Evil Big Oil?

Let's all remember who owns Big Oil.

You and I.

Quick update

If you are ever wondering if I'm really busy with work, just watch my posting breaks.

I was in Atlanta working on a project Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week, back catching up on Thursday, and meeting with a vendor on Friday in NJ, so not much internets time.

If you are following my training log, you'll note I haven't trained for a couple of weeks. I slipped off a curb and twisted my knee, and had to give it a little time. I'm back at it tomorrow. I might lift in a meet in August.

Othrewise, things be great. I've heard lots of great news stories (my favorite is the aluminum bat lawsuit). I'm planning on having a great weekend getting some stuff done around the house, and then enjoying it. There's not much better than feeling like you are on vacation in your own home.

Recovery methods

A quick video on contrast showers.




Via Elite Fitness Systems Iron Brothers Q&A

Heavy

These guys are. Heavy. Good.

A very small step for freedom

Chicago overturns foie gras ban

It's not all gas prices, you know...

While we blame high gas prices for everything, including kids not getting limos for prom, we need to keep some other stuff in mind.

Many operators have added surcharges in response to higher gasoline prices, which reached an average of $3.63 per gallon for regular unleaded in Maryland, AAA Mid-Atlantic reported yesterday. Rogers raised rates $35, bringing the cost of renting a limo to $885 for eight hours.

"The gas prices definitely are not helping us," she said. "It is working against us. We are trying not to raise the prices [again]. But the industry is suffering. It's not too far off."

Richard Kane, owner of International Limousine Service in Washington and president of the National Limousine Association, said operators suffered first-quarter losses of 10 percent to 30 percent.

Rate increases implemented in response to higher fuel costs range from 8 percent to 20 percent, Kane said.

"It is unfortunate, but we have to pass the costs on," said Kane, 38, who has tacked on a 13.5 percent surcharge.

Mike Vallard, owner of Bel Air-based Higher Quality Limousines, is among those who decided against raising prices, resigning himself to the possibility of simply breaking even. Vallard, who is president of the Maryland Limousine Association, charges $800 for six hours and $1,000 for eight hours.

First, a $35 increase to $885 is less than a 5% increase. Also, keep in mind it is harder for teens to get jobs than it used to be, due at least in part to the higher minimum wage, which primarily impacts part time and teenage workers. Also, don't forget the sales tax increase in Maryland from 5% to 6%. On that same $850 original limo rate, the increase in the sales tax is $8.50, about a quarter of the increase due to gas.

Inspire confidence

If we don't even know who we capture in Iraq, how can we possibly think everyone at Gitmo should be there?

There's a reason we have due process.

The story of Cory Maye and Ron Jones.

Iraq ian't the only war we should be trying to stop.


More info here, and here.

Oh, I'd put a bet on success

If I were able, I think I'd put a bet on Under Armour shoes being a success.

"Success or failure is not going to be determined by a day or a weekend," Kevin A. Plank, Under Armour chairman and chief executive officer, said in an interview early Saturday minutes before the launch.

"Today is just the beginning," Plank later told employees at the company's flagship store at Westfield Annapolis Mall. "It's just the starting line."

SportsOneSource, a company that tracks shoe sales, said it would have a better indication about the launch results in two weeks.

When Under Armour launched its football cleats two years ago, it didn't see results until six weeks later. It now holds 22 percent of that market.

"It really is difficult to judge the first weekend," said Matt Powell, an analyst with SportsOneSource. "Sometimes the numbers look big and don't materialize or stay that way. Sometimes it's vice versa. I think we're better off to wait a couple of weeks to get a good read."

Everything I've seen them do has worked. Given the success of the cleats, I'll bet they do ok with the general public. I sure do see a lot of UA wear at the gym.

Feticide?

From the things that confuse me department, comes this story out of Louisiana.

19-year-old man was booked in the death of a fetus after he accidentally shot a pregnant woman and killed her unborn baby, authorities said.

Wilbert L. Luke Jr. shot Shawntell Walker, 17, in the abdomen Sunday while he was showing her a handgun, Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputies said.

Luke drove Walker, who was 22 weeks pregnant, to West Jefferson Medical Center, said sheriff's spokesman Col. John Fortunato. The fetus died during surgery, he said.

A .22-caliber handgun recovered from Luke had been stolen in St. Tammany Parish, Fortunato said. Luke said he bought the gun on the streets about a year ago, Fortunato said.

Luke was booked with third-degree feticide and possession of a stolen firearm.

Now, clearly, there is a crime here, as this mental giant shot a girl while showing off his gun. (I guess this is how one wins the heart of a pregnant 17 year old?) What I don't get is feticide. He's charged with a crime against the unborn child, not the mother. So, then, how isn't an abortion feticide?

I don't see how you can have it both ways.

I've wanted to comment on this for some time, and this story has provided the motivation. While I find abortion distasteful, I don't see how the removal of a parasite that can not function on it's own outside the host should be illegal. The only intellectually honest argument is that the embryo or fetus is a person at conception, with all of the rights one gets from their humanity. That's typically not the argument made by anti abortion folks, who seem to approve of "murder" if it's the product of incest or rape (how is that the baby's fault?). So if that's your position, you are instead placing your moral beliefs on others, much like those who wish to implement their desire to socialise healthcare, for example.

To those on the other side, who think abortions should remain legal, what is the argument that this should be any crime other than assault/battery/attempted murder on the mother? In my eyes, I just don't see how you can make it.

You can't have it both ways, I'm afraid.

Life, Satire... well, you know.

The TSA has been keeping Air Marshals off flights, because, you know, they might be terrorists.

False identifications based on a terrorist no-fly list have for years prevented some federal air marshals from boarding flights they are assigned to protect, according to officials with the agency, which is finally taking steps to address the problem.



Federal Air Marshals (FAMs) familiar with the situation say the mix-ups, in which marshals are mistaken for terrorism suspects who share the same names, have gone on for years — just as they have for thousands of members of the traveling public.



One air marshal said it has been "a major problem, where guys are denied boarding by the airline."



"In some cases, planes have departed without any coverage because the airline employees were adamant they would not fly," said the air marshal, who asked not to be named because the job requires anonymity. "I've seen guys actually being denied boarding."



A second air marshal said one agent "has been getting harassed for six years because his exact name is on the no-fly list."

Hat tip: The Agaitator

May Day

As I have in the past, I direct you to the annual May Day Rememberance Posts at Distributed Republic.