Now that Anonymous is involved...

... the real fight begins. Assange and his little troup have become insignificant, you watch.

Maine's wind power scam is a disgusting joke.

An open letter to Senators Collins and Snowe (feel free to copy and redistribute if'n you wanna):

Dear Senators Collins and Snowe,
I am writing to beg you both to do something about an impending disaster, the worst environmental and economic disaster in Maine history, and all sponsored by the government: Wind power.

Without the huge government subsidies and back room permit procedures, none of those wind companies could stay in business. First Wind is having a hard time staying in business even WITH the subsidies and the government's statutory support.

Maine already has a surplus of about 15% in electric power, and more than half of our generation is already powered by renewable, "clean" technology like hydro and biomass. We are one of the cleanest states in the country in that respect (but still have some of the highest electricity rates, not good for attracting new businesses). Most of the rest is generated with natural gas, as I'm sure you already know. Wind power will NOT "lessen our dependency on foreign oil", since we don't use oil to generate electricity. Nor can it replace dirty coal that we don't use.

Nor will it lessen our need for the conventional generators that we already have. Due to the unreliability of wind and its refusal to schedule strong breezes during peak energy consumption times, those conventional generators must remain online in standby, burning fuel, in order to prevent outages when the wind fluctuates. The German government found they must keep an 80% backup capacity in conventional generation ready to go at all times. You can't just start those plants up and shut them down every five minutes as the windspeed fluctuates, you have to keep them running, all the time, to prevent shortages.

Maine is a very low-wind-resource state. I ask you to look at the government-issued wind map of the United States, where you will see that the only place in the lower 48 that has enough reliable wind to make wind turbines a good deal is in the flat, windy center of the nation. Nowhere in this state does the average wind top 12-14 mph, and industrial wind turbines require around 27 mph winds just to start generating more power than they need to power themselves. Betz' Law limits the extraction of energy from wind to 59.3%, and that's assuming a perfect airfoil and absolutely no losses from friction, delays in adjusting to changing wind directions etc., which everyone knows is impossible. In many areas they end up being net power users. Even in the midwest you see farms of immobile turbines, due to unreliability and low winds.

Maine has Class IV wind levels in virtually the whole state, and GE doesn't even make turbines that operate in Class IV winds. They are not economically viable, because you can't get the RPMs needed to generate useful power out of winds that most of the time won't keep a kite aloft. Would you spend billions to build oil wells on land that produced ten barrels of crude per day? I wouldn't.

As you also probably already know, the peak demands for electric power in Maine occur on hot, steamy summer days, when there's no wind!

Do I need to mention the billions that we'll have to pay for new transmission lines? Billions that will come right out of the taxpayers' pockets, both in government giveaways and higher rates? For AT BEST 25% of the rated power advertised by the manufacturer and a less than 5% increase in our output? Between the subsidies and the higher rates, the taxpayer will be paying for the entire capital cost of these projects, much of which will go to foreign companies. And what do we get in return? A devastated landscape and higher electricity rates and taxes, and less than 5% more electricity that we don't even need.

Do I need to mention the effect even higher electricity rates and taxes will have on the attraction of new businesses to a state that's already too expensive to attract new businesses?

Do I need to mention the cost of recovery from another ice storm, when on top of the normal ice storm damage, those turbines and their transmission lines go down in the middle of nowhere? Wind turbines do NOT like cold climates, much less icing conditions. After all, an airfoil coated with ice is just as inefficient and prone to failure on a wind turbine blade as it is on the wing of an airliner. Probably more so, since they are not designed to take the loads that aircraft wings must survive.

Do I need to remind you of the economic disaster that clearcutting and blasting 300 miles of mountain tops will cause to our tourism industry ('bout the only industry left in the state)? The damage to our "quality of place"? Governor Baxter would roll over in his grave if he could see the future view from the top of Katahdin. You might as well just erase the last 300 miles of the Appalachian Trail while you're at it, because who wants to backpack through the helicopter scene from Apocalypse Now? Or just put a few McDonald's restaurants and casinos up there next to the trail huts, since it will no longer be anything like a wilderness.

Jobs? What jobs? Six months of construction work and a handful of guys in the control rooms, that's it. Is that worth all this destruction? Ask the Spanish government about the economic viability of investing in so-called "green" jobs, they published a recent study that showed just how misguided and expensive that idea is.

So why are the state and federal governments endorsing the destruction of 300 miles of mountain tops for no reason? Wind lobbyists and the mistaken belief that we're "being green". That's it. Not only are there virtually no economic or environmental benefits, it actually makes things worse in both respects. Do you want this to happen on your watch?

Remember the knee-jerk bandwagon of biofuels that everyone jumped on because they were so "green"? Well, they turned out to generate more pollution from clearing the land than the fuels they were meant to replace.

Again, I beg of you, educate yourselves on this scam before it's too late. Save the life of our state. Please.
Thank you for your time,
Cowcharge (Real name and address removed)
p.s. For the record, I have no financial, business or political interests of any kind in this issue. The only dog I have in this fight is the one who loves trees.

Religious indoctrination over generations and centuries...

is the same thing as selective dog breeding. Using Pavlovian religious training, they breed out individual thought, imagination, and halt the evolution of the mind, then replace it with learning by rote, blind obedience and self-denial. After all, it's an unthinking guard breed that they want, isn't it.

To all the weaselly little pricks writing malware.

Blow me. I beat you again. And by the way, do you advertisers really expect me to buy something when you jam your ads in my face? Really? Fat chance. I will go far, far out of my way to avoid giving anyone who uses pop-ups or adware a dime.

Thank you, Spybot. 

http://www.safer-networking.org/index2.html

It's really hard not to laugh...

Indonesian Muslims told to change prayer direction

Fri Jul 16, 12:02 pm ET

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia's Muslims learned on Friday they have been praying in the wrong direction, after the country's highest Islamic authority said its directive on the direction of Mecca actually had people facing Africa. Muslims are supposed to face the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia during prayer and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued an edict in March stipulating westward was the correct direction from the world's most populous Muslim country.

"But it has been decided that actually the mosques are facing Somalia or Kenya, so we are now suggesting people shift the direction slightly to the north-west," the head of the MUI, Cholil Ridwan, told Reuters. "There's no need to knock down mosques, just shift your direction slightly during prayer." Ridwan said Muslims need not fear that their prayers have been wasted because they were facing the wrong way. "Their prayers will still be heard by Allah," he said.

Said Agil Siradj, head of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama, told English language newspaper the Jakarta Globe that the confusion showed the MUI issued edicts too fast and that this was a lesson for them. The MUI has, in the past, issued controversial edicts banning Muslims from chanting during yoga, and from smoking. Indonesia is a majority Muslim but officially secular country.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100716/od_nm/us_indonesia_mecca

I mean, really, really hard...

Did You See That?

Standin' there at the bar just havin' a beer
after work and nuthin' much to take me home
when I caught some motion out the corner of my eye
It was a babe with a tray and... my oh my

Oh my God did you see that
Oh my God did you see that
I know she's too young, or I'm too old but
Oh my God did you see that

Well I shoulda known better than to do what I did next
But the way she moved put a twistin' on my neck
So I followed her 'round the corner watch her walk up the stairs
I knew it was stupid but I followed her right up there

(I'm tellin' ya, the way her hips moved under that skirt
She could balance that tray, dodge drunks and still flirt)

Caught up with her in the middle of a wailin' reggae crowd
Tried to get her number but the music was too damned loud
From the smile in her eyes I knew she knew what I was after
She put her hand on my arm and said "sure I'll get you a draft, sir"

Oh my God did you see that
Oh my God did you see that
She saw it coming and she stopped me flat
Oh my God did you see that

Well I tucked in my tail retreated back downstairs
chugged my beer had to get the hell out of there
As I was leavin I could hear her laughin' with my friends
Another mistake I'll never hear the end of

Oh my God did you see that
Oh my God did you see that

(He ain't rich enough to be that fat!)

Oh my God did you see that

Insomnia

One.

Six left, not bad.

Know I dreamed,

but not what it was.

One isn't enough.

Clouds gather.

Two and twenty.

Four-point-six-would be ok.

You in the same boat?

Should I call?

One isn't enough

No more blue.

Three plus eleven.

Less than four is better than one.

Rather dream,

even a nightmare.

One isn't enough.

Cold rain.

Four and a half.

Two and a half, please...

Tried everything,

nothing works.

One isn't enough.

Chaotic winds.

Five and thirty-eight.

One more if I'm lucky.

I check if you're on,

but you're luckier.

One isn't enough.

Lightning strikes.

Six and who-gives-a-fuck.

Too late now.

Resign myself.

Another one gone.

One isn't enough.

One isn't enough.

A mosque at Ground Zero?

How comforting it will be for grieving visitors to hear triumphant Arabic calls to prayer echoing across their loved ones' graves 5 times a day. Good job, NYC "Community" Board and Mayor Bloomberg.

A country song called Coon

Feelin' like a treed coon with all the shit that I been through

There's work and home, and they both suck

And then there's you

Behind 'em with your shotgun, gonna knock me on my ass

I'm feelin' like a treed coon, so barkeep fill my glass

My boss yelled at me again today, get yer lazy ass back to work

Well I sure get all the shit jobs, but I never get the perks

Ole Johnny Paycheck and DAC had it right in that old song

I'm gonna take my job and shove it, right where it belongs

Feelin' like a treed coon with all the shit that I been through

My head is poundin' from all the barkin'

And then there's you

Behind 'em with your shotgun, gonna blow me straight to Hell

I'm feelin' like a treed coon, and the hounds have caught my smell

My wife done left me yesterday, she's taken up with some new sport

My kids all think that I'm a 'tard, an idiot and a dork

Well maybe they're all right ya know, an' what they say is true

But the last straw on this here hump, you know it's you

Feelin' like a treed coon with all the shit that I been through

Howlin' and droolin' and slaverin' fangs

And then there's you

Behind 'em with your shotgun, and I know you want me gone

I'm feelin' like a treed coon, and I don't have very long

When you and I, when we first met we didn't have a clue

What all would happen to us both 'cause of me and 'cause of you

What started out so awesome now has suddenly gone South

Ain't nothin' I can do, so I'm just gonna shut my mouth

Feelin' like a treed coon with all the shit that I been through

All them claws a-shreddin' the bark

And then there's you

Behind 'em with your shotgun, and I see you draw a bead

I'm feelin' like a treed coon, and a lift is what I need

When we were friends and hangin' out, well everything was great

Now what I see there on your face looks a helluva lot like hate

I'm outta here don't worry, you won't be seein' me around

Gotta get my ass down from this tree, get my feet back on the ground

Feelin' like a treed coon with all the shit that I been through

They almost got my tail that time

And then there's you

Behind 'em with your shotgun, and I know the end is near

I'm feelin' like a treed coon, Jesus get me out of here

I'm feelin' like a treed coon, Jesus get me out of here

Walking up Lambert Road in the Dark

Walking up Lambert road, in the dark, on the come-latelys' shiny new blacktop

Where they pamper their Benzes and Beemers and Hummers (You believe it? There's Hummers on Lambert!)

Hallowe'en is but one week away, and the moon slashes jack 'o lantern shapes from the trees

Walked this road for damned near forty years of my life, and it still feels like a horror flick to me

The trees form a tunnel above me, the houses lay silent, like nobody's there

Down across Readin' Creek a few hounds are wound up, their voices carry in the brilliant night air

Strange movement in the bushes, north breeze filling cold, that rustles and rattles dead leaves

Always brings me right back to that time, when I had her, and lost her, that time makes me bleed

Why do I go up there, why tear it all open

What good can it do, what can I be hoping

to accomplish by living it all once again

Walking Lambert in the dark, my beginning, and my end

Such an idyllic place that it was to spend boyhood, (in daylight at least) it was fine

But it always held menace as well, that old road, however peaceful, rural, sublime 

It held menace that hovered, that lingered, that bristled, that waited for you with foul breath

Menace overpowering, overbearing, terror clawing at your wake, run home fast or tonight dine with death

Childish fears, superstition, no credence can you give to such juvenile rantings as these

I told myself that too, when I felt it, when it came, 'til it took my Marie

Why do I go up there, why tear it all open

What good can it do, what can I be hoping

to accomplish by living it all once again

Walking Lambert in the dark, my beginning, and my end

We were happy, we were planning, we were aiming, we were jamming,

we were going to be husband and wife

Since I lost her I wander, not caring, not trying

for anything that resembles a life

I blame the road, and its evil, there's no way around it

that's the only way this can make sense

no way it could have happened, wasn't random, wasn't destined

it was evil, no more and no less

This old road thinks it's Hallowe'en every night of the year

And Hallowe'en was made just for killing

If you walk it, just be ready, don't go solitaire, don't go lightly

And don't go when the north breeze is filling

Don't go up there, not with loved ones, not with fun in mind, don't go lightly

up that old evil road in the night

Don't risk loved ones, don't risk everything, don't go lightly, don't go up there

fail to heed me and your soul dies tonight

Why do I go up there, why tear it all open

What good can it do, what can I be hoping

to accomplish by living it all once again

Walking Lambert in the dark, my beginning, and my end

Boomerang

Your sweaty hands can grip me no longer

your aim is no longer hitting my mark

The light I had thought that you were shining

Was black light, it just makes my world get more dark

You're tryin' to keep too many balls in the air

and losing them all, every ball, one by one

Soon you'll be standing there, waving your arms

in an empty theater, onstage all alone

'Cause honey I ain't your boomerang

You've thrown me away one too many times

The string on this yo-yo just broke for good

And I'm rolling off to warmer climes

You're playing with dolls, puppets on strings

You ignore real people who actually care

The ones who tell you the unvarnished truth

You'd rather just hear what we think of your hair

Your audience shrinks a little more day by day

Your show's getting old, it ain't drawin' the crowds

If you bothered to read what the critics all say

You wouldn't be singing and laughing so loud

Well honey I ain't your boomerang

You've thrown me away one too many times

The string on this yo-yo just broke for good

And I'm rolling out of this theater of grime

People are laughing behind your back

You're making a fool of yourself, you know

You're smoking your real friends up like crack

While posers and yes-men fill your front row

The billboards, marquees, your name all in lights

You got top billing, I will give you that

But it's an empty script, and rather chilling

And I ain't stickin' around for the second act

'Cause honey I ain't your boomerang

You've thrown me away one too many times

The string on this yo-yo just broke for good

And I'm rolling off without glancing behind

Just one in a long line of toys to him

Something shiny to (p)lay with, he's had quite a few

He's pushed all your buttons and seen all your tricks

And he's at Toys 'R Us right now, buying new

A few months' diversion, is all that you are

To him you're one cookie on a very big tray

But you don't wanna hear it, and I'm out of breath

So it's so long, goodnight, and have a nice day

'Cause honey I ain't your boomerang

You've thrown me away one too many times

The string on this yo-yo just broke for good

And I'm rolling off 'cause you're wasting my time

Your script needs a rewrite, and it needs it soon

Before all the roustabouts fold up your tent

Your show's going under, your backers are here

demanding their money, but you know it's all spent

It might still be possible to save yourself

To drag your box office out of the red

But I don't think that you've got the guts to do it

'Cause the cheap seat acclaim has gone to your head

Well honey I ain't your boomerang

You've thrown me away one too many times

The string on this yo-yo just broke for good

So I'm rolling off and I relish the climb

Neptune's Song

This is me mug-slammin' pub sing-along. And I have no idea why that one line keeps getting huge, lol. I've copied and pasted from the original over and over, even deleted it and re-typed it (shrug).

I need to go back to sea again

I've lingered in port for too long

There's nothing to keep me here any longer

It's time to sing Neptune's song

Well you popped up above my horizon that day

An enticingly lush little port

But your treacherous rocks, bars and currents

are making me cut my stay short

The relief when I first sighted land was intense-

The delights of the shore were alluring

But as always the draw of the land was illusion

Come the tide I’ll be slipping my mooring

Are there no safe harbors in the world left for me?

Each one that I visit brings disaster

To stay far at sea is the only way for me

to have a chance to remain my own master

I need to go back to sea again

I've lingered in port for too long

There's nothing to keep me here any longer

It's time to sing Neptune's song

But as soon as you're out of my sight far astern

The longing will return with a vengeance

Some safe place to anchor and rest my bones

Not to find one has been a life sentence

This old hull's waterlogged, planks and frames going rotten

Long streamers of weed trail behind

There's no place to careen, to patch and to clean

And it's only a matter of time

'Til my masthead dips below the surface,

And I go to meet old Davy Jones

The land's turned its back, and my hope's all gone black

Drifting sand will soon cover my bones but

It's time to go back to sea again

I've lingered in port for too long

There's nothing to keep me here any longer

It's time to sing Neptune's song