Tuesday Science and Technology Abstract 2/27/07

Tuesday Science and Technology Abstract

South Pole Telescope - I wish I had a scope at the South Pole. I'd settle for one on the moon though.








Virgin Galactic - I'd like to see Virgin Galactica myself, but then again I guess I won't really get a vote.










Islamic Math and Geometry

Computer Model of Visual Perception and Object Recognition - It still seems very primitive to me compared to what the brain can do, but it's a start.








Still More Adult Cell Goodies - I really like MIT's work in this area. They've shown for a long time that Adult Stem Cells have far more promise than embryonic stem cells and have demonstrated repeatedly that Host stem cells have far greater promise than alien stem cells. Then again I probably like them cause I've been saying the same thing myself for years. It's just common sense and basic biology.











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Monday Political and Business Appraisal 2/26/07

Monday Political and Business Appraisal

Can't We all Just Get On With Failure - What do you say about people who are so determined to fail and yet so pathetic at achieving their ultimate end?


Interesting




California's Stem Cell Plan







Iraq Approves Oil Plan - I thought the US gets all the oil

Four Days of Gettin "N" - Sounds like a blast. Couldn't they have made it last longer though?








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Amazing Grace -- a must-see film

Amazing Grace is the first must-see film of the year, offering glimpses into the complex life of the 18th-century evangelical Christian British social reformer, William Wilberforce. It's an overwhelmingly Christian movie, but its timing for release in Black History Month should be a call for blacks worldwide to go and see a movie about the man behind the end of the slave trade in the British Empire and, ultimately, the end of slavery itself within the Empire. Americans of all colors seem to have wrongish notions of how slavery was ended and who ended it. Even fewer know that an estimated 27 million people live in slavery today.

William Wilberforce has almost, but not quite, been forgotten by history, which is a terrible shame. The politically correct story believed by most people today is that it was evil social conservatives -- especially Christians -- who practiced slavery and enlightened atheists or deists who brought about its end. It is true that southern American Christians for the most part endorsed slavery and it is a stain upon my ancestry is that so many of them were slaveholders. Some of my ancestors were well-known in the church and one, to my family's shame, was a prominent Mississippi Baptist pastor who was one of the leaders of the split of the Southern Baptists from the previously national Baptist faith. The split, of course, was over slavery.

However, many Americans do not know that 150-200 years ago the Bible Belt was the northeast, not the south. Alexis de Tocqueville, in his journeys across America wrote that in Kentucky and Tennessee -- the primary parts of the south that he visited, "one sees few churches and no schools." The south was not full of Christians as it is today, but rather a Godless society. It was the influence of churches that ended slavery in the north (yes, Virginia, the north had slaves, too -- even after the Civil War) but that's another story. The Bible strongly and clearly preaches against prejudice, as I've written before.

Wilberforce is played magnificently by Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd. Gruffudd portrays Wilberforce with a passion bordering on madness, a man of action with a will of iron. He is mindful of one of the Old Testament saints like Elijah or Jeremiah. One can almost imagine Wilberforce calling fire down from heaven upon a corrupt British Parliament. The film focuses strongly upon the fond but sometimes strained relationship between Wilberforce and his close friend and ally, William Pitt the Younger. "Willie" Pitt -- sophisticated, ambitious, and a reformer in his own right -- died in his mid-forties yet accomplished many great things during his short life. They are buried next to each other in Westminster Cathedral and I have had the honor of visiting their graves.

The film is packed with first-rate British actors, such as Michael Gambon, Rufus Sewell, Toby Jones, and Albert Finney. Finney is especially moving as the elderly John Newton, the British slave-ship captain who turned from his life of using men to a life of saving men as an Anglican preacher who taught tirelessly against the evils of slavery that he had witnessed first-hand. Finney, as Newton, says that he is perpetually haunted by the 20,000 ghosts of innocent Africans who had died on his ships. The horror and impact of his statement was almost palpable in the theater. It is Newton who encourages Wilberforce to embrace the notion that he can be involved in both politics and the work of God. Wilberforce never turned back from either.

Take your Bible study group, your Sunday School class, or your entire church to see this film. If you're not a Christian, go and learn. Not only will you be moved spiritually, but you will be educated about one of the greatest men to ever live.

As an aside, watch the credits and note that actress Patricia Heaton -- one of the few openly-Christian Hollywood stars -- was one of the producers of this wonderful movie.

cross-posted at Stingray: a blog for salty Christians

A Soldier's Sacrifices and Motivations

Signal, Sygnet, and Sigil - A Soldier's Sacrifices and Motivations

An absolutely great series of extracts and observations from the letters and writings of 2nd Lt. Mark Daily.

A Soldier's Sacrifices and Motivations




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The Man in the Modern World

Pesharim - The Man in the Modern World

My nephew sent me this. I can't vouch for who wrote it and I'm sure it's probably been floating around the Internet forever, at least in email form. I also can't vouch for the quote by Leno. To tell you the truth I really don't care one way or another as to authenticity.

If a guy makes a good point then I really don't care who the source is. And I thought this made a good point.

When I was a kid I didn't need the government or some lawyer wiping my nose, my face, or my ass. I would have resented it had they tried. Once I was past about four or five years old I didn't need my mother doing that kinda stuff either.

Yet today we make pansies out of our kids cause we won't let them do anything dangerous, or even interesting, all danger and all adventure is regulated right out of their lives.

Is it any wonder that the modern world produces so many Britney Spears and so few Daniel Boones?

Hell, we live in a world neutered by nature, and naturally hostile to the very idea that boys should grow into men or that they should do anything even remotely resembling being a boy on the way to manhood. Come to think of it the modern world don't care much for men period, cause that implies manhood. And what migth that lead to?

This world would rather produce tattooed up pillowbiting, mascara wearing effeminate doodlewobbing pansified jewelry and hair product wearing mush mouthed squirrel rootin grass eatin little pink can't stand upright for anything gender neutral protest squealing squirt blossoms than anybody even posing as a real man, anyday.

I sometimes wonder how it go that way and then television, film, music, popular culture, global warming pansies, modern politicians and scientists, public education, and the internet all remind me. Yet again.

I know one day our descendants are gonna look back on this time as being particularly fairyfied and particularly funny. But I'm getting a head-start on this New Age of Dandies, Pimps, and Ginger Bread Men.

I scoff at you because you make me laugh.

"Oh Brave New World, that hath such feebles in it. Get you while you can, for you cannot make a man."

TO ALL THE KIDSWHO SURVIVED the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank koolade made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING ! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-b oxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms....... WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them! Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If YOU are one of them . . CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good. And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:

"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

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BOMBINGS, ARMED ATTACKS HIT THAILAND'S SOUTH

All four Muslim-majority provinces were hit by coordinated attacks which began Sunday evening.

[Also posted at Agam's Gecko]

In the most widespread escalation of insurgent attacks since the outbreak of the current intifada three years ago (over 2,000 dead), Muslim terrorists launched a wave of bombings and armed attacks across all four Muslim-majority provinces yesterday evening. The attacks seemed to be coordinated with the start of the Chinese New Year. Welcome to the Year of the Pig.

The attacks also came two days after the Prime Minister had accepted an offer from the Malaysian government to assist in setting up talks with the shadowy insurgent groups. The violence may have been intended to sabotage that cooperation, but was almost surely timed to disrupt the ethnic Chinese celebrations while taking cover amid the ubiquitous barrages of Chinese firecrackers. Several of the border towns are popular short-term holiday sites for ethnic Chinese visitors from Malaysia and Singapore.

Approximately 50 incidents in the four provinces have been reported, including 33 bombings and 14 arson attacks as well as shootings. At latest report, nine people have been killed and more than 40 wounded. The violence targeted mostly Thai Buddhists and ethnic Chinese, but of course they did not spare Muslims. The latest victim to die was a 32 year old Muslim man who succumbed to his injuries today.

As the attacks got underway last evening, bombs exploded at karaoke bars and other entertainment venues and restaurants in Narathiwat (the border town Sungai Golok) and in district centres in Yala and Pattani. A power station in Pattani was also hit, plunging the provincial capital into darkness. Within minutes of the blackout, "youths" on motorcycles and their faces covered by "black and white scarves" (keffiyeh?) rampaged through the streets ambushing government offices and residences, shooting at police and military patrols, blocking roads and setting fires.

Bangkok Post reports this morning that casualties include more than 60 wounded. Yala town alone saw 17 bombs explode, including one this morning which took the life of Army Major Prasarn Natthang outside his home. Three ethnic Chinese Thais were gunned down in Pattani, and two other villagers in the province were killed in an ambush, while the central mosque of Narathiwat was torched. Several public schools have also been burned.

Funny quote from that Post story:

The Internal Security Operation Command, which is in charge of the lack of security in the South sent helicopters to survey the areas around Yala town. "Special armed forces have also been dispatched to hunt down the culprits," Isoc said.

The Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre (SBPAC) is just getting re-staffed and running again, after former PM Thaksin disbanded the effort in 2001. After a crisis meeting today with all security agencies chaired by PM Surayud Chulanont, it was announced that the SBPAC will be sending 88 teams to work with villages and local leaders on "psychological warfare" projects. More coverage from AFP and AP.

While the events of the last 24 hours have been a spectacular escalation in terrorist attacks in the South, it takes place in the context of a constant drone of gruesome violence on a daily basis. Here's one example from the day before:

Suspected militants shot dead a teenage boy before hacking at his body with an axe and setting it alight in the latest in a number of gruesome attacks across the Muslim-majority South, police said. The charred corpse of Wisanu sae Lim, 19, and carcasses of his dog and pangolins were found near a road in Si Sakhon district yesterday by a rubber farmer.

The teenager reportedly left home with two pistols and a dog on Friday night to seek wild mountain plants to sell, but went missing, his relatives told police.

Police said suspected insurgents shot Wisanu in the head and body and then hacked at his body with an axe before setting it on fire. His dog was also beaten to death.

''We can't say the southern insurgency is becoming more violent, but we can say that it is still not ending,'' Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram said.

Just one day later, the widespread attacks make the first part of the Foreign Minister's statement sound pretty silly. Even without them, how can anything be more violent than shooting a teenager gathering wild plants, hacking him up with an axe before setting him on fire, and beating his pet dog and pangolins (they look similar to armadillos) to death?

But at least somebody is in charge of the lack of security.




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What's Happening?

Pesharim - What's Happening?

I'd like to apologize to my readers for not posting and contributing much to the Missal lately.
I've had an awful lot of things going on and an awful lot to do lately.

My tax structure has changed what with the house and estate and me owning more land now. So doing the taxes was no easy chore and required quite a bit of research, not only by me, but also by the people helping do my taxes. But that's all straightened out now and the taxes are all done and tucked away. Thank God, and I'm in no way being facetious.

Other than that there has been a lot of work with training and growing the puppies to kill my spare time, I've had several consulting projects keeping me hopping, I've been trying to sketch a little and also work on drawing some of the renovation plans for the house, there have been financial matters to attend to, and negotiations which will hopefully bring me some new clients and projects. I've been getting very little sleep so that has slowed me down some in addition to the extra work.

I've also got that murder case where the boy was killed by a round to the neck. I'm working some angles but so far nothing. Still I'm trying to see if I can't flush something, or somebody, out.

My wife is getting ready to go on a Mission trip for several days meaning I've also had to get things prepared for that, as it is on the week in which my oldest daughter competes at the Guild to play Beethoven's Fifth. I've been trying to make arrangements for everything from someone to house sit and to watch the puppies, to helping out with the wife's transportation and stay during her trip, and for travel to and from the competition. So it's been a real series of distractions.

I'm also getting a story about one of my cases ready to present to a Carnival this weekend (I'll be working on that tonight, and more about that later - the story will be posted to the Grapharium - I'll let you know when) and by the end of next week I plan on making my very first submission ever for one of my fictional stories. If all goes well then maybe in a few months I'll be a published fiction author. I still have a few mixed feelings about this but I'm finally ready to publish some of my fiction, and I feel pretty good about it.

I've even tried to squeeze in a little time to compose, but not on my opera or any of my symphonic works, just smaller pieces and light stuff mostly. But overall I've got both my drafting board and my work desk stacked with work, both old and new, to keep me on the slow plow and tied down. Hopefully though by this weekend I will have everything arranged and organized and some of it completed. Then by the end of February I hope to have out the latest copy of Dante's Ninth, and by mid to late March the latest copies of both The Difference Engine and Opus Magnus on-line.

And by next week I plan to get back to bogging on a regular basis.
At that time I'll be making some more improvements to the Missal and hopefully can also get out a satire piece or two.

Till then,

See ya.




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The Geometry of Her Melody

Pesharim - The Geometry of Her Melody

The Geometry of Her Melody

And what I wonder, in my wonderment of her,
Can she not compose while disposing me at heart?
And I ask, in my questioning of her,
Can she not sing as if the songbird of moonlit
Eternal Night nested in her smooth and sabled throat?

There is a geometry inherent in her melody
A music practiced as if for God
That measures round about my soul
Each time I fall within the rhythm of her grace.

There is a tempo to her lilting breath
As she softly breathes within my anxious ear
That sweet compass which lines each staff
She plays perfectly upon the instrument of myself.

A clarity of voice, a light of entangled gaze,
And I am squared as if some ancient architect
Has plumbed the depths by which I resonate
Within the geometry of her profound melody.

Her signature writ upon my troubled brow
Trembles like the whispered beat of blood
Along the concourse of my very veins,
Her absence as if the Cathedral Bells toll not at morning light.

What key does she clasp upon her waiting breast
That has taken all the heart of me
As proof of our mutual consent, and my sole assent,
That her song is the melody of which I dreamt?

There is a symmetry inherent within her gazing eyes
A music like the circling summer spheres
Which cloud the twilight heaven with unseen worlds
Invisible to men, and yet in perfect orbit matched.

And I as if some satellite, by her human gravity,
Am pulled irresistibly towards her native sound
Whose pause is as if the air stood still
When the whisper of her melody catches close upon the wind.

There is a matchless geometry
A music practiced as if by God
That circulates round about the world
Each time I fall within the pleasure of her grace.

And eminent by being shaped and formed with her
I cannot help but orbit by her side,
Enrapt by that melody whose note I hear
Each time she sings in the tranquil quiet of the night
To ease my cares, and measure out delight.

(for my wife)

© JWG, Jr. 2007

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EXPLORATORY AND EXPEDITIONARY FORCE

Signal, Sygnet, and Sigil - The Exploratory and Expeditionary Force

For those of you with military and related backgrounds, I have been working for some time now (actually this goes back to when I was in the CAP) on a Special Military sub-branch called the EXPLORATORY AND EXPEDITIONARY FORCE. I have it pretty much in order now and if you'd like to look over it and comment I'd appreciate the feedback and commentary. If you are already aware of anything like this already in operation within the US military then please let me know. And please provide information on it if you can. If you are not aware of any such military unit or paramilitary unit then please feel free to comment on it to me.

However from all of my military and Pentagon sources no-one seems to know of a unit like this, or formed under this set of mission standards. Though as has been pointed out some existing units already handle many of these separate mission functions.

The general idea is of a military sub-branch (or actually a force assimilated from all of the other branches) whose chief job is exploration and exploratory expeditions, including scientific expeditions. They would also gather Intel and make current and accurate maps of foreign cities and nations as well as exploring unexplored or little explored areas which currently exist in our world. Eventually they could be used as off-world expeditionary explorers.

This idea harkens back to the Greek, Roman, and British ideals of military and paramilitary (or in the case of the British of private explorers with military backgrounds) units who were employed as explorers, scouts, and expeditionary forces. (A good early American Example of such a force was the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which was not just a scouting force but a combined Intel operation, scientific expedition, contact/diplomatic mission, and mapping reconnaissance of the Continent, as a friend recently reminded me. So this idea is really just a return in many respects to the early American idea of a combined civilian/military joint force with multiple mission objectives and capabilities. One which is both Expeditionary, and Exploratory.) In this case I want to make it a standing and full time unit of the US military though it would be open and fluid as well, and private citizens and those from civilian agencies could join as well. Let me know what you think of the idea. You can contact me by email if you like or leave comments here.

Before I publish and promote this idea I'd like some feedback and possible suggestions for improvement.



EXPLORATORY AND EXPEDITIONARY FORCE:


Troops – Multi-Branch Corp of Seamen, Airmen, Soldiers, Marines, Guardsmen, Paramilitary, Lawmen, and Civilian Agents.

Special Forces Units: 10 Teams of 10 to 30 Men, Entire Corp not to exceed 500 men, including support personnel and officers. These Teams will be Renaissance Troops, capable in a wide range of disciplines, both military and non-military, able to function effectively as both individual agents and in small tactical units.

Assignment: Personnel and Officers would come from regular and reserve units of the other branches having shown aptitude for EE Work and having been recommended for the Force by their superior officers. Certain personnel might also be recommended by their Congressmen, Senators, or the President and might possibly come from civilian agencies, scientific organizations, cooperative corporations, law enforcement, etc. Everyone recommended and accepted would then have to undergo basic training for the Force and pass all tests and requirements, physical, mental, and psychological.

Uniforms and Appearance: Any person serving in the Force will have access to various uniforms depending upon assignment, mission, and posting. They will wear standard BDUs employing standardized camo patterns while working with governmental and civilian personnel, and with other military branches. They will have expeditionary uniforms and fatigues while on duty assignment in the field. They will wear a casual uniform similar to those worn by civilian personnel or law enforcement personnel or they will be allowed civilian clothes and dress suits when interacting with the public or while operating in foreign lands or posts.

Animal Teams: Most EE Force Units will employ specially trained animal teams that can assist with various missions.

Training (Trained in the following): Advanced All Terrain Survival Skills, Languages, Archaeology, Anthropology, Exploratory and Mapping Skills, Land/Sea/Air Navigation, Record Keeping, Engineering, Information and Intel Gathering, Espionage and Sabotage Work, Animal Handling, Conservation, Encryption/Encoding/Decryption/Decoding, Communications, Field Computing, Scouting, Reconnaissance, Surveillance, Interrogation and Interviewing, Handling and Operation of small land, sea, and aircraft, Tracking and Manhunting, Pursuit and Evasion, Search and Rescue, Advanced Field Medicine and Basic Emergency Field Surgery, Disaster Relief, basic Geology and Geography, Physics, Biology and Natural Science, Reconstruction, Cultures and Religions.

Combat Skills: Tactical and Close Combat, Sniping, Sabotage, Scouting and Recon, Counter-Insurgency, and Guerilla Warfare.

Mission Types: The types of missions undertaken by the EE Force will include, but is not necessarily limited to the following types of assignments; Exploration, Template Profile Mapping (TMP), Scouting and Reconnaissance, Surveillance, Navigation (all to include wilderness, unexplored, rural, and urban terrains), Disaster Relief, Reconstruction, Cultural Analysis, Intel, Espionage, Interpretation, Engineering, Communications, Field Computing, Archeological and Anthropological, Scientific, and Cultural/Societal Interactions.

In addition EE Force Personnel may also provide both logistical and even combat support/assistance with various other types of units and operations and missions as needed, such as; Tracking, Manhunting, Search and Rescue, Medical, Tactical Engagements, Special Forces Operations, Cryption and Coding, Interdiction, and Sabotage.

Purpose: The EE Force would exist primarily as very advanced Scouts (not just in potential combat areas, but Scouts who enter areas long before any possible hostilities, or any necessary hostilities) and as Explorers to areas of the world in which information and intelligence is very limited, and to areas of the world which are largely unexplored and unmapped by the United States. The EE Force is primarily an exploratory and expeditionary force that possesses Intel and Tactical combat support capabilities if and as needed.

© JWG, Jr. 2007



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Around the Homestead

Pesharim - Around the Homestead

My Great Dane bitch recently had a litter of puppies. About three weeks ago. There were ten in all but one was stillborn so we have nine now. They are really great puppies, most favoring their father in body shape, head shape and hair length. They are 3/4 Great Dane and 1/4 Saint Bernard but they tend to favor their father who is Great Bernard (1/2 Saint Bernard-1/2 Great Dane).

Although in body type all favor their father in coloring they are a mixed variety. There are three Tiger stripes as seen here:

There are three that look like a Golden colored Great Dane as seen here:

And there are three who are black with white spots, (all of whom favor their uncle Saint George) seen here:

Saint George (who died of multiple snakebites - either copperhead or cottonmouth), and Galahad (the only short haired dog aside from Noal we've ever had and he died as a very young pup of some viral disease the Vet could never identify, but I suspect was possibly parvo - I hate parvo) were extremely good, not to mention tough and fearless dogs. I was gonna keep one of the black colored dogs at first because they all favor George but the only male black one was stillborn. So I buried the little stillborn male and we're gonna keep the male Golden one that my wife and daughters like so much.

At first I wasn't so thrilled with taking one of the Golden ones, I liked the Tiger stripes better, one of whom I named Bear because of his immense head and paw size and because he looked so much like a Bear. But I've been watching this Golden Boy and I have to admit, he seems amazingly intelligent. He also has the most incredible powers of concentration. When he is awake he will stare fixedly at anything he wants to investigate before approaching it, as if to say to himself, "What is that thing, and how do I best approach it, and how can I make use of it?" He doesn't turn his head as most dogs or pups do, but will stare without moving or blinking. Then he will finally approach it and explore it in about every way he can think of. Also he is quite a fighter, you can see that already. So he has really grown on me in the past week or so. He sleeps a lot though and likes to be held like a human baby, looking up at the face of whoever is holding him when he does. He is the only pup who will lay on his back and look up at you while being held in this way and will sleep in this way curled in a fetal position. He seems to think he is human. Or human like at any rate. He always sleeps with his tongue stuck out slightly.

Picture of him:

We have officially named him Gawain Maximus. The girls named him Maximus, or Max for short, but I gave him the first name of Gawain in keeping with George and Galahad, his uncles. We've named a few of the others as well; Bear, Lucia, Maria, Galileo, Curia.

I have been conducting the same metaergogenic nutritional experiments I performed on his sire and mother, and on my own children, in order to increase the size, strength, health, and intelligence of every pup. They are growing at a phenomenal rate and they all seem extremely intelligent and inquisitive, Max the most so. So we supplement the nursing they take from their mother with pureed bottles of cow milk, dog food meat from a can, dry dog food, baby formula, vitamins, and the metaergogenic formulas I developed for myself and my children.

We plan to find the other eight very good homes at time of sale. I will continue my experiments with Gawain, since we're keeping him, the same as I have with his father and mother, both to increase his size and strength, and to increase his intelligence. Every generation I see improvements and advantages.

These are some pictures of the father, my dog Bart, or Bartholomew. He's up to about 170 pounds now and still putting on weight and size.

This is him chewing apart his large plastic bowl.

He will chew small limbs to sawdust and for some reason loves to reduce plastic to small bits and even eat it. Sometimes he'll vomit it back up. He's an incredible hunter and an awesome guard-dog (I trained him myself). I've seen him take on an armed man in full SWAT gear and armor, totally fearlessly. The only thing he really fears on God's green Earth is me cause he knows I'll knock a knot in his noggin if I have to. But I very rarely have to. He's a fantastic dog and the Great Bernard is a great breed.

My bitch Noal feeding the litter.

She has lost some hair patches since she has started nursing them all, probably from the stress of feeding so many. But with supplements and vitamins she is getting her hair back to normal. Actually today, at about their third week from being born they ate solid food for the first time. Dry puppy food.


In other news around the house my oldest daughter has chosen to perform a piano rendition of part of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony for the Piano Guild later this month. She'll be in open competition but she always does well in competition if she doesn't think bout what other people are playing. For some reason if she does this she becomes nervous and her playing becomes stilted. But if she concentrates only upon her own piece and playing then she is fluid, sonorous, and an incredibly good performer. She has been playing since about 6 or 7 and she has become the pianist my mother always dreamt of becoming, and she is far superior to me as a performer. Actually, musically, she is quite naturally ingenious, often improvising at key and on key practically any piece she plays whenever she wishes. It also takes her only a very short period of time to learn any new piece to which she is exposed and since I compose I have taught her exercises by which she can change key, tempo, dynamics, flow, expression whenever she wishes and in an improvisational fashion. Though I did not teach her to improvise. She just started doing that on her own one day around 8 or 9. Hopefully as she ages I can teach her to compose and then if she composes anything like she plays she will be both a fantastic pianist and composer.



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First Snow of the Season

Pesharim - First Snow of the Season

Recent pics I took with my Toshiba of the first snow of the season. I had planned to post these last week when it happened but work and other projects prevented me from having the time to do so. I'm posting it now and ironically enough it is snowing again today, though very lightly. It's been a long time in this area since we've had two snows so close to each other in any winter season, and to tell you the truth quite awhile since we've even had more than one snow during any given season.

Looking across my acreage towards the Northwest.

My Southern lands, with Bart on point for something he has treed.

Eastern Territories

Looking North

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Thursday MCWS Briefing 2/8/07

Thursday Military/Crime/Warfare/Security Briefing

Did Dahmer murder Walsh? - A Fascinating theory developed by cold case Detectives and an ex-FBI agent that Dahmer could have possibly killed Adam Walsh. I know for a fact that Dahmer later kept head trophies. This early murder might have been practice.
Additional Link with doubt:

L'il Kim-il - North Korean boy punk Rocks the Macau. I can hardly wait for the sequel.

A Lawman of Virtue

Bring Em In - I guess they do want the Surge. After all it's them being murdered, not American Senators.

Slaughterman - Pig Farmer, or Pig? You be the judge.

From Iraq Pictures:

Mexicans and Meth - Since Meth is primarily a rural and suburban enterprise this is an interesting phenomenon because it says that Mexican gangs are gaining both distribution control and are penetrating into areas far less urban than was the case before.

Armor for the War 0n Bear-Terror - This made me laugh. Out loud.

British Terrorism - A Police state for Muslims. They must have been randomly targeted, Little other explanation for this kind of outrageous behavior by the British authorities. Shame, shame, and unpardonable shame.

Alfonzeroed - Don't Cry for Me Argentina.

The Intel War

Thailand Insurgency


Baghdad: Day Two

New Police Chief: Female

Indictments of Five in Iraq

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Wednesday Religious Assessment 2/7/07

Wednesday Religious Assessment

Transgendery

Baptism in the Streets - The City of Angels gets a much needed Baptism. Which is always better than the Baptism by Fire they so often suffer.

Prayer Stopped Dead in South Carolina

Global Child Porn Ring

Conservatives More Charitable - This hardly surprises me.

Venezuela's Suicide Pact

Developing Spiritual Gifts

Interesting - Mississippi bans abortion. Is this the start of the counteraction? On the State level. Which is where the fight should have always been, at the State level.

The Secular Priest -

TO SECULAR INSTITUTES: ANNOUNCE THE BEAUTY OF GOD

VATICAN CITY, FEB 3, 2007 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Pope received a large group of representatives from secular institutes in various countries, who are in Rome for the occasion of an international symposium being held to mark the anniversary of the Apostolic Constitution "Provida Mater Ecclesia."

Recalling that six decades have passed since February 2 1947, when Pope Pius XII promulgated the Apostolic Constitution, Benedict XVI said: "That juridical act was not an end but the starting point of a process that aimed to define a new form of consecration: that of lay faithful and diocesan priests, called to live with evangelical radicalism the secular state in which, by virtue of their life condition or pastoral ministry, they are immersed."

The Holy Father went on to enumerate the characteristics of the secular mission: "bearing witness to human virtues, ... an 'honorable conduct of life' as mentioned by Peter in his first Letter, ... and commitment to building a society that recognizes in all its various aspects the dignity of human beings and the values essential for their full realization, from politics to economics, from education to commitment to public health, from providing services to scientific research."

"All the circumstances in which man lives and dies," the Pope told his audience, "are an opportunity for you to bear witness to the salvific work of God. This is your mission."

The Holy Father told the members of the secular institutes that "the secular nature of your consecration highlights, on the one hand, the means you use to put it into practice, ... and on the other, the way in which it develops: through a profound relationship with the signs of the times, which you are called to discern, individually and as a group, in the light of the Gospel."

"The place of your apostolate is, then, the entire human sphere, not only in the Christian community, ... but also and above all in the civil community with which you relate in the search for the common good and in dialogue with everyone, called to bear witness to Christian anthropology, which proposes meaning to a society disoriented and confused by the multi-cultural and multi-religious atmosphere that characterizes it."

Benedict XVI concluded with an exhortation to announce "the beauty of God and of His Creation. Following the example of Christ, remain obedient to love and be men and women of humbleness and mercy, capable of following the paths of the world doing only good. ... The Church also needs you to give completeness to her mission. Be seed of sanctity ... in the furrow of history."
AC/.../SECULAR INSTITUTES VIS 070205 (450)

Christian Unity

ACTIVITIES OF COUNCIL FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN UNITY

VATICAN CITY, FEB 6, 2007 (VIS) - Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is currently participating is a seminar for Asian bishops and theologians on the theme of Pentecostalism, which is being held in Manila, Philippines from February 5 to 11. This is the last meeting of its type and on this theme following early seminars organized in 2005 and 2006 in Nairobi, Kenya; Dakar, Senegal; Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Seoul, Korea.

On February 19, Cardinal Kasper is due to deliver a lecture on spiritual ecumenism in the context of an ecumenical seminar for priests and pastoral care workers, organized by the archdiocese of Barcelona, Spain. At the meeting, the cardinal will present a new manual entitled: "A Handbook of Spiritual Ecumenism, guidelines for its implementation."

The drafting committee of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox will meet in Rome from February 28 to March 3, to draw up amendments to the study text being prepared for the forthcoming plenary assembly of the commission, scheduled to be held in Ravenna, Italy, in October 2007.
CON-UC/ACTIVITIES/KASPER VIS 070206 (200)



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Tuesday Science and Technology Abstract 2/6/07

Tuesday Science and Technology Abstract

To Boldly Go - How best to find New Worlds.

Princeton and Google

The Chinese Romans- While I was in College I did a couple of studies and papers on the Silk Road, and of Greek, Byzantine, and Roman traffic East and of Chinese Traffic West. One was a study of possible Buddhist influence on early Christianity and Common-era Judaism, and the other was concerned with economic trade between East and West via overland routes. I find this project very interesting and will follow it with real curiosity.

Sunita of Outer Space - Where else but in America?

The Dendritic Advantage - I've been saying this for years: If Solar Radiation makes Clark Kent a Superman it ought to at least make you a little healthier. There are few things sunshine and fresh air won't cure. Add regular outdoor exercise and you may live to be a hundred.

When Detection Doesn't - Try Bird Flu a la Britannia.

Negative Refraction - I gotta admit, I love at least the theory behind this idea.

No Time Like the Present

A View on a Nightmare - What bothers me most about Vista is Vista.

FutureWar - FCS: We've still got a long ways to go in my opinion, but this ain't half bad for now.

Posted - This sounds more like something the New York Times would believe.

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Monday Political and Business Appraisal 2/5/07

Monday Political and Business Appraisal

US Pushes China - I'll follow this closely, but don't really expect much out of the Chinese.

Is it My Imagination? - Or are the newly elected, and all-powerful Dems playing the game like they are the little snot-nosed nerds on the playground? If you can't win and then get your ducks in a row long enough to pull your stick out and beat the competition on the head, what kinda good are ya? Jeez, it's like the party is run by women. Wait a second...

Nader Slams Hillary - That's like a fuzzy little guinea pig slamming a Brahma Bull. Ralph, back up a step or two, she's got real horns and you're just wearing a tin Viking Cap. Sometimes I think the men of the Democratic Party and their satellite greenies wear the skirts and the women wear the Jock Straps. Let's see Dukakis, Carter, Mondale, Kerry, Al, then there's Hillary, Nancy, Dianne, Cindy, Jane. Well at least there's always Ted Kennedy when they need a real man.

Sometimes Rudy - Sometimes he reminds me of Teddy Roosevelt. Even the New York part. Then again, sometimes he reminds me of Ethel Kennedy.

Tax Cuts - Now let's see what both the Republicans and Democrats are made of. Something a little less taxing I hope.

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing - Well, not really. But it's Saudi Arabia for God's sake. Who in their right mind would want to go to the Middle Ages for a dance party? Weren't there any marches and swamps they could have used where they were from? That you just gotta go to Jeddah to get your dance on for the big prom? Oh well, you get what you are gonna pay for when you take a trip back about 10 centuries.

Faith, or Folly - I'm all for giving more power to the people of Africa. The place is generally a hell-hole and could do little worse than precedent. But with all of the problems there, is it a wise investment right now?

Goodbye Mikhail - You would have done well to skip town before being caught by the current Russian government.

Niche Minisite

Apple Takes a Bite out of the Beatles

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