"why Ron Paul"?

Nick pointed out this link to me. It does a pretty good job of explaining "why Ron Paul?"

Icelandic Woman's Experience Visiting the U.S.

The story of Eva Ósk Arnardóttir:

During the last twenty-four hours I have probably experienced the greatest humiliation to which I have ever been subjected. During these last twenty-four hours I have been handcuffed and chained, denied the chance to sleep, been without food and drink and been confined to a place without anyone knowing my whereabouts, imprisoned. Now I am beginning to try to understand all this, rest and review the events which began as innocently as possible.

Last Sunday I and a few other girls began our trip to New York. We were going to shop and enjoy the Christmas spirit. We made ourselves comfortable on first class, drank white wine and looked forward to go shopping, eat good food and enjoy life. When we landed at JFK airport the traditional clearance process began.

We were screened and went on to passport control. As I waited for them to finish examining my passport I heard an official say that there was something which needed to be looked at more closely and I was directed to the work station of Homeland Security. There I was told that according to their records I had overstayed my visa by 3 weeks in 1995. For this reason I would not be admitted to the country and would be sent home on the next flight. I looked at the official in disbelief and told him that I had in fact visited New York after the trip in 1995 without encountering any difficulties. A detailed interrogation session ensued.

I was photographed and fingerprinted. I was asked questions which I felt had nothing to do with the issue at hand. I was forbidden to contact anyone to advise of my predicament and although I was invited at the outset to contact the Icelandic consul or embassy, that invitation was later withdrawn. I don't know why.

I was then made to wait while they sought further information, and sat on a chair before the authority for 5 hours. I saw the officials in this section handle other cases and it was clear that these were men anxious to demonstrate their power. Small kings with megalomania. I was careful to remain completely cooperative, for I did not yet believe that they planned to deport me because of my "crime".

When 5 hours had passed and I had been awake for 24 hours, I was told that they were waiting for officials who would take me to a kind of waiting room. There I would be given a bed to rest in, some food and I would be searched. What they thought they might find I cannot possibly imagine. Finally guards appeared who transported me to the new place. I saw the bed as if in a mirage, for I was absolutely exhausted.

What turned out was something else. I was taken to another office exactly like the one where I had been before and once again along wait ensued. In all, it turned out to be 5 hours. At this office all my things were taken from me. I succeeded in sending a single sms to worried relatives and friends when I was granted a bathroom break. After that the cell phone was taken from me. After I had been sitting for 5 hours I was told that they were now waiting for guards who would take me to a place where I could rest and eat. Then I was placed in a cubicle which looked like an operating room. Attached to the walls were 4 steel plates, probably intended to serve as bed and a toilet.

I was exhausted, tired and hungry. I didn't understand the officials' conduct, for they were treating me like a very dangerous criminal. Soon thereafter I was removed from the cubicle and two armed guards placed me up against a wall. A chain was fastened around my waist and I was handcuffed to the chain. Then my legs were placed in chains. I asked for permission to make a telephone call but they refused. So secured, I was taken from the airport terminal in full sight of everybody. I have seldom felt so bad, so humiliated and all because I had taken a longer vacation than allowed under the law.

They would not tell me where they were taking me. The trip took close to one hour and although I couldn't see clearly outside the vehicle I knew that we had crossed over into New Jersey. We ended up in front of a jail. I could hardly believe that this was happening. Was I really about to be jailed? I was led inside in the chains and there yet another interrogation session ensued. I was fingerprinted once again and photographed. I was made to undergo a medical examnination, I was searched and then I was placed in a jail cell. I was asked absurd questions such as: When did you have your last period? What do you believe in? Have you ever tried to commit suicide?

I was completely exhausted, tired and cold. Fourteen hours after I had landed I had something to eat and drink for the first time. I was given porridge and bread. But it did not help much. I was afraid and the attitude of all who handled me was abysmal to say the least. They did not speak to me as much as snap at me. Once again I asked to make a telephone call and this time the answer was positive. I was relieved but the relief was short-lived. For the telephone was setup for collect calls only and it was not possible to make overseas calls. The jailguard held my cell phone in his hand. I explained to him that I could not make a call from the jail telephone and asked to be allowed to make one call from my own phone. That was out of the question. I spent the next 9 hours in a small, dirty cell. The only thing in there was a narrow steel board which extended out from the wall, a sink and toilet. I wish I never experience again in my life the feeling of confinement and helplessness which I experienced there.

I was hugely relieved when, at last, I was told that I was to be taken to the airport, that is to say until I was again handcuffed and chained.Then I could take no more and broke down and cried. I begged them at least to leave out the leg chains but my request was ignored. When we arrived at the airport, another jail guard took pity on me and removed the leg chains. Even so I was led through a full airport terminal handcuffed and escorted by armed men. I felt terrible. On seeing this, people must think that there goes a very dangerous criminal. In this condition I was led up into the Icelandair waiting room, and was kept handcuffed until I entered the embarkation corridor. I was completely run down by all this in both body and spirit. Fortunately I could count on good people and both Einar (the captain) and the crew did all which they could to try to assist me. My friend Auður was in close contact with my sister and the consul and embassy had been contacted. However, all had received misleading information and all had been told that I had been detained at the airport terminal, not that I had been put in jail. Now the Foreign Ministry is looking into the matter and I hope to receive some explanation why I was treated this way.

(English Translation: Gunnar Tómasson, Certified translator)

"people willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both"

Toshiba Builds 100x Smaller Micro Nuclear Reactor

Toshiba has developed a new class of micro size Nuclear Reactors that is designed to power individual apartment buildings or city blocks. The new reactor, which is only 20 feet by 6 feet, could change everything for small remote communities, small businesses or even a group of neighbors who are fed up with the power companies and want more control over their energy needs.

The 200 kilowatt Toshiba designed reactor is engineered to be fail-safe and totally automatic and will not overheat. Unlike traditional nuclear reactors the new micro reactor uses no control rods to initiate the reaction. The new revolutionary technology uses reservoirs of liquid lithium-6, an isotope that is effective at absorbing neutrons. The Lithium-6 reservoirs are connected to a vertical tube that fits into the reactor core. The whole whole process is self sustaining and can last for up to 40 years, producing electricity for only 5 cents per kilowatt hour, about half the cost of grid energy.

Toshiba expects to install the first reactor in Japan in 2008 and to begin marketing the new system in Europe and America in 2009.

*grin*

"Someday, we'll look back on this, laugh nervously and change the subject."

Lessons

This is audio of a young man calling into a radio station with a great reminder to all of us. What a pure hearted young man.


Here's the radio station's website that carried it.

Good Ron Paul Interview

Ron Paul in Business Week.

Musical Lights

This display was the work of Carson Williams, a Mason, Ohio, electrical engineer who spent about three hours sequencing the 88 Light-O-Rama channels that controlled the 16,000 Christmas lights in the 2004 version of his annual holiday lighting spectacular. His 2005 display included over 25,000 lights that he spent nearly two months and $10,000 to hook up. So that the Williams' neighbors wouldn't be disturbed by constant noise, viewers driving by the house were informed by signs to tune in to a signal broadcast over a low-power FM radio station to hear the musical accompaniment.

Carson's Christmas display proved so popular that it was featured in a Miller Lite beer commercial in December 2005. Unfortunately, it also proved so popular that after a 6 December 2005 traffic accident in his neighborhood, Carson Williams agreed to indefinitely discontinue his display because it was causing severe traffic congestion problems.

For 2006, Mr. Williams wanted to exhibit his show somewhere that would make it more accessible to the public, so he arranged a partnership with Festivals of Mason, Inc. to host his "Christmas in Lights" show at Heritage Oak Park on U.S. 42 from December 2 through December 31. This year's entry will present continuous shows using a number of decorated house facades that visitors can view from their cars drive-in-theater style, again using FM radios to listen to the musical accompaniment.

Here's a view of Carson's 2006 light show:



Consar Lights is a custom provider of holiday light animation. The company was formed by Carson and Sherry Williams in 2005. Carson and Sherry Williams' home was made famous in 2005 by the viral video featuring custom animation and light design by Carson and the music of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra . The Williams' home was also featued on The Today Show, Inside Edition and CBS Evening News. Miller Beer also used the custom animation for a Lite beer commercial.

*deep breath* Thanksgiving weekend.

Sorry about that "mind trick" post. I'll try and do a better job of checking my facts before I post. If you want to see the actual facts read the *edit* at the bottom of that post.

Well, the holiday weekend is over. It was a whirlwind for Heidi and me. Thursday we did two family Thanksgivings. One at noon and one at five.

Friday morning we got up, took my car to the repair shop and headed for Kansas. We ate lunch with Caleb and Bethany in Hannibal (we just happened to get there within 10 minutes of each other). Friday night we went to Sabetha's Window Opening. :-) It's such a small town thing. All the shops decorate their stores with a theme (Christmas around the World was this year's), and people just flock to main street to get cider, popcorn, and candy while they browse the shops. The best part about it was that EVERY ONE was there, so I got to see lots of people I haven't seen in a long time.

We spent the weekend at Jill and Larry Meyer's. Jill and my wife Heidi are first cousins. Their daughter loved me (which is nice 'cause some of Heidi's little cousins are...well...not real fond of me).

Saturday we at lunch with Brooke and Vince Francesi (in town for the weekend) at Gus's Grill. I true culinary delight...or small town greasy spoon...whatever.

Saturday night we went to testimonies at church and then with the single group afterwards (is that still legal even after you're married?).

Sunday was baptisms at church then on the road by 4:00pm. We made it home in 6 hours and 15 minutes with one stop. The only bad part of the trip was that I got sick. My throat got really sore and now I'm suffering today. I've got a sore throat, body aches, stuffy head, and the occasional sneeze. Bleh.

Good times.

Dollars in context.

Click to enlarge

Mind Trick

This is kinda interesting.

At the end of this message, you are asked a question.

Answer it immediately. Don't stop and think about it.

Just say the first thing that pops into your mind.

This is a fun "test"... AND kind of spooky at the same time! Be sure to
leave a comment saying if you are among the 98% or the 2%. You'll
understand what that means after you finish taking the "test."

I was in the 98%. Pretty crazy how it works.

Now - just follow the instructions as quickly as possible.

Do not go to the next calculation before you have finished the
previous one. Keep scrolling down after each answer until further instructions.

You do not ever need to write or remember the answers, just do it
using your mind.

You'll be surprised.


Start:

How much is:
15 + 6



































3 + 56





































89 + 2



































12 + 53















































75 + 26














































25 + 52







































63 + 32










































I know! Calculations are hard work, but it's! nearly over..


Come on, one more! ...





























123 + 5














































































QUICK! THINK ABOUT A COLOR AND A TOOL!










































Scroll further to the bottom....












































A bit more...














































You just thought about a red hammer, didn't you?



If this is not your answer, you are among 2% of people who have a
different, if not abnormal, mind.

98% of the folks would answer a red hammer while doing this exercise.

Crazy huh? Don't forget to leave a comment saying what group you were in. It should be fun to see how many people are in each group. It makes me wonder if the numbers actually influence you, or if people would say red hammer most of the time they were asked for a color and a tool regardless.

*Edit: Ok, so this is mostly a bunch of crap with a little grounding in reality thrown in. For good scientific examination of it, check here. Sorry.

Hmm...maybe I should switch... :-)

Best campaign commercial EVER!

Do you care enough to do a little research?

Excellent Wikipedia article on Ron Paul's policies!

Ron Paul Ad

Here's a draft of a full page ad for USA Today.

Congrats to Caleb and Bethany!

Caleb Wyss from Goodfield and Bethany Strahm from Washington announced their engagement this past Sunday. I have a ton of respect for both of them, and have no doubt they will make an amazing couple in Christ.

Ron Paul on Monetary Policy

Ron Paul continues to amaze me with his intelligent grasp of economic issues.

Ron Paul on Abortion and Stem Cell Research

Ron Paul sticks to his core principles, even when it's "politically incorrect"

Blitzer tries to call Dr. Paul out on some of his lone dissenting votes, but Dr. Paul explains himself beautifully.

hmm

If we don't fight hard enough for the things we stand for, at some point we have to recognize that we don't really stand for them.

- Paul Wellstone

At the Foot of the Cross

Ron Paul on Jay Leno

Ron Paul 2008

He's sounding better and better every time I hear him!
I don't think he's perfect, but I think he's the best we've got, and, as far as I can tell, he's the closest to my value's of any of the candidates.

(CBS) Political Players is a weekly conversation with the leaders, consultants, and activists who are shaping American politics. This week, CBS News' Brian Goldsmith talked with Texas Rep. Ron Paul about his candidacy for president, his competitors for the Republican nomination, and the agenda driving his long-shot campaign.

CBSNews.com: The L.A. Times poll came out this week and showed that nationally you are at two percent. Are you running to actually win the Republican nomination? Or are you running to make a statement about the war and other issues?

Ron Paul: Well, I do not think you ever run not to win. I think there are statistics that contradict some of the polls that we are looking at that makes us a lot more optimistic. When we look at the number of people who are joining the campaign, the money raised. So, in that regard, we are seen as a much more viable candidate than some of the national polls say. But it is still early. We are just starting to spend our money. I think the campaign is still yet to be won.

CBSNews.com: The vast majority of Republicans, at least at this point, support President Bush's foreign policy, which you've railed against. Has the Republican Party changed?

Ron Paul: Well, I think I support Bush's foreign policy in the year 2000. He was pretty clear on the criticism of what was going on under Clinton. He criticized nation building and policing the world. And he thought we should have a more humble foreign policy.

I am, in many ways, supporting the Bush policy of the year 2000. And many of the Republican traditions, in the past, always advocated a lot more caution in foreign policy. But I think you are right. I think, right now--although the party shifted from their traditions--yes, there are still a lot of Republicans who support this policy.

But you cannot win an election with a very, very narrow base of the Republican Party when 70 percent of the American people are sick and tired of the war and they want out of it. So, if the Republican Party wants to win next year, they have to have a candidate that is willing to change the foreign policy and not just keep digging a deeper hole for ourselves.

CBSNews.com: But why do you think the vast majority of Republican voters, and Republican candidates, seem to support the Bush foreign policy of 2007?

Ron Paul: I think they get trapped, you know--this whole idea that if somebody dies and you do not keep fighting and a lot more people die, then somebody has died in vain. And they are not willing to make a mistake, or admit that they have made a mistake.

In doing this, they continue to make the same mistake over and over again. They do not have the courage to change course when it needs to be done. And the American people want a change in course. I did not like the course that we went on. I did not like the change when we left our policies of the year 2000.

And I have been arguing the case that we should not have done it. Now, I am arguing the case that we ought to change our ways. And yet, they're digging in their heels and digging a deeper hole for themselves. And also, the harder they fight for this foreign policy, the worse they are doing. And the members of Congress I talked to up here behind the scenes are very, very concerned. They think that we are going to lose even more Congressional seats next year and that we do not have a plan, with this foreign policy, to win next year.

So I am much more with the American people than with maybe some of the Republican leadership that are sticking with Bush on this war.

CBSNews.com: Now you’ve said a number of times that Republicans behind the scenes are uncomfortable with his foreign policy. Can you name names and tell us which Republicans have said that they're uncomfortable?

Ron Paul: No. I would not do that. Because it was said in confidence. And, you know, they were just expressing themselves. But I think a lot of people know--and there are a lot of other outsiders who are assessing things who are saying the same thing--that nobody is predicting the Republicans are going to gain seats or come close to regaining control of Congress.

CBSNews.com: The other dark horse candidate who has gotten a lot of press attention recently is former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. But he only raised about one-fifth the money that you got last quarter.

Where is all this money you are raising coming from? Do you think it is mostly from Republicans who are disillusioned with the current policies? Or is it from people who ordinarily would not participate in the political process?

Ron Paul: I think there is a little bit of each, so some Democrats, some Independents, and some disgruntled Republicans that saw that we did not stick to our principles of limited government and balanced budgets and joined the entitlement crowd.

But, interestingly enough, it is our campaign that gets the most money from the military. And that is something that the other candidates do not want to admit.

CBSNews.com: Your position on Iraq polls is popular but your other libertarian positions on issues like privatizing Social Security, privatizing Medicare, privatizing a whole host of government functions, that does not seem to be a majority position in the country at all. How do you persuade people to change their minds about that?

Ron Paul: Well, it is also true that that has not been the most important issue in my campaign. Philosophically, I think those programs are doomed to fail. And most young people know that they are not going to get any Social Security. And that is why they are joining me when I said, "I would let you get out." And they love that.

Because all they are going to do is pay into it, and not get anything. But I really take a pretty soft stand on that. One thing that can be said is, I have never voted to spend one nickel out of Social Security funds. If I had my way, all that money would have been there. Because I do not spend it on this militarism and all the other wasteful programs. So, I am a true protector of the Social Security fund.

And the older people in my district have always, overwhelmingly, supported me. But my approach is toward a transition. I'm not calling for closing down any of these programs. Matter of fact, I do the opposite. I save hundreds of billions of dollars in rejecting this notion that we can run a world empire, cut the deficit, and then actually use some of those funds to tide people over who have become dependent. And this offers a way of helping people who are dependent without putting anybody out in the street.

CBSNews.com: In 1988, you were the presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party. Are you open to running on an independent ticket this time?

Ron Paul: No, I have no plans to do that.

CBSNews.com: But do you completely rule it out?

Ron Paul: Well, about as close as you can get, I really, really cannot conceive of that happening.

CBSNews.com: You and Rudy Giuliani, in particular, seem to get into these tussles in Republican debates. Is there any chance you could support him if he were the Republican nominee based on the policy positions he has taken thus far?

Ron Paul: Well, if he became a civil libertarian and rejected the Patriot Act and decided that we ought to bring the troops home from Iraq, yeah, I would consider it.

CBSNews.com: And do you think there is any chance of that happening?

Ron Paul: Not much.

CBSNews.com: And so, is there a potential that you could support the Democratic nominee if the Republican is so opposed to your positions on these issues?

Ron Paul: No, I cannot conceive of supporting a Democratic candidate.

CBSNews.com: But if the Democrat is for ending the war and the Republican is not, and you are not going to support a third-party candidacy, where do you go from there?

Ron Paul: Well, that I will have to deal with when the time comes, after we find out how we do in these primaries. My main job right now is to appeal to that 50 percent of the people in New Hampshire who are independent who are very interested in my campaign.

Besides, the Democrats are all neo-cons to a large degree. None of them are saying the troops ought to be home before 2013. They are not willing to take these options off the table. And I do not think they offer an alternative one bit. I think foreign policy will not change with the top three or four or even five of the Democratic candidates.

CBSNews.com: You don't think the Democrats are at all closer to your position on the war than the Republicans?

Ron Paul: Well, Dennis Kucinich would be, and Mike Gravel. But they have not done anything to slow this war up. They have not responded to the election of last year. And that is why the Democratic base now is very frustrated, and why I am getting more Democrats to my rallies than ever before.

CBSNews.com: It’s not because President Bush keeps vetoing their plans to set a timetable for ending the war?

Ron Paul: No. I do not think they are very earnest to do it. Why was it that the Democratic leadership removed from the supplemental bill early this year, the admonition that Bush could not start another war in Iran without getting permission from the Congress?

That was in the bill. And it was deliberately removed in almost saying, "Yeah, we are not going to hold you to the line here and go and do what you want. If you have to bomb Iran, we will not say a whole lot." So, that is what they were subtly saying. But I do not know why the Democratic leadership deliberately removed that. And that was supported by a coalition of antiwar Republicans and Democrats.

CBSNews.com: On the lighter side, you are on Jay Leno next week. Can you give us any preview of what you plan to say?

Ron Paul: No. I have to wait for the questions, I guess.

CBSNews.com: You’re not working out any bits in advance?

Ron Paul: No. I think what I ought to do is watch his show and find out how it runs.


Ron Paul served in Congress first in the late 1970's and early 1980's and then again since 1997. Born in Pittsburgh, Paul graduated from the Duke School of Medicine and became an obstetrics/gynecology specialist who has delivered over 4000 babies. He was the 1988 Libertarian nominee for president and garnered 0.5% of the vote. Paul was one of only four congressman to endorse Ronald Reagan for president in 1976, and he has consistently voted against most taxes and government spending, and opposed the Patriot Act and the Iraq war. Paul is married with five children and 17 grandchildren.

see original story from CBS here.

Word Puzzle 2

Here's part two of the Word Puzzle Challenge. I'm not 100% satisfied with all my answers on this one, so let's see what you guys can do.

Word Puzzle♦

I thought these were fun. This is the easier one of two. You can click the image to enlarge it. Feel free to leave your answers in the comments.

Weird Math Proof

According to a website I found this morning, 0.999… is the same as 1. Not just very close, but precisely identical:a = 0.999…
10a = 9.999…
10a - a = 9.999… - 0.999…
9a = 9
a = 1

There's no trick here. It's just a mathematical fact that most people find deeply counterintuitive.I'm definitely one of those people who find it deeply counterintuitive. Can anyone explain this in layman's terms?

*edit: upon further examination, it seems the only reason this holds up is because when you multiply by 10 to get 9.999..., you effectively have just added one more 9 to the already infinite number you had before... That's hard to wrap your mind around. If you place a limit on infinity then this proof wouldn't work.

'round and 'round

The following sentence is true. The preceding sentence is false.

Or how about, "This statement is false".

Or, "Everything I say is a lie."

The Battle

This video is a poignant expression of the battle that rages for an unbelievers heart. It especially brought to mind friends of mine who have battled with drugs and alcohol. It's a wonderful visual of how hard the world can grip us, and how much Christ wants a relationship with us.

Kiva: Loans that Change Lives

Have you ever thought about how unfair it was that you were born into relative wealth?(relative being to the rest of the world)

Have you ever felt the burden to help those in third world poverty but had no idea how?

With all the corruption in third world governments it seems almost impossible for me to actually make a difference in someone's life.

Well, I think it just got a little easier.

I read an article this morning about an amazing idea to change peoples lives. Read this article, and then go to Kiva's website to learn more. I think it's an amazing idea.

imaginary reality

Here's the link to a really interesting article with a very thought provoking conclusion. It's about how our eyes have a blind spot caused by our optic nerve connecting to our retina. It's got some neat experiments you can do to "find" that blind spot.

I've never seen "Lord of War", so this is in no way intended to endorse that movie. It just made me think, so I thought I'd share.

So much for the 30 year laptop battery

Here's a story that's doing the rounds on the blogs - Scientists Invent 30 Year Continuous Power Laptop Battery.

The story is written in peculiarly convoluted prose, but appears to be saying that a breakthrough in nuclear energy technology means that we'll all be running around with magic batteries in mobile and laptop, in "two to three years". They'll be perfectly safe, will save the world, and will probably last longer than you will.

Sadly, no. As with the best techno-rubbish, there is a story in there, but you'll be pootling around the skies in jetpacks before you're powering your Dell from neutron decay.

That story is betavoltaics. This is a way of generating electricity much as solar cells generate power from photons, only by using high energy electrons generated from the beta decay of certain radio-isotopes. If you pick your isotope well -- the examples given use tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen - the other decay products are inert, and in theory you can generate useful amounts of power for a reasonable length of time. As with every radioactive system, it has a half-life depending on the isotope; tritium's half-life is around twelve years, so every decade or so your battery will halve in power - but that won't change, no matter how little or much power you take out in the duration.

Beats Duracell, right?

Again, sadly, no. There are a few small problems.

Continue story here.

Zimbabwe's last white farmers face final push

Ringed by a clutch of Zimbabwean soldiers clicking automatic weapons, Charles Lock handed over the keys to his farm and drove off his land for the last time.

Scores of white farmers, the last survivors of President Robert Mugabe's land grab, and thousands of their black workers are going through similar agonies.

They now face the final deadline. As from today, any white farmer still on his land will be deemed to be trespassing on state property.

All agricultural land was officially nationalized last year — with the seizure to take effect from Oct 1 this year.

In advance of this deadline, Zimbabwe's army and the Central Intelligence Organization have been tormenting the last handful of white farmers and their workers.

About 50 have been summoned to appear at magistrates' courts. Some have surrendered their farms and homes in despair in the last few weeks.
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Mr Lock, however, is determined to fight on. "I may have been forced to go but I will continue to fight in the courts," he said. "I have five court orders allowing me to stay."

Continue the article here.

Zimbabwe runs out of Bread

Zimbabwe's bakeries have shut and supermarkets have warned there will be no bread for the foreseeable future as the government admitted that wheat production had collapsed following the seizure of white-owned farms.

The agricultural ministry announcement that the wheat harvest is only about a third of what is required, and that imports are held up by lack of hard currency, came as a deadline passed today for the last white farmers to leave their land or face prosecution for trespass.

The maize harvest is expected to be equally dire and price controls to contain hyperinflation have emptied the stores of most other foodstuffs. The World Food Programme says at least 3 million people - one in four of the population - will need food aid in the coming months. It describes hunger in some parts of the country, which used to be a food exporter, as "acutely serious"

Continue Article

30 Year Continuous Power Laptop Battery

Your next laptop could have a continuous power battery that lasts for 30 years without a single recharge thanks to work being funded by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. The breakthrough betavoltaic power cells are constructed from semiconductors and use radioisotopes as the energy source. As the radioactive material decays it emits beta particles that transform into electric power capable of fueling an electrical device like a laptop for years.

Although betavoltaic batteries sound Nuclear they’re not, they’re neither use fission/fusion or chemical processes to produce energy and so (do not produce any radioactive or hazardous waste). Betavoltaics generate power when an electron strikes a particular interface between two layers of material. The Process uses beta electron emissions that occur when a neutron decays into a proton which causes a forward bias in the semiconductor. This makes the betavoltaic cell a forward bias diode of sorts, similar in some respects to a photovoltaic (solar) cell. Electrons scatter out of their normal orbits in the semiconductor and into the circuit creating a usable electric current.

The profile of the batteries can be quite small and thin, a porous silicon material is used to collect the hydrogen isotope tritium which is generated in the process. The reaction is non-thermal which means laptops and other small devices like mobile phones will run much cooler than with traditional lithium-ion power batteries. The reason the battery lasts so long is that neutron beta-decay into protons is the world's most concentrated source of electricity, truly demonstrating Einstein’s theory E=MC2.

The best part about these cells are when they eventually run out of power they are totally inert and non-toxic, so environmentalists need not fear these high tech scientific wonder batteries. If all goes well plans are for these cells to reach store shelves in about 2 to 3 years.

Share the Well

I recently received the following email from a friend:"I'd like to get a little feedback from you on a question. The chapter? John 4, when Jesus meets the woman at the well. The question? What is the water he is refering to that will satisfy her thirst? For a long time I had the wrong idea on this water. How about you? Next, what do we need to do to be satisfied by it?"Here's the text of John 4 that the email refers to:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.The part that leaves me with the most questions is in verse 14 where Jesus says "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst;" I've got a few thoughts on what this "living water" could be, but I'd like to hear some of your thoughts on it first. As you think about it, remember that Christ said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."

Big...really big

I'm doing some work for Caterpillar in East Peoria. One of the buildings we're working in has 1,231,000 square feet under roof. Another building has 841,000 square feet. They both have close to a mile long perimeter each. Those are really big buildings.





If you total it all up, Caterpillar has around 5,100,000 square feet of building space on their East Peoria campus.

For comparison, the average U.S. home is 2,500 square feet. Caterpillar could fit 2,040 average size homes inside the buildings in East Peoria.

It makes for a lot of walking when you're following Natural Gas piping all over the campus. :-)

Fear

Many things that are happening in our country today are a direct result of this emotion. People fear hurt. People fear death. People fear the loss of prosperity. People fear terrorism, because they see it as the vehicle that can bring all their other fears to pass.

Colin Powell has this to say about terrorism and the threat it poses to the USA:"What is the greatest threat facing us now? People will say it's terrorism. But are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So what is the great threat we are facing?"

Powell adds, in an interview with Walter Isaacson, that to improve its image in the world, the USA should focus on welcoming newcomers. He takes on the immigration debate that has become a hot-button issue in the presidential race:

"America could not survive without immigration," he says. "Even the undocumented immigrants are contributing to our economy. That's the country my parents came to. That's the image we have to portray to the rest of the world: kind, generous, a nation of nations, touched by every nation, and we touch every nation in return. That's what people still want to believe about us. They still want to come here. We've lost a bit of the image, but we haven't lost the reality yet. And we can fix the image by reflecting a welcoming attitude -- and by not taking counsel of our fears and scaring ourselves to death that everybody coming in is going to blow up something. It ain't the case."

Entire Article

FDR had this to say regarding what should concern America: The following quote was from his 1933 inaugural address during which America was in the depths of the depression"the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"

read entire speech here

Jesus Christ said, in Mt 10:28, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Terrorism is nothing to fear. They can't take anything we won't give, but we have to come to grips with our fear of loss. We, as a nation, need to see that the things we stand for are far more important than the possessions we acquire.

If we, as a nation, had a Biblical world-view, if we could stand in the face of explosions, if we could love in the face of hate and say, "To live is Christ and to die is gain", then would the forces of terror lose.

The answer to terrorism isn't more background checks. It isn't more laws and stricter controls. It's the freedom that's found in Christ.

...one nation, under God,...

TODAY'S INSIGHT

The Congress And Supreme Court Speak

What joy for the nation whose God is the LORD, whose people he has chosen for his own (Psalm 33:12, NLT).

Dear friends:

In a previous message, I said that our national Christian and Bible-based heritage was occasionally challenged by agnostics and atheists, but after careful study, the challenges were always dismissed.

One challenge prompted an extensive study by the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary. The 1854 report could not have been more clear: "At the time of the adoption of the Constitution and the amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged.... It must be considered as the foundation on which the whole structure rests.... That was the religion of the founders of the republic, and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants." This report distilled the collective organic utterances of the Founding Fathers, the Congress, the courts and the states.

Also, in 1892, the U.S. Supreme Court faced a similar challenge and concluded, "This is a religious people... we are a Christian people... These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation." (The Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States).

What is amazing is that in this 1892 conclusion, the Court cited 87 different historical and legal precedents from the Founding Fathers, the Congresses and the state governments, saying, "There is no dissonance in these declarations. There is a universal language pervading them all, having one meaning; they affirm and reaffirm that this is a religious nation." The Court said it clearly: "This is a Christian nation."

The Court's decision was ruled by facts, and legal precedent, as it is supposed to be. Compare 87 precedents with virtually zero precedents in the 1962 case removing prayer from schools, and the 1963 case removing the Bible.

We are not talking about ancient history. In as recent as 1931, in United States v. Macintosh (1931), the Supreme Court declared, "We are a Christian people.... according to one another the equal right of religious freedom, and acknowledging with the reverence the duty of obedience to God."

Although it is not politically correct today to say so, without question America was a Christian nation. God was involved in the founding of our great nation. He has blessed America, and shed His grace on us as with no other nation in history.

Yours for helping to fulfill the Great Commission each year until our Lord returns,

Bill Bright

One more. :-)

Ok, this will be the last one of these for awhile. *grin*

A census taker approaches a house and asks the woman who answers the door,"How many children do you have, and what are their ages?" Woman: "I have three children, the product of their ages are 36, the sum of their ages are equal to the address of the house next door." The census taker walks next door, comes back and says, "I need more information." The woman replies, "I have to go, my oldest child is sleeping upstairs." Census taker: "Thank you, I have everything I need." Question: What are the ages of each of the three children?

Another one (just for fun)

Ok...this one's a little tougher, but that makes it more fun right!

There are 3 black hats and 2 white hats in a box. Three men (we will call them A, B, & C) each reach into the box and place one of the hats on his own head. They cannot see what color hat they have chosen. The men are situated in a way that A can see the hats on B & C's heads, B can only see the hat on C's head and C cannot see any hats. When A is asked if he knows the color of the hat he is wearing, he says no. When B is asked if he knows the color of the hat he is wearing he says no. When C is asked if he knows the color of the hat he is wearing he says yes and he is correct. What color hat and how can this be? There is no play on words and there are no tricks. If I used had instead of has it is purely accidental.

*note: There's not "trick". It's a logic puzzle.

Fun Riddle

Punctuate the following so it makes sense:
"That that is is that that is not is not is not that it it is."

Convicting?

Think about it.



UPDATE: If you can't see the video this morning, you're not alone. Apparently the "Embed" option on YouTube has gone screwy. Check back later in the day or just go here

The HORROR of Blimps (hilarious)

Last week while traveling I stopped at a Zany Brainy store and saw that they had a blimp for sale. It's called Airship Earth, and it's a great big balloon with a map of the Earth on it, and two propellers hanging from the bottom. You blow up the balloon with helium put batteries in it, and you have a radio control indoor blimp.

I'd seen these things for sale in Sharper Image catalogs for $60-$75. At Zany Brainy it was on clearance for $15. What a deal!

Last night my wife was playing tennis and it was just my daughter and I at home. I bought a small helium tank from a party store, and last night we put the blimp together.

Let me tell you, it's quite a blimp. It's huge. The balloon has like a 3 ft diameter.

We blew it up with the tank attached the gondola with the propellers, and put in batteries.

Then we balanced the blimp for neutral buoyancy with this putty that came with it, so it hangs in the air by itself neither rising nor falling.

It was easy and fun, and then I blew up another balloon and made Mickey Mouse helium voices for my daughter.

My three year old girl loved it. We flew the blimp all over the house, terrorized the dog, attacked the fish tank, and the controls were so easy my daughter could fly.

Let's face it, blimps are fun.

Alas, the fun had to end and my daughter had to go to sleep. I left the blimp floating in my office downstairs, my wife came home, and we went to bed, and slept the sleep of the righteous.

At this point it is important to know that my house has central heating. I have it configured to blow hot air out on the ground floor and take it in at the second floor to take advantage of the fact that heat rises.

The blimp which was up until this moment a fun toy here embarked on a career of evil. Using the artificial convection of my central heating, the blimp stealthily departed my office. It moved silently through the living and drifted to the staircase. Gliding wraithlike over the staircase it then entered the bedroom where my wife and I lay sleeping peacefully.

Running silently, and gliding six feet or so above the ground on invisible and tiny air currents it approached the bed.

In spite of it's noiseless passage, or perhaps because of it, I awoke. That doesn't really say it properly. Let me try again.

I awoke, the way you awake at 2:00 AM when your sleeping senses suddenly tell you without reason that the forces of evil on converging on you.

That still doesn't do it. Let me try one more time.

I awoke the way you awake when you suddenly know that there is a large levitating sinister presence hovering towards you with menacing intent through the maligant darkness.

Now sometimes I do wake up in the middle of the night thinking that there are large sinister and menacing things floating out of the darkness to do me and mine evil. Usually I open my eyes, look and listen carefully, decide it was a false alarm, and go back to sleep.

So, the fact that I awoke in such a manner was not all that unusual.

On this occasion I awoke to the sense that there was a large menacing presence approaching me silently out of the gloom, so I opened my eyes, and there it was! A LARGE SILENT MENACING PRESENCE WAS APPROACHING ME OUT OF THE GLOOM, AND IT COULD FLY!!!

Somewhere in the control room of my mind a fat little dwarf in a security outfit was paging through a Penthouse while smoking a cigar with his feet up on the table, watching the security monitors of my brain with his peripheral vision. Suddenly he saw the LARGE SILENT SINISTER MENACING FLOATING PRESENCE coming at me, and he pulled every panic switch and hit every alarm that my body has. A full decade's allotment of adrenaline was dumped into my bloodstream all at once. My metabolism went from "restful sleep mode" to HOLY SHIT! FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE OR DIE!!!! mode" in a nanosecond. My heart went from twenty something beats per minute to about 240 even faster.

I always knew this was going to happen. I always knew that skepticism and science were mere psychological decorations and vanities. Deep in our alligator brains we all know that the world is just chock full of evil and monsters and sinister forces aligned against us, and it is only a matter of time until they show up. Evolution know this, too. It knows what to do when the silent terror comes at you from out of the dark.

When 50 million years worth of evolutionary survival instinct hits you all at once flat in the gut at 200 mph it is not a pleasant sensation.

Without volition I screamed my battle cry (which is indistinguishable to the sound a little girl makes when you drop a spider down her dress (not that I'd know what that sounds like,) and lept out of bed in my underwear.

I struck the approaching menace with all my strength and almost fell over at the total lack of resistance that a helium balloon offers when you punch the living shit out of it with all the strength that sudden middle of the night terror produces.

It's trajectory took it straight into the ceiling fan which whipped it about the room at terrifying velocity.

Seeking a weapon, I ripped the alarm clock out of its plug and hurled it at the now High Velocity Menacing presence (breaking the clock and putting a nice hole in the wall.)

Somehow at this moment I suddenly realized that I was fighting the blimp, and not a monster. It might have been funny if I didn't truly and actually feel like I was having a legitimate heart-attack.

On quivering legs I went to the bathroom and literally gagged into the toilet while shaking uncontrollably with the shock of the reaction I'd had.

Unbelievably, both my wife and daughter had completely slept through the incident. When I decided that I wasn't having a heart attack after all I went back into the bedroom and found the blimp which had somehow survived the incident.

I took it to the walk in closet and released it inside where it floated around with the air currents released from the vents in there. I closed the door, this sealing it in, and went back to bed. About 500 years later I fell asleep.


***

At about 7 am my wife awoke. She had been playing tennis and wasn't aware that we have assembled the blimp the previous evening, and that is was now floating around the the walk-in closet that she approached.

The dynamic between the existing air currents of the closet and the suction caused by opening the door was just enough to give the blimp the appearance of an Evil Sinister Menace flying straight towards her.

This time the blimp did not survive the encounter, nor almost, did I, as I had to explain to my very angry spouse what motivated me to hide an evil lurking presence in the closet for her to find at 7 am.

I can order replacement balloons on the internet but I don't think I will.

Some blimps are better off dead.

Ron Paul

This is a really good web page that brings together what Ron Paul stands for. The more I hear about him, the more I believe he's the kind of leader this country needs.










Brief Overview of Congressman Paul’s Record:

• He has never voted to raise taxes.


• He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.


• He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.


• He has never voted to raise congressional pay.


• He has never taken a government-paid junket.


• He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
  


• He voted against the Patriot Act.


• He voted against regulating the Internet.


• He voted against the Iraq war.
  


• He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.


• He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

Bleh

Run down, sinus drainage down the back of my throat, sore throat, headache, stiff neck.

paging Dr. Plattner, paging Dr. Plattner.

*sigh*

Elusive trait

1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Contentment has got to be one of the most elusive traits in our society today. Heck, capitalism relies on DIScontentment in order to thrive. We are incessantly bombarded with the messages of more, better, improved until we are compelled to go buy the latest and greatest.

Think through your current possessions. Mentally put them in either the categories of needs or wants. It seems like 90% of what we're burdened with would fall into the wants category.

What does this say about us as God's people? I'm not sure really, but I don't think it's all that good.

Nevertheless, not I...

Have you ever wondered what the balance is, in a Christians life, between self-discipline and Christ-reliance. You have that "I should do more" feeling, but you know that of yourself you can do nothing.

Part of us wants to say, "I just need to 'buckle down'...try harder...be more disciplined", and yet we know that fruit doesn't come from discipline. The Word doesn't call them "Fruits of the disciplined life", it calls them "Fruits of the Spirit".

At the same time there is this sense that you can't just sit back, relax, and let the Spirit produce fruit either. There should be a striving for the mark of the prize...

Sometimes I struggle with the balance between those concepts.

Here are the two ditches I find myself slipping into.1. The Self-Discipline ditch: I decide that I can do this, so I buckle down, and lo-and-behold, I do it. I do it. I think that ditch is pretty obvious. I fail to give God the glory.

2. The Christ's power ditch: I know I can't do it of myself, but I recognize that Christ has the power to work it in me, so I give it a shot, remembering that it is Christ's work. Then I fail. Then I tell myself, well...I guess Christ wasn't ready for me to________ (you fill in the blank). I can end up putting blame on Christ.Thoughts on a practical balance between those two ditches. Scripture references would be appreciated.

Lions vs Buffalo vs Crocodile then vs Buffalo again.

Absolutely AMAZING.

sigh

A life lived in fear isn't much of a life at all.

When writer Elena Lappin flew to LA, she dreamed of a sunkissed, laid-back city. But that was before airport officials decided to detain her as a threat to security ...

Ron Paul @ the National Right to Life Convention

Ron Paul on Entitlements

Ron Paul on the Second Amendment

Ron Paul '08

I don't necessary agree with EVERYthing he stands for, but I think he's close. Real close.

How to help the poorest

How to help the poorest
Springing the traps

Aug 2nd 2007
From The Economist print edition

THIS slip of a book is set to become a classic of the “how to help the world's poorest” genre. Its author, Paul Collier, an Oxford economics professor, has spent 30-odd years puzzling mainly over sub-Saharan Africa and trying to work out why so many of its 48 countries have become basket cases. Crammed with statistical nuggets and common sense, his book should be compulsory reading for anyone embroiled in the hitherto thankless business of trying to pull people out of the pit of poverty where the “bottom billion” of the world's population of 6.6 billion seem irredeemably stuck.

Mr Collier reckons that most of the bottom billion live in 58 countries, 70% of them in Africa and most of the rest in Central Asia. Since the 1990s, more than 4 billion people in the poor world have begun to move out of the depths of poverty, some of them very fast. But the countries where the poorest live have barely grown at all since the 1970s.

Most of them are caught, as Mr Collier describes it, in one or more of four traps: wars, in which 73% of the poorest have been caught at one time or another; natural resources gone wrong (think of Nigeria and its oil), which accounts for about 30%; landlocked with bad neighbours (look at Chad); and the bad-governance-in-a-small-country trap (too many to name).

What comes most convincingly out of Mr Collier's book is that aid from the guilt-ridden West is not the answer, or at least not the main answer, and certainly not aid as it has so often been disbursed. For sure, aid has not been useless. “A reasonable estimate is that over the past thirty years [aid] has added one percentage point to the annual growth rate of the bottom billion,” he writes. “Aid has been a holding operation preventing things from falling apart.”

But Mr Collier is sceptical about the mantra of doubling aid to Africa, as the rich countries' leaders grandly promised at Gleneagles in Scotland two years ago. “The statistical evidence generally suggests that aid is subject to what is called ‘diminishing returns’,” he writes. Take Nigeria. Over the past 30 years or so, it has received some $280 billion “with depressingly little to show for it”. Plainly, vast dollops of aid have gone down the drain. In one of many statistical cameos, he cites a study showing that only 1% of €20m of aid sent to Chad actually reached the rural health clinics that were its intended target.

The rich world should concentrate, he argues, not on throwing aid at Africa, whether in budget support or projects, but on taking measures to encourage growth, above all through improving trade. The poor billions of East Asia have begun to race out of poverty not because of aid (very few received much) but because the conditions were created for their countries' economies to grow.

Mr Collier has an array of suggestions, all of them sensible, though some are unlikely to be taken up soon. For instance, he makes a bold case for military intervention to restore order in failing states (like Somalia); “the typical cost of a civil war”, he calculates, is “around $64 billion.” He also lists a raft of laws that should be enacted by Western governments, and of charters, mainly for poor countries to sign up to, that would provide a framework for setting things on the right track. Five suggested charters—for natural resources revenues, for democracy, for budget transparency, for post-conflict situations, and for investment—set out the sort of norms which, if adhered to by rich governments and poor ones, would help hoist the poorest out of their traps.

In the past two years, two famously opposing clarion calls, one from the aid-loving left, the other from the aid-is-always-wasted sceptical right, have been trumpeted. The one, Jeffrey Sachs's “The End of Poverty”, exaggerates the value of aid, especially in the massive dollops he proposes. The other, William Easterly's “The White Man's Burden”, rightly mocks the delusions of the aid lobby but exaggerates the negative aspect. Mr Collier, though tending towards the second view, steers a masterly course between the two.

A-MAZ-ING

Law of Supply & Demand

I'd encourage you to read up on what's happening in the Zimbabwe economy right now. It's terribly tragic.

breathless

I love cars. I love driving cars. I love looking at cars. I love reading about cars. I love cars. It's true.

A big high five to the first person who correctly identifies this car. It's just being introduced into the United States by a company that hasn't had a US presence since 1995. I think it's beautiful. Opinions? What's your "most beautiful car ever"?

What is man that you are mindful of him?

While really incomprehensible, try to grasp something of the absolute power of Christ. He created everything (Hebrews 1:1-3). Some of the below is from the Moody video, "The Milky Way and Beyond," and some from another source:
* In one second, our sun emits more energy than man has been able to create since Adam and Eve.
* Our sun is only an average-size star. One star, the Pistol Star, produces 1 million times the energy of the sun and has 100 times its mass.
* Our sun and entire solar system are just a pinpoint, or small speck, in our Milky Way galaxy.
* Quasars, at the extreme edge of the known universe, some 1,000 times brighter than our Milky Way galaxy, emit as much energy every second as our sun does in 10 million years.
* There are perhaps 200 billion stars just in our galaxy.
* If our galaxy were the size of the North American continent, our solar system would only be the size of a tea cup.
* While estimates continue to rise, our galaxy is just one of more than 125 billion galaxies in the universe, many of which are comprised of 200 billion or more stars.
* Astronomers say that the total number of stars in space could equal or surpass the total number of grains of sand on all the seashores of the world, and in most cases they are separated by trillions of miles.
Through the ancient prophet Isaiah, God said, "My own hands stretched out the heavens" (Isaiah 45:12, NIV).
The psalmist pondered the wonders of creation and asked God, "What is man that you are mindful of him?" (Psalm 8:4, NIV).
The Bible also reveals, "For by him (Christ) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17, NIV).
And yet, with incomprehensible love, the Mighty Creator visited this pinpoint of a planet, in a pinpoint of a solar system, in a pinpoint of a galaxy, in the vastness of the universe. He was conceived in a virgin's womb, lived a perfect life, and died on a bloody Roman cross, just because He loves you, and me. He rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and before he left, He promised not only to prepare a place for us, but that He would return to earth. In the meantime, He dwells within every believer (Colossians 1:25-27).
Only He is worthy of our worship and praise.

War...What is it good for?

I just read a very thought provoking and emotional article on war. Several soldiers, who had returned from Iraq, were interviewed. Unfortunately it's too graphic to post here. If you'd like to read it, please email me lrknapp at gmail dot com. I'll send you the link. I would highly recommend reading it.

enmity

So much pain and suffering.

Genesis 17:18-21And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! 19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.Decisions have consequences. While our decisions may not influence nations for thousands of years, our decisions will have some influence. May we look to God's Word for our guiding principals as we strive for holy living through Christ.

Nuclear?

An interesting argument for nuclear energy.

So, what did you do with your life?

Well, for starters I saved about a billion people worldwide.

I think I'd like to meet that man.

G-Cans Project

These are photos of Tokyo's massive underground flood control system. It consists of five underground containment silos that are over 213 feet tall and 104 feet in diameter, connected by almost 4 miles of tunnels buried 164 feet below the ground. There's also a large underground water tank that's 83 feet tall, 581 feet long, and 256 feet wide! The roof of this massive chamber is supported by 59 massive pillars.

Water is pumped from these chambers into the harbor via two turbine pumps powered by the same jet engines on the 737. These engines generate 14,000 hp each and can move 200 TONS of water per SECOND!! That's almost 48,000 gallons of water per SECOND! That means in the time it takes you to read this sentence those pumps could've moved over 100,000 gallons of water! That is simply incredible. Here are the photos in no particular order.

Have YOU heard?

Norman Borlaug We should know this man.

Pictures

I've been wanting to post some pictures of our honeymoon for a long time, and I just haven't gotten around to it. In the mean time my family went on a weekend vacation to Kentucky, so I thought I'd throw some of those pictures in too. The captions go with the picture directly above them.

















This is the beautiful setting for our honeymoon. (Naples, Florida)


















This is me inserted into previously shown beautiful setting. :-)























I don't know how well you can see it, but this is a live crab. One pincher was as big as his body and the other one was much smaller.























This is me on a part of the beach that was literally covered in shells. You can see the difference between where my feet are and where my hands are. I'm picking up handfuls of broken shells.


















This is me acting brave and getting a close look at an alligator.


















This is Heidi actually being brave and holding an alligator!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Now switch over to our Kentucky mini-vacation. We went to the Kentucky Horse Park for the day on Saturday.

















They had an Arabian Horse competition going on in the main arena.


















This is a Paso Fino. It's gait is beautiful to watch. It has the smoothest ride of any breed.


















This is some of my family petting a Tennessee Walker. My family owned some of these back in the days when I was small (around 20 years ago).



















One of the few pictures of my adorable niece smiling for a camera!