Did You Feel That?

I was upstairs in our house when the GREAT EUREKA EARTHQUAKE hit!I hear it was a 6.5 tremblor. Ernie started blogging on it 15 minutes after it struck. For real updated info on the blogs he's probably got the best so far.

Wow! Rock and roll! Gotta say it was the biggest earth-rattler I've experienced since coming up to Humboldt in 1978.

Very little damage was done. A few things fell off the walls, dresser drawers opened, and some candles fall of a table.

Where were you when the GREAT EUREKA EARTHQUAKE hit? Wait! What was that? It's 6:22 and I think that was an aftershock.

So where were you?

UPDATE: Humboldtage has more detailed coverage of the earthquake.

10 ways to be a whole lot happier

Even in tough times, you have more control over your joy than you think

Introduction

From the editors of Prevention

The year 2009 was one that few of us will soon forget. But the tough times we’ve been through illuminate the human ability to weather challenges that might at first seem overwhelming. As so many millions have painfully learned, we can’t fully control our circumstances. Surprisingly often, though, we can control their effects on our well-being.

Experts attribute about 50% of a person’s happiness to genetic endowments and another 10% to circumstances — where we live, how much money we make, how healthy we are. That leaves 40% of our happiness in our control. Fortunately, science has much to say about how we can make the most of that 40%. Even small improvements in mood can have cascading effects. The trick is to pay attention to what strategies work best for you. Click here for 10 ways to be happier.

You Know You're a Conservative When...

10 quick questions to tell if you're a 21st Century right-winger.

Anyone who has a list of 10 questions to tell if you’re a 21st Century Liberal is invited to share it here. Fair’s fair!

Since almost no one is willing to identify with the GOP these days, it can be difficult to diagnose conservatism. Here are some tips to help determine if you are a conservative:

10) You refused to share your toys in kindergarten, saying it would put you on a dangerous path to socialism.
9) You get angry when there are choices for languages on an automated call because you still don't have a good grasp on English.
8) You hate those "elite Hollywood liberals" but refuse to cancel your Netflix account.
7) You go to tea bagger rallies because you have no job thanks to the recession that "started under Obama."
6) You watch Fox News, but unlike most people actually take it seriously.
5) You become absolutely livid about imaginary tax increases.
4) You are against wasteful programs like Medicare, but also against cutting waste from programs like Medicare.
3) You criticize Michael Moore for his weight, without being able to refute a single claim that he makes in his documentaries.
2) You can enter any collective noun into the following sentence "The ______ are screwing everything up" except for the correct ones.
1) You find yourself saying "no" even to things that you actually want, like ice cream, and health care.

This first appeared at Air America Radio.

A Suicide Bomber’s Wife speaks out

When you read this interview one thing really stands out; Dr. Khalil was once just a conservative Muslim who became an extremist after we invaded Iraq.

I’ve contended all along that invading Iraq and Afghanistan was the worst thing we could do to stop terrorism. What’s happened is that these two countries have become recruiting posters for pissed off Muslims who want a chance to kill Americans.

“In an exclusive interview with NEWSWEEK Türkiye (Go here for English version), the wife of the suicide bomber who killed seven CIA employees in Afghanistan talks about her husband's life and beliefs.”

Photos: Courtesy Defne Bayrak via Newsweek Türkiye (left); Engin Iriz / Newsweek Türkiye /Suicide bomber Dr. Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi (left) and his wife, Defne Bayrak

Undocumented Immigrants: Could they help save the economy?

Based on surveys done after the 1986 amnesty program, it concludes that even during the recession, legalizing undocumented workers would benefit the economy. Not everyone agrees.

UCLA study says legalizing undocumented immigrants would help the economy

Photo Source

Related news:

TARP INITIATIVE TO FOCUS ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS EMIGRATING FROM THE UNITED STATES

How cold is it in Florida today?

It was so cold in Florida, freezing iguanas were seen falling out of trees!

In central and south Florida, farmers were trying to salvage citrus and vegetable crops by spraying them in protective layers of ice and covering them in plastic.

Arctic cold tightens grip on central, eastern US with freezing temps; Fla. farmers guard crops

Photo Source

Assembly OKs bills to change California schools

Assemblymen Tom Ammiano, left, Mike Eng, center, and Kevin De Leon listen to the debate over a controversial education bill. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times / January 5, 2010)

Parents would be given more power to transfer children out of poorly performing campuses and petition for changes, including removal of the principal. Teachers unions oppose the provisions.

My concern is that this move is going to enable a class system where the rich kids get good education and the poor go to underfunded schools. All children should be getting the same quality of education, and this move is going to change that.

Go here to read the whole story.

The Ten Worst Muppets

 Even the best shows on Television have bad characters.

And like anything on the internet, this list has been made before. However, those other lists include characters such as Miss Piggy, Sam the Eagle, Animal (one of the BEST Muppets), and even Kermit!

Blasphemy. So here is the real list of Muppets who suck.

1. Pepe the Prawn

What in the hell is this? He’s scary looking, that’s all, and he makes me not want to watch.

Go here to see the rest.

Why Are We So Blind to the True Horrors of War?

If we really saw what war does to young minds and bodies, it would be harder to embrace the myths propagated by our warmongering government.

“In Peter van Agtmael’s "2nd Tour Hope I don’t Die" and Lori Grinker’s "Afterwar: Veterans From a World in Conflict," two haunting books of war photographs, we see pictures of war which are almost always hidden from public view.

These pictures are shadows, for only those who go to and suffer from war can fully confront the visceral horror of it, but they are at least an attempt to unmask war’s savagery.”

Go here to read the rest.

This article first appeared on TruthDig.

Photo source greatdreams

3-D TV! It was entertainment destiny

I’m not surprised that 3-D technology has come home. Our TVs serve many functions now. The picture is really lifelike if you have blue ray, or one of the new generation of plasma TVs.

Read about other trends expected to dominate the show, which runs Thursday through Sunday in Las Vegas. TVs that connect to the Internet and mobile digital TV will also be displayed. It sounds like a nerd holiday. If this is your thing, it sounds like fun.

Before its official opening, visitors stroll the floor of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a major showcase for new entertainment technology. (Paul Sakuma / Associated Press / January 4, 2010)

Why The Chicken Crossed the Street

Pierre liked good wines and wasn’t afraid to go out and look for them.

He is known on the boulevard as a gentile- chicken with class.

Photo via Funny pics

If the US won't stand up to China, who will?

Here’s a very good editorial by Wei Jingsheng, a prominent Chinese dissident who spent 18 years in Chinese prisons. China is a major trading partner with the US, so we ignore (aside from useless rhetoric) their human rights violations.

I call it “Dancing with the Devil” and when the music stops we all lose! China holds billions of dollars in American debt, and they can play that card anytime they feel like it.

Wei Jingsheng now lives in exile in Washington. He’s the chairman of the Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition and president of the Wei Jingsheng Foundation.

Excerpt:

“Though diplomats from Germany and Australia were among the two dozen people allowed to observe the “public trial,” the fact that no one from the American embassy was admitted should be read as a particularly clear and open challenge to the US.We Chinese are intimately acquainted with this authoritarian arrogance.”

Go here to read the whole article.

Image source via cryptome.org

What do dogs, cats, and PTSD have in common?

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 01/03/2010 01:27:24 AM PST

While I was petting my pug and doing some online research the other day, I ran across an interesting item about an Iraqi war veteran who has a Psychiatric Service Dog to help with his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

A Colorado mailman made news recently, when he was allowed to bring his service dog along on his mail route. I'm not talking about an attack dog. There's a huge difference between them and service dogs. Paul Gernert of Colorado Springs was the first postal carrier in the country allowed to bring his Psychiatric Service Dog to work.

Go to The Times-Standard for the rest of the story.

Photo via bralexlabradors

UPDATE (Noon)

7 web sites that have picked up today’s column so far:

frenchbulldog

twitter/leonepret

PetPedia -The Pet Encyclopedia (1/3/10 - Pet News)

Dogster – For the Love of Dogs

Well Bred Pets (under recent headlines 1/3/10)

North Coast Blogthing (under 1/3/10 Op-Ed)

Pubsub (under 1/3/10 stories of the day)

UPDATE (3:00 p.m.)

brokencontrollers

Petpress (Sun.Jan3)

 

 

Do you know what an Autostereogram is?

A random dot autostereogram (left)encodes a 3D scene which can be "seen" with proper viewing technique.

An autostereogram is a single-image stereogram (SIS), designed to create the visual illusion of a three-dimensional (3D) scene from a two-dimensional image in the human brain. In order to perceive 3D shapes in these autostereograms, the brain must overcome the normally automatic coordination between focusing and vergence.

The simplest type of autostereogram consists of horizontally repeating patterns and is known as a wallpaper autostereogram. When viewed with proper vergence, the repeating patterns appear to float above or below the background. The Magic Eye books feature another type of autostereogram called a random dot autostereogram.

One such autostereogram is illustrated above left. In this type of autostereogram, every pixel in the image is computed from a pattern strip and a depth map. Usually, a hidden 3D scene emerges when the image is viewed with the correct vergence.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kobe Bryant: the best player on the planet!

Kobe did it again last night against the Kings. He took a last second buzzer beater – hit it – and won the game.

That’s the third time this year he’s done that. He also leads the league in scoring (just over 30 points per game) and is playing with a broken index finger and hyper extended elbow!

I’ve been a Laker fan since they moved to LA in 1961. Fair Warning: despite the fact this isn’t a sports blog, I’ll be making comments on the Laker’s activities every now and then.

Here’s a link to the LA Times article and video about last night’s game.

Photo via Sports Illustrated

Texting while driving, public smoking, cooking with trans fats targeted in states' 2010 laws

In this file photo taken Dec. 15, 2009, Tina Derby sends text messages while driving in Concord, N.H. It will be harder to legally text while driving, eat fatty foods and light up in bars and restaurants under new laws that take effect across the country this year. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File) (Jim Cole, AP / December 15, 2009)

Go here to read the whole story.

2009 Year in Review: News

Remember when President Barack Obama got sworn in? How about when pirates took a U.S. cargo ship captain captive? See these and more top moments that made headlines in 2009.

               JAN 15: US Airways plane river landing

( Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images )

“Rescue boats float near a US Airways plane floating in the water after crashing into the Hudson River in the afternoon on January 15, 2009 in New York City. The Airbus 320 flight 1549 crashed shortly after take-off from LaGuardia Airport heading to Charlotte, North Carolina.”

That joint? It's all in the name of research

Writing isn't all done at a keyboard. And if your protagonist is a pot grower, well . . . please excuse the cloud of smoke.

“In my novel "Baked," I tell the story of a young underground botanist from Los Angeles -- a man inspired by Floyd Zaiger, inventor of the pluot -- and what happens when he wins the Cup and returns home to find himself caught in a tug of war between medical marijuana dispensaries who want an exclusive on his strain.” - Mark Haskell Smith

Go here to read the whole article.

Image titled “Cannabis Cup” by Jacob Thomas

Putting 2009 behind us and looking forward to 2010

Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 12/30/2009 01:27:11 AM PST

People still wander in a financial haze after the expensive holidays, with little time to rest or recover before the new year roars in with new days to celebrate and spend money.

Some experts say the economy is recovering, and they cite all kinds of startling statistics that only exist on paper. Very few have any relevance to reality.

Our reality in 2009 was grim. We drained another generation's blood with wars that cripple our economy and contribute to our crumbling infrastructure. They drag on, remnants of failed policies that we're still stubbornly trying to make work.

Go here to read the rest at The Times-Standard.

10 Reasons the U.S. Military Should (Officially) Use Pot

 Medical marijuana may have a host of advantages over other treatments for traumatized vets, but the VA won't even study its efficacy.

 Excerpt from AlterNet:

“Me and the rest of my veterans' group talk about it all the time," he says. "Most of them also medicate with marijuana. If you asked any of us what, out of everything, was most effective in PTSD treatment, we would tell you marijuana." But the VA is a federal agency, so even in the 13 states where doctors are at liberty to suggest that patients try marijuana, they are prohibited from dispensing it.” 

Read more here.