Walking Raven: Why are We Here?
Nonetheless, even the most cynical part of me finds it hard to believe that the answer to why I am here is to kill aliens on my x-box.
My blogmate, Kris, is writing again. Good stuff. peace, mjh
Oilman opposes drilling = Man bites dog
ABQjournal: Valle Vidal Drilling Has High-Profile Opponent
By Adam Rankin
Journal Staff Writer
A past president of the state’s oil and gas lobbying group says he is speaking out against energy development in the Valle Vidal.
He’s taking his message to the radio even though he’s usually an advocate for drilling.
“I am pro oil and gas; I made my living in oil and gas and that is where my friends are,” said Gary Fonay, former president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.
But, he said, oil and gas development, as important as it is for the future of New Mexico, shouldn’t be allowed on the 40,000-acre Valle Vidal.
A unit of the Carson National Forest, the Valle Vidal has been under consideration for coal-bed methane drilling since Texas-based El Paso Corp. expressed interest in doing so….
Fonay said he thinks the energy industry has done a good job of being sensitive about protecting the environment, but that drilling, with all the associated roads, trucks, pumps and water tanks, would alter the experience of being in the Valle Vidal.
“It just changes what you have and changes the experience for people who are looking to see what Rocky Mountain life is all about,” he said.
It’s Hard Work!
Vacationing Bush Poised to Set a Record
With Long Sojourn at Ranch, President on His Way to Surpassing Reagan’s Total
By Jim VandeHei and Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, August 3, 2005; Page A04
WACO, Tex., Aug. 2 — President Bush is getting the kind of break most Americans can only dream of — nearly five weeks away from the office, loaded with vacation time.
The president departed Tuesday for his longest stretch yet away from the White House, arriving at his Crawford ranch in the evening to clear brush, visit with family and friends, and tend to some outside-the-Beltway politics. By historical standards, it is the longest presidential retreat in at least 36 years.
The August getaway is Bush’s 49th trip to his cherished ranch since taking office and Tuesday was the 319th day that Bush has spent, entirely or partially, in Crawford — roughly 20 percent of his presidency to date, according to Mark Knoller, a CBS Radio reporter known for keeping better records of the president’s travel than the White House itself. Weekends and holidays at Camp David or at his parents’ compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, bump up the proportion of Bush’s time away from Washington even further. …
Presidents have often sought refuge from the pressures of Washington and from life in the White House, which Harry S. Truman called the crown jewel of the American prison system. Richard M. Nixon favored Key Biscayne, Fla. Bush’s father preferred Maine. Bill Clinton, lacking a home of his own, borrowed a house on Martha’s Vineyard, except for two years when political adviser Dick Morris nudged him into going to Jackson, Wyo., before his reelection because it polled better.
Until now, probably no modern president was a more famous vacationer than Ronald Reagan, who loved spending time at his ranch in Santa Barbara, Calif. According to an Associated Press count, Reagan spent all or part of 335 days in Santa Barbara over his eight-year presidency — a total that Bush will surpass this month in Crawford with 3 1/2 years left in his second term.
Pave Paradise
Ah, Wilderness!: County Paving the Way to Chaco
Chaco is in the middle of nowhere. That is part of the wonder. With pavement, the journey becomes only a little shorter, but a sojourn becomes a drive.
Serendipity’s Child
This is how the Web works for me. I was reading Chris’s blog and saw his favorable comments about Seth’s blog, so I went there. Somewhere on Seth’s blog, he made a parenthetical remark about the word “blurb.” I really like the word “blurb” — it sounds funny, it serves a useful purpose, and it looks recent. I can’t quite explain how that is possible; why “farm” sounds like it has been around longer than “fark.”
So, I googled “blurb” and ended up at Weird Words, where I learned rather succinctly about blurb’s creator, Gelett Burgess, whose other neologism were not quite as successful (though voip and VOIP may be puns now), as well as about blurb’s relationship to bromide, another pet of mine. (Taking an old word and applying it in a new way isn’t a neologism — so what is it?) I think Burgess deserves credit for creating the context that led “blurb” to its meaning, but I’m not sure he really coined the word as we use it (follow the link — decide for yourself). I wonder how one searches for the original Ms. Blurb.
All of which proves that Takin’ Care Of Business is as much my theme song today as it was 30 years ago.
Thanks, Tim Berners-Lee, for the World Wide Web, our hive mind, where ADD is an asset and serendipity endlessly enriches our lives. mjh
Look at me I’m self-employed
I love to work at nothing all day
Setting His Sights
ABQjournal: Setting His Sights
Roberto Rosales/Journal
Scott David Benson, 12, practices his aim with a paintball gun at a shooting range on Wednesday, the first day of the three-day Rio Rancho Department of Public Safety’s “Cop Camp”.
During a three day “Cop Camp” sponsored by the Rio Rancho Department of Public Safety, kids got to “practice their aim with paintball guns and used prop guns in a SWAT class…. Other camp activities include … booking and arrest procedures…. The camp was created to promote team building and unity among students and police.”
If you are bothered with military recruitment on college and high school campuses, note they are digging deeper (there is no difference between the military and police anymore).
I think it’s fine for the cops to work with kids and develop some “unity.” I think it’s wrong to train them to be cops/soldiers at ages 12 to 15. Not just cops — SWAT cops. mjh
PS: As an aside, this picture is about 4 by 6 in the paper, with a 72pt headline. There is a second picture that shows cops are soldiers now. Plus a 6 paragraph article with no byline. I could not find the article or second picture online. In an interesting coincidence, the bottom of that page (B2) features a billboard that uses a small child to recruit for Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department (couldn’t find that online, either).
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
ABQjournal: Environmental Law Plans to Be Discussed Monday in Rio Rancho By Tania Soussan, Journal Staff Writer
A congressional task force considering changes to one of the nation’s most important environmental laws will hold a hearing in Rio Rancho on Monday.
The National Environmental Policy Act, known as NEPA, requires that major federal projects be reviewed for environmental and public health impacts.
The 35-year-old law also mandates public involvement and consideration of alternatives to minimize significant impacts.
Industry has argued that NEPA is a lengthy and cumbersome process that should be streamlined. …
Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., the ranking member of the task force, said he thinks the law is working.
Environmentalists are worried Congress will weaken the federal law and cut out opportunities for public comment. …
The task force is scheduled to hear from 14 witnesses, including New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Secretary Joanna Prukop, Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich, former Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley, a representative of the New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau and the vice president of Burlington Resources’ San Juan Division.
The hearing, which is open to the public, is at 10 a.m. at Rio Rancho High School, 301 Loma Colorado.
Only invited witnesses will be allowed to testify, but the public can submit written comments by e-mail to nepataskforce@mail.house.gov.