Sarah Palin : Bikini Godess

Okay, okay... enough already. Yes, she's not very bright, worldly, compassionate, or truthful. At least she looks good with some white trash chicks body pasted to her head.

To say Sarah Palin would be horrible for America is like saying the center of the sun is hot. Maybe she is not evil, maybe I am just a horrible person who thinks the Bush Doctrine (which I could explain in an interview if asked...) is an incredibly self-centered, short sighted, infantile view of the way the world works. Maybe it is me who is wrong for thinking that a rational approach to government management of our free market society would probably be a good discussion to have. She can see Russia from her house, which makes her a foreign policy expert. So far as I know she poops too, which makes her an authority on waste water treatment. I've had a piece of moose meat in the freezer longer than this right wing bible thumping weirdo has had her passport. Seriously.
Some of my coworkers complained that she was picked on by "Charlie" during his interview with her by asking her "hard questions". I haven't had a chance yet to ask them if Katie Couric (a real hard hitting news reporter if ever there was one) was picking on her when she asked Palin to list examples of McCain's ability to manage a serious economic concerns. Sarah Palin's astounding ability to sound like the dumbest person on earth has probably nothing to do with why we haven't seen her give any other interviews lately. McCain MUST be scratching his head at this point, wondering if the real definition of hockey mom is some crazy bitch who got hit in the head with a puck...

If I was a weather man, my name would be Flo Poopo

(the name is an inside joke for my brother)

First Page in the Canadian Army Field Manual

Olympic Trampoline??? Seriously?

I guess its an indicator that I need to do more actual work at work, but this week we've been able to catch a lot of the Olympics while at the hospital in the conference room. Mid-day Olympics broadcast is really pretty interesting, at least compared the smarmy flashback crap NBC broadcasts during about of 30% of its quasi-live prime time coverage. I've seen some dressage, archery, water polo, handball (another questionable sport), but I actually was speechless when the Olympic Trampoline QUALIFYING HEATS blessed the screen.
Ummm, what?? Trampolines and washed up gymnasts does not an Olympic sport make in my book. In both real gymnastics and trampoline men wear suits that could generously be called plum smugglers. Those guys, while looking ever so dainty, can do moves requiring muscle strength far beyond that of most mortals. The women look sort of like like women, as much as you can expect a 12 year olds to look like a woman, but their strength is also incredibly impressive, and their finesse makes the men look like lumbering idiots.

Trampoline on the other hand, is just outright freaking lame. If you're gonna stroll around in pants or leotards that broadcast gender specific camel toe to the entire world, you'd better have the stuff to back it up. Trampoline "atheletes" clearly do not have that stuff.The last I checked trampolines were for the following:
1. Mormon families: they are cheap entertainment when you have 20 kids
2. Gymnasts who are practicing
3. Douche bags like the guys in the picture above.

Like all sports, the US is decades away from fielding a generation of good trampoline artists. I'd like to think it is because no red blooded American would ever stain the flag's good name by competeing in this ridculous "sport", but it only because we don't start our atheletes like China does. **See picture below***
For my money, even synchronized swimming (not surprisingly being broadcast right now on Oxygen along with dressage....) is a more of a sport. Gimme a sport where you're trying to lift so much weight that you pee yourself, and I'll stand up and cheer any day.

Cold War : Part Deux

Its not like I am an expert in international relations, and I admit my knowledge about this whole Georgia/Russian conflict is a bit sophmoric, but after a week of trolling the net, reading the NY Times and follow NPR, I think I have a fair handle on this friggin nonsense.

What it boils down to is Vlady "Mad as Rasputin" Putin has decided that Russia (with it VAST natural resources, huge military and total control over its populace) is threatened by a small country to its south that seems to be on a path to integration with Europe and the west via admission into NATO.

In the mind of Lili-Putin and pals, this obviously justifies an unmitigated land grab for Russian leaning provinces on the border, and an apparent desire to cut the country in half via take over of Gori, which would effectively shut down transport of people and goods through out this highly mountainous nation. The Georgian president can rightly be blamed for poking the Russian bear, but this behaviour on the part of the Russians is positively 20th century. Didn't we at some point decide that the attack and annexation of sovereign territory was WRONG? I have no idea how this gets solved in the long term, I only hope that the killing of innocents stops.

Art, it giveth me so much joy!!

I awoke this morning to the a new art installation in my front yard. I don't know who or what glorious being is responsible for bringing this light to my life, but I thank them. In a world so often turned ugly by the violence and senselessness of the human race, its so nice to know that somewhere, somehow, beauty remains. I present to you some pictures of this marvelous bit of avant garde magnificence.




Is this a statement about the Earth's forests being overrun by machines? Is it a plea for release from the surly bonds of gravity? Did a hobo fall from the sky whilst ballooning? Do aliens wear sneakers and drop them sometimes during anal probes? We might never know. Just enjoy.

WEDDING = COOL CAMPING LOOT!!!!!

Mrs. Libby and I decided to take a quick jaunt up to the Lachs again to do an overnight camping trip. We have all this great camping loot from our wedding we wanted to try out in the the real world and figured this was a good trip to try it on. As a lot of you know, most of California is on fire and our little corner is no different. The American River complex fire was burning to the south and east of the Lachs, but there was a huge firefighter presence there as there is a large network of forest roads in the area. At first we thought we'd be turned away, but Ranger Stranger let us through and we parked my car, with some thoughts that we might see it next as a burned out metal hunk. (its paid for and insured....) With a quick goodbye to the Subaru and a packs on our back, on the trail we went!



We quickly hiked in the 2 miles to Middle Lach Leven, and spotted a GREAT camp site right on the waters edge. This place is littered with picture perfect camping spots, and we've never seen more than a few overnighters up there at any one point. Its truly a well kept secret! I think if more people knew our super stealth route into this area that bypasses the 1700 foot vertical gain the main trail makes you achieve it would be more popular! HA!!


The next pictures feature some of the wicked cool loot we got from our friends and family for our wedding. We had enough titanium gear to build a suit of armor! The French presss is titanium. Our dishes are titanium! The Steri-Pen appears to work exactly as advertised, otherwise after all the litres of lake water we drank, we'd have pooped our brains out right then and there. (Another neat toy not picture is the iPood--> a little packable shovel) The stove TOTALLY rules. My friend Aaron and his wife got that for us. It burns diesel, white gas, car gas, kerosene, alcohol, propane, you name it. BRING IT ON APOCOLYPSE!




Finally, here are a few general shots. I really dig the ones Sarah took from the tent looking out onto the lake. We only had one night, but it was worth the hike in! We enjoyed swimming, playing with our new toys, and even nailed our FTF (first to find) cache! WOHOO!!!!! As Paul Morgan sagely observered.... "WOW! Weddings = TOTALLY AWESOME CAMPING LOOT" Speak on brother Morgan, speak on. EAST SIIIIDDDDEEE.............. OUT.