A rose by any other name may be just as sweet, but the same cannot be said of temperatures.
I am currently on a job site in Canada. Those of you who are not Americans will naturally understand this, but for the benefit of those who are let me explain that in Canada they use a different system of weights and measures than that employed in the States. Canada has embraced the metric system, and there are some potentially dangerous differences between Centigrade temperatures and the Fahrenheit numeric equivalent.
Last night I thought it might be pleasurable to partake of the in room sauna. One hundred twenty degrees seemed warm, but not intolerably so. After about ten minutes of pre-heating I stepped in.
The first thing I noticed was the difficulty breathing. Hot, dry air has that effect so I was not terribly surprised. Alternating between searing my nasal passages and drying the inside of my mouth I managed to take in enough oxygen to stave off unconsciousness.
Soon after, I noticed my ears were hurting. Everyone is familiar with that pain in the ear canal experienced on a cold Winter day. This pain was the same, but there was a decided lack of chill in the air. After a few more minutes of tolerating the discomfort I finally removed my glasses - and quickly dropped them as the metal frames were burning my fingers. Ear problem solved!
Increasingly uncomfortable, gasping for air, and no longer able to see as well as I might hope, I persevered. I was going to enjoy my full thirty minutes doggone it! Shifting on the bench I returned to the book I had brought with me to pass the time. Two pages passed. Three pages. Five. At last it could no longer be denied: The book was strangely unpleasant to be holding. Not quite burning my fingers perhaps, but closer than any book should ever come to doing so.
Enough was enough. With ten minutes remaining in my planned half hour of relaxation I admitted defeat and fled the sauna.
As I cooled off a short while later with a beer and a bathtub full of hot water, it occurred to me that the sauna thermostat was calibrated for Centigrade, not Fahrenheit. A slow, and belated, conversion confirmed what I should have realized all along.
One hundred twenty degrees Centigrade, far from being slightly uncomfortable, is a blistering two hundred forty-eight degrees in "real" temperature!
Friday, April 28, 2006
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
And While We're Busy Being Politically Correct . . . .
Chuck Shepherd's News of the Weird this week quoted a November 29, 2005 Boston Globe report that brought politically correct whining to a new low:
At the Nov. 14 meeting of the governing board of Provincetown, Mass., Selectwoman Sarah Peake raised a formal objection to the continued presence of the historical painting that graces the board's meeting room, though it is of a previously uncontroversial scene of Pilgrims voting on the Mayflower Compact. Peake's objection (according to a November report in the Boston Globe) is that there are no women in the painting.
Ms. Peake really needs to get a grip. If there is not enough to keep her busy - or hold her interest - in conducting the business of the governing board of Provincetown, then perhaps they either need a new member or a reduction in membership.
If she wants to get worked up over the inequities and indignities suffered by women at the hands of callous government, she needs look no further than her pocketbook. Sarah should start a movement to boycott US currency and coinage until women are fairly and equitably represented. All those dead presidents are MEN! Even the few guys that weren't presidents are men. The only representation of the fairer sex on US money is on the rarely used and effectively uncirculated dollar coin (Lady Liberty's appearances can hardly be counted). Susan B. Anthony and Sacajawea (Sacagawea) are relegated to being "honored" on coins that no one wants! Why not just praise their fantastic personalities while the US Mint is at it?
I'll sign on with Sarah if she wants to refrain from all use of cash until such time as women get real estate on the front side of a few paper bills. Certainly U. S. Grant and Andy Jackson wouldn't mind making way for a noble cause!
And I may be mistaken. I have not examined the portrait extensively, but it is possible that the reverse of the two dollar bill has a cleaning lady hidden somewhere amongst all those dignified signers of the Declaration of Independence. Then again, that is another US monetary instrument that few beyond hard core collectors have any great interest in.
And if the cleaning lady is there, she's probably an illegal anyway . . ..
At the Nov. 14 meeting of the governing board of Provincetown, Mass., Selectwoman Sarah Peake raised a formal objection to the continued presence of the historical painting that graces the board's meeting room, though it is of a previously uncontroversial scene of Pilgrims voting on the Mayflower Compact. Peake's objection (according to a November report in the Boston Globe) is that there are no women in the painting.
Ms. Peake really needs to get a grip. If there is not enough to keep her busy - or hold her interest - in conducting the business of the governing board of Provincetown, then perhaps they either need a new member or a reduction in membership.
If she wants to get worked up over the inequities and indignities suffered by women at the hands of callous government, she needs look no further than her pocketbook. Sarah should start a movement to boycott US currency and coinage until women are fairly and equitably represented. All those dead presidents are MEN! Even the few guys that weren't presidents are men. The only representation of the fairer sex on US money is on the rarely used and effectively uncirculated dollar coin (Lady Liberty's appearances can hardly be counted). Susan B. Anthony and Sacajawea (Sacagawea) are relegated to being "honored" on coins that no one wants! Why not just praise their fantastic personalities while the US Mint is at it?
I'll sign on with Sarah if she wants to refrain from all use of cash until such time as women get real estate on the front side of a few paper bills. Certainly U. S. Grant and Andy Jackson wouldn't mind making way for a noble cause!
And I may be mistaken. I have not examined the portrait extensively, but it is possible that the reverse of the two dollar bill has a cleaning lady hidden somewhere amongst all those dignified signers of the Declaration of Independence. Then again, that is another US monetary instrument that few beyond hard core collectors have any great interest in.
And if the cleaning lady is there, she's probably an illegal anyway . . ..
Friday, April 07, 2006
Will This Really Make Anyone Feel Better?
Zacarias Moussaoui is hardly the sweet sort of boy you would like to bring home to meet the parents. His comments and escapades both inside and outside the courtroom are far from acceptable to even the most tolerant norms of most individuals, particularly here in the United States.
But is potentially putting him to death going to make anyone feel better - or create the least deterrent effect for future terrorists?
Of course not.
The Moussaoui trial is a Big Top event put on by the government. He is the designated sacrificial lamb being offered up so that Washington can crow to the peasantry "See? We are doing something!"
He did not participate in the 9/11 attacks. Not because he did not wish to, but because he was already in custody. The reason he should be put to death? Because he didn't spill his guts to the FBI and tell them everything he knew about the impending attacks.
In short, he did not do the FBI's job for them.
By this logic, every criminal convicted in the future should then be charged with the follow-up crime of failure to drop a dime on himself before the act. "Uh, yeah. Happytown Police? I'd like to report that I'll be robbing the Second Local Bank and Hardware Emporium next Thursday afternoon at 2:47. Please don't be late."
Could he have prevented tremendous destruction and loss of life? Certainly. Did he actually cause that destruction and death? No. He has done plenty to find himself incarcerated for the remainder of his life, no matter how long that might be. Let the punishment fit the crime committed, and be content with justice being served.
Putting him to death because he knew about plans to use a "weapon of mass destruction" (can anyone find an incidence of that term being applied to an aircraft prior to 9/11?) but didn't share is little less than murder in the name of serving the national hunger for revenge.
But is potentially putting him to death going to make anyone feel better - or create the least deterrent effect for future terrorists?
Of course not.
The Moussaoui trial is a Big Top event put on by the government. He is the designated sacrificial lamb being offered up so that Washington can crow to the peasantry "See? We are doing something!"
He did not participate in the 9/11 attacks. Not because he did not wish to, but because he was already in custody. The reason he should be put to death? Because he didn't spill his guts to the FBI and tell them everything he knew about the impending attacks.
In short, he did not do the FBI's job for them.
By this logic, every criminal convicted in the future should then be charged with the follow-up crime of failure to drop a dime on himself before the act. "Uh, yeah. Happytown Police? I'd like to report that I'll be robbing the Second Local Bank and Hardware Emporium next Thursday afternoon at 2:47. Please don't be late."
Could he have prevented tremendous destruction and loss of life? Certainly. Did he actually cause that destruction and death? No. He has done plenty to find himself incarcerated for the remainder of his life, no matter how long that might be. Let the punishment fit the crime committed, and be content with justice being served.
Putting him to death because he knew about plans to use a "weapon of mass destruction" (can anyone find an incidence of that term being applied to an aircraft prior to 9/11?) but didn't share is little less than murder in the name of serving the national hunger for revenge.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)