Monthly Archives: June 2010

The Watering Hole: June 14 – Hurricanes

Posted on by

The season is two weeks old and the first possible event is on the way:

This may turn out to be a dud, but one will ultimately hit the Gulf. Check with NOAA every now and then to observe the situation. It is not a matter of if, but of when. The Gulf could be cleared of all those oil plumes by  Thursday (the 24th)  or Friday (the 25th).

This is our open thread. Please feel free to offer your own comments on this or any other topic.

Music night. Happy Birthday, Frank!

Posted on by

It figures that the one guy in the group without a beard would be the one whose name is Beard. Frank Beard, drummer for one of America’s iconic rock bands: ZZ Top. They’ve been around for a long time for a good reason–they’re really good. More music and a bit of 80s glam after the jump. Crank it up! Do not miss the third video, from 1980.

Continue reading →

Plunge pool

Posted on by

The Aldo Leopold Wilderness in Southwestern New Mexico received a good blanket of snow this past winter, more than has been seen in many years.

The usually intermittent streams had beautiful waterfalls this spring, many of which have already dwindled now that the snow is completely gone.

I took this picture in East Railroad Canyon, standing about 50 feet above the stream, hence the odd perspective.

The Watering Hole: June 11 – Response Time

Posted on by

picture: oilguard.org

A Swiss Company, HeiQ, specialises in making textiles antimicrobial. If you’ve ever worn sports socks with silver added to the fiber for odour control, that’s their invention. When Deepwater Horizon sank and the catastrophic extent of the oil spill was evident, they immediately set to work. They already had a water repellent sytem and only needed to add an oil absorbing characteristic, use it on textiles and within a few weeks they had a super oil absorbent and water reppellent textile. HeiQ informed the Swiss embassy in Washington and asked them to present the idea to the Pentagon. What happened then? Continue reading →

The Watering Hole: June 10 – The 6 Day War

Posted on by

This date marks the end of the 6 Day War in 1967, but did it really end? The conflict came to an end when the capital cities of all the Arab combatents were clearly at a risk of a total take-over. Egypt is an example:

In actuality, the region has been in constant conflict since 1917 CE, if not 1800 BCE. Will it ever end?

This is our open thread. Please feel free to offer your own comments on this or any other topic.

The Watering Hole: June 9 – Helen Thomas

Posted on by

Picture found at: about.com

I do not want this great journalist remembered by something she said obviously in an upset and grumpy mood. So here are more quotes from her:

I covered two presidents, LBJ and Nixon, who could no longer convince, persuade, or govern, once people had decided they had no credibility, but we seem to be more tolerant now of what I think we should not tolerate.

The White House used to belong to the American people. At least that’s what I learned from history books and from covering every president starting with John F. Kennedy.

We in the press have a special role since there is no other institution in our society that can hold the President accountable. I do believe that our democracy can endure and prevail only if the American people are informed.

The above quotes and more can be found here. And the quote below is found here.

“I told the young leaders that the 21st Century is theirs and they should not blow it. Try to reject war and give peace a chance. Question the powers that be and find out why they make the dubious decisions they do that send young people to war.”

Helen Thomas is a great journalist and she knows what questions to ask. I hope she writes a book about all she wasn’t allowed to say while she was in the WH press corps. Could be interesting.

This is our open thread. Come up with your comments!