Week two is in the books and everyone has played at least one game. The polls took a bit of a shakeup with the upset of West Virginia by East Carolina but nearly everyone held their own. Most of the movement was at the bottom of the pack where new teams suddenly forced their way onto the writers’ and coaches’ radar.
Here, then, are the Top 25 (plus 2) after Week 2, their performance in Week 2 and their opponents in Week 3. (Poll numbers are from the AP Writers’ Poll/the Coaches Poll/CBSSports.com. The numbers following the team’s name reflect their position prior to Week 2 games. NR= Not Ranked)
1/1/4 Southern California (1/1/4) was idle in Week 2. This week they host #5 Ohio State in the first match up of Top 10 teams this season.
2/2/3 Georgia (2/2/2) laid it on Central Michigan 56-17. The Bulldogs play at South Carolina this week.
3/3/1 Oklahoma (4/4/3) doubled up Cincinnati 52-26. The Sooners take on Washington on the road.
4/4/5 Florida (5/5/6) dominated Miami (FLA) 26-3. They will be idle this week.
5/5/2 Ohio State (3/3/1) beat Ohio U. 26-14 yet were punished for not having Beany Wells? This week they will need him in Los Angeles against #1 USC.
6/6/6 Missouri (6/7/5) scored 52 points for the second week in a row in defeating Southeast Missouri State 52-3. This week they host Nevada. I wonder what the odds are for a third 52 point day?
7/7/7 LSU (7/6/8) had their game against Troy postponed due to hurricane weather. They’ll make it up on November 15. This week the Tigers will host North Texas. Which is good since Ike seems to be headed for Texas. I wonder if Ike read the schedule wrong. Then again there’s still time for him to correct his course.
8/8/9 Texas (10/9/9) won handily over UTEP 42-13. This week they’ll have to keep a weather eye out for Ike while hosting Arkansas.
9/9/8 Auburn (9/10/10) defeated Southern Miss 27-13. This week they play at Mississippi State.
10/10/11 Wisconsin (11/11/12) was all over Akron 51-14. This week they are on the road against #21 Fresno State.
11/16/16 Alabama (13/17/17) rolled over Tulane 20-6 in Week 2. The Tide will host Western Kentucky this week.
12/12/12 Texas Tech (12/13/13) was a 35-19 winner over Nevada. This week they host SMU. Weather could be a factor.
13/11/10 Kansas (14/12/11) shutout Louisiana Tech 29-10. They’ll have to crank that defense up on Friday night when they play at #19 South Florida.
14/20/18 East Carolina (NR/NR/25) Holy moly! Where’d the Pirates come from? Well in Week 1 they took down then #17 Virginia Tech 27-22 with special teams and in Week 2 they demolished then #8 West Virginia 24-3. I guess some folks noticed that. This week they travel to that well known Pirate hangout of New Orleans and take on Tulane.
15/13/14 Arizona State (15T/14/15) waltzed over Stanford 41-17. This week they host UNLV.
16/14/17 Oregon (18/16/18) played with Utah 66-28. This week the Ducks are at Purdue.
17/17/21 Penn State (19/19/19) mauled Oregon State 45-14. The Nittany lions are on the road against Syracuse this week where the only question is will they score as many points as Joe Pa's age.
18/15/13 Brigham Young (15T/15/14) eked out a victory over Washington 28-27. If you didn’t see it, Washington scored with seconds left but got penalized for “excessive celebration” and then missed the extra point. Stupid call by the refs. Anyway, this week BYU will host UCLA.
19/18/20 South Florida (17/18/20) had a close call of their own in defeating Central Florida 31-24 in OT. The Bulls better get their game on when they face #13 Kansas on the road Friday night.
20/19/15 Wake Forest (20/20/16) edged Mississippi 30-28. This week they play at Florida State.
21/21/19 Fresno State (NR/25/24) moved up in the ranks despite being idle in Week 2. This week they host #10 Wisconsin.
22/22/23 Utah (22/23/22) doubled up over UNLV 42-21. This week they play at Utah State.
23/25/NR California (NR/NR/NR) appears on the list for the first time after totally dismantling Washington State 66-3. The Bears travel across the country to play at Maryland.
24/NR/24 Illinois (24T/25/23) easily beat East Illinois 47-21. This week they host Louisiana-Lafayette.
25/24/22 West Virginia (8/8/7) looked totally inept in losing to East Carolina 24-3. They get o lick their wounds this week as they are idle.
NR/23/NR Clemson (NR/NR/NR) beat The Citadel 45-17 to get a little tiny blip on the radar. This week they host North Carolina State.
NR/NR/25 UCLA (NR/NR/NR) was idle this week but I guess their Week 1 defeat of then #18 Tennessee was finally noticed. This week they play at the current #18 BYU. Can lightening strike twice? I think so!
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Ouch! $5 mil in 5 hours
There was a report on Drudge that McCain raised $5 million dollars at a 5 hour fundraiser on Monday night. That’s a cool million per hour. Not bad.
Even better? It was in Chicago.
Like I said: Ouch!
(Oh, and just to clarify: “McCain is taking federal funds and can't raise outside money. Money raised here goes to RNC, to be spent in four battleground states. It will be spent on McCain's behalf, but not by McCain.”)
Even better? It was in Chicago.
Like I said: Ouch!
(Oh, and just to clarify: “McCain is taking federal funds and can't raise outside money. Money raised here goes to RNC, to be spent in four battleground states. It will be spent on McCain's behalf, but not by McCain.”)
Monday, September 08, 2008
Here we go again
Hurricane Ike is tearing up Cuba this morning and will be heading into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico in the coming days. There it will regain some of the strength it loses while over the island nation. It's one hell of monstrous storm that has already claimed over 300 lives.
I've just one question for those Democratic advisers who joked about the hurricanes striking the US during the Republican convention. If God is directing the paths of hurricanes to display His displeasure, what does this say about His feelings for Cuba?
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Cooking with bacon grease.
I just got this via email. It purportedly shows the effects of eating too much bacon grease.
See too much bacon grease makes your feet grow small.
See too much bacon grease makes your feet grow small.
Words (and actions) mean something
The smell of fear is in the air.
In a barn at the state fair in Terre Haute, Indiana
“Tiptoeing around Palin”? They been watching the same Obama campaign that I’ve see this past week and a half?
And as Governor, shouldn’t she be fighting to get as much of her constituent’s money as possible returned to them from the federal government? She took them “when it is convenient” because it was her job to do so as the representative of her people. And when the money got there she correctly used it to the benefit of all the citizens and not—as so many of our Congressmen and Senators do—for friends and family only.
Being against earmarks means the federal government would spend less of taxpayers’ money and, therefore, tax people less. Obama doesn’t get this. McCain does. He’s never asked for any earmarks (And has probably gotten hell from his constituents about that!)
The fact that Obama feels the need to challenge/rebut Palin shows some desperation. She is the VP nominee, after all.
And the last sentence from Obama above: “I mean, words mean something. You can’t just make stuff up.”
At last, something I can agree with.
Yes, Barry words do mean something.
You can’t say one thing in a stop in Pennsylvania and something totally different in San Francisco.
You can’t propose new gun control regulations while a state senator, propose “reasonable” controls on the residence of Washington, D.C. and then say you don’t want to take away the people’s right to own firearms. Especially when you try to qualify that with something like, “Besides, I wouldn’t have the votes from Congress to do so.”
You can’t claim executive experience and then try to block access to papers of the only job (the Chicago Anneberg Challenge in which you actually had any executive decisions to make.
You can’t propose programs (Universal Health Care for example) that will cost billions of dollars and then provide no reasonable source of funding. (Sorry, closing a few loopholes in corporate tax laws won’t do the job.)
You can’t listen to a man preach at your hate-filled church for 20 years and claim him as one of your mentors before suddenly saying “Oops, I don’t really believe any of that stuff.”
You can’t get your start in politics with the help of unrepentant domestic terrorist Bill Ayers and work with him and for him for several years and then claim he’s 1- just a regular guy whom 2- you hardly know.
Words and actions mean something, alright.
More from the article:
You trying to prove you’re just one regular guy aren’t you, Barry. Interesting that these “town hall settings” don’t seem to include many questions from the gathered citizens. They seem to be far more lectures or sermons to me. I can’t blame you for trying the small-sized-crowds thing after the debacle of Germany. That didn’t help your image here at home at all, if you know what I’m saying. Besides, if you go for the small settings, then it’s harder for people to notice when the crowds are getting smaller. If you know what I mean.
By the way, careful where you step there, sunshine. Your words and the cow flop are equally scattered about that barn floor.
In a barn at the state fair in Terre Haute, Indiana
His shirtsleeves are rolled up higher, his tone is a bit more biting. Stirring up supporters at a fairground's show barn here with a sharp critique of John McCain, Barack Obama looks and sounds like a candidate who realizes time is running out.
And after days of tiptoeing around Palin, Obama even took his first direct swipe at the Alaska governor: “I know the governor of Alaska has been, you know, saying she is change,” Obama said at a town hall here. “But when you [have] been taking all these earmarks when it is convenient and then suddenly you are the champion anti-earmark person. That is not change, come on. I mean, words mean something. You can’t just make stuff up.”
“Tiptoeing around Palin”? They been watching the same Obama campaign that I’ve see this past week and a half?
And as Governor, shouldn’t she be fighting to get as much of her constituent’s money as possible returned to them from the federal government? She took them “when it is convenient” because it was her job to do so as the representative of her people. And when the money got there she correctly used it to the benefit of all the citizens and not—as so many of our Congressmen and Senators do—for friends and family only.
Being against earmarks means the federal government would spend less of taxpayers’ money and, therefore, tax people less. Obama doesn’t get this. McCain does. He’s never asked for any earmarks (And has probably gotten hell from his constituents about that!)
The fact that Obama feels the need to challenge/rebut Palin shows some desperation. She is the VP nominee, after all.
And the last sentence from Obama above: “I mean, words mean something. You can’t just make stuff up.”
At last, something I can agree with.
Yes, Barry words do mean something.
You can’t say one thing in a stop in Pennsylvania and something totally different in San Francisco.
You can’t propose new gun control regulations while a state senator, propose “reasonable” controls on the residence of Washington, D.C. and then say you don’t want to take away the people’s right to own firearms. Especially when you try to qualify that with something like, “Besides, I wouldn’t have the votes from Congress to do so.”
You can’t claim executive experience and then try to block access to papers of the only job (the Chicago Anneberg Challenge in which you actually had any executive decisions to make.
You can’t propose programs (Universal Health Care for example) that will cost billions of dollars and then provide no reasonable source of funding. (Sorry, closing a few loopholes in corporate tax laws won’t do the job.)
You can’t listen to a man preach at your hate-filled church for 20 years and claim him as one of your mentors before suddenly saying “Oops, I don’t really believe any of that stuff.”
You can’t get your start in politics with the help of unrepentant domestic terrorist Bill Ayers and work with him and for him for several years and then claim he’s 1- just a regular guy whom 2- you hardly know.
Words and actions mean something, alright.
More from the article:
Continuing to eschew the arena rallies that marked his primary campaign, Obama appears in small settings, usually at a workplace where he can tell a story about the economy, aides said. Wearing safety goggles, he tours a factory floor in what amounts to a photo opportunity before sitting down with employees in public town hall settings.
You trying to prove you’re just one regular guy aren’t you, Barry. Interesting that these “town hall settings” don’t seem to include many questions from the gathered citizens. They seem to be far more lectures or sermons to me. I can’t blame you for trying the small-sized-crowds thing after the debacle of Germany. That didn’t help your image here at home at all, if you know what I’m saying. Besides, if you go for the small settings, then it’s harder for people to notice when the crowds are getting smaller. If you know what I mean.
By the way, careful where you step there, sunshine. Your words and the cow flop are equally scattered about that barn floor.
Weight
Okay, Wyatt ( Support Your Local Gunfighter ) is back on the weight loss gig again after a vacation time splurge at the Jersey Shore in which he gained a whole four (!) pounds in two weeks. Hell, I could do that with one visit to The Olive Garden.
Wyatt inspired me to do something about my weight back in the spring when he was shedding pounds like Brittany Spears sheds underwear and now that he’s back to being serious about losing weight I’ve decided to join in the group of folks (friends I haven’t met yet) in an attempt to get very, very serious about dropping some (more) weight of my own.
Two summers ago (2006) when we were building the Aerie and I worked alongside of Don and Adam for nearly all of the process, I dropped down to around 210 pounds. That’s about what I weighed when Tery and I got married in 1972. She proved to be too good a cook, however, and I proved to have damn little will power. I ballooned up and reached as high as 250 along the way. Weight Watchers was helpful, but it’s tough to go to the meetings and be the only guy there. When you drop weight faster than the women (as guys are wont to do) they give you these dirty looks.
Anyway, I got down to 210 in August of 2006 and then the house was done and winter settled in. Hunting season ended and football season (the TV kind) captured my lard ass. By spring I was back up to 225 and heading higher. I made the mistake of staying mostly inactive for the summer of ’07 and when fall arrived I continued up to near 240.
This spring I started to shed some pounds as Terry and I participated in two or three bird walks a week and watched what we ate much more carefully as she pulled out the Weight Watchers cookbooks. I started keeping a record of weight loss in mid-June at which time I was at 232 pounds. It’s come off slowly since then with the exercise of birding, working in the yard and pushing away from the table. Realizing leftovers can be your friend is vital, as they say, “Cook once, eat twice (or three times)”.
I’ve gotten down to 217 as of this morning (Sunday) since I started keeping tabs. I’ve been lower at times during the week, but that was mostly water weight as I sweated it out under the hot summer sun. If I could kick my ice cream habit I could do much better.
This morning I signed up with a support team/pressure group of bloggers including RT (who, I am informed, is doing the record keeping this time round) and Wyatt. A little pressure goes a long way toward motivation as anyone who has ever had to work to a deadline will tell you.
We’ll see if this helps. My ultimate goal would be somewhere around 190. I haven’t been there since junior year in high school. That would be back in 1965-66. Yeah, I'm an old fart. Going to be older on the 17th.
Wyatt inspired me to do something about my weight back in the spring when he was shedding pounds like Brittany Spears sheds underwear and now that he’s back to being serious about losing weight I’ve decided to join in the group of folks (friends I haven’t met yet) in an attempt to get very, very serious about dropping some (more) weight of my own.
Two summers ago (2006) when we were building the Aerie and I worked alongside of Don and Adam for nearly all of the process, I dropped down to around 210 pounds. That’s about what I weighed when Tery and I got married in 1972. She proved to be too good a cook, however, and I proved to have damn little will power. I ballooned up and reached as high as 250 along the way. Weight Watchers was helpful, but it’s tough to go to the meetings and be the only guy there. When you drop weight faster than the women (as guys are wont to do) they give you these dirty looks.
Anyway, I got down to 210 in August of 2006 and then the house was done and winter settled in. Hunting season ended and football season (the TV kind) captured my lard ass. By spring I was back up to 225 and heading higher. I made the mistake of staying mostly inactive for the summer of ’07 and when fall arrived I continued up to near 240.
This spring I started to shed some pounds as Terry and I participated in two or three bird walks a week and watched what we ate much more carefully as she pulled out the Weight Watchers cookbooks. I started keeping a record of weight loss in mid-June at which time I was at 232 pounds. It’s come off slowly since then with the exercise of birding, working in the yard and pushing away from the table. Realizing leftovers can be your friend is vital, as they say, “Cook once, eat twice (or three times)”.
I’ve gotten down to 217 as of this morning (Sunday) since I started keeping tabs. I’ve been lower at times during the week, but that was mostly water weight as I sweated it out under the hot summer sun. If I could kick my ice cream habit I could do much better.
This morning I signed up with a support team/pressure group of bloggers including RT (who, I am informed, is doing the record keeping this time round) and Wyatt. A little pressure goes a long way toward motivation as anyone who has ever had to work to a deadline will tell you.
We’ll see if this helps. My ultimate goal would be somewhere around 190. I haven’t been there since junior year in high school. That would be back in 1965-66. Yeah, I'm an old fart. Going to be older on the 17th.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Dear Mr. Obama,
One powerful ad for John McCain by an Iraqi veteran. Be sure to watch all the way to the end for the full effect.
(Seen first via Don Surber.)
(Seen first via Don Surber.)
I miss her already
Joan of Argghh!! has pulled up stakes in an unannounced departure over at Primordial Slack.
I do hope all fares well with her and hope to see her tag in the comments sections of sites we both visit. Fare thee well Joan.
UPDATE: It appears, Joan's just been busy with other things. She's posting but infrequently. Thanks for the notice Guy.
I do hope all fares well with her and hope to see her tag in the comments sections of sites we both visit. Fare thee well Joan.
UPDATE: It appears, Joan's just been busy with other things. She's posting but infrequently. Thanks for the notice Guy.
Oops!
You know, if they don’t correct their behavior soon, the mainstream press will have a lower favorability than Congress.
Small-town residents boo media with McCain
MSM is going down, down, down in a burning ring of fire.
(Seen at Hot Air which is fast becoming a place for me to go for real news.)
Small-town residents boo media with McCain
MSM is going down, down, down in a burning ring of fire.
(Seen at Hot Air which is fast becoming a place for me to go for real news.)
Good question
Ace has a post up that reveals the panic in the Obama camp:
Obama: "We're Not Going to be Bullied"
And Ace asks: “How is this sissy going to stand up to someone a bit more menacing than Sarah Palin?”
Obama: "We're Not Going to be Bullied"
And Ace asks: “How is this sissy going to stand up to someone a bit more menacing than Sarah Palin?”
Whoopee Ti Yi Yo
When we moved from New Jersey to north–central Pennsylvania’s Tioga County I knew we were heading west. Is there any other way to move from New Jersey? But what I didn’t realize was just how far west we were headed.
There are all sorts of four legged critters being farmed out here. There a llamas, alpacas, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, cows and steers. Lots f horses, cows and steers. Probably more than there are humans.
Just down the road a short ways there’s one fella who must have a hundred horses in his pasture. Palominos are abundant as are grays and roans and when they are all up near the road near the feed bins it’s a sight to behold. Some “farms” have only a handful of horses including the beautiful appaloosas and a few mules and even miniatures.
The same for dairy cows. They come in all varieties just down the road. I used to know them all from Guernsey to Swiss but that was back in Animal Science class that I took in 1970. Now I just marvel at the beauty of the small, light tan Swiss on two farms and the udder production of the Guernsey on most of the other farms.
Most of the steers are of the White-faced Hereford variety but there are a few Black Angus out there.
What brought this up is the farm down the bottom of the hill that has maybe two or three dozen White-faced Herefords on a dozen or so acres of pasture about the house. Call it a gentleman’s farm, if you will. Until the last few days you would hardly know they were there. Occasionally you could hear them bawling but not much else. Even when you drove by, they were usually just over the rise and out of sight. However, there must have been something that has gotten them riled up. For the last four or five days the lowing and bawling has been a constant reminder of their presence. They are just far enough way that you can’t hear them while inside but step outdoors and whoo-boy howdy! Their calls to one another or just in protest are very evident. Makes you want to mount up and ride herd singing all the while.
(Yeah, it's from Prairie Home Companion but what the heck. I like the lyrics used here.)
There are all sorts of four legged critters being farmed out here. There a llamas, alpacas, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, cows and steers. Lots f horses, cows and steers. Probably more than there are humans.
Just down the road a short ways there’s one fella who must have a hundred horses in his pasture. Palominos are abundant as are grays and roans and when they are all up near the road near the feed bins it’s a sight to behold. Some “farms” have only a handful of horses including the beautiful appaloosas and a few mules and even miniatures.
The same for dairy cows. They come in all varieties just down the road. I used to know them all from Guernsey to Swiss but that was back in Animal Science class that I took in 1970. Now I just marvel at the beauty of the small, light tan Swiss on two farms and the udder production of the Guernsey on most of the other farms.
Most of the steers are of the White-faced Hereford variety but there are a few Black Angus out there.
What brought this up is the farm down the bottom of the hill that has maybe two or three dozen White-faced Herefords on a dozen or so acres of pasture about the house. Call it a gentleman’s farm, if you will. Until the last few days you would hardly know they were there. Occasionally you could hear them bawling but not much else. Even when you drove by, they were usually just over the rise and out of sight. However, there must have been something that has gotten them riled up. For the last four or five days the lowing and bawling has been a constant reminder of their presence. They are just far enough way that you can’t hear them while inside but step outdoors and whoo-boy howdy! Their calls to one another or just in protest are very evident. Makes you want to mount up and ride herd singing all the while.
(Yeah, it's from Prairie Home Companion but what the heck. I like the lyrics used here.)
Bill Whittle on the GOP and McCain
It's football season--and political season--and both attract a great deal of Monday morning quarterbacking. With both political conventions having concluded there's a great deal being talked about to compare the two.
I didn't watch any of the speeches on TV. I refused to be suckered into a setting where I would have to listen to a bunch of talking heads of the MSM dissect and interject their personal reactions and biases. I did watch and listen to and read the speeches via the internet, however.
I found the GOP convention to be much more inspiring as it was for something rather than against. I felt it displayed a far greater appreciation, love and belief of/in America and Americans than the Democratic call to nannyism.
In visiting several sites this morning I found a passing note at Instapunditthat Bill Whittle had written his thought on the GOP convention. (I got suckered into seeing what Mr. Whittle had to say and then went on to his web site for another hour's reading. The man is addictive. Thank goodness his essays take time to prepare or I'd never go anywhere else.)
Anyway.
Bill Whittle on John McCain’s Thursday night speech:
Go over to and read the entire essay for Mr. Whittle’s complete view of what has occurred in the last week not just within the Republican Party, not just within himself, but with millions of Americans across the country. The piece is called: Proud of the GOP
If you haven’t read any of Mr. Whittle’s essays…what the hell’s wrong with you! He has a site called Eject! Eject! Eject! which he has been woefully lax in updating (he claims to be busy on some other projects one of which is velly, velly hush-hush). Luckily his Silent American essays (linked to on the side bar of his site) are ripe for the picking so check them out. Check them ALL out. They are excellent reading. And addictive. The Boyd essay further down the page is also quite fascinating. Be sure to read all of it for the explanation of the OODA loop. (Many are saying the McCain camp has gotten inside the OODA loop of the Obama camp. And judging upon the deer-in-the-head-lights looks and reactions of Obama and his surrogates they may well have succeeded in doing just that.)
(If you prefer hard copy to reading on the web, Bill Whittle has published the Silent American essays as
SILENT AMERICA: ESSAYS FROM A DEMOCRACY AT WAR
I didn't watch any of the speeches on TV. I refused to be suckered into a setting where I would have to listen to a bunch of talking heads of the MSM dissect and interject their personal reactions and biases. I did watch and listen to and read the speeches via the internet, however.
I found the GOP convention to be much more inspiring as it was for something rather than against. I felt it displayed a far greater appreciation, love and belief of/in America and Americans than the Democratic call to nannyism.
In visiting several sites this morning I found a passing note at Instapunditthat Bill Whittle had written his thought on the GOP convention. (I got suckered into seeing what Mr. Whittle had to say and then went on to his web site for another hour's reading. The man is addictive. Thank goodness his essays take time to prepare or I'd never go anywhere else.)
Anyway.
Bill Whittle on John McCain’s Thursday night speech:
. . . what of John McCain? I’ve read many comments about his speech being a disappointment. I don’t know how it looked or played from the floor. But I know how it played from my Los Angeles living room. I believe — and we’ll know soon enough if I’m right — that John McCain did something Thursday night more powerful and astonishing than Sarah Palin did the previous evening. Sarah stole Obama’s glamour. McCain stole his message. (Granted, that may not be a lot, apart from the glamour, but it was all Obama had left.)
…
John McCain got me to believe tonight what I never really believed about him before: he is serious about changing Washington. He is serious about getting the GOP back to basics. John McCain wants to repair the brand. Claiming to want to do something is talk. What I think will cause many to believe him is something more than talk: McCain decided to man up. It’s our fault. We lost the confidence of the American people. We said we’d be true to our principles, and we weren’t. The Democrats didn’t make us do it. We did it to ourselves.
…
When John McCain told me what I and untold millions of Americans have always believed, what others tell me to be ashamed of and mock me for — that I live in the greatest country in the world, a force of goodness and justice in dark places, a land of heroism and sacrifice and opportunity and joy — to me that went right to the mystic chords of memory that ultimately binds this country together. Some people don’t know what it is, but there is such a thing as patriotism — pure, unrefined, unapologetic, unconditional, non-nuanced, non-cosmopolitan, white-hot-burning patriotism. John McCain loves this country. I love it too. Not what it might be made into someday — not its promise, always and only its promise — but what it was and what it is, a nation and an idea worth fighting and dying for.
…
I was lukewarm on McCain Thursday night, but after that close I will follow that man to the ends of the earth with a smile on my face and a song in my heart.
Go over to and read the entire essay for Mr. Whittle’s complete view of what has occurred in the last week not just within the Republican Party, not just within himself, but with millions of Americans across the country. The piece is called: Proud of the GOP
If you haven’t read any of Mr. Whittle’s essays…what the hell’s wrong with you! He has a site called Eject! Eject! Eject! which he has been woefully lax in updating (he claims to be busy on some other projects one of which is velly, velly hush-hush). Luckily his Silent American essays (linked to on the side bar of his site) are ripe for the picking so check them out. Check them ALL out. They are excellent reading. And addictive. The Boyd essay further down the page is also quite fascinating. Be sure to read all of it for the explanation of the OODA loop. (Many are saying the McCain camp has gotten inside the OODA loop of the Obama camp. And judging upon the deer-in-the-head-lights looks and reactions of Obama and his surrogates they may well have succeeded in doing just that.)
(If you prefer hard copy to reading on the web, Bill Whittle has published the Silent American essays as
SILENT AMERICA: ESSAYS FROM A DEMOCRACY AT WAR
Friday, September 05, 2008
Aerie Planting Bed Day 4
I spent much of the day hacking at the earth and sifting stones out of clay and shale that were as hard as concrete. There's not much to put into a photo when you're just moving dirt from point A to point B ad the distance from A to B is about 10 feet. Still, it was a pretty good workout. The weather was ever so slightly cooler (low 80s instead of high 80s) and there was a nice breeze blowing much of the day. I worked from around 8:30 until 2 PM with a short break to grab a bite to eat and feed the cats their lunch. Then ran down the hill for the mail and some groceries. Back at it at 5 PM when things cooled down a little and the shade began to encroach upon the work area.
The toughest part of the day was a full hour spent trying to grub out the root system of two ancient multiflora roses. I had lopped off the growing portions above ground when I laid out the bed and only ran into these stumps when I started moving the dirt from the center of the bed. They were about three inches in diameter at the ground and each had three or four roots that were about the same size. To make matters more difficult, one was growing through that buried wire fence I mentioned.
Other than those two snags, the work was much easier than the last few days. It will probably take me another day or day and a half to finish with the earth that is there. After that it will be a matter of finding enough additional soil to fill the planing bed. I've already scouted around the property and think I can grab some from the bank behind the house and from along side the trail heading into the woods. I'll also go get a couple of large bags (bales?) of peat moss at Agway to add some organic material to the top six inches. That and a good heavy mulching with straw and leaves (once they fall from the trees) will do the trick.
We're due to get some rain late tonight and through Saturday so I may have to switch to project B tomorrow. That means finishing the insulation of the attic floor. There are about 10 joists gaps that have no insulation in them. Most are directly above the laundry room and foyer so it's not a big problem. But to get to them I'll have to spend an hour moving some of the boxes of Rick's belongings and Christmas ornaments. At least tomorrows outside temperature is supposed to be in the low 70s so it won't be too warm in the attic. Keeping the cats out could be a challenge, however.
The toughest part of the day was a full hour spent trying to grub out the root system of two ancient multiflora roses. I had lopped off the growing portions above ground when I laid out the bed and only ran into these stumps when I started moving the dirt from the center of the bed. They were about three inches in diameter at the ground and each had three or four roots that were about the same size. To make matters more difficult, one was growing through that buried wire fence I mentioned.
Other than those two snags, the work was much easier than the last few days. It will probably take me another day or day and a half to finish with the earth that is there. After that it will be a matter of finding enough additional soil to fill the planing bed. I've already scouted around the property and think I can grab some from the bank behind the house and from along side the trail heading into the woods. I'll also go get a couple of large bags (bales?) of peat moss at Agway to add some organic material to the top six inches. That and a good heavy mulching with straw and leaves (once they fall from the trees) will do the trick.
We're due to get some rain late tonight and through Saturday so I may have to switch to project B tomorrow. That means finishing the insulation of the attic floor. There are about 10 joists gaps that have no insulation in them. Most are directly above the laundry room and foyer so it's not a big problem. But to get to them I'll have to spend an hour moving some of the boxes of Rick's belongings and Christmas ornaments. At least tomorrows outside temperature is supposed to be in the low 70s so it won't be too warm in the attic. Keeping the cats out could be a challenge, however.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Aerie Planting Bed Day 3
With the first four courses in place this morning went very swiftly. I only had to lengthen the trenches on each side wall to accommodate the eight-foot long timbers that would top off the walls. After using all of the 20 timbers I had purchased, I wasn’t happy with the fact that the side walls were so far below the grade of the lawn so I went and picked up 10 more timbers. Now the western wall is pretty much level with the lawn but the eastern one is still about three inches below grade.
The end of the Eastern Wall:
The end of the Western Wall:
If you look closely at the last picture, you can see that I used shorter pieces on the bottom to cheat a little. They are four and six foot long instead of the full eight foot of the last three rows. It saved some back breaking labor but not much. I’ll still have to dig much of the soil out to sieve it for stones and roots before putting it back into the hole. I’ll be going down about 20-24 inches to provide some loose soil for the roots of the plants we will put in. Over a 16’x8’ area that’s a lot of dirt and rock to be moving.
I ended up with eight rows of timbers in total which was two rows more than I thought I would need. I didn’t measure for square because of the opensided nature of the bed, but the rear corners look to be right angles.
The front will get a row of stones (larger flat ones) to make a definitive boundary between the lawn and garden area. Considering the number of stones I’ve gotten out of the trenches, I should have plenty of those when I get done. Of course, for every stone that comes out of the ground, there is that much less garden soil. I’ll have to find some from somewhere to fill that beast of a hole. Worse comes to worse, I’ve got three piles of topsoil up at the Bolt Hole from when I built the barn.
The 5 pound sledge made driving the 6" spikes pretty easy.
Well, that’s pretty much it for Day 3. I’ll go out later and start shoveling some of that dirt through a ½” mesh screen. Small stones and pebbles will go into the sidewall trenches on the outside side of the timbers as back fill. Some will go into the bottom of the bed to provide fill and drainage much as one would put gravel in the bottom of a flower pot. The larger flat stones will find their way into a wall somewhere. The rest….who knows.
Right now it's up to 84 degrees again and the slight breeze that was blowing at noon has vanished. The thin cloud cover has more holes than Swiss cheese allowing plenty of sunlight to fall on the work area. I'm going to take it easy this afternoon. I think I've earned it.
The soil will be there tomorrow and there's supposed to be a bit more breeze (Gustov? Hannah?) even if the forecast is for 85 degrees. Then things get cooler with some rain after midnight Friday into Saturday. I can get a lot more done tomorrow if I'm rested.
(I kept kicking myself for not doing the last three days' work over the weekend wen the high was only around 70 degrees. As it is, I lost another 5 pounds of water weight yesterday despite the Gatorade and water I was drinking. Yeah, some of it came back after dinner but I was still 3 pounds lighter from yesterday morning to this morning.
Let's see...a gallon of water is approximately 7 pounds. I lost 5 pounds, much of it water. That means I was down about 3 quarts. If I was an internal combustion engine and down three quarts of oil I'd be in big trouble. Come to think of it, I am an internal combustion engine. No wonder I felt like hell at the end of the day yesterday!)
The end of the Eastern Wall:
The end of the Western Wall:
If you look closely at the last picture, you can see that I used shorter pieces on the bottom to cheat a little. They are four and six foot long instead of the full eight foot of the last three rows. It saved some back breaking labor but not much. I’ll still have to dig much of the soil out to sieve it for stones and roots before putting it back into the hole. I’ll be going down about 20-24 inches to provide some loose soil for the roots of the plants we will put in. Over a 16’x8’ area that’s a lot of dirt and rock to be moving.
I ended up with eight rows of timbers in total which was two rows more than I thought I would need. I didn’t measure for square because of the opensided nature of the bed, but the rear corners look to be right angles.
The front will get a row of stones (larger flat ones) to make a definitive boundary between the lawn and garden area. Considering the number of stones I’ve gotten out of the trenches, I should have plenty of those when I get done. Of course, for every stone that comes out of the ground, there is that much less garden soil. I’ll have to find some from somewhere to fill that beast of a hole. Worse comes to worse, I’ve got three piles of topsoil up at the Bolt Hole from when I built the barn.
The 5 pound sledge made driving the 6" spikes pretty easy.
Well, that’s pretty much it for Day 3. I’ll go out later and start shoveling some of that dirt through a ½” mesh screen. Small stones and pebbles will go into the sidewall trenches on the outside side of the timbers as back fill. Some will go into the bottom of the bed to provide fill and drainage much as one would put gravel in the bottom of a flower pot. The larger flat stones will find their way into a wall somewhere. The rest….who knows.
Right now it's up to 84 degrees again and the slight breeze that was blowing at noon has vanished. The thin cloud cover has more holes than Swiss cheese allowing plenty of sunlight to fall on the work area. I'm going to take it easy this afternoon. I think I've earned it.
The soil will be there tomorrow and there's supposed to be a bit more breeze (Gustov? Hannah?) even if the forecast is for 85 degrees. Then things get cooler with some rain after midnight Friday into Saturday. I can get a lot more done tomorrow if I'm rested.
(I kept kicking myself for not doing the last three days' work over the weekend wen the high was only around 70 degrees. As it is, I lost another 5 pounds of water weight yesterday despite the Gatorade and water I was drinking. Yeah, some of it came back after dinner but I was still 3 pounds lighter from yesterday morning to this morning.
Let's see...a gallon of water is approximately 7 pounds. I lost 5 pounds, much of it water. That means I was down about 3 quarts. If I was an internal combustion engine and down three quarts of oil I'd be in big trouble. Come to think of it, I am an internal combustion engine. No wonder I felt like hell at the end of the day yesterday!)
Aerie Planting Bed Days 1 and 2
I’m into Day 3 of the Planting Bed project here at the Aerie.
Day 1 was spent prepping the area for the first course of landscape timbers. Trying to get a nice level surface when there are stones of every size (I would say shape too but they are all flat) was not easy. When I got as close to level as humanly possible, I resorted to the use of pea gravel placed in a trench. That allowed me to get the bubble in the center of the two lines instead of having its nose on one.
By the end of Day 1 I pretty much had the trenches cut for the side walls and a flat surface on which to place the timbers on the back wall. I cheated a little on the side walls by using four-foot long pieces for the bottom courses. That way, I didn’t have to cut into the embankment quite so far.
Here’s a view of the placement:
It's just off the lawn and down the slope. I needed to position it in such a way that it didn't interfere with the over head power line or prevent access to the power pole upon which a transformer sits. As it is now, the power company should have no difficulty pulling a truck with a cherry picker over the lawn and to the power pole.
The sun shines on this area from around 9:30 AM until roughly 4-5 PM. That should be sufficient for beans, tomatoes and other vegetables we plan to put in next year.
Day 2 went a little more smoothly. Having already managed a flat and level surface for the back wall to rest upon, I was able to start actually building the walls.
The bottom of the back wall was merely two eight-foot timbers. The first two rows of both sides were four-foot pieces cut on the chop saw. The second row of the long wall was built of an eight-footer in the middle so it bridged the joint below and two four-footers on the end. Two spikes went into each side of the eight-footer and three into each four-footer. The following rear courses were built using two eight-footers.
By staggering the corners, I created an overlap into which I could drive a 6” spike to tie the side walls into the rear wall.
On the top row of this photo, there is a spike in the corner, another about 9" to the left and a third in the side wall timber about 6" from the end. Other spikes were driven into each timber depending upon its length but no fewer than three spikes were used on each.
Day 1 was spent prepping the area for the first course of landscape timbers. Trying to get a nice level surface when there are stones of every size (I would say shape too but they are all flat) was not easy. When I got as close to level as humanly possible, I resorted to the use of pea gravel placed in a trench. That allowed me to get the bubble in the center of the two lines instead of having its nose on one.
By the end of Day 1 I pretty much had the trenches cut for the side walls and a flat surface on which to place the timbers on the back wall. I cheated a little on the side walls by using four-foot long pieces for the bottom courses. That way, I didn’t have to cut into the embankment quite so far.
Here’s a view of the placement:
It's just off the lawn and down the slope. I needed to position it in such a way that it didn't interfere with the over head power line or prevent access to the power pole upon which a transformer sits. As it is now, the power company should have no difficulty pulling a truck with a cherry picker over the lawn and to the power pole.
The sun shines on this area from around 9:30 AM until roughly 4-5 PM. That should be sufficient for beans, tomatoes and other vegetables we plan to put in next year.
Day 2 went a little more smoothly. Having already managed a flat and level surface for the back wall to rest upon, I was able to start actually building the walls.
The bottom of the back wall was merely two eight-foot timbers. The first two rows of both sides were four-foot pieces cut on the chop saw. The second row of the long wall was built of an eight-footer in the middle so it bridged the joint below and two four-footers on the end. Two spikes went into each side of the eight-footer and three into each four-footer. The following rear courses were built using two eight-footers.
By staggering the corners, I created an overlap into which I could drive a 6” spike to tie the side walls into the rear wall.
On the top row of this photo, there is a spike in the corner, another about 9" to the left and a third in the side wall timber about 6" from the end. Other spikes were driven into each timber depending upon its length but no fewer than three spikes were used on each.
70-0
In looking over the scores for last week's games, the Penn State drubbing of Coastal Carolina (66-10) stands out. But it was not the worst defeat of the weekend.
No, that distinction belongs to the Vandals of Idaho University. They not only got shutout but gave up 70 points while doing so. Yeah, Arizona scored a school record 49 points int he first half before cruising to a 70-0 victory over the hapless Vandal squad.
The game was delayed at the start for an hour when a heavy thunderstorm hit the area and it rained for much of the game. I bet the Vandals were real happy to have traveled down from Moscow for that.
My son is a graduate of Idaho.
As is Governor Palin.
Perhaps she can talk to the Governor of Idaho and arrange disaster relief or something. maybe the team could be exiled to Tattu Island at the far end of the Aleutians.
No, that distinction belongs to the Vandals of Idaho University. They not only got shutout but gave up 70 points while doing so. Yeah, Arizona scored a school record 49 points int he first half before cruising to a 70-0 victory over the hapless Vandal squad.
The game was delayed at the start for an hour when a heavy thunderstorm hit the area and it rained for much of the game. I bet the Vandals were real happy to have traveled down from Moscow for that.
My son is a graduate of Idaho.
As is Governor Palin.
Perhaps she can talk to the Governor of Idaho and arrange disaster relief or something. maybe the team could be exiled to Tattu Island at the far end of the Aleutians.
Let Week Two Begin!
Well there’s more college football coming up starting tomorrow night so let’s take a quick look at the new poll rankings. Once again the three polls involved here are the Writers’ Poll (AP), the Coaches’ Pol and CBSSports.com.
There were four upsets of Top 25 teams last week so there was a little shakeup in the rankings. The upsets included #24 (NR/25) Alabama over #9 (9/9) Clemson bay a score of 34-10, East Carolina over #17 (15/17) Virginia Tech 27-22, UCLA in overtime over #18 (18/18) Tennessee 27-24, and Bowling Green over #25 (NR/NR) Pittsburgh 27-17.
New ranks are:
#1(1/4) Southern California. Having beaten Virginia 52-7, the Trojans move up from the #3 (2/4)slot and have the week off to enjoy their lofty perch.
#2 (2/2) Georgia. Despite defeating Georgia Southern 45-21, the Bulldogs drop down from last week’s #1 (1/2) slot. This week they host Central Michigan.
#3 (3/1) Ohio State. The Buckeyes move down from #2 (3/1) after having beaten Youngstown State 43-0. One of the few shutouts recorded in week one. This week they host Ohio.
#4 (4/3) Oklahoma. The Sooners (#4 (4/3) last week beat Chattanooga 57-2. This week they host Cincinnati.
#5 (5/6) Florida. The Gators (#5 (5/6) in week one) beat up on Hawaii 56-10 last week. This week they host an opponent from closer to home—Miami (FLA).
#6 (7/5) Missouri. The Tigers (#6 (7/5) last week) beat then #20 Illinois in a high scoring 52-42 match. This week they host Southeast Missouri State.
#7 (6/8) LSU. The Tigers (#7 (6/8) last week) beat Appalachian State 41-13.This week they host Troy. POSTPONED until November 15.
#8 (8/7) West Virginia. The Mountaineers (starting in the identical position) beat Villanova 48-21 behind 5 TD passes by Mr. White. They are on the road this week at East Carolina.
#9 (10/10) Auburn. Moving up ever so slightly from #10 (11/11) after defeating Louisiana-Monroe 34-0. This week the Tigers host Southern Mississippi.
#10 (9/9) Texas. The Longhorns (#11 (10/10) last week) defeated Florida Atlantic 52-10.This week they travel to UTEP.
#11 (11/12) Wisconsin. The Badgers (#13 (12/14)) in week one) defeated Akron 38-17. This week they’ll face Marshall at home.
#12 (13/13) Texas Tech. The Red Raiders (#12 (14/13)) beat Eastern Washington 49-24 in week one and will now be traveling to Nevada.
#13 (17/17) Alabama. The Tide (#24 (NR/25)) upset Clemson last week by a score of 34-10. This week they host Tulane.
#14 (12/11) Kansas. The Jayhawks (#14 (13/12)) humbled Florida Atlantic last week 40-10. This week they’ll play Louisiana Tech at home.
#15 (tie) (14/15) Arizona State. The Sun Devils (#15 (16/16)) beat up on Northern Arizona in week one. This week the host Stanford.
#15 (tie) (15/14) Brigham Young. BYU (#16 (17/15)) last week downed Northern Iowa 41-17. This week they will be at Washington.
#17 (18/20) South Florida. The Bulls (#19 (21/23)) opened the year with a 56-7 drubbing of Tennessee-Martin. This week they play at the University of Central Florida.
#18 (16/18) Oregon. The Ducks (#21 (20/22) beat up on Washington 44-10. This week they host Utah State.
#19 (19/19) Penn State. The Nittany Lions (#22 (22/21)) picked up a victory over Coastal Carolina 66-10 in what was clearly a mismatch. This week Oregon State comes to Happy Valley.
#20 (20/16) Wake Forest. Wake Forest (#23 (23/19) defeated Baylor 41-13 on the road. They’ll be home this weekend against Mississippi.
#21 (21/21) Fresno State. FSU (NR (25/24)) has the week off to enjoy their win over Rutgers 24-7.
#22 (23/22) Utah. Unranked last week, Utah moves into the Top 25 by virtue of their 25-23 upset of Michigan. This week they host UNLV.
#23 (NR/24) UCLA. The Bruins were also unranked last week but their 27-24 overtime defeat of then #18 Tennessee has them moving up. They have this week off.
#24(tie) (25/23) Illinois. The Illini move down from #20 (19/20) after losing on the road to #6 Missouri 52-42. This week they will home to Eastern Illinois.
#24 (tie) (24/NR) South Carolina. Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks shutout North Carolina State 34-0. They are on the road Thursday night against Vanderbilt.
NR (NR/25) East Carolina. The Pirates knocked off then #17 Virginia Tech in week one 27-22 to keep their way into the Top 25 of the CBSSports.com pol. Perhaps the writers and coaches don’t like their chances this week against #8 West Virginia…in Morgantown, WVa.
And there you have it. Week Two is underway tonight with #24 South Carolina playing at Vanderbilt.
There were four upsets of Top 25 teams last week so there was a little shakeup in the rankings. The upsets included #24 (NR/25) Alabama over #9 (9/9) Clemson bay a score of 34-10, East Carolina over #17 (15/17) Virginia Tech 27-22, UCLA in overtime over #18 (18/18) Tennessee 27-24, and Bowling Green over #25 (NR/NR) Pittsburgh 27-17.
New ranks are:
#1(1/4) Southern California. Having beaten Virginia 52-7, the Trojans move up from the #3 (2/4)slot and have the week off to enjoy their lofty perch.
#2 (2/2) Georgia. Despite defeating Georgia Southern 45-21, the Bulldogs drop down from last week’s #1 (1/2) slot. This week they host Central Michigan.
#3 (3/1) Ohio State. The Buckeyes move down from #2 (3/1) after having beaten Youngstown State 43-0. One of the few shutouts recorded in week one. This week they host Ohio.
#4 (4/3) Oklahoma. The Sooners (#4 (4/3) last week beat Chattanooga 57-2. This week they host Cincinnati.
#5 (5/6) Florida. The Gators (#5 (5/6) in week one) beat up on Hawaii 56-10 last week. This week they host an opponent from closer to home—Miami (FLA).
#6 (7/5) Missouri. The Tigers (#6 (7/5) last week) beat then #20 Illinois in a high scoring 52-42 match. This week they host Southeast Missouri State.
#7 (6/8) LSU. The Tigers (#7 (6/8) last week) beat Appalachian State 41-13.
#8 (8/7) West Virginia. The Mountaineers (starting in the identical position) beat Villanova 48-21 behind 5 TD passes by Mr. White. They are on the road this week at East Carolina.
#9 (10/10) Auburn. Moving up ever so slightly from #10 (11/11) after defeating Louisiana-Monroe 34-0. This week the Tigers host Southern Mississippi.
#10 (9/9) Texas. The Longhorns (#11 (10/10) last week) defeated Florida Atlantic 52-10.This week they travel to UTEP.
#11 (11/12) Wisconsin. The Badgers (#13 (12/14)) in week one) defeated Akron 38-17. This week they’ll face Marshall at home.
#12 (13/13) Texas Tech. The Red Raiders (#12 (14/13)) beat Eastern Washington 49-24 in week one and will now be traveling to Nevada.
#13 (17/17) Alabama. The Tide (#24 (NR/25)) upset Clemson last week by a score of 34-10. This week they host Tulane.
#14 (12/11) Kansas. The Jayhawks (#14 (13/12)) humbled Florida Atlantic last week 40-10. This week they’ll play Louisiana Tech at home.
#15 (tie) (14/15) Arizona State. The Sun Devils (#15 (16/16)) beat up on Northern Arizona in week one. This week the host Stanford.
#15 (tie) (15/14) Brigham Young. BYU (#16 (17/15)) last week downed Northern Iowa 41-17. This week they will be at Washington.
#17 (18/20) South Florida. The Bulls (#19 (21/23)) opened the year with a 56-7 drubbing of Tennessee-Martin. This week they play at the University of Central Florida.
#18 (16/18) Oregon. The Ducks (#21 (20/22) beat up on Washington 44-10. This week they host Utah State.
#19 (19/19) Penn State. The Nittany Lions (#22 (22/21)) picked up a victory over Coastal Carolina 66-10 in what was clearly a mismatch. This week Oregon State comes to Happy Valley.
#20 (20/16) Wake Forest. Wake Forest (#23 (23/19) defeated Baylor 41-13 on the road. They’ll be home this weekend against Mississippi.
#21 (21/21) Fresno State. FSU (NR (25/24)) has the week off to enjoy their win over Rutgers 24-7.
#22 (23/22) Utah. Unranked last week, Utah moves into the Top 25 by virtue of their 25-23 upset of Michigan. This week they host UNLV.
#23 (NR/24) UCLA. The Bruins were also unranked last week but their 27-24 overtime defeat of then #18 Tennessee has them moving up. They have this week off.
#24(tie) (25/23) Illinois. The Illini move down from #20 (19/20) after losing on the road to #6 Missouri 52-42. This week they will home to Eastern Illinois.
#24 (tie) (24/NR) South Carolina. Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks shutout North Carolina State 34-0. They are on the road Thursday night against Vanderbilt.
NR (NR/25) East Carolina. The Pirates knocked off then #17 Virginia Tech in week one 27-22 to keep their way into the Top 25 of the CBSSports.com pol. Perhaps the writers and coaches don’t like their chances this week against #8 West Virginia…in Morgantown, WVa.
And there you have it. Week Two is underway tonight with #24 South Carolina playing at Vanderbilt.
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