Author: NewMexiKen

Buy ocean-front property now before prices escalate

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Ethiopian, American and European researchers have observed a fissure in a desert in the remote northeast that could be the “birth of a new ocean basin,” scientists said Friday.

Researchers from Britain, France, Italy and the U.S. have been observing the 37-mile long fissure since it split open in September in the Afar desert and estimate it will take a million years to fully form into an ocean, said Dereje Ayalew, who leads the team of 18 scientists studying the phenomenon.

The fissure, now 13 feet wide, formed in just three weeks after a Sept. 14 earthquake in a barren region called Boina, some 621 miles north east of the capital, Addis Ababa, said Dereje.

AP via Yahoo! News

Vroom, vroom

Dan Neil takes the new Bugatti Veyron for a spin.

About nine seconds ago, I was dawdling at 100 mph. Then I squeezed the throttle. The seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox clicked twice, the engine took a huge lung-busting toke of atmosphere through its twin roof snorkels — and then things got interesting. Something slammed me from behind and I realize it was the seat. Captain, it appears we have fallen nose-first into a wormhole.

Two-hundred mph. And I’m not even in top gear.

Top speed: 253 mph. But it has a safety feature. At that speed it will run out of gas in 12 minutes.

MSRP: $1.25 million. (“The down payment is $413,000, enough to buy six Chevrolet Corvette Z06s.”)

Lobos advance

Maryland has defeated SMU 4-1 and New Mexico has beaten Clemson 2-1 in the NCAA Men’s Division I soccer semi-finals.

The Terrapins and Lobos play for the championship Sunday at noon MST (ESPN2).

Best line of the day, so far

“Yesterday evening, a Southwest Airlines plane tried to land in bad weather at Midway Airport, but failed. It skidded past the runway, through a fence and into traffic on an adjacent road killing a six year old boy. In due time, it is almost certain that the boy’s family will bring a wrongful death suit against the airline.

“The success of that lawsuit will depend to a very great extent on whether a legal doctrine called res ipsa loquitur applies. More or less, what ‘res ipsa loquitur’ means, is that the people who caused the harm won’t be able to argue the ‘shit happens’ defense.”

Wash Park Prophet, who goes on at some length.

El español en la escuela traduce a la suspensión

From a report in The Washington Post:

Most of the time, 16-year-old Zach Rubio converses in clear, unaccented American teen-speak, a form of English in which the three most common words are “like,” “whatever” and “totally.” But Zach is also fluent in his dad’s native language, Spanish — and that’s what got him suspended from school.

“It was, like, totally not in the classroom,” the high school junior said, recalling the infraction. “We were in the, like, hall or whatever, on restroom break. This kid I know, he’s like, ‘Me prestas un dolar?’ [‘Will you lend me a dollar?’] Well, he asked in Spanish; it just seemed natural to answer that way. So I’m like, ‘No problema.'”

But that conversation turned out to be a big problem for the staff at the Endeavor Alternative School, a small public high school in an ethnically mixed blue-collar neighborhood. A teacher who overheard the two boys sent Zach to the office, where Principal Jennifer Watts ordered him to call his father and leave the school.

Watts, whom students describe as a disciplinarian, said she can’t discuss the case. But in a written “discipline referral” explaining her decision to suspend Zach for 1 1/2 days, she noted: “This is not the first time we have [asked] Zach and others to not speak Spanish at school.”

Es un problema grande. The school district has rescinded the suspension. The parents have hired an attorney.

What kind of small-mindedness causes people to think that being bi-lingual isn’t a good thing? Don’t they teach languages in school anymore? When I learned languages (NewMexiKen has studied four other than English), it was always considered a good thing to practice. Children in many other countries routinely learn a second language (or more). Here we punish it.

Pistachios Pummel Cholesterol

Pistachios and sunflower seeds may be some of the best snacks for people watching their cholesterol levels.

A new study shows pistachios and sunflower seeds contain the most cholesterol-lowering phytosterols of commonly eaten nuts and seeds.

Source: WebMD

And it’s fun to spit out the shells, too.

Cattle buyer jokes

Two cattle buyers from Oklahoma were on a trip to Central Texas to look at a set of cows when they were pulled over by a State Trooper. The trooper walked up and tapped on the driver-side window with his nightstick. The cattle buyer rolled down the window and WHACK, the trooper smacked him in the head with his nightstick.

“What the hell was that for?” the cattle buyer asked.

“You’re in Texas, ” the trooper answered. “When we pull you over in Texas, you better have your license ready by the time we get to your car.”

The trooper ran a check on the license and the cattle buyer was clean, so he gave him his license back. The trooper then walked around to the passenger side and tapped on the window and the other cattle buyer rolled down the window and “WHACK”, the trooper smacked him on the head with the nightstick.

“What’d you do that for?” the cattle buyer demanded.

“Making your wish come true,” replied the trooper.

“Making WHAT wish come true?” the cattle buyer asked.

“I know you cattle buyer types,” The trooper said. “A hundred feet down the road, you would’ve turned to your buddy and said… “I wish that SOB would’ve tried that on me!”

From Joel Achenbach. He has a couple more.

Jay talking

Remember when you used to tie the tree to the top of your car and drive home? Now our SUVs are so big, the trees fit inside. The new Cadillac Escalade actually has a Christmas tree holder on the dash.

According to a new report, not all immigrants from Mexico move here for work. Well duh. If they were looking for American jobs…they would be sneaking into India.

— Jay Leno

Cherokee In Violation Of Indian Removal Act Of 1830

DAHLONEGA, GA—Authorities issued a warrant for the arrest and forced relocation of local carpenter and half-blooded Cherokee Indian Jonathan Silvers Monday, when he was found to be in violation of the federal Indian Removal Act of 1830.

“Mr. Silvers is in violation of federal law,” said Col. Jack Kippler, who is leading the Bureau of Indian Affairs case against Silvers. “For this reason, he was taken into custody, and he is currently awaiting forcible resettlement on a Cherokee reservation in Oklahoma by the U.S. Army.”
…

The BIA is currently fielding applications from families who would like to live on Silvers’ former land. According to Kippler, the Silvers’ two-story, 1,600-square-foot house, valued at $145,000, would make an excellent home for a white family.

From, where else, The Onion – America’s Finest News Source. There’s more.

The System Worked

Digby makes an excellent point in the aftermath of the Miami Airport shooting Wednesday:

The marshalls were obviously persuaded that it was quite possible that this man had a bomb in his carry on bag. And apparently, the marshalls went through the plane after the fact, looking for accomplices, pointing guns at the passengers and knocking cell phones out of their hands ostensibly because they thought they might contain guns.

Now I know that the marshalls are taught to shoot first and ask questions later and all that, so no lectures please. But I still find it amazing that after all this time, they automatically assume that a group of people could get a bomb and “cell phone guns” through the gate security in a US airport. Goes to show you how useful all that boarding gate crap really is, doesn’t it?

It’s the birthday

… of David Carradine. Kwai Chang Caine is 69.

… of James MacArthur. Danno can book 68 years worth.

… of Jerry Butler. His precious love is 66.

… of Kim Basinger. Might take her more than 9½ weeks now that she’s 52.

… of Teri Hatcher. She’s desperate at 41.

… of Sinead O’Connor. Nothing compares to her at 39.

Sammy Davis Jr. was born 80 years ago today.

The Mother of All Vettes on the Mother Road

I had driven a 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 more than 2,000 miles from Chicago searching for bits of Historic Route 66. In California’s Mojave Desert there was a long, lonely stretch of the old road that just might let me flirt with the 6’s top speed of 198 mph.

I hadn’t passed anyone in miles and I could see the road ahead was empty to the horizon.

I dropped the six-speed gearbox from 6th to 4th and floored it. Like a cathedral pipe organ playing Bach’s “Toccata” with all the stops out, the 7.0-liter, 505-hp LS7 V8 began to thunder and howl toward its 7,000-rpm redline.

The dual-stage mufflers opened to release back pressure and a soul-stirring roar that echoed off the mountains. The head-up digital speedometer and tach display changed numbers faster than a premium gas pump totals dollars.

105, 118…think, look, stay on it. 139 — the front end is feeling light over the rough pavement. Stare at the horizon ’til your eyes harden — and keep your foot planted. 145…flick your eyes for an instant to check the HUD.

154 mph.

Things are beginning to blur…there’s a slight rise looming….

Not today, folks. The cross-drilled front and rear disc brakes hauled the most powerful Corvette ever from 156 to 90 in two heartbeats. Sanity (and the wife-in-my-head) nags.

Bill Baker for Inside Line

NewMexiKen’s personal best is 113, but that was in a Honda.

Imagine

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
Nowhere below us
Above only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today…

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

John Lennon

Windows Live Local

Microsoft has updated Virtual Earth and now calls it Windows Live Local. It’s just one more online mapping site until you look at the Bird’s Eye Images. Wow! I can count the skylights here at Casa NewMexiKen.

Here’s an example — Albuquerque’s Sandia Casino (with hotel that has just now opened shown still under construction). You can zoom in.

The software is beta and seems more difficult to navigate than some, but the Bird’s Eye Images (taken from aircraft, not satellite) are amazing.

The places with these images is limited. The site lists these metropolitan areas so far:

New York City, NY
San Francisco, CA
Boston, MA
Los Angeles, CA
Washington, DC
Seattle, WA
Philadelphia, PA
Las Vegas, NV
Atlanta, GA
Albuquerque, NM
Indianapolis, IN
Lexington, KY

Update: When viewing the aerial photos, be sure to click on the direction arrows on the compass to see the same object from every direction. Awesome!

Land of Superlatives

2006 Wonders Stamps

Forty natural and man-made wonders of the United States are depicted on this stamp pane. These remarkable places, plants, animals, and structures were selected from every region of the country.

On the front of each stamp, in large letters, are words that describe the superlative nature of a particular place or thing. Smaller type gives the name or location of the featured wonder. Text on the back of each stamp provides relevant statistics and other interesting information.

Stamps will be released next May (2006). Click image to enlarge.

Thanks to Lee, official middle brother of NewMexiKen, for the pointer.

El Morro National Monument (New Mexico)

was proclaimed such on this date in 1906.

Rising 200 feet above the valley floor, this massive sandstone bluff was a welcome landmark for weary travelers. A reliable waterhole hidden at its base made El Morro (or Inscription Rock) a popular campsite. Beginning in the late 1500s Spanish, and later, Americans passed by El Morro. While they rested in its shade and drank from the pool, many carved their signatures, dates, and messages. Before the Spanish, petroglyphs were inscribed by Ancestral Puebloans living on top of the bluff over 700 years ago. Today, El Morro National Monument protects over 2,000 inscriptions and petroglyphs, as well as Ancestral Puebloan ruins.

Source: El Morro National Monument

Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)

… was first proclaimed a national monument on this date in 1906.

Petrified Forest

Petrified Forest National Park is a surprising land of scenic wonders and fascinating science. The park features one of the world’s largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood, the multi-hued badlands of the Chinle Formation known as the Painted Desert, historic structures, archeological sites, and displays of 225 million year old fossils.
…

The park is 93,533 acres, with a recently expanded boundary increasing the acreage to 218,533 acres.

Source: Petrified Forest National Park

The national monument became a national park in 1962.

Jeanette Rankin

… cast the sole vote in Congress against the U.S. declaration of war on Japan on this date in 1941. In 1917, she also voted against entry into World War I.

When elected in 1916, Rankin was the first woman member of the U.S. House of Representatives. She was not re-elected in 1918, after voting against entry in the First World War, but was returned to Congress for one term in 1940.

Jeanette Rankin was a social worker and a lobbyist for peace and women’s rights. She died just before her 93rd birthday in 1973. She is one of the two Montanans honored in The National Statuary Hall Collection of the U.S. Capitol.

I Saw the Best of America Last Night

Another superb piece, fitting for the season from Functional Ambivalent. Tom attends his son’s high school music program and is almost moved to tears. You should read it all, but here’s some of it.

There are people who rave against multiculturalism, but in my kid’s school multiculturalism isn’t a theory, it’s a fact. The names in the program read like a U.N. phone book. Well, maybe the book for the phones in the hillbilly wing of the U.N. Caleb, Ali, Phoenix, Kamisha, Abukar, Emilio, Kyaw, Roniesha and even a Mary took the stage together. It wasn’t threatening; it was joyful. These were American kids in an American high school singing, and in the audience were parents beaming with pride. And, it’s true, occaisionally smiling at the miscues.

I don’t get the complaining. I don’t get why some people think we ought to fix American culture at what it was fifty years ago and never let it move. I don’t get why inviting a bit of other cultures into ours is something worthy of debate, because those bits of other cultures are becoming ours whether we like it or not. No culture has ever frozen in time, and our[s] can’t either. I don’t get why that causes anger and fear.

Me either.