So what's Bob Barr up to?

The former presidential candidate has not faded into that good night, he's still out there sharing what he thinks on a variety of topics on his personal website, www.bobbarr.org. Like this recent recommended piece on Guantanamo, Torture, and Tribunals. Part of the thoughts he shared:

Barr, long a critic of steps taken by the former administration of George W. Bush to undermine civil liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights by, among other things, conducting electronic surveillance of U.S. citizens in their own country without court order and without any evidence of wrongdoing, said he "hopes these steps taken by the new president will be followed by further actions reestablishing the rule of law and respect for our Constitution that has been dramatically and unnecessarily eroded over the past seven years of the preceding administration." For example, Barr said, "I hope President Obama will seek legislation curtailing the dramatic expansion of federal wiretapping power signed into law last July when former President Bush signed legislation expanding the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that now makes every international phone call or e-mail by or to any person in the United States subject to warrantless surveillance."

Barr also noted that arguments by supporters of these controversial powers that closing the prison at Guantanamo will increase dangers to America are unfounded, insofar as "any detainees against whom the government has evidence of terrorist acts, can try them or detain them in maximum security prisons, in military brigs, or in US military facilities overseas if necessary." Moreover, Barr said, "the government has more than sufficient intelligence, military and law enforcement tools that are consistent with constitutional guarantees in the Bill of Rights, to provide robust and essential security for our country."

So then I wondered, could you build a car from online

Just about anything can be found online these days, so I wondered when I saw a place that sells Ferrari parts if you could actually buy parts online to make your own car. I discovered you could, that there are quite a few websites out there that sell a variety of kits where you can pick from selected parts to the materials needed to make your own car. It's not just the roadways that you can do this with, people can actually buy kits to make ultralight flying machines and boats.

It's really pretty amazing when you think about it, that anything from how to build an igloo to how to build a car can be done right from your computer...

Thinking about rubber stamping...

Sometimes when I see an ad or a webpage on something, it makes me start wondering. This happened earlier related to seeing a site that can make a custom rubber stamp. I started thinking about the term itself to figure out where it came from. It seems that historically it came from the practice of subordinate employees or officials being deputized and given the authority to sign the name of their superior or employer. I used to do this when I was an administrative assistant, but I would sign my initials so that it was known I had signed it on his behalf.

Then in some cases a literal rubber stamp of the signature was created, this also happens frequently with elected officials, they don't sit there and sign the many documents and letters, they or someone in their office "rubber stamps" it. There's a deeper meaning of the term "rubber stamping" though where it's meant to suggest an endorsement took place without careful thought.

Then in comparison...

When you look at what a short time it took our nation to develop technology as pointed out in the below post, one can't help but wonder why with the huge advancements we have in computers and other science why haven't we been able to solve more of our problems. Why have we not been able to come up with viable alternative energy solutions, or cures for diseases or even figure out how to fight fat. Granted there are a huge variety of products out there like Leptovox that are "fat burners" but when you look at what we accomplished so quickly years ago, at times I wonder why we have not been able to accomplish more...

Looking back at energy...

A really interesting website is the Department of Energy's timeline it begins in 1939 and goes all the way to 2004. I have no idea why it stopped at 2004, but it is a very interesting read to go back from then to now. You'll discover things like how quickly the United States developed and used technology when it comes to war:

January 19, 1942
President Roosevelt approves production of the atomic bomb following receipt of a National Academy of Sciences report determining that a bomb is feasible.

June 17, 1942
President Roosevelt instructs the Army to take responsibility for construction of atomic weapons complex. The Army delegates the task to the Corps of Engineers, which establishes the Manhattan Engineer District.

September 19, 1942
Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves, head of the Manhattan Engineer District, selects Oak Ridge, Tennessee, site for facilities to produce nuclear materials. Isotope separation of uranium235 takes place in the gaseous diffusion plant built in the K-25 area of the site, in the electromagnetic plant in the Y-12 area, and in the liquid thermal diffusion plant. A pilot pile (reactor) and plutonium separation facility are built and operated at the X-10 area.

November 25, 1942
Groves selects Los Alamos, New Mexico, as site for separate scientific laboratory to design an atomic bomb.

December 2, 1942
Metallurgical Laboratory scientists led by Enrico Fermi achieve the first self-sustained nuclear chain reaction in pile constructed under the west grandstand at Stagg field in Chicago.

January 16, 1943
Groves selects Hanford, Washington, as site for full-scale plutonium production and separation facilities. Three reactors--B, D, and F--are built.

April 12, 1945
President Roosevelt dies. Harry S. Truman becomes President.

May 7, 1945
Germany surrenders.

July 16, 1945
Trinity device being readied Los Alamos scientists successfully test a plutonium implosion bomb in the Trinity shot at Alamogordo, New Mexico.

August 6, 1945
The gun model uranium bomb, called Little Boy, is dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

August 9, 1945
The implosion model plutonium bomb, called Fat Man, is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Five days later, Japan surrenders.

It definitely sounds Latin...

I knew first it was some type of a medical term when I came across the word, Plantar Fasciitis, and I assumed it had something to do with feet, given the Latin word planta, 'sole of the foot' but what I didn't know is this particular condition has been called "flip-flop disease." No, not because of anything related to politics but because it happens frequently to people who were open backed shoes with no supports, or in other words, flip-flops.

So see? Another reason to leave summer shoe wear to the summer, yes, this would also apply to several of my bunch that wear their flip-flops even in the winter. You know they even have socks designed for people with flip-flop fetishes...

Freedom to be flealess...

That may sound funny, but when you have pets and some of them are pets that go outdoors, such as dogs, even if you keep your cats as totally indoor pets fleas happen. Even with some of the expensive medications designed to prevent them. That's why when we moved into this home, since we opted to not have carpet. In a few rooms of the house like our bedroom, we use area rugs but the majority of our home is the refinished wood flooring that it originally was built with.

While it does seem to take more work when it comes to mopping, it really isn't when you consider there is no need to vacuum and it makes a huge difference when it comes to keeping the flea population down.

Fantasty versus reality...

One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation. – Thomas B. Reed (1886)

It shouldn't surprise anyone that something said that long ago is still true today, what is surprising at times is that the number of people who believe that legislating something can really get rid of evil has grown.

Many believe that by making things a law, it will automatically create common sense or protect people from facing harm. Take one small example, motorcycle helmet laws. Anyone who rides a motorcycle should be aware of the fact that they are not protected by any type of metal frame or airbags or any of the other safety requirements laws have created for cars to have. It also doesn't take a great deal of common sense to figure out that if something happens as far as an accident and you don't wear protective clothing and/or a helmet, you will face the possibility of more injury than with a helmet/protective clothing.

The rider makes a choice, though in many states, that rider is now required by law to wear a helmet. Which means the rider still does have a choice, but now the choice is to violate the law or not...

There are lots of other examples that could be used, but the bottom line is we can't legislate common sense, and we can't legislate morality...