Dump the Don't Ask Loophole

Seems that hetero guys and gals are using the Don't Ask, Don't Tell loophole to get outta the armed forces. Many are stationed in warzones such as Iraq.

Yet another reason to get rid of the stupid rule.....

High Pitched Tone

Hear that?

No?

Well, your kids can. The newest craze is to use ringtones with really high-pitched tones that young ears can hear, but that us older folks can't.

Ingenious, if you ask me.....

Bush Bounce?

CNN is saying that the Rove issue resolution (not even something under Bush's control) and Zarqawi's death could help his poll numbers. Hopefully the American
public isn't THAT gullible.

Bush policy still sucks.....

An Extra Special Crackberry!!

Seen in Las Vegas, USA, at the Nextel store:



(Source: engadgetmobile.com)

The Country's in Worse Shape Than It Was When He Became President Six Years Ago

Poll Gives Bush His Worst Marks Yet

Unhappiness about gasoline prices and Iraq have created a grim political environment for the president, according to the latest Times poll.

Tossing Out the Election-Year Bones!

Interesting article on Slate: The Gay Panic Button - Why pressing it won't work this time.

http://www.slate.com/id/2143208?nav=wp

We Are Small and Insignificant

Wow.

How humbling.

The Joshua Tree National Park is huge, the boulders are huge, the vistas are huge, and the trees are ancient.

Me with one of the Joshua Trees:



The size of the boulders that push up out of the Earth during seismic events are indescribable. Look closely and you'll see a person (in a white shirt) on the boulders in the lower right-hand corner:



We were about a mile high at the Keys Point, and when we looked out over the edge:



The plants were diverse, bushes were green, and some plants had yellow and purple flowers. They didn't seem to care that we were about a mile up and in the middle of the desert:



I have videos of the Joshua Trees. There are literally thousands of them in fields around the park. Like the 4,000 windmills we saw the other day, the view of them just goes on and on.....

Princess of Monaco HERE?

So the latest news in Palm Desert (just down the street) is that Monaco's Prince Albert has a daughter here. The kid's poor school has been swamped all day with the press, tying up traffic, and making a nuisance of themselves. Seems they were trying to get a picture of the kid, but they didn't - she left the school in a heavily window-tinted SUV under the protection of the Sheriff's office.....

The Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum, Part 2?

Oh, and another quick detour:

The NYT reports on deep core samples from the Arctic Ocean showing that 55 million years ago—during a big global warming period—the sea was downright toasty and much warmer than scientists have long estimated. That suggests current simulations aren't accounting for some mechanism in global warming. "Something extra happens when you push the world into a warmer world," said a researcher from the Arctic study, "and we just don't understand what it is."

(Source: Slate)

The desert here in Palm Springs is hot enough now! It doesn't need any further help, especially from the Arctic - well, no, wait, maybe if we could bring some of the arctic coolness here.....

Profile in Fairly Steady Disillusionment

Taking a momentary detour from vacation:

In a recent Rolling Stone profile, one of America's leading historians sizes up the Dubya. It's kinda long, but has lots of info.

Seems that a friend's Iraq stay has been extended by several months. Also seems that Bush has moved about 1500 troops "temporarily" from one place to another. I'm sure THEY've been extended, too. Lie after lie after lie.....

Get Out and Vote 2006 and 2008

The San Andreas Fault

Live from Palm Springs:

We toured the Fault today for a few hours with a tour company. It was very interesting to see all the different rock formations, actually see where the Japan tectonic plate and the North American plate are pushing past each other, and see some wildlife.

Getting out of the Jeep to walk around:



Our tour guide:



Me in my gear:



Hanging out in a crack:



Here's a great shot through the Fault to another mountain range in the back:



Ending the tour, the sun sets over a ridge:



There are hundreds of photos that I took, but these are just a sample.