Thursday is about works of art: Light and Shadows are Hot!

  Good Day World!

I’m feeling a little artsy this morning so I went in search of something unusual from the art world.

 I found it, although from what I read it’s becoming a common artistic ploy: light and shadows creating scenes of beauty.

 This is kind of flying all over the internet right now, but I couldn’t resist sharing.

 Artist Rashad Alakbarov from Azerbaijan uses suspended translucent objects and other found materials to create light and shadow paintings on walls.

The jaw-dropping light painting (left), made with an array of colored airplanes is currently on view at the Fly to Baku exhibition at De Pury Gallery in London through January 29th. (via art wednesday, fasels suppe)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Do men with smaller sacs make better fathers?

      Good Day World!

If you’re a regular reader you know how skeptical I am of surveys, but I still run stories on their results. Why?

They’re usually entertaining – kind of like a daily horoscope. Most (99%) are questionable no matter who does them on what subject.

So-called experts give some more weight than others. I often wonder why millions are spent on dubious research - from the sex-life of snails to men with small balls making better dads?

Yes, I said small balls. Nuts. Cojones. Testicles. Gonads. Man sacks.

Some university scientists in the following article seem pretty sure that if men had smaller sacs they’d be more nurturing fathers.

I won’t even go there when it comes to my “special purpose boys” other than to say those scientists are leaping to some faulty conclusions!

Take a look… at this story. See what you think:

Aw, Nuts! Nurturing Dads Have Smaller Testicles, Study Shows

Do men with small balls make good fathers? That may sound ridiculous, but Emory University scientists have found that men who tend to enjoy being a nurturing parent also tend to have smaller testicles.

Over the past decade, science has found that men across cultures undergo a transformation if they become nurturing fathers. Attentive fathers in the Philippines, Africa, Europe and North America all show significant drops in testosterone levels. Read the full story here

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

The world’s safe now: SWAT team kills 107 year-old man barricaded in room!

        Good Day World!

I’ve read and heard many stories about police killing elderly people in shootouts. Happens all the time in our gun-loving culture. Despite that, I came across a story that should never have happened.

The reason I’m sharing it with you is because I have an opinion about the story, which I’ll give after you check it out.

The 80-year-old Arkansas woman who called the police on her 107-year-old roommate says officers had no choice but to shoot and kill him. Pauline Lewis told Little Rock station THV 11 Monday that she invited Monroe Isadore to move in with her last month — but he went ballistic when she suggested he find a new apartment on Saturday night.

A SWAT team pumped tear gas into the room and he started firing at them through a window, police said. They fired back and he was killed. The incident is under investigation, but Lewis said police were not out of line. Full story here

The hell they weren’t! You can’t tell me that the SWAT team wasn’t out-of-line this time! They could easily outwaited the old guy – for cripes sake he was 107 years-old and would have fallen asleep eventually!

But no. Like a group of Rambo robots, they had to create a situation by pumping tear gas into the room he was barricaded in. What did they suppose he’d do? He panicked and fired his gun. Even then however, they could have backed off a safe distance and attempted to negotiate with him. If that didn’t work they had other options.

Common sense would tell anyone that a 107 year-old man is not going to charge out of a barricaded room and threaten anyone. By prodding Monroe Isadore with the tear gas attack the SWAT team showed an appalling lack of common sense.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Blind Justice? Weapon permits are granted to the blind in Iowa

     Good Day World!

When people talk about guns these days it’s either you’re for them or against them. For the majority there is no middle ground.

I take a minority opinion which is actually a middle ground. I don’t want to infringe on our right as Americans to own a gun, but I want some common sense changes made in some gun laws.

I would like to see certain laws passed – call it gun control if you want a buzz word – that would make it harder for criminals to get them…and some other’s like the insane or if you’re in Iowa, the blind!

Yes, I said blind. Throw this fact into the gun control debate: officials in Iowa say they have been granting weapons permits to blind people! Just exactly how many blind Iowans have permits to carry guns is unclear. State officials say they do not collect that information when the permits are issued.

Say what? It’s perfectly legal to own a gun even if your blind? “It seems a little strange, but the way the law reads, we can’t deny them (a permit),” Sgt. Jana Abens, a spokeswoman for the Polk County sheriff’s office, told the Des Moines Register recently.

Private gun ownership — even hunting — by visually impaired Iowans is nothing new. But the practice of visually impaired residents legally carrying firearms in public became widely possible thanks to gun permit changes that took effect in Iowa in 2011.

Now here’s some to consider on a much larger scale: the Gun Control Act of 1968 and other federal laws do not prohibit blind people from owning guns. But unlike Iowa, some states have laws that spell out whether visually impaired people can obtain weapon permits.

Talk about scary. Iowa is now officially off my American vacation list!

Here’s the thing, I know someone who is visually impaired (he’s blind okay?) who is a sketchy type of fellow. I can see him shooting at a looming blur believing it to be a threat! Especially if he was packing a gun while out and about.

Call me overly cautious, but I would rather not have armed blind people walking – with their white canes of course - around shooting at threatening sounds, voices, etc. Does that make me anti-gun?

Hell no! I never said that. I would just like to see more common sense used in many current gun laws. Like the two I just mentioned.

Time for me to walk on down the road….

Sunday morning meanderings …it’s a busy world

     Good Day World!

It’s been a week since we moved into our new house and Shirley and I are loving it!

Looking and listening to the current news today several stories seem to stand out:

Tokyo 2020 Olympics could be shot in the arm for struggling Japan

There were scenes of jubilation in Japan early Sunday after Tokyo was named host city of the 2020 Olympic Games – a shot in the arm for a country battered by decades of economic stagnation and the 2011 tsunami.There was an outpouring of pride and joy at the International Olympic Committee announcement – but also surprise among many Japanese who had feared the country’s post-tsunami nuclear crisis had scuppered the city’s bid. Read full story here

Dogs help stressed U.S. military veterans cope with civilian life

A U.S. Veterans Affairs report reveals that of about 830,000 veterans treated at VA medical centers over the last decade, 29 percent had a diagnosis of PTSD, and 22 percent were suffering from depression.

K9s for Warriors offers veterans a three-week in-house program to meet and learn how to work with their dogs.The dogs are not as highly trained as seeing-eye dogs for the blind, said Duval, but they do have special skills.

They are able to provide assistance - like fetching objects for soldiers with physical disabilities. They are also trained to create personal space for veterans whose condition may make them nervous in a crowd. A dog is taught to "cover and block" - to stand between a vet and an approaching person, or behind a vet when he or she is standing in line, Duval explained. Read full story here

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Just how powerful is twitter in the political arena?

Q&A: How To Do Political Coverage Better In The Twitter Age

In a 95-page paper written at the conclusion of his spring fellowship at Harvard's Shorenstein Center, CNN's Peter Hamby explores the complaint political practitioners and the people who follow them have made for ages: Campaign coverage is shallow, solipsistic and possibly doing a disservice to voters tasked with making serious decisions for our democracy.

Hamby concludes that Twitter — and insta-sharing platforms like it — offer voters abundantly more choices for getting their information, but that the information often lacks a critical element: context.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Rush Rewrites History the Way he’d Like it to be in New Children’s Book!

              Good Day World!

Oh, Hell No!

 A former OxyContine zombie, conservative radio extremist, and crazed loon, Rush Limbaugh, wrote a children’s book! A children’s book!

 He’s not satisfied with the current group of racists and rednecks he attracts, so now he’s going after the next generation! What’s scary is those extremists will force feed their young on Rush’s propaganda, assuring a continued dummying-down of another generation in America.

 The book follows the time-travel adventures of Rush Revere, a character that adorns Limbaugh’s line of iced tea known as Two If By Tea. The character is cast as a “modern-day Paul Revere who rides around America espousing fundamental American values.”

For the purposes of the book, however, Revere is a substitute middle school teacher who travels with a couple of students back in time to meet the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower. Revere is also accompanied by a talking horse named Liberty.

Though Limbaugh insists the book isn’t about politics, he said the inspiration to write it came from a belief that children aren’t “learning about the greatness of America.”

Excuse me. What Rush means is we now teach history as it really was and not the fantasy world depiction the baby boomers grew up with. You remember that don’t you? I spent a good part of my childhood believing Indians were the bad guys.

“I lament what's going on in schools all the time,” he said. “But this is my way of doing more than what I'm doing now. It is a way of teaching what isn't being taught.”

And that would be lies. Rush’s interpretation of anything is a cartoon version of the good guys versus the bad guys as seen through his eyes. His vision of the Pilgrims coming to America and helping the stupid savages who lived here is bound to be a classic.

The book is called "Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time-Travel Adventures with Exceptional Americans." It’ll be released this fall. 

It’s time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Death on Wheels! Massive steel tank cars carrying DOT-111 pose growing dangers

                Good Day World!

 Growing up I use to watch “Engineer Bill,” a kid’s show where you played this little game with your milk.

When Engineer Bill turned on the green railroad sign for “Go,” I’d rapidly slurp down my milk! When he changed it to the red sign, I’d stop drinking (mid-gulp) and firmly set my glass down.

Trains were fun growing up. I still remember my Lionell Train Set that I got for Christmas in 1956. I wore my train conductor hat with pride and spent countless hours watching it go around the oblong track. Those were the days.

Nowadays, I see trains in a slightly different way. I dislike having to wait for one to to pass in my car. Especially when it’s two miles long! But, that’s not too bad. What’s disturbing about trains today is the loads they’re carrying. In specific, cars that carry oil and ethanol, known as DOT-111.

When one of those babies get in an accident all hell literally breaks loose! A dramatic example happened this summer in Quebec, killing 47 people. Here’s a story that should concern all Americans – especially if you live near railroad tracks!

The number of freight trains carrying oil across America has soared in the past five years, but federal officials warn that the massive steel tank cars that carry most of that oil through towns and past schools – the same cars that exploded in Quebec this summer, killing 47 -- may be unsafe and prone to rupture.

For two decades, federal officials have warned that the tank car that carries oil and ethanol, known as the DOT-111, has a serious design flaw and can split open in an accident, turning a derailment into a fiery catastrophe. At least five times since 1991, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has raised concerns about the car’s design, including its relatively thin metal skin and the possibility that cars could tear holes in each other during accidents, creating a domino effect of spills. Full story here

Time for me to walk on down the road…

F**K Frackin! It’s ruining my birth state of Ohio!

    Good Day World!

I was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1950. Perhaps that’s why I am particularly sad to hear what’s happening near my birthplace; fracking causing earthquakes!

The practice of frackin has become the 21st century’s  oil boom and few are taking the proper precautions to keep from polluting the environment.

(This map shows the intensity of shaking in the area of a magnitude-3.9 earthquake that struck near Youngstown, Ohio, on Dec. 31, 2011. Research has linked this earthquake to the underground injection of wastewater from fracking.)

The following story is troubling because it’s not the first time experts said frackin was going to destroy our environment. Pro-industry lobbies claimed it was a safe way to get to the huge underground reservoirs.

The reality is frackin is a real bad idea! We need to push for alternate energies and quit trying to use up what resources we have with dangerous methods.

It’s what I believe in a nutshell. Many won’t agree with me. But I’ll bet they’re somehow tied into the industry! Here’s the latest proof of how invasive frackin can be:

Confirmed: Fracking practices to blame for Ohio earthquakes

Wastewater from the controversial practice of fracking appears to be linked to all the earthquakes in a town in Ohio that had no known past quakes, research now reveals.

The practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves injecting water, sand and other materials under high pressures into a well to fracture rock. This opens up fissures that help oil and natural gas flow out more freely. This process generates wastewater that is often pumped underground as well, in order to get rid of it.

A furious debate has erupted over the safety of the practice. Advocates claim fracking is a safe, economical source of clean energy, while critics argue that it can taint drinking water supplies, among other problems.

One of the most profitable areas for fracking lies over the geological formation known as the Marcellus Shale, which reaches deep underground from Ohio and West Virginia northeast into Pennsylvania and southern New York. The Marcellus Shale is rich in natural gas; geologists estimate it may contain up to 489 trillion cubic feet (13.8 trillion cubic meters) of natural gas, more than 440 times the amount New York State uses annually. Many of the rural communities living over the formation face economic challenges and want to attract money from the energy industry.

Before January 2011, Youngstown, Ohio, which is located on the Marcellus Shale, had never experienced an earthquake, at least not since researchers began observations in 1776. Read full story here

Time for me to walk on down the road…

I’m back! A new house, state, and slate for the Stancliffs

  Good Day World!

We survived the move.

Shirley and I are utterly exhausted after packing up one house and relocating to another one a state away. Goodbye, California, and hello, Oregon! The house we bought came with mature landscaping. It’s the only way to go. The prior owners put countless hours into the front and back yard and the results are evident.

A nice drip system takes care of every plant and all the trees. The front and back lawns are automated (pop-up sprinklers). Conservation of water was considered when installing this system because when I checked past water bills for the house they were all very reasonable. And of course, that means less work.

To top that off, we have a Victory garden ripe with vegetable offerings! Tomatoes, cucumbers, several types of peppers, squash, lettuce, pickles, strawberries, raspberry's, corn, and a few herbs we haven’t identified yet! I picked three ripe tomatoes trhe first day and we had them with our lunch. Yum! 

Shirley is the gardener. When we decided to buy the house it was the first things we agreed on when buying the house. I hate yard work. She says she loves it, but the collection of exotic plants, bushes, roses, numerous other flowers, trees, hedges, victory garden, and mowing the lawns is going to be the most challenging outdoor project she’s ever taken on. I wish her well.

The key to avoiding a heat stroke here in this warmer climate, according to our new neighbors, doing your yard work in the morning and in the evening after it cools down.

What a contrast to our former abode. The sun was an occasional visitor in Humboldt County. It’s practically a permanent resident in Medford. You don’t rust here, but you also don’t have those giant redwoods we loved. The biggest difference is there’s more year around sunlight in Medford.

There’s also a lot more things to do here! More places to see and stores to chose from like the Rogue Valley Mall, Outlet stores, and The Shoppes at Exit 24  (The Shoppes at Exit 24 is located conveniently off I5 between Medford and Ashland.  The 82,000 square foot shopping center offers a variety of shops for southern Oregon travelers to choose from.)

Shirley and I enjoy wine and were both attracted to the number of wineries in Southern Oregon.

On the first night in our new home we had a bottle of 2009 Claret from RoxyAnn Winery. It was also our 39th wedding anniversary! What a day! It was great.

It’s nice to be settled into my blogging routine again. I’m going back to work today. That means I look up the website I work for – Learnist – and start creating learning boards on all kinds of interesting subjects. What a fun job. I learn something new every day and I get to share this with my readers. You’re invited to visit me there anytime. Now…

It’s time for me to walk on down the road…

Moving Brings Blog Break & Timely Observations

      Good Day World!

I’m taking a blog break because I’m moving to Southern Oregon. I will report back on September 4th, and let you know how things went.

I hate moving, but there comes a time when we need to. As for California…I’m not going to miss living in the #1 worst state for retirees due to excessive taxes! You get taxed for farting in California.

So, it’s on to Oregon and the adventures that this move will surely bring. At 62, I’m a little long-in-the-tooth for all the lifting involved, but I’ll be damn if I’m going to pay some professional movers! Two of my sons will handle the heavy stuff.

A few quick observations:

File the next story under the “I’ll believe it when I see it” department:

“The Justice Department will not sue to prevent the states of Washington and Colorado from permitting recreational marijuana use for adults.

Officials said that Attorney General Eric Holder called the governors of both states on Thursday to inform them that federal authorities won’t pre-empt their state laws permitting recreational use of the drug, which voters approved last year via ballot initiatives.

Holder told the two governors that the Justice Department will use a “trust but verify” policy, saying the federal government won’t step in to prevent the implementation of the marijuana laws if the states develop a sound, workable regulatory structure.” Story here

If this turns out to be true, California needs to get some long-awaited respect for their vote on Medical Marijuana. The feds have trampled on California voters for years now with blatant disregard for their decision to legalize it for medicinal use.

I’m taking bets on this next story. What do you want to bet this Wall Street bigwig beats this rape rap?

A Goldman Sachs Group managing director has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of raping a 20-year-old woman during a party last week at a house he rented in the up-market Hamptons area of Long Island, according to court filings.

Jason Lee, 37, was indicted on Wednesday on one felony charge of first-degree rape and two misdemeanor charges of assault and sexual misconduct, according to the filings.

Police said last week that Lee was arrested on Aug. 21 in East Hampton, New York, after police, responding to a complaint about a stolen car, found the unnamed woman, who alleged she had been sexually assaulted. Lee was released on $20,000 bail. 

This last story is kinda scary when you think about it:

Addicted to Facebook fame? Blame your brain's nucleus accumbens

It only makes sense: Neuroscientists see a link between your drive to build a better reputation and the intensity of your Facebook usage. They say the two activities stimulate a reward center in the brain, known as the nucleus accumbens, in a similar way.

The nucleus accumbens figures in a wide variety of cravings, including food and sex as well as gambling, booze and rock 'n' roll.

That little knot of neurons also plays a part in how good you feel about financial gain — but in a series of experiments, researchers in Germany found that Facebook usage seems more closely related to a boost in reputation than a boost in the bank account.

Time for me to walk on down the road…