Go Hoyas

Spring in DC

Went out to the cherry blossom festival again today, it was amazing! I think this was my favorite picture I took. Jefferson silhouetted watching out over the festival-goers...

It is really cool that every one of those trees was a gift from the people of Japan. I think back to the days when countries gave each other gifts like that, like the Statue of Liberty. Pretty cool stuff...

Homa* is where the heart is

Recent modifications made to the Arrow enable Israel's ballistic missile defense system to successfully intercept and destroy any ballistic missile in the Middle East, including nuclear-capable missiles under development by Iran, Arieh Herzog, the head of the Defense Ministry's Homa Missile Defense Agency, has told The Jerusalem Post.

"Our Arrow operational system can without a doubt deal with all of the operational threats in the Middle East, particularly in Iran and Syria," he declared.

I look forward to the pleasure of listening to the eloquence with which that august body of global good, our esteemed United Nations, will denounce and decry this latest Israeli weapon of terrorism, and demand, in the name of human rights, the obliteration of the aforementioned illegal state.

*Homa - Hebrew for "Fortress Wall" - is a branch of the Israeli Defense Ministry's Research and Development Directorate.

Vocab

Recondite; rapine; perspicuous; jejune; pelf. What do these words have in common?

to find out....

I came across all of these words while reading P.J. O'Rourke's On the Wealth of Nations, and I had to reach for the dictionary for each one. Think out your definition before you roll your mouse over the word, and see how you do. Then use each one in a sentence tomorrow!

recondite; rapine; perspicuous; jejune; pelf; parsimonious; invidious; physiocrat; ratiocination; philippic; prosaic; solipsistic; cynosure; pecuniary; emoluments

**UPDATE** Hardest Sudoku EVER

That one I posted before wasn't the actual hard one. Notice the text underneith it in the original article. I guess they didn't have the rights to it or something. Here it is....

Otters holding hands

And now a NON-political post for Elise's benefit...

The Speeches NOT Banned at UN Human Rights Council

I really hate the UN sometimes...

what a worthless waste of space.

U.S. Navy to Iran: "You're tiny and we're not..."

According to ABC News:

The U.S. Navy is offering a huge show of military might near the location where Iran seized 15 British sailors and marines five days ago, in what is seen as a clear effort to send a message to Iran, a senior military official told ABC News' Martha Raddatz in Bahrain.

Twelve ships, 100 aircraft and 12,000 sailors are taking part in the war games designed to get the attention of Iran.

These "games" have evidently been going on for a couple of days, in that this article was from the 27th.

The naval exercise went on all day today and will continue Wednesday, with F-18 fighter jets roaring from the deck of both aircraft carriers in the first appearance of two U.S. carriers in the Gulf simultaneously since 2003.

Heh

Newt to Iran: "You're tiny and we're not..."

In his interview with Newt Gingrich the other day, Hugh Hewitt asked him what the Brits should do about the British sailors taken captive by Iran. His response was priceless.

to read it....

Newt: I think there are two very simple steps that should be taken. The first is to use a covert operation, or a special forces operation to knock out the only gasoline producing refinery in Iran. There’s only one. And the second is to simply intercede by Naval force, and block any tankers from bringing gasoline to Iran…

Hugh: Would you do, would you urge them…

NG: And say to the Iranians, you know, you can keep the sailors as long as you want, but in about 30 days, everybody in your country will be walking.

HH: So how long would you give them, to give them that ultimatum, the Iranians?

NG: I would literally do that. I would say to them, I would right now say to them privately, within the next week, your refinery will no longer work. And within the following week, there will be no tankers arriving. Now if you would like to avoid being humiliated publicly, we recommend you calmly and quietly give them back now. But frankly, if you’d prefer to show the planet that you’re tiny and we’re not, we’re prepared to simply cut off your economy, and allow you to go back to walking and using oxen to pull carts, because you will have no gasoline left.

Read the whole interview.

Hardest Sudoku Ever

HELSINKI (AFP) — A Finnish mathematician on Monday claimed he had created the world's hardest sudoku puzzle, a brain-teaser which required three months' work and a billion combinations to produce.

See how well you guys can do...

Living in hostility

These were the sons of Ishmael...And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers. Gen 25:18

I am disturbed by the rhetoric coming out of Saudi Arabia lately. It seems the love-fest is over.

read on (you too, Elise, even though it's "political")....

I realize that our relationship is one of mutual expedience, and I understand diplomacy and foreign relations enough, I think, to recognize that with cultures as different as ours and theirs, we need to leave latitude for those differences without allowing those differences to undermine the benefits of the relationship. But it seems like Saudi Arabia has begun to sound more like Tehran instead of our ally in the region.

Never a friend of Israel, the Saudis have at least kept their mouths mostly shut on the subject. But recently, there has been some not-so-subtle comments about Israel. From the NY Sun :

Prince Saud, insisted yesterday that no amendments would be made to the Arab Plan, which mandates a return to pre-1967 borders for Israel, a transfer of East Jerusalem to Arab control, and the right to return to Israel for all the descendants of Arabs who fled or were chased away in the 1948 war.

"If Israel refuses, that means it doesn't want peace, and it places everything back into the hands of fate," Prince Saud told the Daily Telegraph. "They will be putting their future not in the hands of the peacemakers but in the hands of the lords of war."

Accompanying that "remark" were these fine friendly encouragements:

Saudi King Abdullah, whose country is a close US ally, on Wednesday slammed the "illegitimate foreign occupation" of Iraq in an opening speech to the annual Arab summit in Riyadh.

"In beloved Iraq, blood is being shed among brothers in the shadow of an illegitimate foreign occupation, and ugly sectarianism threatens civil war," Abdullah said.

So what, you ask, do we get out of this mutually-expedient relationship? This, evidently.

OPEC daily output fell by a million barrels recently, and global inventories this year have fallen the most in a decade.

Blame Ali al-Naimi, oil minister of Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter, who told OPEC members that production cuts would stop a six-month decline in oil prices.

Crude this year rebounded 26 per cent from a 20-month low to $US62.51 a barrel.

Saudi Arabia's Al-Naimi enforces policies to keep control of the market. When OPEC gathered in October to discuss its response to a plunge in oil, Al-Naimi said the group would "absolutely" cut daily output by a million barrels. The next day they agreed to a cut of 1.2 million barrels.

In January he said the market was back "in balance" and expressed confidence prices would rebound. Prices touched their low two days later and have been rallying since.

What is going on, and how should we be handling it? It seems like our responses to these have been tepid and unaggressive. Are we gun-shy? Are we too image conscious? Where is this going to lead?

shrink me

Hey guys/gals--please pray for me tomorrow and Friday. Tomorrow morning at 10:30 I have my hour long session with the psychiatrist for HNGR (yes dad, I'm going to talk about you the whole time...) and Friday I have my final interview with the director of HNGR which is obviously a biggy. It's been a rough week, especially having been put on a medecine that is messing with my hormones, and I really want to sound level and sane for both these interviews...

This blog has gotten very political, which is ok, but I want to hear about all your lives too...

love you all!

HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Modern Liberal

Interesting speech. It's a long one though (45 min) so be sure you can settle in...

But I think he addresses some really important points. Excellent food for thought.

Helloooooooo...

Anybody out there? where is everybody?

I know matt is telling crazy Iranians to "talk to the hand", but what are everyone else's excuses? HMMMMMMM?


I was digging through some of my old stuff and found some good reminders of Taylor and all the fun stuff I was able to do. So, I will leave you with a picture of our planet taken with a normal film camera that we attached to a weather balloon and launched to 90,000 ft. We were testing our satellite communications, but we thought there wouldnt be any harm in taking a few pics along the way...

Peta and Global Warming

Funny stuff.

The cows are killing the world!!!

Taxation without Representation

I am always amused by the D.C. License plates...

but I had not thought very hard about WHY Washington doesn't have congressional representation. This article has some good points, including quotes from the constitution specifically prohibiting DC having any voice in the government.

Also, on an unrelated note, this article has a very astute analysis on the different motivation between conservative and liberal thinking. Accountability for one's actions vs Limitless compassion. Interesting.

Moderate Muslim Speaks

FINALLY!!!

check out what this guy has to say... he is an american muslim lawyer, but he has some good things to say.

National Review Article



Then he was on FoxNews the other day. Cant find the link to that video directly, but it is Here at HotAir.


It is very refreshing to hear fellow muslim critics of crazy muslims speak out. doesnt happen very often...

Bush Announces Iraq Exit Strategy: 'We'll Go Through Iran'

Hummer vs. Prius

So, if you're a true environmentalist, you drive a Prius, right? Moreover, you look down your nose at those gas-guzzling, whale-hating, deforesting Hummer drivers, right?

Slashdot links to a report that says, among other things

When you pool together all the combined energy it takes to drive and build a Toyota Prius, the flagship car of energy fanatics, it takes almost 50 percent more energy than a Hummer - the Prius’s arch nemesis.

This is simply too good to be true!

1st ammendment

Our freshman class vice president has an interesting case that was just overturned by the 9th circuit court and is expected to eventually go to the Supreme Court. It has caused a whole lot of controversy including some pretty angry student responses here. It's pretty gutsy what he did, although I'm not yet sure how I feel about it...

Economic Principles, translated

Credit to Poor & Stupid

Colbert Report, Ayaan Hirsi Ali

another little clip that contains a bit of insight into Colbert's spirituality. I also like Ayaan Hirsi Ali, although she doesnt say a whole lot on this clip.

Bong hits 4 Jesus

What a bizzare case! If the Supreme Court is going to make what many "experts" are saying could be such a monumental ruling, it seems to me that they could at least select a case where both sides will stipulate as to the facts surrounding the incident. Wow, it makes you wonder what their motivation is. The two sides don't agree as to whether this was a school function, whether the kid was in school, or what the sign actually means. Yet Ken Starr, the quintessential representative before SCOTUS, has taken on the defense. Am I missing something here?

Update: The justi had some funny comments during the oral argument of the case. I think they are confused about this, too. Althouse has some of the comments, and some commentary.

MIT Courses

Massachusetts Institute of Technology is offering many of its courses to the public through a new venture called Open Course Ware (OCW). I've looked it over and it's pretty cool, and the offerings are varied and many - there is something there for everyone - physics, engineering, political science, anthropology, management, economics, accounting, and much, much more. You can get lecture notes, assignments, and sometimes even video of lectures, as well as assigned readings and other resources.

Having taken many self-directed classes like this - with little, if any, interaction with the professor and scheduling left entirely up to self-discipline, I have to say that it might be hard to stay focused when there is no grade or credit. But then again, if your motivation is purely to learn, finishing may not be necessary, or it may come easily - I don't know. Simply availing yourself of the opportunity might be what is important. Check it out!

My first attempt looks like it is going to be 15.535 Business Analysis Using Financial Statements, a subject that I covered at CityU but not deep enough for my curiosity!

HONK HONK

Look who's coming to town!!!!!

Iran's UN Mission sent a letter to the Security Council president Thursday officially requesting permission for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak during its discussion on a resolution that would impose new sanctions on Teheran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, a council diplomat said.

An the result of the job interview is...

I got the job!!! My first day is April 16. So ony 4 more week after this week. They are also giving me more money than they initially told me so I'll be making a little more than I did my first year at Rowles which is nice. I'm really, really looking forward to the 15 min commute, all the banking days off, extra vacation, only 40 hours a week, etc etc etc. I told my boss yesterday and he took it better than I thought (I'm still alive and I don't have any bruises). The funny thing I learned during the interview was that our next door neighbor was the first internal auditor at this credit union so I need to go over and tell her the good news. Thanks you for all your prayers and encouragement!

Elise is here!

I'm holding a yellow balloon near the bottom of the picture, holding the hand of a strange man. I'm wearing a skirt because it was 71 degrees here yesterday! however, snow is in the works for friday.
Arizona was 90 and beautiful...but now I'm back and jumping headlong into a 20 credit quad complete with an 8am music class. ah, the liberal arts... which explains why I have been missing for long enough that there has been a where's waldo posting of me.

I'm back now though. And hopefully soon I'll have interesting things to post!

Hope for cubicle jockeys everywhere

Sitting in my beige carpeted prison of a cube, developing repetative stress injuries, always strikes me as a HORRIBLE way to do work.

I loathe my cube. I hate my mouse, trackball and keyboard. I hate the florescent lights.

and then I found this:




The full report

I WANT ONE!!! I especially like the photo categorizing demo. very useful.

Bush, Gonzales, and the Constitution

I've been trying to get a handle around this issue of the firing of 8 federal prosecutors, and I think I've finally read enough to start having opinions about it. There's an Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal comparing the time when Clinton fired all 93 federal prosecutors in 1993, including one that was about to file charges against the Clintons.

The difference is quite substantial, although somewhat buried. In 2006, an amendment was passed to the renewal of the PATRIOT Act that allowed the Attorney General to indefinitely appoint "interim" prosecutors to vacant positions, thus bypassing the mandatory Senate confirmation that normally happens. So when Gonzales, under direction from the White House, fired these 8 federal prosecutors, their positions were filled by prosecutors who don't have to be approved by the Senate.

The argument made by President Bush was that this law is required so that we can prosecute the war on terror, and a vacancy in a federal prosecutor position (delayed by a confirmation hearing) could hinder our ability to prosecute the war on terror. What happened was far from this, but rather what seems to be a political sacking of prosecutors, and the appointing of favorable prosecutors without any oversight. This is the exact reason why the Senate confirmation is required in the first place.

While I understand that parts of our government must shift and change to meet the rising challenges of the War on Terror, I refuse to allow that fact to be used as a blanket to cover politically charged manouvering. I think Attorney General Gonzales should resign, and this ammendment in the PATRIOT Act should be appealed.

The Great Global Warming Swindle

Dad talked about this earlier, I'm going to try to embed the video. Its fun stuff!

Such nice hair....

Oops!

Sometimes the truth just sneaks out when no one is paying much attention. Like when the General Council at the CIA, discussing political views of employees at the CIA said

I'd say that most people here would consider themselves very liberal. . . .

Of course, this is something we've suspected for a long time, but to hear it admitted, even bragged about, is kind of shocking.

Very liberal... Oops, that one slipped out!

Time

Dad, it looks like the clock on the server hasn't changed to daylight savings time. Is that something you can fix, or not?

Back like a Bad Habit

Iran Leader Wants to Defend Nuke Program
Mar 11, 6:37 PM (ET)By NASSER KARIMI

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to take his case for pursuing nuclear power before the U.N. Security Council, the government said Sunday, as the world body debates new sanctions on the Islamic nation for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.

Gonna make my life quite busy this week....sigh.

Daily Laugh...

German Engineering vs. Arab Technology

A little comic relief for Monday afternoon duldrums.

Expanding your posts

If you are interested in learning how to expand a long post to a second page, I've written up some instructions.

read on, if you dare....

I've made the background changes necessary in the blog template to allow for the execution of the html code within the actual blog post that you want to expand, so all you have to do is include that html code in your post. Here are the instructions. If you have an questions or suggestions, use the comments so all can benefit.

Filed Under Huh?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An Iraqi national wearing wires and concealing a magnet inside his rectum triggered a security scare at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday but officials said he posed no apparent threat.

Need a Bullet-proof raincoat? - The armour protects against 9mm Full Metal Jacket Round Nose projectiles; Full Metal Jacket Round Nose projectiles; 44 Magnum jacketed Soft Point projectiles; 44 Magnum Jacketed Hollow Point projectiles; Eastern European Tokarev steel core projectiles. This jacket also protects against stabs, cuts, slashes with sharp and blunt edged weapons like hypodermic needles, ice picks, knives and broken bottles.

Pet Flatulence offsets. Never mind Al Gore's carbon offsets, for 35 Australian dollars, National Geographic says customers of Sydney-based Easy Being Green can offset a year's worth of carbon emissions linked to their dogs, from trips to the vet to, yes, breaking wind. Company spokesperson Murray Hogarth concedes that the "flatulence cards" fall on the "gimmicky" side of the company's otherwise serious product line, which is designed to help consumers and small businesses address greenhouse gas emissions.

The AP is reporting that an unknown number of $1 coins somehow missed getting stamped with the famous inscription, "In God We Trust", and then made it past the rigorous U.S. Mint inspectors and into general circulation.

Colbert's Moment of Zen

Even after all this time Colbert is still an enigma to me. Most of the time I really like his wit and satire, but there are times when I literally have to change the channel he makes me so mad. But he often makes references to or comments on his faith, and that is what really interests me about him. Last week he interviewed Larry King, and in the course of the interview made the most incredible spontaneous testimony to Jesus Christ that I've ever seen.

to finish....

About 3/4 of the way through, pick up Colbert's question, "If you could interview a dead person, who would it be?"

I've watched this video over and over and you can almost imagine Colbert's mind working up his response, which comes so quickly, smoothly and articulately that I'm blown away. With all that he must be thinking about and processing at that moment, for him to come up with that response is simply amazing.

In another location I found this quote of Colbert: "I love my Church, and I'm a Catholic who was raised by intellectuals, who were very devout. I was raised to believe that you could question the Church and still be a Catholic. What is worthy of satire is the misuse of religion for destructive or political gains. That's totally different from the Word, the blood, the body and the Christ. His kingdom is not of this earth." --Stephen Colbert in TimeOut New York

Job interview update

Just wanted to let you know that my interview went well this afternoon. I will know in a week whether I got the job or not. It really sounds like what I'm looking for. I also wanted to share with you a picture of what my office could look like. It's a big step up for a cubicle, eh? (I had to throw a little Canadian accent since you are all so international).

Pentagon trip

Drove into DC for another meeting at the Pentagon today. Really smooth traffic both ways - good timing I guess. Very good meeting. Cant tell you about it, but it was very exciting and really neat to be a part of.

It is always exciting to be in the room where big decisions are being made. To affect changes in the broad scheme of things.

Jesus Politics

To hear John Edwards bemoan the selfish consumption of Americans makes me furious.

"I think that Jesus would be disappointed in our ignoring the plight of those around us who are suffering and our focus on our own selfish short-term needs," Edwards told the site. "I think he would be appalled, actually."

Huh, really John? John Edwards and his wife made almost $39 million in the past decade, according to CNN. Give it to the poor, right John?

Sitting on 102 secluded acres surrounded by trees and defended by no-trespassing signs, the 28,000-square-foot estate that Edwards and his family call home has presidential privacy. A main home has five bedrooms and six-and-a-half baths. It's connected by a covered walkway to a bright red addition known as "The Barn," that includes its own living facilities along with a handball court, an indoor pool and an indoor basketball court with a stage at one end. Nearby, the family has cleared space for a soccer field. With a current building value of $4.3 million, the unfinished Edwards estate is already about $1 million more expensive than any other house in the county, according to tax records. It sits on land worth about $1.1 million. (CBS News)

I think that his claim about our personal consumption may have some merit, but if he wants to be a leader, he should start leading by example. Do what I say, not what I do, eh John?

The Plague

I like to put a face to the little beast that is attacking my insides.

I think I'm starting to feel better, and hopefully I'll be up and running by mid-late week.

Many fluids!!!!

Show 'em what you can do, Jannell!!!

All Hail the Goreacle!!

haha. Such a narcissistic waste of space. I assume everyone has heard about this already, right?

Assigned viewing

Ok folks...

your assigned internet viewing experience for this week is....
great global warming swindle


its a UK channel, but it will probably be available on the internet once it airs, so look for it on friday.


on a different note... ugh, Monday!

fun in the sun

well folks, I finished my exams and it's off to spring break in AZ tomorrow morning...

the forcast for almost every day this week is sunny, with a high of 82-86 degrees. :]

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God...

PASADENA, California (AP) -- The Cassini spacecraft has beamed back to Earth never-before-seen angles of Saturn from high above and below its majestic rings. The planet is fully surrounded by the rings in images released Thursday by NASA. "Finally, here are the views that we've waited years for," Cassini scientist Carolyn Porco of the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, said in a statement. "It just doesn't look like the same place. It's so utterly breathtaking, it almost gives you vertigo," Porco said. Cassini snapped the images while in a highly inclined orbit during the past two months.

Skype, anyone?

Yo peeps. So one of my friends who is down in Brazil right now on a Fulbright Scholarship told me I needed to get skype so we can talk. Has anyone used it? And do you think the microphone in our webcams could work, or will I have to go buy a headset or something....

The Beauty of Craig's List

Ok, so I am here to sing the praises of craigslist. I was looking for a way to get rid of my old bed, and I'd tried calling a few churches, but no one would take it as a donation. So in a last ditch effort, I put it up on craigslist. Within an hour, someone contacted me that they wanted it. They picked it up pretty much right after I got home from work, and paid cash. Awesome. So I would say to any of you out there who have junk they want to get rid of, give it a shot. Its easier than it sounds....

I'M BLOGGING!!!! I BLOG!!!!!!!

Hey--believe it or not, this is yo' mama - doing the blog! Up until this moment I have been an outsider - just reading the blogs of you all. On the outside looking in on the blogging world. But I now have arrived. I am here. In the blog. Some day I might even learn to do pictures. And links. And all kinds of fancy stuff!!! But for now, it is just good to be simply in.

five four and a half, booya!

I want you all to know that I got measured the other night and I have grown an inch since I got here! I am now a full 5 foot 4 and 1/2... and maybe still growing! I might be 5'6 by the time I graduate!!

My World Turned Upside Down

OK folks, here is the very best "news" I've read in a while.

Read on if you dare....

This comes from today's WSJ, who gets its story from Psychology Today.

"Elizabeth Svoboda says many introverts have stronger responses to some expeiences than the three-fourths of the world's population that can be considered extroverted. Amanda Guyer, a psychologist at the U.S. National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., has found that individuals who withdraw from other people's company are more sensitive than extroverts to a wide range of positive emotional cues. Situations rife with emotional triggers, such as parties, can be wearying for such people, while solitude serves as a refreshing balm. Ms. Svoboda says studies have shown that creative activities provoke more pleasure in introverts than extroverts."

MORE SENSITIVE!!! Now that's what I'm talkin' about!!

Anti-War Demonstrations

Here's a great article about the organizers of the anti-war movement. The Workers World Party perfected their tactics from the Cold War days when they a practically unlimited budget from the Soviet Union.

Here's an excerpt:
This was no accident, for the demonstration was essentially organized by the Workers World Party, a small political sect that years ago split from the Socialist Workers Party to support the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956. The party advocates socialist revolution and abolishing private property. It is a fan of Fidel Castro’s regime in Cuba, and it hails North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il for preserving his country’s “socialist system,” which, according to the party’s newspaper, has kept North Korea “from falling under the sway of the transnational banks and corporations that dictate to most of the world.” The WWP has campaigned against the war-crimes trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. A recent Workers World editorial declared, “Iraq has done absolutely nothing wrong.”

Israeli Friends

Ok, I am not even allowed to tell you all about what great friends the Israelis are to us... but this is one example...


they give us stuff... we give them stuff... they come up with something brilliant and give it to us... we sell them all our awesome toys...

Its very nice.




and this has nothing to do with Israel, but I never get sick of watching this minigun clip...