Another gem from Theo Sparks

You can't be in the new Al Gore movie if you don't sign the release.

Visit Theo to add your own caption (not always safe for work)

Not Gonna Happen

The starting bid on the Hering-Bau automatic public toilets is $89,000 each.

89k for something that cost King County a million 500,000 dollars each (plus millions of dollars in up keep) and my guess is it's not gonna sell at that price, they are not in good shape. It was a flop when they brought them it's going to be a flop when they sell them, and the tax payers are the ones being flushed.

On May 19, the City Council voted 5-0 to remove the problem toilets. Four council members were not present. Council President Richard Conlin said although people were using the high-tech, self-cleaning silver stalls, they also fostered illegal behavior, such as prostitution and drug use.

HT; Orbusmax

Update: 2 full days, no bids, only 8 days left. Here's your best chance to get your very own Automated Public Toilet. Here are the details posted on the e-bay site for the Pike Place Market toilet.

The City of Seattle is making available its surplus inventory of five (5)
industrial-grade, automated public restroom facilities. This auction is
for one (1) unit only - check our other auction for the remaining 4
lots.
This automatic public toilet (APT) was made by Hering-Bau
International of Germany. These units were installed in
several locations around the city of Seattle in March of 2004 and have seen
moderate, average use since then. City officials have decided to pursue
other options for public bathrooms and are now offering the APTs for immediate
surplus sale.
The APT offered in this auction is located near
the Pike Place Market (S/N: 103). The other units are
located near the Elliot Bay waterfront, in Pioneer Square, in the
International District and on Capitol Hill.
Purchasing a pre-owned APT
can offer significant savings for any company, municipality or other agency
considering such facilities, as the cost per unit new is approximately
$500,000.

Worth a visit just for the demo video.
Corrections: changed initial cost of APTs from 1,000,000 to 500,000$. I stated the estimated cost of operations has “millions of dollars”.
Update: less than 3 hours left, no bids.

Now what?

The end came with a bang

After pilots crash landed this C-130 in Iraq on the 7thof July, a U.S. Air Force explosive ordnance disposal team break it into little pieces and take it away.

U.S. Air Force explosive ordnance disposalmen detonate explosives attached to the wings of a C-130 Hercules aircraft at Sather Air Base, Iraq, July 7, 2008. The aircraft was disabled after it made an emergency landing last month, and the airmen used a series of controlled detonations to divide the aircraft into smaller pieces so it could be moved. The disposalmen are assigned to the 447th Air Expeditionary Group. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Allen

Sunday Snapshot: Sunrise

Everyday I look into this valley and wish I had my camera. Yesterday I wanted to capture a sunrise to go with the sunset I posted last week, I could not have found a better place for it.

Has always more photos can be found on my Flickr site.

And I also made a video slideshow set to the music of Rebecca St. James

Don't forget to keep checking back every week for your chance to win a free 4x5 print. click here for the rules.

Late Show with David Letterman in LEGO

Legos are fun, videos are fun, David Letterman is fun, put it all together and you have Fun, Fun, Fun!
This guy did a really good job putting this together with the actual audio from David Letterman's Late Show.

Today's photo photoshopped

While Iran is swinging the big stick around we learn that it may not be has big has Iran wants us to believe.  I watched this video of the Iranian rocket launches last night and something about it didn't seem right, you can see that one didn't go off..

Now it turns out that this is not what Iran wants the world to see.

this is the photo that went to the world press yesterday

with the Iranian clone tool pointed out by LGF. Good bye dud, hello stud!!

Cassini meet Saturn

The ringed planet sits in repose, the center of its own macrocosm of many rings and moons and one artificial satellite named Cassini. Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) is visible at upper left. Although unseen in this view, Enceladus (504 kilometers, or 313 miles across) casts its shadow upon the planet. The rings also block the sun's light from the low latitudes of the northern hemisphere.

Today's I want it.

Its a 1938 ford puller truck

 Link to original story

HT: Theo Sparks

Sunday Snapshots: A Little More

Well here's a twist, instead of just one photo, I figured I would give you guys a whole sunsets worth. Set to Jennifer Knapp's A Little More.

Don't forget to keep checking back every week for your chance to win a free 4x5 print. click here for the rules.

Happy 4th

America is 232 years old today

Inside the greenhouse: The Ice Melts

Every year the Ice in the North melts, some years more than other, some years more ice on the Canadian side of the Arctic and some years more on the Russian side of the Arctic. this year we were told that the melting would for the first time reach the north pole, sounds scary. It may even be true, what they don't tell you is there will still be lots of ice in the Arctic Circle. We will be OK, Seattle will not be underwater. This I knew without any research what I did learn when I did some research was that it may not be happening at all. Turns out that at this time last year we had less ice up north than we do now, the melting is slower, the North Poll may yet be saved.

Still not convinced? See for yourself, The Ice Melts.

HT: Knowledge is Power

Past green house reports:
Get that SUV out of the garage We interrupt this report Surprise, New Taxes Die you unbelievers What's old is new again The Baby Tax No Parking The Law of Koz says we did it Consensus Gore's 9 lies	Shoulda seen it coming Ah come on now A bit imposing San Fran going dry We're #2 The debate is over? Let's go see All So Inconveniently Extent of deception Twofer Cow farts Global warming update

Home

Sunday snapshot: First shots

I'm just about out of things I want to scan so I'm going to replace my Sunday Scan with a snapshot.

The rules:

This will be a photo I have taken during the week

It will be an original photo

I will try not to repeat subjects*

If I do first to point it out will receive a 8x10 print**

Hey I want to ensure you guys are reading this stuff.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Repeat subjects would include shots of flowers from the same garden or same site,

These were taken from the same garden in Everett near the port, of course you would not know that if I didn't tell you, but you can try. I think once a season would be fair for flowers.

This is from a different location so it doesn't count. Capital Hill, Seattle

Photos of the same building would count if the building is the subject but not if it's the background.

example;

This is the Office of local real estate mogul Art Scotdall, these would count has the same subject. Buildings last forever and so does this rule.

This would not count has a repeat because clearly the subject is the truther.

Birds are tougher, so I will say if I post the same bird type, Crow, Seagull, or others within 2 months I will count that has a repeat.

These two birds are of the same type and the photos must have been posted 2 months apart

These birds I can post anytime after the others.

I will make the final decision but I really don't mind giving my photos to those who want them so your chances are pretty good.

The chance to get a free print also applies to photos not posted within 2 weeks of when they were taken.

One photo was taken in January the other in May, not gonna work.

This one I took just a few minutes ago.

you may be able to get clues to when a where a photo was taken at my Flickr site.

**You will need to send me your contact information, You can do that privately here.

Chain Mail

I don't forward these but I do get quite a few so I think I'll just post the really good ones here from time to time, with the "send this to 5 other people and/or something good/bad will happen to you " removed.

Today's post is the old God is Busy story with a professor and a marine

     A United States Marine was attending some college courses between assignments.  He had completed missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

       One of the courses had a professor who was an avowed atheist and a member of the ACLU.  One day the professor shocked the class when he came in.  He looked to the ceiling and flatly stated, 'God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform.  I'll give you exactly 15 minutes.'  The lecture room fell silent.  You could hear a pin drop. Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed, 'Here I am God.  I'm still waiting.'

       It got down to the last couple of minutes when the Marine got out of his chair, went up to the professor, and cold-cocked him; knocking him off the platform.  The professor was out cold.  The Marine went back to his seat and sat there, silently.  The other students were shocked and stunned and sat there looking on in silence.  The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the Marine and asked, 'What the heck is the ma! tter with you?  Why did you do that?'  The Marine calmly replied, 'God was too busy today protecting America's soldiers who are protecting your right to say stupid stuff and act like an idiot.  So, He sent me.'

Changes

Changes 4
Originally uploaded by George Bentley

I changed my look. Don't be frightened, I'm still the same loveable Gwillie you all remember.

Sunday Scan: Geese

Geese
Originally uploaded by George Bentley

Just a quick shot I took many years ago.Taken once more at the Port of Everett.

Vote Obama

No don't worry, my time has a blogger for Obama has not turned me into a Obama supporter. I was so mad at one of the new MoveOn.org ads that I had to reply. This is my response to the asinine stereotype ads that have made the rounds on TV. One of which cost over half a million dollars.

Mine didn't cost anything.

The price we pay for Carter's mistakes.

There was a time when I bought the line of Carter being the greatest Ex-President, but then I started to see the other things he was doing when he wasn't building houses. Like his 1994 visit to North Korea resulting in a deal that was never enforced and followed by North Korea's first nuclear test just 12 years later, and that awful book. I could list a whole page more but I don’t feel like looking it all up, please feel free to pile on, it might be fun.

We have now, brought to the forefront by recent attacks in Zimbabwe by Carter backed dictator President Mugabe, a new crisis.

After the first free election there in April 1979 Mugabe lost, in spite of voter intimidation and attacks that killed 10 people and a hit list of dozens. Yet President Carter refused to lift sanctions or to endorse any unity government that did not include Mugabe. This led to Mugabe being in a position to later seize power and is directly responsible for today's crimes

Mr. Mugabe is one of the nastiest dictators in Africa — he has inflicted a "silent genocide" by starving his own people. The effects of his authoritarian rule have been made all the worse by his staying power. In more than 27 years as head of state, Mr. Mugabe has turned one of Africa's most productive economies into a shambles. A country whose currency once beat the British pound now boasts an inflation rate nearing 10,000% per annum and a land that once exported beef and grain now has a population desperately in need of food and humanitarian aid.

And for another reason I feel Carter is bad for America.

Carter/Chevez, Chavez/Mugabe, Mugabe/Ahmadinejad.

3 degrees of dictatorial separation.

 

Update: Thanks Lizards :) for the best jump in visits ever!!!

Sunday Scan: Thru the fence

thru the fence
Originally uploaded by George Bentley

my.barackobama.stupid

Ok sorry for the dumb post title, I couldn't help it. Has I was exploring the rest of the my.barackobama.com web site I found one of my neighbors (not anyone I know, just someone who lives in the same part of town has me.) I read his profile and was shocked at the grammar (I'm really not one to talk so you know it's gotta be bad.)

Bobby

Location: South Everett, Washington
Why I support Barack Obama: Why I am supporting Senator Barack Obama two reasons: First, Senator Obama is a man who remaind figure has a leading hand of Leadership 1 of his country 2, a great symbol of hope and dream something that represents mean something needed deeply rooted in the American spirit back to people and United States since a time in the 1860’s of Presidency of Abraham Lincoln and the 1930’s Franklin D. Roosevelt. Senator Obama is new hope and new change for America 3 and her people in the 21st Century. Second, my cousins Caroline B. Kennedy, Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy 4 they give him the endorsement to his 2008 Presidential Campaign for President. 5
Birth Date: October 19th
Issues: equality / civil rights; civil liberties / privacy; peace & social justice; foreign policy / security; economic fairness / security; environment / conservation; smart energy policy; public infrastructure / transportation; good government / ethics; electoral reform; affordable health care; education
Registered to Vote: Yes 6

Some things of note

1) Leading hand of leadership... A little redundant but still grand

2) His country... not ours but his, a clue?

3) is new hope and new change of America... well I guess the old hope and old change just wasn't working out.

4) my cousins Caroline B. Kennedy, Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy... Ok lets do a little latching on and name dropping all in one line. Be careful you don't want to over do it.

5) Presidential Campaign for President... has opposed to his Presidential campaign for mayor.

6) Registered to Vote: Yes... This last part scares me most.

I hope he is just some little guy in India that George Soros paid to fill out web pages, but you never know, do you.

 

And here's another randomly chosen neighbor's Obama profile.

Ria

Location: Everett, WA
Why I support Barack Obama: I Believe he can and will change in things around!!!

I didn't think I would see anything scarier that commies supporting someone with a real chance of winning, but stupid votes are the scariest of all!

Flag Day 2008

It's flag day

I am a Obama Blogger

I posted a blog on the Obama website to express my concerns about Obama's far left connections and the dangers of communism in general. I don't expect much of a response but I'll see what happens. If someone there locks on to it I could get some really deranged comments.

I know that my first concern (that of Senator Obama's connections to far left extremist and radicals) will not make me any friends here but, for me, they are too important to ignore. America has worked hard to provide freedom to all of her people, but the people who were part of the Weathermen were working to take that away. I know that America has done much wrong, but to disregard all of the good accomplishments that we have made, all of the positive changes that we have led the world in. To try to overthrow it and replace it with "Socialist Marxist" idealism (that has always led to the worst forms of tyranny) See Che. That frightens me.

Side note: I had read that new blogs were being told that their blogs would be subject to approval, I saw no such notice. Maybe I missed it. I did see this little note however.

Content on blogs in My.BarackObama represents the opinions of community members and in no way should be interpreted as endorsed or approved by the campaign.

The Definition of "Climate Camp"

Noun: A group of radical environmental extremists who make every effort to impose their morals on the rest of us.

They did a good old fashion train robbery yesterday.

The ambush took place at an iron girder bridge over the river Aire between the villages of Gowdall and Hirst Courteney at 8am GMT. One group then used the bridge girders and climbing equipment to scale the 12ft high trucks.They hoisted a huge banner reading “Leave it in the ground” - referring to the coal destined for the power station’s furnaces. The protesters carried food, water and even a portable lavatory with the intention of being able to remain on board for several days.

This is called "action" by the radicals, but it's called a crime by most of us.

This guy stuck in the traffic had the best argument against these vandals

He said: “There are interesting arguments to be had, but at the end of the day, these people use electricity like the rest of us, don’t they.”

Here is the point, We have too far many people to keep playing these power games. We need the stuff or billions will die, come up with a better ideal and stop trying to make us all go back to the horse and carriage days.

Last thing, Why can't the police just climb up there and pull the hippie punks off the damn thing?

Angels standing by our soliders

We spend so much time fighting the lefts efforts to dishearten our troops that when a good story or two come up I just have to post it, today I found one I want to bring to you.

One of the warriors told me how wonderful it felt to be told “thank you” by someone in the airport. He’d been traveling with his wife and they were having lunch while on a layover. A lady quietly walked over to them, excused herself and said to his wife that she wanted to hug him to say “thank you”. This touched the warrior deeply.

 

 

 

 

 

I once had breakfast at our local I-hop when a group of uniformed soliders came in, When I went to pay I ask the casher if I could pay for the soliders too. Turns out another couple beat me to it.

Where you have angels, you may find devils.

While we truly try to show our support others on the left are working to demoralize them. These evil people who once claimed to be a Christian group, (they use a little trick to get some notice, they did the starbucks protest. Now removed from their website.) This group is now using the adopt a solider program to send 9/11 truth movies and other disinformation to try to convince the troops to stop fighting for "the government who did 9/11."

Sunday Scans: Mud flats

Mud flats
Originally uploaded by George Bentley

Finley Lives

Finley was not supposed to be born, His parents had used birth control and when that failed they went to have an abortion at 8 weeks. Yet some time latter Finley's mother could feel him moving inside her. The Percivals were fearful that a genetic condition that cost the life of one of their children and affected the other would also affect Finley. But after hearing that he had survived they took a chance and went thru with the pregnancy

  'Deciding to terminate at eight weeks was just utterly horrible but I couldn't cope with the anguish of losing another baby,' said Miss Percival, 25.  However, Finley had other ideas. And some time after the operation, Miss Percival felt a fluttering in her stomach. Eventually her doctor sent her for a scan – and she discovered she was 19 weeks pregnant. The child had survived the abortion and thrived in the womb. 'I couldn't believe it,' said Miss Percival. 'This was the baby I thought I'd terminated. 'At first I was angry that this was happening to us, that the procedure had failed. 'I wrote to the hospital, I couldn't believe that they had let me down like this. They wrote back and apologized and said it was very rare.

snip

"I just couldn't believe that this child had got through it all and looked so perfect," Ms Percival, a hairdresser, told the Daily Mail. "He may need an operation but as only one of his kidneys is affected he can survive. "I still struggle to believe just what he has fought through. Now he's here I wouldn't change it for the world."