Relief Efforts in West, Texas

Apartments next to exploded plant – West, Texas.  These apartments adjacent to the blast were the worst that I saw of the remaining devastation.I had the privilege this Saturday to go with a group of other volunteers from our church to West, Texas to help out with the ongoing relief efforts there.  If you are not familiar with the story, on the evening of April 17, a fire and subsequent massive explosion occurred at a local fertilizer plant that literally leveled adjacent homes and buildings and blew windows and doors and even walls out of homes and businesses blocks away.  Many people’s homes and businesses were totally destroyed and several people, mostly firefighters lost their lives. On this Saturday, we were asked to assist with the operations of a relief center that had been set up to provide donated items to those needing assistance.  This mostly involved the unloading of boxes of supplies and moving them into the main tent along with sorting and stocking clothes, food, disposable diapers, and other donated items onto tables for easy access by those in need.  We also took a brief tour of the more devastated neighborhoods to see for ourselves how bad the situation was.  Seeing this kind of thing on television is just not the same as seeing it up close and in person!  I’m relieved to report that things did not (appear) as bad as I had envisioned going in but seeing so many people completely uprooted from their homes is still very sad and troubling.  The community itself seems to be very resilient and everyone seems to be working very hard to restore normalcy.  I saw many, many volunteers and locals working together to help out as needed and the amount of donated goods was both overflowing and overwhelming!
I obviously did not go to do a photo-shoot, was also too busy working to take many pictures and would have been uncomfortable attempting to do so anyway, even if I had not been busy, but I did take a few of our group (not shown here for privacy reasons) and of some of the abandoned houses from our car just to show what had happened and the severity of the damage. Unfortunately, I missed getting a photo of the relief center itself, but my friend did snap a photo of it with his phone, that (cropped) only shows me (forward), while I was helping move pallets.
	In lighter news, our last stop was at the famous “Czech Stop / Little Czech Bakery” store (familiar to all of us) to pick up kolaches and other refreshments.  The store was almost unscathed by the blast except for a cracked window or too.  A frequent stop for people traveling I-35.  It was packed and doing land-office business!  Please stop by and show your support! I also set out Friday after work to mow my back pasture for the first time this season and, after three times around, a pulley came flying off.  I swear, this crappy 10-year old riding tractor breaks down every other time I use it¡  Getting out the tools again.
Image courtesy “PatsPiks” – Flickr (© unknown)  me:Love this clock! How the [heck] is this photo of the Moon even possible? by Robert T. Gonzalez, IO9, Apr. 30, 2013. Image courtesy (©) Philipp Schmidli.	The Stack of Stuff is overflowing as usual!: ✝ Pentagon: Christians May Face Imprisonment for Sharing Faith by Anthony Gucciardi, Infowars, May 2, 2013. me:It’s heating up out there folks, the Obamanation continues to make desolate… ⚥ Bridal shop refuses to let trans-gender shopper try on gowns by CBC News, May 3, 2013. me:So, “Human Rights Commission”, WHY do we LOSE all our human rights when it comes to OUR businesses and OUR property?! Trans-genders are totally FREE to open up bridal businesses and cater to whomever they wish too – THAT’s the American way, the way of FREEDOM! I believe this actually happened in Canada, but the same “discrimination rules” have infested our once-free society too. • South Carolina exercising the Tenth Amendment by Tea Party Patriots, May 3, 2013. me:Go South Carolina! The article mentions that Obamacare supporters point out that if the individual mandate is countermanded that people will forgo insurance until they get sick and drive up premiums. I am convinced that this will happen ANYWAY, because premiums will be so much higher than the fine no, “tax”!  Forcing insurance companies to insure against pre-existing conditions will make insurance unaffordable. • 49ers rookie Quinton Patton shows up early, impresses his new coach, but has to go back home by Doug Farrar, Yahoo Sports, May 3, 2013. me:Now there’s a future hall of famer – awesome work ethic! • Medical Test Uses Fingers To Predict Heart Disease by CBS Los Angeles (KNX), May 3, 2013. • Image courtesy (© 2013) U. of Conn.The Dogs Of Liberalism by Ben Crystal, Personal Liberty, Apr. 30, 2013.  me:I fail to see how ANYONE can view this logo as sexist, except maybe some of the young skulls full of mush like the complainant who’ve had a steady diet of “womens’ studies”, feminism, and political-correctness bilge blown up their collegiate bloomers for 3-4 years. • Government Seeks to Fine Companies for Not Complying With Wiretap Orders by Kim Zetter, Wired, Apr. 29, 2013. me:(paraphraising Thomas Jefferson):  “I fail to place my finger on that constitutional amendment [enumerated power] that grants the federal government the right to personal communications.”
• Americans ‘snapping’ by the millions by David Kupelian, WND, Apr. 22, 2013. • Boston Friday Is Future America by Bob Livingston, Personal Liberty, Apr. 23, 2013. <<< Image courtesy (© 2012) Caesar Lima.

Spring Rants, and Photos from Lipan

Antique fire truck in downtown Lipan, Texas, by (© 2013) me.WARNING:  this post is gonna be a gripe-fest, but I’ll include some photos that’ll (hopefully) keep you reading.  You can also feel free to cheat – skipping my rant and just look at the photos if you wish! Ok, here goes:  Spring, how I love thee, how I loathe thee!  I so want to like thee, but my body seems to always have other ideas.  First off, we’ve been having a most typical Winter this Spring with temperatures ranging from the 30s to the 50s and gray and dank most of last week.  This, along with the trees all budded out and spewing their annual pollen resulted in a 24 hour long “sinus migraine” last week.  Then, the weather became teasingly beautiful and warm Friday just in time for a nasty cold to come along and invade my nose, throat, and now chest, yay me¡  Saturday, before the aches and pains started in earnest, while just my nose and throat felt like I had snorted acid (not the psychedelic stuff mind you, but rather the stuff you used to handle carefully in chemistry lab), I just decided to take off by myself on a nice drive in the country armed with my trusty camera and a gynormous Big Gulp-ish cup of soda to soothe my throat and take my mind off how bad I felt.  You can see larger images and more photos from this shoot here! Old shopping center in downtown Lipan, Texas, by (© 2013) me.I stopped in Lipan, Texas, and several scenic spots in between and just took pictures.  Then to top it all off, I managed to smack a smallish youthful deer on the highway traveling back home.  I didn’t even manage to kill it cleanly out of it’s misery, but just horribly wounding it enough for the poor thing to hobble itself off the road into the bushes to expire slowly, CRAP¡  It was probably karma telling me that I should’ve stayed in bed, but it was such a rare beautiful Saturday. With no place to even pull over to try to check on it, I cruelly drove on shaken.  I had looked up and seen it standing just a few feet from the roadway ahead looking ominously at me as if to say “I really want to cross this road right now, and you’re always supposed to yield to pedestrians!”  I instantly had a very bad feeling what was about to happen next and slammed on my brakes to slow down (and stop if necessarily) and, sure enough, the worst thing happened – he sprinted toward me and turned right in front of me and committed suicide as we met at what I guess was about 15-20mph (instead of the 60+mph I was traveling when I saw him moments earlier).  The result was that I was not hurt and my front bumper and headlight were only slightly bruised.  Not really noticeable, but would cost me hundreds (with the deductible and higher insurance rate) to fix if I were to file (another) claim this year. Front gate to Sweetwater Ranch, near Dennis, Texas, by (© 2013) me.After getting home, I treated my raw throat to some awesomely good ice cream soft-serve from our local Dairy Queen, which made me feel a little better briefly.  Today, I just generally feel like roadkill myself. While I’m whining, another annoying thing I can’t figure out is why it is that there are no longer any ATM machines or branches for my bank here in my hometown, which is otherwise full of banks.  I bank at the “Too Big To Fail Bank of the Northern Hemisphere”, which has branches just about everywhere I go, EXCEPT here in my town.  This was never a problem when I worked in Fort Worth, but now that I work at home, I can’t get cash unless I venture to Fort Worth or Mineral Wells or Denton (all in the surrounding counties) if I have a sudden need for moneys between getting my “allowance” from my wife (who works in Fort Worth). Colorful storefront in downtown Lipan, Texas, by (© 2013) me.Computer Fraud And Abuse Act 2013: New CFAA Draft Aims To Expand, Not Reform, The “Worst Law In Technology” by Dave Smith, IB Times, Mar. 28 2013. me:So they can make felons out of all of us? GMOs are one solution to an ancient puzzle by Robert T. Gonzalez, IO9, Mar. 25, 2013. me:I haven’t figured out what people have against GMOs. Following Founders’ Wisdom An Unsafe Choice In Modern America by Ben Bullard, Personal Liberty, April 4, 2013. (image courtesy (© 2012) IJReview) What the Internet looked like in 1995 by Brad Plumer, Washington Post, Mar. 29, 2013: Video by (© 1995) PBS, posted by TheCanadianToast via Youtube.

Happy Resurrection Day! (aka Easter)

The artists who made you fall in love with “Magic: The Gathering” are reuniting for a new book… by Ed Grabianowski, IO9, Mar. 20, 2013; image via Gawker Assets. me:It’s very likely that the artists (and most of the human race) do not realize the sad and horrible TRUTH that this image so accurately conveys, and how God, through Jesus Christ (God taking on human form) overcoming death, and the Devil who holds the power of death, through his own voluntary death and resurrection, is the only way that these hellish chains can possibly be broken, one repentant individual at a time!  Satan not only enslaves mankind in the chains of sin and death, but also blinds us to it, but the truth is self-evident in the universality of death, the condition and history of the world, and the historical accuracy of the Bible in presenting it.  Happy Resurrection Day! (aka Easter)  You have been warned!

“Spellbinding Cosmic Beauty: Why Astronomy Images Matter“ by (© 2013) Raphael Rosen, via Yahoo News, Mar. 9, 2003.

“Travel Photography in B&W“ by (© 2013) Monica Denevan, via eMorfes, Mar. 21, 2013.

Flower I forgot to water in the sun-room, (© 2013) me.

University Could be Defunded Over Sex Week by Todd Starnes, Townhall, Mar. 20, 2013. me:There’s still some sanity in government! Best Quote:  “What does it say about the utter depravity of our culture that any university would actually think it a good idea to offer a course in ‘lesbian bondage?’ And what exactly is there about homosexuality that could illicit ‘pride?’” Citizen Tells Gun Control Hearing The Constitution ‘Guaranteed Liberty,’ Not ‘Public Safety’ by Joe Schoffstall, CNSNews, Mar. 21, 2013. The incredible bridge design that could take Portland into the future by Annalee Newitz, IO9, Mar. 19, 2013. me:Cool from an architecture / design standpoint, but sadly, it’s yet another colossal “green” boondoggle.  We just wasted a TON of transportation $$$ here in Dallas on one of these “bridge-top parks”.  Imagine how much congestion we could eliminate and how much more all of us who actually have to drive to work every day would save if we actually spent highway money on FREEWAY lanes and widening standard-design bridges like we did in the 1950s-80s.  Then more of us could actually get home in time to go visit a park before dark!  Of course this is sponsored by the Sierra Club, one of the chief enviro-whacko anti-car, anti-freedom, pro-congestion, pro-Agenda-21 lobbying groups out there! NYT to Obama: Prohibit Pipeline to Choke-Off Oil Supply by Terence P. Jeffrey, CNSNews, Mar. 11, 2013. me:The Enviro-Liberals reveal their true agenda! 25 Useful Basic Commands of APT-GET and APT-CACHE for Package Management by Ravi Saive, Tecmint, Mar. 13, 2013. Building an always available Linux terminal: Shell-In-A-Box on Raspberry Pi  by Remi Bergsma (blog), Mar. 15, 2013.

Misc. Stuffs from Le Staque

“Comet PANSTARRS Rises to the Occasion Mid-March”, image courtesy(©): Nasa.govWe celebrated our “Silver” (twenty-fifth) Anniversary this week with a wonderful dinner at the “Wild Mushroom” in Weatherford!  The food and service were top-notch and well worth the high prices.  I Also kept up the tradition and got twenty-five lovely red roses as well as stumbling into a two-for-one deal on our favorite Russell Stover® chocolates!  Not much else happening around here this week.  Supposed to storm tonight.  S. is in town for Spring Break.  I’m just going to hang out and catch up on indoor (eg. computer) stuff this weekend.  Work has kept me very busy lately and I may also do some more work this weekend.  Haven’t taken any pictures lately either.  Guess I have to “spring forward this weekend too – ugh¡  I’ll also be looking for this comet (“L4 PANSTARRS”) over the next few days, weather permitting!  Click on the image above for more details!

“Persephone and the Bees”, by (© 2013) NCEART.  me:♥ this!!

“One Bourbon One Scotch One Beer“, by George Thorogood & the Destroyers, via Ivan Novikov, Youtube.com.  me:LOL!   Texas proposes one of nation’s “most sweeping” mobile privacy laws;  by Cyrus Farivar, Ars Technica, Mar 7, 2013. me:Once again, Texas stands up as a shining beacon of Liberty in a once-free nation rapidly succumbing to tyranny. I’m so proud to be a Texan!   Officials: 80 Percent Of Recent NYC High School Graduates Cannot Read;  CBS New York, Mar. 7, 2013. me:So WHY do we WASTE 13 years of their lives sending them to the government schools?!  Oh, that’s right, it doesn’t matter if they cans reads or rites, because theis learynd hows to puts a rubba ona cucumba and that gay is OK whiles gettin’ 13 years of free breakfasts, lunches, condoms and morning-afta pills!

“Deep Rooted”, by (© 2013) B-Ess.  – Soooo me these days!     Ink Drawings by (©) Loui Jover, via e-Morphes (blog).

“Femmes Infectees”, by (© 2011-2013) Elextremo.     Martial Law: Tucson City Council Hands Authority Over to Military;  by Kurt Nimmo, Infowars.com, Mar. 4, 2013. “The Council has imposed what for all practical purposes is a declaration of martial law on the residents of Tucson…”   City Council of Montana city illegally enforces UN Agenda 21 on taxpayers by Knox Harrington, Infowars.com, Dec. 8, 2011.   The Myth of Middle-Class Stagnation by Steve Conover, The American, Sep. 16, 2011.   Smart Book®: the most versatile device ever manufactured “It’s a tablet. It’s a keyboard. It’s a MID (Mobile Internet Device). It’s a free VOIP phone. It’s a PC dual screen. It’s a USB keychain. It’s everything!” me:This looks very intriguing, but appears to be vaporware.   The Fed’s Ticking Inflation Bomb by Peter Ferrara, The American Spectator, Sep. 19, 2012.   GAINOR: “Two and a Half Men” only part of Hollywood Filth by Dan Gainor, Washington Times, Dec. 4, 2012.   Chronicle of Liberal Disasters by Ron Ross, Spectator.org, Feb. 25, 2013.

Post-Superbowl (and other) Stuff

Well, another superbowl has come and gone without my Cowboys, yawn.  I find myself watching less and less each year.  I pulled for the Ravens, since I’d prefer the ’49ers to not have more Superbowl wins than the Boyz!  I didn’t even start watching at all until the second quarter because I was busy sorting through photos from the day’s shoot.  I usually mostly just watch the commercials, but didn’t really do that this time either.  There was one commercial that I heard about and decided to watch on-line later which made me a little misty-eyed.  The title was “So God Made a Farmer“, by Dodge starring one of my favorite radio personalities, Paul Harvey!  by Owen Strachan, American Spectator, Feb. 5, 2013.  Read the article!

How to anonymize the programs from your terminal with torify by Linuxaria, Jan, 2013. Top 3 Linux Video Editors by Carla Schroder, Linux.com, Jan. 25, 2013. Ubuntu Spyware: What to do? “Proprietary software is associated with malicious treatment of the user: surveillance code, digital handcuffs (DRM or Digital Restrictions Management) to restrict users, and back doors that can do nasty things under remote control. Programs that do any of these things are malware and should be treated as such. Widely used examples include Windows, the iThings, and the Amazon “Kindle” product for virtual book burning, which do all three;” by Richard Stallman, Free Software Foundation, Dec. 7, 2012. me:Yea, Windows == malware! LOL Compile, Install, Run Linux Apps on Android by Tarandeep Singh, Geeknizer.com, Nov. 30, 2012. Conditions in bash scripting (if statements) by Anthony James, Pinehead.tv, Nov. 25, 2012. Disabling unused daemons to speed up your boot sequence by rechosen, Pinehead.tv, Nov. 13, 2012.

“Goldenrod“, by (c:2013) me. - (Dried up broomweed in a Winter sunset)

Railroad trestle in high contrast using digital IR filter, by (c:2013) me.

Rick Perry: Boy Scouts Should Keep Anti-Gay Policy by Will Weissert, The Huffington Post, 02/02/2013. me:They have enough trouble with sodomite / pedophyle Scout masters lusting after and messing with boys as it is now. Allowing open sodomites to be Scouts (and Scout masters in particular) would be the worst possible thing they could do. Critic calls American Psychiatric Assoc. approval of DSM-V “a sad day for psychiatry” by Gary Schwitzer, Healthnews Review, December, 2012. me:I’m alerting you ahead of time before you or your kids are “diagnosed” with something stupid like this and doped up even more by Big Pharma! Sheeple: Another Look At A Sad Breed by Brandon Smith, Personal Liberty, February 5, 2013. Seminole High School locked down after student brings mercury-filled thermometer to class for chemistry project by WTSP Channel 10 News, Dec 4, 2012. me:Yet more insanity at the Government Schools.

Could this ‘Star Trek’ headband help banish migraines?  me:Third eye video-viewer! by Claire Bates, Mail Online, Feb. 7, 2013.