Some hilarious things

News around here: the flight attendants' union for former Northwest flight attendants has lodged a complaint against Delta because the new uniforms only go up to a size 18--the old Northwest uniforms evidently went up to a size 28. Now I'm not one who would insist that there ought to be a size limit of size 6 and a weight limit of 95 pounds or anything, but isn't there a point where those extra pounds do, um, affect how they're able to do their job?

It's like they think they're Chicago police officers with 25 years on the force. At least when I was growing up, there was one physical exam when a man joined the force, so you could tell how long he'd been on the force simply with a single glance at his rear end.

Also, the same guy who couldn't figure out schedule SE, and himself has admitted that the economic models he was using couldn't predict the economy more than a month into the future, is claiming that the stimulus (oops, "spend-u-more") package is "on the right path."

With all due respect, if Geithner were to give stock tips, I think the contrarians would make a mint, if you catch my drift.

Thoughts on California and the "Cash for Clunkers" program

My friend Chet reminded me of this; apparently Kahleefornja is giving out IOUs instead of actual funds to pay its debts these days. It's the only state to do so since the Depression (though Illinois may join them, I believe), and it reminds me of playing Monopoly as a kid.

I would play, but my brother loved the game to the point where he would finagle the issuing of IOUs when luck turned against him. The end result? A brother and a father tired of accepting IOUs, a longer game, and the final result unchanged; my brother always lost with IOUs.

The same result I expect with Kahleefornja, of course. Bankruptcy judges are waiting!

And I was thinking this morning about the "Cash for Clunkers" program. If we can assume that a person has a vehicle with about 100,000 miles and 18mpg, and trades on on an average sedan with 24mpg, one could use about 800 fewer gallons of fuel over the "expected" 50,000 miles of life left on the car.

Maybe. Of course, if it's a true clunker, it doesn't have that kind of mileage in it.

In return, one melts down two tons of old steel and makes it into two tons of new steel and aluminium, and in doing so...you use the equivalent of about four tons of petroleum, or the equivalent of about 1500 gallons of fuel.

Or, since you're burning coal, not oil, probably the carbon equivalent of about 2-3000 gallons of fuel. While of course you'd be buying a new car in a certain amount of time, the end result is that the environmental effect of this bill is probably a wash.

As I've noted before, one definition of "environmentalist" is "person who cannot do math."

Thoughts for the Pelosi/Reid/Obama recession

If you're (as I have) suffering some of the effects of the current recession, my wife and I have some thoughts that may be helpful.

1. Learn to buy not clothes, but a wardrobe. 18" of closet space can be entirely sufficient for a well dressed man. Probably somewhat more for a woman, but certain essentials can save you a lot of money while allowing you to enjoy better quality items, too.

2. Stop buying kitchen appliances and create a kitchen. My family eats for about as much as food stamps would allocate, but you wouldn't know it unless you saw the grocery bills.

3. Learn how much your "stuff" is costing you. A $500 sofa seems cheap until you count the 200 square feet that you add to your house to house it, and lots of inexpensive clothes seem "cheap" until....you need a new walk-in closet or storage space to house them.

4. Contemplate what the real cost of the attitudes one sees on the idiot box, or at the movies, might be.

5. Consider that the failure to meet a budget, or keep out of debt, just might be a fairly accurate barometer of your ability to apply "Thou shalt not covet..." to your life. Pursue contentment, and see what happens.

Aiding and abetting

Heard that many thousands were at the Michael Jackson funeral, and millions more watched on TV, and had the thought that these people--and even more, those in his entourage--are likely guilty, morally if not legally speaking, of aiding and abetting the circumstances of his death. Yes, he might have simply ignored those people, but perhaps if enough people challenged him, he might have had a chance. Instead, too many simply kept on buying his records and funding his demise.

The same thing applies to those around Gov. Mark Sanford; they, by not challenging his behavior (starting by not going to church), are guilty in the disaster which was inflicted on his family and his state. And, of course, the same thing applies to any number of other people who have gotten themselves into trouble. As the prophet Nathan would tell us, love loves enough to tell people things that hurt at the time.

Love.

Thoughts on the Palin resignation

...on my part are not too many except for one; if it is indeed true that the Palins have accrued $500,000 in legal bills, and the state of Alaska four times as much, it's a wonderful demonstration of the need for a "loser pays" legal system--where plaintiffs who lose their case (all 15 ethics complaints against the Palins were dismissed) pay the legal bills of the winning defendants.

Most of the other claims don't make sense to me, but reality is that if the (frivolous) ethics complaints were truly bleeding her and her family dry, I can see a move like this to stem it.

This also seems to be a clear demonstration of the fact that many people apparently cannot get it through their heads that the courts are intended for real issues, not this kind of harassment.

The reality of daycare

Ever contemplate that one big reason that feminists and pro-government types love daycare--and promote it whenever they can--is that the family is the great bulwark against socialism, and one of the greatest ways faith and morality are passed down is through the loving care of Mother?

Gratitude for unemployment

And no, not just because I'll be sending less tax money to the government in the process, although that's certainly an itty-bitty part of it. (see Lori Borgman's column today if you want politics here today)

But really, I'm grateful for a lot of things. Time with the family. More involvement with homeschooling. Getting more people familiar with fine sewing, along with my wife. Making a few bookshelves for our home. Getting a good garden going.

More time to serve the church in helping others and mowing. Cooking some new things (my job search would be different if being a chef paid better at beginning levels). Learning a bit of Latin and Logic (long time goals, really). Learning how much our family can reduce its budget--and learning that it's really not that painful. Getting myself, and the family, in a little bit better shape. Helping my extended family get their businesses running--and learning about the possibilities for myself as well.

That is, though, coming to an end soon. I've accepted a new job down in Waseca, which looks like a very good opportunity. Even if it turns out not to be so, it's income in an era where most of those in the District of Columbia seem to be doing their best to follow every mistake made by Hoover and Roosevelt--the mistakes that created and sustained the Great Depression. I'll at least be trying to follow what my grandfather did to do pretty well by himself at that time.

And so I'm grateful. I hope you are, too.

Book review: "Already Gone."

I'd been seeing a lot of press in the sources I follow about a new book by Ken Ham and Britt Beemer called "Already Gone," the premise of which is that there is something going on in the church leading to about 2/3 of young people leaving for at least some period of time in their twenties.

My wife and I received our copy today, and let's just say it's a quick read, especially for someone who's been trained in statistics. The first comment; yes, the statistics hold up; it does turn out to be statistically significant, if the data be true, that in various categories, those who attend Sunday School are actually slightly less likely to hold Biblical stands on any variety of issues. It also holds that a great portion of the disagreement by those who leave is about the issue of Creation, and that kids leave the church in middle school or high school--and simply make it official when they go out on their own for college.

Is the work Ham and Beemer started finished? Not quite; here are the statistics for acceptance of premarital sex, for example: 47.7% of non-Sunday school attenders said it was wrong, vs. only 40.8% of attenders. Statistically significant? Absolutely, but the nature of the statistics also demonstrates that there is a larger factor involved.

Hopefully someone picks it up. I do believe as well that Ham and Beemer give a big hint as to the 700 lb gorilla in the background; churches failing to help their members understand the depth and breadth of truly Biblical theology.

Ben's (non) poetry translated and augmented

Presidentus nostrus twittus malus est.
Dicit stolidus verba Obama.

If logic were taught in schools,

....reporters in Sweden would instantly know that the 2 1/2 year old child of two feminists, whose parents refuse to tell what sex their child is, is a boy. Duh.

I pity that little guy, and hope that somehow he grows up right and becomes the next great middle linebacker for Da Bears, and one who (unlike Mr. Urlacher) embraces Biblical manhood, having about eight children and a wife who embrace Biblical family.

If you want to know what's wrong with Detroit

Read this. Michigan grocer/department store Meijer (one of the coolest stores on the planet, IMO) is apparently in negotiations to build a store in Detroit, and apparently it would not only be the biggest development in that city of nearly one million people in fifty years (it wouldn't be in my town of 16,000), but it would also be the first major grocer to open up shop there since 2007.

Want to fix Detroit? I suggest that getting the Mayor's (and the city council's) hands out of the matter would be a great start. Applying for a permit to build a store should not require "negotiations" any more than a permit for new windows.

Career update

I'm also looking into a new career; modeling hats for people with cancer. What do you think?

Seriously, it's for my Mom, of course; keep praying, as it's awfully rough to go through chemo for the third time. We simply rejoice that we can try to help a little bit, and I hope it looks better on her than it does on me. :^)

And I hope you don't have a loved one who needs one of these, but if you do, the good people at Blumenkinder Heirlooms (and the model above) can get you something you'll like.

And also seriously, interview today, which went well. So if you're out there looking and wondering if anyone is hiring, I know of at least one opening. (no I'm not telling you!) :^)

Proof of Solzhenitsyn's point

In his famous address at Harvard in the late 1970s, Alesandr Solzhenitsyn raised a bit of trouble by suggesting that a nation with only law, and not morality, common sense, and the like, was in trouble.

This Supreme Court case--about a teenage girl strip searched to find evidence of Advil--proves his point in my opinion. Whatever the legalities, what kind of idiot thinks that Advil is a threat to schools?

Apparently, school administrators and lawyers, by taking this one all the way to the Supreme Court, are the idiots, and I would dare suggest that this is yet another reason to keep your kids out of the government's schools. Do you want them to think this kind of thing is appropriate?

H/T Northern Muckraker and others.

A word to the wise

Cold Fusion Guy links a list of articles detailing predictions about how bad the recession is supposed to get, when it was supposed to ease, and one thing comes across very clearly; the econometrics gurus aren't doing so hot lately. So if you're thinking of taking their advise when starting a business, or especially when going into debt, a word to the wise; don't. Given that "man acts," as von Mises noted, prediction of the economy (especially by Keynesians) tends to be a fool's errand.

Especially since it's not just man who acts, but also God. I do not claim the gift of prophecy, but I have to wonder if a lot of this is His way of getting our attention.

Unintentionally hilarious

Just north of the border with Illinois along highway 39 in Wisconsin lies a plant that makes Hormel Chili, and a big banner on the side of the building announced they were celebrating 30 years of "quality and excellence."

Two words, of course, that no one with functioning taste buds should ever use to describe Hormel Chili, at least not without a "not" involved. If you want to know the limits of quality tools like Six Sigma, visit the Hormel factory near Beloit, or just open a can.

Or if you remember Hormel Chili, don't. You don't need to.