Gasoline Has Now Broken The $3.00 $3.10 $3.20 $3.30 Barrier In Knoxville

...and I wonder if anyone can show me or tell me, in layman's terms, why the $.50 increase was justified because of the loss of oil production in the Gulf Coast.

In other words, if oil has topped $70/barrel, how does that equate to $.50/gal at the pump?

Someone please explain it.

GAS AVAILABILITY UPDATE: The Weigels on Topside Rd. ($3.29/gal) will be out of gas by the end of the day, and will not be receiving any more until Sunday.

New Orleans Needs Saints

I donated online. How about you?

(I hope the New Orleans Saints don't mind me editing their logo slightly. Feel free to use on your own site)

This is Your Brain...

This is your brain on horrifying, mind-addling, all-perspective-on-reality-losing grief:

I take responsibility partly for my son’s death, too. I was raised in a country by a public school system that taught us that America was good, that America was just. America has been killing people, like my sister over here says, since we first stepped on this continent, we have been responsible for death and destruction. I passed on that bullshit to my son and my son enlisted. I’m going all over the country telling moms: “This country is not worth dying for. If we’re attacked, we would all go out. We’d all take whatever we had. I’d take my rolling pin and I’d beat the attackers over the head with it. But we were not attacked by Iraq. {applause} We might not even have been attacked by Osama bin Laden if {applause}. 9/11 was their Pearl Harbor to get their neo-con agenda through and, if I would have known that before my son was killed, I would have taken him to Canada. I would never have let him go and try and defend this morally repugnant system we have. The people are good, the system is morally repugnant.

..

We are waging a nuclear war in Iraq right now. That country is contaminated. It will be contaminated for practically eternity now.

..

It’s okay for Israel to occupy Palestine, but it’s – yeah – and it’s okay for Iraq to occupy – I mean, for the United States to occupy Iraq, but it’s not okay for Syria to be in Lebanon. They’re a bunch of fucking hypocrites!

..

And we need to, we just need to rise up. We need a revolution and make it be peaceful and make it be loving and let’s just show them all the love we have for humanity because we want to stop the inhumane slaughter.

Read more of the transcript of her speech from back in April here. Brought to my attention at Rich's site, which has a lot more detailed commentary.

After reading this, I realize how far adrift in grief this poor woman has floated. Her facts are distorted, misguided...wrong. Her emotions direct her words, her grief overwhelms her common sense...I don't know how else to put it.

What's sobering is that I couldn't rule out the fact that if one of my kids were lost this way, I might not end up the exact same way.

Any questions?

Sad But Inevitable Question of the Day..

How long will it take until a wacked-out "Christian" minister or speaker happens to say that New Orleans, being the den of depravity, iniquity and general modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah that it is, deserved to be "washed clean" of its sins and was dealt this tragedy by the vengeful Hand of God?

If it hasn't happened already, I give it till tomorrow. But it'll happen.

Maybe good ole' Fred Phelps and his band of merry men can turn right back around from leaving Nashville and demonstrate in front of the survivors.

UPDATE: And SayUncle found it:

http://www.mattszabo.com/archives/2005/08/south_la_pastor.html

"Tonight, I heard one of the worst things I have heard in a long time: a supposed man of God suggested that the South deserves the death and devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina because it is revenge for centuries of racism."

Hedging Their Bets

I just thought this was amusing, that in the midst of all this destruction...


...we see the severe weather advisories from Weather Underground. But as you see in the circled portion:



they seem to be taking no chances. I suppose if you live in Hawaii or Seattle (or Yellowstone) that might come in handy...

Backtracking at Warp Speed

US evangelist apologizes for Chavez remarks

"Conservative U.S. evangelist Pat Robertson apologized on Wednesday for calling for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, saying he spoke in frustration earlier in the week."

Oh, that's rich...

""We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability," he said on his "The 700 Club" television program."

This wasn't some backroom conversation, Pat, and you weren't debating someone in the heat of the moment - this was on your own show.

"His earlier remarks, said the leader of the world's fifth largest oil exporter was a "terrific danger" to the United States and Chavez intended to become "the launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism.""

These are not the remarks of someone speaking of the cuff - you were speaking with deliberacy and forethought.

"Robertson said that while he was criticized by U.S. political and religious leaders, he found the attention he wanted for what he said was "a growing problem which has largely been ignored.""

There's the money statement right there - "he found the attention he wanted"...

"Earlier in the day he said his remarks had been misinterpreted and "take him out" could refer to kidnapping."

Ho ho ho...Pat! Kidnapping? You're killing me! Ha ha ha - Oh my...

" The Venezuelan foreign ministry said it was not satisfied with U.S. officials' dismissal of Robertson's remarks and wanted the White House to take legal action.

"This public call to assassinate a head of state, considered a crime by all modern legislation, is prosecutable by its very nature. That is what the civilized world is expecting of U.S. authorities," the Venezuelan government said on Wednesday."

However, on the other side of the pond this is almost as amusing. Obviously a dictatorship like in Venezuela would never have heard of free speech, and would assume his statements - as asinine as they were - would be in any way illegal. Every idiot has the God- and state-given right to speak his peace. And it's also amusing in the scary sort of way that Chavez would consider Robertson a "U.S. authority." That probably has Pat pretty proud of himself, right there...

""Mr Robertson has been one of this president's staunchest allies. His statement demands the strongest condemnation by the White House," Venezuela's ambassador to the United States Bernardo Alvarez said."

Well, they actually got that one right. Even broken clocks are right twice a day...

"Chavez was elected in 1998, survived a referendum on his rule last year, and is seen to have a strong chance of winning re-election in 2006."

God Bless Democracy...

This Just In...

Study: Placebos Make People Feel Better

"Patients will feel better if they believe they're taking painkillers — even if their doses contain no medication, according to a University of Michigan study.

The study, examining the placebo effect, shows that the brain releases chemicals that relieve pain in patients who believe they're being treated."

In other news, scientists discover that Bactine helps the hurt stop hurting, Band-Aids make the owie go away and a spoonful of sugar in fact does help the medicine go down. In a most delightful way.

Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow.

Pick One...

From April's: Here's the deal - pick what you'd keep if you had to give one up, pick both, or neither (something like that).

Chickens or Cows - Cows...I like steak 10x better than I like chicken. And chickens look and act funny
Doritos or cheetos or other - Wow. What a choice. I think I'd ultimately have to say Doritos, though I don't eat them as much as Cheetos because they're more expensive.
Kid’s cereal or adult cereal - I don't eat cereal much, but the kids do so I'll say kids. Oh, get rid of them both and bring me a big plate of bacon and hash browns...
Republican, Democrat, third party, apolitical - Independent, the only way to be.
Leno or Letterman - You know...if you go out in the back yard late at night, and listen v-e-e-e-r-y carefully...you can almost hear the people crying: "Dave.....Dave.....D-a-a-a-a-v-e......."
Camping or Hotel - Hotel.
Bus or train - I don't think I've ever ridden a train outside of an amusement park, but it looks fun so I'll say that.
Jerky or gum - Neither.
Dogs or cats - Hm. I like both types of my domesticated friends but I'll say cats
Autumn, Winter, Spring, or Summer - Right now, spring. Ask me in a month and I'll say fall.
Oceans or Mountains - Both. Can't have either, nope nope nope...
Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny - While I can do a great Mickey voice, and my daughter loves him and the whole gang, they really don't have anything on a good "Ain't I a stinker?"
Golf or tennis - *snore*..."wuzzit..what?"
Chimpanzees or Dolphins - Dolphins. Well, I used to like the Dolphins a lot but now I like the Titans and the Colts.
Sailing or gliding - Gliding on what, a rocker? I've never actually been "sailing" although I did ride a catamaran once. And I did sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night...
Squirrels or bunnies - Don't talk to me about squirrels.
Butterflies or flowers - Butterflies kind of creep me out sometimes. It's not that there's anything ugly or wrong about them - they're lovely. Just the way they randomly flap around, and sometimes get in your face...*shudder*. I'll take a nice field of flowers over a field of butterflies, cause if I was hiking and came upon a field full of butterflies I'd start wishing I'd packed the Napalm.
Cheesecake or strawberry pie - Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....cheesecake.
Ice tea or soda - Ice tea, baby. I once picked Coca-Cola as my favorite food, but those days are long gone...
Thumbs or big toes - Thumbs, although I suppose if I had no big toes I couldn't walk. But with no thumbs I couldn't pick things up, and I can always crawl...
Sunsets or Sunrises - They still have sunrises? I never see them. I love a gorgeous ocean sunset...
Volley ball or frisbee - Volleyball. I had the chance to play mud volleyball against a team from Hooters once. Once.
Hip hop or country - Country. Hip hop's not music, it's....chaos theory with good P.R.
Books or music (ouch!) - Argh. Not choosing.
West Coast or East Coast - East Coast, cause that's where all the culture is. But hey! The West Coast has...well, let's see. It has...um, well it had that thing, and that thing - oh! and that other thing. Plus it almost had the USS Iowa but San Francisco got cheeky...
Tiger Woods or Phil Mickleson (sp?) - Eh. I still pick Chi Chi Rodriguez.
Ponies or ice creme - huh? What do these...why are they in the same...oh skip it. keep the ponies, who needs the grief?
TV Remote control or TV volume - Remote Control...because then I can turn up the volume. Silly quiz.
Radio or TV - TV. They still broadcast radio?
Beatle music or Rolling Stone music - Beatles!
Epicureans or Stoics - I pick the Epicureans by 3 with a long field goal by Plotinus in overtime. And Epicurean quarterback Plato will throw 3 TD's to Wide Receiver Aristotle.
McDonalds or Taco Bells - I actually like Taco Bell a little better these days...well, these days being a misnomer since I haven't actually eaten at a Taco Bell in about 3-4 years. But that just shows how I've grown to dislike McDonalds lately.
For TN people> Krystal or Back Yard Burgers - BYB. Because they's owned by my good buddy David. :)

What is a Sin?

As an exercise and sort of a poll, can you list those things you believe are sins?

Feel free to defend if you like, but mainly I'm just interested in seeing a list...

UPDATE: The list thus far:

1) Pride.
2) Envy. (10th Commandment)
3) Gluttony.
4) Lust (7th Commandment)
5) Wrath.
6) Greed (10th Commandment)
7) Sloth.
8) Vandalism (8th Commandment)
9) Theft (8th Commandment)
10) Deceit (9th Commandment)
11) Betrayal
12) Infidelity (7th Commandment)
13) Disregarding others' feelings
14) Killing (6th Commandment)

I've added where I think the Commandments have addressed these, if you think a commandment addresses one I haven't specified, let me know.

I'm also looking for sins that aren't directly tied to a commandment... Keep going, this is great...

Changes In the Air...

I can feel them. And it's not just the loss of summer, slipping noiselessly into fall.

Fall 2005 seems to be shaping up as a season of change for us. Some things are definite, some are planned. Some are big maybes and big hopes, and some are big pies-in-the-sky. But even if only a few of the changes come to pass, life at the Inn of the Last Home will soon be quite different than it was back in the spring.

The definites involve the kids: BrainyBoy v9.5 started baseball practice last night, which tickles me to the depths of my Field of Dreams-lovin' soul. He played little-kid coach-pitch when he was in kindergarten and first grade, then switched to soccer for the last two years. Now, with due encouragement from dad, he's gone back to baseball again - at least in the fall. We'll go back to soccer in the spring and likely alternate as the seasons change. Now, through my own PeteRose-colored glasses, he looks like a bit of a Natural on the field. The right size, the right build - he'll never be a shortstop but he has a fluid catch and a decent arm. Last night he made some great catches in left field that wowed even his coaches (and me), plus he's solidly built so he should be able to make some decent contact at the plate. Besides, just seeing him on a diamond, wearing a baseball cap, sends chills of normalcy down my spine. I love it.

The other definite is for both kids - they auditioned Saturday morning and were accepted into the Oak Ridge kids showchoirs, "Sound Company" (for BB, and "Sound Company, Too!" for tink). Neither has been in these kinds of groups before, but they're both great singers and good performers so it shouldn't be much of a shock. The group(s) will be performing around Oak Ridge and Knoxville in the coming months, so keep an eye out for them.

Yes, big changes. There will be scheduling adjustments that need to be made, which will involve sacrifices and hard work for all of us. But that may just be the beginning.

I'll keep everyone abreast of what's going on in our lives. Some of the other things in the hopper may never come to pass, or maybe they all will - who knows. But either way, I like it. Because change is something that should always happen, lest we get too comfortable. We'll see.

Friday's Feast

Feast Sixty - Friday, August 19, 2005

Appetizer - Do you get excited when the season begins to change? Which season do you most look forward to?

That answer's changed a bit over the years. When I was a kid, I looked forward to summer the most (of course) but as I've gotten older I've gotten to enjoy spring and fall more. Spring especially, since I can't stand winter and it means warmer weather is coming. Fall means crisp air, the smell of fallen leaves and football. Change is nice, at least when you're changing from something good to something else good. Going into winter is horrible.

Soup - What day of the week is usually your busiest?

Tuesday is the busiest work day since I always have a Bible study in the morning at Shoneys with some friends of mine from church, and we have a staff lunch in the afternoon at work. Wednesdays are the busiest overall because we have church stuff all evening. Fridays are typically the lightest days.

Salad - Would you consider yourself to be strict when it comes to grammar and spelling? What's an example of the worst error you've seen?

I am pretty strict when it comes to grammar and spelling - I'm usually quite good at catching my own mistakes. It hacks me off to see the lack of precision and caring that a lot of online writers (term used loosely) who care more for just regurgitating their thoughts without regard for conventional writing rules.

My biggest pet peeve is spelling "lose" as "loose" - as in "He's a looser"...

Main Course - Who has a birthday coming up, and what will you give them as a gift?

Tink's 6th birthday is coming up in about a month, and we're planning some kind of princess or fairy party for her. As to what she's getting....I have no idea. Ask my wife ;)

Dessert - If you could have any new piece of clothing for free, what would you pick?

A complete Darth Vader costume for Halloween, complete with all the blinky lights and everything. Because since I was a kid I thought it would be the coolest thing ever (especially with my height and build) to be Vader for Halloween. So, if anybody has one lying around....

Weep For Me...

Just returned to Blockbuster: "The West Wing" - Season 1

Just rented from Blockbuster: "The West Wing" - Season 2

*sigh*

The End of the Beginning...

• Finished "The West Wing" season one last night - great guns, who will survive??? Guess I'll find out tonight when I return it to Blockbuster and get Season 2...
  
  
• BrainyBoy starts baseball in a couple of weeks. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can do. He played coach-pitch for a couple of years when he first started school, then soccer took over. Now he wants to play baseball again, which is great. The Fall leagues are less competitive, and we found out yesterday his new coach is the father of one of his good friends from school, and we've known their family for years - plus his buddy will be on the team, so he'll have someone he knows right away.
  
  He seems to have some natural ability, so we'll see what happens.
  
  
• Both BrainyBoy and Tink are going to try out for the Oak Ridge Children's Choir this Saturday - one memorized song each. I personally thought they should sing the "Henry VIII" song, but I was voted out...
  

First Day Back

Today was the first day back to school for BrainyBoy v9.5 (4th grade) and Tink (1st grade).

These things are getting more and more routine. It's BB's fifth first day, which is nothing to him now except enjoying seeing his old friends. With Tink, it's her second and she's already a pro.

I don't have really anything particularly poignant about the day, except just to say how amazingly proud and in love with both of them I am. ;)

Gas Horror Stories

As I mentioned before, I drove to Nashville to see the Tennessee Titans play on Friday. Overnight Thursday night, gas had jumped from $2.19/gal to $2.35/gal. I filled up before I left, muttering and cursing all the while for not doing so the night before.

Now, my little Taurus holds about 13 gallons or so, and gets a decent 23mpg on the interstate - when I don't run my AC. But since I was still recovering from the Cold from Hell (®), I was ordered advised by my wife to use it. Normally, I like to roll both front seat windows down and leave the vent on - that's enough to keep me cool, even in the hottest weather. But I did what every American husband did, followed her wishes.

So after driving about Nashville to downtown and to Michael's house, I had to fill up again on Saturday. Now by this time, gas (in Nashville, mind, but it was similar here) was up to $2.45/gal. Another dime, in one day. I made it to Cookeville, which is about 1/3 of the way back, but it was still the second time in two days I'd had to fill up. Thankfully my cold was better and I was able to keep the AC off and roll the windows down.

Finally, I had to fill up again yesterday (Monday) due to driving all over East Tennessee at the lake, helping out my wife, running errands for work, driving the kids to where they needed to go.... so at the highest gas prices on record, I've filled up my tank three times in the past four days. Thank goodness I did find gas for the cheap, cheap, cheap price of $2.39/gal at the Shell station on Asheville Highway.

What's next? I'm down to 3/4 tank since then. Next fill-up, probably Thursday or Friday if I'm lucky.

Here's my big question - where, O where, is my flying car??? We were promised flying cars, and I want my flying car! Not that it would save me any money or gas, necessarily, but after I install my flux capacitor I'm going back in time to 1980 and buy stock in Microsoft. To pay for my next tank of gas...

Make...It....Stop

I am obsessed with "The West Wing".

I have rented the 1st Season of from Blockbuster.

I have watched the first sixteen episodes and half the extras already.

I have six more to go, plus the commentaries and the rest of the extras.

When I close my eyes, I see Janel Maloney. This is a good thing. When I open my eyes, I see Richard Schiff. This is not a good thing.

I hear the theme in my head. I'm contemplating learning to play it on the guitar. When I walk around, I imagine I should be talking to people as I walk.

I worry about things like whether they can actually see the Washington Monument that close up from a window in the Pentagon...

Every so often I feel like I should be going to do the, you know, the "thing". What "thing"? Oh yeah, the "thing". Sorry, I have to go - I have a "thing".

I also am starting to wonder what it would be like to do something that important.

Help me.

Because I still have about four more seasons to completely catch up on.

Cancer is a Jerk

Daniel Champion from Popping Culture has died.

I found his site not long ago from frequent references from The Sheila Variations. He was a minister, an excellent writer, a great humorist, and ultimately a cancer and pneumonia victim. I looked forward to visiting his site daily for his great wit and great courage in the face of surmounting odds. His courage has been and will be an inspiration.

Dan, you will be remembered fondly.

Go Titans

Headed out to watch the Titans and Bucaneers play tonight in Nashville with Big Orange Michael. Still sick, so I took the first half of the day off to rest up (chest cold, head cold, that sort of thing. I'll be ok).

See you guys later.

The Scottish Play

Here's an interesting article which gives some background on why the Shakespearean play Macbeth is cursed, and why He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named cannot be said in a theatre outside actual dialogue.

Ask any actor about "The Scottish Play" and they'll know what you mean...

Ugh

Sick.