Robert Earl Keen, Hayes Carll, and Ray and Ray Wylie Hubbard

Accidently stumbled across this and had to share three of my favorite musicians; Robert Earl Keen, Hayes Carll, and Ray and Ray Wylie Hubbard.  (Ray makes an appearance near the end of Hayes's set)  This full episode of Austin city limits so there is a min. or so of comercials at the start, but well worth it.
Enjoy!  (Keep an eye on Hayes Carll.  He is a rising star and has a new album out, KMAG YOYO that is outstanding)

Watch the full episode. See more Austin City Limits.

Whats the time?

Time to get Il (Little Kim style)

Atlas Shrugged

Atlas Shrugged Movie Pondering

In my world , the recent buzz caused by the upcoming release of the movie Atlas Shrugged has had me thinking;  Why did the book influence my thought process so much?  Well the answer is it did not.  It only clarified it.  Rand merely stripped away the veneer of politically correct thinking, peer pressure group think and irrational theory that was clouding otherwise rational thought. I have to admit, this didn't happen all at once for me.  Three things happened.  The most obvious is I was pulled into the story because it's well... a good story.  It's compelling.  The characters are very easy to  like, hate, cheer for and despise. 

Second: I came to realize is that I was rooting for the "wrong guys" from today's politically correct template.  OK not a big stretch for me, but no one has ever said it that loud.  It reminded me of when I first started listening to talk radio in 1990.  At this time in my life I had just left the military and was working in a field that required lots of driving.  The gulf war had just started and I found myself listening to the news every chance I could.  As the war went on there was less reporting and the only person talking about it was Rush and I found myself tuning in.  I thought I was the only person in the world that listened to the guy.  I mean holy shit! "He's saying all the things I already knew (for the most part), just more clearly.  And it kinda scared me.  It scared me because i thought I was the only one. 

Well as it turned out I was not the only one.  I remember one day a subcontractor showed up on my work site and overheard Rush's program I had playing on the radio. "You listen to that guy?  Thought I was the only one"  So what did Rush and rand do to me?  They made me think,  they made me realize I'm not alone in my thinking.  And while I may not agree with  all their ideas, they have thrust critical thinking and rational thought to the forefront despite harsh opposition.

Third was that the book is not just about the strengths of the characters, but their weakness as well.  It's sobering when you think about it.

A lot of people have had reservations about the movie.  Many fear that it won't  be any good and Hollywood will only F-it up.  Is this a possibility?  You bet.  I read a comment from someone that stated, and I'm para phrasing "I learned my lesson when Hollywood Fucked up Star Ship Troopers"  Well Is the question is did Hollywood F-up Star-ship Troopers (book)?  The answer is no!  A book is not a movie and a movie is not a book.  If you look at the movie on it's own,  it's a fun/good movie.  Not the best, but fun never the less.  Because of the movie, I was able to get my son  to read the book, and he loved it.  He loved it enough that at this very moment he is reading The Cat who Walks Through Walls.

My point is that the movie, will never be the book, but may become a catalyst or even an advertisement for the book.  The moral/philosophical story of Atlas Shrugged will effect you on a personal level.  If you have not read it, please do.  (It's time for me to re read it myself)  And demand the truth......

“People think that a liar gains a victory over his victim. What I've learned is that a lie is an act of self-abdication, because one surrenders one's reality to the person to whom one lies, making that person one's master, condemning oneself from then on to faking the sort of reality that person's view requires to be faked.”

— Hank Rearden

  

Whats the best way to unclog a sink?

Found something clogging the drain.  What’s the best way to clear it?
 Audience Participation in comments please   :-)

Respect Your Elders

Respect Your Elders

An old prospector shuffled into town leading a tired old pack mule. The old man headed straight for the only saloon to clear his parched throat.

He walked up and tied his old mule to the hitching rail. As he stood there brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.

The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying, "Hey old man, have you ever danced?"

The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, "No, I never did dance . . . never really wanted to."

A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, "Well you old fool, you're gonna dance now," and started shooting at the old man's feet.

The old prospector, not wanting to get a toe blown off, started hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet. Everybody was laughing, fit to be tied.

When the last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon.

The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double-barreled shotgun, and cocked both hammers.

The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air.

The crowd stopped laughing immediately.

The young gunslinger heard the sounds too and he turned around very slowly. The silence was almost deafening. The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin barrels.

The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man's hands, as he quietly said, "Son, have you ever licked a mule's ass?" The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, "No sir . . . but . . . I've always wanted to."

There are a few lessons for us all here:

Never be arrogant.

Don't waste ammunition.

Whiskey makes you think you're smarter than you are.

Don't mess with old men . . . they didn't get old by being stupid!

(Thanks to the Z man)

A Conservation group wants to stop a solar plant?

I haven't posted for a while but when I inadvertently came across this article, Conservation group sues to stop California solar plant, I was really taken back.  I thought " how on earth could a group called the Western Watersheds Project be against solar energy?  Just how does a solar panel disturb a water shed?  If and when it rains, and if that rain doesn't hit the ground because it hits a solar panel, what will happen?  Will the precious water be transported to the Eastern Water Shed?  My bet is it will run off the solar panel and wind up on the ground.  Now this is just an intuitive guess, but please correct me if I am wrong.  So I looked up this organization and mission statement. "The mission of Western Watersheds Project is to protect and restore western watersheds and wildlife through education, public policy initiatives and litigation. Ahhhh!  Thats it  they seem to be partly profesional litigators. 

"The complaint said the project's approval process failed to analyze and mitigate the Ivanpah plant's impact on migratory birds, the desert tortoise, which is a threatened species under federal law, desert bighorn sheep, groundwater resources and rare plants.

Oakland, California-based Brightsource has taken measures to assuage environmentalists' concerns about the project. In October, the privately held company reached a deal with litigious environmental group The Center for Biological Diversity to acquire thousands of acres of habitat for the desert tortoise and other rare species."

So I ask, At what point is man allowed to change his environment?  At what point does it stop?  Yes any thing that is changed does effect something else.  Build a road and nature will react.  Deer will eat the grass in the right of way.  Tortoises will slowly try to cross the road, some successfully,  others not so much.  Does that mean don't build roads?  Do we build wildlife bridges and tourus tunnels every 100 yards?  Should we force feed Pandas and artificially inseminate them because the are on an evolutionary dead end of specialization?

It's time to really think about nature.  Man is neither strong, or fast.  Man has inferior teeth for tearing meat or chewing vegetation.  Claws?  Nope.  Man is a creature that survives and thrives because he changes his environment rather than adapt to it.  His primary tool; his brain.  Man survives by interpreting his environment rationally and using his intellect to survive.  Cold?.....  Make clothing......  Hungry?.....  Farm.  Hot?....... Aiconditioning.  Want to get laid?  Lipstick, tramp stamp and fake tits.  (Did I make my point?)

Now I'm not saying it's OK to srtipmine the earth and not resore it.  Thats like saying, "I'm going to eat all my food now.  Screw saving any for the winter.  Thats not rational as is the actions of overspecialized litigation hounds bringing suit.

Mattel's Tommy Burst Machine Gun ad.

Mattel's Tommy Burst Machine Gun ad.

Todays inside Joke

Damn it, just stay still!

A Compilation of Close Calls

A wickid cool compilation of close calls.  What I don't get is the idiots that get off by flirt ing with a high spped train?  WTF? 

 

The Avalanches --- Frontier Psychiatrist

Found by accident and may be used as brain bleach.

Star Wars Face Book: General Veers

Are we living in a computer simulation?

367mph school bus bus!

Original story: Motoring enthusiast builds 367mph bus

Powered by an after-burning General Electric J79 engine from an F-4 Phantom Fighter, my first thought was that the big boxy School bus would have better aerodynamic propperties  than the aircraft it came out of.

Building your own Jet powered, car, tractor or Hover-round you might just need the IPB for the J-79 see the add to the right.

Black Tea party Patriots in action.

Black Tea party Patriots in action.  Racist?  No!  Patriots?  Yes!  Balls?  You betchya!



You can't stop the signal!    (Blatently stolen from The real King of France.)

Holery Carp!

  Wow!  Talk about being robed of a home run! Outstanding play.



For a good laugh check out the name on the jersey!

You can't stop the signal.

As a SciFi fan I am reminded of the line  in Serenity.  This document, Disco and Atomic War, is about growing up in Estonia, and the effect of Finish television in the former Soviet Union. The full movie can be seen below but only for a limited time.  I highly recommend watching.



I have a sneaky feeling history will prove that cell phone video and YouTube will have the same effect in this country.  "You can't stop the signal".

Some get it and some don't.

Now there is Hope!

Gaga's boots were made for Walken.

Everthing is better with Walken.

Say it ain't so Joe!

(Inside Joke)

Arizona Immigration Law Takes Effect Amidst Arrests And Protests