Star Wars Stamps

via tayster

Vote for a Star Wars stamp.

Of course, Darth Vader should win because it really is *his* story, after all. But I voted for Darth Maul because I just have thing for a horny man with a big light saber. ;-)

Sad News

My father-in-law passed away last night. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Blah blah blah

I was thinking of doing an outrageous post about what I would do if I could be God. But I just don't have much divine outrage in me today.

I just found out that the Dogwood Arts Festival isn't having its Art and Photography Show this year due to administrative problems. Well, I guess that's kind of a relief because I'd been dragging my feet about getting something ready for it. Last year I won a first place for the computer enhanced category. But I am a little disappointed too that this April won't have that event to attend.

We all are emotionally drained by the situation with the father-in-law. He is out of ICU now but is still in a coma. The uncertainty is as exhausting as anticipating a death. Cancer is a terrible thing. And the chemo used to treat it is almost worse. But what do you do? You're gonna die either way, so I guess it's better to go down fighting.

Speaking of cancer, I'm very sorry to hear about Elizabeth Edwards' cancer recurrence. Anyone who has dealt with cancer knows that recurrence is pretty bad news. I just read that it's in her hip as well as her rib. That's usually how it returns... with a vengeance. My sympathy and empathy to her and her family, especially her children. They are much too young to be facing this. Here's to that "biofriendly universe". *middle finger salute*

Update: More bad cancer news with Tony Snow's cancer recurrence. Again, my sympathy and empathy to him and his loved ones. Allow me to make a rather bold statement. I'm beginning to suspect that in large part the whole chemotherapy industry is just a big, expensive and not especially successful experiment that we all are paying for. Who is getting rich from this chemotherapy conspiracy? That is my question. And when you find that answer I think you'll also find the hand in most of the health care problems in our country today. Yes, sure, chemotherapy has probably benefited many people, but I suspect that these "success" stories have been exaggerated in the attempt to make more money from people in fear of death.

De-motivation

Make your own "motivational" poster.

Stage Name

Rae "Axes of Evil" Ann


Get your own stage name.

(actually, I do a better mouth guitar than air guitar)

The "Biofriendly" Universe

I read a really funny thing today over at Lubos Motl's. He was discussing the "invention" of the biofriendly universe by an "alternative physicist." Well, let's take a look at how friendly this universe is to biology.

Individual life is always fatal. Not so friendly.

Cancer has killed (and is killing) most of my older relatives. Not so friendly.

Do I really need to go on? I think I've pretty much smashed that little invention with two sentences.

Okay, how about I invent some things here too?

After all I can call myself a "seer" as much as anyone else. ;-)

Well, I have a headache right now and the Death Watch has begun for my father-in-law so the inventions will have to wait. Sorry.

The Great Global Warming Swindle

Please see Lubos Motl's post on this for a more detailed analysis of this documentary.


This is a must-see for everyone: all skeptics of global warming as well as true believers, as long as they can set aside their preconceived notions and objectively view the real facts. This is an eye-opening film for those whose only information on the imaginary "planetary emergency" comes from the AntiChrist himself and his lie-filled and erroneously titled piece of garbage, "An Inconvenient Truth." And the US TV networks really need to pick this up and broadcast it.

Update: The film now has its own domain.

If you are interested in real science and real truth please watch this 1.25 hour film:

AOL Polls

Results as of about 6:20 pm:


How credible is Gore on global warming?
Very 44%
Not at all 42%
Somewhat 13%
Total Votes: 13,958

How effective has Gore's global warming campaign been?
Somewhat 40%
Not at all 35%
Very 25%
Total Votes: 13,386

Comic Relief

Is it just me or is this graphic not kind of hilarious?





Browse other graphics from the IPCC.

Limbo

Happy Vernal Equinox. Today is a point of "balance" or maybe even "symmetry" in some sense. Maybe like that point when a ball thrown into the air is at the "top" of its travels and is momentarily "weightless" before it starts its fall. Well, whatever.

My father-in-law is in some kind of medical limbo, in a semi-to-full coma with no apparent causes. The outlook is grim. I am still awaiting any new information on his condition and prognosis. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

The Woman of His Dreams

My best friend's brother is an aspiring film-maker in LA. He has a short film in a contest for a Dreamworks mentorship. The more views and good reviews it gets the better his chances. Please take 5 minutes of you time to view it. I just watched it, and I think it is absolutely stunning - visually and pacing and all those other qualities that make good films. You can sign up to post a review, but it isn't necessary to sign up to view his or the other films.

Please watch it and help Walt in pursuing his film-making dreams:

The Woman of His Dreams by Walt Foreman (click it!)


You won't regret it! Thanks!

Mood Swing

It's "pi day" again. So have a slice of pie or something. ;-)

Last night I was washed over with an Amazing feeling of Divine Grace. Maybe it was just a hormonal shift, but whatever, I'm not complaining. :-) I had been thinking about the nature of faith and love and how difficult it seems for some people to see the Light. The radio played a series of Love songs in response to the revelations I began to write.

Love Is Divine

It must be for it to allow every single, wretched one of us to be loved by at least one person in our lives. Love is blind, as they say. The Divine is blind too, but voluntarily so. That's where the forgiveness comes through - in that blind spot. To forgive (and to love) someone in totality requires the decision to willfully ignore or overlook and voluntarily forget their negatives, whatever they might be. It's often difficult to maintain such mental tricks, but Divine Love makes it easier. That is the Power of Love.

Where Love Is

Love is that boundary between fantasy and reality. Not that love can't or doesn't exist in reality, but love is the bridge or the door linking the two. Looking from outside it might appear that love and faith have blinded people, but that's not quite right. In the Light of Love things just look a lot different. Call it blind faith if you like, but I prefer to call it looking through the eyes of the Divine.

And I'm sayin' a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight...

Serious developing concern

3-12-07

My father-in-law was rushed to the hospital this morning after collapsing at home. I'm still awaiting word on his condition.

3:30 PM They are still doing tests and conflicting reports, so still no real news. He seems to be feeling better though, so that's good.

3-13-07 3:45 PM

After much confusion at the hospital about this and that and which doctors are supposed know and do what, they finally decided that he has some kind of infection in his abdomen that needs surgical exploration and treatment. Antibiotics haven't worked as expected, and due to his already weakened condition the surgery is risky... but necessary. He is in surgery at this moment. (For all the people who think that the US health care system is great and that problems are rare, kiss my ass. A system is only as good as the people who work it, and there sure is a lot of incompetence out there.)

3-14-07 AM

Apparently, the surgery went well and they think everything will be okay. He's in ICU for a while.

3-16-07 AM

Well, things aren't so good. Despite the surgery and all kinds of tests and medicines he's not improving. One last possibility is that he has severe, systemic Candidiasis. We are still awaiting test results, etc. on that. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Falling Down (or live and let die 2)

"Is it me, or has Snow White developed an attitude lately?"


See, even Show White is fed up. :-) Comic orginally published in June 2002 Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Sorry for the "bleed through" of the opposite page.

Remember the 1993 movie Falling Down? It was about a guy who flipped out because of all the stupidity around him. Kind of like deciding to Live and Let Die.

Well, welcome to the bitchfest. Protective gear is recommended, and I can't be held responsible for "collateral damage." ;-)


Political Correctness Disclaimer: You must feel sorry for me and indulge my digression from rationality and niceness as I am a victim - a poor downtrodden minority who has suffered much abuse. That, and I've got a "mental condition" and might even be "autistic." But don't worry, I've got respect for SUVs. ;-)

Composition and Style 1

I know that my own writing skills have diminished since my school days and that I've slipped into some casual habits that aren't exactly considered 'good writing.' However, in this case, do as I say and not as I do. ;-)

I was fortunate to have some excellent teachers over the years who left me with some strong literary pet peeves. Their focus of instruction was teaching us how to communicate effectively and efficiently. They were wise enough to recognize the little tricks students used to fulfill their word count requirements for essays, etc., without actually saying much of substance. Sometimes that Dickensish flourish of phrases and words is fun and okay, but in general it's best to limit accessory and transitional phrases, especially when using them presents rather illogical connections.

Two of the most common culprits in transitional error are the phrases "needless to say" and "it goes without saying." If it is "needless" or "goes without saying" then don't say it. This was the rule I was taught, and it very much appeals to my logical thinking. The argument presented by my teachers was that when you use those phrases you are essentially nullifying whatever comes next although the intention is to say that something is obvious. Their solution to this problem was to simply use "obviously" or "apparently" or some other single word (or none at all and just say what you are going to say) that is more accurate in describing your next thought. These teachers wanted to instruct us on how to make sure every word we used was essential and supportive of the ideas we were trying to express. Word economy is perhaps a good description of this idea.

For example, here is part of the above message rewritten using those transitions so you can see how it changes the tone and effectiveness:

Needless to say, these teachers wanted to instruct us on how to make sure every word we used was essential and supportive of the ideas we were trying to express. It goes without saying, word economy is a good description of this idea.

Hmm, see how annoying and clumsy that sounds? Also, using those phrases gives a tone of condenscension and pretension, even if that is not the intention.

Well, I know I sound like a hard-ass about it, and I'm sorry if that is offensive to anyone. I don't mean any offense at all. I'm just trying to play "English teacher" here and share some of the great things I learned many years ago.

Live and Let Die

When you were young and your heart was an open book,
You used to say live and let live.
(You know you did, you know you did, you know you did)
But if this ever-changing world in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry,
Say live and let die!

"Live and Let Die" by Paul McCartney and Wings

I'm so sick and tired of how politicized everything has become. What ever happened to non-political decorum, manners, etiquette, courtesy, and just plain niceness? Why do people have to pollute these things with a political agenda? It only results in picking and choosing the recipients of decent treatment based on some particular trait, while making it okay to mistreat anyone else. It's mainly the "liberals" who do this in the guise of "political correctness" which means that you can't be correct or worthy of courtesy unless you are another liberal. Sorry, but that's just really dumb and wrong.

Not to let the conservatives off the hook, though. I'm also bothered that some them seem to forget their manners too. I do not agree that "freedom of speech" protects abusive language regardless of its political orientation. From a perspective that is not left or right, but is somewhere else, one can see that "freedom of speech" cannot truly exist in the absence of tolerance and temperance. How can people really promote freedom of expression and still try to shame or humiliate others for their expressions?

There has been an outpouring of bleeding heart sympathy for this young physicist in prison because he went on a $5 million SUV trashing spree. He and supposedly some "friends" spent a night vandalizing and torching SUVs (many Hummers) because they thought it was okay to destroy other people's property because of some "environmentalist" concerns. This boy's mother even condoned and enabled this destruction of property.

The leftists are bothered that this "genius" and possibly "autistic" physicist has been labeled a "terrorist" by the penal system. For a bunch of apparently very intelligent people, they sure are kind of dense to not see that Cottrell is in fact a terrorist, just as much as if he'd burned down an abortion clinic or anything else with the intention of causing terror. His actions weren't just a "prank."

terror:

1: a state of intense fear
2 a: one that inspires fear: SCOURGE b: a frightening aspect (the terrors of invasion) c: a cause of anxiety: WORRY d: an appalling person or thing; especially: BRAT
3: REIGN OF TERROR
4: violence (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands (insurrection and revolutionary terror)
synonym see FEAR

For the owners of SUVs and the car dealerships whose vehicles were ruined his actions most definitely caused terror and were meant to "intimidate a population" (SUV owners) "into granting their demands" (to stop "polluting" with these vehicles). How can a bunch of PhDs not see this when even a lowly housewife can? Well, the reason is that they allow their emotional, political beliefs to impair their judgment. This whole thing is a perfect illustration that a person's level of education and "intelligence" does not guarantee wisdom and discernment.

"Genius" is no more a "protected" status than "female" or "black" or "gay" or any other trait that the PC liberals try to tell us are "even more equal." Sorry, but if someone is such a "genius" he should know better than to go destroying other people's property. And his defense that he's "autistic" just doesn't hold up to examination. He's plenty capable of feeling his own self-pity, indignation, etc. I would venture to say that if he has some mental disorder it would be more like a sociopathic personality disorder, just like most other highly intelligent criminals.

And incidentally, autism has become one of the newest medical cash cows (supposedly odds of child being diagnosed with autism: 1 in 166), much like ADHD. Not that there aren't real cases of autism and other developmental disorders, but come on, I'm not buying that there is an epidemic of it. Hell, according to some of the literature even I might be autistic. Hey, where's my special treatment? ;-)

Of course, I've caught all kinds of grief over expressing my rather sensible and objective views on this story. I've just looked at it with the same skeptical and discerning eye as any other sensational story. I've tried to look at it from all sides and not just the one that I might most relate to. (Gee, why the hell don't they put me on the Supreme Court? I would so rock as a Justice. ;-) )

You know, being nice, kind, and generous is a terrible investment. I cannot stress enough how bad it really is. When you put your whole self into those things you're just using yourself up for nothing. It's not worth it. Eventually, your bank gets broke. Well, folks, mine's broke and I don't see any new resources coming in. (Though donations are always welcome.)

I've always tried to be a "live and let live" kind of person. But it's increasingly clear that I'm just about the only one left, so it's just a big, rotten losing battle. So what do you do when you're in a losing battle? Live and let die! Sorry, but my kindness, generosity, and self sacrifice are gone. There's nothing left anymore. Congratulations to the few who managed to steal the very last bits of it.

Colombian Protests

Currently, Colombian students are violently protesting President Bush's visit. I am quite certain that these students are brainwashed by Communist Socialist and whatever other extremists into believing that the US is evil. Well, if the US is so evil then I think they shouldn't accept the $700,000,000+ aid that the US sends there. We could definitely use that much money here in the US for many causes like border security, tax relief, health care, or any other programs that would benefit American citizens who would probably be somewhat more grateful.

It's very angering to hear about these countries who love our money but hate us. Well, withdraw the money and let them fend for themselves. Piss on them.

I want my roughly $2,000,000 [oops! that was some ultra-liberal math there, ;-), no more posts done in blind anger]. Sorry about that huge error! Move along, nothing to see here...

Why I Love Blogging

1. It's where I can express all my wild ideas and opinions. Back in the day before widespread personal computing and Internet access and blogging, I used to joke with my friends that I'd love to have a newspaper column called, "My Totally Worthless Opinion" because back then for wannabe writers that was as close to blogging as you could hope for. Now I'm a Vicious Momma Hoe and can spread my worthless opinions indiscriminately into the Internet dimension for anyone who cares to catch them. ;-)

2. I've met people from all over the world. How cool this that?! Very! :-) And that they are, for the most part, highly intelligent, educated, and friendly to me is incredibly amazing. Wow, I'm just a housewife in Tennessee, but blogging has put me in touch with people in all walks of life all across the globe. Twenty years ago I never even dreamed of such possibilities!

3. There's an endless supply of amusement about what people are Googling. Example: What happens if your whisker biscuit gets bent. I sometimes feel bad about laughing at these searches because someone is really trying to find out how to fix a bent whisker biscuit. But I just cannot even read the term "whisker biscuit" without cracking up. So, for anyone whose whisker biscuit is bent, I'm very sorry and I sure do hope you find a way to fix it. But I also thank you for giving me a nice chuckle. By the way, my whisker biscuit hasn't ever been bent, that I know of ;-), but I'd say that if it happens it will disrupt aiming accuracy.

Also there have been lots of searches for how to roast pork. My only advice is to take your time. Slow cooking at lower temperatures is the secret to tender, juicy roasts.

It's All About the Sweet Spot (and some symmetry)

My last competition in my pre-Vicious Momma days. I was 27 and got pregnant with my first child about a month later. The top right photo is a "flying camel" in midair. Below that is a split jump, and the other two are just interpretive moves to the music ("I Need A Man" by the Eurythmics, lol). For comparative purposes here is a photo of Dick Button midair in a flying camel. You can see the difference between an Olympic champion and a recreational skater:




I haven't read any of the articles found on Google about this because I just want to say what I'm thinking about it first. And I'm sure some of those other articles are much more technically adept.

Figure skating could be a kind of real life analogy to some of the problems of theoretical physics. What I mean is that advanced skating requires probably as many considerations to successfully execute a trick as it takes calculations to get to a final answer.


(slightly exaggerated "hollow")

The blade is concave along the bottom (the "hollow") such that there are two sharp edges, and the blade is also not flat longways.



It is slightly curved, sometimes referred to as the "blade rocker." When learning to skate you learn the "sweet spots" on the blade that make jumping and spinning easier and more 'efficient'.



If I were a real physicist I might know how to calculate the speed and curvature of the blade and so on to describe the various jumps and to explain why the "sweet spots" make them easier, but this is one situation where being able to make the calculations on paper doesn't necessarily help you execute the tricks on ice. It is a much more intuitive process that allows you to feel the sweet spots.

Back in the "old" days we still did compulsory figures, or "figure eights." These exercises were ultimately intended to teach and train skaters how to 'finesse' their blades and bodies to perform precision turns and tracings on the ice. We learned how to make slight adjustments in our posture, shoulders, hips, arms, legs, heads, feet, and even toes so that the blades moved through turns in the most "perfect" ways. For example, a "3 turn" when done just right should leave a tracing a like this (below), note the gap at the top which shows the shift from one edge to the other while changing direction (forward to backward or backward to forward).

Another example is a "bracket," a more advanced turn which done right looks like this (above), notice the "rabbit ears" which indicate the change from one edge to the other while also changing directions.

And yet two other advanced turns are the "counter" and the "rocker" which are closely related to the three turn and bracket but in instead of changing edges you change "lobes" on the figure eight and direction but stay on the same edge.



In order to perform these turns and to 'retrace' them we had to learn the sweet spot on the blade and learn how to repeat all the factors that created it. Incidentally, figures blades don't have the bottom toe pick like freestyle blades, and that increases the "rocker" length and how much you can manipulate the blade. This took hours of practice, but I always loved doing figures because it appealed to my detail and perfectionist nature.

Also, perfectly executed turns are supposed to be symmetical. In fact, skating is where I first heard the word "symmetry." I won't tell you how many drawings it took to get close enough to symmetrical in the above illustrations, but it was more than I planned on. If it is hard to draw a nice 3 turn on paper, then just imagine how hard it is to do it with your feet and a blade on the ice!

Most of my skating teachers didn't pay any attention to the tracings of jumps and spins, but I was lucky enough that my last teacher used these tracings as a tool to evaluate jumping and spinning technique. All skaters should learn such things! We referred to this as "physics" of skating, but I really don't know if that is an accurate description. However, it most certainly helped my technique to "read" the tracings and therefore see how the errors in them tranlated into errors in my body position, etc. If your tracings are correct then your trick (jump or spin) will most likely succeed and be good.

There are many skaters at the highest competitive levels who could really benefit from this kind of instruction. Maybe these days it is more common than when I was growing up. I don't know. But I sure do see some very sloppy technique on TV that is most likely a symptom of focusing on the wrong body parts, instead of the feet which are the ones closest to the ice. The best skating is in the feet. Chances are if your feet are doing the right thing the rest of your body will follow, though there are some exceptions and you can't exactly separate the feet and the body and how they interact.

Anyway, skating is probably one of the most beautiful, and technically complex, expressions of the laws of physics in motion. I wish I was clever and smart enough to make deeper analogies about it.

Good Reading

Sorry, no more progress on the skating post. But I'd like to recommend you to visit Guy the Savage Farmer because he has some great, informative posts in addition to some pretty snow pictures if you are like me and don't get to see the real thing. ;-)

One of his posts about the silliness of global warming inspired this comment from me:

Have you noticed the drastic changes in the Weather Channel in the last 10 years? It used to be a kind of basic weather reporting station with no fancy shows and bells and whistles. But now it's a highly produced and flashy "news network". I don't think it's a coincidence that these changes in TWC have correlated to the global warming hysteria. Actually, if I unshackle my imagination, I can see that they have a very large hand and interest in the global warming fiasco. Extreme weather insures high ratings. Someone should infiltrate their headquarters and dig up the memos suggesting how they can increase ratings and their income by creating a global climate 'situation'. ;-)

The reason I'm putting it up here is because it seems I'm on a bit of a 'hot streak' with predictive observations, and since I'm a wannabe scientist this is kind of an experiment to see if this particular line of thought will continue the trend. Bear with me. ;-)

Recent Interests

Update 3-2-07 8:35 a.m.: Wow! The Vatican has now warned of a possible "green" AntiChrist. Via Lubos.

Update two: Tomorrow is a full lunar eclipse. See Revelation 6:12. I'm just saying... ;-)



This is a fluff post because I'm not motivated to do the drawings and other pictures I need to do to finish my next 'serious' post about the physics of figure skating. Maybe I'll get those done between now and tomorrow.

In the meantime I'll just make a note of some of the recent searches people have done that lead here. It's kind of fun to see that people from all over the world have the same things on their minds at roughly the same time.

There are so many varieties of "hoe" searches that I couldn't possibly list them all.

There are a lot of people wondering what skunks represent (reputation and sexuality). And also what dreaming of spiders means.

The second most common search has been for "it's not nice to fool mother nature."

And the most common search words in the last week have included Al Gore and AntiChrist. Kind of funny. ;-)

Aw, How Cute!

Click here for more cute kitten pictures.