Why I Call Them WingNutDaily

U.S. troops' continental insignia bears U.N. colors

Yeah, OK, no. I like WND, but most of the time, they go off the deep end. If you scan down through this story, they are trying to say that the U.S. NORTHCOM patches indicate some sort of conspiracy to merge the U.S. with Canada and Mexico. While I think there may be some who want to do this sort of thing eventually, this NORTHCOM patch is not an indication of that.

If you know anything about the U.S. military, you'll know that they have the whole world divided up into different regional commands: Africa, Central, European, Pacific, Southern, and Northern. The Northern command is responsible for monitoring U.S. interests in North America, and that is why their patch shows North America.

There is no U.N. conspiracy here; move along.

Lunar Orbiter Images Apollo Site

LRO's Closer Look at the Apollo 12 Landing Site

Well, there you have it, folks, FINALLY, proof that the stuff left behind by the Apollo astronauts on the Moon is actually there. I'm sure there will be some who will still doubt that men walked on the Moon, but you can't do anything about that.

Heading Out to Start a Business

No, not me. A friend of mine is doing just that, though. Our company offered people a voluntary layoff in August, and he decided to take it. He has one week left before he leaves, and he'll get several weeks' severance pay as part of the layoff. In the meantime, he's starting his business, and I wish him the very best of luck.

Oh, how I would love to follow him out the door. But there's one big difference between us, and that is that he never really wanted to end up working there, and I always wanted to end up working on the sort of stuff we work on. As any of you who have read my postings here for the past several years will know, I have thought many times about what to do to start my own business, but there is nothing else I can see myself doing. I always wanted to be an aerospace engineer, and here I am.

Yet it's not satisfying; it is far from it.

You may also recall that we are deep in debt, also. That sort of locks me into my job, because the pay is good and there's no way I would be able to replace it easily. However, we are making progress on that debt. No matter what you may think of Dave Ramsey, I am following his plan and it may be common sense, but it works.

So, maybe it's time to start formulating a plan for the time when I will be out of debt, and my salary won't hold so much power over me? What would I do if I were to start a business? I don't know, but I've got two years to figure it out.

Don't Look At Me

1 In 7 Girls At Robeson High School Got Pregnant - cbs2chicago.com

Wow, talk about your Obama Baby Boom.

Commercial Spaceflight: All Systems Go - WSJ.com

Commercial Spaceflight: All Systems Go - WSJ.com

The best place to exercise and grow these space-exploration partnerships is in low Earth orbit, where humans have the most experience and where economic incentives exist to make space travel routine. While it's completely appropriate for NASA to continue developing systems and the new technologies necessary to take crews farther out into our solar system, we believe that the commercial sector is fully capable of safely handling the critical task of low-Earth-orbit human transportation.
So we firmly support the findings of the Augustine Committee, a presidential blue ribbon panel that has endorsed commercial human spaceflight. Sally Ride, one of America's most well-known astronauts and a member of the committee, put it best when she said, "We would like to be able to get NASA out of the business of getting people to low Earth orbit."

I have felt this way for a long time, myself. Unfortunately, I think that this administration will probably not support the private space industry in favor of keeping everything under the government's (NASA's) control. But we shall see, because I also don't think this administration is terribly interested in keeping our space program going, or at least paying for it. They have bailouts and welfare and healthcare reform to pay for instead. Who cares about the one industry in our country, aerospace, that is the best in the world and year after year has a positive effect on our exports and contributes directly to our national security and international stability? After all, no one nation should be allowed to be better than everyone else; Obama probably wants to let the Chinese, Europeans, Russians, Japanese, Indians, and Brazilians catch up and surpass us in some ares. I know that the Clinton administration worked on that.

We are ruled by fools. Absolute fools. Well, most of our population are fools, too, so I guess it's appropriate.

Signs of That War I've Been Worried About

The demise of the dollar - Business News, Business - The Independent

Yep, well, there it is, one of the things that will lead to the next World War. The current depression will lead to war just as the Great Depression was followed by World War II. And we have Barack Obama as CIC. God help us all.

No Chicago Olympics

Rio Wins Race To Host 2016 Olympics
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, this is so funny. The President goes to talk to the Olympic committee to get them to pick Chicago for the 2016 Olympics, and they end up eliminating it from consideration. Instead, they picked Rio de Janeiro. Well, I sure as heck would rather go there myself.

Yep, the President is definitely "restoring" America's image to the world; the world just gave him the finger!

Al Qaeda Is So Gay

Al Qaeda Bombers Learn from Drug Smugglers - CBS Evening News - CBS News

Man, talk about your case of raging hemorrhoids. If you've ever been in the security line at the airport, and thought that those dang terrorists could just stick their bombs up their asses, well, they've gone and done it.

Now guess what you're going to have to do when you go through that line next time...

So You Think The Sun Doesn't Affect the Earth?

Telegraphs Ran on Electric Air in Crazy 1859 Magnetic Storm | Wired Science | Wired.com

Wow, very interesting article. If we had a similar solar storm today, I think many of our satellites would be down, and a few of those may not be recoverable. Not to mention all the electronics on the ground that would be messed up.

And, yes, I know that this was a singular event, not a climate-changing thing, but I would just like to point out that we know very little about the Sun. To think that human activity and carbon emissions are the cause of any global warming that has been observed is just ridiculous.

Signs of the Coming Eurabian Caliphate?

I recently read one of John Birmingham's latest novels, Without Warning. It was a very good book, but you definitely have to suspend your disbelief to accept the premise: a magical force field appears out of nowhere over most of North America which incinerates all living things within its area. The United States, as well as Canada, and Mexico, are gone in an instant. The only exceptions are the area around Seattle, Hawaii, and Alaska, and our military forces, which are a week away from invading Iraq in 2003. The rest of the world has to figure out what to do with America gone.

In one of the plot lines of the novel, Birmingham explains a movement inside the French government which wants to work with the Muslim Arabs and help them to take over France as well as the rest of Europe, but covertly instead of overtly. In the wake of America's disappearance, these forces see their chance to overtly take over their country in the ensuing chaos. Britain, meanwhile, engages in a mass "ethnic cleansing" program of kicking all the Muslims out of their country.

Which brings me to this story from last week:
Gordon Brown in new storm over freed Lockerbie bomber

So the Brits decide to free one of the Lockerbie bombers as a gesture of goodwill, given that he's near death to some illness. And Brown goes to deal with Gaddafi about the whole thing, where Gaddafi agrees to not make a big deal out of it. Of course, the murderous bastard is welcomed home with much fanfare, and the British are made to look like a bunch of cowardly timid fools. Here they have a convicted criminal responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people and they free him for "goodwill"?

Double You Tee Eff

My thinking is, maybe Mr. Birmingham isn't too far off with the premise in his novel that there is a European government that wants to openly appease and accomodate the global Jihad, even to the point of handing over the keys to the kingdom. There have been other articles over the last few years where Prince Charles has indicated his acceptance of Arab ways and customs. Heck, his ex-wife was fixing to marry an Arab when they were killed in that car accident!

I suggest a new nickname:

Tea-Drinking Surrender Monkeys

Oh No, We're All Going to Die!

Swine Flu May Cause 90,000 U.S. Deaths, Report Says (Update2) - Bloomberg.com
Oh no! Not the Swine Flu!

Let's all rush out and get some untested new vaccine shot into our arms, and the arms of our children!

Jokerbama

I absolutely love this image of the President as the Joker:
OK the pic was creeping me out; click to see it.
This is a brilliant idea. What has been frustrating though is the reaction from the left, which is summarized fairly well in this article from the WaPo:
Obama as The Joker: Racial Fear's Ugly Face

What? I'm sorry, but saying that this is a racial attack on Obama is just a silly bunch of crap. That is not "whiteface" on Obama, it's Obama made up to look like the Joker! It's a political statement of protest, just as all those other images of Bush as Hitler from the last eight years, and the one with Bush as the Joker.

So why is it brilliant to depict Obama this way?

Well, to me, the poster says that first, Obama is a crazed psychotic like the Joker, and then it says he's a socialist. Obama is going to do what he wants to do because he wants to do it, no matter who or what is harmed or who or what gets in his way. Just like the Joker in the last Batman movie. Unfortunately for us, the entire country is Obama's Gotham City to wreak havoc in.

When will people get over their stupid-ass racial worries? I'm sure I'm not the only one out there who sees Obama not as a "black president" but as the President, and who's disagreements with him are not because of his skin color but because of the content of his character...and his policies.

UPDATE:
HA!
Is Obama Really Like the Joker?

Beyond the racism in the image that’s quite obvious to crazy people, the other question is whether there are any real substantive comparisons between Obama and the Joker. On the surface, they don’t seem at all alike. The Joker is psychotic, and I’ve heard Obama called a lot of things — arrogant, incompetent, deceitful, a Communist — but not psychotic. Obama doesn’t seem like he’s out to kill anyone — not even terrorists — and only leaves the option of killing people on the table to help make ends meet in his health care plan.
...
The Joker also hung out with the insane and the violent, as Obama hangs out with Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers. The Joker is always telling conflicting stories, and so does Obama — such as whether the stimulus was supposed to stimulate the economy or not. And both have mysterious pasts (personally, I’ve seen neither of their long-form birth certificates). Plus, I hear in the health care bill there’s a plan to put old people on one ferry and young people on another ferry and give each a detonator to blow up the other (it really is the only way they can make the numbers work).

Leave it to Frank J. to get to the heart of the matter!

The Real Fahrenheit 411

The New Book Banning by Walter Olson, City Journal 12 February 2009

This law is just so shortsighted and ridiculous. Not only are books to be destroyed under this law, but old clothing has to be tested as well. As a sometime customer of second-hand shops, I know that this will hurt not only the stores like Goodwill that sell old stuff, but especially the poor folks who depend on those stores.

Good Grief, Put A Shirt On Already

Bare-chested Vladimir Putin strikes a macho pose - Times Online

Whoopee doo, old Pooty-Poot is going around doing manly things lately, all bare-chested and brawny. Yep, he's real secure in his masculinity. Does he shave or something? Because I've got more hair on my knuckles than he has on his chest.

Which polls better? Clean-shaven chests, or hairy chests?

Where's Medvedev? Isn't he supposed to be the President of Russia? Wherever he is, I hope he keeps his dang clothes on.

All we need now is Pooty-Poot chopping wood: "I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK..."

Yeah, He Does That Sometimes

Pope: "Guardian angel" did not stop accident

Wow, if even the Pope needs to be taught a lesson by God sometimes, then perhaps when bad stuff happens to the rest of us, it's for the same reason.

On the other hand, sometimes those guardian angels do prevent injuries from occurring when they don't prevent the actual accident. Yesterday, Mrs. Astro was hit from behind by a young man who wasn't paying attention to her turn signal and brake lights as she slowed down to make a right turn. Fortunately, no one was injured and our van just has a couple of scratches on it.

So, thank you, God, for providing my the guardians for my wife and children. I'm sure all five of them were hard at work at that moment. I bet the young man's angel was tasked with teaching him to pay more attention when he's driving. He about freaked when Mrs. Astro opened the back to test it out and saw four kids in there!

(Of course, some of our atheist/agnostic friends will just draw the conclusion that sh*t happens, even to the Pope.)

Sorry for the Lack of Posts

I just haven't wanted to bother posting anything lately. I'm too busy with stuff at work, and while I still surf around a bit at night, there's just too much to comment on and no benefit to making those comments. Politics has just gotten ridiculous. The Democrats seem to have completely neutered the Republicans, who were pretty worthless anyway. There's no one standing in their way of tearing down the country. And what can I do about it? Nothing. I still have a job; we'll see how long that lasts.

Downside Of Losing Weight

I have lost almost ten pounds since I started seriously trying to lose weight about six weeks ago. I started at about 212-215, and am now at 202-205. I'm looking forward to breaking through 200 soon. I haven't been below 200 in almost 15 years. I'm not on any particular diet or anything, just trying to eat a bit less and a bit healthier, and be a bit more active. Most importantly is that I have gotten rid of all cokes.

Mrs. Astro is also losing weight, through a program called Slim4Life, and it's working much faster for her.

The downside? My dang pants don't fit any more! I don't want to go out and buy new ones yet because part of me thinks I'll go back up, and the other part doesn't want to spend the money. But I will have to do it soon. I've been in size 38 pants for a long time now, and I'm going to have to take the leap of faith that I can buy size 36 and have them fit.

The upside? Not developing diabetes or heart disease and dying at a young age. I got checked up earlier this year and I'm fine on everything except my triglycerides, and my good cholesterol is too low and the bad is too high, though the total is good. I've got four kids to raise and I really do want to be a Granddad one day so I've got to stay around for all of that.

Go get yourself a physical, if you haven't done so lately.

Where Are They Now?

In the past week, we have seen three very different celebrities shuffle off this mortal coil. Two of them were not unexpected: Ed McMahon was elderly and in poor health, while Farrah Fawcett had been fighting cancer for quite a while. The sudden and more tragic death was that of Michael Jackson, who despite his weird behaviors and accusations of child abuse, was loved by millions the world over for his musical talent, which earned him the title "King of Pop".

Now, as often happens when folks of such high profile pass away, you will see speculation among Christian circles as to whether or not the person in question would actually end up in Heaven or not. These deaths are, sadly, no different. I have seen comments online saying that neither Jackson nor Fawcett are "actually resting in peace".

I'm sorry, but it's this kind of comment that gives Christians a bad name to the non-Christian world. To be so judgemental about someone who just passed away, someone whose family is in the depths of their grief, is just terrible. I don't care if it's true or not or whether I agree or not. You just don't say crap like this!

As for Michael Jackson, there's no telling where he ended up. The guy was involved in so many different religions in his time, from Jehovah's Witnesses to Islam to Scientology through ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley, to who knows what? It's possible that he converted to Christianity before his death, but highly unlikely. But nevertheless, none of us will know because that's between him and God.

As for Ed McMahon or Farrah Fawcett, we don't know what their status was either, and we won't know.

Please, my fellow Christians, keep these kind of comments and speculation to yourselves.

Post from my iPhone

Yep, I have signed up for iPhone service. It's pretty neat, but typing this post is slightly annoying with this little graphical keyboard.

How I'm Learning to Stop Worrying And Love Aerospace

As my regular visitors know, I have expressed major disappointment with the way my career has been heading, and regret that I chose this line of work. Why couldn't I have been interested in learning something more lucrative, I've said. Why couldn't I have gone to business school or be an entrepreneur or anything other than a cubicle dwelling Dilbert?

Well, thanks to Facebook, I have found some very old friends from when I was very young, and this has brought back lots of good memories of my childhood. What it has also done is made me realize that I have been fixated on space from a very, very early age. I might regret this in part now, but I have to admit that this fixation is very real to me and is still with me to this day. I cannot imagine doing anything else; any other job seems to me to be nothing. I could do many other jobs, but they wouldn't mean anything to me more than a paycheck.

There has to be a reason God made me this way, and He gave me the gifts needed to be very good at what I do. I just need to accept this and try to move forward as best as I can.

I could sure use some more frakking money, though.