A random thought . . .

. . . from a casual observer.

Caroline Kennedy wants to take Hillary Clinton's place in the U.S. Senate. I hope she realizes what she's getting into. Mrs. Clinton leaves a pretty big seat to fill. (Come on . . . you know I had to. Really.)

An old photo . . .

. . . of my brother and me

It was taken approximately 3E years ago. The computer wonks and mathematicians among you will understand.

In a past life . . .

. . . I was a pipeline engineer.

I did the design work, price estimating, contract bidding, material procurement and construction management.

The first two pictures are of a 24" pipeline replacement project on the southside of Kansas City, MO. The pictures look pretty wide open, but half of the project was through peoples' back yards.

The next two pictures are of a 24" high-pressure pipeline replacement that was directional drilled under the Missouri River on the north side of Kansas City, MO. The original pipeline was on a bridge, which was to be demolished. The state didn't want to have the pipe hanging from the new bridge, so we went under - through limestone, shale, sand, gravel and mud.

This was my last project with the gas company. Our new COO decided we needed a "profit improvement plan." We all know what that means, don't we?

Both projects were immensely successful, but that didn't stop my "participation" in the "profit improvement plan."

Good work seldom goes unpunished, eh?

Oh well. The company had less than stellar retirement and benefits, and without the "profit improvement plan," I probably would still be there instead of having a great job with the U.S. Navy.

The only problem with projects like this is that there is no evidence of their completion. No "footprints" to show that I passed that way.

Pipeliners are similar to the Mafia. All our successful projects are buried.

Gun Control . . .

. . . is hitting where you aim.

Some time ago, I competed in a combat pistol league. It's like fox hunting, except there are no horses, no hounds, no foxes, no English gentlemen with horns, and all that's hunted is paper targets and steel plates.

OK, so it's not like fox hunting at all, but I had to divert the attention of our European friends who believe that pistols are the tools of the devil - or of crazy Americans who know no better.

Relax, folks.

They have shooting in the olympics.

I haven't done much shooting lately, but I decided to take a trip to the range this afternoon and see if I still had the eye. This target is the result after a bit of practice with an officers' model 1911 Colt semi-automatic pistol with 230 grain hardball rounds.

The drill was:

One magazine, rapid fire, center mass, with the last shot to the heart.

One magazine, rapid fire, head shots, with the last shot to the heart.

I'm not too bad with center mass or the head shots . . . but I apparently have no idea of the location of the heart.

Rants about guns in the US will be read, and probably promptly ignored.

All men are created equal . . .

. . . but some are more equal than others, I guess.

From ABC News:

Bernard Madoff, accused of the largest fraud in U.S. history, will be allowed to remain in his $7 million Park Avenue apartment instead of being sent to jail, under terms of an agreement announced today by federal prosecutors.

This really sucks. The guy steals FIFTY BILLION DOLLARS, and until his trial, the feds let him stay in his luxury digs? If that were your or me, we would be sharing a cell with a drooling, mouthbreathing, knuckledragging roommate named Bubba.

What ARE these people thinking?

Ruminating . . .

. . . on accents.

Lisa posted about Hugh Laurie a few days ago, and it had me thinking about accents. Laurie effects an accent that is rather mid-western. That's the one that most TV talking heads use because it sounds fairly neutral to most people. At least I think so. How about you?

However, there's really no such thing as AN American accent. We probably have at least 20 different identifiable ones. Upper New England, New York/New Jersey, da Bronx, Mid-Atlantic, Chicago/Detroit, upper Minnesota/Michigan to name a few. Then there are the southern accents. The Carolinas are different from Georgia, which is different from Alabama, which is different from Mississippi.

The same is true with British accents. Although I can't identify the various regions, I can recognize many different versions on the Brit TV shows I watch - usually in reruns, as I don't have access to the BBC right now.

Unfortunately, when American TV or movie actors try to effect a British accent, they usually sound like a bad imitation of a Cockney sweep - or a caricature of Prince Phillip. Brit actors taking American parts often effect some horrible southern sheriff.

There are exceptions, of course. Hugh Laurie as Dr. House. Renee Zellweger as Bridget Jones. Michelle Williams in The Bionic Woman. Nicole Kidman in most any movie.

I wonder what our Brit friends consider to be the most neutral British accent. I find some of them very hard to understand. I assume most actors and actresses are trained to minimize their accents somewhat. Richard Burton and Diana Rigg immediately come to mind. Are they typical, or have they moderated somewhat for universal clarity?

As an example, I was an avid Honor Blackman fan in "The Avengers," and later in "Goldfinger." No problems understanding her in those vehicles, but I had great difficulty with this interview.

Nonetheless, she shows a very nice ashi garuma and her trademark tomoe nage . The kesa gatame at the end has the interviewer begging her to "get off." That, I understand. Lisa would understand also . . .

Odds and ends . . .

. . . because that's all I have.

Bettie Page, 50's pinup girl, died in Los Angeles on 11 DEC 08 at age 85. Of course, with my staid Presbyterian upbringing and my tender age in the 50's, I never saw any of her photos. <--->

When are folks going to learn that "clever" viedos/photos shown on Facebook or YouTube will eventually come back and bite them on the arse? These are two of the three mental giants who decided to take a dip in the sink at Kentucky Fried Chicken, where they worked. The potential Harvard graduate bimbo with the Facebook account not only posted the photos, but her name and the location of the restaurant.

In discussing the Blagojevich controversy, one of BHO's less observant advisers stated that he respected Barry because of his ability to recognize people who might be future trouble-causers and distance himself from them.

Dude . . . Wright, Flagler, Ayers, Rezko . . . Perhaps you might want to rephrase that. Seriously.