Author: fifteenkey (Page 86 of 95)

Friday was the highlight of any golf season, the 9th annual “Funnyman Open.” It’s a best-ball tournament started by Mr. George Prehatin. There’s a great deal of work that goes into organizing the event and George does it all simply to gather his friends and associates for a day of fun and bad golf. And fun it is. There’s really no feeling (well, maybe the feeling of being naked in a busy, public place comes close) like striding up the 18th fairway and being booed and cursed by the mob of early finishers perched on the bar porch overlooking the final green at the Windham CC. My team finshed -3, which was good enough to win in previous years, but out of the money in ‘05. Still, it was a fun round and it was great seeing all the hecklers afterwards. Best line I heard was about my light orange Polo shirt. “Hey Leo, does that shirt come in a man’s color?” Thanks for a great day, George.

So, golf bombs… Thursday night was another night of interrupted sleep that resulted in my watching “Secrets of the Dead” on PBS. The episode was called, “Bombing Nazi Dams” and was the story of the how the British devised a bomb to skip like a rock across a pond and then using golf ball-like backspin, crawl down the face of the dam until reaching a depth for maximum destruction. At one point, the British team devised a round bomb encasement with dimples because it would travel twice as far as a non dimpled case. It briefly touched upon the aerodynamics of the golf ball and the dimple effect. The Physics of Golf will help you get wicked smart about it. It does not, however, include a calculation adjustment to correct my slice.

Speaking of dams, yesterday there was a brief mention of 20 Taliban arrested for attempting to blow up a dam in Afghanistan on the eve on their nation elections. Reports indicate thousands could have been killed by floodwaters if the plot had been successful. I sure hope our Homeland Security department takes note of the attempt. The death toll in New Orleans would have been unimaginable if those levees were blown up with a fully-populated city instead of a largely evacuated one. In other areas across the country, cities, counties and states argue over who’s responsible to pay for strengthening the many dams and levees holding back disaster. Maybe it’s time to spend some of the Iraq hell-hole money on our own security infrastructure…

Back in High School, an amusing little trick I’d do to entertain friends was fire-breathing in the grand tradition of KISS’ Gene Simmons. Toward the end of “Firehouse” from the classic “KISS Alive” record (8-Track in this case), I’d fill my mouth with the butane from a Bic lighter until just before the point in the song when Gino would let fly. I’d then hold a lit flame aloft for dramatic effect, and just at the right moment when the fire-engine sirens were blaring, puff the butane out to achieve a glorious plume of flame about oh, three inches long. Oh yeah, that kept us entertained many a night back in the um, day. Of course, the key to Gene’s technique was achieving a fine mist of propellant in order to produce a crowd-pleasing flame, but I never actually tried it with kerosene…

Forward some 30 years to this past Thursday night when I was in Hartford for a meeting and dinner. We went to the VP of Worldwide Services house for some apps and drinks before dinner. Now Joe (my bosses bosses boss) is very cool, as is his wife who I’d met once before at a holiday party… On the way there, my friend Barb says something to the effect of this being an opportunity for me to make an impression… So, I’m mingling and at one point was facing Joe’s wife and a woman from one of our field offices. As I take a sip of Chardonnay, suddenly a nagging cough hits me and transforms me back into Gene as I spray “a fine mist of propellant” all over the two of them. Somehow I don’t think that’s what Barb meant about making an impression…

Channel 38’s broadcast of last nights Red Sox – Yankee tilt showed Bill O’Rielly in the Yankee Stadium crowd. Sox color man Jerry Remy wondered aloud how Bill was in the Bronx when his “Factor” is on from 8-9. Well, he had the very lame Josh Gibson as guest host. Mr. O’Rielly calls his little gig “the no spin zone,” but my observation is that he typically staggers like a kid stepping out of an amusement park “teacup” ride, and falls to the right.

Of course that doesn’t make him a a bad guy. I find Mr. O’Rielly informative and most pompously entertaining. He’s like Morton Downey Jr. on half a valium, and he covers far more substantive topics than the late pre-Springer did. Where the hell am I going with this? Oh. I remember. It’s the oil/gas thing again.

On the 9/8/05 “Factor,” Mr. O’Rielly stated his belief that “the five major American oil companies are taking advantage of Hurricane Katrina and the war on terror to compile record profits by raising gas prices through the roof.” He then implored “all Americans to fight back and buy no gas on Sundays for the rest of the year and to cut back energy consumption 10 percent.” I can just see Al Franken running out to buy a Hummer when he heard that request…
President Bush recently spoke of conservation as a means to relieve demand during the supply crunch caused by Katrina. Hey, even little bro Jeb Bush is stylin’ in a new Ford Escape Hybrid.

All this conservation talk is great, albeit 28 years late. On April 18, 1977, four years after our first “energy crisis,” then president Jimmy Carter gave a visionary speech (I encourage you to read it or listen to it) outlining ten fundamental principals of a proposed national energy policy he described as “the moral equivalent of war — except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not destroy.” Mr. Carter went on to say, “With the exception of preventing war, this is the greatest challenge our country will face during our lifetimes.”

Yeah, 28 years later, it still is.

I’m sick and tired. I think I caught an ass-kicking virus Megan had, so this post will be brief…

A podcast is an audio file you can download and listen to from your computer or from your MP3 player, as long as your MP3 player supports the audio format. You DO NOT need an iPod to listen to a podcast.

You too can become a podcaster and rant about any little thing you want. Check out these sites for “how to” and many, many podcasts.

This is the opportunity of his Presidency. Rudy Guliani’s place in history unmistakably linked to 9/11 and will be noted for courage and leadership. Right now we need the same from Mr. Bush. I’m not talking about New Orleans either.

In remarks today, the president issued a Carteresque appeal with the words, “Don’t buy gas if you don’t need it.” Hmmmm… Did I get that one right? Former oilman George W. Bush asked us to conserve?

Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Howard “the Scream” Dean jumped at the opportunity to slam his nemesis by saying while “W” was “asking ordinary Americans to do more, he ought to show some real leadership, and call on his friends in Big Oil to join in the sacrifice and stop gouging American families at the gas pump.” Yeah, I’m sure some price gouging is going on and the oil companies always seem to reap huge profits, regardless of market conditions, but Mr. Dean swung and missed on the real problem. The big one… the issue of this century – Crude Oil is a shiny, black constricting snake around the neck of our economy, our security and our environment, and we need to kill it before it kills us. Mr. Bush can make his place in history by leading all of us to long lasting conservation and by incenting American business and entepreneurs to accelerate development of viable alternatives. The benefits will be numerous:

• The Saudi’s will have fewer petro-dollars to pay protection money to violent Muslim extremists who use it to kill us.
• Future wars (possible a very big one with China) over this critical, dwindling resource will be avoided.
• Pollution will be lessened, regardless of whether the “greenhouse effect” is real.
• Most importantly, American businesses will lead the world into this huge growth market.

The planet is running out of oil and the market for alternatives will be massive. Mr. Bush alluded to the precarious oil situation today saying he expected Saudi Arabia to do “everything they can” to provide more oil, but that the Saudis had “limited capacity” to do so. Wow. If the Saudi’s can’t increase capacity while sitting on supposedly the largest reserves in the world, then no one can.

One final benefit Mr. Bush really needs to reflect on is that the legacy of his presidency can stand for something historic, and much more positive than a war in Iraq.

It is estimated that total contributions to the victims of last years Indian Ocean tsunami exceed $10 Billion Dollars (US). US government and individual contributions are estimated at nearly $2B. With stories and images like this one being transmitted around the world, I predict the Katrina fundraising effort won’t come close to $10B. I have to admit, if my family were victims of this disaster, I’d do whatever I had to ro to ensure they had the basics of food and water. But jeans, electronics, guns and kids piggybanks?

I wrote a check to Americares for tsunami relief within a week of that disaster. Right now I’m not feeling moved like I did then. I wonder how many others who helped tsunami victims see these images of looting and are hesitating?

It is sad that the actions of a tiny portion of the Gulf Coast population may negatively impact thousands of sufferers.

Spike Lee has made some excellent films. Well, at least the ones I’ve seen have been. I was impressed with his first, “She’s Gotta Have It” in 1986, but really blown away three years later by “Do The Right Thing,” his gritty look at race relations in a Brooklyn neighborhood on a very hot summer day. It stars Lee, Danny Aiello and Ossie Davis as “Da Mayor,” an old-timer on the block who passes out free advice from the sidewalk. In the title scene, Mookie (Lee) and “Da Mayor” have a little chat:

Seems pretty simple.

Media coverage of Katrina has included stories of levees protecting areas from the hurricanes potential storm surge. Merriam-Webster defines levee as “an embankment for preventing flooding.” In many cases it’s a protective barrier intended to hold back a negative force (water) from human life. Levees are built to withstand considerable onslaught, but once a levee is breached, and the security it provided gone, there’s no protection left from the outside forces.

One memorable image was of floodwaters flowing just inches below the top of a street sign. It was a pale blue sign that read “Humanity St.” It was as if the sign was struggling to stay above the waterline, but it was drowning. The smart ones heeded evacuation warnings and fled from a situation when the levee could not protect them. The warnings were numerous. They came from police, the media, friends and family. Others ignored the warnings. “Oh, it’s not even like that.” Many of them are dead today. Destruction rushed in without care or remorse and drown them. Then it simply flowed away.

For those lucky enough to survive the destructive power, countless are left without homes. Their homes are just gone. Taken from them. The comforts of home… gone. Beds, bathrooms, comforters, a place to cook a meal, a place to watch TV or communicate on the Internet, a place to feel protected. Gone. Sadly, for many, “When The Levee Breaks… have no place to stay.”*

*”When the Levee Breaks” by Memphis Minnie, covered by Led Zeppelin on their fourth record, also known as the “ZoSo” record.

US Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta announced yesterday new proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for light trucks, including SUV’s. The Secretary noted the administration proposal is expected to save 10 billion gallons of gasoline in the next four years. We currently consume 11B gal/mo, so this is a savings of, uh…1.89%. So, while this is a teeny weeny step in the right direction of greater fuel efficiency, some Democrats and Environmentalists reacted predictably. “At a time when Americans are paying record prices for gas, the Bush administration has sided with its cronies in the auto industry and rejected real solutions,” said Dan Becker, a Sierra Club’s director.

I think that’s somewhat of a cheap shot since more aggressive standards would cost some US autoworkers jobs in the short-term. It’s a difficult issue, but I do wish the proposal was stronger over a longer period of time to give our domestic manufacturers more time to re-tool and meet tougher standards. Sounding a little more reasonable, Mr. Becker crystalized the issue, “Making our cars and trucks go farther on a gallon of gas is the biggest single step we can take to save money at the gas pump, cut oil dependence, and curb global warming.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will take comments on the proposal for 90 days, and plans to issue the final rule by April 2006. Their site has the complete proposal and directions of how to submit your comments.

In answering critics, the administration often cites safety as a reason to proceed slowly on increased fuel efficiency. They contend that lighter, fuel-efficient cars are dangerous. Well, yeah, if they get broadsided by an 8600 pound Hummer… Not taking any chances, Secretary Mineta showed up to yesterdays Los Angeles press conference in a silver Lincoln Navigator. It weighs over 5800 pounds and gets about 15mpg. Nice touch, Norm.