Bird Deaths And Wind Turbines

Saw where George Will (that fount of Reich-Wing knowledge) said that wind farms kill more birds every year than can possibly be killed by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. So I decided to look on-line to see how many birds are killed by wind turbines. Below is a chart I found at HowStuffWorks. Found a couple of other sites and seems like more birds are killed by power lines, towers, and windows than turbines. The bird deaths those against wind power cite are usually from before 2000. Since then the speed of the blades have slowed way down thru gearing and the blades are much easier for birds to avoid.

Man-made structure/technology_______ Associated bird deaths per year (U.S.)

Feral and domestic cats__________ ___Hundreds of millions [source: AWEA]
Power lines__________________ ____130 million -- 174 million [source: AWEA]
Windows (residential and commercial)__ _100 million -- 1 billion [source: TreeHugger]
Pesticides_______________________70 million [source: AWEA]
Automobiles _____________________60 million -- 80 million [source: AWEA]
Lighted communication towers ________40 million -- 50 million [source: AWEA]
Wind turbines ____________________10,000 -- 40,000 [source: ABC]­

A while back I saw where someone had said that wind turbines kill bats. Found an article about bats and wind turbines at Advice from an Expert that basically says the bats that are killed by turbine blades are migrating bats. It is theorized that migrant bats, since they are not searching for insects or feeding, turn off their echolocation in order to conserve their energy resources.

Then again, talking head pundits especially those on the Far-Right don't care about the accuracy of their talking points, only whether or not it sounds good!!

Lutheran Airlines

A friend mentioned in an e-mail the Lutheran Airlines video on YouTube, but didn't do a link. I went to YouTube and did a search. There were several versions of it and of the ones I looked at, this is the one I liked best.

I wonder if it makes a stop in Lake Wobegone??

Questions About The Story Of Noah

It's all over the news that a group claims they have found the remains of Noah's Ark on Mt. Ararat. Of course the group knew they would find Noah's Ark there.

As believers in the literal truth of the Bible, they knew it was there.

Even so, the explorers who say they found seven large wooden compartments beneath snow and volcanic debris near the peak of Mount Ararat can be forgiven their excitement.

'It's not 100 per cent that it is Noah's Ark, but we think it is 99.9 per cent that this is it,' said Yeung Wing-cheung, a filmmaker working with the 15-strong team of fundamentalist Christians exploring the Turkish mountain. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1269165/Noahs-Ark-remains-discovered-mountain-Turkey.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0mOubfm1w

But Mike Pitt, a British archaeologist, said the evangelical explorers had yet to produce compelling evidence.
He added: 'If there had been a flood capable of lifting a huge ship 4km up the side of a mountain 4,800 years ago, I think there would be substantial geological evidence for this flood around the world. And there isn't.' Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1269165/Noahs-Ark-remains-discovered-mountain-Turkey.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0mOwYGxZx

Nicholas Purcell, a lecturer in ancient history at Oxford University, said the claims were the 'usual nonsense'. He added: 'If floodwaters covered Eurasia 12,000ft deep in 2,800BC, how did the complex societies of Egypt and Mesopotamia, already many centuries old, keep right on regardless?' Read more:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1269165/Noahs-Ark-remains-discovered-mountain-Turkey.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0mOuzVFYO

Now for my questions about the story of Noah. Supposedly water is a finite resource, so where did all the water come from if as the story goes, the water covered even the tallest mountain peaks????? And second, where did all that water go when it receded?????? And is total flooding of the world what will happen if all the ice caps and glaciers melt????

Just noticed on the graphic about a group in Maryland building a replica of the Ark and they have been working on it for 30 years. How was Noah able to build the Ark and still make a living for himself and his family???

Saw Something Interesting Today

Today, while out walking to get some exercise, I noticed something. On a newer Ford full-size passenger van the wheels had seven lugnuts. At first I thought I was seeing wrong and counted several times and then further into my walk saw another van with the same kind of wheels. Now in the past I have seen vehicles with 3 lug wheels and 4, 5, 6, and 8 lug wheels. This was the first that I noticed a vehicle with 7 lug wheels. I remember laughing in Driver Ed class at the illustration of a wheel with 7 lugnuts in our Driver Ed book. Turns out whoever drew that picture was way ahead of the times.

Two Years of Rants, Random Thoughts, Funny Stuff And Other Stupid Shit!!

Started this blog two years ago, and still haven't the foggiest where I'm going with it. I put up stuff that tickles my fancy (if it feels good, do it) or vent about stuff that pisses me off or has me scratching my ass(usually in the category of "How Fucking Stupid Are They"!!) or life in general.

The way it started was one day The Old Lady came home from work and said "Guess what?? I started a blog today. Work was so 'exciting' that I decided to try doing a blog." A couple weeks or so later(or maybe a couple of months) she showed me how to create a blog and when I found my lastname.blogspot was available, I immediately thought of the title for the blog, "Yooper In Crackerland" which describes my situation. Afterwards I came up with the thought of doing another blog to record some of my adventures going down the road as a wage-slave.

Over these two years I have been adding stuff to the blogs and sometimes removing stuff. I've learned how to do stuff like put up videos on the blog, but there is a ton of things I don't know how to do yet. One of the problems I have is I can't remember all the instructions on how to do shit if it isn't written down so I can follow it step by step. Sometimes I'll have a piece of paper with stuff written on it and The Old Lady will clean off her desk and throw it out. Like at one time I had a piece of paper with code on it for how to put a link in a comment and other codes for doing other stuff. It's been gone for a long time now and so I no longer can do those things.

I have no idea if any of my friends and relatives ever read my blogs. I know The Kid reads it, but that's the only one that I know for sure reads my blogs.

Addendum: This was supposed to be posted yesterday on the 26th. Thought I had it set up to automatically post on the 26th. This morning realized it hadn't worked.

Story of my life, "Day late and a Dollar short!!"

Money

Saw a post on the guy winning 258M Powerball jackpot and there were comments on how money won't buy you happiness. Also I did a video post about getting rich by legally stealing money and had a couple of comments on how they didn't need to get rich, they were able to get by with whatever they had, either in the past or now.

That's when I remembered that I had seen this thing about marshmallows and money, so I thought I'd put it up.

As for money not buying you happiness, I'd sure as hell like to be able to try. I remember on an episode of "Gilligan's Island" where Mrs. Thurston Howell III said when someone said money won't buy you happiness, "They obviously don't know where to shop!!"

I have heard that even tho money won't buy you happiness, you can rent it for awhile!!

To All Those That Don't Want To Pay Any Taxes

Hot Pizza Anyone??

A Cherokee County teenager burned his dinner and then several townhouses Thursday evening. When a pizza in the oven started smoking, the teen took matters into his own hands.
"He took the pizza out and decided to throw it out into the yard," said Tim Cavender with the Cherokee County fire department.
A fire in the grass quickly spread to nearby decks, and gas grills with propane tanks added fuel to the flames, Cavender said.
The incident happened around 5:30 p.m. in the Magnolias at Ridgewalk neighborhood, near Towne Lake Parkway.
No one was injured in the blaze. But when the fire was out, five townhouses had moderate to severe damage, Cavender said.
Both Cherokee County and Woodstock fire fighters responded to the call. Crews remained on the scene during the evening to battle any potential hot spots.
The only entrance to the complex, near Towne Lake Parkway, was blocked temporarily, resident Leslie Reeves told the AJC.
The investigation into the incident continues, Cavender said. It is has not been determined if the teenager will face any charges.
Regardless, there's a valuable lesson to be learned.
"Don't throw hot pizzas out in the backyard," Cavender said.

Again, you can't make this shit up. This is from the AJC.

And what's with the only entrance being blocked, I guess that's one of the perks of living in a gated community!!!

Update: The pizza story, it turns out, was all a big fib, according to Cherokee County fire spokesman Tim Cavender.
"Late last night, the boy confessed to authorities that he was bored and placed mineral spirits on an action figure and set it on fire," Cherokee County fire spokesman Tim Cavender said Friday.
At this time, no charges are being brought against the juvenile male," Woodstock police spokeswoman Brittany Duncan said. "However, police and fire officials are mandating that he attend the ‘Youth Fire Setter Intervention' program in order to educate him on the importance of fire safety."

Never underestimate the stupidity of teenage boys!!

New Tea Party Member

Luckovich at the AJC.

Be careful what you wish for!!