National Guard Unit Takes a Final Look at Tiger Stadium

I received these photos via e-mail from a friend of mine. The e-mail said they were taken by National Guard troops heading for Iraq. I can't be sure if that's the actual origin but they are great shots so I thought I'd post 'em.










As always, keep our troops in your prayers.

Bonnet Carre Spillway

I went to OTC a couple of weeks ago to check out what's new in the Gulf of Mexico, exploration and production wise. We had to fly over to New Orleans to pick up another passenger before heading over to Houston. As luck would have it, we flew right by the Bonnet Carre spillway and one of the engineering interns that flew with us happened to have his camera.

The photo is clearer if you click on it (the Mississippi river is the portion above the spillway). After seeing the spillway open, I decided to do a little research into the history and development of this flood protection system. I found a very interesting article here with maps and photos that I thought did a good job of explaining just that.

Evil Minions Wanted

As a card carrying member of the Evil Oil Empire, I found this article in the Energy Tribune to be spot on.


An Excerpt:

North America: Here an energy worker can be hated as an evil profiteer and Dick Cheney protégé. People believe such a worker spends half his time mired in laborious ignorance in Oklahoma or Louisiana and the other half as part of an omniscient cosmopolitan conspiracy to control energy prices and kill cheap renewable energy via secret meetings in Geneva. The third half of his time is spent killing puffins and caribou for sport.

WWJND (What Would Jack Nicholson Do): "I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps, posting anti-oil garbage on the internet using the very energy I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you," and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest that you sell your car and live in a yurt. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to!" [paraphrased from "A Few Good Men"]

I guess providing energy for the entire planet does not make one popular, at least not as popular as other things which seem to require no positive and/or measurable results...



Update 5/19/08: It seems I forgot to link to the article (now linked above).

Cemetery of the Innocents Display Vandalized

A pro life organization called Pointers for Life set up a "Cemetery of the Innocents" display on the Campus of the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point. The display was approved by the University and all of the appropriate paperwork was completed, however one student senator took it upon himself to begin ripping the small crosses from the ground and flinging them about in a fit of self righteousness. You really need to check out the video on YouTube (I would have embedded it but the code was removed from YouTube). You can read the story here.

I would love to simply rant about this but I guess if I am to live my faith I have to urge everyone to pray for this STUPID JERK!

Kayak Rigging

Did a little rigging on my kayak this evening. Nothing revolutionary, just a couple of rod holders added to the crate in back. My kayak came with built in rod holders but the rods would stick out at an odd angle and get caught in various obstructions while fishing. I think having them stored vertically will be much less of a hassle.



I also took a picture of my setup for storing my yak. Probably not the best idea to hang the thing from the ends but it works, it's out of the way and it was easy to install. Just a couple of those big self tapping hooks used for storing bikes (good for 150 lbs) and a couple of quick release nylon straps (the same ones I use to secure the yak to the trailer) and you're done.



Anchor trolley install should be next. I'll put up some pictures of that as well. If anyone knows of any good kayak fishing sites let me know, especially in this area. I've already linked to BCKFC.

Join CCA

Now's the time to join CCA and enter the STAR Tournament if you haven't done so already. Great prizes, boats, trucks, etc. Proceeds will help ensure that future generations have a place to fish.

Hillary Clinton Appears on O'Reilly

I never thought I would see Hillary Clinton interviewed by Bill O'Reilly but there she was last night, pulling out ALL the stops.

In other news, unseasonably cool temperatures were felt in even the warmest of climates yesterday evening...

Man Forges Personal Check for $360,000,000,000.00

This genius tried to forge a check from his girlfriends personal account for $360,000,000,000.00 (that's $360 billion in case you get lost in all the zeros). I would pay money to see the security tape of this attempted transaction.

"Do you want that in $20's or $100's?"

"I'll have to check the balance on this account for sufficient funds. Our overdraft protection policy only covers transactions up to $359 billion."

"If you deposit your $360 billion with us today you get a free toaster!"

Enjoy It While You Still Can

I only read the title of this story and I knew we'd be in there somewhere. We're losing miles of coastal wetlands every year. It's really a shame that so few people know or care.

How Would Jesus Vote

Here's an interesting hypothetical questions for all you devout Catholics and pro-lifers out there. If B. Hussein Obama and Hillary Clinton were both pro-life and McCain was pro-choice, how would you vote?

I think I pulled my medulla oblongata trying to bend my mind around this one.

Hillary Vows to "Totally Obliterate" Iran

Sure, her threat was predicated on Iran attacking Israel first but wow! Them's some strong words. Don't take my word for it, see for yourself.



So I guess her plan is to dust off those old ICBM's laying around from the cold war and get some use out of them. Really? No U.N. approval? Seriously? No exhaustion of all other means of peaceable resolution? 'Cause it seems like I heard that somewhere before. No building up of a vast coalition of nations? No? She's just gonna push the button and vaporize an entire nation, eh? You know, this sounds COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from what I expected her to say based on her position on the war we are currently fighting. Well, I guess that's her way of avoiding sending any more American troops overseas. Or maybe she's just after their oil.

While she's at it, she should also promise to rid the world of cancer if she were elected president. Oh yeah! She could just nuke the whole planet killing everything on earth, cancer and all. I mean, that's only if she wanted to keep her campaign promises, which is another issue entirely.

B. Hussein v/s B16

Hat tip to Jeff Miller for finding this parody of the Obama campaign poster. I thought a side by side would be worth 2000 words so here ya go...



I know who I'm supporting.

More Kayak Events

The Backpacker in Lafayette, LA is having a "pool day" to demo their kayaks and canoes this weekend. What is a "pool day" you ask? Basically, they set up a giant above ground pool in the parking lot and let people paddle around in it trying out various boats. They've got a pretty good selection of boats so I think I'll try to be there. They also have a schedule of upcoming events for Lafayette and Baton Rouge on their web site.

Catholic Speaker Tomorrow Night in Lafayette, La.

This Friday, April 18, 2008 at 7 pm at St Pius Auditorium in Lafayette, LA, Clayton Bower will be speaking on the origins of the Bible. Also, this Saturday Morning April 19, 2008 at 9:00 AM, a Breakfast session with Mr Bower will held at Ground Pati (on Kaliste Saloom). A FREE breakfast will be served at 8:30 AM.

A bit of backgound on Mr. Bower: He is a Catholic apologist from San Diego who is in high demand across North America. He is featured on EWTN's affiliate, St Joseph Radio. His multi-media programs typically include a combination of art, music and live lecture. He is a graduate of Boston University, holding a degree in Sociology with a specialization in Demographic History. He has studied Theology, Patristic's, and Scripture at St John's School of Theology in the Archdiocese of Boston.

Betrayal of Religious Leaders by Kisses is Still Fashionable

House speaker Nancy Pelosi kisses the hand of Pope Benedict XVI while at the same time working tirelessly to promote values which are entirely at odds with Catholic teaching. This photo should appear in the dictionary (or at least wikipedia) under "Hypocricy". I don't think I've ever seen a better example. Seriously, look at the definition of the word and tell me this isn't it.

HOLY WAR!

Just when I'm coming around to the Pope's way of thinking regarding the war in Iraq, I've got to go and find this...



Needless to say I am offended, but more importantly I (and all Catholics) are being singled out as targets of an Islamic holy war. This is not the same as terrorists targeting "America". Sure I'm an American and I like to think that I'm patriotic, but there are many differing opinions on every subject in this country. There is no longer any identifiable common philosophy that unites all Americans. So when terrorists target "America", we can each take some degree of false comfort in the fact that the terrorists must be angry with, "those other Americans".

This is simply not so with my religious beliefs. There are no "other Catholics" for the terrorists to target. When Yunis Al-Astal threatens the Catholic Church, he is threatening me personally, along with my family, friends and community. I choose to be Catholic because I believe the Church's teachings to be the truth. I am always open to discussion on matters of theology (although I'm certainly no expert) and I condemn no one for their beliefs in other religions. Likewise, the Catholic church is always open to theological discussions with other religions and engages in such discussions frequently. To the contrary, Islam is saying to Catholics (indeed all "infidels"), "Convert or die!"

Does this ultimatum really leave us any choice? On one hand, I hate the thought of any more of our young soldiers suffering the same fate as Joseph Richard and the thousands who have lost their lives before him. On the other hand, I find it hard to cling to the notion that "engaging in positive dialog about multiculturalism" will keep a growing, borderless nation of Saladin wannabe's from taking this fight to my children's doorstep.

Salt Water Fishing

Headed out to Hog Bayou yesterday. Wind was blasting out of the North and the current was really moving and the water was filthy from Hackberry to Holly Beach. Anyway, those are all of my excuses as to why I caught no fish and I'm sticking to 'em! One day I'll figure out what the guides all seem to know...

Kayak Fishing Seminar

I've been pretty busy this week so blogging's been light (i.e. non existent). I did make time for a kayak fishing seminar on Tuesday though. Pack and Paddle in Lafayette sponsors numerous outdoor seminars, clinics, guided tours, film screenings, etc. The speaker was great and offered a lot of useful information including launch sites from the Sabine to the Pearl.

I've also taken a liking to this particular paddle craft...



Native Watercraft Ultimate 12. Veeeeerryy Niiiiiiiiiiccee!

Hamas Pupet Show

Since my last post was kosher, I thought I would give some blog space to an opposing view point for "balance". I've posted on this topic before. Anyway, I'll let you see for yourself what young radical Muslims are being taught.



Should I love my enemy or defend my family?

Kosher Coke

Hat tip to Alive & Young for finding this one. I am completely addicted to Coca-Cola, so when I saw this I had to post it. As you may or may not know, corn syrup is cheaper than real sugar so folks in the food industry (including Coke) now use it instead of sugar for processed foods. Corn syrup is not kosher, thus the kosher Coke contains real sugar. If I can locate some of this custom blended "passover pop" locally I'll do a taste test and post my results.

Mmmmm. Reeeaal Suuuugaar...aaaahhhh.