Don't worry about these... worry about this!

This article is a gem so I thought I'd share:

10 Things to Scratch From Your Worry List

My favorites from the list (italics), and let me apologize now for how I am about to pontificate:

3. Forbidden fruits from afar. Do you dare to eat a kiwi? Sure, because more “food miles” do not equal more greenhouse emissions. Food from other countries is often produced and shipped much more efficiently than domestic food, particularly if the local producers are hauling their wares around in small trucks. One study showed that apples shipped from New Zealand to Britain had a smaller carbon footprint than apples grown and sold in Britain.

I've made this argument myself before. The whole "Buy local and be green" is the most ludicrous idea I've ever heard of. While I've admittedly never gone looking for it in print (and beyond this, I bet you there is more supporting data If I were to go searching). If you want to buy local and support local people that is a noble cause, but don't come to me claiming a moral superiority because you shop at a farmer's market. Do it because you think it tastes better, do it because you like the markets, please just don't do it for a talking point. First many farmers markets (especially urban ones) get their produce from the same place that the grocery stores do. Second, even locally grown produce (which is only available for a couple of months a year up here in the land of 4 seasons) requires fertilizer & supplies which are shipped from abroad, have an excellent chance of being picked by migrant workers (I can vouch for this, I know for a fact that neighboring small farms where I grew up used this practice... so much for supporting local jobs) and does not... as stated above utilize bulk transportation and large efficient farm equipment that effectively reduces green house gas.

Big business is NOT the always the bad guy they are painted to be. They make our lives better in countless ways. Corporate America represents one of the highest taxed corporate sectors of any nation in the industrialized world (making our taxes lower), they provide us with breaks on the cost of health care, which mom & pop can not, they also provide us with a product or service which usually has certain benefits over the alternative (year round fresh produce so we don't have to become Vikings, or get scurvy). The radical left wing ideal that we can become self sustaining "green" communities by making it difficult for big business is nothing more than an attack on capitalism in hopes of bolstering a call for Nationalism. It bugs them that individuals and private enterprise are calling the shots and competing instead of the government controlling everything. They know that as long as a "Walmart" is out there offering affordable foods and the potential for health care, the need for us to hand over our liberties to them so they can provide for us is not quite there. Despite this I fear they are in a better position than they ever have been to realize these dreams, and too many people have been drinking their tainted water. America will have to learn the hard way. But I've gone off on a tangential rant and excuse me for losing my head....

When there are hydroponics-geared self sustainable mega-green houses scattered all over the country, only then can the "buy local and be green" truthfully be realized by some margin. The irony is you know how that will happen? Start ups, who will be sponsored by none other than venture capitalists... in other words "big business". Of course if we have a Marxist revolution perhaps we can just take the kids that fail their 4th grade assessment tests and make them go pick our fruit for free lentil soup. Best use of their skills right? Utilitarianism? Better for everyone?

Yes yes... I know I have a difficult to follow and outlandish train of thought.

Next....

8. The Arctic’s missing ice. The meltdown in the Arctic last summer was bad enough, but this spring there was worse news. A majority of experts expected even more melting this year, and some scientists created a media sensation by predicting that even the North Pole would be ice-free by the end of summer.
So far, though, there’s more ice than at this time last summer, and most experts are no longer expecting a new record. You can still fret about long-term trends in the Arctic, but you can set aside one worry: This summer it looks as if Santa can still have his drinks on the rocks.

Yep... much ado about nothing. It was an interesting story, although I guess even under water volcanoes and global warming together in concert couldn't melt the ice..... this year.

A mundane Monday

Really... I have absolutely next to nothing to write about. I don't have any good stories, no funny antidotes. I don't have any interesting links today. I don't have the patience to talk politics, nor do I have any witty pop culture blurbs to comment on. All I can write about is my seemingly non existent inspiration to write... and perhaps whine a bit. I'm good at whining (who isn't... am I right?), but usually I choose not to whine about the more banal items of my existence. I typically spare you, my readers, because I find it to be an activity that bears no fruit and only serves to often piss other people off. And personally because I don't like being "pissed off", it is my genuine act of kindness not to invoke this reaction from my peers. (Inevitably it will eventually happen.... what's one to do?)

My (work) report writing is of course under way, and I look forward to another day in which I write, organize, make spreadsheets, organize, re-write etc, get coffee, write some more and so on. The trouble is at the end of the day... (I hate the phrase "at the end of the day".. and no.... "hate" isn't "too strong" language to describe my feelings for this proverb/ business world catch-phrase) you look at what you've done.... and wonder about it. It is like I'm working towards a fictional conclusion... whatever that means... I don't even know I'm just babbling....and the more I babble, the more incoherent I'll probably get.

Well bed beckons, and Tuesday awaits.....and I think my head needs rest, an upgrade would be nice, but I don't think they are available.

Dwindling Summer Days

Grrrrrr....

Yes I can't help it, I'm a little disgruntled. I get those late summer blues every year when August rolls around. There are fewer opportunities to fit in everything you wanted to do.

Friday night I watched the Red Sox/Yankees game with Jason at his apartment. Jason was kind enough to cook tacos and buy us some organic beer. (Stick with the pesticides.....) The umpires were horrible, calling balls "strikes" the entire night. In fact pitching really was sort of lousy by both pictures, however the statistics really didn't reflect it because horrible calls were made consistently the entire evening. I'm not even sure I saw a legitimate strike pitched all night long! Well, they were far and few between at the very least. To top that off, Mike Lowell gets thrown out for arguing about a strike-call. The pitch was so far out of the strike zone that he literally stepped backwards to avoid being hit by it. Frustrating to say the least. I would have been only slightly more pleased had we actually won the game. After the treachery Jason & I were going to go see "Step brothers" for a good chuckle, however it was sold out. I guess a lot of Sox fans needed a good laugh.

Overall this weekend was pretty good. I unfortunately slept late again on Saturday and I shouldn't have (time really seems too important to waste on un-needed sleep... however I tend to do it routinely). I did meet up with Mike and Scotty for some mini golf (put put for some of you out there) at the retro course on Rt. 1. We had a decent time, the weather was good, a bit warm but not unbearably so. A couple of grand parents and their grandson were in front of us on the course. They were so oblivious to their surroundings that three parties of patrons piled up behind them while they basically took turns tanning on the putting greens. Grandma seemed to be the primary reason for the delays as she seemed a bit distracted, distressed, generally out of it. She forgot her purse pretty much at every hole. Additionally she had an irritating OCD procedure of removing her flip flops with every put. When she putted, for what ever reason, she felt it was better to use the tip of the putter on several instances, rather than putting the flat portion of the putter up against the ball like just about anyone else would. Gramps seemed to have the hang of putting, but had no desire to educate his grandson who was slapping the ball around happy Gilmore style. As Mike would say... these people had absolutely no remorse that they were irritating everyone behind them. At one point grandma left her flip flops behind and Mike, Scott and I agreed to malevolently not say anything. About three holes later she finally realized they were gone, and I'm quite certain she thought we had hid them on her, when really all we did was the disservice of not reminding her that her head was on backwards. For the rest of the course she kept yammering on about "her honesty" and how honest she was. I'm sure she could have hit up another dollar tree on the way home if she lost them for good. She also retook half of her shots about a dozen times (the limit per hole is six... which is on a big sign at the gate, and on the back of the score card). Between her dozen or so shots she would exclaim how she was fighting with her husband because she wanted to teach her grandson it was wrong to cheat. (Try respect first and then move on from there....)
When they finally finished the husband said "Now make sure you don't forget anything"... and she yelled back "For christ's sake I don't have a tumor!" and then left behind her iced tea. This was a bit revealing, and I imagine this woman probably was unfortunately preoccupied with something else... as betrayed by that last comment. I have to admit I did chuckle... or laugh actually when she left something behind, right after exclaiming that she wouldn't... but a bit of guilt made me pick up the tea and bring it over to the husband after she scurried into a video-arcade with her grandson.
We went over to get some soft serve ice cream before all heading our own way.

Kate and I spent the rest of the weekend together. Saturday night I grilled up some burgers and we had corn on the cob and potato salad. I barely finished the potato salad in time as I found out at the last minute that my miracle whip had gone bad (what's so miraculous about that? yuk yuk yuk...grrrr!) I rushed over to Shaw's and picked up the necessary Miracle Whip, then got some ice cream too while I was there. Made it back and within minutes of my arrival Kate was buzzing my apartment. I was concerned that she arrived while I was gone, but I lucked out.

Sunday we drove to Lowell and saw the Lowell Folk Festival. It is always a good time. This year we saw a great band that specializes in Celtic music and fiddle based folk tunes (even some French Canadian stuff). They were fantastic, while we initially had intended on just watching a couple of songs, we stayed for the whole hour long performance. They had a couple of step dancers who travel with them, a guy who does "Canadian step dance" and a tall attractive red headed woman who performs traditional Celtic step dance. The main fiddle player also got up and danced for a couple of #s. The male dancer is the brother of the fiddle player and they had a little "dance off" near the end of the performance that was quite good. At first I was disconcerted by the lack of percussion, but they made up with it with the rhythm of the fiddle, tapping of feet, step dancing and momentum of their tunes. The harp player in the band actually has performed extensively with the Chieftains who are probably the most famous of Celtic bands out there. The band is called "Tread" and if you follow the link there is some info about them through the folk festival page. Tread's Myspace

After Tread, we walked around and took in some other various performances, watched the people, and walked along the river and through the old Mill complexes in Lowell. Kate had suggested that we go to the Chinese Buffet afterwards. (Kate you're so classy... that's why I like you!) We left just in time as it began to pour as soon as we arrived at the Buffet. We ate a lot of greasy food, including some sushi and finally topped it off with some ice cream. I drove by the old apartment in Lowell to get to the buffet. Looks like some gentrification is finally spreading that way, the chop shop was shut down, and a new condo complex is going into the building next door to my old one. I hope for the sake of the people who buy the units that they do some good sound proofing. Sadly, my old Shop N Save grocery store was closed up for some reason, and the Chinese Buffet was beginning to look a little worn out.

Well it is back to work now! I have a lot of writing to do this week, should be a blast. Technical reports are my favorite thing... ever!

Germany: The Final Day, Frankfurt

Morning in Munich, and an the remainder of the day in Frankfurt:

Our train wasn't scheduled to leave till around 12:00 so Kate and I took the opportunity to do a bit of hasty last minute exploring in Munich.

We decided to take a quick walk into the large public park (One of the largest in Europe) called the English Garden. Apparently it is very popular with nude sun bathers but we did not see any while we were there. (Perhaps thankfully so....)

One particularly popular site is "Ice Creek" or the "Eisbach". This is a mountain stream running through the English Garden. At this particular location there is a wave, I'm not sure what creates itexactly, and I assume if it is a rock it isn't too close to the surface. I put a youtube video of the surfing above. The surfers were lined up and were just taking turns. Kate and I paused to watch them for ten minutes or so before taking a quick walk through part of the park, and then on back towards the city center.

The older structure with a modern glass structure built around it is apparently the seat of the Bavarian government. There were some beautiful parks and flower gardens around here and it was very tranquil.

The gazebo like structure seen next is in a very beautiful park called the Odeonsplatz. There were vibrant purple flowers lining the edges of the walkway just past the hedges which you can just make out.

Kate and I looked through a plethora of tourist shops in Munich that morning as well. I had not yet purchased my souvenir. After much grumbling I did pick my self out a pint sized stein which I thought didn't look too overly touristy, and there wasn't a seem in the ceramic either... both major pluses. I wasn't going to get anything at all although my Mother seemed to think it was a good idea and Kate thought I would regret it if I hadn't. So now my stein adorns my bookshelf in my apartment.

We had left our luggage at the desk of our hotel so we headed back to retrieve it as it approached departure time. Once we picked up the luggage we made our way to the closest U-bahn station. This station was the first we had found that had no English translations. We had to use machines, and there was no English option. It took us a minute but with a little help from Kate's dictionary we purchased our tickets and headed over to the

Hauptbahnhof and looked for somewhere to grab a light lunch. The disappointing thing about the Hauptbahnhof food courts was that there were no common seating areas. I guess they expected you to grab your food and get on the train. In order to have a table one of us was going to have to eat at Burger King. I decided to bite the bullet, and Kate went off searching for food while I got a Whopper and a table. Ironically Kate ended up back a few minutes later with a BK Broiler... or the German Burger King equivalent.

Once on the train we had a pleasant and quick ride up to Frankfurt. I think it was only a couple of hours at the most.

Frankfurt am Main, or Frankfurt on the Main (the river in Frankfurt) is considered by many to be the equivalent of Manhattan in Europe. I definitely see the association. Frankfurt had the busiest most commercial streets that we saw anywhere in our trip to Germany. The city seemed to have a more diverse ethnic make up as well. These traits made it feel somehow less European and more like an American city. But there were still many beautiful and unique sites to behold even if it is no Berlin, Nürnberg, or München.

The Hauptbahnhof in Frankfurt reminded me of Grand Central Station in NYC in terms of it's architecture, although perhaps on a much smaller scale. Our hotel was nearly across the street from the train station which was very convenient. When we arrived I couldn't figure out how to turn the lights on. Apparently you needed to have your room key in a little holder by the door in order for the electricity to work. The concierge told me about this and looked at me like I was a moron, and I felt like one too. The hotel had more amenities than any of the ones we stayed at, complete with AC too! All this considered, in the end we still liked the Munich hotel best out of the three that we stayed at.

Once on our way touring the city one of the first amusing things we saw was this giant euro sign. Frankfurt is the seat of European financials, so I suppose it is a landmark in the same sense that the "Bull" & the "Bear" statues are on Wall St. in NYC. Some of the area around the hotel appeared to be a bit seedy, sort of the "Red Light District". We steered clear of those streets, especially later in the evening.

I had finished reading my book on the train and had nothing to read for the return flight so Kate suggested that I should buy another one. She had read about a "British Book Shop" and we set out trying to find it before it closed. It had limited hours on the weekend. The search was very frustrating and we disagreed how to find it and what direction we were heading in. I was admittedly cranky about it. I didn't want to distract myself with the book store, but knew Kate was probably right that it was something I should do. Not being able to find it made me down right grumpy. Kate really enjoyed the hustle and bustle of Frankfurt, and I was sort of longing for the quaint streets of Nürnberg, or Brahman playground that was Munich. Frankfurt really was nice to see, and probably could have warranted more time than we had to visit. I suppose I had some "end of the vacation" blues. The blues wore off after a while, and ironically we eventually "accidentally" stumbled upon the street that the British Book Shop was on. I made it in with minutes to spare before closing and picked my self up a paperback copy of John Irving's "Setting Free The Bears". Satisfied with the success, I was cheered up. We headed to a pizza place we walked by earlier to grab some supper. There was a nice outside courtyard to eat at and watch people pass by. The pizza parlor called Raffeallo's Restaurant was near the Römerberg part of town. This part of town is apparently the oldest (although reconstructed from the war). It actually was at one point a Roman trading post. After supper we did a lot of walking around, especially along the "Main" River. There were beautiful parks lining the banks, and some spectacular views of the modern skyline. In many ways the area reminds you of the Charles River Esplanade in Boston, however Boston seems less modern in some ways, and the Main feels much more like a River than the Charles, which in Boston is practically a lake.

I have an assortment of pictures here, the infamous book store, and several of buildings around Römerberg.

On the side of the river opposite of Frankfurt's center was a museum row of sorts. Things were very quiet, although the occasional jogger or cyclist would pass by. There were a handful of party boats and cruise ships going up and down the river. I like the boat with the red sail that I photographed. It seemed sort of an exotic contrast next to the mirrored commercial buildings of the down town.

After some extensive walking it began to get dark so we headed back towards the hotel. The idea was to find an ice cream parlor on the way, but everything appeared to be closed. Refusing to give in, we decided that we could hit up the Hagen Daas at the Hauptbahnhof. After we had acquired a couple of quickly melting cones (I think we both had chocolate brownie.. or something along those lines) we headed back across the street.

Once in the hotel, I discovered I was feeling rather worried that my beer was going to break on the plane. Jens had bought a couple of local beers from Nürnberg, one of which I had already had back at their apartment. The plan was to drink it back stateside, but I began imagining my bag leaking upon arrival and homeland security confiscating it and arresting me. OK I exaggerate, I just didn't want beer soaked clothes. Perhaps I was just looking for an excuse to drink it. So with one last night of European/British CNN I sat down with my beer and a chaser of table water (as seen in photo) and listened to the coverage of Earthquakes in China and the 2008 election.

Kate and I had a wonderful trip, and I look forward to the next one! If only I could fit in another vacation now! (grumble) I sure could use one.... I know.... I'm being a bit spoiled. (sigh)

Germany Part III: Munich Day 2 (part 2)

Our last evening in Munich was one of food and spirits!

We took advice from my boss who is German, and encouragement from Jens and Marija and decided to go to the Hofbräuhaus for dinner. The Hofbräuhaus is a huge restaurant located in the city center which is a major tourist destination. It has multiple floors, large rooms and court yards each sporting a very festive and traditional Bavarian atmosphere. We had discussed where we were going to go for a while. Kate and Marija both wanted to avoid the traditional German sausage, but we also needed to get another truly "German meal" under our belts (literally and figuratively). The Hofbräuhaus did not disappoint. I thought the food (und das Bier...) were excellent. It was my second favorite meal after Jens and Marija's home cooked spread that they prepared for us in Nürnberg. Kate and I both had roast pork dinners which were tender and delicious. It came with bread and potato dumplings. The potato dumplings had an interesting texture, but were very tasty. The bread dumplings were our favorite of the two. They essentially were "stuffing balls".

"Roasted pork with potato and bread dumpling, bacon cabbage salad (2) (3) 2 8,20 euro."
The cabbage salad was essentially cole slaw with the added bonus of meat. I had also ordered a bretzel (pretzel) and the "Bavarian Soup". The prices were really reasonable for the food that you got. Sadly I can't remember what Marija ordered because I took too long to write all of this up. Truthfully I should have been taking notes when I got back to the hotel room in the evening. Jens had

"Roasted pork knuckle with potato dumpling & cabbage salad (2) (3) 2 9,90 euro."

The "knuckle" as it is called is actually a joint or knee from the pig, and it is a big piece of meat on the bone. I'm not certain what the numbers in parentheses from the menu represent, I was thinking quantity, but I'm unsure.

Anyway while we ate, a man and woman in traditional Bavarian garb played the trumpet and accordion and sang old German songs. The patrons, many of whom were jovially intoxicated clapped and sang along. As tourists, Kate and I enjoyed it all, Marija rolled her eyes and Jens sort of smirked and tolerated it for this special occasion.

I invite people to check out the link for the Hofbräuhaus and look at the pictures, the history, and the menu. It is a beautiful building and restaurant which seems to be forever bustling with people enjoying the moment.

After eating we walked around a bit. in Munich. I snapped the photo of this rather elaborate gate, however it is very dark so not very much can be seen. There is a dust particle on the upper right side or an "orb" which some superstitious people tend to believe are "spirits" captured on film. If that is true, there are way too many "spirits" floating around in my apartment currently and I really need to exorcise some of them.

We decided to go out for another few drinks before calling it a night. We went to a place called "Bohne & Malz am Stachus" which if you didn't figure it out by the similarity means "Bean and malt in the Stachus". The "Stachus" is mentioned in the "Munich day 1" entry is the large fountain where Kate and I had our picture taken by an American tourist.

As the evening progressed we realized it would soon be time to part ways. Jens and Marija needed to get back home early the next day because it was Jens's dad's birthday. We were sad to part ways and I promised to show them as good of a time when and if they come visit the United states. They'll be a place to stay in Boston, and I'll be a guide to show them some of many beautiful and interesting sights around that make me happy to live in New England. (Did I mention the seafood?)

Before we went back to our hotels and bid each other farewell I requested that Jens and I have a photo taken of us together. Considering some of the photos I have from college where we were pretty much always goofing off, this pose on these plastic, chrome lions seemed entirely appropriate. The amusing thing was that we started a fad that evening. I'm sure the idea was far from original, but for whatever reason, the various intoxicated tourists did not seem to pay the big shiny lions much interest, however once we did it people were lining up.

Kate and I looked at each other after we parted ways with our friends and hosts. We recognized with some sadness that we only had one day left in Germany, however aware, that we will cherish these memories for years to come.

I'm too preoccupied...

My apologies...

So instead of the final couple of Germany postings, (stay tuned for those.... they'll be up soon) here is another good Glenn Beck column.

Commentary: T-shirt depicts 'pathetic and brutal legacy'

Very much in the vein of my rants over the "Free Tibet" protesters. Ohhhh the hypocrisy.

By the way I've decided to start a write in campaign for president. I thought they just seemed like the right men for the job, and if they ever got in a jam they could just reference some old Star Trek episode scripts.

And... while oil is dropping unfortunately one other life giving substance is not:

Coca-Cola drinkers to pay more after Labor Day

Time to stock pile supply!

Let's Go Fly a Kite.....

Or look rather silly trying!

The assembled kite... This was my idea of a creative Valentine's day gift. Kate often talked about trying to fly a Kite. We decided to give it a trial run because we thought it was potentially too windy to go kayaking (plan one).

Our first attempt took us behind Kate's brownstone at Beaconsfield. I don't have pictures of the first effort. We didn't stay too long, it was a bit sheltered from the wind and we were sort of outnumbered eventually by people playing fantastic Frisbee. Truthfully with the dismal return on our honorable effort, I was glad to relinquish more space to the Frisbee players for a more constructive use of the field.

Next we decided to douse our heads in the kiddie fountain in the park before regrouping and walking a couple of blocks to the Brighton/ Cleavland Circle Reservoir park.


As you may be able to tell from the photos, we had a bit of a tough time keeping it air borne. The wind was very sporadic, arriving in strong gusts, only to die down completely. I thought if we could get the kite high enough it would stay up there. Kate and I both had a decent run where we had it up for a couple of minutes, but unfortunately our luck really didn't improve.
Mildly frustrated, but enjoying ourselves anyway we decided to pack up the kite and walk around the reservoir.

Later in the afternoon Kate treated me to a steak at Bugaboo Creek in Watertown.

The weather turned out beautiful, the forecast had threatened clouds, and potentially even rain, but as you can see, the sky was nearly blemish free.

We'll give the Kite another shot at the ocean some time soon!

This light has been coming on in my car, it appears the air bag sensor is malfunctioning or something along those lines. However I have the sneaking suspicion my car is really trying to tell me that it has been thinking about decapitating me.

I'm going leave it at the car day spa tomorrow and hope that a little TLC will improve our relationship.

It's all so crystal clear....

Or is it?

Now I do believe in global warming, but contrary to popular belief, we aren't the sole contributors. Does this absolve us from cutting back on greenhouse gases and pollution?? Absolutely not... in fact something that I JUST DON'T GET... is the clear argument for conservation. "NATIONAL SECURITY!!" Whether it is becoming independent of rogue terrorist nations, or just for the simple economic principles of self reliance. No one goes with this seemingly obvious argument however... instead they exaggerate how fast and how much the melting of glaciers will cause the seas to rise. Instead they promote ludicrous ideas and half truths. They point to every storm and say it is global warming. Instead you have crooks like Al Gore living in giant mansions, driving SUVs and Jets, while selling "Carbon Credits" which are by and large artificial "Green rights" based on future green projects and promises on paper, which allow the super rich to pollute more guilt free.... and then they give him a Nobel prize? Not only that Clinton/Gore had power for 8 years where cars got bigger, less fuel efficient, and oil consumption went up, but yet the people who tow the line consider them environmental Gods.

And sensible people like myself wonder why we can't convince the non believers that oil consumption is bad for the world??? Well it is because they are being fed lies by both sides!

Conservation is important... and you should not have to spread B.S. to get people to buy into it. The people that do, are just as guilty, and damaging to environmentalism as big oil itself.

Now ON this note Two articles.... One you probably heard about, because the news really talked about it a lot. Fear gets people's attention. The latter you did not hear about.

North Pole could be ice-free this summer, scientists say
Dated June 27, 2008


Arctic ocean volcano blew its top – even under pressure
Dated June 25, 2008

The second article was a HISTORICAL geological event unlike any seen in it's time, but major news networks did NOT carry the story. Strange.... it is almost like there's an agenda.

From article:
"THE deep ocean continues to surprise: it appears a volcano on the seabed has exploded with a force thought impossible."

PLEASE... note that the AP article on CNN is actually dated AFTER the volcano article.... but there is NO mention of the volcanoes in the article. NONE.

Another link:
Could Volcanoes Be Melting The Arctic Ice?
This one is actually another blogger.

A couple of discussion points

First Glenn Beck's GREAT piece of Commentary: What's right with America? Plenty

A couple of highlights:

"What's right with America? Our world-class universities don't require you to have an elite family name or Rockefeller-type wealth to get in. We don't care about your race, gender or nationality. You just have to be smart enough and work hard for it. What a concept, huh?"

"What's right with America? How about the way we treat the less fortunate? With no help from our government, Americans gave a record $306 billion to charities last year alone. We give twice as much as the next closest country and, relative to the size of our economies, we give 1,000 percent more than the French."

"What's right with America? It's not just the wealthy who are generous. Two-thirds of American families making under $100,000 a year give to charity. Compassion is ingrained in our culture like no other."

"What's right with America? How about our supposedly third-world health care system? We spend more on health care per person than Switzerland, Germany, Canada, or any other country you can think of. Do we still have problems? Absolutely, but don't fall for "the grass is greener" crowd; every country has health care problems."

By 'We spend more' Beck is referencing the U.S. government... NOT what comes out of our own pockets..... and what people fail to comprehend is that the individual civilians in other countries pay as much or more, the difference being it comes out of their income in the form of higher taxes and provides poorer coverage and access to care....think wait lists. At least we get to choose how we spend our money on health care, at least we can choose our physicians, at least we can get second opinions, and at least we can still get more efficient service relative to the rest of the world. Nearly every hospital in our country has MRIs, CAT scans, and all of the cutting edge high tech equipment that is needed to provide proper care. It's called privatization, it is capitalism, and it is GOOD, not bad. If anything health care needs more free enterprise to drive improvement and competition, definitely not less!

Right on Glenn!

I found the following troubling: Mother Loses Kids After Sending Daughter to School With Swastika Drawn on Arm

Hatred is an awful emotion and should be shunned. That being said, where do you draw the line on the ability of social services to punish those who brandish this monster? If the children are not being physically abused I personally feel the government has no right to do something like this. A giant can of worms has been opened in Canada... and this will likely be a slippery slope towards increased thought control. I'm sure these tactics will probably only be used on white people as they usually are, because after all only white people can be racist, and only white people can spread the likes of racism.

What exactly does it mean to take children away for a parent's beliefs?

I would totally understand, and find it to be a legitimate reason, if the parents are pedophile-polygamists like the radical Mormon cult in Texas... but because someone is raising their kids with bigoted ideas you are going to take them away? If that's true then shouldn't the government be clearing around 50% (or more) of children in every neighborhood in the industrialized world? As much as I disagree with people who dislike, for example, homosexuals, would it be proper for me to demand that fundamentalist Christians have their children removed? (For anyone who gets uppity and says homosexuality is different than being Jewish or Black...... and that the situations aren't similar... they really are quite alike. People who are prejudiced against homosexuals believe that they are sinning, basically doing evil, one might even argue that is a step beyond the bigoted ideas of other races being inferior. And the whole homosexuality "is a choice" idea has no merit either, basically because there is scientific evidence to prove that in most cases it is not... and so what if it is a choice? RELIGION IS A CHOICE ....(although we tend to be indoctrinated at a young and impressionable age) and I'm pretty sure you'd be against anyone persecuting someone because of this...... which really makes this come full circle. )

Germany Part III: Munich Day 2 (part 1)

Schloss Neuschwanstein was our first destination on our second day in the Munich locale. For this we took a journey by car for a little over an hour into the Bavarian Alps. It was nice to see the rural German countryside. The grass was a spectacular green and the rolling hills leading to the Alps were very picturesque.

Again, the weather did not exactly work out in our favor. When we arrived at the castle parking lot we still had a bit of a hike to get to the main attraction.


Schloss Neuschwanstein is built on top of a large cliff and we had a 15 minute walk up a steep road. It was a beautiful hike, however it began to rain as we trekked upwards. Kate and I both had our umbrellas so we gave one to Jens & Marija and we all attempted to huddle beneath them. It wasn't raining hard enough for it to be uncomfortable, so Jens and I braved the elements and Kate & Marija had sole possession of the umbrellas for much of the journey. It really isn't easy to walk under an umbrella with someone who you have 7 or 8 inches of height on. I feared for my eyes (getting poked) when Kate holds it, and I do a horrible job of keeping Kate dry when I hold it.
It was brisk out, but honestly I found the cool damp air sort of refreshing. It was disappointing we didn't see the snow capped mountains, but it was beautiful regardless.


The building with the mural painted on it was one of many lodges and restaurants located in the town at the base of the cliff.


We got to the castle with plenty of time to kill before a scheduled tour so we decided to walk to a gorge behind the castle. This was another 15























minute hike or so through the woods and along the cliffs. The gorge was impressive to say the least. There is a bridge across it, and it is so high that we could essentially see clouds passing beneath us through the valley. Some people had dogs with them, and the dogs were actually afraid to go on the bridge. I must admit, the somewhat springy planks that made up the deck of the bridge made me a little uneasy.


The photo to the left is the entrance to the courtyard where we did our final waiting for the tour to begin. Unfortunately they did not allow us to take pictures inside the castle. It is a very bizarre place. If you think it looks like Cinderella's castle you aren't far off. Neuschwanstein was actually the inspiration for the Disney attraction.

The castle was never intended to be a fortress, but was one of many retreats for an imaginative child King named Ludwig II. He was very out of touch with reality and rather an ineffective and removed leader. Bavaria fell to Prussia under his leadership, and later in life he would become a recluse.

The castle reminds you of some place Michael Jackson probably would feel right at home at. The inside is very cartoonish with brightly colored murals and frescoes. One room is even decorated to look like a cave. All that was missing was Bubbles the chimp.

After the tour we all sat down for some coffee before making the trek back to the car.

Note my thin wet hair in the picture below.....

Another Independence Day has past...

My parents and my Aunt Gigi came to visit this weekend. My lack of blog posts was largely due to the preparations I needed to do and an increased work load at my job.

We went to the Charles River Esplanade and saw the fireworks accompanied by the Boston Pops. While Boston always manages to put on pretty much the best displays I've ever seen, this year's was absolutely over the top. My whole peripheral vision was completely illuminated at times and you could actually feel the shock waves from the fireworks exploding. People were generally awe struck. If there was a fault to the display, it would have to be the smoke from the multitude of prior explosions, which partially obscured the grand finale. This was likely more a result of an unusually breeze-free evening, than a consequence of any poor planning. One of the unique qualities of Boston's display is the synchronization of the background music to the fireworks. The shells are launched from a significant barge in the middle of the Charles river. It is estimated that over 500,000 people line the banks to be a part of the festivities.

While watching a special on television discussing the youth vote, I learned that John McCain's daughter, Meghan has a blog in which she discusses life on the campaign trail. Interested I decided to look through it.
http://www.mccainblogette.com/

I suspect if I met Meghan in passing, my first impression might have been that she is an air head. If you "google" her name you learn how many journalists and bloggers have tried to compare her to the likes of Paris Hilton. Of course I think if one took the time to make more than a passing glance they would have to seriously rethink this accusation.

While Meghan is with out doubt a ridiculous "Material girl" she also is articulate and shows social concern and intelligence that separates her from the stereotype. Her mere effort to follow her father's campaign, her interest in the political process, and her endeavor to attempt to provide another perspective for young people are all admirable. Her commentary is more an attempt to humanize her father and stylize and otherwise lacking campaign. Meghan reportedly does her blogging independent from the official campaign. The McCain camp's tolerance of this and apparent trust in the daughter of the Senator shows a refreshing departure from the controlled speaking engagements of Chelsea Clinton, or the Bush twins who seemed kept behind closed doors during Bush's re-election campaign.