packsaddle

I think it's a great idea. It teaches about strategy, statistical probability, AND it pays in exercise all at the same time. Win, win, win.

I had to google it to find out what you're even talking about.

Wasn't there something along these lines in a commencement address a couple of years ago? "To those of you who received honors, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you, too, can be President of the United States. A Yale degree is worth a lot, as I often remind Dick Cheney who studied here, but left a little early. So now we know, if you graduate from Yale, you become president. If you drop out, you get to be vice president."

ScoutMKE, that is a great website! I wish our IPM people did as well. That photo of the bugs infesting a backpack is particularly relevant, I think. I offer this, if 120 degrees is all it takes, for those of us here in the South, we can just shove the dog over, put all the gear in our car parked in the sun and roll up the windows. That should do to all insects what it does to the dog. (AND they won't smell as bad)

ImNotSerious, I sympathize. I was also lanky and had a similar problem when I was a boy and my family started the Air Force calisthenics regime that we'd do together every evening. Our home had really thick trim over the doorways so we'd just grab that for pullups. At first it was a pain and then it was fun when my sister and I began 'lapping' the old folks. You are doing a good thing for your son and he will appreciate it, probably for the rest of his life (he'll probably never thank you or admit it or anything, though, LOL) If this piece of titanium inside me ever stops hurting I may try the chinning bar thing again too.

One more thought...aside from being fed upon (which I understand doesn't carry much risk because they apparently don't carry diseases), the more serious risk is that the boys will bring a few hitchhikers home with them and spread the infestation. That would be really bad. Also, insect bombs are not very effective because of the insect's tendency to hide in protected nooks and cracks. Moreover, the eggs may not be affected by an insecticide until after they hatch. As boomerscout noted, I'd just go somewhere else...like the woods on a backpack trip.

Yeah, I guess in that particular case, we were hoodwinked by the poodle. I'll try to make that distinction in the future.

If 120 degrees does the trick, there must not be any in most of the Southwest, LOL. No it take a little more heat than a good day in the Mojave. It takes about 140 degrees to do a quick kill. The average home clothes drier on high heat will do the trick easily though, just ask the occasional hapless cat, LOL. OK, now you know how I feel about those things. But the drier won't fix the cabins and that will take much more effort because of their ability to hide in small crevices (bugs, not cats). I don't know where the camp is located but if it gets really cold in the winter, that might be enough. Otherwise I suspect it will be a combination steam/pesticide treatment by a commercial outfit. Good luck and don't let the bed bugs...you know.

NJ, regarding your wish that Palin gets the nomination...I remember many people thinking along the same lines for Ronald Reagan and later for Dubya. In THIS country you could get your wish. Have a nice day.

I agree Gern. As with Nixon, it is best for those we elect to power to know and understand with great confidence that they can't be brought to justice if they commit crimes. It helps to protect all of us and our way of life.

H'mmmm. I watch these things and scratch my head when the Republicans wring their hands over RINOs and such. I think there might be a historical model from which they can find some solutions. There is an old political party that long attracted odd-ball views and divergent interests and it often acted as if it was a rudderless ship. Nevertheless it muddled along under the name of the Democratic Party and it still seems kind of rudderless...just part of the charm.

Some of my favs. Wish they had made it into the book... On the bright side, if he keeps doing the book tours we might get some more really good ones. "My plan reduces the national debt, and fast. So fast, in fact, that economists worry that we're going to run out of debt to retire." radio address, Feb. 24, 2001 "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." State of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2003, making a claim that administration officials knew at the time to be false "The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." Washington, D.C., Sept. 13, 2001 AND THEN... "I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." Washington, D.C., March 13, 2002 "But all in all, it's been a fabulous year for Laura and me." summing up his first year in office, three months after the 9/11 attacks, Washington, D.C., Dec. 20, 2001 (pretty much does sum it up) "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004 so true, so true Just a few of the treasure trove of such quotes. I'll pick up the book next month for 50cents at a yard sale.

As gwd-scouter can atest, I do kind of look like one. Don't bother to ask my wife about it, either. BTW, I think I revealed the pillow thing in these threads a long time ago. I could be wrong but I bet OGE is working on it right now. Anyway, 83Eagle, you're right, I took your quip way too seriously and I apologize. You might not like me in person either. So....was I wrong about Powell and Riley? JoeBob, NJ had a good start but the ones that really raised the pucker factor for me were the statements that there was "no doubt" about WMD. I took those statements at face value and gave my support for subsequent decisions on that basis. I am willing to admit that I was hoodwinked...but I WAS hoodwinked by an administration to whom I had given my trust.

Gern, those wind chargers require, you know, wind. Here in the South, except for the coast, we don't have much of it. The solar technologies would make more sense. When I was very young my grandfather lived on an island off the west coast of Florida. I had 'my' room on the third floor where the widow's walk was. There was no water supply other than the rainwater cistern. And he had a solar hot water heater, homemade. The hot water was hot enough to scald and we had to be very careful. Needless to say, the 'cold' water wasn't. It also had visible mosquito larvae and zooplankton wiggling in it sometimes. I suppose I have a really good immune system. But going to spend the summer there was the time of my life. And I didn't even know it at the time. Anyway, I'm a strong advocate for solar hot water, especially in my neck of the woods.

OGE, which one are you comparing yourself to, the Arthropod or the Echinoderm...or are you telling us you are about to regurgitate?

Calico, why are you picking on small organisms with narrowly circumscribed life experiences and limited intellects? And come to think of it, why are you comparing them to sand fleas? OK, erudition is different from logic. Erudition is something that is gained from books (this means reading them not eating them). What I was applying was logic. Evidently those two concepts are confusing to some. The latest I've heard is that of about 50% of the write-ins done, they are about 98% Murkovwoskie (whatever ). It's interesting that Floyd Brown of Willie Horton fame is has just started working for Miller. This will get the dirt flowing. Edited to add: JoeBob, no skin off my back. He can think whatever he wants about me and I'm OK with it. I'd like to know if I'm mistaken about those politicians though.(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

This reminds me of a joke that I will shamelessly borrow from Click and Clack: I want to die in my sleep like my grandfather did, Not screaming in terror like his passengers did. Just a little dark humor there... I prevent this outcome by planning my clever retorts in the next Issues and Politics forum. No, that doesn't really work. I prevent this by thinking about my mother-in-law. Bless her soul, I do love her but she drives me crazy. No, that only lasts a little while. I prevent this by eating junk food almost all the time (no lie) when I'm driving. Kind of a sugar-and-salt high and if I wash it down with coffee I'm forced to make frequent stops (we only have custody of coffee for a very short while).

Then you think I am wrong about Powell and Riley?(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

83Eagle, it isn't constructive to paint whole groups of persons in the way that you have done. I have heard similar statements with regard to attorneys, automobile dealers, bankers, and anyone involved with Wall Street or marketing. The problem is that your statement is cynical in itself and while I understand that cynicism does often contribute to more cynicism, it isn't the CAUSE of cynicism. More directly, the doubtful claim at the root of a cynical statement can't be considered seriously as the cause of the doubtful claim. I hope you understand this logical fallacy. Moreover, I remind you of the reputed statement by Lincoln that "you can't dip clear water from a muddy stream". Those 'dishonest' politicians are representative of their constituents. I have known and I know politicians whom I consider to be honest and thoughtful persons. For example, in spite of his complicity in the Bush era lies, I still believe that Colin Powell is basically an honest person and that he deeply regrets the way he allowed himself to be used by the Bush administration. Likewise, I consider Richard Riley to be an honest politician, first as a governor and later as Secretary of Education. There are numerous such examples. Your statement rings with a little more truth if you restrict it to politicians who are agenda-driven rather than those who try to thoughtfully consider their decisions without allowing an agenda to determine the outcome. The prominence of the public presence of agenda-driven politicans does seem to dominate politics but I still believe that, as with attorneys, auto dealers, and yes, perhaps even a banker or stock broker...there are individuals who while fallible, attempt to conduct their lives and professions in an honest manner. Back to topic. Yes, I am greatly enjoying the same ironies that you have noticed, Beavah.(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

Brent, that's the thing...we have an actual cuisine in the South. Midwesterners are still mastering ketchup. Regarding energy, the new turbine designs cause much less avian mortality and this factor IS taken into account during decisions on siting (don't build them in the middle of a major migratory flyway). Nevertheless, it has been my experience that 'fair weather' environmentalists readily sacrifice the birds when they start to have to take cold showers. BTW, those wind turbines don't HAVE to turn, they can be stopped if power demand is low...just take a look at the wind farms that exist already and you will see some working, others not, depending on needs. The choices are hard choices. In this country we generate about 50% of our electricity from coal. There is enough coal to take up some slack in the future and still last for several generations. However, this means greater environmental impact (and so-called 'Clean Coal' is just a pipe dream and a very risky and costly one at that) as well as greater loss of life in the extraction process. Nuclear has already put its stamp on the next 1000 generations or more so we might as well learn to love it. I am very disappointed with the Yucca Mountain decision which in my opinion was a political decision, not one on scientific or engineering merit. But there is a whole lot more to that story that most people don't understand. That said, if you ask anyone what is the Price-Anderson Act, they'll likely give you a blank stare. It is the largest government subsidy ever given to an industry. Oil. As I ask my students...with regard to the stupid calls to 'drill baby drill': does it make sense to rather quickly deplete our domestic sources while the Middle East sits back with their gigantic reserves, or does it make more sense to exploit their cheap oil while conserving what little we have left? The Saudis just love the 'drill baby drill' approach. It just moves the day when we are TOTALLY dependent on imports for oil even closer on the calendar. What a thoughtless approach! The problem with most of the alternatives is that we still have not fully completed the net energy analysis for these sources. Some things are fairly straight forward (solar hot water, for example, or passive solar heating). But the higher-tech stuff is virtually still in the prototype stage. It pains me to know full well that almost all of the sources of biofuels would require more than all of our current agricultural land to replace oil, some of them many times all of our agricultural land. Only a few, the ones that require water only for example, fare well in that analysis but scaling up on those is far from being done or even feasible yet...almost all of them live and die on government subsidies. (I despise this political aspect of alcohol as a fuel in this country). At this point I'd say..."don't get me started" but I see it's too late for that so I'll stop here.(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

Gern, those Rabbits were not the same thing. The new diesel technology is quiet and clean. I had friends with Rabbits and while they did get 50 mpg, they sounded like my John Deere. Edit: Just reminded myself of what my German friends called Volvos: The world's fastest tractors. (This message has been edited by packsaddle)

I agree with Beavah on this, especially that "Except the gas tax. I'd make da gas tax go up by 10 or 15 cents each year... forever." part. Forever is a long time but I it's possible to change our minds once we've re-established a sense of responsibility in this country. I'm not happy with that 10-year-out deficit though. I'd like to see this thing killed quickly. But I'm sanguine about the chances of most of those proposals getting passed. This could just end being a political quagmire. Regarding how we got here I just read some of David Stockman's thoughts: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/opinion/01stockman.html Too bad he wasn't as straight-forward back when he could have helped rein in the Reagan excesses. Edited to add: Eagle92, increased cost of energy will cause more of production to become more local to the markets. There will consequently be less fuel used for transport AND more jobs locally. The gas tax is really a misnomer for what essentially is a carbon tax applied only to petroleum. Oh well, I doubt we're going to pass that either. Brent, I agree with you on that diesel. It's a shame we can't have that on the road right now. I've driven them on numerous occasions various places overseas and I think they're just great.(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

Since sheldonsmom didn't favor us with a link to the decision, here it is in case someone wants to read it: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/assets/pdf/D213209243.PDF Edited to add: OK, I've read it. Sheldonsmom, I'd be interested in reading your reasoning as to how the court was in error with regard to the central Equal Protection aspect of this case. Could you provide some additional detail to help out?(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

Perhaps the answer to my question is better found in examination of the award process. How are these scholarships decided? Who decides them and at what organizational level? Are they allocated to councils or are they pooled nationally, or what? What are the selection criteria...really? Someone please fill me in.

That trickle down argument was one made quite a while back by Reagan. It resulted in....big deficits. It is the argument made by the Bush administration when he chose to cut taxes rather than pay down debt and it resulted in....big deficits. Now we're hearing the refrain again. If the trickle down idea works (and it actually did for JFK) then we should derive maximum benefit under the scheme by cutting taxes to practically nothing. Just think how much revenue would be generated then...all our problems would just go away.... What seems more obvious about those plummy investments that Lisa mentioned is that they likely DO create jobs...overseas...by those huge multinationals which derive profit for those plummy investors (who don't have to pay as much tax) by selling the cheaper imported goods at the WalMart or the Scout shop to the lower income groups who choose them over slightly-more-expensive domestic products in order to make ends meet, thus contributing even more to job losses. It's a pretty smooth system, I have to admit.