Monday, March 31, 2008

Southern Monday Music: "Gimme Back My Bullets"

More music from the soundtrack of my life...Here's my all-time favorite Skynyrd song, "Gimme Back My Bullets."


Life is so strange when it's changing, yes indeed
Well, I've seen the hard times and the pressure's been on me
But I keep on working like the working man do
And I've got my act together, gonna walk all over you

Gimme back my bullets
Put 'em back where they belong
Ain't fooling around 'cause I've done had my fun
Ain't gonna see no more damage done
Gimme back my bullets

Sweet talking people done ran me out of town
And I drank enough whiskey to float a battleship around
But I'm leaving this game one step ahead of you
And you will not hear me cry 'cause I do not sing the blues

Gimme back my bullets
Put 'em back where they belong
Ain't fooling around cause I've done had my fun
Ain't gonna see no more damage done
Gimme back...gimme back my bullets
Oh, put em back...where they belong

Been up and down since I turned seventeen
Well I've been on top, and then it seems I lost my dream
But I've got it back, I'm feeling better everyday
Tell all those pencil pushers, better get out of my way

Gimme back my bullets
Put 'em back where they belong
Ain't fooling around, 'cause I've done had my fun
Ain't gonna see no more damage done
Gimme back...gimme back my bullets
Oh, put 'em back where they belong
Gimme back my bullets

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Battlestar Galactica: The Beginning of the End

The fourth and final season of Battlestar Galactica begins on Friday, April 4. The SciFi BSG index page has three great videos to get you in the mood. "What the Frak is Going On?" recaps the previous three seasons in about seven or eight minutes so you'd better pay close attention. The other two videos "Revealed" and "Phenomenon," which aired Friday night on SciFi, are the type of featurettes you might find in the "Bonus Features" menu of a DVD. "Revealed" recaps the first three seasons at a more leisurely pace with a lot of behind-the-scenes info. "Phenomenon" examines the show's appeal with celebrity interviews.

Speaking of interviews, SciFi Weekly has interviews with several of the show's stars. Tricia Helfer ("Number 6"), Jamie Barber ("Lee Adama"), Katee Sackhoff ("Kara Thrace") and executive producer David Eick are featured in one interview. Edward James Olmos ("Bill Adama"), Mary McDonnell ("Laura Roslin"), and executive producer Ronald D. Moore are featured in the other.
David Eick, what will we see in season four as we build to the conclusion of the series?

Eick: I think you're going to see one continuous story from beginning to end, unlike other seasons where we'd done a multitude of stand-alone episodes and episodes that would introduce different political movements. This is really going to be about starting from ground zero, where we left off season three, and a sprint all the way to the end. And I think the fans, really, are going to feel like they're getting their due. They're going to feel like they're finally getting the season of Battlestar Galactica that they have always wanted, where we're not worrying about inviting a new audience, necessarily. We're just really committed to finishing the story in a way that feels legitimate and at the level I think fans have come to expect.
SciFi also has five full episodes online from last season. You can also find four other videos and 85 clips at Hulu.

NASCAR Tracks: Martinsville

Back to Martinsville Speedway
“When a man plunks down his money, he deserves the best. You try to make him comfortable, give him a great show and make sure he gets his money’s worth. And we’ve always tried to do just  that.  Your customers are your greatest assets and that will never change. You actually sell the customer a memory as much as a race. If their memories are good, they’ll keep coming back.”
-- H. Clay Earles, founder of Martinsville Speedway

At 0.526 miles, Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia, is the shortest track on the NASCAR circuit, but it packs a lot of excitement in a small package. It's a drag race down one 800-foot straightaway, then a sharp left around a tight turn with just eleven degrees of banking, then a drag race down the other straightaway followed by another sharp left turn. Repeat for 500 laps. It's an endurance race for man and machine, especially brakes.

H. Clay Earles built a dirt track just south of Martinsville, Virginia, just north of the border with North Carolina, in 1947, a year before NASCAR was formed.  The track opened on July 4, 1948, and NASCAR ran there for the first time in 1949.  That race was the sixth race in what would eventually become the Cup Series. There were 750 seats, but a crowd of 6000 showed up to watch Red Byron win that inaugural event.

In 1955 Martinsville Speedway became NASCAR's first paved short track, but retained its original paperclip-shaped configuration.  The first 500-lap race was run there the following year.  In 1976 the turns were repaved with concrete, giving the track the unusual combination of asphalt straightaways and concrete turns.  Over the years they added grandstands and skyboxes to bring the seating up to 65,000.

In 2004, the speedway was sold to the France family for $192 million, and became a part of their International Speedway Corporation.

Richard Petty has a phenomenal record at Martinsville.  In 1960, he became the youngest Martinville winner at 22 years, 283 days.  He leads all drivers with fifteen wins, 30 Top Fives, and 37 Top Tens.  Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with seven wins.  Harry Gant became the oldest Cup winner ever when he won at Martinsville at 51 years, 255 days in September 1991.  Tony Stewart holds the Cup qualifying record, 19.306 sec. (98.084 mph), set in 2005.

The Nationwide Series does not run at Martinsville. The track was dropped from the schedule in 2007 and replaced by an event at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Martinsville Speedway currently hosts a Sprint Cup race, the Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500, and a Camping World Truck Series race in March. In October, the track hosts a second Cup race, the Tums Fast Relief 500, the sixth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and a second Truck Series race.


diagram from NASCAR.com


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Friday, March 28, 2008

Random Headlines

"The White House has announced that during President Bush’s last year in office, he’s going to visit more countries than in any other year of his Presidency. Bush says he’s going to accomplish all of this in one weekend by going to Epcot Center." -- Conan O'Brien

Warmongering

Intense Fighting Erupts in Iraq -- WaPo
Bush: Iraq's Resurging Violence "A Very Positive Moment" -- Think Progress
U.S. Steps Up Unilateral Strikes in Pakistan -- WaPo
Supplier Under Scrutiny on Arms for Afghans -- NY Times
Nuclear Parts to Taiwan: U.S. Initially Unconcerned -- WaPo

Electioneering

Obama to Wall Street: Regulation is Coming -- AlterNet
New Petition Backs Up Pelosi's Position on Superdelegates -- AlterNet
McCain Rejects Broad U.S. Aid on Mortgages -- NY Times

Miscellanea

Will Durst: How to Deal with the Historic '08 Candidacies -- 23/6
Mark Morford: Tax My Rich White Torturer -- SFGate
Equity Loans as Next Round in Credit Crisis -- NY Times
660 Held in Tibetan Uprising, China Says -- NY Times
NOAA to Assess Whether Melting Ice Endangers Seals -- WaPo
Mars Rovers Survive NASA's Budget Cuts -- WaPo
Feds May Be Key to Tapping Tennessee Water -- AJC
A One-Stop Site Offers All the Photo Functions -- NY Times

Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves

Sunday! Sunday! SUNDAY!!! It's the most wonderful time of the year. It's the final spring harbinger after the blooming dogwoods, the budding trees and the rumbling lawnmowers. It's the final signal that the long, gray winter is finally over. It should be a national holiday. It's Opening Day!

Yes, the baseball season has already begun. The Boston Red Sox and Oakland A's traveled all the way to Japan to open the major-league season with a two-game series in Tokyo. The Red Sox won 6-5 in ten innings Tuesday night. The A's got the series split with a 5-1 win Wednesday. Meanwhile, the other teams still have exhibition games to play.

So who came up with this schedule? The Atlanta Braves open their 2008 season Sunday in Washington with one game (a one-game series?) against the Nationals (ESPN, 8:05 p.m. ET). Tim Hudson will pitch the opener against a former Brave, Odalis Perez. The game will be the regular season debut of the new Nationals Park. The rest of the major league teams begin play on Monday, when the Braves return to Atlanta to open a three-game series (over four nights) against the Pirates. I'm confused already.

The Braves hung in the NL East race for as long as they could last year, but ultimately had to make way for the Phillies, who won the division race after the Mets had one of the greatest collapses in baseball history. Ahead by seven games with just seventeen to play, the Mets lost the division of the last day of the season. (Pardon me while I laugh at them one last time -- Ha Ha Ha!) The Mets dropped off a truckload of money ($137.5 million for six years) at Johan Santana's house to add one of baseball's best pitchers (82-35 over the past five years) to their roster. Talk about overcompensating!

The Braves should be a little better than they were last season when most of their problems started with the starting rotation. It was a return to the days of "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain." It was Hudson and Smoltz and "who the hell is this guy?" Tim Hudson and John Smoltz are still around, but it's kinda iffy as to whether Smoltz will make his scheduled start on April 6 or start the season on the disabled list. He had some stiffness in his pitching shoulder, but felt fine and expected to start after a bullpen session Thursday. Tom Glavine returns to Atlanta after a five-year stint in enemy territory. The future Hall of Famer is now 42 years old and probably won't flirt with 20 wins ever again, but should give the Braves some quality innings, something they were sadly lacking last year. Mike Hampton is also back after two years on the disabled list. The fragile pitcher gave Braves fans heart palpitations after suffering a groin pull during spring training but should be good to go unless he gets a hangnail or something. All of this should mean less pressure on the bullpen, which was badly overworked last season. Rafael Soriano, with only 13 major-league saves, will handle the closer role as long as he can.

Out in the field, Andruw Jones and Edgar Rentaria are gone. Mark Kotsay, Matt Diaz and Jeff Francoeur will try to get to some of those fly balls that Jones always handled effortlessly. Yunel Escobar takes over full-time for Rentaria at short.

The starting lineup should normally look like this:

1B: Mark Teixeira
2B: Kelly Johnson
SS: Yunel Escobar
3B: Chipper Jones
C: Brian McCann
OF: Jeff Francoeur, Mark Kotsay, Matt Diaz
SP: Tim Hudson, John Smoltz, Mike Hampton, Tom Glavine, Jair Jurrjens
Closer: Rafael Soriano

Expect a two-team race between the Mets and the Phillies again, but expect the Braves to be improved and challenging. With a few breaks and a little luck (and maybe a mid-season trade or two) the Braves might just make a return to the playoffs. A wildcard is not completely out of the question.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Random Headlines

"Critics are poring over Osama bin Laden’s latest audio tape. Simon called it pretentious. Paula said it was not his best work. And Randy said, 'Dawg, it’s just not working for me.' In this latest audiotape, Osama bin Laden blasts the cartoon showing the prophet Mohammad in a turban. See, this is why President Bush and Osama bin Laden are such enemies. Bush loves cartoons." -- Jay Leno

Warmongering

Bush Says War's Outcome 'Will Merit the Sacrifice' -- WaPo
Richard Cohen: The Ultimate Casualty -- WaPo

Bush Given Iraq War Plan with a Steady Troop Level -- NY Times
The War Endures, but Where's the Media -- NY Times
13 Iraqis Killed by Shells Fired at the Green Zone -- NY Times

Electioneering

McCain Says US Succeeding in Iraq -- AP
McCain Is Now Officially a Campaign Finance Criminal -- AlterNet
2 McCain Moments, Rarely Mentioned -- NY Times

Miscellanea

Huge Antarctic Ice Chunk Collapses -- CNN
China Reproaches Foreign Media Over Tibet Coverage -- IHT
Peacekeeping in Darfur Hits More Obstacles -- NY Times
JPMorgan in Negotiations to Raise Bear Sterns Bid -- NY Times
Detroit Mayor Faces Felony Charges -- CNN
Court Overturns Air Passenger Rights Law -- AP
Justices to Weigh Search and Consent -- NY Times

Monday, March 24, 2008

Rebellious Monday Music: The Guns of Brixton

More from the soundtrack of my life. For quite a while (back when I was an angry young man) I was convinced that the Clash was the only band that mattered. Here's one of my favorite tracks from their "London Calling" album, "The Guns of Brixton."


When they kick out your front door
How you gonna come?
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun
When the law break in
How you gonna go?
Shot down on the pavement
Or waiting in death row

You can crush us
You can bruise us
But you'll have to answer to
Oh, the guns of Brixton

The money feels good
And your life, you like it well
But surely your time will come
As in heaven, as in hell

You see, he feels like Ivan
Born under the Brixton sun
His game is called survivin'
At the end of the harder they come

You know it means no mercy
They caught him with a gun
No need for the Black Maria
Goodbye to the Brixton sun

You can crush us
You can bruise us
But you'll have to answer to
Oh-the guns of Brixton

When they kick out your front door
How you gonna come?
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun

You can crush us
You can bruise us
And even shoot us
But oh- the guns of Brixton

Shot down on the pavement
Waiting in death row
His game was survivin'
As in heaven as in hell

You can crush us
You can bruise us
But you'll have to answer to
Oh, the guns of Brixton
Oh, the guns of Brixton
Oh, the guns of Brixton
Oh, the guns of Brixton
Oh, the guns of Brixton

Random Headlines

I don't have a funny quote from Leno or Letterman or anyone else, but I think this Supertramp album cover might suffice...

Posted by Picasa


Waiting for Inauguration Day headlines (9 months, 27 days)

Since '01, Guarding Species Is Harder -- WaPo
Bush Silent, but Others Speak Out on Tibet Crackdown -- NY Times
In Washington, a Split Over Regulation of Wall Street -- NY Times
US Deaths in Iraq Approach 4000 -- AP
2 Senators Want HUD Official Out -- NY Times

Miscellanea

Taiwan's Ma Wins Election (a strange headline indeed) -- Reuters
Gap in Life Expectancy Widens for the Nation -- NY Times
First a Tense Talk with Clinton, Then Richardson Backs Obama -- NY Times
Caprica Very Different from Battlestar -- SciFi

Weekend Assignment: In-Just Spring

I'm sure she's going to start deducting points for lateness if I keep waiting until the weekend is over before doing my weekend assignment, but Karen has the latest one at Outpost Mavarin. Hey, I just realized it's still Sunday night in Arizona where she lives so maybe I'm still in time...

Weekend Assignment #208: Meteorologists define spring in the Northern Hemisphere as beginning March 1st; others define it according to the vernal equinox, the return of warm weather, or the appearance of a groundhog's shadow. What does spring mean to you, and what, if anything, do you intend to do about it?

Once the weather takes a turn for the better and the trees and flowers start doing their budding and blooming thing, spring is here as far as I'm concerned regardless of what the calender actually says. The date that really marks the beginning of spring for me is that all-important day in the first week of April when the umpire screams "Play ball!" and the baseball season begins. Opening Day is always the first day of spring, which is why Thomas Boswell wrote an essay entitled "Why Time Begins on Opening Day," then later put that title on a collection of essays. What do I intend to do about it? Root, root, root for the home team -- the Atlanta Braves...and occasionally the Chattanooga Lookouts.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Random Headlines

And today, Barack Obama criticized John McCain for mistakenly saying that Iran was sending aid to al Qaeda in Iraq, which is not true. And afterwards, President Bush told McCain, "Don’t worry about it. I didn’t know that either." -- Jay Leno

Counting Down to Inauguration Day (9 months, 29 days)

Court Disbars Cheney Ex-Aide -- WaPo
Dan Froomkin: Cheney Doesn't Care What You Think -- WaP0

Electioneering

NM Gov. Bill Richardson Endorses Obama -- WaPo
Will Rush Limbaugh Be Indicted for Voter Fraud? -- AlterNet

Bushonomics

Slump Moves From Wall St. to Main St. -- NY Times
Stocks Bounce Back as Oil and Gold Fall Again -- NY Times
Inflation Hits the Poor Hardest (Duh!) -- WaPo
Paul Krugman: Partying Like It's 1929 -- NY Times

World News

China Tensions Could Sway Vote in Taiwan -- NY Times
Mark Morford: Note to China: Please Implode -- SFGate
Romania Caught Short in Loo Row -- BBC

Miscellanea

Vaccine Failure Is Setback in AIDS Fight -- WaPo
World's Best-Known Protest Symbol Turns 50 -- BBC
"Standard Operating Procedure" -- Movie trailer
Drag Racer Faces 28 Felony Charges in Deadly Selmer (TN) Crash -- The Tennessean
Starbucks Must Pay $100m in Tips -- BBC

Commentary from Froomkin, Krugman and Morford plus a moving movie trailer are scattered among today's must reads/sees.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

NewsRadio on Hulu

As I suggested last week, I've been perusing the content offered at Hulu. One of my all-time favorite shows, NewsRadio, is well represented there with 40 full-length episodes and five "minisodes."

If you missed the show when it aired in the mid- to late-'90s, NewRadio is an ensemble comedy revolving around the antics of the staff of a news radio station in NYC. Dave Foley, Phil Hartman, Maura Tierney, Andy Dick, Joe Rogan, Vicki Lewis, Khandi Alexander and Steven Root star. The following "minisode" shows what happens when a complaint box is installed in the office...

Random Headlines

Vice President Dick Cheney. You know where he is right now? He’s in Baghdad. He visited there. While he was in Iraq, he said it’s a “successful endeavor.” At least I think that’s what he said. It was hard to hear over the explosions. -- David Letterman

The Iraq War - Five Years and Counting

Five Years in Iraq -- WaPo
A Timeline of the Iraq War -- Think Progress
Cheney on 2/3 of Americans Opposing Iraq War: "So?" -- AlterNet
Estimates of Iraq War Cost Were Not Close to Ballpark -- NY Times
War, What Is It Good For? Not the Economy -- AlterNet

Bushonomics

Can't Grasp Credit Crisis? Join the Club -- NY Times
Behind Cheaper Credit, Inflation Fears Loom -- WaPo
States' Budget Crises Will Hurt Millions -- AP
David Ignatius: What If the Fed Fails? -- WaPo

Electioneering

Barack Obama: A More Perfect Union Speech (video and transcript)
Tackling a Sensitive Topic at a Sensitive Moment for Disparate Audiences -- WaPo
The White Preacher Double Standard -- AlterNet

Miscellanea

U.S. Eases 'No Child' Law as Applied to Some States -- NY Times
Flight 93 Memorial Effort Gains Over 900 Acres -- NY Times
Put Young Children on DNA List, Urge Police -- The Observer
RIAA Pockets Filesharing Settlement Money -- The Consumerist
Voting Machine Company's Strong-Arm Tactics Block NJ Investigation -- BradBlog


Headlines today include five for the five year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, including a timeline of key events of the war compiled by Think Progress. I'm especially galled by Cheney's reaction to the news that two-thirds of Americans are against the war. We have exactly ten months until this gang is consigned to the dustbin of history.

If you're like me, trying to make heads or tails out of the dire economic news, the NY Times article "Can't Grasp Credit Crisis? Join the Club" does a pretty good job of describing why the dominoes are starting to fall.

Also today, a link to the Obama campaign website for a video and transcript of his speech on race in America and a good analysis of the speech by the Washington Post.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Melodic Monday Music: "That's Entertainment" by the Jam

Here's a band that did alright for themselves in their native England, but never really caught on here -- the Jam. "That's Entertainment" is a classic, or should be...

A police car and a screaming siren -
Pneumatic drill and ripped up concrete -
A baby wailing, a stray dog howling -
The screech of brakes and lamplights blinking -

that's entertainment.

A smash of glass and the rumble of boots -
An electric train and a ripped up phone booth -
Paint splattered walls and the cry of a tomcat -
Lights going out and a kick in the balls -

that's entertainment.

Days of speed and slow time Mondays -
Pissing down with rain on a boring Wednesday -
Watching the news and not eating your tea -
A freezing cold flat and damp on the walls -

that's entertainment.

Waking up at 6 a.m. on a cool warm morning -
Opening the windows and breathing in petrol -
An amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yard -
Watching the telly and thinking about your holidays -

that's entertainment.

Waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettes -
Cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume -
A hot summers' day and sticky black tarmac -
Feeding ducks in the park and wishing you were far away -

that's entertainment.

Two lovers kissing amongst the scream of midnight -
Two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude -
Getting a cab and traveling on buses -
Reading the graffiti about slashed seat affairs -

that's entertainment.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Weekend Assignment: Too Much News?

Karen has this weekend's assignment at Outpost Mavarin...

Weekend Assignment #207: Are you a news junkie, or not so much? Do you seek out news on tv, radio, in newspapers or online, or are you sick of the endless rehashing of the same issues? I realize it's all a continuum, from "I never watch the news" to "I keep it on all day, and read several newspapers" (or whatever). Maybe you vacillate, depending on what's going on in the world or your own life. What's your current level of interest?

Yes, I'm pretty much a news junkie, but I have very little interest in the "baby in the well" (or to use more recent references, the "800 dogs in a mobile home" or the "woman stuck to the toilet seat") stories. I prefer hard news. I want to know what's really going on in the world. I want to know which politicians in Washington are trying to screw us over. It's a constant obsession.

Although I'll occasionally flip on CNN or MSNBC to get the latest headlines, I don't get much news from the TV. I used to listen to NPR news shows quite a bit, but don't anymore. When, for whatever reason, I'm not able to get online, I read the local rag, the Chattanooga Times-Free Press, pretty much cover to cover. The paper is a weird conglomeration. We used to have a liberal morning paper, The Times. In the evening, we had the conservative News-Free Press, which was the result of another merger and led to a good joke about the name -- that they were news-free. A while back, the papers decided to merge to cut expenses. We don't have an editorial page and an op-ed page. We have the two papers' individual editorial pages side-by-side, offering opposing views on every subject under the sun. Paul Krugman, E. J. Dionne, and David Broder on one page. Cal Thomas, Walter Williams and Phyllis Schafly on the other.

When I'm online, I get email newsletters from the NY Times, the Washington Post, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Nashville Tennessean and others. I also read a lot of left-of-center news-oriented websites like AlterNet, Think Progress, and Truthout. I also belong to Digg, where I submit or add a "digg" to stories others have submitted. Many days a week I compile these stories that I've "dugg" into random headline blog posts. So yeah, I guess you could call me a news junkie.

Extra Credit: Is there a particular news story you have been following recently?

The biggest story in my neck of the woods (just 100 miles down the road) is the tornado that hit downtown Atlanta Friday night. The story was big not only for the couple of deaths and the destruction, but also because the tornado damaged the Georgia Dome where they were holding the SEC basketball tournament at the time.

Random Headlines: Atlanta Edition

A collection of stories, videos, pictures of Friday night's Atlanta tornado and the aftermath...

Tornadoes Tear Through Downtown Atlanta -- NY Times
Tornado Kills 2, Pummels Downtown Atlanta -- AJC
Videos: Tornado Hits Atlanta -- CNN
3D Radar Image: Georgia Dome Tornado -- Violentskiestour.com
Images: Tornado Damage Pictures from Downtown Atlanta -- Mytradersjournal.com
Images: Atlanta Storm Damage -- Flickr.com
Images: Cleanup Begins after Tornado -- AJC
Tornado Leaves SEC Basketball Fans out in the Cold -- Nashville Tennessean
Georgia Claims SEC Tourney Title -- AJC

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Random Headlines

A supersized helping...

War! What Is It Good For?

Only 28% of Americans Know Close to 4000 U.S. Troops Have Died in Iraq War -- AlterNet
Petraeus: Iraqi Leaders Not Making "Sufficient Progress" -- WaPo

Every Breath You Take

FBI Found to Misuse Security Letters -- WaPo
Bush: Telecoms Should Be Thanked for Their Patriotic Service -- ThinkProgress

Ball of Confusion

Monk Protests in Tibet Draw Chinese Scrutiny -- NY Times
Violence in Tibet as Monks Clash with Police -- NY Times
Iran's Parliamentary Election Turnout Lags -- Truthdig
Chavez Says US Can "Shove" Terror List -- NY Times

Bushonomics

Economy Hammered by Toxic Blend of Ailments -- NY Times
Run on Big Wall St. Bank Spurs Rescue Backed by U.S. -- NY Times
Bush: Massive Government Bailout Not the Answer -- ABC News
Avoid Overcorrecting Economy, Bush Warns -- AP
Credit Card Industry Kicks Consumers Off Congressional Panel -- MoJoBlog
Gail Collins: George Speaks, Badly -- NY Times
Robert Costanza: Our Three-Decade Recession -- LA Times

Electioneering

Clinton/Obama Ace Study on Middle-Class Responsiveness; McCain Gets an Incomplete -- Crooks & Liars

10 Months, 5 Days until January 20, 2009

Bush Says if Younger, He Would Work in Afghanistan -- Reuters

And Now for Something Completely Different

The Wonderful World of Early Photography -- Neatorama

Penn & Teller Burn a Flag in the White House

A blast from the past. Penn and Teller burn a flag in the White House in this clip from the West Wing.

NASCAR Tracks: Bristol

Larry Carrier and Carl Moore attended a race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1960 and decided they wanted something similar in east Tennessee, but a little smaller and more intimate. Out in the middle of nowhere, down a two-lane country highway, a little south of the bucolic town of Bristol, which sits astride the TN/VA line, they built Bristol International Speedway on the site of a dairy farm. BIS opened in 1961 and was half-mile long with 60-feet wide straightaways and 75-feet wide, 22 degree banked turns. It could seat 18,000 spectators.

NASCAR ran their first race at Bristol on July 30, 1961. Jack Smith was the winner of the first race, but Johnny Allen took the checkered flag driving in relief of Smith.

In 1969 they decided to make it a bit more intense. The track was reshaped and reconfigured. It increased in length to 0.533-mile, which made it slightly egg-shaped, and the banking was steeped even higher, now 36 degrees. Daytona and Talladega style banking on a little short track.

Over the years, more and more seats have been erected around the little bowl. By 1996, seating had increased to 86,000. That was also the year the name was changed to Bristol Motor Speedway (slogan: "racin' the way it ought'a be!"). Now 160,000 seats surround the tiny bowl.

Immediately after the 2007 spring race, repaving work began at BMS. Progressive banking was added -- this means that the banking changes, getting steeper as you go higher up the track. It's now 24 to 30 degrees in the corners and 6 to 10 degrees in the straightaways. Darrell Waltrip, a three-time Cup champion and a Fox broadcaster, did a ceremonial groundbreaking (trackbreaking?) during the postrace programming. Work began in earnest the next morning and was completed in time for the fall races. That 2007 spring race also saw the debut of the Car of Tomorrow. Kyle Busch won the race and promptly proceed to trash the COT in Victory Lane interviews.

The progressive banking has improved the racing, but dampened the action that Bristol is known for.  Before the change, there was really only one line around the track and the only way to pass someone was to knock them out of your way.  With the progressive banking the drivers can run in two grooves all around the track -- a lot more side-by-side racing, a bit fewer wrecks.

Before the 2010 season, Bristol Motor Speedway extended the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barriers 84 feet coming out of Turns Two and Four.  The net effect is to make the track a little tighter.  That seems to have been the goal, much more than anything to do with safety...
"What we're hearing from folks who aren't renewing their tickets, from the majority of them is, it's economically related, and there's not a lot we can do about that," said Kevin Triplett, Bristol's vice president for public affairs. "But we are hearing from a lot of folks who say, Bristol has been known to be tight, and you guys have given them so much room.

"There's an element out there that loves three- and four-wide racing, and there's an element out there that would love it to be a little bit tighter. So we looked at how we could do it keeping the element of safety in mind. We decided, well, we could extend the SAFER barriers. And adding SAFER barriers, we think, is always a good thing."

Many NASCAR drivers have a short-track background and do well at Bristol, but it's easy to get caught up in someone else's wreck with 43 cars crammed into a half-mile at speeds over 100 mph. Darrell Waltrip leads all drivers with 12 wins at Bristol, including seven in a row.  Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch lead all active drivers with five wins, but Busch hasn't won there since 2006 and Gordon since 2002.  Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards have combined to win five of the last six Bristol races.  Ryan Newman set the Sprint Cup qualifying record, a lap of 14.908 seconds (128.709 mph), in 2003.

Bristol Motor Speedway hosts a Sprint Cup race, the Food City 500, and a Nationwide race in March.  In August, Bristol hosts a second Cup race, the Irwin Tools Night Race, and a Camping World Truck race. The big number after the race names refers to laps, not miles. The Sprint Cup races are 266.5 miles long.



Posted by Picasa(diagram from NASCAR.com)

Bristol Cup race winners

NASCAR tracks index
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Friday, March 14, 2008

Random Headlines

Spitzer News

Spitzer Scandal Gets Virgin Treatment -- Marketing Mag
Paterson Is Ready to Step In -- NY Times

Our Fragile Environment

EPA Sets New Ozone Standard, Overrides Advisors -- WaPo
Collapse of Salmon Stocks Endangers Pacific Fishery -- NY Times
Grace to Pay Feds for Montana Cleanup -- BusinessWeek

Life in Bush's America

Pentagon Cites Tapes Showing Interrogations -- NY Times
Your Papers, Please -- Down East Mag

Electioneering

Opposition from All Quarters to Florida's Primary Plan -- McClatchy

Hulu

I could be behind the times, but I just discovered Hulu. This looks great. I can't wait to see how it performs. Perhaps I'll take it for a test drive this weekend.

Hulu is a video on demand online service...and it's free. They've got a piddling collection of full-length movies, but lots and lots of TV shows. They've got full-length episodes of some of my all-time favorites like American Gothic, NewsRadio, Battlestar Galactica, Monk, Married...With Children, Hill Street Blues and The Rockford Files plus clips of many more.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Melodic Monday Music: Two from Crowded House

A couple of weeks ago when I did my Monday Music thingy with Split Enz, I mentioned that the Finn brothers went on to form the band Crowded House. Since then, I've wondered just how many people actually remember Crowded House. Here's one of their biggest hits and one of my personal favorites.

"Don't Dream It's Over"

Not matter how many times I see this video, the image that pops into mind when I hear this song is the crow sitting on the fence of the military installation during the opening credits of the Stephen King "The Stand" miniseries...

There is freedom within, there is freedom without
Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup
There's a battle ahead, many battles are lost
But you'll never see the end of the road
While you're traveling with me

Hey now, hey now
Don't dream it's over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
We know they won't win

Now I'm towing my car, there's a hole in the roof
My possessions are causing me suspicion but there's no proof
In the paper today, tales of war and of waste,
But you turn right over to the T.V. page

Hey now, hey now
Don't dream it's over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
We know they won't win

Now I'm walking again to the beat of a drum
And I'm counting the steps to the door of your heart
Only shadows ahead barely clearing the roof
Get to know the feeling of liberation and relief

Hey now, hey now
Don't dream it's over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
Don't ever let them win

"Weather With You"

Walking 'round the room singing "Stormy Weather"
at 57 Mount Pleasant Street.
Well, it's the same room but everything's different
You can fight the sleep but not the dream

Things ain't cookin' in my kitchen
Strange affliction wash over me
Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire
Couldn't conquer the blue sky

Everywhere you go you always take the weather with you

Well, there's a small boat made of china
It's going nowhere on the mantlepiece
Well, do I lie like a lounge room lizard
Or do I sing like a bird released?

Everywhere you go you always take the weather with you

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Weekend Assignment: Happy Birthday

Karen has this weekend's assignment at Outpost Mavarin...

Weekend Assignment #206: My birthday is coming up on Monday. In the grand tradition of the Beatles and my mom*, I magnanimously declare this to be your birthday, too. So, what would you like for your birthday? (And no, I won't actually be buying it for you. Sorry!)

Well, if you're not going to buy it for me, I hardly see the point. But what I really, really want and really, really need is a new digital camera. I think I'll just have to break down and buy it for myself if no one else will. I'd like to go with an entry-level DSLR, but just can't see paying that kind of money at this point in time. I'll probably get something a lot cheaper like the Canon Powershot A570 IS. It's an inexpensive point-and-shoot camera that I can keep with me at all times and whip out whenever a photo opportunity arises. Once I get a new camera, I need to take as many photos as I can to work on my composition techniques. And I'd really like to get back to posting a lot of photos here and at my woefully neglected Flickr page. The DSLR can wait until later.

Random Headlines

Just some stuff that caught my eye...

Counting Down to Inauguration Day (10 months, 11 days) News

Veto of Bill on CIA Tactics Affirms Bush Legacy -- NY Times
Bush, Dobson Will Address Christian Media -- Nashville Tennessean
Senate Committee Seeks Audit of Iraq Oil Money -- NY Times

Election News

Democrat Wins Election to Fill Ex-GOP Speaker Hastert's Seat -- Alternet
16,000 Republicans Crossed Over, Voted Democratic in Primary -- Cleveland Plain Dealer
32 Short Thoughts about Ralph Nader -- Alternet (Will Durst)

Miscellaneous Stuff

The Celebrity Solution -- NY Times Magazine
AP Probe Finds Drugs in Drinking Water -- AP
Countrywide Said to Be Subject of Federal Criminal Inquiry -- NY Times
Even Microsoft Execs Got Burned by Vista -- NY Times

Saturday, March 8, 2008

FBI Chief Confirms Misuse of Subpoenas

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III told senators yesterday that agents improperly used a type of administrative subpoena to obtain personal data about Americans until internal reforms were enacted last year.

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NASA Wary of Relying on Russia

In 2 1/2 years, just as the International Space Station gets fully assembled, the United States will no longer have any spacecraft of its own capable of carrying astronauts and cargo to the station, in which roughly $100 billion is being invested. The three space shuttles will be retired by then, because of their high cost and questionable safety, and NASA will have nothing ready to replace them until 2015 at the earliest.

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Oil's End

From the steps of the Supreme Court to the White House press room, from global trading exchanges to the snowy reaches of Alaska — over the last week, you could hear the creak of history as it began to pivot in a half-dozen locales. The Age of Oil is at an end. Maybe not this year. Maybe not for five years. But signs of the coming collapse are evident...

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Bush officials: Congress irrelevant on Iraq

The Bush administration says the 2002 congressional authorization to go to war in Iraq gives it the authority to conduct combat operations in Iraq and negotiate far-reaching agreements with the current Iraqi government without consulting Congress.

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Friday, March 7, 2008

NASCAR Tracks: Atlanta

Atlanta Motor Speedway is not really in Atlanta; it's in Hampton, Georgia, about twenty miles further south. AMS opened in 1960. At the time, it was only the seventh track more than a mile in length to host a Cup race. Only three of the other tracks are still in operation: Daytona, Darlington and Charlotte.

Atlanta Motor Speedway has undergone many changes over the years, especially in the 1990s after Bruton Smith bought the track. More grandstand seating and luxury suites were added; seating capacity is now around 125,000. New media facilities, garages and fan support buildings were also added.  In 1994, 46 condominiums were built on the northeast side of the track.

In 1997, the start/finish line was moved from the west to the east side of the track, and two doglegs were added to the frontstretch to form a 1.54-mile quad-oval, which replaced the original oval. There are 24 degrees of banking in the turns and five degrees on the straightaways. The front stretch (the part with the doglegs) is 2332 feet long. The back straightaway is 1800 feet long.

In 1998, lights were added for Indy Racing League races.  The IRL didn't compete at Atlanta long, but the lights are still used by NASCAR.

The track is very similar to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but the high banking (with no restrictor plates) makes Atlanta one of the fastest tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit.

There's also a quarter-mile track between pit road and the frontstretch for Legends racing, and a 2.5-mile road course.

Geoff Bodine holds the Sprint Cup qualifying record -- 197.478 mph, set in 1997. Dale Earnhardt holds the record for most Cup wins at the track, 9.  Bobby Labonte leads active drivers with six wins, but none since 2003.  Ryan Newman is tied with Buddy Baker with seven poles at AMS.

Atlanta used to be the final race on the NASCAR Cup schedule and many championships were decided there.  The 1992 Hooter 500 was one of the most eventful races in AMS history.  Six drivers entered the race with a mathematical shot at the championship, but Davey Allison entered with a 30-point lead and needed to finish sixth or better to clinch.  Allison crashed into a sliding Ernie Irvan, leaving Alan Kulwicki and Bill Elliott to battle for the championship.  Elliott won, but Kulwicki picked up the five bonus points for leading the most laps, one more than Elliott, and won the championship by just ten points.  The race also marked the only time Jeff Gordon and Richard Petty competed in NASCAR competition.  It was Gordon's first race and Petty's last.

NASCAR used to spend Labor Day weekends in the South at Darlington until that slot on the schedule was given to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. In 2008, Bruton Smith worked out a schedule swap between tracks to move the Labor Day weekend race back to the South -- to Atlanta.  The fall race is now the next-to-last race before the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

In March, Atlanta Motor Speedway hosts a Sprint Cup race, the Kobalt Tools 500, and a Camping World Truck Series race. On Labor Day weekend, AMS hosts a second Sprint Cup race, the Pep Boys 500, and a Nationwide Series race.  Lineups for both Cup racing are determined in evening qualifying sessions.  The Labor Day race starts late enough in the day to ensure a finish under the lights.



Posted by Picasa (diagram from NASCAR.com)

Atlanta Cup winners list

NASCAR tracks list


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Sawyer's Nicknames

One of my favorite characters on "Lost" is Sawyer who has never, as far as I know, called anyone by his/her name. Someone with a lot of time on their hands has compiled a video of all of Sawyer's nicknames. Good stuff...

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Clinton Wins Texas, Ohio; McCain Clinches

Hillary Rodham Clinton scored comeback primary wins in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island Tuesday night, denting Barack Obama's delegate lead in a riveting Democratic presidential race. Arizona Sen. John McCain, an unflinching supporter of the war in Iraq, clinched the Republican nomination.

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Defense Contractor to buy Vote Counting Company

Diebold Stock Soars After $3 Billion Takeover Bid by Defense Contractor Conglomerate United Technologies.

UTC Chairman Says Irresponsible Republican Voting Machine Company an 'Excellent Fit', in Letter Explaining Hostile Offer, Twice Rejected by Diebold...

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Here's United Technologies Corporation's entry in the Federal Contractor Misconduct Database.

Drug Pitchmen: Actor, Doctor, or Pfizer's Option

Dr. Robert Jarvik is neither a physician nor an actor, and yet he managed to sell medications for two years and, in so doing, deceived us all.

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On Signature Issues, McCain Has Shown Some Inconsistencies

Senator John McCain likes to present himself as the candidate of the “Straight Talk Express” who does not pander to voters or change his positions with the political breeze. But the fine print of his record in the Senate indicates that he has been a lot less consistent on some of his signature issues than he has presented himself to be so far in his presidential campaign.

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Monday, March 3, 2008

Classic Monday Rock: "Working Man" by Rush

Nothing much to say about this one except check out that drum kit...


I get up at seven, yeah
And I go to work at nine
I got no time for living
Yes, I'm working all the time

It seems to me
I could live my life
A lot better than I think I am
I guess thats why they call me
They call me the working man
They call me the working man
I guess that's what I am

I get home at five o'clock
And I take myself out a nice, cold beer
Always seem to be wondering
Why there's nothing going down here

It seems to me
I could live my life
A lot better than I think I am
I guess that's why they call me
They call me the working man
They call me the working man
I guess that's what I am

Well, they call me the working man
I guess that's what I am

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Mukasey refuses probe of Bush aides

Attorney General Michael Mukasey refused Friday to refer the House's contempt citations against two of President Bush's top aides to a federal grand jury. Mukasey said White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former presidential counsel Harriet Miers committed no crime. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that she has given the Judiciary Committee authority to file a lawsuit against Bolten and Miers in federal court.

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Bush Moves to Shield Telecommunications Firms

President Bush said last week that telecommunications companies that helped government wiretapping efforts need protection from 'class-action plaintiff attorneys' who see a 'financial gravy train' ahead. Democrats and privacy groups responded by accusing the Bush administration of trying to shut down the lawsuits to hide evidence of illegal acts.

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Just ten months and eighteen days left of this corrupt, incompetent administration.

Teaching Boys and Girls Separately

A New York Times Magazine article: The idea of separate classes for boys and girls is gaining traction in American public schools, in response to the different education crises they have been reported to experience.

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Free Lunch Isn’t Cool, So Some Students Go Hungry

At many schools, separate lines and menus for those who pay and those who get subsidized meals create a stigma, so many students go hungry.

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John Scalzi has written a couple or three posts about this story at Whatever. This one, "Shaming the Poor," is excellent.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Jack Endorses Clinton

Jack Nicholson and a few of his many screen personae endorse Hillary Clinton for president...

Voting and You!

Ed Helms of "The Daily Show" explains how that "voting" thing really works...

Bush on $4 Gas: "I Hadn't Heard That"

A normal president would be severely criticized for exhibiting this level of cluelessness about what regular Americans are going through -- just as Bush's father was excoriated toward the end of his term for appearing to be unfamiliar with an optical scanner at a supermarket check-out. But the "liberal media" will let Bush off the hook on this one, just as they always do, because his being out of touch is simply par for the course.

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Sigh. At least we're now one more day closer to January 20, 2009.

Bush Condemns Leaders Who 'Have Pictures Taken' with 'Tyrants'

In yesterday’s news conference, President Bush sharply attacked Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) argument that the president “should never fear to negotiate” with America’s enemies. Bush told reporters:

"It will send a discouraging message to those who wonder whether America will continue to work for the freedom of prisoners. It will give great status to those who have suppressed human rights and human dignity. […]

"Sitting down at the table, having your picture taken with a tyrant such as Raul Castro, for example, lends the status of the office and the status of our country to him. He gains a lot from it by saying, look at me, I’m now recognized by the President of the United States."

Perhaps Bush forgot all the times that he sat down and had his picture taken with leaders of questionable human rights credentials...

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Sprint Posts $29.45 Billion Loss

Sprint Nextel posted a $29.45 billion quarterly loss as the wireless carrier took a massive charge for its 2005 acquisition of Nextel. Sprint said it would quit paying dividends and warned subscriber losses are accelerating. Oops.

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It was supposed to be a good year for Sprint. They had exorcised the Nextel name from NASCAR. The top series is now the Sprint Cup Series. Then, just before the season got underway, came a big round of layoffs. Now this.

USDA Rejects 'Downer' Cow Ban

Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer told Congress yesterday that he would not endorse an outright ban on "downer" cows entering the food supply or back stiffer penalties for regulatory violations by meat-processing plants in the wake of the largest beef recall in the nation's history.

Appearing at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Schafer said the department is investigating why it missed the inhumane treatment of cattle at the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. in Chino, Calif., including workers administering electric shocks and high-intensity water sprays to downer cows -- those too sick or weak to stand without assistance.

The secretary announced interim steps such as more random inspections of slaughterhouses and more frequent unannounced audits of the nearly two dozen plants that process meat for federal school lunch programs.

But he deflected calls from Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), the subcommittee chairman, for the government to ban all downer cows from the food supply, increase penalties for violators and require installation of 24-hour surveillance cameras in processing plants.

read more | digg story

A confirmed case or two of mad cow disease would devastate the beef industry, much more than the recent beef recall. It seems like the industry would welcome tougher regulations and oversight...you know, instead of the alternative. Not that there aren't already tough regulations on the books that aren't being enforced due to a shortage of inspections.

NASCAR Tracks: Las Vegas

Las Vegas Motor SpeedwayImage by rayb777 via Flickr
Las Vegas Motor Speedway has a dozen different venues for everything on wheels from go-karts to NASCAR, including The Bullring, a 3/8-mile paved oval for short track racing, a state-of-the-art drag strip, road courses, and a dirt track. Of course, what we (NASCAR fans) are interested in is the 1.5-mile tri-oval.

The facility opened in 1996. NASCAR held a Truck Series race there that year, then added a Nationwide Series race in 1997 and a Sprint Cup series race in 1998.

In 2006, the track was repaved and reconfigured.  Pit road was moved closer to the front straightaway and closer to the fans in the stands, and fan-friendly features were added to the infield, particularly the Neon Garage where fans can see live entertainment and get up-close and personal with drivers.  Progressive banking -- the track gets steeper the closer you get to the outside wall -- was added, making the track faster and allowing more side-by-side racing.

The track features twenty degree banking near the wall in the wide, sweeping turns and nine degrees of banking on the 2275-feet frontstretch. The flatter (only three degrees) backstretch is 1572 feet long.

SAFER barriers had been installed along the outside wall, but in 2008 Jeff Gordon was involved in a crash in which his car slammed hard into the inside wall. SAFER barriers were soon installed along the inside wall.

Las Vegas native Kurt Busch holds the Sprint Cup qualifying record at LVMS -- 28.614 secs. (188.719 mph), set in February 2010. Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers with three wins at LVMS. The wins came in consecutive years from 2005-07. Jack Roush leads all owners with six LVMS wins.

Currently, Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosts one Sprint Cup race per year, the Shelby American, in late February or early March. The track also hosts a Nationwide Series race on the same weekend, and a Camping World Truck Series race in September. Owner Bruton Smith has been lobbying NASCAR hard for a second race, but the schedule is already full and NASCAR officials are leery because of their experiences at Fontana.





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