Dinner the Other night

The other night I made Potatoes in a tangy yoghurt sauce:

and the whole batch looked like this:

Mike Mussina

So it's been a while since my last post so I figured I would post something.

It has been a nice summer so far, very eventful but almost over.

The Yankees had been playing so well until they met the O's. And now they have to face the the Angels, this is not going to be a good series for them. With that said they did win Mike Mussina's start today. Moose looked really good he encountered some trouble in the 2nd inning but was able to shut down the vaunted line-up of the Angels for the rest of the game. His final line was 7 innings pitched 2 hits no earned runs, five or six strikeouts, and all on an economical 90 or so pitches. In my opinion Girardi should have at least let him come out to start the eighth inning. It is amazing how he has totally rejuvenated his career this year. Last year I was one of the people shouting from the roof tops that he was done. This is me eating crow. Well done sir, I was totally wrong you can still pitch at 40. Moose is 14-7 on the year with a 3.44 ERA with eleven scheduled starts left he has a chance to do something he has never done before, win 20 games. I hope that Moose and the Yanks put themselves in position to make this possible. The team seems to be coming around as well and the front office seems to have a commitment to not only winning now but staying the course and building a team that could be great for years to come. I'm truly excited to see how this season turns out.

I recently discovered a website devoted to helping to make the argument for Moose to go to the Hall of Fame when he is all said and done. That website is Mussinahof.com, it is also linked at the right side under "Friends of The World as I see it." Everybody should go there and read about why Moose should be a HOFer.

Glenn Beck Bullshit

I was doing my daily reading of CNN.com and came across an editorial by Glenn Beck. Upon reading this editorial I became quite perplexed by Beck's lack of understanding about the public hostility toward "Big Oil." He, Beck, argues that we, the public, should be thankful for the services that "Big Oil" provide and for the services that rely on oil to run. This blog is meant to highlight some of the bullshit that Beck is spewing.

Glen Beck states at the beginning of his piece:

Congress has picked "Big Oil" as their enemy of the week. These companies inexplicably put profits above people, ravaging the environment and financially assaulting the poor to put another couple of dollars on their balance sheet. That's the storyline we've all been taught.

Yes, times are tough for many. Sure, oil companies make a lot of cash. But, for that money, they get us to work, get ambulances to the hospital, keep our homes warm, and employ thousands of our friends and neighbors while financing their retirement, paying their health care, and providing energy to millions. Because of capitalism, they have the incentive to do that. I've yet to see what our government does for us with their rather large chunk of each gallon of gas we buy, and I've yet to see them offer to return it or suggest a gas-tax-windfall-tax-tax.

Here we see that Glenn Beck thinks the American public should be more upset with Congress than "Big Oil." This line of reasoning is not entirely wrong. However, the issue the public has with "Big Oil" is as follows. Some of the public see the record profits by "Big Oil" as exploitive. Now being the good Capitalist that I am, I do not like the idea of lots of government intervention, generally markets have a way of evening themselves out. With that being said when a company earns nearly $10 Million* an hour there is something wrong when their product impacts the world in negative ways. The impacts of "Big Oil's" record profits (and prices) can be seen in many areas.

The first area where these impacts are seen is the rise in transportation costs. In the past week three Airlines have gone belly-up, citing costs of fuel among their reasons for filing for bankruptcy.‘ These airlines were discount airlines - ATA Airlines and Aloha Airlines - mostly flying from the continental US to Hawaii.º So according to Mr. Beck we should all be happy that "Big Oil" allows us to go to work everyday. Well, Mr. Beck, I would like to know if you think the people who lost their jobs because these Airlines went belly-up should be happy/appreciative? Does "Big Oil" allow for many services? Yes, it does. It allows for ambulances, public transportation, heat. However, it also keeps some in rural areas from getting to work. The rising costs of gas in some areas and economic groups makes owning a car cost prohibitive. For those who are able to own a car and pay for its costs, are faced with a different problem. This problem is dealt with below.

"It costs me $40 to fill my gas tank. If I have to fill my gas tank twice a month, pay my rent, utilities, credit card bill(s), and other bills, how am I to afford other miscellaneous entertainment costs?" Hm, this is an interesting question Mr. Beck, how is one to pay all their responsibilities and still have spending money? In certain places where the economy is in a very bad state (Michigan, for instance) using a minimum of $80/month to fill-up you tank and hundred's more paying housing and living costs one is unable to go out to the movies, dinner, bars, etc. This leads us to the second area which is effected by the prices leading to the record profits of "Big Oil." The lack of disposable income among certain social classes impacts small business owners. The cutting down of spending means the fall of the independent "mom and pop" business.

The second area is very similar to the first. Because gas prices have gone up so much in the past few years the prices of other commodities/products have gone up as well. The rise in transportation costs have forced businesses to raise their prices or make somethings that were complimentary into an added cost; a prime example of this is the new policy instituted by McDonald's to charge ¢.10 for the Sweet and Sour sauce if you do not buy a chicken dish. Coupled with this is the fact that produce has gone up causing restaurant prices to go up as well. Mr. Beck, what is this record profit doing to Restauranteurs? Should a restauranteur be appreciative of "Big Oil" when they are contributing to the restauranteur losing money and possibly his/her restaurant/livelihood? With out patrons restaurants and other small businesses are unable to stay afloat. They (restaurants and small businesses) need patrons who have the ability to pay for the products the restaurants/businesses sell. Oil costs being where they are and the failing of the US Dollar contributes to the inability of the consumer to purchase non-essentials.

Without going into your points about the environment, which are bogus and meant to deflect the minds of simple people away from "Big Oil," I will just say this. Telling people that Al Gore is a loon or hypocrite, or whatever is just ridiculous. But to attack something like Global Warming, which is a naturally occurring phenomenon that has been accelerated in the past 200 years or so, is just flat out wrong. Say what you want about Al Gore, but he is right when he equates those who don't believe in the human impact on global warming (or global warming at all) to people who believe that the Moon landing was staged and those who believe that the world was flat. There is incontrovertible geological evidence that shows the unnatural acceleration of Global Warming.ª



*"Big Oil" Profits
‘CNN report re three airline bankruptcies in the past week
ºAirline Bankruptcy
ªGlobal Warming Conference Board Press Release; Press Release re a study done at U of Texas; Abstract about a study of a Glacier's retreat, advance and subsequent retreat in the last 100+ years

Tacky 80's Hair Metal Videos

Since I'm in a weird mood right now and watching tacky 80's Hair Metal Videos on youtube, I figured I would post some of my favorites here. With no further introduction here they are.

Winger - Miles Away


The Vinnie Vincent Invasion (ft Mark Slaughter) - Love Kills


Warrant - Heaven


What's a list of tacky 80's Metal videos with out...

Skid Row - I Remember You


Skid Row - 18 and Life


And finally my favorite Skid Row song ever...

Skid Row - Wasted Time



So trashy, tacky, and cheesy. I love it. So good. I know.

Baseball Season is fast approaching

Since today is March 1 there are less than 30 days until opening day of the 2008 MLB season. This should be a good season, the Yankees have a good young pitching staff and a very good lineup. I, however, do not think that they will win the AL East. In a year or two I think the pitching staff will come into its own and the Yankees will assume their rightful place - a top the AL East and all of MLB. I think that the Red Sox will be in the WS at least (as much as it pains me to admit that).

My choices for AL and NL Cy Young are:

AL: Josh Becket (he should have won last year)

NL: Johan Santana.

My picks for the the winners of the four playoff spots in each league are:

AL East Red Sox; AL Central Detroit; AL West Angels; AL Wild Card Yankees

NL East Mets; NL Central Milwaukee; NL West Arizona; NL Wild Card Philadelphia.

Here's another selection from Old Norse

This is a selection of four stanzas from Hávamal (Sayings of the High One) that I think is full of very good advise:

23. Ósnotr maðr vakir um allar mætr
oc hyggr at hvívetna;
þá er móðr, er at morni kømr,
alr er vil, sem var.

24. Ósnotr maðr hyggr sér alla vera
viðhlæiendr vini;
hitki hann fiðr þótt þeir um hann fár lesi,
ef hann með snotrom stir.

25. Ósnotr máðr hyggr sér alla vera
viðhlæiendr vini
þá þat finnr, er at þingi kømr,
at hann á formælendr fá.

77. Deyr fé, deyia frændr,
deyr siálfr it sama;
ec veit einn, at aldri deyr:
dómr um dauðan hvern.

Here's what it means in idiomatic english:

23. The foolish man wakes all night
and thinks at everything;
then is weary, when it comes to morning,
all trouble is, as it was.

24. The foolish man thinks all are friends to him
who laugh with him;
that he does not notice, even if they speak hostile words about him,
when he sits among the wise

25. The foolish man thinks all are friends to him
who laugh with him
then he finds that, when he comes to the assembly
that he has few advocates.

77. Cattle die, kinsmen die,
the self must also die:
I know one (thing) that never dies:
the reputation of each dead man.

One of my favorite passages from Old Norse Literature

This is one of my favorite passages from Old Norse. This passage comes from the Edda of Snorri Sturluson Loki and Svaðilfari.

Here is some background on the passage. The Norse gods made a deal with a smith who happened to be a Giant. The deal that they made was that if he could build a fortress for the gods in the span of three seasons (á þrim misserum) he would receive as a reward the goddess Freyja as well as the sun and the moon. When the gods realized that this task was very close to being completed they told Loki to fix this mess, since he was the one who convinced them to make this deal with the Smith in the first place. Loki, one night, disguised as a mare went down to the Smith and his horse, causing the Smith's horse to run away and copulate with (the mare) Loki; siring Odin's horse Sleipnir. The Smith realized he was tricked and angrily turned his attention towards the Gods. This is where we pick up. My favorite part of this section is highlighted in bold.

Loki and Svaðilfari lines 43-50.

En er Æsir sá þat til víss, at þar var bergrisi kominn, þá varð eigi þyrmt eiðunum, ok kǫlluðu þeir á Þór, ok jafnskjótt kom hann, ok því næst fór á lopt hamarrinn Mjǫllnir. Galt hann þá smíðarkaupit, ok eigi sól eða tungl; heldr synjaði hann honum at byggva í Jǫtunheimum ok laust þat it fyrsta hǫgg, er haussinn brotnaði í smán mola, ok sendi hann niðr undir Niflheim.


Here is what it means:

And when the Æsir saw that for certain, that there was a hill giant coming, then was no respect shown for the oaths, and they called to Thor, and he came at once, and there upon the hammer Mjǫllnir went aloft. He paid then the reward of the smith, and not the sun and the moon, rather he denied to him to dwell in the land of the giants and struck the first blow, so that the skull broke into little pieces, and (he) sent him (the Giant) down into Hell.

Tusen takk og ha det bra