Environmentalism Gone Nuts!

At the office yesterday, we briefly discussed an issue with some equipment. It seems Mother Nature likes to continuously grow slimy lifeforms on said equipment which makes for a slip hazard when people walk on it. Solution: Use a biocide.

But not just any biocide, one that is safe for the environment. I heard this and my jaw dropped open. Herbicides kill plants (herb=plant, cide=to kill), pesticides kill pests (pest=pest, cide=to kill), insecticides kill insects (do I still need to spell it out?), fungicides kill fungi (pretty cool naming convention, huh?). So what do biocides kill?

Bio=life. That's right, biocides kill everything. There is no such thing as an "environmentally safe" biocide. That's why its called a biocide!

I kept my mouth shut. You can't win them all

I Ain't 16 Anymore

Four days in the office, primarily spent sitting at a desk or a conference table, followed by a Friday morning of shooting rifles and shotguns, followed by a Saturday morning of playing softball, all leads to a Sunday of sore muscles and not being able to bend the way you want to.

I don't remember this happening when I was 16.

Guess What: Business Outsmarts the Federal Government, AGAIN!

The new banking law just went into effect, lo and behold, the banks have found a way to recoup the fees that they lost from the law. I've mentioned this before, but this outcome was totally predictable. A "free" people (or group of people in the case of a business entity) whose purpose is to make money (which is the ultimate goal of every business, otherwise they would be a charitable organization) will ALWAYS outwit anything but the most draconian government. Profit trumps regulation every single time. Sure it may take a while, and the business may have to jump through some hoops, but regulation alone cannot deny profit.

Totalitarian governments on the other hand have shown that they can squash profits, of course then you usually end up with one of two scenarios: 1) the people revolt and throw off said tyranny (not necessarily in a violent way, case in point Shanghai and Hong Kong two of the most capitalistic places in the world despite being in communist China) or 2) the country remains as a third world backwater (a la North Korea), which will eventually lead to 1.

Rest In Peace Rosemary

I found out this afternoon that my friend Rosemary passed away this morning after being diagnosed with cancer six months ago. I met her a little more than three years ago. Two years ago I began to help her and her husband rebuild their home which had been flooded. She was involved in her church, in the community, and raised a great family.

Last year, I took her shooting for the first time in her life at the age of 75. She was about 5' 2" and weighed maybe 110 pounds with all of her winter clothes on. While others were starting off with a .22 LR, she picked up the 9mm and asked how to load it. And then continued to shoot it after commenting that "That kicks a little." She continued on and tried out the AK-47, the SKS, the Saiga-12, and the Mosin-Nagant. Her comment at the end, "That was fun, I'd like to do it again."

Unfortunately, we didn't get the chance to go shooting again together. Perhaps John Moses, Jonathan, Samuel, Eliphalet, Oliver, Horace, Daniel, Edmund, Theodor, Sergei, John, Samuel, John, Richard, Nikolay, Sergei, Fedor, Christian, Hiram, Benjamin, Paul, Wilhelm, David or Leon will invite you to go shooting with them.