Confessions of a Shiftless Mind

This amused me - sent to my email from a friend. Don’t know if it is true or not.

Manure: In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship and it was also before commercial fertilizer’s invention, so large shipments of manure were common.

It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by product is methane gas. As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen.

Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM!

Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening.

After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the term “Ship High In Transit” on them, which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.

Thus evolved the term “S.H.I.T ” , (Ship High In Transport) which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.

You probably did not know the true history of this word.

Neither did I.

I had always thought it was a golf term.

Man… I don’t know how muc more of this I can take: Youth Groups telling Stephen Harper how to set environmental policy? I mean, at least scientists and oceanographers deserve a modicum of respect, but really.

Overall though, I can’t stand this lobby, and how they seem to be in the news every 2 or 3 days. Panic that oceans are rising. Panic that icecaps are melting. Panic over desertification (which is mostly agriculturally driven, not climate driven!) This is bull. You don’t need to be a scientist to figure it out either, though I have looked a lot of scientific material trying to make sense of global warming (which didn’t exist 25 years ago by the way - the latest panic trumpeted by scientists in the late 70s was global cooling, despite the fact that globally, rates of serious greenhouse pollutants like coal and woodburning have dropped like stones).

All you have to do is look back at ye olde science textbook from grade school. All these environmental scientists buy into evolution right?

In Canada, we like to think we are a civilized country. Other countries, they have corrupt politicians, thugs, murders and kidnappings, but not us. We are clean and safe here.

Well, out in Vancouver, we have recently been disabused of the notion that kidnappings don’t happen here. Luckily, the young man who was seized and held for 8 days was found safe (reading the story it sounds like a gripping TV movie).

Then, in a piece about a man involved in the Sponsorship Scandal, I read a whole boatload more than I even imagined could take place in Canada. Funny thing is the bulk of the story seems to be trying to convince me the guy was just a nice guy caught in something that he wanted nothing to do with. But let’s review the parts I like most.

MONTREAL (CP) - Joe Morselli, the former Liberal fundraiser accused of walking around with envelopes filled with sponsorship cash and scaring a fellow party activist to tears, has died of an apparent heart attack.

Toronto Tory seems to doubt the veracity of the circumstances of his passing. Read on and you will see why. Continue Reading »

North American Patriot hums along with Toby Keith, and makes a darn good point about the feller who shot two child rapists then himself as police closed in on him.

Who is the real victim in this story?

But for myself, were I him, I wouldn’t have shot myself.

Something to think about - with the latest buzz about gas prices sinking into the public conciousness, talk has been rising about pretty much the only attempt out of Detroit to economize - the Hybrids. Of course, many people are even questioning if hybrids save on gas at all. At the same time, tax incentives are being set up and direct subsidies are being bandied about, to get the cost of hybrids down so more people drive them and economize.

I ask you though. If you drive a hybrid SUV like say the Ford Escape, you may save a couple miles per gallon. But you are still spending $50-80 a tank. That is not savings.

If the government wants to really affect gas consumption amongst the urban drivers, they should put subsidies on the purchase of realy economizing cars. VW Golfs, diesel powered. Smart cars. Can you imagine how much gas and money would be saved if the government offered a $2000 tax break for buying Smart Cars?

I mean, half the reason people are afraid to buy them is their cost.

Enjoy.

Gorgeous layout, lots to say. Well done.

From the Shmoo Report:

I did a mental review or doublecheck of the reasoning and my decision to quit the Liberals and join the Conservatives. After some honest thought, … I should have switched 8 years ago … Because today for the first time in over a decade I don’t feel so cynical or disillusioned, or uncomfortable in my own country.

Good on ya. It is nice to realize that it is possible to wake up and smell the coffee. I like living in this Canada too… even if one of my favorite actors/comedians apparently doesn’t.

My own journey out of liberalhood came in my late teens. Having gone to a public school for 12 years, I was properly indoctrinated. My very first election I voted in was provincial, and I voted for my grade 9 social studies teacher, a draft-dodging texan in a brown suit running on the NDP ticket provincially. He almost won too… good thing he didn’t.

What woke me up to reality was living in Alberta at the beginning of the Klein revolution. When Klein came in, he was taking over for Don Getty, who had been running deficit after deficit for no apparent reason. I wasn’t a math whiz, but I saw the writing on the wall: government cannot run in perpetual deficit or it will bankrupt the nation. Klein said it was going to be hard, and it would hurt, but it would be worth it.

He was right: Alberta, even if it wasn’t awash in oil wealth right now, would be the envy of the country. It is the only debt-free province in Canada. It has if not the cheapest, then one of the cheapest post-secondary systems in Canada (despite the countless cries of socialists over the years that they had “jacked” tuition and made education unaffordable). Jobs are so plentiful that grocery stores are paying $15 an hour to start. (Who cares what minimum wage is?) Unemployment is almost nil. Gads I wish I was back there…

To some boys, it is a teenage fantasy come true. However, like most things teens want, it’s not good for them at all. The phenomenon of sexual misconduct by teachers with students in public schools is a huge issue that gets very little press. Take this fact:

According to a major 2004 study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education the most in-depth investigation to date nearly 10 percent of U.S. public school students have been targeted with unwanted sexual attention by school employees.

This was from 2 short years ago. Read that number again: 10%! One in ten! Some people try to brush it off like the kids want it, that the age of consent should be dropped. That statistic above clearly points out the result of being lenient/ignorant because of the exception. Granted, those numbers are American, but if Canadian schools are only half as bad, that is still ridiculously disgusting and deserves huge media attention and public outcry.

A lot of people wonder at the choice to homeschool. They look at the financial strain it puts on a family - one parent can’t work outside the home. They look at the “wasted” talent of the spouse who can’t “use” their education. They look at the limits placed on the freedom of the spouse who takes this task on. But I ask you: what price sexually whole children? There are a dozen arguments made about why not to send your kids to public school - ranging from poor standards to peer pressure. But this one reason is the most telling for me.

People rag on the Catholic Church for “pedophile priests”, but I’ll tell you, it would take a thousand Catholic churches to get the kinds of numbers that ten public schools can put out for “unwanted sexual attention” on minors.

Hat tip to that Crazy Samantha Burns. Check her entry out for the female pedophile angle.

I am going to drop in and buy Settlers of Catan: Travel Edition today. I was introduced to this game a couple years ago after hearing all kinds of things about it. I snapped and bought it myself a month or two ago, after my “friends” threatening me with another game of Risk. I can’t stand Risk. Risk is for people who like to pretend they play strategy wargames but can’t be bothered to learn to play a REAL one.

Anyway, I brought the game out to my church’s Men’s Retreat, and found that there were many who had played it before and loved it, and there were many more who were fascinated by it and wanted to learn. I wound up playing two games back-to-back on the Saturday night, staying up to 2am.

Now that we are going to be travelling this summer, and seeing as how at least a couple of people on the trip are either players or willing to learn of Catan, I figure it is a good investment.

In case you are interested, the premise is this: a randomly generated map of an island called Catan is made. Tribes of people attempt to settle the island, before the others, and achieve dominance by construction of settlements and roads. They need resources to build their empires, so they must be gathered and traded to win. Additions include Cities and Knights of Catan, Seafarers of Catan, and a 5-6 player expansion (the base game only has room for 4). They have also made parallel versions including Starfarers of Catan, Settlers of the Stone Age, and Settlers of Canaan (a Bible-themed version - I am very interested in that one!) Check out Mayfair Games for all the lowdown!

Heh… if you follow my linkage with a flair for the investigative, you may figure out where I work, though I have endeavoured to completely keep this blog separate from my work life, out of respect for my employers. However, this list of blogging mistakes is excellent - he is a Real Estate blogger, but I believe his points are all valid for any blogger.

I break rule 4, though I am working on changing that. First I have to stabilize my theme, before I can start tweaking it. I also break rule 5, but I am endeavouring to change that: (this post being step 1). Rule 7 has also been a problem for me… I am trying to figure out how to encourage comments.

He also has some excellent thoughts on differentiating between high quality and low quality linkage.

Learn well, young Padawan.