True Democracy - Would We Want It?

I remember from high school a teacher talking about how the changes in technology and communications could affect our future. She said that someday we might even be able to telephone in our votes on important issues, thus giving the USA a true democracy. I remember thinking that was a good idea at the time.

As you remember from your History or Civics class (do they even teach that anymore?), the United States of America is a republic, wherein the citizens elect representatives, from the local level on up, to represent them and their interests.  That is a representative democracy, or democratic republic.  

Telephones are everywhere now. I suspect that within a generation, over 95% of people in the USA will be connected via the internet or ways we haven't imagined yet. The day is rapidly approaching, if it isn't already here, when almost everyone could vote from the comfort of their own homes. Perhaps for the others, permanent polling places could be set up.

If everyone of voting age could participate in the decision and policy making processes of the government, on any and/or all levels, would we want it?

If that happened, I think that all of the lobbyist money that is now spent on trying to affect our representatives' votes would instead be directed toward whatever sectors of the public vote the most. Massive advertising campaigns would probably be launched both for and against whatever legislation is the most contentious. Would that be better than what we have now?

I believe that even if it were relatively easy for almost everybody to vote, not everyone would vote. I wouldn't be surprised if the level of voter participation stayed below 50%. Of course, those that did vote would be targeted by the ad campaigns.

Personally, I don't think I would want the government run by public opinion. One of my favorite quotes comes from the movie, Men In Black:
"Edwards: Why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it.
"Kay: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it."

I like the way our government is constituted. The biggest problem with it today, in my opinion, is that it is run mostly by career politicians instead of the rotating "citizen statesmen" that our founding fathers envisioned. I'm not aware of how many "citizen statesmen" are willing to serve. With the viciousness of today's political campaign process, who wants to go through that? Not me (as if I had a chance).

So, what do yo think? True democracy where all voters can vote on all issues, or representative democracy, like we've had for over 200 years?

"End of the September - First Friday Party"

Gee, the Jouranl Times never mentioned this. Good thing they closed down Park 6.

Thanks again to RacineTMZ: http://www.youtube.com/user/RacineTMZ

You can follow RacineTMZ on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/RacineTMZ

"Racine County Jail Inmates - Urinating in Downtown Racine"

"Watch out for the yellow snow." lol

Thank you, RacineTMZ: http://www.youtube.com/user/RacineTMZ

Four for Fridays

Hello everyone! Welcome back to Four for Fridays on the snowy morning! What a week of contrasts... In the '50's earlier the week, now snow today... Here are some questions for you...

1) What do you do to prepare for a snowstorm?

2) What was the most amount snow you have ever seen?

3) Ever get stuck in the snow?

4) What would you rather have the bitter cold or the snow?

Enjoy your weekend!

Open Blog - Friday & Weekend

Be careful out there today!

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my toasty snow bunnies! How are you? I know you’re toasty because there is no snow and little cold outside. It certainly has been an unusual winter so far. To be honest, sometimes I feel a lot like I’m “waiting for the other shoe to drop.” A small voice in the back of my head keeps saying, “There’s going to be hell to pay for this. Mother Nature and Old Man Winter won’t allow this for long. It’s a trap.” We should enjoy it while we can. I know some golfers and other sports enthusiasts are out. I’ve seen a number of motorcycles. We should be aware that the unexpected can occur at any moment, especially in regard to the weather. Have fun, but don’t put your winter wardrobes away just yet, my dears.

On a sad note, my deepest condolences to Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Mr. Joe Philbin and his family on the loss of their son. May you find the strength and courage that you need at this tragic time.

The Packers, of course, were on a bye last weekend. This Sunday, January 15, at 3:30 PM, in Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Packers, NFC North Division Champions, face the New York Giants, NFC East Division Champions. It will rock ‘n’ roll, but I predict that the Packers will sing the final tune.

I received an email from our esteemed and noble fellow Irregular, Mr. SER. His missive was entitled “Big Foot - Sasquatch????” and appeared thusly,

“Ever since I was 10 or younger people have been searching for Big Foot!

“To date no one has ever captured such an animal or creature. There have been many programs on TV where people, teams, clubs have been on the hunt.

“I personally do not believe they exist.

“Madame Zoltar, what are your thoughts on this subject and do you believe they are real?

“.......SER”

Thank you, Mr. SER, for contacting me on such an important matter. Despite your misgivings, Bigfoot does indeed exist. In fact, I know three personally. One young single guy, Lemoth, and a slightly older couple, Satisan and Rozen. They certainly do believe, and know, about us.

For everyone’s sake, especially their own, the Bigfoot have decided to avoid as much human contact as possible. They don’t want to appear snobbish, but, for one thing, they find our odor very offensive. Satisan says he knows of no other smell so foul on earth. Oh my.

Please understand, the Bigfoot are intelligent beings. They have chosen to avoid us. I believe it would be best if we just ignored them and went about our own business. In fact, they are behind many of the Bigfoot hoaxes that are exposed. That’s right. Any false evidence they can leave behind just further proves the point that there is no such thing as Bigfoot. That is exactly what they want us to believe. And I agree with them. Most of aren’t ready for Bigfoot yet. We are too savage.

Oh dear, I can ramble on once I get started. Thank you again, Mr. SER, for your astute question. And thank you everyone else for reading my blog this week. I love you all for stopping by. The pleasure has been all mine.

How do you spell relief? madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Keep an eye on the weather, kids. I don’t want to be a pessimist, but if it doesn’t become winter pretty soon, I’m going to spend all spring and summer worrying about when and how we’ll pay for this. Don’t let your guard down. Nor anything else, for that matter. Vaticinate!

Open Blog - Wednesday & Thursday

I'm not sure why Wednesdays are considered wacky in so many images, but they are.

"Flight 1549 3D Reconstruction, Hudson River Ditching Jan 15, 2009"

I hope no one has posted this before.  Start playing the video, then click on the lower right of the video screen to enlarge.  The 3D reconstruction (and audio) start at 1:20 in the video.

Edit: Ha, I knew someone had posted something like this before.  It was me: http://www.jtirregulars.com/2009/03/hudson-river-plane-landing-us-airways.html There's still a few memory cells floating around up there, but not too many.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - "Ohio"

40 years later and that song still gives me goosebumps.

The Most Overused Image of 2011

That, of course, is Jared Loughner, the man who shot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the head a year ago. He also killed 6 others and wounded 12 more. That picture, taken shortly after Loughner's arrest, was shocking in contrast to the tragedy he visited upon his victims and us. The deranged glee on Loughner's face seemed to mock the horror and sorrow he had inflicted on others. Almost every story about Loughner, and many of those about Giffords, carry that picture. I've seen it hundreds of times. In fact, I've seen it too many times. It's no longer shocking now. It's just sickening.

I know the photo was resurrected because of the recent anniversary of the shooting. It's a great photo. It's become iconic of our failure to deal with the dangerously mentally ill, but it's just used too often.  Please, editors, give it a break.

Open Blog - Monday & Tuesday

I would only go so far as to say that I like Monday, sometimes.

Useless Information

UPATED PICTURE TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW BIG THEY REALLY ARE...

Did you know:

Rhinoceros beetles are the world's strongest animals!" They can lift 850 times their own weight.

Bus fares will increase and service will be cut

Racine bus fares to rise, service faces trims

Source:
By Larry Sandler of the Journal Sentinel
Jan. 6, 2012 2:04 p.m.

Racine - Bus fares will increase and service will be cut Sunday for the Belle Urban System, the city announced.
Regular adult bus fare will rise from $1.50 to $2, accompanied by increases in fares for younger, older and disabled riders and in discounted pass rates. Also, evening service will be reduced and summer downtown trolley service will be eliminated.
Those changes were authorized by the city's 2012 budget, in response to cuts in state transit aid, the city Department of Public Works said.

I don't know if there are any bus riders out there but I thought I would post this, I found it in the JSOline, didn't see anything in the Journal Times about it.

Click here for JSOnline Article

Four for Fridays

Happy New Years folks! Welcome to the the first Four for Fridays of the year! It's been a long and exhausting week so far. Just hope the the rest of the year isn't this way... Here are some random questions for you.

1) So, how was your new year celebration?

2) If there is one city you would like to visit, what city would that be?

3) What was the last major project that has been done to your residence?

4) What is your main focus on a song that you are listening to? The lyrics or the instrumentation?

Enjoy your weekend!

Open Blog - Friday & Weekend

Enjoy your weekend.

"Hoezo parkeren.wmv"

That's exactly how I park.

(Google translates "hoezo parkeren" as Dutch for "why parking".)

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my New Year babes! How are you? It’s been nippy the last few days, but there’s still no significant amount of snow on the ground. Hip Hip Hooray! Unfortunately, no snow cover in winter is bad for wildlife and the landscape. So, I suppose, we should hope for some snow, right? Oh dear, was that me just making the case for snow? Perhaps the hangover from New Year’s Eve hasn’t worn off completely yet.

Of course, you know that our gallant Green Bay Packers defeated the Detroit Lions this past Sunday. And Mr. Matt Flynn did some remarkable things while Mr. Aaron Rodgers rested on the sideline. Huzzah, huzzah, we are rich with talent. Our extraordinary Packers have won themselves a bye this weekend, so the game to watch is Saturday night’s match up between the Lions and the New Orleans Saints. The winner of that game will meet our green & gold on January 15 for the divisional title. I don’t care who wins, because the poor fellows will have to meet our monsters of the midway the following week. You call that winning?

I know this is the time of year when many people make predictions about the year to come, but I usually refrain from such things. Pay as you go, pay for what you want to know. In any case, I’m particularly glad that I’m not involved in any of that 2012 nonsense. I happen to know for a fact that the world does not come to an end this year. That’s next year. Tee-hee! Of course, I’m fooling. It’s the year after that. No, stop me. I can’t help myself.

I don’t dabble in mass predictions because humans really can’t handle the truth. We are better off not knowing the future of the universe. For those so gifted, however, we should also take advantage of our innate psychic abilities to help others on a personal and economic level. Thus I offer my services to the world. Discounts may apply and you know I will always help a fellow Irregular free of charge. Rates vary for others. Contact me for estimates: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com. Contact me within the next 30 minutes and I’ll throw in a free personal reading.

Thank you so much for reading my blog, dears. You have no idea how much I prize our friendship. I cherish every moment you spend here. Time makes our relationship better, like fine wine.

Dress for the weather my friends. There’s not too many slippery spots out there now, but when they appear, be careful. None of us wants to take a tumble. The hospital doesn’t always have spare parts for irregulars. Septilateral!

Open Blog - Wednesday & Thursday

Is that JTIsland?

Telephone Etiquette

Is it rude not to listen to the messages in your voicemail or on your answering machine, but return the calls and ask, "Why did you call?"

I have a friend who did that for years. He got a lot of complaints, so he just disabled his voicemail Now, you can call him, but you can't leave a message. Often, his ringer is off. When, or if, he answers or calls you back is up to him.

So, back to the original question: is it rude to take messages, but not listen to them before returning calls?

I don't mean to make a point here. I don't know if there even is etiquette anymore. I just want to know what Irregular minds think.

One for the Dog Lovers

Imagine you are a singer and you accompany yourself on the piano. You have a small dog who is your constant companion and who watches as you rehearse.

Got the picture?

Now, imagine that you're away for a few hours, leaving the dog alone at home with the video camera on. Here is what happened while you were away.

Hummingbirds

I went to the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum today. Got to try a little different type of photography with some success...hummingbirds, in flight!

There is a bush outside my living room window that attracts hummingbirds when it blooms. Will have to try some more this spring when the blooms come.

It's Here - 2012 - HAPPY NEW YEAR

Let's hope we have a good year. Holidays went by fast. Then it starts all over again. Anyone have any Great 2011 Stories? Here's hoping that we will not have much snow. I'm more of a summer fan. Skip the Snow & Cold Weather.

What do you do in the winter? Besides working how do you keep busy? I myself like to keep busy on the internet. Everyone stay warm, Don't forget about your pets, keep them inside.

Open Blog - Monday & Tuesday

Who will be the first to post in the first Open Blog of the New Year?

Some New Year's/New Year Eve Photos

Just a few photos for you. First, from New Year's Eve, the glow of sunset, Venus near the horizon, the Moon and Jupiter (above and left of the Moon) taken with my fisheye lens.

Next a green flash from the setting Sun with the telescopes of Kitt Peak visible on the mountain just to the left.

A post Sunset shot of Kitt Peak.

Finally, Venus setting over saguaros near the bottom of the Catalina Highway.

Here's to a great 2012!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Useless Information

Did you know:

UPS trucks (drivers) HARDLY EVER make a left hand turn.

Corrected for the Wackman......

Happy Leap Year

Happy New Years to all

........SER

Sunset Animation

I went out to photograph sunset tonight and put my pics together into a little animation. I did not photograph continuously so you will notice some jumps as I paused a little bit (I tried to pause when there was not likely to be much action, but I know I missed a couple of potentially interesting moments...the buffer in my camera will fill up if I take too many in a row!)

It was a nice sunset with multiple green flashes as different parts of the Sun disappear behind the jagged mountain. Look closely and you can even see some rare blue flashes and at least once I see some even more rare purple. The blue and purple get scattered more by Earth's atmosphere than green light so it is harder to catch them. Of course we get some great conditions with low humidity and pollution here so you can occasionally catch them. I have never seen them naked eye, only in my pics.

If the weather holds tomorrow night, I am planning on trying to get pics from Windy Point up on the Catalina Highway. I need to get up there more often since the extra elevation can give some interesting effects...stay tuned!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

"My PVC Instrument - 'Wizards in Winter'"

Well, that's one thing you can do with plumbing pipes.

Four for Fridays

Hello everyone! Welcome to the final episode of Four for Fridays of the year! Hope everyone had a great year! Here are some questions to ponder...

1) What are your New Year Eve's plans?

2) Do you have any resolutions for the new year?

3) What event did you enjoy the most in 2011?

4) What what you looking forward to the most in 2012?

Enjoy your weekend!

Open Blog - Friday & Weekend

Enjoy your New Year's celebrations this weekend.

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my year-end lovelies! How are you? Are you suffering from Post Christmas Stress Disorder? I suggest that you do like Ms. Lizardmom says and keep the decorations up, keep the celebration going. After all, aren’t there twelve days of Christmas? Even more in some religions. So keep the mistletoe growing and glad tidings flowing. All of that last week, that was for everybody else. Now have some Christmas for yourself. Take a break, relax, and soak in the holiday spirit.

Some of you will be imbibing spirits of a different sort this weekend. Happy New Year! If you are indulging, please leave the driving to someone else. I certainly hope that 2012 will be less angry than 2011. Nastiness seems to be the norm now. Oh dear.

Our marvelous and majestic Green Bay Packers won against the Chicago Bears on Christmas. Happy, happy, merry, merry! Next, they face the Detroit Lions on New Year’s Day at noon in Lambeau Field. I predict another holly jolly win.

Psst, have you noticed how little snow we’ve received and how mild it has been? Shh. Don’t wake Father Winter.

In honor of the upcoming New Year, and in the hope of kick-starting that year with some good vibrations, I have selected this video for you. Please enjoy Ian Axel performing “This is the New Year.”



Oh my, that certainly is upbeat, isn’t it? Now I have some hope and love in my heart going into 2012. Bring it on.

Thank you for reading my blog this week. It’s so nice to visit with the JTIs and other friends. No matter how many presents you gave or received for Christmas, you’re all gifted. Your best gift to me is being my friend.

Want to know what your New Year’s resolutions should be? madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Enjoy New Year’s Eve and Day, my dear friends. Remember, moderation is the key. All my blessings upon you for the coming year. Peace, love and joy to everyone. Madame Zoltar™ commands it. Mythomania!

I think it's someone's birthday...

The day has come for Lizardmom to take a day off work and think it's all about her.

I don't know about being productive...

I wanted to be the first to put it on here, hopefully no one has one pre-set to upload at midnight...
Happy Birthday, Mom :)

Yes, someone has been quite ambitious with the cake decorating this year...

Open Blog - Wednesday and Thursday

The last Wednesday and Thursday of 2011.

To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before...

Okay, I intentionally used the original "No Man" for a reason. It turns out that Dennis Hof, proprietor of the infamous Moonlite Bunny Ranch in Nevada has bought another brothel that he is remodeling with a science fiction theme and will open an Alien Cathouse. Yep, that is where nerds and geeks everywhere can live out their alien fantasies.

I can definitely see the Captain Kirk Suite and the Jabba the Hut with Slave Leia rooms. Not sure how Doctor Who would fit in...maybe a Police Box door to the room for starters. Should have a Millennium Falcon suite in there. Surely all Star Trek versions will be honored in there somewhere.

I am holding out for the zero-g suite personally!

Irregular Football League Final Standings

Congratulations to drewzepmeister and his Racine Irregulars as the Champions. Fred and The Debate Team took second, while hale-bopp's Half-Astrophysicists took third.

Venus and the Moon

Just had to post a few pics of Venus and the Moon tonight. These were taken around Tucson from a couple of different locations over the course of an hour or so as I was running errands, grocery shopping, etc. Enjoy.

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Open Blog - Monday & Tuesday

Did Santa bring you what you wanted?

"Why You Don't Light Fireworks Indoors"

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Useless Information

Did you know:

Colored pencils do not contain lead; it’s all pigment and wax.

Jingle Barks

No Christmas is complete without dogs barking Jingle Bells.

Four for Fridays

Hello everybody, welcome back to Four Fridays! Sorry for a such a late post. It's my day off for the holidays and I'm doing something that I haven't done in a awhile...SLEEP IN! Here are some random questions.

1) Are you a planner or are you the spontaneous type?

2) What your holiday plans?

3) Are you bummed out that this isn't going to be a white Christmas?

4) What is your favorite Sesame Street character?

Enjoy your holidays!

Open Blog - Friday & Weekend

Love and Best Wishes to All!

A Christmas Song for Ya!

For the longest time I had all of the Heart albums except for one-A Lovemonger's Christmas. After searching for this album pretty much since it's release in 2001, it was Tender Heart Bear that tracked the album down recently. Fittingly, just right before Christmas....

Reminder

Tomorrow, don’t forget to pick up the Christmas presents you guys put on layaway for me!

PS - Jed, if I get a 5th, I'll share it with you!!!

Wow! Comet Lovejoy Time Lapse from the ISS

Comet Lovejoy is a sungrazing comet that recently passed VERY close to the Sun. Many astronomers thought it would burn up on this passage, but it survived and is now a nice morning comet for the southern hemisphere.

And for astronauts on the ISS who captured this amazing video!

Watch all the lightning as before the comet rises over the horizon followed by the blinding dawn. It is much easier to get this from space when you don't have the brightening twilight you get on Earth. You can even see the layers of Earth's atmosphere...stunning!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

"Why no bid process for Festival Hall?"

Bumped again, for new developments.  See below.

Originally posted Wednesday, November 23, 2011, at 9:15 PM:

The first letter to the editor here, http://www.journaltimes.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-from-readers-november/article_586d1b7c-1587-11e1-a711-001cc4c03286.html, from Patrick Flynn of Caledonia, concerns the recent no-bid renewal of VenuWorks' contract to run Racine's Festival Hall. I've seen this mentioned before in a couple of comments on other sites, but no official story anywhere.

From Mr. Flynn's letter: "Last week, the City of Racine renewed the three-year management contract with Venuworks for Festival Hall. This contract was never let out for bids despite the fact that interested parties have been requesting a bidding process."

So, what gives? Why were the Oasis and the boat launch contract renewals let out for bid, but not Festival Hall's? Is that even legal? It certainly appears less than aboveboard. An explanation is in order. What's going on, lying John?
 _______ ________________________________________

December  21, 2011

From The Journal Times.com: "Same company to manage Racine Civic Centre" http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/same-company-to-manage-racine-civic-centre/article_a883b960-2bec-11e1-9234-0019bb2963f4.html

VenuWorks gets the contract without any bids. While the man who took the Oasis from a gang hangout to an attraction on North Beach had his contract bid out and lost it. VenuWorks' contract with Racine is $70,000 a year. The Oasis' old contract was worth about $11,000 a year.

The stink in City Hall doesn't come from mold.

Guess who got Christmas cookies?

Tender Heart Bear and drewzepmeister gave me a plate of 13 different kinds of homemade Christmas cookies today. Thank you guys so much, and especially you, THB, because I know you did the baking.

The Irregulars are just a swell bunch of people. My stomach says so.

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my elfin friends! How are you? I know, I know. It s-worded. Half an inch the other night. I’ve had time to process and accept it, so from now on I’ll call it by it’s real name: snoop, snuff, er, snot, oh my, I’m sorry, SNOW, damnit, snow! OK, it’s December and it snowed. I really should get over it. And I have. Almost. Until the next time it snobs.

The weather now appears to have been a bad omen for our sainted, most magnificent, illustrious, glorious Green Bay Packers, who, sadly, lost a game to the lowly Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday past. Oh my, oh my, oh my. Oh dear. I guess I’m processing the loss, but I don’t know how long it will me take to get over it. I was so tempted to add to the game with some psychic phenomena, but I promised not to interfere. With that, our heroes stumbled and fell. Well, then, good, they got that out of the way and there is no more pressure to maintain a prefect record. Now, the Packers can do what they do best: play football. Sunday hence, on Christmas Day, Green Bay will meet archenemy the Chicago Bears, at 7:20 PM, Lambeau Field. What better gift for His birthday than a sound thrashing of the Bears? Maul the Bears, Packers! Muzzle them.

Christmas is only four days away and I still haven’t finished all of my decorating and shopping. Junior could do some of the decorating, but the only time I see him is when I’m baking Christmas cookies. Well, what needs to get done, will, and what doesn’t, won’t. It all turns out fine on Christmas Day. Those of you stressing out in the hustle and the bustle of the holidays, remember to take time out for yourselves. Certainly you can find fifteen minutes to do some deep breathing exercises and knock back a few shots of your favorite libation. You owe it to yourselves. Unwind, deflate, relax.

In the spirit of the season, here is a 1952 cartoon, “Pluto’s Christmas Tree”:



Oh my, tee-hee, I really enjoy those rascals, Chip and Dale. Poor Pluto.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy holiday schedule to read my blog. I so enjoy our visits. I also love the feelings of goodwill that come with Christmas. I hope that all of you have joyous holidays. Peace on earth.

What does Santa’s list say about you? Find out: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Now be careful my dear, dear Irregulars and regulars, just in case it snores again. I would like a white Christmas, but that doesn’t necessarily mean 10 inches. Please enjoy making each other happy. Palpebrate!

Open Blog - Wednesday & Thursday

Let's act like kids again.

More Recommended Reading

From RacineUncovered:

New…More lawsuits filed against the City of Racine

Click on the link above to be taken to the story.

These lawsuits were announced awhile back. Now they're moving forward. Like the other lawsuit, these also stem from Dickert's Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Word on the street is that another principal player in this tragicomedy will soon be filing suit against Racine.

It's not like some people haven't been hollering about this over and over and over for a long, long time. But the powers that be, including the Journal Times, refuse to acknowledge this festering mess.

Thank you, lying John. Without a doubt, you will win the title of Racine's Most Expensive Mayor Ever. Party on!