Archive for August, 2005
August 28th, 2005 | 
Author: [ Reading time: 7 - 11 minutes ]
Summer is winding down…many projects of mine are in final work…and college classes start in about 30 hours from now…on Monday 08/29/01.
Overall, it’s been a good summer break. However, NOTHING could have put a better topping on the entire season than what happened Thursday.
First, around 10:30am, I joined the other Student Senators for an afternoon of helping many new freshman in the Rustlers Roundup, a day of new student orientation, tours, free food, and grab bags of cool stuff, and then joined the other senators on the stage of the Little Theater, which was completely full, in a “student panel discussion” of surviving and thriving how-to tips and q&a for all the new folks there, in learning how to deal with Becoming A Successful College Student.
It went REALLY good, and I felt this was one of my most non-nervous times to be on stage and helping a few hundred folks begin their college career, by sharing the ways that each of we senators had been successful so far in our academic careers. I actually ENJOYED this panel discussion!
Up to this point, I had worried about it for a couple of weeks, but it went off without a hitch.
Later in the evening, here at Central Wyoming College, the Student Success Center had an End Of Summer party for TRIO grant recipients, of which my wife and I are thankfully part of, because it helps pay for a portion of our college careers.
The party went from 5p to 7p, and there were many door prizes, lots of cheesy (yet fun) games for the entire family, over 60 pizza pies from the local Dominoes franchise, and something very cool to end the evening. Someone was going to take home a brand new laptop computer at the end of the evening.
My wife Annie, myself, and fellow student senator Regina showed up around 5:10 at the CWC gym where the party was held, as I had to work at the radio station until 5, then headed home to get Annie.
We got back to the door and got in line. Those folks who were the TRIO recipients had to get their pre-semester meetings with Ed Hill, the TRIO counselor, done before they could get their “Official” laptop door prize ticket stub and be entered to get their chance.
Annie was in front of me, but had not had her meeting with Ed yet, and so had to head over a few tables to visit Ed before full check in. I was next, and having met with Ed the day before, got handed the ticket that WOULD have been Annie’s ticket stub.
After signing the checkin sheet, I was handed some neat goodies, another stub for OTHER door prizes, and went to grab a table for Annie, Regina, and I. I put some pizza together on the table for us, got some cold drinks, and went back to sit with Annie until she was done. After about 5 minutes, she and Ed finished, and she went back to the signin table, got her stuff, and ticket stub, and we went back to our table to munch and visit with everyone else.
During the evening, there were all kinds of kiddie and family games, including cake walks, facepainting, Twister, a tots fishing derbie for trinkets, and more. Every 15 minutes or so, a door prize was handed out to some lucky visitor.
During this time, Annie and I ribbed each other to try to convince ourselves to join in the fun, and after a while, I did the cake walk a few times (no free food for me), the Limbo Dance contest (at 40 inches high, and my third pass, I lost my balance and wound up on the other side of the bar on my face), and a few other things.
Overall, a pleasant and mostly harmless evening seeing lots of folks and their kids have fun with each other.
Finally, around 6:50pm, it was announced that the ticket was going to be called to see who won the fabulous door prize…a brand spanking new Dell laptop system, with all the bells and whistles.
I was hoping as much as everyone else, and THIS was the reason I was here for the evening, and had convinced Annie to come (she really didn’t want to).
The first number was pulled. 863390. No one spoke up. It was called out again…several times…everyone looked REALLY hard at their tickets…total silence in a room of 200 or so folks. Finally…last chance for 863390….no takers..someone had left early.
Susanna Lawson, one of the MC’s for the evening (and one of my tutor advisors) picked up another ticket from the hat, after no response to the first number.
863466.
Holy Crap.
I look again REALLY hard at my ticket….
Sweet Mother of God.
863466.
Staring right back up at me…those numbers on MY little blue ticket with a nice red border.
HOLY CRAP!
It was MY number.
Annie looked at me. I looked at her…I whispered to her…”I Got It!”
I stood up…and said, “Can you repeat that number again?, PLEASE?”
Susanna repeated 863466.
Yep…I WON!
A brand new, freshly purchased, never used DELL Inspiron 6000 Laptop computer, with 80 gig hard drive, DVD RW burner, 512 megs of RAM, and MS Office…and a HUGE screen…and WIRELESS access…which is really great, as this campus is slowly going wireless bit by bit through most of the buildings *except* for the dorms where we live…they MAY get wired next summer.
I could not believe it.
After getting up and walking over to the middle of the room where Susanna, Ed, and Marilu Duncan all verified the number, I said a little speech of THANK YOU! to the crowd. I then followed Carol W. over to the table where the computer was, signed off on the “permission slip to use your likeness” (marketing stuff) form, posed with my new ‘puter for a few digital pics, and and put it all back in the box, and went back to sit down with Annie and try to absorb what had just happened.
Annie let me purchase a brand new (yet recertified) hi end computer last year with a portion of our tax refund, and as I was sitting there thinking, I thought this would be a VERY good time to offer her this computer, as her laptop (purchased used last year from a family friend…333mh IBM Thinkpad) was slow, tiny, and usable for her needs, but just barely.
So, I did…thinking long term about if I give her THIS one, she’ll give me her old one, and I’ll still have a laptop to use for my web stuff, writing, and so forth. After all, this new one didn’t cost me a dime.
She didn’t want it! Her old one was JUST fine…she knew how to make it do what she needed, and that was ALL that she needed. However, most of the OTHER folks in the gym this very evening (who didn’t hear me offer it to her), were VERY interested in this machine, and I chatted with MANY of them, showing them the cool tools it had, and being very happy.
So, she said “it’s yours…you use it…I know you want it…(grin)…”
I guess I will….might as well…(bigger grin!!)
It’s a great computer. I went to Dell late, late, late in the evening, and configured a ‘puter just the same as what this one came with, and the bottom line for this machine was around $1400….AMAZING!
First time EVER in my life I won something (as compared to something like the Telly Award I was ‘recognized’ with for my video work back in June). A very timely tool too, as it will be used VERY heavily this coming year in my classes.
A bit after 7pm, we headed home, and I showed it off to my kids, their friends, and a couple of neighbors. All were a bit impressed, and happy to see it won by someone who could REALLY use it to help others ( as I have been the past two years as a tutor here on campus).
Spent an hour or so seeing what the system software was, checking specs and reading the online manual, and then put it away. Again, Annie was amazed.
“Not going to play with it tonight?”
“Nope” was the answer. I have to put it down, and think about what I’m going to use it for, how I’m going to organize the software tools, and just what I’m now going to have to get to make the most of this NEW electronic gadget that just entered my life.
After all, 80 gigs ain’t much when you think about it, and I have over 300 gigs of data on my desktop rig…and SOME of that will have to get mirrored on the new laptop.
The biggest “Cool” of the whole thing is that this new system will let me do video editing anywhere, anytime. My Sony HC 20 handicam DV camera will hook up via firewire directly to this monster, and after editing, I can burn the final production DVD the moment I’ve done…..yes…VERY cool….
This new system will be used for audio work as well, and I can record, edit, and even broadcast directly from this laptop once everything is set up and tuned. THAT is awesome as well.
Hope I didn’t bore you with all the above…as you might notice, at least *I* am quite excited about it. And, even 3 days later…walking on air…it’s a WONDERFUL summer after all.
Rich
Posted in 
[ Reading time: 2 - 3 minutes ]
This story is must reading, if you have ANY concern about terrorist nukes, and the ability of the US to respond to the actual usage of a terrorist nuclear weapon on US soil in the near future.
Unfortunately, ALL that the US seems to do these days is PLAN to RESPOND…not enough to give life saving information to EACH and EVERY citizen, should the event happen in YOUR hometown….
In other words, you’re on your own, while the US deals with another disasterous catastrophe.
Take the time now to print out EVERYTHING you can get your hands on, on building fallout shelters at home, stocking them with basic supplies, and understanding how to measure radiation in your home with homemade Kearney Fallout Meters…
Again, the time for study is NOW…BEFORE YOU NEED IT.
Print it all out, put it in a three ring binder, and keep it someplace where you can find it IN A HEARTBEAT.
Rich
Sunday, August 21, 2005
NUCLEAR WAR-FEAR
Pentagon drills for nuke terror
Sudden Respond 05: ‘We are taking realistic look at worse-case scenarios’
Posted: August 21, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
WASHINGTON – When authorities tried to arrest a terrorist discovered unloading an improvised nuclear weapon in the port of Charleston, S.C., the bomb was detonated, killing 10,000, injuring 30,000 and exposing as many as 100,000 to high levels of radiation.
That was the scenario at the center of a nuclear terrorism drill, completed this week, one involving thousands of civilians, military personnel and local and federal officials.
“Sudden Respond 05″ was led by Virginia’s Fort Monroe-based Joint Task Force-Civil Support and was designed to simulate a nuclear terrorist attack that the highest U.S. officials, including President Bush, have said is the No. 1 threat facing the nation.
The drill, one of many like it scheduled around the country, was not designed to stop a nuclear terrorist attack but to deal with its devastating aftermath. The exercises took place from Aug. 15 through Aug. 19. Drills in other parts of the country will focus on 15 other scenarios involving the detonation of terrorist weapons of mass destruction.
In this case, the device was a 10-kiloton bomb, said Tom Sobieski, deputy for training and exercises at the task force.
[ Reading time: 1 - 2 minutes ]
James Wesley Rawles, a long time author and writer, produced a book many years ago called
“Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. It was an excellent book, and incredibly full of very useful, and technical, survival information.
J.W. has come back to the forefront of survival discussion on the web, with a new blog he just put online, at the link above.
Already getting massive hits, James has a LOT of fans of his book, and seems to have plans to share quite a bit of thoughts, ideas, letters, and more via his blog system in the coming future.
I’d recommend that if you are inquisitive about being ahead of the pack when it comes to knowing more than the next guy, to put SurvivalBlog on your list of daily web visits.
Rich
[ Reading time: 2 - 2 minutes ]
Code Red would trigger a virtual lockdown
Top terror alert could shut landmarks, ground planes, stop trains or trigger roadblocks
Sunday, March 30, 2003
By Michael Collins, Scripps Howard News Service
WASHINGTON — National landmarks such as the Washington Monument, Ellis Island and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis could be shut down.
Planes could be grounded, trains could stop running, and bridges and tunnels could be closed. U.S. borders might be sealed off, and roadblocks might be set up on interstates and other major highways.
The United States is prepared to go into lockdown mode if the government should raise the nation’s terror alert to Code Red, the highest threat level for terrorism. Code Red means there is a severe risk of terrorist attack, or that an attack is imminent or may already be under way.
“It essentially means you stop doing everything except protecting yourself,” said Dave McIntyre, deputy director of the Anser Institute for Homeland Security, a nonprofit research group in Arlington, Va.
Homeland security officials have put Americans on notice to brace for the possibility of terrorist attacks while the country is at war with Iraq. The threat level was raised to orange, the second highest, just two days before the war began March 19.
“There are no plans, nor have their been any discussions, about elevating the threat level to Code Red,” said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security.
To trigger such an alert, U.S. intelligence would have to be “very specific, credible, corroborated [and] provide us with information such as time, date, location” of a possible attack, Johndroe said.
[ Reading time: 1 - 2 minutes ]
Expecting a major catastrophy in your neck of the woods anytime soon?
Here is a shopping list of items you might want to get an early start on buying, for the coming holiday season…
Rich
100 Items that will disappear first during an emergency
1) Generators.
2) Water filters/purifiers.
3) Portable toilets.
4) Seasoned firewood.
5) Lamp oil, wicks, and lamps.
6) All types of fuel; Coleman, propane, gasoline, kerosene, diesel.
7) Guns, ammunition, pepper-spray, knives, bows/arrows, clubs, bats & slingshots.
Hand-can openers & hand egg beaters, whisks, paper/plastic plates and cups.
9) Honey, syrups, white, brown sugars.
10) Rice, beans.
11) Vegetable oil
12) Charcoal & Lighter Fluid.
13) Water containers
14) Mini heater head (Propane)
15) Grain grinder (non-electric)
16) Small propane cylinders and the adapter to refill them from the larger size
17) Goats, chickens, pigeons, ducks, rabbits, milk cows
18) Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc.
19) Baby supplies, diapers, formula, ointments, aspirin, etc
20) Washboards, mop Bucket w/wringer (for laundry)
21) Cook stoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene)
22) Vitamins (Critical, due to forced daily canned food diets.)
23) Propane cylinder Handle-Holder. Small canister use is dangerous without this item.
24) Feminine hygiene, hair care, skin products
25) Thermal underwear, tops and bottoms
26) Bow saws, axes and hatchets & wedges
27) Aluminum foil.
28) Gasoline containers (plastic or metal)
29) Garbage bags (impossible to have too many.)
30) Toilet paper, Kleenex, paper towels
[ Reading time: 2 - 2 minutes ]
Ok…What do we have to do, as a nation, to get our LEADERS to DO THEIR JOBS?
How many lives would have been SAVED, had these IDIOTS below thought OUTSIDE the box, and reported their findings IN TIME to stop the horrific events of 9/11???
9/11 commission to look into Atta claim
U.S. defense intelligence knew Sept. 11 plotters in 1999, congressman says
The Associated Press
Updated: 2:29 a.m. ET Aug. 10, 2005
WASHINGTON – The Sept. 11 commission will investigate a claim that U.S. defense intelligence officials identified ringleader Mohammed Atta and three other hijackers as a likely part of an al-Qaida cell more than a year before the hijackings but didn’t forward the information to law enforcement.
Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa. and vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, said Tuesday the men were identified in 1999 by a classified military intelligence unit known as “Able Danger.” If true, that’s an earlier link to al-Qaida than any previously disclosed intelligence about Atta.
Sept. 11 commission co-chairman Lee Hamilton said Tuesday that Weldon’s information, which the congressman said came from multiple intelligence sources, warrants a review. He said he hoped the panel could issue a statement on its findings by the end of the week.
“The 9/11 commission did not learn of any U.S. government knowledge prior to 9/11 of surveillance of Mohammed Atta or of his cell,” said Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana. “Had we learned of it obviously it would’ve been a major focus of our investigation.”
Numerous government mistakes
The Sept. 11 commission’s final report, issued last year, recounted numerous government mistakes that allowed the hijackers to succeed. Among them was a failure to share intelligence within and among agencies.
[ Reading time: 2 - 3 minutes ]
Looks like Ossie is on the move…and heading into the heart of the battlefield.
This story is from Debka.com, one of the leading, and most trusted, news sources in the middle east.
Osama bin Laden Looks Like Heading for Iraq
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report
August 8, 2005, 11:52 PM (GMT+02:00)
Coded electronic signals bandied in recent days among al Qaeda Middle Eastern elements across secret Internet sites all carry the same message: the supreme leader, Osama bin Laden, has come out of hiding in Afghanistan and set out, or is about to set out, for Iraq. This is the sense gained from this correspondence by DEBKAfile’s exclusive counter-terror sources.
Some of the signals schedule his date of arrival as the second half of September when Ramadan is estimated to begin. His arrival in Iraq is planned to signal the launching of the biggest offensive his organization has ever launched against the US army. If these signals are a true representation of bin Laden’s plans and not a red herring, what is planned is a dramatic landmark battle in the global war on terror and the Iraqi conflict.
The signals cap a secret exchange of messages in recent weeks in which al Qaeda’s Iraq commander Abu Musab al –Zarqawi attempted to persuade bin Laden to leave Afghanistan and take command of the Ramadan offensive in Iraq. Zarqawi argued the importance of his transferring from Afghanistan to Iraq on two grounds: to boost al Qaeda’s standing as it embarks on an “offensive whose scale and importance rival the September 2001 operation.” and in the interests of his own personal safety.
Zarqawi stressed, according to our sources, that bin Laden will be safer in Iraq than in Afghanistan – an indication of Jordanian terrorist’s inflated self-confidence.
DEBKAfile and DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s experts have authenticated the messages as emanating from Zarqawi. Their secret contents have begun to leak out and set up a huge flap in al Qaeda networks, cells and affiliates in many countries and talk of “a new jihad to honor the leader.”
If bin Laden was indeed swayed by Zarqawi and aims to reach Iraq by mid-September, he has little time to lose and must already have set out on his winding secret journey, or be about to depart. One of his options would be the long way round through Pakistani and Iranian Baluchistan and across the border into Iraq.
