Thoughts On A Sunday: February 2012 Archives

Winter reappeared briefly, with 4 inches of snow falling Friday night/Saturday morning.

I fired up the Official Weekend Pundit Snowblower to clear the driveway and got about 95% cleaned off. Then the shear pin on one side of the auger let go. This is not an unusual occurrence considering the type of stuff that can be mixed into the snow (usually chunks of ice, small pieces of tree branches, and other detritus). It's one reason we keep spare shear pins handy.

In this case I didn't stop to replace it because the last bit of snow to be cleared was taken care of with a shovel. (It also would have taken longer to replace the pin than finishing up with the shovel.)

Temperatures will be returning to the low to mid 40's on Monday and Tuesday, helping to melt what's left of the snow and ice still on the driveway.

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Watts Up With That provides us a time line on the whole Gleick/FakeGate debacle.

The only think Gleick has managed to do is hurt his 'cause', that being AGW, and added even more fuel to the fire, showing to what lengths the AGW faithful are willing to go to protect their gospel. No facts need apply.

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The News Junkie breaks down the whole "angry Muslims rioting because someone burned a Quran in the US" insanity.

As he puts it:

Who is crazier: the ignorant, lunatic, hyper-reactive Muslims, or our pathetic Western governments? Gee whiz, I am so deeply sorry I hurt your sensitive feelings while sacrificing our lives while trying to rescue your freedom and lives.

Frankly, I think the "angry Muslim response" is nothing but an excuse to do what it is they wanted to do anyways.

And then this:

Screw 'em. We gave them a chance, and that's all we can do. On this topic, I agree with Obama and the Russians and the Brits before: Afghanistan is a tar baby. If they aren't one kind of trouble, they're another: heroin, terrorism, tribal warfare, Taliban. Kipling knew this.

Maybe it's time we leave, but leave them with this warning: "If you support those making war on us, we'll be back, but next time we won't be so nice." Read it as you will.

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I knew I had to read this once I saw the header: Intelligence minus judgment equals intellect.

This is something I realized over three decades ago and nothing I've seen or experienced since has changed that realization.

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I have to agree with this particular question:

"Is catastrophic global warming, like the Millenium Bug, a mistake?"

The evidence points more and more to that being the case.

(H/T Maggie's Farm)

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A bit of good news here at The Manse: Deb has been accepted into the nursing program at one of the local colleges. She already has a number of credits towards becoming an RN, so she'll be able to shave off a semester or more from her schooling.

Ironically she'll be attending the same college as BeezleBub when he starts next fall.

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And that's the abbreviated news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where winter has made a brief reappearance, the latest snowfall is rapidly melting away, and where warm weather returns on Monday.

One of the first signs of impending spring have showed up, that being the ubiquitous "Frost Heaves" signs. For those of you from more temperate climes, let me explain (once again) frost heaves.

They are not, as some might believe, something that happens if you eat or drink something too cold too quickly. It has nothing to do with reverse peristalsis.

Frost heaves are the result of alternating thawing and freezing along the sides of our roads, highways, and byways. As the ice and snow along the sides of the road melts, the water works its way under the road surfaces. Then once the temperatures fall below freezing at night, the water under the road freezes and expands. After a few cycles of this thaw and freeze, ridges appear in the road surface that turn a once smooth road into something with a lot of nature-made speed bumps.

Frost heaves can play havoc with the suspensions on cars and trucks, and garages see a steep uptick in business as drivers have to have their suspensions repaired and/or aligned. I can attest to this as the trusty F150 suffered some suspension damage last month, in this case two broken front sway bar shackles.

Though the calendar says spring starts March 20th, I think it's already here, Punxatawney Phil notwithstanding.

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Another sign of an early spring: sugaring started a week or so ago here in northern New England. (Sugaring is another term for making maple syrup.) One of my co-workers made mention that she and her husband started tapping their maple trees two weeks ago and expect start up their evaporator this weekend. I haven't checked with the WP Father-In-Law, but I suspect he's done likewise.

This mild winter and early start of spring may affect syrup production this year as sugaring requires warm days (above freezing) with no wind and nights below freezing. We've had quite a few nights recently where the temps never made it below 32ºF (0ºC). If that continues sugaring will end too soon.

I am not attributing this to AGW as I recall more than one winter over the past 50+ years that resembled this one. It's called "weather".

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This whole brouhaha over the "food police" taking away kids' made-at-home lunches and making them eat only 'approved' foods shows exactly how niggling and small minded the Obama backed bureaucrats have become. In at least one case I read about the substitute lunch the child was told she had to eat was far worse for her than the food provided by her mother.

These incidents also beggar the question whether these same food police require observant Jewish and Muslim kids to eat non-kosher or non-halal foods because the food police decide they aren't 'healthy'?

I see a lot of lawsuits over this governmental idiocy.

What's worse is that I expect to see more of this kind of intrusive idiocy should Obama gain a second term. The biggest problem I have with this is that the bureaucrats themselves believe they are more qualified to run other people's lives when they aren't any more capable of running their own. (I have to wonder whether the food police involved in these school lunch incidents follow their own governmental guidelines. If I had to guess, I'd say no. After all, these kind of regulations are for the little people, not for the ruling class or their minions.)

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Have you seen the banner or video ads touting what a great job President Obama has done over the past 3+ years? I saw the first one when I started watching an episode of Body of Proof on Hulu.

The number of outright falsehoods in that 30 second ad made me start in amazement. Do the Dems really believe most of the American people are going to buy it? Is it a matter of "Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?"

I think all anyone is going to have to do is look at their food bills, electric bills, and fuel costs to put the lie to those claims. And those who are no longer counted as unemployed but still want jobs aren't going to buy it either.

One of the maxims I learned a long time ago (I was in my early teen years) was that presidents can't fix the economy, but they sure as hell can damage it. The only way for the present occupant of the Oval Office to fix the economy is to get the hell out of the way and let the economy fix itself. It certainly worked when Reagan did it.

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Talk about chutzpah!

Maxine Waters, Democrat Congresscritter from California, will be chairing the influential House Financial Services Committee. Isn't that like letting the fox guard the henhouse?

In case you need to be reminded, her husband had a considerable stake in a failing bank for which Maxine managed to arrange a bailout. Can you say "conflict of interest"? Sure you can.

Yet another example of "Do as I say, not as I do" from the Democrats.

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Cap'n Teach adds his 2¢ worth in regards to rising gas prices and the GOPs use of this to slap Obama around.

If gas does indeed hit $5 gallon this summer, you can pretty much guarantee the GOP will use this as a campaign issue, and rightfully so. Obama did state he would like to see higher gas prices during his 2008 campaign, and he got them. Everything he's done has lessened our energy supply and raised energy costs despite the fact that we now have more proven oil reserves than Saudi Arabia, trillions of cubic feet in new natural gas findings, as well as a steady supply of oil from Canada if we want to buy it. (It does require building a new pipeline, which Obama rejected.)

If the report about gas prices on ABC News last night is correct, for every 10¢ rise in gas prices, approximately $9 billion less is spent by consumers on other goods and services.



So if the average price of gas goes up another $1.50 by summer, the economy will take approximately a $135 billion hit as consumers cut back. (Yeah, I know this is a flat math projection, but I had better things to do with my time than do a curve fit to project the financial hit the consumer market is going to take.)

Yeah, that will get Obama re-elected.

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If gas does hit $5 per gallon at the pump this summer, it will be closer to $6 per gallon at the marinas. This means it's unlikely the Official Weekend Pundit Lake Winnipesaukee Runabout will make it onto the lake this upcoming summer. A $180 fill up for a day out on the lake isn't in the budget. Considering we'll also have to be careful about our regular travel with $5 gas, there are a lot of things we just won't be doing this summer.

I was amazed at how quickly the temperature dropped last night, going from 35°F to 7°F in a couple of hours. We escaped the snowfall forecast for yesterday, something that does not bother me in the least. At least the cold temps over the next couple of days will help the ice on the lake thicken a little more.

This is definitely one of those mild winters we get now and then up this way.

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The trusty F150 went into the shop this past Friday for its annual safety/emissions inspection.

It failed.

The only issue with safety was that three of the four tires were just above minimum tread. So today I went out and got 4 new tires for the truck, something I hoped I wouldn't have to do until late next fall.

The 'Check Engine' light came on just as they were pulling it into the work bay, something that happened last year when it was in for inspection. And like last time it was an O₂ sensor code, something the mechanic says happens a lot more often during the cold weather months because of the ethanol in the gasoline (his claim, not mine...but it wouldn't surprise me in the least). And like last time, they reset the code and said I should drive it a couple of hundred miles and then bring it back to see if it's the same issue as last time. If the light doesn't come back on then, the F150 will be good to go for another year.

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Here are two post dealing with the declining demand for gasoline and other petroleum derived fuels here in the US. Both posts show the demand over the past few decades and indicate both boom times and recessions. What's particularly troubling is the rapid falloff since 2007, when the Democrats took control of Congress and the recession started rearing its ugly head.

Both posts state that increased fuel efficiencies cannot adequately explain the falloff in demand, particularly in light of the average age of cars and light trucks on the road is now almost 11 years. Instead, these falloffs are indicators of a deepening recession, contrary to what the Obama Administration has claiming.

I can certainly see that being the case. Looking over the log book in the trusty F150, I can see I've cut back on the miles traveled quite a bit. The first 12 months we had the F150 I put just under 10000 miles on the odometer (9872, to be exact). The next 12 months, which just passed this weekend, I've put just over 8000 miles on the odometer (8098), 1774 less miles than the previous year. That's an 18% drop year to year. Also looking over the log book, I can see that I've been filling the tank an average of every 2.3 weeks this past year rather than every 2 weeks the previous year. Some of that decrease has been because there are some places I no longer need to go, but that's only been the case since last November which means there were about 160 miles I haven't driven since then. It doesn't explain the balance of the decreased miles driven.

Some might be explained by erratic gas prices. I know I carefully think about any trip I take, particularly in light of the F150 having a fuel economy of 17 mpg. When ever the gas prices start edging upwards, particularly just over the past 6 weeks or so, I start thinking about combining trips. The one thing I hate seeing is the total on the gas pump approaching $100 when I fill up the tank on the F150 (it holds 30 gallons of fuel). And with gas prices expected to be around $4/gallon by this summer, you better bet I'll think twice before hopping into the truck to run some errand.

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We didn't win the big $325 million jackpot for PowerBall last night. I guess I've got to show up for work tomorrow morning.

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Eric The Viking explains why he hates the main stream media. I hate them too for the same reason.

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I have to agree with Sarah Palin on this one.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin didn't come to CPAC to endorse any of the GOP presidential hopefuls, but to encourage that the nomination contest continue as long as necessary to pick the right guy.

She chastised those who panned the process as dragging out too long, "as if competition weakens our nominee ...and yet in America we believe competition strengthens us."

Palin expressed confidence that a nominating contest without an end currently in sight "will lead us to victory in 2012."

She cautioned against the fight turning too dirty, though. "Let's make sure this competition brings out the best in our party," she said.

Unfortunately the best candidate isn't even running this time around, but I don't blame her one bit.

(H/T Pirate's Cove)

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Also by way of Cap'n Teach is this green who's found out the hard way that living the green life ain't easy. So in order to meet her goal of offsetting the 1858 pounds of carbon dioxide created when she went to visit Texas, she plans to force her neighbors to help her offset the balance from her trip.

Spoken like a true watermelon. (No, this is not a racist term. It is a term used to describe 'greens' who are really red on the inside.)

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By way of Maggie's Farm comes this post from Coyote Blog, which finds that Young People Are Being Forced To Work To Support Themselves!

First, this study is great evidence of my "what is normal" fail. There is no baseline. OK, 24% moved back in with their parents. How many did this in good times? How much worse is this?

But the real eye-catcher to me is that somehow I am supposed to be shocked that people have to find a job to pay the bills. Even a job that, gasp, they really didn't want. I have a clue for you. A lot of jobs 22-year-olds have to take are not that compelling. Mine were not. Despite what colleges seem to be telling them, the world does not offer up a lot of really cool jobs to inexperienced young adults. Long before you are closing deals with CEO's, you are probably writing sales literature in some cubicle.

OMG!!

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the ice has been getting thicker over the pats couple of days, the annual Ice Fishing Derby was held, and where once again Monday has appeared all too soon.

Our non-winter winter continues, with above average temperatures and, for the time being, below average precipitation (we're about 20 inches below the 'normal' snowfall for the beginning of February). In light of this past week's focus on AGW, maybe someone will claim it's global warming. (Never mind that both the Farmer's Almanac and NOAA predicted a rather mild winter and below average snowfall for northern New England.)

We're not complaining all that much. The mild winter has meant we haven't used nearly as much fire wood as we might have and the Official Weekend Snowblower has spent most of its time in the garage. (I think I've used it all of three times this winter.)

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It's Super Bowl Sunday and the New England Patriots are playing the New York Giants in a rematch. The Patriots are hoping to make up for their loss against the Giants at their last Super Bowl appearance, one that ruined their perfect season. (The Patriots had a 16-0 record during the regular season, and an 18-1 record overall.)

And again the Giants won. (I still find it difficult to believe a 9-7 team even qualified for the Super Bowl, let alone won it.)

But I have to hand it to the Giants - they wanted it more than the Patriots and worked harder for it.

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I have to agree with Bogie on this one: Thank god for AAA!

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Here's another favorite blogress I have to agree with, particularly in regards to not learning the proper lessons from the movies. Hasn't anyone down there ever seen The Thing?

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By way of Maggie's Farm comes this explanation of the Eurozone bankruptcy.


While it does cover the basics, it does overlook why the Eurozone got into this mess to begin with: promising more to their citizens than they could deliver, particularly in the way of social services they had no means to pay for. Now that the bill has come due they expect others to foot the bill. The problem is that "the others" are reluctant to do so.

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It appears income tax evasion increases during times of rising income tax rates, rising unemployment, and/or decreasing per capita real GDP.

Gee, not a surprise to me. How many otherwise unemployed or underemployed folks are willing to work "under the table" in order to feed their families during tough economic times? How much bartering of goods and services takes place under those same conditions?

The underground economy almost always flourishes during tough economic times, particularly when the government itself one of the main causes. (The underground economy in the old Soviet Union was the only thing that let it continue as long as it did, seeing it was thought the GDP of that underground economy was greater than that of the official Soviet GDP.)

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Glenn Reynolds links to Russ Douthat's piece on the 'outrage' of pro-abortion advocates due to the decision by the Susan G. Komen Foundation - a private organization - to cease its funding Planned Parenthood. To hear the media tell it, it's tantamount to murder.

The Komen Foundation made it's reasons clear - PP doesn't do mammograms. The Komen Foundation's raison d'étrè is fighting breast cancer by funding research and helping to provide support services, period.

Writes Douthat:

Three truths, in particular, should be obvious to everyone reporting on the Komen-Planned Parenthood controversy. First, that the fight against breast cancer is unifying and completely uncontroversial, while the provision of abortion may be the most polarizing issue in the United States today. Second, that it's no more "political" to disassociate oneself from the nation's largest abortion provider than it is to associate with it in the first place. Third, that for every American who greeted Komen's shift with "anger and outrage" (as Andrea Mitchell put it), there was probably an American who was relieved and gratified.

Ironically, with all the media brouhaha about the Komen Foundation's decision, donations to the foundation increased dramatically.

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Also this from Glenn Reynolds: It's takers versus makers and these days the takers are winning.

In today's America, government benefits flow to large numbers of people who are encouraged to vote for politicians who'll keep them coming. The benefits are paid for by other people who, being less numerous, can't muster enough votes to put this to a stop.

Over time, this causes the economy to do worse, pushing more people into the moocher class and further strengthening the politicians whose position depends on robbing Peter to pay Paul.  Because, as they say, if you rob Peter to pay Paul, you can be pretty sure of getting Paul's vote.

It's a nightmare scenario right out of Atlas Shrugged. The only thing missing is Directive 10-289, but I figure that one is only a matter of time unless we change our course.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the ice on the lake is still dark blue, warmer weather is on its way, and where we have to swallow yet another Patriots defeat at the Super Bowl to the Giants.