Monthly Archives: July 2008

Oxygen Bar

Posted on July 7, 2008 | Comments Off on Oxygen Bar

This was a new one on me when I encountered it at the Las Vegas airport, making a pit stop enroute by air to Sacramento on the last weekend in June. But I don’t get out much. It was impressively weird, but a bit phony, considering the recreational oxygen content generally isn’t much more than you get from normal air–though there are exceptions, apparently. Four guys I watched doing it agreed later that it didn’t provide any unusual kick. Better, maybe, was the massage bar at the Sacramento airport, whose good feeling is at least measurable, though it doesn’t last any longer than a visit to the chiropractor.

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Posted in Scribbles

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Hamilton, Bradley, Kinsler & Young

Posted on July 7, 2008 | Comments Off on Hamilton, Bradley, Kinsler & Young

Might sound like a law firm but these guys are the top four hitters of the Texas Rangers, and Mr. B. was thrilled to discover this morning on the way to day camp that they’re all new AL all-stars.

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Posted in Texana

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You can’t pop corn with cell phones

Posted on July 6, 2008 | Comments Off on You can’t pop corn with cell phones

Whew. That’s a relief. I was taken in by this idea from a YouTube clip some high school chums were passing around. Then I passed it on in conversation on our trip last week to California. I’ve since emailed the correction to those folks, and will post the link here to the refutation (and explanation) by the American Chemical Society’s Chemical & Engineering News for anyone else who has also been taken in by the trick video.

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Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Science/Engineering, Scribbles

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Col. Bud Day

Posted on July 6, 2008 | Comments Off on Col. Bud Day

It’s interesting how this former POW, recipient of the Medal of Honor and, indeed, America’s most decorated living veteran, has figured in recent presidential elections. He helped torpedo John "Seared In My Memory" Kerry in ’04, and that’s the only item the weasels at CNN cared about in their recent slur of him. But there is another, far more interesting side:

"Years later, Air Force surgeons examined Mr. Day and complimented the [broken arm] treatment he’d gotten from his [North Vietnamese] captors. Mr. Day corrected them. It was ‘Dr.’ McCain who deserved the credit. Mr. Day went on to fly again."

Read the rest. Mac and Day, a postwar champion of Vietnam veterans, were cellmates at the Hanoi Hilton, and you can be sure that we’ll be hearing a lot more from Day as Mac’s presidential campaign progresses. Here’s the inside story of how he helped get Kerry. Better watch out, Baby Barry.

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Posted in Troops

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Vets For Freedom

Posted on July 6, 2008 | Comments Off on Vets For Freedom

Cool new advertising campaign from group of Afghanistan and Iraq campaign veterans to counter the anti-war bilge of MoveOn.org. But something tells me there’ll be a vets for peace campaign to counter this one before long. May the best ad campaigns win! Though I’d prefer this one.

Via Instapundit

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Posted in Afghanistan, Iraq, The War, Troops

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More problems

Posted on July 6, 2008 | Comments Off on More problems

If you only see one or two posts, try clicking on the Recent Posts, in the right column, to view the others. For some reason the others are not appearing on the main page. I’m working on it. I’ve been here before, but I hesitate to start calling the techs, until I’ve had time to explore it a little.

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Posted in Site building

Pumpjack

Posted on July 6, 2008 | Comments Off on Pumpjack

WTPJ.jpg

When I was a kid moving all over the place with my military father, I thought of these things as mechanical grasshoppers. Until my Texas oilman grandfather set me straight that they were called pumpjacks. Used to see a lot of idle ones hereabouts when oil prices were low. Now it’s more common to see them pumping, especially around major oil towns like Midland. Baby Barry and his pals in the news media can whine all they want about the alleged coming recession, but I’m wondering if it’s time, once again, to buy stock in Texas drilling companies?

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Posted in Texana

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