(: ..."Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink"... :)







ifs, ands or buts
friday, january 18th, 2008

“my belly's full, the fire is roaring, I'm warm, the two cats are curled-up in front of the fire and the snowstorm outside, is raging. My 3 skylights and Four Season® Curved Eave Solarium Design Sunroom, were completely whited-out, in minutes. (It was intense, but shortlived) I cleaned my Kimber 1911 .45cal ACP "Eclipse Target II" and rotated the 10 Wilson Combat 8-rnd mags. The only real question of mine is can the already-saturated ground, deeply-absorb more water, or is it already too saturated and hard, deep-down (20-35") from last year's drought, to absorb any more? Snowmelt is gradual and offers more opportunity for deep-down absorption, whereas rainfall is all-at-once, and run-off occurs quickly, when the top 5-10" of ground are already saturated with moisture. The "Unending Drought From Hell", which has plagued this Mid-Atlantic Region for the past 3-4 years, looks to continue in 2008 and will portend the end of many small, weather-related businesses, by 2008's end. This large Garden Center/Nursery operation in GA, which had some 29 locations and around 700 employees, was the first of many in the two regions to declare the dreaded Chapter 11, due to the "Unending Drought From Hell". Several local, small operations here, went under last Fall, as well. Spring and Summer rains would fix the retail sales problem, very quickly and financial recovery for all of us, would be swift, even with the US Economy slowing down a tiny bit. Remember that 2 consecutive of negative GDP numbers, equals a recession. I personally don't think that a Recession is looming all that heavily, this year. If a liberal-demokkkRAT wins the WH, then we're going to have a immediate Recession. Even with unemployment up to 5%, that's 95% employed! Hell, that's "full employment", as far as I'm concerned. (Give me a "real concerned" yell when it hits 14-15%, will you?) But rain is the key, and The Farmer's Almanac says this region is in for heavier-than-usual rainfall. One can hope and pray.



Around The Garden Center™.
After causing widespread damage in the South and Midwest, the heavy, driving rain, frequent loud thunder and lightening from those Winter storms, moved east and north overnight, and woke-me-up around 4:15am, last Friday. It's very unusual to have such a weather event in the dead of Winter, but I do remember the T&L during several blizzards in past years. I fed the two condo cats, logged-on and checked the local weather sites, then went back to sleep for a couple of hours. I had coffee and a large bowl of oatmeal, for breakfast. Then, off to work at 9:00am.
Thanks to D••••'s persistence ands encouragement, I haven't given-up on CSS (cascading style sheets) to replace the HTML in my weekly "Journal", or on the corporate website. Last Friday evening, I bought a xHTML-CSS editor online, by the same guy who wrote my HTML editor of 12yrs — HomeSite v5.5 (now owned by Adobe/MacroMedia) — called TopStyle v3.5, and am beginning to use it. I took the new app and collected files, on a 1GB Lexar FlashDrive, to the office with me on Saturday morning, and installed an exact copy on my office's RAID 0 machine, mirroring my condo's RAID 0+1 unit. BTW, after uninstalling Adobe Acrobat Reader v8.1 from my condo's machine, the WIN-XP O/S start-up problems have ceased. Oooops, they're back, dammit. Go figure.
Saturday was an uneventful day; a couple of customers and I closed around 2:00pm. I was off Sunday, made scratch-French toast and coffee for breakfast, did some food shopping, gassed-up the Jeep and took a drive over through York City to see some of the physical changes done over the past 10-12mos. I haven't gotten into York City very often, these past years and things have changed for the better. The residential side streets are still a ghetto-mess, now taken over by criminal, illegal alien hispanics/latinos, who've chased much of the black middle class population out of York City. The hispanic/latino gangs are taking over the city, and are a whole lot more murderous than the black gangs were. Murders are up 250% (from 4 in 2006 to 10 in 2007) in York City. Not a good sign. IMO, it's going to get a whole lot worse in 2008, as more violent hispanic/latino gangs move into the area. York is certainly no Philly, DC or St Louis, but for a "third tier city", the percent of increase is huge. Reason #1 why I carry (concealed; PA-CCW) a Kimber 1911 "Eclipse Target II" .45cal ACP, and one extra 8-round mag on my belt, with two extra 8-rnd mags in the Jeep, whenever I go out, anywhere. I'll soon have a 2-mag carrier, to add to my hardware array.
It was a mild 47°F on Sunday, so I parked the Jeep full of groceries, and took a 20-min walk around Springettsbury Park, less than a ¼ mile from my condo, and enjoyed the fresh air. I felt invigorated, and vowed that I'd do that more often. Weather permitting.
Sure, I've noticed the warmer Winters over the past 20-25 years, as compared to the 50s (my childhood) and 60s (my teen and college years), but it's simply Natural Weather Cycles, not pathetic Mankind's doing. Doubt me? Watch this BBC Documentary on my corporate server, and get back to me, afterwards to discuss it. I'll wait.
The Sunday night/Monday morning snowstorm degenerated into a minor sleet/rainfall, while all the snow/sleet was 30 miles to the northeast of us. New England caught the brunt of that Nor'Easter. No regrets, as I'd rather have the rain and forgo the slick roads, hapless 2WD drivers, fender-benders, shovelling-out the GC&N Complex etc. I had oatmeal, toast and coffee, went in early to work at 8am, and began to get caught-up on website and corporate work which I'd neglected over the past 2-3 weeks. Lots to do. Because of all the moisture in the air, 36°F felt like the low-20s. With my BP a whole lot lower now than it used to be, I struggled to keep warm, even though I always "suit-up in 4-6 layers". Around 11am, I noticed that it was snowing heavily, although the temp was 37°F and nothing was sticking, it was still nice to see it. It snowed heavily right up to 3pm, when I closed and left. Amazing, 1-2" of snow and not a flake left on the ground as evidence, or to shovel. Thanks you, thank you, thank you.
Ditto on Tuesday. I was into work by 9:15am, it started snowing around 11:15am, at the GC&N Complex and once again it snowed hard, but this time, it all stuck to the much colder surfaces. Temps had dropped into the 20s on the prior night, and frozen everything which had come down the day before. By 2:00pm, we had a ½" on the ground. Even at 29°F, the ground got wet, and much of it melted, or we'd have gotten 2-3". But, no shoveling, but it was pretty! My kind of snowfall! Both J••••••• and B•• were in to do computer/new inventory work, and J•••• was in to go over 2008 and help me with a prototype PowerPoint presentation for our many landscape and water garden projects, or I'll have to revert to JavaScript to concoct some sort of viewer for customers to view our extensive hardscape and landscape work projects. I got pizza for everyone, and after all had left, spent time doing schedule templates, CATV copy for open positions, revising my corp website's Employment Page, paying some bills, emptying garbage, cleaning the toilet and other fun jobs. I've got to sweep the main bldg out, and them wet-mop the floors, within the next 3-4 weeks, when we get closer to Spring's Open House. “Boss stuff”.
I was up at 5:15am on Wednesday, after the previous evening of reading dire "Recession 2008" articles, in all kinds of online mags and papers. Everywhere, it was doom-and-gloom and predictions of a coming, moderate financial market collapse. Blech! Enough of that crap, as it was getting me depressed, with all the so-called "financial pundits" just wishing and hoping it would happen. I need to be more positive.
On the way into work on Wednesday, at 8:15am, after getting coffee at the local Sheetz, I stopped at Walt's Barber Shop, in Red Lion, for a 20min haircut. A 50s-replica of the shops in Huntington, WVa and Arlington Heights, Ill, where I used to go to for my "flat top" or "crew cut", Walt and his other cutter, Lorraene, get a $20 from me for an $11 haircut, when they're finished, and "keep the change". I always take care to tip my barbers, well. It's amazing how much more snow the Red Lion area got yesterday, than any of the areas above or below it. Betcha they got almost 1½", and most all of it stuck on the lawns. Another day of paperwork, broken-up by trips to the 6 Quonset GHs to check the dormant nursery stock pots, and determine whether they need watering. The "mystery stray dog wasn't there in the morning, but was sleeping in the compost pile, as I drove thru that back-20 area, and his food/water dishes were empty. Thye'll be refilled in the morning. It's going down into the mid-teens this week and weekend, so I hope he has a warmer place to go, at night. We can get to about 10ft of him now, and then her's up and walking awy from us. We havn't given-up, yet.
I'm spending some free time reading the CSS Tutorials and CSS Examples, hoping it will make sense, soon. But my good friend, D••••, called at 5pm on Wednesday, and we spent 3hrs (she has a flat rate of $15/mo for all calls!) doing CSS changes on a bunch of CSS files she'd put together a few weeks ago. It was very instructive, as was "deconstructing HTML files", way back in 1996, when I taught myself that code. She's a very impressive lady, IMO. And married 20+yrs.
While listening to The Savage Nation, from 6-10pm on KFMB Streaming, on Wednesday evening, I noticed a huge storm coming up from the Gulf States, and merging with a moderate storm coming in from the west, on The Weather Channel. By 8:30pm, it covered 16 states and was headed right toward The Mid•Atlantic Region and Northeast. It's supposed to hit us on Thursday morning, with a mix of rain/sleet/snow, so that should make "afternoon rush hour" real interesting.
I checked the huge storm coming up the East Coast, early Thursday morning, and it was at the PA Stste Line by 8:30am. By 10:45am, it was snowing steadily and heavily, and everything was sticking to both road and grass surfaces. I went to Frank's Pizza, just 1¼ miles up Rt 24, for a couple of hot subs, and to get some softdrinks for the office 'fridge, for when friends stop by. I checked our "mystery stray dog", and he'd taken refuge in our truck storage bldg, and was sleeping on a pile of burlap we'd put out as a bed, for him. At least he's out of the snow and sleet, but it's an unheated building, and I know he's cold. Dammit, I wish we could get ahold of him and get him into the Main Greenhouse, with his food and water dishes, and make a place for him to sleep at night. We're working on it.
By the time I got home Thursday afternoon, unloaded some groceries, fed the two condo cats, lit a fire, logged-on and checked the storm's progress, we had an easy 3+" on the ground, and there was plenty more to come, according to the radar weather maps. The cats curled-up in front of the fireplace, and I traced an unplugged power cord to the back of the APC Unit, for my LogiTech Wireless Mouse, and got it working once again. So, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
I enjoy snowy evenings, a roaring fire, curled-up cats, classical music on my Bang & Olufsen System/Infinity RS2a Speakers, a good Cuban cigar, glass of wine or brandy, but now that I don't drink, I've foregone the wine/brandy and cigar. Orange juice and a Marlboro? Whatever it takes.
Gas prices at the pumps have fallen 4¢/gal in just over a week. Unleaded Regular (87oct) is now at $3.15/gal, Unleaded Plus (90oct) is up to $3.25/gal, and Unleaded Premium (92oct) is now at $3.45/gal. Diesel is at $3.44/gal. I'm going to get hammered by freight and fueld surcharge costs, almost double of last Spring's nursery stock shipments. I don't see it getting any cheaper, anytime soon.
It was a wet, heavy snow clinging to everything, followed by freezing rain/sleet, and I fully expect to see lots of trees and tree branches down, on the way into work, tomorrow (Friday).



Things Which Make Your Head Explode™.
Welcome home, Soldier. And thank you for your service to America!
The end of Hollywood, and its liberal-demokkkRAT filth and scum? Yes, I'd pay to see that happen. Oh wait; I already have. Happen, dammit!
Definitely not of "presidential caliber", Steve Forbes would make a sound financial advisor to any US President. Here's a 45-min video of his outstanding lecture on the economy and the future. It contains the basics of a rational approach to our problems. I have never seen anything like this in that it is comprehensive, off-the-cuff and quite entertaining. If you have 45 minutes, this can alter your understanding of what is and what should be. Make time for it.
True to her hard-left, marxist-commie-socialist roots, US Sen Hitlery Rotten Klintoon (LIAR-NY), proposes $70 Billion of our hard-earned money, for her socialist programs.
The National REAL ID has been postponed to 2017. It's now 7 years after 9-11-01, and we still haven't secured our national borders. Illegals can vote without an ID, but US Citizens can't board planes without either an ID or a US Passport.
In August, 2007, President Bush denied that an NAU and Trans-America Highway is coming, yet Texas DOT is already holding hearings on both of them. Who's the liar?
Thank you Big Brother/Nanny State! The level of slime oozing from our glorious leaders orifices knows no bounds. Criminal, illegal aliens crossing the border? Build a fence to stop them? Too difficult and too expensive a job to even contemplate? Spend billions tracking every single farm animal in the US, so that blame for a disease may be tracked back to a single farmer instead of the government handlers? No expense will be spared on that bullshit effort.
The cowardly, idiotic, leftist, shit-for-brains, dumbass Adm Mikey "Let's do what the world wants" Mullen, chief of the US military said Sunday he favors closing the prison here as soon as possible because he believes negative publicity worldwide about treatment of muslim-islamic-arab terrorist suspects, has been "pretty damaging" to the image of the United States. Huh? WTF cares, Mullen? If he can't understand "interrogation" of terrorists, he sure doesn't understand that islam is at war with America, and wants to either subjugate or kill us.
And el Presidente Jorge Bushero, who's left the US-Mexican border wide-open for the past 7yrs, and whose RINO political whore, traitor, seditionist and saboteur, US Sen Kay Bailey Hutchinson (TRAITOR-TX), gutted all funding and intent for the Secure Fence Act (SFA), this month took the anti-Second Amendment, gun-grabber groups' side, in a Surpeme Court case. Bush is an asshole, IMO.
Awwwwwwwww, the Clintoons suppressing votes in Nevada? Why is anyone surprised? This explains all: The Clintoons and History. Clear, now?



Something To Think About™.
There was a Chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab the Prof noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back And stretching as if his back hurt.
The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist government.
In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked, 'Do you know how to catch wild pigs?' The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke.'You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.
Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.
The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America. The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, free medical, etc. while we continually lose our freedoms — just a little at a time.
One should always remember 'There is no such thing as a free Lunch! Also, a politician will never provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.
Also, if you see that all of this wonderful government 'help' is a problem confronting the future of democracy in America, you might want to send this on to your friends. If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life then you will probably delete this email, but God help you when the gate slams shut!
"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have." — Thomas Jefferson



Global Warming BS™.
Have you seen this video: "BBC: The Great Global Warming Swindle"? It was outright-banned from leftist, hate-filled, dirtbag lowlife scumbags, Google.com's and YouTube.com's websites, by the mentally-ill, left-wing, global warming idiot wackos, but I've preserved it, for posterity, aka you, me and *ours*. Watch, be informed and download it for others to see. It's on my corporate server, and will stay there, BTW.



islam Is A Criminal Organization™.
Know your enemy, dammit! The islamofascist muslim-islamist-arabs clearly are the World's enemy. No politicians have the spine or guts to tell you that!
I wish this were true, but somehow I just don't believe it. There's "something going on", which we're missing, IMO. Actually, this is more like muslim-islamist terrorists, all of whom need killing, IMO. By the hundreds-of-millions.
After reading this article, is there any doubt in your mind that islam and its mindless adherents, are both mentally-ill and criminal wife beaters?
Shedding blood is the honorable way to deal with political opponents and infidels,” said Imam Yasser Asser, Gaza’s most revered Muslim cleric. “But this is a defilement, a humiliation worse than death.” And giving an enemy a raspberry is punishable by stoning. These subhumans people are vermin.
If all Christians, Jews, and other real religions would put one of these on their vehicle, we'd soon find out who the muslim-islamist-arab terrorists, are.
If you ever had any questions about "the horror called islam", here it is explained for you. Any questions about the 6th century subhuman filth?
If you ever had any questions about "the horror called islam", wanting to destroy every religion which is non-islamic, this article should clear-up that confusion, for you, quite nicely. Read through the posts, and learn what else the murderous, muslim-islamic-arabs have done, and will certainly try to do to Judaism and Christianity. "Death of A Thousand Cuts" ring any bells? Go ahead and read; I'll wait.
Using the US Legal System to try enemy muslim-islamist-arab terrorists, will soon corrupt and break the entire system. They should be tried and convicted by US Military Tribunals, and summarily headshot, IMO. Bury them all face-down in 4" of liquid pigshit, facing north. F•ck the treasonsous, seditious, bleeding-heart liberal-demokkkTAT filth; headshoot them too! The problem will soon end.
No, I don't advocate or recommend the harming or killing of "innocent, moderate muslims"; but then, I've never met any such people. All muslims hate us Infidels (you and me) and truly wish us (you and me) dead. Remember: islamics want to kill us (you and me); muslims merely wish us (you and me) dead. I do heartily-advocate and recommend the outright targeting and killing of all muslim-islamic-arab terrorists, and their supporters, everywhere and anywhere you find them. Find the terrorists and KILL THEM!



Some People Just Need Killing™.
This subhuman piece-of-lowlife-shit — Marcos Gomez-Romero — beat his 4-month daughter to death, "because she was not the boy he had hoped for". Ariana Lizeth Rodriguez-Romero is with God, now. And the subhuman "father", needs a bullet in the head, immediately after his murder trial. I'd volunteer to headshoot the spic garbage.
Three subhumans — Kenneth Hodge, 19, David Keeling, 19, and Nashon Wallace, 20 — robbed two 11 and 13 year old Boy Scouts selling Christmas Trees, with a sawed-off shotgun, and punched them and one of the boy's fathers. All three Niggas® need killing, IMO. I'd volunteer to headshoot all three sambos, at no charge to the US Taxpayer.
A subhuman from the turd world Vietnam — Lam Luong — threw his 4 children (ranging from a few months to 3-yrs old) off of an 80ft bridge into rapid river water, and the police have just been able to begin recovery, last Saturday. No trial; headshoot the child murderer.
Personally, if that punk violated my daughter, I'd kill him. He got off way too light on his crime, this time. He should be dead, IMO.



Polar Inertia.
Polar Inertia is on the move, documenting the diverse "nomadic and popular culture" around the globe. In its manifesto, this photographic magazine promises to tell "the story of the highway, mobile home, fast food chain, suburbanite, truck stop, and industrialized landscape." And it does so in spectacular installments every two months. The newest issue showcases portraits of lifeguard stands on Los Angeles beaches, an anatomy of Hong Kong noodle shops, a view into a polar ice station on Rudolf Island, and a visit to the "ephemeral cities" that line the Spanish coast. It's long past time that we all tipped our hats to the journal as a whole for its fantastic offerings.




~ Back To John's Journal ~