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Oakland Raiders Manager of The General Partner Al Davis recently announced that 10 percent of the organization was for sale. That news started a small set of media speculation web posts on the value of the organization based on Forbes annual blast about NFL team values. From Forbes, the Oakland Raiders are worth $797 million, which would put the 10 percent chunk at $79.7 million.

But the Forbes estimate is wrong. Way wrong.

It's wrong because the number's based on 2008 information, yet presented in this year: 2009. Moreover, media discussion on the Raiders value mentions the credit crunch, and the national economy, but fails to include the local employment situation.

People need income to buy tickets and that money comes from jobs. In September 2008, California's unemployment was just 7.7 percent, and we thought that was terrible at the time. Now the rate is at 9.6 percent as of October, and in Oakland it's over 17 percent.

So let's do some quick figuring. If jobs are needed to buy Raiders tickets, then its reasonable to say that Raider ticket purchases are attached to the unemployment rate. It's fair to use the statewide unemployment data because the Raiders are a statewide draw - sports is Oakland's true export industry.

So we take 7.7 in 2008 and subtract it from 9.6 in 2009. That's 1.9, which when divided by 7.7 (the previous year's rate) gives us 24.67 percent. Or, the magnitude of the total increase of unemployed Californians over the previous year is 24.6 percent.

So we have to subtract that from the Oakland Raiders total value since it was based on 2008 information. That leaves us with $797 million minus $196.67 million, or $600.33 million.

So the Oakland Raiders 10 percent stake is valued at $60.33 million. Or, $60 million.

It is worth it? Well. Let's just say this: I would not buy it for more than $35 million if I could and here's why.

While my estimate's based on an adjustment to reflect current state economic conditions, it does not include what may happen in 2010.

The UCLA Anderson school projects that state unemployment will rise to 11 percent by mid-2010. So if you bought the Raiders 10 percent stake at $60 million, you'd have taken about a $20 million bath in less than one year. Since there's no guarantee things will get better by 2011 absent a massive second economic stimulus, why even spend $40 million for the team? 

New stadium for the Raiders? Okay... With what money and who's political will? I don't care what Oakland City Councilman and Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Authority Chairman Ignacio De La Fuente says, justifying building a new baseball or football stadium in this economic climate is pure folly, and this comes from a person who's a big advocate of stadiums as economic development.

This is one time I'd agree with California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who I know would make the same statement. In the past, I'd argue with him; not today.

I'm an idealistic realist. We're in bad times and it's going to take massive levels government spending to right this national economic ship. Preesident Obama should have pushed for $2.4 trillion, not $787 billion.

And justifying stimulus spending on a football stadium alone, as opposed to part of a larger complex, is a losing political fight because for the first time such costs compete with money for basic services. I've never seen an economic climate like this before.

Folks, we're experiencing the result of 30 years of job loss to foreign economies that I estimate has cost us $976 billion in revenue wealth, over $400 billion during the last eight years alone. I don't know if the collective American population is too slow to catch on, but all of this talk of too much government spending is the mouthing of idiots.

Sorry to be so honest and to a degree sharp, but I'm trying to convey in an effective way just how much trouble we're in. We've lived off a credit system that absorbed our nations economy from these Worldwide economic structural changes until the overall increase in weight of consumer debt over the past five years was just too great for the system to bear. The result is where we are and are going to be for a few years.

So spending even $60 million for 10 percent of the Oakland Raiders is just not a good idea. Yes, by advocating one purchase it for $35 million I'm stating the organization's value will fall to just about $400 million by 2011.

And if you're saying I'm just a blogger, I will tell you this is the same report I'd write to the Mayor of Oakland if I was his economic adviser, which I was from 1995 to 1999 and all the additional institutional models and data I use only point to the same conclusion. So slam my blog post you may, but let's talk in 2011 and see where we are. I'd look forward to that conversation.

Monday Morning ClimateGate Update.......
Things be happening with this story. Some places.

I was listening to BBC radio on the way home from work last night and you'd never know there was any questions being raised about the sanctity of Global Warming. The 2 dunderhead reporters went on and on about Green This and Green that with never a word about how there may be a flaw in their religion. Some sort of Green Week thing going on at the BBC or some shit.

Anyway, back in the real world.....

From the Telegraph comes this- Climategate: University of East Anglia U-turn in climate change row
"Leading British scientists at the University of East Anglia, who were accused of manipulating climate change data - dubbed Climategate - have agreed to publish their figures in full."
Except of course all the data that was Just, "Lost" somehow last Summer.

My Bad! We now know where the data went- Scientists at Climatic Research Unit Say “Unequivocal Evidence” Confirms Earth is Threatened by Giant Homework-Eating Dogs Even has a Picture! Go check it out. Good stuff.

And don't forget the daily dose of ClimateGate news at Watts Up With That

And check out SondraK for some funny pictures and this music video-


Off to do some chores.

Edit to add this hilarious bit from Jim Treacher "A friendly chat with the global warming evangelist who lives in my head"
This is a must stop for laughs on this.

Gratuitous Picture for a Monday Morning-




Al Gore prays that "The Peasants" don't pull a "Mussolini" on him.

Congratulations to Michael Wardian, Roy Pirrung, Kami Semick, and Anita Ortiz for being named 2009 USATF Ultra Runners of the Year! Pretty amazing when you look at their 2009 performances below.

- SD

For Release: November 22, 2009

USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Council Announces Runners of the Year

Indianapolis, IN ---- The Mountain/Ultra/Trail Running (MUT) Council of long distance running has named the 2009 USATF Mountain Runners of the year, Ultra Runners of the Year, and Contributor of the Year. The following individuals will be recognized at the USATF National Convention in Indianapolis, on Saturday, December 5, at an awards breakfast.

Mountain men open: Joseph Gray, 25, Lakewood, WA, wins his second consecutive USATF Mountain Runner of the Year title. He started out the mountain season in Vail, CO, on the weekend of June 6 running an uphill half marathon (Saturday) and a 10km trail race (Sunday) finishing in third and second respectively. Later that month he finished third at Mount Washington Road Race and won the USA Mountain Running Championships at Cranmore earning a spot on his second Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team. He was the second U.S. finisher at the World Mountain Championships in Madesimo-Campodolcino, Italy, finishing in 16th place. Gray spent much of the summer in Europe racing and was fifteenth overall in the WMRA Grand Prix standings with only two WMRA Grand Prix race finishes (out of seven) to his credit.

Mountain men master: Dave Dunham, 45, Bradford, MA, took home the gold in the 45-49 at the US Mountain Championships at Mt Cranmore. He was also the USATF New England champion (45-49) at Northfield Mountain and was the masters USATF NE Mountain running series champion. Mountain results included: 1st 45-49 at Wachusett Mountain, 1st 40-49 at Pack Monadnock, 1st 45-49 at Northfield Mountain (USATF NE championship), 1st 45-49 at Mt Washington, 1st 45-49 at Mt Cranmore (US National championship), 1st 40-49 at Loon Mountain, 1st 40-49 at Mt Ascutney. In addition Dave continued to volunteer at the Association and National level. He was the official scorekeeper for the USATF NE Mountain series, directed multiple trail/mountain races, and served as the manager for the junior runners on the US Mountain team. Dunham was the USATF Mountain Runner of the Year in 2000.

Mountain women open: Brandy Erholtz, 32, Bailey, CO, is a repeat winner in this category having also won in 2008. In June, she finished first at the Native Eyewear Spring Runoff 10k in Vail, first at the Mount Washington Road Race, and finished second at the US Mountain Running Championships and was a member of the gold-medal winning Team USA at the NACAC Mountain Running Championships. She earned an at-large spot on her second Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team and was the top American woman finisher in Italy at the World Mountain Running Championships finishing 10th to lead the U.S. Women to a bronze-medal finish. She finished second at the USA 10km Trail Running Championships. She finished fifth at the Cheyenne Canon Mountain Race, first at the Barr Mountain Trail Race where she set a new women's course record, and won the VAC Vail Mountain Winter Uphill Snowshoe. She was first at the Montrose 10k uphill road race setting a course record and in international competition in Switzerland raced to a third-place finish at Thyon-Dixence, and fifth place at Sierre-Zinal, (top US finisher at both of these events).

Mountain women master: Laura Haefeli, 42, Del Norte, CO, was the 2004 and 2005 open mountain runner of the year and has earned masters’ recognition for the second consecutive year. She finished third overall at the Cheyenne Canon Mountain Race, was second in the Native Eyewear Spring Runoff 10k in Vail, and was the USA National Mountain Running Masters champion and a member of the gold-medal US Team at the NACAC Mountain Running championships.

Ultra men open: Michael Wardian, 35, Arlington, VA, wins his second consecutive Ted Corbitt Memorial USATF Ultra Runner of the Year Award in 2009. Wardian finished ninth at the 2008 (November 2008) IAU World Cup 100km in Tarquina, Italy, and at the 2009 IAU World Cup 100km in, Torhout, Beligum, he finished in sixth position and was the first US finisher. Wardian earned a bronze medal at the IAU 50km World Championships in Gibraltar and was the first US Finisher. He was the US 50km Road National Champion, and the US 50 Mile Trail Champion. Wardian showed his prowess in shorter distance competition with his finish at the US Cross Country National Championships in 46th place overall. At the Marathon Des Sables-Sahara Desert, Morocco, Wardian finished in eighth place overall which was the highest finish ever by a U.S. competitor. He was fifteenth overall at Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, just eight days after finishing sixth overall in the IAU World Cup 100km. He posted a third place finish at The North Face Endurance Challenge-50 Miler, Washington, DC and ran eight marathons in 2009 and set a PR in the marathon in 2009 of 2:21:09.

Ultra men master: Roy Pirrung, 61, Sheboygan, WI, is a repeat winner in this category having won this award in 2007 and 2008. Pirrung’s results included in November 2008, first 60-64 finisher and a pending 60-64 American record in the open race held concurrently with the IAU World Cup 100km in Italy, and at the 24 Hour Championships in McKinney, TX, a fifth place overall, first 60-64. In 2009 Pirrung won his age group at the following events, the USA 50km Road Championships, the Mad City 50km, the Door County Fall 50-mile, and the Ice Age Trail 50-mile. He finished second in his age group at both the USA 50 Mile Trail Championships and the USA 100km Trail Championships. The Door County 50 was Pirrung’s 150th Ultra race. Pirrung serves as the vice-chairperson of the USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Running Council and is active in his local USATF association.

Ultra women open: Kami Semick, 43, Bend, OR, is the Ruth Anderson USATF Ultra Runner of the Year 2009 having posted an outstanding year on the road and trails. She was the USA 50km Road Champion, and the USA 50 Mile Trail Champion. At the IAU World 50km Road Championships Semick finished first overall. Semick won the individual gold medal at the IAU World Cup 100km to lead Team USA to a gold-medal performance. She also won the American River 50 mile and the Miwok 100k. In addition in 2008 at the IAU World Cup 100km Semick earned a silver medal to lead Team USA to a silver-medal podium appearance.

Ultra women master: Anita Ortiz, 45, Eagle, CO, won the Moab Red Hot 50k, was first at 12 hours of Moab (team race), finished second at the Miwok 100km, turned in an outstanding first place finish (setting a “rookie” record) at Western States 100 Miler. She won the Pikes Peak Marathon and finished first at the San Juan Solstice 50 mile. Ortiz was a two-time USATF Mountain Runner of the Year (2002 and 2003) and two-time USATF Masters Mountian Runner of the Year (2004 and 2007).

Contributor of the Year – Paul Kirsch. Kirsch was the race director for NACAC/USA Mountain Running Champs where one of his duties was to coordinate housing and transportation for elite athletes (more than 30 in total from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico). Kirsch serves as the USATF-NE Mountain Ultra Trail Chairperson. He provides website design and maintenance for the US Mountain Running Team website & blog (usmrt.com). He headed up the USATF-NE Mountain Running Circuit which saw increased participation this year, and he was the Co-Race Director for the Loon Mountain Race. He also coordinated housing and transportation for elite athletes for the Mount Washington Race. He successfully recruited the Rhode Island 6 Hour Ultra to be USATF-NE Ultra Championships and attended as volunteer liaison from the mountain ultra trail council of USATF NE. Kirsch is President of the White Mountain Milers Running Club. He served as race director for the Inov-8 Summer Series in North Conway, NH, and the USSSA Snowshoe Race (National Champs Qualifier). He provided timing/results and course setup for a number of races in New England near his home in Madison, NH.

In order to be considered for the USATF Mountain and Ultra running awards an athlete must show top results in U.S. competitions for 2009 (November 1, 2008 through October 31, 2009) to include mountain races (these may be on paved/gravel surfaces as long as there is significant elevation loss or gain) and trail races of varying lengths, as well as road races for the ultra category (distances beyond the marathon). International results are also considered. The nominee must be an ambassador for the sport. Nominee must be a USATF member for 2009, and to be considered for the masters’ category athlete must be a minimum of 40 years of age. For a list of past winners in the other categories, please visit www.usatf.org.

Oh Shit. This is not Good......

Just saw this at Doug Ross (Link goes to Gateway Pundit)

"Unreal. Obama May Allow US Soldiers to be Tried in the Hague"

"Unreal. Team Obama may allow US soldiers to be tried in the Hague for war crimes."

Two Words - President Biden.

Gotta run before I'm late for work.

Saturday Morning.....
Off to work in the ER for the weekend. Odds of Post Holiday Zombie Influx today? Pretty high I'd guess.

Holidays and the end of the month both lend themselves to increased Zombie traffic. The scripts of percocet, methadone and hydrocodone are not due for refill till next Tuesday, the 1st of December.

So you know where they go. We in the ER are the front line, go to guys in times of need.

So yeah, I expect an ER full of drug seeking Zombies this weekend.

For a graphic representation of what a REAL Zombie Apocalypse will look like check out that link. That's some funny shit there. Pretty well done and sums up the horror movie standard plot quite well. I have no talent for doing things like this and appreciate those who do.
Go check it out for a grin.

Gratuitous Picture for a Saturday Morning-

Shoud have used this one on yesterdays post.

Did Ya Ever Wonder ?????

Just HOW close you can get to really laying a hurtin' on yourself while using a chainsaw?
Me neither till a little bit ago.

About this close.

Yep, that puckered me up just a bit!

Just barely nicked the skin.

Whew!!
I'd have had to sew myself up right here at home rather then go into work and have my coworkers laugh at me.

Thanksgiving may have been yesterday, but I'm thankful I didn't take a divot out of my leg. A chainsaw ain't exactly a "Fine cutting instrument" and can make some nasty ass messes when you put them in the wrong place.

Needless to say, I decided that was enough lumberjacking for today!

I did see a sign that Winter will be here any day. There are hundreds, if not thousands of Sandhill Cranes heading South today. Hugh flocks followed by more. Incredible.

Whaddah you mean you don't know what a Sandhill Crane is? They are one of my favorite sights in the Spring around here. They fill the fields and make a G-d awful racket for a week or two and then move on North. Seeing them in the numbers I've seen the last few days can only mean that Winter is not far off.


No idea where this was taken but that's pretty much what they look like in Spring just around the corner from here.

Gratuitous Picture for a Friday Afternoon-

OSCAR ALERT. You have until December 1 to get your Screen Credits and Music Entry Forms in to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) if your movie is to be considered for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. From the press release, AMPAS explains:

For a feature film to be considered for the 2009 Awards, the film’s distributor or producer must file an OSC form with the Academy by 5 p.m. PT on December 1. If a feature film is released in 2009 and the completed OSC form is not submitted by the deadline, the film will be ineligible for Academy Awards in any year.

OSC forms may be submitted online only, at http://aiwosc.oscars.org/aiwosc/. Information about submission and feature film eligibility can be obtained by contacting Credits Coordinator Howard Loberfeld at (310) 247-3000, ext. 113, or via e-mail at hloberfeld@oscars.org.

For an achievement to be considered in the Original Score or Original Song category, the principal music writer(s) for a feature film must submit an official music submission form by 5 p.m. PT on December 1.

To request music submission materials, contact Dave Hanson at (310) 247-3000, ext. 151, or via e-mail at dhanson@oscars.org.

While the credits submission deadline is December 1st, feature films have until midnight, December 31, to open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days to be eligible for 2009 Oscar® consideration.

Entries in the foreign language, animated feature, documentary, and short film categories are subject to special rules and must meet other qualifying criteria. The entry deadlines in these categories have already passed.

The deadlines have been communicated before; it would be sad to learn that a great film missed being nominated because of paperwork issues. Hopefully those responsible will pay attention to this deadline notice.

Thanksgiving Greetings to You All......

Or as we say around here, to y'all.

I hope everyone has something to be thankful about today. My blessings are too many to list.

I'm gonna continue my exciting life by finishing the garage clean up this morning.

Yes, my life really is that exciting. Sucks to be you.

Here's a couple of links for those of you who, like me, have no real life and need something to read.

Serious Funny here- Five Rules for Men to Follow for a Happy Life This really did make me, LOL.

If you've been following the Global Warming unraveling as gleefully as I have, here's a place with a bunch of good recent stuff. Bishop Hill Blog Not to be confused with my Congressional ShitWeasel, Baron Hill. Never pass up a chance to poke a stick at that little bastard I say!

For you classic rock fans and global warming skeptics out there, we have this-


First seen at Watts up with that? the go to place for climate change news ...... that isn't fabricated.

OK Minions, once again, have a nice Thanksgiving.

Gratuitous Picture for Today-


EDIT - Just took a peek at the Sitemeter and see I Doug Ross was kind enough for another link.
Welcome. Leave a comment or 3. YerUnk appreciates input.

Exciting News!!!!!!!!
I got most of the garage cleaned and organized today.
Most, not all. Clearing the workbench will require another half day.

Is my life exciting or what?

Try not to be too jealous. Not everyone is able to live up to these standards.

Hell, yesterday I worked on getting the barn in order.
If I wasn't such a slob I wouldn't let shit get all out of whack in the first place.

Gratuitous Picture for a Wednesday Evening-
Click to embigginate picture.


"Giant Turkey Invades France! Despite best efforts of the Musketeers, surrender is expected at any moment."

I received an email from Geoffrey Pete (the former owner of "Geoffrey's Inner Circle" Club) reporting that the Oakland Black Caucus is hosting a free Thanksgiving Day Luncheon at 410 14th Street, near Oakland City Hall, in downtown Oakland, California from 12 noon to 2 PM.

NBA stars Derrick Brown from the Charlotte Bobcats and Antonio Davis (who's retired) will be in attendance. Volunteers include Youth Uprising and The Oakland Tech Basketball Team.

The lunch event is for everyone, so come to downtown Oakland on Thanksgiving Day.

Tuesday Night. Still Have Music on My Mind.....
So here's a couple from probably my favorite guitarist , Rory Gallagher-


One more before I head off to sleep-


This is the first Rory song I ever heard and I was hooked. All the guys in this band were superb musicians. Damn shame he had to nuke his liver at an early age.

Oh shit. Now I'm in the youTube zone and stuck on Rory Videos. May as well drop a couple more for ya.


One more and then I REALLY have to hit the sack.


Gratuitous Picture for a Tuesday Night-
Ok. This is cruel. Funny, but cruel.

Tuesday Afternoon........
Reminds me of this-


Geeezus, that's a long time ago.

I have to get cleaned up and go to the funeral home in a few minutes.
The wife of my friend Joe passed away Sunday afternoon after a long fight with breast cancer.

We have a saying in the ER - "Rotten Bastards live forever and nice folks die of cancer." I've seen it a lot of times and damn if it doesn't seem true.

Gratuitous Picture for a Tuesday-

1936 NYC. Swiped from Ol' Remus who's Woodpile Report comes out every Tuesday. You might like it.

Did You Know ?????

That according to THIS asshole -
"2009 is also the first year of global governance, with the establishment of the G20 in the middle of the financial crisis. The climate conference in Copenhagen is another step towards the global management of our planet." - Herman Van Rompuy President, European Union


Howzabout a big, "Up Yours, Asshole" for Mr Van Rompuy?

We don't need any Global Governance.
We have enough political screwups of our own, thank you.

And our political fuckups are just that, ours. You fuckTards should just concentrate on ruining your own countries.

We don't need any help at all screwing shit up here.
Our American FuckTards are already doing a hell of a job destroying this country without your help.

So, piss off with your, "Global Governance", Herman.
H/T-Small Dead Animals

Gratuitous Picture for a Monday Afternoon-
This calls for the Anteater.

Close Encounters ......
Some people are so talented.



H/T-David Thompson

Gratuitous Picture-

More on ClimateGate......
I mentioned this story Saturday and am surprised that it's getting as much play as it is. This is good.

As people much smarter than myself have had a bit of time to digest the info released the other day about all of the faked Global Warming data, we're starting to see this break into the MSM.

One can only hope this gets legs and drives a spike through the heart of all the bullshit behind the Global Warm/Climate Change religion.

Here's a few links to what's going on out there -

Karl Denninger

The Milli Vanilli of Science

The Telegraph - Climategate: the final nail in the coffin of 'Anthropogenic Global Warming'?

Global WarmingGate: What Does It Mean?

Edit to add- Seems that the actual programming is more damning than the emails.
The global warming conspiracy - the codes reek of more “tricks”

CRU Emails “may” be open to interpretation, but commented code by the programmer tells the real story

The Washington Post Goes to Bat for the Religion of course The comments to this one are pretty insightful as to how the the faithful are reacting to this news.

It's gotta be painful to deal with the Inconvenient Truth that you've been sold a bill of goods.

And here's a story that I bet the editors now wish they had not published last Friday-
‘Climate change pushes poor women to prostitution, dangerous work’

We can add Prostitution to A complete list of things caused by global warming.

This list has always been a source of entertainment and just goes to show you how far a bad idea and FALSIFYING DATA TO PUSH AN AGENDA can go.

I'd like to see the whole bloody bunch of these charlatans brought up on charges. Lord knows they've swindled untold amounts of money from various governments with this shit.
I saw a link somewhere about that very thing, but damned if I can find it now. Seems like a logical idea to me though.

OK, that's it for now. I'm gonna go burn some old truck tires.

Gratuitous Picture for a Monday-


It's gonna take a lot of work to shut these sonzabitches up but damn if it's not a job worth doing.

I'm in Georgia as I write this having flown most of the day from San Francisco to Chicago to Atlanta. So just when I think I've only got to pay attention to my Cal Stanford Big Game videos and my Oakland sim, I have this CNN-and-SFGate-reported news of a BART officer smashing the face of a drunk man by the name of Michael Joseph Gibson into a window on the West Oakland BART Station platform.

So I immediately went to YouTube and found this video:



And showed it to my mother who said "Why did he have to throw him into the window."

Exactly. Why?

Here we go again. Another predictable argument between those who justify police' violent actions and those who question it. I am tired of the dichotomy, so I decided to create a poll to learn what others think.

While the officer's action is questionable, that his presence was desired is of no question. In the video as the officer hauls Michael Joseph Gibson off the train and before he reaches the window, we can hear people clapping, so BART riders wanted this guy off the train.

That happened.

But the other action of the head against the window is to me a case of putting too much super hot mustard on a really good hot dog: it makes it hard to consume, but one can still eat it.

To BART's credit, it's not sitting on this issue; it responded rapidly, issuing a press statement and holding a press conference with in moments.

BART Spokeman Linton Johnson said to CNN's Don Lemon this evening that "We decided that we wanted to take appropriate steps and let people know about this video... We want to do a full investigation...We will look at all the facts."

Johnson went on to say that most of Michael Joseph Gibson's injuries came from his arm and not his head. It's hard to tell that from the video but I can't help but wonder if there's another video out there with another angle. There's got to be at least one more - even if it's the station video. It's out there. I know it.

BART's not releasing the officer's name. He's new to BART Police according to Linton Johnson, but Linton says he's not had any incidents while with BART Police.

But the way Linton made the statement does open a new question about the officer's past. In looking at the video it seems like the officer took a little too much action - again too much hot mustard - but overall Michael Joseph Gibson was out of line and what I go with is the people on the train were applauding the officer.

Again, whatever Michael Joseph Gibson was doing, it's obvious he didn't have a fan base on the train.

What do you think of the BART Officer's actions? Take my poll:

More fun surveys on pollsb.com

It was eight years ago that a little pug named Rocky entered our life, and promptly pulled me from the despair of narrowly missing the 9/11 tragedy to the soul-filling world of trail running. I was supremely out of shape, and every morning he would jump on me until we ran 2, 5, 9 miles on trails. A running pug? How could I not try and keep up? The rest, as we say, is history.

My wife, Christi, recently finished a children's book called Lucky Me that stars Rocky and his friends. They teach kids about animal safety, responsible pet ownership, and what to expect when an animal enters your home. The book is now available at Summerland Publishing, Amazon.com, and Borders.com. A portion of all sales goes to benefit the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA.

If you are looking for a great gift for a child, know someone who is considering adding a pet to their family, Rocky's book is perfect! There are even some great shots of him outrunning me on the beach, and cameo appearances by Sophie Jane. I would appreciate it if you could forward this on, become a Fan of his Facebook page, and spread the love.

Needless to say, I'm immensely proud of Christi for putting this together. She's been volunteering with the Peninsula Humane Society for years, and takes Rocky into schools every month to teach kids about responsible pet stewardship. It's so cool to see her combine her gifts for photography, teaching, and animals into something everyone can enjoy.

- SD

Quick Sunday Linkage.....
Gotta run to work so here's a couple of cool things to check out from Doug Ross, who is becoming one of my favorites.

Tree Removal Fail This just went plain Bad. Cool pictures as long as it isn't your place.

Don't cry for me, America
History repeats itself? Really?

Gratuitous Picture for a Sunday Morning-

This just in:

Greg Crowther won the JFK50 today in 5:50:13, just 45 seconds ahead of 2nd place Michael Arnstein. Both get a slot to Western States as part of their prize! Devon Crosby-Helms set a new Women's course record of 6:29:21 for her win (1oth overall), while the indefatigable Meghan Arbogast got 2nd (6:56:05). You can get the rest of the results here:

1, Gregory Crowther 36M		5:50:13
2, Michael Arnstein 32M		5:50:58
3, Matt Woods 30M		5:54:10
4, Hal Koerner 33M		6:05:02
5, Chad Ricklefs 42M		6:06:51
6, Matthew Lavine 35M		6:08:17
7, Oz Pearlman 37M		6:09:39
8, Ben Ingram 32M		6:21:45
9, Jon Lawler 46M		6:24:20
10, Devon Crosby-Helms 27F		6:29:21
11, Scott Jurek 36M		6:31:12
12, Josh Brimhall 34M		6:32:13
13, Andrew Mason 37M		6:34:36
14, David James 31M		6:36:00
15, Timothy Smith 38M		6:44:08
16, Kyle Cashin 39M		6:44:55
17, Vladimir Banas 40M		6:46:22
18, Jeffry Buechler 35M		6:47:40
19, Ian Torrence 37M		6:48:14
20, Bradley Adams 31M		6:49:40
21, Mark Cucuzzella 43M		6:54:06
22, Lucas Marsak 30M		6:54:55
23, Meghan Arbogast 48F		6:56:05
24, Mike Vance 46M		6:59:10
25, Annette Bednosky 42F		7:02:52

Good Luck JFK Runners!


Good luck to the 1,000+ entrants tackling the JFK50 today. We'll be rooting for you!

Sounds like a packed elite field, according to this great article from the Herald-Mail. Devon Crosby-Helms and Meghan Arbogast will take on Annette Bednosky, while the Men's field is ridiculous:

*Hal Koerner, 2x Western States winner.

* Scott Jurek, 7x Western States winner.

*Bob Adams, 29, of Knoxville, Tenn.

*Michael Arnstein, 32, of New York City

*Josh Brimhall, 34, of Henderson, Nev.

*Jason Bryant, 37, of Elkin, N.C.

*Greg Crowther, 36, of Seattle

*Wynn Davis, 28, of River Falls, Wis.

*David James, 31, of Somers, N.Y.

*Matt Lavine, 35, of Crystal Lake, Ill.

*Chad Ricklefs, 42, of Boulder, Colo.

*Jim Sweeney, 28, of Albany, N.Y.

*Ian Torrence, 37, of Ashland, Ore.

The Herald-Mail also did a wonderful six-part series interviewing runners from various walks of life tackling the JFK50. It's a great read, and includes some fun photos and video clips with the interviewees:

Part 1 - Couple to finish 3rd JFK together
Part 2 - For Kitchen, JFK is grueling and special
Part 3 - Midshipman to compete in her first ultra at JFK
Part 4 - Greencastle man goes for finish #5
Part 5 - Rhoderick takes JFK in stride
Part 6 - JFK is a family affair for the Louderbacks

Be sure to leave a comment on their great pre-coverage of the event. I would love to see more. You can also check out Tom Sperduto's blog for some awesome pictures (it's always nice to have professional photographers running the event; the photo above is from his blog). Have a great run, everyone!

- SD

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Get Ready to NOT Hear About This Story....

I'm a day or so behind on things around here, but you're not gonna hear this news in the mainstream media anytime soon so I guess it doesn't matter.

From Watts Up With That comes this story-

Breaking News Story: CRU has apparently been hacked – hundreds of files released.

"The details on this are still sketchy, we’ll probably never know what went on. But it appears that University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit has been hacked and many many files have been released by the hacker or person unknown."

Ace of Spades (Where I first saw this) has more Hacked Emails Reveal: "Scientists" Faking Data to Establish Global Warming They Know Isn't There
And Conspiring to Delete Emails They're Supposed to Retain for FOIA Purposes

Hot Air is a bit more subtle with this headline, Do hacked e-mails show global-warming fraud?

And of course the answer would be yes. Yes indeed.
I don't know if this is gonna change much in the minds of the adherents of the Religion of Global Warming, but it should.
It's gonna be interesting to see just what more comes out from all the files that were released. This has the potential to be a real game changer.

It also may put the squash on that stupid, Cap and Trade bill hanging around in the Senate. Let's hope so.

Go read up on this story and tell me what you think. I gotta go to work.

Quick add on -
There's More Maybe this is gonna break out into the MSM.

Tim Blair has more

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Maybe we can quit hearing from this asshole, too. Wouldn't that be great?

Something to Think About.....
I have to work tomorrow so I'll put this up now for you now.

Obama's Mind Game

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Ayn Rand Interview You Ought to See.....

Three parts. Watch them all. I forget how good an interviewer Thom Snyder was.

Part 1 of 3. Really. Watch all 3 and see how it applies to what's happening today.



Oh hell. I'll just put 'em up for you so you don't have an excuse.

Part 2-


And 3-



I struggled with reading both, Atlas Shrugged and The fountainhead as a young man and have yet to finish either.

Started 3-4 times and couldn't finish. Just wasn't up for it then.
Now? Maybe yes.

Gonna have to buy them again as they both disappeared somewhere in the decades since then.

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As always click to embiggen.

Just Barely Enough Room......

No. Not talking about the waistline of my jeans. Check out this short video of a Russian Il-76 as it uses every available bit of runway to get airborne.

Amazing. The thing looks like it's only moving about 20 mph when it finally lumbers into the air.

I got a hop in a C-5 Transport once and takeoff was pretty sketchy. The pilot prepared for takeoff by first holding on the brakes and powering it up till it was shaking like a dog passing Peach Pits to get roll off speed up. Definitely NOT like flying commercial.

H/T - We The Armed

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Retro Bigwheel.

OK, This is Just Crazy........

Found via SondraK comes this little shocker.

This is not new, but I had not heard this before, but here it is - First Lady requires more than twenty attendants

Here's the link to the Original Canada Free Press Article from July of this year if you're interested. BTW, their August update says the number is up to 26 now.

Check this shit out-
"How things have changed! If you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans facing certain destitution, earning less than subsistence wages stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart or serving up McDonald cheeseburgers, prepare to scream and then come to realize that the benefit package for these servants of Miz Michele are the same as members of the national security and defense departments and the bill for these assorted lackeys is paid by John Q. Public:

1. $172,2000 - Sher, Susan (CHIEF OF STAFF)
2. $140,000 - Frye, Jocelyn C. (DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY)
3. $113,000 - Rogers, Desiree G. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND WHITE HOUSE SOCIAL SECRETARY)
4. $102,000 - Johnston, Camille Y. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE FIRST LADY)
5. Winter, Melissa E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)
6. $90,000 - Medina, David S. (DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)
7. $84,000 - Lelyveld, Catherine M. (DIRECTOR AND PRESS SECRETARY TO THE FIRST LADY)
8. $75,000 - Starkey, Frances M. (DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING AND ADVANCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)
9. $70,000 - Sanders, Trooper (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY)
10. $65,000 - Burnough, Erinn J. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SOCIAL SECRETARY)
11. Reinstein, Joseph B. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SOCIAL SECRETARY)
12. $62,000 - Goodman, Jennifer R. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING AND EVENTS COORDINATOR FOR THE FIRST LADY)
13. $60,000 - Fitts, Alan O. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ADVANCE AND TRIP DIRECTOR FOR THE FIRST LADY)
14. Lewis, Dana M. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT AND PERSONAL AIDE TO THE FIRST LADY)
15. $52,500 - Mustaphi, Semonti M. (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY TO THE FIRST LADY)
16. $50,000 - Jarvis, Kristen E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR SCHEDULING AND TRAVELING AIDE TO THE FIRST LADY)
17. $45,000 - Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)
18. Tubman, Samantha (DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR,SOCIAL OFFICE)
19. $40,000 - Boswell, Joseph J. (EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)
20. $36,000 - Armbruster, Sally M. (STAFF ASSISTANT TO THE SOCIAL SECRETARY)
21. Bookey, Natalie (STAFF ASSISTANT)
22. Jackson, Deilia A. (DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)".

"The annual cost to taxpayers for such unprecedented attention is approximately $1,750,000 without taking into account the expense of the lavish benefit packages afforded to every attendant."

Holy Shit! That's just friggin' crazy.
But why am I not surprised?

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Click to embiggin if you can't read the graffiti on there.

An interesting development occurred over the past few days and virtually under the radar of much of the media in the Bay Area. Two environmental impacts reports were released at almost the same time: one for the Candlestick Point / San Francisco 49ers Stadium development and the other for the SF Niners stadium proposed for Santa Clara.

I also must explain that I'm biased toward the idea of keeping the 49ers in San Francisco, but I'm not beyond telling it like it is with respect to how the enviromental impact reports are presented.

I've read both EIRs (it was part of my role as Economic Advisor to The Mayor of Oakland when Elihu Harris was Mayor and for Robert Bobb before I worked to try to bring the 2005 Super Bowl to Oakland) and while at 3,000 pages (I didn't read all of the pages), the Candlestick Point includes comments and a detailed and well-organized list of anticipated impacts and ways to work to dampen or eliminate them (called "mitagations"), the Santa Clara DEIR is not so well-written.

I've got to say the Santa Clara EIR's not very good at all. In fact, some of the responses to comments are irresponsible and don't show that the project's impacts are being well considered.

Many of the Santa Clara EIR answers to comments are defensive rather than technical and call into question to what degree this document was rushed into production to beat the City of San Francisco's Candlestick effort.

There's a threat of comments regarding the anticipated transit use that would be generated from a new stadium in Santa Clara. The problem with the Santa Clara DEIR is that it bases future estimates of use of cars, buses, and trains on the existing Candlestick Park stadium, which the Candlestick Point DEIR seeks to replace with a new stadium.

In other words, the use of trains versus cars is dependent on the design of the streets, roads, and buildings with respect to each other. The Santa Clara DEIR does not seem to reflect that.

Take this comment / response example:

Comment B-2: Table 15 indicates tbe modal split at the existing stadium is: 82% auto, 10% charter bus, and 8% transit for attendees; 90% auto and 10% transit for employees. For the proposed stadium, modal split is 74% auto, 7% cbarter bus and 19% transit for attendees; 80% auto and 20% transit for employees. Since Candlestick Park is situated within a rich public transportation network, it should have higher charter bus and transit modal splits compared to the proposed stadium. On the contrary, the proposed stadium shows higher charter bus and transit modal splits. What are the underlying assumptions to justify these modal splits tor the proposed 4gers Santa Clara Stadium?

Response B-2: While the City of San Francisco overall has a good public transportation network, the area where Candlestick Park is located does not. There is no rail transit of any kind available to Candlestick Park attendees. The only transit currently used is chatter and municipal buses. As explained in the EIR (pages 176-178), an extensive multi-modal transit system serves north Santa Clara. The assumptions for each type of available transit are described on pages 177-178, including subsections labeled "Bus and Light Rail" and "Heavy
Rail Service".

The Santa Clara DEIR states:

There is no rail transit of any kind available to Candlestick Park attendees.

Hmm....

If that's the case, why is it I can take either BART, Caltrain, or Muni Metro rail and step on the Candlestick Express bus? Yes, it's not direct to the stadium's front door, but its rail and its not far away. Moreover, an EIR is a technical report that's supposed to be devoid of such errors in wording. It's the one place where detailed, accurate description is expected and vital to the success of the project.

The Santa Clara EIR was written as if by a snickering, snipping bureaucrat who had no patience with questions from, well, other bureaucrats from Bay Area agencies, which are in abundance in the document.

By contrast, the Candlestick Point DEIR, while it does concern a much larger 700-acre development, does in detail explain transit impacts and professionally lists the answers to anticipated impacts. There's not the hint of schoolmarm whining that dominates the comment responses in the Santa Clara document.

All of this should make former San Francisco 49ers President Carmen Policy more excited over the prospects for the successful construction of a new 49ers Stadium at Candlestick Point in San Francisco.

But regarding Santa Clara, the San Francisco 49ers should be ashamed of themselves for allowing such a substandard EIR to be produced. I've seen a lot of EIRs in my time and this one's just plain terrible.

If this is an example of what we're to expect, 49ers owner John York should jettison his Santa Clara stadium efforts and work with the more professional team over the Candlestick Point development. Yeah, I'm biased, but it's not without justification.

Dear Baron Hill.....

Received The Postcards yesterday.

These ones -

Except they are in living color. Follow the link above to get some for your Congressional AssMunch.

My ShitWeasel Congressman, Baron Hill will be receiving one soon, I hope. That's assuming it gets through the helper elves in his office.

I sent one to both the D.C. office and the Indiana office hoping one of them gets to him.

I can probably find his home address, but that just doesn't seem right so that won't be happening. His wife didn't vote on yes on both Cap&Trade and the Health Care bill.

I hope to hell that there is a viable candidate running against him in 2010.
Hell, I'd vote for Satan himself if he ran against this little turd.

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And change.