End of Earth 2, Houghton 4

Here's one of my favorite signs in the whole world.  Posting here just because it makes me smile literally every time I see it.

As far as I understand it, some Michigan Tech students made the sign and put it up along U.S. Highway 41 about, and I'm guessing here, about 4 miles south of Houghton!  :)

Simply a classic.

Update, January 2021, I saw this article:

https://www.mlive.com/news/2021/01/how-this-end-of-earth-2-miles-road-sign-became-a-part-of-upper-peninsula-lore.html

What a great update, and what a great sign to hang in your fraternity!

Even more information here, from Michigan Tech Magazine:

I Saw the Sign

All of this reminiscing about Michigan Tech makes me wish I had gone there.  It was my second choice for both undergrad and grad school, so I came pretty close!

Walker - The Aftermath

Here is a great video clip from a stupid Barrett supporter.  Enjoy!

"The Most Disappointed Barrett Supporter In Wisconsin"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEwXa197uBU

I agree with one of the comments after the video:
"I'm so conflicted. Do I like this video because I think it's hilarious or do I dislike it because I despise the idiots in it?"


Okay, here's another fun video.
"Woman Slaps Wisconsin's Tom Barrett After His Concession Speech"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_voT3G-5D-Y
You have to laugh!


I just can't stop.  Did you hear about all the support that Barrack Obama gave Tom Barrett?  Yeah, me neither. Here it is, all of Obama's support:
https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/209786052804743168
"It's Election Day in Wisconsin tomorrow, and I'm standing by Tom Barrett. He'd make an outstanding governor. -bo"

But Obama NEVER made a trip to Wisconsin to support Barrett or support the unions.  I know you can figuratively "stand by" someone without physically being there, but it's not the same, is it?  Meanwhile, Obama found time during the final weeks leading up the recall election to travel to neighboring states Illinois and Minnesota.  Hmm...

Check out Obama from 2007:
"2007: Barack Obama promised to 'walk on that picket line' if workers are denied the right to bargain"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA9KC8SMu3o
"And understand this: If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I'm in the White House, I'll put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself, I'll will walk on that picket line with you as President of the United States of America. Because workers deserve to know that somebody is standing in their corner.""

Does a tweet count?  Yeah, right!


Getting back to the first video, the idiot still believes that Barrett lost because he was outspent.  Bullshit.  Bullshit.

Do a search for something like "barrett outspent by walker?" and see all the hits.  This is the lie, the rationalization that the left are telling themselves, that they were outspent $30+ million to $4 million.  Here's one such story, from the Daily Kos:

"Here's why: Scott Walker outspent Tom Barrett ten to one" by Laurence Lewis
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/05/1097734/-Here-s-why-Walker-outspent-Barrett-ten-to-one

But this completely ignores all the groups that have literally been in Wisconsin, bringing people from all over the country, for the past year and a half.  Here's a partial list:

• We Are Wisconsin
• United Wisconsin
• AFL-CIO
• AFSME
• WEAC 

...and many more union groups.  Outspent?  Bullshit.  None of the money spent by the above groups is counted in the so-called official figures.


Interesting thing, though.  I wonder what would have happened if the Democrats had ANY decent candidate to run against Walker.  Barrett, if you'll recall, is an empty suit.  Put it another way, if this election had been between "Walker" and "Not Walker" the results would have been the same.  Barrett added NOTHING.  Let's talk about him for a moment.

• Barrett has done NOTHING to stop sewage dumping in Lake Michigan.  What, the Democrats care about the environment?  WRONG.
• Barrett didn't even get an occupancy permit for his own campaign headquarters in the previous gubernatorial election.  And he's the mayor of the city!!!
• Barrett himself utilized the Walker reforms to save money in Milwaukee.
• Barrett couldn't name a single school harmed by the Walker reforms.
• Barrett wants to waste money on a stupid circular train through downtown Milwaukee.
• Barrett has presided over an increase in unemployment in Milwaukee, while Wisconsin as a whole has added jobs under Walker.
• Barrett was unable to name a single policy that he'd pursue to create jobs in Wisconsin.
• Barrett distanced himself from the unions during the campaign.  Essentially, the Democrats realized that Wisconsin supports the Walker reforms (such as not automatically deducting union dues from worker paychecks--watch how many people fail to pay their dues now, showing that they were forced to contribute all along).  And therefore Barrett had to try to manufacturer other issues.

Speaking of other issues, did you realize that the left even tried to manufacture a scandal about Walker getting a college girlfriend pregnant and abandoning her?  Seriously.  From Democratic Underground:
"From KOS - Walker got college GF Pregnant"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002759360


And the correction, from the loser scum at the Daily Kos:
"Updated: Verified - Woman Denies Walker Fathered Baby - MJS Columnist Daniel Bice" by FishOutofWater
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/03/1096950/-Woman-Denies-Walker-Fathered-Baby-JSO-Reporter-Daniel-Bice
"The story that Scott Walker abandoned his pregnant girlfriend in college (dKos diary link) apparently failed the first test of verification by a professional reporter. Daniel Bice, the "Watchdog" columnist of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online interviewed the anonymous woman who had the baby, but she adamantly denied that Scott Walker was the father according to a comment by Daniel Bice to the linked story."

Well, so much for that!  Losers.




Here's a parting image for you.  This is Lake Michigan.  Yes, that is sewage.  Democratic sewage, actually.   :)   This is what Tom Barrett pledged to correct ... but then did NOTHING about.  Care to go sailing, anyone?  Maybe a swim?

I'll bet Walker even cleans up the sewage.  This is the moment that Lake Michigan sewage levels start receding!  Oh wait, it's Barrack the blowhard who says stuff like that, not Walker!   :)

Drivers Suck--And They're Getting Worse!

I seriously cannot believe how bad drivers are.

What prompted this?  I was running some errands and then driving home Sunday night, June 3, 2012.  After dark.  I was simply amazed at what I saw.  Absolutely amazed.  That night I saw all of the following, all within about 30 minutes:

1. I saw people leaving their bright lights on, they don't dim them for approaching traffic.  This has been bothering me more lately, because I've been seeing it more often.  People simply leave their bright lights on, even when I flash them politely to remind them that their brights are on.
2. I saw one person driving at night without any lights.  I was following such a driver Sunday night.  I turned my lights on and off a few times to remind him, but no response.
3. I saw people not driving in their lane.  They just don't care.  Not sure whether they're texting or talking on the phone or what, but they don't stay in their lane.
4. Driving down the road, the driver to my left (in a car full of what looked like high school girls) started to drive right into me.  I was RIGHT THERE, and they just felt like driving right at me.  I can't believe that they didn't see me, because they were behind me and were in the process of passing me.  I didn't sneak up on them, I was clearly in view ahead of them.  As is common in these situations, once I hit my horn, they don't stop, they continue coming over.  Like that horn noise just came out of thin air.
5. I saw one person cut across multiple lanes of a street to catch a freeway on-ramp.  No signal.  No planning.  No ability to read signs to get in the proper lane ahead of time.
6. I saw one person swerve across three lanes of traffic on an interstate highway.  No signal.  No planning.  No ability to read signs to get in the proper lane ahead of time.
7. I saw one person drive through a solid red light.  This happens all the time.  All the time.  Barely even worth mentioning anymore.  Which says something about the world in which we live.
8. I saw another person have difficulty staying in his lane.  After making a left turn, in which there were two lanes of traffic turning left, one of the cars in the left left-turn lane (I was in the right left-turn lane) decided he didn't need to stay in his lane.  Drove over into my lane during the turn, even though he was making another left turn immediately after this--there was no reason for him to be drifting to the right.
9. Finally, I saw another "brights on" incident.  Waiting at an intersection, in the left turn lane.  Driver in the oncoming left turn lane, almost directly across from me, had his brights on.  Didn't dim them when I (and other drivers) came up to the intersection.  So I turned my brights on, to give him a taste of his own medicine.  No change, he didn't dim his, so I didn't dim mine.  This is at a well-lit section of road, no need for brights at all, by the way.

Yes, all in one night.  Within about 30 minutes.  It just doesn't end.

I also need to add one more, from just this morning.  As I said above, this is something I see literally every week--yet I'm still amazed every time that I do.

Approaching a stoplight.  Light turns yellow.  I'm not close enough to make the light, so I start slowing down to stop.  Notice a white Toyota Camry behind me, in my lane (two lane road) NOT slowing down.  I start to get concerned.  Luckily the other lane was open.  As I was finishing my stop, at a SOLID RED LIGHT the Camry swings around me and barrels through the intersection at full speed.  Never caught even a tiny bit of a yellow light.

Yes, I see this EVERY WEEK.  Literally every week.  And I've seen policemen just watch these cars sail through intersections on occasion.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: Policing is NOT about protecting people or enforcing legitimate rules, it is about revenue generation.  Nothing more, nothing less.

Tim Lee: RINO

Consider this story, from the Marietta Daily Journal:

"Cobb breaks ground on new 10M paratransit facility" by Geoff Folsom
http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_story/18690465/article-Cobb-breaks-ground-on-new--10M-paratransit-facility?instance=home_top_bullets

Recall as you read this that Tim Lee is a "Republican" and Cobb County, Georgia is regarded as "conservative."  Proof once again that Republicans don't give a damn about fiscal responsibility any more than Democrats do.  The real decision is not Republican versus Democrat, because they are the same.  It's about big government (regardless of party) versus limited government.

To the article we go...


"The Federal Transit Administration is paying $8.2 million of the $10 million cost of the building. Cobb County and the state of Georgia are splitting the balance."
Great, let's waste a shitload of money just because "they" are paying for it, not us.  Except "they" is us!

"The facility will offer training on how to use CCT’s services to seniors and the disabled..."
Oh, existing senior centers couldn't do that?  My goodness, how does anyone learn to use public transit.  And how will they get there to learn it in the first place???

Here is the sad part:
"Commission Chairman Tim Lee ... said the county will be able to handle the additional costs.  'We’ll figure out when it gets built how to handle that,' he said. 'It’s being built very green, so the costs and efficiencies are not going to be that of a typical building.'”

Obama couldn't have said it better.  It's okay to waste money as long as the project is "green."  Put it another way: The only green thing that they don't like to save is ... wait for it ... MONEY!!!!

Lee does this a lot.  No idea where the money will come from.  Just like all the SPLOST crap he advocates, as a mechanism for ongoing government funding, another form of a permanent tax.


And even more bad news:
"Tom Thomson, the FTA’s deputy regional administrator, said the facility is in line with an executive order signed in 2004 by then-President George W. Bush that aims to make transit more accessible and improve mobility."
Thanks, once again, for reminding me what a miserable loser George Bush was.

More context:
"Last year, commissioners discontinued three CCT routes, in south and east Cobb, to save money, and paratransit service in those same areas was also cut."
Yeah, better to build a building to tell people how to use transit rather than have actual transit itself.  How does that make sense???


Read the comments after the article, too.  Most are very good, similar to my reaction to this story.  I'm going to pick on one person, though.

"West Cobb Resident" said:
"You know what? This is the last straw for me. I don't know who I'll be voting for for Commission Chairman, but it won't be Tim Lee. I no longer believe he is a good steward of our money. Period."

"no longer believe"????  Really?  How stupid can you be?  You, West Cobb Resident, are the problem.  I didn't vote for Lee because I did my research BEFORE the election.  You don't get credit for figuring this stuff out AFTER the RINO gets elected.  It doesn't do any good at that point.

Song of the Day: Marina and the Diamonds - Lies

Incidentally, I've made a decision.  Marina looks better with black hair.  :)

As mentioned yesterday, even though this is not written exactly from my point of view, I love the emotions in the song.  In fact, rather than singing from my point of view, sometimes, in some ways, she could be singing about me.  Which makes me sad.

Marina and the Diamonds - Lies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOXZ33ioH4w



"Lies"

You're never gonna love me, so what's the use?
What's the point in playing a game you're gonna lose?
What's the point in saying you love me like a friend?
What's the point in saying it's never gonna end?

You're to proud to say that you've made a mistake
You're a coward to the end
I don't wanna admit, but we're not gonna fit
No, I'm not the type that you like
Why don't we just pretend?

Lies, don't wanna know, don't wanna know oh
I can't let you go, can't let you go oh
I just want it to be perfect
To believe it's all been worth the fight
Lies, don't wanna know, don't wanna know oh

You only ever touch me in the dark
Only if we're drinking can you see my spark
And only in the evening that you give yourself to me
Cause the night is your woman, and she'll set you free

You're to proud to say that you've made a mistake
You're a coward to the end
I don't wanna admit, but we're not gonna fit
No, I'm not the type that you like
Why don't we just pretend?

Lies, don't wanna know, don't wanna know oh
I can't let you go, can't let you go oh
I just want it to be perfect
To believe it's all been worth the fight
Lies, don't wanna know, don't wanna know oh

Lies, don't wanna know, don't wanna know oh
I can't let you go, can't let you go oh
I just want it to be perfect
To believe it's all been worth the fight
Lies, don't wanna know, don't wanna know oh

Song of the Day: Marina and the Diamonds - Homewrecker

Okay, this is getting to be a problem.  Not that I'm posting so many songs by Marina, not that!  It's getting a little harder to find just the right pictures to add to these posts!  :)

This is one of those songs that is not written from my point of view, but it captures a certain mood that I can relate to.  Same thing applies to "Buy the Stars" that I posted a few days ago, and maybe to another song that I'll post tomorrow.  :)   Really, it applies to a lot of her songs.  Which is why I like Marina so much.

Marina and the Diamonds - Homewrecker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmOO5Y1wiIA


"Homewrecker"

Every boyfriend is the one
Until otherwise proven
The good are never easy
The easy never good
And loving never happens like you think it really should

Deception and perfection are wonderful traits
One will breed love
the other hate
you'll find me in the lonely hearts
under 'I'm after a brand new start'

And I don't belong to anyone

They call me Homewrecker
Homewrecker
They call me Homewrecker
Homewrecker

Girls and their cosmic gourmet vomit
Boys and their toys and their six inch rockets
We're all very lovely 'til we get to know each other
As we stop becoming friends and we start becoming lovers

And I don't belong to anyone

They call me Homewrecker
Homewrecker (I'm only happy when I'm on the run)
They call me Homewrecker
Homewrecker (I broke a million hearts just for fun)
They call me Homewrecker
Homewrecker (I'm only happy when I'm on the run)
They call me Homewrecker
Homewrecker (I broke a million hearts just for fun)

I'm only happy when I'm on the run
I break a million hearts just for fun
I don't belong to anyone

I guess you could say that my life's a mess
But I'm still looking pretty in this dress
I'm the image of deception

When everything is life and death
You may feel like there's nothing left
Instead of love and trust and laughter
What you get is happy never after
But deep down all you want is love
The pure kind we all dream of
But we cannot escape the past
So you and I will never last

'cause I'm a Homewrecker
Homewrecker (I'm only happy when I'm on the run)
'cause I'm a Homewrecker
Homewrecker (I broke a million hearts just for fun)
'cause I'm a Homewrecker
Homewrecker (I'm only happy when I'm on the run)
'cause I'm a Homewrecker
Homewrecker (I broke a million hearts just for fun)
'cause I'm a Homewrecker
Homewrecker

Moog Synthesizer

Did you see the Google home page on Wednesday, May 23rd?  It was one of the best Google Doodles yet!

Here is a recap, from the Google Doodle page.
"Robert Moog's 78th Birthday"
http://www.google.com/doodles/robert-moogs-78th-birthday

Try it, it works nicely!  Change the synthesizer settings by clicking on the knobs and dials above and to the left of the keyboard.