No. 109

East Palace Avenue, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

It is quite likely that commerce has been conducted on the other side of that door for the last 250 years.

Technorati Tags: new mexico, santa fe, travel

Dry Goods

An open air boutique on the Old Santa Fe Trail.

Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Technorati Tags: new mexico, santa fe, travel

In The Angeles National Forest

San Bernardino County, California.

Technorati Tags: socal, mt baldy, angeles national forest, california, travel

Sign O'The Day

Cheeky, huh?

George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport.

So my flight out of Milwaukee this morning is 45 minutes late, causing me to miss my connection to Albuquerque. So I get rerouted through Houston, which is where I sit. Now the flight to Albuquerque is delayed an hour, and I have an hour to drive to Santa Fe after that. Sigh.

Technorati Tags: airport, kiah, houston, texas, travel

P.O. Box Mt. Baldy

Situated 2000' above the nearby Cucamonga Valley in the Angeles National Forest lies the sleepy little resort village of Mt. Baldy. If you're asking, "Is that Angeles as in Los Angeles?", you're almost correct. Mt. Baldy is about 35 miles east of Los Angeles and this area is popular for....skiing. Yes, they get enough snow during the winter, 35 miles from L.A., to offer some respectable skiing. Who knew?

Technorati Tags: socal, mt baldy, angeles national forest, california, travel

A Bunch of Crap

I get so angry that I don't know where to start. Just like Dr. Phil, I really try to avoid politics. But something like this comes around and just gets me to seething. You see, the Republican party has officially endorsed the creationist notion of Intelligent Design, and they want it taught as science. And to top that, they declare evolution to be a myth. Imagine that? What nerve. To simply dismiss the work of generations of scientists simply by decree? Next thing you know, a senator from Oklahoma will declare that global warming is fiction.

All you need to know about Intelligent Design is this: it comprises theories which cannot be proven. Anything that cannot be proven through testing by the scientific method is, by definition, not science.

Pause for irony. The early scientists took up their studies as a means to explain how the creator did what he did. Even Einstein was a theist. Now scientists are the enemy.

But if it were only an argument over how science is taught, we can live with the subsequent fight and ultimate defeat of ID. But it's not. It's the continuing and systematic drive toward a theocracy in this country, a country founded by enlighted men who knew the danger of favoring one ideology over another. The evangelicals believe morality was invented by the church and therefore you cannot be moral outside the church. History suggests otherwise.

Pause for irony #2. President Bush held a photo op to explain his veto of a federal stem cell research bill surrounded by children born from frozen embryos. Many of them were conceived through artificial insemination. Back in the 1970's every religious faction fought artificial insemination as immoral and unnatural. And now they are celebrated by a theocratic president.

I used to consider myself a Republican, but they ceased representing my views years ago. Perhaps this ideological nonsense will fracture the party resulting in a republican party more reflective of the views of a majority of its consitituents. Thanks for giving me the chance to vent. I can't allow this country to lose their leadership in science because of our government. Feel free to comment.

Science is not partisan. Science is reality. Evolution is science. Evolution is reality.

Please read the article.
Bad Astronomy Blog > Am I partisan? When I'm forced to be.

Technorati Tags: science, antiscience, bablog, stem cell, theocracy

KCCB

Cable Airport, Upland, California at dusk. Southern California is bristling with small general aviation airports just like this one. Cable Airport was started by an enthusiast who carved it out of the foothills and it's survived (in the same family) for more than 50 years. Sadly, these little airports are beginning to succomb to the pressures of land development, and they are disappearing without being replaced.

Technorati Tags: airport, kccb, cable, california, upland, travel

They'll Have To Sing For Their Supper

The woman who quit her job to fight the RIAA has won her battle.  This certainly won't stop the RIAA from its bully tactics, but now they'll have to earn their ill gotten gains.  From ars technica.


RIAA loses in file sharing case

Technorati Tags: media, RIAA, piracy

What is this?

Hint: Yummy.

Update: The answer is known, so now give me a better caption for this picture. Picture taken in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Technorati Tags: oscar meyer, wienermobile, americana, michigan

Don't Worry, I Still Read Dr. Phil

Ever wonder what it would be like if you were a Martian and plotting the invasion of your nearest neighbor? The Mars rovers provide us with a time lapse showing how our Earth would appear. Very cool.

Bad Astronomy Blog > Earthrise

There's a couple of sites where you can look at the actual positions of all of the man made objects orbiting our rock. This one makes for great conversation, even perhaps an icebreaker at an amateur astronomy mixer. I wouldn't know, I've never been an amateur astronomer.

Bad Astronomy Blog > Where over the world is Hubble?

Technorati Tags: cool stuff, mars, space, science, bad astronomer

Science Blogs

Steve Rubel highlights an article by Nature magazine which names the top 50 science blogs. Check out the article at the following link.
Micro Persuasion: Top Science Blogs Named

Technorati Tags: rubel, science, blogs, media

Crystal Cathedral

Garden Grove, California. Not that I'm much into churches, I am something of a fan of architecture. Modern churches pale in comparison to the classic cathedrals of Europe, many of which have stood for many centuries. Will this example last for centuries? Or is it another example of our mass consumption culture and be replaced in mere decades?

Technorati tags: orange county, california, travel, crystal cathedral, architecture

Shade

The sun on a scorching day in Scottsdale seemed a whole level brighter.

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Motoring

Once upon a time, Wisconsin was far and away the leading producer of boat motors in this country. This exhibit from the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc.

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Quite A Deal

Buy enough of these pizzas, and you can pretty darn well retire.

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The Aforementioned Sunset

For those who listened to my last audio post, this was what I was looking at during the call. It was a most excellent camping trip this week. The weather was as close to perfect as can be. This is the sunset over Kohler-Andrae State Park, near Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on July 4.

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Camping Report

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Metal Mustang

A sculpture of a wild pony in downtown Scottsdale, Arizona.

Technorati Tags: scottsdale, arizona, travel, sightseeing, western, sculpture