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So Where is VariFrank These Days?

This is a partial explanation. I've had the Toyota since October of last year, and I've put 14,000 miles on it, and I work from home. Yes, I have been out and about quite a bit lately! So, where have I been? well here's one place:

Cold Boiling Lake? That sounds like a George Carlin Joke ("Hot Water Heater"? what the hell is that? Hot Water doesnt need heating!)

Actually Cold Boiling lake boils because of carbon dioxide that is released from deep within the earth. (Gasp! oh, say it isnt true...)

Carbon Dioxide? From the Earth? Come on man! Did Halliburton get to you too?

You know I really wish that scientists would get to work on a chemical substance that could convert all that icky carbon dioxide into something useful, like good clean oxygen for example. Something that was simple and yet, self replicating. We could call it "Chlorophyl"

Nahhhh. That's too far out to be reasonable or possible. We should just tax people to death or make them buy cars that are two sizes too small instead. Whats the sense in scaring the hell out of people if you can't turn right around of regulate them into submission, right? Yeah, that'll work...

Here's another explanation for my whereabouts:

"Bumpass Hell" the largest active fumarole in the United States. Basically you hike down into the bottom of an active volcano, and see how the earth converts solid rock into sludge and carbon dioxide (Gasp! oh, fine I'll just stick my fingers in my ears and say "lalalalalalalala" until he's done....). The name comes from the poor unfortunate man who found this interesting geological area that is now in the Lassen Volcanic National Park. He then slipped into one of the volcanic mud pots and promptly lost his leg in the scalding hot water.

I'm pretty sure he said something more than just " Oh hell!".

Here's another explanation:

This animal is not 4 feet away from the camera. I stood absolutely motionless for 5 minutes while it looked right at me. With those ears, this babe could probably measure my heart rate. I slowly moved the camera from my side and shot from the hip. Much to my surprise, as well as to the deer, the picture came out pretty nice.

Just a few feet down the hill, her mom and dad stop to have a bite to eat. Run furry woodland creatures, the air abounds with carbon dioxide! Run for your lives!

And another...

Mt. Lassen. 10,462 feet. The rock near the summit with the large dot is called "Vulcans Eye". yes thats snow, yes, thats ice on the top of the lake. No, its not cold outside, a balmy 78 degrees. Its june...

Actually, its just a normal summer this year, and summer is my personal favorite time of year and I'm just not the type to just let it go past without doing something. This summer I also have a major work related project, so I'm working long hours during the week and taking long weekends by using Fridays and Mondays when I can for their proper use away from work. With that all going on it doesnt leave time to comment on terror attacks in Scotland (Scotland? are there "jews" in Scotland? Was Scotland ever part of the Muslim lands? and whats with the fire-laden SUV? Aren't there any Ford Pinto's In Scotland? I mean, its SCOTLAND for cripes sakes. Who picks a fight with the Scots? The Scots invented Rubgy just to hone their skills at gang fighting. Haggis not in the Koran? Bagpipes got the fatwa against them? What could the jihadi beef possibly be against Scotland? I know, its silly to think that there are rational reasons for these things, but until the Jihadis start drving cars that they themselves manufacture into things, I will continue to hold them in contempt. I was born in LA, Im perfectly aware that any jackass can crash a car, but it takes a civilization to actually make a car. My advice to the jihadis that will listen is work on the latter and the former wont be necessary. You can't be in the extortion business if people arent actually afraid of you and since youre O for 3 ( O for 4 is you count the NY Airports scheme), it looks to me like youre scraping the bottom of the barrel for recruits... )

So yeah, I know blogging is light lately and I know theres lots of stuff going on, but I got my priorities folks. You got a choice between kayaing through Whiskeytown Lake or blogging about Trent Lott, my advice is to take the kayak. I haven't given up blogging or writing or half a dozen things that I am passionate about, but life is short, the weather is nice and it would be a crime to sit inside at tap on the keyboard with all this so close to home.

Posted @ June 30, 2007 08:23 PM | Current Affairs | Comments (4)

It wouldnt "voom" if you put 50,000 volts through it.

The lovely plummage of "immigration reform" is no more.

'It's not pinin'! 'It's passed on! This bill is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! 'It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed it to the door It'd be pushing up the daisies! Its metabolic processes are now 'istory! It's off the twig! 'It's kicked the bucket, It's shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-BILL!!

...and yet another Congressional session ends without much of anything actually accomplished, just as the founding fathers intended.

With just three more Congressional sessions between now and the election, I can't wait to see what the next three "snipe hunt", "wild goose" chases are the President will use to keep Congress blind with rage and distracted for the next year and a half while he attempts to close out his Administration without getting tossed into the hoosegow. I have never seen such a rush to fratricide expressed by an executive since the days of Adam Osborne and the Osborne effect.

I have never seen a bigger waste of time in my entire life and I lived through the Clinton Impeachment, the Libby trial, eight seasons of the Sopranos.

...now for Gods sake go find a hobby, will you?

UPDATE: I ws recently in an work meeting that was held offsite, where one of the team decided on their own to take the rest of us through a rather draining exercise in futility. The guy who did this was rather adamant about the necessity for the exercise and could not understand the hostility that was generated towards him as a result of doing it.

He asked me if I thought it was worthwhile and I said yes, but that "It didnt accomplish what you set out to do, but as a team building exercise, it was really outstanding"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

I told him "We've really come together as a team because now everyone is completely united in their hatred of you and your ideas!"

So the immigration debate has done something that hasnt happened since 2001, its united America. Unfortunately for the President, its now united behind its near unified dislike of the man in the office.

In the business world we have a saying that goes like this:

"Is this the hill you want to die on?"

Meaning that while your argument might very well be righteous and correct, it might not be worth the fight accomplish, because its possible to both be right and yet lose everything you have at the same time.

That, in a nutshell is the "Bush dilemma".

Posted @ June 28, 2007 11:33 AM | Current Affairs | Comments (1)

Paris Air Show - My poor career choice finally catches up with me

I like what I do for a living, I really do, but there are days when being buried neck deep in flashing lights and bits that bite in buildings without windows and security guards that check you every single time you go through a door - every-single-time..., and it starts to make you think that maybe you shouldda done something else for a living.

Like something in aviation. Yeah, that would be great!

I love aircraft, I love to fly, hell I like just being at the airport even if I dont have anywhere to go. But what did I choose to do with my life? thats right, move bits of magnetism around inside machines and call it "logic". What was I thinking? I have no idea...

So I'm out on my break from that adventure and catching a bit of the Paris Air Show coverage when one of the blogs posts a picture of the, ahem, scenery.

I dont know what they are selling at an airshow, but I know I want alot of it. Tell Al Gore that I've found the source of 'Global Warming', its blue and it has six legs, six arms, eyes and uh, yeah you get the idea, and if getting rid of Global Warming means we will have to live with less of this and more of people dressed like the Amish, well then, we can just rename the planet from "Earth" to "Hades" as far as I'm concerned and be done with it. I live in a desert, I like it hot. I've "adapted" to the new reality.

Anyway, while I'm out looking for my high school career guidance councilors phone number, take a read of the best "Paris Air Show" coverage from the Weekly Standard at this site.

It looks like its off to a good start, the Russians havent started distributing MIG parts over the airfield yet, but its sill early...

Posted @ June 18, 2007 11:25 AM | Aviation | Comments (1)

pound pastrami, can kraut, six bagels–bring home for Emma...

Its summertime, so that must mean that once again I am sitting inside a data center somewhere, with no windows, in 80db white noise noise wondering why the magic flashing lights that are supposed to mark success in my job, arent actually flashing like they should be.

On occasion, I do find a few moments to break from the tedium to roam the web. Yesterday a friend who knows my passion for the novel "A Canticle for Liebowitz" passed me a website that is a posting of peoples Grocery lists, and from those lists the author (and yourself) can learn a great deal about those who were doing the shopping. ( Those of you who have read the novel are aware of the reference of the title of the post"

So here it is - Grocery lists. There is also a book by the author of the blog called "Milk, Eggs, Vodka"

Ok, back to the damn flashing-lights-that-are-not-flashing-the-way-they-should-be...

Posted @ June 15, 2007 09:08 AM | Current Affairs | Comments (0)

Presidential Illness

When I hear that the President is reported ill and had to step away from a long awaited meeting, I am instantly reminded of the "flu" that JFK reported suffered from during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He wasnt sick, he just needed to get back to Washington without too much notice.

Of course it could just be that the President is ill and that theres nothing to it, but it does make me want to start scanning the news feeds for anything interesting thats going on out there.

Of course, Presidents named Bush have a history of falling ill overseas...

Posted @ June 08, 2007 01:27 PM | Current Affairs | Comments (0)

Rick Moran - Cooler than me

Rick Moran runs the blog "Right Wing Nut House", which is consistently one of the better things on the web. Rick is running a pledge drive right now to keep himself in the business of doing what he does so well.

Now, you have two choices. You can take what's given to you by the world and accept the mediocrity that you often get as "good enough" or you can recognize talent for the rare thing that it is and encorage it to thrive, in the hope that you will get more of it.

I think he's good and worthy of support and have done so myself in this pledge drive, I encourage you to do the same.

His blogging and the standards he keeps help set the standards for blogging for the rest of us. Let's see that theres more if it by helping Rick with his pledge drive this week.

Posted @ June 04, 2007 02:06 PM | Current Affairs | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

JFK Terror Plot: Drawing connections

Buckeye Pipeline System map.
Information on the entire Buckeye pipeline system can be found here.

Summary:

"...The official said the plotters had conducted surveillance on giant jet fuel tanks at JFK and the pipeline. They had taken surveillance video of the targets and took it to Trinidad to review the tape..."

This case is not about Airports. Its about pipelines.

Al Queda Connection:

- Adnan el-Shukrijumah, works as a "fixer" for al queda.

- Between 1996 and 2000, Adnan traveled extensively, spending time in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Trinidad, Tobago and Guyana.

New Jersey Connection:

- The JFK pipeline takes fuel from a facility in Linden, N.J., to the airport.

Guyana Connections:

- Shares a border with Venezuela

- has a large population of Afghani Muslims.
- 10 per cent of Guyana is Sunni Muslim
- recently began to recieve increased shipments of Venezuelan oil.

Posted @ June 02, 2007 10:36 AM | Current Affairs | Comments (0) | TrackBack (2)

Things to do before you die...

...Cross the Bonneville Salt Flats at night, in a full moon.

Ok, now I can mark that one off my list.

After a business trip that included side trips to Yellowstone and Wyoming, I'm now back safely from working in Salt Lake City.

Last nights crossing of the high desert was just outstandingly beautiful and not likely to be forgotten anytime soon.

Posted @ June 01, 2007 03:02 PM | Current Affairs | Comments (5)