The "Assembly Room"

Old Coot was curious about my husband's remote control airplane "assembly room". Mr. FtK started his hobby in a room upstairs that we call 'the office', but he outgrew that area rather quickly. Now, 3/4 of the garage is also dedicated to his hobby. He's always been one of those people who works better in total chaos than in an organized work space, as you'll be able to tell from the pictures. But, I'm glad he has a hobby he really enjoys. The two boys love working on them as well, and they discuss all the engineering details and how they can tweak them to work better or differently. So, I think they're learning a lot from their little hobby.

My oldest has been working on a top secret project that I'm not even allowed to mention. They think they've come up with a remote control vehicle that will be new to the industry, and their dream is to patent it. Let 'em dream...they're having a ball with it, and the hobby allows them lots of time sharing, learning and shooting the shit with their Dad.

Here are those pictures I promised Old Coot...the picture quality is poor, but you get the idea...

The Assembly Room



Work in Progress



Planes hanging from the ceiling



Beginning a new one



Some of the planes

>

The guys beside some of their favorites



The "airfield"



My fervent hope is that we're able to clear out a small area of the garage so I can squeeze my van in this winter.

Obama supporters pay heed!!!

IF CLIP DOESN'T RUN, CHECK IT OUR HERE.

So, are you sure the Republicans are the ones responsible for the problems with our economy??

VOTE McCAIN/PALIN '08 !!!

My new lipstick

Palin is still bringing in the crowds

...60,000 in Florida.

I *REALLY* hate doing this...

...I really do. But, I'm going to have to turn on comment moderation for a few days. I'm sick of having to keep an eye on the comments to be sure people aren't abusing open moderation.

I've enjoyed not having to moderate comments, so I hope that those few people who are causing problems will back off soon. Please. When they do, I'll turn off moderation again.

Sorry...

Look Who's Irrational Now

Interesting article...

"What Americans Really Believe," a comprehensive new study released by Baylor University yesterday, shows that traditional Christian religion greatly decreases belief in everything from the efficacy of palm readers to the usefulness of astrology. It also shows that the irreligious and the members of more liberal Protestant denominations, far from being resistant to superstition, tend to be much more likely to believe in the paranormal and in pseudoscience than evangelical Christians.

HT: JJS P.Eng and Thinking Christian.

One more reason to like Sarah Palin...

...and it's a big one. Sandra Bernhard despises her.

WARNING...WARNING...WARNING...!!!
VIDEO CONTAINS OBSCENITIES..lots of them.



Gads, that woman is a mess.

An Addiction?

Is it possible to have an addiction to building remote control planes???!!! I swear my husband spends every waking moment assembling his flippin' planes. One room upstairs is filled with plans and parts for building, and now he's turned half of our garage into a plane assembly room. I'll have to take some pictures of the garage and his planes and post them. It's nuts...planes everywhere! I can't even park in my garage at present.

I think he's losing him mind...srsly.

I guess I should consider myself lucky that he's not sitting in a coma glaze watching sports on the tube. And, I'll never have to worry about him out chasing other women...he's not able to pull himself away from his planes long enough to even notice another woman.

Too bad he can't make some money off his hobby. With the way the economy looks lately, and with all the banks closings, we may *never* sell that house he built. It's *still* sitting on the market, and it's killing us financially. Oh, and Mr. FtK invested in life insurance/retirement plan with *AIG* years ago. I hope it's still available when we hit retirement age! I swear the economy is scaring the life out of us.

Anyone have any creative ideas as to how to make some money off his little hobby?? Any ideas are welcome!

Science Debate '08

You can read the Presidential candidates answers to the top 14 science questions facing America at this link. Enjoy...

Too funny...

Some people are holding up lipstick at Palin's speeches...kinda like holding up a lighter at a concert.




Well, if nothing else, Sarah has made the race a lot of fun to watch. Maybe she'll stir up some positive interest in political issues. The political scene is usually such a downer.

You have got to be freaking kidding me...

Check out the headline for the day...

Charles Darwin to receive apology from the Church of England for rejecting evolution

I swear when I read that, I started laughing. Weird reaction? Maybe, but it seriously cracks me up that the Church of England is going to apologize to the dead corpse of Darwin for a theory that is under more scrutiny than ever before.

"The statement will read: Charles Darwin: 200 years from your birth, the Church of England owes you an apology for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still. We try to practise the old virtues of 'faith seeking understanding' and hope that makes some amends."

God, that's a hoot. Bet there's a whole lot of political baggage behind that decision.

SNL - Palin and Clinton in Opening Sketch

Tina Fey is a dead ringer for Sarah Palin...



"...and I can see Russia from my house!"

Absolutely freaking hilarious!

Edit: Here's the transcript.

Fishy Soul Mates

Inside joke really. Some of you will get it...

I love the Internet...

It's certainly spiced up the presidential elections...



Too funny. Oh, and Obama is supposed to make an appearance on Saturday Night Live tonight. Michael Phelps is hosting the show. Don't miss it!

Atheist Evangelist Still going Strong

Richard Dawkins is releasing a new 3 part documentary - "The Genius of Charles Darwin". We're provided with *very* little science...but rather a good dose of ideology, Darwin worship, protelyzing for atheism and indoctrination.

"This series is about perhaps the most powerful idea ever to occur to a human mind. The idea is evolution by natural selection and the genius who thought of it was Charles Darwin.

I’m a biologist and Darwin has been an inspiration to me throughout my whole career.

His masterpiece on the origin of species was published 150 years ago and it changed forever our view of the world and our place in it.

What Darwin achieved, was nothing less than a complete explanation of the complexity and diversity of all life. And yet, it’s one of the simplest ideas that anyone ever had.

In this series I want to persuade you that evolution offers a far richer and more spectacular view of life than any religious story. It’s one reason why I don’t believe in God. I want to show you how Darwin opened our eyes to the extraordinary reality of our world.

In this first program I am going to tell you who Charles Darwin was, explain how he discovered his theory of evolution, What it is, and why it matters. By the end I hope to have convinced you of the truth that evolution is a fact, backed by undeniable evidence. And I want to give you a glimpse of the brutal elegance of the force which Darwin realized drives evolution on: natural selection."

...

"Darwin theory explained how the diversity on earth had evolved spontaneously without any interference from God."

...

"Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species is one of the most precious books in the entire library of our species. This book made it possible no longer to feel the necessity to believe in anything supernatural. It completely revolutionised the way we see ourselves, the world, and our origins."

This dude is sooooo transparent. He's not teaching science, he's peddling Atheism pure and simple.

If this type of tripe ever makes it into Kansas public schools, my kids will go the private school route. Dawkins emphasizes that kids should embrace Darwinism and question their faith beliefs. But, if we question Darwinism, he writes us off as either ignorant, stupid or insane (or wicked).

My eighth grader and I watched episode one (above) together. Even he recognized that no empirical evidence was offered supporting molecule to man other than Craig Ventor telling us that because organisms share similarities, there is no question that Darwinian evolution is a fact.

Dawkins speaks elegantly, and his accent suggests an air of arrogant sophistication, yet his presentation is *evidence* free.

I encourage my children to question everything...including their faith. Dawkins, OTOH, discourages the questioning of his Darwinian faith calling those of us who do "stupid, ignorant or insane".

"Test everything. Hold on to the good." - 1 Thessalonians 5:21

Gibson Interviews Palin

I shouldn't post this article, because I'm kinda breaking my rule about staying away from the shit flinging political circus, but the last paragraph from the article is spot on...

Liberal Democrats predictably will cite the interview as evidence that Palin is not prepared for the vice presidency. Republicans will equally predictably cite it as evidence that she is. How centrist voters will react to it remains to be seen. One thing is clear: This isn't a transformational election on either side. Whoever wins, the ugly old cultural and political divisions in America remain -- and they are deeper than ever.

Sigh...sad, but true enough.

NCSE's Josh Rosenau needs a geography lesson

Josh writes:

John Cole points out this bit from Sarah Palin's interview:

Pressed about what insights into recent Russian actions she gained by living in Alaska, Palin answered: “They’re our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.”

Oy.

According to Google Earth, the westernmost tip of Alaska is over 5,000 miles from the fighting in Georgia. Moscow is closer, a mere 4,500 miles away. Even if Palin didn't need glasses, she couldn't see anything that far away.

Oy indeed...

Josh, luv, think Bering Strait.

Good Lord...while he's working toward that doctorate in evolutionary biology, I hope he takes a few geography courses along the way.

I won't touch on the rest of the fallacies in his post because I've sworn off defending, bashing, and poking fun of the political candidates, but I figure evolutionary biologists are fair game....lol.

SPORE...

The Intelligent Design Simulator

The Difference between Democrats and Republicans

Tee Hee...

I was talking to a friend of mine's little girl the other day. I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up and she replied, "I want to be president!" Both of her parents are liberal Democrats and were standing there. So then I asked her, "If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?" She replied, "I'd give houses to all the homeless people." "Wow - what a worthy goal." I told her, "You don't have to wait until you're President to do that. You can come over to my house and mow, pull weeds, and sweep my yard, and I'll pay you $50. Then I'll take you over to the grocery store where this homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $50 to use toward a new house."

Since she is only 6, she thought that over for a few seconds. While her Mom glared at me, she looked me straight in the eye and asked, "Why doesn't the homeless guy come over and do the work, and you can just pay him the $50?"

And I said, "Welcome to the Republican Party."

Her folks still aren't talking to me.

Thanks JJS P.Eng.!!

Palinmania completely out of control...

Slate asked readers to e-mail them with their Sarah Palin dreams.

*Eyes rolling*

Good grief, the media has seriously gone off the deep end. They posted 20 of the "most compelling" dreams.

Get a load...

"Sarah Palin's standing over me (I'm naked, she's not) and shouting, podium style, through a pair of great, floating glasses, 'And you know what? I'm going to cut it off. I'm gonna CUT IT OFF.' I hear cheers. Are we onstage? I don't see it, but I feel the presence of TV camera everywhere. She continues, 'And you know why? Because, well why shouldn't I? If you're good, I know God will put it back.' I look down and realize I have the biggest pot plant ever growing up between my legs. I mean, the thing is beautiful. I think something happens next, but I can't remember what. All I know is we are in a field, and Sarah Palin is kneeling over me decked out in hunter gear. She cradles her rifle pragmatically and smiles pathetically as if to say, 'You silly bear,' and ruffles my stomach. The plant is gone, but I am now covered in fur. And blood. And bits of grass. And as much as I want to bite her face off, I can't be angry at her. Or rather, I can't argue it. I've got nothing. And she knows it too. Her triumphalism is effortless."

—Joshua Mensch

Liberal much, Josh?