Bought Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2

I broke down and bought Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 today. Maybe I'll be an Ansel Adams or a computer artist tomorrow. Of course, Ive owned the last four versions and it hasn't happened yet.

Political Correctness Produces Fear

Michael Griffin, NASA's top guy is not afraid of global warming. You can see that plainly in the AP article below. What else can we see in this article. I can see fear. If you are not always 'politically correct' and if you dare oppose the liberal lunatic agenda you better beware. Griffin made some brave but abrasive statements about global warming and the fear mongers promoting the same. He was called "totally clueless" and was placed into their little basket of dangerous offenders. Shamefully, the White House blushes and slowly backs away from Griffin and his comments.

NASA Chief Not Worried About Climate
Thursday, May 31st, 2007 at 10:40am WASHINGTON

The head of NASA drew criticism from scientists when he said he was not sure global warming was a problem and added that it would be "arrogant" to assume the world's climate should not change in the future.

"I have no doubt that global _ that a trend of global warming exists," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said in a taped interview that aired Thursday on National Public Radio. "I am not sure that it is fair to say that is a problem we must wrestle with."

"I guess I would ask which human beings, where and when, are to be accorded the privilege of deciding that this particular climate that we have right here today, right now, is the best climate for all other human beings. I think that's a rather arrogant position for people to take," Griffin said.

Jerry Mahlman, a former top scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who is now at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said Griffin's remarks showed he was either "totally clueless" or "a deep anti-global warming ideologue."

James Hansen, a top NASA climate scientist, said Griffin's comments showed "arrogance and ignorance," because millions of people will likely be harmed by global warming in the future.

White House science adviser Jack Marburger said he was not disturbed by Griffin's remarks, but distanced them from President Bush, who on Thursday announced an international global warming proposal.

"It's pretty obvious that the NASA administrator was speaking about his own personal views and by no means representing or attempting to represent the administration's views or broader policy," Marburger told The Associated Press. "He's got a very wry sense of humor and is very outspoken."

NASA spokesman David Mould said the radio interviewer was trying to push Griffin into saying something about global warming. NASA's position is that it provides scientific data on the issue, but policy makers are the ones who decide, he said.

Come on people, if we stand for nothing - we will fall for anything. Political Correctness is ruining our society. Global warming is natural and has always been around. It always will be. Let's stand up like Griffin and not slouch, as some who live in fear do.

Global Warming On Mars

Mars Melt Hints at Solar, Not Human, Cause for Warming, Scientist Says

Climate change hits Mars

Mars is being hit by rapid climate change and it is happening so fast that the red planet could lose its southern ice cap, writes Jonathan Leake.

Scientists from Nasa say that Mars has warmed by about 0.5C since the 1970s. This is similar to the warming experienced on Earth over approximately the same period.

Since there is no known life on Mars it suggests rapid changes in planetary climates could be natural phenomena.

The mechanism at work on Mars appears, however, to be different from that on Earth. One of the researchers, Lori Fenton, believes variations in radiation and temperature across the surface of the Red Planet are generating strong winds.

In a paper published in the journal Nature, she suggests that such winds can stir up giant dust storms, trapping heat and raising the planet’s temperature.

Fenton’s team unearthed heat maps of the Martian surface from Nasa’s Viking mission in the 1970s and compared them with maps gathered more than two decades later by Mars Global

Surveyor. They found there had been widespread changes, with some areas becoming darker.

When a surface darkens it absorbs more heat, eventually radiating that heat back to warm the thin Martian atmosphere: lighter surfaces have the opposite effect. The temperature differences between the two are thought to be stirring up more winds, and dust, creating a cycle that is warming the planet.

from The Sunday Times 29 April 2007

And Tibor R. Machan writes in The Orange Grove, "Well, I don't know about you, but it is my very strong impression that Mars is not teeming with gasoline-powered traffic just now. Exactly what the folks up there are using for fuel I do not know but I have heard on good authority that none of what they use is causing the warming of the planet. Indeed, I have heard rumors that there is no one up there using any fuel combustion for anything, not a soul. The warming seems to be happening quite without the influence of Martians, let alone Earthlings."

"Bloomberg News reports, "At a time when people are concerned about warming of the Earth, the Mars report shows one way that planets can grow hotter."

John Johnson Jr. of Times writes,"It turns out you don't need belching smokestacks and city-choking traffic to heat up a planet. Changes in surface reflectivity may also do the trick, according to research published Thursday in the journal Nature.

The research team, composed of scientists from NASA's Ames Research Center in Northern California and the U.S. Geological Survey, compared images of Mars taken by the Viking missions in the 1970s to pictures taken a quarter century later by Mars Global Surveyor."

I say who does man think he is? Is man so vain that he thinks he controls the Universe? God controls it all. Man's ego has gotten vastly out of control. Human vanity is what pushes the advancement of "Global Warming Fear Induction" and it's laudable. We are not even specks in this universe yet so many think we have such control. Baffling!

Don't Slouch?

Wow. First the experts tell me that Pluto is no longer a planet and now they tell me my mother was wrong!

For years my mother reminded my siblings and I to sit up straight. We heard this from our teachers, too. This was supposed to be good for our bones and I received many scoldings over this. To this day I am constantly having to remind myself to correct my posture, especially while sitting at my desk. Now it seems my mother was a liar.

A new study done by researchers at Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen, Scotland has shown that a more laid back posture (ha, mom) is actually better for us. The best posture, they say, is actually at a 135-degree angle and not the bolt-upright position that I have learned to loath. This would be somewhat of a sprawl which is halfway between being upright and prone. It seems that despite my repeated attempts to follow mothers advice I was sitting correctly more often than not, all along. Researchers concluded that the 135-degree position, I most often defaulted to, put the least amount of strain on the discs, muscles, and tendons.

Using the correct posture is still important. It is only our belief in what the 'correct posture' is that has changed. "Sitting in a sound anatomic position is essential, since the strain put on the spine and its associated ligaments over time can lead to pain, deformity and chronic illness," said WaseemAmir Bashir, lead author of the study.

Bashir isn't alone in these beliefs. Other experts and doctors agree. Gunnar Andersson, the chairman of orthopedics at Rush University in Chicago discovered 30 years ago that a 135-degree angle was optimal. Other ergonomics specialists from office furniture makers such as Herman Miller and Steelcase, also agree. They've been incorporating reclining positions into their products for years.

It simply comes back to listening to your own body. If it doesn't feel comfortable, it's probably not good for you. Personally, I am elated with these findings and feel that there should be a recliner behind every desk. Now if the experts would just tell me my mother was wrong about my vegetables.

Pluto is NO LONGER a Planet

Wow, nothing stays the same except change. I just heard that Pluto will no longer be classified as a planet. We learned this stuff way back in grade school and now they are going to change this on us. It's impossible to keep up.

Read about it here

Wired News: Human Family Tree: Shallow Roots

Wired News: Human Family Tree: Shallow Roots: "With the help of a statistician, a computer scientist and a supercomputer, Olson has calculated just how interconnected the human family tree is. You would have to go back in time only 2,000 to 5,000 years -- and probably on the low side of that range -- to find somebody who could count every person alive today as a descendant.

Furthermore, Olson and his colleagues have found that if you go back a little farther -- about 5,000 to 7,000 years ago -- everybody living today has exactly the same set of ancestors. In other words, every person who was alive at that time is either an ancestor to all 6 billion people living today, or their line died out and they have no remaining descendants."

Above is an excert from a three page article found at the Wired News link. Although, at some point we all share common ancestry, I don't subscribe to Mr. Olson's theory. There are far too many unknown variables to this 'calculation' than what can be accounted for. It, however, makes for an interesting read and allows one to entertain the thought ever so briefly. Check it out and you decide.