Some Complain (happily?), Others Whine

First of all, this winter season has been no fun at all. The weather started out bad and has stayed that way since late November. As a traveller, it has been especially tough for me. PJ and I have both posted about this. Hopefully with a bit of humor.

Some people in this state take it all too seriously. Here is a bit of a letter to the editor that appeared in the Des Moines Register February 28, 2008:

Is this Hell? No, it's Iowa

I've never had as little freedom as I have not after moving back to Iowa from the Southwest. Control of my life has been seized by Iowa's ridiculous weather. In the wintertime, the weather decides how much I walk for exercise and how much weight I gain. It determines how often I attend church or if I attend a fundraiser or sports event. In the heat of summer, humidity and insects determine if I can be outdoors in the evening.

Thanks to PJ for the tip on this. Without her and the H, this blog would suck!

Dinner on the Road

Tonight's dinner:

One 10" oyster pizza from Poor Richard's in New Hampton, Ia.

Three* bottles of Leinenkugels's Sunset Wheat.

*four now

**five

***six
__________________________________________________________
Jackie and Dunblap have an interesting view of Senator McCain

Saving Energy

Baseball

The 1st game of spring training starts in: read more

March 23, 1989

Prince William Sound changed forever on March 23, 1989. The Exxon Valdez, a tanker loaded with crude oil left port and ran aground, spilling 11,000,000 gallons that eventually spread over 600 miles. The devastation was incredible. For more pictures, go here.

In 1994, a court ordered Exxon Mobile to pay 5 million dollars in punitive damages. An appeals court reduced that to $2.5 million, about 3 weeks of profits for Exxon Mobile today.

But, they still haven't paid, while more tham 6,000 of the plaintiffs have died since the court decision.

The Supreme Court will finally here oral arguments in the case this week. Here's more.

Bird Watching in South Dakota

I wish I had a better camera!

A Different Side of the Crab

"Little House on the Prairie" has never been that important to me, but H loved it when she was young and I would guess lots of other young ladies did also, so these pictures are for you. Flenker had Whiskey Marie do a guest post in which she brought up Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Now, I know of six states that have Laura Ingalls Wilder homes: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota and Wisconsin. These pictures were taken near DeMet, South Dakota.

Captain Crab's Joke of the Day

A skeleton walks into a bar:

Bartender: "What can I get you?"

Skeleton: "A beer and a mop."

Well, I Know Now

A clear lesson I learned in the museum was that outside forces that tend to divide people up inside their country are unbelievably counterproductive. In other words, people came from other countries — I guess you’d call them colonialists — and they pitted one group of people against another.

President Bush on why sending US troops to Darfur would be a bad idea.

Apparently he forgot all about Iraq!

_________________________________________________________

Has Senator McCain a serious mistake? This New York Times article has the story.

The Washington Post has this take.

A Pirate Lesson

Thanks to PJ for alerting me to this. She's a fine Lassie!