In the first few hours, we probably use more electricity than the whole trip. But, we use fewer calories keeping warm and dry or swatting bugs.
OMG – I could NOT do that
Surreal Scenics (9 Photos) | PDN Photo of the Day
© Jimmy Chin. Meru Expedition, Garwhal, India.
Surreal Scenics (9 Photos) | PDN Photo of the Day
Years ago, I saw a Nat Geo photo of someone “camped” on the face of Half Dome in Yosemite. The photo almost gave me vertigo, more so than this one, but this is beyond amazing.
Space shuttle era ends with Atlantis
I’m late with this, but these photos are amazing.
Space shuttle era ends with Atlantis – The Big Picture – Boston.com
The space shuttle Atlantis flies over the Bahamas prior to a perfect docking with the International Space Station on July 10, 2011. Part of a Russian Progress spacecraft docked to the station is in the foreground. (AP Photo/NASA)
Space shuttle era ends with Atlantis – The Big Picture – Boston.com
Obama’s and Bush’s effects on the deficit in one graph: Cost of New Policies, Bush = $5T, Obama = $1.44T
Obama’s and Bush’s effects on the deficit in one graph – Ezra Klein – The Washington Post
What’s also important, but not evident, on this chart is that Obama’s major expenses were temporary — the stimulus is over now — while Bush’s were, effectively, recurring. The Bush tax cuts didn’t just lower revenue for 10 years. It’s clear now that they lowered it indefinitely, which means this chart is understating their true cost. Similarly, the Medicare drug benefit is costing money on perpetuity, not just for two or three years. And Boehner, Ryan and others voted for these laws and, in some cases, helped to craft and pass them.To relate this specifically to the debt-ceiling debate, we’re not raising the debt ceiling because of the new policies passed in the past two years. We’re raising the debt ceiling because of the accumulated effect of policies passed in recent decades, many of them under Republicans. It’s convenient for whichever side isn’t in power, or wasn’t recently in power, to blame the debt ceiling on the other party. But it isn’t true.
By Ezra Klein | 01:00 PM ET, 07/25/2011
Obama’s and Bush’s effects on the deficit in one graph – Ezra Klein – The Washington Post
[hat to John Fleck]
It takes all kinds to make mixed nuts
During the Bush Error, Darren White showed his fascist side, particularly when he snarled “let me at ‘em” about lawful protestors marching in Albuquerque’s streets to protest a war any thinking person knows was a colossal mistake. He kissed Duhbya’s ass while corralling protestors in barb-wired “Free Speech Zones” miles from His Excremancy. Don’t forget those hostile times, because the angry, ugly, small-minded tight-fists rule the Republican Party now and, amazingly, have national clout far beyond their small members (sic). Consider the following:
ABQJournal Online » Blame White’s Departure on Socialist Unions
By Jean-C. Guenette / Albuquerque resident on Mon, Jul 25, 2011
If he is anything, [Darren] White is a bold, unabashed, proud anti-socialist. Now that will get you enemies because our country is filthy with socialist, communist-inspired unions. …
Let’s not pussyfoot around this; unions are employee gangs formed to extort money, favors and special conditions from their employer. They threaten harm to the employer and the business if the employer does not comply. This is pure socialist class extortion.
White is a declared opponent of socialism and that, of course, means anti-union. …To White, I say that I’m not satisfied with his expressed reason for stepping down. To my socialist union employees, I say “you’re fired.”
ABQJournal Online » Blame White’s Departure on Socialist Unions
Seriously, “socialist, communist-inspired”? What century does this person live in? Surely, Jean-C. means unions are “elitist politically-correct Islamo-fascists.” Time to buy the latest “Sound Conservative without Thinking” (Forward by John Boehner).
Side note: Although abqjournal.com’s redesign is a huge improvement, I’m puzzled that items from today’s edition don’t appear under the various top menu categories. To find this Letter to the Editor, I had to go to the home page to the letter’s link there. When I went straight to the Letters to the Editor page, I found letters from days ago. This letter will appear on the appropriate page in a few days, but its URL won’t have changed. Huh? Is there intent in the delay, other than to make more work for the reader?
red and black
Tapia Canyon, Cabezon area, New Mexico
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| From Tapia Canyon, New Mexico |
In early May, my old friend Jas. invited me to hike. There is truly never a dull moment with Jas., the paragon of animals. He has a sharp eye and mind and a wealth of knowledge about geology and more. And just the right balance of warmth and sarcasm. He always makes me laugh.
We drove to Tapia Canyon, which hits the Rio Puerco south of Cabezon. (In this case, puerco means dirty, as in muddy, not pork. I wonder if that association derives from the Muslim occupation of Spain.) Although this area is very close to Albuquerque as the crow flies, driving the winding dirt roads was an all-day adventure of nearly 150 miles.
The hike took us up a beautiful canyon flanked by interesting rock formations. Before long, the canyon narrows considerably and it is in this area we began to see some of the best petroglyph panels I’ve ever seen. After lunch, we went farther until we reached a lovely sandstone arch which marks the beginning of a slot canyon worthy of Utah. In the whole hike, we never saw another person, never heard another vehicle. Of course, I may spoil it all by sharing it with the world. Note that it is a demanding hike and hot by early May. If you go, don’t be a jerk: leave your ATV, BMX, or mountain bike at the road. This is a quiet place.
[originally published on: Jun 19, 2011 @ 9:47am