Kseniya Simonova is a Ukrainian artist who just won the "Ukraine's Got Talent" competition. She uses a giant light box, dramatic music, imagination and "sand painting" skills to interpret the invasion and occupation of her country from 1941-1945.

(The audiobook version is a good listen)

Glenn Beck's Common Sense

080609newbook

The Case Against an Out-of-Control Government, Inspired by Thomas Paine

"If you believe it's time to put principles above parties, character above campaign promises, and Common Sense above all -- then I ask you to read this book...."

Nearly two and a half centuries after Thomas Paine's masterpiece changed America forever, Glenn Beck revisits it with one purpose: to galvanize Americans to see past government's easy solutions, two-part monopoly, and illogical methods and take back our great country.

Where to Buy It...

I have a couple of fingers (same as my grandfather) that are curling. The disease is called Dupuytren's contracture and for me makes it difficult to type, shake hands, and more importanlty just put my hand in my pocket. I have had this problem for years and didn't know what it was. Surgery which of course is expensive dosen't always fix it on a permanent basis so I doubt this proceedure would either....but does appear as an decent option If I can find a local Doctor to perform it.

On my other hand, I have 2 partially knumb fingers that according to some are from spurs in my neckbones, or nerve damage in my shoulder, or nerve damage in the Ulna Nerve...one thing at a time!

Math Logic

Here is a little something someone sent me that is indisputable mathematical logic. It also made me Laugh Out Loud.
This is a strictly mathematical viewpoint....it goes like this:

What Makes 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants    you to give over 100%.. How about achieving 103%? What makes up 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26.

Then:

H-A -R -D-W-O -R -K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

and

K -N -O -W-L -E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5
= 96%

But ,

A-T  -T -I -T  -U -D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

And,

B -U  -L  -L -S -H-I -T
2+21+12+12 +19+8+9+20 = 103 %

AND, look how far ass kissing
will take you.

A-S -S -K -I -S-S -I -N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7

= 118%

So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty, that While Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it's the Bullshit and Ass kissing that will put you over the top.

'REMEMBER SOME PEOPLE ARE ALIVE SIMPLY BECAUSE IT IS ILLEGAL TO SHOOT THEM'

TomTom

I finally broke down and got a GPS for the car. Haven't installed it or tried it yet other than turning it on and mapping out a trip around the block. I've had a GPS that I carry that uses my laptop but that's too cumbersome to use regularily.

Basically what I do is rely on maps.

Both of the doors in my Jeep have quite an assortment of maps I have collected over several years. Between my collection, Yahoo Maps, and Google Maps, and specific directions from a client, I can usually find a clients house with no problem.

Did I need another GPS?

Well obviously not, but I found a deal on a refurb TomTom that was reasonable. This model of course is not the top of the line. No MP3player. Like my laptop GPS, You have to enter in an address to your destination. The TomTom is easier in this area than I expected. As you are typing on the touchscreen it offers suggestions based on what it knows about you can select. Kind of like what happens in my web browser.

I suspect this will encourage me to use the GPS more often than my maps. However, the screen is small and the voice doesn't seem loud enough. That may pose a problem when it comes to deciding a place to mount it and how effective it is for regular use. But being as small as it is, it also fits in the pocket so it could double as a hiking tool when walking through town or just doing some exploring.

President Obama, bless his heart, has to date prevented off shore drilling off our shores basically on environmental grounds.  This is regardless of the fact that the majority of Americans believe the time is now...Drill Baby Drill!

A recent court ruling has opened up the possibility of off-shore oil leases in the Gulf, but still not in Alaska, and the East and West coasts. August 19th was the date set for negoiations to start.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a vocal proponent of offshore drilling, had plenty to say.

"So why is it that during these tough times, when we have great needs at home, the Obama White House is prepared to send more than $2 billion of your hard-earned tax dollars to Brazil so that the nation's state-owned oil company, Petrobas, can drill off shore and create jobs developing its own resources?" she asked on her Facebook page.

Ugh... Let me get this straight Brazil is in our environment last time I checked. Where is Obama's concern?

OK now IF and only IF drilling starts in Brazil AND the US anywhere soon, AND wells are actually producing oil as one would suspect, then loaning Brazil the money to develop might just make sense. Let's loan money to other South American countries as well. Let's flood the market with oil and get the prices back down to rock bottom prices.

If this should happen, commodity speculators would have no other choice than to speculate the prices as dropping. OPEC of course could reduce production to offset that but how far can they drop production and maintain thier economy?

It's a big shell game that we could ultimately win....but we gotta drill and do a lot of it as soon as possible to see the results. Even that though is not the whole solution...we need more refining capacity to go along with it.

Adding a checkmark to prevent someone from recieving unsolicited emails is a joke. How about requiring an email confirmation that you in fact do want to be on the Whitehouse list...and then when you click on the email link, it take you to a page with a challenge response like CAPTCHA for confirmation. The blame clearly rests on the shoulders of those in charge of Whitehouse.gov....which extends all the way to the top. 

The White House for the first time Sunday somewhat acknowledged that people across the country received unsolicited e-mails last week on health care from the administration, suggesting the problem on third-party groups it claimed placed the recipients' names on the distribution list. 

In a written statement released exclusively to FOX News, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said the White House hopes those who received the e-mails without signing up for them were not "inconvenienced" by the messages. 

More Here

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/16/white-house-e-mail/

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The alarming part about this is that it is following the Presidents request to turn in your friends by forwarding emails of dissent toward the heathcare bill to flag@whitehouse.gov. By law, all emails sent to the whitehouse cannot legally be destroyed if you didn't know. It is also illegal for them to use that information by law except under certain circumstances...this is not one of them!