Wednesday, May 28, 2008

All Dressed Up With Nowhere To Go


More proof that progress is indoor plumbing!

Space station's sole toilet out of order
Story Highlights
* Liquid waste gathering system works sporadically; solid waste system is fine
* Crew was using Soyuz capsule's toilet but now has jury-rigged system
* Discovery is set to dock with space station next week

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The international space station's lone toilet is broken, leaving the crew with almost nowhere to go. So NASA may order an in-orbit plumbing service call when space shuttle Discovery visits next week.

Until then, the three-man crew will have to make do with a jury-rigged system when they need to urinate.

While one of the crew was using the Russian-made toilet last week, the toilet motor fan stopped working, according to NASA. Since then, the liquid waste gathering part of the toilet has been working on-and-off.

Fortunately, the solid waste collecting part is functioning normally.

Russian officials don't know the cause of the problem, and the crew has been unable to fix it.

The crew has used the toilet on the Soyuz return capsule, but it has a limited capacity. They now are using a backup bag-like collection system that can be connected to the broken toilet, according to NASA public affairs officials.

"Like any home anywhere, the importance of having a working bathroom is obvious," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said. Watch NASA say the toilet can be used in 'manual mode' »

The 7-year-old toilet has broken once before but not for as long a time, said Johnson Space Center spokeswoman Nicole Cloutier in Houston.

Discovery is already set for launch Saturday, with a planned docking with the space station Monday.

Cloutier said NASA officials are considering having some parts flown to Cape Canaveral, Florida, and placed in the shuttle during its countdown, an unusual and delicate situation. Because the shuttle's payload weight is limited and balance carefully calculated, it will be tricky to try to figure out where the parts can go, said Kennedy Space Center spokesman Bill Johnson

Discovery's main payload, a 32,000-pound Japanese laboratory addition, is so big that the shuttle's boom sensor system had to be removed to make room for the lab.

Banana In The Tailpipe


His name is Edward Smith and at a minimum he can be called a car enthusiast. He’s not a motor-head like the guys on Orange County Choppers, this guy LOVES cars. So much so that he has reportedly had sex with 1,000 of them.

Seriously?!?!?!? Oh how I wish I was making this up.

Sex With Cars

Edward Smith, who lives with his current "girlfriend" – a white Volkswagen Beetle named Vanilla, insisted that he was not "sick" and had no desire to change his ways.
"I appreciate beauty and I go a little bit beyond appreciating the beauty of a car only to the point of what I feel is an expression of love," he said.
"Maybe I'm a little bit off the wall but when I see movies like Herbie and Knight Rider, where cars become loveable, huggable characters it's just wonderful.
"I'm a romantic. I write poetry about cars, I sing to them and talk to them just like a girlfriend. I know what's in my heart and I have no desire to change."
He added: "I'm not sick and I don't want to hurt anyone, cars are just my preference."
Mr Smith, 57, first had sex with a car at the age of 15, and claims he has never been attracted to women or men.
But his wandering eye has spread beyond cars to other vehicles. He says that his most intense sexual experience was "making love" to the helicopter from 1980s TV hit Airwolf.
As well as Vanilla, he regularly spends time with his other vehicles – a 1973 Opal GT, named Cinnamon, and 1993 Ford Ranger Splash, named Ginger.
Before Vanilla, he had a five-year relationship with Victoria, a 1969 VW Beetle he bought from a family of Jehovah's Witnesses.
But he confesses that many of the cars he has had sex with have belonged to strangers or car showrooms.
His last relationship with a woman was 12 years ago - and he could not bring himself to consummate it, although he did have sex with girls in his younger days.
Mr Smith, from Washington state in the US, kept quiet about his secret fetish for years, but agreed to be interviewed as part of a channel Five documentary into “mechaphilia”. He is shown meeting other enthusiasts at a rally in California
Talking about how his unusual passion developed, Mr Smith said: "It's something that grew as a part of me when I was a kid and I could not shake it.
"I just loved cute cars right from the beginning, but over the years it got stronger once I got into my teenage years and was my first having sexual urges.
"When I turned 13 and the famous Corvette Stingray came about, that car was pure sex and just an incredible machine. I wanted it.
"I didn't fully understand it myself except that I know I'm not hurting anyone and I do not intend to."
He added: "There are moments way out in the middle of nowhere when I see a little car parked and I swear it needs loving.
"There have been certain cars that attracted me and I would wait until night time, creep up to them and just hug and kiss them.
"As far as women go, they never really interested me much. And I'm not gay.”
Mr Smith is now part of a global community of more than 500 “car lovers” brought together by internet forums.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Ya Digg

Bad video...cool song

In Memoriam


Although it was observed on Monday, May 26th, this Friday the 30th is Memorial Day. It is dedicated in general to the men and women that have served in the U. S. Military, and more specifically those that have lost their lives during this commitment. Having served eight proud years in the United States Coast Guard myself I understand firsthand the sacrifice that each service member and the families that support them make on a daily basis.

If you know someone that has served, or still is, tell them thank you!

I and many others, spend a countless amount of energy criticizing and ridiculing our government to an extent that would easily have us jailed in other countries. We are afforded this luxury as a direct result of the men and women of the United States armed forces and the families that support them.

…from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Coming Soon To DVD

Of course it never made it the big screen but it could definitely be worth a rental.

Good Night And Good Luck

Last night Keith Olbermann went on a huge Anti-Dubya rant. At the time I thought some of it was a little over the top. It was all comical but still it was a bit much. It was the sort of rant that you get when someone is really upset about something and attempts to put it into words.

As I said, “At the time”. This morning however, the President made a correlation between talking to Terrorist and appeasing the Nazis of World War II. Never mind that his administration is talking to Terrorist and other nations currently in the “Axis of Evil”. Still this was a blatant shot at the Democratic front runner.

I am now in full agreement with Keith when he says to the president in this rant, “Shut! The Hell! Up!”


Monday, May 12, 2008

Marvin K. Mooney...


Would you please go now!!!

18 years or so ago the United States entered into a new era (so some would say). We were ushered into this phase by a smooth talking southerner and his too smart for her own good wife. It was the first time in my life that I was voting for a candidate more because of whom he was married to and less than any real qualifications he may have had on his own.

I don’t mean to suggest that I didn’t think Bill was qualified. Quite the contrary, he was, and remains, extremely qualified. He was, however, overburdened by personal controversy. Plainly put, we knew what we were getting when it came to his “personal dalliances”. For me this was acceptable. I was electing them to run the country and really didn’t give a flying fig about where he put is “Willy”.

Look Ma – I made a funny!

I, and others of the same mindset, found ourselves rewarded with 8 pretty good years. There was a budget surplus (I honestly didn’t realize that our government could do that). The world actually looked to us for answers all the while trusting that they’d be good ones. It really was a time of prosperity in a lot of regards. I won’t belabor the last 7 years or stir up too much of the angst that most of us have as a result. Let’s just say that the administration that followed the Clintons played Bizzaro to their Superman.

So here we are 18 (give or take) years later with an opportunity to relive the past or move into a new era yet again. The world has changed quite a bit and we ‘Mercans have become quite cynical. In my hometown gas is at $3.78 a gallon for the cheap stuff, ($3.75 with my Safeway discount). We have lost well over 4,000 U. S. Soldiers in the Iraq “war”. Housing costs have skyrocketed. The Fed can’t cut rates fast enough. The list goes on. We are cynical with good reason.

This election someone has attempted to raise our spirits. Barrack Obama has attempted to crash through the protective wall we’ve all built up. He’s asked us to join him in a bit of a nationwide revival. He’s almost dared us to dream again. Some of us, myself included, were slow to answer the call. We’ve heard this song and dance before. Too many before him have said, “Trust in me and I’ll make it all better”. We’ve been burned before.

I admit that it feels different this time around. Apparently, I am not alone.

Today, May 12, 2008, is the day that Hillary Rodham Clinton officially finds herself trailing in all categories, including Super Delegates. Thanks to Representative Tom Allen (ME), Dolly Strazar (HI), Senator Daniel Akaka (HI) and most recently Keith Roark (ID) – Senator Barrack Obama has eclipsed Hillary in every Super Delegate count out there.

I state it this way because different news sites show a different count. CNN shows her chasing 4, the Associated Press has her chasing 7, MSNBC shows her trailing by 2.

Hillary, we all admire your fortitude and your strength. But there comes a time when you are simply talking just to hear the sound of your own voice. You’ve gone from being the reason I trusted your husband to run the country to being that guy that comes over to your house drinks all your beer, farts in your favorite chair and falls asleep clutching the remote long after the rest of us have gone to bed.

We all know why you entered the race. Much in the same way it did 18 years ago the country needed help. You and yours led us out of the woods back then and it seemed appropriate that you do so again. I get it. I really do. You got in the race for some pretty good reasons. What I can’t seem to reconcile is why you’re still in it?

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Beam on down baby

A buddy of mine sent this to me the other day and it's definitely worth spreading. I've never watched Adult Swim but it may be worth checking it out.


Cribs


Poolside



Karaoke