic, O’Reilly believes inspiration comes from the Holy Spirit and thinks he was directed to write Killilng Jesus — upcoming 60-Minutes interview. (ordered a hard cover version including shipping for $12.41 from a less than reputable seller on an eCrater.com store — we’ll see if saving $5+ bucks was worth the risk?).
O’Reilly has taken a bit of criticism over his new book, but has done a pretty good job of defending the information he includes and that which he excludes. It would challenging to sift through the 2000 years of information and the many languages that deal with the birth, life and death of Jesus of Nazareth. O’Reilly comments that he did not write the book to convince people that Jesus is God, but rather as history. His opinion is that the Gospels are the embellished writings of oral history, but his goal was to present the accurate description of the life and death of Jesus.
Tech Friday: umano read-it-to-me iPhone app
Posted By RichC on October 4, 2013
One of my favorite apps on my iPhone is the NPR podcast app and I particularly enjoy listening to the in-depth stories on my time, rather than trying to tune in when they are live or reading the stories later. I also download other podcasts using iTunes or Stitcher, but in some cases have found either my attention span is too short or that I’m limited in time for the longer podcasts. Recently I’ve only been listening to the 5 minute NPR app’s hourly “newscasts.” Enter the umano app.
The app provides an amalgamation of stories from different publishers that are read and recorded by professional narrators that make listening easy and enjoyable. Most of the stories are shorter so multiple stories can be comfortably listened to each time you check in. The categories are picked by the user in order to tailor the type of stories preferred … although I still have found most of the stories are from liberal publications (and my comment is as an NPR radio listener … not just FoxNews).
Another optional feature is the ability to “download” stories when away from faster data connections instead of streaming the stories, but this comes with the $3.99/mo premium service along with a few more features (below). Included with the free version is a 2x speed and it is helpful in speeding through slower readers or just as a way to finish off a story. Give the @umanoapp a try by downloading the Android or iPhones app.
Citizens unnecessarily annoyed during government shutdown
Posted By RichC on October 3, 2013
Although I’m not a big fan of the “goings on” in Washington DC, particularly the current government shutdown … but I’m really frustrated to see political elements doing their darnedest to make it even more uncomfortable for everyone.
Most news watchers are aware of the brouhaha over the WW2 Memorial this past Wednesday, where World War II veterans showing up on Honor Flights were barricaded from and turned away from walking or rolling around the outdoor memorial built in their honor (link)… thankfully there were enough ornery vets who chose not to be treated as a political tool. Way to go “heroes.”
The same is happening even when the federal government has very limited control over the functioning of a privately funded and preserved properties like our first president’s home at Mount Vernon. According to reports, the federal government placed barricades preventing access even though their only “shared” responsibility was maintaining some of the parking areas. Irritated volunteers pointed out that there were more federal employees putting up barricades and turning away visitors than show up regularly, unless a paving project is underway (there aren’t any at this time). It’s not that hard to conclude politics are being played by purposely irritating the public over shutting down much of the federal government.
I was a bit frustrated with the unnecessary “take down” of government websites. Take the many government websites which provide relatively static information 365 days each year … is there really a reason to put up a “closed for business” single page rather than the normal information? I tried to get some basic consumer FTC.gov information last night and was greeted with a shutdown page. Same on the FCC site when trying to look up my FRN number for amateur radio testing. Where is the commonsense when it comes to how to provide minimal services while dealing with this unfortunate shutdown.
One of my favorite novelists, Tom Clancy, dies at age 66
Posted By RichC on October 2, 2013
I was sad to hear of the passing of one of my favorite authors Tom Clancy (Apr 12, 1947 – Oct 1, 2013) as his early cold-war novels were a staple of my fictional reading. His military novels and well developed characters like 
Jack Ryan held my interest for many years after losing John D. MacDonald and his Travis McGee character. Clancy set the bar for all the military fiction novelists that followed, and was the envy of many aspiring male writers.
According to early news reporting, he died after a brief illness at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. He was perhaps the best known military thriller novelist in my lifetime and wrote suck best best-selling books as "Patriot Games," "Clear and Present Danger," and "The Hunt for Red October." His next book, “Command Authority,” is planned for publication on December 3rd and a film "Jack Ryan: Shadow One" starring Chris Pine is set to open in theaters on December 25th.
I’ve read the majority of his best-sellers and enjoyed several movies based on his writings. The listing of published work is impressive (fictiondb.com below) … as are the number of his books on my bookshelf! His exceptional talent will surely be missed as few authors capture in realistic detail the technology which is now part of our national defense and sophisticated military.
So They Went and Elected A Jewish President
Tom Clancy’s Op-Center Novels 1-6 (e)
Tom Clancy’s Op-Center Novels 7-12 (e)
Tom Clancy’s Net Force Novels 1-5 (e)
Tom Clancy?s Net Force 6 ? 10 (e)
Tom Clancy?s Power Plays 1 ? 4 (e)
Tom Clancy also was “creator” of several other Acton Adventure series writings … the list is substantial.
Keeping up with my doom and gloom reading
Posted By RichC on October 2, 2013
In my pile of books, I’m reading one co-authored by Robert Wiedemer called “Aftershock Investor” and he is anticipating, after he accurately pinpointed the housing bubble, that we are nearing two additional bubbles. First, he highlights the dollar bubble as the Fed’s “quantitative easing” continues … followed by the government debt bubble as at the current pace finding lenders will soon become impossible. Seeing that we’re figuratively printing dollars as fast as the presses can run, it is puzzling to me that more economists aren’t concerned.
We’ve only printed about $800 billion in the last 100 years. We’re going to print more than that next year. So, literally 100 years of printing next year.” LINK
While Rome burns this week, the debt continues to climb with no end to government spending in sight. No matter how you slice it, one of these days servicing our national debt is going to take all the tax revenues raised in this country just to pay the interest – although the bubble will surely pop before we get to that point. Who in their right mind will continue to buy our bonds?
The next question that crosses my mind, noting that nearly half our citizens relies on government subsistence is, “are we preparing for this?”
Obviously those in charge in Washington DC aren’t making any headway, be it in raising revenue, growing our way out of the debt or cutting overhead in order to not add any more to the deficit each year. In fact, we are actually adding more and now with underfunded Obamacare health care program rolling out, one can only imagine how much that will eventually add? It is difficult for me to see how we are planning to get a handle on our spending addiction without a very rude wake up call.
As age inches up on me, I’m giving more thought to how I and my generation is preparing for the day we won’t be working? It is coming … maybe not at the magic 65 years old, but eventually health is going to take a toll even if we want to keep working. It is concerning to see the retirement savings numbers compared to where they should be for most Americans … but even if we are saving and are able to depend on social security (questionable) … will the dollar or investment be able to keep up its end of our planning?
For those who do save for their retirement, the statistics aren’t that promising. The conservative pension fund managers use to count on the 7% per year returns for pensioners. For a decade now those funds are far short of what they need to grow and private IRAs and 401-Ks far less stable.
With savings falling short for older Americans, the tendency is to keep whatever they are accumulating in vehicles which have a much higher risk … stocks, equity mutual funds, etc. Older boomers and seniors that I know are hoping to earn enough from growth to offset their savings when they traditionally would have or should have moved to fixed income assets for capital preservation. It is very risky IF Mr. Wiedemer’s prediction comes true … and may be just as risky for even those with a longer period to recover. At the minimum, I fear a market correction is coming even if the upcoming debt ceiling drama is averted … and that’s being optimistic!
Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee
- lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
- digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.