Dang, 183 mph On a BICYCLE! Amazing!

Here's the link.  

Hurricane Florence is Devastating Our Neighbors to the South. And, What Are You Christian Apologists Saying????

September 14, 2018

Hurricane Florence has made landfall to the south of us (I live in Tidewater Virginia....Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, etc.). Our neighbors are stranded, flooded, without electricity, and some have died. So, let's think a minute about your so-called God (OK, I'll use caps).

You claim He's all-powerful. And, that He can do anything. So, what's the deal with the hurricane? It would seem either He planned this and put it in motion or just stood by and watched it happen without interfering. Hmm. Well. Sooo, no power or doesn't care?

Some preachers always claim old God brought on a hurricane because of homosexuals, same-sex marriage, and so on. What kind of God would punish us for something that He created? And, just for the sake of talking, let's say He sent the hurricane because of homosexuals,,, hey, the hurricane does not discriminate. It kills, injures, and devastates all of us.

What's that about answering all prayers? Oh, He answers them just maybe not the answer you asked for!!! Well...think about that! Old God can't go wrong on this one.  So, why do you bother praying, for cryin' out loud? Folks, pray, don't pray...the outcome will be the same!

UPDATE:  Midnight, September 14, 2018. Well, our area was spared, if you will. So, what are you religious folks doing? Yep, down on your knees praying to this so-called God and thanking Him for sparing you, your family, and your neighbors. Think for a minute, if you're able. What's so special about you and yours that old God spared you and not our neighbors to the south.

OK, OK, yes, this is poorly written and I'm sort of pissed off that in 2018 there are still so many of you who believe all of this bullshit. This Sunday, you'll trudge off to your so-called places of worship to hear your ministers babbling on about a God who spared you.

Hey, it's your life. Waste it as you will.

Road Rage???? You Ain't Seen Nuthin'!!!!!!

For those of you who know little or nothing about motorcycles, the motorcycle's front brake is operated by a lever on the right side of the handlebar. Watch the rider reach over with his left hand and apply the brake. You can see the front of the motorcycle go down a little and the rider's butt coming off the seat. Dang!!!!

Here's the link.

A Needed Change of Pace. BIGFOOT DAY in Marion, North Carolina!

With all of the horrible things going on all over the world, the insanity in our White House, several hurricanes off the coast, Marion, North Carolina called timeout, got away from it all and celebrated Bigfoot Day!!!! I congratulate Mayor Steve Little, the good folks of Marion, and all of their visitors.

We all need to have a Bigfoot Day!

Here's the link to the CNN article.

Bigfoot Day, Mayor Little, and opening ceremonies in Marion, North Carolina....
Photo: Courtesy CNN....

Ahh, What a Country?! What a President!!! I Think Most of Us Are The Plaid-Shirt Guy!!!

Yep, they kicked the kid and his friends out. And, the Secret Service even interviewed him. What a country????!!!!

"Linfesty (the plaid-shirt guy) said that as a joke, he gave a copy of “The Communist Manifesto” wrapped in a dust jacket of Trump’s “Art of the Deal” to Secret Service agents and asked to have the president sign it, the newspaper reported."

Here are a couple of links. And, a third link. OK, another link.


EDIT: Linfesty is a new hero. Think about this, a 17 yo kid going to a Trump rally, carrying The Communist Manifesto for Trump to sign, refusing to wear one of those goofy hats, and wearing a symbol of the Democratic Socialists of America. Pretty cool, Linfesty.

Paltrow, Redux!!!!

Yes, I've made comments about her before and was just going to post a link to a recent court settlement, when Dr. Jen Gunter posted a comment. Though I usually post links, I thought I'd post Gunter's comment in its entirety in hopes that more of you may read it.

And, while I'm at it, need I remind you of a few things that I've mentioned before?

1) With almost no exceptions, if any, supplements are not going to be of any benefit.

2) Do not take medical and health advice from movie stars.

3) Oh yeah, and lastly, you most likely should stay away from chiropractors. Yeah, I know Uncle Tony swears by them. Good for Uncle Tony.

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"BAD GOOP ADVICE

Dear Gwyneth Paltrow, Did the District Attorney Bring Their A game?

POSTED BY DR. JEN GUNTER ⋅ September 6, 2018 ⋅ 13 COMMENTS

FILED UNDER  BAD GOOP ADVICE

Dear Gwyneth Paltrow,

Once upon a time (okay, last year) you said that anyone who was going to fuck with you had better bring their A game. This, I was led to believe, was a response to concerns that I and others had raised about the quality of the advice and value of the products that you sell on GOOP.

However, hearing about the $145,000 settlement that GOOP was required to pay because you lied about the benefits of jade eggs, quartz eggs and an essential oil spray brought those words rushing back.

Did the government bring its A game and did you reply with yours?

I know the money is likely less than your annual budget for vagina steaming and pocket change for a company that claims to be worth $250 million, then again you and your company claimed jade eggs are recharged with energy from the moon and can “balance” hormones and that raw goat’s milk is a cure for nonexistent parasites. Hopefully, you backed up your financial claims with more hard data than your claims about the efficacy of a jade egg practice or the rectal administration of coffee.

But I digress.

I wondered if the lawsuit was a surprise for you or if your medium had warned you about it so you could be prepared? After all, she is a research medium. Or do your mediums just bring medical diagnoses and love back from the great beyond and not legal advice? But seriously, if a ghost can diagnose a person when the medical profession fails shouldn’t they also know when a District Attorney is building a case against you?

The money with the settlement doesn’t seem to me to be the big point, the real meat of the deal is that GOOP is prohibited from “making any claims regarding the efficacy or effects” of any of the products that you sell that are not backed by
“competent and reliable scientific evidence.”

I’m going to stock up on popcorn today.

When I called you out for these same unscientific claims you called me strangely confident. You also said,

There is so much that we do not know. It is unfortunate that there are some who seem to believe that they already know it all, who prejudge information before they have even taken the time to read or understand it..

Did you tell the DA they were strangely confident, insufferable know-it-alls as well?

Did you tell the lawyers that they hadn’t taken the time to read and really understand the deep thoughts on jade eggs and lunar energy written by a jade eggthusiast and woman who has a certificate in healing from an institute that she founded? What is a medical degree and a residency and a fellowship anyway against such knowledge?

I wonder if you accused me of not taking “the time to read or understand” — basically of being underprepared and ill-researched — because that is what you do at GOOP. You package shit, make up some new age words, and market, market, market, market. Very Trumpian for you to project your own faults onto me.

It probably shocks you to know, mostly because I suspect no one at GOOP has ever read more than the first paragraph of anything I have written, but I have researched every piece of your medical fuckery. I even contacted the Museum of Military Medicine in the U.K. and a historian who specializes in military medicine to fact check your choice bullshit on coffee enemas.

Look sister, you can feign shock or claim you were just having a conversation, or cry that you are misunderstood just like Galileo, but you can only say the dog ate your homework so many times before you have to start showing some proof. As a nerd I’ve seen all the excuses in class.

When you claim that bras cause breast cancer, or that coffee enemas are a thing, or that supplements can cure the totally fucking non existent patriarchal bullshit that is post natal depletion, or that jade eggs balance hormones, or that tampons have toxins you are a predator. You are weaponizing fears for page clicks and profit.

You claim that medicine is ignoring women, and while it is true there are many gaps in medicine you are not filling them, you are exploiting them by offering expensive bullshit and fake ideas about health and passing it off as care and conversations. And if women have concerns, well, they can call 1-844-WTF-GOOP between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. EST.

No person interested in helping women brags that their number is WTF.

Now I know the people who have the power to hold you accountable read what I write. Hopefully they will also be looking at the supplements sold by the various functional medicine doctors and naturopaths you so love to quote.

I’m going to keep on plugging away when I see garbage medicine (sorry, conversations) on your website. I do this because no woman ever profited from misinformation about her health.

Scratch that, there are some women who profit. You and your gal pals at GOOP.

Until next time,
Dr. Jen Gunter MD, FRCS(C), FACOG, DABPM, ABPMR (pain)
P.S. Have at it with the furniture venture, just don’t come up with a bespoke wooden vagina steaming throne. If you do, I can count on the Internet to tell me.

***To the people angry that I am not allowing your comments about jade eggs being an “ancient” therapy that is “5,000 years old. Prove it and I will post your comments. That is how science works. If it was as well-known as you claim in Ancient China I look forward to reading your references.  xoxo Jen" ***

Yes, There Are Many of You Who Still Like Trump!!! Pretty Amazing.....

"In one revelatory anecdote, Woodward describes a scene in the White House residence. Trump's lawyer, convinced the President would perjure himself, put Trump through a test — a practice interview for the one he might have with Mueller. Trump failed, according to Dowd, but the President still insisted he should testify.

Woodward writes that Dowd saw the "full nightmare" of a potential Mueller interview, and felt Trump acted like an "aggrieved Shakespearean king."

But Trump seemed surprised at Dowd's reaction, Woodward writes. "You think I was struggling?" Trump asked.

Then, in an even more remarkable move, Dowd and Trump's current personal attorney Jay Sekulow went to Mueller's office and re-enacted the mock interview. Their goal: to argue that Trump couldn't possibly testify because he was incapable of telling the truth.

"He just made something up. That's his nature," Dowd said to Mueller.

The passage is an unprecedented glimpse behind the scenes of Mueller's secretive operation — for the first time, Mueller's conversations with Trump's lawyers are captured.

"I need the president's testimony," Mueller said. "What was his intent on Comey? ... I want to see if there was corrupt intent."

Despite Dowd's efforts, Trump continued to insist he could testify. "I think the President of the United States cannot be seen taking the fifth," Trump said.

Dowd's argument was stark: "There's no way you can get through these. ... Don't testify. It's either that or an orange jump suit."

What he couldn't say to Trump, according to Woodward, was what Dowd believed to be true: "You're a fucking liar.""

Link to CNN article about Woodward's book, Fear: Trump in the Whitehouse,

Woodard tried getting a hold of Trump so that he could have his say before the book was published. That did not happen. After the book was finished, he did talk to Trump. Here's the transcript of the conversation.

Please, Help This Young Man Attend College and Make His Dreams Come True.

                                 

    
Please, watch these three links.    

Bleacher Report.

GoFundMe.

USA Today.

Donate what you want but please donate something. Hey, skip a Starbucks or a couple of beers. It will actually make you feel better. Read his story!!!  

Thanks.

Sportsmanship??? It Would Seem That We Can Surely Learn From The Japanese....

Take a look, here.   

Fourth of July.... Re-post from 2014....

Today Is the Fourth of July. I Can Think of No Better Post Than This One.....

No, I surely don't wake up every day and say, Gosh, it's good to be an American. In fact, I doubt many of us do.

However, something that happened a few days ago made me think about what it means to live in a country that allows its citizens to do just about anything they want, to have freedoms that in many parts of the world people do not have. In particular, I'm talking about freedom of speech.

A few days ago, a person who lives in a county far away, asked my permission to use stories from my book, Fifty-Five 55-Word Stories. The person is putting together a book of one-hundred short stories and obviously, I was quite flattered that he chose six of mine.

Sadly, like many Americans, I know little about countries other than ours. Yes, I read the news and know about some of the horrible things that happen to citizens in other places who speak their minds. In fact, this person lives in a country where you can be killed, yes, murdered by the state, for saying the wrong things about gods.

Yes, religion again.

Can you even imagine getting up in the morning and having to watch what you say?

So, I'm going to try to keep in mind our right to freedom of speech. And, I'm hoping that if anyone is reading this, they too will get up and think, if only for a moment, that's it's great to live in a country where we can say what we want.

EDIT: 2018.... We might also spend a few minutes to remember all the men and women, who have fought and given their lives so that we can continue to have these freedoms.

Ahh, No Electricity for About 24 Hours.....

I think most of us are so pampered, to use that word, that we feel the world has come to an end if we don't have electricity for a while. Yes, I'm in that category. At these times we need to remind ourselves that our service people are serving where the temperatures are 100-plus degrees and they're wearing flak jackets and packs and such. And, it's every day and they're being shot at. 

Anyway, for anyone who may stumble across this entry other than my neighbors, we live in Virginia Beach, Virginia and our neighborhood is Lake Shores. And yes we have a lake and of course, shores to go with it.

Last night we had a violent storm, period! Then there was a heck of an explosion or the sound of an explosion and the electricity was out. I don't know how our entire neighborhood fared, though at least couple of trees were down just around the corner.

Two neighbors and I sat in the yard, in the shade, sipping coffee from Dunkin Donuts and watched the show start. There was a sign off of the main highway that said Road Closed or some such thing. And, yes, folks ignored the sign. Sooooo, of course, then there was the problem of turning around. We chuckled and referred to them as idiots. If any of you who ignored the sign, are reading this, yep...that's what we called you. And, two cars almost backed into each trying to turn around.

A few comments about my snaps. The composition is what it is. You know, regular ordinary amateur stuff. That said, the camera is the first Ricoh digital that's about 15 years old???? And, it's a fixed 28mm lens...and some of the snaps are heavily cropped. I used aperture preferred...not sure of the aperture and 800 for the speed. Sooooo, don't expect great resolution or sharpness. But, hey, it gave me something to do. Also, photography aficionados claim this camera has a film-like quality. There's nothing wrong with your monitors, yes the snaps are black and white.

Now, if I had it to do over again I would have gotten my camera sooner so I could take snaps of the idiots ignoring the sign and I would have gotten closer to all of the activity...gotten closeups of the workers and such and taken snaps of the trucks and the equipment. Also, taken a few snaps of the fallen trees. But, hope I don't have the chance for a do-over.

Dang, I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the great work by River City Construction Company headquartered in North Carolina. At first there seemed to be a lot of standing around and pointing. That said, wow, when those fellows starting working they truly worked and more than earned their money. Thanks to them all!!!

EDIT: When we were referring to you folks as idiots, we, of course, meant that in a kind, loving, and neighborly way. We, of course, were not being judgemental or hateful. You folks were our idiots....

EDIT...again. For my neighbors in Lake Shores, at the top of my blog is a snap of the dreaded Burnt Orange Subaru Hatchback!

RIP, Dr. Charles Krauthammer....

What would you do, if at 22 and in medical school, with your life ahead of you, if you dove into a pool and became paralyzed from the neck down?

Thankfully, I never had to make that decision and most of us don't. I know I, and most of us would have never been able to accomplish half of what Krauthammer accomplished.

He finished medical school, became a psychiatrist and then devoted his life to journalism.

Here is his last commentary.

Do yourselves a favor and watch this video of remembrance and George Will's thoughts about Krauthammer.


As Charles wrote, Ankiel’s saga illustrated “the catastrophe that awaits everyone from a single false move, wrong turn, fatal encounter. Every life has such a moment. What distinguishes us is whether — and how — we ever come back.”

"I believe that the pursuit of truth and right ideas through honest debate and rigorous argument is a noble undertaking."

Here's the Amazon link to his book, "Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics/

This from an interview with Dana Parino as found on Amazon.  

DP: Do you think that your training as a psychiatrist has given you an advantage when observing people in politics?

CK: Actually, no. Psychiatry has everything to say about mental illness, very little to say about ordinary life. It offers no magical formulas for understanding human behavior beyond what any lay person can see. Although I do like to joke that there's not much difference in what I do today as a political analyst in Washington from what I used to do as a psychiatrist in Boston—in both lines of work, I deal every day with people who suffer from paranoia and delusions of grandeur. The only difference is that the paranoids in Washington have access to nuclear weapons.

DP: Given the mention in your essay, and because I have a gut feeling that we’re on the same page, what is your preferred style on serial commas?

CK: With commas the rule should always be: the fewer the better. They are a scourge, a pestilence upon the land. They must be given no quarter. When you list three things, it should be written: a, b and c. If you see a comma after the "b"—call 911 immediately.

If we were checking out today and had a few moments of reflection, how would we view our life? If allowed a do-over what changes would we make? Given that there are no do-overs, what should we do from here on with our lives, so that we do not add to our lists of regrets? Regrets of things we did and regrets of things we didn't do.

EDIT: OK, OK, no more serials commas for me!

Guy Martin...Yes, Still One of my Heroes....

"I love racing because it can kill you." Guy Martin Read an interesting article.

OK, Race Fans...the Greatest Show on Earth Starts this Weekend...and, No, it's not the Indy 500! It's the Isle of Man!!!

Here's the information that will help you understand, why it is the greatest race ever!

Guy Martin's crash. Yes, he lived to race another day!

EDIT: The Indy 500 is a great race. This year I think the speeds are close to 230mph. That said, at the Isle of Man some of the motorcycles hit 200mph on country roads and exceed 165mph going through small villages and towns. Sad to say, in some ways the racers are similar to the Japanese Kamikaze pilots of WWII. There's little room for error at the Isle of Man.

EDIT: May 31, 2018

Sadly, one rider dead and one critically injured from what seems to be a non-racing accident. The rider who died, Dan Keen, had posted an average speed of over 130mph.