Starbucks really IS that expensive....

$ 1,180 for coffee. $ 1,540 for extension cords. $ 514,201 for tents.

All in the name of security. No, this wasn't Edison.

The High Cost of a Rush to Security.

Operation Operation Name

Famous operation names include Operation Overlord (Battle of Normandy), Barbarossa (Nazi Invasion of the Soviet Union), the Manhattan Project (Atomic Bomb), Desert Storm (Gulf War I).

Here's one you might not have heard of: Operation Blackbird.

What would you think:

• British raid on rail lines in Italy
• German seizure and occupation of Vichy France
• US Invasion of Panama
• Multistate baby-formula Investigation

Bam! You'd be right.
There is a codename for a multistate baby-formula investigation.



It traced money back from infant-formula traffickers to, I swear, nations where terrorist groups are active (haven't we been scared into thinking they're everywhere?).

So... before you buy black market baby formula (wherever this would be), think how you might be financing terror.

And just so you know, the US Invasion of Panama was called "Just Cause" -- even though something cooler like "Blackbird" wasn't taken already.

Nerd Test

Who would have thought it was this low...



and Peg:



Who would have gambled she would be nerdier?

Hawaii - Day 8

We took the road to Hana today. This is the least developed/most "Hawaii" part of the island.



The Coral Church. The CD we bought to tell us about all the things to see while on the road to Hana said there was an interesting story about the Church, but they lied.



As anyone who has seen my honeymoon photos knows, I love a good waterfall picture.



We stopped to see the picnic areas, caves, restroom, blacksand beach (lava tube), hiking trial, and of course....



the ancient burial airport, to the right.

Hawaii - Day 7

More volcanic ash!

Is this Hawaii or Iceland again?

Hawaii - Day 6

We did an ATV Tour of the Volcano today:

Hawaii - Day 5

Just the side of the road here...

Mmmmm Carls Jr

Hawaii - Day 4

The view from the room in Maui:

Hawaii - Day 3

We visited Pearl Harbor.




The USS Arizona:




This is something everyone should do.

Hawaii - Day 2

After the girls rolled in at 5am, we were back out at 9 for a whole day tour of the island.


These turtles were so comfortable with us, that you could go up and swim with them -- they were all over the water.


Just one of the many beaches we stopped at today.


Highest point on the island.

Hawaii

Hanging with the guys in Hawaii


Polynesian Village


Dancer


Getting us some coconuts

PETA Protest

In Providence, RI there was a protest to illustrate that eating meat is like cannibalism...



Personally, I just think this is one guy who took the concept of "Treating a woman like a piece of meat" a little too seriously.

Oh and incidentally, I think Militant Vegans and members of PETA should be eaten alive by ferocious animals so they can learn the error of their ways.

Congrats Andrew and Peg!

It was one year ago today that Andrew and Peg tied the knot, and this picture was taken where I looked like the meat in a White Castle Hamburger.

W. Mark Felt

This week the identity of Deep Throat was finally revealed. He was the #2 man in the FBI at the time of Watergate, his name W. Mark Felt.

When our president was asked what he thought he said that it was an interesting revelation but he could not say whether Felt was a hero or villain. I did a little snooping and there is a bit of a debate over it.

Here is how I see it. HERO. Plain and simple. If he did it for any other motive than justice, we would have known his name much sooner. He would have taken credit for it as soon as the whole thing blew over and said "I did it, it was me, I am so great where is my book deal, where are my $200,000 a pop lectures...I am going to be so rich and famous."

But instead, he broke the rules, presumabley because the only guy higher up than him at the FBI would have swept it under the rug, and this was the only way to prevent a cover-up. That boys and girls is the reason we have a free press.

Also, for a good laugh check out these...

I finally made it to 3rd Base in Maine!

We just had our first company softball game and we had our asses handed to us, but it was still a lot of fun. As gaunt as I may be, I actually went 2/3 and made it to 3rd base. We played the team from IDEXX and they were pretty solid. Well probably because they were all on steroids...I sware :) Ok...they weren't on steroids, I was...asthma inhaler y'know.

This is a tragedy?

Ok, so this is from CNN's site:

"A landslide sent 18 multimillion-dollar houses crashing down a hill in Southern California early Wednesday. Homeowners alarmed by the sound of walls and pipes coming apart ran for their lives in their nightclothes. At least four people suffered minor injuries."

The news keeps painting this as a major story and a tragedy. I'm supposed to have sympathy for a bunch of rich assholes that can buy and sell me 100 times over, who were probably told by engineers at the time of construction things like "This is an earthquake prone area you know...your house is going to slide down the hill one day" and "These areas are prone to mudslides and your house will eventually slide down the hill." Or maybe even "Sure its a nice view from up here, but when your house slides down the hill and you're looking up the only think you'll see is dirt and your old foundation."

To which the rich assholes probably said "I have insurance," or "mother nature would not dare fuck with me, I'm Mike Ovitz."

The cause of the slides? Most likely due to the huge amounts of rain that they got this winter.

No one died, and something tells me these people probably have other houses too. People just have to learn that in the battle of Man Vs. Nature, Nature will always win.

What Family Guy Character Are You?

Yeah Baby! I am ....


Which Family Guy character are you?

No wonder I like Hitler jokes so much!