Author: NewMexiKen

And while I’m reposting

This too is from two years ago today.

1. Shouldn’t it be Jesus comma Christ (that is: Jesus, Christ), rather than Jesus Christ (no punctuation)? Christ is a title right, not technically part of his name?

2. Why is “frigging” acceptable and “f***ing” not? Aren’t words just symbols? So in this case isn’t frigging just a symbol for f***king?

3. There’s a sign I’ve seen a couple of times this week:

SLOW
MY DADDY
AND MOMMY
WORKS HERE

Now, understand I mean no disparagement to highway construction workers. That people drive recklessly through construction zones and endanger workers is an obscenity. And the sign is cute with its attempt to copy a young child’s lettering.

But this particular sign is just wrong. “My Daddy and Mommy Works Here.” Plural noun, singular verb. (Gasp!) Furthermore, do you suppose some kid actually has both his/her dad and mom working on the site? Daddies and mommies might both work there, but “My Daddy and Mommy”? Are we into nepotism in road construction? Doubtful.

Here’s what NewMexiKen suggests:

JESUS, CHRIST
SLOW DOWN
YOU FRIGGING ASSHOLE
PARENTS WORK HERE

Morale builder

NewMexiKen first published this two years ago today.

Those who didn’t care much for Pete Nanos still seethed over the comment he made about some lab employees being “cowboys and butt-heads” during an all-hands meeting of Los Alamos National Laboratory employees last year.

From an article in The Albuquerque Tribune.

Not a good choice of words for a staff meeting, but I’ve got to admit that every place NewMexiKen ever worked had its share of “cowboys and buttheads.”

Life expectancy

NewMexiKen has often wondered about life expectancy and the conventional wisdom that it was so low a century or two or more ago that 30 was old-age, etc.

So I looked at my own paternal line. Here’s the approximate age at death of my father and so forth going back eight generations: 83, 90, 70, 44, 72, 75, 62, 88. The average is 73. For the women of the same line beginning with my mother: 48, 90, 84, 90, 50, 69, 68 (and one unknown). The average is 71.

Now, I realize this sample is so small it’s meaningless. But what I am wondering for the umpteenth time is, what was the life expectancy once you were an adult and had survived childhood diseases?

By the way, I read somewhere just this past week that our parents’ longevity is not a good predictor of life expectancy. While we may inherit genetic tendencies toward certain diseases, etc., from our parents, there are too many variables for genetics to predict how long we might live.

We? What ‘we’ would that be?

HEREFORD [AZ] — Presidential candidate and U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo told supporters gathered at a private ranch here Friday that American culture, as well as the fate of western civilization, is being threatened by illegal immigration.

“This is so much bigger than the cost (of illegal immigration) to our schools, and other issues like that that we know are true,” Tancredo told the crowd of approximately 150 people assembled at a fund-raising barbecue hosted by Glenn Spencer, head of the civilian border watch group American Border Patrol.

“There’s an issue that is so much broader than all that, so much more serious. It is the issue of our culture itself, and whether we will survive.”

Sierra Vista Herald

You know, this guy really needs to be put some place quiet before he hurts himself.

As Constituted

NewMexiKen has finished The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution by David O. Stewart. It’s a readable, rather well-told narrative about the Constitutional Convention.

The classic work on the Constitutional Convention is Catherine Drinker Bowen’s Miracle At Philadelphia. I’ve never read Bowen’s book so can’t suggest the choice between the two.

But here’s another trivia question from the Constitution.

The Preamble begins with the famous “We the People of the United States, in order to [blah, blah, yada yada, and so forth], do ….

“Do” what? What are the two predicates in this famous sentence?

May 6th is the birthday

NewMexiKen is backing off doing the birthdays every day, but I must do them today.

Willie Mays is 76, Bob Seger is 62, Tony Blair is 54 and George Clooney is 46.

Orson Welles was born on May 6 in 1915, as was journalist-historian Theodore H. White (The Making of the President).

Rudolph Valentino was born on May 6 in 1895.

The founder of the Bank of America and hero of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake recovery, Amadeo Peter Giannini was born on May 6 in 1870.

And, as noted a few posts back, Sigmund Freud was born on May 6 in 1856. The Writers Almanac has an interesting brief profile.

Ken, official oldest child of NewMexiKen, celebrates his birthday today at Disneyland. Happy Birthday Ken!

Oh, the humanity

Herb Morrison reporting, 70 years ago today.

Thirty-six were killed — 13 of the 36 passengers, 22 of the 61 crew, and one ground crew member.

The Hindenburg did not explode because it was filled with hydrogen as long thought. The outer skin of the big German aircraft — longer than three 747s — was painted with an iron oxide, powdered aluminum compound to reflect sunlight (to minimize heat build up). The powdered aluminum was highly flammable and was ignited by an electrostatic charge in the imperfectly grounded zeppelin.

How flammable is iron oxide and aluminum? It’s the fuel used to launch the Shuttle.

Research

NewMexiKen has been doing a little reading about time travel and there is good news and bad news.

The good news is that it is possible.

The bad news is that, according to Einstein’s theory of relativity, you will only be able to time travel to visit relatives.

New NewMexiKen Poll

{democracy:13}

Background from the Los Angeles Times:

Paris Hilton, her long blond hair tied back in a ponytail and oversized sunglasses shading her eyes, pulled up to L.A. traffic court near downtown Friday more than 15 minutes late for her probation violation hearing.

It was perhaps a moment when being prompt would have proved more fashionable.

Two hours later, Hilton departed with a 45-day jail sentence and a verbal comeuppance from the judge, who told her the time had come to take responsibility for her own actions. She has until June 5 to report to Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood to serve her time or risk a total of 90 days behind bars.

On the stand, the socialite blamed her handlers for her being caught behind the wheel twice while her driver’s license was suspended for a drunk-driving conviction.

Asked whether she had understood the terms of the drunk-driving plea that she agreed to Jan. 22, Hilton, 26, said: “I just sign what people tell me to sign…. I’m a very busy person.”

At one point, her attorney, Howard L. Weitzman — calling his client someone with “unique issues and needs” who simply made a mistake — tried to shoulder some of the fault Hilton was placing on others.

Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer saw it otherwise.

“She disregarded everything and continued to drive,” Sauer said.

Take me for a ride in your car, car

From Forbes, Ideal Cars For The World’s Ultra-Scenic Drives:

This story is for you. We have prepared a list of 10 of the world’s most scenic roads–routes on which you can stretch out and see what your sports car is capable of.

What’s more, some exhilarating, exotic cars are just now beginning to appear in dealerships (think of Ferrari’s new 599 GTB performance flagship and Bentley’s new Continental convertible), and these hot new rides deserve only the best roads on which to spin.

Ride-Worthy Roads

One place to find them? California. The state’s thoroughfares rank high on the list of auto-industry newsmakers’ favorite roads.

There are photos and the briefest description of the 10 road trips.

I’m thinking, maybe it’s just as well I’m getting old

Prostitot #1: You know what I am totally afraid of? That I’ll say something dumb or mean in school, somebody will hear it then post it on their MySpace, and then, like, everyone will read it and think I’m dumb or something.

Prostitot #2: Oh, that is, like, easy to fix. All you do is put up a lot of pictures of you in, like, a bikini or your underwear or something, and then, like, everyone will be on your side if anybody says they heard you say something dumb or whatever. They’ll totally bash whoever made the nasty post about you saying they are jealous or some shit.

Prostitot #1: Wow, really?

Prostitot #2: Oh, yeah. Remember last semester when I got into that fight with Jaimie and she, like, posted the whole thing?

Prostitot #1: Yeah.

Prostitot #2: Well, the next day I put up that picture of me in the wet shirt. Everyone totally went after Jaimie saying she was just all jealous I had more friends on my page.

Prostitot #1: I am so going home now and putting up pictures of me in my underwear!

–F train

Overheard in New York

NewMexiKen had never seen or heard the word “prostitot” before. What a great, if sad, word.

Cinco de Mayo

The holiday of Cinco De Mayo, The 5th Of May, commemorates the victory of the Mexicans over the French army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862. It is primarily a regional holiday celebrated in the Mexican state capital city of Puebla and throughout the state of Puebla, with some recognition in other parts of the Mexico, and especially in U.S. cities with a significant Mexican population. It is not, as many people think, Mexico’s Independence Day, which is actually September 16.

MexOnline.com

That’s our Pete

At Jack Valenti’s funeral in Washington on Tuesday, I was reminded of the old observation that the powerful always expect to be the center of attention, including “the bride at the wedding, the corpse at the funeral.”

Senator Pete Domenici arrived 20 minutes late, well after the side doors to St. Matthew’s Cathedral had closed, and at the exact moment the cortege reached the top of the steps and paused before proceeding down the center aisle.

Like most senators, Domenici isn’t used to waiting even for the deceased. He turned sideways to gauge whether he could squeeze past the remains of Valenti, a former Hollywood lobbyist. If it weren’t for pallbearers twice his size, he might have. In a church packed with the likes of Steven Spielberg and Michael Douglas, Domenici marched toward the altar, presuming someone would make room for him. Someone did.

Margaret Carlson

Link via New Mexico FBIHOP.

Other than that, an impressive group

Last night Mitt Romney said the will of the people is irrelevant on Iraq and that perjury isn’t a crime. Tommy Thompson said that it’s okay to fire someone because they’re gay. Sam Brownback’s hero is Joe Lieberman. John McCain says the occupation of Iraq is going just dandy. Three of the 10 candidates say evolution is bullshit. Nine out of ten say they’d mow down a thousand people with their SUVs to save one embryo. And Rudy Giuliani claims we have the best health care system in the world, which is true if by “best” you mean 37th place.

Daily Kos: Cheers and Jeers