Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Why didn’t the homes destroyed by Oklahoma tornado have fortified rooms?

   Good Day World!

It seems to happen all over the world, no matter where you live. Poorly built houses and public buildings that are destroyed by tornedos, hurricanes, and other natural events when they should have been engineered to withstand them depending upon the challenges of the area.

So when you’re living in “Tornedo Alley” why for God’s sake wouldn’t you get your home retrofitted to withstand such terrible events? It’s an inexpensive construction technique already commonly used along the Hurricane prone Gulf Coast.

I’m often amazed at where people choose to live sometimes. There’s certain areas in this country that nothing should be built upon. Especially those areas that flood every year like clock work. Or in places like Southern California right along earthquake fault zones.

The sad thing is most of the homes that were destroyed in this last monster tornedo could still be standing if they had retrofitted them. It’s not enough to have the technology to save lives if you don’t use it.

In the news…

“Homes in the direct path of the monster tornado that roared through Oklahoma City suburbs Monday were all but certain to be destroyed. Yet inexpensive construction techniques could have kept up to 85 percent of the area's damaged houses standing, according to a civil engineer.

The trick is already common along the hurricane-prone Gulf Coast — the use of clips and straps to keep the walls bolted to the roof and the foundation, explained Andrew Graettinger, a civil engineer at the University of Alabama. These parts cost about $1 each.

"You need several hundred of them in the house, but it is not anything drastic, it is not a humongous expense, it is relatively inexpensive," he told NBC News.

For about $2,000 more, a house can be outfitted (or retrofitted) with a safe room built to specifications of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These fortified rooms, often constructed with cinder blocks and filled with mortar and rebar, can withstand tornado-force winds and storm debris.” (Full story here)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The end draws near…Rafter’s Redemption Chapter 9, Death in the Redwoods

forest-sunlight-thumb

    Good Day World!

I’ve been sharing my novella, Rafter’s Redemption, a chapter at a time for 8 weeks now and the end is drawing near. If you’re new to my book you can start at the beginning here. 

For those readers who have been following the book here’s a snippet from Chapter 9:

   It was almost anti-climatic when he found them. Jenny was tending to Rafter’s wound when he stepped off the trail at the sound of Sundance’s voice. He was surprised to see Rafter after shooting him under the house. Apparently he hadn’t finished the job. What kind of man killer was he, anyway?  (Go here)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Monday, May 20, 2013

RIP: Ray Manzarek, keyboardist for the Doors, has died at 74

RAY-MANZAREK.jpg If I had to select one of my favorite rock and roll groups it would have to be “The Doors.”

I was really sad to see Jim Morrison die so young. He had such tremendous talent. Who can ever forget “Light My Fire?”

Now, Ray Mansarek has died from bile duct cancer. Manzarek became an enduring symbol of the era — he was portrayed by Kyle McLachlan in the 1991 Oliver Stone biopic The Doors, and wrote a best-selling memoir about his experiences, Light My Fire: My Life with The Doors, in 1998.

He can now join the rest of the stars in Rock and Roll Heaven!

Goodbye Ray..

(Image Credit: Gijsbert Hanekroot/Getty Images)

 

Ready for a one-way trip to mars? Some people are! Apply before Aug. 31st

     Good Day World!

For you old TV program buffs that remember the “The Honeymooners” with Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows, I have one of my favorite lines from the comedy today:

Ralph Kramden tells his wife Alice (during one of his usual outbursts),

To the Moon Alice! To the Moon!”

Audiences laughed every time he repeated those two lines. It was a simpler time and no one seemed to notice that he was threatening to send his wife to the Moon…a place far, far away. Exiling his spouse to a long trip in space was considered hilarious! And the Moon no less!

How about Mars? That far enough? People are ready to pay money to go on a one way trip to Mars nowadays. Yes, one-way…

Hard to believe but this is no comedy. Check out the follow article: 

Why sign up for a one-way Mars trip? Three applicants explain the appeal

A one-way trip to Mars sounds like something you'd wish on your worst enemy — so why would more than 78,000 people from around the world pay up to $75 for a chance to die on another planet?

"I can say I have an ulterior motive," said David Brin, who has written more than a dozen science-fiction novels — including "The Postman," which was turned into a Kevin Costner movie in 1997. "I'd get a lot of writing done, and it might be memorable."

As a master of hard science fiction, the 62-year-old Brin knows better than most applicants what the first Red Planet settlers would face if they're sent off in 2022, as the Dutch-based Mars One venture has proposed.

The ages of those listed in Mars One's database range from 18 to 71. All those applicants are facing a long road even before the first four-person crew gets off the planet. Mars One is accepting applicants through Aug. 31. The field of applicants would first be whittled down by panels of experts. Then they'd undergo trial by reality TV, followed by years of training.

"This may sound crazy, but it kind of reminds me of 'The Hunger Games,'" said Kayli McArthur, an 18-year-old student who's one of the youngest Mars One applicants. "It's cool that it would be televised, but that's not my whole thing." (Full story)

Related stories:

A One-Way Ticket To Mars, Apply Now

Prospect of one-way Mars trips captures the imagination 

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Tattoo You! New meaning to corporate branding & addiction

By Dave Stancliff/For The Times-Standard

Do you have a tattoo?
They’re becoming more common these days. A recent Pew Research Center (PRC) report revealed that 1 in 5 Americans have one. It doesn’t surprise me. Nearly everywhere I go, I see someone with tats.
That made me wonder what effect all these tats have on our economy? I’d say a very positive one when you consider $1.65 billion was spent on tats in 2012. Research (PRC) statistics show 45 million Americans got tattoos last year.
The rapid growth of tattoo parlors - 21,000 and counting - in America has given the economy a shot in the arm. Can’t argue with statistics. When the total of all U.S. citizens (all ages) have at least one tattoo, you will have a boost to the economy that bodes well for the future.
I’ve looked into the cost of getting a tattoo and it ranges from $45 for a small one, to $150 an hour for large ones.

When I see some of the more elaborate tats - full arms, chests, backs, legs, etc., dollar signs start rolling in my head like a slot machine! Some dedicated people, will probably never stop getting tats until they run out of space.
My research shows that 32 percent of people with tattoos say they are addicted to them. There are worst addictions I suppose, but like any addiction, tattoos can be expensive over a period of time. As someone who believes in moderation in all things, I think any addiction is a problem.
There are ways to make money on tattoos, you know. I don’t mean in a circus like the bad old days, but in legitimate deals. I’ve seen examples in recent years where people are paid cash to have a product name tattoo on their hide. Everything from beer to Mike’s Pizza parlor!
The best example of this - and probably the wave of the future - is a business called Rapid Realty. You want corporate branding? The company offers their agents a 15% financial incentive to get the company’s logo tattooed on their body.

 There’s no specification where the tattoo has to be. At last report, 44 employees out of a possible 1100 now have company ink forever. It could mean up to an additional $6,000 to $7,000 a month for those individuals! It’s a new program, so give it time. Those numbers are likely to grow.
The boss pays for the tattoo. But what happens to those newly branded employees? Are they considered major suck-ups? Or do they make sure to put their tat where the sun doesn’t shine?
Which brings up the question; how far would you go to get ahead in your job? What if your company offered you a lucrative financial incentive to have their logo tattooed some place where the sun does shine?
Take the case of Billy Gibby of Anchorage, Alaska:
Billy the Billboard, as he’s known, told the local media in March he would tattoo other parts of his body with “sponsored ink” in exchange for the ones that currently cover his face.

His mug is adorned with 20 logos. It’ll take $4,000 to get the logos removed. After three years with an ink-scarred face, the 32-year old man is offering prime real estate on other parts of his body. It’s only fair to point out that he’s bi-polar and not everyone would go this far to sport ink for bucks.
I did read about a guy who got his eyeballs tattooed black (4/17) because he was addicted to tattoos. I’m not going to count him here because he lives in Brazil and we’re talking about America. Still, that’s how addicted a person can be.
Grammy-winning rapper Lil Wayne put out a video in 2011 explaining his addiction to ink. He just wanted to be like rapper 2PAC (Tupac Shakur), who was killed in a drive-by shooting. Whatever.
There’s even an Android app called “Love Tattoos” for addicts of all things ink. You can go there for news and views that are updated daily. It’s a great place to get your tat on!
ABC showed a good documentary - My Tattoo Addiction - on March 6th. One of the interesting parts was about home tattoo kits becoming available everywhere.

I suspect this will encourage more people to get more tattoos…to the point of addiction. Think about it, you don’t buy the whole kit and just give yourself one tat.

What’s that? You say people could also use that same tattoo kit to give others tattoos?

Talk about scary. There’s this little matter of hygiene and infections these newly minted tattoo artists will bring to the table.

As It Stands, in full disclosure I admit that I don’t have a tat.Tattoo you?

These websites have picked up this column:

silobreaker

Dr Tilactattoo

Shading a Tattoo

Findtattooshops

Branding

Saturday, May 18, 2013

A really big -think Ocean Liner size - Asteroid is coming close to Earth this month…but don’t worry!

      Good Day World!

A big asteroid will cruise by Earth at the end of the month, making its closest approach to our planet for at least the next two centuries.

The May 31 flyby of asteroid 1998 QE2, which is about 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) long, poses no threat to Earth. The space rock will come within 3.6 million miles (5.8 million km) of our planet — about 15 times the distance separating Earth and the moon, researchers say.

But the close approach will still be dramatic for astronomers, who plan to get a good look at 1998 QE2 using two huge radar telescopes — NASA's 230-foot (70 meters) Goldstone dish in California and the 1,000-foot (305 m) Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. [Photos: Asteroids in Deep Space] (Full story here)

I put together a board for Learnist recently that you may find interesting called “How to catch an asteroid: no really!

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Friday, May 17, 2013

Crazy big diamond sells for $27 million, & other diamonds in the news

   Good Day World!

A pear-shaped colorless diamond that is the largest ever offered at auction sold for a record of nearly $27 million in a Geneva auction, where records were also set for the prices of pearls and sapphires, auctioneer Christie's said yesterday. (Story here)

Then there’s the story of the homeless Missouri man who returned a diamond ring and got $86,000 in donations for his good deed. (Story here)

The big news in diamonds of course was the huge diamond heist - $50M US stolen from a plane in Brussels by eight masked gunmen dressed up like police – in February. (Story here) But their luck ran out this month:

Belgium Says 31 Detained In $50m Diamond Heist

Related diamond stories:

Detroit woman finds mystery engraved diamond ring in her toilet

Five great movies about diamond heists

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Even an endorsement from Jesus Christ wasn’t enough for mayoral candidate!

Anna Pierre, a registered nurse and one of seven candidates looking to become the city's mayor during Tuesday's election, is claiming she is being endorsed by Jesus Christ. Pierre, Former Mayor Kevin Burns and voters Grover Rawlings and Ann Simpson comment.

  Good Day World!

Despite having a celestial attaboy from Jesus, Anna Pierre lost her bid for mayor of North Miami yesterday.

That must have been tough because she posted a campaign flyer on her Facebook page that reads "Anna Pierre, RN, is endorsed by Jesus Christ" and features a photo of the savior.

Maybe it was voodoo that prevented her election? Pierre previously claimed she was being intimidated with voodoo tactics. Pierre said the endorsement came to her in a revelation while on the campaign trail as she competed against six other candidates.

I’d say there was a miscommunication between her savior and the voters. I suspect they were suspicious she wasn’t playing with a full deck when she ranted about voodoo problems. But who knows? Could be there was a lot of atheists at the polls!

Here’s the story:

“A North Miami mayoral candidate who said she secured an endorsement from on high finished far back in Tuesday's election. Anna Pierre, a registered nurse who claimed she was being endorsed by Jesus Christ, finished last among the seven candidates with 56 votes, or just 0.83 percent.

"Yes, Jesus endorsed me!" Pierre said during a stop at the Gwen Margolis Community Center Tuesday morning as the polls opened. "I'm not nuts, if I'm a freak and nuts for Jesus, let it be! Let the world know that Jesus is it and when you have Jesus on your side you can go on." (Full story here)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Scientists looking at something faster than warp speed…for real!

Captain to Scotty, “Warp speed Scotty, give em all you got!”

Good Day World!

I’m feeling kinda spacey today.

Been reading how NASA is getting ready to thrust us into the 21st Century with faster modes of travel. Yes, faster. Faster than a speeding train or Super Man! So fast, you can’t see something move!

Scientists are out to prove Einstein was wrong about something. Not to be malicious mind you, but in the name of science and speed. Warp speed. Thanks to "Star Trek" the word "warp" is now practically synonymous with faster-than-light travel.

The next step is to go further than ever before…faster!

Here’s a good article on the subject: 

In the "Star Trek" TV shows and films, the U.S.S. Enterprise's warp engine allows the ship to move faster than light, an ability that is, as Spock would say, "highly illogical."

However, there's a loophole in Einstein's general theory of relativity that could allow a ship to traverse vast distances in less time than it would take light. The trick? It's not the starship that's moving — it's the space around it.

In fact, scientists at NASA are right now working on the first practical field test toward proving the possibility of warp drives and faster-than-light travel. Maybe the warp drive on "Star Trek" is possible after all.[See also: Warp Drive: Can It Be Done? (Video)]

According to Einstein's theory, an object with mass cannot go as fast or faster than the speed of light. The original "Star Trek" series ignored this "universal speed limit" in favor of a ship that could zip around the galaxy in a matter of days instead of decades. They tried to explain the ship's faster-than-light capabilities by powering the warp engine with a "matter-antimatter" engine. Antimatter was a popular field of study in the 1960s, when creator Gene Roddenberry was first writing the series. When matter and antimatter collide, their mass is converted to kinetic energy in keeping with Einstein's mass-energy equivalence formula, E=mc2.

In other words, matter-antimatter collision is a potentially powerful source of energy and fuel, but even that wouldn't be enough to propel a starship to faster-than-light speeds.

Nevertheless, it's thanks to "Star Trek" that the word "warp" is now practically synonymous with faster-than-light travel.   (Read full story here)

Time for me to walk on down the road….

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

The saga continues…Rafter’s Redemption: Chapter 8 - Shootouts

RAFTER'S REDEMPTION

Welcome! If you’re a new reader of my novella, Rafter’s Redemption, GO HERE

I’ve serialized my book for reader’s enjoyment. This week things are coming to a head as Smokey makes a bold move!

Snippet:

“He should have tied Smokey up or run him off the property. It was too late for that. Smiley was deep in his drunken sleep when the shotgun roared!”

Justice Department pulls ‘Nixonian’ move & wiretaps AP for 2 months!

              Good Day World!

Is it any wonder why tough investigative reporting is becoming a relic of the past – a black and white film noir where the good guys use to win out in the end?

Farewell to freedom of the press. Nothing is sacred anymore. Nothing is safe. Even from the Justice Department.

All the good guys aren’t wearing the same color hats anymore, or else there are no more good guys left. The Associated Press phone records on 20 separate telephone lines were bugged without prior notice, resulting in a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into AP’s news-gathering operations.

How could this happen? More importantly, why did this happen? It’s a chilling effect on journalists when they know they could be monitored while working on stories. If it sounds like Big Brother, then perhaps it is. What will stop the Justice department from repeating this invasion again? I’m not sure there’s an answer to that question!

Current news item:

“The Justice Department used a secret subpoena to obtain two months of phone records for Associated Press reporters and editors without notifying the news organization, a senior department official tells NBC News, saying the step was necessary to avoid "a substantial threat to the integrity" of an ongoing leak investigation.

The seizure of the phone records, disclosed earlier Monday by AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt, is the latest move in a series of high profile and controversial investigations of leaks of classified information by the Justice Department. In a letter of protest to Attorney General Eric Holder, Pruitt called said obtaining more than two months of AP phone records on 20 separate telephone lines without prior notice was a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into news-gathering operations.

It also drew a swift rebuke Monday from members of Congress and freedom of the press watchdogs, one of whom called the move "Nixonian." (Story here)

Trump's Lowest Grift Ever Saved for Holy Week

This is a story about how the devil's puppet, aka Donald Trump, mocked Christianity by selling a book combining the Bible, the Constitu...