Miscellaneous History Stuff

On this day in 1899, a Stanley Steamer reached the summit of Mount Washington (elevation 6,288 feet) in New Hampshire. Those who know physics will understand the basic problem: the boiling temperature of water is lower at the higher altitude resulting is a less power from the steam boiler. The auto road has not been improved since those days.

In 1888, Jack the Ripper claims his first victim.

1997: Princess Diana dies in Paris. If you are a numerologist, her car crashed against the 13 pillar in tunnel.

The Law is Merely a Suggestion

One of the things that drives me crazy about liberals is their penchant for changing the rules when they realize that they may be on the losing side of the law. The latest example of that is Ted Kennedy.

As Ted feels the cold, clammy hand of the reaper on his throat, he wants to change the Massachusetts succession laws that define how his replacement will be selected. The law requires that an election be held with 5 months after the office becomes vacant. This isn't good enough for Ted. He has written a letter asking that the law be changed so that the Governor can name an immediate, although temporary, replacement. You see, his favorite subject, health care, may be in jeopardy if he dies and cannot vote from the grave.

But lets back up a few years. Back in 2004, the law was that the Governor could name a replacement to a vacant Senate seat. But the Governor then was Mit Romney, a Republican. And the Senate seat belonged to John Kerry. The Democratic state legislature therefore changed the law to allow for an election and prevent Mit from appointing a replacement. Little did they know that the law might come back to bite them.

So, if Ted kicks the bucket, there will be no one to fill his seat until an election is held, and his favorite political issue may go to the grave with him. Irony is sweet.

Blue Dog or Scared Puppy

I've been waiting for my congresscritter, Charlie Melancon, to announce a town hall meeting. Joseph Cao has had one and has scheduled several more. Senator David Vitter is also scheduling meetings. But I have yet to hear anything from Charlie. I called his DC office today and they told me that he probably would not have any. I told them I was extremely disappointed in him. (and he calls himself a Blue Dog)

I then called my other Senator, Mary Landrieu. I was told she was going to have one later in the month. Probably just in time to go back to Washington.

Color me disappointed, but not surprised.

Glenlivet 15 Year Old French Oak Reserve

Glenlivet is a Speyside scotch and one of the oldest distilleries dating from 1824. This scotch is aged in French Oak casks. It does make a difference.

Color: gold
Nose: citrus, fruit
Palate: gentle, smooth
Body: light
Finish: smooth, soothing

This is a great scotch for the beginner as it has absolutely no trace of harshness.

Hiroshima History

It is a little known fact that American POWs were in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. While the numbers vary, 12 seems to be the count that most agree with. They were from the air crews of the bombers "Lonesome Lady" and "Taloa", two planes that were on a bombing mission to Kure on July 28. The pilot of the "Lonesome Lady", T.C. Cartwright, was sent to Tokyo for interrogation on August 1, leaving his crew behind. He didn't tell his story until the 70's. A short version can be found here. There is also a book written by a Japanese historian that confirms the story. A link to a book review is here.

Little Rhody Weekend

My wife and I went up to Newport, RI for a wedding this past weekend. I also got the chance to re-connect with some cousins that I don't see very often so, all around, it was a good weekend, if a little hectic at times.

Some observations along the way:

The reception was held at a private beach club. The wait staff was mostly young people from Eastern Europe - Poland, to be specific. Now, with unemployment running at over 9%, do we still need to import Eastern Europeans for service jobs?

We flew Southwest Airlines. It's been years since I've flown with them. The 737s on all four legs of our trip were full. Not almost full - FULL. No more seats available. In a recession! Clearly, they are doing something right. In a casual conversation with a seat mate. he told us that he commuted from DC to home on weekends with Southwest because they were cheaper than that government run institution known as AMTRAK.

Be Kind to Dogs

Sabra has a post about an Iraqi dog that was saved by a US serviceman.

It reminded me of the shipyard in Astrakhan, Russia where I worked back in 1999. The yard was over run with dogs. They had been sorta adopted by the shipyard workers but they received no veterinary care and little food. These Russian shipyard dogs led a hard life. Very little food and lots of disease. They were the most miserable looking things I have ever seen. And, like loose dogs everywhere, they bred more of their kind.

The puppies were cute as could be and would visit our construction trailers often. Some of the guys made it a policy not to feed them. "Give them food and they'll just keep coming around", they would say. But I thought about how my favorite niece would feel if her Uncle PE ignored these little critters.

Besides, the breakfast bag the hotel gave us was usually some sort of mystery meat on a bun. Most of the time it was tongue. (There's nothing so tasty as a tongue sandwich for breakfast) So I would open the window, whistle a couple of times and share my breakfast with the puppies.

It is my belief that people that abuse animals are reincarnated as dogs in a Russian shipyard.