Humpday Happenings...
Well now, middle of the week comes "early", doesn't it?
(especially when Monday is a holiday)
Right now in NE Indiana, we're settling in for some nice thundershowers...sure to make the grass need cutting all too soon, right?
(sometimes, 'ya just can't catch a break)
Anyway, let's take a peek at the rest of the world...

*** Wow, looks like we have some "global cooling" with the announcement that Tipper Gore and her husband (and our favorite environmangelist) Al will be splitting up.
What an epiphany.


Guess even SHE has a limit when it comes to living with an idiot...!
I suppose the only thing that MIGHT be warming up, will be the litigation for the properties and money...we shall see.
I do commend Tipper for putting up with such a shrub for SO long...there MUST be some kind of sainthood in it for her.

I know the POLAR BEARS are in a celebratory mood...
...And speaking of the environment...

*** You can't help but think about the Gulf oil spill...hell, it's ALL over the news 24/7.
And it's one helluva mess, no doubt about that.
But, have you stopped and thought about the "WHY" behind this?
I mean, the reason behind this situation is very obvious, and I'm certainly NO geologist, not related to Jacques Cousteau, nor have ANY vested interest or stock holding in ANY oil company.
The REAL cause of this environmental catastrophe was....the ENVIRONMENTALISTS!
Seems too good to be true, and all too easy, huh?
Think about it...
WHO was it that disallowed the drilling of oil CLOSER to our shores, where any sort of REPAIR could have been implemented a LOT sooner AND a lot easier?
Let's face it...when you HAVE to drill about FIFTY miles offshore (international waters, if memory serves), and over FIVE-THOUSAND FEET BELOW THE SURFACE, the chances of some sort of accident increase exponentially.
And the TYPE of repairs available become limited, and not as "tested" as shallower drilling fixes.
The pressure ALONE at that depth would crush ANY submarine, and only the DEEP-submersibles (like Alvin) would be able to traverse that depth and withstand the pressures encountered.
The types of equipment alone must be so hard to come by, and I'm sure there are people STILL DESIGNING craft that can do the work that could be done by MAN at a lot lesser depth.
It's no wonder that BP is scratching their heads on this one...as with any new technology, it's always easier to DESIGN it than to REPAIR it.
Just take a gander at your cell phone, if you doubt that...!
We've become a more or less "disposable" society.
It's MUCH easier to "toss it", than to FIX IT, right?
Thankfully, that doesn't apply to vehicles or houses...(yet).
But most everything else is pretty much DESIGNED to be tossed.
That's why we've got the crap we do in our landfills.
Everything from diapers to cans and bottles, to TVs and radios, to most every other appliance on the planet.
Just toss it the hell out.
The cost to REPAIR a lot of things is prohibitive when weighted against the cost of a NEW UNIT.
Personally, I think they DESIGN stuff so that it can;t be fixed...and then don't bother to TEACH those with technical skills the PROPER METHOD to fix it.
Take your car mechanic...he's more computer geek these days than a "wrench-jockey".
The car tells HIM what's wrong, he looks up the repair procedure (which will invariably consist of some level of parts-swapping), and he starts switching things out, until the problem condition goes away.
And you HOPE that problem DID, in fact go away.
God, how I miss the days when a REAL mechanic could just rest his hand on the hood, or LISTEN, and KNOW what was wrong with a vehicle. now THOSE guys were GODS, and worth every penny you paid them.
Today, it's more like the way I type on a keyboard..."HUNT AND PECK"...LOL!
Engineers have always loved to change things...that's what they do, much to the chagrin of those that have to REPAIR something that's been engineered by these slide-ruler-riders.
Now, we face a serious ecological situation.
And everyone starts pointing fingers...(as usual).
But, as I said earlier, the REAL culprits are the ENVIRONMENTALISTS.
Through their careful "planning", they opened the Pandora's Box of potential disaster, and we can see the result.
The technology to handle oil spills in more shallow waters HAS been improved since the Exxon Valdez debacle...that's a given.
But when you face a scenario such as this, with all these unforeseen parameters staring you in the face, you're shooting in the dark.
Would we have drilled closer to shore, the spill WOULD have been contained sooner, with less impact on the ecology.
That's also a given.
But with any new technology, comes a much greater responsibility to "get it right the FIRST time".
This time didn't cut the muster.
When this problem DOES get rectified (and it likely will soon enough), maybe we can be allowed to drill "closer to home", thereby negating any future disasters such as the one we currently face.
We can but hope that reason and common sense WILL prevail.
Be well, make a difference to someone today, and...
Stay safe out there, America.