Oh Rats

via Maggie’s Farm I guess I’ll never be Top 10% in anything

Do you drink a glass of wine with dinner every night? That puts you in the top 30 percent of American adults in terms of per-capita alcohol consumption. If you drink two glasses, that would put you in the top 20 percent.

But in order to break into the top 10 percent of American drinkers, you would need to drink more than two bottles of wine with every dinner. And you’d still be below-average among those top 10 percenters.

The top 10 percent of American drinkers – 24 million adults over age 18 – consume, on average, 74 alcoholic drinks per week. That works out to a little more than four-and-a-half 750 ml bottles of Jack Daniels, 18 bottles of wine, or three 24-can cases of beer. In one week.

Or, if you prefer, 10 drinks per day.

Mind you, I could give that a shot on any given day.

But not per day.

When You Feel You Rate the Job

…but just can’t be bothered to DO it once it’s yours.

REPORT: OBAMA HAS MISSED OVER HALF HIS SECOND-TERM DAILY INTEL BRIEFINGS

A new Government Accountability Institute (GAI) report reveals that President Barack Obama has attended only 42.1% of his daily intelligence briefings (known officially as the Presidential Daily Brief, or PDB) in the 2,079 days of his presidency through September 29, 2014.

The GAI report also included a breakdown of Obama’s PDB attendance record between terms; he attended 42.4% of his PDBs in his first term and 41.3% in his second.

The GAI’s alarming findings come on the heels of Obama’s 60 Minutes comments on Sunday, wherein the president laid the blame for the Islamic State’s (ISIS) rapid rise squarely at the feet of his Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

First of all, he’s probably HATIN’ on somebody keeping tabs on him (HOW DARE THEY! He’s the PRESIDENT!!!) Secondly, keeping us safe is boring. Not like a tidy little Par 3 in Martha’s Vineyard, where it’s a thrill a minute.

Third is, God forbid, we GOT hit, he’d get to be a hero on TV. Where he plays President.

Happy Birthday Dear Daughter

21

twoyearolddaughter

I can not believe it.

bunbucket2

My Bride’s only 29…how can we possibly have a 21-yr-old???????

And now she’s spreading her wings…

wings

We love you so, Dear Sweet Girl.

Spam Of The Day

The blueberry and ginger flavor in these creamy desserts are a better mix than the sisterly duo in Woody Allen’s dramedy about a crumbling socialite. But the extravagant Jasmine and the blue collar Ginger do have their sweet sides, to be sure. Dish out these mini parfaits as Cate Blanchett and Sallie Hawkins each vie for gold statuettes on Oscar night.??MPE Realisations Limited formerly Land and Marine Project Engineering Limited

At least I think this was spam…

This Weekend At The Belford Brewery

They had some nice fresh new beers on tap:

This is the first pint of their “Leonardville Lager”

lenlag

Lightly carbonated and very full-bodied for a lager. Tasty.

And for you Oktober Festers they have a “Munchen Dark”

munchdark

Nice and caramel/chocolaty.

I really like having a brewer in town where you can just hang out with the guys making the beer and shoot the breeze.

Mt. Ontake Erupts

At least 30 hikers are dead according to CNN.

Good lord, those poor folks…when that ash cloud comes roaring down at you there’s no where to run.

Semper Latte Aside

YOUR President was REALLY on his game in New York

Obama Praises Muslim Cleric Who Backed Fatwa on Killing of U.S. Soldiers

Research is hard when he has so MUCH important stuff to say.

Stop The Presses! For The First (And Presumably Last) Time EVUH…

…I tip my cap to PETA

BHOPAL: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (Peta) first shot at religious activism — a call to Muslims to observe a vegetarian Eid this October — has misfired. It met with violent protests here on Monday.
One policeman was injured and a Peta volunteer roughed up by protestors, which included women, and later whisked away by Bhopal police.

Peta woman volunteer “Benazir Suraiya” attempted to make an appeal to Muslims to go vegetarian at the legendary Taj-ul-Masajid, said to be one of Asia’s largest mosques.

Camouflaged in a green hijab, to highlight the importance of vegetarianism, she walked towards the mosque gates with a couple of PETA volunteers holding a placard in Urdu and English which read: “Make Eid Happy for All. Try Vegan”.

It went about as well as you might expect.

But I do give them Big Credibility Points for trying.

Who’s The Cowboy Now?

Mr. Smart Power Peace Prize goes off to war

(CNN) — The United States and several Arab nations rained bombs on ISIS targets in Syria on Tuesday — the first U.S. military offensive in the war-torn country and a forceful message to the militant group that the U.S. would not stand by idly while it carried out its rampage of terror.
The airstrikes focused on the city of Raqqa, the declared capital of ISIS’ self-proclaimed Islamic State. But other areas were hit as well.
The operation began with a flurry of Tomahawk missiles launched from the sea, followed by attacks from bomber and fighter aircraft, a senior U.S. military official told CNN.
‘There are five Arab nations involved’
The goal: Taking out ISIS’ ability to command, train and resupply its militants.

Evul Schtupid Illegal Bush: Congress Approval? Check. UN Approval? Check.

Unicorn Whisperer Obama: I won.

ISIS On Lurch

No love for Mr. Jenn-Jish Khan

To the extent that Kerry, the uncircumcised old geezer, suddenly became an Islamic jurist, issuing a verdict to the people that the Islamic State was distorting Islam, that what it was doing was against Islamic teachings, and that the Islamic State was an enemy of Islam.

I have to admit I chuckled at that.

It’s Lovely to Be a Superior Being

That way you get to be dismissive of all SORTS of normally worthy folks who might otherwise be regarded in a different light.

“…You know what that is? That is not a scandal. Because we have this notable and important thing in this country in which the guys in uniforms, no matter how many medals and stars and fancy hats and all those things that they have, they do not get to decide whether or how the United States conducts a war…”

Rachel Maddow is one such “superior person” apparently.

Samantha Ponder Explains How It REALLY Shouldn’t Be So Difficult

…for Jameis Winston to ACT LIKE A HUMAN BEING.

If You’ve Got 20 Minutes

Peyton Manning At UVa is well worth watching

He is charming, humble, and funny.

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!!!

And could SOME pirates talk… 😉

For those interested in the REAl THING, I just finished a great pirate history book:

Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates by David Cordingly

Frick

Scootlund Votes “Nae”

It was the right call.

“It Was Regrettable That The Incident Occurred”

Those poor souls involved in the incident were unavailable for comment

(Reuters) – Eight bodies, including those of three journalists, were found after an attack on a team trying to educate locals on the risks of the Ebola virus in a remote area of southeastern Guinea, a government spokesman said on Thursday.

“The eight bodies were found in the village latrine. Three of them had their throats slit,” Damantang Albert Camara told Reuters by telephone in Conakry.

…Fofana said the team that included local administrators, two medical officers, a preacher and three accompanying journalists, was attacked by a hostile stone-throwing crowd from the village when they tried to inform people about Ebola.

He said it was regrettable that the incident occurred as the international community was mobilizing to help countries struggling to contain the disease.

I just can’t wait for 3,000 of our men and women to get there. What could possibly go wrong?

Presbyterians Denied Peaceful Venting Opportunity To Express Grievances

As always the Evil Oppressors over-react

Massive anti-terrorism operations in NSW and Queensland:

7News reporter Robert Ovadia has received information about an alleged plot to kidnap a random person from the streets of Martin Place in Sydney’s CBD, execute them by beheading …

AFP swooped in pre-dawn raids to disrupt plans to commit a violent attack on Australian soil.

They executed 25 search warrants in Sydney, arresting 15 people, one of which has been charged with serious terror offences.

Click for video. Around 500 officers were involved in the raids:

Hundreds of ASIO and heavily armed police officers swooped in anti-terrorism raids to prevent a mass casualty shooting in Sydney and possible beheadings.

Police backed up by armoured cars arrested dozens of people in a dozen separate pre-dawn operations across NSW and Brisbane.

The combined effort amounted to the largest anti-terrorism operation in Australian history – and senior officers revealed the attack by a suspected terrorist cell was imminent.
Further to come following court appearances later today.

UPDATE:

One of the men arrested in Thursday morning’s anti-terrorism raids in Sydney has appeared in court on a charge of conspiracy to commit a terrorist act …

Prosecutors allege he was part of a plan to commit an act to “shock, horrify and terrify” the community.

UPDATE II:

Mr Abbott was briefed on the police raid on Wednesday night, which included intelligence that public beheadings were planned. “The exhortations, quite direct exhortations, were coming from an Australian who is apparently quite senior in ISIL to networks of support back in Australia to conduct demonstration killings here in this country,” he told reporters.

“So this is not just suspicion, this is intent and that’s why the police and security agencies decided to act in the way they have.”

The raids follow investigation of a Lakemba-based company over $9 million in possible Islamic State funding.

Naturally, some folks are upset that they weren’t given advance warning of the raids

UPDATE III. A press release from Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesidiot Uthman Badar:

As late as last week both the Prime Minister and outgoing ASIO boss David Irvine confirmed that there was no intelligence of any plans to carry out attacks in Australia. A few days later and we wake up to heavy-handed raids and talk of a “terrorist network” planning attacks.

The timing of these raids is suspect indeed. With the ‘anti-terror’ laws, which hit a wall in the community, to be tabled to Parliament next week and with ‘military intervention’ imminent in Iraq, these raids are very timely for the Government and its propaganda campaign for the same.

Shockingly, even CNN is covering this.

This Headline Is Awesome

On so many levels

“Lamb sex assault case legally ‘rare'”

And believe me, if you click and read the article it gets even weirder.

Lots Of Barricades Up On Broadway And Wall Street This Morning

And tons of cops around. I asked one what was up and he sort of chuckled and said “Third Anniversary of Occupy.”

Oh for god’s sake.

The Left is doing whatever they can to yell “squirrel!”

Looks To Me Like He Could Use

…a sturgeon.

3,000 Troops

To Africa.

To “fight” ebola.

Is he out of his freaking mind? What the hell can they possibly, possibly do that 50 doctors and a ton of medical and food supplies can’t?

Here’s, sadly, what I see as most likely happening: as ebola requires quarantines of people our troops will be forced to guard/enforce them. And a quarantine makes those poor folks’ lives even suckier, as there are people dying, food and sanitation getting sketchy, etc, and there will be a riot. And our troops will be forced to fire to defend themselves.

People will die, civilians will die, at our hands for absolutely no reason.

And once again Obama will have given the US another knockdown on the world stage.

An Anniversary Post Reprint: Very Early This Morning

…ten years ago today…

…Ivan was busy blowing through major dad’s office.

Read more »

Ten Years Ago Today

Hurricane Ivan. Some of my posts.

So, Right About Now ~ 9:15 P.M., 2004 ~ The Phone Rings

…and it’s the Mountain Man.

“So, what the fuck you gonna do?”

“What’re you talking about?”

“The hurricane! What the fuck you gonna do?”

“Oh, we’re okay. It’s going to Biloxi.”

“No, it’s not. It’s headed right towards you.”

“WHAT? Where’d you hear that?! Ebola! Change the channel to John Ed!”

Oh, well…shit. All those freakin’ calculations about how far Biloxi was (131 miles), how far out the Cat 4 winds extended, how far out the hurricane winds extended, wasted. And I hear about it from Seattle! The next phone call was Bingster and NJSue…saying “good-bye” as upbeatedly as they could. How did everybody know but me? Just my luck, but it probably saved me a couple hours worth of fruitless worrying that I could do nothing about.

What to do when the house was already as cold as a meatlocker (in anticipation of power loss coupled with a closed house ~ not comfortable after even an hour or two with three adults), all the “valuables” were tripled wrapped in Hefty garbage bags and stuffed into the dishwasher, oven (both of which then had their doors locked) and the dryer (door duck-taped). Paintings, etc. were up on the beds in case we flooded. Both tubs were filled to the brim and covered with shower curtains to preclude evaporation, while every pot and pitcher was filled with tap water, as well as both sides of the kitchen sink and the washing machine. I had a spot cleared in the back hallway and ebola’s mattress staged in case the roof went and we had to get major dad someplace safe. (I remembered the ‘mattress as head cover’ trick from someone’s description of Andrew)

That’s part of my peace with these things ~ anal retentive preparation.

And nothing to do but wait.

Gulf Power kept us lit until about 10:30 or so ~ pretty damn admirable, considering how biblical it was when the power finally did poop out. The hand helds we were using between the Squid Terrorist and us crackled through the night with voices from the apartments near us, some folks using the same channel. Comforting at first and we’d just switch around them. But as the wind started to rise and the rock ‘n rollin’ began in earnest, it got pretty disconcerting. Because they were scared. Really scared. The roof had started to drip or the door’d flew open. One fellow we heard tore our hearts out.

“Help me. Please help me. Is there anybody out there?”

There was and we were, but all we could do was offer encouraging words. And change up the channels again, because we needed to know we’d conserved the batteries as best we could in case WE needed to let the other household know we were in big trouble. Not that they could have done anything, either, but they’d come looking for us in the morning.

It’s freakin’ grim. The roof is flexing in ways I’d never imagined and rain is being driven in the roof vents, so that there’s a teeny little snake of damp spreading its way across the center of the cathedral ceiling. The noise is deafening. Indescribably evil.

All I can do is wander from one part of the house to the other ~ checking ceilings for leaks, God knows what I’m looking for. I’ve got a little circuit I’m repeating over and over, but I’m always drawn back into our bathroom. There, in all the cacophony of the heavens gone mad, right above the linen closet…is emanating the teeniest, tiniest, most terrifying, barely audible squeak of all time.
“EE-yah. EE-yah.”
The rafters flexing and I fixated on it.

“Mom, will you sit DOWN?!” Ebola saved me with his crankiness. We settled in to listen to John Ed on the radio. You learn pretty cool things in a situation like that. For instance, someone called in (WHO still had a freakin’ operable phone?!?!) and asked about the old wisdom of “open a window to even the pressure”. No one had an answer that second, but, a couple minutes later, an engineer called in to insist one should NEVER EVER open that window. Apparently modern houses are built so “tight” that an opening ~ be it door, window, etc ~ allows all that pressure to flow into the house with no exit. Right up to where your roof blows like a giant Jiffy Pop bag.

Who knew?

By 1 a.m., 16 September, Ivan was roaring outside with everything he had. So I thought.

By 3 a.m., Ivan was making it abundantly clear that he’d just been warming up and I was pretty thankful the batteries were keeping the radio humming along, since we needed the distraction. You start thinking “couple more hours, couple more hours”, but you’re just faking yourself out, since no one really has a clue what the storm will do. It’s pretty much calling its own shots and you’re just there for the ride, if you’re foolish enough to be in the way.

Ebola and I had long ago shoved the 3 stacked coolers (with 60-80 lbs of ice per) against the front door, and were continually wringing out sodden beach towels from the wind driven seepage. You could call us “preoccupied” when the walkie talkie lit up, and it was the Squid Terrorist. It was mildly upsetting to hear the, um, “frantic” in his voice while the Furies shrieked and screamed overhead and all around.
He was in the process of hammering 2 X 4’s across his bowing front door, threatening to use the china cabinet when he ran out of that wood (“Not MY china cabinet, you don’t!” we heard in the background.). Because, he shouted:

“It sounds like the Devil’s trying to beat his way in!”

He was. He had certainly come to town.

Yeah I’m Lazy

But this never gets old

I just don’t have the energy to talk about how I feel about ISIS, Ebola, the Border…all the really great stuff going on right now.

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