The Dark and Smelly Place

Anti-Drug Dog Commercial

2007-10-16T22:35:00.001-04:00

Ummm... I would worry more about dropping acid than smoking weed at this point...

Another great quote...

2007-10-16T05:41:00.000-04:00

This quote was found here.

There are more people in this country who have kids that shouldn't than have guns that shouldn't.

So true... Read the story - it just proves that America's education system sucks, and perhaps we should ensure we don't marry our cousin, or that idiot down the street =-)

Supreme Court may hear DC Gun Law Case

2007-10-12T06:13:00.000-04:00

Well folks, I got another opinion, seems to be few and far between... Anyways the Supreme Court may choose to hear an appeal dealing with the Washington DC gun laws which basically ban the ownership of handguns. From what I have read this law is by far one of the strictest gun laws in existence in this country, yet D.C. has a HUGE violent crime factor - it could almost be considered independent from the law. The concern here is not whether you should be able to carry a weapon, more to the point of ownership and the restrictions place on them. In essence its my belief that the Second Amendment was drafted to ensure the perseverance of the First Amendment. Let's face it, some of the worse governments in existence started out by disarming their populaces. It ensures that there is less of a chance of armed resistance to what amounts to enslavement in those governments. Now that that opinion is in the open - what does that have to do with America? I believe that the Framers of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution placed the Second Amendment where it is to accentuate the fact that freedom is not free, that the people will have to defend it. By people I mean individuals, I do not mean the National Guard which is not a militia. The Second Amendment ensures that I have the right to arms to protect my life, liberty and pursuit of happyness. "=-)" That does not mean I need to own a firearm to use my other rights, instead it means I have a right to own a firearm if I want to, or feel the need to.

I always look at it this way, if there was a major breakdown in basic services, whatever the reason (think Katrina), the people would be responsible for themselves. This means that those who are unarmed would be subject to those armed. By armed, I don't necessarily mean firearms. Machetes, clubs, 2x4's and many other blunt or edged weapons could be used. This did happen in Katrina, many stories are flying around that said that neighborhoods that were cut off managed to raise militias of their own, those with weapons defending those without. This is a good example of what militias are, normal people rising to arms to defend their homes from a threat, yet free to leave at any time.

Now we will see if the Supreme Court agrees with me. If they do, I predict the amount of "gang" controlled guns will not increase greatly, seeing as if your breaking the law already - why not go all the way? - instead those who walk the streets, doing their jobs, have a right and a choice to defend themselves how they see fit.

Personally I like a S&W 40 caliber.

Good Quote / Bill of Rights

2007-02-03T09:06:00.000-05:00

Well while surfing the net when I should have been writing fireworks support letters I came across a good quote -

"The Christian Right are neither" - Moby

Plus I read something that made me think... Why the hell are we putting the Ten Commandments up in the courthouses? There was a better suggestion. Screw the commandments... They do not belong in our courthouses anyways - better yet lets put the Bill of Rights up where the Commandments used to be. It seems Americans need reminding of what they are, and remember the only way to keep them is for fighting for them, and I do not mean fighting in the wonderful "war of choice" in Iraq.

Personal Responsibilty

2007-01-20T11:57:00.000-05:00

All right folks, I will dust my blog off for a discussion on personal responsibility. This comes from the recent news story about a woman named Jennifer Strange. She was a 28 year old mother of 3. Read about the story here and new information here. This is predictable, the family suing the radio station. My question is - where does the responsibility lie? The woman was the one most in "tune" with her body, if you are distended and have a terrible headache perhaps you should stop. Yes she did have these items, and more, seeing as water intoxication will cause swelling of the brain as systemic water enters cells withing the brain using osmosis. Now I guess I do agree with firing the radio jockeys (somewhat) but the lawsuit states that the radio station held the responsibility for her. THIS IS NOT TRUE... SHE HELD RESPONSIBILITY FOR HERSELF! Medical help is available, strong diuretics and electrolyte replacement in an ER would have saved her, but no.... She went home.... Ignorance.

I hate stupid people. They are the reason why laws state what we can and can't do... Because of the lower 50%.

NRA and various items of interest

2006-12-12T22:52:00.000-05:00

Well the school year is over, and it looks like I did alright in my classes... One more semester to go...

Anyways, I was looking at renewing my membership to the National Rifle Association and found a rather interesting web page. Give them Back is the name of the web page. This stems back to the time shortly after Katrina when the government managed to regain some sense of control over the city of New Orleans. Now New Orleans even during its best days was never what you would call a crime free city, and in the days after Katrina there was no significant government influence. This meant no 911, no emergency services, no significant health care, and especially no police presence. These things are significant because when you with draw those controls on a society, the criminal elements within that society go on a hay day. This is what the days following Katrina were like.

Now seeing that I never lived through this, I have no first hand knowledge. I watched it on TV like everyone else. I know that doing so will bias you to whatever opinion that the networks you frequent, be it Fox news, CNN, MS NBC, or the network news providers. This means that you only get the producers take on the news they are reporting. This web page is somewhat the same, it is another view completely. Basically the gist of the thing is that the local governments, New Orleans and the parishes, decided to disarm the populace. The people they got were not the criminals for the most part, it was the people relying on their weapons to protect themselves, or those who were getting their valuable firearms out of their houses. Anyways I blogged before on the importance of the second amendment. I will reiterate this fact - In a situation like Katrina (which people in Indiana think won't happen here - ha! more on that later) you need your protection. You DO NOT need to own a gun. I don't care what you think about the statistics regarding gun violence, because there was significant violence LONG LONG before guns were ever created. I want to protect my right to protect myself and my family. Will I shoot to protect my home and family? Absolutely, any other answer would put you in danger, because if you pull a gun but can't pull the trigger, you are pretty much dead. Anyways, enough of my highly conservative views.

Oh by the way - people in Indiana - You may be safe from a hurricane, probably fairly safe from a terrorist attack, and a tornado - well that is a small area disaster... What you are not safe from is pandemics, earthquakes (yes, I said earthquakes, there is a major fault capable of massive damage a couple hundred miles away, and that is too close) These are major disasters that would stretch the response capability of emergency services probably even more than Katrina. So the idea of it can't happen here... well it can and very well may.

I'm going to go clean a gun.

And so it begins...

2006-11-08T15:23:00.000-05:00

Convenient... Very convenient... Click Me

Its good he waited until they found out that they lost the house. By they I mean the GOP. Bush is going to try to clean up his act, but we shall see... I doubt the Democrats are going to go too easy on the man, maybe they should consider impeachment. I think the next two years will be interesting. I hope the Democrats will fix the wrongs created in the last few years. I would additionally like to see the shift of governance from fear, to, well, almost anything else.

I like... A couple of Images for the new year

2006-11-08T01:24:00.000-05:00

I liked these...
http://www.libertystickers.com/anti-bush.htm

Fourth of July picture

2006-09-20T15:56:00.000-04:00

I'm posting this so I can add it to my profile. Yes, those are mortor shells, 6" to be exact.

Weddings, school, and such

2006-08-23T02:05:00.000-04:00

Well, time for my monthly post.
I got married on August 5th. It was a wonderful ceremony, and a good reception. I'll post pictures once I get them. I also had a great honeymoon. Needless to say I won't go into too many details, but the area we went to is great. I loved the place we stayed, Ravenwood Castle was great. It is modern bed and breakfast which borrowed its looks from a castle. The entire experience was great. The suite we stayed in was very nice. There were no TV's, alarm clocks, or phones in the room. It has a nice bog four poster bed, a 2 person whirlpool tub, an upstairs reading room and a nice balcony that overlooks the grounds. Sheena wasn't sure that she would enjoy it initially, but when we were going home all she wanted to do was to go back. Sheena, being Sheena, she loved Raven, the castles black lab. We also saw the sites in Hocking Hills State park. The caves are great, though not really caves as I tend to think of them (I lived in Southern Indian, which has several limestone caverns) they are huge sandstone hollows, very impressive. Sheena and I also found out how out of shape we really are. Hiking has managed to perk my (continuing) interest is backpacking, so I will most likely be purchasing a backpack and sleeping bag (suitable for hiking) eventually, after I get back into some sort of shape for backpacking I will introduce Sheena to it. Back to the honeymoon. We also went canoeing. That was fun, though Sheena doesn't like it when I threaten to swamp the canoe. Overall it was a great time, we're going to go back after Sheena gets through her nursing boards.

School is great. I like the teachers, and really enjoy the clinical. Right now I'm on OB. Very opposite of what I normally do as an aide (Medical, Oncology). And lets face it, who doesn't like seeing a VERY young baby?

Jenny - you remember that we're coming over this weekend? Satuday to Monday morning (I have clinicals at 2:30pm Monday afternoon)

Ann Coulter Nude

2006-07-24T06:43:00.000-04:00

I feel the need to see if this will actually work to increase traffic. =-)

Stuff in the news

2006-07-24T06:33:00.000-04:00

First time I have seen Indiana on the US section of Google News. I guess yesterday (I believe) someone took several shots at a car, killing one person. The story is here.

Anyways, Bush veto'd the Stem Cell research bill. He's still an idiot, imbecil, etc etc. I really wish we could elect someone who at least maintained a better than C average in high school.

I'm getting married on August 5. So I'm busy, I think, and yes, I will email you Jenny =-P.

New Fireworks Law

2006-07-18T19:14:00.000-04:00

It seems I'm a major proponent of the new fireworks law in Indiana. For obvious reasons. Anyways, recently I have been noticing a lot of flak in the northern papers about the law. I will call this the vocal minority. I think a lot of people are pissed off that they can't call the cops when they hear fireworks going off, seeing as its legal now. Mostly from northern Indiana. I have no complaints, I live in a major town and it was intense around the 4th of July, but other than the occasional firecracker, its quiet. Now the law makers are considering a change that will allow the local governments to choose for themselves. This means of course any government that chooses to take after our wonderful federal government will be making fireworks illegal. One town wants to make sure fireworks don't go up after 9pm. Anyone ever been outdoors after 9pm? Its still light. Course I am old enough to know that government doesn't necessarily think before suggesting these things.

Anyways, if your interested in helping fireworks, join the Fireworks Alliance and help keep our freedoms.

Government forced health care

2006-07-13T07:39:00.000-04:00

First off... *blows dust off blog*
There.
Now since I'm in nursing school and work in health care I have taken a special interest in this case. I'm currently watching Today about a case about Abraham Cherrix in Alabama. This teenager has decided to seek an alternate method to chemo to treat his Hodgkins disease. A social worker decided that the fact that he refused chemo and his parents support his decision constitutes neglect. I find this interference in health care to be sickening. The patient, especially a 16 year old, should be able to choose if they decided to go through chemo again when he has the support of his parents. The fact that chemo is basically a contest between the cancer and the patients body on who dies first. It is VERY nasty.

The thing that bothers me is the fact that the government is taking this important right from the family. The fact is the government is once again sticking its nose into areas where it is not needed, and even is even of questionable legality. The fact that a judge says its ok does not mean it is legal or should be allowed. Neglect could be considered doing nothing, they are trying an alternative method. Then again, could abuse be considered putting a toxic drug (that's chemo) into the veins of an unwilling recipient? I would rather be beat every other day for 3 months than take 3 months of chemo. At least I would feel good some of the time after the beatings. I can't stress how bad chemo can be for people.

I will write about this later once more information is released.

Thunder Over Louisville

2006-04-28T03:14:00.000-04:00

Well, recently returned from Thunder Over Louisville. I have to admit, as much of a pyro prude as I have become, this show is amazing, of course it displays America's facination with excess, and believe me 60 tons of fireworks in 30 minutes is a great amount of excess. Though choreographed, this is not a very "artsy" show. The music is a counterpoint to the fireworks, though when compaired to the whole show its just background noise. The true star of the show is the excess. The show is shot from three locations, features huge shells, a fake finale, turns a bridge into a giant spark waterfall, and makes great use of one of my favorite shells, the crossett. Overall, this is a GREAT fireworks show. Not the most choreographed, we'll save those for the L'International des Feux Loto-Québec (which I'm happy to say, Melrose Pyrotechnics, one of the companies I work for was chosen to represent America). Thunder wouldn't be good as a artsy show, pyromusicals will rely on a single shell or a small group of shells to express the feelings the music express, where as at Thunder a "lull" is usually 10-15 shells in the air at a given moment. Watch Thunder '06 online at: Channel 32 WLKY. I am of the mind I would like to be on crew at Thunder for a few years, lots of pyro...

Since I "officially" can't bitch about the firework laws anymore...

2006-03-28T00:17:00.000-05:00

I will bitch about the health care situation. I just read a post that GLHS (http://www.glhsproven.org) just bought land over on the OTHER side of town from me. That means that their centralized base will now be serving more the east and south sides of Lafayette. Course, screw West Lafayette. Then again, work will be closer if I'm still in this town when the hospitals get built, but hopefully I will be travel nursing, with my lovely fiance, who doesn't read this blog, but I will still say that. Oh and by the way, the fireworks law was officially signed into law a yesterday, according to this. By the way, I hate the Fort Wayne newspapers, they are about as unbiased as a born again Christian in an argument about Bush.

Fireworks stuff

2006-03-28T00:06:00.000-05:00

Well, my parents are out of town and I am taking advantage of what will most likely be my last large project for awhile. I build 35 10 mortar racks. Course I only have 300 mortars that will fit, I will have to think of a way to alter these so that my fiberglass tubes will fit. Right now I have 14 racks finished and sealed, and I have the rest cut out ready to screw together. Once I get a memory card for my camera I will post a how-to for assembly. I'm slowly getting ready for June 1 when the fireworks law enters law.

Bills that passed, and one that didn't...

2006-03-15T10:32:00.000-05:00

Whelp, the Senate and House are now out of session. Read this from the Journal and Courier to see how it faired. Basically, the fireworks bill passed, a handgun bill thats much like the Florida bill passed, and the abortion bill didn't pass. These are all good things. Lets see what Mitch signs in (Fireworks bill he has already committed to =-)

Basically, FIREWORKS ARE NOW LEGAL IN INDIANA. yay!

A personal post

2006-03-06T07:19:00.000-05:00

I like writing in my blog today. So I will do a little update on my personal life, as if anyone REALLY cares. Anyways... I'm looking forward to my impromptu vacation, after Jenny talks to me that is. That's this coming weekend. I also have a busy month up ahead. I have storm spotting training in a week and some change, then about 2 days after that I'm going to the advanced spotter training. Some where in there is a couple of tests in school, and some wedding stuff we needed to get done last month. My next holiday will be Thunder Over Louisville, which is like crack for the pyro's soul. Huge (I mean HUGE) fireworks show with one of the best air shows in the country. This year they got the Blue Angels and are showing off the F-22 Raptor, all good. Last year was friggin freezing (I mean literally, before the fireworks went off it sleeted, and it was windy, Sheena was glad for my tent). Anyways, I'm hoping for a better year, and I imagine that Sheena is hoping that she doesn't have to storm chase with me on the way down this year (which was part of the reason it was freezing on Saturday). Then the next break would be our honeymoon. I'm going to the same place my best friends went to, Ravenwood Castle in New Plymouth, Ohio. They said it was quite, and great for a honeymoon, and I tried to map out there, and its in middle of nowhere (which is great for me and Sheena). Anyways, I'm looking forward to that most of all (forget the wedding planning, I want to elope and go on a good honeymoon... =-) ). OK I'm done, I will stick to tirades about storms coming up (This week is severe storm awareness week).

That letter to the Editor

2006-03-06T07:12:00.000-05:00

Whelp, I got into the newspaper again, must be a slow day. Anyways my letter is here, though I like the version below a lot better. It is the third one down. I'm going to go back to cleaning my room for my fiance . Also Jenny, there is a possibility that I will be able to get down there this weekend till Monday or Tuesday (depending on if I manage to trade a day at work) so be happy! (Me and Sheena) =-)

Realities of the Situation

2006-03-05T08:07:00.000-05:00

Alright folks, I have resisted writing anything on some basic realities. This article has forced me to explain something that should come as no surprise. Generally the people making the decisions, HAVE NO CLUE. This may be my anti-authority side coming out, but generally this is true, especially when you are speaking of government, or hell, health care. Lets review both these operations now.

Government: You elect someone. This person was most likely on the debate team, or just very charismatic, and their thoughts run generally along the same lines as yours do. Though when you get right down to it, they may vote on a hundred bills while in office, though they may have specialized knowledge in just a couple. So basically, on many of those bills, they HAVE NO CLUE, except what is told to them, lie or truth...

Health Care: This industry many times is run by business majors. Nothing to bad about that right? What happens to the level of care when you cut a few hours in the nursing staff? Yeah, so it help to have someone who has been on the "front lines" to make some decisions, instead of eliminating their positions. Don't rely on MD's either, they know about as much about actual patient care as a first semester nursing student (AKA when is the last time you saw a doc wipe a patients ass?). Not that they need to, its not their job, but many hospitals will put them in charge of making patient care decisions. In the long run this never turns out good for the patient, though it sometimes works out for the money. That's what happens when someone with NO CLUE is put in a decision making position.

Indiana and Fireworks

2006-03-03T18:15:00.000-05:00

Well it looks like the Senate passed the fireworks bill. Now it goes back to the House. Looking good so far, only changes were liability concerns. Just because the bill has only gotten bad press I decided to write something for the local paper (letter to the editor). I'll post the original 500 some odd word one, and the link to the slim 230 some odd words one, once its printed.

I am writing to express my support of HB 1099 and the provisions it provides. This bill is a chance to correct the hypocrisy of the current laws and to provide us with a means of celebration, especially on our countries birthday. HB 1099 has been getting a lot of media attention. Please allow me the opportunity to provide some facts regarding fireworks.
The first and most common argument is that this bill will provide Hoosiers with the legal means to remove a finger, hand, etc. With the CPSCÂs oversight of the pyrotechnics industry, fireworks have become very safe. In fact, a CPSC report states that the total weight of fireworks used in this country has doubled in the last ten year, though the total injuries attributed to fireworks has decreased. According to a report on the American Pyrotechnics Association website (http://www.americanpyro.com/Safety%20Info/Facts02/irates90-03.pdf) the injuries per 100,000 pounds of fireworks has decreased from 17.7 per 100,000 lbs in 1990 to 4.4 per 100,000 lbs in 2003. Another argument is fire risk. While fireworks do present a fire risk, the actual numbers do not support hysteria. The American Pyrotechnics Association website has a table outlining the numbers during 1998 (http://www.americanpyro.com/Safety%20Info/Facts/1997fires.pdf). Of the 656,548 fires reported nationally, only 2,532 fires were attributed to fireworks, that is only 0.3%!
The real risk from fireworks stems from irresponsible use by parents and children. In reality, fireworks present less of a risk to children than writing utensils. A report on the American Pyrotechnics Association website outlines the injury risk for kids 5-14 years old (http://www.americanpyro.com/Safety%20Info/Facts02/IratesChild.pdf). The results are that the number of emergency room visits per 100,000 children for writing utensils is 35, whereas the number of emergency room visits for fireworks is only 9.Overall legalizing fireworks will help provide sales tax support and with HB 1099Âs 4% public safety fee, fire academies. The risks from fireworks are negligible, and present less of a danger than many common items. This does not mean to mistreat fireworks, because they can cause injuries. Use common sense around fireworks, do not shoot things too big for your yard (if you live in middle of town, stick to fountains and do not use aerial shells). Do not point anything at anyone; this includes bottle rockets and roman candles. Wear safety glass when using any type of fireworks, and do not place any part of your body over the firework. Following these simple safety rules will prevent many of the few injuries consumer class fireworks cause.

Indiana Fireworks Law

2006-02-05T08:52:00.000-05:00

OK heres the law, my concern is where it changes IC 22-11-14-8 to read:

Sec. 8. (a) A person shall not sell at retail, or offer for sale at retail, any consumer fireworks, novelties, or trick noisemakers to a person less than eighteen (18) years of age other than the following:
(1) Dipped sticks or wire sparklers. However, total pyrotechnic composition may not exceed one hundred (100) grams per item. Devices containing chlorate or perchlorate salts may not exceed five (5) grams in total composition per item.
(2) Cylindrical fountains.
(3) Cone fountains.
(4) Illuminating torches.
(5) Wheels.
(6) Ground spinners.
(7) Flitter sparklers.
(8) Snakes or glow worms.
(9) Smoke devices.
(10) Trick noisemakers, which include:
(A) Party poppers.
(B) Booby traps.
(C) Snappers.
(D) Trick matches.
(E) Cigarette loads.
(F) Auto burglar alarms.

The way that reads is someone under 18 can buy everything that used to be legal in Indiana (the changes seem to allow the stuff that was sold as "out of state" fireworks.

Any opinions?

Bush and Indiana Fireworks law

2006-02-05T08:13:00.000-05:00

Well, time to dust off the blog.

Since my last post a new year has arrived, and with this new year comes the State of the Union address. I have this wonderful resource while I'm at school (Ivy Tech) that they added to their library. They have all the Gallop poles for years. Anyways I was reviewing that latest and reading the articles (I'd post the URL but its inaccessible to anyone outside the college) and Bush's numbers REALLY suck, even compared to Clinton's while he was being impeached. I can see how this will bean important roll as people goto the polls in some states to elect new representatives. Maybe that Republican congress will swing to the Democrats. That's scary, I'd rather have a Republican congress and a Democrat president. I guess what I'm getting at in this ramble, maybe the president will be brought upon charges once the Republicans are out of office.

On to a more local concern:
I noticed that a law that will change Indiana's fireworks law has just passed the State house and is going towards the Senate now. I am VERY happy that this has happened. It has removed the hypocritical you can buy it but can't shoot it rule and changed it to a you can buy it and shoot it rule. I'm sure somewhere along the lines we will here the "parents groups" get up and shout their bit on how dangerous pyro is and how kids will get their hands blown off. The will show video of watermelon getting blown up, and talk about consumer class type (stuff the public can buy) fireworks. First off, the CSPC does the video and when they are making watermelon wine they announce this is what an M-80 does. Folks, an M-80 is not a firework, instead it is an explosive that is governed by a law that dates back to '65. The "parents groups" will use this video and dub their own views onto it. Are fireworks dangerous? Absolutely. Are they unreasonably dangerous? Nope. If people would use their heads (yeah right, that'll happen the same time hell turns into a meat locker) they would realize that doing stuff like shooting roman candles at each other is dumb, stupid and asinine. Stupidity is behind most of the injuries, that and drinking usually.

Is there something I would like to change about the fireworks law? Yes, as a I read it now kids under 18 can come into a store and buy fountains and novelty fireworks. I don't like that. I have to make sure this is true, and I will reread some of the Indiana Code pertaining to sales. I would like to see a minimum age attached to that, something to the tune of 16 or so. I figure its the same age you can buy a air rifle, so it would make sense to make it the age to buy fireworks. Maybe I will write my Senator about that, once I make sure that's the case. Last thing I would like to see is a small percentage of the use tax (4% on top of 6% sales tax) be used to sponsor education around the state, it may help address the injuries that happen around the Fourth. (Don't worry if I remember my statistics right, your at more risk driving home with your fireworks on the 4th than you are lighting them off).

Alright, I think that's all, time to sleep.

Airmarshals

2005-12-10T20:59:00.000-05:00

Well the airmarshal program has saved 0 lives, cost 1 life so far. Most of us have heard of the recent shooting on the JETWAY of an airport. Mind you it was not on the plane itself. The suspect one Rigoberto Alpizar was running off the plane. Reports from the passengers suggested that he did NOT suggest there was a bomb in his bag, second that his wife was calling that he was mentally ill. Still he was shot. I believe that the punishment for police shooting an unarmed person mistake or no should be the same as a civilian shooting an unarmed person. Manslaughter at least. Well I know that these marshals were acting in the best interest of... the people? nah the victim was exiting the aircraft when he was shot, in addition SWAT and police flooded the plan brandishing weapons, 113 people won't fly again, the plane? This victim does not fit the bill of a bomber, and I don't mean his "history". I mean his actions. Ahh well I'll post and maybe edit this later, I have to get to work.

A long awaited post

2005-12-05T15:32:00.000-05:00

Well lets first say I really hate the Christmas season. All the logistics that go into getting together with families are really a pain in the ass. Oh well, I do like seeing my family, so whatever. I guess it doesn't matter if I sleep.

Anyways on with my mindless rants. I have been keeping track of the news even if I haven't blogged about it for a couple of weeks. My first bitch...

I hate all this "terrorism preparedness." I personally think "Tornado Preparedness" or "Hurricane Preparedness" or " Preparedness" is more important. I have participated in a bioterror drill, and I know there have been several others. Why do I hate being "prepared" for a terrorist attack? Mainly because the odds are so low. I don't propose not training on them, but instead I propose you prepare for the disasters that will happen, that is, natural disasters. You can touch on terrorism, but lets make sure we have the basics down. We need to de-emphasize terrorism, and concentrate on disasters that will happen. I haven't heard of a tornado roundtable being held, though we need it. Lets pretend a F-4 tornado tears through downtown Lafayette, IN, what would you do? Those are the questions that need asking.
Now I do know the biggest reason for holding roundtables for terrorism is because of the money and grants available to cities that hold them. This is ALOT of money. It can be spent on response equipment of a general nature that can be used no matter the disaster. This isn't local officials fault, money after all doesn't grow on trees, and equipment isn't free by any means, this is a federal problem, they are the ones handing out the grants. They seem to think terrorism is so important that cities need to focus on preparedness for them instead of a Cat 4 hurricane hitting a city under sea level or a F-3 tornado tearing a path through a trailer park.

My next bitch is about anti-hunting advocates. These people are stupid, they don't know what they are talking about. This article talks about a bear hunt in New Jersey. There are reports of people against the hunts protesting at the weigh stations. People seem to think populations monitor themselves. They don't. I live in Indiana, and here the animal of choice is the whitetail deer. I haven't been able to hunt them again this year, but I have managed to total two cars on em, does that count? We need hunters to reduce herds. Do this math. A single deer will give birth to a single fawn the first year then they will generally give birth to twins in subsequent years. Does live for about ten years in the wild (according to this). They mature after 2 years that leaves 8 years of birthing, which means that single Doe will produce 15 offspring (if not more), and seeing that, save hunters, most deer have no predators, most offspring will survive. During that time span those offspring start having offspring, etc etc. What this leads to is overcrowding which forces deer into urban habitats. It also leads to proliferation of disease such as chronic wasting disease which is similar to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Mad cow disease), and Creutzfeldt-Jakob in humans. Basically lets sum up this rant. Its good for us to decrease some animal populations, its also good for the animals. I have seen a possible case of Creutzfeldt-Jacobs disease, I'd rather be shot.

That gas price thing again

2005-11-09T10:59:00.000-05:00

Read this article, then call your senator. As most of us who watch any sort of news knows, the oil companies posted record profits this last quarter, Exxon Mobile being on top with posted profits to the tune of 9.9 billion.

Yeah people going broke because of gas prices and companies getting rich. Assholes.

Southern Indiana Tornado

2005-11-08T05:33:00.000-05:00

Well I got to blog about this. A few days ago a F-3 tornado tore through the community of Evansville Indiana. One place in particular was a 350 unit mobile home park. I heard on the news about 140-150 of those units were completely leveled. 22 people died in this tragedy and 18 of those died in a mobile home park. Everything that I read suggested that this park of 350 units did not have a underground shelter (shelter(s)). The primary problem with that is the fact that a mobile home is primarily aluminum and a small bit of (usually) 2x2's. A tornado has no problem ripping these materials apart and turning them into large projectiles traveling 150+ mph. In a mobile home you have nowhere to go. Mobile home parks should have a underground shelter for its residents, because after all tornadoes like to eat mobile homes.

Now for my next beef. This article reviews peoples problem with the warning siren system. These sirens did go off. The problem is people didn't hear it, and they blame the sirens. This is a foolish stance to take especially considering these storms were preceded with 60+ mph winds. These sort of winds make a nice loud howling noise. I know this because these storms woke me up with those winds at 0230. And I was on the north side of the derecho. People need to follow some suggestions. Own a weather radio. Be aware of the conditions, these storms were organized in St. Louis, it took several hours to get here. Don't blame sirens that did go off and did save several lives. Especially don't blame them because their sound couldn't penetrate your closed up house and wake you from deep sleep.

Someone cares about my opinion

2005-11-05T07:42:00.000-05:00

Well I got printed in the local newspaper. Fifth one down. =-)

Gas Prices (again)

2005-11-03T08:09:00.000-05:00

Well, I might as well address my obsession with gas prices. My fiance lives some 53 miles away from me and I spend a healthy chunk of cash seeing her at least weekly. Thus my obsession.

Now for the rant.

People, choose your gas prices wisely. What do I mean by that? Read this article. Or read my tiny summary. Basically this article states that people get complacent when the prices are going down, they don't seem to care as much for the difference between a few pennies. This means basically that the gas stations are able to keep the prices high because the supply is staying the same. What's the solution? Bargain hunt like gas was $3.00 again. You see a lower price, fill up at that gas station. Don't fill up at the convenient ones, give your business to the cheapest station. Eventually the other stations, who's business is slacking, will lower their prices. Supply and demand. When prices go up we as consumers become more and more attached to those few cents and are more willing to go out of our way to save a buck. Now what we need is to maintain that sort of attitude even when prices are waning, because that will cause prices to decrease even further.

Emergency Response Follow-up

2005-10-30T08:01:00.000-05:00

OK I have to front page a comment from my last post, because it states some points I want to touch on. This is from my friend Jenny.

Yeah...but if we know about these things waaaay ahead of time (such as was the case for Wilma), why can't we have supplies already in place? Why wait until *after* the hurricane strikes?

And no, of course people don't understand about that stuff. Most people don't even know what all that jargon means. To them, it's, "The phone line is down," or, "The electricity is out." Hell, it's that way for me. But we also live in an age where we expect government offices to have better electricity/phones/etc than our personal homes--maybe having back-up generators, that sort of thing.

Personally, I don't see the sense in just warning people about disasters. Yes, warn them--but warning alone doesn't do much. It's like trying to get younger siblings to listen, or trying to supervise a group of unwilling employees. We would do better to have items already in place in times of emergencies--store up MREs in places like Florida, which is frequented by hurricanes. Make sure the place where the MREs are store is as secure as possible.

Plus, it's REALLY hard to store up 72 hours worth of supplies on a limited income--hell, it's hard enough to buy a week's worth of groceries, not to mention electric bills and the like. And, frankly, most of our country is on a "limited income" of some kind. Sad, but true.

Anyhow...that's a bit of my thoughts on the issue. *shrug*

Peace.

23:44 (10-29-2005 I think -SWK)

I hate to say this - This is the EXACT thought process that gets people dead in a disaster. We see pictures of a hurricane, we read about the destruction but its hard to conceptualize properly. I live in Indiana, so do many of my readers. I will put this into terms of a tornadoes. The Fujita Tornado damage scale states that

Considerable damage. Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; boxcars overturned; large trees snapped or uprooted; light-object missiles generated; cars lifted off ground.

This damage is found at windspeeds of about 113-157mph. The link in the quote takes you too this picture :

One good think about tornadoes is that they are confined in a very small area, from a few yards wide to 1 mile wide.

A hurricane is a different story. I'm not entirely sure of this information but the eye of Wilma was about 15 miles wide and severe winds most likely surrounded that eye at about 10 miles out. That means the damage area had a radius of 17.5 miles and a diameter of 35 miles. This only includes that most damaging winds of the hurricane. Wilma was a Category 3 hurricane during its entire time over Florida (which is rare, hurricanes typically die when they go over land, even a small amount such as the peninsula of Florida). The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale states:

Winds 111-130 mph (96-113 kt or 178-209 km/hr). Storm surge generally 9-12 ft above normal. Some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings with a minor amount of curtainwall failures. Damage to shrubbery and trees with foliage blown off trees and large trees blown down. Mobile homes and poorly constructed signs are destroyed. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with larger structures damaged by battering from floating debris. Terrain continuously lower than 5 ft above mean sea level may be flooded inland 8 miles (13 km) or more. Evacuation of low-lying residences with several blocks of the shoreline may be required. Hurricanes Jeanne and Ivan of 2004 were Category Three hurricanes when they made landfall in Florida and in Alabama, respectively.

I want to make something very clear. The wind speed of a hurricane is measured over a 1 minute time span, a gust can be 20-25% higher than the base speed (Wilma was around 130 mph sustained and gusts in excess of 150 mph). A tornado with the wind speed around 130-150 mph is able to do significant damage to homes in a short period of time (around 30 seconds) imagine what several hours at those speeds will do. Now that we have a conceptualization of the damage of a hurricane let me respond to the post (FINALLY! =-) )

The government is not able to deploy significant resources to a possible strike zone of a hurricane. This would be very foolish. Not only would you need the resources to store the relief aid, you would need to protect it from the storm. This is shaky considering the many variables within a storm of that magnitude. This would mean deploying such aid to an area outside of the damage area of the storm. With a hurricane that is around 60-100 miles away. You would then need to ship that aid to the victims. Keep in mind that the worst hit areas are surrounded by a giant damage area. Also keep in mind that not only are the phone lines down, but many of the radio towers used for cell phones and government communications are down, leaving many agencies with backup systems capable of only about 15 miles of communication radius (Very high frequency radios). This means drivers of the trucks would have a difficult time delivering the goods because landmarks may not be there, road signs are down, GPS can easily fail (that's from personal experience), and radio communications are hit and miss. In addition to finding their ways they would have to find their way around thousands of trees that are knocked down into the road. This will make a trip of two hours possibly take 12 or more hours. Now for the relief points. Many of these places will be open, though the supplies stored there would be token compared to the people being served. The supplies would run out quickly and many would have to wait on trucks which are battling the poor road conditions. This action would take a well prepared state (which Florida is a very well prepared state for hurricanes) about 24-48 hours to enact. It is during this time you would be on your own, regardless of income. Heck this doesn't even touch a persons ability to GET to the distribution center.

My insight comes from relief training and practical experience I have gained while working and an Emergency Management officer. We are told to keep supplies for 72 hours in our cars. I also make sure my parents have that in their basement. What exactly constitutes emergency supplies and what do they cost?
There are several sources of commercial kits available I found one for 2 people for $71. That's for specialized food and prepackaged water. I imagine I can put one together for about $15 on eBay, most likely less. The Department of Homeland Security recommends a gallon of water a day, so for a 72 hour kit you will need 3 1 gallon jugs per person, and the wherewithal to fill them. They recommend 3 days worth of food. That means you need to get a box of ramon from Aldi's, and 10 cans of some sort of mostly prepared food, ravioli comes to mind. In addition to that make sure you have blankets around the house, a battery powered radio, a flashlight, first aid supplies, and your own personal medications. Most of these things you already have around the house, though if you need to buy them they can be had at very low costs. If you live in a house with a basement in Indiana, you would want to gather these supplies and put them in the basement.
I got to respond directly to what Jenny says in the last paragraph. What would happen to you if we had a blizzard this year? That's the reason why you buy an extra can of whatever a week to shove someplace just in case, hell if you don't I'll buy yah a kit and send it to yah. Regardless of if you have power in a blizzard, you can't go anywhere to eat, and if its enough snow, it will clog up DoT's ability to clean roads for at least a day if not more.

Emergency Response

2005-10-29T19:25:00.000-05:00

Florida's Failure

I don't understand the reason why people who live in a major disaster zone relies so completely on government. Being part of a government agency in charge of responding to disasters I know that no response pleases the majority of people. In Florida Jeb Bush was most likely way to optimistic in delivering relief supplies to victims of Wilma in under 24 hours. What people don't understand is that the phones are down, many of the 800 mhz towers are down, the VHF repeaters are down. This limits any response because of communication issues. A major response demands good communication. Second there were no major routes open. Trees where down everywhere which limits route choices and can cause people not used to the area to get lost. The solution is for people to listen to the government. They tell us to prepare 72 hours worth of supplies for disasters. This is the average time of response to a major disaster. People get smart... Government can't protect you from everything.

Wilma

2005-10-26T01:09:00.000-05:00

This puppy slammed into the coast with a great amount of intensity. The damage seemed much more than a typical hurricane, though this thing has been anything but typical. It became the most intense hurricane ever recorded, it maintained CAT 3 power even while moving over Florida which typically does not happen, and it refused to die, maintaining a high level of power while fighting wind sheer that would typically tear a hurricane apart. The recent news story I saw was still putting winds in upwards of 70 miles per hour. To me that's incredible. What an awesome storm. Then there's TD Alpha. Yeah we made it to the Greek alphabet, wow what a year.

Gas Prices

2005-10-24T17:16:00.000-05:00

Well, now we see what I was talking about in gas prices. Their "making up" and getting "twice the profit" at the pump.

Sounds good to me

2005-10-21T07:40:00.000-05:00

Alright being a NRA member I have heard of this particular piece of legislation for awhile now. It is honestly a decent piece of legislation in that it does put an end to stupid law suits. This story creates an unsavory view of the entire bill addressing it as a nod towards big business. It seems that they are disappointed that the people will no longer be able to companies responsible for their own actions (the peoples actions that is). The article brings the whole McDonald's debate in.

Well here's my views - MD's is not responsible for people getting fat off of their foods, the people getting fat are responsible. Gun companies are not responsible for guns being used in a crime. The criminals are responsible. People have sought compensation from gun companies because they or a loved one have been wounded or killed by a gun. That's because the gun companies have the money. Gun companies do not advocate the use of weapons in crimes. Those that sell concealable guns aim their advertisement towards those like me who will carry concealed for self defense. I am sickened by the idea that someone would blame themselves being fat on a fast food place because they obviously were forced into the store at gun point and had the food stuffed down their throats by company officials. If that would happen I would support a lawsuit, but if your fat because you make wrong choices in food, that's your OWN damned fault.

Now a brief review on the article.

Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen, whose district was terrorised by a sniper in the Washington area three years ago, said the gun bill will "strip innocent victims of crimes of their rights and instead extend protections to those unscrupulous dealers who put guns into the hands of criminals".

Opponents argue that had the gun immunity law been in place, relatives of the victims of the sniper incident in Washington would have been unlikely to win the $2.5m settlement from the dealer who claimed he had lost the weapon used, plus some 200 other guns, to the black market.

The problem with this logic is that he did break the law by allowing the weapons to enter the black market. If he sold it to a qualified buyer, then the weapons didn't enter the black market through him, though if he was selling to unqualified buyers then he was in violation of federal law and civil courts would have been able to pursue him on those charges.

One thing that I had to laugh at is one article has touch on the fact that Al Gore lost support in rural communities because he advocated gun control. People who live in medium to large cities have the luxury of relatively fast response times to emergencies, whereas if you live in the country response time can be 10 minutes or more. This is not the police's fault by any means, God knows they try, but basically you are on your own until they arrive. Rural citizens realize this and many will keep a firearm for household defense. Take that away you do give power to the criminal.

Gas Prices

2005-10-20T19:43:00.000-05:00

Crude Oil Falls a Fourth Day as Storm Threat, Fuel Demand Eases

The demand is down the price is falling and we have yet to see that at the pumps. Prices go up to $3 a gallon in a week and decrease very slowly. We are quickly approaching the low price of crude that we saw at the beginning of the summer, whereas overall gas prices have yet to let up. Many gas prices in this area are still well above the $2.50 mark, and it seems that the prices will not let up, seeing as the industry will come up with another excuse to keep prices high.

Big nasty Wilma

2005-10-20T06:55:00.000-05:00

This is a nasty storm. It is the most intense storm ever both breaking wind records and pressure records, the pressure was down to 884 mb the eye wall was 2 nautical miles. I hope that once it breaks into the gulf and meets with the trof that's making its way through the CONUS it will lose some organization, but chances are good that it will still be a major hurricane. Right now its a violent CAT 4 storm that is going through eye reorganization and will most likely strengthen to CAT 5 again in 12 hours or so. The models all basically put the storm tracking over southern Florida by evening on Saturday. I hope everyone is getting away from the coastline with this powerful unpredictable storm approaching.

TS Wilma

2005-10-17T18:40:00.000-05:00

Tropical Storm: 5 Day Forecast Map : Weather Underground

Well look at this. This may become our next major storm especially if it does get into the Gulf. Lets hope not.

Disaster and Gun Rights

2005-10-17T18:16:00.000-05:00

Disaster Can't Destroy Gun Rights
Seeing as I do hold a federal firearms license, carry conceal permit, and belong to the NRA,my views on this particular amendment are obvious. It is my opinion, especially in the wake of New Orleans, that this amendment is very important, even now in the age of e911 services and police. Many anti-gun advocates think that police should be the only ones armed and that they can take away this particular right from people. The truth is the police are unable to protect everyone and criminals will defy any anti-gun law leaving only those who seek to remain legal at risk.
In light of this, lets examine the Katrina disaster. For almost a week (+) lawlessness reigned, the police were unable to respond and in some cases joined in. This lawlessness paved the way for neighborhood militias to take up arms and protect each other. This is the very essence of the 2nd amendment. In spite of the fact that the vast majority of people who were armed were not criminals and I'm willing to bet the police got more of the non-criminals than criminals when they disarmed, this opens avenues for the criminals. Now I guess when anti-gun advocates say the police and government can protect us, all we have to say is New Orleans now, that will sum up exactly how police can protect us in some of the worst of circumstances.

TIME Magazine Archive Article -- The Battle Over Gay Teens

2005-10-16T07:40:00.000-05:00

TIME Magazine Archive Article -- The Battle Over Gay Teens -- Oct. 10, 2005

This is a good article that looks at several points of view. I like it because it does point out many myths about the gay lifestyle, especially currently. As a note my opinion on the whole matter is I don't care who you like/love/screw whatever. I also support same sex marriages. I don't like the religious right defining laws because of something that is said in the Bible. Last I checked there is a separation between church and state, well at least that's what it was 5 years ago, pre-Bush. Welcome to the Theocratic States of America run by Pope Bush.

Opinions and such

2005-10-15T18:00:00.000-05:00

Journal and Courier Online - Letters

I like reading this first one. A bit of history before I begin. West Lafayette is currently looking at a smoking ban at public places and private places where the public can gather (restaurant, bars, etc). The person draws the Constitution into it, and honestly it does give the right to smoke in the Constitution.

Article 9
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Umm basically its saying since smoking isn't mentioned in the Constitution then it is indeed protected, simply stated. Nor does it matter that it stinks, that's a personal preference. Let me tell you what, once you get old and start shitting on yourself, you will stink too.

Anyways my opinion on this matter is that the city can regulate smoking on its public property, but privately owned public places should be able to choose if they will allow smoking, then consumers will be able to make the choice to come or not.

I survived

2005-10-15T17:15:00.000-05:00

Well last night's firework display went up nicely. I will post a couple of pictures later, once I get the video on the computer. Small show though, I wish more companies would know the worth of sponsoring a firework display, seeing as its something I pay attention to. Anyways I need to study the CDL book and email the head of the nursing school department, that and I think I'm done raving for now. Not too much to rave about in the news.

More bitching about Bush

2005-10-15T17:00:00.000-05:00

Bloomberg.com: U.S.

Let's all face it now, Rove is guilty. This may have been an attempt to get back at those who provided intelligence that was contrary to what Bush said and in fact caused some embarrassment to Bush. Well, as if Bush doesn't embarrass himself already.

Scary

2005-10-15T16:39:00.000-05:00

ABC News: Sen. Clinton Has Almost $14M for Campaign

Well this is scary... Sen. Clinton won't fix anything for the country, just screw things up more. Personally I hope there is a moderate Republican running, even though I generally don't vote Republican in the presidential election. My biggest problem with Clinton is that she is FAR too Democratic for my taste, much like Bush is far too religious/dishonest for my taste.

Bush and Miers and other shit

2005-10-14T11:17:00.000-05:00

Bush's Miers Predicament Forces GOP Split or Nominee Withdrawal
Hah! Our president is an ass. Well since this would be the first political rant on my new blog I figured I should goto the source. Bush has once again showed us how unafraid he is in creating a White House that is lined with personal friends and, for lack of better term, lackeys. Miers is obviously not qualified for the job, seeing as she has most likely never dealt with Constitutional law outside of law school. In addition to that she supposedly said that Bush is, "The smartest man I know." This came from a questionable source, but seems in character for Miers. Bush seems to get off on putting friends in positions of power. Lets see... FEMA - Brown, FDA - Crawford and now von Eschenbach. These are the positions that have gotten attention in the news. FEMA, well look at Katrina, though there is a lot of evidence that suggests that local and state government sucked too, but STILL. Then the FDA. Lets just start this rant on the Plan B, or Morning After pill. What is so bad about this? Jesus, don't deny access to this because your worried that this will promote promiscuity. ITS A FUCKING MORNING AFTER PILL, as in ALREADY HAPPENED. Damned, Miers must have met Crawford at some point, which may explain her statement.

The First Post

2005-10-14T10:10:00.000-05:00

Well this is the first post, obviously. I get to do a professional fireworks show today, and the weather looks like it will be nice, which will be a huge change compaired to the last pro show I worked. During that wonderful show whatever could go wrong, DID go wrong. Well not everything, the show was good, I think (hope). I will get feedback on the show today. I'll go look at the news and find something else to bitch about.