Mover Mike

map 1.4 2007/05/31 06:19:42 42.111N 120.257W 3.0 11 km ( 7 mi) SE of Lakeview, OR

map 1.7 2007/05/31 05:53:12 42.111N 120.249W 2.8 12 km ( 7 mi) SE of Lakeview, OR

map 1.4 2007/05/31 03:46:44 45.131N 120.857W 17.6 16 km (10 mi) NNW of Shaniko, OR

map 1.7 2007/05/31 03:38:37 42.114N 120.246W 0.9 12 km ( 7 mi) SE of Lakeview, OR

map 1.8 2007/05/31 01:17:22 45.117N 120.941W 8.1 13 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

map 1.7 2007/05/30 23:45:03 47.673N 120.319W 0.5 8 km ( 5 mi) W of Entiat, WA

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

Update:

For almost three years, arguably longer, conservative Bush supporters have felt like sufferers of battered wife syndrome. You don't like endless gushing spending, the kind that assumes a high and unstoppable affluence will always exist, and the tax receipts will always flow in? Too bad! You don't like expanding governmental authority and power? Too bad. You think the war was wrong or is wrong? Too bad.

But on immigration it has changed from "Too bad" to "You're bad."

Noonan writes,

Bush the younger came forward, presented himself as a conservative, garnered all the frustrated hopes of his party, turned them into victory, and not nine months later was handed a historical trauma that left his country rallied around him, lifting him, and his party bonded to him. He was disciplined and often daring, but in time he sundered the party that rallied to him, and broke his coalition into pieces. He threw away his inheritance. I do not understand such squandering.

Peggy Noonan Bush Rush Limbaugh Mover Mike

Update:

For me, the “canary in the mineshaft” of the Bush administration died at 12:00AM this morning, when the Wall Street Journal posted a piece about the President’s unpopular immigration bill by former Reagan speechwriter and influential Republican Peggy Noonan.

Some of his stories are just human interest stories. Like the time he learned "You do not embarrass the family." Seems this part Oriental kid about 17 years old came to the plate. He was big for his age, six-three, 230 pounds. Maybe he was having a bad day for when he came to the plate, he didn't wave his bat once at three straight down-the-pipe pitches. "Strike one!" "Strike two!" "Strike three, yer out and the sides out!"

As his teammates ran from the dugout to take their positions on the field, this big kid wound up the bat like a windmill. Mick says, "Don't do it." The kid keeps winding and lets it go. Mick says, If that bat LANDS, you're gone!

Well it crashes into the dugout wall. "Yer outa here!", Mick yells.

The kid goes to his dugout done for the day. His mom arrives and asks the manager if she can take him home. "Sure, go ahead." The kid bends over to pick up his gear and the five foot mama grabs his earlobe and marches him out to the car. She shamed him in front of all his peers.

Baseball Little league Mover Mike

Update:

Tropical Storm Barbara, swirling off the southwestern coast of Mexico, could strengthen over the next few days to become the Pacific's first hurricane, forecasters predicted. (See Storm Track)

Update:

Tropical Storm Barbara weakened off the southwestern Pacific coast of Mexico on Thursday and forecasters said the storm was unlikely to become a hurricane.

[...]

Only twice before has the hurricane center had two named May storms, in 1984 and 1956, and forecasters have predicted a busy hurricane season.

Update:

Tropical Storm Barbara lashed coffee- and sugar-growing regions near the Pacific coasts of Guatemala and Mexico with wind and rain on Saturday, toppling palm huts but causing no reported injuries.

Here's a picture of the latest quakes in Lakeview, courtesy of Brad Alexander.

Lakeview Earthquake Mover Mike

Update:

map 1.6 2007/05/30 22:40:26 42.108N 120.259W 3.5 12 km ( 7 mi) SE of Lakeview, OR

map 2.5 2007/05/30 21:57:26 41.934N 120.520W 23.0 32 km (20 mi) SSW of Lakeview, OR

map 2.5 2007/05/30 21:57:26 41.934N 120.520W 23.0 32 km (20 mi) SSW of Lakeview, OR

MAP 3.4 2007/05/30 19:00:57 41.989N 120.549W 29.4 28 km (17 mi) SW of Lakeview, OR

map 2.8 2007/05/30 18:58:09 41.614N 121.079W 3.0 15 km ( 9 mi) NNW of Ambrose, CA

MAP 3.0 2007/05/30 18:56:10 41.993N 120.494W 33.4 25 km (15 mi) SSW of Lakeview, OR

map 2.6 2007/05/30 14:32:51 42.114N 120.247W 3.4 12 km ( 7 mi) SE of Lakeview, OR

Lakeview Earthquake Mover Mike

Update:

One more interesting fact about Lakeview. As the water dries up there has been an increase in small earthquake swarms. Some locals believe that the underground aquifers are all but gone and there are a number of sinkholes beginning to appear in the geology. In effect, the ground is collapsing. The whole area is a natural hot geological area. Hot water from natural the natural volcano lakes region is rising up and drinking and irrigation water is disappearing from wells and streams. Few locals are willing to address the earthquake swarms. They blame the lack of water on Environmentalists who are somehow keeping the water from flowing to their ranches, farms and houses.

Update:

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

In addition, Michael Hall points out that the Humane Society in Bend is filling up again. Last two times that was a precursor to a 3+ quake near Maupin.

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

map 1.7 2007/05/29 00:49:27 45.519N 122.637W 17.0 1 km ( 0 mi) SSE of Portland, OR

This quake is centered one block from the east end of the Lone Fir Cemetery and one block south of Stark.

Oregon Earthquake Mover Mike

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The vicious boot heel on these journalists is part of a sweeping clampdown on all the freedoms Russians won after the Soviet Union collapsed at the dawn of the 1990s. Americans ought to see this slide back to dictatorship as more than just a threat to our country's security, but also as a reminder about the fragility of our own civil liberties.

News media in the United States have their problems, including relentless and increasing government secrecy and unending attacks on First Amendment rights.

[...]

I came away convinced that the Russians' struggle holds lessons for an America that has become dangerously blase about freedom of speech. The same pernicious self-censorship that pervades Russia's national media poses a threat in any democracy where political leaders forge alliances with billionaires hellbent on amassing power and wealth.

There is another threat, and it comes from the left. The Liberal Attack on Freedom of Speech The American left has adopted a totalitarian mindset; they’re actively working to stamp out dissent. Robert Knight writes of the The Liberal Attack on Freedom of Speech. He points out six areas where liberals are trying to stifle free speech:

Targeting churches - monitoring churches for evidence that pastors are engaging in political speech.

Reviving the “Fairness Doctrine” - frustrated with the power of conservative radio, the idea is to force stations to air leftists like Al Franken, if they want to continue airing winners like Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin or Sean Hannity.

Restricting grass-roots lobbying - force officials to keep copious records of their contact with public citizens

Sponsoring a federal “hate crimes” bill - would greatly expand the scope of federal power and lay the foundation for “thought crime” and suppressing speech

Using the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) as a liberal mouthpiece - while shutting out conservative voices.

only ideologically predictable scientists - decertifying any meteorologist who won’t toe the line on human-caused “climate change.

I see both the right and left putting pressure on our right to express opinions. This pressure is one more sign that both sides are statists!

First Amendment Free Speeche Mover Mike

Update:

Fred Dicker of the NY Post writes about serious feuds between the Hillary Clinton NY Camp, that got her elected to the senate, and the Wash D.C. camp that is working the national campaign.

(Dicker's) source said many New York Democrats believe Clinton "isn't doing so well out there, that she may not have what it takes to become president.

"When you're out talking to real Democrats in the field, you hear them say, 'She has no pulse.

Update:

This volcano, seen here from the slopes of Avachinskaya Sopka, lies just a short way north-west of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskii. It is 3456m high. Volcanoes dotted over the landscape of rolling plains, covered in sparse forests, hills and rivers make up the typical Kamchatkan landscape. Many of the volcanoes reach up to and over 4000m and are glaciated. Kamchatka boasts the world's most exciting and rich areas of volcanic activity.

Experts monitoring Russia's massive Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano said Monday it was spewing ash more than four miles into the sky. In addition to the huge ash column, volcanic station head Yuri Demyanchuk said the volcano launched volcanic dust nearly 5.6 miles into the air Sunday

Koriakskaya Sopka Volcano Mover Mike

The wintry blast topped the previous snowfall mark of 5.1 cm for May 24, set in 1911, with communities on the city's northwestern edge among the hardest hit.

"Pretty much unbelievable," says Kerry Schatz. "We`re Memorial Day weekend, and we had four inches of wet, sloppy snow, and this should be like two months ago."

Hat Tip to the Drudge Report.

Nancy Pelosi Global Warming Hoax Mover Mike

map 1.7 2007/05/26 23:53:00 45.117N 120.947W 6.1 12 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

Green Homes Energy Efficient Mover Mike

Ron Paul isn't saying the WTC was brought down deliberately as some have suggested, but our actions around the world caused this tragedy. I am definitely not one of those who blame America first. We as a people are a generous people who have led the world in our defense of freedom and liberty. It is the government that I and Ron Paul are trying to change.

As Richard Maybury pointed out in the Early Warning Report of March, 2007:

Before 9-11, under Clinton, U.S. foreign policy was humbly described by Secretary of State Madeline Albright as, "If we have to use force, it is because we are America. We are the indispensable nation. We stand tall. We see farther into the future."

After 9-11, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage shortened the description of US foreign policy to, "Look, fucker, you do what we want."

Ron Paul WTC Mover Mike

...Mrs. Wilson flatly denied playing a role in choosing her husband, Joseph Wilson, for a fact-finding trip to Niger. "I did not recommend him. I did not suggest him..."

Briefly, it seems that Niger has signed a contract with Iraq to sell them uranium.

[...]

So where do I fit in? As you may recall, [redacted] of CP/[office 2] recently approached my husband to possibly use his contacts in Niger to investigate [a separate Niger matter].

[...]

...my husband has good relations with both the PM and the former minister of mines, not to mention lots of French contacts, both of whom could possibly shed light on this sort of activity. To be frank with you, I was somewhat embarrassed by the agency's sloppy work last go-round, and I am hesitant to suggest anything again. However, [my husband] may be in a position to assist.

The memo seems to show that Mrs. Wilson did indeed suggest her husband for the Niger mission.

The quake appears to be around 35th and McLoughlin and at the surface. It may turn out to be other than geological in origin.

Milwaukie, Oregon Earthquake Mover Mike

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

Ron Paul gives an important speech on the House floor and is the only one running for president that says these things about protecting our liberty. This...should be required viewing in our schools!

http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=104798

Ron Paul Liberty Mover Mike

map 2.1 2007/05/24 20:55:56 45.121N 120.949W 12.0 12 km ( 7 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

If you were to plot all quakes since 4/1/07 on the topo maps, you would see all but three quakes have occurred in four squares, 21 and 22, and 28 and 27, bisected by Deep Creek.

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

Kimberly Gavin in Mills to raise carpet prices writes

Carpet prices appear to be headed higher even though the market is less than robust. The three largest carpet mills have sent letters announcing increases to retailers nationwide.

Mohawk informed its customers that prices would increase 4 to 6 percent

Beaulieu of America will increase carpet prices 6 percent.

"The fact is that worldwide demand is driving costs on propylene, benzene, paraxylene and other raw materials impacting all carpet costs," stated Shaw's president Randy Merritt in the letter. Merritt also said that the company had received notice of increases from all nylon fiber, polyester, propylene and latex suppliers. Rising fuel prices are also impacting transportation.

If investors and consumers ever stop believing the government's numbers and believe their own eyes, we will see interest rates shoot up or worse the government buying bonds to keep rates down.

Carpeting Energy Mover Mike

Ohio State's Greg Oden is projected as the first dominant center to patrol the Pacific Northwest since a red-haired, shower- eschewing hippie out of UCLA directed the Blazers to the 1977 NBA championship.

Oh, lucky day. Oden gets to play for Nate McMillan, one of the league's most impressive young coaches, and in a Western Conference where running is the preferred mode of transportion.

Update:

Democrats said they did not relish the prospect of leaving Washington for a Memorial Day break — the second recess since the financing fight began — and leaving themselves vulnerable to White House attacks that they were again on vacation while the troops were wanting.

the first minimum-wage increase in more than a decade and $17 billion in new money for agriculture subsidies, child health care, veterans and military health care, and Gulf Coast rebuilding.

Democrats War timetable Iraq Bush Mover Mike

Jordin Sparks wins the Americam Idol competition at 17, the youngest winner in its six year history. How does a 17 year old learn to sing like she does, with the poise and interpretive skills needed?

I will be looking forward to her album and to Melinda Doolittle's. Somehow America got the winner right!

Jordin Sparks Americam Idol Mover Mike

map 1.9 2007/05/23 01:03:58 42.368N 119.892W 4.4 43 km (27 mi) ENE of Lakeview, OR

map 2.0 2007/05/22 16:55:21 42.083N 120.248W 4.3 14 km ( 9 mi) SE of Lakeview, OR

Blake Lewis sang She Will Be Loved, You Give Love a Bad Name and This is My Now - I thought Blake peaked on song #1 and didn't equal it on song #2 and song #3 This is My Now was nothing special in his hands.

Jordin Sparks sang Broken Wing, Fighter and This is My Now - Jordin took on a Christina Aguilera song Fighter. I thought she did very well. Then she sang Broken Wing and Randy said she sang it better than the original. Finally, she sang This is My Now and nearly dissolved in tears on the final words of the song. Simon said she mopped the floor with Blake. Randy and Simon said she had won the competition.

Jordin looks like an "American Idol". She's great looking, great smile and can really sing. At 17 she has a big future seemingly ahead of her. Unless the voters pull a fast one, Jordin should be crowned American Idol for 2007 tomorrow night.

American Idol AI Jordin Sparks Blake Lewis Mover Mike

Age was a primary factor for most of the schools in the “very high” risk category. Most of the state’s school buildings were constructed prior to 1960, before statewide seismic building codes were in put in place in the 1970s.

Oregon Earthquake Mover Mike

The Portland Trail Blazers won the NBA draft lottery on Tuesday, earning the right to pick first in next month's draft.

Trail Blazers NBA Mover Mike

Update:

map 1.9 2007/05/21 23:35:45 45.115N 120.926W 17.2 14 km ( 9 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

Yesterday Storm commented on her blog about the photo suggesting she will get some heat for exposing herself. Here's what she says:

Yes , I get called hot , I get called beautiful , sexy ... all that ...and you know what ? I love it . Why ? Because that's ALL I EVER wanted to be . It is all I prayed for when I was a fat , punk rock , lonely lonely young girl in a small town .

[...]

However , when it comes to my album cover ... I took a LOT of lumps to make it happen . I'm sure I'll take more lumps when it comes out ..and all things being equal here : Why not show my lumps ? Not the fergilicious " Humps"... but hard earned, ugly ass lumps . I won't moan and whine about it or drag around a chain of sorrow and difficulty for all to marvel at my ability to overcome ...stare at my feet on stage and act miserable . That's not me either . I have come a long way to get to the point where I am pretty joyful about who and what I am .

I hope Storm's album nears the pleasure I got watching her perform on TV. If so she will have a hit album. I can't wait until June 1st!

Storm Large Portland, Oregon Mover Mike

Think about earthquakes in Oregon, and the Willamette Valley, or maybe the coast come to mind as most under threat. But so far, in 2007, north central Oregon’s Maupin Seismic Zone, just over the hill has been by far the most shakin’ place in the state.

As if to ring in the New Year, on New Years Eve, a magnitude 3.1 quake shook the ground about 10 miles northwest of Shaniko. Since then, two or three quakes each week have rattled the earth around Johnson Ridge, Deep Creek, and Cottonwood Creek, all eight to 12 miles NW of Shaniko, and a bit north of Bakeoven Grade.

[...]

The shaking has been mild—that’s the typical pattern for the Maupin Seismic zone so far. These quakes are shallow, geologically 8 to 12 miles deep. But in 1976, a 4.8 magnitude temblor shook the ground along this zone. This quake was felt over an area of more than 30,000 square miles. Foreshocks preceeded it for about 10 days, according to OSU geophysicist Richard Couch. This is an area to be wary of.

Exactly what drives the Maupin quakes is still a mystery. Measurements of the 1976 quake indicated that motion was compressional, along a deep thrust fault. However, there is no known expression of this deep fault in local surface geology.

We DO know that these quakes are caused by compression from south to north as plate tectonics shoves the Cascades and Coast range north into Washington’s underbelly. Like it or not, plate tectonics is trying hard to transport us all to Seattle.

Let’s hope that it remains a smooth ride.

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

Climate change will be considered a joke in five years time, meteorologist Augie Auer told the annual meeting of Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers in Ashburton this week.

International Business Times writes in Illegal Immigrants Feel Fear, Mistrust

After months of roundups at workplaces and homes, immigrants are now being asked to come forward to authorities, pay $5,000 in fines and return to their homelands to apply for legal residency.

The Senate's proposed legislation would allow illegal immigrants who arrived before Jan. 1, 2007 to remain in the U.S. on probationary status and renew four-year visas. They could eventually get a green card, which could take at least eight years. Heads of households would have to return to their home countries first.

illegal immigrants Mover Mike

Some have tried to say that Ron Paul is aligned with those who believe the destruction of WTC was an inside job using thermite. Ron Paul isn't saying that. IMO, he believes that it's the meddling in the Middle East that has caused their hatred of us. First the British meddled and then the U.S. continued supporting the changes Britain made. For example, it has become a mess combining three factions in Iraq instead of allowing them their independence; three separate countries.

Some would like nothing more than to ban him from debates or drum him from the Republican party. What are they afraid of?

Ron Paul Giuliani Mover Mike

May 18th is a big anniversary date in the Northwest. It's the day Mount St. Helens blew its top 27 years ago.

It's interesting that today there's an article about the volcanoes on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The world's largest volcano is bulging and the swelling could help pinpoint where the Hawaiian volcano will erupt next, researchers say.

[...]

Mauna Loa is a shield volcano, meaning it erupts from rifts in its flanks, rather than out through a crater at the top.

The volcano has two long fractures in its crust that extend down from the summit around the south-west rift zone, from which magma can flow during eruptions. The bulges, which have been swelling since May 2002, are 15 kilometres across and 20 centimetres high.

And while we're blogging about volcanoes, KUOW has an interesting story entitled Inside the Volcano: Slow Brewing Mystery Stew

Mt. Saint Helens Mover Mike Mauna Loa Hawaii Mover Mike

Update:

map 1.3 2007/05/18 02:53:01 45.118N 120.932W 8.0 13 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

map 1.8 2007/05/16 11:37:51 45.109N 120.934W 8.1 14 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

map 1.6 2007/05/16 09:08:28 45.110N 120.938W 14.7 13 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

I have noticed that the quakes seem to center around Deep Creek. Deep Creek may be a fault that runs from ESE to NNW.

Maupin, Oregon Earthquake Mover Mike

Update:

At the heart of the deal is the creation of a "Z-visa" - which would allow illegals to pay a fine of $5,000, plus relevant fees, thereby placing themselves on track toward a green card.

The "Z" holders would eventually have to return to their native country to make a formal application for citizenship in the United States - a process that could take between eight and 12 years - but would be permitted to return while the process proceeds.

The bill also creates a temporary guest-worker program in which applicants could come to the United States to work for a two-year period. The guest-worker visa could be renewed twice, with year-long departures in between.

Come on, face it, we will not deport the illegals. They will not play the Z-visa game. In the end we really need two things: 1) Seal the border! 2)Grant amnesty to those already here.

Update:

American Idol AI Melinda Doolittle Jordin Sparks Blake Lewis Mover Mike

Jordin Sparks sang Wishing On A Star, She Works Hard for the Money and I Who Have Nothing - I really like Jordin. Big smile and a big voice and she's only 17. She has a big future as long as she picks songs like she did tonight. She really sold her last song.

Blake Lewis sang Roxanne, This Love and When I Get You Alone - The most original of the three and I can see him as a record producer. Very hip and sure to be successful.

Melinda Doolittle sang I Believe in You and Me, Nutbush City Limits and I’m a Woman - What a professional and to tackle a Whitney song and do it proud and then an Ike and Tina Turner song! She gave me goose bumps.

It's too bad one is not going to be in the final two. I can't see the final without Melinda and Jordin competing. That would be the best final in AI history. Sorry Blake.

American Idol AI Melinda Doolittle Jordin Sparks Blake Lewis Mover Mike

Update:

“I had a student ask me, "Could the savior you believe in save Osama bin Laden?" Of course, we know the blood of Jesus Christ can save him, and then he must be executed”

“The idea that religion and politics don't mix was invented by the Devil to keep Christians from running their own country”

“The whole (global warming) thing is created to destroy America's free enterprise system and our economic stability”

“Can you imagine the insolence of these protesters? ... They have the audacity to disparage and demean these courageous soldiers who are enduring great physical and emotional trauma because they believed in the effort to bring freedom to Iraq.”

“The media have a widely-held agenda (that doesn't include support of President Bush) and they are not about to tarnish the image of anti-war protesters by showing them for what they actually are, ... With this tyrannical approach to the news, it's really no wonder so many Americans don't take the networks seriously anymore. And it's no wonder that conservative Internet news sites have grown by leaps and bounds.”

Jerry Falwell Mover Mike

Update:

map 1.6 2007/05/13 20:34:14 45.113N 120.928W 13.2 14 km ( 9 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

map 1.0 2007/05/13 16:14:19 42.516N 122.132W 13.0 23 km (14 mi) WSW of Chiloquin, OR

Are we just getting better at detecting or is something going on east of the Cascades?

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

Here's a little neuro-romantic quiz based on Dr. Daniel Amen's book "Sex on the Brain: 12 Lessons to Enhance Your Love Life." (Some questions have more than one right answer.)

Sex on the Brain Dr. Daniel Amen Mover Mike

The U.S. trade deficit widened in March, as higher crude oil prices failed to prevent a jump in American demand for crude oil.

The U.S. deficit in international trade of goods and services rose 10% to $63.89 billion from February's revised $57.89 billion, the Commerce Department said Thursday. (when oh when will the MSM stop comparing March, 2007 with February, 2007 instead of March, 2006?)

Blame the bad news on higher prices for imported oil and higher prices for imported goods. The fall in the USD has not improved the numbers.

Trade Deficit USD crude oil Mover Mike

What do you think? The paradigm for raising money for school construction prior to the Democrats taking over in Oregon was community based. If the school district needed new schools because of new construction and new families moving in, the way to finance construction was via a bond measure. Now if a construction tax is approved by the legislature, builders will pay up to $1 per square foot up front at the permit level. Then that tax will be tacked on to the price of the house and paid for by the home buyer. The tax is expected to raise $60 Million. Is that fair?

Another point to consider, the Portland school district sends $100 million out to other school districts that are less well off. Will the disparity between have and have not school districts increase? The Oregonian carries a chart of projected county growth. Multnomah County is expected to grow over the next 23 years by almost 14% and Washington County is expected to grow almost 57%. Counties east of the mountains won't have that growth, but also won't have a growing demand for schools.

What is the cost of the tax to a home buyer paid off over 30 years and is it cheaper to fund schools this way or on a community basis.

What is the risk to the builder. He pays that money up front, then builds the house. If he misjudges the demand for the house based on the new price, will we see builders going out of business. With prices of houses today pricing some buyers out of the market, this will be an added disincentive to buy.

Does this loosen the incentive for school districts to economize by giving them another revenue source?

Finally, philosophically, I am opposed to taxes that are hidden. Many have said that if we had to sit down each year and pay our various taxes and fees we would be urging our government to budget or prioritize demands better.

What do you think?

Construction Tax School Finance Oregon Mover Mike

Update:

Update:

In the course of their flight through space, gamma rays would be deflected by gravitational fields and would be scattered by dust and cosmic ray particles they encountered, so they would be expected to travel slightly slower than their associated gravity wave burst which would pass through space unimpeded.

There was a GammaRayBurst (GRB) om May 8th

The main emission of gamma rays lasted for about 50 seconds, and had about *20* bright peaks during the first 20 seconds. After that it faded, but emission was seen for about 800 second total, making this one of the longest bursts ever seen. (emphasis added)

Tuesday's GammaRayBurst has characteristics unlike most, and which are more extreme than that burst on the 19th. Today's burst lasted 13+ minutes. And had some very extreme frequency afterglow differences not usually seen with GRB's.

Update:

We know Melinda will be in the finals and now it appears that she will be joined by Jordin. Melinda is technically the much better singer after all she is a professional singer, even if it was as a back up singer. Jordin is 17! However, Jordin brings a freshness to her songs. When Melinda sings we see the craft and know how much preparation it requires to sing like she does. When we see Jordin sing, it seems effortless. I once watched John McEnroe play doubles tennis at the Memorial Coliseum. He was playing up at the net. I was awed by how casual he appeared and how deadly his volleys. He was a master swordsman with his racket. That's Jordin.

Melinda Doolittle sang Love You Inside Out and How Can You Mend A Broken Heart - she really can sing and she really interprets the song. Top two!

Blake Lewis sang You Should be Dancing and This Is Where I Came In - Blake chose one good song and the beat boxing and the moon walks and Devo moves are getting old. Bottom two.

LaKisha Jones sang Stayin’ Alive and Run to Me - I missed the falsetto in the first song, Maybe she chickened out. I don't care for the heavy handed way she sings. Bottom two.

Jordin Sparks sang To Love Somebody and Woman in Love - The first song was the song of the night. The second was short of Streisand, but she's only 17! Top two.

American Idol AI Melinda Doolittle LaKisha Jones Jordin Sparks Blake Lewis Mover Mike

Badonkadonk

is a slang term for a woman's buttocks that are voluptuously large and firm, yet bouncy. Women who possess this feature have a small waist that flares dramatically into round, peach-shaped buttocks with deep cleavage.

"You got a badonkadonk, girl, don't hurt nobody!"

Badonkadonk Subway Mover Mike

Update:

map 2.3 2007/05/08 13:00:29 45.121N 120.936W 14.7 13 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

John Marks in his novel Fangland reinvents Bram Stoker's Dracula. Set in post 9/11 times, the monster Ion Torgu carries all that historical carnage with him and that knowledge is a virus that corrupts The Hour. Modeled after 60 Minutes where Marks worked as a producer, The Hour is infected by a monster drawn to the recent slaughter over which The Hour's offices tower. Fangland is the nickname of the workplace at The Hour.

"People are not nice in Fangland, to say the least," .... "They are crazy. They are ambitious. They shout. They criticize and rebuke. They rise, at best, to a kind of low decency. But as far as I know, none of them are real bloodsuckers."

Marks is a skilled writer and the book was hard to put down.

In similar vein, see The TV Set a film that shows how the "blood" of a TV series can be sucked dry by studio execs.

Full disclosure: I requested the book from the publisher and received the book for free and was not obligated to a "pro" or "con" review.

John Marks Fangland60 MinutesDracula Bram Stoker The TV Set Mover Mike

Sixteen small earthquakes with magnitudes up to 2.7 shook Yellowstone National Park last week.

The quakes began Monday, just before midnight, and continued until Wednesday.

Bob Smith, a University of Utah professor, says the quakes occurred on the southern edge of a volcano caldera at the center of Yellowstone.

The volcano last erupted 70,000 years ago.

Smith says it's likely no one felt any of the quakes.

Update:

Smith says earthquake swarms are common in Yellowstone. As many as 70 swarms of small earthquakes have occurred in the region between 1983 and 2006.

Napoleon's Pyramids by William Dietrich

Ethan Gage, assistant to Ben Franklin and expatriate American in post-revolutionary France, wins an ancient-and possibly cursed-medallion, covered in seemingly indecipherable symbols, may be linked to a Masonic mystery.

The book reads like an "Indiana Jones" adventure and exposes the reader to French history in 1798, Napoleon and the invasion of egypt and tactics.

Almost everything we know about ancient Egypt has been learned since Napoleon's invasion.

The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry
The Alexandria library was reputed to hold all of the knowledge-historical, philosophical, literary, scientific, and religious-of the world and then it was destroyed by fire. Was all the information lost to history or was it rescued and does some piece exist that could shake the foundations of the Jewish, Muslim and Christian world?

The story is based on the book The Bible Came from Arabia, that claims the Jewish homeland is not carved out of Palestine, but existed further south in the land occupied by Mecca. Berry offers up a whirl wind of a tale that in the end asks, "What if it's true?"

Simple Genius by David Baldacci
Here's a tale about an ex-CIA agent, Sean King, his partner, Michelle, fighting for her life over some tragedy when she was six, and an autistic girl genius pitted against two puzzle factories searching for a mathematical concept that could change the world of encryption. Baldacci is always a writer that's good for a weekend in the sun or one in which you shutter yourself away from the cold and rain.

The material acquaints you with quantum computers and the Beale Cipher

The Beale Cipher is one of those oxymoronic phenomena-a famous sectret. It concerns an enormously complicated code, three pages worth of numbers, and an alleged treasure worth tens of millions of dollars that was supposedly hidden by Mr. Thomas Jefferson Beale in the early 1800s.

Napoleon's Pyramids William Dietrich The Alexandria Link Steve Berry Simple Genius David Baldacci The Bible Came from Arabia Beale Cipher Mover Mike

After jumping by 180,000 jobs in March, nonfarm payrolls likely grew at about half that pace in April, economists said. The median forecast of economists surveyed by MarketWatch sees payrolls up by about 98,000, with the unemployment rate bouncing back up to 4.5% from a cyclical low of 4.4%.

If we factor out the Net Birth/Death Adjustment (NBDA), we find a different picture. If you subtract the March NBDA of 128,000, the 180,000 becomes 52,000 and subtracting the April NBDA of 317,000, we see that we actually lost 229,000 jobs. Not the same robust figures the MSM expresses!

nonfarm payrolls employment Net Birth/Death Adjustment Mover Mike

Driving around North and Northeast Portland, I'm seeing gasoline at $3.41. Today on The Oregonian's front page we have the story of the misery caused by high gas prices in For some, gas tank is half empty. In it we get stories of people making choices between food and gasoline or pills and gasoline. And once again we read about the effect of high gasoline prices on contractors and mowers of lawns.

I checked in on the chart of gasoline prices over the last two years and I wasn't surprised to see prices hit their peak in April of last year and stayed high through July before faling 50% to a bottom this past January. If history repeats expect high prices for the next three months, the driving vacation months.

The real point of The Oregonian article, it seems to me, is to generate sympathy for the poor inviting some form of government subsidy. Politicians will see the problems and want to resort to windfall profit taxes, wage and price controls and/or subsidies (robbing Peter to pay Paul). Higher prices should force changes in behavior. In the article

Shawn McLendon earns about $1,300 a month as a YWCA case manager who helps battered women find transitional housing. She drives all over Portland in a gas-guzzling 1977 Cadillac Concours, but she managed to stretch her money enough to cover expenses and a few extras when gas hovered around $2.50 a gallon.

Erik and Peder Elder are contractors who say they would lose credibility if they drove to a jobsite in a fuel conserving pickup, but they don't lose face bumming $6 for gas from a client. Shouldn't higher prices force them to make changes so they can do their jobs in a more efficient manner. Why should we have to subsidize their choices?

If those predicting an oil supply tightening are correct, we will see higher prices for all things involving oil. We as a society need to talk about ways to lessen the effects on our poor and elderly, but not at the expense of allowing the market to work.

Gasoline Mover Mike

he was confident he could account for everything -- under his watch...

Alexander Lebed, a former Russian national security adviser, stated in 1997 that Russia could not account for about 80 portable nuclear weapons, a claim later denied by Moscow.

George Tenet CIA Bush Putin Mover Mike

Update:

Phil Stacey sang Blaze of Glory - Loved his voice, definitely country, just can't get past the bald white head and the black eye brows.

LaKisha Jones sang This Aint a Love Song - Ok, the singing was was pretty good. She's not, however, my idol. I just don't connect with her.

Chris Richardson sang Wanted Dead or Alive - He sang it well, but I found the song slightly boring and so too his act.

Melinda Doolittle sang Have a Nice Day - This woman can sing anything. The consummate professional. Best performance of the night

Blake Lewis sang You Give Love a Bad Name - Very original, but is it a gimmick? If he won, a classification of his act would have to be invented.

Jordin Sparks sang Livin’ on a Prayer - Simon said it was terrible. I disagree. It wasn't the right song for her and it was too low, however I think she can sing the right rock song. BTW, what they did to her last week was so without heart. Letting her think she would be eliminated, is just cruel!

Two go home. My guess, it's a popularity contest. Phil and LaKisha are going home.

American Idol AI Melinda Doolittle Lakisha Jones Chris Richardson Phil Stacey Jordin Sparks Blake Lewis Mover Mike

Update: