Obsession: What The War on Terror Is Really About

WATCH THIS! I've gained new insights and understanding of the Islamic extremist methods and ideology. Interesting are the way these militant Islamists use the media to propagandize, how they indoctrinate their children with hatred, and the parallels with Nazi Germany. Included are actual clips of Arab TV broadcasts, music videos, and more. Many of the people doing the commentary are Middle Eastern with unique insights.

I'm whit stupid!

The potential stupidity of human beings seems boundless.

Listening to a radio ad this morning for a local motorcycle dealer who is apparently in the process of moving to a new location, it went something like this, "We will be open at our present location at ___ until August 20th. Beginning August 28th, we will be open from 8:30 AM until ..." At no time was the address of the new location given. Duh!

Steeler Camp

Steeler camp opened at St. Vincent College in Latrobe this weeked with an estimated 14,000 fans braving the heat and humidity for a first look at the defending champions of the NFL.

First round pick Santonio Holmes is signed and reports are that Ben Roethlisberger was throwing well.

I feel bad for those guys getting into the soup right from the git-go with even hotter more humid conditions expected this week. Then again, they are being rather well compensated.

Camp is open to the public after 3 PM.

Charlie Chan in Egypt

I just watched Charlie Chan in Egypt, a 1935 entry in the Charlie Chan series. This starring Warner Oland as Chan. (I prefer the Sidney Toler entries as being a bit more humorous.)

In this film Chan is investigating deaths related to an Egyptian archeological expedition and treasure discovered. It has an almost horror film feel about it.

My principle reason for commenting on this film, however, is the portrayal of the character Snowshoes by Stepin Fetchit. It was difficult for me to bear watching the demeaning way in which this African-American actor played the role. His speech was mumbled and difficult to understand. The character was lazy and hesitant and childlike.

Worse than that, though, was the way he was treated by his white employer. He was constantly being spoken to harshly, degraded, and even physically pushed around in the most matter-of-fact manner.

It's hard to understand seventy years on how such content could have been tolerated at that time. I found it very disturbing to see an African-American actor portraying his race in such a derogatory manner.

For more on this and other films, visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)

Hot Pockets®

Another "Things I wonder about "
Why does it matter which side of the Hot Pocket® crisping sleeve faces up?
I have to admit I do occasionally indulge in Hot Pockets® (as well as Lean Pockets, Croissant Pockets, and Subs) , and when I have, I always wonder what difference it makes how the crisping sleeve is placed. I can see no structural difference that gives any clue as to why one orientation would be preferable to the other.

If you have a clue why this is so, please leave a comment here. Or, if you have had a Hot Pockets® disaster resulting from placing the wrong side up while microwaving, I'd love to hear about it.

Five minutes of stand up Hot Pockets® comedy from Jim Gaffigan

Hot Pockets® is a trademark of Societe des Produits NESTLÉ S.A., Vevey, Switzerland.

What Do They Do?

The sign lists some of the businesses located in the South Altoona Business Park. I was curious about the two businesses named on the third panel, Inmate Telephone, Inc. and Corrections Development Intl.

A Google search didn't turn up much on Inmate Telephone, Inc. Apparently they provide, or at least have proposed to provide, telephone service to inmates of various state correctional facilities.

I found nothing at all about Corrections Development Intl.

It appears as though they might be in the same house, so to speak.

UPDATE: Further research indicates Digital Solutions, Inc may be connected with Inmate Telephone, Inc. (7/26/06)

Just curious ...

Tour de 'Toona

First night of the Tour de 'Toona, a highly acclaimed international bicycle race held annually here in Altoona.

Devorris Center

The Devorris Center for Business Development is perhaps the most strikingly designed building in Altoona. The radical geometry of the building is something not often seen in this area.

Unfortunately, it's located at 3900 Industrial Park Drive where few people apart from locals ever see it.

Yesterday I shot these photos as well as several others which are viewable on Picasa Web Albums now.

It's a beautiful, unusual building and certainly worth taking a look at.

More on the Devorris Center

DEVORRIS CENTER BUSINESS DEVEL
3900 INDUSTRIAL PARK DRIVE
ALTOONA , PA 16602-1732

Cell Phones and Driving

As you may know, I am an advocate of laws limiting or eliminating the use of cell phones while driving.

This article appears in the online edition of the Altoona Mirror, Sunday, July 23 --

Altoona Mirror - : "Reaching for a moving object increases the risk of a crash or a near-crash by nine times; looking at an external object by 3.7 times; applying makeup by three times; dialing a handheld device [typically a cell phone] by three times and talking or listening on a handheld device by 1.3 times, according to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute." (more)

It IS July!

"Some like it hot, and some sweat when the heat is on"
-- Robert Palmer

"It isn't the heat, it's the humidity"
-- Widely-held truth

At any rate, it IS hot, and it IS humid, and I do SWEAT! But, it IS July, closing in on August. This is pretty much how it's s'posed to be.

Somebody please explain to me ...
... why it's always so darn hard to screw the top off mouthwash bottles.
... why virtually every guy who sells cars thinks he should appear in his own TV ads.

Interesting Tag

Mathematician?

I saw this license plate outside Eat-n-Park, Altoona, Sunday morning.

At first, I thought math teacher, but then I realized it was on the back of a Cadillac. 

Every Teacher , Parent, and Teen Should Read This

I read this story, Murder on Their Minds, in the current issue of Newsweek. I feel everyone who has significant interaction with teenagers should read it, too.

We often tend to dismiss warning signs of real trouble as "just the way kids are". Kids say so many things they don't mean, dramatizing the most trivial of issues, it's very difficult to know when something needs to be given serious attention. But, we live in an era in which virtually anybody is capable of almost anything.

Documents released last week by the Jefferson County sheriff's office show that the boys repeatedly dropped hints at school about their murderous state of mind. Klebold wrote a graphic story about the slaughter of some "preps" and a paper on Charles Manson, while Harris wrote about Nazis and "Guns at Schools." (more)

Furthermore, kids need to be aware of the impact the way they treat other kids might have on those kids. A push in the hallway or the cafeteria might not be the end of the confrontation. A slight, real or imagined, by a would-be friend can have devastating effects.

When he wrote just weeks before the killings, the hurt was raw again. "I hate you people for leaving me out of so many fun things. You people had my phone#, but no. no no no don't let the weird looking Eric KID come along."

I Got Some Skills

I created this panorama using three pictures of the Kings Valley Golf Course taken by Ken Nevling, Sunday, July 9.

I worked in Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 using Photomerge to stitch the images together. Then I did a lot of work to try to get the sky and foreground grass to blend from the center image into the two outer ones. This was a problem because the center image had color levels that didn't match the others.

I'm an amateur at this stuff, but I think it turned out OK. 

The Ostrich Problem

Altoona Mirror: "Pennsylvania high school seniors are increasingly drinking to excess and getting behind the wheel after drinking alcohol or taking drugs, according to a statewide survey released Wednesday. It also found that about one in five has gone to school drunk or high.

Fifty-four percent of the state’s 12th-graders reported drinking alcohol during the prior month - the highest level recorded in eight surveys since 1989, and 5 percentage points higher than two years ago. " (more)

There was a segment on WJAC news this morning related to this story in which a local adult was being interviewed. The adult said she believed that 54% was much too high a number for this area.

Based on my own experiences, being around high school kids all the time, I think 54% is probably too low. In my opinion (not supported by any scientifically collected data), it's probably more like 2/3 or 3/4.

Many high school kids talk openly about their drinking experiences. Locally, it's a much bigger issue than it seems most adults are willing to acknowledge.

I do know that there are even some parents who support or enable underage drinking in their homes.

Youth and Underage Drinking: An Overview
Underage Alcohol Abuse Prevention Facts & Information

or Google "underage alcohol"

Ben Roethlisberger

More on Ben Roethlisberger's accident last month.

"They told me that I was literally seconds, maybe a minute away from dying because I slit a vein or artery in my mouth or my throat and it was draining blood right into my stomach ..."

From SI.com

Image : Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Math Pays Off

Note the t-shirt.

Image from a Publishers Clearing House TV ad. 

Customer Service, A Concept Fading

Let's add Staples to the list (along with Don Pablo's, Eat-N-Park, Sears, Weis deli, Circuit City... ) of businesses I've walked out of recently because there was very poor customer service.

In Staples this morning, I was attempting to buy a computer desk. A bearded, middle-aged employee wheeled the box up to the front near the checkouts. He asked if this was all. I, in turn, asked if he could tell me where some other merchandise was located. He said he didn't know and walked away. I foolishly assumed he was going to ask someone else the location of these items. He began talking with another employee and remained so doing for several more minutes without so much as a glance back in my direction at which point I walked out.

By the manner of these employees, you would think it was difficult to find people to fill these retail and restaurant jobs. Perhaps it is. That, however, would be a surprise to me unemployment being what it is. I am even more surprised that employers tolerate this shoddy performance.

Bravo, Italia!

L'Italia, il vincitore della Coppa del Mondo di 2006!

Italy, World Cup Champions 2006!

I will readily acknowledge that I am not a soccer fan, but I am enought of a sports fan to know that this is a big deal. I watched almost every minute of the match, surprising even to myself. I got caught up in the intensity of the competition. I found myself really enjoying it.

ESPNsoccernet -- CBS SportsLine.com

Image: AP Photo/Martin Rickett/PA

Back to ...

Here's another one. (Staples, July 8)

These retailers just can't wait to get a piece of that back-to-school pie.

And you know mom and dad (or other adult caregiver) have had just about enough of their perfect little progeny.

 

GAS (The Saga Continues)

Friday, July 7, 12:30 pm

The upward spiral continues.

It was kind of a lucky day, though. I put a dollar in the change machine at the car wash and got out five quarters! Don't ya luv it when fate smiles on you even just a tiny bit? 

Freudian Slip?

I pulled this from an email I received from Buy.com offering a free poster from Shutterfly --

"Make a big impact with your favorite photo - decorate the wall of your home or office an incredible vacation moment or family portrait immoralized in your Poster Size Print. To get your high quality print delivered ..."

I think it speaks for itself!

Cola Wars Redux

From CNN.com -- FBI nabs 3 over Coca-Cola secrets

I found it interesting that something like this seems to be such a big deal!

"Dirk" provided other documents to the FBI for $5,000 and agreed to take $75,000 for a highly confidential product sample from a new Coca-Cola project.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

You gotta be kiddin' me!

I snapped these the morning of July 5, at Big Lots!

Please, don't make me start thinking about that yet.

Fireworks Fotos

These are three of the more than 40 photos I shot from the parking lot of Motel 6 looking out over the Blair County Ballpark (Altoona, PA) earlier this evening.

This is my first fireworks shoot. I used a Canon A430 Power Shot in Scene mode - Fireworks, mounted on a tripod.

These images have been processed, but you can view all the fresh, raw, full-size images at my Picasa Web Albums.



Look for the edited images (like with that annoying street light removed) to be posted soon. The finished images are posted now.


HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Duh!!!

From USA Today -- More restrictions on teen drivers result in less accidents, study shows

Can you imagine? What will they think of next?

(image: www.alexanderlaw.com/accident.jpg)

What's in a Barrel of Oil?

A "barrel" of oil contains 42 gallons of crude oil and will yield between 19 and 20 gallons of gasoline. (www.howstuffworks.com)

As you can see from the illustration to the right, crude oil is used to produce several other products in addition to gasoline. (www.factsonfuel.org)

From a 42 gallon barrel of oil, a bit more than 44 gallons of petroleum products are produced. This results from a reduction in density during the refining process. (www.eia.doe.gov)

According to the American Petroleum Institute, the average price per gallon for all grades of gasoline for the week ending 26 June 2006, was $2.917. Oil prices reached above $72 a barrel Wednesday, 28 June. (MSNBC)